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Russia: Faces swollen with beating, bandaged and battered terrorists of Moscow attack presented in court, remanded to custody till May 22

OpIndia Staff
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Russia: Faces swollen with beating, bandaged and battered terrorists of Moscow attack presented in court, remanded to custody till May 22

Russia suffered a brutal terrorist attack on the night of Friday, 22 March at the Crocus Concert Hall in Moscow. Over 130 persons were killed and more than 150 were wounded and the concert hall was blown up with explosives during the attack for which ISIS has taken responsibility.

Soon after the terrorist attack, Russian security forces launched a widespread manhunt for the perpetrators who had managed to escape. Four terrorists were captured alive by Russian forces while trying to flee towards the Ukrainian border.

Nearly 14 hours after the terrorist attack, the Russian security force FSB announced that a total of 11 suspects have been detained, including 4 terrorists who were directly involved in the attacks. The four terrorists were arrested from the Bryansk region close to the Ukrainian border.

“Soldiers of the Akhmat-Russia regiment of the Russian Ministry of Defense, stationed in the Bryansk region, detained the four shooters in the Bryansk region, about 340 km away from Moscow, and just 100 km from the border with Ukraine”, Sputnik reported.

Though not from Russian official or government channels, but videos of the capture soon went viral on social media. The videos showed how the terrorists were captured and treated thereafter by Russian security forces. One video showed a terrorist being brutally beaten and whimpering, while a security officer cuts off his ear and stuffs it in his wailing mouth.

That terrorist, now identified as an immigrant from Tajikistan named Rachabulizod Saidakrami was presented in court with a battered face and heavy bandage over his severed ear.

Screenshot from Tass

Another terrorist named Muhammadsobir Fayzov was presented in court in an unconscious state, probably from the third-degree treatment given to him during interrogation.

Unconfirmed images on social media also showed one of the terrorists, his face turned away, writhing in pain as his genitals were electrocuted using wires from a battery.

Shamsidin Fariduni, Muhammadsobir Fayzov, Dalerdjon Mirzoyev, and Rachabulizod Saidakrami are all immigrants from Tajikistan, some of them living in Moscow illegally. Moscow’s Basmanny Court has now sanctioned their arrest and interrogation till May 22, 2024, Tass reported.

All Tajik immigrants, not a single Russian citizen

As per reports, all 4 terrorists are Tajik immigrants, some possibly illegals, and they stayed in a hostel together in Moscow. They hail from the Yaroslavl, Ivanovo and Samara regions of Tajikistan and can speak only broken Russian, one of them does not speak Russian at all. During initial interrogation, the terrorists had confessed that they were contacted by a person identified as ‘Assistant of the preacher’ who promised them a lot of money if they killed people. Their claims are yet to be corroborated.

Demand for the death penalty grows in Russia after Moscow attack

Russia had removed the provision of the death penalty under a moratorium in the 1990s. However, after the brutality of the attack on the Crocus Concert Hall shocked the public, there is reportedly a growing demand among the citizenry to bring back the death penalty.

“It is necessary to bring back the death penalty when it comes to terrorism and murder,” Yury Afonin, deputy head of the State Duma’s security committee, was quoted by The Moscow Times.

Former President Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the deputy head of the security council, advocated strongly for the death penalty. “Terrorists only understand retaliatory terror…death for death,” Medvedev posted on social media.

Hyderabad: Namaz offering crowd swells into violent mob, attacks Scheduled Caste Hindu women with sticks for celebrating Holi near mosque

OpIndia Staff
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Hyderabad: Namaz offering crowd swells into violent mob, attacks Scheduled Caste Hindu women with sticks for celebrating Holi near mosque

Tension gripped the area of Chengicherla near Ghatkesar in Hyderabad on Sunday, 24th March, after a Muslim mob brutally attacked the local Hindu community for celebrating the festival of Holi. The incident is said to have taken place in the Medchal-Malkagiri district of Hyderabad.

As per reports, when some local Hindus lit the traditional Holi Bhogi fire and played songs while celebrating the festival of colours, the Muslims who were offering namaz inside a mosque nearby began objecting on the grounds that Holi was being celebrated while they were praying.

The Islamists claimed that their ramzan prayers were getting disturbed due to the Holi celebrations.

Several videos of the attack are doing the rounds on social media. The Islamists can be seen weilding sticks right in the presence of the police with a clear intent to threaten and attack the Hindu community. The Islamists in the video can be seen mercilessly pushing and beating Hindu girls, men and women.

One Hindu girl can be seen lying unconscious with her face and head covered in blood surrounded by her people who can be heard wailing after being attacked by the Islamists.

