On Friday (June 24), the apex court of India dismissed a petition by Zakia Jafri wherein she challenged the clean chit given to the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi in the 2002 riots by an independent Special Investigation Team (SIT).
It must be mentioned that the SIT was appointed by the Supreme Court itself, which had accepted its final report on the riots. The Court applauded the work done by the SIT and junked the petition of Zakia Jafri for being devoid of merit.
The matter was heard by a 3-Judge Bench of Justices Khanwilkar, Maheshwari and Ravikumar. “While parting, we express our appreciation for the indefatigable work done by the team of SIT officials in the challenging circumstances they had to face and yet, we find that they have come out with flying colours unscathed,” the Court observed.
“While parting, we express our appreciation for the indefatigable work done by the team of SIT officials in the challenging circumstances they had to face and yet, we find that they have come out with flying colours unscathed”.#SupremeCourt in #Gujaratriots#ZakiaJafri Judgement
It emphasised, “At the end of the day, it appears to us that a coalesced effort of the disgruntled officials of the State of Gujarat along with others was to create sensation by making revelations which were false to their own knowledge”
The Court further added, “The falsity of their claims had been fully exposed by the SIT after a thorough investigation.”
The Judges lambasted the petitioner for having the audacity to question the integrity of functionaries involved in the SIT probe.
“Intriguingly, the present proceedings have been pursued for the last 16 years with the audacity to question the integrity of every functionary involved in the process of exposing the devious stratagem adopted, to keep the pot boiling, obviously, for ulterior design,” they noted.
“As a matter of fact, all those involved in such abuse of process, need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with law,” the Judges said.
“As a matter of fact, all those involved in such abuse of process, need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with law”: #SupremeCourt#ZakiaJafri#Gujaratriots
The Judges also dismissed the claim of a ‘larger criminal conspiracy’ at the highest government level based on the evidence collected by the independent Special Investigation Team.
indicating involvement of the named offenders and their meeting of minds at some level in that regard”.
The Supreme Court concluded, “The SIT had formed its opinion after considering all the materials collated during the investigation. The question of further investigation would have arisen only on the availability of new material/ information in connection with the allegation of larger conspiracy at the highest level, which is not forthcoming in this case.”
“The question of further investigation would have arisen only on the availability of new material/information in connection with the allegation of larger conspiracy at the highest level, which is not forthcoming in this case”
Zakia Jafri’s husband, Ehsan Jafri, and 68 others were brutally killed by a frenzied mob in the aftermath of the Godhra train burning on February 28, 2002. The mob barged into the Muslim-dominated Gulbarg Society of Ahmedabad and killed 69 people.
In 2006, the police filed a case against Narendra Modi, some ministers and officials in response to a complaint filed by Zakia Jafri. A supreme Court-monitored SIT was formed to look into the allegations of Jafri in March 2010.
In September 2013, the SIT gave a clean chit to Narendra Modi against Jafri’s allegations. The Ahmedabad court too rejected a protest petition filed against the clean chit given to Mr Modi in the 2002 riots case.
On October 5, 2017, the Gujarat High Court also upheld the order by the Ahmedabad Metropolitan Magistrate Court that had accepted the closure report submitted by the SIT.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra is in the middle of an existential crisis as more than two-thirds of ruling MLAs have revolted against the alliance government. But surprisingly it is taking the decisions with an unmatched speed. Due to this, Maharashtra BJP leader Pravin Darekar has written a letter to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and urged him to intervene as more than 160 government orders were passed in the 48 hours of the ongoing political crisis.
#Maharashtra: #BJP leader Pravin Darekar writes to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari over govt’s ‘160 plus orders’ in a span of 48 hours amid ongoing crisis, says it raises suspicion and urges him to look into it to avoid misuse of funds.#Maharashtra#MVApic.twitter.com/XvwhTw1Ynw
— Pratik Mukane | प्रतिक मुकणे (@pratikmukane) June 24, 2022
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pravin Darekar is the leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council of Maharashtra. He wrote a letter to the Governor on 24th June 2022. In this letter, he said, “I want to draw your attention to a very important issue. The political situation in the state has become unstable in the last three days. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has expressed his will to tender his resignation after a great coup took place within Shiv Sena. It is also learned through the media that the Chief Minister has vacated the official residence.”
Pravin Darekar further wrote to Governor Koshyari, “In such a situation, a series of Government Orders are being passed one after the other in an indefinite manner. The Maha Vikas Aghadi government is taking decisions like never before. Even a detailed report regarding this is published today in various media. More than 160 Government Orders have been passed within 48 hours. These decisions being taken in the name of development projects are only adding to the suspicion. Maha Vikas Aghadi’s government remained indecisive in the last two and half years and now suddenly it is releasing crores of rupees. Therefore, the situation is so serious and suspicious that you should immediately pay attention to this.”
