BJP leader Anirban Ganguly on Monday accused Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of promoting the Muslim League agenda — divisive politics by carrying a bag with “Palestine” written on it to Parliament.
Slamming Congress MP Vadra, Ganguly said that Priyanka Gandhi is unaware of the geopolitical landscape and termed the Congress party as the “new Muslim League.” Notably, the Muslim League, founded in 1906, was a political organisation that represented the interests of the Muslim community in British India. Its significance lies in its role in fostering Muslim nationalism and ultimately leading to the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
“Congress is the new Muslim League. Priyanka Gandhi is neither well-informed nor is she educated. She is absolutely unaware of the geopolitical landscape… Right from Pt Nehru to Priyanka Gandhi, they have always shown their anti-Hindu mindset. They never said anything for the persecuted minorities in Bangladesh. Her carrying the Palestine bag to the Parliament is nothing but the Muslim League agenda…” Ganguly told ANI.
Ganguly also attacked her for opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act, adding that she first needs to agree that minorities in Bangladesh are in trouble.
He said, “Whenever Priyanka Gandhi says something, shows that she is unaware of the ground reality. CAA was opposed by Priyanka Gandhi and her party and now she demands that minorities be brought to India… They first need to agree that minorities in Bangladesh are in trouble… They are speaking on Palestine and showing their support but not speaking anything about Bangladesh Hindus…”
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed BJP remarks on her carrying a bag with “Palestine” written on it, terming them “useless things.”
The row erupted when Priyanka Gandhi was seen carrying the bag during a Parliament session. It had “Palestine” written on it and several emblems embedded in it, including a watermelon, a symbol which is often associated with Palestinian solidarity.
Reacting to the BJP’s accusation of appeasement, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that instead of talking about this “rubbish,” the government should take some steps regarding the atrocities happening in Bangladesh, against minorities and Hindus.
She asserted that the Central government should talk to Bangladesh about this issue.
” The atrocities happening in Bangladesh, against minorities and Hindus…something should be done regarding this. Talks should be held with Bangladesh govt regarding this…and they should not say such useless things” Vadra told reporters in the Parliament premises.
The BJP seized on the opportunity to criticize her, alleging that the bag’s inscription indicated her support for Palestine over India’s interests. BJP MP Manoj Tiwari accused her of “appeasement” and said the Congress party uses different agendas to get votes by entangling them.
Manoj Tiwari said, “Congress does appeasement. They don’t do anything good to the Muslim community. They use different agendas to get votes by entangling them. You may have heard PM Modi has said about Congress’ one gimmick – ‘Garibi Hatao’, which was used by Nehru Ji, Indira Ji, Rajiv Ji and currently it is being used by both Rahul and Priyanka Ji. They love and support the people of the country by dividing them. Now, the people of the country knows this trick.”
Union MoS SP Singh Bhagel noted that Vadra carrying a bag with Palestine written on it was not just a mere coincidence, rather it was an attempt to give a message.
He stated that through this move, she is trying to appease, satisfy and polarise the Muslim votes.
Baghel told ANI, “This is not just a coincidence, rather, it is being tried to give a message. If only she carried an Indian bag, which is unique for every district and is being made in several cities, including Agra, Kanpur, Chennai, etc. If she could use ‘Swadeshi’ product, as it could give huge boost to that industry…By carrying a bag written Palestine on it, she is trying to appease, satisfy and polarise the Muslim votes.”
Notably, on December 11, Palestine Embassy Charge de Affairs Abed Elrazeg Abu Jazer met Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at her residence to congratulate her on her victory in the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat.
Since October 2023, Israel-Palestine has been engaged in an ongoing conflict after Hamas attacked Israel and captured its citizens. According to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs, India has strongly condemned the terror attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the loss of civilian lives in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
India’s policy towards Palestine has been long-standing and consistent. We have supported a negotiated two-state solution, towards the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine within secure and recognized borders, living side by side in peace with Israel, as per MEA.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
On Monday, December 16, the Bombay High Court dismissed a petition against a power contract awarded by the Maharashtra government to Adani Group for supply of renewable and thermal power electricity. The plea stated that the award was “unsubstantiated and reckless”. The honourable Court, while dismissing the plea, also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the petitioner.
A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar heard the case and dismissed the frivolous petition.
The plea also leveled allegations against former state chief minister Eknath Shinde, who is currently the deputy CM, of having been involved in corrupt practices while awarding the contract to Adani Group. However, the petitioner’s allegations were totally unsubstantiated.
The petitioner also alleged that the contract awarded to the Adani Group for the supply of 6,600 megawatts of renewable and thermal power in Maharashtra was a violation of the petitioner’s fundamental right to have access to fair electricity supply at a reasonable rate.
However, the Bench noted, “In our opinion, filing of such petitions containing unsubstantiated and reckless averments run the risk of sometimes even good causes being lost.”
As per the Bench, the petition made “vague and unsubstantiated” assertions that the contract awarded was a scam involving government authorities.
The High Court said the petition did not contain any supporting materials to show the former chief minister Eknath Shinde was involved in any corrupt practices.
The petitioner was not a participant in the tender process of the contract, the court added.
“The petition is bereft of any substantiating and supporting material and contains absolutely bald and vague allegations,” the HC said dismissing the plea.
The court directed the Rs 50,000 cost to be deposited by the petitioner to the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority.
Sambhal has a long history of riots. Over time, these riots became a means for the Muslim population to drive Hindus out of the Sambhal municipal area. In 1947, when India gained independence, Hindus made up 45% of the area’s population, while Muslims accounted for 55%. However, over time, the Hindu population in the region has dropped to 15-20%, and Muslims now account for 80-85%.
Khaggusarai, a neighbourhood in Sambhal, once had a temple that disappeared after the 1978 riots which has recently been discovered. According to an internal report accessed by OpIndia, the 1978 riots recorded the highest casualties in Sambhal’s history. Following the violence, around 100 Hindu families left Khaggusarai permanently.
A Hindu teacher’s daughter was raped, and his wife was abducted
Media reports suggest that the riots began after Holi celebrations on 29th March 1978 and claimed 184 lives. This led to a month-long curfew in the area. At that time, Banwari Lal Goyal, a prominent businessman in Sambhal, was brutally murdered during the riots. In the same riots, the daughter and wife of a Hindu teacher were abducted and brutally raped by Manzar Shafi, who played a key role in inciting violence against Hindus. The teacher’s wife was later rescued by Hindus. The families of Banwari Lal Goyal and the Hindu teacher left Sambhal after the riots.
24 Hindus burnt alive using tyres and sugarcane husk
When the riots broke out, Banwari Lal urged several Hindu shopkeepers to hide at his brother-in-law Murari Lal’s house. However, Muslim traders tipped off the rioters. A mob of Islamist rioters then broke the gates of Murari Lal’s house using a tractor and brutally killed 24 Hindus. They piled sugarcane husks and tyres around the dead bodies and set them on fire. The situation was so grim that many Hindus had to perform symbolic cremations of their loved ones using effigies at Brijghat.
Dainik Bhaskar quoted 58-year-old historian Sanjay Shankhdhar, who is familiar with Sambhal’s history, in a report. He noted that the riots caused a significant exodus of Hindus from the area. Before the 1978 riots, Hindus constituted 35% of the population. However, this dropped to 20% in the aftermath of the riots. Shankhdhar described the 1978 riots a pivotal moment in Sambhal’s history, precipitating an exodus to an extent never seen before. He detailed how Muslim rioters killed 26 people, including 24 Hindu shopkeepers who had taken shelter at Murari Lal’s house.
Banwari Lal begged to be shot but was hacked to death
According to the internal report accessed by OpIndia, Banwari Lal went to the riot-affected area despite warnings from his wife and son. He told them, “All Muslims are like my friends and brothers. Everyone works with me. Nothing will happen to me,” and went to the area. When he reached the area, Muslim rioters captured him. The rioters then cut off his legs. Then taunted him, claiming he had come to collect money using his hands and then cut off his arms, and finally slit his throat.
During this torture, Banwari Lal begged the rioters to shoot him instead. However, his pleas were ignored. The horrific incident was witnessed by Hardwari Lal Sharma and Subhash Chandra Rastogi, who managed to save themselves by hiding inside a drum. During the massacre, Hardwari Lal’s brother, a high school student, was also killed by the rioters.
Witnesses under immense pressure
Witnesses like Sharma and Rastogi identified the accused, including Irfan, Wajid, Zahid, Manzar, Shahid, Kamil, and Acchan. However, by 2010, the case was closed due to the absence of witnesses. The judge, while closing the case, remarked that it was unthinkable that the accused were not being sentenced to death.
The pressure on witnesses can be seen from the fact that Wasim, one of the accused, shot and killed the brother of Pradeep Agarwal, a business partner of Banwari Lal’s son, Vineet Goyal. Wasim threatened to kill anyone who filed an FIR against him, ensuring no case was ever registered against him.
In 1995, Banwari Lal Goyal’s family permanently left Sambhal. According to the internal report, Banwari Lal’s family was pressured by former Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Dr Shafiqur Rahman Barq. His son, Zia-ur Rahman Barq, is currently an MP from Sambhal. Notably, he has been named in a case related to the violence in Sambhal that broke out on 24th November 2024 during the Jama Masjid survey.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made a name for itself due to various reasons. It promised to reject VIP culture and embrace honesty, transparency and good governance but delivered scams, massive U-turns on policy decisions, a dysfunctional administrative system that is constantly in a tussle with the center or LG (lieutenant governor) and an opulent lifestyle for its leaders, especially Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The AAP even partnered with other political parties, like Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) which it has earlier repeatedly accused of corruption and looting the country. Furthermore, the party has also perfected the Nazi propaganda efforts helmed by Joseph Goebbels by blaming others for what it has been doing. Now, the latest edition is over the settlement of illegal Rohingya immigrants in the national capital. The Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Marlena expressed her alleged concerns over the matter in a written letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 15th December.
She referred to a social media post from 2022 in which Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri declared that Rohingya intruders would be relocated to EWS (Economically Weaker Section) apartments in the Bakkarwala neighborhood of the city. “From the tweet of Shri Hardeep Puri, it seems they were settled into EWS flats of Bakkarwala. These flats were meant for the poor people of Delhi. It appears that the rights and facilities meant for the people of Delhi are being given away to migrants. People of Delhi will not tolerate this,” she claimed.
Notably, shortly after the tweet caused a significant controversy, the Modi administration confirmed that no such apartments will be provided to Rohingyas. Her letter came after Amit Shah was slammed by former chief minister and national convenor of her party, Arvind Kejriwal who is currently on bail in an excise policy corruption case and was forced to resign after the Supreme Court barred him from going to the Chief Minister’s Office.
Amit Shah had asserted that state governments were in charge of protecting India’s 4% unfenced borders during an interview. He added that their job was to raise awareness among the local populace and stop infiltration from turning into a community crime. Afterward, Arvind Kejriwal retaliated that the center had abandoned its constitutional duty to protect the border.
A long-running dispute over the Rohingya immigrants’ presence in Delhi has been reignited by the recent developments. The AAP has frequently claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party ignored the demands of Delhi’s citizens by bringing Rohingyas in the city. On the other hand, the saffron party has charged that the former is using the Rohingyas as a vote bank to facilitate illegal settlements in order to obtain an electoral edge. Notably, the political activity is heating up as Delhi assembly elections are around the corner.
Truth behind AAP’s allegations
AAP is openly exploiting the Rohingya issue as a political instrument to gain an advantage in the electoral contest as both political parties prepare for the polls. The past statements of the AAP’s leaders and the policies implemented by its administration to support the inflators and even rave about it effectively refute the anti-Rohingya front that the party has recently forged for the camera to deceive the voters.
“I am Amanatullah Khan Okhla MLA and chariman of Delhi Waqf Board. We have distributed one month ration and Rs 10,000 to each Rohingya family living here,” an old video of the AAP stalwart has been making the rounds on social media in a stark demonstration of how his party embraced the intruders. Interestingly, Khan is also charged with financial irregularities and alleged illegal recruitment of staff within the Delhi Waqf Board. He was also described as a history-sheeter in 2022.
As AAP is attacking BJP for Rohingya settlement, here is few years old video of AAP Delhi MLA Amanatullah Khan giving 10000 and Free Rashion to each Rohingya Family. pic.twitter.com/8jhy0Z5Dh8
According to a 2020 report, more than 300 Rohingya Muslims had unlawfully settled in Delhi’s Madanpur Khadar neighborhood and are growing their base. It disclosed that they were unlawfully residing in the Madanpur Khadar area of the national capital, directly across from the cremation site. Additionally, they had established themselves on 5.2 acres of property owned by the Uttar Pradesh government’s irrigation department.
The illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis had seized the Khasra number 612 land, which is worth crores of rupees. They were also receiving all government benefits, per the article. The Delhi government and Amanatullah Khan had been distributing rations to them during the lockdown. Madanpur Khadar is a part of Khan’s Okhla constituency.
More importantly, the impoverished in New Delhi’s Sarita Vihar area were forced to fend for themselves during the coronavirus lockdown in the same year after being turned away for failing to vote for AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan. “We said we come from Khadar. So they said that they will not give us ration as we do not vote for them. I said, even all Muslims don’t vote for you, but you are still giving them ration. I told him that someday you give them daal, rice, potatoes, give some to us also but then he drove us away,” a woman complained.
AAP supporters acknowledged that the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has worked very hard to uplift Muslims in Delhi, including “sharanarthi” (refugees or rather, illegal infiltrators), in a 2022 video that went viral from an Ahmedabad gathering organized by the “Muslim Fighters Club,” a community of Muslims based in Juhapura. The club’s manager, Imranbhai, declared that Arvind Kejriwal is the only one who truly cares about Muslims and that the community has always been the target of bigotry.
“I have spoken to our Muslim brothers in Delhi and they have said their situation has improved. Arvind Kejriwal takes care of Muslims from every part of the world. He even takes care of Muslim refugees,” he boasted. However, he invited the Muslims in the crowd to make reasonable assumptions rather than directly naming the “refugees.”
School for Rohingya children, appeals to settle them and contempt for Hindu refugees
The intention to construct a Rohingya residential school on the grounds of the Secondary School in Nanakheri village in 2022 spurred a protest by the villagers against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The villagers had started an agitation after Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal established a school for the children of Rohingya Muslims.
They voiced reservations that if the Rohingyas moved in, there could be an increase in criminal activity in the vicinity and mentioned that even though the demonstrations have been ongoing for over a week, the Delhi government has not altered its decision. “We have been sitting here for the last eight days, but till now her MLA Gulab Singh has not even visited to inquire about our demands and our condition,” an angry local had highlighted. “Rohingyas are a threat to our country and Arvind Kejriwal is keeping national security at bay with this move. Rohingyas must leave India,” BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia had responded to the issue.
According to the BJP in 2022, the Kejriwal administration’s officials wrote numerous letters asking for the “infiltrators” to be given EWS apartments. Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta pointed out that AAP’s Delhi administration guaranteed Rohingyas ample food, housing and all other amenities, but it has not even given a basic electricity connection to Pakistani Hindu refugees living in a camp there.
“There were numerous communications from the home department of Delhi government and its district magistrate (south east) to FRRO, NDMC and the DCP concerned for providing EWS flats to Rohingyas. Kejriwal government has a duty to identify illegal infiltrators living in the city instead it is busy protecting them. Chief Minister Kejriwal is concerned about infiltrators not refugees” he had charged.
“The audacity of these Pakistanis? First, they infiltrated our country illegally and broke the laws of our country. He should have been in jail. Have they got so much courage that they are protesting and creating ruckus in our country? After CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), Pakistanis and Bangladeshis will spread across the country and harass people. In the selfish interest of making them their vote bank, BJP is pushing the entire country into trouble,” Arvind Kejriwal had posted on social media in March of this year after Hindu and Sikh refugees demonstrated against his blatant fear mongering and petty politics over the sensitive issue of CAA.
Visibly ignoring the plight of the Hindu communities in the neighboring Islamic countries he questioned why the Indian government planned to announce regulations so close to the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, in a 7-minute video. He alleged that the BJP would have presented its accomplishments rather than announcing the CAA guidelines if it had done more work over the previous ten years. He added that the center was talking about CAA rather than addressing issues like unemployment and skyrocketing costs.
Arvind Kejriwal argued that the BJP-led administration intended to admit a large number of “minorities” from the three nations and provide them with citizenship, jobs, housing and other benefits. He then charged that immigrants would receive services that are legally the property of the Indian people. He also regularly labeled the persecuted minorities from nearby Islamic countries, particularly the oppressed Hindus, as “ghuspathiyas” (illegal immigrants) throughout his address.
Why Rohingya Muslims are a national threat
The liberal, commie, Islamist brigade in India holds the Rohingyas in high regard as innocent and helpless, but they are in reality another gang of veiled jihadis who would kill any non-Muslim who stood in their way if given the chance. The 2017 killing of innocent Hindus in Myanmar is the perfect real-world illustration of the spiteful temperament of the community. According to a 2018 Amnesty International report, in August 2017, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), the terrorist wing of Rohingyas, massacred up to 99 Hindu women, men and children in addition to carrying out other illegal killings and kidnappings of Hindu villagers.
The group disclosed how Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) fighters incited fear among Hindus and other ethnic communities with these heinous attacks, based on dozens of interviews conducted there and across the border in Bangladesh, as well as photographic evidence examined by forensic pathologists. Moreover, Rohingyas are associated with international terrorist groups. Osama Bin Laden, the founder of Al Qaeda, had also mentioned Burma, which had a sizable jihadi militia, in an interview with the Karachi-based journal Ummat.
Therefore, it is not shocking that Kashmiri terrorists support the Rohingyas. In a 10-minute audio message posted on the YouTube channel Ansar Ghazwa, late Zakir Musa, the self-described leader of Ansar Ghazwat-Ul-Hind, an Al Qaeda offshoot, cautioned the government against expelling the Rohingya Muslims from Jammu. Later, he was expelled from the world by Indian security forces in 2019.
Moreover, Rohingyas are associated with international terrorist groups. Osama Bin Laden, the founder of Al Qaeda, had also mentioned Burma, which had a sizable jihadi militia, in an interview with the Karachi-based journal Ummat. Therefore, it is not shocking that Kashmiri terrorists support the Rohingyas. In a 10-minute audio message posted on the YouTube channel Ansar Ghazwa, Zakir Musa, the self-described leader of Ansar Ghazwat-Ul-Hind, an Al Qaeda offshoot, cautioned the government against expelling the Rohingya Muslims from Jammu. Later, he was expelled from the world by Indian security forces in 2019.
It should be noted that Rohingyas are also associated with the Bangladesh Islami Chhatrashibir (ICS), a terrorist branch of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami with headquarters in the country. They are in charge of organizing violent protests and attacking security personnel, secular political opponents and secular people.
Conclusion
The AAP’s policies to aid the Rohingyas make it obvious that they have no regard for the security of the country or the rightful share of the Indian population. The current outage is merely a smokescreen to mislead unsuspecting citizens and improve the party’s reputation ahead of the upcoming election. As mentioned earlier, AAP is obviously following in the footsteps of the Nazi propaganda minister by accusing the BJP of the actions taken by their own party to unfairly favor the Rohingya community in spite of regular concerns and protests.
Likewise, their open hate for any attempt to protect the lives of innocent Hindus in Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan who are massacring their minorities, as well as their evident sympathy for Rohingyas, also speaks volumes about the party’s ideology and its vote bank politics.
Rizwan Kadri has made headlines for seeking the release of private letters of Jawaharlal Nehru with Edwina Mountbatten.
OpIndia reported how 51 cartons containing correspondence of the former Prime Minister with different individuals were removed from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (now known as Prime Minister’s Museum & Library) in 2008.
It was done at the behest of Sonia Gandhi. OpIndia spoke to Rizwan Kadri about the recent development and his letters to the Gandhi family.
Question: Why do you want the release of the Nehru papers?
Rizwan Kadri: When I became a member of the Prime Minister’s Museum & Library (PMML) in 2019, I wanted to read those letters. I kept on talking about it since then.
The public now has access to a lot of information but not the Nehru papers. This is especially true for the letters exchanged between Jawaharlal Nehru with JP Narayan and Edwina Mountbatten.
We had taken this issue up for discussion during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in February this year. All members have demanded that the collection of private papers be returned to PMML.
In the minutes of the meeting, it was mentioned that the entire collection of Nehru papers was removed in 2008 at the behest of Sonia Gandhi. It was taken away in 51 cartons.
The huge collection encompasses hidden facets of Indian history, which we have yet to explore. I had requested Sonia Gandhi in September to return the Nehru papers to PMML or allow us access either in digital or physical form.
Our objective is to study and encourage research on this subject.
Question: How and why did you reach out to the Gandhi family?
Rizwan Kadri: I sent a letter to Sonia Gandhi via speed post in September this year. An email was also sent. When I did not get any response, I sent a letter and email to Rahul Gandhi as well.
I told him that it is also his responsibility as Leader of the Opposition to ensure cultural preservation and future research by making the collection of Nehru papers available.
The history contained in those letters must come to the public domain. Right now, there is some element of speculation about what exactly is contained in those letters.
There must be some underlying reason for withdrawing the private collection of letters.
Question:Did historians ever access Nehru papers since Independence?
Rizwan Kadri: If we had to look at the Nehru collection earlier, then, we needed the permission of Smt Sonia Gandhi. And it was still not being shown to us for years.
A few years ago, about 21 collections were de-classified and made open to the public. It baffles me how access to historical materials can be closed or denied.
The more accessible you make resources for researchers, the higher the authenticity of the historical material which is read by the public.
Question:What message do you want to send to the Gandhi scions through our platform?
The Nehru papers constitute source material for researchers. We do not mind if the Gandhi family wants to retain the original copies of the letters. But, researchers must have digital access to them.
It is difficult for researchers from all over the country to come to Delhi, stay here and continue with their research. So for the sake of India’s history, we must provide access to the large collection of Nehru papers.
The Prime Minister’s Museum & Library is also exploring legal options.
Rizwan Kadri is an Ahmedabad-based historian. He is known for his exemplary work on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Mahatma Gandhi and Lokmanya Tilak. He currently works as an Associate Professor at the Shree Swaminarayan Arts College in Ahmedabad and serves as a member of the Prime Minister’s Museum & Library.
On 15th December, Kasganj police arrested two suspects in connection with the advocate Mohini Tomar murder case. The suspects have been identified as Sunil Fauji and Rajat Solanki. They were apprehended by the police near the Hazara canal, the same spot where Mohini’s body was found.
Notably, Mohini was murdered on 3rd September 2024. Her body was recovered from the Hazara canal. Following the murder, an FIR was lodged based on her husband’s complaint against Mustafa Kamil, Asad Mustafa, Haider Mustafa, Salman, Munazir Rafi, and Keshav Mishra.
Both Sunil and Rajat have reportedly confessed to accepting a ₹30 lakh contract to kill Mohini. The contract was allegedly given by advocate Mustafa Kamil and his sons. Both Sunil and Rajat had bounties of ₹1 lakh each for their arrests. Police recovered a car used in the murder, a country-made pistol, another firearm, Mohini’s mobile phone, and a stamp bearing Mohini’s name from their possession.
During interrogation, they admitted to being involved in the murder. They told the police that on 3rd September, they traveled to Kasganj Court in a car. They posed as clients wanting to arrange a marriage and lured Mohini into their car. Later, they strangled her to death and dumped her body in the canal. Earlier, two other conspirators, Bobby and Renu, were also arrested by the police for their alleged role in the crime.
Speaking to the media, Kasganj Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rajesh Bharti said that Sunil Fauji confessed to receiving ₹30 lakh from advocate Mustafa Kamil and his sons Haider and Asad Mustafa, along with Salman, Munazir Rafi, and Keshav Mishra, to kill Mohini. Sunil recruited Rajat, Bobby, and Renu to execute the plan to murder Mohini. They called Mohini out of the court under the pretext of seeking help for a court marriage. Renu and Bobby posed as the couple to make it more believable.
Notably, on 30th July 2024, Haider and Salman Mustafa brutally assaulted a man named Shivshankar in the Kasganj court premises and even tore off his shikha. As Mustafa Kamil was an influential person in the court premises, no lawyer was willing to take Shivshankar’s case. Mohini Tomar, however, stepped forward and represented him. Her efforts caused a delay in Kamil’s sons getting bail from the court, which angered him.
They reportedly threatened Mohini Tomar with dire consequences for opposing the bail plea of Kamil’s sons. She had previously expressed her fear to her husband that she could face physical harm. Ultimately, Kamil hired contract killers to murder Mohini. Further legal proceedings in the case are underway.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has declared that she stands strongly against patriarchy and she won’t let anyone tell her what kind of bag she should carry (or not carry). The statement here can sound bizarre to somebody uninitiated on the whole issue. Why would someone even notice Priyanka’s handbag if she wasn’t the one flaunting it in the first place?
The newly elected MP from Wayanad made a huge blunder in the first Lok Sabha speech last week. She started ranting against the state government in Himachal Pradesh, where her own party is in power. She got trolled and criticised for it, not because she is a woman and criticising a woman MP is ‘patriarchy’, she got criticised because she made a stupid blunder, in her first Lok Sabha address.
Today on December 16, Priyanka thought to make headlines again. So she carried a huge handbag with ‘PALESTINE’ written on it in bold capital letters. Nobody knows what was she trying to prove by that. Celebrities flaunt their clothes and accessories with a specific brand name when they are paid for it, or entrepreneurial celebrities like Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma and Deepika Padukone flaunt their own brands because they want people to buy them. Priyanka’s activism would have seemed a similar fashion endorsement if it wasn’t for the hollow entitlement that is more visible than the big bag here.
Priyanka even stopped and posed for photographs with that bag, beaming and grinning.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi sports a bag with 'Palestine' written on it in the Parliament pic.twitter.com/RVPh8FuJ6J
Regarding Priyanka’s choice of handbag though, the message she is trying to send is rather confusing.
The irony in ‘flaunting’ a Palestine bag is multi-layered. First, there are Palestinian civilians being used as human shields by Hamas in Gaza. Priyanka’s version of ‘supporting’ the Palestinian cause is to highlight Israel’s war against Hamas and call to stop it. She has been peddling Hamas talking points for months. Priyanka hasn’t yet questioned Hamas why it isn’t allowing Palestinian civilians to flee, why were they running terrorist shelters, and weapons silos under civilian structures.
Second, the war in Gaza started because Hamas terrorists attacked women, children and the elderly in Israel. The October 7 attack was targeted at women, children, families and the elderly living quiet lives, enjoying family time in their homes. Hamas misused the employment and earning opportunities provided by Israel to Palestinian civilians to earn a decent livelihood by working in their territory by launching the attack and taking hundreds of civilians hostage, after killing hundreds of women and children brutally.
Priyanka’s feminism and activism are perhaps only for one specific group of victims, depending on their religion.
There are people starving in Gaza, and children living in fear. There are bombs being dropped relentlessly for over a year and much of it has been turned into rubble. Here, a privileged fourth-generation ultra-rich political heir of one of the most powerful families in India is flaunting her alleged sympathy for those people, by carrying a colourful bag and smiling at the cameras. How very touching.
When asked by a journalist what she has to say to the people criticising her flashy, vibrant, (and possibly very expensive) handbag, Priyanka instantly played the patriarchy card. She said it is a patriarchal mindset to dictate what a woman should and should not wear and she doesn’t subscribe to such mindset. Bravo queen. What a statement. The starving women and children, huddled under a bunker in Gaza must feel elated that their champion has successfully carried a Palestine bag to her office and flaunted it before cameras.
In reality, Priyanka’s feminism here is as hollow as her fake activism for Palestine. She has done what every dumb Insta influencer does these days. Just as clueless millennials feel good about themselves by trending hashtags, the Wayanad MP is trying to do what woke teenagers are doing in US colleges nowadays, become stupid instruments for stupid activism, play victim and hog headlines, without ever doing anything meaningful. Even then, those teenagers are at least taking some risk, Priyanka is easily one of the most privileged, most protected women in India. Nobody is going to expel her from a college campus, and no recruiter is going to say she cannot be hired. She is only mocking the voters in Wayanad who would have thought their MP was going to address their issues.
An investigation into the fabricated birth certificates of thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshi infiltrators was launched on 18th July in the Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh. The probe is still ongoing. So far, over 52,000 certificates have been discovered to be fraudulent. This forgery includes identification certificates of people from several states of India, along with people from neighboring countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
The government has announced cancellation of all these bogus certificates. According to media reports, a total of 11 villages in Salon block is where these fake birth certificates were discovered. A total of 52,594 of these certificates have been forged in these villages. These certificates were issued in the names of citizens of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Punjab, as well as for people from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. Deputy Director Panchayati Raj Saswat Anand Singh has ordered to revoke these bogus certificates.
Furthermore, the district’s District Public Relations Officer (DPRO) has been directed to exercise extra caution while issuing birth and death certificates going forward. According to the inquiry, fraudsters in multiple villages created 500 to 1000 phony birth certificates in a day, although a computer is only capable of producing 100 certificates in a 24-hour period. It is believed that the perpetrators from several locations collaborated to generate a large number of certificates in one day using a single ID and password.
Palhipur is the most afflicted of the 11 villages where fraudulent birth certificates have been unearthed and 13707 fake certifications have been detected, followed by Nuruddinpur where the number is 10151, and Prithvipur at third number at 9393 fake certificates. Moreover, 4897 fake certificates were identified in Sanda Saidan, 3746 in Madhavpur Ninaya, 3780 in Lahurepur, 2255 in Garhi Islamnagar, 1665 in Aunanees, 225 in Gopalpur, also known as Anantapur, and 2 in Dubhan.
The primary suspect in this matter is Mohammad Zeeshan who is a resident of Salon. Riaz, Suhail Khan, and Block Development Officer (BDO) Vijay Singh Yadav were allegedly involved in the conspiracy with him. All accused have been arrested. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also been roped in along with Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) to investigate the case. Investigators are looking into whether other accused people were complicit in the forgery.
The issue was brought to light in July 2024 when more birth certificates were issued than the population of some villages. This conspiracy was initially not known even to the heads of several villages. Vijay Yadav had filed the police complaint in an attempt to prove his innocence. According to a police probe, he provided Zeeshan with his official CUG number. All birth certificates used to arrive at this number with an OTP confirming their approval.
The Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, General Upendra Dwivedi, along with Sunita Dwivedi, on Monday installed the ‘iconic 1971 surrender painting’ at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi.
The iconic painting portrays the ceremonial surrender of Pakistani soldiers to the Indian Army on 16 December, 1971, in Dhaka following the liberation of Bangladesh was installed on the occasion of Vijay Diwas.
December 16, 1971, was the day when Pakistan signed the instrument of surrender in Dhaka, following a 13-day India-Pakistan War. This resulted in the surrender of over 93,000 soldiers, and the Pakistan Army’s capitulation against Indian forces was complete. Following this decisive victory, India announced itself as a major regional force.
“On the occasion of #VijayDiwas, #GeneralUpendraDwivedi #COAS, along with the President #AWWA, Mrs. Sunita Dwivedi, installed the iconic 1971 surrender painting in its most befitting place, The Manekshaw Centre, named after the architect and the hero of the 1971 War, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.” The Indian Army posted on X.
Senior serving officers of the Indian Army and veterans were present on this occasion.
As per the Indian Army, the installation at the Manekshaw Centre, named after the Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, will benefit a large audience due to substantial footfall of diverse audiences and dignitaries from India and abroad at this venue.
“This painting is a testament to one of the greatest military victories of the #IndianArmedForces and the commitment of #India to justice & humanity for all. Its placement at the #ManekshawCentre #NewDelhi will benefit a large audience due to substantial footfall of diverse audience & dignitaries from #India and abroad at this venue,” the post further reads.
Notably, the painting was earlier installed in the Army Headquarters, New Delhi.
Earlier in the day, Congress MP Manickam Tagore moved an adjournment motion notice in the Lok Sabha on Monday to discuss the removal of a 1971 war photograph from Army Headquarters, New Delhi, and its implications.
In his notice to Speaker Om Birla, Manickam Tagore said that the removal of the photograph, which commemorates the historic surrender of Pakistani forces in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on December 16, 1971, is not only troubling but is a direct affront to the historical memory of this monumental event.
He urged the central government to “immediately” restore the photograph to its original position.
For India, the 1971 victory is a historic milestone, and December 16 is commemorated nationwide as “Vijay Diwas” to honour India’s triumph over Pakistan. According to reports, 3,900 Indian soldiers are believed to have died and 9,851 were injured during the war of 1971.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
On 15th December, the Congress Party once again opened a front against India Today and Aaj Tak’s News Director, Rahul Kanwal, and announced that they had blacklisted him. The development came after, according to Congress, Kanwal “insulted” Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, at the India Today Conclave during an interview with Home Minister Amit Shah.
In the India Today conclave, Kanwal exposed the Gandhi scion stating that even though he held forth on upholding the Constitution, he had been visiting
The Congress Party has always stood for freedom of the press and respects fair journalism – not when those carrying a press card are actually acting like trolls on behalf of a political party.
We do not think it is necessary to engage with such trolls. It has therefore been…
In a post on the social media platform X, the Chairman of the Media and Publicity Department of the All India Congress Committee, Pawan Khera, wrote, “The Congress Party has always stood for freedom of the press and respects fair journalism – not when those carrying a press card are actually acting like trolls on behalf of a political party. We do not think it is necessary to engage with such trolls. It has therefore been decided to blacklist India Today’s Rahul Kanwal, who was brazenly kowtowing to the self-styled Chanakya who made outrageous innuendos on the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, at the India Today Conclave. We gave Kanwal a chance the last time when he regretted his conduct, but he has turned out to be a repeat offender and hence, by our participation, we cannot qualify what he does in the name of journalism.”
In an earlier post, Khera, who was visibly angry as asserted in the post’s content, said, “What was more shameless? The Home Minister of the country indulging in cheap, gutter-level gossip about the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Rahul Gandhi or Rahul Kanwal deriving cheap thrills by egging Amit Shah and the audience? Would Rahul Kanwal have the guts to ask Shah about Modi’s abandoned wife? Would Kanwal have the guts to ask Shah about Snoopgate? Is this what India Today conclaves have been reduced to, Mr Aroon Purie?”
What was more shameless? The Home Minister of the country indulging in cheap, gutter level gossip about LOP, Mr @RahulGandhi or @rahulkanwal deriving cheap thrills egging Amit Shah and audience? ▪️Would @rahulkanwal have the guts to ask Shah about the abandoned wife of Modi?…
This is not the first time the Congress Party has targeted Kanwal. On 4th September, Khera posted on X, stating that Kanwal had met the Congress President and other party leaders to clarify his position regarding a debate on Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, during which a BJP spokesperson made remarks that the party deemed “obnoxious views.” Kanwal approached the Congress leaders after they announced their decision to boycott his shows.
Mr @rahulkanwal met the Hon’ble Congress President, the General Secy Media, Communications and Publicity and the Chairman, Media, Communications and Publicity to clarify his position on the matter pertaining to the debate on Late Smt Indira Gandhi and Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi and…
What happened during the interview at the India Today Conclave
In the interview with Home Minister Amit Shah, Rahul Kanwal asked straightforward questions related to the Lok Sabha elections, recently held Assembly Elections in several states, the law and order situation in the country, upcoming elections, border security, and more. During the discussion, both talked about how Congress reacted differently to wins and defeats and also discussed the political career of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the context of various topics.
HM Shah did not mince words when discussing Gandhi’s leadership. He referred to him as a “rare example in Indian politics of someone who becomes arrogant even in defeat.” He criticised Gandhi for having “misplaced confidence” and a reliance on external influences. While referring to Gandhi’s repeated reliance on international reports to attack the government, he said, “Why does Rahul Gandhi always look outside India for inspiration? This country has a judiciary, vigilance bodies, and democratic mechanisms, yet he continuously brings accusations from foreign sources.”
He further added that the approach Gandhi has taken raises questions about the Congress Party’s commitment to India’s institutions. He said, “Is it so hard for the Congress to use domestic institutions instead of always seeking validation from abroad?”
HM Shah mocked Congress for repeatedly laying down accusations against electronic voting machines (EVMs). He said, “When Congress wins, EVMs are fine. When they lose, EVMs are suddenly defective. This shows their inability to accept defeat gracefully.” He further dismissed the allegations of EVM tampering as baseless and part of Congress’s broader strategy to undermine the credibility of the electoral system in the country.
Shah pointed out that Gandhi frequently refers to international institutions and bases accusations on foreign reports. He said, “I don’t understand why Rahul Gandhi’s inspiration always comes from outside India. Is this the same Congress that once spoke of Indian self-reliance?” Referring to Gandhi’s recent statements in Parliament and his focus on global narratives, Shah said, “This constant need for validation from foreign institutions shows Congress’s inability to trust India’s systems.”
During the interview, HM Shah did not miss a single chance to make sarcastic comments about Rahul Gandhi, Congress, and Priyanka Gandhi. Here is a collection of some of the comments he made:-
Speaking on Rahul Gandhi’s arrogance in defeat, he said, “I have seen leaders who are neither discouraged by defeat nor arrogant in victory, but Rahul Gandhi is the first in Indian political history to become arrogant even in defeat.”
Roasting Rahul Kanwal & Rahul Gandhi at the same time ?
Speaking on Congress’s election performance, he remarked, “In the last three elections—2014, 2019, and 2024—Congress hasn’t won as many seats combined as we won this time, yet they act as though they won the election.”
2014, 2019 और 2024 तीनों मिलाकर भी कांग्रेस को जितनी सीटें नहीं आई है, उतनी सीटें हम इस बार जीतकर आए हैं। फिर उनको (कांग्रेस) लगता है हम चुनाव हारे हैं।
Targeting Rahul Gandhi for taking inspiration from “abroad,” HM Shah said, “Why does Rahul Gandhi always find inspiration abroad? This country has its judiciary, vigilance bodies, and democratic mechanisms, but he keeps running to foreign institutions for validation.”
HM Shah pointed out that whenever Parliament is in session, Gandhi comes up with fresh accusations based on foreign reports. He said, “Whenever Parliament is in session, Rahul Gandhi comes back with some fresh accusations based on foreign reports. It’s as if his only source of inspiration resides outside India.”
Sanghis are C0wards for a reason & they proved it again
Home Minister Amit Shah & National media anchor Rahul Kanwal doing Dog whistling about Rahul Gandhi
They don't even have enough guts to say that directly, because they know that they are spread manufactured Lie ?? pic.twitter.com/KOKLXMu0TK
Taking a dig at Congress’s accusations against BJP, claiming the ruling party has control over institutions, HM Shah said, “Rahul Gandhi claims that every institution in this country, from the judiciary to the CAG, is under Modi’s control. Perhaps Congress is projecting its own history of manipulating institutions.”
