Submitted by narendramodifacts on Fri, 12/06/2019 - 00:00
Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code defines "sedition", roughly, to be the act of inciting disaffection towards the government. The sedition law has been used as a tool to stifle protest and freedom of expression by consecutive governments in India. In particular it has been widely misused since the Narendra Modi government came to power at the centre in 2014.
'In a private event held in New York City on Saturday, 23rd November, the consul general of India in New York, Sandeep Chakravorty, made the outrageous remarks of following Israel’s model in Kashmir, in the context of return of Kashmiri Pandits [members of the Hindu Brahmin community who were forced to leave the State in the late 80s due to religious violence]. While he did not specify whether he is referring to Israel as such or the settlements in the West Bank, in his capacity as an Indian diplomat, Mr Chakravorty advocated for Israel’s policies i.e.
'For the past few years, countries like the United States and Britain have been gripped by allegations that Russia interfered in their elections. Even as that controversy is yet to die down, a new and rather unlikely candidate for election interference has emerged: India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. In the United Kingdom, the President of the Overseas Friends of the BJP, Kuldeep Singh Shekhawat has made it clear that his organisation will be playing an active part in the upcoming General Election by supporting the Conservatives over the left-leaning Labour Party...'
'Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations next year...'
'An EU non-profit group researching disinformation campaigns has said that the controversial European parliamentarians’ visit to Kashmir is linked to a network of fake local media networks and think-tanks across the world. Last month, the Indian government allowed a group of Members of European Parliament, a majority of whom were from far-right parties, to visit Kashmir for the first time since the state was put under lockdown following the reading down of Article 370...
'...Last week, a UK support group for the BJP, India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party, said it was campaigning for the Tories in 48 marginal seats. It also emerged that WhatsApp messages were circulating among British Hindus urging them to vote against Labour, accusing it of being “anti-India”, raising fears that tensions are being stoked ahead of the election. But when the Guardian visited the north-west London suburb of Harrow on Monday, home to the highest density of Gujarati Hindus in the UK, people criticised the BJP’s involvement.
[Quite a bizarre moment when the mouthpiece of the BJP - as Prasar Bharati has become - "warns" a liberal international newspaper about its coverage of an Indian matter. The word "overreach" comes to mind.]
'Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati on Saturday warned British daily The Guardian against “provoking communal hatred in India” through what it described as its “slanted reportage”. It claimed that the newspaper’s narrative had combined India’s matter of national interest with religion...'
'The news of pro-BJP groups in the United Kingdom (UK) campaigning for Conservative Party candidates ahead of the country’s general elections, scheduled for 12 December, has sparked fears of “foreign interference” in the poll process. Groups such as the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) UK and an umbrella religious charity group, the National Council of Hindu Temples (NCHT), are actively campaigning for the Conservatives in 48 seats that are expected to witness tight contests.
'The Narendra Modi government has revoked the Overseas Citizen of India card status held by journalist and author Aatish Taseer, in what can be held as the direct fallout of his election-time cover story on the prime minister for TIME magazine. This could mean that Taseer can be banned from visiting India in the future, reported PTI... His father’s identity as a liberal politician in Pakistan has not only been an enduring subject for Taseer’s essays and novels, it also finds mention in the writings of his mother Tavleen, who is often vocal in support of the Modi regime.
'After the Bengaluru police arrested 60 people on October 26 on the suspicion of being undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants, reports say that several apartment complexes in the city have decided not to employ Bengali-speaking people, especially minorities, as domestic help or labourers. According to Deccan Herald, which accessed internal communication and emails among several apartment dwellers, plans were being made to enforce an informal ban from Monday.
