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Why attack on Indian Parliament is ‘just a great day’ but US Capitol Hill storming is shocking for Indian ‘liberals’

Nirwa Mehta
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Why attack on Indian Parliament is ‘just a great day’ but US Capitol Hill storming is shocking for Indian ‘liberals’

A few hours back thousands of pro-Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol Hill, the federal government building, in a bid to block the transfer of power process. This breach by the mob forced members of the House and Senate to suspend a joint session of Congress which was to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in recently concluded 2020 US election.

That has kind of ‘shocked’ the Indian ‘liberals’. In fact, many used the attack on Capitol Hill to ‘caution’ on how there could be such incident in India too. Have a look.

Rana Ayyub, patron saint of all things alarmist, insinuated that the attack by Trump supporters was a terror attack.

Sagarika Ghose, a self-proclaimed Nehru fan-girl, likened this to democracy in India and called it fragile.

Some like The Wire employee Arfa Khanum Sherwani even compared the Trump supporters storming the Capitol Hill to America’s Babri demolition moment.

Which is kind of weird since Capitol Hill is not a disputed structure standing on remains of what was a Hindu temple. In fact, to put things in perspective, it is more like the Indian Parliament. Where the members of the parliament come and discuss legislations and form policies.

A more appropriate comparison of attack on US parliament building would be the 2001 Indian Parliament attack by the Islamic terrorists. You know how these ‘liberals’ reacted?

Rajdeep Sardesai called it ‘a great day‘.

Sardesai, while narrating the terror attack, said how they were busy holding a picnic on Parliament garden when the terrorists attacked the Parliament. Sardesai asked his cameraperson to ask the guard to close the gate so ‘no other channel could enter’. Those days there were fewer channels and Sardesai was excited at the prospect of doing an exclusive story of the terrorist attack.

Similarly, Afzal Guru, one of the masterminds of the terror attack on Indian Parliament, was hanged on February 9, 2013 at Tihar jail for conspiring against India.

Ayyub called Afzal Guru’s conviction for terror attack on Parliament ‘appeasement of fanatics’ and ‘blot on judicial process’.

Slogans were raised in Jawaharlal Nehru University hailing Afzal Guru. “Afzal hum sharminda hai, tere kaatil zinda hai,” was one of the slogans raised. Umar Khalid, a former JNU student, was indicted by Delhi Police for sedition in the case. He was recently charge sheeted for conspiring for the 2020 Delhi riots.

The Indian ‘liberals’ have rallied and put their weight behind the likes of Umar Khalid and demanded he be released from jail.

So when they express shock and put up dystopian scenarios for India by comparing the same with pro-Trump supporters attacking Capitol Hill, it just appears too hypocritical even by their standards.

Liberals lit the fire that burnt America: What India can learn from the Capitol Hill fiasco

Nupur J Sharma
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Liberals lit the fire that burnt America: What India can learn from the Capitol Hill fiasco

In the wee hours of the morning (Indian time), many of us night-owls watched in horror as Capitol Hill burnt. As lawmakers counted electoral votes certifying Joe Biden as President-Elect, supporters of incumbent President Donald Trump stormed Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Capitol Hill is where the US Senate and House of Representatives are seated at. In the latest update, at least 4 people have died and at least two pipe bombs have been found at the RNC and DNC.

World leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, condemned the violence and urged that all parties ensure the peaceful transfer of power in the United States of America. But as we saw the shocking scenes from the seat of democracy, one has to wonder what led to the violence that left 4 dead and the Capitol Hill breached? For a country that prides itself for being a model for the rest of the world to emulate, what went so horribly wrong?

Strangely, while Washington burnt, one is reminded of an interesting quote from Jimmy Carter. He once said, “The best way to enhance freedom in other lands is to demonstrate here that our democratic process is worthy of emulation”. And that is not a sentiment that is absent today. For a large majority of Americans, the American process is worthy of emulation. Then one simply has to wonder how did the democratic process worthy of emulation end up with 45% Republicans supporting the storming of Capitol Hill?

For India and most of the democratic world, perhaps, the form of democracy that is touted to be that based on which the country functions, is a Deliberative democracy. Essentially, nations assert that any decision taken in the democracy has to go through an authentic deliberative process. But unfortunate as it is, that process has collapsed entirely in the United States and instead there was widespread anarchy and rioting across the country.

