On Friday (May 5), Union Home Minister Amit Shah canceled his campaign in the election-bound State of Karnataka to monitor the situation in Manipur, which has been hit with incidents of violence between ethnic groups Kukis and Meitis.
Amit Shah held a video conference with Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and reviewed the steps undertaken by the State government to control the law and order situation.
The meeting was also attended by the Union home secretary, state DGP, and the chief secretary. Reportedly, violence has ceased in most districts, barring some areas that fall under 4-5 police stations.
Amit Shah cancels Karnataka poll campaign; to closely monitor situation in violence-hit Manipur
A large contingent of the central paramilitary force, comprising 1000 personnel and 10 additional companies, was also deployed in Manipur on Friday (May 5). Equipped with anti-riot vehicles, the paramilitary forces conducted flag marches in violence-hit areas.
In the meantime, ex-CRPF chief Kuldiep Singh has been appointed as the advisor of the Biren Singh-led Manipur government. Besides, additional DGP (Intelligence) Ashutosh Sinha has been made the overall operational commander and asked to work under Kuldiep Singh.
Reportedly, the Centre is making strategies alongside the State government to restore normalcy in Manipur. Earlier, the Home Department had issued ‘shoot-at-sight’ orders in the violence-hit areas in ‘extreme cases.’
As per a report by Urukul Times, the death toll in the State has now reached 31. This is based on the data of dead bodies in the morgue of the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal.
Violence erupted at several places in Manipur on April 3 during protests by tribal groups against the demand for ST status by the Meitei community. Protests by the tribal groups turned violent at various places in the state, where large-scale arson took place.
Agastya Chauhan, a well-known YouTuber, and motorcyclist, died on his way back to Delhi while trying to ride his Kawasaki Ninja superbike at a speed of 300 kph on the Yamuna expressway on Wednesday. Agastya Chauhan had over 12 lakh YouTube subscribers and a large fan base among the youth.
The accident, which was caught on camera, occurred when Agastya’s Kawasaki bike collided with a road divider. According to media reports, he lost control of his bike after hitting the divider and suffered fatal head injuries. The collision was so severe that Agastya’s helmet was totally shattered after the accident.
A TOI report says that Agastya Chauhan and one of his friends may have started a bike race from the Jevar toll plaza, which led to the deadly accident.
Although one of Chauhan’s family members reportedly alleged that it was a ‘hit and run case’ and that the YouTuber was hit by a speeding truck from behind, DSP (Khair area) Rakesh Kumar Sisodia said that no complaint has been lodged by the family. Police also said that CCTV footage and Chauhan’s helmet camera are being analyzed to confirm the actual cause of the accident.
Agastya’s body was taken into custody by the Tappal police station in the Aligarh district. His body was taken to Kailash Hospital in Greater Noida for a post-mortem. Following the post-mortem, the dead body was handed over to the family of Agastya Chauhan.
Following the accident, Aligarh Police urged motorists to drive cautiously and avoid overspeeding. Agastya was booked earlier this year for violating several sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Motor Vehicle Act while doing dangerous stunts on city roads in Dehradun. According to TOI, Agastya was also one of the 12 bloggers identified by Dehradun police for jeopardizing public safety with their bike stunts.
On the 5th of May at around 10:15 PM, Times Network Group Editor Navika Kumar tweeted a video of Punjab police detaining Times Now Navbharat journalist Bhavana Kishore.
“I demand that @BhagwantMann & @ArvindKejriwal to release @TNNavbharat reporter @BhawanaKishore immediately. Detained by @DGPPunjabPolice for the last 7 hours. Accused of an accident when she was not driving a car. This is serious intimidation of the media.#sheeshmahalBadla”, Navika tweeted.
Navika Kumar alleged that the woman journalist Bhavana Kishore had been detained for the past 7 hours. According to her tweet, Punjab police detained her over allegations of an accident when she was not even driving the car.
Navika further alleged that this is “serious intimidation of the media”. Tweeted this with the hashtag #sheeshmahalbadla”, Navika indicated that this was vindictive action against Times Now journalist because they recently did a story exposing how Arvind Kejriwal spend Rs 45 crores of the taxpayers money in construction a palatial house for himself.
