Home Blog Page 6891

Yogi Adityanath takes ‘Italian agent’ jibe at Sonia Gandhi, says they were behind the conversion of tribals in Chhattisgarh

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Yogi Adityanath takes ‘Italian agent’ jibe at Sonia Gandhi, says they were behind the conversion of tribals in Chhattisgarh

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stoked a controversy on Thursday by taking an ‘Italian Agent’ jibe at former Congress President, Sonia Gandhi while campaigning in Jashpur in Chhattisgarh.

Yogi said that the Congress was responsible for three years of misrule in the State and “agents from Italy” facilitated religious conversions of local tribals when the party was in power in the state.

Addressing a campaign rally for the second phase of Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, Adityanath said, “Italy se ayatit saudagar” (agents imported from Italy), undertook “anti-national” activities like the conversion of tribals in the state.

Criticising Congress for appeasement of “minorities”, Adityanath said the ‘anti-national activity of religious conversion’ reached its peak when the party ruled the state.

Hailing the late BJP MP Dilip Singh Judeo, Yogi said, “anti-national activities were at its peak. Dilip Singh Judeo took this menace head on and stopped Jashpur from becoming another Bastar.”

“The Hindu society offers milk even to snakes despite knowing that they may bite later. Hindus are the greatest society in the world because we always believe in sacrifices”. “We Hindus never believe in the forced conversion like others. We need to establish a government that can establish ‘Ram Rajya’ in Chhattisgarh,” he said.

Referring to the Congress President, Rahul Gandhi’s Italian lineage he said, “There were no roads, education, electricity and ration for the poor but ‘Italy se ayatit saudagar’ were indulging in religious conversions, which Judeo foiled.”

“During the Congress’ three-year rule in the state, mining, forest and coal mafia were influential. These mafias remind me of Italy. The mafia word originated in Italy,” Adityanath said, in another apparent swipe at Gandhi.

Similarly while addressing a rally in Chhattisgarh, Prime Minister Modi a few days back had also mocked the recently released Congress’ election manifesto. Taking a dig at the Gandhi family he said that those who themselves are out on bail obtained by dubious money are busy in distributing the honesty certificates to everyone.

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi while addressing a rally in Jagdalpur had said that Congress is busy protecting ‘Urban Maoists’ who sit in air-conditioned rooms and have destroyed the lives of Adivasis.

Thursday was Yogi’s fourth visit to the state to campaign for the assembly elections. 18 out of the 90 assembly seats, including the Naxal-affected ‘Red Corridor’, fighting all odds completed the first phase of polling on 12th November. In a bid to discourage the villagers from voting, Maoists had put up posters threatening the villagers to boycott elections. Just before voting began, Naxals burst explosives in Dantewada. Another IED was detected in Sukma, following which a makeshift polling booth was constructed under a tree. The second phase of polling is scheduled for November 20.

The Print uses year old data to predict doomsday for BJP in assembly elections

Karan
-
0
The Print uses year old data to predict doomsday for BJP in assembly elections

It has become a routine for commentators to talk about a “rural distress” and base it as the sole basis of an electoral forecast. It is hilariously amusing as well as concerning to note the growing divide between the fate of Rural India and what the commentators sitting in Delhi make of it.

An article published by The Print, authored by Shivam Vij, talks about why Prime Minister Modi may lose the election due to a prevalent “rural-distress” which may dampen the electoral spirits of NDA in 2019 just as it did in 2004.

The entire analysis is just wishful thinking on the part of Shivam Vij as he picked up the data point from at least a year ago when we were just witnessing the revival of the rural economic activity post the initial transition period of demonetization and GST.

It’s almost hilarious to pick up a data value from a year ago and construct an analysis for the coming year and base the outcome of the State Elections as an indicator of the existence of a “rural-distress” or the absence of it.

As far as the electoral contest is concerned, I believe the outcome on 11th December would invariably give a sound answer to these commentators as the rural sweep is well on the cards across the three states that were mentioned by the author. But the issue is not about whether there will be a rural sweep or not, but the issue is on this ill-founded pessimism on the Indian Economy at a time when our fundamentals are strong. In a separate article I will certainly provide my projections for the Financial Year (FY) 2018-19 but let me provide a very brief response to the article.

