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‘Souls of Gandhi and Ambedkar must be weeping’: The Left ecosystem suffer a meltdown after Mahua Moitra’s expulsion from Lok Sabha

OpIndia Staff
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‘Souls of Gandhi and Ambedkar must be weeping’: The Left ecosystem suffer a meltdown after Mahua Moitra’s expulsion from Lok Sabha

TMC’s Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra has been expelled from the Lok Sabha after the Ethics Committee tabled its report on her corruption and bribery. She was expelled after the tabled report was debated and a vote was sought from MPs. Soon after Mahua Moitra’s expulsion, the left-liberal ecosystem in politics and media started reacting with tears and rants. From BSP MP Danish Ali saying Gandhi must be weeping to so-called neutral journalists getting goosebumps, every reaction from this clout represented the meltdown they had after the action against the now-former TMC MP.

Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali said, “What is this? The dignity of the parliament house was breached on the night of 21st September when Ramesh Bidhuri abused me. Soul of Gandhi and Ambedkar must be weeping today.”

TMC MP Saugata Roy said, “A sitting member (Moitra) was expelled from Parliament without being given a chance to defend herself. All principles of natural justice were clouted. BJP by animal majority voted a member out just because she spoke about industrialist Adani and his relations with Prime Minister Modi.”

TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said, “They tried to suppress the voice of opposition. Would not you listen to the one who is accused of so many severe allegations? This never happens. Parties of the I.N.D.I. alliance came together against this decision. It is a huge day for us.”

Following the expulsion, Mahua Moitra, known for her tedious and boorish monologues in the parliament, launched another noisy rant outside the Parliament as an ex-MP. Speaking to the media with Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi standing behind her, Mahua Moitra screamed that there was no evidence of any cash or any gifts being taken by her.

She even brazened out sharing her login credentials with Darshan Hiranandani, stating that there is no rule specified against sharing login credentials. She then shouted that an MP sharing her credentials with a businessman so that he could pose questions targeted at his rival business entity is not wrong, because MPs are there to raise questions on behalf of the public anyway.

Resharing the video of her rant on X, Arfa Khanum Sherwani quoted her sentences and said that she got goosebumps to see Mahua Moitra speak like that. Sherwani posted, “I am 49 years old. I will fight you for the next 30 years. Inside the parliament, and outside on the streets. We are going to come back and we are going to see the end of you. Goosebumps!”

Saba Naqvi posted from her X handle, “Without due process and being given a chance to defend herself Mahua Moitra is expelled. Shameful.”

Notably, Mahua Moitra was given a fair opportunity to present her side in front of the ethics committee of the parliament. However, the left-liberal ecosystem kept spreading the lie that she was denied a chance to defend herself. This is because Mahua Moitra reportedly requested to speak on behalf of her party during the discussion after the report of the committee was tabled in the house, but she was denied.

India Today journalist Rajdeep Sardesai posted from his X handle, “So a 104-page ethics committee report is tabled in Mahua Moitra case at noon; at 2 pm, a ‘debate’ is scheduled within two hours of the report being tabled. An hour later, the TMC MP is formally expelled by voice vote without being given a chance to speak or any of the MPs having even a chance to read the report in any detail and respond. No cross-examination of key witness Darshan Hiranandani. Natural justice anyone? When the issue is as serious as the expulsion of an MP, surely there is a need for a fair hearing and due process, no? Think.”

Earlier today, the Ethics Committee report probing ‘Unethical Conduct’ of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra in the “cash for query” case that was tabled in the Lok Sabha recommended that Moitra “may be expelled” from the Lok Sabha and called for an “intense, legal, institutional inquiry” by the central government in a “time-bound manner”. 

Moitra is facing a CBI inquiry over serious allegations of corruption, and bribery where she has herself admitted that she had given her login credentials to businessman Darshan Hiranandani to pose questions on her behalf, questions that were related to Hiranandani’s business interests and were targeted to his rival Adani Group. Hiranandani has admitted to paying cash, lavish gifts to Moitra, and having access to her Lok Sabha login credentials.

