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Families of Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj hit back at Udayanidhi Stalin for his distasteful remarks against the late BJP leaders

OpIndia Staff
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Families of Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj hit back at Udayanidhi Stalin for his distasteful remarks against the late BJP leaders

Ahead of Tamil Nadu’s sixteenth legislative assembly election, DMK’s Youth Wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin went on a brazen rant against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at an election rally, the son of DMK chief MK Stalin, accused the Prime Minister of ‘killing’ the late BJP veteran leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley. He said that the two BJP stalwarts died due to “torture” and “pressure” exerted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Showcasing utter political frustration, Udhayanidhi Stalin said during an election campaign rally on Wednesday: “There was a person called Sushma Swaraj. She died due to the pressure exerted by Modi. There was a person called Arun Jaitley. He died due to the torture by Modi.”

Udhayanidhi’s comment came after PM Modi, while campaigning at Dharapuram for BJP state president L Murugan Tuesday, alleged that many senior DMK leaders were sidelined due to the entry of Stalin’s son into the party fold.

Hitting back at the Prime Minister, Udhayanidhi added: “Modi had come here yesterday and accused that I had taken a shortcut route… Who is saying that? Being the Chief Minister of Gujarat, we know that how Modi sidelined many… I have the list”. He then went on to name party veterans LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, late Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley. 

The DMK leader furthered that unlike the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami, he was not scared of PM Narendra Modi. He dared the prime minisiter to interact with the electorate of the poll-bound state.

These distasteful remarks of MK Stalin’s son have miffed the family of the late BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, who took to social media to slam the DMK leader.

Daughter’s of the late BJP leaders slam DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin

While Sushma Swaraj’s daughter Bansuri Swaraj hit back calling Udhayanidhi’s comments “despicable and disrespecting”, Sonali Jaitley Bakhshi, the daughter of the former Finance and Corporate Affairs minister slammed the DMK leader by calling him a “liar”.

“Udhayanidhi Ji please do not use my mother’s memory for your poll propaganda! Your statements are false! PM Narendra Modi Ji bestowed utmost respect and honour on my mother. In our darkest hour PM and party (BJP) stood by us rock solid! Your statement has hurt us,” Bansuri Swaraj wrote tagging MK Stalin and the BJP’s official handle.

Meanwhile, Sonali Jaitley Bakhshi took to Twitter to write: “@Udhaystalin ji, I know there is election pressure – but I won’t stay silent when you lie and disrespect my father’s memory. Dad @arunjaitley and Shri @narendramodi ji shared a special bond that was beyond politics. I pray you are lucky enough to know such friendship,” she tweeted.

The daughters of the BJP stalwarts demanded that Udhayanidhi Stalin must apologise for dragging their late parent’s names in his poll propaganda.

Both, late Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley were among the senior-most BJP leaders of their time and held top portfolios in the Narendra Modi government. They were also part of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

In 2016, Sushma Swaraj had a kidney transplant and later opted out of contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls due to health complications. She breathed her last on August 6, 2019.

Arun Jaitley also had opted out of contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections due to his prolonged illness. He died on August 24, 2019, at the age of 66.

‘Chaiya Chaiya’ and a funeral: Derek O’Brien’s strange explanation about why Mamata Banerjee hates Jai Shree Ram chants

Editorial Desk
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‘Chaiya Chaiya’ and a funeral: Derek O’Brien’s strange explanation about why Mamata Banerjee hates Jai Shree Ram chants

The West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021 is one of the most hotly contested state elections in recent memory. Mamata Banerjee, who has been in power in the Bengal for the past 10 years faces anti-incumbency and a Hindutva wave that is unprecedented for a state like West Bengal. The elections have been marred with uncouth statements and barbs by the TMC against Prime Minister Modi, but has also seen an attack against the faith of the people after anger against the Jai Shree Ram slogan by Mamata Banerjee and her party cadre. Derek O’ Brian recently in his interview with Barkha Dutt attempted to explain why.

On the 1st of April, Derek O’Brien appeared for an interview where he attempted to explain why Mamata Banerjee gets irked when slogans of Jai Shree Ram are chanted. Barkha Dutt had asked Derek O’Brien why Mamata Banerjee gets visibly irked when Jai Shree Ram is chanted, citing the example of her conduct during Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary celebration. The example of how she huffed and puffed out of her car once was also given.