The article in question talks about an economic slowdown that is being projected for the year ahead. Will there be a slow-down in the economy? Compared to the GDP growth rate of 6.7% in FY 2017-18, growth will only accelerate in FY 2018-19. Q1 FY 2018-19 estimates were at 8.2% which clearly shows that there’s no case to argue for an Economic Slowdown in the year FY 2018-19.

Yes, global growth will slow-down in this fiscal but then, the last couple of years saw a marginal increase in exports so the impact of a global slowdown may not be as severe as being projected. The reason behind this is the strong growth in demand that India has witnessed this fiscal and a bulk of this demand has come from the rural areas. The article also cites Increasing Oil Prices to be a downside risk to India’s growth, but it conveniently ignores the moderation in the international oil prices and the impact of India’s treaty to purchase Oil from Iran along with the waiver from sanctions that the US has provided to India.

Clearly, the author does not understand macroeconomics and has failed to provide an argument so as to why a slowdown is possible in this fiscal. In fact, the projected forecast for the FY2018-19 is of 7.2-7.5% GDP growth rate which is considerably higher than the 6.7% FY 2017-18estimates, so the entire argument of a slowdown is façade and should not be taken too seriously.

Another issue he highlighted was on the rural wage growth rate using the CMIE data. Let us debunk this myth. The real rural wage growth for men and women has been positive which means that even after inflation adjustment, the incomes increased between January 2017 and January 2018. With an increase in nominal wages and low inflation, real wages are bound to increase compared to the year before.

Even though the growth rate slowed a bit in January 2018 from January 2017, given that it’s still positive it shows that the wages are growing. Another thing worth noting is that PM-ASHA has come into effect so the growth rate in real rural wages have started to accelerate since the last month. This in itself represents the fact that the data point considered in Shivam Vij’s article published in The Print does not take due cognizance of such facts and latest available data. As a result, it would be unwise to draw any inference based upon the data point used by the author in their original article.

Besides, another important issue is of low inflation, as highlighted in the original article. Without due consideration of why there is low inflation, he has made an assessment on rural distress. The price realization and farm income have gone up in this Kharif season due to PM-ASHA which means that food inflation should have gone up. Despite that, the reason why the key inflation indicators remain is due to the fact that GST has reduced the effective tax rates on most commodities.

It is this fact along with the structural transformation that the Indian Economy is undergoing which is ensuring that the inflation figures continue to remain consistent within the 5% mark. The increase in the sale of tractors along with the strong rural demand further indicates the absence of a rural distress.

The entire narrative of rural distress is a convenient illusion of those who are trying to speculate a repeat of 2004 like outcome in 2019, but what they seem to undermine is the impact that schemes like Ujjwala, Swachh Bharat, Saubhagya electrification scheme, PM Awas Yojna and Ayushman Bharat are going to have in transforming the lives of the poor who reside in Rural India.

I may not be surprised if, on the 11th December, we witness a strong rural sweep, a trend which may very well continue in 2019. For all the wishful thinking of such analysts, it is about time they go to the ground and see what the pulse of the people is, for Delhi gives a very wrong idea of what people of India feel.

‘Artist’ TM Krishna had admitted he feels no empathy when RSS members are killed

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘Artist’ TM Krishna had admitted he feels no empathy when RSS members are killed

Carnatic music artist TM Krishna is being hailed as some ‘martyr’ who was denied his ‘right to sing’ after organisers postponed an event where he was scheduled to sing. Many self-proclaimed liberals declared this as an attack on free speech, with Ramchandra Guha, an expert over everything and a Nehru fan, terming the postponement of event ‘barbarism’.

However, it appears that if there is any barbarian around, it’s the ‘artist’ TM Krishna himself, who had admitted that he feels no empathy when RSS members are killed by communists or Islamists in places like Kerala.

Trying to give context to his barbarian and bloodthirsty beliefs, Krishna had funnily blamed the Modi government for making him inhuman.

“They (BJP and allies) have made the rest of us crass and inhuman to the extent that we are unable to empathise when an RSS member is killed,” the controversial artist had poured his unbridled hate in an article written for left-leaning portal Scroll.

While Krishna admits to feeling no empathy with a caveat that it was unfortunate, it has been long argued that many self-proclaimed liberals, primarily journalists and ‘activists’, actually celebrate when RSS members are murdered or die.


