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Joe Biden’s approval ratings sink to an all-time low amidst backlash over the bungled pullout from Afghanistan

OpIndia Staff
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Joe Biden’s approval ratings sink to an all-time low amidst backlash over the bungled pullout from Afghanistan

As heartbreaking images of distressed Afghans hopelessly seeking a way out of the country to avoid the impending Taliban regime started surfacing on the internet, US President Joe Biden faced a massive backlash for carrying out a bungled pullout from the strife-torn country.

According to USA Today, Biden’s approval ratings have fallen to 41 per cent, the lowest ever yet. Up until last week, most polls showed the President’s approval ratings above 50 per cent.

And not just the overall approval ratings, but Biden has taken a hit in other polls as well. Though 87 per cent of Democrats still reposed their faith in him, only 32 per cent of Independents said they believed Biden was doing a satisfactory job. The poll was taken from Thursday to Monday this week, days after Kabul and Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.

On the Afghanistan crisis, only a paltry 26 per cent of the respondents approved of Biden’s handling of the situation. Similarly, he did not fare well on the domestic issues as well, with only two-fifth of respondents agreeing with his way of handling the economy.

“Today, President Biden’s overall approval has taken a turn for the worse due to his awful job performance rating on Afghanistan,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk Political Research Center. “His approval on immigration and the economy are also upside down. The only issue keeping him remotely in the game is his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, where he is barely at 50%.”

More than 53 per cent of Americans agreed with Biden’s call of pulling out of Afghanistan, but a staggering 62 per cent of the respondents were unhappy with the way the administration executed the departure plan.

The Taliban takes over Afghanistan

After a month-long offensive against the Afghan army, the Islamist outfit Taliban finally reached the gates of Kabul on Sunday (August 15). They entered Afghanistan’s presidential palace hours after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

Since then surreal scenes have emerged as people try to flee the country to save their lives. Visuals of Afghan people falling from the sky as they tried to escape while hanging on to the wheels of the aeroplanes have gone viral on social media. The Taliban have been seen enjoying themselves as the amusement park as well in other surreal scenes.

The stark images of panic, fear and despondency from Afghanistan have indubitably underscored the failure of the United States to ensure a peaceful US troop pullout and the transition of power to the Ashraf Ghani-led Afghan government. Instead, the decision to withdraw the forces had catalysed the Taliban forces to regain control of the country they lost 20 years back.

Pakistan: Clerics, Islamic fundamentalists oppose anti-forced conversion bills, warn Imran Khan-led govt against passing such law

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Clerics, Islamic fundamentalists oppose anti-forced conversion bills, warn Imran Khan-led govt against passing such law

The Imran Khan-led Pakistan government’s decision to introduce an anti-forced conversion bill has angered the Islamic fundamentalists, religious clerics in Pakistan, reports Dawn.

According to the reports, clerics and religious fundamentals have expressed serious apprehension regarding the proposed anti-forced conversion bill and warned the Imran Khan government against passing it in its current shape.

The ministry invited only Muslim stakeholders to hold the in-camera meeting on Monday. The Members of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) or its chairman, Chela Ram, were not invited to the meeting.

The meeting was chaired by Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs, Pir Noorul Haq Qadri. The government had invited Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz, CII’s other officials and some local clerics to the meeting.

One of its invitees said they were invited to discuss the draft of the “Prohibition of Forced Conversion Act, 2021”. “The copies of the draft were shared, and discussions were held after everyone in the room went through the papers,” a senior cleric added.

After reading the draft, the clerics and religious scholars expressed serious reservations over several clauses, including the minimum age of conversion. The clerics raised objections against criminalising forced conversion of people below 18 years and claimed that this age bracket was contrary to the draft domestic violence bill that was currently with the law ministry.

“When parents cannot even scold their children under the domestic violence bill, so can they stop their children from embracing Islam?” one of the clerics was quoted as saying.

According to the reports, any non-Muslim who is not a child and is able and willing to convert to another religion can apply for a conversion certificate from an additional sessions judge of the area where they are residing.

The draft law also highlights that the applicant will have to include all the details, including name, address, family details, their current religion and the reason to convert to the new religion, in his application.

