Congress supporter Flynn Remedios, who runs the fake news website IndiaScoops.com which gets regularly shared by Congress leaders and Senior Supreme Court lawyers like Prashant Bhushan, is now charge sheeted by Mumbai Police for criminal defamation and for publishing defamatory material.
As per a report in Mumbai Mirror, Flynn Remedios allegedly lured a model by telling her she is auditioning for the reality show Bigg Boss, gave her a script to read which contained sexual harassment charges against BJP leader Vinod Shelar. This video had then gone viral and Shelar had filed a complaint with the Malad Police Station.
Turns out, the video was made by Flynn Remedios on directions of Brijesh Keshav Prasad Singh, a former BJP leader and Vinod Shelar’s rival. Remedios, Singh and another of Singh’s associate Rahul Singh are now charged with criminal defamation and for publishing defamatory material.
The model, who is now a witness in the case, has alleged that she did not even know who Vinod Shelar was. She had simply recorded the ‘script’ provided to her for what she believed was an audition for Bigg Boss. She says that Remedios had promised her a ‘wild card’ entry in the show hosted by Salman Khan. Her statement is recorded in presence of a magistrate and the same is admissible in court as evidence.
As per the report, the ‘news’ of molestation was first shared on scoops.indiascoops.com, a forum on the dubious website which spreads fake news by using soft-porn articles to draw traffic. While there was no video attached to the story, the report said that the model tried to file a case, but since Police refused to, she was moving court. However, when Shelar said that no such incident took place and that Malad Police could corroborate that no woman had approached them, Remedios panicked and record the video.
Remedios was reportedly paid Rs 17,500 in three instalments and was promised more if more media outlets pick up the story. As per the charge sheet, the call records and chat conversations between the woman and Remedios suggest that the woman was indeed tricked into believing that she was recording for an audition. “The technical evidence gathered points to Brijesh Singh and Rahul Singh’s involvement in this,” the charge sheet reads.
While Brijesh Singh as denied his involvement, Remedios has been unreachable.
This is not the first time Remedios has used his soft-porn website to spread fake news. In fact, Remedios even seems to be creating ‘fictional’ people to create fake sleazy stories on rapes and molestation. We had exposed earlier how the website indiascoops.com had four stories of ‘leaking nude images’ of models and starlets by an obscure Tamil film director who exists only on his website.
In fact, in one of his articles, he had also claimed another aspiring model of accusing an unnamed ‘UP BJP Neta’ with ‘links to CM Yogi Adityanath and PMO’ of blackmail, molestation and sexual harassment. So clearly, Flynn Remedios fabricating false stories against BJP leaders, perhaps in an attempt to later blackmail them or for his own political gain, is not a new thing.
What is more shocking is Congress and Aam Aadmi Party leaders as well as various media persons sharing such fake stories by Flynn Remedios to further their agenda.
The Supreme Court has declined an urgent hearing of a petition against the promo of the movie “The Accidental Prime Minister”. The movie is a biopic on Manmohan Singh’s tenure as Prime Minister. As per reports, CJI stated that there will be no urgent hearing and the matter will be listed in due course.
The movie featuring Anupam Kher in the lead has ruffled a lot of feathers. There have been numerous petitions filed in the Courts against the movie.
A Congress leader from Punjab had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court to stall the release of the movie. On January 3, a lawyer named Sudhir Kumar Ojha filed a case against the actors of the movie for ‘damaging the image of some top people’. The case was filed in Muzaffarpur’s Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court on January 3. Acting on which, the court had asked the police to launch FIR against Anupam Kher (portraying Manmohan Singh) and Akshay Khanna(portraying author of the book, Sanjaya Baru), along with 13 others.
A similar plea was also filed at Delhi High court by a fashion designer, Pooja Mahajan through lawyer Arun Mattri. The high court had rejected the plea and asked the petitioner to convert her plea into a PIL. Following which on 8 January a PIL was filed in the court, which was to be heard on January 9. However, the PIL also couldn’t make an effect and was rejected by the Delhi HC again. The court also questioned the locus of the petitioner. After that, the petitioner had moved to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court under Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has adopted a stricter stance against PILs. In October 2018, a bench that included CJI Gogoi dismissed Prashant Bhushan’s petition seeking a stay on the deportation of Rohingyas. The same month, the Court had dismissed a petition by senior Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Sachin Pilot seeking orders to the Election Commission to provide the draft voter list in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in text format. In December, the Court had imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 on the petitioner for a frivolous PIL against Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
For the prosperity of any country, there is a need for its people to be united under a single banner. We have our national symbols like our Flags, Anthems, Emblems and so on and so forth. However, there is a need for an abstract ideal, a vision of a future, towards which a country’s people can aspire for.
The United States of America has American Exceptionalism etched into its national character. The Chinese have ‘Tianxia’ or ‘All Under Heaven’ which defines their purpose in this world. For the Japanese, it’s the Royal Line of Amaterasu which provides them with the grand narrative of their country. The British have their Monarchy and their strength derived from it.
Indians have been deprived of a grand narrative for as long as we have been independent. We have been independent for over 70 years and yet, we haven’t really defined our purpose in this world. Why does India exist? What is India’s place in this world? What is the great purpose that India is meant to serve? These are questions the answers to which we have to discover for ourselves if we are to become a dominant political force in the world.
In this article, I shall make an attempt to answer some of these existential questions. Surely, there are others far more intellectually superior than I am who are more suited to provide answers to such queries. With my limited knowledge and utmost humility, I make this attempt in the hope that it may inspire, by some stroke of great fortune, other great minds to delve upon such matters.
A Grand Narrative, by its very definition, must clearly explain the purpose of a nation’s existence. It must encompass, or at least strive to, the story of a nation from ancient history, or at least since the conception of nation-states, to a time in the great unforeseeable future.
This poses a certain challenge for India because if we are to endorse the liberal perception of the Indian state, then we are merely seventy-odd years old and a nation that is merely seventy years old has no history. It’s not unsurprising then that India hasn’t been able to come up with its own Grand Narrative as the intellectual corridors of the country continue to be dominated by people of a liberal or Marxist bent. Thus, if we are to formulate a Grand Narrative for our country, then we ought to reject outright the liberal perception of the Indian state.
Fortunately for us, there is an alternative that is readily available to us. It is the Hindutva perception of India. According to Hindutva ideologues, the Indian state is a political union of Hindus under a single nation-state. The Indian state, they say, is the custodian of the Hindu Civilization and its foremost duty is to ensure the continued existence of Hinduism. It does provide the foundation for a vision worthy of being a Grand Narrative.
Let us first evaluate the circumstances of our times. Our world is dominated by two Abrahamic religions: Christianity and Islam. There is another Abrahamic religion which is another potent regional force: Israel. They are all essentially different versions of a single memeplex: Monotheism. Our world currently is dominated by monotheism. Apart from Japan and China and India and a few other small countries, there are hardly countries today where Polytheism exerts any significant influence. Even China, it’s officially a Communist state but it has invariably displayed a tendency over the years to preserve its traditional heritage. And Japan, apart from the Grand Narrative, its people are also united by a shared race.
Thus, we arrive at a simple conclusion. India is the only heterogeneous country in the world today where the multiplicity of the Divine is not merely a stated proposition but a living reality for over a billion people. Where else would we find such a diverse community of people who worship a multitude of Gods with equal fervour? Where else would we find such a vibrant community of people for whom a multiplicity of the Divine is the normal order of the Universe? Quite unfortunately and it is with great grief that I say, there is no country which embodies such values today. India stands alone. This fact is important and I believe it would be part of our Grand Narrative.
Source: @OGSaffron (Twitter)
There is another concept that has captured the Indian imagination for a long time. It is believed that there was a time, in stark contrast to the times we are living in, where Bharata was a beacon of wisdom for the whole world. Our ancestors spurned a tale of unfathomable prosperity, our land teemed with exquisite works of Art and Architecture, our Bards and Poets and Authors composed works of Literature which were unparalleled in their magnificence. Our land was home to a great many wise men who embarked upon foreign shores and spread our ideas to the world. A great many wise men borne across the world traversed great stretches of land to set their foot upon the sacred soil of Bharata and taste the fountain of wisdom that flows from its sacred rivers. We were ‘VishvaGuru’ and there is an emotional sentiment attached to that word that has not yet escaped our consciousness.
There is one question that needs to be addressed at this juncture. If we did manage to become ‘VishvaGuru’ again at any certain point of time in future, what is it that we will teach the world? What are the things that we can teach the world that it is so lacking? Historically, we have inspired the world through our philosophy. Therefore, as ‘VishavaGuru’, what is the one great philosophy that we can teach the rest of the world? As we have discussed previously, there is something extremely exclusive that we can teach the world, something our people experience every day as the routine state of affairs: The Multiplicity of the Divine. In simple words, Polytheism.
These are abstract concepts that we have discussed thus far. There is an urgent need to address a very pressing query. Who are we? And when did we come to exist as a nation? There are very complicated questions but fortunately for me, these questions have already been answered by intellectual stalwarts much before I was even born. It is on the path they forged that I now humbly tread, the path illuminated by the wisdom that was bestowed on those great men by the Devas themselves.
Without digressing any further, I put my faith in the shining wisdom of the great Hindutva stalwarts before me and say proudly that I am a Hindu. That we are Hindus and that is our identity. But again, the word Hindu is a headlight, we need a flashlight. That predicament has also been solved for me, fortunately. We are Hindus and we are descendants of the great Monarch Bharata after whom our nation is so fondly named. We are the descendants of Bharata and His subjects. Now that, dear readers, is a flashlight.
Thus, in my imagination, there are three essential components of our Grand Narrative as Indians. Firstly, India is the last bastion of Polytheism. Secondly, As VishvaGuru, we must teach the people of the world about the multiplicity of the Divine. Thirdly, we are the descendants of the Great Monarch Bharata and his subjects.
Therefore, in a synthesis of these three distinct components, I conclude that the Grand Narrative of our nation should be described thus: We are the descendants of Bharata and his subjects upon whose shoulders rests the destiny of Polytheism. And the knowledge of the multiplicity of the Divine is the greatest gift that we could offer to the world.
The ancient Romans are gone and the great Roman Gods haven’t been worshipped for many centuries. The ancient Greeks are gone and hardly remain to offer sacrifices to the Gods. Similar has been the fate of the ancient Egyptians. But we, the Hindus, are still right here. Our Gods haven’t abandoned us. And we haven’t abandoned Them.
Dedication made by a priest of Jupiter Dolichenus on behalf of the well-being (salus) of the emperors, to Sol Invictus and the Genius of the military unit equites singulares Augusti Source: Wikipedia
Thus, I have finished the elaboration of my perception on what should be the Grand Narrative for India. But we need a simple word to describe our Grand Narrative. We cannot use a couple of sentences every time someone wishes to gain knowledge of our Grand Narrative. And there is only one word that I believe which could perfectly encapsulate our Grand Narrative. It is a description of our culture and Sanskriti. And it appears to me that it only fitting that our Grand Narrative be called by that name.
We are all familiar with the word. The word represents the order that we see in nature. The word represents the cosmos and everything that lies beyond. The word explains the nature of our Sanskriti. The words explain our love, devotion and dedication towards our Gods. The word denotes the sacrifices that parents make for the welfare our his children. The word explains the valour of our ancestors on the face of great adversity. It is the one word that encapsulates the entirety of our philosophy over the course of thousands and thousands of years. The word is Dharma.
It is India’s Dharma to ensure that the knowledge of the multiplicity of the Divine is not lost to the fanaticism of monotheistic religions. It is the sacred duty that we have been entrusted with. And it is this sacred duty that defines the great purpose that we must serve in the world.
On 9th January, Rajya Sabha passed the 124th constitution amendment bill granting 10% reservation to the economically backward section not covered under the existing reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs. The bill was passed by Lok Sabha on 8th January and is all set to become a law after the President of India signs it. Since the bill was announced by the government, various kinds of misinformation and fake news have been circulated by a section of media and opposition parties about it.
We have earlier demolished, point-by-point, the fake narrative peddled by media and politicians, about the reservation brought by the Modi government for the economically backward section of society. In addition to those lies, politicians have already started spreading dangerous attractive, that is not only fake but outlandish and bizarre too.
Alok Agarwal, an IIT alumnus and Aam Aadmi Politician from Madhya Pradesh, on 8 January took to Twitter and shared his theory:
चौकाने वाली बात
8 लाख तक इनकम वाले – 85%
5 एकड़ तक के किसान – 85%
सुप्रीमकोर्ट के अनुसार आरक्षण का लाभ लेने वालों को अनारक्षित सीट पर लाभ नहीं
यानि, 85% के लिये 10% सीटें जो कि पहले 51% थीं
यानि, 8 लाख से ऊपर व 5 एकड़ से ऊपर के 15% लोगों के लिये 41% आरक्षण
मोदी जी की अमीर भक्ति!
“Shocking. People earning up to 8 lakh, 85%. People possessing land less than 5-acre, 85%. According to SC, a reserved candidate cannot go for the unreserved seat. Now, 85% population will only have, access to 10% seats, that so far was 51%. That means, people with income of more than 8 lakh and having more than 5 acres, will have access to 41% reservation.” Aggarwal tweeted. He was the chief ministerial candidate for AAP in Madhya Pradesh, in recent assembly elections.
Ram Gopal Verma, A Rajya Sabha MP from Samajwadi Party, also spread a similar type of theory in the august house of Rajya Sabha:
“….Supreme Court has already given 50 per cent reservation to Savarna class of society (General cast). Because SC/ST and OBC reservation are restricted to 50%. Now, an SC/ST candidate cannot go for seats reserved for Savarna, even though his merit is higher.” Yadav said in the house. He added, quoting Congress MP Anand Sharma, that rest of the 50% candidates, which SC/ST candidates cannot contest, goes to Economically Weaker Savana section of society.
“Now According to Kapil Sibal, in our country 98% people fall under this category. Now, the 98% population will only have 10% reservation, and 2% people (earning more than 8 lakh and having more than 5-acre land) will have 40% reservation”.
In a nutshell, Ram Gopal Yadav asserted that SC had already given reservation to Economically weaker General caste people, that is 50 per cent and the government has reduced it to 10%, and economically strong people will now get more reservation then before.
Now, let’s examine the claims with facts.
SC decision. SC ascertaining that a reserved candidate can contest from the unreserved seat.
This two outlandish theories or fake narrative, is emanating from misassumption of the fact that people from SC/ST and OBC categories can only contest for seats that are reserved for them, and not for remaining seats. First of all, the remaining 50% seats, that is left after SC/ST and OBC reservation, is an ‘open category’ and not a ‘reserved category’, means the balanced 50% is not reserved for anyone. Any candidate (SC/ST, OBC, or general caste etc.) can fill the seats left out of the reservation. That means, if an SC/ST/OBC candidate has high merit, he/she can still outcompete a general caste candidate on the unreserved seat. This is a common phenomenon, that candidates from SC/ST and OBC categories go for unreserved eats if they fulfil qualification criteria. However, the opposite is not correct. An unreserved candidate cannot go for reserved seats. So in a non-technical way of speaking, SC/ST and OBC candidates can contest for 100% setas but the general category candidates can only contest for 50% seats.
Both Alok Agarwal and Yadav are spreading misinformation about the basic tenet of quota. The new amendment in the constitution ensures that people from unreserved category (not upper caste category) who come from the economically weaker section of the society (which according to Yadav are 98% population of the country and according to Aggarwal is 85%), can avail the benefit of reservation in higher education and jobs. So here also, the economically weaker section can contest not only on their reserved 10 per cent seats but also all the seats under the general category. A candidate from economically weaker section (and from the unreserved category, irrespective of religion) can still contest on 50% seats, 10% of which is reserved for them. While the general category (non SC/ST and OBC) candidates with high income and more than 5-acre land can only contest from 40% seats, after this new reservation.
We can also summarize the argument in one line. Earlier, general category EWS candidates had 50% seats to contest, even now they will have 50%, but in that 10% is exclusively reserved for them. The higher income group so far had 50% seats, but now they will have only 40% seats to contest, hence benefiting the EWS candidates.
In the end, this a big relief for candidates from the economically weak section. Earlier, the reservation was not given on grounds of the economic status of candidate, but now candidates can also have access to higher education and jobs, on basis of their economic background.
We have already demolished the narrative that reservation is not only meant for the upper castes but all sections that are economically weaker, including people from different religions. Whether the politicians are deliberately engaging in the spread of fake news or are misassuming facts, we can’t say.
The Congress party has made much hue and cry about the NDA government’s decision to secure a 10% reservation for economically weaker sections among the unreserved class in government jobs and education. In Parliament, although the party voted in favour of the bill in both houses, it questioned the timing of the bill.
The party has branded the move a political stunt prior to the General Elections later this year. The move is expected to benefit the BJP as rumours of Upper Caste resentment was rife. However, the Congress party appears to have forgotten its own conduct in the past.
The entire Opposition has been rattled by the decision of the Narendra Modi government that came as a shock to many. After the initial shock, the Opposition has resorted to fear-mongering over the Quota Bill to hurt the political prospect of the BJP.
Let us take a moment now to discuss the conduct of the Congress party when it was in power in 2014. The UPA-II era was a time of unparalleled corruption in the history of independent India. And with the rise of the now famous NaMo Wave, the Congress party was in a moment of desperation.
Therefore, in 2014, merely a day before the dates for the Lok Sabha Elections was announced, the UPA government issued a notification which granted Jats a place in the Central list of Other Backward Classes (OBC). Thus, on the 4th of March, merely a day before the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was to come into force, the UPA decided to provide Jats with OBC status and the benefits that came along with it.
The decision was taken in the last meeting of the Cabinet and was expected to benefit the party in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. As it turned out, the party’s last-ditch effort to secure a victory in the elections failed spectacularly.
The UPA notification was eventually quashed by the Supreme Court the next year. “We set aside the notification to implement Jats in the Central list of Other Backward Classes (OBC),” the bench comprising of Justice Gogoi and Nariman said. “Caste, though a prominent factor, cannot be the sole factor of determining the backwardness of a class,” the bench observed.
“An affirmative action policy that keeps in mind only historical injustice would certainly result in under-protection of the most deserving backward class of citizens, which is constitutionally mandated. It is the identification of these new emerging groups that must engage the attention of the state,” the bench had further stated.
Considering the timing of the notification by the UPA government, there is little doubt about the intent behind it. The Congress party’s reasons for accusing the BJP of playing politics over the 10% reservations appear to be borne of a sense of regret for having not done it themselves more than anything else.
In an earlier report, we have elaborated on the manner in which the NDA government fulfilled the promise of reservations for the poor that was made by the UPA government in 3 elections manifestos.
The National Commission for Women has issued a notice to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for his “misogynistic and unethical” remarks against Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
According to the reports, after the defence minister demolished the lies of Congress President Rahul Gandhi about the Rafale deal on the floor of Parliament, he had made misogynistic statements claiming “Prime Minister had run away and asked a ‘Mahila’ (Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman) to defend him” with reference to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s point-to-point rebuttal in Parliament.
National Commission for Women (NCW) issues notice to Congress President Rahul Gandhi over his statement “PM ran away & asked a ‘mahila’ (Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman) to defend him” pic.twitter.com/xTAyqNeXg1
“The watchman with a 56-inch chest ran away and told a woman, Sitharaman ji, defend me. I won’t be able to defend myself, defend me. For two and a half hours, the woman could not defend him. I had asked a straight question – answer yes or no – but she couldn’t answer,” Rahul Gandhi had said while addressing a rally at Jaipur.
The National Commission for Women in its notice to Congress President Rahul Gandhi says, “The National Commission for Women has taken suo motu cognizance of the media report which appeared in various print and electronic media dated 9th Jan, 2019, wherein it is reported that you have allegedly made remarks against a women minister…the remarks made are extremely misogynistic, offensive, unethical and shows an extreme disrespects towards the dignity and honour of women in general.”
The NCW also objecting to Rahul Gandhi’s comments where he had asked PM Modi ‘to be a man and answer his question’. Condemning the statements of Rahul Gandhi, the NCW has asked him to provide an explanation to Commission soon.
NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said that the commission has asked an explanation from Rahul Gandhi for what he said. Terming his statements as pathetic, sexist and misogynistic, she said Rahul Gandhi has to explain what does he mean when he is trying to talk low of women.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also slammed the Congress president for his comments on the defence minister, saying that it is an insult for all women in India, not just a woman minister. Addressing a rally in Agra, he said that when a woman defence minister thrashed the oppositions’ allegations with facts, they got rattled and now they are insulting a woman.
Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen is a talented man who seems to specialise in lying, obfuscating and fear mongering. In this recent interview to the Times of India, the economist seems to have done just that.
On 10th January 2019, Times of India published a short interview with Amartya Sen that covered a host of topics including the 10% reservation for economically backward people that has been passed by the Modi government. The 124th Constitutional Amendment Bill, that facilitated the reservation, was passed both by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Amartya Sen’s interview to Times of India had several lies and loopholes that, interestingly, the interviewer never seemed to counter.
Lies about 10% reservation for the poor being an ‘upper caste’ quota
The Times of India interview quotes Amartya Sen as saying that the “upper caste” quota brought in by the BJP government is an example of “muddled thinking” and may have “serious political and economic repercussions”.
He then goes on to say that these reservations seem to be BJP’s bid to “woo upper caste votes”.
Interestingly, a Nobel Laureate has lied an obfuscated on an important policy decision blatantly. The 10% reservation bill has no mention of “upper castes”. In fact, this reservation bill is for the general category and has no considerations of caste or religion. The only criteria in this reservation are the economic status of a family.
Says Citizenship Bill and NRC discriminatory against Muslims, against Indian Constitution
Amartya Sen asserted that the National Registry for Citizens and the Citizenship Bill was ‘discriminatory’ on the grounds of ‘religion’ particularly against Muslims. He also asserts that such discrimination is against the Constitution of India. What Amartya Sen fails to realise is that the NRC and Citizenship Bill is to weed out illegal immigrants from the Country. Illegal immigrants are people who are staying in the country with no legitimate documents and are not Indian citizens at all. The Nobel Laureate attempts to confuse his readers since he doesn’t bother to consider that those who aren’t Indian Citizens have no right to live in the Country as is. To say that Indian law that wants to deport illegals is against the Indian Constitution is absurd.
The Indian Constitution guarantees equality to Indian citizens regardless of caste, colour, creed or religion. However, one cannot invoke the Constitution of the Country to railroad the Government into accepting illegal immigrants. The truth of the matter is that elements like Sen invoke religion to polarise a law and order problem because it helps the political side they wish to support.
Peddles the same ‘intolerance’ narrative yet again
The ‘intolerance’ cottage industry refuses to stand down and in this interview with the Times of India, Amartya Sen has made this absurd allegation yet again.
He says that if someone is a Hindu or Christian, they have a right to comment, but if someone is a Muslim, they don’t have that right. He says this is an “enormous violation of the spirit of the Constitution”. He then invokes “case of Naseeruddin Shah” to make his point.
Interestingly, folks like Amartya Sen forget that Naseeruddin Shah was accepted and appreciated by Indians, who he derides today, without the slightest consideration to his religion. It is when he was seen to tarnish the image of the country, that people spoke out. Naseeruddin Shah even sided with Naxals who wish to break this country into pieces, and that, cannot be called “speaking up in the favour of Muslims”. Interestingly, Naseeruddin Shah also never spoke about the Muslim cow traders who are attacked by Muslims smugglers. If anything, it proves that Naseeruddin Shah has a political agenda and does not speak for the interest of Muslims.
Amartya Sen, however, has raised the ‘intolerance’ bogey several times in the past. On 30th April 2014, Sen proclaimed that minorities have valid reasons to fear Modi. Such statements during Lok Sabha elections are an example of practically campaigning against a person. It is thus evident that Amartya Sen is merely politically motivated than intellectually honest.
Obfuscates on the issue of farmer loan waiver
Since Congress has announced farmer loan waiver in the three states where they are in power, Amartya Sen has chosen to throw his intellectual honesty as an Economist to the wind the obfuscate on the matter of farmer loan waivers.
He says that while farmer loan waiver has its share of problems, it also has its benefits. He says “those who want to impact the lives of people may think it has a good cause on ethical grounds”. As an Economist, one would have expected Amartya Sen to comment on the various issues related to farmer loan waiver and how the Congress’ hollow promises have failed miserably with multiple farmer suicides despite such a “waiver”, a “waiver” with conditions and the fact, that in Karnataka only 800 farmers had reaped benefits. He also doesn’t mention that several farmers are still getting repayment notices, or that in Madhya Pradesh, there is already a potential scam brewing in Rajasthan.
Amartya Sen had almost campaigned for a united front and also appealed to people to not vote for the Prime Minister in 2014. It is evident that Sen is extremely politically motivated and is not past lying. During the Congress regime, during his tenure as chairman of the Nalanda University board (and de facto chancellor), key appointments to the university have been dogged by controversies relating to nepotism and non-transparency. It is confounding that someone who has been marked with such controversies would today take the high moral ground, and unsurprising that he would actively become a political voice to the campaign against the Prime Minister, veiling his politicking with his Nobel prize.
Assam has been engulfed in widespread protests against the Citizenship Bill, with protesters taking to the streets, blocking roads and marching with their clothes off in several parts of the state.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, which was passed in the Lok Sabha on 8th January, seeks amendment the Citizenship Act, 1955, to provide citizenship to the persecuted minorities (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Jains, and Christians) from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
In Guwahati, members of 70 organisations, led by Akhil Gogoi’s Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad, protested outside central government offices and also tried to break through the barricades to the state secretariat, leading to a scuffle with police.
Police resorted to lathi-charge and fired rubber bullets to disperse the agitators after they refused to budge. “Some of them were also taken into custody to prevent deterioration in law and order situation,” a senior officer said.
Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) chief Akhil Gogoi announced that Modi and central ministers would not be allowed to enter the state, while the chief minister and BJP MLAs and MPs will not be allowed to hold any meeting or rally in the state.
The agitators were seen burning effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and gheraoing the state secretariat here.
In Golaghat’s Numaligarh area, members of Asom Aikya Manch took to the streets with their clothes off to protest against the Bill.
Agitators at Dibgoi tried to block a highway to stop Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal from attending Gorkha Mahotsav.
AASU activists in Nagaon waved black flags to BJP state unit president Ranjeet Das. Protests by students were also reported from Cotton State University and Dibrugarh University.
In a shameful act, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) took out a ‘Shamshan Yatra’ (funeral procession) of the prime minister, chief minister and seven BJP MPs in Assam.
In New Delhi, students from Assam studying there protested at Jantar Mantar and were joined by students from other states too.
All Assam Lawyers’ Association called the Bill “unconstitutional” and warned that they would go to the Supreme Court if the same was enacted.
The agitators have also threatened that they would not allow locally produced oil, petroleum products, coal, forest products, and limestone to be taken out of the state.
Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which withdrew support to the BJP-led government in Assam Monday, also extended its support to the bandh.
BJP spokesperson Mehdi Alam Bora resigned from the party, saying the Bill would harm the Assamese society and nullify the Assam Accord.
Former Assam chief minister and AGP leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta demanded that the BJP government in the state resign and face a fresh election.
An 11-hour bandh, called by AASU and the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) and supported by over a hundred organisations against the Bill had completely disrupted the daily life in Assam yesterday.
It is notable here that the people of Assam have been demanding the ouster of Bangladeshis illegally settled in the state and a significant chunk of the Assamese population also believes Bengali Hindus too should be ousted from the state as they have encroached upon Assamese rights and benefits.
Amongst all this, State minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who had earlier also expressed his support to the decision, maintained that the AGP had committed a “historic blunder” by not extending support to the Bill.
The Ram Mandir case in the Supreme Court of India has been deferred again after a member of the 5-judge bench, Justice UU Lalit, recused himself. As per reports, Justice Lalit recused himself after advocate Rajiv Dhawan, who represents the Muslim side in the case, pointed it out that Justice Lalit had represented one of the parties in another case twenty-four years ago.
As per reports, advocate Rajiv Dhawan, on behalf of one of the petitioners, pointed it out that in 1994, Justice UU Lalit had represented former UP CM Kalyan Singh, in a contempt of court case. Kalyan Singh was the CM of UP during the demolition of the disputed structure.
Dhawan reportedly said, “I am bringing it to Your Lordships notice though we don’t have an objection to him hearing the matter. It is entirely up to Your Lordships.”
Following the statement, the five-judge bench reportedly had an internal discussion and CJI Gogoi later announced that Justice UU Lalit had decided to recuse himself from hearing the matter even though the mentioned case of Kalyan Singh is unrelated to the merits in the Ayodhya case.
In another development, the court also reportedly stated that there is a history regarding the correctness of translated documents pertaining to the case and the registry has been directed to engage official translators to submit a report regarding the same.
#RamMandir – #BabriMasjid: There is a history regarding correctness of translation of documents, Registry directed to engage official translators and submit a report regarding correctness of translated documents, Supreme Court. #AyodhyaRamMandir
The matter has been adjourned till January 29. The CJI has reportedly announced that the bench will be reconstituted to fill the place of Justice UU Lalit in a bench that also has the CJI and justices, SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, and NV Ramana.
The Ram Mandir case is of deep socio-cultural relevance to Hindus and it has been pending in the SC for a long time. In 2010, the Allahabad HC had ordered that the disputed land be divided into three parts between Ram Lalla Virajman, the Nirmohi Akhada, and the Sunni Waqf Board.
Hindu groups have been demanding the central government to bring forth an ordinance to build the temple. But PM Narendra Modi had clarified in a recent interview that his government will wait for the law to take its course and he is ‘willing to do what is needed’ after the legal process is over.
The Congress party has once again caught for its dubious stand on the issue of Sabarimala, as one of its middle-aged female party workers has now deliberately entered the Sabarimala shrine violating the age-old Hindu customs.
Congress party worker named SP Manju, disguised as an old woman claims to have entered the Sabarimala shrine in the early hours of Tuesday. SP Manju claimed that she arrived at Pamba, early morning at 4 AM on Tuesday, and entered the temple a little after 7:30 AM.
Reportedly, she claimed that she trekked to the temple with other devotees and also said she scaled 18 holy steps by carrying an “irumudikettu” (bag of holy offerings that Ayyappa devotees carry) to enter the Sabarimala shrine. Posting the images of her disguised appearance, SP Manju went on to say that she offered prayers inside the temple while escaping police scrutiny as she had faked her looks by appearing as an old woman.
Interestingly, SP Manju Joseph had also contested local elections on the Congress ticket and has more than 14 criminal cases pending against her.
SP Manju, whose full name is SP Manju Joseph claims to be the President of the Kerala Dalit Mahila Federation. She had earlier attempted to enter the Sabarimala shrine but failed after facing protests from the Lord Ayappa devotees.
According to a report in Livemint, Manju was earlier a CPM and SFI activist. The report quotes P Ramabhadran, the president of Kerala Dalit Federation as saying that Manju had also contested the 2015 local body elections on a Congress ticket.
Aided by the Kerala communist government and its police force, three women have already entered the Sabarimala shrine causing huge shock and anger to the Hindu devotees. The shocking act to deliberately violate long-held Hindu customs and traditions to humiliate Hindus was responded with severe protests across the country.
The left-wing goons aided by the Kerala government have begun to inflict serious violence on Hindu devotees and the BJP cadre. A country-made bomb was hurled on Saturday at BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP V Muraleedharan’s ancestral house at Vadiyil Peedikia near Thalassery and an RSS office in Kannur was set ablaze by unknown assailants. Chandran Unnithaan, an Ayappa devotee and member of Sabarimala Karma Samithi had died after stone pelting by CPIM workers.
The Kerala government led by Pinarayi Vijayan has been facing massive protests after it deliberately allowed politically motivated ‘activists’ to enter the shrine and violate age-old customs. Earlier, lakhs of devotees especially women, lit lamps and stood on public roads and highways on the occasion of “Ayappa Jyothi”, covering a distance of 795 km on 26 December to show their solidarity with Hindu devotees who are fighting for the preservation of age-old Hindu customs.
