Members of Karni Sena in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia have been accused of stopping an allegedly consensual interfaith marriage of an 18-year-old Dalit girl. The girl who had been missing for a few days was found in a burqa registering her marriage at the registrar’s office.
While the Karni Sena alleged it to be a case of Love Jihad, reports suggest that the girl eloped willingly. Here is what happened.
Broken marriage
As per a Dainik Jagran report, the girl was married off to a boy from her community three months ago. However, she returned to her home in just a couple of days after the marriage.
However, early last week the girl had gone missing from her home after which her family had filed a missing report.
Karni Sena intervenes
The girl allegedly was found in a burqa with one Dilshad Siddique (24) in Padri village at the marriage registrar’s office. On the basis of suspicion, the members questioned the girl about her name, age and village.
When the girl confessed to being a Hindu, the members allegedly created a ruckus. Karni Sena accused Siddique of Love Jihad and claimed that the girl was coerced into marriage.
With police intervention, the 18-year-old girl was handed over to her parents.
Viral video
Allegedly in a video that has gone viral on social media, the girl confesses to marrying Siddique at her will. In the video, a man can be heard asking, “What is your name… What caste are you from? Which caste does the boy belong to? Is he Muslim? Why are you getting married to him?”
This Dalit girl clearly says that she is 18 year old and has come to court to marry a muslim man Dilshad willingly. But still Dilshad has been booked for “Kidnapping”. Arrest these Karni Sena goōns @balliapolice and release Dilshadpic.twitter.com/dtwNm55VPD
— Adab e Hindustan ❤️ ?? (@adabehindustan) July 30, 2021
Refuting claims of forceful conversion, Siddique’s cousin said, “They (the man and the woman) both knew each other for the last couple of years. They both wanted to marry, but their families were against it. The woman was forcefully married to a man in Shahjahanpur last year, but she returned home after a few months. I think they both got married secretly and went to court to register their marriage.”
“Now, some politically connected people have influenced the woman’s father and they are trying to make it look like a case of forceful conversion,” he added.
Police registered a case of kidnapping
In a statement to the Indian Express, Ballia’s Superintendent of Police, Vipin Tada informed, “We have lodged a case on a complaint from her father that his daughter had been kidnapped. We will present her in court soon, where she will record her statement. Further action will be taken based on her statement, as the woman is an adult.”
“Some people alleged that illegal conversion was taking place but nothing of that sort was found. Some people had brought her to the local police station, levelling allegations of conversion,” he added.
OpIndia tried to get a statement on the matter but could not get through.
Gyaneshwar Mishra, SHO, Ubhaon police station, where the case against Siddiqui was lodged informed that a missing complaint was lodged after the girl’s father Jai Prakash alleged in his complaint that his daughter had not returned home for two days.
Jai Prakash in his complaint also mentioned that he learnt about his daughter’s whereabouts from the villagers who informed him that his daughter was being coerced into marrying a Muslim.
“He lodged the complaint on Wednesday evening after the ruckus at the court in the afternoon,” SHO Mishra said.
As per Tada, the girl will soon be presented in court to record her statement.
Something rather inexplicable happened on Thursday night. A former Governor of an Indian State appeared to threaten a Twitter account, True Indology, for a series of tweets on Mizoram and the origins of Mizos. The tweets appeared sourced from government archives, media reports and other reliable publications.
Inconvenient as they may be, everyone has a right to state facts that are on public record. There was no incitement to violence or libel or slander, or anything of that sort and if the states caused someone else to resort to violence after reading them, the account True Indology cannot be held liable for it. How could he be blamed if someone he does not even know goes ahead and commits violence after reading his factual comments?
A person cannot be held liable for others’ actions without any evidence of incitement. And there was none here. Those interested in history could read the thread here if they so wish. Here, we would reserve our focus on the former Governor Swaraj’s comments and his flailing efforts to mount a credible defence, at which he failed terribly.
The tone and tenor of his initial response to True Indology were quite shocking, to be frank. Initially, it came across as a warning from someone who was concerned for the Twitter user’s own safety but before long, it became evident that it wasn’t a concern, it was a warning and a threat.
Source: Twitter
The series of comments posted by Governor Swaraj in response was littered with remarks that did not seem to have any relevance towards the matter in question. For instance, it is not clear why it should matter if TI is aware of Mizoram’s climate or forest cover.
