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NCP leader Nawab Malik claims Sameer Wankhede illegally tapping phones

October 26, 2021

Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Tuesday accused NCB official Sameer Wankhede of illegal phone tapping and announced that he will hand over a letter on the official’s ‘misdeeds’ to the agency head.

“Sameer Wankhede through two persons in Mumbai and Thane is illegally intercepting the mobile phones of some people,” said Malik, who has been targeting Wankhede after his son-in-law’s arrest. Malik also claimed that Wankhede had sought the call detail record (CDR) of his family member from the police.

Wankhede in his affidavit submitted to a Mumbai court on Monday claimed he was under a “lurking threat of arrest as it does not suit some vested interests for conducting an honest and impartial investigation”.

The official had also claimed that he was being personally targeted by a well-known political figure (Malik), and the only reason he can fathom is that the NCB had arrested “this person’s son-in-law Sameer Khan”.

Malik said he is forwarding a letter written by ‘someone in NCB about the various illegal activities of Wankhede’ to the agency’s DG S N Pradhan.

The NCP minister said the NCB should investigate the 26 allegations in the letter claiming an ‘extortion racket’ being run within the anti-drugs agency.

“As a responsible citizen I will be forwarding this letter to DG Narcotics requesting him to include this letter in the investigation being conducted on Sameer Wankhede,” the minister tweeted.

Here are the contents of the letter received by me from an unnamed NCB official.
As a responsible citizen I will be forwarding this letter to DG Narcotics requesting him to include this letter in the investigation being conducted on Sameer Wankhede pic.twitter.com/SOClI3ntAn

— Nawab Malik نواب ملک नवाब मलिक (@nawabmalikncp) October 26, 2021

Sameer Wankhede used forged documents to get his job?

Vaidehi Taman

October 25, 2021

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Minister Nawab Malik has levelled fresh accusations at Sameer Wankhede, taking to Twitter Malik alleged that Wankhede, an IRS officer who serves as Zonal Director of the NCB in Mumbai, used forged documents to get his job. To back his allegation, he posted a copy of Wankhede’s birth certificate, which shows his father’s name as different from the one mentioned in his service records.

This is from where Sameer Dawood Wankhede’s forgery started; Malik wrote in Hindi. The Civil Services Examination candidate information list is maintained by the Department of Personnel and Training. It mentions that Wankhede applied for the job under the Scheduled Caste quota and was allotted the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) cadre. With the birth certificate, Malik was implying that Wankhede is originally a Muslim. Dalit Muslims are not eligible for benefits under the Scheduled Caste quota.

Wankhede subsequently issued a statement denying the allegations, adding that the publication of his personal documents on Twitter is “defamatory in nature and unnecessary invasion of family privacy”. The birth certificate tweeted mentioned Wankhede’s father’s name as Dawood Wankhede. In the officer’s service records, his father’s name is mentioned as ‘Dnyandev Wankhede’.

In his statement responding to Malik’s claims, Wankhede said his father “Dnyandev Kachruji Wankhede” retired as senior police inspector in the Maharashtra state excise department, Pune, on 30 June 2007. His father is a Hindu, and his mother Late Zaheeda was a Muslim. On Monday, photographs from Wankhede’s first marriage also went viral.

To this, Wankhede wrote he married Dr Shabana Qureshi in 2006 in a civil marriage ceremony under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Both of them divorced mutually through the civil court under the Special Marriage Act in the year 2016. In 2017, Wankhede married Marathi actor Kranti Redkar, and the couple has twin daughters.

Wankhede led the team that carried out the 2 October raid on a cruise ship off the coast of Mumbai where Aryan Khan and friends were allegedly detained for drug-related offences. Malik has since sought to allege a conspiracy, making public statements to poke holes in the NCB’s investigation.

Among other things, the minister has questioned the presence of a man identified as K.P. Gosavi at the NCB headquarters during Aryan’s arrest, despite the fact that he is not associated with the agency. Gosavi is believed to have absconded since. Malik has claimed that the entire Aryan Khan drug bust is a fake case and that Wankhede was in the Maldives amid Covid restrictions — at a time when a number of Bollywood personalities were at the archipelago — as he was running an extortion racket.

Wankhede later clarified that he visited the Maldives with proper permission from his department for a family vacation after the lockdown was lifted.

Wankhede approached Mumbai Commissioner of Police Hemant Nagrale, asking him to ensure there is no precipitate or hasty legal action carried out against him to frame him with ulterior motives.

