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Schools shut down in Delhi from tomorrow after Supreme Court slams Arvind Kejriwal govt for reopening them amid air pollution

OpIndia Staff
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Schools shut down in Delhi from tomorrow after Supreme Court slams Arvind Kejriwal govt for reopening them amid air pollution

The schools in Delhi will remain closed from tomorrow till further orders in view of the worsening air pollution in the state. The Delhi govt was forced to close the schools after the Supreme Court on Thursday (December 2) slammed the Arvind Kejriwal government for reopening them amid rising pollution in Delhi.

The Apex court wondered why the Delhi government made work-from-home for adults but children have to attend the school. “When the government implemented work from home for adults then why children are being forced to go to school”, a special bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said. The bench also comprised Justices D Y Chandrachud and Justice Surya Kant.

The bench further reminded the assurance of the Delhi government to keep the schools closed till further order. The bench observed that in the previous hearing, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government had made various assurances such as work from home, lockdown and closure of schools and colleges.

Despite assurances, the children were forced to go to school while elders worked from home, the bench said. ”Poor young boys standing in the middle of the road with banners, who is taking care of their health? Again, we’ve to say, other than the popular slogan, what else is it?” the bench remarked.  

The court also expressed concerns that on the ground level Delhi government did not take steps to control pollution in Delhi. “We think we are wasting time. Nothing is happening and pollution level is increasing,” the court said. Delhi government assured the court that it will take the necessary steps to check the pollution level. It informed the court that 1500 old polluting vehicles were seized in November.

The air pollution in Delhi has reached an alarming stage as the Air Quality Index recorded 419 which is rated as a severe category.

Slammed by SC, Delhi government shut physical classes

After SC reprimanded the Kejriwal government, the Environment Minister Gopal Rai announced that “due to current air pollution levels in the city” all schools in Delhi will remain closed from December 3 till further orders.

Delhi government had reopened the schools on November 29 for all the classes despite increasing air pollution levels. On November 27, Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia had made that announcement stating that the air quality in the national capital was improving. While Manish Sisodia claimed an improvement in the air quality of Delhi, his chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was sharing the Air Quality Index of Delhi stating that the air quality of Delhi was very poor.

SC gives 24 hours to tackle air pollution

The apex court also took a tough position on controlling air pollution in the capital, and gave the central and state govts 24 hours to come up with a strategy for air pollution control. The court expressed deep anguish at the pollution levels not coming down despite the claims made by the Centre, Delhi Government and the adjoining NCR states that they have taken several measures in this regard.

The court commented that as air pollution has not come done despite several directions issued by it, it might create a “task force” by itself to monitor the implementation of the directions. The court also asked why pollution has not come down when the problem of stubble burning is no longer present.

The court sought a reply from the Centre for steps being taken to control pollution and improve air quality in Delhi. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta appearing for the Centre said that the government was equally concerned about pollution levels in Delhi. He requested the court to grant a day time so that he speaks to the highest authorities and comes up with measures to control pollution.

On this, the court granted 24 hours to the Centre and Delhi government to come up with a serious plan on air pollution control measures. “Mr Mehta, we expect a serious real action, if you can’t do tomorrow we are going to do. We are giving you 24 hours”, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana told the SG. The Supreme Court said that it would pass a suitable order if the Centre and Delhi governments fail to take measures to control pollution.

Twitter user shares images of attack on a Hindu temple in Bangladesh, Bengal police flags it as ‘violation of Indian law’

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter user shares images of attack on a Hindu temple in Bangladesh, Bengal police flags it as ‘violation of Indian law’

On December 2, Twitter user MrSinha_ got an email from Twitter that they have received a complaint against one of his posts on their platform. In the email, Twitter said that Govt. of West Bengal, Office of the Assistant Commissioner of Police(III), Special Task Force, Kolkata had sent the request to take action against a particular tweet as it “violates the LAW of India.”

