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Muslim League activists attack BJP office in Kerala during supposed anti-rape protest

OpIndia Staff
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Muslim League activists attack BJP office in Kerala during supposed anti-rape protest

A BJP office in Kerala’s Vatakara district was attacked during a supposed protest march by the Indian Union Muslim League on Friday. The Muslim league was said to be protesting against the rape incidents from Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua and Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao regions.

During the protest, the activists of the Muslim League were reported to have raised provocative slogans against the BJP. During the protest, the Muslim League activists also clashed with the BJP workers. The scuffle though hasn’t resulted in any injuries.

Later the protesting Muslim league activists pelted eggs and stones at the BJP office:


As a result of this attack, the BJP has called a strike in Vatakara on Saturday. While the media narrative has fuelled the “rapists being shielded” narrative when one looks at the facts of both the cases, one wonders who exactly is shielding the rapists considering the ones being accused of doing so are simply asking for a CBI enquiry.

This incidentally isn’t the only incident of violence against the BJP reported in recent days from Kerala.

Reports have claimed that Saji a Melancode councillor and BJP’s general secretary was attacked in state capital Thiruvananthapuram by bike-borne assailants on Friday. He was travelling along with another BJP leader named Prakash who escaped unharmed.

Following the attack, Saji has been admitted to a hospital where his condition is said to be stable. The BJP has alleged that activists belonging to the CPI(M) and radical Islamist outfit’s political arm Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) are behind the attack.

If reports are to be believed BJP workers have also been at the receiving end of apartheid in the state. Reports have claimed that about 20 houses in Kalamachal falling under the Thiruvananthapuram district have banned the entry of BJP workers. The campaign believed to be spearheaded by the CPM has seen posters put up in front of the houses which read, “Sanghis not welcome in this home. There are small children here”.

Who exactly is shielding the rapists in the Unnao and Kathua Rape cases?

Sanghamitra
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Who exactly is shielding the rapists in the Unnao and Kathua Rape cases?

The current environment in the country is rife with tension. Two cases of crimes against women and the subsequent events have stirred up quite a controversy in national media. Allegations, counter-allegations and news debates have now eased into candlelight marches and the cases of law and order have now become issues of political mudslinging and goal scoring.

The Unnao rape case in UP that unfolded earlier this week grabbed media attention when the victim’s father died allegedly while in custody. The victim and her family had earlier attempted self-immolation outside the CM’s residence. After the father’s death allegations started pouring from all over. The loudest point was, the state government of UP is ‘shielding’ the alleged rapists.

Media and opposition alike were claiming that the Yogi Adityanath led government in UP has been protective towards the culprits and alleged assaulters of the victim’s father. But the police took swift action and the accused police officers were suspended on the same day. The rape accused BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar’s brother Atul was arrested on the next day. Within a span of 48 hours the case was handed over to the CBI and an FIR was lodged against Kuldeep Sengar. Kuldeep Sengar has also been arrested. The government has assured full protection and security to the victim and her family.

In the case of the Kathua rape and killing of a minor girl, the crime had happened in January. There was no cries of ‘shielding’ and ‘protecting’ from the media or the opposition in all these months. The PDP-BJP government had given the case to the Jammu and Kashmir crime branch and though there was earlier news of Hindus being targeted and forced to leave their villages, the government seems to have completed the investigation and charge sheet was filed on Monday.

Suddenly on the day of the charge sheet filing, the media narrative took an unexpected turn. What has been a grossly underreported case till now, grabbed headlines in print, broadcast and social media. The Jammu Bar Association had held a protest before the courtroom demanding CBI probe into the matter and they have also been demanding action over the Rohingya settlement issue. The Bar Association had also called for Jammu Bandh over the issues.


The popular narrative that was fed on national media was that the Lawyers of Jammu are ‘shielding’ the rapists of Kathua case and obstructing the filing of charge sheet. Soon, there was massive outrage and debates. Within no time, the issue was given communal colours and prominent intellectuals termed it ‘Hindu Nationalists shielding rapists of Muslim girl‘. Terms like ‘cow-vigilantism’, anti-muslim mindset etc were incorporated into the narrative too. All this due to the fact that there were few slogans of ‘Jai Shriram’ during the lawyer’s agitation and the lawyers carried the national flag while holding protests over the Rohingya issue and demand of CBI enquiry in the Kathua rape case. Let’s reiterate that. They demanded a CBI ENQUIRY.