Palanpur, Gujarat: Mehndi Hussain kidnaps 15-year-old Hindu girl, rapes her after taking to different locations

OpIndia Staff
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Palanpur, Gujarat: Mehndi Hussain kidnaps 15-year-old Hindu girl, rapes her after taking to different locations

Cases of atrocities on Hindu minor girls have been on the rise in Gujarat for some time now. In another such case, a Hindu minor girl was raped in Palanpur, Gujarat by accused Mehndi Hussain, who runs a driving business. On Monday (4th December), he abducted the 15-year-old victim in a car and took her to different cities and raped her. In this case, the victim’s mother lodged a police complaint and the police have registered charges under relevant sections of POCSO Act and initiated action.

According to reports, the victim is a resident of Garh Panthak in Palanpur. Hailing from a very poor family, she was helping her family financially by working in a catering service where she served food. During this time, she came in contact with the accused Mehndi Hussain Jamusha Fakir. On 4th December 2023, Mehndi Hussain lured her and abducted her in his car.

Mehndi Hussain picked up the girl in his car on the pretext of getting her new clothes. After this, he took her to different cities like Ahmedabad, Morbi and Junagadh. During this time, he raped the 15-year-old girl multiple times. Mehndi Hussain dropped the girl near her house on 7th December and went absconding.

When the mother of this minor girl came to know about the incident, she complained about the accused at the Garh police station. OpIndia contacted the Garh police station in Palanpur for further details on the matter. The officer on duty said, “The age of the Hindu minor girl is just 15 years, 11 months, and 26 days. Based on the complaint lodged by her mother, the police have registered a case under sections 363,366,376(3), 376(2)(L) of the IPC and POCSO. The accused is currently absconding and will be arrested very soon.” CPI Deesa is further probing the case.

System at Harvard along with the ideology that grips far too many of the students and faculty is evil: Rabbi quits the institution’s antisemitism board

OpIndia Staff
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System at Harvard along with the ideology that grips far too many of the students and faculty is evil: Rabbi quits the institution’s antisemitism board

On 7th December, prominent rabbi David Wolpe announced his resignation from the Harvard antisemitic board following the “painfully inadequate testimony” provided by the university’s president Dr. Claudine Gay on Capitol Hill. He informed about the decision through a long social media post on 8th December in which he stated, “As of today I have resigned from the antisemitism advisory committee at Harvard. Without rehashing all of the obvious reasons that have been endlessly adumbrated online, and with great respect for the members of the committee, the short explanation is that both events on campus and the painfully inadequate testimony reinforced the idea that I cannot make the sort of difference I had hoped.”

He made further observations and mentioned, “Still, there are several points worth making. I believe Claudine Gay to be both a kind and thoughtful person. Most of the students here wish only to get an education and a job, not prosecute ideological agendas, and there are many, many honourable, thoughtful and good people at the institution. Harvard is still a repository of extraordinary minds and important research.”

The rabbi denounced the antisemitic mindset festering inside the world-renowned academic institution which “belittles or denies the Jewish experience.” He pointed out, “However, the system at Harvard along with the ideology that grips far too many of the students and faculty, the ideology that works only along axes of oppression and places Jews as oppressors and therefore intrinsically evil, is itself evil. Ignoring Jewish suffering is evil. Belittling or denying the Jewish experience, including unspeakable atrocities is a vast and continuing catastrophe. Denying Israel the self-determination as a Jewish nation accorded unthinkingly to others is endemic and evil.”

David Wolpe added, “Battling that combination of ideologies is the work of more than a committee or a single university. It is not going to be changed by hiring or firing a single person, posting on X, or yelling at people who don’t post as you wish when you wish, as though posting is the summation of one’s moral character. This is the task of educating a generation, and also a vast unlearning. Part of the problem is a simple herd mentality, people screaming slogans whose meaning and implication they know nothing of, or not wishing to be disliked by taking an unpopular position. Some of it is the desire to achieve social status by being the sole or greatest victim. Some of it is simple, old-fashioned Jew-hatred, that ugly arrow in the quiver of dark hearts for millennia.”

He also referred to the Miracle of Hanukkah and wrote, “In this generation, outside of Israel, we are called to be Maccabees of a different order. We do not fight the actual battle but we search for the cruse of oil left behind. Remember the oil was to last one night, but lasted eight which means there were seven nights of miracle. But of course, the first night was the greatest miracle because the motivation to light the initial candle, to ensure the continuity and vitality of tradition in each generation, that is the supreme miracle.”  

“Dispute but also create. Build the institutions you value, don’t merely attack those you denigrate. We are at a moment when the toxicity of intellectual slovenliness has been laid bare for all to see. Time to kindle the first candle. Create that miracle for us and all of Israel,” he highlighted while encouraging the Harvard students.

The first hearing on “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism” took place in the United Nations Washington DC, on 5th December (local time). Congresswoman Elise Stefanik questioned the presidents of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard and UPenn (University of Pennsylvania) about the growing number of antisemitic incidents on their campuses during the session.

According to their codes of conduct, Presidents Elizabeth Magill of UPenn, Sally Kornbluth of MIT and Claudine Gay of Harvard University declined to denounce the calls for the annihilation of Jews made on their campuses as bullying or harassment. The legislator pressed the university presidents again to respond with a simple “yes” or “no” to the question of whether advocating for the extermination of Jews would be against the university’s anti-bullying and harassment policies. However, they replied with reluctance and ambiguity as well as continuously stressed that it depended on the context which attracted widespread criticism after which they issued clarifications.

Claudine Gay claimed, “There are some who have confused a right to free expression with the idea that Harvard will condone calls for violence against Jewish students. Let me be clear: Calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community, or any religious or ethnic group are vile, they have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held to account.”

The Harvard president’s statement on the varsity’s social media profile was interestingly community-checked with a note that conveyed, “While under oath before Congress, the President of Harvard stated that condemning antisemitism and calls for genocide of Jews ‘depends on the context’ as opposed to being simply wrong.”

High priest to lead the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is a descendant of priest who presided over the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

OpIndia Staff
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High priest to lead the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is a descendant of priest who presided over the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

86-year-old Vedic scholar Laxmikant Mathuranath Dixit is expected to preside over the consecration ritual of the Ram Lalla idol at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on 22 January, marking a landmark confluence of heritage and modern relevance. He is a Varanasi native and reportedly descended from the distinguished Kashi scholar Gaga Bhatt of the 17th century who headed the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj around 350 years ago in 1674, which was a momentous occasion in Indian history that represented the creation of Hindavi Swarajya, an autonomous Maratha state.

More than 40 scholars from Kashi and 121 from all branches of the Vedas throughout India are scheduled to be guided by him during the solemn idol consecration ceremonies from January 16 to January 22. The learned man responded, “It is because of the blessings bestowed on me by the legendary saints and seers of Kashi that I have been assigned the responsibility of supervising the consecration of Ram Lalla. I will perform my duties with the blessings of Lord Ram,” in an interview.

The scholar’s son, Sunil Laxmikant Dixit stated that his father’s areas of expertise included yajna, consecration, Srauta which is a Sanskrit word rooted in Sruti or that which is heard and Smarta which is based on Smriti, a particular collection of Hindu literature among other rites and rituals. “My father’s study of the Vedas and rituals was under the supervision of his uncle Ganesh Dixit Javji Bhatt. He completed his studies in Shukla Yajurveda at Sangved Vidyalaya and took up teaching in the same institution.

Mathuranath Dixit proclaimed, “Our roots are in Jeur village near Solapur in Maharashtra. Our ancestors moved to Kashi and dedicated their lives to the study of Hindu traditions and rituals.”

Laxmikant Mathuranath Dixit and other priests are conducting a series of religious ceremonies as part of the meticulous preparation of the consecration procedures which are scheduled to begin on 16 January. These customs which culminate on 22 January when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to carry out the rites commemorating the consecration of the Ram Lalla idol include Sarva Prayashchit homam, Dashvid Snan, Jalyatra, Tirth and Kalash Pujan as well as Kalash Yatra.

