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20 million people in grave danger as Yemen's humanitarian crisis deepens

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After months of US/Saudi military assault, almost 80 percent of population in desperate need of medical, food, and water aid

Children fetching water in Yemen's capital Sana'a. (Photo: UNICEF/Yasin)

Children fetching water in Yemen’s capital Sana’a. (Photo: UNICEF/Yasin)

by Sarah Lazare, Common Dreams

More than two months of a brutal Saudi Arabia-led military assault and siege on Yemen has sown a humanitarian crisis that now engulfs the vast majority of the country’s people, with U.S.-backed naval blockades cutting off most aid shipments, even as 20 million Yemenis—80 percent of the population—are in dire need of medical, food, and water assistance, according to United Nations figures.

The UN’s grave assessment will be formally released next week, according to The Guardian. At a press conference on Friday in Geneva, representatives of the global body said that more than 2,288 have been killed, nearly 10,000 wounded, and more than one million displaced since the beginning of the Saudi coalition military assault, in which the United States is a key participant.

“Half of the new displacement—more than half a million people—has occurred in three governorates alone: Hajjah, Ad Dhale’e and Ibb,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “The number of displaced is expected to increase further over the coming weeks if the conflict continues.”

The naval siege is also blocking shipments of oil and gas, leading to shortages that are disrupting electricity and forcing the closure of hospitals, schools, and water pumps. People living in areas heavily impacted by the Saudi coalition air bombardments, as well as on-the-ground clashes, are in the position of having to find a way to obtain food and water amidst the fighting.

In what aid group Doctors Without Borders describes as “indiscriminate airstrikes,” the Saudi coalition has bombed schools, refugee camps, residential neighborhoods, humanitarian aid warehouses, and other civilian infrastructure. The organization warned on Twitter:

Last week, the humanitarian organization Oxfam warned that at least 16 million people in the country are without access to clean drinking water and “Yemen’s hospitals are in no condition to adequately cope with an outbreak of a water-borne disease.” As they have since the Saudi-led assault began, Yemenis have turned to social media to document the impact of the war and call for an end to the fighting:

Israel’s clandestine alliance with Gulf Arab States is going public

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"Relations with Israel have long been a third rail for Arab states," writes Hussain. That, however, appears to be changing. (Photo: AP/Saudi Arabian Press Agency)

“Relations with Israel have long been a third rail for Arab states,” writes Hussain. That, however, appears to be changing. (Photo: AP/Saudi Arabian Press Agency)

by Murtaza Hussain, The Intercept

In 2009, a U.S. State Department diplomatic cable gave one of the first glimpses of a burgeoning alliance between Israel and the Arab states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The cable quoted Israeli Foreign Ministry official Yacov Hadas saying, “the Gulf Arabs believe in Israel’s role because of their perception of Israel’s close relationship with the United States,” adding that GCC states “believe Israel can work magic.”

Israel and the Gulf states also shared an interest in countering what they saw as rising Iranian influence in the Middle East. So while the two sides sparred in public — Israel’s “Cast Lead” military operation had just claimed more than 1,400 lives in the Gaza Strip and was condemned by Saudi Arabia, in a letter to the United Nations, as “fierce aggression” — they enjoyed “good personal relations” behind closed doors, Hadas said, according to one cable. Hadas reportedly added that the Gulf Arabs were still “not ready to do publicly what they say in private.”

Fast forward six years, and it seems as though the GCC states have finally readied themselves to go public about their warming relationships with Israel. In an event at the Council on Foreign Relations this week in Washington, reported on by Bloomberg’s Eli Lake, high-ranking former Saudi and Israeli officials not only shared the stage but disclosed that the two countries had been holding a series of high-level meetings to discuss shared strategic goals, particularly around the perceived regional ascendance of Iran. At the event, former Saudi General Anwar Eshki openly called for regime change in Iran, while former Israeli ambassador to the U.N., Dore Gold, once a fierce critic of Saudi Arabia, spoke of his outreach to the country in recent years, and of the possibility of resolving the remaining differences between the two nations, stating, “Our standing today on this stage does not mean we have resolved all the differences that our countries have shared over the years, but our hope is we will be able to address them fully in the years ahead.”

