Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for News & Politics

JNU students and teachers attacked in court, cops just watch

by

Delhi-court-scuffle-JNU

New Delhi: At least six persons, including students and mediapersons, were thrashed today by a group of men in lawyer’s robes inside and outside a Patiala House court where the sedition case against JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar was to be heard.

A scuffle broke out before the court took up the hearing, as some men, said to be lawyers, entered the court room and allegedly started pushing out students and teachers, mostly from JNU, and media persons, asking them to leave the premises.

“You (JNU) produce anti-nationals and terrorists. You should get out of the country. Long live India, shut down JNU,” they shouted and then pushed the students and teachers out.

“When the proceedings were going on, some people wearing lawyers’ gowns first started hurling abuses at us. And then suddenly some of them, without any provocation, started beating us badly. They pushed us and beat us up including women students,” AISF President Waliullah Qadri told reporters.

A BJP MLA, who had come to the court complex in connection with the hearing in the defamation case filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, allegedly roughed up Ameeque Jamai, said to be a CPI activist.

The students and teachers refused to go out of the court room and said they have a right to attend the proceedings as it was an open court hearing. At least three students were thrashed by the group of men.

The group also began to check the identity cards of media persons and asked them also to leave the court room. The media persons objected to their demand and refused to move out of the court room when they were attacked by the men, who accused the media persons of being JNU supporters and accused them of wrong reporting.

Two print and electronic media reporters were injured. There was heavy police deployment in the court complex, but the students alleged that they did not take any action against this group.

The policemen later drove all the students, teachers and mediapersons out of the court complex.

(Agencies)

Shah Rukh Khan’s car damaged by VHP miscreants in Gujarat

by

SHAHRUKH khan

Ahmedabad: Shouting slogans against actor Shah Rukh Khan, members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or VHP threw stones at a parking lot of a luxury hotel in Ahmedabad early on Sunday damaging his car.

The attack was reportedly against the shooting of his upcoming film “Raees” in Gujarat over his earlier remarks on “intolerance”.

The film’s crew members are staying in the hotel but the 50-year-old actor was not there at the time of the incident as he arrived in Ahmedabad only this afternoon.

After an FIR for rioting and damaging property was filed in this regard in the evening, at least seven persons, claimed to be associated with the VHP, were detained, police said.

According to Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) BU Jadeja, eight to 10 people threw stones in the open parking lot of Hyatt Regency Hotel on Ashram Road, where Mr Khan’s vehicle was parked, this morning and fled from the spot.

“As per the complaint lodged by the Security Officer of the hotel, eight to 10 persons came on bikes and threw stones on cars parked in the open parking lot early this morning. Due to the stone pelting, windscreen of Shah Rukh Khan’s car got damaged,” said Mr Jadeja.

“We have learnt that Shah Rukh Khan was not there in the hotel when incident took place. Some of his crew members, who have come here for shooting, were staying in the hotel. Shah Rukh landed in the city this afternoon for the shoot,” he added. The shooting is taking place in Bhuj.

Meanwhile, a video showing unidentified persons throwing stones inside the hotel also surfaced on social media sites. In the video, they can be seen shouting slogans against Mr Khan and fleeing on bikes after throwing stones.

Gujarat unit of VHP claimed responsibility for the incident. The outfit’s State spokesperson Raju Patel said the detained persons are associated with VHP and threw stones on Mr Khan’s car as part of their ongoing protests against the actor.

Around 20-30 VHP activists had last week handed over a memorandum to Bhuj district officers and demanded withdrawal of the permission given for the shooting of the film. They protested outside the district Collector’s office pressing for the same demand and shouted slogans against the actor and also burnt and tore his posters.

In November last year, Mr Khan sparked a debate when he said during an interview that there was “growing intolerance” in India.

However, the actor later statements just a few days later, claiming his comments had been misconstrued.

(Agencies)

 

Leopard captured after entering school escapes from enclosure in Bengaluru

by

leopard

Bengaluru: The leopard that was captured last week after it had entered a private school here and injured three forest department personnel has escaped from the enclosure in Bannerghatta Biological Park, where it was caged.

A senior official said it could have escaped late in the night and the incident came to light only this morning. An operation is on to track and recapture it.

