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Tag: BJP

  • ‘Shouted slogans, threw stones, and set fire’: Muslim ex-FM home attacked in India

    ‘Shouted slogans, threw stones, and set fire’: Muslim ex-FM home attacked in India

    Hindu extremists have attacked and set fire to the home of a former Indian foreign minister (FM), police say, in the latest incident of religious violence. Critics say religious violence has increased under Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, reports Al-Jazeera.

    Salman Khurshid, a Muslim from the Opposition Congress party, published a book in which he compared the kind of Hindu nationalism that has grown under Modi to “extremist groups” such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS).

    A mob of about 20 people from an extremist local Hindu group massed outside Khurshid’s house near the northern city of Nainital on Monday.

    “They shouted slogans, threw stones, broke several windows, ransacked [the entry] and set fire [to a door],” said a local police chief Jagdish Chandra.

    Khurshid posted images of the aftermath of the attack on social media, and wrote, “Shame is too ineffective a word.”

    “I hoped to open these doors to my friends who have left this calling card. Am I still wrong to say this cannot be Hinduism?” he added.

    Activists say that religious minorities in Hindu-majority India have faced increased levels of discrimination and violence since Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014.

  • Right-wing Hindus arrested for disrupting Jummah prayer in India

    Right-wing Hindus arrested for disrupting Jummah prayer in India

    Dozens of people, many from Hindu right-wing groups, were arrested on Friday in India for disrupting Friday Muslim prayer, reports Dawn.

    Hindu groups have been pressuring authorities for weeks in Gurgaon to stop Muslims from offering Friday prayers in open spaces.

    Critics have accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of oppressing minorities.

    However, Modi’s government rejects having a Hindu agenda and insists that people of all religions have equal rights.

    In September, a harrowing video went viral on social media, where Indian police officers could be seen beating Muslims in Assam. In the video, several Assam cops were beating a man with sticks even as he lay motionless on the ground.

    In October, another video went viral where a mob in India forced a Muslim woman to remove her burqa in public.

    The mob harassed the girl for wearing the burqa, after which she was forced to take it off.

    “Take the burqa off, you are giving a bad name to the nation,” one of the members from the group could be heard telling the woman.

  • ‘Photoshopped image’, New York Times issues correction about PM Modi’s fake picture

    ‘Photoshopped image’, New York Times issues correction about PM Modi’s fake picture

    Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s ‘fake image’ started doing the rounds on social media.

    In the picture, which seems to be a cover photo for the New York Times (NYT), Modi can be seen writing something. The headline of the cover photo glorifying Narendra Modi is, “LAST, BEST HOPE OF EARTH”.

    Indian and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) followers shared the fake image so many times that the New York Times had to give a clarification.

    Taking to Twitter, NYT wrote, “This is a completely fabricated image, one of many in circulation featuring Prime Minister Modi.”

    “Resharing or circulating photoshopped images online only adds to misinformation and uncertainty, at a time when truthful, trusted journalism is needed most,” read the statement.

    Twitterati reacted to the fake image even more after the clarification was issued.

    Columnist and writer, Ashok Swain tweeted, “Nothing hurts when you have no shame left!”

    https://twitter.com/ashoswai/status/1442958821031174151

    Indian journalist, Rana Ayyub took to Twitter and wrote, “What an embarrassment !! If nothing, the photoshop skills of our politicians is making international news.”

    Congressman Saral Patel tagging PM Modi on Twitter wrote, “One more feather in @narendramodi’s hat.”

    Journalist Swati Chaturvedi tweeted, “I feel embarrassed as an Indian at this persistent fakery is @narendramodi embarrassed or not?”

    A Twitter user wrote, “Modi has made India the laughing stock of the world, with his IT Cell !!”

  • Video: Indian cops brutally beat Assam Muslims, Twitter slams Modi govt

    Video: Indian cops brutally beat Assam Muslims, Twitter slams Modi govt

    A harrowing video went viral on social media, where Indian police officers can be seen beating Muslims in Assam. In the video, several Assam cops can be seen beating a man with sticks even as he lay motionless on the ground.

    https://twitter.com/Vignesh_TMV/status/1441048703519715333

    The police brutality video has emerged from an eviction drive in the Sipajhar area of Darrang district of Assam. Policemen opened fire at a man and thrashed him.

    A photographer, identified as Bijay Shankar Baniya, is also seen assaulting the man, who appears to have a bullet wound in his chest. Baniya is a professional photographer who was hired by the district administration to document the situation and has been arrested, according to reports.

    https://twitter.com/thenameis_Mr__J/status/1441011534008754182

    According to Scroll, the administration served an eviction notice to residents of Kirakota Char late on Wednesday night. There was a protest on Thursday morning, after which the administration reportedly “promised that the villagers will be rehabilitated before the eviction”. But when the activists left the area, the police opened fire on the protestors, residents told Scroll.

    Pakistan’s federal minister Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter to condemn the incident, and said, “Today, Prime Minister Imran Khan will once again draw the attention of the United Nations to the atrocities taking place in India. #ModiFascism”

    Lawyer, Aman Wadud tweeted, “HOW will the govt stop the hatred he represents? Oh, wait! It is this govt that generated this HATRED!”

    Journalist Ankur Bhardwaj tweeted, “A dance of death. #Assam”

    https://twitter.com/Bhayankur/status/1441032166796718091
  • ‘Modi distorting history and stoking communalism is the special forte of his RSS-BJP regime’: Pakistan

    ‘Modi distorting history and stoking communalism is the special forte of his RSS-BJP regime’: Pakistan

    As Pakistan celebrated its 75th Independence Day, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and made controversial statements degrading the sacrifices of the many people during the time of partition of the subcontinent.

    Pakistan responded to Modi’s “shameful” tweets, saying that “distorting history and stoking communalism is the forte of the RSS-BJP regime”.

    Modi took to Twitter and said, “In memory of the struggles and sacrifices of our people, August 14 will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.”

    “May [this day] keep reminding us of the need to remove the poison of social divisions, disharmony and further strengthen the spirit of oneness, social harmony, and human empowerment,” Modi added.

    In a statement, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri dubbed Modi’s move “a political and publicity stunt”, and said that “no modern state is so much in contradiction with itself as the Indian state — the so-called ‘largest democracy’.”

    “It is shameful that the practitioners of ‘Hindutva’ ideology, and purveyors of hate and violence, would so hypocritically and one-sidedly invoke the tragic events and mass migration that occurred in the wake of Independence in 1947,” said the statement.

    The Foreign Office further added, “Distorting history and stoking communalism is the forte of RSS-BJP regime. Far from healing old wounds, they would go to any extent to sow further dissensions for electoral gains. We are sure that people of goodwill in India would completely reject this political stunt.”

  • Anti-Muslim slogans call for murder at event organised by BJP

    Anti-Muslim slogans call for murder at event organised by BJP

    Inflammatory, anti-Muslim slogans calling for murder were raised in New Delhi, India, on Sunday during a march “against Colonial-era laws” in the country — an event organised by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashwini Upadhyay, reported The Wire.

    The event, organised under the ‘Bharat Jodo Movement’, demanded the end of “colonial-era laws” by implementing a Uniform Civil Code. The event was reportedly held without police permission.

    In photos and videos of the event doing the rounds on social media, violent and inflammatory anti-Muslim slogans were raised at the event, including slogans directly calling for the murder of Muslims. The Delhi Police have registered an FIR against unknown persons.

    https://twitter.com/asfreeasjafri/status/1424366863711043587?s=21

    People are questioning why an FIR has been registered against unknown people when their faces are clearly visible.

    Senior Journalist Barkha Dutt tweeted: “Revolting anti-Muslim slogans in heart of the capital is a clear example of hate speech and incitement to violence.”

    “I do not agree with the sedition law or with the phrase anti-national but if ever there was an apt definition of it, it is these men, caught on tape,” tweeted the journalist.

    Indian journalist Smita Sharma tweeted, “Video clips doing the rounds of vitriolic dangerous sloganeering against Muslims in the heart of the capital.”

    Sharma further said, “These are not fringe elements or just stupid crowds. They have been emboldened. Will @DelhiPolice act against these toxic anti-nationals?@CPDelhi.”

    Journalist Maya Mirchandani tweeted, “A group gets permission to hold a sit in at Jantar Mantar supposedly for unity in the country, then raises genocidal slogans against Indian Muslims in the heart of Delhi, a stone’s throw from parliament. Under govt’s nose, under @CPDelhi nose. How? #rightwingextremism #hatespeech”

  • Our own people were involved in drone attacks says PM Khan

    Our own people were involved in drone attacks says PM Khan

    Addressing an election rally in Kotli, Azad Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan said, “Our ally, the one we considered our friend used to do drone attacks on our country. Drone attacks used to occur in Pakistan both during the tenure of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, Nawaz Sharif, and former President, Asif Ali Zardari’s time.

    They both used to condemn the attacks but deep with they had permitted for the attacks to occur. Why doesn’t any drone attack happen in my [PM Imran Khan] term.”

    “You should not blame the United States for the drone attacks, our own people were involved,” added the prime minister.

    PM Khan asked the people to question the Opposition as to what did they do for the betterment of their people while they were in power

    “Both PML-N and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) both had five years in power, how much did these two parties advocate for the people of Kashmir internationally?” questioned PM Khan.

    Khan reiterated that ever since the Indian Prime Miniter Narendra Modi’s party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came into power, the people of Kashmir have gone through the most turmoil.

    “The ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) being practiced by Modi is that of the Nazism, ‘borrowed by the German Nazi’,” said the PM.

    “India has the strongest lobby with Israel and our Prime Minister (Nawaz Sharif) was busy inviting Modi to weddings for his own benefit.

    Earlier during the day, Prime Minister Imran Khan had rubbished talk of him “wishing to turn Azad Jammu and Kashmir” into a new province of Pakistan.

    “I do not know where all this talk has sprung from,” he said, dismissing any notion of such an idea.

    “But what I want to make clear now, is that in 1948, there were two United Nations Security Council resolutions which granted the people of Kashmir the right to decide their own future. According to the UN resolutions, the people had to decide whether they want to join Hindustan or Pakistan.

    “I want to clarify to all of you today. InshaAllah, a day will come, when all the sacrifices made by the people of Kashmir, will not be wasted. God will grant you that right. There will be a referendum, InshaAllah.

  • ‘The world has seen true face of so-called Indian democracy,’ Pakistan demands answers

    ‘The world has seen true face of so-called Indian democracy,’ Pakistan demands answers

    In a statement released by the Foreign Office regarding India’s use of Israeli spyware, Pegasus, to hack Prime Minister Imran Khan’s phone, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez stated, “We call on the relevant UN bodies to thoroughly investigate the matter, bring the facts to light, and hold the Indian perpetrators to account.”

    The statement further said, “We condemn in strongest possible terms India’s state-sponsored, continuing and widespread surveillance and spying operations in clear breach of global norms of responsible state behaviour.”

    “Keeping a clandestine tab on dissenting voices is a long-standing textbook ploy of the RSS-BJP regime to commit human rights atrocities in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and peddle disinformation against Pakistan,” read the statement.

    “The world has seen the true face of the so-called Indian ‘democracy’. We are closely following these revelations and will bring the Indian abuses to the attention of appropriate global platforms.”

    The recent revelations by Pegasus Project show that the Indian government had targeted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s phone for surveillance in 2019. Analysis of the more than 1,000 mostly Indian phone numbers selected for potential targeting by using Pegasus spyware strongly indicates intelligence agencies within the Indian government were behind the selection.

  • Delhi police raid Twitter headquarters for censorship

    Delhi police raid Twitter headquarters for censorship

    Officers in New Delhi from the special cell (the Elite branch that investigates terrorism and organised crime) raided Twitter’s office to serve a warning notice to the head of Twitter.

    This incident took place when Twitter in India labelled a tag of “manipulation” to the tweets of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members in which they accused the opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC), of falsely accusing PM Narendra Modi of mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

    BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra tweeted that INC is giving undue favours to journalists affected by the pandemic.

    However, an Indian fact-checking website revealed that the image is fake. In response, INC filed a police complaint against Sambit Patra.

    Twitter spokesperson declined to comment on this matter.

    For months, the Indian government has been pressurising Twitter to censor the content of Indian journalists but Twitter has refused to comply with it. In response, the Indian IT Ministry and politicians have been giving threats to Twitter officials for not toeing the Indian government’s line.
    Recently, the Indian government has revised its policies and added more regulation to control social media.

  • India struggles to breathe

    India struggles to breathe

    A video has been making rounds on social media, where a person can be seen begging and crying for an oxygen cylinder. Like him, millions of Indians are struggling to find oxygen for their loved ones amid a devastating second wave of coronavirus.

    According to report, the second-largest populated country in the world has had 3,498 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.

    The BBC has documented the breaking points of Indian hospitals and crematorium, which has left hospitals in India overwhelmed. Donations have been pouring in to India from all over the world and in different cities, the Indian Army is setting up temporary hospitals and making its medical staff available to fight the deadly Covid 19.

    While talking to CNN, Narendra Taneja, a spokesman for the ruling Indian Party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that, “We are in power, we are the government in India so of course responsibility is first and foremost ours, good or bad, whatever it is. It is our responsibility and we’re trying our very level best.” The BJP came under fire when despite the several warnings, large mass rallies held between March and April ahead of state elections.

    Earlier this week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked US President Joe Biden and President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, for their help and support.

    From Pakistan, in a letter to Indian PM Modi, Managing Trustee of Edhi Foundation Faisal Edhi offered to arrange all the necessary supplies. He stated,” As a neighboring friend, we sympathize with you greatly and during this strenuous time, we would like to extends our help in the form of a fleet of 50 ambulances along with our services to assist you in addressing, and further circumventing the health conditions.”

    The Indian government has advised all its citizens to get vaccinated as soon as possible. According to experts, a double mutant variant is adding fuel to India’s crisis as there are 243 cases every minute.