Responding to this, BJP leader Tajinder Bagga tweeted, “last year on 6th may @PunjabPoliceInd kidnapped me on the instructions of @ArvindKejriwal. today on 5th may Punjab Police kidnapped @TimesNow woman reporter Bhavna Kishore for exposing Kejriwal Sheesh Mahal. Punjab Police failed to stop drugs in Punjab but dancing on instructions of Kejriwal”.
last year on 6th may @PunjabPoliceInd kidnapped me on the instructions of @ArvindKejriwal . today on 5th may Punjab Police kidnapped @TimesNow woman reporter Bhavna Kishore for exposing Kejriwal Sheesh Mahal. Punjab Police failed to stop drugs in Punjab but dancing on…
— Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) May 5, 2023
Arvind Kejriwal splurged ₹45 crores on his mansion
A recent investigation by Times Now Navbharat found that the official bungalow of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in Civil Lines was renovated at a cost of almost Rs 45 crore.
The report, termed “Operation Sheesh Mahal,” said that Rs 44.78 crore of taxpayer funds were utilised for the renovations, raising questions about the Aam Aadmi Party’s commitment to promoting austerity.
The channel obtained documents that indicate the curtains at Arvind Kejriwal’s residence were priced at around Rs 5-8 lakh per piece. According to the documents, 23 curtains were approved for installation at the residence of Delhi CM and AAP national convenor, with a total cost of Rs 97 lakhs.
Imported from Vietnam, the marble used for the renovation of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s residence cost around Rs 3 crores. The flooring was done using ‘Deor Pearl Marble’, known for its superior quality. Additionally, Rs 21,60,000 was spent on the chemical adhesive used to fix the marble.
The documents also reveal that a sum of Rs 40 lakhs was spent on installing six almirahs at the official residence of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
In 2013, Arvind Kejriwal stated that he and his AAP ministers would not occupy the government-provided bungalows and instead opt for smaller government flats. Ten years on, the lofty promises and claims made by him appear nothing but political grandstanding.
(This is a developing story. OpIndia will update this story when more information emerges)
Soon after Sadhu Magar – an autorickshaw driver in Pune – offered a free ride to those who go to watch the film ‘The Kerala Story’ Islamists in the country and abroad started issuing threats to him on phone calls and WhatsApp messages. Sadhu Magar was abused on WhatsApp messages from international numbers.
On 2nd May 2023, Sadhu Magar’s image with a banner on his autorickshaw declaring his offer of free services to those who go to watch the film ‘The Kerala Story’ went viral. Immediately after that, he started receiving phone calls congratulating him for the bold move. With the calls boosting his confidence, he also started receiving threatening calls from various Islamists from different parts of the country and abroad. He then listed those phone numbers, blocked them, and reached the Alandi police station where police officer Godse received his complaint. Even when in the police station, Sadhu Magar received two threat calls. As he was in the police station, he handed over the mobile phone to the officer who then listened to the abuse and confirmed that Sadhu Magar is indeed getting threats.
OpIndia spoke to Sadhu Magar to know more about this. He said, “Many people liked my decision to provide free services to people for going to watch the film that shows the reality of love jihad. Many people called me to praise me and congratulate me. As the phone number was displayed on my autorickshaw and the viral image, many people took cognizance of that and the news spread.”
He further said, “However, as I went on to receive calls from unknown numbers and unidentified callers who praised me, I also received some calls from unknown Islamists who seemed outraged at my decision. They abused me. Two days ago, there was an hour when my phone was continuously ringing and every call I received started with filthy abuse. One of them even said ‘You know what happened in Udaipur with that tailor? You will meet the fate of Kanhaiya Lal’. Then I took it very seriously and went to the Alandi police station and lodged a complaint. I submitted at least 15 different phone numbers to them. Some of the phone numbers are from different states in India. Other phone numbers are from other countries like Saudi Arabia. I have also received abusive WhatsApp messages from international phone numbers. The threateners did not tell their names but I could see Muslim names as True Caller application is active. Two such threat calls were received when I was in the police station. The police officer Godse received these calls and listened to the kind of threatening stuff I was receiving from the other end. He then took a detailed written complaint from me.”
