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Baba Ramdev welcomes restrictions on Palm oil imports by Modi govt, says it will help farmers and domestic refined oil industry

OpIndia Staff
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Baba Ramdev welcomes restrictions on Palm oil imports by Modi govt, says it will help farmers and domestic refined oil industry

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has welcomed the decision of union government restricting the import of refined palm oil. He congratulated prime minister Narendra Modi and Commerce & Industries minister Piyush Goyal for taking such an important decision. In a video message issued on Social Media, the Patanjali group promoter said that the decision will work as a revitaliser for the domestic refined oil industry.

He said that it will be beneficial for farmers, as the imported palm oil was a big concern for domestic palm plantations. Ramdev added that this will have a big impact on edible oil production in the country, which will boost self-reliance in the sector. He said that thousands of people employed in the refined oil industry had lost their jobs, and they will now get fresh opportunities for employment. Ramdev further added that this will help in boosting the GDP, and contribute towards achieving the goal of a $ 5 trillion economy.

Baba Ramdev added that he expects that the govt will take such big and tough decisins regularly.

On January 8, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade had issued a notification moving refined palm oil from free category to restricted category for imports. This change means now importers will have to obtain a licence to import refined palm oil and palmolein into the country.

India is the largest importer of palm oil, with major sources of import being Malaysia, Indonesia and Nepal. Malaysia ships the bulk of palm oil imported by India, which means this country will be most affected by the decision to restrict import of the oil. Moreover, while India imports refined palm oil from Malaysia, from Indonesia largely crude oil is imported. Therefore, although Malaysia’s export will be hit, Indonesia will benefit from the decision as there is no restriction on import of crude oil, and Indian refiners are expected to import increased amount of crude palm oil after the decision.

Due to this reason, it was widely speculated that Indian government had taken the decision in response to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed criticising the Modi government over the recently enacted Citizenship Amendment Act. On 20 December, Mahathir had reportedly said, “I am sorry to see that India, which claims to be a secular state, is now taking action to deprive some Muslims of their citizenship.” He had added that CAA will lead to chaos and instability and everyone will suffer. Before that, he had commented that India had invaded and occupied Kashmir.

But the Indian government has denied the allegations saying the decision was not country-specific and said that decision to restrict refined palm oil import was a commercial decision. Foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said, “When you are looking at issues related to the import of any product from any country there are basically two factors — one is the commercial decision and the other is defined by the trade policy.” Clarifying that import of refined palm oil has only been restricted and not banned, Kumar said, “in this case it is defined by the trade policy. There are basically three categories under which you can import items – open, restricted and prohibited. This is not under prohibited category. So why do you presume that this means imports will be stopped?”

But significantly he added that bilateral relationships between do come into play in taking business decisions. “The state of relationship is one of the factors that businesses look at before doing business,” he had said, further adding, If I am an importer and I have to import a certain product from a country, I would certainly keep that at the back of my mind, as to how the status of the two countries are.”

Commenting on relations with Malaysia, the foreign ministry spokesman said that India and Malaysia have age old ties that the Malaysian government should keep in mind while making statements. He said that India had expressed its concerns on different occasions but the Malaysian government had continued to make remarks in the same vein. India was hopeful that there would be a rethink on the matter at some stage, he added.

Catholic priest Fr Francis D’Britto, who is presiding over this year’s Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, skips traditional Granth-Dindi

Shriya Gune
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Catholic priest Fr Francis D’Britto, who is presiding over this year’s Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, skips traditional Granth-Dindi

In its 93rd edition, Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan is being held in Maharashtra’s Osmanabad from 10th to 12th of January this year.

This year’s Sahitya Sammelan is being presided over by a Catholic priest, Father Francis D’Britto. A religious priest presiding over Marathi Sahitya Sammelan is unprecedented and came as a surprise to many since most of Fr D’Britto’s work relates to Christian religious ideology.

However, amid all criticism and questions, the Sammelan has kick-started today. Following every year’s tradition, there was a ‘Granth-Dindi’ in the morning prior to the inauguration ceremony. This Dindi is a procession with a Palkhi. Dindi is a tradition peculiar to Maharashtra’s bhakti movement and Sant Parampara. The Palkhi in this Dindi (दिंडी) carries Various books and the constitution of India. The Dindi this year was also carrying an idol of goddess Tulajabhavani as the goddess hails from Osmanabad where is Sammelan is being held.

Every year, the president performs a puja and participates in this Dindi. This year breaking this glorious tradition, Fr D’britto declined to participate in the Dindi citing poor health. Questions are being raised over his absence in the Dindi. People are wondering if he was pressurized by the church to skip this Granth-Dindi.

Amid this controversy, one more incident happened at the Sammelan venue. There are bookstalls of various publications and news agencies at the Sammelan venue. One of the stalls was of Mumbai Tarun Bharat, a  well known Marathi media house. 

A police officer suddenly arrived at Mumbai Tarun Bharat’s stall and tried to take Mr Somesh Kolge, the journalist and web sub-editor of MTB in custody. Mr.Kolge and others present there asked why is he being arrested. The officer said that this is by way of preventive measure and they are taking Mr Kolge in custody for enquiry. After everybody asked questions and the officer failed to give any logical justification, the officer backed down. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFu65d0cx4w]

Interestingly, Mumbai Tarun Bharat had earlier asked questions to Fr D’Britto about his stand on forced conversions and various other issues. They had also published an ‘open letter’ to the priest asking him to clarify some issues. This attempt to arrest their journalist seems to have been done with the intention to silence those who ask logical questions. People are hoping that Father D’Britto will give answers to all these questions. People are hoping that he will preside over the Sammelan as a free-thinking writer and not as a catholic priest working to further the church’s agenda. 

Maharashtra’s Mahavikas Aghadi govt must answer why the police are trying to silence the journalists. The govt that supports even the violent student protests must stand up for citizens asking questions without disrupting the peace.

Norway: Four Muslims abduct and threaten to kill Christian evangelist if he does not recite Arabic words, convert to Islam

OpIndia Staff
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Norway: Four Muslims abduct and threaten to kill Christian evangelist if he does not recite Arabic words, convert to Islam

In a shocking incident in Norway, four Muslim men abducted, beat up, and robbed a Christian preacher demanding that he either convert to Islam or be killed, reports Barnabasfund.

According to the reports, the victim identified as Roar Fløttum is involved in preaching regularly and praying for the sick on the streets of the historic northern city of Trondheim, Norway. On 28 November, he was befriended by four men who wanted him to pray for a friend who had “injured his foot and was waiting for an ambulance”.

Read: Punjab: Ailing Sikh man made to read Kalma then thrashed by Muslim neighbour for resisting forced conversion to Islam

However, Christian evangelist Fløttum was abducted, beaten and his bank cards, mobile phone were stolen from him by the Muslim men who wanted him to convert to Islam. They held him hostage and over 10,000 Kr (1000 US dollars) were withdrawn from his accounts.

The abductors forced Christian evangelist Fløttum to recite Arabic words and demanded he “convert to Islam or die” while being held against his will.

Fløttum said, “They wanted me to say a few words in Arabic. I was scared and actually thought they were going to kill me because they said they had a knife and didn’t want witnesses.”

The local police are now investigating the incident, which is first of its kind in the city. However, the police are yet to make any arrests in the case.

Read: Anti-Islam rally in Norway turns violent after SIAN leader is attacked by Muslim man for burning the Quran

Even after the horrific incidents, Fløttum intends to continue his evangelism work in Trondheim. “I am out on the streets a lot and have never before experienced anything like this. It is still early days as I feel traumatised after the event, but I have no plans on letting this incident stop me. I only want to tell others about God’s love,” he said.

Reportedly, there are about that 5.7% of Muslims, mostly Sunni Muslims living in the country as estimated in 2016. There is also a significant minority of Shia Muslims in the country. Trondheim, in the central region, has a small Muslim community that has grown there over the past ten years. The Muslim Society and Masjid al-Salam each have a mosque in the city.

