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‘Aimless, uneducated women will go astray if they remain unmarried till 21 years’: Nuh Bar Association president

OpIndia Staff
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‘Aimless, uneducated women will go astray if they remain unmarried till 21 years’: Nuh Bar Association president

As fundamentalist and regressive forces continue to oppose the Centre’s proposal to raise the age of legal marriage for women from 18 to 21, Sajid, the president of Nuh District Bar Association said that “aimless and uneducated women” would transgress if they remain unmarried till the age of 21.

Sajid has toed the line of fundamentalist maulanas and regressive lawmakers like Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq who said that girls will get an excuse to do ‘awargi’ (to indulge in reckless, immoral behaviour) if they are not married earlier.

The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 aims to raise the age of legal marriage for women by proposing amendments to the 2006 law. It will apply to all women from all faiths of the country, hence, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani had dubbed it as secular legislation.

The draft legislation now referred to a parliamentary panel for scrutiny proposes to amend seven personal laws – the Indian Christian Marriage Act, the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, the Special Marriage Act, the Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act and the Foreign Marriage Act.

But Sajid said that the proposed amendment can benefit only educated and career-oriented women. He contended that it would harm girls who are ‘aimless and uneducated’ and considered a ‘burden’ by parents.

Sajid said that girls and boys of this day and age are given a lot of freedom and liberty and there are high chances for girls and boys of young age to ‘deviate’.

Nuh District Bar Association president said that women who are educated and are aiming for something in their life can control such temptation to deviation. “However, there is a higher chance for a girl who is unmarried, illiterate, and has no aims to transgress,” he said.

He said that if a girl at the age of 18 has legal rights to make decisions about her life, then there is no logic behind raising their marriageable age to 21.

Meerut: Abdullah and two others gang-rape BJP Mahila Morcha leader, Police initiates probe amid communal tension

OpIndia Staff
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Meerut: Abdullah and two others gang-rape BJP Mahila Morcha leader, Police initiates probe amid communal tension

On December 21, a BJP Mahila Morcha leader was allegedly gang-raped by three men of a particular community at Kashiram Colony, Hapur Road, Meerut. As per a report in Amar Ujala, the woman was given a spiked drink. She was found unconscious in a park the following day. In a tweet, Meerut Police said that a case had been registered against the woman and three men from the particular community under relevant sections of the Indian Penal code at Kharkhoda Police Station. Appropriate legal action is being taken. There are chances of communal tension in the region.

The report suggests that a woman of the particular community had called the BJP leader at her house. She offered her a spiked drink. When the BJP leader fell unconscious, she called her lover Abdullah and two of his friends who gang-raped her.

The victim is the mother of three and has some marital dispute with her husband. SSP Prabhakar Chaudhary said in a statement that the medical examination of the victim had been done. A case has been filed in the matter, and Police is searching for the accused. OpIndia reached out to SSP Office. They said, “We are investigating and getting more clarity in the case.”

We will update when more details are available.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia slams CPIM MP for misrepresenting facts on airports and trying to stir north-south divide

OpIndia Staff
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Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia slams CPIM MP for misrepresenting facts on airports and trying to stir north-south divide

Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday slammed CPIM MP S Venkatesan who appeared to be stirring up the north-south divide in airports in India. The CPIM MP from Tamil Nadu on Wednesday claimed that Scindia had said that the demand for airport in Madurai in Tamil Nadu was not justified since north Indian states have only one international airport.

He further claimed that Tamil Nadu’s GST last year was higher than those collectively paid by 21 states and union territories. However, Union Minister Scindia shut up him and said that what Venkatesan was saying was gross misrepresentation of facts.

He said how some states in both north and south have more than one international airport, like Uttar Pradesh in north and Kerala in south. He further said that the decision to grant international status to airport depends on several factors like passenger demand and also proximity to other international airports in the state.

Scindia added that the union government is open to proposals for new airports in any part of the country.

He further clarified that Madurai already operates international flights and hence the communist MP’s insistence to accord the airport international status was incomprehensible. “Contrary to the allegation, I had offered I had offered @MoCA_GoI ’s support in increasing the number of international flights for Madurai by requesting Indian carriers to fly abroad from the city,” he tweeted.

