Hubballi: In the wake of protests in certain parts of the country in connection with alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad by a suspended BJP spokesperson, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said he has directed police to take all precautions to maintain law and order in the state.
A high-level meeting has been held with police top brass in the state to take precautionary measures in the backdrop of violent incidents in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on Friday protesting the alleged derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammad, Chief Minister Bommai told reporters here.
“Presently, the situation is peaceful in the state. The police have been instructed to deploy the forces in sensitive areas. The deployment of Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) contingents is already on. I have spoken to Police Commissioner of Hubballi-Dharwad and the SP of Dharwad to take appropriate measures,” the Chief Minister said.
The inspectors of all police stations have been instructed to interact with community leaders of their respective areas to maintain peace and harmony, Bommai said.
Congress expels its Haryana MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi from all party positions for cross-voting
Kuldeep Bishnoi
New Delhi: A day after losing the Rajya Sabha election in Haryana due to cross-voting, the Congress cracked the whip and expelled its legislator Kuldeep Bishnoi from all party positions.
The Haryana Congress has alleged that Bishnoi, an MLA from the Adampur constituency in Hisar, did not vote for the party candidate Ajay Maken and cross-voted in favour of Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma, who was supported by the ruling BJP-JJP combine.
The Congress had 31 MLA and needed as many votes to win the Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana, but one of its legislators cross-voted and another’s vote was cancelled.
“The Congress president has expelled Kuldeep Bishnoi from all his present party positions, including the post of special invitee of the Congress Working Committee, with immediate effect,” a statement from AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said.
Bishnoi had not attended any of the party meetings of its legislators and had said that he has voted as per his conscience.
Hate and unrest not our way: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi, Jun 11: India has always set an example of truth, non-violence and brotherhood before the world and hate and unrest “is not our way”, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday amid reports of violence during protests at various places against controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad.
Protests erupted in several parts of the country on Friday against the controversial remarks on the Prophet by two now-suspended BJP functionaries, leaving a few policemen injured in stone pelting and forcing security forces to resort to lathicharge, tear-gas shelling and firing in the air at some places.
“Bapu’s ideals are the foundation of independent India. Our country has always set an example of truth, non-violence and brotherhood before the world. Hate and unrest is not our way,” Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
“It is the responsibility of all the people of the country to unite India and maintain mutual goodwill,” the former Congress chief added.
The BJP had last Sunday suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal after their controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad.
Fashion designer Prathyusha Garimella found dead in Banjara Hills apartment
Fashion designer Prathyusha Garimella
Hyderabad: A woman fashion designer allegedly died by suicide at posh Banjara Hills here, police said on Saturday.
The 36-year-old woman was found motionless in the washroom by her family members, who informed police.
In a purported suicide note, she mentioned that no one is responsible for her extreme step and that she was feeling lonely and stressed, they said.
The fashion designer is suspected to have ended her life by inhaling some poisonous chemicals and the matter needs to be probed, police added.
A case under Section 174 (police to enquire and report on suicide, etc.) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was registered.
Karnataka records 562 new COVID-19 cases, zero deaths
Bengaluru: Karnataka on Saturday saw a further spike in COVID-19 cases with 562 fresh infections taking the total number of affected people to 39,55,871, the state health department said.
The state had recorded 525 cases on Friday. There were zero fatalities due to coronavirus in the state during the last 24 hours.
Bengaluru urban district alone reported 545 cases, while Mysuru saw four cases, Dakshina Kannada three and Chitradurga two as a total of 12 districts reported fresh COVID cases on the day.
There were zero infections and fatalities in 19 districts of the state.
The health department said 352 people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 39,12,376 till date.
The number of active cases stood at 3,387 and the positivity rate for the day was 2.07 per cent.
As many as 27,123 tests were conducted, including 20,659 RT-PCR tests. The total number of tests conducted till date were 6.66 crore.
There were 48,604 inoculations, taking the total vaccination count to 11.01 crore so far, the department said.
