On Saturday, the Maharashtra government issued a Government Resolution (GR) making it mandatory for all government employees to greet with ‘Vande Mataram’ instead of saying ‘hello’ while receiving calls from officials or citizens. The resolution comes into effect on October 2, as part of the Amrit Mahotsav.
According to the general administration department’s resolution, state officials have also urged heads of departments to encourage their teams to make this change successful.
Furthermore, the resolution stated that hello is an imitation of western culture, invokes no affection, and is meaningless. The resolution also asserts that numerous freedom fighter laid their lives singing ‘Vande Mataram‘, a song written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
In August, when the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena formed the government in the state, Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar proposed the directive immediately after chief minister Eknath Shinde distributed state cabinet portfolios, he made the statement as one of his first decisions.
“The country is celebrating the 75th year of Independence and in accordance with its appropriateness, it was decided that the government personnel will no longer use hello but instead start their telephone conversation with Vande Mataram,” BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar had remarked.
While the BJP applauded the Maharashtra government’s decision, the Samajwadi Party (SP) condemned it, accusing the BJP of once again attempting to polarise the populace and CM Eknath Shinde of bowing into their pressure.
SP leader Abu Azmi stated that the late Bal Sahab Thackeray always used to say ‘Jai Maharashtra’ and not ‘Vande Matram’ while answering phone calls.
On Sunday (October 2), actor turned movie critic Kamaal Rashid Khan/Kumar aka KRK took to social media to claim that he has lost 20% memory after spending 10 days in jail. The development comes days after he was granted bail for his contentious tweets about actor Rishi Kapoor.
In a tweet, KRK said, “I had lost my 20% memory in jail, where I was living without eating anything for 10 days. According to my doctors, I can’t get it back but I can lose more in the future.”
“If I die, then (the) public must remember that first they did it with #SushantSinghRajput and now doing it with me,” he further added.
Screengrab of the tweet by KRK
KRK also responded to fans who are supposedly awaiting his movie reviews. “Many people are asking me that why I am not making more videos now? Because I don’t remember many things,” he stated.
The Deshdrohi actor further claimed, “I hardly remember my next line, when I am doing recording. Means some Bollywood people have succeeded to stop me. And This is the main reason, I have stopped reviews.”
Screengrab of the tweet by KRK
Last month, KRK told his supporters that he had to stop reviewing films owing to the harassment meted out by people in the Hindi film industry. “I was having only 2 choices. 1) Leave Mumbai forever. 2) Stop reviewing films. So I did choose 2nd one,” he added.
“Because Bollywood people are having enough political support in Mumbai to file fake cases against me,” he continued.
I was having only 2 choices. 1) Leave Mumbai forever. 2) Stop reviewing films. So I did choose 2nd one. Because Bollywood people are having enough political support in Mumbai to file fake cases against me.
A magistrate court in Mumbai’s Borivali granted Kamaal R Khan bail on September 7 in the case involving his controversial tweets from 2020. Khan was arrested on August 29 this year for tweeting disparaging remarks against Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan.
Rahul Kanal, a Yuva Sena member, filed a complaint against KRK in April 2020. On September 8, the son of KRK took to Twitter to request assistance, claiming that his father’s life is in danger. Faisal Kamaal said that his father was being tortured at the Mumbai jail where he was held.
KRK’s son claimed that his father’s life was in jeopardy and sought help from Bollywood stars Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan, and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Deepak Tinu, a culprit in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case and a close associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, fled from the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) division of the Mansa Police in Punjab. According to a report by Hindustan Times, under the condition of anonymity, a top Punjab police official confirmed that Deepak Tinu, Bishnoi’s assistant, had eluded capture. On July 4, the Punjab police took him into custody on a transit remand in connection with the Moosewala murder investigation.
Meanwhile, Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang urged the police not to kill Deepak Tinu in the encounter. A Facebook post was shared in this regard after Deepak Tinu fled from police custody. However, the post was not seen after some time.
