Congress leader Phool Singh Baraiya is in the headlines after the Madhya Pradesh assembly election results because he had promised to blacken his face if the Bharatiya Janata Party managed to secure 50 seats in the state. He had also provided the time and location for this and promised to do it in front of Bhopal Raj Bhavan at 2 pm on 7th December.
As per the promise, the Bhander MLA showed up outside Raj Bhavan accompanied by party leaders and workers as well as former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh who put a black mark on the former’s face. Baraiya then requested the senior Congress leader to apply it more but Singh declined to do so. Other party members were also seen smiling along with both the leaders.
In a bizarre explanation, Phool Singh Baraiya claimed that his action was for the protection of democracy and the constitution. He asserted that he had fulfilled his promise. He alleged, “Digvijaya Singh refused but I had to keep my word. Congress and I will keep fighting for democracy.”
Digvijaya Singh complimented him on keeping his pledge. “I congratulate Phool Singh Baraiya for sticking to his words. I stopped him because what he stated turned out to be true. Despite having a lead, the BJP received fewer than 50 seats in the postal vote. Hence, he doesn’t need to blacken his face. The face of BJP should be blackened since they are the ones who brought democracy to an end.”
He added, “I am applying this black mark so that Baraiya does not attract anyone’s evil eye. We are people of our word and therefore, I am honouring him with a tilak (forehead mark). In actuality, EVM is going to be blackened because Congress won on the ballot paper while lost in the EVM.”
Speaking about the BJP’s overwhelming win in the election, the MLA charged that the party was purchasing votes. He claimed that to buy popular support, the party had delivered envelopes stuffed with notes. “They have conspired to win the elections. I had to travel a lot for campaigning. I met people belonging to different castes and constituencies, but nowhere I had felt the public’s inclination towards the saffron party.”
Yogesh Dandautiya, the leader of the Kisan Congress had earlier in Gwalior blackened his face in support of Phool Singh Baraiya. Congressman Rajendra Singh alleged that the latter should not blacken his face. According to him, the BJP wants to blacken the face of Dalits. The party has pledged to provide each individual with Rs 15 lakh. It promised to increase farmers’ incomes by twofold. The MLA doesn’t need to blacken his face because the BJP has not lived up to its commitments.
Phool Singh Baraiya won the election in the Bhander seat with 29 thousand 438 votes and defeated BJP candidate Ghanshyam Pironiya. However, the BJP secured a two-thirds majority in the state by winning 163 seats, while the Congress was reduced to just 66 seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday issued a three-line whip to all its MPs of Lok Sabha to be present in the House on Friday to discuss legislative business.
“BJP issues a line whip to all its MPs of Lok Sabha to be present in the house on December 8, 2023 as some very important legislative business will be taken up for discussion and to support the government’s stand,” BJP official release stated.
Earlier today, citing the huge losses faced by the airlines due to the impact of Coronavirus on the aviation sector, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in Lok Sabha said that even in that scenario airlines have operated on a sustainable model.
Replying to the question raised by IUML MP ET Mohammed Basheer, on the issue of air fare hikes and whether the government has any control over it, Jyotiraditya Scindia said, “Civil aviation is a seasonal sector. You have a high season and you have a low season. From October till mid Jan it’s a high season after that it’s a low season until May, June after when again holiday season starts.”
“This is not limited to India alone this is a global phenomenon, we have monitored fairs, and we have a tariff monitoring unit that looks at 60 routes randomly,” he added.
He further said that airlines have made losses of about Rs 55,000 crores to Rs 1,32,000 crores on an annual basis recently.
He further informed the Lower House that there is a decline in fares across most routes for months of January to October in the year 2022 and the same trend was witnessed from January to October 2023.
On the question raised by the Revolutionary Socialist Party NK Premachandran on who is the authority for regulatory mechanism, Scindia said, “Civil aviation is a Deregulated sector. It was deregulated in the year 1993. We do have a Tariff Monitoring Unit that monitors 60 routes on a random basis, When we find there is excessive pricing we convey that to airlines,” he said.
