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Batla House encounter: As Ariz Khan faces the gallows, here is a list of politicians who shed tears for the Indian Mujahideen terrorists

Dibakar Dutta
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Batla House encounter: As Ariz Khan faces the gallows, here is a list of politicians who shed tears for the Indian Mujahideen terrorists

In a major development on Monday, terrorist Ariz Khan convicted of murdering Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma during the Batla House encounter was awarded the death penalty by a Delhi Court. The same court had pronounced Ariz Khan guilty on March 8, asserting that the prosecution had successfully proved the case.

The Batla House encounter dates back to September 19, 2008, during which two Indian Mujahideen terrorists namely Atif Amin and Mohammad Sajid were neutralised. The terrorists had been hiding in a locality in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar, after killing about 30 people in Delhi serial blasts. When the Delhi police received intelligence reports about their hideout, they ambushed the locality leading to the encounter of the two terrorists. Three others, including Ariz Khan, managed to escape the law enforcement before being nabbed in 2018.

Although brave Delhi Police cop Mohan Chand Sharma was martyred, several politicians began peddling conspiracy theories to suggest that the encounter was a false-flag operation. Instead of empathising with the martyr’s family, top political leaders from the Congress, Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) appeared to be resorting to Muslim appeasement and vote bank politics to stir sympathy for the Indian Mujahideen terrorists.

Batla House encounter was fake, claimed Congress leader Digvijaya Singh

While addressing the media in July 2013 during his visit to Indore, Congress heavyweight leader Digvijaya Singh refused to apologise to the BJP over his claims that the Batla House encounter was fake. Singh stated, “I will never apologise. I still maintain that encounter was fake.” He further reiterated that those unhappy with the verdict in the Batla House case can appeal to the Court.

Singh, who had been demanding a judicial probe in the Batla House encounter, said, “I have not seen the court order nor am I one of the parties in the case. The parties in the case can accept it or appeal against it. It will be their decision.”

Screengrab of the Hindustan Times article

Digvijaya Singh, who had been vocal against the Batla House encounter, had also released a book in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The book claimed that the Mumbai terror attack, which was the handiwork of the Pakistani terrorists, was instead an RSS conspiracy.

Mamata Banerjee claimed Balta House encounter was fake

Back in 2008, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee had even vowed to quit her political career if her claim that the ‘Batla House encounter was fake’ turned out to be false. “The encounter was fake. If it turns out to be false, then I will leave politics.”

Here is a video of Banerjee promising to quit politics if Batla House encounter is not fake.

Arvind Kejriwal, Muslim vote bank and his defence of terrorists

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal did not want to be left behind. In 2013, Arvind Kejriwal demanded an ‘independent investigation’ into the Batla House encounter. Casting aspersions on the authenticity of the encounter, he said, “The court has said the youth (killed in the Batla House incident) were terrorists. I had said that even if they were terrorists, it was extremely important to catch them alive to know who their real handlers are. There needs to be an independent investigation to know if it was necessary to kill them.”

Screengrab of the Hindustan Times report

He had also insinuated that the martyrdom of Mohan Chand Sharma was an inside job. “It must also be probed under what circumstances the police officer (Mohan Chand) was killed,” Kejriwal emphasised. In a bid to draw Muslim voters, he said that his party members such as Prashant Bhushan have been fighting battles for Muslims like in ‘fake Batla House encounter.’

Kejriwal had made these statements just months ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections where his party emerged as single largest party but had failed to cross the majority mark.

Recently, Law Minister RS Prasad hit out at both Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal for casting aspersions about the 2008 encounter. He said, “The Samajwadi Party, BSP, Congress, Left and Mamata Banerjee made the Batla House incident a national issue. What does this mean? Will our fight against terrorism be weakened for votes? Today, after more than 100 people testified and scientific and medical evidence led to the conviction of a big terrorist in the case, will these parties apologise.”

Sonia Gandhi cried over ‘visuals’ of Batla House encounter

Salman Khurshid, a senior Congress leader, in one of his rallies during the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, had said that Sonia Gandhi, the then Congress President cried bitterly after seeing the images of the slain terrorists.