In the USA, what we saw in the past few months could perhaps be considered as a prime example of the Left burning the country down to ashes and the worst face of radical democratic thought. With Donald Trump being the great disrupter in American politics, it did not really come as a surprise when ANTIFA, encouraged and egged on by the Liberal politicians and newsmen, proceeded to burn the country down.

While the apparent trigger was the death of George Floyd, and the merits of his death remain an issue for the USA to solve, the ultimate aim of the protests were extremely different. A disruptor had won, unseating the high and mighty cabal of the Left, and the people wanted blood.

For the Left, a democracy only works when their own people occupy the seat of power and the moment that momentum is disrupted, all bets are off. While ANTIFA thugs went around murdering Trump supporters, unleashing violence of the roads, rioting, looting stores and unleashing anarchy, the politicians and media persons not only pandered to the riotous mob, but also defended their unbridled violence.

Sample this statement by Chris Cuomo.

“Who said protests have to be peaceful”, he asked when ANTIFA thugs ran amok.

Pramila Jayapal had hailed the ANTIFA violence as well. “Never stop fighting to make it better”, she said.

Tweet by Pramila Jayapal

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also hailed the “protests” that were burning her own country down. “The whole point of protest is to make people uncomfortable”, she said.

Tweet by AOC

“Everyone beware”. “They will not stop”. “They will not let up and they should not let up”. Kamala Harris, the “president-elect” according to a gaffe by Joe Biden himself, said repeatedly.

To bring some clarity and context to the issue, Donald Trump had earlier declared that the USA will designate Antifa as a terrorist organisation. Antifa is short for ‘anti-fascists’. While numerous people believe anyone who does not endorse fascism is ‘antifa’, in reality, the word has a very specific meaning. It is of great concern now that Antifa India is a thing as well. Antifa is just a fancy name for 21st Century communists.

It is an umbrella term used to denote far-left political ‘activists’, who often employ violent rhetoric to achieve their political objectives. Like their Soviet and Chinese counterparts, these radicals are not fond of freedom of expression and have effectively shut down free speech in universities across the USA. It is also pertinent to note that it is almost entirely an urban phenomenon.

So while Donald Trump wanted to ban ANTIFA, Left politicians and the media fanned the violence and even justified the carnage that was being left in the wake. With months of violence, what precipitated was the final break-down of patience and the result was for the world to see.

Once Trump supporters occupied Capitol Hill, the same politicians and media persons who were justifying ANTIFA violence, began to rue the death of democracy in America and how, the violence at Capitol Hill was the legacy of “fascist Trump”.

Just one of the many tweets came from Pramila Jayapal, who was earlier hailing ANTIFA violence as ‘patriotic protest’. While ANTIFA thugs were patriots, Trump supporters were domestic terrorists.

Tweet by Pramila Jayapal

This phenomenon, however, did not occur in a vacuum. Truth be told, it has become the favoured tactic of the Left and the mainstream media. Their conduct has proved definitively that they are not averse towards violence, they are only opposed to it when their footsoldiers are the ones who have to suffer the consequences for the violence they themselves unleashed. In fact, I would go out on a limb and say that the Left wanted this.

When the Left unleashes violence, they are perfectly aware that violence is a two-way street. When people are pushed to a corner with months of carnage, the retaliation could possibly be brutal and imminent. For a cabal that seems to orchestrate large-scale violence, this possibility, this imminent possibility, was well evident. Therefore, it stands to reason that when the Left unleashes violence, part of their grand plan is to provoke a reaction so they can then paint their political opponents as the terrorists wanting to burn the country down when it was them who lit the fire.

There are important lessons that India can learn from this. The first and foremost being that anarchy on the streets will have consequences. When people see that a particular section of the country is allowed to hold cities at ransom, block highways and bring normal life to a halt because their demands haven’t been met and yet, no action is taken against them and they are allowed to run rampant, then other sections of society will also attempt the same.

It is only a matter of time before complete anarchy erupts if one section of society is constantly permitted to get away with holding cities at random. That is why it is so important that anarchy such as the farmer protests and Shaheen Bagh is not permitted to continue for long. Because it has debilitating effects on the health of a nation. If people come to believe that blocking highways is how one has his demands granted by policymakers, then voting and elections take a back seat.

