On Saturday (August 7), the wife of a BJP worker was gang-raped by 5 goons at around 12 o’clock in the night. The incident took place in Amta in the Bagnan Vidhan Sabha constituency in the Howrah district of West Bengal.
News 18 Bangla reported that the BJP worker was not at home on that particular night. Sensing an opportunity, the accused men barged into the house and gang-raped his wife. The victim underwent a cerebral stroke a few days ago and had lost the ability to speak. The woman was found with her hands and legs tied by her son. Hearing his screams, the neighbours got alerted and rushed the victim to the Uluberia Sub-Divisional Hospital.
The BJP has accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party members of orchestrating the heinous crime. Reportedly, the Bagnan police initially refused to lodge a First Information Report (FIR) in the gang-rape case. Later, when the local BJP leaders intervened, a case was registered against the miscreants at Uluberia Ladies Police Station. Following the registration of the FIR, the cops swung into action and arrested TMC leaders Qutubuddin Mallick and Debashish Rana.
(Video Courtesy: Youtube/ News 18)
The remaining 3 miscreants are still on the run from the law enforcement authorities. When News 18 reached out to the TMC leader Pulak Roy, he refused to comment on the matter. While speaking about the incident to News 18, the victim’s husband remarked, “I left for Kolkata for my work at 11 am in the morning. Only my wife and youngest son was at the house. At around 12, the miscreants called her from outside the house.”
He further added, “She mistook them for me and opened the door. They then caught hold of her by her and sexually tortured her. This is the handiwork of those who are in charge of the TMC.” Besides the two accused already arrested in the case, he had named three others namely, Shahid, Joynal Mallick and Mahabul Mallick.
Rape as a tool for political violence
It is notable here that dozens of complaints of rape, murder, assault and threats have come to light against TMC goons who have been on a rampage after the party’s victory in the recently concluded state assembly elections. The National Human Rights Commission it its report has highlighted incidents of women being raped as a ‘revenge’ by TMC goons after the elections. BJP workers and supporters have been facing rampant harassment and violence from ruling party goons. The NHRC report had also state that the state police, in several of the cases, either ignored the complaints, or worked in collusion with the perpetrators to further traumatise the victims.
18 months since 25-year-old Delhi anti-Hindu riots accused Shahrukh Pathan wearing red-shirt and blue jeans brandished a gun at the police and threatened them, The Quint has published a white paper on him watering down his crime and making him appear like a cherubic saint.
The Quint starts with describing his menacing march as ‘brazen confidence in his gait’. Then the writer of the ‘Shahrukh Pathan fanpage’ romanticised his criminal act. “Unfazed by the policemen in riot gear, he shot bullets in the air while media persons captured his acts in astonishment. The fact that the gym enthusiast, who was also a local, did not wear a mask to hide his identity, made his ‘bravado’ seem peculiar and odd,” she writes.
This is not a satire. I had to read it twice over to make sure I was not missing the satire. The Quint fangirls on Shahrukh Pathan for being ‘unfazed’ by Delhi Police in riot gear when he shot bullets in the air. The Quint was very short of adding how at the end, Pathan did not say ‘Sorry babu’ to the cops for his ‘bravado’.
Shahrukh Pathan fans at The Quint then went to meet his family and friends to know the rioter better.
The Quint’s 101 on how to turn rioter into a victim
Everyone of us saw the visuals of Shahrukh firing bullets on the streets of national capital. But his fans at The Quint wanted to know him better. After all, can a man who fires bullet in the air and points a gun at a cop in riot gear be aggressive and dangerous? And if he runs a riot, threatens cops with a gun, then surely he would have his good reasons, right?
The Quint’s methodology
And well, also bring in his family because nothing like showing him as a regular ‘biryani loving guy’. The Quint does not even try too hard to break the stereotypes.
While Shahrukh’s mother waited for him to come home to eat her biryani, her son was happily firing bullets in the air and threatening cops.
The Quint then goes on to explain how his friends describe Shahrukh as someone who was into grooming and was interesting in his appearance. So now we know, biryani-lover Shahrukh liked to put gel in his hair, blow dry them, wear crisp, ironed shirts, good shoes and well, make TikTok videos. His mother tells his fangirls at The Quint that he was innocent and ‘simple-minded’.
Shahrukh’s mother tells his fans at The Quint that she often wonders, “What if she had given him food when he asked? What if the timing was a few minutes before or after namaz?” Because, who knows, the biryani might have stopped him from participating in riots, eh?
Demonise ‘the other’ side
Shahrukh Pathan fangirls at The Quint know that there really is hardly anything that can decriminalise his act that was caught on camera. But, then one way to ‘justify’ it is to blame it on the other side. You see, BJP leader Kapil Mishra and his supporters deciding to remove road blockade causing difficulties to regular residents was termed as ‘hate speech’. The Quint justifies that the place was communally tensed was because of presence of ‘pro-CAA slogans’ and flags of various right-wing organisations.
