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Bombay High Court dismisses petition against CM Eknath Shinde over Dussehra rally, says plea filed in wrong category

OpIndia Staff
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Bombay High Court dismisses petition against CM Eknath Shinde over Dussehra rally, says plea filed in wrong category

On Friday, the Bombay High Court bench dismissed a petition demanding an investigation into the amount of money spent this year on the Dussehra rally organized by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on October 5. 

While declining to hear the case, the bench led by Justices AS Gadkari and PD Naik noted that the substance of the petition’s arguments required it to be filed as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) rather than a writ petition. Nitin Satpute, the petitioner’s counsel, was ordered by the judge to comply with specified rules following which Satpute agreed and decided to convert the petition into a PIL.

According to the complaint, about two lakh people from across the state attended the Dussehra rally organised by CM Eknath Shinde on October 5 at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). A social worker from Mumbai’s Kandivali East submitted the plea, the petitioner had requested an inquiry by the CBI, ED, or the Mumbai police’s economic crime branch into the funding of the rally.

According to the appeal, the state govt used the state-run Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation’s 1,700 buses to ferry people to the public gathering. The complaint also noted that Shinde had paid State Transport Rs 10 crore or more for this service, in addition to rewarding individuals who offered extra services during the event.

The petitioner also alleged that Shinde was designated the chief minister of an unrecognized government and the leader of an unregistered party. The petition went on to say that because Shinde’s party isn’t registered, the issue is, “Who spent all this money on the rally?”

The petition further stated that the individuals in Maharashtra had to suffer since there were no buses for passengers travelling or regular commuters. It also said that the Mumbai Nagpur Samruddhi highway was not available to the public and was instead utilized to ferry people to the BKC event, culminating in a huge collision near Daulatabad with no deaths reported.

It was reported earlier, that the rally was organized by CM Eknath Shinde on October 5 at the BKC ground in Mumbai where Balasaheb Thackeray’s son and Uddhav Thackeray’s elder brother Jaidev Thackeray joined the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena. “Let me make it clear that I am a Thackeray who does not believe in joining some group. But Eknath Shinde has taken a stand on certain issues. I liked that. Such an active person is what Maharashtra needs,” he had said.

‘Kharge should expel Rahul Gandhi from Congress’: BJP over ‘Chinese troops beating Indian soldiers in Arunchal Pradesh’ remark

OpIndia Staff
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‘Kharge should expel Rahul Gandhi from Congress’: BJP over ‘Chinese troops beating Indian soldiers in Arunchal Pradesh’ remark

A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Chinese troops are thrashing Indian army soldiers along the line of actual control (LAC), BJP hit out at the Gandhi scion for ‘belittling’ India and breaking the morale of its armed forces.

Addressing a press conference, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia slammed the grand old party and asserted that if the party president Mallikarjun Kharge is not “remote-controlled” and if the opposition party stands with the country, then it should expel Rahul Gandhi for his disparaging remark against the Indian armed forces.

Launching a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi, Gaurav Bhatia added, “Indians and the BJP are proud of the Indian Army. The soldiers who are beating the Chinese army on the border are showing their strength. Why is ‘Jaichand’ Rahul Gandhi doing the work of breaking the morale of our army?

“Let me tell Rahul Gandhi that this is not the India of 1962. Not a single inch of India’s land is under anyone’s control and no one has the courage to take it. We have the bravest army in the world, we are diplomatically capable. In such a situation, it is not possible for anyone to occupy even an inch of our land.”

According to Gaurav Bhatia, each Indian’s chest expands to a size of 56 inches every time our Army proves its mantle. Rahul Gandhi and the enemy nations are the only two who are pained. “It is because of our armed forces that every Indian’s chest is 56 inches, only Rahul Gandhi’s is 6 inches,” said Bhatia.

Lauding PM Modi for his unwavering support to the Indian Armed Forces, the BJP spokesperson added, “When Rahul Gandhi sits at his home in an air-conditioned room, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence minister Rajnath Singh stand with the army on the border on Diwali.”

According to Bhatia, if Congress does not take action against Gandhi, who is still viewed as its key motivator, his statement will be indicative of the opposition party’s viewpoint.

The BJP spokesman claimed that the Congress had evolved from a political party into a hub for anti-Indian activities.

The presser was in the wake of Rahul Gandhi’s comments on the recent Tawang clash between Indian-Chinese troops.

Other BJP leaders, including JP Nadda, Kiren Rijiju, and others too, have condemned Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Indian Army soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh, stating that such unfounded statements demoralise the army that is fighting a hostile force indulging in expansionist revisionism.

