NEWS
DIGEST, Afternoon
06 March 2019: 28 Jamadiul-II 1440:Vol:11, No:144
INDIA
Babri Masjid title suit appeals: SC reserves order
on mediation
New Delhi:The Supreme Court today pressed for
a compromise on the Ayodhya title suits dispute, with Justice S.A. Bobde on a
Constitution Bench, saying the court is only concerned about the present state
of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case and not the past history of Mughal invasion
and conquests of Babur. Justice Bobde is part of the 5-judge Constitution Bench
led by CJI Ranjan Gogoi, which reserved for orders the question whether
decades-old dispute, primarily between the Hindu and Muslim communities, should
be sent for mediation.To a lawyer appearing for one of the Hindu parties, who
said the mediation effort was bound to fail as the dispute was about religious
sentiments, Justice Bobde retorted, "Do you think we are not as religious
as you... We may be more religious than you". Justice Bobde said,
"Primarily this is not about the 1,500 sq. ft. of disputed land, but about
religious sentiments. We know its impact on public sentiment, on body politic.
We are looking at minds, hearts and healing, if possible."When the lawyer
continued to press on the injustices meted out by "Muslim invaders",
Justice Bobde shot back, "Don't give us any history. We have no control of
the past. We had no control over Babur invading... What we have control of is
the dispute now and here."Judge said the proposed efforts for mediation
should not be pre-judged even before it started. "Are you not pre-judging
the situation even before mediation has started" he asked lawyer. Hindu
parties, however, seemed unconvinced about the court's suggestion for a negotiated
compromise with Muslim community. Even Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, on the Bench,
expressed doubts about the binding nature of a compromise. But Justice Bobde
intervened to observe that every community is represented by their respective
bodies in the court in the Ayodhya dispute, which is originally in the nature
of a representative suit.The SC considered the possibility of appointing more
than one mediator and asked the parties to suggest names "in the
event" it orders in favour of a mediation. It said an order would be
pronounced "shortly".Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for UP Govt,
said the path of mediation was both "imprudent and inadvisable."But
senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan, appearing for appellant M. Siddique, interjected
and strongly objected to the presence of Mehta on the case. "This is
unacceptable. He is Solicitor General of India. He is the statutory receiver.
It is on record that UP govt is uninterested in dispute," Dhawan
protested.thehindu
SC reserves order on whether Ayodhya title dispute
should be settled through mediation
Modi Govt claims in SC that Rafale papers were
stolen, probe underway; Next hearing on March 14
New Delhi: Modi Govt has informed the Supreme
Court that documents linked to the controversial Rafale fighter jet deal were
stolen and that newspapers that published ministry files may have violated
Official Secrets Act. A 3-judge bench of the SC comprising CJI Ranjan Gogoi,
Justice S.K. Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph assembled on Wednesday morning to
hear a review petition in Rafale matter. Senior advocate and review petitioner
Prashant Bhushan started by noting that the SC had unknowingly relied on
“erroneous facts” while delivering its earlier judgement and that new
documents, in the form of news reports published in The Hindu, should now be
taken on record.It was at this point that Attorney General K.K. Venugopal rose
and submitted that documents relied by the petitioners and The Hindu were
stolen from the defence ministry and that the Centre was contemplating a probe
under Official Secrets Act. “I have an objection! These documents were stolen
from the Defence Ministry by some ex employee and the probe is ongoing. These
documents are marked secret and were published by 2 papers…this is an offence
under Official Secrets Act.We would be launching prosecution”, Venugopal was
quoted as saying by LiveLaw. According to a Bar & Bench report, the
attorney general noted that action may be taken against 2 papers which
published documents regarding the Rafale negotiations and its pricing, and that
action was also warranted against the senior counsel.In response to this,CJI
Gogoi noted that first publication of the Rafale file nothings was done on Feb
8.“What have you done till now? You say the papers were stolen, what have you
done?” CJI asked. To which the attorney general responded that he will find
out.After breaking for lunch, back-and-forth between Venugopal and bench continued,
centering around the admissibility of documents that had been obtained through
illegal means. In a hypothetical example, CJI Gogoi highlighted that if an
accused stole a document to prove his innocence, it should be admitted in
court.“An accused is having difficulty in proving his innocence. He steals a
document and shows it to judge. The document clearly shows he is innocent.Should
judge not admit document,” CJI asked.After Bhushan resumed arguments, the SC
indicated that he should argue for the moment on the basis that the stolen
documents cannot be used. The bench noted that it will decide later on whether
the review petition can be argued with those documents. After ex BJP minister
Arun Shourie made arguments to effect that if the petitioners had documents to
show Govt’s facts were wrong, they had a right to place those papers before the