Now that more details from Jammu are emerging, the ‘shielding rapists’ narrative looks dicey. Who exactly is shielding he rapists? BS Slathia, the President of the Jammu Bar Association yesterday held a press conference and clarified that the Bar Association in no way holds any sympathy for the perpetrators and asserted that they demand the harshest punishment for the crime. He insisted that they are demanding a CBI enquiry for fair and unbiased investigations into the case. He even insisted that in spite of several attempts to clarify the journalists covering the Jammu Bandh that they are protesting against illegal Rohingya settlement in Jammu and CBI enquiry into Kathua case, the narrative of ‘shielding rapists’ has been propagated endlessly, painting the Bar Association as rapist sympathisers.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMO2CwZSQRk]

The Kathua rape case has been condemned and strictest possible punishment is being demanded from every circle, be it the state or central government. J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti has promised every possible action. BJP ministers in the central government have openly called for strict and swift action. Even the Prime Minister has spoken up and said the culprits won’t be spared. What is interesting is, even the Congress has declared that it supports the demand for CBI probe in the case, exactly what the Bar Association has been demanding. Now, it indeed becomes the glaring question that who exactly is shielding the rapists anyway? The BJP is not, the PDP is not, the Jammu Bar Association is not, then who?

Fresh details have been emerging from Jammu. There are reports of how the probing SIT has specifically targetted people in the villages and the way the locals have been demanding action against illegal Rohingya settlements and demographic challenges the region has been facing over the years. Looks like, there are deeper, wider and bigger issues with the area and the protests and demands for CBI enquiry are owing to the deeper issues.

This brings us to ask, how did the narrative of ‘Hindu Nationalists’ shielding rapists, ‘BJP shielding rapists’ etc get so much of media and political traction? Has this been another carefully constructed agenda driven campaigns, like the Church attacks and beef ban has been, where the media successfully managed to manufacture outrage and divert from real issues? Given the level of hatred, this narrative has generated, it becomes evident that we, the people need to tread carefully whenever the mainstream media highlights an issue. More often than not, the outrages are misplaced and the real issues are left behind.

The Congress has now started ‘disowning‘ BS Slathia and leaders after reports emerged that they were associated with them. That still does not answer the question, who was shielding the rapists after all?

Scuffle in Ahmedabad after Jignesh Mevani and supporters obstruct BJP leaders from paying respect to Ambedkar statue

OpIndia Staff
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Scuffle in Ahmedabad after Jignesh Mevani and supporters obstruct BJP leaders from paying respect to Ambedkar statue

Scuffles and chaotic scenes were witnessed in Ahmedabad after caste activist and Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani along with his supporters tried to obstruct BJP MPs and MLAs from paying respect to Ambedkar statue in the city. According to reports, Mevani and his supporters raised anti-BJP slogans and stopped the BJP leaders from garlanding the statue.


Following the scuffle, five of Mevani’s supporters were detained by the police. Mevani tweeted that his supporters were detained at Sarangpur and were later taken to Kalupur police station. According to reports, BJP MP Kirit Solanki was among those who were stopped by Mevani and his group.

Earlier on April 9, while speaking in a seminar organised by his Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, Mevani had stated that he and his group are against the Supreme Court order for amendments in the SC/ST (PoA) Act and they demand the BJP led central government to bring in an ordinance to repeal the order. He had stated that they will not allow BJP leaders to garland statues of Ambedkar on 14th April if the government fails to bring in the ordinance.

Mevani had also called for the impeachment of the two Supreme Court justices who passed the order. The Bharat Bandh called by several Dalit groups against the Supreme Court order saw widespread violence in many locations across the country. The SC had later refused to stay the order and stated that it does not dilute the Act in any way and the order only ensures safeguards against the rampant misuse of the Act.

