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Mamata Banerjee’s double-standards over the illegal immigrants in Assam unveiled

OpIndia Staff
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Mamata Banerjee’s double-standards over the illegal immigrants in Assam unveiled

The TMC supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee seems to be using the Assam NRC (National Register for Citizens) draft list row to stir a fresh brouhaha. However, in the excitement of a fresh political opportunity, she forgets her own past statements regarding the NRC.

As reported by Times Now, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that she did not support the NRC in Assam, claiming that it could lead to unrest in the country. However, in contrary, a video from 2005 shows that she had raised the same issue in the Lok Sabha, only at that time she had alleged that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh had spelt disaster for West Bengal.


On Monday when Assam released the NRC draft leaving out 40 lakh people of the state the Trinamool Congress chief was quick at launching a lethal attack at BJP-led government, accusing them of “forceful eviction” by saying that people had become ‘refugees’ in their own state and that the Centre was targeting Bengalis and Biharis. Her comment saying that the NRC was a politically motivated move by the BJP to get votes, adding that it could lead to a civil war, created a complete disorder, agitating the BJP chief Amit Shah and others and moreover exhibiting her hypocrisy for the same.

On 4th August, 2005, when Banerjee was in the Opposition and the state was under the CPI(M) rule, she held very differing views on the issue. During a session in the Lok Sabha, Banerjee had raised the issue of illegal immigrants in West Bengal, saying that illegals migrants from Bangladesh have spelt disaster for the state.

Taking street-level protest into the Parliament, she had stepped into the well of the house after being disallowed to raise this issue in the Lok Sabha and was highly condemned for throwing the papers at the deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha, Charanjit Singh Atwal, threatening to resign and storming out of the house.

Now, in 2018, Banerjee has rejected the Supreme Court-monitored NRC list brought out by the Assam government, displaying her double-standards by saying, she did not want to see her “motherland divided.”

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party chief took on opposition parties, saying that they were “backing infiltrators”. He added that the NDA government had “shown courage” by bringing out the NRC list, something which the UPA did not dare do, and accused the Congress of indulging in “appeasement politics”.

Seeing Shankaracharya insulted and arrested ‘cured’ Subramanian Swamy of his anti-RSS hate

OpIndia Staff
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Seeing Shankaracharya insulted and arrested ‘cured’ Subramanian Swamy of his anti-RSS hate

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy is known to be outspoken and not duck any questions thrown at him. He was this usual self in an interview given to Swarajya magazine where he was asked questions about his politics and his not-so-courteous relationships with many individuals and entities, including the RSS.

In fact, during the interview, when Swamy was reminded of his ‘love-hate relationship’ with the Sangh, Swamy ‘corrected’ the term to say that there was actually just a ‘hate relationship’ between him and the RSS. However, he said that he has now buried the past in the interest of the nation.

He blamed his sore relationship with the RSS on his wrong impression about the way Sangh works, where he too used to believe that the Sangh micromanages the BJP, and whatever BJP leaders do and say, is on orders of the Sangh. As a result, his dislike for Atal Bihari Vajpayee turned into a dislike for Sangh.

He explained that he didn’t like Vajpayee because the former Prime Minister wanted to follow the philosophy of “Gandhian socialism” while Swamy, in his own words, had got nothing to do with either Gandhi or socialism.

But when he was read out portions of his old articles where had lambasted the RSS for its core philosophy – something that can’t be explained just on the basis of dislike for Vajpayee – Subramanian Swamy accepted that his judgments about Sangh in those articles were wrong and now his beliefs have changed.

He attributed this change of belief to an event, which he claimed transformed his personality and opened his eyes. The event was the arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi on November 11, 2004, which happened to be Diwali day, in a year Congress returned to power after eight long years.