Screenshot of email Sinha received. Source: MrSinha_

Though Twitter did not take any action on the tweet but mentioned that it was their obligation in the interest of transparency to inform Sinha about the complaint. The email was in a standardised format that it sends to every user against whom it receives such a complaint. In the email, the social media portal advised the user, in this case, Sinha, to take appropriate action in the matter to protect ‘his own interests’ that includes seeking advice from a legal counsel and challenging the request in court.

Tweet with photographs of vandalised Hindu temples in Bangladesh

The complaint refers to a tweet by Sinha that he published in August 2021. On August 8, 2021, Sinha had published two photographs on Twitter in which idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses could be seen destroyed in a temple in Bangladesh. In the tweet, Sinha wrote, “This is what happens when Hindus become a minority. Hindu’s houses & Temples attacked & idols destroyed in Bangladesh. This news won’t attract “seculars/liberals”. Nobody is going to write letters to UN. No minority under attack type movements.”

Tweet by MrSinha_ that WB alleges to have violated LAW in India as per Twitter’s email. Source: Twitter.

OpIndia reverse-searched the images and found multiple media outlets that used the same pictures with reports suggesting that the incident took place in Bangladesh. In an August 9, 2021 report, Free Press Journal published a report titled “Watch Video: After Pakistan, now miscreants attack Hindu temples in Bangladesh” that had the same image that Sinha used.

There was also a YouTube video embedded. According to FPJ, the incident occurred in Shiali village in Rupsha Upazila of Bangladesh’s Khulna district after an altercation between Hindus and Muslims. FPJ quoted Dhaka Tribune and reported, “the miscreants first attacked the Shiali Mahasmashan temple. They vandalised the idols in the temple and the crematorium.

From there, they went to the Shiali Purbapara area, where they vandalised the idols of Hindu gods and goddesses in Hari Mandir, Durga Mandir and the Govinda Mandir.” We also found the Dhaka Tribune report that used the same but digitally enhanced photograph of the damaged idols that Sinha has used in the tweet, proving that the incident was from Bangladesh itself. Both images that Sinha posted were in Dhaka Tribune’s report. It was also covered by Tribune, The Week, the Commune and several other media outlets. Ten people were arrested in the case.

The same report was covered by OpIndia as well which can be read here.

Interestingly, the complaint was not filed by Bangladesh Police but by West Bengal Police despite the fact that the incident was not from the Indian state.

Twitter has a history of silencing Twitter handles that talk about attacks on Hindus

This is not the first time Twitter silenced an account raising voice for Hindus in Bangladesh. Recently, Twitter suspended the account of ‘Stories of Bengali Hindus’ for sharing ignored stories of the trauma faced by persecuted Bengali Hindus citing “violating rules against ban evasion” as the reason. Dr Das, the founder of the website, wrote that they received an email from Twitter stating that we were suspended in view of “ban evasion”. He asked the microblogging site to provide more explanation for the suspension. Interestingly, while Twitter said that it had suspended the account in view of “ban evasion”, it provided no explanation as to which ban had the account exactly evaded.

Earlier Twitter has singled out a non-left account and suspended it without providing any reasonable explanation for the same. In September this year, the Popular Twitter account ‘Princess Woke Liberal (@workingboxwali)’ was censored and suspended by the micro-blogging site for questioning the promotion of Islamist Rana Ayyub on the Elle Magazine. Last year, popular non-left account @effucktivehumor was suspended indefinitely for a tweet that condemned the Paris beheading. Following the suspension, it was communicated to the user that his account was suspended for violating Twitter rules on Hateful conduct although it was not pointed out precisely how the tweet condemning a terror attack violated the social media giant’s policy towards hate speech.

Delhi: Hindu man stabbed to death by Faran and Shahalam over alleged love affair with Faran’s sister

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: Hindu man stabbed to death by Faran and Shahalam over alleged love affair with Faran’s sister

A 26-year-old Hindu man named Dablu Singh was brutally stabbed to death in the Raghubir Nagar area in West Delhi by Ladla alias Faran (20) and Shahalam alias Channa (24) over an alleged love affair with Faran’s sister. The incident took place on Tuesday around 10 pm.

