On Monday (January 31), Hindu outfit Karni Sena filed a police complaint against Asaduddin Owaisi and 4 others for hate speeches against the Hindu community. The complaint was filed with the Sihanigate Police Station in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.
In its complaint, Karni Sena named AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi, ex-Punjab DGP Mohammad Mustafa, SP (Kairana) candidate Nahid Hussain, former BJP leader Swami Prasad Maurya, and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar Azad. They were accused of making genocidal remarks, hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus, and driving a wedge between communities.
Karni Sena pointed out that Asaduddin Owaisi, and SP (Kairana) candidate Nahid Hussain had openly threatened Hindus with murder when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath would be voted out of power. The Hindu organisation pointed out that the AIMIM leader wanted to stir communal riots by deliberately hurting religious sentiments.
LIVE | #Breaking : करणी सेना ने गाजियाबाद में ओवैसी, वाहिद हुसैन और मोहम्मद मुस्तफा के खिलाफ धार्मिक भावनांए भड़कानें की शिकायत दर्ज कराई.
Sena also added that Owaisi’s vitriolic speech violated the Model Code of conduct. The complaint was filed by Karni Sena members including Vivek Rathore, Vandana Sengar, and Shekhar Chauhan. The organisation has appealed to the Election Commission to bar Owaisi and others from campaigning in the State and further disturbing communal harmony.
Karni Sena, in their police complaint, also stated that Dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azad and Swami Prasad Maurya had been actively dividing the society along caste lines. Similar accusations were raised against ex-Punjab DSP Mohammad Mustafa. A copy of the complaint was sent to UP State Election Commission, Central Election Commission, Director General of Police (UP) and Chief Election Commissioner.
Vitriolic speeches by Owaisi and others against Hindus
Asaduddin Owaisi had kickstarted his campaign for Uttar Pradesh 2022 state elections from Ayodhya claiming that the “Muslims of UP will win” and since then he had given several inflammatory speeches, instigating Muslims to choose an Islamic leader and not rely on the ‘Dallas (pimps)’ of other political parties.
The Uttar Pradesh police had on September 9 last year registered two FIRs against the AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi in connection with his public meeting in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki. The Hyderabad MP was booked on charges of attempting to disturb communal harmony, flouting Covid norms and disrespecting the national flag.
Recently, a video of former Punjab DGP Mohammad Mustafa went viral on social media wherein he could be heard threatening Hindus with dire repercussions if they dared to hold their events near his event. Mustafa is also the principal strategic adviser to Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
The Samajwadi Party had also allotted at least 10 seats to Muslim Candidates for phase 2 of UP elections, including Gangster Nahid Hasan who was responsible for the exodus of Hindus out of Kairana in 2016.
After quitting the BJP, an arrest warrant was issued against Swami Prasad Maurya by a Sultanpur court Magistrate over objectionable statements made against Hindus in 2014.
On January 31, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee threw a strange tantrum and said during a meeting that she had blocked WB governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Twitter. She said, “Every morning evening, he tweets accusing and attacking us. As if he is the only supreme and we are bonded labourers. I cannot take it. I have blocked him today on #Twitter.”
BIG: CM #MamataBanerjee claims she has BLOCKED #Bengal governor #JagdeepDhankar today on Twitter. “every morning evening he tweets accusing and attacking us. As if he is the only supreme and we are bonded labourers. I can not take it. I have blocked him today on #Twitter” pic.twitter.com/kz2V5D3AkE
Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay has said on Monday that a request has been made to President Ram Nath Koving to remove Governor Dhankhar from the state. He added when the request was made, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu was also present.
Today, I requested President Ram Nath Kovind to remove West Bengal Governor (Jagdeep Dhankhar) from the state..Vice President Venkaih Naidu was also present…: TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay pic.twitter.com/1suHQO6cdG
It is notable that in recent months, the governor and the state government has come face-to-face over several issues, especially after the violence erupted against BJP workers in West Bengal after state elections. The government had recently said he could not see human rights abuse and violence.
On Sunday, while paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary, the governor had said the insults targeted at him would not stop him from performing his duties. He added violence and democracy do not go together.