When that happens, we do not have a democracy anymore. The Left should also be aware that actions have consequences. If they justify lawlessness and anarchy in the name of civil rights protests, it is only a matter of time before their opponents take the same route. And they may not like the results when that happens.

American woman of Pakistan origin claims actor Cezanne Khan who played Anurag Basu on TV, married her for a green card

OpIndia Staff
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American woman of Pakistan origin claims actor Cezanne Khan who played Anurag Basu on TV, married her for a green card

Actor Cezanne Khan, who got fame from his role of Anurag Basu in Kasautii Zindagii Kay, announced that he has been dating someone special and may soon get married to her. Soon after his announcement, a woman from the US who hails from Pakistan has claimed that Khan had married her for a green card and divorced her once he got it. Aisha Pirani, a US citizen of Pakistani descent, claimed that Khan used her and now he is hiding the fact that he was married. Khan, on the other hand, has denied the allegations while calling her an obsessive fan.

Times of India had quoted Aisha Pirani saying that she does not care if he gets married 50 times but questioned about his intentions as he is allegedly hiding the fact that he was married. She said, “He cheated on me and used me to obtain green card in the US and lived off my money. The moment he got the Green Card, he filed for divorce.”

Cezanne Khan and Aisha Pirani (Image: Times of India)

She further added that she had some issues with the first marriage. She met Khan at her husband’s house in Mumbai after which they slowly got close. She claimed that Khan did not even tell his mother about their marriage and she is “an orthodox woman who would want a younger daughter-in-law”. She said that she would have let the matter go as she loves him, but he started cheating on her with his former girlfriend. “When I objected, he started fighting with me,” she added.

Alleged marriage certificate of Cezanne Khan and Aisha (Image: Times of India)
Alleged separation agreement of Cezanne Khan and Aisha (Image: Times of India)
Alleged separation agreement of Cezanne Khan and Aisha (Image: Times of India)

As per Aisha’s claims, the duo got married on April 3, 2015. She claimed that she has proof and alleged that she gave written complaint to the US Immigration authorities and Mumbai Police in March 2020 against Cezanne. She has alleged that Khan has two passports with a different date of births. When Khan learned about the complaint, he allegedly started sending her abusive messages.

‘She is an obsessive fan’ claims Cezanne

Cezanne Khan has denied the allegations and called Aisha an obsessive fan. He said, “I was never married to her. This is a case of an obsessive fan. It’s irrelevant to talk about such people. She is just trying to gain publicity through me.”

He further said that Aisha is his cousin’s wife’s sister who resides in Karachi and that how he knows her. He also alleged that Aisha had been morphing a lot of stuff and posting messages on social media platforms for 2-3 years. “My fans have been asking me whether all this is true. There is a limit to obsession and this is going overboard now. The fact that she was married to me and we are now divorced is her fabrication. I haven’t said anything to her because I know she is obsessive,” he added.

Khan was planning to get married to his current girlfriend who hails from Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, by the end of 2020 but it got postponed due to pandemic. “We will tie the knot this year. She stumped a foodie like me with her biryani. Post dinner, I proposed to her and told her I like her and would want to eat the food she makes all my life,” he said.

On December 28, he had shared a photograph with his girlfriend referring to her as ‘someone special’.

SC raises concern over ‘farmers’ protests turning into another superspreader Tablighi Jamaat event, directs centre to issue guidelines

OpIndia Staff
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SC raises concern over ‘farmers’ protests turning into another superspreader Tablighi Jamaat event, directs centre to issue guidelines

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the central government whether the thousands of protestors camped in and around Delhi to protest over the three farm laws are “protected from COVID-19”. In a significant observation, the apex court bench headed by the Chief Justice of India SA Bobde drew a parallel between the ongoing ‘farmer’ protests and the controversial Tablighi Jamaat congregation in the capital last year that went on to become one of India’s biggest clusters of coronavirus cases.

Hearing the plea that sought action against authorities for allowing Tablighi Jamaat congregation, CJI SA Bobde asked the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, “Do not know whether farmers are protected from COVID? Have you learnt from your experience what happened (referring to the Tablighi congregation)?