‘Chinese troops are thrashing India Army soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh’: Rahul Gandhi

On 16th December 2022, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Chinese troops are thrashing Indian army soldiers along the line of actual control (LAC). He made these remarks in Rajasthan where he was addressing a press conference during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Rahul Gandhi was asked about the purported clashes between two Congress leaders in Rajasthan – Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot. After answering briefly the questions regarding them, Rahul Gandhi turned towards the Tawang issue, where the Indian army soldiers fought, thrashed, and chased away Chinese troops who had intruded along the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh.

Rahul Gandhi said, “People will ask about Bharat Jodo yatra, here and there, Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot and whatnot. But they will not ask a single question about China capturing 2000 square kilometres of Indian territory, killing 20 Indian soldiers, and thrashing our soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh. But the Indian press doesn’t ask a question to them about this. Isn’t it true? The nation is watching all this. Don’t pretend that the people don’t know.”

India-China clashes in Tawang, reports assert Indian Army thrashed Chinese PLA, chased them away across the LAC

It is notable that this remark by Rahul Gandhi has come a week after clashes broke out between the Indian and Chinese troops on December 9, 2022, in the border area of the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh. Around 200 Chinese soldiers were involved in the attack. The Chinese PLA came heavily prepared with spiked clubs with nails on them, monkey fists (a crude weapon made of iron that is worn on the wrist), and taser guns and sticks. The PLA troop was challenged by a group of roughly 50 Indian soldiers who confronted them and stopped their advances in a location.

As per sources, the Indian Army soldiers not only beat the livings daylight out of the intruding Chinese forces, but they also chased them away across the LAC.

Kiren Rijiju visits Yangtse in Tawang where Chinese military clashed with Indian soldiers, says Arunachal Pradesh is fully secured

OpIndia Staff
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Kiren Rijiju visits Yangtse in Tawang where Chinese military clashed with Indian soldiers, says Arunachal Pradesh is fully secured

Days after Indian soldiers clashed with the Chinese military in the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh, Arunachal MP and law minister Kiren Rijiju reached the clash point today. Posting photographs with the Indian armed forces at the Yangtse area at the Indo-China border, Rijiju said that Arunachal Pradesh is fully secured after additional troops have been deployed

“Yangtse area in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh is fully secured now due to adequate deployment of the brave jawans of Indian Army,” Kiren Rijiju posted on Twitter, along with photographs of himself with the soldiers in front of a mountain.

Kiren Rijiju also posted mesmerising photographs of the 108 Holy Water Falls located at the same place just below Yangtse, locally known as Chumi Gyatse. “This is an amazing sight located just below Yangtse. It’s known as Chumi Gyatse, 108 Holy Water Falls which originates from in-between the high mountains, considered the blessings of Guru Padmasambhava,” he tweeted. It is notable that there are 108 waterfalls at this location.

Hours before reaching Yangtse, Kiren Rijiju slammed Rahul Gandhi for his negative comments on Indian armed forces. “Rahul Gandhi is not only insulting Indian Army but damaging nation’s image. He is not only a problem for the Congress Party but he has also become a huge embarrassment [to] the country,” he said.

The union law minister added, “We are proud of our Armed Forces.”

He also posted an ANI video where locals in Arunachal Pradesh are seen slamming the Congress leader for his misleading remarks that Indian armed personnel are being thrashed by Chinese army. They said that it was Indian soldiers who had beaten the Chinese soldiers, and Rahul Gandhi made a wrong remark by saying that Chinese are beating the Indians.

On Friday during a press conference, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that while China is preparing for a war, the Indian government is doing nothing and trying to ignore the threat. He had said that ‘China has captured 2000 square kilometres of Indian territory, killed 20 Indian soldiers, and thrashing our soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh.’

‘Ye Hamare Khoon Mein Hai’: ‘Activist’ Aasif Mujtaba instigates AMU students, says Jamia was created for Muslims to learn to ‘resist’

OpIndia Staff
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‘Ye Hamare Khoon Mein Hai’: ‘Activist’ Aasif Mujtaba instigates AMU students, says Jamia was created for Muslims to learn to ‘resist’

On December 15, Thursday, a so-called activist and social worker, Aasif Mujtaba, said that Jamia University was not created to become a centre of excellence but for “Muslims to learn to resist.”