Earlier in the day seven MPs from the South had given a signed representation to Union Minister Scindia to develop the Madurai Airport. It was signed by Su Venkatesan (Madurai), S Manickam Tagore (Virudhunagar), Karthi P Chidambaram (Sivagangai), K Navaskani (Ramanathapuram), P Velusamy (Dindigul), Dhanush M Kumar (Tensaki) and V Vijay Vasanth (Kanyakumari). One of the demands was to make the airport operational 24×7 and also to declare it international airport.

‘You reap what you sow’: Captain Amarinder Singh takes a dig at Harish Rawat’s disappointment at Congress leadership

OpIndia Staff
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‘You reap what you sow’: Captain Amarinder Singh takes a dig at Harish Rawat’s disappointment at Congress leadership

On December 22, former Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh, took a dig at Congress leader Harish Rawat after putting up a series of cryptic tweets. Singh said, “You reap what you sow. All the best for your future endeavours (if there are any) Harish Rawat ji.”

Earlier, through a series of tweets, Rawat had expressed his agony against the Congress leadership ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttarakhand.

Rawat’s ‘pain-filled’ cryptic tweets

In a series of cryptic tweets, Harish Rawat expressed his displeasure towards the party affairs in the state. The tweets seemed to be directed towards the Congress leadership. He said, “Representatives of those who have ordered to swim are tying up my hands and legs. Thought had been occurring to me that it’s enough now, you have swum enough, and now it is time to rest. I am in a dilemma, perhaps the new year will show me a path.”

He further added, “Isn’t it a strange thing. Have to swim across the sea of the electoral battle, but the organisational structure instead of lending a helping hand is obstructing and playing a negative role at most places.”

In the tweets published in Hindi, Rawat sought guidance from Bhagwan Kedarnath to handle the situation.

Rawat vs Amarinder during Punjab Congress crisis

It is noteworthy that Rawat, as Punjab Congress in-charge, played a vital role during the Punjab Congress crisis that ultimately led to Singh’s resignation. When the crisis was at its peak, initially, Rawat has supported Amarinder against Navjot Singh Sidhu. However, he shifted his goals as soon as the party decided to support Sidhu. At that time, Rawat started questioning Amarinder’s achievements as Chief Minister of the state, to appease Navjot Sidhu and his faction.

Amarinder was forced to step down from the post of Chief Minister without completing the tenure of five years. The humiliation Singh faced led to him leaving the party and forming his own party. Singh is all set to form an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the upcoming Assembly elections in Punjab.

Uttar Pradesh administers 19 crore doses of coronavirus vaccines, over 6.6 crore people fully vaccinated

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh administers 19 crore doses of coronavirus vaccines, over 6.6 crore people fully vaccinated

Uttar Pradesh government has till now administered over 19 crore coronavirus vaccination doses.

Uttar Pradesh doses

As per Co-WIN dashboard updated at 8 AM on 23rd December, 2021, 19,00,64,305 coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered till now. Of these, 12,36,40,832 have been first doses while 6,64,23,473 are second doses. Effectively, over 6.64 crore people in Uttar Pradesh are fully vaccinated.

Uttar Pradesh is the first state to administer 19 crore vaccine doses. According to data, 15.04 crore people in Uttar Pradesh are eligible for vaccine jabs.

Amongst districts in Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow has administered total 57.78 lakh doses, Varanasi has administered 42.82 lakh doses, Agra 43.27 lakh doses and Ghaziabad has administered 42.35 lakh doses.

Maharashtra vaccines

Maharashtra is second in terms of vaccine doses administered with almost 13 crore doses given. Of these, little over 5 crore doses were for second dose while almost 8 crore were for first dose.

India has overall administered 1,39,73,69,501 coronavirus vaccine doses of which 56.42 crore have been fully vaccinated. India’s eligible population for vaccines stands at 94 crore. Effectively, India has fully vaccinated 63% of its eligible population.

On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh recorded 8 new coronavirus cases against 15 recoveries. Total active coronavirus cases in the state now stand at 211.