Derek first says that Mamata Banerjee did not lose her temper during the Subhash Chandra Bose birth anniversary celebration. While stammering through the response, Derek says that there is nothing wrong with the slogan per se, but the problem lies with where it was used and how it was used in an intimidating way.

After this, Derek O’ Brien proceeds to make a rather strange comparison.

He says that there is nothing wrong with the song ‘Chaiya Chaiya Chaiya Chaiya’ with Malaika Arora Khan and Shahrukh Khan but he will have a problem with it if it is played at his friend’s father funeral.

Firstly, it is unclear why Derek O’Brien thought it was appropriate to compare Mamata Banerjee’s convoy to his friend’s father funeral. While her reign might be coming to an end, in all probability, one would imagine that comparing it to a funeral by her own senior party functionary would be an insult that should not be made publicly.

Further, the disdain for Hindus and their sacred chant of Jai Shree Ram is rather evident from the fact that he compares it to something as offensive as singing a Bollywood song at a funeral.

Jai Shree Ram is a slogan that is deeply religious in nature and is a chant that is held dear by Hindus. Essentially, what Derek O’Brien says is that he thinks Jai Shree Ram, the sacred slogan, being raised by Hindus at a political event, is as offensive to him as a titillating Bollywood song being played at a funeral of a dear one. While a titillating song being played at a funeral is certainly offensive, there is, and there ideally should be, no offence taken at Hindus raising their religious slogan anywhere at any given point in time.

Similes are often used to explain and simplify a complex issue, in a manner that is more relatable to people. However, in this case, the simile itself seems to expose the real reason why Mamata Banerjee seems to get irked at chants of Jai Shree Ram being raised at an event or her political rally.

It is understandable that Derek O’Brien meant that every word, phrase, chant or song has a time and place, and when chanted outside of that opportune time, it could become offensive. He is absolutely right. However, it points towards the insidious thought that Jai Shree Ram is ‘un’Bengali to begin with. What TMC and Derek O’Brien are doing is denying political agency to Hindus and dictating how they should or should express their sentiments of a political renaissance.

Further, it also shows that TMC has paltry respect for the Multiplicity of the Divine worshipped by Hindus and the fact that it is not a mere platitude but words Hindus live by every single day. Hindus are polytheists and believe in the plurality of Gods and we worship Them all. To insinuate that Lord Ram is not alien to Bengalis and that His chant should be considered offensive, and a chant that has no place in Bengal, only goes to show the shallow understanding of not just Sanatan but Hindus themselves.

To give further context to the intimate relationship that Bengalis share with Shri Rama, the Krittivasi Ramayana, a rendition of the Ramayana in Bengali, was composed by the famed Bengali poet Krittibas Ojha in the 15th century. Then there is a neighbourhood in Howrah, Ramrajatala, where the residents conduct a three months long worship dedicated to Shri Rama and Sita Mata every year at the local Ram Mandir. The tradition dates back centuries. There are numerous Ram Mandirs in Bengal as well. More significantly, Hanuman has always been immensely popular in Bengal.

Therefore, what Derek O’Brien tries to do with this simile is twist the faith of Hindus, deny Hindus their political and religious agency and whitewash the deep-seated disdain for the Hindu faith that seems to have percolated down to the last TMC man.

While trying to defend Mamata Banerjee and her ire against the slogan, Derek O’Brien seems to have unwittingly exposed Mamata Banerjee and her party’s disdain towards the fact that Hindus in Bengal have finally found their voice and are asserting themselves in this election cycle.

Mamata Banerjee and her unbridled ire towards the chants of Jai Shree Ram

In January 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar came together at Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial on Saturday to honour freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 124th birth anniversary. 

When she was invited on to the stage to speak a few words, some people were chanting slogans of Jai Shree Ram, Bharat Mata ki Jai and Joy Bangla. Getting offended by the slogans of Jai Shree Ram, Mamata Banerjee said that as a mark of protest against this ‘disrespect’, she would not say anything. Sulking, she walked off the stage even though several other dignitaries, including the Prime Minister, were on the stage. She had later said that she got offended at ‘being teased’ in front of the Prime Minister.

In 2019, in a Facebook post, Mamata had said that it is high time action is taken ”to restrain political workers not to indulge in activities of creating unrest, chaos, violence and disruption of normal life by taking recourse to misplaced ideologies in the so called name of religion to create divide among the people.” She had further said that she will continue to oppose the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chants to “keep the secular character of the country.”

