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Uttar Pradesh: Nasir Hussain from Bareilly arrested for threatening to behead Nupur Sharma, watch viral video

In Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, a man was arrested after he allegedly threatened to behead former BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma. The suspect, Nasir Hussain, was taken into custody in Bareilly. The suspect was apprehended shortly after he threatened to behead Nupur Sharma in a video that went viral on several social media sites.

In an FIR filed with the Faridpur police station, the accused has been charged under several provisions of the Information Technologies Act and the Indian Penal Code.

“We have arrested Nasir Hussain for issuing threats online and trying to incite communal tensions. The accused was arrested from his house in the Kassawan area under Faridpur Police station limits,” Superintendent of Police Rajkumar Agarwal stated.

In the video that has been viral on social media, the said person can be seen boasting to a group of people around him that he will behead Nupur Sharma immediately if he sees her.

The Bareilly police has confirmed the arrest and have appealed to people to not fall prey to instigating videos shared on social media and not to forward such materials.

The uproar around Nupur Sharma’s comments in a TV discussion has taken a terrible turn, with Sharma receiving endless death threats and numerous individuals being assaulted by Islamists merely for supporting her on social media. Islamists have already assassinated two individuals for supporting Nupur Sharma. Several others are being threatened with death.

Days after Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur and Umesh Kolhe in Amravati were slain for posting social media posts in favour of Nupur Sharma, a frenzied Muslim mob assaulted a Hindu boy in Arrah, Bihar, for doing the same. The victim had uploaded a Facebook post in support of Nupur Sharma, which enraged one Islamist called Raees, who reacted to the post with derogatory words.

On Tuesday evening, the verbal war broke onto the streets in the form of a furious brawl between Raees and Deepak, after which Raees gathered 20 to 30 men to thrash Deepak severely.

Japan: Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe shot while delivering a speech, suspect arrested, Abe airlifted in critical condition

On Friday, former Prime Minister of Japan Abe Shinzo was attacked by a miscreant who shot him in the city of Nara. Abe was attacked from behind while he was delivering a speech in western Japan. He has been immediately taken to hospital and is undergoing treatment.

According to the reports, Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in the city of Nara on Friday to address a campaign event. The leader was delivering a speech at the event ahead of Sunday’s upper house elections when the sound of gunshots was heard. Abe showed no vital signs after he was shot and was immediately shifted to the hospital injured.

The Police reportedly have detained a man in a grey shirt who attacked the former Prime Minister. The accused shot Abe with a gun which has been seized by the Japan Police. The attack happened at around 11:30 am after which the fire department confirmed that the leader showed no vital signs.

According to the eyewitness, the accused arrived from behind at the time when the former PM was delivering the stump speech. “The first shot sounded like a toy. He didn’t fall and there was a large bang. The second shot was more visible, you could see the spark and smoke”, the eyewitness was quoted.

Abe has been airlifted for treatment. He is critical and is reported to have shown signs of cardiac arrest.

She added that after the second shot, people gathered around him and gave him a cardiac massage. Reports mention that the man who shot Abe is in his 40s and has been arrested for attempting to murder the former Japanese PM.

Kanhaiya Lal murder linked to Ajmer Dargah: Khadim Gauhar Chisti met killer, had delivered hate speech

Days after the gruesome murder of Kanhaiya Lal, it has now come to light that a Khadim of Ajmer Dargah named Gauhar Chisti had met one of the killers of the Hindu tailor.

Citing sources, journalist Nikhil Choudhary reported that Gauhar had called for the beheading of ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on June 17 this year for allegedly committing ‘blasphemy’.

After making the provocative speech, he travelled to Udaipur to meet Riyaz Attari, one of the murderers of Kanhaiya Lal. Interestingly, Riyaz issued threats to Sharma and her supporters through a video on the same day.

Reportedly, Khadim Gauhar Chisti had asked Riyaz to make the disturbing video after brutally beading the Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur. He is currently on the run from the law enforcement authorities.

“Gauhar Chisti is currently absconding for the last few days. Gauhar Chishti had asked Riyaz to make the video after the murder, Mohammad Riyaz Attari and Gaus Mohammad were going to #Ajmer to meet Gauhar Chishti after the heinous murder of #KanhaiyaLal in #Udaipur,” he tweeted.