Earlier on the same day, a witness in the case, Prabhakar Sail, claimed he was made to sign on a blank paper and alleged there was talk of a payoff worth crore, pointing to the NCB zonal director as one of the beneficiaries. The NCB released a statement in response to Sail’s claims, saying Wankhede has categorically denied the allegations.

Prabhakar Sail, the independent witness in the cruise drugs case, arrived at the Mumbai police commissioner’s office on Monday to meet senior security officials, a day after he claimed that Rs 25 crore was demanded by an NCB official and another person to let off Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the case, an official said.

Sail visited the police commissioner’s office apparently in connection with his security concern. He reached the commissioner’s office premises at around 11.20 am and met the Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Milind Bharambhe. On Sunday, Sail told media persons that he feared a threat to his life and had claimed he could be harmed.

Sail, the ‘independent witness’, had claimed that Rs 25 crore was demanded by an official of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and other persons, including absconding witness K P Gosavi, to let off Aryan Khan in the cruise drugs case.

He had said that he overheard Gosavi telling one Sam D’Souza over the phone, after Aryan Khan was brought to the NCB office following the October 3 raid, about a demand of Rs 25 crore and “to settle at Rs 18 crore as they have to give Rs eight crore to Sameer Wankhede”, the zonal director of NCB. He also claimed NCB officials had asked him to sign nine to ten blank papers.

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Extortion by NCB? Money, muscle and political Mafias ganged up against Bollywood

Afternoon Voice

October 25, 2021

ncb extortion 1 — Extortion by NCB? Money, muscle and political Mafias ganged up against Bollywood 4

Ananya Panday has been summoned by the Drug Enforcement Agency (NCB) for the third consecutive day, and speculation that more Bollywood celebrities may also be summoned as part of an ongoing investigation into the Aryan Khan drug case.

Last year, NCB also quizzed actors Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh, Simone Khambatta, and celebrity manager Shruti Modi in connection with the Bollywood drugs probe. Jaya Saha about her chat with actor Namrata Shirodkar, Haarsh Limbachiyaa, Bharti Singh Karishma Prakash, has also been questioned by the NCB. But there was no conclusion drawn. All these big actors and actresses were summoned, investigated and forgotten. No one knows the motive behind these probes and also what is the outcome of these investigations? They just wanted to harass these actors or extract money? How much money NCB made?

A witness of the Narcotics Control Bureau in the cruise ship case – in which Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is arrested – has made claims of payoffs to agency officer Sameer Wankhede. Mr Wankhede has told the Mumbai police that he is being framed. In an affidavit, Prabhakar Sail, who claims to be a personal bodyguard to KP Gosavi, claimed he heard a conversation between him and one Sam D’Souza on October 3 about a ₹ 18 crore deal. KP Gosavi, the alleged private investigator who has gone missing, said they will have to give Rs. 8 crores to Sameer Wankhede, Sail said.

That evening, KP Gosavi, Sam D’Souza and Pooja Dadlani, megastar Shah Rukh Khan’s manager, had a 15-minute meeting inside a car, read the affidavit by Prabhakar Sail, who is one of the nine witnesses the NCB named in the case. Prabhakar Sail also said following KP Gosavi’s instructions, he received two bags of cash and handed them to Sam D’Souza. The bags contained ₹ 38 lakh, he said. In the affidavit, Prabhakar Sail also said he was present at the cruise ship’s boarding area and was asked to identify some of the people boardings. After the anti-drugs agency took them to its office, he was made to sign some blank papers.

NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede has written to the Mumbai Police chief complaining about “precipitate legal action” to “frame” him. “It has also brought to your notice that threats of jail and dismissal have been issued against the undersigned on public media by highly respectable public functionaries,” the letter added.

KP Gosavi, allegedly a private investigator, was apparently present during the cruise ship raid and later at the NCB office with Aryan Khan. His selfie with Aryan Khan had gone viral. While the NCB claimed he is an independent witness, his presence at the two places has raised questions about the investigation.

Journalist Vipin Gaur said, “The way Sameer Wankhede has targeted celebrity after celebrity it shows, he has not done anything except Sensationalism. He is not Serious et all. His Making Money from high profile cases. Certainly not a man of character. Should have been investigated and booked by now.”

Why media is not equally vocal on all drug raids and seizures?

Vaidehi Taman

October 25, 2021

Party drugs are embedded in Mumbai’s youth culture, NCB cannot handpick selective targets for their own benefits. After Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, there were constant attacks on Bollywood, at some point media got tired and dwindled a bit. But today they got a new reason to condemn Khans.

Sharukh Khan’s son Ayan Khan is detained in the drug case. He was part of some event, named Cray’Ark, which was organized by FashionTV India with Namascray onboard the Cordelia, an Indian cruise liner. It was a three-day cruise journey. The cruise was supposed to depart at 2 pm from Mumbai and return at 10 am on October 4 after sailing in the Arabian Sea. On the basis of unambiguous information, the officials of NCB, Mumbai, conducted a raid on the Cordelia cruise that was bound from Mumbai to Goa on October 2. During the operation, all suspects, as per the information, were searched and various drugs like MDMA/ecstasy, cocaine, MD (mephedrone), and charas were recovered. A total of 8 persons, including 2 females, have been apprehended and their role is being investigated in relation to the said recovery. NCB has registered crime no. Cr 94/21 in this matter. Further investigations are underway.

Meanwhile, some NCB officials clicked pictures with detained Aryan and posted them on social media, and that is how the attack on the Khan family and Bollywood took a new episode.

NCB officials have sent all eight individuals to jail and many such arrests were made, but during all this tamasha NCB was caught in a fire and there were constant attacks on their credibility. Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik have alleged that Sameer Wankhede was in the Maldives during the lockdown and was conducting an extortion racket on the Bollywood personalities present there. He has also alleged that the officer is acting at the behest of the BJP to discredit the Maharashtra government.

Though Wankhede has brushed off the allegations, saying he went to the Maldives with his children, “with proper permission, legally and with my own money”. If you followed the press coverage in the days following the police raid, you could conclude that the event was a pure extraction of all the evil of Bollywood and their children that could possibly live on drugs and they should be banned permanently.

Viewers were free to imagine their favourite Bollywood evil involving cocaine, MDMA, and parties. There is half-truth and half-baked stories. Uncontrolled coverage based on assumptions and imaginations. In subsequent days, “police sources” made all sorts of insinuations — mainly about the star kid — while speaking to the press.

The NCB had launched a probe into the alleged drug use in Bollywood after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June on the basis of WhatsApp chats involving drugs. The central agency had earlier arrested Rajput’s friend, actress Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, some employees of the late Bollywood actor, and a few others under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Rhea Chakraborty and some other accused are currently out on bail. But social media attacks have not stopped here.

We must know, Drugs are not new to the city. If one has to really control this maniac then there is no point in being selective. Lack of parental control, easy availability of drugs, the new culture of being cool and chilling out — whatever that might cause, throwaway income and cut-throat competition at the work, unstable relations, life challenges, divided families, and over individuality have contributed to “dope parties”, held mostly on the city’s outskirts at temporarily isolated venues, open fields, seashores or vacant buildings or boats. The raid on a rave party is not new; there are hundreds of raids and again hundreds of such events too. The Rave party culture of Mumbai is in the heart of Mumbai’s young minds. Each one of them is in search of solace. Such “rave bashes” are gaining popularity, particularly among teenagers and young adults who are hard on drugs. The peddlers are hand in gloves with cops; the tippers are also the peddlers, one against another. These Youngers undergo a lot of humiliation, rejection, and dishonour.

Most youngsters who are a part of such gangs say that it’s their way to “distress”. Once you enter the rave chain, such parties are passed on through word-of-mouth or SMSes, an advertising professional who regularly attends rave.

Success of Covid vaccination drive shows India’s capability: PM Modi in ‘Mann Ki Baat’

Web Team

October 24, 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the success of India’s Covid vaccination drive shows its capability and noted that the country is moving ahead with new energy after crossing the 100 crore vaccine doses milestone.

In his monthly Mann Ki Baat broadcast, Modi hailed healthcare workers for the vaccine milestone and said he knew that they would leave no stone unturned to vaccinate the people of the country.

The success of our vaccination drive shows India’s capability and the strength of the ‘sabka prayas’ (collective effort) mantra, he said.

Modi said the country is moving ahead with new energy and enthusiasm after crossing the 100 crore Covid vaccine doses milestone.

On October 21, India achieved a major milestone in its vaccination program against COVID-19 as the cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country surpassed the 100-crore mark.

In his Mann Ki Baat radio program, Modi also said India has always worked for world peace and this is seen in the country’s contribution to the UN Peacekeeping forces. India is also working to make Yoga and traditional methods of wellness more popular, he said.

