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News18 report suggests Muslim population in Karnataka rose from 13% to 16% between 2011 and 2015

OpIndia Staff
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News18 report suggests Muslim population in Karnataka rose from 13% to 16% between 2011 and 2015

The Muslim population in Karnataka has seen a rise from 13% to 16% between 2011 and 2015 if a News18 report is to be believed. The report cites a certain “Socio-Economic Survey” whose findings are still in the “safe custody” of the government. By “safe custody” the reports means that the Siddaramaiah government is hesitant to publicise the findings, by calling them a “state secret”.

As per reports, this particular survey was commissioned by CM Siddaramaiah in April 2015 at the cost of about Rs 150 crores.

The report claims that the explosive content in question pertains to the falling numbers of the politically dominant Lingayats and Vokkaligas castes who currently account for about 50% of the MP and MLAs in the state. As per the census report, the two castes now comprise of about 14% and 11% of the population, which is less than the Scheduled Castes who are the largest caste entity at about 19.5%.

Such a waning demographic of the politically dominant castes is likely to send ripples across Karnataka’s political classes, which is allegedly the reason why Siddaramaiah government is in double minds regarding the publication of the report.

Incidentally, there’s another aspect to the whole exercise. As per the figures put out by News18, the Muslims are the second largest entity in the state, comprising of 16% of the population. If this is indeed true, it would mean that the community’s population has risen about 3.08% from 12.92% in 2011 as per census figures.

Even though the findings of the survey haven’t been extensively published, the claims of rising Muslim population in the state have been carried in disjoint media reports.

As per a Businessworld report from February, the number of “minorities” has been pegged at 16% of the total voters in the state. A local report from 2016 proceeded to peg the Muslim population in the state at about 15% while talking about their possible “under representation” in the state.

If the News18 figures indeed turn out to be true, the rise in Muslim population may raise a few eyebrows considering, their population rose from 9.87% to 12.92% between 1961 and 2011, and from 12.92% to about 16% just between 2011 and 2015.

Kolkata : 10 girls accused of being ‘lesbians’, parents allege attempt to cover up molestation

OpIndia Staff
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Kolkata : 10 girls accused of being ‘lesbians’, parents allege attempt to cover up molestation

West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, who has earlier opposed the uniform civil code in favour of triple talaq, has now said he does not ‘support lesbianism in schools’. On 8th March, a Kolkata school had allegedly ‘accused’ 10 girls of being lesbians and obtained a letter of admission that they touched fellow classmates ‘inappropriately’, sparking protest by the parents. The headmistress has reportedly said that their aim of making the girls write such letter is to ‘bring them back on right course’.


Reacting to the same, Chatterjee said that he won’t support the ‘idea of lesbianism in schools’. He also said that such incident (of lesbianism) is ‘against the ethos of Bengal’. On Wednesday, Chatterjee told reporters that the department is not taking the incident lightly.

Parents, on the other hand, have accused the school of doing this in an attempt to cover up allegation of sexual harassment by a school employer.


According to reports, a parent told media persons present that “If two persons hold hands, or put an arm on each other shoulders, that does not mean they are lesbians.”

Earlier, in February, one of the non-teaching staff of the same school was arrested on the charge of sexually abusing a class nine student.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office under scanner in coal scam

OpIndia Staff
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Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office under scanner in coal scam

The office of former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh is under investigation for alleged irregularities in allocating the coal blocks. According to reports, Minister of State for PMO and personnel Jeetendra Singh said in the Lok Sabha that the CBI is currently probing the ex-Prime Minister’s office. Singh did not take the name of the former Prime Minister.

The minister submitted a written reply in the Lok Sabha yesterday, where he stated that the CBI has obtained files in at least 20 cases related to the coal block allocations from the ex-PM’s office. He added that the former PM also acted in the capacity of the Minister of Coal.

The Minister said, “CBI has examined officers of PMO in this regard who have dealt the files of allocations of coal blocks. However, CBI has not filed any charge sheet against the officers of PMO in the court and also not referred any matter to the government for taking action, so far.”

It is notable here that the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was given clean chit by CBI court in September 2015 which stated that there was no prima facie evidence to suggest he was involved in allocating coal blocks to Jindal group of companies. Former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda, who was one of the accused in the scam had alleged that if there was any conspiracy in allocation of Jharkhand’s Amarkonda Murdangal coal block, it could not have been done without the knowledge of the former PM Manmohan Singh who was also the coal minister at that time.

The coal block scam is regarded as one of the biggest scams in India. The final CAG report in the matter pegs the total loss to the country at 1.86 lakhs crores. After the NDA government came to power, the process of allocation of coal blocks was cancelled and reallocation was done in a transparent auction.