The Trump vs Iran lesson and why we should not surrender to liberal ‘crybullies’

Abhishek Banerjee
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The Trump vs Iran lesson and why we should not surrender to liberal ‘crybullies’

The Trump vs Iran situation: it’s over. Iran didn’t respond. Because there was nothing they could have done. America went in, took out the top general in Iran’s military, turned its back and left.

The Americans had known for years that Soleimani was a key figure behind attacks on US interests. They got their enemy. Iran was left a whimpering, helpless mess.

Everything has quickly recovered after the initial panic of the weekend: oil prices have subsided and the stock market is back to a giddy bull run. The world has moved on from Iran already.

There is a lesson here for all of us in the free world, dealing with the menace of rogue nations anywhere. When you show strength, the rogue nation always runs away. They don’t really have the appetite for a fight.

It is now worth asking why people were so worried over the weekend. Evidently, they feared that the US would get involved in a long and expensive war. Oil prices would go soaring. An already heavily indebted US would have to borrow more and more, shifting the balance of power definitively towards China. For India, which imports a ton of oil and does not share many interests with the Chinese, this would have been bad news.

Why didn’t these fears come true? Because the Trump administration called the bluff of the Iranians. They were not interested in regime change. They did not want to put troops on the ground and invest energy in turning Iran into a democracy. They simply wanted to take out an enemy. They fulfilled their objective and left.

Read: Watch: Ukrainian International Airlines plane catches fire midair before crashing with 180 ppl onboard in Iran

Why didn’t the Iranians react? Because Trump told them he was willing to be as crazy as they were. He listed out 52 sites across Iran that the US military had identified. Liberal critics across the world immediately began whining about how this would be “barbaric.”

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The New York Times article

But the Iranians knew that Trump meant business. That he would not consider anybody’s feelings. That he was willing to bomb them back to the stone age, heritage and all.

That’s why Iran backed out of the fight. Smart move to save their own behinds.

And what of the whining of those liberal critics in democratic countries? Those people are best described as “crybullies.” And they are arguably the most valuable instruments of state power for rogue nations around the world.

See, when it comes to narrative, there is a fundamental asymmetry in the way a country like America faces off with a country like Iran. By definition, free societies are primed to take feelings of everyone into account, including even that of the enemy. The enemy on the other hand has no values, no regard for human life nor for civilization. So they can do whatever they want. This gives them a tactical advantage.

Just think about India and Pakistan. Because we are a responsible power and they are not, they have a much wider range of options than we do. They can sponsor terrorist attacks, they can threaten nuclear holocaust, they can fight conventional war or they can negotiate diplomatically. The choice is always theirs. We however are constrained by concerns about human rights, rules of war, international treaties, the need to not look like warmongers and such. And the fact that we want a prosperous future in the real world right now, instead of an imagined afterlife.

Read: “Pooja, what is this behaviour?” Read how Bigg Boss made an appearance after US bombed Iran leader Soleimani in Iraq

Of course I would take a free society like India over Pakistan any day. But it is a strategic disadvantage that we always have to engage with our rogue neighbor with one hand tied behind our back.

The Pakistanis understand this. And they take full advantage of the situation. Just like the Iranians did. They were able to activate the liberal network all over the world, with questions like:

Why are you being a warmonger?

What about the human rights of civilians?

What about all the evils that America has done?

In a free society, these are important moral questions. But when they get to the point that they paralyze the country and it cannot act against enemies, the liberals can only be called “crybullies.”

The way to shake off the crybullies is to ignore them. Trump did just that. The Iranians got the message and retreated.

Read: Iran raises ‘red flag of doom’ above its tallest mosque symbolising war is coming after US kills top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani

The same happened earlier when Trump decided that the US Embassy in Israel would be moved to Jerusalem. The crybullies warned of apocalypse. But America stood its ground. And it worked.

We in India have been facing the full brunt of the global crybully network for the last several months.

When Article 370 was abrogated, the crybullies spoke much the same language of liberal blackmail. They warned of dire consequences, a long drawn insurgency and a spate of terrorist attacks. Remember how BBC sent people to scour every corner of Kashmir, looking for the smallest chance to blow things out of proportion? But, India held its ground. The stone pelters and terrorists got the message. Kashmir has never been so peaceful as it has been in the months since the big decision in August 2018.