The prime minister also praised the rise in the number of women police personnel and noted that it has jumped to over 2.15 lakh from 1.05 lakh in 2014. Referring to the ‘vocal for local’ campaign, the prime minister urged people to buy local products in the festival season.

Most Bangladeshi Muslims are just cultural Muslims observing Islamic rituals

Vaidehi Taman

October 22, 2021

bangladesh, violence, bangla, bangladesh violence, hindu, muslims, bangladeshi muslim — Image: AP

Most of the Bangladeshi Muslims are all converted Muslims from Hinduism. As a result, the Muslims of Bangladesh are not as strict Muslims as people from the Middle East or even Pakistan. Although present-day Bangladeshi’s ancestors were Pakistanis at one time in history, the people couldn’t remain Pakistani because of political and cultural clashes with the rest of Pakistanis. A typical Bangladeshi Muslim doesn’t know how to read Arabic. For a Bangladeshi Muslim culture of India or Hindu centric culture is more familiar and attracts him more than Arab culture.

It’s a secular country with a Muslim majority of 90.3% of the country population. Minorities are 8.2% of Bangladesh population. Bangladesh is a Democratic country as per its constitution. The constitution of Bangladesh recognized secularism as a fundamental right for the welfare of the country’s citizens. But Bangladesh has declared Islam as the official religion of the nation.

Bangladesh is functionally a Muslim country, even if its Constitution pays lip service to secularism. The original Constitution of Bangladesh, written in 1972, enshrined secularism as one of the four pillars of the newly-formed People’s Republic of Bangladesh and defined the word “Bengali” as a demonym for its citizens. However, beginning in the mid-1970s, a wave of Islamization swept over the country. The political forces which had been opposed to the Liberation from Pakistan regrouped under the banner of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamaat Shibir and other groups.

Weak governance under Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the consequent civil unrest propelled General Ziaur Rahman to power in a military coup in 1975. By 1977, after a series of additional coups and counter-coups, he became head of the armed forces and eventually became President. In 1978, Rahman and others founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which espoused an ideology of Islamism and Bangladeshi nationalism

In 1977, the principle of secularism was removed from the Constitution through the 5th Amendment, as were references to freedom of religion for minorities, and was replaced with the statement: “absolute trust and faith in Almighty Allah”. In 1988, the government of Muhammad Ershad passed the National Religion Bill in the Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban (Parliament of Bangladesh), declaring Islam as the state religion.

By 1991, the hardline Muslim conservatives had already amassed enough power and influence to come to power and form a government (thanks, in part, to generous foreign funding from the Gulf, as well as a widespread system of madrassahs which were constructed starting in the 1970s, creating a pronounced religious-nationalist zeal in the public).

In 1997, the opening words ‘bismillah-ar-rahman-ar rahim’ (In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful) was added to the Constitution. In 2005, the High Court of Bangladesh ruled that the 5th Amendment (1977) was illegal and unconstitutional, and restored a constitution “in the spirit of the constitution of 1972”, which restored secularism as a key principle, but which retained some of the language introduced in 1977 and 1997, namely “absolute trust and faith in Almighty Allah” (1977) and ‘bismillah-ar-rahman-ar rahim’ (1997).

In 2010, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh upheld the 2005 decision of the High Court, but some of the changes from 1977, as well as the 1997 insertion, still remain. The Court also decided to let Islam remain as the state religion. In August 2015, a petition was filed in the High Court challenging the constitutional provision of Islam as the state religion in light of the constitution’s commitment to secularism, but in March 2016 the High Court rejected the petition and retained Islam as the state religion.

Bangladeshis are by ancestry originally descendants of low caste Hindus and Buddhists who just some centuries ago converted to Islam. Due to Bangladeshis being relatively newly converted Muslims the culture is extremely different from mainstream Islamic culture which is seen in the middle east or even Pakistan. Their culture is a mix of Islam and Hinduism where Hinduism has a strong presence in traditional culture, attires, food habits etc. One side has Islam as religion and another side has Hindu-Buddhist culture. Bangladeshis love Islam but the majority are not five times Namazi.

A Bangladeshi carry both Indian and Pakistani legacy. Every Bangladeshi was Indian before 1947 and Pakistani before 1971. India and Pakistan both gave birth to Bangladesh. So, there are people who carry Indian sentiments and there are people who carry Pakistani sentiments.