As per a report by India TV, Gauhar Chisti is the nephew of Sarvar Chisti, who heads the Anjuman Committee of the Ajmer Dargah. On June 17, Gauhar participated in a silent procession outside the dargah gate and raise slogans of ‘Sarr Tann see Juda.’

“If someone insults our Prophet, we will not tolerate it. There is only one punishment for blasphemy,” he was heard addressing a large mob. “Beheading”, responded his supporters in unison.

“Nupur Sharma has harmed the honour of our Prophet. She has no right to live,” Gauhar had briefed the media. According to Zee News, the Khadim is an active member of the radical Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI.)

The news channel reported that murderer Riyaz Attari was also a regular visitor to Ajmer. He would often meet co-accused Anwar Hussain, who is currently in the custody of the Rajasthan Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). Reportedly, Gauhar used to work as a mediator between the two.

The Khadim’s uncle, Sarvar Chisti, had threatened that any insult in the glory of the Prophet would not be tolerated and the country would shake by the movement that will be led by him.

In a video, Sarwar Chishti said, “The situation in the country right now, is such that people are committing blasphemy. They are doing mischief in the glory of the Prophet, in the glory of the Khwaja. We will not tolerate this at all. We will launch such a massive agitation that the whole Hindustan will shake.”

According to the reports, Sarwar Chishti calls himself a member of the Popular Front of India. In 2020, he defended PFI saying the organisation was ”saving India’s constitution”.

Times of India bosses questioned by ED under FEMA, PMLA, suspected transactions worth Rs 900 crores with tax haven entities under scanner

Bennett Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL), a media conglomerate and publisher of Times of India newspaper is now under the scanner of the central agencies. According to a report by Indian Express, top managers of the company have been questioned several times by the Enforcement Directorate for suspected FEMA and PMLA violations. The agencies have also reportedly sent requests for corroborative information to offshore destinations.

According to Indian Express, Sivakumar Sundaram, Chairman, Executive Committee (CEC) of the company and Himanshu Agarwal, its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), have been called in for questioning at the ED headquarters in New Delhi.

There are several transactions by BCCL that seem to be under the scanner of the central investigating agencies. Among them, is a Rs 900 crores transaction with entities in the tax haven destination British Virgin Islands (BVI). The Times of India bosses are being questioned under the Foriegn Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). If this information by Indian Express holds true, it means that the ED suspects that the Times of India bosses (BCCL) have siphoned off money to British Virgin Island, which is a tax haven.

A perusal of the Balance Sheet of BCCL shows that it has a media company called MX Media Co Ltd which has been incorporated in BVI. From 2017 to 2019, the media company was shown as a subsidiary with the parent company holding 52.35% equity. It was later diluted to 40.36% with the company being changed to an ‘associate’ company. There are other “associate” companies of the Group listed in BCCL’s balance sheet, which have been incorporated in South Korea, China and Singapore.

According to the ROC data, Indian Express found that in 2019-2020, BCCL earned revenues upwards of Rs 9611 crores, however, their revenue fell in the COVID year 2020-2021 to Rs 5337 crores.

Who are the Directors of Bennett Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL), publishers of Times of India

There are 10 Directors of BCCL. One of them is Vineet Jain.

Directors of the company

Samir Jain, who is listed as the Managing Director of BCCL is the brother of Vineet Jain, who is also a Managing Director. BCCL is largely a family-owned company by the Jain family.

Vivo illegally transferred Rs 62,476 crores to China to avoid paying taxes in India, says Enforcement Directorate

On Thursday, 7th July 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that smartphone maker Vivo “illegally” sent Rs 62,476 crore to China in order to avoid paying taxes on that money in India. ED claimed to have cracked a large money laundering scam involving Chinese companies and multiple Indian firms. This amount is about half of Vivo’s total revenue of Rs 1,25,185 crore. However, ED has not clarified the timeframe of these transactions.

The investigation agency discovered that four Chinese nationals, three of whom “left” India between the years 2018 and 2021, formed up to 23 business entities in India with the assistance of Chartered Accountant Nitin Garg. One of the foreigners, who went under the name of Bin Lou, was a former Vivo director who according to ED, departed India in April 2018. Zhengshen Ou and Zhang Jie fled the country in 2021.

According to a report by News18, the ED said in a statement, “These 23 companies are found to have transferred huge amounts of funds to Vivo India. Further, out of the total sale proceeds of Rs 1,25,185 crore, Vivo India remitted Rs 62,476 crore, or almost 50 percent of the turnover out of India, mainly to China. These remittances were made in order to disclose huge losses in Indian incorporated companies to avoid payment of taxes in India.”

