Delhi Police on Wednesday filed an FIR against ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, former BJP leader Naveen Kumar Jindal, ‘journalist’ Saba Naqvi and others over allegations of promoting false information with intention to create unrest in cyberspace. As per a statement given by an Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) officer to news agency ANI, their actions had ramifications on the physical space, thereby compromising with the ‘social fabric of the country’.
Other than the mentioned above, some names in the FIR include one Shadab Chauhan, Maulana Mufti Nadeem, Abdur Rehman, Gulzar Ansari, Anil Kumar Meena and Pooja Shakun. Rajasthan based Maulana Mufti Nadeem had threatened to gouge eyes of Nupur Sharma and chop off her hands in presence of state police.
Following the threats, Sharma has been provided security by the police.
This development comes a day after the Mumbra Police issued a summons to former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her alleged blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad and recorded her statement. At least 2 other FIRs have already been registered against Nupur Sharma in Maharashtra, one at the behest of Islamic outfit Raza Academy, and another at Mumbra Police Station. Sharma has been charged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 295 for deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs, 153 A for promoting enmity between various groups, and 505 (2) for making statements constituting public mischief.
Earlier, Delhi BJP had also distanced itself from Nupur’s remarks, and the party had suspended Nupur Sharma and Delhi BJP spokesperson Naveen Kumar Jindal for their ‘objectionable’ remarks on Prophet Muhammad. In its suspension letter, the BJP told Sharma that she had expressed views contrary to the party’s on various matters which violate the party’s constitution. “The party respects all religions and is against any ideology that insults or demeans any sect or religion”, it stated.
Following the suspension, the media had freely shared Nupur’s and Naveen Jindal’s addresses online, putting them at risk with multiple death threats coming their way daily. Reportedly, the Delhi Police on June 6 registered a case on a complaint by Sharma in which she stated that she received continuous death threats over her alleged remarks on Prophet Muhammad. The Delhi Police registered a case against unidentified people.
On May 31, several political parties like the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra also protested against Sharma for her alleged remarks against Prophet. Hundreds of people gathered on the streets blocking the passage of vehicles during the protest that was led by Minister of Housing, Minority, and Wakf, Jitendra Awhad, NCP Mumbai Chief Anand Paranjape, and Shanu Pathan. Also, a local Hyderabad-based party AIMIM (Inquilab) announced a reward of ₹1 crore rupees to any Muslim who would kill BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for allegedly committing blasphemy.
Sharma meanwhile also received threats from extremist organizations across the border. On May 29, The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) supporters from Pakistan announced a cash reward of Pakistani Rupees 5 million (Around 19.5 lakhs INR) to anyone who would behead Nupur for allegedly committing ‘blasphemy’.
Sharma has been facing threats including death threats from Islamists since she made some comments as per the Islamic texts on Prophet Muhammad that irked the Muslims. She argued that since people are mocking the Hindu faith repeatedly, the Hindus can also mock other religions by referring to Islamic beliefs and the life of Prophet Muhammad. Her statement was taken out of context by AltNews co-founder and alleged fact-checker Mohammed Zubair, who unleashed an army of trolls and Islamists after Sharma. As reported, multiple FIRs have been registered against Sharma after the remarks and open calls for her death have also been made. Eventually, terror organisation Al Qaeda has also threatened India with terror attacks over the same.
BJP Youth leader Ashish Mishra has retracted his statement and tweeted that no FIR has been registered against him at Kishtwar police station for extending support to ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. Sharma has been facing slew of attacks from Islamists, some of whom have announced a bounty on her head over her remarks on Prophet Muhammad on a TV debate two weeks back.
On Wednesday, it was being reported that on June 7, Kishtwar police in Jammu and Kashmir registered an FIR against three persons over Facebook posts supporting former BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma. They were allegedly booked under relevant sections of the IPC, and IT Act for ‘spreading communal disharmony’ and to ‘creating wedge among communities’. Kishtwar Police also issued a warning to the general public, advising them to refrain from making any such comments on social media platforms that could fan religious sentiments.
? *Kishtwar Police warn Netizen for sharing objectionable Posts on Media*
— DISTRICT POLICE KISHTWAR (@SSPKishtwar) June 7, 2022
The FIR no 132/2022 was registered under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 66C of the Information Technology (IT) Act at Kishtwar Police Station and the cyber cell of Kishtwar police. Police said that the cyber cell is monitoring social media actively only the subject. However, details of the FIR are not yet clear.
In a Facebook post, Kishtwar police said, “The general public is hereby advised to refrain from making any comment in verbal or on any social media account and platform having the potential to hurt the religious sentiments of any class/community and disturb peace and tranquillity in the area. Any such person doing so shall be dealt with strictly under law without any fail. Case FIR 132/2022 under relevant sections of law has been registered at PS Kishtwar and the cyber cell of Kishtwar Police is monitoring the activity on social media platforms regarding the subject. We appreciate the cooperation of the general public in maintaining communal harmony.”