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Mumbai ISKCON lends a cold shoulder to the October 23 protest

Afternoon Voice

October 22, 2021

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), has announced protests in India against the attacks on the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh. They are also planning to hold a day-long global protest on October 23 to further raise their voice against the violence targeting Hindus in the neighbouring country.

When we spoke to the officials of Mumbai ISKCON, they did not show much curiosity about their participation in the protest.

Mumbai ISKCON officials said, “We are not going to go on the roads with protest marches. We won’t be doing any public shows. If it is decided with collective consent, we might stay in the temple silently and offer prayers.”

Radharam Das, vice president, ISKCON, Kolkata said, “Our people are already protesting in many parts of the world. Now, we are planning to hold a day-long protest and prayer meeting on October 23 for the victims in Bangladesh. We condemn such attacks.”

Since anti-Hindu violence first broke out in Bangladesh during Durga Puja festivities last week, ISKCON has staged protests in India, including Kolkata, and has taken initiatives such as seeking involvement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the United Nations to bring an end to the attacks.

Its members also protested outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata. Sunday’s violence came after several such incidents over the alleged desecration of the Quran at a pandal during Durga Puja festivities in the eastern district of Cumilla.

From Cumilla, the violence spread to other areas with attacks on Hindu temples and clashes between mobs and the police in Chandpur, Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, Moulvibazar, Gazipur, Chapainawabganj, Feni and other districts. Thousands of people have been arrested over the attacks and the spread of communal hatred on social media, according to reports. The Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI), along with its student’s wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, is suspected to be behind the attacks.

Why are Hindu’s feeling insecure in India?

Vaidehi Taman

October 21, 2021

Since 2014, we have come across a term called “Hindu Khatre Mein Hain” (Hindu Lives are in danger), this can be a political stunt to unite Hindu voters against all other secular entities but still, this insecurity needs to be analyzed. Hindus are liberal but not zealots about Hinduism. This is exploited by some “Ultra Secularists” to pamper minority religions at the cost of Hinduism. There is a split in Hindus. Some Hindus themselves are doing harm to other Hindus. Internal enemies are always more dangerous than external enemies. Foreign funding is also playing havoc in religious conversions in India.

Love Jihad is the latest extension to religious conversions by force. Anyone who claims “Vasudeva Kodambakkam” has automatically voted for India being a Hindu Dharma Rashtra. Homeland of Hindus and Dharmic traditions since time immemorial.

I recollect Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s explanation on Hinduism, he says the term and concept of Hinduism was coined only in recent times. Otherwise, there was really no such thing. The word “Hindu” essentially comes from the word Sindhu. Anyone who is born in the land of Sindhu is a Hindu. It is a cultural and geographic identity. It is like saying “I am an Indian” but it is a more ancient identity than being an Indian. “Indian” is only about seventy years old.

Well, we need to think beyond Sadguru, these days things are different. Poking fun and lashing at Hindu customs and traditions have become more like a trend. A bunch of so-called secular intellectuals consider it a sign of progressive thinking to criticize Hindus. It’s very unfortunate that most of them are Hindus themselves. The open and liberal structure of Hinduism which should have been its strength has become its biggest weakness. Instead of being united, Hindus are scattered and diversified. Most of them are not sensitized enough to realize the greatness of their religion.

They fear backlash from their communities on who they are dependent on, for whatever reason, from criticism. Many of them assume pseudonyms on social media platforms like Twitter and react as they want to, but would never speak in public. They fear losing jobs because others are picking their social media platforms and making them public declaring them as communal, as they would be seen as communal because wearing your religion up your sleeve is considered communal if you are not a minority in India.

Lack of support from close ones: Parents, friends, close acquaintances quickly give up on them if they speak up. Lack of sufficient core knowledge on dharma and incapacity to speak dispassionately. Lack of self-awareness among modern Indian youth. Many among the youth today dislike dharma because of the kind of education they have been imparted, the company they want to associate themselves with, they want to remain relevant among the cream of the society.

After Independence, India was divided into present-day India and Pakistan on the basis of religious differences. Areas with a Muslim majority went with Pakistan and Pakistan became an Islamic country. No one in the world can imagine India without Hinduism, its culture and contributions to the country. There are many Christian and Islamic countries but not a single Hindu country. Where will Hindu go if mistreated in their own country India?

