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Opposition forced to use ‘dirty money’ due to electoral bonds: Raghu Ram Rajan steps out to defend Congress MP linked to 500 cr Income Tax raid

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Opposition forced to use ‘dirty money’ due to electoral bonds: Raghu Ram Rajan steps out to defend Congress MP linked to 500 cr Income Tax raid

In an interview published by The Red Mike on 12th December, former Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Dr Raghuram Rajan, gave a bizarre “context” to the unaccounted cash recovered from Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu. Dr Rajan claimed that the opposition parties are “forced” to use illicit money because electoral bonds provide an unequal playing field favouring the ruling party.

In his question, Sanket Upadhyay asked Dr Rajan about his views on electoral bonds, citing the statement given by former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg at Idea Exchange. Garg thoroughly explained why electoral bonds were introduced and what the ill effects of removing them from the system would be. Sanket asked Dr Rajan about his views on the statement where Garg said that if electoral bonds are removed, it will be cash on the streets yearly in the political process.

Dr Rajan asserted electoral bonds are an utterly non-transparent way of financing. Parties receive funds, and what they get is not known to anyone. In case an industrialist gives 1,000 crores to a party, the public can never know. He further called it a “bad way of financing elections” as the only people who know who donated what are the State Bank of India. He claimed that in India, it is hard to maintain secrets, and the ruling party can find the information of the business houses that donated to the opposition parties.

Dr Rajan said, “I do not say it happens, but the ruling party can call up the people who gave money to the opposition parties and ask them why they donated to so and so party.” He further claimed that this is why opposition parties must use cash instead of electoral bonds. “Elections are fought on money,” he added.

Furthermore, he said that for the elections, the ruling party could use agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax Department, and the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct raids against the leaders of the opposition parties. For example, in the recent attacks against Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, Dr Rajan asserted that the money could have been used to fight elections.

What is notable here is that even the Congress party could not develop this bizarre theory. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh categorically stated the party had nothing to do with the money recovered from premises linked to Sahu. While the Congress party distanced itself from the controversy, Dr Rajan felt it necessary to explain why so much cash was stored at premises linked to Sahu.

There was no progress because UPA 2 lacked a majority

Dr Rajan, who joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra last year on the economy, came out in defence of UPA-2 and claimed that the country did not progress much during 2009-2014 because UPA-2 was not in the majority. He said that Goods and Service Tax (GST) was introduced during UPA-2 but could not be implemented as opposition parties opposed it. UPA-2 was not in the majority, so it could not be made a law. Notably, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in opposition then.

In a way, he blamed the BJP for the “policy paralysis” during UPA-2. Rajan said, “Parliament was not allowed to function. You can’t solely point a finger and say nothing happened. There was partial paralysis; that was was opposition-led also.”

Who is Dhiraj Prasad Sahu

Dhiraj Prasad Sahu is a Rajya Sabha MP for Congress from Jharkhand. His family has been associated with the Congress party since independence. He became Rajya Sabha MP in by-polls in 2009 for the first time. In 2010, he was re-elected as RS MP for the second time; in 2018, he was re-elected for RS by Congress for the third time.

Dhiraj Sahu actively participates in parliamentary proceedings. Sahu was also part of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. In recent raids at Odisha-based Boudh Distillery Pvt Ltd, where Dhiraj Prasad Sahu is a partner, the Income Tax Department recovered over 400 cr of unaccounted cash. Congress Party has distanced itself from their own MP after the recovery of the cash.

Rs 20,000 fine for dharnas, Rs 10,000 for anti-national slogans: JNU issues new rules for code of conduct on campus

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Rs 20,000 fine for dharnas, Rs 10,000 for anti-national slogans: JNU issues new rules for code of conduct on campus

Students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University can face a fine of Rs 20,000 for resorting to violence, holding dharnas, and hunger strikes on the campus and a fine of up to Rs 10,000 for raising anti-national slogans and inciting intolerance towards religion, caste or community.

The JNU Students’ Discipline and Conduct Rule has been issued following the approval by the highest decision-making body of the university on November 24.

