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Meghalaya: NCPCR chief says Rohingya infiltrators kidnap girls and commit sexual violence, 9th accused arrested in Chenga Benga gang rape case

OpIndia Staff
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Meghalaya: NCPCR chief says Rohingya infiltrators kidnap girls and commit sexual violence, 9th accused arrested in Chenga Benga gang rape case

In the Chenga Benga Mela rape case from Meghalaya wherein two minor girls were gangraped in Gandhipara village in South West Garo Hills district, 9 accused persons have been arrested so far, as per reports.

One of the earlier four arrests was made aboard a bus in Rajabala, West Garo Hills, on its way to Guwahati, another in Teporpara (Assam-Meghalaya border), and two more by Assam police in Hatsingimari, South Salmara, Assam.

In a statement issued on 28th April, SP Vikash Kumar stated that a cognisable case has been registered and is being investigated under Ampati Women PS Case No 09(04)2024 U/S 376D/323/341/506/34 IPC R/W Section 5(g)/6 of the POCSO Act based on information related to minor abduction, criminal intimidation, assault, and gang rape on the 16th of April at Chenga Benga Mela.

“Incriminating evidence was collected at the crime scene, and nine accused have already been arrested based on survivors’ accounts, medical examination reports, and other evidence,” the police said.

According to the police, all of the apprehended accused are residents of Teporpara village in Assam which is near the crime scene, and the arrests were conducted with the assistance of South Salmara district police. The police said that seven mobile phones have been seized from the possession of the arrested accused and the police have analysed the data.

SP Kumar said that it was found during the investigation that the perpetrators had taken a mobile phone from one person and threatened and extorted money from another. In this regard, two cognisable cases, Ampati PS Case No. 36(04)2024 u/s 392/323/506/34 IPC and Ampati PS Case No. 34(04)2024 u/s 341/395/384/506 IPC, have been registered and are under investigation. The officer added that efforts are on to arrest the rest of the accused persons. The police have also appealed to the locals to inform the police if they have any information about the criminals involved in these cases.

NCPCR visits the area

Previously, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) formed a committee that visited the district and met with the district administration, police, medical department, CWC, and social welfare department to discuss child safety and how to address these issues.

Meanwhile, NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo also met the families of the victims. Although the police have not revealed many details about the identities of the accused persons, the NCPCR chairperson in an X post said that the Rohingya infiltrators are sexually assaulting young girls in Meghalaya. Kanoongo’s post suggests that the incidents of kidnapping of local tribal girls from their homes and subsequent sexual abuse by Rohingya infiltrators are prevalent in the state.

“Women in Meghalaya’s Ampati district told how Rohingya infiltrators are kidnapping innocent girls from their homes and making them victims of sexual violence. Those who give India’s resources to these intruders should be careful, India’s daughters are not resources for the lust of Rohingya intruders. Every oppressor will be dealt with strictly,” the NCPCR chairman posted on Sunday.

As reported earlier, the police had said that the victims included two minor boys and two minor girls adding that the incident occurred on 16th April this year but was reported two days later on 18th April.

The police in this case have not revealed the names of the accused persons. It was reported earlier that most accused are in the 22-25 age group.

Ankit Saxena murder: Read how Shehnaz Begum, mother of his girlfriend, invoked Allah right before her father Akbar Ali slit Ankit’s throat

OpIndia Staff
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Ankit Saxena murder: Read how Shehnaz Begum, mother of his girlfriend, invoked Allah right before her father Akbar Ali slit Ankit’s throat

On 7th March 2024, three convicts in the Ankit Saxena murder case were sentenced to life imprisonment. 23-year-old Ankit was murdered in February 2018 in west  Delhi’s Raghubir Nagar by family members of his girlfriend who belonged to the Muslim community.

Additional sessions judge Sunil Kumar Sharma said to the accused, “Taking into consideration your age, background, antecedents and the work that you did before the incident, I am sentencing you to life imprisonment.” 

The court further imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on the three convicts identified as Akbar Ali (father of the girl), Shehnaz Begum (mother of the girl) and Mohammad Salim (uncle of the girl). The court convicted them in the murder case on the 23rd of December, 2023, almost six years after the incident took place. It is pertinent to note that Shehzadi, the girlfriend of Ankit Saxena, had testified to the media in 2019 that her family was against her relationship with a Hindu boy.

A reading of the judgement passed on the 23rd of December 2023, convicting the family of the girl, reveals chilling details of the moments before Ankit Saxena’s throat was slit.

According to the judgement, 4 different witnesses, who stood the test of cross-examination, testified to what the father, mother and uncle of the girl were saying before they caught hold of Ankit Saxena and murdered him.