Days after Munawwar Rana’s daughter Uroosa Rana rebelled and filed her nomination as an independent candidate from Unnao’s Sadar constituency, the Congress party tried to accommodate her by offering her party ticket from the Purva seat.
Earlier last week, Uroosa Imran Rana had jumped into the election fray by filing her nomination as an independent candidate from the Unnao Sadar seat. The development came in the wake of the Congress party’s decision to field Asha Singh, mother of the rape survivor from the Unnao’s Sadar seat. Rana, who was in Congress, was reportedly eyeing the party ticket from the Sadar constituency. However, after Congress chose Asha Singh over her, Rana rebelled against the party and filed her nomination from the seat as an independent candidate.
Rana was seeking to fight the upcoming UP elections from the Unnao’s Sadar constituency. However, when Congress snubbed her by granting the ticket to Asha Singh, Rana decided to fight on the seat as an independent candidate. Following her nomination, Congress tried to placate her by offering her a ticket to fight elections from the Purva seat. But it is yet not clear whether Rana would fight the elections from the Congress ticket or an independent candidate.
Uroosa’s association with the Congress party dates back to 2010 when Uttar Pradesh was ruled by the Mayawati-led BSP government. In October 2020, Uroosa was promoted to the post of vice-president of the Uttar Pradesh Mahila Congress(Central Zone). For over a decade, Uroosa had been an ardent Congress supporter and worker, vigorously supporting the party on a host of issues.
Uroosa, who hails from Lucknow, had been campaigning and staking her claim for the Unnao Sadar seat for a long time. But, after years of loyalty to the party, Congress sidelined her and granted the party ticket to Asha Singh for the Unnao Sadar seat in the forthcoming assembly elections.
In the affidavit filed in her nomination, Uroosa has stated that a case has been registered against her at Gautam Palli police station of Lucknow for violating COVID protocols. Besides, she has also stated that the price of jewellery she possesses is close to Rs 50 lakhs.
It is also worth noting that Uroosa Rana, who has been granted a Congress ticket to fight from the Purva seat, also participated in anti-CAA protests that had swept the country following the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act in December 2019.
Munawwar Rana says he would leave Uttar Praesh Yogi Adityanath returns as CM
Earlier last week, Munawwar Rana had declared that he would leave Uttar Pradesh if Yogi Adityanath becomes the chief minister once again.
“If Yogi Adityanath becomes CM again, I will leave Uttar Pradesh. It will be very painful for me, but since the state in itself is in danger, I am left with no other option but to leave,” he said.
“An election is a fight between two parties, between two candidates for the ultimate goal of winning. The losing and winning are in relation to the election. But here, Abba Jaan, Pakistan, Kabaristan, Jinnah are mentioned,” he had said.
On January 31, the Supreme Court has agreed to list the plea of a former Rajya Sabha member Mohammad Adeeb seeking contempt action against top Haryana government officials for allegedly failing to ensure no disruptions in offering Friday ‘namaz’ in Gurugram.
The bench comprising of Chief Justice NV Ramana, Justice AS Bopanna and Justice Hima Kohli took cognizance of the plea submitted by advocate Indira Jaising who was appearing for Adeeb. In the plea, Adeeb alleged the state government officials did not follow the 2018 judgment of the Supreme Court, where directions were issued to stop hate crimes.
In her submission, Jaising said the plea was not based on newspaper reports, but they have themselves filed the complaints. “We are not asking for any enforcement of FIR. This court has laid down preventive measures,” she added. The CJI said he would look into it and post it before the appropriate bench immediately.
The plea was submitted on behalf of the Gurgaon Muslim Council, headed by Mohammad Adeeb, on December 17 last year. In the plea, he had said, “The continuous inaction, the apathy of the State machinery and failure of the local law enforcement agencies to prevent such incidents before these spiral into a monstrosity, is precisely what had been indicated by this Hon’ble court in Tehseen S. Poonawalla case, and is thus clearly a contempt of this Hon’ble court’s directions.”