court. With time running out, bench then adjourned the next hearing to March
14. thewire
How can we fight (Pak) F-16s without
rafale?centre argues in top court
No bank guarantees meant a more expensive new
Rafale deal: The Hindu report
In its final report submitted to Defence
Ministry on July 21, 2016, 7-member Indian Negotiating Team (INT) estimated the
cost of loading bank guarantees, which French commercial suppliers with backing
from French Govt refused to do, as €574 million. This made €7.87 billion
inter-Govtal agreement signed on Sept.23, 2016 by NDA Govt for the aircraft and
weapons packages for the 36 fly-away Rafale fighter jets more expensive by
€246.11 million than the estimated aligned cost of the Rafale aircraft deal
initiated by UPA Govt.“Report of INT on Procurement of 36 Rafale Aircraft for
Indian Air Force” is a detailed and revealing document to which The Hindu has
access. The report states in paragraph 69: “Final offer of 7878.98 M€
(excluding additional mandatory weapons supplies of 10.55 M€) is 327.89 M€
lower than the aligned cost of 8205.87 M€ with respect of MMRCA [Medium Multi
Role Combat Aircraft] offer without taking into account the impact of BG [Bank
Guarantees], which has been brought out at Para-23 above [emphasis added].”In
fact, INT report elaborates in paragraphs 21, 22, and 23 on how it arrived at
€574 million as the cost of loading the bank guarantee. The computations were
done on “an annual bank commission rate of 2% including confirmation charges by
an Indian bank, as communicated by SBI on 02 March 2016,” and the total
commercial impact of bank guarantees was worked out to a substantial 7.28% of
the contract value.INT report reveals that Indian negotiators repeatedly
pressed French side to provide bank guarantees. Ministry of Law & Justice
had advised in writing, in Dec.2015, that as a legal safeguard Govt or
sovereign guarantees should be obtained from France “in view of the Contract
involving huge pay-outs value of procurement price before actual delivery of
supplies and services, which de facto meant advance payment.” With the French
side flatly refusing to accept this demand made during the negotiations, Indian
negotiators did their best to secure bank guarantees, which had been included
in the original MMRCA proposal made by Dassault Aviation.INT contended at one
point that “the best way to resolve the concerns of the Ministry of Law &
Justice and difference in the opinion of both sides with respect to the impact
of BG loading is to provide BG and the confirmation charges would be borne by
the Indian side.” This again proved to be of no avail.The final INT report is
silent on why the commercial impact of loading the bank guarantees was not
factored into its exercise of comparing the costs of the new deal and the
original MMRCA proposal. The same failure to explain the substantial missing
factor in the aligned cost comparison is encountered in the Comptroller and
Auditor General of India’s report on the Rafale deal presented in Parliament on
Feb.13, 2019. The Hindu
Modi misused Rafale deal to benefit firrm:Congress
Rafale documents: we are committed to protecting
our sources, says N. Ram,of The Hindu Group
Without Rafale,how can we resist F-16s:Centre
to SC
Delhi Fire: Important files, documents feared
destroyed in CGO complex fire
A fire broke out today at office of Ministry
of Social Justice in South Delhi's CGO complex, causing the death of a CISF
sub-inspector and sparking fears that several important files and documents may
have been destroyed. Fire broke out on the fifth floor of 11-storey Pandit
Deendayal Antyodaya Bhawan that houses the office of Department of Empowerment
of Persons with Disabilities and other important Govt offices.CISF
Sub-Inspector MP Godara had fallen unconscious after inhaling toxic gases when
he went to take stock of the situation. He was taken to AIIMS, where he died,
officials said.According to a ministry official, 80% of the entire B1 wing has
been gutted and several files and documents have been destroyed."However,at
this moment, it cannot be said that how much has been the damage but surely
several files and documents may have been destroyed in the fire. We are not
allowed to enter inside as it is sealed. An assessment can only be done once we
go inside and check," the official said.Offices of the Drinking Water and
Sanitation Ministry, Forest Ministry and a branch of IAF are located in Pandit
Deendayal Antyodaya Bhawan, previously known as Paryavaran Bhawan. This event
comes at a time when questions are being raised about the airstrikes undertaken
by IAF and the close connection between the two events has raised many
eyebrows.nationalheraldindia
Images show madrasa buildings still standing
at Balakot: US satellite operator
New Delhi: High-resolution satellite images
reviewed by Reuters show that a religious school run by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)
in northeastern Pakistan appears to be still standing days after India claimed
its warplanes had hit the Islamist group’s training camp on the site and killed
a large number of militants.The images produced by Planet Labs Inc, a San
Francisco-based private satellite operator, show at least 6 buildings on the
madrassa site on March 4, 6-days after the airstrike.Until now, no
high-resolution satellite images were publicly available. But the images from
Planet Labs, which show details as small as 72 cm, offer a clearer look at the
structures the Indian Govt said it attacked.The image is virtually unchanged
from an April 2018 satellite photo of the facility. There are no discernible
