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Congress leader C P Joshi given clean chit by the Election Commission for his remark on Modi’s caste

Senior Congress leader C P Joshi has been given a clean chit by the Election Commission of India in a complaint filed by the BJP alleging that Joshi had invoked caste and religion in order to get votes.

In a video that went viral few days back, Joshi was seen claiming that only pandits, intellectuals, Brahmins know about Hinduism, and others should not talk about the religion.


Prima facie, the allegation was not found to be proved by the Investigating Officer. An inquiry committee, headed by the election officer of Rajsamand district, admitted that the facts stated in the complaint are not confirmed.

The Committee in its report has said that the video submitted in the complaint is taken from social media, therefore its authenticity is under suspicion. And also Joshi does not appear to be appealing to any particular caste or religion for votes.

Joshi had apologised for his remarks made in the video. “Respecting the ideals of the Congress and the sentiments of the party workers, I express remorse for my statement if it caused any hurt to the sentiments of any section of the society,” he said in his apology.

He was also given a notice by Nathdwara Returning Officer to file a reply in relation to the remarks made in the video. Joshi is a candidate from Nathdwara Assembly constituency.

Journalist Shujaat Bukhari’s killer and LeT commander Naveed Jatt neutralised in encounter

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The lead Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander Naveed Jatt, involved in the murder of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari earlier this year, was gunned down by security forces in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district on Wednesday.

Police sources told news agencies that Jatt alias Abu Hanzallah was among the two terrorists killed in the gunfight that broke out while the forces were conducting a cordon and search operation in Kuthpora village.

Naveed Jatt, who was one of the most wanted terrorists, was a Pakistani national who had escaped from police custody in Srinagar on February 6, while he was being taken for a medical check-up to a hospital from the Srinagar Central Jail.

According to reports, Jatt was a resident of Multan in Pakistan and had entered India from Keran in North Kashmir in October 2012.

Jatt’s encounter is being seen as a major success for the Indian security forces. ANI quoted Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbagh Singh as saying, “This week was great, those involved in the killing of innocent people in Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian belt were neutralized. As per ground verification, top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Naveed Jatt was one of the two terrorists killed today.”

In another similar operation, which the Indian security forces had carried out in Shalgund village of Dashnipora in Bijbehara area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on November 23, top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Azad Ahmad Malik along with other five Islamist terrorists were neutralised. Malik was also allegedly involved in the assassination of Kashmiri Journalist Syed Shujaat Bukhari.

Shujaat Bukhari, a renowned Kashmiri journalist who was previously associated with The Hindu and then the editor of Raising Kashmir, was gunned down by terrorists on June 14 2018, while he was leaving from his office at press enclave in Srinagar to attend an iftar party. Three motorcycle-borne militants fired at Bukhari and his guards while he was entering his car. Bukhari and one guard were killed on the spot and another security guard who was critically injured succumbed to his injuries later.

On the same day, the bullet-ridden body of abducted rifleman Aurangzeb was also recovered which had sent the entire nation in a state of shock and enmity.

The killing of Journalist Shujaat Bukhari had led to severe propaganda in the media, as the left-leaning media could not accept the fact that terrorists backed by the separatists had killed one of their own.

Maharashtra: ACB cites ex-deputy CM Ajit Pawar responsible for 70,000 crores irrigation scam

The Anti Corruption Bureau has laid incriminating charges against the ex-deputy CM Ajit Pawar in the Maharashtra irrigation scam. The ACB has highlighted gross lapses on the part of Pawar and other officials which lead to the scam, as per reports.

Estimated to be around Rs 70,000 crore, the scam is associated to the purported corruption in approval and implementation of disparate irrigation projects in Maharashtra during the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) rule.

Pawar was at the helm of the irrigation department on numerous occasions between 1999 and 2014 during the Congress-NCP coalition rule in Maharashtra.

The ACB has filed 24 FIRs against the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) officials, contractors and their power of attorney holders.

