On Saturday, July 30, the Azamgarh police in Uttar Pradesh busted a conversion racket by arresting six women who were attempting to convert vulnerable villagers to Christianity. According to reports, the racket was being carried out under the guise of a birthday party.
In what transpired, the main accused Indrakala, who was living in a rented house in the Vanchit Basti Vishnu Nagar ward of Maharajganj police station in Azamgarh with her husband, had gathered over 100 villagers from hers and the neighbouring villages under the pretext of celebrating her son’s birthday. The invitees, as per reports, were mainly the women of the villages.
During the program, Indrakala her aides started distributing sweets to the villagers, but before that, they handed over pamphlets to the villagers and forced them to read it and adopt Christianity before they could get to eat the sweets.
The accused evangelists also tried to lure the villagers by offering them money. They also assured them that turning to Christianity would assist them to be rid of the possession of ghosts and spirits.
While the program was being carried out, some villagers informed about the same to some Bajrang Dal members who in turn intimated the local police about the same. The Azamgarh police immediately reached the spot and stopped the so-called birthday celebration. While many fled seeing the police, the police managed to nab the main accused Indrakala and her five accomplices, identified as Subhagi Devi, Sadhna, Samta, Anita and Sunita. They also seized a lot of religious books and pamphlets from the spot.
Speaking about the alleged conversion program, Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kumar said, “Sub Inspector Kamlesh Yadav of the Maharajganj police station was in the vicinity with other staff when he learned that some women are pushing impoverished villagers to convert their religion. They were also being threatened with dire consequences in case they resented or protested against the same. After receiving information, police went to the Dalit basti of Ward No-1 of Maharajganj Nagar Panchayat, where people were being enticed to convert under the guise of a birthday party. Six ladies were arrested on the scene and sent to jail. The police have initiated a detailed investigation into the case, added SP Siddharth Kumar.
Days after Islamists ran riots under the pretext of blasphemy in the Narail district of Bangladesh, a newly released CCTV footage showed the systematic manner in which they orchestrated the attack on the Hindu community.
As per an exclusive report by Ekatoor TV, a mob of young Muslim men targeted the houses and shops of Hindu families, living in the Sahapara area of Narail, on July 15 this year.
The mob was led from the front by local religious and political leaders, who denied any complicity in the crime despite their faces being caught on the CCTV. According to locals, the attackers were not ‘unknown’ and were members of adjoining villages.
Half an hour before the attack, the Islamists were seen coming out of the local masjid and heading in the direction of Sahapara. Ekatoor TV reported that some of the attackers were passing information via phone to their handlers about the on-ground situation.
At around 6:13 pm on July 15, two elderly men were spotted in the CCTV footage directing the violent mob. The duo are leaders of the radical party, Islami Andolan Bangladesh (Islamic Movement of Bangladesh). While one is a leader in Patikbari, the other is a member of the party’s Nayagram unit.
8 minutes later, a local tea seller by the name of Manirul Zaman was seen attacking Hindu-owned shops along with other Muslim youth. Despite being caught red-handed in the act, Manirul refused involvement in the attack.
He claimed to have gone there at the request of 2 young boys from the masjid. “I went there after the violence was over,” he said in his defence. Meanwhile, the orgy of violence continued against the minority Hindu community.
At around 6:26 pm, Awami League leader Sheikh Masuduzzaman Masud was spotted among the attackers. He was also seen chatting with some of the Islamists, present at the site.
He claimed to have gone to Sahapara to pacify the frenzied mob and not participate in the targeted attacks. At around 7: 10 pm, a team of local leaders and police were seen marching towards Sahapara.
19 minutes later, the house of a Hindu man named Gobindo Saha was set on fire. There was a blackout in the area at that time, which helped the attackers to escape. At about 7:28 pm, some Muslim men who engineered the attack were seen rushing out of Sahapara and moving towards the local bazar.
Some of them returned again to continue the vandalism and arson attacks. Another team of police reached the spot to extinguish the fire. It remains unknown as to how the Islamists unleashed mayhem, despite the deployment of a sizeable police force in the area.
It was only around 9 pm on that fateful day that the fire brigade reached the spot to extinguish the fire that engulfed the shelter and livelihood of the Hindus of Sahapara.
Exodus and starting life afresh: The aftermath of the Narail attack in Bangladesh
The Islamists claimed that an 18-year-old Hindu college student named Akash Saha had hurt their religious sentiments through a Facebook post. Under the pretext of blasphemy, the vicious mob set out to destroy the livelihood of the 108 Hindu families.
