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Pawar Vs Pawar 2.0: Sharad Pawar ‘expels’ Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, minutes later Ajit Pawar faction declares Tatkare as NCP state President

OpIndia Staff
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Pawar Vs Pawar 2.0: Sharad Pawar ‘expels’ Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, minutes later Ajit Pawar faction declares Tatkare as NCP state President

The political turmoil in Maharashtra is becoming more and more interesting with every passing day. On Monday, July 3, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar sacked senior leader Praful Patel as the party’s working president and ordered the removal of his name from the NCP member register. Another senior ‘rebel’ MLA Sunil Tatkare was also removed from the party for anti-party activities. Minutes later, the Ajit Pawar faction announced Sunil Tatkare as Maharashtra NCP president.

Earlier this evening, the NCP chief took to Twitter to declare, “I, as the National President, Nationalist Congress Party hereby order removal of the names of Shri Sunil Tatkare and Shri Praful Patel from the Register of Members of NCP Party for anti-party activities. @praful_patel @SunilTatkare.”

Moments after Sharad Pawar’s tweet, NCP’s senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel announced that his faction had appointed Sunil Tatkare as the new party president for Maharashtra. He also said that Ajit Pawar was elected as the Leader of NCP in the Assembly. Sunil Tatkare will have the authority to make organisational changes in the party, Patel said during a press conference. Sunil Tatkare’s daughter Aditi Tatkare was among the NCP leaders who took oath as ministers on Sunday.  

Sunil Tatkare said he has taken over as the State president of the Nationalist Congress Party. “I will strengthen the party in Maharashtra. I have taken into confidence all leaders of the party. I have also called a meeting of all the legislators and zila parishad leaders,” he said. 

Notably, Sharad Pawar’s announcement came less than a day after 30 NCP MLAs led by Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar revolted and joined the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) government in the state.

In fact, Nationalist Congress Party working President Supriya Sule on Monday also wrote to the party supremo Sharad Pawar seeking the disqualification of Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities.

“They have indulged in anti-party activities…openly made statements to this effect before the media and have acted in complete violation of the Party’s direction and principles. You may further be informed that this decision of the two MPs to support the nine MLAs has been taken without the permission of the Party President and without taking all members of the party into confidence,” Sule wrote to Sharad Pawar.

CM Eknath Shinde welcomes Ajit Pawar faction of NCP in his government

The political upheaval in Maharashtra erupted once again on Sunday, July 2, when 30 NCP MLAs led by Ajit Pawar revolted and joined the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) government in the state.

8 MLAs of NCP will be sworn in as ministers, as Ajit Pawar becomes Deputy Chief Minister.

Ajit Pawar on Sunday reached Raj Bhawan with 29 NCP MLAs, including Hassan Musharraf. The Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP joined the Maharashtra government Sunday after an oath-taking ceremony at the Raj Bhawan. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis were also present at the Raj Bhawan.

After reaching the Raj Bhawan, Ajit Pawar submitted his resignation from the post of the leader of the opposition to Governor Ramesh Bais and took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Now, the state government in Maharashtra is an alliance of three parties. The alliance partners include the Bhartiya Janta Party, the Shiv Sena faction led by CM Eknath Shinde and the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar. 

2022 Maharashtra political crisis

It may be recalled that a similar political crisis gripped Maharashtra in June last year when Eknath Shinde, along with several other MLAs of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition moved to Surat in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-governed Gujarat, throwing the Uddhav Thackeray alliance into a crisis. Eknath Shinde led a revolt against Uddhav Thackeray because he disagreed with Thackeray’s decision not to end the alliance with Maha Vikas Aaghadi, despite requests from two-thirds of elected Shiv Sena members. With the help of the BJP, Shinde’s side was finally successful in seizing control of the party and establishing a new government in Maharashtra.

On June 29 2022, ahead of a no-confidence motion, Uddhav Thackeray, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, announced his resignation from both positions live on social media. The floor test was cancelled as a result of Thackeray’s resignation, and on June 30 2022, Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis assumed control of the government as the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, respectively.

PUBG Love: Pakistani woman in her 20s and her four kids caught living illegally in Greater Noida with the lover she met through the online game

OpIndia Staff
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PUBG Love: Pakistani woman in her 20s and her four kids caught living illegally in Greater Noida with the lover she met through the online game

On 3rd July, Noida Police said they had detained a Pakistani woman and her four children who were staying illegally in Greater Noida. Deputy Police Commissioner (Greater Noida) Saad Miya Khan said in a statement, “The Pakistani woman and the local man have been detained. The woman’s four children are also in police custody.”