A Chief Proctor Office manual listed the “rules of discipline and proper conduct of students of Jawaharlal Nehru University”.

The document accessed by ANI said, “It was strongly felt to review the existing disciplinary rules and regulations of the office of the Chief Proctor. There are no substantially approved rules and regulations on proper conduct and discipline of students by the statutory body (i.e Executive Council) of JNU in vogue.”

The pamphlet mentioned that a student (repeat offender) would be expelled if he or she was awarded 5 (five) or more punishments during the entire duration of the study.

Punishments have been listed for 28 types of “misconduct”, including blockage, indulging in gambling, unauthorised occupation of hostel rooms, use of abusive and derogatory language and committing forgery.

For hunger strikes, dharnas, group bargaining and any other form of protest by blocking the entrance or exit of any of the academic and/or administrative complexes or disrupting the movements of any member of the University community, a fine of up to Rs 20,000 will be levied.

Students can be fined up to Rs 6,000 for holding events without prior permission, and/or they may have to carry out JNU Community Service.

For printing, circulating or pasting posters/pamphlets (text or picture) carrying derogatory religious, communal, casteist or anti-national remarks and any activity that incites intolerance towards religion, caste or community and/or anti-national in nature which disturbs the peaceful atmosphere on the campus, a student can be fined upto Rs 10,000.

The JNU Students Union has condemned the new manual saying it is aimed at stifling the vibrant campus culture that has defined the university for decades.

“Such excessive regulations are intended to discourage open discussions, dissent, and intellectual exploration, which are fundamental to the spirit of our university. According to the new manual, protests before any academic building can lead to rustication, eviction from the hostel and a fine of Rs 20,000. Moreover, a student who commits any act that the JNU Admin considers to be of moral turpitude can be fined up to Rs 10,000,” the statement read. (ANI)

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

Lucknow: 22-year-old daughter of former UP govt official gang-raped by Satyam, Md Suhail, Md Aslam, all accused arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Lucknow: 22-year-old daughter of former UP govt official gang-raped by Satyam, Md Suhail, Md Aslam, all accused arrested

On Monday (11th December), the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested 3 persons identified as Satyam Mishra, Suhail, and Mohammad Aslam for gangraping a 22-year-old daughter of a former state government official. The arrest was made within 12 hours after the girl filed a police complaint at the Wazirganj police station.

According to the reports, the incident is said to have happened on 5th December in the Barabanki region of Uttar Pradesh. The police arrested the accused from near Sunni Inter College in the Bazarkhala area around 12:45 am on Monday (11th December). An FIR under IPC sections including 376D (gang rape), 342, 323, 504, 506 against the three accused Satyam Mishra (22), Mohammad Suhail (23) and Mohammad Alam (31) has also been registered at the Wazirganj Police Station.

Rahul Raj, DCP (west) confirmed the horrific event. He said that the incident happened last week when the girl had arrived at the King George Medical University (KGMU) for her therapy session. She was undergoing treatment for depression at the University’s Psychiatry Department.

“She was acquainted with Satyam who owned a tea stall near the Unversity. On the fateful day, when she was at the tea stall, the woman asked the latter to get her phone charged. Taking advantage of her medical condition, Satyam suggested that he would get it charged in an ambulance that was parked nearby. On his suggestion, the woman put her mobile phone on charging and waited for it to complete,” the DCP said.

Meanwhile, the driver of the ambulance took away the vehicle from service to transport a patient. When the woman inquired Satyam about her phone hours later, he informed her that the ambulance was at Daliganj. Satyam went to Daliganj with the woman and called an ambulance operator who was at the IT crossing by then. 

When the woman and Satyam arrived at IT crossing in an e-rickshaw, the latter returned her phone. However, the girl was forced by Satyam and the other two accused including the ambulance operator and two tea vendors who were present at the IT crossing to sit in a silver car. According to the DCP, Satyam and his aides then force-fed her intoxicants and liquor. 

The accused then brutally gang-raped the woman in the vehicle between the IT crossing in Hasanganj and Safedabad in Barabanki. They are also said to have shot derogatory videos of the woman and also filmed the entire incident.