HM Shah took a dig at the Congress Party for its flip-flop attitude on EVMs. He said, “When Congress wins an election, EVMs work perfectly. But when they lose, suddenly, the machines are faulty. It’s like saying, ‘I don’t know how to dance, so let’s blame the floor for being uneven.’”
HM Shah pointed out that it seems to be Congress’s strategy to keep laying down baseless allegations. He said, “Congress’s strategy is simple—make an allegation, run away from evidence, and create confusion. They have mastered the art of accusation without substance.”
Taking a dig at Priyanka Gandhi, he said, “Priyanka Gandhi says institutions have weakened under Modi. Funny how the same institutions thrived under Congress when they were exposing scams like 2G and Coalgate.”
At one point, HM Shah warned Rahul Kanwal to stay away from Rahul Gandhi; otherwise, his thinking would go haywire. He said, “Be careful about staying in touch with Rahul Gandhi. Too much contact could cause your thinking to go haywire as well.” Rahul Kanwal himself took a dig at Rahul Gandhi at that point and revealed that Gandhi refused to come to India Today’s platform and answer questions. He said, “We’ve been inviting Rahul Gandhi to such forums for 20 years. He’s never come. It’s as if he’s allergic to facing questions.”
Congress, its leaders and its allies regularly target journalists
Congress has a long history of suppressing the voices of media houses and journalists. In September 2023, I.N.D.I. Alliance released a list of 14 anchors including Arnab Goswami, Rubika Liaquat and Shiv Aroor saying the alliance would boycott them. They decided that these were the anchors whose tough questions they were not willing to answer and would only perhaps entertain those anchors who asked Sonia Gandhi whether she knew how to cook pasta. The list included names of Aditi Tyagi, Aman Chopra, Amish Devgan, Anand Narasimhan, Arnab Goswami, Ashok Shrivastav, Chitra Tripathi, Gaurav Sawant, Navika Kumar, Prachi Parashar, Rubika Liaquat, Shiv Aroor, Sudhir Chaudhary and Sushant Sinha.
Not only the party and the alliances it has been part of, but Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to mocking, intimidating, and targeting journalists. In November this year, Gandhi hackled a News18 journalist named Niraj Kumar and branded him as “BJP Agent”. The incident occurred during a press conference of the Gandhi Scion. Kumar had highlighted 3 allegations levelled by the rival national party BJP against the Congress. On being confronted with these tough questions, a rattled Rahul Gandhi attacked the News18 journalist and accused him of parroting the BJP agenda.
Why does @RahulGandhi get triggered by tough questions?
When unable to answer, he labeled them BJP questions & started heckling the journalist. pic.twitter.com/JZFoKUiyMt
In February, when Lok Sabha election campaigning was gaining pace, Rahul Gandhi almost got a journalist lynched during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. During a speech at a rally, Rahul Gandhi addressed a journalist in public and asked for his name. “Are you from the media? What is your name? What is the name of the owner of your organisation?” Rahul Gandhi asked the journalist. When the journalist attempted to say something, Rahul Gandhi’s tone suddenly became aggressive. “Tell his name, what is your owner’s name? Say it”, he was heard saying as the crowd of Congress supporters around him got agitated and hostile against the journalist. “Is he an OBC? Is your owner a Dalit? No, he is not.” Rahul Gandhi continued as the crowd around the journalist got hostile. He then stopped the Congress workers saying, “No. Don’t beat him up”.
This is serious! This ven0mous clown had literally unleashed his goons on a journalist for not being a Darbari….
His tone was so provocative & then he acted like he didn't want him to get hurt…. pic.twitter.com/llRdKWvS4F
Not only in India, Congress workers have allegedly attacked Indian journalists on foreign soil. In September, Congress workers in Dallas, Texas assaulted India Today media network during Rahul Gandhi’s US visit. Journalist Rohit Sharma had gone to Texas to cover Indian Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s much-anticipated visit. During the event, Sharma was harassed by the Congress workers as he raised the question of Hindus killed in Bangladesh at the hands of Islamists after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government there. As per the India Today report, Sharma approached the Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) Sam Pitroda for an exclusive interview hours before Gandhi was scheduled to arrive at the DFW International Airport. The entire interview went well until the last question posed by the journalist.
As the interview drew closer to the conclusion, Sharma asked, “Will Rahul Gandhi raise the issue of Hindus being killed in Bangladesh during his meetings with US lawmakers?” Before Pitroda could respond to the question, other 20-30 close associates and supporters of Congress and Rahul Gandhi who were present during the interview began creating chaos saying that the question asked by Sharma was ‘controversial’. They assaulted him, snatched his phone, and deleted the entire video of the interview.
In April 2020, Arnab Goswami and his wife were attacked by two Congress workers while driving home from Republic TV’s studio. The attack followed Goswami’s sharp criticism of Sonia Gandhi, questioning her silence on the Palghar lynching of two sadhus. Days later, Goswami was interrogated by Mumbai Police for over 12 hours on Congress leader Nitin Raut’s complaint. Allegations surfaced that Raut’s complaint was based on a manipulated clip, exposing a politically motivated attempt to silence Goswami.
Furthermore, how can one forget the treatment of media outlets during an emergency? During the Emergency imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1975 to 1977, the Congress Party severely curtailed press freedom in India. The government implemented strict censorship, banning domestic and international news critical of its actions, and expelled numerous foreign journalists. Over 260 Indian journalists were imprisoned for opposing the regime, highlighting the Congress Party’s authoritarian approach to suppressing dissent and controlling information during this period.
The Congress Party’s move to blacklist Rahul Kanwal shows its uneasy relationship with independent journalism and raises questions about its commitment to press freedom. By targeting journalists and media houses that don’t agree with its views, Congress goes against the values it claims to support.
