Amid the ongoing turmoil in Karnataka, the Supreme Court on Friday heard the matter of rebel Karnataka MLAs and ordered the speaker to maintain the status quo with regard to resignation and disqualification of 10 rebel MLAs. The apex court has now postponed the hearing to July 16.
In a relief to the rebel Congress-JDS MLAs, the Supreme Court said speaker should not decide on disqualification or resignation of MLAs till that date as constitutional issues needed to be addressed first.
Earlier in the day, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for the rebel MLAs had stated that they have no objection if the Supreme Court gives the speaker more time to decide on resignation of MLAs, but there should be no disqualification of the rebel MLAs. He also urged the court to issue contempt notice if the speaker doesn’t want to decide at all.
Mukul Rohatgi pointed out that respective parties have issued whip to the rebel MLAs to be present in house and vote on the budget. This is a ploy to cause their disqualification and acceptance of resignation is being purposefully delayed, said Rohtagi.
Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared on behalf of Karnataka Speaker Ramesh Kumar said that the rebel MLAs had not followed the required format for submitting resignation. He said that their plea does not disclose a violation of fundamental rights and not a violation under Article 32.
Advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for Karnataka CM, told the Supreme Court that one of the rebel MLAs was involved in Ponzi scheme for which government is being accused of. He further argued that the petition of rebel MLAs should not have been entertained by the Supreme Court. The speaker has the responsibility to satisfy himself that resignations were voluntary. “Order on resignations was passed by SC without issuing a notice to the speaker,” said Dhavan.
On Wednesday, the Speaker had moved Supreme Court asking for more time to decide on these MLAs’ resignation. Karnataka Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar had said that he will examine the resignations of all rebel MLAs and see if they were voluntary and genuine.
The top court on Thursday had directed the Karnataka Speaker to take a decision on the resignations submitted by the disgruntled Congress-JD(S) MLAs. On Thursday, the rebel MLAs of the JD(S)-Congress coalition had met Karnataka Speaker Ramesh Kumar to submit their resignation again. However, the Speaker did not take any decision.
If the speaker of the Karnataka accepts the resignations given by the rebel MLAs, then the 13-month-old Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka will lose the majority, paving the way for the BJP to stake claim to form the next government.
Ever since the attack of the Durga Mandir in Hauz Qazi in Delhi, security personnel had been deployed to prevent any further violence. Now, as reported by Jagran, the paramilitary forces and police would remain in the Lal Kuan area of Hauz Qazi for 8 months.
Reportedly, there was no reported violence since the attack on the temple. However, security forces would be deployed as a precautionary measure. This is to ensure that no further attacks would be carried out on the temple or any other violence does not take place.
According to the police, there were nearly 700 security personnel in Lal Kuan until the time when the idols were re-installed in the temple. Now the number of personnel has been reduced and presently two companies of the Paramilitary and the police are deployed in the area. This means that there are nearly 200 security personnel have been deployed 24/7.
The forces would be deployed in three shifts each of 8 hours. One SP and three inspectors would be on duty throughout the day. A police control room would also be available at any time of the day.
The Durga Mata Temple in Hauz Qazi was attacked by a Muslim mob on the night of June 30th. The mob had vandalized the idols that were installed in the temple. So far 17 people have been arrested in connection with the case.
A few days ago, Hindu organizations had come together to rebuild the Durga Mandir. Chants of Jai Shree Ram echoed the bylanes of Chandni Chowk. VHP leader Surendra Jain had said that Hindus will no longer be silent victims of ‘Jihad’.
On 30th June 2019, the Hindu faith was brutally attacked. The Durga Temple desecration did not happen in some remote village of India but in the heart of Delhi. In Hauz Qazi, Chandni Chowk, a Muslim mob desecrated a temple, according to the locals even urinated in the temple, broke the idols while chanting slogans like ‘Allah Hu Akbar’, ‘Naara-E-Taqbeer’, and reportedly, ‘Modi Murdabad’.
Ever since that harrowing night, there has been a concerted effort to whitewash the Hauz Qazi violence. Recently, when VHP and Hindu activists organised the Praan Pratishtha rituals of the idols, media was more than happy to propagate the theory that Muslims of Hauz Qazi were helping in reinstalling the idols. This was contested vehemently by Hindu activists who were involved in the event. Earlier, the case of the missing Hindu boy was shamelessly ignored by the media. For 3 days, nobody even reported that there was a Hindu boy missing since the Muslim mob went on a rampage. When this correspondent reported the missing boy, the media, like vultures, gave excuses for not covering the FIR that the mother sat clutching.
A new narrative is now being peddled, shamelessly, brazenly. Congress mouthpiece National Herald published an article by one Humra Quraishi which could only be called the most dishonest piece of reporting one has seen on the Hauz Qazi incident. The article has been headlined, “Delhi’s Hauz Qazi episode: If administration and police want, they can prevent communal riots”.
The fulcrum of the article is the following premise: “It was clear that AAP govt in Delhi genuinely wanted the communal surcharge to be contained swiftly and prudently. Why can’t this happen in other sensitive areas of the country?”.
Firstly, the author gives absolutely no evidence to support her premise that the AAP government in Delhi ‘genuinely’ wanted the communal surcharge to be contained. On the contrary, there are several reports and evidence that point towards the exact opposite. There were reports that eyewitnesses alleged that AAP MLA Imran Hussain was a part of the mob that pelted stoned in Hauz Qazi. Though, Hussain denied the charges and said that he was a part of the mob only to calm tempers. Times Now accessed video footage as well that showed Hussain as being a part of the mob.
The article in National Herald, interestingly, doesn’t mention any of this. Not the eyewitness’ version and not Imran’s version as well.
Interestingly, the treachery of the National Herald article is apparent when the author starts equating the Hauz Qazi incident to that of the 2002 Gujarat riots. Cutting through the drivel, the basic premise of the author is that while the government failed to control Gujarat riots, the AAP government controlled the Hauz Qazi communal flare up and the country and the governments of the country should follow AAP’s example.
In fact, the article is dishonest enough to not even mention why there was a communal flare-up in the first place. In the entire report, there is no mention of the temple vandalisation. There is no mention that the communal flare-up was due to a Muslim mob desecrating a temple and that the Hindus, who are confined to one narrow lane of Hauz Qazi allege that stones were pelted at their homes. The entire report also does not mention that a boy went missing after the communal flare-up and according to the boy himself, he was thrashed by Muslims on that day.
But perhaps the most troubling part not only of the National Herald report but the media coverage, in general, has been the downright denial that there was a communal flare-up at all.
The report in the National Herald too tries to insinuate that the situation was contained in Hauz Qazi and that there was no communal flare up at all, thanks to the alacrity shown by the AAP government, of which, she gives no proof.
However, what is the truth?
This correspondent spent the better part of the day on the ground and any insinuation that either the AAP government controlled the tension or that no tension existed at all is a farce.
While speaking to the locals Hindu residents, they made it amply clear that nobody from the AAP government had gone to visit them. In fact, the Hindu residents had startling allegations. They asserted that if Muslims had been attacked by the Hindu residents, Arvind Kejriwal would have been sure to visit them and that the Muslim population felt emboldened because of the AAP MLAs of the area.
Further, far more than assuaging tempers, the attempt in Hauz Qazi by the media and the police alike was to hush up the tension. Firstly, for 3 days, the news of a Hindu boy missing had been hushed up by the media. The parents alleged that their minor boy had been kidnapped by the Muslim mob. In fact, the mother sat there with the FIR clutched in her hand and would have spoken to anyone who would listen.
The media, while present in Hauz Qazi chose to ignore the parent’s plight. While this correspondent was on the ground, the father of the missing boy had threatened to commit suicide if his boy was not found, and the media chose to walk away. The pertinent question here is whether the media would have behaved in the exact same manner were the tables turned and a Muslim boy was missing amidst communal tensions. The answer is, perhaps, not.
The police on the other tried their best to suppress the news of the attack on Hindus. Firstly, while the parents of the missing boy were wailing, one of the policemen had alleged that their boy is hail and hearty. When the parents asked him how he knew that and whether he knew the whereabouts of the boy, the police denied. They said they didn’t know and were trying to locate the boy. This was on the 2nd of July. Interestingly, after the OpIndia report, the boy was found on the 3rd evening and the police had claimed that he was never kidnapped, however, he had run away to his relative’s place. The boy too had a similar version. That he was first thrashed by some Muslim youth when he said he was a Hindu and then later when the mob started building up, he was thrashed again after which he took a train to Haridwar. He said that he coincidentally met his relative at some station en route. The story, however, leaves many loopholes to be explored. Did the police know? if they did, why did the officers in Hauz Qazi deny knowledge of it? For the lack of more evidence, nobody has a choice but to accept the version being presented, however, even in that version, it is clear that the boy allegedly ‘ran away’ after being thrashed twice by the Muslim mob. Was his disappearance then not related to the communal tension? And despite everything, why did the media shy away from reporting an FIR? Does the media regularly not report FIRs or was it a choice to ignore this particular one and brand it as “responsible journalism”?
Furthermore, a vital piece of information was left out by the media, perhaps deliberately, because this correspondent can vouch for the fact that had any reporter spoken to the Hindus of the area for more than 15 minutes, this detail could not have been missed.
The Hindu residents alleged that the Delhi police tried to cover up the incident of the temple desecration altogether. The Hindu residents pointed towards idols that had allegedly been brought in by the Delhi police overnight to quietly replace the ones broken by the Muslim mob. The residents claimed that the police even changed the glass panels shattered by the Muslim mob overnight. The Hindus, however, did not let the police replace the idols and locked them up in a tinier area near the temple.
Idols that the police allegedly got to replace broken ones
If this was not proof enough that Hauz Qazi was a tinderbox, when a group of people were arrested in connection with the communal tensions, they admitted to the police that they had broken the shutter of the temple and even entered the homes of Hindus to ‘terrorise them’.
Let that sink in.
The mob not only desecrated the temple but entered the homes of Hindus to terrorise them. This was reported by the Times of India. A publication that the ‘secular-liberal’ gang loves. The residents had told this correspondent that the mob had even urinated in the temple.
After all of this, Congress mouthpiece wants its readers to believe that the AAP government tried to assuage feelings. Tried to create normalcy. In fact, National Herald implies that the communal tensions were successfully controlled unlike that of Godhra. The comparison, as asinine it was, was made by a publication that could not even get itself to write that a temple was desecrated and Hindus were terrorised.
Perhaps the Hauz Qazi incident unnerved the Delhi Lutyens crowd because they could not claim tyranny of distance. Right under their nose, a Muslim mob took out the funeral of Ganga-Jamuna Tehzeen and it just had to be covered up. Should the police be held responsible for the attempted alleged cover-up? Yes. Should the collective ‘secular’ ecosystem be held responsible for whitewashing the plight of Hindus confined to a tiny bylane? Absolutely. Did the Congress mouthpiece simply peddle the same narrative and abandoned the Hindus by publishing this report? Without a doubt.
Amartya Sen’s recent remarks on ‘Jai Shri Ram’, where he opined that the chant has no place in Bengal, has been put up on banners across Kolkata.
West Bengal: Banners displaying an image of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and his earlier statement on chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’, seen in Kolkata. pic.twitter.com/gTikc1uWEf
The banners say, “Never heard the Jai Shri Ram slogan. It has been used to beat up people. I don’t think this slogan has any relation with the culture of Bangla. I asked my four-year-old granddaughter who is her favourite God, she replied ‘Maa Durga’. Ramnavami can never be compared with Maa Durga.”
The banners themselves say that these have been put up ordinary citizens of the city but the identity of these citizens hasn’t been revealed. The banners are painted in Mamata Banerjee’s favourite colours as well, Blue and White, and have a photograph of Amartya Sen. No party or organisation have taken ownership of the banners till now. The flex printed banners are framed, which means someone has spent a considerable amount of money in making and putting them up.
Controversial Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim asserted that the posters were put up by ordinary citizens in the city. He further claimed that the BJP had insulted Amartya Sen by having a difference of opinion. He told TOI, “The poster of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has been put up by ordinary people of the city. We support Amartya Sen, the great son and pride of Bengal. By disagreeing with him BJP has insulted him.”
BJP MLA Tigga, as expected, was furious with Sen. He said, “Amartya Sen has spent more over time in America than in Bengal so the value of Jai Shri Ram is not known to him. If we don’t chant Jai Shri Ram in Bengal and in India then should we chant it in Pakistan, Bangladesh and America?”
President of the West Bengal unit of the BJP, Dilip Ghosh, echoed similar sentiments. “Amartya Sen probably doesn’t know Bengal. Does he know about Bengali or Indian culture? Jai Shri Ram is chanted in every village. Now entire Bengal says it,” he said.
Amartya Sen had recently claimed that ‘Jai Shri Ram’ wasn’t a part of Bengali culture and the slogan is used merely to beat people up. He had also claimed that Ram Navami has gained in popularity in recent times, something which wasn’t present earlier.
Amartya Sen is known for his controversial and biased remarks on religion. Earlier, he had said that Christian schools are perfectly acceptable but other faith schools are a big mistake and should be scrapped.
Sen’s recent remarks, combined with the banners, appear to be an attempt to foment regionalist divide in the country. In recent times, Bengal has witnessed a concerted attempt by political factions to launch a movement along the lines of Dravidianism to thwart the rise of the BJP. Mamata Banerjee had herself participated in it by labelling protesting doctors ‘Outsiders‘ and accused them of working for the BJP.
Unable to contain the stellar rise of the BJP in the state as a consequence of Trinamool’s minority appeasement and deteriorating law and order, regional chauvinism appears to be the card political factions have decided to play to keep BJP away from power.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the Bombay High court judgement passed on June 27 upholding the validity of reservations granted to the Maratha community by the state government. The reservations have been granted under the socially and educationally backward class category (SEBC) in government jobs and educational institutions.
However, the apex court said that the quota created as per Maharashtra SEBC Act passed last November cannot be given retrospective application with effect from 2014.
Maratha Reservation: Supreme Court issues notice in appeal challenging Bombay High Court verdict, no stay on judgment.
However, retrospective application of reservation from 2014, stayed.
The bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was hearing a plea by a group of social workers, academics and representatives of the Muslim community who have appealed against a Bombay High Court decision upholding a “one-person or one-community” Maharashtra legislation providing reservation to the Maratha community in education and public employment.
The petitioners, led by Mohammad Sayeed Noori Shafi Ahmed, asserted that the Maharashtra legislation is against the very tenets of equality enshrined as a fundamental right in the Constitution.
Advocates Vipin Nair and Madhavi Ayyappan representing the group of social workers, academics and representatives of the Muslim community who have appealed against a Bombay High Court decision, contended that the high court decision was seriously erroneous and based on incomplete data.
A Division Bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharti Dangre of the Bombay High court on June 27 had upheld the validity of the SEBC Act which was enacted on the recommendations of the State Commission for Backward Classes headed by retired judge Justice MG Gaikwad. The commission was constituted under the Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission Act, 2005.
The Act was passed by the State Legislative Assembly on 29th November 2018 granting 16% reservation to Marathas.
Several petitions were filed against the SEBC Act and the Gaikwad Commission report on the ground that the 16% reservation granted to Marathas violated the 50 % cap prescribed by the Supreme Court in the landmark case of Indira Sawhney v Union of India.
The Bombay High court had observed that the 50% ceiling could be exceeded under exceptional and extraordinary circumstances and the reservation was based on justifiable data submitted by Gaikwad Commission. However, the court has asked the state to cap the reservations at 12% for jobs and 13% at educational institutions.
BJP MLA Pranav Singh ‘Champion’ from Uttarakhand has been expelled from the party. The MLA was recently seen brandishing guns and dancing to a popular Bollywood song in a video clip that had gone viral. The MLA was already under suspension for 3 months since last month.
#Breaking | BJP MLA Pranav Singh Champion (@PranavChampion) who was seen brandishing guns in a video has been expelled from the party.
The video of him brandishing guns and dancing to Bollywood songs shirtless had gone viral a couple of days ago, causing major embarrassment for the party. The Uttarakhand state unit had also earlier requested the central leadership to grant him a permanent suspension.
Pranav Singh ‘Champion’ is a BJP MLA from Khanpur. He had resigned from Congress in 2016 where he was a cabinet minister in the then Congress government in Uttarakhand led by Harish Rawat. Singh had won the subsequent assembly elections from Khanpur seat in a BJP ticket.
It is not the first time that the MLA’s dancing videos are going viral on social media. His actions and theatrics have always been controversial. In 2015, another dancing video of the MLA had gone viral where Pranav Singh was seen dancing shirtless with guns in his hand. In 2016, another video had surfaced where he was seen enjoying the dance of a bar dancer inside his party office.
Last month, the MLA was suspended for three months as a punishment after he purportedly misbehaved with a journalist. It was reported that Singh was asking for the BJP MP ticket for his wife from the Haridwar Lok Sabha seat.
Yesterday, Pranav Singh Champion had also requested for security cover from Dehradun police alleging threat to him and his family even as the state unit recommended permanent suspension for him.
After 9969 days, England reached the Cricket World Cup final. Yes, the last time they played in the World Cup final was in 1992, and its a coincidence that the current team is wearing the retro jersey of World Cup 1992. The English team dominated the Aussies throughout the game.
On a batting paradise wicket, Australia won the toss and decided to bat first, and they were off to a horrible start. Finch and Warner, their leading batsmen, got out in the first three overs, the new inclusion Handscomb was dismissed too early, and Australia reduced to 14 of 3 in the World Cup semi-final against their arch-rivals. Steve Smith who was welcomed with boos, built the innings with new batting sensation, the wicket-keeper Alex Carey, as they both added 103 runs for the fourth wicket. However, the partnership was broken by the leggie Adil Rashid who got rid of Carey in the 28th over. Adil Rashid picked two more and put Australia on the back foot. Smith and Starc added 51 runs for the 8th wicket before Smith ran out on a direct hit from Buttler. Australia finished at 223 runs on board in 49th over. Woakes bowled superbly in the first spell while Rashid in the second, both took three wickets each. Archer was as usual at his best, took 2 for 32.
England started with a bang, Jason Roy, in particular, was severe to any length balls, smashing them for boundaries. Bairstow, on the other hand, was admiring Joy’s batting and was just giving the strike to him, who was in the mood of thrashing every bowler. Joy’s four out of five sixes came against the spinners, especially against Smith when he hit him for three consecutive sixes. The openers added 124 runs, ultimately putting Australia out of the game. Bairstow was caught in front of Strac and adjudged LBW by the umpire. In a controversial decision by Dharamsena, Jason Roy was given out caught behind. Roy questioned the decision on the field, but England had no DRS left in the game. Roy made 85 off 65 with nine fours and five sixes. Root and Morgan completed the formality and England won the match by eight wickets with more than 100 balls left in the innings. Woakes got the man of the match award for his excellent opening spell against the Australian batsmen.
VIDEO Highlight
STATS
Joy and Bairstow added the fourth hundred runs partnership in World Cup 2019, the most by any pair in single world cup edition.
Starc took his 27th wicket of the tournament, the most by any bowler in a single world cup edition. Previous best – McGrath (26 wickets in 2007).
England opener, Jason Roy has been fined for showing dissent to the umpire after a controversial decision against Australia in the World Cup semi-final.
Jason Roy was batting on 85 when he was given out off Cummins by the umpire Dharamasena. Roy said that he didn’t nick the ball and started arguing with the umpires. Dharamesna was about to give a wide before he changed his decision to catch behind the wickets.
As per the ICC, the right-hander was found guilty of breaching Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel after showing dissent to the umpire upon his dismissal in the 19th over of the innings.
Roy has been fined 30% of the match fee after admitting the offense and sanction, with no formal hearing to take place. Two demerit points have been added to his disciplinary record. However, he won’t face any suspension.
The Rajasthan assembly saw chaos on Thursday as BJP MLA Madan Dilawar raised the issue of the attack on an RSS shakha during the zero hours. Dilawar stated that the BJP will not tolerate such attacks on RSS cadre and demanded action from the government. The BJP MLAs raising the issue saw Congress MLAs vocally opposing.
As per reports, leader of opposition Gulab Chand Kataria had supported Dilawar’s stand and had demanded swift action from the government over the issue. Upon this, Congress minister Shanti Dhariwal objected to Kataria speaking on an issue raised by another MLA. Following Dhariwal’s statement, BJP MLAs started protesting.
The ruckus among the MLAs of Congress and BJP reached to such levels that speaker CP Joshi had to intervene. Dhariwal informed in the assembly that two of the accused who had attacked the RSS cadres in Boondi have been already arrested.
As per reports, in Rajasthan’s Boondi, an RSS shakha was on progress in the Balchand para’s Navalsagar Park when an altercation ensued over the usage of the park between the RSS cadre and local Muslims. MLA Dilawar’s statement claimed that several minors who were a part of the RSS shakha were injured when a Muslim mob attacked them. The children were allegedly beaten up by a mob of over 50 people.
The Navalsagar Park in Boondi has reportedly been a regular location for RSS shakha in the area for over 50 years. On Wednesday, while a shakha was in progress, several people, reportedly Muslims had reached there and objected to the shakha being held. The RSS cadre also included several teenage boys. As the altercations turned violent several of those boys were allegedly beaten up by the mob.
Following the incident, local RSS volunteers and citizens had reached the police station demanding action against the accused. After the issue resulted in a ruckus in Rajasthan assembly, three suspects have reportedly been arrested so far by the police.
A report in Times Now shared a video where it can be seen that children holding the RSS flag are being chased and beaten by a group of Muslim men and women. The report quoted the parents of the victim children who stated that their children trying to hold an RSS shakha in the said park were mercilessly chased and beaten by a Muslim mob which included many women.
#Breaking | SHOCKER: Case of intolerance in Rajasthan’s Bundi. An argument between children holding an RSS flag, unfortunately turned violent as children & the parents from the minority community beat them up with sticks.
The suspects are named Saddam, a resident of Tonk, and two other persons named Shahid, and Shafi Mohammad.
The BJP MLA had also raised objection over FIRs being registered against only 5 persons when over 50 people were involved in the attack. The Rajasthan government has assured in the assembly that impartial action will be taken and no accused will be spared.
Boondi police SP Mamata Gupta has informed that it was a case of altercations between two groups and three persons have been arrested.
There seems to be no end to violence in West Bengal over the issue of ‘Jai Shree Ram’. In a shocking incident, a class-I student has been allegedly brutally thrashed by his school teacher for chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’.
Reportedly, the incident took place in Sri Ramakrishna Sikshalaya in West Bengal’s Howrah district on Wednesday. As per reports, the teacher beat up the 7-year old child, Aaryan Singh for chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ in the school premises. Following the incident, the teacher has gone absconding.
The father of the victim said that his son raised slogans only after other students had raised the slogan in the school. The father of the victim said that it was only his son who was brutally beaten up by the teacher.
Victim’s father also alleged that his school teacher warned him not to raise the slogan in school or outside. He alleged that the incident has made the child extremely nervous.
No FIR has been filed yet with the police by the school authorities against the teacher. Interestingly, the school is sponsored by CM Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government.
“The sir hit our child and asked him not to say ‘Jai Shree Ram’ whether in school or outside. He’s almost 7 years old and I’ve never seen him this nervous. He’s a courageous kid and I’ve always encouraged him. He does not want to go to school out of fear. We’ve scolded him so many times but have never seen such behaviour,” Republic TV quoted the father of the victim.
Recently, West Bengal government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had to face a huge backlash after they had objected to raising of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans in the state. Mamata Banerjee had to face a severe public outcry after she had lashed out at the public for chanting Hindu religious symbols in her presence at North Paragana district.
Later, she had also unleashed her state police force to arrest few people for chanting Jai Shree Ram slogans in the state.
Shockingly, a BJP worker was also allegedly stabbed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers for chanting Jai Shree Ram in Panduranga village of East Burdwan district’s Ketugram area on May 30, 2019.
The hatred against Hindus is not just limited to political circles but it has now crossed beyond the country’s borders. The unifying slogan seems to have unnerved the liberal-left and Islamists, who are ganging up to propagate hatred narrative against the Hindus.
