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Loyalty to Israel and fellows Jews paramount: Read what convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard said in interview

OpIndia Staff
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Loyalty to Israel and fellows Jews paramount: Read what convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard said in interview

Convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard has made controversial remarks in his first extensive remarks since he was released from prison in 2015, The Jerusalem Post reported. He said that Jews will always have dual loyalty.

“The bottom line on this charge of dual loyalty is, I’m sorry, we’re Jews, and if we’re Jews, we will always have dual loyalty,” Jonathan Pollard has told Israel Hayom in an interview published on Friday.

He told Israel Hayom, “If you don’t like the accusation of double loyalty, then go the f*** home. It’s as simple as that. If you live in a country where you are constantly under that charge, then you don’t belong there. You go home. You come home. If you’re outside Israel, then you live in a society in which you are basically considered unreliable. The bottom line on this charge of dual loyalty is, I’m sorry, we’re Jews, and if we’re Jews, we will always have dual loyalty.”

“American Jewry has one major problem – they consider themselves more American than they do Jews,” he added. Asked what he would tell a Jewish Naval Intelligence officer who had been approached by Mossad to work for Israel, Pollard replied that his advise would be that not doing anything is unacceptable.

“I’d tell him, not doing anything is unacceptable. So simply going home is not acceptable. Making aliyah is not acceptable. You have to make a decision whether your concern for Israel and loyalty to Israel and loyalty to your fellow Jews is more important than your life,” Pollard said.

He added, “Because you know what would probably happen to you if you get caught. It will be hell. But you have to look at yourself every morning in the mirror, and you have to live with yourself. If you do nothing, and you turn your back, or simply make aliyah, and go on with your life, you’ll be no better than those Jews who before and after the destruction of the Temple said, ‘It’s not my responsibility.'”

Jonathan Pollard was arrested in 1985 while he was a civil analyst for the US Navy. He was subsequently convicted on charges of spying on behalf of Israel. His conduct complicated matters for the American Jewish community ties for decades.

‘Pishi continues her khela’: BJP Tweets after another worker found hanging in Medinipur, claims 4 workers killed in last 72 hours

OpIndia Staff
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‘Pishi continues her khela’: BJP Tweets after another worker found hanging in Medinipur, claims 4 workers killed in last 72 hours

The spate of political violence in poll-bound West Bengal has been on the rise. On Friday, the body of a 30-year-old BJP worker named Lal Mohan Soren was found in a forest near his home in Bagmari in the Salboni police station area. The body of the booth secretary of the Medinipur assembly was found hanging from a Jamun tree near his house.

Informing about the brutal incident on Twitter, BJP claimed that Soren’s murder was the fourth such political murder in the state in the last 72 hours.

“Pishi (Mamata Banerjee) continues her ‘khela’ with human lives. Lalmohan Soren, aged 30 and Booth secretary of Medinipur assembly was found hanging this morning. 4 murders in the last 72 hours”, wrote BJP. It alleged that TMC goons have been behind these gruesome acts, the occurrence of which has become extremely common under Mamata Banerjee’s regime.

The BJP alleged that in the last 72 hours, 4 of their party workers have fallen prey to TMC’s political violence in the state.

In a Tweet shared yesterday, BJP informed how two-party karyakartas named Pratap Barman and Dipankar Biswas were brutally murdered in Santipur, Nadia Dakshin by TMC Goons because of their political affiliations.

This twin murder had prompted BJP in West Bengal to call for a 12 hours bandh in the areas falling under the Santipur Assembly constituency on Friday. The bandh was called to protest the murder of Pratap Barman and Dipankar Biswas by the Trinamool Congress party goons.

Similarly, on Wednesday, BJP Mandal President Amit Sarkar was found hanging in Dinhata, Cooch Behar district in West Bengal. The local BJP leaders had alleged that Sarkar was picked up from his residence by TMC cadres, and later, he was found dead mysteriously.

Following the murder of Amit Sarkar, local BJP leaders took to the streets. The enraged BJP Karyakartas reportedly pelted stones at the police and blocked roads in the area. According to reports, they also attacked the office of the Trinamool Congress that was accused of being behind the death. Police retaliated by using brute force. Teargas shells were also fired to disperse the crowd.

