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Jaani Dushman gets real: Villagers in UP claim a snake took revenge by killing a man who had killed her partner

OpIndia Staff
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Jaani Dushman gets real: Villagers in UP claim a snake took revenge by killing a man who had killed her partner

A weird instance has emerged from Uttar Pradesh’s Mahoba district, in which a young man died under unusual circumstances after killing a snake. The family is concerned that a serpent may have retaliated for the death of another snake by stinging the man who had killed the snake. The residents in the area are terrified as a result of this incident.

The matter is from Kamalpura village in the Kulpahad Kotwali region of Mahoba district. Pradeep Kumar, 24, died in mysterious circumstances while sleeping at night. According to his family members, Pradeep had killed a snake the day before at his neighbour Ramesh Rajput’s house. When Ramesh’s wife spotted a snake duo entering her home, she approached Pradeep for assistance. Pradeep showed up at Ramesh’s residence and thrashed of the snakes to death. The other snake managed to flee.

The locals and Pradeep Kumar’s family members now claim that Pradeep died as a result of vengeance. They claim that the serpent that escaped when Pradeep was thrashing the other one with sticks came to his house at night and bit him while he slept. The villagers are saying that the female snake (Naagin) avenged the death a male snake (Naag) which was its partner.

Even the father of Pradeep, Bachi Lal, is of the opinion that his son was killed by the snake in revenge. He was the first person who reached Pradeep after he did not wake up in the morning. When he took Pradeep to hospital, doctors declared him brought dead.

The family has been shattered by the death of the young son. The villagers are also fearful after the incident. According to the local residents, after avenging the snake’s killing, the serpent did not come into the village and vanished into the woods. However, as a result of this tragedy, there is widespread fear of the serpent in the region.

According to the deceased’s relatives, when Pradeep Kumar returned after killing the snake, he realised he had made a mistake and felt bad since he had killed a snake in Sawan, a month dedicated to Lord Shiva, who wears a serpent around his neck. He had also informed his family that he had made a mistake and would have to face the repercussions.

Pakistani cleric Ali Mirza, who supported Nupur Sharma, is now being accused of blasphemy for quoting a Hadith, here is what happened

Raju Das
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Pakistani cleric Ali Mirza, who supported Nupur Sharma, is now being accused of blasphemy for quoting a Hadith, here is what happened

Pakistani Islamic Scholar Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza, who had created a huge uproar in the Islamic nation by supporting former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, has again invited controversy. And just like Nupur Sharma was accused of blasphemy for quoting something mentioned in Hadith, which are believed to be record of sayings of Prophet Mohammad, Ali Mirza had also quoted such a Hadith.

A huge battle is going on at present between two groups on social media in Pakistan, where one group is demanding punishments ranging from arrest to beheading of Ali Mirza for alleged blasphemy, the other group is supporting him saying he did nothing wrong. Several hashtags are being used in the online battle.

Tweets supporting Ali Mirza

The Urdu hashtag #انجینئر_مرزا_کوگرفتار_کرو, which translates to Arrest Engineer Mirza, was trending on Twitter, with netizens demanding the cleric’s arrest. Similarly, a large number of people are also trending the tag WeStandWithEMAM on Twitter. Similary, Bukhari_2812, the hadith in question, and other related hashtags are also being used by netizens.

Tweets against Ali Mirza

The entire debate is related to Hadith 2812 from Sahih al-Bukhari, and its interpretation in relation to Hazrat Ameer Muawiya, the first Caliph of Islam. He was a companion of Prophet Mohammad, but remains a controversial figure among Muslims. Sahih al-Bukhari is one of the six major collections of hadith compiled by Imam Muhammad al-Bukhari.

Most Sunnis recognise Muawiya as a companion of prophet, and respect him as one who was among those who had gone to heaven, even though some of them question his violent methods of establishing the first Islamic state. On the other hand, Shias does not recognise him as a companion of Prophet, and curse him for his war against Ali, who is regarded as the true successor of Prophet Mohammad by the Shias.