Three idols of Ram Lalla are being made in Ayodhya, and the religious committee of the temple trust is tasked with picking the finest among them. The idols of Lord Ram are believed to be almost finished and are 90% concluded. The idols depict the diety’s child form. One idol is made with stone from Rajasthan and two are made from stones brought from Karnataka, the finishing touches will require around a week. Earlier, a stone was brought from Nepal, and later stones were also brought from Odisha and Maharashtra to carve the idol, but those were found not suitable. The sanctum sanctorum and the temple’s ground floor are already in a highly developed state of preparedness.

Among the several ceremonies leading up to the consecration, one of the main ones on 21 January is the immersion of the idol of Ram Lalla in water from sacred rivers and well-known Hindu pilgrimage destinations which is collected in 114 urns. On 22 January in the afternoon, there will be Devpranpratishtha (consecration) rites. The idol will be brought from 8 a.m. to noon to the sanctum sanctorum. Pran-Pratishtha of Ram Lalla will be observed on 16 January and the principal rituals will be performed on 22 January by Lakshmikant Dixit.

After visiting the Vice President of Vishva Hindu Parishad Champat Rai in September, the Kanchi Kamakoti Shankaracharya despatched a team of scholars, including Laxmikant Mathuranath Dixit and Acharya Ganesh Shastri Dravid to Ayodhya to determine the dates of consecration.

Notable individuals who have been invited to the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple include actors Arun Govil and Dipika Chikhlia who played Lord Ram and Goddess Sita in the hit TV series ‘Ramayana,’ industrialists Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani and Ratan Tata, cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan among other actors.

Over 7,000 guests comprising 3,000 VIPs have received invites from the Ram Mandir Trust. There will also be an invitation sent to the families of the karsevaks who lost their lives in the temple movement. Further invitees consist of 4,000 seers, writers, journalists, scientists, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) president Mohan Bhagwat, yoga guru Ramdev and esteemed figures from all around the nation.

After expulsion from Lok Sabha, Mahua Moitra gets back to screaming, repeats ‘Bh*dwa, Kat*a’ rant, says will fight BJP even in the gutter

OpIndia Staff
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After expulsion from Lok Sabha, Mahua Moitra gets back to screaming, repeats ‘Bh*dwa, Kat*a’ rant, says will fight BJP even in the gutter

TMC’s Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra has been expelled from the Lok Sabha after the Ethics Committee tabled its report on her corruption and bribery. She was expelled after the tabled report was debated and a vote was sought from MPs. After Moitra’s expulsion by the Lok Sabha, Opposition leaders, including Congress MPs, staged a walkout.

Following the expulsion, Mahua Moitra, known for her noisy rants in the parliament, launched another noisy rant outside the Parliament as an ex-MP.

Speaking to the media with Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi standing behind her, Mahua Moitra screamed that there was no evidence of any cash or any gifts being taken by her. She even brazened out sharing her login credentials with Darshan Hiranandani, stating that there is no rule specified against sharing login credentials. She then shouted that an MP sharing her credentials with a businessman so that he could pose questions targeted on his rival business entity is not wrong, because MPs are there to raise questions on behalf of the public anyway.

Moitra then claimed that she was thrown out of the Lok Sabha because the Modi government wanted to hush up the ‘Adani issue’. Repeating her allegations against the Adani Group, she said that they have ignored the ‘13,000 crore coal scam’ but have chosen to harass a single woman MP.

Mahua then claimed that Adani is buying all ports and airports of the country, but the government is only focusing on throwing her out of the Lok Sabha.

Moitra then brought up Ramesh Bidhuri calling Samajwadi MP Danish Ali ‘K*twa and Bh*dwa’, and claimed that it was persecution of minorities.

Mahua stated that she will keep fighting the Modi government. She then quoted lines from the National Anthem and said that the BJP doesn’t have Punjab, Sindh, Dravida, Utkala, and Banga. She added that she would fight the Modi government even in the gutter.

It was interesting to see that Mahua Moitra was shouting at the top of her voice before dozens of journalists, having her statement telecast live all over the country, but was screaming that the Modi government is ‘shutting her up’.