“Satyam and his aides threatened to throw me out of the car if I did not follow their order. He filmed the act…I touched his feet and pleaded to delete the video and asked them to drop me at the house of my friend in Sector 9 Indira Nagar. They dropped me at Munshipulia and fled the scene,” the woman stated in her complaint.

Police confirmed that the accused kept driving the car around the city for hours while they raped her and filmed the incident. FIR under sections 376D (gang rape), 342, 323, 504, and 506 of the IPC has been registered against the accused Satyam, Mohammed Suhail, and Mohammed Aslam. The Police also recovered the Wagon-R car which was used by the accused to execute the crime along with two mobile phones and cash around Rs 19,830. Further probe is underway.

Harvard President Claudine Gay, who tried to give ‘context’ on genocide calls against Jews, accused of plagiarising her Ph.D. thesis

OpIndia Staff
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Harvard President Claudine Gay, who tried to give ‘context’ on genocide calls against Jews, accused of plagiarising her Ph.D. thesis

Harvard University President Dr Claudine Gay who is barely out of one controversy is now facing a new charge. A report has alleged that Dr Gay plagiarised parts of her 1997 Ph.D. thesis.

City Journal writer Christopher F Rufo, along with contributing editor of American Conservative Magazine Chris Brunet, released parts of the thesis and contrasted it with another paper.

The duo alleged that Gay has lifted an entire paragraph “nearly verbatim” from a paper by Lawrence Bobo and Franklin Gilliam’s, while passing it off as her own paraphrase and language. They substantiated this by sharing an image of the part in question and contrasting it with the study they claim Gay copied from.

In the thread post on X, Rufo and Brunet alleged that Gay had violated Harvard’s policy on plagiarism throughout her thesis document “using the work by Bobo and Gilliam as well as passages from Richard Shingles, Susan Howell, and Deborah Fagan, which she reproduces nearly verbatim, without quotation marks”.

They pointed out that at some parts Gay has not used quote marks while copying language from material published by Carol Swain. The appendix, they alleged, is taken directly from a book by Gary King.

Rufo said that Harvard’s policy states that “students who, for whatever reason, submit work either not their own or without clear attribution to its sources will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including requirement to withdraw from the College.

“Students who have been found responsible for any violation of these standards will not be permitted to submit course evaluation of the course in which the infraction occurred,” the policy states.

Rufo demanded that the same policy should be applied by Harvard to the university president too just as it does to the students.

Gay’s thesis advisor has reportedly called the accusation “absurd”. “There is not a conceivable case that this is plagiarism. Her dissertation and every draft I read of it met the highest academic standards,” said Professor Gary King.

The entire case is garnering attention on social media and beyond thereby bringing into question the dwindling credibility of the Ivy League institute.

This is the second such controversy in the past week that has plunged the credibility of Harvard University as well as its President.

Calls are being made demanding the removal of Dr Claudine Gay from the position of President of Harvard University after she refused to give a yes or no answer at a house committee hearing on antisemitism on campuses.

On 5th December at the congressional hearing on “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism” in Washington, DC, Congresswoman Elise Stafanik confronted the Presidents of Harvard, Penn and MIT.

She asked, “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate the university’s code of conduct or rules regarding bullying and harassment” demanding a yes or no answer.

Dr Claudine Gay responded saying that it “depends on the context”. She laid down the context when asked saying, “targeted as an individual, targeted at an individual”.

She added, “Antisemitic rhetoric when it crosses into conduct, it amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation, that is actionable conduct and we do take action.”

The Congresswoman reprimanded Gay and asked the latter to resign. She also said that the answers were unacceptable across the board owing to the similar replies given by the President of University of Penn Liz Magill and President of MIT, Sally Kornbluth.

Penn President Liz Magill was forced to resign from her position where as Gay has only issued an apology so far saying, “I am sorry. Words matter. When words amplify distress and pain, I don’t know how you could feel anything but regret.”

