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‘Run to RSS… we don’t need cowards’, Congress releases old video of Rahul Gandhi to taunt Ghulam Nabi Azad after he quits the party

OpIndia Staff
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‘Run to RSS… we don’t need cowards’, Congress releases old video of Rahul Gandhi to taunt Ghulam Nabi Azad after he quits the party

Hours after the senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad quit the party, Congress Sevadal released an old video of Rahul Gandhi to mock the veteran leader’s exit from the party.

In the video, which dates back to 2021, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is heard saying that the party needs “fearless” people and those who are ‘darpoks’ (cowards) are welcome to leave the party and run away to the RSS.

The Congress Sevadal shared the video with a Hindi caption mocking Azad, “Congress is fearless Those who are afraid are Azad (free)! @RahulGandhi.”

“There are many people outside Congress who are not scared, bring them in and the people in the party who are scared, throw them out. You people belong to RSS, run away…go enjoy, we don’t need you. We need fearless people, that is our ideology,” Rahul Gandhi said in the video.

Reportedly, this video surfaced in July 2021. Rahul Gandhi made this remark while addressing social media workers of the party at an online event. He cited the example of Jyotiraditya Scindia, who quit Congress to join the BJP in the year 2020 while making the statement.

Today, after veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned from the Congress, the party re-shared Rahul Gandhi’s last year’s video to taunt the veteran leader.

‘Non-serious Rahul Gandhi destroyed party, his PAs and guards taking decisions’, writes Ghulam Nabi Azad as he quits Congress

Notably, Ghulam Nabi Azad has become the senior-most leader to quit the Congress. He had been associated with the party since the mid-1970s. In his resignation letter addressed to party supremo Sonia Gandhi, Azad did not shy away from blaming Rahul Gandhi for the party’s failure in elections and said that the Gandhi scion was the reason Congress lost its political space to the BJP.

He catalogued the “childish behaviour, glaring immaturity” of Rahul Gandhi who he said has also demolished the “consultative mechanism within the party”.

In his letter, Azad further slammed the Congress high command for sidelining senior party leaders and giving in to the whims and fancies of ‘inexperienced sycophants.’

He pulled up a ‘non-serious’ Rahul Gandhi for infamously tearing a copy of the ordinance, approved by the UPA Cabinet. The veteran Congress leader suggested that the decisions of the grand old party are now being made by the Personal assistants and security guards of Rahul Gandhi.

He informed how the senior party leaders were insulted by the Congress scion in a special Congress Working Committee meeting. Azad lambasted the party’s high command for not holding transparent elections at any level within the organisation.

‘You are Deverakonda, not Anaconda’: Mumbai theatre owner slams Liger actor over ‘boycott’ comment, says he should have learnt from Aamir Khan

OpIndia Staff
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‘You are Deverakonda, not Anaconda’: Mumbai theatre owner slams Liger actor over ‘boycott’ comment, says he should have learnt from Aamir Khan

While Liger is receiving negative reviews from movie critics and audiences alike, a theatre owner in Mumbai believes actor Vijay Deverakonda’s indiscreet comments on the boycott trend also harmed the movie’s box office performance. Manoj Desai, a theatre owner in Mumbai, castigated Vijay Deverakonda for his “arrogance” and added that he should have learnt from Aamir Khan.

Liger, one of the most anticipated movies of 2022, had a disastrous opening on its first day. The negative word of mouth and critical reviews have further exacerbated the collections for the movie across the weekend.

Manoj Desai, executive director of Gaiety Galaxy and Maratha Mandir Cinema, two of the well-known and among the oldest theatres in Mumbai, slammed Vijay Deverakonda for his comments on the boycott trends. While speaking with BollywoodLife, Desai said, “Why are you showing smartness by saying ‘Boycott our movie’? People won’t even watch on OTT. Such behaviour of yours has put us in trouble and impacted our bookings. Mr Vijay, you are ‘Devarakonda’, not ‘anaconda’. You are talking like an anaconda. ‘Vinaash kaale vipareet buddhi’, when the time of destruction inches closer, the mind stops working, and you are doing that. Anyways, it’s your wish.”

