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‘Fake News’: Wrester Nisha Dahiya refutes media reports of her murder, newcomer wrestler with the same name killed in Sonipat

OpIndia Staff
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‘Fake News’: Wrester Nisha Dahiya refutes media reports of her murder, newcomer wrestler with the same name killed in Sonipat

Social media websites on Wednesday were rife with reports of wrestler Nisha Dahiya and his brother Suraj being murdered in Haryana. The reports stated that Dahiya and his brother Suraj were shot dead in Haryana’s Sonepat by unknown assailants as they were returning home from Sushil Kumar Wrestling Academy in Sonepat’s Halalpur. It was also reported that Nisha’s mother was admitted to Rohtak’s PGI Hospital and was in critical condition. However, the wrestler herself has come forward to clarify that she is well and alive, and termed the reports of her murder as fake news.

On Friday, Dahiya had won the bronze medal in the 72kg weight class at the U23 World Wrestling Championships 2021 in Belgrade. Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had lauded Dahiya and other fellow wrestlers for their achievement.

Today evening, several news publications reported that national-level wrestler Nisha and her brother were assassinated in Haryana’s Sonepat.

The Times of India report said bodies Dahiya and her brother were sent to Civil Hospital for postmortem.

Rumours of wrestler Nisha Dahiya and his brother Suraj's death start doing the rounds on social media
Source: Twitter

Similarly, CNN News 18 carried a report that cited Sonepat police sources to claim 5-6 bullets were fired at Nisha Dahiya by unknown assailants.

Source: Twitter

Similarly, other news organisations, including Sportskeeda India, Hindustan Times, also published the death of the ace wrestler who had recently won a bronze medal at World Championship in Belgrade.

Sportskeeds reports on wrestler's death
Source: Twitter

Congress supporter Tehseen Poonawalla also weighed in on the matter, quoting PM Modi’s congratulatory tweet to Nisha Dahiya on her achievement to allege that Nisha Dahiya was “brutally murdered” in Sonepat. Poonawalla further asked PM Modi to tweet about the incident and ensure justice for the wrestler’s family, along with seeking responsibility from the Haryana CM ML Khattar.

Rumours of wrestler Nisha Dahiya and his brother Suraj's death start doing the rounds on social media
Source: Twitter

Nisha Dahiya dismisses rumours of her death

As it turns out, the reports of Nisha Dahiya’s death were baseless and misleading. After rumours of her death started doing the rounds on the internet, the wrestler took to her Instagram account and shared a video in which she identified herself and asserted that she is currently in Haryana’s Gonda and is safe and well. “I am in Gonda to play senior nationals. I am alright. It’s a fake news. I am fine,” she said in the video.

The video was also shared by ESPN journalist Jonathan Selvaraj, who had earlier tweeted that Nisha Dahiya was shot dead by unknown assailants. Sharing Dahiya’s video, Selvaraj apologised for sharing fake news about the wrestler’s death.

Olympian Sakshi Malik also took to her Twitter to share her pictures with wrestler Nisha Dahiya and slammed the rumours about her death. “She is alive,” Malik tweeted along with her picture with Nisha Dahiya.

ESPN’s Jonathan Selvaraj quoted wrestling president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to claim it was another Nisha who was killed in Haryana’s Sonepat.

According to reports, the false reports about Nisha Dahiya appeared on media because a different woman was actually murdered on Sonipat. Coincidently, that woman is also a wrestler and her name is also Nisha Dahiya, which caused confusion. Reportedly, her coach is accused in the case.

PTI reported saying that the wrestler shot dead in Sonepat is newcomer Nisha Dahiya, not the U-23 world championship bronze-medallist, quoting the coach of the Indian team.

Samajwadi Party’s alliance leader Om Prakash Rajbhar says partition would not have happened if Jinnah was made India’s first PM

OpIndia Staff
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Samajwadi Party’s alliance leader Om Prakash Rajbhar says partition would not have happened if Jinnah was made India’s first PM

Days after Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav glorified Muhammad Ali Jinnah by comparing him with Gandhi, Nehru and Patel, now his alliance partner has praised the father of Pakistan. Om Prakash Rajbhar, the chief of Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, on Wednesday said that partition of India could have been prevented if Jinnah was allowed to become the first prime minister of the country.

While talking to reporters in Varansi, Om Prakash Rajbhar said, “Had Jinnah been made the first prime minister, the partition of the country would not have happened.”

Rajbhar also defended Akhilesh Yadav glorifying Jinnah in a rally a few days ago, saying that many other leaders have praised the founder of Pakistan. Reacting to questions from reporters over Yadav’s comments, he said, “read Advani Ji’s views, read Atal Ji’s views, read the views of country’s other well-wishers on the prospect of Jinnah having been made the PM. Why did they praise him?”

He was apparently referring to LK Advani calling Jinnah secular, which was later supported by Atal Bihari Vajpayee  

The SP alliance leader accused the journalists of speaking the language of BJP and speaking against Muslims for asking him questions on Jinnah. He asked why the reporters are asking questions on Jinnah instead of asking on price rise, hatred etc.

Rajbhar’s comments on Jinnah comes days after Akhilesh Yadav had created a controversy by glorifying Muhammad Ali Jinnah while addressing a party rally in Hardoi on October 31. On the pretext of remembering Sardar Patel, Akhilesh Yadav had said, ‘Sardar Patel used to know the land, Sardar Patel took decisions holding the land, he used to understand the land so he made his decisions and that is why he is known as the Iron man Of India. Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Jinnah, they all came out of the same institution. They all studied at the same institute, they became barristers and gave freedom.’

Samajwadi Party and its allies using the name of Muhammad Ali Jinnah at this time creates suspicion that they are doing this to target Muslim votes in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the assembly elections.

BJP leaders had slammed Yadav for his comments over Jinnah. In the meanwhile, a case has been filed against Akhilesh Yadav for praising Jinnah on the orders of a court in Bareilly. The court issued the order to register a case against the SP chief on a complaint filed by advocate Virendra Gupta. Gupta had filed a complaint with police, but after the police refused to register the case, he had approached the court. Taking cognizance of the same, the ACJM court ordered the police to register a case against Akhilesh Yadav.

‘Stop the show or we will’: VHP and Bajrang Dal ask Chhattisgarh govt to cancel show by Munawar Faruqui in Raipur

OpIndia Staff
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‘Stop the show or we will’: VHP and Bajrang Dal ask Chhattisgarh govt to cancel show by Munawar Faruqui in Raipur

After Gujarat and Mumbai, alleged comedian Munawar Faruqui might not get to perform in Chhattisgarh as well. The state outfit of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has said they will stop the show if the local administration gives permission to host the program. 

Faruqui is scheduled to perform on November 14 in Raipur. Reportedly, the leaders of VHP and Bajrang Dal met senior police officials on Monday to demand Faruqui’s show be cancelled.

Faruqui is infamous for his comic acts on Hindu religion, deities and Godhra victims.  

VHP leader Santosh Chaudhary informed that the Bajrang Dal and VHP have submitted a written application to Raipur Collector and Superintendent of Police in this matter. 

“Faruqui mocked our Gods in past and such anti-Hindu people should not be permitted in the capital. And if the administration permits, it will be the administration’s responsibility because we will stop the program in our own way,” said Chaudhary.

‘Permission application is pending’

Mohammad Inam, the organizer of the show by Munawar Faruqui in Raipur said that they are awaiting permission from the local administration. 

Raipur collector Saurabh Kumar said, “We have received an application for permission for the show which is in process. The organisers have also asked for protection for the show which is scheduled to be held in a hotel… The application has been sent for police approval.”

‘SC has permitted me to work’

Meanwhile, Munawar Faruqui in an Instagram video claimed, “If Supreme Court can allow me to work, how can somebody stop me from doing work?”

He also alleged that his videos and acts were cropped and taken out of context. “They are holding on to that 10-second clip from the 2-hour long content,” said Faruqui further. 

He further advised people to ‘not be insecure about jokes’ and ‘focus on running the nation.’ 

Faruqui was interviewed by one journalist Kunal Purohit who runs a channel named Article 14. 

Faruqui’s fans issue death threats

Prior to this, when a youth from Mumbai got Faruqui’s show cancelled, his fans had issued death threats on social media. Siddhant Mohite, the founder of Saffron Think Tank had spoken against the communal and out-on-bail comedian Munawar Faruqui. 

Faruqui was all set to perform on October 29 at Prabodhankar Thackeray Natya Mandir hall in Mumbai suburbs (Borivali) and on October 30 and 31 at Rangsharda auditorium in Bandra.

However, sharing Faruqui’s anti-Hindu stand-up comedy clips, Mohite had shot a letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, governor and other security agencies opposing Faruqui’s shows in Mumbai. 

Following this, Faruqui’s shows were cancelled due to ‘administrative reasons’ by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. 

For the first time, a rare ‘pink’ leopard caught on camera in Rajasthan

OpIndia Staff
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For the first time, a rare ‘pink’ leopard caught on camera in Rajasthan

For the first time in India, the rare ‘pink’ leopard has been caught on camera in the Ranakpur region, Aravalli hills of South Rajasthan. Earlier, similar sightings of pink leopard were reported in 2012 and 2019 in South Africa, as per a report by the Times of India.

The locals living in Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur have earlier claimed sightings of the large cat with a pink-colored coat, as per the TOI report. Fateh Singh Rathore, Rajsamand DCF, said that the pink leopard has been visiting various regions because of the vast area that the forest covers. He added, “As conservators of wildlife, we aim to protect the leopard by restricting human invasion into its territory.” It is only recently that the pink leopard (female) was caught on camera.

In India, leopards have tawny coats with black spots. On the other hand, the rare pink leopard has a pinkish tint in its coat because of a genetic condition called erythrism that overproduces the red pigments under the skin.

After a four-day search, Hitesh Motwani, a wildlife conservator, and photographer from Udaipur claimed to have captured the rare pink leopard on his camera. He said the animal was around five to six years old.

Motwani, while talking to Udaipur News, said that he got information about the pink leopard from his friend who runs a safari business. At first, he could not believe if such a leopard could exist. However, he found out later that such a pink leopard had been spotted in South Africa earlier. Motwani, with the help of three other wildlife enthusiasts and experts, formed a team and tracked the leopard for four days to get the first-ever photographs and videos of the animal.

Taliban is selling ‘pardon certificates’ to extort money from citizens, former VP reveals, blames Pakistan

OpIndia Staff
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Taliban is selling ‘pardon certificates’ to extort money from citizens, former VP reveals, blames Pakistan

Amrullah Saleh, the former Vice President of Afghanistan, has accused the Taliban of harassing and extorting Afghans under the pretext of offering them “pardon certificates’.

On Wednesday, November 10, Sales took to Twitter to allege that he has been receiving reports of Taliban thugs barging into the houses of people in Kabul and selling them handwritten ‘pardon certificates’. The certificates, Sales claims, are valid only until the turn of the next thug, who forces them to buy another so-called certificate for amnesty. The former Vice President once again blamed Pakistan for aiding the Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan.

“Every day we get evidential reports of Talib thugs entering homes of people in Kabul& other cities to sell hand written “pardon certificates”. The pardon certificates work until d turn of the next thug. This vicious cycle is forcing millions to leave. Pak’s gift to Afg ppl,” said Saleh in a tweet.

Saleh says there are many reasons for people to flee Afghanistan, one of them being the harassment and extortion they face at the hands of assorted Talib thugs. He further added that the installation of a headless regime in Afghanistan was one of Pakistan’s demands.

Taliban announces general “amnesty” after taking control of Kabul

Days after effectively taking control of Afghanistan, terror outfit Taliban had declared an “amnesty” across the country and urged women to return to work, in a bid to reassure the wary population worried over their fate under the Talibani regime.

The amnesty was announced to calm nerves across the restive country that was in the tumult following the swift and lightning offensive carried out by the Taliban in August 2021. The campaign saw the Taliban coming back to power in Afghanistan after the fall of the US-backed Ashraf Wani government in Kabul. Thousands had fled the country fearing a return to the repressive regime of the 1990s. Those who couldn’t are living under a palpable fear of persecution at the hands of their Talibani masters. 

“A general amnesty has been declared for all…so you should start your routine life with full confidence,” a statement issued by the Taliban had said. 

Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission, tried to allay fear among Afghan residents by asserting that the Islamic Emirate, the Taliban’s term for Afghanistan, doesn’t want women to be victims. “They should be in the government structure according to Shariah law,” he said. However, it seems individual Taliban members and groups are now using this amnesty to terrorise people and extort money from them, as they have started selling ‘pardon certificates’ to citizens.

Pakistan and the Taliban share a symbiotic relationship: Amrullah Saleh

Over the years, Saleh has not minced his words in voicing his acerbic and forthright assessment of Pakistan. He has remained one of the most trenchant critics of Pakistan, accusing them of assisting the Taliban and deceiving its western allies by using the alms and grants it receives from them in arming the terrorists. In his interviews following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Saleh had blamed Pakistan for helping the Taliban fool the international community by participating in Doha talks, while using that time to prop up military powers.

“Pakistan was not only a safe haven for the Taliban terrorists but the entire country was under the service of the terror group. The US tried to persuade Pakistan into cooperation, often by offering them incentives, but the more they paid, the more it emboldened the Pakistanis to extend their support to the Taliban tacitly. Therefore, the issue of a nuclear state facilitating and promoting terrorism and insurgency against western allies in Afghanistan was never really addressed,” Saleh opined. 

Delhi petrol dealers say their sales have decreased by 50% as people refuel vehicles in neighbouring states, asks Arvind Kejriwal to cut VAT

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi petrol dealers say their sales have decreased by 50% as people refuel vehicles in neighbouring states, asks Arvind Kejriwal to cut VAT

As the Delhi government, along with several non-NDA state governments, refuse to cut VAT on petrol and diesel, it is not just the residents of the national capital, but the fuel dealers are also having to pay the price. According to dealers, their sales have gone down by almost half as people are refuelling their vehicles in neighbouring states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, where the state governments have cut VAT after the central govt slashed excise duty on Petrol and Diesel.

Anurag Narain, President of the Delhi-Petrol Dealers Association, has written a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking to cut Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel. Narain wrote that petrol in Delhi is costlier by ₹9 and diesel by ₹2 compared to nearby states, their sales have come down substantially. “Higher VAT in Delhi will have a negative impact resulting in insurmountable loss of sales of petrol pumps of Delhi and revenue to our state,” he wrote in the letter. Narain further added that reduction in VAT will boost sales and might prevent financial crisis.

As of today, petrol price in Delhi is ₹104 per litre, while the same is around ₹95 in Noida and ₹96 in Gurugram.

Anurag Narain also pointed out that the AAP government may face political consequences of not cutting fuel prices like many other states have done. “We request Delhi govt to decrease VAT, which might help during elections. Then our sales won’t go to other states; sales here have decreased by 50%,” he wrote in the letter.

The letter wrote to Delhi CM also highlighted that VAT on fuel have gone up in the state in recent years. According to Narain, the VAT on petrol in Delhi has gone up from 20% in 2014 to 30% in 2020, and the same on diesel has increased from 12.50% to 16.75% un the same period.

Narain informed that petrol sales in Delhi have come down from a monthly average of 11 crore litres in 2014 to 8 crore litres, and diesel sales have come down from 13 crore litres in 2014 to just over 5 crore litres at present. He added during the same period, sales in Delhi’s neighbouring states have grown by “double percentage figures”. Amid the rising fuel prices, last week the central govt had cut excise duty on petrol by ₹5 and diesel by ₹10, and had urged the state governments to cut VAT on fuel. Accordingly, all NDA-ruled and some non-NDA ruled states have cut VAT to further bring down prices. BJP governments in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh had reduced VAT which had meant that there was a total ₹12 reduction in the prices of petrol and diesel.

Kejriwal releases video to say they have made arrangements for Chhath, but Delhi govt bans devotees from ghats

OpIndia Staff
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Kejriwal releases video to say they have made arrangements for Chhath, but Delhi govt bans devotees from ghats

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party supremo, Arvind Kejriwal on the occasion of Chhath Puja, issued a two-minute-long video on Twitter wishing the Purvanchalis who are celebrating this ancient Vedic festival. 

In this video, the CM claimed that despite the difficulties faced due to the ongoing pandemic, the Delhi government left no stone unturned to make arrangements for the devotees to offer prayers. 

Only, a few hours later after the AAP leader released the message, several videos, and images of the Delhi govt barring people from performing puja at the Yamuna surfaced on social media. 

“Don’t know whether we’ll be allowed entry to the ghat here. We have come here today as we offer Chhath prayers here each year,” said a disheartened devotee. 

Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Amit Malviya took to Twitter to share a video of distressed devotees stopped at the banks of river Yamuna. He added that the AAP govt’s ‘civil defence’ workers have attacked and broken Chhath ghats made and stopped devotees from entering the ghats. It is notable here that offering Arghya while standing in a water body is one of the mandatory rituals of the festival.

‘Toxic foam floats on Yamuna’

While the Delhi CM claimed that his government had made all the arrangements for the Chhath devotees, the Yamuna river continued to be smothered by toxic foam.

What seemed like a last-minute fix, the AAP party got workers to ‘clean Yamuna by sprinkling water in it using a garden hose’ and erected bamboo ‘barricades’ in a free-flowing river to stop the foam. 

BJP workers come out in support of devotees

The BJP Delhi unit in September had launched a cleanliness drive to clean the Yamuna at 71 locations as part of the ‘Sewa and Samarpan’ program. 

“It is the responsibility of the Delhi government to get rid of pollution from the river but as Delhiites it is our duty to volunteer in this effort so that when the Chhath festival comes it can be celebrated in a clean atmosphere,” Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta had said. 

However, very little could be achieved without the required support. Not wanting to leave the devotees hapless, the BJP in Delhi trespassed the ban imposed on Chhath Puja and took the devotees to offer prayers. 

Strict fast to be observed

The Mahaparv of Chhath Puja is a four-day-long Hindu festival celebrated on the sixth day of Kartik Shukla Paksha.

The devotees offer arghya (offerings) to Sun God on the first day, after which they consume prasad and fast for 36 continuous hours without water (Nirjala Fast). 

On the third day of the festival, the devotees offer arghya to the setting sun also known as Sandhya Arghya. However, the fast ends the next day after offering arghya to the rising sun.

It is imperative to note, that offering prayers to the Sun God on these days is of utmost importance. The puja is usually performed on the banks of a water body. 

‘Kejriwal advertises Ayodhya scheme & govt schools in Chhath greetings’

The Delhi CM while wishing the devotees on the occasion of Chhath, did not miss a chance to advertise the alleged schools built by his government and the Ayodhya pilgrimage scheme. 

Kejriwal sharing his ‘Ayodhya visit’ claimed that he was overwhelmed by the experience and wants every Delhi citizen to experience the same. He then promoted his supposed senior citizen scheme of Ayodhya where the Delhi government claims to take every senior citizen of Delhi to Ayodhya for free with complete arrangements of accommodation and travel. 

In the end, he also advised people to stay masked. 

Now #ScientistKejriwal trends, about two years after Twitter had discovered #ScientistSisodia

Nirwa Mehta
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Now #ScientistKejriwal trends, about two years after Twitter had discovered #ScientistSisodia

Netizens today took to Twitter to trend #ScientistKejriwal after the parody government of national capital territory led by Arvind Kejriwal came up with surreal ways to battle the toxic foam in Yamuna.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Jal Board had taken to sprinkling water on the river Yamuna to dissipate the toxic foam. It must be reiterated that this was not a satire or a stunt but a legitimate method deployed by Kejriwal government: Adding water to polluted water to get rid of toxic foam which will perhaps blend in polluted water and likely remerge as more toxic foam.

Arvind Kejriwal is a former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and has graduated from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

Twitter user The Skin Doctor even conjured up a satirical page from the secret notebook diaries of Delhi Chief Minister from the time he was a student. While the response to the question were satirical, in current scenario, the way Delhi government has passed the buck and shrugged off responsibility when it comes to all things concerning Delhi, one would not be too surprised if he would give these answers should he be posed with these questions today.

Many Twitter users responded to the fact that Kejriwal government tried to ‘block’ foam with the help of ‘barricades’ with huge gaps in them. Water, foam could easily pass through those gaps and the whole exercise was so logic defying that it was hard to believe that a state government had actually thought this was a good idea to ‘get rid of toxic foam’.

Naturally, people came up with more such ideas from the amazing Hindi movies bordering on trashy. Like the film where actor Mithun Chakravarty used a cycle as a shield to protect himself from bullets. That the skeleton of the cycle has huge gaps through which a bullet could easily pass through defied logic, but then since it was Mithun Da, the film and scenes attained cult status.

Another such scene was where actor Dharmendra collected a bullet fired at him with bare hands and ended up with just a little bloody bruise. This is exactly how the barricading of foam may work.

Many netizens also pointed out how ‘Scientist’ Kejriwal brought a meme alive.

Our boss also had great ideas for #ScientistKejriwal to pursue to get rid of the stubble smoke that makes Delhi’s air toxic. That this will also soft-attack the not-so-friendly neighbour is also a great incentive for our Delhi’s (I will always remain a Gujarat girl) chief minister to take things forward and become a hero ahead of various state elections.

A Twitter user brought forward how Delhi CM has been promising to clean Yamuna from as back as February 2015.

Here’s an edited image of Kejriwal jumping into Yamuna to clean it. Twitter user Peaces_full referred to him as “lavnasur” because the Delhi CM has earned the moniker after popular Twitter user @being_humor started calling him so. Lavanasura, a character from the Ramayana, was a demon who was killed by Shri Ram’s brother Shatrughan, the youngest of Rama’s brothers. Lavanasura was a tormentor of the innocent and his notoriety was widespread. As a child, he used to kill his play mates and eat them. He used to disrupt the sacrifices of Sages and unleash terror across the land.

According to @Being_Humor, Kejriwal, like Lavanasura, torments people with his antics and generally gives people a hard time. The fact that the name sounds funny and sounds like a slang in general also convinced him to gift the AAP supremo the moniker.

Amusingly, this is not the first time one of the top leaders of Delhi government have been conferred the title of ‘scientist’ by general public. In January 2020, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was also called ‘Scientist Sisodia’ and had a hashtag trending because of his scientific knowledge where he claimed how it was ‘scientifically impossible’ to get clean water in Delhi’s supply pipes. That had also triggered a slew of memes on the Delhi Deputy CM.

Meanwhile, there is also a dengue outbreak in the national capital. The mosquitoes in Delhi are so huge they could pass off as mini birds. Back in 2012, even before he became Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal had declared himself the dengue mosquito as well. At this point one just wonders what solution #ScientistKejriwal has to tackle the mosquito menace.

My guess is as good as yours.

Azaan on loudspeaker disturb people, patients and Sadhus in meditation, says BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur

OpIndia Staff
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Azaan on loudspeaker disturb people, patients and Sadhus in meditation, says BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur

BJP’s Bhopal MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has kicked off a fresh debate over the use of loudspeakers at mosques to offer azaan 5 times a day.

Pragya Singh said that every morning at five o’clock a loud sound starts and this keeps going on which disturbs everybody’s sleep. There are patients suffering from sleeplessness. But when they want to sleep in the morning the sound disturbs them. Sleep disturbances can cause a rise in blood pressure for some patients, she added.

“Sadhus and saints start their meditation from four o’clock. Even our morning prayer starts at this time. But nobody cares and the sound (namaz) keeps blaring in our ears. But if we put the loudspeaker, they (Muslims) have problems. The objection is that they can’t listen to the prayers of other religions because this is prohibited in Islam. Hindus care for the sentiments of other religions because we give respect to all religions,” she said.

State general secretary of Madhya Pradesh Congress KK Mishra objected to the statement of Pragya Singh stating that she is an accused in a criminal case. Congress spokesperson JP Dhanopia accused the MP of creating communal disturbances. Notably, in January last year, the then Congress government had tried to remove a loudspeaker from an ancient Shiva temple in Sihor district in the name of complying with the Supreme Court order.

But Chandrashekhar Tiwari of Sanskriti Bachao Manch backed Pragya Singh’s statement and said creating sound pollution with loudspeakers is illegal.

Pragya Singh had objected to the Bhopal Kendriya Vidyala campus being used to offer namaz

About a fortnight back Pragya Singh had brought to light the issue of the campus of Bhopal Kendriya Vidyala being used to offer namaz after she made a surprise inspection at the school on a Friday and found around 300 people offering namaz inside the school campus. There were complaints that some Muslim groups enter the school premises from back gates and use the school grounds to offer Namaz.

The MP had spoken with the local authorities and school administration, asking when the parents of students are not allowed inside the campus, how can the school allow people to come and offer namaz inside the school premises.

Pragya Singh is not the first to speak against the use of loudspeakers at mosques

In April 2017, noted singer Sonu Nigam had complained about loudspeakers blaring azaan from a nearby mosque that disturbs his sleep.

In March this year Sangita Srivastava, Vice-Chancellor of Allahabad Central University, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh,  had shot a letter to the District Magistrate, Commissioner, Inspector General, and other officers complaining about the azaan played on loudspeakers at a mosque near her residence. The Vice-Chancellor said that the sound of azan played through loudspeakers from mosques is disrupting her sleep, which in turn is affecting her work.

It is notable here that using loudspeakers for azaan has been prohibited by orders of several courts. But no state government imposes the order and in most areas mosques use multiple loudspeakers to offer namaz 5 times a day.

Uttarakhand: A confident CM Pushkar Singh Dhami says BJP will return to power in the state for the second time

OpIndia Staff
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Uttarakhand: A confident CM Pushkar Singh Dhami says BJP will return to power in the state for the second time

With roughly four months to go for Uttarakhand elections, the ruling BJP is raising the slogan of ‘Yuva Pradesh, Yuva Chief Minister’ as it appointed a young face Pushkar Singh Dhami as the Chief Minister. The two-term MLA from Khatima assembly seat, he is the third chief minister the BJP has appointed after the party won this state in the 2017 assembly election.

In an interview given to News18, Pushkar Singh Dhami claimed that the BJP will break the jinx by returning to power if in the last four assembly elections the ruling party failed to get a second term. Besides, he also spoke on other issues concerning Uttarakhand and the future of the BJP.

The BJP is all set to contest the upcoming assembly election under his leadership who was appointed as chief minister in July this year. As a chief minister, he has less time to perform and to meet the expectations of the voters. But he is quite confident that even in the given little time he will perform to make the party win.

He is aware that in the neighbouring state Himachal Pradesh, the BJP suffered a crushing defeat in the recently held by-elections for Mandi parliamentary seat and Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly seats. The Congress has emerged stronger after winning all four seats in Himachal Pradesh.

But Pushkar Singh Dhami claims that as far as Uttrakhand is concerned, the Congress party is not a political force to reckon with. Congress in Uttarakhand, he said, is troubled by bitter infighting whereas the BJP is well focused on its plan to take the state forward.

He said that he has the support and blessings of top leadership and being the youngest one he tries to learn from seniors and give due respect to mentors and seniors. Uttarakhand was carved out as a state 21 years ago and the development of the state in the last two decades will remain the poll issue. The BJP CM pointed out that the state has made a great stride in terms of road connectivity. He said that the state was greatly benefitted by the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana as villages have now road connectivity. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said in Kedarnath that this is the era of Uttarakhand. We have been getting rail and air connectivity in the hills. Border areas are getting special attention,” he said.

In the 21 years, Uttarakhand has witnessed 11 chief ministers. The BJP alone replaced three chief ministers since 2017. The BJP and the present chief minister surely have to face this uncomfortable question.

Pushkar Singh Dhami said that certain decisions are taken out of political compulsions. He said that the change of guard has not affected the pace of ongoing development works. If the national leadership gave him an opportunity to serve the state he would accelerate development. He believed Uttarakhand will achieve new milestones when it completes 25 years of formation.

In the house of 70 seats, the BJP in 2017 had won 57 seats, and this time the BJP has set the target to win 60 plus seats which looks like a very big target. But Pushkar Singh Dhami claimed the BJP will achieve the target. Uttarakhand is dominated by families of serving and retired army personnel and they are strongly connected with the BJP.

While heading the party in the poll, he will be confronted with controversy over the Devasthanam Board Act as priests have threatened political consequences. “A committee headed by senior leader Manohar Kant Dhyani has given an interim report, and the final report is awaited. We will take a call after getting feedback and suggestions from all stakeholders,” he said on the matter.

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