Visuals of Shankaracharya being dragged and arrested had shocked many back then, who thought that it was not just a case of police excess, but a deliberate humiliation of a Hindu saint – a visual signalling of an ‘anti-Hindu’ party returning to power. Swamy said that he had never imagined that a Hindu saint will be treated like this in India, and this incident changed him.

After a long trial, in 2013 the Kanchi Shankaracharya was acquitted in the murder case, for which he was arrested. He breathed his last in February this year.

“I came to realise that it (arrest of Shankaracharya) was done at the direction of Sonia Gandhi, and this lady Jayalalithaa, for all her outward impression of being a tough lady, was a coward. She buckled (under pressure) and did it,” Swamy explained how he viewed the incident.

“I was shocked that he (Shankaracharya) was treated like any other criminal, brutalised and so on. At that time I felt there are some international forces working to debase Hinduism so that India could be brought out of it (Hinduism) and perhaps Christianised or I don’t know what (their plans were). But I felt that this was something I should fight (against),” he further explained why the incident made him change his views.

Swamy said that he felt that there was a need for all pro-Hindu forces to come together, and RSS was the only force fighting for the Hindus, so he buried his differences with the volunteer-driven organisation. He further praised the RSS for not holding his old views against him or the fact that he brought down a BJP government in 1999.

When further asked to explain his drastic change of views on the RSS, Swamy recounted the example of Minoo Masani, an avowed socialist who abandoned his beliefs to join Swatantra Party – India’s first ‘right-wing’ party formed in the 1960s to oppose the socialist policies of Jawaharlal Nehru. He shared an anecdote about what Masani had said when someone asked him about his old socialist views:

“Listen, I have been cured of it, and I think you require some curing.”

Pope Francis and Catholic Church shamed after Chile gets tough against child sexual abuse scandal

Sanghamitra
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Pope Francis and Catholic Church shamed after Chile gets tough against child sexual abuse scandal

Police and prosecutors have been raiding the offices of the Catholic Church in the South American nation of Chile. According to a report by Reuters, beginning since mid-June, there have been six raids on the offices belonging to the Catholic Church. Authorities have reportedly seized documents, files, computers, laptops and tablets belonging to Church officials and the Vatican.

The raids are a part of ongoing investigations into the allegations of rampant child sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests. The raids have been surprised sweeps, ordered by Chilean prosecutor Emiliano Arias. The actions on the Catholic Church offices in Chile is being regarded as one of the most aggressive ones ever undertaken by a judicial authority against the Roman Catholic Church.


The allegations of child sexual abuse in the current investigations date back to as far as 2007. The Chilean authorities are not only attempting to arrest and prosecute the priests who committed the crimes, they are also looking for the involvement of the Church in hushing up and allowing the crimes to continue. In an interview to Reuters, Arias has informed that the documents seized contain details of as many as 30 different cases of child sexual abuse, which were reported to the church but the church did not report it to the authorities and kept the allegations hushed up. Arias also states that the Church had even attempted to destroy the documents but the raiding authorities manage to salvage them.

Oscar Munoz, the top aide of Chile’s Archbishop Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, has been arrested for sexual crimes against children. The prosecutors reportedly believe that Cardinal Ezzati had knowledge of his aide’s crime but he chose not to report.

In an astounding revelation, the prosecutors state that they had to take the extreme step of raids because the Catholic Church authorities refused to divulge the information about abusive priests, claiming that the details of sexual crimes and criminal priests involved in it are protected under the Vatican law as ‘Pontifical secrets‘. Investigators worldwide have reportedly claimed that the Canon law of ‘Pontifical Secrets’ is often used by the Roman Catholic Church to shield their priests who are accused of severe crimes. What is more, the Archbishop’s office in Santiago had reportedly even admitted that they were asked to cite this ‘Pontifical Secret’ excuse to the authorities by the Vatican itself.