The bench also comprising Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian further asked whether farmers protesting at various Delhi borders are taking precaution to contain the spread of the pandemic.

The Chief Justice also observed that the same problem may arise from farmers’ protests too. “I don’t know if farmers are protected from COVID19,”‘ he asked the Solicitor General, who in turn replied, “they (protestors) are not”.

The top court has reportedly asked the centre to file a report on the steps taken so far to contain the pandemic and added it was concerned for precautions not being taken against the spread of COVID in large gatherings. The bench said it is trying to ensure that the pandemic does not spread and directed the Centre to ensure guidelines are strictly followed.

The observations by the Supreme Court came at the hearing of a PIL questioning the role of the Centre and the Delhi Government in allowing the huge congregation at the Tablighi meet in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area in March 2020.

Tablighi Jamaat event that became the coronavirus super-spreader in India.

The Tablighi Jamaat congregation, which took place in Nizamuddin Markaz in the first half of March, became the mega-spreader of coronavirus in India, as many as more than one-third cases in India are linked to that event now. The persons who had attended the event, and their family members and those who came into contact with them are testing positive regularly, contributing the increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the country.

The Tablighi jamaat event in Delhi wreaked havoc in the country. The event produced more than 30 per cent of the total coronavirus cases in the country at the time. The Markaz event was not only attended by Indian Muslims but also foreign nationals.

The alarm bells should have started ringing when seven Indonesian nationals associated with the organization tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus in Telangana after travelling from Delhi to Karimnagar for an Ijtema. However, it was only later that the full scope of the Tablighi Jamaat’s contribution to the spreading of the virus became prominent when nearly 300 Jamaatis in the Delhi’s Banglewali Masjid had to be taken to hospital for suspected coronavirus symptoms, many testing positive eventually.

Anti-farm law protester spreads propaganda mid-air in Indigo flight, flouts aviation norms

OpIndia Staff
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Anti-farm law protester spreads propaganda mid-air in Indigo flight, flouts aviation norms

Propaganda against the central government’s farm reforms is now sky-high, literally. One protester’s video is being circulated on social media platforms in which he was seen spreading misinformation about the Agriculture laws in an Indigo flight to Delhi. It has to be noted that the person not only flouted aviation norms but also did not care about the Covid-19 regulations in place.

The video appears to be a recent one as the man propagating in the flight said the protesters are on roads from last 40-42 days. The man, who appears to be a Sikh, was talking in Punjabi. He said that these protests are not just for the farmers but for the consumers as well. He claimed that the price of agriculture produce is increasing and it will increase further in future because of these Agriculture laws. The protester claimed that they are spreading ‘information’ about the protests on buses, trains and metro etc. so that people know about the ongoing protests.

It is to be noted that while he was speaking, an air hostess asked him to sit down as plane was about to land, but he continued saying he will only take two minutes. The man who appeared to be recording the video asked him to continue irrespective of the air hostess’s request. Towards the end of the video, the announcement to switch off the mobile devices can be heard which is only made when the plane is about to land.

Netizens question how Indigo allowed such an act

According to the regulations issued in August 2020, any passenger who refuses to wear mask can be put in no-fly list by the airline.

The person who was speaking about the farmer protests in the plane was not wearing any protective gear, including mask or face shield. He was putting his life and other passengers’ life in danger in mid-air. Netizens are baffled by the man who was flouting aviation norms.

Indigo Airlines or Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have not reacted to the incident yet.

USA: Congress certifies Electoral College result, Joe Biden to become President despite Trump’s numerous challenges

OpIndia Staff
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USA: Congress certifies Electoral College result, Joe Biden to become President despite Trump’s numerous challenges

The Electoral College vote has been accepted by the US Congress which has certified the victory for Joe Biden in the US Presidential Elections 2020 making him the president-elect of the United States officially. Donald Trump mounted numerous challenges but to no avail.

Joe Biden will take oath as the President of the United States of America on the 20th of January, 2021. Moreover, Democrats have won both the Senate races in Georgia which means that Joe Biden will enter the White House with Democrats controlling both the US Senate and the House.

There was great chaos and anarchy as the electoral votes were being counted. Surreal scenes were observed and Capitol Hill had to be evacuated after Trump supporters breached the premises. They entered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s offices. But 45 per cent of Republicans support the storming of Capitol Hill and 69 per cent either believe there is not much to blame Donald Trump for or there is nothing to blame him for at all.

