Amid the ongoing protest against the Centre’s Agnipath Scheme, some Khap Panchayats in Haryana called for a social boycott of all those who would apply for the scheme. The leaders of the Khap Panchayat also declared a boycott of politicians from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Jananayak Janata Party combine and of corporate houses that have supported the scheme.
According to the reports, a meeting of the leaders of Khap Panchayat and other community leaders took place in the Rohtak district of Haryana. Leaders from Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and some of the student organizations also participated in the meeting.
Om Prakash Dhankar, the Chairperson of this meeting stated on the behalf of the Khap Panchayat that people from society who would try to apply for this scheme would be socially isolated and boycotted. “We are boycotting this scheme which wants young people to be hired as labourers in the name of being an Agniveer”, the chairperson added.
The leaders also appealed to the people to oppose the leaders of the BJP and Jananayak Janata Party and those corporate houses that have extended their support to the scheme. This is a day after corporate businesspersons including Vedanta’s Anil Agarwal, Anand Mahindra, Harsh Goenka, Dr Sangita Reddy, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, and Sanjeev Bikhchandani backed the scheme. The businesspersons promised to open job opportunities for young trained and skilled men and women after their 4-year stint in the Agniveer scheme.
Reiterating that the community will keep its distance from youngsters who apply for the Agnipath Scheme, Dhankar added that the Centre must take back the scheme. He also cited the reports of a boycott of Indian products in the Gulf countries after the Nupur Sharma controversy and urged the people to similarly not buy any products of over Rs 10,000 from the corporate companies who supported the Agnipath Scheme.
It is important to note that the decision of some of the Khap Panchayat to oppose the Agnipath Scheme comes as a contrast to the response from the Muslim community and several Muslim outfits have decided to popularise the Central Scheme. Reports mention that the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) in Kanpur has appealed to Muslim youths to apply to join the military services under the scheme. The outfit has also urged the imams of the city mosques to popularize the Central scheme during the Friday khutbas (sermons).
Agnipath scheme was rolled out by the Centre on June 14 for recruitment into the Army, Navy and Air Force earlier this month. Selected applicants will be called Agniveers and enrolled under respective Services Acts for four years. The monthly salary of an Agniveer in the first year of employment will be Rs 30,000, of which Rs 21,000 will be in-hand and Rs 9,000 will go to a corpus with an equal contribution from the government. Monthly salary in the second, third and fourth year will be Rs 33,000, Rs 36,500 and Rs 40,000 respectively.
Dear “journalists”, Bollywood left divas and assorted “intellectuals”,
You have been beating your breasts and crying out aloud over the events of the past week.
Yes, it has been a disappointing week. Your carefully constructed façade of “best CM” who is an “able administrator” has come crashing. Who was the last able administrator that didn’t even know what most of his own MLAs are thinking?
And instead of confronting the truth, you have sought refuge in familiar lies – that democracy has been murdered and MLAs are “for sale” and “people’s verdict doesn’t matter”. You may want to wipe your brown noses (Tharoor™) and smell the real world.
No democracy is not being murdered this week. It was murdered when the winning alliance was broken and losers punished by people were made winners in a backroom deal. It was murdered when a family’s naked ambition for power and desire to promote another Pappu to perpetuate it resulted in the sacrifice of principles, insulting hundreds of grassroots leaders that worked for them.
In fact, in essence, Shiv Sena is being de-dynastified. This was not the first time in politics this happens. After all, this is how Jayalalitha defeated M N Janaki, wife of MGR and CBN took over the party from NTR’s nearest kin.
Leaders that joined Balasaheb for an ideology, however much you may hate it, can’t see it reduced to another Congress. After all, not all parties are filled with Mani Shankar Aiyars, Digvijayas and Jairam Rameshs.