In Chile, the allegations of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests have long been reported. Things took a significant turn when Pope Francis appointed Bishop Juan Barros as the Bishop of Osorno in 2015. Barros was accused of shielding and protecting Reverend Fernando Karadima, who was Chile’s most notorious paedophile priest. Unfortunately, Karadima was not only powerful and politically connected, but the laws under the statute of limitations ensured that Karadima was never prosecuted and punished for his crimes. The Vatican, after Karadima’s abuse victims finally went public, made a token gesture of removing Karadima from official posts and ‘sanctioned’ him to a ‘life of penitence and prayers’.

Pope Francis’ visit to Chile in January 2018 had seen widespread protests and incidents of church burning by an angry public. As many as nine different churches were reportedly firebombed by an angry mob in protest of the Catholic Church’s defensive attitude towards abusive priests.

Facing wide backlash and criticism, Pope Francis was in a way forced to express apologies for the incidents of child sexual abuse. While he had initially defended Barros and termed the allegations against him as ‘slander’, he later expressed his apologies and sent two Vatican convoys to meet and take statements from abuse victims. The convoys, Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Msgr Jordi Bertomeu then prepared a 2300 page report that reportedly confirmed the elaborate cover-up by church officials whenever crimes against children by priests were reported.

Acting on the report, Pope Francis reportedly summoned all 34 of Chile’s bishops to Rome in May this year. While all of them had reportedly offered to step down from their posts, the pope has so far approved 5 resignations.

According to reports, in Chile alone, about 80 Roman Catholic Priests have been accused of sexual abuse in the past 18 years. Recent reports stated that so far, the authorities have investigated 158 Catholic Priests, officials and workers on allegations of sexual abuse. The number of victims is said to be in hundreds.

Sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests and the Church’s blatant attempts to not only cover up the crimes but elaborate attempts to aid, protect and defend the criminal priests is something that has shamed the Roman Catholic Church multiple times. There have been numerous incidents worldwide where the church has been found to protecting its abusive priests. Recently in Massachusetts, the church was ordered to pay 1 million USD to victims of abuse in the 70s and 80s. The details of the case, which were made into an Oscar-winning movie ‘Spotlight’ were such that the abusive priests were not only allowed to continue their abuse, but a powerful legal and official lobby successfully protected them by deceiving and cheating the victims.

In India too, many cases of sexual abuse by church priests have been brought to light. Recently in Jharkhand, nuns of the Missionaries of Charity were arrested on charges of child trafficking and baby selling. It is also unfortunate that despite such rampant cultures of abuse and crimes being prevalent in the church, the church often finds it necessary to use Indians for its own political agendas with impunity. Child sexual abuse is a blot on humanity. It is time that the Catholic Church takes steps to purge itself of its own sins before ‘pontificating’ to the world as to which politicians to vote for and which medical decisions to make.

Husband threatens to kill wife if she doesn’t withdraw petition against Nikah Halala and polygamy

OpIndia Staff
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Husband threatens to kill wife if she doesn’t withdraw petition against Nikah Halala and polygamy

A petitioner against Islamic practices of Nikah Halala and polygamy has alleged that she is receiving death threats from her husband who is demanding that she withdraw the petition from the Supreme Court, Times of India has reported.

According to the report, the petitioner Farzana was given Triple Talaq by her husband in 2014 who later allegedly told her to reconcile with him after having Nikah Halala with someone whom he considers to be his father figure. As per a PTI report, she considers her husband’s divorce to be illegal which has left her and her daughter without any financial support.

Farzana on 23 July petitioned the Supreme Court against the practice of Nikah Halala and just a day later received a phone call from her husband named Abdul Qadir for the first time in four years.

Farzana alleges that during this phone call Qadir demanded that she take back her petition and do Halala with his father figure to return back to him. When she refused, he threatened to kill her and subsequently dump her body in a drain.

Incidentally, it isn’t the only time crusaders against regressive Islamic practices have been targeted by radicals.

We had reported how Muslim clerics had issued a fatwa against activist Nidha Khan for fighting against Triple Talaq. Under this fatwa, she was ordered to leave the country within three days or risk being stoned. They had also announced an award of Rs 11,876 for anybody who chops her hair.

Nidha herself was a victim of Triple Talaq and Nikah Halala. She had been given instant divorce by her husband for giving birth to a girl child, following which she was forced to sleep with her father-in-law and brother-in-law under the Islamic practice of ‘Nikah Halala’, so that her husband could marry her again.

Farhat had founded an NGO called ‘Mera Haq’ in 2014 to fight for justice for triple talaq victims and against domestic violence. Her Triple Talaq was struck down by Bareilly court in July.

Over 1000 illegal immigrants apprehended while trying to enter Meghalaya from Assam, claims Khasi Students Union

OpIndia Staff
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Over 1000 illegal immigrants apprehended while trying to enter Meghalaya from Assam, claims Khasi Students Union

According to reports, the Khasi Students Union (KSU) have set up infiltration check gates at various checkpoints along Ri Bhoi, East Jaintia Hills and West Khasi Hills. They claim to have apprehended as many as 1000 illegal immigrants on Tuesday alone.

The alleged illegal immigrants were apparently travelling in trucks when they were apprehended. KSU President, Lambokstarwell Marngar, said, “More than 1000 suspected illegal immigrants were detected along the National Highways and the people did not possess any documents and their plan was to come to Meghalaya.”

Marngar also asserted that there was “a heated argument with the Police” over the matter. “There was a heated argument with the police. However, later the district administration assured to allow our members to conduct checking at Byrni where the government check gate is located. If it is not effective, we will continue checking on our own,” Marngar said. Marngar also said that there was a serious concern of illegal immigrants entering Meghalaya as 40 lakh people have not been included in the NRC list in Assam.

Over 200 alleged illegal immigrants were detected at the check gate at Pahammawlein, 20 Mile, in Ri Bhoi. As per KSU General Secretary, Donald Thabah, more than 1000 illegal immigrants attempted to enter the state from Barak Valley. The checkpoint was set up at Ratacherra in East Jaintia Hills. In West Khasi Hills, the checkpoint was set up at Athiabari. President of the KSU unit in the district, John Fisher Nongsieng, rued the fact that “there is no mechanism to tackle influx in the district or the state”.

He claimed, “Unlike in other states which have implemented the Inner Line Permit outsiders will easily enter our state, especially West Khasi Hills bordering Assam. So the union has to erect an infiltration check gate as the government did not pay attention to our demand.”

According to the NRC, as many as 40 lakh people among the total of 3.29 crore population of Assam were potential illegal immigrants in India. Opposition parties have perceived it as an opportunity to score one over the BJP and made inflammatory remarks while the Government, and the Army on various occasions, has maintained that illegal immigrants pose a serious threat to the demography and security of the country.

Yogi Adityanath tightens noose on corruption, seeks records of over 100 tainted officials

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi Adityanath tightens noose on corruption, seeks records of over 100 tainted officials

In a bid to clamp down on corruption, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath sought records of over 100 tainted class I officers, including IAS, IPS, PCS and PPS officers, whose names have figured in corruption cases at any point in time during their service period. As per reports, Yogi Adityanath held a meeting last evening which went late into the night where chief secretary Anoop Chandra Pandey, principal secretary (home) Arvind Kumar, DGP O P Singh and the heads of vigilance department and CB-CID were present. It is believed that as many as 300 officials and employees who have been allegations of financial irregularities and other cases are under scanner.

Yogi Adityanath has also formed a task force. He has asked the officers to pull out files of last 20 years, pertaining to over 400 cases and asked the task force to dispose of them within the next two months. Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar said that the 400 cases pertain to various departments including CB-CID, vigilance and economic offence wing.

As per reports, it is expected that Yogi Adityanath government will take immediate action against at least 20-22 cases, the files of which have been pending with the home department for a while. The UP CM has also asked for files of cases of corruption which took place during the SP and BSP rule.