He further said that Vijay should have learnt lessons from actors Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar and Taapsee Pannu, all of whom had a rough outing at the box office of late after facing boycott calls for their respective movies. 

“Mr Vijay, it seems, you have become arrogant, ‘Watch the movie or if you don’t wish to, then don’t watch’, haven’t you seen its impact? If the audience will not watch, see what Taapsee Pannu, Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar are going through. I had high expectations from the movie, but such statements during the interview had harsh impacts. One shouldn’t do this and never pay heed to hashtags,” Manoj further added.

Earlier, while discussing whether the boycott trend will affect Liger, Vijay arrogantly said, “Kaun rokega dekh lenge (we’ll see who can stop us).” A few days ago, Deverakonda had said, “I think we are giving this too much attention. Toh karne do (boycott), kya krenge hum. Hum toh picture banaayenge, jinko picture dekhna hai vo dekhnge. Jinko nahi dekhna vo tv pe yaa phone pe dekhnge,” triggering boycott calls against his movie.

Aamir Khan starrer ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ and Akshay Kumar’s ‘Raksha Bandhan’ face boycott calls

It is worth noting that Aamir Khan starrer ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ failed miserably at the box office after it faced boycott calls on social media over the actor’s past statements and movies that hurt the sentiments of people. While some people boycotted Laal Singh Chaddha for his comment that he was mulling over migrating out of India due to “rising intolerance”, most boycotted it because of Aamir’s anti-Hindu stance in his movie PK. 

Akshay Kumar starrer Raksha Bandhan also fell flat at the box office after Hinduphobic tweets by the movie’s writer went viral on social media, spurring boycott calls against the film.

While Taapsee Pannu’s film ‘Dobaara’ did not face any concerted boycott campaign, however, the fact that Anurag Kashyap directed the movie may have played its part to keep the audiences away from movie theatres.

Inexperienced sycophants, non-serious Rahul and more: Here are 4 key takeaways from the resignation letter of Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad

OpIndia Staff
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Inexperienced sycophants, non-serious Rahul and more: Here are 4 key takeaways from the resignation letter of Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad

After spending nearly 50 years with the Congress, veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad announced severing all ties with the grand-old-party in a scathing letter on Friday (August 26).

Azad’s discontentment with Congress became evident when he joined the G-23 rebel group in Jammu last year. He had also showered praise upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and hinted at the lack of ‘reality check’ within the Congress.

After being unceremoniously ousted from the disciplinary committee and the party’s list of star campaigners before the 2022 Punjab elections, resignation was on the cards. The last nail in the coffin was perhaps his ‘downgrade’ appointment to 2 committees of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress on August 17 this year.

Recommendations and feedback fell on deaf ears: Ghulam Nabi Azad

In his parting note, Ghulam Nabi Azad did not mince any words in holding the Congress high command accountable for the party’s downfall. He squarely blamed Congress scion Rahul Gandhi for single-handedly destroying the consultative mechanism within the party.

Azad remarked that the success of UPA-I and UPA-II was the result of the wise counsel of the senior party leaders, and the trust enshrined in them by Sonia Gandhi.

“However unfortunately after the entry of Shri Rahul Gandhi into politics and particularly after January 2013 when he was appointed as Vice President by you, the entire consultative mechanism which existed earlier was demolished by him,” he lamented.

“All senior and experienced leaders were sidelined and the new coterie of inexperienced sycophants started running the affairs of the Party,” Azad pointed out.

The veteran leader expressed regret that none of the recommendations, proposed by him during brainstorming sessions in Panchmari (1998), Simla (2033), and Jaipur (2013), were ever implemented by the party’s high command.

“Unfortunately, — these recommendations are lying in the storeroom of the AICC for the past 9 years. Inspite of my repeated reminders in person both to you and the then Vice President Shri Rahul Gandhi from 2013 onwards to implement these recommendations. However, no effort was made to even examine them seriously,” he added.