In the last few weeks, there have been clashes among supporters and opponents of Muawiya, and Muhammad Ali Mirza added fuel to this controversy in one of his video sermons. Quoting a Hadith, he implied that Prophet Mohammad had called Muawiya an aggressive rebel.

The Hadith that Mirza quoted says, once the prophet had said, “May Allah be merciful to Ammar. He will be killed by a rebellious aggressive group. Ammar will invite them to (obey) Allah and they will invite him to the (Hell) fire.”

According to the Hadith, the Prophet had said this when Ammar was participating in the construction of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina. Prophet had said that Ammar will be killed by a band of rebels after Ammar had complained that he was being overloaded with bricks, saying they are killing him as he can’t carry the big loads of bricks for the construction of the mosque.

After quoting the Prophet’s prophecy mentioned in Hadith 2812, Mirza said, ‘How can I question Mohammad why he called Muawiya a rebel inviting Ammar to Hell’. He added that those who want to question the Prophet for his prophecy, they can do that, but he won’t.

Ali Mirza also said that he supports Husayn Ali and Hasan Ali, grandsons of Prophet Mohammad, who were among the first Shia Imams.

The Hadith in itself is just a prophecy of Ammar’s death, and the controversy around it is not apparent. But the story behind Ammar’s death, combined with the prophecy mentioned in the Hadith, makes it one of the most controversial topics in Islam, which dates back to the first civil wars among Muslims years after the death of Prophet Mohammad.

The Ammar referred to here is Ammar ibn Yasir, a loyal companion of the Prophet. He was one of the most local companions, and therefore occupies a position of highest prominence in Islam. After the death of Prophet Mohammad, he had become loyal to Ali, and thus, is revered by Shias. Ammar was also a major military commander, and had participated in the battles the Prophet had fought.

Ammar ibn Yasir was killed in by the forces of Muawiya in the battle of Siffin, which was fought between the Sunni forces of Muawiya and the Shia forces of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam.

Now, as Ammar was killed by Muawiya’s men in the war, and as the Hadith 2812 says that Prophet had said that Ammar will be killed by a rebellious aggressive group, it is interpreted by Shias as Prophet calling Muawiya an aggressive rebel, and that is the root of the controversy.

Sunnis refuse to call Muawiya a rebel just because of one Hadith, as otherwise he was known as a companion of the Prophet, and in his lifetime the Prophet didn’t say anything against him. This has led to the long-time debate over the issue. With rising religious sectarism among Muslims, controversy over Muawiya has deepened, with strong sentiments against him by Shias against strong pro-Muawiya views of Sunnis.

It is notable that Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza claims that he is neither Sunni nor Shia, and he is just a Muslim. He reads scriptures from both factions of Islam, and quotes them widely in his speeches.

Earlier this month in Pakistan, a mob had vandalised Samsung billboards, alleging that the name of WiFi network installed by the company was insulting Muawiya, and therefore it was a blasphemy. Police had arrested as many as 27 Samsung employees for this blasphemous act.

Pilgrimage of penance: Pope Francis to formally apologise for crimes done by Catholic-run residential schools across Canada

OpIndia Staff
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Pilgrimage of penance: Pope Francis to formally apologise for crimes done by Catholic-run residential schools across Canada

Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Canada to formally apologise for the crimes committed by Catholic-run residential schools across the country. The Pope is scheduled to visit the country during the upcoming week. Notably, multiple unmarked mass graves of native children have been found in Canada around the old buildings of Catholic-run residential schools.

The 85-years-old Pontifex called the visit a “pilgrimage of penance”. In a statement, he said he hoped his visit would help heal the wrongs done to the indigenous people by the Roman Catholic Church in the country. He is scheduled to visit the provinces of Quebec, Alberta, and Nunavut. However, he will not visit British Columbia, where around 200 unmarked graves were discovered last year.

In recent years, Canada is said to be on the path of ‘reconciliation’ to repair the relationship between indigenous people, the non-indigenous population, and the government. The Church has been facing a lot of heat since 2015 when Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) highlighted the abuses suffered by the survivors of Catholic Residential Schools in its report.