Mohammad Taufeeq, Terrorist killed in Anantnag on 12 March was from Telangana

OpIndia Staff
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Mohammad Taufeeq, Terrorist killed in Anantnag on 12 March was from Telangana

Mohammad Taufeeq, one of the three slain terrorists killed on 12th March by the forces in Anantnag, Kashmir, hailed from Telangana. Telangana Police has confirmed that Taufeeq was a native of Hyderabad and was radicalized into Islamic State ideology through social media.

The Ansar Ghazwatul Hind (AGUH), an outfit with an alleged link to the al-Qaeda in Kashmir has also said the slain militant was Muhammad Taufeeq from Hyderabad. Telangana Police, while confirming Taufeeq’s identity said that he was not wanted in any criminal cases in Telangana. The other two terrorists killed in the encounter were identified as Eisa Fazili, was the son of a school principal, who had warned Eisa against joining militants through a Facebook post and Syed Owais Shafi, who had completed his engineering degree last year before joining militancy.

It is reported that according to a pamphlet by the AGUH available online Taufeeq joined militancy in 2017 after coming to Kashmir from Hyderabad. It said that he was responding to the call of Shariat or Shahadat (martyrdom) and started his jihadi journey in 2017 after migrating from Hyderabad to Kashmir. According to the pamphlet, his jihadi names were Sultan Zabul Al Hind and Abu Zarr Al Hindi.

Jammu and Kashmir Police say that while there is no concrete evidence of ISIS presence in Kashmir, it acknowledged that individuals could be influenced by the outfit’s ideology. Earlier, there have been reports of youth from Kerala joining the Islamic State.

As UP bypoll results emerge, ‘neutral journalists’ Rajdeep and Sagarika suggest strategies to defeat BJP in 2019

OpIndia Staff
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As UP bypoll results emerge, ‘neutral journalists’ Rajdeep and Sagarika suggest strategies to defeat BJP in 2019

Even as Gorakhpur and Phulpur by-poll results send a strong signal to BJP, the demand for BSP and SP alliance in 2019 general elections has found more credence. However, two prominent media personalities have been drumming up support for this strategy in media. They are none other that Rajdeep Sardesai and Sagarika Ghose.

Rajdeep Sardesai said that the ‘arithmetic’ was in favour of SP-BSP combine as the parties had 20-25% core vote share on their own. The alliance could easily defeat BJP he suggested. ‘The big headline then, ‘SP-BJP’ combine is the only way to stop Narendra Modi juggernaut for the opposition in UP as of now if these leads remain,’ Rajdeep said. Defeating the alliance would need an unusual amount of chemistry, he claimed.


On the other hand, Sagarika Ghose was suggesting that Congress should stop being a vote cutter in the elections by fielding candidates in constituencies where regional parties had a better chance.

Ghose’s strategy for 2019

Very recently, the duo had been preaching about political neutrality in journalism when Kumar Ketkar was offered a Rajya Sabha seat by the Congress. Sagarika had said that compromising independence was the worst thing scribes could do to themselves.

Sagarika tweets on the independence of journalists

Rajdeep had written the following words in a recent article.

It is my unshaken belief that a professional independent journalist must ideally remain just that: an observer and chronicler with strong views but not a player or participant in the tricky game of politics. If you want to join politics, please do so, but quit journalism first.

However, they have now come out in the open and suggested the way ahead for the opposition as far as stopping the ‘BJP juggernaut’ is concerned. BJP’s victory streak has forced many masks of neutrality to slip with ‘journalists’ openly betting for one party or the other, and especially the Congress party. “Neutral Journalists” have openly supported “forces” that may possibly stop the BJP from winning. It is thus hilarious to watch the same elements pontificate about journalistic integrity, neutrality and ethics when the spotlight is on someone else.

Unfavourable arithmetic aside, BJP must learn these lessons from UP by-polls

K Bhattacharjee
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Unfavourable arithmetic aside, BJP must learn these lessons from UP by-polls

In a shock result, Samajwadi Party is set to win the by-poll in the traditional BJP stronghold and Yogi Adityanath’s erstwhile Parliamentary constituency, Gorakhpur. To make matters worse, BJP has lost the other seat in Uttar Pradesh, previously held by KP Maurya, as well. Thus in one shot, the CM and Deputy CM’s constituencies have delivered blows to the BJP.

The alarm bells should have started ringing when the by-polls recorded a low turnout in both the seats in Uttar Pradesh that went into polls. Gorakhpur registered a voter turnout of merely 47.45%. In 2014, Gorakhpur had seen a 54.64% turnout, and in the in the Assembly elections, Gorakhpur Urban had registered a turnout of 50.98% The story is worse off in Phulpur which saw an even lower, 37.39% turnout this time around. It had recorded a 50.20% turnout for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Phulpur though is less of a loss for BJP as the seat until 2014 had never been won by the BJP.