“We will come to know about it only after investigation… Once the probe is over, we will fix the responsibility and initiate action,” he said.

The leopard had entered a private school near Varthur here on February 7 causing panic in and around the area.

However, it was tranquilised and captured after a day-long operation, during which it had attacked three forest personnel.

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he would seek information from forest department officials about the leopard’s escape.

“I will seek details of the animal’s escape. I will talk to the forest department officials and find out the reason,” he said.

Officials said there were three layers of barriers and it was difficult (for the animal) to escape by itself.

“We will get to how the leopard escaped only after a thorough investigation,” they said.

(Agencies)

Our son victim of Hindutva politics, say parents of JNUSU president

by

Kanhaiya-Kumar

Patna: A day after the president of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on the charge of sedition, his parents in Bihar said their son is not anti-national and is being victimised for his opposition to Hindutva politics.

“My son is not anti-national. There is no question of his following an ideology of anti-nationalism. He is a nationalist like hundreds of thousands of youths of his age,” Kanhaiya Kumar’s father Jaishankar Singh, who is suffering from paralysis, said on Saturday.

Kanhaiya’s mother Meena Devi said her son is a nationalist, but not a supporter of RSS-BJP’s Hindutva politics.

“We are proud of his Left ideology. There is nothing wrong in it. He has been fighting against right wing politics and now being targeted for it,” she said.

His parents live at Bihar Maslanpur village in Begusarai district, considered a stronghold of the Left wing or communist politics in the state. There was a time when Begusarai was known as ‘Leningrad’ of Bihar, but no more.

Singh said his son was arrested under a conspiracy by his political rivals. “My son is a Left party activist and rivals of Left ideology are playing dirty politics.”

Meena said that she is confident and sure that his son will win the battle against Hindutva politics.

Most of the villagers of Kanhaiya’s native place are sad over his arrest on the charge of sedition.

“We had celebrated last year when Kanhaiya was elected JNU students’ union president. It was a proud moment for us. But now we are upset at his arrest. It is a matter of disbelief for us to accept that he is anti-national,” a village youth Santosh Kumar said.

Another villager Ramchander Singh supported Santosh’s view and said Kanhaiya cannot be anti-national. “Our soil has produced only nationalists so far.”

Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on Friday allegedly for raising anti-India slogans at an event organised by students on JNU campus to commemorate the death of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was executed in 2013.

(IANS)

Was offered Rs 1,200 crore, plum position in BJP to withdraw stir: Hardik Patel

by

Hardik Patel

Ahmedabad: Patel quota stir spearhead Hardik Patel has alleged that he was offered Rs 1,200 crore and a plum position in BJP’s national youth wing by the Gujarat government to withdraw the agitation seeking reservation for his community under the OBC quota last year.

The large-scale protests by Patidars had triggered violence in many parts of the state, culminating in the arrest of Hardik and his aides under the charge of sedition. The claim of “monetary offer” was made in a letter received on Friday by various media houses, which members of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), of which Hardik is convener, claimed is written by Hardik who is currently lodged in Surat jail. However, the letter did not bear any official stamp of authorities of Lajpore jail in Surat.

The letter is addressed to Hardik’s father Bharatbhai Patel and his mother. “I was offered Rs 1,200 crore by Gujarat government to withdrew the Patel quota agitation. The offer was made to me by an IAS officer of the government who had come to meet me in jail,” the letter alleged. “They also offered me that they will make me national youth president of the ruling party. However, I have rejected both the offers,” it said.

Repeated attempts to contact the state BJP leaders for reaction did not fructify.

Hardik (22) was booked in two cases of sedition, one in Ahmedabad and another in Surat, besides under sections 121 (A) (conspiracy to wage war against government) and 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy) along with his aides by Ahmedabad crime branch. “I have full faith in the judiciary and I will come out of the jail by legal process and carry on the agitation,” the letter stated.

In the chargesheet filed last month, Ahmedabad Crime Branch termed the quota agitation as a “pre-planned conspiracy” hatched to put pressure on the state government to accept their “unconstitutional demand of quota.” A separate chargesheet was filed against him last month by Surat police for sedition and other charges for allegedly instigating a fellow Patel youth to kill policemen rather than committing suicide during the agitation.