Today India is a Secular & Peaceful country only because Hindus are in majority. Imagine what will happen if Hindus become a minority in India? (In some parts of India, Hindus are already a minority.) and we read every day about whatever is happening. Hindu Rashtra is an idea of a nation where Hindus and Hinduism will not be abused or ignored like it is done today. In Hindu Rashtra, Hindu/Indian culture will be promoted. Great philosophies of Hinduism/Ancient India would be followed.

Today, Hindus are mistreated in their own country because of the lack of unity in them. Today it has become a fashion for so-called Seculars (in fact Pseudo-Seculars) to mock Hinduism and Hindu deities as they know that Hindus are tolerant & divided (by different caste, cultures, regions and languages) so Hindus will never respond or oppose.

Hindus are ignored/discriminated against by almost all political parties because Hindus are not Vote-bank for them as Hindus have to lack unity. So, all so-called secular politicians have become anti-Hindu while appeasing united minorities to get votes.

A nation is usually defined by its uniqueness in culture and people who claim to be part of that particular nation take pride in following that culture. It can be expressed in any form like rituals, traditions, language etc. Any province which does not match this similarity is not considered to be part of their nation by those people. People of this nation living in any state follow the same tradition or culture or a similar culture that has the same roots in the Hindu culture.

This phenomenon remains unaltered irrespective of what name you give it. Those who understand what Hindu Rashtra actually means have no objections to calling it in the same way. Being a Hindu does not mean having a particular belief system. Basically, the whole culture was oriented towards realizing one’s full potential. Whatever you did in this culture was Hindu. There is no particular god or ideology that you can call the Hindu way of life. You can be a Hindu irrespective of whether you worship a man-God or a woman-God, whether you worship a cow or a tree. If you don’t worship anything you can still be a Hindu.

When Adiyogi was asked how many ways to enlightenment, he said only 112 if you are within the realm of your physical system, but if you transcend the physical, then every atom in the universe is a doorway. “Bharat”, as the nation has been known for many millennia, is a complex amalgamation of this variety of spiritual possibilities. If you happen to be at the Maha Kumbh, there was quite a display of this. The best compliment came from none other than Mark Twain, after his visit to India, he said, “So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked.”

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Should India be declared as a Hindu Rashtra?

Vaidehi Taman

October 21, 2021

In a democratic India, demand for Hindu Rashtra is prevailing frequently. Many staunch Hindu think tanks believe that India is a country of Hindus. Hindus have been in this country for five thousand years. They believe India is the ideal country to be declared as Hindu religion.

Rahul Kaul, the President, Youth for Panoon Kashmir said, “As a Kashmiri Hindu we have this ardent belief that declaring India as Hindu Rashtra and establishing principles of the Hindu way of living is the only way to free Bharat from the gallows of Islamic Jihad, which has engulfed our nation for last over 700 years. Its advent has resulted in the continuous Genocide of Kashmiri Hindus primarily and now spreading across Bharat because time and again incompetent social and political system has always overlooked the intricacies of Genocide and its denial today has allowed it to replicate in various forms across Bharat. We have an age-old tradition that its only Hindu way of living justifies the highest epitome of Pluralism but with no space for fascist, radical and imposing faith that is propagated in Bharat via Islamic Jihad. Establishing Hindu Rashtra is the only way to establish peace in Kashmir in specific and across the entire Bharat and eventually across the Globe in general.”

Advocate Abbas Kazmi said, “After about 74 years of India’s Independence some radicals are demanding for a Hindu Rashtra. Our founding fathers had after gaining Independence declared in its Constitution, India as a socialist secular democratic Republic. Various minorities and ethnic communities are living in harmony with the majority. Some political outfits to gain absolute control and everlasting power in India are pressing for a Hindu Rashtra. Next in line would be a dictatorship form of government. The minorities are quite large in number and equally powerful and they will never submit and accept this notion of Hindu Rashtra. The forceful implementation of this Sham notion would result in bloodshed and disaster. Even a large number of Hindus are not submitting to this form of govt. The main purpose of this stunt is to grab power forever and to bring the slavery form of government to India once again by persecuting the minorities and quelling their voices.”

Advocate & Former Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian said, “No, we the people of this country are Indians. We are all just people of this great country with fundamental and constitutional rights to vote and elect our own people to govern our country within the framework of our Constitution. We have equal rights and duties with reasonable restrictions towards the Nation. The nation belongs to we the People, we elect our representatives to put forth our grievances before the body elected by us for the good governance of the smooth running of our country. We are independent and secular. We have not elected any party, community to change the nomenclature of this Nation. We have not elected anybody to sell this country. Our reps are our servants to serve us. They are not our bosses. They have the oath to serve us diligently for a period of five years.”

Advocate Devendra Sharma, “Present constitutional scheme is a continuation of Imperialism with minor cosmetic alterations, primarily its colonial pro-Abrahamic faith system is Anti-Sanatan Dharm. Secularism is the official political ideology of the constitution wherein; minorities need to be protected by giving them privilege against anti-minority Hindu Majoritarianism is its fundamental premise. Hindus are second class citizens under the existing discriminatory orders. Therefore, the demand of Hindu Rashtra is a question of life and death for Hindus to ensure equitable fundamental rights to protect their civilizational, cultural Dharmic values which are under threat from Abrahamic secularist political ideology. Hindu Rashtra means and includes a Nation without any discrimination where Hindus celebrate their civilizational Values without any fear and threat.”

Dr Sanjay Bhide said, “One language, One Religion and One Culture keep the people of the country together. All over the World, the countries enjoy such situations, and those countries have thrived! It is always advantageous to take decisions in the common interest of the country to face the least opposition, not to receive fractured Mandates to the decisions. Hindustan has different languages and different regional cultures. It makes decision-making very difficult. However, Hinduism is the only common religion in our country. If our country is declared as a Hindu nation, it shall be certainly helpful for the protection of Hindu culture by reducing any kind of unethical opposition to implementing decisions. Our country will unite immediately. To represent the Hindu Population of more than 1.30 billion spread all over the world, to preserve Hindu culture and Hindu identity, declaring our country as the Hindu country is the only solution.”

Aam Aadmi Party leader Preeti Sharma Menon said, “It would indeed be a sad day that instead of aspiring to be a world leader, our country aspires to be a religious state like Nepal and Bangladesh. Bhagat Singh did not lay down his life for a religious state, he did it for liberty. Babasaheb did not write the Constitution for religion, he wrote it for every citizen. And the BJP/RSS combine will never take this away from us.”

Chetan Rajhans, National spokesperson of Sanatan Sanstha told said, “Bharat never had secular governance. Raja Harishchandra, Prabhu Shriram from ‘Treta Yuga’; Maharaj Yudhishthir in ‘Dwapar Yuga’, Samrat Chandragupta, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Vijaynagar’s Krushnadevrai, Afghanistan’s Raja Dahir and Rajasthan’s Maharana Pratap etc were not secular kings. All these kings ruled over Hindu Rashtra. 563 ‘Sansthans’ were governed as individually ruled States at the time of independence as per Hindu culture. In 1947, Hindustan was a Hindu nation. In 1976, Indira Gandhi declared Bharat as a secular country. This secular democracy has caused immense harm to Bharat and Hindus. Hindu Society should work together for the revival of Bharat as a Hindu Rashtra.”

Sumit Savarkar, Youth Convener, Shourya Jagaran Abhiyan, Maharashtra said, “The external problems will be solved in the ‘Hindu Nation’. Foremost among the external problems before the Nation is the threat of war with Pakistan and China. A similar situation existed during Shivaji Maharaj’s time. Aurangzeb was keen on swallowing Shivaji Maharaj’s small kingdom. However, he was terrified by the news of the ceremonious establishment of the ‘Hindu Nation’ with the coronation ceremony of Shivaji Maharaj. Subsequently, during the entire life of Shivaji Maharaj, Aurangzeb did not dare approach Maharashtra, leave alone South Bharat. Once ‘Hindu Nation’ is established, no country will dare play mischief with us.”

Sadguru (Dr.) Charudatta Pingle, National Guide, Hindu Rastra Adhiveshan said, “There are 157 Christian Nations, 52 Muslim Nations, 12 Buddhist Nations and 1 Jewish Nation in the world. However, was there a ‘Hindu Nation’ at all? Yes, Hindus did have their own Sanatan Nation on this earth till 1947. What is the state of that Nation today? Hence, we want Hindu Rashtra.”