Before starting anything else, CAA or Citizenship Amendment Act fast-tracks Indian citizenship of persecuted religious minorities in three neighbouring countries where Islam is state religion, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. If persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Jains from these countries seek Indian citizenship, they would get it slightly faster under new laws. This law does not affect already existing Indian citizens, Hindus and Muslims alike. So really, there still was no logical reason for those folks to block the roads for so many months.
Now, if Indians are chanting pro-CAA slogans, how is it a bad thing? If Indians want to welcome those who feel persecuted in neighbouring countries for being non-Muslims, how is it a threat? And amusing how spotting ‘right wing flag’ is communal but any other religious flag is ‘inclusivity’.
… You want to see my gun?
How did Shahrukh get hits hands on a gun? The Quint explains that Shahrukh’s father, Ali, was born a Sikh but then converted to Islam. 65-year-old Ali claims that his son got ‘caught’ in a crowd where he saw someone with a gun. “With the intention of saving himself, he used his presence of mind and kicked the man above his ankles. He slipped and the pistol fell from his hands. Shahrukh got hold of it and then shot in the air, dispersing the entire crowd from hurting him and other people,” his father explains.
Except, the visuals from the day of the riots show otherwise. Here, have a look.
Which crowd is Shahrukh trying to disperse? I can only see him pointing the gun menacingly at the policeman. Perhaps someone passed on wrong information to Ali or maybe he saw some other visuals which we are unaware of.
Shahrukh’s parents thank Allah for saving his life.
The Quint then continues to humanise and make a riot-accused man’s family appear relatable and make one feel sad about their poverty because they have rats running in the house and minimalist house in dire need of interior decoration overhaul. The Quint then explains how Shahrukh’s elder brother is a Tablighi Jamaat fellow and is an evangelist involved in ‘spreading Islam’.
No remorse
How to say a man accused of a crime has no remorse without saying he has no remorse? Exhibit A:
TheQuint and no remorse
The Quint describes how Shahrukh had zero remorse of brandishing gun at a cop. His mother tells The Quint that he came home with peanuts in his hands and offered the same to his mother.
Oh no!
Oh no! Even the peanuts he brought for his mother fell from his hands!
This is again where Shahrukh went ‘Sorry babu’.
Let’s just blame it on Jai Shri Ram
You see, Allahu Akbar has become such a terror inducing phrase after multiple terrorists have screamed it before blowing themselves or some planes, buildings up that Islamist apologists now want to shift focus on Jai Shri Ram. This is evident from the number of fake hate crimes where ‘victims’ claimed they were forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ but eventually turned out to be fake.
TheQuint on Jai Shri Ram
Okay, let us get this straight. That his name was Shahrukh and not Anurag was known from the very beginning. The only person who feigned ignorance was none other than Rubbish err.. Ravish Kumar from NDTV India. “Police ki haalat yeh hai ki abhi tak giraftar nahin hua hai. Police saaf kehti hai ki Shahrukh hai magar aap social media mein dekhiye Anurag Mishra bataya jaa raha hai. (Situation of Police is such that they have not yet arrested him. Police says his name is Shahrukh but if you see on social media, he is called Anurag Mishra),” he said on his show. NO ONE except himself on his show had referred to him as ‘Anurag Mishra’. Ravish was just being an oversmart person and tried to play with the names of BJP leader Kapil Mishra and Anurag Thakur, who had been very vocal about CAA back then.
From family to friends
The Quint conjures up a ‘friend’, Shubham Thakur, who has known Shahrukh for 17 years. Thakur claims Shahrukh was like a ‘son’ to his parents when he was away, and hence he chose to defend his house from ‘a mob’. The Quint offers no picture of Shubham Thakur and Shahrukh Pathan, even from their childhood.
Meanwhile, his fans at The Quint were informed by his family how Shahrukh was abandoned by the leftist ‘activists’ who have been putting their weight behind Sharjeel Imam (who wanted to cut off Northeast from rest of India) and Umar Khalid, but not gun brandishing Shahrukh Pathan.
The Quint Dry Cleaners
What does not really come as a surprise is the fact that this is not the first time The Quint has whitewashed either a terrorist or a criminal.
Morning dose of madness from The Quint
The Quint in 2017 let the world know how the dreaded terrorist Osama Bin Laden was as a husband and a father. Who wouldn’t want to know about a man who left thousands of women widowed and children orphaned.
Hizbul terrorist
A year later, they talked about a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist like they would discuss a prospective groom for their chacha ki beti.