It was revealed that those government-funded schools were part of the policy to destroy indigenous cultures and languages and to ‘assimilate’ the indigenous children. During the period these schools operated, around 1,50,000 children belonging to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit families were taken away and placed in those schools. There were around 130 such schools, and 70 percent of them were managed by Roman Catholic Church. The last such school closed down in 1996.

In the report, TRC mentioned how the students were subjected to malnutrition, abuse, and illness. The Committee called the school system a central element of a policy of “cultural genocide”. The ‘Call To Action’ section in the report had called for a formal apology from the Pope.

Last year in May, unmarked graves of children were found at a former school site in Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, a First Nations community in British Columbia. The researchers used ground-penetrating radar technology to find the graves. The discovery sent shockwaves not only in Canada but across the world. Following the discovery, other locations were searched, and since then, over 1,000 such graves have been found.

The discoveries resulted in more intense calls for an apology from the Pope by the indigenous leaders. In April this year, an indigenous delegation visited the Vatican, where Pope apologised to them for the ‘pain and shame’ residential schools had caused. At that time, he had promised to meet the indigenous communities in Canada and provide support for reconciliation efforts.

The Pope will be in Canada till July 29. His visit is seen as a significant step towards reconciliation. However, he is being criticised for not including Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc in his visit despite a formal invitation. However, the Church officials said they have planned the trip while keeping Pope’s health in mind. He has been wheelchair-bound since May this year.

It is noteworthy that the indigenous people of Canada have been seeking accountability from the Church for the pain and suffering brought by it to indigenous people. Crystal Gail Fraser, a Gwichyà Gwich’in assistant professor of history and native studies at the University of Alberta, believes that the recent discovery of mass graves is one of the biggest reasons that Pope is travelling to Canada. In a statement, she said she was looking for more than just an apology. She said, “Like many other times in Canadian history, we have seen apologies come and go. So for me, I’m going to be looking for the actions of the Catholic Church next.” According to her, compensation for survivors and documents of former staff and clergy that operated the school should be released.

Indigenous children, mass graves, and the Church-backed residential school system

According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), a large number of indigenous children that attended residential schools never made it back to their home communities. Some children ran away while others died at the schools. These students are now called the “Missing Children”.

The Missing Children Project documents the deaths and burial sites of such children who died while attending the residential schools. So far, the project has identified over 4,100 children who died while attending a residential school.

On May 27 last year, Rosanne Casimir, Chief of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 confirmed that the remains of 215 children were found at the premises of Kamloops Indian Residential School. 

In the official statement, Casimir said, “We had a knowing in our community that we were able to verify. To our knowledge, these missing children are undocumented deaths.” He further added that some of the students were as young as three years old when they died. “

About 751 graves were found in Saskatchewan on June 24, 2021. Two weeks later on July 12, the Penelakut tribe informed that it had discovered 160 unmarked graves in the Southern Gulf Islands in the British Columbia province of Canada.

The unmarked graves are a testimony of a painful past where the government and Christian churches inflicted atrocities on the native population. As anger and pain spread among the First Nation people, five churches built on Indigenous land were burnt down.

In a report published in 2015 after a six-year investigation into the now-defunct system, it was termed as “cultural genocide”. The report documented horrific details of abuse, rape, malnutrition, and other atrocities suffered by the students who attended the schools. As many as 150,000 were known to have attended the school system between the 1840s and 1990s.

Illegal mining in Rajasthan: BJP president Nadda forms High-Level committee to investigate death of Sadhu Vijaydas; Congress MLA seeks removal of Mines Minister

OpIndia Staff
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Illegal mining in Rajasthan: BJP president Nadda forms High-Level committee to investigate death of Sadhu Vijaydas; Congress MLA seeks removal of Mines Minister

The Rajasthan government of Ashok Gehlot has come under fire following the death of Sadhu Vijaydas, who self-immolated in protest against the state’s inaction against illegal mining. After the Rajasthan government ignored the protest by Sadhus to protect their sacred land from illegal mining for over 550 days, Sadhu Vijaydas self-immolated to protest against the same.

The death of Sadhu Vijaydas has stirred political debate outside and within the ruling Congress party. JP Nadda, the president of the BJP, has appointed a committee to investigate illegal mining and Sadhu Vijaydas’ suicide. Meanwhile, Congress MLA Bharat Singh has also written to CM Ashok Gehlot, requesting that Mines Minister Pramod Bhaya be removed, accusing him of protecting illegal mining.

The committee appointed by JP Nadda includes the party’s National General Secretary and state in-charge Arun Singh, MP Swami Sumedhanand Saraswati, former Union Minister and MP Satyapal Singh, former Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police and MP Brijlal Yadav. On Sunday, this group will go to the site of the unfortunate incident in Bharatpur to gather information. The findings will be presented in the coming weeks.

Baba Vijaydas, who tried self-immolation at Deeg, Bharatpur, to protest illegal mining, died in a Delhi hospital. On July 20, Sadhu Vijaydas attempted self-immolation amid demonstrations over illegal mining in the region sacred to the locals.

Ashok Gehlot, the chief minister, gave Das’ family members an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh on Saturday. He also ordered a senior administrative official to investigate the situation. The investigation into this situation is to be conducted by a person holding the rank of principal secretary to the government, according to the chief minister.

Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, BJP state president Satish Poonia, and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal have already accused the Rajasthan government of being culpable for the death of Sadhu Vijaydas and demanded an inquiry.

Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje remarked that if saints have to struggle and sacrifice themselves to get their demands heard, it demonstrates the state’s lawlessness. She said, “If the state government had not taken 551 days to listen to the saints and had taken action in time, then the saint would not have died today.”

AAP passes off a Bangladeshi Islamic cleric as an Indian freedom fighter. Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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AAP passes off a Bangladeshi Islamic cleric as an Indian freedom fighter. Here is what happened

The Aam Aadmi Party-led-Delhi government has put up a flex board in Jamia Nagar in Delhi wherein it passed off an Islamic cleric from Bangladesh as an Indian freedom fighter. As per reports, the contentious banner was hung by AAP in Jamia Nagar ahead of the 75th Independence Day celebrations.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party reportedly wanted to portray freedom fighter Mahmud Hasan Deobandi but ended up featuring Bangladeshi cleric Maulana Mahmudul Hasan on the flex board.

Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (1851-1920) was an Indian scholar and the founder of the Jamila Millia Islamia University. He was reportedly the first student of Darul Uloom Deoband.

Maulana Mahmudul Hasan (left), Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (right), images via The Daily Star and India Today

Maulana Mahmudul Hasan (1950-present), on the contrary, is an Islamic scholar and public speaker from Bangladesh. He is a native of Charkharicha village in Mymensingh district. He was elected as the Chairman of Bangladesh Qawmi Madrasa Education Board (Befaq) in 2020.

While speaking about the matter, veteran journalist Kanchan Gupta tweeted – This Arvind Kejriwal says “We are the offspring (aulad) of Bhagat Singh.” His sidekicks claim “We are the true patriots. Of course.”

“That’s why they showcase a Bangladeshi Maulana, born in 1950 in East Pakistan, as an Indian freedom fighter. No, it is not an error,” he emphasised. Despite being months since the incorrect banner was originally put up, the Delhi government did not bother to make the necessary changes.

After media reports highlighted the ‘blunder’ by the party, AAP removed the Bangladeshi cleric from the poster, leaving an ugly gap in between.

The poster was put up ahead of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to be celebrated on August 15, 2022, to coincide with India completing 75 years of Indian independence.

In addition to the celebrations on 15th August, on August 14, the black day would be observed as Vibhishika Memorial Day or ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’ as announced by PM Narendra Modi last year.

The partition was outlined in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Raj. According to official numbers, at least 2 million lives were lost during the partition and nearly 20 million people were displaced. The unofficial numbers are much higher than the official ones.