The winter session of the Parliament began on December 4 and will culminate on December 22.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
An unknown substance was reportedly sprayed by multiple masked men in theatres in Canada’s Greater Toronto where Hindi movies were being played earlier this week.
According to reports, several moviegoers in three different regions of Greater Toronto were evacuated and some were treated for exposure to the substance. No major injuries were reported.
According to the York Regional Police, one such incident occurred around 9:20 p.m. on Tuesday at a cinema complex in the area of Highway 7 and Highway 400 in the Vaughan area. “Several movie-goers started coughing after two men in masks sprayed an ‘unknown, aerosol-based, irritating substance into the air’ in a theatre,” the police stated.
They added that around 200 moviegoers were present inside the theatre and an Indian Hindi movie was playing at the time. The moviegoers started coughing after two men in masks and hoods sprayed an “unknown, aerosol-based, irritating substance into the air”.
Those exposed to the substance were treated and the rest were evacuated. The masked suspects managed to flee before the police arrived.
While the name of Hindi movie being screened at the theatre was not disclosed, Ranbeer Kapoor can be seen on the screen in the videos when the theatre was being evacuated, indicating it is his latest movie Animal.
As per the police, one of the suspects was reportedly a black man with a light skin tone and the second was brown with a light skin tone. The Peel police also said that officers were called to a theatre in Brampton on 5th December upon receiving reports of some substance sprayed on the premises. The incident in Brampton was reported to the police at around 7:40 p.m.
Preliminary information suggests the suspects purchased a ticket for the movie and were in the theatre for a very short period of time. The building was evacuated and no serious injuries were reported. No arrests have been made yet. The York police said they are liaising with the Peel and Toronto police about similar incidents that happened recently.
“Coincidentally, they took place all within less than three hours on the same evening,” a York police officer said on 6th December. The police said they are looking into the possibility that these incidents are linked. Meanwhile, the Peel police said, “It is unknown at this time if any other incidents are connected but our investigators are aware of those incidents that took place in York Region and Toronto.”
Moreover, the Toronto police also got a similar call on the night of 5th December about someone hurling a “stink bomb” in a theatre at Scarborough Town Centre. The theatre was evacuated and no injuries were reported.
When asked if the incident is being treated as a hate-crime, the police said that there is no such obvious-indication that it is a hate-motivated crime but the hate crime prevention united has been notified as a precaution and they will be involved in the probe.
The Cineplex has said in a statement that it was working “closely with local authorities” over the incident. “Our primary focus and commitment is the safety and well-being of our guests and our team,” spokesperson of Cineplex, Michelle Saba said.
Congress’s defeat in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan shocked Congress supporters and pro-Congress media personalities. There was a wave of chest beating and Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) blaming as the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the results. One such pro-Congress and anti-BJP rant came from YouTuber Pragya Mishra, who poses as a journalist. Mishra runs a YouTube channel with the name ‘Pragya Ke Panne’ where she enjoys 2.5 million followers. On 6th December, Mishra published a video with the title ‘Reality of EVM Machines – Analysis by Pragya Mishra’.
In her video, she addressed concerns about the credibility of EVM machines following the Congress party’s loss in the three states. She claimed there were discrepancies between Congress’ success in paper ballot voting and defeat in EVM voting. She added that Congress consistently dominated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in paper ballots and raised questions about the integrity of the EVMs.
It is known that elections in all five states took place on EVM machines. Then, which ballot papers was Mishra talking about? She was referring to the postal votes provided to special sections of the voters. According to ECI, special voters, service voters, voters on election duty, and electors subjected to preventive detention can use postal ballots. There are rules for registering for postal ballots, and specific documents must be attached to the postal votes to mark them as valid.
Mishra claimed that as postal votes were in favour of Congress, all voting should have been done on ballot papers as it would have given a transparent result. However, Mishra forgot two important aspects here. First, the postal ballots are limited to very few individuals. In most cases, they do not even cross the 2,000 mark in total.
Furthermore, those who have lived through the time of ballot papers know how rampant booth capturing used to be. In July 2023, there were reports of booth capturing in West Bengal during Panchayat Polls conducted using paper ballots. Even these days, when ballot paper voting happens, the reports of booth capturing surface. Someone should ask Mishra how she can even think that paper ballots are a better option.
‘If Pegasus can enter phones, how difficult will it be to hack EVMs.’
Those who are not technically sound may fall for this trap. This argument has surfaced so many times that machines can be hacked, so EVMs, being machines, can be hacked. Mishra pointed out that Congress raised voices over the tempering of EVMs. Then how did Congress win Telangana? According to her, the BJP let other parties win a few states to show EVMs “do not discriminate”.
Questions were raised over EVM’s authenticity several times. ECI even announced a hackathon and challenged geniuses like Mishra to come or send someone to hack EVMs. Not a single person came forward.
For those who are unaware, for software like Pegasus to hack a phone, the phone needs to be connected to the internet. EVM machines are not connected to any network. They do not have any chip that can enable such a connection. Today’s phones have multiple connectivity facilities, including cellular, wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPS, infrared and even ultrasound, and therefore phones can be hacked. EVMs, on the other hand, do not have a single connectivity option.
There is not even a port where a wire can be plugged in to read the results. When EVM votes are counted, a button is pressed to display the votes on the EVM control unit, the votes are recorded manually and are totalled. Although there is a proposal to add a read-only port to count the votes faster by connecting them to a computer, it has not been implemented yet.
EVMs cannot be hacked, period.
The EVMs have always been a topic of discussion around elections. There have been frequent concerns raised about the possibility of hacking. However, experts have maintained that EVMs are secure and impossible to hack.
During manufacturing, the machines are programmed with One-Time Programmable (OTP) chips. These chips cannot be reprogrammed and are tamper-proof, ensuring the voting data’s integrity.
Furthermore, these machines operate on application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). These circuits are different from general computers that we use in our daily lives. ASICs are not susceptible to external manipulations as they lack features like RAM and operate on pre-programmed code. Thus, the possibility of hacking them is non-existent.
While some people have demonstrated hacking EVM, they require physical access the the machine for a significant amount of time, when critical components can be changed. However, this is only an academic exercise, and impossible to do in a real-world scenario due to the safety measures employed by the election commission. To manipulate an EVM, one must know which candidate will be assigned to which button on the ballot unit. But, buttons are assigned to candidates just days before the polls. Moreover, in many constituencies, multiple ballot units are used when the number of candidates exceeds 16, the number of buttons on the machine.
Before polls start, mock polls are conducted in each booth in the presence of agents of the candidates, and EVMs are used only after they don’t show any discrepancies. Now, if an EVM has been already hacked by changing hardware, it will show up in the mock poll, and such a machine will not be used for the actual poll.
Another fact that EVM-detractors always ignore, or are unaware of, is that once ballot papers are pasted on EVM ballot units, which means the allocation of buttons to candidates, the EVMs enter a high-security zone. Not just security agencies, agents of the parties and candidates keep a close eye on the machine from that point in time. EVMs are sealed in the presence of the agents after the conclusion of the voting, they follow the vehicles carrying the EVMs to the strong room, and the agents keep a continuous vigil on the strong room till the counting. Therefore, unless all the candidates in a constituency along with officials and security personnel are part of the constituency, the votes in EVMs can’t be altered after the voting.
The implementation of the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) has significantly strengthened the security of the electoral process. These machines serve as a transparent verification mechanism that enables voters to verify their choices physically. As VVPATs cannot be reprogrammed, they are not vulnerable to hacking during the data upload process.
‘Neutral’, ‘liberal’,’secular’ YouTube journalists are Congress’ greatest asset—not workers or voters. After PM Modi’s arrival on national stage, those whose ideological establishments have been closed have now assembled on YouTube. Their daily routine consists of criticising PM Modi or the government after waking up, and indirectly or directly fostering an environment favourable to the Congress party. However, as the Lok Sabha election approaches, these “responsibilities” take on a greater significance.
There have been elections in five states recently, Telangana, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. Two states were led by the Congress, one by the BJP, one by the MNF, and one by the BRS before the polls. Post-elections, three states will be ruled by the BJP, one by Congress, and one by ZPM. The BJP won Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, while the Congress won Telangana. Following the results, the only regional party that was in power was in Mizoram before and a regional party will continue to do so.
After these results, the analysis of the elections has now begun. The greatest thing about “analysis” is that if one says something with a little seriousness and confidence, there’s a good chance the audience will take it at face value. Gujarat’s “Journalist,” Senior Dr. Hari Desai, and his audience experienced this recently. He has a channel on YouTube named Dr. Hari Desai’s Satyam and Fact. Here, political analysis is carried out.
Hari Desai has demonstrated such “courage” in his election analysis once more recently, following the elections in five states. A 25-minute has been posted on the ‘senior journalist’s’ channel which is titled, “Why Did Congress Lose in the Recent Elections of Five States Despite Receiving 10 Lakh More Votes Than BJP”.
In the video, Haribhai gives statistics and says that BJP has won in three out of five states, but they have got 10 lakh less votes than Congress. Then they also provide state-wise figures for the ‘viewers’ benefit’. Which is as follows-
Madhya Pradesh
Congress- 1,75,71,582
BJP- 2,11,16,197
Chhattisgarh
Congress- 66,02,586
BJP- 72,34,968
Rajasthan
Congress- 1,56,67,947
BJP- 1,65,24,787
Telangana
Congress- 92,35,792
BJP- 32,57,511
Mizoram
Congress- 1,46,113
BJP- 35,524
With the help of these numbers, Dr Hari Desai claims that the Congress received 4 crores 92 lakh votes and the BJP received 4 crores 81 lakhs, meaning that the Congress received 10 lakhs 55 thousand 33 votes more than the Bharatiya Janata Party in all five states.
He continues his analysis of the defeat by pointing out that the Congress would have had a higher chance of winning if it had included the INDI coalition’s allies in its alliance. Haribhai has refrained from saying that the other parties have not engaged in much activity during this election.
He also addresses the topic of EVMs at the end of the video, but he does so in a manner that he both establishes his objectivity and advances the theory of EVM hacking. Without taking any party’s name, Hari Desai also said that parties blame EVMs for losing elections but they don’t care about the machines when they win.
In short, after watching and listening to this entire video, one is made to think about how did BJP won in three states despite getting 10 lakh less votes by Congress. Such ‘analysis’ makes people frame their opinions against the winning party by feeding their brains with assumptions that say the BJP has tampered with the EVMs.
Hari Desai has forgotten soomething, so we say it in the larger public interest
When adding up the votes from all five states, it is true that the BJP received 10 lakh fewer votes than the Congress in this case. The figures given by Haribhai are available on the Election Commission’s website, so he is not wrong in that. But let us reveal to you what he did not say, though.
According to the data, the Congress receives fewer votes in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan than the BJP. However, there is a significant disparity in the votes cast for the two parties in the state of Telangana since the BJP only has eight seats while the Congress has 64. As a result, there is a significant difference in the number of votes cast as well as in the seats they won. However, the difference between the seats that the two parties won in the other three states (except Telangana) is comparatively smaller.
In Telangana, the BJP received 32 lakh votes while the Congress received 92 lakh. That is sixty lakh votes difference. Though the difference is not as great as it is in Telangana, the BJP has more votes in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. In Chhattisgarh, the margin is 6 lakh votes, while in Rajasthan, it is 9 lakh votes, and this difference is 36 lakhs in MP.
Accordingly, the votes of Telangana will be added when the votes from the five states are totaled, increasing the total number of votes for Congress. It’s just math, nothing complicated. There isn’t a mistake in the computation or a problem with the EVMs, it is common sense.
Haribhai and his supporters need to understand the difference between ‘truth’ and ‘fact’ and pay some attention to mathematics. If this continues, after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Haribhai and his supporters may also say that Rahul Gandhi got more votes from Wayanad than Modi got from Varanasi, yet why is Modi being made the Prime Minister?
On Thursday (December 7), the Income Tax Department conducted raids at Boudh Distilleries Private Limited (BDPL) in Odisha and Jharkhand. The raiding team has confiscated a huge cache of currency notes from the premises linked to the company in question. Reports say that Boudh Distilleries Pvt Ltd. is linked to Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu. According to a Prabhat Khabarreport, cash exceeding Rs 100 crore has been seized, however, authorities have not confirmed the same.
#WATCH | Odisha: Income Tax conducts raid at the Corporate office of Boudh Distillery Limited, in Khordha, Bhubaneswar. pic.twitter.com/ys3426ou3v
According to an OdishaTVreport, more than Rs 150 crore in cash was confiscated during raids at the Bolangir office of Baldeo Sahu & Group of Companies, one of the largest country-liquor manufacturing and selling firms in western Odisha. Baldeo Sahu & Group of Companies is reported to be the partnership firm of Boudh Distillery Pvt Ltd. Reports say that the companies in question were concealing business activities to evade taxes. The Income Tax officials also raided the residence of Ashok Kumar Agarwal, a businessman from Purunakatak for his alleged links with the company.
The police have recovered an almirah with currency notes. The counting of notes is still in progress. ANI reported that the counting of notes up to Rs 50 crore was completed yesterday, however, the counting machines stopped working since the number of notes was huge. On Wednesday (6 December), searches were carried out at five different locations, including Ranchi and Lohardaga residences of Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu. Other than the Sushila Niketan residence on Radium Road in Ranchi, raids were also carried out in Odisha’s Bolangir, Sambalpur, and Kalahandi.
Income Tax (I-T) Department conducted raids at Boudh Distilleries Private Limited in Odisha and Jharkhand and recovered huge cache of currency notes from the premises linked to the company till yesterday. According to officials searches are going at Bolangir & Sambalpur in Odisha… pic.twitter.com/A5SWUdDNUm
OTV reported that in Bolangir, the IT personnel ran out of bags to carry the seized cash. Hence empty sacks were brought in to load the bundles of cash. As the machines stopped working on Wednesday, over 150 bags and sacks full of money were brought to the SBI branch in Bolangir where they were awaiting to be counted.
Income Tax (I-T) department raids on properties of liquor traders underway for the second day in #Odisha#OTV's Manoranjan Joshi brings out details from #Bolangirpic.twitter.com/NO77pBB0I0
In addition to Boudh Distilleries, the Income Tax Department searched the offices of Ramchandra Rungta, a renowned businessman in Jharkhand. Since this morning, the Income Tax Department has been raiding his homes and businesses in Ramgarh, Ranchi, and other locations. According to reports, a raid is underway at various locations in linked to Rungta in Ramgarh and Ranchi. CRPF personnel are providing security to the Income Tax officials. Officials are also present at Ramchandra Rungta’s residential office, close to the Punjab National Bank in Ramgarh.
As per the information available on BDPL’s website, BDPL Group, headquartered in Odisha, has various business divisions such as Baldeo Sahu Infra Private Limited (fly ash bricks), Kwality Bottlers Pvt Ltd (IMFL bottling), and Kishore Prasad Bijay Prasad Beverages Pvt Ltd (IMFL brand sales and marketing).
On Thursday, 7th December, Congress leader Udit Raj, who is chairman of the ‘Unorganised Workers & Employees Congress’, has voiced his outrage about the assertions about Rahul Gandhi in the book by Sharmistha Mukherjee, the daughter of late former President Pranab Mukherjee.
Udit Raj complained, “It was Congress that raised Pranab Mukherjee from the ground to the sky and he perceived evil inside the same party. He witnessed goodness in PM Modi who had no role in his (career’s) progress. This is called ‘to bite the hand that feeds you.’ It might have been the mistake of Congress to elevate those who did not have a vote bank to such high positions. Had he been very capable, he would have established Congress in Bengal.”
कांग्रेस ने ही प्रणब मुखर्जी जी को फ़र्श से अर्श तक पहुँचाया और उसी में बुराई देखी। मोदी जी में अच्छाई देखी जिसका इन्हें बनाने में कोई भूमिका न थी। इसे कहते हैं जिस थाली में खाया और उसी में छेद कर दिया।कांग्रेस की गलती रही हो कि जिसका वोट बैंक न हो उसे अर्श तक पहुँचाया। बड़े…
The book ‘Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers’ authored by Sharmistha Mukherjee, the daughter of late former President Pranab Mukherjee has sent Congress officials into a frenzy. There are certain disclosures concerning Congress scion Rahul Gandhi in the book which have upset party leaders. Sharmistha Mukherjee, Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter, who stepped away from active politics two years ago, asserts that she still has faith in the party because of its liberal and secular ideology.
Furthermore, Sharmistha Mukherjee stated that the Congress is now doing everything it accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of doing. She said that those with contrasting viewpoints are not tolerated by the party’s high command and, accused the party of intolerance. She divulged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi used to show respect by touching her father’s feet even in private meetings and expressed surprise at how successfully two individuals with such diverse ideas could work together.
Congress Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha, Pramod Kumar Tiwari, was another leader who criticised the book as he claimed that Pranab Mukherjee became President only on the instructions of Sonia Gandhi. He alleged that Sonia Gandhi made him the president of the country and he had consistently been the most senior cabinet minister in the government. He recalled that Sharmistha Mukherjee chastised her father when he went to Nagpur to visit RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) headquarters. Pranab Mukherjee addressd a program there in 2018 at the end of his term as president.
Pranab Mukherjee served as India’s finance minister and subsequently became minister for External Affairs, Defence, Finance and Commerce. He was country’s 13th president from 2012 to 2017. He died on August 31, 2020, at the age of 84. He was awarded India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna in 2019 by his successor, President Ram Nath Kovind, under the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The files of Disha Salian death case are set to be opened again. The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance government in Maharashtra is soon expected to announce the name of the officers who will resume the investigation in the case of the mysterious death of Disha Salian. Salian was the manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was also found dead under suspicious circumstances.
As per reports quoting sources, the Shinde government will likely announce the team of investigators in the legislative assembly. Maharashtra Home Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in December 2022 had announced in the assembly that an SIT will be formed to investigate Salian’s death.
In a latest update, a high panel will be constituted by the state and DIG rank officials are likely to monitor the SIT probe. As per Republic, Special Commissioner of Police Deven Bhati may lead the investigation.
Some MLAs in the state have been demanding that Aditya Thackeray be probed in the case. The alleged suicide had come just days before Sushant Singh Rajput’s mysterious death.
Disha Salian death case background
On 8th June 2020, Disha Salian (28) allegedly committed suicide, as per the Mumbai Police, by jumping from a high rise building in Mumbai’s Malad area.
Several discrepancies were found in the claims made by the Mumbai Police under the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government.
In August 2020, a sensational detail was revealed in Disha Salian’s post mortem report which was not revealed by the police. The report said that Disha Salian didn’t have clothes on her body when she was found dead after falling from the 14th floor of a building.
Another disturbing fact that had emerged was that Disha Salian’s post-mortem was conducted two days after her death. While she had died on the night of 8-9 June, documents show that the post-mortem was done on 11th June.