According to Organiser journalist Shubhi Vishwakarma, the Hindu victims were from the Scheduled Caste community. The women could be heard fighting back bravely and countering the jihadis.

The Islamists claimed that the Hindus played loud music while celebrating Holi near the mosque which allegedly disturbed the namaz prayers amid ramzan.

Reportedly, three Hindus were injured following the incident. The police said that no complaint in the case has been lodged as the situation was controlled after police intervention.

Notably, an Islamist could be seen threatening the Hindu community with a sharp sword-like weapon right in front of the police. The Islamists allegedly attempted to justify the attack saying that the Holi songs played during the namaz prayers disturbed them.

It is crucial to note that several mosques in India use loudspeakers to offer Islamic prayers 5 times a day despite the SC order dated 2005 that bans the use of loudspeakers in mosques.

However, in the given case, ironically, the Islamists chose to justify their attack by claiming that the loudspeakers put up by Hindus during the Holi celebrations disturbed their prayers amid Ramzan.

No complaints in the case have been filed even as the Islamists were seen showing fingers to the police which was trying to control the situation. The mob included Muslim boys too while the men were present with sticks on standby. However, the police has said that the situation is under control now.

TMC goons thrash BJP workers, convoy of MP Jagannath Sarkar attacked, ‘Khela’ of violence continues unabated in West Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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TMC goons thrash BJP workers, convoy of MP Jagannath Sarkar attacked, ‘Khela’ of violence continues unabated in West Bengal

On Saturday (23rd March) night, a group of BJP workers were thrashed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) goons at Baikuntha More in Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

According to DD Bangla News, the incident occurred when the BJP workers were putting up flags in Sonarpur as part of the election campaign for their party candidate.

At that time, TMC goons attacked the BJP workers. In visuals shared by the news channel, it could be seen that a BJP karyakarta sustained injuries on his neck while the shirt of another karyakarta was torn.

On receiving information about the matter, the police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. Later, the BJP workers staged a demonstration against the attacks carried out by miscreants associated with the ruling Trinamool Congress party.

“I was putting up flags at Baikuntha More near Ward no. 14 and then some people from the TMC charged at us. They threatened to remove the flags. When we protested against it, they pushed, shoved and assaulted us. I sustained an injury on my neck,” a BJP worker informed.

“There were 4-5 of us and all of us were beaten. And they removed the flags,” he added. A local BJP leader stated, “They are trying to create an atmosphere of violence even before the start of the elections.”

“This culture of violence was not there in Sonarpur before but they (TMC goons) are now hellbent on creating that culture here,” he concluded.

On Sunday (24th March), one set of TMC goons forcibly stopped BJP MP (Ranaghat constituency) Jagannath Sarkar from attending a Harinam Sankirtan in Chakdaha area in Nadia district of West Bengal

As per reports, his convoy was also attacked by the same miscreants. Sarkar was later rescued by his party workers and security personnel. According to the BJP MP, the TMC workers also robbed the mobile phones and gold chains belonging to a BJP karyakartas.

“They want to create an atmosphere of unrest before the elections,” he said.

In a tweet, BJP national spokesperson AMit Malvia said, “Is it a crime to perform Hindu rituals in Bengal? TMC’s Jahangir Vahini attacked devotees, BJP workers, Ranaghat MP Jagannath Sarkar and MLA Bankim Ghosh during a Harinam Sankirtan at Chaduria Malapara More in Chakdah Assembly. TMC hates the Matua community, more so after CAA…”

Violence against BJP in Bengal

On Sunday (24th March), a mob of Trinamool Congress goons attacked several BJP workers in Mather Dighi village in Canning subdivision in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

As per reports, four BJP workers were injured during the attack. Amid the violent clash, three TMC workers were also hurt. All those injured in the attack and counter-attack are now undergoing treatment at the Canning Sub Divisional Hospital.

It has come to light that the TMC goons thrashed the Mandal President of Canning Purba Mandal No 3, and several other karyakartas. According to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, the condition of BJP workers Bivas Mondal and Subrata Das remains critical.

Suvendu Adhikari has accused one Hossain Sheikh, who is said to be a close aide of TMC MLA Saokat Molla, of engineering the attack. He has requested the EC to act against Sheikh immediately.

The dead body of a BJP worker, with his hands tied, was discovered in a paddy field near his residence on Saturday (23rd March) morning. The incident took place in Pingla village in Kharagpur subdivision in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal. The deceased was identified as Shantanu Ghorai.

His father has accused the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party of orchestrating the murder. While speaking about the matter to ABP Ananda, Shantanu’s father Chittaranjan remarked, “They were angry at him. He used to speak the truth openly. He had to give his life for being involved with the BJP.

