The Enforcement Directorate today reported that it had freezed Rs 30 crore in bank accounts & shares worth Rs 13.86 crore held in a Nirav Modi Company. This latest move comes on the heels of multiple seizes and raids by the Enforcement Directorate.
The Enforcement Directorate also informed that they received a tip-off from a source, which led to an unusual discovery: “huge quantity of imported watches stacked in 176 steel almirahs, 158 corrugated boxes & 60 plastic containers”
ED freezes Rs 30 crore in bank accounts & shares worth Rs 13.86 crore held in a Nirav Modi Company. Acting on a tip off, ED also recovers huge quantity of imported watches stacked in 176 steel almirahs, 158 corrugated boxes & 60 plastic containers. pic.twitter.com/jg9IQLQuy4
The value and the exact number of the watches seized has not been declared yet by the Enforcement Directorate. The watches may have to be examined to determine whether they are genuine watches or cheap fakes. The watches were found in corrugated boxes, pictures of which were uploaded by the Enforcement Directorate:
The above move comes on the back of multiple actions taken by various authorities over the past few days. Yesterday, the Enforcement Directorate had reported that it had seized several premium cars belonging to Nirav Modi and his companies. The cars include a Rolls Royce Ghost, Porsche Panamera, 2 Mercedes Benz, 3 Honda, 1 Toyota Fortuner & an Innova, as per the Enforcement Directorate. It was also declared that shares & mutual funds worth Rs 7.8 Cr of Nirav Modi & Rs 86.72 crore of Mehul Choksi group were frozen by the Enforcement Directorate.
On 16th February, in raids that continued late into the night, the ED seized Rs. 5,100 crores worth of Gold, precious gems and Jewellery. The Enforcement Directorate also tweeted about additional raids being conducted and that diamonds, gold and jewellery worth Rs. 549 crores (book value) have been seized.
The Indian Express has gone into overdrive to rubbish the recent speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Parliament that “democracy in India wasn’t the work of Pandit. Nehru….but that it was in ragon (veins) of Indians.” In the last one week, Ashutosh Varshney and D.N. Jha have hogged Express’ edit pages to sneer at the Prime Minister and swoon at Pt. Nehru as the reason India has democracy.
While mocking Modi, they have crossed over to denying India’s past heritage and glory. You can call them foot soldiers of Western powers (for whom democracy originated from Greece) or the lackeys of Left but never forget the vileness of these forces. They don’t mean well for you or me or our future generations.
Varshney defines democracy as one of the elected governments and universal adult suffrage, a typical Western notion. Who are we to tell him that Pandit Nehru’s own mentor, Mahatma Gandhi took a dim view of such a democracy! Gandhi saw better merit in “Republics of Village” – a direct democracy rather than a representative democracy—in which India abounded.
Varshney’s second line of propaganda is that ancient India may have had Councils (Gana or Sangha) through which a King governed but a common citizen had no role to play. Here’s what the eyewitness account of Alexander’s campaign to India in the 4th Century BCE by a Greek historian Arrian states: “(there were) free and independent Indian communities at every turn”.
Greek writer Diodorus Siculus mentions that he mostly came across cities in India which practised a “democratic form of government.” The reference was from an account of no less than Greek traveller Megasthenes who had covered entire Northern India and went as far as Patliputra.
Varshney probably hasn’t heard of Kautilya or his Arthashastra in the 4th Century BCE which mentions “janapadas” (Republic) where craftsmen, traders and agriculturalists had their guilds and wealth earned from trade ran the political process.
Panini, in his Sanskrit Classic “Ashtadhyayi”, mentions the process of decision-making in politics. He provides various terms for voting and decision making through voting. He also mentions that in these Republics “there was no consideration of high and low.” The Buddhist literature in Pali and Brahmanical literature in Sanskrit portray a complex scenario of different groups managing their own affairs.
Indeed, the non-Monarchical governments in India go back to Vedic times. Rig Veda (10/191/2) mentions that “all resources to all stakeholders must be distributed equally.”