Khurshid had said, “When we showed Sonia Gandhi the images of the ‘incident’, she started crying bitterly and with folded hands, she said please do not show me these pictures. Immediately go and speak to the Wazir-e-Azam (Dr Manmohan Singh) and discuss the mater. I talked to the PM and it was decided that the matter will be further investigated.”

Screengrab of the NDTV report

However, in 2019, Salman Khurshid retracted his statement and claimed that he was quoted out of context. He said, “I never said that. In fact, I was misquoted. There was a difference between what I had said and what the media projected. I had said that the then Congress President didn’t wish to see visuals of an encounter (as the images are painful in nature).” Except, it does not appear so.

While political opportunism is not new to Indian politics, the Batla House encounter was a glaring example of putting vote bank politics over the country’s interests. By insinuating that the probe was not independent, stirring sympathy for the terrorists, mocking the martyrdom of MC Sharma, casting aspersions about the genuinity of the encounter, the Congress, AAP and TMC have let the country down.

Pakistan endangers lives of asylum seekers linked with anti-Erdogan movement, hands over their names to Turkey: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan endangers lives of asylum seekers linked with anti-Erdogan movement, hands over their names to Turkey: Report

In what can be called a blatant breach of UN regulations, the government of Pakistan is said to have handed over confidential information to Turkey about Turks affiliated with the Gülen movement, who had sought protection status with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Islamabad, a report in Nordic Monitor has stated.

A number of Turks associated with the Gülen movement reportedly seek asylum in Pakistan due to the risk of torture, ill-treatment and also death in Turkey.

Pakistani authorities had reportedly negotiated a secret deal with their Turkish counterparts regarding the 334 FETÖ (Turkish government acronym to refer to the Gülen movement) members and their families who applied for refugee status with the UNHCR Pakistan office. News website Nordic Monitor has reported citing a ‘secret memo’ drafted by Turkish Foreign Ministry diplomats that Pakistan, which shares an extremely close relationship with Turkey based on mutual benefits, has shared the names of these asylum seeks with the Turkish government, putting their lives at risk.

The Gülen movement has been vocally critical of the Erdogan government, exposing its pervasive corruption, aiding armed jihadist groups and other issues. Erdogan had in the past promised to “chop off the heads of traitors”.

“A list of 334 FETÖ [Turkish government acronym to refer to the Gülen movement] members and their families who applied for refugee status with the UNHCR Pakistan office has been provided [to us] by Pakistani authorities,” stated the memo.

It is pertinent to note here, that the UNHCR mandate requires authorities to maintain strict confidentiality of those seeking asylum in their country. According to the guidelines posted on the UNHCR website, all UNHCR staff are under a duty to ensure the confidentiality of information received from or about asylum seekers and refugees, including the fact that an individual has registered or is in contact with UNHCR. The UN body also makes clear that UNHCR will not contact or share any information regarding the applicant with the country of origin.

The secret memo drafted by Turkish Foreign Ministry diplomats makes it evident that the UNHCR Islamabad office passed the confidential information to the Pakistani authorities, who in turn, breached the confidentiality and trust and handed over the list to the Turkish Embassy, the report by Nordic Monitor says.

Now, as a result of Pakistan’s hoodwinking, the asylum seekers who were named in the UNHCR list will have to face criminal prosecution, that too on false charges of terrorism in Turkey, simply because of their affiliation with the religious Gülen movement, the Nordic Monitor report says. The Gülen movement is a transnational Islamic civic society movement inspired by the Turkish preacher Muhammed Fethullah Gülen.

UNHCR staff in Pakistan broke UN rules, Pakistan then used illegally obtained information to ‘please Turkey’, says report

The memo also stated that apart from releasing the names of the 334 FETÖ who filed for protection status with UNHCR to the Turkish Embassy, Pakistani authorities also handed over a separate list of 110 people who had departed Pakistan. Of these 110, 63 FETÖs had applications pending with UNHCR.

Pakistan also said all those who had filed for protection status with UNHCR would be deported before the expiration of the one-year review period.

