Tag: Kashmir News

Manipur in flames due to failure of ‘double engine’ BJP govts of state, Centre: Cong

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New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday blamed the “double engine government” of the BJP at the Centre as well as in Manipur for allegedly failing to prevent the ethnic violence in the state which led to the loss of many lives.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the party is deeply concerned over the tragedy in Manipur and alleged that the situation proves the gross “callousness, negligence and casualness” of the state government and the “inactivity” of the central government.
Speaking at a press conference here, he said the basic question is that we are very concerned at the hateful, hostile and horrid conditions we find in Manipur, adding that the sensitive north-eastern border state is up in flames.

“It reflects the state government’s and the central government’s ‘double engine lawlessness’, ‘double engine statelessness’ and ‘double engine shamelessness’. It shows that Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government is badly devoid of qualities of statecraft, stateliness, and statesmanship.
“It has led to a sad, sordid saga of provoked communities and castes against each other with such a vital and sensitive state up in flames. How did it happen… one major contributory factor, little noticed, has emerged from yesterday’s hearing in the Supreme Court,” he told reporters.
Violent clashes broke out in the northeastern state after a Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in 10 hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, leading to the deaths of at least 54 people.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal valley. Tribals Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and live in the hill districts.
The clashes were preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land which had led to a series of smaller agitations since February this year.
Singhvi said the apex court put a very candid question on why the state government did not tell the High Court of a 23-year-old judgment of the constitution bench of the Supreme Court that such notifications and approvals, such inclusions of STs cannot be done by state government or state high courts and can only be done by a presidential notification.

“Why was this not the preliminary objection of the state government in the course of the hearing in the Manipur High Court? The first sentence from their mouth ought to have been that this proceeding should not go on, because we, the State Government have no such power, no such jurisdiction. It is settled in a two-and-half decades ago judgement.
“If this was not so, does it not reflect the utter callousness, casualness, possibly the complicity of the state government? Who will be accountable for that? Who will be accountable for this gross negligence, resulting in the loss of precious lives and this great alarming situation in Manipur?” Singhvi asked.
The Congress leader further said that while the central government has brought several ST-related bills in the last two sessions of Parliament, including during the winter and budget sessions, but no attention was paid to the Manipur ST issue.
“If so many other bills or STs are coming, surely this should have been addressed. Who is responsible for this action?” he asked.
“Clearly responsible for this inaction leading to dangerous consequences… is the failure of the ‘double engine sarkar’. It is a ‘double engine’ sarkari failure,” he asserted.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, citing a report quoting the chief justice of India, said, “In light of what the CJI has said — it is astonishing what a single judge of the Manipur High Court did, triggering such a human tragedy!”.
“But the ideological brotherhood, its henchman in Manipur, and his masters at the Centre cannot escape their responsibility,” he said on Twitter.
Ramesh cited the news report that quoted the CJI saying that the high court does not have the power to direct changes in the Scheduled Tribes list and asked why a constitution bench verdict of 2000 noting that courts do not have power to “add or subtract” the ST list was not “shown” to the Manipur High Court.
Concerned over the huge loss of life and property, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and the Manipur government to step up relief and rehabilitation efforts for those hit by the violence in the north-eastern state, besides protecting places of worship, many of which were targeted during the mayhem.
Manipur Chief Minister Singh said 60 people have been killed, 231 injured and 1,700 houses, including religious places, burnt in the violence.
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#Manipur #flames #due #failure #double #engine #BJP #govts #state #Centre #Cong
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 9, 2023
The Kerala Story: Giriraj Singh urges Nitish Kumar to declare film tax-free in Bihar

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Patna: Union Minister Giriraj Singh Tuesday urged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to declare the film ‘The Kerala Story’ tax-free in Bihar.
The film, directed by Sudipto Sen, has been declared tax-free in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh among other states.
The union minister on Tuesday wrote to the Bihar CM urging to make the movie tax-free in the state.

“The recently released movie ‘The Kerala Story’ is very important and based on contemporary social issues. The movie has already been declared tax-free in several states including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh etc. So I request you to give necessary instructions to the authorities concerned to make it tax-free in Bihar as well,” Singh said in his letter.
He also shared the letter on his Twitter handle.
The film ‘The Kerala Story’ has been at the center of a controversy since it was released last week. BJP leaders have supported the film and urged other states to follow suit. The West Bengal government announced a ban on the film on Monday to “maintain peace” and avoid any incident of hate crime and violence.
‘The Kerala Story’, which stars Adah Sharma, highlights the issue of alleged forced conversion and radicalisation of women in Kerala, which sparked controversy as soon as its trailer was released. Sen and producer, Vipul Amrutlal have said that the film is based on true events.

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#Kerala #Story #Giriraj #Singh #urges #Nitish #Kumar #declare #film #taxfree #Bihar
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 9, 2023
‘We felt scared, but college campus was safe’: BTech students on return from Manipur

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New Delhi: Haryana native Sewak Ram, pursuing BTech at a leading engineering college in Imphal, heaved a sigh of relief after landing in Delhi from violence-hit Manipur on Tuesday.
“We felt scared, but the campus of our college made us feel safe. We had food and water. But, being confined inside the campus for about five days reminded us about the Covid-induced lockdown,” Ram said.
He hugged his college mate at the airport here before they parted on the way to their homes.

Ram and a few other students from Haryana, all pursuing BTech degree at Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Manipur, reached the national capital on Tuesday evening after being evacuated from the northeastern state which has been rocked by ethnic violence since May 3.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had on Monday said that 60 people were killed, 231 injured and 1,700 houses including religious places burnt in the violence that sparked concerns among family members of students from various states studying in that state.
Some of the evacuees, all in their early 20s, PTI spoke to at the Delhi airport said the Harayana government “made arrangements for their safe return” after students and parents reached out to it, in the wake of the violence.
“Situation is difficult in villages and inner areas, but Imphal city is safer. Police provided us everything,” Ram told PTI.
He said many students of IIIT-Manipur hailing from other states have also been evacuated by their respective state governments.

More than 140 students from Bihar were on Tuesday brought back from Manipur. Scenes of rejoicing were witnessed at Patna airport as they returned safely to their home state.
According to an official, a special flight commissioned by the Nitish Kumar government carried 142 students from Bihar, besides another 21 from the neighbouring state of Jharkhand.
In Delhi, while some evacuees made their way to their homes in Haryana by themselves, harried parents of some had come to the airport to take them home, after waiting anxiously for the flight from Imphal to land.
Panipat native Lakshya, a first-year student of BTech, went home accompanied by his parents.
“He has not eaten anything since morning. But I am just happy that my child is back,” Lakshya’s mother said, as they wheeled their way out of the airport.
Lakshya said in the last several days situation was “not good” and “I am glad we are out of that situation”.
Arvind Pathak of Gurugram was also among the evacuees who reached Delhi along with his fellow students of the engineering college.
“Earlier, situation in Manipur was quite bad, now it is a bit better. We were all together in the campus, so we didn’t feel much fear. Our teachers also comforted us,” he said.
The situation across violence-hit Manipur is improving, with no fresh reports of any untoward incident, while curfew has been relaxed in all the 11 districts where it was clamped, officials said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday said more than 300 students from the state, who were stranded in violence-hit Manipur, were brought back in the last few days.
Sangma also said his government had on Monday arranged for a special flight on the Imphal-Shillong route to evacuate students stuck in the trouble-torn state.
Violent clashes broke out in Manipur after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the 10 hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
The clashes took place between the tribals living in the Manipur hills and the majority Meitei community residing in the Imphal Valley. Over 23,000 people have been rescued and sheltered in military garrisons and relief camps.
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#felt #scared #college #campus #safe #BTech #students #return #Manipur
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 9, 2023
BJP committee blames lack of security for Sambalpur violence

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New Delhi: A BJP probe committee, which visited Odisha to look into the communal violence on the eve of Hanuman Jayanti in Sambalpur last month, has blamed “lack” of security arrangements and alleged a religious procession was pelted with stones from mosques.
The four-member panel of MPs Brij Lal, Samir Oraon, Aditya Sahu and Jyotirmay Singh Mahato submitted its report to party president J P Nadda on Tuesday.
The committee alleged the Hanuman Jayanti procession on motorcycles was pelted with stones from mosques and rooftops on April 12, causing injuries to many people, party leaders said.

It further alleged adequate security arrangements were not made despite intelligence of likely violence.
One person was killed on April 14, it said.
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#BJP #committee #blames #lack #security #Sambalpur #violence

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 9, 2023
Kashmir Artists Await Payment As Doordarshan Kendra Srinagar Owes Over Rs 25 Crore

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SRINAGAR: The Doordarshan Kendra in Srinagar has failed to release payments for work done by private producers, production houses, and individuals, resulting in liabilities of over Rs. 25 crore that are still pending. This was revealed by DD Srinagar in response to an RTI application filed by MM Shuja.
According to available records, the total old liability till date is reported to be Rs. 25,43,13,530. There has reportedly been no communication to Prasar Bharati for releasing funds to meet this liability.
The matter of the old liability falls under the purview of the Directorate of Doordarshan Kendra Srinagar. Due to a lack of funds, Doordarshan Kendra Srinagar has stopped airing eight programs over the last four years, including “Butrat,” “Baat Say Baat Nikli,” “Rozgar Bulletin,” “Shugufe, Bamun,” “Hum Qadam,” “Suni Dharti,” “Quiz Program,” and “Balti Program.”
Renowned artist Zameer Ashai told the news agency KNT that no payments have been made to producers for the last nine years, and everyone is in trouble. “I personally met CEO Prasar Bharati in New Delhi and apprised him of the prevailing situation. Even the artist fraternity talked to him in detail when he visited Srinagar. The liability is still there,” he said, adding that even new work has now been stopped.
Another artist, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they were baffled by the way things are being handled. “I don’t know what’s happening in New Delhi. I must say the ‘Golden Era’ of Doordarshan Srinagar is already over,” they said. [KNT]

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#Kashmir #Artists #Await #Payment #Doordarshan #Kendra #Srinagar #Owes #Crore
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

May 9, 2023
Repetition of Nakba? Israel calls tenders for new west bank settlement units

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Amid the rising death tolls of Palestinians after Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities have invited tenders for work on more than 1,000 new housing projects in the occupied West Bank. Despite the stay calls of Arab and international bodies, the policies of settlement expansion in view of greater Israel are expanding in Palestinian territories.
As per media reports the new settlement units will be located in Beitar Illit, Efrat, Kiryat Arba, Ma’ale Ephraim, and Karnei Shomron. In addition, 89 units will be constructed in the Gilo settlement west of occupied Jerusalem.
According to the housing construction project, it will have a large residential complex that includes a commercial complex, a kindergarten, public areas and medical clinics.

The housing construction policies on the occupied west bank are being enforced again after 23 years.
As soon as the policies of Israeli settlements in West occupied banks came out, the Palestinians started raising concerns about its potential effects and increasing settler violence against Palestinians to change their identity in the area.
Palestinians say the policies which have already been done in past with the worst consequence will violate the 1997 Hebron Protocol, under which Israel is obligated to preserve the land and identity of Palestinians in the area.
Residents of Hebron are in constant fear that the settlement expansion will result in more military checkpoints which may lead to more humiliation and a huge number of Israeli military presence in the areas.
Following the tender call, The Prime Minister of Palestine, Mohammed Shtayyeh on Monday called on UNESCO to intervene in the matter to prevent Israeli authorities from occupying further land and establishing a settlement adjacent to the Village of Sebastia, near Nablus, along with the humiliation of Palestinians it would cause severe damage to the historic site of the area.

Speaking at a meeting of the Palestinian Cabinet in Ramallah, Mohammed Shtayyeh raised his concern that the settlement expansions in Hebron are a continuation of the Nakba Massacre or catastrophe where lakhs of Palestinians were forced to leave the land and some of them were killed for not vacating the place, that also began with the seizure of Palestinian land on the formation of Israel in 1948.
Palestinian human rights activists have also called on the European Union (EU) to cancel the free visas to Israeli settlers and their leaders resing in the settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem who aim to visit Europe.
These policies have been drafted after a right-wing party Likud headed by Benjamin Netanyahu won recent elections in Israel.
Following the win, thousands of Israelis protested in several cities against the Benjamin Netanyahu-led party, on January 28, 2023, in views on the proposed legislation, which the government claims is required to tame a judiciary that exercises excessive power but which critics claim eliminates an essential check on those in authority.
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#Repetition #Nakba #Israel #calls #tenders #west #bank #settlement #units
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 9, 2023
Heavy rains continue to lash Karnataka, one killed by lightning

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Bengaluru: Heavy rains continued to lash poll-bound Karnataka on Tuesday, leaving one man dead in Belagavi district.
The rains came as the state is all set to go for polls on Wednesday (May 10) for crucial Assembly elections which are considered as semi-finals to 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The meteorological department has predicted heavy rains in the state for another five days.

Yellow alert has been issued to the south and north interior region and coastal regions. Meanwhile, large scale damages have been reported from many districts of the state due to heavy rains.
Parlesh Rathod, a resident of Obalapura village in Ramadurg taluk of Belagavi , died on the spot on Tuesday following a lighting strike as heavy rains and thunderstorms were reported in most parts of the district.
Capital city Bengaluru has been turned into a “hill station” following drizzle and cloudy atmosphere. Heavy rains on Monday evening causing severe inconvenience to commuters.
A huge tree in the premises of the government school converted into polling station at Kotanuru in Kalaburgi district has been uprooted, disrupting the preparations for the polling. The authorities were clearing the debris from the premises.
Heavy rains have lashed many parts of the Gadag district and authorities are worried over the situation on polling day if the heavy rains continue.

The rains have uprooted trees in Keshwapura road in Hubballi. The forceful winds have brought down the pandal installed to distribute voting machines in the premises of a school there.
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#Heavy #rains #continue #lash #Karnataka #killed #lightning
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 9, 2023
Israeli strikes kill 13 in Gaza strip; many civilians among dead

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Israel’s air strike killed 13 Palestinian civilians including three top commanders of the militant group Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip.
The strikes took place in the wee hours of Tuesday when 40 Israeli warplanes and helicopters attacked several places across the Gaza strip, the deadly strike hit homes and created a panic situation among residents.
Following the air strikes, Palestinian health officials confirmed that eight women and children were among the dead people and another had received severe injuries.

“Four children and four women were among those killed in the strike. most of the injured were women and children and many were in critical condition in hospital,” officials added.
Meanwhile, Israel issued a statement and claimed that they had only targeted militants who pose an imminent threat to their citizens.
Israel further stated that Islamic Jihad is a vindictive group and is expected to respond with rocket fire into Israel.
Reports suggested that at least two apartments with their fronts collided down strongly.
Russian representative office located in Palestinian territories announced a Russian citizen named Dr Jamal Khuswan, a former chairman of the Gaza Dentists Association, was also killed in the strike along with his wife and son.

As per BBC reports, Mohammed Khuswan was a prominent dentist and during the Isreal strike, he and his family were inside their home when it was hit by a missile.
Meanwhile, Islamic Jihad’s military wing, the al-Quds Brigades, confirmed the deaths of three of its
Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad group confirmed the death of three commanders along with their wives and children.
They identified them as Jihad Shaker al-Ghannam (secretary of the al-Quds Brigades’ Military Council), Khalil Salah al-Bahtini (the commander of its Northern Region) and Tariq Mohammed Ezzedine (head of the military action in the occupied West Bank).
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#Israeli #strikes #kill #Gaza #strip #civilians #among #dead
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 9, 2023
Mamata Banerjee attacks BJP pointing out Tagore stood for secular vision

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Kolkata: Even as a controversy broke out over what political rivals saw as an attempt to usurp the legacy of national poet Rabindranath Tagore by the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in a speech here on Tuesday to mark the Nobel Laurette’s birth anniversary pointedly spoke about his secular vision and his use of Raksha Bandhan to promote Hindu-Muslim unity.
Analysts saw this as thinly veiled attack on the BJP and Home Minister Amit Shah who is in the city to pay homage to the poet at a function organised by a BJP supported cultural NGO. TMC has long accused BJP and its top leadership of promoting a political ideology opposed to the tenets of secularism.
“We hardly have the qualifications to define the Poet Laurette he is in our soul, he is the poet of the freedom movement, the poet who stood against communal disharmony, who stood for Raksha Bandhan (Tagore tied Rakhis on the wrist of Muslim leaders to unite them with Hindus in the struggle against the British move to divide Bengal in 1905),” Banerjee said.

She also said that many things are being bandied about for the sake of electoral calculations such as that “Tagore was born in Santiniketan”.
“We should not think that for the sake of elections we can purchase someone spending Rs 5, or mistakenly we can say that Rabindranath Tagore was born in Santiniketan,” Banerjee said.
The TMC had two-and-a-half years ago gone to town with a screenshot of a tweet by BJP’s Bengal unit quoting the party president J P Nadda as making the claim as against the fact that he was born in Kolkata at Jorashankho Palace, where Shah had gone Tuesday morning. It has also long been claiming that the BJP hired people for its rallies and processions.
She also pointed to an incident which occurred a few years back when a bust of Bengal renaissance icon and educationist Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was destroyed in a college in Kolkata during a BJP rally some years back, shocking people in the state.
“We should not think that one can vandalise the bust of Vidyasagar,” Banerjee said.

“Those who have Tagore in their hearts always feel him. If ‘Ravi-upasana’ (Rabindranath homage) is done from the bottom of your heart, then that will be the real homage to the real Rabindranath,” Banerjee added.
Earlier in the day, one of Banerjee’s lieutenant’s, state urban minister Firhad Hakim alleged that the BJP was trying to reap benefits from Tagore’s cult status in the state by organising a visit by Shah’s to pay homage to the poet.
Hakim said, “The BJP is trying to woo Bengalis before next year’s Lok Sabha polls. But Rabindranath Tagore should not be used for political reasons or electoral benefits.
He said that Tagore’s ideology of secularism, humanism needs to be understood. “You need to follow his path of tolerance, harmony among all religions, which the BJP does not,” the minister said.
CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim also alleged that both TMC and BJP were trying to use Tagore politically.
“Today those who are playing with religion, are trying to use Tagore for their divisive politics. Tagore was against all this. Neither BJP’s nor TMC’s ideologies match with that of Tagore,” Salim told reporters.
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#Mamata #Banerjee #attacks #BJP #pointing #Tagore #stood #secular #vision
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 9, 2023
Hyderabad Solidarity Forum condemn Manipur violence wearing black masks

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Hyderabad: In solidarity with violence-hit Manipur, the Hyderabad Solidarity Forum gathered near the Nampally Exhibition Grounds on Tuesday wearing black masks and holding placards.
The Hyderabad Solidarity Forum released a statement describing the situation in Manipur as the “perfect example” of a culture fed with divisive politics and religious hate.
“Fuelled by the rampant spread of divisive communal narratives, such violence has taken the shape of riots, evictions, murder, calls to genocide, confiscation of lands and a plethora of other tactics deployed by dominant majority communities who have vested economic and political interests. Mainstream narratives of these incidents ensure that the voices and the realities of the marginalised are silenced,” the press noted read.

Condemning the ethnic violence that left 60 dead, and more than 23,000 displaced across the state, the Hyderabad Solidarity Forum’s statement demanded collective action against violence fed with hate.
“We take a collective stance against such violence, oppression and divisive narratives fuelled by false information. We aim to revive the spirit of unity, understanding, goodwill and peace that our country so desperately needs. We demand the cessation of violence in the state and the recognition of the rights of the minority communities to their lands,” the statement read.
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#Hyderabad #Solidarity #Forum #condemn #Manipur #violence #wearing #black #masks

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 9, 2023