In 2019, when the nation was taken aback by the horrifying rape and murder of a 27-year old in Hyderabad, The Quint rushed to the accused’s family to create sympathy highlighting their socio-economic condition. The Quint had interviewed the family members of the four accused, including the main accused Mohammad, alias Areef, a 25-year-old lorry driver of Narayanpet district.
The Quint tried to absolve him of his heinous deed and create a sympathy wave for him by showing how he comes from a poor family. Because, poor criminals, especially if they are Muslims, should not be punished.
In March this year, The Quint not only tried to show Nikita Tomar’s parents as bigoted but also tried to shame them for wanting the killer of their daughter punished. Nikita Tomar was shot dead in broad daylight by Tauseef for not giving in to his ‘romantic advances’. The shocking video had gone viral on social media. The Quint accused ‘hardcore right-wing organisations’ of influencing Nikita Tomar’s family to push the ‘Love-Jihad’ narrative.
From patronising terrorists, rapists, rioters to whitewashing their crimes, The Quint truly has some moral depravity.
After organising the ‘Global Gandhi Family’ event in Jammu and announcing to pull off a similar one in Haryana, the G23 leaders of the Congress party are all set to gather at Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s house. According to a report by Hindustan Times, Kapil Sibal will be hosting the ‘group of dissenters’ on August 9 (Monday), a day after he turned 73.
Among those likely to be present at the gathering are several of the so-called “G-23” leaders, who had voiced their opinion against the party’s leadership just a few months back.
Speaking on the same, Kapil Sibal told Hindustan Times: “It’s just a personal dinner for my friends… There’s nothing more to it.”
Meanwhile, Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor, who has received the invite, said: “As far as I understand, Kapil’s dinner is just a discussion among like-minded people from various parties about the best ways forward to defeat the BJP in 2024. It is in no way any sort of rebel movement in the party; instead, it seeks to strengthen the entire Opposition, including the Congress.”
According to the report, besides the G23 leaders, Nationalist Congress Party leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien, the National Conference’s Omar Abdullah, Samajwadi Pary chief Akhilesh Yadav, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK’s) Tiruchi Siva, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Lalu Prasad have also been invited for the gathering. Many Congress leaders who are not signatories are also likely to attend.
A Congress leader who was among the signatories of the G23 letter, however, said: “It’s been a year and there are many who feel that things have not moved.” “So we decided that we should take things beyond the Congress and also re-group,” the leader who asked to remain anonymous said.
A Congress spokesperson, who refused to formally comment on the matter, said that the event is being viewed as Sibal’s personal engagement which in no way would have an impact on the political party.
G23 leader Kapil Sibal concedes Congress is no competition to BJP
Kapil Sibal, who was among the G-23 leaders whose letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi last year demanding a meaningful overhaul of the party, had triggered a storm after he conceded that Congress is not a strong political alternative to the BJP. In an exclusive interview to PTI in June 2021, the Congress veteran opined that to demonstrate that Congress is no longer in a condition of inertia and to position itself as a credible political alternative to the BJP, Congress must implement comprehensive changes at all levels of the organisation.
Notably, the group of 23 (G-23) dissenting Congress leaders, in a show of strength, had organised an event in Jammu in February. Though that event was also termed as a private and not an official party visit, all the leaders of the G23, namely, Former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former UP Congress chief Raj Babbar, former union ministers Anand Sharma, Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha and Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari, Gulam Navi Azad and Kapil Sibal had visited Jammu on February 27 to attend the 3-day ‘Global Gandhi Family’ event.
Rumours speculations about Congress leader Sachin Pilot joining the BJP have started circulating yet again. Rajasthan BJP President Satish Poonia recently he did not categorically deny the possibility of Sachin Pilot joining the saffron fold.
When asked about possibilities of Pilot joining them, Satish Poonia said that Congress itself is responsible for the speculations and a disgruntled faction of Congress leaders can decide to part ways with the party at any time. Poonia added that Congress’ infightings and rifts are now out in the open.
This is not the first time that speculations of Sachin Pilot dumping the Congress party and joining its rival BJP have been doing the rounds. Last year, rumours of Pilot joining the BJP floated after he and MLAs loyal to him rebelled against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. However, Pilot had dismissed the speculation.
Earlier yesterday, another BJP leader, AP Abdullakutty said that he thinks that the former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan will join the saffron party in the future.
“Sachin Pilot is a good leader and I think he will join the BJP in the future,” Abdullakutty told reporters.
The Congress, on the other hand, is doing all it can to ensure that it pacifies the growing resentment among Sachin Pilot and his associates in Rajasthan Congress Unit. In their bid to avert a crisis, Congress leaders and AICC general secretary Ajay Maken recently held discussions regarding the much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle in Rajasthan.
Shortly after reports of resentment among the Pilot-led camp came to the fore, demands for cabinet expansion and new appointments have gained momentum.