In September 2020, an eyewitness had told News Nation that Disha Salian was gang-raped by 4 men in the party which she attended on the eve of her death on 8th June.
The person, who the media house claims was present at the party which the celebrity manager had attended in Juhu, said that Disha’s screams were suppressed behind the blaring music which was being played in the party.
The eyewitness confirmed that there were a total of 6 people in the party, including Disha Salian’s fiance Rohan Rai.
However, the gang-rape angle has been dismissed by Disha’s parents. In February 2022, the parents filed a complaint against Union Minister Narayan Rane and his son Nitesh Rane accusing them of character assassination of Disha Salian.
In March 2022, Nitesh Rane had claimed that he had in his possession a pen drive and had prepared a transcript of an eyewitness account of Disha Salian’s gang rape and alleged murder, stating that a state minister is involved in the case.
Several incidents of Love Jihad and violence by Islamists have emerged from the state of Kerala in the recent past, drawing attention to the concerns regarding the safety of non-Muslim women. Amid this, a well-known Islamic leader in Kerala has indicated that Muslim girls are deliberately being targeted by non-Muslims and are being converted to other religions.
Nasar Faizy Koodathai, secretary of the Sunni Yuvajana Sangham, the youth wing of the influential Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama addressed the community meeting in Kozhikode on Wednesday (6th December). He blamed the ruling CPM for promoting interfaith marriages against Muslim girls. He stated that the Muslim girls are being ‘abducted and married off to non-Muslims’ with the backing of the party and its youth and student wings.
He warned the Muslim community people to ‘beware’ of such incidents and said that the community should remain vigilant about the CPM’s ‘tactics with the label of secularism’.
“Recently we have seen unscrupulous political strategies to promote interfaith marriages. The Constitution permits Muslims should marry Muslims and Hindus should marry Hindus. But certain people have a crooked view that Bhartiya culture can be promoted only when a Hindu marries a Muslim. Muslim girls are being abducted with the backing of the party’s offices, newspaper offices, leaders of the CPM, DYFI, and the SFI, and they are being married off to non-Muslims. Mahallu (masjid) committees should stand united against such rejection of religion,” he said.
Kerala’s Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, known as ‘Samastha’ has ties to the Indian Union Muslim League, a Kerala Congress ally. On the other hand, the CPM has been courting Muslims through the organization lately, and its leaders have discussed a wide range of topics on stage with the clerics.
This is the first time a Muslim leader associated with the influential body of Sunni Muslim clerics has raised his voice against interfaith marriage in a state. Notably, Kerala is notorious for several incidents of Love Jihad against Hindu women. Hindus have time and again exposed Muslims for engaging in love jihad. Thr Catholic organizations in Kerala too have complained repeatedly about incidents of love jihad where Christian girls are targeted and brainwashed by love affairs, then converted to Islam.
Non-Muslim girls and women are deceptively trapped in a ‘love affair’ by Islamists who later forcefully convert their respective religions to Islam. The Islamists are also offered monetary rewards and capital benefits for converting Hindu women to Islam. Reports mention that several Islamic organizations from several Islamic countries provided funds to these people for this purpose.
Several such cases and the deliberate intentions of Islamists regarding conversion came to the fore recently after the Indian government imposed a ban on a terrorist organization named the Popular Front of India (PFI). It was reported that the PFI asked its cadres and other Muslims to force Hindu women to convert their religion to Islam. At every PFI gathering, the activists would influence Muslims to run the agenda of love jihad and religious conversion. The organization had also declared a financial reward of Rs 2 lakh, a shop, and a house to anyone who would convert a Hindu girl to Islam.
The roots of radical Islam have sunk deep into Kerala. Though such incidents get less attention from the mainstream media, there’s no denying that it’s a ticking time bomb. Using women as tools and weapons, through either sex slavery or usage in terror recruitment is no longer a secret in the post-ISIS era. Both state and federal governments must treat it seriously and come up with effective solutions to combat it.
