With the BJP making inroads into the Bengal, Mamata Banerjee is resorting to all sorts of political messaging to woo voters, especially Hindus as she has now decided to celebrate ‘Ram Navami’ festivals years after arresting people for observing the Hindu festival in the state.
Reportedly, a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders participated in Ram Navami rallies, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders and activists have also begun to display their ‘soft’ Hindutva by participating in Ram Navami rallies across West Bengal. In North-Bengal, TMC party workers participated in armed rallies to celebrate Ram Navami.
Several top TMC leaders, including few candidates and ministers, were seen in these rallies. Kanhaiyalal Agarwal, a TMC candidate from North Bengal’s Raiganj, was seen at a rally along with party workers carrying arms. However, Agarwal said it was not his responsibility to monitor the rally. “If anything is wrong in the rally, it is the job of the administration to initiate appropriate action,” he said.
TMC ministers Arup Roy, Ashish Banerjee and Gautam Deb were all present at these rallies. Deb claimed that they were “not doing any politics” connecting the elections with the rallies, adding, “TMC does not need to do that to win elections”.
After facing backlash for indulging in minority appeasement and the alleged killing of Hindus in the state, Mamata Banerjee had resorted to indulging in soft-Hindutva to appease Hindus. In 2017, Mamata Banerjee who was at a peak in her Muslim appeasement politics had arrested Hindutva organisations for observing Ram Navami in the state. Last year, the armed Ram Navami rallies were banned in the state. Interestingly, just two days back she had even criticised the Ram Navami rallies carried out by the BJP in the state.
With the rise of saffron organizations in the state and worried about its image as a minority appeasing party, Trinamool Congress, like Rahul Gandhi, is catering to Hindu sentiments to maintain her hold on power.
The recent upsurge of popularity of the BJP in West Bengal with the party making inroads in the rural Bengal has surely unnerved Mamata Banerjee, which could seriously affect her political ambitions of being Prime Minister of the country in the future. The anxiety of Mamata Banerjee has been manifested lately as she has often resorted to personal attacks against the BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
In a horrific incident from the valley, a girl took her life on Saturday after allegedly being raped by her own father, Valayat Qureshi, for several years. The victim’s sister in a police complaint has alleged that the girl was raped for several years by her own father but she didn’t say anything out of fear of retaliation.
The victim’s sister also claimed that her uncle also raped his own daughter. She claimed that her father got to know of what her uncle used to do to his own daughter and her father also started doing the same with his daughter. She claims she informed her grandfather. However, the grandfather asked her not to tell anyone as it would ‘tarnish’ family reputation.
As per reports, the girl had previously tried to commit suicide by jumping off a building, but was saved by her neighbours. She had even tried to file a complaint in a police station two days prior to her suicide, but the report was not filed. Following it, she consumed poison.
The victim’s sister has claimed that her father tried to rape her as well but she escaped. The victim reportedly consumed poison and was rushed to the hospital but she died. A case has been registered and further investigation is on. While police claim that the accused is in custody, the neighbours insist that he is absconding.
A 75-year-old person was killed in Tamil Nadu for being a supporter of Narendra Modi. According to reports, the elderly man was campaigning for PM Modi for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Identified as Govindarajan, he was wearing photos of Modi and Jayalalithaa on his shirt while roaming around campaigning for the elections.
On Saturday evening, he was encountered by a person named Gopinath at Orathanadu, who is a supporter of the DMK-Congress alliance. Their political differences led to an argument between them. The argument heated up, and in a fit of rage, Gopinath attacked Govindarajan. The elderly man collapsed after being brutally beaten by the DMK supporter, and later succumbed to his injuries.
Gopinath was arrested by police on Sunday morning and produced before a court. The court has remanded him to judicial custody, according to reports. Police confirmed that Gopinath is a DMK-Congress supporter.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken cognisance of the sexist remark made by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and sent a notice to him.
Senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and MLA from Rampur constituency Azam Khan stooped even lower than his usual low self by making utterly outrageous comments against BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Rampur, Jyada Prada. Khan in his speech while speaking at a public rally outrightly denied the allegations levelled by Jaya Prada against him. He even swore on his late mother saying that none of the allegations were true. But the next moment he proved himself wrong by making a highly derogatory remark against Prada.
Watch the video for Azam Khan’s shameful statement on Jaya Prada:
Full video of Azam Khan’s speech at Rampur:
Addressing the people of Rampur he said that they could not recognise her (Prada’s) reality in 17 years while it only took him 17 days. “Uski asliayat samajhne me apko 17 baras lagey. Main 17 din me pehchan gaya ke inke niche ka jo underwear hai woh khaki rang ka hai (It took 17 years for you to recognise her reality. But it took me only 17 days to recognise that the colour of her underwear is Khaki)”, commented Khan trying to suggest that Prada had links with the RSS and the allegations against him were an RSS conspiracy.
SP President and former Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav was also present on the stage when Khan made such insulting remarks against Prada. Khan said that he had introduced Prada to Rampur holding her fingers and made sure that no one even got closer to her or said something bad about her. “Kisi ka Kandha nahi lagne diya uske shareer se, chhoone nahi diya, gandi baat nhi karne di”, he said.
Jaya Prada has been on the receiving end of sexist and misogynist remarks since she joined the BJP. Last month, Azam Khan‘s close aide named Firoz Khan had used similar language for Prada saying that the residents of Rampur would remain entertained and their evenings would be ‘colourful’ because Jyada Prada would be visiting the district frequently for campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections.
Jaya Prada who was earlier in SP, had alleged that Azam Khan had attempted an acid attack on her and she was not certain whether she would be alive the next day. Prada, while speaking at a rally yesterday, said that she had complained to SP patriarch Mulayam Singh that Azam Khan was spreading her morphed pictures in Rampur but no one came out in her support.
NCW chairperson said that Khan always says dirty things about women and in this election this is his second statement he has given against women politician. The NCW has taken a suo moto against him and has even written to the Election Commission to take strict action against him.
NDTV journalist Sreenivasan Jain had to face criticism on Twitter for equating a Facebook post with real and physical assault by goons of a political party. Reacting to a video which show a person being assaulted and abused by a mob at his home, Jain tweeted that “Thuggery cannot be answer to thuggery”. By tweeting this, the NDTV journalist was suggesting that what the mob was doing is equivalent and comparable with the ‘crime’ of the person they are attacking.
But the tweet he is responding to itself mentioned that the person, identified as ‘Mumbai resident Modi-bhakt’, was being assaulted for his comments on Facebook. According to the tweet, he had criticised Raj Thackeray on Facebook after a rally by the MNS chief, and also had said that Raj Thackeray is anti-national. The person only made some comments on Facebook criticising a public leader, and didn’t say anything that is against the law, like threating violence.
But his comments against Raj Thackeray angered his supporters so much that they reached his home and started physically hurting him. It is seen that the person was offering his apology for his comments, but the mob was still attacking him. What the Raj supporters did can be sure called thuggery, but by saying that what the victim did also was thuggery, Sreenivasan Jain once against exposed himself on social media.
By equating both the incidents, Jain is implying that what the victim did is equal to what the mob did with him. The mob was thrashing a ‘Modi bhakt’, and no doubt Sreenivasan Jain was feeling gleeful about that fact.
Social media users were quick to point out that Jain was indulging in monkey balancing by equating a harmless social media post with physical attack by a violent mob.
What did the victim do? Just a FB post criticizing a leader and this is what he had to go through. But you a self proclaimed champion of free speech are branding the victim a thug! Shame on you
Absolutely shameful you @SreenivasanJain . Everyday we get stunned to know the level you guys can fall. You are ones whose channel we used to look up in past.
What did the victim do? Just a FB post criticizing a leader and this is what he had to go through. But you a self proclaimed champion of free speech are branding the victim a thug! Shame on you
Instead of unconditionally condemning violent for a Facebook post, the self-styled liberal virtually celebrated the violence, just because the victim was a ‘Modi bhakt’. Of course, this was not the first time Jain was caught downplaying violence against people from right wing ideology. Earlier, referring the plot of LeT terrorists including Ishrat Jahan to kill Narendra Modi, he had said that the terrorists wanted to do only ‘chota mota blast’.
In a major disappointment to India, Canada has modified the 2018 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada and removed the mention of Sikh extremism from the report. Giving in to the pressure from the Sikh community in Canada, the Canadian government removed the reference to the Sikh religion and changed it to “extremists who support violent means to establish an independent state within India”. The report which was earlier released in December last year had mentioned the Sikh extremism as a threat to Canada.
Indian officials have termed the updated report as a “full retreat” by the country. The updated report was published on April 12 hours before the Canadian PM Justin Trudeau was to take part along with Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, in a Baisakhi parade organised by Khalsa Diwan Society in Vancouver.
In the 2018 report, the terminology Sikh (Khalistani) terrorism was used for the first time and it was referred to as a “concern”. The had listed two terrorist organisations in the 2018 report namely, Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF). The BKI was said to be involved in armed attacks, assassinations and bombings and has members outside of India in Pakistan, North America, Europe and Scandinavia. And the ISYF, an international branch of the All India Sikh Students’ Federation (AISSF) aimed to promote Sikh philosophy and establish an independent Sikh nation of Khalistan.
In the updated version of the report, a note has been added which says, “The Government’s communication of threats must be clear, concise, and cannot be perceived as maligning any groups. As we continue this review, it is apparent that in outlining a threat, it must be clearly linked to an ideology rather than a community. The Government will carefully select terminology that focuses on the intent or ideology. For example, as a first step, the Government will use the term: Extremists who support violent means to establish an independent state within India; rather than terminology that unintentionally impugns an entire religion.” The note claims that the government of Canada does not wish to impugn an entire religion but on the contrary, the list makes clear reference to Shia and Sunni Islamist Extremism.
According to reports, the report has been updated following the threat by the Sikh community to the Liberal Party about facing dire consequences in the elections. Officials from both countries said that political parties want to impress the influential Indian and Sikh communities in the country. Some of the officials, on the condition of anonymity, tracing the problem to several Indian-origin Ministers in Canada, told that counter-terror and security cooperation is robust at the level of officials but there is a gap in the higher level of political leadership. “This is why we are seeing this dichotomy, of having cooperation at the level of officials that is not seen at the higher levels,” an official said.
The decision of the Canadian government to remove any reference to Sikh extremism has been hailed by those who have been protesting against it. One such individual Sukhminder Singh Hansra, who is pro-Khalistan and in the head of a chapter of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)said thanking the Canadian Sikh community for raising voice, “As a result, the government of Canada realised their mistake and eliminated the words ‘Sikh (Khalistani)’. Though I express satisfaction over the change, concern remains under what circumstances did the Trudeau government include these defamatory, derogatory and hurtful words in the report…as they do not reflect Canadian values”.
While travelling by air yesterday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had the unfortunate opportunity to overhear a discussion where his govt’s pet scheme Mohalla clinic was being criticised. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media, where one person seen telling the Delhi CM that mohalla clinics are not in working condition.
The video was posted by a Twitter user named Nishant today, saying that he was also present in the flight, and he had a discussion about Mohalla Clinics with the Delhi CM’s PA. In the video, it can be seen that Arvind Kejriwal is sitting on the window seat of the economy class flight, while his aide who was talking to Nishant is sitting on the aisle seat of the same row, with another companion in the middle seat.
After boarding the flight, the person travelling with Arvind Kejriwal started a live video stream on a social media site, saying that the Delhi Chief Minister is travelling economy class like an ordinary person. He also added that broom will win this time, referring to the symbol of the Aam Aadmi Party.
Hearing this, Nishant said to him, but in Lok Sabha elections the lotus will bloom. Responding to that, Kejriwal’s aide is heard saying “have a look at the Mohalla clinic project in Delhi”. To this Nishant replies, ‘Mohalla clinics are seen, but they are all closed. They are not in working condition, CM sir is also here with us’, implying that he was trying to communicate with the CM.
Such a negative statement about the scheme, which the Aam Aadmi Party claims has won international acclamation, left the person stunned and unable to give a proper reply. Instead, he brushes it off saying that everybody has their own opinion. After that Nishant directly addresses the Delhi CM by saying, ‘I am telling the chief minister that Mohalla clinics are not in working condition’.
Both Arvind Kejriwal the other person in the middle seat didn’t show any reaction to this open feedback about the Mohalla clinic project. They were concentrating on their phones and it is not clear whether they were paying attention to the conversation happening next to them.
28-year-old Madhur Singh, popularly known as The Placard Guy on social media, has been on a mission. He is trying to raise voter awareness and asking people to vote for Modi in the ongoing general elections. Except, there’s a twist.
In Delhi’s sweltering heat, Madhur went on a Delhi darshan or sort where he stood outside various buildings and landmarks, many of which have political significance, with a placard which read ‘Do vote for Modi’. OpIndia got in touch with Madhur to know more about Singh and the campaign.
Born in Agra, Singh moved to Delhi with his family when he was 9. Last year, when the Bollywood jumped on to the placard brigade following the gruesome rape and murder of the little girl in Kathua, Singh held a counter placard calling out the propaganda.
Madhur Singh with a placard that reads ‘Do Vote For Modi’ outside JNU
When he was standing with the ‘Do Vote For Modi’ placard outside JNU campus, he says a couple approached him and requested if they could also hold the placard and get their pictured clicked. Turns out, they were JNU students and after getting their pictures clicked, they went back inside the campus. “Yahan kuch deshbhakt bhi padhte hai (some nationalists also study here),” Singh tells OpIndia.
Madhur Singh with a placard that reads ‘Do Vote For Modi’ at India Gate
India Gate, along with Jantar Mantar has been a site for various protest which have shaken up the governments. Singh is standing with the ‘Do Vote For Modi’ placard at India Gate, which also happens to be a very popular tourist destination.
Propagandist masquerading as a comedian Kunal Kamra recently decided to let his followers know that they should not vote for Modi. He then stood outside Antilla, Reliance chief Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai with a placard that read ‘Don’t vote for Modi’ and put it up on social media. In response, Madhur took it upon himself to give people a reason or more to vote for Modi.
Madhur Singh with a placard that reads ‘Do Vote For Modi’ outside National Herald building
“Yes, my campaign was more about busting Kunal Kamra’s political propaganda of hate towards Narendra Modi. Kunal Kamra appealed to his followers to not vote for Modi without giving any valid reason. He, of course, has a huge following so there were chances of him influencing the youth. Therefore I thought of countering his propaganda by appealing public to vote for Modi and I gave reasons as well which anyone can understand by the locations I chose to be clicked at,” Singh says.
The Herald House was reportedly being used for commercial renting and not for publishing the newspaper. It was leased to Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL) in the 1950s for nominal prices. AJL publishes Congress’ mouthpiece National Herald. Last year, the central government had sent a legal order to National Herald publishers to vacate the premises allotted to them at Press Enclave called the ‘Herald House’. The land at the prime location was reportedly allocated to National Herald at nominal rates for the publication of the newspaper. However, an investigation revealed that the building is rented out and no publication activity was going on.
Madhur Singh with a placard that reads ‘Do Vote For Modi’ outside Games Village
Singh says there were quite a few curious onlookers, especially at places like the Red Fort, JNU and outside the offices of The Print, Times of India. “When people saw my placard and read what it says, most of them smiled and gave me thumbs up. Some even came to appreciate me and my team for holding such Placards in this scorching heat. chose Herald house and Commonwealth Games village to show the huge corruptions past Congress governments have been a part of,” he says.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games hosted by India were mired in controversies and allegations of large scale corruption including but not limited to serious corruption by officials of the Games’ Organising Committee, delays in the construction of main Games’ venues, infrastructural compromise, possibility of a terrorist attack, and exceptionally poor ticket sales before the event. During the construction of the Games Village, there was controversy over financial irregularities, alleged profiteering by the Delhi Development Authority and private real estate companies, and poor working conditions.
Madhur Singh with a placard that reads ‘Do Vote For Modi’ outside The Print and The Times of India office, Delhi
“I chose Print/Times of India to show that these media houses are not doing justice to journalism by propagating anti-Modi narratives,” Singh says. He alleges that been recently attacked by Congress workers near Darya Ganj, Delhi, for putting a “Modi Once More” sticker on his car. He also wanted to click a picture with the above placard outside 10, Janpath (Sonia Gandhi’s residence), 12, Tughlaq Lane (Rahul Gandhi’s residence) and 24, Akbar Road (Congress headquarters), but he was not allowed to click pictures by security personnel.
Madhur Singh with a placard that reads ‘Do Vote For Modi’ next to a Congress ad
“Nobody misbehaved except of security personnels who did not let me click pictures in front of 10, Janpath or 12, Tughlaq Lane which are residents of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. I did try to click pictures outside 24 Akbar Road, Congress headquarters, but some Congress workers noticed my placards and told me to shoot elsewhere. I agreed because I knew they were capable of being violent,” Singh said.
Singh parts off with the final message behind his entire exercise by finally posing outside the BJP headquarters.
Today is Baisakhi, the festival of harvest, celebrated in the northern parts of the country mainly Punjab. The festival has a special significance as it has witnessed some major historical events unfold. In the year 1699 on the day of Baisakhi, the tenth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh had formed the Khalsa Panth of warriors to protect the people from religious persecution by Muslim rulers.
The festival also witnessed another major historical event on April 13, 1984, when the Indian Armed Forces launched an operation code-named Operation Meghdoot to capture the Siachen Glacier. The dispute regarding the Siachen Glacier had its root in the 1949 Karachi Agreement signed between India and Pakistan supervised by the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) which established a ceasefire line in Kashmir. Under the 1949 Agreement, the easternmost part of the ceasefire line was not demarcated beyond a point called NJ9842 and the territory between NJ9842 and the Chinese border was left unmarked. As a result, both the countries asserted their claims to the unmarked territory by allowing expeditions to the area. When Pakistan granted permission to a Japanese team to scale up an important peak in the area, the Indian government grew suspicious.
Ceasefire Line as per 1949 Agreement, Source: Wikipedia
To put an end to Pakistan’s attempts to assert its claim over the territory, the Indian government decided to deploy troops at the Siachen glacier. As part of the preparations to deploy troops at the glacier, troops were sent on a training expedition to Antarctica in 1982 to acclimatise the troops to extreme temperatures. In 1983, fearing that India might capture the important ridges and passes near the glacier, the Pakistani Army decided to send their troops first and ordered Arctic-weather gear from a London supplier not knowing that the same supplier had provided outfits to India.
As per Intelligence reports, Pakistani forces had planned to occupy the glacier on April 17 and so to preempt the Pakistani forces, the Indian Army prepared a plan to control the glacier on April 13, 1984, way before the Pakistani Army. The operation named after Meghdoot (cloud messenger), a Sanskrit play written by Kalidasa, was led by Lieutenant General Prem Nath Hoon. Brigadier Vijay Channa, who commanded the task of occupying the Saltoro ridge chose the date April 13 as the day to launch the operation because it was the day of Baisakhi and Pakistan would be least expecting it. As preparations started, Indian Army soldiers were lifted by the Indian Air Force. During the first phase of the operation a full battalion of Kumaon Regiment and units from Ladakh Scouts, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel (later Brigadier) D. K. Khanna, moved on foot to avoid detection of the troop movement by Pakistani radars.
By the auspicious day of Baisakhi, approximately 300 Indian troops had already occupied the key peaks and passes of the glacier and by the time Pakistani troops found out it was already a lost battle for them. Pakistan had more routes accessible through the ground to the area as compared to India which had to rely on air dropping, yet it could only manage to occupy the Saltoro Ridge’s western slopes and foothills. As no victory comes without its cost, though no reliable information is available on casualties, soldiers on both sides suffered frostbite, high altitude sickness with some getting lost in avalanches.
Our brave soldiers continue to guard the Siachen Glacier fighting the extreme weather conditions and the neighbouring enemy.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday arrested a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist in connection with the attack on the CRPF camp at Lethpora in South Kashmir on December 30, 2017, in which five personnel were killed.
According to the reports, the Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist has been identified as Irshad Ahmad Reshi, who is now the fifth accused to have been arrested in the case. Reshi was a close associate of slain terrorist and JeM Commander Noor Mohammad Tantray.
Irshad Ahmad Reshi was the key conspirator in the attack who provided shelter and transport to the terrorists. He also conducted reconnaissance of the CRPF camp, Lethpora before the terrorist attack.
Earlier the NIA had arrested four accused in connection with the case, Fayaz Ahmad Magrey, Manzoor Ahmed Bhat Nisar Ahmed Tantray and Syed Hilal Andrabi.
The terrorist attack on the CRPF camp in Lethpora was carried out on December 30-31 by three terrorists belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammad. The attack was executed to avenge the death of Noor Trali who was killed in an encounter with security forces in December 2017. Five CRPF were martyred during the incident and three others were injured during the terrorist attack.
During the investigation by the NIA, the terrorists responsible for the attack were identified as Fardeen Ahmad Khandey, Manzoor Baba and Abdul Shakoor. All three terrorists were killed in the encounter. Irshad Ahmed Reshi will be produced before a special NIA court, Jammu on April 15.
In addition to the arrest of Reshi, the Pulwama police and 55 Rashtriya Rifles on Sunday busted a terrorist hideout in Manduna village in South Kashmir’s Pulwama. The Pulwama police have registered a case, further investigation is underway.