The results will come as a huge boost to the opposition ahead of the 2019 general elections. The most obvious reasons for the defeat could be the SP-BSP alliance which was tentatively tested for the first time in these by-polls. With results emerging quite favourable towards them, a lot better than even they expected, it may provide the template for a Mahagathbandhan style alliance in Uttar Pradesh, which contributes 80 seats for the Lok Sabha elections.

The biggest cause of concern for the BJP, however, will be the fact that for the first time since the ascent of Narendra Modi, the consolidation of Hindu votes across all castes, which helped the saffron party reach great heights, appears to have been broken. A Mahagathbandhan in Uttar Pradesh might prove to be difficult to counter and Amit Shah will have to use all the ingenuity at his disposal towards winning a significant number of seats in 2019. Like the last time around, Amit Shah might well end up deciding to park his bus at Uttar Pradesh months before the country goes to polls.

But could the BJP have done better? Possibly.

The low turnouts indicate the BJP’s failure to motivate the voters to go out on poll-day. While it has to be admitted that even the voters do not take by-polls very seriously as they hardly ever affect the grander scheme of things, it is ultimately the duty of the cadre to inspire people to vote for them. The low voter turnout indicates that the cadres either grew complacent after recent electoral triumphs and probably a bit arrogant as well.

The tremendously reputed Panna Pramukhs and the micro level management by the cadres which was credited with victories must now accept its share of the blame. A loss for BJP in a seat Yogi Adityanath has held for two decades on his own cannot be glossed over and makes for some very bad optics.

Coming on the back of BJP’s stunning performance in the North East, the local unit cannot blame “national mood” as well. The loss and the blame for it become highly localised. Selection of candidate must also be scrutinised since the BJP fielded Upendra Shukla, a man belonging to an upper caste, in a constituency dominated by people from backward castes which has proven to be counter-intuitive.

However, drawing out state and nation wide predictions from 2 by-polls which were numerically insignificant may prove fool-hardy. Some opposition cheerleaders are getting overexcited and threatening bureaucrats working for the NDA government, assuming already that the BJP has lost the 2019 general elections. Such people will be well advised to exercise caution for now.

The fact remains that the BJP has scored thunderous victories across the country in Assembly elections. The by-polls, if anything, could prove to be mere blip on the radar. The populace is known to vote differently when the stakes are high. These by-polls were nothing more than a show of prestige as a loss would not impact any Government anywhere.

Having said that, the local BJP set-up must introspect and look into the reasons why the sitting CM and Deputy CMs could not salvage their seats in a by-poll coming just a year after their Government was formed.

In Ram Janambhoomi dispute, lawyer argues that the land belongs to Allah

OpIndia Staff
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In Ram Janambhoomi dispute, lawyer argues that the land belongs to Allah

Rajeev Dhawan, representing one of the appellants in favor of rebuilding the Mosque in the Ram Janambhoomi dispute, waxed eloquence in the Supreme Court on how his soul had disappeared with the demolition of the Mosque but his heart is still there and claimed that Muslims and not Hindus should have been allowed to pray at the site because allegedly, the land belonged to Allah. He also argued about the centrality of the Mosque to Islam and the relationship between Muslims and the Mosque. He said that Hindus should not have been given permission to pray at Ram Janambhoomi and that denial of the right to pray at the site to Muslims was unjustifiable. He also suggested that if there were any decency left in our secular system, then the Mosque should be rebuilt.

These arguments presented by Rajeev Dhawan during the court proceedings were tweeted by Supreme Court lawyer J Sai Deepak today.

The Supreme Court in its hearing of the Ram Janambhoomi case has also declared that intervention applications by non-parties shall not be entertained at this stage. The Bench comprising of Chief Justice Dipak Mishra, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer directed the registry not to entertain any intervention plea on the matter. All intervention petitions by third parties, excluding Subramanian Swamy’s writ petition seeking his fundamental right to pray at Ayodhya, has been dismissed.


A.M. Khan wanted both parties to reach a settlement through his intervention application. However, the Court ruled that he cannot compel both parties to come to a settlement and that both parties had the right to seek adjudication on the matter if they so desired. Mr Raju Ramachandran wanted the entire case to be referred to a larger bench. However, the Court rejected that request as well.

The Supreme Court had said in an earlier hearing had stated that the Bench will treat the whole dispute as solely a land dispute. Under such circumstances, it will be interesting to see to what extent the ‘land belongs to Allah” argument will hold. The next date for argument has been fixed for the 23rd of March, 2018.

