A village in the Mehsana district of Gujarat pulled off a sham IPL, three weeks after the official version of the tournament ended earlier this year, almost conning Russian gamblers into betting on the thrills of the T20 cricket, a report published in Times Of India revealed.
The elaborate fraud was complete with farm labourers pretending as cricketers, a farm in Molipur village used as a cricket ground, a Harsha Bhogle mimic for commentary and a Telegram channel to take the bettings from a remote audience of Russian punters.
The fraudulent tournament had reached its “knockout quarterfinal” stage before the organisers of the “Indian Premier League Tournament” were arrested by the police.
According to the report, the Gujarat villagers accepted bets from Russians based out of Tver, Voronezh and Moscow. High-resolution cameras were used to telecast the matches, which were broadcasted live on a YouTube channel named “IPL” for the consumption of the Russian punters.
The boldness of the charade could be determined by the fact that the tournament started three weeks after the original IPL concluded. A team of 21 farm labourers and unemployed youth of the village took turns wearing jerseys of Gujarat Titans, Chennai Super Kings, and Mumbai Indians to give an impression to their Russian audiences that the original IPL was underway.
The villagers also got umpires, gave them walkie-talkies and used 5 High-definition cameras for the broadcast in order to grant legitimacy to their sham. The noise of the crowd that is typically heard during a cricket match was downloaded from the internet and played during the broadcast to lend credence to their tournament.
Services of a Meerut-based Harsha Bhogle ‘mimic’ were also used to add to the authenticity of the tournament and induce punters into betting their roubles on the Telegram channel. Amused by the story, Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle took to Twitter to share the newspaper article about the incident.
The ‘tournament’ came to an abrupt halt after the Mehsana police got wind of the illegal activities carried out under the pretext of cricket competition. The police arrested four men and are currently probing the hawala channel used by the accused to keep the con going.
The con was executed by one Shoeb Davda, who had returned to Molipur after working for eight months in a Russian pub known for taking bets. According to the police, Davda rented the farm of one Ghulam Masih and installed halogen lights there. He corralled a group of 21 farm labourers, promising them Rs 400 per match. Then, he got cameramen and team jerseys of the IPL teams.
In his interrogation with the police, Davda said the mastermind of the con was Asif Mohammed, whom he had met while working at the Russian pub. It was Asif, Davda said, who introduced Russian punters to the nuances of cricket.
After returning to Molipur, Davda collaborated with Sadiq Davda, Saqib, Saifi, and Mohammed Kolu to organise a fake IPL tournament.
The conmen were caught just after they had received the delivery of the first instalments of the bets amounting to Rs 3 lakhs. The police said the fake IPL tournament was fixed. Shoeb took bets on the Telegram channel after which he would instruct on-field umpires to signal boundaries or sixes, who would also instruct bowlers and batsmen about the same.
On Sunday (July 10), hundreds of people held demonstrations outside a branch of China’s central bank in Zhengzhou city in Henan province.
As per reports, a large number of customers had opened their savings accounts in 6 rural banks in Henan and Anhui province. This was because the banks paid high-interest rates.
Media reports suggested that the head of the parent company of the banks has been on the run from the law enforcement authorities. He has been accused of committing financial crimes.
1. Massive protest out break in Henan province，China. More than 3000 protesters who are victim of bank financial fraud show up in capital City of Henan. None of them can withdraw money from account now.
“The banks froze millions of dollars worth of deposits in April, telling customers they were upgrading their internal systems,” read a report by Daily Express.
This created a sense of panic among the customers, who thronged the banks to withdraw their savings accounts. On learning that they could not withdraw their hard-earned money, the bank depositors had gathered near the entrance of the People’s Bank of China building before dawn.
They shouted slogans and held placards, in a bid to pressurise the authorities to return their money. The Zhengzhou police too had gathered at the site with their vehicles and flashlights.
“Henan banks, return my savings!” the protestors shouted in unison. They held placards that read, “Against the corruption and violence of the Henan government.” Some even carried the portrait of Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China.
The cops cordoned off the streets and announced with a megaphone that the assembly of the protestors was illegal. The police also threatened them with fines and detention if they failed to vacate the site.
Police and men in T-shirts attacked the protestors, dragged them down the bank’s stairs and hit them mercilessly. The protestors responded by pelting water bottles and other objects at them.
Such protests are unprecedented in Communist China where dissent and public demonstrations are curbed by the authoritarian State.
Protestors being manhandled, image via CNN
While speaking to the Associated Press, a female demonstrator named Zhang remarked, “We came today and wanted to get our savings back, because I have elderly people and children at home, and the inability to withdraw savings has seriously affected my life.”
Another protestor named Yang was also beaten mercilessly by 2 security officers. He said, “Although repeated protests and demonstrations don’t necessarily have a big impact, I think it is still helpful if more people get to know about us, and understand or sympathize with us.”