He added that the TMC had previously intimidated Shantanu for speaking against TMC and supporting the BJP. The victim’s father continued, “They used to threaten the boy if they ran into him in the market or neighbourhood. They used to warn him about breaking his bones and killing him alive.”

“Shantanu used to put up flags of BJP before elections,” he added. On being asked whether the victim had been deliberately attacked before elections, Chittaranjan said ‘yes.’

OpIndia has recently reported about 5 incidents of attacks on BJP workers, mostly by goons associated with the ruling Trinamool Congress party.

‘Khalistani groups donated $16 million to AAP, Kejriwal offered to release Devinder Singh Bhullar in exchange’: SFJ terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun

OpIndia Staff
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‘Khalistani groups donated $16 million to AAP, Kejriwal offered to release Devinder Singh Bhullar in exchange’: SFJ terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun

In a recent video, Khalistani terrorist and founder of terror organisation Sikhs For Justice, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, alleged that Khalistani groups gave USD 16 million to Aam Aadmi Party to fund elections. He added that Kejriwal had allegedly offered to release Khalistani terrorist Professor Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar within five hours of formation of government in Delhi.

Pannun said, “Arvind Kejriwal and his associates who call themselves honest Indian Hindus turned out to be more dangerous than the dishonest Indian Hindus. When Kejriwal was not in power in 2014, he came to the US and promised pro-Khalistani groups that he would release Professor Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar within five hours of forming a government. We told them not to trust him at that time. It has been nine years since he came to power.”

He further accused Chief Minister of Punjab and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann of atrocities against those who speak in favour of Khalistan in Punjab. Pannun alleged that Since 2014, pro-Khalistani organisations have funded USD 14 million to AAP for forming governments.

He then warned Kejriwal that Khalistanis, who was lodged in jail, would handle him appropriately. He said they would “seek” answers on the failure of fulfilling the promise to release Bhullar and why the AAP government filed a case against those who were in favour of the Khalistani referendum, including Amritpal Singh.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun accused AAP of using Khalistani funds for elections in 2022

This is not the first time Pannun has accused AAP of using Khalistani funds to fight elections. In March 2022, Sikhs For Justice sent a letter to Chief Minister-designate Bhagwant Mann saying that AAP clearly won the elections by deceptively bagging the votes of pro-Khalistan Sikhs in Punjab who support SFJ’s secessionist referendum for the independence of Punjab from India. In a letter released by the SFJ, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the chief of the anti-India outfit, made a sensational allegation that the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP treacherously used Khalistan votes and funds to win Punjab.

Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said that it is an open secret that AAP has been heavily funded and supported by pro-Khalistan Sikhs from the USA, Canada, the UK, the EU and Australia. He said that the AAP had tried to win the confidence of the pro-Khalistan votes by falsely claiming that the 2022 elections are significant for Punjab as well as for SFJ because if the AAP comes to power in Punjab, the pro-Khalistanis will get a new hope to strengthen and accomplish their mission.

The letter had gone viral on February 17, two days before the assembly elections in Punjab. Several posts had emerged on social media platforms where AAP supporters thanked SFJ for the support. However, a day later, SFJ claimed that the letter was fake and announced that it was not supporting any political party.

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Who is K Surendran, BJP’s Kerala chief contesting against Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad

OpIndia Staff
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Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Who is K Surendran, BJP’s Kerala chief contesting against Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad

On 24th March, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced the fifth list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Notably, the party has fielded Kerala BJP state president K Surendran to contest from Wayanad constituency, where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi won the last General Elections.

The incumbent MP contested the election from two seats in 2019, one from Amethi and another from Wayanad. Interestingly, Gandhi lost his Amethi seat to BJP leader Smriti Irani and in upcoming elections, it is unclear if he will contest from Amethi.

Who is K Surendran?

K Surendran is one of the prominent leaders of the BJP in Kerala. He hails from north Kerala’s Ulleyeri in the district of Kozhikode. He started his political career as district president of the party’s Yuva Morcha from Wayanad. He became the party’s state president in 2020. K Surendran contested the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections from the Pathanamthitta constituency. During that time, he secured the third position.

BJP also fielded him in the 2021 Kerala Assembly elections from two constituencies, Konni and Manjeswaram. He could not secure a win. Notably, he lost the Manjeswaram seat by a margin of only 89 votes in the 2016 Assembly Elections.

During Sabarimala’s agitation, Surendran was one of the front-running leaders who led the protests. He was arrested by the state police and spent over a month in jail.