Hindus protest against namaz in public
For months in 2021, Hindus in Gurugram, Haryana, raised their voice against Friday namaz in public spaces like parks and playgrounds. Residents allege that people face inconvenience due to huge gatherings on Friday. They were drawing attention to increased cases of harassment, chain snatching and traffic disruptions that happen due to public places being occupied by large groups of Muslims. They had alleged the public land was being occupied on the pretext of namaz. The Police initially detained members of Hindu outfits and residents of the areas nearby.
The issue was soon turned political, with several ‘secular-liberal’ voices advocating that Muslims have the right to occupy public places for Namaz. The Haryana government, which had earlier granted permission for the use of certain public spaces for Namaz, had later withdrawn the permission and had asked the Muslim groups to keep their prayers confined to religious spaces like Mosques, Dargahs and Waqf properties.
The 2018 judgment sought the appointment of nodal officers in Police Departments across states
The earlier judgment that Adeeb has mentioned in the plea was passed on Tehseen Poonawala’s plea. The apex court had asked the Centre and the states to take steps, including fast-tracking trials, victim compensation, deterrent punishment and disciplinary action against the officials for not performing their duties.
The court had also asked the states to appoint a nodal officer not below the rank of the police superintendent. The nodal officers would set up a task force to be assisted by DSP-rank officers to take measures to prevent lynching and mob violence. The task force was supposed to gather information on people who may commit such crimes or who were involved in spreading hate speeches or fake speeches.
In Kerala, mistrust is rising over the LDF Government’s ambitious SilverLine High-Speed railway corridor project. Discontent over the Rs 63,940 crore infrastructure project is rising across large sections of the state over land acquisition practices, ecological concerns and other issues and protests against CM Pinarayi Vijayan has been raging on.
What is the SilverLine Project ?
The LDF government in Kerala led by Pinarayi Vijayan has planned to lay down a high-speed railway corridor across the length of the state to enhance connectivity among the urban districts. The project aims at connecting the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram in the south with Kasaragod in the north. The corridor running through the length of the state is proposed to be 529.45 km long, connecting 11 districts.
The track will run trains travelling at around 200 km/hr where one can travel from Thiruvanathapuram to Kasargoad in four hours, as opposed to the present 12-hour journey by railways. The Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) which is a joint venture between the Kerala government and the Union Ministry of Railways has set the deadline of the project in 2025.
According to the authorities, the project will run on nine-car electrical units which can transport 675 passengers in business and standard class settings at a go. With 11 stations in each of the districts, three stations will be elevated, one underground and the rest at grade. The authorities have said that there will be underpasses connecting service roads at every 500 metres of the corridor.
Proposed high-speed railway track of the project stretching from Kasargod to Thiruvanathapuram. Courtesy Google Maps from Indian Express
With the SilverLine Project, the state government thinks it can meet infrastructure demands for the future through the high-speed railway corridor aimed at enhancing connectivity. One of the main intentions has been to divert a significant load of traffic from the existing railway stretch and thus reduce congestion on roads owing to Kerala’s high-density population demands.
However, the project has met odds with citizens, policy experts and environmentalists since the very beginning. With Kerala’s high-density population and strict landholding patterns, land acquisition is the biggest challenge before the project. Opposition by environmentalists has also risen, concerning potential damage to the state’s ecological system in the path of the proposed route.
Unjust Land Acquistion Practices
Since the very announcement, the project has met with serious criticism from citizens, technical experts, urban planners and environmentalists. Moreover, citizens have now flagged the project over authorities maintaining secrecy while conducting surveys, while not taking them into consideration. The Indian Express has reported the criticism raised by locals from the Nooranad village in Alappuzha district when in 2019, a few men in the dead of night planted the rectangular stone block on a side of the road. When asked by a local resident Manjusha, the authorities replied that it was for widening the road. It was later when she found that the stone was placed concerning the SilverLine project.
While Land Acquisition remains the primary challenge before the government, it seems that the authorities are moving forward without taking citizens into consideration. Many people are unaware of the identification of their personal properties which have already been featured in the acquisition list published by the government. “In 2020, (one day when) we opened the local newspapers to find land survey numbers published as part of the K-Rail route alignment. That is how we found out that our homes would be razed,” said Subeesh, A painter whose two-year-old home falls on the proposed site. When he contacted the local village officer, he had no clue about the happenings.