CPM burns venue of protesting farmers in Kerala soon after supporting farmers march in Maharashtra

OpIndia Staff
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CPM burns venue of protesting farmers in Kerala soon after supporting farmers march in Maharashtra

The CPM on Wednesday set fire to a protest venue of farmers of the Keezhattur village in Kerala’s Kannur district, who were protesting against the levelling of paddy fields to acquire lands needed for a highway project. It act happened at about 1:45 PM on Wednesday.

A local report claimed that the despite the district collector’s assurances of holding talks the next day, the protesters demanded that survey works (possibly regarding the highway construction) conducted everywhere should be stopped. The other regions witnessing survey works included Kutiikoll and Kuvood.

As per a video embedded in the report, one protester alleged that the new road would destroy prime agricultural land, and also claimed that it was being done in the interests of  “Real estate corporates”. Another protester claimed that he was a CPM worker, and that the party has turned away from its ideals.

As per a report by Times Now, the tents of protesting farmers were set ablaze in Kerala’s Kannur allegedly by CPM workers. These were erected by a farmers group named Vayalkili in order to protest against the state government’s decision to acquire paddy lads for constructing a highway. Besides seeing their tents burnt, the farmers also suffered a blow after they were arrested or removed from the protest venue by the police.

The contention of the farmers is that agricultural land should not be used for agricultural purposes. They claim that these lands are their livelihood, which was handed down to them by their ancestors. This impasse had initially resulted in talks between the government and the farmers but no compensation package was agreed upon, which resulted in the protest.

As per other reports, the protesters had earlier threatened to immolate themselves and on Wednesday came to the protest venue doused in diesel. In total, about 100 people were doused in inflammable liquids. This village though is incidentally considered a CPM stronghold.

This farmer protest has also snowballed into a political issue after the BJP extended support to the protesters. As per the BJP, they were against this acquisition as there are alternatives available for the construction of the highway.

Such an anti-farmer act by the CPM is ironic considering, just days before All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), the peasant’s arm of the CPM, was seen openly supporting the cause of the Maharashtra farmers, who had marched from Nashik to Mumbai demanding reliefs like rights to forest land and loan waivers.

This protest though was tactfully diffused by the Fadnavis government before it could possibly take a turn for the worse.

With inputs from Ananth Krishna 

Supreme Court rejects intervention petitions in the Ayodhya case, allows Subramanian Swamy to pursue a writ petition

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court rejects intervention petitions in the Ayodhya case, allows Subramanian Swamy to pursue a writ petition

A three judge bench including CJI Dipak Misra heard the Ram Janmabhoomi case today. In its earlier remarks it had clarified that the case would be heard solely as a land dispute.

As a result, the apex court disallowed any new interventions in the case. It has also discouraged a couple of lawyers who wanted a ‘secular solution‘ to the matter.

The CJI rejected all intervening petitions. The persons who sought to intervene include the film maker Shyam Benegal and controversial ‘activist’ Teesta Setalvad. Shyam Benegal had suggested that a national monument could be constructed in the site in his earlier remarks to media.

News agency ANI placed the number of intervening petitions that were rejected at 32:


The plea by Subramanian Swamy to consider his fundamental right to worship was admitted. Swamy tweeted that he now had a fast track channel. Any citizen has the right to directly approach the Supreme court if he/she feels that his/her fundamental rights are affected under the article 32


This move by the Supreme Court to reject all intervening petitions will ensure that any new petitioners will not enter the scene and delay the Ram Janmabhoomi case further.

Watch Gujarat Congress MLA hurl a mic at BJP Gujarat MLA in Gujarat Assembly

OpIndia Staff
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Watch Gujarat Congress MLA hurl a mic at BJP Gujarat MLA in Gujarat Assembly

After showing their violent streak in Telangana Assembly, Congress MLAs continue their heroics in Gujarat Assembly today where Congress MLA Pratap Dudhat threw a microphone at BJP MLA Jagdish Panchal inside the Assembly.


As per reports, it started with Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani, who himself is known to provoke mob to run a riot, asked a question which the BJP MLA took about 20 minutes to respond. Following that, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel requested others to keep their questions short. Congress MLAs got furious when Vikram Madam, another Congress MLA, was asked to wait till the Speaker finishes talking to BJP MLA Shailesh Parmar. In the ruckus that followed, Dudhat lost his cool and furiously uprooted the mic and hurled it towards Panchal.

In the video, Dudhat is seen uprooting the microphone and hurling it towards Panchal. Thankfully, Panchal was unhurt after the incident. Dudhat has now been suspended for the remaining Assembly session.

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