Sunny Leone’s new music video Madhuban causes outrage, netizens call for boycotting the song for hurting Hindu sentiments

OpIndia Staff
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Sunny Leone’s new music video Madhuban causes outrage, netizens call for boycotting the song for hurting Hindu sentiments

Saregama Music released its latest music video on Wednesday, titled Madhuban, which features Sunny Leone in the party number sung by Kanika Kapoor and Arindam Chakraborty. The song is based on the song ‘Madhuban mein Radhika naache’ by Mohammad Rafi in the 1960 movie Kohinoor, and as usual, people are not happy with the remix of an iconic song.

Moreover, as the song is on the subject of love between Krishna and Radha, netizens are slamming it for hurting Hindu sentiments, due to the sensual moves Sunny Leone makes in the music video.

The top comment on YouTube, where the video has been published by Saregama, wonders why no one had the intelligence to think what kind of lyrics they were using for what kind of video. “I am surprised that no one who was involved in the production of this song stopped this song from being released. Producer, Director, Actor, Singer, Musician : Did no one of them had the intelligence to think what lyrics they are using and for what type of music video?” reads the comment by one Anup Verma.

Several YouTube commenters say that the song is against Hindu devi Radhe Ma, and mocks the Hindu religion.

One user wrote, “The old song “Madhuban mein Radhika naache re” conveyed her love for Krishna so beautifully. Why use reference to Radhika and Madhuban for a sensual song! This is outrageous!! I get why these songs are made, but come up with something more appropriate for them instead of butchering Hindu sentiments.”

The same story repeated on Twitter, where Sunny Leone posted the link of the music video, asking people if they have watched it. But in response she received outrage for hurting the feeling of Hindus by dancing ‘inappropriately’ to the song on Radhe and Krishna.

Twitter users called for boycotting the music video for defaming Hindu gods, saying she has no such right.

Social media users have already started a campaign to boycott the song using the hashtag #BoycottMadhuban.

Some netizens went a step ahead, and wondered if Hindus should choose the path of Sikhs and lynch the makers of the song.

‘The man should be fired on the spot’: Dr Fauci responds on Fox News host’s “kill shot” comments

OpIndia Staff
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‘The man should be fired on the spot’: Dr Fauci responds on Fox News host’s “kill shot” comments

Dr Anthony Fauci, the top infectious diseases expert of the US government, on Tuesday, called for the instant firing of Fox News host Jesse Watters after the latter used provocative language at a conservative conference to egg on attendees to “ambush” Fauci in the streets and to record a rhetorical “kill shot.”

In his appearance on CNN’s ‘New Day’, Fauci said, “I mean that’s crazy. The man should be fired on the spot.”

“I mean, what kind of craziness is there in society these days? That’s awful that he said that. And he’s going to go, very likely, unaccountable. I mean, whatever network he’s on is not going to do anything. … I mean, that’s crazy. The guy should be fired on the spot,” Fauci said on the provocative remarks made by Fox News host Jesse Watters.

Fauci lamented that Watters’ remarks illustrated the reflection of the craziness that goes on in society. He said the only thing that he has been doing over the last two years is to spur people to follow good health practices, get their vaccination shots, be vigilant in public settings, wear a mask, and for these well-meaning suggestions, he is being reviled, asked to be ambushed and given a “kill shot”.

Fox News host Jesse Watters calls his supporters to ambush Fauci and administer him a “kill shot”

In his comments over the weekend to pro-Trump youth group Turning Point USA, Watters appeared to link Fauci to allegations of biowarfare.

“Now you’re going for the kill shot. The kill shot with an ambush [is] deadly because he doesn’t see it coming,” Watters told the crowd.

He further added, “Dr Fauci, you funded risky research at a sloppy Chinese lab. The same lab that sprung this pandemic on the world. You know why people don’t trust you, don’t you? Boom, he is dead! He is dead! He’s done!”

After his comments for Fauci drew a backlash, Fox News came out in defence of its employee, stating that Watter was using metaphor to urge people to ask him uncomfortable questions about his link to Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese laboratory that is surmised in some quarters as the place where the coronavirus originated.

“Based on watching the full clip and reading the entire transcript, it’s more than clear that Jesse Watters was using a metaphor for asking hard-hitting questions to Dr Fauci about gain-of-function research and his words have been twisted completely out of context,” Fox News said in a statement Tuesday.

Fauci drew criticism for dismissing lab-leak origin of the coronavirus

The United States’ leading expert on infectious diseases, Dr Anthony Fauci, found himself in the eye of an ever-intensifying storm earlier this year after hundreds of his private emails were made public by two US media outlets. The emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act request shed light on Dr Fauci’s reticence on considering the possibility of a lab leak origin of COVID-19 even as the virus was priming itself to ravage the United States and the rest of the world.

The cache of emails revealed that several people, including researchers, people in US administration and intelligence, wanted to probe the role of the Chinese lab, but they were overruled by Dr Anthony Fauci and others, who had vested interests in the issue as they themselves were instrumental in US govt funding the study on the virus in the Wuhan lab.

The trove of emails brings under the scanner the role of Dr Fauci and others who are credited for fashioning America’s response to the pandemic. Dr Fauci, who was a lead member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, has become a focal point of criticism after the emails correspondence revealed that he was warned of the possibility of the inorganic nature of the coronavirus in advance, but he did not do enough to address the apprehensions.

Dr Fauci’s links to Peter Daszak, a zoologist whose organisation funded “gain of function” research at WIV

Dr Fauci has also drawn the ire of the critics for bankrolling Peter Daszak, a leading zoologist, whose non-profit was responsible for steering the US funding to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Daszak’s organisation, EcoHealth Alliance, had received funding of at least $3.4 million in grants from the National Institute of Health(NIH) to study coronaviruses between 2014 to 2019.

In April last year, Dr Fauci had publicly denounced claims regarding the coronavirus lab leak. In an April 2020 email published as a part of the FOIA request by Buzzfeed, Daszak conveyed ‘personal thank you’ to Dr Fauci on behalf of his staff at his organisation for pushing back on the claims that the virus might have originated from a laboratory.

Punjab lynching cases: Kapurthala Gurudwara caretaker was pro-Khalistani ultra, had travelled to Pakistan many times, reveals report

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab lynching cases: Kapurthala Gurudwara caretaker was pro-Khalistani ultra, had travelled to Pakistan many times, reveals report

In a shocking revelation to the Punjab sacrilege incidents, a report published by The New Indian said that the caretaker of Kapurthala Gurudwara, where a mob had beaten up a man to death, had shady antecedents.

According to the report, caretaker Amarjit Singh frequently visited Pakistan and had worked as a pro-Khalistani ultra before turning into a CAT commando. CAT refers to pro-Khalistani terrorists in the early 90s who had switched sides and had become police informers for under-cover operations.

The New Indian report says Singh was in touch with a top Punjab police official, who had managed to remain in plum postings during SAD and Congress governments. As per police, at least three contacts were established between Amarjit and the top police officer on the day of the lynching as Kapurthala comes under the Jalandhar zone.

However, the Punjab police haven’t been successful in establishing the links between the phone calls between Amarjit and the top police officer and the lynching that took place in Kapurthala.

“We have gone through his passport records. We are also checking his phone records. The probe has found that he was in touch with one of our police officers. Besides, he had gone to Pakistan. During the investigation, Amarjit also revealed that he worked as a CAT commando and was in touch with some police officers,” The New Indian quoted a senior police officer as saying.

Reportedly, Kapurthala police detected a pattern in the way in which the “live video” of the lynching of the man was made to appear suspicious. It is now planning to file a murder case after doubts are raised over claims of sacrilege.

In addition to this, the police have also seized Amarjit’s mobile phone to verify his claims of sacrilege. A complaint was filed by him, based on which the police had filed an FIR under charges of 295A (defiling a place of religious worship). The FIR said the migrant labourer had tried to disrespect the Nishan Sahib flag, a symbol at his gurdwara in Nizampur village on Sunday.

The police have alleged that Amarjit’s claims don’t add up. A police officer quoted by The New Indian revealed that when they reached the spot of the crime when the mob had gheraoed him. The mob was carrying 3.5-feet-tall swords and weapons. The mob had then refused to negotiate with the police. Had Amarjit or others around him informed the police in time, the officer said, the man could have been booked for sacrilege and his life could have been saved. He, however, added that there was no evidence to support the claim that any sacrilege took place.

Kapurthala sacrilege victim was hungry, was looking for some food at Gurudwara

The Kapurthala ‘sacrilege’ case took a completely different turn compared to what the Granthi at Nizampur Gurudwara had claimed. According to multiple reports, the Police have mentioned that the deceased was spotted by one of the sewadar (volunteer) in the kitchen located on the ground floor eating chapatis. Notably, only the sewadar and Granthi live on the ground floor of the said Gurudwara, and Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is on the upper floor.

The reports suggest that when the sewadar spotted the man, he tried to escape and was eventually apprehended by the sewadars. The man, who was in his twenties, was kept in a room on Gurudwara premises. The Police were not allowed to take him. He was beaten to death by the angry crowd. It is noteworthy that Police also added that the deceased had eight deep cuts on his body that were made by a sharp weapon like a sword. The badly thrashed man was rushed to the hospital by the Police, where he was declared dead.

It is notable here that some policemen were also present when the victim was being beaten to death. During the presser, the police had confirmed that some policemen had attempted to rescue the victim but they were prevented from doing so by the mob and since it was a violent atmosphere, they showed ‘restraint’ and did not aggravate the situation further. Hindi daily Bhaskar had reported that some policemen had received injuries while trying to control the violent crowd.

UP government confiscates Mukhtar Ansari’s illegal housing properties worth over Rs 10 Crore under Gangster Act

OpIndia Staff
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UP government confiscates Mukhtar Ansari’s illegal housing properties worth over Rs 10 Crore under Gangster Act

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has confiscated illegal housing property worth Rs 10.10 Crore belonging to jailed mafia don and Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Mukhtar Ansari. The property is situated at Mahuabag locality in Gazipur district of Uttar Pradesh, and it includes 550.1 square meters of land where Ansari had built 17 shops. Ansari had raised these properties in the name of his son Abbad Ansari.

On Wednesday (December 22), district and police officials reached the marketing complex and started the confiscation process after a proper public announcement.

Vijay, one of the shopkeepers, told Opindia that they had no information about any such action till the time police and local administration reached the marking complex and asked to vacate.

“I was running my shop here for the past 20 years. We are vacating shops as per the order of the administration,” Vinay told OpIndia over the phone. However, the district administration said that shopkeepers were informed on Tuesday evening to vacate shops.

Ansari heads IS Gang 191

Mukhtar Ansari’s gang is registered as IS (Inter-State) Gang 191 in the record of Uttar Pradesh and his properties have been attached under Section 14 A of the Gangster and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act.

As Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister has let loose bulldozers to demolish illegal properties of gangsters and mafias of the state, Section 14 A has left mafias bleeding. This section gives special power to the government to confiscate illegally raised properties of criminals.

In this case, the action was taken in the light of FIR lodged against Ansari under provisions of the Gangsters Act.

Proclamation notice of the seizure of properties of Mukhtar Ansari under section 14 A of Gangster Act. Image source News 18

Ansari was also running a hotel named Gazal Hotel at this marketing complex which was demolished in November last year.

This is the fifth case of the confiscation of the property belonging to this dreaded mafia politician and his family.

On December 8, the Gangipur district administration confiscated 1292.21 square meters of land at Deori Ballabhdas registered in the name of his wife. The land is worth Rs 9.44 Crore. Besides, two plots worth Rs 3 Crore belonging to Ansari’s close associate Shahjama alias Nayyar was also confiscated. Nayyar, a native of Bardah area, is currently in jail.

In November, the government confiscated his land property worth Rs 3 Crore located at Husainganj area of Lucknow. The aforesaid property was in form of 194 square meters purchased by Ansari in 2007 in the name of his wife Afshan Ansari. The circle rate of the land is Rs 1.45 Crore where the market rate has been estimated worth around Rs 3 Crore.

So far Uttar Pradesh police have caused a financial loss of over Rs 390 Crore to Mukhtar Ansari, his family, and the gang. Currently, Mukhtar Ansari is lodged in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda jail, and his illegal empire is under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate. On November 7, ED had questioned him in the alleged money laundering case.

  

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