At the moment, India is facing a similar situation over CAA. The crybullies think they can intimidate the government with a fake narrative of victimhood.

We are done arguing with them. They know exactly what they are doing. They know the history of Partition. They know well how Hindus, Sikhs, etc are treated in Islamic countries. They know that CAA is the right thing to do. They just oppose it because they hate Hindus and the legitimately elected government of India.

Crybullies have power only if we give them that power. The moment we start ignoring them, they are nothing.

We have abrogated Article 370 and integrated Jammu & Kashmir fully into India which is our legitimate right. We have started the process of constructing a grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya, which will be an acknowledgement of our cultural identity as a nation. We have passed the Citizenship Amendment Act, which recognizes the injustices of partition and gives relief to marginalized Hindus and Sikhs who are persecuted in Islamic countries. Let’s just go on to the next item of business. Ignore the crybullies.

Fox Studios and makers of movie ‘Chhapaak’ file appeal challenging order asking them to give credit to victim’s lawyer

OpIndia Staff
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Fox Studios and makers of movie ‘Chhapaak’ file appeal challenging order asking them to give credit to victim’s lawyer

A day after Delhi court had ordered the makers of controversial Bollywood movie ‘Chhapaak’ to give due credit to the original victim’s lawyer Aparna Bhat, the Fox Studios and director of the movie Meghna Gulzar have filed an appeal in the Delhi High Court challenging the lower court order.

Aparna Bhat who represented the acid attack victim Laxmi Agarwal in her criminal trial in the Patiala House Court had filed a plea seeking a stay on ‘Chhapaak’ just before the release of the film.

She had posted a message on Facebook saying that while she was the lawyer who represented Laxmi in her arduous legal fight, she has been given no credit in the movie Chhapaak. She had said that she was ‘deeply disturbed post watching the film’ as the makers have not mentioned her name in the film.

Read: Lawyer who represented Laxmi Agarwal files plea in Delhi Court seeking stay on release of Chhapaak: Read why

After hearing lawyer Aparna Bhat’s plea, the Patiala House Court in Delhi on Thursday had ordered Chhapaak director Meghna Gulzaar to give due credit to the lawyer in the movie.

The court order had stated that it has found the claims of the lawyer valid and had ordered the director Meghana Gulzaar to include a slide of actual footage and images in the movie’s credits, declaring “Aparna Bhat continues to fight cases of physical and sexual violence against women” along with a rider that the same is through court orders.

Read: The real story of Chhapaak: When 32-year-old Naeem threw acid on 15-year-old Laxmi’s face because she refused his marriage proposal

The order mentioned that if the screening of the film without the actual footages and images are screened without credit to Aparna Bhat will be a grave injustice and will be akin to preventing the public from knowing about Bhat’s contribution and her efforts.

The Deepika Padukone starrer Bollywood movie “Chhapaak” has found itself surrounded in controversy after Bollywood entertainer Deepika Padukone made a PR stunt on Wednesday by visiting JNU campus to promote her new movie. Deepika Padukone had stood in support of left-wing students who had unleashed violence on students who were registering for the winter semester and took over the server room and made it dysfunctional.

Read: Delhi court orders Meghna Gulzar to give due credit to victim’s lawyer in Chhapaak: Read details

Padukone, to show her solidarity with the students, had chosen to meet accused Aishe Ghosh and her friends while ignoring the real victims who were beaten up by the leftist goons during the registration process.

Govt of India releases notification for Census 2021: Here are the 31 questions that will be asked during the exercise

OpIndia Staff
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Govt of India releases notification for Census 2021: Here are the 31 questions that will be asked during the exercise

Clearing the air of misconception fuelled by the opposition parties regarding the National Population Register and the Census, the Government of India has released a notification for Census 2021 with a set of questions that will be asked to the people at the time of the survey. The notification has included a list of 31 questions that the census officers are tasked to obtain information from the residents.


Citing the powers conferred by Section 3 and Section 17A of the Census Act 1948, the Central Government issued the notification declaring that the house-listing operation of the Census of India 2021 shall take place from April 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020.

In the regard to Census, the notification includes a list of 31 questions for seeking information about the inhabitants. The questions are:-

1. Building number(Municipal or local authority or Census number).

2. Census house number.

3. Predominant material of roof, floor and wall of the census house.

4. Ascertain use of census house.

5. Condition of the census house.

6. Household serial number.

7. Total number of persons normally residing in the household.

8. Name of the head of the household.

9. Sex of the head of the household.

10. Whether the head of the household belongs to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe/Others.

11. Ownership status of the census house.

12. Number of dwelling rooms exclusively in possession of the household.

13. Number of married couples living in the household.

14. Main source of drinking water.

15. Availability of drinking water source.

16. Main side of lighting.

17. Access to latrine.

18. Type of latrine.

19. Waste water outlet.

20. Availability of bathing facility.

21. Availability of kitchen and LPG/PNG connection.

22. Main fuel used for cooking.

23. Radio/Transistor.

24. Television.

25. Access to internet.

26. Laptop/Computer.

27. Telephone/Mobile Phone/Smartphone.

28. Bicycle/Scooter/Motorcycle/Moped.

29. Car/Jeep/Van.

30. Main cereal consumed in the household.

31. Mobile number (for census related communication only).

Read: Rahul Gandhi embarks on his deranged rant against NPR, NRC and CAA again: Here are 10 questions that he must answer

The list of questions to be included in the Census 2021 comes after several protests erupted in various parts of the country following the misinformation campaign around the National Population Register (NPR). The Congress party along with other opposition parties have conflated the NRC, NPR and CAA to fuel anger and discontent among people against the central government.

Traitors of JNU, Nothing will be forgotten: Naxal-style poster seeking revenge on non-left professors and alumni put up inside JNU

OpIndia Staff
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Traitors of JNU, Nothing will be forgotten: Naxal-style poster seeking revenge on non-left professors and alumni put up inside JNU

The independent and the non-left voices in the university campuses including professors, students and alumni of the JNU are being now subjected to targeted harassment following the violence inside the JNU campus on January 5.

The controversial posters with photos and names of the individuals who had spoken against the leftist narrative that has come up inside the university at Shipra hostel. The posters which are allegedly put up by left-wing students union JNUSU indirectly seek revenge on these individuals. Shockingly, the posters referred to them as “Traitors of JNU, Architects of violence”.

Posters that are allegedly put up in JNU

Much like the Maoist posters put up in areas affected with left-wing terrorism, this poster too threatens kangaroo court justice and calls for revenge, just for not parroting the leftist narrative.

As per JNU alumnus Abhinav Prakash, the posters have names and details of four individual who, the left claims to be associated with the ABVP. Along with Dalit scholar and DU professor Abhinav Prakash, who is a JNU alumnus, Dhananjay Singh – Chairperson Center for English Studies and Chief Proctor of JNU, Prakash Chandra Sahoo – Assistant Professor at Centre for the Study of Social Systems and also a warden of Sabarmati hostel, Tapan Bihari – Assistant Professor at Centre for Political Studies in JNU, have all been named as ‘traitors’ in the posters.


Shockingly, the posters which indirectly call for vengeance, claims that these four people had allegedly facilitated the movement of masked goons inside the JNU hostels to beat up the residents. At the bottom of the posters, it reads, “Nothing will be forgotten, nothing will be forgotten”.

Read: NOT SATIRE: Hindus must convert to Islam to prove they are ‘secular’, argues article on Leftist website

Abhinav Prakash has also requested the Delhi police to take action against such posters which are threatening violence and inciting harm and called for action against the culprits who are responsible for posters.

Speaking to OpIndia, Abhinav Prakash said that he had got to know of the violence in JNU only in the evening of 5th and had then pieced together what happened from videos and information emerging. He said that he is targetted often because since 2013, he has been speaking against Left politics. When asked who does he think put these dangerous posters up, he said he has no direct information but suspects the Left activists.

Being a Dalit scholar, Abhinav Prakash was also asked that after the Left is calling for vengeance, what did he think about the Left politics that harps on the rights of Dalits. To this, Prakash said every individual, Dalits as well, who do not support the Left cause is ostracised and this is the hypocrisy of the Left.

Earlier on Sunday, January 5, a large group of masked goons had entered the JNU campus and assaulted students, faculty and other staff members. JNU Student Union president Aishe Ghosh was also attacked and she was injured in the incident.

Prior to that, on January 4, leftist groups had tried to stop students from registering for the winter semester. The students had disrupted the registration process for the winter semester by barging into the Centre for Information System office and cut off the power supply and damaged the servers to protest against the fee hike.

The Delhi Police have now filed an FIR against JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh and 19 others for attacking security guards and vandalizing server room on January 4.

Deepika Padukone knew she is standing beside those who want to see the destruction of India: Union Minister Smriti Irani

OpIndia Staff
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Deepika Padukone knew she is standing beside those who want to see the destruction of India: Union Minister Smriti Irani

In a scathing attack against the actor Deepika Padukone for her recent PR stunt in the JNU, Union Minister Smriti Irani said that the actor knew very well that she is standing in support of the tukde tukde gang that envisages destruction of India.


“Anyone who reads or watches the news is well aware of where they would stand. They would know that they are standing with the people who want to see the destruction of India. They would know that they are standing in support of people who celebrate every time a CRPF soldier is killed. Deepika Padukone too knew she is standing with such people and it’s her stand. It’s her point of view and I don’t want to take that freedom away from her,” Irani said.

Smriti Irani was in Chennai at the closing session of ThinkEdu Conclave 2020 where she alleged that Deepika Padukone’s political affiliations were apparent when in 2011 she supported the Congress party. This was in reference to an interview given by Deepika Padukone in 2011 who had said that she supported former Congress President Rahul Gandhi for the Prime Ministerial position.

Read- The Battle from CAA to JNU: Khilafat 2.0, Communist Fantasies, Petty Politics and the conspiracy of Hong Kong style protests

“Deepika had made her political affiliation clear in 2011 when she supported the Congress party. Her recent stand should not come as a surprise. She has a right to stand with those what to see the destruction of India. I can’t deny her the right. I think the problem that happened is that there were a lot of people who did not know her political affiliations. It was a shock for them,” Irani said.

Extolling the vibrancy of the Indian democracy and simultaneously taking a swipe at the communists, Irani said, “We have so many people with diverse opinions that we have communists yearning to come to power through a democratic process. It’s an oxymoron. As far Deepika is concerned, she has all the right to stand beside people who raised Bharat tere tukde hoge.”

Earlier, Deepika Padukone had stirred a hornet’s nest by visiting the Jawaharlal Nehru University as a part of a PR stunt for her upcoming movie Chhapaak. Three days prior to the release of her film Chhapaak, Deepika Padukone decided to show ‘solidarity’ with students who were imposing a boycott of the classes in the name of protest against the hike in fees. The leftist goons had attacked students who were registering for the winter semester and took over the server room and made it dysfunctional. JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh, whom Deepika met, was found leading a mob on Sunday, 5th January, and is named in an FIR for vandalism by the JNU administration.

Complaint filed in Aligarh police station over ‘Yogi teri kabar khudegi, AMU ke dharti par’ slogans: Watch the video

OpIndia Staff
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Complaint filed in Aligarh police station over ‘Yogi teri kabar khudegi, AMU ke dharti par’ slogans: Watch the video

The anti-CAA riots have raged on in India for the past few weeks with Uttar Pradesh taking the major brunt of it. Islamist mobs had gone on a rampage in the state with several radicals belonging to the Islamist organisation PFI being arrested as well. Now, a complaint has been lodged with the Aligarh police station regarding certain slogans that were chanted against Yogi Adityanath in Aligarh Muslim University. The shocking slogan in the video from AMU says ‘Yogi teri kabar khudegi, AMU ki dharti par’.

Responding to the video of the slogans being shared, Aligarh police had responded that a complaint has been lodged and further investigation is underway.

Tweet by Aligarh police

The video of the ‘Yogi teri kabar khudegi, AMU ki dharti pe’ slogan being raised in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was uploaded by a journalist called Abhay Pratap Singh.


It was in response to this video that the Aligarh Police had responded saying that a complaint had already been lodged regarding the slogans raised in AMU and further investigation was on.

Earlier, the students and the mob associated with the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) had unleashed violent riots against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The ‘students’ of AMU had clashed with UP Police on December 15. The violent rioters had broken a police cordon and fought pitched battles with the security personnel.

Read: ‘Jinnah wali Azadi’ slogans raised at Shaheen Bagh: The true face of anti-CAA protests and what these slogans mean

DGP Singh had informed that 16-17 policemen had received injuries in the violent clashes with students. The police had to fire tear gas shells. The UP Police had also shared images on Twitter where they said the AMU Proctoral team was trying to block the gates and prevent AMU students from going out. The police team, they said, was at AMU circle at that time.

It was reported on January 1st that the Aligarh police has decided to book twelve rioters, including two erstwhile students’ union office-bearers, under the Uttar Pradesh Control of Goonda Act for instigating the Muslim mob.

Read: Delhi: ‘Hinduon se Azadi’ slogans raised at Jamia Nagar where anti-CAB protesters set buses on fire

The Uttar Pradesh police have identified five ex-students through the CCTV footage of December 15, which was provided by the AMU authorities. He said all the five have a criminal history and “are a threat to peace” in the district.

The former students have been identified as Huzaifa Amir, former secretary of the students union, Hamza Sufiyan, former vice president of the students union, Nadeem Ansari, Aamir, Mintoe, and Sarjil Usmani. In addition to these five, the name of AMU’s students’ union president Salman Imtiaz is also included in the FIR.

Among these, Hamza Sufiyan and Huzaifa Amir had been rusticated by the university administration for five years for creating ruckus at the vice chancellor’s office and for allegedly misbehaving with the varsity employees in July 2019.

Freedom of speech and trade through Internet is a fundamental right, says SC asking govt to review all restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir

OpIndia Staff
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Freedom of speech and trade through Internet is a fundamental right, says SC asking govt to review all restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review all orders of restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370 within a week. 

The Supreme Court while delivering a verdict on a batch of petitions on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370, said, “Kashmir has seen a lot of violence. We will try our best to balance human rights and freedoms with the issue of security”.

The top court also observed that indefinite suspension of the internet is not permissible and that repeated orders under Section 144 CrPC will amount to an abuse of power. The Supreme Court also added that the government should publish all orders of restrictions, and should follow the principles of proportionality to adopt less restrictive measures.

“Disagreement does not justify destabilization. The power under Section 144 of CrPC cannot be used as a curb on the legitimate expression of democratic rights. No doubt that the freedom of the press is a right is a part of right under 19(1)(a) and is required in every modern democracy,” the bench said.

On November 27, a three judges bench comprising Justices N V Ramana, R Subhash Reddy and B R Gavai had reserved judgment on a bunch of petitions challenging the constitutionality of Kashmir lockdown, which was imposed in the wake of abrogation of the separate status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 last year.

The court also noted that the Freedom of speech and expression through the medium of the internet is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The restrictions have to follow the principles of proportionality under Article 19(2). 

“Freedom of trade and commerce through the internet is also a constitutionally protected right under Article 19(1)(g). The suspension of the internet for an indefinite period is not permissible and can only be for a reasonable duration and periodic review should be done. The government should publish all orders of prohibition to enable affected persons to challenge the same,” the Supreme Court noted. 

“It is no doubt that freedom of speech is an essential tool in a democratic setup. Freedom of Internet access is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) of free speech,” the apex court added.

The Supreme Court ordered the suspension of the internet should be reviewed forthwith and that such suspension can be only “for a limited time period”. Any order that has been passed to restrict or suspend internet services will be subject to judicial scrutiny, said Justice NV Ramana. Although the apex court didn’t order lifting of the ban on internet, only ordered the review of the same.

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