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As 12 Meghalaya Congress leaders join TMC, Mallikarjun Kharge’s wishy-washy statement points towards party’s surrender to Mamata

OpIndia Staff
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As 12 Meghalaya Congress leaders join TMC, Mallikarjun Kharge’s wishy-washy statement points towards party’s surrender to Mamata

The Congress party has been plunged into deep trouble in Meghalaya as 12 out of their 17 MLAs dumped them to join the Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) on Wednesday. The 12 also include former Meghalaya CM Dr Mukul Sangma. A formal announcement is said to be scheduled for Thursday. With 12 jumping ships, Congress will now be left with only 5 MLAs in Meghalaya.

LoP in Rajya Sabha for Congress and senior leader of the party, Mallikarjun Kharge, issued a wishy-washy statement explaining the steps the party plans to take after their leaders were abandoning them and joining TMC in Meghalaya.

“This is happening like a conspiracy. People of our party, especially our party pres, Rahul Gandhi & others in the high command are looking into it. They will make a decision”, said Kharge.

This seems like a mundane wishy-washy answer that Congress generally spouts when it has a larger or at least, a hidden agenda at play. Kharge essentially shifted the responsibility and said that the party would do “something” but gave no specific details of how the party actually views this development. These sort of statements essentially create the illusion that the person concerned is giving people some explanation but there is no tangible answer that has actually been given.

What Kharge said after this was far more telling than this statement itself.

Mallikarjun Kharge said that even though he senses a “conspiracy” in Congress leaders joining TMC, the party will still ally with TMC to defeat BJP regardless of the alleged difference in ideology.

“We will fight the issue of farm laws. We have also prepared a list of 15-16 issues on which we can come to an agreement & we will fight at the Parliament in unity”, he said.

Continuing his statement, Kharge said, “Org fights have always taken place,no use commenting now. Important to fight together in the arena of Parliament as Rahul Gandhi, in a core committee meeting of floor leaders, had said that parties may have different ideologies but our common goal is to fight BJP”.

These statements by Kharge points to how Congress seems to have completely surrendered to TMC and Mamata Banerjee.

First, Kharge alleged that this was a conspiracy. Now, since Congress leaders in Meghalaya joined TMC, one would presume that he was insinuating that there is a conspiracy by TMC to dismantle the Congress party in Meghalaya.

However, right after he alleges there was a conspiracy and says that “Rahul Gandhi will take a decision”, he goes on to say that Rahul Gandhi has already taken the decision to ally with TMC in the parliament and elsewhere to defeat BJP. This would therefore mean that the “conspiracy” statement was just a preface to give the impression that Congress was taking umbrage to their leaders joining TMC, but in tangible terms, they had no problem with the development since they had already surrendered to TMC.

It is pertinent to note that Congress perhaps knows that it is a spent force and is now trying to strengthen regional parties to defeat the BJP, a feat they are sorely incapable of. The shift of Congress leaders to TMC seems to be a part of that attempt pointing to the fact that Congress has decided to annihilate itself regionally to form a working alliance to defeat the BJP wherever it might be possible.

Seven-time national deaf chess champion Malika Handa rebukes Punjab govt for not providing her govt job despite repeated appeals: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Seven-time national deaf chess champion Malika Handa rebukes Punjab govt for not providing her govt job despite repeated appeals: Details

Malika Handa, the specially-abled chess player from Jalandhar has made a desperate appeal to the Punjab government after it failed to provide her with a government job and financial support despite repeated reminders. Malika Handa has won several medals in national and international events, including a prestigious gold at World Deaf Chess Championship and a silver medal at the Asian Championship in Chess.

Out of the ten years that she has been playing the sport, she has spent seven urging the state administration to provide her with a job. 

On Wednesday, November 24, the seven-time national deaf chess champion posted a short video clip on her Twitter handle. Handa, who was visibly upset, displayed the several medals and trophies she had earned for the country and asked why the Punjab government was treating her so unfairly.

“I am very feeling sad Two Month gone No one invited me or talked regarding Cash award or Job from Punjab Govt I still waiting waiting Why why I m graduate,Intenational deaf Gold medal, 6 Medals world, Asian. Why why Punjab doing this??????,” the chess star wrote.

Malika breaks down outside the office of Director Sports Punjab on facing refusal

After completing her graduation, Handa had in September approached the Director, Sports Punjab, in Chandigarh, for a job and a financial reward. However, after receiving a cold response from the state government, she broke down outside the office. She had then taken to Twitter to express her agony in sign language. Her video had gone viral almost instantly, garnering her a lot of emotional support.

Malika’s father Suresh Handa had then stated: “Malika is very upset today. My son Atul Handa and I had accompanied her to the office of Director Sports, but she almost got a refusal. My daughter has been playing the game for the past 8-10 years and has been bringing medals for the country and the state just with a hope that these would fetch her job offer just like other Olympians and para-athletes.”

He said, “For the past two-three years, she has been told that she must complete her graduation to get a good government job. With high hopes she approached the Director of Sports today, she got the reply that there was no policy yet in the state to offer jobs to hearing-impaired athletes. This is the fag end of the tenure of the present government. If they have not made a policy till now, they will be able to make it even in the next three months. My daughter has lost all hopes and it is really difficult to convince her at this stage,” Suresh Handa added.

Meanwhile, Director Sports Kharbanda had justified the state government’s callousness by saying that the Punjab government has a policy for able-bodied players and para-athletes (arms and legs handicap) but none of the other 21 types of disabilities which includes blindness, hearing disorders or mental retardation.

Malika Handa appeals for a coach and a government job

In August, Malika Handa had urged the Punjab government to provide her with a coach and a government job. Tagging Punjab Sports Minister Rana Gurmit S Sodhi and Union Minster Anurag Thakur, Handa, asked why was the state administration ignoring her. “I m sitting at home why why Im getting depressed day by day No one sees my hard work,” she wrote. 

Renu Handa, the player’s mother had told ANI later that despite being a seven-time national champion, her daughter had received no recognition from the state government. “My daughter is the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in the International Deaf and Dumb Chess Championship. She also received a national award from President last year. She has received no appreciation from government despite being a seven-time national champion”, said Renu Handa. 

Bombay HC reduces death penalty of convicts in 2013 Shakti Mills rape case to life imprisonment: Here is what it said

OpIndia Staff
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Bombay HC reduces death penalty of convicts in 2013 Shakti Mills rape case to life imprisonment: Here is what it said

The Bombay High Court Thursday, converted the death penalty given to three convicts in the 2013 Shakti Mills rape case to life imprisonment stating that the constitutional court cannot award punishment based on public opinion. Justices SS Jadhav and Prithviraj Chavan pronounced the order.

“The Shakti Mill gang-rape case has shocked the conscience of society. A rape victim suffers not just physically but mentally as well. It is a violation of human rights. But only public outcry cannot be taken into account. A death sentence is only an exception. Judgment should not be guided by public outcry. Death puts an end to the concept of repentance… It cannot be said the accused deserved the only death penalty. They deserved religious imprisonment for life to repent for the offence committed by them. Not to assimilate into society. There is no scope of reformation,” said the Bombay HC bench.

The accused will now be sentenced to spend the rest of their lives behind the prison, with no chance of parole or furlough, ensuring that they never interact with society. The offenders were sentenced to solitary confinement for the rest of their lives. “The accused will be unable to assimilate with society,” the bench stated.

In March 2014, three men were sentenced to death by a sessions court in the city. This was for the first time, repeat rape convicts were given capital punishment under new laws enacted in 2013.

The court held that the photojournalists’ case cannot be considered their second offence as both cases were tried simultaneously. And therefore conviction under 376(E) would not sustain.

2013 Mumbai Shakti Mills rape case

On August 22, 2013, a 22-year-old photojournalist and her male colleague went to Mumbai’s abandoned Shakti Mills for a photoshoot. There, five men accosted the duo. They tied the man and took turns to rape the woman. Aakash Jadhav, a juvenile, was one of the accused in the case.

As he was a minor at the time of the crime, he was sent to a remand home for reformation and was released a few years later. Aakash started his own criminal gang once he was released from the correctional facility.

The Mumbai Police had cracked the case within 24 hours and arrested all the accused within a week. Emboldened by the swift action, a 19-year-old telephone operator approached the police a month later to complain of gang rape by five men, at the same location on July 13, 2013. Qasim Shaikh, Salim Ansari and Vijay Jadhav were named and identified by both victims in rape trials that were heard simultaneously.

Opposition’s crocodile tears on fuel prices are just that: Crocodile tears. Here is a detailed analysis

Dharmendra Chhonkar
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Opposition’s crocodile tears on fuel prices are just that: Crocodile tears. Here is a detailed analysis

That the Wuhan virus (and Covid-19 caused by it) has impacted the global economy severely, is no longer a hidden truth. Its aftermath tolling effects are out in the open and are being witnessed across geographies. The economic crisis that entailed the lockdowns due to the pandemic has sent commodity prices at all times high globally. 

One commodity that is the backbone of all human activity is petroleum and the rise in its prices came as almost the final knockout punch on the common man. It is true, however, that the soaring fuel prices is a global phenomenon and not limited to India. It is also true that the Covid-19 alone hasn’t buoyed the fuel prices.

A year and a half ago, when the crude oil global price hit a low of $19 per barrel, the OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) decided to cut oil production to boost the prices up. It’s simple demand and supply matrix. Owing to OPEC’s production cut decision and ease in Coronavirus related travel restrictions, the entire world is now facing a supply deficit as well as spurred demand which manifested, as OPEC desired, in October 2021, as Brent crude oil reached a 3 year high of over $85 a barrel. OPEC and its allies led by Russia has decided to gradually withdraw the supply cut only from 2022,  eradicating any hope of immediate relief from inflation in fuel cost worldwide. 

Unfortunately, however, each time the fuel prices rallied in India, Opposition led by Congress (INC) decried and held the Narendra Modi government responsible for it while deliberately choosing not to objectively access the dynamics that play a vital role in deciding petroleum products pricing, all the while seething over hefty VAT/ sales tax, which accounted for 41.67% of final petrol price, that Opposition ruled states too enjoyed levying over Petrol and Diesel.

When Opposition’s entire mourning over inflating petrol prices emanates from its compulsion to target the Modi government for factually no fault of its, it becomes necessary, before we plunge into the details of the hypocrisy of Congress-led opposition, to contemplate and unravel the mechanics of what goes behind the scheme of fuel pricing. 

The pricing of domestic petroleum products such as Petrol and Diesel consists of essentially 3 components (the fourth component is the commission paid to dealers, but it is so small compared to the other three components that it is not material) I) base price II) Excise duty levied by Central Govt and III) VAT/ Sales tax levied by State Governments.

The base price is essentially the cost of production that Indian refineries incur and is proportional to global crude prices. The higher the global crude oil price gets, the higher will the base price be. The Centre excise taxation amounted roughly only 30% while VAT or sales tax levied by State governments amounts more than 40%. It is to be noted that the central government had only a 30% stake while 70% of it (30% base price+ State’s 40% VAT) was beyond its control.

The state governments, including non-BJP/ Opposition-ruled states, levied a whopping 10% more than the Centre/ Modi government. It is worthwhile to note that while Central excise duties are fixed, the VAT levied by States are ad-valorem. What this means is that taxes levied by States go up with the price buildup of fuel and so does States’ share in overall fuel price. Modi government on various occasions has accepted that rallying fuel price is a burden on the common man and appealed for a joint call of both Centre and States on tax cuts. If the Opposition was even one bit serious and concerned about the perils of the general populace due to the rise Modi government on various occasions has accepted that rallying fuel price is a burden on the common man and appealed for a joint call of both Centre and States on tax cuts.

If the Opposition was even one bit serious and concerned about the perils of the general populace due to the rise in fuel prices, it would have immediately reduced the tax that states ruled by them levied on petroleum. The opposition instead chose to engage in mere mudslinging on Modi Government. 

However, given the sensible and decisive leader that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is, on 3 November, a day ahead of Diwali, he decided to slash the Central levies on petrol by ₹5 a litre and on diesel by ₹10 a litre, in an attempt to unilaterally provide a major relief to Indian people. All BJP ruled States and UTs immediately emulated the Centre by bringing substantial reductions in petrol and diesel by up to ₹13.5 and ₹20 per litre, respectively. Almost 10 days have passed and there has been no petrol tax cut in 9 non-BJP or Opposition-ruled states. These states are Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, New Delhi, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal. 

The saga of the Opposition’s hypocrisy doesn’t end here. Soon after fuel prices in all BJP-ruled States and UTs fell down below ₹90/₹100, Opposition leaders expressed their inability to cut VAT on fuel in states ruled by them due to the GST dues and compensation that they claim the Modi government hasn’t cleared to States ruled by them. Some Opposition leaders even accused the Modi government of using fuel prices as a political tool. Mamta Banerjee, TMC Leader and Bengal CM claimed ₹45000 crores in GST compensation. Sharad Pawar used the same line too. 

It is no secret that Congress and its allies in the opposition have the clinical habit of lying upfront when it suits them politically. But should their convenient lies become an inconvenience for the common people? The truth is there is no connection between GST compensation and States’ ability to cut VAT on fuel. If that was indeed the case, how could BJP ruled States and UTs lower their VAT?

The Central government has always been prompt in releasing GST compensation to States. During the pandemic, it has gone several steps beyond this. Realising that the pandemic was having a short-term impact on GST and Compensation cess collections, the Centre, in order to ensure that States don’t suffer, set up a back-to-back borrowing system so that States were compensated adequately and on time. For the 2020-21 GST compensation, the Centre committed to compensating for the entire ₹ 2.35 lakh crore of losses that the States bore during the pandemic in the GST council.

It is to be noted that in the GST council meet when States were given two options on how they would like to be compensated, all the States opted for the same option wherein the Rs 1.1 lakh crore loss attributable to GST implementation would be compensated that year itself and the balance would be compensated by extending the GST compensation cess over the five years it was meant to be in effect. Out of which, ₹1.1 lakh crore has already been compensated, and the GST Council has agreed to extend the GST Compensation Cess past 2022 (when it was originally meant to be removed).

Moreover, in order to provide State Governments with the fiscal flexibility to ensure a strong economic recovery from the pandemic in their regions, the Centre front-loaded its releases of compensation in 2021-22. In just 3 trenches, the Central government released the entire year’s compensation amount of ₹1.59 lakh crore to States within the first 7 months of the financial year itself. Therefore, to argue that there is still some pending GST compensation that is due is a factually incorrect argument as it was agreed by the GST Council that the pending amount would be due only after the completion of the first five years of GST, which is not over yet.

The opposition led by Congress has time and again used the common man as a pawn and their perils as merely an opportunity to settle political goals. It is a tragedy that the opposition used a global tragedy as a political instrument to frame the Modi government. Now that the ball is in their court, the Opposition is still to practice what they’ve been preaching to Modi.

The MVA government in Maharashtra has slashed excise duty on imported liquor by 50% but hasn’t cut VAT on petrol and diesel products. The Opposition’s priorities are clear. In Maharashtra, the rich can now have their scotch cheaper whereas the common man, the poor, continue to suffer and bear the brunt of high fuel prices. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that they weep crocodile tears for the poor and disadvantaged, but are basically happy with things as they are. It is our duty and obligation to expose the Opposition‘s deceiving lies, propaganda and treachery tirelessly. 

Madarsas produce terrorists, all terrorists have studied at madarsas, will shut them all down if given a chance: UP minister

OpIndia Staff
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Madarsas produce terrorists, all terrorists have studied at madarsas, will shut them all down if given a chance: UP minister

Thakur Raghuraj Singh, Minister of State (MoS) in Yogi Adityanath’s cabinet in Uttar Pradesh, has pushed for the closure of all operating madarsas in the country accusing them of fostering extremism.

In a video statement, the minister said that Madarsas are a hotbed for terror activities and asserted that all the terrorists studied at madarsas. He said that if he is given a chance he would shut all madarsas operating across the country.

All terrorists study in madrasas: Uttar Pradesh MoS Raghuraj Singh

Blaming madarsas for producing terrorists, the UP minister asserted that these religious schools promote Islamic extremism and militancy. Stressing that the madarsas essentially provide training to terrorists, he stated that in order to eradicate terrorism from the country, all madarsas must be closed first. “We have to annihilate terrorism from the country. May God provide me with the opportunity to shut all the Madarsas operating across the country”, said Raghuraj Singh.

According to Minister Raghuraj Singh, the number of madarsas in Uttar Pradesh is also steadily increasing. The number of Madarsas in Uttar Pradesh, which once stood at 250 has now gone up to 22,000, said the minister, further urging the Modi government to ban madarsas across the country.

When further asked to elaborate the basis on which he claimed that madarsas produce terrorists, the minister was quick to give the example of the slain Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Mannan Wani. He said that Wani, who passed out from the Aligarh Muslim University, had studied in a madarsa in Jammu and Kashmir. In fact, all the ISIS agents are products of some madarsa or the other, said the UP minister.

Raghuraj Singh then went on to draw attention to how radical Islamists in Kerala are exploiting women in the state. He insinuated that Kerala has become a hub for ISIS at the behest of the communist government in the state.

It is pertinent to mention here that many ‘Love Jihad’ cases, where Hindu women are targeted, converted and later brainwashed into joining ISIS have been reported in Kerala. The number of cases seems to be way higher at 92, but acting on the Supreme Courts order, the NIA is already scrutinising 32 love jihad cases. Most of these love jihad cases have a deep-rooted connection with ISIS.

Islamic terror module busted in Madarsas

Many reports in the past have suggested that madarsas are extensively used for radicalization and recruitment activities by many terrorist outfits.

Last year, NIA had arrested a madarsa teacher Abdul Momin Mondal for being a part of the Al-Qaeda module that has been operating in West Bengal and Kerala. NIA officials have recovered incriminating materials including digital devices, documents, jihadi literature, sharp weapons, country-made firearms, locally fabricated body armour, and literature on homemade explosives.

Following his arrest, the NIA had informed that this was the 11th arrest that they have made since September 2020 after they apprehended nine terrorists associated with the module. 

In fact, in 2019 the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had also confirmed the inputs on terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) using madrasas in Burdwan and Murshidabad in West Bengal for radicalization and recruitment activities. The terrorists had not only been using these areas as hideouts but have also carried out recruitments for the bordering areas. These recruitments are done through madrasas and mosques. Their networks are especially active in the Murshidabad, Malda, and Nadia districts of West Bengal and parts of Muslim-majority districts in Assam.

‘Majority Hindus are rotten to the core’: Islamists attack Darul Uloom Deoband’s Arshad Madani for asking ‘secular forces’ to join to fight ‘sectarianism’

OpIndia Staff
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‘Majority Hindus are rotten to the core’: Islamists attack Darul Uloom Deoband’s Arshad Madani for asking ‘secular forces’ to join to fight ‘sectarianism’

A day after Darul Uloom Deoband’s Maulana Arshad Madani called upon ‘secular forces’ to come together to fight ‘sectarianism’ and ‘hate’, he was attacked by Islamists for seeking help of Hindus who are ‘rotten to the core’. He had made the statement on Wednesday and also tweeted the same on Thursday, November 25, 2021.

Maulana Madani claimed that ‘fighting sectarianism’ is responsibility of all sections of society and not just Muslims and hence the ‘war against sectarianism’ cannot be fought alone. He asked for all ‘secular minded people’ of society to get together to put out the fire of ‘hatred and sectarianism’.

Arshad Madani, the principal of Darul Uloom Deoband, is also president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and he doesn’t believe the Taliban as a terror outfit, and, he adorns Taliban and Talibanis as freedom fighters. Recently, in an interview with Dainik Bhaskar, Madani said that if fighting against subjugation is terrorism then by this logic Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Hazrat Shekhuddin were also terrorists. It must be noted that the Taliban is believed to have drawn inspiration from the Deobandi movement which originated in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoband. 

Madani, however, was attacked by Islamists who were not too happy for non-Muslims to be invited to ‘fight sectarianism’. In fact, some even felt that majority of Hindus are so rotten to the core, it would not be a great idea to invite them to ‘fight sectarianism’.

One Twitter user Asad, whose Twitter bio only identified him as ‘Muslim’ said how majority of Hindus are rotten to the core and radicalised. He claimed the rest of the non-rotten, non-radicalised Hindus were silently approving the ‘majoritarian terrorism’. Hence, they should not be made ‘our heroes, use our stage and make their career by backstabbing us’. He claimed that the battle (of Muslims) must be fought alone.

Nargis Bano, journalist with The Ghazi Times and Jharkhand Samvad accused Maulana Madani of breaking the confidence of Muslims by making such statements. She advised him to stand by Muslims when there is a ‘propaganda’ run against them, even if no one else raises their voice. To which, one Nadeem Saifi said how Maulana Madani starts thinking from the point where Bano’s thought process ends as he is knowledge is very deep.

One Fahad Fahim apprehended the Maulana and told him that in the ‘tariqa e Khalifat’, there is no place for secularism. Khilafat stands for Caliphate which is establishment of Islamic rule and supremacy and hence under Khilafat, there is no place for secularism.

One Faizan, who is also followed on Twitter by popular Twitter users and activists like Barkha Dutt’s Jamia Shero Ladeeda Farzana, also claimed how majority of India is already radicalised and we (Muslims) have to fight alone.

One podcaster Omar Hayat only tweeted throwing up emojis. It is unclear what upset him so much that he was vomiting on the timeline, but it seems even he was not happy about inviting ‘secular minded people’ to ‘fight sectarianism’.

Earlier, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind come to the rescue of alleged Al Qaeda terrorists nabbed by UP ATS and said they would provide legal assistance to them. “The process of using terrorism as a weapon to destroy the lives of Muslim youth continues. Our legal struggle will continue till the honourable release of innocent Muslims,” Maulana Arshad Madani had said while speaking about legal aid to terror suspects. Prior to that, the Jamiat had also offered legal and financial support to the Islamists accused in the Kamlesh Tiwari murder.

PM Modi makes a ‘Vikas’ push in UP, narrates how Jewar airport was stopped by SP govt: All you need to know

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi makes a ‘Vikas’ push in UP, narrates how Jewar airport was stopped by SP govt: All you need to know

On Thursday, November 25, PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the Jewar International Airport near Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The planned airport is to be constructed over an area of 1334 hectares and will have the capacity to handle 1.2 crore passengers a year.

The proposed airport is stipulated to be India’s largest.

Speaking at the event, PM Modi hailed how the land acquisition and compensation to farmers has been done for the Jewar airport. He stated that earlier, farmers had to wait for years to get compensation for their land, but now, under the BJP rule, the process has been made hassle-free and fast.

Emphasising his government’s commitment to finish infrastructure projects on time, PM Modi stated that earlier, costs kept on escalating while work remained pending. He added that the previous Samajwadi Party government in UP had written to the Centre asking to stop the proposed airport.

The PM added that the previous governments had kept UP away from progress and development, causing the state to be infamous for bad roads, criminal activities and lack of infra. However, under BJP ‘double engine’ government, the state is finally getting its due.

It is notable here that in 2012, the Akhilesh Yadav government had scrapped the Jewar airport plan. The UPA government had also created hurdles stating that another airport within 150 km of IGI may not be feasible.

“Infrastructure is not a part of politics for us but a part of national policy. We are making sure that the projects do not get stuck or go astray”, the PM stated.

Airport will provide Udaan to the entire region

PM Modi asserted that it is the first time in India that an airport is being conceptualised as a multi-modal cargo hub. The airport will provide wings to fly for the entire region, he added.

The PM added that the Jewar airport will be the logistic gateway for northern India, and will benefit crores of people in UP, Delhi and the NCR.

Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Union Minister of Civil Aviation added that the jewar airport will bring investments worth 60,000 crores to the state of UP.

About the Jewar airport

When the Jewar airport becomes functional, UP will be the only state in India with 5 international airports. Located about 72 km away from IGI airport in Delhi, the Jewar airport is expected to be India’s largest. A sum of Rs 10,050 crores has been released for the first phase of construction.

The first phase of the construction is expected to be completed in 2024. 2 runways will be developed in stage 1 while a third runway will be added in the later stage. A total of 5 runways are proposed in the plan. The construction will be executed by Zurich Airport International AG. It will also be India’s first ‘net zero’ emissions airport. The land has been allocated for development as a forest park, using trees from the airport site.

The Jewar airport will be of great help to decongest the IGI Airport in Delhi and will bring new businesses to the area. All major expressways like the Yamuna Expressway, Western peripheral Expressway, Eastern Peripheral Expressway and Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be connected to the airport.

Last month, the PM had inaugurated the Kushinagar International Airport in UP. Another international airport is currently under construction in Ayodhya.

The National Portal for Transgenders by the Modi govt: How it empowers the marginalised Transgender community in India

Simi Mishra
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The National Portal for Transgenders by the Modi govt: How it empowers the marginalised Transgender community in India

Each year between November 13th and November 19th, people and organizations around the country participate in Transgender Awareness Week to help raise the visibility of transgender people and address issues members of the community face. Gender ideally should have no linkage to fundamental rights. But for the trans community, this has been the norm for decades rather than an exception. Most national identification cards all over the world, including the US, UK and EU or identifying documents include a gender marker.

The presence of such markers, especially on birth certificates, contribute to our society’s emphasis on gender as a criterion for assigning identities, roles and responsibilities within society. With gender being such a determining and dominant identifier, it puts gender identity at the centre of so many aspects of societal norms and standards. Importantly the same categorisation creates a basis for discrimination and inequality.

The trans community has been recognized as one of the most marginalised communities in India and has been deprived of basic amenities such as education, health care, and employment opportunities. The absence of legal recognition, associated rights and protection lays the community bare and exposed to humiliation, driving many trans persons into the shadows of societal non-acceptance and non-existence. 

The importance of a birth certificate is often underestimated. Have you ever thought what are the consequences when your birth certificates and ID documents do not reflect your identity? This is the reality that many transgender people are facing across the world. Ensuring that the birth certificate and ID reflect the preferred name and gender becomes a key part of transitioning. “When your ID does not match your identity, you end up as being irrelevant to the society. You are looked upon as aliens. You are left at the mercy of everyone you interact with, including your family and friends”, said Piya a transwoman from the Delhi NCR.

The world over demand for legal gender recognition has pushed many governments into a moral panic mode. The Trans Legal Mapping Report is a research project by ILGA World which shows de facto criminalisation of trans people under laws is present in 37 countries. But it is a crucial fight. Trans persons continue to struggle with this fundamental right. As the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights has stated, “It is clear that many transgender persons do not fully enjoy their fundamental rights both at the level of legal guarantees and that of everyday life.” 

In this context, having a centralised legal avenue for resolution can become life-changing.

The Indian government upheld this sentiment and recognised this basic need. The National Portal for Transgenders was set up and the thought behind its genesis was to ensure that transgender communities are to be included, and rights to privacy, free expression, and dignity are to be upheld. It is through the set-up of this portal the confidence of the community has solidified the relationship with the government which is just one of the many in a series of positive affirming policies and initiatives that have come into place under the stewardship of Prime Minister Modi. 

The National Portal for Transgenders in 2020 by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment for getting Transgender Certificate and Identity Cards and is an important provision of The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. Recognizing this need as a critical and most fundamental first step the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment set up the National Portal for Transgenders. The portal allows trans persons to get Transgender Certificate and Identity Cards as per their self-perceived identity, which is an important provision of The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. Transgender ID Card Application Form 2021 is now available at the official website transgender.dosje.gov.in.

The National Portal for Trangender Persons facilitates trans persons to get identity cards.

The most important benefit is that it helps the transgender person to get the I-Card without any physical interface and without having to visit any office. Through the Portal, they can monitor the status of their application ensuring transparency in the process.

The portal is now available in Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, apart from English. The portal will also enable trans persons to register their grievances and help build a database of the community. 

“Doors to education, social welfare schemes, health, employment, bank accounts and housing are based on I-Cards and documents”, said Ravi Mishra a counsellor who works closely with the trans community. He further said, “Many people did not think they would one day they would be able to live their trans identity socially and legally but the portal has shown them it is possible.”

Surat: Girl dies in a coffee shop, parents say absconding ‘friend’ Zahir Ahmed had posed as a Hindu to approach her

OpIndia Staff
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Surat: Girl dies in a coffee shop, parents say absconding ‘friend’ Zahir Ahmed had posed as a Hindu to approach her

The parents of the B.Ed student, who died after falling unconscious in a coffee shop in Surat on Monday, have called it a case of murder. They have accused Patel Madni Zahir Ahmad, the boy who was with the girl in the coffee shop, of poisoning her.

The 21-year-old girl, originally from Odisha, had gone to a coffee shop named Coffee Castle in the Rajdreanm complex near Mahavir college with the accused man on Monday, November 22, where she fell unconscious. Later, she was taken to a hospital, where she was declared brought dead. The youth reportedly fled and his mobile phone has been switched off since then.

Kishore Bagdolia, DCP Zone 3 Surat said: “On Monday the deceased student had come to the coffee shop with her friend identified as Patel Madni Zahir Ahmad where she fell unconscious. Later she was shifted to a hospital in an ambulance where she was declared dead.”

‘Zahir Ahmed had introduced himself as Mahesh to befriend the deceased B-Ed student from Surat’, say parents

As per a report by Desh Gujarat, the girl’s father- Sushant Sahu told the Surat police that the youth, Patel Madni Zahir Ahmad had befriended his daughter using a fake Hindu identity. He had introduced himself as Mahesh to the deceased. The father accused Zahir Ahmad of poisoning his daughter. He said that his daughter was mentally very strong and could not commit suicide.

According to Sushant Sahu, Zahir Ahmad had been harassing the girl for some time now, because of which she had recently changed her college too.

Parikshit, the brother of the deceased student said: “She had earlier complained that she was being harassed by one of her colleagues. On Monday, she had gone to her previous college to get some documents and we suspect that the same student who used to torture her might be involved in the incident.” Parikshit added that on the day of the incident, the girl’s mobile phone was switched off for more than three hours.

The brother of the deceased asserted that the fact that the youth fled and hasn’t turned on his phone since the incident, proves that he is responsible for his sister’s murder.

Parents call it a murder, accept body only after crime branch takes over the probe

The family of the deceased had reportedly accepted the victim’s dead body only after the case was handed over to the crime branch. The family had met police commissioner Ajay Tomar and demanded that the angle of murder be probed in the case.

According to TOI, the girl, who lived in Kamrej, had gone to the cafe with Zahir Ahmad on November 22, Monday. The duo was sitting in a closed cabin in the coffee shop. When there was no movement for around two hours, the coffee shop manager went to check on the couple and found them in an unconscious state.

A local newspaper, has, however, reported that the youth, who named himself Mohammad Madni in the coffee shop register, had gone up to the manager after almost two hours and informed him that the girl had fallen unconscious. After that, the girl, with the help of others, was taken out of the cabin. An ambulance was called and she was taken to the hospital. The youth had accompanied the girl to the hospital. When the doctors declared her dead, the youth fled from the hospital and has kept his mobile switched off since then.

The incident reported in a local newspaper

Here it is important to note here that while most of the media outlets have said that only the girl was found in an unconscious state in the coffee shop, some outlets like TOI and Ahmedabad Mirror have reported that both the youth and the girl were found unconscious by the manager of the shop.

Meanwhile, a senior police official has said that a case has been registered and the exact cause of the death will only be ascertained after post mortem is conducted by an expert panel.

Sub-inspector KP Jadeja said that the post-mortem report could not confirm the presence of poison in the girl’s body. Nor did it talk about strangulation. Since the exact reason for the death could not be ascertained, the help of SFL (Special Forensic Science Laboratory) has been sought. He said that there are a particular variety of poisons that are not detected in the forensic post mortem. That is why such samples are sent to the SFL.

Delhi ‘peace and harmony panel’ headed by AAP leader Raghav Chadha summons Kangana Ranaut over her ‘derogatory’ remark against Sikhs

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi ‘peace and harmony panel’ headed by AAP leader Raghav Chadha summons Kangana Ranaut over her ‘derogatory’ remark against Sikhs

Padma Shri awardee actress Kangana Ranaut has been summoned by the Delhi assembly’s panel on peace and harmony, headed by Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha, over her alleged remarks against the Sikhs. Ranaut has been told to appear before the committee on December 6.

The notice signed by its deputy secretary to Kangana Ranaut read that, “The committee has received numerous complaints eliciting inter alia, outrageously offensive and derogatory Instagram stories/posts allegedly published by yourself on 20.11.2021 over your official Instagram account…”

The summon notice further added that “blanketly labelling (Sikhs) as Khalistani terrorists… has the potential to engender disharmony as well as cause wounding humiliation to the entire Sikh community.”

“Given the gravity and the importance of all these issues in the NCT of Delhi, the committee on ‘Peace and Harmony’ under the Chairmanship of MLA Raghav Chadha has summoned Ms Kangana Ranaut to appear before the Committee so as to deliberate on the present issue in a more comprehensive and coherent manner. The summons were issued and she has been called to appear on 06.12.2021 at 12 pm,” the statement added.

Screenshot of the notice sent to actor Kangana Ranaut, source: Twitter handle @rupashreenanda
Screenshot of the notice sent to actor Kangana Ranaut, source: Twitter handle @rupashreenanda

Kangana Ranaut miffs Sikh leaders with her Indira Gandhi ‘crushing Khalistanis under her juti’ remark

The actor also faces a first information report (FIR) in Mumbai filed by Sikhs for the same. Moreover, on Saturday (November 20), the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara management committee had also filed a complaint against Ranaut accusing her of supposedly referring to the entire Sikh community as ‘Khalistani elements.’

In a 4-page long complaint filed with the Additional Commissioner of Police (Bandra) and Cyber Cell unit (Delhi), the Gurdwara management committee, headed by Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, also alleged that the actress outraged the respect and dignity of Sikhs by claiming that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi crushed Khalistanis like mosquitoes.

Irked by Kangana Ranaut’s Instagram stories, Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa had also gone on to call the actress a “factory of hate” and demanded stringent action by the Indian government against the actress for putting up alleged ‘hateful content’ on Instagram. “Her security and Padam Shri must be withdrawn immediately. She should either be put in a mental hospital or in jail,” he emphasised.

Instagram stories of Ranaut have sparked outrage on social media

In an Instagram story, the actress stated, “Khalistani terrorists may be arm twisting the government today. But let’s not forget one woman. The only woman prime minister who crushed them under the shoe. No matter how much suffering she caused to this nation, she crushed them like mosquitoes at the cost of her own life. But, she did not allow the nation to divide. Even after decades of her death, even today, they shiver at her name. They need a guru like her.”

The so-called farmer protests, in which farmers primarily from Punjab blocked roads around Delhi, had prompted security concerns. The protests had turned violent earlier this year on Republic Day, when a farmer-led “truck rally” broke down barriers, and some “farmers” desecrated the Red Fort and assaulted Delhi Police officers. There have been intelligence reports that Khalistani elements sponsored by Pakistan entered the protests in order to manipulate the ‘protests’ to stir anti-India sentiments.

Many times during the protests, Khalistani slogans, Referendum 2020, and posters honouring Khalistani separatist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale were seen. As a result, it was impossible to rule out the potential that the protests had become a security threat.

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