On Friday, the Kerala High Court declared that reporting and publication of Court decisions and rulings form a crucial part of freedom of speech and expression. The court said this in response to several petitions seeking to restrict media houses and legal portals from publishing judgements and details of court hearings as they contained their names or the details of their cases.
The division bench of Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Shoba Annamma Eapen was hearing petitions seeking enforcement of the right to be forgotten against the uploading of court orders or judgments on the internet. The bench said, “The Courtroom is open to all. The Court cannot gloss over the protection available to publishers of judgments under Article 19(1)(a) of our Constitution. Reporting and publishing judgments are part of freedom of speech and expression and that cannot be taken away lightly without the aid of the law.”
According to the Court, the identity of the judiciary based on public trust is not normally achievable without the open flow of information about judicial functioning. It was noticed that in cases where a public figure is involved, the media frequently broadcasts headlines of breaking news with minute-by-minute details of the Court proceedings, including what the judge said throughout the hearings.
“In open justice, as we discussed earlier, the Courtroom must allow the public to form opinions about its functioning. This is the foremost consideration in building public confidence,” said the bench.
The court noted that what a commoner needs to hear is not necessarily the case specifics of ‘X’ or ‘Y,’ but how their matter is determined in a court of law. “However scant curiosity may have been shown in Court proceedings, Courts cannot count on the number of people interested, to deny such information from coming into the public sphere. The sense of the public sphere must guide the Court in allowing judgments to come into the public domain,” said the bench.
The court further highlighted that Section 153-B of the CPC and Section 327 of the Cr.P.C. render courts statutorily public realms where individuals are permitted to witness proceedings and form public opinion. According to the division bench, the basic notion of having Courtrooms open to the public is to protect the open court principle, which is a crucial part of the democratic ecology.
The court further stated that the purpose of Section 74 of the Evidence Act, which makes judicial documents public records, is to provide the public access to the information contained in such records. It went on to say that in open court, every bystander has the right to monitor proceedings and report any matter that the court examines.
“The public has every right to know how a judge conducted a particular case with details of the parties, contents, etc. The digital platform only allows easy access to such information through the digital space. Nevertheless, it was available to the public in all respects in the brick-and-mortar system as well. The mere extension of an Open Court system in a digital space cannot itself be called violative of privacy rights, in the absence of any law laid down in this regard by the Parliament. Law has already recognized the Open Court system,” the Court stated on December 23.
The bench additionally stated that the Courts have no copyright rights over decisions because they are public records. According to the Copyright Act of 1957, replication for court reporting, as well as reproduction or publishing of judgments, are not infringements of copyright.
“The judgments forming part of the Court records are public documents as referable under Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act. There cannot be any dispute regarding publishing the contents of the judgment even if such judgments are ordered to be masked regarding the details of the parties to protect their identity,” the Court observed.
It did, however, state that in the absence of legislation, the court may be forced to recognize the right to be forgotten and order the removal of such online information on a case-by-case basis. The court said that only legislature is competent to enumerate grounds for claiming the right to be forgotten and carve out exceptions to the claims of such a right.
On Friday morning, Jamshedpur police raided an illegal cow slaughterhouse in the Haldipokhar Muslim Basti area of the city, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Kovali police station, and rescued 17 animals, including cows, calves, and buffaloes, as well as seized 300 kgs of beef from the half-constructed clandestine slaughterhouse, reports Live Hindustan.
In the raid that lasted for four and a half hours, the police managed to arrest eight accused, three of whom were identified as Imran, Pappu and Madho. Besides, the police also seized all the types of equipment used for slaughtering animals.
According to the Hindi daily Live Hindustan, the raid was carried out under the supervision of ASP law and order Sumit Agarwal.
According to the police, they arrested a person from the Sakchi district on Thursday. During questioning, he admitted to buying cow meat from an illicit slaughterhouse in Haldipokhar’s Muslim Basti. He also explained how the illegal trade was being carried out on a massive scale in a clandestine manner in the unauthorised slaughterhouse in the Haldipokhar Muslim Basti. Based on his confession, the police formed a team and raided the area at 6.30 a.m. on Friday morning under the supervision of ASP Agarwal and the accused were nabbed.
The report by Live Hindustan reads that no FIR was filed till te time the report was published.
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government in West Bengal is leaving no stone unturned to obstruct the investigation of the cattle smuggling case. TMC is playing one trick after the other to hinder the CBI and ED from conducting probe and questioning the accused TMC’s ‘Bahubali’ leader Anubrata Mondal.
Apparently, the state police are also aiding the TMC government in its desperate designs for reasons best known to them only.
On March 21 this year, Badu Sheikh, the deputy chief of the nearby TMC-controlled Barshal gram panchayat was killed in a bomb attack.
In order to avenge Sheikh’s death, ten people were massacred in Bogtui village in Birbhum wherein a house was locked from outside by the attackers before it was set on fire killing 10 persons including an eight-year-old child. Following the incident, the Calcutta High Court ordered the CBI to investigate the Bogtui carnage as well as Badu Sheikh’s murder.