Maulana Jarjis lauded Mamata Banerjee for standing up against ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans, urged Muslims in Bengal to vote for her: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Maulana Jarjis lauded Mamata Banerjee for standing up against ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans, urged Muslims in Bengal to vote for her: Read details

Radical Islamist preacher Maulana Jarjis, who was recently seen in a viral video reviling the kin of women as ‘bh*dwas’ for allowing them to roam around without a veil (purdah), had heaped praises on West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for standing up against ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans. 

In a video dated 10 February 2021, Maulana Jarjis was seen not only extolling the TMC chief because she objected to ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan, but also tacitly urged the people of Bengal to support her in the upcoming assembly elections. The hate speech peddler hailed Banerjee as the only politician who has the courage of taking on PM Modi.

Source: YouTube

“People of Bengal, it is the moment of reckoning as the entire world has set its eyes upon you about your decision on the upcoming assembly elections. During an event in West Bengal, when Mamata came on the stage to address the gathering, she was greeted with Jai Shri Ram slogans. How courageously that lady responded to it,” Jarjis said.

This is not the first time that Maulana Jarjis has rallied behind Mamata Banerjee. Maulana Jarjis has been voicing support for Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for sometime now. Reports say that he has been campaigning for TMC in Bengal.

A Zee Hindustan report had highlighted that Jarjis has been instigating Muslims in Bengal against BJP and PM Modi, indirectly pushing them to vote for TMC by spreading fear and hatred. Jarjis’ campaign has been highlighted in media multiple times for instigating hate, and violence.

Maulana Jarjis incites Muslims to take up arms against the government of India

In an earlier video, Jarjis was seen inciting Muslims to take up arms against the government of India. In December 2019, a video of the Maulana was uploaded in which he was seen making vulgar and derogatory remarks against PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah as he rejected the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) bill and falsely claimed them of being anti-Muslim. 

The Maulana in his hate speech audaciously said that if Modi or Shah try to throw them (referring to the Muslim community) out of the country he would take ‘jihad’ to the last corner of India. He said, “inke baap ke baap ke baap ki bhi takat nahi hain ki humme bahar nikaal de (their forefathers also do not have the gall to throw us out of the nation), humme nikaal ke toh dikha Modi, hum bhi jihad karne se peeche nahi hatengein (try throwing us out Modi, we will also not hesitate in waging jihad).”

Mamata Banerjee takes offence for being greeted with ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans, walks out of Netaji’s birth anniversary celebrations

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was seen walking out of the stage refusing to address the public gathered at Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial for Netaji birth anniversary celebrations. WB CM Mamata Banerjee, who was sharing the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, lamented of “being disrespected” because she could not stand the slogans of Jai Shree Ram, Bharat Mata ki Jai, etc when she was invited to address the event.

Lashing out after hearing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans, Mamata Banerjee lamented before walking off the stage: “Inviting people and then disrespecting them does not behove the government. This is a government programme, not a political party’s programme”.

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 Ja”i 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.

Shamima Begum, who had joined ISIS, comes up with a far more innovative excuse for Jihad than Barkha Dutt: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Shamima Begum, who had joined ISIS, comes up with a far more innovative excuse for Jihad than Barkha Dutt: Read details

ISIS Bride Shamima Begum, who had once fled her homeland in the UK to join ISIS, has now come up with a reason to defend why she had joined the terror group six years ago. Shamima Begum, currently fighting a legal battle to enter her erstwhile country, the United Kingdom, said the difficult relationship with her mother “who did not make her feel loved” pushed her to join the Islamic terror group, reports Daily Mail.

In the documentary ‘The Return: Life After ISIS’ which premiered in the US, Shamima Begum described herself as the ‘black sheep of the family’ growing up and claimed that the difficult relationship with her mother, who did not make her feel loved, was one of the reasons for her to join the ISIS. Essentially, Begum held her mother and her ‘lack of love’ responsible for her decision to join the terror group ISIS.