Aasif Mujtaba, along with journalist Ghazala Ahmad, was invited to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to speak on the topic: ‘Relevance of Universities in Shaping Public Opinion’  in the context of challenges and opportunities in post-2019 India. The talk was organised to mark the third anniversary of the 2019 anti-CAA protests at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh. 

Instigating AMU students against the government, Mujtaba said, “ You are in a campus built on Qurbani (sacrifice) Jamia was not created to be a centre of excellence of mass communication or something, Jamia is a campus built on Qurbani it was not a Qurbani of vice-chancellor, the purpose of AMU is not to produce engineers and doctors only but produce visible and hearable political voices which see the government in the eye and say that they are thieves and have malicious intentions. Jamia is a centre created for Muslims to learn how to resist, Ye Hamare Khoon Mein Hai. Institutions like AMU will have no relevance without political voices.”

Aasif Mujtaba further called the AMU students to resist the ‘zaalim’. “ Aap wo abr hain jise har ek Zaalim par barasna hai.”

According to the website of Left Word Books, a Delhi-based publishing house that reflects the leftist ideology, Aasif Mujtaba is a Research Scholar at the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Delhi and is currently serving as an Executive Committee member, Treasurer & Data Protection Officer at IIT Delhi Alumni Association.  Mujtaba is also the organiser of the Shaheen Bagh protest along with Sharjeel Imam. 

It is pertinent to mention here that Aasif Mujtaba is also the founder of Miles2Smiles Foundation, the organisation that had set up a learning centre at a Rohingya camp at Nuh in Haryana. The organisation had raised funds for the construction work for the Rohingya Refugees at Nuh in Haryana and had also built housing units, he claimed on Twitter in January this year. It is worth noting that Nuh belongs to Mewat in Haryana, the region that is notoriously known as “Mini Pakistan“, where tales of abduction, rapes and forced conversions of Hindus have been routinely reported. 

Mujtaba’s Foundation also launched a fundraising campaign in April this year to help the ‘victims’ of anti-encroachment drives across the country. Various state governments, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and the New Delhi Municipal Corporation authorities in the national capital, had razed down building belonging to encroachers, following which a campaign has been launched, apparently with the aim of helping the ‘victims’ of the anti-encroachment drive.

SRK, Deepika, and the outrage against ‘Pathaan’: How the Indian Left and Bollywood are responsible for the current predicament

Amit Kelkar
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SRK, Deepika, and the outrage against ‘Pathaan’: How the Indian Left and Bollywood are responsible for the current predicament

Bollywood was once considered India’s most potent symbol of soft power. It provided a gateway for India to present its worldview and to foreigners, a medium to understand its rich heritage, cultural diversity, and pluralistic and ancient traditions.

Shah Rukh Khan, or King Khan, as his fans refer to him, emerged as the quintessential embodiment of what Bollywood stood for. He commanded a massive following, which bordered on frenzied adulation, with fans from across the world going gaga over his romantic movies; his iconic pose of stretching his arms wide and beckoning his lady love to draw nearer in a bear hug became an integral part of his path-breaking Bollywood career.

Similarly, Deepika Padukone, much like SRK but not more than him, became one of the most trusted ambassadors of India’s soft power, Bollywood, across the globe. She broke numerous glass ceilings and established herself as an accomplished actor, displaying her versatility and commitment to her art.

The fraternisation of Bollywood and the Left saw the former’s undoing in the Indian film industry

But all of that changed in the last few years as Bollywood allowed itself to be co-opted by postmodernist forces in the West that enabled the global scourge of wokeism and chipped away at India’s unique culture, painting it as primitive, barbaric, and regressive. As a consequence, ideals cherished by Indians and traditions enshrined in its millennia-old civilisation were looked down upon and treated with contempt by Bollywood, which began warming up to western ideals and imposing them on Indians through their movies.

However, as statistics prove, the bent towards the West turned out to be a costlier mess for Bollywood, which is paying for its harakiri to this date. Audiences stopped going to theatres to watch Hindi movies that appeared distorted and perversely aligned to the Left’s ideological narrative.

Recently, IMDB released its rankings for the Most Popular Indian Movies for 2022. And predictably, there was just one Hindi movie in the list of top 10 films widely talked about by the Indian audience in 2022. Incidentally, it was ‘The Kashmir Files’ by Vivek Agnihotri, the same movie that saw a vicious barrage of attacks from sections of Bollywood and the Left firmament, which vehemently objected to the film because it brought forth the harsh reality of the sufferings endured by Kashmiri Pandits in the 90s in the Valley.

The list was dominated by South Indian films, which have been using the canvas of the silver screen to glorify India’s civilisational beauty, diversity, and magnificence as against Bollywood’s insufferably hackneyed tropes. RRR topped the IMDB list, with Kantara and Ponniyin Selvan-I among the top 10.

Amitabh Bachchan recently expressed his concerns for civil liberties and freedom of expression during an event. It was ironic he chose to speak at an event that was organised in Kolkata, West Bengal, where the ruling TMC is accused of indulging in post-poll violence and repressing the civil liberties of its political opponents. Shah Rukh Khan also spoke on the impact of social media campaigns, alluding to the online ire his movie Pathaan has attracted in the last few days.

While SRK, Bachchan, spoke on the need to protect civil liberties and safeguard Freedom of Expression, they both had been conspicuously mum when former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma came under Islamist attack, unleashed by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, over her comments on Prophet Muhammad. The actors, who command a massive following, could have wielded their power and asked their followers to respect the Freedom of Expression of one of their co-citizens, even if they did not agree with her views. Sharma has been condemned to oblivion, with the threat of an Islamist attack perpetually hanging above her head.

The handwringing over FoE underscores the hypocrisy of Bollywood stalwarts over vile attacks against Nupur Sharma, The Kashmir Files

However, none of the actors came out in support of Nupur Sharma or express solidarity with her. Instead, propagandists such as Swara Bhasker weighed in on the controversy, indirectly legitimising the attack against Sharma by criticising her for her remarks and not urging Islamists to back off from targeting her.

Similarly, during the highly motivated smear campaign against ‘The Kashmir Files’, very few actors and stalwarts from the Bollywood industry came out in support of Vivek Agnihotri, the director of the movie that chronicled the sufferings of the Kashmiri Hindus in the Valley leading up to the exodus. Amitabh Bachchan and SRK, among the foremost members of the Bollywood industry, did not feel it necessary to voice their concern for the rabid attack faced by The Kashmir Files from the Indian Left, which sought to project the travails of the Kashmiri Pandits as a figment of Vivek Agnihotri’s imagination.

Despite the damning evidence in form of numerous news reports, and video interviews with the survivors and the kin of those killed by Islamic terrorists in Kashmir, the Indian Left continued its motivated attack against ‘The Kashmir Files’. Far from standing in support of Vivek Agnihotri, many Bollywood actors, directors, and others aligned themselves with the Left to rail against the movie. Anurag Kashyap, a fading Bollywood director, assailed ‘The Kashmir Files’, implicitly legitimising the attack it faced from the Left.

None of the so-called warriors of FoE, civil liberties—including Naseeruddin Shah and Javed Akhtar, who are vocal about a range of national issues—in addition to Amitabh Bachchan, and Shah Rukh Khan, who are reticent in raising their voices—called out the Left’s bullying and throw their weight behind ‘The Kashmir Files’ for the constitutional right that guarantees its makers to create and screen movies in theatres across the country.

SRK maintained a stoic silence when Leftists used his son’s detention to propagate the myth of Islamophobia in India

In addition, Bollywood actors have allowed themselves to be used puppets for the Left to defame India on global platforms. Last year, after the NCB detained Shah Rukh Khan’s son in a drugs case, the leftist propagandists fell over themselves to characterise a routine police procedure as rooted in the Centre’s “deep-rooted” Islamophobia and to “teach” SRK a lesson for his unfavourable comment made against it years ago. Rana Ayyub, a donation-fraud accused, peddled in her column for the Washington Post that SRK’s son, Aryan Khan, was arrested because of his Muslim identity. Other ‘liberals’ too promoted the canard that the narcotics watchdog detained Aryan because of his Muslim identity.

The entire cacophony surrounding Aryan Khan being arrested and kept in prison because of his religion was to malign the country—to prove that hatred against Muslims in India is so prominent that even eminent personalities are not spared. This narrative jibed perfectly well with the hackneyed liberal propaganda to portray the Modi government as the enemy of the Muslims. Instead, many others were detained along with Aryan, but the Left continued to push the ‘Muslims in Danger’ narrative and sweep under the rug the religious identities of others who were arrested by the NCB, lest it would debunk their propaganda as Hindus were also involved in the case.

But Shah Rukh Khan did not publicly denounce the allegations that his son was detained as a part of a procedure followed by the NCB. He did not explicitly call out the Left’s skulduggery and their attempt to drag his name to attract global attention to their hobbyhorse of slandering the Modi government. Instead, he allowed the Left to use him as a stick to beat the current dispensation. Neither did other Bollywood actors come forth to stop the Left from weaving an insidious narrative that Muslims in India faced religious discrimination.