According to media reports, the three persons booked by Kishtwar Police are BJYM State General Secretary Ashish Sharma, IKJUTT leader Er. Saparsh Parihar and VHP activist Anshuman Rathore. Reportedly, they had posted only the words “I stand with Nupur Sharma” on social media, which was deemed objectionable by Muslims and the police. OpIndia contacted Rathore to confirm if FIR was registered against him, to which he said Kishtwar Police had not contacted him yet. However, he added, “I am getting a lot of threat calls from across the state for supporting Nupur Sharma. I do not have many details if any case has been registered against me or not. It will be better if you contact the Police.”
Quoting senior officials of Kishtwar Police, Early Times stated that the posts were deleted after the public outrage. Notably, the Police took action after various Muslim leaders, organizations etc., called DC of Kishtwar district and urged him to take action against them for allegedly hurting ‘Muslim sentiments’ by supporting Nupur Sharma. “We are recording the statement in the case- law will take its own course”, the police told media.
Speaking to OpIndia BJP Youth leader Ashish Sharma said, “I only wrote ‘#IStandWithNupurSharma’ on Facebook. There was nothing else. There was nothing wrong with my post. However, some people took screenshots of the post and approached DC against me. We have been raising voices against the atrocities on Hindus in the valley and this is the reason my post was used against me.” Sharma is getting regular threats not only from the Kishtwar district but from Kashmir as well.
OpIndia tried reaching out to Kishtwar Police but could not connect.
Sharma had been retweeting tweets regarding the said FIR on him along with the tweets in his support.
Ashish Sharma retweet
Sharma retweeted a tweet wherein one Akhil Wazir was demanding an FIR against him be withdrawn.
Sharma’s retweet
He also retweeted a tweet demanding his security be reinstated.
However, after support for him rallied on social media, Sharma said that there is no FIR registered against him.
Sharma’s tweet
Sharma said that he’s neither booked by Kishtwar Police nor is there any case against him. In light of new information, we have updated our report to reflect the changes.
The controversy around Nupur Sharma’s remarks
On May 26, Nupur Sharma participated in a debate on Times Now, where she retaliated against the Muslim panellist who was continuously abusing Bhagwan Shiv. Her remarks were taken out of context by the likes of Alt News’ Mohammed Zubair, and he started a campaign against her. Several Islamists and liberals chipped in, and the whole controversy swirled into international propaganda against India after an online campaign ran for 2-3 days on Twitter and other social media platforms. In the end, BJP suspended Nupur Sharma pending an inquiry, but the threats and statements against Sharma and India did not stop. In the latest updates, the terror organization Al-Qaeda has issued a threat to India over Sharma’s remarks.
What comes first to your mind when you hear of MF Husain? An old man with white hair, pale deep eyes, painting brush in his hand? Or the absurd, weird portraits which he painted allegedly referring to the Hindu old scriptures of Mahabharata and Ramayana? Every Hindu person probably feels hurt when he thinks of a person born in India, who had seen Hindu culture so closely, insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses by painting them nude.
MF Husain, more than his vibrantly coloured modern art paintings, is remembered today only because of the controversial paintings that he created where he blatantly portrayed Lord Ram, Goddess Sita, Lord Hanuman, Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Laxmi, etc nude in the name of ‘Indian modernism’. While he was battling legally, defending his ‘Freedom of Expression’ to paint Hindu Gods and Goddesses the way he did, his ‘artistic’ mind created a new painting- this time showing Bharat Mata nude in bold red. This did nothing but forced him to go into exile and resettle in Qatar.
What made him hurt the Hindu sentiments? Why did he make controversial paintings of only Hindu Gods but ‘not of other religions’? Why didn’t he paint Allah?- Husain had all the answers, however intolerant or unacceptable they were, but he had all the answers.
Exposing Hypocrisy of MF Husain
Maqbool Fida Husain, popularly known as MF Husain was nothing but a classic example of a ‘secular, liberal and progressive’ Islamist in India, where all his claims of ‘secularism’ began and ended only at the Hindu religion. In one of his paintings of Gandhi, Einstein, Marx, and Hitler, the ‘great artist’ had decapitated Gandhi but had pictured Hitler as naked. When asked about the painting, Husain in one of his interviews said that he hated Hitler as he had cracked down on artists when he came to power in Germany. “Painted Hitler nude to humiliate him as he deserves it”, he was quoted. So, did he paint Hindu Gods and Goddesses because he hated them? Husain’s answer to this was “No” and this contradiction in his ideology led to the initial rise of controversy.