As for Pandit Nehru and his democratic credentials, his very appointment as Prime Minister was through as undemocratic a method as you could come across in any world annals. Nobody voted for him, yet he was made Prime Minister after majority’s favourite Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel bowed to the tyranny of Mahatma Gandhi.
And before touting for “democratic” Pt. Nehru, Varshney also ought to have informed the readers that the first Prime Minister of India had indeed jaled Majrooh Sultanpuri for his poem which didn’t paint him in golden colours. No wonder, his daughter Indira Gandhi went a step further and imposed Emergency.
So much for “freedom of speech” and “freedom of expression” which Varshney calls essentials in democracy.
A poor tribal youth was brutally lynched on Thursday by a mob in Attappady, Kerala over suspicion of theft of food items. The victim, identified as 27 years old Madhu, is reported to be mentally challenged who maintained sparse contact with his family.
The mob, as per media reports, caught him near the Attappadi forest where he was allegedly hiding. But rather than handing over Madhu to the police for a proper investigation, the mob is reported to have brutally beat him before handing him over to the police. Madhu died due to injuries soon after.
Things were so brazen that one of the suspects even took a selfie with Madhu before lynching him:
A poor Adivasi tribal man from Attapadi tribal area was tied up and beaten to death…
Some media reports say that the victim was suspected by the mob of a house burglary three days ago, while others claim that he was suspected to have stolen a bag of rice. Reports also speculate that Madhu’s mental state rendered him unable to commit a crime.
When received by the police, Madhu was in a frail state. He collapsed and died when he was being taken to a Government Tribal Specialty Hospital, in a police jeep.
An attempt-to-murder charge has been registered in this matter against 15 suspects, with the assurance that further sections would be added once the autopsy report is out. Madhu’s body has been kept at the Government Taluk Hospital in Agali.
The barbaric incident shocked various Twitter users including Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar who slammed the violent politics of Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan:
I m saddened n angered at the brutal lynching of 27 yr old Vinod – a tribal young man from #Attapadi???- lynched n killed by a mob who took selfies bfr killing him !??
Sheer loss of humanity…this mentally retarded tribal youth was an orphan kind. Accused of stealing food articles from a shop in Attapadi tribal area in Palakkad Dt in Kerala. Obviously due to hunger..beaten mercilessly by locals…died during Police taking him to hospital ??https://t.co/nhm7UDA5hs
Some social media users later hunted down the alleged Facebook account of the selfie-taking suspect and identified him as someone named Ubaid. The Facebook profile of the suspect was flooded with comments of people condemning him for the act. However, the police have not confirmed the identity or arrested the suspect till this report was filed.
Update : Police arrested the selfie-taking fifth accused, Ubaid, on 26th February 2018, while the Muslim League tried to distance itself from the accused by saying he ‘only campaigned for them during elections’. Details can be read here.
In 1893, a young man in saffron made all of India proud at the Parliament of religions in Chicago. The Ramakrishna Mission that he established became renowned throughout the length and breadth of India for its social service, its emphasis on reform and focus on education. Since then, generations of Bengalis have prided themselves over the fact that the great Swami Vivekananda was born in our land.
But now, this icon faces a challenge and Bengalis face a choice. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government has passed an order that all government schools must be painted in Didi’s favourite blue and white colours by March 5. On behalf of the taxpayer, the state government has already written a cheque for Rs 500 crore for this task.
Among these schools to be doused in blue and white, is the Krishnachandrapur High School in South 24 Parganas, established by the Ramakrishna Mission in 1948. Swami Vivekananda’s saffron must go, to be replaced by Mamata Banerjee’s blue and white.
The Chief Minister has thrown the gauntlet before Bengali society. Mamata Banerjee or Swami Vivekananda? Make your choice now!
This situation has in it several lessons for Hindu society and let me make here an effort to list them all.
(1) First, it underlines the ruthlessness of the “secular” establishment. The “secular” establishment is committed to the absolute destruction of the Hindu psyche and the absolute humiliation of Hindus. Nothing less suffices. Swami Vivekananda inspires confidence and pride among Hindus. So, he must go.