Lalan Sheikh, the right-hand man of Badu Sheikh and an accused in the Bogtui carnage was arrested by the CBI on December 3 after an eight-month-long hunt. However, in a shocking turn of events, the TMC associate allegedly committed suicide in CBI custody on December 12. Lalan Sheikh was found dead at CBI camp office in Rampurhat in Birbhum.
Taking leverage of the opportunity that Lalan’s alleged death gave, the TMC carried out its plan to attempt to obstruct the CBI probe and shield Anubrata Mondol, a close aide of Mamata Banerjee and an accused in the multi-crore cattle smuggling case.
West Bengal’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) served a notice to CBI seeking an explanation for the death of Lalan Sheikh. Earlier, the state police registered FIR against CBI officials charging them with Lalan Sheikh’s murder on the basis of a complaint lodged by deceased Lalan’s wife Reshma Bibi.
Seven CBI officers were named in the FIR file by WB police alleging the custodial murder of Sheikh, including two senior CBI officers not directly linked to the case, a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and a Superintendent of Police (SP). CBI’s investigating officer in the Bogtui massacre case has also been named in the case. CBI’s Investigating Officer (IO) of the cattle smuggling case Susanta Bhattacharya, who was arrested in August this year by Bengal police, has also been named in the FIR.
However, CBI moved Calcutta High Court against the FIR, and the court directed the police to not take coercive action against the CBI officers, but allowed them to continue the probe. CBI maintains that Sheikh died by suicide.
The state police filed the FIR after Lalan Sheikh’s family filed a complaint against the CBI officers. They had alleged that the CBI officers in the Rampurhat camp had tortured Lalan Sheikh to force him to falsely implicate senior TMC leaders as masterminds of the Birbhum massacre. In another complaint, Lalan’s wife Reshma Bibi alleged that several items sealed by the CBI officers went missing from her residence.
The question here arises is if Reshma Bibi was instructed by someone to lodge a complaint that too by naming senior CBI officials and the Investigating Officer. The quick action by the state police in registering FIR and retaining the names of CBI officers as accused suggests that it was being done deliberately to intimidate the central probe agency.
In its report, Swarajya pointed out the pattern in which the TMC government and the West Bengal police have been taking measures to derail the probe using intimidation tactics and implicating CBI officials on false charges.
Quoting a CBI officer as saying, Swarajya reported, “These are patently false complaints. There is no way she (Reshma Bibi) knew the names of the senior officers including the investigating Officer of the cattle smuggling case which totally unrelated to Lalan sheikh’s death. It is very apparent that Reshma Bibi was tutored to name CBI officers in her complaint.”
Other than this, the West Bengal police recently took TMC leader Anubrata Mondal into its custody in what looked like an attempt to prevent the Enforcement Directorate from taking Mondal to Delhi for questioning.
On December 19, Hours after a court in New Delhi granted a production warrant to ED to bring Mondal to the national capital for questioning, an FIR was lodged against Anubrata Mondal in connection with an alleged attempt to murder in 2021.
Interestingly, Shibthakur Mondal, a local Panchayat leader belonging to the TMC filed a complaint alleging that Anubrata Mondal had “nearly choked him to death” ahead of the state assembly in 2021 during a party meeting in Dubrajpur.
On December 20, Anubrata Mondal was produced before a local court in Birbhum’s Dubrajpur, where the court sent Anubrata Mondal into seven-day police custody. As Anubrata Mondal challenged the production warrant, ED gave an oral assurance to the court that it will not execute the production warrant till January 9.
It is pertinent to mention that Anubrata Mondal’s counsel did not even move a bail plea saying that everything happened suddenly. “We are trying to understand the gravity of the situation,” he said.
The timing of the FIR raises suspicion that the Mamata Banerjee government is deliberately doing such tricks to prevent ED from taking Anubrata Mondal to Delhi for questioning. Being aware of the tricks being played ED will also be planning to take certain steps to avert any sort of interference in the probe and intimidation of the officers who are just doing their duty, the TMC government.
On 11 August, The CBI arrested Trinamool Congress (TMC) Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal in relation to the cattle smuggling case
The CBI has claimed to have recovered assets worth several crores of rupees that Mondal had reportedly registered in the names of his daughter, family members, and other close associates. The central agency believes that TMC Bahubali may have attempted to divert the scam’s proceeds through lottery prizes several times.
Congress appears to be having a hard time justifying the utility of their boondoggle ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’—a rudderless political campaign crisscrossing the country and struggling profoundly with articulating its objectives and enunciating its raison d’être—even to the Congress leadership.
Therefore, it did not come as a surprise when senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh fell over himself to ascribe the Centre’s recent decision to revise the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme to benefit over 25 lakh armed forces beneficiaries to Rahul Gandhi and ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
Earlier today, in his press conference, Ramesh said the Centre revised the OROP scheme two days after Rahul Gandhi’s interaction with former soldiers and as a direct result of the impact of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
“Rahul Gandhi met with ex-servicemen, who raised many issues, including One Rank One Pension. Two days after this meeting, the Centre announced a revision in the OROP scheme. It is a direct impact of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’,” Ramesh said.
