30 Bangladeshi nationals who were lodged in Assam jails for illegally entering India were deported back to their country through Kalibari ghat border in Assam’s Karimganj district on Thursday.
According to the reports, these 30 Bangladeshi nationals, including 3 women, had illegally entered India without valid documents. They were kept in various detention centres in Assam after the local courts convicted them of illegal immigration.
Karimganj Superintendent of Police, Manavendra Debroy said, “In all 30 people were deported back to Bangladesh. They were sent back in groups of 5 after completion of formalities and handed over to Bangladesh authorities.”
Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are different from ‘declared foreigners’ who are kept in detention centres for their inability to prove they are Indian citizens. Those deported today were ‘convicted foreigners’ who entered India without valid documents.
They were imprisoned in detention centres inside jails in Cachar, Kokrajhar, Tezpur, Goalpara and Jorhat districts of the northeastern state. There are about 6 detention centres in Assam where people who are declared foreigners by foreigners’ tribunals are kept.
The decision to send back 30 Bangladeshi nationals comes on the heels of Home Minister Amit Shah’s declaration that not a single illegal immigrant and infiltrator will be spared and the government will be committed to identifying and deporting each one of them.
Sources claim there are 60 more Bangladesh nationals lodged in various detention centres convicted of illegally crossing over into India from Bangladesh. In the past too, the government had deported back illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Last July, 52 of them were deported back while in January this year, another 21 were sent back to Bangladesh.
A self-proclaimed yoga teacher, Ira Trivedi, who runs a show on national broadcaster Doordarshan, has taken to Twitter today to proclaim that she is a strict vegetarian and respects Hindu religion.
?? everyone. I want to clarify a few things. Firstly I am a strict vegetarian and I strongly advocate and promote a vegetarian diet to all those practising yoga. those following me on Instagram have seen my advocacy of a vegetarian diet.
She added that she promotes vegetarian diet to all those who practice yoga. She also said how her tweets on Hinduism were out of context.
I also deeply cherish, respect and live by Hindu Dharma, please ignore any screenshots of tweets that may have been taken out of context. I respect all religions and texts, but Hinduism is at the heart of my practice.
It all started yesterday when her 2017 interview with CNN News 18 went viral on social media. In the video, she describes beef as the ‘cheapest source of protein’. Ira Trivedi was talking about the ban on beef. According to her beef is an important source of protein for the malnourished and that the ban on beef would be unfair, especially to the Muslim community.
@iratrivedi says Beef is the cheapest source of protein. lol. No, its the most expensive protein source dumbo.
Beef- 300rs/kg, Protein- 26%
Chicken- 95rs/kg, Prot-27%
Even pork is half the price of beef n provides equal protein. Y not mention that. pic.twitter.com/P1lKhCQsNa
He was the Information and Broadcasting Minister in the Indira Gandhi government and a close associate of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi. During his tenure, he was notorious for muzzling the press. He was the Congress leader who banned Kishor Kumar’s songs from AIR and Doordarshan.
However many pointed out that she was making factually incorrect statements and showed why beef wasn’t the cheapest source of protein.
Sushree @iratrivedi ji, FYI:
Soybean: Protein 36.49gm/100gm (₹90/kg)
Beef: Protein 26gm/100gm(₹250/Kg)
Hence,one can get 3.89 times more protein than beef at the same price of it for 1kg by eating Soybean.
— Aabhas Maldahiyar | आभास मलदहियार?? (@Aabhas24) July 24, 2019
After the video went viral, several screenshots of her previous tweets were also widely shared. In one of the tweets, Ira says the Quran is a progressive text and labelled modern-day Hinduism as regressive. In response to this Ira Trivedi claimed that her tweets have been taken out of context. However, Twitterati wasn’t satisfied with her apology.
This is worst than an apology or expressing regret. Nothing was taken out of context, stop thinking people are fools.
It’s just that then you worked with anti-hindu India Today, now you don’t want to lose ur job in DD National which is under ‘Saffron Clad’ government. https://t.co/GhoEi7gcQOpic.twitter.com/uBCiWjx4tq
Several users were astonished by her anti-Hindu statements, labelling her as “Hinduphobic”. Users also questioned the Doordarshan for choosing her as a host for one of their programmes. Ira Trivedi hosts the show “Yoga with Ira Trivedi” on the national broadcaster.
