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AAP MLA claims wrestler Divya Kakran never represented Delhi, she shows certificate

OpIndia Staff
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AAP MLA claims wrestler Divya Kakran never represented Delhi, she shows certificate

Recently, Indian wrestler Divya Kakran stirred a controversy by saying that she did not get any support from Delhi Government despite promises. As Aam Aadmi Party-led (AAP) Delhi Government started to get criticism over the allegations, its MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj tried to claim that Kakran never represented Delhi. In reply to the August 9 tweet of Bharadwaj, Kakran produced certificates to prove she had represented Delhi between 2011 and 2017.

In a tweet, Kakran wrote, “I represented Delhi from 2011 to 2017. This is my certificate from Delhi State. If you still do not believe me, I can upload 17 Gold medal-related certificates as well.” It is noteworthy that she has won over 60 medals including 17 Gold medals in Delhi State Championship.

Divya Kakran had thanked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his wishes on winning a medal at Commonwealth Games 2022 and reminded him that despite the promises made by the Delhi Government, she did not receive any help from the state. Kakran had earlier blamed Delhi Government in 2018 for the same.

Quoting Kakran, Bharadwaj added screenshots of news reports that pointed to Divya Kakran representing her home state Uttar Pradesh. He wrote on August 7, “The whole country is proud of you sister. But I do not remember that you play for Delhi. You have always been playing for Uttar Pradesh. But the player is of the country. You do not expect respect from Yogi Adityanath Ji. I think the Chief Minister of Delhi will listen to you.

He added, “Maybe I am the wrong sister but when I searched, I found that you have always been playing for Uttar Pradesh, not from Delhi State. Today the whole country is proud of you. I pray to God that you go ahead.” It is unclear why Bharadwaj did not approach the sports department of the Delhi Government to check if Divya played for Delhi and used media reports.

Retaliating to her statement, the AAP government had said,” The Delhi government respects all sportspersons of the country and prays for their bright future. Currently, Divya Kakran plays for Uttar Pradesh. If she had played from Delhi or she had been part of any sports scheme of the government or she has applied in any such scheme then the government will surely look into it.”

Jumping to back Delhi Government’s attempts to get away from supporting Divya, filmmaker Vinod Kapri decided to add his own two cents. He said, “You must get respect Divya Kakran. In this regard, you should also write to the Chief Minister of UP Yogi Adityanath immediately because you are a real resident of UP and you play from UP. Also, you work in railways.”

On 7th August 2022, Divya Kakran, the wrestler who won a bronze medal in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022, shared on Twitter how she hasn’t been given any prize money to date by the Delhi government. She shared this in response to the congratulatory tweet from Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Divya Kakran tweeted, “Heartfelt thanks to Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi for congratulating me on the medal. I have a request for you that I have been living in Delhi for the last 20 years and have been practising my sports wrestling, but so far I have not been given any kind of reward money from the state government nor any help has been given to me.”

‘Not the job of court’: SC on a plea seeking minority status for Hindus in some states

OpIndia Staff
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‘Not the job of court’: SC on a plea seeking minority status for Hindus in some states

The Supreme Court on Monday said that it was not the Court’s job to declare Hindus as a minority in a state where they are fewer in number compared to other communities. The Court stated that the process of determining minority status is outside the purview of the law since it depends on several factual variables and data.

The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by Devkinandan Thakur, who was contesting a section of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992, and asking the Centre to define ‘minority’ and layout standards for identifying minorities at the district level.

“It is not the job of the court to declare minorities. This has to be on a case-by-case basis. There cannot be a general declaration to declare Hindus as a minority unless you show us something concrete about denial of rights”, the bench led by Justices Uday U Lalit and S Ravindra Bhat said on August 8.

The petition filed by Thakur in June alleged that the rights of Hindus under Articles 29-30 are being unjustly siphoned off to the state’s majority population since the Centre has not notified them as a ‘minority’ under the NCM Act, 1992. The petition challenged Section 2(C) of the Act, which designated Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis, Sikhs, and Jains to be national minorities, and asked for guidance on district-by-district designation of minorities and state-by-state status.

“Cause of action continues till date because followers of Judaism, Bahaism, and Hinduism; who are real minorities in Ladakh, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Kashmir, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, cannot establish and administer educational institutions of their choice because of non-identification of the minority at the state level, thus jeopardizing their basic rights guaranteed under Article 29-30”, the plea read.

On Monday, the bench informed Advocate Upadhyay appearing for Thakur that the Supreme Court has issued decisions since 1957 establishing that religious and linguistic minorities must be granted minority status by the state. According to the reports, the Supreme Court ruled in 1957 that the minority must be assessed in relation to the entire population of the state. “Why should we say or clarify anything now? The problem is that you want to make out a case when there is none”, the Court told Upadhyay.