Narrating her story, Begum said that she started watching videos of Syrians being bombed, which made her feel ‘guilty’ and want to defend Muslims. Shamima Begum, infamously referred to as ISIS Bride, revealed, “It just made me sick to my stomach that this was going on in the world and no one is doing anything about it.” Interestingly, while she talks about how she wanted to “defend Muslims”, she seems to momentarily forget that she had earlier said that she joined ISIS because she felt unloved and gives us a window into her radicalisation.

She said that she always wanted to be part of a Muslim community because when she was young, however, she always felt like an outsider in her community.

“So I just wanted to be a part of something my friends started practising (Islam), and they helped me come into the religion as well, and it just started with like learning my religion,” she said.

“And then it turned into wanting to come into Syria, wanting to help the Syrians,” Shamima said in the  90-minute documentary that premiered this week.

Six years back, Shamima Begum ran away from her east London home and went to Syria to join ISIS. Within days of arriving in Syria, Begum was married to Dutch-born jihadist Yago Riedijk, a convert to Islam.

In Syria, she gave birth to three children, all of whom died eventually, and later was locked up in two Kurdish-run detention camps in north-east Syria, following the defeat of ISIS.

Her citizenship was revoked by the UK government on national security grounds after she was found in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019. Last month, the Supreme Court blocked her return to the UK to appeal against the loss of her citizenship.

Shamima Begum does a better job than Barkha Dutt in whitewashing terror crimes

Interestingly, Begum’s justification for fleeing her homeland and joining Jihadi-terror group ISIS seems to far more innovative than what some ideologies in India seem to peddle.

Amusingly, in India, the ‘secular liberal’ champions and far-left media outlets have unsuccessfully tried to push similar, but far less imaginative theories by eulogising and humanising terrorists to whitewash the crimes they commit. Perhaps, the most brazen attempt to whitewash the crimes committed by a terrorist was done by none other than ‘illustrious journalist’ Barkha Dutt.

Soon after terrorist Burhan Wani, then Hizbul Commander in Kashmir was neutralised by the Armed Forces in an encounter in 2016, Dutt lost no time in putting out a tweet describing Wani as a “headmaster’s son” instead of referring to him as a Jihadi terrorist. The murderous Islamist tendencies exhibited by Wani had no significance, however, by plugging his father’s profession as a headmaster of a school, Barkha Dutt had tried to show the “human” face of the terrorist to portray that he was like any commoner after all.

Tweet by Barkha Dutt

Not just this, there have been several attempts by the left-wing media outlets to humanise terrorists and white-wash their crimes so that it is convenient for them to blame the Indian Armed Forces and depict them as some “cold-blooded murderers”. It is also worth mentioning that Barkha Dutt had gone a step ahead to blame the Kashmiri Pandits, who are themselves the victims of Jihadi terrorism, for their genocide and the subsequent exodus of the remaining population from their homeland in Kashmir.

Barkha Dutt had also once tried very hard to peddle the “secessionist” narrative even when the Kashmiris themselves proclaimed that they were doing it for “Islam”. Instead of confronting him, Barkha Dutt steered him to say that he was doing it for Kashmir.

ISIS bride Begum has certainly trumped homegrown ideologues like Barkha Dutt in at least coming up with a far more imaginative excuse for becoming a Jihadi. At least Shamima Begum seems to have made an attempt, even if it is laughable and unbelievable to come up with a sob story that is not already done and dusted. Barkha Dutt on the other hand simply took a page of the Nazi playbook and peddled the ‘economic disparity’ theory while whitewashing the crimes of Kashmiri Jihadis.

One recalls how in a 2004 video, Barkha Dutt proceeded to contextualise the heinous genocide of Hindus. She asserted that one of the reasons for the genocide of Hindus by religious fanatics was because of the economic disparity.

As we had demonstrated in this article, a similar rationale was given by the Nazis of Germany to justify their anti-Semitism and genocide of Jews. Clearly, while Barkha Dutt resorts to plagiarising from the Nazis, Shamima Begum has managed to be original, as far as whitewashing Jihad is concerned. At least on that front, the ISIS bride wins.