Her ire against Jai Shree Ram is such that in 2019, West Bengal police had arrested at least 10 people from Barrackpore for chanting slogans of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ in North 24 Parganas at Mamata Banerjee’s convoy. Mamata had raised strong objections to the people who were chanting the slogan of Jai Shree Ram as she passed through the area. Visibly irked Mamata was spotted getting down of her car at least twice and losing her cool at the onlookers. She was also heard using defamatory language, calling the people chanting the slogan ‘outsiders’.

Incidentally, a video of hers had also gone viral earlier in which she was seen confronting people Jai Shree Ram in a similar way.

Only recently, as Jai Shree Ram slogans were raised during a Holi celebration, taking inspiration from Mamata, TMC had attacked BJP workers and vandalised their party office after getting irked over the slogans.

It comes as no surprise that Maulana Jarjis, who had spewed venom against Hindus and incited Muslims to take up arms against the Indian government, had lauded Mamata Banerjee for ‘fighting’ slogans of ‘Jai Shree Ram’.

Muzaffarpur advocate files complaint against Mamata Banerjee in Bihar court for her ‘goons from Bihar and UP’ remark

OpIndia Staff
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Muzaffarpur advocate files complaint against Mamata Banerjee in Bihar court for her ‘goons from Bihar and UP’ remark

Amid the high-stakes political battle ensuing in West Bengal amid the assembly elections, a complaint has been filed against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee before a court in Muzaffarpur in Bihar. Miffed by the TMC chief’s recent disparaging remark against the Biharis during campaigning for assembly elections, advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha, approached the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Muzaffarpur, to file a complaint against Banerjee.

Ojha, who is known for his habit of dragging multiple celebrities, including foreign heads of state to court over diverse issues, took exception to the TMC supremo speaking about “goons from Bihar and UP” being brought in by the BJP in the state during her poll campaign.

He pleaded before the court that the police is directed to lodge an FIR against Banerjee. Ojha has sought evoking IPC sections 147 and 148 (rioting), 295 and 295(A) (deliberate insult) and 511 (attempt to commit an offence).

The matter is likely to come up for hearing on April 8.

Mamata Banerjee accuses ‘goons from other states’ for the poll violence in Nandigram

Today, while speaking to the media from Nandigram, Banerjee accused that BJP brought ‘goons from other states like UP and Bihar’ for the poll violence in Nandigram. She also called Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar to complain against the violence urging him to control the situation in the state. The West Bengal CM added that she has complained to the Election Commission and the Home Minister about the ill-treatment being meted out at her and woman journalists at rallies by “BJP goondas”. 

While the people of Nandigram were busy exercising their franchise today, a lot happened in the constituency. Mamata Banerjee went and sat inside a polling booth in the Gokul Nagar area in Nandigram. This irked the locals, who came out in huge numbers to protest Mamata Banerjee’s high handedness. Shouting the ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans, hundred of protestors demanded Mamata to leave the premises. It was after this incident, Mamata Banerjee accused BJP of calling their ‘goons from other states’ to create ruckus in West Bengal.

The tale of the Chinese citizen who makes pro-China edits to open-source maps of the Line of Actual Control

OpIndia Staff
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The tale of the Chinese citizen who makes pro-China edits to open-source maps of the Line of Actual Control

OpenStreetMap.org is a project that creates and distributes free geographic data to the world. Major corporations like Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, etc. utilize the services of OpenStreetMap (OSM). It is a free and editable map of the world built up by volunteer users from around the world. Naturally, the editable nature of the map has led to some users propagating the strategic territorial interests of their own countries in the form of OSM edits, demarcating any disputed or non-disputed territory in favour of their own particular country.

One such particular volunteer user is a Chinese user who goes by the online identity of “NM$L”. This particular user has a recorded history of over 1,350 edits on the OpenStreetMap (OSM), many of which are located around contentious areas like the LAC with India and the South China Sea, areas where China has a major strategic interest. In his bio for his OSM profile, NM$L describes himself as, “???????????? ???????? ???????????, ????? ??? ??????????? ????????? ?? ?ℎ? ?????? ?????????? ?? ??? ?ℎ????? ??????, ????????? ??????????? ?? ???? ????, ????? ??? ??????.” This bio leaves little doubt as to NM$L’s extremely pro-China ideology. For additional confirmation, it is to be noted that “NMSL” is a Chinese meme/slang, from where the user derives its username from.