When people like Manjusha and Subeesh raised their voices against the unjust acquisition practices employed by the communist regime, they were joined by ‘Samsthana K-Rail SilverLine Viruddha Janakeeya Samiti’, a group that is leading protests across the state against the project. In December last year, some protestors were slapped with charges of violating Covid-19 protocols and disrupting government work after a protest against survey officials recruited for the project had turned violent. There were also reports of usage of brute police force against the Samithi members including the beating of Santhosh, the Alappuzha district president.
While the government wants to do away with the challenges in land acquisition swiftly, it is to be noted that out of 1,383 hectares of land needed for the project, a whopping 1,198 hectares will be acquired from private lands.
KRAIL Silverline protest in Kerala. The authorities must be prepared to listen to the people in a democratic system, whether they are arrested or closed. The popular agitation is a platform for the people to express their views. Rulers need to have the mindset to understand this. pic.twitter.com/ILquyzLEGp
Given Kerala’s land acquisition patterns where indebtedness over the construction of urban properties is unprecedented, land acquisition is one of the biggest problems faced while carrying out infra projects in the state. Since then large scale protests have erupted across the villages of Kerala where citizens are seen outraged over their concerns.
Ecological and Financial concerns
E Sreedharan, the ‘metro man’ and politician from the BJP has criticised the project calling it ‘ill-conceived’ and ‘lacking technical perfection’. While accusing the CM of hiding facts and underestimating the costs of the project, the veteran technocrat has suggested that the corridor must use broad gauge instead of the standard gauges. Questions are also being raised over the economic planning of the project while for a debt-ridden state to take up a project involving huge costs is no simple task. D Dhanuraj, who runs a public policy think tank in Kochi has questioned the need for the project while arguing that there is a minimal need for mass travel on a regular basis. “The government can’t think that all it has to do is ‘sell’ a dream to the public. The public is more informed these days and asks questions,” he said.
K P Kannan, a development economist has pressed the government over the need to invest in alternative transport models. He has suggested that besides having four airports in the state, a continuous railway line, the government can focus on developing the inland water system with the possibility of coastal shipping for large cargo.
Beyond this, the possibility of the project adversely impacting the ecosystem cannot be negated. Environmentalists fear an irreversible impact on the state’s rivers, paddy fields and wetlands, triggering floods and landslides in future due to construction activities and increased influx of population within the transit corridor. Many activists, ecological committees including the Kerala Paristhithi Aikya Vedi have requested the government to abandon the project and explore alternative sustainable solutions.
While the fate of the project depends severely on the ability of the authorities to address the issues and thus ramp up the land acquisition process, The Pinarayi Vijayan government is in no mood to stop. While responding to the criticism, CPM Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem has said, “The cost of such a project does not come from the state budget. Foreign funding agencies are willing to give out long-term loans at low interest.” Speaking on the ecological issue, Kareem has hit back at environmentalists by calling them ‘fundamentalists’ and has said that they oppose all development projects. He replied to the concerns stating, “If the rail route goes through wetlands and paddy fields, we will have an elevated stretch. Every 500 metres, there will be underpasses or overhead roads. There won’t be any environmental damage,”
On January 27, the Home and Hill Affairs Department of West Bengal has written to Police Departments of eight districts to provide assistance to the district magistrates (DMs) in removing all ‘unauthorised’ temples and shrines from the public places. The DMs of Darjeeling, Alipurduar, Coochbehar, Kalimpong, East Midnapore, North 24 Parganas and East Burdwan were asked to initiate action against the ‘unauthorised’ structures on January 27 last year.
West Bengal government asked State Police to provide assistance to DMs of eight districts to remove ‘unauthorized’ temples, shrines from public places. (Source: Zee News)
The order reads, “Director General & Inspector General of Police, West Bengal – with the request to instruct the Commissioner of Police and Superintendent of Police, having jurisdiction in the district mentioned above for assisting the respective District Magistrates, in the matter.”
The DMs were asked to submit a report of the action taken against the unauthorised structures to the state home ministry by February 16, 2022. The deadline mentioned in the order is approaching, which could be the reason for a fresh order to the state Police for assisting the DMs.
The 2010 order that directed a survey of unauthorised structures
Notably, the DMs were asked to initiate action based on a government order issued in April 2010. In the order, it was stated, “The Government will not allow any new unauthorised constructions in public places. The State, Government Departments, and Local Bodies such as Panchayats and Municipalities will be alert enough to detect and stop such constructions at the earliest stage before the structure gains public acceptance. The demolition, if it is necessary, will be the responsibility of the Department owning the land.”
The govt of WB had ordered to remove the structures unless there were compelling reasons for not doing so. The order also asked the govt departments and local bodies to survey the public places to identify the illegal structures. The report was to be submitted on July 31, 2010.
It further added that the survey had to be conducted while keeping in mind the location, age of the structure and the extent to which the structure was causing obstruction in the movement of vehicles or pedestrians. Further, the complaint the locals received were to be taken into account as well. The order had asked the officials to see if there was a possibility to relocate the structure to land nearby and also the implications in maintaining law and order if the structure was removed.
While transferring Tamil Nadu’s M Lavanya suicide case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court said, “…there is nothing inherently improbable in the allegation that there was an attempt at conversion. It could be true or false. The matter called for an investigation and not outright rejection.”
The bench of Justice GR Swaminathan while passing orders on Lavanya’s father’s plea seeking a CB-CID inquiry into his daughter’s death, slammed the Tamil Nadu police for trying to suppress the conversion angle in the case.
“Instead of ordering the investigation officer to take the additional materials to account, the SP directed the local police to register an FIR against the person who had taken the video. The Superintendent of Police wanted to silence any discussion regarding the conversion angle. The SP virtually threatened the person who shot the video. Instead, she should have goaded the investigation to take the religious angle into account”, stated the Madras HC while transferring the case to the CBI on January 28.
Instead of ordering the investigatio officer to take the additional materials to account, the S.P directed the local police to register an FIR against the person who had taken the video…: Madras HC while ordering CBI probe.#TanjavurGirSuicide
It may be recalled that M Lavanya’s father had submitted the petition, claiming that they had lost faith in Thanjavur police’s investigation and requesting an investigation by the CBI-CID or another investigating body.
Lavanya M attended Sacred Hearts Higher Secondary School, a boarding school in Michaelpatti, Thanjavur. On January 19, she passed away after consuming pesticides. A video of Lavanya was released after her death, which was shot when she was admitted to the hospital two days before her death. Lavanya can be seen in the 44-second video explaining that two years ago, a woman named Raquel Mary approached her and encouraged her to convert to Christianity, which she and her parents declined.
Pointing out Tamil Nadu police’s impassivity in handling the case, the Madras HC bench of Justice GR Swaminathan added that the apprehension of the petitioner, that if the investigation remains with the Tamil Nadu police he will not get justice, is justified.
I find merit in the petitioner’s counsel’s contention that the police, instead of finding out the truth of the allegations made by the deceased victim, have been trying to bolster the counter narrative : Madras HC#TanjavurGirlSuicide
Justice GR Swaminathan said that instead of finding out the truth of the allegations made by the deceased victim, the state police had been trying to bolster the counter-narrative. “It is too early in the day for the police or the politicians to jump to conclusions. But they have done so”, opined the bench.
The court slammed the state police for their indifference to the issue, stating that despite having the child’s dying declaration in front of them, whose authenticity could not be questioned, the District Superintendent of Police tried to fully suppress the conversion aspect.
“The foregoing circumstances cumulatively taken will definitely create an impression that the investigation is not proceeding on the right lines. Since a high ranking Hon’ble Minister himself has taken a stand, investigation cannot continue with the State Police”, stated the bench of Justice GR Swaminathan while transferring the case to the CBI, adding that the court has a “duty to render posthumous justice to the child.”
The court, while doubting Sister Saghayamary and Sister Rachel Mary’s motives, hoped that the CBI probe would bring out the truth in the case.