Principles were murdered when you started dishing out certificates of secularism as soon as he emerged after a dip in the tank at 10JP. That’s when the Sanghis like us came to know there’s something more powerful than a dip in the Ganges. And we all know the reasons for such dramatic transformation of Shiv Sena from, as you yourself often said, a party of thugs to liberal progressives, was, to quote Sherlock Holmes, largely metallic.
Hypocrisy became as abundant as Terra Luna tokens when corrupt yellow journalists and charlatans amongst you started praising him as the best CM even before he did any real work.
And in the “opinion” of some of you, he was supposed to have handled COVID efficiently and “set an example” and “shows how easy it is to manage” – a certificate you issued even before we had cases in triple digits. And kept repeating that lie even as MH inched towards #1 in case numbers and deaths – then you started saying “he handled COVID well despite a high number of cases and deaths”. Viola! Heads you win, tails also you win! He could do no wrong. I did not see any of you corrupt frauds running around cremation grounds, video cameras in hand, or rural hospitals in MH invading the privacy of the sick and the mourning.
You chased after poor migrant workers that were chased out on hot and dusty roads, for TRP and sob stories, to attack Yogi, but not the prosperous states, including MH, that chased them out at moment’s notice without even food or water – that was your idea of “speaking truth to power”. I have a different name for it, but it is unprintable. I can whisper into your ears though.
All because Uddhav Thackeray declared obedience to you-know-who and kowtowed, just like you do. He attacked Modi day in and day out, even in alliance, but dared not say one word against the famiglia as he perfectly understands true fascism and the consequences of taking it on.
All he had to do was open his mouth and you leftists and “fearless journalists” started clapping and dared not to be the one to stop first. Just like your comrade pals overseas did with mass murderers and rapist savages like Stalin and Mao and Ceausescu. Go read your tweets!
Some of you were happy as the MVA regime went slow on crucial infrastructure projects, effectively killing them just out of spite – essentially doing the job you specialize in. After all, many of you travel first class to seminars in London or Paris, posting happy selfies, and live on fake fundraisers, why do you care about whether ordinary Mumbaikar gets to ride a public train.
How many of you were honest to admit, other than Uddhav Thackeray and his son, other Sainiks just stood to lose, even if they managed to get ministerial berths for now? After all, there is no way NCP-Congress will allow them to contest 100+ seats in the next poll! But then you are long used to presenting one family’s interest as above that of state, nation and everything else.
An alliance where each of the parties, with roughly the same number of MLAs, took turns holding the CM chair would have been more balanced, but that did not suit the ambition of UT. He had to wring the CM chair out of the dynasts, something BJP did not allow itself to be blackmailed into. In the process throwing his party as well as his comrades under the bus, destroying its long-term future. But you didn’t care. As long as it heralds the return of dynastic loot in Delhi and the good ol’ days when you lived on the table scrap. Now you are talking principles and outraging!
You are busy pretending as if Shinde was the first leader to check into a star hotel or resort, busy telling us how much each room costs – but then we know what you were doing when similar things were done by your friends.
Carry on, live in your fool’s paradise and velvet-lined echo chambers. Accumulate more brown(ie) points. The families deserve you as much as you deserve them.
As the Eknath Shinde camp of the Shiv Sena MLAs has chosen the Hotel Radisson Blu of Guwahati to stay at, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has invited Uddhav Thackeray to Guwahati on a vacation. Himanta Biswa Sarma said so when he was asked about the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs staying in the hotel at Guwahati.
While speaking to ANI, Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “I heard from you only that more MLAs are reaching Guwahati. I invite all the MLAs in the country to come and stay in Assam.” In response to this, the ANI reporter asked Himanta Biswa Sarma’s reaction to the allegations by opposition the Assam Chief Minister is disturbing the federal structure by allowing rebel Shiv Sena MLAs to stay in his state.
#WATCH “…He (Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray) should also come to Assam for vacation,” says Assam CM & BJP leader Himanata Biswa Sarma, in Delhi pic.twitter.com/vqtS5F6Jcr
Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “How does this have anything to do with federal structure? How can I ban the people from coming and staying in hotels in our state? Tomorrow if you book a hotel and I prohibit you and say that there is a federal structure in the country and so you don’t come to the hotel in Assam, will it be fine? Will you call it a federal structure?”
Himanta Biswa Sarma further said, “I don’t know how many days will they stay there but whatever number of days they spend in Assam, I will be happy for that. They should stay there. I invite everyone to Assam. Everyone should come to Assam.”
When asked for his message to Uddhav Thackeray, Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “He should also come to Assam on vacation.”
Earlier, Himanta Biswa Sarma had expressed his welcoming gesture for the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs to Assam and said, “If Guwahati becomes the political epicentre of all the states, centre or even foreign countries, I will welcome it.”
Himanta Biswa Sarma had said, “This is the time the state govt needs money. If the hotel rooms are full at this time, we will get a tax. We have good hotels in Guwahati now, there is Radisson, there is Taj, therefore everyone should come to Guwahati so that business in the city increases. One person staying in a hotel means we will get GST, we will earn.”
Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar has obtained a recording of a phone conversation wherein a woman is heard persuading Shaikh Jafar Qureshi, an ex-Muslim to turn back to Islam. The 46-year-old Qureshi renounced Islam and accepted Hinduism in the Mandasaur district of Madhya Pradesh on May 27, 2022.
Qureshi was given the initiation to Hinduism by performing ritual worship by Mahamandaleshwar Swami Chidambaranand Saraswati at the Pashupatinath temple. From May 28 Shaikh Jafar Qureshi was known by his new name Chetan Singh Rajput.
In the telephonic conversation, the girl attempted to convince Qureshi to reaffirm his commitment to Islam. She rebuked Shaikh Jafar Qureshi aka Chetan Singh Rajput for allying with the ‘Kafirs'(non-Muslims). She claimed that Qureshi was convinced to convert to Hinduism with the sole intention of demeaning Muslims. She kept asking Qureshi to swear in the name of Allah and his parents that he would get back to Islam.
According to the reports, the ritual worship for Qureshi to adopt the Sanatan Dharma was organized by Mahamandaleshwar Swami Chidambaranand Saraswati of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad Mahanirvani Sangh on May 27. Swami who gave Qureshi his new name asked to him clean his body with the cow dung and the holy gau mutra. Mahamandaleshwar Swami Chidambaranand Saraswati said that the religious ritual was not conducted for conversion, but ‘gharvapsi’ (homecoming).
It is notable here that in the Hindu faith, there is no concept of ‘conversion’, but those who had strayed away from the Sanatana Dharma can ‘come back’, by performing certain rituals. This process is popular as ‘Ghar Waspsi’ (coming back home) in Hindi-speaking areas.
Qureshi had also termed the process as ‘gharvapsi’. He said that he has been following the Hindu religion since his childhood and that he never liked the Islamist people who possess fanatical thinking.
A Dainik Bhaskar team, meanwhile, went to Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh to meet Chetan Singh Rajput, who told the Hindi daily that he has been receiving numerous calls since May 27 asking him to rejoin Islam. Chetan claimed that he has also informed the cops about this. However, when the Dainik Bhaskar team reached out to Anurag Sujania, the Mandsaur SP, he said that the police had not received any complaints regarding the same.
I want to be born a Kafir in every birth: Shaikh Jafar Qureshi alias Chetan Singh Rajput
Speaking to Dainik Bhaskar, Shaikh Jafar Qureshi alias Chetan Singh Rajput recalled how the girl was trying to convince him in the name of Allah that he should come back to Islam. Further reminiscing how she admonished him for joining the ‘Kafirs’, Qureshi remarked, “I am ready to be born a Kafir in every birth I take”.
