11 July 2019:
07 Dhul Qadah 1440:Vol: 11, No:243
INDIA
Babri case: SC to begin day-to-day hearing
from July 25 if panel says talks are not working
New Delhi:A Constitution Bench led by CJI
Ranjan Gogoi today decided to commence hearing Ayodhya title dispute appeals
from July 25 if the mediation committee gives the word that talks with Hindu
and Muslim parties to heal minds and hearts are not working.The Bench asked
Justice (retired) FMI Kalifulla, who heads the SC-appointed mediation
committee, to submit a report on the progress made in the Ayodhya dispute
mediation by July 18.The court added that if Justice Kalifulla, on behalf of
the committee, concluded there was no reason to continue with the mediation,
the Constitution Bench would commence hearing the cross-appeals from July
25.The court’s order to seek a progress report from the committee in a way
jump-starts the case as the panel was earlier given time till August 15 to
engage in talks with the parties for an amicable settlement to heals hearts and
minds.The immediate trigger for today's hearing is an urgent plea made by a
claimant to the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land that the mediation
proceedings were making no headway whatsoever.The committee is in the thick of
its second round of talks. It finished the initial round and filed a interim
status report dated May 7 in the Supreme Court, successfully seeking more time
from it.On July 9, however, Rajendra Singh, survivor of Gopal Singh Visharad,
an original claimant to the dispute who filed a title suit way back in 1950,
said the mediation was making no headway. He asked CJI to stop mediation and
start adjudication on the appeals pending since the past eight years in the
SC.Countering this, senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, for Muslim appellants,
questioned the purpose of the application filed by Singh. “This is just to
intimidate us. Very serious mediation is going on. This application ( Singh’s)
should have ideally asked the court to direct the mediation committee for a
status report, instead it wants the court to entirely scrap the mediation
process. Unhappy parties like them want to scrap the mediation efforts,” Dhavan
submitted.To this, CJI said since the court had constituted the mediation
panel, the court itself would ask the committee for a report.“We are entitled
to know what is happening,” Justice Gogoi addressed Dhavan.the hindu
CBI raids lawyers Indira Jaising, Anand
Grover’s residence, offices in Delhi, Mumbai
New Delhi: CBI
is conducting raids at the residence and office of Supreme Court lawyers
Indira Jaising and Anand Grover in New Delhi and Mumbai in connection with a
foreign funding case. Jaising and Grover run Lawyers Collective, an NGO that
focuses on human rights cases among other issues.“CBI is currently in our
offices and residences in Mumbai and New Delhi,” Jaising said. Providing
further details, officials said the searches are taking place at Nizamuddin
residence and office of Jaising, office of NGO in Jangpura and an office in
Mumbai from 5 in the morning.Grover was booked by the agency for alleged
violations of FCRA rules.Lawyers Collective has denied all charges levelled by
the CBI.FIR against Grover and the NGO was filed last month following a
complaint from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which has alleged several
discrepancies in the utilisation of foreign aid received by the group. Jaising
has not been named as an accused in FIR but her alleged role figures in the
complaint of ministry. Grover is the trustee and director of the organisation. Unknown
officer-bearers and functionaries of NGO and unknown private persons and public
servants were also made accused in the FIR filed under IPC sections that deal
with forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy. Arvind Kejriwal condemned the
raids, saying it was clear vendetta.Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan said the
raids were a means to harass and intimidate.indian express
Karnataka: Not my job to save anyone, says
Speaker after meeting rebel MLAs following SC order
Karnataka Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar
today said he was “hurt” over reports that he is delaying the resignation
process of rebel MLAs in the ruling Congress JD(S) coalition government.
Briefing the media after his almost one-hour meeting with MLAs, the Speaker
said “it is not (his) job to save anyone.”11 rebel MLAs submitted afresh their
resignation to the Speaker following a Supreme Court order that directed Kumar
to decide on the resignation during the course of the day. Earlier today, the
SC allowed 10 MLAs, who had approached the SC, to meet the Speaker at 6 PM and
convey again their decision to resign. The top court also asked the speaker to
decide on MLAs’ resignation during the course of the day.With political crisis
in the state causing more trouble for beleaguered Congress-JD(S) alliance in
the state, CM HD Kumaraswamy chaired a crucial cabinet meeting to discuss the
situation. The state Cabinet meeting resolved to face the situation “bravely”
and said it was ready to face a no-confidence motion, if moved by the
opposition BJP. Indianexpress
As Speaker Pleads Inability to Decide on Rebel
MLAs' Resignation, Uncertainty Greets SC Order
Goa: 10 ex-Congress MLAs join BJP in presence
of Nadda
New Delhi :A day after resigning from Goa
Congress Legislative Party (CLP), 10 MLAs officially joined BJP in the presence
of working president JP Nadda in New Delhi today. MLAs joined the ranks of the
saffron party amid protests from Congress leaders outside Parliament over the
political crisis unfolding in the state along with Karnataka.Top leaders
including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Anand Sharma, staged a protest
carrying ‘Save Democracy’ placards near the Gandhi statue in the complex.With
this, the ruling BJP‘s strength in the Assembly swells to 27, and the strength
of the Congress which won 17 seats in 2017, stands reduced to 5. 2 Congress
MLAs had joined BJP earlier.Anti-defection law makes it mandatory that 2/3rd of
strength of a party should agree for a ‘merger’. Amendment, which came into
force in Jan.2004,does not recognise a ‘split’ in a legislature party and
instead recognises a ‘merger’.IE
Why is BJP in a hurry to capture all states? Mamata
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has accused BJP
of indulging in horse-trading in Karnataka, and claimed that the ruling
alliance’s rebel legislators were locked up in Mumbai.Banerjee said BJP should
focus on working for the country instead of “trying to topple” state Govts
controlled by Opposition parties. “I do not understand why they are so greedy,”
she said in the Assembly. “Why are they in such a hurry to capture all states.