Procession taken out in Bhadohi in support of Nupur Sharma despite Sec 144, case filed
Bhadohi (UP) : A case was registered at the Gopiganj police station after a procession, in support of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, was taken out on Saturday evening despite prohibitory orders being in place, an official said.
Those who took part in the procession told reporters that the entire Hindu society was supporting Nupur Sharma and the BJP needed to respect her.
The BJP had last Sunday suspended Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal after their controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammad.
Protests erupted in several parts of India on Friday against the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad, leaving two persons dead and a few policemen injured in stone-pelting while security forces had to resort to lathi-charge, tear gas shelling and firing in the air at some places.
Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar said CrPC Section 144 is already in force in Bhadohi district and there has been a ban on any kind of procession and demonstration.
No permission was taken for this procession, he said, adding a case has been registered in this regard at the Gopiganj police station and strict action will be taken based on a video of the procession.
So far 25 locals have been identified through the video, the SP said.
Eminent personalities voice dissent over Mamata becoming chancellor of state-run varsities
Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata: A group of renowned personalities of West Bengal have expressed discontent over the appointment of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as chancellor of state-run universities, arguing that the move will “deal a blow” to the varsities’ autonomy and is against the spirit of democracy.
They also said the decision of the state cabinet ignores the long-standing demand of people to have an eminent educationist in that post.
“We are surprised and stunned over the recent decision to appoint the chief minister as chancellor of state universities. We all know about the imperatives of autonomy and freedom of educational institutions, and such a decision will deal a blow to that, and is against the spirit of democracy,” they said in a statement on Saturday.
Among the 40 signatories are actor Kaushik Sen, directors Anik Dutta and Raja Sen, painter Samir Aich, thespian Bibhas Chakraborty, social activist Miratun Nahar and rights activist Sujato Bhadra.
If an educationist is appointed to that post, it will prevent outside interferences in the running of the institutions, they said.
Since coming to power, the present regime has been putting up its own people to run primary and secondary education boards, school managing committees and governing bodies in higher educational institutions, the statement claimed.
“The decision to appoint the education minister as the ‘Visitor’ of private universities is also fraught with the similar danger of meddling into their affairs,” it said.
“I am opposed to this appointment, as much as we are against the practice of the governor becoming the chancellor, Kaushik Sen told PTI.
The government is likely to move a bill in the ongoing monsoon session of the assembly with regard to the cabinet decision to replace Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar with the chief minister as the chancellor of state-run varsities.
An amendment bill to remove Dhankhar as the ‘Visitor’ of private universities in the state and appoint Education Minister Bratya Basu in his place is also expected to be tabled during the session.
Meanwhile, Secretary of the ‘Save Education Committee’ Tarun Naskar said educationists would gather outside the Calcutta University campus on June 13 at 2 pm to protest the move.
Bhiwandi police summon Nupur Sharma, Naveen Kumar Jindal over remarks against Prophet Mohammad
Nupur Sharma
Thane: The Bhiwandi police in Maharashtra have summoned suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma to record a statement on Monday in connection with her alleged objectionable remarks against Prophet Mohammad, an official said on Sunday.
Besides, expelled BJP functionary Naveen Kumar Jindal has also been asked by the Bhiwandi police in Thane district to record his statement on June 15 over his alleged controversial tweets against Prophet Mohammad, senior police inspector Chetan Kakade told reporters.
The Bhiwandi police had registered a case against Sharma following a complaint lodged by a representative of the Raza Academy on May 30, he said.
They had also registered a case against Jindal, the official said.
Earlier, the Mumbra police in Thane asked Sharma to appear before them on June 22 to record her statement over her remarks.
The Mumbai Police have also summoned her to record a statement on June 25 in connection with her remarks about the Prophet during a TV debate triggered a huge controversy.
The police had asked for a video of the debate from the news channel concerned.
The BJP had on June 5 suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled Delhi BJP media head Jindal after their alleged derogatory remarks against the Prophet led to an outrage in India and Gulf countries.
Goal of USD 5 trillion GDP appears to be case of ‘shifting goalposts’: P Chidambaram
New Delhi: With Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran citing the IMF forecast that the Indian economy would cross USD 5 trillion by 2026-27, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday said the goal of a USD 5 trillion GDP appears to be a case of “shifting goalposts” as the original target year was 2023-24.