K Surendran thanked party leadership for the opportunity

In a post on social media, K Surendran said he was delighted to announce that he was selected to contest against the I.N.D.I. Alliance leader Rahul Gandhi in his sitting constituency. He said, “I am extending my heartfelt thanks to Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji, Shri JP Nadda Ji, Amit Shah Ji and BL Santosh Ji for this opportunity. I am committed to giving my best to fulfil the organisation’s trust in me. Seeking your blessings in this new endeavour.”

Apart from K Surendran, prominent names that were announced for the elections were actor Kangana Ranaut from Mandi constituency, which is her birthplace and actor Arun Govil from Meerut, who played the role of Bhagwan Ram in the popular TV serial Ramayan was first aired in 1987. Govil hails from Meerut and is extremely popular among the masses.

Lok Sabha Elections 2024

The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 are scheduled for 16th April 2024 and will have seven phases. In Kerala, polling will be held in a single phase on 26th April 2024. The results will be announced on 4th June 2024.

Kangana Ranaut, Arun Govil, former Calcutta HC judge on BJP’s fifth list of candidates for 2024 Lok Sabha elections

ANI
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Kangana Ranaut, Arun Govil, former Calcutta HC judge on BJP’s fifth list of candidates for 2024 Lok Sabha elections

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday released its fifth list of 111 candidates for Lok Sabha elections, including 13 names from Uttar Pradesh and 19 from West Bengal.

The party has released the names of the candidates for the Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

The party has fielded veteran actor Arun Govil, who played the character of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s ‘Ramayan’ from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut.

In UP, the BJP dropped Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh and allotted the seat to former Congress leader Jitin Prasada.

Former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi has been once again fielded from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

The party has fielded Raghav Lakhanpal from Saharanpur, Sarvesh Singh from Moradabad, Atul Garg from Ghaziabad, Satish Gautam from Aligarh, Anoop Valmiki from Hathras, Survijay Singh Shakya from Badaun, Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar from Bareily, Ramesh Awasthi from Kanpur, Rajrani Rawat from Barabanki and Arvind Gond from Bahraich.

Uttar Pradesh, which sends the maximum number of MPs, 80, to Parliament, will vote in all seven phases.

Voting for phases one and two will be held on April 19 and April 26. Next, the state will once again poll in phases three and four on May 7 and May 13.

The Uttar Pradesh electorate will also vote in phases five, six and seven on May 20, May 23 and June 1 respectively.

In West Bengal Tapas Roy is the candidate for Kolkata Uttar, Dilip Ghosh for Bardhaman-Durgapur, and Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who recently resigned as a judge of the Calcutta High Court, will contest from Tamluk.

Agnimitra Paul is all set to contest the Medinipur seat, while Ashim Kumar Darkar will contest from Bardhaman Purba.

Other names of the candidates from West Bengal include Jayanta Roy from Jalpaiguri, Raju Bista from Darjeeling, Kartivk Paul from Raiganj, Dhananjay Ghosh from Jangipur, Amrita Roy from Krishananagar and Arjun Singh.

The party has named Arup Kanti Digar from Arambagh, Kabir Shankar Bose from Sreerampur, Arun Uday Paul Chowdhury from Uluberia, Debashree Chaudhary from Kolkata Dakshin, Adhok Purkait from Mathurapur, Rekha Patra from Basirhat, Swpan Majumdar from Barasat and Shilbhadra Dutta from Dum Dum.

In Bihar, the party has fielded Union ministers RK Singh from Arrah, Nityanand Rai from Ujiarpur, and Giriraj Singh from Begusarai. Former Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib, Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Saran, Radha Mohan Singh from Purvi Champaran, and Ram Kripal Yadav from Pataliputra also figure on the list.

Sanjay Jaiswal will contest from Paschim Champaran, Ashok Kumar Yadav from Madhubani, Pradeep Kumar Singh from Araria, Gopal Jee Thakur from Darbhanga, Raj Bhushan Nishad from Muzaffarpur, Janardan Singh Sigriwal from Maharajganj, Mithilesh Tiwari from Buxar and Shivesh Ram will fight from Sasaram.

The party has fielded K Surendran against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi from Kerala’s Wayanad. TN Sarasu will contest Alathur, KS Radhakrishnan from Ernakulam and G Krishnakumar from Kollam.

The BJP announced the names of its candidates for 18 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha while dropping four sitting MPs from the list. The nominees for Cuttack, Jajpur and Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituencies are yet to be named by the party.

The party has fielded Dharmendra Pradhan from the Sambalpur seat, and Baijayant Jay Panda has been fielded from Kendrapara. Similarly, the party has fielded Aparajita Sarangi from Bhubaneswar, Jual Oram from Sundargarh, Sambit Patra from Puri, and Pratap Sarangi from Balasore.