The user NM$L routinely performs edits that are directly in favor of China’s strategic interests. NM$L has edited OSM to include changes in disputed South China Sea territories like the Spratly Islands, which do not form a part of China’s possible territorial claims and instead fall under the Philippines’s economic zone according to a landmark 2016 international arbitration. NM$L has also performed dozens of edits along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and also the McMahon line in Arunachal Pradesh. NM$L has gone as far as to try and depict the Siachen Glacier as disputed on OSM.

Long after China’s reported intrusion into Indian territory nearby the Pangong Tso lake region last year, NM$L edited the OSM depicting the Pangong Tso region. Altering OpenStreetMap in this manner in order to advance a particular country’s national, strategic and territorial interests i.e. enforcing territorial claims via maps is called “cartographic warfare” or “cartographic propaganda”.

According to the Director of the Security Studies Program at MIT, M. Taylor Fravel, “In the ’50s and ’60s, China and India were engaged in this and would publish competing maps to bolster the strength of their claims to territory. What we are seeing now in open source I would characterize as the latest manifestation of the ways in which states have sought to advance their claims through maps and mapmaking.”

In a direct exchange with the OSM user NM$L in reference to a particular incident, NM$L told the news outfit that he gets his information on how to edit OSM from a Chinese State News media aggregator website called kunlunce.com. In other words, the user NM$L gets his information from the from the Chinese State media which is run by the Chinese Communist regime, on the basis of which he edits the open-source map. Therefore, it is no surprise that NM$L edits in extremely pro-China information related to disputed regions in the South China Sea and along the LAC and the McMohan line.

NM$L is only one single dedicated user, highly motivated by Chinese state media propaganda, who has managed to edit the OSM at least over 1350 times. If there are multitudes of users like NM$L (and there probably are), it would be easy for the Communist regime of China to impose their territorial ideology upon open-source maps as they are freely editable. Therefore, it is necessary to shine a light on such users, who are in all probability not acting nefariously but are still heavily influenced by propaganda from the Chinese regime in order to perform false pro-China edits on open-source maps.

Bollywood entertainer Swara Bhasker speaks language of Islamic terrorists to mock the BJP

OpIndia Staff
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Bollywood entertainer Swara Bhasker speaks language of Islamic terrorists to mock the BJP

Bollywood entertainer Swara Bhasker on Thursday used the language of Islamic terrorists to mock the BJP.

Bollywood entertainer Swara Bhasker’s tweet

Bhasker quoted a tweet by one Twitter user ‘Ahana Pathak’ who had mocked the BJP and said that the lotus blooms only in the minds of those who have dung in it. To that, Bhasker claimed that not just that, but “Urine, cow urine specifically’. The lotus is the election symbol of the BJP.

Gaumutra jibe

The ‘Gaumutra’ (cow urine) jibe is often used by Islamic terrorists who carry out terror attack on India with specific intention to kill Hindus. In February 2019 when Adil Ahmed Dar rammed an explosive filled car on CRPF convoy killing India’s soldiers, he had referred to Indians as ‘Gae ka peshab peene wale’. Hindus consider cow holy and some also believe the cow urine contains medicinal value that can cure certain diseases. However, ‘gaumutra’ jibe is often used to mock and hate on all Hindus.

‘No question of contesting from any second seat’, says TMC after PM Modi asked if Mamata Banerjee will contest from another constituency

OpIndia Staff
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‘No question of contesting from any second seat’, says TMC after PM Modi asked if Mamata Banerjee will contest from another constituency

Amid the speculations that West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee will contest from a second constituency as she faces tough challenge in Nandigram, Trinamool Congress has denied any such possibility. The clarification from the party came after PM Narendra Modi had raised the possibility at an election rally in the state today.

“The question of CM fighting from any second seat doesn’t arise. She is winning Nandigram comfortably,” said sources in TMC, according to reports. The party claimed that they will win 90% of the votes in the seat, which is a traditional stronghold of BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari, a former TMC minister.