The Left, on the other hand, is known for harbouring Hinduphobic tendencies, evident in their disdain for concerns raised by Hindus. This unholy nexus between Bollywood and the Left and their antecedents have left an average Hindu under perpetual suspicion over intentions and motivations peddled in their movies. Such distrust toward Bollywood has spawned protests like the one witnessed against ‘Pathaan’, where legions of protesters have demanded the movie be banned from screening in theatres.

How Bollywood’s dalliance with the Left has fuelled the latest outrage on Pathaan

Bollywood, for its part, has been silent about the Left’s perversion. Silence often does not reflect neutrality. It is a sign of complicity. Being silent in the Nupur Sharma case or the attack against ‘The Kashmir Files’, or during the Left’s treachery in dragging Shah Rukh Khan’s religion, the Bollywood actors and directors tacitly backed the Left’s narratives on the said issues, even if that trampled over the civil liberties of individuals, suppressed Freedom of Expression, and spread falsehoods about imagined ‘Islamophobia’ in India in global publications.

SRK, Deepika, and Bollywood, in general, have more than enthusiastically lent themselves to the Left’s overarching aim of whitewashing harsh realities, distorting India’s millennia-old civilisational heritage, and allowing itself to be co-opted for propagating the myth of ‘rising Islamophobia in India’. The ongoing outrage against Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Pathaan’ movie needs to be seen in this context. There is a trust deficit between Hindus, who have become politically and culturally more conscious, with Bollywood and its association with the Left. It is this trust deficit that has fuelled the protests against ‘Pathaan’ across the country and on social media.

Thus, the ongoing outrage against Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Pathaan’ movie needs to be seen in this context. Surely, the outcry is misguided and has little objective value, but it stems from the symbiotic relationship between Bollywood and the Indian Left, which is manifested through the bastardization of Indian history, undermining of cultural mores, and whitewashing of Islamist atrocities, in movies that are created under the garb of ‘artistic freedom’.

In their attempt to undermine the Modi government, defame the country, and weaken the BJP, the Left has vitiated the public discourse to such an extent that Hindus are forced to outrage on issues that nobody would have cared about a few years ago. The Hindi film industry, by being complicit with the Left, is therefore responsible for the current predicament they find themselves in. They alone have the solution to extricate themselves from this mess. The question is whether they would heed that solution or continue to pander to the leftists, watching their counterparts in the South Indian Film industry surging way past ahead of them.

Elon Musk reinstates Twitter accounts of suspended journalists, accused of doxxing him

OpIndia Staff
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Elon Musk reinstates Twitter accounts of suspended journalists, accused of doxxing him

On Friday (December 16, US local time), Elon Musk announced that he would reinstate the accounts of journalists, who were earlier suspended for doxxing him on Twitter.

In a tweet, Musk wrote, “The people have spoken. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now.” He had conducted a poll on the micro-blogging site and sought people’s opinions before reinstating the suspended accounts.

Earlier on Thursday (December 15), about 58.7% of the 3.6 million participants voted in favour of lifting the ban on the accounts of those who revealed the real-time location of Elon Musk.

It is not the first time when the new Twitter owner made such a decision based on public polls. Elon Musk had similarly reinstated the Twitter account of former US President Donald Trump in November this year.

On Wednesday (December 14, US local time), Elon Musk informed that his 2-year-old son named ‘X’ was doxxed by a ‘crazy stalker’ after mistaking his child for him. The stalker was seen wearing a black hoodie and recording the incident on camera.

“Last night, a car carrying little X in LA was followed by a crazy stalker (thinking it was me), who later blocked the car from moving & climbed onto the hood,” Musk narrated the ordeal.

Later, Elon Musk announced that the Twitter handles which post the real-time location of individuals and compromise their physical safety would be suspended.

According to New York Post journalist, Jon Levine, several reporters have faced the wrath of the new Twitter owner under the new doxxing rules.

This included CNN reporter, Donie O’Sullivan, Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell, The New York Times reporter Ryan Mac and independent journalist Aaron Rupar.

While responding to a Twitter user, Musk clarified that journalists would not be treated as exceptions for endangering the lives of individuals by posting links to their live location. “Same doxxing rules apply to “journalists” as to everyone else,” he reiterated.

The European Commission and the United Nations condemned the new Twitter owner for allegedly curtailing media freedom.

