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.
जबसे राहुल जी की रायबरेली से लड़ने की खबर आयी है, हर ओर से खूब सारी टिप्पणियों की भरमार है।
भूलिए मत, राहुल जी शतरंज के माहिर खिलाड़ी हैं। उनकी एक ही चाल से BJP और उनके चरण चुंबकों को मूर्छा आ गई है।
• रायबरेली सिर्फ़ सोनिया जी की नहीं, ख़ुद इंदिरा गांधी जी की सीट रही है. यह…
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?
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.
Many people have many opinions on the news of @RahulGandhi contesting elections from Rae Bareli.
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. This single decision…
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)
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)
#WATCH | On The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "The USCIRF released their report 2024 yesterday. They have been releasing their reports earlier as well…The USCIRF is known as a biased… pic.twitter.com/UgH8zabr7O
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
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.
“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.
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.
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)
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.
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)
Earlier today, on the last day to file nominations for Amethi and Rae Bareli, Congress was forced to end its weeks-long suspense on who would be their party candidates for the two high-profile constituencies.
With Amethi and Rae Bareli both being the strong family hold of the Gandhi family, speculations were rife that Congress might finally field the Gandhi siblings, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi from the two seats respectively.
But it came as a surprise to many, especially the Congress supporters and online trolls when the party announced that one KL Sharma would be the Congress candidate from Amethi and Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli.
The decision was perplexing for many can be gauged from the fact that KL Sharma was himself surprised by the announcement of his name from the Amethi constituency. A video of refusing to believe he is a Congress candidate from Amethi is going viral on the internet. In Amethi, Sharma will be fighting against Union Minister Smriti Irani, who had defeated Rahul Gandhi from the same seat five years ago.
For weeks leading up to the Lok Sabha 2024 elections, deluded Congress supporters and online trolls claimed Gandhi’s return to Amethi to reclaim the constituency. But that fantasy is now shattered by the Congress party itself as it decided to field KL Sharma and not Rahul Gandhi from Amethi.
Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Rae Bareli and not Amethi might be a strategic decision by the Congress party to salvage the last remaining pocket borough of the Gandhi family. Sonia Gandhi won the seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Now that Priyanka Gandhi is not in the election fray and Sonia Gandhi is already in Rajya Sabha, the Congress party had no other option but to zero in on the remaining Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, to ensure they give a tough fight in Rae Bareli.
Even arriving at this decision wasn’t easy for the Congress party. Besides the party leadership and feedback from the ground that reportedly advised the Gandhis to stay away from Amethi and Rae Bareli, the party was also under pressure from the Left’s campaign in Kerala that accused Rahul Gandhi of abandoning the Wayanad constituency should he decide to fight from Amethi. It was one of the reasons that contributed to the suspense over whether Rahul would be fighting from Amethi or not.
Now that Wayanad had already polled, the Congress party ended the suspense on the last day to file nominations for the Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies. Casting aside the negative feedback, Congress decided to field Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli, presumably in a desperate bid to save the last surviving bastion of the Gandhi family.
The continuing suspense meant the Congress party could not organise public meetings and promote their candidate. This made it incumbent upon Congress to go with one of the Gandhis and not with a lesser-known candidate, which would have meant a certain defeat. However, such is the predicament of the Congress party that even the announcement of Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli doesn’t guarantee a win.
This, in essence, means that Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Rae Bareli and not Amethi is an implicit acknowledgement from the Congress party that they are facing a rout in the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections. For all its hullaballoo and aggressive social media campaigning about the INDI alliance dislodging the incumbent BJP, the Congress party is alive to the ground feedback that predicts a crushing defeat for the party in both Amethi and Rae Bareli if the Gandhi scion chooses to fight against Smriti Irani and a lesser known Congress candidate replaces Sonia Gandhi’s former Lok Sabha seat. This is why Gandhi has been fielded from Rae Bareli and a Gandhi family loyalist has been asked to take the rap in Amethi, where Smriti Irani is predicted to sweep the polls.