Court has posthumous duty to render #JusticeForLavanya says Madras HC, adds that the Home Minister of the State has eloquently taken a certain stand and investigation cannot thus carry out by State Police pic.twitter.com/E6pPWJeJk5
The case was transferred to the CBI on the day when the NCPCR team is visiting Thanjavur to conduct a probe into the case and enquire with officials involved. The NCPCR had earlier alleged that the Tamil Nadu government was not cooperating with the enquiry presided over by their state team and therefore they had to get a team from the Centre to conduct the inquiry.
Notably, the Madras High Court had in the previous hearing ordered the person who shot the video of the girl — a VHP leader named Muthuvel — to give his phone to the police so that the video could be investigated and ordered the state police to refrain from ‘harassing’ the VHP leader over the video.
A video of the victim’s call for help was published on social media where she was seen in a critical condition in the hospital, talking about her torture. The video, originally in Tamil (translated by The Commune) said, “They (school) had asked my parents in my presence if they can convert me to Christianity and help her for further studies. Since I didn’t accept, they kept scolding me.” She had named one Rachael Mary, who allegedly tortured her.
The girl, a student in standard 12th Class in Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School in Thirukattupali in Thanjavur in Tamilnadu was reportedly coerced by her missionary school into accepting Christianity. After she had refused to convert, the school authorities had prevented her from leaving the hostel during the Pongal holidays and instead forced her to clean the entire premises including toilets. Due to the constant harassment, the 17-year-old took her life by consuming pesticides used in the school garden.
Prior to his arrest by the Gujarat Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) in connection to the gruesome murder of Kishan Bharwad, Maulana Qamar Gani Usmani had urged Islamists to continue to ‘defend’ the honour of Prophet Muhammad without any semblance of fear.
In a video that has now surfaced on social media, the radical Islamic cleric can be heard as saying, “I am being taken into custody. I will co-operate if the cops want to conduct an inquiry…You, Muslims have nothing to be fearful of. Hold steadfast to Tehreek-Farogh-E-Islam and continue to use ‘constitutional means.'”
“We cannot let them succeed. Come forward with all your strength and might. Even if I stay in jail, you should not abort the mission,” he ordered. At this point, a man in the background alleged that the said mission was that of ensuring ‘peace, brotherhood, and security in the country.
“Whatever is happening in India right now must stop. We must co-exist peacefully like in old times,” the cleric who instigated the murder of Kishan Bharwad claimed. He then made an appeal to other Islamic clerics to not ‘live under the illusion of safety.’
“If you think that you are safe, then, you are mistaken. No one is safe. They have chalked out plans for everyone. Today, if we cannot stand to defend the honour of Prophet Muhammad using ‘legal means’, then, remember that everyone’s time will come. They will not spare anyone and have made plans accordingly,” he cautioned.
The Islamic cleric suggested, “It is important that we stand for our rights and use them today. And we must stop those who are planning to use illegal means to achieve the objectives.”
Maulana Usmani wanted to avenge ‘blasphemy’, was greeted with chants of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’
A video from August 2021 was earlier shared on Twitter by journalist Swati Goel Sharma. In the video, Delhi police personnel were seen desperately trying to stop Maulana Usmani from holding anti-blasphemy protests. “We will go anyhow (to protest) since we have made a call to the public,” he was seen announcing.
“We will not listen to you. Insults have been hurled against our Prophet. We will not keep calm. What do you think? You will intimidate us by filing cases”, the radical Islamic cleric said.
“On August 8, it was said that Allah will be cut down and you have come here to teach me the law. What happened to the implementation of laws then? I don’t want to talk about it further. You can do whatever you want”, Maulana Usmani told the Delhi police.
In another video shared by journalist Swati Goel Sharma, the Islamist, who abetted the gruesome murder of Kishan Bharwad, was greeted by his co-religionists with slogans calling for the beheading of ‘blasphemers’.
“Nabi ke hum Ghulam hai. Gustaak-e-Nabi ki ek ki saza sarr tann se juda (We are the slaves of Prophet Muhammad. There is only one punishment for blasphemy – decapacitating the head from the rest of the body),” yelled his supporters.
Maulana Qamar Ghani Usmani of Tahreek-Farogh-E-Islam was garlanded, showered with petals and cheered on by Islamists as he walked the streets of Mumbai.