It is notable that on July 20 this year, two gangsters accused in this case identified as Jagroop Singh Rupa and Manpreet Singh alias Mannu Kussa of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang were killed in an encounter by the anti-gangster task force of the Punjab Police at Bhakna village near Attari border, district Amritsar. Rupa and Kussa were wanted in the murder of the controversial singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala who was killed on May 29 at Jawahar Ke village near his home in district Mansa this year. Bhagwanpuria allegedly provided two sharpshooters to the main accused, Lawrence Bishnoi, to kill Sidhu Moosewala.
Punjab Police DGP Gaurav Yadav made a big disclosure on 11th September 2022, about the accused involved in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case. Yadav said that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang had conducted a recce of Salman Khan as he was the next target of the gang. He informed that shooter Deepak Mundi was nabbed from the borders of Nepal and Bengal along with his two accomplices in a joint operation by Delhi Police’s Special Cell, Punjab Police, and central agencies. The other two accused were identified as Kapil Pandit and Rajinder alias Joker.
On October 2, Agriculture Minister of Bihar Sudhakar Singh submitted his resignation from the government. Sudhakar Singh is associated with former Chief Minister of Bihar and fodder scam convict Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). He was appointed as agriculture minister following the formation of a collation government between Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s party Janata Dal United (JDU) and RJD. Singh is the son of RJD president Jagadanand Singh.
On Saturday (October 1), Singh said in a statement that he would not allow the continuation of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s agenda in his department. He was pointing out his demand to restore the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act and ‘mandi’ system in the state.
He said, “Being the state Agriculture minister, I will not allow continuation of BJP agenda in the agriculture department after the formation of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government in the state.” Speaking about the APMC Act and Mandi system that was scrapped in 2006, Singh said, “Scrapping the APMC Act and ‘mandi’ in 2006 was a decision that was anti-farmer in nature. The ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government in the state should work to fulfilling the promises made by our alliance partners to the electorate.”
It is noteworthy that Singh had pointed toward alleged corruption in his department. He said, “All my department officials are thieves and thereby, being head of the department, he is head of the thieves.” He had alleged that while Bihar is facing drought and paddy fields are dry, a report prepared by his department showed that paddy saplings have been planted on 86% of the fields. He said this figure is highly unrealistic and that he had raised the issue.
“There is not a single wing of our (agriculture) department that does not commit acts of theft. The government has changed, but the working style remained the same. Everything is the same as before,” he said in a public meeting.
Singh added he has sought an appointment with the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya and wants to appraise them of the need for restoration of these two laws in the country, especially in Bihar.
Recently, in September this year, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar reportedly stormed out of a meeting where Singh allegedly created a scene while confronting him with his grievances. In a statement, while expressing his concerns over the draught-like situation in the state, Singh said, “Issues which I have raised involve several departments, including disaster management, the directorate of economics and statistics, and the metrological department. Only the chief minister can solve these issues by calling a joint meeting of all the departments concerned. I just can’t solve it alone.”
He added, “There is not a single wing of our (agriculture) department that does not commit acts of theft. The government has changed, but the working style remained the same. Everything is the same as before”.
According to reports, students in the Play Center School of Hataj village in Nadiad, Kheda district, Gujarat, were made to perform Tajia instead of Garba during a function organised at the school. On September 30th, the school hosted a one-day Garba event. A Muslim teacher allegedly forced the children to perform to Tajia music instead of Garba.
Students were requested to come to school to play Garba, but Tajia music was played instead, and children were seen performing Tajia while wearing t-shirts with heretical names. Instead of performing Garba, the male and female students of the school were shown in the video banging their chests with both hands, as part of mourning during Muharram procession.
The residents submitted a memorandum to the district collector, urging that the guilty individuals be punished. Kheda, the president of the Hindu Dharma Sena, stated, “We presented a memorandum. Yesterday, a one-day Garba event was organized in a primary school in Hathaj village, Nadiad. Students were performing Garba, and a DJ system was playing. Meanwhile, the Garba came to a halt. There are Muslim teachers among the teachers at the school and we don’t mind this. But, the problem is that they abruptly stopped the Garba and began shouting religious chants. They provided the students with T-shirts having religious symbols on them.”
This incident is also said to be the work of the recently outlawed PFI. An investigation into why this planning was done and at whose request has been requested.
Tajia is derived from the Arabic word aza, which means to remember the deceased. It is usually performed by the Shia Muslims where they re-enact the death of Hussein, Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, in the battle of Karbala. Different songs are played and Islamic religious slogans are raised when Tajia is taken into the procession in Muharram.
On October 1, Pakistan’s woman cricketer Diana Baig called out Maulana Jalal Abid for opposing women’s sporting event at Gilgit’s Lalik Jan Stadium located in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Reportedly, the Gilgit-Baltistan Women Sports gala 2022 comprising different sporting events, including Cricket, Basketball, Tennis, Badminton, Squash, Table Tennis and hockey, is scheduled to take place from October 5 in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir’s Gilgit-Baltistan region. Diana Baig is a cricketer and footballer from Pakistan. She primarily plays cricket and was also selected for a domestic Football team as there was a ‘shortage of female football players’.
According to Ibex Media Network, Maulana Jalal Abid opposed the scheduled sporting event as the venue is the “Eid-Gah for Muslims”. While the ground is a stadium with the name Lalak Jan Stadium in Jutial in Gilgit, namaz is performed on the ground during Islamic religious events.
Diana Baig responded to the reports and lashed out at the Muslim cleric. She said, “Gilgit has given so many gems (men and women) to Pakistan sports who continue to uplift the image of the country with their talent. This ground is fit to host prayers, men’s boxing events, cultural dances and everything else but cannot host a women’s event.”
My question is: why was the condemnation not for the men’s event?
Shouldn’t the space belong to women just as much as it belongs to everyone else who lives in Gilgit or will we continue to live under a rock and pretend that a woman stepping on the field is a taboo? 2/2
She added, “My question is: why was the condemnation not for the men’s event? Shouldn’t the space belong to women just as much as it belongs to everyone else who lives in Gilgit, or will we continue to live under a rock and pretend that a woman stepping on the field is taboo?”
While the sportsperson from Pakistan was not pleased by the opposition coming from the clerics, several Islamists attacked Baig and “schooled” her about Islam.
Twitter user Hazxsupremacy said, “a place where namaz is performed shouldn’t be a place for women to play football with shorts up to their thighs and no scarf that goes for men as well no sport, festival or any event should be conducted at a religious site.” Replying to him, Baig said, “The venue is called “Lalik Jan Stadium” it’s not an Eid-Gah.”
Source: Twitter
Twitter user Muhammad Taseet Hassan said, “If it is against Islam… it is wrong. There is no need of justification. No matter a man does it or a woman.”
Source: Twitter
Similar opposition to the event was marked by Anjuman Imamiya Agha Baqir al-Husseini. It was shared in comments by a Twitter user. Upon investigating the authenticity of the press release in Urdu, OpIndia found that it was, in fact, true.
In a press release issued by the Central Imamia Jamia Masjid Skardu, the organization said, “An emergency meeting of Anjuman Imamia Baltistan was held under the chairmanship of Anjuman Imamiya Agha Baqir al-Husseini.
In this meeting, concern was expressed over the reports by the government about bringing college and university students to the ground in the name of hockey and cricket in the land of Baltistan and that this act was declared as the nobility, honour and status of women by Islam. He is declared his opponent.
And the GB government was warned that raising girls in Baltistan for Sharia work in the name of the sport is completely against religious and Islamic teachings and unacceptable for a religious person.
Press release opposing Women Sporting Event by Central Imamia Jamia Masjid Skardu. Source: Facebook
And instead of implementing Sharia and Islamic laws in a country where there is no God but Allah, it is astonishing to arrange such obscenity programs. Therefore, the district administration is urgently requested to stop this act.