TMC dismissed the speculations after PM Modi had raised the issue today. Addressing a rally in Uluberia in West Bengal, PM Modi had said, ”Didi, is there any truth in the rumour that you are going to file nomination from another constituency? First, you went to Nandigram, and the people gave you an answer. If you go somewhere else, the people of Bengal are ready.”

Speculations of Mamata Banerjee filing nomination from a second ‘safe’ is going around since several weeks now, after she had decided to contest against Suvendu Adhiklari in Nandigram instead of her seat Bhabanipur. Earlier it had been speculated that she may contest from Tollygunge constituency. But Tollygunge goes to poll in the 4th phase on 10th April, and the last date for submitting nomination from there was 23rd March.

Polling for Mamata Banerjee’s own seat Bhabanipur is scheduled in the seventh phase on 26th April, and the last date of filing nomination is 7th April. It means, the CM has still time to contest from Bhabanipur, if she decides to do so. Former TMC MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay is contesting from Bhabanipur on Trinamool ticket, who was chosen by Mamata Banerjee personally.

Karnataka: Fearing God’s curse, Raheem and Taufiq confess of urinating, putting condom in temple’s Hundi after their accomplice Nawaz died mysteriously

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Fearing God’s curse, Raheem and Taufiq confess of urinating, putting condom in temple’s Hundi after their accomplice Nawaz died mysteriously

Two people were arrested today in connection to an incident where a condom was found in a temple’s Hundi (Donation box) in Manguluru. The temple belonged to the local Manguluru deity Lord Koragajja who is seen as an avatar for Lord Shiva. The arrested have been identified as Raheem (32) and Taufiq (35) from Jokatte area in Mangalore.

Chiru Bhat, a local journalist, has chronicled the incident in the form of a Twitter thread.

Addressing a press meet, police commissioner N Shashi Kumar said that in the last three months, five cases have been registered at Ullal, Kadri, and Pandeshwar police stations over miscreants dropping objectionable items into the offering boxes of temples, including a condom at the Koragajja Katte temple. However, the police were not able to track down the culprits behind the desecration of the temples.

But suddenly after some time, the duo Raheem and Taufiq started going to the temple in order to pray for forgiveness from the priests. Initially, the priests thought the duo was making fun, but finally, they confessed their heinous crime at the temple and surrendered themselves to the people there who later turned them over to the police. 

The reason why both Raheem and Taufiq were so scared that they went back to the temple to confess, was because the third and the main culprit, Nawaz, who had put the condom in the Hundi box in the first place, had died under mysterious circumstances. Soon after his crime, Nawaz started acting insane, which then turned into blood vomiting and dysentery. Finally, Nawaz died by banging his own head on a wall, his last words being that Lord Koragajja is angry with the culprits.

After the death of Nawaz, Taufiq also started suffering from similar symptoms like vomiting blood. This scared them so badly that they decided that they will be saved only if they confesses and seeks forgiveness for their crime.

“Accused Raheem and Taufiq were in touch with the priest of a Koragajja Katte located at Yemmekere ground to confess their mistake. They were called during the ‘Nemotsava’ where they confessed about involving in the heinous act,” the police commissioner added.

“One more accused named Nawaz, who is the common friend of the other two accused, had come back from Dubai one and half years ago. In the last couple of months, he suffered severe health issues and passed away. Recently, the devotees carried out a walkathon from Kadri temple to Kutthar Koragajja Katte. Later, Taufiq also faced severe health issues like Nawaz. Out of fear, they decided to confess. Raheem and Taufiq used to accompany Nawaz to the Koragajja Katte to drop objectionable items in the offering box,” the police commissioner clarified.

“The objective behind the act is not yet known. We are probing it. As per the primary investigation, they have committed the act in three places. The modus operandi looks similar. We need to verify the handwritten content as well. Both the accused voluntarily contacted the priest to confess,” the police commissioner said.

NIA raids premises of prominent lawyers, activists in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over alleged Maoist links

OpIndia Staff
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NIA raids premises of prominent lawyers, activists in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over alleged Maoist links

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted several raids at both the homes and offices of multiple lawyers and activists in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The raids began on Wednesday night, totalling at least 22 persons whose premises were searched. The raids were conducted over alleged Maoist ties.

In Hyderabad, the NIA in conjunction with local police teams raided the houses of Telangana High Court advocate V Rathunath, and Dappu Ramesh, a former member of Jana Nitya Mandali.