The draft law states that the additional sessions judge will set a date for an interview within seven days of receipt of an application for conversion, and on the date, the judge will ensure that the conversion is not under any pressure or forceful and not due to any deceit or fraudulent misrepresentation.

The proposed law states that the judge may award a time period of 90 days to the non-Muslim to undertake a comparative study of the religions and return to the judge. Then, the judge may grant the certificate of change of religion after a detailed study.

The proposed law also awards punishment between five to ten years and a fine from Rs.1,00,000 to Rs. 2,00,000 to any person who converts forcefully.

Pakistan is notoriously known for its persecution of not only religious minorities but also ethnic minorities within their own country. The forceful conversion programmes have often been unleashed against the minorities, especially Christians, Sikhs and Hindus living in Pakistan, with utmost brutality.

No Covid cases among Afghanistan evacuees, ITBP says media reports are wrong

OpIndia Staff
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No Covid cases among Afghanistan evacuees, ITBP says media reports are wrong

The Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has clarified that the media reports of 16 evacuees from Afghanistan testing positive for Covid are wrong. In a Tweet, ITBP mentioned that there are no Covid positive cases yet among the 78 evacuees who were brought from Afghanistan on August 24. All the evacuees have been put under institutional quarantine at ITBP’s quarantine facility at Delhi’s Chhawla Camp.

On August 25, many media portals had reported that 16 people among the 78 evacuees from Afghanistan, who have landed in Delhi on Tuesday were tested positive for Covid-19 infection. The reports claimed that the three Sikhs, Dharmender Singh, Kulraj Singh and Himmat Singh, who had carried three hand-written Swaroops of Shri Guru Granth Sahib, are among the sixteen who were tested positive.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that all Afghanistan returnees would undergo 14-day mandatory quarantine on their arrival to India. All evacuees were reportedly asymptomatic.

People who came in their contact had stated they are isolating themselves

After the media reports stated that people among the evacuees have been found Covid positive, several leaders who went to the airport to pay their respects to the Swaroops of Shri Guru Granth Sahib had stated that they have quarantined themselves and asked those who came in their contact to follow the protocols.

National Secretary BJP Youth, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, said, “3 Sikhs from Afghanistan who had brought the Swaroops of Guru Granth Sahib Ji have turned out to be Covid positive. As I came in their contact, I have quarantined myself.”

Impreet Singh Bakshi, Secretary BJP Delhi, had said, “3 Sikhs from Afghanistan who had brought the Swaroops of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji have turned out to be Covid positive. I came in their contact, so I have quarantined myself. You all take care of yourself too.”

After ITBP’s clarification, Bagga had tweeted that he had believed the media reports that claimed some evacuees have been found Covid positive. It is not sure how the false news of 16 evacuees being Covid positive was picked up by the media.

46 people among the 78 evacuees were Afghanistan Hindus and Sikhs.

An earlier version of this report had mentioned that 16 Afghan evacuees have been found Covid positive, based on media reports. After ITBP’s clarification, the report has been modified.

‘Why your head is uncovered?’ Islamists attack 20-year-old Radio Jockey in Baramullah, laments that the ‘Chota Pakistan’ has western influence now

OpIndia Staff
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‘Why your head is uncovered?’ Islamists attack 20-year-old Radio Jockey in Baramullah, laments that the ‘Chota Pakistan’ has western influence now

20-years-old Samaniya Bhat is the youngest female Radio Jockey of North Kashmir. She has recently completed her Bachelors in Journalism and Mass Communication, after which she secured a job at Radio Chinar, 90.4 FM  located at Sopore, Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir. While some are showering praises for her achievement, Islamists have found a new target in her.

Since the news broke that she got appointed as the youngest Radio Jockey and a few of her photographs hosting a show went viral on social media platforms, Islamists and fundamentalists are attacking her under the posts that announced her appointment on social media networks. The majority of the attacks were related to her attire and her job being at a Radio station backed by CRPF.

One Yasir said there was a time when Baramullah was called Chota Pakistan. It is a shame that western culture has gripped the region. One Aasif Raja questioned if removing Dupatta was necessary to become an RJ. Javaid echoed him and tried to teach Bhat “moral limits”. One user name Prince Aashu sent “laanat”, saying she should have talked about Deen. A user named Gashu noted, “we Kashmiri people still condemn her success” as she worked in CRPF backed Radio Station.

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While talking to ANI, Samaniya said, “Journalism was my passion from childhood. I have been working with ‘Kashmir dispatch’ for three years and worked on the ground. When I got to know Radio Chinar will have its first radio station in north Kashmir, I thought of giving it the first try. I never thought I would be a Radio Jockey or I will work in a radio station ever.”

She produces a show on Radio titled “Halla bol with RJ Samaniya” to engage with the listeners. Sahil Muzzafar, the Head of Radio Chinar, Baramulla, said, “She is the youngest team member over here when we talk about Sopore or Baramulla, she is the first female RJ.” In a message to girls, she said, “Do not fear and keep doing if you have spark nobody can stop you.”

Radio Chinar – Army’s first community radio in Kashmir

In March 2021, the Indian Army launched its first community radio station, “Radio Chinar”, in Sopore, Baramulla, North Kashmir. The aim was to bridge the gap between the Army and the people of Kashmir. It covers important locations like Handwara, Watlab, Sopore, Bandipora, Manasbal, Pattan, Delina and Baramullah.

Gujarat youth Salman Mirza dies after sealing his genitals with adhesive during sex, family blames former fiancee

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat youth Salman Mirza dies after sealing his genitals with adhesive during sex, family blames former fiancee

In a bizarre incident, a 25-year-old man from Gujarat allegedly died after using an epoxy adhesive instead of a condom during sexual intercourse.

According to the reports, Salman Mirza, a resident of Fatehwadi, Ahmedabad’s Juhapura, died due to complications after using a strong epoxy adhesive similar to Fevikwik to seal his genitals while performing sex with his partner.

Salman Mirza, along with his former fiancee, had checked into a local hotel on June 22. According to Salman’s friends, Salman and his fiancee were drug addicts and were intoxicated when they decided to use adhesive instead of a condom. As the couple was not carrying protection, they decided to use a strong adhesive to seal off Salman’s genitals parts to avoid pregnancy.

A day later, on June 23, Salman was found unconscious in shrubs near the hotel in Juhapura. His friend, Firoz Shaikh, found him and brought him home. Salman was later admitted to Sola Civil Hospital, where his condition deteriorated, and he died.

Senior officer Premsukh Delu said that the viscera samples of the deceased have been sent for forensic examination. The police officer investigating the case said that the couple used to abuse a drug that involved a whitener and the adhesive, which is inhaled to get a kick.

They used the adhesive to avoid pregnancy. Unfortunately, the adhesive damaged Salman’s organs, and he died due to multiple organ failure, the police officer said. The police have recovered the CCTV footage of the hotel that shows Salman entering the premises with his ex-fiancee.

Reportedly, Salman was the sole breadwinner for his family, including his elderly parents and two sisters. The family has filed a complaint in the Vejalpur Police Station on June 25. Mirza’s family members have accused the former fiancee of killing Salman by applying the adhesive to his private parts.

Meanwhile, Salman’s friends allege that he may have lost consciousness due to heavy use of drugs which affected his health, and the epoxy adhesive just added to the complications that lead to Salman’s demise.

Security officials at Qatar base detect at least one Afghan evacuee with potential ISIS links, around 100 flagged for potential matches

OpIndia Staff
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Security officials at Qatar base detect at least one Afghan evacuee with potential ISIS links, around 100 flagged for potential matches

On August 24, Defence One reported that Security officers at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar had detected at least one Afghan evacuee from Kabul Airport with potential links to Islamic State (ISIS). As per reports, the Automated Biometric Identification System of the Defense Department flagged close to 100 Afghans evacuated as possible recipients of Special Immigration Visas or SIVs. These individuals are potential matches to the watch lists of the Intelligence Agency.