The thread began with “One FIR and you will spend many years of your life facing trial” in the first tweet and ended with “A police officer in Aizawl will register an FIR.” It was bizarre, to be honest, and quite perplexing.
Source: Twitter
True Indology is extremely popular on the non-Left sections of social media and naturally, people were outraged by the former Governor’s conduct. Faced with a barrage of adverse comments, Swaraj attempted to defend himself from the onslaught.
And the mentality behind the defence is quite revealing. He said that he was concerned with how Mizos might perceive the thread. According to him, the thread by True Indology could jeopardise peace in Mizoram, although it is not clear how that could happen.
Also, one has to question the wisdom that comes to the conclusion that groups in the state would return to insurgency again because of a Twitter thread. Unlike the governor here, the journalist does not believe groups conduct themselves in such manner. There is usually other motivations if groups do resort to insurgency but I am not an expert on Mizo weather, therefore, I would have to add the caveat that I am ignorant and my comments are to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Source: Twitter
Needless to say, the comment did not help to assuage the angst of people on social media and the tweet attracted further criticism from people who support TI on the issue. Currently, Governor Swaraj is posting further comments on the whole issue but given the fact that they are laced with disparaging remarks against TI, it is unlikely that they will help his cause.
Jibes such as “You are a brave man” and “You are the new Socrates” can be found in abundance in the thread.
True Indology, meanwhile, has deactivated his account and left Twitter. He did so right after he was threatened with an FIR by the former Governor. But the Governor is clearly not done with him yet.
Source: Twitter
“You do not know what you are doing. You do not know Mizos and Mizoram. You cannot pronounce even a Mizo name correctly. You do not know the consequences of the venom you are spewing. It has the potential of jeopardising peace in Mizoram,” he bellowed on social media.
Then he went on to state something that we all know. That True Indology is not a historian. And that is perfectly alright. The right to speak the truth is a sacred sacrament bestowed on all those among the living. The truth remains silent only among the dead.
Swaraj said, “Chhimtuipui is a river and a district in Mizoram. How do you pronounce it ? What is the difference between Tam Dil and Rih Dil ? You are a Mizo historian. You should be knowing it. Photocopying papers does not make you a historian.”
Source: Twitter
But it is not only historians or journalists who have a monopoly over speaking facts. Every citizen of India has that unequivocal right, although it is fair to concede that the Constitution of India limits that significantly. But in this case, clearly, the Twitter user was well within his ordained rights.
Nonetheless, the interaction between the two does provide some very real insights into the realities of social media.
Lessons from the Governor Swaraj vs True Indology saga
First and foremost, the thread proves definitively that online clout is no substitute for real power. TI here has a huge following on social media and is quite a popular account but when confronted by someone with real power, actual power, he had no option but to flee the scene.
This is not an adverse comment on TI or an attempt to paint him a coward but just an honest account of events. It is a sensible decision to make. There’s no plausible reason to risk one’s safety and peace of mind over a Twitter thread. The cost is just too high and benefits negligible.
Of course, some could claim that one should be brave under such situations and hold on to the fort but it is easy to say that when one is not at the receiving end of it. That is why acts of valour are so treasured because they are rare and not everyone is capable of it.
Social media often tends to distort the real nature of power. The current instance once again demonstrated that there are very real consequences to speaking the truth on social media. Platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have given vast sections of the populace an opportunity to influence public discourse.
It leads most individuals on social media to believe that they can get away with harsh trolling of politicians without any real consequences. But that is not how it works. Power is power and there is no substitute for it.
The reason why most politicians do not bother going after their critics is that it is too much of a hassle and there are no gains to be had. And most politicians are not vindictive enough to take matters to that extent over cartoons on social media or some abuses.
But every once in a while, there is a particular matter that is close to the heart of someone in power. And when that someone does not like it, he goes out of his way to dish out threats or other means to ensure that the action is not repeated again.
Look at Governor Swaraj for example. Mizoram is clearly very close to his heart and TI stated facts, in a reasonable tone, that he did not like. An overwhelming majority of people would not be stirred enough to cause any stir over the issue. But unfortunately for TI, there happened to be one with significant influence who did not like what he said.
