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Brij Bhushan Singh, former WFI chairman, reveals Congress leader approached him to contest elections on the party ticket

OpIndia Staff
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Brij Bhushan Singh, former WFI chairman, reveals Congress leader approached him to contest elections on the party ticket

Brij Bhushan Singh, the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chairman and BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Kaiserganj, asserted on Friday (3rd May) that the Congress party approached him about contesting in the Lok Sabha elections using its ticket. “One senior leader of the congress party approached me and told me to contest from Congress,” he said as quoted by the New18 media network.

Brij Bhushan Singh’s revelation comes on the same day when his son, Karan Bhushan Singh, applied for the Kaiserganj seat from the BJP. On Thursday (2nd May), the BJP announced Brij Bhushan Singh’s younger son, Karan Bhushan Singh, as a candidate for the Kaiserganj Lok Sabha constituency.

On Karan’s candidacy for the Kaiserganj seat, Brij Bhushan stated that party workers “wanted my son, if not me, to contest”.

Brij Bhushan Singh is a three-term MP representing Kaiserganj. The BJP leader who had been accused of sexual assault by the women wrestlers also thanked the BJP for his son’s candidacy. Karan, on the other hand, went to the Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya to pray after announcing his candidacy. He explained, “I came here to seek the blessings of Bajrang Bali. He’s my Guru…”

The BJP’s decision to field Karan from the Kaiserganj constituency comes just days after a Delhi court refused MP Brij Bhushan Singh’s request for a further investigation into the sexual harassment case lodged against him by female wrestlers.

On May 7, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Priyanka Rajpoot of Rouse Avenue Courts would issue an order to establish charges in the case.

This case was filed based on six complaints filed by six female wrestlers. Delhi police have already filed a charge sheet against BJP MP Singh.

The matter has been argued afresh as the predecessor judge who heard the parties on the point of framing of charge has been transferred.

Kazakhstan: Former minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev kicked, punched wife Saltanat Nukenova to death, CCTV footage goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Kazakhstan: Former minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev kicked, punched wife Saltanat Nukenova to death, CCTV footage goes viral

The trial of a former economy minister in Kazakhstan accused of murdering his wife has sparked a debate in the country. A 31-year-old woman Saltanat Nukenova was found dead in November last year in a restaurant owned by a relative of her husband Kuandyk Bishimbayev, where the couple had spent nearly the whole day and the night before. For hours, Nukenova was there unconscious. 

In a recent hearing, the court was shown an 8-hour-long video showing 44-year-old Kuandyk Bishimbayev, a former economy minister, hitting his wife Saltanat Nukenova. The CCTV footage shows Bishimbayev repeatedly kicking and punching his 31-year-old wife in the family-owned restaurant.

The incident took place on 9 November last year in a VIP room of a restaurant in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city.

He is then seen taking her by her hair into somewhere else with no cameras. When she attempted to flee by hiding in the toilet, Bishimbayev “broke down the door, pulled her out, and continued beating her. He grabbed her by the throat after hauling her from the toilet. This is when she lost consciousness,” the prosecutor stated during the trial.

As she lay on the floor, drenched in blood, Bishimbayev called a fortune teller on phone, who told him that his wife would be all right. The ambulance came 12 hours later, and medical personnel confirmed her dead on the spot. Saltanat Nukenova reportedly died of cerebral trauma. One of her nasal bones had broken and there were several bruises on her face, head, arms, and hands.

Bishimbayev has admitted to the crime, acknowledging that he caused his wife’s death. But he has denied that he acted “with exceptional cruelty”, the charge levelled against him. Initially he had maintained innocence but last month he admitted that he had beaten her and “unintentionally” caused her death. His lawyers had also claimed that his wife had also attacked him during the confrontation, but surveillance footage proved that claim wrong.

The trial in the murder case is being live-streamed online, a first time in the country. The trial has now reached its final stage with the prosecution presenting their summation of the case on 2 May. They have asserted that Nukenova wasn’t just murdered, she was systematically abused. 

Notably, a jury is hearing the case, an uncommon practice in Kazakhstan. Jury trials were introduced in Kazakhstan only in 2007, and have been used in only a handful of cases.

Reports say that Bishimbayev is a typical member of the country’s wealthy governing elite, and they are concerned that even if he is found guilty, he will be able to avoid proper punishment, as was the case with a prior conviction. Bishimbayev was arrested in 2017 on bribery accusations and sentenced to ten years in jail, however, he was released after less than three years due to an amnesty and parole.

Bhima Koregaon case: DU professor Hany Babu withdraws bail petition from Supreme Court

OpIndia Staff
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Bhima Koregaon case: DU professor Hany Babu withdraws bail petition from Supreme Court

Delhi University Professor Hany Babu, a defendant in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case, withdrew his bail petition from the Supreme Court on Friday, citing a shift in case circumstances. The Supreme Court acknowledged this decision and granted his request.

Representing Babu, his lawyer informed the Supreme Court’s two-judge panel, led by Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal, of their intention to pursue bail anew in the High Court.

Previously, Babu had appealed to the Supreme Court after the Bombay High Court rejected his bail plea in September of the preceding year.

The High Court had denied Babu’s bail based on the National Investigation Agency’s assertion that he is affiliated with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

In January of this year, the Supreme Court granted the NIA an additional two weeks to respond to Prof Babu’s bail application. He stands accused of instigating violence and disturbing peace among other charges.

Prof Babu, maintaining his innocence, had informed the High Court earlier that the letters presented by the NIA as evidence in the Bhima Koregaon case did not implicate him.

According to the NIA’s chargesheet, a letter discovered on Babu’s computer outlined a conspiracy against Prime Minister Modi. Babu refuted this, asserting that the letter was neither authored nor addressed to him. He contended that it made no mention of his involvement in the conspiracy.

What is the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad Case?

The event by the name of “Elgar Parishad” was organised to commemorate the Battle of Bhima Koregaon of 1818, wherein the Peshwas fought against the East India Company. In the war, an army of Dalit soldiers had fought under the British forces against the Peshwa, the reason for the celebration by Dalits. In 2018, it was the 200th anniversary of the war and extreme violence erupted over the matter.