holes in the roofs of buildings, no signs of scorching, blown-out walls,
displaced trees around the madrassa or other signs of an aerial attack.The
images cast further doubt on statements made over the last 8 days by the Indian
Govt of PM Narendra Modi that the raids, early on Feb.26, had hit all the
intended targets at the madrassa site near Jaba village and the town of Balakot
in Pakistan.India’s foreign and defence ministries did not reply to emailed
questions sent in the past few days seeking comment on what is shown in the satellite
images and whether they undermine its official statements on the
airstrikes.Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at
the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, who has 15 years’ experience
in analysing satellite images of weapons sites and systems, confirmed that
high-resolution satellite picture showed structures in question. “High-resolution
images don’t show any evidence of bomb damage,” he said. Lewis viewed three
other high-resolution Planet Labs pictures of the site taken within hours of
the image provided to Reuters. Govt sources told Reuters last week that 12
Mirage 2000 jets carrying 1,000 kg bombs carried out the attack. A warhead of
that size is meant to destroy hardened targets such as concrete shelters. Lewis
and Dave Schmerler, a senior research associate at James Martin Center for
Nonproliferation studies who also analyses satellite images, said weapons that
large would have caused obvious damage to the structures visible in the
picture.“If the strike had been successful, given information we have about
what kind of munitions were used, I would expect to see signs that buildings
had been damaged,” Lewis added.“I just don’t see that here.”Reuters
Families of soldiers’ killed in Pulwama attack
seek proof of Balakot airstrike
After conflicting claims in media reports,
several families of CRPF soldiers killed in Pulwama attack, have started
demanding proof of the Balakot airstrike on JeM camp. "Like in our case
(Pulwama) we saw someone 's hands, someone's limbs, we need to see something
from the other side. Someone took responsibility for the bomb attack almost
immediately. I am sure the strikes have happened but where have they done it?
There should be clear proof. Until there is proof, how can we accept it? Pakistan
says there is no damage to them so how can we accept it unless there is
proof," questioned Ram Raksha, the sister of Ram Vakeel, a deceased CRPF
jawan from UP, was quoted as saying by NDTV. "Show us, only then we will
get peace and know that my brother's killing has been avenged.""We
are not satisfied. So many sons died. We saw no one dead. There are no dead
bodies on the other side. In fact, there was no confirmed news. We need to see
this on TV. And we need to be told at our homes. We need to see the dead bodies
of the terrorists," mother of Pradeep Kumar, Sulelata, in her 80s, told
NDTV.“As evidence, we have received the bodies of our jawans after Pulwama
attack, but there is no such evidence of the airstrikes in Pakistan,” reported
TOI quoting Geeta Devi, widow of another slain soldier, Ram
Vakeel.nationalheraldindia
UP deputy CM Maurya calls Pulwama attack 'big
accident'; Digvijaya retweets his video
New Delhi: A day after some BJP leaders and PM
Narendra Modi targeted Congress leader Digvijaya Singh for calling Pulwama
strike an "accident", a video has surfaced showing their own leader
and UP deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya
calling the Feb.14 attack a "big accident"."There was no lapse
in security and it was a 'badi durghatna' (big accident) involving our CRPF
jawans. PM had said that the armed forces have been given a free hand. Whatever
action needs to be taken would be done by the armed forces. PM does not need to
say any further," Maurya had said in the video on Feb. 21.On March 4,
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had described the Pulwama attack as an
"accident," drawing sharp criticism from BJP.Digvijaya, who was at
the receiving end of BJP attacks, was quick to retweet the videos of Keshav
Prasad Maurya calling Pulwama a "big accident." Singh also challenged
PM Narendra Modi to file a case against him over allegations from BJP leaders
that he was an anti-national and a Pak supporter. TOI
Count of dead at Balakot:Within BJP, some
de-escalation
Pak bans Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa, FIF
Pakistan Govt Tuesday formally banned Hafiz
Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa and its affiliate Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation under
Anti Terrorism Act 1997. The updated National Counter Terrorism Authority
(NACTA) list shows JuD and FIF as the 69th and 70th outfit banned by the
Pakistan Interior Ministry.The development comes after list updated on Monday
showed that organisations were not banned despite Govt announcing on Feb.21
that JuD and FIF be notified as proscribed outfits.indian express
Pak puts Jaish chief Masood Azhar's brother,
son in ‘preventive custody’, bans Saeed’s JuD
Mehbooba, Omar Welcome Pak Minister’s Sacking
for Anti-Hindu Remark, Ask Why Bigotry Not Punished Here
Srinagar: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and Omar
Abdullah welcomed the sacking of a provincial minister in Pakistan for his
anti-Hindu remarks but lamented that similar bigotry in India was being
ignored."His comments were repugnant.But at least he got sacked. Here
ministers garland lynchers and the more anti- Muslim and communal you are the
higher your rise will be in terms of status & power," Mufti tweeted.