Tata Sons, Cyrus Mistry and the Supreme Court verdict: All you need to know about the case

OpIndia Staff
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Tata Sons, Cyrus Mistry and the Supreme Court verdict: All you need to know about the case

On Friday, the Supreme Court of India set aside the order passed by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which reinstated businessman Cyrus Mistry as the Chairman of Tata Sons Limited. The Court order effectively upheld the decision of the Tata Group to remove Mistry from the post in 2016.

The matter appeared before a 3-Judge Bench of the apex court, comprising of Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian. “Company petition no 82/2016 filed by two companies belonging to Shapoorji Pallonji Group shall stand dismissed. Civil Appeal 1802 filed by Cyrus Investments Limited and Sterling Investment Corporation is dismissed. There will be no order as to costs,” the Court ordered.

It further said, “We find all the questions of law are liable to be answered in favour of the appellants, Tata Group and the appeals filed by the Tata Group are liable to be allowed and Shapoorji Pallonji group is liable to be dismissed.” Ratan Tata, who served as the Chairman of Tata Sons Limited between 1991 and 2012, took to Twitter to appreciate the verdict.

Ratan Tata wrote, “I appreciate and am grateful for the judgement passed by the honourable Supreme Court today. It is not an issue of winning or losing. After relentless attacks on my integrity and the ethical conduct of the group, the judgement upholding all the appeals of Tata Sons is a validation of the values and ethics that have always been the guiding principles of the group. It reinforces the fairness and justice displayed by our judiciary.”

The Background of the Case

After Ratan Tata stepped down as the Chairman of Tata Sons, a Selection Committee was formed to appoint the new successor of the Group. Cyrus Mistry’s father Pallonji Mistry owned an 18.4% stake in the conglomerate. Mistry, a Board member and also a part of the Selection Committee was appointed the Chairman of Tata Sons.

In a historic feat, Mistry became the only second Chairman in the 153-year-history of the Group to not have the ‘Tata’ surname. However, his term was short-lived. On October 24, 2016, the majority of the Board of Directors removed him from the position of Chairman. Six months later on February 6, 2017, Cyrus Mistry was removed from the Board of Directors as well.

Following this, two Shapoorji Pallonji firms owned by Mistry’s father moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) claiming Cyrus Mistry’s removal as ‘mismanagement’ and ‘oppression of minority stakeholders. The petition was dismissed by NCLT in July 2018. They then filed an appeal before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

In an unprecedented decision on December 18, 2019, NCLAT not only overturned the NCLT order but also reinstated Cyrus Mistry as the Chairman of Tata Sons. It also declared the appointment of the new Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran as ‘illegal’. NCLAT directed Ratan Tata to not take any decision in advance without the majority of the Board of Directors. Both Tata Group and Mistry moved the apex Court, seeking resolution of the long-standing conflict.

Arguments in favour of Tata Sons in the Supreme Court

On January 10, 2020, the apex court put a stay on the order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) reinstating Cyrus Mistry as the Chairman of Tata Sons. On Friday, the Supreme Court formulated a total of 5 questions, pertaining to the case. All the questions were answered in favour of the Tata conglomerate.

Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Tata Sons, contended that the NCLAT order gave minority shareholders (Shapoorji Pallonji firms) the control of Tata companies. He pointed out that in a ‘normal corporate democracy’, stakeholders with 18% will not have even a single director in the Board of Directors, let alone the position of Executive Chairman. He added that NCLAT’s order to reinstate Cyrus Mistry superseded the wish of the majority of the Board.

Harish Salve stated that bad business decisions, even if it causes loss to the company, cannot be classified under Section 241 of the Companies Act as ‘mismanagement.’ He pointed, “Section 241 refers to the filing of a complaint against ‘the company’ which in this case is Tata Sons. So, a complaint under 241 cannot be based on a litany of allegations against downstream companies like Tata Motors, Corus, Tata Steel etc.”

