Shiv Sena’s motormouth leader Sanjay Raut on Monday said that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar should be considered by all political parties for the 2022 presidential election.
Claiming that they will have enough numbers by 2022 ‘on their side’ to decide the presidential candidate, Raut said: “Sharad Pawar is a senior leader of the country. I think his name should be considered by all political parties for the post of President, the election for which will be held in 2022”.
Asked about the opinion of other political parties on fielding Sharad Pawar as the next President, Shiv Sena leader Raut said he has “merely proposed” Pawar’s name.
“I think other political parties can also propose other senior candidates for the post of President. By 2022, there will be enough numbers on our side to decide the presidential candidate,” said Raut.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar had emerged as the facilitator between the Shiv Sena and the Congress during the 2019 Maharashtra political crisis. His manipulation and determination ensured his resurgence in Maharashtra politics.
The NCP had not fared well in three consecutive elections – 2014 Lok Sabha election, 2014 Maharashtra Assembly election and 2019 Lok Sabha election. Many had declared the 79-year-old NCP stalwart a finished politician.
After the Maharashtra assembly election results were announced in 2019 and the Shiv Sena parted ways with the BJP, Sharad Pawar took the centre stage and used this to his advantage. He was the link between the Congress and the Shiv Sena and utilising this situation to his advantage, he “manipulated” both the parties to emerge as the leadfoot in the alliance.
The portfolio allocation shows that the balance of power in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi has already tilted in the favour of the NCP and Sharad Pawar. The NCP has been successful in not only getting 16 ministerial posts but also retained the most crucial ministries.
In the 288-member assembly, Shiv Sena has 56 seats, NCP has 54 and Congress has 44 seats. Despite having the highest number, Shiv Sena seems to have been reduced to a non-significant alliance partner in the coalition as even Congress got crucial departments like revenue and PWD out of its tally of 10. Besides the CM post, Shiv Sena has managed to get 14 other ministerial posts while it retained urban development, agriculture and industries.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is a Central Armed Police Force has today arrested one Ameer Hamza Khan (34), resident of Zakir Nagar in Delhi at the frisking point at Jamia Millia Islamia metro station, confirmed Delhi Police.
According to ANI, Khan, a native of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh was caught carrying a pistol and 5 live rounds of ammunition. A case has been registered at Okhla Vihar police station. The accused has been arrested under the provisions of Arms Act and is currently being interrogated, informed additional PRO Delhi Police Anil Mittal.
Delhi Police: A person Ameer Hamza Khan ,aged 34 yrs, a resident of Zakir Nagar, Delhi (native of Meerut,UP) has been caught carrying a pistol and 5 live rounds by CISF at frisking point at Jamia Milia Islamia metro station. Further interrogation is in progress. pic.twitter.com/oMbAdSlPlR
As per reports, additional PRO Delhi Police Amit Mittal has stated that a case under the provisions of Arms Act has been registered under Hamza Khan.
Earlier in the day, reports had emerged that miscreants from Jamia Millia Islamia and other leftist goons had arrived in JNU to participate in the large-scale violence that was unleashed inside the campus last night, leaving several students gravely injured.
It is notable here that the Jamia Millia Islamia and Jamia Nagar area, in general, has been tensed since last month after violent protests by Muslim mobs against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
The violent mob had also clashed with the police, burned down DTC buses and had indulged in large-scale vandalism and stone-pelting. The police had to enter Jamia Millia campus to bring the situation under control on December 15. Several Muslim women have also been protesting against the act at Shaheen Bagh.
Leftists at JNU are outraged … again. As Communists gather on cold winter nights to resist “fascism” by elected governments, I bet some stories of their heroes and “sheroes” would surely lift their spirits.
So here is one for the ages. Our Communist saviours have spent so much time protesting that they hardly have time to learn about the glorious history of their own struggle. I bet this will do them proud. They can watch this hour-long Youtube video on their expensive smartphones with cheap data (shame on capitalism!)
But let me post some highlights to get their interest.
“Comrade Chandu”
This intent young man is Chandrasekhar Prasad, fondly called “Comrade Chandu.” His heart burns with a passion to do something for the poor, marginalized and dispossessed in our society. He has already achieved the first major step towards bringing social justice in India: he has been elected President of the JNU Students Union.
What happened to this young man? Where is he now? Let me show you this picture, some portion of which I have edited out.
What do you think is happening here?
What do you think is happening here? JNU students jiving to rock bands as they bring justice to the poorest of the poor? Bollywood celebrities and media making a beeline for the hippest and cool protest party in town?
Answer coming up. Stay tuned.
Let’s get back to Comrade Chandu. What about him?
Well, Comrade Chandu is tired of speech giving and protest parties at JNU. He decided to go to Bihar, where he would be facing off against real oppression at ground zero. He was confident that his committed comrades were 100% behind him. In spirit, of course. And so was Bollywood, I’m sure. Also in spirit.
Read this old poster. It’s a promise from the comrades, never to forget Chandu.
Poster asking comrades never to forget Chandu
But, where has Comrade Chandu gone? To receive a Ramon Magsaysay Award? To fight elections in some small place in Bihar where Bollywood celebrities will be campaigning for him?
Not exactly. Comrade Chandu is no more. He has been assassinated in Siwan in Bihar. Allegedly by goons of Lalu’s right-hand man Mohammad Shahabuddin. And look, his JNU comrades have come to register their anger against Lalu Yadav at Bihar Niwas in Delhi. The year is 1997.
Here is the rest of the Youtube screenshot that I had edited earlier in the post.
Protest by Leftists
Recognize her?
Kavita Krishnan protesting the murder of Chandu by Lalu’s goons
I watched the full documentary. Interestingly, I noticed that no Bollywood celebrities had shown up in solidarity. They must have been supporting the movement in spirit. As for stand up comics, that was not even a career back then. Except for Lalu Yadav, who was known to elite media for his great sense of humour. What happened to Comrade Chandu notwithstanding.
But we know comrades don’t forget. The revolution never forgets. The battle for the rights of the oppressed never ceases.
Comrade Kanhaiya bowing to Lalu
Lower … lower! You should bend even lower, Kanhaiya Kumar! How else will you make Comrade Chandu proud?
The “student movement” that began in JNU in 1997 ended at the feet of Lalu Yadav. No better way to do justice to Bihar, right?
Anger can be a great starting point for young people in a democracy. But ultimately that anger must lead somewhere. I say look to your visionary heroes like Kanhaiya Kumar. They will show you the path of the light.
So all of you young people on the barricades, don’t lose heart. The voice of left-wing student unions is the voice of the people. When you are out in the cold, tell each other the inspiring story of how leftist students shook the world and how they never forgot Comrade Chandu.
Also, I hear a rumour that “Shero No. 1” will have the honour of touching Lalu Yadav’s feet. So on to the barricades. And don’t forget to delete your old Facebook posts.
Although the left-liberals keep complaining about ‘online harassment’ by ‘right wing trolls’, it is the left-liberal gangs that have the power to destroy the lives and careers of people for their views online. We have seen several examples of left-liberal intellectuals and journalists getting common people being fired for a simple social media post. The latest addition to that list is Indian origin celebrity chef Atul Kochhar.
The Michelin starred chef was sacked by JW Marriott Marqui Hotel Dubai in June 2018 after Islamists and left-liberals had targeted him for a single tweet. Kochhar had even issued an unconditional apology, but that was not enough for the Islamists baying for his blood, and they were satisfied only after the Dubai hotel had terminated the contract with him.