Earlier in June, Yogi Adityanath had acted tough to suspend District Magistrates accused of corruption and illegal mining. A close aide of the CM had then said that Yogi is in no mood to go soft against those not following the government line and has also got the green signal from the party leadership to act tough.

Bangladesh: ‘Modi govt capable of handling NRC situation judiciously, no connection with Bangladesh’

OpIndia Staff
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Bangladesh: ‘Modi govt capable of handling NRC situation judiciously, no connection with Bangladesh’

With the final draft of the Assam’s National Registry of Citizens (NRC) rolled out a day before, leading to a nationwide debate over the exclusion of over four million people, Bangladesh on Tuesday said that linking illegal migrants with the country was incorrect, reported ANI.

In a phone interview to ANI from Dhaka, Information and Broadcasting Minister of Bangladesh Hasanul Haq Inu said, “Everyone knows it is a century-old ethnic conflict in the state of Assam. In the last 48 years, no Indian government has raised the issue of illegal immigration with Bangladesh; the situation needs to be dealt by the Modi government in New Delhi, which is capable of handling it judiciously. It has no relation to Bangladesh.”

When asked whether Bangladesh is amenable to take back the illegal immigrants residing in India, Hasanul Haq said, “As of now, India has not shared NRC findings with us and has not raised the issue. Until they do so, we will not speak. You can’t link every Bengali speaking person to Bangladesh.”

A political squabble has erupted ever since the final draft of Assam’s NRC was published on Monday. The draft included the names of nearly 2.89 crore individuals out of the 3.29 crore applicants, leaving out more than 40 lakh applicants.

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday tore into the government over the final draft of the NRC excluding 40 lakh applicants, warning that the move will lead to “civil war and bloodbath”. She accused the BJP of trying to drive out people for political reasons. A complaint has now been registered against CM Banerjee for her “civil war” comment.

The chief of the ruling BJP, Amit Shah, hit back at Mamta for her remarks saying he was “stunned” and that he demanded to know, “What about the rights of Indians?” Condemning her allegations Amit Shah demanded that “She should clarify what kind of civil war she is talking about”.

He alleged that Banerjee saw a “vote bank” in illegal immigrants while the BJP was looking at the security of the country and rights of its citizens. “The BJP is committed to the national security and safety of its citizens. This is our top priority. All other parties should clear their stand,” he said.

He also charged the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of not showing the courage to identify and deport illegal immigrants from Assam as per an accord which was signed by erstwhile Prime Minister, late Rajiv Gandhi in 1985.

Case registered against Mamata Banerjee for ‘civil war’ and ‘blood bath’ comment after NRC draft

OpIndia Staff
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Case registered against Mamata Banerjee for ‘civil war’ and ‘blood bath’ comment after NRC draft

A case has been registered against the Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, for inciting violence and threatening people with a bloodbath in the country, after the final draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published.

The police complaint has been registered at Naharkatia police station against the Bengal Chief Minister by the BJP’s youth wing in Assam’s Dibrugarh district. The police have confirmed that they are examining the complaint and are yet to register an FIR in the matter.

Mamata Banerjee speaking at a conclave had said that “The NRC is being done with a political motive. We will not let this happen. They (BJP) are trying to divide the people.


She said “If it goes on like this, don’t you think it will create a civil war, don’t you think it will create a bloody war? The civil unrest has already started as section 144 has been imposed in Assam”. She also said that “If this is a blunder, I am ready to do the blunder but I will not excuse this”.

She reiterated her ‘civil war’ comment while speaking to the media about her meeting with Rajnath Singh.


Amit Shah, the president of BJP rejected all the charges and said that the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) in Assam is a matter of National Security and also the right of every Indian. Shah asserted that the NDA government was determined to throw out the illegal Bangladeshis from the country and that NRC will be implemented “to the last full stop”. He asked all the opposition parties to clear their stand on the issue of NRC.