Opinion poll predicts hung Assembly in Karnataka elections

OpIndia Staff
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Opinion poll predicts hung Assembly in Karnataka elections

An India Today-Karvy Insights opinion poll conducted a month before the high octane Karnataka Assembly predicts a hung Assembly, with no party reaching the magic figure of 112 seats out of 225-member Assembly on its own. Even Congress, which is currently in power in the state, may not emerge as a single largest party with managing to get about 90 to 101 seats.

The opinion poll predicts that the BJP which is hoping to oust the current Siddaramaiah government may end up winning 78 to 86 seats. HD Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular) may be the kingmaker in the upcoming polls as the party and its pre-poll alliance member Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) winning between 34 and 43 seats.

According to the opinion poll, in terms of vote share, Congress is expected to get about 37 percent of votes, while BJP may get 35 percent and the JD(S) and BSP alliance could win about 19 percent vote share.

As compared to the current Assembly, Congress stands to lose seats and the BJP stands to win more seats. However, the improved performance may not ensure a big win for the party. The opinion poll says that while the Congress will see its seat tally come down, there is a silver lining in store for the party as most in Karnataka want the JD(S)-BSP alliance to extend its support to the Grand Old Party. On the other hand, just 39 per cent want the JD(S)+ to tie up with the Congress in case of a hung Assembly while 29 per cent want the party to ally with BJP.

For the poll, 27,919 interviews were conducted across all of Karnataka’s 224 constituencies that will vote in the upcoming Assembly election on May 12 (results will be out May 15). One seat MLA out of 225 constituencies is a Governor’s nominee from the Anglo-Saxon community. About 45 percent of those interviewed, especially the Muslim community, feel that Siddaramaiah led Congress should get a second chance. Employment and lack of job opportunities remains the biggest cause of concern amongst the Kannadigas. Price rise, corruption and lack of access to drinking water are also issues of concern.

Ambedkar Jayanti : Fadnavis govt to begin providing 100% electricity to 192 Dalit villages

Abhishek Banerjee
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Ambedkar Jayanti : Fadnavis govt to begin providing 100% electricity to 192 Dalit villages

What makes India a “third world country”? I would say that, above all, it is the fact that hundreds of millions of people in India still go without electricity. It boggles the mind to imagine just how much our human capital goes waste because of this. The lack of electricity snuffs out the chance to open a small business. Just think of all the young kids for whom it is a struggle to do their homework in the evenings. With the lights on, think of the books they could be reading, the information they could be getting off the internet and the fresh ideas they could have come up with.

It also goes without saying that the most deprived here would be members of the so-called “lower castes”, Dalits and tribals, etc.

So, here is Fadnavis government doing something wonderful to celebrate Ambedkar Jayanti.

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The father of India’s Constitution would certainly have approved.

When Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, the government identified as many as 18,452 villages in India that had not even been electrified. More than two-thirds of these villages have now been electrified.

But there is more to this statistic than meets the eye. As per the government definition, a village is considered “electrified” if a mere 10% of its households have electricity connections. In other words, even if a village has 90% of its households living without electricity, it is still a village that has been “electrified” in the official sense.

So, the real number of villages without electricity in any meaningful sense is likely to be frighteningly higher. What a sad commentary on our country 70 years after independence.

The 192 Dalit dominated villages that Fadnavis Govt is electrifying today will not be fed some official, bureaucratic definition of “electrified”. They will be given 100% electrification. Electricity for every home. Sabka saath, sabka vikas.

As per the TOI report, these 192 villages are spread out across 20 districts of Maharashtra. The villages include 34 in Akola, 25 in Amravati, 22 in Buldhana, 20 in Nanded, 15 in Washim, 13 in Yavatmal, 8 in Gadchiroli, 7 each in Chandrapur and Solapur, 5 in Hingoli, 4 in Nagpur, 3 each in Ahmednagar and Beed and 2 in Wardha.

This project will be carried out under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojnaand the Saubhagya scheme.

It also goes without saying who benefitted the most from keeping India in the darkness. Who benefits the most if people are frozen in time, thinking exactly like they did 70 years ago?