Pipe bombs were recovered from the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington DC and the media was attacked as well. Four people have reportedly died at the protests.

The Trumpian Reckoning: Trump presidency ends in fire and blood, what it means for the Republican party and the future ahead

K Bhattacharjee
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The Trumpian Reckoning: Trump presidency ends in fire and blood, what it means for the Republican party and the future ahead

The events at Capitol Hill will have great ramifications for US politics for a great time to come. The scenes that emerged from Washington DC were surreal and beggared belief. If 2020 was chaotic, then boy, 2021 is off to an absolutely turbulent start. What was even more shocking, to be fair, were the polls that emerged on the perception of the Capitol Hill anarchy.

Most would have been under the impression that there would be bipartisan consensus regarding the events that transpired. But despite unequivocal condemnation from incumbent US President Donald Trump, the Vice-President and all politicians and commentators in the media, there is significant support among Republicans for the storming of Capitol Hill.

45 per cent support what happened, 69% either believe there is not much to blame Donald Trump for or nothing to blame him for. On the contrary, an overwhelming majority of Democrats believe Trump is responsible for what happened 93% of them believe the protesters are a threat to Democracy. Such widespread disparity is not healthy for any country by any means.

There are also consequences that the Republican Party will have to suffer and it can be safely said that the people most uncomfortable from all of this are the Republican Establishment. Donald Trump is unlikely to be affected by the outcome in any manner.

Trump Presidency ends in Fire and Blood

Anyone who has been observing the Trump presidency would have always had it at the back of his mind that things could turn ugly pretty quick. Unhinged gaslighting from the mainstream media, the RussiaGate propaganda to delegitimize his political win and the legitimizing of left-wing rioting as ‘mostly peaceful protests’ was always going to have devastating impact on democracy in USA.

Therefore, it is hardly any surprise that it has come to this. There was just no way it could have ended on a positive note. The Trump base was told again and again that the election was stolen from their preferred candidate and that Joe Biden is an evil man. The incendiary political rhetoric did contribute to the anarchy that erupted at Capitol Hill.

When powerful elected representatives wish to delegitimize a president and oust him from power on flimsy excuses, they invent delusions such as Russian collusion. When ordinary people feel they have been disenfranchised and the election of a president is illegitimate, they engage in actions such as the ones we witnessed at Washington DC. In the end, four lives have been lost and the famed democracy of USA has been exposed for the sham it is.

To paraphrase a popular quote from Game of Thrones, if anyone thought this had a happy ending, they haven’t been paying attention.

Choices the Republican Party will have to make

It is widely known that Donald Trump was an anomaly even within the ranks of the Republican Party. The Republican establishment was never comfortable with Trump and the vision that he had for the country. A lot of them secretly hoped that after Trump goes away, they will go back to being the party of Bush and Romney.

A lot of them were perhaps even happy when Joe Biden defeated Trump in November 2020. There was very good chance that they could retain control of the Senate and would have a very good chance at taking back the House in 2022. Well, none of them are happy now.

The GOP can no longer return to being the party of Bush and Romney. The Republican base has no tolerance for such characters anymore. It is Trump’s party now and the Republican Party cannot hope to win any major election by ignoring the gigantic section of its base that cares deeply about illegal immigration and less wars.

It is also true that most of the elected representatives do not share the sentiments or concerns of the ordinary GOP voter. There is a reason why a maverick like Donald Trump was elected. It was because he voiced concerns of the electorate that had hitherto been ignored by the political establishment of both parties.

Unless those concerns are addressed, it is unclear how the party can move forward. Moreover, the party loss both the senate races in Georgia as well and with that, they have lost control of the Senate. It is believed that sections of the Republican did not turn up to vote and fringe figures such Nick Fuentes could be seen urging Trump voters to not vote for the Republican party.

There is also the fact that millions and millions of Trump supporters are convinced that the elections were stolen. They also believe that the incumbent president was betrayed by the Republican establishment. Will they turn up to vote red even if their concerns remain unaddressed? It appears extremely unlikely as of now but the future is uncertain and anything could happen.