Relations with Israel have long been a third rail for Arab states. Following the creation of Israel in 1948 and the resulting displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees, other Middle Eastern countries have maintained a position of public hostility towards Israel, in line with longstanding domestic public opinion. Although countries such as Egypt, under military dictatorship, have concluded formal peace treaties with Israel in defiance of popular sentiment, for the most part Gulf states have remained aloof.

In recent years, however, the dual phenomena of the Arab uprisings and growing Iranian influence have pushed GCC leaders closer to Israel. Last year, Saudi Prince Turki bin Faisal took the unprecedented step of publishing an op-ed in a major Israeli newspaper calling for peace between Israel and GCC nations, as well as for a resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. As the United States under the Obama administration has pursued détente with Iran in recent years, reports have also surfaced suggesting covert security cooperation between Israel and GCC states. The investigative news site Middle East Eye recently documented the existence of regular, secret flights between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv, despite the ostensible ban on Israeli citizens entering the UAE.

In his 2012 book After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies, Durham University Professor Chris Davidson wrote that Gulf states will continue to seek Israeli support thanks to growing external pressures on Gulf States in the wake of regional upheaval. Even as it describes the GCC countries as consisting of “national populations who for the most part are anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian, with the topics of Israel and Zionism often stirring strong emotions,” the book documents increasing clandestine economic and political coordination by GCC leaders with their Israeli counterparts in recent years.

There are signs, however, that even popular anti-Israeli sentiment within these countries may be shifting. A recent poll of Saudi public opinion conducted by students at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, an Israeli university, found that a minority of the Saudi public viewed Israel as a major threat to their country, and cited instead either Iran or the nascent Islamic State as their primary objects of concern. “What we think here in Israel about the Saudis is not exactly what they are,” said Alex Mintz of IDC Herziliya, who helped oversee the poll. “We assume that we know what people in Iran, Gaza and Saudi Arabia think, [but] nobody that I talked to thought that Saudis would say by a margin of 3-to-1 that Iran scared them more than Israel, nobody predicted that.”

With the Obama administration seeking to conclude a controversial nuclear agreement with Iran next month, it seems likely that Gulf Arab states and Israel, traditional U.S. allies united in their opposition to the deal, will continue to grow their strategic coordination. The recent decision by high-ranking former officials representing both Gulf and Israeli interests to go public with their cooperation is only the latest signal of the strength of this burgeoning alliance. Given that this relationship is flourishing against the backdrop of the still-ongoing Israel-Palestine crisis, as well as the ascendance of far-right political parties within Israel itself, it seems clear that GCC leaders have decided in the wake of the Arab Spring to place their own narrow political interests above any publicly-stated principles about stability in the region.

 

Ruling party loses majority in Turkey elections

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Preliminary results suggest AK party won polls, but lost simple majority in parliament due to pro-Kurdish party gains.

HDP supporters has started celebrating the election results in predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey [Reuters]

HDP supporters has started celebrating the election results in predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey [Reuters]

by Umut Uras, Al Jazeera

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK party) has won Turkey’s parliamentary polls, but lost its single-party government, according to the preliminary results.

The country’s pro-Kurdish left-wing Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) crossed the country’s unusually high 10 percent electoral threshold that affected the distribution of seats and, consequently, the power of the ruling party.

Official results based on 99.9 percent of votes counted gave the AK party 41 percent of Sunday’s votes, while the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) scored 25 percent.

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) secured 16.5 percent of the votes, while the HDP won 13 percent.

About 54 million citizens were eligible to vote in the polls, with 86 percent of attendance rate, according to Turkey’s semi-official Anatolia news agency.

According to the official projections, the AK party is set to secure 258 MPs, below the 276 seats necessary to form a single-party government in the 550-seat parliament. The CHP, MHP and HDP are projected to secure 132, 81 and 79 seats respectively.

‘Our march will continue’  

The AK party, which currently has 311 seats in parliament, has ruled the country with a single-majority government for the last 13 years.

“Our nation’s decision is final. Respecting this is a responsibility for all political parties,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a public address from AK party headquarters in Ankara.

“For long marches, 13 years is a short time. There is much more to do. Our blessed march is to continue… We will evaluate the messages to get from the polls and we will continue walking in our way with further determination,” he said.

“Turkey’s democracy proved itself. The ones who tried to stain our democracy are ashamed now.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Davutoglu had campaigned to write a new constitution to bolster the powers of the country’s presidential office. The AK party needed at least 330 seats to unilaterally initiate such a change and take it to a referendum. All the other three main parties are against a presidential system.

The HDP, which was contesting the elections on a liberal platform, was seeking to cross the country’s electoral threshold to make its way to the parliament. The party had independent candidates in the last two polls that significantly decreased the number of the MPs it won through Turkey’s electoral system.

“The ones who are authoritarian and arrogant lost, and the ones who are in love with the liberty and peace in Turkey won in the polls,” Selahattin Demirtas, the co-chairperson of the HDP, said in a televised statement.

“We, the oppressed of Turkey, have beaten a government who used all the state’s facilities against us, to attack us… This is the victory of the oppressed and alienated in Turkey,” he added.

Both HDP and CHP officials said that the debate for a presidential system ended in Turkey.

Haluk Koc, the CHP spokesman, said that the AK party became increasingly authoritarian throughout its 13-year government.

“The country has avoided a one-person dictatorship and a civilian coup,” he said, adding that his party was the key party to form the new government.

‘Voters punished AK party’

Garo Paylan, an HDP candidate from Istanbul who is likely to make his way to the parliament, told Al Jazeera that Turkish voters punished the AK party’s divisive rhetoric.

“The results show that the citizens of Turkey have expressed their support for the HDP’s language that has been calling for all the citizens of Turkey to live together in harmony,” Paylan said.

“We want all political parties in Turkey to see this picture and make their contributions to form a new culture for all citizens of this country to live harmoniously together. We will work in the parliament for a new constitution for all people to respectfully live together,” he told Al Jazeera.

Thousands of Kurds in the country’s predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey celebrated the unofficial results, setting off fireworks and waving HDP flags.

The political atmosphere was tense in the region before the polls, with bombings targeting HDP buildings and rallies.

“The election results are a big success for the HDP as it has moved from a Kurdish-oriented party to a party that addresses the whole Turkey. It got votes from liberal voters who previously voted for the AK party and CHP and who wanted to block Erdogan and AK party this time,” Deniz Ulke Aribogan, a professor of political science from Istanbul Bilgi University, told Al Jazeera.

“The results show that Turkish citizens want Erdogan to act in line with his position as a neutral president. They don’t want to see him rallying as if he is the leader of the AK party.”

Greenpeace activist barred from entering India

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Expulsion of Australian activist despite having visa is government’s latest attempt to stifle free speech, group says.

The government has previously frozen bank accounts belonging to the organisation and banned activists from travelling [AFP]

The government has previously frozen bank accounts belonging to the organisation and banned activists from travelling [AFP]

by Al Jazeera

An Australian member of Greenpeace has been prevented from entering India without explanation, according to the environmentalist lobby group’s Indian arm.

Aaron Gray-Block was not allowed to enter the country on Saturday despite having all relevant visas and documents needed to enter, the group said, adding the Australian was not officially deported despite being put on a flight back to Kuala Lumpur.

“There is absolutely no reason why one of its staff members should be treated in such an arbitrary way, and we expect the Ministry of Home Affairs to offer a full explanation,” said Divya Raghunandan, the programme director for Greenpeace India.

If confirmed, the incident will be the latest episode in a dispute between the Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Greenpeace.

Activist Priya Pillai was prevented from boarding a flight to London in January and had a travel ban placed on her until it was overturned by a court in March.

In April, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs banned the group’s domestic branch from accepting donations from abroad after accusing the group of not declaring transactions, and in May, bank accounts belonging to the group were shut down over the same issue.

At the time, Nalin Kohli, a spokesman for the ruling BJP party, told Al Jazeera that Greenpeace was not following the provisions of the law and did not disclose how they obtained their funds.

Greenpeace says it is being targeted by the Indian government over its activism.

“Denying entry to a Greenpeace employee with a valid visa is yet further proof of the extent to which the Indian government is prepared to go in violating Greenpeace’s right to freedom of expression under international law and under India’s Constitution,” a statement by the group said.

Telangana: Case registered against KCR for illegal phone-tapping

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KCR

Visakhapatnam: A case has been registered here against Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for alleged illegal tapping of phones of his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu in the backdrop of the cash-for-votes scam, police said Monday.

According to Inspector of III-Town Police Station, B Tirumala Rao, a Vizag-based advocate NVV Prasad lodged a complaint against KCR for violating the basic rights of Naidu and “tarnishing” his image by tapping his telephone lines.

In his complaint, the assistant Public Prosecutor accused TRS of deliberately trying to snoop on TDP members.

Based on the complaint, a case has been registered against KCR under Sections 464, 647, 471, 166, 167 and 120/B of IPC.

Meanwhile, a purported conversation in an audio tape between Chandrababu Naidu and nominated MLA Elvys Stephenson, aired in a section of local TV channels has given a new twist to the cash-for-votes controversy.

Sunday, Parakala Prabhakar Advisor (Communications) to the Andhra government strongly denied reports saying that the tapes were fabricated and the AP government will take up the issue seriously.

The reported conversation suggested that the Andhra CM was giving “assurance of all sorts” to the MLA if he votes for TDP nominee in the Telangana Legislative Council election.

Prabhakar further alleged that the Telangana government is trying to malign the image of the AP chief minister by resorting to cheap tactics.

“It is not the chief minister’s conversation. How come they are available outside. Telangana Government has to give answer to this. Telangana CM and Home minister should give answers,” Parakala had said.

He said that the Telangana CM is trying to mislead the people of Andhra Pradesh by resorting to “cheap tricks”.

The anti-corruption bureau of Telangana is in the process of questioning TDP MLA Revanth Reddy and two others who have been arrested in cash-for-vote case.

On May 31, the ACB arrested Reddy for allegedly trying to bribe the nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson to vote for TDP nominee in the Telangana Legislative Council election.

Based on a complaint by Stephenson, ACB officials held Revanth, Sebastian Harry and Uday Simha after they were caught while allegedly handing over Rs 50 lakh to Stephenson.

(IANS)

Cash-for-vote scam: Andhra CM's audio tape made public

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ChandrababuNaidu

Hyderabad: The cash-for-vote scam in Telangana took a dramatic turn on Sunday with the release of an audio tape of a purported telephonic conversation between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and nominated Telangana legislator Elvis Stephenson.The Andhra government denied that it’s Naidu’s voice.

This is perhaps for the first time in India that a chief minister of a state has been tapped while allegedly trying to lure a legislator. Denying that it is Naidu’s voice, the Andhra Pradesh government has taken the release of audio tape seriously and vowed to fight it legally, constitutionally and politically.

The new twist may create a constitutional crisis as Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Telangana is planning to summon Naidu for questioning in the case. Hyderabad is the common capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Both Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) governments have taken up the issue with E.S.L. Narasimhan, who is the governor for both the Telugu states.

The audio tape was released three days after Telangana Home Minister N. Narasimha Reddy said the government has proof that Naidu spoke to Stephenson and some other MLAs of TRS to lure them to vote for TDP-BJP candidate in Telangana legislative council elections.

The audio tape was first played T News, a Telugu news channel owned by ruling TRS and was later picked up by others.

During the conversation, Naidu purportedly assured the nominated member that he is with him. “Our people briefed me. I am with you don’t bother. For everything I am with you. What all they spoke we will honour,” Naidu was heard as telling the legislator.

In swift developments on Sunday night, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao met Governor Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan while Naidu called a meeting with Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police J.V. Ramudu and other officials to take stock of the latest situation.

Rao’s meeting with the governor, the second in three days, came minutes after the release of the audio tape.

Telangana TDP legislator A. Revanth Reddy was arrested by the ACB on May 31 when he was offering Rs.50 lakh to Stephenson to make him vote for TDP-BJP candidate in the elections to Telangana legislative council.

ACB, which had laid a trap on a complaint by Stephenson, also arrested Revanth Reddy’s aides Sebastian Harry and Uday Simha.

TRS leaders have been alleging that Naidu is the mastermind in the scam and he should be booked.

The audio tape came to light a few hours after ACB questioned Revanth Reddy and two others for a second day. A city court had sent them to four-day custody of ACB.

Earlier in the day, Naidu met Narasimhan, who is governor for both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The TDP chief reportedly complained to the governor about TRS government tapping his phone.

Meanwhile, Naidu’s media advisor Prakala Prabhakar told reporters on Sunday night that the voice in the audio tape is not the voice of Naidu.

He said the government was taking the release of the audio tape seriously and will not keep quiet. “We will fight it legally, constitutionally and politically,” he said.

He wanted to know from the TRS government as to how it got the audio tape. “If you have done telephone tapping, it is a crime and if you have recorded Mr. Chandrababu Naidu’s voice on different occasions, tampered it and presented to mislead people that it is his conversation, it is also a crime,” he said.

Naidu’s aide wondered how the audio tape could be released as evidence when the same should be produced in the court, where the case is being heard. Prakala condemned the attitude of Telangana government towards Andhra Pradesh chief minister in the common capital. He said both the governments and both the chief ministers had equal rights in the common capital.

He pointed out that under section 8 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, the governor is responsible for law and order, protection of lives and property of people and vital installations in Hyderabad.

He alleged that the release of audio tape was a conspiracy to tarnish Naidu’s image and disrupt the public meeting scheduled to be held in Guntur on Monday to mark TDP government’s first year.

The media advisor said the government would go ahead with the meeting and fight the conspiracy.

Andhra Pradesh’s Finance Minister and senior TDP leader Y. Ramakrishnudu said the audio tape was a proof that the TRS government was violating law by tapping phones.

(IANS)

Food regulator orders testing of GSK, ITC fast food brands

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fssai-orders-testing-of-gsk-itc-fast-food-brands

New Delhi: Central food safety regulator FSSAI today ordered testing of various noodles, pasta and macaroni brands, including Top Ramen, Foodles and Wai Wai, manufactured by seven companies to check compliance of norms in the wake of Maggi controversy.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also asked for testing of four variants of “Maggi Nutilicious Pazzta with tastemakers”. “Various test results on Maggi and some other similar products have raised serious health concerns. In view of the same, it would be advisable to draw regulatory samples for similar products for which product approvals have been granted by the FSSAI…These samples should be sent to the authorised labs for testing,” FSSAI CEO YS Malik said in letter to Commissioners of Food Safety in all states and UTs.

As per FSSAI order, the companies whose products have been listed for testing are Nestle India, ITC, Indo Nissin Food Ltd, GSK Consumer Helathcare, CG Foods India, Ruchi International and AA Nutrition Ltd. The regulator has ordered the testing of products registered with it.

The products include Wai Wai noodles and bhujiya chicken snacks by CG Foods; Koka instant noodles from Ruchi International, Foodles by GSK Consumer Helathcare and Nestle’s Maggi instant noodles with nine variants.

Others in the list are Indo Nissin’s Top Ramen Aata Masala, ITC’s three variants of instant noodles and Yummy chicken and vegetarian noodles of AA Nutrition. When contacted CG Foods CEO GP Sah said: “Our brands meets all regulatory standards as listed by Food Safety and Standard Authority of India. We are not closed to any tests and will cooperate with authorities if required.”

Comments from other companies could not be obtained immediately. The development comes after the Indian unit of the Swiss multinational recalled Maggi from the markets after several states banned the famous ‘2-minute’ instant food brand as tests showed them containing taste enhancer MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate) and lead in excess of the permissible limits. Meanwhile, FSSAI on Friday banned all variants of Maggi noodles terming them as “unsafe and hazardous” for human consumption.

(PTI)

Hate speech: SC bench recuses from hearing Subramanian Swamy's plea

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Subramanian Swamy (Photo credit: Jagran)

Subramanian Swamy (Photo credit: Jagran)

New Delhi: A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice R K Agrawal today recused itself from hearing the plea of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy against the order of an Assam trial court issuing a non-bailable warrant against him for failing to appear before it in a case of alleged hate speech.

The bench, also comprising Justice Amitava Roy, referred the matter to another bench saying, “If it has to come before another bench, why apply mind. List it before another bench on June 22.”

Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, who was appearing for Swamy, then asked the bench “In the meantime, what should the man do if there is an order that he be arrested and produced before the judge.” To this, the bench said that till June 22 nothing will happen but refused to pass an interim order. “We cannot pass any interim order,” it said.However, it allowed Swamy to mention it before Chief Justice H L Dattu after Jethmalani sought permission.

“You have the liberty to mention it before the Chief Justice,” the bench said.Earlier, on May 21, a judge of the apex court had recused from hearing his plea challenging the validity of some penal provisions relating to “hate speech”.

The apex court was hearing Swamy’s plea against the order of an Assam trial court issuing an NBW against him for failing to appear before it on March 19 in a case of alleged hate speech.

The NBW was issued on June 1 by a court in Karimganj on a complaint accusing him of allegedly delivering an inflammatory address on March 15 at Kaziranga University.The Karimganj court had ordered that the arrest warrant be complied with on or before June 30.

(PTI)

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat gets ‘Z+’ security cover

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Mohan_Bhagwat

New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat has been extended top category ‘Z+’ security cover with the commandos of CISF having been tasked with the job.

Officials said Bhagwat will now be guarded by an armed squad of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) during his stay at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur and when he travels to any place in Maharashtra and across the country.

“The Special Security Group of CISF has been entrusted with the task of securing the VVIP after a threat analysis made in this regard necessitated that Bhagwat be guarded by a trained team.

“He was till now being guarded by units of Maharashtra police and its armed reserve units under the same cover,” a senior official said.

As part of the security cover, the RSS ‘Sarsanghchalak’ will have about 60 commandos round-the-clock to protect him.

The VVIP commando unit of CISF is armed with sophisticated weapons like AK-series rifles and is equipped with latest gadgets for communication and anti-sabotage tasks.

This unit is also identified as the ‘centre of excellence” for VVIP security in the country.

Sources said the elite squad will take over the security duties at Bhagwat’s residence and the vehicles in his convoy will also be changed as per norms set for a ‘Z+’ central security VVIP.

“The decision to hand over his security to central forces from state police has been hanging for over an year now.

“The Union Home Ministry recently gave the sanction in this regard and tasked CISF with the job,” they said.

A number of other prominent figures like BJP President Amit Shah and government functionaries and politicians have been accorded such security cover in the recent past by the Union government.

(PTI)

AIMPLB to campaign against making Yoga, Surya Namaskar compulsory in schools

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surya-namaskar

Lucknow: Even as the Narendra Modi government plans to make the International Yoga Day on June 21 a grand success, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Sunday decided to launch a nationwide campaign against making ‘Surya Namaskar’ and Yoga compulsory in schools.

We have decided to constitute a committee of our members headed by Maulana Wali Rahmani and launch a country-wide campaign against the move of making ‘Surya Namaskar’ and Yoga compulsory in schools, AIMPLB member Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali said.

“The committee will also find ways to make Muslim community aware of their constitutional rights. During the campaign, we will put forth our view on Surya Namaskar and Yoga and explain as to why it was against our religious beliefs and should not be forced on our children,” he said.

Taking the campaign beyond the ambit of Hindu-Muslim tension, the AIMPLB member said that attempts would be made to include people of other religions as well in the campaign.

Speaking at AIMPLB’s executive committee meeting held at Nadwat-ul-Ulma here, Mahali also expressed the organisation’s willingness to fight legal battles regarding the “interference of courts in Sharia laws”.

“Recently some court decisions have come against Sharia laws. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has decided to file an appeal in such cases in court and fight the legal battle as a party in such cases,” Mahali said.

Maulana Wali Rahmani was appointed as the acting General Secretary of the Board at the meeting. Maulana Nizamuddin will also continue in the post, he said.

The Board also informed that they will discuss issues like attack on freedom to propagate one’s religion, in a separate session and have plans to launch a campaign in this regard.

(Agencies)

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