Soon after, the case was transferred to the NIA. The Pune police had arrested a total of nine supposed “intellectuals” such as Sudha Bharadwaj, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, and Varavara Rao for inciteful speeches.

As Pakistani journalists desperately beg the USA to act against India on ‘press freedom’, this is how media persons are killed, and rights are snatched in their own country

Rukma Rathore
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As Pakistani journalists desperately beg the USA to act against India on ‘press freedom’, this is how media persons are killed, and rights are snatched in their own country

Pakistani journalists including Jahanzaib Ali were recently heard casting aspersions on the freedom of the press in India as they claimed that Australian journalist Avani Dias was denied her visa renewal by the Modi government. However, it turned out that she returned to Australia after she was granted a visa extension, and Australian media also reported that her reason for returning to the country was not intimidation by the Indian government, but rather a new job and her wedding.

Now, it is not unusual for India’s hostile neighbour to meddle in her internal matters and pontificate as their own country rapidly devolves into a hell hole. This unabashed hypocrisy is ingrained in their national character. A recent instance of this is the annual “Pakistan Freedom of Expression and Media Report 2024” by Adnan Rehmat, which was produced by Islamabad-based Freedom Network and titled “Erosion of free speech: The silencing of citizens, political parties, and media.” It was published on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd and covers the period from May 2023 to April 2024.

The report addressed significant concerns about the threats that media professionals and journalists confront as well as the narrowing margins of dissent in the Islamic Republic. Four journalists were killed during this time, according to the report, underscoring the perilous conditions in which the media operates there. Three journalists were assassinated in the last year and one was killed in March 2024. Freedom Network data showed that between January 2018 and December 2023, two journalists were killed annually on average in Sindh.

The report highlighted the names of the journalists who were killed. (Source: Erosion of free speech: The silencing of citizens, political parties, and media.)

It contained information on 104 incidents of violations against media professionals, including threats, kidnappings, murders, assaults, injuries and court cases. Sindh was the most dangerous area for journalists and content creators, accounting for 33% of the breaches (34 out of 104 incidents) that were reported there. Islamabad came in second place with 26% of the cases right above Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (23% or 24 cases).

Erosion of free speech: The silencing of citizens, political parties, and media.

The research described a pattern of crackdowns on political activists, bloggers, and journalists. Legal notifications, arrests, assaults, and intimidation were all part of this. According to the research, in addition to harassment by state actors, predatory acts by certain non-state actors resulted in over 200 online information practitioners, including journalists and bloggers being targeted by more than 70 legal notifications served to them. It also expressed concerns about proposed laws including the Personal Data Protection Bill and the E-Safety Bill, which could further stifle free speech in the media and impose restrictions on online material. The lack of public consultations on these bills is also a point of contention.

Erosion of free speech: The silencing of citizens, political parties, and media.

The analysis pointed out that as voters in Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world, prepared to cast ballots in a turbulent general election which was carried out in February of this year tainted by violence and allegations of improper behaviour, mobile phone services were suspended across the country. Internet outages were reported in several parts of the nation as 128 million registered voters prepared to exercise their democratic rights, according to international online freedom group NetBlocks, which also observed that the disruptions came after “months of digital censorship targeting the political opposition.” Amnesty International called the suspension “a blunt attack on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”

Erosion of free speech: The silencing of citizens, political parties, and media.

Likewise, mobile communications and internet access were shut down nationwide in the wake of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest. NetBlocks and Open Observatory asserted that the action affected people who depend on mobile data for communication and their daily lives, including businesses and daily wage earners. After the suspension, every major social media platform including Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, X/Twitter, and Telegram remained unavailable for several hours.

A Pakistan People’s Party senator named Bhehramand Tangi even moved the upper house of parliament in March 2024, seeking a comprehensive ban on access to all social media platforms allegedly in the desire to protect the youth from harmful influences. However, the resolution was withdrawn in a matter of days after being criticized by members of his party, other lawmakers and advocates for digital rights.

Pakistan remains a generally hostile environment for women, both in terms of their inclusion as journalists and the manner in which they are portrayed in the media. Women make up a very small percentage of working journalists, media professionals and content creators. which holds true for both independent digital news media, an ecosystem that has expanded recently and traditional media outlets. The ideas and experiences of genders other than men are glaringly underrepresented in media coverage as well.

Women who are not necessarily journalists but are active in the digital world, such as advocates for free speech and users of social media platforms, often experience harassment and trolling that extends into spaces frequented by female journalists. Gender bias, harassment in journalism, and lack of representation in newsrooms, unions, and press clubs are still common issues. Press clubs, unions, and newsrooms continue to be hotbeds of gender-based discrimination, intimidation connected to journalism employment and a lack of representation.

Erosion of free speech: The silencing of citizens, political parties, and media.

Like everything else in Pakistan, the study stands as a stark reminder of the disorganized state in which journalistic freedom exists. These are only a few of the challenges raised in the research, which is plagued by the country’s inability to provide its journalists with a safe and secure environment. However, Pakistanis are slaves to their habits, willing to poke their noses into India’s business while ignoring the chaos at home. Pakistan, which is de facto a military state ruled by its armed forces, clearly has no regard for media, either within its own borders or outside. Its sole purpose is to degrade us and portray a fabricated image of how “intolerant” India is.

While Pakistanis, devoid of any due diligence, support anti-Indian factions in their pitiful attempt to attack us internationally, reports from their own land show how antiquated laws and regulations beset their country, and media is crumbling there. Nevertheless, it would be unrealistic to believe that a report will force Pakistan to face its internal problems. As their consistent behaviour has proven, Pakistanis are unlikely to self-reflect and will instead choose to make unfounded accusations against India whenever they get another opportunity.

Gandhi family keeps failing their party workers again and again, yet, Congress wants people to believe that Rahul can challenge Modi

Siddhi Somani
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Gandhi family keeps failing their party workers again and again, yet, Congress wants people to believe that Rahul can challenge Modi

Ending months of suspense over the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, the Congress has chosen Gandhi family loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma as its candidate against the incumbent BJP MP, Smriti Irani. The Amethi Lok Sabha election has been scheduled for May 20 in the fifth phase.