In Andhra Pradesh, multiple raids in connection with alleged Maoist links were conducted on many individuals. These include V S Krishna, the AP and Telangana Coordination Committee member of Human Rights Forum; Chilika Chandrasekhar, general secretary of Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee; Varalakshmi of Virasam and Revolutionary Writers Association; APCLC president C Babu; advocates K Padma and K Challam; G Pinakapani of Revolutionary Writers’ Association; and Somasekhar Sarma, president of Rayalaseema Vidyavanthula Vedika.

The premises of members and activists with Revolutionary Writers’ Association, Civil Liberties Committee (CLC), Amaraveerula Bandhumitrula Sangham (Association of Friends and Relatives of Martyrs), Praja Kala Mandali (People’s Art Front), Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP), Chaitanya Mahila Sangham (CMS), Patriotic Democratic Movement (PDM) were also raided.

OpIndia has previously reported on the Maoist ties of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC) and the Committee for Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP).

Maoist links of APCLC and Chilika Chandrasekhar

The APCLC has a history of its members being arrested. Two of its activists were arrested in December 2004 by the Warangal Police after they were allegedly found moving with armed Maoists. In 2009, an APCLC activist was arrested on charges of assisting Maoists in the murder of ZP vice-chairman Samida Ravishankar in 2007.

In 2012, Andhra Police arrested 2 APCLC activists along with 18 members of Chetna Natya Manch (CNM), a Maoist cultural outfit. The Police claimed that members of the CNM had arrived at Hyderabad from Khammam on the invitation of the APCLC members to create awareness among people against the encounter of civilians by anti-Maoist forces.

In 2003, Andhra Pradesh Police had arrested three APCLC activists in connection with an attack on Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu including the outfit’s Chittoor district president Hari Prasad, a move that was condemned by an organization it is associated with, Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR).

In 2014, the Police in Hyderabad stopped Pratyamnaya Rajakeeya Vedika (Forum for Political Alternative) from holding a meeting, asserting that it’s a frontal organisation of a banned Maoist Party. Varavara Rao, one of the leaders of the forum, was among the 50 leaders and activists who were arrested by the Police. As per the High Commissioner of Police, the High Court had denied permission to the forum to hold the meeting. Chilaka Chandrashekar, the General Secretary of APCLC, and other members of the organization were also detained as per the statement released by the members of various organizations working under CDRO. As per reports, according to Intelligence agencies, Varavara Rao, which the APCLC appears to have links with, attended the funeral of a Maoist killed in Gadrichholi in 2017 and also attended a meeting to commemorate the first death anniversary of slain Maoist commander Kapuka Prabhakar.

Maoist/Bhima Koregaon violence links of Committee for Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP)

Another organization that is intricately linked with the investigation by Pune Police into the violence at Bhima Koregaon and the alleged assassination plot to murder Prime Minister Modi is the Committee for Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP).

Vernon Gonsalves, another activist raided by the Pune Police, is an executive member of the CRPP. Rona Wilson, one of those arrested in June, is the public relations secretary of the CRPP. The President of CRPP is SAR Geelani, a man who was booked for sedition in 2016 and is a vocal proponent of an independent Kashmir.

Amusingly enough, the Congress party which has come out in vigorous support of those raided by the Pune Police had branded the CRPP a Maoist front organization itself in 2011. An Advocate, Balla Ravindranath, a secretary of CRPP was arrested at Telangana and charged by the Chhattisgarh Police under Sections 8(1), 8(2), 8(3) and 8(5) of the draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005 (CSPSA) after he was handed over to them.

On March 5, the NIA took over the Munchingput case filed by Andhra Pradesh Police against nearly 80 people under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). In November 2020, police raided a local journalist, P. Naganna, seized Maoist literature from him, filed an FIR, and started an investigation.

Based on the alleged confession of P. Nagnna, around 80 people with Maoist links have been named and identified.

Jammu and Kashmir will soon have a grand temple for Lord Venkateswara: L-G Manoj Sinha approves land for TTD

OpIndia Staff
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Jammu and Kashmir will soon have a grand temple for Lord Venkateswara: L-G Manoj Sinha approves land for TTD

The newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will soon have a grand temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara. The government of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday approved the proposal to allot the required area of land to build a replica of the famous Tirupati temple near Jammu.