Pakistan's Punjab province Govt sacked its Information and Culture Minister
Fayyazul Hassan Chohan over his anti-Hindu remarks.Reacting to the sacking,
Abdullah said, in India, a Governor of a state is not even reprimanded for his
public call to boycott and ostracise Kashmiri Muslims."In Pakistan a state
minister is sacked for his remarks against Hindus. In India a state Governor
isn't even reprimanded for his public call to boycott & ostracise all
Kashmiri muslims," Omar tweeted."We like to compare ourselves to
Pakistan so compare this fact as well," Abdullah said.At a press
conference last month, the Pakistan minister was quoted by Samaa news agency,
referring to Hindus as "cow urine-drinking people".PTI
Pompeo's Diplomatic Efforts Over Phone Defused
Indo-Pak Tension: US
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo played an
"essential role" in de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan
last week, according to a top official of the State Department.A State
Department Spokesperson said:"Secretary Pompeo led diplomatic engagement
directly, and that played an essential role in de-escalating the tensions
between 2 sides"."We continue to urge both sides to continue to take
steps to de-escalate the situation and that includes through direct
communication. We believe strongly that further military activity will exacerbate
the situation," he said.PTI
Kartarpur corridor: Pak says its delegation
will visit India on March 14 to discuss draft deal
Islamabad has said a Pakistani delegation will
visit New Delhi on March 14 to discuss a draft agreement about Kartarpur
corridor. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said an Indian delegation
will visit Islamabad on March 28 to discuss the deal.It also said that its
envoy to India, Sohail Mahmood, will return to New Delhi after “completion of
consultations” in Islamabad. scroll.in
Mehbooba leads protest against ban on JK Jamaat
PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti today led a protest
against the ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami J&K, and called for the release of
its arrested leaders, ANI reported.She held the protest in Anantnag district of
South Kashmir. A large number of workers and leaders of PDP participated in
protest, according to Greater Kashmir.Mufti demanded that Govt show citizens
the evidence and chargesheet based on which the leaders of the banned group
were arrested. “We won’t let this hooliganism continue,” Mufti told reporters.
“We will go to district level now, then we will go to every corner of Kashmir.
Elderly people who have been arrested must be released.”scroll.in
Ban on J&K Jamaat-e-Islami puts future of
over 1 lakh students at risk in Kashmir
Srinagar: Immediate effect of the ban on
Jamaat-e-Islami J&K is being felt by children attending schools that are
said to be run by the socio-religious organisation. According to reports, at
least 20 schools run by Jammat’s education wing Falah-e-Aam Trust (FAT) have
been seized by the authorities in various districts of the state. However, FAT
has maintained that it has no affiliation with JeI. Sources said that at least
350 schools are currently being run by Trust with over 10,000 teachers and over
one lakh students.FAT Chairman Mohammad Maqbool said most of the students are
either orphans or students belonging to poor families. The trust, he said, is
imparting education to children without any biases. “I want to make it clear
that we have no affiliation with Jamaat. We don’t know why we are being
targeted,” he said adding that Govt must consider the future of thousands of
children and teachers.A teacher working with FAT from Shopian district said a
FAT-run school in his district has over 3000 children. “I can tell you there
must about one lakh students enrolled in FAT-run schools throughout the state.”
said teacher who wished to not be named.The parents of those wards who are
enrolled in the schools run by FAT are anxious about the future of their
kids.“My 2 kids were enrolled in a FAT-run school since it was sealed by the
authorities yesterday, I don’t know what to do know,” said Mushtaq Ahmad of
Ganderbal district.An alumnus of FAT said "banning the JeI’s educational
institutions in the J&K can be disastrous for the downtrodden section of
the society as thousands of students education is at stake and hundreds of
teachers would lose their source of income." Following the ban, the alumni
of the schools run by FAT have penned an open letter to Govt of India and
J&K Govt demanding the schools be spared from the ban. The letter is signed
by the former students spread across the world, including leading universities
like Harvard University.TwoCircles.net
All J&K parties want simultaneous polls: EC
Jammu: Concluding the Election Commission’s
2-day visit to J&K, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora said all
political parties have urged the poll panel to hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and
Assembly polls “at the earliest”.According to sources, both PDP and BJP
supported simultaneous polls. The EC will take a final decision this week, said
sources. indian express
India's unemployment rate rose to 7.2% in Feb:CMIE
New Delhi:Unemployment rate in India rose to
7.2% in Feb.2019,the highest since Sept.2016, and up from 5.9% in February
2018, according to data compiled by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy
(CMIE) that was released on Tuesday.The unemployment rate has climbed despite a
fall in the number of job seekers, Mahesh Vyas, head of the Mumbai-based think
tank told Reuters, citing an estimated fall in the labour force participation
rate. Number of employed persons in India was estimated at 400 million in
Feb.compared with 406 million a year ago, he said.CMIE numbers are based on a survey
of tens of thousands of households across India. The figures are regarded by
many economists as more credible than the jobless data produced by the
govt.When Govt has released official data for the jobless rate in the past it
has tended to be out-of-date. But recently it withheld a batch of data because
officials said they needed to check its veracity.Reuters
SC
notice on plea on Muslims' exclusion from modified Foreigners Rules
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has sought
response from Central and Assam Govts on the exclusion of Muslims from two
notifications related to Passport Rules and Foreigners Rules that allow
religious minorities facing persecution in neighbouring countries to stay in
India even if they had entered without valid documents. The bench of CJI Ranjan
Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna has issued notice to the 2 Govts on a petition
filed by the Assam State Jamiat Ulema challenging the relaxation in the
Passport Rules and Foreigners Rules that allows religious minorities, except
Muslims, facing persecution, particularly in the neighbouring countries, to
continue to stay in India.Petitioner has described modification to Passport
Rules and Foreigners Rules as discriminatory.The court tagged the plea by Assam
State Jamiat Ulema with the one filed by the Nagarikatwa Aain Songsudhan
Birodhi Mancha (Forum Against Citizenship Act Amendment Bill), which too has
challenged the amendments to Passport Rules and Citizens Rules framed under the
respective statutes.IANS
Bulandshahr: Sedition charge dropped against
all 38 accused as UP Police fails to get sanction from govt
A court in Bulandshahr has dropped the
sedition charge against 38 people accused of violence in Bulandshahr in which a
police inspector and a civilian were killed, their lawyer claimed on Tuesday.
UP Police is yet to take sanction from the state Govt for sedition charges
against all accused in Bulandshahr violence. Local court pulled up the state
police for adding IPC section 124A (sedition) in chargesheet without taking
sanction from the state govt. Police and public prosecutor, however, maintained
no charge had been dropped and they were awaiting permission from the state govt.They
said "we have the authority to add sedition charges in the chargesheet. We
have to give evidence to the Govt to take their sanction for the charge of
sedition." They confirmed that they will soon be taking sanction from the
state Govt for the same. When asked why the delay in notifying the state Govt
took place, the police replied that "there is other work also."A
total of 38 people, including local BJP and Bajrang Dal leaders, were arrested
for the violence that broke out in Siyana tehsil of Bulandshahr on Dec.3,
leading to the killing of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and villager Sumit
Singh.indiatoday
UP: At 10, Muslims may form big block of BSP
LS candidates
BSP has declared Muslim Lok Sabha incharges
for 6 constituencies, and the number may go up to 10. In BSP, LS in-charge
becomes the party candidate from that constituency. Of 38 seats BSP is
contesting in UP, 10 are reserved constituencies, leaving 28 in the party’s
kitty to be distributed among others. Out of the 28, 9 are from Brahmins. BSP
is set to field around 9-10 Muslims, leaving 10-odd seats to accommodate other
castes, including OBCs.Giving 9 tickets to Brahmins is understandable since
Brahmins have voted for Mayawati before, but she hasn’t been able to woo the
Muslims despite luring them with more tickets in past. Muslims form 19% of the
voters in UP.TOI
After Wipe-Out in 2014, UP's Muslim Candidates
Remain Liabilities in 2019:Mohammad Faisal
PM Modi Wants to Replace Constitution With Manusmriti:
Dalit MP Savitri Phule
Lucknow: Bahraich Lok Sabha MP, Savitri Bai
Phule, who recently joined the Congress after resigning from BJP, has accused
PM Narendra Modi of attempting to change the Constitution of India.In an
interview, the sitting dalit MP said that it was not BJP which was governing
the country, but RSS that was ruling India, with its members, including Modi
and some party top brass trying their best to replace the Constitution of India
framed by Babsaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar with Manusmriti, an ancient text based on
which many Hindu laws were framed during colonial rule.Newsclick
218 cases of hate crimes reported against
Dalits, Muslims, other in India in 2018; UP tops, followed by Gujarat,
Rajasthan, TN, Bihar: Amnesty India
Over 200 alleged cases of hate crimes were
reported in 2018 against people from marginalised groups, especially Dalits,
with UP recording the highest number of such incidents for the third
consecutive year, Amnesty India said in a new report on Tuesday. Amnesty India,
releasing data recorded on its website, ‘Halt the Hate’, said hate crimes were
reported against people from marginalised communities, which includes Dalits
and Adivasis, members of racial or religious minority groups, transgender
persons and migrants.In 2018, the website documented a total of 218 incidents
of alleged hate crimes. Of these, 142 were against Dalits, 50 against Muslims,
and 8 each against Christians, Adivasis, and others.There were 97 incidents of
assault and 87 cases of killings. Dalit women, in particular, faced a
disproportionate amount of sexual violence, 33 out of 40 such incidents
reported, it said.Cow-related violence and so-called ‘honour’ killings were
among the common instances of alleged hate crimes, the report said.Of all the
states and union territories where hate crime incidents were tracked, the top
five states were UP, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Bihar, it said.PTI
“Manifesto against hate” unveiled; RSS agenda
condemned, justice to Muslims demanded
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/citizen-activists-unveil-manifesto-against-hate/738180.html
New Delhi:A group of citizen-activists has unveiled
their “manifesto against hate” demanding time-bound justice for victims of mob
lynching, fake encounters and “targeted assassinations” and said all
intelligence agencies should be made accountable to Parliament.A 16-page
charter of demands released by community building organisation called United
against Hate here accused RSS of attempting to undermine the Constitution,
trying to impose a “uniform nationalistic idea” on India. Activists urged
anti-BJP and anti-RSS political forces to incorporate their demands in their
respective election manifestos. manifesto, drafted by academics, entrepreneurs,
student activists and advocates, said, “Hate crimes, hate mongering, profiling
of communities and misuse of laws are antithetical to the idea of democracy.
