'A 20-year-old who raised anti-CAA slogans at Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally at Babarpur on Sunday has alleged that he was immediately “pulled from the back and pushed to the ground by people in the audience. Some of them also grabbed chairs to hit me”. He also alleged Delhi Police coerced him to write a letter stating he is mentally unstable. Showing minor injuries he sustained on the face, back and leg, Harjit Singh, who screamed “CAA waapas lo” in the middle of Shah’s address, said he did not anticipate such an aggressive response from the crowd...'
'A video showing Anurag Thakur leading a crowd of BJP supporters into chants of ‘Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maro salon ko’ has gone viral on social media, adding the Union Minister of State for finance’s name to the list of the party’s leaders who have been caught on video using the slogan in the aftermath of the resistance to the Citizenship Amendment Act. The video was reportedly shot during a Delhi election rally, which was also attended by former BJP president and Union home minister Amit Shah...'
'More than 150 lawmakers of the European Union have drafted a five-page resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act, contending that it "marks a dangerous shift in the way citizenship will be determined in India and is set to create the largest statelessness crisis in the world and cause immense human suffering". Accusing the government of "discriminating against, harassing and prosecuting national and religious minorities and silencing any opposition, human rights groups...
'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...'
'...For the uninitiated, Bagga has been notorious in the capital’s political firmament, fomenting trouble from place to place. In 2011, before he was officially part of the BJP, he led an organisation called the Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena and attacked SC advocate Prashant Bhushan tweeting proudly: “"We hit Prashant Bhushan hard in his chamber in Supreme Court. If u will try to break my nation, I will break ur heads.” He had been detained for the incident.
'Days after BJP MLA Arvind Limbavalli tweeted a video of shantytowns in North Bengaluru’s Kariyammana Agrahara area, claiming that the settlements belong to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, the houses were razed to the ground on Sunday and rendered thousands homeless. The electricity and water supply to the location was cut off three days ago. After the demolition of the shanties, the residents, mostly migrants from Assam, Tripura, some even from North Karnataka, were allegedly asked to vacate the land... All the residents have valid identity cards, including Aadhaar, pan and voter ID.
'...'Framed As A Terrorist: My 14-Years Struggle to Prove My Innocence' is a heart wrenching book by Mohammad Aamir Khan written with noted human rights activist Nandita Haskar. The book was published in 2016, making this review a little late in day, yet I share this book review with you because 'Framed As A Terrorist....' is not only a personal account of immense struggle, pain and survival, but it is a profound and eye-opening commentary on working of Indian criminal justice system and Indian judiciary.
'Most of the dead were Muslim daily wagers who succumbed to alleged police bullets. Close to a month after the killings, only three families have received post-mortem reports, say activists... Twenty three people were killed in the brutal state crackdown during the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Uttar Pradesh. Chilling details are now emerging about the kind of repression unleashed in the state that has left many questions unanswered...
'In sanctioning the re-election of Dilip Ghosh as Bengal’s Bharatiya Janata Party president, the party high command has validated his rhetoric of violence and hate. Ghosh’s reappointment for the top job in Bengal comes hot on the heels of his intemperate comments and an open call to violence. Two days ago, at a public meeting in Nadia district, the BJP chief denounced chief minister Mamata Banerjee for not following in the footsteps of the BJP-led governments in UP and Assam and shooting anti-CAA/NRC protesters “like dogs“...'
'When Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government hastily served notices to more than 300 people for allegedly damaging public property during the recent anti-CAA protests, many recalled how hundreds of serious criminal cases against him and his Hindu Yuva Vahini members are still pending. But a bigger indictment than these cases are the annual reports of Uttar Pradesh Police’s intelligence units – which I have accessed – against the Hindu Yuva Vahini, an outfit that Adityanath established...
