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No one has the right to attack religious beliefs: NDA ally JD(U) criticises Assam assembly’s decision to end British-era 2-hour Jumma break on Fridays

ANI
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No one has the right to attack religious beliefs: NDA ally JD(U) criticises Assam assembly’s decision to end British-era 2-hour Jumma break on Fridays

Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader, Neeraj Kumar, on Saturday criticized the Assam government’s decision to scrap the practice of 2-hour adjournment for Jumma prayers in the state assembly and said that no one has the right to attack religious beliefs.

Neeraj told ANI that it would be better if Assam CM had focused more on lifting people above poverty.

“The decision made by the Assam Chief Minister is against the core principles of the country’s Constitution. Every religious belief has the right to preserve its traditions. I want to ask CM Sarma: You are imposing a ban on Friday holidays during Ramadan and claim that this will increase work efficiency. A significant part of Hindu tradition is the Maa Kamakhya Temple–can you impose a ban on the practice of sacrifice there?” he said.

“No one has the right to attack religious beliefs. It would have been better if you focused your attention on lifting people above the poverty line and ensuring that Assam doesn’t have to face floods,” the JDU leader added.

The Assam assembly ended the practice of a two-hour adjournment for Jumma Prayers, every Friday that was introduced by Saadulah’s Muslim League government in colonial Assam.

Speaking on the decision, CM Himanta Biswa said that Hindu and Muslim MLAs together sat and unanimously took the decision that they will work during this period also.

“The Hindus and Muslims of our assembly sat in the MLA’s Rule Committee and unanimously resolved that the two-hour break is not right. We should work during this period as well. This practice started in 1937 and has been discontinued from yesterday,” he said.

According to the previous rule, the sitting of the Assembly on Friday used to be adjourned at 11 am to facilitate Muslim members to go for namaaz, but, as per the new rule, the Assembly will conduct its proceedings without any adjournment for religious purposes.

As per the amended rule, the Assam assembly will commence its proceedings at 9.30 am every day, including Fridays. The order stated that the amendment was done to scrap the colonial practice which aimed at dividing the society on a religious basis.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

West Bengal: Son of TMC leader rapes minor tribal girl, attempts to strangle her to death, had committed sexual crimes thrice

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: Son of TMC leader rapes minor tribal girl, attempts to strangle her to death, had committed sexual crimes thrice

On Thursday (29th August), the son of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader was arrested for the rape and attempted murder of a 13-year-old tribal girl. The incident occurred in Banshihari in Gangarampur subdivision in Dakshin Dinajpur district of West Bengal.

As per reports, the accused was identified as Priyanath Rajbanshi. He is the son of Naresh Rajbanshi, an influential TMC booth President. Several family members of the accused are associated with the ruling political dispensation in the State.

Priyanath carried out the heinous crime on Wednesday (28th August) night at the residence of the victim. When the minor raised the alarm, her mother came to her rescue. The accused however managed to flee the crime scene.

Priyanath had reportedly tried to strangle the victim to death using a drawstring after committing rape, leaving serious injury marks on her neck.

On learning about the matter on Thursday (29th August), a police team led by ASP Indrajit Sarkar and IC Asim Gope reached the crime scene and recovered the pants and shoes of the accused. They also arrested Priyanath Rajbanshi while he was trying to escape.

The victim is said to be in critical condition and is currently undergoing treatment at Gangarampur Super Specialty Hospital. The incident has sparked fear and chaos in the Banshihari area.

While speaking about the incident, a local villager named Deepti Rajbanshi stated, “We want justice. The man has committed similar crimes before. We want strict punishment for the accused.”

She cautioned, “If the police do not take any action, we will take the law into our hands.” According to villagers, Priyanath Rajbanshi has been involved in at least 3 incidents of sexual violence.

Another villager named Shibnath Pandey inquired, “Girls have no protection. The government says they are protecting the tribal community. But where is the protection?”

