'A letter found on Delhi-based activist Rona Wilson documenting an alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to be a “spoof” that was obtained from suspicious sources, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is believed to have told the Pune police during a review of the chargesheet filed in the “urban naxal” cases. The particular e-mail exchange between Maoists and the alleged “urban naxals” had only a single time stamp and not two — from both the receiver and the sender — thereby raising doubts over its authenticity...'
'Stung by criticism over its attempt to rally support for the CAA through a campaign in Mumbai schools, the BJP has taken a step back. An office-bearer who had launched the exercise last week has now postponed a similar programme scheduled for Monday at a Kandivali school. At Shree Dayanand School in Matunga last Friday, many BJP leaders called anti-CAA protesters traitors and asked the 1,000-odd students aged 9-17 and 40 teachers to “protect the country from them”.
'...Put on the back foot by widespread protests against the new Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the BJP’s new strategy appears to be: catch them young. “We must protect our nation from traitors (Bharat ke gaddaron se hume apna desh surakshit rakhna hai),” Sumita Suman Singh, mahamantri of BJP’s Uttar Bharatiy Morcha, told a gathering of about 1,000 of students, aged 9 to 17, and 40 teachers from Shree Dayanand Balak, Balika Vidyalay & Junior College at Matunga yesterday.
' On 27 December, members of the minority morcha of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra held a press conference in Latur. Its district chief, Afzal Khan, and former mayor Akhtar Shaikh released the following statement at the event: “The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) are against the Constitution and against the Muslims. There’s injustice happening to our community.
'Mainstream Indian historiography – whether it is nationalistic, Left or liberal versions – has a problem dealing with the battle of Bhima Koregaon. It doesn’t fit into the narrative of Hindu nationalism or the classic anti-colonialism frame. This historical dilemma is the reason why it is easy for the BJP and the Narendra Modi government to dub an anti-caste battle commemoration as the handiwork of ‘Urban Naxals’ and dangerous. Because Indian history has largely been silent on it... What makes this war complex for Indian historians was the composition of the British Army.
'In an unexpected twist for the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act are raging ahead full steam throughout the country. After the agitation started in Assam, it spread to Delhi, Lucknow, and Karnataka and is now taking place in various parts in Maharashtra. After the peaceful and successful protest in Mumbai yesterday, that saw thousands thronging to the August KrantiMaidan to protest against the CAA, today on December 20, anti-CAA protestors came out in Kurla, Pune and Nagpur in large number...
'Writer Madhu Kishwar, who is followed by over two million Twitter users, on Sunday, 1 December, shared a video stating that soon after Uddhav Thackeray took oath as Maharashtra’s chief minister, the state started witnessing ‘secular activities’. The claim shared along with the video further states that the video is from Kausa Masjid in Mumbra in Thane district where police officers can be seen distributing tasbeehs (collection of beads) after people offered Friday prayers...
'The familiar spectre of caste violence has once again reared its head in Kharda village of Jamkhed Taluka in western Maharashtra, where the same man who five years ago killed a Dalit minor for speaking to his Maratha classmate is now prime accused in the alleged murder of a 40-year-old from the Pardhi community over an alleged money dispute.
'On October 8, Amit Shah addressed a large gathering at Savargaon Ghat in Beed and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the dilution of Article 370. He said with the move, Modi had succeeded in integrating Jammu and Kashmir with India. The visual and aural symbolism at the rally was also all about Article 370. The Bharatiya Janata Party leader was welcomed with 370 cannon shots being fired in the air. At the same time, 370 flags were waved. While Marathwada is facing a severe drought, Shah chose not to speak about it.
'The BJP governments in both the states have followed a similar pattern—sideline laws and policy, and to open up buffer zones and allow construction activity... While climate strikes, green parties and green manifestos are gripping the world, environmental concerns are still not an issue in the Indian elections. Two Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states – Haryana and Maharashtra go to polls on October 21. The battle for the 90-member Haryana Assembly and the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly is being fought amid serious environmental degradation in both the states.