Who benefits the most if women are tied to the kitchen, trying to cook with firewood, destroying their health (not to mention destroying the environment) in the process? Who benefits the most if the young people think exactly like their parents did?

Well, it’s a simple question. It would mean that the party that ruled for 60 years would be able to stay in power indefinitely. This is a simple fact that I hope people will understand. The Congress Party has absolutely nothing to gain from moving the country forward. In the 50s, their vote share was above 40%, by the 70s and 80s it had fallen towards the 30% mark. Around 1999/2000, it fell further to the 25% range. In 2014, it fell below 20%. If it falls further to below 15% or 10%, the Congress can forget about coming to power ever again.

In other words, Rahul would have to be really silly to want this country to move ahead.

Okay, I guess I walked into that one. Sorry.

Let’s rephrase. Let’s just say that the establishment that supports Rahul Gandhi would have to be absolutely silly to want this country to move ahead.

Hope you remember this simple fact when you go out to vote in 2019.

Congress hit with internal turmoil while deciding Karnataka election candidate list

OpIndia Staff
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Congress hit with internal turmoil while deciding Karnataka election candidate list

The Congress party has had difficulties in deciding its first list of candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in the state, owing to supposed internal turmoil within the party. As per reports, differences cropped up between the members of the central election committee (CEC) of the party when it met on Friday.

The elections in Karnataka will be held on 12 May with the votes being counted on 15 May. Reports have claimed that the party would release the names for about 180 seats out of a total 225.

The CEC meeting chaired by Congress president Rahul Gandhi met twice, and for hours deliberated on the candidate selection. After failing to come to a consensus, the CEC decided to meet the next day.

The disagreement over the candidates supposedly stemmed over the seats currently held by rebel JD(S) members who have joined the Congress. Issue was also taken over incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s decision to contest from two seats.

The report claims that Siddaramaiah wishes to contest from the Chamundeshwari seat in Mysuru district and Bagalkot district’s Badami seat. This has been objected to by the senior members of the party like – Mallikarjun Kharge and Veerappa Moily who feel this move will send a negative message to the electorate.

Though it is being claimed that Rahul Gandhi has overruled the objections and given a go-ahead for Siddaramaiah to contest from those two seats by citing “interests of the party”.

Another point of protest from the senior Congress leaders has been with regards to giving rebel JD(S) leaders a ticket to contest the polls. They assert that the tickets should be given to those who have served the Congress for several years. Apprehensions were also cast on the loyalty of the new inductees.

Issue has also been taken over the possibility of giving tickets to the family members of CM Siddaramaiah, state Congress chief G Parameswara and some senior ministers.

Now as per latest reports, the Congress seems to have overcome its differences and finalised its candidate list.

Strike called by 16 left parties in West Bengal turns out to be a flop

OpIndia Staff
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Strike called by 16 left parties in West Bengal turns out to be a flop

A general strike called by the left parties in West Bengal on Friday failed to create much impact. As per reports, the strike drew a lukewarm response from the public, with most people normally going about their duties and the public transport remaining available. In light of the strike, the authorities had made strict security arrangements.

In total 16 left parties including all partners of the former ruling party, the CPI-M had called for a six-hour shutdown from 6 AM, to protest against the TMC’s efforts to bar opposition candidates from filing their nomination for the upcoming Panchayat elections.

Despite all the efforts of the left, office-goers in Kolkata and its twin city Howrah normally went to work. Public transportation including the metro plied normally. The Eastern and South-Eastern Railway sections too weren’t impacted by the strike. Educational institutions as per reports also normally went by their business, this included CBSE and the Calcutta University conducting examinations normally.

In order to further minimise the impact of the strike, the state government had issued a whip directing employees to report to work on Friday. A notification was also issued informing the employees that no casual leaves would be entertained on the day of the strike.

Most districts except West Bardhaman too functioned normally. In West Bardhaman’s Durgapur stray incidents of violence were reported, with left supporters putting up blockades and clashing with the police.

This strike which was called to protest against the barrage of violence believed to be perpetrated by the ruling TMC, against opposition party members, to try and prevent them from contesting the Panchayat polls scheduled to be held in the first week of May.