Many journalists and some Congress supporting Twitter handles had opposed suspension of Twitter handle of a left-wing troll who used to regularly celebrate murder of RSS workers.

This hate by Krishna and others is no different than some people who had allegedly downplayed murder of left-wing activist Gauri Lankesh, except that one kind of hater is hailed as ‘artist’ while others are painted as ‘trolls’.

Apart from unbridled hatred for fellow human beings, TM Krishna is no fan of engaging with opposite ideology and holds toxic political beliefs, which were exposed by classical dancer Sonal Mansingh in an article published in The Indian Express.

Showcasing his intolerant and exclusivist attitude, TM Krishna had attacked former President Pranab Mukherjee for attending an event hosted by the RSS. Ironically, that was not termed as intolerance by self-styled liberals.

Krishna’s beliefs are no different from an average self-declared liberal person, who camouflage their hate for Hindu religion as “anti-Brahmanism” or “anti-Hinduvta”; writers like Sandeep Balakrishna have argued.

‘Hypocritical to act as a vicious political activist and claim the privilege of an artist’: Veteran artist Sonal Mansingh on TM Krishna

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘Hypocritical to act as a vicious political activist and claim the privilege of an artist’: Veteran artist Sonal Mansingh on TM Krishna

Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the cultural body, SPIC-MACAY had jointly organised ‘Dance and Music in the Park’ festival in which, controversial artist TM Krishna who has been called a bigot and a Hinduphone was to perform. Along with TM Krishna, several other artists including the veteran performer Sonal Mansingh was also to perform.

After news of TM Krishna performing at an AAI event, several protests erupted. AAI has specified that it had decided to call off the concert citing “exigencies of work”.

“Because of some exigencies of work, we are not in a position to go ahead with the dance & music concert jointly organised with SPIC MACAY on 17th and 18th November 2018 at Nehru Park, New Delhi. Hence, we request you to kindly postpone to a new date and inform all concerned. The new date will be discussed with SPIC-MACAY soon,” the email said from AAI to SPIC-MACAY said.

TM Krishna, a notable Carnatic music artist, has been in news for his contentious views on Carnatic music after he had announced that he would compose and sing Carnatic songs to gods of other religion. His statements to belittle age-old traditions of Carnatic artform had caused furore across the country.

Veteran artist Sonal Mansingh, who was also to be a part of the concert has today written an op-ed on Indian Express, not only slamming Krishna for making this cancellation a ‘freedom of expression’ cause, but also for his political activism.

Krishna had said “Give me a stage anywhere in Delhi on November 17, I will come and sing. We just can’t let ourselves be cowed down by this kind of threats”, right after the event had got postponed.

Sonal Mansingh has written that all artists need to be prepared for their shows getting reschedule or cancelled and turning this into a freedom of speech issue is not acceptable. She said that artists are conscious keepers of society and hence, it is necessary that artists always speak facts.

She said that TM Krishna’s political views are well known and that has never prevented him from performing anywhere, and it is concerning that a narrative which doesn’t exist is being furthered.

She writes:

It is intriguing why this one cancellation of a programme has only become about Krishna and the purported hand of the Narendra Modi government as well as the prime minister personally! Disagreeing, and in Krishna’s case, severely disliking the prime minister, is fine, but what is not is to make this about an assault on freedom of expression, where there is none.

She also expressed concern over TM Krishna’s political activism. She said that disagreeing with authority is all well and good, but the personal tone is concerning. The vitriol against Prime Minister is his political activism, and it is fine for artists to be political activists, but they should explicitly say so. She also expressed concern over several people attaching everything to Prime Minister Modi and seeing his invisible hands no matter what happens.

After talking about the emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, she writes:

Traces of the same also happened after 2004 when the likes of Anupam Kher, Raveena Tandon and myself were rather unceremoniously removed from our various positions. Our only crime — we were appointed by an earlier regime. Back in 2014, Krishna wrote, “Musicians, as citizens, have every right to have strong political positions and express them but how does one — can one — retain musical aesthetics while using music to advance one’s own socio-political positions?” Today, who is doing the same?

She says there is no moral superiority in being an artist or an activist, but it is wrong for an artist to behave like a vicious political activist while demanding the rights of an article.

Veteran artist Sonal Mansingh’s article can be read in full here.