According to the memo, the Turkish government had assessed that 284 people linked to the movement were still in Pakistan at the time. The report says that by handing over the names of asylum seekers to the Pakistani government, the UNHCR staff at Islamabad have not only broken UN rules but have blindly disregarded the trust placed on them by the members of the Gülen movemnet.

The Gülen movement

The Gülen movement has always suffered the effects of being highly critical of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on a host of issues ranging from the pervasive corruption in the government to Turkey’s aiding and abetting of armed jihadist groups.

According to the memo accessed by the local Turkish new website Nordic Monitor, Pakistan and Turkey had since 2014 engaging in secret talks for years on how to persecute people associated with the movement. The memo read that a deal was struck between the Turkish PM Erdoğan and then-Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during a meeting in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that began on September 20, 2016.

The Gülen movement is named after 81-year-old Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish Islamic cleric who began preaching in Turkey’s western city of Izmir during the mid-1960s. The Gulen’s movement is known in Turkey as Hizmet, which means “service” in Turkish.  Followers of Gulen run schools in Turkey and around the world, with an aim to  “empower youth through science, arts, and language education while providing an environment of mutual respect for different religions, ethnicities and cultures, as per its members.

It is believed that Turkey President Erdogan wanted Gülen to endorse and support all of his actions. Gulen refused this and the movement is now paying the price of independence. Erdogan accuses Gulen supporters of establishing a “parallel state” through a network of different sectors including the fields of education, media, and military.

Erdogan designated the Gulen movement a terrorist organization in May 2016 and charged Gulen and his supporters of leading a failed coup attempt on July 15 of the same year.

Erdogan vowed to “chop the heads off the traitors” behind the coup. But Gulen leadership believe it was actually Erdogan that planned the “staged” coup as an excuse to expand the persecution.

Since then, the persecution of people suspected to be having links with the Gulen movement continues unabated in Turkey, and strategic interests have bounded Pakistan to help Turkey in its ulterior motives.

Pakistan is not a signatory of the 1951 Geneva convention of the UN regarding refugees, nor the 1967 protocol. It regulates the entry, stay and movement of foreigners through the Foreigners’ Act of 1946, according to which all foreigners without valid documentation, including refugees and asylum-seekers, are subject to arrest, detention and deportation, as per UNHCR website.

After 2 long months, Washington Post retracts fake news about ‘find the fraud’ quote, Donald Trump calls it the ‘Georgia Hoax’

Dibakar Dutta
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After 2 long months, Washington Post retracts fake news about ‘find the fraud’ quote, Donald Trump calls it the ‘Georgia Hoax’

In a major development, the US daily Washington Post corrected its article on Thursday (March 11) after falsely accusing former President Donald Trump of pressurising an election investigation official two months ago. The update comes after Wall Street Journal published the full audio recording which refused the claims.

In a statement issued by the former US President Donald Trump on Monday, he said, “Establishment media errors, omissions, mistakes, and outright lies always slant one way—against me and Republicans.” He even thanked The Post for correcting the article. He reportedly also called his alleged efforts to influence Georgia election results the “Georgia Witch Hunt” and a “Hoax.”

The left-propagandist newspaper ran a story in January this year about a phone call made by Trump to a top election investigator named Frances Watson in Georgia on December 23. The former US President, who lost to Joe Biden by a slim margin of 12,000 votes, had told Watson that ‘something bad’ had happened and asked her to scrutinise the mail-in ballots in Fulton County in Georgia. The official worked at the office of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

In his phone call, Trump said that he believed that he won the elections in the State and told the official that she would find ‘dishonesty’ in mail-in-vote count in Fulton County (given that Joe Biden was declared the winner in the State). Donald Trump told the investigator that she had the ‘most important job in the country.’ He emphasised, “When the right answer comes out, you’ll be praised.”

Screengrab of the Washington Post article

Leftist newspaper misquotes Trump, casts aspersions

Frances Watson informed Trump that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was interested only in the facts of the case. She replied, “I can assure you that our team and the (Georgia Bureau of Investigation), that we are only interested in the truth and finding the information that is based on the facts.” This 6-minute phone call between Trump and Watson was misquoted by the Washington Post to suggest that he had been ‘obstructing’ the results in the US Presidential elections.