The process of the NRC began after the Supreme Court had asked the government to finalize and publish the final list of NRC, by the end of July to identify the actual citizens of the state and flush out the illegal immigrants settling in the state. The state government had published the final list comprising of 2.89 crore people out of 3.29 crore of total people. The remaining 40 lakh people are yet to prove their lineage to avoid being considered as illegal immigrants.

Maulana accused of sexual assault accused of beating Pune Madarsa kids with stick and pipe: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Maulana accused of sexual assault accused of beating Pune Madarsa kids with stick and pipe: Reports

Days, after a Maulana was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting two minor boys in a Madarsa in Pune, new details of his crimes, have emerged. According to a report in The Times of India, 12 rescued inmates have accused the Maulana of physical assault. The kids have complained to the police that the Maulana used to beat them up with a stick and pipe when anyone disobeyed him.

The rescued inmates are reportedly being kept at the Shivajinagar Observation Home in Pune. The police have been recording the statements of the children after the Maulana was arrested and so far 12 inmates have accused the Maulana of repeated physical assault. The TOI report, quoting a senior Inspector Vishnu Pawar of the Bharti Vidyapeeth Police, has mentioned that the Maulana assaulted at least 12 inmates with a stick and pipe while class was in session. The children were being taught Urdu and Arabic at the Madarsa.

The Maulana was arrested on 27th July after two children who had escaped from the Madarsa were found by the Railway Police. Upon inquiry, they had revealed that the Maulana of the Madarsa has been sexually assaulting them. Pune Police had then raided the Madarsa in Katraj area with child rights workers and arrested the Maulana. The Madarsa reportedly housed 36 children between 5 and 14 years of age.

The Pune Police had appealed for the extension of the police remand for the accused Maulana. In a special court hearing, the police reportedly submitted that the Madarsa was constructed illegally and out of the total number of inmates, only 18 were given admission. The Madarsa is reportedly unable to show documents for more than a dozen children and they do not have consent letters from their respective families too. Most of the children are reportedly from Bihar. The court, after hearing the matter, reportedly extended the police custody of the accused Maulana by another week. The Maulana is facing charges under the Juvenile Justice Act and POCSO Act.

NIA raids Manipur Congress MLA’s residence, recovers arms

OpIndia Staff
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NIA raids Manipur Congress MLA’s residence, recovers arms

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday raided the residence of Manipur Congress MLA Yamthong Haokip in Imphal and recovered five pistols, including one missing weapon which was stolen from DG pool kote (armoury) within the premises of 2nd Manipur Rifles, that had gone missing between September 2016 and early 2017. Besides this, NIA also recovered four other weapons, with and without license along with live ammunition.

The Manipur government had reportedly purchased a consignment of 570 numbers of 9mm pistols on September 11, 2014, for use by the state’s security forces. Of these, 56 numbers of 9 mm pistols, along with 59 magazines went missing from the armoury which was guarded at all times. The NIA has been investigating the case after Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh moved the Centre to hand over the case to NIA for a thorough investigation. On 30th May, the case was handed over to the NIA and an FIR was filed on 2nd June.

During the investigation, the NIA had arrested nine persons and recovered 3 of the 56 missing 9 mm pistols from various militant groups of Manipur. During the interrogation of the accused, they reportedly revealed the involvement of Yamthong Haokip, a Congress MLA representing Saikul constituency in Manipur.

In the raid at the MLA’s residence, cash of Rs 26.40 lakh, gold ornaments worth Rs 20 lakh, a 9mm pistol (missing from the DG armoury), a Beretta pistol, a US-made Tomcat-32 pistol with magazine, another unlicensed pistol, two guns and 45 rounds of ammunition, including that of AK series, were recovered.

During the raid, Yamthong Haokip complained of chest pain and is admitted to ICU as NIA waits to carry out further investigation.

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