Pakistan: Cabinet approves ordinance to sell government assets bypassing laws to repay loans

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Cabinet approves ordinance to sell government assets bypassing laws to repay loans

On July 21, in what is seen as a desperate move, Pakistan’s cabinet under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved an ordinance named Governmental Commercial Transactions Ordinance 2022 to bypass all procedures to sell government assets to foreign countries. The step has been taken to prevent the country from defaulting on loans. Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi is yet to sign the ordinance.

Reports suggest that the ordinance would also allow the government to skip regulatory checks, including six relevant laws named the Companies Act, 2017, Privatisation Commission Ordinance, 2000, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002, Public-Private Partnership Authority Act, 2017, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Act, 1997, Securities Act, 2015 or any other law to approve the sale.

The Express Tribune reported that with this ordinance, the government would be able to sell the land meant for the two LNG-fired power plants to a foreign country. The machinery installed at the plants will be included in the sale. Through this ordinance, the government will be empowered to issue binding instructions to the governments of the provinces for land acquisition. The ordinance also barred the courts from entertaining any petitions against the sale of government assets, including land, companies etc., to foreign countries.

The government is planning to sell stakes in oil and gas companies along with government-owned power plants to the United Arab Emirates. It will help Pakistan to raise $2 billion to $2.5 billion. Notably, in May, UAE refused to provide cash deposits to Islamabad as the country had failed to return the previous loans. Instead, Pakistan asked UAE to establish its businesses for investments.

Furthermore, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also placed a condition on the neighbouring country that its case would be taken by the board only if Pakistan managed to raise $4 from friendly countries. Meanwhile, the value of the Pakistani Rupee is falling at a stagnant rate. In the last week, it has fallen by 8.3 per cent, the steepest fall since November 1998.

The Express Tribune further added that a Cabinet Committee on the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions would be formed once the ordinance is passed. With the ordinance, the government will be immense power to control land at any location in the country and sell it to a foreign state. Neither court nor any investigation agency will be able to challenge the sale. However, according to experts in Pakistan, the court will not accept such clauses.

As per reports, such conditions and the price discovery mechanism to be used according to the ordinance will result in controversies as there will be an absence of transparency.

Imran Khan objected to the ordinance

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has raised serious objections over the ordinance. As the reports of the ordinance being passed by the Pakistani cabinet broke, the former PM took on Twitter and lashed out at the government.

Calling the current regime an “imported government”, he said, “How can imported government brought to power through US conspiracy, led by crime minister, who’s family along with (PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali) Zardari have volumes written on their corruption, be trusted with the sale of national assets (and) that too (through) bypassing all procedural (and) legal checks.”

He further accused the government of plundering Pakistan for the last 30 years and the present economic crisis. He said, “These thieves should never be allowed to sell our national assets in the devious manner they are attempting. The nation will never trust them with our national assets.”

PM Shehbaz alleged Khan had suffered a memory loss and gave him a few “reminders”. He said, “One, as per Transparency International report, corruption increased during his rule. Even transfers/postings were on sale in addition to big scams. Two, the people are paying the price of how he mismanaged the economy.” In the third point, he accused Khan of deeply hurting the global prestige of Pakistan and its relations with “friendly” countries.

He added, “Four, he has lost a sense of balance in his lust for power, which is evidenced by his habitual recourse to lies, propaganda [and] blatant twisting of facts.”

Love Jihad in Jharkhand: Naeem Mian poses as Sandeep Singh to marry Hindu woman, rapes her minor sister

OpIndia Staff
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Love Jihad in Jharkhand: Naeem Mian poses as Sandeep Singh to marry Hindu woman, rapes her minor sister

A new case of love jihad has been reported in the Bolba police station area of Simdega district in Jharkhand where Mohammed Naeem Mian initially lured a Hindu female into a love trap by hiding his religion and then married the girl. Naeem Mian also raped the minor sister of the woman and recorded the act, and is now threatening to make the video viral.

Naeem Mian escaped when the woman went to the police to narrate her ordeal and registered a case. The cops have been looking for the accused.

Mohammad Naeem Mian, a Simdega local, trapped the girl from the Bolba police station area in a love trap by posing as Sandeep Singh. Following that, they both married in court and started living together after the judicial marriage. They now have a child as well.

According to reports, accused Mohammad Naeem Mian recorded a video after raping the lady’s younger sister (a minor), and he is consistently threatening to make the video viral. Both sisters are terrified of him due to this. The lady in charge of the local police station has received information regarding the entire incident, and the police are investigating it.

After the FIR was registered in the case, the accused escaped after locking his residence. The local police are attempting to apprehend him. An FIR has been filed against the accused in Simdega Mahila Police Station under IPC sections 376, 419, 323, 504, and 341. According to police, searches are being undertaken to apprehend Mohammad Naeem Mian.

Another incidence of love jihad was recently reported in Jharkhand, in which a Muslim man working as a labourer in a factory in Delhi enticed and married a Hindu young woman from Azamgarh. After eight years of marriage, the woman discovered that her husband is a Muslim. Shahzad Ansari, the accused Muslim labourer, comes from the Kumba Khurd village in the Sagma block of Jharkhand’s Gadhva district.

Qatar: Armed men slaughter 29 ‘unclean’ dogs at one go in Doha. Here is what we know so far

OpIndia Staff
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Qatar: Armed men slaughter 29 ‘unclean’ dogs at one go in Doha. Here is what we know so far

On July 10, a total of 29 dogs were mercilessly gunned down by armed men at an industrial complex near Doha in Qatar. Besides, three other dogs including two pregnant ones were also wounded.

As per reports, the killings were orchestrated by 4 miscreants, who have now been identified by the police. The accused had initially threatened guards at the industrial complex and then proceeded to shoot the four-legged animals with their hunting rifles.

While speaking about the matter, an activist informed that the dogs had run in the direction of the shooters in the hopes of being fed. The activist added, “But the men started shooting at random.”

Reportedly, the shooters told the security guards that the dogs bit one of their sons. However, this claim has been rubbished by the activist. “The compound is sealed off with high fences and no child could enter to play near the dogs,” the activist emphasised.

In an Instagram post, animal rights group ‘Paws Rescue Qatar’ wrote, “On the first day of eid a group of men (but let’s call them monsters) threatened security guards with guns and entered a secure factory area.”

“Security team were rightfully scared as two of the men were holding guns. The security team tried to stop the men from shooting a group of beautiful friendly neutered dogs, but they realised that they were also putting themselves in danger also,” it added.

The animal rights group questioned the prevailing gun culture and the associated violence. It said, “If these monsters can kill so easily and threaten men what will they do next. Stand up for our strays. Stand against gun violence of any form.”

The motive behind the gruesome killing of dogs in Qatar

As per reports, the motive behind the slaughter of 29 dogs could not be established. Although the shooters had claimed that the dogs bit one of their sons, the probability of such an event seems implausible.

It must be mentioned that a large number of Muslims, who form the religious majority in Qatar, regard dogs as ‘unclean’. Activists have often complained that laws, meant to protect domestic animals, are not enforced in the Gulf country.

In recent times, dogs, and birds including flamingoes have been killed in target practices by men with hunting rifles. “The issue here is why people are allowed to use hunting rifles and guns against animals. As far as we are aware no case has ever led to a successful prosecution,” an activist had asked.

AAP, Congress and several others share manipulated media to mock PM Modi during farewell of outgoing President, Ramnath Kovind

OpIndia Staff
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AAP, Congress and several others share manipulated media to mock PM Modi during farewell of outgoing President, Ramnath Kovind

Trimmed video footage of outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind’s farewell event was circulated by a number of people, including top leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress, to make a mockery of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The video was shared by several leaders including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh from AAP stating that PM Modi disrespected President Kovind.

Sanjay Singh conveyed through the video that PM Modi is disrespecting President Kovind as his term is over now. It should be noted that Sanjay Singh has a lengthy record of peddling fake news and sharing clipped footage. Recently, he spread fake news by saying that caste is being used as a factor in army recruitment for the first time in history. In January, Sanjay Singh shared another clipped video of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on which he was exposed by netizens.

Another AAP spokesperson Sarvesh Mishra shared the same video stating that PM Modi disrespected President Kovind.

All India Parisangh, an organisation led by Congress leader Udit Raj shared the video making casteist remarks. Their post reads, “Modi Ji doesn’t even take salutations to the Dalit President.”

Another Congress spokesperson Vipin Yadav propagated the same video through his Twitter handle.

Congress MLA from Uttar Pradesh Virendra Chaudhary also shared the clipped video labelling PM Modi as ‘Camerajeevi.’

The video clip that has been shared by the Congress and AAP leaders is a trimmed one intended to defame the Prime Minister by showing him disrespecting the outgoing president. The trimmed video has been taken from the farewell event organised for retiring President Kovind who was greeting guests at the function. Here is the official video of the function.

It can be seen in the video that there is no point where PM Modi ignores President Kovind. Instead, he greets him with fervour as president Kovind approaches him. Soon after greeting PM Modi, President Kovind can be seen speaking to someone standing in a row behind PM Modi. Around that time, PM Modi looks towards his right when the clipped video was taken.

After that, PM Modi along with officials and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu join President Kovind on the way outside the Central Hall of the parliament.

Amnesty indulged in 47 NGO-like activities using foreign funds without FCRA clearance, fanned 1984 Sikh massacre during 2017 elections, ED says

OpIndia Staff
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Amnesty indulged in 47 NGO-like activities using foreign funds without FCRA clearance, fanned 1984 Sikh massacre during 2017 elections, ED says

Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Amnesty International UK routed more than Rs 51 crore to Amnesty India in violation of FCRA to “fund anti-national activities in the guise of export of services”. ED has accused the so-called NGO in its prosecution complaint, which is equivalent to a charge sheet, at a special court in New Delhi. Two of the projects named ‘Kashmir: Access to Justice’ and ‘Justice for 1984 Sikh Massacre’ of Amnesty India were marked by ED in the complaint.

The chargesheet was filed by ED on July 9 against Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL), Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT), and former AIIPL CEOs G Ananthapadmanabhan and Aakar Patel, accusing them of money laundering. As per the chargesheet, the Indian chapter of Amnesty International was founded by the name Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) in 1999. When Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) came into effect in 2011-12, the NGO was granted permission to receive foreign funds, but it was revoked soon after the authorities got ‘adverse inputs’ from government agencies.

Following the steps taken by the government, Amnesty International set up a non-profit organisation named IAIT in 2012 and a for-profit commercial entity, AIIPL, in 2013. At that time, AIIPL was known as Sector Research Consultancy & Support Services (India) Pvt Ltd. Ideally, IAIT was supposed to get funds from domestic sources only to carry out human rights-related activities.

On the other hand, AIIPL was supposed to do the same work in exchange for a fee marked as ‘export of services’ via reports, campaigns and more. Throughout the existence of these two entities, a similar set of office bearers operated them in the same building. There was only one major client of AIIPL, which was Amnesty International UK. Notably, IAIT had bought a 99.8 per cent stake in AIIPL, and the remaining share was held by the trustees of IAIT.

In 2015, Amnesty International UK used the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) route to invest Rs 10 crore in AIIPL. Out of the funds received by AIIPL, nine crores were put in a fixed deposit (FD). Based on the FD, IAIT gained an overdraft limit of over Rs 14 crore from a bank, and the funds were used for NGO activities. In the following years, AIIPL received over Rs 36 crores, including the money deposited in FD from Amnesty International UK in exchange for “export of services”.

According to ED, the process used by Amnesty to receive funds was nothing but a way to avoid FCRA regulations and continue NGO activities under the disguise of commercial activities. As per the investigation agency, the money received by IAIT and AIIPL falls under criminal activities as per the law.

On the other hand, the NGO has claimed they had done nothing wrong as the same format was being followed by them in other countries, that is, setting up two entities, one for-profit and the other not-for-profit, to carry out its activities.