Sanjay Barve, Director General, ACB, filed an affidavit before the Nagpur bench of the high court on Tuesday in response to an appeal filed by an NGO, Janmanch. The NGO raised grave concerns over glaring inconsistencies in irrigation projects managed by the Vidharba and Konkan Irrigation Development Corporations.

The scam was described as a “weird case of conspiracy” in the affidavit. “Those involved in the corruption who caused a great dent to public exchequer are simply hiding behind the framework and relaying their blame on others,” it said.

The affidavit also leveled serious charges of inordinate delays, cost escalations and non-realisation of projects undertaken by the Vidarbha and Konkan irrigation development corporations under the tenure of Ajit Pawar as minister for water resources department. “The ACB has noticed that large irregularities have been perpetrated in many of these tenders with shocking similarity,” Barve said in his affidavit.

During inquisition, Pawar blamed secretary-level officers for their recommendations. He said that most of the decisions were taken at field level. “It is observed that the minister in chargee of the water resources department passes the buck on to the officers,” the affidavit said.

The ACB further stated that it had solicited the views of the water resources department’s principal secretary about Pawar’s role as the minister. In his response to the ACB, the secretary said Rule 10 of the Maharashtra Government Rules of Business and Instructions was self-explanatory and that nothing can be added.

Responsibility, according to the Rule 10 of the Maharashtra Government Rules of Business and Instructions lies squarely on the minister in-charge of the department for ‘all the business and disposal thereof appertaining to the said department’.

The ACB also said that officials of the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) received graft and monetary rewards for contractors.The affidavit alleged that VIDC’s officials flouted the procedures, acted against the government’s interest, extended patronage to a select group of contractors and ensured that they got monetary benefits.

The ACB has asked for more time to further probe the inconsitencies and begin criminal action. The affidavit described the perpetrators as ‘musicians’ playing a symphony in perfect harmony with each other.

Senior NCP leader Dhananjay Munde had, earlier this month, dismissed the allegations and called it a political agenda of the BJP.

UK: Police ‘recklessly ignored’ Muslim grooming gangs sexually abusing Sikh girls for decades due to ‘political correctness’, claims study

According to a study by the Sikh Mediation and Rehabilitation Team charity, Pakistani men have been grooming Sikh girls in Britain for decades for sexual abuse and rape. The study also claims that the Police ‘recklessly ignored’ complaints about reasons of ‘political correctness’.

The report was accessed by Daily Mail. It says, “The research has found verification demonstrating a history of predominantly Pakistani grooming gangs targeting young Sikh females for over 50 years.” It also asserts, “The over-representation of such perpetrators in selecting non-Muslim victims would appear to be indicative of a wider acceptability in certain sections of the community towards the targeting of young females from outside of the Pakistani community and/or Muslim faith.”

The report says that failure of local authorities to recognize the menace has allowed such networks to flourish. It says, “Over the course of three decades, Sikh community leaders in the West Midlands repeatedly assert that when families or community representatives contacted the police regarding the abuse of children, their information was consistently met with disinterest and their claims met by inaction.” And “With the emergence of multiple similar cases across the UK, the perceived failure to act has now been attributed to the ‘political correctness’ that inhibited authorities and agencies from addressing the racial and cultural dimensions understood as causative factors behind the abuse.”

The report has been backed by Labour Party MP Sarah Champion. She has demanded an investigation saying, “I was shocked when I first heard about the organized abuse of Sikh girls by mostly Pakistani men.” The Daily Mail quoted her as saying, “When I started speaking to Sikh women, I could not believe how widespread the grooming and abuse was – and that this has been going on for decades. We need to speak of the abuse of Sikh girls to take it out of the shadows and make sure the authorities take it seriously.” The Rotherham MP added: ‘There needs to be a full investigation into the systematic abuse of Sikh girls.’

We have reported extensively on the Muslim grooming gang phenomenon in Britain. As we have said earlier, the distinguishing feature of grooming gangs is that almost always the accused are of British Pakistani heritage and the victims are always non-Muslims. Unlike other instances of sexual exploitation of children where the perpetrator operates alone and under high secrecy for fear of repercussions should his acquaintances discover his crimes, in these cases, perpetrators often belong to the same family and are either brother or cousins mostly.