The Amethi Lok Sabha constituency has for decades been the ‘family bastion’ for Congress, having stayed with the party since the first election in 1967. Except for two brief terms (1977-80 and 1998-99), the seat was held by the Grand Old Party until Smriti Irani of the BJP grabbed it from Rahul Gandhi. Irani had already challenged Gandhi to seek only the Amethi seat if he felt confident enough. However, the Congress initially fielded Gandhi from Wayanad in Kerala, claiming that the constituency supported him in times of distress and that he was not one to neglect the people.

Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi in 2019 by more than 55,000 votes. Gandhi held the seat for three consecutive terms from 2004 to 2019. However, on the other hand, he managed to retain his Lok Sabha seat by winning from Wayanad.

This year, there was much speculation that Rahul Gandhi would plan to reclaim his seat. Congress supporters wanted Rahul Gandhi to contend for the Amethi seat and Priyanka Gandhi for Raebareli. However, the duo became hesitant about competing in UP. Former Congress president and the duo’s mother, Sonia Gandhi is said to have intervened to persuade them to do the same.

The BJP meanwhile has criticized the Congress party for not fielding Rahul Gandhi from Amethi seat. The party said that the Wayanad MP has abandoned the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, adding that it is an admission by Gandhi that he cannot win the seat he held for two terms till 2019.

From Amethi, the Congress party has fielded Kishorilal Sharma, an influential Nehru-Gandhi family loyal representing Amethi and Rae Bareli for more that two decades now.

Amethi’s importance in the Congress party

It is important to note that the Amethi seat is a very crucial constituency for the Gandhi family leading the Congress party. Sonia Gandhi made her election debut here in 1999 and a year later she took over as the party president. In 2004, she shifted to Rae Bareli, allowing Rahul, her son to make his electoral debut from here.

According to reports, Rahul’s decision to move to Rae Bareli this time stems from the fact that Amethi has no longer remained a family seat for the Congress party following the 2019 loss. Furthermore, the party members as quoted by the media indicate that if Rahul wins both Wayanad (the second seat he is contending for) and Rae Bareli, it will be simpler to give up the Kerala constituency, citing the family’s even deeper connection to Rae Bareli. 

Amethi, of course, has an unstated fear of providing losses again to the Congress party. However, Rahul’s decision not to contend for the seat is certain to be met with accusations that he is scared of Irani.

PM Modi takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi, says ‘Daro Mat’

Earlier, in the month of March, Union minister Smriti Irani had slammed the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and had said that he was scared of being defeated in Amethi.

Today, after Congress’ decision to not field Gandhi from Amethi, PM Modi mocked the Congress leader using his own words. While addressing a rally in Bengal, PM Modi said that Rahul Gandhi had run away from Amethi for fear of defeat. “Today I also want to tell him, Daro Mat (don’t be afraid), Bhaago Mat (don’t run),” he said.

PM Modi did not even spare Sonia Gandhi, claiming that he had anticipated that both mother and son would avoid contesting their seats out of fear. “I had said, their biggest leader will not dare to contest. She will run away out of fear. She ran to Rajasthan and from there entered Rajya Sabha. That is exactly what happened. I had said that shehzade (Rahul Gandhi) is afraid of losing in Wayanad, and the moment voting ends, he will start looking for a third seat. Now even from Amethi, despite all his loyalists saying it, he panicked so much, that he ran from there and is now looking towards Raebareli. These people keep going around telling people Daro Mat. Today I will also tell them… ji bhar ke kehta hoon. Arey daro mat, bhaago mat,” he said.

Congress loses party bastion Amethi in 2019 elections

Despite undertaking combative campaigns in Amethi, the party including the senior Congress leaders could not garner enough support for Rahul Gandhi who lost to Bhartiya Janata Party’s Smriti Irani in the year 2019. The BJP leader defeated the Gandhi scion in his bastion with Priyanka Gandhi leading the campaign. Smriti Irani’s spectacular win, with a margin of 55,120 votes in a Gandhi stronghold, was a major blow to the party and reflected the state’s mood against Congress. Both Priyanka and Rahul failed to sense the resentment prevailing in the people of Amethi back then.

While Rahul Gandhi more or less forgot Amethi after his 2014 win against Irani, she continued to visit Amethi to establish connections with the people and make her place in their hearts. Irani’s painstaking efforts helped her carve a path to victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections emerging as a “giant slayer”.

Not only this, but the Congress party fielded 67 candidates from the state and lost security deposit in 63 of them. The Congress only won one seat from Rae Bareli and the deposits of the 63 candidates were not refunded.

In spite of this, the leftists, liberals, and the secular have been extending support to Rahul Gandhi claiming that he is the strongest opponent of PM Modi amid the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

The Amethi fiasco of the Gandhi family has cemented what the Left liberals and many ‘darbari’ political commentators have been avoiding to admit before the public: the Gandhi family is no longer politically strong. The brother and sister are hailed as political heirs of Indira Gandhi. Tons of media reports, foreign media articles are written about them. Everything from their looks, to daily habits, to their outfits is praised to the high heavens by the family loyals in India and around the world, but the truth is, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are political flops.

Not only the Gandhi family has let down their supporters and party workers by refusing to face Smriti Irani in Amethi, they have also exposed the hollowness of the media hype around themselves.

If one looks at the PR behind Rahul Gandhi, one would believe he is the strong, powerful Congress leader challenging the political behemoth called Modi. In reality, Rahul Gandhi is a paper tiger who can’t even face a young member of the Modi cabinet.

Rahul Gandhi has been in the news in the past for spreading anti-India and anti-Modi agenda even on the global platforms. He has criticized the BJP-led govt and accused it of unnecessarily targeting the opposition parties, tapping their phones, etc. Reportedly, all of these allegations were exposed to be a lie as Gandhi had refused to give up his phone for examination back then.

Eager to swallow any bait against Modi, the foreign media continues to project Rahul Gandhi as some brave hero who is daring to challenge Modi. But the truth is despite carrying the political legacy of 3 generations of India’s former Prime Minister’s, getting power and influence on a silver platter, and with the larger section of media eager to please him, Rahul Gandhi still failed to pose any challenge to Modi.

Rahul Gandhi was rejected by his own I.N.D.I. Alliance partners

The opposition parties in India boasted about fighting together against PM Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections but eventually the I.N.D.I. Alliance party members backed out of supporting the leading Congress party resulting in the latter’s lack of confidence.

The Alliance initially failed to field joint candidates and later several parties like JDU, TMC, AAP, etc decided to fight individually from their respective states. In an unexpected turn of events, Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar quit as the Bihar Chief Minister on 28th January and decided to form the state government in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners in Bihar.

Mamata Banerjee’s TMC also parted ways with Congress, primarily over disagreement on leadership issues. Mamata, a strong regional leader herself, seemed unwilling to cede her position to Rahul Gandhi, a mere MP who didn’t even want to become his party’s president.

Interestingly, a similar situation emerged in the state of Kerala where the CPIM and the Congress who are allies nationally played a blame game and accused each other of having an ‘understanding’ with the BJP. 

Even the Aam Aadmi Party after the JDU and TMC, decided that it would fight alone from the state of Punjab and that it wouldn’t ally with the Indian National Congress in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

The broken pan-India alliance failed to produce a multiplier effect, demonstrating that the nationwide alliance was counter-intuitive. Except for Congress, which is rapidly losing its political relevance, the alliance partners wielded little power outside of their home districts further crippling the party that dreams of throwing the BJP-led govt out of power.

The alliance partners even failed to add to each other’s strength, instead directly or indirectly leveling significant accusations against each other on their turf, tarnishing their partners, including CPI(M)-Congress, AAP-Congress, and TMC-Congress, among others. 

These factors have done nothing but weaken the Congress resulting in a loss of confidence of even its party members in its leaders.

Congress says Rahul Gandhi contesting from Rae Bareli is ‘strategy’

Earlier the week, the Amethi unit of the Congress, weary of the prolonged wait for a candidate announcement held a sit-in protest in the long-standing VIP constituency of Uttar Pradesh. Congress workers voiced their demands with chants of “Amethi demands the Gandhi family.” However, the party by announcing Kishori Lal from Amethi disappointed its own workers and forced them to stay happy claiming that Gandhi’s contesting from Rae Bareli was part of a “larger strategy.”

“Rae Bareli has not only been Sonia Ji’s seat but also Indira Gandhi’s seat. This is not a legacy but a responsibility, a duty”, he added. On Priyanka Gandhi’s absence from the Congress list of candidates for Lok Sabha elections 2024, he said that she can reach the house by contesting any by-election.

This incident will be marked in the pages of history given the Gandhi family’s decision to abandon the Amethi constituency out of fear and under the guise of ‘being part of a larger strategy’. The relevance of the Congress party is anyway diminishing. A lot has been said about the Congress party’s decline with the Gandhi family at the helm. The top leadership of the party has strategically sidelined other emerging leaders and even alienated promising young leaders who might pose a threat to Rahul’s alleged royal right. Election after election, loss after loss, the party keeps sinking slowly, still declaring how it is privileged to be steered by the Gandhi family.

‘Rohith Vemula was not Dalit’: Telangana Police close the case, find no fault of any BJP leader, the entire ecosystem had used the death to target BJP

Shraddha Pandey
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‘Rohith Vemula was not Dalit’: Telangana Police close the case, find no fault of any BJP leader, the entire ecosystem had used the death to target BJP

In the 2016 Rohith Vemula death case, the Telangana Police filed a closure report and submitted the same before the Telangana High Court on the 3rd of May. In the closure report, the police said that Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad who died by suicide, did not belong to the Scheduled Caste category. The police said Rohith Vemula died by suicide fearing that his real caste identity would be discovered.

The Telangana Police also cleared former Secunderabad MP Bandaru Dattatreya, Legislative Council Member N Ramachander Rao, Vice Chancellor Appa Rao, ABVP leaders, and union minister Smriti Irani.

“There is no evidence of any fact or circumstance available on the record which dragged him to commit suicide and no one is responsible for his death,” the report reads. The report says that Rohith Vemula committed suicide because “he had his own problems and was not happy with worldly affairs. If he would have been angry with the decision of the University, certainly either he would have written in specific words or would have indicated in this regard. But he did not do the same. It shows that the circumstances prevailing in the university at the time were not the reason for Rohith’s death.”

According to the closure report, Rohith Vemula was “aware that he does not belong to the Scheduled Caste” and received the SC certificate from his mother. It adds that this could have been one of Rohith Vemula’s continuous fears, as disclosing it could have ended in the loss of academic degrees and perhaps prosecution.

Rohith Vemula was made the symbol of ‘upper-caste’ vengeance against Dalits, even though he was not a Dalit

As the police have confirmed that Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit and absolved the abovementioned BJP leaders in the case, it is pertinent to recall the Congress and other political parties as well as their media allies launched a scathing attack on the so-called upper caste Hindus, the BJP and Prime Minister Modi over the death. The opposition and the ‘ecosystem’ used a young and bright Rohith Vemula’s death for its own gains.

The assertion that he was a Dalit, which was later disputed and now confirmed by the police that he was not a member of the Scheduled Caste category, prompted opposition political parties and liberals to raise the caste discrimination bogey and build a narrative accusing the Modi government of oppressing lower caste groups of society. This came, even though his suicide note expressed his dissatisfaction with the Students Federation of India (SFI).

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had gone a step ahead and even questioned if PM Modi’s tears were real when in expressed grief over Rohith’s death. “The PM gave a speech where he expressed grief and agony over the death of the scholar. People say he even had tears…I would ask him..If you are saddened, if your tears are real, then act against the V-C who crushed and intimated that boy and sack him. The nation’s poor and Dalit are looking up at Mr. Modi seeking answers, will our PM take action.”

Rahul Gandhi and many other opposition leaders continued to peddle the narrative that a “Dalit” student was oppressed and coerced into committing suicide claiming that the reality was being strangulated, even though reality was far from what Gandhi and the ecosystem were peddling.

“They say Rohit Vemula committed suicide.I call it murder.He was murdered by the indignities he suffered. He was killed because he was a Dalit. Hitler, once wrote: Keep a firm grasp on reality, so you can strangle it at any time. This is what is happening today-strangulation of reality,” Rahul Gandhi posted back in 2017.

Rohith Vemula’s death was dishonestly turned into a political conflict between Dalits and Non-Dalits. Besides Rahul Gandhi, now-jailed AAP supremo and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had wasted no time in exploiting the incident and pulling the Modi government into disrepute. An online mob of leftists posing as custodians of Dalits engaged in vulture activism to discredit the Modi government. They stated that the University’s discriminatory treatment of him in comparison to students belonging to the general category prompted him to take the extreme step.

Attacking the Modi government over Rohith’s death, Kejriwal had claimed that the PhD scholar was forced to commit suicide as he was “talking about Baba Saheb Ambedkar”. Kejriwal also tried to exploit Rohith’s disputed Dalit identity to gain political points against PM Modi and the BJP.

“Rohith Vemula was forced to commit suicide for talking about Babasaheb among students. Why people who are holding constitutional offices not acting against those who forced him to commit suicide? Will Babasaheb’s dream be fulfilled by the Prime Minister going to Mhou and garlanding his portrait? I just want to say, Modi is not country, RSS is not Parliament and Manusmriti is not the Constitution,” Kejriwal said in April 2016.

Justice Ashok Kumar Roopanwal (retired), who investigated the events at the University of Hyderabad that led to the suicide of student Rohith Vemula, stated in his report that “the suicide did not relate to any activities of the university administration or the above political leaders, including the vice-chancellor, Prof. Appa Rao Podile. It was wholly a decision of his own…”

Even as authorities confirmed that Rohit Vemula was not a Dalit, politicians and the ‘ecosystem’ used his death to vilify non-Dalit Hindus and attack the Modi government

Earlier, Rohith Vemula’s father had stated that he and his wife belong to the Veddera caste and not the Mala of Madigas (SC/ST). This contradicted the reports which indicated that, while Rohith’s father was a Veddera, his mother was a Dalit (SC or ST), and Rohith chose his mother’s caste following her separation from her spouse. His father claimed that his son was murdered and blasted leftists for using his son’s death as a basis for an attack on the Modi government. Notably, Rohith’s mother Radhika Vemula had claimed that she was born into a Mala caste (SC) family and was raised by a Veddera caste family, the police report, however, has now confirmed that Rohith was not a Dalit.

Back in 2017, it was reported that the Andhra Pradesh government had cancelled Rohith Vemula’s scheduled caste certificate and declared that he was a member of the OBC. The government said that the SC certificate was “fraudulently” obtained.

Years passed but Rohith’s death was exploited to foment hatred against the non-Dalit Hindus and adherents of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. In 2020, a programme was organized in memory of Rohith Vemula in Mumbai’s Dadar. This programme, however, was more of an anti-CAA event than about remembering Rohith Vemula. As OpIndia reported back then, here were chants of Azaadi and the protesters also sang songs against the RSS. Inciting violence, the protestors also chanted slogans like ‘Joote Maro Sanghiyon Ko’. Anti-BJP/RSS songs were also sung. The Joint Action Committee For Social Justice had distributed pamphlets calling for demolishing the “Hindu Rashtra”. It also vilified Brahmins urged to “intensify struggle against Brahminical Hindutva fascism”, reject CAA-NRC-NPR etc.

In addition to calling up people to hit “Sanghis” with shoes, the protestors including one Christian pastor even raised slogans against “Brahmanvadis” and “Sanatanis” (Hindus).

Rohit Vemula has long been portrayed as a symbol of upper-caste retribution against Dalits by the left-liberal and Hindu-hating milieu, despite the fact that the truth is quite different. Ironically, the leftists used Vemula’s unfortunate death to their political ideological interests while Rohith, in his suicide note had expressed his anguish and frustration with the leftist student organisations.

“ASA, SFI, anything and everything exist for their own sake. Seldom the interest of a person and this organisation match. To get power, to become famous or to be important in between boundaries and to think we are up to changing the system. Very often we overestimate the acts and find solace in traits,” Rohith wrote.

Rohith’s words were echoed by another student leader from leftists student organization SFI (Student Federation of India), Raju Kumar Sahu who had alleged that the leftist student bodies were using Rohith’s death for political gains.

From an average Hindu-hating social media troll to various opposition parties, and their ‘friendly’ media has used and politicised Rohith Vemula’s death, no one has been as consistent as the Congress party. In spite of being aware of the case’s findings, the Congress party has decided to keep the issue alive by dragging Vemula’s suicide in its 2024 election manifesto. Page 7 of the Congress manifesto reads, “We will enact the Rohith Vemula Act to address discrimination faced by students belonging to the backward and oppressed communities in educational institutions.”

Congress leaders claim Rahul Gandhi running away from Amethi is a ‘masterstroke chess move’: Here are their 5 points that sound like satire

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leaders claim Rahul Gandhi running away from Amethi is a ‘masterstroke chess move’: Here are their 5 points that sound like satire

Hours after Congress announced Rahul Gandhi and KL Sharma as their respective candidates from Rae Bareli and Amethi constituencies and amidst biting criticism over the Gandhi scion running away from Amethi, senior Congress leaders have come to the defence of their leader, offering lengthy explanations over the decision that almost sounds like satirical posts.

Jairam Ramesh recently took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to brand Rahul Gandhi’s move of abandoning Amethi as some sort of a ‘masterclass chess move’ to stump his opponents. “Remember, he is an experienced player of politics and chess. The party leadership takes its decisions after much discussion and as part of a larger strategy,” Ramesh said in a long tweet rationalising the party’s decision to field Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli instead of Amethi.

Jairam Ramesh’s tweet on Rahul Gandhi giving up on Amethi

A similarly curated tweet in Hindi was posted by Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, enlisting rationales behind why Rahul Gandhi ran away from Amethi.

However, far from being a solemn explanation rationalising the party’s decision to field Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli, the defence offered by senior Congress leaders like Jairam Ramesh and Supriya Shrinate almost sounds like a political satire, underscoring everything that ails the Congress party. 