According to an ex-member of Dighalia Union Parishad, Beauty Rani, a large number of Hindus have left the Sahapara village after the onslaught by Islamists.
”Almost all houses are locked. Only the elders of some families are home. They too are scared,” she informed. Rani lamented, “When we were being attacked, the police were there. They were watching from a distance and no one came to our rescue. The police can no longer be trusted and that is why people are leaving the village.”
One of the victims of the dastardly attack was 62-year-old Deepali Rani, whose house was burnt down in front of her eyes. “After one group looted all our valuables, another group came and found our door open. As there was nothing left to loot, they set our home on fire,” she told The Daily Star.
Deepali Rani is not related to Akash Saha in a way. Despite this, her shelter was not spared by the Islamist mob. “Only because the student is Hindu and I too am Hindu, my house was burnt down,” she emphasised.
The 62-year-old stated, “I don’t know how long this threat of violence will haunt us. Who will give us justice? Who will give us security? … If I were in the house while they set it on fire, I would have died. God saved me. But is this any way to survive? All I have now is the sari on my body.”
A private school in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, has landed itself in a controversy after news started floating on social media that it has been making students of all religions recite ‘Kalma’ during morning assembly. The school in question here is a privately owned school in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh named Florets International School. The incident came to light after a video of the same went viral on Sunday.
After the news went viral, many parents and members of various Hindu outfits reached the school and staged demonstrations. They raised complaints against the school authorities for forcing their children to recite the Kalma during morning prayers. The same was conveyed to the Kanpur police, who along with senior officials reached the school premises on Monday morning and filed a complaint against the private school for allegedly forcing Hindu students and other non-Muslim children to recite ‘Kalma’ every day.
Republic TV quoted Ankit Gupta, the parent of a child as saying, “One day my daughter said that she is unable to learn this (Kalma). We filed the complaint in school. They asked us to give a written complaint. In another branch, they sing Muslim prayers on speakers. We will put our child in a different school if this is the case.”
Many other parents also raised concerns about their children being forced to recite the Islamic prayer. “My son studies here. For the last few days, my son was reciting the Kalma at home. My wife raised concern about it. When we spoke to our son, he said that every day after prayer the school teaches it to them. My concern is why should my son read this. What if he disapproves of his own religion after some days,” exclaimed the enraged parent of another student studying at Kanpur’s Florets International School.
Taking cognizance of the incident, Nishank Sharma, ACP said that they came to know about Kalma being taught to students at the Florets International school through a tweet. He said that as soon as they learned about it, the local police and the District Magistrate were notified and a police team visited the school to investigate the matter.
थाना सीसामऊ क्षेत्र में स्कूल प्रबंधन द्वारा बच्चों को सुबह की प्रार्थना के बाद जबरन कलमा पढ़ाये जाने के आरोप के सम्बन्ध में सहायक पुलिस आयुक्त सीसामऊ द्वारा दी गयी बाइट। @Uppolice@CMOfficeUPpic.twitter.com/REbUtyU2Sm
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE KANPUR NAGAR (@kanpurnagarpol) August 1, 2022
He added that when the police reached the school they learned that this was a practice being carried out over the last 12/13 years. He said that the school diary also has prayers from all four religions, namely Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Christian. He added that the school authorities said that until now, no one has ever objected to this practice. An objection was raised about this from a parent’s side only four days ago.
He further informed that the school authorities reportedly told the police in its defense that prayers of all four religions were recited at the school during the morning assembly to boost the “Sarva Dharma Samman” ideology.
“The school authorities after the objection decided that only the national anthem will be recited during the assembly. They have stopped all the other prayers,” added the ACP.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Geeta Nigam raised serious objections to the controversy and alleged that the prayers were being taught to students from the playgroup.
“Why this is being taught to students? What does this prayer mean and why have you not written the meaning? The meaning of that statement is – ‘Only Allah is there’. We are not saying anything to any religion, but if you want to teach this, kindly teach it in a madarsa.” She added that the Principal and teachers had permitted the reciting of Kalma and only took action when the matter was leaked outside. “This should not happen otherwise strict action will be taken,” she warned.
Amidst the controversy, a video has gone viral wherein councilor Mahendra Shukla was seen sprinkling Gangajal in and around the school premises.
➡️कानपुर में स्कूली बच्चों को पढ़ाया जा रहा था कलमा
➡️कानपुर हिंदू बच्चों को कलमा पढ़ाने का वीडियो वायरल
Strongly condemning the school’s arbitrary decision to teach the Islamic prayer to students of all religions, Shukla told the media, “Jana Gana Mana is not being recited here, instead, students are being encouraged to recite the Kalma. They surely have links with PFI. We will get the matter investigated. Gangajal has been sprinkled all over the school for purification.”
Islamification of Govt school’s in Jharkhand and Bihar
OpIndia earlier reported how several government schools in Jharkhand and Bihar have recently been in the headlines for their steady Islamification. Several state-run schools have reportedly been making modifications in response to the whims of the local Muslim population.
On July 26, OpIndia reported how for years, more than 500 government schools in Bihar’s Seemanchal area, which has a sizable Muslim population, have been observing Friday as their weekly off instead of Sunday, despite no official mandate to that effect. This practice has been followed by the schools located in the eastern part of Bihar which include districts of Kishanganj, Araria, Katihar, and Purnia.
On July 22, it was reported how 19 state-run schools in the Kishanganj district of Bihar have been taking Friday off instead of Sunday. As per the Education Department, because the region is predominantly Muslim, government schools have been shut on Fridays for a long time. This action is not mandated by any specific order by the government.
Friday is designated as a holiday in many schools due to the considerable proportion of Muslim students. Instead, students and teachers attend classes on Sundays. These schools include the city’s Line Urdu School, Upgraded Middle School Line Karbala, Upgraded Middle School Maheshbathna, Upgraded Middle School Halamala, Primary School Motihara West, and many others.
Prior to this, it was reported how Sharia and Islamic practices were being imposed on the students of a state-run school in Jharkhand’s Garhwa district, with children forbidden from praying with their hands folded. Then reports emerged on how state-run schools in areas like Jamtara and Dumka, which is the hometown of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, had their weekly offs changed from Sunday to Friday.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra was caught on Monday hiding her Louis Vuitton bag worth upwards of Rs 1.6 lakhs while discussion of rising inflation was underway in the Lok Sabha.
As the camera panned toward Dr Kakoli Ghost Dastidar, a Member of Parliament from Trinamool Congress, who stood up to speak on the price rise, Mahua Moitra, sitting beside her, took her Louis Vuitton bag placed adjacent to her on the seat, moved it close to her legs where it was not visible to the Lok Sabha camera.
At the 15:15 time stamp in the above-embedded video, when Dr Kakoli of TMC stands up to speak on her turn, Mahua Moitra sitting next to her, picks up her bag, believed to be Louis Vuitton, and places it close to her feet, away from the cameras.
The snippet instantly went viral as social media wondered how one of the representatives of the Trinamool Congress party, which has been targeting the Centre over inflation, was carrying an ultra-expensive handbag to the parliament. As per fashion blogs and websites, Moitra’s branded handbag is worth around Rs 1.6 Lakh.
Just like Mahua Moitra became a subject of online conversation for carrying an ultra-expensive bag to parliament, a similar incident took place in the past when Nairobi woman representative Esther Passaris courted controversy for carrying her Louis Vuitton handbag to the Parliament.
According to the reports, the House had to halt the ongoing session to discuss and settle the issue of a high-priced bag brought inside the parliament. Many members asked her why she carried such an expensive bag to the official place. She later cited medical reasons for doing so.
Despite all the Congress propaganda stating otherwise, Delhi High Court has noted that neither Smriti Irani nor her teenage daughter Zoish Irani was ever issued a license in connection with a restaurant named Silly Souls Cafe and Bar located in Goa.
Justice Mini Pushkarna made these observations while issuing summons to Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, and Netta D’Souza in a civil defamation suit filed by Union Minister Smriti Irani against them seeking damages of Rupees 2 Crores for their libelous statements.
Earlier, Congress leaders in a press conference had alleged that the restaurant ‘Silly Souls Cafe and Bar’ is run by Union Smriti Irani’s daughter in Goa, and it had got its excise license fraudulently. Following the allegations, Smriti Irani sent a legal notice to Congress and its senior leaders Pawan Khera, Jairam Ramesh, and Netta D’Souza over their malicious allegations against her daughter and asked them to tender a written unconditional apology.
The hit-job against Irani and her daughter didn’t stop with the fake allegations by the Congress leaders, fake menus of the restaurant were circulated with beef in the menu to try and demonise the BJP leader. Senior Trinamool Congress leader like Kirti Azad even posted highly derogatory caricatures of Irani in the aftermath of the manufactured controversy.
Meanwhile, on Friday, July 29, owners of the restaurant Merlyn Anthony D’Gama and her son Dean D’Gama replied to a show cause notice issued by Excise Commissioner Narayan M Gad. In the reply, they stated that the property “is exclusively its business and involves no other person/ persons”.
However, once the case went to court, the High Court asked the Congress leaders involved to delete all allegations made by them in their press conference from all social media platforms.
Smriti Irani is further vindicated today, as the court noted, “Considering the documents on record it is clearly seen that there was no license which was ever issued in favour of the plaintiff or her daughter. The plaintiff or her daughter are not the owners of the restaurant. It has also been established by the plaintiff prima facie that the plaintiff or her daughter never applied for license.”
On August 1, a Deoband-based Muslim cleric (Ulema) criticised Muslim YouTube singer Farmani Naaz over her rendition of the popular song ‘Har Har Shambhu’. The song is in praise of Bhagwan Shiv. The original song has been making rounds on social media and streaming platforms since singer duo Abhilipsa Panda and Jeetu Sharma made it popular.
UP | A YouTube-based singer Farmani Naaz (in pic) released a Shiv Bhajan ‘Har Har Shambhu’ recently; some Muslim clerics allegedly called it ‘anti-Islamic’, saying that singing & dancing is prohibited in Islam. pic.twitter.com/jwRjSCBKBV
Farmani uploaded the devotional track on her YouTube channel around a week ago. Though she received appreciation for the song, a section of Islamic fundamentalists have alleged that it hurt the sentiments of Muslims. In a statement to news agency ANI, cleric Mufti Asad Qasmi said, “Singing or dancing is ‘Haram’ in Islam. Sharia does not allow this. This is Haram. She should seek forgiveness from Allah.”
Singing and dancing of any sort is not permissible in Islam. This is forbidden in Islam. Muslims should refrain from anything that is forbidden. The song sung by the woman is not permissible, it is forbidden. She should refrain from it: Maulana Mufti Asad Qasmi, Ulama of Deoband pic.twitter.com/xV0wP0rt9B
Following the criticism, Farmani issued a statement requesting everyone to stop. She said, “Artists have no religion. I forget everything else when I sing. I even sing qawwali. Even Mohd Rafi and Master Saleem sang devotional songs. I’ve never received a threat. There’s a little controversy now, we came to know but nobody has come to our house to say anything.”
She says, “Artists have no religion. I forget everything else when I sing. I even sing qawwali. Even Mohd Rafi & Master Saleem sang devotional songs. I’ve never received a threat. There’s a little controversy now, we came to know but nobody has come to our house to say anything.” pic.twitter.com/XcYJF8sYUQ
Farmani, a resident of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, rose to fame after she participated in Indian Idol season 12. She has a considerable following of over 3.8 million on YouTube, and her singing is the main source of her income. It is noteworthy that months before the UP Assembly elections, Farmani had released a song praising CM Yogi Adityanath and PM Narendra Modi.
Uma Maheswari, the daughter of former Telugu superstar and ex-CM of Andhra Pradesh NT Rama Rao, has been found hanging at her residence in Hyderabad. As per reports, Uma Maheswari’s body was shifted to a local government hospital for post-mortem.
Telangana | TDP founder & ex-CM NT Rama Rao's daughter, Uma Maheshwari found hanging at her residence in Hyderabad. Police shifted the body to a local govt hospital for postmortem. A case is being registered U/s 174 CrPC (Police to enquire&report on suicide), further probe is on. pic.twitter.com/1WYIMo2ndd
The police have registered a case under section 174 of CrPC and an investigation has been initiated.
Kantamaneni Uma Maheswari was the youngest of 4 daughters that NT Ramarao, the founder of the Telugu Desam Party had with his wife Basavatarakam. The couple had 8 sons and 4 daughters. Former Union Minister Daggubatti Purandeswari, and TDP chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s wife Nara Bhubaneswari are her other sisters. Uma Maheswari was a former actress too. She was married to Kantamaneni Srinivas Prasad. As per reports, Nara Chandrababu Naidu and his wife have reached the residence of the deceased Uma Maheswari to offer his condolences.
As the country grapples with the open murder of Umesh Kolhe in Amravati and the daylight beheading of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has come out and said that if such a large minority is ‘oppressed’ then you can’t expect them to sit quietly. Essentially, Rajan’s statement meant that all the Jihadi violence was a result of the perpetrators being “oppressed” by the victims.
Rajan, who initially talked about these subjects during his appearance at the All India Professional Congress Conclave, was speaking to an NDTV journalist when he made these remarks. When asked whether the alleged ‘suppression’ of minorities will lead to divisions in the country, the former RBI Governor said that there would obviously be division. He said that the minorities won’t take it lying down if there is such ‘suppression’.
Raghuram Rajan didn’t explain what is this ‘suppression’ that minorities are facing in India right now. However, it is interesting that he made these remarks as the ‘minorities’ murdered people like Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Kolhe brazenly, and dozens of rallies were seen all over India chanting ‘sar tan see juda’ slogans. Currently, there are several people across India who are living in fear of beheading just because they expressed support for former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on social media.
Further in the interview, the reporter from NDTV asked another leading question asking if India will become another Sri Lanka, a wet dream of several ‘liberals’ on social media, and the former RBI Governor was easily led. Raghuram Rajan started his answer by saying that India won’t go down Sri Lanka’s path as it is far away from Sri Lanka, but then returned to his theme of “minority oppression”.
Rajan said that Sri Lanka suppressed Tamils in the 80s which led to a civil war, and that led to a collapse of their economy. Interestingly, he didn’t mention anything about the disastrous economic policies of the previous Sri Lankan government, the Chinese factor, and Rajapaksa government’s corruption leading to the collapse of the Sri Lankan economy.
Funnily, the NDTV reporter started the interview started with NDTV reporter asking Raghuram Rajan if the current developments in the country are in “देश हित” or not, and Rajan asked if हित means crisis, so it could all just be a translation issue and maybe he never understood any question that was asked.
Mona Ambegaonkar is an Indian actress best known for her work in the television and film industries in Hindu and Marathi languages. 52-years-old Ambegaonkar’s career has spread over three decades. She is known for her roles in films like Mangal Pandey, Mardaani and the television serial CID. Apart from her roles in the industry, Mona is also “famous” for the “activism” she does on and off social media.
On social media, her personality is more bent toward being an abusive and hateful troll who continues to spew venom on anyone and everyone who is against her line of thoughts. Amidst all the abuses she threw on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, practising Hindus, RSS and others, here is a glimpse into her psyche that screams that she likely needs help and counselling.
The ‘Neech Aadmi’ saga
If you spend even 15 minutes on her Twitter profile, it is prominently visible how much she hates Prime Minister Narendra Modi. So much so that she often uses the catchphrase ‘Neech Aadmi’ for him, mostly without directly taking his name. Here are a few examples. It was Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar who first used the derogatory term ‘neech aadmi’ for PM Modi, which Ambegaonkar seems to have picked up.
During Covid’s second wave, a rumour made to media reports that the central government decided to go away with the insurance meant for the healthcare workers. On April 19, 2021, Regional Bureau Chief, The India Observer (USA), Vijaylakshmi Nadar, shared a misleading tweet that echoed the said rumour. Mona, without verifying the facts, went on to call names to the Prime Minister and said, “Neech Aadmi. Coward & Psychopath. Mass Murderer. Traitor. Narbhakshi. Ghoul.” Both the tweets by Nadar and Ambegaonkar are still available on Twitter without any ‘misleading tag’. Neither of them corrected or deleted the tweet even after the claims were debunked.
In reality, the Government of India had extended the insurance for health workers who died during the line of Covid duty till April 24, 2021. The government was discussing new insurance plans for the Covid warriors with another insurance company. So the Government of India did not withdraw or cancel the life insurance cover, they were just looking for a new insurance provider to settle the claims.
She often tweets abuses for the Prime Minister without any specific reason. On April 24, 2021, she wrote, “Currently, that filthy Mass Murderer also known as Neech Aadmi or Chowkidaar & his Supari Killer Henchman also known as Tadipaar are the ‘system’. Thoo on this system. Thoo,” and hurled abuses for Home Minister Amit Shah as well.
It is like whenever she is bored, she logs on to Twitter and abuses PM Modi for her own entertainment. It is quite a strange obsession.
Frustration over anti-conversion laws
Due to the increasing number of forced conversions and conversions in exchange for perks across the country, states have introduced measures to curb such activities. Hindu organizations like Bajrang Dal, VHP, RSS and others are predominantly standing against the conversion mafia of Christian groups across states.
Interestingly, since the talks of anti-conversion law started in the state of Karnataka, the Christian groups and churches started to panic as the law would deem their unethical practices unlawful. The international conversion mafia came in the support and used media houses like BBC to spread anti-India and anti-Hindu propaganda. Quoting one such report by BBC where it was projected as if the minorities in India were being targeted with anti-conversion laws. Quoting the report, Mona said, “We are making international headlines for being a violent, barbaric country under the ‘rule’ of Saffron Extremists & their Neech Aadmi. How do you think Christian countries, with all that economic power, will react to this?”
On the contrary, it is the Hindus who are suffering because of the lack of anti-conversion laws. Hundreds of thousands of Hindus have been converted in the last few decades in the name of perks, social equality, ailments, and more. Above all, the rampant number of Grooming Jihad cases is more than enough to show why India needs strict anti-conversion laws.
Irked by low FCRA funding for NGOs in India
Foreign-funded NGOs in India are among the top obstacles in getting development work done. These NGOs are known for spreading anti-India and anti-government propaganda. Since the Modi government came to power in 2014, the laws to receive foreign funding have been tightened. The NGOs have been made accountable for sharing information about where they are receiving funds and how they are utilizing them.
Also, the government put a stop to inter-NGO funding using the FCRA funds. As a result, thousands of NGOs either did not renew their license or were rejected new or renewal of the FCRA license. It was obvious that the funding would decrease over the years. Notably, the government regularly renews and approves the FCRA license of those NGOs that are doing genuine work in different fields.
Mona quoted propaganda website Article 14’s tweet that talked about the fall in foreign funding to NGOs over the years. The tweet stated in just one financial year that is from 2018-19 to 2019-2020, FCRA funds came down to Rs 2,190 crores from Rs 16,490 crores. Irked by the fact, Mona wrote, “Neech Aadmi ko gareebon se dar lagtaa hai. Aur unke liye kaam karne waalon se toh aur bhi phat jaati hai uski Sanghi chaddi.”
Interestingly, Mona skipped the part very conveniently that the FCRA licenses were cancelled, revoked or not provided because the NGOs either failed to explain the utilization or were involved in anti-India activities. It is obvious that if an organization is working in India, it has to follow the laws of the land; otherwise, it will lose the perks and benefits.
In February 2021, Mona blamed the Modi government for the delay in the Bullet Train project. Either she did not check or chose to ignore the fact that when the Uddhav Thackeray-led government came to Maharashtra, the Bullet Train project was one of the most affected infrastructure projects. The delays in land accusations and other formalities led to the unprecedented delay.
The lie of ‘non-existing’ temples
In May 2022, Mona said, “After destroying Taj Mahal and Kutub Minar in order to find non-existent Mandirs under them, will the mob that votes for and genuflects in front of Narendra Modi finally have food in their bellies, education for their kids, jobs/salaries that pay their bills?” Her frustration-filled tweet came at the time when there were talks about a survey of the Gyanvapi disputed structure, Qutub Minar and other Mughal structures that were built either after destruction of Hindu temples or materials from Hindu temples were used.
Qutub Minar is, in fact, built using temple materials of around 27 Hindu and Jain temples. There is a transcription of the same written outside its premises, and one can easily spot damaged idols of Hindu Gods used in the construction. Moreover, OpIndia has also covered several reports, including a list of such structures penned by Historian Sita Ram Goel.
Fell for fake news and abused PM Modi
On June 5, Twitter user TheSkinDoctor13 published a satirical post suggesting all charges against Vijay Mallya were dropped. If one reads the image added by the skin doctor, it is clear that the post was a fake one. It read, “In a surprising but logical move, India dropped all fraud charges against absconding billionaire Vijay Mallya. This happened after Mallya approached Mr Arvind Kejriwal, the world’s best CM, the anti-corruption crusader and the father of truth itself and got his papers checked. It’s well known that Mr Kejriwal is considered the highest judicial authority in the world, right above the International Court of Justice.”
It further read, “Whatever he says is considered gospel truth. After, He said, “I’ve personally checked Mallya’s documents. He is innocent” Gol swiftly dropped all charges and announced Padma Vibhushan for Mallya.
Mallya is expected to land in India tomorrow and will be received by the Indian Council of ministers.”
The post came to light of bizarre explanations being given by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal while giving clean chit to AAP’s ministers over corruption charges and accusations related to anti-India activities. However, Mona failed to comprehend the fact that it was a satire and thought it was true. She wrote, “Nothing to be ashamed of, Narendra Modi. Must be true to the payoff. Loyalty matters.”
Got spam? Let’s abuse the PM!
Even if she or anyone receives a spam mail or message, it is always a golden chance for her to abuse PM Modi. On June 23, while quoting a fun post by a Twitter user about a spam mail he/she received, Mona wrote, “Hello United nations. Do you have a ‘compensation programme’? If so, please ask Charlie to send ₹15 Lakhs to everybody in #India. You see, Narendra Modi has sent our economy into total meltdown and has not given us the above amount that he had promised when elected to the PMO office. Thanks.”
Sad for Mona, PM Modi never promised to give 15 lakhs but only stated a hypothetical situation during one of his rallies before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The misleading reports of PM Modi promising 15 lakhs have been debunked several times but used by propagandists to mock Modi supporters.
If PM Modi gets clean-chit, courts are sold out
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently got clean-chit in Gujarat Riots 2002 case, Mona called the Supreme Court “sold out”.
On the other hand, she was happy when Alt News’ co-founder Mohammed Zubair got bail and welcomed him back.
These tweets are not even the tip of the iceberg. Mona Ambegaonkar’s abuse and hate-filled tweets are in the hundreds. One only hopes that she seeks the help she desperately needs.
The Uttarakhand High Court on July 20, upheld a decision of the Uttarkashi Zila panchayat, prohibiting the sale of meat within 500-meters along the banks of river Ganga, considered sacred by the Hindus. The court was hearing a petition filed by one Navid Qureshi, challenging a notice issued to him by the Uttarkashi Zila Panchayat in 2016, ordering him to shift his meat shop situated 105 meters away from the bank of the river Ganga.
While dismissing the petition, the single judge bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra observed that anyone who operates a meat shop in District Uttarkashi for the purpose of slaughtering and selling animals must obtain a no objection certificate from the concerned authority by Zila Panchayat by-laws, as well as a license from the designated authority.
The court added that keeping in mind the special status of Uttarakhand and the river Ganga that emerges from District Uttarkashi, as well as the sanctity attached to the river Ganga by the majority of Uttarakhand’s population the decision taken by the Zila Panchayat by making by-laws to the effect that no shop for butchering animals and selling meat within 500 metres of the bank of the river Ganga appears to be in line with the scheme of the Constitution of India as envisaged in Part IX.
Furthermore, the Court held that the District Magistrate of Uttarkashi made no mistake in refusing to provide Qureshi with a no-objection certificate to operate a meat store within 500 metres of the Ganga’s bank.
According to the petitioner Navid Qureshi, the Zila Panchayat Uttarkashi had on February 27, 2016, issued a notice to him asking him to relocate his meat business within 7 days since it was 105 metres away from the bank of the Ganga which was in violation of the laws.
Qureshi stated in his plea that he had secured a licence to run his meat store from the appropriate authorities under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 and that the Zila panchayat could not shut it down.
The Counsel for Qureshi stated that the District Magistrate of Uttarkashi declined his application for a no objection certificate only because his business is located within 500 metres of the Ganga’s bank.
The Uttarakhand High Court, however, observed that the Zila Panchayat and local bodies had the power to frame such rules and by-laws. Accordingly, it dismissed Qureshi’s petition.
Uttarakhand HC stays state govt order to declare Haridwar as a “slaughter-free area”
Notably, last month, the Uttarakhand High Court stayed the state government notification declaring the entire district of Haridwar, regarded as a holy place for Hindus, as a “slaughter-free area” and allowed the slaughter of animals for Eid al-Adha on July 10 at a slaughterhouse in the Manglaur municipality in the district.
On March 3, 2021, the Uttarakhand state government had designated Haridwar district’s urban local bodies including two municipal corporations, two municipalities, and five Nagar Panchayats ‘slaughterhouse-free regions’, and terminated permits to operate slaughterhouses. The notification from the urban development department came ahead of the Kumbh Mela. Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs from the area wrote to then-chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, urging that slaughterhouses be prohibited in a ‘religious city like Haridwar’.
Terming the state government’s decision to ban all slaughterhouses in the Haridwar district ‘arbitrary and unconstitutional’, a group of locals has filed a petition in the Uttarakhand high court.