Islamic cleric had justified the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari
In February 2021, Usmani had justified the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari. He had said, “There is a conspiracy to ruin the lives of Muslims. There is an attempt to make India just like Spain. To achieve it, they are testing how much Muslims in India love their Prophet. This is why Kamlesh Tiwari was asked to do blasphemy. If you remember, that time people had come to roads to protest. There was fear someone would kill Tiwari, so he was sent to prison.”
He added it was not a punishment but an attempt to save Kamlesh Tiwari from getting killed. Tiwari was killed in cold blood by two Islamists in Lucknow on October 18, 2019. They had posed as Hindu activists and had carried weapons inside boxes of sweets.
Journalist Aman Chopra was on Monday threatened with dire consequences by the chief spokesperson of Peace Party, Shadab Chauhan, after he weighed in on the threat received by journalist Ashok Shrivastav from Arun Rajbhar, National General Secretary of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party(SBSP), an ally of Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party.
Taking to Twitter, Chopra shared the picture of the threat he had received from Chauhan. The Network 18 editor tweeted that the threat issued by opposition leaders have gone a few notches and now they are openly threatening that dissenters won’t be spared. “After #KishanBharvad their threat needs to be taken seriously. The difference is that earlier they used to plan secretly, now they openly talk about killing,” Chopra tweeted.
'कोई नहीं बचेगा इंशाल्लाह'
ये लीजिए @AshokShrivasta6 जी ये एक क़दम आगे निकल गए। ये तो कह रहे हैं 'कोई नहीं बचेगा इंशाल्लाह'#KishanBharvad के बाद इनकी धमकी को seriously लेने की जरूरत है।
“All will be treated, no virus will be spared, Insha Allah,” Chauhan had replied to a tweet by Aman where the latter pointed out the hooliganism of the Samajwadi Party and its allies even when they are not in power.
Quoting a tweet posted by Ashok Shrivastav, who shared a screenshot of a tweet from Arun Rajbhar wherein he threatened the journalist of beating him up, Chopra tweeted, “The point to be noted here is that it is not in power yet, only then the matter is limited to ‘beating’ only.”
DD News journalist Ashok Shrivastav threatened by SBSP leader for writing against an assault on another journalist
In his tweet, Shrivastav said, “Today Akhilesh Yadav’s security personnel beat up a journalist, I wrote against it, OP Rajbhar Ji’s son Arun Rajbhar Ji threatened to beat me up.” He further urged Home Minister, UP Police and Election Commission to take action against Rajbhar. “Please take action in this matter. This is an attack on the media on journalists,” he added.
Rajbhar, whose party is an ally of the Samajwadi Party (SP) for the upcoming UP Assembly elections, in the now-deleted post, had said, “Journalists like you should be thrashed. You should get a reward for the bootlicking.”
Rajbhar’s threat was in response to a tweet posted by Shrivastav where he had condemned the incident in which Akhilesh Yadav’s bodyguards had thrashed journalist Khalid Chaudhary. He had said, “When SP was in power, journalist Jagendra was burnt alive for writing against a minister. Today, bodyguards of Akhilesh Yadav thrashed journalist Khalid Chaudhary in front of him. New SP or same SP?”
The tweet had irked opposition politicians, including Rajbhar, who responded with a threat stating that Ashok should be thrashed as well.
Akhilesh’s bodyguard thrashed journalist
On January 29, during a press meet, journalist Khalid Chaudhary was thrashed by the bodyguards of former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav when he was trying to ask questions. In the video, the journalist could be heard saying, “Don’t thrash me”, but the bodyguards and SP workers kept pushing him.
This was not the first time journalists were thrashed in Yadav’s presence. In March 2021, a ruckus broke out between a group of journalists and the supporters of Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav at a hotel in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. During the ruckus, a reporter named Fareed Shamsi (identified as the one with a dark blue shirt) took a severe blow to his nose from Yadav’s security guard’s rifle. He was also pushed aside by a Samajwadi party supporter, who stood adjacent to him.