“Each time you do it, you might make a difference. Although you will get hit, they can’t really do anything to you, right?” Yang further emphasised.
Protestors being shoved by security forces, image via CNN
Reportedly, the demonstrators were dispersed and were taken away in buses to makeshift detention camps. They were also coerced into signing a letter, saying that they would not partake in such protests again. The security forces outnumbered the protestors by a ratio of 3:1.
According to Chinese-Australian activist Badiucao, the protestors had no choice but to carry mini national flags in hand.
“Using national flags to display patriotism is a common strategy for protesters in China, where dissent is strictly suppressed. The tactic is meant to show that their grievances are only against local governments and that they support and rely on the central government to seek redress,” reportedCNN.
4. its really bizarre and pathetic to see the protesters are protesting in China with the mini national flag in hands.
Their message is “i am not a trouble makers to the regime i just want my money back” pic.twitter.com/cLt21bJtOv
In a bid to pacify the angry customers, the Henan banking regulators informed that they are speeding up the process of customer verification and are formulating a plan to resolve the grievances of the public at the earliest.
The statement read, “(Authorities) are coming up with a plan to deal with the issue, which will be announced in the near future.”
One demonstrator named Sun lost $597000 to a Henan bank and is unable to pay his employees. “The incident completely overturned my perception of the government. I’ve lived all my life placing so much faith in the government. After today, I’ll never trust it again,” he remarked.
Another protestor named Huang, who has over $75000 in a rural bank in Henan, was worried about not being able to withdraw his funds. “Being unemployed, all I can live on is my past savings. But I can’t even do that now — how am I supposed to (support my family)?” he lamented.
The Uber Files, comprising over 124,000 records, including 83,000 emails spanning 2013 to 2017 and several other conversations, have revealed how the American service provider lobbied with top government officials and tried to avoid getting caught by the police. The documents were leaked to the British newspaper The Guardian and also shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and several other media organisations.
The leaked documents reveal how Uber followed ethically questionable practices during its global expansion to rapidly become a global giant. The leaked documents span the 5 years period when Uber was run by its controversial co-founder Travis Kalanick. Kalanick was forced out of Uber in 2017 when shareholders had enough of the controversies plaguing Uber, including allegations of data breach and sexual harassment scandals.
Uber lobbied with government heads to push favourable laws
Emmanuel Macron, the current French President, was the Economy Minister when Travis Kalanick established contact with him and the leaks show that they were soon on a first-name basis. Paris was the scene of the first European launch of Uber and the leaks show that Macron went out of his way to help Uber grow.
In 2014, Uber launched Uberpop in France, a service where unlicensed drivers could pick up passengers at a much lower fare. This led to protests from the French Taxi drivers which even turned violent. However, in the wake of the violence, Kalanick said that “Violence guarantees success”, dismissing these violent protests.
Following the violent protests, Macron offered to help Uber by rewriting the country’s laws governing its other services excluding Uberpop. He even confirmed to Uber that he has brokered a deal with the opposition as well to help these reforms pass. Following that, Uber suspended its Uberpop service in the country while running its other operations.
The Uber Files also reveal Uber’s close relationship with European Commission vice-president Neelie Kroes, putting her in an apparent breach of rules governing commissioners’ conduct. Kroes was apparently also in talks to join Uber’s advisory board even before he left her position at the European regulator in November 2014.
The leaked emails reveal that Kroes called ministers and other members of the government in her native Netherlands to persuade them to back down during a raid on Uber’s Amsterdam office. During another raid a week later, Kroes again contacted a Dutch minister, and as per the email, “harassed” the head of the Dutch civil service.
The ‘kill switch’ to stop authorities from accessing Uber’s computers
Apart from lobbying with government officials and regulators to keep themselves safe from the police, Uber had also installed a “kill switch” to stop the authorities from accessing the company’s computers. The leaked Uber Files confirm the presence of the kill switch and also confirmed that Kalanick had used the switch at least once to thwart law enforcement agencies.
The kill switch was used in Amsterdam, Canada, Belgium, India, Romania, Hungary, and France as per the leaked files.
The demographic changes in India have begun to show the unprecedented rise in Muslim population, so much so that the Islamic culture has started to dominate many crucial aspects of the society. In India, majority of the population follows the Hindu faith and many things including the festivals and personal lives are governed by the secular constitution of India. However, there are some aspects where there has been demography change, in those areas, very slowly, but gradually, the Islamic law of Sharia is taking precedence over the constitution, especially in day to day working of minority Hindus who live there.
Imposing Sharia in Muslim-dominated countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan is common as the majority population in such countries is Muslims. In fact, these countries have Islam as State religion. In such countries, even Hindus need to follow Sharia, that being the law of land. But in a secular country like India when Hindus in minority are expected and forced to follow Sharia in their day to day life is concerning.