US: New Mexico State sues Meta after probe finds Facebook promoting sexual content to minors, recommending handles of predators

OpIndia Staff
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US: New Mexico State sues Meta after probe finds Facebook promoting sexual content to minors, recommending handles of predators

The Southwestern State of New Mexico in the United States has filed a civil lawsuit against Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms, and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday (5th December), reported The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

An investigation conducted by the office of New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez found that sexual content is being recommended to minors on both Facebook and Instagram. It also discovered that accounts of underage users are being promoted to child sexual predators.

The civil lawsuit read, “Meta has allowed Facebook and Instagram to become a marketplace for predators in search of children upon whom to prey.” The office of the New Mexico attorney general pointed out that Meta prioritised its advertising revenue and thus left minor users vulnerable to abuse.

It squarely blamed Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg for aggravating risks to children using Facebook and Instagram. As per the report by The Wall Street Journal, the New Mexico attorney general’s office set up Facebook and Instagram test accounts for 4 ‘fictional children’.

And it used ‘adult birth dates’ for some of the accounts to mimic the behaviour of some underage users. One of the accounts was named ‘Issa Bee’. An AI-generated photograph of a child was used as the Display Picture (DP). The birth year was registered as 2002.

The account was used to create posts about ‘losing her baby tooth’ and ‘experiencing the first day of 7th grade.’ The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office noticed that Meta began recommending sex content to the account.

It also received explicit messages and pictures of genitalia from other users at least 3-4 times per week on the messenger app. Potential sexual predators also sent invite requests to the account to join private chat groups and watch sexual content involving children and adults.

Similarly, other test accounts created by Raúl Torrez’s office saw Meta recommending a handle, posting adult pornography, despite the age of the user being marked as 13 years old.

The civil lawsuit pointed out that underage users who showed interest in sexual content on Facebook were approached on the platform by sexual predators. Interestingly, the test accounts were allowed to join dating groups on Facebook without the need for age verification.

The Office of the Attorney General found that those groups were often administered by adults. It highlighted how the ‘minor’ test accounts were inundated with follower requests from adults, who also solicited sex in exchanged for money.

This is contrary to the claims by Meta that it prevents ‘malicious’ adults from contacting children. One of the minor accounts that joined a ‘job seeking group’ was approached by a man requesting participation in child pornography for a specific price.

There were also attempts by sexual predators to convince the minor users to join prostitution. Despite flagging the sexually inappropriate content through Meta’s reporting systems, the tech giant reviewed the content and declared that it was ‘acceptable.’

In the lawsuit, the Office of the New Mexico attorney general pointed out criminal cases in the State where sexual predators used Meta Platforms to groom and recruit 100s of underage victims for human trafficking.

While speaking about the civil lawsuit, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez told WSJ, “The features of the platform itself are not engineered in a way to prevent this matchmaking from likely predators and likely victims…“I incorrectly assumed, like a lot of parents, that a big, well-funded company like Meta would not have allowed itself to become an alternative venue for that activity.”

Response of Meta on the lawsuit

In a statement, Meta said, “We use sophisticated technology, hire child safety experts, report content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and share information and tools with other companies and law enforcement, including state attorneys general, to help root out predators.”

Earlier in a Facebook post on 6th October, 2021, Mark Zuckerberg had vowed to protect kids using the platform.

“I’m particularly focused on the questions raised about our work with kids. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the kinds of experiences I want my kids and others to have online, and it’s very important to me that everything we build is safe and good for kids,” he had said then.

In June this year, Meta claimed to have created a child-safety task forced to crack down on pedophilic accounts on Instagram. According to an investigation conducted by WSJ, the number of users and groups trading child pornography has increased on Meta’s platforms.

In its defence, the social media giant has claimed to have removed 16000 Facebook groups in this regard. Earlier in October 2023, a total of 41 US States filed a lawsuit against Meta for misleading the public about the dangers of its platforms for the youth.

Left parties not running inter-faith marriage bureaus: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan after cleric accuses communists of helping Muslim women marry Hindu men

OpIndia Staff
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Left parties not running inter-faith marriage bureaus: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan after cleric accuses communists of helping Muslim women marry Hindu men

On 7th December, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared that no one could prevent a young man and woman from getting married if they decided to do so out of love for each other regardless of their caste or religious beliefs. His statement came in light of the accusation made by a popular Islamic leader Nasar Faizy Koodathai that the ruling Left party in the southern state was promoting inter-faith marraiges.