According to the witnesses whose testimony remained unimpeached, the mother of the girl, Shehnaz Begunn was abusing and hitting Ankit Saxena when they caught hold of him on the evening of the 1st of February 2018. The witnesses have testified that Mohammad Salim (uncle of the girl) caught hold of the right hand of Ankit Saxena while a minor (who is still under trial in the Juvenile Court) held the left hand. The father of the girl, Akbar Ali, then held Ankit Saxena by the hair, pulled his head back and slit his throat. After his throat was slit, Ankit Saxena looked at one of the witnesses pointing towards his neck and fell on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

4 different witnesses testifying to what was being said before the murder and while Ankit was being beaten and abused, have said that the mother of the girl, Shehnaz Begum, was abusing Ankit Saxena saying “Aaj tera kaam tamaam karna hai” (today, we will ensure you are finished). The uncle of the girl, Mohammad Salim and the minor were also beating and abusing Ankit Saxena saying they would teach him a lesson for playing with the honour of their family. While the uncle, father and the minor accused were beating and abusing Ankit, Shehnaz Begum screamed at the others asking them not to spare him in the name of Allah. “Tumhe kasam hai allah kee ki isko aaj naho chhodna“, said Shahnaz.

It was after the mother invoked Allah that Akbar Ali proceeded to slit the throat of Ankit Saxena.

It is also recorded in the judgement that while the family of Ankit’s girlfriend was beating him up, Ankit’s friend tried to rescue him. When he proceeded to rescue Ankit, it was Shehnaz Begum who tried to get violent with the friend and bite his hand. She also threatened his friend to back off, since he had a sister too.

It appears from the reading of the judgement that Shehnaz threatened Ankit’s friend with consequences that would befall his sister and him if he tried to intervene.

It was at this time that Ankit Saxena shouted and asked his friend to rescue his girlfriend, who was standing at Tagore Garden Metro Station and take her to the police station, lest her family try to harm her too. When his friend refused to leave him alone, Ankit pleaded with him to take care of the girl.

The details of the grisly murder case of Ankit Saxena in 2018

A 23-year-old Hindu youth named Ankit Saxena was brutally murdered in  Delhi, in February 2018, for being in a relationship with a girl named Shehzadi from the Muslim community. The murderers were family members, including parents of the girl. Ankit had been under pressure to break his relationship with the girl. Since he did not comply, he was murdered and his throat was slit.

It was revealed that the girl’s family was vehemently against their daughter being in love with a Hindu boy and proceeded to kill him in a pre-planned manner after engineering a road rage incident. 

According to eyewitness accounts, Shehzadi’s mother wore a helmet and rode her scooter to the traffic intersection where they knew Ankit was present. She then rammed her scooter into Ankit’s vehicle so that Ankit would be forced to step out to help. As she was wearing a helmet, Ankit could not identify her and stepped out to help.

The woman then confronted Ankit and soon she was joined by her other family members. They all began to heckle and abuse Ankit blaming him that he had influenced Shehzadi to leave the house. A shop owner in the area had stated that when confronted by Shehzadi’s family, Ankit denied being in a relationship with her so that he was left alone. Another resident of the area had stated that Ankit even requested to call the police or be taken to the police station, but the girl’s family just kept beating him.

Neighbours alerted Ankit’s parents of the incident and they had rushed to the spot. But Shehzadi’s mother began attacking Ankit’s mother too who fell down. When Ankit bent down to help his mother get up, the girl’s uncle and brother then caught him by his hair and pulled him up. At that moment, while the two of them held Ankit’s arms from behind, the girl’s father slit his throat using his butchering knife.

However, media reports water downed the brutal murder case and it failed to inspire any outrage as Hindi and English mainstream media reports on the incident carefully tried to hide the religion of the accused, and the angle of religious hatred involved behind the crime.

Meanwhile, Ankit Saxena’s father, Yashpal Saxena was hailed by the ‘secular’ media and politicians as the face of communal harmony after he appealed to everyone not to communalise his son’s murder at the hands of his Muslim girlfriend’s family who disapproved of their inter-religious relationship. He had even organised an inter-faith iftar party in 2018 during Ramzan which was attended by various ‘social activists’. 

Big scam of Ecosystem to not bring out ‘Evils’ of Congress Manifesto: PM Modi says he was forced to bring out the truth as it has the stamp of Muslim League

OpIndia Staff
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Big scam of Ecosystem to not bring out ‘Evils’ of Congress Manifesto: PM Modi says he was forced to bring out the truth as it has the stamp of Muslim League

On Sunday (28th April), Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed that he was forced to bring out the truth of the Congress manifesto as it has the stamp of the Muslim League. Notably, PM Modi sat for an exclusive Interview with News18 Network where he discussed a range of issues including the Inheritance Tax plan suggested by Sam Pitroda, the close aide and adviser of Rahul Gandhi, as well as Congress Manifesto, and track records of his government against the Congress-led administrations. 

Speaking with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, PM Modi emphasised that he waited for 10 days for the media to point out the “evils” of the Congress manifesto. He added that the media should have analysed it in an unbiased manner rather than repeating what Congress presented before them. 

PM Modi highlighted that after seeing the Congress party’s manifesto, he felt that it had the stamp of the Muslim League which should have shocked the media. He further stated that he was forced to bring out the truth as it seemed to be a big scam of the ecosystem to hide the evils of the Congress manifesto. For those unversed, the Muslim League is one of the major reasons and political parties that led to the bloodied partition of India.

(Video Courtesy – CNN-News18 YouTube Channel)

Big Scam of the Ecosystem to hide ‘evils’ of the Congress manifesto

PM Modi said, “So far as the Congress manifesto is concerned, someone please tell me, are the manifestos of political parties during elections a mere showpiece? It is the work of the media to read the manifestos of every political party. I was waiting for the media to comment on it. I had commented on the manifesto on the first day. After seeing the manifesto, I feel that it has the stamp of the Muslim League. I thought that the media will be shocked. But they just kept saying whatever was presented by the Congress.”

The Prime Minister added, “Then I thought that this seems to be a big scam of the ecosystem and I will have to bring out the truth. I waited for 10 days that the evils in the manifesto would be brought out by someone because if it is brought out in an unbiased manner, it is good. Finally, I was forced to bring out these truths.” 

PM Modi slams Congress over the Inheritance Tax plan suggested by Sam Pitroda, rules out imposition of the tax in his third term

Referring to Sam Pitroda’s suggestion about a US-like Inheritance Tax in India, PM Modi stated that while he is talking about the inheritance of development, the opposition party is seeking to “plunder that inheritance”. 

Slamming the Congress over the Inheritance Tax plan, PM Modi said, “One of their greats gave an interview in America where he brought up the issue of inheritance tax, about 55% tax on your property. Now I am talking about development and inheritance and they are talking of plundering that inheritance. Their history to date is about doing what they have mentioned in the manifesto. It is my responsibility to tell the countrymen that they are taking the country in this direction.” 

PM Modi categorically ruled out the imposition of inheritance tax if elected for a third term. He assured that the BJP has no plans to impose any such tax. He also requested the media not to impose Congress’ thoughts on the BJP.

 
He said, ”What the Bharatiya Janata Party plans to do is written in our manifesto. How does the thought that we will carry forward their plan even come to your mind? The ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party is clear. We go before the country with our manifesto and works. Please don’t impose their great thoughts on us.”

Congress insulting Dr. BR Ambedkar and the Constitution by giving reservations based on Religion and it is a threat to the reservations of SC, STs, and OBC communities: PM Modi

The Prime Minister charged the Congress party with insulting Dr. BR Ambedkar and the Indian Constitution by repeatedly attempting to provide reservations based on religion. He added that these attempts by the Congress party are a threat to the reservation of the SC and ST communities.  

PM Modi said, “The way they are flouting the Constitution, the way they are insulting Ambedkar … There is a threat to reservation for SCs and STs.” 

He slammed the grand old party and warned that it was determined to implement reservation based on religion by stealing quota from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Charging the grand old party of appeasement politics, PM Modi added that Congress labelled Muslims as OBCs because of “vote-bank politics”.

He highlighted that in 2004, after forming the government at the Centre the first thing the Congress-led government did was to reduce the SC/ST quota in Andhra Pradesh to give reservation to Muslims. 

During the interview, he further highlighted how the Congress party decided to give the OBC share to Muslims in 2011. Likewise, it tried the same in the Uttar Pradesh elections but to no avail.

Speaking with the News18 Network Team, PM Modi noted, “There is a threat to the reservation for both the Scheduled Castes (SC) and the Scheduled Tribes (ST). Should I not inform the people of the country about this? I believe that it is the responsibility of all the learned people, who are rich in knowledge, who are unbiased, to educate this country, to tell it the right things.”

Congress turned Bengaluru from ‘Tech Hub’ to ‘Tanker Hub’

PM Modi further asserted that the people of Karnataka are now regretting voting for Congress in the state assembly elections that took place last year. He noted that on the Law and order front, there are riots and murders taking place in the state. 

Further, slamming the Congress’ Karnataka government over Water Crisis, PM Modi said that once famous as India’s tech hub, Bengaluru is now infamous as the ‘tanker hub’ due to crippling water woes.

He emphasised, “The economic condition of Karnataka is in a state of complete bankruptcy. They (Congress) made big promises and then said, if this happens, you will get this; if that happens, you will get this. This means you are cheating the public… They cancelled the scheme for farmers, and there was no reason for it.” 

PM Modi stressed that the misgovernance of the Congress party has increased the public support of the BJP which had lost last year’s Assembly elections in the state. Taking a jibe at internal rifts between Siddaraiamah and DK Shivakumar camp, PM Modi said that games are being played in Karnataka as the Deputy CM is asking for votes for his brother so that he can become CM of the state. 

He added, “As far as the BJP is concerned, we work with team spirit. BS Yediyurappa is one of our tall leaders, but the whole team is working together and working hard to move ahead.” 

PM Modi expressed confidence in securing a record third term of the Modi government and during the interview, he also laid out his vision for the future. 

Uttar Pradesh: Islamist mob attacks wedding procession when asked to stop filming Hindu women, several injured in Siddharthnagar

राहुल पाण्डेय
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Uttar Pradesh: Islamist mob attacks wedding procession when asked to stop filming Hindu women, several injured in Siddharthnagar

In Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh, a wedding function of a Hindu family came under attack by a mob of Islamist miscreants. They assaulted the victims after the members of the Hindu family confronted them and asked them not to take photos and videos of the women attending the wedding. The accused in this case have been identified as Naved, Aftab, Saddam, Naushad, Salman, Iltaf, Haroon, Afzal, Ilyas, and Israr. 

All of them are accused of taking photographs and recording videos of Hindu women attending the wedding. When family members and relatives of the Hindu side confronted and asked them not to record photos and videos of the women attendees, they started verbally abusing the victims. Later, they launched an attack on them when the Barat was near a local temple. The incident took place on Sunday (21st April 2024).

Many people including a minor girl suffered injuries in the attack. The accused who assaulted the wedding attendees lodged a cross-FIR a day after the Hindu victims filed a complaint in this matter. Police have taken action against both sides in this case. OpIndia has gathered information about the case which has revealed that some of the miscreants involved in the recent attack had earlier been involved in desecrating a religious pandal of the Hindu community. Two of them are accused of uprooting the flag that was installed in the Maa Durga pandal last year and urinating on it.

The attack on the wedding function of the Hindu community

The case that sparked communal tension pertains to the Dhebarua police station area of Siddharthnagar. On 21st April, a wedding procession (Barat) was slated to start from the house of Purnamasi Vishwakarma who hails from the OBC community in Mujhna village. Traditionally, all these wedding processions in the region take blessings from the local Ram Janaki temple. At around 8:30 PM, Naved, Aftab, Saddam, Naushad, Salman, Iltaf, Haroon, Ilyas, and Israr started taking photographs and recording videos of Hindu women who were part of the wedding function. 

When the male attendees of the Barat protested against their acts, they got enranged and started abusing and assaulting the wedding attendees with sticks. The attack led to a stampede-kind situation in the Barat. Arjun Vishwakarma and a minor girl got injured in the attack. Hearing the commotion, when villagers started gathering at the spot, the attackers ran away after threatening to kill the wedding attendees. 

(FIR based on complaint filed by Vishwakarma family)

In the complaint, the victim has pointed out that the attackers are rowdy elements. The victim’s mobile phone also got damaged in the attack. The complainant, Purnamasi has demanded strict action against all the culprits. 

Following the complaint, the Police lodged an FIR against Naved, Aftab, Saddam, Naushad, Salman, Iltaf, Haroon, Afzal, Ilyas and Israr under sections 147, 323, 504, 506 and 427 of the IPC. OpIndia has accessed the complaint copy. It is being said that the police reached the village and sent off the wedding procession. Meanwhile, the injured victims were undergoing treatment.

A day later, the Muslim side lodged an FIR

One of the victims, Purnamasi Vishwakarma filed the complaint on 21st April at around 10:30 pm. Based on the complaint, the FIR named 10 attackers involved in the incident. While the police were still investigating the case, around 20 hours later, on 22nd April 2024 at around 6 pm, the Muslim side also reached the police station claiming themselves to be victims. Subsequently, Aftab Azam Khan lodged an FIR against Lavkush Pal, Radheshyam, and Rampal. He accused them of assaulting his brother Naved over the issue of taking photographs. It is pertinent to note that Naved is an accused named in Purnamasi’s complaint.

(FIR based on complaint filed by Aftab)

Following Aftab’s complaint, the police registered an FIR against Lavkush, Radheshyam, and Rampal under sections 323, 504, and 506 of the IPC. OpIndia has accessed a copy of this complaint as well.

Our religious site falls in their area

OpIndia spoke to a resident of Mujhna village. On the condition of anonymity, the villager revealed that the Hindu temple is located in that part of the village which falls under the Muslim-dominated area. Hindus pass through the Muslim settlement while going to that temple during all their festivals, celebrations, weddings, etc. It is alleged that during these times, the women of their homes are not only abused but attempts are also made to molest them.

Describing himself as a victim, the villager stated that such incidents have occurred multiple times in the past with Hindus, but they lacked the courage to file a complaint in this regard.