Pravin Darekar’s letter to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari
Pravin Darekar also mentioned the corruption in the police department. He wrote, “Transfers are also being planned in the police department and many other important departments. It is known to you that the former home minister of the state had to go to jail in the grand corruption case of the police department. We request you to immediately intervene in this and stop this misuse of the public money considering larger interests of the Maharashtra state.”
Meanwhile, Devendra Fadnavis – the leader of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra – is in Delhi for the last two days. Eknath Shinde claimed on 24th June 2022 in the morning that he has gathered the support of more than 40 Shiv Sena MLAs and 10 other independent MLAs. This makes him able to duck the anti-defection law and save the assembly membership of the MLAs in the Shinde camp.
The Kerala Police on Thursday registered a case against two persons named Ajumon and Majeed for luring two Keralite Hindi-speaking women into trafficking in Kuwait. Ajumon, an agent in Kerala, and Majeed, a Keralite agent in Kuwait had deceptively transported two women to Kuwait where they were locked up, abused, tortured, and physically assaulted. The case has been registered by the Ernakulam Town South police who have booked the accused under sections 34, 406, 420, and 506 of The Indian Penal Code.
The horror saga began in January 2022, when two Hindi-speaking women in Kerala saw an advertisement for recruitment in Kuwait. The advertisement was posted by an agency named ‘Golden Via Kochi’ located in Ernakulam which offered babysitting jobs in Kuwait for Hindi-speaking women. According to the reports, two women, Rekha and Usha (name changed) contacted Ajumon, the company agent in Kerala who told them that they need not have to worry about the plane tickets and visa as Kuwait based recruitment agency named Zaid Zhaar Al-Dawsari Manpower was to take care of it.
Trafficking victims describe their ordeal
The women, however, tried to clear their doubts regarding the monetary expenses and their stay in Kuwait. They asked the agent how come the company was providing free travel fares and free accommodation. The accused Ajumon then deceptively assured them that they were being provided jobs under PM Modi’s special scheme for women. Notably, the women accepted the jobs of nurse and babysitter respectively, with a salary package of Rs 60,000, and no expenses on their part.
One of the women confirmed to the News Minute that the recruitment agency had only asked to pay for the medical test and RTPCR test. “We were told that we only had to pay for our medical check-ups and RT-PCR tests before leaving. They had convinced me that I was being sent to a well-reputed firm. I was also told to collect my ticket, visa, and passport from a man named Sameer, an ‘employee’ at the Union government’s Department of Foreign Affairs, who was waiting for me at the Hotel Royal Wings in Nedumbassery. How could I not believe all this,” Usha said in the police complaint.
The other woman who was travelling to Kuwait for her job saw ‘housemaid’ written on the visa and had raised a doubt. But she was assured by Ajumon that the word was just an adjustment and she was sent for a professional job in Kuwait. Both the women reached Kuwait airport on February 6 and 15 respectively and were received by another accused MK Gassali (Majeed) who was a Keralite agent of the company in Kuwait.
Visiting card of the accused Kuwait-based Keralite agent named MK Gassali (Majeed)
The real threat to women started when Majeed affirmed that they were not brought for any job of babysitting. He claimed that no visa allowed workers to come for just babysitting. The women got more terrified when Majeed told them that he had assigned them for Rs 3.5 lakhs each to two big Arab families in Kuwait who wanted domestic helpers. Rekha said that she was assigned to a family of eight members who treated her inhumanely.
“I had to work from 7 in the morning to 11 in the night there, without proper food or rest. Now and then, they would give me one or two kuboos and black tea, just enough for me to have the energy to stand up, and stay alive,” she said, adding that the Arab’s wife had hit her and poured water on her when she was unable to stand up due to fatigue. She had also once video-called Majeed to inform him that she was being mistreated in the house.
Within a few days, Rekha’s health worsened and her nose started to bleed. “I was taken to a clinic eventually. But the clinic said I will have to be taken to a hospital. The Arabs just took me to the agency instead, because they probably did not want to go through the trouble of tending to me”, she was quoted.
Adding up to the horror, the agency then locked Rekha in its office and threatened her, and hit her with a belt. The accused agent forced her to go back to the Arab family claiming that he had sold her to them. “The agency threatened to send me to the custody of terrorists if I didn’t resume, reminding me that my passport was still with them. On the very same night, they took me back to that house where I was beaten up”, she said.
The victim woman somehow resumed her service but was soon brought back to the agency after her health deteriorated. The agency then threatened her to pay Rs 3.5 lakhs to the agency if she wanted to go back home. Her phone was also confiscated by Majeed who would give it back only when he wanted the victim to call her family in Kerala asking for money. Meanwhile, Rekha’s son had filed a police complaint in Kerala but was forced to withdraw by Majeed. He threatened Rekha’s family to get her arrested in Kuwait.
Screenshot captured by Rekha (name changed) when she had called Majeed in Kuwait
Rekha then contacted Ajumon, the agent of the Golden Via Kochi agency on a video call to share her plight in Kuwait. But accused responded with a threat and said that the victim would be sold to the Islamic State if she did not pay the money Majeed was asking for. “He said I would not be able to see India for another 20 years. Eventually, because my health was worsening, they slowly started to reduce the money they were asking for from Rs 3.5 lakh. Finally, my son ended up transferring Rs 50,000 to Ajumon’s account”, Rekha said on June 23.
Another woman Usha was also treated similarly. She was also assigned a big house with many family members. “I had to do everything from cooking, cleaning, and gardening to washing and ironing the clothes of every member of the family. I was given no time to rest, and all they gave me as the food was two kuboos buns per day,” she said who managed to escape the Arab house. However, she was caught by the agency and locked up in its office with Rekha.
Usha was threatened to pay Rs 3.5 lakhs if she wanted to return to India. The two women in the meantime managed to send Whatsapp audio clips to their family members detailing their plight and seeking rescue from the situation. Usha had also sent her location to her husband, Advocate Nishin George who contacted the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) and Oruma, an NGO in Kuwait. The activist from the NGO knocked at the office of Majeed asking for the victim woman. Reportedly, he abused them and forced them to leave.
The accused agent then abused the women and hit them for smartly sharing their location and other details with KMCC. Realizing that many more had been hinted of his trafficking racket, the accused set Rekha, Usha, and one other Malayali woman free. He further continued to torture the women by not paying them the claimed salary amount and instead of booking connecting flights to India far away from their actual residences. “It is only because of the association’s involvement that this rescue happened. There are many people still stuck there, unable to escape”, said Rekha in the complaint.
Sharafudheen Chittaripilakkil, secretary of Kunnamangalam zone of KMCC, explaining the case stated that the NGO had been working on trafficking and slavery in Kuwait for nearly 15 years. “I called the agent and told him that all we wanted was the release of three women in two days. Knowing our work for the past 15 years, he decided to release them. However, he said they will only be sent to three different airports in Kerala. We also gave the women some money for their expenses on their way back home,” the secretary was quoted as saying.
According to the KMCC, the number of trafficking of Hindi-speaking women in Kuwait has increased as the NGO receives similar distress calls for rescue. Reports mention that the KMCC members are currently working on rescuing another woman from Kerala, who has been trafficked by the same agent named MK Gassali, also known as Majeed. The Kerala Police in the case has registered a case against Ajumon and Majeed and has booked them under sections 34, 406, 420, and 506 of The Indian Penal Code.
Millions of students across Pakistan are likely to be without new textbooks for the next academic session starting from August 2022. Pakistan paper association has warned the government that due to the paper crisis in the country, they will not be able to print the books for these students.
As reported by local papers, All Pakistan Paper Merchant Association, Pakistan Association of Printing Graphic Art Industry (PAPGAI), and other organizations associated with the paper industry, along with the country’s leading economist Dr. Qaiser Bengali, addressed a joint press conference. During the press conference, they warned that due to the paper crisis, books will not be available to students in the new academic year starting in August.
Prices of domestic paper are soaring in the country with an increase of around 200% since January this year. With the government taxing imported paper heavily, the publishers are stuck between a rock and a hard place. With the prices continuously increasing day by day, the publishers are unable to set a price on the books and have halted production. Publishers in Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been unable to publish books due to this reason.
Economic problems of Pakistan
The Paper industry is just the latest victim of the Pakistan government’s disastrous economic policies as the economy continues to suffer the pain of faulty decision-making. Pakistan’s foreign reserves are at their lowest since 2019, and the country only has reserves for imports for just over a month with it.
Earlier this month, the Pakistan government had asked its citizens to reduce their tea consumption to bring the economy back on track. However, looks like that appeal had no significant impact.
Back in May, More than 30 Chinese companies working in Pakistan under the banner of CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) threatened to shut down operations in the country over non-payment of dues. Complaints by the Chinese side also included high taxation, a hike in fuel prices and power generation issues.
Baffled by the ongoing exodus within the party, Shiv Sena MP and Uddhav Thackeray loyalist Sanjay Raut is on a spree of issuing implicit threats of violence to the party MLAs who have joined Eknath Shinde’s rebel camp.
Speaking to ANI on Friday, Sena’s Rajya Sabha member Raut said, “The (Eknath Shinde) faction that’s challenging us must realise that Shiv Sena workers are yet to come on the roads. Such battles are fought either through law or on the roads. If need be then our workers would come on the roads.”
Maharashtra | Eknath Shinde faction that’s challenging us must realise that Shiv Sena workers are yet to come on the roads. Such battles are fought either through law or on the roads. If need be then our workers would come on the roads: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut pic.twitter.com/Cs1CJPvpHE
Similarly on Thursday, while speaking to NDTV, Sanjay Raut had directly threatened the rebel MLAs with street violence. When questioned about whether or not Uddhav Thackeray will stay the chief minister, he stated, “Let all the MLAs come to the floor of the House. We will see then. These MLAs who have left… will ultimately have to come back to Maharashtra. They will find it difficult to return and move around in Maharashtra.”
Mahesh Jethmalani, a fellow Rajya Sabha member, was offended by Sanjay Raut’s violent threats and asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to denounce them.
“This is a sinister threat from a man who has become a law unto himself in the state of Maharashtra. It needs to be strongly condemned by every right minded legislator in the country and particularly by Udhav Thackeray who he represents and Sharad Pawar who is his mentor#MVACrisis,” Tweeted Jethmalani.
This is a sinister threat from a man who has become a law unto himself in the state of Maharashtra. It needs to be strongly condemned by every right minded legislator in the country and particularly by Udhav Thackeray who he represents and Sharad Pawar who is his mentor#MVACrisis pic.twitter.com/utnVhsKN6R
Shiv Sena’s troubleshooter Sanjay Raut has, in fact, completely lost his mind ever since the number of rebels in the group led by Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde started rising. Besides targetting the party rebels, Raut has also been after the Bharatiya Janata Party, which he, and his allies in the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, have accused of orchestrating Eknath Shinde’s uprising.
‘Union minister threatened Pawar…’, says Sanjay Raut
On Friday, Shiv Sena motormouth MP Sanjay Raut claimed that a union minister had threatened NCP chief Sharad Pawar, saying ‘if attempts are made to the Maha Vikas Aghadi then Pawar will not go home’.
“Whether or not the MVA survives, use of such language for Pawar is not acceptable,” Raut tweeted, tagging prime minister Narendra Modi’s office.
महाविकास आघाडीचे सरकार वाचवण्याचा प्रयत्न केला तर शरद पवार यांना घरी जाऊ देणार नाही .रस्त्यात अडवू.अशी धमकी भाजपचा एक केंद्रीय मंत्री देतो.ही भाजपची अधिकृत भूमिका असेल तर तसे जाहीर करा. सरकार टिकेल किंवा जाईल..पण शरद पवार यांच्या बाबत अशी भाषा महाराष्ट्राला मान्य नाहीं@PMOIndiapic.twitter.com/YU1Pc39vCb
“Threats are being given to Sharad Pawar ji by a central minister. Do such threats have the support of Modi ji and Amit Shah ji?” he asked reporters.
Raut’s tweet came after union minister Narayan Rane claimed Sharad Pawar had threatened the rebel MLAs. This was after the NCP chief said Shinde’s camp would eventually have to return to Mumbai and could then be persuaded to stand down.
BJP pressurising rebel MLAs through ED: Raut
Yesterday (June 23), too, Raut claimed the BJP is putting pressure on the rebel MLAs through the Enforcement Directorate. He said that at least 17-20 party MLAs including Eknath Shinde have been on the radar of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and want to “get out of their predicament” by jumping ship. Other 10-15 rebels who are also involved in various businesses also feared getting ED notices, added the Sena leader.
Questioned whether ED notices were the main reason behind the Sena MLAs ditching the party, Shiv Sena chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut told the Indian Express on Thursday, “As per my information a majority of the rebel MLAs have received ED notices. The BJP has been putting pressure on them through the ED. Other MLAs were also on the watch of the agency.”
Asked whether Eknath Shinde was also on ED radar, Raut said, “Yes, as per my information…”
Shiv Sena ready to leave Maha Vikas Aghadi: Sanjay Raut
As the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi becomes imminent, Sena leader Sanjay Raut announced that the party is willing to break its alliance with Congress and the NCP. He added that such a demand will only be entertained if a formal request is made to Uddhav Thackeray.
He also demanded that the rebel MLAs, currently camping in Assam, must return to Mumbai within a day’s time and meet the Shiv Sena chief. “Shiv Sena is ready to step out of Maha Vikas Aaghadi. Your demand will be considered. Come back within 24 hours,” Raut emphasised.
He further stated, “Those MLAs who are out of the State at this movement feel that Shiv Sena should step out of the alliance with Congress and NCP, they must come to Maharashtra and Mumbai and officially make this demand to Shiv Sena chief. I am making this statement with responsibility. We will talk with Uddhav-ji and accept your stand.”
Meanwhile, rebel Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde informed that he has the support of 50 MLAs, which is enough to oust the Maha Vikas Aghadi from power.
He made the revelations during an exclusive telephonic conversation with TV9 Marathi. Shinde confirmed that about 40 of the MLAs are from the Shiv Sena. It implies that the rebel leader has the numbers to bypass disciplinary action under the anti-defection law.
Besides the Shiv Sena MLAs, about 60 Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) from Thane are also set to join Eknath Shinde’s rebel camp
Netflix has laid off 300 employees or 4 per cent of its total workforce as a part of its second round of job cuts to lower costs after the streaming giant lost subscribers for the first time in a decade. The company laid off around 150 employees and dozens of contractors in May.
Netflix spokesperson Bao Nguyen said the move would affect “many different teams” and workers primarily based out of the US, though the company has axed some international roles too.
“Today we sadly let go of around 300 employees. While we continue to invest significantly in the business, we made these adjustments so that our costs are growing in line with our slower revenue growth,” Nguyen said.
The announcement marked the second round of job cuts at Netflix after its Q1 earnings report, where it announced that revenue growth has been slowing owing to the fall in subscribers base for the first time in over a decade.
While Netflix has 220 million subscribers globally and remains the clear leader in the streaming market, it has faced fierce competition in recent years with the launch of rival platforms such as Disney Plus and Amazon’s Prime Video.
Even as the streaming giant has to contend with the slow revenue growth, it also has to tackle password sharing, which is one of the factors contributing to its retarding growth rate.
Besides, the fall in subscriptions could also be attributed to the company’s recent move to increase prices in the US, UK and elsewhere, weaning customers away from the platform and toward cheaper OTT services.
The company said its subscriber count may fall another two million in the three months to July, after falling by 200,000 earlier this year.
In May this year, Netflix laid off 150 employees after reporting a fall in subscriptions. In a statement released then, Netflix said, “These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance,” the statement said,” which makes them especially tough.”
Netflix CEO had expressed anguish over the company’s steady overall decline and its failure in India
Popular video streaming and production company, Netflix, has been witnessing a steady slump in the growth of its subscriber base. As per reports, the investors had lost a whopping $45 billion in market value earlier this year due to the aspersion that the company was going to enter a period of slow growth. Last year, the company could add only 18.2 million customers, which was 50% less than that of 2020.
In January 2022, analysts predicted the slump is likely to continue for another quarter. Speaking about Netflix’s tepid performance across the world, especially in India, CEO Reed Hastings said, “The thing that frustrates us is why haven’t we been more successful in India.”
Singer Sona Mohapatra has opened up about the abuse she faced at the hands of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s fans after she called out the ‘misogynist’ comments made by Salman Khan. During an interview ahead of the release of her documentary Shut Up Sona on Zee5, the singer talked about receiving death and rape threats online, and even having shit delivered to her office in lunchboxes.
During the interview to Etimes, Mohapatra said, “The hideous horrible trolling including death threats and literally shit coming in dabbas into my studio because I had called out Salman Khan for his misogynistic statements and that had gone viral. And that was a two-month long process where finally, the Minister of Women and Child Development had to put out a story where she said that we are launching a hashtag called ‘I am being trolled’ for better safety of women and children online because Sona Mohapatra has been facing vicious threats.”
Further, she added, “It was horrible and then we realised it was a consolidated digital army that was not necessarily just made up of fans. It further scared away women from being online. It was premeditated. There were a lot of paid bots that were in this whole game.”
She also revealed that her picture was morphed on porn websites during the course of this trolling attack on her.
When Sona Mohapatra called out Salman Khan
Mohapatra has called out Salman Khan on more than one occasion. In 2016, during the promotion of his film ‘Sultan’, the Bollywood star said that he felt like a ‘raped woman’ after the grueling shoot for the film. His father Salim Khan had even issued an apology for that comment.
Reacting to Salman’s comment, Sona Mohapatra said, “Women thrashed, people run over, wildlife massacred, and yet #hero of the nation. ‘Unfair’. India is full of such supporters. Heard that Salman tried to retract his statement after saying it indicating some self-awareness of how wrong it was. Saying sorry won’t hurt. The dear idol of millions, Getting your father to say sorry every day isn’t good enough. Teach your fans something good for a change?#India.”
Later, in 2019, Salman Khan was again in the crosshairs of Mohapatra when Priyanka Chopra left Salman’s film ‘Bharat’ to marry Nick Jonas. Following her decision, Salman said, “Usually people leave their husbands for this.” Taking umbrage at his remarks, Mohapatra said, “@priyankachopra has better things to do in life, real men to hang out with and more importantly, girls to inspire with her journey.”
Now, Sona Mohapatra is opening up about the incidents of severe trolling she faced after making those remarks in her documentary, which will start streaming on Zee5 from 1st of July.
On Thursday, Baba Biryani owner Mukhtar Baba who was arrested for funding ‘blasphemy’ riots in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district confessed to the SIT that he along with his builder friends wanted to get hold of Chandreshwar Hata, the main area where stone-pelting erupted on June 3. During the interrogation, he also agreed that he and his builder friends had funded the violence to threaten the residents of Chandreshwar Hata and force them to vacate the property.
According to the reports, the investigating officers attained a video clip that showed people covered with white handkerchiefs directing a particular group towards the Hata. Mukhtar Baba on June 23 confirmed that those were his men and that they had planned the violence in his restaurant. He added that his builder friends had also joined the planning as they wanted the residents of Chandreshwar Hata to vacate the property. “The main target of violence in the New Road area was the Chandreshwar Hata area”, he said.
SIT President DCP South Sanjeev Tyagi along with Chief Investigator ACP Tripurari Pandey and other security agency officers interrogated Mukhtar Baba at Colonelganj police station on Wednesday. During the investigation, Mukhtar Baba also revealed all the names of his builder friends who were involved in the planning of the violence and had funded it. One of the names is Mohammad Wasi. According to the investigating officers, these builders including Mohammad Wasi will be arrested next.
Mukhtar Baba further said that the main accused Hayat Zafar Hashmi and his NGO named MMA Jauhar Fans Association were funded with Rs 5 lakhs for escalating the violence. “Of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 2 lakh were given in cash on June 1”, Mukhtar Baba stated on Thursday. Earlier on Wednesday, he had said that the stone pelters were offered Rs 500-1000 each to indulge in violence. He also revealed that the entire plan to stoke communal violence in the streets of Kanpur was hatched at his shop.
Notably, on June 21, the Kanpur Police had nabbed Mukhtar Baba who was absconding since June 3. He had reportedly crowdfunded the violence and given huge amounts of money to Zafar Hayat Hashmi, the prime accused in the case. Reports mention that Mukhtar Baba, on the day of violence had also fed the rioters and stone-pelters with Biryani. However, his son Mahmood while talking to OpIndia refused to accept the claims.
Some of the local leaders meanwhile reported that Baba Biryani is illegally built on land that actually belongs to a temple and that Mukhtar and his accomplices had been plotting violence for a long time to maintain their illegal occupation. Mukhtar Baba who comes from a very ordinary family has become rich and influential in the area due to this restaurant. According to the government records, the land on which the restaurant stands today belongs to the Ram-Janki temple. Mukhtar Baba’s father had a puncture repairing shop in 1968 on the same land.
The fact surfaced when the state administration was tracing all the illegal properties owned by the under the Enemy Property Act. Ram Janki Trust property was first gifted by a Pakistani Aabid Rehman to Mukhtar Baba’s mother who by will transferred it to her son. The main temple and 18 other Hindu shops were razed down to establish the present Biryani restaurant.
Kanpur Violence
Days after BJP Spokeswoman Nupur Sharma received death threats for allegedly committing ‘blasphemy’ against Prophet Muhammad, severe violence erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district with Islamists giving a call for a shutdown in the area to protest against Sharma. The protest turned violent as hundreds of Islamists joined the protest after the Friday prayers and began pelting stones at the Police and the civilians.
The Police in the case has arrested more than 40 miscreants and has razed down illegal properties owned by prime accused Hayat Zafar Hashmi and his associates. The Police also found incriminating chats from Hashmi’s phone and probed his bank accounts to trace the funds received from the Gulf countries to allegedly back the violence. So far 7 FIRs have been registered and around 1000 unidentified persons have been booked in the case.
The Supreme Court Friday, upheld SIT’s clean chit to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2002 Gujarat riots. The SC was hearing a plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was killed during the violence at Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002, challenging the clean chit given by the SIT to PM Modi and 62 others for their alleged role in the violence.
Supreme Court dismisses plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the then state CM Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
While delivering its verdict, the apex court said that the “appeal is devoid of merits”. A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar refused to order a probe into allegations of a “larger conspiracy” behind the Gujarat riots.
Last year, the court had reserved its order on a petition filed by Zakia Jafri against the Gujarat High Court’s order, rejecting her plea against the SIT decision.
During the hearing, the SIT informed the bench, that apart from the present petition, no one had objected to its investigation into the 2002 Gujarat riots. The SIT had termed the allegations of Hindu groups planning the train burning to frame Muslims as ‘absurd’.
Senior attorney Mukul Rohatgi, who represented the SIT, informed the bench that if the trial court and the Gujarat High Court’s ruling on Jafri’s appeal are not upheld, it might lead to an endless process because of the intentions of some people like social activist Teesta Setalvad, Petitioner Number 2 in the case.
Kapil Sibal on behalf of Jafri told the court that they have not argued about any alleged involvement of the former chief minister and that their focus is on a larger conspiracy that was not looked into by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Zakia Jafri had lodged a petition in the apex court on October 5, 2017, challenging the Gujarat High Court’s judgment which upheld the clean chit given to politicians and officials by the SIT in its conclusion, citing lack of “prosecutable evidence” against them. The Gujarat High Court maintained the investigation of the Special Investigation Team, giving a clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi. According to Ms Jafri, the Gujarat High Court “erroneously” upheld the Magistrate Court order absolving all accused.
Ehsan Jafri and 68 others were brutally killed by the mob in the aftermath of the Godhra train burning. The mob barged into the Muslim-dominated Gulberg Society of Ahmedabad and killed 69 people. In 2006, the police filed a case against Modi, some ministers and officials in response to a complaint filed by Zakia.
In the 2002 Godhra riots case, Supreme Court-monitored SIT was formed to look into the allegations of one Zakia Jafri and as part of the process in March 2010.
In September 2013, The SIT gave a clean chit to Modi against Jafri’s allegations. The Ahmedabad court too rejected a protest petition filed against the clean chit given to Narendra Modi in the 2002 riots case.
On October 5, 2017, the Gujarat High Court also upheld the order by the Ahmedabad Metropolitan Magistrate Court that had accepted the closure report submitted by the SIT.
On the evening of June 21st, when the news came out that Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda went to meet Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, a couple of Telugu media channels started speculating that he will be made the next President. By night, we knew that the NDA has announced Droupadi Murmu as the Presidential candidate.
One of the staunch Pro-TDP (and therefore anti-BJP) Telugu newspaper/channel, ABN Andhrajyothy, was severely upset that Venkaiah Naidu was not the chosen one. They printed a story on how Modi has consistently ignored him despite Venkaiah Naidu standing by Modi during his toughest times. Not content with just printing their baseless story, they hosted a debate on their prime-time show – “Is the dominance of North-Indian political parties crossing all limits?”
There were a total of 5 people on the panel, including the host, the popular Venkata Krishna (VK). The only political party representative invited was from the BJP. VK and the other three apolitical panellists all held the same views – views that have been baselessly parroted by a tiny but loud minority for over 5 years and that is basically calling for dividing India into two – North India and South India.
The program begins with a monologue from the host, VK. In a very sombre tone, he asks what use Nationalism is if inequalities exist in the country. He changes tone and now exhorts that “excellent resources of some states are being looted by some particular states”! And because you are now left wondering who looted what, he asks us specifically “who is getting the gas resources from Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna-Godavari basin?” And then emphatically claims that “Andhra Pradesh should be getting a royalty of 2 lakh crores per year. Is anyone giving that?” Before you can digest this information, he jumps topic and asks why Karnataka and Tamil Nadu should continually fight for the Kaveri waters (apparently, this is a North-South problem because the central government hasn’t solved this so far!)
While you are still trying to make a connection to the various points that he has listed in just under 3 minutes, he goes on to introduce his loaded panel, 3 of whom repeatedly and angrily expressed the same views, most of the time filled with lies. It is worthwhile to note that all through the program, this map kept flashing on their screen.
The map flashed on the screen during the debate
Two of the panellists were severely upset that “South India’s son”, Venkaiah Naidu, has not been made the President of India and termed this as a deliberate insult to South India by North Indian parties. You would expect the host to tell them that six sons of South India held the post of the President of India (2 of them were even from the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh).
One of the panellists even questioned why North Indian politicians didn’t make Droupadi Murmu the Vice-Presidential candidate instead of the Presidential candidate. You would expect the host to tell him that Droupadi Murmu is from Odisha, which by no stretch of the imagination in North India.
The panellists also fell back on their oft-repeated rants on Gujarat and Gujaratis, yet again forgetting that Gujarat is by no stretch of imagination neither a North-Indian state nor a Hindi state! One of them thundered “Why will they spend 3000 crores for a Gujarati’s statue and not for a Telugu’s statue?” You would expect the host, VK, to tell them that 90% of the costs of the Statue of Unity project were borne by the Gujarat government and not the Government of India.
The panellist continues – “They are only now spending 3 crores for a 30 ft statue of Alluri Seetharama Raju. This discrimination by North Indian parties is startling”. You would expect VK to thunder and ask what stopped the state government of Andhra Pradesh from building similar memorials for our heroes?