The US has evacuated at least 6,000 Afghans to Al Udeid who wanted to escape the country after the Taliban takeover. Thousands of others have been moved to other temporary bases across the Middle East and Europe. According to officials, the Customs and Border Patrol screeners are evaluating these evacuees and checking their IDs and biometric data against the databases of law enforcement agencies.

The thousands of Afghans evacuated from Afghanistan will be housed at military bases in the US, including Fort Bliss in Texas, Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and Fort Lee in Virginia. Officials said that during screening, several evacuees triggered alerts, after which they were pulled aside by the security personnel. At least one of them looked like a potential member of ISIS, the official said and added, “They’re still working that through.”

A senior administration official managing the screening process of Afghans evacuated to a third-party country said in a statement on Tuesday that the evacuees are going through “robust security processing” before they are allowed to enter the US.

He said, “That process involves biometric and biographic security screenings conducted by our intelligence, law enforcement and counterterrorism professionals who are working quite literally around the clock to vet all these Afghans before they’re allowed into the United States.”

Till August 24, the US military has evacuated 63,000 Americans, Afghans and allied partners from Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country. Reportedly, it is one of the fastest and largest air evacuation operations in US military history.

A large number of evacuees is a challenge

Security officers told Defence One that a large number of Afghan evacuees is a challenge for the screeners. The agents are struggling with the old vetting systems and could not process all the information required, including the biometric database information of the Defense Department. An official said, “CBP on the ground has the old tech, and they don’t know how to use it, integrate it, and there’s not enough people to process all the evacuees.”

Reports suggest that the system screeners are using may take up to an hour to crunch all the data and inform the screener if a person is okay to let go or should be detained under the pretext of a potential security risk. In such a situation, a large backlog of evacuees is being created at the screening centres across temporary military bases. An official said, “The bottom line is the system is working but slow in the process.”

On Tuesday along, US military and civilian aircraft operation evacuated 21,600 people from Afghanistan. The US is pacing up the evacuation operations as it is not in the mood to extend the deadline of August 31 to get all the troops out of the country. With a large number of evacuees spread over different bases, it is possible that red flags would be raised on other bases as well.

Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem was moving around with Neeraj Chopra’s javelin during the finals, Olympic gold medalist reveals. This is what may have happened

Nirwa Mehta
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Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem was moving around with Neeraj Chopra’s javelin during the finals, Olympic gold medalist reveals. This is what may have happened

Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra in an interview with Times of India revealed that on the day he won the gold, he was taken a bit off guard after he could not locate his javelin.

Neeraj Chopra on his javelin being with Arshad Nadeem

Chopra revealed that he was searching for his javelin at the start of the final round and was not able to locate it. Suddenly he saw Pakistan’s athlete Arshad Nadeem moving around with his javelin. Chopra asked Nadeem to return his javelin as he had to throw it. Nadeem gave it back after which he proceeded to participate. Chopra said that because of this, he appeared slightly hurried in the first throw.

This clip shows Chopra taking the javelin from Nadeem:

One can see Chopra reaching out to Arshad Nadeem and taking back his javelin which was with him. Neeraj then took a close look at his javelin and went for the throw. He runs for the throw and from his body language it appeared like he was slightly disappointed that he perhaps did not give his best. This clip, however, is too short to give a clear picture of what might have actually transpired and why Arshad Nadeem had Neeraj Chopra’s javelin.

This, however, led to a lot of speculation on social media on what exactly was Pakistani athlete doing with the javelin of an Indian athlete. That too just before the finals.

Many wondered if Nadeem was perhaps tampering with the javelin in a bid to hurt Neeraj’s chances at Olympics.

Many expressed their concerns over tampering of the javelin.

Pakistani athletes, especially cricketers have often been accused of tampering with the ball. Hence, the fears of netizens were not unfounded.

There are high chances that Arshad Nadeem was just having a look at Neeraj’s javelin, awestruck by the efforts Indian government put in for Chopra. Perhaps he was anxious because of lack of support from government and felt extremely underprepared competing with athletes like Neeraj Chopra who had the government supporting him.

Soon after Neeraj won a gold medal at the Olympics, Pakistanis had expressed how Neeraj was given the best training while his Pakistani counterpart got no support from the government.

