Home Blog Page 4797

West Bengal: Several persons injured after bombs hurled at BJP rally in West Burdwan district, BJP blames TMC for the attack

OpIndia Staff
-
0
West Bengal: Several persons injured after bombs hurled at BJP rally in West Burdwan district, BJP blames TMC for the attack

In another incident of political violence in West Bengal, a BJP rally was attacked allegedly by Trinamool Congress (TMC) goons in Barabani village in Asansol Sadar subdivision of West Burdwan district.

As per reports, the BJP had taken out a procession under their flagship ‘Aar Noi Annay‘ campaign to protest against the oppression of people under the rule of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee. However, the rally was disrupted with incidents of bombing. In a video that has now gone viral online, thick fumes of smoke can be seen rising in the air. The area was gripped by fear and chaos, with several people running with water-filled buckets to douse the smoke.

BJP lambasts TMC, highlights about the menace of coal mafia in the area

The BJP has accused the Trinamool Congress of disrupting their rally and refuted counter-claims by TMC, who alleged that the attack was engineered by the saffron party. BJP MP from Asansol, Babul Supriyo stated, “I do not need to answer to ignorant TMC politicians. People are not going to buy their dubious claims. The block President of TMC, Ashik Mondol, is the biggest coal mafia in the area… And the whole mafia is controlled by TMC MLA Jitendra Tiwari. I know this area inside out.”

He further stated, “A massive raid has been underway in the area and several people involved in the coal syndicate have been apprehended. I had named the TMC leaders, associated with the coal mafia, almost 1.5 years ago… Last time, we had won all 9 seats in the area. The TMC is taking vengeance for the same. Will people buy the TMC’s argument that BJP workers are hurling bombs on each other? Only those who indulge in low-level politics can say such things.” He assured that strict action will be taken against the TMC goons, involved in the incident. Babul Supriyo also warned that the sand mafia and coal mafia in the area will be nabbed.

Local BJP leader lakhan Ghorui stated, “TMC goons fired & hurled bombs injuring 5-7 people. We’re on our way to the hospital now. Despite asking police for help no steps have been taken.” BJP National Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said that attack on BJP workers has become common place in Bengal and that such attacks are executed on the behest of Mamata Banerjee.

TMC leaders cry foul, accuse BJP of masterminding the attack

TMC ML Jitendra Tiwari claimed that the Bengal unit of the BJP has been inducting ‘anti-social elements’ in their party and such incidents are therefore not unprecedented. “We are winning in this area with over 50,000 votes. Why would we bother to attack the BJP rally? Those seen hurling bombs and firing bullets must be apprehended,” he said.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh claimed that it was a staged and premeditated attack by the BJP to divert attention from ‘burning’ issues such as farmer protests, soaring prices of LPG and tarnish the name of the State. He alleged, While we are doing good work to benefit the people, the BJP is trying to create a state of unrest in West Bengal.”

TMC workers and crude bombs

In May this year, the Bhagwanpur police had reportedly recovered 153 crude bombs from the backyard of one local resident and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporter named Sheikh Kasemuddin in Lalpur village of East Midnapore District in West Bengal. Four people were arrested in connection with the case. While three of them were released after initial questioning, Kasemuddin was produced before the Kanthi Court on Saturday. He was sent to 14 days in judicial custody by the judge.

In July, crude bombs were hurled at BJP workers, prior to the scheduled public rally by BJP MP from Barrackpore, Arjun Singh. The incident took place in Shymnagar in North 24 Parganas in West Bengal. The State unit of the BJP reportedly wanted to take out a protest march against the rise of terror, perpetrated by the Trinamool Congress (TMC), in Bhatpara, following the attack on one of its members, and also against corruption in the distribution of relief to the victims of the cyclone Amphan. When BJP workers flocked to the protest site, an explosion took place at the spot. Reportedly, 4 people were injured during the attack. Even though the rally was postponed for some time, it was resumed afterwards.

