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We look forward to returning home and restoring civilizational values: Kashmiri Pandits submit memorandum to PM Modi in Houston

OpIndia Staff
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We look forward to returning home and restoring civilizational values: Kashmiri Pandits submit memorandum to PM Modi in Houston

On Saturday, a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston ahead of the ‘Howdy, Modi’ mega event. The Kashmiri Pandit submitted a memorandum and thanked him for abrogating Article 370 while stating that 7,00,000 Kashmiri Pandits are indebted to his government.

According to the reports, the delegation of Kashmiri Pandits submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister in which they requested the PM Modi to set up a task force under the Home Ministry to bring the community together to develop the region and repatriate Kashmiri Pandits.

“We look forward to working with the Government of India and the newly constituted UTs to bring inclusive and sustainable development for benefit of all. We look forward to returning home in order to restore Kashmiri civilization’s core values of peace, pluralism, religious freedom,” the memorandum read.

The group of Kashmiri Pandits got emotional on seeing PM Modi as one of the leaders, Surinder Kaul can be seen kissing his hands to thank him. Surinder Kaul is the international coordinator of Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKDP), a group representing the Kashmiri Diaspora across the world.


The group of Kashmiri Pandits thanked PM Modi for the scrapping of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.

Surinder Kaul, who led the delegation, said, “The PM told us you have suffered a lot and together we have to build a new Kashmir. Our youth presented him with the messages that the community prepared for him. I presented a memorandum on behalf of the community. He gladly accepted that.”


Kaul added, “We thanked him on behalf of the 7,00,000 Kashmiri Pandits all over the globe for such a historic decision. We assured him that our community will work with the government to fulfil your dream for a Kashmir which is peaceful, full of growth where people are all happy.”

During the brief interaction, PM Modi also joined the group in reciting the ‘Namaste Sharada Devi’ shloka.


Rakesh Kaul, Global Kashmiri Pandit diaspora said that the words spoken by PM Modi were an elixir for the community. He said that when they talked about Article 370, PM Modi said that there is a new breeze and they will build a new Kashmir. “We’ve hopes with PM, we’ll work with him and make Kashmir a paradise again,” added Rakesh Kaul.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Modi who is in Houston to attend the “Howdy, Modi!” event also met the CEOs from the energy sector on the first day of his week-long US visit. PM Modi met the CEOs of 17 global energy companies at a round table in Houston. The objective of the meeting was to deepen the energy cooperation of the two sides as part of the strategic energy partnership.

Following his meeting with the CEOs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also interacted with the members of the Sikh community in Houston. The Sikh community congratulated PM Modi on ‘some of the path-breaking decisions taken by the Government of India’.

Later, PM Modi also met a group of Bohra Muslims in Houston, who felicitated him and highlighted PM Modi’s association with Syedna Sahib.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the much-awaited ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event where US President Donald Trump will be joining him to address a mega rally. More than 50,000 Indians will be attending the event, which is scheduled to take place at the sprawling NRG football stadium in Houston in the largest gathering ever for an elected foreign leader visiting the US, other than the Pope.

From Houston, PM Modi will fly to New York where he will address the annual high-level UN General Assembly session in New York on September 27 and will have a packed agenda of bilateral and multilateral engagements.

RJD MLA’s niece and her boyfriend’s murder: Boyfriend Asif’s friends killed both after failing to rape the girl

OpIndia Staff
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RJD MLA’s niece and her boyfriend’s murder: Boyfriend Asif’s friends killed both after failing to rape the girl

In a shocking incident, a high-profile case had surfaced from the Munger district of Bihar. Late on Friday night, the body of a young man alongside the body of a woman was recovered from the Sadar Block office premises. They had bullet wounds. The deceased woman was identified as Riya alias Twinkle, the niece of RJD MLA Vijay Kumar Vijay, from Munger. The young man was identified as Mohammad Asif. It has now emerged that the duo was murdered by Asif’s friends after they failed to rape Riya.

Munger Deputy Inspector General of Police (IG) Manu Maharaj has said, “Both Riya and Asif were killed by Asif’s friend Danish after Danish and three of their friends tried to molest the girl. Danish had called Asif to meet, and Asif and Riya went together. Danish and three others… passed some objectionable remarks and tried to molest the girl.”

While the police were earlier suspecting suicide, it has now emerged that the couple were murdered by Asif’s friends, Danish and three others, while fighting a molestation bid.