Attributing it to ‘anonymous sources’, the left propagandist newspaper had claimed in January that Donald Trump had asked the top election investigator to ‘find the fraud’ and that she could be a ‘national hero’ if she did so. Washington Post accused the former US President of meddling with election results and coercing investigation officials. The same story was picked up by other left-propaganda media houses such as CNN, Vox and ABC and NBC news.

Washington Post ‘corrects’ its story about Trump obstructing investigator

However, after the full call recording was published by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on March 11 (Thursday), the Washington Post corrected and updated its story. “Two months after publication of this story, the Georgia secretary of state released an audio recording of President Donald Trump’s December phone call with the state’s top elections investigator, ” it said. “The recording revealed that The Post misquoted Trump’s comments on the call, based on information provided by a source,” it clarified.

The Washington Post further emphasised, “Trump did not tell the investigator to ‘find the fraud’ or say she would be ‘a national hero’ if she did so. Instead, Trump urged the investigator to scrutinize ballots in Fulton County, Ga., asserting she would find ‘dishonesty’ there. He also told her that she had ‘the most important job in the country right now. A story about the recording can be found here. The headline and text of this story have been corrected to remove quotes misattributed to Trump.

Trump had repeatedly maintained that he lost the elections only due to widespread voter fraud and cited examples of rigged elections against him. However, the officials had rejected the claims after conducting several audits and investigations. Trump slammed The Post and media at large and alleged that the media in America has always been against him.

UP govt starts drive to remove illegal religious structures from the roadside, majaar removed in Barabanki

OpIndia Staff
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UP govt starts drive to remove illegal religious structures from the roadside, majaar removed in Barabanki

On March 12, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had issued an order to remove all illegal religious places that are blocking roads and pavements across the state. The government issued orders to senior administrative and police officials to take necessary action at the earliest.

Illegal majaar removed in Barabanki

Acting on the orders passed by the state government, the officials started to list down such religious places immediately. The first such religious place was removed in Barabanki, district Fatehpur on March 14. As per the reports, the Pakariya majaar was removed as it was in the middle of the road and blocked traffic.

A heavy police force was present at the time the tomb was removed in the middle of the night. Reports suggest that it will be shifted to Idgah ground. Before initiating the process of removing the tomb, the district administration talked to the locals and ensured everyone agreed to proceed.

The majaar was built on the middle of the road.

Statement by Barabanki Police

Superintendent of Police Yamuna Prasad, Barabanki Police, said in a statement said that the Pakariya majaar was removed after taking locals in confidence. He added that the tomb was removed based on the judgement of the High Court and the orders issued by the state government. “Religious places that are on the roadside and causing traffic jam have been marked by the administration. Pakariya majaar was the first structure that was removed. Other such structures will be removed soon.”

The order was passed based on judgement by High Court

The order was issued in compliance with the orders passed by the High Court. In the notification issued by the Home Department, the government said that no structure or construction of religious nature should be allowed on public roads, streets, by the roadside or on pavements. It added, “If any such structure/construction came up on January 1, 2011, or after, it should be removed immediately.”

The orders further stated that in case of any disobedience of the said instructions, the officials concerned would be held responsible. It will be taken as deliberate contempt of High Court orders which is a criminal offence.

The government order states that all illegal structures will be shifted to land offered by the followers of the respective religion or private land that is under the ownership of persons responsible for the management of that structure, which will be handed over to the community within six months.

Centre of learning or hub of sexual crimes? Exposing the dark side of religious institutions in Pakistan

Akshita Bhadauria
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Centre of learning or hub of sexual crimes? Exposing the dark side of religious institutions in Pakistan

Irony dies a thousand death when Pakistan, where 1,000 women killed every year in honour-killing, minorities persecuted to the extent of extinction, 200% rise in domestic violence cases in just 3 months, manages to get elected as a UN Human Rights Council Member. As many as 21% girls married before the age of 18 and child sexual abuse has plagued the country.

Pakistan, an UN Human Rights Council member needs to get its own house in order before preaching the world about upholding Human Rights and treating citizens with utmost dignity. Recently, a cleric from Peshawar was awarded death sentence for raping a minor inside a mosque. This has unearthed shocking details about child sexual abuse in religious institutions in Pakistan. 

