Bengali movie ‘Projapati’ was released in many theatres across West Bengal on December 23, just ahead of the Christmas holidays, except for the state-run film complex ‘Nandan’ in Kolkata. This piqued the attention of the members of the opposition parties, who accused the state administration of denying it slots in the state-run film centre because it stars veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty, who happens to be a BJP leader.
Notably, TMC leader and Bengali superstar Deepak Adhikari, popularly known as Dev has co-produced the movie. Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty, who joined the BJP during the last assembly election in West Bengal, also played an important role in the film.
Questioning the Mamata Banerjee’s government’s bias, former BJP WB state president and now BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said that the government is denying space to the film in Nandan because the movie features Mithun Chakraborty.
The veteran actor was long associated with the ruling Trinamool Congress in Bengal before he resigned in 2016. He joined BJP last year ahead of the state assembly elections in West Bengal.
“Bengali superstar Mithun Chakraborty was not invited to the inauguration program of the Kolkata international film festival just because he is in the BJP. Dev was also forced to contest the election, he wasn’t willing to do the same. Today in West Bengal, if you don’t support the TMC, you will not get the hall to release your film,” said Dilip Ghosh.
Interestingly, Bengali superstar Dev, who happens to be a Trinamool Congress leader also took to Twitter to bemoan the fact that his movie did not find space in the state-run movie centre. Besides being the protagonist, Deepak Adhikari aka Dev has also co-produced the film.
“Will miss u Nandan this time No Issue Will meet again… End of Story,” Tweeted the TMC MP.
Will miss u Nandan this time No Issue Will meet again…
OpIndia looked on the Indian internet ticketing platform BookMyShow to find which theatres in Kolkata are screening ‘Projapati,’ starring Dev and Mithun Chakraborty. A basic search threw open the list of names of as many as 40 single screens and multiplexes that are screening the movie but as accurately pointed out, the list did not feature the name of the state-run film centre ‘Nandan’.
Further, when we searched for which movies are currently being showcased in Nandan on BookMyShow, it showed the names of three Bengali movies, namely, Dostojee, Haami 2, and Hatyapuri.
The two movies Haami 2 and Hatyapuri were released on the same date as Mithun Chakrabarty’s ‘Projapati’. While Haami 2 and Hatyapuri are listed for screening in Nandan, only ‘Projapati’ has not got a slot in the West Bengal government-run film centre.
Trinamool Congress defends itself
Meanwhile, dismissing the allegations, Kolkata mayor and West Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim said, “The reason for not getting a show at Nandan is booked slots. Those associated with the respective film must complete the booking in advance. This booking is not in the hands of the chief minister. The letter may not have been given for the film ‘Projapati’ earlier. So it is not true that his film did not get the show because Mithun Chakraborty is there. Dev is also in that film.”
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh also provided an odd argument to defend the State government’s decision. “Without any reason, the BJP is creating a controversy out of this non-issue. The movie stars Dev who has performed brilliantly. Mithun Chakraborty who is also in the film has failed to live up to the character. It is because of his poor performance that the movie is not doing well. The BJP is trying to create an issue so that the movie succeeds at the box office,” said the TMC leader.
Nandan, for the uninitiated, is a government-sponsored film and cultural centre in Kolkata, West Bengal. The foundation stone of Nandan was laid by the former Chief Minister of West Bengal Jyoti Basu in 1980. Until 2010, the Kolkata International Film Festival used to be inaugurated at Nandan. In 2011, Mamata Banerjee, after becoming the Chief Minister of West Bengal, shifted the ceremony from Nandan to the Netaji Indoor Stadium.
Over the years, there have been several allegations leveled against Nandan that screenings of controversial films are frequently avoided due to political pressure. Interestingly, another film, ‘Aporajito,’ directed by Anik Dutta, was also denied a screening slot in Nandan earlier this year. This film was based on legendary Bengali film director Satyajit Ray. Anik Dutta, the film’s director, is said to be a vocal critic of the state’s ruling party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The Vacation Bench of Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused any interim relief to former Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in connection with their arrest in the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan fraud case.
The bench asked the petitioners to approach a regular bench when the court reopens after the Christamas-New Year holidays. The couple approached the HC challenging their arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the loan fraud case contesting the CBI’s claim of non-cooperation.
The CBI on Monday got three-day custody of Chanda, Deepak, and Videocon Group Chairman Venugopal Dhoot, a co-accused in the ICICI Bank money laundering case.
Deepak Kochhar’s advocate Vikram Chaudhary said, “In the remand, it is said that Deepak Kochhar was not cooperating in the investigation but nothing is explained about how and why.”
His advocate further said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has already conducted an investigation. He said the investigation went on for six months but the CBI arrested Deepak Kochhar after he got bail. Chaudhary further alleged that Deepak Kochhar was arrested in an inhumane manner and the agency needs to explain his arrest.
“Deepak Kochhar got bail in the ED case. The agency approached the Supreme Court challenging my client’s bail but it refused to intervene. My client was arrested in an inhumane manner at a time when his son’s marriage has been fixed. This is illegal. The arrest of Deepak Kochhar needs to be explained. It was not a routine arrest,” said Chaudhary.
Chaudhary added that the arrest could not be made on the allegations alone.
“It is a 2017 case. If they think that my client committed a crime, why did they not arrest him for 5 years? This is a blatant misuse of power and a violation of my client’s fundamental rights,” said Chaudhary.
He said the high court has said no offence was made out in all cases and even the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the matter.
Amit Desai, the advocate for Chanda Kochhar, told the court that there is no instance where the CBI filed a charge sheet against his client and she was found guilty as charged. “The CBI did not investigate for two days. How can it then say that my client is not cooperating?” Desai said.
The CBI, in its charge sheet, said, “Dhoot has not disclosed full and true facts and for making proper investigation and taking the case to the logical end. He is required to be confronted with Chanda Kochhar and Deepak Kochhar.”
Kochhar’s advocate said they would not apply for bail immediately as the case is at the remand stage.
The case is related to alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in the sanction of a Rs 1,875 crore loan disbursed by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group between 2009 and 2011.
During its preliminary inquiry, the CBI found that six loans worth Rs 1,875 crore were sanctioned to the Videocon Group and companies associated with it between June 2009 and October 2011, in an alleged violation of the laid-down policies of ICICI Bank.
The agency claimed the loans were declared non-performing assets in 2012, causing a loss of Rs 1,730 crore to the bank.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Cases of Love Jihad continue to emerge from Bihar, a state led by CM Nitish Kumar, who in June said there was no need for an anti-conversion law in the state. In one such dreadful case, Bihar Police booked a Muslim person named Mohammed Ijhar for posing himself as Rakesh Singh and luring a Hindu woman into a marriage. The accused also abused the woman and forced her to embrace Islam.
According to the local reports, the incident is said to have happened in Bihar’s Tajpur. The accused, a resident of Tajpur, Bihar, trapped the victim who hailed from the state of West Bengal in a love affair and later married her. The accused had identified himself as a Hindu person named Rakesh Singh abused the woman physically and forcefully converted her to Islam.
The incident came to the fore after Vishwa Hindu Parishad members in Samastipura were informed about a Hindu woman being harassed by a Muslim person who had lured her into marriage on false pretences. Samastipur VHP President Ajay Kumar confirmed that one of its organization’s members from West Bengal, Sumeet Mukharjee, had complained that one of his relatives was being harassed by a Muslim man from Tajpur.
Accordingly, the VHP members contacted the Tajpur Police Station and helped the victim woman and her family to register a Police complaint. The woman in the complaint mentioned that she met the accused over FaceBook. “He introduced himself as Rakesh Singh. After a few months, we decided to marry each other. My family was not supportive so I left my home in West Bengal and reached Tajpur in May 2022. After reaching Tajpur I came to know that Rakesh was Mohammed Ijhar and was already married. He also is a father of two children,” she said.
She added that after knowing the truth, she decided to go back to West Bengal but the accused didn’t allow her to leave. Instead, he informed his father Mohammed Jihad, and other family members, who helped him in abusing the woman physically and forcefully converting her religion to Islam. The woman said that she was given a new name by Ijhar, ‘Sufia Khatun’.