Qureshi further stated the woman tried to continuously convince him to renounce Hinduism and accept Islam by and scaring him with the concept of Jahannam (hell) in Islam. Qureshi recalled the woman telling him, “Brother, you will certainly burn in the ever-flaming pit of fire in Jahannam (hell). I asked her whether she has experienced Jahannam (hell). She called me up multiple times and each time I tried to give her a patient hearing, but eventually, I stopped picking up her call,” said Qureshi.
He went on to say that the woman had warned him that if he didn’t change his religion from Hinduism to Islam again he would not be spared. “After a while, these individuals who are presently willing to support you won’t care as much. I am aware of how dangerous they are. You won’t be spared by them. You will be killed, “Qureshi remembered her admonishing him.
He then added, “I was solely interested in knowing who her mentors were, and sure enough, they were the people I had doubted.”
‘My aim is to bring the divided Hindus together’, Qureshi told Dainik Bhaskar
“After formally converting to Hinduism, I now feel fulfilled. I will give my entire life to the nation and the Sanatan Dharma. Today, a lot of Hindus have strayed. My prime focus is to reintegrate these deviated Hindus. All individuals who desire to convert to Hinduism have my support and encouragement.” said Qureshi.
He added that he had a love marriage with a Hindu woman. “My wife is scared that the people I’ve left behind would do us some kind of harm. She hesitates to speak up because of this. My wife’s family has been supportive of my decision to convert to Hinduism. I’ve left behind a few individuals, and they’re the ones who are unhappy and have good reason to be so.”
It may be recalled how Qureshi had expressed his happiness when he embraced Hinduism in the month of May. Termed the process as ‘gharvapsi’, Qureshi said, “I am happy now that I am a Hindu. I have been visiting temples since I was a child. Later I had started performing Hindu rituals. During the time of Navratri also I used to keep fast for 9 days”, he said.
Elaborating his feeling about having a new name, Chetan Singh Rajput had said, “Forefathers of many Muslims were Rajput. So I decided to consider Rajput surname for myself. I am a devotee of Lord Shiva and was fascinated by Sanatan Dharma since childhood”, he reiterated. He also stated that now he will support and encourage all those people who want to adopt Hinduism as a religion.
Leaders and workers of Assam Congress and some left parties today clashed with police while protesting against the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs camping in Guwahati. During the clash, one police officer was injured and he was admitted at a hospital.
Congress workers led by party’s state president Bhupen Bora arrived at Hotel Radisson Blu in Guwahati today where the Shiv Sena MLAs and some independent MLAs from Maharashtra led by Eknath Shinde are staying. Demanding that they go back from Assam to Maharashtra, the Congress party had started shouting slogans against them near the hotel. The Congress protestors were also joined by workers and leaders of left parties like RPI and CPIM.
But the police prevented them from proceeding further, and tried to stop them. This led to a clash between Congress workers and cops. Chanting ‘BJP Murdabad’ and ‘Go back go back’ slogans, the Congress workers tried to enter the Hotel premises, but they were prevented from doing so by the large number of cops present at the site.
During this clash, one police officer fell down from his vehicle, and he was injured on his head. The cop was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The police then detained the protesting Congress members, loaded them onto buses, and took them away from the spot. The detained Congress leaders include Bhupen Bora, Rakibul Hussain, Wazed Ali Choudhury, Abdus Sobahan Ali Sarkar, A K Alam and others. CPIM leader Manoranjan Talukdar was also detained by police.
It may be noted that yesterday the Assam unit of Trinamool Congress had arrived at the hotel for protesting against the rebel MLAs, and they were also detained by police.
Before heading towards the hotel to lead the protests, Bhupen Bora had written a letter to Eknath Shinde asking him to leave Assam. He had alleged that Assam has been defamed by the presence of the rebel Shiv Sena faction, and support provided to them by the state govt has sullied the image of the state.
Saying that Shinde and the other MLAs have causing damage to the people of Assam by their presence, the Pradesh Congress president had asked them to leave the state as soon as possible.
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
