As the day of the inauguration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya draws closer, it is widely anticipated that Congress’ Sonia Gandhi might attend the event scheduled to take place on 22nd January. The information was obtained by Congress sources quoted by NDTV.
“The decision will be taken and communicated at the appropriate time,” said Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh.
As per the reports, Gandhi, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, and the party’s Lok Sabha leader, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, had been invited to the event, which has become the focal point of the country’s political discourse in the run-up to a general election in less than four months.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi have received an invitation to attend the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple on 22nd January 2024 in Ayodhya. The decision will be taken and communicated at the appropriate time:… pic.twitter.com/Medq5JWYPb
The Congress’ Digvijaya Singh had previously stated that either Gandhi – who he described as “very positive on this” – or a delegation would attend the ceremony, which will be presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress party is said to have made its decision on this politically sensitive issue after extensive discussions with its allies, including those in the I.N.D.I. Alliance opposition bloc, especially the Indian Union Muslim League.
The Congress is said to have justified its choice as a necessary tightrope walk ahead of the election. The Congress believed that not attending the Ram Temple event would give the BJP a lethal weapon that could be used to attack Gandhi’s party and, by extension, its I.N.D.I Alliance ally before the election.
The Congress party has also distanced itself from the comments of Sam Pitroda, who had said that too much importance is being given to religion through the Ram Mandir and that democracy is being undermined. Jairam Ramesh said that Sam Pitroda’s statement is not an official statement of Congress, he doesn’t speak on behalf of the Congress party.
Opposition parties turning down invitation to consecration ceremony
Earlier, several opposition political parties have turned down the invitation to attend the Ram Mandir inauguration ceremony at Ayodhya. On 27th December, NCP chief Sharad Pawar stated that he was not invited to the inauguration ceremony but would not go even if he were invited to the event.
The CPIM and CPI also made their positions clear; earlier this week, Brinda Karat stated that her party would not participate in what she described as “using religion as a political weapon.” “No, we will not go. We respect the religious beliefs… but they are connecting a religious program with politics… it is not right,” she said.
Also, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee stated that she would not attend the inauguration ceremony. “There is no question of Mamata Banerjee or any other representative of the TMC attending the Ram Mandir inauguration at Ayodhya next month. We don’t believe in mixing politics with religion,” a senior party leader was quoted as saying.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury further turned down an invitation to attend the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) called the ceremony a private event by BJP and said that would visit the Ram Mandir after the BJP’s event is over.
“This is all politics, who wants to attend an event by the BJP? This is not a national event. This is BJP’s program, this is BJP’s rally. ‘Usme pavitrata kahan hai?’…We will visit (Ayodhya) after BJP’s program is over,” Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut said.
Congress leaders mocked Ram Mandir, insulted Lord Rama
It is to be recalled how Congress leaders and its allies have refused to believe in the existence of Lord Rama and mocked the construction of the Ram temple. Recently, DMK leader TKS Elangovan described Lord Rama’s birth as ‘mythology’ and alleged that the BJP was trying to replace history with mythology.
“They have demolished history and replaced it with mythology. Any country should be proud of its history, it should know the history. Ram’s birth is mythology, it is a story from Ramayana. It is literature. They want to replace history with mythology. That is what the BJP is trying to do. With these people in power, what can we expect?… He wants to make use of it as a political tool. He is not interested in Ram. BJP does not consider Ram as an important thing but their political gain becomes important so they are making use of Ram for their political gains,” the leader was quoted as saying.
Also, in June 2023, Rahul Gandhi’s ‘mentor’ Sam Pitroda mocked the Hindu deities while accusing the BJP of focusing only on religious matters. “We have a problem with unemployment, inflation, education, health. No one talks about these things. But everyone talks about Ram, Hanuman, mandir,” he had said during an event hosted by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The video of the incident had massively gone viral over the internet then.
Sam Pitroda insulting Ram Mandir and Hinduism at Rahul Gandhi's US event.
Further, Kapil Sibal who was earlier a member of Congress had appeared for the Sunni Waqf Board and Babri Masjid Action Committee in the Supreme Court to term the case as a ‘trap’ laid by the BJP. “This judgment is going to have huge political ramifications. A party is pushing its manifesto. The court should not fall into a trap. This is nothing but a trap,” he had said in the year 2017. Sibal was then slammed by the netizens for the choice of his clients and the stance taken by him.
Sibal had been accusing the BJP of using the Ram Mandir issue for its political gains. He recently reiterated his stance saying that ‘no one becomes Ram by building Ram Mandir. People must learn to walk on the path of Ram.”
To the BJP
How many times will you use Lord Ram for political gain ?
Why don’t you embrace the virtues of Lord Ram :
His : valor, chivalry, loyalty, compassion, love, obedience, courage, and equipoise
Your governance does not display any of these virtues !
In the year 2018, Congress leader P Chidambaram mocked the idea of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and said that BJP was only focusing on building temples and giant statues. “At the beginning of five years, the promise is for Development, Jobs, and Money in every citizen’s bank account. Nothing was achieved, but at the end of five years, the new promise was for grand temples, giant statues, and doles,” he was quoted as saying. The BJP then slammed the leader for playing with the sentiments of Hindus.
As if denying the reality of Lord Ram wasn’t enough, the grand old party of India in 2022 came up with fresh ways to ridicule Hinduism. The leaders compared Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to Lord Rama as the former embarked on his political stunt called ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
It's a coincidence that Rahul Gandhi, Lord Ram's names begin with R: Congress' Nana Patole
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole in a statement compared Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi to the Hindu Lord Ram saying that it is a coincidence that the names of both begin with “R”. “Even Lord Sri Ram walked (PadaYatra) from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and even Shankaracharya walked the same way, and so is Rahul Gandhi doing in the form of padayatra,” Patole added.