The current offensive on the Republic and its Constitution are part of RSS
agenda to turn our secular democracy into a Hindu Rashtra.” The demands made by
NGO leaders — academics Ghazala Jamil and Apoorvanand, advocate Sanjay Hegde
and mediaperson Urmilesh — are ensure proper investigation of all cases of mob
lynching, constitute high-powered judicial tribunal on hate crimes and targeted
attacks on minorities, constitute an independent judicial tribunal on alleged
encounters, pass Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to
Justice and Reparation) Bill, frame a law against lynching and implement the SC
guidelines on the same. tribune india
Gujarat: Minority community professor loses
race for HOD post in VNSGU
Surat: Despite being the senior most, a
professor from minority community lost race to become head of the mathematics
department at Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU). The university,
based on a report of an inquiry committee, decided to select another professor
as HOD. Earlier, a group of senators had made representation to National
Commission for Minorities in Sept.2018 alleging that Dr MG Timol was not being
made HOD despite being senior most because he belonged to the minority
community. On Tuesday, accepting the report of inquiry committee, VNSGU
syndicate approved appointment of Dr Dilip Joshi as HOD of mathematics dept. Calling
it injustice to the senior most teacher, Rakesh Desai, HoD of English, walked
out from the meeting. Timol, who has teaching in the department since 35 years,
was appointed as in-charge HOD after Harish Doctor retired.TOI
Agartala: Police Files Case After Temporary
Temple Comes up in Muslims Graveyard
Agartala: Police have lodged a case after a
complaint was filed by a graveyard committee here alleging an illegal temple
has been set up on a land being used as a burial ground, officials said on
Tuesday.Officials said the temple is illegal and police have deployed security
personnel at the spot in South Joynagar area of Agartala, the capital city of
BJP-ruled Tripura.Tahar Miah, secretary of the South Joynagar Kabarstan
Suraksha Committee, said the temporary Shiva temple was built there on the eve
of Maha Shivaratri to grab the land used as a graveyard by the minority
community for the last 70 years."We have sought help from the police to
ensure that our burial spot is not affected, since any ownership otherwise
could not be proved in the court of law. We want the entire land to be handed
over to us," said Miah, who lodged the complaint on Monday.PTI
Mecca Masjid blast victims’ kin move HC
against acquitted of all 5 accused, including Assemanand
Hyderabad: Aggrieved family members of the
Mecca Masjid blast victims have knocked the Telangana high court’s door for
justice, appealing against the verdict of the NIA special court, which
acquitted all the 5 accused, including Swami Assemanand, some 10 months ago.
Their petition will come up for hearing on June 4.The kin of the victims
decided to move the HC as there was no indication from either the ministry of
home affairs (MHA) or the NIA about filing a counter against the NIA court
verdict. 4 of them — Osman Shareef, a salesperson from Nawab Saheb Kunta, Syeda
Safia of Jahanuma, Shaik Ateeq, a bangle designer of Mohajir Basti near
Charminar, and Amir Khan, a salesman of Lad Bazar — filed a writ petition
before the HC recently through advocate Maqsood Bin Ahmed. In the petition,
they contended that there was overwhelming evidence against the acquitted and
appealed against the verdict. “Petition is listed for June 4,” Ahmed said.