“I got caught up in what had become at that point, an extended, combative exchange about policies and procedures. What I should have had the presence of mind to do at that moment was return to my guiding truth, which is that calls for violence against our Jewish community — threats to our Jewish students — have no place at Harvard, and will never go unchallenged. Substantively, I failed to convey what is my truth,” Gay said.

However, as per reports, Harvard faculty members have put their weight behind Gay. A petition has been signed by more than 600 Harvard faculty members asking the governing body to not sack the President.

Arundhati Roy calls India ‘fascist Hindu enterprise’ in Al Jazeera interview, plea filed in Calcutta HC over anti-India statements

OpIndia Staff
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Arundhati Roy calls India ‘fascist Hindu enterprise’ in Al Jazeera interview, plea filed in Calcutta HC over anti-India statements

On Monday (11th December), the Calcutta High Court heard a petition against author Arundhati Roy for anti-India statements she made to the Islamist propaganda news outlet Al Jazeera. The petitioner asserted that Roy stated in an interview with Al Jazeera that “India was becoming a fascist Hindu enterprise.”

A division bench consisting of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya noted that the plea had not been properly served on the respondents and ordered that it be listed after service had been executed on the respondents, which included Twitter Inc., whose name had subsequently been changed to “X Corp.”

The petitioner contended that Roy had disclosed these remarks to Al Jazeera, which is ‘affiliated with Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda’. Roy in the year-old video could also be heard calling the present rulers of India ‘gangsters’.

“Millions of people follow her. She called the Indian government a “Hindu Fascist enterprise” in an interview with AI Jazeera, even though India is one of the few secular nations in the world. The people have mandated the government, and Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda is represented by Al Jazeera. Thousands of people will share her speech, and renowned actor Prakash Raj has also referred to Hindus as fascists. Hindus are not fascists; we have learned dharma rakshite rakshita, which means we protect our dharma and it protects us,” the petitioner stated. 

After hearing the plea, the Chief Justice asked the petitioners if they had previously filed a similar plea with the Delhi High Court. Additionally, it was mentioned that not all respondents had received the service and that Twitter Inc., one of the respondents, would have to be freshly arrayed as X Corp in the writ petition. 

Meanwhile, the legal representative for the petitioner maintained that these remarks ‘don’t make any sense.’

Taking issue with these remarks, the plea was adjourned after service was completed, and the Chief Justice rebuked orally: “Are you calling us senseless?” Or the State’s attorney? Never use that word, and how long have you been in practice? From 2006? Even in a Magistrates Court, do not use these expressions because they can lead to criminal contempt. You are appearing before the first court in a chartered High Court, India’s oldest. You’d better watch your language. List after effective service is completed,” the court was quoted as saying.

The petition was moved by Advocates Mita Banerjee Ray and Barun Kumar Ray. 

Ludhiana: Masked miscreants enter temple wearing shoes, disrupt Maha Aarti at Gopal Temple, probe underway

OpIndia Staff
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Ludhiana: Masked miscreants enter temple wearing shoes, disrupt Maha Aarti at Gopal Temple, probe underway

On 10th December, masked miscreants entered Gopal Temple in the Islamganj area near the Civil Hospital in Ludhiana wearing shoes and forcefully stopped Maha Aarti. As per reports, the miscreants entered the temple and approached the priest directly, performing the Maha Aarti. They forced him to stop the Aarti, leading to a dispute with the devotees. As the conflict escalated, they fled the scene. Hindu organisations in Ludhiana have strongly condemned the incident.

Speaking to the media, the caretaker of Gopal Temple, Vinit Dua, said that Maha Aarti was in progress on 10th December at around 7:30 PM. Some miscreants wearing shoes entered the temple. They had covered their faces. Upon entering the temple, they approached the priest conducting Aarti and forced him to stop. He added when the temple priest objected, they started abusing him. The miscreants allegedly threatened the priest that they would remove the idols from the temple if the Aarti was not stopped.

The incident was captured on CCTV installed inside the temple. The miscreants claimed they were ill, so they would not let the Aarti continue. The incident was reported to the Division Number 2 Police Station. The police have registered a case, and the investigation is underway. Reportedly, the miscreants have been identified as Jarnail Singh, Varinder Singh, and Sonu Singh. An FIR under Section 295A, 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against them.

