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Letter war escalates in West Bengal: Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar replies to CM Mamata Banerjee, accuses her of minority appeasement

OpIndia Staff
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Letter war escalates in West Bengal: Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar replies to CM Mamata Banerjee, accuses her of minority appeasement

As West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee concentrates more on confronting the central government and the governor of the state than combating the Coronavirus pandemic in the state, governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has written a letter to the Chief Minister refuting the allegations made against him by her. Governor Dhankhar has accused that Banerjee’s ‘entire strategy is crafted to deliberately divert people’s attention from her abject failure in combating and containing Coronavirus in West Bengal’.

In an 11-page letter sent to the CM, the governor wrote that Mamata Banerjee’s appeasement of the minority community is most unfortunate which can’t be appreciated. He referred to the incident when Mamata Banerjee was asked about the role of Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi in spreading the Wuhan Coronavirus, she had replied with “do not ask communal questions.” Jagdeep Dhankar wrote that a perpetrator can never position as victim.

The governor sent the letter in response to a letter sent to him by Mamata Banerjee on Thursday where she had accused him of directly attacking her and her ministers and officers. “The tone tenor and language of your letters and messages to me are unparliamentary and an insult to my office,” the chief minister wrote. She also added, “You appear to have forgotten that I am an elected Chief Minister of a proud Indian state. You also seem to have forgotten that you are a nominated Governor.” Banerjee also added that there have been repeated and consistent interference in administration by the governor, and decency and the constitution have been flagrantly transgressed.

But the governor strongly refuted these allegations, saying that tot a single concrete instance is indicated as regards these. “Just have a look, at your convenience, and you’ll fairly concede,” he asserted.

He urged the state government to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, “which this government is trying their best to brush aside.” He listed the allegations against the TMC government by saying, “Imagine what Dr BC Roy and the like would have done today, to combat Covid! How he would have connected to and empathised with the people of the state, with what energy, honesty, integrity, empathy and commitment! Surely no coercive route! No violations of human rights! No politicking! No loot of public funds! No PDS politicization and scam!”

He wrote that it is unfortunate that the Central Teams visiting the states to coordinate the Coronavirus war were made to face unwholesome scenario, while in all other states it was seamless. He said that Banerjee’s cover up “mechanism” would lead to very painful results. As an example, he cited “banning of mobile phones inside Isolation Wards is a case in point”. He wrote that it is time to reveal the real picture so that the fight against the Coronavirus may be enhanced and sharpened.

Stressing how Mamata Banerjee is underplaying the threat of the Chinese Virus, Jagdeep Dhankhar wrote that she has conveniently chosen to give the very Coronavirus a miss in her letter. He further wrote, “​Your communication is part of “alibi strategy” emanates from a script that seeks to cover up ‘monumental failures’ in these challenging times by series of ‘blunders’ while people of the state are suffering untold miseries, media is muzzled, health warriors are stressed and there is virtual suspension of human rights of those not belonging to your party”.

The governor also writes that the CM’s favorite pastime is being in ‘accusatory mode’ and taking to streets. “Real time action and effective governance are need of the hour -not theatrics or politicking,” he added.

Governor Dhankar wrote that Mamata Banerjee’s actions are antithetical to the core values of Constitution, and her constant refrain ‘Governor is nominated’ is an affront to Dr. Ambedkar and founding fathers of our Constitution. “Governor is appointed and not nominated. He is neither a ‘rubber stamp’ nor a ‘post office’. He has to discharge functions and perform duties of great consequence,” he wrote.

He also referred to a telephonic conversation with the CM, where she “not only lacked courtesy but were also in ‘shouting mode’. This surely is not the way people at our level work,” he wrote.

With this explosive letter by governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, it seems that the letter war between the two constitutional heads of the state will continue for some time.

Pakistan: Tablighi Jamaat preacher cries profusely at fundraising event attended by PM Imran Khan, blames women for Wuhan Coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Tablighi Jamaat preacher cries profusely at fundraising event attended by PM Imran Khan, blames women for Wuhan Coronavirus

Maulana Tariq Jameel, a religious preacher of the Tablighi Jamaat and a scholar, was seen crying profusely on Pakistani television during a fundraising event attended by Prime Minister Imran Khan. This was after members of the Islamic Missionary organization spread the virus across the lengths and breadth of the country. While asking for Dua, Jameel was seen crying like a man-boy begging Allah to save the world from the Wuhan Coronavirus. And in the presence of Imran Khan, the Islamic preacher made some rather incendiary remarks.

Snorting every two seconds and crying, Maulana Tariq Jameel prayed to Allah to protect those battling the Wuhan Coronavirus at the frontlines. At one point, he says, “In a lockdown, ten people are sitting inside a home. What’s the benefit of a lockdown?” And then proceeds to break into another bout of profuse weeping. He tells Allah that only he can get rid of the calamity and lockdown will not help much.

Maulana Tariq Jameel also says, “Just as a child says to his mother, ‘I am tired of crying in front of you, at least listen to me now,’ I am also telling you that I am tired of weeping in front of you. Please heed our prayer. We don’t have anything else.” He begs Allah to help everyone but especially the Muslim Ummah. Maulana Tariq Jameel also begs Allah to grant the honour of a Martyr to those who have died due to the virus. He begs Allah to protect everyone in the country from the deadly virus.

During his address prior to the prayer, Maulana Tariq Jameel spoke about the plagues in earlier times and claimed that these were natural disasters sent by God and begging for repentance from Allah was the only way for humans to rid themselves of the calamity. He also offered sermons on the kind of clothes women should wear. Expressing dismay, he said, “Hamare betiyon ko kaun nacha raha hai? (Who is making our daughters dance?)” He said that when Muslim women and the youth indulge in shameless and immodest behaviour, then Allah inflicts pain and agony on humans.

During the course of the sermon, Maulana Tariq Jameel also blamed the media for spreading lies and appealed to Muslims to only eat Halal food. He appealed to Pakistani PM Imran to request everyone to beg for forgiveness to Allah. The entire agenda of his discourse was painting the Wuhan Coronavirus as punishment for humans and only forgiveness from Allah could forgive them. Even so, blaming women for the Wuhan Coronavirus appears far-fetched. He insisted that not even ventilators or vaccines could help humans fight the deadly pandemic but only Allah could.

Who is Maulana Tariq Jameel?

Maulana Tariq Jameel is one of the most prominent Islamic television preacher, religious writer, scholar and a member of the Tablighi Jamaat. He belongs to the Deobandi school of Islam. He regularly offers sermons on self-purification, the importance of following Allah’s diktats and following the path shown by Prophet Muhammad. He was born on the 1st of January, 1953 at Mian Channu in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. He is an alumnus of the Government College University, Lahore. He received his Islamic education from Jamia Arabia, Raiwind, where he studied Qur’an, Hadith, Sufism, logic, and Islamic jurisprudence.

Maulana Tariq Jameel holds great influence among Urban Muslims. According to the Muslim 500, “In addition to running a madrasa in Faisalabad, Pakistan, Maulana Tariq has delivered thousands of lectures around the world. He has been very effective in influencing all types of the community ranging from businessmen and landlords to ministers, actors, and sports celebrities.”

The Role of Tablighi Jamaat in spreading the Wuhan Coronavirus

The Tablighi Jamaat has spread the Wuhan Coronavirus not only in India, where it has emerged as the greatest cluster of Coronavirus cases, but also across other countries in South Asia and in territories as far as Palestine. Islamic religious events held in Pakistan and Malaysia, too, served as conduits for the virus to spread to numerous countries in the region and even to countries as far off as Palestine. In Pakistan too, the Tablighi Jamaat event at Raiwind served as the conduit for spreading the virus across the entire country.

At one point of time, over half of the Wuhan Coronavirus cases in Malaysia were linked to the Tablighi Jamaat event held at a mosque outside of Kuala Lumpur. Most cases in Brunei and at least 10 cases in Thailand were linked to the Islamic Missionary organization. Eleven out of twelve people who tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus on March 16 in Cambodia had attended the Islamic evangelical event in Malaysia.

Dead bodies remain unattended in Mumbai hospital, coronavirus suspect patient spends the night with 2 bodies around him: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Dead bodies remain unattended in Mumbai hospital, coronavirus suspect patient spends the night with 2 bodies around him: Reports

As the menace of coronavirus outbreak threatens to overwhelm the public health system in the country, overburdening the healthcare workers, a shocking case of gross dereliction of medical duty has come to the fore from the Cooper Hospital in Mumbai where at least 5 patients were left to fend for themselves for about 22 hours. According to the reports, the patients who were either COVID-19 patients or suspects were left unattended in the Hospital’s isolation and casualty wards for about 10 to 22 hours because attendants were terrified of touching them.

The traumatised patients were stuck in the ward that also had bodies of other patients who had died in the hospital. Their request to move the bodies was overlooked by the authorities until the videos and pictures of the ward were sent out and one of them described the pathetic conditions to a politically-connected friend who called up senior officials of the hospital and got the bodies moved. As per a report in Mumbai Mirror, Three dead bodies were in the isolation ward while two in the casualty ward.

One of the patients awaiting COVID-19 results was so disconcerted by the bodies on either side of his bed that he remained awake the whole night on Wednesday. The man, a heart patient, said he made several panic-stricken calls to his wife to request the hospital administration to shift the bodies but the bodies were removed only the next evening after she got in touch with a political leader and persuaded him to intervene. “More than the anxiety of the test results, the tribulation of spending the night with the corpses is gonna remained etched in my memory forever,” he said. 

The deceased, Raghunath Jadhav, 58, a flower seller at Santacruz, had died at 6 pm on Wednesday, but his son Ganesh, 29, was handed over the body at 4.30 pm the next day. Another deceased, Rachana Mane’s grandmother, remained in the isolation ward for about 10 hours. She died in the wee hours on Thursday but her body was given to her family only after 4:30 PM.

The Cooper Hospital Dean Dr Pinakin Gujjar contended that the inordinate delay in shifting the bodies was because the staff members had refused to wrap the bodies of the deceased and the Juhu police arrived late for the panchnama. Gujjar also added that the plausibility of coronavirus infection in all the five cases was pretty high. He stated that the patients whose bodies were left unattended in the hospital’s isolation and casualty ward were suffering from co-morbid conditions but they also exhibited symptoms of carrying COVID-19 infection.

Gujjar also issued a clarification that there are no shortages of high-quality body bags to wrap the deceased. He said that the hospital had received 70 body bags just a day before yesterday. Akhil Chitre, vice president, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, said he is going to write a letter to Health Minister Rajesh Tope. “I am going to demand an investigation. Workforce management at Cooper must improve,” he said.

As per some staff members quoted by the Mumbai Mirror report, the hospital has definitely erred on not following the recommended measures. According to one doctor, the body of the suspected/confirmed cases of COVID-19 cannot stay unwrapped for more than two hours.

A similar case was reported in West Bengal recently when a viral video from a Kolkata hospital showed patients sitting helplessly as the dead bodies of coronavirus patients around them remained unattended.

Karnataka: Angry mob thrashes a policeman after their gambling den was raided during the lockdown

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Angry mob thrashes a policeman after their gambling den was raided during the lockdown

A mob of 12 men allegedly thrashed a policeman after their gambling racket was busted in the D Gudi area of Bengaluru-Mysuru road in Karnataka.

As per reports, the policemen raided the place after initial information about men playing cards at D Gudi area. When the police entered the place the gamblers ran away in panic. Despite that police managed to arrest two of them and took them to the police station in their jeep. The rest of the police team followed the jeep in their two wheelers.

During this, a constable Doddabasappa who was on a two wheeler trailed behind others, and taking benefit of that, one of the gamblers stopped him and pushed him. He was also heard cursing at him for ruining their good time. After that, the gamblers thrashed the cop after the rest of the police team left the spot without him.

When the policemen in their jeep realized that a cop is missing, two of them came back to the place to rescued the cop. The missing cop is identified as Doddabasappa. The cops also video recorded the incident which later helped in identifying the accused.

The accused have been identified as 30-year-old Gopal, 32-year-old Krishna, 32-year-old Gundda, and 30-year-old Nagesh. Police are on a search for the others who fled from the spot. 

Locals intervened but accused didn’t backed off

Constable Doddabasappa said that the local residents intervened while the gamblers were thrashing him but even after that they didn’t back off.

A police official stated, “The constable was manhandled. We are ascertaining the identity of the other accused and they will be arrested soon. We had received complaints about the gambling in the area since the lockdown.”

The gamblers are booked under Section 149(unlawful assembly), 353(assaulting a public servant on duty) of the Indian Penal Code.

Kerala: A 4-month-old infant with congenital heart disorder dies of coronavirus infection

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: A 4-month-old infant with congenital heart disorder dies of coronavirus infection

On Friday, a four-month-old infant who was diagnosed with Wuhan Coronavirus died of cardiac arrest at the Kozhikode Medical College in Kerala. The baby girl who hails from Malappuram district was born with congenital heart disease. She was admitted to the hospital on April 21 after she exhibited symptoms of cough, fever, and breathing difficulties.

She had developed pneumonia after being infected with the Wuhan coronavirus. The news of the death of the baby girl was confirmed by the state Health Minister KK Shailaja.

The family did not have any travel history. It is now assumed that the child had contracted the deadly disease during the several trips she made to different hospitals for her treatment. The five doctors who were involved in the treatment of the toddler have now been quarantined. As of April 23, Kerala has 129 live cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus, including 4 deaths.

Kerala had been one of the worst-hit states after Maharashtra in the coronavirus pandemic. However, the state has shown steady improvements recently. The total reported cases stand at 438, with 3 deaths. The state has shown the best statistics in terms of doubling time of the cases, at 72 days. Odisha is at second best with just over 39 days. The national average of the doubling time is 7.5 days.

Recently the state government had stated that over 200 Tablighi Jamaatis are yet to be traced, expressing concerns that they may be carrying the virus since they had attended the Nizamuddin Markaz event in Delhi.

“This house if for sale”: Sunny Gupta shot dead during conflict over Coronavirus lockdown, stones pelted at his funeral procession

OpIndia Staff
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“This house if for sale”: Sunny Gupta shot dead during conflict over Coronavirus lockdown, stones pelted at his funeral procession

On April 20, a man named Sunny Gupta has been murdered in Patna in Bihar after being shot over a dispute regarding lockdown restrictions between the local youths and the NCC cadets. While the primary accused, Chand Mohammed, is absconding, Sunny’s father Gopal has decided to sell their house and migrate elsewhere for their safety. He now has a ‘Ye Makaan Bikau Hai’ (This house is for sale) notice pasted on his house.

Speaking to Dainik Jagran, he said, “I have been living in this house with the whole family for 28 years. There are many memories associated with this house. But what will I do by staying in the locality where my family is not safe?” He added that the four home guards who have been tasked with their protection by the local administration are not enough to ensure their safety, in case of an attack.

Screengrab of the Dainik Bhaskar Report

An atmosphere of fear and panic has gripped the locality ever since the incident took place. Local Councilor Shobha Devi of Ward No. 60 and Balram Chaudhary, a former councillor, has been sitting on a fast with their supporters, demanding the immediate arrest of the primary accused, besides compensation and protection to the family of Sunny Gupta.

Sunny Gupta was sitting in his balcony when an altercation ensured between the two groups over lockdown restrictions that have been imposed in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak. The youths then resorted to stone-pelting and firing shots at the cadets. Unfortunately, one of the bullets hit Sunny who was not even remotely involved with the incident. He was then rushed to the hospital where he breathed his last on Monday night. Haunted by the gruesome killing of his innocent son, Gopal has decided to sell his house and migrate somewhere else.

Stones were also hurled during the funeral processions of the deceased. As such, more than 100 police personnel have been deployed in the area. The cops have also pressed charges of murder against 25 unidentified people following a complaint by Sunny’s brother.

Five people, namely, Hassain, Shahjahan, Abul Nasir, Anjum, and Zainab Hashmi have been arrested in connection to the case. The 6th accused, identified as one Chand Mohammad, is still on the run from the law enforcement authorities. The police are raiding several locations to nab the primary accused.

Muslim Mochi Mohalla in Ajmer’s Dargah area turns into new coronavirus hotspot after 79 cases reported in the last 24 hours

OpIndia Staff
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Muslim Mochi Mohalla in Ajmer’s Dargah area turns into new coronavirus hotspot after 79 cases reported in the last 24 hours

The densely populated Muslim Mochi Mohalla in Ajmer’s Dargah area in Rajasthan has emerged as the latest coronavirus hotspot in the state. In the last 24 hours, the area has reported 79 cases raising questions on the capacity of the state government to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

According to the reports, most of these confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported from 11-15 houses in the area around the Ajmer Sharif Dargah. The area has since been sealed. The officials have said that the new cases can be traced back to a man who has a travel history to Bihar. 

With these fresh cases, the overall tally of COVID-19 in the city has risen to 103 leaving Ajmer administration in a shock. The detection of a large number of positive cases in Muslim-dominated areas has forced the administration to plan random testing in these areas.

Lived in congested rooms, similar socio-economic background

The initial investigation by the health department revealed that all 79 patients were migrant workers living in congested rented accommodations in the densely populated area with narrow lanes and bylanes, a similar case to Ramganj in Jaipur.

“The way most cases have appeared from city’s one area, it is clear that we need to increase testing on the lines of Ramganj to detect positive cases,” said Sanjiv Maheshwari, additional principal of the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Ajmer.

The densely populated Ramganj area in Jaipur was one of the initial hotspots in Rajasthan, where more than 30 positive cases had emerged.

A senior government official said that the entire families that are found to be positive lived in close to each other and shared the same socio-economic background. Most of the positive patients engaged in household works or worked as salesmen and in hotels and restaurants. Many of them had met other residents asking for food and other assistance during the lockdown.

Ajmer SP Kunwar Rastradeep said, “The area falls under four police stations and has been under curfew. Barricading of lanes and bylanes has been done in areas where people have a history of lockdown violations. Only government vehicles will be allowed to provide ration and vegetables to minimise the human to human contact.”

The Muslim street veto: Here is why the police had to flee on their bike after being surrounded by locals

OpIndia Staff
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The Muslim street veto: Here is why the police had to flee on their bike after being surrounded by locals

A huge altercation broke out between members of the Muslim community and the Police in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, Jagran has reported. When the in-charge of the town chauki of the Police was on a patrol with his colleague, they spotted a bunch of youth violating lockdown at the Kajiyan locality. Spotting the Police, the youth ran to hide at a shop. When the town in-charge entered the shop, he found quite a few youths there. When one of the youth, Aamir, made an attempt to make a run of it, he was hit on his hand by the colleague of the in-charge with his lathi.

Then, the youth became scared after the blow and he fell on the ground, as a consequence of which he broke his leg. Soon, members of the Muslim community came around and began surrounding the police in-charge and created a ruckus. Somehow, the in-charge managed to get on his bike and escape. But even then, he was followed by some members of the Muslim community for quite a distance. Scores of people soon gathered and started raising slogans against the Police.