For instance, many schools and colleges and other educational institutes have started to shift their weekly off from Sunday to Friday so that the majority Muslim population can offer their ‘Jumme ki Namaz’ at ease. Recently, several government schools in Jamatra, Jharkhand decided to declare their weekly offs on Friday. This is after the members of the Muslim community residing in those areas compelled the school authorities to do so.
Government schools in Jamatra declared weekly offs on Fridays
As per the report, gradually, more than 100 state-run schools in Jamtara of Jharkhand have started observing Friday (Jumma) as a weekly holiday in schools on religious grounds. Neither these institutions are madarsas (Islamic schools) nor have they received any departmental directives to implement the change. However, under pressure from the parents of Muslim students, who make up more than 70% of the student population at these government schools, the administration has unilaterally decided that Fridays would now serve as students’ weekly holiday instead of Sundays.
Jharkhand: In Jamtara, Muslims are forcing schools to declare holiday on Friday(Jumma) and keep schools opened on Sunday. They have also written ‘Urdu’ on school name board.@HemantSorenJMM@dpradhanbjppic.twitter.com/rkFOPTjgA5
A teacher of one of these state-run schools informed on conditions of anonymity, said that though there are only 15 Urdu schools of 1084 total in the area, just a small number of parents had requested the school administration to observe Friday as the weekly off day. The authorities, however, promptly convened a meeting to discuss this and issued arbitrary directives to observe the modification in the weekly off.
Another teacher, who has been at a state-run middle school since 2001, said that 70% of the students in his school are Muslims. He went on to say that one day, out of nowhere, he learned that Fridays would henceforth be the school’s weekly holiday rather than Sundays. However, until today, they had not gotten any official notification, according to the teacher.
School in Garhwa got prayer changed as Mulims constitute 75% of population
Notably, on July 5, it was reported that in Jharkhand’s Garhwa, some members of the Muslim community had a long-standing school prayer modified. They stated that because the Muslim community constitutes 75% of the population, the prayer should be ‘as per them.’ The school management gave in to criticism and modified the prayer.
Not only that, but the Muslim community opposed folding hands during prayer and had it stopped. Hindus fold their hands in prayer, greet with ‘namaste,’ and bow their heads as a sign of reverence. The school management stated that over the past few months, members of the Muslim community had been arriving and causing a commotion, demanding a change in prayer.
Ruckus by Islamists during Saraswati Puja in Jharkhand
The Islamists have to date attacked many Hindus, their processions amid several Hindu festivals like Ram Navmi and Hanuman Jayanti. Hazaribagh, Kodarma and Jamtada districts of Jharkhand also witnessed ruckus after a 17-year-old boy named Rupesh Kumar was murdered by Islamists during Saraswati Puja Visarjan. The incident happened in February 2022 when Rupesh was lynched by a Muslim mob led by one Aslam Ansari.
सरस्वती पूजा के मूर्ति विसर्जन के दौरान रांची मेन रोड, हजारीबाग के बरही और कोडरमा के मरकच्चो में हिंसा की खबर। कई लोगों के घायल हुए, आगजनी भी हुई है। आम दिनों में अपराधी तो बेलगाम हैं ही पर्व-त्योहार के मौके पर भी प्रशासन विधि-व्यवस्था बनाए रखने में असफल साबित हो रही है pic.twitter.com/Tqorc4lla7
— Journalist Chandan (घर पे रहे सुरक्षित रहे) (@JournalistChan4) February 6, 2022
Also, in Fitkoriya village of Jamatra district, the Muslim mob had attacked the procession of Goddess Saraswati which was led by the Hindus. The Hindus were taking the Saraswati idol to the government pond for the process of religious immersion. The Islamists had warned Hindus to not play DJs and raise slogans and had asked them to change the route of the procession as the planned route was supposed to pass by a Mosque. The Hindus changed the route but were still attacked by the Islamists.
Islamists had knocked the Court doors seeking ban of Hindu processions from Islam dominated areas
The Madras High Court delivered the judgment on the appeals by some local Muslim group to ban the Hindu processions from Muslim-dominated areas and said that allowing religious intolerance was not good for a secular country and that ‘resistance’ by one religious group, if reciprocated by another, could lead to chaos and riots.
The Muslims in Tamil Nadu’s Perambalur, from the year 2012 had objected to some of the Hindu festivals, terming them as Sin. The judges noted that before 2012, temple processions were conducted through all the streets in the village and that there was no problem. Even from the year 2012 to 2015, processions were taken out through all the streets and roads which have been approved by this Court, but later objections were raised.
“Merely because one religious group is dominating in a particular locality, it cannot be a ground to prohibit from celebrating religious festivals or taking processions of other religious groups through those roads,” the court had said reiterating to disallow the religious intolerance.
Islamists mob attacked Dalits in Aligarh’s Noorpur, forcing them to flee their homes
In June 2021, an Islamist mob attacked wedding processions in Noorpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh. Two wedding processions were en route to a Hindu’s home. When the procession was passing by, some people from the mosque, which was on the way, attacked the wedding procession. The Hindus were allegedly forced to move forward on foot after which the wedding procession instead of moving forward, returned.
Later, Islamist hooligans unleashed violence on Hindus in Noorpur after which they decided to put their houses for sale and flee the place. Several houses owned by Hindus in Noorpur to date bear a similar message scribbled on the walls reading, “This house is on sale”, and informing prospective buyers that the property is on sale.
After the incident, AIMIM leader in June 2021 had justified the attack and had vowed that Islamists wont let the Hindus to hold wedding procession without permission. “Namaz will take place. And yes, we will not let you (Hindus) take out wedding processions without permission. If you carry out wedding processions without permission, we will not let you do it. Do whatever you want, we will not let you do it”, AIMIM leader Syed Nazim Ali was quoted.
Also recently, a Hindu girl’s wedding in Aligarh was interrupted by Islamists who threw eggs at the family members of the groom for carrying out the procession from the route on which a Mosque was located. The Islamists also abused the groom’s family and passed sarcastic comments on their caste.
Hindus in Bharuch decide to leave homes over demography change
In October 2021, Hindus staying in society in Bharuch were forced to sell their houses after a Islamist purchased 28 flats in the building and sold it to other Muslims. The Hindus in locality had put up ‘for sale’ banners after the changed demography led to harassment including the one where an Aarti was forced to stop at a local temple.
Every Thursday, there would be an evening Aarti at the Jalaram Bapa Temple which was stopped after one Shaukat Ali purchased a house right across the temple. He would object to the Aarti and eventually got many houses in the society which he sold to Muslims by allegedly circumventing the Disturbed Areas Act. Frustrated, the local Hindus even put up the temple for sale.
For over 50 years, Saraswati Puja was not celebrated in Jharkhand due to Islamists
In a small village called Gidaur in Jharkhand, Hindu students celebrated Saraswati puja after 50 long years. The Hindu students had not celebrated Saraswati Puja in Manjhgawantri High School because majority of students who were studying in the school were Muslims.
For long, the village was on tenterhooks as there was tension prevailing between the Hindu and Muslim communities of the village. The tension was mainly due to Hindu students of the High School not being allowed to celebrate Saraswati Puja because of the Muslim students of the school. Reportedly, even in the Peace meetings of the community, this issue was often the dominant issue discussed.
On January 28, 2020 an application was made by the school children to celebrate Saraswati Puja at the block office and local police station. Subsequently, the administration deployed police personnel in the school a day before and the Puja was conducted.
Mumbai resident stopped from celebrating Diwali by Islamists
In year 2019, Vishwa Bhanu, a resident of Malad West, Mumbai, had written on Facebook about the ordeal he suffered on the occasion of Diwali as a consequence of the intolerance of his Muslim neighbours. He said that his wife was not being allowed to light up their house on Diwali and he was forced to remove the lights by the neighbours.
Screenshot from Facebook
The ordeal began when his wife bought new lights for Diwali and wanted to decorate their house for the festival. But when she put it up, Muslims in the locality descended at his place and wanted the lights removed. They claimed that the lights were giving electric shocks and as there were kids in the neighbourhood, it was risky. His wife objected to the claims and said that nothing of the sort was happening.
The mob then proceeded to damage the lights and tore the wires open, and then used the open wires to claim that the lights could give people electric shocks. Women and children were also participating in the harassment. Numerous communal slurs were hurled as well. The mob claimed that Hindus mix urine in everything and one shouldn’t eat food at their place. Ultimately, the couple was forced to remove the lights to prevent matters from escalating.
Bhajan amid Durga Puja were stopped, Islamists had threatened
In year 2019, Islamist mob had entered the Durga Puja Pandal in Mumbai’s Malad and had threatened the Hindus for playing bhajans. Reports mention that the Hindus were barred from singing bhajans and were force to praise ‘Aslam Bhai’. “If you want stay in the colony, you’ll have to say Aslam Bhai, Aslam Bhai. Modi is not going to come to rescue you from here. Aslam Bhai will only come here”, the Islamists had threatened.
Some peacefull miscreants stopped devotional songs at Garba Pandal, This is in Malad West, Mumbai. But this is Secularism & our Liberals won’t find it wrong as it was disturbing the nearby Peace lovers! pic.twitter.com/if5YuRrykv
Aslam Bhai reportedly was someone who had dominated the area in 2019.