Speaking at the finance ministry’s iconic week celebrations of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, Nageswaran had said last week that IMF has forecast the Indian economy to cross USD 5 trillion by 2026-27. India’s Gross domestic product (GDP) in dollar terms has already crossed USD 3 trillion.
Reacting to the remarks, Chidambaram said the “goal of a USD 5 trillion GDP appears to be a case of ‘shifting goalposts'”.
The original target year was 2023-24, the former finance minister said, adding that, “We are nowhere near that goalpost.”
“Now, the Chief Economic Adviser has said we will achieve the goal ‘by 2027’,” he said.
“I think each one of the key players has a different goalpost: PM, FM, FS and CEA. Whenever the Economy reaches the milestone, one can say ‘We told you so’!” Chidambaram said.
High time PM breaks ‘silence’ on ‘proliferation’ of Islamophobic incidents: Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi(PTI): Amid outrage over the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad by the BJP’s now-sacked two functionaries, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said it is high time Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on the “proliferation of hate speech and Islamophobic incidents” in the country, asserting that his silence is interpreted by some as condoning what has been happening.
In an interview with PTI, Tharoor said the irony is that in recent years the Indian government has taken “impressive steps” to strengthen relations with Islamic countries, but that risks being “seriously undermined”.
The former Union minister also weighed in on the ongoing debate on the need for blasphemy laws in the country, and said he is not a fan of such laws because the history of such laws elsewhere is littered with their misuse and abuse.
“The existence of a blasphemy law tends to encourage both excessive frivolous litigation and mob misconduct by those who take the law into their own hands. I think our current hate speech laws and Section 295A are quite adequate to deal with such misbehaviour,” Tharoor said.
The issue is of the willingness of the police and local authorities to enforce the law, without fear or favour, against whoever violates it, he said.
“Exemplary action against any and all offenders will have a salutary effect in reducing such cases in future,” the Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.
Asked about the outrage and condemnation from a number of Muslim-majority nations over the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad and calls that Prime Minister Modi should have intervened in the matter when the comments were made, Tharoor said, “I believe it is high time the PM broke his silence on the proliferation of hate speech and Islamophobic incidents in our country, because his silence is interpreted by some as condoning what has been happening.”
“I am sure he (Modi) understands that this kind of divisive rhetoric is undermining his own vision for India’s development and prosperity,” he said.
Social cohesion and national harmony are a must for any nation to progress and grow, Tharoor asserted.
“That is why, in the name of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas’, he must publicly call for a stop to such behaviour,” he said.
Asked about the impact of the row over diplomacy and foreign policy, Tharoor said the irony is that in recent years the Indian government has taken impressive steps to strengthen relations with Islamic countries, especially in the Gulf.
“That risks being seriously undermined, as the media in these countries is replete with stories about the increasing ‘demonisation’ of Muslims in our country,” the former minister of state for external affairs said.
The BJP had last Sunday suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal after their controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad.
Two persons succumbed to gunshot wounds in Jharkhand capital Ranchi and fresh demonstrations were held in West Bengal’s Howrah on Saturday as tension prevailed in several parts of the country, a day after the violent protests against the controversial remarks.
On the protests, Tharoor said section 295A of the Indian Penal Code clearly makes it a criminal offence to outrage the religious feelings of any class of citizens of India ; anyone who by ‘words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, insults or attempts to insult the religion or religious beliefs’ of Indians should have been prosecuted by the police.
“I am glad to see that action is being taken, even if belatedly, against those who injected such toxic elements into our national discourse,” he said.
Asked about the Congress being accused of peddling in ‘soft Hindutva’ in the past and if the party needs to take an aggressive stance on issues of the minorities such as the row over the comments on the Prophet, Tharoor said he believes the Congress has been clear in its denunciation of this recent incident.
“We believe in an inclusive idea of India and should and must speak up whenever that idea is violated by word or deed — whoever does it,” he asserted.
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