Earlier this year, Chopra had said how Indian government made sure he gets trained abroad.

He had said that he was in Europe getting trained and how Indian government ensured he got there despite strict visa and travel restrictions due to COVID pandemic. An article in Arab News, states how Nadeem lamented over lack of facilities and support from Pakistani government for athletes.

“With the given facilities, we can only win hearts, not medals,” he had told Arab News from Tokyo on how the government showed very little support. He said how Pakistan government is obsessed with cricket and hence very little attention is paid to other sports.

Dr Asad Abbas Shah, secretary of the Medical Commission of the Pakistan Olympic Association, in conversation with Arab News claimed that Arshad was suffering from anxiety especially because he came from humble background. Dr Shah was also surprised at how well prepared Indian contingent was. “They had brought with them an osteopath, physiotherapist, sports psychologist, doctor, orthopedic surgeon and even neurologist. They have an orchestra. What do we have? Nothing,” he had told Arab News.

OpIndia has reached out to Chopra as well as Arshad Nadeem for their comments on what could be the possible reason for Arshad to be roaming around with Neeraj’s javelin. We shall update the report once we heard back from them.

Ex-UP CM Kalyan Singh’s son expresses gratitude to CM Yogi Adityanath for staying by the family as an ‘elder son’ during the last rites of his father

OpIndia Staff
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Ex-UP CM Kalyan Singh’s son expresses gratitude to CM Yogi Adityanath for staying by the family as an ‘elder son’ during the last rites of his father

Ex-UP CM Kalyan Singh’s son Rajveer Singh in an emotional social media post thanked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for standing by the family as an ‘elder son.’

Rajveer Singh in a Facebook post praising the CM said that Yogi Adityanath in a bid to fulfil his duties towards the state amidst the pandemic did not attend his own father’s funeral, but stood by Kalyan Singh’s family to attend and help during all the rituals till the cremation.

Rajveer Singh’s Facebook Post praising UP CM Yogi Adityanath

Expressing deep gratitude on behalf of himself and family members towards the CM, Rajveer Singh said that Yogi Adityanath acted as an ‘elder son’ to the family of former BJP leader and UP CM Kalyan Singh.

CM Yogi Adityanath could not attend his own father’s last rites due to Covid lockdown

In the month of April in 2020, CM Yogi Adityanath was attending a meeting on the coronavirus situation in his state when the news of his father’s demise reached him. The CM, however, unmoved by the news continued his meeting and got up only after the meeting ended.

After concluding the meeting, Adityanath had released a heartfelt letter expressing his anguish and apologized for not being able to attend his father’s funeral. He expressed that it was his dire wish to see his father for the one last time, however, he had the responsibility of protecting 23 crore people of his state from the raging pandemic. Respecting the mandate of a nationwide lockdown, he had not attended the cremation of his father.

The UP CM had only visited his family home and met his mother after the lockdown restrictions were lifted. It is notable here that UP CM Yogi Adityanath had renounced the bonds of family and birth when he was ordained as a monk of the Nath Sampradaya at Gorakhpeeth. So as per Hindu traditions, he could not be a part of the death rituals and is only allowed to attend the events.

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, known as the architect of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir movement had breathed his last on Saturday, 21 August. 

Revolt in Punjab Congress widens as 30 MLAs including 4 ministers from Sidhu camp want Amarinder Singh’s removal from CM’s post

OpIndia Staff
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Revolt in Punjab Congress widens as 30 MLAs including 4 ministers from Sidhu camp want Amarinder Singh’s removal from CM’s post

The internal rift within the Congress Punjab widened further on Tuesday after nearly 30 MLAs, including four cabinet ministers, openly revolted against Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and declared that they no longer have faith in his ability to deliver on election promises.

Ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab, the Congress party is in deep trouble in Punjab as some of its MLAs have now reportedly expressed their discontent against Captain Amarinder’s leadership. At least 30 MLAs, including four powerful ministers, have now dissented against the Chief Minister saying that they do not trust him anymore.