As per a report published in Amar Ujala, the Muslim girl’s brother was opposed to their inter-religious affair. Enraged over their relationship, the girl’s brother, along with his friend, accosted Dablu Singh in Raghubir Nagar in Delhi and brutally assaulted him, leaving him mortally injured.

An injured Dablu Singh had somehow managed to reach Guru Govind Singh Hospital. On seeing his condition deteriorate, the hospital staff referred Dablu to Safdarjung hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

During the inquiry, it was revealed that the deceased was stabbed multiple times in his neck. A case was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at Rajouri Garden Police Station, the DCP said. The two accused Shahlam alias Channa (24) and Ladla alias Faran (20) are both residents of TC Camp in Raghubir Nagar. Both have been arrested.

The 26-year-old deceased victim lived with the family in TC-Camp in Raghubir Nagar in Delhi. Dablu used to work as a cloth dyer. He was romantically involved with a Muslim girl of the same area. The girl’s brother Ladla alias Faran was against that friendship and had warned Singh to stay away from her. The two had an altercation over the issue previously as well and had threatened each other.

It is alleged that despite the warning, Dablu had started speaking to the Muslim girl again. When Faran came to know about this he was furious. On Tuesday, November 30, Faran and his friend Channa accosted Dablu in the neighbourhood. The trio got into an altercation. The accused first beat up Dablu and then in a fit of rage took out a knife and stabbed him in his neck multiple times. The accused then fled leaving Dablu gravely injured. Dablu, somehow, gathered himself and took an autorickshaw and reached Guru Govind Singh Hospital from where he was referred to Safdarjung hospital, where he breathed his last. Dablu Singh is survived by his father, mother, brother and sister.

‘He was crossing the woman’s house when he was caught and stabbed’, the father of the Hindu youth in Delhi laments

The deceased youth’s mother Shobhawati was quoted by TOI as saying that a few months ago, his son was in a relationship with a woman, but they ended the affair after she was sent to her native village by her family members. “The woman’s family was unhappy with my son. One of the relatives had even threatened Dablu of dire consequences,” she added.

Meanwhile, Chandresh, Dablu’s father, said: “The matter was resolved a few months ago. He stopped going to the lane where the woman lived. One day, her maternal uncle Shahlam called my son and threatened to harm him when he came to Delhi. My son used to sell meat.”

“On Tuesday night, Dablu went to give Ps 15,000 to someone. While he was crossing the woman’s house, he was caught and stabbed by a few people. Despite being stabbed, he called his friends and was rushed to a hospital,” added Chandresh.

Tension gripped the area after the news of the incident spread. To avoid communal clashes, heavy police forces were deployed in the area. On Wednesday, the police held a meeting with the people of both communities and appealed to maintain peace. They said that an attempt was being made to give the incident a communal colour. According to the police, it was a case of ‘personal enmity’.

“Safdarjung Hospital informed us regarding Singh’s death. We learnt that Singh was stabbed in the neck by some locals due to personal enmity,” said Urvija Goel, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), refusing to elaborate on the “enmity” between Singh and his attackers.

OpIndia tried to contact the Raghubir Nagar police who refused to divulge any details of the case over the phone.

Meanwhile, the post-mortem on Dablu’s body was performed at DDU Hospital on Wednesday amid tight security arrangements.

Despite the fact that several mainstream news outlets and leftist portals make conscious efforts to portray such incidents as stray incidents rather than hate crimes against Hindus, thereby whitewashing the wrongdoing committed by Muslim perpetrators, the fact remains that the ongoing attacks on Hindu men by the kin of their Muslim love interests have brought to light the pervasive issue of Hindus being subjected to religious bigotry and intolerance by Muslim perpetrators.

The aforementioned case is one of the several instances OpIndia has reported where Hindu men have had to pay a dear price, most of the time with their lives, only because they were in a relationship with Muslim women. While the mainstream media portrays cases of non-Muslim girls marrying Muslim men and converting to Islam as ‘interfaith relationship’, the cases where the genders are reversed and Hindu men get killed by Muslim families for the love affair with a Muslim girl, are largely ignored.

Last year, OpIndia had chronicled 20 such cases in which Hindu men were subjected to such monstrosity for being romantically involved with Muslim women.

Punjab CM Channi calls AAP a party of Kale Angrej and outsiders, says they are trying to grab Punjab after Gore Angrej were ousted

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab CM Channi calls AAP a party of Kale Angrej and outsiders, says they are trying to grab Punjab after Gore Angrej were ousted

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has called Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) a party of kale angrej trying to rule Punjab by winning the 2022 state assembly elections. Channi took a swipe at AAP and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while addressing a gathering at Badhni Kalan in Nihal Singh Wala segment of Moga on December 1.

The Punjab CM said, “They say Kejriwal will rule Punjab. These people (AAP) are imposters and fake.” He further asked, “Are there no youths and no Punjabis in Punjab? Will kale angrej come here and rule? Punjabis sacrificed the most to defeat the British. kale angrej are trying to take over Punjab after (gore) chitte angrej (Britishers) were ousted from the country. Now, these kale angrej have come.”

While Channi asked people to reject Kejriwal as an outsider and imposter, Kejriwal said that he might be black but his intentions were fair. Kejriwal alleged that Channi started abusing him right after he promised Rs 1000 per month to every woman of Punjab.

Later on, talking to the media Channi clarified that he wanted to stay that Punjab belonged to Punjabis and Kejriwal should not create disruptions here. “These outsiders kale angrej want to rule Punjab,” he said.

AAP has tried to draw political mileage out of the remark of Channi and said that he crossed all the boundaries of slander. But Channi accused Kejriwal of trying to grab power in Punjab by resorting to drama and false guarantees as “Kejriwal he has no concern for Punjab beyond that.”

Channi is battling on twin fronts

The most intriguing aspect of the Punjab battle is that Congress CM Channi is fighting with AAP and Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu as well.

Sidhu had lost no occasion to publicly slam Channi causing enough damage to the poll prospect of the Congress in Punjab. People were left confused when Kejriwal heaped praise upon Sidhu for slamming the Channi government. However, apparently snubbed by the central leadership for not defending the party and the CM of Punjab, Sidhu started speaking against AAP.

Rahul Gandhi holds meeting with Channi and Sidhu

On December 1, Rahul Gandhi called Channi and Sidhu besides former Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar to discuss strategies for the Punjab assembly elections. The meeting lasted for five hours where Gandhi asked both of them to unitedly work for the party. Gandhi is learnt to have discussed the formation of election-related committees for Punjab with the state leaders.

Hackers take control of Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s Facebook page, changed to an Australian skincare company’s page

OpIndia Staff
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Hackers take control of Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s Facebook page, changed to an Australian skincare company’s page

Hackers seem to have taken control of Congress leader Kapil Sibal Facebook page and changed it to a page linked to a ‘skin care’ company from Australia named Dermalyana. The page name was changed by hackers on November 29, but it was only on December 2 the team managing Kapil Sibal’s Facebook account took back control of the page. However, by then, random posts and videos related to the skincare products had emerged on the page.

Things that were changed on Sibal’s Facebook Page

Sibal’s verified Facebook page’s information was changed to Dermalyana on November 29, 2021. The page, which was created as an unofficial page in 2014 and then switched to the official page for the Congress leader in the same month, seems to be inactive for a long time as the last post from it was from April 2019. It is also possible that the hackers might have deleted previous posts.

Page History as provided by Facebook.

There were two posts on the page linked to ‘Dermalyana’ that were still active by the time this report was written. One of the posts was published yesterday with a woman holding the company’s products. The post read, “Australian made skincare and wellness brand Dermalyana has offered a special gift for all of you when we receive your email registered on our website.”