The Andhra Pradesh government led by CM Chandrababu Naidu has banned CBI

OpIndia Staff
-
0
The Andhra Pradesh government led by CM Chandrababu Naidu has banned CBI

If CBI was not facing enough trouble already, now it has been ‘banned’ from one state in India. The Andhra Pradesh government, through an order issued dated 8th November 2018, has withdrawn the ‘General Consent’ given to CBI to investigate cases in the state.

The order says that in an exercise of the powers conferred by section 6 of Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, the Andhra Pradesh Government is withdrawing the general consent accorded to all the members of Delhi Special Police Establishment to exercise the powers and jurisdiction under the Act in the State of Andhra Pradesh.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) operates under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, and Delhi Special Police Establishment means the CBI in legal terms.


Section 6 of the Act invoked by the Andhra government says:

Nothing contained in section 5 shall be deemed to enable any member of the Delhi Special Police Establishment to exercise powers and jurisdiction in any area in 2 [a State, not being a Union territory or railway area], without the consent of the Government of that State.]

This means, to investigate any case in any state in India, the CBI needs to obtain consent from the respective state government. If a state government does not give its consent or withdraws such consent given earlier, the CBI has to withdraw from the state.

Ever since Chandrababu Naidu led TDP exited from NDA earlier this year, the party is in a collision course with the central government. The party had even brought a no-confidence motion against the Modi government in parliament, despite the government having a clear majority.

There are speculations that as the interim director M Nageshwar Rao is from Andhra Pradesh, the state government has taken this step to pre-empt any investigation into the affairs of state government by CBI.


A state government effectively banning the premier investigation agency of the nation is a major and very serious incident. It will be interesting to see what action the union government will take next on the issue.

There is already a Gauhati High Court order declaring CBI ‘unconstitutional’, which is stayed by Supreme Court but not overturned yet. Perhaps it is time to bring a comprehensive legislation to govern the Central Bureau of Investigation so that such incidents can be avoided.

Jaish terrorist Zakir Moosa spotted in Amritsar, agencies in Punjab and Delhi on high alert

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Jaish terrorist Zakir Moosa spotted in Amritsar, agencies in Punjab and Delhi on high alert

One of the most wanted terrorists, Zakir Moosa, was spotted in Amritsar, following which Punjab Police on Friday released his posters with a message to people to inform the police in case they see someone similar. Moosa, who is also an Al Qaeda commander was spotted earlier today and the intelligence inputs claim that the terrorist, along with his group, may be moving towards Delhi.

Moosa, along with 5-6 other Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists are believed to be moving towards Delhi to carry out a terror attack. Punjab Inspector General of Police (Counter Intelligence) has issued a letter to all Punjab Police commissioners and district police chiefs asking them to be on high alert following the input. Checkpoints are set up along the important routes and strict checking is being carried out. The letter further instructs the police to take necessary countermeasures for sensitive locations.

The Police along the border area have been asked to coordinate with the Border Security Force to ensure no untoward incident takes place.

An intel report released early in November warned of a terror strike in the Kashmir valley by Moosa in collaboration with Hizbul terrorists who were believed to be hiding in Kashmir’s Pulwama.

CIA torture report: Times of crisis and the grey areas of acceptable conduct

K Bhattacharjee
-
0
CIA torture report: Times of crisis and the grey areas of acceptable conduct

In a 90-page (Central Intelligence Agency) CIA report that was made public recently, the agency has detailed its use of torture during interrogation of terror suspects after 9/11 terror attacks. Apart from techniques like waterboarding and walling, the agency also mentions that it pondered over using drugs that could work as ‘truth serum’, thus forcing suspects to spill out information.

The CIA’s torture techniques have attracted much criticism from human rights organisations. The American Civil Liberties Union has commented that the CIA has left behind a legacy of broken bones and tortured minds. “Just like the government lawyers who tried to give unlawful torture a veneer of legality, the secret history reveals that CIA doctors were indispensable to the effort of legitimising the program,” said ACLU attorney Dror Ladin. “Perhaps the most striking element of the document is the CIA doctors’ willful blindness to the truth of what they were doing.”

It is rather unsurprising that human rights organisations are up in arms against the CIA for its torture techniques. However, they conveniently ignore the context of their actions. The CIA is obviously not a beacon of honesty and their conduct is not something anyone should emulate, given their history of gross human rights violations and toppling governments to install a US-puppet in its place. However, in this particular instance, it is important to understand the context in which they operated.

The intelligence agencies had received a lot of flak for their massive failure to prevent the attacks at the Twin Towers. Hundreds and thousands of lives were murdered that day and it surely weighed heavy on their conscience. Therefore, they had the responsibility to ensure that such a tragedy was never repeated ever again and it is only natural that they were prepared to go to any extent to ensure that.

Before condemning the CIA for employing torture techniques, there are certain dilemmas we need to ponder over. Whose right to life should matter more for intelligence and law enforcement agencies? That of Jihadis or their own countrymen? Torturing terror suspects in return for potential information that could prevent further terror attacks, is it a fair deal? Do terrorists even have ‘human rights’?

Do we really want to tie the hands of the intelligence agencies which could then lead to terrorist attacks that could have been otherwise prevented? These are complicated questions and their answers are not always black or white.

The absolutist stand that human rights organisations tend to adopt in such matters is quite unhelpful. “Torture of terror suspects is bad and should be illegal!” Yes, it is undesirable, we know that and in an ideal world, it should attract the harshest of punishments. But we are not living in an ideal world and harsh circumstances call for harsh measures. The officers who participated in the torture carried the immense burden of protection of innocent lives in their hands. Do we punish people for crossing the line in pursuit of ensuring the safety of innocent civilians?

There are genuine concerns over legitimising torture of course which is often lost during absolutist stands. Legitimising torture could very well lead to the government’s persecution of critics and those it perceives to be political enemies. It could also lead to the persecution of innocent civilians. More importantly, should any government have the power to torture people into submission? These are all very serious concerns which cannot be brushed aside. US intelligence agencies have certainly proved time and again that ethical corruption runs rampant in these institutions. Therefore, a national debate is imperative in this regard, preferably without beginning from absolutist positions.

The United States of America is a beast in its own right. Their forces have committed a range of atrocities all across the globe. But one thing it does very well is to protect its own interests. Human rights organisations, like the ACLU here, for instance, are coming across as extremely hypocritical. Torture techniques are something that bothers the ACLU quite a lot. The organisation has said in light of the CIA report that is important to seek the release of more documents relating to the matter as President Donald Trump during his campaign had stated that he planned to legalise certain methods of torture. And yet, the same organisations support Hillary Clinton who championed U.S. military intervention in Libya that threw the region into chaos. There is certain duplicity at work here. These organisations seem to accord disproportionate attention to the torture of terror suspects, a very limited number of people, and support politicians that destabilise an entire region and plunge it into chaos.

In all honesty, it’s not just the US which has a terrible human rights record. Every country embraces cruelty in some form or another, only to varying degrees. All Islamic countries, many African countries and China above all have terrible human rights record as well. Since the US is the greatest superpower on Earth at the moment, it’s only natural that their greed and selfishness lead to correspondingly more devastating consequences. The US has destabilised the entire Middle East to satisfy its own greed, China has millions in concentration camps.

My larger point is, in the grand scheme of things, the torture of terror suspects post 9/11 is a speck of dust when compared to the conduct of the US in the middle east. It is an open secret that they armed Jihadis in a bid to overthrow the Assad in Syria. If Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and other senior officials in the erstwhile administration are not prosecuted for the ‘human rights violations’ they have committed by aiding and abetting Jihadis, what good will it serve by punishing those who employed controversial techniques to prevent terror attacks? In the case of the latter, the intentions appear to be honest. The same cannot be said of the former. Remarkably, human rights organisations remain tight-lipped about powerful Democrats whose policies have felicitated the rise of slavery in Libya in the second decade of the 21st century.

There is another aspect to the matter as well. Civilisations are built over blood and bones, not fancy claims to abstract concepts such as human rights. It has been the case for the entire duration of human civilisation and it continues to be so. The only reason the US and China can get away with it is that they have the power to do so without any consequences. As I have said before in a previous article, contrary to claims that China will regret its treatment of Uighur Muslims, if the country has to suffer, it will be due to a confrontation with the US for power and domination. In the same manner that Adolf Hitler met his end due to the War that began as a consequence of his imperial ambitions, not due to him committing a genocide.

India gets far more stick than any other country for crimes that it hasn’t even committed. Liberals in India go on and on about the ‘colonial’ nature of the Indian state and how the Indian Army is treating Kashmiri separatists in a very cruel manner deserving of condemnation. The truth of the matter is, India has been treating Kashmiri separatists with kids gloves. No other country will tolerate terrorist sympathisers pelting stones at security forces to help terrorists get away. Despite such benevolent treatment, India receives far more condemnation for defending our own territory against external and internal threats than others do for committing acts of aggression. The message on the wall is clear. Power matters and might is right in the domain of international politics.

Coming back to the CIA, there needs to be greater accountability and intelligence agencies need to be subject to intense scrutiny. The CIA has done itself no favours given its dubious track record. At the same time, I do not believe human rights organisations have the right people to judge the actions of those who have to make choices that could result in life and death. There has to be an alternative mechanism to determine an acceptable code of conduct for intelligence officers in moments of crisis and it has to come from the legislative and executive branches of the government and not from advocates of a pseudo-religion.

Elgaar Parishad chargesheet: Arrested Urban Naxals were planning to incite Dalits, overthrow democratic system

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Elgaar Parishad chargesheet: Arrested Urban Naxals were planning to incite Dalits, overthrow democratic system

The Pune city police on Thursday has filed a charge sheet against alleged five Urban Naxals arrested in June this year for their alleged Maoist links and in connection with their alleged involvement in a plot to kill Prime Minister Modi.

According to the reports, Pune police in its charge sheet has said that some Maoist leaders were planning to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and were conspiring to procure arms and ammunition to wage a war against the country. The police have submitted that the Maoists were attempting to mobilise and incite Dalits and the Elgar Parishad violence occurred in Pune last December was also part of their strategy.

The 5,000-page charge sheet filed by the Pune police has names of 10 persons, including Nagpur-based lawyer Surendra Gadling, Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale of Republican Panthers, all were arrested on June 6. Addition to these five, absconding underground Maoists Milind Teltumbde, Prakash alias Ritupam Goswami, Prashant Bose alias Kishan da, Manglu and Deepu have also been named in the charge sheet.

“As a part of this strategy, Sudhir Dhavale and other members of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM, a cultural group) spread hatred by giving inciting speeches, presenting distorted history and staging provocative skits and songs,” it said.

It further stated that the larger conspiracy of the CPI-Maoists was to overthrow the democratic system in the country and the arrested alleged Urban Naxals were working to achieve it. The charge sheet, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and IPC, was filed in the court of District & Sessions Judge Kishor D Vadane here.

The police revealed that the Elgar Parishad was organised with “inspiration, money and directions” of Maoists. The police have cited several documents seized from the Maoist leaders to make the claim on Modi’s assassination plan.

Shivaji Pawar, Assistant Commissioner of Police and the investigating officer, said Pune Police recorded the statement of surrendered Maoist leader Pahad Singh, who gave details about the network of Maoists in urban areas.

“Singh gave details of Milind Teltumbade’s role. He revealed that Teltumbade has the responsibility of spreading Maoist network in urban areas and he is particularly involved in mobilizing the Dalit community for Maoist activities,” he said.

The five suspected ‘Urban Maoists’ were arrested by the Pune police on 6 June, over charges of organising the Elgaar Parishad held at Pune’s Shaniwarwada on 31 December 2017, which is believed to have instigated the Bhima-Koregaon violence a day later.

In addition to these five, in a nation-wide crackdown, the police had arrested activist P Varavara Rao in Hyderabad, ‘human rights activist’ and ‘journalist’ Gautam Navlakha in Delhi, ‘activists Vernon Gonzalves and Arun Pereira in Mumbai, ‘civil rights’ lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj in Delhi, civil rights ‘activist’ Anand Teltumbde in Goa and ‘activist’ Stan Swamy in Ranchi in relation with Elgar Parishad violence and plot to kill the Prime Minister Modi.

Sabarimala: Activist Trupti Desai arrives at Cochin; taxi drivers deny their services, offer return ticket to destination of her choice

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Sabarimala: Activist Trupti Desai arrives at Cochin; taxi drivers deny their services, offer return ticket to destination of her choice

Activist Trupti Desai who has vowed to enter the Sabarimala temple on 17th November as the doors open for the third time after the Supreme Court verdict arrived at the Cochin airport early this morning. However, amidst the protests, the taxi drivers have refused to take the group on their journey onward.

While reports say that the taxi drivers are refusing to offer their services fearing for their safety, some say that they even offered a return ticket to the destination of their choice.


All seven women arrived from Pune to Cochin at around 4 am today morning and have since been stuck at the airport. However, it is not yet clear whether Trupti Desai and her colleagues have observed the Vratham, a 41 day period where the devotees who are going to visit the shrine control their lifestyle, including abstaining from consumption of alcohol, tobacco and eating only vegetarian food.

The police is deployed in large number at the airport as well as at the shrine to ensure safety of pilgrims. Meanwhile, Trupti Desai has vowed that she will not return to Maharashtra till she does a darshan at the Sabarimala temple.

Supreme Court verdict

On 28 September, the Supreme Court had ruled that women of all age group to be allowed in the shrine which till now prohibited entry of women of menstruating age. Since then, protests erupted against the decision of the court. Men and women came out on the streets protesting against the interference of the court in the traditions of the temple. A review has been filed in the Supreme Court against the judgment by the Pandalam royal family, the Nair Service Society, the Tanthri or the chief priest of the Sabarimala temple and National Ayyappa Devotees Association.

Despite being aware of the outrage among the devotees against the judgment, the Kerala Chief Minister refused to file a review petition against the court order. He said that he will abide by the decision of the Apex Court and will provide facilities to devotees who wish to visit Sabarimala. The temple priests boycotted the talks called by the Kerala government.

No female devotee of Lord Ayyappa tried to enter the shrine. Two women activists, Kavitha Jakkala (a journalist) and Rehana Fatima (a Muslim), none of whom was a devotee of Lord Ayyappa, tried to enter the shrine amidst full police protection but they were met with resistance of the protesting devotees. Another woman, Mary Sweety, also returned midway as she was stopped by the protesters. The erstwhile royal family of Pandalam asked the head priest to close the doors of the shrine as two women headed for the temple under police protection. Meanwhile, the State Devaswom (religious trusts)  minister, Kadakampally Surendran, said that while people of all ages should be allowed to go there, it should not be made into a place where activists come and showcase their power.

Kerala government has beefed up the security and section 144 (which prohibits assembly of more than 4 people in an area) has been imposed in Nilakkal, Pamba and Sannidhanam as the doors to the shrine open later in the evening today.

At the time of this report, Desai is still stuck in the airport.

Don’t want to be a decorative piece, want to be a hardcore worker: Poonam Dhillon, Vice President BJP Mumbai

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Don’t want to be a decorative piece, want to be a hardcore worker: Poonam Dhillon, Vice President BJP Mumbai

Actress Poonam Dhillon, who is a member of the BJP, said that she does not want to be a decorative piece and wants to be a hardcore worker as she was entrusted with the charge of Vice-President of Mumbai BJP.


Dhillon, who had joined BJP in 2004 said that she was not as active earlier as she had kids to look after. “I joined the party in 2004. However, because of various commitments or responsibilities, I was supportive, but I was not ready to take on a very active role. It wasn’t the right time as both my children were small… Now they are grown up and independent,” she said.

“I feel very strongly that the country needs dedicated people who have passion… rather than those who are in politics only for a career. I want to do my bit for my city and my country. That’s why I volunteered; now I can do anything that is required as I have the time,” Poonam told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

However, Dhillon’s appointment as the Mumbai BJP Vice President did not go down well with filmmaker Ashok Pandit who questioned her contribution to the party and the society.


In reply to Ashok Pandit’s tweet Dhillon said, “I think he should ask Ashish Shelar, because I didn’t make the appointment. I have definitely been a silent worker. I did not call any media for the appointment announcement. I don’t believe in glorifying things and milking opportunities.”

She tweeted:


While some people agreed with Ashok Pandit,


there were others who supported Dhillon.


Dhillon wants to work for the cause of farmers and help the families of the farmers who commit suicide.

“I’ve been doing work for the farmers of Maharashtra. I will continue that. The farmers who commit suicide, their families are left so bereft. That’s one of the causes I work on… to uplift their aged parents, young wives or children. Farmer suicide is an issue I wish gets eradicated, but in the meanwhile, if there’s little help that we can do for the families, that is something I actively want to do,” she said.

1...6,8906,8916,892...7,675Page 6,891 of 7,675