Earlier in August, a 40-year-old TMC worker named Humayun Kabir died after sustaining grave injuries during an explosion caused while making crude bombs at the roof of his house, reported The Hindustan Times. The incident took place in the Shamshergunj area in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal. As per the report, the 10-year-old son of Humayun was also injured in the explosion. According to the sub-divisional police officer of Jangipur, Prasenjit Banerjee, Kabir was fatally injured while trying to make crude bombs. 

Pune Mirror shuts down due to the economic crisis triggered by Coronavirus pandemic, Mumbai Mirror to relaunch as weekly

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Pune Mirror shuts down due to the economic crisis triggered by Coronavirus pandemic, Mumbai Mirror to relaunch as weekly

The Times Group has decided to shut down the publishing of the Pune Mirror due to the economic crisis precipitated by the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic and will relaunch Mumbai Mirror as a weekly. They will, however, continue to maintain a digital presence.

The Times Group said in an official communication, “Sadly, just as the pandemic, lockdown and unprecedented economic crisis have laid low many great ideas and initiatives before they could fully take root, they came as a body blow for the still-young brand. Not only has the newspaper industry been among the hardest-hit in terms of revenues, it has been weighed down by an import duty that has added to newsprint costs.”

“With the long-held hope of a stimulus not materializing and the Indian economy now officially in recession, it is with a heavy heart that the group has decided to cease publication of Mirror in Pune and relaunch Mumbai Mirror as a weekly. They will, however, continue to have a strong digital presence,” it added.

The statement said further, “Following months of discussions and deliberations, we have made this extremely difficult and painful decision to recalibrate our portfolio of publications. We truly value the contribution of our journalists and other staff towards building such a strong brand in a relatively short time and thank them for their hard work and great effort.”

Media houses have been laying off employees ever since the economic crisis hit following the lockdown measures that were adopted to curb the spread of the virus. Earlier, India Today had decided to shut down the Mail Today tabloid and laid off its employees. In April, leftist website The Quint sent 45 employees on indefinite leave. In June, The Hindu shut down its Mumbai edition and asked several of its employees to resign effective immediately. According to several reports in different media outlets, around 410 journalists lost their job till mid-June due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Karnataka: Journalist exposes illegal cow slaughterhouses in Hassan, Muslim mob, including several women, attack her

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Karnataka: Journalist exposes illegal cow slaughterhouses in Hassan, Muslim mob, including several women, attack her

A violent mob abused, attacked and threatened a female journalist for exposing the existence of illegal cow slaughters in the Pension Mohalla of Hassan district in Karnataka.

On receiving information regarding illegal cow slaughtering mafia in the city, senior Journalist Vijayalakshmi Shibaroor, the Editor-in-chief of Vijaya Times, and her team travelled to Hassan. During her course of special investigation, the female journalist exposed how these illegal slaughterhouses in the city operate with impunity despite cow slaughtering is banned in the district.

The woman journalist, accompanied by NGOs and police officials, visited the four illegal slaughterhouses and five cattle hoarding spots in the city. As they tried to enter one of these illegal abattoirs to rescue cattle, an angry mob, comprised of Burkha-clad women, gathered around the journalist and stopped her from reporting.

The mob not only abused the journalist, but also manhandled and threatened her with dire consequences if she did not leave the place at once.

Here is the footage of the angry mob trying to attack the journalist. One can see how Burkha-clad women attacked the journalist despite the presence of police officials. The helpless police officials were a mute spectator during the entire incident.

The journalist was given death threats if she failed to leave the location then. The illegal cattle smugglers hid other cattle and the NGO managed to save only a few animals.

Reportedly, Hassan Babu and Rehamaan were allegedly operating four illegal slaughterhouses in the area and had taken hostage of around 100 cattle.

Following the incident, an FIR has been registered regarding this case at a local police station.

Kerala Gold Scam: Customs Dept seeks protection from Centre for probing officers as they inch closer to ‘big names’ involved

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Kerala Gold Scam: Customs Dept seeks protection from Centre for probing officers as they inch closer to ‘big names’ involved

With the names of high profile individuals cropping up in the Kerala Gold scam, the Customs Commissioner has written a letter to the Centre seeking CRPF protection for the office as well as investigating officers probing the case. The request for protection came as the investigating team learned that their probe in the Kerala Gold scam might yield some big names and that could lead to security threat for the team. 