And thus, we have him threatening a Twitter user with an FIR over something that in no circumstances merit a case. But such is the world we live in.
Secondly, people mistake the power of social media far too much. We have a former governor here who believes that a Twitter thread could jeopardise a peace accord nd lead to a return of insurgency. Sure, fake news can sometimes create law and order situations in a particular region but insurgency is indeed quite the leap.
In this particular instance, it was not even fake news. These are facts on public record. Yes, it could lead to a law and order situation if it manages to percolate into groups with an affinity towards violence but it is the duty of the state to maintain law and order and ensure that speaking facts do not create such situations.
If the state is not willing to defend the right of citizens to speak truth, then it is indeed quite a shameful capitulation to hoodlums.
In Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar, so-called ‘farmer protestors’ have reportedly attacked and assaulted BJP leader Kailash Meghwal. As per reports, Meghwal had arrived to participate in a BJP protest agains irrigation and inflation.
Rajasthan: Farmers protesting in Sri Ganganagar against the Central Government's three farm laws, tore the clothes of BJP leader Kailash Meghwal. The leader had arrived to participate in a BJP protest over inflation and irrigation when the incident took place. pic.twitter.com/GERDBpoqB2
The ‘farmer-protestors’ assaulted and tore the clothes of the BJP leader.
Videos of the incident have gone viral on social media. In the videos, the BJP leader can be seen surrounded and being assaulted by an angry, violent mob. Several persons can be seen pushing, shoving him and tearing his clothes while two police personnel run to rescue the BJP leader.
BJP Leader Kailash Meghwal Beaten and his Clothes Torn by Alleged Farmers in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/rexizkdCOh
Meghwal is the chief of BJP’s SC Morcha in Rajasthan.
As per reports, BJP had organised a protest against the Rajasthan government near the DM’s office in Sri Ganganagar. The program was opposed by members of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha who started sloganeering against the BJP near the venue. When Meghwal arrived, they farmer protestors reportedly got agitated seeing the BJP symbols with the leader. Meghwal was attacked and shoved around by a violent mob of SKU members.
Speaking to OpIndia, BJP’s Rajasthan spokesperson condemned the incident. He stated that Meghwal is thread of BJP’s SC Morcha and the attack was against a Dalit person. He added that in the name of ‘farmer protests’ such incidents of mob violence are condemnable. He also blamed the Rajasthan government for failing to maintain law and order.
Tensions prevailed in the Kadayam area of Tenkasi district after Tamil Nadu police threatened to register false cases against a Hindu resident and forced him to remove saffron flags hoisted atop their house.
A video has gone viral on social media platforms in which a police inspector was seen arguing with Chelladurai, a resident of the Kadayam area in Tenkasi district in Tamil Nadu, for putting up a Hindu saffron flag atop his residence.
In the video, a police officer, identified as Inspector Reghurajan, can be seen approaching the residence of Chelladurai. The police officer picks up an argument with the family of Chelladurai and asks him to remove the saffron flag put outside his house. After he removes the Hindu Munnai flag, a bulldozer appears at the spot after some time which razes the compound wall of his residence.
A Hindu family is forced to remove saffron flag from their house, got beaten by police & house bulldozed.
According to a report by the Organiser, the incident occurred at Pulavanoor village near Kadayam. The police officer Reghurajan was present at the spot to act on the Chelladurai and his family after a church had filed a complaint against the family.
As police began to demolish the outer wall of Chelladurai’s residence, several villagers, including women, children sat on the road to protest against the registration of false cases against the members of Hindu communities.
Following the demolition drive, the agitated family members of the Chelladurai confronted the police, saying, “You are silent against atrocities committee by other religions, but you want us to remove the encroachment; We are ready; but first, ask the Christians to remove the illegal encroachment. Don’t we have a right to a flag of our choice of party we like?”
In response, the Inspector warned them, “Do not talk rules. If you do, I will book a false case. So remove the encroachment and the flag.”
Church encroached Chelladurai’s land, forced him to remove the wall
As per Kutralanthan, a Hindu Munnani leader and advocate, the dispute between Chelladurai and a Christian group erupted six months ago. The Hindu residents of Pulavanoor village had protested against the construction of an illegal church on government land. They had even lodged a complaint with the police asking to take action against illegal encroachment by the church.
However, due to the strong influence of the Church on the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government, the police did not take any action against the church, said the Hindu activist.
“Because of the strong influence of the Christians, we have to fight against all. Had the police taken action against our complaint, things would not have gone to such magnitude. However, the partial action of the police is leading to communal clashes that can occur any time if the situation prevails in the area,” Kutralanthan said.
Narrating the incident in detail, he said that auto driver Chelladurai had built a house with a compound wall a couple of years ago. Later, a church was built in that area. The main entrance of the church was adjacent to Chelladurai’s compound wall. The revenue department details also showed that the land belonged to Chelladurai. Hence, Chelladurai built a structure with hollow blocks and put up a roof.
A few months later, another church was built near the left side of his house. The church people objected to the wall of his house, saying the wall was a hindrance to the church gate and asked him to remove the structures immediately. Anticipating the ulterior motives of the church, Chelladurai started a signature campaign claiming the church was built on government land and a water body.
Chelladurai registered a complaint against the church along with other residents, urging them to remove the illegal church built on the government land. However, the police did not take any action against the church.
Chelladurai was attacked by a mob instigated by the church, says villagers
A month after the incident, a mob entered his house, destroyed his auto parked outside before demolishing the compound. The mob also broke the glass window panes and other items. After the attacks on his family, Chelladurai registered another complaint against the Church pastor and another 15 members saying they damaged his auto, house, compound wall besides threatening him with dire consequences.
After severe protests, the local police finally registered a case and investigated the case. So far, eight persons have also been arrested in this connection who are on bail.”
Meanwhile, Hindu Munnani leaders visited Chelladurai’s residence and gave him Rs.10,000 as cash assistance to repair his house’s auto and compound wall.
“Christians with 30 per cent population unitedly pulled his building down and destroyed the auto-rickshaw after the transformer was off. No case was booked against the Christians for this heinous crime. Inspector Regurajan is supporting them. Revenue officials said both sides encroached on the government land, and action would be taken against both. We told them since you have admitted church has encroached. So you remove the encroachment first, we will ask Chelladurai to remove the same after it was marked. i.e. the area to be removed,” said Hindu Munnani leader Vijaykumar.
He alleged that the Christians are using the police as a tool to encroach on the land belonging to the Chelladurai family.
A few days after the attack, a police team led by Reghurajan visited Chelladurai’s house, as recorded in the video footage, to remove the remaining compound that allegedly blocked entry into the church. They asked him to remove the Hindu Munnani flag on the wall. However, Chelladurai came out with a can of kerosene and threatened to set himself on fire if they demolish the wall.
Instead of acting on the encroachers, the police arrested Reghurajan and took him to the station. Meanwhile, the Church has filed a case against Chelladurai, claiming that the police must pull down the wall adjacent to the church. The police have also arrested a youth who went to enquire about the well-being of Chelladurai.
“Inspector acted like a stooge of Christians, which is condemnable. We have taken up this with the district police superintendent,” said a Hindu leader.
The villagers alleged that the police officials razed the compound wall without the presence of the village administrative officer. They also alleged that the police pulled down the remaining wall after taking Chelladurai into custody. The village officer, who arrive later, said that Chelladurai was arrested for preventing the officials from doing their job.
The police officials have contended that Chelladurai was arrested for obstructing them to carry out their work. The police have released the few members of the church officials involved in the attack.
The issue of population control has become a topic of hot debate after the most populous state Uttar Pradesh published a draft for proposed population control bill. BJP ruled Assam has already passed a resolution in the assembly regarding the same, and have introduced measures discouraging people to have more than two children. Muslim organisations, in particular, are opposing such measures, and now Communist newspaper The Hindu has come up with a completely misleading to argue that there is no need for a population policy.
In an article titled “No need for a drastic population policy” authored by Subhanil Chowdhury and Saswata Ghosh published on July 29, they used wrong charts and misleading data to argue for their cause.
The article first argues that as per the Population Projection published in 2019 by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, UP will reach the total fertility rate of 2.1, which is considered the replacement rate, by 2025, and Assam should have already reached that rate by 2020. This means, the population of UP and Assam will not increase from 2025 and 2020 respectively, hence there is no need for population control measures, argues the Hindu article.
The authors cherry-picked only one data point from a 268-page document to argue that the population is going to stabilise in the two states very soon, which is completely wrong. According to the same Population Projection document cited in the article, the UP population is projected to go up from 23.1 crore in 2021 to 25.59 crore in 2036, an increase of 2.5 crores. Similarly, Assam’s population is projected to grow from 3.5 crore in 2021 to 3.94 crore in 2036. This shows both states are expected to see an increase of 11% in population in the next 15 years.
This means, the population projection does not say that the population in both the states are going to stabilise soon, as falsely claimed by the authors. Even though 2.1 TFR is considered the replacement rate, there are other factors affecting the population growth, like increase in life expectancy of the population due to availability of better healthcare, nutritious food, shift to non-hazardous occupations etc.
This was a minor offence compared to what The Hindu did next. They printed a completely misleading chart to prove that the population growth rate of Muslims and Hindus are the same. The proposed population control measures will be applicable to all the citizens, so it is puzzling what was the need to compare the fertility rate of Muslims and Hindus.
Citing the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-2 data, the article claims that the fertility rate of both Muslim and Hindu women in Assam, UP, Bihar and West Bengal are similar. They plotted the fertility data on charts, putting the Hindu fertility rate on the X-axis and the same for Muslims on Y-axis. At first glance, the charts show that the fertility rate for both communities is similar. But one looks closer, it can be seen how the authors manipulated the chart to arrive at that conclusion.
Mismatched units used by The Hindu for misrepresentation
While making the chart, they used different scales for Hindus and Muslims, while each unit on the X-axis represents 1% rate for Hindus, each unit on the Y-axis for Muslims actually represents a 2% rate. This means, for the same unit on the chart, the Muslim fertility rate is actually twice the Hindu fertility rate.
Moreover, the charts were prepared taking data for four districts each in the four states, and the important thing is, the article does not mention which districts were used. As the Hindu-Muslim population shares vary across districts in all the states, it is an important factor in comparing population growths.
Also, while the article mentions that the fertility rate for both Hindus and Muslims have declined, they fail to mention that the same for Muslims remains higher than Hindus. This means the proportion of Muslims in the total population will continue to increase, even at a lower rate. On the national average, the fertility rate for Muslims is 0.8% higher than Hindus, as per the NFHS data cited by The Hindu. 0.8% is not a small difference when the fertility rate is between 2% to 4% for most states. In plain terms, Muslim women give birth to almost one more child compared to Hindus.
From NFHS report
The article further mentions that the fertility rate of Hindus is higher than Muslims in 4 districts of Assam, 11 districts of Bihar, 22 districts in UP and 3 districts in West Bengal. This is completely misleading and useless information, because these are tiny portions in the total districts in these states. Because Assam has 34 districts, Bihar has 38 districts, UP has 75 districts and West Bengal has 23 districts.
This means, going by the article’s own admission, barring a tiny number of districts, the fertility rate of Muslims is Hindus is more in most of the districts. While the authors claim that higher population growth in Muslims is “is a figment of the right-wing imagination and not supported by facts”, the fact is completely opposite. The data show that the fertility rate among Muslims remains higher than Hindus, and the authors tried to contest that by cherry-picking data from a tiny number of districts, and wrongly plotting data on charts.
Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut who was banned on the micro-blogging platform Twitter continues to entertain her fans through her other social media accounts.
In her latest post, Ranaut referred to the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as ‘Tadaka’-a a female Asura from Ramayana. Sharing a picture of controversial lyricist Javed Akhtar and his wife Shabana Azmi with Mamata Banerjee, Ranaut remarked that the three met for a strategic meeting.
“Yesterday Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar met the Chief Minister of West Bengal who is popularly known as Tadaka for a strategic meeting and will now host smaller meetings in BollyDawood, pressurize the Khans who will then take everyone from a small to a big artist in their network to turn ‘Tadaka’ into a goddess,” she said in her social media post.
“BollyDawood” was Kangana’s sly on the Mumbai movie industry where many bigwigs are allegedly linked with mafia Dawood Ibrahim. She was hinting that it is possible the ‘Dawood’-linked actors will pressurize everyone in the industry to run promoted campaigns for Mamata and create a positive image for her nationwide.
Kangana Ranaut’s Facebook Post
“But I will expose every anti-national, be careful,” warned Ranaut.