Sunil Ghanwat, Spokesperson of Shri Mahalakshmi Devsthan Bharshtachar Virodhi Kruti Samiti, Kolhapur said, “The secular governance that is prevalent in the nation today only calls for the government takeover of Hindu temples, and not of any Mosque, Church or Madarasa. The temple wealth is utilised to provide funds to the ‘secular’ government’s schemes as well as various incentives provided to people of other religions. Now the secular government even takes decisions regarding the temple priests and what religious rites are to be performed in temples. Even though the Supreme Court of India has pointedly asked ‘what business a secular government has in the affairs of a temple’, none of the political parties across the nation has come forth to hand over the temple authority to the Hindus. What sort of ‘secularism’ is this? This is why we need Hindu Rashtra.”

Abhijit Khedkar an archaeologist said, “I am Hindu but I don’t have any problem with the name India, as far as framing India as a Hindu nation is concerned, the question doesn’t seem to be appropriate. Ever since India came into existence it has been known for its unity in diversity. Naming India particularly a Hindu nation would destroy its unity in diversity. Also, India has been a land of opportunities, and possibilities for each of its citizens, no matter whether it is about Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain or anyone else. India has always been a nation of equal rights for everyone. So, the question doesn’t make sense.”

All is not well within Maharashtra Congress

Afternoon Voice

October 21, 2021

There can be no congress party without the Gandhi-Nehru family name but vice-versa there would be no survival for Congress no matter how much Gandhi take an active part without the supports of its able workers. West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu office bearers losing faith in their leaders due to the carelessness of their leaders. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi struggling to grab some fortune for them but on the other hand, they are losing good leaders. They are not realizing the fact that they have to reward those leaders who are pouring their hearts out to congress by creating value-added existence for them.

While spokespersons on TV channels were shielding the top leadership, including president Sonia Gandhi and her son, vice-president Rahul Gandhi, some leaders were aghast at the extent of mismanagement by Gandhis. The party not only lost the states of Kerala and Assam where it was in power, but its alliances in Tamil Nadu (with the DMK) and in West Bengal (with the Left parties), too, came a cropper. Somehow, they managed to sail through to power in Maharashtra with the help of the alliance, but all is not well with the state congress party within.

Rahul’s casual approach, and Priyanka’s way to the highway if hurting many workers. The elections results show that Congress continues to be in the doldrums even two years after its decimation in the Lok Sabha elections. Party leaders admit that Rahul has proved to be a non-starter. Looking at other members of the family…it is better not to have much hope.

Here in Maharashtra, all underserving candidates who joined congress quitting other political parties are given utmost opportunities and the core workers of Congress are sidelined.

One such example is Sachin Sawant, when the BJP-Shiv Sena government led by Devendra Fadnavis came to power in Maharashtra in 2014; Sawant emerged as one of the strongest critics of the Fadnavis government. As the Congress party was dejected and hardly visible in state legislature following successive defeats in elections, it was Sawant who kept attacking the Narendra Modi government and Fadnavis government on various policies and raised a number of crucial, people-centric issues. That is why Ashok Chavan after he became state party president, kept Sawant as the main spokesman of the party. Sachin belongs to the Chavan lobby of state politics.

With a change of government in Maharashtra in 2019, Sawant continued his sharp attacks on the ousted BJP regime in the state and the Central government. As a result, his name was included in the list of persons to be nominated by the governor to the state legislative council. Just when everyone thought that he would take on the BJP as MLC, his luck ran out again as Governor B.S. Koshyari has delayed clearing the list of 12 persons given him by the state government. But that had not affected the combat spirit of Sawant and he continues to be the sharpest critic of the BJP from within the Congress.

Sawant was replaced as a spokesperson because party president Nana Patole wanted his loyalist as chief spokesman and Atul Londhe. Both Patole and Londhe are from the Vidarbha region and get along very well. On the other hand, the equation between Sawant and Patole is just cordial. But the irony is that Londhe is not as an able leader as Sachin Sawant. They are class apart. What remains to be seen now is whether Londhe can fit into Sawant’s shoes and take on the BJP with equal ferocity.

Sawant was upset with Patole’s decision to appoint Atul Londhe, a former NCP leader, as chief spokesperson of the Maharashtra Congress. Londhe had joined the grand old party just in 2016. A Congress veteran of three decades, Sawant is serving as a general secretary in the party and chief spokesperson for 10 years. Patole demoted him to an assistant spokesperson. Congress veterans need to understand the importance of hardcore workers like Sachin Sawant, if they don’t value such leaders, they would lose their worth.

Nana Patole took charge as the Maharashtra Congress party chief in February this year. He succeeded Balasaheb Thorat. Patole has since then taken several decisions that caused resentfulness among the veterans.

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