Reports suggest that the woman came in contact with a local man via the online game PUBG. The man, a Greater Noida resident, has also been detained by the police.

DCP Khan said, “The man and the woman are being questioned right now. Further details and facts will be shared once the questioning is over.” As per the police, the woman, identified as Seema, entered India via Nepal around a month ago. She met Greater Noida resident 22-year-old Sachin till 30th June night. Police said she did not have any valid documents to stay in India. Sachin and Seema were trying to get married.

However, the police were informed about the woman over suspicion of being a spy. When the police started investigating her, they all fled from the house. The police are investigating if it was just a matter of a love affair or if there was a conspiracy behind it.

As per Amar Ujala’s report, Seema met Sachin online while playing PUBG. They shared numbers soon after and started talking to each other. After a few days, they fell in love with each other. Seema told Sachin she was a resident of Sindh province. Later, they decided to live together. Seema got a visa for Nepal and entered India illegally.

The police learned about the woman and her four children when the couple gathered information on how they could get married. Reports suggest that the advocate whom they approached got suspicious and informed the police as she told him that her brother was a Pakistani Army personnel. Sachin told the advocate that he wanted to complete the process quickly, as Seema was forcing him to take her on a Delhi tour. The advocate got suspicious and informed the police.

Suicide cases among married Men: SC dismisses PIL seeking the creation of ‘National Commission for Men’

OpIndia Staff
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Suicide cases among married Men: SC dismisses PIL seeking the creation of ‘National Commission for Men’

On the 3rd of July, the Supreme Court declined to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the creation of a National Commission for Men. The plea had sought the new commission to look into the cases of suicides among married men and deal with such grievances.

The bench criticized the petitioner for portraying “a one-sided picture” and asked about the data on the death of young girls soon after marriage. 

The Bench asked, “No question of misplaced sympathy for anyone. You just want to portray a one-sided picture. Can you give us data on young girls dying soon after marriage?”

The bench stated that if the petitioner expects the court to hold that these husbands have committed suicide because of harassment by the wife, he is sadly mistaken. 

However, the two-judge bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta expressed disinclination to entertain the matter. Subsequently, the petitioner Advocate Mahesh Kumar Tiwari withdrew the petition.

The Court also observed that there are ample remedies in such matters

“Nobody wants to commit suicide, it depends on facts of individual case. Criminal law takes care, not remediless.”

The major points in the plea

The petitioner-in-person, Advocate Mahesh Kumar Tiwari urged the court to direct the National Human Rights Commission to look into the issues of suicides and domestic violence against married men. The petition also sought the framing of guidelines that would deal with such issues. 

Further, the plea wanted that the Law Commission of India should study the issue and subsequently prepare a report for the creation of the Commission for Men. 

The petitioner also sought directions to ask the police to accept complaints filed by men in this regard. It stated that they should refer the same to the State Human Rights Commission till a law is in place.

The petition said, “Issue direction to the respondent no.1 (Union of India) to issue proper guidelines through the Ministry of Home Affairs to the police authority/station house officer of every police station to accept/receive the complaint of victims of domestic violence or those under stress due to family problems and marriage-related issues, and refer the same to the State Human Rights Commission for its proper disposal till the proper legislation is enacted by the Government of India.”

The petitioner cited the 2021 NCRB data to support his argument. According to the data, approximately 33.2 percent of men ended their lives because of family problems and 4.8 percent due to marriage-related issues.

The plea stated that this year, a total of 1,18,979 men (about 72 percent of total) and 45,026 women (about 27 percent of total) committed suicide.

PM Modi and Amitabh Bachchan to appear for BA exams in Bihar: Read what happened

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi and Amitabh Bachchan to appear for BA exams in Bihar: Read what happened

Photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan have been found on admit cards issued by a college in Bihar’s Begusarai district. The examinees happen to be BA-Part II students of Ganesh Dutt College, a constituent college of Lalit Narayan Mithila University headquartered in Darbhanga.

The matter came to the fore when the students reached the college to collect their admit cards. Several admit cards issued to students showed photos of PM Modi and Amitabh Bachchan instead of actual students.

Source: Amar Ujala

Students are now apprehensive that they will be debarred from taking the exam since their admit cards do not have their photos.

Students asserted that they only receive their admit cards three to four days prior to the exam, and that if there is a discrepancy, they are prohibited from taking the examination. The students alleged that the university administration’s situation is so grim that the results of students who completed their graduation between 2019 and 2022 are not yet out as they were messed up and the university is still rectifying it. Because of the delay, the students have been denied government grants and other facilities, they said.

The university, meanwhile, called it a clerical mistake and a minor problem which will be rectified immediately.

This is, however, not the first time such a problem occurred in colleges affiliated with the Lalit Narayan Mithila University in Darbhanga, Bihar. Last year, in fact, photographs of Prime Minister Modi, star cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi and Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan have been found on admit cards issued by a university in the state. The examinees happen to be BA part 3 students of colleges based in Madhubani, Samastipur and Begusarai districts, all affiliated with the Lalit Narayan Mithila University headquartered in Darbhanga.

KTR hits back after Rahul Gandhi’s Khammam statement, calls Congress a party of vultures

OpIndia Staff
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KTR hits back after Rahul Gandhi’s Khammam statement, calls Congress a party of vultures

On 03rd July, Telangana minister and working president of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) KT Rama Rao hit back at Rahul Gandhi and called Congress an ‘epitome of corruption’. Caliing Congress a “vulture” party, he termed AICC as the ‘All India Corruption Committee’. His reaction came after Gandhi termed BRS as Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) B Team during a public meeting in Telangana’s Khammam.

Taking to Twitter, Rao rubbished Gandhi’s comments and said the people had not forgotten the past scams done by the Congress party. He further compared BRS to a ‘formidable force’ that can take both BJP and Congress in the elections.

Rao also questioned the credibility of the promises Congress made during the polls. He pointed out that Congress won Karnataka as there was ‘no viable alternative’ and not because of its efficacy. Notably, Gandhi promised Rs 4,000 per month as a pension for senior citizens and widows during his address in Khammam. He also promised land for the tribals.

In a long Twitter post, he said, “We are not the relative party of BJP. Your Indian Vulture Party is. AICC is the All India Corruption Committee. People have not forgotten the history full of Congress scams. There is no dare to hit the BRS directly. That’s why they are using BJP’s shoulder. Will they conspire to shoot us? In this misfiring, Congress is going to collapse. The people of Telangana want constructive opposition. Not an unknown opposition.”

He further added that the Congress leader was making baseless comments about corruption. Rao further questioned how people would believe his promise of Rs 4,000 as a pension when the party could not fulfil the promise of a free ration.

Rahul Gandhi called BRS BJP’s B Team

Gandhi claimed During his public meeting address that Prime Minister Narendra Modi carries the remote control of Telangana’s Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. He called BRS BJP’s B-Team and used a new nomenclature of BRS as ‘BJP Rishtedar Samithi’. He further claimed corruption charges against Rao and other BRS leaders have made them obsequious to the BJP. Gandhi said he had told other opposition leaders that Congress would not join any alliance where BRS was involved.

‘Congress compromised with BRS in Telangana’, says BJP leader Reddy

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy took a dig at the Congress leader’s comment and said he went overboard after electoral success in Karnataka. He said, “Congress fought the election in Telangana by compromising with BRS. We will not ally with BRS or Congress. He is going overboard and speaking just because they won one election in Karnataka.”

Difficult to support a leader who constantly speaks negatively about their own nation: American singer Mary Millben shows the mirror to Congress scion Rahul Gandhi

OpIndia Staff
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Difficult to support a leader who constantly speaks negatively about their own nation: American singer Mary Millben shows the mirror to Congress scion Rahul Gandhi

On Friday (June 30), American singer Mary Millben slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for bad-mouthing India during his international trips. The official singer of the White House made the remarks during an interview with journalist Rohan Dua of The New Indian.

On being asked about Rahul Gandhi’s recent trip to the US, she said, “Well, I caught glimpses of his speeches and thoughts, and honestly, I don’t personally know Mr. Rahul, so I don’t want to make unkind comments.”

Mary Millben emphasised, “However, it’s difficult for any country to support a leader who constantly speaks negatively about their own nation. A true leader appreciates their heritage and values their country. That’s why Prime Minister Modi is adored in India and respected worldwide.”

During his 10-day trip to the United States, Rahul Gandhi spoke at the National Press Club, Stanford University and also, to ‘think tanks’, allegedly discussing relations between the two countries.

He also denigrated India, and the Indian government and made factually inaccurate claims about India’s history, its democracy, and its leaders. The Congress leader also met activist Sunita Vishwanath, known for her ties with George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) and Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC).

Mary Millben on Barack Obama’s anti-India remarks

On being asked about the contentious remarks made by Barack Obama during PM Modi’s official State visit to the US, the American singer said, “I felt that it was quite arrogant of the former president to upstage the current President of the United States, who happened to be his vice president in his own party, during such an important week for both the President and the Prime Minister.”

“I found it to be quite arrogant, to be honest,” she said, adding that the world is witnessing an alarming rise in religious persecution.

On June 22 this year, the former US President courted controversy by virtue-signalling India about its ‘human rights’ record. Obama, who has a notorious record as a potential war criminal, suggested that the Indian Prime Minister must be told by the Biden administration about protecting the ‘Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India.’

He also hinted at another ‘partition’ if India, under the Modi government, did not mend its ways. The ex-US President said, “If President (Joe Biden) meets with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, the protection of Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India is something worth mentioning.”

Barack Obama also claimed, “If I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, then, part of the conversation would be that if you do not protect the rights of minorities, then there is a strong possibility that India at some point starts pulling apart…That would be contrary to the interests of India.”

The former US President made the contentious remarks during an interview with CNN news host Christiane Amanpour, just hours before PM Modi made his historic address at the joint session of the US Congress.

Bengal: BJP leader’s body found in Purulia, party accuses TMC of running a terror regime

OpIndia Staff
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Bengal: BJP leader’s body found in Purulia, party accuses TMC of running a terror regime

On Monday, the 3rd of July, the West Bengal Police recovered the body of a BJP leader named Bankim Hansda from the Bodo area of Purulia district. He had reportedly gone missing on Sunday morning when he stepped out of his house to campaign for the Panchayat elections. 

Purulia DSP Abhijeet Bandopadhyay said, “The police have recovered the body of the BJP leader from the Bodo area of Purulia District in West Bengal. Further investigation into the matter is underway.”

As per the information received, the deceased leader was the BJP general secretary of the Manbazar area. Hansda was a resident of the Kendadi village of the Purulia district. His blood-soaked body was found by the local people at around 7 am on Monday morning, 3rd July, on the unpaved road leading from Kendri to Jhariyadi village.

Following the death of their party worker, BJP leaders have accused the TMC government of “spreading fear in the minds of voters” so that they don’t come out to cast their vote in the Panchayat elections due on the 8th of July. 

The main opposition party, BJP has been stating that the ruling party, TMC wants its workers to win unopposed. Alleging that TMC goons are involved in the killing of their party worker, BJP stated that in TMC rule, “elections have taken the form of terrorism”.  

Taking to their official Twitter handle, BJP said, “TMC-backed miscreants killed BJP general secretary Bankim Hansda from Purulia’s Bandwan Assembly. In Bengal, under the TMC rule, elections have taken the form of terrorism. Bengal will respond against this misguided attempt to retain power by resorting to terrorism!” 

Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari targeted the TMC government claiming that it has established a “Jungle Raj” in the state. He leveled serious allegations against the TMC government and claimed that TMC-backed goons are not even sparing the SC, ST & OBC communities. He further demanded a CBI probe in this case. 

He said, “We don’t expect the officials of the Boro PS; Purulia Police District to conduct an impartial investigation. The CBI should be handed over the case for a proper investigation.”

Violence and alleged political murders continue unabated in Bengal

Violence and alleged political murders amid elections in West Bengal have been regularly making headlines in the news with no end in sight. 

Earlier, on 29 June, another local BJP leader’s body was found hanging in his residence at Balpai village in Paschim Medinipur district, police said. 

Similar to this case, he was allegedly missing for the past three-four days. A police official informed that the deceased leader was identified as BJP booth president Dipak Samanta. 

Talking to PTI, the officer said, “We have found Dipak Samanta hanging from the ceiling of his village residence at Sabang. He is attached to a political party. We are investigating the matter and have no clue whether this is a suicide or murder case. Police are yet to arrest anyone and the body has been sent for post-mortem.”

Telangana: AIMIM leader Mohammad Azam and aides thrash electricity department employee who went to check power theft, video goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Telangana: AIMIM leader Mohammad Azam and aides thrash electricity department employee who went to check power theft, video goes viral

On Monday, July 3, a video went viral on social media wherein a group of people can be seen roughing up one man in the middle of the streets. According to reports, the video is that of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Mohammad Azam and his aides beating up a worker of the electricity department who had gone to check the theft of electricity in Mehboob Colony, Karwan Assembly Constituency.

In the video shared by @prashantchiguru, the AIMIM leader, seen in a white and black checked shirt is seen thrashing the electricity department employee on a street. Soon, his aides standing close by, join him in viciously hitting the helpless government worker. A large group of individuals soon assemble there. No one dared to step in to stop the AIMIM leader from hitting the electrical department employee, though.

The Twitter user also pointed out how nearly 50% of the power supplied to Old Hyderabad City is unaccounted and due to this power theft there is a loss of 70 lakhs per day to the State Electricity Department.

“Please look at the shocking video of “Goonda Raj” in Hyderabad patronage by @aimim_national Chief @asadowaisi. The Electricity Department employees who went to check power theft, were brutally assaulted by MIM leader Mohd Azam & his family members in Mehboob Colony, Karwan Assembly Constituency. If you have spine @KTRBRS @CPHydCity @TelanganaDGP take action or remain as mute spectators, Let Goodanism prevail in Old City. Nearly 50% of power supplied to the Old City is unaccounted and due to this power theft there is a loss of 70 Lakh per day to the @TsspdclCorporat. It is widely known fact that power thieves & offenders in Hyderabad Parliament Constituency are shamelessly sheltered @aimim_national MLAs. Like Indians are scared to travel to Pakistan, Govt officials are scared to visit Old City of Hyderabad,” the user tweeted and shared the video showing the leader roughing up electricity department employees.

Power theft-related complaints and problems are widespread in Old Hyderabad and have existed there for a while. According to reports, in areas under the Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSSPDCL), 64,245 cases were registered in 2022, which was 3,000 more than those booked in 2021.

According to Energy Department officials, power utilities were losing about 10 per cent of the total revenue to power thefts every year. 

Source: Telangana Today

In Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda, Sangareddy, Siddipet, Rangareddy, and Hyderabad districts, the company has collected fines from users totalling Rs. 3,994.67 lakhs for illegal power consumption.

In addition to this, an amount of Rs.739.11 lakhs was collected as a compounding amount from erring consumers.

Excise policy case: Delhi High Court rejects Manish Sisodia’s bail plea, again

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Excise policy case: Delhi High Court rejects Manish Sisodia’s bail plea, again

The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected the bail petition of Delhi’s former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case related to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy case.

The Court also dismissed bail petitions of Vijay Nair, ex-communication in charge of Aam Aadmi Party, Abhishek Boinpally (Hyderabad-based businessman) and Binoy Babu Binoy, (manager with a liquor company Pernod Ricard) in connection with the same case. The bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma while dismissing bail petition of Manish Sisodia said that the court does not find any infirmity with the trial court order which had dismissed his bail.

“The possibility of tampering with evidence and influencing witnesses cannot be ruled out and Section 45 twin condition isn’t satisfied. Bail Denied,” said the court.

The trial court had earlier denied bail to them.

Earlier, Delhi High Court dismissed the bail plea of Manish Sisodia in a CBI case alleging corruption in the implementation of a previous liquor policy in the national capital.

The bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma while denied bail to Sisodia in the CBI case, said Manish Sisodia (Applicant) being a powerful person, there was the possibility of him influencing the witnesses.

The Rouse Avenue Court earlier dismissed the bail plea of Manish Sisodia in a money laundering case related to the Excise scam stating that “this case of economic offences having serious repercussions upon the general public and society at large as the evidence collected during investigation speaks volumes of his involvement in the commission of the said offence.”

Court also noted that some evidence is also alleged to have surfaced during the investigation to show that some part of the kickback or bribe amount received from South lobby was spent or utilized in connection with the election campaign of the AAP in Goa and some cash payments through hawala channels are alleged to have been sent to Goa for bearing the said expenses and even some fake invoices are alleged to have been created as a cover-up for the cash amounts transferred through hawala channels.

It is stated that the above cash transfers were made as per instructions of the coaccused Vijay Nair, who was the representative of the applicant and the AAP and also the Media Incharge of AAP and looking after the work related to said elections and he also roped in a company named M/S Chariot Productions Media Pvt. Ltd. owned by the coaccused Rajesh Joshi to do the election-related advertising work and other jobs for the party during said elections noted the court.

Thus, in view of the above background, the serious nature of allegations made and the role played by the applicant in the above criminal conspiracy, his connection with the activities relating to generation or acquisition and use etc. of the above proceeds of crime within the meaning of Section 3 of the PMLA and the oral and documentary evidence collected in support of the same and as placed for the perusal of the court, this court is of the considered opinion that even if the rigours and restrictions contained U/S 45 of the PMLA are viewed and construed reasonably, the prosecution has still been able to show a genuine and prima facie case for the involvement of the applicant in the commission of the alleged offence of money laundering.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 9 arrested former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the liquor policy case, after hours of questioning at Tihar Jail.

Sisodia was arrested by the CBI earlier in its ongoing investigation of a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).

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

TN police files FIR after revenue department official overhears people at bus stand: Details of the case against The Commune for reporting on Chidambaram Temple row

OpIndia Staff
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TN police files FIR after revenue department official overhears people at bus stand: Details of the case against The Commune for reporting on Chidambaram Temple row

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu Chidambaram Town police have summoned state secretary SG Suryah in connection to an FIR registered over alleged defamatory social media posts regarding the events that took place during Aani Thirumanjanam festival at the ancient Nataraja Temple. Kaushik Subramanian of the digital news portal The Commune, has also been summoned to participate in the investigation on 4th July.

Police registered the FIR based on a revenue official’s complaint that Suryah published allegedly defamatory posts on the social media platform accusing local authorities of harassment during the festival. The Commune published a report on 28th June accusing an HR&CE official and police of harassing Dikshithars. The report claimed that the Dikshithars were pushed, and religious symbols were desecrated.

The allegations came in view of HR&CE’s action against the temple administration’s move to ban devotee access to Kanagasabai mandapam at Chidambaram temple in Cuddalore district during the four-day Aani Thirumanjanam festival from 24th June to 28th June. The temple administration said it was done to ensure effective crowd management, as a lot of people visit the temple during the festival. Though the restriction was only for four days, HR&CE officials with the police reached the temple and removed the notice board.

An altercation occurred between Dikshithars and officials, after which the HR&CE official filed a police complaint accusing Dikshithars of assault and obstruction. A police official said in a statement, “Following this, Sivarama Dikshithar, secretary of the Podhu Dikshithar committee, and ten others, including some priests, have been booked under various IPC sections, and under Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act.”

Notably, the Tamil Nadu government is formulating a plan to take over the temple administration from Dikshithars. The state government has claimed that the temple administration has denied devotees the right to worship. Furthermore, the state government has accused the temple administration of irregularities and lack of transparency in the administration.

VAO Sheikh Sirajuddin files FIR

OpIndia has learned that the complaint against The Commune has been filed by a local revenue department staff named Sheikh Sirajuddin. Sirajuddin is the VAO of Chidambaram who has said in his complaint that he overheard people at 2 different bus stands discussing the news of Dikshitars being misbehaved with by HR&CE officials and hence he thinks that The Commune’s reports can cause law and order problems in Chidambaram area.

Sirajuddin has also added that the reports by The Commune, which supported the Dikshitars and opposed the state government, were intended for stirring law and order issues and to create rumors against the government. The complaint by Sirajuddin was filed on June 29.

The recent issue regarding the Chidambaram Temple

On 27th June, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department official Velvizhi, accompanied by two female police personnel, entered the Kanagasabai amidst resistance from Dikshithars and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters. The development came days after a controversy erupted claiming Pothu Dikshitars of Chidambaram Natarajar temple declined permission to devotees to offer prayers from Kanagasabai during the Aani Thirumanjanam festival.

Pothu Dikshithars are the hereditary priests and custodians of Sri Sabanayagar Temple, popularly known as Lord Nataraja Temple. As per a statement issued by Dikshitars, they were pushed down, and their clothes were torn.

Notably, Deekshitars have been managing the temple for centuries. The temple has historically changed darshan timings and programs during festivals to ensure smooth management. The devotees and temple administration have been left confused and angered. Notably, Supreme Court has already ruled that the government cannot interfere in temple management. Despite the orders from the apex court, DMK continued to create controversy using HR&CE around the temple.

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