‘It is not a park’: Srinagar Jamia Masjid bans men and women from sitting together on its lawns, prohibits photography

OpIndia Staff
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‘It is not a park’: Srinagar Jamia Masjid bans men and women from sitting together on its lawns, prohibits photography

On Friday, December 17, the Jamia Masjid Srinagar management committee issued a notification prohibiting photography inside the 14th-century mosque and men and women from sitting together in the mosque’s lawns. Usually, women are not allowed inside mosques, however, separate arrangements are present in Jamia Masjid for both men and women to offer prayers.

The entry of photography equipment is also prohibited, according to a notice posted around the mosque complex by the Anjuman Auquaf Central Jamia Masjid.

“Photographers and camerapersons are not permitted to take any photos or clicks inside the mosque. “Even equipment used to take photographs of any kind is strictly prohibited and needs to be stopped at the gate immediately,” it stated.

It also prohibited the bringing of food into the mosque. “No one is permitted to have eatables inside the mosque. In such case visitors must be stopped at the gate,” the notification stated.

As the notice says that ‘equipment used to take photographs of any kind is strictly prohibited’, it seems that mobile phones will also be banned in the mosque premises, as almost all phones nowadays have build-in cameras.

Notification issued by Jamia Masjid’s management committee Anjuman Auguaf (Image via ABP News)

The management of the 14th-century mosque directed its security guards to implement the instructions with immediate effect.

Meanwhile, Anjuman Auqaf said in a statement that as a place of worship, visitors are asked to respect its sanctity as a mosque and maintain decorum.

“It is not a park or a recreational facility. Visitors, both locals and visitors from other areas should keep this in mind when taking photographs. Before taking any photographs or videos of Jamia Masjid for professional purposes, permission must be obtained from Anjuman Auquaf,” according to the statement. “Being a place of worship, the visitors are requested to respect its sanctity as a mosque and observe decorum while visiting the mosque. It is not a public park or a recreational facility,” they further added.

The management also asked men and women to use the separate places designated for them to pray.  “The worshippers both men and women, should use their specific spaces while praying in the mosque designated for both the genders,” the said.

Notably, on November 24, Jama Masjid in Delhi had issued a notification prohibiting the entry of women without male companions sparking outrage. This order, however, was later withdrawn after Delhi LG VK Saxena intervened. 

Muslims in India are ‘far more secure’ than in the ‘unstable country’ Pakistan: Ajmer Dargah cleric lambasts Pakistani minister for personal attack on PM Modi

OpIndia Staff
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Muslims in India are ‘far more secure’ than in the ‘unstable country’ Pakistan: Ajmer Dargah cleric lambasts Pakistani minister for personal attack on PM Modi

Hazrat Syed Naseeruddin Chishty, chairman of the All India Sufi Sajjadanshin Council and the successor of the spiritual leader of the Ajmer Dargah, has slammed Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for the ‘venomous language’ he used against India’s PM Narendra Modi.

“I strongly condemn the venomous language used by the Pakistani foreign minister and deputy foreign minister against our Prime Minister and our motherland,” Hazrat Syed Naseeruddin Chishty said.

Hitting out at the Pakistani minister for having the temerity to disparage India’s PM, Chisty warned the Pakistani minister against comparing “great country” India with his “unstable country”, stating that the Constitution of India guarantees freedom of religion to all. He reminded him how Muslims in India are “far more secure” and in “much better condition” than those in Pakistan.

Further, the Muslim cleric said that Bhutto degraded not just the status of his portfolio but also of his entire country. “Pakistan should keep this in mind that Indian Muslims are far more secure and in much better condition than Pakistani Muslims….Bilawal Bhutto has forgotten that terrorist Osama bin Laden didn’t die but was killed in Pakistan by American forces right under the nose of the Pakistani government,” he added.

Pakistan FM calls PM Narendra Modi the‘ butcher of Gujarat’, India takes strong offence

It is notable that two days ago in New York, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called PM Narendra Modi the‘ butcher of Gujarat’. He also accused India of carrying out terror attacks in Pakistan and denied that Pakistan is sponsoring terrorism. He made the comments responding to remarks of Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar at the UNSC, where he had pointed out that Osama Bin Laden was found hiding in Pakistan.

Addressing a press conference after S Jaishankar directly slammed Pakistan for being a pro-terrorism country, Bilawal Bhutto said, “I will like to remind the honourable minister of external affairs of India, that Osama Bin Laden is dead, but the butcher of India lives. And he is the prime minister of India. He was banned from entering this country until he became the Prime Minister. This is the Prime Minister of the RSS and the Foreign Minister of the RSS. What is the RSS? The RSS takes inspiration from Hitler’s SS.”

The Pakistan Foreign Minister came under fire after he resorted to a personal attack against PM Modi and hit out at the RSS. The government of India strongly reacted stating that the comments of Bhutto are new low even for Pakistan. Calling it an uncivilised outburst of the Pakistan foreign minister, the statement said, “Pakistan FM’s uncivilised outburst seems to be a result of Pakistan’s increasing inability to use terrorists and their proxies.”

Saying how several cities across the city have faced the effects of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, MEA said that “Make in Pakistan” terrorism has to stop. The statement also added that Pakistan not only sheltered Osama Bin Laden, but is still giving shelter to other terrorists like Lakhvi, Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar, Sajid Mir and Dawood Ibrahim.

The BJP has also condemned the “highly shameful and derogatory” remarks of Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has decided to hold nationwide protests on Saturday.

Supreme Court dismisses review plea filed by Bilkis Bano against court judgement allowing remission of 11 convicts in her rape case

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court dismisses review plea filed by Bilkis Bano against court judgement allowing remission of 11 convicts in her rape case

The Supreme Court dismissed a review plea filed by Bilkis Bano against its May 2022 decision giving the go-ahead for the remission of convicts who had raped her. She had pleaded with the apex court to review its verdict where it had held that remission of the convicts who raped her should be considered as per the policy existing at the time of the crime in Gujarat, where the crime took place.

On December 13, a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath dismissed the review plea filed by Bilkis Bano.

The Gujarat government released all 11 people convicted to life in prison in the 2002 case of Bilkis Bano’s gang rape and murder of her seven family members after the Supreme Court bench led by Justice Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath directed it to review their appeal for relief under the state’s 1992 remission policy.

“I am directed to inform you that the review petition above mentioned filed in Supreme Court was dismissed by the court on December 13, 2022,” a ruling sent to Bano’s lawyer by Supreme Court assistant registrar said.

According to reports, Bilkis filed a review of the ruling through Advocate Shobha Gupta, arguing that it was counter to the explicit text of Section 432(7)(b) of the CrPC, which provides that the competent authority to decide remission is the government of the State where the trial was held. She had argued that even being the victim of the crime, she had no clue about any such process of remission or premature release of the convicts.

The Supreme Court issued its decision in response to a writ petition brought by one of the prisoners. Bilkis also contended that arrested persons had clearly hid the information that the case was connected to the Gujarat riots.

On January 21, 2008, a special CBI court in Mumbai had convicted 11 persons in the case to life imprisonment for the alleged murder of seven family members of Bilkis Bano and her gang rape. The Bombay High Court later affirmed their conviction.

After serving more than 15 years in jail, one of the inmates petitioned the Supreme Court for an early release. The Supreme Court had instructed the Gujarat government to investigate the possibility of remission of his sentence under its 1992 policy based on the date of his conviction. Following that, the government organized a committee that decided to free all of the 11 imprisoned. 

United Nations awards Namami Gange initiative as one of the top 10 World Restoration Flagships programmes

ANI
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United Nations awards Namami Gange initiative as one of the top 10 World Restoration Flagships programmes

The National Mission for Clean Ganga initiative, also called as Namami Gange initiative has been recognised by the United Nations (UN) as one of the Top 10 World Restoration Flagships programmes aimed at reviving the natural world.

The award was received by G. Asok Kumar, the Director General of the Namami Gange project during a function at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in Montreal, Canada on World Restoration Day on Wednesday. “The recognition of Namami Gange as one of the top-10 ecosystem restoration initiatives in the world bears testimony to the concerted efforts being made by the National Mission for Clean Ganga, Government of India for the restoration of the riverine ecosystem. I hope that our endeavours provide a roadmap for other similar interventions across the globe,” G. Asok Kumar said after receiving the award for initiative Namami Gange, which was selected from over 150 such initiatives from 70 countries across the globe.

These initiatives were selected under the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global movement coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

It is designed to prevent and reverse the degradation of natural spaces across the planet. An official statement said that the recognized initiatives, including Namami Gange, will now be eligible to receive UN support, funding or technical expertise.

Asok Kumar had also participated in a session in Montreal, Canada, organised by the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Youth Task Force during the occasion.

“This has come at a very opportune moment for us as India has taken over the Presidency of the G20 group of nations. While taking over the Presidency, our Prime Minister reinforced his commitment for the protection of environment ‘One Earth One Family One Future’ in the true spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” Asok Kumar said while expressing his gratitude to the World Restoration Forum, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Food and Agriculture Organization for giving the honour to India by selecting Namami Gange in the top 10 restoration programmes.

He informed that Namami Gange Programme was started in 2014 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister after recognizing the need to rejuvenate River Ganga and committed over 5 billion dollars to ensure that the river gets clean.

“Ganga is important for India as it is home to 40 per cent of India’s population, 2500 species of flora and fauna and 8.61 billion sq. km. basin, which is home to over 520 million people. Ganga is also very important from spiritual point of view,” he said, adding that the river is closely associated with India’s tradition and civilization and symbolized the faith, sentiments and collective consciousness of the people here.

He further said that the NMCG adopted a holistic and multi-sectoral approach, which introduced innovative models for the comprehensive conservation of the riverine ecology and its health.

“Our projects are designed to ensure that no untreated water- sewage or industrial effluent flows to the Ganga river. 176 STPs (Sewage Treatment Plants) with the capacity to treat over 5000 Million Litres per Day are being constructed. The concerted efforts of the Mission have resulted in significantly enhanced capacity for treatment of sewage and industrial effluents in the Ganga basin; improvement in river water quality and biodiversity, manifested as an increased population of Dolphins and their juveniles, Turtles, Otters, Gharials and fishes like Hilsa; and over 30000 hectares afforested among others,” he added.

Kumar also said that an integral component of Namami Gange is Arth Ganga for strengthening the socio-economical- river people connect. This has transformed the Mission into a Jan- Andolan or people’s movement. With many innovative project management practices like HAM and One City One Operator successfully evolving, NMCG is preparing the road map for cleaning other rivers in the country and the world.

He added that the Namami Gange programme is driven by full commitment from the top political executives. The unwavering commitment to the Namami Gange program is such that it is closely monitored by the National Ganga Council chaired by PM Modi and is regularly reviewed by Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

“The gifts received by Hon’ble PM is annually put to public auction, all proceeds of which is given to the Clean Ganga Fund specially set up to encourage public contribution in Government’s endeavour to clean river Ganga,” Kumar said.

Further speaking about the importance of connecting with youth for the programme, he said: “India is the youngest country with the largest young population and we have to connect with the youth and women to ensure that the problem of bad water management is addressed.”

He said that the youth and women here are aware of the water security issues and are being taught to respect the water. “If we can get the youth to respect water, it will automatically stop misuse and mismanagement of our water resources,” he said mentioning that the recycling of water is being pushed very hard as part of the circular economy and steps are being taken conserve biodiversity and protect spring sheds etc.

“The youth are engaged in diverse activities through trained volunteer cadres like Ganga Praharis, Ganga Doots, Ganga Quest etc. who through their sheer passion have joined us in protecting the biodiversity of River Ganga. The rescue of Dolphins by these volunteers in the Ganga Basin is a case in point which has resulted in the increased sighting of the aquatic species in the river,” he said.

Kumar added that various activities like rafting expeditions, cyclathons, hackathons, webinars on ‘Igniting Young Minds: Rejuvenating Rivers’ are also taken up to rope in the younger generation and said, “under Namami Gange we are aware of the necessities to involve people, particularly youth, in the process.”

He said that Namami Gange is not just an inspiration for us but also a humble offering to Mother Ganga for environment protection and restoration in our endeavour to leave behind a better world for the youth of today and the next generation.

Meanwhile, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Inger Andersen said: “The Namami Gange is an ambitious effort to rejuvenate the Ganga, a lifeline for millions of people in India. At a time when it is critical that we transform our exploitative relationship with nature, the positive impacts of this restoration cannot be underestimated.”

Qu Dongyu, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN, said: “FAO, together with UNEP, as co-lead of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, is pleased to award the 10 most ambitious, visionary and promising ecosystem restoration initiatives as 2022 World Restoration Flagships. Inspired by these flagships, we can learn to restore our ecosystems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.”

The announcement was made as leaders from across the globe gathered in Montreal, Canada for the UN Biodiversity Conference, where governments agreed to a new set of goals for nature over the next decade.

The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has previously won the “Public Water Agency of the Year” in the Global Water Awards, 2019 by Global Water Intelligence 3.

The documentary ‘Ganga: River from the Skies’ co-produced with National Geographic India, has also received awards under three categories- Best Documentary, Best Current Affairs and Best Natural History or Wildlife Programme- in the Asian Academy Creative Awards, 2022.

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

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