The action is being seen as a part of the government’s efforts to stop money laundering by Chinese companies and also to crack down on Indian agents who work for them. These companies are allegedly involved in major financial crimes like tax evasion and money laundering while operating here.

Earlier, on Tuesday, July 5, The Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at as many as 44 locations across the country linked to the Chinese mobile company Vivo. The searches were conducted in a money-laundering investigation against the Chinese smartphone manufacturing company. In May, the Indian units of ZTE Corp., a Chinese partially state-owned technology company, and Vivo Mobile Communications Co. had come under the scanner for alleged financial irregularities.

On Tuesday, July 5, Vivo said that as a responsible corporate, the company is committed to be fully compliant with the local laws. Sharing information about the raids, ED said, “We followed all due procedure as per the law during the raids conducted under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Employees of Vivo India, including some Chinese nationals, did not cooperate with the search proceedings and tried to abscond, and attempted to remove and hide digital devices which were retrieved by the search teams.”

After the raids, ED said, “We seized funds worth Rs 465 crore kept in 119 bank accounts by various entities involved in the case, Rs 73 lakh cash and 2 kg gold bars were also recovered.”

After reviewing a Delhi Police FIR (registered at Kalkaji police station) from December of last year against Grand Prospect International Communication Pvt Ltd (GPICPL) (a firm associated with Vivo India), its directors, shareholders, and some other professionals, the agency filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), the ED equivalent of a police FIR, on February 3. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs filed a police report saying that during the company’s December 2014 registration, GPICPL and its shareholders used falsified addresses and forged identification papers.

ED said, “The allegations (made by the ministry) were found to be true as the investigation revealed that the addresses mentioned by the directors of GPICPL did not belong to them, but in fact, it was a government building and house of a senior bureaucrat.” It said Vivo Mobiles Pvt Ltd was incorporated on August 1, 2014, as a subsidiary of Multi Accord Ltd, a Hong Kong-based company.

Sitapur court rejects Mohammed Zubair’s bail plea in UP police FIR for derogatory remarks against Hindu saints, remands to 14-day judicial custody

The Sitapur court in Uttar Pradesh rejected the bail plea of Alt News co-founder and propagandist Mohammed Zubair on Thursday 7th July 2022. This bail plea was filed in a case registered against the Alt News co-founder by the Uttar Pradesh police under the charges of hurting religious sentiments by his remarks against several Hindu saints. The Sitapur court also remanded Mohammed Zubair to judicial custody for 14 days in the case.

Judge Abhinav Srivastava denied the bail on the grounds that the accused may influence witnesses or commit similar new crimes. It was observed that the case was serious in nature and non-bailable, therefore he could not be released on bail. Zubair has been booked under Sections 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage reli­gious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or reli­gious beliefs), 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence) of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) and Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

In the meanwhile, Zubair petitioned the Supreme Court to have the FIR against him dismissed. Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves presented Zubair’s request for quashing of the FIR before a vacation bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday morning.

The bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and JK Maheshwari ruled that only the Chief Justice of India (CJI) could list issues. As a result, the court ordered that the case be scheduled for Friday, July 8, subject to CJI approval. Zubair had already asked the Allahabad High Court to have the case dismissed, but this was denied, prompting him to file an appeal with the Supreme Court.

On June 1, Khairabad Police of Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh filed a First Investigation Report (FIR) against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair for using derogatory language against Mahant Bajrang Muni Udasin, Rashtriya Sanrakshak of Rashtriya Hindu Sher Sena along with Yati Narsinghanand and Swami Anand Swaroop. The FIR was registered based on the complaint of Bhagwan Sharan, district head of Rashtriya Hindu Sher Sena, under sections 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

In his complaint, Sharan had said, “On May 27, Mohammed Zubair used derogatory remarks against Mahant Bajrang Muni Udasin Ji by using the term ‘Hate Mongers’ for him from his Twitter handle. He also abused Yati Narsinghanand and Swami Anand Swaroop.”

On May 27, while targeting Times Now editor Navika Kumar, Zubair said in a tweet, “Why do we need Hate Mongers like Yati Narasinghanand Saraswati or Mahant Bajrang Muni or Anand Swaroop to arrange a Dharam Sansad to speak against a community and a Religion when we already have Anchors who can do a much better job from News Studios.”

An FIR was filed against Mohammed Zubair for this tweet. Image Source: File Photo

It is notable that Mohammed Zubair is already in judicial custody in another case. The other case is registered against Mohammed Zubair by the Delhi Police. In this case, Mohammed Zubair is booked for promoting enmity among religious groups, based on a tweet he had shared in 2018. Subsequently several other cases also have been filed against him, including receiving foreign funds without permission.

Newslaundry provides platform to Metoo accused ‘comedian’ Sanjay Rajoura as he joins Kunal Kamra to host its new podcast ‘Yeh bhi theek hai’

Leftist propaganda website Newslaundry took to Twitter on Thursday, July 7, to share the first look of its upcoming podcast ‘Yeh bhi theek hai’. The website‘s new program, set to be released tomorrow, Friday, July 8, would be hosted by two ‘rebel troopers’- the alleged comedian Kunal Kamra, who has multiple contempt cases against him, and Sanjay Rajoura, who is accused of sexual harassment and coercion for sex by a woman.

Sharing a 2.23-minute video promotional ad with snippets from the new show, Newslaundry Tweeted, “Presenting Ye Bhi Theek Hai. Risking cancellation, harassment, troll armies, and who knows what else, @kunalkamra88 and Sanjay Rajoura bring you an all-new Newslaundry show. Releasing tomorrow on http://youtube.com/newslaundry1. Stay tuned.”

The not-so-glorious past of ‘comedian’ Sanjay Rajoura, who has been provided a platform by Newslaundry

Last year, ‘comedian’ Sanjay Rajoura was accused of sexual harassment by a woman in her early 20s. The woman had taken to Instagram to accuse the comedian of sexual abuse. Rajoura was formerly a member of the comedy collective ‘Aisi Taisi Democracy’.

On September 23, the woman, who used the alias ‘Tara’ in her posts, revealed that Rajoura had reportedly coerced her into having oral sex in a public place despite her reservations. She also accused him of requesting nudes from her and posting an unsolicited nude image of a woman, proposing a threesome.

Prior to this, the ‘comedian’ Sanjay Rajoura was in trouble after a complaint was filed against him on May 4, 2020 for mocking Hindu gods and goddesses and hurting religious sentiments.

Rajoura had made derogatory remarks against Lord Ganesha and Lord Shiva after which a complaint was filed against him with the Mumbai Police by Hindu activist Ramesh Solanki.

Rajoura also has a history of abusive behaviour on social media. He had resorted to name-calling and threatening other Twitter users only because they didn’t agree with his views. He has also displayed his casteist behaviour on Twitter by abusing the Brahmin and Rajput communities.

‘Comedian’ Kunal Kamra’s past misdemenaours

Like Sanjay Rajoura, Kunal Kamra, an abusive troll, who likes to be identified as a ‘comedian’ too has a less-than-stellar past. In fact, in the last few years, ‘comedian’ Kunal Kamra has managed to consistently be in the headlines, however, it was never because of his comedy. It was either due to a contempt case for disparaging the Indian Judicial system, or for insulting the Indian National Flag, or because of his name cropping up during the Metoo movement, or because of his bizarre behaviour on a Mumbai-Lucknow Indigo flight when he heckled Arnab Goswami.

In May this year, the Allahabad High Court refused to interfere in a plea that challenged the magistrate’s order dismissing an application seeking FIR against alleged stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for his tweet, which insulted the Indian National Flag. Kamra in November 2020 had tweeted a morphed picture of the Supreme Court and had replaced the Indian Tricolor atop the apex Court with the flag of a political party.

Similarly, in March 2022, advocate Chandni Preeti Vijaykumar Shah had written to the Attorney General of India, KK Venugopal, seeking to initiate criminal proceedings against the ‘comedian’ under the State Emblem of India (prohibition of improper use) Act, 2005. Kamra had insulted India’s National Emblem by using it in a morphed certificate that shamed the agony of the Kashmiri Pandit genocide and blatantly mocked the film ‘The Kashmir Files’.

Supreme Court in December 2020 had issued a notice to Kunal Kamra seeking contempt proceedings after his contemptuous remarks against the Judiciary. In one of his tweets, he had shown CJI Arvind Bobde the middle finger and in another, he had painted the Supreme Court in saffron colour to allege that it had become a puppet of the NDA Government.