Nana Patole’s remark came after Rajasthan Minister Parsadi Lal Meena said that Rahul Gandhi walked more than Lord Ram walked from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka. “Rahul Gandhi’s padayatra will be historic. Lord Ram too had gone from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka on foot. Rahul Gandhi is walking even more than that, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir,” Meena had said.
#WATCH | Dausa: Rajasthan Minister Parsadi Lal Meena says, "Rahul Gandhi's padayatra will be historic. Lord Ram too had gone from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka on foot. Rahul Gandhi is walking even more than that, from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir…." (17.10.2022) pic.twitter.com/LPswB0Wh8e
Further, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President K Sudhakaran also ridiculed Bhagwan Sri Ram, Sri Lakshman, and Sita Mata by distorting Ramayana. He stated in a recent video interview with The New Indian Express (TNIE) that while returning from Lanka on the Pushpaka Vimanam, after defeating Ravana, Lakshman briefly entertained the thought of pushing his brother, Lord Ram, into the sea and go away with his wife Sita.
K Sudhakaran made these bizarre comments while stating that there are significant distinctions between lawmakers from Kerala’s northern and southern regions.
Congress denied the existence of Lord Rama
In 2020, ahead of Ayodhya Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan on August 5, Zee News conducted a discussion on Ayodhya and Ram Mandir. In a shocking display of ignorance, Congress leader Kumar Ketkar denied the historical existence of Shri Ram and cast aspersions about the Hindu God being a creation of literature.
In September 2007, the Central government run by Congress-led UPA 1 had said that there is no historical proof of Lord Ram’s existence.
An affidavit filed by the Congress-led government read, “Valmiki Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas admittedly form an important part of ancient Indian literature, but these cannot be said to be historical records to incontrovertibly prove the existence of the characters and occurrences of events depicted therein.” The affidavit was filed to register the UPA government’s opposition to the demand to scrap the Sethusamudram project as it would damage the Ram Setu.
Recently, Sam Pitroda, Indian Overseas Chairman of Congress again made controversial remarks against Hinduism and Lord Rama. He said that too much importance was being given to religion through the Ram Mandir and that democracy was being undermined.
#WATCH | On Ram Temple, Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress, Sam Pitroda says, "I'm worried about it because too much importance is given to religion. I see that democracy is being undermined. When the Prime Minister of a country for 10 years does not give a press conference.… pic.twitter.com/765aIzLSzt
Sam Pitroda added, “So there are signals I’m getting which says we are in the wrong direction. When a nation is involved in Ram Temple, that bothers me. To me, religion is a personal thing. Don’t confuse it with the national agenda. The national agenda should focus on education, employment, growth, economy, inflation, health, environment, and pollution. Nobody talks about that.”
It is important to note that the Congress party has not taken any firm decision on attending the event given its earlier ‘disbelief’ in the existence of Lord Rama. The party has time and again raised questions over the construction of Ram Mandir and is now probably thinking of attending the event to allegedly please the Hindu voters ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The party has anyway stated that the final decision will be taken at the appropriate time.
Preparations for Ram Mandir’s inauguration
Extensive preparations are in place in Ayodhya for the consecration ceremony which is expected to draw 8,000 people. Speakers at the event include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat.
A significant number of people involved in the construction of the temple, including S N Subrahmanyan of the L&T Group and Natarajan Chandrasekaran of the Tata Group have also been invited by the trust. Despite the extensive preparations for the VVIP guests, Champat Rai, the general secretary of the Trust has been recommending pilgrims to pray at the closest temple rather than in Ayodhya on 22nd January in order to avoid overcrowding.
Attendees include the spiritual leaders of important temples like Kashi Vishwanath and Vaishno Devi, yoga guru Baba Ramdev, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, as well as representatives of constitutional and religious organizations. Actors like Rajnikanth, Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Dipika Chikhlia and Arun Govil, film directors like Madhur Bhandarkar, and businesspeople like Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani, along with renowned painter Vasudev Kamat and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Director Nilesh Desai are also invited.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad also reached out to veteran Bharatiya Janta Party leaders like Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi for the event.
The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape has thanked the Narendra Modi-led-Indian government for swiftly sending humanitarian aid in the aftermath of the volcanic eruption of Mount Ulawun in West New Britain.
In a statement, James Marape said, “I thank Prime Minister Modi for the generous help, within a short period of time, as soon as he received my request for assistance.”
“This reflects India’s commitment to supporting relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction efforts in West New Britain, and echoes the sentiments of friendship and partnership,” he added.
Just in: Papua New Guinea James Marape thanks PM Modi for "swift response to the urgent request" in the aftermath of the volcanic eruption. India had sent $1MN assistance. Relief includes tents, sleeping mats, hygiene kits, meals ready to eat, water storage tanks etc https://t.co/WYHjElftWLpic.twitter.com/rKMYn2XxQH
The development took place after the Indian government sent approximately 11 tonnes of disaster relief material and 6 tonnes of medical aid, worth $1 million. The relief aid was handed over by the First Secretary of the High Commissioner of India, Ravindra Nath, to the Papua New Guinea government.
The disaster relief material comprised of tents, sleeping mats, hygiene kits, meals ready to eat, and water storage tanks, whereas medical aid includes essential medicines, surgical items, and sanitary pads.
A major volcanic eruption on Mount Ulawun in Papua New Guinea erupted on November 20 and forced the evacuation of over 26,000 people and created urgent humanitarian needs.