राहुल गांधी जी 2 दिन पहले पूर्व सैनिकों से मिले। पूर्व सैनिकों ने कई मुद्दे उठाए, जिसमें ‘वन रैंक वन पेंशन’ का मामला भी था।
इस मुलाकात के 2 दिन बाद सरकार ने ‘वन रैंक वन पेंशन’ योजना को संशोधित किया है। यह ‘भारत जोड़ो यात्रा’ का असर है।
Centre revises OROP scheme, to benefit 25 lakh pensioners
Earlier yesterday, the Union Cabinet approved the next revision of the pension of defence forces personnel and family pensioner under One Rank One Pension (OROP).
Briefing reporters after a meeting of the union cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the decision will lead to enhanced pension as per the OROP proposal. The cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The benefit would also be extended to family pensioners including war widows and disabled pensioners, Thakur said.
He said benefits will be extended to about 25.13 lakh armed forces pensioners and family pensioners.
Congress hack of laying credit for decisions it deems favourable while criticizing the Centre for others
However, this is not the first time that Congress leaders seemed desperate to lay credit for the central government’s decisions and pat itself for shepherding the Centre in the ‘right’ direction, even though Rahul Gandhi had constantly been grumbling that the BJP government has fascist tendencies.
On the one hand, Congress accuses the Modi government of being dictatorial, while on the other, Congress gleefully lays claim to credit over decisions taken by them, emphasising that the Centre heeded pieces of advice propounded by the Congress party.
But this dichotomy underscoring the hypocrisy of the Congress party is not a recent phenomenon, given that the grand old party has long co-opted Centre’s decisions it deemed positives as an outcome of their “relentless pressure” while discarding other moves it does not agree with as ‘fascistic impulses’.
Such political expediency has become a hallmark of the Congress party of late, covering up for the party’s inability to dazzle voters with a fresh perspective and an inspiring vision that sets it apart from the developmental agenda of the BJP government.
Congress claims credit for the Modi government’s move to bring Cheetahs from Africa
As a part of its political opportunism, the Congress party initially criticised PM Modi for importing African cheetahs, with Congress leader Nana Patole alleging that cheetahs brought the Lumpy virus to India from Nigeria.
When it realised that such allegations did little to generate resentment against the Centre, it took a 180-degree about-face, claiming credit for the Modi government’s decision to bring cheetahs from the African subcontinent.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi releasing wild cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park in September 2022, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed credit stating that the Cheetah project was finalised on his visit in 2010. Even then, Ramesh inexplicably linked it to ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, ludicrously claiming that releasing cheetahs in the jungle was a diversionary move to distract the country’s attention from the container yatra.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “PM hardly ever acknowledges continuity in governance. Cheetah project going back to my visit to Capetown on 25.04.2010 is the latest example. The tamasha orchestrated by PM today is unwarranted and is yet another diversion from pressing national issues and #BharatJodoYatra.”
Congress staring at the fate of being trounced by smaller regional parties
Such attention-seeking attempts betray the Congress party’s insecurities over its leader and a political campaign, which by all accounts, appears as an exercise in futility. Devoid of any reinvigorating narrative to impress its voters, Congress is facing an existential crisis, as witnessed during the recent assembly election polls, where BJP continued its winning run in Gujarat despite 27 years in power while Congress scraped by a tenuous majority in Himachal Pradesh, a state that has a history of alternating between the BJP and Congress.
While Congress’ historical ubiquity and its hidebound tradition of servitude towards Gandhis have ensured that Rahul Gandhi remains relevant in Indian politics, the party loyalists are also saddled with the responsibility of projecting their leader’s brainchild as a political masterstroke. It is for this reason every Congress leader rushes to exaggerate the impact of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, describe it as a pathbreaking campaign, even though they struggle to articulate the aims and objectives of the yatra.
With ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, the Congress party is simply hoping to project a facade of being a politically potent force, even though they are fast losing relevance in a rapidly evolving opposition landscape, where smaller regional parties are challenging Congress’ traditional hegemony.
The Rahul Gandhi yatra rolls on. Of course, he is taking a short break (another trip to Europe?) for the Christmas holiday season. Christmas is a season of giving. In that spirit, we have decided to select the winners of the Yatra Oscars – the “journalist” or “intellectual” that came up with the most abject sycophancy of the yatra.
If you have been following the news, it should be clear that the Stalinist left ecosystem has thrown its weight behind the yatra to ensure its “success”. Its loyal propagandists ranging from T M Krishna to Swara Baskar have joined the yatra providing photo-ops as well as soundbites. And often written glowing tributes in articles and Op-Eds. This gives tough competition to the “fearless independent journalists” that have started a new habit – speaking truth to power, since 2014.
The reasons for the left’s decision to go with Rahul Gandhi with 2024 in mind are not that hard to figure out. I have elaborated on that earlier too. By now it must be clear Indians are not going to vote for Stalinist Maoist ideologies that have delivered nothing but murders and rapist savagery globally as well as in India.
The other option, pursued by “Gandhians with guns” – is also going nowhere. That leaves only one option for the fringe left – enable dynastic loot and live off-the-table scrap with wet dreams that one day may be done away with.