According to the sources privy to the ongoing investigation in the Gold scam, distinguished individuals, including politicians and bureaucrats and police officials could be involved in the case. 

Earlier too, the central government has extended CRPF protection to the customs officer after inputs were received that the gold smuggling syndicate could attack the customs office and officers, but was withdrawn later in September after the Centre asked them to seek protection from the Kerala police. 

In a new twist to the ongoing Kerala Gold Scam, the prime accused in the case Swapna Suresh’s advocate announced that he is leaving lawyering because of ‘professional reasons’. Sources cite rumours of Swapna Suresh and Sarith Kumar turning approvers in the case may have influenced his decision to leave lawyering.  

Earlier yesterday, Swapna and Sarith recorded their confessional statements in front of the Magistrate. On the same day, Swapna Suresh, Sarith Kumar, IAS officer M Sivasankar and Unitac Builders MD Santhosh Eapen were questioned collectively by the investigative authorities. In addition to these four, the Customs officers had also called former UAE gunman Jayghosh and driver Siddique for questioning. 

The authorities believed that the suspects involved in the case ran a hawala channel to send large amounts of money to the tune of Rs. 100 Crores and diplomats could be involved in the hawala operation. 

What is Kerala Gold Smuggling case?

The Kerala gold smuggling case has all the ingredients to be turned into a Bollywood thriller, involving globe-trotting investigation about the gold smuggling, politics, involvement of diplomats, terror angle and hawala links. 

This particular case of gold smuggling by misusing diplomatic channels came to the fore on July 5, 2020, when the customs officials at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport confiscated baggage containing gold weighing over 30 kg and valued at around Rs 15 crore. This gold was inside diplomatic baggage that landed by air cargo, and was addressed to the UAE consulate.

Acting on a specific tip-off that a baggage was a part of a syndicate used to smuggle gold, the authorities found out that the luggage belonged to one Swapna Suresh, a staffer at the UAE consulate. Later, the principal secretary of Kerala CM, M Sivasankar, Sandeep Nair, PS Sarith, Fazil Fareed and KT Jaleel were also accused in the case.

The investigation was initially started by the Customs department but the Ministry of Home Affair on July 9 transferred the case to the National Investigation Agency citing the case may have “serious implications for national security”.

The case has embroiled the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government in the state, which found itself in the eye of the storm kicked up by the preliminary investigation into the gold smuggling case. The alleged involvement of M Sivasankar, the principal secretary of the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the gold smuggling case indicated that there could be involvement of other big-shot politicians too. 

Former Suar MLA and son of SP leader Azam Khan asked to return Rs 65 lakh, that he received as salary and allowances, to govt

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Former Suar MLA and son of SP leader Azam Khan asked to return Rs 65 lakh, that he received as salary and allowances, to govt

Former Suar MLA Abdullah Azam Khan who is currently lodged in jail along with his father Azam Khan has been served a notice to reimburse the amount of money that he received in salary and allowances during his tenure as the Samajwadi Party MLA from Suar Assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Chief Account Officer Anuj Kumar Pandey has issued a notice to Abdullah directing him to reimburse the amount of Rs 65 lakh.

Khan was elected as MLA from Suar in 2017. He had submitted a forged birth certificate during the election to show his eligibility. A case was filed against him after which Allahabad High Court declared his election invalid in December 2019. Following the High Court’s decision, Legislative Assembly Secretariat declared the Suar Assembly seat as vacant.

BJP leader Akash Saxena had requested the Principal Secretary of the Assembly to order Khan to reimburse the money that he had received as salary and allowances during his tenure as the MLA. After Saxena’s complaint, Chief Account Officer Anuj Kumar Pandey sent Abdullah Azam Khan a notice requiring him to deposit the amount he received between March 14, 2017, and December 16, 2019, in the government fund.