Gandhi, Einstein, Marx, and Hitler painted by MF Husain (Image source- Hindujagruti.org)
For instance, he painted the Goddess of wisdom, Goddess Saraswati, nude in black and white ‘to make viewers understand the old Indian tradition of formlessness’. “The controversial sketch of Saraswati is an elegant white-on-black line drawing, which makes the viewer reflect on the old Indian tradition of ‘nirakara’ or formlessness,” Husain had said. He also painted Goddess Parvati nude and called her ‘Aparn’ which means ‘without leaves’ (nude). The story he blatantly claimed to have referred to while painting ‘Aparn’ was “Parvati underwent many years of penance to win Shiva till her clothing deteriorated and fell away in the bitter Himalayan cold”.
Goddess Saraswati was painted nude by MF Husain (Image Source- DailyO)
Goddess Parvati is portrayed naked by MF Husain (Image source- Hindujagruti.org)
Then he had also coloured Goddess Sita sitting naked on the laps of Ravana. In another one, he showed Lord Ram and Goddess Sita spending personal quality time with each other in presence of Lord Hanuman. What was his thought behind painting such ‘folklore’ as he termed these paintings to be? “Nobody is interested in knowing anyone. I give what people want: fodder for scandals and gossip”, Husain said adding that “the goddesses are pure and uncovered. Here, the nudity is not nakedness; it’s a form of innocence and maturity”.
Goddess Sita coloured nude on the laps of Ravana by MF Husain (Image source- DailyO)
If Husain painted Hindu Gods and Goddesses naked as a form of ‘innocence and maturity’, did he mean to praise the Nazi leader Hitler whom he had painted naked out of hatred in the past? Why didn’t he paint Islam or other religion for that matter the way he painted Hindu Gods and Goddesses? Didn’t he believe in the Islamic power and its ‘innocence and maturity’? Husain had answers to these also, however controversial, he had answers.
Lord Ram and Goddess Sita showed spending personal quality time with each other in presence of Lord Hanuman (Image Source- Pinterest)
Why did he paint only Hindu Gods and no God of any other religion?
While engaging in a conversation with author Ila Pal who later wrote a book named ‘Husain: Portrait of an Artist’, Husain opined that the tradition of painting and sculpting gods and goddesses had existed agelessly and that Hindus were tolerant enough to understand the art. The book quotes some Islamic leaders from Hyderabad having asked Husain that “why didn’t he paint Islamic history?”. Husain immediately replied, “Do you have the tolerance that Hindus have?”.
The book by Ila Pal further explains the plight of the artist about why he chose not to portray Allah, though he had a ‘deep rooted’ interest in religions of the world. “The answer is easy to understand. That is if one wants to. It is forbidden to paint Allah. He is formless, hence the taboo, whereas it is a tradition in the Hindu religion, from the beginning of history, to paint and sculpt gods and goddesses. Every art, however path-breaking, springs from traditions established earlier. The artist may then bring his imagination and inventiveness into play. There is no tradition of painting Allah”, the book quotes.
Book ‘Husain: Portrait of an Artist’ written by Author Ila Pal
Interestingly, though Husain had taken a lot of liberties with Hindu deities by picturing them naked, anyone who protested or opposed him was termed backwards, communal and conservative. In one of his paintings, he portrayed an Islamic leader accompanied by a Hindu Brahmin. The painting blatantly showcased a Brahmin man naked whereas the Islamic leader was shown fully covered in clothes.
The Muslim and the Brahmin (Image Source- quackreview.com)
The Islamist hypocrisy that revolved around his ‘artistic’ ideology was truly exposed when Husain produced a movie called ‘Meenaxi A Tale of 3 cities’ featuring actress Tabu. Soon as the movie was released, some Muslim organizations protested that one of the Qawwali songs Noor-un-Ala-Noor was ‘blasphemous’ and hurt the Islamic sentiment. Husain immediately withdrew the movie from all the theatres without uttering a single word against the protest as he knew the dire consequences of escalating the issue.
The controversial painting of Bharat Mata
Husain, born in the year 1915, had closely seen the British oppression in India and then the historic incident of the ‘Partition of India’ which he claimed inspired him to portray ‘Bharat Mata’ nude. The painting named ‘Bharat Mata’ which Husain claimed that he never gave the title to proved to be the most controversial painting around the year 2006. His portrayal of nudity inflamed red and aroused protests in different parts of the country. The painting implied a weeping woman as the enslaved state of India after the colonial impact.
The Hindu organizations, including the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS) and VHP, had launched massive protests in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh against the ‘Bharat Mata’ painting and his other paintings, depicting Hindu goddesses naked. HJS also had filed a case with Mumbai and Thane police and had appealed to the then President A P J Abdul Kalam and the then PM Manmohan Singh to take action against such an ‘anti-national and perverse artist’.