This is dirty politics. After Karnataka, they [BJP] will turn to MP, Rajasthan.
Is it their job to break govts?”PTI/scroll.in
Karnataka, Goa crisis will hurt economy: PC
Congress leader P Chidambaram has attacked the
BJP-ruled Govt over the situation in Karnataka and Goa, saying they have
“gravely damaged” democracy and that developments will hurt the economy.The
developments in Karnataka and Goa may help BJP in”advancing their political
goals”, but at the “same time they are doing a great disservice to the economic
goals of this country”, Chidambaram said in Rajya Sabha. “I think it has a very
damaging effect on the economy, foreign investors, rating agencies,” he said.indianexpress
BJP trying to dislodge Govts in
opposition-ruled states: Mayawati
Lucknow :BSP chief Mayawati has charged BJP
with attempting to dislodge Govts in states ruled by opposition parties and
called for strict laws to end the membership of those indulging in
defection.“BJP returned to power at Centre by misusing money power and through
EVM tampering but it has now started a campaign to dislodge the non-BJP state
govts in order to overcome its exasperation over the defeats it faced in the
assembly polls in 2018 and 2019.BSP condemns this,” shesaid.“The way BJP is
once again trying to break MLAs in Karnataka and Goa using money and power is a
blot on the country’s democracy. PTI
Govt trying to sell railway assets through
PPPs, privatisation: Congress
New Delhi:Slamming Modi Govt over its handling
of the Railways Ministry, the Congress accused it of trying to sell out railway
assets and said BJP-led NDA is “selling dreams” to people without doing much on
the ground. Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said
that the aviation minister wants to sell Air India, the railways minister wants
to “sell” its assets and PM Narendra Modi, he alleged, will one-day “sell”
country.Initiating a debate on demands for grants under the Ministry of
Railways, Chowdhury said BJP-led NDA Govt has consistently failed to meet its
targets since it came to power in 2014.PTI
CPM asks Centre to scrap changes to Indian
Forest Act, says they criminalise tribal life
New Delhi:Arguing that amendments proposed by
BJP govt to Indian Forest Act,1927 are a “blueprint for centralization,
commercialisation and criminalisation,” CPI(M) asked the Centre on Wednesday to
withdraw the changes.The party also insisted on bringing Indian Forest Act in
conformity with Forest Rights Act and other related laws which they said “seek
to redress the historical injustices faced by tribal communities.”In a letter
to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, CPI(M) politburo member Brinda
Karat accused him of defending the amendments and playing down the “extremely
repressive measures” proposed in the Act. Karat stated that British
colonialists established Govt ownership over forests and declared tribal
communities to be encroachers through Forest Act, 1927. She added, “91 clauses
in the amendments now proposed, including entirely new sections,go even beyond
what British dared to do, by militarising forest conservation.”indianexpress
Village commons: Landless Dalits of Punjab
seek unfettered rights of cultivation
Sangrur (punjab):On 8 June, 225 members of the
gram sabha of Tolewal in Sangrur district’s Malerkotla tehsil passed a
resolution to lease out 25 bigha (about 5.25 acres) of the village’s panchayat
land reserved for cultivation by Dalits at a nominal annual rate of Rs 500/acre
for 33 years. 225 members were more than the minimum 20 % — working out to 180 out of Tolewal’s 870 gram
sabha votes — required for passing a resolution. The resolution was, however,
not accepted by the panchayat department, which is the custodian of shamlat or
village common lands in Punjab. The block development and panchayat
officer(BDPO) of Malerkotla-1 has since then sought to organise auction of the
25 bigha (out of Tolewal’s total 165 bigha of shamlat land) 6 times.Each of
these has had to be postponed, due to protests from the village’s Dalits, who
also account for 250 or so of its voters.A similar resolution was passed by the
gram sabha of Thandiwal on June 19 and of Mulowal on July 1. 2 villages, also
in Sangrur, have 19 bigha and 8 bigha of shamlat land, respectively, reserved
for allotment to Dalit community through annual auctions.In their case, too,
the authorities have not been able to carry out auctions, even though the
sowing/transplanting time for most kharif crops is almost over. In Thandiwal, 5
Dalits were even booked on charges of attempting forcible farming on land not
formally auctioned by the panchayat dept.indian express
Tell your goons to back off: BJP MLA's
daughter fears for life after marrying Dalit, releases video
Bareilly:The daughter of an UP BJP MLA has
alleged that her life is in danger from her father after she married a Dalit
man and asked the police for security. Sakshi Misra (23), who is the daughter
of Rajesh Misra, MLA from Bithari Chainpur in Bareilly district, uploaded a
video on social media and informed about her wedding to Ajitesh Kumar(29)last
Thursday, police said.In another video,she has apprehended threat to her life from her
father, brother and an associate, and urged Bareilly SSP to extend security to them.Sakshi
Misra has also appealed to MPs and MLAs of Bareilly to not help Rajesh Misra as
she alleged that her father and others were out to eliminate her. BJP MLA could
not be reached for comments.DIG RK Pandey said he had come to know of the video
messages and had asked the SSP to extend security to the couple. DIG said the
police do not know where to give her security as she had not disclosed her
location.In video, Sakshi Misra has also told her father to let her live her
life. The woman warned that if anything happens to her or her husband, she
would do something that would put him behind bars.PTI
‘We were constantly threatened’, says father
of slain Gujarat Dalit man
Ahmedabad: Family of slain dalit youth Haresh
Solanki has said that they were constantly threatened by his wife Urmila’s
family, ever since the couple married about 6 months ago. On Wednesday, police
arrested one of the 8 accused named in FIR, even as activists blamed the
authorities for allegedly having given them the leeway to escape.The 8 accused
belong to 7 Zala families who are related to each other and live in the same
locality in Varmor village.Haresh Solanki,who lived in Gandhidham in Kutch was
married to Urmila Zala, a native of Varmor under Mandal taluka of Ahmedabad
rural. On Monday evening, Haresh was hacked to death by Urmila’s father
Dashrathsinh Zala and 7 other relatives in front of the staff of the 181
Abhayam Women helpline, outside her house.“Mandal police station is barely 6
kms away from Varmor village,” Kirit Rathod, a Dalit activist said. "The
police provided enough leeway to the accused to avoid arrest,” Rathod alleged.
indian express
Ex-BJP MP Dinu Solanki gets life term for
murder of RTI activist Amit Jethwa
Ahmedabad:Ex-BJP MP Dinu Solanki and 6 others
were today sentenced to life
imprisonment in connection with the murder of RTI activist Amit Jethwa in July
2010. The special CBI judge found 7 guilty on Saturday and had reserved
pronouncement of quantum of punishment. A special CBI court had found all the
accused — Solanki, his nephew Shiva Solanki, Sanjay Chauhan, Shailesh Pandya,
Pachan Desai, Udaji Thakore and police constable Bahadursinh Vader — guilty.The
court in its verdict also ordered proceedings to be initiated against all the
105 witnesses who turned hostile.The special CBI judge KM Dave imposed a total
penalty sum of Rs 59,25,000 on all convicts.indian express
Union minister Giriraj wants couples with over
2 kids stripped of right to vote
Patna :Union minister Giriraj Singh today
expressed alarm over the “population explosion” in the country since
Independence and favoured disenfranchisement of those who sired more than two
children.BJP leader from Bihar, known for making controversial remarks, shared
a graphic on his official Twitter handle on World Population Day which showed
that India’s population grew by a staggering 366 % between 1947 and 2019 as against only 113 % rise in sparsely populated US.Singh wrote in
Hindi–“In India, population explosion is disturbing the balance of economy,
social harmony and resources. One of the reasons (for failure to check it) is
religious obstacles,” apparently hinting at Muslims. Bihar RJD head Ram Chandra
Purbe termed Singh’s comments an example of petty politics since it appeared to
blame the minorities for the ballooning population. “From where does the
minister get such fanciful ideas?Can he point out any provision in the
Constitution under which a person can be disenfranchised for having more than a
specified number of children?”asked Congress MLC Prem Chandra Mishra.PTI
Shut down cow shelters, allow unemployed
people of all faiths to rear cows: Farmers
New Delhi:Farmers aligned with Bharatiya Kisan
Union (BKU) gathered at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday to raise several demands
including pension for farmers and formation of Kisan Commission having farmers
only as members and office bearers.Presiding over the protest gathering, Thakur
Bhanu Pratap Singh, President of BKU, raised the issue of ‘Gaushalas’ or cow
shelters in his speech, among others, and demanded that rearing of cows should
be allowed instead of opening cow shelters.“No cow will be slaughtered and no
cow should be allowed to cause damage to the crops. Make farmers ‘Gau Mitr’ to
rear cows and purchase cow dung at the rate Rs. 25 per kg. Allow unemployed
people of all faiths to have cows. If you want the blessings of cows then
purchase their waste and do not open ‘Gaushala’, because the owner of a
Gaushala would do nothing except buying a luxury car for himself. He will never
feed or take care of cows,” said Singh.India Tomorrow
‘Muslim
can’t drive auto in Gujarat's Ghatlodia’
Ahmedabad:A 48-year-old Muslim man, an
autorickshaw driver from the Karanj area of the city, was on Tuesday threatened
by an unknown man who asked him “How can a Muslim drive and earn money in
Ghatlodia (area of the city)”. Arif Qureshi, a resident of Biscuit Gali near
Pankornaka in Karanj, said he got a passenger from Gheekanta who wanted to go
to Chanakyapuri. “After I dropped passenger off near Chandlodia railway
station,I was moving about in Ghatlodia to find a passenger. At around 2pm, a
passenger waved at me to stop the rickshaw. I asked him where he wanted to go.