It should be noted that Mamata Banerjee is only putting finishing touches to what the Left Front began by taking over this Ramkrishna Mission school in 1977. Now, Didi is wiping out Swami Vivekananda’s saffron color, as if, almost literally, to wipe him out of history.
This should be compared to the weak kneed response of India’s Hindu majority. Take the case of Aligarh Muslim University, which is a fully public funded institution *and* a minority institution at the exact same time. How? Nobody knows.
In fact, there is even a verdict from the Supreme Court saying that the AMU cannot be a minority institution for the simple reason that it’s government run. And that Supreme Court verdict did not come yesterday. It came in 1967! No government has dared to enforce it. The Central Government has been appealing this verdict since 1967! In 2016, the Modi government withdrew the appeal but does that mean AMU will finally lose its minority status? Nobody knows.
Compare it to how the secular establishment gets things done. The Left Front government saw a Ramkrishna Mission school and just went and grabbed it. Now Mamata is even painting over the saffron so that the history of the school is lost forever. Case closed, sealed and buried.
(2) Second, it exposes all hollow claims by the secular establishment of having any respect for the regional diversity of India. In recent years, as the BJP has gained traction in Bengal, “intellectuals” have gotten into the act, warning that the BJP, supposedly the party of upper caste Hindu vegetarian males from North India, neither understands nor respects the local culture of Bengal.
Ha! Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee gets ready to wipe out Swami Vivekananda’s saffron! Is Swami Vivekananda also supposed to be a Hindi speaking male from North India? If Swami Vivekananda is not Bengali enough for you, who is?
So all this talk about Bengal’s unique culture and regional pride is just a ploy by the secular establishment to sow division among Indians and stem the rising tide of BJP. Inside Bengal, the secular establishment insists that Bengal must be completely stripped of its history, turned into one uniform kingdom that sees nothing except the supremacy of Didi’s blue and white.
(3) Faced with accusations of Hinduphobia, the secular establishment insists that there is a distinction between “Hindutva” and “Hinduism.” This episode in Bengal shows that this supposed distinction is pure made up nonsense.
No, Mamata Banerjee makes no distinction between saffron of BJP and saffron of Swami Vivekananda. The war on Hindus is very real. They don’t just have a problem with BJP, they have a problem with Hindus themselves. They get angry when they see anyone wearing saffron, even if it is Swami Vivekananda.
In fact, they will go after anything that sounds vaguely Hindu. Textbooks in Bengal even purged the word “ramdhonu” (meaning rainbow) and replaced it with “rongdhonu,” because the second word supposed to sound secular.
Can’t have a Bengali word with “ram” in it! Did Modi invent this word? Did the RSS insert the word ramdhonu in the Bengali language? Of course not. We are seeing an inquisition of sorts against Hindus, where anything … a word for a rainbow, a colour of paint … really anything can be seen as heresy against Indian secularism.
(4) There is now a concerted effort by liberal elites to destroy Swami Vivekananda in our national memory. This is related to (1), where I point out their commitment to destroying any icon that would make a Hindu feel proud about her/his place in the world.
In 2017, at the time people were commemorating the date of Swami Vivekananda’s historic Chicago address, Scroll came up with this mind boggling headline.
Scroll’s headline
The gloves are off. Swami Vivekananda is not only a target for being a Hindu, he is now the man who apparently laid the “foundation” for India’s politics of sectarianism. Now you know who to blame for the Partition of India and the murder of 30 lakh people that went along with it.
In 2012, when the nation was outraging over the gangrape of Nirbhaya, The Hindu managed to find the real culprit.
The blame for Nirbhaya
Vivekananda’s “masculine pose” in photographs is to blame for the gangrape of Nirbhaya! How could we not have realized before something so obvious!?
(5) The last and final lesson is also perhaps the most important. Hindus have to come out of their complacency. Yes, Mamata painting a school blue/white or one article in Scroll or one in The Hindu can’t destroy Vivekananda. Please be aware that leftist intellectuals already understand this. This is a victory that they intend to win inch by inch. Every little smear thrown at Swami Vivekananda pushes the envelope just a little. The difference will become visible decades later, when Swamiji is finally a hate figure that people are embarrassed to support.
Think it can’t happen? See what they did to Vande Mataram. At one time, it used to be one of the most revered battle cries of nationalism. But the left worked on it and worked on it … to the point that “cosmopolitan” Hindus today would be embarrassed to say it. In the future, they will do the same to Swami Vivekananda. They are working on it non-stop.
In January 2014, Rahul Gandhi, Congress Party’s beloved prince charming and now President, who was then their vice president and face of the impending Lok Sabha election campaign, was interviewed by Arnab Goswami. The Lok Sabha elections were just months away and the interview had profound importance. Rahul Gandhi’s answers, which later became the subject of endless memes and social media jokes, had one common phrase repeated continuously, “women empowerment” and the Congress Party’s commitment to it. But sadly, what exactly were his party’s plans to empower women were never specified.
The official website of the Indian National Congress has a whole page dedicated to Congress’s role in Women Empowerment in India. The article begins with the United Nation’s definition of Women Empowerment and proceeds to describe how Mahatma Gandhi thought the idea that women should be limited to domestic work is nothing but barbarism and goes ahead to loud the Congress’s role in getting women involved in political movements during the freedom struggle. While the involvement of women in Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘freedom struggle’ was visible, it, by no means can claim the involvement of women in freedom struggle an exclusive Congress contribution. Rani Laxmibai and her army of fighting brave women were not the members of Congress party.
If one tries to study the Congress’s entire narrative of being the forebearers of women empowerment, it actually centres around one figure, Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi was the first female Prime Minister of India. But let us be practical here, did Indira Gandhi spend a lifetime working in grassroots level politics? Did she rise in ranks from a base level political worker to the Prime Ministerial candidate? Did she strive hard to connect with the masses and served at different levels of governance? No. The answer to all these questions is ‘no’. Indira Gandhi merely inherited her illustrious father’s legacy. Inheritance is not Empowerment. Prime Ministership was served to Indira Gandhi on a silver platter.
It is almost funny that how all the arguments of the Congress regarding their contribution to women empowerment is centred around Indira Gandhi. Her cabinets never had any notable women as a cabinet minister. There have been some Ministers of States but her regime did not see another major female political leader emerging or given a substantial role of a Union Minister. Sushila Nayyar was health minister for a year, but she was sacked soon.
It is a sad irony that the members and supporters of Congress never hesitate before sharing derogatory remarks and cheapest of insults for a female cabinet minister because she belongs to another party.
The biggest hole on the Congress’s claim to being pioneers of women empowerment in India was the Shah Bano case. While the Supreme Court of India had granted Shah Bano the right to maintenance, the Rajiv Gandhi led Congress government in the centre succumbed to the possible confrontations from the Muslim Personal Law Board. Rajiv Gandhi’s government passed a law in the name of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 and basically reversed the Supreme Court Verdict. The SC verdict that could have been the harbinger of equal rights to all Muslim Women as the rest of the women of this country was overturned in the name of Muslim appeasement.
The hollowness of the congress’s claims to women empowerment was once again visible when the Narendra Modi led government batted for the abolition of Triple Talaaq in a bid to empower Muslim women who were being given triple talaq for frivolous reasons and being rendered homeless. Congress not only tried to stall the bill and often displayed double standards, senior Congress leaders even tried to justify their opposition to the bill in ridiculous ways.
In fact, Congress’s efforts to empowering women are often found being limited to photo ops and token gestures. Rahul Gandhi highlighted the plight of Maharashtra cotton farmer Kalavathi in his parliament speech, Kalavathi was granted a cash deposit by an NGO, but did that solve the problems that thousands of other women face? No, it did not.
Making an old acquaintance like Pratibha Patil the President does nothing to the cause of Indian women. Especially when she reduces her post to a mere formality while wasting tax payer’s money in funding useless foreign trips for her extended family. Majority of Indian women live in poor, rural India. Empowerment is taking development to their doorstep. Empowerment happens when the common Indian woman has the power of economic freedom and when the poor woman does not have to suffer from lung disorders due to wood smoke, empowerment happens when urban women can travel anywhere without the fear of getting molested by street goons. Somehow, in all these years of ruling the country, the Congress has failed to make these basic changes possible.
It is a matter of shame that after all these years, 80%of the Indian women did not have bank accounts. Its only after the PM Modi’s Jan Dhan Yojna drive that India can now boast of a majority of its poor population not only of having access to direct monetary transfers of several government led schemes , but also of women being in control of their finances. 50% of Jan Dhan account holders are women, women who now have the key to economic inclusion.
Women become empowered when they have freedom and means to be independent. When they find resources available to hone their skills and talent and are able to be a part of the county’s economy. Priyanka Vadra making an appearance in a rally does not uplift women. She has never worked for a day in her life and she has no talent to inspire women of the country, well, apart from showcasing how to look gorgeous in a saree. It only uplift’s Congress hollow agenda of photo-op politics. The Mudra Yojna is something that has helped countless women gain access to financial resources to become entrepreneurs. That is something that the ruling party is expected to do. Sadly the Congress has spent more time gushing over the pampered children of a dynasty than address the real issues of Indian women.
Let us take a small example. Till 2016, it was compulsory for a single mother to mention the name of the father of her child in order to apply for a passport. Imagine a woman, who is raising a child all on her own having to answer questions regarding the child’s father while filling out a form for her child’s passport. How empowered would she feel then? When, dispite all she has done, all she is doing, all by herself, is reduced to the name of a man who is, for whatever reasons no longer in the picture? It was only in December 2016 that the Ministry of External Affairs declared that was not necessary anymore. It took a female cabinet minister to identify and address the problem and make necessary changes. It was only after Nirmala Sitharaman became the Defence Minister that the issue of women officers not getting their promotions due to faulty government decisions was addressed and the women officers were granted what was rightfully theirs.
Sadly all the talks of the Congress about women’s liberation from social and economic woes appear only as an electoral propaganda tool. Rahul Gandhi has been an MP for more than a decade. But it is Smriti Irani who has taken any significant step towards the economic development of women in Amethi, his own constituency. And how do Congress leaders acknowledge that? By mocking and making sexist remarks as usual.
Dear Smriti Irani Ji,
I hope for once you will take a stand and not follow the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s advice & get ‘Girls’ to sell the ‘Pickles’ so that it sells out faster!! https://t.co/qsP2bRBvhl
As far as women empowerment is concerned, there are still vast roads to cover for India, we still have a lot of challenges to face. But when Congress boasts of it, it is nothing but a hollow propaganda tool. They have sounded the same trumpet before every election and forgot their promises after they have won. They remained in power for more the majority of India’s independent history but sadly due to their culture of sycophancy and dynasty centric policies they have failed Indian women.
In Uttar Pradesh’s first Investors Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Nivesh Mitra, a digital platform that will enable investors to apply for project clearances online. With the launch of the single-window system, Yogi Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh has become the first state where projects can be cleared digitally, without any human interface.
Anup Chandra Pandey, infrastructure and industrial development commissioner said, “Nivesh Mitra will now allow investors to apply for project clearances online. This will be a single-window system with absolutely no human interface. We have brought 20 departments under its ambit and application for 70 clearances can be made through this portal. These will be done in a time-bound manner and will be monitored at the highest levels, including the CM’s office.”
Yogi Adityanath has been working hard to secure investments and boosting the ease of business in the state. Under his tenure as Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh has become the 7th most favorable state for investment.
During the course of this investors summit, his government signed MoUs worth Rs. 4.28 lakh crores and business stalwarts such as Ambani and Adani have promised investments worth thousands and thousands of crores.
