The Enforcement Directorate has attached a Rs 1.94 crore property of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala in connection with disproportionate asset case. The property has been attached under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
The ED earlier attached properties worth Rs 4.15 crore of Om Prakash Chautala.
Chautala, who was convicted in the infamous teachers’ recruitment scam and is currently serving a 10-year jail term in Tihar jail, is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED for disproportionate assets to a tune of Rs 6.09 crore acquired during the check period from May 24, 1993, to May 31, 2006.
The case against Chautala was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by CBI against him and others for acquiring assets disproportionate to their known source of income.
CBI has filed a charge sheet against Om Prakash Chautala and his sons Abhay Chautala and Ajay Chautala under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The investigation further revealed that Om Prakash Chautala’s sons had also acquired assets disproportionate to their known source of income to the tune of Rs 119.69 crore and Rs 27.74 crore respectively.
As the investigation proceeded the ED revealed that Om Prakash Chautala, who last year, when out on two-week parole from the Tihar jail in Delhi, vowed to make BSP chief Mayawati the next PM, had acquired Immovable Properties at New Delhi, Panchkula and also constructed a residential house at Sirsa (Haryana).
“He had disclosed properties he acquired in the affidavit filed before returning officer in Haryana Vidhan Sabha Election 2005 and 2009 thereby projecting publicly the tainted properties as untainted,” the ED stated.
Naveen Patnaik’s BJD, which has been ruling Odisha for two decades, has announced that it is open for a post-poll alliance with either a BJP or Congress-led coalition to form government at the centre. Party vice president Surya Narayan Patro has asserted that the party has only ‘Odisha’s best interests’ in mind and will support the alliance which will ensure the special category status of the state.
Biju Janata Dal has made it clear that they are open to supporting any front, led by BJP or the Congress on the condition of protecting Odisha’s interest. Listen in. | #May23WithTimesNow
The announcement by the party comes after the state has already voted for the general elections and the assembly elections. Odisha had voted in the first 4 phases that ended on April 29.
The announcement is a stark deviation from the party’s stand since months before the general elections. Naveen Patnaik had kept asserting before the elections that his party will maintain equal distance from both the BJP and the Congress.
Naveen Patnaik had not attended the oath-taking ceremony of Karnataka’s CM HD Kumaraswamy in May last year. Patnaik was also absent from Mamata Banerjee’s mega rally at Brigade grounds, Kolkata earlier this year. These were the two events where the idea of an anti-BJP united opposition was floated from.
In fact, Naveen Patnaik had declared that the BJD was not to be a part of the Mahagathbandhan, in as many words.
The BJD is not a part of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’. We will continue with our policy of equidistance from the Congress and BJP: #Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik pic.twitter.com/juyM0wnZZF
Patnaik had also hinted at a non-BJP, non-Congress ‘Federal Front’ after his meeting with Telangana’s K Chandrasekhar Rao.
It is notable here that Naveen Patnaik’s BJD was a part of the NDA earlier. Patnaik himself had served as a minister in Atal Bihar Vajpayee’s cabinet. BJD had formed a coalition government with BJP in Odisha from 2000 to 2009. In the 2009 elections, the BJD had declared the BJP as ‘communal party’ and had fought solo, winning two consecutive elections in 2009 and 2014 with a clear majority in the state.
Just days after the elections on April 29, Odisha was hit with an extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani that caused extensive damage to the state resources and infrastructure. Naveen’s government had always maintained a remarkable track record of disaster management through several cyclones and floods over the years.
During and after Cyclone Fani too, the state government’s efforts at evacuation, preparation and management was praised widely. PM Modi had visited the state on May 6 and had openly praised Naveen’s government for its handling of the pre and post cyclonic situation.
Naveen’s stand after the cyclone was also praised by political watchers as a sharp contrast to Mamata Banerjee’s staunch denial to even meet the PM and take his requests for a review meeting for relief and restoration works in West Bengal. Patnaik received accolades for keeping his political stand aside and co-operate with the central government fully when it came to relief and reconstruction work in Odisha.
In Odisha’s political circles, whispers of a changing stand and future prospects have already started. More so after Naveen Patnaik penned a ‘thank you’ letter to PM Modi for all the help the central government had provided to the state for relief and restoration work. The CMO had also thanked union minister Dharmendra Pradhan for his ministry’s help.
Thank Union Minister Shri @dpradhanbjp for considering our request to provide 1,000 KL of Kerosene Oil free of cost to #CycloneFani ravaged #Odisha. It would help meet the immediate demand for Kerosene Oil for lighting purpose.
Throughout its election campaign in the state, BJD had maintained that it will retain its 2014 clean sweep of Lok Sabha seats in the state and will play a decisive role in forming the next government at the centre. In 2014, BJD had won 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha.
It is notable here that Odisha has also voted for the state assembly along with the Lok Sabha, an assembly where Patnaik’s party is facing a two-decade anti-incumbency. The incumbent BJD government had 118 seats in the 147 seat assembly and a significant reduction in those numbers is expected, especially after BJP’s spectacular performance in the state local body polls.
BJD and BJP had been vocally campaigning against each other in the state. But interestingly, BJD had also voted in support of NDA’s Rajya Sabha deputy chairman candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh last year. As the nation votes for the last 59 Lok Sabha seats tomorrow and holds its breaths till May 23, in any scenario other than a clear NDA majority, BJD’s support will hold significant power.
BJD’s declaration of considering an alliance with BJP or Congress will also let negotiators in both parties into active mode. Congress, desperate for support from regional parties, will sure try its best to woo Patnaik.
The Media on 15th May reported that three explosive letters written by MK Gandhi were up for auction in England. Mullock’s Auctioneers, based in Shropshire county, were hoping that the letters would fetch anywhere between 50,000 pounds and 60,000 pounds. The set of three letters written by Mr Gandhi that go for auction were written in June 1935. The letters pertain to the behaviour of his eldest son, Hiralal who allegedly, according to Gandhi’s letters raped his own daughter even before she turned 8 years old.
In the letter, MK Gandhi, raising concern over his son’s behaviour had written, “You should know that your problem has become much more difficult for me than even our national freedom”.
The letter goes on to say, “Manu is telling me a number of dangerous things about you. She says that you had raped her even before she was eight years and she was so much hurt that medical treatment was also to be taken”.
Manu was Hiralal’s daughter.
In another letter, Gandhi questions Hiralal about his drinking habit. He writes, “At least let me have the pure truth, please tell me if still, you are interested in alcohol and debauchery. I wish that you better die rather than resort to alcohol in any manner”.
These letters that are on auction in 2019 have not surfaced newly. Even in 2014, these very letters were put up on Auction. In 2014, Mullocks had expected to fetch 80,000 pounds for the letters but had found no buyers. In fact, they had reduced the asking price to 20,000 pounds and still, failed to find buyers.
When these letters surfaced in 2014, Tushar Gandhi, the lineage of MK Gandhi had written a letter to the Media on DNA saying that in the letters, originally written in Gujarati, MK Gandhi was concerned about Hiralal raping his sister-in-law and not daughter.
Tushar Gandhi had written, “The translated excerpts are uneducated and out of context assumptions. I read the letters in its original form in Bapu’s handwriting and realised how wrong and may be mischievous the assumptions were. In the letter, Bapu confronts Harilal kaka’s relationship with his dead wife’s sister whom he, Harilalkaka, was contemplating marrying her”.
He goes on to say that MK Gandhi approved of the marriage because the sister-in-law was a child widow but he “wished that both first confess to their previous sins”.
He says, “In this context, he writes to Harilal kaka that his daughter Manu who was then staying with Bapu at Sevagram, Wardha had told him about Harilal Kaka having raped ‘her’ and ‘she’ required medical help. The ‘her’ here refers to the sister-in-law, not Manu, as alluded to in the sensational reports published in newspapers”.
After saying that Hiralal actually raped the sister-in-law and not the daughter, Tushar Gandhi had gone on to castigate the media for “sensational reporting” and “incorrect translation”. He said that the sensationalism had hurt the descendants of Gandhi and those of Hiralal.
Interestingly, even after Tushar Gandhi’s clarification in 2014 that MK Gandhi’s son had raped the sister-in-law and not his daughter, the media in 2019, which mainly carried a PTI wire, has reported that Harilal raped his daughter.
As the Lok Sabha elections reach its final leg, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal start cooking up excuses to fall back on, just in case his party does not perform well in the ongoing polls.
Kejriwal while talking to Indian Express said that the Muslim vote “shifted” to the Congress at the last minute during the Lok Sabha polls in the capital.
When asked as to how many seats were AAP expecting to win in Delhi, where seven constituencies voted on May 12, Kejriwal said, “Let us see what happens. Actually, chunaav ke 48 ghante pehle tak saaton seat lag raha tha Aam Aadmi Party ko aayengi. Last moment pe complete Muslim vote got shifted to Congress. Last night, the night before the election. We are trying to figure out ki hua kya hai. Poora ka poora Muslim vote jo hai woh Congress ko shift ho gaya. They are 12-13 per cent. (Until 48 hours before polling, it seemed like all seven seats will come to AAP. But at the last moment, the complete Muslim vote got shifted to Congress. We are trying to figure out what happened).”
Kejriwal was campaigning in Punjab’s Rajpura. AAP is contesting all 13 seats in the state, which votes on May 19.
This is not the first time that Congress or AAP have indulged in this mudslinging. It was earlier revealed that Congress had asked Muslims not to vote for Atishi Marlena, AAP’s candidate, because “she was a Jew”.
On being asked about his opinion on the Lok Sabha overall results, the AAP chief once again displaying his obsession with the EVM’s said “If they do not tamper with the EVMs, Modi ji should not come back… but I do not know whether they would do it or not.”
Interestingly Kejriwal’s obsession with EVM tampering theory is not exclusive to this election season. He has been trying to peddle this theory for years. In fact in 2017, after AAP faced defeat in the Punjab Assembly elections it had tried using a similar excuse. The Election Commission of India (ECI) had then sent a detailed response to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had claimed that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) could have been tampered with. The EC had said, “It is for your party to introspect as to why your party could not perform as per your expectations and it is unfair on the part of your party to attribute the unsatisfactory poll performance of your party to the alleged tamperability of EVMs”.
Moreover, going by their penchant, the AAP has, since the onset of the Lok Sabha campaigning, been up to their regular theatrics to impress the voters. This time the Delhi Chief Minister had moved on from ‘EVMs are rigged’ conspiracy to ‘your names are deleted from voter list’ conspiracy theory.
A while ago, Arvind Kejriwal and his followers had stooped to a completely new level of asininity by asking parents to choose between either their children or Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In one of his Tweets, Arvind Kejriwal had also cast his doubts upon the patriotism of people who support PM Modi. Also in his frenzy to win the Lok Sabha elections, Kejriwal did not forget to play the appeasement politics either.
Kejriwal, who rose in politics by pretending to an anti-corruption crusader had tried desperately to forge an alliance with the Congress in Delhi, failing which the party decided to contest individually.
The Central government has issued an alert to the West Bengal police over a possible attack on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. According to reports, the Ministry of Home Affairs has sent intelligence inputs to the West Bengal police that a suicide attack might be carried out on Buddha Purnima i.e. on 18th May.
The report claimed that the first intelligence input was sent to the West Bengal police on 10th May which said that something untoward might happen on May 12 and it also said that something might take place around Buddha Purnima.
The Intelligence Bureau (IB) report sent by the MHA to the West Bengal police today stated that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) or Islamic State (ISIS) may carry out terror attack on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. The alert says that woman bomber posing as a pregnant devotee might commit suicide bombings at any conglomeration relating to Buddha Purnima. The report also stated a specific time between 6 am to 9:30 am as a very sensitive time slot.
The report also suggested the police personnel across the state to take the matter very seriously and to take a vigil at all the Buddhist temples and monasteries. The report also said that the attack might take place either in West Bengal or in Bangladesh. It is reported that intelligence had intercepted a message released by pro-ISIS telegram channels two weeks ago, warning of an attack in West Bengal or Bangladesh.
After receiving the alert, the West Bengal Police has increased security across the Hindu and Buddhist temples in the state. “We have received an alert. We have strengthened security outside the temples in the city as well as other parts of the state. We are taking no chances,” said a senior official of West Bengal Police in Kolkata.
“A similar alert was ignored by Sri Lanka authorities and we saw the number of casualties. We have immediately responded to this input and alerted all our officials to maintain highest level of alertness and preparedness to prevent any such attacks,” added the officer.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has termed the attacks on him a political conspiracy. Talking to Punjab Kesari, Kejriwal said that he has been attacked five times since he became the Chief Minister. He accused the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) of planning these attacks on him.
“Matlab ye hamle kyo ho rahe hain? Mera kasoor kya hai? Maine kya galat kar diya? Mere sath aisa koi kyo karega? (Why is happening with me? What is my fault? What wrong did I commit? Why would anyone do this to me?)”, asked Kejriwal.
He suspected that there was a set pattern of these attacks which have been happening one after the other. He said that every time he is attacked, the BJP tries to justify it by saying that the attacker was from Aam Admi Party only. “Mujhe pura yakin hai k BJP wale khatam kar denge, mera murder kara denge (I am sure that the BJP will get me murdered)”, Kejriwal said suspecting that the BJP might even get him killed and then justify it by giving the same reason that some AAP supporter who was unhappy with Kejriwal did this.
“Ek din murder kar denge kahenge Kejriwal ka koi karyakarta tha, Kejriwal se naraz tha, murder kar diya (One day they will get me killed and say that some supporter of Kejriwal who was unhappy with him murdered him) “, added the Chief Minister. He said that even his security was not under his control and that his PSO reports to the BJP.
Recently Kejriwal was slapped by a person during an election campaign. Before that, he was physically attacked several times, and later most of the attackers turned out to be AAP supporters. Unhappy with the direction the Aam Aadmi Party has taken, several senior leaders have left the party, including founder members. And few party workers and supporters have chosen to use physical violence to show their displeasure with the party.
Perhaps sensing an imminent defeat in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi appeared in a damage control mode in his press conference today. In an attempt to strike a reconciliation with the estranged regional parties, Rahul reiterated his party’s relegated role of being a vote-cutter in Uttar Pradesh with a singular purpose of defeating the BJP.
Rahul Gandhi: Priority number two is to push Congress ideology, priority number three is to win the Vidhan Sabha election. But ideological they are on the same page like us, I don’t see Mayawati Ji, Mulayam Singh Ji, Mamata Ji, Chandrababu Ji supporting Narendra Modi govt. 2/2 https://t.co/GjJasTBxm5
Congress chief added that defeating the BJP in Uttar Pradesh is his party’s first priority. His party’s second priority is to push Congress ideology among the masses in UP and third priority being forming a state government in the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections. Rahul also expressed that ideologically Mayawati, Chandrababu Naidu, Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh are all on the same page as the Congress party.
In past too Rahul Gandhi had iterated that Congress party’s role in Uttar Pradesh is that of a ‘vote-cutter’. Rahul Gandhi had conceded that the Congress party had fielded candidates across the state of Uttar Pradesh, even in places where it is least likely to win, in order to cut into the BJP votes. Rahul Gandhi had then said, “Wherever we have strong candidates in UP, we’ll fight for our space. Places where we have weaker candidates, we’ll ensure that the BJP candidate doesn’t win and a secular candidate is elected.”
Before this, Congress General Secretary Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi had aired similar comments. She stated that Congress has put up candidates across Uttar Pradesh to cut into BJP votes. However, she quickly backtracked on her statement saying Congress candidates are fielded to defeat BJP.
Though the Mahagathbandhan leaders had slammed Congress for its arrogance, it is widely speculated that Congress might join the Mahagathbandhan depending upon the post-poll scenario. This was even confirmed by Congress advisor and mentor to Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda. This explains Rahul Gandhi’s sudden need for warming up to the Mahagathbandhan leaders. However, Rahul’s utterances even before the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections reveal the despondency set in the Congress party.
Prime Minister Modi addressed journalists today at a press conference held by BJP President Amit Shah at BJP Headquarters in Delhi. Shah elucidated the long list of achievements of the NDA government between 2014-19 and reiterated his belief that BJP will win a majority on its own this time around as well.
Amit Shah said, “BJP workers are confident of getting more than 300 seats in the elections, NDA will form government and Narendra Modi will again become Prime Minister of the country.” Shah also stated that, apart from Modi who addressed 142 rallies, he personally had visited 312 Lok Sabha constituencies, held 161 public meetings, took part in 18 roadshows and covered at least 1.58 lakh kilometers during the course of the election campaign.
Other prominent leaders who addressed a great number of public meetings were Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with 135 rallies, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Phadnavis with 51 rallies and Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani with 86 of his own.
“The people of the country have decided that our government will be formed. I hope that the new government will start functioning at the earliest,” the Prime Minister said. “It will happen after a long time in the country, our Government will come to power with absolute majority for second consecutive time,” he added.
Narendra Modi also said that campaigning for the elections in 2019 was about expressing his gratitude towards the citizens of the country. He said, “For me, the elections were about expressing gratitude to the people of India. I have said thanks wherever I went. And I am here to thank you too. The journey we had started, we need the people’s blessing to move forward with it.”
“The election campaign was a success. In the last two elections, even the IPL couldn’t be held. When the government is strong, IPL, Ramzaan, school exams and others tend to take place peacefully,” the Prime Minister told reporters.
Amit Shah, for his part, remarked on the enthusiasm with which volunteers participated in the campaign. He said that slogans such as ‘Aayega to Modi hi’ were propagated by volunteers themselves and the BJP merely adopted it.
Amit Shah also took questions from the journalists present. As expected, questions about Sadhvi Pragya’s controversial comments on Godse and Gandhi were asked to the BJP President. Answering a question, Shah said, “We have issued a notice to the three leaders. These views are purely independent and have nothing to do with the party. We have sought a response and will initiate disciplinary action accordingly.”
Shah further stated that the Sadhvi’s candidature from Bhopal and her statements were two separate issues and should not be clubbed together. He asserted that giving her a ticket was BJP’s ‘Satyagraha’ against the Congress’ Hindu Terror narrative. Shah stated, “Pragya Thakur’s candidature is a ‘Satyagraha’ against a fake case of fake Bhagwa terror. I want to ask the Congress, some people were earlier arrested in the Samjhauta blast case who were related to the Lashkar-e-Toiba. A fake case of ‘bhagwa terror’ was made in which the accused have been acquitted.”
Amit Shah was also questioned on the allegations made by Mamata Banerjee against the BJP accusing the party of spreading violence. Shah said, “80 karyakartas of the BJP have died so far. What does Mamata Banerjee have to say about that? Who’s spreading violence? We are contesting elections all across the country, why doesn’t violence break out anywhere else? Mamata Banerjee is only contesting from West Bengal, why is violence happening only here?” He also criticised media for not questioning Mamata Banerjee for widespread violence in West Bengal.
Prime Minister Modi did not take any questions personally as it was a press conference of BJP president held at BJP headquarters. When a question was directed towards him, he passed the question to Amit Shah.
In 2019 general elections in India, BJP’s decision to field Sadhvi Pragya against senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh has created ripples in news circles. Sadhvi Pragya was accused in Malegaon bomb blast case and eyebrows were raised about the optics of party nominating a “terror accused”.
While some may be confounded by this decision, a brief walk through the history of the last twenty years in Indian politics may help understand the reasons for doing so.
It all began when Congress started creating the bogey of ‘Hindu terror’ as a political strategy soon after Sonia Gandhi taking over as its Party President in 1998. Shortly thereafter, they began to blindly blame RSS for every major law & order incident in order to portray them as extremists.
1984 – Violence against Sikhs
It was a known fact that in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination, many Congress leaders led the mobs in violence against Sikhs. Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was convicted and eventually sentenced for life. Another Congress leader Jagdish Tytler was named by CBI for leading the violent mobs. Congress leader Kamal Nath was also accused of leading such mobs. He has now been made the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Yet in 1999, Manmohan Singh of Congress blamed RSS for those riots and also mentioned that Congress “had no role in it”
2002 – Riots in Gujarat
Narendra Modi as the Chief Minister of the state was blamed for not controlling the riots based on the testimony by one police officer – IPS Sanjiv Bhatt. He testified to have attended a meeting where Modi asked Police to look the other way during riots and “let Hindus vent their anger”
However, the Supreme Court appointed SIT team uncovered the following details –
All bureaucrats and senior police officials (including Director General of Police and Police Commissioner) denied the above and testified that Bhatt was not even present in the said meeting (he was too junior to be invited)
Bhatt had testified his driver taking him to the meeting, but the driver was not even present in Gujarat on those dates. Later the driver was taken to Congress legal cell and pressured to support Bhatt’s testimony
Bhatt’s several other connections with Congress were uncovered. Bhatt had exchanged many emails with a Gujarat Congress leader, he was tutored by Congress legal cell and Bhatt’s wife contested election on Congress ticket
One of the most direct evidence of Bhatt colluding with Congress was an email where he wrote he would “take it up with someone in the party” and get “suitably instructed”
The Supreme Court’s verdict stated that Sanjiv Bhatt had “not come to the Court with clean hands“, was “not acting bona fide, was catering to the interest elsewhere” and had “acted in deliberation and consultation with the leaders of the rival political party”
In other words, IPS Sanjiv Bhatt was supporting a conspiracy by Congress to frame Narendra Modi and BJP
2006/2008 Malegaon blasts and 2007 Samjhauta Express blast
For 2006 Malegaon blast, initially, nine suspects were included in the charge-sheet based on the available evidence. One of the suspects Shabbir owned a battery unit in Malegaon – he was alleged to be a trained operative of LeTand investigators had found traces of RDX in his factory
For Samjhauta Express blast, United States shared intelligence inputs about the proven links of Arif Qasmani, a Pakistani national linked with terrorist organizations. UN Security Council has still listed him as the perpetrator of Samjhauta Express blast.
However, the Government of India changed the course of the investigation to implicate alleged Hindu extremists, one of which was Lt. Col Srikant Purohit, a serving army officer. He was also charged for the 2008 Malegaon Blast. For 2008 Malegaon Blast, another alleged Hindu extremist named Sadhvi Pragya Thakur was charged.
In the Court, as many as 59 witnesses from the Army stated that Purohit was a military intelligence person who was actually doing his job (of gathering intelligence inputs) by infiltrating extremist organizations.
In 2016 it was found that ATS had planted RDX to frame Col Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya to prove Hindu extremism. Inspector Mehboob Abdul Karim Mujawar also confirmed in a video that ATS team had planted RDX to frame Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya.
In August 2017, Col Purohit was granted bail after spending 9 years in jail. Earlier, in April 2017, Sadhvi Pragya was granted bail too. The Bombay High Court, while granting bail to Sadhvi Pragya stated in its order that prima facie, there’s no case against her. The full text of the court’s order can be read here.
2007 – Mecca Masjid Blast
The USA and UN held Pakistan based HuJI (Harkat ul Jihad Islami) and LeT (Lashkar-e-Toiba) as responsible for the attack. South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) is still listing Pakistan based HuJI as responsible for the attack.
Government of India were however keen on pursuing a “Hindu terror” angle. Interrogators quizzed many RSS leaders and arrested Swami Aseemanand along with a few former RSS members. NIA filed charge-sheet against alleged Hindu activists.
Not surprisingly, the charges could not be proven. In 2018, the court cited “no evidence” against the accused and acquitted Swami Aseemanand along with all others accused of any involvement in the case
Source: Times of India in 2010 confirming Pakistan based groups as responsible while the Indian government was interrogating former RSS members
2008 – Mumbai Attack
An investigation by Pakistan’s top cop Tariq Khosa confirmed that Mumbai attack was planned and executed by Pakistan based militants.
Results of his investigation were published in Pakistani newspaper Dawn, which also confirmed that Kasab was a Pakistani national, his place of residence, his initial schooling and his joining a militant organization was established. Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists were imparted training near Thatta, Sindh and launched by sea from there and the ops room from where the operation was directed, was also identified in Karachi.
Yet, in 2010, Congress leader Digvijay Singh was busy launching the book which called Mumbai terror attacks as a conspiracy by RSS.
The statements from Congress leaders like A R Antulay (Chief Minister of Maharashtra) and Digvijay Singh were keen to put the blame for 26/11 Mumbai attack on India’s “Hindu extremists”. Aziz Burney blamed Modi and RSS as responsible for the attack
To summarize, there was credible input about Malegaon blast, Samjhauta Express blast and Mecca Masjid blast being carried out by LeT and HuJI. The biggest threat to India’s peace has always been from terrorist organizations based in Pakistan.
Yet, Congress government used up country’s resources and bandwidth to prove Indian individuals (Lt. Col Purohit, Swami Aseemanand and Sadhvi Pragya) as Hindu extremists.
Rest assured, if ASI Tukaram Omble had not nabbed Ajmal Kasab alive (and paid with his life), Congress would have arrested a few RSS members, forced a confession and made us believe that Mumbai attacks in which 150 civilians were killed were also orchestrated by Modi, RSS and Hindu extremists.
A detailed report in India Today confirmed that David Headley bought Hindu sacred threads for all Mumbai attackers. They were also given fake ids of a college in Hyderabad, India. The idea was that all attackers would be killed by security forces and then these “proofs” would be shown to portray them as Indian terrorists.
It is understandable that Pakistan would go all the way to hide their footprints and pin the blame on India. What’s surprising is Congress’s eagerness to play along and pin the blame on RSS and alleged Hindu extremists just because it benefits them in local politics.
Just to reiterate because the seriousness of this is seldom understood – if Kasab was not caught alive, Congress would have made us all believe that 26/11 Mumbai attacks were orchestrated by RSS and “Hindu extremists”
Only once people understand this aspect of Mumbai attack, people who let out a gasp on “BJP is fielding a terror accused against Digvijay Singh” may wake up to the possibility that the said candidate might also be a victim of a similar conspiracy.
Perpetrating the theory of “Hindu extremism” is a ploy that yields political dividend for Congress (voters were driven away from RSS/BJP and support Congress). However, this strategy not only weakens India’s stand against Pakistan supported terrorism, it also shows India in poor light on international stage.
Once people understand the above history in detail, they’ll also get insights into why in 2019 elections BJP has fielded Sadhvi Pragya against Digvijay Singh – the main conspirator of the “Hindu terror” theory.
If she wins elections against Digvijay Singh, it would send out a strong message that Congress’s strategy of blindly blaming Hindu groups for violence has failed, voters have comprehensively rejected the “Hindu terror” theory and Congress should stop propagating the same in future.
On the last day of the campaigning for Lok Sabha elections, BJP president Amit Shah addressed the press at BJP headquarters in Delhi, where PM Modi was also present. The event started with Amit Shah addressing the journalists present, where he expressed confidence that BJP will win more than 300 seats. After the Amit Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke for few minutes.
After both the speeches, journalists started asking questions which were answered by Amit Shah. Although many people were expecting that PM Modi will also take questions, that did not happen. That lead to many journalists and politicians mocking PM Modi on social media by saying that it must be the first press conference of a Prime Minister when the PM did not answer any question.
I can’t believe it but Modi’s first press conference as prime minister on Indian soil ended without him fielding a single question. Amit Shah answered everything. Then they got up and left. Remarkable.
After making opening remarks, PM has not taken any question in his first #pressconference yet. Amit Shah is answering instead even when journalists have directed the question at the PM.
What is going on ? Was this not supposed to be a press conference the hon PM addresses ? He did Maan Ki Baat & is now sitting as a prop for Amit Shah ji. No questions to PM !!
Most journalists assumed that it was a press conference by prime minister, and the same was reported by media also. Hence when they saw that it was Amit Shah who was taking questions and not Narendra Modi, they started mocking the PM, saying that he is afraid of taking questions.
But the fact is, all of them missed the crucial detail of the event, it was BJP President Amit Shah’s press conference where the PM was also present, and not a PM’s press conference. In fact, when a question was directed at the PM, he had passed that to Amit Shah, saying as a disciplined soldier of the party, he won’t speak in front of the president. By this, he had clearly indicated that he was merely present at the press conference, but it was a press conference of the BJP president, and the prime minister was present there as a BJP member.
It must be remembered that the press conference was held at BJP headquarters, not at a government venue. While earlier press conferences by prime ministers were held at government venues, not party head offices. For example, previous prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh had addressed press conferences at Vigyan Bhawan in 2010 and National Media Centre in 2014, he didn’t answer questions in Congress headquarters.
Therefore, first the journalists and opposition leaders mistook a BJP’s press conference to be Modi government’s press conference, and then accused Modi of being afraid of taking questions.
