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108 South Korean saints start Dhamma Yatra from Sarnath

OpIndia Staff
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108 South Korean saints start Dhamma Yatra from Sarnath

On February 11, a group of 108 Buddhist saints from South Korea started Dhamma Yatra (walking pilgrimage) from Sarnath. They will cover 1,100 Kilometres in the next 43 days to trace the footsteps of Lord Buddha in India. The journey will finish at Shravasti, and the group will also travel through Nepal. This Yatra also marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between India and South Korea.

The event aims to strengthen further the mutual cooperation and friendship between the two nations. The group of saints will travel through various Buddhist holy sites, including Lumbini, Nepal, known as the birth Place of Lord Buddha, to Kushinagar, the place of Mahaparinirvana.

The Saints started their journey with a prayer at the Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath. It is believed that Lord Buddha preached his first sermons at this place. The Tourism Department of Uttar Pradesh gave a grand welcome to the Saints with 108-meter Dhammadhvaja. Ayush Minister of UP, Dayashankar Mishra, ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India, Chang Jae-bok and others attended the function.

At the event, Mishra said that Lord Buddha started his Dhamma Yatra from Sarnath by giving the first sermons and turning Dharma Chakra. He said, “I congratulate you for starting your 43-day pilgrimage from this holy place.”

Mishra added that this Yatra would strengthen the relationship between India and South Korea. Citing history, he said that the origin of Buddhist Jogye Sangha of Korea finds its roots in India. The Buddhist teacher Bodhidharma took Buddha’s Dhamma to China. His disciple Huineng took the tradition of meditation Seon to Korea. He said, “Shravasti, the origin of your meditation tradition Seon, is where your journey is coming to an end. In this sense, you have not come abroad but to the home of your spiritual ancestors.”

Chang Jae-bok said that 2023 is essential for the bilateral relations between South Korea and India. “This occasion coincides with India’s G20 Presidency, and South Korea is committed to India’s success at G20,” he added. He further remarked that the motto of India’s G20 presidency, ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future,’ is similar to the teachings of Lord Buddha.

The Saints will visit Bodhgaya in Bihar after Sarnath. Later, they will cover Nalanda, Rajgir, Griddhakuta mountain, and Vaishali in Bihar and move to Lumbini in Nepal. They will re-enter Uttar Pradesh via Kushinagar and complete the Yatra in Shravasti after visiting Kapilvastu.

PIL filed in Supreme Court seeking formation of Renaming Commission to identify ancient, historical, religious places named after foreign invaders

OpIndia Staff
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PIL filed in Supreme Court seeking formation of Renaming Commission to identify ancient, historical, religious places named after foreign invaders

Days after the Mughal Garden in New Delhi was renamed as Amrit Udyan, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in Supreme Court seeking directions to the Central government to constitute a ‘Renaming Commission’ to find out and restore the original names of ancient historical, cultural and religious places which were changed by foreign invaders.

The PIL was filed by Supreme Court lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, who asked the Supreme Court to issue an appropriate directive to the Home Ministry to form a “Renaming Commission” to determine the original names of “ancient historical cultural religious places” in order to protect the sovereignty and secure the “Right to Dignity, Right to Religion, and Right to Culture” guaranteed by Articles 21, 25, and 29 of the Indian Constitution.

According to the PIL, while the Mughal Garden in Rashtrapati Bhawan was recently renamed as Amrit Udyan, the government has not renamed a large number of roads named after invaders. It states several examples like Babur Road, Humayun Road, Akbar Road, Jahangir Road, Shahjahan Road, Bahadur Shah Road, Sher Shah Road, Aurangzeb Road, Tughlak Road, Safdarjung Road, Najaf Khan Road, Jauhar Road, Lodhi Road, Chelmsford Road and Hailey Road etc. The petition points out that houses of Cabinet Ministers, Parliamentarians and the Hon’ble Judges are located on these roads.