This is my hand folded request
Just Unite on This
A actor called Ira Trivedi Abused Hindu Dharma on 30 Aug 2017 (Screenshot 1)
Now DD national gave her a Contract (Screenshot 2)
In response to one of the tweets, the CEO of Prasar Bharati Shashi Shekhar had taken note of the issue and forwarded it to the Director-General of Doordarshan.
Thanks for your feedback. Marking this to DG Doordarshan @supriyasahuias to look into and reply.
Ashok Shrivastav, a TV journalist for DD had also questioned Doordarshan for choosing Ira Trivedi as the host. Ira Trivedi had also tweeted an apology to him.
In October last year, as the #MeToo movement gained momentum, Ira Trivedi had accused Chetan Bhagat of trying to forcefully kiss her as well as of inappropriate behaviour. This evoked a response from Chetan Bhagat who shared screenshot of her email which she had signed off as ‘miss u kiss u’.
The opening batsman of the Pakistani cricket team, Imam-ul-Haq, has landed in a deep controversy after a Twitter user leaked various WhatsApp chat messages wherein he allegedly sent obscene messages to various girls. Since the news broke, he has been accused of using his stardom to exploit these girls.
A Twitter user posted the screenshots of the girls’ alleged chats with Imam. According to reports in Pakistan media, the Twitter user claimed these chats happened in the last six months, which includes the period of the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
At the time of writing the story, the Twitter handle from which the screenshots of the cricketer’s chats were leaked had ceased to exist.
“So apparently Mr. @ImamUlHaq12 was dating 7 to 8 (that we know of) women and kept using them and manipulating them. He kept telling them the whole time how he’s single. Some of the screenshots attached from girl 1,” a Twitter user wrote attaching screenshots of the cricketer’s alleged chat.
SS of the message of the Twitter user which now does not exist
The screenshot of a few of Imam-ul-Haq’ alleged chats the Twitter user had attached are:
SS of Imam-ul-Haq’ alleged Whatsapp conversation with various girls
This Tweet attracted mixed reactions from various Twitter users and the player’s fans. While some defended the Pakistani player by blaming the girls, others criticised Imam for his behaviour. Few argued that this matter is not similar to other cases exposed in the #MeToo movement and it would be wrong to categorise it as such.
Since when dating or not marrying someone you promised became a part of #Metoo. I can’t see #Imamulhaq harassing or asking for pictures. Stop misusing this # to defame someone when its consensual. It’ll lose worth & actual victim won’t get help!??
How this come under #metoo??? pic.twitter.com/JLtDU77rGJ
— ڈاکٹر شفق ذوالفقار (@ShafaqZulfiqaar) July 24, 2019
Public servc msg:
If a guy is trying to send indecent msgs, on social media, that make you feel uncomfortable then he does not respect you. Block him right away! He is just not worth it. Don’t b a willing participant and then later call it #MeToo#Imamulhaq
There were others who criticised the Twitter user who shared these screenshots of the cricketer’s conversation and later deleted her account.
They blamed her of being an attention seeker, who used the player’s chats for getting some quick publicity and attention on the microblogging site.
Tweets delete ho jatin hain, screenshots reh jaty hain. as she gained 13k followers she has deleted all those screenshots Lmaooo #Imamulhaq#MeToopic.twitter.com/FqeRB60aEa
According to reports on Geo TV, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to stay away from the controversy, terming the issue as personal.
Meanwhile, Imam has been an important part of the Pakistani cricket team in the recently concluded World Cup. He had a good outing in England, scoring a fifty against Australia and a century against Bangladesh.
What is it about some Samajwadi Party leaders that makes them so naturally sexist? Perhaps it comes from the top.
Remember when the party patriarch Mulayam Singh defending rapists and referring to rapes as ‘mistake’? During the run-up to the 2014 general elections, Mulayam Singh Yadav had opposed capital punishment for rapists because, ‘ladke ladke hai, galti ho jaati hai’ (boys will be boys, they commit mistakes). Of course, they do. Nothing boosts a woman’s confidence in a leader than a politician who is a rapist sympathiser.