(Agencies)

Bypoll to three assembly constituencies, first phase of ZP, TP polls begin

by

(AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

(AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Bengaluru: Byelections to three Assembly constituencies, Hebbal in Bengaluru, Devadurga in Raichur district and Bidar and election to 550 Zilla Panchayat (ZP) seats and 1,945 Taluk Panchayat (TP) seats across 15 districts is being held on Saturday.

District administrations and the police have made elaborate security arrangements to ensure smooth conduct of the polls. Electronic voting machines would be used in both the elections. The voting would be held from 7 am to 5 pm.

The ZP/TP elections in Betadur in Dharwad district, where Lance Naik Hanmanthappa Koppad was cremated on Friday, has been put off to February 15.

The ZP/TP elections are being held in two phase. In the first phase on Saturday – Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Kolar, Chikaballapur, Shivamogga, Tumakuru, Belagavi, Haveri, Bagalkot, Uttara Kannada, Dharwad, and Gadag is going to polls.

Byelections to the three Assembly constituencies, including Hebbal in Bengaluru, and polls to 550 zilla panchayat (ZP) seats and 1,945 taluk panchayat (TP) seats across 15 districts, will be held on Saturday.

The polling will be held between 7 am and 5 pm. While the bypolls to the three Assembly segments of Hebbal, Devadurga, reserved for the Scheduled Tribe in Raichur district and Bidar will be monitored by the Election Commission of India, the ZP/TP polls will be held under the aegis of State Election Commission.

The district administrations and the police have made elaborate security arrangements to ensure smooth conduct of the polls.

As many as 20 candidates are in fray for the high-profile the Hebbal seat, which witnessed high-voltage campaigning by political parties in the last 10 days. The Congress has fielded C K Abdul Rahaman Sharief, while two-time MLC Y A Narayana-swamy is contesting on a BJP ticket. Ismail Shariff is the JD(S) candidate.

Up north, Bidar is witnessing a pitched battle between Rahim Khan of the Congress and Prakash Khandre of the BJP with Ayaz Khan of the JD(S) in the fray. In Devadurga, it is an all-in-the-family fight between Rajashekhar Naik (Cong), K Shivanagouda Naik (BJP) and Karemma Gopalakrishna (JD-S).

The results of the three bypolls will be out on February 16.

ZP/TP elections

Saturday will also witness the ZP and TP elections being held in 15 districts in the first phase. These include Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagaram, Chitradurga, Davangere, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Shivamogga, Tumakuru, Belagavi, Haveri, Bagalkot, Uttara Kannada, Dharwad, and Gadag.

A total of 2,087 candidates are in the fray for 550 ZP seats and 6,288 candidates for 1,945 TP seats. The second phase of the ZP/TP elections for the remaining 15 districts will be held on February 20.

Election officials said carrying the electoral photo identity card (EPIC) or documents specified by Election Commission of India is mandatory to exercise franchise. Taking photographs using camera or mobile phones inside the polling stations is prohibited. Counting of votes for both the first and second phase of the ZP/TP elections will be taken up on February 23. For both the Assembly byelections and the local body elections, electronic voting machines would be used.

The outcome of both the bypolls and the ZP/TPs will once again prove to be a litmus test for the popularity of the Siddaramaiah government. The Congress, after managing to gain control over the BBMP despite the BJP emerging the number in terms of seats, is facing the polls with more confidence.

(Agencies)

DMK, Congress join hands for Tamil Nadu assembly polls

by

Congress-DMK

Chennai: Congress and DMK today entered into an alliance to face the coming Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, joining hands after three years.

Senior Congress leader and leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad met DMK president M Karunanidhi at his residence and announced the tie-up with the regional party which he described as “the most dependable partner”.

Azad told reporters after meeting the DMK patriarch here that issues such as seat sharing and being part of the DMK led government were not a priority now and that the main goal was to ensure that DMK comes to power.

He said that the election would be fought under the DMK leadership and put on Karunanidhi’s party the responsibility of roping in more constituents into this alliance, including DMDK.