“Invaders not only renamed the general places but also changed the names of ancient historical cultural religious places, and their continuation after 75 years of Independence is against sovereignty, right to dignity, right to religion and right to culture guaranteed under Articles 21, 25 and 29,” the PIL states. It says that we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of independence but there are many ancient historical cultural religious places in the name of brutal foreign invaders, their servants, and family members.

The PIL also seeks that apart from directing the home ministry, the court can also direct the Archaeological Survey of India to research and publish the initial names of ancient historical cultural religious places.

‘Not one road named after Pandavas but many after foreign invaders’

Citing names of the prominent persons of the Mahabharat era, the PIL states that “injury to the citizens is extremely large” as Pandavas who converted a deserted land of Khandavprastha into Indraprastha do not have a single road, municipal ward, Assembly Constituency named after Lord Krishna, Balram, the five Pandavas, Draupadi, Kunti, and Abhimanyu. But many such places have been named after barbaric foreign invaders. The PIL contended that this infringes the rights to dignity, religion, and culture protected by Articles 21, 25, and 29 of the Indian Constitution in addition to being against Indian sovereignty.

Places that were renamed

The petitioner has also listed several names of places that were renamed by invaders such as “Ajatshatru Nagar was named after the barbaric “Begu” and called ‘Begusarai’. The ancient city ‘Nalanda Vihar’ was named after Conversion Missionary ‘Sharifuddin Ahmed’ and called ‘Bihar Sharif’. The cultural city ‘Dwar Banga’ was named after the cruel ‘Darbhang Khan’ and called ‘Darbhanga’. The religious city ‘Haripur’ was named after the vicious ‘Haji Shamsuddin Shah’ and called ‘Hajipur’. ‘Singhjani’ was named after conversion missionary ‘Jamal Baba’ and called ‘Jamalpur’. The Vedic city of ‘Videhpur’ was named after the barbarous Muzaffar Khan and called ‘Muzaffarpur’. Likewise, the historical city ‘Karnawati’ was named after Ahmad Shah and called ‘Ahmedabad.”

In addition to this, the petition also mentions the original and altered names of the five villages that Lord Krishna proposed the Kauravas to grant to Pandavas to avert the war. Indraprastha was renamed as Delhi, Swarnprastha as Sonipat, Panprastha as Panipat, Vyaghrprastha as Baghpat, and Tilprastha as Faridabad. The Hindu temples of  Tilprastha were destroyed by Sheikh Farid and several Hindus were converted to Islam as mentioned in the Jahangir Nama, however, the government did not rename Faridabad as Tilprastha.

In order to secure the “Right to Know” guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution, the petitioner has urged the court to order the Archaeological Survey of India to research and publish the original names of ancient historical-cultural religious sites that were changed by barbaric foreign invaders.

Taking to Twitter Advocated Ashwini Upadhyay informed about the PIL he has filed and wrote, “PIL in Supreme Court to constitute a ‘Renaming Commission’ to find out original names of Ancient Historical Cultural Religious Places named after Barbaric Foreign Invaders in order to maintain ‘Sovereignty’ and to secure Right to Dignity, Right to Religion & Right to Culture.”

2014 was Ambani (Sr) and Adani, 2019 was Ambani (Jr), opposition’s campaign in 2024 is going to be focused on Adani, will this strategy finally work?

Amit Kelkar
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2014 was Ambani (Sr) and Adani, 2019 was Ambani (Jr), opposition’s campaign in 2024 is going to be focused on Adani, will this strategy finally work?

In January 2023, New York City-based short-seller Hindenburg Research published a report on the Adani Group, revealing their short position on the group’s stocks while raising concerns about the debt position and the accounting practices followed by the group. The report led to a lot of volatility in the group stocks and eventually led to Gautam Adani canceling the group’s FPO (Follow on Public Offer).

The Hindenburg report instantly led to a concerted attack on Narendra Modi-led NDA government from the Indian opposition parties. The Indian opposition alleged that Narendra Modi has close ties with the Adani Group’s Gautam Adani and that the government is giving undue favors to him. With this attack, the opposition also shared what is likely to be the main line of their attack in a bid to defeat Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

If the opposition’s line of attack seems eerily familiar, that is because it is. We have seen these similar attacks with similar names before, during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections (even before Modi became the PM), and during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and looks like 2024 will complete the trilogy.

2014 and the “If Modi becomes PM, Adani-Ambani will run the country” campaign

Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the newly formed Aam Aadmi Party and its leader Arvind Kejriwal spent months trying to scare voters with the names of Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. Riding high on the party’s success in their first election for Delhi assembly, Arvind Kejriwal appeared on every news channel to tell the voters that if Modi becomes PM, the country will be run by Ambani and Adani.

All sorts of allegations were leveled against Narendra Modi by Arvind Kejriwal, including calling Modi a property dealer for the industrialists. Kejriwal also tried to scare people by telling them that gas prices will quadruple if Modi becomes PM, as he will have to hike these prices to benefit Mukesh Ambani. Incidentally, that 400% increase is yet to materialize to this date.

Who can forget Arvind Kejriwal dramatically “breaking open a safe” in a rally and taking out some documents and claiming that those documents contained details of Ambani’s black money. As one can guess, we never saw those documents again after the campaign got over.

All the campaigning against Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, and attempts to scare people with ‘evil billionaires’ worked as well as one expected. Aam Aadmi Party, which was supposedly at the peak of its popularity in 2014, ended up with 4 seats in total and lost deposits on 413 seats, 96% of the seats they contested. Even though the ploy by Arvind Kejriwal failed spectacularly, it seemed to inspire the Congress party and its scion Rahul Gandhi, and he decided this failed strategy is the way to go.

2019 Lok Sabha elections- The Anil Ambani-Rafale election

In 2016, India signed a deal to procure 36 much-needed Rafale fighter jets of around 58,000 crores. As part of the deal, Dassault (the company manufacturing Rafale) had an offset obligation of around 50% of the deal value. So 50% of the deal value had to be reinvested in India, and Dassault partnered with around 70 different Indian companies to execute that. One of those firms they partnered with, was Anil Ambani’s Joint Venture, which signed a deal of around 900 crores with Dassault. You can read all the facts about the deal here.

The deal, and the mention of the name Ambani, were enough for the Indian opposition to make all sorts of false claims ahead of the 2019 elections. The entire campaign of the opposition was centered around these allegations. Rahul Gandhi, the perennial PM candidate of the opposition, claimed that Modi is giving thousands and thousands of crores to Anil Ambani through this deal.

In some speeches, the allegations claimed that Anil Ambani was getting an amount that was double the actual deal value with Dassault. Along with making up imaginary numbers, the opposition also tried to conjure up an imaginary scenario where Anil Ambani was making Rafale jets.

Anil Ambani, who was once among the 10 wealthiest persons in the world, had become bankrupt by 2019, with his brother Mukesh Ambani’s financial help keeping him out of legal troubles. Therefore, while most voters wondered how can Modi be helping an industrialist if he is going bankrupt during his tenure, the opposition kept repeating its lies in the hope of convincing enough voters to move away from Narendra Modi.

Expectedly, this strategy of saying that Modi is personally providing benefits to an Ambani failed for the second time. This time, voters gave an even bigger majority to Narendra Modi-led NDA as they returned to power in style. And expectedly, the opposition forgot about Anil Ambani and Rafale deal the moment they saw in May 2019 that nobody is buying their lies.

2024- Adani returns while Ambanis go missing

Now, with the attack on Gautam Adani and his alleged links with Narendra Modi, the opposition’s election campaign for 2024 has officially begun. Ahead of 2019, Gautam Adani was largely ignored by the opposition as they focused on Anil Ambani. However, looks like Adani is back in focus for 2024.

Adani’s stocks have seen a superb rally in the last 3-4 years on the stock market, pushing him among the richest people in the world, and even second in the world at one time, behind Elon Musk. This rapid rise in wealth, due to the stock price movement, has convinced the opposition that he is the man to target if they want to defeat PM Modi in 2024.