He further argued that NCLAT does not have absolute power to appoint a Director of a company, even under Section 242(2)(k) of the Companies Act, which makes for such provisions. “The power under Section 242(2)(k) is nuanced and for specific purposes,” Harish Salve pointed out. The Tribunal had cited “just and equitable” reasons in its order. The senior advocate emphasised, “The test is whether there is lack of probity in the running of company and standards for applying the principle (of just and equitable grounds) are very high.”

Arguments in favour of Cyrus Mistry and Shapoorji Pallonji firms

In its cross-appeals, Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) firms claimed that NCLAT did not give ‘crucial reliefs’ to Cyrus Mistry. They claimed that they should be given representation in all committees by the Board of Directors of Tata Sons. SP firms contended that their relationship with Tata Sons dated back 70 years ago and that it was based on ‘mutual relationship’ and trust.

SP firms counter-argued Harsh Salve by claiming that Tata Sons’ Board took decisions about the group companies, which in turn affected the downstream companies. “Decisions taken by Tata Sons if not made correctly affect the downstream companies and that, in turn, will affect Tata Sons shareholders because Tata Sons’ only income is the income from the downstream companies,” they said.

Furthemore, they argued, “In earlier Act, only ‘oppression’ of members was a ground and not ‘prejudice’. Under the 2013 Act, an action can be prejudicial without being oppressive. there have been acts which have been prejudicial to us though not necessarily oppressive.” They claimed that the decision to turn Tata Sons into a private limited company was to prejudice the minority stakeholders.

Given that Tata Sons owned listed companies with over 65 lac crores stake, SP firms pointed out, “f they wanted to keep a family affair, they should have remained so instead of making it public…That is why it needs it be “board run”. They cannot use the Articles to claim that they have absolute right over affairs of the company.”

Supreme Court sets aside NCLAT order, rules in favour of Tata Sons

After hearing both sides, the apex court set aside NCLAT order and ruled in favour of Tata Sons. It also dismissed the plea for ‘alternate relief’ sought by SP Groups. “The valuation of shares of SP Group depends on the value of stake of Tata Sons in listed equities, unlisted equities, immovable assets etc. and also perhaps the funds raised by SP Group on the security pledge of the shares,” the Court said.

It further emphasised, “Therefore, at this stage and in this court, we cannot adjudicate on the fair compensation. We will leave it to the parties to take the article 75 route or any other legally available route in this regard.”

Nikita Tomar murder case: Faridabad fast track court sentences Tauseef and Rehan to life imprisonment

OpIndia Staff
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Nikita Tomar murder case: Faridabad fast track court sentences Tauseef and Rehan to life imprisonment

The district sessions court in Faridabad has ordered life imprisonment for the two convicts in the Nikita Tomar murder case. Tauseef and his friend Rehan were found guilty of killing Nikita Tomar in Ballabgarh, Faridabad, in Haryana by the court on Wednesday. While the court had convicted the two accused of the crime, the quantum of the punishment was not announced on that day. The trial court today ordered life imprisonment for Tauseef and Rehan in the case.

Both the convicts were found guilty under sections 302 (murder), 366 (kidnapping a woman to compel her into marriage), section 506 (criminal intimidation), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC. Both are already in jail since their arrest in October last year.

In October 2020, 21-year-old student Nikita Tomar was shot dead from point black range by Tauseef in full public view outside the Aggarwal college in Ballabgarh, Faridabad. The video of the gruesome act caught on camera had gone viral. The trial for this murder case began on December 1, 2020, in a fast-track court.

The victim’s family has claimed that this was a case of Love Jihad where the accused Tauseef pressurised the victim to embrace Islam and marry him.

It may be noted that the prime accused Tauseef comes from an influential family of Congress leaders. He is a cousin of Congress MLA Aftab Alam, and the grandson of Kabir Ahmed, a Congress leader who was elected as an MLA from Haryana’s Nuh constituency in 1975 and from the Tauru constituency in 1982. Moreover, Tauseef’s late uncle Khurshid Ahmad was a Congress MP of Haryana and was an ex-Cabinet minister of Haryana. Khurshid Ahmed’s son and Taufeeq’s cousin brother Aftab Ahmed was elected as MLA from Nuh, Mewat on the ticket of Congress Party and has been a Minister as well.

Black Lives Matter leader arrested in connection with vandalism of Lincoln statue with faeces, paint and signs: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Black Lives Matter leader arrested in connection with vandalism of Lincoln statue with faeces, paint and signs: Reports

A Black Live Matter leader has been arrested in connection with the vandalism of an Abraham Lincoln statue in Boise, Idaho in the month of February. The suspect has been identified as one Terry Wilson, reported to be a spokesperson for the Boise chapter of Black Lives Matter.

“Officers chased after Wilson and were able to stop him and take him into custody, at which time Wilson was found to be in possession of a firearm, marijuana and drug paraphernalia,” the Idaho Statesmen quoted from a press release by the police. “Wilson was taken to the hospital and was medically cleared before being booked into the Ada County Jail.”

According to the report, Terry Wilson has been charged with “several misdemeanor counts, including injuring monuments, ornaments and public improvements, resisting and obstructing officers, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.”

Terry Wilson claimed to be an associate professor at the Boise State University, however, the University told Daily Wire that he “not a current student nor employee of the university.” An Instagram account associated with him makes his political inclination abundantly clear.

A post on the account rants against ‘fascist’ Donald Trump and ‘neoliberal’ Joe Biden with hashtags included related to the Black Lives Matter. He is suspected of defacing the Abraham Lincoln statue with faeces, paint and signs.

“Vandalism is a crime, never appropriate, and those committing these crimes will be held accountable,” Mayor Lauren McLean had said at the time of the vandalism. “At a time when our democracy is fragile, this is particularly disturbing as President Lincoln sought to keep our fractured nation together and to address the scourge of slavery — losing his life for it.”

“Activists with the Boise chapter of Black Lives Matter drew chalk figures with chalk blood on the sidewalk while demonstrating in front of Council President Elaine Clegg’s North End home,” an August 2020 report by the Idaho Stateman said. “They also drew what appeared to be chalk outlines generally associated with homicide investigations on the sidewalk in front of her house. The outlines had red smears over where the hearts would be.”

The report identified Terry Wilson as a BLM spokesperson and stated that he told them over a phone call that the demonstration at Clegg’s home was due to her vote of approval for Mayor McLean’s 2021 budget that allocated more money for the Boise Police department.

TMC getting nervous in Nandigram? Delegation meets EC to complain about ‘voters being threatened’

OpIndia Staff
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TMC getting nervous in Nandigram? Delegation meets EC to complain about ‘voters being threatened’

As the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections draw closer, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) seems to be getting far more jittery about its prospects than the initially imagined. Today, a TMC delegation comprised of Derek O’ Brien and Kakoli Ghosh visited the Election Commission office in Kolkata regarding elections in Nandigram.

Meeting the Election Commission officials, the delegation of TMC complained about ‘people with criminal records’ living in Nandigram and supposedly threatening voters.

TMC that has a notorious reputation of indulging in political violence seems to have suddenly woken about to its perils. “Many people with criminal records are living in Nandigram, Bhagwanpur & Haripur aren’t voters of constituency. Voters are being scared & threatened. EC should ensure voters’ safety,” said Kakoli Dastidar.

Representation made by TMC to EC

In the letter, TMC claimed that they have “inputs” about BJP planning violence in Nandigram and areas like Khejuri ahead of the polls and on polling day. Further, the letter says that there is “less” deployment of CAPF in the area, perhaps deliberately to ‘favour BJP’.

The letter further urges that additional CAPF is deployed in Nandigram area. The letter also blames Suvendu Adhikari directly of apparently harbouring ‘armed criminals’.

Interestingly, this Hail Mary pass by the TMC could indicate that the party is getting nervous about their prospects in Nandigram.

Talking about the polls in West Bengal recently, Jan Ki Baat founder Pradeep Bhandari told OpIndia, “There is anti-TMC sentiment in Bengal because of corruption, political violence and appeasement that I observed with my team in our 294 constituency travel. If voting happens in a free and fair manner, BJP will form govt, and Mamata Banerjee may also lose Nandigram”.