As per the agency, there were 47 projects taken by the NGO. Out of these, 12 projects that AIIPL did for Amnesty International were marked as ‘Technical Services’. Apart from those, six were linked to Kashmir, two were linked to the 1984 Sikh Massacre, six linked to the coal section, three to women-related matters, two related to migrants issues, eight linked to human rights awareness, three on ‘ready to report’ and four linked to undertrial matters.

The highest funding came for three projects. ‘Access for Justice’ in Kashmir received GBP 46,867 or Rs 44.5 lakhs, the Human Cost of Coal Research Project received USD 90,000.00 or Rs 71.5 lakhs, and Mobile Developing and field testing technology received CHF 80,000.00 or Rs 64.8 lakhs.

ED further noted that the aim of AIIPL was to generate public outrage using media pressure and build pressure on political parties. They used media, TV and radio along with RTI to mobilise public support for its campaigns. Interestingly, ED also mentioned that Amnesty made sure that the 1984 Sikh massacre became one of the key issues of the 2017 Punjab election manifesto.

Speaking about the Kashmir campaign, ED mentioned that one of the contracts read, “Groups like Human Rights Watch have said that courts-martial in India are highly biased and subject to corruption. The Supplier, i.e. M/s AIIPL, will seek to obtain details of court-martial proceedings and analyse them to determine if they are transparent, independent, impartial, aligned with international standards for fair trial proceedings, and constitute an effective remedy for victims of rights violations.”

According to the agency, the contract language in all the services was in line with the NGO activities for which an FCRA license is required if foreign funding was being received. The ED statement read, “When the FCRA License was earlier cancelled during the year 2011-12 by Govt. of India due to the adverse inputs received from Intelligence agencies, the same activities are being run in the guise of commercial activities. This is highly suspicious when national interest is concerned. The money is routed from the M/s Amnesty International United Kingdom to M/s Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd in India to fund anti-national activities in the guise of export of services, which is nothing but the supply. Of report if any and doing campaigning, mass gatherings etc.”

ED imposed over Rs 61 crores penalty on Amnesty India

On June 9, it was reported that ED had filed a prosecution complaint against the NGO and its related entities. The probe by ED against the so-called human rights organisation had started following a case against it that was filed by the CBI for violation of FCRA rules. The CBI had booked Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd, Indians for Amnesty International Trust, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust and others under Section 120(B) of the IPC and Sections 11, 35 & 39 of FCRA (Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act), 2010.

On July 8, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a show-cause notice to Amnesty India International Pvt. Ltd and its former CEO Aakar Patel for violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Besides, the central agency has also imposed a penalty of ₹51.72 crores and ₹ ten crores on Amnesty India and Patel, respectively. Reportedly, Amnesty International (UK) had received large sums of money through its FCRA non-compliant companies in India.

In October 2018, the central agency opened an investigation into Amnesty International based on a case registered by the CBI against AIIPL, IAIT, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT), and Amnesty International South Asia Foundation (AISAF) under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and FCRA (Foreign Contributions Regulation Act).

Aakar Patel was stopped from leaving India

Earlier in April, Aakar Patel was stopped from boarding a flight to the USA at the Bengaluru airport. The former Amnesty India chief had tweeted that he was put on an exit control list. Patel claimed that he had obtained his passport through a court order.

He added that a CBI officer informed him that he is on a Look Out Circular because of the case against Amnesty International India regarding the FCRA violations. He was later granted temporary relief by the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi yesterday. And the CBI has stated that they would challenge the court order.

Amnesty has a history of anti-India activities

On several occasions, Amnesty International and its Indian chapter have been found to be involved in anti-India activities. In a report published in OpIndia in 2019, the connections between Amnesty International India, the British government, and radical Islamists were exposed. The organisation has a history of meddling with the internal affairs of India. It has constantly been trying to falsely project India as a violator of human rights and the ‘oppressor’ of Muslims.

On several occasions, Amnesty India and its former head Aakar Patel kept peddling blatant lies and fake news to portray India negatively. It also campaigned for the arrested Urban Naxals in the Bhima Koregaon violence case. Therefore, its actions are clearly tantamount to foreign interference in the domestic issues of India, and it is only appropriate that strict action is taken against it.

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