The dissenting MLAs had gathered at Rural Development Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa’s residence in Chandigarh on Tuesday seeking change in the party leadership just ahead of the crucial polls. The majority of the rebel MLAs are believed to be supporters of Navjot Singh Sidhu in his ongoing leadership battle against Singh.

The rebel MLAs said that the Chief Minister has failed to resolve the issues in Punjab and accused him of not fulfilling poll promises made during the 2017 state election.

Interestingly, the rebel MLAs has also met Navjot Singh Sidhu, who later in the day, tweeted that he held an emergency meeting with Tript Rajinder Bajwa. 

The rebel camp has accused Captain Amarinder Singh of being “hand in glove with Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal. It is being said that the full-scale revolt against Amarinder Singh has intensified after Navjot Singh Sidhu was made the state Congress chief.

A five-member committee representing the dissenting camp is scheduled to meet the Congress high command in New Delhi to seek Amarinder’s removal, just six months ahead of assembly polls in Punjab. Interestingly, the rebel camp has not yet named their choice for the alternate leader if Captain Amarinder Singh is replaced.

Jails and Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Technical education and Industrial Training Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Revenue minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria and Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh joined Bajwa in demanding Amarinder’s removal. The rebel MLAs fear that they might be dropped from the cabinet in the reshuffle as they are in Sidhu’s camp.

Currently, Congress has 80 MLAs in the 117-seat Punjab assembly.

“If the high command does not listen to us, we will decide the next course of action,” Bajwa threatened the party leadership on Tuesday. Responding to the question on the alternate leader, Bajwa said it was the high command’s decision to pick a new CM. His colleague Channi said, “We are not getting solutions to our problems from this chief minister.”

Questioning Amarinder’s ability to lead the government, Randhawa, who was once very close to the CM, said, “Wars cannot be fought by sitting in a drawing-room or just by tweeting. Wars are fought on the ground. Day by day, SAD and AAP are attacking Congress on the Bargari sacrilege issue. People ask us about the cancellation of the power purchase agreements and other unfulfilled promises.”

The rebel MLA also alleged that Amarinder would not meet his cabinet colleagues, but always found time to be part of gatherings in Amritsar and other places.

Sidhu vs Captain tussle escalates

The tensions between Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh and the President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee Navjot Singh Sidhu have been building up since the last few weeks. A few days back, the tussle took another turn after the later slammed Singh-led government in Punjab and hailed BJP-ruled states for higher State Assured Prices(SAP) for Sugarcane.

Navjot Sidhu on Monday had posted a tweet calling for an increase in State Agreed Price (SAP) for sugarcane in Punjab, asserting that despite the higher cost of cultivation in the state, the SAP is lower than that received by farmers in BJP ruled states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

“The sugarcane farmers issue needs to be immediately resolved amicably…Strange that despite the higher cost of cultivation in Punjab the state assured price is too low as compared to Haryana/UP/Uttarakhand. As a torchbearer of agriculture, the Punjab SAP should be better!” Sidhu tweeted.

Sidhu’s tweet came in the wake of indefinite protests carried out by thousands of farmers and sugarcane producers affiliated to nearly 32 farmers’ organisations demanding the clearance of pending dues of sugarcane and enhancement in the State Agreed Price(SAP).

As many as 20,000 farmers participated in the protests on the first day of the agitation on the Dhanowali Road on the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway on Friday. Many farmers sat on dharna on rail tracks also.

The latest fight once again brought to fore the infighting within the Punjab Congress unit, with Sidhu and Singh allegedly involved in a perpetual tussle to exert their dominance over the party.

Maharashtra: From arrest to bail to clashes. Here’s everything that happened after Narayan Rane said Uddhav Thackeray needs a tight slap

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: From arrest to bail to clashes. Here’s everything that happened after Narayan Rane said Uddhav Thackeray needs a tight slap

Union Minister and BJP leader Narayan Rane, who was arrested over a statement against Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray was granted bail at midnight by a Raigad Magistrate Court. The Court directed the Minister to furnish a bail bond of Rs 15,000 after which he was released.

Rane has now reached Mumbai and his lawyer Aniket Nikam while speaking with CNN News18 hinted at a further legal recourse with respect to multiple FIRs filed against him. 