While Shareef lost his 16-year-old son Mohammed Irfan Shareef, Safia lost her
husband Sajid Ali Khan, a private sector employee. Ateeq’s father Sheikh
Jahangir suffered a severe head injury and Amir lost father Yousuf Khan and
uncle Shafiq-ur-Rehman in the blasts. TOI
12 yrs after Samjhauta blasts, NIA court fixed
March 11 for orders
Panchckula: 12 years after Samjhauta blasts,special
NIA court in Panchkula on Wednesday fixed March 11 for orders in Samjhauta
blasts case. NIA counsel Rajan Malhotra said defence completed their final
arguments on Wednesday and thereafter special NIA Judge Jagdeep Singh fixed
March 11 for orders in Samjhauta blasts case.The blasts on Samjhauta Express
had taken place on Feb.18, 2007, killing 68 people, mostly Pakistanis. The
train was targeted as Pakistani Muslims used to travel by it, as per NIA
chargesheet. TOI
UP: 7 asked to surrender passports after their
madrassa board marksheets found fake
Bareilly:Regional passport office in Bareilly
on Tuesday served notice to 7 residents of Moradabad asking them to surrender
their passports after marksheets of UP Board of Madrassa Education submitted by
them turned out be fake.TOI earlier reported that regional passport office had
received a letter from madrassa education board, in which it had reportedly
verified the marksheets of 51 applicants. However, after passport officials
noticed the signature of registrar on the letter different, they spoke to board
officials, who confirmed that the board office had not issued any such letter
verifying marksheets of applicants.The board office, however, sent a
verification report of marksheets submitted by the 51 applicants last week, of
which the marksheets of seven applicants were found to be fake.TOI
Gujarat: Muslim trust to set up gaushala near
Karjan
Vadodara: At a time when the action of cow
vigilantes have frequently come under scanner and caused tension, an Muslim
trust will for the first time come up with a ‘gaushala’ in the state. The facility
will be located at the Pingalwada village near Karjan in Vadodara district. The
cattle pound will come up under the aegis of the Pir Kayamuddin Dada Trust.
Working for promotion of cow rearing has been a tradition amongst the
descendants of Matauddin Bava, who was fondly called Mota Miyan Bava. The
tradition was carried forward by his sons Nizamuddin Bava and then Kayamuddin
Bava Pirzada. TOI
Are Muslim Women in These Pics Really
Celebrating Mahashivratri? the quint
A post claiming that burqa-clad Muslim women
took out a kanwar yatra on the eve of Mahashivratri on 4 March, this year is
being shared widely on social media.The translation of this post reads, “On the
eve of Mahashivratri in Indore, Muslim mothers and sisters lifted kanwar in
burqa. Won’t you welcome devotees of Shiv, Muslim sisters by writing Om Namah
Shivay?” While the message intends to indicate at a shared communal harmony
between Hindus and Muslims, the truth of this picture is not what has been
claimed in the post shared by scores of people on Facebook.Not only are these
pictures from 2015 and are being falsely circulated again in 2019, but even occasion
mentioned is wrong because context is completely different.According to a
report by HT, Muslim women seen in these pictures are, in fact, participating
in a march taken out by Backward and Minority Finance Corporation and BJP unit
in MP to deliver the message of social harmony among people. Moreover, the
march saw participation from women of different faiths as well, the report
added.
WORLD
Scores of Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa
compound
Scores of Israeli settlers forced their way
into East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Wednesday,
according to a Palestinian official. At least "69 Jewish settlers stormed
the holy compound through the Al-Mugharbah gate," Firas al-Dibs, a
spokesman for Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, a Jordan-run organization responsible for
overseeing the city's Islamic sites, said in a brief statement. Tension has
escalated in Jerusalem since last month when Israeli police briefly shut
Al-Aqsa Mosque’s Rahma Gate on eastern wall of Jerusalem’s Old City, triggering
angry Palestinian protests. Ever since, Israeli authorities have banned scores
of Palestinians, including religious officials, from entering the flashpoint
site. Anadolu Agency
Scholars urge support for Al-Aqsa, Jerusalem
A major bloc of Muslim scholars has called for
rallying support for East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque amid tension in
the Palestinian territories over the holy site. "Our nation faces threats
against its presence, entity and identity, Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque,"
the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) said in a statement on
Wednesday.Doha-based union called for defense against "serious projects
that target the Islamic and Arab identity of Jerusalem." IUMS went on to
call for arranging various activities, including dedicating the Friday sermons
to show solidarity with Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian cause.