Indian High Commission to PNG @ind_png First Secretary Ravindra Nath (right) handing over the supplies to Oil Palm Minister and Nakanai MP, Francis Maneke, at Jackson International Airport. Relief supplies in the aftermath of Indian assistance. pic.twitter.com/YgP3B2tdFK
India has firmly stood by Papua New Guinea during times of crisis and devastation caused by natural disasters, as it did in the wake of the earthquake that jolted the region in 2018 and the volcanic eruption in 2019.
On 21st May this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Papua New Guinea after attending the G7 meeting in Japan. While receiving him at the airport, Papua New Guinea’s prime minister James Marape displayed a surprising gesture by touching his feet.
This was followed by a hug between the two counterparts, after which PM Modi was introduced to other officials. Prime Minister Modi received a very warm welcome in the island country as he became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the nation.
After the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust sent invitations to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to attend the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple scheduled to be held on January 22 in Ayodhya, Party’s General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh said that the decision will be taken and communicated at the appropriate time.
While speaking on recent controversy stoked over his Party’s senior leader, Sam Pitroda’s remark on Ram Mandir, Ramesh distanced himself from Pitroda saying his statement is not an official statement of the Congress Party.
Earlier this week, Pitroda while speaking to ANI targeted the Central government asking if Ram Mandir is the real issue or unemployment is.
However, Congress has not welcomed Pitroda’s statements but rather distanced itself on the matter.
“Sam Pitroda’s statement is not an official statement of Congress, he doesn’t speak on behalf of the Congress party,” Jairam Ramesh said while speaking to ANI.
“Chairperson Parliamentary Party president Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge have received invitation for January 22, decision will be taken and communicated at appropriate time,” he added.
Speaking on the upcoming consecration ceremony at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, Pitroda said, “I have no problem with any religion. It is okay to go visit the temple once in a while, but you can’t make that the main platform.”
“He is everybody’s Prime Minister and not a party’s Prime Minister and that’s the message the people of India want him to have. Talk about employment, talk about inflation, talk about science and technology and challenges. They (people) have to decide what are the real issues- is Ram Mandir the real issue? Or unemployment is a real issue. Is Ram Mandir the real issue or Inflation is a real issue?” he added.
The statement garnered criticism from the BJP with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, senior leaders Sushil Modi and Kailash Vijayvargiya among others targeting the Congress.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan slammed the Congress and said that Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha is “creating a sense of loss, gloom and dread in the Indian National Congress.”
The Union Minister claimed that Sam Pitroda’s heartburn over Ram Mandir and the celebrations associated with it are reflective of the Congress Party’s chronic allergy to Lord Ram and Hindus.
Sushil Modi hit out at Pitroda stating that “people like him” have no connection with the country.
“People like Sam Pitroda have no connection with India. He questioned EVM and also Ram Temple. He may not have a belief in God. Lord Ram and our customs are as important as unemployment. People like Sam Pitroda have no knowledge about our culture,” Sushil Modi said.
Anurag Thakur alleged that leaders of alliance keep making shallow statements one after the other and abusing Sanatan Dharma
“All their leader of alliance partners kept abusing Sanatam Dharma and making one after another shallow statements. On the other hand Modi government has only one agenda welfare of poorer and development of the nation and PM Modi’s government has set new standards of good governance,” Thakur said.
BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya said, “Congress, which is being run by people like Sam Pitroda or NGOs, can never win the hearts of the people of this country.”
The consecration ceremony scheduled for January 22 will witness the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple. It is expected to be attended by hundreds of officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The trust has also invited 4,000 saints of all sects for the ceremony.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
As the preparations for the consecration ceremony of Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram Temple are going on at a fast pace, the ritual process will continue on a large scale for seven days in Ayodhya, which will start from January 16.
The deity of Shri Ram Lalla (Lord Ram in his childlike form) will be consecrated on 22nd January. On January 22, Shri Ram will be seated in his divinely grand temple in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The seven-day schedule released by the Temple trust has the following event:
January 16: Atonement by the host appointed by the temple trust, Dashavid bath on the banks of river Saryu, Vishnu worship and Godan.
January 17: Procession will visit Ayodhya with the idol of Ramlala, devotees will reach the temple carrying Saryu water in Mangal Kalash.
January 18: Formal rituals will start with Ganesh Ambika Puja, Varun Puja, Matrika Puja, Brahmin Varan, Vastu Puja etc.
January 19: Agni Sthapana, Navagraha Sthapana and Havan.
January 20: After washing the sanctum sanctorum of the temple with the holy water of Saryu, there will be Vaastu Shanti and Annadhivas.
January 21: After a divine bath with 125 urns, Shayadhivas will be done.
January 22: After morning worship, the idol of Ram Lalla will be consecrated in Mrigashira Nakshatra in the afternoon.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya on December 30, the city is to come under a blanket of heightened security, police said on Friday.
PM Modi during his visit to Ayodhya will inaugurate various projects worth Rs 15,000 crore.
UP Minister Jaiveer Singh who is among the group of State Ministers overseeing preparation says that Saturday will be a big day for Sanatan Dharma.
“Tomorrow is going to be a big day not just for the people of Uttar Pradesh but also for all the believers of Sanatana Dharma… Ayodhya airport is being named after Maharshi Valmiki, who personified Lord Ram and gave new dimensions to our culture…Ayodhya Dham railway station will also be inaugurated tomorrow after renovation in which many trains will be flagged off… Projects worth thousands of crores will be inaugurated tomorrow by Prime Minister Modi and we heartily welcome him to our state” Jaiveer Singh.
Piyush Mordia, Additional Director General of Police, Lucknow Zone said that high-level arrangements meeting the recruitments of PM’s security have been made ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to the district adding that Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and National Security Guards (NSG) among other security forces have been deployed.
He said that a rehearsal of PM Modi’s roadshow will be done today to oversee the arrangements.
“We are monitoring all areas with drones. To improve the traffic system, a traffic diversion plan has also been made,” the ADG said.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
The buzz over the seat-sharing formula of the opposition’s INDIA bloc hit a crescendo on Friday after a few partners within the alliance hinted at going all ‘alone’ in next year’s Lok Sabha elections or not willing to ‘compromise’ in their respective states.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has asserted that their party is the biggest in Maharashtra, hinting at no compromise over seat-sharing talks.
“This is Maharashtra, and Shiv Sena is the biggest party here. Congress is a national party. Uddhav Thackeray is having positive discussions with the decision-making leaders of Congress including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and KC Venugopal. We have always said that Shiv Sena has always been fighting on 23 seats in the Lok Sabha elections including Dadra and Nagar Haveli and that will be firm,” Raut had said.
Before Shiv Sena (UBT), Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed her desire to test Bengal waters alone in next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
“INDIA alliance will be there across the country. In Bengal, the TMC will fight and defeat the BJP. Remember, in Bengal, only TMC can teach a lesson to the BJP and not any other party,” Mamata said while she was speaking at a gathering in North 24 Parganas.
However, the Trinamool Congress supremo said that the INDI alliance will contest all seats across the country.
Meanwhile, Congress has said that talks on the agreement with all the parties will be held with an ‘open mind’.
Speaking to ANI on Monday, Jairam Ramesh, the Congress general secretary in charge of communications, said, “Khule mann aur band muh se hi hum seat sharing pe baat aage challenge (We will carry forward seat-sharing talks with an open mind and refraining from public statements).”
The Congress leader added that different states would pose different challenges about advancing seat-sharing talks and the discussions, hence, be held, considering all aspects.
“The seat-sharing talks are ongoing and will continue. We will do what needs to be done. There are different conditions and challenges in different states. We will be having discussions on seat sharing, keeping in mind the different (political) realities there,” Ramesh said.
While the INDIA partners came together for their fourth meeting in the national capital recently, the potentially thorny issue of seat-sharing was left unaddressed.
The opposition parties have forged forces to put up a united front against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls under the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance umbrella.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
‘Fact-checking’ website AltNews and its out-on-bail co-founder Mohammed Zubair are back at what they do best- serving as the propaganda wing of Islamists by lying outright, misleading its audience and whitewashing their crimes.
This time, Zubair—the ‘poster boy’ of ‘fact-checking’, according to left-leaning liberals—and his website once again showed their unwavering allegiance to Islamists by partially ‘fact-checking’ a 4-year-old rape video that went viral recently on social media. They fact-checked that the crime did not happen in Bihar but in Uttar Pradesh, and that the crime happened 4 years ago. The ‘fact-check’ by Alt News, which often serves as a surrogate for leftwing political parties and apologists for Islamists, clarified that the victim was not a Muslim but a Dalit girl but it failed to highlight that the perpetrators were Muslims.
On December 28, AltNews published an article on its Hindi website where it ‘fact-checked’ a 4-year-old viral rape video which was originally from Uttar Pradesh. It’s Hindi article’s headline read- “UP में दलित लड़की के साथ 2019 में हुआ था गैंगरेप, वीडियो बिहार का बताकर वायरल” which translates to ‘Dalit girl was gang raped in UP in 2019, video went viral saying it was from Bihar’.
SS of the AltNews report published on December 28, 2023
Mohammed Zubair also took to X to share the ‘fact-check’ done by his website. Tagging the AltNews journalist who authored the partial ‘fact-check,’ Zubair wrote in Hindi which translates to, “A horrifying video from Bihar has gone viral in which some boys are brutalizing a girl. The claim is that these are Hindu boys who are carrying out the incident by kidnapping a Muslim girl. This is not true. The video is from UP and is 4 years old.”
बिहार का बताकर एक भयानक वीडियो वायरल हुआ है जिसमें कुछ लड़के एक लड़की के साथ हैवानियत कर रहे हैं. दावा है कि ये हिन्दू लड़के हैं जो मुस्लिम लड़की को अगवा कर घटना को अंज़ाम दे रहे हैं. ये सच नहीं है. वीडियो UP का है और 4 साल पुराना है. | @AbhishekSayhttps://t.co/6UcllE9Apn
However, both the AltNews ‘fact-check’ report and Zubair’s post only presented half the truth. Though the AltNews report mentioned the name of the perpetrators towards the end of the report, it smartly framed the headlines of its report to mention how the crime happened 4 years ago in Uttar Pradesh and not Bihar but what it did not do was mention the names of the perpetrators who were Muslims in this case.
Zubair too, cleverly mentioned that the incident happened in Uttar Pradesh and not in Bihar as being circulated in the viral claim. He also mentioned that the claim that Hindu boys were carrying out the incident by kidnapping a Muslim girl was untrue. However, he avoided explicitly stating that it was Muslim youths who had carried out the heinous crime against the Dalit girl. What he essentially tried to do was meticulously word his post to provide enough room for speculation regarding the perpetrator’s religion while ‘fact-checking’ the footage.
If the circumstances had been reversed and Hindus would have been the perpetrators, this obviously would not have happened, but one would not expect any better from someone like Zubair, who has consistently put forth a lot of effort to spread the myth that Muslims are being persecuted because of their faith.
In 2020, during the peak of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak, the Tablighi Jamaat had emerged as the main virus vector. Then, Zubair and his “fact-checking” website AltNews played a leading role in defending the Islamic Missionary organization against all legitimate criticism. They misrepresented Tablighi Jamaat’s awful conduct, twisted facts, and lied to their audience to give the misleading impression that Muslims are being persecuted because of their faith.
Zubair does not even hesitate to politicise a matter as serious as rape if he could derive some political mileage from it. During the heinous Kathua Rape Case, OpIndia pointed out flaws in the claims being made by the Police and raised valid questions regarding the allegations being made against Vishal Jangotra. For merely asking questions, the Altnews cofounder had insinuated that Opindia was acting as an apologist for rapists. Ultimately, Vishal Jangotra was acquitted by the Court of all crimes.
Neither Zubair nor his website bothers to correct details even after being fact-checked
On December 29, popular X user @BefittingFacts quickly brought attention to the inherent bias of Md Zubair and his ‘fact-checking’ website Alt News towards radical factions of the Muslim community, which led them to engage in such selective ‘fact-checking.’
While sharing screenshots of Zubair’s post and the AltNews report, the X user wrote, “How @altnews does fact-checking. Claim1- Rape Video is from Bihar. Claim 2- Hindu boys are raping a Muslim girl. Altnews- This video is not from Bihar but from Uttar Pradesh and it is four years old. neither Altnews’ headline nor @zoo_bear mentioned that the boys were not Hindu but Muslims named Mohammed Nazim, Mohammed Aqib and Mohammed Chhotka. This is how Altnews Partially factcheck to protect muslims and takes donations from Hindus.”
However, even until this report was published, neither did Zubair rectify his post nor did his website modify its report’s headline to mention that the perpetrators were not Hindus but Muslims named Mohammed Nazim, Mohammed Aqib and Mohammed Chhotka. Selective and partial fact-checking has been Alt News’ forte, muddling the readers with fact-checks of inconsequential aspects of news and focusing only on those facets that help them bolster their propaganda.
A group of Islamists, belonging to the ruling Awami League (AL) party, have grabbed 8 acres of land belonging to a Hindu family in Parulia village in Hatibandha upazila of Bangladesh.
As per a report by The Daily Star, the land grabbers include AL leaders Hafizul Islam, Abul Kalam, Hazrat Ali and Redwan Ahmed. Hafizul and Abul serve as the Patikpara Union Ward No.4 President and General Secretary respectively.
The victims, identified as Rathindra Nath Roy and his wife Sushila Rani, had filed a complaint with the local police but no action has been taken in this regard. They have accused the four land grabbers and their supporters of threatening them with dire consequences if they visited their own land.
Islamists assaulted the victims
He informed The Daily Star that large tracts of his ancestral land were lost due to erosion by the Teesta River about 40-45 years ago. But about 10 years ago, a char land was developed in the same place after a huge landmass emerged from the riverbed.
Following that, Rathindra Nath Roy had been growing crops on the remaining land. On 13th November this year, Hafizul Islam, Abul Kalam, Hazrat Ali and Redwan Ahmed went to the field where the Hindu man and his wife were sowing maize seeds.
They claimed to be the owners of the land and beat up the Hindu couple mercilessly. According to Sushila Rani, the accused men are coercing Rathindra to sign a non-judicial stamp paper, stating change of ownership from him to the 4 Islamists.
Accused men cite ‘conflicting’ land deal, police take no action
When The Daily Star reached out to land grabber Abul Kalam, he claimed to have purchased 8 acres land along with 3 other accused for Tk 80 lakh (~ ₹60.39 lakhs). Another land grabber Hazrat Ali claimed that the land had been bought for Tk 87 (~₹65.67 lakhs).
They claimed that since the land registry was not done in Char areas, they were asking the Hindu family to sign on non-judicial stamp.
While speaking about police inaction to The Daily Star, Officer-in-Charge (Hatibandha Police Station) Shah Alam acknowledged that he had received a complaint from Rathindra Nath Roy but instead asked the local UP Chairman to ‘resolve’ the issue locally.
Hindu families forced to sell their houses in Shailkupa
Ahead of the upcoming elections in Bangladesh, the Hindu community is facing the wrath of political violence. Several Hindu families have been forced to vacate their houses in Shailkupa upazila in the Khulna division of Bangladesh and sell them at giveaway prices to avoid religious persecution.
As per a report by Kalbela News published in November this year, the minority community is facing threats from Islamists and hence many Hindu families are migrating to other parts of the country. For instance, the residence of a deceased Hindu man named Satyendranath Saha was encroached and a 4-storeyed building was constructed in its place.
‘Jubo League’ Chairman (Shailkupa upazila) Shamim Hossain Mollah and his father Sabdar Hossain Mollah were accused of infringing upon the property of the Hindu family. It must be mentioned that the ‘Jubo League’ is the youth wing of the ruling Sheikh Hasina-led-Bangladesh Awami League party.
While speaking about the matter, the daughter-in-law of Satyendranath Saha informed that the ‘Jubo League’ leader had taken their house and a Kali Mandir by force. Despite complaints to the local MP Mohammed Abdul Hyee, no action has been taken against the accused.
Interestingly, Hyee is also a leader of the Bangladesh Awami League party from the Jhenaidah constituency. According to Kalbela News, the case of Satyendranath Saha is one of the countless stories of minority Hindu families who have lost their property to encroachment by local influential Muslim leaders.
Everyone involved in this organised form of ‘land jihad’ are politicians and political workers. In order to intimidate the Hindu residents of Shailkupa into selling their homes, the Islamists have resorted to threats, assault and even vandalism of Hindu temples.
On Thursday (28th December), the Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, Sam Pitroda refused to provide proof of ‘hacking’ of EVM machines hours after he said that if EVMs are not fixed, the BJP may win 400 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In an exclusive interview with the anti-Modi propagandist AjitAnjum, Pitroda instead asked the Election Commission to prove that the EVMs were tampered with.
Congress leader Sam Pitroda reaffirmed his concerns about Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) on Thursday (28th December), claiming that if EVMs are not fixed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP will win 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Sam Pitroda, who recently drew criticism for his remarks about the Ram Mandir, stated a lack of trust in EVMs and even wrote to the Election Commission of India (ECI) about it.
पित्रोदा- EVM हैक हो सकता है
अंजुम- इलेक्शन कमीशन ने तो hackathon रखा था कि EVM हैक करके दिखाइए
“I waited for the Election Commission to respond but when it didn’t happen I decided to speak. It has nothing to do with the fact that elections in five states are over and the 2024 election is coming. I feel there is a trust deficit based on this report. And, the Election Commission must respond to rebuild the trust,” he was quoted as saying.
“More power to them if they think they can do it. Great. That is for the country to decide. EVM needs to be fixed before the next election. If EVM is not fixed, 400 may be true. If EVM is fixed, 400 may not be true,” he added.
Further, in the interview with Anjum, he said that the Election Commission should prove and expose that the EVMs are tampered with by the BJP. This is when Anjum referred to the 2017 Election Commission’s EVM Challenge named ‘hackathon’ in which the Commission invited the political parties to present proof regarding the tampering of the EVMs, if any. The Commission then reiterated its claim that voting machines were tamper-proof.
Responding to this, Pitroda, said, “Why are they asking us for proofs? They should prove that EVMs are not tampered with. You prove to me that my vote is counted as cast. You cannot prove that today with an attachment of VVPAT. EVM today is not a standalone machine.”
The issue of EVMs is not new, as opposition parties have repeatedly claimed that the electronic voting machines are rigged in favor of the BJP. All such allegations have been dismissed by the ECI, which has even challenged political parties to prove their claims. The BJP has also targeted opposition parties over the issue, claiming that it is their justification for losing elections.
At least ten Bajrang Dal members suffered wounds when cattle smugglers who were transporting livestock to West Bengal had a violent dispute with them early on the 28th of December in the Balasore region of Odisha. According to police, the activists from the Salepur neighbourhood of Cuttack pursued at least three vans containing cattle for around 200 km before attempting to halt them in the Fuladi area on the outskirts of Balasore town on National Highway 60.
The vehicle soon came to a stop and a scuffle broke out between the two sides. A police official of Balasore Sadar police station revealed, “As a fight ensued between the Bajrang Dal workers and the men carrying cattle, the latter sought help from local villagers.” He stated that at least ten of the Bajrang Dal members were assaulted when the nearby villagers targeted them with bamboo sticks along with other weapons. Three of them suffered severe injuries including head gashes and fractures. Furthermore, the two automobiles carrying them incurred substantial damage. The Balasore Sadar police station has submitted a case in the matter.
The people of a ‘particular community’ wanted the cows to be transported to West Bengal. Nevertheless, Bajrang Dal workers persisted in preventing the unlawful activity. The two parties then argued about the same and soon the issue escalated into a major fight. The injured were brought to the Baleshwar District General Hospital and immediately referred to the Cuttack General Hospital for treatment given their critical condition.
A substantial police force has been deployed in the region because of the tense environment, however, no arrests have been made so far. Sadar police station in-charge Jayant Behera disclosed that two trucks full of cows have been seized and more than fifty cows have been recovered out of which forty-seven are alive while four are dead. In addition, two further four-wheelers have been apprehended but nobody has been taken into custody.
After a string of similar instances involving hundreds of animals throughout the state, in September an enraged crowd set fire to a vehicle transporting cattle in the Keonjhar region believing that it was being used for cattle smuggling. The same month, when they discovered three vans transporting about 100 animals to West Bengal in three separate vehicles, residents of the Balasore district set fire to three of the vans hauling livestock along the Kamarda-Baliapal route.
The Odisha Crime Investigation Department (CID) informed the Orissa High Court in an affidavit last year that throughout the previous five years, there has been a gradual increase in cases of cow transportation that fall under the category of animal cruelty. According to the document, the number of instances of illicit cow transportation has grown by 217% since 2017.
On 25th December, a woman from Rajasthan’s Bikaner was brutally murdered by one Sameer Khan. The accused was employed as a driver to the victim who was a former Congress councillor. Khan slit the throat of the woman and later attempted to commit suicide. However, later it was revealed that the accused pretended to commit suicide immediately after the murder to escape from the police action.
This case is of Naya Shahar police station area of Bikaner. Former councillor Lakshmi Purohit owned a beauty parlour near her house. According to media reports, Lakshmi had left the house on Monday (25th December) evening saying that she was going to the temple but did not return. At around 10 pm, the woman’s husband Rajesh Purohit lodged a missing report in the police station.
In the meantime, the body of the woman was discovered on Ganganagar Road. Rajesh Purohit was summoned by police to identify the woman. The body was later identified as that to be of Lakshmi.
Rajesh Purohit, the husband of the deceased woman registered a complaint in the case and mentioned Sameer Khan as a suspect. Purohit stated that Khan used to keep a watch on Lakshmi and that he wanted to marry the woman.
Police investigation revealed that Sameer Khan already knew 47-year-old Lakshmi, as he had worked as her driver 6 years ago. Rajesh Purohit, Lakshmi’s husband, works for the government in the education department. He purchased a car six years ago and hired Sameer Khan as his driver. At first, everything was fine, but later complaints about his misbehaviour started to emerge, and he started to harass Lakshmi Purohit. As a result, he was fired from the job a few years ago.
However, Sameer Khan then started to harass the family and used to threaten them. He used to visit their house and misbehave with them. He also used to call Rajesh Purohit to threaten that he would abduct his wife.
Rajesh said that on Monday evening, his wife left the house saying that she was going to the temple. But when she didn’t return after an hour, he started to have concerns. When he called her, he found that her phone was switched off. Then he started to look for her in the nearby areas including the temple, and enquired with relatives. When she was not found, he approached the police station to register a complaint.
Rajesh Purohit alleged that Sameer Khan kidnapped his wife, as he was continuously harassing them, and had threatened several times that he would abduct Lakshmi.
During the police probe, it was found that Sameer had called Lakshmi to Urmul Circle, where they had arguments over some issue. After this, he took Lakshmi to a desolate place RCP Colony. It is believed that he committed the murder at the same place and then threw the dead body.
SM Tejashwini Gautam said that Sameer has confessed to several things during the interrogation. He believed that Lakshmi would marry him, and the argument was over this issue. When he found that she had no intention of marrying him, he slit her throat. He assaulted her with such force that the wound was 2 inches deep. The murder took place between 8 to 9 pm, as per police.
Sameer Khan fled the scene after slitting the throat of Lakshmi, and tried to commit suicide. He then reached the PBS hospital with injuries in his hand and head. However, he started a commotion at the hospital due to a delay in treatment. When police reached the hospital as a result, he narrated a false story, claiming that he was hit by a train. But when police didn’t find any report of a train hit, they took him into custody and interrogated him.
Police said that he is still being questioned, and the murder weapon is yet to be recovered.
Lakshmi Purohit and her husband Rajesh Purohit are natives of Nagaur, Rajasthan. According to the report, while living in Nagaur, Lakshmi headed the city council elections on a Congress ticket and won the councillor election. Lakshmi and her husband then moved to Bikaner. Lakshmi’s political career had nearly ended when she arrived in Bikaner from Nagaur.
Sonia Gandhi ‘might’ attend Ram Mandir consecration ceremony, a final decision later; here’s how Congress mocked Ram Mandir in the past, claiming ‘Ram does not exist’
As the day of the inauguration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya draws closer, it is widely anticipated that Congress’ Sonia Gandhi might attend the event scheduled to take place on 22nd January. The information was obtained by Congress sources quoted by NDTV.
“The decision will be taken and communicated at the appropriate time,” said Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh.
As per the reports, Gandhi, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, and the party’s Lok Sabha leader, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, had been invited to the event, which has become the focal point of the country’s political discourse in the run-up to a general election in less than four months.
The Congress’ Digvijaya Singh had previously stated that either Gandhi – who he described as “very positive on this” – or a delegation would attend the ceremony, which will be presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress party is said to have made its decision on this politically sensitive issue after extensive discussions with its allies, including those in the I.N.D.I. Alliance opposition bloc, especially the Indian Union Muslim League.
The Congress is said to have justified its choice as a necessary tightrope walk ahead of the election. The Congress believed that not attending the Ram Temple event would give the BJP a lethal weapon that could be used to attack Gandhi’s party and, by extension, its I.N.D.I Alliance ally before the election.
The Congress party has also distanced itself from the comments of Sam Pitroda, who had said that too much importance is being given to religion through the Ram Mandir and that democracy is being undermined. Jairam Ramesh said that Sam Pitroda’s statement is not an official statement of Congress, he doesn’t speak on behalf of the Congress party.
Opposition parties turning down invitation to consecration ceremony
Earlier, several opposition political parties have turned down the invitation to attend the Ram Mandir inauguration ceremony at Ayodhya. On 27th December, NCP chief Sharad Pawar stated that he was not invited to the inauguration ceremony but would not go even if he were invited to the event.
The CPIM and CPI also made their positions clear; earlier this week, Brinda Karat stated that her party would not participate in what she described as “using religion as a political weapon.” “No, we will not go. We respect the religious beliefs… but they are connecting a religious program with politics… it is not right,” she said.
Also, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee stated that she would not attend the inauguration ceremony. “There is no question of Mamata Banerjee or any other representative of the TMC attending the Ram Mandir inauguration at Ayodhya next month. We don’t believe in mixing politics with religion,” a senior party leader was quoted as saying.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury further turned down an invitation to attend the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) called the ceremony a private event by BJP and said that would visit the Ram Mandir after the BJP’s event is over.
“This is all politics, who wants to attend an event by the BJP? This is not a national event. This is BJP’s program, this is BJP’s rally. ‘Usme pavitrata kahan hai?’…We will visit (Ayodhya) after BJP’s program is over,” Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut said.
Congress leaders mocked Ram Mandir, insulted Lord Rama
It is to be recalled how Congress leaders and its allies have refused to believe in the existence of Lord Rama and mocked the construction of the Ram temple. Recently, DMK leader TKS Elangovan described Lord Rama’s birth as ‘mythology’ and alleged that the BJP was trying to replace history with mythology.
“They have demolished history and replaced it with mythology. Any country should be proud of its history, it should know the history. Ram’s birth is mythology, it is a story from Ramayana. It is literature. They want to replace history with mythology. That is what the BJP is trying to do. With these people in power, what can we expect?… He wants to make use of it as a political tool. He is not interested in Ram. BJP does not consider Ram as an important thing but their political gain becomes important so they are making use of Ram for their political gains,” the leader was quoted as saying.
Also, in June 2023, Rahul Gandhi’s ‘mentor’ Sam Pitroda mocked the Hindu deities while accusing the BJP of focusing only on religious matters. “We have a problem with unemployment, inflation, education, health. No one talks about these things. But everyone talks about Ram, Hanuman, mandir,” he had said during an event hosted by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The video of the incident had massively gone viral over the internet then.
Further, Kapil Sibal who was earlier a member of Congress had appeared for the Sunni Waqf Board and Babri Masjid Action Committee in the Supreme Court to term the case as a ‘trap’ laid by the BJP. “This judgment is going to have huge political ramifications. A party is pushing its manifesto. The court should not fall into a trap. This is nothing but a trap,” he had said in the year 2017. Sibal was then slammed by the netizens for the choice of his clients and the stance taken by him.
Sibal had been accusing the BJP of using the Ram Mandir issue for its political gains. He recently reiterated his stance saying that ‘no one becomes Ram by building Ram Mandir. People must learn to walk on the path of Ram.”
In the year 2018, Congress leader P Chidambaram mocked the idea of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and said that BJP was only focusing on building temples and giant statues. “At the beginning of five years, the promise is for Development, Jobs, and Money in every citizen’s bank account. Nothing was achieved, but at the end of five years, the new promise was for grand temples, giant statues, and doles,” he was quoted as saying. The BJP then slammed the leader for playing with the sentiments of Hindus.
As if denying the reality of Lord Ram wasn’t enough, the grand old party of India in 2022 came up with fresh ways to ridicule Hinduism. The leaders compared Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to Lord Rama as the former embarked on his political stunt called ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole in a statement compared Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi to the Hindu Lord Ram saying that it is a coincidence that the names of both begin with “R”. “Even Lord Sri Ram walked (PadaYatra) from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and even Shankaracharya walked the same way, and so is Rahul Gandhi doing in the form of padayatra,” Patole added.
Nana Patole’s remark came after Rajasthan Minister Parsadi Lal Meena said that Rahul Gandhi walked more than Lord Ram walked from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka. “Rahul Gandhi’s padayatra will be historic. Lord Ram too had gone from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka on foot. Rahul Gandhi is walking even more than that, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir,” Meena had said.
Further, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President K Sudhakaran also ridiculed Bhagwan Sri Ram, Sri Lakshman, and Sita Mata by distorting Ramayana. He stated in a recent video interview with The New Indian Express (TNIE) that while returning from Lanka on the Pushpaka Vimanam, after defeating Ravana, Lakshman briefly entertained the thought of pushing his brother, Lord Ram, into the sea and go away with his wife Sita.
K Sudhakaran made these bizarre comments while stating that there are significant distinctions between lawmakers from Kerala’s northern and southern regions.
Congress denied the existence of Lord Rama
In 2020, ahead of Ayodhya Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan on August 5, Zee News conducted a discussion on Ayodhya and Ram Mandir. In a shocking display of ignorance, Congress leader Kumar Ketkar denied the historical existence of Shri Ram and cast aspersions about the Hindu God being a creation of literature.
In September 2007, the Central government run by Congress-led UPA 1 had said that there is no historical proof of Lord Ram’s existence.
An affidavit filed by the Congress-led government read, “Valmiki Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas admittedly form an important part of ancient Indian literature, but these cannot be said to be historical records to incontrovertibly prove the existence of the characters and occurrences of events depicted therein.” The affidavit was filed to register the UPA government’s opposition to the demand to scrap the Sethusamudram project as it would damage the Ram Setu.
Recently, Sam Pitroda, Indian Overseas Chairman of Congress again made controversial remarks against Hinduism and Lord Rama. He said that too much importance was being given to religion through the Ram Mandir and that democracy was being undermined.
Sam Pitroda added, “So there are signals I’m getting which says we are in the wrong direction. When a nation is involved in Ram Temple, that bothers me. To me, religion is a personal thing. Don’t confuse it with the national agenda. The national agenda should focus on education, employment, growth, economy, inflation, health, environment, and pollution. Nobody talks about that.”
It is important to note that the Congress party has not taken any firm decision on attending the event given its earlier ‘disbelief’ in the existence of Lord Rama. The party has time and again raised questions over the construction of Ram Mandir and is now probably thinking of attending the event to allegedly please the Hindu voters ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The party has anyway stated that the final decision will be taken at the appropriate time.
Preparations for Ram Mandir’s inauguration
Extensive preparations are in place in Ayodhya for the consecration ceremony which is expected to draw 8,000 people. Speakers at the event include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat.
A significant number of people involved in the construction of the temple, including S N Subrahmanyan of the L&T Group and Natarajan Chandrasekaran of the Tata Group have also been invited by the trust. Despite the extensive preparations for the VVIP guests, Champat Rai, the general secretary of the Trust has been recommending pilgrims to pray at the closest temple rather than in Ayodhya on 22nd January in order to avoid overcrowding.
Attendees include the spiritual leaders of important temples like Kashi Vishwanath and Vaishno Devi, yoga guru Baba Ramdev, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, as well as representatives of constitutional and religious organizations. Actors like Rajnikanth, Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Dipika Chikhlia and Arun Govil, film directors like Madhur Bhandarkar, and businesspeople like Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani, along with renowned painter Vasudev Kamat and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Director Nilesh Desai are also invited.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad also reached out to veteran Bharatiya Janta Party leaders like Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi for the event.