In a major setback to the environmental activists, the Bombay High Court today quashed a fresh plea filed by them for a stay on felling of trees in Aarey. The fresh petitions were filed after the HC had yesterday dismissed petitions against the Metro car shed project in the locality.
In a setback to environmental activists, #BombayHC on Saturday rejected their plea seeking to stay on-going felling of trees at #Aarey for metro car depot.
The plea was urgently moved before the special bench of Bombay HC headed by Justice SC Dharmadhikari by the Environmental activists on Saturday. Activists sought a stay on the ground that they are challenging the judgment before the Supreme Court. However, the Bombay HC dismissed their petition.
So far, 29 people have been arrested and Section 144 has been imposed on the roads leading to Aarey, as protesters started swarming around the region. The court on Friday gave its sanction for the felling of over 2,500 trees for the Metro project.
The fight over Aarey has taken a political turn as not just the opposition, but BJP’s Maharashtra ally Shiv Sena also slammed the government’s decision to continue with the metro project in the Aarey forest area. Aditya Thackeray and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray have vociferously voiced their concerns about the felling of trees in Aarey. Uddhav Thackeray said, “Our government is going to come to power soon and we will see what to do about these murderers of trees.”
Leftist organisations, politicians and environmental activists have been going berserk since the authorities started cutting trees at the proposed site of the Aarey Colony for the Mumbai Metro car shed project last evening.
Social media has been filled with outrageous reactions and remarks by those supporting the activists and their action. There have been protests and section 144 has been imposed in the area to prevent clashes. Last evening the Bombay HC had dismissed all petitions against the tree cutting and had given the authorities the go-ahead.
Amidst this scuffle and chaos, the activities of some ‘activists’ have been drawing hilarious reactions. ANI had shared the image of an activist protesting against the tree felling by ‘hugging’ a tree with a sad expression.
The tree she was she hugging was reportedly at the entrance to the Aarey colony and was not even marked for felling. The Tree number 614 is mentioned in the Tree Authority Order but it is not listed to be cut off.
The social media platform that has somewhat being fed up of self-proclaimed ‘activists’ virtue signalling about the environment while ignoring the plight of common people and the necessity of sustainable development saw some hilarious reactions to the activist’s act.
Amusingly, even the police seems oblivious to the activist hugging a tree, perhaps because the act is outside the area where restrictions are in place.
Twitter users even pointed out that the tree number 614 the activist is hugging is not marked for cutting.
It is notable here that a large number of people on social media do support the metro car shed project as it is intended to reduce pollution and help the overcrowded city with some much-needed options for public transport. Despite the government’s assurance that three times the number of trees felled will be planted, some vested interests have been trying their level best to stall the project.
The vain protests and virtue signalling by people who never pause to think about the environment before using gas-guzzling SUVs, air conditioning and other personal luxuries have been called out on Twitter.
A local leader belonging to Imran Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has distributed burqas among schoolgirls in a village of Rustam valley of Mardan. Union Council Palo Dheri Cheena Village Councillor Muzafar Shah and PTI leader purchased burqas worth Rs 1,00,000 and distributed the full-body veils free of cost to students of the Government Girls Middle School Cheena.
Union Council Palo Dheri Cheena Village Councillor Muzafar Shah boasting his decision said: “I had decided to purchase chadors for the female students, but after consultation with local leaders, I bought the burqas.”
According to the PTI leader, this action, inspired by a notification issued by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chief minister adviser on Elementary and Secondary Education Ziaullah Bangash last month, directing girls to observe purdah, was an effort to ‘guarantee’ the safety of schoolgirls.
“I took the decision after the recent notification issued of our adviser on education to the K-P CM and the act is purely for the providing a secured education environment to the female students in the area,” he said.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government had on September 16, 2019, ordered female students to ‘cover-up’ to protect them from any “unethical incident” from taking place at government schools throughout the province.
Advisor to PTI govt in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on education Ziaullah Bangash said the step was taken to stop female students from being harassed on their way to school. The advisor had invoked Islamic values and cultures to justify this ludicrous decision by the Pakistani government.
Advisor to PTI govt in KP on education Zia Bangash says decision to instruct female students in schools to wear”abayas”is to ensure their safety.”I want to tell those who see the decision negatively that we have to consider Islamic values & our culture when making such decisions” pic.twitter.com/L8uDlYuHXU
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was, however, forced to withdraw this controversial order after widespread public outrage.
This move is ironic considering the pinnacle of patriarchy’s dark side has always been extensively witnessed in Pakistan. Its government has been doing very little to safeguard the rights of women in its country. The biggest disclosure to Imran Khan and his government’s hypocritical approach towards women rights in his ‘Naya Pakistan‘ are the atrocities heaped at the girls belonging to the Hindu minorities in Pakistan and their apathy towards the same.
Terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir lobbed a grenade outside the deputy commissioner’s office in Anantnag leaving at least 10 persons injured today morning. As per news sources, the terrorists flung a grenade on a security patrol outside the heavily protected complex in Anantnag town, 55 km from Srinagar, at around 11 am.
However, the grenade exploded along the roadside, missing its intended target and injured 10 people. Among those hurt include a 12-year-old, a traffic cop and a journalist. 3 persons have sustained critical injuries in the attack. The injured were immediately rushed to district hospital Anantnag for treatment. One of the injured has sustained splinter injuries in the chest and is in critical condition.
The security personnel have sealed off the area and an operation is underway to find and apprehend the terrorists behind the attack. No terror organisation has so far claimed the responsibility for the attack.
This is not the first time terrorists have targeted security forces following the abrogation of Article 370. On September 28, terrorists had hurled grenade at CRPF personnel in downtown Srinagar but they had missed the target then.
After the government scrapped the separate status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two union territories-Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the Intelligence Agencies have flagged alarm about possible terror attacks in 7 Indian states including Jammu and Kashmir. Recently, even the United States has warned India of possible terror attacks in India from Pakistan sponsored terrorists.
In the wake of revocation of Article 370, there has been heightened activity from the terrorists across the border in Pakistan to stoke unrest in the Valley. Asserting that the situation in Kashmir is rapidly coming back to normal, JK governor’s advisor, Farooq Khan said on Sunday that the number of active terrorists in Kashmir has come down to 150-200 from several thousand earlier.
There’s a great churn happening in the Indian ‘rightwing’ today. Social media is rife with arguments that reveal a difference in opinion on the most fundamental of issues. Such differences have always existed but didn’t receive as much traction due to the prevailing political climate. However, as Narendra Modi’s hold over power strengthened more and more, such differences have come to the fore.
It’s not really a secret that there are multiple shades of ‘rightwing’ which, in reality, is much more aptly described as Non-Left. There is the ‘Cultural Right’, the ‘Liberal Right’, the ‘Economic Right’, the ‘Core Right’ and so and so. Broadly speaking, the Cultural Right and Core Right can be clubbed under one category as there is great overlap between the two while the other two can be clubbed together. For purposes of simplicity, we shall call the former ‘Mainstream Right’ and the other ‘Vikas Right’.
Then, there’s the ‘Reactionary Right’ which shares a lot in common with the ‘Mainstream Right’ but has a radical approach to politics and culture itself. It rejects the fundamental basis of modernity itself and lays the emphasis on traditional values and customs. Amidst all this chaos, there’s also the ‘Trad Right’, a prominent subsection of the Reactionary Right that has caused numerous arguments on social media. Often, the ‘Trad Right’ is also involved in virulent arguments with sections of the ‘Cultural Right’ itself and other sections of the Reactionary Right.
There are numerous other divisions as well but for the purpose of simplicity, we shall limit it to these three divisions: The Mainstream Right, The Vikas Right, and the Reactionary Right. The churn in the rightwing is primarily driven by the confrontation between the Reactionary Right and the Vikas Right because both these factions largely agree with the concerns of the Mainstream Right.
The Vikas Right does harbor great sympathy and wishes to live according to western values such as liberalism and secularism. Their main grouse with the Left is that they do not adhere to ‘True Liberalism’ and ‘True Secularism’. They are not against liberalism or secularism per se. The Reactionary Right, on the other hand, completely rejects liberalism and secularism. They consider these to be deeply Christian values that should have no place in India.
The same goes for ideologies such as Feminism. While the Vikas Right voices its support for ‘True Feminism’, the Reactionary Right rejects it completely. Feminism, in all its forms, is considered to be a malaise to society. The same goes for individual liberty. While the Vikas Right believes in the rights and liberty of the individual, the Reactionary Right emphasizes on duty and believes that individual liberty cannot be the basis of a functional society.
There’s also a great difference between the two factions in the manner in which they view Hinduism. The Vikas Right views Hinduism as a free-for-all laissez-faire affair where individuals are free to pursue spirituality however they deem fit. The Reactionary Right, on the other hand, considers Hinduism, like all other religions, to have a strict code of dos and don’ts that must be respected.
The fundamental differences between the two factions were captured perfectly during a recent exchange on Twitter. The argument followed from an article published in Swarajya Mag where the author argued that we should attempt to maximize the economic benefits of our festivals. The essential argument was we should use our festivals as an engine to boost our economy.
Critics of monetising festivals and culture
The Reactionary Right, obviously, treated it with derision and was downright disgusted by the suggestion that our festivals which have deep religious significance should be treated as mere occasions to boost profits.
While the Vikas Right continues to dominate the rightwing intellectual space in the media and elsewhere, the churn in the rightwing and its narrative is dominated greatly by the Reactionary Right. While calls have been made to ostracise the Reactionary Right altogether, such efforts have proven to be utterly futile.
Despite objections from certain quarters, the narrative on the Right has continued to shift in favour of the Reactionary Right. For instance, it is nearly impossible now to be a ‘beefeater and proud’, unlike how it was only a couple of years ago or so.
One reason for this is that the opinions of the Reactionary Right are much more similar to the overwhelming majority of Hindus in India. It is a fact that most Hindus couldn’t care less about liberalism and secularism. It is a fact that such ideas have popularity only among a specific class of people. The vast majority of Indians do not care about such things.
The reasons for these differences go much deeper. The Vikas Right is made up mostly of people who grew up in an era of Western dominance. On the other hand, most of the Reactionary Right are younger and have grown up in an era of Western decadence. The manner in which Western society today is on the verge of collapse has had a great impact on how the Indian youth today perceives values such as liberalism and secularism.
The Reactionary Right has often been compared to the ‘AltRight’ in the United States, however, that is a wildly wrong comparison. The comparison isn’t justified for the same reason that clubbing Hinduism and Christianity together isn’t justified. One is based strictly on race while the other is based on religion and culture.
While there may be a significant difference of opinions between the Reactionary Right and Vikas Right, the fact of the matter is, the latter has paved the way for the former in more ways than one. It is as much due to the scathing criticism of the Left by the Vikas Right that the Reactionary Right got the opportunity to introduce more radical opinions into the debate.
While some people on the Vikas Right may be loathed to admit it but the fact of the matter is, the Reactionary Right has succeeded in shifting the ‘rightwing’ narrative further to the right with each successive turn. The ‘rightwing’ of today is much much further to the right than it was a couple of years ago.
The clearest evidence of it is the rise and rise of Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Until 2015, he was a fringe figure often dubbed a Hindu extremist. In quite a remarkable turn of events, the same comments which resulted in him being branded as fringe by even the Indian rightwing were responsible to him becoming one of the most popular leaders of the BJP at the national level, arguably the third most popular leader after the Modi-Shah duo. And the one group on social media which played the biggest role in mainstreaming him was the Reactionary Right. Everyone else eventually came around to supporting him later on.
Going forward, one would hope that there will be a synthesis of sorts between the two camps. However, that appears to be unlikely. It remains to be seen how things pan out in the next few years or so. But one thing is for certain, these differences are irreconcilable.
Having said that, the Reactionary Right isn’t one uniform tent either. There are lots of separate and divergent factions within the ranks. Just as the rightwing at large can be defined by its opposition to the Left, the Reactionary Right can be defined by its opposition to the Vikas Right.
A cyclist from Kota, Rajasthan has reportedly received death threats over a Whatsapp call from Pakistan. According to a Times Now News report, Nikhil Pal Singh, a cyclist, who is planning a group cycle tour from Kanyakumari to Kashmir has been threatened not to go to Kashmir. He had made a written complaint to Jawahar Nagar police in Kota that the caller threatened him of dire consequences if he ventured into Kashmir.
“Kashmir cycle chalane ke liye nahi hai. Agar aap Kashmir mein gaye toh aap udda diye jaoge (Kashmir is not for cycling. If you go to Kashmir, you will be killed),” the caller told the cyclist on WhatsApp.
While speaking to Times Now News, Nikhil said that he had first received a WhatsApp call on September 25, which he ignored. Today again he received a call from the same number which asked him to call off the group cycle tour which he intended to organise from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. The person threatened him by saying that if he dared to go to Kashmir, he will be eliminated.
Irked by the threat, Nikhil said that he retaliated by saying, “Kashmir tere baap ki nahi hain”, (Kashmir is not your personal property). However, he was unsure whether he should now continue or call off the road trip, he said.
The identity of the caller remains to be established and it is unclear as of now whether the cyclist will embark on the journey after receiving the threats.
The Kota Police has, however, said that the complaint has been registered and the police will be investigating the phone number to reach a conclusion about the credentials of the WhatsApp caller or the number.
Pakistan, which has been rattled ever-since India has gone ahead to repeal Article 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir has been trying every possible way to create unrest in the Valley. Be it from spreading fake and malicious news through fake social media accounts or by pushing terrorism into the valley to by attempting to internationalise the issue, Pakistan has tried every trick up its sleeves to pressurise India but unfortunately has succeeded in none.
Meanwhile, the government has assured that Jammu and Kashmir are returning to normalcy after restrictions were gradually lifted in several parts of the state. The government had taken preventive measures to avoid any kind of violence after the former read down parts of Section 370 of the Constitution which granted special status to the state.
The controversial journalist and former AAP member Ashish Khetan, accused of planting stories in the Tehelka magazine favouring Essar in the 2G scam case, has now joined the group as the Vice President (legal). The 2014 Lok Sabha candidate of AAP, Ashish Khetan updated his Twitter bio confirming his new post in one of India’ biggest multinational conglomerate group based in Mumbai, infamous for its alleged involvement in a case arising from a 2G scam.
Ashish Khetan’ updated Twitter bio
Ashish Khetan, who was fielded as the AAP Delhi constituency candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, was brought into the party by another former member of AAP and senior advocate Prashant Bhushan. Soon the two had a fall out when Khetan’s name was embroiled in the Essar diaries. Bhushan accused Khetan of planting stories in the Tehelka magazine favouring Essar. “Ashish Khetan planted stories for Essar in Tehelka. He wrote stories in favour of 2G accused. Essar paid Tehelka Rs 3 crore for its Thinkfest,” Prashant told CNN-IBN in 2015.
The CBI had named Essar group promoters in its charge sheet on December 12, 2011, alleging they had cheated the Department of Telecommunication by using Loop Telecom as a “front” to secure 2G licences in 2008.
Khetan, who wrote for Tehelka, a media face which talks about morality and ethos had defended Essar in 2G scam case. DNA had in the year 2015, revealed the alleged nexus between various eminent journalists and Essar group which had tried to get its name cleared from the 2G scam case by getting these journalists to write in favour of the company in exchange of aids.
In 2015, DNA India had questioned whether it was a coincidence that the Essar group was also sponsoring media events in Tehelka soon after the magazine printed stories in favour of Essar. In October 2011, Tehelka published a cover story ‘The inconvenient truth of Soni Suri’, written by Tehelka’s then managing editor Shoma Chaudhary on the allegations of the tribal teacher turned Aam Aadmi Party leader Soni Sori having received money from Essar on behalf of Maoists.
Subsequently, in November 2011, Essar group also sponsored Tehelka’s first think fest, held in Goa. Essar chief Prashant Ruia was also a speaker at this event in a session on the second day.
Meanwhile, Ashish Khetan, who was a journalist in 2011, had also defended Essar during the same period by calling CBI’s enquiry a Mad Conspiracy. Khetan had written, “The story was based on meticulous research and brought out the conflicting government records to show how the CBI was adopting different yardsticks for different accused thus making a mockery of a sensitive investigation like a 2G scam.
In a tragic and shocking incident in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a 30-year-old woman jumped from the 13th floor of a building in Khokhra to commit suicide at 7 am on Thursday. However, she landed on top of a 69-year-old man on the ground, who was returning from his daily morning walk.
As per reports, 30-year-old Mamata Hansraj Rathi, a resident of Surat, had come to stay in her brother’s house for her treatment. Mamata was reportedly suffering from multiple illnesses. Her brother Rajendra Bhutda lived on the 13th floor of the Parishkar Apartments building.
Mamata had arrived with her husband and 4-year-old daughter seeking treatment in Ahmedabad and had stayed at her brother’s house. Among other physical ailments, she was reportedly suffering from severe insomnia and had not slept in the last fortnight. She is also said to have been in a disturbed mental state. Mamata’s husband owns a clothing store in Surat. Mamata’s family have informed that she was fed up of her illness and may have been driven to the edge in despair.
As Mamata jumped from the 13th floor, in a terrible turn of fate, she landed on top of one Balu Gamit, a 69-year-old retired teacher who lived on the second floor of the same building. Balu was returning from his morning walk.
Inspector RT Udavat from the Amraiwadi police station has informed Times of India that while Mamata died from the impact, Gamit suffered serious head injuries and died at the spot.
The police had sent both bodies for post-mortem and registered a case for accidental death for now till the investigation completes. They added that while Gamit’s family has been in deep shock, Rathi’s family have locked their house and left for Surat. The police are also examining the CCTV footage from the building.
As per reports, several people have been detained by the police after they tried to stop the authorities from carrying out their job.
Last night, amidst ruckus by activists, Mumbai metro authorities began cutting the trees for proposed car shed. Activists and citizens gathered on the spot to protest against the felling of trees. Some even took to Twitter to spread falsehood that there is a 15-day wait period before the authorities cut the trees.
These claims, however, are incorrect. Although it is true that the Tree Authority did impose a waiting period of 15 days, that period is already over. Activists are saying that the waiting period starts from the date of upload, which is completely false, because the waiting period starts from the date the order was issued.
The US Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders suffered a heart attack three days ago, his campaign confirmed on Friday. The Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate was released from the hospital.
The 78-year-old Senator was at a campaign event in Nevada on Tuesday when he experienced chest discomfort and was rushed to a hospital. He was transferred to Desert Springs hospital medical centre where he was diagnosed with blocked artery leading to a heart stroke.
“Sen. Sanders was diagnosed with myocardial infarction,” his doctors said in the statement on Friday, using the medical term for a heart attack. “Two stents were placed in a blocked coronary artery in a timely fashion. All other arteries were normal. His hospital course was uneventful with good expected progress,” furthered his doctors.
Soon after his discharge, Bernie took to Twitter to thank all his well-wishers and confirmed that “he felt great”.
“After two and a half days in the hospital, I feel great, and after taking a short time off, I look forward to getting back to work,” he said.
Hello everybody! We’re in Las Vegas. I’m feeling so much better.
Thank you for all of the love and warm wishes that you sent me.
He is expected to return to Vermont and has said he plans to appear at the next Democratic debate, on 15 October.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is running for the President 2020 of the United States as a Democratic candidate. Americans will elect the next president of the United States on November 3, 2020. Twenty-three notable elected officials and public figures, 19 Democrats and four Republicans, are running for president. The most popular amongst the Democrats being Tulsi Gabbard and Donald Trump from the Republic.
Recently, he had issued a statement on Kashmir where he had castigated the Indian government for the restrictions on communication and claimed that India’s actions were “unacceptable”. The Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders further called for a “UN-backed peaceful resolution that respects the will of the people of Kashmir.”
The event where Sanders spoke was organized by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which was listed as a co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) Case by the US Government. The HLF and five of its prominent members were convicted by a Texas jury in 2008 for securing funds for the terrorist group Hamas.
The Far-Left Communist’s stance on Kashmir, where he appears to be toeing the line of the Jihadist state of Pakistan, ought not to surprise anyone. In the past, he has praised several violent dictatorships. In the 1980s, the praised Fidel Castro for his inhumane crimes, for which he was slammed by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democrat Primaries.