Another one thundered “Why is every policy in this country being formulated with only Adani and Ambani in mind? Are the resources of this country the exclusive property of Gujaratis?” You would expect VK to list the long list of great industrialists from South India who have contributed immensely to our country. Instead, VK joins them in spreading more lies – “75% of posts in this government are occupied by Gujaratis. 25% are by the remaining”.
Panellists after panellists were simply going all over the place in trying to sound intellectual in their arguments. “Why can’t the country have 5 Deputy Prime Ministers for 5 different regions?” shouted one of them. “Why has the Supreme Court not established benches in 5 parts of the country?”, continued the other. You are still left wondering what this has got to with North Indian politicians. You would expect that VK would actually tell these clueless panellists that the current CJI is from South India and that the country has had Prime Ministers who were from South India, but then you realise that VK is also as clueless.
About 25 minutes after the “debate” begins, the BJP spokesperson was given a chance to speak. And within just a minute, he gets interrupted. He is never allowed to finish anything he begins to say. He wants to cite the improvement in Railways in Southern states (because VK explicitly brings in Kanimozhi’s recent ill-informed comment in Parliament on Railway allocations) but he is shouted down. He calls the premise of this whole debate wicked and evil, and immediately VK bursts out – “How dare you call this evil? We are in a democracy; I can have feelings of suffocation and want the division of the country. But you cannot and should not call this evil.” Yes, he actually said that.
We all remember PM Modi’s famous jibe comparing Renuka Chowdary’s cackling in Rajya Sabha to Soorpanaka. VK asks if Modi was implying that a South Indian female politician belongs to the “Community of Rakshasas”? Well, doesn’t VK know that it was Venkaiah Naidu who was presiding over the proceedings when this happened? Given the whole premise of this debate was around Venkaiah Naidu, how does VK get away with such nonsense?
However, the seeds for this illogical debate have been planted back in 2017 by English media such as The Wire and The News Minute. They claim that South India is superior to everyone else in the country because “After all, 20% of the population contributes a full 30% of India’s tax revenues.” By this logic, the humungous infrastructure development in the North-East should not have been taken up by the Government of India because you see, they don’t contribute much to the tax revenues. “The South also delivers a fourth of India’s GDP.”, we were told. So what? Should every state start making this claim now? Should Maharashtra go and say that it contributes more than Madhya Pradesh so it should be made a separate country? Or just within South India, should Karnataka say it contributes more than Kerala and therefore should be a separate entity?
“It is becoming almost untenable for Tamil Nadu and Kerala to thrive in the Indian union as rational, self-interested sub-units.”, screamed the author in The Wire in the year 2018. Almost all of these articles bring up the point of population control that was effectively done by the Southern states as compared to Northern states and therefore South states are suffering for actually doing good work. The panellists in yesterday’s TV debate also screamed at the top of their lungs about this point.
Well, guess what? The Modi government made significant and far-reaching changes to the devolution formula in “proposing measurable performance-based incentives for States” in the 15th Finance Commission report (applicable for 2020 to 2025). A total of 9 parameters were decided on which such incentives will be decided, and this included “Efforts and Progress made in moving towards replacement rate of population growth”. A very detailed article on the revolutionary changes bought in by the 15th Finance Commission can be read here. And it is also significant to note the very derisive tone of the English media in criticizing these same changes.
Politicians and media affiliated with TDP in Andhra Pradesh picked up these articles back then and made a lot of noise around them. Pawan Kalyan was at the forefront in furthering these illogical pieces (he is now in alliance with the BJP!). The panellists in the TV debate also bought up the manner in which the state was bifurcated by the “North Indian” parties – none of them could get to bring themselves to criticize the Congress and Sonia Gandhi directly for this. In fact, the debate didn’t even have politicians from any party except the BJP.
Going by these debates, we will even tend to forget that the East and West cease to exist! Recently, Prashant Kishor emphatically claimed that the “Hindi heartland has now extended to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka”. The TV panellists in the debate included Odisha and Gujarat in North India. Your mind really boggles at how the analysts are altering basic concepts of geography, language, and common sense!
All these “analysts” also make the fundamental assumption that the 5 southern states (they always exclude Puchucherry) function as one entity and the role of the BJP and Congress is negligible. Tamil Nadu has a problem, they want to make it a South India problem. Kerala has a problem, they make it a South India problem. Both the national parties (and also the Communists) are big players in some of these states – do the analysts really think the people are so ignorant that they cannot see through this basic fact?
While the program was on, the host VK got upset with live comments that said what he was doing amounted to Desh-Droh. He derisively asked if any of those commenting like this even know what is “Desh”? This arrogance and know-it-all attitude is so very typical of editors and self-declared intellectuals. It is time we expose and shame these charlatans for furthering a divisive agenda in our nation.