Kolkata RG Kar Hospital rape-murder case: Doctors to protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi

ANI
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Kolkata RG Kar Hospital rape-murder case: Doctors to protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi

The Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA) will on Saturday hold a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to demand justice in connection with the alleged murder and sexual assault of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 in Kolkata.

Doctors have been holding protests in different states demanding justice for the victim whose body was found in the seminar hall of the state-run Medical College and Hospital earlier in the month.

The doctors have also been demanding better security laws for healthcare professionals in the wake of this horrible and brutal incident. The sexual assault of the trainee doctor has sparked massive outrage and shaken the conscience of the country.

The case has been transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation from the local police following an order from the Calcutta High Court.
Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer, at the hospital, has been arrested in connection with the incident.

On August 30, Vice President FAIMA and a senior resident doctor at AIIMS New Delhi, Dr Suvrankar Datta said in a video message, “We are organising a massive peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar on 31 August demanding justice for our colleague in RG Kar Medical College in West Bengal. We will also ask the Central government for a centralised protection act for healthcare professionals to prevent violence…”

He said they wanted to display their show of support for the deceased and demand authorities ramp up security in hospitals across the country.

He added, “Before the Supreme Court hearing scheduled for September 5, I urge the doctors to join us at Jantar Mantar from 3 pm- 5 pm. We want to show the world our strength and that we stand united as we ask for justice for our sister. We demand an increase in security in hospitals across the country…”

Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Kolkata on Friday, suspended the membership of former RG Kar Medical College and Hopsital principal, Dr Sandip Ghosh, amid a CBI probe into the incident.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Karnataka: Hindu woman travelling to Udupi for Krishna Janmashtami celebrations molested on a train, Mohammed Shuraim arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Hindu woman travelling to Udupi for Krishna Janmashtami celebrations molested on a train, Mohammed Shuraim arrested

In another alarming incident that underscores the increasing sexual assaults on women in Karnataka, the Manipal Police swiftly arrested a 22-year-old man from Bhatkal within 24 hours of the attempted rape of a young Hindu woman aboard a train. The accused, identified as Mohammed Shuraim, was apprehended following a thorough investigation, highlighting the growing concerns about women’s safety in public spaces.

The incident occurred on the morning of August 25 when a young woman from Manipal, Udupi, now working for an IT company in Bengaluru, was travelling to Udupi for the Krishna Janmashtami celebrations. Her journey, which began on Saturday night, took a terrifying turn as Shuraim, a fellow passenger on the Murdeshwar Express, started behaving inappropriately as the train neared its destination.

According to the police, the assault happened just half an hour before the train arrived in Udupi. Shuraim attempted to rape the woman, but she resisted and immediately raised an alarm. Realizing the severity of his actions, the accused quickly apologized, but the woman did not hesitate to report the incident. She informed the Udupi Railway Police and complained about the Railway Madad app, which played a crucial role in the swift response.

The police faced the challenging task of identifying the suspect among the many passengers on the train. With over a thousand people travelling on the Murdeshwar Express that weekend, the investigation was complex. However, the Manipal Police, through a meticulous three-stage process, managed to narrow down the list of suspects.

First, they gathered details of all passengers from that night. Then, using clues from the victim, they created a shortlist of suspects. The breakthrough came when they discovered that the accused had disembarked at Bhatkal, leading them to review CCTV footage from the station and cross-reference it with passenger records. This careful investigation resulted in Shuraim’s arrest at his home in Bhatkal, bringing relief to the victim and her family.

This incident reflects a disturbing trend in Karnataka, where sexual assaults against women are rising. Despite efforts by law enforcement and public safety campaigns, women continue to face serious threats to their safety in public spaces like trains, buses, and streets. The attempted rape on the Murdeshwar Express serves as a grim reminder of the dangers women still encounter, regardless of time or place.