In July this year, Pilot had indicated that Congress would take appropriate steps to address issues raised by him.
The widening rift within the Rajasthan Congress party
The Congress party in Rajasthan seems to be divided into two factions—one led by the chief minister Ashok Gehlot and the other one spearheaded by rebel leader Sachin Pilot. The rift was most evident during the internal tussle between the two factions that came out in open in June last year.
Sachin Pilot had then expressed disappointment at Ashok Gehlot-run Rajasthan government and said that the government has failed to try and fulfil the promise it made to the people who voted for them. He had also skipped a meeting that was held at Gehlot’s residence as a mark of protest against the government.
In an interview with India Today, Pilot later said that he had skipped the July 13 CLP meet held at Gehlot’s residence because his self-respect was hurt. He said that the state police served him notice under the sedition law, the law their party had promised to repeal. “If you remember the Congress party manifesto for 2019 Lok Sabha polls, we talked about repealing the draconian sedition laws. And here a Congress government was using it against its own minister,” he told India Today.
Refuting Gehlot’s allegations that Pilot is working with the BJP to topple his government, Pilot said, “I have worked hard to make Congress win in Rajasthan. Why will I work against my own party?” On being sacked by the party, Pilot said it is yet to sink in and he will take a further decision after discussing with his followers.
Sachin Pilot was even sacked as Rajasthan state Congress chief and removed from his post of Deputy Chief Minister of the state after the party accused him and his associates ofconspiring with BJP to destabilise govt. Since then, the Congress party has been desperately trying to retain the leader while the rumour mills have claimed of him joining the BJP.
Mumbai’s Mankhurd Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi and 17 others have been booked by Mumbai Police for flouting COVID-19 norms. Azmi for his birthday celebrations arrived on a horse chariot brandishing a sword in the streets of Govandi. Azmi and his supporters not only disregarded the social-distancing guidelines but were also seen without masks.
As soon as the visuals of the birthday celebrations of the SP leader went viral on social media, the police swung into action.
A case has been filed at the Shivaji Nagar police station in Mumbai under sections 188 and 269 of IPC, Miscellaneous Provisions Act 37 (1) (2) and Sections 4 and 25 of Indian Arms Act. A further probe into the matter is underway.
A police official was quoted by news agency PTI saying, “The legislator, along with his party supporters, held a birthday celebration at various locations in Shivaji Nagar area of Govandi between 5 pm and 8.30 pm on Sunday.”
“During the celebration, the participants violated COVID-19 protocols as no social distancing was maintained and many of them were found not wearing masks,” he added.
Sword recovered from Abu Azmi birthday bash
As per reports, the police also recovered a sword from one party worker identified as Fawad Khan. Some others to be booked along with Abu Azmi include Ayesha Khan, Rukhsana Siddique, Saddam Khan, Atau Saeed Khan and Wasim Zafar Sheikh.
Meanwhile, the state of Maharashtra recorded 5,508 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours.
On Tuesday last week, the Patna High Court ordered the demolition of a four-storey building being built adjacent to the High Court ‘Centenary Building’. On March 1, a constitution bench comprising of Justice Ashwani Kumar Singh, Justice Vikash Jain, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Justice Rajendra Kumar Mishra and Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh took suo motu cognizance of the matter.
In its 4:1 judgement, the court stated that the construction was illegal as per Bihar Building Bylaws, 2014. The court directed the Patna Municipal Corporation to demolish the building if the construction department fails to do so within the period given by the court.
Inquiry commission to investigate
The court has directed the state government to form an inquiry commission to investigate and fix the responsibility of the government officials who permitted the illegal construction of the building. Reports suggest that Rs.14 crores of the public money would go to waste. The Bihar state building construction corporation constructed the building for Bihar State Sunni Waqf Board. It was supposed to be used as a guest house or ‘musafirkhana’.
Court questioned the government over the construction
The High Court also questioned the government over hurried construction during the Covid time as no construction work was taking place anywhere else in the state.
The building was deemed illegal by three out of five judges
Rajendra Narain, Senior Counsel, was appointed by the court as its amicus curiae. Lalit Kishore, Advocate General, represented the state. Senior counsels PK Shahi, Tej Bahadur and Mrigank Mauli, represented the Waqf board in the court. Prasoon Sinha represented the municipal corporation. Khursheed Alam appeared in person for the managing committee of the Waqf estate.
AG Kishore had taken the stand during the hearing that the building was irregular and not illegal. He added that only the part above 10 meters of height was irregular, and the rest of the building could be left alone. However, his arguments were rejected in the lead judgement.
The court observed that the building was in complete violation of Bylaw 21 that states no building should be constructed with a height over 10 meters within 200 meters radius boundary of the governor’s house, the state secretariat, the legislative assembly, the high court and other high-security buildings. The building was also in violation of Bylaw 8(1)(A) that bars the construction of buildings without permission around locations as mentioned.
The court also observed that the Waqf board did not have any authority to take up the property of Waqf estate for constructing musafirkhana as per the Central Waqf Act, 1993 and Bihar Waqf Act, 1947. During the hearing, the amicus raised objection over the fact the land on which the building was constructed had been used as a graveyard for a long time.
Three judges, Ashwani Kumar Singh, Justice Vikash Jain and Rajendra Kumar Mishra, agreed on the lead judgement by Justice Jain to completely level the construction and deemed it as an illegally constructed building that violates the bylaws. Justice Chakradhari Singh directed the state government in order to set up an inquiry commission. Justice Amanullah, however, was against the demolition and deemed the construction as irregular and not illegal.
Cognitive dissonance seems to be one of the telltale traits of politicians belonging to the Congress fold. Now and then, Congress leaders pompously make claims that run counter to their earlier held beliefs.
For instance, Congress leaders were among the forefront in spreading vaccine hesitancy in January this year. When the pandemic’s deadly wave hit the country in mid-April, they made a stunning about-turn, accusing the government of not expediting the vaccination process. There have been countless such u-turns and flip-flops in the recent past, where the party has taken a definite stance, only to backpedal later in the future.
One such instance being Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill’s recent stance on the crisis unfolding in Afghanistan. Amidst the exacerbating Talibani offensive in Afghanistan, Shergill tried to project himself as some sort of a leader concerned about the minorities living in the strife-torn country. In a letter directed to Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar, Shergill demanded immediate evacuation of Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan.
Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill writes to External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar requesting for immediate evacuation of Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan
The request comes at a time when Talibani terrorists are seeking to establish their dominance in Afghanistan. By some accounts, the Taliban already holds sway in large swathes of land in the country, with offensive launched in areas where it is yet to regain control. The Taliban is known for its crude ways and for adhering to the medieval version of Islam, which entails imposing stifling measures on its population to exact obedience to the Sharia law. Minorities are treated as second-class citizens, who are tortured, maimed, raped and killed, almost with abandon.
In such a scenario, one would have lauded Jaiveer Shergill for being the voice of minorities leading an abject life in Afghanistan and raising concern on their behalf with the Government of India. However, Shergill’s past utterances with regard to the Citizenship Amendment Act, the law that was formulated with the express purpose of naturalising the minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, reveals that Shergill’s recent letter to EAM S Jaishankar is nothing but a cynical attempt to warm up to Hindus and Sikhs in India.
Jaiveer Shergill, Congress party had fiercely opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act
Jaiveer Shergill had been one of the passionate opponents of the Citizenship Amendment Act ever since it has been promulgated as a law. Days after its passage, Shergill penned an article in The Hindu, stating that the decision was passed without careful consideration of potential ramifications. In the article titled ‘A decision without forethought’, Shergill argued against the enactment of the CAA, alleging that the decision lacked foresight and had the potential of plunging the country into chaos.
Later, as the country was swept in violence by the anti-CAA protests, Shergill also supported the hoodlums protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. In January 2020, Shergill had asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah to apologise for the deaths of rioters protesting against the CAA.
Shergill’s party, Congress, has also been fiercely opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act. It has been resolutely protesting against the Law and consorting with groups known for carrying out anti-CAA protests. A Congress leader also claimed that he had helped the Shaheen Bagh Protests where anti-CAA protesters had illegally blocked an important thoroughfare in the national capital.
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi also railed against the Citizenship Amendment Act. During the election hustings in Assam earlier this year, Rahul Gandhi announced that he would not allow CAA to be implemented in the state if Congress comes to power. Congress also promised to build an anti-CAA memorial in Assam should it forms a government in the state.
Shergill backpedals from his anti-CAA stand as he demands evacuation of minorities from Afghanistan
Months later, as Afghanistan is circling the drain and minorities there are facing an existential crisis, Jaiveer Shergill and Congress have taken a stand that is in direct opposition to their anti-CAA protestations. As it turns out, it was not the central government but the Congress party and Jaiveer Shergill who lacked the foresight to realise the significance of the Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA).
Though CAA only extends to minorities from the aforementioned states who came to India on or before 31 December 2014, it nevertheless provides the framework for the naturalisation of persecuted minorities living in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh in India. With the Talibani offensive escalating in Afghanistan, Shergill turned his back on his party’s stand on CAA and wrote a letter demanding the evacuation of minorities living in Afghanistan.
It will be worth noting whether Shergill still maintains his opposition to CAA or demanding evacuation of minorities in Afghanistan was just a political ploy to win back the confidence of disenchanted Hindus and Sikhs in India.
But the current scenario in Afghanistan provides more reason for why there should not be a cut-off date in the CAA. Persecuted Hindus and Sikhs from other countries should always be able to return to India. Simultaneously, the benefits should also be reserved for Indic religions also.
Now that even the Congress party appears to agree of the necessity of the same, it makes ostensible sense to take the step and implement the CAA in its fullest form.
Despite consistent efforts of the Uttar Pradesh police, cases of grooming jihad have been increasing in Uttar Pradesh. In another such case, a married Hindu woman from Farrukabad has lodged an FIR against her husband and her in-laws, accusing them of cheating, harassment and assault.
In her complaint, she has alleged that a youth named Zahid Salim trapped her by hiding his actual faith and posing as Ravi when she was working in a hospital. He then forced her to convert her religion and marry him. After marriage, the husband along with his parents, first ripped her off her savings, then started harassing and assaulting her.
Based on her complaint, the Uttar Pradesh police registered a case of extortion and murderous assault against the accused and family members. Four persons, including main accused Jahid have been booked.
Though the Kotwali police denied the victim’s accusation of forced conversion, the members of various Hindu outfits, who gathered at the police station after getting information about this incident, demanded strict action against the perpetrator.
The police, in turn, raided Zahid Salim’s house, only to find him absconding. They then took his brother into custody. During interrogation, the accused’s brother revealed the latter’s whereabouts. Based on the information, the police arrested Zahid Salim aka Ravi.
Narrating her ordeal to Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s District chief Dinesh Singh Tomar and Subodh Mishra, the District President of Hindu Jagran Manch, the victim said that she was married with two children when he met Zahid Salim alias Ravi. She said she got married to her first husband in the year 2004 and had two daughters with him. Since her husband was mentally unsound and they had financial problems, she started working in a hospital, where she met the accused in the year 2015.
Forced to recite Kalma and learn Islamic texts, says the Farrukabad victim
The victim has stated that she was unaware of Jahid’s real identity when he trapped her. The victim fell into his trap and agreed to marry him. Zahid took the said woman to a Mazar in Kayamganj, where he got her converted to Islam. He asked her to sign a few papers and claimed that they were married, said the victim, adding that after marriage, she was also forced to learn the Kalma (Islamic oath of allegiance) and Darul Shareef.
The victim further told the members of the Hindu outfits that the accused, after marriage, started extracting money from her. He gradually took away the Rs 1 lakh, which she received upon the death of her father. On June 24, 2021, the accused also broke a fixed deposit (FD) of Rs 50 thousand, which the victim had made in the name of her daughter and took away the money.
The victim added that her in-laws also assaulted her. They now want her to divorce the accused.
The woman further alleged that this was Zahid Salim’s modus operandi. He first lured and entrapped vulnerable Hindu girls in his love. Then persuade them to convert to Islam. She said, that prior to her, many Hindu women have fallen into his trap.
According to reports, Kotwali Farrukabad’s superintendent of police (SP) has himself taken cognisance of the case and ordered the Nagar Kotwali police to investigate the matter. The victim also has a child fathered by Jahid.
When Narendra Modi moved to New Delhi to take charge of his new role as a Prime Minister after serving the state of Gujarat for over a decade, most predicted that the state’s growth would now be in the doldrums. Little did the citizens know that the state will continue to ascend on a path of growth even after a leadership change.
The steadfast growth of Gujarat is once again in the news with the current Chief Minister Vijay Rupani completing five years in office. Gujarat, apart from being one of the highest growth states in the country is also the leading industrialized state of India. The latest IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation) report also predicts a 7% year-on-year increase in Gujarat’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in FY22.
Here are some of the noteworthy projects undertaken by the government to lead Gujarat on the path of growth.
Preferred destination for investment
In a commendable feat, Gujarat attracted 37% of the total FDI in the year 2020-21 which led to a 279% increase as compared to the previous year. Exponential growth in investment was seen in the computer software-hardware and infrastructure sectors.
This was enabled by a special focus on the start-up ecosystem and the MSME sector. Several investment and ease of doing business schemes have been launched by the state to provide a business-friendly environment.
The state also has the lowest unemployment rate in the country with over 47 lakh people employed just in the MSME sector.
Policy-driven state
From health to business to environment, Gujarat is known for a policy-driven system that perpetually keeps the state on the path of growth.
Policy-driven Gujarat
“Narendrabhai (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has put a system in place in Gujarat where development happens automatically,” remarked Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while virtually addressing the seventh day of celebrations to mark the completion of five years of Rupani government in the state on Saturday.
E-governance in Gujarat
Furthering the Digital India campaign, the state of Gujarat has adopted digital technology to simplify public service delivery by integrating various units of government framework, making the entire process more effective.