Sadhu Magar added, “Till now I used to do the Dharma Karya alone, but when I went to the police station to lodge the complaint, some local youths from a Hindu organization voluntarily accompanied me, which was a very assuring thing. I felt that I am not alone, my friends are with me. Also, certain media has published my news in positive spirit, because I want people to watch good films based on social issues. It motivates me to do good.” The police visited Sadhu Magar’s residence in the afternoon and got more information from him about his work and social activities.
Sadhu Magar’s photograph went viral on social media on 2nd May 2023. In this photograph, he is standing near his autorickshaw on which he has flagged a banner that promises free autorickshaw services for people going to watch the film ‘The Kerala Story’. He has also mentioned on the banner that he will buy tickets for the first ten women who avail of his autorickshaw service to go to watch this film.
Sadhu Magar hails from the Akkalkot town of the Solapur district in Maharashtra. He earlier used to work as a worker in a company in Pune. But three years ago, he bought an autorickshaw and started his own transport business as he always wanted to proudly own a business however small. He operates his autorickshaw in the Alandi and Markal areas of Pune.
Sadhu Magar gives free services to Indian Army soldiers and officers anywhere in Pune city. He also carries pupils to school for free. Whenever he sees poor people who don’t have any money, he gets them to their destination without charging anything.
The crime empire of mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari has crumbled in the last few years but there was a time when he was one of the most dreaded names in the world of crime in Uttar Pradesh. His clout and terror were such that not only police officials but even District Magistrates and politicians feared him.
Political patronage under governments by the BSP and the SP emboldened Mukhtar at his peak. Mukhtar Ansari roamed around freely in open jeeps brandishing guns and weapons, but no one had the courage to stop him. For more than 15 years, he contested and even won elections from jail. This representative of people, booked under scores of cases of ransom, kidnapping, murders, etc., for all these years, has operated his crime syndicate with impunity from jail.
However, with BJP coming to power in the state in 2017 and Yogi Adityanath becoming the chief minister, the crackdown on Mukhtar Ansari intensified. The UP government was quick to bring in a new law aimed at dealing a blow to organised crime networks. Properties worth Rs 192 crore related to Mukhtar and his gang members were either demolished or attached.
Today the same mafia Mukhtar Ansari is lamenting in jail and is living his life in fear. Despite the fact that the court last month sentenced him to ten years in prison in the Krishnanand Rai murder case, there are still numerous cases against him awaiting judgement. The gangster had committed murders in the years 1978, 1986, 1988, 1990 and 1992. In this report, we have chronicled Mukhtar Ansari’s entire criminal record.
According to Uttar Pradesh’s Mau’s District Crime Records Bureau (DCRB), a case of criminal intimidation was initially filed against mafia Mukhtar Ansari in 1978 under Section 506 of the IPC. After then, the pace of his crimes rose to the point that he began spreading terror by executing high-profile kidnappings, extortion, land grabbing and murders. According to a copy of DCRB data obtained by OpIndia, IPC Section 302 (murder) is attached in numerous cases registered against Mukhtar Ansari.
According to the data, 59 cases have been filed against the mafia in the last 44 years. The most recent case was filed in 2022. Though it is yet to be investigated, it is alleged that Ansari and his associates made the original case diary of the 1991 Awadhesh Rai murder case disappear in connivance with the employees of the court. It was alleged that this was done in order to linger on the trial in the case.
Notably, the police allege that the likelihood of this charge being genuine is very high, owing to the fact that case diaries of pending cases against him have previously also gone missing from the police station or police records. In fact, information on three more cases against him has been missing from DCRB records also.
The information regarding the first DCRB case that is missing from the file relates to one brought against him in 1978. The only information provided in the DCRB record is that the complaint was filed in 1978 at Saidpur, Ghazipur. Nothing else about the case is included in it apart from this. It states, in place of any more specifics, “The details of the year 1978 are not available due to its non-availability in the NCR Jild police station.”