Childish, non-serious behaviour of Rahul Gandhi

Ghulam Nabi Azad, in his letter, drew attention to the childish, immature and non-serious attitude of Rahul Gandhi towards Congress and national politics. He recounted how the Congress scion tore a government ordinance publically, which was approved by the Union Cabinet and the President of India in 2013.

He emphasised, “This ‘childish’ behaviour completely subverted the authority of the Prime Minister and the Government of India.” Azad claimed that it was the single largest action that changed the perception of Congress in people’s mind, leading to the defeat of the UPA in 2014.

He said that while Sonia Gandhi is the nominal Head of the grand old party, the key decisions are being made by Rahul Gandhi’s personal assistants and security guards. The veteran Congress leader remarked that even in her absence, only a puppet will be appointed as the Congress Chief.

“The ‘chosen one’ would be nothing more than a puppet on a string. Unfortunately, at the National level, we have conceded the political space available to us to the BJP and state level space to regional parties. This all happened because the leadership in the past 08 years has tried to foist a non-serious individual at the helm of the Party,” he added.

Azad did not lose out on the opportunity of rubbing salt to the Congress’ wounds. He held the Gandhi family responsible for the poor performance of the grand-old-party in elections.

“Under your stewardship since 2014 and subsequently that of Shri Rahul Gandhi, the INC has lost two Lok Sabha elections in a humiliating manner. It has lost 39 out of the 49 assembly elections held between 2014-2022. The Party only won four slate elections and was able to get into a coalition situation in six instances,” he emphasised.

Azad scoffed, “Unfortunately, today, the INC is ruling in only two states and is a very marginal coalition partner in two other slates. Since the 2019 elections the situation in the party has only worsened.

Systematic targeting of senior party leaders

The veteran Congress leader lamented how the party, where he served close to 50 years, targeted him for holding a mirror to the high command.

“In the August of 2020, when I and 22 other senior colleagues including former Union Ministers and Chief Ministers wrote to you to flag the abysmal drift in the Party, the ‘coterie’ chose to unleash its sycophants on us and got us attacked, vilified and humiliated in the crudest manner possible,” he said.

He further added, “In fact on the directions of the coterie that runs the AICC today, my mock funeral procession was taken out in Jammu. Those who committed this indiscipline were feted in Delhi by the General Secretaries of the AICC and Shri Rahul Gandhi personally.”

Ghulam Nabi Azad remarked, “Subsequently, the same coterie unleashed its goondas to physically attack the residence of a former Ministerial Colleague Sh. Kapil Sibal who incidentally was defending you and your kin in the courts of Law for your alleged attacks of omission and commission.”

He also pointed out how Rahul Gandhi abused, insulted and humiliated the senior loyalists of the Congress in a special Congress Working Committee meeting.

Lack of transparency within the Congress

In his parting note, Ghulam Nabi Azad pointed out the lack of transparency in appointments at all levels of the Congress party.

“The entire organizational election process is a farce and a sham. At no place anywhere in the country have elections been held at any level of the organisation. Handpicked lieutenants of the AICC have been coerced to sign on lists prepared by the coterie that runs the AICC siting in 24 Akbar Road,” he remarked.

“The AICC leadership is squarely responsible for perpetrating a giant fraud on the party to perpetuate its hold on the ruins of what once was a national movement that fought for and attained the Independence of India,” he emphasised.

With Ghulam Nabi Azad gone, the Congress is now fighting its last battle for survival.

Jharkhand: 2 weeks after Md Waseem and his gang assaulted, humiliated a minor Hindu girl and her mother, victims forced to leave the village out of fear

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: 2 weeks after Md Waseem and his gang assaulted, humiliated a minor Hindu girl and her mother, victims forced to leave the village out of fear

In the Sirma village in the Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand, a Hindu girl is forced to leave her home along with her sister and widowed mother and live at a relative’s home after she was beaten on 10th August 2022 by a gang of men led by on Md Waseem over a viral video. The victim’s family is not ready to come back to the village even after the accused son of the Sarpanch of the village surrendered on Tuesday 23rd August 2022.

Sarpanch’s son Md Waseem harassed the Hindu family

According to a report by News Track Live, a Hindu widowed woman Kiran Devi Sao lives with her two minor daughters in the Sirma village of the Barkagaon police station area of the Hazaribagh district in Jharkhand. This family is one of the 3-4 Hindu families living in this Muslim-majority village. The victim Kiran Devi alleged that her two minor daughters were abused by a group of local Muslims who slapped the girls and made them perform sit-ups in front of the Panchayat when it was raining. Its video was also made viral on social media. The incident took place on 10th August 2022.

According to Kiran Devi, the Muslims threatened that they will prohibit the Hindu family from worshipping their deities and the mob of Muslims also pressurized them to convert to Islam if they wanted to live in the village. This attack by the local Muslims on the Hindu family was done allegedly because of a viral video. The minor victim girl, in this case, is accused to have made a video viral in which a group of Muslims, allegedly from the same village, is seen waving a Pakistani flag.

Police booked the victims and the Congress leader suggested to ‘compromise’

Enraged over this video, a mob of men, comprising of Md Waseem and his accomplices, broke into the victim’s home and beat all of them, and forced them to do sit-ups in public. The police first registered a case against the victims instead of the miscreants. Sanatan Hindu Samaj Organization started a hunger strike against this action and demanded that security should be given to the victim’s family. It was after this, that the police took note of the victim’s complaint and registered a case against Mohammad Waseem – son of village head Ishrat Jahan, Shajibullah, Mohammad Nazim, Mohammad Saqib, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Nadim, and 10 others.

On 21st August 2022, when the local Congress MLA Amba Prasad reached the village to visit the victim’s family, he forced the minor girl to tie a Rakhi to the people who had harassed her in an attempt to showcase his efforts to ‘maintain the peace’. The victim later said that she was forced to do so. The MLA is reported to have advised the victim saying ‘How long will the administration help you? Ultimately you have to live here with these people (Waseem and his gang) only.’

The minor victim has told media that the Congress MLA threatened her that if she pursues the case, she (the victim herself) may be arrested.

Arrests and surrender of the accused persons

Accused Mohammad Nadeem and Mohammad Saqib were first arrested by the police. On Tuesday 23rd August 2022, the main accused Mohammad Waseem surrendered in the POSCO court. Some of the locals had also pressurized the families of the accused to ‘cooperate’ in this case. Sirma Anjuman Committee held a press conference and said that this incident has brought shame to the whole community. The main accused surrendered after the Anjuman Committee appealed to him to surrender failing to which his family would be boycotted by the local Muslims. Police are conducting raids to arrest the other accused. Preparations are also being made for the attachment and seizure of their houses.

The victim left the village

The victim’s family left the village soon after the Congress MLA forced them to tie Rakhi to the persons who were behind the incident. The minor victim, her sister, and their widowed mother have left the village. The house is locked. The entire family is staying at the house of their uncle in a nearby village. After the incident, the frightened victim also stopped going to school.

The child protection committee team met the victim and her relatives on Tuesday. The victim said she was being pressurised to withdraw the case soon after the incident. She added that until all the accused are arrested, the family will not return to the village. The administration has provided them security, yet the family does not feel safe. Child Protection Officer Sanjay Kumar has asked the administration to make adequate security arrangements and ensure that the minor’s education is not interrupted.

J&K and Ladakh HC reopens the 2003 Nadimarg Massacre case in which 24 Kashmiri Pandits were murdered by LeT terrorists

OpIndia Staff
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J&K and Ladakh HC reopens the 2003 Nadimarg Massacre case in which 24 Kashmiri Pandits were murdered by LeT terrorists

On Friday, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court ordered the reopening of the case concerning the Nadimarg massacre in which 24 Kashmiri Pandits were brutally murdered in the Pulwama district. The incident happened in March 2003 when the Kashmiri Pandits were murdered by Islamist terrorists from Lashkar-e-Taiba.

This is after the state government had issued an application seeking recall of an order which had dismissed a criminal revision petition in December 2011 which challenged a lower court order. The order by the lower court had denied the prosecution to examine witnesses and materials related to the Nadimarg massacre.

Justice Sanjay Dhar stated that the recognition of the court’s order dated December 21, 2011, by which the criminal review petition against a sessions judge’s order was rejected, will stand because it is within its authority to recall orders that are void in the eyes of the law. He said that the High Court then had passed an order in the case without giving any reasons.

“It seems that during the pendency of the trial, the prosecution moved an application before the trial court seeking permission to examine material prosecution witnesses on commission. According to the prosecution, these witnesses had migrated out of Kashmir Valley and they were reluctant to depose before the trial court at Shopian in view of the threat perception”, Dhar said stating the reason for the application dismissal by the sessions judge on February 9, 2011. However, when it was challenged in High Court via Criminal Revision petition, it was dismissed as well.

The judge meanwhile also rejected the contention of terrorist Zia Mustaffa who is considered to be the mastermind of the 2003 massacre, that the judge cannot review its own order by highlighting the difference power of recall from the power of review of the judgment.

The Nadimarg massacre of 2003-

On March 23, 2003, 24 Hindu Kashmiri Pandits in the village of Nadimarg in Pulwama District of Jammu and Kashmir were killed by Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. The armed militants came dressed in counterfeit military uniforms and dragged the Hindus out of their homes, lined them and shot them with automatic weapons.

The victims, 11 men, 11 women and 2 small children, ranged from a 65-year-old to 2-year-old. The policemen posted there fled the scene. The killers disfigured the bodies of the victims, looted their houses and took away the ornaments from the bodies of the dead women.

Following the slaughter, an FIR was filed in Zainapore, and seven accused people were brought before the Court of Principal Sessions Judge, Pulwama, following an inquiry. The case was later transferred to the Shopian Court of Principal Sessions Judge.

Supreme Court quashes plea challenging UP government’s refusal to grant sanction to prosecute Yogi Adityanath in 2007 Gorakhpur riot case

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court quashes plea challenging UP government’s refusal to grant sanction to prosecute Yogi Adityanath in 2007 Gorakhpur riot case

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the then Uttar Pradesh government’s refusal to grant sanction to prosecute then-Parliamentarian Yogi Adityanath for a ‘hate-speech’ case allegedly delivered by him in Gorakhpur in 2007.

While delivering the verdict, the bench led by outgoing Chief Justice of India NV Ramana stated, “In view of the above circumstances, we do not think it is necessary to go into the legal questions relating to grant of sanction. Consequently, the appeal is dismissed. The question of law is left open.”

The bench of CJI NV Ramana, Justices Hima Kohli and CT Ravikumar was hearing a petition filed by Parvez Parwaz challenging the denial of sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for alleged role in the 2007 Gorakhpur riots while challenging an Allahabad High Court order upholding it.

The matter

The matter dates back to 2007 when Yogi Adityanath, a Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur was arrested on the charges of disturbing the peace and violating prohibitory orders. This was prompted after he along with his supporters gathered to mourn a man’s death during communal clashes.

In November 2008, almost a year later, an FIR was lodged which alleged that Yogi and others had incited communal riots in 2007 via their hate speeches. The CID completed the investigation in 2015 and sought sanction for prosecution. 

In 2017, the UP government refused to grant a sanction to prosecute, citing a draft investigation report filed by the police’s CB-CID as evidence that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a trial against Yogi Adityanath. The government observed that video evidence submitted by the complainant against Adityanath and four others, which was sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in October 2014 was tampered with.

A petition was filed in the Allahabad High court by Parvez Parwaz and Asad Hayat (a supposed witness in the matter) challenging the UP government’s decision not to grant sanction. These petitioners asked the High Court to direct an independent agency to carry out an investigation into this matter, which was rejected by the Allahabad High Court in February 2018.

Following the court’s verdict, Parvez Parwaz approached the Supreme Court. Later that year, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government in response to the Allahabad High Court’s order.

Maulana Madani of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind seeks ‘exemplary punishment’ for T Raja Singh, demands new law to punish ‘blasphemy’

OpIndia Staff
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Maulana Madani of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind seeks ‘exemplary punishment’ for T Raja Singh, demands new law to punish ‘blasphemy’

On Tuesday, the Islamic outfit Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind sought “exemplary punishment” for suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh for words reportedly directed at the Islamic prophet, as well as a law to safeguard the integrity of religious icons. Raja’s remarks were called “very shameful” and “shocking” by Jamiat president Maulana Madani.

Maulana Madani released a statement alleging that the governing party’s members were repeating such awful actions. Madani hailed the party’s move against Raja Singh as strictly necessary. However, he stated that it is insufficient, and that such “perpetrators” should face “exemplary punishment.” He stated that he has been advocating for the adoption of legislation to safeguard the dignity of religious leaders.

Telangana Police arrested suspended BJP leader Thakur Raja Singh again on Thursday for allegedly making ‘blasphemous’ statements about the Islamic prophet. The former BJP leader was arrested at his home in Hyderabad. This comes only two days after he was detained and freed on bail in connection with the Prophet remarks case.

According to Hyderabad Police, Raja Singh has been detained under the Preventive Detention Act on the instructions of the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad City, and is being held at the Central Prison in Cherlapally. According to a press statement released by the Hyderabad Police Department on Raja Singh, he has been giving provocative and inflammatory comments and pushing a rift between groups, resulting in public unrest.

Hyderabad has been witnessing massive protests against his bail, with Islamists raising slogans demanding to behead him. According to the reports, the Islamists took to the streets and held demonstrations throughout the night and also raised slogans continuously demanding the beheading of T Raja Singh.

It is worth noting that Jamiat’s demand for a special law is not the first time an Islamic organisation has made such a request. In June of this year, Maulana Mufti Abul Qasim, the VC of Darul Uloom Deoband, an Islamist organisation located in Uttar Pradesh, released a statement seeking a special law that sternly punishes people who disrespect Islam, concerning the Nupur Sharma controversy.

When the booklet Rangeela Rasool was released in the early 1920s, similar demands were made amid shouts of “Allahu Akbar” and “Sar Tan Se Juda.” The as remarks made by Nupur Sharma and Thakur Raja Singh have led to demands for a new law to safeguard the Muslim community’s delicate emotions, realizing that Islamists genuinely think their own Islamic rules are superior to national laws produced by Kafirs living in a Kafir state is crucial.

New Jersey: Indian organizers refuse to apologize for including bulldozers at Independence Day parade, call it a symbol of law and order

OpIndia Staff
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New Jersey: Indian organizers refuse to apologize for including bulldozers at Independence Day parade, call it a symbol of law and order

On Wednesday, the Indian Business Association (IBA) in Edison, New Jersey, refused to apologize for featuring a bulldozer at the Indian Independence day Parade in the town. Chandrakant Patel, the chairman of the IBA at the Township Council meeting said that his organisation would not be apologizing for the incident because they had done nothing wrong.

The Township Council meeting went on for four hours in which several residents from the town presented their opinion on the matter. “The bulldozer only represents the demolishing of illegal structures on government land (in India)”, Patel said.

The saga began on August 14 when hundreds of Indian Americans walked through the streets of Edison to celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day. The organizers of the event decorated the event with posters of Indian PM Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath. They also rolled bulldozers on the streets and named them ‘Baba ka Bulldozer’.

Township Counil meeting that was attended by Indian Muslims and Hindus along with other residents (Source- MEE)

The incident attracted eyeballs as Indian Muslims raised objections over the bulldozers and said that the organisation had brought the ‘symbol of hatred- the bulldozer’ on the streets of Edison. They said that they were angry with the IBA for this act and alleged that the organisation had attempted to create division in New Jersey now.

Several other organisations like Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Hindus for Human Rights also supported the protesters and demanded action against the IBA. “In the name of an India parade, they are parading the racist Hindutva ideology, through the streets of Edison”, one of the activist stated.

Poster against IBA raised by one of the Islamist activist (Image source- Azad Essa, Journalist, Middle East Eye)

The Indian Muslims in Edison also criticized Edison Township’s Council Member Ajay Patil for refraining from condemning the incident. He is also the vice president of the IBA. “He should have said nothing or should have been part of the solution, instead he diminished the feelings of people”, the Catholic residents joined.

At the meeting on Wednesday, which was attended by several other town members, the Hindu representatives and supporters of IBA said that bulldozers were not symbol of hatred, but were symbol of ‘law and order’ in India. They argued that the Indian Muslim complaints were baseless and disrespectful to the Indian government as well as to Hinduism.

Another IBA supporter named Bimal Joshi said that he had lots of respect for the Muslim community. However, he said that the claims put up by the Muslims in the town were baseless. “If they (Muslims) try to portray that someone is doing a hatred in this town, no, that is wrong,”

“In America if someone is doing the illegal stuff; if someone is burning the property of the government, then government takes the action. India is the largest democracy in the world. If someone tries to disrespect our Prime Minister and calls him a Hitler, they should know what is Hitler. Know the history”, Joshi added.

Meanwhile one of the residents alleged that the IBA did deliberately what they did on the India’s Independence Day in Edison. “I am from the neighboring town. I was brought up Catholic. When you celebrate independence you don’t celebrate destruction. I know someone from the IBA who said we should celebrate Godse, the man who killed Gandhi. The bulldozer was meant to bully”, he claimed.

“They took the bulldozer to the area where there are Muslim businesses. They knew what they were doing. Muslims are impacted the most, but they are also going after Christians. Hindutva is a political ideology, not a religion”, he added.

However, Patel, the IBA chairman stated that the city had already been informed that the bulldozers would be the part of I-Day procession in Edison. “We even took permission from the township at parade preparation meeting where we presented our plans for the parade. We told them why we were bringing the bulldozer”, he was quoted.

Earlier, on August 19, the Mayor of Edison took cognizance of the event and condemned the incident. He said that ‘symbol of hate and discrimination were not welcome in the town’. He had criticized the IBA and demanded an apology from the organizers.

Reports mention that around 4.2 million Indians live in the United States and more than 50 per cent of Indian Americans approve and appreciate the performance of Indian Prime Minister Modi. “This support is greatest among Republicans, Hindus, people in the engineering profession, those not born in the United States, and those who hail from North and West India”, the report was quoted.

Update: On August 30, 2022, however, Patel has apologised for using the bulldozer in the Independence Day parade.

Assam: Madarsa cleric with links to Al-Qaeda and ABT terror outfits arrested from Goalpara; the fourth such arrest in a week

OpIndia Staff
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Assam: Madarsa cleric with links to Al-Qaeda and ABT terror outfits arrested from Goalpara; the fourth such arrest in a week

On August 26 (Friday), the Assam Police arrested another person linked to Al-Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) in Assam’s Goalpara district, as part of its ongoing crackdown on Jihadi terrorists operating from mosques and madrasas in the state. Hafizur Rahman Mufti, the arrested terrorist, is a resident of Goalpara and was working as a cleric in a madarsa located in the region.

He was apprehended in the Jogighopa area of Goalpara’s Bongaigaon district on Friday and sent to police custody for five days.

Speaking about the arrest, the Goalpara SP, VV Rakesh Reddy said that Hafizur Rahman Mufti’s arrest is the fourth such arrest made by the Assam police within a week.

Prior to this arrest, the Assam Police Saturday arrested two more imams linked with Islamic terror groups. The two Imams were arrested by the Goalpara Police in Assam as part of a broad anti-terror operation against the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and the Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda Indian Subcontinent. After being questioned by police for many hours, Jalaluddin Sheikh (49), the imam of Tilapara Natun Masjid, and Abdus Subhan (43), the imam of Tinkunia Shantipur Masjid, Mornoi, were both taken into police custody.

With these arrests, the total number of Al-Qaeda terrorists arrested in the state has risen to more than 34.

While talking to the media, DGP Assam Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said, “More than 34 people affiliated with Al-Qaeda have already been arrested. Assam Police won’t allow these kinds of conspiracies to succeed. Some Army training camps have been set up by Bangladeshis.”

“There are different types of groups of Madrasas in Assam. Some new groups are sprouting up and taking advantage. Conspiracy hatching from outside Assam, currently from Bangladesh and Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups, influencing youth to spread radicalisation,” the DGP added.

Assam becoming a hotbed of jihadi activities with modules operated from Madarsas: Assam CM

Notably, the crackdown on Jihadi terrorists by the Assam police comes weeks after the Morigaon district administration demolished the Jamiul Huda Madarsa in the Moirabari area. The Madrasa was sealed after Mufti Mustafa, who was running it, was arrested for his links with Bangladesh-based terror outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team & AQIS (Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent).

The Madarsa was demolished under the Disaster Management Act & UAPA Act. According to the administration, the madarsa was built and operated without requisite permissions and was drawing electricity illegally. 43 students were studying at the Madrasa, and they have been admitted to different general schools with the cooperation of their parents.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while addressing a press conference to give a detailed account of what police had found in the ongoing probes on the issue then, had said that Assam has become a hotbed of Jihadi activities, with terror modules being set up in Madarsas.

Assam’s crackdown on Islamic terrorism

Notably, at present Ansarullah Bangla Team, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, has been most active in the state. In the last six months, five modules of ABT have been caught in the state. These groups were busted based on intelligence inputs gathered by both Assam police and central agencies. It is notable that Ansarullah Bangla Team has been banned in Bangladesh for its terror activities.

In March this year, an ABT sleeper cell of six people was busted, including one Bangladeshi national named Md Suman. According to police, several Bangladeshi ABT members are active in Assam, each leading separate sleeper cells. Md Suman had entered India illegally via West Bengal in 2018, and was working as a teacher at a Madrasa, and also working as an Iman at a mosque in Barpeta district. He had also married a local woman from Chirang.

Delhi: Stalker Ali ‘pretends to be from different community’, shoots 16-year-old girl because she stopped talking to him after finding out his real identity

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: Stalker Ali ‘pretends to be from different community’, shoots 16-year-old girl because she stopped talking to him after finding out his real identity

On Thursday afternoon, a 16-year-old girl was allegedly shot at by her stalker near her home in Sangam Vihar, South Delhi. The girl is presently being treated in a private hospital’s intensive care unit. The accused has been identified as Ali, who had concealed his religious identity to initiate a conversation with the victim girl initially.

According to the reports, the victim girl and the accused knew each other for some time but the girl had stopped talking to him after she learned that the boy was ‘from another community’. The boy then began to stalk the girl. The incident is said to have happened when the girl studying in class XI was walking back home from her school.

The school in which the girl studies is at a distance of 2 km from her residence. The girl’s father said he received a call about the shooting from his wife at 2:17 pm when he was at work in Mahipalpur. “We live in a joint family. Usually, someone drops my children and nieces to school in the morning and in the afternoon my wife or sister-in-law picks them up. My wife and son and one of my nieces were walking ahead, while my daughter and second niece were behind them. When they reached near B-Block, the accused fired at her and fled,” the father of the girl confirmed.

He added that a young boy from their area had been following the girl. “He sent several messages to my daughter but she never responded. I didn’t take it seriously either as the boy was local. Later he began to stalk her whenever she stepped out”, he stated.

The father further said that he informed the beat cop about the stalking incident in July who had assured him that he would scold the boy and look after the girl’s safety. “I don’t know if anything happened then”, he said. After the incident on Thursday, the police immediately reached the spot and took the injured victim girl to the Batra Hospital.

According to the reports, the accused was with his friends when he shot the 16-year-old girl. They were on bikes and wearing helmets and had also covered their faces with handkerchiefs. The accused knew that the school of the girl might end at 1:40 pm and that she would reach Block-B by 2:15 pm. DCP (South) Benita Jaiker meanwhile said that the PCR got a call about the shooting at around 3:47 pm.

The Police have registered a complaint in the case and have recovered the CCTV footage of the school for further investigation. The Police also recorded the statement of the girl in which she confirmed that she knew one of the accused through social media. She also said that they were three people following her and all of them were masked. “One of them shot a bullet at me from behind and then they all fled from the spot”, she added.

A case under Sections 307 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been filed against the accused individuals, and an investigation is ongoing. The police are also exploring any personal enmity of love angle in the incident and are taking all the efforts to nab the accused.

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