Azam Khan misused power to forge documents for his son: Allahabad High Court

Allahabad High Court rejected the bail plea of Samajwadi Party MP Azam Khan and his son Abdullah in the case relating to forging of documents saying that the accused enjoyed ‘deep-rooted and pervasive influence’ and therefore if he was granted bail it was possible that he would attempt to influence witnesses.

The court said that Khan misused his position to forge the birth certificate of his son. Azam Khan is lodged in Sitapur jail along with his wife Tanzeen Fatima and his son. A week ago, the court had denied the bail request of Azam Khan and his son saying that granting bail at this juncture would not be appropriate.

‘King, please come back and save the country!’: Massive protests in Nepal demand the restoration of Hindu Monarchy

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘King, please come back and save the country!’: Massive protests in Nepal demand the restoration of Hindu Monarchy

Pro-Monarchy sentiment appears to be on the rise in the erstwhile Hindu state of Nepal as hundreds and thousands of Royalists took to the streets to demand the restoration of the Hindu Monarchy in the Himalayan nation. Protests have been underway across the country all week and on Saturday, thousands marched in Kathmandu, the national capital, calling for a Monarchical restoration.

Demands for the restoration of the Hindu Monarchy in Nepal has been steadily gaining momentum in recent times. Two weeks after the first round of protests for the same, the Rashtriya Shakti Nepal on the 30th of November threatened the restoration of the ‘Hindu Kingdom’ status of Nepal through a peaceful movement. In the previous round of rallies, slogans such as “monarchy must return to save the country” and “country above party” were raised.

Slogans such as “King, please come back and save the country,” were also raised. RSN leader Keshar Bahadur Bista said that since the fall of the Monarchy, Nepal had become a country with many kings. He said, “King Gyanendra has no parallel in world history, where a monarch quietly gave up the throne to give leaders a chance, but what they did in the past 14 years was indulging in rampant corruption and plunder.”

The Ministry of Home Affairs in Nepal, meanwhile, had issued directives to 77 districts to quell the current spate of protests, through force if needed. These protests have support from the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, royalist groups and pro-monarchy citizens. Damodar Wagle, president of the RPP youth organization Bagmati, told Nikkie Asia on Wednesday, “We are supporting the royalists, and our movement will continue despite the directive of the home ministry. If they use force, we will retaliate.”

“Our aim is to reestablish the monarchy and a Hindu state in Nepal. We will gather support from the streets and also push for a referendum based on the 2015 constitution via winning the next general election,” Wagle said. The protesters are carrying flags and placards of Prithvi Narayan Shah, the founder of modern Nepal. They demand the restoration of the Hindu Monarchy for the ‘sake of the country’s national unity and well-being of the people’.

In their hate for BJP, vultures celebrate Anil Vij testing positive for Coronavirus, spread panic about vaccines by concealing facts

OpIndia Staff
-
0
In their hate for BJP, vultures celebrate Anil Vij testing positive for Coronavirus, spread panic about vaccines by concealing facts

Minutes after Haryana Home and Health Minister Anil Vij tested positive for coronavirus, Islamists, far-left and anti-Modi crusaders descended on social media platforms to celebrate and discredit the efficacy of indigenously developed coronavirus vaccine ‘Covaxin’.

The reports of Anil Vij contracting the Chinese virus came just weeks after he was administered a dose of Bharat Biotech’s ‘Covaxin’ at a hospital in Ambala, as part of its third phase trial. With Anil Vij getting infected with the virus, the left-liberals and the anti-Modi establishment sought to throw dirt on the indigenous development of the coronavirus vaccine in the country to insinuate that ‘Covaxin’ has actually failed.

The anti-Modi propagandists took to social media platforms to not only celebrate but also used the opportunity to spread misleading information against the indigenously produced coronavirus vaccine – Covaxin and caused panic among masses. The self-proclaimed intellectuals, Islamists, without losing an opportunity to mock the Modi government, used the opportunity of Anil Vij incident to question the rationale behind the entire vaccine development programme.