Police have taken action against both sides

OpIndia called the police station in-charge of Dhebarua for the Police’s stand in this matter. SHO said that based on the complaints, the accused named by both parties were arrested. Action has been taken against all of them under section 151. They told OpIndia that the sections mentioned in the FIR attract a punishment of less than 7 years. Currently, the situation is normal in the village. 

Accusations of uprooting a flag from the Maa Durga pandal and then urinating on it

Out of the 10 accused who attacked the wedding procession at Purnamasi Vishwakarma’s house on 21st April 2024, two were booked last year in a separate incident. Notably, two of the miscreants were accused of urinating on the flag of Maa Durga’s pandal last year. 

On 20th October 2023, Rakesh Pal along with Purushottam, Janardan, Rishi, Vishal, Ravi, and Ajay Sharma, locals of Mujhana village, lodged a complaint with the police. According to the complaint, Israr and Salman were accused of entering a pandal of Sthapati Maa Durga and then uprooting, tearing the saffron flag, and later urinating on it.  

(Complaint copy submitted in October 2023)

The pandal was established as per the rituals on the occasion of Sharadiya Navratri. Apart from Salman and Israr, other accused named in the complaint include Hameed, Rehman, and Haider.

(Accused in the flag desecration case)

It is pertinent to note that Mujhna village is Muslim dominated. OpIndia spoke to one of the complainants of that case. He told OpIndia that at that time no action was taken against the accused and they were left after a mere apology. 

Attempt to tarnish image, poison mind of voters: Deve Gowda’s Grandson Prajwal Revanna calls obscene videos “morphed” and files police complaint

OpIndia Staff
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Attempt to tarnish image, poison mind of voters: Deve Gowda’s Grandson Prajwal Revanna calls obscene videos “morphed” and files police complaint

An alleged sex scandal involving Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna has sparked a heated verbal exchange between the Congress and alliance partners Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) ahead of the third round of the Lok Sabha elections. Now, the JD(S) leader and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda’s grandson and nephew of ex-Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy has submitted a police complaint on 28th April asserting that the videos doing the rounds had been altered.

According to the parliamentarian’s complaint, the edited videos are being shared with the intention to “tarnish his image and poison the minds of voters.” The development transpired a day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ordered the formation of a special investigation team to look into the issue. Meanwhile, Prajwal Revanna has reportedly left for Germany.

“The government has decided to form a special investigation team in connection with Prajwal Revanna’s obscene video case. In light of this, the Chairperson of the Women’s Commission (Dr Nagalakshmi Chowdhary) had written a letter to the government to conduct an SIT investigation. This decision has been taken in response to their request,” the chief minister informed on social media.

HD Kumaraswamy conveyed, “It is not related to me. A SIT probe has been ordered and officials have been put to work. If he has gone to a foreign country, getting him back is their responsibility. What should I say, if I’m asked? They (SIT) will get him, don’t worry.” Dr. Nagalakshmi Chaudhary wrote to State Police Chief Alok Mohan and Siddaramaiah on April 25th asking for a special probe into sex videos that had gone viral in Hassan.

On 23rd April Poornachandra Tejaswi MG, the election agent of the JD(S) and the BJP also registered a First Information Report charging, “Naveen Gowda and others morphed videos and images and circulated them to the voters in the Hassan Lok Sabha segment through pen drives, CDs and WhatsApp to put Prajwal Revanna in a bad light. They are asking the people not to vote for him.”

S Prakash, the chief spokesperson of BJP’s state unit remarked, “We, as a party, have nothing to do with the videos and neither do we have any comments to make on the SIT probe announced by the state government into the alleged sex scandal involving Prajwal Revanna.”

Over the past few days, some lewd film recordings reportedly featuring Prajwal Revanna with several females have been circulated in Hassan, Karnataka. Prajwal Revanna is contesting against Shreyas M Patel of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha election. The Hassan constituency went to vote on 26th April in the second phase of the poll.

Fact Check: Priyank Kharge and Congress leaders share cropped video to claim PM Modi called Kannadigas ‘sinners’. Here is the truth

OpIndia Staff
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Fact Check: Priyank Kharge and Congress leaders share cropped video to claim PM Modi called Kannadigas ‘sinners’. Here is the truth

On Sunday (28th April), Karnataka Congress MLA Priyank Kharge stirred the hornet’s nest after he shared a cropped video, falsely suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to Kannadigas as ‘sinners’.

Priyank Kharge, who happens to be the son of Congress President Malikarjun Kharge, tweeted, “Prime Minister Modi says that Kannadigars have sinned. Why do you hate Kannadigas when you see them? Is it Modi’s imagination to insult our countrymen?”

“Earlier you compared Kerala to Somalia, now you call Kannadigas sinners. What sin did Kannadigas commit? Is it a sin to reject the corrupt BJP? Is 40% commission a sin to undermine the government? 25 BJP MPs are inactive for what sin of Kannadigas?” he brazened out.

Screengrab of the tweet by Priyank Kharge

The Congress MLA continued his unhinged rant, “What sin did the Kannadigas commit? For what sin of Kannadigas Have you cheated on GST for Karnataka? What is the sin of Kannadigas for not giving 5,300 crores for Bhadra Upper Bank Project? What is the sin of not giving special grants as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission?”

“Dear Modi, Karnataka is the land of the virtuous, not the sinners. It is the birthplace of many pious people including Basavanna, Narayanguru, Kuvempu, and Kanakadasa. A land of such virtue, Kannada will never tolerate insulting the Kannadigas. Remember that if there are sinners in Karnataka, they all belong to BJP” Priyank Kharge added.

His tweet was accompanied by a video, which was mischievously cropped to suggest that Modi has labelled people of Karnataka as ‘sinners.’ “Ya Karnataka valo ne jo paap kiya hai uski saza aap is chunav mein dijiye (Punish them in this election for the sin committed by these Karnataka folks),” PM Modi was heard saying.

Screengrab of the tweet by Gaurav Pandhi

Several members of the Congress party were sharing the misleading video and making false claims.

“Just because the people of Karnataka voted against the BJP, PM Modi thinks they have committed a sin (Karnataka walo ne paap kiya hai). Shameful! Kannadigas will teach the BJP a lesson which they will never forget!” wrote Gaurav Pandhi.

Another Congress leader Saral Patel tweeted, “BIG NEWS!!! PM Modi insults the people of Karnataka for voting congress. Modi says “Ye Karnataka walon ne jo paap kiya hai” (Karnataka people have committed the sin) This is nothing but an open insult of an entire state on their right to vote of their choice.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Saral Patel

The Truth behind the viral video

The cropped video is a part of a 32-minute long speech delivered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his election campaign in Belagavi city of Karnataka.

During his speech, PM Modi was heard saying, “The treachery done to farmers by the Congress party is nothing short of sin (paap). When BJP was in power in Karnataka, an amount of ₹10000 was deposited in the bank accounts of farmers.”

“After Congress came to power in the State, it stopped giving ₹4000 to farmers in complete disregard for their livelihood. Now, the farmers in Karnataka get only what Modi sends. Don’t worry, you will keep getting the money under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme,” he added.

In this context, PM Modi called Congress government in Karnataka ‘sinners’ and asked people to punish the grand-old party in the Lok Sabha elections.

“Ya Karnataka valo ne jo paap kiya hai uski saza aap is chunav mein dijiye (Punish them in this election for the sin committed by these Karnataka folks),” he emphasised.

“Modi gives you the guarantee that the money sent from Delhi will continue even in the coming years,” he concluded. The statement and context of PM Modi’s speech can be verified from the longer version of the speech, which is available on his YouTube channel.

It is absurd to even think that PM Modi would call Kannadigas ‘sinners’ while seeing votes from them in the Belagavi city of Karnataka.

Need local candidate, not outsider: Delhi Congress workers stage protest against the candidature of Kanhaiya Kumar from North East Delhi seat

OpIndia Staff
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Need local candidate, not outsider: Delhi Congress workers stage protest against the candidature of Kanhaiya Kumar from North East Delhi seat

The brewing internal rifts within the Congress party have come out in the public as angry Congress workers staged a massive protest against Kanhaiya Kumar, the party’s candidate from the North East Delhi seat. Highlighting that Kumar is an ‘outsider’ in this seat, the Congress workers held black posters with “need local candidate not outsider” written on them.

Notably, the development comes hours after state Congress Chief Arvinder Singh Lovely resigned from his post on Sunday morning citing interference in functioning and alliance with ‘liar’ Aam Aadmi Party. In his resignation letter, Lovely accused Kanhaiya Kumar of praising the AAP and its chief Arvind Kejriwal which was against the belief of party workers. 

Lovely said, “The candidate from North East Delhi (Kanhaiya Kumar) has also been giving media bytes falsely praising the Delhi CM, in direct contravention of the party line and local party workers’ beliefs.” 

It is pertinent to note that arch-rival Congress and AAP are jointly fighting the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi under the I.N.D.I. Alliance. Notably, the two parties are not in alliance in Punjab. As per the seat-sharing formula for Delhi, Congress is contesting on three seats while AAP is contesting on the remaining four seats. However, two Congress candidates have faced stiff protests since the announcement of their candidature. 

In his letter, Arvinder Singh Lovely highlighted that the announcement of the candidature of Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj who is contesting from the North West Delhi seat, was not taken well by Congress leaders and workers, who consider them as “outsiders”.

Following this development, several Congress workers from the Delhi unit stood outside Kumar’s newly inaugurated office holding black posters and shouting ‘outsider’ labels against him. As per reports, after the announcement, the Congress party has been divided into two factions with a substantive number of party workers demanding that the candidate for these seats be changed. The two factions reportedly had aggressive arguments and manhandled supporters of the other side. 

As per ANI video footage, supporters of Arvind Singh Lovely heckled and manhandled former Congress MLA Asif Mohammad Khan when he argued that the former Congress state Chief should have tendered his resignation in private. 

Amidst the infighting between supporters, senior Delhi Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit who is the son of late former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit also argued that the party should carefully consider the points raised by Arvind Singh Lovely in his letter, alluding his support to the agitated party workers over the two controversial candidates. 

Earlier, it was reported that Arvinder Singh Lovely as DPCC president had convened a meeting to deliberate on the Congress’s future strategy. However, tensions flared up in the meeting after a war of words erupted between Kanhaiya Kumar and Sandeep Dikshit.

The verbal exchange reportedly erupted between the two leaders after Kumar allegedly responded to Dikshit’s allegations that his candidature hurt the party’s performance elsewhere in the national capital.

Meanwhile, Congress had announced Kanhaiya Kumar’s candidature from Northeast Delhi weeks after it finalised the seat-sharing formula in Bihar, the state from which Kumar originally hails. 

The Former JNUSU President Kumar, who fought from a CPI(M) ticket in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, suffered an ignominious loss to BJP’s Giriraj Singh from the Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency. He later joined the Congress party and seemed to have forged a close bond with Rahul Gandhi, senior Congress leader and former party president. 

He rose to the media limelight in the Seditious Remarks case in which several JNU Student union leaders were accused of raising anti-India slogans including chants of ‘Tukde-tukde’ (balkanisation) of India.

Several videos of the controversial Former left-wing Student leader are also doing rounds on the internet in which he could be heard making objectionable remarks about the Indian army alleging that in Kashmir, women are raped by security personnel. 

Meet Ujjwal Nikam – Former public prosecutor behind the death penalty for Ajmal Kasab and BJP’s Lok Sabha Candidate from Mumbai North Central

Anurag
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Meet Ujjwal Nikam – Former public prosecutor behind the death penalty for Ajmal Kasab and BJP’s Lok Sabha Candidate from Mumbai North Central

On 27th April, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded former special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam as its Lok Sabha candidate from the Mumbai North Central seat. Nikam has several high-profile cases including the 1993 Bombay bombing, the Gulsham Kumar murder case, the Pramod Mahajan murder case, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Congress has fielded Varsha Gaikwad from that seat. Notably, sitting MP Poonam Mahajan has been from the seat. As per reports, Mahajan was dropped based on the organisational feedback after several poll surveys yielding negative ratings for her.

Who is Ujjwal Nikam?

Ujjwal Nikam is a former special public prosecutor who contested several high-profile cases. He was born in Jalgaon, Maharashtra. Nikam started his career as a district prosecutor in Jalgain and slowly progressed to state and national trials.

Nikam has contested many cases on State’s behalf including the 1993 Bombay bombings, the Pramod Mahajan murder case, the Gulshan Kumar murder case, the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the 2013 Mumbai gang rape case, the 2016 Kopardi rape and Muder case and more.

Nikam became the reason behind the death penalty for Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist who was caught alive in the 26/11 Bombay terrorist attack. He was awarded Padma Shri by the government of India in 2016. Nikam has a 30-year-long career during which he secured 628 life imprisonment and 37 death penalties.

Nikam worked for over 14 years in the special court established under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act. In 2009, he was provided Z-plus security after he became prosecutor in 26/11 case.

PM Modi’s work inspired Ujjwal Nikam to join politics

In a statement to the media, Nikam said he decided to join politics after observing the nation’s transformation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed a desire to contribute to the development of the nation. Speaking to India Today, he said, “I was far away from politics. But seeing how the nation has transformed since 2014, I started observing minutely the image India has built globally, and for this, PM Modi and the BJP are to be credited. Their dedication towards India and its people, I then felt that the time was right for me to do something more for the country.”

He Praised PM Modi on the steps taken against terrorism. He added, “I know that you can face a lot of false allegations in politics, but I assure you that if somebody points out my mistakes, I will try to fix them. I was born on Hanuman Jayanti, and I hope that by God’s grace, I won’t make any mistakes.”

After his nomination, he expressed a desire to learn from sitting MP Poonam Mahajan, whom he has replaced. He said, “I have known Poonamji as I represented the state during the trial of her father’s murder. I had seen how hard-working she was during the case. She has so much experience…I hope to get her assistance as I represent the constituency.”

Nikam once came under fire during the 26/11 trials as he reportedly “cooked up” the story that Kasab demanded Biryani in jail. Later, he told reporters that he made up the story to break the “emotional wave” that was being created in favour of the terrorist.

Lok Sabha Elections 2024

Polling for Mumbai North Central will take place on 20th May. In 2019 General Elections, BJP won 23 out of 25 contested seats while undivided Shiv Sena secured 18 oout of 23 seats. Results for Lok Sabha Elections 2024 will be announced on 4th June.

BJP leader Saraswati Sarkar attacked in West Bengal while putting up posters for Debasree Chaudhuri, BJP says no woman is safe in the state

OpIndia Staff
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BJP leader Saraswati Sarkar attacked in West Bengal while putting up posters for Debasree Chaudhuri, BJP says no woman is safe in the state

On Saturday (28th April) night, a BJP leader named Saraswati Sarkar was reportedly attacked by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers while she was campaigning for party MP Debasree Chaudhuri.

The incident took place in the Anadapur neighbourhood in Kasba, which falls under the Kolkata Dakshin Lok Sabha constituency of West Bengal.

According to a report by AajTak Bangla, Saraswati Sarkar is the President of Kasba Mahila Mandal. She along with several BJP workers were attacked while they were putting up posters in support of BJP MP Debasree Chaudhuri.

In visuals that have now surfaced on social media, the injured BJP leader was seen bleeding from her head. When AajTak Bangla talked to a BJP worker, she informed, “Saraswati Sarkar was hit on the head with the butt of a gun. It was done by TMC workers.”

In the meantime, BJP MP Debasree Chaudhuri met the victim at her residence. A complaint was also filed with Anandapur police station but no accused has been arrested so far.

In a tweet, Chaudhuri stated, “Protest at Anandapur Police Station against brutal attack by TMC Goons on Kasba Mondal President. Officer-in-charge of Anandapur PS is missing, they have to arrest culprits who attacked Saraswati Sarkar.”

BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya also lashed out at the TMC government and said, “No woman is safe in West Bengal. Last night, TMC goons targeted Saraswati Sarkar, BJP’s Kasba Mondal President (in South Kolkata).”

“Mamata Banerjee is a colossal disaster as Home Minister of Bengal. Imagine if Kolkata is not safe, how bad would Sandeshkhali be. People of Bengal will respond to these atrocities,” he added

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha also condemned the attack on Saraswati Sarkar and said, “The people of West Bengal are watching it & will answer it.”

Recently, Trinamool Congress MLA Hamidul Rehman was threatening people against voting for the BJP. “Don’t dare to waste your vote and commit mischief. The central force will leave on 26th and you will be left here with our forces,” the TMC MP from the Chopra constituency was heard saying.

He further threatened, “At that time, do not complain about the tragedy that will befall your fate.” Hamidul Rehman subtly reminded voters about the TMC’s Khela of violence during the 2021 Vidhan Sabha elections and the 2023 Panchayat polls.

In March this year, OpIndia reported about 5 incidents of attacks on BJP workers, carried out by goons associated with the ruling Trinamool Congress party.

Sangh supports reservations for those who need it: Mohan Bhagwat slams attempts to spread fake news that RSS opposes reservations

OpIndia Staff
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Sangh supports reservations for those who need it: Mohan Bhagwat slams attempts to spread fake news that RSS opposes reservations

Amid the ongoing Lok Sabha election, Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has made a significant announcement regarding reservations. On 28th April, he stated that his organisation had never been against granting reservations to specific groups. He made the comment during a speech at a Hyderabad-based educational institution. According to him, the RSS believed that reservations should exist as long as they are required. The development transpired after the verbal sparring between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party about reservations.

“There is a video circulating that claims RSS opposes reservations. It is claimed that while we support it in public, we object to it behind closed doors since we are unable to speak about it outside. There is a video circulating that claims RSS rejects reservations. Now, this is completely erroneous and untrue. The Sangh has consistently upheld the constitutionally mandated reservations and affirmed very rightly that those who benefit from it should continue to until they face discrimination in society,” he conveyed.

Notably, last year Mohan Bhagwat remarked in Nagpur that reservations should be granted as long as there is social prejudice. According to him, discrimination exists everywhere in society, even when it is not visible. He has reiterated the same stand time and again on different occasions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the opposition of trying to “steal” reservations intended for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs) to benefit their preferred Muslim vote base during election rallies in the Bihar Lok Sabha constituencies of Araria and Munger on 26th April. The opposition parties, he further asserted, wanted to impose religion-based reservation if they were to win the Lok Sabha elections, in contrast to his own objective of winning 400 seats to stop them and protect the quotas for Dalits and Other Backward Classes.

Importantly, Chief Minister Siddaramiah-led Congress government classified the entire Muslim community as a backward caste for OBC quota reservation in Karnataka. The decision drew criticism from the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) which highlighted that this categorization runs counter to the principles of social justice. All Muslim castes and groupings have been labelled as socially and educationally backwards under Category IIB on the State List of Backward Classes, according to data supplied by the Karnataka Backward Classes Welfare Department.

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