After failed attempts to make an impact in the Goa politics, the Aam Aadmi Party seems to be trying extremely hard to make its presence in the Uttarakhand. In pursuit of their political entry into the state, the Aam Aadmi Party leaders are now resorting to ‘challenge’ Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat for a ‘debate’ competition.
Continuing to indulge in ‘debate’ politics, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on Thursday wrote to Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Rawat, inviting him for debate competition in Dehradun to speak on a range of issues. He also invited CM Rawat to visit Delhi on January 6, 2021, to show the alleged development work done by the Kejriwal government.
Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia writes to Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Rawat, inviting him for debate on a range of issues on January 4, 2021 at IRDT auditorium in Dehradun. He has also invited CM Rawat to visit Delhi on January 6, 2021 to show development work done by Kejriwal govt. pic.twitter.com/BpzfBC1oJ9
The insensitive act of indulging in politics by the AAP leader comes at a time when Uttarakhand Chief Minister Rawat is admitted at AIIMS, Delhi after getting contracted with the Chinese pandemic COVID-19. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat was flown to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi on Monday, following a mild infection in his lungs.
Rawat, who tested positive on December 18, was admitted to Doon hospital in Dehradun on Sunday evening.
Despite being aware of the fact that Uttarakhand CM is facing health issues due to the epidemic, Manish Sisodia has hit a new low by inviting him for a debate competition in the coming week to further his political agenda in the state.
AAP’s failed attempts to interfere into other states’ administration
This is not the first time that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders have attempted to interfere in the functioning of states of various governments. Earlier in November, AAP leader Raghav Chadha had descended onto Goa to force Goa Power Minister Nilesh Cabral for a ‘debate’ over the Delhi electricity model as compared to the Goa model.
A war of words had broke on social media between the Chief Ministers of Delhi and Goa after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had accused his Goan counterpart of ignoring local voices under “the Centre’s diktat”. Dr Pramod Sawant had slammed Arvind Kejriwal of indulging in “divisive politics”.
The spat began on Twitter lafter Delhi Chief Minister responded to a news portal’s tweet citing Goa CM Pramod Sawant, as saying that “Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should first fix issues of pollution in his area before getting worried about Goa.”
The Enforcement Directorate, probing the multi-crore PMC Bank Scam in which Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s wife is now embroiled, has attached properties worth Rs 72 crores belonging to one Pravin Raut under PMLA. Pravin Raut is a close relative of Shiv Sena’s motormouth leader Sanjay Raut and has been earlier been questioned and arrested by the ED in the same case.
ED attaches properties worth ₹ 72 crores belonging to Pravin Raut under PMLA in a PMC Bank loan cheating case.
Wife of Sanjay Raut summoned by ED in connection with PMC Bank Scam
Prior to this, we had reported that Sanjay Raut’s wife was summoned by the agency in connection to the same PMC Bank Scam worth over Rs 4,000 crores. As per reports, Varsha Raut was summoned for over a Rs 50 lakh transaction with the wife of Pravin Raut. It is believed to be the same transaction where she allegedly took a loan to buy a property.
“In the probe, some amount has been transferred from the bank account of Pravin Raut to Varsha Raut. ED wanted to know details of that particular transaction,” a source was quoted as saying by TNIE.
Varsh Raut skips three summons sent to her by ED
It is pertinent to note here that Varsha Raut had on December 29 missed the third summon sent to her by the central agency. Earlier, two summons have been issued to Varsha Raut by ED to appear before the agency on December 11 and December 22 and for both summons, the wife of Sanjay Raut had not shown up.
Reportedly, she has sought extension till the 5th of January from the agency.
What is the PMC Bank scam in which Shiv Sena leader’s wife is now embroiled?
The Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank is one of the largest cooperative banks, which was put under scrutiny by the Reserve Bank for fraud and misreporting of bad loans. Later, the bank had admitted that one large account, HDIL was the main reason for the current crisis.
Following this, the Mumbai Police’s EOW had arrested HDIL directors Sarang Wadhawan and Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan in connection with a fraud of over Rs 4,355 crores. According to the reports, PMC Bank officials gave loans to HDIL between the year 2008 and August 2019 despite the Wadhwans defaulting on previous loans.
