Former captain of the England cricket team Michael Vaughan has been particularly displeased with the pitches in India after English batsmen failed to score big on turning tracks in the second and third test matches between India and England. After incessantly complaining about the pitch following England’s second defeat in the series, Michael Vaughan has now taken to mocking the curators.
The former cricketer on Saturday made a sarcastic post taking potshots at Indian curators. He shared an image of a farmer tilling his land with bulls and said that “preparations for the 4th Test are going great” and that the “Curator is expecting movement early,good carry & might spin on day 5”.
The post by Michael Vaughan
The former England captain had shared a similar post two days earlier. The post shared by Vaughan showed a tractor moving in a tilled agricultural land. He was taking jibes at the curator expecting a turning track again.
Meme shared by Vaughan
Vaughan has been extremely critical of the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium where the match ended within two days. India won the match by 10 wickets as England struggled to cope with the turning track. Following India’s victory, the pitch had come under intense criticism for offering too much to spinners and making life difficult for batsmen.
Indian ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin slammed pitch critics on Saturday. He said, “What makes a good surface? Who defines this? Seam on the first day and then bat well and then spin on the last two days? Come on! Who makes all these rules, we need to get over it and not talk about whatever picture you want to paint.”
He added, “The talk around the surface is getting out of hand. Why would you talk about the surface and sell that to us time in and time out? There have been instances when we have gone to New Zealand, both (Tests) got over within five days. Total five days. Nobody noted it.”
An unusual figure could be observed in Kolkata on Sunday ahead of the Assembly Elections in West Bengal in March. A man dressed as God Shiva was seen campaigning for the CPI(M), a party that postures itself as a uber-secular communist party.
A man dressed as Lord Shiva campaigns for CPM in Kolkata ahead of next month's Assembly elections.
In the garb of the Hindu God lies a message that has been largely ignored by political parties in India. It is the tale of a party that has failed to understand its own voter-base and in the end, was made to pay the price for it.
It is no secret that the BJP’s rise in West Bengal has been fueled by the shift in the allegiance of voters who had for generations chosen the hammer and sickle symbol on election day. The saffron party became a force in the state riding largely on the sentiments of disgruntled voters who had been disillusioned by the Left front.
The reason for this was obvious. The Left Front had failed spectacularly in addressing the concerns of Bengali Hindus and ultimately, lost their favour. While the leaders of the front postured themselves as uber-secular, their power derived from the masses whose values differed widely.
Political entities, after a prolonged period in power, often come to believe that they have the liberty to conduct themselves in a manner they deem fit without suffering any adverse consequences but unfortunately enough, they are always forced to reckon with reality soon enough. Actions do have consequences.
For instance, prominent CPI(M) leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya participated in a ‘Beef festival’ in 2015. The event was organised in Kolkata to protest the beef ban in some states. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Bhattacharya was the communist candidate from Jadavpur. CPI(M)’s vote-share dropped by 15.04% while the BJP managed to increase its own by 15.15%. TMC’s Mimi Chakraborty won the seat with nearly 48% of the votes.
In Tripura, which had been one of the last remaining bastions of the CPI(M), the BJP began its campaign for the Assembly Elections 2018 by reminding voters that the party had chosen to support the students of JNU who had made extremely disgusting remarks towards Maa Durga.
While the campaign diverged towards development and other local issues soon enough but this journalist was witness to the fact that the events of JNU played a prominent part in the BJP’s campaign at least during the initial phases. It is unclear the extent to which it played a role in BJP’s victory in Tripura but it cannot be denied that it did play a part.
For a party that keeps harping about the BJP not understanding Bengali culture, the CPI(M) does not understand Bengali culture outside the Leftist echo-chambers of Kolkata either. The average Bengali Hindu will not take kindly to beef-eating or support the hooligans of JNU.