It may be recalled how Kamra had displayed his deranged behaviour on a Mumbai-Lucknow Indigo flight when he heckled Goswami and posted the video online. Following his behaviour, which could have posed a security threat, he was put on a No Fly List for six months by Indigo, while Air India and SpiceJet too had suspended him from flying with them.

Film producer Sandeep Ssingh, known for producing biopic on PM Modi, gets death threats over a Facebook Post, case registered

On Thursday, the Mumbai police registered a case against an unknown person for issuing death threats to film producer Sandeep Ssingh over a Facebook Post. Ssingh in the complaint mentioned that the accused threatened to kill him along the lines of former politician and Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala who was gunned down in May this year.

The threat allegedly noted, “Don’t worry, Moose Wala has been shot, you will be killed in the same way, wait and remember”. According to the reports, Ssingh was threatened on his Facebook account. The Police registered the case against an unknown person at the Amboli Police station under the relevant sections of the IPC and the IT Act.

Reportedly, Ssingh is the third person to have received death threats to be killed the way Sidhu Moosewaala was killed. Earlier, similar death threats were issued to actor Salman Khan and his father, writer, and producer Salim Khan when they were on a walk.

An unknown person had handed them a letter which read, “Salim Khan, Salman Khan Bahot Jald Aapka Mooselwala Hoga G. B L.B” (Salim Khan, Salman Khan very soon you will meet the fate of Moosewala)”. The Police then had speculated that the initials GB, and LB referred to gangsters Goldy Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi but didn’t make the statement public.

Ssingh is well known to have produced the biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also recently has backed many films which include Swantantra Veer Savarkar, Atal, a biopic on former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jhund, Hansal Mehta’s Manoj Bajpayee-Rajkumar Rao starrer Aligarh and Sarbjit starring Randeep Hooda, Richa Chaddha and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Notably, Ssingh had also been in news after the Sushant Singh Rajput case in which the Congress had made allegations about his drug use and had suggested a ‘BJP angle’ to the case. Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had then said that he had received a lot of complaints against Ssingh in the case.

In the current matter, the Mumbai Police has registered a complaint against the unknown for issuing threats to the producer on his Facebook account. The Police is taking the help of the cyber team to identify the accused.

Indian “liberals” rejoice, blame Boris Johnson’s visit to British company JCB’s factory for the collapse of his government in the UK

As UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned from his post amidst heavy pressure from within his party, Islamists and Congress sympathizers in India started rejoicing and blaming Boris Johnson’s JCB ride, while he was on his tour to India, for the collapse of his government. JCB is a company popularly known for manufacturing earth digging equipment, and one of their products, bulldozers, has become very popular in Indian politics off late.

It is notable that Boris Johnson’s JCB ride actually has nothing to do with him stepping down as the PM of the United Kingdom. It is just that he took a JCB ride while inaugurating a factory of the British company in Vadodara in April 2022 while he was on tour to India. The Islamists, Congress sympathizers, and political opponents of Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath looked at it as a gesture of support for the action initiated against illegal structures by the BJP-ruled states, especially Uttar Pradesh, against the criminals.

Boris Johnson, in fact, is forced to resign over his appointment of Chris Pincher as the deputy chief whip of the party. The deputy chief whip had to step down after allegations that he groped two male colleagues at a London club in an inebriated state. Following this development, multiple sexual assault allegations surfaced against Pincher. Boris Johnson appointed him as the deputy chief whip despite knowing about these allegations back in February. The party MPs said that they could no longer support a leader who lied blatantly while appointing Pincher. 

Besides, Boris Johnson was already under pressure due to his parties during the Covid lockdowns. However, Islamists and Congress sympathizers in India took no time to blame his visit to a British company’s factory JCB for the collapse of the government and started ranting on Twitter.

A Rahul Gandhi fan and political commentator Sanjukta Basu tweeted, “Thank you Britain for showing what happens when you come to India to show your bulldozer solidarity with India’s bulldozer babas. You get bulldozed.”

Financial Fraud-accused and alleged journalist Rana Ayyub couldn’t control her glee either and tweeted, “Boris Johnson endorsed JCB when he came to India.”

Another self-proclaimed liberal secular Congress sympathizer posted from his Twitter handle @rkhuria2, “Stupid decision to promote Yogi’s JCB cost him his job.”

Another Twitter user Abhik Sen tweeted, “We can’t say fuck our Guy, but Fuckin hell we can say Fuck Boris! Fuck you and your JCB celebration! Fuck you!”

Twitter user Syed Hassan Kazim posted, “The arrogance of every autocrat and tyrant is bulldozed, one day or the other. Go to hell Boris Johnson. Others like you or even worse than will surely follow you, their arrogance too will come under the wheels of JCB. Just remember whom did you meet a few days ago.”

Another NDTV enthusiast, Twitter user @IdlyVadaa posted, “No one can escape the natural justice. Boris Johnson.” With this tweet, an article by propagandist channel NDTV criticizing Boris Johnson’s JCB ride was attached.

A self-proclaimed ‘Aandolanjeevi’ Suman Sen tweeted, “JCB & Bulldozers didn’t work in England. They won’t work in our country too. Boris Johnson resigns. Modi will too.”

Another Twitter user Ranjan Pratap Singh posted, “When Boris Johnson came to India, he had inaugurated the factory of JCB but he had forgotten that one day he himself could become a victim of “Karma” and now the same thing happened.”

Boris Johnson is likely to address the people of the UK today evening announcing his resignation. Unfortunately for people rejoicing over Johnson’s resignation, the two front-runners to take his place are Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel, both of whom are unlikely to show any kind of support for their standard anti-India or anti-Modi propaganda. So those seeking any kind of defeat for Narendra Modi in the political developments in UK, are likely to be left disappointed once the new PM is appointed.

After TMC distanced itself from MP Mahua Moitra’s controversial remark on Maa Kali, Mamata Banerjee says ‘mistakes can be rectified’

On July 5, while speaking at India Today Conclave East 2022, Mahua Moitra made controversial remarks about the Hindu deity Maa Kaali while speaking in support of the Canadian Canada-based filmmaker Leena Manimekali who has come under fire for using a poster with a cigarette-smoking image of Maa Kaali to promote her upcoming film. As social media users blasted the TMC MP for her anti-Hindu remark, the party quickly distanced itself and denounced Moitra’s comments on Maa Kaali.

The condemnation was, however, too short-lived. Today (July 7, Thursday), the TMC chief Mamata Banerjee was seen defending her MP. “We make mistakes while working but they can be rectified,” said Mamata Banerjee while addressing a students’ credit cards distribution event in Kolkata where she tried to vindicate Moitra, facing flak for her disparaging remark against the Hindu deity.

Purportedly hinting at BJP, the West Bengal CM and TMC supremo added, “Some people don’t see all the good work and suddenly start shouting… Negativity affects our brain cells so let’s think positively.”

Interesting enough, hours before the party chief made her statement defending her MP, Mahua Moitra had referred to herself as a “staunch soldier of Mamata Banerjee”. When asked about how she felt about the party’s decision to distance itself from her due to her contentious remark about Goddess Kali, the TMC MP stated to NDTV, “It’s between my party and me… I’m a staunch soldier of the party and Mamata Banerjee.”

TMC condemns comments on Goddess Kaali by its own MP Mahua Moitra

Prior to this, TMC had condemned the remarks made by party Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra on Goddess Kaali during the India Today Conclave East 2022. Distancing itself from Mahua’s controversial comments, the party said that the comments were made by Mahua Moitra in her personal capacity and were not endorsed by TMC.

Taking to Twitter to clarify their stand on Mahua Moitra’s comments, the party’s official handle wrote, “The comments made by @MahuaMoitra at the #IndiaTodayConclaveEast2022 and her views expressed on Goddess Kali have been made in her personal capacity and are NOT ENDORSED BY THE PARTY in ANY MANNER OR FORM. All India Trinamool Congress strongly condemns such comments.”

TMC MP’s remark on Maa Kali

On July 5, while responding to a question at the media event, Mahua Moitra said, “You have the freedom to imagine your goddess. To me, Kaali is a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess. There are some places where whiskey is offered to gods and in some other places it would be blasphemy.”

Mahua Moitra was speaking in support of the Canadian Canada-based filmmaker Leena Manimekali who has come under fire for using a poster with a cigarette-smoking image of Maa Kaali to promote her upcoming film.

After receiving widespread criticism on social media, Mahua Moitra Tweeted, “To all you sanghis- lying will NOT make you better hindus. I NEVER backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking.” She also asked people to visit Maa Kali in Tarapith to see what food & drink is offered as bhog at that temple.