The woman after a few months managed to call her mother in West Bengal and informed her about the incident. Reportedly, the family members of the woman reached out to the VHP members who helped them register a complaint at the Police station. The woman and her family members have been brought safely by the VHP members to Samastipura and will be sent back to their home in West Bengal.
Earlier, a similar case was reported from the Katihar district of the state where one Taufiq Alam pretended to be Raj Rajput to lure a Hindu woman Julie Kumari into a love marriage. Once Julie knew the reality and resisted Taufiq, who was already married and had an 11-year-old daughter from his earlier marriage, he started forcing the victim woman to convert to Islam.
Notably, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in June this year had said that there was no need for an anti-conversion law in the state. He also said that there was ‘complete harmony’ and members of different communities lived in peace within the state.
In the current case, the Bihar Police said that the complaint against the accused has been registered under relevant sections of the law and further investigations are underway.
Maulana Mahmood Madani, the President of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (M), has been selected as the ‘person of the year – 2023’ by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre.
The independent research entity recently published the 14th annual issue [pdf] of ‘The Muslim 500: The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims’ wherein Maulana Mahmood Madani is listed as the ‘Person of the Year- 2023.’
Interestingly, the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre is affiliated with a Jordan-based institution named ‘Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought.’ In its annual issue, the research entity heaped praise on Maulana Madani for tackling ‘terrorism’ and ‘Islamophobia’ at the same time.
Screengrab of the report by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre., Page 11
“Through the platform of the JUH, he has fought the twin battles of condemning terrorism in all its forms as well as calling out those who would use the issue to scapegoat the Muslim community,” it claimed while thanking the Deobandi cleric for fighting hundreds of ‘false terror cases’ against Muslims.
The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre then tried to mislead its readers by falsely claiming about the supposed killing and discrimination of Muslims in India.
“With the ruling BJP party promoting Hindu nationalism—Hindutva—to ever-more harmful levels, Indian Muslims are killed and discriminated against as never before,” it claimed without providing any evidence for the same.
Screengrab of the report by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, Page 12
Nonetheless, the Islamic research entity applauded the initiative of Maulana Mahmood Madani to track “Islamophobia” by founding JEIM (the Justice and Empowerment Initiative for Indian Muslims).
It also hailed the Deobandi cleric for modernising Islamic seminaries (madrassas), legitimising the madrassa curriculum as equivalent to having secondary level (10th Std) education.
“Maulana Madani is a leading voice in the Indian Muslim community, which is 200 million strong. Their challenges are unprecedented and the success of his work has a major influence on how they fare,” the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre asserted.
Opposition to Uniform Civil Code, threats of creation of another Pakistan
In May this year, the Jamiat-Ulama-e-Hind passed a resolution against the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which seeks to override Muslim personal laws and enforce uniformity in civil matters.
The resolution was passed during a 2-day program, which saw the participation of 5,000 Muslim organizations, in Deoband in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. The resolution claimed that the enactment of UCC would prevent the observance of personal laws, allegedly guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
“This ignores the true spirit of the Constitution. No Muslim accepts interference in Islamic law. If any government makes the mistake of implementing UCC, Muslims will not accept this injustice and will be forced to take all measures against it while staying within constitutional limits,” the resolution stated.
*?#जमीअत* *उलमा-ए-हिंद की मजलिस-ए-मुंतजिमा का अधिवेशन #लाइव टेलीकास्ट उस्मान नगर (ईदगाह मैदान) देवबंद से।*
— Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (@JamiatUlama_in) May 29, 2022
The Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind has accused the Modi government of patronizing hate mongers and making the lives of Muslims difficult in India. During his address, the President of the Islamic organisation claimed, “We had a chance to go to Pakistan but we did not go. Those who harp on about Pakistan should go there themselves.”
He also alleged that Muslims have been rendered ‘strangers’ in their own country. “We have been maintaining patience but that does not mean that we will bow our heads and accept everything. We can compromise on everything, but not on our faith,” he issued veiled threats during the event.
During the same event, a Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind official threatened that the claim over the Gyanvapi mosque could lead to the creation of another Pakistan.
Maulana Niaz Ahmed Farooqui, who served as the media-in-charge of Jamiat- Ulama-e-Hind, warned, “Hatred is being propelled against Muslims in the country. Pakistan was created the last time there was a tirade of this sort against the Muslims. I don’t understand what exactly these people want.”