In a perfect world of journalism and reporting, all crimes done by individuals would be reported as they are, with no attempt to distort the issue. However, it is abundantly evident that the Indian media does not operate in an ideal society. One of its numerous transgressions is its ability to whitewash crimes committed by Muslims against Hindus, as evidenced this time too, by its biased coverage of the heinous murder of the 27-year-old Hindu youth Kishan Bharwad on January 25.
Earlier this week, a horrifying tragedy befell a 27-year-old Hindu man, Kishan Bharwad, when Islamists murdered him over a social media post that they believed was against Islam. Kishan had reportedly shared a video that had an image of Prophet Muhammad. The Gujarat police arrested the two bike-borne assailants-Shabbir (25) and Imtiaz (27), who shot the Hindu youth.
Apart from the two killers, Gujarat Police also arrested a cleric, Maulvi Ayyub, from Ahmedabad. Maulvi Ayyub is accused of providing weapons to Shabbir and Imtiaz and is also related to Maulana Qamar Gani. The Gujarat ATS, which has been tasked to investigate the case, on Sunday also detained Maulana Qamar Gani Usmani from Delhi. Usmani has been accused of inciting Shabbir to kill Kishan.
Ever since the news of the brutal killing of Kishan Bharwad surfaced several media houses have extensively reported the heinous crime. From the very beginning, it was clear that the Hindu youth was shot dead as some Muslims took offence to his social media post that they deemed insulting.
Still, there were these usual ‘left-liberal’ media houses that totally whitewashed the murder since clearly in this case too, the victim was a Hindu and the perpetrators belonged to their favourite ‘minority’ section of the society.
The Indian Express in its report dated January 28, reported the murder of the Hindu youth with the headline: “Communal tension after 27-year-old’s death: VHP bandh uneventful in Dhandhuka; two murder suspects held”.
How The Indian Express chose to report about the murder of the Hindu youth by Muslim men
What impression does The Indian Express’s carefully worded headline about the crime provide to a reader who is unfamiliar with the incident? Nowhere in the headline nor in the excerpt of the article the name of the victim or the perpetrators has been mentioned. In a clear attempt to downplay the crime since the accused here are Muslims, the media house has purposely ignored such vital details.
In fact, The Indian Express has not only carefully crafted its headline to shield the Islamist perpetrators but has been extremely cautious while wording the entire report. To dilute the offence, it has used the term “people of another religion” instead of terms like Islam, blasphemy, or Muslims.
How Indian Express reported Kishan murder
Likewise, Shekhar Gupta run ThePrint, a publication that has a history of whitewashing crimes against Hindus, published a report on the incident on January 30 with the headline: “Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad to probe murder of a man killed over Facebook post, three arrested.”
A report published by The Print on January 30
Here, even though the article does mention the specifics, a casual reader would not understand the context based on the watered-down headline.
Here are some other instances where the media proceeded to water down the heinous murder of the Hindu youth by Muslim assailants as they took offence to a social media post.
The Times of India, which is infamous for its proclivity to ‘secularise‘ a crime when Hindus are at the receiving end, published numerous reports on the incident, all with ambiguous headlines in order to downplay the murder of Kishan Barwad by radical Islamists.
Times of India headline
Times of India headline
Interestingly, TOI is so meticulous with its plotline that it does not even reveal the victim’s name in the headline, since it is a Hindu in this case, let alone the names of the Muslim perpetrators.
Even vernacular media have been caught using the same tricks:
Hindi daily newspaper Patrika, for some reason, decided to leave out basic details like the name of the victim, the reason for the murder and obviously the name of the accused from its headline while reporting the murder of the Hindu youth Kishan Bharwad.
Report on Kishan Bharwad’s murder as reported by Patrika
Likewise, Aaj Tak also carefully tweaked its headline to water down the heinous murder of Kishan Bharwad by bloodthirsty and intolerant Muslim fanatics.
Aaj Tak’s report on Kishan Bhardwaj’s murder
Earlier too, Opindia has reported on the media’s ability to give a ‘Hindu spin’ to crimes committed by Muslims. Be it the Hauz Qazi incident or the menace of forced religious conversions, leftist media has always tried to whitewash crimes when the perpetrator has belonged to their favourite ‘minority’.