The Progressives Conundrum

Amidst the chaos, let us not forget that there is an internal rebellion underway within the Democrat Party too. Only a couple of days ago, ‘Fraud Squad’ was trending on social media against ‘Squad members’ such as Alexander Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib because a significant section of progressives believe they have been betrayed by the ‘Squad’ as the progressive elected representatives bowed down to Nancy Pelosi.

Progressives such as Jimmy Dore and others demanded that the ‘Squad’ withhold their votes that were extremely necessary for Nancy Pelosi to be reelected House Speaker unless she agreed to hold a Floor Vote for ‘Medicare for All’. And when the ‘Squad’ did not do so, they were labelled a fraud. It might not have been a huge episode in itself but it might be a sign of things to come.

Just as the Republican Party will be forced to undergo a churn, a similar fate awaits Democrats. Donald Trump as president, ironically as it sounds, acted as the glue that held the Democrat party together. As long as he was there, the Democrat establishment could afford to brush all their own follies under the carpet. They could afford to ignore all calls for introspection after Hillary Clinton’s defeat in 2016 by focusing all their energies on the ‘Big Bad Trump’.

“There’s no room for infighting! We have to defeat Russian puppet Putin stooge tyrannical fascist Donald Trump!” That was the official Democrat line. It afforded them the space to ignore the concerns raised by the Bernie Sanders section of the Democrat base. But with no Trump to act as glue, they will have finally have to address the elephant in the room.

The Road Ahead

Following the chaos at Capitol Hill, Facebook and Twitter removed posts by the US President. Facebook said Trump’s appeal for peace posed further risk of violence and Twitter proceeded to remove three of his tweets and locked him out of his account. The censorship of the incumbent US President reveals that censorship will pretty much be the norm going forward.

Progressives should be concerned with censorship as well. Today, it is the Conservatives but social media will eventually come for them as well, as Jimmy Dore pointed out. We are likely to witness further radicalization on both sides of the political divide in the immediate future. And as we have pointed out earlier, the next four years at the very least is most likely to be defined by intra party conflict within the Republican and the Democrat parties.

It should also not surprise anyone if there is a harsh crackdown on Trump supporters in the immediate aftermath of the storming of Capitol Hill. They are clearly despised section of the populace in the corridors of the power and many might have been only looking for an opportunity to hit them hard. But progressives should not be too happy about that either. Because a crackdown on them could immediately follow.

After instigating chakka jam, ‘Farmer leader’ Rakesh Tikait says protests will continue till 2024

OpIndia Staff
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After instigating chakka jam, ‘Farmer leader’ Rakesh Tikait says protests will continue till 2024

The protesting ‘farmers’, who have stayed put at the national capital’s key entry points since late November to protest against the new farm laws, do not intend to end the agitation anytime soon. ‘Farmer leader’ Rakesh Tikait of the Bharatiya Kisan Union on Thursday told the media that they do not intend to end the agitation anytime before the year 2024.

“Teen sal chalega yeh andolan, 2024 tak jaari rahega” (this agitation will continue for another three years until 2024), said Rakesh Tikait, when a reporter asked him until when do the farmers intend to continue the protest.

‘Farmers’ led by BKU chief Rakesh Tikait take out Tractor March

After the seventh round of talks on agriculture laws between farmers and the Centre on Monday ended in a deadlock, the protesting farmers at the Singhu border have taken out a tractor rally Thursday. The BKU chief said that today’s ‘Tractor March’ would be a trailer of the ‘Republic Day Parade’ scheduled on January 26.

“Today, our tractor rally will go till Dasna, Aligarh road & then return to Ghazipur. This is a rehearsal for a similar rally on 26th January. Next round of talks with the Union Government will be held tomorrow (January 8),” Rakesh Tikait, Spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Union, at Ghazipur border told news agency ANI.

‘Farmer leader’ Rakesh Tikait instigates roadblocks, urges opposition parties to join the protest

It may be recalled that Rakesh Tikait had last week urged the opposition parties to join the protests and had also called for the blocking of roads. He had issued a warning saying that so-called farmers will block both the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways too if their scheduled talks with the government on the three farm laws fail to address their concerns.

These two expressways are now the only route to northern India from Delhi-NCR as farmers have blocked the Singhu border on National Highway-44 which move towards Panipat. the Tikri border on NH-9 that leads to Rohtak and the Auchandi, Safiabad, Piao Maniyari and Saboli entry points have also been blocked by the protestors.