Anadolu
UN Gaza report draws international outrage
London;Anger has been mounting worldwide over
a recent UN inquiry which found that Israeli security forces committed serious
violations of human rights and international humanitarian law during Great
March of Return rallies in 2018, with many calling for those responsible to be
held accountable.“Report reinforces all previous Palestinian and international
reports that Israel is committing war crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza
Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem,” said Zaher Birawi, head of the
International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza (ICBSG). President of
Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS), Bertrand Heilbronn, told
Anadolu Agency that the latest report should be adopted by the UNSC.Another
reaction to the latest findings by the UN Commission of Inquiry came from the
Netherlands’ DENK Party, which was founded by Turks and immigrants living in
the country. Anadolu Agency
Israel dubs Hamas-linked TV ‘terrorist group’
Israel has decided to classify the
Hamas-linked Al-Aqsa television channel, which broadcasts from the blockaded
Gaza Strip, as a “terrorist” group. “PM and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
has announced that Hamas's Al-Aqsa channel is a terrorist organization,” the
Israeli Defense Ministry tweeted Wednesday.The move is the first time for a
Palestinian media organization to be designated as a “terrorist group”.Anadolu
Agency
At least 16 killed in bomb, gun attack in Afghanistan
Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked a
construction company office in the Afghan city of Jalalabad on Wednesday
killing 16 employees of Afghan company, a provincial official said.There was no
immediate claim of responsibility.Reuters
Talks with Taliban focus on four key issues to
end the Afghan war: US
US has said the ongoing negotiations with the
Taliban are focused on four interconnected issues, including counterterrorism
and troop withdrawal, that will be key for any future deal to end 17-year war
in Afghanistan. A high-powered American delegation led by Special US
Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has been holding
marathon meetings in Doha, Qatar with a high-level Taliban team led by Mullah
Abdul Ghani Baradar."These discussions are ongoing, and what they're
focusing on are the four interconnected issues that are going to compose any
future agreement, and those four (issues) are counterterrorism, troop
withdrawal, intra-Afghan dialogue and a ceasefire," State Department
Spokesperson Robert Palladino told reporters.PTI
Guardian: Rumours of rift between Saudi King, MBS
The relationship between Saudi King Salman and
his son and heir, Mohammed bin Salman, has been increasingly strained as they
disagree on a number of issues, including the war in Yemen, according to a
Guardian report published on Tuesday.Tensions are said to have come to a head
during King Salman's visit to Egypt last month when his advisors warned of a
potential move against him by the crown prince, the report said, citing an
anonymous source.The king's loyalists were reportedly so alarmed by the threat
that his security detail during the trip was replaced by a team of 30
hand-picked loyalists.Egyptian security guards were also dismissed, the source
told the Guardian.On King Salman's return, MBS was not among the dignitaries
who received the monarch. The source said the pair disagreed over King Salman's
hard line on protesters in Algeria and Sudan, as well as the treatment of
Yemeni prisoners of war.aljazeera
Will raids against Kurdish rebels with Iran:Turkey
Turkey and Iran will carry out a joint
operation against Kurdish rebels, according to Ankara's interior minister. Turkey
has battled the Kurdish PKK for decades, while the Iranian security forces have
also fought its affiliate, Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK). Both groups
have bases in neighbouring Iraq."God willing, we will carry out a joint
operation against PKK together with Iran," Interior Minister Suleyman
Soylu told state media.Turkey and many of its Western allies have listed PKK as
a "terrorist" group.aljazeera
Iraq: Kids tortured over suspected ISL links,
HRW
Evidence emerging from Iraq shows how
juveniles are being tortured into confessing to crimes, including being involved
with the ISIL.Since 2016, HRW says 41 juveniles have reported being tied in
stress positions, given electric shocks and beaten by Kurdish security forces
with plastic pipes, electric cables, and rods, in order to extract
confessions.The alleged torture occurred at a facility designed to rehabilitate
juveniles. aljazeera
Flash: views &
NEWS
Was the SC Mislead on CAG Report on Rafale? Gaurav
Vivek Bhatnagar
Rafale case: SC adjourns hearing to March 14
after A-G, petitioners engage in slugfest over ‘stolen files’
Ban on Jamaat and Ordinance Reservations: What
Does It Imply?Zubair Sofi
Kashmir
seethes in anger as leaders question timing of ban on J&K
Jamaat-e-Islami:Fayiq Wani, News Nation Exclusive
Medieval European doctors used medical
knowledge from Muslim physicians: Irish Manuscript
'Don't need lessons on patriotism': Journalist
Rahul Kanwal tells Union Minister Goyal
AAP & Cong Say ‘No Alliance’ in Delhi, But
Deliberations Still On?MEGHNAD BOSE
What Will Come After a US Withdrawal From
Afghanistan?Abdulkader Sinno, Associate Professor at Indiana University,
Bloomington
Needless crackdown on Jamaat-e-Islami? Pushp
Saraf, india legal live
From forest rights to GST and note ban: How
Modi has favoured fat cats and harmed marginalised:Girish Shahane
'Utterly False' Belief in Autism's Link to
Vaccines Debunked Yet Again:The Wire
Cries of ‘Constitutional Fraud’ over Centre’s
Order on Job Reservation in J&K:Mudasir Ahmad
Border Lessons From Wing Commander
Abhinandan's Ordeal:Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee
Rafale case: Shoot the messenger is the new
diktat:Ashlin Mathew
Tamil Nadu: BJP uses triple talaq ordinance to
win over Muslim women
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