Just yesterday the Mamata government suffered a setback after the Calcutta High Court stayed all poll processes. The High Court also directed the State Election Commission (SEC) to furnish a comprehensive status report by Monday containing details like – total nominations filed and percentage of nominations rejected until further notice.

Kathua rape case: panelist lies on air, NDTV’s Nidhi does not correct her

OpIndia Staff
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Kathua rape case: panelist lies on air, NDTV’s Nidhi does not correct her

Actor Richa Chadha, who has earlier fit into the #AdarshLiberal mould, in a debate on NDTV claimed that the Kathua rape case has emerged after three months and hence there must be a coverup.


The story has been reported in media earlier, including NDTV.


NDTV had reported the incident as soon as the heinous crime came to light.


Other Twitter users, too, pointed out that Nidhi has deliberately left the fact that the news was reported earlier, too, out.


Since the unfortunate incident was reported earlier, why would Nidhi not correct Richa when she said that the news has surfaced only after three months?

Further, in her debate, Nidhi says that the girl was raped ‘because she was a Muslim’, while there is no such conclusive evidence to prove such. Bringing in religious colour to the heinous crime makes the fight for justice for the 8-year-old victim a tool for propaganda. Moreover, senior lawyer Vrinda Grover, who is against ‘naming and shaming’ of sexual predators in the academics and insists on ‘following due process‘ when it comes to saving one of their own accused of sexually predatory behaviour, claimed that the rapists are given ‘impunity’. Shocking that as a senior lawyer she would not read the charge sheet which mentions the sections under which the offences committed are punishable.

JK Congress Chief G A Mir had supported Hindu Ekta Manch’s demand in Kathua rape case

Nithesh S
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JK Congress Chief G A Mir had supported Hindu Ekta Manch’s demand in Kathua rape case

JKPCC (Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee) chief G A had supported a CBI probe in the Kathua Rape case in a video uploaded about one month back (on March 1, 2018).

He had also said that the real culprit had not been caught and political scores were being settled through this case. He had also said that he supported justice for the rape victim.


He had also claimed that those arrested by crime branch are innocents and the real criminals are free. He has changed track in recent times from his earlier statements. Suddenly, on April 11, Congress along with CPIM had condemned the protest by lawyers of Jammu, claiming that they had political motives.

As per a report by Firstpost, the JKPCC chief GA Mir told that the protest was “politically motivated, obnoxious and a conspiracy to achieve something out of this heinous crime for those hindering the process of justice”.


It remains to be seen if the Congress party will own up to its state party chief’s statement

‘The chargesheet was framed after the men were tortured and forced to confess’ claim family of Kathua rape accused

OpIndia Staff
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‘The chargesheet was framed after the men were tortured and forced to confess’ claim family of Kathua rape accused

The family of Kathua rape accused Vishal has claimed that they have attendance details and footage to claim that he had been in Meerut on January 12 and it would have been impossible for him to reach Kathua in time.

Vishal Jangotra is Sanji Ram’s son and a student in Meerut. Vishal is accused of having raped the girl along with Ramji’s minor nephew. The nephew had allegedly called Jangotra to the temple in case he wanted to ‘satisfy his lust’.


“We have attendance record to show that Vishal was in Meerut on January 12. There are footage and some mark sheets to prove that. We would also request the media to consider this — was Vishal sitting ready that he immediately left Meerut and reached Kathua in 12 hours’ time,” said Vishal’s sister Madhu to CNN New18

The family is sitting on an indefinite fast. They said that if a CBI probe is not ordered, “there will be no government here, only Jungle Raj”.

“She is my daughter because an eight-year-old can’t have a religion. She is an avatar of Vaishno Devi. The Mehbooba Mufti government is playing politics. We have always lived peacefully with the Muslims. There has never been a divide. The girl is our daughter too so where is the question of a Hindu Muslim divide in this?”, say the women who are fasting.

“The charge sheet was framed after the men were tortured and forced to confess. The juvenile accused told me that their nails were being ripped off and fingers twisted to extract a confession,” claims the family of accused.

“We are ready to even face capital punishment, but we won’t accept anything below a CBI enquiry”, the family of the accused told ABP Live.

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