As to what had changed between 2016 and 2013 when DMK snapped ties accusing the Congress of betraying Sri Lankan Tamils, Azad said that there were “compulsions and pressures” in politics and that the two parties had won elections together in the past also.

The DMK-Congress split had also come against the backdrop of the arrests of former Union Minister A Raja and Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi, a Rajya Sabha MP, in the alleged spectrum allocation scam.

Congress had contested the last Lok Sabha elections on its own and had drawn a blank. It had contested the last Assembly elections along with DMK but secured just five seats. Assembly strength in the state is 234.

Congress is out of power in the key southern state for nearly five decades and has generally been aligning with either of the Dravidian party- DMK or AIADMK. It has contested alone too but without much success.

(PTI)

Devadasi system still prevalent among Hindus; stop it: Supreme Court

by

devdasi

New Delhi: Condemning the prevalence of the illegal practice of “dedicating” young girls as Devadasis in Hindu society, the Supreme Court on Friday described the practice as an “evil” done to women, who were later even subjected to sexual exploitation and pushed into prostitution.

Taking a stern view, a Bench of Justices F.M.I. Kalifulla and S.A. Bobde directed all States and Union Territories, especially Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, to strictly enforce the Centre’s to check “undesired and unhealthy” practice of forcing young girls to serve as Devadasis.

A devadasi is a girl “dedicated” to worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication takes place in a ceremony which is similar in some ways to marriage. In most of the cases devadasis are being used as prostitutions.

(Agencies)

CM to be under I-T dept spotlight after ‘gift’ claim

by

Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: After making a statement that the expensive wrist watch that he used to wear until recently was a gift, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah appears to be in a soup.

According to the Income Tax Act 1961, a person has to pay tax if he or she receives a gift costing more than Rs 50,000. However, tax exemption can be availed if the gift is from one of the family members.

It is said that now Siddaramaiah has to prove whether he has paid the tax if the expensive watch was a gift from a friend or “somebody” else. If it is within the family, he must have the bill. Spouse, brothers and sisters of one’s parents, one’s lineal descendants (including spouse) and lineal descendants (including spouses) of one’s spouse come in the bracket of family members according to the Income Tax Act.

Even if the gift is within the family, taxmen normally verify the source of money for the purchaser, official sources in the I-T department said.

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has been claiming that the chief minister’s watch was a diamond-studded Hublot costing a whopping Rs 60 lakh to Rs 70 lakh.

Besides, he charged that the chief minister’s sunglasses cost Rs 1.5 lakh and claimed that he had proof to substantiate his charges. But Siddaramaiah has been dismissing the charges as not true and offered to sell them to the JD(S) leader at Rs 5 lakh if he was ready to buy them.

It is however not clear whether Siddaramaiah has declared having received these expensive gifts in his affidavit of assets and liabilities before the Karnataka Lokayukta.

Public servants have to file the affidavit every year according tothe Karnataka Lokayukta Act. And the chief minister has not revealed as to when he received the gifts. However, the details have not been made public.

Sources in the JD(S) said the party would soon come out with more details as to when and who gifted the watch to Siddaramaiah.

The JD(S) had released a video clipping of Siddaramaiah sporting the watch when he visited former MP H?Vishwanath at a hospital in Mysuru.

According to party sources, Siddaramaiah visited the hospital about 8 to 10 months ago. But the watch he offered to auction was a gold watch and not the diamond-studded watch.

(Agencies)

JNU students union president arrested for Afzal Guru event

by

Kanhaiya Kumar

New Delhi: JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on Friday in connection with a case of sedition and criminal conspiracy over holding of an event at the prestigious institute against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

The case was registered yesterday under Section of 124 A (sedition) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC against unknown persons at Vasant Kunj (North) Police station following complaints by BJP MP Maheish Girri and ABVP.

“Kanhaiya Kumar has been arrested in connection with the case,” a senior police official said.

Two policemen in plain clothes came to the JNU campus today and picked up Kumar for questioning. He was later arrested, sources said.

A group of students on Tuesday held an event on the JNU campus and allegedly shouted slogans against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in 2013.

The event occurred despite varsity administration having cancelled the permission following a complaint by ABVP members, who termed the activity as “anti-national”.

(Agencies)

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives