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Archives for October 2014

Saudi and UAE join raids on Islamic State

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A pair of U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles fly over northern Iraq

Washington: Aircraft from Saudi Arabia and the UAE joined US warplanes in a new wave of bombing raids yesterday against Islamic State jihadists in Syria, the US military said.

Coalition fighter jets and robotic drone planes conducted six strikes in Syria, hitting militant tanks, oil refineries and a training camp.

American aircraft also conducted three air raids in Iraq over the past 24 hours, including two in northeast of Fallujah.

Centcom offered no further details on the precise role of the allied aircraft in the latest strikes.

US and coalition aircraft have flown more than 4,000 sorties in an air campaign that began in Iraq on August 8 and was extended to Syria on September 23.

Source

Popular Front of India condemns airing of RSS chief’s speech on Doordarshan

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PFI

Bangalore: Popular Front of India (PFI) today joined the chorus of individuals and organisations to condemn the telecast of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s annual address on Doordarshan. It called, the airing of the speech, a “dishonorable day” to the country.

Referring to RSS, as a “fascist” organization, it alleged that the Modi government is “controlled by the RSS and the government is trying all tactics to promote the ideology of RSS.”

PFI further alleged the speech was broadcasted only to present RSS and its chief as the leader of all Hindus, who they say, has always tried to position itself as the symbol and representative of Hinduism.

“Since the day of assuming power the Modi government has failed to deliver its promises of being a government for all Indians. The propagation of RSS and its leaders from the platform of government owned channel shatters the tall claims made by prime minister to protect pluralism during his Independence Day speech,” PFI said.

“We ask the government to stop promoting the Sangh ideology and understand its responsibility and prove itself to be unbiased government,” O.M.A Salaam, General Secretary of Popular Front of India demanded.

Muslim bodies condemn Markandey Katju’s remarks on Muslim Personal Law

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Markandey Katju

New Delhi: The country’s largest Muslim socio-religious organization, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has condemned Press Council of India chief Markandey Katju’s statement on Sharia Law, which he termed as barbaric and degrading for women in his recent blog post.

Eliciting his views on Muslim Personal Law, Mr. Katju had written that, “at least 60% Muslims oppose the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat). About 50% Muslims are women. Almost all of them are opposed to shariat.” He advocated for a Uniform Civil Code in the country.

JIH said Mr. Katju’s statement is unjustified, improper and emotive and asked him as to how Uniform Civil Code could be just for a multi-religion and multi-culture country like India of over one billion people.

Opining that most Muslims oppose the Sharia law, Mr. Katju asked “can any just, modern minded and fair person support such a barbaric law which prescribes stoning to death ( as was done recently in Somalia ) for adultery, or cutting off a thief’s limbs ? I refuse to believe that there are no just, modern minded and fair males in the Muslim community ( even if they be in the minority ).”

In a media statement on Thursday, Mr. Nusrat Ali, Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, said that some statements of former Supreme Court judge Katju are “indeed useful, reasonable and moderate.” But it seems that “from his days in judiciary, he has held one-sided, illogical and unjustified viewpoint about Muslim Personal Law.”

“He has once again expressed this view and thus has not only hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community and millions of other fellow countrymen but also raked up an impracticable, useless and unnecessary debate,” said Ali.

The Jamaat leader further said that Mr. Katju has described the Muslim Personal Law as barbaric and backward. This is completely against facts. By making such statement, he seems to have fallen prey to the conspiracy for distorting the history of Islam. Personalities of his stature should save themselves from the conspiracy.

The Jamaat has challenged Mr. Katju to analyse just last one year’s data about crimes against women like brutalities, domestic violence, murder, rape and sexual harassment etc. and he “will surely know the truth that Muslim women are least affected and they are happily living under Muslim Personal Law.”

“Yet, if some Muslim women have faced violence and injustice it is not because of Muslim Personal Law but the weaknesses of the Muslim society. A responsible person and expert like Mr. Katju should understand the difference,” said Jamaat leader.

Mr. Umar Shariff, president of Discover Islam Education Trust (DIET) and spokesperson for the Bangalore based human rights group, Mission Possible for Justice and Rights (MPJR) asked, “If ‘Muslim Personal Law’ is termed as ‘barbaric’ by Justice Markandey Katju, then we conclude that he has violated the Indian Constitution by attacking the sentiments of the religious values of one section of India’s populace. Since he is supposed to be a learned man of the Indian Law, could he very well tell us the article under which we can file a case against him?”

Responding to criticism against his remarks, Mr. Katju said, “some people have sought to infer from my recent criticism of Muslim Personal Law that I am against Muslims or Islam. This is totally incorrect. Many of my best friends are Muslims, and I respect all religions including Islam, as I have repeatedly said. I am totally secular.”

Doordarshan's explanation for broadcasting RSS Speech is just plain stupid: Brinda Karat

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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

– by Brinda Karat

It is a reflection of dark times that the day after the country celebrated the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, an organisation which had been implicated in his assassination gets to have the speech of its leader broadcast, and that too, live, courtesy of the national broadcaster Doordarshan. This is a complete misuse of official machinery to promote the ideology and leadership of an organization which has no constitutional status. It also signals an ominous development that under the Modi Government, the RSS will have access to the institutions of the State.

The explanation given by Doordarshan that the speech was broadcast because it was newsworthy is just plain stupid. The speech of the RSS Chief is an annual event on Vijaya Dashami, which is also observed as the foundation day of the organisation. It may have warranted a para or two in the newspapers or even a mention in a news bulletin, but a live broadcast? Get serious. It hasn’t happened in the decades since DD was formed. What is so special and newsworthy to warrant a live broadcast in 2014 ? The only difference is we have a pracharak as our Prime Minister.

Who took the decision? It is an open secret that Prasar Bharti, which is supposed to be an autonomous body, had no idea of this plan. The supine bureaucrats in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry issued the orders, and the Directors of DD jumped to attention, rather like the swayam sevaks they were mandated to cover live.

The Director Generals of the News Divisions of All India Radio and DD are appointed directly by the Ministry without any consultation with Prasar Bharti. What worth is such autonomy, when the heads of news channels owe their posts to the Government? Can any of them dare to refuse an order?

There was a time under the Congress regime, when Doordarshan, when it had a monopoly of the airwaves, was referred to as His/Her Master’s Voice. The complaint was that it was the Government and ruling party leaders which got all the coverage. But in this case, under the Modi dispensation, DD has gone a step further, and given live coverage not to the Government at the expense of the opposition, as it was earlier, but to an extra-constitutional authority.

The RSS is a self-proclaimed sectarian organization which does not claim to represent all Indians but just one section – those who are Hindus. It is an organization which has been banned twice, which has been indicted by several commissions of inquiry as being responsible for the many cases of communal violence in independent India. More recently, its leaders and its cohorts have been instigating a highly coloured communalized campaign against so-called love jihad, spreading hatred against Muslims.

If the speech of such a leader is broadcast live, it is an assault on the constitutional values of secularism. What is his locus standi? It also leaves the door wide open for leaders of other equally sectarian organisations functioning in the name of Islam or any religious sect or “godmen” and “godwomen” to demand equal time on national TV for the rantings of their leaders.

When political parties recognized by the Election Commission of India speak on behalf of their parties during election broadcasts on Doordarshan, they have to submit written texts of their speeches which are then vetted by DD officials. Sentences and paragraphs are removed if they are not in consonance with the code of conduct set by the Election Commission. These, remember, are recognized political parties – yet even their leaders have to subject themselves to a code and are not allowed to make extempore speeches live. Did Mohan Bhagwat submit his speech to Doordarshan? Obviously not. He did not need to because it would seem that in Modi’s India, the RSS is above the law and has special privileges.

Broadcasting the speech live meant that words and ideas which should have no place in a secular society were beamed across the nation. It was shameful that Doordarshan should provide its platform for such a distorted perception of history and culture. The speech was replete with references to Hindutva and Hinduness as being the core of India. Bhagwat once again asserted ” all-encompassing truth is what we call Hinduism. It is our national identity.” Further, “unbroken current of national unity is known as Hindutva.”

No religion can be equated with national identity in a secular country. India is not a Hindu nation. The founder of the Indian Constitution rejected Hinduism and wrote an impassioned document as to why he had converted and become a Buddhist. Is it then not abhorrent that Ambedkar should be referred to in the same sentence as Golwalkar, the RSS leader who epitomized Hindutva sectarianism, and that they should be equated as great leaders by Bhagwat?

In his speech, he referred to the RSS sevaks as a workforce “energized with the pride of their Hindu national identity.” Is this the kind of sectarian stuff that the national broadcaster wants to promote? If you can propagate men being energized with Hindu national identity, then why not Muslim national identity or Sikh national identity or Christian national identity? What happens to Indian national identity?

The Information and Broadcasting Minister has much to answer for.

(Brinda Karat is a Politburo member of the CPI(M) and a former Member of the Rajya Sabha.)

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Letter from Hansal Mehta to Vishal Bharadwaj on Haider

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hansal-mehta-haider

Date : Sept 30, 2014

Subject : Your Chutzpah.

My dear Vishal,

Firstly, thank you for inviting me to watch Haider last night. Thank you for thinking of me. Let me tell you that you robbed me of my sleep last night. Your chutzpah had me awestruck, wondrously grateful and might I sheepishly admit, slightly envious.

Did you really write Haider? Or did you actually paint it? Those paintings of Kashmir and its people refuse to leave me. The characters in your chutzpah – where did they come from? Your mind or your heart? Did I witness poetry last night? Or was it cinema as it was meant to be but has ceased to be?

I’m now tormented by the pain of your world. I am overcome with Haider’s plight. I can feel Ghazala’s dilemma. I am still swept by the unspoken truth in Arshia’s sparkling eyes. The landscape that you painted, is a Kashmir I have never seen before. There is so much beauty yet so much melancholy. There is so much music in the silence of that stunning paradise. I can sing praises for your performers, for the impeccable casting, for the cinematography, for the gentle editing, for the seamless screenplay, for the mellifluous dialog, for the choreography, for the costumes, for the authenticity of the language used by your characters but I would hate to recount my experience with such mortal, hence limited measures of brilliance. Real brilliance cannot be quantified. Real brilliance cannot be compartmentalized or presented in bullet form. I will, therefore, not use my meager knowledge to dumb down what is truly a spiritual experience.

Dear Vishal, it is rare that a film can actually make somebody as egoistic as me feel so humbled, so moved. I witnessed a grand spectacle last night, a feat I thought our cinema was incapable of achieving. I became part of an operatic journey that transformed me. After Haider, I don’t think I will ever be the same director I used to be. The change, I hope, will be for the better. The change, I hope, will have me thanking you forever.

Nevertheless, thank you for Haider. Thank you for making a sleepless night so fulfilling. Thank you for a meditative experience. Thank you for the chutzpah!

Lots of love,

Hansal.

PS : I must tell you that watching Haider last night made me lament your absence in my life as a music composer.

Your music is special.

Give me more.

For the first time, Doordarshan airs RSS chief's Vijaya Dashami address

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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

New Delhi:  An annual address to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) by the chief of the organisation, was telecast live by national broadcaster Doordarshan this morning for the first time, provoking strong reactions from political opponents and some commentators.

RSS is a Hindu nationalist group, which is the ideological parent of the ruling BJP. The annual Vijaya Dashami or Dussehra speech by its chief articulates the organization’s vision and agenda for its 4.5 million volunteers, who played a pivotal role in the electoral victory of Narendra Modi in May.

“DD is run by public money. So how is government using it to broadcast RSS Chief’s speech? Very unfortunate,” said Rashid Alvi of the Congress. Historian and writer Ramchandra Guha said on Twitter, “Heads of religious organizations: Hindu, Muslim, Christian, must not be patronized by state TV. They are free to run their private channels.”

Congress leader Salman Khurshid said that the decision was unacceptable, adding that the Congress refused to accept the RSS as ‘above board’ in the national discourse of India.

“What they (the RSS) want and what they believe in is not in tune with the values of this country”, he said in comments to the media.

The CPI-M also said it was an instance of the “public broadcaster being misused by the Modi government”.

In his speech, the RSS cheif lauded Narendra Modi government for its initiatives, which have led to positive signs’ on several fronts in less than six months of its tenure, while expressing the hope that the momentum is maintained in a determined and well organised’ manner.

In the usual right-wing rhetoric, he talked about a `serious surge in jihadi activities’ in southern parts especially Tamil Nadu and Kerala going on to blame the state government for not making effective policy interventions to curb them. However, he was silent on the violence perpetrated by individuals and organisations ideologically affiliated to his own organisation.

Doordarshan’s decision has sparked a massive reaction on Twitter with those for and against it clashing on the social network.

Moazzam Begg freed after terrorism case against him collapses

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Secret intelligence material handed to prosecutors demolished case against former Guantánamo Bay detainee

Moazzam Begg leaves Belmarsh prison in south London after his release. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

Moazzam Begg leaves Belmarsh prison in south London after his release. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

– by Ian Cobain

The prosecution of the former Guantánamo inmate Moazzam Begg has dramatically collapsed after the police and crown prosecutors were handed secret intelligence material that undermined the terrorism case against him.

Five days before Begg was due to go on trial on a string of terrorism charges, which carried prison terms of up to 15 years, prosecutors announced at the Old Bailey that they had “recently become aware of relevant material” that obliged them to offer no evidence.

He was released from Belmarsh high-security prison in south London after the judge entered a formal verdict of not guilty. Speaking to reporters at the gates of the prison, Begg said he had wanted his “day in court” but was happy to be a free man.

“I need to reconnect with my family again,” he said. “I need to understand what it’s like to be a free man and I think that it’s important to point out some of the government’s failures in its foreign policy and its internal policy: its clear demonising of the Muslim community.”

Police sources said the decision to halt the prosecution was taken following the receipt of intelligence material two months ago, while the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement: “If we had been made aware of all of this information at the time of charging, we would not have charged.”

Asked whether the information had been handed over by MI5 and, if so, how long the agency had possessed the material, the Home Office said it would be inappropriate to comment, on the grounds that the decision to halt the prosecution had been taken by the police and CPS.

There was speculation that the newly disclosed material detailed the way in which Begg had informed British authorities of his plans to travel to Syria.

Begg spent more than seven months in custody after being arrested and questioned over a number of trips he had made to Syria a year earlier. His friends say that the experience had been deeply traumatic.

The 46-year-old from Birmingham was facing seven charges of possessing a document for the purposes of terrorism funding and training, and attending a terrorism training camp. He denied all the charges.

Christopher Hehir, prosecuting, told the Old Bailey that the CPS had previously been satisfied that they possessed sufficient evidence to secure Begg’s prosecution. He added, however: “The prosecution have recently become aware of relevant material, in the light of which, after careful and anxious consideration, the conclusion has been reached that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction in this case. The prosecution therefore offers no evidence.”

Begg’s solicitor, Gareth Peirce, said he should never have been charged as his activities did not amount to terrorism. “This is a good man trying to do the right thing in a very difficult world,” she said.

“He is a rare individual who will talk to everyone and listen to everyone, even those with whom he profoundly disagrees. He has spent the near decade since he was released from the torture of Bagram and Guantánamo in attempting to wake the world up to injustice and to comprehend its causes and effects. There is nothing new that can have been discovered now that was not always crystal clear – that this is an innocent man.”

Begg had made no secret of trips he had made to Syria, at one point writing about his experiences in an internet post. He was taken aback by his arrest, protesting that he had not been engaged in terrorism.

On appearing in court, he denied attending a terrorist training camp “knowing or believing instruction or training was provided there for the purposes of terrorism” between 9 October 2012 and 9 April 2013.

He had also denied five charges of possessing articles for purposes connected with terrorism between 31 December 2012 and 26 February 2014. Those counts related to electronic documents found on a laptop computer in his possession.

Begg had further denied being involved in a funding arrangement between 14 July 2013 and 26 February 2014 by making available a Honda generator.

Had the case gone to trial, Begg was planning to argue before the jury that his actions – several months before the British government tried, and failed, to persuade parliament to sanction air strikes against Syrian government forces – were not the actions of a terrorist.

At an earlier hearing, his counsel, Ben Emmerson QC, told the court that his client’s stance on Syria was not at odds with the British government’s position. He said: “Mr Begg did not train anyone for the purposes of terrorism as defined in the 2001 [Terrorism] Act. Mr Begg says he was involved in training young men to defend civilians against war crimes by the Assad regime.

“This is not some sort of political defence. This is a serious point about the lethal and physical limits of the definition of terrorism because if the defence says the occasions concerned were defensive actions, in much the same way the UK was itself providing non-lethal aid, then we submit that would not be defined as an act of terrorism.”

Emmerson also said Begg had “never made any secret of his visits to Syria and on two occasions informed authorities of his travel plans in advance”.

Begg spent three years detained without charge after the al-Qaida attacks of 2001. In February 2002 he was arrested in Pakistan, handed over to US forces, and detained first at Bagram prison, north of Kabul, and then Guantánamo Bay. During his detention he was interrogated by British as well as US intelligence officers.

He was eventually released in January 2005. Working with the London-based rights group Cage, he became a prominent campaigner on behalf of terrorism suspects who were being denied basic legal rights.

Asim Qureshi, Cage’s research director, said on the collapse of Begg’s prosecution: “This has been a testing time for Moazzam, his family and the Muslim community. The criminalisation of virtually any Muslim who has been to Syria has only increased in intensity, while Cage has been attacked from every angle by a host of government agencies.

“We hope that Moazzam’s release is a sign that the government are now willing to adopt a more measured strategy in relation to anti-terrorism policy and avoid the attempt to criminalise all dissent and crush any organisation like Cage that stands up for the rule of law and justice.”

The Islamic Human Rights Commission chairman, Massoud Shadjareh, added: “As was widely suspected there seems to have been no basis for his arrest and it does seem that as a high-profile member of the Muslim community, Mr Begg was being made an example of in order to silence activists campaigning against draconian anti-terrorism laws.”

While West Midlands police and the CPS were not disclosing the exact nature of the new information, detectives and prosecutors were dismayed that it had not been made available to them earlier.

A CPS spokesperson said: “At the time that the charges against Mr Begg were authorised the CPS was satisfied, in accordance with the code for crown prosecutors, that there was sufficient evidence available to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction and that it was in the public interest to prosecute. However, in accordance with our continuing duty to review and working closely with the West Midlands counter-terrorism unit, we have been made aware of material previously not known to the police investigation that means that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. If we had been made aware of all of this information at the time of charging, we would not have charged.”

West Midlands Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale said: “New material has recently been disclosed to police and CPS, which has a significant impact on key pieces of evidence that underpinned the prosecution’s case. Our criminal justice system – quite rightly – demands a very high standard of proof.

“I understand this is going to raise many questions. However, explaining what this newly revealed information is would mean discussing other aspects of the case which would be unfair and inappropriate as they are no longer going to be tested in court.

“From the beginning this case has challenged the relationship between West Midlands police and some of the communities we serve. I would like to reassure them and Mr Begg that at every stage of this investigation my officers acted in the best interests of the public and of justice.”

Source

Mr. Modi preaches a clean India, but his record on Waste Management and pollution in Gujarat is dirty

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Modi_Swachh_Bharat

– by Rohit Prajapati, SACW

Mr. Modi must read ‘Report of the Task Force on Waste to Energy (In the context of Integrated MSW Management)’ and ‘Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index’ (CEPI) Report of 2009, 2011 & 2013 of CPCB

Mr. Modi launched the “Swachh Bharat Mission” on 2 October 2014 and in his message on his website, he says, “A clean India is the best tribute we can pay to Bapu when we celebrate his 150th birth anniversary in 2019. […] Today, I appeal to everyone, particularly political and religious leadership, mayors, sarpanchs and captains of industry to plan and wholeheartedly engage in the task of cleaning your homes, work places, villages, cities and surroundings.”[1]

I want to remind Mr. Modi that earlier as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Mr. Narendra Modi had also launched similar campaign ’Nirmal Gujarat – 2007’[2] and made tall claims during that campaign. But reality is best seen in Ahmedabad at illegal solid waste dumping site, the ‘Gyaspur-Pirana Dumping Site’ – a Waste Mountain near Sabarmati River adjacent to the main road.

Mr. Modi should know the basic facts as revealed in the ‘Report of the Task Force on Waste to Energy’ dated 12 May 2014 by the Planning Commission of India. This report states “As per CPCB report 2012 – 13 municipal areas in the country generate 1,33,760 metric tonnes per day of MSW, of which only 91,152 TPD waste is collected and 25,884 TPD treated.”[3]

The report further states “Further, if the current 62 million tonnes annual generation of MSW continues to be dumped without treatment; it will need 3,40,000 cubic meter of landfill space everyday (1240 hectare per year). Considering the projected waste generation of 165 million tonnes by 2031, the requirement of land for setting up landfill for 20 years (considering 10 meter high waste pile) could be as high as 66 thousand hectares of precious land, which our country cannot afford to waste.”[4]

Mr. Modi, things are not as simple as you say. This waste generation figure covers only 31.15% population of India. Considering the waste generation figures of all of India, these figures will be even more daunting. The Planning Commission (which Mr. Modi wishes to abolish) of India’s report further states “A study, of the status of implementation of the MSW Rules 2000 by the mandated deadline by the States, was carried out in class 1 cities of the country. It revealed that in 128 cities except for street sweeping and transportation, compliance was less than 50% and in respect of disposal compliance was a dismal 1.4 %.”[5] What about the government’s major roll in policy making for the reduction of waste and implementation of ‘The Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules 2000’? Your track record in the implementation of these rules in the Gujarat is worst.

The consistent follow up by the pollution-affected people, people’s organisations and NGOs regarding the increasing pollution levels in the industrial areas of India forced the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the State Pollution Control Board in 1989 to initiate the process of indexing the critically polluted areas. At that time 24 industrial areas, including Vapi, Ankleshwar, Ludhiana, were declared ‘critically polluted’. In 2009 the CPCB and IIT-Delhi, in consistence with the demands of the people’s organisation’s working on environmental issues decided to use a new method of ‘indexing the pollution levels’ of these areas, which is now known as the ‘Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index’ (CEPI). The CEPI includes air, water, land pollution and health risks to the people living in the area. However, our demand has been to include the health of the workers, productivity of land and quality of food / agriculture produce in the index since the presence of high levels of chemicals and heavy metals in food produce has severe health implications. This is affecting not only people living around the industrial area but anyone consuming it – hence not restricting the impact to the particular industrial area.

In December 2009 the CEPI of 88 polluted industrial clusters was measured; it was then that the CPCB and the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) of Government of India were forced to declare 43 of those as ‘critically polluted clusters’ and another 32 industrial areas as ‘severely polluted clusters’.[6] Following this study the MoEF on 13 January 2010 was forced to issue a moratorium (prohibition on opening new industries and/or increasing the production capacity of the existing industries) on the 43 critically polluted areas. Similar reports were prepared by CPCB in 2011 and 2013 but these reports are completely ignored by past government and also by Modi Government.

As the very first step after assuming power as the PM, Instead of improving the environment of these 88 industrial clusters and taking the remedial measure in these area for clean up after moving to the Capital, Mr. Modi Government instead started lifting of the moratorium of industrial cluster like Ghaziabad (UP), Indore (M.P.), Jharsuguda (Orissa), Ludhiana (Punjab), Panipat (Haryana), Patancheru – Bollaram (A.P.), Singrauli (UP & MP) and Vapi (Gujarat) as a first order of business on 10 June 2014. Mr. Modi, Vapi’s track records demand more ‘stringent action’ against the polluting industries of Vapi & concerned officers of Gujarat Pollution Control Board and definitely not lifting of moratorium from Vapi.[7] The murky politics and economics of ‘GDP growth’ continue to prevail over the cause of ‘life and livelihood’ of ordinary people and ‘environment & conservation.

In 2009, the Ankleswar’s industrial area, with 88.50 CEPI, topped the list of ‘critically polluted areas’ of India.

In 2011 and 2013, Vapi industrial area, with CEPI of 85.31, topped this list.

Thus Gujarat is able to top in 2009 in ‘critically polluted areas’ in India and continues to maintain its position in 2011 & 2013.

The Government of Gujarat deliberately ignored to comment or engages ever on these issues.

Mr. Modi what about the clean up of these industrial clusters of India? Do you have any plan to clean up this CRITICALLY and SEVERELY POLLUTED INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS OF INDIA?

[1] http://inbministry.blogspot.in/p/canvas.html

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2iXFAIOtVo

[3] Report of the Task Force on Waste to Energy (Volume II) (In the context of Integrated MSW Management) –http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/rep_wte1205.pdf

[4] Report of the Task Force on Waste to Energy (Volume II) (In the context of Integrated MSW Management) –http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/rep_wte1205.pdf

[5] Report of the Task Force on Waste to Energy (Volume II) (In the context of Integrated MSW Management) –http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/rep_wte1205.pdf

[6] As per the agreed upon measures, industrial areas with a CEPI of 70 and above are considered ‘critically polluted’ areas while those with a CEPI between 60-70 are considered ‘severely polluted’ areas. In our opinion, those industrial areas with CEPI between 40-60 ought to be labelled as ‘polluted areas’.

[7] The Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar decision to lift the moratorium of 8 critically polluted clusters of the country is inexplicable. The ministry took the decision on June 10 2014 but announced it publicly on July 24 2014 – Rohit Prajapati – http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/industrys-behest

Bangladesh minister sacked after criticism of Haj

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A general view shows pilgrims converging for the evening prayer at Makkah’s Grand Mosque on Sept. 29, 2014 as hundreds of thousands of Muslims started pouring into the holy city for the annual Haj. Bangladesh's telecom minister was fired on Tuesday after criticizing Haj, one of the five pillars Islam, as an economically unproductive activity. (AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH)

A general view shows pilgrims converging for the evening prayer at Makkah’s Grand Mosque on Sept. 29, 2014 as hundreds of thousands of Muslims started pouring into the holy city for the annual Haj. Bangladesh’s telecom minister was fired on Tuesday after criticizing Haj, one of the five pillars Islam, as an economically unproductive activity. (AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH)

– by AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

Dhaka: Bangladesh has sacked a top minister after his criticism of the Muslim pilgrimage of Haj triggered protests by Islamists who declared him an apostate and set a 24-hour deadline to replace him.

Abdul Latif Siddique, the country’s telecommunications minister, who is in New York accompanying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, made the comments which were aired by local television stations.

Siddique said: “I am dead against Haj and Tablig Jamaat. Two million people have gone to Saudi Arabia to perform Haj. Haj is a waste of manpower. Those who perform Haj do not have any productivity. They deduct from the economy, spend a lot of money abroad.”

The comments drew immediate protests from the group Hefajat-e-Islam whose leaders called him “an apostate” and set a 24-hour deadline to the government to sack him from the Cabinet.

A senior official told AFP Siddique would be removed but he did not comment whether it was linked to demand by the Islamists.

“The decision has been taken to remove him from the Cabinet,” the official from the Prime Minister’s Office said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He added the decision would be effective after Hasina returns home.

At a New York rally where Siddique was the lone speaker on Sunday, he was also heard making critical comments about Hasina’s influential son and technology adviser, Sajeeb Wazed Joy. “Who is Joy? Joy is not part of the government.”

He also slammed the non-political Islamic group, Tablig Jamaat, millions of whose followers congregate outside the Bangladeshi capital each year in what authorities called the second largest Muslim gathering after the Haj.

He said the around two million people who gathered “don’t do any work except halting traffic movement throughout the country,” Siddiqui said.

There was no comment from the Tablig Jamaat.

Vadodara’s BJP leader Manish Wagh arrested in connection with burning of Hindu houses

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A member of Rapid Action Force fires a tear gas shell to disperse a mob in Vadodara (Photo: Reuters)

A member of Rapid Action Force fires a tear gas shell to disperse a mob in Vadodara (Photo: Reuters)

Vadodara: Navgujarat Samay which is Times Of India group’s Gujarati daily has reported in its October 1st issue that Manish Wagh, BJP Baroda’s Ward Pramukh (Chief), has been arrested in connection with burning of several houses of Hindu families in the Navapura area of Baroda. Along with Manish Wagh, 36 other officer bearers of BJP were also arrested in this connection. It is also reported that besides the aforementioned arrests, a few Muslim rioters were also arrested.

It is also reported that Manish Wagh’s arrest has led to several doubts regarding the entire modus-operandi of Baroda riots.

The four days of violence that continued unabated here last week was allegedly triggered by an image posted on Facebook. Muslim groups said the image was offensive to Islam. However, according to some media reports, prior events, marked by inflammatory statements in the run-up to the Navaratri festival, prepared the ground for a volatile communal situation.

Residents of Yakutpura – one of the worst affected neighbourhoods in the city — have alleged police complicity in the violence. In the Taiwada area, where the police conducted raids at night, residents claimed that a team of police personnel arrived with nearly 30 men in plain clothes, whose faces were covered with a cloth. They accused the police of assaulting women and setting a motorbike on fire.

Throughout September, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad gave several statements in the media saying that Muslims would not be allowed at ‘Garba’ events. The Hindutva outfit planned to launch a campaign against ‘love jihad’ and beef consumption during Navaratri.

The violence which has left with the stabbing of two, and loss of properties of many others, coincides with Mr. Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States. In his first ever international interview since assuming office, Modi, when questioned about the patriotism of Indian Muslims, told that, “Indian Muslims will live for India and die for India.” However, since assuming office, he has done nothing with regards to containing the raging communal violence in the country, perpetrated by elements part of and affiliated to his party.

With inputs from Truth of Gujarat and The Hindu.

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