Former MD of PMC bank, Joy Thomas aka Junaid Khan was also arrested by a special investigation team (SIT) of the EOW of Mumbai Police on the 4th of October, 2019. He had been absconding until then. The EOW had filed an FIR on September 30 last year against HDIL and PMC Bank officials in the PMC bank fraud case.
Later, it was revealed that Joy Thomas, former MD of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank had converted to Islam, married his assistant at the bank as per Islamic rituals in 2012, changed his name to Junaid Khan and owned 10 properties in Pune with his second wife allegedly as part of the Rs 4,355 crore scam.
The Enforcement Directorate had registered a case of money laundering and initiated their own investigation into the scam. Senior NCP leader Praful Patel was also accused of having links with the Wadhwans.
On Friday, India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) approved the emergence use of Covishield vaccine amidst the rising cases of Coronavirus infection. The major development will mark the rollout of the vaccination programme in India.
As per reports, India has become the third country after Britain and Argentina to approve Covishield vaccine for emergency usage. Covishield is developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. It must be pointed out that the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, Serum Institute of India (SII), has been entrusted with the responsibility to manufacture the vaccine in India. Reportedly, SII has stockpiled over 5 crore doses of Covishield vaccine and can begin transporting the vaccines from cold storage to the Indian States, starting this Saturday.
#COVID19 | AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine becomes first to get emergency use approval in India.
Moreover, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla had reportedly informed Inda Today that Covishield vaccine will cost $6 (₹440) per individual if purchased from government stores. However, the vaccine will be priced higher (₹700-₹800) if bought from private markets. Each dose of the vaccine, as targeted by WHO and most international aid organisations, is to cost around 3 dollars.
While speaking about the development, AIIMS Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria informed, “This is very good news that AstraZeneca got approval for its vaccine by UK regulatory authorities. They have robust data and in India and the same vaccine is being developed by the Serum Institute of India. This is a big step forward not only for India but many parts of the world”
Citing sources, Indian Express informed that the locally-developed Coronavirus vaccine by Bharat Biotech may too receive approval from the government. On Wednesday, the vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer Inc has asked for additional time to provide data to support its emergency use.
Covishield was granted emergency approval for usage in The UK on December 30.
Healthcare workers to get vaccinated first
As per reports, the government had decided to provide Coronavirus vaccine shots to the healthcare workers on priority, including doctors, paramedics, nurses and hospital staff. After the healthcare workers, the frontline workers would be next in the line. It was decided in a meeting between the Ministry of Health Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and all state governments’ representatives.
The government has made it clear that there will be no mass vaccination program at first. It will be done on a priority basis, starting with the healthcare workers then frontline workers followed by the people living in hot zone regions. Once all these areas are covered, the rest of the population will be vaccinated. Earlier, the government had made it clear that the vaccination program will be on a voluntary basis, and no one will be forced to take it.
The Kanpur IG range, Mohit Agarwal has ordered a probe after it was found that the SHO of Kanpur’s Bithoor town had been using a car, which was stolen two years ago, for personal use. Confirming that using a seized vehicle was against the law, Mohit Agarwal assured that the entire case would be inquired into and whoever is found responsible would face serious departmental action.
The incident came to the fore when a Kanpur man named Omendra Soni received a call from an auto service centre asking for his feedback about the service of his car that was stolen two years ago. Not only this, but the service centre also informed Soni that the serviced car was returned to Kaushlendra Pratap Singh, a station officer at the Bithoor police station.
Incidentally, Kaushlendra Pratap Singh was one of the cops who got injured in the Bikru ambush, in which Vikas Dubey and his men had killed eight police officers on July 3 last year.
It was only because the SHO had taken the car for service that the matter came out.
The car was stolen on December 31, 2018, informed the Kanpur resident
Omendra Soni confirmed that his vehicle was stolen from the Barra area from a car washing centre on December 31, 2018. He said he had lodged an FIR with the Barra police but the vehicle could not be found.
On Wednesday, Soni got a call from the KTL service centre to ask him if his car was working fine after its service a few days ago. It surprised him as his vehicle was stolen from a car washing centre in the Barra area on December 31, 2018, he said.
“I was surprised at the query. I was told my details were with the centre due to a previous servicing of my Wagon R, that is why the call was placed for feedback,” said Soni.
When Soni learnt from the service station that the car was returned to the SHO of Bithoor police station on December 22, 2020, he was left to wonder why the police did not inform him about having recovered his stolen vehicle.
The accused SHO said he had seized the car after he had found it abandoned
Meanwhile, the SHO was reported as saying in his defence that he had seized the car after he had found it abandoned. The officer, however, did not elaborate on when the vehicle was found. Moreover, when questioned on how a police officer could use a seized vehicle as it was against the rule, Singh kept mum.
According to the procedure, as soon as the car was seized, Bithoor police should have informed Barra police about the recovery of the car, since the missing car complaint was filed in Barra police station. However, Barra police confirmed that it did not receive any intimation from Bithoor police.
The police have now ordered an inquiry into the case.
According to scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), a giant asteroid named 2003 AF23, measuring approximately 180-390 meters in diameter or about as wide as the Golden Gate Bridge is tall, will barrel past earth at 6.9 million kilometres on January 3. The asteroid is currently hurtling through space at an average velocity of 32,400 miles per hour (54,000 kilometers per hour).
The giant asteroid is making its way toward the planet’s vicinity. The near-Earth asteroid (NEA) is it is expected to complete its flyby on Sunday. The asteroid is not expected to collide with Earth during its upcoming flyby and will only get as close as 4.3 million miles (6.9 kilometers) away from the planet’s surface when it passes by.
2003 AF23 is categorized as an Aten asteroid, as per NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Asteroids belonging to this category have Earth-crossing orbits that intersect with that of the planet at a certain point. Fortunately, 2003 AF23 has not been included in the European Space Agency’s Risk List, which means it does not pose a risk to Earth.
Three small NEOs to als fly past the Earth in early January, NASA
Moreover, three additional, small Near Earth Objects (NEOs) will also fly past the Earth in the first days of January. This would include the 15-metre asteroid 2019 YB4 which will fly by at a safe distance of 6.4 million kilometres. This would be followed by two more chunks of cosmic debris in the form of the 15-meter 2020 YA1 and the 21-meter 2020 YP4, which will pass by at 1.5 and 2.1 million kilometers respectively, the next day.
In November last year, the NASA had confirmed that an asteroid discovered in the year 2000 and said to be 0.51km in diameter and as tall as the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa of Dubai, was set to pass within 4,302,775 km of Earth on November 29. However, NASA has cleared that there was zero chance of the asteroid actually hitting our planet.
While the world welcomed the New Year with muted celebrations, amidst the Coronavirus outbreak, France witnessed chaos and vandalism. This is despite the fact that the French government had deployed over one lac security personnel to enforce curfew amidst the pandemic and prevent the recurrent phenomenon of setting vehicles ablaze on New Year’s eve.
Activist Amy Mek tweeted how miscreants in Mulhouse in France attacked law enforcement authorities and firefighters, burnt down cars and hurled Molotov cocktails on New Year’s eve. She informed that french citizens had to remain captive in their own homes like prisoners.
New Years in Mulhouse, France…
“Enrichers” attack law enforcement and firefighters, burn cars and set off molotov cocktails…
In another tweet, Amy Mek stated, “Happy New Year from Sharia Franc. France’s traditional ‘burning of the infidel’s cars’ is taking place. Last year, 1,000+ vehicles were set on fire on the night of December 31. Will France’s cultural enrichers break last years record? I’m sure Macron & his media will cover it up.”
Happy New Year from Sharia Franc
France’s traditional ‘burning of the infidel’s cars’ is taking place
Last year, 1,000+ vehicles were set on fire on the night of December 31
Will France’s cultural enrichers break last years record? I’m sure Macron & his media will cover it up pic.twitter.com/z6Dc4FzPG9
France has witnessed recurrent incidents of car burning. It has assumed the shape of an annual event, prompting authorities to not publicise incidents of car burning to avoid competition in different areas. In 2019, about 1,457 cars were gutted on New Year’s Eve while 1,290 cars were set ablaze in 2018.
In the year 2014, the then French Interior Minister Manuel Valls informed that 1,067 cars were burnt across France on New Year’s Eve. The act of ‘vehicle arson’ had become a commonplace affair in poor suburbs near in the country. Reportedly, this ‘tradition’ began in Strasbourg, adjoining the French border with Germany in the 1980s and then reached its peak in 1990s.
Total number of cars burnt on New Year’s Eve in France
Media coverage and impact
In 1997, the French national media decided to cover the incidents. It encouraged the youth from rival housing estates to actively vandalise cars to grab the media spotlight. According to the then government official Patrice Magnier, there was a direct correlation between the increase in car burning incidents and ‘media focus.’ The police officials and local government bodies failed to curtail the practice, thereby, leading to a new peak between 2005-2009.
2005 riots and a precedent for car burning
In the infamous riots of October 2005, more than 8000 vehicles being burned by the rioters. The perpetrators reportedly included individuals from African and Arab heritage. The riots were triggered following the death of two teenagers in the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois in Paris that lasted about 3 weeks. The riots involved setting buildings ablaze and frequent confrontation of rioters with the police, thereby forcing the French government to declare a state of Emergency.
Screengrab of France 24 news report from 2014
While 879 vehicles were gutted in fire in 2007, the numbers shot up to 1147 by 2009. The cases of arson were much higher in Paris-area housing projects (422 cars burnt) as compared to well-policed Parisian intra muros (12 cars burnt). It was observed that racially tense and poor neighbourhoods in Strasbourg, Lille, Toulouse and Nantes had witnessed higher instances of vehicle arson.
Arson as a way of French dissent
Car burning has now evolved to represent France’s way of ‘protest’. It has been observed that most people involved in arson are poor and often justify their actions as ‘defiance’ for lack of economic opportunities. Besides, such incidents are easy ways to pick up confrontations with law enforcement authorities and make quick bucks through insurance. Besides New Year’s eve, such incidents are also witnessed during France’s National holiday on July 14 (also called Bastille Day).
Screengrab of Time report from 2009
“While annual figures may fluctuate, they’ve generally swelled since the late 1970s, when French suburban youths first started burning cars as a way to get the attention of society, the media and politicians,” reported Time Magazine. It further added, “Later the practice became an ambush tactic to draw law and fire authorities to the scene — where they’d then be attacked by gangs. Now the act works as a manner of daily protest against alienation, discrimination and the indifference of more affluent French society.”
Almost two months after an underage girl was allegedly kidnapped for marriage, the Gorakhpur police arrested the accused Mansoor, 26, from Hamirpur on Thursday. Both the girl and the man belong to different communities.
The accused, Mansoor, a resident of the Hamirpur district, was arrested from the Bhiti Rawat area, the police said. As per Sahjanwa Station House Officer (SHO), Santosh Yadav, the girl had been allegedly kidnapped in November.
The father of the girl had filed a complaint after his daughter had been kidnapped. Acting on the written complaint lodged by her father, a search operation was launched and the girl was traced and rescued on Wednesday this week.
During the probe launched by the police, it came to light that the minor girl was abducted by a man belonging to a different community.
In a bid to defend himself, the accused claimed that the girl was an adult and therefore legally capable of taking her own decisions. The accused, Mansoor cited the girl’s Aadhaar card to claim that she is an adult and asked the police to steer clear of the case. However, the girl’s father presented his daughter’s high school certificate which showed her age to be 17 years.
Section of new law on forced conversion could be slapped based on the medical report: Police
The police SHO confirmed that the high school mark sheet of the girl deemed her to be a minor. Yadav also added after the probe is over, a section of the new law on forced conversion would be added if needed.
“The girl has been sent for a medical check-up. As per her high school mark sheet, she is 17-years-old. The man has been booked under Sections 363 (kidnapping) and 366 (abducting or inducing woman to compel her for marriage) of the IPC and the section of the new law on forced conversion will be added after the medical report confirms her to be a minor,” Yadav said.
The ‘farmer protests’ have given an opportunity to all far-left propagandists to come out of their caves in their attempt to undermine the NDA Government at the centre. A lot of fake news has been peddled by propagandists to fearmonger about the recently passed farm laws. Consistent with their approach, they are now accusing Union Minister Piyush Goyal of ‘threatening’ the farmers.
A video has gone viral where Piyush Goyal and Union Minister for Agriculture NS Tomar can be seen having a colloquial discussion with Rakesh Tikait of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) and other members of the farmer delegation involved in discussions with the Government. In the video, while the context is not clear due to the poor audio, Goyal is heard saying, “We have a list of 40 of your organisations. Do not make me open my mouth.”
This is being used by propagandist to claim that Goyal was threatening the farmers. The claim appears bizarre as farmers can be seen in the same video with a smile on their faces and pretty relaxed in the presence of the Union Ministers.
And even after the Union Minister made the remark, the expressions on the faces of those present don’t suggest that any of them interpreted his words as a threat. There was no discernible change from their previously relaxed expressions. Even more tellingly, Goyal himself appeared to be smiling when he made that comment.
It is pertinent to note that earlier, farmers from across the country have come forward to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and requested the Centre to not bow down to the demands of the protestors. These farmers from various states, including Punjab, have said that the new farm laws have been beneficial to them, and said that these should not be repealed as demanded by the farmers mostly from Punjab.
In fact, we had reported earlier that the protesting farmers from Punjab were upset that the central government was holding talks with farmer bodies of other states. Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body representing as many as 40 farmers bodies, mostly from Punjab, had written to the union government asking it to stop holding talks with farmer bodies of other states. The letter is written by Darshan Pal, who was a founding member of Maoist organisation PDFI.
This letter came after other farmer bodies in other states extended their support to the new farm laws passed by the Centre. The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha accused the government of trying to ‘defame’ the ongoing protests by Punjab farmers who have blocked roads to Delhi, taking the national capital hostage.
It was in this context that Piyush Goyal had informally made that remark when Tikait was expressing his displeasure at the government engaging with several other farmer organisations who were in favour of the laws.
BIG : 30 Dec की बातचीत के बाद किसान नेताओं को सरेआम धमकाते केंद्रीय मंत्री #PiyushGoyal : “ आप लोगों के 40 संगठन की LIST है हमारे पास। ज़्यादा मुँह मत खुलवाओ।” कहने का तरीक़ा और अंदाज़ देखिए।इस अहंकार को देखते हुए कौन कहेगा कि ये सरकार किसानों के आंदोलन को लेकर गंभीर है। pic.twitter.com/xH2Cewc1W5
This meeting was held during the last round of talks between the government and the farmers. While informal sessions are generally the norm, it was not possible earlier because the ‘farmers’ were dining separately, because they used to bring their own food. During this meeting, the ministers joined the farmers during the break and chatted with them informally.
Sources told us that Rakesh Tikait was complaining that the government was holding discussions with farmer groups that were not involved in these protests. In fact, Tikait said that those organisation that were not involved in the meeting (essentially those supporting the farm laws) were ‘not genuine’. At that point, Piyush Goyal responded saying that they have a list of 40 organizations that are part of the protests. And yet, the narrative that is being peddled is that the Union Minister apparently threatened the farmers. It is pretty amazing considering the fact that none of those present interpreted it as such.
‘PIL Activist’ Prashant Bhushan is at the head of the pack. According to him, “we see big mouth Piyush Goel threatening the farmer leaders”.
After failing to quell the farmers protest movement by repression & defamation & watching it grow by the day, the govt was forced to send Rajnath Singh to apologise to the farmers. But here we see big mouth Piyush Goel threatening the farmer leaders pic.twitter.com/YalalQEuB9
Another widely followed propagandist on Twitter commented, “Watch him publicly threaten the farmer leaders.”
As long as venomous @PiyushGoyal is part of the negotiating team, the talks will remain inconclusive. Watch him publicly threaten the farmer leaders. https://t.co/tpEcmBtyzC
Union minister “Piyush Goyal” was caught on camera warning farmers leaders openly.
Look at his body language, he threatens farmers by saying “We’ve a list of 40 people of your organisation. Zyada muh mat khulwao”. pic.twitter.com/981QimRXMo
Newslaundry Columnist Jas Oberoi also claimed that Poyush Goyal had threatened the farmer.
BIG BRAKING :
Union minister “Piyush Goyal” was caught on camera warning farmers leaders openly.
Look at his body language, he threatens farmers by saying “We’ve a list of 40 people of your organisation. Zyada muh mat khulwao”. pic.twitter.com/981QimRXMo
It is important to mention here that the visuals are most likely from Wednesday when the last round of discussions between farmer leaders and the government were held. And today is Friday, and yet, no farmer leader has claimed that he was threatened by the Union Minister. It is only propagandists on social media who are making such claims.
Amusingly enough, the farmer leaders themselves told the press following the meeting was positive. Rakesh Tikait also expressed hope that the matter will be resolved soon after their demands are met. Rakesh Tikait, himself, appeared to be quite in a jolly mood during the interview following the meeting. There was no indication anywhere that he had been threatened. He himself said the meeting was positive.
Misinformation against Laws and Government
Babbar is not the only one who spreading misinformation or indulging in fear-mongering against the union government or the Agriculture laws. Yesterday, OpIndia reported about Katha Vachak Banta Singh Ji who used Gurudwara Bangla Sahib Ji to spread misinformation about the laws. From opposition leaders to Khalsa Aid’s founder Ravi Singh, and from organizations like PFI and SFJ are trying to take advantage of the situation and spread their anti-India propaganda. In fact, only a few days ago, it was revealed that the ‘farmer’ who was demanding that the laws be repealed was a Congress leader who had assets worth well over Rs 600 crores and also had several serious criminal charges against him.
What are the farm laws?
One of the biggest factors plaguing the growth of agriculture sector in the country is the inability of the farmer to find a market and to get a fair price to his produce. To address the issue, the erstwhile governments of different states enacted the Agricultural Produce Market Regulation Acts (APMC Acts), which authorised them to set up and regulate marketing practices in wholesale markets.
The objective of these markets was to ensure that farmers get a fair price for their produce. However, with each passing year, the APMCs turned out to be inefficient with increasing cartelisation of middlemen, ban on private players to enter the trade, increasing corruption etc.
The Modi government recently introduced three bills to promote much easier trade for the farm produce and to provide a competitive market for the producers outside the existing APMC system. The three laws were:
The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020: This law aims at creating additional trading opportunities outside the APMC market yards to help farmers get remunerative prices due to additional competition
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020: This law relates a framework for contract farming through an agreement between a farmer and a buyer prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020: This law aims to regulate the supply of certain food items only under extraordinary circumstances.
It is pertinent to mention that the farm laws are set of three laws that allow farmers to sell their products outside APMC act (most states make it compulsory for the farmers to sell at APMC mandis). It also allows farmers to directly have a contract with corporate houses.
That farm laws don’t do away with APMC, and if someone is not willing to trust markets outside the current system, they are free to stick to the ongoing system. It doesn’t do away with MSPs either. However, the prevalent narrative that seems to be motivated by political concerns falsely claims that APMCs and MSP are being done away with.
They also allege that due to these laws, big corporations would have the upper hand in a deal with farmers, however, that again is a lie. In fact, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 ensures that a contract is agreed upon and gives the farmer the power to even cancel contracts.
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday confirmed that his brother and TMC rebel leader Soumendu Adhikari, who was recently removed from the post of administrator at Contai Municipality, will be joining the BJP with more than 5,000 party leaders and workers.
According to the reports, Suvendu Adhikari, during a meeting in Purba Medinipur, confirmed that his brother Soumendu Adhikari along with a few councillors and 5,000 TMC workers will switch over to the saffron party on Thursday. He also asserted that Mamata Banerjee-led TMC will disintegrate soon.
Suvendu Adhikari, addressing his cadres said, “My younger brother Soumendu will join the BJP in Contai today. He will be accompanied by several councillors and 5,000 TMC grassroots workers. The TMC will steadily disintegrate.”
A week after Suvendu Adhikari joined BJP, Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal removed his brother Soumendu Adhikari from the post of Chairperson of Contai Municipality and replaced him with Siddhartha Maity. The decision was taken by Urban Development & Municipal Affairs ministry led by Firhad Hakim, who is a close aide of CM Mamata Banerjee.
It is interesting to note that just a few days ago, TMC MP and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee had taunted Suvendu for failing to shift his father and brothers from TMC to BJP. He had said, “you have failed to bloom the lotus in your own house. How can you make the lotus bloom in the entire state?” Suvendu Adhikari’s father and Kanthi MP Sisir Kumar Adhikari, his brother and Tamluk MP Dibyendu Adhikari, and Soumendu Adhikari are still leaders of TMC. However, now Soumendu will leave TMC and join BJP following his brother Suvendu.
Soumendu files petition in Calcutta HC challenging his removal
Earlier in the day, Soumendu Adhikari, the brother of BJP leader Suvendhu Adhikari, on Thursday, filed a petition before the Calcutta High Court challenging his removal from the post of administrator of Contai Municipality in Purba Medinipur district.
Soumendu Adhikari in his petition has said that he was illegally removed by the West Bengal government’s Municipal Affairs Department from the post of administrator of the civic body.
Adhikari was the chairman of Contai Municipality till the term of the board expired in 2019. He was then appointed as its administrator since elections were postponed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic situation.
On December 17, Suvendu Adhikari formally quit the Trinamool Congress and joined BJP in presence of Home Minister Amit Shah. Addressing his followers, Suvendhu Adhikari had written a letter blaming Mamata Banerjee for sidelining the party leaders and alleged that Mamata has betrayed the party ideals.
Amidst the ongoing farmers’ protest along the Delhi border, a disturbing video of a supporter of the new farm laws being intimidated and threatened by rabble-rousers in Punjab’s Nakodar is doing the rounds on the internet. In one of the videos, a man named Lalli alias Amit Kumar could be seen encircled by a group of individuals that are dishing out threats against him for supporting the newly introduced agriculture laws.
Lalli aka Amit Kumar is seen in the car stoically recording the incident when a bunch of pro-farmers’ protest supporters accosted him and threatened him for backing the Farm Laws.
“This is Lalli. He supports the Farm Bills and claims they are correct. I’d like to ask you, who feeds you? Come out. Come out. Show some guts. You backstab us after eating food grown by us. You claim Modi is correct? This is correct, you see (brandishing a sword). I will chop you for calling farmers liars,” the man threatening says while pointing towards a car dealer centre and adding, “Why are you putting cars of such a dealer? This is Modi’s man. I will destroy your cars.”
The police informed that a complaint has been filed by the anti-Farm Law protesters against Amit Kumar. Speaking to OpIndia, Station House Officer Jatinder Kumar claimed that the complainant has alleged that Kumar had hurled invectives and abuses at them. He further added that Amit has so far not filed any complaint in the matter. Nonetheless, the police have taken cognisance of the threatening videos that are doing the rounds on social media websites, and a probe has been launched in this regard.
Protesters resort to threats and intimidation to pressurise government into revoking new farm bills
The demonstrators protesting against the farm bills have often resorted to using threats and intimidation to browbeat the government into repealing the new laws. Earlier, the farmers’ protests, which is hijacked by pro-Khalistani supporters, saw participants gloating over the death of former PM Indira Gandhi and forewarning a similar fate to PM Modi if the new laws are not revoked. On one such occasion, the threatening statements against PM Modi were made in presence of AAP leader Amanatullah Khan.
In one of the videos from the protests, a demonstrator was seen threatening PM Modi with dire consequences if the solution is not reached in the upcoming meeting between the farmers and the Centre over the agriculture bills.
“December 3 ko meeting hai, agar hal koi hua toh thik hai nahin toh…aap jaante nahin…hamare shaheed Udham Singh ne goro ko Canada me jake thoka…Indira thok di…Modi ki chhati mein…(If we can hit the whites in Canada, Delhi is nothing. We had bumped off Indira. A similar fate awaits PM Modi if the talks that are scheduled to happen on December 3 do not yield the desired results),” a protester threatened while talking to media.