The state government is also planning to fill the vacancies in its police department and teaching staff which is expected to generate further employment for its youth. The Uttar Pradesh Police’s heavy crackdown on criminals is directed towards creating an environment where businessmen feel safe to invest in the state. The Saffron clad Chief Minister has vowed to create 40 lakh jobs in the next 3 years.
With Nivesh Mitra and the Investors Summit, Uttar Pradesh may well be on its way towards removing its ‘Bimaru’ tag and heralding a new era of prosperity for its citizenry.
VK Jain, the adviser of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has issued a recorded statement to the Delhi police saying that he saw AAP MLAs beat up the Delhi’s Chief Secretary in Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia’s presence. In a statement made during a hearing at Delhi’s Tis Hazari court, the Delhi police’s counsel claimed that VK Jain (the prime witness) under section 161 of the CRPC has corroborated the Chief Secretary’s claim that he was assaulted by AAP MLAs Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal.
As per the News-18 report, Jain had gone to the washroom for a few minutes and after returning found Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal assaulting the Chief Secretary whose spectacles were lying on ground. In another explosive revelation, Jain is also supposed to have said that Kejriwal and Sisodia were in the same room as the Chief Secretary while he was being assaulted.
As explained in the above report, as a standard procedure in the event of a FIR, a party has to record two statements: one with the cops and one with the magistrate under section 161 and 164 of the CRPC respectively.
While the statement under section 161 has been given to the police, Jain is also reported to be in the process of giving the statement to the magistrate under the section 164 of the CRPC.
AAP’s lawyers in response have questioned the timing of this statement and asked why did the Delhi police not come up with this piece of information yesterday. They also point to the fact that Jain gave this statement to the police, and asked what he said to the magistrate under section 164.
It might spell doom for the accused and the AAP as a whole if the two statements corroborate.
Politically such a statement by Jain might be critical considering VK Jain’s close proximity to Kejriwal. As per rebel AAP leader Kapil Mishra, Jain is one of the closest aides of Kejriwal and was handpicked by the AAP supremo.
If the charges are indeed proved then Kejriwal might have to deal with a ruinous narrative of “AAP MLA assaulted senior bureaucrat while Kejriwal did nothing to stop it. The accused MLAs were finally turned in by the Chief Minister’s close adviser”.
Political parties have pounced on the army chief for commenting that AIDUF has grown faster than the BJP while speaking at the seminar on Northeast organised by DRDO. However, the implicit meaning and the content of his speech before making the so-called ‘controversial statement’ deserves the attention of all Indians and the government.
Bipin Rawat says the following in the video above :
I think that the government is looking at the northeast in correct perspective and if that happens time will not be far when we will be able to amalgamate the region, ensure development and with development, we will be able to control the people of the region who are residing in this area.
We get a feeling that the Muslim population in this area has still not ridden itself of the Islamism that had caused partition in 1947. One gets the impression that the Army chief is talking about the lack of accommodative religious stance among those who have immigrated to India from Bangladesh.
The controversial part of the speech is not available in the video above. It has been transcribed from this link.
I don’t think that you can change the population dynamics of this area. If it was five districts, 8 to 9 the inversion has taken place whichever be the government, there is a party called AIDUF. If you look at it, they have grown at a faster time frame than with the BJP grew over the years. When we talk of Jan Sangh with two members of parliament and where they have reached, the AIDUF at a faster pace in the state of Assam. Finally, what will be the state of Assam, we have to take a call.
The Chief seems to be hinting at the rapid demographic change occurring in the area because of illegal immigration from the Bangladesh border. That is the reason why the AIDUF has grown by leaps and bounds since it was founded in 2005. It has three seats in Lok Sabha and 13 out of 128 seats in Assam legislative assembly.
The army chief is hinting at the situation where Assam could be a fully Muslim dominated state like Kashmir when he says ‘Finally, what will be the state of Assam, we have to take a call.’ The ‘call’ here is to ensure zero percent of illegal immigration from Bangladesh to avoid that situation.
We have got to appreciate living with all people who are living in our region irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or sex. I think if you understand that, we can live together happily, but the best part is amalgamate the kind of people that are living in the region and then start identifying people who are trying to create trouble. We will have more trouble in segregating people, identifying people, yes some people have to be identified who are creating trouble for us, who are illegal immigrants, but as was brought out, Muslim population started coming into Assam as early as 1218 to 1236. That was the first time that Muslims entered Assam. So we have to understand that they are not late arrivers, they were the early arrivers who came concurrently with the Ahoms. Both these people have claims to the state of Assam and therefore the North East region.
In this part of the speech, he warns against the import of violent Islam from across the border. The challenge of this extremists Islamists entering India is captured well in a documentary called ‘The Bangla Crescent.’ While conceding that both Assamese and Muslims have a right to live in Assam he hints that these extremists must drop their destructive ideology.
Bangladesh has a better HDI than us today. Migration from Bangladesh is happening because of two reasons. One is lebensraum (living space in German). They are running short of space. A large part of their areas gets flooded with water during monsoons. So they have got a very constricted area to stay, so I think people will continue coming into our place.
And the other issue is a planned immigration that is taking place because of our western neighbours. They will always try and ensure that this area is taken over to playing the proxy dimension of warfare. You have to counteract a stronger nation with conventional operations, so you play a proxy game. And this proxy game is played well by our western neighbour, supported also by our Northern neighbour. So to that extent, to keep this area disturbed we will continue to see some sort of migration happening. But I think the solution lies in identifying the problem and holistically looking at it, looking at it in perspective but development is the main issue. Identifying the people of this area with the population of the mainland becomes important.
Rawat provides both the logical and strategic reasons for the illegal immigration from Bangladesh. It is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with 1,252 people living per square kilometre. In addition to this, the role of Pakistan and China in changing the demographics should also be noted as a strategic threat for India and Assam.
If the demographics of Bangladesh worsens, we could have another version of Kashmir where extremists rule and kick out the Hindu population in the region. As of now, we don’t even have a proper census data for the state. Once the NPR (National Population Register) for the state is out, we will be able to ascertain the facts to some extent. The 4096 km border with Bangladesh must be sealed on a war footing and monitored closely. One might be partially relieved that this is happening at a faster pace under the current government. The chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has promised to seal the border by 2018.
One can say that the Army chief’s comments are a comprehensive warning to the politicians and people of Assam. At the same time, one can also feel partially relieved that the problem in this region has been acknowledged and the government is working towards a solution.
Army Chief general Bipin Rawat raked up a huge controversy today with his comments on illegal immigration from Bangladesh and the tectonic demographic shift underway in Assam during his address in a seminar on the North East. He alleged that Pakistan and China were engaging in proxy warfare against India through their facilitation of illegal immigration into India and remarked on the AIUDF’s rise in Assam politics as an indication of the demographic shift.
Other issue is planned immigration taking place because of our western neighbour. They will always try & ensure that this area is taken over. This proxy dimension of warfare is well played by our western neighbour & supported by our northern neighbour: General B Rawat (21.02.18) pic.twitter.com/TdrwX0tY0g
Certain sections of the political spectrum were up in arms against the Army Chief, figuratively thus far, for his remarks. Badruddin Ajmal, whose name was missing from the first list of NRC in Assam, has objected strongly to General Rawat’s remarks. He termed the remarks ‘shocking’ in a tweet and asked why the rise of his party was a cause for concern for him.
Gen Bipin Rawat has made a political statement, shocking! Why is it a concern for the Army Chief that a political party, based on democratic & secular values, is rising faster than BJP? Alternative parties like AIUDF, AAP have grown because of the misgovernance of big parties.
1
Asaduddin Owaisi, the chief of AIMIM, also jumped into the controversy and criticized the Army Chief for his remarks.
What,the Army Chief should not interfere in political matters it is not his work to comment on the rise of a political party ,Democracy & Constitution allows it and Army will always work under an Elected Civilian leadership https://t.co/PacWqqYXz1
The Army Chief only made remarks that are painfully obvious to everyone but political correctness has entrenched itself to such an extent in public discourse that uncomfortable truths are deemed as controversial. When one thinks with an open mind, there is nothing surprising about the Army Chief’s claims Pakistan and China facilitate illegal immigration into India. It is only natural for our enemies to try and destabilize the country by whatever means necessary.
Coming to the remark that certain people have objected to the most, that he is somehow engaging in political discourse, he is clearly not. He merely remarked on the rise of AIUDF and the demographic shift in Assam. No one can deny that there is a clear definitive link between the two. Members of the minority community do tend to vote en masse for ‘secular’ parties and in Assam, AIUDF is the most ‘secular’ party of all. The Army Chief did not accuse the AIUDF of facilitating illegal immigration or encouraging it themselves nor did he express any displeasure with the rise of the party.
The Army has come out in the defence of its chief. “There is nothing political or religious in the talk. Army Chief just mentioned amalgamation and development in the seminar on North-East organised at DRDO Bhawan on 21 Feb 18,” the Army said. The remarks of the Army Chief should not have created such a controversy but we are currently living in times that demonizes speaking truth itself. It is also a matter of concern that certain political sections are more interested in bashing the general Bipin Rawat than the tectonic demographic shift underway in Assam and the threat that illegal immigration presents to the unity and integrity of India.
The Ministry of External Affairs in a weekly media briefing today has clarified on the issue of convicted terrorist Jaspal Atwal being present in India and being invited to a state dinner with the visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
MEA spokesperson Ravish Kumar answered several questions from journalists on the issue during today’s briefing. He stated that there has been news of a convicted Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal being invited to state dinner with the Canadian PM and the Canadian officials have apologised on the issue. He added that the Canadian officials have admitted that it was an oversight and they had rescinded his invitation.
Atwal was seen on 20th February at a function in Mumbai.
Jaspal Atwal, a convicted Khalistani terrorist who was active in the banned Int’l Sikh Youth Federation, photographed w/Canadian PM’s wife Sophie Trudeau at an event in Mumbai on 20 Feb. He was also invited for formal dinner with Canadian PM, invite being rescinded now (CBC News) pic.twitter.com/pT7P3eLq1L
Answering questions on how Atwal managed to come to India, the spokesperson said that Atwal is a Canadian citizen and there are several methods to get an Indian visa like e-visa, visa on arrival for certain nations, OCI (Overseas Citizen of India ) etc and the MEA is now investigating how did he manage to come to India.
Answering a question on whether Atwal has any pending cases against him, the spokesperson said Atwal had served prison time for the attempted murder of a Punjab Minister and law enforcement officials might better answer whether he has any pending cases in India too. He clarified that news that the Canadian government cancelling Athwal’s visa is wrong as it is the Indian authorities who issue the visa to visiting citizens of another country. Answering another question on whether another separatist Paramjit Singh Randhawa has come to India too, the spokesperson said that he is not aware of it.
Canadian Journalist Abigail Bimman had tweeted earlier that the Canadian MP Randeep Sarai has taken responsibility for the invitation and the invitation to the state dinner at the high commission has been cancelled.
Earlier, another Canadian journalist Candice Malcolm had tweeted that the Canadian Prime Minister’s links with Athwal might be older than expected.
And here is Jaspal Atwal with Trudeau himself at a Liberal Party event some time ago. Ties are deeper than is being suggested. (anyone recognize this event? Can you help with a date and location?) pic.twitter.com/ObKo5uCCcU
Widespread objections were raised on social and mainstream media after pictures of Athwal with Sophie Trudeau and other visiting dignitaries emerged. Justin Trudeau is on a week-long visit to India and there had earlier been speculations of the Indian Government being displeased with him for his concerning links with Khalistan separatists. Trudeau had finally met Punjab CM Amarinder Singh yesterday after days of speculation. The association with Khalistani sympathisers have always been a cause for concern in India Canada relationship after Trudeau came to power. So far there had been no meeting or official welcome statement for Trudeau from Prime Minister Modi. Trudeau is expected to meet him on Friday.