Fresh trouble for Patanjali: Petition filed at Delhi HC claiming its herbal tooth powder with veg label contains non-veg ingredients, notices issued

ANI
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Fresh trouble for Patanjali: Petition filed at Delhi HC claiming its herbal tooth powder with veg label contains non-veg ingredients, notices issued

The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notices to Baba Ramdev and Patanjali’s Divya Pharmacy in response to a petition alleging that the herbal tooth powder Divya Dant Manjan contains non-vegetarian ingredients, despite being labelled as vegetarian.

The petition, filed by advocate Yatin Sharma, claims that the product’s packaging features a green dot, typically used to signify vegetarian products, while the ingredient list includes Sepia officinalis (common cuttlefish). The case is scheduled for further hearing on November 28.

The petition highlighted that “Divya Dant Manjan,” a product manufactured by Divya Pharmacy, is prominently displayed and offered for sale on the official Patanjali Website and the product is marked with a distinctive green dot, which symbolizes its claimed vegetarian nature.

It stated that the petitioner and their family, who have been long-time users of “Divya Dant Manjan” due to its promotion as a vegetarian and plant-based Ayurvedic product, recently discovered that the product contains “Samudraphen (Sepia officinalis),” which is derived from cuttlefish bone. This revelation is particularly distressing for the petitioner and their family, who come from a Brahmin background where the consumption of non-vegetarian ingredients is strictly against their religious beliefs and sentiments.

The realization that they had been unwittingly consuming a non-vegetarian ingredient for an extended period deeply hurt and shocked the petitioner and their family, the petition said.

The petition underscored the need for judicial intervention to address the lapse by the respondents regarding the production and promotion of “Divya Dant Manjan,” which allegedly contains non-vegetarian ingredients.

The plea further stated that Baba Ramdev admitted in a YouTube video that “Samudra fen,” used in the product, is animal-based, despite the product being marketed as vegetarian with a green dot on its packaging. The petitioner sought redressal for the distress caused by the unintentional consumption of a non-vegetarian product and stressed the importance of transparency and adherence to religious beliefs.

“The gravity and effectiveness of the court’s order are seriously questioned in this matter, highlighting the need for urgent judicial intervention. The persistent disregard for the court’s directives calls for decisive action to ensure compliance and uphold the integrity of the legal system,” the plea mentioned.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

‘Shed another vestige of colonial baggage, historical decision’: Himanta Biswa Sarma after Assam assembly ends 2-hour break for namaz on Friday

OpIndia Staff
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‘Shed another vestige of colonial baggage, historical decision’: Himanta Biswa Sarma after Assam assembly ends 2-hour break for namaz on Friday

The Assam legislature has voted to do away with its long-standing tradition of providing Muslim lawmakers with a two-hour Friday namaz break. On 30th August, the assembly rules committee decided to keep the House’s business open on Jummah like other days. This practice was started in 1937 with the establishment of the state’s assembly. The House used to adjourn for two hours on Fridays at 11 a.m. so that Muslim MLAs could attend namaz and return to work after lunch.

This decision was made following amendments to the Assam Assembly’s Rules of Procedure by the Rules Committee, which was led by Speaker Biswajit Daimary. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma termed the move as “historical” and declared that this was a step towards boosting productivity and doing away with colonial practices. He highlighted that the “practice was introduced by Muslim League’s Syed Saadulla in 1937.”

The official press statement released on the last day of the autumn session of the assembly read, “Since the creation of the Assam Legislative Assembly, the sitting of the Assembly on Friday used to be adjourned at 11 am to facilitate Muslim members to go for namaz. The assembly used to resume its proceedings in the post-lunch session after the Muslim members came back from the namaz. On all other days, the House used to conduct its proceedings without any such adjournment for religious purposes.”

“Shri Biswajit Daimary, Hon’ble Speaker took note of this matter andin view of the secular nature of the Constitution, proposed that the Assam Legislative Assembly must conduct its proceedings on Fridays like any other day without any adjournment to facilitate Muslim members to go for namaaz. Accordingly, the proposal to do away with this rule in the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly was placed before the Rules Committee headed by the Hon’ble Speaker. The Rules Committee unanimously agreed to drop this rule. Accordingly, today, the House adopted a motion to amend this rule so as to provide for sitting of the House for conduct of its proceedings on Fridays like any other day. So, today history has been created by doing away with this colonial practice which was aimed at dividing the society on religious basis,” it further added.