Reportedly, Mamata Banerjee while Akhtar was addressing the media, asked him to compose a ‘Khela Hobe’ song for her party Trinamool Congress.
“Khela hobe se aapko ek gaan banana hai (you have to compose a song on khela hobe),” she said.
Banerjee arrived in New Delhi on Monday for a five-day visit, after being re-elected as the West Bengal Chief Minister for the third time.
Novak Djokovic’s dream of winning the elusive golden slam at Tokyo Olympics has been shattered as Germany’s Alexander Zverev defeated the world’s no. 1 Tennis player in men’s singles semi-final match.
After being one set down, Zverev made a stunning comeback to defeat the Serbian Tennis star 1-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Every year, tennis players have the opportunity to achieve a Grand Slam by winning all four majors: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open. But every four years, or, perhaps, five years, as it is in this case, they have the opportunity to achieve a “Golden Grand Slam”—which means winning all four majors and the Olympics.
Djokovic was eyeing the coveted Golden Grand Slam by winning all four Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympic gold medal in a calendar year. He had won the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon and came to Tokyo seeking for the fourth one. The United States Open takes place at the end of the summer.
So far, Steffi Graf remains the only Tennis player who has been able to achieve the remarkable feat of winning the Golden Slam. She won the slam in 1988.
Zverev’s final match for the gold medal will be against Karen Khachanov. The Russian Tennis player had defeated Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-3, 6-3.
Djokovic will play Carreno Busta for bronze. It is worth noting that Djokovic had remained unbeaten since his loss to Rafael Nadal at the Italian Open final about two and a half months ago.
A Right to Information (RTI) query has revealed that around 456 animals have died at the National Zoological Park in Delhi between April 1, 2018, and December 31, 2020. The said RTI was filed by animal rights activist Vivek Pandey on July 7 this year.
As per the data, about 245 animals died at the facility between April 1, 2018, and June 7, 2019. Another set of 115 animals died between July 8, 2019, and March 31, 2020. The RTI response also revealed that an additional 96 animals died at the National Zoological Park between April 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. The leading causes of death include enteritis (70), shock (150), traumatic shock (47), senility (73), cirrhosis (30), pleurisy (12), tuberculosis (5), cannibalism (1), and so on.
Screengrab of the RTI query by Vivek Pandey
According to the RTI reply, several endangered species have lost their lives between 2018-2020. These include spotted deer (31), blackbuck (101), and tigers (6). IANS reported that the zoo also lost a white tigress named Nirbhaya after giving birth to two cubs. Her father, Vijay, had previously killed a man in 2014 when he fell within the tiger’s enclosure.
Animal rights activist demands constitution of a committee to probe cause of deaths
While speaking to OpIndia, animal rights activist Vivek Pandey said, “It’s depressing that more than 450+ animals have died at the zoo. I have also noticed that most animals have died due to shock. The RTI reply hasn’t elaborated on the ‘shock’ aspect. A fund of ₹157 crore was disbursed to the National Zoological Park. I have noticed that the cost of treatment was pretty less. It may be the case that the animals died due to poor treatment. One important aspect to note is that white Bengal tigers, tigresses, and lions have also died. Over 70 blackbucks have died due to shock.”
“Several endangered species, housed in the Delhi zoo, are dying. If the trend continues, then, they will become extinct. Zoos are built for their preservation but even then they are dying. This is a matter of investigation. It needs to be probed why the animals are dying so frequently. Now if this is the case in Delhi, one can anticipate the condition of Zoological parks in the other States of India. A high-level committee must be formed by the State and Central government to probe whether the animals had died due to the negligence of the zoo authorities. Based on the findings of the committee, a report must be published in the public domain. Adequate steps should be taken to prevent such deaths in the future,” he concluded.
While senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi projects himself as a pro-farmer leader, championing their cause and making promises of farm loan waiver, his party seldom honours commitments made by him. After Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, the farmers in Congress-ruled Rajasthan, too, have realised that Rahul Gandhi’s promises of instant loan waiver were nothing but empty poll rhetorics as they have started receiving attachment notices for the payment of their loans.
Before the Rajasthan Assembly elections, Rahul Gandhi had announced a farm loan waiver within 10 days of coming to power. However, despite being in the government for over two years, the farmers in the state are still waiting for the Congress government to fulfil their leader’s promise.
A report by Aaj Tak mentioned Ramgopal Jat, a farmer in the Jaipur district, who took a loan for Rs 3.5 lakhs and Rs 6 lakhs about 5 years ago. He has so far paid an interest of over Rs 6 lakhs to his bank. Yet, he received an attachment notice from his bank, asking him to pay Rs 13,07,756. Ramgopal laments he doesn’t have money to repay the loan and his bank has refused to grant him any further extension.
Similar is the predicament of hundreds of other farmers in Rajasthan who were hoping to get their loans waived off after Congress formed government in the state but were left disappointed after the party washed off its hands from the promises made by its foremost leader. The Ashok Gehlot government in the state has not even spared an 80-year-old Gangaram, who received an attachment notice for his loan of Rs 8 lakhs that has now swelled to Rs 14 lakhs in the last 5 years at 14 per cent interest.
In the run-up to the 2018 assembly elections, Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders repeatedly trotted out their commitment of forgoing farm loans once their party formed the government in the state. Shortly after coming to power in Rajasthan, the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government waived off loans to small and marginal farmers who had sought loans only from the Bhoomi Vikas Bank and Co-operative Banks but left other farmers to fend for themselves.
Congress had promised to waive off farm loans if voted to power in Rajasthan , image via The Hindu
About 95 per cent of the farmers in Rajasthan took loans from government and private banks, but they were not considered for the loan waiver. Uday Lal Anjana, the Minister of Co-operation in Rajasthan, turned his back on the promise of granting loan waivers to farmers in the state. He said his government never promised to grant loan waivers to all the farmers in the state. The Aaj Tak report says that farmers in Rajasthan owe a staggering debt of Rs 1,20,979 crores to banks. As a result, the Congress government has lamented that it has no money in its treasury to waive off loans of every farmer in the state.
Congress modus operandi of exploiting farmers with false promises to gain votes
This is the modus operandi witnessed in many Congress-ruled states where Rahul Gandhi promises to waive off loans to lure farmers into voting for his party. When the Congress government is formed in the state, it bails on its commitments saying it never made any promise of loan waivers and its treasury to not fat enough to dole out waivers to each and every farmer in the state.
In February 2020, the then chief minister Kamal Nath admitted to the Madhya Pradesh Congress government’s failure in delivering the tall promises of farm loan waiver made by their supremo Rahul Gandhi during the Assembly elections campaign in 2018. Govind Singh, the General Administration Minister in Kamal Nath’s cabinet apologised while speaking at a government function.
A year before Kamal Nath’s admission, Congress minister Digvijay Singh’s younger brother Lakshman Singh had also conceded that Rahul Gandhi’s fraud promises of farm-loan waivers were nothing but a mere gimmick to con poor farmers to vote for Congress in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress loyalist had then capitulated that it was a mistake on Rahul Gandhi’s part to promise a complete loan waiver within 10 days if voted to power.
PV Sindhu is through to the semi-finals of the women’s singles category in Badminton in the Tokyo Olympics after defeating Akane Yamaguchi from Japan 21-13, 22-20 in the quarterfinals.
#TokyoOlympics | Badminton, Women’s Singles, Quarterfinal: PV Sindhu beats Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 21-13, 22-20 to move into semifinals
The ace badminton player has now reached the semi-finals in seven of the eight major tournaments she has played in.
7 – Pusarla Venkata Sindhu has now reached the Semifinals stage in 7 of the 8 Major Events individual tournaments she has competed. Specialist.#Tokyo2020#Badminton#BadmintalkTokyo2020
PV Sindhu was 18-20 down in the second game but made a comeback to win the game 22-20 and take the match. Yamaguchi made a strong return in the second game but it was not enough to thwart the march of the Indian shuttler. Sindhu is now a match away from ensuring a medal for India. She is yet to lose a single game in the Tokyo Olympics.
She has entered the semi-final for the second consecutive Olympics, winning a silver medal at the Rio Olympics. Earlier in the day, Lovlina Borgohain defeated Chin-Chen Nien and secured a place in the semifinals of the women’s welterweight category in Boxing, securing a second medal for India.
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu was the first to win a medal for India at the Tokyo Olympics, winning a silver in 49kg category of weightlifting.