Talking about the track records from the much successful CM Dashboard, Rupani shared, “Today, we have a budget of Rs 2.25 lakh crore. In the last five years, works worth over Rs 10 lakh crore were done by our government. Even today as per my CM Dashboard, works worth Rs 2 lakh crore are underway in Gujarat, and this keeps increasing every year.”
The RTO services have been made online with launching e-auction portal for mining, ‘citizen first’ mobile application, digital ‘seva setu’ to enable citizens to avail necessary documents such as income certificate, ration card, a certificate for people of unreserved category and more.
A hub for quality education
The Gujarat Chief Minister in a recent event had taken pride in the improving educational set-up of the state. “Quality of education in government schools in the state is improving and more than three lakh students from private schools have taken admissions in the state-run educational institutions in five years,” shared Rupani.
The state government launched Gyan Kunj Project to produce world-class students, became the first state to implement the National Education Policy, and launched the Command Control Centre for real-time monitoring of attendance and working of teachers and other staff in government.
Image Source: Government Report
“There are around 16,000 smart classes in government schools where the state government has created digital classes to modernise education. More than 30,500 government primary, higher and secondary schools have been connected with the internet. We are making arrangements to bring global knowledge to the remotest village in Gujarat through broadband connectivity in schools,” the CM informed at an event on Sunday.
The state, in a unique initiative also launched ‘School on Wheels’ in 2018 to impart education to children of salt pan workers. Moreover, the state intends to encourage research by launching ‘Scheme of Developing High-Quality Research.’
School on Wheels for children of salt-pan workers. Image Source: The Week
Noteworthy Schemes
As many as 2465 hospitals, including 68 NABH accredited hospitals, have been empanelled, almost 38 lakh claims amounting to over 5600 crores have been settled and approximately 80 lakh families have been covered under various health schemes like the MA Vatsalya Yojna.
Making amendments to enhance the law and order situation, the state introduced the Gujarat Gunda and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act 2020, Gujarat Land Grabbing Prohibition Act 2020, Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 Amendment and several measures for women and child safety. Some notable figures speak of the success of the amendments such as 61% decrease in communal crimes and 95.2% of missing children are found under operation ‘Muskan’.
Covid-19 management
By involving the people and establishing public-private partnership the state successfully managed both the waves of the Chinese virus pandemic.
At the district and city level, planning & implementation were carried out under the supervision of a committee, consisting of the District Collector, Municipal Commissioner, District Development Officers; under the aegis of senior nodal IAS officer. Additionally, private specialists were roped into public hospitals, especially during the first phase. In an attempt to normalize lives, several multi-pronged strategies were adopted for behavior change communication (BCC).
Maru Gaam Campaign:
The state in May 2021 began setting up Community COVID isolation centres through community participation (15,000+ centres with 1,35,000+ beds established) for isolation and treatment to break the chain of transmission. Community engagement was also encouraged for the promotion of COVID appropriate behavior and vaccination through community COVID committees.
Speaking on the successful management of the pandemic, Rupani said, “Gujarat is the only state which did not impose complete lockdown and still we have controlled the second wave and are preparing for the third wave while continuing the process of development.”
1800 people-centric decision
Exhibiting the ‘decisiveness’ and ‘sensitivity’ of his government in the past five years, Rupani said that his government has taken more than 1,700-1,800 people-centric decisions upfront and that people did not have to do agitation for fulfilling their expectations from the government.
અમારી સરકાર SENSITIVE સરકાર છે અને SENSITIVE સરકાર હોવાને કારણે જનતાની અપેક્ષાઓ, લોકોની જરૂરિયાતો, લોકોની ડિમાન્ડ એને અમે સમજીએ છીએ. અમારા વિકાસની કૂચને છેવાડાના માનવી સુધી પહોંચાડી છે. દશે દિશાઓમાં પહોંચાડી છે. સર્વાંગી વિકાસ કર્યો છે. સસ્ટેનેબલ ડેવલપમેન્ટ કર્યું છે. pic.twitter.com/d0jsQkR5IA
Commenting on the various schemes and initiatives launched by the state government, Rupani said, “Various projects on development of cities have been dedicated today. As talked earlier… the cities of Gujarat are giving good attention to cleanliness… Apart from ease of living and ease of doing business, we also want to promote the concept of happiness. The cities of Gujarat are enjoyable and worth living in. While strengthening the belief (of people) to settle in Gujarat after retirement, we should go ahead by ensuring a good environment, no pollution, clean water, maximum use of renewable energy. We will have to increase the use of electric buses.”
The event to mark the completion of five years of Vijay Rupani as the state Chief Minister witnessed several inaugurations.