Religious and well-trained families of Baltistan are requested to prove that they are Islam and Sharia loving people by preventing their daughters from doing non-shamal acts in the name of sports.” (Translated using Facebook Translation Services)
Gilgit-Baltistan is illegally occupied by Pakistan
Gilgit-Baltistan is an Indian territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan. Located in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, the hostile neighbouring nation has claimed it to be its territory which has been categorically denied by India on several occasions. In 2020, the Ministry of External Affairs stated Pakistan’s attempt to bring material change to a part of the Indian Territory. The statement came after then Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran khan officially announced the ‘provincial status’ of Gilgit-Baltistan. He claimed that the decision was taken while “keeping in mind the UN Security Council’s resolution.”
Then-Official Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava, said, “The Government of India firmly rejects the attempt by Pakistan to bring material changes to a part of Indian Territory, under its illegal and forcible occupation. I reiterate that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the area of so-called “Gilgit-Baltistan”, are an integral part of India by virtue of the legal, complete and irrevocable accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the union of India in 1947.”
The statement further added that the Government of Pakistan has no right to territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it. “Such attempts by Pakistan, intended to camouflage its illegal occupation, cannot hide the grave human rights violation, exploitation and denial of freedom for over seven decades to the people residing in these Pakistan-occupied territories. Instead of seeking to alter the status of these Indian territories, we call upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation.”
The crackdown on radical Islamist outfit, Popular Front of India (PFI) and the arrest of over 100 of its members by the Modi government has riled up certain section of the society. One of them irked by the development seems to be a journalist associated with the English daily ‘The Hindu’, Ziya Us Salam.
In an article dated September 28, Ziya lamented how the Islamic organisation, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, has maintained silence over the government’s crusade against PFI. The journalist then used statements made by members of another Islamist outfit, Jamaat-e-Islami, to make a case for the PFI.
Citing Jamaat’s President Syed Sadatullah Hussain, he tried to suggest that the ban on PFI was ‘selective, unjustified and undemocratic.’ Ziya then again quoted Jamaat to claim that the ‘culture of banning organisations’ violated fundamental rights that are enshrined in the Constitution.
Screengrab of the news report by The Hindu
‘The Hindu’ journalist failed to mention why the Modi government was forced to ban the outfit in the first place, including the event that was the final nail in its coffin. Ziya also skirted incidents of systemic violence, vandalism, and killings orchestrated by its members.
In a follow-up article on Saturday (October 1), he went on a tirade against Jamiat Ulama-e-Hindu for being a mute spectator to the government action against PFI. The Hindu journalist went on to suggest that the Islamic organisation is pandering to the BJP.
“Quietly, unobtrusively, the oldest Muslim organisation in the country, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind is warming up to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Without making any formal announcement about it or lending explicit support at the time of elections, the Jamiat has been happy to support the BJP…” he wrote.
Screengrab of the news report by The Hindu
Ziya further added, “…Be it the recent ban on Popular Front of India or the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to start a survey of non-regular madrasas. Much of the support is hush-hush though.”
‘The Hindu’ journalist accused Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind of washing their hands off the ‘PFI crackdown’ in its entirety. He also lambasted the Islamic organisation for being hands-in-gloves with the BJP and supporting the survey of unregistered madrassas in Uttar Pradesh.
“The new political tone of the Jamiat comes as a surprise, considering the body has been softly but consistently aligned with the Congress since Independence though in recent years in U.P. at least, it has never been too far from extending tacit support to the Samajwadi Party,” he stated.
Quoting one Jamiat member, he suggested that the Islamic organisation has been forced to reach an ‘existential compromise’ with the ruling BJP. However, nothing can be further from the truth.
Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind and its history of defending terrorists
While the BJP has been firm on the issue of nationalism and defending the country’s integrity from both internal and external threats, the same cannot be said about Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind.
The Islamic organisation has a history of providing legal support to Muslims accused of terrorism cases for over a decade now. It has defended its actions, saying that they provide legal services to ‘innocent Muslims’.
The legal cell, set up by JUH president Maulana Arshad Madani in 2007, takes up the cases and enlists lawyers to defend the terror accused in the courts. According to a New Indian Express report, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind has offered its services to around 700 accused.
What is worrying about such interventions is that they have been able to get acquittals of at least 192 terror accused since 2007. Most of the acquittals did not take place owing to the proven innocence of the accused. Instead, the Muslim men were released due to a lack of evidence or shoddy investigation by the police.
Some of the other cases in which Jamiat has come forward to provide legal aid to terror-accused:
Lashkar Connection Case (Abdul Rahman V/s State SLP)
ISIS conspiracy case Kochi (State of Kerala v/s Arshi Qureshi & others)
ISIS conspiracy case Mumbai (Arshi Qurashi & others v/s State of Maharashtra)
ISIS conspiracy case (State of Rajasthan v/s Sirajuddin)
26/11 Mumbai attack case (Syed Zabiuddin v/s State of Maharashtra)
Chinnaswamy Stadium Bomb Blast Case (State V/s Qatil Siddiqui and others)
Jungli Maharaj Road Pune Bomb blast case (A.T.S. v/s Asad Khan & others)
Indian Mujahideen Case (Maharashtra VS Afzal Usmani & others)
Zaveri Bazar Serial Blast (State v/s Azaz Shaikh and others)
SIMI conspiracy case (Madhya Pradesh) State V/S Irfan Muchale & others)
Jama Masjid Blast Case (Delhi State V/s Qateel Siddqui Others)
Indian Mujahideen conspiracy case (State vs. Yasin Bhatkal & others) Ahmedabad Serial Blast Case 2008 (State V/s Jahid & Others)
While the usual suspects are busy peddling conspiracy theories and batting for radical Islamist outfits, those acquainted with the Modi government’s track record of last 8 years are unlikely to fall for it.
In a major development in the probe against the Popular Front of India (PFI), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said that several members of the now-banned joined the Islamist terror organisation ISIS. In order to dodge the security dragnet, they took a long circuitous route before reaching the conflict zones like Syria to engage in Jihad.
Notably, the Modi government on Wednesday banned the Islamist organisation and its associate for 5 years. The central government maintained that the outfit operated as unlawful associations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
There have been instances of youths being killed or arrested on foreign land and then deported back to India, according to an NIA document on the probe against the group after a series of raids across the country that led to the ban.
In 2017, Kerala Police obtained information indicating that several Muslim youths had immigrated to Syria and that some of them planned to support ISIS in their struggle. The majority of the defendants in the case were PFI members.
Kerala youths were allegedly recruited to join ISIS by Hamza, a Gulf returnee. According to officials, Hamza developed relationships with PFI supporters who already had anti-national or anti-establishment views in order to carry out his objectives.
Md Sameer alias Abu Safvan, the divisional president of the PFI, is accused of devising and communicating the plan to leave India and enter Syria after seeking refuge in different countries in order to eventually join ISIS in Syria.
According to the officials, the accused travelled to Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Turkey during this time as he awaited the final order to join the jihad in Syria.
Later, two PFI commanders, Abdul Manaf alias Abu Fathima and Mohammed Sameer alias Abu Safvan died in Syria while engaging in jihad. Five people, including the mastermind, were detained by the Kerala Police while the probe dragged on before they joined ISIS, they claimed.
17 people were charged by the Kerala Police with supporting ISIS or Daesh. Hamza, the case’s suspected mastermind, was a “hardcore Salafi disciple” who had previously spoken in favour of the Taliban and ISIS.
The officials claimed that Hamza persuaded Mohammed Sameer and Abdul Manaf, both PFI members, to perform the “hijra” from the land of the “Kafirs” following the declaration of the Islamic Caliphate in Iraq and Syria, PTI reported.
Other PFI cadres like Shajahan VK, who was charged in another terror case, and Mohammed Shajil were brainwashed with ISIS doctrine by Sameer.
On December 12, 2015, Mohammed Sameer and his family travelled to Saudi Arabia under the guise of conducting an “Umrah.” He instructed other PFI associates to flee India where criminal proceedings were already pending against them before sneaking into Syria. Later, it was claimed that Sameer was killed in Syria. Meanwhile, Abdul Manaf aka Abu Fathima, a vitriolic PFI leader, crossed the Turkish border into Syria and joined ISIS.