When Asif’s friends passed lewd and objectionable comments and also tried to molest Riya, Asif reportedly tried to fight his friends. His friends later strangulated Riya and proceeded to shoot both in the head.

Danish, the accused who is now in custody, had provided weapons to Asif illegally. The police have said that there was no history of any form of tension or enmity between Asif and his friends. According to a News18 report, Danish had supplied the illegal weapon to Asif because Riya wanted to learn how to fire a weapon and Asif, who was in love with Riya, wanted to fulfil her wish. It was under the pretext of providing the illegal weapon that Danish had called Asif and Riya to the spot, after which, the entire sequence of events unfolded which ultimately led to the murder of the duo.

While Danish is in the custody of the police, the police are on the look-out for 3 other accused. They have also recovered the pistol used in the murder, the cloth that was used to strangulate Riya and empty cartridges from the scene of the double-murder.

We want freedom, India should help us like it helped Bangladesh: Sindhis, Baloch, Pashto seek help from PM Modi and Trump in Houston

OpIndia Staff
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We want freedom, India should help us like it helped Bangladesh: Sindhis, Baloch, Pashto seek help from PM Modi and Trump in Houston

As Prime Minister Modi landed in the Houston ahead of his state visit, several representatives of Sindhis, Baloch and Pashto groups gathered in Houston to seek the help of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump to gain freedom from Pakistan.

Baloch, Sindhi, Pashto, who are the minority groups in the terrorist state of Pakistan have been suffering decades of persecution at the hands of Pakistani military establishment for seeking greater autonomy and now, are seeking help from PM Modi and President Donald Trump.

Reportedly, the representatives of these minority groups will hold a demonstration in front of the NRG Stadium on Sunday, where the much-awaited ‘Howdy, Modi’ event will be held. In a first-of-its-kind demonstration, the Sindhis, Balochs and Pashto groups will collectively urge the leaders of India and the United States to help them get freedom from Pakistan.

On Saturday, the members of these minority groups alleged that the Pakistani establishment was carrying out the gross violation of human rights against their communities.

“We demand freedom from Pakistan. India and the US should help us in the same way as India had helped the people of Bangladesh in 1971,” Nabi Baksha Baloch, the US representative of the Baloch National Movement.

He added that they came to Houston to request Prime Minister Modi and President Trump to support their cause. “There has been a gross violation of human rights against the Baloch people by the Pakistani government,” he said.

Reportedly, more than 100 Sindhi Americans arrived in Houston on Saturday and are planning to gather outside the NRG stadium, where the “Howdy Modi” event is scheduled to be held on Sunday, with the hope that their posters and banners of freedom will catch the attention of Modi and Trump.

“This is a historic rally by the leaders of the free world — the largest and oldest democracies. We the people of Sindh want freedom from Pakistan. Just like India supported for the freedom of Bangladesh in 1971, we want a separate nation for the people of Sindh. Pakistan is a theocratic country,” Zafar Sahito, from the Jeay Sindh Mutahida Muhaz, said.


Referring to Human Rights violation of Pakistan, Zafar Sahito said that Sindhi people have come here in Houston with a message. “When Modiji passes through here in the morning we will be here with our message that we want freedom. We hope Modiji and President Trump helps us,” he added.

Pakistan International Airlines suffers $1.1 million loss: Operated 48 flights with no passengers, 36 empty flights for Hajj

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Pakistan International Airlines suffers $1.1 million loss: Operated 48 flights with no passengers, 36 empty flights for Hajj

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the flag carrier of Pakistan, has operated 46 flights without any passengers during 2016-17, incurring a loss of over $1.1 million to the national carrier.

According to the reports, the cash-strapped Pakistan International Airlines flew the empty flights during the time period of 2016 to 2017 leading to a loss of PKR 180 million or $1.1 million. The figures were revealed in an audit report which stated that the airline suffered huge financial losses by operating 46 empty flights from Islamabad.

Reportedly, no inquiry had been launched despite the administration being informed of the huge losses suffered by the PIA (Pakistan International Airlines). The audit report also stated that besides these, the PIA also operated 36 Hajj flights for Hajj pilgrimage without any passengers.

The Pakistani Airlines is struggling to survive as just last month it had laid off nearly 1,000 “redundant staff” and had taken other measures to reduce the operational cost and increase revenues of the cash-strapped national carrier.

Reportedly, cash-strapped PIA has been running into huge financial losses for years now as the airline with 18,000 plus employee and a fleet of 32 aeroplanes has only been increasing its losses gradually every year without incurring any profits.

Touchdown Houston: In first few hours, PM Modi meets energy company CEOs, Sikhs, Kashmiri Hindus and Bohra Muslims

OpIndia Staff
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Touchdown Houston: In first few hours, PM Modi meets energy company CEOs, Sikhs, Kashmiri Hindus and Bohra Muslims

On Saturday, PM Narendra Modi landed in the Houston, United States of America for his week-long state visit to the country. As he landed in the Houston airport, PM Modi was received by Director, Trade and International Affairs, Christopher Olson and other US officials. US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster and Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla were also present.

In the evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met CEOs from the energy sector on the first day of his week-long US visit on Saturday. The Ministry of External Affairs said that the meeting focused on working together for energy security and expanding mutual investment opportunities between India and the United States.

According to ANI, PM Modi met the CEOs of 17 global energy companies at a round table in Houston this morning. The combined net worth of these companies is estimated to be $1 trillion with their operations in over 150 countries. The objective of the meeting was to deepen the energy cooperation of the two sides as part of the strategic energy partnership

“Further energising India-USA friendship. Among the first engagements of PM Narendra Modi in Houston is a meeting with CEOs from the energy sector. India and USA are looking to diversify cooperation in this sector,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a tweet.

On the sidelines of Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with energy sector CEO’s in Houston, Tellurian and Petronet signed MOUs for up to five million tonnes of LNG through equity investment in Driftwood.


Reportedly, the CEOs talked about enhancing their presence in India and lauded government efforts towards Ease of Doing Business. They praised Modi government for the steps taken towards deregulation in the energy sector, supported reforms and policies and were upbeat on the Indian economy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also interacted with the members of the Sikh community in Houston. The Sikh community congratulated PM Modi on ‘some of the path-breaking decisions taken by the Government of India.’


Submitting the memorandum, the Sikh community urged PM Modi to address the issues of the 1984 Sikh genocide, in which thousands of Sikhs were brutally murdered across the country after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The Sikh community also demanded that the name of Delhi Airport should be changed from Indira Gandhi International Airport to Guru Nanak Dev International Airport.

Avinder Chawla, Sitting Commissioner, Arvin, California said, “We submitted a memorandum and thanked Modiji for what he has done for Sikh community. We thanked him for the Kartarpur corridor. President Trump is coming here tomorrow (at Howdy Modi), shows how important a leader PM Modi is.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met and interacted with a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits in Houston. After interacting with PM Modi, the group of Kashmiri Pandits said they “unequivocally supported the steps that have been taken” by the government in India. The group of Kashmiri Pandits thanked PM Modi for the steps taken.

Reportedly, one of the members of the Kashmiri Pandit group went on to kiss PM Modi’s hands to thank him on behalf of 7 lakh Kashmiri Pandits. The delegation thanked PM Modi for the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi also joined the Kashmiri Pandit community in reciting ‘Namaste Sharade Devi’ shloka as he met them in Houston.


After meeting Prime Minister Modi, Surinder Kaul, one of the invitees representing Kashmiri Pandit community said PM Modi told them that the community has suffered a lot and together we have to build new Kashmir. “Our youth presented him with the messages that the community have prepared for him. I presented a memorandum on behalf of the community. He gladly accepted that,” said Kaul.

“We thanked him on behalf of the 700,000 Kashmiri Pandits all over the globe for such a historic decision. We assured him that our community will work with the govt to fulfil your dream for a Kashmir which is peaceful, full of growth where people are all happy,” Kaul added.

PM Modi also met a group of Bohra Muslims in Houston, who felicitated him. The Bohra community recalled PM Modi’s visit to Indore last year to attend a programme of their community as well as highlight PM Modi’s association with Syedna Sahib, tweeted PMO.


Later in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the much-awaited ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event where US President Donald Trump will be joining him to address a mega rally. More than 50,000 Indians will be attending the event, which is scheduled to take place at the sprawling NRG football stadium in Houston in the largest gathering ever for an elected foreign leader visiting the US, other than the Pope.

From Houston, PM Modi will fly to New York where he will address the annual high-level UN General Assembly session in New York on September 27 and will have a packed agenda of bilateral and multilateral engagements.

West Bengal Congress chief claims ‘influential people’ involved in Saradha scam might get ex-cop Rajeev Kumar ‘killed’

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal Congress chief claims ‘influential people’ involved in Saradha scam might get ex-cop Rajeev Kumar ‘killed’

West Bengal Congress chief Somen Mitra on Saturday said that former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar “might get killed” so that he doesn’t name influential people in the Saradha chit fund scam.

In connection with the high-profile Saradha scam which came to the fore in April 2013, the CBI has been in constant pursuit to arrest ex-Kolkata top cop Rajeev Kumar, who is accused of suppressing and destroying crucial evidence regarding the Saradha scam.

Rajeev Kumar, who is known to be a close aide of WB chief minister Mamata Banerjee, has been untraceable and missing CBI summons. CBI had been conducting searches at places across Kolkata to trace the top cop. Notably, CBI has also alleged that Mamta Banerjee government has been deliberately impeding the investigation into Chit Fund Scam.

Stating his take on why Rajeev Kumar is on the run, Congress leader Somen Mitra said: “It is quite clear that if Rajeev Kumar is arrested by the CBI and he talks, several influential people will be in trouble. Several top TMC (Trinamool Congress) leaders and ministers have been interrogated and arrested by CBI in this chit fund scam. That is why the TMC government is leaving no stones unturned to protect him. There can be efforts to silence him,” he said. “We apprehend that he might get killed,” he added.

“Rajeev Kumar headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the TMC government to investigate the chit fund scam in 2013. But after the CBI took over the probe in 2014, there have been allegations that he suppressed crucial evidence in the case in order to help influential people involved in the scam,” he added.

Former Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar facing arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Saradha chit fund case, failed to appear before the agency despite repeated summons, following which the federal investigation agency is considering legal action.

On September 19, Kumar had been served a fresh notice by CBI under section 160 of the CrPc demanding that he appear before the investigative agency immediately in connection with the Saradha scam, but he has been untraceable.

As per latest reports, the CBI has now filed a petition for issuing a non-bailable warrant against Rajeev Kumar in Alipore court.

Kumar is currently serving as the Additional Director General of CID in West Bengal and is on leave from 9 September to 25 September.

Kumar had earlier moved the North 24-Parganas district court at Barasat seeking interim protection from arrest. Judge Mohammad Shabbar Rashidi had observed that his court had no jurisdiction over the matter and therefore, he could not entertain the petition. “Since the district judge observed that the court had no jurisdiction to entertain Kumar’s petition, the IPS officer has no option but to move his case before an appropriate forum. An additional chief judicial magistrate of Alipore court can hear such a petition,” said a senior lawyer.

The CBI has now also asked the West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) to provide the contact details of Kumar. As per reports, the West Bengal DGP, in a letter on Monday, had told CBI that its notices were sent to Kumar’s official residence and his response was awaited.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday had visited Nabanna, West Bengal secretariat, to hand over letters addressed to the DGP, chief secretary and home secretary, to know about whereabouts of Kolkata’s former top cop and the Saradha scam accused, Rajeev Kumar. But they were turned away and asked to come on a ‘working day’.

Kumar, a 1989-batch IPS officer, was the part of a Special Investigation Team set up by the state government to investigate the Saradha scam, before the Supreme Court handed over the case to the CBI in 2014, along with other chit fund cases. Rajeev Kumar is accused of shielding some of the accused and destroying evidence in West Bengal’s Saradha Chit Fund scam case.

ABP-C Voter opinion poll predicts sweeping victory for BJP in Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly Elections

Jhankar Mohta
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ABP-C Voter opinion poll predicts sweeping victory for BJP in Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly Elections

Opinion poll of ABP-C Voters conducted before the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana have predicted that BJP would glide through in both the states, retaining its power. According to the survey BJP single-handedly would reach the majority mark in Maharashtra. The Election Commission has on Saturday announced the dates for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. Both the states will go to poll on October 21 and the results will be declared on October 24 in a single phase.

Maharashtra and Haryana are both the first states to go to polls after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections which marked a historic win for the BJP. The term of the assembly for Maharashtra and Haryana ends on November 9 and November 2, respectively.

ABP-C voter suggests that even if there is no alliance between BJP and Shiv Sena, BJP will be able to win 144 seats alone. The state has 288 assembly seats and any party to form the government would need 145 seats. At the same time, Shiv Sena will be reduced to only 39 seats and if both the Congress and NCP parties fight separate elections, then the Congress can get 21 seats and the NCP can get 20 seats, predicted the opinion poll for Maharashtra and Haryana.

ABP-C voter opinion poll for Maharashtra Assembly election

In the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, both these states had witnessed a saffron surge as BJP had made a clean sweep by winning all 10 seats in Haryana while bagging a total of 41 out of the 48 seats in Maharashtra along with its alliance partner Shiv Sena.

Meanwhile, during 2014 Assembly elections both these states witnessed a shift in preferences and BJP had emerged victorious outstripping the incumbent Congress in both states.

The opinion poll has made similar predictions for Haryana as well. Not coming as very pleasing news for the Congress party the ABP-C voter’ survey sees BJP coming back to power in Haryana and Maharashtra in the upcoming Legislative Assembly elections coming up next month.

As per the survey, Congress leader Bhupendra Singh Hooda, who has been the Chief Minister of Haryana twice, was considered as the choice of Chief Minister by only 12.6 per cent in the opinion poll with BJPs Manohar Lal Khattar still occupying the number one space.


Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar while talking to ABP News said that his party was confident of winning more than 75 seats in Haryana and a similar picture has been revealed in the opinion poll.

In the 2014 assembly polls, the BJP-Sena alliance had ousted the Congress-NCP combine by capturing a total of 185 seats out of the total 288 seats securing a clean majority. While BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 122 seats, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena secured 63 seats.

While BJP and Shiv Sena joined hands after the poll results, Congress and NCP had contested the state elections separately. Coming as a major embarrassment for the grand old party it only secured 42 out of the 287 seats it contested, while NCP won 41 seats out of the 278 seats it contested.

In another jolt, BJP had swept Haryana from Congress’ command after its victory in the 2014 Haryana Legislative Assembly election. The 2014 Haryana assembly polls saw BJP winning the elections with 47 seats in the 90-member House here too, emerging as the single largest party.

Jadavpur University fiasco: BJP leader Babul Supriyo to file a defamation suit against CPIM’s Mohammad Salim

OpIndia Staff
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Jadavpur University fiasco: BJP leader Babul Supriyo to file a defamation suit against CPIM’s Mohammad Salim

Union Minister Babul Supriyo has said on Friday that he is going to file a defamation suit against Mohammad Salim of CPI (Marxist) for his statement that Supriyo had made obscene remarks for a girl student during his visit to Jadavpur University.

Earlier on September 19, a politburo member of CPI(M), Mohammad Salim had claimed that Supriyo had wrongly behaved with a student at the Jadavpur University. On Friday, Salim posted on his Twitter account alleging that Supriyo made unsavoury remarks against the dress worn by the girl students and made advances towards them.

“Supriyo asks girls why they are wearing ‘skimpy’ clothes and what they come to university for. He went on to tell a girl to join him in his room and he will show her who he really was!” Salim tweeted.


Rubbishing the allegations levelled by Salim, Supriyo tweeted that Salim is a ‘loser’ and he will have to prove the accusations raised against him and pay the price for it. He further added that he is filing a defamation suit against Salim who was “thrown out by the people from his constituency”.

BJP leader Babul Supriyo was recently attacked, heckled and abused by left-wing activists at the Jadavpur university when went there to attend an event organised by the students of ABVP.

Instead of fleeing the place, Supriyo patiently tried to pacify the agitating students. Amidst the ensuing commotion, one of the students, Debanjan Vallabh tried to yank Supriyo towards him by pulling his hair. This was not the end, Supriyo’s shirt was torn open by the mob heckling him. Today, he met the mother of his assaulter and assured her that would not file an FIR against her son.

The drama at the campus had lasted for hours where Supriyo stood his ground, unwilling to give in to the violent mob and kept trying to get them to have a civilised discussion. Finally, Supriyo was rescued after West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar intervened personally.

Shocking video emerges from Rajasthan govt hospital: Doctor threatens removal of implanted rod from patient’ leg if fee not paid

OpIndia Staff
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Shocking video emerges from Rajasthan govt hospital: Doctor threatens removal of implanted rod from patient’ leg if fee not paid

A shocking video has emerged in which a doctor affiliated with the orthopaedic department of Rajsthan’s largest government hospital, Sawai Mansingh, has been caught on camera threatening his patient.

In the video, Dr Navindu, who is a second-year resident doctor in Sawai Mansingh hospital is seen threatening his patient that he will remove the implanted rod from his leg if he does not pay off the transplantation fee.

A relative of the patient can be heard arguing with the resident doctor that if the implant had been provided under the Bhamashah Yojana, a scheme introduced by the Government of Rajasthan in 2014 during BJP rule, then why do the patient party need to pay for it. On this, the doctor is heard shouting at the person accompanying the patient saying that the implant has been not provided under the scheme and has been brought from outside, so the party need to pay for it.

Satyanarayana Meena who hails from Ghata Jaladhari village of Jamwaramgarh tehsil of Jaipur had met with an accident on September 16 and was admitted to Sawai Mansingh hospital for leg surgery.

Significantly, in Sawai Mansingh Hospital, the Rajasthan government has made a rule that patients will not have to buy implant from outside. Moreover, the patient whom the doctor tries to intimidate is a Bhamashah Yojana card holder, so it becomes mandatory under the Rajasthan government’s norms to provide him with a free implant. Despite all this Dr Navindu is seen shouting and threatening the patient.

Interestingly, after the video went viral on social media, the head of Sawai Mansingh hospital’ orthopaedic department sprung up with a clarification saying that since the patient wanted an immediate surgery the hospital had to outsource the transplant. Meanwhile, the Superintendent of Sawai Mansingh Hospital, DS DS Meena has formed a medical board to investigate the issue.

This government-run hospital has previously also hogged the limelight after a video surfaced in June 2019 wherein a resident doctor was videographed mercilessly thrashing a patient. In the video, the doctor was seen climbing on to the bed of a patient at the SMS Hospital, one of the biggest in the country, and landing punches and kicks on the helpless patient.

Society is changing and we need to accommodate everyone so they do not feel isolated: RSS backs LGBT rights

OpIndia Staff
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Society is changing and we need to accommodate everyone so they do not feel isolated: RSS backs LGBT rights

The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) in its soon to release a book, titled ‘The RSS Roadmaps for the 21st Century’ has voiced its support for homosexual and transgender rights.

According to a report by ANI, the book, scheduled to be released on October 1 by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, brings to fore the RSS’s ideological stance on contemporary issues of societal importance. Written by Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad’s national organising secretary, Sunil Ambekar, the book emphasises that homosexuality should not be considered a criminal offence as sexual preferences are private and personal subjects.

Ambedkar, in one of the chapters named ‘Family and Emerging Modern Relationships’ quotes RSS ‘Sah-sarkarvyah’ Dattatreya Hosabale as saying: “I don’t think homosexuality should be considered a criminal offence as long as it doesn’t affect the lives of others in the society. Sexual preference is private and personal”.

However, Hosabale has also reflected the Sangh’s opinion that “Gay marriages should not be institutionalised for it would institutionalise homosexuality. So it should be prohibited.”

It quotes Mohan Bhagat as saying: “Society is changing and we need to accommodate everyone so they do not feel isolated.”

Taking about transgender rights in the book, the author mentions their existence from the Ramayan era. Pointing out how people’s outlook towards transgenders is gradually changing, Ambedkar states that for the first time ever the ‘Kinnar (eunuch) akhara’ took part in the Kumbh this year. In a first, it had also participated in the Shahi Snan along with other recognised Akharas.

However, the book tends to hold a negative view of live-in relationships, citing the rationale that most such relationships end up into separation with emotional and physical ramifications.

Last year, after the Supreme Court legalised homosexuality, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said that it believed that homosexuality was not a crime, but it then also did not support same-sex marriage as it was “not natural”.

“Like the Supreme Court’s verdict, we also do not consider this (homosexuality) as a crime,” RSS’ ‘Prachar Pramukh’ Arun Kumar said in a statement. However, he maintained the Sangh’s old stand and said gay marriage and such relationships were not “compatible with nature”. “These relationships are not natural, so we do not support this kind of relationship.” He claimed that Indian society “traditionally does not recognise” such relations.

A five-judge bench of the apex court on September 6, 2018, unanimously decriminalised part of Section 377, which criminalised consensual unnatural sex, saying it violated the rights to equality.

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