The passenger said he wanted to go to Delhi Darwaja and I told him to get in,”
said Qureshi in his FIR. “Suddenly, a man rushed there and asked me on how can
I,being a Muslim, roam in Ghatlodia and take passengers from here. To this, I
told him that I had stopped as the passenger had waved at me to stop. He then
got angry at me and abused me. Before I could realise anything, he came up with
an iron rod and tried to attack me. I evaded the attack and drove off but my
meter was damaged in the attack,” he said. TOI
Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act: a law to create
communal division in the state
https://caravandaily.com/gujarat-disturbed-areas-act-a-law-to-create-communal-division-in-the-state/
Ahmedabad:Gujarat’s BJP Govt has modified
controversial law – Disturbed Areas Act – and made it stronger with rather
stringent provisions. The act bans the sale of property by the member of one
religious community to another without the approval of the district collector,
and is seen as a tool to create communal divisions between the communities in
the state.The new amendment has expanded the meaning of the word ‘transfer’,
which includes sales, gifts, exchange, lease or taking possession of the
property by way of power of attorney. The act is enforced in the big cities of
Gujarat like Ahmedabad and Vadodara.Activists are of the opinion that this law
is not only useless but also creating a negative impact and essentially being a
hurdle in the way of communal harmony.“The act has not been strengthened but
just given more tooth to bite the people. On one hand, BJP is saying that
article 370 should be abrogated in Kashmir and people should have the right to
buy property everywhere, but on the other hand they are strengthening the
Disturbed Area Act in Gujarat. In this case, the right to choice has been
neglected,” said advocate Shamshad Pathan, who used to practice at the High
Court.He added that act creates a lot of issues for Muslims as well as
non-Muslims. Rights activist Nirjhari Sinha, also feels that the act creates
communal divisions in the society. She further added that such laws based on
religion, caste and community is problematic for the society as it is
essentially polarizing in nature.Huzaifa Ujjaini, another Ahmadabad based
activist, augments to above fact.Caravan Daily
Prominent activists, leaders up in arms
against UAPA amendment bill
New Delhi:Prominent political, social leaders
and human rights defenders on Wednesday condemned UAPA Amendment Bill, 2019
that seeks to tag individuals as ‘terrorist’. The bill was introduced amid
strong protest from the opposition benches in Lok Sabha on Monday as the
Opposition MPs termed the bill as draconian as in the name of fighting terror
fundamental rights of an individual cannot be ignored.Besides, UAPA Bill, the
union Govt also tabled NIA(Amendment), Bill 2019 that gives more teeth to NIA
in dealing with terror cases. Defending the bills, Minister of State for Home G
Kishan Reddy, who introduced the bill on behalf of Home Minister Amit Shah,
said when UN can name Hafiz Saeed as a terrorist, why can’t India do the same
with such people.Opposing the bill,CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, Brinda Karat
said CPI (M) did not support both the bills seeking to give more teeth to
security agencies. As far as UAPA is concerned the declaration of an individual
as terrorist requires stringent conditions otherwise it is liable to grave
misuse in its present form, she said. On NIA amendment, she said giving NIA
more powers for searches and seizures without informing state agencies is an
encroachment on federal structure of the country. IUML member P.K. Kunhalikutty
opposed NIA Bill that seeks to strengthen the agency by giving it powers to
probe terror attacks targeting Indians and Indian interests abroad.While
activists also demanded that UAPA should be repealed arguing that the erstwhile
draconian laws like TADA and POTA, the present anti-terror law has been also
widely misused against some particular religious groups.AC Michael, exmember of
Delhi Minorities Commission, said the latest proposal to further enhance powers
of police forces under UAPA is nothing but a tool to arm-twist political
opponents of the present dispensation. Kamal Faruqi, member of AIMPLB said in
the prevailing political atmosphere, these amendments are frightening. He
feared the increase in rights violation cases in the coming days. CaravanDaily
ATS interrogates 6 accused of keeping illegal
weapons in Bijnor madrasa
Bijnor:6 accused, who were detained after
illegal weapons were recovered from a madrasa in Sherkot, were interrogated by
ATS. Yesterday, six people were arrested after illegal weapons were recovered
from the madrasa in Sherkot in UP's Bijnor district, police had said. Following