If Gandhis are not able to save their own family bastions, it sends a strong message to its cadres and supporters that the party might be struggling everywhere else in the country. On social media, with the help of ‘neutral’ journalists and propagandists, the Congress tried to project a false sense of belief that the INDI alliance was coming to power. But its decision concerning Rae Bareli and Amethi underscores its underlying despondency with regard to elections.
The party is so low on confidence that the selection of Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli is not a statement to its opponents but its helplessness in salvaging the decades-old Gandhi family stronghold. And if Congress is struggling to save Rae Bareli, it is anybody’s guess how would the party fare in the rest of the country. Perhaps, Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Rae Bareli not only implies an acknowledgement of defeat but it strongly endorses the BJP’s belief that ‘Abki Baar 400 paar’ is a likely possibility.
The anti-Israeli protesting students at Rutgers University in New Jersey and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis negotiated an agreement with the administration on Thursday (2nd May) to settle disputes and remove their Gaza solidarity campsite protest underway on the grounds of the University.
As per the reports, Rutgers and the University of Minnesota have now joined Northwestern and Brown University in reaching mutual agreements to stop the pro-Hamas, terrorism-supporting camp protests.
At other institutions in the United States, pro-Hamas protestors have met the armed police after university administrations called on law enforcement to intervene and disperse the encampments. Over 2,000 pro-Palestinian protestors have been arrested on campuses across the country since last one month.
The accord came to fruition at Rutgers on Thursday (2nd May) after students met with the administration to put forward their demands, which included divesting from corporations that participate in or benefit from Israel; terminating Rutgers’ partnership with Tel Aviv University; embracing at least 10 displaced Gaza students; and demonstrating the flags of ‘occupied societies’, such as Palestinians, Kurds, and Kashmiris, alongside other existing international flags on campus.
“We will not leave until our demands are met. Display the flags of pre-occupied peoples including but not limited to Palestinians, Kurds, and Kashmiris in all areas displaying international flags across the Rutgers campuses,” the protest leaflet by the pro-Hamas students read.
It also added that the University shall hire senior administrators with cultural competency and knowledge about Arabs, Palestine, Muslims, and Islamophobia.
Rutgers agrees to 8 of the 10 demands. See number 9. Display the flags of "occupied peoples" – and that includes Kashmir. If Rutgers agrees to this, it isn't going to be long before other US campuses allow this. @IndiainNewYork@IndianEmbassyUShttps://t.co/sRguL0QfZK
Reportedly, 8 out of 10 demands put forth by the pro-Hamas protestors at the campsite were recognized by the University resulting in the end of the so-called peaceful protests. “We are pleased to report that these students have agreed to peacefully end their protest. They have committed to removing their tents and belongings, effectively clearing Voorhees Mall,” Chancellor Francine Conway said in a statement adding that the process began before the 4 pm deadline that was issued by the University authorities.
While 8 demands have been agreed by the University, some of the protestors are still fighting to get the other two demands approved which include the actual call for divestment as well as severing ties with Tel Aviv University.
“Even though most of the demands have been met, there is still much work to be done … These demands will require great effort and continuous pressure to bring to fruition and your continued support is still needed,” the university’s alumni Muslim group wrote in an email to the university.
Colleges, take note: Instead of sending riot police, Rutgers met with students, negotiated, agreed to 8/10 demands. Divestment, the biggest demand, was not among them -but they did secure a meeting with the committee on investments & will disband encampment. These are the demands pic.twitter.com/5dqRLvRNkK
Rutgers’ Hamas-supporting students set up their encampment earlier this week, as did students at 80 other institutions across the United States.
Final examinations at Rutgers were postponed on Thursday morning (2nd May) due to the encampment protest, and university president Jonathan Holloway warned student demonstrators of police action in an email if they did not comply and disperse the protests by 4 pm.
The anti-Israeli protesting students then began bringing down their tents just before 4 pm. However, during the protests, the students raised pro-Palestine slogans and yelled, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
Other universities are following suit, trying to ‘negotiate and appease’ the pro-Hamas protesters on campus
After four days, University of Minnesota students also removed their campsite on Wednesday (1st May), when interim university president Jeff Ettinger consented to meet with protesters and consider their demands.
Northwestern University administration also agreed to disclose university investments, a community home for Middle Eastern and North African/Muslim students, and funds to assist the admission of Palestinian academics and students.
Shortly after Northwestern protesters disassembled their campsite on Monday, Brown University followed suit. The Brown Corporation further has decided to hold a vote on a divestiture measure in October.
Notably, the New York Police Department arrested around 74 people this week in connection with anti-Israel protests at two universities. “In addition to the people arrested – 46 at Columbia University and 28 at the City College of New York – there are 16 outstanding desk appearance tickets that are returnable this month,” the authorities confirmed.
22 further have been charged with third-degree burglary and obstructing governmental administration. US President Biden meanwhile has condemned the violence, protests, and antisemitism that have erupted at some universities, saying that Americans have the right to protest, but not a right to cause chaos.
Image- Fox News
From the updates obtained till now, it is believed that Rutgers University is not willing to agree to divest from firms tied to Israel or terminate its partnership with Tel Aviv University.
Many Indians have noted point No 9 by the pro-Hamas protesters, that says they will display flags for ‘occupied Kashmir’, highlighting that the Pakistan-sponsored terrorist activities will now gain legitimacy in US educational institutions where many Indians go to study.
I hope @MEAIndia@DrSJaishankar takes note of #9 & asks USA strongly to not interfer or give any legitimate misinformation. Kashmir is a part of India & not an occupied space. Rutgers should be blacklisted & @TheOfficialSBI cautioned on giving loans to students attending the it. https://t.co/YIMEZB6DJS
— Yogini (Modi ji ka Parivar) (@yoginisd) May 3, 2024
However, a more concerning demand to which the university has agreed is the ‘display of flags of occupied peoples – and that includes Kashmir’. Kashmir remains an integral part of India and its residents are Indian citizens irrespective of their religion, as confirmed by the Union Home Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs time and again.
Any foreign university accepting such a demand which wrongly highlights Kashmir’s disassociation with India, sides with Pakistani terrorists who have been waging war against India over the Indian territory which has never been theirs. And concern revolving around this might grow if more US universities follow Rutgers in accepting ill demands put forth by the pro-Hamas protestors.
On 2nd May, the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued an order to transfer Mission Shakti department commissioner-secretary Sujata Rout Karthikeyan in Odisha to a non-public dealing department effective immediately. She is the spouse of VK Pandian, the leader of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and chairman of 5T, who is a close associate of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
ECI sources attested to the fact that the action was carried out in response to a complaint that the officer had abused her position of authority and public office. She was accused by the Bharatiya Janata Party earlier in the day of exploiting her position to sway voters in favour of the BJD by exploiting the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) program. She was “actively” acting as an agent of the state’s ruling BJD, according to a plea filed with the Election Commission by the BJP.
The BJP stated in its complaint that the current government utilized the Mission Shakti department to influence votes in favour of the BJD in the concurrent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The complaint read, “Mission Shakti is being grossly misused by the ruling dispensation of the state, that is, BJD, to influence voters to vote for it in the 2024 Parliamentary and Legislative Assembly Elections. The functionaries of the department have been compelling and coercing these Self-Help Groups (SHG) with the threat of stopping the government’s financial benefits, thus making them propagate and influence the voters. This is a brazen violation of the model code of conduct under the garb of SVEEP for reaching out to a wider population with its messages of voter awareness and education.”
The saffron party pointed out that the senior official was engaging in serious wrongdoing by leveraging power, resources and labour to persuade votes to the advantage of the BJD by means of the “SVEEP” initiative. It further mentioned, “It is extremely unfortunate that the serving IAS officer has given a go-bye to professionalism and is actively indulging as an agent of the BJD because of the influence of her husband on her. It would have been fair and proper for her to understand the implications of her being the wife of Pandian and, further understanding his role in the overall gamut of ongoing elections, she should have proceeded on leave and disassociated herself from anything to do with public dealing during the elections.”
On the contrary, the BJP highlighted that she was actively participating in the polls as a prominent person of the BJD in a manner that had never been seen before. “However, she is actively participating in the elections as a front person of the BJD in a manner which has been unheard of earlier.” The delegation appealed, “With a view to preserve the unbiased and unblemished reputation of ECI, it would be in the fitness of things to relieve Ms Karthikeyan from the post of commissioner-cum-secretary of Department of Mission Shakti and not assigned any public dealing duty till the conclusion of elections in Odisha.”
A top government official confirmed the transfer and stated that the state would notify her of her new role within a day or two. A memorandum in this regard was submitted to the ECI in New Delhi by a high-level BJP delegation that included Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Sudhanshu Trivedi and BJP general secretary Om Pathak.
The Odisha government has established over six lakh self-help groups with almost 70 lakh women in them as part of Mission Shakti. The Odisha government guarantees bank loans to these SHGs so they can start different types of livelihood enterprises under the 2001 program. The BJD’s recurrent election triumphs have been largely attributed to its rural women supporters, making this endeavour one of Naveen Patnaik’s administration’s key priorities. The Patnaik government accepted a proposal to award government enterprises worth Rs 1,000 crore to women’s self-help groups (SHGs) after winning the 2019 elections for the sixth time. With a budget of thousands of crores, the department, in line with its charter of duties, supports numerous SHGs and offers its members profitable activities through the provision of financing, market connections and other financial benefits.
On the 3rd of May, Indian Express published an editorial in defence of Somaiya School principal Parveen Shaikh who has come under the fire after OpIndia exposed her terror sympathising social media activities.
The IEarticle titled: “Why a Mumbai school principal should not be sacked over her social media posts” calls terrorists of Palestinian terror group Hamas ‘fighters’. The news outlet in the very first sentence of its editorial made it clear that for them, the killers and rapists of Israeli civilians are ‘fighters’ not terrorists. It tells a lot about why Parveen Shaikh’s support of Hamas is not outrageous enough for Indian Express.
The article says that a school principal having a ‘stellar record’ in leading an institution is not expected to like social media posts valorising “Hamas fighters” especially after what happened on the 7th of October last year. However, the management of Somaiya School in Mumbai pressing Parveen Shaikh to resign is more disturbing than Shaikh’s support for a terrorist group that slaughtered over a 1000 civilians and is using their own people as human shield, as per the Indian Express article.
The IE editorial suggests that Shaikh being supportive of Hamas will not hurt the school, but the management asking her to resign for sympathising with terrorists will. In a similar vein as Scroll and Hindustan Times, IE also passes off Shaikh’s pro-Hamas proclivities as “unpopular political opinion”.
It is pertinent to reiterate here that being pro-Palestine is not the same as being pro-Hamas. IE makes an alarming argument that if Shaikh is fired for her so-called ‘political opinion’ why should the students of Somaiya School debate at all? They perhaps fail to register that not supporting brutal rape and murder of babies and women is not up for debate. It is basic humanity.
“It will also send a chilling message to its students, and future citizens: That the price for expressing a political opinion, even if it is unpopular, is too high. If the principal can be fired for this, why should students debate at all?” the IE editorial says.
Indian Express‘s argument raises many questions: What exactly does Indian Express want Somaiya School students to debate? Whether rape and murder of children and women is wrong? Or, whether supporting Hamas terrorists and their heinous crimes should warrant criticism? Why do they think that the slaughter of women and babies, the cold-blooded massacre of entire families, parading bodies of naked women through streets and killing elderly civilians even needs a ‘debate’ to judge whether it is right or wrong?
Supporting Palestine is not the same as supporting Hamas
In March this year, the United Nations in its report said that Hamas terrorists perpetrated “sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment against hostages and has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing against those still held in captivity.” Does IE want students to ‘debate’ whether parading naked the body of Shani Louk, a 22-year-old German-Israeli woman by Hamas was a horrific crime or ‘resistance’ against Israel?
The editorial goes on to emphasise Parveen Shaikh’s good track record as an educator and principal of Somaiya School in addition to having good relations with the management. It makes one wonder how her professional excellence over the years and good relations with the school management could be criteria for overlooking her pro-Hamas social media activities. What values will Shaikh as a principal of the prestigious Somaiya Vidyavihar instil in students if she calls Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “dog” and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath “evil” and sympathises with Hamas terrorists in the name of ‘Palestinian cause’.
To assert that somehow school principals and administrators are often targeted, the Indian Express editorial talked about a July 2023 case wherein it says that Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal activists thrashed a school principal in Pune over the recitation of Christian prayers and not those of other religions. However, IE for all the obvious reasons did not mention that the Principal of the DY Patil High School in the Ambi region of Pune identified as Alexander Coates Reid was removed from his position after being accused of molestation, religious conversion and causing insult to Hindu religion. As OpIndia reported earlier, Reid was manhandled by the Hindu activists after they found out that he had installed CCTV cameras in the girls’ washroom without any notice to the management or the parents.
The IE editorial says that the silver lining in this episode is Parveen Shaikh refusing to resign and asserting her “constitutional rights and sense of professional responsibility.” It is, however, usual practice of an average terror sympathiser to invoke constitutional rights, freedom of expression and whatnot when their contentious behaviour sparks public outrage.
Indian Express suggested that Somaiya School should stand by Parveen Shaikh and “serve as an example for education leaders across the country.” What example does the newspaper want set for educators? That you can blatantly support terrorists and rapists like Hamas, abuse your democratically elected prime minister and a chief minister “evil”, support Islamist preacher and fugitive like Zakir Naik, 2020 Delhi riots mastermind Umar Khalid and get away with it by exploiting the ‘constitutional rights’ that the secular democratic state of India bestows upon you?
So, are students of Somaiya Vidyavihar supposed to learn that it is ok to call someone a ‘dog’ and throw insults at them just because you do not agree with their political opinions? Is that what the principal teaching the pupils at Somaiya School? That Jews are not human and it is ok to slaughter Jewish women, children, babies, and even the elderly just because you believe in a greater Islamic cause and it is ok to rape Jewish women? Because this is what Hamas did. This is what Parveen Shaikh is supporting.
Amusingly, the IE editorial also has a piece of advice for Parveen Shaikh. No, it’s not to stop supporting Hamas terrorists, stop using abusive language against the prime minister and a state’s chief minister just because you don’t like them, or stop being anti-Hindu. Indian Express suggested that that her “liking” a social media post may be personal, however, its impact will be public. “And, as a professional who leads an institution of learning, Shaikh should realise that her “liking” a social media post may be personal but its import will be public [sic],” the IE editorial reads.
Interestingly, Indian Express is not the only one defending Parveen Shaikh and downplaying her pro-Hamas and anti-Hindu social media activities. As OpIndia reported earlier, left-leaning portal Scroll and Hindustan Times have also attempted to garner sympathy for Shaikh passing off her pro-Hamas leanings as mere political opinion and alleging that ‘Hindutva’ portal OpIndia targeted Shaikh due to her Muslim identity. However, we have made it abundantly clear that her religious identity is irrelevant, being the principal of a school with the responsibility of thousands of children, but the fact that Parveen Shaikh holds pro-Hamas views is very much relevant and alarming.
After much procrastination and speculations for weeks, the Congress party’s royal family has finally given up the Amethi seat. On May 3, the last day of filing nominations, Congress announced Rahul Gandhi’s name as the candidate for the Rae Bareli seat.
Sonia Gandhi had vacated the Rae Bareli seat recently, choosing to go to parliament via the Rajya Sabha route.
BJP has already announced UP minister Dinesh Pratap Singh as a candidate for the Rae Bareli seat.
Congress has announced the name of Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi. As per the latest reports, Sharma was seen refusing to comment anything about the announcement of his name. He was seen avoiding journalists and saying that he would comment only after talks with the party leadership about it.
The seats of Amethi and Rae Bareli are considered the bastions of the Gandhi family. Smriti Irani took the challenge to defeat Rahul Gandhi in the Amethi seat. Though she didn’t succeed in 2014, she registered a phenomenal victory in 2019. The speculation of loss had made Rahul Gandhi contest from an alternative seat, Kerala’s Wayanad, where he managed to win.
Speculations were rife that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would contest from Rae Bareli, to send a message to voters in UP that the Gandhi family is still very much politically relevant. However, putting all speculations to rest, Priyanka, whose leadership has failed to result in any gains for the Congress, seems to have given up hopes of winning.
Congress supporters and party leaders have expressed openly that the Gandhi family should ‘take up the fight’ instead of running away, to encourage the party workers.
The Central government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is an independent body and is not under the control of the Union of India and opposed West Bengal’s suit against the Centre over the CBI probes in the State.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Centre, raised preliminary objections on a lawsuit filed by the West Bengal government on the CBI going ahead with its probe in several post-violence cases without the prerequisite nod from the State as per law.
Mehta told a bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta the West Bengal government’s original suit was not maintainable and sought its dismissal.
The West Bengal government had filed an original suit in the apex court against the Centre under Article 131 of the Constitution, alleging that the CBI has been filing FIRs and proceeding with its investigation, despite the State having withdrawn the general consent to the federal agency to investigate cases within its territorial jurisdiction.
Article 131 empowers a State to move the Supreme Court directly in case of a dispute with the Centre or any other State.
The Solicitor General said the CBI is an independent body and not one coming under the Central government, therefore, the Central government cannot be sued in the matter.
Mehta pointed out that the CBI cannot be made the subject of an original suit under Article 131 of the Constitution.
Mehta said the cases referred to in the Wear Bengal’s suit have not been filed by the Union of India.
“CBI is not under Centre and cannot be subject to an original suit. The Union of India has not registered any case. CBI has registered it,” the Solicitor General told the bench.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing West Bengal, said that the CBI cannot probe cases concerning West Bengal without the State government’s general consent.
He contended that the CBI cannot be viewed as an independent “statutory” authority.
“It (CBI) is an arm of the government. Even the police is the investigative arm of the State government. They are regulated by statute but are not a statutory authority in itself,” Sibal argued.
The hearing in the case will continue on May 8.
On November 16, 2018, the West Bengal government withdrew the “general consent” accorded to the CBI to conduct probe and raids in the State.
The West Bengal government in its suit while referring to provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946 said that the CBI has been proceeding with the investigation and filing FIRs without getting consent from the State government as mandated under the statute.
The State government had sought a stay of investigation in FIR by CBI in cases of post-poll violence in West Bengal in pursuance of the Calcutta High Court order.
It said that as the general consent given to the central agency by the Trinamool Congress government (TMC) has been withdrawn, the FIRs lodged cannot be proceeded with.
Earlier, the Centre had told the top court that it has nothing to do with the post-poll violence cases registered by the CBI in West Bengal and the lawsuit filed by the State government in which the Union of India is made a party is not maintainable.
The Centre had stated that CBI being an autonomous body set up under the special Act of Parliament is the agency that is registering and investigating cases and the Centre had no role in it.
In its affidavit, the Centre had stated that West Bengal’s power to withhold consent to the CBI is not absolute and the probe agency is entitled to carry out investigations that are being carried out against Central government employees or have a pan-India impact.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