All the family
Apple, unfortunately, doesn’t fall too far from the tree. During the run-up to the 2019 general elections, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan had attacked his former colleague and now rival BJP leader Jaya Prada and said she wears ‘khaki’ underwear. Addressing the people of Rampur, he said that they could not recognise her (Prada’s) reality in 17 years while it only took him 17 days. “Uski asliayat samajhne me apko 17 baras lagey. Main 17 din me pehchan gaya ke inke niche ka jo underwear hai woh khaki rang ka hai (It took 17 years for you to recognise her reality. But it took me only 17 days to recognise that the colour of her underwear is Khaki)”, commented Khan trying to suggest that Prada had links with the RSS and the allegations against him were an RSS conspiracy.
Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son, Akhilesh Yadav defended these outrageous remarks. Yadav said that Khan was talking about someone else and not Jaya Prada and that Samajwadis do not use such language for women. Akhilesh’s wife, Dimple Yadav, took forward her father-in-law’s legacy and said how Khan’s misogynist comment was a ‘chhoti si baat’ (a small thing).
The latest one
Today, Azam Khan lowered his own bar of indecency he could spew. In the Lok Sabha session today, Khan told BJP MP Rama Devi, who was the acting Chair of the Parliament, that he wishes he could stare into her eyes till eternity. He was continuing his session of ‘poetry’ when the acting Speaker asked him to look at her while talking, especially when he is addressing the Speaker. To that, Khan told her, “Main to aapko itna dekhu ki aap mujhse kaho ki nazar hata do.” (I want to stare at you so much that you have to ask me to look away.) He added, “Mujhe aap itni achhi lagti hai, itni pyaari lagti hai, ki main aapki aankhon mein aankhein daale rahon yeh mera mann karta hai.” (I like you so much, I find you so lovely, that I wish I could stare at you forever.)
As you can see in the above video, Akhilesh Yadav is laughing at Khan’s sexist rant. He later even came up to his defence and called his remarks as ‘poetry’.
In Azam Khan’s case, too, the apple has not fallen far from the tree. His son, Abdullah Azam, while addressing a rally, had referred to Jaya Prada as ‘Anarkali’. Abdullah Azam Khan said, “Ali bhi humare, Bajrang Bali bhi chahiye lekin anarkali nahi chahiye (We want Ali and also Bajrang Bali but not Anarkali).”
Unfortunately, neither this is the only time Samajwadi Party leaders have been so casually sexist nor is Khan the only one.
Firoz Khan
During the run-up to the 2019 general elections, Samajwadi Party leader Firoz Khan had said that Jaya Prada would henceforth adorn the evenings of the people of Rampur. He had said that Rampur residents will now be ‘entertained’ as Prada would visit for campaigning. Firoz Khan, not too surprisingly, is a close aide of Azam Khan.
Interestingly, Jaya Prada herself was with Samajwadi Party for almost two decades before shifting to the BJP earlier this year. Essentially, these men were having these kind of thoughts about their own colleague.
Continuing to deliver filth, Firoz Khan had even said that the people of Sambhal, an adjoining district, would also now like to spend their maximum time in Rampur since Jaya Prada would be present there.
ST Hasan
Meanwhile, earlier today, yet another Samajwadi Party leader, MP ST Hasan said that it is better to give triple talaq to one’s wife who is having an illicit affair instead of killing her or setting her on fire. As reports, Hasan said that if a man comes home and sees his wife with another man, then he will get angry. In that anger, it is better he gives her a triple talaq instead of killing her or burning her to death.
Unsurprisingly, not the first time he has used derogatory language for women. Earlier this month, when film actor Zaira Wasim had taken sudden ‘retirement’ from the film industry because it was not ‘compatible’ with Islam, Hasan had said how actresses are modern-day ‘tawaifs’ (courtesans).