While Adani is signing contracts all over opposition-ruled states, including Kerala, Rajasthan, and Bengal, the opposition is alleging that Adani’s net worth soared only because of the contracts given to him by PM Narendra Modi, the contracts he got after winning open tenders.

Meanwhile, Anil Ambani must be feeling totally ignored this time. While his elder brother Mukesh may appear here and there in the opposition’s campaign, even the Indian opposition must have realized that saying PM Modi personally helps an industrialist who has gone bankrupt is unlikely to get them results.

This strategy of repeating everywhere that Modi works for billionaires has failed twice already, in 2014 and in 2019, will it be the third time lucky for the Indian opposition, we wait and see.

Altaf Bukhalri of Apni Party says his party won’t allow “non-locals” to settle in Jammu & Kashmir

OpIndia Staff
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Altaf Bukhalri of Apni Party says his party won’t allow “non-locals” to settle in Jammu & Kashmir

On February 11, the president of the Apni Party, Altaf Bukhari, said his party would not allow non-locals to settle in Jammu and Kashmir. He also criticised the ongoing anti-encroachment drive by the administration to take control of the government land.

He claimed his party would reverse all the “anti-people” decisions made by the administration once his party came to power. “The administration has no right to displace people from their land. If we form the next government, we will reverse anti-people decisions of the administration like stopping the darbar move practice and anti-encroachment drives,” he added.

Speaking at a function organised to welcome PDP leader from Samba Sanny Sangral to join Apni Party at its Gandhi Nagar headquarters, the former minister said, “We will not allow the non-locals to settle in Jammu and Kashmir. The land in J&K belongs to the people of the erstwhile state.” He further said, “It does not matter how much security they provide to them [non-locals]. No non-locals can live on our land. This land belongs to us. The people of Jammu and Kashmir own this land. If they think they can bring people to settle here on the cleared land, we will not sit idle. We will fight for the land and not allow any non-local to settle here.”

Giving an example of Delhi, he added the administration had no other option but to regularise the unauthorised colonies. He said, “Even the government in Delhi has regularised such colonies from time to time, but it seems they do not understand the issues of the poor people.”

Bukhari blamed Bharatiya Janata Party for delaying the elections in the Union Territory.

10,800 kms, 10 public meetings, 90 hours: How PM Modi’s schedule looks like

OpIndia Staff
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10,800 kms, 10 public meetings, 90 hours: How PM Modi’s schedule looks like

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be covering over 10800 km and participating in 10 public meetings between February 10 and February 13, reported The Times of India.

On Friday (February 10), the 72 year old PM travelled to Lucknow from the National Capital and attended the inauguration of the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit. He then flew to Mumbai, flagged off the Mumbai-Solapur and Mumbai- Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Express trains from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

PM Modi also inaugurated the Vakola-Kurla and MTNL-LBS elevated corridor arms on Santacruz-Chembur Link Road and 2 vehicular underpasses at Kurar and Malad. It must be mentioned that Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections are scheduled to be held later this year.

The Indian Prime Minister also inaugurated the new campus of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah, an educational institute of the Dawoodi Bohra community, in Marol in Mumbai. Thereafter he flew back to Delhi and covered 2700 km in this process.

On Saturday (February 11), PM Modi headed to the poll-bound Northeastern State of Tripura and addressed two public meetings in Radhakishorepur and Ambassa. He covered 3000 km on that day.

On Sunday (February 12), the Indian Prime Minister will kick off year-long celebrations for the 200th birth anniversary of Dayanand Saraswati at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in the National Capital.

He will then head out to Dausa in Rajasthan and lay the foundation stone of road projects worth more than ₹18100 crores. He will also inaugurate the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (first completed section) of the Sohna-Dausa stretch.

Later in the day, PM Modi will reach Bengaluru and thus cover 1750 km in this process. On Monday (February 13), he will inaugurate Aero India 2023 in the city and then address a public rally in Tripura’s capital city, Agartala. He will then head back to Delhi and cover 3350 km on the day.

Thus, PM Modi will cover 10 public meetings, launch development initiatives and travel over 10800 km within just 90 hours.

‘3 pilots of Taliban Air Force graduated, ready for mission’, picture goes viral, triggers memes and jokes, here is what we know

OpIndia Staff
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‘3 pilots of Taliban Air Force graduated, ready for mission’, picture goes viral, triggers memes and jokes, here is what we know

A photograph of three men holding ‘pilot licence’ with a picture of helicopter embossed on certificate has gone viral on social media. The three bare-footed men wearing traditional Afghani attire can be seen holding certificates in their hands while sitting in an office. The photograph surfaced on February 7, when a journalist from Afghanistan, Kabul Khan, shared it on Twitter. He wrote, “Congratulation and good luck to Surgol, Torkhan and Hefzahullah, three pilots of the Taliban Air Force who graduated from a training course. They look great and ready for the Mission.”

Kabul Khan, a journalist from Afghanistan, congratulated the ‘pilots’. Source: Twitter

He added, “No question they look like a Soldier and ready for the Mission.”

The photograph was also shared by Haroon Mobarez, General of the Ministry of Interior Commander of the 8th Brigade. He wrote, “The newly graduated Taliban pilots from a training centre. Their documents show that they have become pilots in the operational helicopter section. If, God forbid, when they fly, they will shoot from above any living thing they see on the ground.” (The tweet was translated from Persian to English using Google Translate.)

Haroon said they were granted certificate in ‘operational helicopter section’. Source: Twitter

The same image was also shared by journalist Asaad Sam Handa.

The photograph started a meme fest on the social media platform. Saffron Sripathi questioned if they will “fly” the plane or “blow” the plane.

Twitter user MMAARRIIAA99999 called it “Non-stop flight to Jannat”.

Twitter user Calm_Shadow hoped they do not fly over India and questioned if they could “land”.

OpIndia could not independently verify the authenticity of the claims and the photograph. As of now, there are no reports of ‘pilot licence’ certificate handed out by the Taliban in Afghanistan. OpIndia tried Google reverse image search but could not find anything concrete regarding the same. Further, if the image is indeed true, no details about their training or ‘mission’ is available let.

Turkey: 48 people arrested for looting after earthquake

ANI
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Turkey: 48 people arrested for looting after earthquake

Turkish authorities on Saturday arrested 48 people for looting after a powerful earthquake hit Turkey, reported state media. 
The suspects were held in eight different provinces as part of investigations into looting after Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the region, news agency Anadolu said. The tremor and its aftershocks killed more than 25,000 people in Turkey and Syria. 

Prosecutors can now detain people for an extra three days from four days previously for looting crimes as part of extended powers under the state of emergency, according to a decree published in the official gazette. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier vowed Turkey would crack down on looters. 

“We’ve announced a state of emergency,” he said during a visit to the quake-affected province of Diyarbakir. 

“This means that, from now on, people involved in looting or kidnapping should know that the state’s firm hand is on their backs,” Erdogan said. 

Erdogan on Tuesday had announced a three-month state of emergency in the 10 provinces in southeastern Turkey impacted by the tremor. 

Meanwhile, the death toll from the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria earlier this week surpassed 25,000 on Saturday, reported CNN. 

In Turkey, the number of people killed has risen to 21,848, according to Turkish President. 

Speaking in the southeastern city of Sanliurfa on Saturday, Erdogan added that 80,104 people had been injured. 

In Syria, the total number of deaths stands at 3,553, including 2,166 in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the White Helmets civil defense group. 

There have been 1,387 deaths in government-controlled parts of Syria, according to Syrian state media. 

The total number of injured people in Syria across all affected territories stands at 5,273, with 2,326 in government-controlled areas and 2,950 in the rebel-held areas, reported CNN. 

Notably, Germany has also suspended rescue and relief work at the site of a deadly earthquake in Turkey due to security concerns, following a similar move by Austria earlier Saturday, reported CNN. 

The German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) stopped its rescue operations due to a change in the security situation in the Hatay region, the organization said in a statement Saturday. 

It had been operating with International Search and Rescue (ISAR) Germany, in coordination with Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD). 

“In the last few hours, the security situation in the Hatay region has apparently changed. There are increasing reports of clashes between different groups. The search and rescue teams of ISAR Germany and THW will therefore remain in the joint base camp for the time being. ISAR and THW will resume their work as soon as AFAD deems the situation to be safe,” read the statement. 

The Austrian Army also cited security risks in suspending its operations, reported CNN. 

The Austrian Army has suspended rescue operations in Turkey due to an “increasingly difficult security situation,” according to the Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU). 

“The expected success of saving a life bears no reasonable relation to the security risk. There is increasing aggression between groups in Turkey,” Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Kugelweis of the AFDRU said in a statement Saturday. 

“There was no attack on us Austrians. We’re all fine … The mood among the helpers is good, given the circumstances … We would like to help, but the circumstances are what they are,” Kugelweis continued. 

“We keep our rescue and recovery forces ready. We are ready for further operations,” Kugelweis added, stating that a scheduled return to Austria for Thursday remains in place. 

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

DDA to go ahead with the anti-encroachment drive in Mehrauli, AAP Govt in Delhi claims they will not allow it: Details

OpIndia Staff
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DDA to go ahead with the anti-encroachment drive in Mehrauli, AAP Govt in Delhi claims they will not allow it: Details

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) reported on Saturday that about 1,200 square metres of government land were reclaimed during an “anti-encroachment drive” in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park region on Friday. It said that the drive was carried out amid heavy police security.

The DDA, which continued demolitions in Delhi’s Mehrauli neighbourhood for the second day on Saturday as part of its anti-encroachment campaign, added that the drive will continue. Meanwhile, the AAP government in Delhi has taken advantage of the situation to engage in petty politics and criticise the BJP, which controls the urban body.

“During the demolition programme on 10.02.2023, approximately 1200 sq m of government/DDA land has been reclaimed from the encroachers so far, and the exercise is on to reclaim the rest of the encroached government land for its rightful use by all citizens as a park,” the urban body said.

The action was taken as part of a demolition drive that will continue till March 9, officials said on Friday.

The DDA is looking into several three-to-four-story constructions that have sprouted up illegally in the Mehrauli Archeological Park region. The landowner had reportedly been given prior notice regarding the demolition.

Responding to allegations that the demolition drive was carried out in defiance of Delhi High Court orders, the urban body clarified that it will continue its anti-encroachment drive in Mehrauli because the Delhi High Court did not mention stopping demolitions in “all the plots” in its status-quo order.

“Court has not mentioned all the plots, so will return tomorrow to continue the demolition of those houses,” DDA was quoted by news agency ANI. It was referring to the Delhi high court’s order to maintain the status quo on 400 jhuggis of a slum colony in the area, as verified by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).

The DDA launched the campaign on February 10 in collaboration with the Delhi Police to remove encroachment from the DDA’s land at Ladha Sarai hamlet, which is part of Mehrauli Archaeological Park.

This park is home to approximately 55 monuments that are protected by the ASI, Delhi’s state archaeological agency, and the DDA, according to a statement issued by the authority on Saturday.

Previously, a demolition order dated December 12, 2022, was plastered on the walls of the illegal structures in the area, along with markings that read, “encroachers to demolish all unauthorised construction from the land in question within 10 days.”

AAP Govt in Delhi plays petty politics over Mehrauli’s anti-encroachment drive

While the DDA continues its crackdown on illegal encroachments, the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has begun politicising the matter.

The AAP government stated on Saturday that it will not allow the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to carry out its anti-encroachment drive in Mehrauli. It accused the Bharatiya Janata Party, under which the DDA operates, of exacting vengeance on the people of Delhi for its defeat in the MCD elections.

AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak said, “Right from this morning, the BJP is busy destroying the entire area of Mehrauli. Many videos have come from Mehrauli where people are crying and begging in front of police and the BJP to stop this atrocity.”

“When our MLAs Naresh Yadav and Somnath Bharti tried to go and find a solution, they were put in jail, and our councillor Rekha was also detained,” he said.

Despite knowing that the DDA is taking action on unlawful encroachments, the AAP politician, in continuation to his theatrics, invoked the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and linked it to the BJP’s ‘atrocities.’ He accused it of “replicating” what the British did during colonial rule.

Pathak said during the revolt of 1857, those Indians who supported the revolutionaries, were hanged and their homes were demolished; today, the BJP is doing the same in Delhi. “Aam Aadmi Party opposes this, no matter what happens, we will not allow a single slum to be demolished,” Pathak, who is the party’s MCD in-charge, added.

Meanwhile, another AAP MLA Naresh Yadav called the drive an “injustice” to the people in the area.

Bangladesh: Hindu youth sentenced to 5 years in jail for ‘blasphemy’, rioters who burned down entire Hindu village for his Facebook post roam free

OpIndia Staff
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Bangladesh: Hindu youth sentenced to 5 years in jail for ‘blasphemy’, rioters who burned down entire Hindu village for his Facebook post roam free

A Hindu youth in Bangladesh has been sentenced to 5 years in jail by a court for alleged blasphemy. Paritosh Sarkar, accused of making blasphemous comments on Facebook, has also been fined 30,000 Taka by the Rangpur Cyber Tribunal. Sarkar was convicted under Digital Security Act by judge Abdul Majid Roy of the tribunal on Wednesday.

Paritosh Sarkar has been awarded a sentence of a total of 11 years in jail, as he has been awarded four sentences of one year, two years, three years and five years. However, the sentences will run concurrently, therefore he will need to stay in jail for 5 years. Prosecution Counsel Ruhul Amin Talukdar said that Paritosh has been convicted for hurting religious sentiments.

Poritosh was sentenced under section 31(1) of the Digital Security Act which criminalises the publication of anything that “creates enmity, hatred or hostility among different classes or communities of the society, or destroys communal harmony”.

Paritosh Sarkar had allegedly posted an image on Facebook in October 2021, which was deemed blasphemous by Muslims. Following the image posted on the social media platform was spotted by Islamists, his village was attacked by a mob, and the entire village was burned down on 17 October 2021. The incident took place in Bara Karimpur Hindu village of Ramnathpur union in Pirganj upazila of Rangpur district. The mob was mobilised by making announcements on the mosque loudspeakers.

Alleging that the Facebook post by Paritosh Sarkar insulted the religious feeling of Muslims, a large number of Islamists had arrived at his house at the village on 17 October 2021. However, the police arrived on time, and controlled the mob. While police were able to protect the house, the mob diverted their anger to the entire village, and launched a massive attack.

An entire fishing village of Hindus was burned down by Islamists, as over 60 houses of Hindus were torched in the attack. Before torching the houses, the Islamists had vandalised the village, and looted the houses, taking away valuables, livestock and other items. Hindu temples in the village were vandalised, with the idols broken down. The house of Paritosh was also later vandalised and the cowshed was torched as the police was overpowered by the mob.

The villages fled to the nearby paddy fields when their village was being burned down. Police had to resort to firing in the air and firing rubber bullets to control the mob, and the situation was brought under control by the night with the arrival of additional forces. Paritosh and his family also fled from the village.

After the incident, cases were lodged not only for the attack on the village, but also against Paritosh Sarkar for allegedly triggering the riot. He was a class 10 student at that time, and was aged around 15-16 years. He was arrested by police after some days from Joypurhat, where he along with his family was staying at the house of a relative.

Paritosh was denied bail several times, and he was kept in solitary confinement for several months during the trial. However, the prison authorities had told his lawyer and family that he was kept separated for his safety. He was finally granted bail on May 9, 2022, but earlier this month he was again sent to jail by the court ahead of delivering the verdict.