In the same vein, the records also lack information regarding a case from 1988. In Muhammadabad, Ghazipur, this case was filed in accordance with IPC section 504,506. If you search the DCRB records, you’ll see that it says, “The details of the year 1988 are not available due to non-availability of it in the NCR Jilda police station.”
The following missing information case is also New Delhi. Here, a case was filed in 1993 under Section 5 of TADA against Mukhtar. However, according to records, neither the KG Marg police station nor the police station nearby is privy to its details.
The ease with which Mukhtar Ansari was able to have his original case diaries disappear like in all three cases that were brought against him in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh is an indication of his prior political dominance and power.
For almost four decades, mafioso-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari used his political clout and stonewalled efforts to frame charges against him even though 50 FIRs were registered and charge sheets were filed against him by police in many cases during this period.
In his 44-year of criminal history, he has so far been exonerated in 18 cases. He was once accused of breaking the NSA Act, but the DM exonerated him in that case too. After that, he was cleared by the police in 8 other cases.
In addition to all this, records of four cases filed against him went missing from the police station. Three cases filed against him were withdrawn. 21 cases are still pending in court, out of which, the court hasn’t even accepted the charge sheet in 2 cases.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that Covid-19 pandemic is over as a global health emergency.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, made the announcement while addressing a media briefing on Covid-19 and global health issues. “It is therefore with great hope that I declare #Covid19 over as a global health emergency. However, that does not mean Covid-19 is over as a global health threat. Last week, Covid-19 claimed a life every three minutes – and that’s just the deaths we know about,” he said.
“As we speak, thousands of people around the world are fighting for their lives in intensive care units. And millions more continue to live with the debilitating effects of post-#Covid19 condition,” the Director General of WHO added.
The WHO had declared Covid-19 as a global emergency in January 2020.
“1221 days ago, WHO learned of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, China. On the 30th January 2020, on the advice of an Emergency Committee convened under the International Health Regulations, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of #Covid19 – the highest level of alarm under international law,” Tedros said.
“At that time, outside China there were fewer than 100 reported [#Covid19] cases, and no reported deaths. In the 3 years since then, Covid-19 has turned our world upside down. Almost 7 million deaths have been reported to WHO, but we know the toll is several times higher – at least 20 million,” he noted.
“What this news means is that it is time for countries to transition from emergency mode to managing #Covid19 alongside other infectious diseases,” he added.
(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 much-awaited trailer of Sudipto Sen’s film ‘The Kerala Story’ got released on 26th April 2023. The film is based on the true stories of Hindu and Christian girls in Kerala who were first trapped into love jihad by Islamists in Kerala and later sent to Iraq and Syria to become ISIS terrorists. The film was released on 5th May 2023 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam language.
‘The Kerala Story’ faced opposition even before the release
Even before its release, the film faced severe opposition from liberals and Islamists on social media and in the mainstream media. Most of them were seen in denial mode in which the very basis of the film premise was denied in the first place. It was first alleged that nobody joined ISIS from Kerala. When relevant cases and reports were cited, questions were raised about the numbers. The makers of the film have claimed that the number of victims of forced conversions was more than 32000. The liberals, on the other hand, cited multiple things to claim that it was in the few hundred as if a lesser number would make the crime of terror recruitment less severe.
While conversion is a serious issue in Kerala, as shown in this film, petitions were also raised in front of the apex court in which it was contended that the film shows the entire Muslim community in bad shades. The director however claims that what is shown in the film is a misuse of religion to foster the international terrorist organization operating in the name of Islam.
Need to get a reality check
Against this backdrop, it becomes necessary to take into account the reality check and see how deep-rooted this problem of forced conversion and ISIS recruitment is in God’s own country. It will not be an exaggeration to say that love jihad exists, in fact, it essentially started in Kerala only. There is ample evidence in the public domain to say that not only Hindu girls but Christian girls are also lured by Muslim youths at the behest of their religious preachers. They marry these girls and convert them to Islam only to send them to Middle Eastern countries like Iraq and Syria where they are used either as terrorists or as sex slaves. Besides, there is evidence to back the claimed number of victims as well.
The experiences and stories of the real-life victims of the story which has now turned into a movie are real and authentic enough to establish the fact that Kerala is facing a real challenge of forced Islamic conversions and love jihad that makes it a fertile recruitment base for the dreaded terrorist organization.
Kerala – the recruitment ground of ISIS
The ISIS involvement in Kerala was initially traced in 2013. As early as 2014, ISIS established roots in Kerala, with modules encouraging religious conversions and aiming to attract professionals to join its troops in Afghanistan and Syria. Plenty of Kerala men and women are said to have joined the ISKP (Islamic State of Khorasan Province) in recent years. The United Nations warned in its 2020 terrorism report that there are a substantial number of ISIS terrorists in the Indian state of Kerala.
The banned terrorist organization Popular Front of India (PFI) is by large responsible for making Kerala a hotbed of ISIS recruitments. The radicalization of Muslim youths and the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam was spearheaded by the PFI terrorists. This was also cited in a report filed by the National Investigation Agency in front of a court in Kochi in September 2022.
Four Kerala girls locked in the Afghanistan jail
Accordingly, there have been many conversions in Kerala right from 2008-2009. The converted girls and their Muslim husbands were sent to ISIS. It was only in 2016 that the horrific stories of the girls came to the fore when they were first arrested and then investigated in Afghanistan. One of the most discussed cases of love jihad was that of the four girls who were in the 21-member group that joined ISIS in 2016 along with their husbands.
The four girls were identified as Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha, Merrin Jacob alias Mariyam, Nimisha alias Fathima Isa and Raffaela. Nimisha was the only Hindu girl among these four girls. The other three were Christian. These four girls were trapped and lured to become Muslims. They left India in 2016 to join the ISKP (Islamic State of Khorasan Province) – the Khorasan edition of ISIS – in Afghanistan along with a group of 21 men and women from Kerala. They were first taken to Iran and then they crossed over to Afghanistan on foot from Iran.
Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha is from Kasargod in Kerala. She left India on May 31, 2016, with her husband, Abdul Rashid Abdulla, from Mumbai airport. The couple held secret classes supporting IS and jihad during the last part of Ramzan in Padanna and Kasaragod. Sebastian is an engineering graduate.
Merrin Jacob alias Mariyam, was married to Bestin Vincent, a resident of Palakkad. The couple escaped to Afghanistan in 2016 to live in the IS-controlled territory. The Christian couple converted to Islam, and Vincent assumed the identity of Yahya. Vincent was later killed in Afghanistan.
Similarly, Vincent’s brother Bexon and his wife, Nimisha alias Fatima, also converted to Islam and escaped to Afghanistan with them. Raffaela was married to a 37-year-old physician Ijas Kallukettiya Purayil a physician from Kasargod.
Merrin Jacob Pallath became Mariyam
At the age of 22, Merrin Jacob Pallath used to work at the IBM company in Mumbai. During her stay in Mumbai, she reconnected with a friend from her high school days – Bestin Vincent. This Bestin Vincent had converted to Islam and become Yahya. Bexin Vincent who was the brother of this Bestin Vincent also converted to Islam and became Esa. Arshi Qureshi, a manager at the Islamic Research Foundation in Mumbai allegedly radicalized these two youths. The National Investigation Agency has documented this case with such details.
The organisation was founded by Zakir Naik, a fugitive controversial Islamic preacher who now lives in Malaysia and is banned since 2016 over concerns about the radicalisation of youths. According to a report, Merrin Jacob’s mother said, “My daughter and the others who went to Afghanistan were brainwashed into joining the group. They were misled with the promise of paradise for Muslims. Bestin visited her in Bombay and gave her a Quran. He told her she should be reading this and unlearn whatever she has been taught and to follow Islam. Merrin was always a very loving and religious child. We would go to church together. We did everything together.”
Merrin Jacob’s friend Nimisha became Fatima
A few months after meeting Yahiya, Mariyam resigned from the job she held, relocated to Ernakulam, converted to Islam, and got married to Yahiya. Around the same period, her friend Nimisha converted to Islam, changed her name to Fatima, and married Esa. Recalling the last meeting with her daughter, Nimisha’s mother Bindu Sampath said, “Nimisha came to our house on April 16 [2016] and told us they were going to Sri Lanka to pursue a carpet business with the money Bexin’s father gave them. She was dressed in a burqa and was seven months pregnant.” When Nimisha stopped sending her mother after two weeks, she became suspicious that something was terribly wrong. She said, “On May 8, I tried to report to the police that my daughter may be in danger but they dismissed my concern.”
When Nimisha’s mother visited, Yahya and Esa’s parents informed her that their children were in Afghanistan – they had been receiving text messages from their sons. The parents were stunned to see their children’s faces among 21 members of an ISIS terrorist gang on the news the same evening.
It is notable that Nimisha’s brother is serving in the armed forces. Her mother Bindu Sampath said, “I knew that day, I had to put away my emotions and start the struggle to bring my daughter back. My other child is in the army and I used to be known as the mother of an Indian major; now I’m known as the mother of an ISIS terrorist. You can imagine how I must feel.”
Sonia Sebastian converted to Islam and became Ayisha
Abdul Rashid enticed Sonia Sebastian, who converted her to Ayisha. The pair was also among the first group of 21 people to leave Kerala and join ISIS in May 2016. According to the NIA probe, Abdul Rashid was a significant figure in the radicalization and recruitment of group members in Kerala. Abdul Rashid used to teach ISIS candidates in Kasargod. He spoke about jihad and ISIS ideas. These members were given videos advocating ISIS ideology and brutality. Rashid had used the dark web to speak with ISIS fighters in Syria, where he wanted to join.
Mariyam was married to this Abdul Rashid who was previously married to Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha after Bestin Vincent alias Yahya was slain in an ISIS terrorist assignment. When Abdul Rashid was killed, all of the women, children, and other men in the group surrendered and were taken into custody by Afghan authorities in 2019. The fact that Sonia Sebastian married to Abdul Rashid in 2011 and converted to Islam screams aloud that the conversion racket in Kerala was very active well before that.
Modus operandi to take the victims to ISIS
After conversion, these Muslims were fed jihadi content through text, audio, and video medium. Besides, local preachers would take responsibility to clarify various concepts to them. They were told that India is a land of Kafirs and it is the duty of every Muslim to be a part of the force fighting to establish a Caliphate. They were promised paradise with all its added perks in case they die in some terrorist act. They were also told that there is an Islamic rule in Khorasan – a rough description of parts of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan put together. They were told that there is a rule of Sharia and that they can lead a better life there instead of living in a country of Kafirs.
Confusion continues
Even after their arrest in 2019, these women seemed unclear when it came to their views on Islamist ideology and ISIS. All they expressed was a sentiment of regret and grief for the betrayal they received in the name of the Caliphate and Sharia rule. They said that they had an idea that there will be some violence, but never expected it to be this lethal. Even after losing their husbands and companions – some died and some went missing – none of the women was heard saying that they erred in leaving their faith and converting to Islam in the first place which was followed by another grave mistake of becoming a terrorist and enemy of the state and the humanity. The detailed accounts of their testimony are included in a documentary made by StarNews Global in 2019.
While Mariyam had a total regret for her decision of coming to Afghanistan, she did not regret conversion. Fatima who was Nimisha before the conversion left it to Allah’s wish when asked about her future and said that she cannot question his decree. Sonia Sebastian also indirectly backed her decision by saying that she just followed her husband which she thought was in her best interests. Sonia Sebastian is an engineer. When asked about her brainless decisions and what she would advise the aspirants, all she said was what was promised was not there. She did not vocally condemn the whole scheme of things she went through. Similarly, Raffaela also looked under the influence of Islamist terror as she did not vocally call out the wrongs committed by the group. Even while criticising the acts taken up by the Khorasan unit of ISIS, these women were shying away from calling it wrong.
However, one thing was common to all of them. They wanted to come to India. They said that they belonged to this country – the same country that they earlier called the land of Kafirs. According to the NIA investigations, these brainwashed ISIS terrorists are never safe to keep in society as they might secretly continue to believe the ideology they are spoonfed. Considering this threat, the Indian government has resolved not to allow them to return to the country despite repeated applications and pleadings by the ISIS operatives and their parents and family members. For all practical purposes, what these women from Kerala have received in pursuit of their altered – rather programmed – fanatic religious belief is nothing but a tragic illusion of the Islamic State.
A day after Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar promised that the grand old party will construct Lord Hanuman temples in the State if voted to power, Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday hit out at the former saying that he should first consider the “promise” to his own party as she has seen Mrs Vadra offering Namaz during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Union Minister Irani further said that the Congress leader should not make such promises in the State as his party is not winning the May 10 Assembly elections. “I’d like to humbly tell DK Shivakumar that he is not going to become the CM, so it is better if he does not make the false promise of a temple,” the Union Minister told ANI.
Pointing to Shivakumar’s promise of constructing Lord Hanuman temples, She said, “Before saying this, did he [Shivakumar] check with Mrs Vadra? [Priyanka Gandhi Vadra] I say this because, during the 2019 Lok Sabha election in Amethi, I saw Mrs Vadra offering namaz on the street.”
“We all know that those who believe in Islam can’t do idol worshipping or build temples. So, if his leader is against idol worshipping & temple, can DK Shivakunar make such a promise?” Irani added.
#WATCH | "I want to tell DK Shivakumar that he is not going to become the CM, so it is better if he does not make the temple promise," says Union Minister Smriti Irani pic.twitter.com/tXE3uyMpYb
DK Shivakumar on Thursday during his visit to Mysuru promised to either build more Lord Hanuman temples or renovate the existing ones all over the state.
The poll promise could be seen as Congress’ efforts to control the damage, it has caused in the poll-bound State by bringing a poll manifesto, wherein the party bracketed the outlawed Popular Front of India (PFI) and Bajrang Dal together and stated it would ban the organisations once it is voted to power.
Notably, this has triggered outrage against the party, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who on Tuesday said that this “decisive” decision by the party was an attempt to lock up those who worship Lord Hanuman.
Karnataka will go to Assembly polls on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13.
Aman Vashishth, a former teacher of English at Unacademy, issued an apology on Friday for using derogatory language for Lord Rama and demeaning the ancient Hindu scripture of Ramayana. Vashishth said that he cannot take the words back and does not intend to justify his act, and that he regrets now for making those comments.
“I have been taking anti-depressant for past two years and have recently started teaching again. I have suffered a lot due to whatever I said back then and though I cannot take those words back, I truly feel bad for whatever I said. I shouldn’t have said all that,” he said.
— AMAN VASHISHTH SIR (@amanvashishtsir) May 5, 2023
Vashishth also added that he had stopped teaching for two years and have apologised for several times. “Those comments were over some video and I regret to have said all that,” he added issuing apology over the five year old video. Notably, Jaipur police had already taken action against Vashishth at that point of time.
This is after one of his old videos went viral over the social media in which he could be seen making fun of King Dashrath and his wives. “King Dashrath was upset as he was unable to have kids. Later he approached to Guru Vashishth who performed a havan and offered kheer to wives of King Dashrath. The three wives then announced their pregnancies but then none of their children’s faces matched with King Dashrath,” he said mocking the episode of Ramayana.
Later he added that nobody in the entire Ramayana was ever happy and that “Lord Rama had also lost his only source of entertainment and time pass- Goddess Sita, after she was abducted by Ravana”.
Reportedly, Vashishth said this during one of his lectures and the students could be seen laughing loudly over his comments. However, the teacher who has joined ‘Careerwill App’ coaching now as per one of the Twitter users identified as ‘The Random Indian’, has issued apology and has sought relief from the viral claims.
Interestingly, Aman Vashishth also has his own English teaching mobile application named AVS which stands for ‘Aman Vashishth Sir’. The app was last updated in the year 2022.
On 5 May 2023, Friday, Vinod Kapri had a rude awakening to the scourge of ‘liberalism’ and ‘Islamism’ he routinely defends in his bid to undermine the BJP government at the centre. A bevvy of Islamists and leftists descended on Kapri’s Twitter page, attacking him for what they considered an unpardonable mistake of questioning their pied piper, Rana Ayyub.
Kapri had posted a mildly critical tweet questioning Rana Ayyub for whitewashing the criminal history of slain mafia Atiq Ahmed and presenting him as a martyred ‘lawmaker’ in her speech at UNESCO. His tweet also included a snippet of Ayyub’s hyperventilation at the UNESCO panel event, where she glorified Atiq Ahmed as a ‘lawmaker’ who was killed while being in custody earlier last month.
“Questions should be raised over Atiq Ahmed’s killing. Questions should also be raised on the rule of law in UP, but When you call someone who has lived like a mafia and a goon all his life a LAWMAKER, you lose your credibility,” a loose translation of what Kapri tweeted in Hindi.
But no sooner did Kapri question Rana Ayyub over her remarks at the UNESCO panel, than a raft of Islamists swooped down in his mentions, attacking him and justifying the donation fraud accused’s description of a mafia who had over 100 cases registered against him.
Mohammad Anas, a former Research Associate at the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and followed by the likes of Ravish Kumar and Islamist Sharjeel Usmani, lambasted Kapri asking him what he would call a former MP and 5-times MLA, in an apparent reference to Atiq Ahmed.
Another Islamist masquerading as a journalist responded to Kapri’s tweet, citing random incidents such as the Babri demolition to defend Rana Ayyub’s eulogy for a mafia don.
Another Twitter user insinuated that Atiq was not a mafia but a victim of the media propaganda.
Yet another Twitter user tried to insult Kapri by referring to him as an ‘idol worshipper’—a term used as a pejorative by Islamists to describe Hindus—and held that Atiq Ahmed was hailed as a hero for billions across the globe.
A Twitter user quoted Kapri’s tweet alleging that he and his wife, Sakshi Joshi, harbour pathological hatred toward Muslims.
Islamist Md Asif Khan was also among those who attacked Kapri for questioning Rana Ayyub over her speech at UNESCO.
Alishan Jafri, a journalist who has contributed to propaganda outlets like The Wire, Al Jazeera, and many more, bloviated that since the media describes many parliamentarians in the country with criminal backgrounds as legislators, Atiq Ahmed, who was allegedly involved in over 100 criminal cases, including the murders of Raju Pal and Umesh Pal, could be described as a lawmaker.
The entire episode, nevertheless, reflects the inflexibility and intolerance of the Islamoleftist apparatus, where dissent, especially from a Hindu comrade, regardless of his past loyalty to the Islamist narrative, attracts a fierce pushback from minions as well as the Left ideologues, with labels of ‘idol worshipper’ being pejoratively thrown around to insult and discredit their genuine concerns. It reveals that no amount of loyalty would protect one from attack if one tries to be maverick and level-headed, even if occasionally, and draws attention toward the farce of whitewashing the crimes of a criminal and lionising him as a legislator.
Ironically, those losing their sleep over Kapri’s questions to Rana Ayyub for describing Atiq Ahmed, a dreaded mafia don, as a lawmaker cannot bring themselves to come to terms with the reality that politicians they viscerally hate like Sadhavi Pragya Thakur, Narendra Modi, Yogi Adityanath, or Amit Shah, have all been democratically elected to the position they currently hold.
While they drone on how Atiq Ahmed was an elected MLA and MP, the same yardstick doesn’t apply to politicians they oppose, using their election to attack the political parties they pathologically hate instead of being graceful and receptive to the public mandate.
Atiq Ahmed: Gangster-turned-politician with more than 100 FIRs against him
Nevertheless, Atiq Ahmed was no hero that Rana Ayyub and her minions painted him to be. 102 cases were filed against Atiq Ahmed, including those of threats, murder attempts, and kidnapping. The gangster act was brought against him a total of three times. Even while incarcerated in different jails in Uttar Pradesh, he held meetings and ran his criminal empire. The initial complaint was filed against him in 1979. A total of 54 cases have been heard so far at UP police stations.
Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were shot dead while being taken for medical in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, last month. Before his death, his son Asad Ahmed and his aide Ghulam were also shot dead in retaliatory firing by Uttar Pradesh Police.