Prashant Bhushan, who was recently convicted for contempt of court case, in his hurry to discredited the Indian vaccine said that there was some questions about its side effects.

Without understanding the detail procedures and nuances behind the development vaccine and trials, Prashant Bhushan went on to mislead the public to claim that Anil Vij was tested positive for the Chinese virus due to the fast-tracking of the process by the government. In reality, it is a blatant lie.

Shivam Vij, who writes for Shekhar Gupta’s ‘The Print’ too put out misleading half-truth about ‘Covaxin’ when he posted a tweet saying two weeks after taking vaccine, Anil Vij tested positive for the coronavirus. The likes of Shivam Vij were indirectly hinting that it was the vaccine approved by the Modi government for carrying out Phase 3 resulted in transmission of virus to Haryana Minister.

Sayema, an Islamic propagandist masquerading as an Urdu ‘intellectual’ on social media, too was in a hurry to discredit the vaccine by falsely claiming that Anil Vij was tested positive a month after he was administered ‘Covaxin’. However, she did not provide any proofs to substantiate her claim before making such horrendous assertions about the vaccine.

Saurabh Shukla, the ‘journalist’ at far-left news outlet NDTV, went a step further to take direct potshots at Modi government. Invoking the alleged promise of Rs 15 lakh made by PM Modi in the run-up to 2014 elections, the NDTV ‘journalist’ said that vaccine promise also turned out to be a dud just like the Rs 15 lakh promise.

Rajdeep Sardesai, know for spinning and twisting facts, was not far behind. Without even realising or trying to be aware of the actual procedures concerning vaccine trials, Rajdeep Sardesai too declared that the fastening of Phase 3 trials of ‘Covaxin’ as the reason for Haryana minister testing positive for the virus.

Sardesai misled and tried to create panic among already threatened masses by blaming the Bharat Biotech’s ‘Covaxin’.

As social media users attacked Rajdeep Sardesai for his irrational tweets, he soon deleted his earlier tweets and posted another tweet with a similar misinformation, now with more tone down approach to criticise Modi government for allegedly hurrying the vaccine trial procedures.

Despite having no information about what has really transpired in the Anil Vij’s case, Rajdeep Sardesai resorted to creating conspiracy theories to declare that it was some fault in the vaccine that has resulted in Anil Vij contracting the virus. However, in reality, details pertaining to Phase 3 vaccination trials is yet to be made public by Bharat Biotech.

Chaiti Narula, another India Today journalist, failing to realise the amount of damage they are doing by floating conspiracy theories, straight away linked Anil Vij contracting of coronavirus to the administration of vaccine.

Radhakrishnan RK of The Hindu group displayed his lack of knowledge when he compared Bharat Biotech’s scientifically developed ‘Covaxin’ to Baba Ramdev’s immunity booster ‘Coronil’.

Perhaps, the likes of Radhakrishnan who are in a false assumption that they are some sort of epitome of knowledge, thought that they can mock Indian scientists with all their hubris.

Geet V, another troll on social media, asked who wanted the next does of ‘Covaxin’. Perhaps, Geet thinks her statement was some sort of a joke and expects people to cheer. However, the joke is on the likes of Geet who discredits ‘Covaxin’ by associating with standalone incidents that regularly occur during vaccine trials.

The left-liberals’ desperate attempt to peddle their politics at a time when one of country’s senior most politicians tested positive for coronavirus, who dared to volunteer himself for the trials when others chickened out, is rather a new low.

Without even understanding the basic procedures associated with the vaccine development, trials and its manufacturing, the ‘erudite’ left-wing intellectuals, Islamists have pounced upon India’s vaccine in an effort to malign it. As usual, the media ecosystem has chosen to create panic in the society about the vaccine at a time when they should have created awareness about vaccine trials and explain it to people why there was no need to panic.

Instead, they have found a great opportunity to target Modi government and to hold responsible for Anil Vij testing positive for the virus. The unconditional support from the Modi government to Bharat Biotech towards the development of Covaxin seems to have caught the eye of the left-liberals, who are now trying everything to damage the reputation of the only indigenous vaccine to be developed in the country.

May be the opponents of PM Modi realises that the success of vaccine could be another feather in the cap for PM Modi and his government. Hence, all efforts are being made currently to depict Anil Vij incident as a major blow to the development of coronavirus vaccine in the country so that they could deny PM Modi his credit.

Haryana Minister tests positive for coronavirus

On Saturday, Haryana Home and Health Minister Anil Vij tested positive for coronavirus. Taking to Twitter, Anil Vij confirmed he has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been admitted to Civil Hospital Ambala Cantt. This comes days after Anil Vij was administered a dose of Covaxin at a hospital in Ambala, as part of its third phase trial. On November 20, Vij had offered to be the first volunteer for the third phase trial of Covaxin, which started in the state. 

However, the news of Anil Vij testing positive soon caused panic among citizens in the country. The hysteria and sensationalism in some parts of the media have pushed some people to believe that the coronavirus vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech was a failure and the Haryana Minister contracted the virus only after he was injected with a vaccine during the test phase.

However, with limited information in the public regarding the Covaxin trails, the media tried to mislead by claiming that the Haryana Minister tested positive for the coronavirus after he was injected with the vaccine.

Here is what you need to know about coronavirus trails and why there is no reason to panic yet

Bharat Biotech carried out India’s first phase 3 trails for a Covid-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’ and it is the largest phase-3 efficacy trial ever conducted in India.

During the trials, these volunteers, including Anil Vij, will receive two intramuscular injections on a gap of 28 days. These participants were randomly assigned to receive Covaxin or ‘placebo’, a dummy drug that does not have any effect. The participants are identified by numbers, not names, in the study records, and only a select few people have access to the record that links the numbers to the names.

The randomisation and the use of placebo interventions are designed to control for unexpected effects or disease incidence between the vaccine and control groups that can likely be attributed to the vaccine. In some cases, a person under trial, who has been injected with the placebo can show responses.

As Haryana Minister Anil Vij received the vaccine dose as part of the phase 3 trial, actually it is not known whether he received the actual vaccine of the placebo. Vij may have not been inoculated with the actual vaccine during the Phase 3 trials of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin at all. Moreover, the Covaxin needs to doses with a 28 days gap to be effective, and Vij received only the first dose. Hence, even if he was given the vaccine, he has not received the full dose.

Currently, here is no need to panic about the efficacy of the Covaxin vaccine currently as it is yet to be known whether Anil Vij was subjected to an actual trial vaccine or a placebo, and he has received only one of the required two doses.

Farmers from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh extend their support to new farm laws, say they are getting more price and incurring less cost

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Farmers from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh extend their support to new farm laws, say they are getting more price and incurring less cost

Even as farmers from Punjab and Haryana are vehemently protesting against the new agriculture laws, a report broadcasted on TV9 Bharatvarsh showed that farmers from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have benefitted from the new farm laws that were passed by the Centre in September 2020.

One of the beneficiaries of the farm laws from Madhya Pradesh said that he has sold his agricultural produce at Rs 2500/- per quintal while the minimum support price of the crop was close to Rs 1800/- per quintal. Besides getting a premium, the farmer also said that the new laws have saved him time and rendered his transportation cost to zero as businesses came to his fields to collect the grains.

Similar is the story of other farmers in Madhya Pradesh, who said that earlier the trade in the Mandis was restricted to a few influential businessmen who would decide the price of the agricultural produce. With the passage of the three laws, the farmers can directly sell their produce to the businessmen at their preferred price.

“Earlier in the mandis, 10 kgs of grains was sent only for sampling purposes. It also took a lot of time in mandis to sell your produce. We had to bear the transportation and loading/unloading charges. We often had to wait for days, sometimes over a month to receive the amount for our agricultural produce. However, with the passage of the laws, the businessmen come to your farm and pay you for your produce upfront. Not only do we get a premium on the MSP but our transportation cost and time are also saved,” one farmer said.

Farmers in Rajasthan have also not joined the protests that are swelling around Delhi by the protesters from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. In the report by TV9 Bharatvarsh, a farmer from Rajasthan profusely thanked PM Modi for bringing in the new agriculture laws that have lifted restrictions on the farmers and enabled them to sell their produce to the choice of their customer and their preferred rates.

Congress politicians instigating ignorant farmers against the Agriculture laws: MP and Rajasthan farmers

Speaking on the ongoing protests by farmers in Punjab, Haryana and other states, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan farmers said that the protesters have been fooled by the Congress politicians into protesting against the new farm laws. They also added that contrary to the apprehensions harboured by them, the new agriculture laws are in farmers’ interest.

“We are not protesting against the farm bills because they are meant for our welfare. Those demonstrating against the agriculture laws are not aware of the benefits and the new opportunities it unlocks for the farmers. They have been tricked and instigated by the opposition politicians to launch an agitation against the Centre,” a farmer interviewed by the TV9 Bharatvarsh said.

After Prashant Bhushan casts aspersions about ‘independence’ of Judiciary, Attorney General’s consent sought to initiate contempt proceedings

Dibakar Dutta
-
0
After Prashant Bhushan casts aspersions about ‘independence’ of Judiciary, Attorney General’s consent sought to initiate contempt proceedings

In a letter to the Attorney General of India, KK Venugopal, an applicant has sought consent to initiate contempt proceedings against ‘activist’ and senior advocate Prashant Bhushan. The applicant has urged for action against Bhushan under section 15 of contempt of courts act, to be read with rule 3 (C) for contempt of Supreme Court, 1975, for a contentious interview published in The Hindu newspaper on November 29.

“The contents of the interview are prima facie contemptuous,” the applicant stated. In the letter, it has also been pointed out that the full article was tweeted by Prashant Bhushan himself wherein he had claimed (on both occasions) that the independence of the judiciary has been ‘compromised’. The applicant has also attached scanned copies of his interview to substantiate his application.

On November 29, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan had tweeted, “The independence of the judiciary has collapsed: Prashant Bhushan”: This is the full interview online.

Screengrab of the tweet by Prashant Bhushan

In his interview with G Sampath of The Hindu, Prashant Bhushan had made insidious claims about the sanctity of the Indian judiciary. At the very onset, he claimed, “General corruption in the Supreme Court may have increased marginally since then (formation of Committee on Judicial Accountability in 1990).” He added that corruption in the apex court included financial, political affiliations and nepotism and have been ‘influencing’ the decision-making process of the Judges.

“I don’t think this form of corruption has substantially increased. But what is alarming is that in the last few years, the independence of the judiciary has collapsed. Today, the major problem is the lack of independence of the Supreme Court, and its willingness to kowtow to the government,” Prashant Bhushan alleged. While brazenly blaming the political dispensation at the Centre for ‘controlling’ the Judiciary, the senior advocate remarked, “The current regime has used state agencies to prepare a dossier on Chief Justices even before they assume office. They have often tried to have Chief Justices-to-be on tenterhooks till assured that they will kowtow to the government.”

Screengrab of the Prashant Bhushan’s interview with The Hindu newspaper

On being asked whether Justice Arun Mishra was the “worst Supreme Court Judge ever”, Prashant Bhushan agreed to the contentious assertion. “In many ways he would be regarded as such, yes. Because he was also brazen. He didn’t care about the impact of his decisions on the poor and marginalised, or about judicial propriety or how his decisions appeared to independent observers,” he reiterated.

AG had declined contempt proceedings against Bhushan after apology

Last week, the Attorney General had declined to give go-ahead for another contempt of court plea against Prashant Bhushan, as the advocate had already expressed regret over it.  A Supreme Court Advocate had written to the AG in October seeking his consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Bhushan for his tweets targeting the Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, and linking the CJI’s visit to Madhya Pradesh with the disqualification case of MLAs of the state pending before the apex court.

