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Karnataka burqa row: Hijab petitioner now thinks HC hearing citing Quran and Sharia may impact elections in other states, seeks adjournment till Feb 28

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Karnataka burqa row: Hijab petitioner now thinks HC hearing citing Quran and Sharia may impact elections in other states, seeks adjournment till Feb 28

One of the petitioners in the ongoing hijab row in Karnataka has sought adjournment in the hearing till February 28 claiming that the arguments are being used by political parties and groups ‘for ulterior gains’ in the ongoing elections in six states.

While it is heartening to see the younger generation, especially minors, being so politically aware, it is important to point out that these protests demanding hijab/burqa be allowed on school campus defying school uniform rules are backed by the Islamist group Popular Front of India (PFI) and its students’ wing, Campus Front of India (CFI). It has also received support from Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, another Islamic group.

The students were not wearing any hijab till December 2021. In October 2021 they got in touch with CFI which has since been consulting the girls on how to carry out the protests demanding hijab be allowed. The girls have been protesting while wearing burqa, full veil.

During the hearing in the High Court, the petitioners also demanded restricting media from reporting the arguments and social media discussions claiming the same may affect the ongoing elections. However, the High Court said that they would consider restricting media if the Election Commission approaches. However, the live streaming of the hearing was indeed suspended.

Their lawyer, Congress leader Devadatt Kamat, has been citing Quranic verses and other provisions of Sharia to make case for allowing the hijab. Kamat arguing over the absoluteness and relativity of Article 25 of the Constitution of India which talks about freedom to practice, propagate religion. He cited verses from the Quran justifying the use of headscarves in Islam.

During previous hearings, Adv. Kamat had argued that wearing a hijab is a fundamental Islamic practice mandated by the Quran. Kamat then proceeded to read a few verses from the Quran. “It is not correct for a woman after she starts menstruating to show her hands and face to strangers” Kamat quoted referring to Hadith mentioned in a Kerala HC judgment. However, many feel that if the secular judiciary follows Sharia, it may make the space unsafe for non-hijabi women.

TMC did not contest in UP for “larger interest”, did not want to weaken Akhilesh Yadav in any seat, says Mamata Banerjee

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TMC did not contest in UP for “larger interest”, did not want to weaken Akhilesh Yadav in any seat, says Mamata Banerjee

Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal and the leader of the Trinamool Congress, has stated that her party decided not to contest elections in Uttar Pradesh in “the larger interest”. Mamata visited UP last week to campaign for Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party.

She made the statement while was speaking after TMC gained leads in the West Bengal Municipal Corporation Elections. Mamata Banerjee congratulated the people and thanked them for voting TMC and having faith in Them.

She reportedly said that “the TMC did not field any candidate in UP as I did not want Akhilesh Yadav to get weak in any seat.” “In the first phase, I am hoping Akhilesh’s party will win 37 of 57 seats,” she added. She further stated that she would return to UP on March 3 to hold a rally in Varanasi.

While Mamata Banerjee is busy backing Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in the ongoing Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari had earlier advised the people of UP not to be deceived by Mamata Banerjee’s deceptive propaganda. He reminded the people that the woman on a “propaganda peddling tour” has “blood on her hands.”

Suvendu posted many videos that highlighted the TMC’s brutality in West Bengal during and after the elections. Suvendu posted many recordings of post-poll violence in which locals who disagreed with the TMC were assaulted mercilessly.

The BJP leader Tweeted on February 8: “I would like to remind the respectable people of UP, that, the lady on propaganda peddling tour preaching democratic values, has blood on her hands. Blood of 55 @BJP4Bengal karyakartas including WB Vidhan Sabha election candidate Manas Saha. History would depict her as a tyrant.”

Suvendu Adhikari added: She unleashed such terror that lakhs of Bengali Hindus fled their homes. Those couldn’t, got beaten up. Many of them haven’t returned back yet out of fear. Their properties got looted or destroyed. Homes burnt. Women raped & molested. Please don’t get swayed by her hollow words.”

In a Tweet thread, the BJP leader posted a few videos to back up his claim. In the first video, a severely injured guy laments being attacked by TMC goons for favoring the BJP in the West Bengal elections in 2021.

Men can be seen in the following video viciously striking a teenager with batons while the latter falls motionless on the road.

Similarly, in another video posted by the BJP leader. Men beat up a man sitting nude on the side of the road while he cries in agony and begs to be rescued.

Suvendu Adhikari also put out a video in which a lady was made to perform sit-ups while holding both ears as punishment for not adhering to the Trinamool Congress’ principles and instead of displaying support for the BJP party in the state.

Likewise, the BJP representative produced many recordings of TMC goons putting BJP workers and supporters to terrible human rights violations, empowered by Mamata Banerjee’s assistance.

Though Mamata Banerjee has come out in support of the Samajwadi Party, the post-poll violence in West Bengal is not concealed from anyone. Following the TMC party’s victory in the assembly elections, more than two dozen BJP workers were killed in post-election rioting and arson.

MP police arrest Raveen and Waris from Rajasthan, who blackmailed BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur using obscene videos on WhatsApp

OpIndia Staff
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MP police arrest Raveen and Waris from Rajasthan, who blackmailed BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur using obscene videos on WhatsApp

Madhya Pradesh police have arrested two youths for sending obscene messages and videos to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a member of Parliament from Bhopal, reports Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar. The youths have been detained from Sikri in Bharatpur, Rajasthan and are being brought to Bhopal on transit remand.

It is a case of cybercrime, said Bharatpur IG Prasanna Kumar Khamesra, adding that the suspects were apprehended in Rajasthan and handed over to the Madhya Pradesh Police. About 8 days ago, the MP had filed an FIR in TT Nagar, Bhopal, alleging conspiracy to defame her and spoil her image.

The police said that though the accused Raveen (23) and his brother Waris (21) are uneducated, they specialise in carrying out cybercrime. On Monday afternoon, Bhopal Sub Inspector Devendra Sahu and his team arrived at Sikri police station. The cyber cell was deployed to track down both the accused. The police were aware of the accused’s movements based on phone records. At around 3 pm, police from Bhopal and Sikri arrived at Chanda Ka Bas Banni hamlet and detained the duo.

Pragya Thakur had filed a complaint with the city police on February 7, alleging that she is a victim of an ongoing nude video call blackmailing racket that has victimized a number of people across the country. Thakur claimed she received a video call on her WhatsApp on February 6 at 7 pm. According to her complaint, a woman who video called her took off her clothes, after which the MP disconnected the call.

Thakur went on to say that after some time, she received a call from a different number demanding ransom and threatening to make the video of the MP’s conversation with the girl go public if she did not pay the money. She claimed that the online group used the ‘nude video call’ tactic to try to extort money from her.

Following the incident, the BJP MP informed the TT Nagar police in Bhopal saying that the call and videos were part of a conspiracy to defame her and spoil her image.

Police had registered a case against the accused under the Indian Penal Code’s sections 354 (sexual harassment), 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication), and 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman).

Uttar Pradesh polls: BJP accuses poll officials of not checking the identity of burqa-clad women at polling booths, two such women arrested for fake voting

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh polls: BJP accuses poll officials of not checking the identity of burqa-clad women at polling booths, two such women arrested for fake voting

The BJP unit of Uttar Pradesh has written to the Election Commission, accusing poll officials of failing to confirm the identification of burqa-clad women before allowing them to cast their vote in the second phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, February 14.

The BJP has accused polling booths of facilitating fake voting by burqa-clad women and has requested that the identities of burqa-clad women be thoroughly vetted by female police constables. The party also requested that women constables be stationed at all polling stations to monitor the voting process. The letter signed by UP BJP’s general secretary JPS Rathore urged the EC to stop the elections till arrangements are made for verifying the identity of women in veils.

Reportedly, two burqa-clad women were arrested from Azam Khan’s constituency Rampur for casting fake votes. A total of six persons were arrested in Rampur for casting fake votes, including four women. Two of the women, caught in Raza Degree College, are mother and daughter, and both were wearing burqas. They had already cast fake votes, and were trying to cast more votes in other women’s names.

It may be noted that the areas that went to the polls in this phase have a sizeable Muslim population influenced by religious leaders of Barelvi and Deoband sects. Jailed SP leader Mohammad Azam Khan is contesting the polls from his stronghold Rampur.

Notably, Azam Khan, who has been lodged in jail since February 2020 in connection with a fake birth certificate case, faces Haider Ali Khan, the Nawabs of Rampur’s heir, who is contesting on a ticket from Apna Dal (Sonelal), a BJP ally. Haider Ali Khan is the grandson of former MP Noor Bano.

Rampur is a stronghold of the Samajwadi Party, especially Azam Khan, who has been elected 9 times from the said constituency. In 2017, when BJP swept Uttar Pradesh, Khan had managed to retain his Rampur seat by defeating Shiv Bahadur Saxena of BJP by 47,000 votes.

Assembly elections in UP

The first phase of Assembly elections took place on February 10. The second phase of polls happened on February 14. The remaining five phases will be over by March 10. The results of Assembly polls in UP and the other four states will be announced on March 10.

PM Modi takes a dig at infighting within Punjab Congress, says the party can not give a stable government

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi takes a dig at infighting within Punjab Congress, says the party can not give a stable government

On Monday (February 14), Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the Congress party during his election campaign in Jalandhar in the poll-bound state of Punjab, saying that the Congress party is plagued with infighting, and cannot give a stable government in Punjab.

“Look at the state of the Congress. Their own party is falling apart. Their own leaders are exposing them. A party with so much infighting – can it give a stable government to Punjab?” PM Modi asked talking about the infighting in the Congress party in Punjab.

PM Modi remarked, “The history of the Congress party is a testimony to the fact that it can’t work for the people of Punjab. And if anyone tries to work for the welfare of the State, the party deliberately creates hurdles in its way.”

“It is evident from the speeches of Congress leaders as to why they sidelined Captain Amarinder Singh. Congress leaders in Delhi had accepted that the government of Captain Amarinder Singh was being run by remote control of one family and not by State government on constitutional principles,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi further added, “Captain Amarinder Singh has joined hands with the Central government, under the principle of federalism…Congress leaders are claiming that Captain Amarinder Singh never listened to them but only to the Indian government. So they began creating hurdles for him before sidelining him completely.”

“When a family runs a government through remote control and ignores constitutional principles, chaos in the country is inevitable…Congress is paying the price for this. Today, their party leaders are exposing each other in public. Can those who are fighting amongst themselves provide a stable government to Punjab,” PM Modi asked the crowd.

“Have you ever heard ‘vocal-for-local’ from Congress? Congress’ policies destroyed Punjab’s industries and employment. The double-engine BJP government in Punjab will construct roads and advance infrastructure with double speed. BJP will ensure that the traders of Punjab are able to do business without any hassle,” PM further said.

Vidhan Sabha polls in Punjab to be conducted on February 20

On January 17, the Election Commission of India (ECI) informed that the Vidhan Sabha elections for the State of Punjab have been re-scheduled from February 14 to February 20 this year.

The nodal Election body stated that it had received representation from the Punjab government and several political parties about the movement of devotees in Punjab to Varanasi for Sri Guru Ravidas Ji Jayanti celebrations (February 16, 2022).

Elections in the State will now coincide with the 3rd phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh. The decision by the ECI was taken in consultation with the Chief Electoral Officer (ECI) and the Punjab government. Counting of votes in the poll-bound State will be conducted on March 10, 2022.

‘Grow potato chips and tomato ketchup in food park’ – Rahul Gandhi says funnily, but here is what is not funny at all

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‘Grow potato chips and tomato ketchup in food park’ – Rahul Gandhi says funnily, but here is what is not funny at all

On Monday, February 14, at an election rally in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, Congress scion Rahul Gandhi said that if his party is re-elected in the state, farmers will be able to sale their produce directly to food processing units from their farms. He said that his govt will set up food parks near farms, which will host food processing units.

However, during the speech, Rahul Gandhi said that farmers will be able ‘grow’ potato chips and tomato ketchup in food parks, “Hoshiarpur is a centre of agriculture and farm tools. Our government will work to create a cluster of food parks and machine tools in Hoshiarpur. Whatever farmers ‘grow’ in the food park, be it potato chips or tomato ketchup, will be made here. You cultivate crop in your field, and from there, take it directly to the food processing unit,” Gandhi is heard saying at around 0.30 seconds in the 1.19-minute video shared by ANI.

Netizens used this to mock him, suggesting that he has promised that farmers will be able to grow finished products like potato chips and tomato ketchup in the food parks. However, this time Rahul Gandhi didn’t goof up on the matters of food processing industry,

Because, in the next sentence itself, Rahul Gandhi says that farmers will be able to bring the crop from their farms directly to the food parks, where the same will be processed and final food products will be produced. “You will grow crops in your farm, from there you will take it directly to the food processing unit. Potato, tomato, chili, whatever the farmers grow they can take it directly to the food processing unit, and they will get the payment directly”.

In general, this is a completely valid promise, a promise the Modi government had already made earlier. It is not something that Rahul Gandhi said, as alleged by some netizens, and his ‘grow chips and ketchup in food park’ can be a minor slip of the tongue.

But what is problematic is Rahul Gandhi’s promise to farmers that they will be able to sell their produce to the food parks, because, for more than a year, the Congress party was opposing the very farm laws that ensured exactly the same. The now-repealed farm laws had provisions allowing the farmers to bypass middlemen and sell directly to the end-users including food processing units. But the same provision was vehemently opposed by the farmer unions and the Congress party.

They had alleged that allowing food processing units to directly buy from farmers will allow them to control the market and exploit the farmers. They had alleged the farm laws were brought by PM Modi to benefit his ‘industrialist friends’ who are in the food processing business. They had listed several benefits of middlemen in the trade of farm produce and opposed any provision that allowed the farmers to bypass such middlemen, including the mandis. Due to the aggressive protests by farmer unions aided by the Congress government in Punjab, the central govt had withdrawn the farm laws, which were already suspended by the Supreme Court.

And now, Congress leader Raul Gandhi is promising exactly the same he and his party was opposing for one and a half years. Now he says farmers can avoid goin=g to a mandi or a middleman and can directly sell to a food processing unit. This is a very high level of hypocrisy that the Kerala MP has shown.

Burqa row hearing: Petitioners wanted restriction on media and social media discussion, said ‘it may affect elections’

OpIndia Staff
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Burqa row hearing: Petitioners wanted restriction on media and social media discussion, said ‘it may affect elections’

The Karnataka High Court was hearing the case on the burqa row today. One of the petitioners had expressed that the case hearing might adversely affect the ongoing elections in several states and had requested the court to restrict media and social media comments on the issue due to the ongoing elections.

However, the HC stated that they would consider if the Election Commission of India makes such a request. Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi stated that the court can only make appeals to the media but cannot restrict the media. However, they can suspend the live streaming of the hearing.

The three-member bench comprising of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna Dixit & Justice JM Khazi was hearing the arguments put forward by Senior Advocate Devdatt Kamat on behalf of the petitioners (Girl students). Kamat was seen arguing over the absoluteness and relativity of Article 25 which talks about freedom to practice, propagate religion. He went ahead to quote verses from the Quran justifying the use of headscarves in Islam.

While arguing for the right of girl students to wear Hijab (as supposedly mandated by Islam), Kamat said, “I am asking for a positive mandate for allowing me to wear a headscarf of the same colour of the uniform.” With 15-20 minutes left for Devdatt Kamat to finish, Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi asked before the court about who else wanted to argue on behalf of the petitioners.

Pointing out the religious nature of ongoing proceedings of the High Court, an advocate asked before the bench to hear the matter after the ongoing elections today and also restrict the media covering the proceedings. CJ Awasthi responded to this stating, “If the Election Commission or any other body which holds the elections asks us to do so, then we will consider,”

Responding to the request Justice Krishna Dixit argued that such cases are handled by the election commission under article 324. Pointing out that the concerned individuals hearing the case are not voters in the elections, he affirmed that no elections are being affected by the court proceedings. Over growing concerns about the naivety of social media users hearing the case, the Chief Justice announced, “If you people agree, we can put off this live streaming. However, we cannot put any restrictions as far as the media is concerned,”

Before adjourning the court, the Chief Justice listed out the names of advocates who will be appearing for the petitioner (girls) in the continued proceedings tomorrow. The Karnataka High Court functions on an online mode owing to the Covid-19 restrictions. The live streaming of the hearings was being watched by around 20,000 viewers on Youtube. The hearing is adjourned till 2:30 PM tomorrow.

Sonam Kapoor’s tweet location set to Lahore in Pakistan creates furore, husband’s clothing brand had recently shot ad there

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Sonam Kapoor’s tweet location set to Lahore in Pakistan creates furore, husband’s clothing brand had recently shot ad there

Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor took to Twitter to write a post wishing her husband Anand Ahuja this valentine’s day. However, it drew irk of netizens when it came to notice of everyone that the location for the tweet was set to Lahore in Pakistan. Social media users were seen asking how could she post something from Pakistan on a day which witnessed one of the deadliest attacks on Indian armed forces by terrorists sponsored by Pakistan.

Sonam Kapoor tweeted “Happy ? day. Nothing more important then ? @ Love” and tagged a post of Instagram. The tweet was made from Lahore, Pakistan at 04:37 AM on February 14th.

The tweet made by Sonam Kapoor.

People began pointing out the Lahore reference in her post and criticizing her as the tweet spread.

A Twitter user named Vineet Kumar Chaurasiya (@kumarvineet074) quoted her tweet and wrote “Why is @sonamakapoor tweeting from Lahore.?”

Another user with handle @Right_Wing_Guyy wrote, “Tweeting from Lahore, Pakistan on the third anniversary of #PulwamaAttack Have some shame @sonamakapoor”

Ananya Mishra (@Vintage__Vibes-) wrote, “Is it ok to go to Lahore without hijab?”

It is worth mentioning that her husband participated actively in cross-border fashion cooperation through his apparel business Bhaane. His apparel brand Bhane was filming at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal Town in October 2021. According to an Instagram post, the brand is now exploring Pakistan.

OpIndia recently reported that her husband, Anand Ahuja, was recently accused of creating fraudulent invoices in order to avoid paying shipping charges. MyUS, an international shipping firm, exposed him for falsifying invoices in order to avoid paying taxes and customs duties. The shipping company stated that the bills attached included up to 90% less value than what he had paid for the products.

Controversies around Sonam Kapoor

Sonam Kapoor is no stranger to stirring up controversy. She had come out in favour of a contentious NCERT document that advocated gender identity politics and supported ideas like puberty blockers and ‘gender-neutral toilets’ for children in November 2021. She had attracted attention recently for defending Muslim women’s “right” to wear hijab. In 2013, Sonam Kapoor questioned the concept of limiting item numbers in movies, claiming that women should not be put inside burqas.

‘TMC leader says they want to divide Hindu votes in Goa’: PM Modi questions opposition’s pseudo-secularism, cautions voters in UP

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‘TMC leader says they want to divide Hindu votes in Goa’: PM Modi questions opposition’s pseudo-secularism, cautions voters in UP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday slammed Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress party for saying that it is fighting elections in Goa to ‘divide’ Hindu votes. PM Modi added that the Election Commission, voters in Goa as well as Uttar Pradesh, should pay attention to how the opposition is trying to mess with India’s democracy by playing communal politics.

PM Modi, in a reference to TMC MP Mahua Moitra, said that a leader of the Trinamool Congress party had admitted in an interview that the Trinamool’s electoral strategy has been to divide the Hindu votes. “Is the secularism”, asked Modi, deriding TMC for undermining the democracy by playing divisive politics in the name of secularism.

If “Parivaarwadi” is voted to power they would develop “mafia ganj” in each of the state’s districts: PM Modi

PM Modi went on to take a dig at Samajwadi Party’s ‘Parivaarvadi’ politics. He said they had distributed areas among family members for “loot” during their rule in the state. 

He went after the Samajwadi Party saying, “The people of Uttar Pradesh will once again defeat the ‘Parivaarwadi.’ “Holi, the festival of colours, will come days 10 days early on March 10th in Uttar Pradesh with BJP’s victory,” added the PM.

PM Modi asked the people whether they wanted to vote for a party that would develop “mafia ganj” in each of the state’s districts.