a tip-off, a raid was carried out at madrasa Darul Quran Hamidia on Kandhla
road in Sherkot area yesterday afternoon. Three countrymade pistols, a 32 bore
pistol and bullets in large numbers were recovered from the madrasa, police
said. One of the accused belongs to Bihar and claimed that he was a teacher at
the madrasa. "We received information that some anti-social elements visit
this madrasa. We searched the premises and recovered 5 pistols and several
cartridges," circle officer K Kanojia had said. ANI
Muzaffarnagar riots: Bail granted to 3 people
accused of murder that triggered communal violence
Muzaffarnagar :A court in UP’s Muzaffarnagar
district has granted bail to 3 people accused of killing a youth, whose death
triggered riots in 2013. District Sessions Judge Sanjay Kumar Pachori gave bail
to Prahlad, Bishan Singh and Tendu. He said the accused would be released from
jail after they furnish 2 sureties of Rs 1.5 lakh each.According to the
prosecution, 3 are among 6 people who stabbed Shahnawaz to death at Kawal
village in Jansath area on Aug.27, 2013. scroll.in
No New Tax, Cow Welfare Fund & Hike in Haj
Panel Grant Among Major Announcements in MP Budget
Bhopal: As announced prior to state polls,
Kamal Nath Govt refrained from imposing any fresh tax on the public as Finance
Minister Tarun Bhanot presented a Budget of over Rs 2.33 lakh crore in MP
Assembly on Wednesday. Aiming to please various sections of society, the Budget
proposed to allocate Rs 132 crore for the welfare of bovines, while hiked grant
to the state Waqf Board and Haj committee.It also made provisions for
developing the Ram Van Gaman Path, tracing the mythological route undertaken by
Ram during his years of exile in the forests of Madhya Pradesh, a prominent
pre-poll promise of Nath.Presenting the first full-time budget of the Congress,
back in power after a gap of 15 years, Bhanot did not announce any tax or cess,
except on petrol and fuel. “We would raise revenue from revised tax structure
in mining, excise and transport sector,” said the minister.Amid ruckus from the
opposition, the minister announced that farm loans of 20 lakh farmers were
waived off and in the second phase, Rs 8,000 crore has been provisioned for the
same. The budget also raised the allocation for farmer welfare and
agri-development sector by 6%. Various allocations were made for scheduled
castes, scheduled tribes and minorities. "Besides, the grants for the
Madhya Pradesh Waqf Board and the Haj committee have been hiked. Over Rs 821
crore has been earmarked for the OBC and Minorities Department," Bhanot
said.News18
Rajasthan Budget: Focus on farm sector, no new
tax;Rs 10 crore for modernising madrasas
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday
announced several new policies and initiatives, laying the ground for the
remainder of his tenure. He tabled a populist Budget covering most sectors and
demography of the state with a fiscal deficit estimated at Rs 32,678.34 crore,
which is 3.19%of GSDP. Presenting his govt’s maiden Budget – following Feb’s
Vote on Account/interim budget on account of impending Lok Sabha polls – Gehlot
said no new tax has been imposed and instead, a relief of about Rs 301 crore in
taxes has been provided. Among the sectors, Gehlot spoke on agriculture first,
implying his govt’s priorities, announcing Rs 1,000 crore Farmer Welfare Fund
which will aim at ‘Ease of Doing Farming’. This fund will be employed towards ensuring
“reasonable” prices to farmers for their produce. He also announced ‘Zero
Budget Natural Farming’ with Rs 10 crore, where initially, 20,000 farmers
across 36 Gram Panchayats will be trained in traditional means of irrigation
and growing natural manure. An expenditure of Rs 10 crore is also proposed for
modernising madrasas in the state.indian express
Withdraw gag: Editors Guild to Finance
Ministry on press entry restrictions
New Delhi :Condemning the decision of Ministry
of Finance to restrict access of govt-accredited journalists to its North Block
offices to only those who have prior appointments,Editors Guild of India called
it “arbitrary… a gag on media freedoms” and sought its withdrawal. Guild said
it “has no dispute with the ministry that journalists should behave with
restraint and responsibility while enjoying their access to the finance
ministry” but “a blanket order is not the answer”.Indian Women Press Corps,
Press Association and Press Club of India also issued a joint statement saying
the Ministry decision is “not only arbitrary but also hampers the freedom of
press”. Ministry has restricted the entry of even govt-accredited journalists
unless they have prior appointments.indian express
Delhi HC asks BJP MP Harsh Vardhan to respond
to plea challenging his election to Lok Sabha
Delhi High Court today asked Union minister
Harsh Vardhan to respond to a petition challenging his election to Lok Sabha.