The man dressed as Shiva campaigning for the CPI(M) in Kolkata is a reminder of the party that the Communist party once was. It was a party of Bengali Hindus who they took for granted. They came to believe that the culture of the elites in Kolkata was representative of Bengali Hindu culture as a whole. What they ignored was that there were vast sections of the electorate outside of the leftist echo-chambers in Kolkata and that is what the BJP capitalised in.
The trajectory of BJP’s rise is demonstrative of that fact. The BJP nurtured its strength from well outside Kolkata and now it is well poised to breach the citadel itself, although it remains to be seen how many seats it does eventually win in Kolkata.
Nevertheless, the fall of CPI(M) in West Bengal and the eventual rise of BJP is demonstrative of what happens when political parties take their voters for granted and ought to serve as a warning for everyone concerned.
A decade after the Communist regime was ousted from power, there is no realistic possibility of victory for the Congress-Left alliance in West Bengal. They will play an important role for certain, depending on the section of voters it manages to attract.
If the Left Front manages to regain even a small fraction of the voters it had lost to the BJP, then TMC’s odds of retaining power increases manifold. On the other hand, if the Left Front’s gambit with radical Islamic preacher Abbasuddin Siddiqui Peerzada succeeds, then Mamata Banerjee can kiss the Chief Minister’s office goodbye.
The future, however, looks extremely bleak for the Left Front. Politics in Bengal will remain polarized along religious lines for the foreseeable future and under such circumstances, Muslim votes are much more likely to consolidate under Mamata Banerjee than the CPI(M).
The Communists lost touch with their voter-base and now they are staring down the barrel of obliteration. And therein lies a lesson for all political parties. The man dressed as Shiva may still have faith in the CPI(M) but his brethren have by and large shifted their allegiance towards the BJP.
The split within the Congress widens as the rebel leaders are all set to prop an opposition candidate to the party’s presidential poll in June this year, should Rahul Gandhi is made a candidate. As reported by News18, the members of G-23 rebel Congress leaders they will not let Rahul Gandhi be elected as party president again without a fight.
The rebel leaders are upset at being left out from all policy decisions including poll strategy. They have also been left out from campaigning. On Saturday, in a show of strength against Congress leadership, a group of 23 dissenting Congress leaders like former MP Ghulam Nabi Azad, former union ministers Anand Sharma and Kapil Sibal, assembled in Jammu on a three-day trip to the union territory.
However, it seems the rebel leaders will not stop at Jammu. Such meetings are expected to take place across the country, next stop being Himachal Pradesh where Anand Sharma hails from. Sharma, one of the staunchest Gandhi-family loyalist was overlooked for the post of leader of opposition. Rahul Gandhi loyalist Mallikarjun Kharge was made the leader of opposition. As per a source quoted by New18, accepting orders from Kharge was unacceptable to Sharma. Sharma is currently the deputy leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
After Himachal Pradesh, the G-23 Congress leaders plan to carry out such meetings in other states too like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana. All this while the G-23 rebel leaders have been claiming that their dissent is for a ‘strong’ Congress. Congress, evidently, in recent times, has been struggling to win back its relevance.
Last year in August, they wrote a letter to Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi saying how the party is currently leaderless and rudderless. The party does not have a full-time president ever since Rahul Gandhi quit after the humiliating defeat Congress had in 2019 general elections. However, the dissenting leaders are accused of ‘being ungrateful’ and trying to hurt the party in middle of various state assembly polls.
Meanwhile, the rebel Congress leaders, while not speaking it out as many words, feel that the split in the party is inevitable. And this could happen when Rahul Gandhi is re-elected as party president sometime in June this year.
Days after Islamic terrorists in Kashmir opened fire at Akash Mehra, the 22-year-old son of Ramesh Kumar Mehra who owns a popular food joint Krishna Dhaba in Srinagar, the victim has now succumbed to his injuries.
The Mayor of Srinagar, Hunaid Azim Mattu, informed on Sunday morning, “Woke up to extremely distressing news. Young Akash Mehra who was shot at by terrorists at Krishna Dhaba has succumbed to his injuries at SMHS Hospital.” He added, “I share the pain and grief of his family and stand by them as they mourn this inconsolable loss. May his soul rest in peace.”
Woke up to extremely distressing news. Young Akash Mehra who was shot at by terrorists at Krishna Dhaba has succumbed to his injuries at SMHS Hospital.
I share the pain and grief of his family and stand by them as they mourn this inconsolable loss. May his soul rest in peace.
The victim was shot in the high-security area of Dalgate by terrorists from a close range on February 17. He was immediately rushed to SMHS Hospital in Srinagar. The banned terror outfit Muslim Janbaz Force has claimed responsibility for the attack, the Kashmir police said. As per the statement issued by the terror group, they attacked the Hindu youth because he is an ‘outsider’ who intends to get domicile status in Kashmir.
The terror group is headed by Chaudhary Yasin, a resident of Handwara. He is the vice-chairman of the United Jihad Council with Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) chief as the group’s chairman. It must be pointed out that the cowardly attack on non-Kashmiris came just as a group of envoys including those from several European Union countries and a few Organisation of Islamic Countries’ member states had visited Jammu and Kashmir to get a first-hand account of the situation in the newly created union territory.
On Sunday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath informed that the government had successfully controlled the spread of the deadly encephalitis in the State. He made the comments during the campaign launch in Varanasi.
“In 2017, we started a special vaccination program to aware citizens about Encephalitis. As a result, the State managed to control the disease by 75% & death rate by 85%,” news agency ANI quoted CM Adityanath as saying. He further added that the vaccination drive to prevent encephalitis was supported by international organisations such as WHO and UNICEF.
In 2017, we started special vaccination program to aware citizens about Encephalitis. As a result, the State managed to control the disease by 75% & death rate by 85%. UNICEF, WHO also supported to make this program a success: CM Yogi Aditynath during campaign launch in Varanasi pic.twitter.com/Dye7pXE10M
In September last year, Yogi Adityanath informed that massive improvement in cleanliness under Swachh Bharat Mission helped decrease the death rate due to encephalitis by a large margin.
While speaking about the success achieved in his erstwhile Lok Sabha constituency of Gorakhpur, he said, “…At least 600 children used to die due to AES every year between 1977 and 2017. After we came to power in 2017, several people joined the Swachh Bharat Mission. Only six children died due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Gorakhpur this year, which means we have controlled over 99% deaths.”
The steps taken by the Yogi government to tackle Encephalitis
After Yogi Adityanath became the CM, he started the ‘Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome’. A large scale immunisation programme that included a door-to-door awareness campaign, named ‘Dastak’ was launched. Moreover, over 3.5 lakh officers and employees were provided with training to equip them to respond and deal with AES prevention and treatment.
The campaign was planned as a holistic programme to educate and provide facilities to the families, not only for vaccination but also for the prevention and treatment of the disease. The United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) had praised the Uttar Pradesh government led by CM Yogi Adityanath for successfully immunizing all children of the state against Japanese Encephalitis and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that the anti-forceful religious conversion laws are not anti-Muslim. He added that these laws are applicable to people of all religions.
On February 27, journalist Prabhu Chawla interviewed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in his show Seedhi Baat on Aaj Tak.
During the interview, CM Yogi talked about several issues, including budget, law and order, Covid-19 management, agriculture laws, future plans for the state, West Bengal elections and more. He said, “BJP will come back in power in UP in 2022 assembly elections with 350 seats.”
Anti conversion laws are applicable to everyone
CM Yogi said that anti-conversion laws are for everyone. It is not for any particular religion. The law clearly says that anyone who forces a woman to change her religion on the pretext of marriage, let it be Muslim or Hindu or any other religion, will be punished. CM Yogi said that there had been dozens of cases of Love Jihad in the state.
He said that it is a problem not in UP but in many other states. In 2009 Kerala High Court said that Love Jihad is an attempt to turn Kerala into an Islamic state. Karnataka High Court showed concerns over Love Jihad cases as well. Mentioning the case of Dilshad of Meerut, who married a Hindu woman while pretending to be Amit Gurjar, CM Yogi said that such cases have been prominent in all districts of UP, including Eta, Lucknow, Kanpur and others.
He narrated how Dilshad changed his name to Amit, married a Hindu woman and had a child out of wedlock too. However, when his real identity was revealed, he forced his wife to change religion and accept Islam. Later, he killed his wife and daughter and buried them in his own house. He said that the anti-conversion law was introduced to save women from such atrocities. “It is not about the religion but about law and order,” he added.
UP has done exceptionally well in Covid-19 management
There are over 24 crore people in Uttar Pradesh. Compared to the rest of the country, it was expected that the state would see an explosion of Covid cases, but it did not happen. CM Yogi said that at this time, there are only 2,000 active cases in UP which is a big achievement.
He said that when the first case of Covid-19 was detected on March 4, 2020. At that time, UP was not prepared for Covid management and the patient was sent to Delhi for treatment. In the beginning, UP only had the capacity of 60 tests per day. There were no PPE kits, no medicines, no infrastructure and no preparation to fight the pandemic.
However, now UP is doing over 2 lakh tests per day. There is no shortage of PPE kits or infrastructure to fight the pandemic. The state government also took the help of the sugar mills to manufacture hand sanitisers that further helped in controlling the pandemic.
When compared to states like Delhi that only has 10% of the population, the number of deaths is lesser in UP. While Delhi has seen almost 11,000 deaths due to Covid-19, UP has only seen around 8,000 deaths so far. Without taking Kejriwal’s name, he said, “They only know how to give lessons to others, but they do not implement those lessons in their own state.”
CM Yogi said that Home Minister Amit Shah had to come forward to take Covid management in Delhi into his own hands as the Delhi government was failing miserably to control the disease. On the other hand, UP was praised by the World Health Organization for its Covid-19 management.
“As a yogi, nationalism is my only religion” – CM Yogi
When he was asked if he had any plan to promote Uttar Pradesh as a Hindu state, CM Yogi said that as a Yogi, his religion is nationalism. Hinduism is the identity of India. He said the best aspect of Hinduism that practising Hindus would never impose their religion on anyone.
He said that there is much more to Uttar Pradesh than just Taj Mahal and Agra. UP is blessed with some of the oldest cities and civilisations. Varanasi, Kashi, Mathura, Ayodhya and others are some of the examples. When PM Modi started his tenure in 2014, he gave a model for development, and in 2017 when the BJP government came to UP, his model of progress was implemented in the state.
He said that it is essential to connect with the historical significance of the cities. The idea behind changing the names of Faizabad to Ayodhya and Allahabad to Prayagraj has nothing to do with the religion, but it is about connecting to the roots. It is about connecting the identity of modern cities with ancient identity. People should know the historical significance of Uttar Pradesh.
Law and order has improved in the state
CM Yogi said that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. Neither criminals nor police can make laws in their own hand. When he became CM, he asked the criminals to choose the right path or leave the state; otherwise, they will be killed. He said that his warning worked, and several criminals surrendered. They were ready to face the law and live a crime-free life.
When Prabhu Chawla said that it seems like he has gone soft in the last five years, CM Yogi said, “I was neither soft nor aggressive. The main concern has always been law and order in the state. Whatever is required to maintain law and order, we will do it.”
“It is about the teamwork” – CM Yogi
CM Yogi said that the state had seen a progress because of the teamwork. A minister’s work is to form laws and bring policies. The work of bureaucrats is to implement those policies and laws. It is not possible to bring everyone to the table and talk to them at once. That’s why he meets everyone in different groups to ensure policy implementation is perfect, and the results are in front of everyone. He said that he monitors everything and make sure every policy is implemented on the minuscule level, as it is his responsibility as a CM.
“People with vested interest are misleading farmers” – CM Yogi
While talking about the agriculture laws, CM Yogi said that anyone associated with the Agriculture sector would have no problem with the recently enacted three Agriculture laws. When the ordinance was passed in June 2020, the farmer leaders came to meet him and thanked him for the laws as they met the demands of late farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait. However, when they started protesting after four months, CM Yogi called and asked them why they are protesting. They replied because Punjab is protesting, so they are too. He said this is not the way to see the agriculture laws.
CM Yogi further said that people with vested interest are misleading the farmers. He said ‘aandolanjivi’ like Yogendra Yadav are like parasites. They only know how to live on “farmers’ income and leftover of foreign powers.” He further added that such ‘parjivis’ have no interest in the benefits of the farmers.
CM Yogi said that the state ran sugar mills even during Covid lockdown. In the last four years, UP has paid over Rs.1.25 lakh crore to farmers. It is more than what SP and BSP governments paid in 10 years. The mills in UP run till there is sugarcane in the field. If there is a demand for sugar in the market, the mills produce sugar and from the leftover produce, UP make ethanol. So far, UP has produced 261 crore litres of Ethanol.
UP has a history of contract farming. It is a mutual understanding between the corporate and the farmer. He gave the example of Ram Ratan Halwai, who procures carrots from farmers, and it has been happening for decades. In the same way, Baidyanath Group, one of the largest Ayurvedic medicine manufacturer in India, procures raw material from western UP farmers for decades under contract farming. Neither the farmers nor the corporate ever faced any problem.
He said that before 2019, there was no MSP for corn. In 2019, PM Modi introduced MSP for over 70 crops, including corn. New procurement centres were set up for purchase. As a result, the cost of corn in UP market rose from Rs.1100 per quintal to Rs.2200 per quintal as MSP was Rs.1800. The government is providing a competitive market to the farmers by allowing them to sell crops anywhere, and it will help in increasing the income of the farmers.
“BJP will win 2022 UP Assembly elections with 250 seats” – CM Yogi
When Prabhu Chawla said that people come to listen to Priyanka Gandhi in his rallies, CM Yogi said no one pays heed to the opposition. Everyone knows who visits to such rallies. He added that in the 2022 Assembly Elections, BJP would come back in power and with the support of associate parties, it will lead the elections by winning 350 seats.
The election will be fought on Modi’s name and Yogi’s work. He said that BJP believes in Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Vishwas. UP is working on becoming a self-reliant state. The aim is to make UP a one trillion economy in coming years. BJP has ended politics based on families, religion, caste and region. It is about progress for everyone and not just one family or a particular community any more.
He said that it is not true that he does not interact with the opposition leaders. CM Yogi said that they had ruled the state for decades. They might have good ideas. I often talk to them to learn about their well being.
Improved state’s income and expenditure without imposing additional tax
On February 23, CM Yogi presented the fifth and last budget of his term as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. While talking about the 5.50 lakh budget during the interview, he said that BJP had not imposed any new tax in the state since it came into power.
When he was asked how the state will manage the inflow of funds with such a huge budget, CM Yogi explained the changes the state saw in the last four years. He said, during his tenure, he has worked extensively on stopping the leakage of funds by introducing technology in different sectors.
He further added that the per capita income has increased in the state that has improved the spending power of the people in Uttar Pradesh. His government has connected over 50 lakh MSEM units to the banking system, enabling them to get funds for starting or expanding their businesses.
CM Yogi said that all these improvements were only possible because of the state’s help. UP government has implemented the centre’s schemes dedicatedly in the state. As the implementation was done on time, it helped in improving infrastructure in the state. Giving the example of food distribution, he said that around 16 crore people benefit from food security in the state.
UP was among the first states to implement a “one nation one ration card” scheme that ensured UP’s residents can get ration while staying in any state across the country. He said that by using technology in food distribution, UP has so far saved Rs.1200 crore. Technology has played a vital role in putting a stop to the leakage of funds during distribution.
People of West Bengal deserve better – CM Yogi
While talking about the West Bengal elections, CM Yogi said that the people of West Bengal deserve better implementation of the central schemes.
When he was asked about polarization on the name of Bhagwan Ram, he said saying “Jai Shri Ram” is Sanatan Sambhodhan, a way of greeting in Sanatan Dharma. He further added that Shri and Siya are not different. Shri is another name of Mata Sita. He said that BJP wants to bring back the nationalist glory of West Bengal while working on the issues relevant to the state.
Amidst the ongoing ‘farmer’ protests in the country, an audio recording of Khalistani terrorists has come out in the public domain that exposes the direct involvement of Khalistani terror outfits in the ongoing ‘farmer’ protests against the Indian government in the national capital. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Khalistani terrorist and the founder of banned terror outfit Sikh For Justice (SFJ), has been caught attempting to incite Sikh soldiers in the Indian Army to join the protests at the Singhu border.
In the audio that has gone viral, Pannun can be heard saying that the Khalistani terror outfit SFJ is holding a Khalistan Morcha on December 26 and 27 at the Singhu border near the national capital. The audio that is supposedly recorded in December 2020 asks Sikh soldiers to join the alleged farmer protest by deserting the Indian Army.
“Leave Ladakh border and join Singhu border,” says Pannun as he incites them by falsely claiming that the Sikhs soldiers should not fight for India as their families are being killed in Punjab.
“Leave Ladakh Border & Come To Singhu Border”
“Liberate Punjab, Create Khalistan”
This is a snippet from another call last December where the UAPA designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun tries to incite Sikh troops and foment trouble in India while sitting in the US. pic.twitter.com/c7tiolusAS
Continuing to spew venom against India, Pannun, who is wanted by the law-enforcement agencies in the country, says the time has come for Sikhs to undo the wrong of 1947. “Liberate Punjab from Indian occupation and create Khalistan,” says Pannun.
“Leave Ladakh border and join Singhu border. This is the open challenge for India, we will liberate Punjab and create Khalistan,” Pannun can be heard making incendiary statements.
The latest viral only confirms the active involvement of Khalistani forces, who are now attempting to foment trouble in the country by inciting Sikhs to protest against the Indian government. The Khalistani elements, both inside the country and abroad, are extremely desperate to create chaos on the streets of Delhi and are now using the innocent Sikhs to further their anti-propaganda.
Farmers protest in India hijacked by Khalistanis
The ‘farmers’ protests started as a movement against the three farm laws, however, they were soon hijacked by the pro-Khalistani elements. During the protests, the so-called ‘farmers’ have resorted to violence and raised worrying slogans supporting Khalistan.
The pro-Khalistan and anti-Indian slogans were raised during the ‘farmer protest’’ along the Haryana-Punjab border, thus raising suspicion over the involvement of SFJ in instigating Punjab farmers to protest against the Modi government under the pretext that the three farm bills were anti-farmer in nature. It is important to note that the Khalistan organization SFJ, funded by Pakistan, had earlier declared a grant of $1 million for farmers in Punjab and Haryana in lieu of their support for Khalistan.
Most importantly, pro-Khalistan organisations, to attract the crowd to these protests, had also come up with the idea of luring the so-called protestors by offering free pizza, foot massages at the protest site so that they could not only retain the already exhausted protestors but also attract new ones
OpIndia has extensively reported how Khalistani elements have infiltrated the Punjab farmer protest, which subsequently turned violent with the rioters unfurling multiple flags with a Sikh religious symbol on the Red Fort. After Rihanna, porn star Mia Khalifa and international protestor Greta Thunberg voiced their support to protesting farmers, a bigger conspiracy to defame India on a global platform backed by pro-Khalistan outfit Poetic Justice Foundation was revealed.
The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has received more than Rs 2,100 crore from public for the construction of a grand temple at Ayodhya.
According to the reports, the trust has estimated that they have collected more than Rs 2,100 crore donations as a means of crowdsourcing. The donation drive, which part of the 44-day fund-raising campaign launched by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), concluded on Saturday.
In fact, Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had anticipated that it might receive around Rs 1,100 crore for building the Ram temple complex as it launched the crowdfunding campaign on January 15. However, to their surprise, the trust has received an overwhelming response from the people of the country, who have now donated Rs 1,000 crore more than the original estimate.
Treasurer of the Teerth Kshetra Trust Govind Dev Giri said, “The fund-raising campaign has ended with generous contributions from crosssections of people, including residents of far-flung villages of India, blurring religious barriers. Total donations received has crossed Rs 2,100 crore on Saturday evening.”
According to Giri, the construction cost of the temple at Rs 300-Rs 400 crores and Rs 1,100 crore will be dedicated to building the entire complex on Ramjanmabhoomi.
Ram Mandir donation drive
The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teertha Kshetra trust which is overseeing the construction of the Ram Mandir in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya had launched a mass contact and contribution campaign, the ‘Shri Ram Mandir Nidhi Samarpan’ on January 15.
Nearly 1.50 lakh VHP activists have been collecting funds under the ‘Shri Ram Mandir Nidhi Samarpan’ drive. Thirty-seven activists have been deputed to deposit the donations in the three nationalised bank accounts of the trust.
The Ram temple trust has opened accounts in the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and the Bank of Baroda. From remote villages, the Hindu organisation activists are bringing funds and depositing them in the bank accounts. The find collection drive concluded on February 27. While the fund collection drive has seen massive participation from Hindus, many VHP and Bajrang Dal activists are being brutally attacked, assaulted and even killed for being a part of this campaign.
In a gruesome incident of political vengeance, a BJP worker and his aged mother were brutally thrashed allegedly by Trinamool Congress (TMC) goons on Friday night. The attack comes ahead of the upcoming West Bengal State Legislative elections, where the ruling TMC has been projecting the incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as ‘Banglar Meye (daughter of Bengal).
As per reports, the incident took place at around 1:30 am on Friday night when the victim, identified as Gopal Mazumdar, and his aged mother were at their residence in Ward No.6 in Nimta in North DumDum city. The accused men attacked him with the hood of a gun and pushed his mother, following which they sustained grave injuries to their face. A First Information Report (No. 197/21) has been registered at the Nimta police station, following a complaint by the victim.
While speaking to the media, the BJP worker recounted, “A total of 3 people barged into my house at around 1:30 am in the morning. First, they hurled the choicest of expletives at me and then inquired whether I am associated with the BJP. They then began assaulting us.” He informed that he could not see the other accused who were waiting for the assaulters outside the house.
Victims recount the horror
“They pushed my mother and she has been injured…After attacking us, they left the house. I am a member of the local BJP Mandal (BJP committee). They first assaulted us with bare hands and then hit on my head with the hood of a revolver. After that, I fell down on the ground. They kicked and assaulted me further,” the victim emphasised. One of the locals said that the area has been terrorised by Trinamool Congress goons. He informed that prior to assaulting Gopal Mazumdar, they have targetted other BJP workers.
This is the condition of real “Daughter of Bengal”. Bruised and tormented by TMC criminals just for being mother of a BJP karyakarta.
“They thrashed us”, the mother of the Gopal Mazumdar broke into tears as the reporter inquired about the incident. “My son is a BJP worker and so they assaulted him. They thrashed him mercilessly,” she recounted. “They hit me on the head and said that they will eliminate my son… They were Trinamool workers. They have been camping here since evening,” she added. During the attack, the victim’s mother sustained injuries to her face and head.
BJP condemns the attack on its party worker
In a tweet, BJP Bengal said, “This is the condition of real “Daughter of Bengal”. Bruised and tormented by TMC criminals just for being mother of a BJP karyakarta. And Pishi TMC claims to be “Banglar Meye” with such horrifying credentials!”
A local BJP leader told Calcutta News that Trinamool Congress goons have threatened BJP workers with physical harm, if they do not desert the party. “There is a TMC miscreant by the name of Kamal Shah. He has created an atmopshere of fear and terror in the area. Under his directions, the TMC goons attacked our worker. (Gopal) is stable but his mother was badly injured. We will soon take out a march against the atrocities,” the BJP leader said.
BJP Party office vandalised, violence continues as Vidhan Sabha elections approach
The Election Commission of India on Friday announced an eight-phased Assembly poll for West Bengal beginning March 27. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. Despite the deployment of CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces), the TMC goons have not held back in unleashing violence against political opponents.
The BJP office in the Baranagar area of North Parganas district in West Bengal was vandalised on Friday night, the day when the Election Commission sounded the poll bugle in the state. The BJP has accused the TMC of being behind the vandalism. One of the miscreants involved in the attack was beaten up by the BJP supporters and was later rescued by the police and taken to the police station. The saffron party has also filed a complaint with the police with respect to the attack.
The Islamic terror group Jaish-ul-Hind has claimed responsibility for planting the explosives-laden vehicle outside Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani’s house in Mumbai.
According to the reports, the Islamic terror group, in a message on the Telegram app, said, “The brother who placed the SUV near the Ambani house has reached the safe house. This was just a trailer, and the big picture is yet to come (sic)”.
In the threat message that is addressed to the Ambanis, the Jaish-Ul-Hind terrorists said, “Next time, the SUV will ram into your fat kids car you if don’t agree to the demands now”. Further, the terror outfit’s message said, “You (Ambanis) know what you have to do, just transfer the money regarding which we have told you earlier”.
The letter sent by Jaish-ul-Hind to Ambanis/ Image Source: India Today
The terror outfit has also demanded money through Bitcoin from the billionaire industrialist. In the threatening letter, the terror outfit claimed that they are the ‘Akhlaq’ who was ‘killed for one cow’, “We are the people you massacred in Delhi pogrom. We are the sisters you raped in Gujarat. We are your worst nightmare. We are your in neighbourhood (sic). We work in your office. We pass by you like an ordinary man. The beggar you just passed by thats us. We are everywhere. We have a problem with corporate prostitutes like you who have sold their souls to BJP and RSS,” the threat read.
A threatening letter addressed to Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani was also recovered from the car found outside their residence. The letter said that the unassembled gelatin sticks and the SUV outside Antilia were just a “trailer”.
On Thursday, Mumbai Police had recovered 20 gelatin sticks from a Scorpio car found parked outside Mukesh Ambani’s home Antilia. The initial investigation into the case has revealed that the terrorists had meticulously planned the entire sequence of events before they parked the bomb-laden car outside Antilla.
During the investigation, the police also found several number plates inside the vehicle, some of them matching the number plates of vehicles used by the Ambani family’s security team. The Mumbai Police’s initial assessment of the incident suggested that the terrorists had used two vehicles to plant a bomb outside Antilia in Mumbai.
Terror outfit behind Israeli embassy blast
Just a few days back, the Islamic terror organisation Jaish-ul-Hind had also claimed responsibility for the blast outside Israel Embassy in Delhi.
“As for the agencies, we dare you to stop us. You could do nothing when we hit you under your nose in Delhi. You tied up with Mossad and yet you failed miserably. By the permission of Allah you will fall again and again,” the terror outfit had claimed.
The cyber cell of the Delhi Police Crime Branch is investigating the Telegram account from which such claims were made.
A minor IED blast of “very low intensity” had occurred near the Israel embassy in New Delhi on January 29. No one was injured in it but some vehicles were damaged.