“If they had their way, they would have made Kanpur and other such areas in UP, a ‘mafia ganj’ mohalla. Now their ‘mafiagiri’ is counting its last breath. These ‘parivaarvadi’ want to give power to these mafias again. UP public will have to stay alert,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that before 2017, Uttar Pradesh had ration scams every other day. “They made lakhs of fake ration cards. The double engine government ended this fake ration card scheme. Today, crores of the public are receiving ration free of cost. Stoves of my poor sisters and mothers will never be turned off.”

“How would they serve the people of Uttar Pradesh if they keep changing their allies?” he asked, referring to Akhilesh’s partnership with the RLD.

“Those who bring new alliance partners and kick them out in every election, would you trust such parties? Would you support such parties? Can you trust those who do not support their own alliance partners? Will such people who don’t trust their alliance partners ever trust or support the common public? Can people who only seek to bring money into their own families’ wallets possibly work for the welfare of ordinary citizens? PM asked Kanpur Dehat voters.

Law against triple talaq has saved thousands of Muslim women in Uttar Pradesh: PM

Further, PM Modi reached out to the Muslim women saying that the law against triple talaq brought by the BJP government has saved thousands of Muslim women in Uttar Pradesh. “The Muslim girls feel safe under the BJP rule in Uttar Pradesh. Many more Muslim girls are going to schools and colleges in the state now,” Modi said, adding that BJP does not differentiate between women of different faiths and that its schemes have benefitted all.

“The trends of the second phase and the voting in the first phase in Uttar Pradesh has made it clear that the BJP government led by Yogi Adityanath is returning to power in the state that too with a thumping majority,” said PM Modi.

Polling has begun for phase 2 of the high-stakes, seven-phase Uttar Pradesh elections. In all 17,000 polling booths across the state, security has been increased. This phase will determine the fate of 586 candidates. In 2017, the BJP won 38 of the 55 seats up for election in the second phase. The SP and Congress, who ran together, won 15 and two seats, respectively. The results will be declared on March 10. 

Lavanya suicide case: DMK MLA felicitates hostel warden who is accused of harassing and torturing the school girl

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Lavanya suicide case: DMK MLA felicitates hostel warden who is accused of harassing and torturing the school girl

A month after a 17-year-old Lavanya committed suicide following allegations of coercion to convert to Christianity by her school in Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK) MLA Inigo Irudayaraj felicitated the hostel warden accused of torturing Lavanya, reported The Commune.

As per a report in Samayam, the Trichy East MLA felicitated the accused hostel warden Sagaya Mary with a shawl outside the Trichy Central jail, after she was released on bail by the Thanjavur District Court.

It must be mentioned that the 17-year-old Lavanya had revealed in her dying declaration that the hostel caretaker Sagaya Mary harassed her for not converting to Christianity. The deceased Hindu girl had informed how she was forced to cook, keep books and clean toilets.

Hindupost reported that the DMK MLA Inigo is also the convenor and founder of the Christian Goodwill Movement. He had also organised an event where a Christian priest openly delivered a hate speech against the Hindu community.

“The majority (Hindus) are nothing but mosquitoes and can be easily swatted away,” the priest had remarked. Ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the DMK MLA was also seen vying for consolidation of Christian and Muslim vote bank to defeat the BJP in the Southern State of Tamil Nadu.

Lavanya suicide case

Lavanya was a 12 standard student at Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School in Michaelpatti near Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. She had committed suicide on January 19 this year by consuming pesticides after being forced by the school to convert to Christianity.

The Tamil Nadu government, media and police had tried to suppress the conversion angle in the case and had ignored the dying declaration, prompting her family to approach the HC seeking a CBI inquiry.

On January 31, 2022, The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court had ordered the transfer of the Lavanya suicide case to the CBI, a decision upheld even by the Supreme Court of India. This came after the victim’s father had filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking a CBI probe into the matter, alleging that the investigation by state police was not going in the right direction.

The government, which has been denying the conversion angle right from the start had filed an SLP with the apex court through the DGP challenging validity of the HC decision. The DGP had also challenged the remarks of the Madras High Court against the State Police for their inaction and lack of concerted effort in investigating the angle of conversion

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