They are lured with drugs and alcohol and cannabis and after a period of systematic brainwashing which involves alienating them from their family and convincing them that their parents are racists, they are plied for sex. Often, the gangs use the victims themselves to get to their neighbours or their friends. Horrifyingly, the gangs even use pregnancy and forced abortions as forms of punishment.

The Muslim grooming gang phenomenon in the West bears close resemblance with the phenomenon of Love Jihad in India. Recently, even the NCW chairperson asserted that forced conversions are a reality and that political leaders and local authorities were turning a blind eye to it. The NIA too suspects that the PFI was engaging in religious conversion of women. The reaction of mainstream liberals in India has been similar to that in the West where they simply deny that such a phenomenon exists despite mountains of evidence.

1984 Anti-Sikh riots: A ‘dark chapter’ in history of independent India, said Delhi HC while upholding conviction of 88 people

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The Delhi High Court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of 88 convicts in the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots in the east Delhi’s Trilokpuri area, reported ANI.

According to the reports, the 88 convicts had been arrested in East Delhi’s Trilokpuri area and were sentenced to 5-year jail term by a trial court in 1996. The convicts had challenged the August 27, 1996 judgement of a Sessions Court which had convicted 88 out of the 107 people arrested on November 2, 1984, for rioting, burning houses and curfew violation in Trilokpuri area of East Delhi.

Justice RK Gauba, while dismissing the petition, said that all those convicted must serve the 5-year jail term. The Delhi High Court, by upholding the conviction has directed all the 88 convicts to surrender within four weeks.

The Delhi High Court termed that Anti-Sikh riots of 1984 as a “dark chapter” in the history of independent India. The Court added that “it is often said, this country must put behind so as to move ahead But, for those who suffered a personal loss in the form of killings of their near and dear ones, or destruction of their homes, there possibly can never be a closure.”

“There is also a contrarian view that such dark chapters in the history of the land must never get effaced from memory since they confront us, the civil society at large, by showing a mirror, to expose to us the rot that lies within,” said the Delhi HC.

The Court blamed the politico-criminal nexus, aided and assisted by police or civil service officials loyal to the cause, which works with “impunity or immunity”, as the reason behind such terrible acts. The Delhi HC accused the socio-political leadership of instigating communal riots of the likes of 1984 since the days of partition in 1947.

Taking a strong exception to the existing laws dealing with communal riots, the Delhi HC sought amendments to the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 and the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 to entrust investigations to SIT to oversee prosecutions against the offenses committed during communal riots.

The Court suggested to effectively use the technological advancements, by utilizing materials or video coverage as pieces of evidence. “For this, the law must mandatorily require media persons or houses to share the product of their efforts with the investigating agency in all cases of communal riots,” observed the court.

The court expressed its disappointment over the delay in justice delivery to the victims and the failure to usher judicial reforms, it said, “There is no contest to the case for the prosecution that the crimes alleged here were actually committed. 34 long years have passed after the crimes were committed and, yet, the victims await justice and closure. Is this what we call a potent and effective criminal justice system?”

Recently, Delhi’s Patiala House Court had declared the death sentence for convict Yashpal Singh and announced life imprisonment for another convict Naresh Sehrawat for their involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

The 1984 Anti-Sikh riots took place aftermath of the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which resulted in brutal killings of more than 2800 people according to official figures. Congress leaders Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler were directly accused of large role in orchestrating the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India.

Railways to use a ‘weakness’ of elephants to save them from being killed on tracks

Indian Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has announced that the loudspeakers along railway tracks between Haridwar and Dehradun will play the buzzing sound of bees to dissuade elephants from venturing into the tracks thus endangering their safety.


Northeast Frontier Railway had adopted such a ‘Plan Bee’ last year and now, the plan is set to be adopted by Indian Railways.

The mechanism was hailed as an innovative way to save the lives of elephants. Various studies have been conducted which show that elephants are terrified of bees. A team of researchers in Africa used beehives, real ones and fake, to keep away pachyderms from farmland. Asian Elephants also react similarly to their African counterparts.

Railway tracks are known to be death traps for elephants. Elephants are known to die at an alarming frequency on railway tracks. Earlier this year, Minister of State for Railways, Rajen Gohain, stated that 58 elephants have died on railways tracks in the past three years.

“Fifty-eight elephants were killed in the last three years on railway tracks. In cases of killing elephants, wildlife on railway tracks, zonal railways investigate the incidents and conduct inquiry wherever necessary. Based on the finding in the investigation, a number of preventive measures are taken by the zones in coordination with the Ministry of Environment and Forests,” the minister had informed in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

India all set to issue the highest valued tender for its bullet train project

According to the reports, India is all set to issue ‘highest valued tender’ for its ambitious bullet-train project on the 508KM Mumbai-Ahmedabad route.

While speaking to the HT, Achal Khare, Managing Director, NHSRCL, said that that the corporation is finalizing the tender for the 237-km viaduct and four stations in Gujarat and will float it by the end of December. It is estimated that this may be the highest valued tender in the country.

Explaining the pre-construction activities in the areas, Khare claimed that identification of utilities and critical structure, joint measurement survey, and geotechnical investigation have been concluded and the additional work will begin shortly. To ensure smooth completion of the project, the corporation has divided the work into 26 packages. The NHSRCL has set a target to grant the tenders of these packages by the end of 2019, including the acquisition of bullet trains.

Preparation of tender documents is underway and the NHSRCL expects the first big tender to be ready by the December-end. The tender will be for the construction of the 237-km viaduct and the four stations namely Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, and Bharuch. However, the precise value of the tender was not disclosed but it will run into the tunes of Rs 1000 crores. The NHSRCL has intended to issue tenders for this segment first as this comes in the middle of the corridor and is primarily free from obstacles.

NHSRCL will issue separate tenders for different packages. This will comprise rolling stock to training institute, civil and electrical work, and construction of depots. Khare also stated that they are working towards getting all the tenders floated in 2019 and said that Japanese intervention may not be required in all stages.

The bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will have 12 stations on its journey. Sabarmati, Ahmedabad, Anand, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Bilimora, Vapi, Boisar, Virar, Thane, and Mumbai.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in September last year laid the foundation stone for the bullet train project. Modi has kept a challenging deadline of August 15, 2022, to commence the operations.

Congress poster on respecting women goes viral, because it has one aspect missing

In poll-bound Rajasthan, Congress has tried to take the ‘respect women’ route. A poster has gone viral on social media which claims that if Congress comes to power, women will get respect.


The poster features Congress President Rahul Gandhi, senior Congress leaders Sachin Pilot, Ashok Gehlot and other Congress leaders but, ironically, not a single woman.

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

We’ve earlier pointed out how women empowerment is a mere propaganda tool for Congress. While most arguments of Congress regarding their contribution to women empowerment are centred around Indira Gandhi, her cabinet never had any notable women as a cabinet minister. There have been some Ministers of States but her regime did not see another major female political leader emerging or given a substantial role of a Union Minister. Sushila Nayyar was health minister for a year, but she was sacked soon.

In fact, it was Congress which punched the biggest hole in women empowerment with overturning the Shah Bano case. While the Supreme Court of India had granted Shah Bano the right to maintenance, the Rajiv Gandhi led Congress government in the centre succumbed to the possible confrontations from the Muslim Personal Law Board. Rajiv Gandhi’s government passed a law in the name of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 and basically reversed the Supreme Court Verdict. The SC verdict that could have been the harbinger of equal rights to all Muslim Women as the rest of the women of this country was overturned in the name of Muslim appeasement.

Moving on to more recent times, when the Narendra Modi led government batted for the abolition of Triple Talaaq in a bid to empower Muslim women who were being given triple talaq for frivolous reasons and being rendered homeless, Congress not only tried to stall the bill and often displayed double standards, senior Congress leaders even tried to justify their opposition to the bill in ridiculous ways.

Last year, during the run-up to the Gujarat elections, Rahul Gandhi had made sexist comments saying that women associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) do not “wear shorts”.


Because only by “wearing shorts” does a woman get empowered. And Rahul Gandhi and his party talking about women empowerment and respecting women across as a bit of an irony. Recently, NSUI President Fairoz Khan, who was recently accused by a woman member of NSUI of abetting female members of the organisation to make sexual relationship with him in lieu of political posts, was seen on the posters of a ‘Girls’ Convention’ held in Indore.

Earlier, when allegations of sexual harassment against Congress IT cell member Chirag Patnaik had emerged, Congress IT cell head Divya Spandana had expressed ‘full support’ to Patnaik. In September, Bandari Bala Kumar, Sircilla unit Youth Congress president, was taken into custody after he allegedly entered the hostel in the town and harassed the girls allegedly under inebriated condition.

Kartarpur corridor not connected to talks, Pakistan must stop aiding terrorists first: EAM Sushma Swaraj

External Affair Minister, Sushma Swaraj today clearly indicated that though the Government has approved the Kartarpur corridor initiative, as it will always stand by regional peace, it should not be misunderstood, as India is not ready for any dialogue process with Pakistan unless Pakistan stopped sponsoring terrorism.

While talking to the media in Hyderabad, as she was there to campaign ahead of the assembly polls, Swaraj said, “Bilateral dialogues and Kartarpur corridor are two different things. I am very happy that for the last 20 years, rather many years, the government of India has been asking for this Kartarpur corridor. For the first time, Pakistan responded positively to this. But that doesn’t mean that the bilateral dialogue will start only on this (Kartarpur). We always say terror and talks can’t go together. The moment Pakistan stops terrorist activities in India, the dialogue can start. The dialogue is not connected with only Kartarpur corridor.”

Sushma used this occasion to also show her strong resentment over Pakistan’s invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the 20th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit. “We are not responding to the invitation unless Pakistan stops terrorism, we will not respond. We will not participate in SAARC”, Sushma asserted.

It is pertinent to mention here that India had boycotted the 19th SAARC summit which was scheduled to take place in November 2016 in Islamabad, following the September 18 terror attack on the military base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir.

The summit was then cancelled as several countries, including Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan had also walked out following India’s decision to exit the summit in order to create diplomatic pressure on Pakistan.

Earlier this year, MEA Sushma Swaraj had walked out early of an informal meeting of SAARC nations at the sidelines of the UN general assembly. Swaraj had stated in her short statement that the ecosystem of terrorism can only be dismantled with solid action on the ground.

Before that, India had accepted the newly elected Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s proposal for peace talks after he resumed office. However, after the incidents of abduction and killing of Indian security personnel by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists and the release of Pakistani postage stamps glorifying terrorists, India had cancelled the proposed talks.

The Kartarpur Corridor initiative, which has lately hogged a lot of limelight, will allow Indian Sikh pilgrims to travel to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur without a visa. It is likely to be completed within six months.

Will bring a private member bill on Ram Mandir if needed: Manoj Tiwari

Delhi BJP president and MP from North-East Delhi, Manoj Tiwari, on Tuesday said that he is ready to bring a private member Bill in the Lok Sabha for construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya if a need arose.

The Delhi BJP Chief made the statement when a delegation of the VHP met him at his residence and presented him a memorandum on the Ram Temple. “If the need arose, I will also be at the forefront to bring a private member Bill in the Parliament,” Tiwari said.

Tiwari said that he will strongly advocate a law for constructing a Ram temple at Ayodhya within the Lok Sabha and the party.

The VHP has announced that it would hold gatherings in every Lok Sabha constituency till December 6 to seek the support of Parliamentarians across the country for building a Ram temple in Ayodhya. On Nov 25, the VHP had organised a ‘Dharma Sansad’ to discuss the way forward with respect to the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

Earlier Bharatiya Janata Party MP Rakesh Sinha had said that he may be moving a private member’s bill in the Rajya Sabha demanding the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya.


Sinha’s response came after the Supreme Court deferred the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case hearing for the first week of January.