It is not uncommon to find cases of even young boys being raped in religious institutions of Pakistan. One such harrowing incidence covered by the Associated Press in 2017 exposes the plague that has infested the madarasas. 

“I was crying. He was hurting me. He shoved my shirt in my mouth,” the boy says, using his scarf to show how the cleric tried to stifle his cries. 

“Did he touch you?’” He nodded. 

“Did he hurt you when he touched you?” ″Yes,” he whimpered.

“Did he rape you?” Yes said the 9 year-old boy burying his face in a scarf and crying profusely as reported. 

The report said that 100s of cases of sexual abuse have been reported against Islamic clerics but most go unreported as the fear of clerics and militant religious organisations is deep rooted. The police are offered money to not pursue the case and the courts asks the victims to ‘forgive’ and accept monies in return. The pressure is real as even the police officials do not dare to expose this nexus fearing the end result.

The report further states that in 2004 alone, Pakistan officially reported 500 complaints of sexual abuse against young boys in madarsas and other religious institutions. Drugging and gang raping a 12-year-old boy asleep on the rooftop of a madarsa or a 10-year-old boy forced to have anal sex by the madarsa principal are a few other horrifying crimes reported. 

However, the government officials and authorities in Pakistan see this as an attempt to malign the religion and clerics and nothing else. Do not forget, this country is an elected member of UN Human Rights Council.

You may be surprised to know that there exists a website in the 21st century which teaches Imams what sexual abuse is and how to deal with such cases when the oppressed Muslims come to them with such complaints. They need to be educated on the meaning of sexual crimes as much of it is passed as rights given to them to do so. This was made evident by scores of reports published by ABC News on atrocities against women in the Muslim community, that the all-men Imams of the community encourage women to oblige to ‘light beating’ by men on misconduct as stated in 34th verse in chapter four of the Quran (4:34).

“Men are qawwamun in relation to women, according to what God has favored some over others and according to what they spend from their wealth. Righteous women are qanitat, guarding the unseen according to what God has guarded. Those [women] whose nushuz you fear, admonish them, and abandon them in bed, and strike them. If they obey you, do not pursue a strategy against them. Indeed, God is Exalted, Great.”

While the caretakers of religion argue that most verses have been subjected to misinterpretation, on the other hand, absolutely no efforts are taken to curb sexual abuse cases especially against minors. 

In another incident reported by a frail looking 8-year old boy from Kohistan district, it was learnt that the boy was held prisoner for two days by the cleric, raped repeatedly until the cleric feared he would die examining his sick condition and took him to the hospital. While the cleric was arrested, his fellow-clerics and worshippers of the mosque refused to believe the charges and portrayed him as a victim of anti-Islamic elements. This surprisingly is the standard operating procedure, where even the villagers choose to believe the clerics and request the victim to forgive and move on. 

While Pakistan’s penal code continues to criminalize same-sex sexual conduct, as many as 704 boys were sexually abused in just the first half of 2020. These statistics were produced by Sahil, an organisation working for child protection which also revealed 785 girls fell prey to sexual abuse in just 6 months. The facts just gets uglier as the report reveals the major categories in the cases included abduction (331), rape (160), sodomy (233), gang rape (69) and gang sodomy (104). Thirteen boys and 12 girls were murdered after sexual abuse while four boys and one girl were murdered after gang rape. 168 children went missing from homes while there were 51 cases of child marriage and in 98 cases the age of the victims were between one to five years. 

This unfortunately is just the tip of the iceberg. Fearing severe consequences most cases of sexual abuse in Pakistan go unreported. While Pakistan has been debating tough punishment for rape and child sexual abuse, it all seems like a hogwash seeing the increasing number of cases and no justice being served.

Remember, Pakistan is an elected member of UN Human Rights Council. 

Zomato controversy: FIR registered against ‘beauty influencer’ Hitesha Chandranee by Zomato delivery partner Kamaraj

OpIndia Staff
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Zomato controversy: FIR registered against ‘beauty influencer’ Hitesha Chandranee by Zomato delivery partner Kamaraj

On March 15, an FIR was registered against Instagram influencer Hitesha Chandranee based on Zomato’s delivery boy Kamaraj’s complaint. In his complaint, Kamaraj has alleged that Chandranee assaulted him over the delay in delivery of her food order. Earlier, Hitesha had filed a complaint against Kamaraj and alleged that he assaulted her when he was confronted for the delay in delivery.

The FIR against Hitesha has been registered under Section 355 (assault), 504 (insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code at Bengaluru’s Electronic City Police Station.

Hitesha’s complaint and Kamraj’s defence

In the last few days since Hitesha’s video alleging attack on her went viral, social media is split over whom to believe. While a large section of netizens showed support for Hitesha at first, as the story unfolded further, the story got confusing. Kamaraj, a delivery partner with Zomato who was accused of assaulting the customer, was immediately suspended.

However, Deepinder Goyal, Zomato’s founder, posted a tweet and assured Zomato is taking care of Kamaraj’s expenses while he is suspended. He also said that while the company is assisting Hitesha with medical care, Kamaraj’s legal expenses are also being taken care of by the company. Goyal said that they want to ensure that both sides of the story come to light in the spirit of fairness.

Notably, Goyal pointed out that Kamaraj has so far delivered around 5,000 food orders in 26 months and has a 4.7 rating, which is above average. Due to the incident, his ID was blocked by the company, and it will be reinstated only after the case is settled.

Kamaraj had said it was Hitesha who had attacked him

While talking to ANI, Kamaraj alleged that it was Hitesha who attacked him in the first place. He added that she refused to pay after accepting the order claiming she did not have to pay as Kamaraj was late for delivery. He said, “She started hitting me with slippers, and at some point in time while safeguarding myself, my left hand touched her right hand, and the ring which she worn hit her nose, and it started bleeding. I don’t want to make it more complicated, let the truth win. If not, I will fight it legally.” He further added that he has a mother with co-morbid conditions, and he is the only breadwinner in the house.

Speaking to The News Minute, Kamraj had stated that Hitesha’s injury clearly looks like an injury from her ring and a punch will never cause such an injury.

Allegations made by Hitesha

On March 10, Hitesha had posted a video and explained her side of the story. In the viral video, she had alleged that while talking to Kamaraj, she had kept the door half-shut to keep herself safe. She further said that while she was talking to the customer care, Kamaraj pushed the door and picked the packet from the side table, and when she tried to stop him, he punched her and ran off. The police arrested Kamaraj on the same day. The incident has created a social media stir, and even celebrities have shared their opinion on the issue, stating that the truth needs to come out.

UK PM Boris Johnson to visit India in April, earlier scheduled tour in January was cancelled due to Covid concerns in Britain

OpIndia Staff
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UK PM Boris Johnson to visit India in April, earlier scheduled tour in January was cancelled due to Covid concerns in Britain

The United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Boris Johnson is slated to visit India in the month of April this year to boost the relationship between India and the UK. This will be PM Johnson’s first major international visit after the exit of Britain from the European Union (EU) in January last year.

Johnson’s visit scheduled in January was cancelled due to rising Covid cases in the UK

Prime Minister Johnson was invited as a guest by India for the Republic Day celebrations in January this year. His trip to India was expected to speed up trade talks between the two countries. However, he had to cancel his visit due to surging Covid-19 cases in the UK. Ahead of PM Johnson’s expected visit in January this year, his office had reportedly announced that he would travel to India in January 2021 to strengthen a key strategic relationship that supports jobs and investment across the UK.

The visit to India is seen as his first major visit since taking office, and the first since the UK’s exit from the EU. After the trip was cancelled, his office reportedly said that PM Johnson hoped to rearrange his visit to India before hosting the meeting of leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) in June. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is supposed to attend the G7 Summit as a visitor. Britain is hosting the G7 meet this year and Australia and South Korea are the other invitees apart from the member nations.

The UK planning to boost its trade relations with India

“…it would ’tilt’ its focus towards the Indo-Pacific region as part of its Integrated Review of government policy for the coming years, saying the area increasingly represented the geopolitical centre of the world”, PM Johnson’s office said regarding his upcoming visit. Last month, the UK had made a formal request to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an 11-country bloc, to open new ways for trade and influence post-Brexit. Britain has also applied to be a dialogue partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “We are pursuing trade deals from Australia to the US and around the world, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region, a huge growth market for the future”, UK’s foreign minister Dominic Raab said in December last year.

‘Parambir Singh toolkit’: Campaign launched by unidentified groups on Twitter to support Mumbai CP after Shiv Sena backs Sachin Vaze in Antilia case

OpIndia Staff
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‘Parambir Singh toolkit’: Campaign launched by unidentified groups on Twitter to support Mumbai CP after Shiv Sena backs Sachin Vaze in Antilia case

Late on Monday, hundreds of tweets poured in to support Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh claiming his innocence in the Antilia bomb scare case.

Tweets in support of Parambir Singh

Most of these tweets claimed that Parambir Singh was ‘illogically dragged’ into the ‘Scorpio car controversy’.

Tweets in support of Parambir Singh

None of these mention how the ‘Scorpio car’ was actually explosive laden and found outside Antilia, Reliance Group’s Mukesh Ambani’s residence.

Tweets in support of Parambir Singh

These tweets claimed Singh was being ‘dragged’ into the controversy for political gains.

Tweets in support of Parambir Singh

This deluge of support for the Mumbai Police Commissioner poured in just a day after the white Innova car, that was found tailing the explosive-laden Scorpio was recovered from the office of Mumbai Police commissionerate. Interestingly, it was Singh who had reinstated Vaze, who is currently being probed in the bomb scare case, after 16 years’ suspension in June 2020. Vaze had reportedly admitted to his involvement and has also named Shiv Sena leaders as being involved in the conspiracy.

The hundreds of messages with similar text appear to be part of a toolkit which have been recently used by professional protestors like Greta Thunberg and others to tweet in support of protesting ‘farmers’ who have been demanding repealing of newly enacted farm laws which aim to increase income of farmers while protecting the environment. Interestingly, the Greta Thunberg toolkit titled ‘Global Farmer Strike First Wave’ listed out various steps which could be taken by protestors.

The proposed measures included, “Call/Email any of your govt representatives and ask them to take action, Sign online Petitions and take action to Divest from monopolists and oligopolists like Adani-Ambani”. Just few weeks after this ‘toolkit’ was inadvertently revealed by Thunberg, the explosive laden car was found outside Ambani residence. And now, a slew of tweets have appeared claiming Mumbai Commissioner of Police’s innocence.

Sachin Vaze’s arrest and Shiv Sena’s support

Sachin Vaze, who had joined the Shiv Sena a few years back, has been receiving support from the ruling government. Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut had hailed Vaze as ‘honest’ and ‘capable’. Shiv Sena, through its mouthpiece also came out in support of Mumbai Police, which is embroiled in controversy, and attacked the central investigative agencies. Vaze is currently arrested by the NIA and is in custody till 25th March, 2021.

Drinking water a ruse for theft and harassing Hindu women: Temple pandit on thrashing of Asif, reveals why ‘no entry’ board was put up

OpIndia Staff
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Drinking water a ruse for theft and harassing Hindu women: Temple pandit on thrashing of Asif, reveals why ‘no entry’ board was put up

A couple of days ago, a video of a man in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad thrashing a Muslim boy for allegedly drinking water at a temple had gone viral on the internet. The video sparked outrage, with left-leaning liberals falling over themselves to paint Muslims as victims and Hindus as oppressors. Now an interview with one of the locals in the region, who is also a pandit at the temple, has brought to fore the other side of the story.

In an interview with a media outlet, one of the locals alleged that the criminal activities of the Muslim men are being encouraged by downplaying them as innocent boys and not men. He added that Asif, whose video of being thrashed in the temple had gone viral, was wrongfully depicted as an innocent boy. The pandit said Asif was not in the temple compound to drink water but to harass the Hindu girls and steal artefacts and other things.

“There are two government taps right outside the temple building. There is another tap for drinking water right after the entrance of the temple and yet he (Asif) was found at the far end of the temple compound. He was not here for drinking water. These people routinely enter the temple compound for harassing the Hindu girls, defiling the temples and Hindu deities or stealing things. Why would anyone enter the temple compound and walk 500 meters for drinking water when the water is available right outside the temple compound?” the pandit said.

Asif beaten because he was caught stealing something: Local

The man rubbished the reports claiming that Asif was thrashed for being a Muslim. He contended that he was beaten because people have been caught indulging in antisocial activities at the temple compound.

“This has been a pattern for a few years now. These people (Muslims) are often caught making indecent remarks on Hindu Gods. They are also caught stealing steel pipes and other things from the compound. He (Asif) was also found stealing something. The story that he was in the temple for drinking water is simply hogwash. He is not the only one. There are, at least 50 Muslims like him, who enter the temple compound with the aim of stealing valuables. When they are caught, they claim innocence by claiming they were in the compound for drinking water,” he said.

The pandit contended that men from the other community in the region enter temple premises during day hours for recce purposes and later in the night carry out robberies. He cited 4 instances of dacoities when valuables in the temple compound were stolen.

Board preventing entries to Muslim was put up after some Muslims were found urinating and spitting on Shivling: Local resident

The man also pointed towards the board outside the temple compound which read that Muslims are not allowed to enter inside. He said the board is not a recent development and is in place for the last 8-10 years. He also said that the board was put up when the Samajwadi Party was in power.

Elaborating when the hoarding barring the entry of Muslims in the temple compound was put up, the Hindu priest said, “There were routine conflicts between the Hindus and the Muslims in the region. The Muslim men and boys used to enter the temple compound and defile the deities and temples. They urinated, spat on the Shivling at the entrance, after which it was decided that a board preventing the entry of Muslims will be mounted on the main gate of the temple compound.”

The man further explained that only Muslims who indulge in stealing things, desecrating Hindu temples and idols, and harassing girls are stopped from entering. Well-intentioned Muslims are not stopped from entering the compound. He said that Muslims in the area routinely bath in the pond located inside the temple compound and is known for healing skin diseases.

“This board will never be taken down. This board has been put up to protect the honour of our mothers, sisters and daughters. We have not put it up to bring it down,” the pandit emphatically said when asked if the board preventing entries to Muslims will ever be taken down.

Vatican says Catholic Church cannot bless homosexual unions as ‘God cannot bless sin’, says same sex union not part of God’s plan: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Vatican says Catholic Church cannot bless homosexual unions as ‘God cannot bless sin’, says same sex union not part of God’s plan: Details

The Vatican on Monday decreed that the Catholic Church cannot bless homosexual unions since God “cannot bless sin”, the Associated Press has reported. The Vatican’s Orthodoxy Office made the statement while responding to a question regarding the same on Monday.

The question asked whether the Catholic clergy have the authority to bless same-sex marriages. The answer, which was approved by Pope Francis, was in the negative.

“The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan,” the Vatican said in its response.

God “does not and cannot bless sin: He blesses sinful man, so that he may recognize that he is part of his plan of love and allow himself to be changed by him,” the response said.

The Vatican stated that “since blessings on persons are in relationship with the sacraments, the blessing of homosexual unions cannot be considered licit. This is because they would constitute a certain imitation or analogue of the nuptial blessing invoked on the man and woman united in the sacrament of Matrimony, while in fact “there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family”.”

“The declaration of the unlawfulness of blessings of unions between persons of the same sex is not therefore, and is not intended to be, a form of unjust discrimination, but rather a reminder of the truth of the liturgical rite and of the very nature of the sacramentals, as the Church understands them,” the statement added.

The statement goes on to state that “the blessing would manifest not the intention to entrust such individual persons to the protection and help of God, in the sense mentioned above, but to approve and encourage a choice and a way of life that cannot be recognized as objectively ordered to the revealed plans of God.”

The response has disheartened some within the Catholic Church. Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, predicted that the teaching would be ignored, including by some within the Church.

“Catholic people recognize the holiness of the love between committed same-sex couples and recognize this love as divinely inspired and divinely supported and thus meets the standard to be blessed,” he is reported to have said in a statement.

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