According to the chief minister, parents on both sides or in both families have always rejected these kinds of unions however that hasn’t stopped them. He stated that the SFI (Students Federation of India) which is the student wing of the CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) and the DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India) which is the Left party’s youth outfit were not acting as “inter-caste marriage bureaus.”

He asserted, “Such changes are happening in the state in accordance with the times and no organisation or the government is doing anything to bring about these changes. If a young man and woman like each other and decide to get married, no one in the world can prevent that. If someone thinks they can prevent it, they need to realise it is not possible,” while responding to the queries regarding the charges levelled by the Islamic scholar.

Reverse Love Jihad: Controversial statement made by the Islamic leader

On 6th December at the community meeting in Kozhikode, Nasar Faizy Koodathai, secretary of the Sunni Yuvajana Sangham which is the youth wing of the powerful Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama held CPI-M responsible for the promotion of interfaith marriages among the Muslim women. He claimed that the party along with its youth and student divisions are supporting the ‘abduction and marriage off to non-Muslims’ of Muslim girls. He cautioned his community to ‘beware’ of these kinds of instances and advised them to be on the lookout for the party’s ‘tactics with the label of secularism.’

He alleged, “Some people believe that marriages between Muslim and Hindu communities are secularism. They are widely promoting interfaith marriages. Even the party leaders are supporting this and party offices are being used for this. Young Muslim women are being ‘abducted’ with the support of SFI, DYFI and CPM and married off to non-Muslims. Mahallu committees should be vigilant against those trying to destroy the identity of Muslim women, and they should join hands to fight the denouncement of religion.” Interestingly, the Islamic outfit is associated with the Indian Union Muslim League, a political ally of the Kerala Congress.

This is the first time a prominent Muslim figure connected to the powerful group of Sunni Muslim clerics has spoken out against interfaith unions in a state. Kerala is particularly infamous for multiple Love Jihad occurrences against Hindu women. Muslims have been exposed by Hindus repeatedly for engaging in the abhorrent practice. The Catholic organisations there have also voiced grievances on numerous occasions regarding incidences of love jihad in which Christian females are singled out, seduced and eventually converted to Islam.

Allahabad HC refuses to quash chargesheet against man booked for derogatory Facebook posts on PM Modi and Indian Army, says statement could divide society

OpIndia Staff
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Allahabad HC refuses to quash chargesheet against man booked for derogatory Facebook posts on PM Modi and Indian Army, says statement could divide society

In a recent ruling, the Allahabad High Court refused to quash a chargesheet lodged in 2019 against a man named Sahil Mehra who was booked for posting derogatory content on Facebook regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Army.

The bench of Justice JJ Munir observed that the statement, taken as a whole, seemed divisive and could incite insecurity within communities. The court held that such statements could incite illegal actions against public order or the state.

“Prima facie, given the totality of the context, the statements are divisive of the community and tend to promote insecurity in the minds of one community against another. These also tend to create fear or alarm amongst the public that may induce one Section of the public to commit offences against public tranquillity or the State,” the Allahabad High Court order dated 24th November reads.

Pointing to one of the statements made by accused Sahil Mehra, a native of Kiratpur and a resident of Mohalla Chauhanan, the Court stated that it may have “some kind of bearing on the morale of the Armed Forces,” adding that it “would require a more detailed probe.”

It is worth recalling that an FIR at Kiratpur police station in Bijnor was filed against Sahil Mehra in 2019 under Section 505 IPC and Section 66 of the IT Act on accusations that he was posting derogatory words against the Indian Army on his Facebook account, which could demoralise the armed forces, in addition to using disrespectful words for Prime Minister Modi.

According to the informant, Mehra’s posts fuelled enmity in society, resulting in disputes between different parts of town. After an inquiry, the police filed a chargesheet. The magistrate accepted the charges and ordered the accused to stand trial. Mehra sought remedy by petitioning the High Court to quash the chargesheet.

The Court reviewed the contents of the case diary, which included printed copies of screenshots of the offending Facebook posts, and determined that the alleged posts were made and shared with the intent to incite one class or community of persons to commit an offence against another class or community.

The Court, however, emphasised that its views were based on a prima facie impression based on a reading of the statement and were in no way a conclusion or expression of opinion on the merits of the subject, which, according to the Court, must be tried under the law.

“It is only prima facie that we are convinced that an offence not worth quashing the impugned charge sheet in the exercise of our jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C. is made out insofar as the case under Section 505 IPC is concerned,” the Court observed.

However, in terms of the offence under Section 66 of the IT Act, the court stated that it did not appear to be prima facie made out, because none of the acts relating to a computer or computer system, such as damaging it, disrupting it, or denying access to any person, as envisaged under Section 43 of the I.T. Act, were prima facie disclosed.

As a result, the court ruled that a notice confined to the offence alleged under Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 be sent to the opposing parties, with a return date of 14.12.2023. The case will now be heard on December 14.

Lok Sabha expels Mahua Moitra after Ethics Panel report on her corruption and bribery, Opposition stages walkout

OpIndia Staff
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Lok Sabha expels Mahua Moitra after Ethics Panel report on her corruption and bribery, Opposition stages walkout

TMC’s Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra has been expelled from the Lok Sabha after the Ethics Committee tabled its report on her corruption and bribery. She was expelled after the tabled report was debated and a vote was sought from MPs.

Mahua Moitra reportedly requested to speak on behalf of her party but she was denied.

Opposition leaders have staged a walkout, as usual, after Lok Sabha adopted the motion to expel the scam-tainted MP. Moitra was seen reading the prepared speech outside the parliament. She even tried to brazen it out saying there is no rule of expelling an MP for sharing login credentials with a businessman, and there is no evidence of her taking lavish gifts from Hiranandani.

Earlier today, the Ethics Committee report probing ‘Unethical Conduct’ of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra in the “cash for query” case that was tabled in the Lok Sabha recommended that Moitra “may be expelled” from the Lok Sabha and called for an “intense, legal, institutional inquiry” by the central government in a “time-bound manner”. 

Moitra is facing a CBI inquiry over serious allegations of corruption, bribery where she has herself admitted that she had given her login credentials to businessman Darshan Hiranandani to pose questions on her behalf, questions that were related to Hiranandani’s business interests and were targeted to his rival Adani Group.

Hiranandani has admitted to paying cash, lavish gifts to Moitra, and having access to her Lok Sabha login credentials.

6,450 dowry deaths in 2022: Shahana’s suicide brings under the spotlight the chronic social evil afflicting modern India

Shraddha Pandey
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6,450 dowry deaths in 2022: Shahana’s suicide brings under the spotlight the chronic social evil afflicting modern India

In continuance of numerous dowry deaths over the years, yet another girl lost her life to the exorbitant dowry demand of the groom and his family. In Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, a 26-year-old doctor named Shahana died by suicide after her boyfriend Dr EA Ruvais refused to have nikah with her as her family could not fulfil the dowry demand. Shahana, a resident doctor in the surgery department of the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, was found dead in her rented room on December 5.

Dr Ruvais proposed Shahana for marriage but with an added “terms and conditions apply” as he demanded a substantial dowry. It has been alleged that Ruvais’s family had demanded gold, land and a BMW car as dowry. Being parents of a girl, Shahana’s family gave into the dowry demands and agreed to ‘gift’ 50 sovereigns of gold, properties worth Rs 50 lakhs, and a car. Even after this, Shahana’s family could not satiate the unending greed of the groom’s family and the 26-year-old girl was left heartbroken, emotionally fragile and humiliated after the man who proposed to her for marriage walked away as he could not fetch ‘enough’ dowry.

In July this year, a man named Atiq Ahmed had threatened to burn his wife Saba Bano alive over failing to give dowry in Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi. After perpetual physical and mental abuse, Atiq Ahmed gave triple talaq to his wife as she was unable to give Rs 5 lakh and other ‘gifts’ to her husband and in-laws.