Narayan Rane’s criticism of Uddhav Thackeray

Union Minister Narayan Rane while speaking at the ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ in Raigad district of Maharashtra, had condemned the Maharashtra CM for his sheer ignorance. 

“It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given him a tight slap,” Rane had remarked, triggering multiple FIRs, and arrest orders against him by the Shiv Sena-led MVA government. 

Shiv Sena gets violent

Almost instantly, the Shiv Sena launched multiple attacks on the BJP leader. Several FIRs were filed against Rane demanding immediate arrest of the Minister. 

To protest against the ‘slap remark’, Shiv Sena goons pelted stones and bricks at BJP’s Nashik office. 

A BJP corporator in Ulhasnagar was thrashed brutally and his had face blackened by the Sena goons to avenge Rane’s statement against their leader. 

A huge crowd amassed outside Rane’s home in Juhu to protest against him shortly after CM Uddhav Thackeray cancelled Hindu festival celebrations claiming ‘saving lives is a priority amidst the pandemic.’

Bombay High Court rejects plea

The Minister had approached the Bombay High Court to seek interim relief from arrest and other or any coercive action. However, a Bench comprising Justices SS Shinde and N J Jamadar refused to hear his petition asking the advocate to follow due ‘procedure.’

Narayan Rane arrested

Rane who was addressing a yatra under BJP’s Jan Ashirwad campaign in Ratnagiri’s Chiplun was arrested by Ratnagiri police while he was having food. Visuals of Rane being surrounded by police force and detained while eating resulted in a huge uproar. 

As per reports, Rane was handed over to Nashik police by Ratnagiri police later. 

BJP leader Prasad Lad also revealed that the Minister was ‘manhandled’ by police. “Rane was arrested while he was having lunch. The arrest is illegal. We are afraid that he may be harassed by the police if kept inside the police station overnight. He was manhandled by police while he was having his lunch. The cops did not even allow doctors to complete his check up,” informed Lad.

Another BJP leader Pramod Jathar alleged that the Ratnagiri police was under ‘immense pressure’ to arrest the BJP leader.  

State Minister seen giving instructions for Rane’s arrest

In a shocking revelation, BJP spokesperson Suresh Nakhua shared visuals where State Transport Minister Anil Parab was caught giving instructions to arrest Rane. 

The visual captured by TV9 Digital shows Parab taking instructions of Rane’s arrest from someone on phone. He can be heard saying that he will speak with the police and get Rane arrested. 

Parab then dials to someone and instructs him to detain Rane using ‘police force.’ He also says that both the High Court and Sessions Court have rejected Rane’s bail plea and that they can go ahead with the arrest. 

As Parab was sitting with his microphone on, his conversations were audible. He asks why Rane has not been arrested yet. Then he is asked for updates by a Sena legislator sitting next to him. Parab was seen telling that Police is there and Rane will be brought out now. But when the media asks Parab about Rane, he was seen telling that he does not have all the details.

JP Nadda says ‘arrest unconstitutional’

National President of BJP JP Nadda in a Twitter post claimed that Rane’s detention was unlawful and unconstitutional. “The arrest of Union Minister Narayan Rane ji by the Maharashtra government is a violation of constitutional values. We will neither be scared nor suppressed by such action. These people are troubled by the immense support the BJP is getting in the Jan-Aashirvad Yatra. We will continue to fight democratically, the journey will continue,” Nadda said in a Tweet. 

Devendra Fadnavis slams Maha govt

Leader of Opposition and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis slammed the Maharashtra government for using police force against Rane. 

“We do not support Narayan Rane’s statements. But looking at the way the government is using police force to act in a lawless manner, we will support Rane as an individual and the whole party is with him,” said Fadnavis while addressing the media.

“This is ‘policejivi’ government. It is state-sponsored violence just like in Bengal,” he said further.

Sena mocks Rane

Going berserk over Rane’s statement, Shiv Sena through its official handle mocked the Union Minister.

In a distasteful video, Sena shows a clip of Rane addressing the media and then being detained by the police a few hours later. 

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