The painting of ‘Bharat Mata’ which Husain claims was never titled by him (Image source- Hindujagruti.org)
The controversial artist who was booked by police for hurting the sentiments of people by painting Hindu Gods in the nude had apologized and promised to withdraw his controversial painting depicting ‘Bharat Mata’ from an auction. Reportedly, Husain then went into self-exile and lived his last years in Qatar. Defending his art at the age of 91 then, Husain compared the Hindus in India with Hitler, whom he hated the most and had painted nude. “Hitler cracked down on artists when he came to power in Germany. And this is precisely what the right-wing forces are doing in India. These people are worse than Nazis and should be persecuted,” he was quoted.
Slamming the Indian government for taking no action for his protection, he stated that the ominous silence of the ‘good’ worried him.”It seems that it doesn’t have the political will to take action against these belligerent blimps who know nothing about art How long will the Indian government at the centre continue to remain a mute spectator to this witch-hunting?”, he pondered.
Further, in an alleged attempt to demean the Hindus for raising their voices in the protection of their religion and culture, Husain played a victim card stating that he was being ‘harassed’ because he was a Muslim. “I have never meant to offend anyone. In any case, an artist’s imagination is open to interpretation but it must remain unfettered. Possibly. If my name was not MF Husain, things would have been certainly different”, he blatantly stated.
900 odd court cases slapped against the artist
After the controversial painting of the ‘Bharat Mata’, the painter was slapped with 900 odd legal cases to fight in the Indian court of law. He went into self-exile in Qatar for four years and then expressed his wish to return to India probably after the Mumbai Court had begun attaching his properties after he failed to respond to the summons. He also meanwhile had given up his Indian passport and had accepted Qatari citizenship.
According to the reports, Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party Chief Bhim Singh had filed a petition in the court to direct the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take steps to bring Husain back to India. The petition also sought direction from the Centre for withdrawal of all cases lodged against Husain and to ensure his safe return to the country. The Supreme Court, however, in the year 2010 refused to issue any such directions and withdrawal of cases against him. The apex court said it cannot direct the Union of India to withdraw the cases as the complaints were filed by private individuals.
Pertinently, in the year 2008, the Delhi High Court had held that the ‘Bharat Mata’ painting was not obscene under section 292 of the Indian Penal Code. The appeal was brought to the Court by private complaints, filed in various parts of India. The court stated that art was an important tool of expression, but that Article 19(2) of the Indian Constitution allowed limitations on freedom of expression to be restricted on the grounds of public decency and morality. “However, by reviewing, among other things, the intent of the artist and the idea behind the painting, the court held that the painting did not violate section 292 of the IPC”, it ruled.
Untitled self-portrait by MF Husain (Image source- Dawn)
Also, the Supreme Court in the year 2008 refused to initiate criminal proceedings against MF Husain for hurting public sentiments and depicting Bharat Mata and Hindu Gods and Goddesses obscenely. “There are many such pictures, paintings and sculptures and some of them are in temples also,” the court had maintained dismissing one such petition.
M F Husain graciously thanked the Supreme Court for its verdict and said that “at last they have understood the dignity of Indian contemporary art”. While he expressed his wish to come back to India and enjoy ‘khus chai at an Irani cafe in Mumbai and jalebi in the CCI club lawn’, the Supreme Court in another such ruling of the case refused to issue direction to the Centre for withdrawal of all cases lodged against Husain and to ensure his safe return to the country. “If he is in Doha, what is the problem,” the bench queried and asked petitioner Bhim Singh to withdraw his plea in the year 2010.
Some of MF Husain’s controversial paintings
Portrait of Lord Hanuman showcasing partially dressed Lord Rama and Goddess Sita (Image source- columbia.edu)
Portrait of nude Lord Hanuman saving nude Goddess Sita. Husain showed Lord Hanuman glaring at Goddess Sita (Image source- Victoria and Albert Museum)
Lord Ganesha was painted nude by MF Husain (Image source- Webneel.com)
Death of MF Husain in London
MF Husain breathed his last due to a heart attack on June 9, 2011, in London. The artist took his last breath at the age of 95 giving up his desire to return to India forever. While many of his supporters and admirers paid condolences to the ‘pioneer of the modern art movement in India’, Hindu leaders stood defiantly, opposing his burial in India.
The BJP condoled Husain’s demise but opined that he got distanced from India and Indians. “He (Husain) should have come back, respected the law and people’s sentiments, and merged his breath and body with Indian soil. Alas, not only he got distanced from Indians but also from India,” stated the then BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay. “His caricature of Durga and Bharat Mata was obnoxious and unacceptable,” he added.
Meanwhile, the members of Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) stated that Husain had spent time in exile because he had insulted the country’s majority community. “The portrayal of Hindu goddesses in the nude is an unpardonable offence. No society will tolerate this,” the then spokesman of Bajrang Dal, Vinod Bansal had said.
Also, the then Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray had described him as a mercurial, obstinate man. “In matters of art, he gave up the country, but not his obduracy. If Husain’s death is a loss to India’s modern art movement, so be it,” he added, alluding to Husain’s long-drawn spat with the Sena and other Hindutva parties over his controversial oeuvre of work.
Ending months of speculation, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has finally announced the expansion of his cabinet. Two new ministers are going to be added to the 14-member ministry tomorrow, according to a press release by the govt of Assam.
The two new faces in the Assam govt are BJP MLAs Jayanta Malla Baruah and Nandita Gorlosa, who will take oath tomorrow in Guwahati. The swearing in ceremony will be held at Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati at 3 PM on 9th June, according to the press release.
Jayanta Malla Baruah is currently working as the political secretary of the Chief Minister, and he is an MLA from Nalbari assembly constituency. He was originally in Congress, and was elected to the assembly in 2011 on a Congress ticket. In 2015, he left Congress and joined BJP, at a time when several senior leaders and MLAs of Congress had left the party to join BJP, including Himanta Biswa Sarma. While he was denied a ticket in the 2016 elections, he contested and won from Nalbari in 2011 elections.
Nandita Gorlosa is a first time MLA from Haflong constituency, who is also an Executive Member of North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council, Dima Hasao.
Earlier today CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that the cabinet will be expanded tomorrow, which he had confirmed in his speeches last week. “Not one but two ministers will be included at a function in Guwahati tomorrow. Both the ministers will be from BJP,” he had said.
The current Assam Cabinet includes 11 ministers from BJP, 2 from AGP (Asom Gana Parishad) and one from UPPL (United People’s Party Liberal). While the CM had the liberty to add 4 more members to the ministry as per the constitution, he has decided to add only two ministers during this expansion.
Amid the ongoing Islamist outrage against former BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her alleged ‘blasphemous’ remarks, streets in the city of Surat in Gujarat have been arrayed with her posters, demanding her immediate arrest.
According to the reports, the posters portraying Nupur Sharma were pasted on Jilani Bridge in Surat on Wednesday. The posters called for the arrest of Sharma and read, “Nupur Sharma Arrest”. However, the persons who are involved in the incident are unidentified yet. The Police, having taken the cognizance of the incident are scanning the CCTV footage to identify the people behind the posters.
The posters show the photograph of Nupur Sharma with a mark of a sole of shoe on her face, a red cross surrounded by a red circle and the words “Nupur Sharma Arrest”. Videos show a large number of printed posters pasted on the surface of the Jilani Bridge in the city.
This is days after BJP distanced itself from Nupur’s remarks, and the party suspended her for ‘objectionable’ remarks on Prophet Muhammad. In its suspension letter, the BJP told Sharma that she had expressed views contrary to the party’s on various matters which violate the party’s constitution. “The party respects all religions and is against any ideology that insults or demeans any sect or religion”, it stated. Delhi BJP spokesperson Naveen Kumar Jindal has also been expelled from the party for similar offences.
Following the suspension, the media had freely shared Nupur’s and Naveen Jindal’s addresses online, putting them at risk with multiple death threats coming their way daily. Reportedly, the Delhi Police on June 6 registered a case on a complaint by Sharma in which she stated that she received continuous death threats over her alleged remarks on Prophet Muhammad. The Delhi Police registered a case against unidentified people.
On May 31, several political parties like the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra staged protests against Sharma for her alleged remarks against Prophet. Also, a local Hyderabad-based party AIMIM (Inquilab) announced a reward of ₹1 crore rupees to any Muslim who would kill BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for allegedly committing blasphemy.
Sharma meanwhile also has received threats from extremist organizations across the border. On May 29, The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) supporters from Pakistan announced a cash reward of Pakistani Rupees 5 million (Around 19.5 lakhs INR) to anyone who would behead Nupur for allegedly committing ‘blasphemy’.
Also recently, the dreaded terrorist group Al Qaeda has issued a letter threatening suicide attacks in Delhi, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat to “fight for the honor of the Prophet”. Al Qaeda has made this threat in response to the alleged ‘blasphemous’ comments made by Sharma. In the letter dated the June 6, the terrorist group said, “We shall kill those who affront our Prophet and we shall bind explosives with our bodies and the bodies of our children to blow away the ranks of those who dare to dishonor our Prophet.” The letter also goes on to say that Hindutva terrorists are currently occupying India.
Sharma has been facing threats including death threats from Islamists since she made some comments as per the Islamic texts on Prophet Muhammad that irked the Muslims. She argued that since people are mocking the Hindu faith repeatedly, the Hindus can also mock other religions by referring to Islamic beliefs and the life of Prophet Muhammad. Her statement was taken out of context by Alt News co-founder and alleged fact-checker Mohammed Zubair, who released an army of trolls and Islamists after Sharma. As reported earlier, multiple FIRs have been registered against Sharma after the remarks and open calls for her death have also been made.
A post on Instagram in Karnataka called for the beheading of BJP politician Yashpal Suvarna and Sri Ram Sena leader Pramod Muthalik for money, igniting a terrifying intensification of the state’s hijab controversy.
Yashpal Suvarna, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) national general secretary of the OBC Morcha, revealed that he is receiving death threats for opposing Hijab. Yashpal is also the vice-president of the Udupi government’s Pre-University College Development Committee.
As per Yashpal Suvarna, it is very common in public life to receive such messages and calls through social media but he will not take it seriously. He said, “When we work for the nation, anti-national organisations or traitors issue such threats from abroad. I will not take it seriously. It’s a part of life. We are doing our work within the limits of the Constitution. An Instagram post about me and Pramod Muthalik does not make any difference. We will not take back our steps.”
“I am not bothered about the Instagram post, however, I want to know who are the local people behind the issue. We will find them,” Yashpal Suvarna further stated.
A bounty has also been declared on social media on Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik. According to the social media post, whoever murders Survarna and Muthalik would receive Rs 10 lakh apiece.
According to sources, a police case has been filed at Udupi’s Kaup police station against the miscreants involved for the claimed messages and social media posts.
This comes after 24 students were suspended in Uppinangady municipality for attempting to wear a hijab in class despite many warnings from college administrators.
After protesting against their inability to wear the hijab, the students were handed notices. According to the warning, students must respond within three days of receiving it. It further states that students conspired with outside forces to resist the Karnataka High Court’s judgement.
On June 7, the hashtag ‘Boycott Qatar Airways’ was trending on Twitter in retaliation to calls from the Gulf nations to ban Indian products. The controversy erupted after professional dog whistlers whipped up Muslim sentiments over a comment made by former BJP leader Nupur Sharma on Prophet Mohammed, causing a furore among the mostly Islamic monarchies in the Middle East.
As the controversy played out, which quickly escalated to the Gulf, Islamist journalists and politicians in India were delighted to see India firefighting a diplomatic situation as their ‘religious feelings’ were hurt.
Indian netizens, on the other hand, came up with retaliation to boycott Qatar Airways, after the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Indian ambassador Dr Deepak Mittal and expressed disappointment and condemnation of the remarks made by Nupur Sharma. In the trend, an Indian netizen with the Twitter account @theVashudevIND was seen elaborating on why Qatar Airlines should be boycotted.
In the video, Vashudev says, “This is the same country which gave citizenship to M F Hussain who made obscene imagery of Goddess Sita. Now they are teaching a lesson to India over Nupur Sharma’s comments. Qatar has also started firing off Indians employed there. So I request you to boycott the goods from Qatar, including Qatar Airways. It is important they are responded in the language they understand. Har Har Mahadev.”
Soon, the Twitter user was mocked over his modest appearance in the video while exhorting Indians to boycott an airline company belonging to a nation that had made unsolicited comments against India. Just like any other patriotic citizen of his/her country, Vashudev, too, stood up for his country in the way he deemed right. However, his sight was mocked and classist jokes were hurled at him for appearing not ‘rich’ enough to be able to afford a flight journey.
Vashudev was mocked and abuses hurled at him because he was a ‘denigrated low-life individual’ in the eyes of Islamist trolls. For our ‘liberal’ intelligentsia, boycotting easily becomes a revolutionary tool to fight against ‘crony capitalism’ and ‘Hindu fascism’ but when someone employs the same tool against them or their preferred brands, they indulge in elitist snobbery, scoffing at their critics and insulting them with classist stereotypes.
Screengrab of a Twitter trolling directed at Vashudev
Screengrab of a Twitter trolling directed at Vashudev
Vashudev was abused for looking poor – the only accusation that made him unfit to take up boycotting an international airline company. A series of such classist abuses were thrown at him while Indian ‘liberals’ were laughing at the sight of the person getting trolled.
Screengrab of a Twitter trolling directed at Vashudev
“The only thing you need to boycott is oxygen,” a tweet in the troll attack read. While Twitter would be the last place to look out for decency and sensitivity, it also exemplifies polarization of the worst kind with concerted attacks directed at global minority religions including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism and Judaism.
Screengrab of a Twitter trolling directed at Vashudev
Screengrab of a Twitter trolling directed at Vashudev
Moreover, the attack was not restricted to being classist, but a group of people also mocked the young man for being ‘North-Indian’ and ‘Sanghi’.
Screengrab of a Twitter trolling directed at Vashudev
To the people to whom political Hindutva is an anathema, gory generalizations, racial stereotyping and appalling Hinduphobia come in handy. This was very much visible during concerted troll attacks like this.
Screengrab of a Twitter trolling directed at Vashudev
A spoof video was also circulated featuring the CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker in which a doctored voiceover was added to suggest the person is bragging about ‘Vashudev’ being the biggest shareholder in the company. “Our biggest shareholder Vashudev decided to boycott our airline from his headquarters which is the terrace of his house. He was having a power cut at that time in his neighbourhood. And he made that devastating video,” the voice in the guise of the CEO said in the doctored video.
The video made waves on social media, especially in the Islamist and liberal circles who were trolling people giving boycott calls against Qatar Airways. When actress Kangana Ranaut posted a story on Instagram after accidentally falling for the doctored video spread by Islamist trolls, it was for Alt News co-founder Mohd. Zubair to ‘fact-check’ her over her stories. Apparently, Zubair and AltNews are yet to ‘fact-check’ statements made by Nupur Sharma on Prophet Muhammad that touched off the controversy in the first place.
While such duplicity is not new to AltNews, it goes to show how the far-left portal relies on fuelling outrage and perpetually driving the Muslim victimhood narrative to stay relevant among the section of liberals who harbour pathological hatred against the BJP and PM Modi.
Soon, Twitter’s politically prejudiced algorithm suspended Vashudev’s account. While Vashudev was denied voicing out his opinions on the microblogging site, hateful attacks levelled at him continued to be platformed before the world.
Vashudev’s Twitter account was suspended in no time
The charade of mockery, fake news and fact-checking completed a full circle here. Moreover, the opinionated leftists who make a huge cry about ‘voices of the subaltern’ found an opportunity to mock the concerns of one, during the controversy. The parallels between ‘How can a poor man boycott an airline company‘ and ‘How can a Chaiwala become the Prime Minister‘ are blatantly clear. Satyagraha, once an instrument of the masses to speak the real truth to the power has acquired a much classist undertone to this day. In the rose-tinted worldview of our elite intellectuals and their keyboard footsoldiers, boycotting too has become an act of privilege and a tool to perpetuate class differences.
On June 7 (Local Time), it was reported that President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden’s ‘favourite prostitute’, identified as one Cheryl Deboves, had received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) bailout for her sole proprietorship worth $20,207. According to a report in Daily Wire, Deboves, who lives in Los Vegas, received the federal stimulus right after Hunter’s father Joe Biden took over the office.
FederalPay reported that she received an “Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers” loan for her “White female-owned business” that “employed at least one person during the applicable loan period.” It was issued in April 2021 by Capital Plus Financial, LLC. Just six months later, it was paid off or forgiven as per the records.
A prostitute who bought crack for and had orgies with Hunter Biden got a $20,000 federal PPP stimulus for her “female owned sole propietorship” after Joe was elected.
It is listed as in the industry of “independent artists, writers, and performers.”https://t.co/gHjXIuebZo
The Federal Pay further reported, “This loan’s status is reported by the SBA (Small Business Administration) as ‘Paid in Full,’ which includes both loans repaid and those fully forgiven from repayment under PPP guidelines.” The status was last updated in October 2021.
The Federal records suggested out of $20,207, only $1 was allocated for Utilities, while the rest were allocated for the salaries. These details were declared by Deboves in her PPP application.
The Federal records suggest one more load worth $5,075 was sanctioned to a woman identified as Melissa Underbrink, who used the same address as Deboves. This particular loan was sanctioned from a “Self-employed Individual” federal loan from Bedworth Capital in May 2021, and it is listed as “pending” or “ongoing” in the Federal records.
Who is Cheryl Deboves?
Daily Wire reported that Cheryl Deboves is one of the prostitutes from Las Vegas whose information and media files were recovered from Hunter Biden’s laptop. It included a text conversation between Deboves and Biden from August 2018, where he discussed his sexual preferences in detail with her.
In the texts, Deboves had said, “Honestly babe, the problem is you have too many girls there. I understand you like a lot of girls, but that’s fine. Do one at a time at the tops to Which is fine but just hire the second girl for like 1 hour.”
Daily Wire further reported that in the conversation, Deboves had admitted to spending all Biden’s money on heroin. She wrote, “baby I am so sorry listen I’m not trying to take advantage of you, but I spent all of the money that you got me on black. I went to Walmart to get needles babe.”
Apart from the prostitutes, the art gallery that represented Hunter’s artwork also received Covid disaster assistance and PPP loans worth over 600,000 dollars. According to the New York Post’s report from December 2021, the Georges Berges Gallery had received a $150,000 SBA disaster assistance loan in 2020. An additional $350,000 were provided to the gallery in July 2021. Two PPP loans were granted to the gallery worth a total of $80,000 (approx) in April 2020 and February 2021.
‘Records are meant to be broken’, Sunil Gavaskar in a congratulating message to Alan Border after the Australian broke the record of most test runs held by Sunil Gavaskar. In 1996, Sunil Gavaskar wrote in an article that he expects Sachin Tendulkar to score 15,000 test runs and 40 test centuries. Tendulkar bettered Gavaskar’s expectations by scoring 15,921 runs and 51 test hundreds. But not every expectation or prediction comes true.