Back in February 2021, a 23-year-old girl named Ayesha had committed suicide by jumping off the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Before ending her life, Ayesha had recorded a video in which she revealed her ordeal accusing her husband Arif Khan and his family of dowry, harassment and domestic violence. Her video back then had sparked discussion of the prevalence of dowry and related abuse even in present times. Last year, the court sentenced Ayesha’s husband Arif to 10 years in prison.

Dowry: The perennial malediction on marriages in India

It is paramount to understand that the practice of dowry is neither new nor limited to any particular religion. This social evil extends over all religions in some or the other manner. This perennial abuse of women and their families in the name of seeking ‘gifts’ has claimed numerous lives over the years. An IndiaToday report from the year 1988 highlighted that in 1986 around 1319 dowry deaths were reported with cases concentrated not in one or two states or limited to any particular religion but from Jammu and Kashmir to Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and so on.

“For the first time, 10 were reported burned in Jammu & Kashmir last year. The southward spread has been much more dramatic. In Andhra Pradesh, the number reported rose sixfold from 13 in 1985 to 79 in 1986. And by July of 1987, the year’s tally had already leapt to 166. In Tamil Nadu, the graph jumped threefold from 12 in 1985 to 38 in 1986. And these government figures might be only the tip of the iceberg,” the report reads highlighting dowry death cases pertaining to adherents of different religions.

A World Bank blog published in 2021 says that dowry is not just a Hindu phenomenon rather average net dowry in Muslim marriages is only slightly lower than among Hindus. In contrast, Christians and Sikhs exhibited a striking increase in dowry over the period of 1960-2008, leading to higher average dowries than Hindus and Muslims.

 Trends in real net and gross dowry, by Year of Marriage (Graph via WorldBank)

Despite the laws in place, the giving and taking of dowry and related violence has been prevalent in the country. According to a Parliamentary Committee report published in 2021 and an NCRB report issued in the same year, in 2021 alone, 6,589 dowry-related deaths were recorded, as well as 13,568 dowry-related incidents, and 136,243 incidents of cruelty by husbands or their relatives.

(Graph via WorldBank)

Recently, the NCRB published its annual crime report for the year 2022. The report said that 13,479 cases were registered in 2022 under the Dowry Prohibition Act, of 1961. During the same period in 2022, 6,450 dowry deaths were reported. The number of dowry deaths has fallen by 4.5% in 2022, while the number of cases registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 has dropped by 0.6%. Up to 4,594 cases (the highest in the country) were registered in Uttar Pradesh.

Number of cases registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 (Image via NCRB website)

With 4,807 cases, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of cases reported under the Dowry Prohibition Act, of 1961 followed by Bihar with 3580 cases and, Karnataka with 2,224.

A video recently went viral online featuring a ‘display’ of dowry items at a wedding, including a car, utensils crockery sets, almirah, television set, refrigerator, air conditioner, and whatnot. This boastful impunity demonstrates the prevalence and normalisation of dowry practice even among the ‘educated’ and ‘modern’ masses.

Usually dismissed as a practice prevalent among so-called upper caste Hindus, giving and receiving of dowry in reality is a menace that transcends caste and religions in addition to regional boundaries. Instead, it reflects a broader cultural phenomenon ingrained in the social fabric. The above discussion demonstrates the same. Dowry deaths often result from the intersection of traditional customs, economic factors, and gender dynamics. The dowry system fosters the idea that a woman’s worth is judged by the monetary assets she brings into a marriage, resulting in their commodification. This dehumanising behaviour crosses religious bounds as seen in countless such cases over the decades.

To tackle this issue comprehensively, society must prioritise education and awareness efforts that combat archaic mindsets. Furthermore, severe enforcement of dowry prohibition laws is required to dissuade those who commit dowry-related violence. Moreover, the authorities must rigorously investigate and prosecute cases of dowry-related violence.

To summarise, combating dowry-related deaths in India necessitates a diversified approach that recognises the issue as a society problem rather than that of a particular caste, religion or regional group. As long as the mindset that “girls are a liability and boys are assets” does not change, this practice will prevail unabated.

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