CM Shri @vijayrupanibjp inaugurated 224 works of ₹ 1161-cr and laid foundation of 247 works of ₹ 3840-cr, totalling to 471 devl works worth ₹ 5001 crore across the State from Ahmedabad during ‘Shaheri Jan Sukhakari Divas’ program today observed to mark #5YearsOfGoodGovernancepic.twitter.com/rB2RZsZ0TM
In the presence of Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Home Minister Amit Shah virtually inaugurated and laid foundation stones for various projects worth Rs 5,300 crore, belonging to nine different state departments.
On August 8, former President of the United States, Barack Obama, celebrated his sixtieth birthday as his family threw a lavish birthday bash on the upscale island Martha’s Vineyard. Though the event was strictly offline and photography or videography was not allowed allegedly due to security reasons, some photos and videos managed to come out in public.
Barack Obama was seen enjoying on the dance floor in such a video along with other guests without a mask that sparked outrage on social media.
As soon as it was evident that the guests and the hosts were without the mask and possibly flouting the Covid-19 norms, hashtags like #ObamaVariant and “Maskless Obama” started to trend. The netizens were not pleased watching the former President, who has been supporting the Democrats over mask-on policies, without a mask.
Let’s get one thing straight:
These pics of Obamas birthday party shows us all that we should NEVER listen to Democrats again.
No one wore a mask
No one complied with the covid guidelines established by the American Democrat Marxists.
Notably, Barack Obama did not break any rules as CDC guidelines and regulations of Martha’s Vineyard make it mandatory for the people to wear masks indoors, on private and public transport etc., even if they are fully vaccinated.
However, the regulations do not apply to open locations. As his birthday party was outdoors, technically, he did not break any rules. However, being a popular leader and supporter of policies on mandatory masks, people expected him to follow the regulations anyway.
The entire mainstream media colluded to lie to the American people and pretend that Obama was scaling back his party. He didn’t. He went all in, maskless, inside.
But your children will be masked at school and you will mask on planes because you are the peasants they rule over. https://t.co/OP9ojxvvbE
The fact that no one on the left is outraged at maskless Obama is another example of how they don’t really care about spreading Covid and all this time they’ve just been using Covid as a tool to try and shame and control people they don’t like. Bunch of hypocrites!
According to conservative commentator Candace Owens, vaccination was not compulsory to attend the event and there were at least two attendees who did not mask themselves.
BREAKING: I now personally know that (at least) two of the attendees at Barack Obama’s birthday were not vaccinated.
I can confirm that vaccination was therefore NOT a requirement to attend his maskless bash.
Annie Karni, New York Times reporter, faced backlash on social media platforms as she made a comment on another network while discussing the criticism Barack Obama was receiving. She said, “It was a sophisticated, vaccinated crowd, and it was about the optics, not the safety.”
Later, Karni tried to clarify that it was not her point of view as she was directly quoting one of the residents she had spoken to. She said, “Watch the full clip. The Q was, what do people on the island think of the party? The A was me summarizing views of ppl I spoke with: some are upset, + others think the concerns about it are overblown. ‘Sophisticated crowd’ was from a quote in the story.”
Watch the full clip.
The Q was, what do people on the island think of the party? The A was me summarizing views of ppl I spoke with: some are upset, + others think the concerns about it are overblown. “Sophisticated crowd” was from a quote in the story:https://t.co/IZTRj6kU2Hhttps://t.co/IWJbbF4CnJ
Many US citizens seem to be displeased over the fact that while political leaders preach strict social distancing and mask mandates, a former President from the Democratic Party was seen enjoying an expensive, lavish birthday bash with a large crowd.
Fauci’s double standards left netizens baffled
On Sunday, while talking to host Chuck Todd on the “Meet the Press” program, Dr Anthony Fauci showed concerns over an event happening in South Dakota. He said, “I’m very concerned, Chuck, that we’re going to see another surge related to that rally.”
Dr. Fauci chastises those attending the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally: You’re going to get to do that in the future, but let’s get this pandemic under control before we start acting like nothing is going on.” pic.twitter.com/ifb6tVdMgg
He added, “There comes a time when you’re dealing with a public health crisis, that could involve you, your family, and everyone else that something supersedes that need to do exactly what you want to do.”
I have come to loathe Fauci. I cannot believe I fell for this fraud for even a minute.
Lollapalooza: Nothing.
Obama birthday party: Nothing.
Riding a motorcycle in the free air: SATAN’S DEVIL VIRUS WILL GET YA! https://t.co/NeaWyCBrva
Interestingly, Fauci did not make any comments regarding the birthday bash Barack Obama had amidst pandemic that attracted a lot of criticism to his way. Internet users are quick to point that out too.
Covid-19 in the US
In the last 24 hours, the US has reported 91,648 cases. The country has so far reported 3,52,99,302 cases. 6,10,180 people have lost their lives in the US because of Covid-19 related complications.