Shiv Sena leader Bhanu Pratap condemned the incident and urged the police to take strict action against the miscreants. He asserted if police failed to take any action in the matter, Shiv Sena would take it to the streets.

Speaking to the media, Ludhiana SP Rupinder Kaur Sra said those who entered the temple were from the neighbourhood. They were objecting to loud noise coming from the temple. After receiving the complaint from the temple, police reached the spot and initiated investigation.

“BJP MLAs bow down to Muslim Speaker in Karnataka”: Congress minister Zameer Ahmed Khan’s video causes uproar in Assembly

OpIndia Staff
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“BJP MLAs bow down to Muslim Speaker in Karnataka”: Congress minister Zameer Ahmed Khan’s video causes uproar in Assembly

Chaos broke out in the Karnataka Assembly on Monday over a video of a Congress minister who can be heard trying to communalise the Speaker’s chair. Zameer Ahmad Khan’s remarks during an election rally in Telangana were brought up in the House on Monday (11th December). BJP MLAs staged a protest in the assembly demanding the sacking of the Congress minister.

The Housing, Waqf and Minority affairs minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan while targeting the BJP during the Telangana campaign had said that the BJP MLAs are now bound to join hands and bow down before a Muslim speaker in Karnataka thanks to the Congress.

The video of his address had gathered pace on social media and garnered widespread criticism.

“9 of us (Muslims) have been elected. 17 seats had Muslim contenders and 9 got elected. 5 have been given power. Zameer Ahmed Khan has been given three portfolios as minister, Raheem Khan has been made minister, Salin Ahmed has been made chief whip and Naseer Ahmed has recently been made political secretary. Till today, no one (Muslim) had been made Speaker. Today the Congress has made UT Khader Speaker. Today, BJP leaders join hands and salute before UT Khader (a Muslim leader) because of the Congress,” Khan said in his address.

Leader of Opposition R Ashoka along with other BJP MLAs assembled at the Well of the House demanding that Khan be sacked for his “insulting” remark involving the position of the Speaker.

He said, “We don’t know in which country we are living. Is this Pakistan? Khan should be sacked for showing BJP leaders in poor light.”

JD(S) also joined in the chorus as the protests went on for the entire duration of the House proceedings.

However, Speaker UT Khader did not heed the Opposition’s demand and the House passed five bills without discussion and concluded a discussion on drought with the government’s reply.

Meanwhile, the BJP also accused the Speaker of conducting the proceedings in a dictatorial manner like a “Congress Speaker” and insulting the Opposition. The BJP MLAs called the Congress minister’s statement as “anti constitution and anti Hindu”.

LoP R Ashoka also accused Khan of disrespecting the chair of the Speaker and trying to disturb the sentiments of Hindus and Muslims. A battle ensued in the assembly when Congress MLAs also rose in protest against the Opposition.

“Are we (BJP MLAs) gulams (slaves)? To say salaam the way he (Khan) has said,” R Ashoka asked. BJP MLA and former Karnataka minister CN Ashwath Narayan demanded Khan’s suspension from the assembly.

Meanwhile, the Speaker, UT Khader, himself told the Opposition that they should have raised the matter after giving a notice. Even as the assembly was adjourned for some time, the House proceedings continued later without heeding to the demands of the opposition.

“We respect the chair not because the speaker who occupies it is a Hindu or a Muslim. It is because of respect towards the Chair. The minister’s statement has humiliated Hindus, so Khan has to apologise. Extend the session by a week for discussion on key issues, but we won’t take back protests,” Ashoka said.

The BJP also called Khan a “Pakistani agent”. The LoP asked whether Congress is ashamed to take action when Hindus are insulted.

Zameer Ahmed Khan has reportedly refused to issue an apology or submit resignation. He was quoted as saying, “I had said that Congress, BJP, and JD(S) members bow down to the Speaker’s chair and respect it. I have merely highlighted that the Congress has elevated the Muslim community to such a high post. What’s wrong with that statement?”

About a year ago, the Congress minister had made headlines for his unheygenic display of appeasement. While marking Ambedkar Jayanti and Eid Milan at an event last year, Khan was seen in a video feeding a morsel of food to a Dalit priest, asked him to spit it out and then ate it himself.

The video had gone viral on social media.

Last year, the Congress leader had claimed that the numerical strength of Muslims is greater than the politically-dominant Vokkaliga community in the state.

He made the contentious remarks to support Siddaramaiah’s bid for becoming the Congress’ CM candidate in the Assembly elections.

In July 2022, the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) conducted raids on the residence and office of the Congress MLA in Bengaluru. The ACB officials also registered a case against Khan in the disproportionate assets case and booked him based on ED’s report.

The ACB officials raided 2 offices and 3 residential properties of Khan which include his residence in the Bengaluru Cantonment area, a flat in Silver Oak Apartment, a guest house at Sadashiv Nagar, GK Associates office at Banashankari, and National Travels Office in Kalasipalya in Bengaluru.

Khan along with several other Congress leaders was seen brandishing swords during the so-called celebration of Islamic tyrant Tipu Sultan at Bengaluru. BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, a Congress MLA from Chamarajpet, addressed the media while holding a sword.

Delhi High Court dismisses China-funded NewsClick’s plea challenging orders passed by Income Tax Dept, demanding stay: Details

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Delhi High Court dismisses China-funded NewsClick’s plea challenging orders passed by Income Tax Dept, demanding stay: Details

The Delhi High Court has dismissed the News Portal NewsClick plea challenging the orders dated November 3 and February 20 passed by the Income Tax Department and said it has not been able to make out a prima facie case in its favour. 

The bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna, while passing the order recently, said that the petitioner’s plea of financial stringency based on its balance sheet also inspires no confidence, as according to the Assessing Officer, the accounts have not been properly maintained. To put it mildly, the petitioner has a ‘lot to answer’ in the appeal, said the bench. 

Newclick recently approached the Delhi High Court, challenging the orders dated November 3rd and February 20th, passed by the respondents, whereby the petitioner’s application for a stay of demand during the pendency of the appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) against the assessment order dated December 30th, 2022, has been dismissed. 

The petitioner had further prayed for a stay of demand during the pendency of the petitioner’s appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals). 

Senior Advocate Devdutt Kamat appeared for the petitioner and submitted that the discretion to stay the demand during the pendency of an appeal has to be exercised judiciously and reasonably, based on relevant grounds, with due application of mind, and must not be exercised arbitrarily, capriciously or based on irrelevant considerations. He states that in complete violation of this mandate, the impugned orders are arbitrary, have been passed mechanically, and suffer from complete non-application of mind. 

Recently, the Delhi Police special cell arrested NewsClick’s founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha and HR Head Amit Chakravarty under Sections IPC and UAPA. 

The Delhi Police’s Special Cell, in its FIR against news web portal NewsClick’s founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha, stated that the People’s Dispatch Portal, owned and maintained by M/S PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd, has been used for intentionally peddling false narratives through paid news in lieu of crores of rupees of illegally routed foreign funds as part of a conspiracy. 

The Delhi Police FIR further stated that foreign funds in crores have been infused illegally in India by Indian and foreign entities inimical to India in pursuance of a conspiracy with the intention to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, to cause disaffection against India and to threaten the unity, integrity, and security of India. 

Foreign funds in crores have been infused illegally in India by Indian and foreign entities inimical to India in pursuance of a conspiracy with the intention to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, to cause disaffection against India and to threaten the unity, integrity, and security of India, as stated in the FIR.

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

HM Amit Shah likely to re-introduce amended three criminal law bills in Lok Sabha

OpIndia Staff
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HM Amit Shah likely to re-introduce amended three criminal law bills in Lok Sabha

On 12th December, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will likely introduce three criminal law bills in Lok Sabha after amending them based on the standing committee’s recommendations. The three bills previously introduced in Lok Sabha on 11th August were withdrawn by the Home Minister on 11th December, subjected to the amendments. The three bills that will replace the colonial-era criminal laws are the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023.

Source: yuvnique/X

Hindustan Times quoted an unnamed source familiar with the matter saying, “Based on the committee’s recommendations, amendments have been proposed in the three criminal law bills, which the home minister will introduce along with two other bills around 5 pm on Tuesday.”

Reportedly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his office disagreed with two of the proposed amendments as they were seen as against the Supreme Court and its judgments. The two suggestions aimed to criminalise adultery and homosexual sex. Notably, the Supreme Court had struck down the law that made adultery an offence, saying it was discriminating against women, perpetuating gender stereotypes and diminishing the dignity of women. Though the apex court had struck down the criminalisation of homosexual sex between consensual adults, the committee suggested retaining it in the new bill.

Notably, after introducing the bills in August this year, they were sent to the standing committee on home affairs for review. The committee submitted a report on 6th November and proposed 50 amendments to the bills. Reportedly, HM Shah said in the Parliament, “Based on the committee’s recommendations, amendments are proposed in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023. It is proposed to introduce a new bill in place of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023.” Similar statements were made to withdraw the other two bills as well.

The three criminal law bills seek to replace colonial-era criminal laws named the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

HM Shah introduced bills to replace colonial-era criminal laws

In August 2023, the Home Minister introduced three bills to replace the British-era criminal code in the country—the move aimed at removing colonial legacies, with 475 referencing the British Raj being eliminated.

The notable changes in the law included a shift in the focus to crime against women and children with penalties for offences like gang rape and rape of minors, including the death penalty. Furthermore, measures against love jihad, organised crime, terrorism and mob lynching were introduced in the bills. Time-bound investigations, trials and judgments were part of the new bills to replace British-era criminal laws. The digitisation of the entire legal process, mandatory community service, and increased use of forensic science are also emphasised.

‘They beat us badly and forced us to return’: More than 3,45,000 Afghans deported from Iran to Afghanistan in two months. Read details

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‘They beat us badly and forced us to return’: More than 3,45,000 Afghans deported from Iran to Afghanistan in two months. Read details

More than 345,000 Afghans have been deported from Iran to Afghanistan in over two months, Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported, citing a senior official of the Taliban-led Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation. 

Abdul Rahman Rashid, Taliban-appointed Deputy Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, said, “Since the first of Mizan (23rd September) till 17 Qaws (December 8) there were approximately 345,000. Each family has been provided with 10,000 Afs in cash assistance by the Islamic Emirate.” 

Mohammad Yousuf and Fatih Khan, who left Afghanistan and went to Iran to make both ends meet, have been deported from Iran. They complained about the mistreatment of Afghan refugees by Iranian forces, according to TOLO News report. 

Yousuf said, “There was no work here, then we went to Iran through illegal paths. They beat us and detained us.” 

Khan said, “They captured us and beat us. They beat us badly and forced us to return.” The deportees raised concerns regarding the lack of employment in Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to make efforts to create jobs for the citizens. 

Shirin Agha, a deportee, said, “We call on our government to provide us with work so the people are not forced to leave.” Ahmadullah, a deportee, called on Taliban to provide them with work. This comes as Iranian officials have said that Afghans without legal documents will be deported from Iran, TOLO News reported. 

Last week, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Wahidi reiterated that Afghan citizens who are currently residing in Iran illegally should return to their country, according to TOLO News. However, Wahifi did not mention a group or a country but said that the “enemy” wants to start anti-Afghan sentiments by creating a conflict between Afghans and Iranians. 

He further highlighted that Iran’s capital, Tehran, has also planned for immigrants with documents, according to TOLO News. 

“When the Taliban came here, I told them that you should prepare the ground for them (Afghan immigrants) to return to their country. After all, everyone should return to their own lives. You should come up with a mechanism for their return, and they said to give us some time,” Wahidi said. 

Asifa Stanikzai, a women’s rights activist, said, “Different countries and organisations should continue their humanitarian aid to the refugees who need help, regardless of the internal conditions of Afghanistan.”

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

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