As if that’s not enough, Yugpurush has been such a disappointment. He wants power for himself. And doesn’t seem to believe in handing over the remote control to Politburo. That might change in the future if he too concludes power may elude him in his lifetime if he doesn’t surrender to the left.
For Congress and Rahul Gandhi, it makes a lot of sense too. The left propaganda infrastructure built up at enormous cost (mainly to us taxpayers) over decades can be a valuable force multiplier. So what if the Marxists killed thousands Congress cadre in Bengal as the party itself used to claim? These are just cannon fodder and well worth closing one eye if damaad can return to his winning ways and upgrade his Harley Davidson soon.
Anyway, coming back to the Yatra itself, if you have been following the fearless, independent media you should be familiar with the hagiography and sickening sycophancy unleashed by the family’s propaganda ecosystem. “Journalists” as well as “intellectuals” have been stampeding each other to sing the praise of Yatra as well as its (dear) leader.
Let us check out a few of the contestants to see if we can pick a winner.
Let us start on the right note with T M Krishna. To those not familiar, he is a Carnatic musician that often writes for Hindu & other papers. He has been given Magsaysay award perhaps on a pre-paid basis for services to be rendered in future. This genius once said people in Tamilnadu like Modi because he is “fair-skinned”. That’s why he decided to go with the dark-skinned Rahul. Moreover, Krishna has a way with words that fringe right should learn. Instead of saying “I would like to see RSS workers killed” being a leftist intellectual he would say, “he is not saddened by their killing”.
Krishna must have spent a few nanoseconds worrying if joining the yatra “strip us of our political independence” – no that’s not a joke! Anyway, he concluded he should join. He followed that up with an article for Deccan Herald. Here, he mentions to Rahul helping a Muslim man find his cap – a “symbol of his faith” lost in the pushing and shoving! The rest of the article is just empty verbiage that perhaps chatGPT can come up with in 20 seconds or less.
Rajmohan Gandhi, writing for NDTV (who else?!) seems impressed with Krishna’s choice of words. He seems to have heard calls to “eliminate” India’s Muslims, who number about 200 million. But perhaps his ears have tuned out the noise of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’, because they are far too frequent. Rajmohan seems to think even asking Rahul to ensure unity in the KA unit of the party is too much. Setting such a low bar for a man that wants to be a PM of India?!
Of course, the usual hagiography follows – “By any reckoning, the Bharat Jodo Yatra is turning out to be a landmark in the story of Rahul Gandhi, whose warm personal connect with an endless wave of citizens has been as impressive as his physical stamina on the long march”.
He concludes by seeming to imply Rahul has done enough by just walking a few miles and it is now up to “others” to do their job – place him on the throne.
Let us move on to academics now. Shruti Kapila who often writes for The Print has written about the yatra too. She sees it as a “therapy for the stressed nation” and she goes on to compare with Mahtma Gandhi!. Poor man must be turning in his grave. Let us ignore the rest of the article as it is about Savarkar.
Coming to “journalists”, can we forget Vir Singhvi of Radia fame? His article for Print on the yatra is a classic and a good study in sycophancy and hagiography for any aspirant to study. He seems relieved that finally India can relate to Rahul. Poor guy doesn’t seem to realise if you ignore the sycophancy part of it, the fact that stands out is that no one in India could relate to Rahul until now!
The rest of the article puts in a strong entry for first prize in our competition – “walking 3570km entirely on foot”, “His speeches have been widely appreciated and on one celebrated occasion, a crowd sat through a rainstorm to hear him speak “. He even seems to think “yatra has worked to galvanise pro-Congress sentiment” even as he declares the yatra is not about politics.
Sagarika Ghose’s article doesn’t want to use the time tested “come of age” phrase that has become a joke now. So she goes for “more focussed now” praise. Pity the courtiers forced to search the dictionary for newer ways to say the same thing! She says the “Pappu image is buried in the big numbers turning out”. Of course, no mention of who brought them and how many trucks and at what cost etc. that would be mentioned if it were Modi’s. She seems impressed Rahul is becoming the party’s “ideologue” – which is a joke considering the so-called ideology is actually regurgitated from his Politburo handlers. But to be fair to her, she spends more time questioning if it will work that certifying it will.
Now if I go around enumerating various tweets and SM posts by the assorted denizens of the Palazzo servant quarters that call themselves journalists, more contestants will emerge. It is already a crowded field plus my nose is aching from the stench of such fearless, independent display of journalism and intellectual integrity.
Interestingly almost all these observers seem to doubt if the yatra will pay off politically even as they try to follow the party line in spinning the yatra as some grand act of social or national service that has nothing to do with politics! If so, why worry about its pay off at all?! Don’t ask such inconvenient questions.
Who gets the Pidi Oscar award? I will leave it to each one of you to decide your own winner!
On Saturday, 24 December 2022, a court in Mathura ordered an official survey of the Shahi Idgah complex at Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. The court has given this verdict following the appeal by the Hindu side. The survey of the disputed structure will be conducted just like the survey of the Gyanvapi complex was conducted earlier this year.
The Civil Judge Senior Division (III) Court has ordered a survey following the Hindu Sena’s plea in the Shri Krishna Janmasthan case. The court listed the matter for further hearing on January 20. A similar order was earlier given for the Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi. The court has ordered to file a survey report of the disputed site, including the map, by January 20. The court of Civil Judge Senior Division (III) Sonika Verma gave this verdict.
Uttar Pradesh | Mathura court orders an official survey of Shahi Idgah complex in Mathura. The next date of hearing in the case is January 20, 2023.
On December 8, Hindu Sena national president Vishnu Gupta and vice-president Surjit Singh Yadav had claimed in the court of Civil Judge Senior Division (III) Judge Sonika Verma that the Idgah was built by Aurangzeb on 13.37 acres of land in Sri Krishna Janmasthan. They presented the entire history from Lord Krishna’s birth to the construction of the temple before the court. Shailesh Dubey appeared as an advocate for the claimants in the court.
They have also demanded that the agreement signed between Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh vs Shahi Idgah in 1968 be canceled as illegal. Dubey said that the court while hearing the plaintiff’s petition, has ordered a survey and asked to file a report. The surveyor will have to submit the report to the court by January 20. So far, 13 cases have been filed in the Sri Krishna Janmasthan case. Two of these cases were earlier dismissed by the court.
Prior to Mathura, a survey was conducted on the order of the court in the Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case of Varanasi. On August 17, 2021, five women filed a petition seeking permission to worship at Shringar Gauri and the protection of idols. On this, Civil Judge Senior Division Ravi Kumar Diwakar appointed the Court Commissioner and ordered a survey of Gyanvapi structure. On 16th May 2022, a Shivling was allegedly found in the middle of the wazukhana in the Gyanvapi complex during the survey.
On Saturday (November 24), the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ of Rahul Gandhi entered Delhi after completing the Haryana leg of his political foot pilgrimage.
After being welcomed by his party cadre at the Badarpur border, the Congress scion yet again showered platitudes about showcasing ‘real India’ and ‘spreading love’ in the midst of a supposed ‘hate-filled campaign of BJP.’
“Some people are spreading hatred but common man of the country is now talking about love. In every State, lakhs have joined the yatra. I’ve said to people of RSS-BJP that we’re here to open the shop of love in your ‘Bazar’ of hatred,” Rahul Gandhi was quoted as saying.
Some people are spreading hatred but common man of the country is now talking about love. In every state lakhs have joined the yatra. I’ve said to people of RSS-BJP that we’re here to open the shop of love in your ‘bazar’ of hatred: Rahul Gandhi as Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Delhi pic.twitter.com/akodsWbjRj
He further added, “There is no nafrat (hate) in this yatra. If somebody falls, everybody helps them. This is the real Hindustan. Not the BJP’s and RSS’s hatred-filled Hindustan…We want to show them the real Hindustan,”
The Congress dynast was joined by his mother Sonia Gandhi, sister Priyanka Gandhi, brother-in-law Robert Vadra and other party leaders such as Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Pawan Khera, and Jairam Ramesh.
Rahul Gandhi embarked on his luxurious ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ on September 7 this year from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. One of the leaders who was present at the start of the Padyatra was MK Stalin, DMK supremo and ally of the Congress in the State of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu CM Sh. MK Stalin hands over Khadi Tiranga to Congress leader Sh. Rahul Gandhi in Kanyakumari before the beginning of Bharat Jodo Padyatra.
Rajasthan CM Sh. Ashok Gehlot and Chhatisgarh CM Sh. Bhupesh Baghel and senior leaders remained present. pic.twitter.com/AMb4Xrq3nY
His party, in particular, has been at the forefront of widening the linguistic divide and directing hate against North Indians in particular. During a press briefing on September 9, Rahul Gandhi emphasised that he was fighting against the Indian system rather than any political party.
“We’re not fighting anymore a political party. It’s now between the structure of the Indian state & opposition,” he was heard as saying. The Wayanad MP had earlier confessed that his party is attacking India’s whole infrastructure, alleging that the Centre had taken control of all democratic institutions in the country.
#WATCH | BJP has taken control of all the institutions of this country & pressurise through them…we’re not fighting anymore a political party. It’s now between the structure of the Indian state & opposition: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in Tamil Nadu during ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ pic.twitter.com/c2sXkFmvgs
Rahul Gandhi also accused the RSS of infiltrating the nation’s democratic institutions in what appeared to be an effort to win over the public’s sympathy for the Gandhi family’s alleged involvement in the National Herald money laundering case.
Rahul Gandhi remains mute when a Christian priest insults Hindu deities
Two days after the commencement of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi met a rabid anti-Hindu pastor by the name of George Ponnaiah. In a viral video, he was seen learning about Jesus Christ from the pastor. “But, He is not God? Or is he God? Jesus is also God?” the Congress scion asked.
A man in the background was heard explaining how the connection between Jesus Christ and God using the different states of water. “It is Like water, which is in 3 states – solid, liquid, and gaseous form,” he said.
The man then proceeded to explain that Jesus Christ is God and also the son of God. “So, Jesus Christ is a form of God?” inquired Rahul Gandhi.
At that point, Father George Ponnaiah intervened and claimed that Jesus is the ‘real God’, unlike ‘Sakthi & other Hindu gods. The rabid Hindu hater said, “He (Jesus Christ) is a real God, revealed as a human person. Not like Sakthi and all.”
Rahul Gandhi, who otherwise claims to be a janeu dhari Brahmin, remained a mute spectator to the direct insinuation by the Christian pastor that the Hindu deities are not real, and imaginary.
While the Congress party is making a last-ditch effort to turn its political fortunes through the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, it appeared ironic that the Gandhi dynast chose to meet a man who made despicable remarks about Bharat Mata and the Hindu civilisation.
Meeting with a Congress leader who slaughtered a cow to insult Hindus
On September 26 this year, Rahul Gandhi met the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) leader, who slaughtered a cow in broad daylight in 2017 to mock Hindu sentiments.
Rijil Chandran Makkutty, the said IYC leader, had posted about the development on his official Facebook page. The meeting took place in Pattambi town in the Palakkad district of Kerala as part of Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra.’
In 2017, in defiance of the centre’s move to enforce a ban on cow slaughter, Rijil Makkutty along with his aides dragged a calf and brutally slaughtered it.
The cow is considered a sacred animal by Hindus and the act of publicly slaughtering a calf was meant to send a strong signal to Hindus and a pro-Hindu government at the centre.
At that time, Rahul Gandhi was then forced to try and control the damage. “What happened in Kerala yesterday is thoughtless, barbaric & completely unacceptable to me & the Congress Party. I strongly condemn the incident,” he had tweeted.
However, the charade of having a genuine concern for the feelings of Hindus stood exposed as Rijil continued to remain involved in party activities. The agony expressed by Rahul Gandhi on Social Media and the supposed ‘suspension’ of Rijil appeared as an eyewash.
Screengrab of the Facebook posts by Rijil Chandran Makkutty
The fact that Rahul had allowed Rijil to continue to work for the Kerala State Congress unit asserted that he had no compunction in associating himself with someone who had wantonly hurt the Hindu sentiments by butchering a calf.
The pictures of Rijil along with Rahul and Priyanka, in the runup to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, are a testimony to it.
Rahul Gandhi stirs rift between Gujarat and Maharashtra
On November 9 this year, the Congress scion attempted to create animosity between the States of Gujarat and Maharashtra by falsely claiming that projects meant for the latter were being moved to favour the former.
He alleged that projects such as the Tata-Airbus military aircraft partnership and the Vendanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant were stolen from Maharashtra and handed to Gujarat ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in the neighbouring state.
#WATCH | Maharashtra: Your projects are going to Gujarat as Airbus project went from Maharashtra because elections are there in Gujarat. Even the Foxconn project went. Apart from money, jobs & future of state’s youth are also being snatched: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in Nanded pic.twitter.com/1NDyEkEyNZ
Downplaying the contribution of Indian freedom fighter Veer Savarkar
The Congress scion went on a vitriolic tirade against Veer Savarkar during the Maharashtra leg of his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra.’ On November 15, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the freedom fighter took a pension from the British government to work against the Indian National Congress (INC).
Again on November 17, he reiterated that Veer Savarkar helped the British government and wrote mercy petitions “out of fear”. Rahul Gandhi accused the Indian freedom fighter of betraying the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, and Mahatma Gandhi in the Akola district of Maharashtra.
He alleged, “Veer Savarkar, in a letter written to the British, said – Sir, I beg to remain your most obedient servant” & signed on it. Savarkar helped the British. He betrayed leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru & Sardar Patel by signing the letter out of fear.”
Veer Savarkar, in a letter written to the British, said “Sir, I beg to remain your most obedient servant” & signed on it. Savarkar helped the British. He betrayed leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru & Sardar Patel by signing the letter out of fear: Cong MP Rahul Gandhi pic.twitter.com/PcmtW6AD24
He continued, “While he was lodged in Andaman jail, Savarkar wrote a letter to the British pleading with them that he be pardoned and released. He took a pension from the British and worked against Congress.”
“After coming out of jail, he accepted the British proposal and joined their force. The difference between Savarkar and Birsa Munda is that he died fighting against the British when he was just 24 years old,” Rahul Gandhi further claimed.
Later, a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against him based on the complaint of Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena leader, Vandana Dongre.
Joining hands with controversial anti-India activists and scandalous politicians
There were several controversial personalities that joined Rahul Gandhi in his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. For instance, ‘Andolanjeevi’ Yogendra Yadav was part of the Yatra for some time. He even released a video praising the march conducted by Congress across India.
Rahul Gandhi also came under fire from the Bharatiya Janata Party for onboarding ‘activist’ Medha Patkar in his Bharat Jodo Yatra on November 17 this year.
Patkar had launched a vicious campaign against Gujarat’s lifeline Sardar Sarovar Project, thereby blocking its funding and delaying the progress of the critically important Narmada Yojana for years.
जब आप समाज के लिए कुछ करते हैं, तो समाज कल्याण में लगे लोग खुद ही आपसे जुड़ते हैं … ‘भारत जोड़ो यात्रा’ में सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता मेधा पाटकर ने की शिरकत।#BharatJodoYatrapic.twitter.com/zkUsab9R8x
Earlier in July, a formal complaint was filed in Madhya Pradesh against ‘activist’ Medha Patkar, who rose to prominence as a consequence of the “Narmada Bachao Andolan,” in a cheating case. Medha Patkar and others have been charged with misappropriating funds in the guise of teaching tribal kids.
According to the FIR, Medha Patkar raised more than Rs 13 crore through the ‘Narmada Navnirman Abhiyan’ foundation. She has been accused of inciting anti-government sentiment by soliciting donations for education.
Nonetheless, Rahul Gandhi also met up with 2G scam-accused DMK MP Kanimozhi, and Abhay Thipsay, the man who defended Nirav Modi in the UK court. The Congress scion was also close to onboarding 1984 anti-Sikh riot accused Jagdish Tytler in his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra.’
He also gave a platform to ‘Muslim intellectuals’ to peddle victimhood, ranging from the supposed persecution of the Muslim community to the preservation and protection of Waqf properties.
During the course of this yatra, his party cadre was found manhandling and soliciting money from a poor vegetable vendor in Kollam. Rahul Gandhi, with his unkempt beard, Lal Singh Chaddha avatar and condescending behaviour, is now trying to portray himself as the poster boy of love, while the behaviour throughout this yatra suggests otherwise.
The incidents of crude bomb blasts continue in TMC-ruled West Bengal. In a latest such incident, two boys were critically injured when a bomb kept in their maternal grandparent’s house exploded yesterday. The grandfather, who is a TMC member, has been arrested on the charges of making bombs.
The horrific incident took place on Friday in Ekdala village under Margram police station in Birbhum district. The two boys, named Rohan Sheikh and Sohan Sheikh, were visiting their grandparent’s house and playing in an abandoned house owned by the grandfather Jamirul Islam. At around 11 AM on Friday, an explosion took place in the house, gravely injuring the two boys.
Both the boys suffered severe burns due to the blast, and they also suffered injuries from splinters. They were first admitted at to the Rampurhat Medical College Hospital, and from there they were referred to Burdwan Medical College Hospital.
Jamirul Islam has two daughters, one of whom is married in the same village while the other has been married to a man in Govinapur gram. Rohan Sheikh and Sohan Sheikh are the sons of the two sisters. Both the kids had arrived in the maternal grandparent’s house some days ago.
The police registered a case after the incident and arrested Jamirul Islam. The police also cordoned off Jamirul’s house after the explosion. Jamirul has been booked under the Explosive Substance Act and various relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
“A case has been lodged and the house owner has been arrested. We have started an investigation as to what exactly happened and what kind of explosives were involved,” Superintendent of Police (SP) Nagendra Nath Tripathi said. Police said that Jamirul had stocked bombs in the house.
However, Jamirul denied that there were crude bombs in the house, and claimed that it was firecrackers. He claimed that firecrackers were stocked in the house for an upcoming wedding, and these firecrackers exploded accidentally when the boys were playing. The mother of one of the boys also made the same claim.
Jamirul Islam added that he had asked the boys to not play neat the firecrackers but they didn’t listen to him. When a journalist asked how firecrackers can cause such huge damage, he said it it was a box of firecrackers that exploded together. On the other hand, another family member claimed that it was a gas cylinder explosion.
However, locals and police suspect their version due to the nature of the explosion and the fact that the boys were hit by splinters. Seeing the damage to the house caused by the explosion, they say that it can’t be firecrackers. One police officer said that the explosion was caused by an improvised bomb and not by firecrackers.
It is notable that after the Bogtui massacre in March this year, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had ordered the police to recover bombs and firearms stocked in the state. While police had recovered substantial amounts of explosives, bomb blasts continue to take place in the state, many times accidentally in the houses where they are made and stored.
There has been a significant disclosure in the mass conversion case of Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh. It has been revealed that the accused have received funding from many countries. The Sitapur police have made this big revelation. Foreign funding received by the NGO run by the main accused David Asthana has been detected in the case.
On Thursday, 22nd December 2022, the Sitapur police claimed to have unearthed foreign funding to an NGO run by prime accused David Asthana in the alleged religious conversion case. David Asthana and his wife Rohini Asthana were booked on December 19 on charges of forcible conversion after visiting Sitapur along with tourists from Brazil.
Additional Superintendent of Police Narendra Pratap Singh said that the ongoing investigation in the case has revealed that David Asthana had violated the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). He received huge funds from the US, South Korea, Brazil, Kenya, and Argentina during 2014-15 and did not give any record of this to the authorities.
ASP Narendra Pratap Singh said, “We have detected several lakh rupees in three bank accounts of David Asthana and when confronted, he failed to give proper reasons. We have sought 14-day police custody of David Asthana from a local court, which will be heard on Friday.”
Police have also summoned the chartered account of the NGO run by David Asthana. Police sources privy to the investigation revealed that they have detected donations worth Rs 1 crore from 2018-19 and that they will write to other financial authorities soon to get more details.
Who donated money to the NGO run by Davis Asthana?
Police claim that 12 donors who donated considerable amounts to David Asthana have been traced. These include Sandra, Henry from California, and James from Texas. Also involved are Brad Sprinkler and Parkson from California, and Catherine and a pastor from Illinois. One donor Park is from South Korea and the other Andrew is from Nairobi, Kenya. Rivaldo Jose Da Silva is from Brazil. Apart from this, two others are from Argentina.
According to police, David had visited South Korea, Argentina, and Brazil. Investigations have revealed that donations from all the above people came to David’s account through an e-gateway. It was facilitated through the Calvary Church in Chennai, a senior police officer said.
David Asthana used to hold meetings for conversion
The police officer said that David used to organize large gatherings in villages in Sitapur and adjoining districts for alleged conversion before 2017. Sources said that to build his house, David had first bought a property in Sehbazpur village under the Sadarpur police station area, but later it was built as a hall. Now it was being used to gather people in one place.
The ASP told about the tourists from Brazil who came with David. They were identified as Rivaldo Joses DaSilva, Magnolia Maro Laronzera, Gulheram Nasimento Edalgo, and Alexander D’Silva. They are directed to leave India by December 29.
On Monday, December 19, a case was registered against David Asthana and his wife Rohini based on a complaint filed the previous day by Naimish Gupta, a resident of Sehbazpur village. In the complaint, Naimish Gupta alleged that the couple along with four foreign nationals, identified as Rivaldo Joses DaSilva, Magnolia Maro Laronzera, Gulheram Nasimento Edalgo, and Alexander D’Silva, participated in a mass conversion event in the village under Sadarpur police limits on Sunday.
The year 2022 has not been a good one for the Hindi film industry. The year saw many big-budget releases disappoint at the box office. The likes of Bachchan Pandey, Prithviraj, Jersey, Heropanti 2, Shamshera, Laal Singh Chaddha, Vikram Vedha etc were all rejected by the audience. Even the top-grosser of the year, Brahmastra did underwhelming business looking at its massive production budget.
In this series of big-budget flops, another name has been added as we approach the end of the year as Ranveer Singh starrer Cirkus tanks at the box office. The latest adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘A Comedy of Errors’, directed by Rohit Shetty, ended up being a total failure with both, the critics and the masses.
Rohit Shetty has established a reputation for delivering commercial success with a string of successful films, especially comedy films, however, even he couldn’t work his magic this time. While Cirkus bombed, Drishyam 2 continues to draw the audience as its box office collections reach 225 crores, becoming the 3rd highest grosser of the year after Brahmastra and The Kashmir Files.
#Drishyam2 remains steady, despite #Avatar invading the marketplace… Will breach ₹ 225 cr mark today [sixth Fri]… [Week 5] Fri 1.07 cr, Sat 2.02 cr, Sun 2.56 cr, Mon 88 lacs, Tue 84 lacs, Wed 82 lacs, Thu 79 lacs. Total: ₹ 224.68 cr. #India biz. pic.twitter.com/Ql8Aox0qvT
2022 also saw many “Boycott” campaigns as people launched campaigns against Bollywood films and actors, asking others not to see their films. Some have attributed even the failure of films like Laal Singh Chaddha to such boycott campaigns. However, in a nation of 140 crore people, even if the majority boycott your film, there are enough people living in the country to make your film a success, if you make a good film.
“A good film”, is what the audience has started to demand these days, and that is where Bollywood is struggling. Lazy filmmaking of signing a ‘big name’ as the lead actor for an obscene amount, shooting in foreign locations, and adding a couple of item songs has worked well for the Hindi film industry for years, however, the audience wants something more now.
The success of Kashmir Files, a runaway hit, in the first half of the year showed that people will watch a film that they can connect to. The film, depicting the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus in the early 90s, had no big stars, no songs, and no love angle, it simply told a story that people liked.
Drishyam 2 has shown that people will watch a well-made film even when they already know the suspense in the film. Remakes such as Laal Singh Chaddha, Vikram Vedha, and Cirkus failed to attract the audience, but Drishyam 2 has shown that people still appreciate remakes, as long as they are well made, and the film doesn’t take the audience for granted. The thought that since you are remaking a successful film so the audience will come by default has to be discarded.
People thronged the cinema halls in 2022 to watch the dubbed versions of films from the south of India. KGF, RRR, Pushpa, Kantara etc have all done phenomenal business in the Hindi belt. These films have shown that people are still looking forward to going to the cinemas as long as the experience for them is worth spending the money.
2022 has taught many lessons to the big names of Bollywood. Even bankable names like Akshay Kumar and Ranveer Singh delivered multiple flops this year. Maybe instead of spending the entire budget on signing the lead actors, they have to start paying some attention to the script as well. Maybe they need to spend a little time researching the subject, maybe they need to try and relate to the audience.
The ‘formula films’ are not working, and are unlikely to work so instead of repeating their formula, Bollywood’s filmmakers need to put in some actual work. However, I am not too hopeful that the big names from the industry will try and think of any course correction.