More such incidents of Hindus being harassed in Muslim-dominated areas
The news of Hindus fleeing Kairana grabbed headlines, but this is happening throughout India. Stone pelting against Hindus was reported in the Muslim-dominated neighborhood of ‘Mahajani Tola’ in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghpur district. According to the victims, Muslim fanatics in the neighborhood do this on a daily basis. As a result, many Hindu families have been compelled to relocate, and many have already departed the area by selling their homes.
The recent violence in Kanpur was partly the result of a shift in demographics in certain pockets. According to the victims there are relatively few Hindus in this that specific location. “Our neighborhood is called Chandreshwar, and it is home to a few hundred Hindus. On the day of the event, an attempt was made to target our neighborhood in the guise of protest. Only 3% of Hindus live here, yet they prick the eyes of the area’s 97 per cent of Muslims”, the victims were quoted.
After a Muslim mob attacked Hindu households in Himmatnagar, Gujarat, during Ram Navami, they fled to save their lives. Many people sought sanctuary in temples. In addition, during a fight between Hindus and Muslims in Allapur Bhogi, Badaun, during Holi, the police were accused of acting unilaterally. There was also a report of 30 Hindu families fleeing. Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra had requested a study following claims of a Hindu community migration from the Surana hamlet of Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh.
There are many more such incidents which reflect the effects of demographic change in some localities where Hindus have become a minority community. The Hindus in these areas have started living as per the rules laid down by the dominating Muslim community and instead of constitution, which allows everyone to practice their faith freely, some Hindus are forced to live as per Sharia in a secular country that India is.
The Supreme Court Monday, awarded a 4-moth jail sentence and imposed a fine of Rs 2000 on Indian fugitive and businessman Vijay Mallya in a 2017 contempt of court case.
Supreme Court awards 4-month jail sentence and imposes Rs 2000 fine on fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya who was found guilty of contempt of court in 2017 for withholding information from the court pic.twitter.com/Z8zP5P8qdf
On May 9, 2017, the SC had held Mallya guilty of contempt of court on two counts. Firstly, for withholding information from the court about transferring USD 40 million to his children in violation of the court’s order, and secondly, for the “flagrant violation” of orders passed by the Karnataka High Court.
The apex court bench led by Justice UU Lalit today ordered Mallya to deposit back USD 40 million with interest within four weeks, besides paying a fine of Rs 2000. Failing to do so would lead to the attachment of his properties, said the court.
On March 10 of this year, the Supreme Court’s bench of Justices UU Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat, and P S Narasimha reserved its verdict. Mallya was given numerous chances to come before the SC in person or through counsel, but he disregarded the order of the Supreme Court. The SC stated today, “we have said in the judgment of 2017 that the action of contemnor in disbursing USD 40 million was contempt. We must impose an adequate sentence on the contemnor to uphold the majesty of law and the amounts in dispute are available for execution.”
The court added that the fugitive liquor baron did not show any remorse throughout the trial.
On February 10, the Supreme Court Bench had given Mallya the last chance to appear before it, either in person or through his lawyer. The court had noted that it had waited “sufficiently long”.
The Supreme Court had decided on November 30, 2021, to move forward with the proceedings to determine the quantum of sentence to be awarded to Mallya for contempt of court, noting that it could not wait any longer for Mallya’s extradition from the UK.
“We cannot wait anymore now. Proceedings for extradition have attained finality and respondent no. 3 (Mallya) has exhausted all avenues of appeal in the United Kingdom. The matter (sentencing in contempt case) shall be dealt with finally on January 18, 2022,” the Bench had said.
Mallya is already accused of defaulting on bank loans worth Rs 9,000 crore in connection with his now-defunct Kingfisher airlines. Mallya had fled the country and has been residing in the United Kingdom since March 2016.
In 2019, he became the first person to be declared a fugitive economic offender on a plea of the Enforcement Directorate. In July 2021, the London court declared him bankrupt. Prior to that in May 2020, he had lost the legal battle against his extradition to India. However, he has not yet returned to face trial. Mallya continues to be on bail.
On July 11, during the hearing of a petition filed by Professor Sabiha Hussain, director of the Sarojini Naidu Centre that comes under Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi High Court observed that the University could not use Court’s shield to get money from the University Grants Commission (UGC) for salary payments. Hussain filed a petition in Delhi High Court and sought directions for JMI to get her salary.
A Division Bench led by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad rejected the plea submitted by JMI seeking direction for the UGC to release funds for Sarojini Naidu Centre for Women Studies. The Court noted that the plea submitted by Jamia was nothing but an attempt to avoid orders passed by the High Court previously.
In its plea, JMI argued that the University could not pay Hussain’s salary as UGC did not provide the necessary funds via a regular budget or through the ‘Development of Women Studies in Indian Universities’ scheme. JMI requested the Court to direct the Commission to release funds of about Rs 6 crores.
When the Court questioned if the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, and other officials got their salaries, the University’s advocate said they were paid. CJ Sharma said if the University can either sell its properties to pay the salary to the professor or the VC and Registrar should forego their salaries so that the professor can be paid first.
Notably, in the last hearing, Jamia had categorically stated that the University would clear Hussain’s dues and she would be paid on time every month.
Jamia Millia Islamia university under the scanner for atrocities against SC/ST
Jamia has been under the radar of authorities for atrocities against a Dalit teacher named Harendra Kumar. National Commission for Scheduled Caste issued summons to the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, Professor Najma Akhtar, to appear in person before the Commission on July 19, 2022. The summons was issued by the Chairman of the Commission in a case related to caste-based atrocities and removing the constitutionally guaranteed reservation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in appointment and promotion by the University. Kumar has alleged in his complaint that he was not only humiliated by the seniors but was also suspended from his post following an alleged baseless allegation of sexual harassment.
The AIADMK infighting between O Panneerselvam (OPS) and ex-Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) spilled over onto the streets on Monday, with their supporters engaging in a violent brawl outside the party headquarters. The fight broke out ahead of the party’s general council meeting held to decide the future leadership structure of the party. However, despite the brawl, Edappadi K Palaniswami has been appointed as the interim general secretary of AIADMK following today’s meeting.
According to reports, O Panneerselvam supporters also hit E Palaniswami’s photo with slippers. Later, Panneerselvam greeted his supporters from a portico and also waved the party flag. His supporters raised “Ayya OPS vazhga” (hail OPS sir) slogans.
#WATCH | O Paneerselvam supporters slap slippers at E Palaniswami’s photo as they protest AIADMK’s General Council meeting in Vanagaram, Chennai pic.twitter.com/1bLqtnT7To
Visuals also showed members of both factions hurling stones at each other. Reportedly, some people also damaged vehicles parked nearby. Posters and banners were also burnt during the ruckus outside the party HQ.
#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: Visuals from outside the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai where supporters of party leaders E Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam burn posters & banners, ahead of the General Council meeting, today pic.twitter.com/BS00E133Ks
Owing to the clashes, the AIADMK office had been locked, but rowdy members of both factions broke open the locked doors and made their way into the party headquarters and created a ruckus.
Ex-Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami elected as the party’s interim general secretary
Meanwhile, according to reports, during the party’s council meeting held today morning, Edappadi K Palaniswami was appointed as the interim general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), thus ending the dual leadership in the party. The announcement came as the General Council passed resolutions to reinstate the position of general secretary and to guarantee that the party’s primary members choose a candidate for the position. The election will be held 4 months from now.
Further, during the meeting, it was decided that the posts of the coordinator and joint coordinator would be terminated and a Deputy General Secretary post would be created, who will be selected by the party’s General Secretary.
The AIADMK infighting
For months on end, the two former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) and his predecessor O Panneerselvam (OPS) were locked in an intense tussle for the sole leadership of AIADMK. While OPS has been pushing for the current joint leadership model to continue, EPS had been keen for single leadership with himself as the party General Secretary.
Recently, O Panneerselvam had moved the Madras High Court to stall the crucial General Council meeting of the party that was held today to decide on the fate of the party leadership. The Madras High Court, however, refused to stall the AIADMK general council meeting in Chennai on Monday, July 11.
It may be noted that when AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa passed away in December 2016, EPS and OPS decided to share party leadership. While there had been differences between the two leaders, the arrangement worked well until the AIADMK’s rule ended in April 2021.
After a string of election defeats, EPS declared that the model was ineffective, while OPS frantically petitioned the courts to retain power over the party.
On Wednesday, however, the Supreme Court gave EPS and his team permission to convene the meeting in accordance with the law.
On Sunday (July 10), Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to Goddess Kali as ‘Maa’ during a virtual address at an event conducted by the Ramakrishna Mission.
The event was organised to mark the centennial birth anniversary of the 15th President of Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Atmasthananda. The development comes amidst the ongoing row over the objectionable portrayal of the Hindu deity by director Leena Manimekalai.
PM Modi stated, “Swami Ramakrishna Paramhansa was one such saint who had a vision of Maa Kali and had surrendered his whole being at the feet of Maa Kali. He used to say this whole world, everything is influenced by the consciousness of Goddess Kali. This consciousness is visible in the Kali Puja of Bengal.”
Soon after, former Weekend Editor of Hindustan Times, Kanika Gahlaut, went on an unhinged social media tirade against Prime Minister Modi for supposedly limiting the Hindu deity to the status of a ‘mother’.
“Why Narendra Modi is referring to (the) Hindu goddess Kali as Maa kali? She is a supreme goddess and can be worshipped in various ways not everyone has to see her as the maa kali,” she tweeted.
Screengrab of the tweet by Kanika Gahlaut
Thereafter, she attempted to label Hindus as misogynists for elevating women to the status of a mother or a wife. “Hindus have an obsession with turning every female into wife or mother. It’s extremely unhealthy and misogynist,” Kanika brazened it out.
The author of ‘Among The Chatterati’ then inquired whether Lord Shiva was ever referred to as a father figure or Papa.
Screengrab of the tweets by Kanika Gahlaut
After being called out for her ignorance about the Hindu religion, the former Hindustan Times journalist went into a defensive mode. She posted tweets after tweets in a failed bid to convince her readers.
“Shiv is Mahakaal, his consort Kali is MahaKaali. I like this story. I don’t know about mummy & all, people are free to see & worship their gods the way they like. This includes Leena Mahua & Modi. There should be no exemption, it’s unfair,” she tweeted on Monday (July 11).
Screengrab of the tweet by Kanika Gahlaut
“Just because Modi is a Hindu PM appointed by Hindus, he is not Bhagwan Krishna and his Hinduism is not everyone’s Hinduism,” Kanika Gahlaut continued her rant.
The invocation of Gaumutra to deride Hindu beliefs
After being quizzed by Hindu netizens about her contentious remarks, she attempted to shame them with ‘gaumutra jibes.’ “Don’t cry, drink gaumutra and be happy,” the journalist had retweeted a Hinduphobic joke by a pro-Islamist account named ‘I stand with Zubair.’
Screengrab of the tweet
For a long time now, Hinduphobes have been using gaumutra barbs to deride Hindus and ridicule their beliefs. It has often been used by Islamist terrorists before attacking Indians, especially Hindus.
In 2019, a Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorist in a suicide attack killed as many as 40 CRPF soldiers in Pulwama, Kashmir. Following the attack, a video was released in which the terrorist could be heard saying he wanted to punish and kill the ‘cow urine drinkers’ in the name of Allah.
The terrorist identified as Adil Ahmed Dar alias Waqas was seen admitting that he had joined the Jaish-e-Mohammad a year ago. In the video, he had referred to Indians as “Gae ka Peshab Peene Wale” (People who drink cow urine).
Former HT journalist plays the victim card
After her hollow arguments failed to make an impression on the netizens or thwart the criticism directed at her, Kanika Gahlaut sought to play the victim card.
“No one cares about majoritarian Twitter bullying by Hindutva trolls. They think their Low IQ bullying really makes a difference to our lives,” she said.
Screengrab of the tweets by Kanika Gahlaut
Kanika Gahlaut claimed, “Why Hindu gods are all Bhagwan literally meaning god & their consorts Hindu goddesses are maa or mother? Instead of trolling me why don’t Hindutva people answer the question? Kali goddess doesn’t have to be worshipped as ma that’s not the only way to worship her this is fact.”
It is notable here that in Hinduism, every Goddess is referred to as ‘Mother’. Hinduism is one of the last remaining religions on the earth that worships the ‘Sacred feminine’, be it in the form of the planet itself, as ‘Prithvi Mata’, or the very basis of the Universe’s energy, ‘Shakti’. Hindu Goddesses like Kali, Durga, Lakshmi etc are all considered the manifestations of ‘Shakti’, or the energy of the Universe.
On July 10, Pakistani Journalist and YouTuber Shakil Chaudhary published an interview with Pakistani Journalist Nusrat Mirza who claimed he spied on India and handed over the information he had gathered during his visits to India between 2005 to 2011.
During the interview, Chaudhary asked Mirza if India was an existential threat to Pakistan and why Pakistan did not have experts on India. His statement irked Mirza, who went on boasting about himself and how he was an expert on India. He said he travelled to India five times. In 2005, he visited Chandigarh, followed by Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai 2006. On another trip, he covered Kolkata, Patna, and other places.
Speaking about the contacts he had, Mirza said, “Usually, when you apply for Visa to India, they only allow you to visit three places. However, at that time, Khurshid Kasuri was the foreign minister who helped me to get Visa for seven cities. I think I understand how India functions. I have studied the circumstances in which Indian Muslims live. I am friends with all the editors of Urdu papers in India. Many news channel owners are good friends. Whenever I have visited India, I have given several interviews.”
‘I was invited by Hamid Ansari’
He said in 2010, he was invited to a seminar on terrorism by then-Vice President Hamid Ansari. He said, “Though I agree I am not an expert, but we are Mughals. We have ruled India for centuries. I understand their culture. I know about their weaknesses. But the problem is the experience I gathered about India is not being used due to lack of good leadership in Pakistan.” During his 2011 visit to India, Mirza said he had met The Milli Gazette’s publisher Zafarul Islam Khan.
‘No one wants to use the information
He blamed Pakistan’s politics for his inability to use the information he had gathered during India visits. He said, “Do you know what the problem in Pakistan is? When a new Chief comes, he wipes out the work done by the previous chief and starts with a clean slate. Khurshid asked me to hand over the information I had brought to Kayani (General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Pakistan’s former Army chief). I said I would not hand over the information to him, but if you want, I am giving you the information. He handed it over to Kayani.