“If you give us examples where Hindus are in minority and some directions are required, we may perhaps look at that. But you are asking for a general direction to declare Hindus as a minority in some states. Why should we do that? We cannot declare any community as a minority because we don’t have the statistics of different states or other facts”, the Court added.

Regarding an appeal in the PIL on the declaration of minority status on a district level, the bench made it clear that such a plea is not proper. “If the Supreme Court has said it had to be state-wise, why should we interfere?”, the bench said to Upadhyay. It may be noted that in the case of TMA Pai and others vs State of Karnataka (2002), the Supreme Court held that minorities must be identified at the state level.

Meanwhile, Upadhyay asked the Supreme Court’s bench to associate Thakur’s PIL with another issue that was already pending before a separate bench. In that situation, Upadhyay is the one filing the petition. As Upadhyay submitted that the matter before the other bench is expected to come up on August 30, the bench listed Thakur’s plea in the first week of September along with the other PIL.

Upadhyay’s plea is still pending before the judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul-led panel. In that argument, Upadhyay contends that Section 2(f) of the NCMEI Act is invalid because it grants the Center unrestricted authority to limit minority benefits to the six registered religious communities.

According to the report, there are just 1% of Hindus in Ladakh, 2.5% in Mizoram, 2.7% in Lakshadweep, 4% in Jammu and Kashmir, 8.74% in Nagaland, 11.52% in Meghalaya, 29% in Arunachal Pradesh, 38.49% in Punjab, and 41.29% in Manipur. In his appeal, Upadhyay also questioned why the National Minorities Commission and the Minority Education Commission were established, claiming that the Center did so to divide and dominate.

In a decision stated by the Court in May, Justice Kaul’s bench gave the Centre time till August 30 to engage with the stakeholders and submit a report on whether Hindus may be granted minority status based on their numbers within a state. The court judgment came on the heels of the Union government’s announcement on May 10 that it will launch a wide consultation with states and other stakeholders to determine whether Hindus may be accorded minority status in states where their numbers are lower than those of other groups.

The government requested more time for consideration while abandoning its prior position in March when it sought dismissal of Upadhyay’s writ suit and upheld the NCM Act, 1992 and the NCM Educational Institutions (NCMEI) Act, 2004. In its first affidavit, filed in March, the central government placed the onus on states and Union territories (UTs) to decide whether or not to grant minority status to Hindus in areas where they are numerically smaller, adding that both the Centre and states have the legislative authority to enact laws protecting minorities.

However, in withdrawing its previous affidavit in May, the government acknowledged that the issue posed in the petition has far-reaching implications throughout the nation and that, as a result, any position taken without detailed deliberation with stakeholders may result in an unforeseen complication for the country. The May affidavit stated that, while the central government has the authority to notify minorities, the Centre’s position on the concerns raised in the batch of petitions on the issue will be finalized after extensive consultation with state governments and other stakeholders.

Whoever is the king, it is Bihar that is at the loss. Whether Nitish Kumar stays with NDA or sides with ‘jungleraj’, he will remain burden for Bihar

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Whoever is the king, it is Bihar that is at the loss. Whether Nitish Kumar stays with NDA or sides with ‘jungleraj’, he will remain burden for Bihar

Many are predicting huge changes in Bihar political landscape. Media reports are suggesting that the JDU again wants an out from the NDA alliance. There are also reports which suggest that Nitish Kumar met Congress President Sonia Gandhi to discuss formation of new alliance and government. There are also rumours of Nitish Kumar being in talks with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD and other left parties. Amidst all this, the BJP leaders have maintained a stoic silence. When some rivers are flooded some parts of Bihar while other remains dry, literally and figuratively, question is what will an average citizen gain out of it?

Goswami Tulsidas ji wrote,

करि कुरूप बिधि परबस कीन्हा। बवा सो लुनिअ लहिअ जो दीन्हा॥
कोउ नृप होउ हमहि का हानी। चेरि छाड़ि अब होब कि रानी॥

It can be roughly translated into the creator has created me ugly, why should anyone else be blamed. I reap what I sow, take what comes my way. Whoever is the king, what is my fault, will I become the queen instead of a mere servant?

During the coronation of Lord Ram as king, when Kaikeyi did not fall into trap of Manthra, she described her situation and said that whether the king is Ram or Bharat, it does not matter to her, she would always remain a servant. But it seems Bihar is so cursed that whoever becomes the king, the public will continue to suffer the most.

Usually when there are elections, people elect the party or the leader whom they understand. But for Bihar, the situation is different. Here, the people don’t vote for betterment. They elect those to power who they think are the lesser evil. It is like the popular advertising tagline, ‘how is my shirt more white than yours’, but in the end they all know all shirts are stained.

In such situation of choosing lesser of the two evils, the people of Bihar chose the NDA alliance. It was not that the people were happy with the Nitish Kumar led NDA government in the state. In fact, there has been huge dissatisfaction amongst people in Bihar regarding the Nitish led government, especially JDU leaders. Despite that people chose the NDA because on the other side were those who are synonymous with ‘jungleraj’. To escape this ‘jungleraj’ only did Biharis gave a chance to Nitish Kumar in 2005 and then again in 2010.

After these two elections, it seemed like Bihar will get back on track. Those universities which used to take 5-6 years to confer degrees started giving them in three years’ time. Schools and hospitals were being set up, electricity was reaching villages. Roads were constructed. Those ‘bahubalis’ from whom even the police was afraid of, were now behind bars. Their cases were being heard in fasttrack courts. The kidnapping industry had kind of ceased to exist. In short, Bihar had reached a stage where it can start dreaming of development. Do keep in mind what I stated above were steps to cover the pits dug in Bihar during the jungelraj.

In such a scenario, in 2013, for his own political ambitions, Nitish Kumar cut ties with NDA alliance. This was a major setback to the dreams Bihar had just started dreaming. Whatever that was gained between 2005 to 2013 was started to go away. In 2015, Nitish joined hands with Lalu Yadav for election, the same Lalu who had become synonymous with jungleraj in Bihar. They won the elections and the downfall of Bihar’s development gained pace.

Suddenly the ‘bahubalis’ and goondas were back flexing power. Development had taken a pause. Education, health, law and order again started going backward. In 2017, Nitish returned to NDA fold and formed government again with the BJP. While he formed government again with the BJP, the situation didn’t quite change. In past five years, Bihar not been able to reach that state where it had reached in 2013 after starting the journey in 2005. Hence, in 2020 Vidhan Sabha elections, everyone in Bihar was upset with Nitish Kumar. So much that in desperation he said that this would be his last ever election.

But in current situation, it was still a little relief that Nitish Kumar was away from the clouds of jungleraj. Data shows there is a steady increase in crime rate. In recent times when violence broke out against the central government’s Agnipath scheme, many houses of BJP leaders were also targeted. Despite that, the situation was not that bad that one goonda from Siwan would pour acid over sons of Chanda Babu and kill them.

If Nitish again changes sides, Shahbuddin will rise again. Many Chanda Babus will lose their sons when they are drenched in acid. Anyway since many years, Nitish Kumar has been a burden on Bihar the way Lalu and Rabri were for over a decade prior to him.

UP: Video of Islamists waving Tiranga defaced with Islamic symbols during Moharram procession goes viral; complaint filed

OpIndia Staff
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UP: Video of Islamists waving Tiranga defaced with Islamic symbols during Moharram procession goes viral; complaint filed

A video from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh has gone viral on social media platforms in which Islamists can be seen holding a large defaced Tiranga where Ashok Chakra has been replaced with Islamic symbols at the Muharram procession. Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal have filed a complaint in the matter with Kanpur Police.

In the 33-second video that is going viral on the internet, some Muslim youth hold the Tricolour, defaced with Islamic symbols. The Ashok Chakra is missing from the centre of the flag, and Islamic symbols are emblazoned on it.

In a statement, BP Jogdand, Kanpur Police Commissioner said, “We have received a complaint from VHP regarding disrespect of the national flag. The probe is underway and the culprits will be punished as per the law.”

This is not the first time Islamists have defaced Tiranga. On June 10, during a protest over controversial remarks by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma against Prophet Mohammed during a debate, flags with Islamic verses were used.

The incident took place outside the Masjid-e-Rahmath mosque in Mahbubnagar, where hundreds of Islamists had gathered to stage a protest against the comments made on Prophet Muhammad. The crowd reportedly shouted slogans against Nupur Sharma and the BJP and submitted a memorandum to the Collector demanding strict action against the former BJP spokesperson.

However, the uproar saw disrespect being meted out on the Indian tricolour as the Islamists defaced it and replaced the Ashok Chakra with a Kalma.

Modi govt has completed yet another successful telecom spectrum auction and Congress is using it to wash its own 2G scam sins

S. Sudhir Kumar
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Modi govt has completed yet another successful telecom spectrum auction and Congress is using it to wash its own 2G scam sins

The Modi government has completed yet another successful telecom spectrum auction. Through the auction, the government will be getting a whopping INR 1,50,713/- crores. This immediately prompted our opposition leaders and sections of English media to justify Sonia Gandhi’s government action in the 2008 Spectrum allotment. They claimed that the then CAG flagged at a loss of INR 1,76,000/- crores in 2008 for 2G, but even in 2022 and that too for 5G, the actual spectrum auction fetched only INR 1,50,713 crores! 

First, let us quickly analyse the spectrum auction over the years. When a spectrum auction is announced, the government invites companies to bid in different frequency bands (units in MegaHertz or GigaHertz). For example, here is a snippet of the notice issued for the latest auction:

Notice inviting applications

We can equate a Frequency Band to a road highway. Companies bid for different lanes on that highway – some buy all lanes; some buy few lanes. You cannot buy the entire highway, nor can you buy one lane for the entire country in one go. India is divided into 22 Telecom circles – companies have to bid for slots allocation in different bands in each one of these circles. 

The government will decide what frequency bands to put up for auction. It is not necessary that everything that has been put up for auction is sold, quite naturally. The cost of bidding is very high because the resource available is scarce. With this background, let’s begin analysing the table below. This table has multiple columns, which we will discuss further. 

Spectrum auction over the years

The first big auction happened in the year 2010, after a massive uproar in the country over the illegal 2008 allotments. Two types of spectrum were put up for auction and a whopping INR 1,06,261/- crores were earned by the government of India. Only one band was put up for auction and 7 companies bid for various slots in that band only. 

You would have by now seen the very low amounts in the 2012 and 2013 auctions. This was because of a lot of issues between the companies and the then UPA government. You can also see in the table that 3 different bands remained unsold in these auctions. Even with such a poor performance, no one accused the UPA of a scam in these auctions, simply because unsold bands don’t indicate a scam! 

The 2014 auction for 2G spectrum only and the government earned good money from that auction – INR 61,162 crores! This auction was necessitated because the spectrum licenses that companies first got in the year 1994 were expiring. So, from auctions during the UPA time, a total of INR 1,80,469 crores was earned by the government of India! 

The first auction in the NDA government happened in 2015, and a new frequency band, 2100 MHz, was also put up for auction for the first time. This was yet another successful auction, with GoI earning INR 1,09,874 crores from the auction. For the 2016 auctions, we can also see that the government approved the auction of many more bands. This is very natural because now your existing highways don’t have enough lanes, so you open up new highways and lanes for auction! If all the frequency bands that were put up for auction were sold, the expected revenue was nearly 4.5 lakh crores! The bulk of this revenue was expected just from the 700MHz band (nearly 3.5 to 4 lakh crores!). 

You can see in the table that the 700MHz band went unsold both in the 2016 and 2021 auctions – quite obviously because of the very high reserve price for this band. The 2021 auction also saw no bids for a new band, 2500MHz. And you can also see that the GoI was able to earn INR 77,814 crores, making this yet another successful auction! 

The recently concluded 5G Spectrum auction was by far the highest amount that the GOI could earn – a whopping 1,50,713 crores! You can also see that some slots in the 700MHz were sold this time (Reliance bought it for nearly 40,000 crores!), but the new 600 MHz found no bidders, yet again because of a high base price. With all the information at our disposal, we can understand the trend too – some bands with high reserve prices will go unsold in the first auctions because companies need to weigh the pros and cons of investing so much in those bands. 

Thus far, the auctions under the NDA government fetched a whopping INR 4,04,190/- crores, as opposed to the INR 1,80,469/- crores under UPA. Together, GoI has earned a whopping nearly INR 6,00,000/- crores from the auctions of these spectrums, over the last 12 years. 

Now, did you know how much we earned under Sonia Gandhi’s watchful eye in the 2008 2G Spectrum allotment? We earned just close to ~12,000 crores! In the year 2008, Sonia Gandhi’s government allotted 2G spectrum to 9 companies. Each company paid INR 1650 crores, a rate that was decided in 2001! One such company, Unitech, sold 60% of this stake to Telenor for INR 6120 crores. So simple math suggests that if 60% value is 6120 crores, then 100% is 10,200 crores. Yet another simple math suggests that if one company is valuing this at 10,200 crores, then the total expected from 9 companies is 10,200*9 = 91,800 crores! 

The CAG report in 2010 took sales of 3 such companies into account; it took into account recommendations of various government bodies; and it took into account the successful 3G auction (shown in our table above). And came up with a range of “presumptive loss” – from a whopping INR 57,666 crores to a whopping INR 1,76,645 crores! For obvious reasons, it is the 1,76,645 crores number that garnered the most attention. 

CAG report

Such was Sonia Gandhi’s hold on the government that the then Telecom minister, A.Raja could ignore advice from the Law and Finance minister and defy orders even from the Prime Minister of India! A total of 122 licenses were allotted to these 9 companies – 85 of them to ineligible companies! 

CAG report

The Supreme Court declared the entire allocation of 122 licenses illegal and cancelled all the licenses! An illegal allotment was done in 2008 and yet sections of English media want us to believe that what Sonia Gandhi’s government did was perfectly alright! We have seen how valuable the spectrum is (6 lakh crores in 8 auctions) and yet the English media wants to argue that the mere ~12,000 crores earned by GoI in 2008 was the right decision at that point in time! 

It is indeed true that the CBI was not able to prove a financial scam in the courts, but for us to ignore the illegality of the 2008 allocations as confirmed by the same courts; and for us to ignore the huge earnings through spectrum auctions all these years, only amounts to deceiving the people of the country. 

Coimbatore: Corporation stops temple demolition as devotees, Hindu organisations protest, devotees move to High Court to save the temple

OpIndia Staff
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Coimbatore: Corporation stops temple demolition as devotees, Hindu organisations protest, devotees move to High Court to save the temple

On Thursday, the Coimbatore Corporation stopped the demolition of a temple located on the Veeriyampalayam Road near Ramalakshmi Nagar in the city after the Hindu organizations and devotees led a strong protest against the corporation officials. The protesters raised slogans and chanted ‘Om Namah Shivay’ as the Corporation attempted to execute the demolition.

According to the reports, the High Court in June had ordered the demolition of the temple citing the reason that it was encroaching upon 50 feet wide road. The Court was hearing the petition filed by an individual who owns a commercial complex. The city corporation on August 5 reached the spot to execute the Court orders, however, the officials were forced to leave without completing the task.

As the Corporation attempted to demolish the temple, a large number of devotees, members of Hindu organizations like VHP and Hindu Munnani, and also BJP members gathered around the temple to protest against the demolition move. The officials razed down the compound wall and the toilet with the help of a bulldozer. The devotees then raised slogans against the officials and the police who were deployed on the spot to maintain the law and order situation.

It is alleged that the commercial complex owner who filed the petition in June, used his political contacts in the DMK government led by M K Stalin to push for the demolition of the temple. He felt that the temple was a hindrance to the parking of the vehicles of the customers visiting the complex.

The 200-year-old temple, spread over an area of 4,000 square feet is situated in Coimbatore Corporation’s 7th ward -Goldevins, Duraiswamy Nager, Ramalakshmi Nagar region. The idol which is worshiped inside the temple is said to have formed by itself (swayambhu). Reports mention that people from the surrounding region have been visiting the temple regularly to worship.

K Jayalakshmi, assistant town planning officer, confirmed that the demolition drive was stopped as devotees with tears in their eyes squatted on the temple premises. “It was raining as well”, she added. The aggrieved parties reportedly have approached the High Court now. Reports mention that the officials have decided to wait for the Court’s decision before proceeding with the demolition drive.

Elaborating on the incident, BJP district functionary Senthil Kumar said that the idol of the temple was self-manifested with at least 100 years of history behind it. “Demolishing such an old temple would affect the religious sentiments of thousands of devotees. Members of the temple committee have urged the officials to leave the temple in its present condition. The locals said they are surprised to see the haste shown by the officials to pull down a Hindu temple”, he said.

Kumar also added that the government had not honored the court orders in reclaiming a vast tract of land from Queensland near Chennai. “There are several churches and mosques on the government land or on the water bodies or blocking the waterways. The present DMK govt is keen on demolishing only Hindu temples”, he stated adding that the government has so far razed down nearly 200 temples located in several parts of the state.

One of the residents who protested against the drive stated to the Organiser that the Corporation had served no notice before furthering the demolition drive. “As per agamas, the main idols have to be kept in water and balaalayam has to be done. Without doing such rituals, the demolition was furthered. This move angered the devotees. The officials gave us time till Monday to get stay orders to stop the demotion drive”, she was quoted.

Uttar Pradesh: Police arrest absconding Shrikant Tyagi in Meerut, was booked under Gangster Act

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Police arrest absconding Shrikant Tyagi in Meerut, was booked under Gangster Act

On August 9, Noida Police arrested Shrikant Tyagi from Meerut who has been on the run since a video of him abusing and assaulting a woman went viral. The Police got a tip-off of his location. Reportedly, he was continuously trying to get in touch with his wife and lawyer. The arrest came a day after Noida authorities bulldozed illegal construction done by him at his house in Grand Omaxe housing society in Sector 93B.

At around 6 AM on Tuesday, Shrikant’s wife was picked up by the Police for the second time for questioning. Earlier she was detained by the Police for questioning on Friday, August 5. Shrikant’s relatives were also detained by the police for questioning.

On Monday, August 8, Police arrested six people who entered the Grand Omaze society on Sunday evening without permission. They were alleged supporters of Tyagi and questioned residents about the woman’s address who was assaulted by Tyagi.

Following his arrest, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Brajesh Pathak said, “The UP government is working with a target of ‘zero tolerance’ against crimes. We will not leave any person who has broken the law.” He further added, “The main aim of the Yogi government is to establish law and order in the state. We will do everything to provide security to women in the state.”

Tyagi’s viral video

Recently, a video of Shrikant Tyagi abusing and assaulting a woman resident of Omaxe Grand housing society went viral on social media. Reports suggest the altercation between the two took place after the woman objected to the illegal construction and occupation of the park by Tyagi. Following the viral video, Tyagi was booked by Noida Police. Since then, he was on the run.

The incident made headlines not only because of the viral video but also because Tyagi was a self-proclaimed BJP leader on social media. He had claimed to be a national executive member of the BJP’s Kisan Morcha. However, BJP categorically denied the claims and the UP government assured strict action against him. Noida Police had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for anyone who gives information about Tyagi leading to his arrest.

Pasmanda Muslims are ‘vote bank’, but rioting mob also usually consists of them: Eye Dalit quota but will vote for madarsa, maulvis

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Pasmanda Muslims are ‘vote bank’, but rioting mob also usually consists of them: Eye Dalit quota but will vote for madarsa, maulvis

The National Executive meeting of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) was held recently in Hyderabad. While addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about focusing on the upliftment of Pasmanda Muslims. No one can object to the upliftment of an underprivileged section of the country. It is hardly surprising to see the Prime Minister of the country paying attention to the development of such a section of society.

However, it is important to remember that Prime Minister Modi is the biggest trendsetter in Indian politics at the moment. In such a scenario, everything said by him is bound to be politically interpreted. That is why the present condition of the Pasmanda Muslims and the political mathematics associated with them have become hot topics in media discussions. Keeping in mind the general elections of 2024, new political equations are being introduced involving Pasmanda Muslims.

However, the arguments being used to support these equations (especially in light of the results of the Azamgarh and Rampur by-elections) do not match with the ground reality. It is not that Pasmanda politics is being closely watched by the BJP for the first time either. Its partner Nitish Kumar in Bihar has worked on this formula before, but the political gains from this did not prove to be permanent.

In such a situation, the question arises whether BJP is really serious about any Pasmanda mission as the media is trying to portray. Does Modi need a new vote bank to win the 2024 general election? Will the 2024 general election put an end to the politics of the Muslim vote bank and theocratic hysteria, as the separation of Pasmanda will destroy the ability of Muslims to influence elections as a block?

Before looking for the answers to these questions, let us first see who are the Pasmandas, and what is their social, economic, and political status among Muslims. At the same time, we will try to find out how important Pasmandas are for the fundamentalist shop run by hardliners from madarsas.

Who are Pasmanda Muslims?

To show Hindus in a poor light, or to make them fight in the name of caste, it is often mentioned that Muslims have no caste or caste-based discrimination. This is a complete lie. Consider some castes among Muslims, Kunjre (Raeen), Julaha (Ansari), Dhuniya (Mansoori), Kasai (Qureshi), Hajjam (Salmani), Carpenter (Saifi), Manihar (Siddiqui), Tailor (Idrisi). The common thing among all these castes of Muslims is that they are Pasmandas.

Pasmanda is a Persian word. It broadly means backward and disadvantaged people. Most of the people who fall in this category are Dalits who converted to Islam. Some have converted from other backward castes as well. Muslims who come under Pasmanda are also called Arzal. Simply put, these are the people whose ancestors converted from Hinduism to Islam after the arrival of Islamic invaders. Organizations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad are running a campaign for their return to their original faith as well.

Ashrafs vs Pasmandas

Ashrafs come from the upper castes among Muslims. For example, Sheikh, Sayyid, Mirza, Khan etc. These people are either converts from the upper caste Hindus to become Muslims or their ancestors came from Central Asia. Ashrafs constitute only 15-20 percent of the total Muslim population in India, the rest are Pasmanda. However, the privileged economic, political and social status among the Muslims belongs only to those coming from the Ashraf class. They often use Pasmanda for their own religious and hardline politics. The Islamic mob that takes to the streets during violent protests consists of Pasmandas, while the command is in the hands of Ashrafs.

What do Pasmandas want from the government

Pasmandas, who are bound by the fatwas issued by madarsas, mosques and maulvis, and who form a huge chunk of Indian Muslim population, want reservation under the Scheduled Caste (SC) quota. All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz recently wrote to the Prime Minister and urged to add about a dozen of castes to SC community. This has been an old demand. Currently, these castes fall under the OBC bracket.

National Family Health Survey says that about 45% Indian Muslims take benefit of the OBC quota. To ensure that the benefit under the quota is extended to entire community, they want to shift to SC quota along with OBC quota. Amid this, BJP’s OBC Morcha National President K Lakshman has demanded a 50% reservation for Pasmanda Muslims in Muslim institutes like Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia and Jamia Hamdard.

Does BJP really need Mission Pasmanda

Ever since PM Modi uttered the word ‘Pasmanda’, mainstream media has started running debates like ‘BJP’s Pasmanda mission’, ‘is it easy for BJP to garner Pasmanda support’ almost on a daily basis now. Some even claim that in the Azamgarh and Rampur bypolls, BJP won only because of votes of Pasmanda Muslims. BJP registered a win on these two seats with a very short margin. If the Pasmanda Muslim community had contributed to their victory, the margin would have been much higher. In fact, the BJP even gained that these seats had a three-party fight.

It is true that the BJP gets some votes from Muslim community here and there. Some Shia and Dawoodi Bohra Muslims also vote for BJP. During the recently concluded Vidhan Sabha elections, OpIndia found that the Muslims there were happy with many schemes of the Yogi government. They had even expressed inclination to vote for the BJP on its basis. But if you see the voting pattern, you would notice that the Muslim community eventually did vote as a vote bank and eventually voted for Samajwadi Party. To put things in perspective, over 3.5 crore Muslims in Uttar Pradesh are Pasmanda.

Pasmanda ‘experiment’ in Bihar

In 2005 when under leadership of Nitish Kumar when the JDU-BJP government was formed in Bihar the Pasmanda card was played to garner votes. Bihar has over 1.5 crore Pasmanda Muslims. Pasmanda community leader like Ali Anwar was sent to Rajya Sabha by JDU under the same politics. Experts view the appointment of Pasmanda leader Danish Ansari as Minister in Yogi government though similar political lens.

But the effects of this politics played by Nitish Kumar was visible only in 2010 Vidhan Sabha elections. JDU was able to perform really well in some seats where Muslim votes play decisive role largely due to division of Pasmanda votes. This division in Muslim-Yadav vote also led to a defeat of Lalu Yadav’s RJD in those elections. But, even in those elections, Pasmanda voted for opposition parties where JDU-BJP alliance had put up a BJP candidate.

The 2015 elections Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav contested together in an alliance and the entire Muslim votebank backed them. That means, while one section of Pasmanda community that had come to Nitish’s JDU because of the benefits provided by the NDA, that has never quite stood by the BJP. In 2017 when JDU and RJD broke alliance, even the Pasmanda leader Ali Anwar broke away in name of Muslim solidarity. In 2020 elections, too, this community voted for the RJD. That means, even the political benefit that Nitish Kumar received was not long lasting. When the benefits of government schemes was fresh, they voted as ‘Pasmanda’ but in subsequent elections, they voted as ‘Muslims’. This is also why because of some UP government schemes, some Muslims in Deoband too voted for BJP.

Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the BJP has registered phenomenal victories in general elections in 2014 and 2019. If things go as such, 2024 also seems to be favouring him. As of today, there does not seem to be any reason which can show that there has been a division in votes for the BJP, the same votes that won him past two elections. As per recent surveys, Modi’s popularity has not lost its sheen at all. On the other hand, the opposition continues to stay fragmented. In such a case, even basic understanding of politics shows that the political move to appease ‘Pasmanda beneficiaries’ does not make sense at this point. In fact, this could also threaten to upset the support base which actually vote for the party.

Hence, it appears that the benefits being extended to the Pasmanda community appear to be an extension of PM Modi’s ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ policy he has been talking about. Even the BJP knows that this policy has neither received any political gains nor does it expect to gain anything.

In reality, ‘Plan Pasmanda’ is important not for the BJP’s political stand but from the viewpoint of a empowered India. Till the time any community in India remains deprived, the dream of a strong, empowered India will not be fulfilled. In places like Deoband, where Muslim community is speaking about benefits received under the BJP government, it is a step towards India’s empowerment. But the bigger point is that the community which has taken to streets to terrorise Hindus by pelting stones, calling for beheading, development will be an unlikely criteria for them.

Note: Originally published on Hindi website, you can read it here.

Sukhpal Khaira asks AAP’s Laljit Singh Bhullar if he was present with Deep Sidhu during the Red Fort violence: Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Sukhpal Khaira asks AAP’s Laljit Singh Bhullar if he was present with Deep Sidhu during the Red Fort violence: Here is what happened

On Thursday, August 9, the All India Kisan Congress chairman MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira took to Twitter to share a video of AAP minister Laljit Singh Bhullar seen with the late Khalistani sympathiser and actor Deep Sidhu at the time of violence at Red Fort on 26 January last year and sought answers from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann. Deep Sidhu was named as one of the main instigators of the Red Fort violence on Republic Day.

“Dear @ArvindKejriwal & @BhagwantMann ji plz clarify if your transport minister @Laljitbhullar is part of hoisting Kesri Nishan Sahib on Red Fort along with Deep Sidhu? If yes how does our CM call them anti national & keep him minister in his cabinet? I am subject to correction !,” Tweeted the Congress leader.

In the video shared by the Congress minister, the AAP minister can be seen being present at the time of violence at Red Fort on 26 January last year. He appeared in the video with Deep Sidhu, who was arrested last year for his role in instigating violence and the vandalisation at Red Fort on Republic Day during the farmers’ tractor rally. 

On January 26, 2021, Khalistani supporters had stormed the grounds of the historic Red Fort and desecrated the symbol of India’s sovereignty just after the Republic Day celebrations. They had brutally attacked the security personnel and police officials stationed at the location and disrespected India’s national flag by hoisting two other flags, one being the ‘Kesari Flag’ (Flag with Sikh Holy Symbol) on the Red Fort.

Sharing the video, the Congress leader questioned the AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann over their silence on the matter. Saying that Laljit Bhullar was present along with Deep Sidhu during the Red Ford siege, Kaira questioned why Laljit Bhullar was still serving in the cabinet.

The upfront question posed by the Congress leader did not sit well with several Khalistani supporters who descended upon his timeline to question him instead.

A Khalistani supporter slammed the Congress leader and said that he should technically be answering instead of the AAP leaders as to why had he been preserving this video for so long.

Another disgruntled Khalistani fan rebuked the Congress leader by claiming that hoisting the Nishan Sahib was completely normal.

Deep Sidhu accused of inciting violence at Red Fort on Republic Day

The now deceased actor Deep Sidhu had gone into hiding since the day of the Red Fort violence and has been releasing social media videos to blame other ‘farmer leaders’ who have spoken against him. The Khalistani supporters, who stormed the grounds of the historic Red Fort and desecrated the symbol of India’s sovereignty, had brutally attacked the security personnel and police officials stationed at the location, disrespected India’s national flag by hoisting two other flags. In a video, Khalistani rioters were seen pushing Delhi Police personnel from the top of a high wall, severely injuring hundreds of them.

Sidhu rose to prominence after his video of expressing support to the ‘farmers’ protest had gone viral on the internet. However, his Khalistani proclivities were laid bare when in an interview with journalist Barkha Dutt, the actor was seen hailing Khalistani terrorist Bhindranwale as a hero. After Sidhu’s role of instigating ‘farmers’ to take up arms against the Delhi Police on the day of the tractor rally came to fore, the ‘farmers’ leader, who had until now backed Sidhu for his support to the protests, pinned the blame of the violence on him and alleged him of hatching a conspiracy to derail the ‘farmers’ protests.

Republic Day Riots

On January 26, groups of alleged farmers forcefully entered Delhi on the pretext of a Tractor Rally. They created a riot-like situation in which over 300 police personnel were injured, and properties worth crores were damaged. The rally was supposed to be a protest rally against the Agriculture laws named Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 that were passed in September 2020.

Visuals that emerged from the riots showed how the alleged farmers tried to mow down the police personnel with tractors, attacked them with swords, batons and other weapons and mercilessly attacked police personnel at Red Fort. A group of rioters including Deep Sidhu, Gurjot Singh, Jugraj Singh and others reached the Red Fort and hoisted two flags with the Sikh Holy symbol. Interestingly, the hoisting of the flag was in sync with the provocations of terrorist organization Sikhs For Justice, whose founder had announced a cash prize for the person(s) who hoist the flag on Red Fort. A total of 43 cases were registered in connection to the riots.

New York Assemblywoman to hold a press conference to denounce hate crime at Shri Tulsi Mandir, says anti-Hindu crimes won’t be tolerated

OpIndia Staff
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New York Assemblywoman to hold a press conference to denounce hate crime at Shri Tulsi Mandir, says anti-Hindu crimes won’t be tolerated

On August 8 (local time), New York State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar announced that she will hold a press conference on August 9 with community leaders and elected officials to denounce an alleged hate crime at Shri Tulsi Mandir located in South Richmond Hill.

According to the press advisory released by her office, the hate crime took place on August 3 when three people vandalized and toppled a Gandhi statue outside the temple. In a statement, Rajkumar said, “A central tenet of Hinduism is inclusivity and mutual respect toward people of all faiths. Hindus believe not just intolerance, but in one step more than tolerance- actively loving and respecting people of different backgrounds and faiths. This was Mahatma Gandhi’s dream- a peaceful, loving world. We have achieved Gandhi’s dream in Richmond Hill, where Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, and Christians live together in harmony, often on the same block.”

She further added that the desecration of Gandhi statues and anti-Hindu hate crimes would not be tolerated in Richmond Hill or anywhere across New York State. She said, “At a time when our city is experiencing a 127% increase in hate crimes, elected officials and community leaders will gather together tomorrow in my district at Tulsi Mandir to condemn hate crimes against any group based on their religion or ethnicity.”

Rajkumar further called for the classification of vandalism as a hate crime during the investigation. She has been working extensively against hate crimes in her constituency. In June, Rajkumar passed a law to establish the first-ever Asian American and Pacific Islander Commission in New York State that addresses the problem of rising hate crimes against Asian communities in the region. She has also spoken against the anti-Sikh and anti-Muslim crimes in South Queens. On Sunday, August 7, she announced a task force to address domestic violence among the South Asian American community.

The press conference is scheduled to take place on August 9 (local time) at Shri Tulsi Mandir in South Richmond Hill, New York.

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