Maulana Mahmood Madani demands new law to punish ‘blasphemy’
In August this year, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind sought “exemplary punishment” for ex-BJP leader T Raja Singh for words reportedly directed at the Islamic prophet, as well as a law to safeguard the integrity of religious icons.
Singh’s remarks were called “very shameful” and “shocking” by Jamiat president Maulana Madani. The latter even released a statement alleging that the governing party’s members were repeating such actions.
Maulana Mahmood Madani stated that the mere expulsion of T Raja from the saffron party was insufficient and that such “perpetrators” should face “exemplary punishment.” He also advocated for the adoption of a new law to safeguard the dignity of religious leaders.
Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind and its support to Waqf Act
In September 2022, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind moved the Delhi High Court against a petition, which challenged the draconian provisions of the Waqf Act.
As per reports, the Islamic outfit opposed the petition by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay and urged the court to hear all State Waqf Boards before passing a verdict on the matter.
The Islamic organisation claimed that the petition would impact the institution of Waqf in the country, which is supposedly based on the Islamic tradition of philanthropy, charity, and merit.
The matter was heard by a 2-Judge Bench of Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and Subramonium Prasad. “The institution of waqf is well recognised in our country with a comprehensive legal mechanism in place for the same,” Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind said in its petition.
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind moves Delhi High Court opposing Ashwini Upadhyay’s plea against Waqf Act
It further added, “‘Waqf’ refers to Muslim religious endowments and institutions of various kinds recognised all over the world as an Islamic tradition of merit, charity, and philanthropy.”
The Islamic outfit accused the BJP leader of filing petitions against the practices of the Muslim community and using the legal system as a tool to harass them. “The line of petitions before the courts in India is being used by him as a tool to harass Muslims as a community,” it argued.
“This Hon’ble court, while granting any indulgence to him while entertaining his petition must examine the malafide intent of scrupulous litigants like the present petitioner,” Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind demanded.
When Maulana Madani cast aspersions on survey of unrecognised madarsas in UP
Again in September this year, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind criticised the Yogi Adityanath-led-government for “not taking the Islamic community into confidence” first before going ahead with its survey of unrecognised madrasas.
Maulana Mahmood Madani said, “We don’t have a problem with the state surveying the unrecognised madarsas. They just want to know what facilities and what kind of education is being provided to our children. But the state should have taken the Muslim community in confidence.”
As per reports, Maulana Madani also questioned why the state government was only surveying unrecognised madarsas and not other religious educational institutions.
The Islamic outfit opposed CAA, NPR, and Triple Talaq law but extended support to Rohingyas
It must be mentioned that Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind has been a vocal critic of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and had led large-scale protests against the humanitarian law in over 2000 cities and towns across India.
“The use of religion as a criterion for citizenship in the concerned bill would mark a radical break with this history and would be inconsistent with the basic structure of the constitution”, Maulana Mahmood had remarked then.
“This is a temporary phase of hardship and soon the Muslim community will wriggle out of it”, he claimed although the anti-CAA hysteria was instrumental in the culmination of the anti-Hindu Delhi riots of 2020.
Maulana Mahmood Madani protesting against CAA in Jantar Mantar, image via Ummid
Just days ahead of the deadly riots, the Islamic outfit also cast aspersions on the integrity of the National Population Register (NPR). The Madani faction of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind called upon the Muslim community to not provide any information about the NPR.
“NPR is the first stage of data collection to prepare NRC as per Citizenship Act 1955 and Citizenship Rule 2003. It is patently discriminatory, divisive, exclusionary and unconstitutional and targets communities on the basis of religion, class, caste, and gender,” the Islamic organisation announced.
During an interview with TheSunday Guardian (TSG) Live in 2018, Maulana Mahmood Madani alleged that the issue of ‘triple talaq’ was being mainstreamed to demonise the Muslim community.
Screengrab of the news report by The Sunday Guardian Live
He had claimed, “…Triple talaq is uncommon among Muslims. A society that doesn’t have the system of talaq feels horror-struck that Muslims have talaq. The way Modiji and Amit Shah spoke of it, it seemed like there is nothing else happening in Muslim households but talaq.”
“Earlier it was the idea of terrorism associated with Muslims—it was as if they kill indiscriminately. Now the notion being spread is that all Muslims are keen to divorce their wives using triple talaq,” he further added.
On being asked about the legislation of a Triple Talaq Bill, he openly vowed to break it in defiance of the Supreme Court order. Maulana Mahmood Madani had threatened, “You make the rules, and we will break them.”
In September 2017, the same organisation had come forward in support of the illegal Rohingyas who were living in the country. While opposing the deportation of their co-religionists to Myanmar, the Delhi division of JuH took out massive protests in the hopes of forcing the government to reconsider their decision.
Maulana Madani was present at the book launch of ’26/11: RSS Ki Saazish’
As early as 2010, Maulana Mahmood Madani was part of the cabal of conspiracy theorists who blamed the deadly 26/11 terror attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).
Despite the fact that the Islamic terrorists religiously profiled non-Muslims and targeted them specifically (wherever possible), a concerted campaign was launched to implicate the Hindu community.
Aziz Burney, who was the Group Editor of Sahara Publications like Roznama Rashtriya Sahara, Bazm-e-Sahara, and Aalami Sahara, published a book titled, “26/11 RSS Ki Saazish?” (26/11, An RSS Conspiracy?) in 2010 as part of the sinister agenda.
In 2010, a book named “26/11 : RSS ki Sazish” was released by Digvijay Singh. The book claims the RSS & BJP are behind 26/11 attack. Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, has not condemned her leaders for their endorsement of a book that indirectly aids an enemy state, Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/z0QJy9aB8W
To give credence to the book written by the then editor-in-chief of Sahara Urdu newspaper, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and JuH chief Maulana Mahmood Madani were present at the time of the book launch.
It thus comes as no surprise as to why a Jordanian-based Islamic institute, which peddles a false narrative of Muslim genocide in India, chose Maulana Mahmood Madani as the ‘person of the Year 2023.’
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s said that the food will be served soon after being interrupted by an audience, according to a video circulated by PTV news, the Urdu News channel.
While addressing the ceremony organized with regard to the development projects for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday, an audience stood up and shouted during Sharif’s speech, after which the PM said, “Please sit down, the food will be served soon.”
After a brief smile, Pakistan’s PM resumed his speech, according to the video.
Notably, PM Sharif was in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to lay the foundation stones of different uplift communication, road, hydel, and power infrastructure projects, Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
In the ceremony, the prime minister said, “These challenges might be manifold but 220 million people of the country should not get worried, the coalition government with the support of its partners will steer the country out of the challenges.”
He said for the achievement of progress and prosperity, they would have to work hard with devotion. “Nations always faced difficulties and the coalition government will put Pakistan on the path of development only through hard work,” he added.
The prime minister said that he had laid down the foundations for the commencement of mega-development projects in the backward areas of the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as per the Associated Press of Pakistan report.
He mentioned that during his previous visits, these areas were inundated with flood water and the people of the areas had faced immense destruction, from Nowshera to Swat, Kalam, Kohistan, DIkhan and Tank districts were badly affected by floods.
Talking about the Swat situation, PM said that the destruction was mainly caused by the man-made structures erected in the middle of the course of the river.
Sharif also criticized the provincial government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for its flawed policies.
The prime minister sarcastically referred that the PTI provincial government always talked about the introduction of an efficient system, but the people had witnessed the crumbling of that system whereas the government’s blunders in this regard could not be neglected, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan.
Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Haji Ghulam Ali, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Advisor to PM on Political Affairs Engineer Amir Muqam, Amir of Jammiat-e-Ulema Islam-F Maulana Fazlur Rehman, relevant authorities and a large number of people were present on the occasion, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
On December 22 and 25, two Russian tourists died under mysterious circumstances in a hotel in Odisha, India. As per reports, on December 21, four Russian tourists checked into Sai International Hotel in Rayagada, Odisha. One of them, Vladimir Budanov, was found dead inside the hotel room on December 22. Reports suggest that Budanov died from a heart attack, and Pavel Antov allegedly committed suicide after attending his funeral on December 25. Superintendent of Police Vivekananda Sharma confirmed the two deaths to the news agency ANI.
He was rushed to the district headquarters hospital (DHH), where he was declared brought dead. The Russian tourists had checked in at the hotel after visiting Daringbadi hill station in district Kandhamal. Vladimir’s son had asked the police to cremate his father at Rayagada itself. The Russian Embassy was also informed that he would not be able to reach the place.
The deceased Russians were President Putin’s critic
As per reports, one of the Russian tourists who died in a span of 3 days was a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dubbed the ‘highest-earning elected politician’ in Russia, Antov was a multi-millionaire. He was elected PM by the main pro-Putin party, United Russia. He has been an open critic of the President for the ongoing war in Ukraine. Antov was in India with three of his friends to celebrate his 66th birthday.
The Russian Counsel General in Kolkata, Alexei Idamkin, said in a statement that Antov died after he fell out of a hotel window. He said, “We are closely following the investigation and receiving all the information from the Odisha police.”
In June this year, Antov had termed the Russia-Ukraine war as Russian ‘terror’ wounding Ukrainian civilians. He also highlighted a missile strike, following which a girl was pulled out from under the rubble. The girl’s father had died in the attack. He had said, “The mother is trying to be pulled out with a crane – she is trapped under a slab. To tell the truth, it is extremely difficult to call this anything other than terror.”
Following his remarks, he was under intense pressure, after which he withdrew his comments and apologised for the same. In a social media post, he had called his statement ‘an unfortunate misunderstanding’ and a ‘technical error’. He backed President Putin and said he always had supported him and sincerely backed the military operations.
On Monday, the local Hindu residents of the Vaini village in Samastipura, Bihar exposed a converted Christian couple identified as Lakshman Rao and Lalita and accused them of attempting to lure the Hindus and forcing them to convert their religion to Christianity. The couple who hailed from Hyderabad, Telangana was then handed over to the Police for further action.
According to the reports, the matter came to light when a Hindu couple identified as Shivaji Paswan and Dulari raised an alarm in the village and exposed Rao, his wife, and around 8-10 who accompanied the converted Christian couple. Paswan alleged that Rao, his wife, and his followers were asking his family to read the Bible daily and luring them with money to change their religion.
The video of the incident went viral over the internet in which the local residents of Vaini village can be seen exposing the couple who were asking Hindus to convert their religion.
समस्तीपुर में धर्मांतरण कराने के शक में ग्रामीणों ने एक दंपति को काफी देर तक बंधक बनाये रखा। pic.twitter.com/7oF5GniBcv
The matter escalated as Arun Sharma, the Sarpanch of Vaini village was informed. Sharma confirmed that the Christian people who had arrived in the village from Telangana were trying to convince the Hindu residents in the village to convert their religion to Christianity. “They were abusing the Hindu Gods and Goddesses and were asking people to read Bible daily,” Sharma was quoted.
The residents encircled the Christians who were attempting to convert people by luring them and informed the Police who took the accused into custody. On inquiring, Rao and his followers said that they were conducting a ‘prophetical prayer meeting’ in all the Churches of Samastipura and that the meeting was organized on the occasion of Christmas.
The Police have also recovered several documents and religious books the accused used to convince the Hindus to convert their religion to Christianity.
The Police at present is interrogating Rao, his wife, and eight other persons for luring Hindus and asking them to convert their religion to Christianity. Further action will be followed post-interrogation. Investigations into the matter are underway.
A Border Security Force (BSF) personnel was allegedly killed in Gujarat by family members of a boy, whom he accosted for allegedly uploading a video of his minor daughter online, police said.
The BSF personnel was identified as Melaji Vaghela (45). He died on the spot after he was allegedly attacked with sticks and sharp weapons reportedly by the youth’s family on December 24. The seven family members, including two women, have been arrested on charges of murder and rioting and sent to judicial custody
According to the FIR, Shailesh alias Sunil Jadav of Vanipura village of Nadiad tehsil had made a video of Vaghela’s daughter. It went viral a few days ago.
Vaghela along with his son and other family members went to Shailesh’s house to reprimand him over the alleged recording of the video of his daughter and posting online.
At the time Shailesh was not present at home but his family members were.
Seven people attacked the paramilitary force personnel and his family members with sharp weapons in which the BSF jawan died while his son Navdeep suffered a serious head injury. Navdeep is undergoing treatment at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.
Manjulaben, the wife of the deceased BSF jawan, lodged an FIR at the Chaklasi police station, and at present, a case has been registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Vaghela was a Constable posted with the BSF 56 battalion.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
On December 25 and 26, two videos of Muslims offering namaz at Vadodara’s Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) went viral on social media platforms. As per reports, a video of a couple offering namaz at university premises went viral on Sunday, and the next day a video of two students offering namaz went viral.
The students were found offering namaz outside the Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya at the University premises. The students were reportedly studying at the Commerce Department at the University and came to appear for the exam. They were found offering namaz at the university premises, and some students recorded the video. The members of MSU’s vigilance team and police officials rushed to the spot.
The Hindu organisations recited Hanuman Chalisa at the premises in retaliation. On the other hand, some Hindu activists also went to the Vice Chancellor’s office and raised slogans demanding a probe into the matter.
Speaking to OpIndia, ABVP said that the University had assured action in the matter. Vishwa Hindu Parishad has also condemned the incident.
University to counsel students
The Public Relations Officer of the University, Lakulesh Trivedi, said in a statement that mid-semester exams of the Commerce Department are taking place at the University. Some students were found sitting at the back of the Commerce building. The vigilance team noticed them and sent them away. He further added that the University would counsel the students and make arrangements to avoid such incidents in the future.
The video of the couple offering Namaz went viral
A video of a couple offering Namaz at the campus just a day before the incident went viral. They were also found offering prayers outside the Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya. Notably, as they were not students at the University so were assumed to be parents or guardians of students at the University.
વડોદરાની પ્રસિદ્ધિ મહારાજા સયાજીરાવ યુનિવર્સિટી ખાતેની સંસ્કૃત મહાવિદ્યાલય પાસે બે વ્યક્તિઓ જાહેરમાં નમાજ પઢતા દેખાયા. #MSU#Namazpic.twitter.com/jUG1PsfBKS
In a telephonic conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday exchanged views about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
PM Modi strongly reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, saying that both sides should revert to dialogue and diplomacy to find a lasting solution to their differences, read Prime Minister’s Office press release. He also conveyed India’s support for any peace efforts and assured India’s commitment to continue providing humanitarian assistance for the affected civilian population, added the release.
Zelenskyy, in a phone call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, sought India’s help in the implementation of a peace formula with Russia.
“I had a phone call with PM Modi & wished a successful G20 presidency. It was on this platform that I announced the peace formula and now I count on India’s participation in its implementation. I also thanked for humanitarian aid and support in the UN,” tweeted the Ukrainian President.
Meanwhile, the President of Ukraine conveyed his best wishes for India’s Presidency of the G20.
PM Modi explained the main priorities of India’s G20 Presidency, including giving a voice to the concerns of developing nations on issues like food and energy security, added the release.
The two leaders discussed opportunities for strengthening bilateral cooperation. PM Modi requested the Ukraine authorities to facilitate arrangements for the continued education of Indian students, who had to return from Ukraine earlier this year.
Earlier on Monday, Ukraine called for Russia to be removed from the United Nations, where Moscow can veto any resolution as a permanent member of the Security Council.
“Ukraine calls on the member states of the UN… to deprive the Russian Federation of its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to exclude it from the UN as a whole,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
In a related development, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are likely to communicate via video link his week, Russian state news agency TASS said on Monday, without giving details of the timing or format.
Both leaders are facing immense criticism worldwide due to the Ukraine-Russia war and the surge in Covid-19 cases in China.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin and Xi maintain regular communication and preparations for further talks between them are underway. “Our leaders maintain regular communication. We are actually getting ready for further talks. When and how they will take place, we will let you know in due time,” he said when asked if the leaders might hold talks before the end of this year.
Beijing said earlier that Putin and Xi maintain regular contact through various channels.
Vedomosti, a Moscow-based newspaper, reported earlier, citing a diplomatic source, that the Russian and Chinese presidents would hold talks before the New Year, where they would sum up 2022, reported TASS.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