Here are 5 points from their explanation that sound like satire:

‘Rahul Gandhi’s nomination from Rae Bareli was a masterstroke chess move to outfox the BJP’

Congress leaders insist that the last-minute switch from Amethi to Rae Bareli was intended to outsmart the BJP, but instead, it ended up catching his own party workers off guard. They had expected Rahul Gandhi to file his nominations from Amethi and had decorated their offices in anticipation that Gandhi might visit it. Now they are the ones who seemed outwitted by the party’s decision.

‘Rae Bareli’ is not an inheritance but a responsibility and a duty

Defending the move, the Congress leaders said the Gandhi family bastion ‘Rae Bareli’ is not an inheritance but a responsibility and a duty. Defending the move, Ramesh said the Gandhi family bastion ‘Rae Bareli’ is not an inheritance but a responsibility and a duty. Ramesh’s argument in favour of Rae Bareli being a responsibility and not an inheritance is that it has been with the Gandhis for over three generations. 

‘Entire country from north to south is the Gandhi stronghold’

The Congress leaders further claim that the entire country, from north to south has been a Gandhi stronghold. To stress their point, they claim Rahul Gandhi has been MP thrice from Uttar Pradesh and once from Kerala. However, they fail to explain why was the Congress party reduced to double digits in the 2014 and 2019 elections when the entire country was supposed to be a Gandhi stronghold and with Gandhis being the face of Congress. 

‘A common Congress worker will break the arrogance of the BJP in Amethi’

The senior Congress leaders then resort to virtue signalling over the decision of fielding KL Sharma against Union Minister Smriti Irani from Amethi. 

“Yesterday, an eminent journalist was sarcastically asking a ground worker of the Congress Party in Amethi, “When will it be your turn to get tickets?” Here it is! A common Congress worker will break the arrogance of the BJP in Amethi,” Ramesh tweeted.

While the Congress would want the country to believe that they are empowering a ground worker to take on the might of a senior BJP leader, what they fail to explain is why was there so much delay in announcing his candidature. Surely, KL Sharma would have been in a better position to organise his political campaign and public meetings with locals if he had been declared as Amethi candidate well in advance. 

Jairam Ramesh’s tweet on Rahul Gandhi giving up on Amethi

‘Priyanka Gandhi is not contesting because she should not be limited to one constituency’

In yet another bizarre and laughable rationale, the Congress leaders asserted that Priyanka Gandhi is not contesting the Lok Sabha elections because she should not be limited to one constituency. 

“Priyanka ji is campaigning vigorously and is single-handedly silencing Narendra Modi’s lies. The way she responded to the canards that the PM was spreading on the abolition of estate duty in March 1985 was a stinging rebuke. That is why it was important that she should not be limited to just one constituency. She is campaigning across the country,” Ramesh said in his tweet.

According to Ramesh, nomination confines a leader to a single constituency and undermines their ability to campaign for the party across the country. If this was the case, why is Rahul Gandhi fighting from two constituencies and not campaigning for the party across the country like his sibling? 

“Few chess moves still left to play”: Jairam Ramesh claims Rahul Gandhi contesting from Raebareli is ‘part of a larger strategy’ and the decision has befuddled BJP

ANI
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“Few chess moves still left to play”: Jairam Ramesh claims Rahul Gandhi contesting from Raebareli is ‘part of a larger strategy’ and the decision has befuddled BJP

Amid huge uproar in the political circles over Rahul Gandhi’s candidacy from Rae Bareli instead of Amethi, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Friday said that it is a well-strategized move of the party and that other facets of the decision remain to be seen.

The senior Congress leader said that this move by the Congress party has devastated the Bhartiya Janata party who was keenly eyeing the decision for the Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh in a post on X, wrote “Many people have many opinions on the news of Rahul Gandhi contesting elections from Rae Bareli. But he is a seasoned player of politics and chess. He makes his moves after careful consideration. The party leadership has taken this decision after a lot of deliberation and strategy. This decision has devastated the BJP, its supporters and sycophants”.

“Rae Bareli has not only been Sonia ji’s seat but also Indira Gandhi’s seat. This is not a legacy but a responsibility, a duty”, he added.

Questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political outreach, the Congress veteran raised questions on PM Modi’s candidacy just from Vidhyachal and not the southern part of India.

“As far as the Gandhi family’s stronghold is concerned, not just Amethi-Rae Bareli, the entire country from north to south is the stronghold of the Gandhi family. Rahul Gandhi has become an MP three times from Uttar Pradesh and once from Kerala, but why couldn’t Modiji muster the courage to contest elections below Vindhyachal?,” Ramesh wrote in a tweet.

On Congress loyalist KL Sharma being announced as party’s candidate from Amethi, Ramesh said that “an ordinary worker” of Congress will break both the illusion and arrogance of BJP in Amethi.

On Priyanka Gandhi’s absence from the Congress list of candidates for Lok Sabha elections 2024, he said that she can reach the house by contesting any by-election.

Launching an attack on the incumbent Amethi MP Smriti Irani, Ramesh wrote “Today Smriti Irani’s only identity is that she contests elections from Amethi against Rahul Gandhi. Now Smriti Irani has lost that fame too. Now instead of making useless statements, Smriti Irani should answer about local development, the closed hospitals, steel plant and IIIT – that needs to be answered”.

Hinting at further strategic moves by the party, amid the ongoing Lok Sabha election, Jairam Ramesh wrote, “There are some chess moves left, please wait a bit”.

After days of suspension over its candidates from Amethi and Rae Bareli, the Congress party on Friday announced its candidates from both the seats.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been fielded from Rae Bareli whereas party loyalist KL Sharma has been announced as the Congress candidate from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Fear mongering about CAA, lies about Nuh violence and love jihad, support for terrorists and more: USCIRF continues to interfere in India’s internal affairs

Dibakar Dutta
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Fear mongering about CAA, lies about Nuh violence and love jihad, support for terrorists and more: USCIRF continues to interfere in India’s internal affairs

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which has a notorious history of spreading canards about India and its internal affairs, has yet again targeted the nation in its 96-page annual report [pdf].

At the very onset, it claimed, “Over the years, USCIRF also has recognized improvements but continues to have ongoing concerns and has seen backsliding in other countries, including Egypt, India, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.” (Page 1 of the report)

The US federal government commission cited the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) and demanded the inclusion of India in the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) alongside Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, and Vietnam. (Page 2 of the report)

The rationale floated by USCIRF for such a drastic measure was alleged ‘systematic, ongoing, (and) egregious violations’ of religious freedom by the Indian government.

This is despite the fact that throughout its 96-page long report, the US federal government commission failed to provide a single instance of the incumbent Modi government’s direct involvement in any violation of religious freedom of any individual.

On Page 5 of its malicious report, it cried foul, “USCIRF expressed disappointment that India and Nigeria were not designated as CPCs, despite the violations in both countries meeting the legal standard.“

It must be mentioned that the USCIRF has been lobbying for India’s inclusion in the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) since 2020. Despite its repeated attempts, the US State Department has refused to entertain its demands.

2024 USCIRF report on India, Page 30

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has dedicated two pages of its report (Pages 30 and 31) to portray a falsified image of India to the rest of the world.

It lamented that India has been upfront in enforcing the humanitarian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against domestic terrorists and the , cracking down on foreign funding of dubious NGOs through the cancellation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licences, and preventing forced conversions and illegal cow slaughter in line with constitutional principles.

USCIRF then went on to make sweeping claims about the use of anti-conversion, anti-cow slaughter laws, UAPA and FCRA cancellation to arbitrarily detain, monitor and target ‘religious minorities’ and those advocating for them.

It came to the rescue of the Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research (CPR), a think tank whose FCRA licence was cancelled for violating foreign funding norms. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs cited reports published by CPR on “current affairs programs” as one of the reasons for the cancellation.

2024 USCIRF report on India, Page 31

The US Federal Government Commission also defended NewsClick, even though it reportedly used funds received from China to procure weapons during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) violence in the National Capital. It also attempted to whitewash the sins of ‘activist’ Teesta Setalvad.

According to the Delhi Police, Setalvad received money from Chinese Communist Party (CCP) member Neville Roy Singham through NewsClick and used it to revive her propaganda portal ‘Sabrang India.’ The ‘activist’ was at the helm of peddling fake news during the 2002 Gujarat riots and creating mass hysteria, particularly through her ‘mass grave’ disinformation campaign.

USCIRF also sobbed over the detention of evangelists for the deceitful conversion of vulnerable and unsuspecting indigenous people (Adivasis) to Christianity. It also attempted to falsely impart a communal colour to the Kuki-Meitei ethnic clash in the Indian state of Manipur.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) threw its weight behind Wall Street Journal (WSJ) ‘journalist’ Sabrina Sidiqqui, infamous for her anti-India rants, and ended up exposing the hypocrisy of the White House.

On Page 75 of the report, it said, “Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the United States in June, comments from the head of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Information and Technology Department, Amit Malviya, prompted an online campaign against U.S. Wall Street Journal journalist Sabrina Siddiqui for posing a question to Prime Minister Modi about religious freedom conditions in the country.”

Support for terror financer and love jihad

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom extended support to journalist turned-terror financer Irfan Mehraj and cried foul over the Supreme Court’s validation to the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

In line with the disinformation campaign of left-liberal and Islamist nexus, USCIRF also attempted to pass off love jihad (also called grooming jihad) as a ‘derogatory term’.

“Anti-conversion laws increasingly included provisions designed to prevent interfaith marriages and so-called love jihad. Love jihad is a derogatory term used to describe the alleged occurrence of Muslim men marrying Hindu women for the purpose of conversion,” it claimed on Page 31 of its report.

In 2022, OpIndia documented 153 cases of love jihad (a phenomenon where a Hindu woman is entrapped into a vicious web of love through impersonation and identity fraud and later forcibly converted to Islam). Many of these cases have also culminated into the death of the victims.

USCIRF lies about Nuh violence

The US Federal Government Commission attempted to portray Islamists as the victims of the pre-planned carnage against Hindus during the  Jalabhishek Shobha yatra in the Nuh district in Mewat region of Haryana on 31st July 2023.

“In Haryana’s predominantly Muslim Nuh district, communal violence erupted following a Hindu procession in July, where participants carrying swords chanted anti-Muslim slogans. A Muslim tomb and mosque were torched, resulting in the death of at least seven individuals, including Imam Mohammad Hafiz. The violence was in part initiated by “Monu Manesar,” a well-known cow vigilante accused of murdering two Muslim men in January for allegedly transporting cattle. Manesar, who has garnered support from the BJP, publicly called for individuals to participate in the Hindu procession,” the USCIRF report said (Page 31 of the report).

OpIndia had reported from ground zero and debunked the false claim of ‘Muslim victimhood’, which was disseminated on social media by the left-liberal ecosystem.

It is worth noting that Haryana’s Mewat has been under the spotlight for the last few years for the increase in terror activities, cow smuggling, and forced conversions.

Peddles conspiracy theory about India’s involvement in extra-territorial killings

Keeping the Lok Sabha elections in mind, the USCIRF joined hands with The Guardian and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News to allege that the Modi government has somehow been involved in extra-terriorial killings.

It repeated the unfounded claims by the Justin Trudeau-led- Canadian government about the ‘involvement’ of Indian Intelligence agencies in the assassination of Khalitani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjer.

USCIRF also highlighted the accusations by the US government of India’s supposed attempt to murder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Khalistani extremist eyeing to secede Punjab from the Union of India.

“Indian authorities also increasingly engaged in acts of transnational repression targeting religious minorities abroad. In September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged Indian authorities’ involvement in the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, which was followed by a plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the United States in November,” it claimed on Page 31 of its report.

It reiterated similar claims on Page 75 of its report, “The Indian government similarly engaged in increased acts of transnational repression to target religious minorities living in the diaspora. In addition to allegations of involvement in an assassination and assassination attempts of Canadian and American Sikh citizens, Indian government officials facilitated harassment campaigns to silence dissidents critical of religious freedom conditions in India.”

As a matter of fact, neither Canada nor the United States has so far been able to furnish any proof that can remotely implicate Indian government or its Intelligence Officers in the extra territorial killings.