As soon as Joe Root reached the 10,000 runs milestone in tests the debate started, ‘can he break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most test runs?’ It’s not the first time this question has been asked. Since the time Tendulkar retired in November 2013, every time a batsman crosses the milestone of 10,000 or 11,000 runs the question arises.
Root is just 31 years old, he has time and also enough tests in future to break the record. At the moment, Root’s test average is 49.57. If he can just maintain this average for the next approx 103 innings (i.e. almost 52 tests and remember England plays more tests than any other country) in the next 5-6 years, he can easily surpass Tendulkar. Maintaining the form is vital and so is the fitness. Currently, Root is in the form of his life and if he can make most of it, then a slump later in his career (if there is any) won’t stop him from becoming the top run-getter in Tests.
Like Root, when his former teammate Alastair Cook reached the 10,000 mark at exactly the same age, many cricket pundits predicted that Cook can break Tendulkar’s record. Cook had the age with him and also the form. But the form didn’t last too long and he retired with more than 3000 runs short of Tendulkar’s record.
He wasn’t the only candidate. Ponting, Kallis, and Sangakkara all appeared menacingly close to breaking Tendulkar’s record at one point in time of their career but they couldn’t. Believe it or not, every time there is a comparison or debate of a player breaking Tendulkar’s record, that particular player either loses his form or retires from the international arena. Sangakkara and Kallis, all of a sudden, decided to call it quits even when they were scoring runs consistently, while Ponting and Cook lost their form and then decided to hang up their boots.
A lot of people on social media call it ‘Tendulkar’s curse’. If you still don’t believe it, check out Kohli’s form and when was the last time he scored an international hundred. Root can break the record but…
The South African government announced on Monday that law enforcement officials in the UAE had apprehended Rajesh and Atul Gupta of the Gupta family. Through their relationships with former President Jacob Zuma, the Gupta brothers are accused in South Africa of benefitting financially and influencing important appointments.
When a court panel began probing the Gupta brothers’ participation in corruption in 2018, Rajesh and Atul Gupta were believed to have escaped South Africa. Ajay, a third brother, is also being sought by South African authorities. However, it’s unclear why he hasn’t been apprehended yet.
According to officials, the Gupta family went into self-exile in Dubai in 2018 after stealing billions of Rands from South African institutions. According to a statement by the South African Department of Justice read, “The ministry of justice and correctional services confirms that it has received information from law enforcement authorities in the UAE that fugitives of justice, namely Rajesh and Atul Gupta have been arrested.”
— Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services ?? (@Min_JCS) June 6, 2022
“Discussions between various law enforcement agencies in the UAE and South Africa on the way forward are ongoing. The South African government will continue to co-operate with the UAE,” it added.
Although the arrests were welcomed, commentators warned that the public should not anticipate a rapid resolution to the case against the Guptas, which might take years as they exhaust all legal means to oppose extradition to South Africa.
Who are the Gupta Brothers
The Gupta brothers, Ajay, 56, Atul, 53, and Rajesh, 51, are Indian-born and belong to Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. In the early 1990s, they established a shoe store in South Africa. They quickly grew to encompass IT, media, and mining firms, the majority of which have since been sold or shuttered.
Interestingly, various claims have surfaced over the years concerning the Gupta brothers and Jacob Zuma being involved in the rampant corruption during his presidency, so much so that South Africans invented the moniker “Zuptas” for them. There have also been various rallies throughout the years in which South Africans said that they do not recognise the Gupta brothers as their “President.”
Gupta brothers and their alleged links to ex- Congress leader Kapil Sibal
While looking into Zuma’s ties to the Gupta brothers, South African investigative websites AmaBhungane and DailyMaverick had discovered his business dealings with another questionable businessman named Piyoosh Goyal, and Goyal’s dealings with former Congress leader Kapil Sibal. According to Daily Maverick and AmaBhungane, Kapil Sibal’s family, his wife Promila Sibal, and his son Akhil Sibal, who is also a lawyer – and the families of Piyoosh Goyal and the Gupta brothers took a chartered flight from Delhi to Mumbai to watch the final of the 2011 Cricket World Cup between India and Sri Lanka, a charge that Kapil Sibal and his son have categorically denied.
An independent inquiry by OpIndia also revealed that Kapil Sibal had bought a dead firm and an expensive piece of land from Piyoosh Goyal for a modest price and that the two’s financial activities were a bit murky. Following our inquiry, Kapil Sibal’s unwillingness to answer our question, and his later reversal of what he had previously told South African media, Sibal threatened to sue OpIndia.
Following the OpIndia investigation, the Income Tax department had initiated an inquiry into Kapil Sibal’s land purchases in 2018.