Image via India Today

“Since the British times in India, a break used to be given in the Assam Assembly every Friday for offering Namaz. There was a break of two hours between 12 pm an 2 pm in which Muslim legislators would offer Namaz every Friday. But this rule has been changed from now on and there will be no break,” stated BJP MLA from Sarupathar Assembly segment Biswajit Phukan. He added that the decision was made unanimously at a meeting presided over by Assam Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary and had the approval of other lawmakers.

“Everybody has voiced support for this decision. It has been studied that Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Assembly houses in other states do not have the provision of giving a break for offering Namaz. Hence the Speaker of Assam Assembly also decided to end this British-era rule,” he mentioned. He expressed that the Assam assembly meets Monday through Thursday at 9.30 am and on Friday at 9 am, with a two-hour break for Namaz. The assembly will now commence meeting every day at 9.30 am per the latest announcement. According to sources, the decision will take effect during the assembly’s upcoming winter session. Assam has notably abolished another pre-independence regulation.

‘Influencer’ promoted by the US Embassy targets BJP MP Kangana Ranaut with sexist, derogatory innuendos, doubles down after being called out

Shraddha Pandey
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‘Influencer’ promoted by the US Embassy targets BJP MP Kangana Ranaut with sexist, derogatory innuendos, doubles down after being called out

When a man tells the harsh truth, his opponents criticise him; when a woman does the same, her opponents resort to character assassination. Amidst rape and death threats to actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut over her statement that rapes took place during farmers’ protest, leftist propaganda YouTuber ‘DeshBhakt’ Akash Banerjee resorted to sharing sexist innuendos to attack her.

On 28th August, Akash Banerjee, who was promoted by the US Embassy in India last month for its ‘Influence to Impact’ event, shared on X an old video of Kangana Ranaut dancing her heart out at a party. However, Banerjee exposed his misogynistic mindset and asked “What is the name of the dance that #KanganaRanaut is performing?”

In another display of his sexist mentality, Akash Banerjee shared an old video of Kangana Ranaut from an ad-related event and made a derogatory comment against the actress seen in a fun mood in the video. He equated BJP reprimanding Kangana Ranaut for her comments with getting ‘whipped’ and said, “From being whipped for fun in parties, To being whipped seriously from her own Party. #KanganaRanaut has had an exciting journey.”

Beyond deflection from the issue Kangana Ranaut raised, Akash Banerjee and others using personal or unconnected aspects of someone’s life to damage their credibility is a classic character assassination strategy employed by the left-liberal ecosystem. Sharing the BJP MP’s old videos is a blatant attempt to trivialise her as a person and undermine her voice.

As reported earlier, Kangana has already been getting threats of violence and sexual assault, and by mocking and assassinating her character, people like Akash Banerjee are implicitly instigating the worst online harassment she faces. Since Banerjee’s post, several social media users shared the same videos along with sexist innuendos.

Such behaviour reflects a deeper misogyny wherein the opinions of women including those of a democratically elected public representative are discredited and belittled by disparaging her personal choices or past rather than arguing the merits of the arguments she raised.

Ironically, the US Embassy in India chose a misogynist like Akash Banerjee as an influence of change to teach Indian youth how to ‘harness the power of social media’ and become active citizens. ‘Influencers’ like Akash Banerjee cannot encourage active citizenship or “meaningful change” rather they can only disseminate lessons on how to be a misogynist and use it as a weapon against women who express unpleasant facts.

The US Embassy in India should answer if they agree with Banerjee’s remarks. Do they approve of the blatant display of misogyny by the influencer they promoted against a sitting MP of opposing views?

It is, however, not shocking that Akash Banerjee shared sexist and derogatory innuendos targeted at Kangana Ranaut since he had in the past casually trivialised the brutality suffered by rape victim Nirbhaya just to score political points against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.

Back in 2021, Akash Banerjee, in his efforts to use ’eminent intellectual’ Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s resignation to propagandise against the Modi Government, compared the incident with the heinous rape of Nirbhaya. He claimed that Mehta’s resignation was academia’s ‘Nirbhaya moment’, comparing a resignation with rape and thus, trivialising the horrendous brutality Nirbhaya suffered.

No wonder, Banerjee used sexist remarks against Kangana since it is normal for him to use rape analogies just to peddle his propaganda. Even as the social media users criticised Banerjee for his remarks against Kangana, the leftist propagandist shamelessly defended his contentious posts and dropped a sarcastic post that he will take coaching on how not to be misogynist and how not to objectify women from BJP IT Cell and Kangana as well as lessons on workplace safety for women from BJP leader Brij Bhushan Singh. Very shrewdly, Banerjee turned the issue into a BJP IT Cell and BJP supporters versus him debate, even as it is a matter of a woman being character assassinated by her ideological opponents.

Probably, Akash Banerjee and his ilk would like to take coaching from Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, who once made sexist comments about actor and BJP leader Jaya Prada. He should learn from Khan how to recognise a woman’s ‘reality’ from her underwear. Banerjee can also take coaching from Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on how to objectify a woman MP from the opposing party saying that “MP MLAs are elected to raise issues of people and they are not like Hema Malini who is made MP just to lick her.”

He can also take coaching on how not to be misogynist and how not to objectify women from Rahul Gandhi, the unannounced supreme leader of the anti-BJP ecosystem who on multiple occasions made derogatory remarks about former Miss World and actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan saying “Aishwarya Rai naachti hui dikhegi”. In fact, he can avail a crash course on how not to be misogynist and how not to objectify women from several Congress leaders and its supporters who leave no opportunity to make sexist comments about BJP leader Smriti Irani for her statements against Rahul Gandhi.

Khalistan enthusiast and SAD (Amritsar) leader Simranjit Singh Mann’s rape comment against Kangana Ranaut

Making sexist comments against women politicians has become an inextricable component of political discourse in India. In continuance of the same, former Sangrur MP and pro-Khalistan leader Simranjit Singh Mann said Kangana Ranaut has more “experience of rape” so she must know better. “You can ask her (Kangana Ranaut) how rape happens so that people can be explained how rape happens. She has a lot of experience of rape,” Mann said triggering a backlash on social media and a strong reaction from Kangana.

“It seems this country will never stop trivialising rape, today this senior politician compared getting raped to riding a bicycle no wonder rapes and violence against women for fun are so deeply rooted in the psyche of this patriarchal nation that it is casually used to tease or mock a woman even if she is a high profile filmmaker or politician,” Kangana Ranaut said.

As reported earlier, during one of the promotion events for her upcoming movie, Emergency, Kangana Ranaut lauded the Union government for its actions during the farmer protest. “What happened in Bangladesh, it could have easily happened here too. bodies were seen hanging and rapes were taking place,” Kangana said while referring to criminal incidents that were widely reported during the first farmers’ protest. Soon after, the BJP distanced itself from Ranaut’s remarks.

In no time, Ranaut started getting multiple threats for speaking up on the farmer’s protest as well as for her upcoming movie, Emergency. While some alleged ‘influencers’ threatened that she would meet an Indira Gandhi-like fate, others issued threats of physically assaulting her or filing a defamation case.

While the nation is yet to recover from the Kolkata horror wherein a doctor was brutally raped and murdered inside the RG Kar Hospital and Medical College, the continued trivialisation of rape and usage of misogyny as a weapon against women by political opponents as well as ‘influencers’ who receiving recognition from US Embassy, India can never win its fight against misogyny and rape culture.

D for Danger: 2024 is a new chapter in Democrats’ history of violence, their nonstop venom against Trump enabled the assassination attempt

Vidyapati Gautam
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D for Danger: 2024 is a new chapter in Democrats’ history of violence, their nonstop venom against Trump enabled the assassination attempt

If we were in high school, I’d take him (Donald Trump) behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.

                                                               -Former US Vice President Joe Biden, 20 March 2018.

It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.

        -President Biden, 08 July 2024 (he later apologised for it).

The Democratic Party and its celebrity allies enabled the murderous attack on former President Donald Trump on 13th July. They have poured nonstop venom at him for years. And why not? When a latter-day ‘Hitler’ threatens American democracy, the rules of the game no longer hold. Anything goes, including calls for violence and murder. What was once taboo has been normalised in no time.

While every postwar Republican president has been labelled as fascist, Trump’s arrival on the political stage and the ensuing ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ have made matters worse. Soon after he announced his candidacy for the first time in 2015, entertainers began considering ways to harm him.

Actor Robert De Niro wished “to punch him in the face.” “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” Johnny Depp wondered. For comedian Kathy Griffin, political satire meant a photoshoot holding a fake decapitated Trump head. An “outraged” Madonna “thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House.”

In a campaign poster for Democrat Senator Jon Tester of Montana, rock band Pearl Jam depicted the White House on fire with an eagle pecking at a dead Trump, and bassist Jeff Ament defending it as his First Amendment (free speech) right. Compare this with the poor rodeo clown who received a lifetime ban for wearing an Obama mask at a bull riding contest at the Missouri State Fair! What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Isn’t it?

Republican leaders promptly denounced any hate thrown at Obama from corners of the right. The Democrats? Not so much. They were silent for the most part, while some doubled down on their rhetoric. Their rage went beyond Trump. Even Supreme Court justices were not spared. This left Republicans assaulted, booed, chased, heckled, picketed, and facing attempted assassination.

Days after the November 2016 presidential election, the audience repeatedly booed Mike Pence, Trump’s vice-president-elect, and the cast of the Broadway musical Hamilton lectured him in New York City. Pence was accompanied by his daughter and her cousins.

In a failed massacre of Republican lawmakers, James Hodgkinson, a 2016 volunteer of Bernie Sanders for President, opened fire on the party’s Congressional baseball team in June 2017, gravely injuring Representative Steve Scalise and four others. “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.,” he earlier wrote on Facebook.

In November 2017, a Democrat neighbour assaulted Kentucky Senator Rand Paul over a landscaping dispute, leaving him with five broken ribs and a bout of pneumonia.

In a single week in June 2018, Democrat activists hounded Trump’s Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen out of a Mexican restaurant in Washington DC and accosted Special Adviser Stephen Miller at another. The owner of a Virginia diner asked Press Secretary Sarah Sanders to leave because she worked for the Trump administration.

California Representative Maxine Waters still called on her supporters the week after to “harass” Trump officials. “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.” Waters later amplified her vitriol, saying she has “no sympathy” for members of the administration. “The people are going to turn on them… They’re going to absolutely harass them.”

Because Trump appointed three justices, which gave the Conservatives a 6-3 edge on the bench, the Supreme Court of the United States infuriated the Democrats. Speaking to a pro-abortion crowd on the steps of the court while the justices heard a related case inside in March 2020, then Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer threatened two by name.

“I want to tell you, (Neil) Gorsuch. I want to tell you, (Brett) Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions,” the New York Democrat said.

Hit you? With what? Pay the price? For what? Deciding a case one way or another? In a rare rebuke, Chief Justice John Roberts defended his colleagues saying, “statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous.” Mobs still turned up at the homes of conservative justices, including one person with a plan to assassinate Justice Kavanaugh.

And what prompted the 2004 “election denier” (the in-phrase in DC since November 2020) Bennie Thompson and eight other House Democrats to introduce a bill in April this year ridiculously titled, “Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated Towards Convicted and Extremely Dishonourable (DISGRACED) Former Protectees Act,” if not making things easier for any future assassin of Trump?

The bill proposed to strip Trump of Secret Service protection once he was indicted in any of the several cases foisted upon him as part of Democrats’ relentless lawfare in different parts of the country.

Coming to Democrats’ key media megaphone, MSNBC, the company’s executives benched the “Morning Joe” show the Monday (15 July) after the assassination attempt on Trump. The decision was made “to avoid a scenario in which one of the show’s stable of two dozen-plus guests might make an inappropriate comment on live television that could be used to assail the program and network as a whole.”

Another host, Joy Reid, recently took to TikTok asking Democrats to let her know whom she “got to vote for to keep Hitler out of the White House.” Not to forget the lead anchor Rachel Maddow, who read a lot about Hitler to prepare for the Trump presidency.

To be fair, the person who pulls the trigger or hits someone is to be blamed. But when the entire establishment seems to endorse what was once a no-go zone– calling for the death of president or wishing death upon the leading opposition figure, comparing his party to the Nazis, and ad nauseum calling him Hitler– is it any surprise if someone crazy decides to act? Hitlers deserve no mercy, after all!

Shots have been fired twice in less than a decade. Both times, Republicans had a narrow escape, thankfully. Can we have the November election sans blood lust? Let us hope that the Democrats will tone down on their rhetoric a bit. It is not too much to wish.

Bangladesh: Maulvi cuts off sacred thread of a child in exchange for relief supplies, refuses to give it back calling it bad omen

OpIndia Staff
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Bangladesh: Maulvi cuts off sacred thread of a child in exchange for relief supplies, refuses to give it back calling it bad omen

While Bangladesh is grappling with a ravaging flood, a video went viral on Thursday (August 30), wherein a Maulvi is seen cutting off a sacred thread from a child’s neck in exchange for some relief material. The video is reportedly from Noakhali in Bangladesh.

In the viral video, a small boy is seen standing in knee-deep water when a Maulvi in a skull cap, accompanied by two other young men, stops him and displays a bag of relief materials. The Maulvi leans forward and cuts off the sacred thread the boy was wearing around his neck, while another youth hands the boy a plastic bag. As the boy clutches the bag with his left hand, he asks the Maulvi to return his Holy thread. One of the young men is then heard saying that it would bring bad luck and a curse if the boy took it back.

Though the audio in the video is somewhat unclear, one of the youths can be heard saying in Bengali, “taale tumaake shraap debe,” which roughly translates to “you will be cursed otherwise.” Another youth warns the boy that he will not receive the relief materials again if he asks for the thread.

The two youths then ask the boy to look into the camera and wave goodbye. He tells that boy in Bengali, “Jaao, jaao, khishi toh, tata dao”, which roughly translates to “go, go, hope you are happy, say goodby”.

In this video, it is unclear whether the boy is a Hindu or a Muslim, nevertheless, the Maulvi is seen removing the sacred thread from the child’s neck in exchange for relief material. Even if, for once, we consider that the little boy was a Muslim, we must understand that such things are symbolic of increasing radicalisation as a Puritan form of Islam insists on not following such practices. While apologists could claim it’s simply a maulvi doing his job, these are symptomatic of how Jamaat ideology is growing rapidly.

In fact, even attacks on Sufi shrines in Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated in recent years, driven by Salafists and other jihadist sects that view such practices as haraam (forbidden) within their interpretation of Islam. These extremist groups consider worship at dargahs (shrines), the use of tabeez (amulets), kalawa (sacred threads), and other Sufi rituals as heretical behaviours, which they believe deviate from the “pure” teachings of Islam.

The ideological opposition of Salafists and jihadists to Sufism has led to violent attacks on Sufi shrines, particularly in Pakistan and Afghanistan. These attacks are often brutal, involving bombings, shootings, and other forms of terrorism aimed at destroying the shrines and instilling fear in their devotees. The attackers view these acts as a religious duty to eliminate what they see as heretical practices.

How Islamists have been preying on innocent Hindu lives, homes and places of worship in Bangladesh

The violence in Bangladesh, which began on August 5, after the fall of Sheikh Hasina has been unrelenting, especially against the Hindu minority of the Islamic nation. There have been several instances reported of Hindus coming under attack by Islamist mobs. Hindu houses have been burnt, some have been lynched and the unabated violence has engulfed several Hindu Temples in the country.

On 9th August, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad released a report detailing 205 instances of attacks on minority community members especially Hindus in the country’s 52 districts following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s departure.

While several Hindus have been mercilessly lynched, the unabated violence has engulfed several Hindu Temples in the country.

Hindu temples in Natore, Dhamrai in Dhaka, Kalapara in Patuakhali, Shariatpur, and Faridpur, as well as houses in Jessore, Noakhali, Meherpur, Chandpur, and Khulna have been targeted. Dinajpur saw the vandalisation of 40 Hindu shops.

Several Hindu women in Bangladesh have come forward to share their tales of horror at the hands of the rampaging Islamist mob. In a video shared by Hindu Voice on August 8, several Hindu women living in different areas of the Pirojpur district in Bangladesh can be heard narrating their plight. 

Earlier, OpIndia spoke to a few Bangladeshi Hindus who told us that the dire situation is only getting worse for Hindus. Speaking to OpIndia, the Hindus in Bangladesh who spoke to OpIndia said that Jamaat-e-Islami members have been making a list of Hindu businesses and Hindu houses since the fall of Sheikh Hasina.

The Hindus, on the condition of anonymity due to security concerns also said that many are unable to move to safer locations because the Jamaat-e-Islami groups and other Islamists are roaming the streets with guns, making it impossible for them to move to safer locations. Several videos and photos of attacks on Hindus surfaced on social media.

Note: An earlier version of this report identified the boy as Hindu given the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Hindus underway in Bangladesh. However, it is not clear whether the boy is a Hindu or a Muslim. It is, however, true that the sacred thread was cut off in exchange for relief material. The report has been updated to reflect the change.

Rajasthan: Ex-CRPF jawan assaults Congress leader Rafiq Khan for allegedly harassing his wife, Congress workers thrash him badly before handing over to police

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Ex-CRPF jawan assaults Congress leader Rafiq Khan for allegedly harassing his wife, Congress workers thrash him badly before handing over to police

On Thursday, 29th August, Rafiq Khan, the Congress leader in the Rajasthan Assembly, faced an alleged assault outside his home in Bani Park, Jaipur, as he was headed for the House following a meeting with visitors. As per the reports, Khan was beaten by a man for allegedly harassing a woman. The attacker initially engaged in a heated argument with Khan after which he grabbed his collar and attempted to slap him.

People in Khan’s home overpowered the attacker, assaulted him, and handed him over to the police. I a video of the incident, several supporters of the Congress MLA can be seen beating the man. After some time the police arrived at the scene and took him into custody.

The apprehended individual has been identified as Vikas Jakhar, a former assistant commandant of the Central Reserve Police Force. He was granted the Shaurya Chakra during his service and is believed to have resigned from the force in 2021.

Khan, a two-time Congress MLA from Jaipur’s Adarsh Nagar constituency, claimed that Jakhar punched him in the chest and attempted to suffocate him. “He attacked me all of a sudden when I was about to sit in my car. I held both his hands to protect myself, after which my supporters and people present there took him away,” Khan said. 

“I have no knowledge about this man or his background and intention, but only a person with a criminal mindset can do such an act,” he added. Khan defeated Bharatiya Janta Party’s Ravi Nayyar with a margin of 14,073 votes in the 2023 Assembly election.

According to the authorities, Jakhar, 39, of Jhunjhunu district, complained that Khan was harassing his wife and admitted to acting in a “fit of rage”.

It has been reported that Vikas’ wife is a government health worker, and the MLA had harassed his wife and his complaints were not addressed. He was detained on allegations of disturbing the peace.

Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra criticized the attack on Khan, saying it reflected the state’s deteriorating law and order situation. Probe in the case is underway.

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