After receiving news about the incident, Inspector Yogesh Sharma reached the spot and pacified the crowd. The people accused the Police of attacking citizens with cause. They were calmed down somehow and the injured youth was taken to a private doctor. Circle Officer Shakeel Ahmed also reached the venue and conveyed the crowd that injured was hurt because he got scared and fell on the ground. He emphasized that violators of the lockdown will be strictly dealt with.

The Muslim Street Veto

The incident once again highlights the phenomenon of the Muslim Street Veto. The worldview of significant sections of the Muslim community make it quite difficult, and in certain cases impossible, to implement law and order in ghettos where they are the overwhelming majority. There is significant resistance towards the implementation of law and order in these areas and a lot of these places are ‘no-go zones’ even for the Police.

On the rare occasions that the Police does enter these areas to enforce the bare minimum law and order, often the collective resistance to it is so great that the Police is forced to make a retreat for fear of their lives as the recent incident demonstrates. It will not be far-fetched to assert that parallel laws govern these areas and the might of the Indian State and the Indian Constitution runs very thin. The mob mentality in many of these areas is so dominant that it makes it very well impossible to ensure that proper law and order is maintained in these areas. During the Wuhan Coronavirus Pandemic, such open defiance of Indian laws has emerged as a grave threat to the safety and security of the country.

Attacks on Police

At Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh, recently, a Muslim mob attacked the Police after they were asked to avoid mass prayers in view of the nationwide lockdown imposed to fight the Wuhan Coronavirus. They had gathered in large numbers at a Mosque defying all norms of social distancing. In Aligarh as well, the Police were surrounded by a Muslim mob and attacked them with stones after the Police urged them to not gather at Mosques for Namaz.

In Moradabad as well, the medical team which had gone to the area to transport a Coronavirus suspect to the hospital were attacked with stones. The incident took place at Haji Neb Masjid area in Moradabad when a team of doctors and medical staff went to take away two persons suspected of having novel coronavirus in the area. The mob pelted stones at the ambulance and doctors. The stones were also pelted on the police van which came to rescue the health workers later. Several people have been injured in the ensuing mayhem, including Dr Sudhish Agrawal. According to health officials, a thousand people came out on the streets to attack the medical team. Numerous people, including over a dozen women, were arrested for the same later on.

Survey of India directs Telangana govt to initiate action against ‘EA Sports FIFA’ for the wrong depiction of the Map of India

OpIndia Staff
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Survey of India directs Telangana govt to initiate action against ‘EA Sports FIFA’ for the wrong depiction of the Map of India

The Survey of India has directed the Telangana Government to initiate action against EA Sports FIFA, which is an online video game, for the incorrect depiction of India’s map. The direction says that a complaint was received on the 5th of April regarding the incorrect depiction of the map of India in the game of the gaming company EA Sports FIFA.

Instruction by Survey of India to Telangana to take action against EA Sports FIFA
Instruction by Survey of India to Telangana to take action against EA Sports FIFA

Evidently, in the game by EA Sports FIFA, the entire are of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and UT of Ladakh, Lakshadweep island and the Andaman and Nicobar islands re missing. The external boundaries of India along Indian Territories of UT of Jammu and Kashmir and UT of Ladakh have also been erroneously depicted in the said game.

Instruction by Survey of India to Telangana to take action against EA Sports FIFA
Instruction by Survey of India to Telangana to take action against EA Sports FIFA

The order says that this jeopardises the integrity and sovereignty of India.

The Survey of India has now directed the Telangana Government to take appropriate action, since law and order is a state subject and inform the MHA and the complainant of the said action.

The issue of the game by EA Sports FIFA depicting the incorrect map of India was first flagged by Twitter user Utkarsh who goes by the handle @TripathiSZN.

On the 5th of April, he had tweeted, tagging EA Sports FIFA about the depiction of the incorrect map of India in the game.

He was then advised to lodge a complaint and the action taken by the Survey of India seems to be a direct consequence of the complaint lodged on the 5th of April by another individual, based on the revelation by Urkarsh.

Once Utkarsh tweeted, several others too came forward.

Many said that they have been flagging the issue of the distorted map for a long time but EA Sports FIFA does not seem to pay attention.

Supreme Court grants protection of 3 weeks to Arnab Goswami and stays FIRs filed by Congress party, Kapil Sibal threatens sedition charges against him

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court grants protection of 3 weeks to Arnab Goswami and stays FIRs filed by Congress party, Kapil Sibal threatens sedition charges against him

The Supreme Court of India today granted interim protection of three weeks to senior journalist Arnab Goswami against multiple FIRs filed against him by the Congress party in various states. The Apex court also directed to merged all FIRs into one which will be investigated in Mumbai, where the Republic TV Editor-In-Chief is based, and stayed all the FIRs till further orders.

The court said that during this period of 3 weeks, Goswami can approach the trial court for anticipatory bail. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi represented Arnab Goswami in the court through video conferencing, while Congress leader Kapil Sibal appeared for the Congress party in the bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah.

The petition filed by Arnab Goswami multiple FIRs have been lodged against him in several states, most of which are Congress ruled. The petition alleged that the machinery of those states have been set in motion with an oblique and ulterior motive and without due and proper application of mind. It also said that by filing multiple FIRs, the Congress party is trying to muzzle free speech in the country. Goswami’s petition said that the petitioner has been encouraging the use of his channel to foster communal harmony, and is against any commnunilisation of events by various political parties for their own benefits. The petition states that “a prominent national level political party and its members harbor ill-will, hatred and personal vendetta against the petitioner”.

Kapil Sibal argued that the Goswami was trying to ignite communal violence by putting Hindus against minority, and contended that it does not come under freedom of speech. Sibal also asked if Rahul Gandhi can appear in defamation cases, why Arnab Goswami can’t. In a bizarre argument, he also raised the issue of cases of filed against Kanhaiya Kumar for incitement of riot, and said that Goswami also did the same and so he should also be probed under similar charges. Issuing a veiled threat of graver charges against Goswami by Congress state govts, Kapil Sibal said ‘who knows sedition charge can be invoked against Arnab Goswami tomorrow’.

Kapil Sibal asked the court to don’t give protection to him as he wants to divide the country, and said it will send a wrong message and he will go on creating divides. He termed the petition as based on “fake freedom of speech”.

Former AG Mukul Rohatgi objected to citing Rahul Gandhi and Kanhaiya Kumar by Sibal, saying that Arnab Goswami is not a politician like that. He also said that Goswami only questioned the role of police in the lynching incident, and silence of the Congress party, and he didn’t pander to any religion like Congress party is arguing.

In its order, the court said that no coercive action can be taken against Goswami during the three weeks interim period. The bench also asked the petitioner to modify his petition to include all the FIRs against him in various police stations in several states. The court also said that if any more FIRs are filed against him after the order, those will also remain stayed till further orders by the apex court. The court also didn’t issue an order prohibiting the channel from broadcasting any content.

The court also directed the Mumbai Police Commissioner to provide security to Arnab Goswami and Republic TV. The bench also said that the petitioner must cooperate in with the investigation.

FIRs were registered against Arnab Goswami in f Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Jammu & Kashmir based on complaints filed by Congress leaders. The Complaints were filed after Arnab Goswami questioned the silence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi over the Palghar lynching incident on his show on Republic TV on 21st April. FIRs mentioned offences under Sections 117, 120B, 153, 153A, 153B, 295A, 298, 500, 504, 505, 506 etc of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000

Arnab Goswami was assaulted by Congress goons in Mumbai on the wee hours of 23rd April after the Congress party launched a nationwide attack against him and filed multiple FIRs.

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