The BJP which earlier announced going solo in Odisha, named Pradeep Purohit from Bargarh, Anant Nayak from Keonjhar, Naba Charan Majhi from Mayurbhanj, Avimanyu Sethi from Bhadrak, Rudra Narayan Pani from Dhenkanal, Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo from Bolangir, Malvika Keshari Deo from Kalahandi, Balabhadra Majhi from Nabarangpur, Bibhu Prasad Tarai from Jagatsinghpur, Anita Subhadarshini from Aska, Pradeep Panigrahy from Berhampur and Kaleram Majhi from Koraput.

Dempo Industries executive director Pallavi Dempo is the first woman candidate in BJP’s poll history in Goa who will contest Lok Sabha elections on the party ticket from South Goa.

The BJP had won this constituency only twice since 1962.

South Goa constituency, spread across 20 assembly segments, had changed hands among the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party, United Goans Party, and Indian National Congress. The BJP won this seat in the 1999 and 2014 elections but could not retain it.

Former Congress MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal, who resigned from the grand old party earlier in the day will contest from the Kurukshetra constituency. In Haryana, Ranjit Chautala will contest Hisar while Mohan Lal Badoli from Sonipat and Arvind Kumar Sharma will fight from Rohtak.

The party also announced two names for Himachal Pradesh, naming Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut from Mandi and Rajeev Bharadwaj from Kangra.

The BJP had earlier nominated Union Minister Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur and Suresh Kashyap from Shimla as its candidates.

In the general elections of 2009, Virbhadra Singh, and in the by-elections of 2013 and 2021, Congress candidate Pratibha Singh was elected as the Member of Parliament from the Mandi seat.

In the parliamentary elections of 2014 and 2019, BJP emerged victorious with Ram Swaroop Sharma being elected as the Member of Parliament on both the times. However, in 2021, Ram Swaroop Sharma tragically passed away by suicide. Subsequently, in the 2021 by-elections, this seat went to Pratibha Singh of the Congress. Currently, out of the four Lok Sabha seats, BJP holds three.

In Rajasthan, Manju Sharma has been fielded from Jaipur, while Mahima Vishweswar Singh from Rajsamand, Bhagirath Chaudhary from Ajmer, Rao Rajendra Singh from Jaipur Rural, Shubkaran Choudhary from Jhunjhunu and Priyanka Balan from Ganganagar.

Dinesh Chandra Nepal will contest the Sikkim seat.

Aroori Ramesh will fight from Telangana’s Warangal while Tandra Vinod Rao from Khammam.

Vanlalhmuaka will contest from Mizoram.

The BJP announced three names for Maharashtra, naming Sunil Baburao Mendhe from Bhandara-Gondiya, Ashok Mahadev Rao Nete from Gadchiroli-Chimur and Ram Satpute from Solapur.

In Karnataka, Jagdish Shettar will fight from Belgaum, Raja Amareshwara Naik from Raichur, Vishweshwar Hedge Kageri from Uttara Kannada and K Sudhakar will contest from Chikkballapur.

The party has also dropped ex-Union minister Anant Kumar Hegde from Uttara Kannada constituency.

The BJP announced the names of three candidates in Jharkhand, including Sita Soren – former JMM MLA and sister-in-law of former Chief Minister Hemant Soren – from Dumka (ST) constituency.

The party on March 2 announced that sitting MP Sunil Soren, who had defeated JMM president Shibu Soren in the 2019 polls by a margin of 47,590 votes, will seek re-election from Dumka.

In a blow to the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, three-term MLA and elder daughter-in-law of party patriarch Shibu Soren, Sita Soren joined the BJP on March 20 citing “isolation” and “neglect” by JMM since the death of her husband Durga Soren in 2009.

Kalicharan Singh will fight from Chatra, Dulu Mahato to go to polls from Dhanbad.

The BJP in its first list of Lok Sabha election candidates had named 11 nominees from Jharkhand including four new candidates – former Congress parliamentarian Geeta Kora (Singhbhum ST constituency), Rajya Sabha MP Samir Oraon, Tala Marandi and Manish Jaiswal.

There are 14 parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand and as per the seat-sharing arrangement between the BJP and the AJSU Party, the Giridih seat has been left for the AJSU Party.

BJP released its list of six Lok Sabha candidates contesting from Andhra Pradesh.

Former Chief Minister of composite Andhra Pradesh Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy will contest from Rajampet Lok Sabha seat, while BJP Andhra Pradesh State president Daggubati Purandeswari will contest from Rajamahendravaram Lok Sabha seat. Similarly, Kothapalli Geeta will contest from the Araku (ST) LS seat, while Bhupatiraju Srinivasa Varma will contest from the Narsapuram Lok Sabha seat.

C.M. Ramesh, who switched loyalties from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to BJP soon after the 2019 elections, will contest from the Anakapalli LS seat. Velagapalli Vara Prasad Rao, will contest from Tirupati LS seat. Earlier, he won from the same constituency on the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) ticket in 2014. Later, he entered the Andhra Pradesh Assembly as YSRCP’s Gudur MLA. BJP A.P. office-bearer Srinivasa Varma will contest from the Narsapuram LS seat. Present Narsapuram MP Raghu Rama Krishnam Raju, who won on a YSRCP ticket in 2019, hoped that TDP, BJP or JSP would field him as a candidate for the seat. He, however, did not join any of these political parties but addressed the TDP-JSP meeting at Tadepalligudem.

From Gujarat’s Vadodara, Hemang Yogeshchandra Joshi will be the party candidate while Bharatbhai Manubhai Sutariya will contest Amreli. Rajesh Chudasama has been fielded from Junagadh, Chandubhai Chhaaganbhai Shihora from Surendranagar, Shobhnaben Mahebdrasinh Baraiya from Sabarkantha and Haribhai Patel from Mahesana.

The parliamentary elections for the 543 constituencies will be conducted in seven phases, commencing on April 19 and concluding on June 1. Vote counting is scheduled for June 4. (ANI)

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

Video of new JNUSU President seeking release of anti-Hindu riot accused Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Video of new JNUSU President seeking release of anti-Hindu riot accused Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid goes viral

Hours after All India Students’ Association (AISA) member Dhananjay won the Presidential elections of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) on Sunday (24th March), a video of him seeking the release of Delhi riot accused Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid went viral on social media.

The original video was shared by the X (formerly Twitter) handle of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). In the video, Dhananjay was heard saying, “Our companions have been put in jail. I am here to demand their release.”

During the election speech, the AISA leader also said, “I am here to demand the release of Sharjeel Imam, and Umar Khalid from this stage.”

As per reports, Dhananjay won the elections by defeating ABVP’s Umesh Chandra Ajmeera by 922 votes.

For those unaware about Sharjeel Imam, he addressed a gathering at Aligarh and urged Muslims to cut off the Siliguri Corridor aka India’s chicken’s neck, which connects the seven northeastern states to the rest of India. He also advocated for the secession of Assam from the Union of India.

He had also earlier made provocative speeches where he had asked Muslims to come out and block roads in India and bring it to a standstill to get international media attention. Imam is a columnist at The Wire.

He has been charged under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for being the masterminds of the February 2020 anti-Hindu riots in North-East Delhi, which killed 53 people and injured over 700 during anti-CAA protests.

Imam was also accused of making provocative speeches outside Jamia Milia Islamia University in December 2019 that led to violence outside the campus. 

He is a former student of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, and was one of the key members of the group that organised Shaheen Bagh protests against CAA. 

On 14th September 2020, Umar Khalid, former JNU student and son of an ex-SIMI member was arrested for his role in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots that broke out on the 24th of February. He, along with others, was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA and relative provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for being the masterminds of the riots.

Umar Khalid, son of Ilyas on the other hand admitted to the Delhi police that he was involved in organizing Muslim groups, instigating them, and preparing for the large-scale violence. He had mobilized the Muslims against the law, by asserting that the new law was ‘against Muslims’ and had also planned to involve women and children in the ‘Chakka Jam’ amid the visit of US President Trump to India. He had allegedly met the former AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain and another accused Khalid Saifi to assure logistical support during the riots through his contacts in the PFI.

According to the reports, the agencies have been watching and warning about the nexus between Maoists whose front organization Khalid is aligned with, and hardline Islamists allegedly represented by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Welfare Party of India, and banned outfit SIMI. He had also repeated Pakistani talking points in Kashmir an claimed that the Indian Union territory was occupied by Indian forces.

Bengal: BJP fields Rekha Patra, woman who led protests against Sheikh Shahjahan in Sandeshkhali, as Basirhat candidate in LS polls

ANI
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Bengal: BJP fields Rekha Patra, woman who led protests against Sheikh Shahjahan in Sandeshkhali, as Basirhat candidate in LS polls

 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday announced the names of 111 candidates in its fifth list for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, including a woman who was a survivor of violence in the Sandeshkhali area of West Bengal.

BJP on Sunday released the list of 19 candidates for Bengal. BJP has fielded Rekha Patra from Basirhat, who is a resident of Sandeshkhali. It was she who first raised the voice of the women of Sandeshkhali and all three accused expelled TMC MLA Sheikh Shahjahan, Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar are behind bars.

On her candidature from Basirhat, Rekha Patra says, “I want to thank PM Modi for the candidature (from Basirhat for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls). I will raise my voice for the Sandeshkhali victims…”

At the same time, the party has given a ticket to former judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who recently retired from Calcutta High Court, from Tamluk.

On the other hand, The Trinamool Congress has dropped MP Nusrat Jahan from contesting the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat amid the Sandeshkhali row. The party has fielded Nurul Islam in place of Nusrat Jahan

BJP leader Amit Malviya described the nomination of Rekha Patra as a powerful statement for the party, demonstrating that the West Bengal BJP stands with the women of Sandeshkhali and Bengal.

“The BJP has fielded Rekha Patra from Basirhat in Bengal. She is one of the victims of Sandeshkhali, who suffered at the hands of Sheikh Shahjahan. Let Mamata Banerjee wipe the tears of women like her, who are suffering in silence, and are subject to her apathy, before she asks for their vote. Strong statement that @BJP4Bengal stands with the women of Sandeshkhali and Bengal,” Malviya said in a post on X.

On Rekha being made the candidate, senior BJP leader BL Santosh said in a post on X, “Rekha Patra, BJP candidate from BASIRHAT which includes Sandeshkali. She was the first to raise her voice against atrocities of @AITCofficial leader Sheikh Jahan & his accomplices.”

The Lok Sabha elections in 42 Parliamentary Constituencies of West Bengal are scheduled to take place in seven phases, which will start on April 19 and conclude on June 1. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured 22 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 18 out of the 42 parliamentary seats in the state. The Indian National Congress (INC) was limited to only two seats.

In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress (TMC) had a stronger hold with 34 seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had only 2 seats. Communist Party Of India (MARXIST) CPI (M) won 2 seats. Indian National Congress (INC) secured 4 seats. 

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

Congress withdraws its Jaipur candidate Sunil Sharma after trolls target him over Jaipur Dialogues

OpIndia Staff
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Congress withdraws its Jaipur candidate Sunil Sharma after trolls target him over Jaipur Dialogues

On Sunday (24th March), the Congress party released a new list announcing candidates for three Lok Sabha constituencies, two in Rajasthan and one in Maharashtra. Incidentally, the list showed that the party has replaced Sunil Sharma with Pratap Singh Khachariyawas as its Jaipur candidate. The decision comes following a backlash from its supporters over the selection of Sunil Sharma for his alleged right-wing links.

Earlier, following the announcement of Sharma’s candidacy from Jaipur on Congress’ ticket, Alt News cofounder Mohammed Zubair and others had lamented about his purported ‘links’ with a popular right-wing digital portal, ‘Jaipur Dialogues’. 

On 23rd March, Zubair, notorious for peddling fake news, tweeted, “Wow! So Congress has given a ticket to Sunil Sharma, Partner and Director of @JaipurDialogues”. In his post, Zubair further went on to accuse the portal of peddling “hate”. 

Quoting Zubair’s post, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, also raised questions about his colleague Sunil Sharma and his party for their choice. Taking a jibe at Sharma, Tharoor claimed that it must have been a ‘sudden realisation’ for Sharma, who is alleged to be a partner of Jaipur Dialogue, to contest on a Congress ticket, which is adversarial to the portal. Tharoor continued by attaching an old tweet from Jaipur Dialogue, stating that the portal has shared several tweets targeting him.

Using the Biblical concept of “Pauline epiphany” (loosely meant for sudden realisation of something), Tharoor wrote, “He must have undergone some sort of Pauline epiphany on the road to 24 Akbar! This is just one of several dozen tweets from his handle attacking me.”

Several Congress supporters also outraged against Sharma’s candidacy arguing that Congress should not field a ‘critic’ who support the right-wing portal, ‘Jaipur Dialogues’ while accusing it of vitiating the atmosphere. In an overdrive, Alt News’ Zubair, in a flurry of tweets, had claimed to “expose” continued ‘links’ of Sunil Sharma with Jaipur Dialogues.

Meanwhile, following the outrage, Sunil Sharma withdrew his candidature and addressed a presser. In the presser, he said that he had initially declined to contest elections despite repeated persuasion from senior Congress leaders from the Rajasthan unit. 

Regarding the persuasion, Sharma claimed that one MLA had insisted him to contest from Jaipur saying that not contesting for Congress in this dire time would mean that “you don’t love Rahul Gandhi”.

He said, “Since 2014, I have defended the Congress ideology at several forums including at occasions when I appeared on events of Jaipur Dialogue digital enterprise. He added that he has noting to do with the portal’s digital enterprise. But when people raised questions on my integrity, I was hurt and decided to withdraw my candidature”. Following his announcement, the Congress list made the confirmation of candidate replacement for Jaipur Lok Sabha seat.

Shiva and Shakti: European Space Agency astronomers discover two earliest building blocks of Milky Way galaxy, name them after the Hindu deities

OpIndia Staff
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Shiva and Shakti: European Space Agency astronomers discover two earliest building blocks of Milky Way galaxy, name them after the Hindu deities

The history of our galaxy has been further explained by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia (Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics) space telescope which has found two unforeseen streams of stars that formed and fused more than 12 billion years ago. Notably, the two streams have been named after the Hindu god ‘Shiva’ and goddess ‘Shakti’ and contributed to the formation of the early Milky Way. Given their extraordinary age, it is possible that they originated before the spiral arms and disc of our current galaxy.

Khyati Malhan of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Germany’s Heidelberg, who presided over the research stated, “When we visualised the orbits of all these stars, two new structures stood out from the rest among stars of a certain chemical composition. We named them Shakti and Shiva.” The researchers were able to ascertain the content and makeup of individual Milky Way stars as well as their orbits through the use of Gaia observations.

She mentioned, “What’s truly amazing is that we can detect these ancient structures at all. The Milky Way has changed so significantly since these stars were born that we wouldn’t expect to recognise them so clearly as a group – but the unprecedented data we’re getting from Gaia made it possible.”

The mass of each stream is equivalent to roughly 10 million Suns and the stars are between 12 and 13 billion years old, all of which are in relatively similar orbits and have comparable compositions. The distribution pattern points to the possibility that they originated as separate elements that early on in the Milky Way’s existence joined with it. Both streams are oriented toward the centre of the Milky Way. Using a technique known as “galactic archaeology,” Gaia investigated this region of the Milky Way in 2022 and discovered that it was home to the earliest stars in the entire galaxy, all of which were born before the Milky Way’s disc had even fully formed.

Co-author Hans-Walter Rix, who is also affiliated with MPIA and served as the primary “galactic archaeologist” for the 2022 study remarked, “The stars there are so ancient that they lack many of the heavier metal elements created later in the Universe’s lifetime. These heavy metals are those forged within stars and scattered through space when they die. The stars in our galaxy’s heart are metal-poor, so we dubbed this region the Milky Way’s ‘poor old heart’.”

He pointed out, “Until now, we had only recognised these very early fragments that came together to form the Milky Way’s ancient heart. With ‘Shakti’ and ‘Shiva,’ we now see the first pieces that seem comparably old but located further out. These signify the first steps of our galaxy’s growth towards its present size.”

The two streams are not the same, despite their close similarities. ‘Shiva’ stars revolve closer to the centre of the Milky Way whilst ‘Shakti’ stars orbit more circularly. The streams’ names are aptly inspired by a Hindu philosophical pair of deities who come together to form the universe (or macrocosm).

The Milky Way’s current tidy spiral pattern is considerably different from what it looked like around 12 billion years ago. Our galaxy is considered to have formed when several irregular, lengthy strands of gas and dust came together, created stars and wrapped around one another to initiate the formation of our galaxy. Shaki and Shiva appear to be two of these elements, further Gaia data releases could provide more information.

Additionally, leveraging Gaia data, Khyati and Hans-Walter created a dynamical map of additional known elements that were involved in the birth of our galaxy. Among them are Pontus, Arjuna/Sequoia/I’itoi, LMS1/Wukong and Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus. Gaia has spent the last ten years constructing the intricate family tree of the Milky Way, which includes all of these star clusters.

Timo Prusti, Project Scientist for Gaia at ESA conveyed, “Revealing more about our galaxy’s infancy is one of Gaia’s goals, and it’s certainly achieving it. We need to pinpoint the subtle yet crucial differences between stars in the Milky Way to understand how our galaxy formed and evolved. This requires incredibly precise data – and now, thanks to Gaia, we have that data. As we discover surprise parts of our galaxy like the ‘Shiva’ and ‘Shakti’ streams, we’re filling the gaps and painting a fuller picture of not only our current home but our earliest cosmic history.”

Meanwhile, the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has approved “Shiv-Shakti,” the landing site for the country’s lunar mission Chandrayaan 3. Six months have passed since Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed the name of the location of the Vikram lander’s touchdown. Now, the spot has gained international recognition.

The gazzette read, “Compound word from Indian mythology that depicts the masculine (‘Shiva’) and feminine (‘Shakti’) duality of nature; Landing site of Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander.” “Shiva-Shakti” is a compound name in which ‘Shiva’ is the identified masculine consciousness and ‘Shakti’ is the identified feminine divine energy.

The International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has accepted the name Statio “Shiv-Shakti” for the landing site of Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander, according to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, which offers comprehensive information regarding planetary names approved by the organisation.

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