Modus Operandi adopted by the ‘farmers’ similar to that of the anti-CAA protestors

The modus operandi being adopted by these so-called farmers is an exact reproduction of what was taken on by the anti-CAA protestors last year. They too had warned of causing massive inconvenience to the public through ‘Chakka Jam’ in Delhi if the government failed to revoke the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Muslim woman denies abduction by Hindu youth whom she married, says will return to him only if he converts to Islam

OpIndia Staff
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Muslim woman denies abduction by Hindu youth whom she married, says will return to him only if he converts to Islam

A 19-year-old Muslim girl from Auraiya in Uttar Pradesh, who had eloped a Hindu youth in October, returned to her parents and denied allegations that she was abducted by him as alleged by her family members.

According to the reports, a Muslim girl, a resident of Senganpur, had got married to one 20-year-old Akash of neighbouring village Kulgaon on October 12 last year. The lady had said to the police that she went away on her own and got married to the Hindu youth, who ran a cellphone shop at an Arya Samaj temple in Delhi.

Following the marriage, her father had lodged an FIR with Ayana police against the youth claiming that he had kidnapped his daughter with an aim to marry her. Inspector Lalit Kumar said that the police detained the couple and produced them in court on Tuesday following the complaint. The girl in her statement recorded before the magistrate said that she willingly went with the Hindu youth and he did not abduct her.

The youth had said that his parents were ready to accept their relationship. However, the girl’s family and relatives were against their relationship. The family members of the youth have alleged that the family of the girl started threatening them with dire consequences and subsequently approached the police when they learned of their marriage.

Will return to him if he converts to Islam, says the Muslim girl

However, the lady said that she will live with the man only if he converts to Islam and also expressed her intent to be reunited with her family. Following this, she was sent with her parents on Wednesday, the police said.

“In her statement before the magistrate, she said she had gone on her own. She also said that if the youth converts to Islam, she is ready to go with him otherwise she will live with her parents,” said Additional Superintendent of Police, Auraiya, Kamlesh Kumar Dixit.

Sub-inspector Devi Sahay said the woman’s brother approached the police on October 12, alleging that his sister had been abducted by the Hindu man the previous day. He also complained that his sister had taken away Rs 80,000 cash and jewellery along with her at the behest of the man. An FIR was lodged under IPC Section 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage), he added.

The woman also denied that she was abducted, said Auraiya SP Aparna Gautam, saying that they will now examine her statement to the magistrate before deciding on the next course of action in the case.

Polygraph test of main accused in Hathras case shows his location around the crime scene: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Polygraph test of main accused in Hathras case shows his location around the crime scene: Report

In the latest development in the Hathras case, the accused have reportedly been made to undergo polygraph test. According to a report of Amar Ujala, it has been revealed in the polygraph test that the main accused Sandeep was present at the sport at the time of the incident. The report claims that Sandeep either gave a wrong answer or an unclear answer to the questions put up to him during the polygraph test. The questions asked to him during the test related to his whereabouts on the day of the incident.

From the answers given by Sandeep during the test, the agency concluded that he was present around the scene. The four accused namely Sandeep, Ravi, Ramu and Luvkush were taken to Gandhinagar, Gujarat by the CBI in November last year to get their polygraph and brain mapping done.

Family of accused had demanded narco test of victim’s family

The family of the accused had reportedly said that they had no objection regarding the polygraph test but they demanded the test to be conducted on the family of the victim as well. However, the family of the victim had absolutely refused to undergo the test citing ignorance about the same.

According to Jagran, Sandeep had claimed that he had gone out with his father on the day of the incident. The CBI had filed the charge sheet in the case on December 18 last year. The central agency had mentioned in the charge sheet that the victim girl was in a romantic relationship with Sandeep. The CBI had also found records of hundreds of phone calls allegedly exchanged between the victim and Sandeep. The accused were produced in the court a few days ago for the first time since the filing of the incident.

The incident

Last year on September 14, a 19-year old woman was allegedly strangulated. She later succumbed to her injuries on September 29 at Safdurjung hospital in Delhi. The accused were booked for murder. However, later charges of rape were also included.

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