Post published after the page got hacked and changed to a skin care company’s page. Source: Facebook

The second post was published an hour after the first post. It contained a video of a possible TikTok influencer who was doing a promotional video. The post read, “Thank you for using Dermalyana and share with your friends about it.”

Post published after the page got hacked and changed to a skin care company’s page. Source: Facebook

Before the information on the page got changed, the email was linked to it was rogerhealthcare.com.au. The category of the page was also changed to Dermatologist. The hackers had also changed the cover and feature image of the page that was later changed to Kapil Sibal’s.

The page info was changed completely. Source: Facebook

Restoring name will take time

The name of Kapil Sibal’s page remains to be Dermalyana, and it will stay the same for some time due to Facebook’s policy about the name change. The policy reads that the name of the Facebook page cannot be changed too frequently. Also, it may take up to three days to get approval for the name change. It reads, “You may have trouble changing your name if you changed your name in the last 60 days, or you tried to change it too frequently.” Though Sibal is a prominent leader and Facebook may oblige to twist the regulations to change the name back at the earliest. Still, till Facebook acknowledges and changes the title back to ‘Kapil Sibal’, Dermalyana would stay.

Is ‘Mera Yeshu Yeshu’ fame pastor Bajinder Singh admitted in hospital for piles treatment? Truth of viral screenshot of news report

OpIndia Staff
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Is ‘Mera Yeshu Yeshu’ fame pastor Bajinder Singh admitted in hospital for piles treatment? Truth of viral screenshot of news report

A screenshot of a news report with OpIndia logo is viral on social media claiming that pastor Bajinder Singh, who recently became a social media sensation after ‘Yeshu Yeshu’ conversion video went viral, is admitted to hospital for treatment of piles. The screenshot has logo of OpIndia Hindi website.

Screenshot of viral news report with OpIndia logo

The viral screenshot reads that this fellow (Pastor Bajinder Singh) has cure for ailments for kidney, lungs, cancer, loose motions, low sperm count, sex related issues amongst other things. He even makes a mute person sing in two minutes, the caption in the screenshot reads. It is followed by image of Bajinder Singh and OpIndia Hindi logo with ‘headline’ that ‘Mera Yeshu Yeshu’ fame pastor has been admitted to a private hospital for treatment of piles.

However, the above screenshot is fake. OpIndia Hindi never reported any such news on Bajinder Singh. Trolls on the Internet may have assumed he has piles as an illness because he’s always standing in his videos. Piles are enlarged blood vessels that one can get inside or around one’s anus which leads to painful. Piles patients usually find it hard to sit because it is painful.

But that’s how preaching works. It is not like Ram Katha that is done while sitting.

Having said that, we can neither confirm nor deny whether Pastor Bajinder Singh is indeed suffering from piles (bawasir) and is admitted in hospital or not as that is between his doctor and his Lord. But the above screenshot is indeed fake.

‘Arararara’ fame pastor Sebastian Martin was once admitted to hospital for back injury

Pastor Sebastian Martin, who was accused under the Black Magic Act and is best known for the ‘arararara’ video of Pushpa Diwadkar who starts running after getting her both failed kidneys magically healed, was also once admitted to a hospital for injury.

In the above video, one can see one ‘Pushpa Diwadkar’ being walked onto a stage where it is claimed she is unwell since past 9 years and both her kidneys have failed. She could not walk without support and even her discs are not proper. Amid sad music, she says doctors have told her she won’t survive for long. To that, pastor Sebastian Martin puts his hands on the hand of Pushpa and her husband and chants ‘arararara’ before pushing them on the floor and ‘healing’ her. Everyone around them gets happy and shouts ‘ho ho ho’ and dance. Some even appear to be having an epileptic fit but they’re just too exited at Pushpa’s both failed kidneys getting ‘healed’ magically.

However, in 2016, his ‘healing centre’ Ashirwad Prayer Centre at Vasai in Mumbai was shut down over allegations of black magic. In fact, pastor Martin, too, passed away in August that year when he was admitted in a hospital in Thane for back injury. His ‘arararara healing’ which ‘cured’ Pushpa with both failed kidneys, could not ‘heal’ his back injury and he had to take help of modern medicine.

No chance of the Congress getting a majority in 2024 elections: Ghulam Nabi Azad

OpIndia Staff
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No chance of the Congress getting a majority in 2024 elections: Ghulam Nabi Azad

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has said that as things stand currently there is no chance of the Congress getting 300 seats in the 2024 parliamentary elections.

Azad said this while addressing a political programme at Krishna Chander Park in the Krishna Ghati area of the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on December 1.

He was explaining and justifying his silence over Article 370 in public when he commented on his party. He was responding to Jammu Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, who criticised the silence of the Congress on Article 370.

“I alone had been raising the issue of Article 370 in the Parliament during the past three years. Now the matter is before the Supreme Court. So, just to please people I should not speak on this issue which is not in our control. Only Supreme Court where matter is pending can restore Article 370 or the Centre,” he said.

Azad pointed out that since the Narendra Modi led NDA government had scrapped Article 370, it would not restore it. Hence the ultimate option is to wait for 2024 when the parliamentary elections will take place. But Azad said chances of revival of the Congress were very dim.

“We don’t know when we will have 300 MPs on our own to form the government. I can’t promise to do it. I can’t say that in 2024 we will get 300 MPs and we will restore it. May God get us 300 MPs. But at present, I don’t see it. I can’t make false promises hence I avoid talking about Article 370,” Azad said.   

Azad who is touring Poonch and Rajouri to hold political programmes recently said that restoration of statehood and holding of early assembly elections in the valley was his main demand and it was irrelevant to talk about Article 370.

Azad is a prominent member of G-23 of the Congress and the group has earned the displeasure of the Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi for advocating organisational reforms of the Congress. Sonia Gandhi even dropped him from the disciplinary committee of the party.

Azad’ statement has come at the time West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee has stated that the Congress is not in a position to lead an alliance of the Opposition parties in 2024. She even hinted at the opposition’s alliance without Congress.

‘Mathura ki taiyari hai’: UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya’s tweet kicks up a storm

OpIndia Staff
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‘Mathura ki taiyari hai’: UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya’s tweet kicks up a storm

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s tweet on Krishna Janmabhoomi and Mathura temple have kicked up a storm.

On Wednesday, Maurya tweeted that the preparations of building up a grand temple at Ayodhya and Kashi are on and Mathura would be next.

Maurya’s tweet comes just days after Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha announced that it would install an idol of Lord Krishna at a site within the Shahi Eidgah on December 6. On December 6, 1992, a controversial structure standing on the site of Ram Jamnabhoomi in Ayodhya often referred to as Babri Masjid, was demolished. In November 2019, Supreme Court ruled in favour of Ram Lalla Virajman and that paved way for construction of Bhavya Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. However, the plan to instal the idol has been put on hold as of now as per reports.

Mathura in Uttar Pradesh is the birth place of Lord Krishna and a structure, Shahi Idgah Mosque, stands next to the temple of Krishna Janmabhoomi. The mosque has also been embroiled in legal battle as Hindus believe the mosque was built on land where Lord Krishna was born.

Maurya reportedly said that ahead of Ram Mandir movement, the slogan was ‘Ayodhya is ours, Kashi and Mathura are next’. With Kashi Vishwanath corridor coming up in Varanasi, naturally it is time for Mathura, he said.

Maurya’s tweet and statement has triggered the opposition leaders who have accused him of encouraging polarisation by asserting his Hindu identity.

Mumbai: Complaint filed against Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for disrespecting the National Anthem

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai: Complaint filed against Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for disrespecting the National Anthem

A complaint has been filed against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Mumbai for disrespecting National Anthem during a gathering that she had addressed in the city. According to ANI, a leader of Bharatiya Janata Party, Mumbai, filed a Police Complaint against Banerjee for “showing utter disrespect to the national anthem” by allegedly singing it while in a sitting position and then “abruptly stopping after 4 or 5 lines”.

WB CM received sharp criticism over National Anthem row

A video of WB CM surfaced on the social media platforms where she could be seen sitting and starting the National Anthem and then stopping halfway abruptly. Advocate Vivekanand Gupta, Secretary, BJP Mumbai, posted a copy of the complaint on Twitter.

In his complaint addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, he said Banerjee “started to sing the National Anthem while in sitting position and thereafter stood up, and after four or five verses abruptly stopped the National Anthem.”

He further said that her actions amounted to utter disrespect to the National Anthem and urged the Police to file a complaint against her under Section 3 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. He said, “Her act also goes against the orders of the Home Ministry of 2015. The order directs that “whenever the anthem is sung or played, the audience shall stand to attention.” He alleged that WB CM has deliberately and intentionally shown utter disrespect to the National Anthem.

It is notable that according to Home Ministry’s orders if someone wants to sing a shorter version of the National Anthem, he or she must sing the first two lines and the last two lines. However, according to Gupta’s complaint, she did not “follow the said order relating to the full version or the short version” and sang the first four lines.

Amit Malviya, In-charge of BJP’s National Information & Technology Dept, said in a tweet, “Our national anthem is one of the most powerful manifestation of our national identity. The least people holding public office can do is not demean it. Here is a mutilated version of our national anthem sung by Bengal CM. Is India’s opposition so bereft of pride and patriotism?”

BJP Leader from Mumbai, Mohit Kamboj Bharatiya, shared the video and said, “And she wants to become Prime Minister.”

In a follow-up tweet, he urged Mumbai Police to file a complaint against her and others, including the organisers of the event. He said, “Maharashtra Police Should Register A #FIR Against #MamtaBanerjee And Other Including Organisers Of Today’s Event For Insulting Our #NationalAnthem In A program In #Mumbai! I Will Be Filling A Written Complain To Mumbai Police Tomorrow Morning!”

OpIndia reached out to Kamboj’s office to get an update. They informed us that Kamboj is filing a complaint today.

BJP West Bengal also criticised the CM for her act. They wrote, “Mamata Banerjee was sitting down at first then stood up and stopped singing halfway the national anthem of India. Today, as a Chief Minister, she has insulted the culture of Bengal, the national anthem and the country, and the Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore!”

Dr Sukanta Majumdar, BJP West Bengal State President, said, “Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee sitting at a constitution post insults National Anthem at a gathering in Mumbai. Doesn’t she know proper National Anthem etiquette, or is she insulting knowingly?”

Tejasvi Surya, MP and National President of BJP Yuva Morcha, said, “Here we have a Chief Minister, who fails to respect our National Anthem. Expecting the opposition parties to respect Bharat & its values is a lot to ask for these days. This deplorable behaviour from a Constitutional Authority is extremely shameful & condemnable.”

Pratik Kapde, BJP Mumbai secretary, said, “Isn’t this demeaning National Anthem? What were the so-called intellectuals present doing When CM Mamata Banerjee started National Anthem in a sitting position. Not only that, Then she went ahead and abruptly stopped it in between.”

TMC has not reacted to the controversy. Banerjee has been in Mumbai for the last couple of days to meet leaders and ‘prominent’ personalities in the city. Earlier, she had met Shiv Sena leaders Sanjay Raut and Aaditya Thackeray. She also met NCP leader Sharad Pawar. Yesterday, she held a meeting with some alleged ‘prominent personalities’ where she met the likes of Swara Bhaskar, Munawar Faruqui, Mahesh Bhatt and several others. After meeting with Pawar, she hinted that the 2024 elections might not see UPA with Congress in opposition.

CPI (Maoist) expels former central committee member Kobad Ghandy for leaning toward spiritualism and criticising Marxism

OpIndia Staff
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CPI (Maoist) expels former central committee member Kobad Ghandy for leaning toward spiritualism and criticising Marxism

The proscribed Left-wing outfit CPI (Maoist) has expelled its politburo member and former member of the Central Committee, Kobad Ghandy, from the organization. In a statement purportedly issued by CPI (Maoist) spokesperson Abhay on November 27, Ghandy has been accused of espousing the path of spiritualism, denouncing Marxism as having no good values and abandoning the Maoist ideology.

The CPI (Maoist) has further accused him of projecting the entire movement in poor light in the book ‘Fractured Freedom – A Prison Memoir’.

Ghandy who is now 70-years old, wrote this book after his release from jail in 2019. Maoists accused him of deserting the key tenets of Marxism-Leninism-Maoist (MLM) ideology and said that he adopted the bourgeois philosophy of idealism, happiness and spiritualism.

Annoyed over questions raised by Ghandy in his book, CPI (Maoist) said that very shortly it would respond to allegations.

Ghandy had said that the Maoist movement failed to achieve its target, adding the Marxist way of life doesn’t provide happiness and freedom. He also claimed that CPI (Maoist) has close links with the various mafias. While questioning MLM ideology, Ghandy raised questions over the failure of Maoism and the fate of the cultural revolution in China.

Maoist spokesperson Abhay accused him of breaching the trust of the organization and said that he was now siding with the ruling class and he released the book in the service of the ruling class.

“Ghandy has worked for over 50 years by following the principles of politics of Naxalbari, first as CPI(ML) central committee member, later as Maharashtra state committee leader and subsequently as member of the CPI(Maoist) politburo. He was jailed in 2009. Since then, he has been maintaining that he has no connection to the party. He has been doing this at the behest of ruling political forces, showing that he has lost his honesty. What message can such dishonest people give to the society,” the press note reads.

“After he was released from jail, he neither contacted us nor discussed the content of the book with us and the intention behind writing a book. He has violated the principles of the party”, CPI (Maoist) further said.

Speaking to Indian Express, Ghandy said that he was not aware whether the statement issued by the CPI (Maoist) was genuine. He said that the question of his expulsion did not arise since he was never associated with the organization.

He said that he would continue to raise questions over the fall of the Communist movement across the world and why Maoists still stick to the same dogmatic approach.

Born in 1951 in an affluent Parsi family in Mumbai, Ghandy had joined the Naxal movement in 1970s. Before joining Maoism he had worked as a qualified finance professional at a multi-national company for some time.

He was picked as a member of the Central Committee in 1981 in the then Communist Party of India (Marxist-Lennist) People’s War. It was founded by Kondapalli Seetharamaiah.

He had played a key role in the merger of the People’s War and MCCI (Maoist Communist Centre of India) that had taken place in September 2004. A new organization CPI (Maoist) was formed out of the merger. He was among the ideologues of CPI (Maoist) and also alleged to have participated in a meeting in 2005 with the Nepalese Maoist leader Prachanda.

Ghandy was arrested in 2009

Ghandy was arrested in September 2009 from Delhi. As a Politburo member, he was charged for carrying terror attacks including an attack on a team of elite anti-Maoist commando unit Greyhounds at Gunurkayi village in Visakhapatnam in 2008.

He spent a decade in jails across the country. In October 2019 he was released on bail from Surat jail. He had spent a major part of his prison term in Visakhapatnam Central Jail.

Security experts cautious over estrange relationship of Ghandy with CPI (Maoist)

But security experts are cautious over the development. A senior intelligence official who had followed Ghandy said that it was too early to reach to any conclusion. “Sometimes in March the book was published and the reaction from his organization has come when the year is closing. It is hard to believe that the top ranking leader has relinquished the ideology. This can be ploy too. But this is purely a case of analysis and corroboration of intelligence inputs,” said the official.

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