Atul Kochhar tweet
Atul Kochhar was targeted by Islamist-Leftists not for saying something controversial, but for stating a well-known truth. While responding to a tweet by actress Priyanka Chopra, he had written, “It’s sad to see that you have not respected the sentiments of Hindus who have been terrorised by Islam over 2000 years. Shame on you.” The had tweeted this in response to a tweet by Priyanka Chopra apologising after a backlash against an episode of her Hollywood TV show Quantico. Priyanka Chopra was targeted after the show had shown that Indian nationalists had plotted a nuclear attack in Manhattan to frame Pakistani terrorists. This fictional plot twist that was far away from reality had angered many Indians, and Atul Kochhar was one of them to have expressed unhappiness over the same.
After the chef was sacked by the Dubai hotel, he was quickly forgotten and the Islamist-leftists had moved on to their next target, but it has been a very difficult time for Kochhar after that incident. In an interview that was published in August last year, he narrated how he and his family had to face difficult times after he was hounded for his one tweet.
It was not just online backlash that Atul Kochhar had to face, his two school-going teenaged children had to face difficult situations in the school after their father had become a target of massive online attack, and he had to keep his children away from school for some time. The situation was used by his professional rivals to throw him away out of his business, and such rivals had joined the gang against him. “I think it was the darkest time of my life,” he said while narrating that period his life.
Atul Kochhar said that he went through depression following the episode, and he and his family came back to India for some time to recover from it. He broke down during the interview while narrating what he had his family had to go through.
During the entire interview, he keeps insisting that his tweet was a silly mistake, and he actually didn’t mean it. He also says that during that difficult times, his Muslims friends were most supportive of him. He says that growing up in Shahjahanpur near Lucknow, he had several Muslim friends. He added that during his professional career he had supported several orphan kids financially by sponsoring their education, all of them Muslims.
Despite being such a secular person, Atul Kochhar was hounded by Islamist-leftist gang. He had to pay a heavy price for stating a truth, although he insists that it was a silly mistake and he should not have tweeted that message.
Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) President Geeta Kumari on Sunday evening took to Twitter to share screenshot of WhatsApp conversation which showed one member of a WhatsApp group “Left Terror Down Down” saying that he is having a lot of fun in JNU.
Screenshot of WhatsApp conversation shared by Geeta Kumari, ex-JNUSU President on Twitter. The tweet is now unavailable
Geeta, in her tweet had tagged Delhi Police and claimed how ‘ABVP goons having fun after beating students’. In a bid to amplify her claims, she had tagged Bollywood entertainer Anurag Kashyap who likes to share fake videos to attack PM Modi along with flop filmmaker and a Modi hater Anubhav Sinha, junior Bollywood entertainer and former JNU student Swara Bhasker and former AISA activist Kavita Krishnan.
Geeta has circled one message by one ‘Yashaswi Harsh’ which read “We have so much fun at JNU. Maza aagaya. Un salo ko desh dhrohio ko mar ke”. The grammatically incorrect sentence meant we had so much fun while beating up those traitors. The WhatsApp group named ‘Left Terror Down Down’ would indicate that ‘Yashaswi Harsh’ would be a non-left person and hence easy to paint him as ABVP member.
If you look closely, the group name has changed multiple times before it was named ‘Left Terror Down Down’ while taking this screenshot. It was named “Sanghi goons moordabad” and also “ABVP Chee Chee” prior to this. Netizens also channelised their inner detective and discovered that the admin of this group where ‘ABVP goons’ were enjoying after beating up students is a Jamia Millia Islamia student.
One of the admins of the WhatsApp group who changed the name to ‘Sanghi goos moordabad’ is Abdul Kabeer Chungathara. He is a member of Muslim Students Federation. Muslim Students Federation was founded in 1958 and ‘upholds the vision of Mohammad Ismail who was part of Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League and after partition, he was the first president of Muslim League’s Indian faction, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
So apparently Ambedkar Student’s Union pointsman for Kerala Flood relief was this @AKChungathara, Kabeer Chungathara in that screeshot and he is a representative of Muslims Student Federation. @someshjha7 exposed him in that WA group screenshot (inadvertently) pic.twitter.com/q1f800qxqa
Amusingly, Abdul Kabeer Chungathara has deactivated his Twitter and Facebook accounts after the details were revealed. Clearly the admin of the group ‘Left Terror Down Down’ where its ‘members’ were celebrating beating up students was not an ABVP member as claimed by Geeta Kumari.
Aman is followed by former AISA member and propagandist Kavita Krishnan and another ex-JNU student Umar Khalid, son of former member of banned terror outfit SIMI. Aman, too, is a student at JNU and is currently pursuing Masters in Modern History as per his Facebook page. He has multiple pictures with Umar Khalid and Kanhaiya Kumar on his Facebook page.
Quite conclusive that the ones celebrating violence on students were actually the ones from the left and the party Geeta Kumari belongs to.
Large-scale violence erupted in the JNU campus last night where hundreds of masked men entered the campus, attacked students and faculty members with sticks and rods. The university administration released a statement saying that the students who opposed the registration in the new semester attacked the students who were registering and wanted to study. It is alleged that Leftist students, protesting against the marginal fee hike in JNU were opposed to students registering for the new semester.
Now, BPSC officer who is studying in JNU has also taken to Facebook to narrate his harrowing experience after masked goons laid siege in the JNU campus. According to his account, it was the Leftists who indulged in largescale violence.
Bhaskar Jyoti says that around 8 PM, he escaped from the JNU hostel to take refuge in a friend’s house and he has no idea what would have happened had he stayed in the hostel. He says that his friend was on his way from the Kaveri hostel to the Periyar hostel to check up on him when his head was busted by Leftist goons.
He says that two days ago, the Naxalites (Leftist students, in all probability) had shut down the entire WiFi system and that masked goons had cut all the cables so the registration process cannot be carried out. He alleges that the students who wanted to register were making a list of the miscreants who were disrupting the registration process and it is in this backdrop that the violence took place.
He says that his friends were talking in his room and after they left, he heard loud noises under the Periyar hostel. While he was too tired and did not check what was happening, soon, 200 masked goons appeared in the hostel armed with sticks and rods and were entering every room, breaking down doors and windows.
Further, Bhaskar says that when the goons looked at him, they showered him with abuses and started chasing him down trying to enter his room. Bhaskar managed to run inside his room and lock the door, jamming it with the wooden furniture. After trying to break the door down with sticks and rods for a few minutes, they left and loud screaming noises could be heard by him from the hostel.
He then claims that he headed to his balcony where he could see 500 people beating on students of Godavari hostel. There were girls in masks too. After this, he could hear them saying that now they will proceed to beat up students staying in the Mahi Mandvi Hostel.
He then says that after 20-25 minutes, around 500 masked Naxalites were beating students of the Periyar students at the gate of the hostel. He says that at that time, around 50 people entered the hostel again and started trying to break down doors and windows.
He then makes two startling revelations. He says that he says JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh with his own eyes entering the Periyar hostel and when she entered the hostel, she was well and not hurt. He says he doesn’t know when Ghosh got hurt thereafter. He also claims that for about an hour, the stone pelting at the gate of Periyar hostel continued by the Leftists.
He then says that he was asked to leave the hostel by the administration because of the violence and was also told that the Leftist students might attack again. He says that he then escaped the hostel through the surrounding woods.
The claims of Bhaskar do not seem to be too off the mark as the JNU statement also mentions the violence breaking out due to the registration process. Further, a video had surfaced earlier as well, based on which, claims were made that JNUSU President, Leftist student Aishe Ghosh was seen leading the masked mob that attacked JNU students.
As violence, assault and mayhem gripped the JNU campus last evening, there are several reports emerging that show the mob behaviour and the situation yesterday.
Republic correspondent Piyush Mishra has shared a video where he was assaulted, heckled and abused by the protesting mob in the JNU campus. Mishra stated that the incident happened in the presence of Delhi police personnel.
This is how a JNU protestor misbehaved, abused and heckled me while I was reporting outside JNU and that also in presence of massive @DelhiPolice personnel. No police personnel stopped these goons. Expect an unexpected condemnation by @IndEditorsGuild#JNUViolencepic.twitter.com/cS1v6RTryP
In the video, Mishra can be seen trying to report about the situation at JNU. As he faces the camera and continues his reporting amidst loud slogans, a person, one of the protestors as per Mishra, is seen approaching him and asking what was he (Mishra) doing there.
At around 18 seconds in the video, a man in blue jacket and red scarf approaches Mishra and roughs him up.
Republic journalist Piyush Mishra being manhandled by Abhimanyu Singh
The not-so-gentleman in blue is one Abhimanyu Singh alias Abhimanyu Kumar who works with online portal, ‘Youth Ki Awaaz’.
Abhimanyu Singh’s picture from his Facebook account. (image edited to blur out the child’s face)
Singh is a journalist who has previously worked with The Hindu, The Sunday Guardian and Youth Ki Awaaz.
Abhimanyu Singh’s Facebook profile where he lists his previous work experience.
He is also a former JNU student.
As Mishra tried to continue doing his job, Abhimanyu is seen heckling and pushing Mishra away. As Mishra tries to pacify him and continue his work, Abhimanyu then proceeds to threaten and abuse him.
Mishra wrote that he expects a condemnation by the Editors’ Guild over the incident.
After the widespread incidents of violence and mayhem at the campus by masked goons, several students have been reportedly admitted in the hospital with injuries. The JNU administration, in an official statement, has stated that the violence was unleashed by some groups of agitating students who did not want the registration and academic process to continue. Thousands of students who had registered for the winter semester have been physically stopped by the protesting goons from entering their respective school buildings.
Horrible details are emerging after the large-scale violence that was unleashed inside the JNU premises last night. There are reports that miscreants from Jamia Millia Islamia and others had arrived in JNU after organised calls from leftists to gather there.
BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi has visited some of the injured students. In a video shared by NDTV, Lekhi stated that several students have received serious injuries after merciless assault by leftist goons in the campus.
Lekhi stated that one of the students she met has suffered memory loss due to severe head trauma. There are other students who also have neck, head and other injuries.
Lekhi also added that there are some girls who have been forced into bathrooms, identified and beaten on their private parts. The girls, she added are so hurt and embarrassed that they have left the hostels with their families.
Lekhi added that there are some elements who have been instigating mobs to gather at JNU to participate in the violence. Condemning the social media ‘instigators’, Lekhi added that it is very hurtful to see people using their influence to fan the violence and put the lives of youngsters in danger for their political goals.
Lekhi added that parents send their children to JNU hoping that they will receive a quality education and add value to the society. Lekhi added that the students she spoke to have stated that the goons were called and supported by leftists. Even after the incidents of violence, Lekhi added that some people are still trying to instigate further unrest and trying to create mayhem in the hospital too.
Lekhi added that Jamia students had been called by leftists in JNU to assault students on the campus. She also added that she was shocked to see sloganeering and mob instigation in the hospital too. She added she was told Priyanka Gandhi has visited the hospital and had even got some doctors with her.
Large-scale violence erupted in the JNU campus last night where hundreds of masked men entered the campus, attacked students and faculty members with sticks and rods. The university administration released a statement saying that the students who opposed the registration in the new semester attacked the students who were registering and wanted to study. It is alleged that Leftist students, protesting against the marginal fee hike in JNU were opposed to students registering for the new semester.
In the mob violence that broke out in JNU, JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh was one of the first students we heard. She was seen bleeding profusely and said that she had been brutally attacked by goons wearing masks.
Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) President Aishe Ghosh at JNU: I have been brutally attacked by goons wearing masks. I have been bleeding. I was brutally beaten up. pic.twitter.com/YX9E1zGTcC
In a strange twist of events, now, a video has gone viral where purportedly, Aishe Ghosh can be seen directing masked men. She can, in the video, be seen walking inside the hostel along with masked men. The video was first tweeted by Republic TV journalist Piyush Mishra.
In the video, one can see several men and women entering the hostel and also, several of them wearing masks and covering their faces to avoid detection.
Amongst the mob, one can spot Aishe Ghosh. From what we can estimate, Aisha seems to be this individual, considering the clothes worn in her picture where she is hurt and the snapshot from the video appear similar.
Aishe Ghosh
Defence Analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra pointed out that sunset in Delhi was at 5:37 PM and in the video, it seems like there is daylight. Which would mean that Aishe Ghosh was not directing people to defend the students against masked goons but was actually coordinating the attack.
My my Aishee seen guiding & directing masked men….. now waiting for the spin “she was defending herself”. Sunset in Delhi was at 5.37pm – this is clearly well before sunset…. not defending …. attacking!!! pic.twitter.com/qvBfeeYP09https://t.co/HvFoLJl7Ac
As expected, claims did surface that Aishe Ghosh in the video is actually clearly “asking people who they are and pointing towards the masked men”. It is pertinent to note here that there is no audio in the video and thus, Aishe cannot be heard saying “who are they” or anything of the kind.
She is clearly asking people who they are, and pointing to towards the masked men. I am not sure what you, as a Republic journalist, was asked to pretend is happening. If you have any humanity left in you, then thoda sharam karlo. #SOSJNU
It is pertinent to also note that while the narrative has been that of ABVP students attacking other students from JNU, a strong Congress link has emerged to the violence that took place in JNU on Sunday. The JNU administration has also released a statement saying that the violence erupted after students tried to register for the new semester and protesting students tried to stop them.
With the Leftists of JNU protesting against the fee-hike, just a day before the violence, Leftists had entered the information centre and disconnected the servers, interrupting the registration process.
In an unprecedented turn of events, a mob of masked goons ran riots on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in New Delhi on Sunday evening. According to a statement released by the university administration, violence started after some students registered for the winter semester and a group of students opposing the same forcibly evicted the technical staff and made servers dysfunctional.
Masked naxals forcibly stopping the students from registering in winter semester. Mobile phone of person recording it was snatched as you can see #EmergencyinJNUpic.twitter.com/8RnWxsCQeq
Since October this year, some students in JNU have been protesting against marginal hostel fee hike, which was eventually partially rolled back. However, they have not let the classes function since then. From 1st January, the university started registration for winter semester, however, the agitating ‘students’ were perhaps not quite pleased with the university coming back to normalcy.
Soon after the violence broke out, screenshots of WhatsApp conversations purportedly used by the mobsters to coordinate the violence started making rounds on social media. Part of such conversation was shared by controversial journalist Barkha Dutt in a tweet late night on Sunday.
This message is from a WhatsApp group called ‘Unity Against Left’ – I’ve edited out the group because of privacy laws on showing numbers, but the operative message retained : “main gate par kuch karna hai” against those who “support JNU” #JNUViolencepic.twitter.com/asXyRlfrsK
Dutt had said she had edited out rest of the WhatsApp group conversation owing to privacy concerns while sharing one message by one Anand. She had not blanked out the number in the WhatsApp chat. Anand was seen asking members of the group that some people in support of JNU are coming to the main gate, should we do something there?
The chilling message was from a group called ‘Unity against Left’, thereby implying that the sender of the message was ‘against Left’ and hence by default ABVP, the students arm of the Rashtriya Sevan Sangh. In fact, since the violence broke out in JNU, the usual suspects were busy propagating and making noise that it was the ‘ABVP goons’ who were on a rampage on campus despite the fact that they were masked.
On a side note, in last week of December, 2019, the ‘liberals’ had suggested ways to anti-CAA rioters to wear masks such that they could not be identified in facial recognition software used by the police.
The Delhi police took videos of protests to run them through facial recognition software to identify protesters.
Cover you mouth and nose + eyes or forehead. You can use make up and face paint too. Look it up if you have time but there are some simple and cheap solutions. pic.twitter.com/9XQS9JX3HW
In fact, TheQuint had given elaborate tutorials on how to conceal the facial identity.
The Quint giving tips on how to wear masks to be undetectable
TheQuint giving tips on how to evade facial recognition softwares by wearing masks.
The Quint giving tips on how to wear masks to be undetectable
More tips to avoid getting detected. The armed goons who ran riots on JNU campus last night were also wearing masks and had covered themselves.
Coming back to the violence, the number which Barkha Dutt inadvertently shared on Twitter belonged to one Anand Mangnale. A Google search of the same number revealed it was the same number Congress had used for a crowdfunding campaign.
Congress number used to gather violent mob at JNU
That page has now been taken off. Anand Mangnale has previously worked with JD(U)’s Prashant Kishore, who had earlier worked as strategist for ex-Congress President Rahul Gandhi in 2016 ahead of Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections. OpIndia could not independently verify whether Mangnale was part of team for Rahul Gandhi’s image makeover.
More such screenshots of WhatsApp conversations emerged where Anand had added ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ with his name to make it appear he supports the right wing.
Anand Mangnale saying how the VC is ‘ours’
When someone asks whether the police will come, Anand says, no, the ‘VC is ours’.
Anand Mangnale inciting mob to do some violence at the gate
Anand asks the members of WhatsApp group ‘Unity against Left’ what should be done at the gate as ‘something should be done’. After the initial Congress link emerged in the JNU violence, Congress quickly tried to dissociate itself from Anand and discarded his association, whatever he had, with the party.
The SM team of INC had hired the services of several private vendors to run the crowd funding campaign, for a limited period before Lok Sabha Elections after which it was discontinued. The number belonged to a vendor and has nothing to do with INC.
In a tweet late night, Congress said that the number belongs to a private vendor they had hired for Lok Sabha elections and it had discontinued. “The number belonged to a vendor and has nothing to do with INC,” Congress tweeted.
However, as we have shown above, Congress had used Anand’s number for ‘LetsVenture for Wish Kids’ crowdfunding and not really for election campaign. This is just one of the many lies of Congress. Moving on, Anand is still very much part of crowdfunding for Congress and Congress leaders.
This tweet of his seeking funding for Gourav Vallabh, Congress’ national spokesperson, is as recent as November, 2019.
After Anand’s connections with Congress were revealed in the JNU violence coordination group, Anand put up a clarification on his social media accounts.
Dear all, stop harassing @INCIndia on my number. This number was used as a test number when I was a vendor who helped them setup Crowdfunding campaign around 2 years back.
& YES, I infiltrated that group to get more info, so i could pass it to students & keep them safe pic.twitter.com/U9UVrxQM7k
In his defence, Anand claimed he had “infiltrated the right wing group” to get information. He said he has added this number of his in various ‘right wing groups’ to keep a track of their activities. Wow. Congress crowdfunding campaigner also likes do double up as ACP Pradyuman.
Anand claims that when the group went a bit silent, he tried to provoke them by asking what is to be done on the main gate as he wanted to know where people are and what their plans are. Point to note here is that Mangnale is not a JNU student and is not even an investigation official. Even if one takes his words on facevalue that he wanted to apprise students of what is happening on campus, he did not really have any good reason to instigate violence.
His clarification casts aspersions that the group was indeed one created by ABVP and ‘right wing’ students to perpetrate violence on campus. As a lot of other messages from unknown numbers seem to be celebrating over the violence. One message by one ‘Auxous Trends’ read ‘how was today’s match’.
However, that does not seem to be the case either. Soon, netizens invoked their inner Sherlock and some Twitter users were able to dig deeper.
So this Congress’ Campaigner @FightAnand is saying that he infiltrated ABVP’s group. But, there are screenshots from creating of the group till dissolving it
1. He was added by admin of group. Didn’t joined by invite link
Twitter user Gujju_Er posted multiple screenshots of the same WhatsApp group which revealed more sinister details. WhatsApp has a feature where one can invite public to join a group by sending an invite link. As seen in second screenshot, Anand didn’t join the WhatsApp group by clicking on the invite link to join, but he was added by the admin of the group when it was created.
That means, Anand did not ‘infiltrate’ the group to keep track of ‘right wing activities’, but he was made part of a group which was made to appear ‘anti-Left’ and he posted anti-Left messages instigating violence so that when the screenshots are selectively released it would appear like ‘right wing’ and ABVP students coordinated violence.
In third screenshot shared by Gujju_Er, one can see a conversation between Congress campaigner Anand and one “Ubaid” and one “Bulla Adil” who are discussing what could be done at the main gate where JNU supporters were supposedly coming. “Ubaid” and “Bulla Adil” are unlikely to be ABVP activists.
Before his Congress connections were revealed, Anand had been tweeting live updates from inside JNU campus when the violence was taking place.
In front of me @DelhiPolice was telling Students go back to hostels, students denied saying they aren’t safe there. Together outside Sabarmati T point they are safe. While this was on one cop broke a tree branch & made a Lathi. Is this making sure students are safe?#JNUattackpic.twitter.com/2yz9xpnm8p
If he is not a student or with the security agencies, what exactly was Congress crowdfunding campaign coordinator who also ‘infiltrates right wing WhatsApp groups’ to ‘keep track of their activities’ was doing on campus when violence broke out? Especially when his own conversation is all about trying to instigate violence.
Anand speaks about ‘T point’ where students had gathered to feel ‘safe’. Now, this ‘T point’ makes an appearance elsewhere.
Sharjeel Imam, The Wire columnist and JNU student who was one of the organisers of Shaheen Bagh anti-CAA protests and had called for a ‘chakkajam’ in north Indian cities by Muslims.
Sharjeel Imam, JNU student and columnist with The Wire and TheQuint took to Facebook last night to say that around 8 PM, he and his associates donned helmets and started roaming near the hostel to ‘locate goondas’. He says that the police had control near the main gate. His statement of police asking students to go back to hostels corroborates with what Imam writes in his post. So, Imam and Mangnale were at the Sabarmati Hostel t-point at around same time.
Sharjeel Imam is the same person who wanted to burn down the constitution in JNU and have a ‘burning constitution ceremony’ on the campus after the Ram Janmabhoomi verdict. He was also one of the organisers of the road blockage at Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi where anti-CAA protestors are holding a sit-in. He pulled out of the protests at Shaheen Bagh to hold a ‘Hong Kong style’ round two of protests. Hong Kong protestors have been holding demonstrations against the Fugitive Offenders Amendment bill by the Hong Kong government. The protestors have been extensively using masks, helmets to shield themselves from teargas as well as facial identification softwares.
Hong Kong protestors wearing masks (image: vox.com)
Here is an image from JNU’s masked goons who had ran riots on campus.
JNU’s masked goons who ran riots on campus on Sunday night.
There are multiple elements at play here. How is Congress involved in the JNU violence? Congress’ student wing, NSUI had been earlier involved in organising anti-CAA protests which had turned violent. The WhatsApp group is named ‘Unity against Left’ but clearly participants are from Congress and one can only guess whether “Ubaid” and “Bulla Adil” will be part of ABVP groups which as claimed by the ‘liberals’ were created to perpetrate violence on campus. If these are fake groups created to share screenshots of conversations pretending to be genuine conversation of coordinating violence and put the blame on ABVP, one wonders who gains from it. Surely, not ABVP. How far will the Congress ecosystem go to create chaos in India?