The plea sought that his election from the Chandni Chowk seat of Delhi be
declared void. Justice Navin Chawla sent a notice to Vardhan asking for his
reply to the petition, which was filed by a man claiming to be a voter from the
constituency. The court listed the matter for further hearing on Sept.24.scroll.in/PTI
Kashmir a dispute between India, Pakistan;
should be resolved through dialogue: Farooq Abdullah
Srinagar:NC chief Farooq Abdullah today said
Kashmir is a “dispute” between India and Pakistan which needs to be resolved
through dialogue. Abdullah, MP from Srinagar said nothing would be achieved
through military might.“Kashmir is a dispute between 2 countries [India and
Pakistan]. The issue is still in UN. UN observers are still here and in
Pakistan held Kashmir. The issue should be resolved and it will be resolved
only when they talk to each other and when India will talk to people here in
Kashmir and Pakistan with the people in Azad Kashmir,” he said. “Nothing will
be achieved by military might or force or coercion including by NIA,” he
said.PTI
Nagpur:Significance of Haj explained to women
Nagpur: The spiritual and serene journey to
Haj, an annual pilgrimage to Mecca, will commence on August 9 and culminate on
August 14 this year. Wrapped in white cloth, worshippers will embark on 5-day
pilgrimage, considered one of the five pillars of Islam, to the holiest city
for Muslims. As per Islam, this pilgrimage is a mandatory religious duty that
must be carried out once in a lifetime by every Muslim. Over 3 million Muslims
from across the world will undertake this journey to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Considering a large number of women would also embark on this pilgrimage, the
women’s wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Nagpur West organized Haj guidance camp at
Markaz-e-Islami hall on Wednesday. The programme threw light on the
significance and necessity of this spiritual pilgrimage and how a Muslim must
visit Haj to praise the Almighty and stand true to Islamic ethics. Zeba Khan,
Sajeda Parveen, Fauzia Tarannum and Azra Parveen spoke about the importance of
Quran and offering Namaz during Haj. TOI
BJP sets target of winning over 1 lakh Muslims
ahead of GHMC elections
Hyderabad:BJP has set a target of 1 lakh
membership in old city of Hyderabad in a bid to strengthen its base in
Muslim-dominated areas ahead of elections to Greater Hyderabad Municipal
Corporation (GHMC). Though BJP, which launched its membership drive in
Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat on Wednesday, has set its eyes on the next general
elections scheduled for 2024, its immediate focus is on winning over the
principal minority community before the municipal polls. Hordes of BJP leaders
descended on vantage points across the seven assembly segments that make up
Hyderabad parliamentary constituency on Tuesday and explained to the locals
about the welfare programmes launched by BJP-led Govt at Centre for the uplift
of Muslims.TOI
An imam in Bengal cremates his Hindu friend
Kolkata: At a time when many Bengalis have
expressed concerns over polarisatio, an imam in Murshidabad district performed
the last rites of his Hindu friend that involved chanting of mantras. An imam
at Aurangabad Jumma Masjid in north Murshidabad, busy with his morning ‘azaan’,
heard that his friend Ganesh Rabi Das at Mominpara had passed away after illness.News18
WORLD
World should consider cutting ties with Israel
for Palestinians: UN official
A UN
investigator is drafting a series of steps the international community can take
to deter Israel from building more settlements in the occupied West Bank and
any efforts to formally annex Palestinian territory. Michael Lynk, an
independent UN researcher, said the EU and some world powers should consider
cutting economic, political and cultural ties with Israel in support of the
Palestinian quest for statehood."International community has to look at
the available menu of countermeasures that is commonly used to a wide range of
countries involving gross human rights violations and has to decide what are
the appropriate ones to consider to use with respect to Israel," Lynk
said.The continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories
is a hurdle to a future Palestinian state. Palestinians say peace with Israel
can be achieved if they are given control of the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip
as well as occupied East Jerusalem.Lynk is on a week-long trip to meet Israeli
and Palestinian officials and activists in Jordanian capital Amman to carry out
research for a report he will submit to the UN's Human Rights Council in Oct.Lynk
was holding meetings in Jordan because, as on previous visits, he was not
granted access by Israeli officials.Lynk's recommendations are not
legally-binding. While his requests may seem overly ambitious, Palestinian
activists could well see them as a useful alternative to a formal peace process
that has largely ground to a halt. Lynk said that UN members should consider
everything from cutting cultural ties with Israel to suspending its membership
of the world body.He emphasised the role of EU, which accounts for some 40 % of
Israel's external trade and could make the flow of Israeli goods and services
to the 28-nation bloc contingent on policy shifts that help Palestinians.Al
Jazeera
Senior White House official declines to
endorse Palestinian independence
Top White House official Jason Greenblatt has
once again declined to endorse Palestinian statehood in an interview with NPR.A
frequent, public critic of the Palestinian Authority, Greenblatt renewed his
attacks on the Palestinian leadership – “if they choose to cut us off to the
detriment of their people and to the detriment of the possibility of peace,
that’s their choice”, he said.“We aren’t going to give them the so-called
carrots or, you know, goodies in order to buy them to come to the table,
because it’s never worked before,” Greenblatt added. Pressed by NPR as to “whether
the Palestinians deserve to have independence the way Israelis have
independence,” White House official declined to answer in the
affirmative.middleeastmonitor
Netanyahu vows never to dismantle illegal
Israel settlements
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed never
to dismantle Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.Speaking at
an event in the settlement of Revava – which forms part of the Ariel settlement
bloc located off Route 60, south of Nablus– Netanyahu vowed that there would be
no uprooting of Israel’s West Bank settlements as long as he remains PM. “No
communities will be uprooted,” Netanyahu stressed, “not those of Jews, and by
the way, not those of Arabs either. We don’t uproot people. We’re through with
that nonsense. Israel under my leadership hasn’t returned and won’t return to
the mistakes of the past.”MEMO
Amnesty urges TripAdvisor staff to act against
Israeli settlement complicity
Israel's right-wing nationalists target
left-wing academics
Israeli Govt has reportedly enlisted its
intelligence agency to counteract Palestinian-led campaign against Israeli
oppression.Now some academics who back the movement say they are being targeted
in a so-called witch-hunt by right-wing nationalists.Im Tirtzu says it is
engaged in a continual fight to preserve the Zionist state. But critics say
naming and shaming individual professors is threatening the freedom of
expression for Israeli academics.aljazeera
Islamist leader elected new speaker of Algeria
parliament
Algerian legislators have elected an Islamist
opposition figure as speaker of Algeria's parliament.Slimane Chenine, leader of
a parliamentary alliance of 3 small Islamist parties, will replace Mouad
Bouchareb of NLF, party that was led by ex president Abdelaziz Bouteflika,
state TV reported.Bouchareb resigned on July 2 amid pressure from protesters
and politicians, three months after Bouteflika stepped down following weeks of
nationwide protests and pressure from the powerful military. Protesters have
continued to take to the streets, demanding an overhaul of the political system
and the removal of Bouteflika-era officials from office ahead of eventual
elections.In an effort to appease demonstrators, Army Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid
Salah vowed to prosecute Govt officials and associates of the former president
suspected of corruption. Movement of National Construction party is part of a
parliamentary alliance of 3 small Islamist parties, which also includes Ennhada
and Adala.It is the first time in the history of the Algerian parliament that a
deputy of an opposition party has been elected as parliament speaker.According
to his party, Chenine is a journalist and member of Association of
Parliamentarians for al-Quds.aljazeera
Iranian boats attempted to impede British
tanker in the Gulf: UK
UK's Govt has said 3 Iranian vessels
unsuccessfully tried to impede the passage of a British commercial vessel
through Strait of Hormuz. UK Govt today said that Iranian ships on Wednesday
only turned away after receiving "verbal warnings" from a UK navy
vessel accompanying the commercial vessel British Heritage. "We are concerned
by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to deescalate the
situation in the region," it said.Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif rejected
the accusation. "Apparently British tanker has passed. What they have said
themselves and the claims that have been made are for creating tension and
these claims have no value," he said. IRGC also denied involvement in it.Earlier
today, 2 US officials said that 5 boats believed to belong to Guards were
involved in the incident. aljazeera
Yemen:Govt threatens to halt prisoner swap
talks with Houthis over death sentences to 30 activists
Aden:Yemen's internationally-backed Govt has
threatened to suspend prisoner swap negotiations with Houthi rebels in protest
against death sentences handed to 30 detainees in Sanaa."Seath sentences
issued by the illegitimate Houthi court against 36 political activists in Sanaa
are considered illegal," said Hadi Haig, head of the prisoner swap
committee, on Twitter."Houthi actions may lead to suspending negotiations
of implementing the prisoner swap deal or a complete collapse," he warned.
Yemeni govt official also called on UN envoy to "stand against these
illegal Houthi actions."On Tuesday, a court in Yemeni rebel-held capital
Sanaa sentenced 30 people to death over charges of espionage for Saudi Arabia
and its allies in the anti-Houthi military coalition fighting the Houthi rebels
in Yemen. These people, mainly academics, professors and students who are
members of the Al-Islah, a Yemeni political party linked to Muslim Brotherhood,
were arrested during a Houthi security campaign in 2016. Amnesty condemned the
trial as a "mockery of justice," urging Houthis to immediately
release the 30 men.Xinhua
Amnesty accuses Egypt of ''indefinitely''
detaining dissidents
London:Amnesty International has accused Egypt
of "indefinitely" holding dissidents in prison, keeping them in
detention despite court rulings ordering their release.The rights group said it
documented five cases where the Supreme State Security Prosecution(SSSP)
"bypassed court orders to release (dissidents) from arbitrary detention by
imprisoning them in new cases based on fabricated charges".It said the
"bid to keep them behind bars indefinitely" was an "alarming
signal of how decayed country''s justice system has become".An Egyptian
security source said fresh arrests were in line with judicial and court
decisions, while provisional detention was ordered in cases of "judicial
necessity".PTI
Bangladesh: SC verdict on Jamaat leader ATM Azharul’s plea against death penalty, any
day
The Supreme Court will deliver its verdict any
day on the appeal filed by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam
against the death penalty, handed to him by a war crimes tribunal.A 4-member
bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice S. Mahmud Hossain,
kept the appeal as CAV (Curia Advisari Vult -- meaning it will announce the
verdict any day) after concluding hearing on it.The SC held hearing on the
appeal for 6 days.During hearing, Azharul’s lawyer Khandaker Mahbub Hossain
prayed to the SC to acquit his client of the charges, saying his client was
innocent and was not involved in any crimes against humanity or war
crimes.Mahbub Hossain said Govt has implicated his client after 43 years of the
country’s independence out of political intention, which is unethical. Neither
any case nor a general diary had been filed against ATM Azharul before 2008 on
the charges brought in the case, Mahbub said, adding that Azhar was 18 years
old during the 1971 War.Documents and evidence produced against Azharul in
connection with the case are not believable,defence lawyer argued.the daily
star
22 countries rebuke China at UN over detention
of Uighurs in Xinjiang
Geneva: Nearly 2 dozen countries have called
on China to halt its mass detention of ethnic Uighurs in the Xinjiang region,
the first such joint move on the issue at UNHRC, according to diplomats and a
letter seen by Reuters.UN experts and activists say at least one million
Uighurs and other Muslims are held in detention centres in the remote western
region. China describes them as training centres helping to stamp out extremism
and give people new skills.The unprecedented letter to the president of the
forum, dated July 8, was signed by the ambassadors of 22 countries. Australia,
Canada and Japan were among them, along with European countries including Britain,
France, Germany and Switzerland, but not the US which quit the forum a year
ago.Reuters
Pakistan: 14 killed and 79 injured after
passenger train collides with freight train in Sadiqabad
At least 14 people were killed and 79 were injured
after an express train collided with a freight train at the Walhar Railway
Station in Pakistan’s Sadiqabad tehsil today. Rahim Yar Khan district’s DCP said
all the passengers aboard Akbar Express were evacuated and track clearance
operations were under way.scroll.in
Bosnia marks 24th anniversary of genocide
Bosnia Herzegovina today marked 24th
anniversary of 1995 Srebrenica genocide by laying to rest 33 newly identified
victims of the massacre in a memorial service. Every year on July 11, newly
identified victims of the genocide -- which claimed the lives of over 8,300
people -- are laid to rest in a memorial cemetery in Potocari, eastern Bosnia.
Thousands of visitors from various countries attend the service.The memorial
center is the focal point of remembrance for friends and relatives of the
victims, mostly men and boys, murdered by Bosnian Serb militias.Among guests at
this year's commemoration are a Turkish delegation led by Minister Mehmet
Muharrem Kasapoglu as well as onetime Serbian presidential candidate Cedomir
Jovanovic. On social media, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan wrote that history
will never forget the Srebrenica genocide, which claimed the lives of more than
8,300 innocent people. Anadolu
Beer got nearly one-third cheaper in Qatar, host
of 2022 World Cup
Dubai: Qatar slashed alcohol prices after
slapping on a “sin tax" over the New Year that initially almost doubled
the price of a 24-pack of Heineken.The country’s sole liquor store is now
offering brews for about $64 a case, a drop of some 30% that’s sure to placate
fleeced locals and soccer fans already fretting about alcohol costs when
attending the 2022 World Cup.Like most other countries in the oil-rich Persian
Gulf, Qatar restricts alcohol sales to non-Muslim foreigners. Expats need
permission from their employers to get a license that allows them access to the
store that sells liquor and pork, located on the outskirts of Doha near the
country’s main graveyard and church complex.Bloomberg
Flash:
views & NEWS
Why CBI raid at Lawyers Collective is a witch
hunt:Uttam Sengupta
Behind Mounting Muslim Protests, a Yearning to
be Heard by the State Gone Deaf:Ajaz Ashraf
Limited Vocabulary, Unlimited Jingoism:
India's Response to UN Report on Kashmir:Aman
Mohammad Akhlaq killing, Rohith Vemula suicide
were used as pretexts to 'fix' Hindu right-wing ideology:Balbir Punj
In Honouring Ranjit Singh, Pakistan Is Moving
Beyond Conceptions of Muslim vs Sikh History:Haroon Khalid
Chawri Bazar: Attempt to Fuel Communal Tension
Fails, Smoulder Lingers:Newsclick
What are 10 stages of genocide? 24th
anniversary of Srebrenica genocide of Bosnian Muslims
World Cup Semifinal:Shami’s exclusion from
playing xi irks his coach; ‘How can you drop someone who picked up 14 wickets
in 4 games?'
“Budget
a big joke on a huge chunk of population”, says Dalit rights activist Ashok
Bharti
Bangladesh cannot continue hosting
Rohingya:Former UN chief Ban Ki-moon
Singapore to deport Myanmar citizens for
'funding' Rakhine rebels
Compiled and edited by
Anwarulhaq
(Released at: 7:28 PM)
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment