The decision to form a new political party came weeks after he tendered his resignation as Punjab CM. Amarinder Singh had resigned from the post of chief minister on September 18 saying that he can’t continue with the humiliation he was facing in the party. He had taken the decision after the party had called for a meeting of the Congress legislative party in Punjab without informing the CM, who is also the leader of the legislative party.
The political drama in Punjab started with the appointment of Navjot Singh Sidhu as the president of the Punjab Congress in July despite opposition from Amarinder Singh. The drama reached a crescendo when Singh refused to take the humiliation lying down and decided to call it quits. 12 days later, on September 30, Captain announced that he is quitting the Congress party as well.
In an interview with Shekhar Gupta at ThePrint, Amarinder Singh said that he would look to ally with the BJP and breakaway factions of the Shiromani Akali Dal. On being questioned, he said that he does not believe the BJP is a communal anti-Muslim party. Whether he will partner with the BJP depends on the resolution of the farmer protests, which he hinted could be headed towards a resolution soon.
On the murder of the Dalit Sikh man at the farmer protest site, Singh said, “I don’t believe that he was doing be-adbi or sacrilege because there were too many people. The person who did it (killed him) was in a frame of mind he could not control. He could have been intoxicated. Nihangs are known to take ‘sukha’ (a form of intoxication).”
After Captain’s exit from Congress, speculations were rife of him floating a new political party
Soon after his acrimonious exit from the post of Punjab CM, speculations of Captain Amarinder Singh’s future political steps started doing the rounds. His meeting with Amit Shah also added to the rumours of him joining the BJP. However, Singh dispelled those rumours as unfounded, stating that he did not intend to join the saffron party. After Singh’s denial, media was replete with speculations that Singh will float a new political party.
News18 had quoted sources as saying that a dozen Congress leaders and MLAs are also likely to join him, the report had said. According to sources, not only legislators are on board, but also certain prominent figures who are disgruntled with the Akalis.
After he quit Congress, India Today had reported that Amarinder Singh would form a new party, whose primary focus would be on security issues for which he had likely met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval at his residence in New Delhi on September 30.
In 2015, Union Minister Smriti Irani claimed to have found a camera pointing towards the trial room of a FabIndia outlet located in Candolim, Goa. Four people were booked in the case. Nevertheless, it is not the only controversy that revolves around the ethnic-wear chain, FabIndia. It flaunts being one of the top ethnic wear stores in India. With over 300+ outlets across the country and over-priced clothes and accessories, the store has made its way into the upper-middle and higher-income groups with its sparkling advertisements. In its 60-year long run, the company has found itself in more controversies in recent years than ever.
The 2015 hidden camera case
On April 3, 2015, Union Minister Smriti Irani spotted a CCTV camera positioned towards the changing room in a way that it could record illicit videos. Reports suggest that she immediately informed her husband about the camera and then called the local BJP legislator Micheal Lobo. He later filed a complaint at the local police station based on which FIR was registered against four Paresh Bhagat, Raju Payanche, Prashant Naik and Karim Lakhani.
The four were arrested and later granted bail by the court. They were booked under IPC sections 354C (voyeurism), 509 (intrusion into privacy) and IT Act’s section 66E (capturing, publishing image of the private area of any person without his/her consent). On April 12, it was reported that the Police had zeroed down to Bhagat as the main accused as he had the password for the DVR. Then Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch) Kartik Kashyap has told the media that Bhagat was caught changing the direction of the camera soon after the Minister had raised the alarm.
FabIndia issued a statement in which they apologized to the Minister for the incident but claimed there were no hidden cameras in the shopping area. They said, “The camera in question at Candolim-Goa store was a part of the surveillance system at the store and was installed in the shopping area. There were no hidden cameras anywhere in the store, including the trial rooms. These cameras are in full public view, and the fact that surveillance cameras are installed prominently displayed in all the stores.”
The case continued till 2017 when a charge sheet was filed against the four accused. Since then, no update has been available in the case. OpIndia tried to reach out to Micheal Lobo over the phone as he had filed the complaint. We could not connect to him. Once we have a word with him about the case, we will update the story.
Another case of ‘secret filming’ was caught in Kohlapur outlet
A similar incident was reported on March 31, 2015, where a salesman at Kohlapur outlet was arrested by the Police for secretly filming a female customer. 25-years-old Prakash Ananda Ispurle was arrested on April 1 after the complaint of a female customer. In her complaint, she alleged that when she was trying on clothes, Ispurle had placed his mobile phone in video recording mode in the gaps between the trial room door and the floor.
When she noticed the phone, she immediately raised the alarm, after which Ispurle pulled the phone out and deleted the videos. During the investigation, Police found that Ispurle was caught on CCTV filming the woman. He was arrested, and a case was filed against him under Section 354C of the IPC.
Illegal use of the word ‘Khadi’
In February 2018, the Khadi Commission or Khadi & Village Industries Commission, Govt. of India had sued FabIndia for using the Khadi brand without permission. KVIC had demanded Rs. 525 crores in damages from the ethnic wear retail outlet for illegally using the trademark Charkha and selling apparel under the khadi tag. When the company was first sued by KVIC, they said the claims made against them were baseless, and they would fight them in court.
In a statement FabIndia said, “We are in receipt of the notice from lawyers instructed by KVIC, and are surprised at its contents. We have made it clear to the KVIC through extensive correspondence and in multiple meetings over the last two years that Fabindia is not in violation of any of the provisions of the KVIC Act or regulations framed thereunder. The claims made in the notice are baseless. The notice has been entrusted to our lawyers, and any action taken in pursuance of the notice will be defended by us vigorously.”
However, later in the month of June, KVIC moved to the court, and things started to fall apart for FabIndia. In August 2018, FabIndia said it would not use the word Khadi or any trademark related to Khadi in any of its collections and would inform KVIC in advance if it would want to use it. As of now, the case is still pending in the Bombay High Court.
The feud between KVIC and FabIndia started in 2015 when KVIC sent a legal notice to the company warning against the use of Khadi trademarks. FabIndia replied that it had stopped the use of the word Khadi and its trademarks in the advertisements. However, in 2017, KVIC learned that FabIndia kept using the trademark and name despite the undertaking. A fresh legal notice was sent that further led to the court case.
It is noteworthy that the government body KVIC has acted against over 1000 private firms, including FabIndia, for misusing the brand name “Khadi” and taking unethical advantage of the brand’s goodwill.
The recent controversy of ad campaign ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’
Recently in October 2021, FabIndia launched a campaign to promote its Jashn-e-Riwaaz collection for the festival season that revolves around the Hindu festival Diwali. Interestingly, FabIndia did not use the word “Diwali” or “Deepavali” or mention the Hindu festival at all in the campaign. The trick to possibly secularize the Hindu festival did not go well with the netizen, and a fierce campaign was launched by Netizens collectively against the brand. Seeing the campaign backfiring, the company decided to drop the phrase ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’ and changed the collection’s name to ‘Jhilmil Si Diwali’.
About FabIndia
FabIndia was founded by John Bissell in 1960, an American businessman who also worked for Ford Foundation in New Delhi. It started as a company exporting home furnishing. The company expanded its roots to garments by the 1980s and further to non-textile range in 2000, personal care products in 2006 and jewellery in 2008. Currently, John’s son William Bissell is the chairman of the company.
Amidst the recent spate of targeted attacks against non-native people in Jammu and Kashmir, the Aadmi Aadmi Party on Tuesday weighed in on the situation, stating that India should not be playing their upcoming world cup match against Pakistan when it is a victim of state-sponsored terrorism by Islamabad.
AAP MLA Atishi Marlena asserted that India should not be playing its match against Pakistan at a time when Pakistan-sponsored terrorism is again rearing its head in Jammu and Kashmir.
So, I am sure that not only AAP but even BJP and its leadership along with the PM will agree that unless such attacks in India and targeted attacks on Indians stop, it will not be right to play matches like this: AAP MLA Atishi
“We see people being attacked in Kashmir. I’m sure that even PM agrees with the stand of not conducting the match (IND v PAK) as when in opposition he used to question that when state sponsored terrorism is taking place in India why should we play cricket with them?” Atishi questioned while addressing the media.
She further added: “So, I am sure that not only AAP but even BJP and its leadership along with the PM will agree that unless such attacks in India and targeted attacks on Indians stop, it will not be right to play matches like this.”
Atishi was referring to the first group stage match India is set to play against Pakistan in the ongoing T20 world cup in the United Arab Emirates. The match is slated to take place on Sunday, October 24, 2021.
Atishi’s reservations regarding the Indo-Pak match in the T20 world cup appears to have their roots not in the recent incidents of targeted attacks against non-natives in Kashmir but on PM Modi and BJP’s opposition in the past on having bilateral cricketing ties with Pakistan.
Bilateral cricket series Vs ICC tournaments
However, the T20 world cup is not a bilateral series where BCCI can take the decision of cancelling its match against Pakistan. It is organised by the International Cricket Council(ICC), of which India is one of the members like several other cricket-playing nations, including Pakistan. It is not under the purview of the BCCI or any other individual board to cancel or rearrange the schedule of the matches decided by the ICC.
The ICC is the apex cricketing body that governs cricket tournaments around the world. It is binding on all members of the ICC to abide by the decisions taken by the council. Defiance of ICC’s authority might lead to the imposition of penalties and other disciplinary action against the BCCI.
Besides, if India chooses to forfeit its match against Pakistan, the match won’t be disqualified by the ICC. It would still be considered as an international match and India’s refusal to play against Pakistan would be akin to giving a walkaway to the opposition. Pakistan will be adjudicated as the winner of the match and India’s chances of qualifying further in the tournament will diminish.
By suggesting India not play its match against Pakistan in the T20 cricket world cup, Atishi is effectively doing Islamabad’s bidding, for the Indian cricket team is a force to be reckon with and is widely regarded as the favourites to lift the world cup. If Pakistan could avert a loss against India, their chances of progressing in the tournament will increase dramatically. This, in turn, will undoubtedly help Pakistan Cricket Board, which is battling isolation and is struggling to revive cricket tours by foreign nations since 2009.
Furthermore, if India chooses not to play against Pakistan, as Atishi suggests, it will deprive itself of the precious points it could have scored after defeating Pakistan, which would inevitably help the Indian team to advance in the subsequent phase of the tournament.
Perhaps, Atishi and AAP do not want the Indian Cricket Team to win the World Cup and instead want Pakistan to qualify for the later stages of the tournament.
AAP’s perennial love for Pakistan
As such, this is not the first time that AAP leaders have acted in favour of Pakistan. Earlier in 2016, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal raised aspersions on the authenticity of the Surgical Strikes conducted by the Indian Armed Forces in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and asked for its proof.
In the aftermath of the Surgical Strikes when the nationalist sentiments were high, Kejriwal released a rare video congratulating the Modi government and the Indian Army for avenging the deaths of martyrs in the Uri attack. However, towards the end of his video, Kejriwal sought a piece of evidence to establish that Surgical Strikes indeed happened, cunningly claiming that he is asking for evidence to bust the Pakistani propaganda that refuted the occurrence of any Surgical Strikes in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
Delhi CM’s demand for proof was instantly lapped up by Pakistani propagandists to reinforce their narrative that the Surgical Strikes as claimed by India was nothing but a sham. During that time, Pakistan had vigorously denied the occurrence of any surgical strikes in its controlled territory to cover up its shame.
Pakistan’s denial of the incursion was on expected lines, given that the acceptance of the attack would have been tantamount to a tacit admission of the presence of terrorists at those launch pads and more importantly admission that the Indian forces carried out the attack right under the nose of its Army.
Even after the gruesome Pulwama attack in 2019, when 40 CRPF soldiers were killed in a suicide attack by a terrorist backed by Pakistan, Kejriwal tried to use the dastardly attack to peddle preposterous conspiracy theories. A couple of months after the attack, Kejriwal took to Twitter to insinuate that the Pulwama attack was carried out by Pakistan at the behest of the Modi government to help PM Modi in the forthcoming General elections in May 2019.
“Pakistan and Imran Khan are openly supporting Modi Ji. It is clear now that Modi Ji has some secret pact wid them. Everyone is asking – did Pakistan kill 40 of our brave soldiers in Pulwama on 14 Feb just before elections to help Modi Ji?” Kejriwal had tweeted.
Kejriwal’s tweet
Today, as desperate terrorists try to sow fear and panic in Jammu and Kashmir, instead of issuing an unconditional condemnation against Pakistan and calling out its support to spreading Islamic terrorism in India, Atishi is asking the Indian Cricket Team to forfeit its match against Pakistan so that India’s chances of winning the world cup becomes tougher and Pakistan can emerge victorious without actually playing the match.
The central government has come out to strongly defend the validity of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021 (Act) in the Supreme Court today. The reply by the centre clearly stated that any attempt by the Supreme Court to overturn the new statute on tribunal laws would be a violation of the constitutionally mandated division of powers between the state’s several organs.
The Union of India’s statement came in response to a slew of petitions filed by the Madras Bar Association, Jairam Ramesh, and others questioning the Act’s validity.
The petitions had contended that Section 3(1) along with Sections 3(7), 5 and 7(1) of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021 violated Articles 14, 21 and 50 of the Constitution.
Strongly defending the Tribunal Reforms Act the central government wrote in its reply that even if there is a violation of the basic structure doctrine, it is not a basis for challenging a statute’s legitimacy.
The Centre has told the apex court that a violation of the Constitution’s fundamental structure principle can be used to invalidate a constitutional amendment but not a statute.
“It has been held in a series of cases including by two Constitutional Bench decisions and by a 7 judges bench of this Hon’ble Court that basic structure in the Constitution can only be used to test the validity of a Constitutional amendment but has no relevance when it comes to the validity of a statue,” the Centre said in its reply.
The Centre went on to say that judicial independence isn’t a valid basis for putting statutes to the test.
“If for any reason independence of the judiciary is treated as the basis, one could not phrase a provision by declaring that independence is removed which would ex facie sound antithetical. What is more, independence of the judiciary is not a ground which can be used for testing statutes,” the reply added.
The Union government argued that it is distressing that laws and statutory rules made by Parliament and the Executive in areas of pure policy are being declared void by invoking the judiciary’s independence, even though such laws and rules do not violate fundamental rights or any provision of the Constitution and are entirely within the competence of Parliament and the Executive.
“Government equally believes that the Court striking down these pure matters of policy violates the separation of powers by the judicial wing of the State,” read the reply.
The central government’s response comes after a bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana had in September criticised the central government for passing the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, with provisions that are contrary to a previous Supreme Court judgement. The bench was hearing a petition by Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh that challenges the Tribunals Reforms Act.
The tribunal laws 2021
The Tribunal Reforms Act of 2021 replaces an ordinance that was passed in April of that year. The bill was introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha, and it was passed on August 3 amid ruckus by the Opposition.
Chairpersons and members of the tribunal that is being disbanded will cease to hold office, and they will be entitled to compensation equal to three months’ pay and allowances for their premature termination, according to the Act. It also suggests modifications to the way certain other tribunals are appointed.
The Act not only establishes uniform pay and rules for search and selection committees across tribunals, but also allows for the removal of tribunal members who have been adjudged as insolvent, convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, or who have become physically or mentally incapable of serving as Chairperson or Member. Former judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court serve as chairpersons and judicial members of tribunals.
Here is what happened. On Monday evening, one Twitter user ‘Vikash’ with zero tweets till then raised a grievance with food delivery platform Zomato.
Vikash’s tweet
Vikash was upset that as a person consuming Zomato services in Tamil Nadu, one customer care executive casually mentioned that a Tamil Nadu restaurant owner might know a bit of a Hindi. You see, Zomato executive was unable to resolve the grievance as per Vikash’s liking mainly due to language barrier and ‘Vikash’ was triggered.
So triggered that he logs in to an account he created in May 2021, where he had zero tweets and decides to lash out on Zomato. In subsequent tweet he tags all DMK leaders (ruling party in Tamil Nadu), chief minister’s office, some media houses and a few other DMK leaders. Clearly, Vikash wanted the politicians to get involved because he didn’t get his pepper chicken.
Zomato then responded and apologised and asked him to get in touch over a private message.
Vikash
But Vikash would not be bogged down. Vikash insisted that he get public apology from the customer care executive who ‘accused him a liar’ and ‘asked him to learn Hindi’. Now, if you look at the angry exchange between ‘Vikash’ and the Zomato executive, one can see ‘Vikash’ was informed by the agent that the restaurant has not conveyed it to them that they will waive off the money for missing pepper chicken.
The Zomato executive explains that she tried but could not get through with the restaurant owner because of language barriers. This triggered ‘Vikash’ who was upset that a non-Tamil speaking executive was handling Tamil Nadu region. After seemingly misplaced entitlement, perhaps the executive lost her cool and mentioned how Hindi is a national language and one expects people in India to understand at least little bit of Hindi. Hindi being national language is a debate and topic for another time. However, this response made ‘Vikash’ so so so furious that he immediately took screenshots and decided to take out his anger on Twitter.
Going by his account, he had made no prior tweets, but he knew exactly how and whom to tag in his grievance. As per the screenshots shared by him, the agent didn’t really call him a liar and didn’t really ask him to learn Hindi. I would have given him benefit of doubt of language barrier that he did not understand English that well, but then since he didn’t give one to the agent, he perhaps doesn’t deserve one either.
Eventually, over the alleged ‘Hindi imposition’, people started boycotting Zomato. So Zomato swooped in and said they have fired the executive.
Vikash at it
But Vikash was not satisfied. He demanded clarification from Zomato on the company’s stand about their executive’s statement on Hindi. So was ‘Vikash’ really that upset over missing pepper chicken or was it the ‘Hindi imposition’ that got his goat.
Still angry, he demanded yet another clarification.
Vikash still upset
“Hindi is not our national language,” Vikash continued to demand. Just to reiterate, the agent, from the screenshots shared by ‘Vikash’, did not really disrespect Tamil. But it really seems like language barrier (or prejudice) that got the better of ‘Vikash’.
Vikash’s demands
And then, a couple of hours after the agent was terminated, ‘Vikash’ again tweeted how along with the ‘clarification’ that ‘Hindi is not our national language’ and that perhaps Zomato should also publicly make ‘Vikash’ happy by announcing the same.
Is ‘Vikash’ really Vikash?
‘Vikash’ is not that common a name in Tamil Nadu. In fact, at the risk of stereotyping, it is more of a ‘North Indian’ name. I know at least two ‘Vikash’ from UP-Bihar who spell their name with an extra ‘h’. Vikas is to UP-Bihar as Senthil is to Tamil Nadu. So, is it possible that this ‘Vikash’ is someone’s fake account which they used to stir up the storm? Because tweeting these things from their original account, with their real name, might be bad optics?
Amusingly, the account got so many retweets in such short span of time, it is likely some popular account retweeted. One may wonder if this ‘Vikash’ is an alt account of such popular Twitter user who was too coward to use his/her real name?
There are a lot of times when some Twitter users want to hide behind the cloak of anonymity and say unpleasant things to other people or hurl abuses because they are too coward to face consequences and use their real name. In fact, there were times during COVID pandemic obscure Twitter accounts with hardly any followers tweeted unverified information asking for help, offering for help. When authorities traced these accounts, they were found to be fake accounts. So when some people can create chaos amid pandemic for their own idea of fun or for their political gains, who is to say ‘Vikash’ is just one such account propped up to stir up the ‘Hindi imposition’ controversy in the time of instant social media gratification.
Meanwhile, Zomato has reinstated the agent who was fired over the controversy saying that this kind of mistake did not deserve such a harsh punishment and that it can be a learning experience for her.
Another case of brutality against Hindus in Raibag Karnataka has come to light where a mob attacked a Hindu man for travelling with a Muslim woman in an auto. According to reports, the mob arrived after the auto driver objected to the woman for travelling with a Hindu man. The mob also looted Rs.50,000 worth of cash including mobile phones, Aadhaar and ATM cards.
“A hindu man beaten with wooden logs and sharp weapons for travelling with a muslim woman. Auto driver had objection with muslim woman for being with a hindu man, he called 25 others and beaten hindu man. They also snatched his phone, Aadhaar, ATM card and ₹50000 cash” pic.twitter.com/nV1Ko9yT6n
Police have arrested the main accused, the auto driver, for assaulting the Hindu man in the case and booked 25 other people involved in the attack. Most of the accused were also auto drivers.
The woman in her complaint to the Malamaruti police said, “We hired an autorickshaw to reach a park to discuss the loan. The auto driver objected to her being with a man from a different faith. He drove us to a secluded place at Amannagar. On the way, four others boarded the auto. A while later 10 to 15 people arrived on bikes. They assaulted my friend with wooden logs and sharp weapons. They also snatched his mobile phone, Rs 50,000 cash, Aadhaar and ATM cards,”
Tensions erupted in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar town on Tuesday morning after a large group of Muslims carrying out a procession on the occasion of Eid Milad un Nabi barged into a restricted area.
The incident is from Pinjarwadi locality in Dhar when a group of people, who were part of the procession, tried to force their way into the restricted area. They broke the police barricades and insisted on rerouting the procession through the restricted area.
When requested by the police to follow the pre-determined route, the group refused to budge and got into a scuffle with police personnel. The police had to resort to lathi-charge to disperse the unruly mob.
Around ten people have sustained minor injuries after getting into a brawl with the police. As per a senior police officer, the situation is now under control.
“No case has been registered so far,” he informed further. However, police superintendent Aditya Pratap Singh assured that the police is trying to identify the miscreants.
“Strict action will be taken against the accused,” Singh added.
Two groups of Muslim community clash in Ahmedabad
In another incident from Ahmedabad, two groups from the Muslim community clashed over playing drums on the occasion of Eid Milad un Nabi.
Reportedly, the clash took place between two groups owing allegiance to Aslam Abdal (32), a rickshaw driver, and Aasif Hussain Saiyyad (42), a builder.
Narrating the reason for the clash, Aslam said, “My eight-year-old son and his friends were playing drums as part of Eid Milad celebrations when Aasif’s son came out of his house and started abusing the kids. When I objected to his behaviour, he started assaulting me.”
Four persons were injured in this clash that broke out in the Abdalvad area of Jamalpur.
A police official at Gaekwad Haveli police station informed, “Police teams rushed to the spot and dispersed the crowd. Three persons were taken to VS Hospital for treatment. We have detained two accused as of now.”
As many as 11 people have been booked by the police until now.
Actress and wife of famous television anchor Prince Narula, Yuvika Chaudhary was arrested under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act) by Haryana Police on Monday for using a casteist slur in one of her old social media videos.
Several pictures of the actress clicked outside the police station surfaced online on Monday. Talking about the actress’ arrest, her legal representative, Ashok Bishnoi had informed, “My client has joined the investigation as per the guidelines given by the High Court and she is on interim bail now.”
Chaudhary was arrested basis a complaint filed by Dalit activist Rajat Kalsan in the Hansi police station, Haryana under the SC/ST Act. The complainant had alleged that the actor had made some derogatory and objectionable remarks about the Scheduled Caste community in the video.
Hansi, Haryana | My client has joined the investigation as per the guidelines given by the High Court and she is on interim bail now (in a case of alleged offensive remarks against Scheduled Castes on a social media platform): Ashok Bishnoi, lawyer of actress Yuvika Chaudhary pic.twitter.com/l459AsCmsN
Known for her role in Shahrukh Khan starrer Bollywood movie Om Shanti Om, Chaudhary had shot to fame after participating in Bigg Boss season 09. In the month of May this year, the actress had put up a story on her Instagram profile in which she was seen using the word ‘bh**gi.’
After she found herself in hot water for allegedly using a casteist slur, the actress immediately issued an apology. “Hi guys I didn’t know the meaning of that word wt I used in my last vlog I didn’t mean to hurt anyone and I can never do that to hurt someone I apologise to each n everyone I hope you understand love you all,” she wrote on Instagram.
Her husband Prince Narula also had released a video apologizing to their fans for the same. The popular TV personality claimed that they were clueless about the meaning of the word used by them in the video accidentally. “We Googled to understand the meaning. We are extremely apologetic for using it,” said Narula in his video.
The netizens, however, had trended #ArrestYuvikaChaudhary on Twitter by then.
Yuvraj Singh arrested and released on bail over casteist remark
The same complainant had also filed a case against ex-cricketer Yuvraj Singh for hurling casteist slur against his teammate Yuzvendra Chahal during an Instagram live session in April last year.
Singh was arrested briefly on Monday and released on bail shortly. While speaking with Republic TV DSP of Hansi Police Vinod Sarkar said that the case was registered in February and Singh was asked to join the investigation after the directions of the High Court.
Actress Munmum Dutta apologizes for using casteist slur
Actor Munmun Dutta, most famously known for playing the character of ‘Babita Ji in ‘Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chasmah’ was also not spared and had to issue an apology for the improper usage of a word (bh*ngi) in one of her videos.
Soon thereafter, social media users had started trending #ArrestMunmunDutta on Twitter and demanded SC/ST Act be slapped against her.
Expressing regret for her inadvertent error, she had tendered her apology to every single person who had been unintentionally hurt by the usage of the word.
In the year 1938, as well as for most of 1939, there was someone who was passionate about making peace. In fact, his pleadings for world peace were so effective that they were almost a legend. Every time he would bite off a piece of some neighbour such as Czechoslovakia, or swallow one of his neighbours whole, such as Austria, he would talk of his commitment to peace. And it usually worked, in that it managed to fool everyone else.
That man was Adolf Hitler.
Okay, so Sheikh Hasina isn’t quite the same as Adolf Hitler. But we live in an era of exaggerations, so why not? The template is the same. Become the loudest voice against exactly what you are trying to do. Take a look at this.
Deccan Herald article
But also don’t forget what is really happening.
Times of India article
Ah, the mob! With a mind of its own, always undirected by anyone and enjoying zero political patronage. The mob always does the job that leaders who need to show their face on the world stage just can’t.
This year, they did not allow the Hindus of Bangladesh to celebrate Durga Puja. In nearly a dozen districts of Bangladesh, they attacked and destroyed Durga Puja pandals. They attacked even ISKCON temples and murdered devotees inside. In each case, their aim was exactly the same: smash the idols and kill the idol worshipers. No, they did not care that ISKCON worships Krishna and those in pandals were worshipping Durga. Note that Shri Krishna, born in present-day Uttar Pradesh, is always seen with his cows. On the other hand, eminent intellectuals such as Amartya Sen define their Bengaliyat by who worships Durga. But the mob in Bangladesh did not ask whose god is from the much-maligned ‘cow belt.’ The mob came for the idol worshipers.
Meanwhile, neighbouring West Bengal celebrated the annual Durga Puja festival with great pomp and show. Some Durga Puja committees even made idols of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. After all, she stopped the cow belt outsiders this year. She deserves all the devotion she can get. They say that Durga Puja is just a cultural festival. In fact, it is a festival for all Bengalis, by which I mean all the Bengalis who live on this side of the border, where it is still 70:30. Across the border, not so much.
Where do you think Sheikh Hasina stands on all this? Or let me put it like this. What do you think a veteran politician, with 17 years of experience as Prime Minister under her belt, is likely to do? Is she going to side with the community that has 90% of the votes or the community that has 8% of the votes, especially in light of projections like this?
Dhaka Tribune article
She is going to go out and tell the world that she is all for secularism and harmony. And on the inside, she is going to give a free hand to Islamists to wipe out the Hindu minority. On both fronts, she is being extremely effective right now.
On the domestic front, you know that Hindus can protest all they want. But everyone knows it is a lost cause. Just ask the Bihari labourers fleeing from Kashmir right now. Once the demography shifts, it is basically over.
On the international front, Sheikh Hasina already has it made. The tactical alliance between liberals and Islamists worldwide will protect her reputation. All she had to do was go up to the podium and denounce the anti-Hindu violence for the record. The global liberal media did the rest. They declared her an icon of secularism and progressive ideals. In fact, they will make this another occasion to bash up India’s reputation.
See? Sheikh Hasina spoke up against anti-Hindu riots in a dozen districts of Bangladesh. Remember the time when some drunk guy threw a stone at a church window in Navi Mumbai? Why can’t Modi condemn that?
Frankly, the hard part for Sheikh Hasina is to maintain a neutral expression while facing the camera, instead of bursting into laughter.
All over the world, the Hinduphobic template has been set by the left. They have marked out the Hindus as global villains. They have marked Hindu culture as something to be “dismantled.” The global liberal complex just rescued the reputation of the Taliban. Guarding the reputation of Sheikh Hasina is almost too easy for them.
And so they are on the job. They put disclaimers against the anti-Hindu violence in public and in private, they follow it with much glee. Along with that, they turn the issue on its head. Instead of asking questions to the government of Bangladesh, they ask questions to Hindutva forces in India.
Sheikh Hasina is sensible and secular, they say. She is the one who keeps radical Islamists in check.
I began by mentioning Hitler and how he came to be known for his appeals for world peace. Actually, there is more. When there were allegations that Hitler was putting Jews in camps, the New York Times correspondent reported that the Jews were being so well treated that they were actually gaining weight during their stay in these camps. Back in the day, the New York Times would tell readers around the world that Hitler is actually a moderate. That Hitler is the man who can keep the radicals in the Nazi party in check.
The New York Times article
Look who put curbs on “zealous Nazis,” even “rebuked” those who discriminated against Jews.
Sound similar? Now please go open the New York Times for your daily intake of ‘liberalism.’
A video has gone viral on social media in which Rajasthan Congress MLA Meena Kanwar along with her husband Umaid Singh Rathore is seen staging a dharna and engaging in a scuffle with the cops at a Jodhpur-based police station.
According to reports, the commotion in the police station began around 10.30 p.m. on Monday night, when officers arrested the MLA’s relatives and issued a challan for drunken driving under the MVI Act. The police also reportedly seized the MLA relative’s vehicle.
This is #Rajasthan‘s law & order situation under #Congress, Congress MLA Meena Kanwar from #Shergarh Constituency & her husband Umaid Singh gave open threats to Police Inspector just because he challaned her nephew in drink and drive case.#Jodhpurpic.twitter.com/vCFDTZDP8P
Upon getting the information, the Congress MLA from Shergarh in Jodhpur reached the police station and started arguing with the police insisting that all children drink and drinking and driving is very normal.
Justifying the behaviour of their kin, the Congress MLA told the police: “Koi baat nahi, bacche sabke peete hain” (He is a kid, all kids drink. It is not a big issue.)
The MLA, who is seen sitting on the floor along with her husband, introduces herself and threaten the police with consequences if they do not submit to their demands and release their relative immediately.
Speaking to media, the MLA has now claimed that police officials have misbehaved with her. She stated that she wants ‘strict action’ against the concerned police personnel who had taken her nephew to police station. She added that the SP has assured that action will be taken.
Rajasthan | I had requested police to release my relative's son & those who were with him but they didn't agree. Police misbehaved with me and my husband. I demand strict action against the concerned police personnel. SP has assured action will be taken: Congress MLA Meena Kanwar pic.twitter.com/32wXfdLWGi
The husband of the Congress MLA also threatens the police not to record their video.
As the situation escalated, the DCP was forced to interfere, after which the situation was ‘resolved’ and the MLA, her husband, and the relative returned home from the police station.