Interference in India’s internal affairs

Through its annual report, the USCIRF also tried to interfere in the internal policy-making decisions of the Indian government. For instance, it objected to the implementation of three new bills to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

“In 2023, the Indian government introduced three bills to reform the country’s criminal code, which could target religious minorities by expanding police powers for “preventative action” and punishments for acts of terrorism,” USCIRF alleged in its report.

It also attempted to interfere in the decision-making process of the Ministry of External Affairs over handing OIC cards to the Indian diaspora. “The Indian government also continued to deny entry and cancel overseas citizen of India (OIC) status to members of the diaspora,” USCIRF claimed on Page 75 of its report.

USCIRF seeks to corner India

The controversial Commission has made 5 recommendations to the US government and 2 recommendations to the US Congress. Three of them are particularly concerning in nature and can harm the bilateral ties between India and the United States in the long run.

  1. Encourage review by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to ensure that international recommendations to prevent terrorist financing are not misused by Indian authorities to detain religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf.
  2. Designate India as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA)
  3. The US Congress should condition financial assistance and arms sales to India on improved religious freedom conditions and include measures for additional review and reporting.

Conclusion

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, which was created in 1998 by the Clinton administration, has been reporting on ‘religious freedom in India’ for the past two decades.

It has been snubbed by the Modi government year after year for its biased reporting, brazen interference in the country’s internal affairs, and spreading lies about India’s religious freedom and state of religious minorities.

‘Arey daro maat, bhaago maat’: PM Modi mocks Rahul Gandhi for nomination from Raebareli, says Congress has declared ‘vote jihad’ against him

ANI
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‘Arey daro maat, bhaago maat’: PM Modi mocks Rahul Gandhi for nomination from Raebareli, says Congress has declared ‘vote jihad’ against him

Invoking his earlier statement that Rahul Gandhi might have to seek another seat to contest after the casting of votes in Kerala’s Wayanad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday tore into the former over his candidature from his mother’s old seat, Raebareli, saying he bolted from the seat down South as he did in Amethi in 2019.

Addressing a mega rally in the Purba Bardhaman district on Friday, PM Modi said, “There’s no need for an opinion poll or exit poll…I said this much earlier. I predicted on the floor of Parliament two months ago that their (Congress’) biggest leader (Sonia Gandhi) would stand down from contesting these elections. And just as I had foreseen, she (resigned as the Raebareli MP and) took a seat in the Rajya Sabha from Jaipur.”

“I also told you earlier that the Shehzaada would start looking for another safe seat for himself, fearing defeat in Wayanad. He was so afraid after losing Amethi in 2019 that he bolted all the way down South, to Wayanad. Now, he has escaped to Raebareli. These people often go around telling people, ‘Daro maat’ (don’t be afraid). It’s now my turn to say the same to them–‘Arey daro maat, bhaago maat’ (don’t be afraid! don’t flee!),” he added.

In an earlier campaign rally, PM Modi claimed Rahul would have to ‘run away’ from Wayanad “like he did in Amethi.”

Reiterating his ‘three challenges’ for the Congress and the combined Opposition, PM Modi said, “I challenge the Congress and its INDI allies to give a written statement that they will not amend the Constitution based on religion, that they will not take away the reservations of SCs, STs and OBCs and give it to a certain community, that in states where they are in power, they will not take away reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs and give it to people on the basis of faith. It’s been 10 days since I threw these challenges at them and still haven’t responded. They want to punish you but as long as I am alive, I wouldn’t let that happen.”

Claiming the Opposition bloc would ‘do anything’ to advance its ‘vote bank’ politics, PM Modi, invoking the Congress’ alleged promise of a wealth survey and redistribution, added, “Be it the TMC, Congress or Left, the INDI alliance will go to any lengths to appease and curry electoral favour with their vote bank. Your assets, be it jewellery or anything that you own, will be put under X-ray. They would even take away a share of your income or wealth and give it to people who are their vote bank. Will you allow this? Will you let your mangalsutras be snatched away? Their sole agenda is to tamper with the basic structure of our Constitution and the ideas on which it was founded. Our Constitution does not provide for reservations on grounds of religion. However, the Congress wants to give reservations on religion. They will take away the rights of the SCs, STs and OBCs and give it to their vote bank.”

“Be it the Dalits, Adivasis or the OBC, they want to punish our backward sections by taking away their constitutional safeguards. The only reason why they want to punish these sections is because they stood with Modi and voted for him. They have already done this in (Congress-ruled) Karnataka (taking away a share of quotas from the OBCs and backward sections and giving it to a certain community) and the TMC is silent on this,” PM Modi said.

Claiming that the Congress was calling for a ‘vote jihad’ while the ruling Trinamool Congress in Bengal was indulging in divisive politics, he added, “The TMC is indulging in divisive politics while the Congress has given a call for ‘vote jihad’. These vote-hungry people have already seen their boats rocked in the first two phases of polling and now they have come up with a new game. They have openly declared a vote jihad against Modi. The people of our country know very well what jihad is. In our country, this game of vote jihad had been going on behind the scenes for decades. However, such is their desperation now that it has all come out in the open. This is why the Congress royals, the TMC family and the Left are silent on this call for vote jihad. This means that every single member of the INDI alliance is in on this vote jihad,” he said.

“A TMC MLA said yesterday that they will throw the Hindus into Bhagirathi (river). What kind of politics is this? Why have Hindus become second-class citizens in Bengal? In Sandeshkhali, our Dalit sisters faced atrocities but TMC tried to shield the accused Sheikh Shahjahan. The whole country was shaken to the core and there was an outcry for action but the TMC kept protecting the culprit. Was it just because the culprit’s name was Shahjahan Sheikh?” Prime Minister Modi questioned.

Adding that the Opposition has no ‘vision for Vikas’, he said the Opposition only knows how to divide people to protect their vote bank.

“TMC, Leftists and the Congress are threatening me. But let them know that I am not scared. The more you hurl abuses at me, the more I will work for the people. The Opposition does not have a vision for Vikas (development) of Bharat. They only know how to divide the society to protect their vote bank,” PM Modi said in an unsparing takedown of the Opposition.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

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