Manaf died while fighting in Syria as well. Additionally, Mohammed Shajil and Shajahan VK persuaded some of their close friends in PFI to join ISIS. They travelled to Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran in order to reach Turkey, and they awaited directions from ISIS handlers to join ISIS.
Only Mohammed Shajil and his family, however, were permitted to enter Syria. Shajahan VK and his family were deported to India after being detained by Turkish officials. Shajahan VK attempted to obtain a false Indian passport to rejoin ISIS after spending some time in hiding.
Shajahan VK was able to persuade Abdul Khayoom and Abdul Razak to join ISIS in his second effort with the aid of a man named Midlaj alias Abu Misab, who was also enlisting young people for ISIS, according to the officials.
Only Abdul Khayoom was able to enter Syria out of the three, and he reportedly died there. Shajahan and Abdul Razak were returned to India through deportation. They were detained by Indian police in New Delhi as soon as they arrived.
Hamza also persuaded Manauf Rehman to join ISIS. However, he was later stopped at the airport in Mangalore when he attempted to leave India. Officials claimed that once Hamza was detained, information received from him verified their intentions to join ISIS.
According to a report in Dainik Jagran, banned Islamist group Popular Front of India (PFI) was establishing a cell to infiltrate the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). PFI commanders were training around 50 members. The STF has obtained evidence from the WhatsApp and PC of PFI members Mohd Faizan, Mohd Sufian and Rehan, who were apprehended in the early hours of Tuesday from Anchramau in Lucknow.
Members of PFI were not only given information about Hindu gods and goddesses, but they were also adequately taught about the RSS’s shakha and tactics, so their agents may join the RSS and obtain vital information. The STF is now searching Achramau and nearby villages in pursuit of Arshad, the local chief and kingpin who raised the PFI army.
During questioning by intelligence authorities, the detainees Faizan, Sufiyan, and Rehan revealed that the major goal of this PFI infiltration was to keep a watch on the operations of RSS as well as to get classified material. The information was to be passed on to Islamic nations via their masters.
PFI was entirely committed to undermining the country’s internal power and making India an Islamic nation as soon as possible by unifying Muslims. That is why, by recruiting an increasing number of radical Muslim youngsters in PFI, they were inciting them to reject non-Islam religions by teaching them the lesson of religious bigotry, so that Muslims may govern the entire country alone.
Now, as a result of the intelligence agencies’ actions in the village of Anchramau, hundreds of individuals connected to PFI in Behta and other areas have fled into hiding. On Tuesday, after Rehan was taken into custody, his wife Arshia Jahan began yelling and claiming that her husband had connections with PFI.
Ban on Popular Front of India
On September 27, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, exercised its powers under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and banned the Islamist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) and its associated or affiliated fronts with immediate effect for a period of five years.
It is worth noting that PFI and its sister organisations are present in over 17 states across the country. In several states, police and the NIA have filed over 1,300 criminal cases against PFI cadres and front outfits. Some of these cases were also filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act/UAPA, the Explosive Substances Act, the Arms Act, and other serious IPC provisions.
The NIA and ED, as well as state police, have conducted raids at more than a hundred PFI-related premises across the country during the past several weeks. OMA Salam, the organization’s commander, was one of more than 150 PFI cadres who were taken into custody or put under arrest.
Aam Aadmi Party leaders are campaigning for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly Elections in full swing. Among the prominent leaders, Chief Minister of Punjab Bhagwant Mann has also been visiting the election-bound state frequently. On October 1, CM Mann attended one such program and tried his hands on Garba dance and Bhangra.
However, things went awkward for the AAP leader when the singer on the stage sang the popular Punjabi song ‘Apna Punjab Hove, Ghar Di Sharab Hove’ originally sung by legendary Punjab Singer Gurdas Mann. In the song, the singer is getting nostalgic about his time back home in Punjab and remembering how people brew homemade liquor.
Notably, CM Mann has been struggling with an alleged alcohol problem and recently, it was rumoured that he was allegedly deplaned in Germany as he was under the influence of alcohol. Also, Gujarat is a dry state, which means, sale and consumption of alcohol is prohibited in Gujarat.
CM @BhagwantMann tried some hand on garba at Rajkot. Confluence of Gujarati and Punjabi culture, mixture of Garba and Bhangda! ?? pic.twitter.com/TGb3ibWjNj
In a little over one minute video shared by AAP supporters and leaders themselves, CM Bhagwant Mann could be seen doing the Garba in the beginning. However, at the 0:49 timestamp, the singer started singing “Apna Punjab Hove” and expected CM Mann to dance over the tunes, but the lyrics made him visibly awkward, and he just stood there with a smile on his face. Within 10-seconds, CM Mann decided to leave the stage.
Interestingly, several AAP leaders and supporters shared the video praising CM Mann and completely missed the point of how it was visibly problematic for the Punjab CM. AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar praised CM Mann for Garba dance.
Twitter user Dr Safin also praised him for trying his hands on Garba.
CM @BhagwantMann tried some hand on garba at Rajkot. Confluence of Gujarati and Punjabi culture, mixture of Garba and Bhangda! ?? pic.twitter.com/TGb3ibWjNj
A few Twitter users, however, pointed out Gujaratis might have mocked CM Mann with the song. Twitter user Oye Jahazi said, “Gujjus are trolling him or what? Singing “Apna Punjab hove, Ghar di shraab hove” when Bhagwant Mann was dancing on the stage.”
Gujjus are trolling him or what? Singing “Apna Punjab hove, Ghar di shraab hove” when Bhagwant Mann was dancing on the stage ? pic.twitter.com/7JY5HhD0S5
Notably, during an election event, AAP leaders were also greeted with the chants of “Modi Modi”. It is unclear if both videos are from the same or not.
Breaking:
The people of Gujarat have chanted ‘Modi Modi’ slogans in front of Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann. pic.twitter.com/rbbF0yfvCg
List of instances when Bhagwant Mann was caught allegedly drunk
In 2015, former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav alleged that Mann had attended Parliament sessions while being under the influence of alcohol. In a statement, he said, “I discovered it first in July 2014 when AAP had a meeting of all its Lok Sabha candidates. Mann was sitting next to me and was smelling of alcohol. I mentioned it to Arvind Kejriwal, and he nodded. Around this time, I heard rumours that Mann was going to the Lok Sabha sessions drunk.”
In October of the same year, former Granthi of Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, allegedly noticed that Mann was drunk. He was attending the bhog ceremony of the Faridkot firing victims. Mann was asked to leave the stage, and the incident caused the party embarrassment at the national level.
In 2016, AAP leader Harinder Singh Khalsa accused Mann of being drunk in the house. In the same year, Mann live-streamed his trip to Parliament and published the video on Facebook. His actions triggered outrage from other house members as he breached security by shooting a video of the Parliament allegedly under the influence of alcohol. Later in the same year, Mann had allegedly turned up at the funeral of Manmeet Alisher in an inebriated condition.
Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Charanjit Singh Channi have accused Mann of being a drunkard.
In 2018, Bhagwant Mann went to address an election rally at Gol Diggi in Bhatinda. When it was Mann’s turn to speak, Mann could not even stand.
In April 2022, The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) alleged that the Punjab chief minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Singh Mann had entered Takht Damdama Sahib in a drunken state on the occasion of Baisakhi, which was celebrated across the country on April 14.
In January 2019, Bhagwant Mann had promised he would not drink anymore. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal called it a ‘great sacrifice for the people. By that time, Mann, MP from Sangrur, had faced much criticism over his drinking habits. Though the promise made by a leader was supposed to be fulfilled, things allegedly did not turn in his favour.
‘Apna Punjab Hove’ song
The Punjabi song ‘Apna Punjab Hove, Ghar Di Sharab Hove’ was originally sung by legendary singer Gurdas Mann. The song talks about the essence of Punjab’s houses and culture. It talks about home-brewed whisky and how the singer misses both house and the liquor along with homemade food, friends, family and culture while being away.
Amusingly, AAP leader Manish Sisodia has been in the soup recently over allegations of irregularities and procedural lapses in the new liquor policy implemented by the Delhi govt last year. You can read in detail about it here.