Later they called me and asked if I could get more information like this. I asked them to work on the information I provided. They have a research wing. They have information. They know about the weaknesses in the leadership in India. But they do not use it. Since FATF came, Pakistan has not done any activity in India. It has its hands tied up.”
When the anchor said he was talking about academic experts, Mirza added, “See, they have 29 states. I have visited 15 of them. But at that time, there were 56 Muslim members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. I was friends with every one of those. They were very helpful. It is not like there has not been any research or written work on India. We have books from the 60s.”
Chaudhary pointed out the lack of basic information Pakistani journalists have about India. He said once a senior journalist had said there were separatist movements ongoing in 40 states of India. When the anchor tried to correct him that India had only 29 states, he got angry and said he was well informed.
Mirza replied, “I know where separatist movements are happening. But no one wants to exploit the information. The separatist movements are happening in all regions of India. There is no doubt about that. I used to say there were 26 movements ongoing, but someone said now there are 67 such movements. The main movements are happening in Kashmir and Bengal. But they are not very effective as no one is helping them.”
‘India is against peace’, says Pakistani journalist
When asked if India and Pakistan could live peacefully with each other, Mirza blamed India for being against peace. He claimed India wanted revenge for centuries-old conflicts with Mughals and wanted to finish Pakistan. He talked about meeting a leader from the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh. He said, “When I visited UP, I met a party leader. He informed me how his government supported Muslims and gave them jobs. He was right. If they want to live like that, it is welcoming, but if they want to make Muslims slaved, that is not acceptable.”
‘Pakistan has right over Kashmir’
He was asked about the allegations against Pakistan that it has been creating issues for India since 1947. Pakistan claims Junagadh and Kashmir were its parts though it could have stuck with Kashmir only. Mirza said, “India forcefully took Junagadh and Hyderabad where the kings were Muslims, but the majority was Hindu. If the same logic is used in Kashmir, Pakistan has right on the state.” He agreed that Pakistani leaders made mistakes in the past but did not support the argument that Pakistan should only concentrate on Kashmir.
He further claimed that the king of Hyderabad had announced joining Pakistan, but it was forcefully taken away. He also claimed Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, father of Assasudin Owaisi, was part of the kingdom when the king announced Hyderabad Deccan would be part of Pakistan and not India.
‘India wants to massacre Muslims’
Mirza claimed there were plans to massacre Muslims in India. He alleged that it was not his words, but the intellectuals and experts from the US and other nations were saying so. When Chaudhary said Zulfikar Bhutto made similar allegations against India, but the population of Muslims has increased exponentially since then, Mirza did not like the counter and said, “I have been to every part of 15 states. I know what is happening there.”
‘India was responsible for Mumbai attack’
Mirza, during the interview, claimed that Pakistan had no role in the Mumbai terror attack of 2008. He said, “Pakistan did not play any role in 26/11. Even the experts from India say that it was an inside job.” He mentioned articles written by journalist Amaresh Misra who is infamous for whitewashing crimes of Pakistan in the 26/11 attack. His reports were also republished by Mirza’s media house. Mirza claimed to blame Pakistan was India’s strategy to malign its name.
Days after violent protestors laid siege on the Presidential residence of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo in Sri Lanka, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Idris Ali wished for a similar situation in India.
Ali, who represents the Bhagabangola Vidhan Sabha constituency in the Murshidabad district of the State, told ANI, “Whatever happened to the President of Sri Lanka, I think the same will happen to Narendra Modi in India.”
“The same treatment will be meted out to the India Prime Minister, given the present circumstances,” the TMC MLA hoped for anarchy and lawlessness in the country/
#WATCH | West Bengal: Whatever happened with the President of Sri Lanka, will happen with PM Modi here. Looking at the things in India, PM Modi is a total failure…it will be even worse here. PM Modi will also resign and flee: TMC MLA Idris Ali in Kolkata pic.twitter.com/ailsU5jfgm
He further alleged, “Look at things in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a total failure. The response of the mob will be worse than what it has been in Sri Lanka.”
“As such, Modiji will have to resign as the Prime Minister and flee the country,” he wished for total anarchy in India with a smile on his face.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa forced to flee
Earlier, it was reported that Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had fled from his residence after thousands of protestors stormed his house.
With protests already taking place across the country for months, the violent agitation peaked after the government conceded that the country had gone bankrupt. Citing defence sources, the news agency AFP reported that president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has fled from his official residence.
Rajapaksa was evacuated to a safer location before the protestors stormed into the presidential residence. According to sources, the president was moved to the army headquarters after intelligence reports had predicted that the situation could go out of control. Some reports say that he has been taken away to an unknown location on a Navy ship.