In OpIndia’s ground report too, while we found that at that time Mamata Banerjee had the edge, Suvendu Adhikari seemed to be on an extremely strong footing in the area and could possibly win if certain issues were addressed.

Nandigram has turned into a prestige battle for Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari who vowed to defeat Mamata Banerjee after quitting TMC to join BJP.

Nandigram is the epicenter of the political storm that propelled Mamata Banerjee to the Chief Minister’s office, helping her oust the Left from the corridors of power. During those days, Suvendu Adhikari was the architect of the Trinamool wave and Mamata’s right hand man.

Since then, a lot of bad blood has developed between the two which culminated with Adhikari’s resignation from the party. Adhikari subsequently joined the BJP. When Mamata Banerjee first announced her decision to contest the elections from the constituency, Adhikari had declared that he will quit politics if he does not defeat her by a margin of at least 50,000 votes.

After a decade, Nandigram again has the opportunity to herald the advent of a new era in Bengal politics. And this time, the battle for Nandigram is not just political, it is personal.

Supreme Court orders the transfer of mafia don Mukhtar Ansari from Punjab jail to Uttar Pradesh

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court orders the transfer of mafia don Mukhtar Ansari from Punjab jail to Uttar Pradesh

Putting an end to the long-drawn tussle between the Uttar Pradesh and the Punjab govt, the Supreme Court Friday ordered the transfer of mafia don turned politician Mukhtar Ansari to jail in Uttar Pradesh. The BSP MLA is currently lodged in a Punjab jail.

The apex court asked the Punjab government to make the arrangements within two weeks and ensure he faces further trials in Uttar Pradesh.

According to reports, the notorious gangster and former Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mukhtar Ansari will be shifted from Rupnagar Jail in Punjab to Uttar Pradesh’s Banda Jail in the coming two weeks.

The order has come after the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath moved the Supreme Court, requesting the latter to direct the Punjab govt and Rupnagar jail authority to immediately hand over the custody of Ansari to them. It had also sought a direction to transfer the criminal proceedings and trial in the extortion case in Punjab to the special court in Allahabad.

Punjab government has been trying very hard to prevent Ansari’s transfer to UP jail

The Congress-led Punjab government, arguing against the transfer in front of a bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and RS Reddy, said that Ansari can appear for cases underway in Uttar Pradesh via video-conferencing.

While the Uttar Pradesh government alleged in the court that there is collusion between Mukhtar Ansari and the Punjab Police, the Amarinder Singh government refuted these allegations.

The Punjab Government, on the other hand, raised questions over the maintainability of the plea filed by the Yogi Adityanath-led government. Appearing for the Punjab government, senior lawyer Dushyant Dave argued before the SC that article 32 is not maintainable in this case and that one state cannot get a case transferred from another state in such a manner.

Senior lawyer and former Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Ansari, submitted to the apex court that the accused has been appearing in all courts. He also argued that Ansari has been even acquitted in some cases.

Meanwhile, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, said that “the respondent (Ansari) had flouted the law when in jail and outside the jail.”

“He is facing more than 50 FIRs. Look at his apprehensions. I am answerable and I have a responsibility in the society,” Mehta added. 

The apex court, however, after listening to both sides, had reserved its order in the case pertaining to the transfer of jailed politician Mukhtar Ansari from Punjab to Uttar Pradesh and ordered that the process be completed in the next two weeks.

Mukhtar Ansari successfully evading the UP police under the custodianship of the Congress-led government in Punjab

Interestingly, in October last year, the Punjab government had put Mukhtar Ansari on ‘bed rest’ for three months when a team of UP Police had visited Punjab to bring back the gangster. This was the fourth time when Uttar Pradesh police had returned empty-handed. Thrice prior to this incident, Mukhtar Ansari managed to evade the UP police with the help of the Punjab authorities.

The gangster-turned-politician has been in Punjab jail since January 2019. Ansari reportedly got himself shifted to Punjab jail fearing threat to his life in UP jails.