Although K K Venugopal had refused to give permission, he had severely criticised Prashant Bhushan for his baseless allegations against the CJI.

Prashant Bhushan was convicted of contempt of court

On August 14, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court held Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court for his tweets against the judiciary and the Chief Justices of India. The Supreme Court had convicted senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan after holding him guilty in contempt of court, with a fine of Re 1. The court had added that if Bhushan fails to pay a fine of Re 1, he will be sentenced to 3 months in jail and suspension of his lawyering for 3 months. The case pertained to two tweets where Prashant Bhushan had cast aspersions against the Supreme Court and specifically, CJI Bobde.

‘Humein bahut maara’: Dramatic scenes at Aligarh Court as alert lawyers prevent Grooming Jihad by man who posed as Hindu

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘Humein bahut maara’: Dramatic scenes at Aligarh Court as alert lawyers prevent Grooming Jihad by man who posed as Hindu

Unusual scenes were observed at a Court in Aligarh on Saturday after a case of Grooming Jihad made its way to the Court premises. The trouble began when a man came to register his marriage with a woman from a different faith at a Court in Aligarh. He was apparently thrashed by unidentified individuals and a case has been registered in the matter.

The man has been identified as one Sonu Malik. Following the incident inside the Aligarh Court premises, dramatic scenes were also observed outside. The woman could be heard saying that she is not a minor and has immense love for Sonu. The Police decided that they have had enough when she said ‘Meri jaan hai woh’ (He is my life) following which she was guided into a vehicle and the footage stops at that point.

The man was equally dramatic. He said, “Mere pyar ko rok liya, humein bahut maara court me,” (“They have stopped my love, they thrashed me a lot in Court”), Sonu Malik could be heard saying as he was being dragged by the Police. He kept saying “Mere pyar ko rok liya” but the Police did not appear particularly bothered by such profound declaration of affection.

Later, however, the woman revealed that Sonu had introduced himself as a Hindu but it was only later that she discovered he was a Muslim. She came to know him through Facebook and she travelled with him from Chandigarh three days earlier. She appeared calm and composed while talking to the media after the initial spell of distraught.

The woman further revealed that the man had emotionally blackmailed her saying that he will drink poison if she did not meet him and could not live without her. Shalabh Mani Tripathi, press adviser to Yogi Adityanath, revealed that it was the girl’s family who had provided some ‘service’ to the man inside the court, hinting that it was them who thrashed him.

Tripathi also revealed that it was at the Aligarh Court that it was discovered that Sonu is actually a Muslim and his name is Mohammed Sonu. The girl’s family reached the spot after being alerted by the lawyers. Tripathi also said that the new law against ‘Love Jihad’ was working well.

Provisions of the new law

The new anti-conversion law is aimed at preventing forced conversions under the pretext of love and marriage. “There were more than 100 incidents reported in which forceful religious conversion was being done. Also, it was reported that religious conversions were going on in the state using deceitful means. So to make a law on this becomes an important matter of policy now,” UP Cabinet Minister Siddharth Nath Singh had earlier remarked.

Under the new law, a jail term of 1-5 years is awarded to the accused (extended to 3-10 years in case of SC/STs) and a fine of ₹15,000 (₹25,000 in case of SC/STs). Moreover, the offender’s proven guilty for mass conversion will attract a jail term of 10 years.

Cases registered under anti-Grooming Jihad law

Multiple cases have been registered already under the new law. Muzaffarnagar police have registered a case against two accused named Nadeem and Salman on Monday evening. The two are accused of trying to force a married Hindu woman to convert to Islam. According to Akshay, the duo started luring his wife to leave him and marry one of them.

They also started asking her to convert to Islam on multiple occasions and tried to lure her for Nikkah. But Akshay got wind of the matter, and before things go out of hand, he left Bhagwanpur. Uttar Pradesh police have also arrested Uwais Ahmed, the accused who was absconding ever-since a case was registered against him, for trying to forcibly convert a Hindu girl to Islam.

1...4,7964,7974,798...7,649Page 4,797 of 7,649