A recently released Bollywood movie named The Kerala Story also exposed the harsh reality of the state of Kerala where Islamist terrorists and Muslims trap non-Muslim girls in ‘love affairs’ and forcefully convert their religion to Islam. The incidents of love jihad were brought to attention when it was discovered that multiple women have been recruited to be sent as ISIS wives and sex slaves by a dedicated group working in Kerala.
On Tuesday (5th December), Prayagraj police arrested three youths named Akram, Junaid, and Faizan (all sons of Mushtaq Ali) for forcibly converting a Hindu woman to Islam. Another accused Mushtaq Ali has already died. A case in this matter has been registered in the Colonelganj police station of Prayagraj under sections 147 (rioting), 323 (causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation), 342 (wrongful confinement), 354(A) (sexual harassment) of the IPC and sections 3 and 5(A) of the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Illegal Religious Conversion Act 2021.
According to reports, the victim young woman Puja Gupta (name changed but surname retained) told in her police complaint that deceased Maulana Mushtaq Ali lured her father late Bachcha Gupta to convert to Islam. For this, Maulana Mushtaq Ali told Bachcha Gupta that his business of sweets would grow if he converted to Islam. Influenced by the Maulana, Bachcha Gupta started visiting mosques, going to various Mazars, offering chadars and doing other Islamic activities like namaz. He stopped worshipping Hindu deities. Mushtaq Ali also forced Bachcha Gupta to build a grave in his house failing which – he threatened Bachcha Gupta – his whole family might die.
According to the allegations made by Puja Gupta, Mushtaq Ali began exerting influence over her, her husband, and other family members following the death of Bachcha Gupta. Mushtaq allegedly compelled Puja and her daughter to visit the Mazar situated in the Chhota Baghada area of the town. Once there, he allegedly confined the minor to a room and subjected her to sexual assault.
Prayagraj, UP: Mushtaq Ali, Akram, Junaid, and Faizan abducted a Hindu girl named Pooja Gupta (only name changed, surname retained), and took her to an Islamic Mazar where they raped her and converted her to Islam.
Upon the minor disclosing the incident to Puja, she confronted Mushtaq Ali, who reportedly threatened her with severe consequences. Mushtaq claimed to possess the ability to inflict harm, similar to what allegedly happened to her father through his purported magical powers. Subsequently, the daughter’s health reportedly deteriorated, ultimately leading to her demise on December 28, 2018.
Puja Gupta succumbed to his terror and complied with Mushtaq’s every demand like giving money, jewellery, and other goods asked for the Mazar, all in fear of his alleged magical abilities. On 23rd October 2023. Mushtaq Ali died. On the same day, his sons Akram, Junaid, and Faizan came to Puja’s residence, stating that Mushtaq Ali had commanded them before dying that they must bring her to Mushtaq’s tomb at any cost. She hesitantly went to the Mazar on 24th October, fearing their threats and intimidation. She faced verbal and physical abuse there.
Puja stated in her legal complaint that Akram and his siblings forced her to spit on the floor and consume it. They kept her in a room and subjected her to undesirable touching and rude remarks. They also demanded that Puja bring her eldest daughter to the Mazar.
She stressed that she was not the only victim of their malice; countless other women had been subjected to similar torture and abuse. The accused and their family, according to Puja Gupta (name changed), pressured these ladies into converting to Islam. Females in their household also assisted in the conversion and manipulation when needed.
Puja said, “With all these claims I approached both Colonelganj and Annie Basent police stations but to no avail and no one filed an FIR against the perpetrators.”
The authorities received her complaint letter on 11th November 2023, and the FIR was filed on 5th December. Mushtaq Ali was not booked as he died. His three sons were booked in the FIR filed at the Colonelganj police station. All the three accused were arrested on 5th December.