The Administrative Council (AC), which is headed by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, met and approved the proposal to allocate 496 kanals of land on lease for 40 years to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) for building a temple and allied infrastructure, an official spokesman was quoted as saying.

The TTD, which manages the affairs of the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirupati, is also planning to set up a Vedapathasala, spiritual/meditation centre, residential quarters and medical and educational facilities in the area.

The land will be given on lease for a period of 40 years. Confirming the news, the official spokesperson of TTD stated that the TTD is an independent trust established by the government under the TTD Act, 1932 and is globally reputed for its contribution to cultural, charitable and spiritual work.

The spokesperson added that the arrival of TTD in J and K will not only boost the tourism potential of the UT due to pilgrims, but also will enhance economies in the area.

In February this year, the administration of Jammu and Kashmir had agreed to allocate land to TTD near the Jammu-Katra highway for constructing a temple of Sri Venkateswara Swamy. TTD will be constructing a temple along with a Vedic school and hospital in a minimum span of two years.

Besides Jammu and Kashmir, TTD has also planned to build grand temples of Lord Venkateswara, on the lines of the famous Tirupathi temple, in the sacred city of Varanasi and Mumbai.

Construction of temples in Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, and Bhuvaneshwar is underway. The TTD has constructed Sri Venkateswara Swamy temples in Hyderabad, Kurukshetra, and Kanyakumari which are functional and attract impressive pilgrim populations.

Nandigram on polling day: Mamata sits inside polling booth, villagers say ‘Muslims’ are stopping Bengalis from casting votes

OpIndia Staff
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Nandigram on polling day: Mamata sits inside polling booth, villagers say ‘Muslims’ are stopping Bengalis from casting votes

All eyes are on the Nandigram Assembly seat, where TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s fierce battle with the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari is underway in the second phase of the eight-phase West Bengal assembly election today. The contest has become a battle of prestige for both the ruling TMC and BJP which is eyeing to write history by denying Mamata a third stint. While the people of Nandigram have been busy exercising their franchise, a lot has happened in the constituency on the polling day.

Earlier in the day, the convoy of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari was attacked allegedly by Trinamool Congress workers in Nandigram. Videos emerged showing unidentified men pelting stones on Adhikari’s car. The windshield of his vehicle was damaged. Adhikari, however, escaped unhurt.

In a separate incident reported from Mamata’s constituency on Thursday, the supporters of the Bhartiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress party clashed with each other after Mamata Banerjee reached a polling booth at Gokul Nagar in Nandigram. Hundreds of people came out shouting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ after Banerjee reached the booth in Nandigram. They were protesting the presence of Banerjee near the polling booth in Gokul Nagar. They demanded that the West Bengal CM should leave.

Mamata speaks to the governor

Mamata Banerjee, for whom the Nandigram contest has become more of a battle of prestige, accused ‘goons from other states’ for the poll violence in Nandigram. She also called Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar to complain against the violence urging him to control the situation in the state.

In a video shared by ANI, the TMC supremo speaks to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar over the phone at a polling booth in Nandigram. She says, “…They didn’t allow the local people to cast their vote. From morning I am campaigning…Now I am appealing to you, please see…”

Speaking to the media, the West Bengal CM said that she has complained to the Election Commission and the Home Minister about the ill-treatment being meted out at her and woman journalists at rallies by “BJP goondas”. Accusing EC of working at the behest of HM Amit Shah, Mamata Banerjee said “I have seen so many elections but have not seen such a badly conducted election so far”.

Locals complain that TMC goons are not allowing them to vote

Meanwhile, Hindi news channel ABP News has shared a video where locals in the Gokul Nagar area in Nandigram were seen creating a ruckus after Mamata Banerjee reached the polling booth.

A local lady, while speaking to ABP News, alleged that the Muslims, whom Mamata Banerjee has brought from outside, are not allowing the local Bengalis to cast their votes. “Eta amader Bangali para, Muslim naye” (this is our Bengali area, does not belong to Muslims), an old lady is heard telling the journalist.

Another woman standing beside the old lady alleges that the TMC goons held the latter captive while she went to feed the cows and did not allow her to vote.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in entire Nandigram Assembly constituency. The poll body has deployed 22 companies of central armed police force in the constituency, which has a total of 355 polling booths.

A senior official of the poll body told the media that Nandigram is a sensitive constituency with high profile candidates like Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari. The prohibitory orders will be valid till April 2 midnight.

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