A Delhi Congress leader named Nikita Chaturvedi was part of WhatsApp group which mobilised protestors in December, WhatsApp conversations reveal. These messages pertain to December 2019 when the anti-CAA protests were at its peak and were widely peddled as ‘organic’ protests.
In the above message, Chaturvedi, whose phone ends with number 4231 can be seen asking when Umar Khalid and others would reach the venue for anti-CAA protests.
This messages, sent by Nikita ahead of 23rd December protests, she could be seen sharing organising details of the protests.
In above message, she could be seen sharing a video of Umar Khalid’s speech during anti-CAA protests. As can be seen, she is participant of a group called ‘United Against Hate’. Her Facebook profile says she is a ‘delegate at Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee’ and has been general secretary at Delhi State Mahila Congress.
Here is where it gets interesting. In December 2019 OpIndia had reported how Islamic fundamentalist organisations joined hands with ‘Urban Naxal’ linked and missionary funded NGOs to fan the anti-CAA protests which had turned violent.
Regarding United Against Hate, there is an American organisation with the same name but we cannot confirm whether United Against Hate in India is a branch of the American organization by the same name. Therefore, we shall proceed under the assumption that it’s a wholly separate and independent organization.
The organization has a Facebook page and Twitter handle and not a website of its own. Therefore, it’s hard to find information on it. But we did manage to find a report on the Huffington Post that gives a clue into its ideological orientation. The HuffPo report says, “Among the organisations part of the network that United Against Hate will tap into are the Bhim Army, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-hind, Jamaat-e-Islami and Alpsankhyak Adhikar.” The report also mentions that ‘Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde’ is part of the initiative as well. United Against Hate also launched a toll-free number for ‘mob lynching’.
The President of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind filed a review petition against the Ayodhya Verdict that paved the way for a Bhavya Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. The Kashmir unit of Jamaat-e-Islami was banned by the government and is suspected of funding the Hizbul Mujahideen while the Jamaat-e-Islami in other states have been protesting against the CAB. The Bhim Army is an organisation whose president has been arrested in the past for allegedly violating the model code of conduct during elections.
The Facebook page provides better insight into the network’s functioning. One of the two managers of the page is Syed Faizan Zaidi, who is either a student or alumni of Jamia Milia Islamia University as per his Facebook profile. He calls himself ‘Mujahid Faizan’. We cannot say for sure if ‘Mujahid’ is his actual name or part of his actual name but what we do know is that Mujahid is a participant of Jihad. And that is why organizations such as Indian Mujahideen have the word in their name. Mujahideen is plural for Mujahid. Of course, Mujahid maybe his nickname but ‘Mujahid Faizan’ appears a very unusual nickname indeed. (After our report, he has now changed his nickname to Zaidi on Facebook.) He is a Jamia Millia Islamia alumni.
This leaves one wondering just how deeply is Congress connected to foreign-funded NGOs which seem to be on a mission to destabilise India.