Police have claimed that after the arrest, Paritosh Sarkar confessed to committing blasphemy, and that he was 19-years-old at that time. However, Paritosh and his family maintains that he didn’t posted the image, and his phone was broken beyond repair at that time. They said that there is no evidence that he had posted the image.

However, the court rejected these arguments and convicted him of “hurting the religious sentiments”. His lawyer said that they will move the High Court against the verdict.

While Paritosh has been convicted and sentenced for the Facebook post, nobody has been convicted so far for the attack on the Hindu village. Around 150 people have been booked in the case, and the trials in three cases registered for the incident are still going on. While 72 people are on the run, 74 accused in the case of the attack on the village have been granted bail, and they are roaming free. Those who are on bail include village mosque’s moazzem Rabiul Islam, who made the calls from the mosque loudspeaker for people to gather, Saikat Mandal who masterminded the violence, and Ujjal Hasan, who had taken a screenshot of the ‘blasphemous’ Facebook post and spread it.

IMF forces bankrupt Pakistan to increase taxes drastically in order to secure a financial bailout

OpIndia Staff
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IMF forces bankrupt Pakistan to increase taxes drastically in order to secure a financial bailout

Pakistan’s economic woes appear to have no end. In a fresh blow to the already starving population, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif-led ruling coalition has decided to significantly increase tax rates, for a desperately needed financial bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The stringent terms stated by IMF have compelled the government to take this action, adding to the already significant burden on the Pakistani people.

Despite ongoing discussions with the international financial organization, Pakistan has not yet been able to persuade IMF to grant it a loan. The bailout package meeting on Thursday drew to a close without coming to a decision.

IMF Pakistan Mission Chief Nathan Porter released a statement after the meeting highlighting IMF’s concerns. “Key priorities include strengthening the fiscal position with permanent revenue measures and reduction in untargeted subsidies, while scaling up social protection to help the most vulnerable and those affected by the floods; allowing the exchange rate to be market determined to gradually eliminate the foreign exchange shortage; and enhancing energy provision by preventing further accumulation of circular debt and ensuring the viability of the energy sector. Virtual discussions will continue in the coming days.”

Muhammad Ishaq Dar, the finance minister of Pakistan, on the other side, stated that the meeting was ‘nothing unusual’. He said, “This is the standard procedure that is followed in every program.”

Ishaq Dar insisted that the discussions with the IMF came to a successful conclusion. Dar also announced that additional taxes totaling $170 billion would be levied by the government. The goal of the additional taxes is to resuscitate the bailout package.

According to Dar, who was speaking to the media, the Pakistani government has received the IMF’s draft Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP). He emphasized that the previous Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan had signed off on the tariffs that the government would impose.

“This is an old agreement that was first suspended and then delayed,” Dar claimed.

The discussions with the IMF mission reportedly lasted ten days, as per the Pakistan finance minister. During this, the oil and gas industries, and the financial and monetary components have been discussed.

He revealed that ministers, representatives from various departments, and the State Bank of Pakistan were all present for the discussions. Dar stated that reforms in the energy industry would be put into effect.

Ishaq Dar contended that Pakistan would benefit from the reforms suggested by the IMF. These measures are necessary for Pakistan, he stressed. Dar added that PM Shehbaz Sharif has promised to implement these changes speedily to the IMF.  On Friday morning, the document was delivered to the government.

The government subsequently gave in to nearly all of the IMF’s demands in exchange for securing the MEFP and the staff-level agreement. There is general agreement to impose new taxes, raise loan rates and electricity costs dramatically, and leave the US dollar to market forces.

Each agreed-upon step would be an additional burden for the majority of Pakistanis because of the enormity of the financial downturn. Pakistan and the IMF will now hold a second virtual meeting on Monday.

Reportedly, Pakistan will take additional revenue measures equal to 1.4% of the size of its GDP, or about Rs 700 billion to attain a tax collection target of around Rs 6 trillion in the next fiscal year under the International Monetary Fund accord.

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