Mukhtar Ansari’s endearment for Congress is not unknown. Not many people know that notorious gangster Mukhtar Ansari is the nephew of India’s former Vice President and Congress leader Hamid Ansari. Pertinently, in 2014, Ansari had backed Congress candidate against Modi in Varanasi.

Yogi Adityanath government’s crackdown on Mukhtar Ansari’s illegal empire

While, Mukhtar Ansari was successfully evading the UP police under the custodianship of the Congress-led government in Punjab, back in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP Govt led by Yogi Adityanath continued to crack the whip on the economic empire and armoury of the jailed don. 

On November 1, 2020, the Ghazipur district administration had demolished illegal properties belonging to gangster turned politician Mukhtar Ansari. The district administration demolished Ghazipur situated Hotel Ghazal which was being run by Ansari’s wife and his sons. The hotel was often referred to as Mukhtar Ansari’s ‘Taj Mahal’.

The state government had earlier demolished another illegal property in Dalibagh colony in Lucknow belonging to the Bahujan Samaj Party leader Ansari. The administration seized several properties worth Rs 3.17 crores of aides of Mukhtar Ansari in Jaunpur. The Police also suspended arms licenses of Ansari’s four aides in July.

After admitting Sunrise Hospital had only “temporary permission”, Uddhav Thackeray says “most people” died of COVID-19, not the fire

OpIndia Staff
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After admitting Sunrise Hospital had only “temporary permission”, Uddhav Thackeray says “most people” died of COVID-19, not the fire

Today, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray visited the Dreams Mall which houses the Sunrise Hospital in aftermath of a deadly fire last night, which has claimed at least 10 lives. However, in their respective statements, both the hospital and the Chief Minister have attributed the loss of life to COVID-19 and not the fire. In a statement, CM Uddhav Thackeray said, “Compensation will be given to families of the deceased. Most of the patients who have died were on the ventilator. I offer my condolences and apologies to their families.”

The Maharashtra CM also conceded to granting Sunrise Hospital “temporary permission” in order to operate a COVID-19 Hospital inside a shopping mall. “At some places, we had given permission for temporary hospitals due to the COVID-19 situation last year as per the requirement, and the hospital in the Dreams Mall was one of them. Efforts were made to rescue all but we could not save some patients who were on ventilator support.”, the CM said.

CM Uddhav Thackeray also apologized to the families of the victims of this tragedy, saying, “If there are any lapses or negligence, it will be investigated and action will be taken against those responsible. I apologize to the families who have lost their kin.”

Until Friday early morning, two casualties were reported. The BirhanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reported that two people had died in the fire. The Sunrise hospital, however, refuted the claim saying that those two deaths were not linked to the fire incident. “There were two dead bodies (due to Covid) that were also evacuated. There was no casualty due to fire,” the hospital said in a statement on Friday morning.

“This hospital was started in exceptional circumstances of Covid last year and has helped in saving many patients from Covid deaths. It is functioning with all due compliances like fire licence, nursing home licence etc. The hospital staff did a fantastic job in safely evacuating patients on wheelchairs and beds to the refuge areas and by following the fire drills,” the statement further said.

Contrary to what the hospital said in its statement, BJP leader Kirit Somaniya alleged that Sunrise Hospital had been operating illegally without attaining an occupancy certificate (OC). He alleged that BMC had issued an illegal conditional OC to the hospital during COVID. No safety/fire system was in place, Tweeted the BJP leader.

CNN News 18 has also accessed documents which show that Dreams Mall, Bhandup, flouted fire safety norms. There were no fire safety norms at the mall. Earlier, BMC had carried out an assessment on Mumbai malls regarding the fire safety norms and Dream Mall was amongst the 29 malls which were declared unsafe as it did not comply with the fire safety norms, reports CNN News 18.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Prashant Kadam, around 22 fire tenders reached the hospital to douse the flames. As many as 76 COVID-19 patients were admitted to the hospital, which is located on the third floor of a mall.

Speaking about the incident earlier today, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said, “This is the first time I have seen a hospital in a mall. This is a very serious situation. Seven patients were on ventilators. 70 patients have been taken to another hospital. There will be an investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire.”

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