“Earlier Nawabs had ‘mujra’ at their places and a tawaif (courtesan) would come and perform and entertain people. Nothing wrong in it. If ‘tawaif’ may be an unparliamentary word so we could remove it and use the word ‘actress’ instead’. Tawaif is not a sex worker. She entertains people. Earlier they were called ‘tawaif’ now they are called ‘actresses’,” he had said.
Why so sexist?
What is it about these politicians that makes them believe that being so casually sexist is okay? That their problematic statements and views on women are not really problematic? Why are they not called out for their behaviour as often as they should be? Especially from the party leadership? How can something that gets considered as sexual harassment at workplace get dismissed as ‘poetry’ by the party chief and nobody calls that out?
And shockingly, when articles are written that ‘men are trash’, these politicians never make it to the list. When ‘woke’ Twitter feminist writes a thread on how politicians of a particular party are anti-women, these men will not be mentioned.
Ace Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who made himself unavailable for the West Indies tour of India, will be assuming the patrolling and guard duties along with the troops of 106 TA Battalion Para, placed in the Kashmir Valley, as part of the Victor Force.
The former Indian cricket captain, who is also affectionately referred to as ‘Captain Cool’ had skipped West Indies tour and expressed his desire to join his regiment. In a press statement, the army released the details of his deputation and also claimed that the cricketer specifically requested to be stationed along with the troops. Dhoni is going to be in Kashmir for 15 days, between July 31 and August 15.
Dhoni’s love for armed forces is well known and according to the sources, the plan of Dhoni serving with his unit of Territorial Army was in pipeline for a long duration due to the former captain’s cricketing commitments. “Dhoni wants to create awareness about India’s armed forces among people and that is the reason for his continued association with the army,” the source said.
The world cup winning former cricket captain holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army unit of the Parachute Regiment (106 Para TA battalion). The honour was accorded to him by the Indian Army in 2011. Dhoni was given this honour along with Abhinav Bindra and Deepak Rao. He is also a qualified paratrooper, he had completed parachute training jumps from Indian Army aircraft at the Agra training camp.
During the opening match of the World Cup, Dhoni was seen wearing green wicket-keeping gloves with the Balidan Badge on it, which is the dagger insignia of the Indian Para Special Forces. He had flaunted the badge as a mark of respect for armed forces. But he had to remove it in the subsequent matches after ICC asked him to remove it, saying it violates ICC rules.
MS Dhoni has been facing severe criticism for his approach in the middle order and gifting away runs as a keeper. He conceded most runs as a wicket-keeper in World Cup 2019, and his strike rate has been at worse in the last three years. Despite the average performance, Dhoni had made it clear that he is not sure when will he retire from International cricket.
With Maharashtra Assembly elections just months away, the political churning in the state has already begun with Shiv Sena taking the lead by organising state-wide election rallies and inducing winnable candidates to join them. In one such significant move, Shiv Sena has been successful in poaching Sachin Ahir, the Mumbai city chief and one of the most dynamic leaders left in the National Congress Party(NCP).
Maharashtra: Mumbai NCP president Sachin Ahir, joins Shiv Sena in the presence of party chief Uddhav Thackeray. pic.twitter.com/LWcP5SgUL5
The NCP city chief of Mumbai, Sachin Ahir is quite popular among youths and is considered as a linchpin of the party in the region in and around Mumbai. Ahir hails from Worli in Mumbai and he is believed to be very close to NCP chief Pawar. With Ahir’s induction into Shiv Sena, the party has delivered a body blow to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP which was already battered by Modi tsunami in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Ahir stated to media that Shiv Sena wants him not to be limited to Mumbai but play an active role in politics throughout the state. He even mentioned specifically that when he had joined NCP from Congress, thousands of party workers and many leaders had followed him.
Ahir met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday and announced his decision to quit the NCP during a press conference with him. Ahir was a minister when the Congress-NCP government was in power in Maharashtra from 2009-2014. In addition to Ahir, former chief minister of Maharashtra Chhagan Bhujbal, who started his political career from Shiv Sena in the 1960s was also rumoured to jump the NCP ship and return back to the Shiv Sena. However, Bhujbal has denied the reports, claiming he has no immediate plans to join the Sena.
Though Sharad Pawar-led NCP went into an alliance with the Congress party for the General elections, the coalition was doomed from day 1 as many Congress and NCP cadres expressed their obstinacy in relinquishing their respective constituencies to their coalition partner. They had expressed their displeasure over the alliance modalities but their grievances were left unheeded by the party leadership.
As a result, both Congress and NCP leaders started losing their important grassroots leaders to the BJP and Shiv Sena. While the BJP managed to get former Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and his son Sujoy Patil from Congress, the Shiv Sena has scored Sachin Ahir from the NCP.
Shiv Sena, on the other hand, has shown remarkable political dexterity in luring away a leader like Ahir from NCP’s grasp. It shows that the regional party is in no mood to hand over western Maharashtra on a platter to the BJP, especially the void created following the political annihilation of the opposition parties in the Lok Sabha elections. Notwithstanding their alliance with the BJP, Sena cannot afford to let their guard down as the party is restricted by its own blinkered regional politics.
Sena seems to have shunned its archaic polity which pivoted around Marathi supremacism and embraced inorganic methods to expand its horizons and vote base. Inclusion of Ahir points in that direction. Apart from this, Ahir’s desertion might result in a double whammy for the NCP as it may act as a trigger for a flurry of other leaders who might be waiting for the opportune moment to switch over.
Repeat offender Azam Khan, MP from the Samajwadi Party, has displayed his sexist side again. He told BJP MP Rama Devi, acting chair of the Parliament, that he wished to stare into her eyes for an eternity.
He further said that he likes her so much that he wants to keep staring into her eyes and that he will keep staring at her until she feels compelled to tell him to stop staring at her.
Uproar in Lok Sabha over SP MP Azam Khan's comment on BJP MP Rama Devi(in the chair) , he said 'Aap mujhe itni acchi lagti hain ki mera mann karta hai ki aap ki aankhon mein aankhein dale rahoon'. Ministers ask Khan to apologize. pic.twitter.com/HB5QRCuFiG
Rama Devi was visibly upset with Khan’s remarks and ordered them to be expunged from the records. She told him that it wasn’t an appropriate way to talk to her. Other members of the Parliament, too, were outraged by Khan’s conduct and demanded that he apologize.
While under normal circumstances this could amount to harassment and sexual abuse, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav, however, found nothing wrong with it. He said that Khan’s remarks were nothing but ‘poetry’.
Even during the election campaign, Azam Khan had made terribly sexist remarks against his former Samajwadi Party colleague and now BJP leader Jaya Prada. He had commented on the colour of her undergarments. It appears Khan has learnt nothing from his past mistakes and continues to speak to women in a deplorable manner.
The NDA government recently amended the POCSO Act to enable the Courts to handout stricter punishments to those who commit sexual crimes against children. Apart from fines and imprisonment to curb child pornography, the amendments also include the death penalty as the maximum punishment for acts of paedophilia.
While the move was appreciated by all quarters and assurances were sought that the provisions will be implemented strictly, one institution was not too happy with the prospect. Catholic leaders have come out and asserted that the Church cannot support the provision for death sentences for child sex offenders due to its ‘pro-life’ stand.
The Catholic Church is against the death penalty for any crime, said Bishop Jose Chittooparampil of Rajkot. “The Catholic Church’s official stand is pro-life, considering life as a gift from God,” he told ucanews.com. “It cannot back executions because God is the master of life. The Church believes in the transformation of even hard-core criminals.”
“Taking life is easy but bringing back the offenders to normal life should be our main concern,” he further added. He further argued that sexual offences are often committed on an impulse and the offender often comes to regret his actions. “Should we not give them a chance to live?” asked Bishop Jose.
In unrelated news, the Catholic Church has been grappling with institutional paedophilia in its ranks. The institution has utterly failed to protect the children who interact with their clergy. It’s widely known that the Catholic Church did everything in its power to cover up the crimes of child sex offenders in their midst. Not merely, they were often elevated to higher echelons of power.
Even the Pope is accused of empowering a child sex offender to the highest ranks of power despite being fully aware of his crimes. The rot in the Church goes to the very top. Under such circumstances, it would seem that people associated with the Catholic Church are not best placed to advise others on how to deal with paedophiles. However, their dubious track record doesn’t appear to have discouraged Bishop Jose from pontificating on the matter.
In an audio clip that has gone viral, Binoy Kodiyeri, son of Kerala CPM chief Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, could be heard trying to settle the rape complaints filed against him by a woman from Bihar, reports Mathrubhumi.
According to the report, the audio clip is of a phone conversation between Binoy and the woman that took place on January 10. This had happened after she had sent a legal notice to Binoy demanding Rs 5 crore. The conversation was in Hindi.
In the audio clip, Binoy could be heard asking the woman to not do anything in a hurry and promised to fulfil her demands. The woman had asked for money so that she could take care of their son. She had requested Binoy to provide any money that he can afford for the child, to which he agreed. Binoy did not deny that he was the father of the child.
However, Binoy was heard asking the women to end the relationship with him. He had asked her to change her name in the passport and other documents.
Binoy Kodiyeri was booked in a rape case over a complaint filed by a 33-year-old woman. Mumbai Police had registered a case against Binoy after the woman alleged that he had raped her repeatedly over a decade under the pretext of marrying her.
The woman had also alleged that she was kept in dark regarding Binoy’s marital status. The woman also has an eight-year-old son who she claims was fathered by Binoy.
After the complaints, Binoy had absconded from the Mumbai Police. The police had even issued a look-out notice for him. On June 27, the court had granted him anticipatory bail.
Binoy, who is currently on bail, needs to visit Oshiwara police station every Monday for one month as per the bail condition. He was also required to give a blood sample for the DNA test which would be the first and final evidence that would decide the fate of the case.
On July 15, he had refused to give his blood sample as he was sick. Binoy has now moved the Bombay High Court seeking to quash the FIR filed against him.
In what appears to be a dangerous trend, the Hindus residing in Pichoda village, Bareilly have reportedly decided to flee from the village after being fed up with the persecution allegedly meted out by majority Muslims residing in the village.
The Hindus, who are in a minority in the village are living with fear facing persecution from the Muslim community. Reportedly, the Hindus wanted to build a new temple in the village. However, there has been a constant opposition from the Muslim community for building any Hindu religious places near the village.
Located at a distance of 70 km from Bareilly district headquarter, this village falls under Pilibhit, the parliamentary constituency of Varun Gandhi. There are about 150 Hindus in this village, while the Muslim population is about 1000. According to Hindus, a small temple exists in the village for the last 70 years and the Hindu community wanted to build a new temple in the village.
However, the Hindus allege that the Muslim community does not allow them to even worship in the temple and objects to the construction of a new temple. The Hindus alleged that whenever they visit the temple to worship, the people of Muslim community gather in huge numbers with sticks and brick stones in their hands to stop them for worshipping.
OpIndia tried to get in touch with Bareilly SSP Muniraj and ASP Arpit Vijayvargiya. However, they did not answer our calls. As per media reports, the police have denied any such incident having taken place.
Dainik Jagran has reported that the Muslims in the village do not let the Hindu women visit the temple to offer water. If any Hindu objects, the Muslim villagers threaten to kidnap their daughter, the Hindu women allege. This kind of atmosphere has made it difficult for them to stay in the village any longer, the villagers said. “Better to leave a place where you can’t even pray to your god,” a villager reportedly said.
The villagers further alleged that Muslims do not even allow Kanwariyas to pass through their village. A group of Hindu women initially objected to actions of the Muslim community and registered their grievances to the public officials of the district. But, nothing was done despite the seriousness of the issue.
The Hindu community also accused Muslims of threatening them after they began to clean the temple premises and began to worship. The Hindus said that Muslim community threatened to kill them and their family if they continued to do so. With the continuous threat from the Muslims, the Hindus have decided to convert and flee the village.
The villagers have also accused the police administration of arbitrary action against Hindus. They said that the police have registered cases against hundreds of Hindu society and all have been penalized. The local BJP leader Doral Lal Sharma said local Hindus had decided to change their religion as no one heard their complaints.
As per reports, SSP Muniraj said that the villagers cannot build a new temple as it is against the rules. He said that according to the order of the Supreme Court, no new religious place will be constructed.
