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Letters to the Editor: 24 June, 2019

June 24, 2019

Winning ways

Team India learned the art of winning and the last over thriller was the right example for the team’s tenacity to win when the chips are down. It was a team work indeed in the end. Even though the team did not fair well batting first, skipper Virat Kohli and later on Kedar Jadhav picked up momentum to give respectability to Indian team’s total. Rahul, Shankar and Dhoni made useful contribution with the bat. When Afghanistan started batting a first wicket stand of 57 runs put them back on rails. The momentum was well and truly maintained by later order batsman. At 200 for seven there was high hope and the top scorer Mohammed Nabi (52) was at the crease. But he lost his cool in the third ball of Shami’s final fling and the rest was history. He became the 10th bowler to complete a hat-trick in the World Cup history and India finally pulled off a 11 runs win and remained unbeaten in the Championship. Kudos to Team India for maintaining the winning streak.

Nickhil Mani

When will there be ‘Jan ki Baat’?

There was a little hope that Narendra Modi, on taking charge as PM, would take important steps for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and would prove faith showed by 100 crores Hindus by voting for him, as right decision. However by expressing wish to win over minority population, Modi has disappointed all by making various declarations one after another, in their favour. People have therefore, started feeling that Modi has still not come out of election campaigning mode even though elections are over. Everyone feels that Modi has always been better in his dedication towards nation, his urge for development of this country and his clean character. However, Modi should take care that majority population of Hindus of this country are looking at him with hopes, would not be disappointed. Declaration of facilities for minority and only paying visit to temple, for Hindus is not acceptable equation. Ordinary citizens of this country feel that Modi should pass an Ordinance and solve legal complications related to construction of Ram-Mandir; but Modi is not ready to talk about the same. In fact, popularity of Modi would go up if he tried to know what people want (Jan ki baat) along with talking about his own wish (mann ki baat).

Naresh Gharat

Plastic ban not working

BMC’s claim of ‘successful ban’ on plastic seems misplaced. Even tea in Mumbai is packed in plastic by roadside tea stalls apart from banned plastics bags used across all segments daily. Cigarette packets come with warnings that their consumption is injurious to health but those addicted still smoke even though it causes cancer. Warnings and fines won’t ever work in a nation where even the highly educated are indifferent to government regulations.

The government should not be penny wise and pound foolish. What is preventing them to stop plastic manufacture or for that matter cigarettes. Also charge Rs.100 for a single cigarette or a bag of plastic to discourage people from its use as a mere 10-15 rupees won’t work. Also, education than fines is the need of the hour. Make people aware of the consequences both on the environment and health to discourage its use.

S.N. Kabra

No logic in opposing simultaneous election

It refers to Prime Minister calling all-party meeting to discuss much-needed aspect of simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and all state-assemblies. There is absolutely no logic in opposing the idea which will not only save huge money for public-exchequer and political parties, but also will avoid interruption in routine work due to frequently applied conduct-codes and diversion of public-attention from normal work. It is significant that such simultaneous elections were there till the year 1967 without any opposition.

The big question is how simultaneous elections once started can be ensured permanently in case of hung assemblies and unstable governments. This can be well avoided by holding simultaneous elections of Chief Minister (or Prime Minister), Speaker and Deputy Speaker by secret and compulsory elections through EVMs equipped with VVPAT on nominations signed by at least 34-per cent members with abstaining members losing right to vote in the House though retaining its membership. Such elected incumbents may be removed only through same process but with compulsion to name alternate leader in the same motion.

Other simple but necessary poll-reforms of not allowing contesting from more than one constituency or for both Lok Sabha and state assembly, resigning from membership of the other House before filing nomination for the other and auto-cancellation of membership of Lok Sabha on taking oath as minister in the state and vice-versa should also be implemented.

Madhu Agrawal

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Illegal parking fine to abet loot?

Suraj Chandran

June 23, 2019

Even though the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has planned to impose Rs 10,000 fine for illegal parking, questions are being raised whether this policy will be implemented effectively. The fines will be ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 for car owners for parking their vehicles in non-parking areas of the city. The civic body will also tow away illegally parked vehicles. BMC Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi has asked wards to implement the rule by July 7.

The traffic police too want to levy a fine of Rs 10,000 on illegally parked vehicles. The traffic police have planned to write to the state government requesting amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act which will enable them to impose fine on wrongly parked vehicles in the city. At present, the penalty amount is only Rs 200.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said, “People sometimes are not aware of the parking rules. Hence, they park their vehicles anywhere. On the other hand, strict action must be taken against those who deliberately park their vehicles in no parking area. Strict law is required for habitual offenders. Parking rules are necessary from the security point of view. The BMC has taken the right step by framing new parking rules but it should not be misused.”

The BMC’s proposal to impose fines for illegally parked vehicles has come at a time when the city is facing space crunch for parking vehicles. Many housing societies especially the old buildings don’t have parking space for vehicles. Hence, residents have to park their vehicles on the road. Even visitors visiting these buildings have no option besides parking their vehicles outside the building. Mumbaikars want the civic body to create adequate parking spaces in the city before implementing the new parking policy.

Writer Raju Parulekar said, “So many rules are existing and one more rule is being added to it. The BMC has not been able to effectively implement the rules. The Pune Municipal Corporation has framed a rule to curb illegal parking. If you park your vehicle outside malls and are charged for parking then a case of extortion will be filed in the Pune Municipal Corporation. This is the right step.”

According to citizens, implementing the rule in the current form will only lead to more corruption in the city as offenders will pay a small amount as fine and get away with it. It will also give another option for the civic body to impose fines from motorists. Already offenders flout parking rules and get away by paying a small amount as fine. The civic body also has urged the traffic police to make changes in the Motor Vehicles Act.

MNS leader Prakash Pawar said, “BMC won’t be able to implement this new rule. Parking contractors and Traffic Police will loot the people by charging fines from them. The civic body is charging exorbitant amount as fine from the offenders. Whether the civic body is planning to start parking spaces or earn money through fines? The BMC must deploy its staff at no parking zones and take stringent action against the offenders. Why are they charging fines?”

The BMC had framed laws to deter spitting and littering in the city. Marshals were appointed by the civic body to keep an eye on offenders flouting the rules. This plan failed to work as marshals were seen harassing the people by asking them to pay penalty. Even fake marshals were seen collecting fine of Rs 11,000 from citizens at Ghatkopar. Citizens then filed a complaint with the BMC about field marshals not doing their job effectively. Later on, the fake clean-up marshals were arrested by the police and the fine amount was recovered from them. Subsequently, the civic body withdrew the services of clean-up marshals from the city.

BJP corporator Neil Somaiya said, “Right now I can’t say anything about it. When this issue is presented before the house and discussion will be held, only then I can comment about it.”

Last year, the BMC had come forward with a policy to ban plastic bags in the city. Initially, the ban worked as the officials raided shopkeepers and hawkers using plastic bags and levied fine amount of Rs 5,000 from them. However, the campaign lost its sheen after the state government had given three months time to shopkeepers to dispose of their stock of plastic bags. The ban remained restricted on paper due to ineffective implementation. Today, we can see hawkers and shops easily giving away plastic bags to the consumers. The BMC has been unable to effectively implement the plastic ban due to a lack of manpower for monitoring the offenders using plastic.

After the Elphinstone stampede tragedy, the BMC started a crackdown against hawkers. Many hawkers were asked to remove their stalls which were operating outside railway stations and bus stands. However, after a few months, hawkers returned and started doing their business outside railway stations and bus stops. The anti-hawking policy failed as BMC had failed to create adequate space for hawkers to carry out their business in the city. Today, we can see hawkers carrying out their business by flouting rules and paying money to civic body officials as fine.

Asia’s latest model hunt event concludes in Goa

Web Team

June 23, 2019

Asia’s biggest model hunt programme Mr, Miss and Mrs. Asia 2019 was organised by Star Bellezza Production on June 18 in Goa. The host Aman Verma announced Mr, Miss and Mrs. Asia Season 2 of Star Bellezza Production under the direction of Sikander Raja Hassan on this occasion. National General Secretary of Newspapers Association of India and Editor in Chief Country and Politics Newspaper Vipin Gaur and Afternoon Voice Editor-in-Chief and NBC Group Editor Vaidehi Taman graced the event as the judges and applauded the contestants. They appreciated the potential of all the participants, wished them good luck for their future endeavours, and congratulated the team for success.

Stating that the next show will be bigger, better, bolder than the previous one and the biggest show of Asia, Hassan said that there will be over 50 auditions in and outside India both online and offline.

The Managing Director of the event, Sikander Raja Hassan is a famous singer and actor who was very proud of the success of this programme. He said, “It was the team’s hard work which paid off such a fruitful result.” Sikander Raja Hassan and other directors of this show DP Gautam, Arifa Hassan, and Mamta Patel S Tomar always focused on promoting the potential of the candidates who wanted to pursue Modelling or acting as their career options. They not only provide them a platform to showcase their potential but also boost their profile by giving them work in feature films, ad films, brand shoots and many more.” DP Gautam said that this journey of talent hunt would continue to a new era. The show was choreographed by renowned Babla Kathuria.

Famous TV actor Aman Verma was the official host of this show which made the show more entertaining and intended during the finale. He was amazed by the talent and professionalism shown by the contestants.

The contestants gave the credit to the grooming provided by expert groomers of Star Bellezza Production such as Rita Gangwani, Varun Katyal, Dr. Tushar, Dr. Anjali, Zenobia Khodaiji and many more experts of the modelling industry.

The show was also judged by Mr. India 2015 and Mr. World 2016 Rohit Khandelwal who also admired the efforts of the whole team. He appreciated the spirit of every contestant.

Famous actors and personalities of the industry Kashish Khan, Myra Sareen, Rafi Malik, Dimple Vig, Ashwani Kapoor, Abhishek Malik, Namrata Thakker were also present at the event. This event was managed by the marketing and Management team of Sea Lord Entertainment and was headed by Manjul Nagar and Shubham Saxena.

Amid US criticism Modi and Trump are meeting in Osaka

Web Team

June 23, 2019

modi trump — *Image Courtesy: economictime.com(File Pic)*

In an annual report on international religious freedom, the United State has criticised Narendra Modi government for mob lynching, cow vigilante violence, hate speech, religious conversion, the legal status of minorities and government policies related to these. India has rejected this US report. The ruling BJP accused the U.S. State Department of a clear bias against the government of PM Modi. The US criticism is being seen as a result of white supremacy.

Ministry of External Affairs’ official Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “India is proud of its secular credentials, its status as the largest democracy and a pluralistic society with a longstanding commitment to tolerance and inclusion. The Indian Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to all its citizens, including its minority communities.”

It is remarkable that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has released the report just before his visit to India. He will arrive in Delhi on June 25 for talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. The visit is expected to prepare the ground for a proposed meeting between President Donald Trump and PM Modi on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka on June 27 and 28.

The US has no moral right to criticise India when there are attacks on blacks and Non-Christians in the country. White supremacists and US President Donald Trump have an endless and varied supply of insults and taunts to African Americans.

According to an analysis of the Trump Twitter Archive website, the US president has used the words “dumb” or “dummy” 236 times since 2011, and on 14 occasions since becoming the president. He is accused of being racist. Trump makes the same criticism of black athletes, black journalists and black Members of Congress. He attacks their intelligence. Analysis shows Trump consistently targeted African Americans with ‘dumb’ and ‘low IQ’ jibes.

In the past eight years, across continents, white supremacists have repeatedly chosen the same targets for shootings, stabbings, bombings and car attacks. Mosques, Synagogues, Black churches and Leftwing politicians were attacked. The mass shootings in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing over 50 people, appear to be the latest attack motivated by the belief that the white race is endangered. The perceived threats include Jews, Muslims, immigrants, refugees, feminists and leftist politicians. The attackers have not been part of a single white supremacist group. But they are steeped in the same global racist propaganda and fluent in the same memes and conspiracies. In less than a decade, these attacks have included:

July 2011

77 people killed in attacks on Utøya Island and in Oslo, Norway

A bomb attack, followed by a shooting that targeted the island summer youth camp of Norway’s Labour party. The shooter, Anders Breivik, wanted to prevent an “invasion of Muslims” and deliberately targeted politically active young people who he saw as “cultural Marxists” and proponents of multiculturalism. More than half of the dead were teenagers.

August 2012

Six worshippers killed in a shooting targeting a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, US

The dead included the temple president, Satwant Singh Kaleka. The shooter, a “frustrated neo-Nazi” who had played in white power bands, was a regular on racist websites. He had previously talked to one colleague in the US military about a “racial holy war that was coming” and told another he was a “race traitor” for dating a Latina woman.

September 2013

Rapper and anti-fascist activist Pavlos Fyssas stabbed to death in Piraeus, Greece

A senior member of Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party was imprisoned after confessing to the killing.

April 2014

Three killed at Jewish centre and retirement home in Overland Park, Kansas, US

A former Ku Klux Klan leader shot and killed three people, one of them just 14 years old. He said he believed Jews were destroying the white race, and that diversity was a kind of genocide. None of his victims were Jewish, but he said he considered two of them to be accomplices to Jewish people.

June 2015

Nine people killed during Bible study at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, US

The nine victims included elderly longtime church members at the Mother Emanuel AME church, and Clementa Pinckney, a state senator. The shooter, a self-avowed white supremacist, said he wanted to start a race war, and that he was concerned about “black-on-white crime”.

October 2015

Three killed in attack on school in Trollhättan, Sweden

The attacker targeted a local high school with a high percentage of immigrant students. He stabbed students and teachers, targeting those with darker skin, police said. Three died, including 15-year-old Ahmed Hassan, who was born in Somalia and had recently moved to Sweden.

June 2016

Labour MP Jo Cox shot and stabbed to death, UK

Cox was a supporter of Britain staying in the EU. She was attacked a week before the EU referendum vote in 2016. The man convicted of killing her, Thomas Mair, a white supremacist obsessed with the Nazis and apartheid-era South Africa, shouted: “This is for Britain,” “Keep Britain independent” and “Britain first” as he killed her.

January 2017

Six people killed during evening prayers at a mosque in Quebec City, Canada

One of the victims, Azzeddine Soufiane, was killed as he attempted to tackle the gunman. Nineteen people were also injured in the shooting, which the gunman said was prompted by Justin Trudeau’s tweet that refugees were welcome in Canada, and that “diversity is strength”, a response to Donald Trump’s travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries. The shooter, who said he feared refugees would kill his family, had previously been known as an aggressive online troll with anti-Muslim, anti-refugee and anti-feminist views.

March 2017

Timothy Caughman stalked and killed by a white supremacist with a sword, New York, US

Caughman, a 66-year-old “can and bottle recycler”, had lively social media accounts full of photographs with celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey. His killer, an American military veteran, said he targeted a random black man on the street in New York City as a “practice run” for a bigger attack, and as part of a campaign to persuade white women not to enter into interracial relationships. He urged one female journalist who interviewed him to have children: “Good white women should have as many children as possible.”

May 2017

Two men stabbed to death after intervening in an anti-Muslim rant, Portland, Oregon, US

Two men were killed and one injured after they tried to intervene to protect young women on a public train who were being targeted with an anti-Muslim tirade. Their alleged killer shouted “Free speech or die” in the courtroom, and “Death to Antifa! You call it terrorism, I call it patriotism!”

June 2017

Makram Ali killed and 12 people injured after a van ploughed into worshippers outside a mosque in Finsbury Park, United Kingdom

The killer, Darren Osborne, shouted “I want to kill all Muslims – I did my bit” after the van attack, according to witnesses. He had been radicalised online and over Twitter, a judge concluded, and avidly consumed anti-Muslim propaganda from prominent rightwing figures.

August 2017

Heather Heyer killed and dozens injured after a car ploughed into anti-Nazi protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, US

After authorities shut down a violent white supremacist and neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, one of the men who had been photographed with a white supremacist group drove his car into a crowded street full of counter-protesters. Heather Heyer, 32, was killed. Dozens more were injured, many seriously. The killer had been obsessed with Hitler as a teenager, according to a former teacher. In phone calls from jail, he was recorded criticising Heyer’s mother as a “communist” and “one of those anti-white supremacists”.

October 2018

Man attempted to enter black church before allegedly killing two black people in a supermarket in Kentucky, US

A witness said that during the attack, the alleged shooter said: “Whites don’t kill whites.” His two victims, Maurice Stallard, 69, and Vickie Lee Jones, 67, were both black. Shortly before the shooting he had attempted to enter a nearby, predominantly black church, which was locked.

November 2018

11 killed in a mass shooting targeting the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US

The alleged shooter had an active profile on an extremist social media site, where he accused Jewish people of trying to bring “evil” Muslims into the US, and wrote that a refugee aid organisation “likes to bring invaders in that kill our people”. In his online posts, Robert Bowers allegedly referenced internal debates within white supremacist groups, and egged on the harassment of an anti-fascist activist from Charlottesville. He has pleaded not guilty.

March 2019

The Christchurch mosque shootings were two consecutive terrorist attacks at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, during Friday Prayer on 15 March 2019. The attacks began at the Al Noor Mosque in the suburb of Riccarton at 1:40 pm and continued at the Linwood Islamic Centre at about 1:55 pm. The gunman live-streamed the first attack on Facebook Live. The attacks killed 51 people and 49 people were injured. A 28-year-old Australian man, described in media reports as a white supremacist and part of the alt-right, was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and errorism. The attacks have been linked to an increase in white supremacism and alt-right extremism globally observed since the mid-2010s.

Why is Congress declining?

Vinod Dixit

June 23, 2019

Rahul’s campaign continuously crafted around the words “Chowkidar Chor Hai” for PM Modi but that failed to translate into votes. The Congress has underestimated the campaign strength of Narendra Modi. He was either ridiculed or ignored after 2009, but Congress failed to understand his methods. Rahul himself gave a statement that “I have one goal: to defend India’s institutions by defeating Modi and the BJP. I’m not seeing anything else. Like Arjun, I am targeting just the eye of the fish.” Will people be able to digest this? The decline and fall of the Congress is an arresting story written time and again; but this time the party is at the nadir of its influence in national politics. The results are a lesson for the Congress Party; it is on a steady decline in the country’s political arena. The Congress’ revival pivots on its ability to address its crisis of credibility, encouraging State leaders, and functioning as a vigorous Opposition in Parliament.

Recently, TIME magazine has also stated that the Congress party has “little to offer other than the dynastic principle, yet another member of the Nehru-Gandhi family” and that the party lacks “political imagination”, something that demonstrated by the Congress choosing to bring Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra — Rahul Gandhi’s sister — into the Indian political arena. Priyanka’s entry into active politics was a long-term wish of many Congress workers. She reminds them of Indira Gandhi’s attractive pleasing personality and is a new face for the Congress. It is also observed that such personalities sometimes increase the vote share by 5 to 7 per cent but that also did not happen. She brought with her the grace of Gandhi Nehru lineage and her immense personal charm. She has mostly stayed in the shadow of her brother Rahul, heir-apparent of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.

One would have observed that the decline and fall of the Congress is an arresting story written time and again; but this time the party is at the nadir of its influence in national politics. Rahul Gandhi by wearing his Hindu identity on his sleeves is taking the ‘Bull’ by its horns. Congress Mukt Bharat is a political necessity to free India from dynastic Rule and the accompanying psycho fancy and corruption. Though Rahul’s elevation to Congress President is imminent, the challenges before him are immense. Many years of Congress rule has passed with poverty still keeping hold of the farmers and other poor people, dirt and squalor in the environment and corruption and black money laundering persisting in Indian society. This has naturally become a cause of concern for Congress cadres who feel that Rahul Gandhi’s inability to learn on the job even after more than 12 years in Parliament has put a serious question mark on the party’s future and their own political survival. Rahul had promised that farmers’ entire loan will be waived in 10 days of the government’s formation in the state but failed. They took a vote on promising entire loan waiver but the government failed to deliver.

Rahul fails to understand that PM Modi is solving the problems inherited from Congress governments. Congress and other political parties may be nervous because of courage and will power shown by the Modi government in backing armed forces decided to go for a surgical strike across LOC. It is clear that Rahul Gandhi’s hurdles in Congress are his inexperience and his inaccessibility. His image is also an aloof one. He doesn’t feel he has to have his own mouthpiece website and mobile application to make himself more accessible to people. Rahul Gandhi has different plans in mind but it does not work. Why? He may seem extremely well-intentioned but does that translate to an effectual administrator and visionary leader? Don’t we think Sonia and Rahul should focus only on the welfare of People in the Congress Controlled States and stop focusing on Modi? All are aware that Rahul has held no public office of import and accountability that would give us any insight into his abilities. Rahul Gandhi may seem extremely well-intentioned but does that translate to an effectual administrator and visionary leader?

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Unethical propaganda against the Saudi Crown Prince

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

June 23, 2019

Finally, the United Nations, which in my opinion has gone rogue long back, has come up with a fairytale inventing involvement of Saudi Crown Prince Salman Bin Mohammad in Jamal Khashoggi death mystery. For some unknown reason, the United Nations, instead of playing a role in ensuring global peace and stability has on a number of occasions had sided with terror-patron nations like Iran or terrorist entities like Hamas. In many cases, it even has shown its wrong tendencies of conspiracy theorists. This time they have once again repeated the same thing. The United Nation’s outrageous statement inventing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman’s “involvement” behind Jamal Khashoggi’s mysterious death. It is not anymore surprising seeing UN’s extreme enthusiasm in putting false blame on the Saudi Crown Prince as Jamal Khashoggi was not only a member of notorious Muslim Brotherhood but also was an exposed sympathizer of Al Qaeda.

Who Khashoggi was really?

Jamal Khashoggi had many friends among the Muslim Brotherhood and, as his colleague, David Ignatius reported days after his disappearance, had joined the movement himself as a young man before apparently shifting away from it later in his career. No one who knew Jamal at all is surprised by these facts, no matter with what lurid framing they are now “revealed”.

Khashoggi was a full-bore Muslim Brotherhood member with an agenda of Islamisation of the Arab world and creating total anarchy in the Middle East. Though he was born in Saudi Arabia, Khashoggi was never a proud Arab. Instead, he had always acted as a mercenary of anti-Arab forces and according to some documents; Jamal Khashoggi was even maintaining discreet connections with Iran and the anti-Saudi bloc.

It may be mentioned here that Saudi Arabia considers the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist entity.

During his life, Jamal Khashoggi met Osama Bin Laden on a number of occasions and had been a diehard supporter of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda.

Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 title and tell the story of Al-Qaeda’s notorious attacks on New York and Washington. In one paragraph, Wright mentions a close friend of Bin Laden’s who shared the latter’s ambition to “establish an Islamic state anywhere”.

That friend was Jamal Khashoggi. Both Bin Laden and Khashoggi were at the time active members of the Muslim Brotherhood and later Bin Laden would split from the Brotherhood to form with Abdullah Azzam Al-Qaeda, the most dangerous organization in the world. Khashoggi, Bin Laden, and Azzam were all the merry companions of the same extremist group.

On page 78 of his book, Wright quoted Khashoggi as saying that he and Bin Laden believed that “the first one [Islamic state] would lead to another, and that would have a domino effect which could reverse the history of mankind.” The noun phrase looming tower in the book’s title was taken from Surah An-Nisa in the Holy Quran and clearly refers to the attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

Due to his intimacy with Bin Laden, Jamal Khashoggi had all the enthusiasms in writing extensively in favour of ‘Saudi Mujahideen’. He was also an active activist in favour of Bin Laden and had offered his services as a media covert-advisor to Al Qaeda.

On May 4, 1988, the Saudi daily Arab News published a report by Jamal Khashoggi about his tour in Afghanistan in the company of Al-Qaeda operatives. Even though Khashoggi was just a journalist doing a report, the photos published with the article show him wearing Afghani garb and shouldering an RBG rocket launcher.

Less known perhaps is that US federal prosecutors had in 2002 indicted Enaam Arnaout, head of an Illinois Islamic charity, who was shown in the same Arab News report walking next to Bin Laden. Arnaout was charged with “conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to launder money and money laundering and wire fraud”.

David Horowitz, a prominent scholar, and writer wrote, “He [Khashoggi] was a Muslim Brotherhood operative, a pro-jihad, pro-Iranian, pro-Erdogan Jew hater. A supporter of Iran. Basically, he died like a warrior on the wrong side of the war on terror”.

A lot of investigative and truth-seeking journalists have investigated the past of Jamal Khashoggi and most of them came up with the conclusion saying Khashoggi was a Muslim Brotherhood member, a jihadist and exposed promoter of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. But none of them could dig further into the case to know, Jamal Khashoggi was under monthly payroll of the Iranian regime while his fiancé Hatice Cengiz is a deep-cover agent of Turkish spy agency Millî İstihbarat Teşkilatı [National Intelligence Organization].

Crown Prince Salman a victim:

Clearly, Saudi Crown Prince Salman Bin Mohammad has fallen victim of some unethical journalists and those cohorts or Iran and militancy, simply because of the reason as he has been making relentless efforts in saving the Middle East from the evil paws of Iran and jihadists. He also has been fighting corruption, which for obvious reason must have made a lot of influential and wealthy people unhappy.

Crown Prince Salman has emerged as a very dynamic, pragmatic, bold, courageous and visionary leader not only in Saudi Arabia but in the entire Arab world. To tarnish his great image by attempting to turn him into a controversial figure, sympathisers of Iran and terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, Islamic State, etc., are trying to put the false blame of Khashoggi’s death on him, which not only is sad but also is a naked exposition of unethical journalism.

(The author is the editor of Blitz.)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

Letters to the Editors: 23 June, 2019

Web Team

June 23, 2019

India to miss Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan’s world cup dreams end in tears as his injury doesn’t heal on time but cup of joy for Rishabh Pant who replaces the injured Indian opener. Dhawan scored a brilliant ton against Australia which helped India win against the Kangaroos and his services at the top order would be missed. It’s really unfortunate Dhawan had to left out in these circumstances and truly ‘bad luck’ and destiny for Shikhar as world cup is played once in 4 yrs.

Rishabh Pant has been rewarded for his recent form as he seems to be in top gear. Dropped unceremoniously from the team but was destined to be back in the squad though I feel sorry as it is at the expense of Shikhar Dhawan who was stroking the ball well before being injured. Our focus should now shift on our goal of winning the World Cup and hoping Bhuvaneshwar Kumar recovers from his injury and doesn’t need a replacement.

S.N. Kabra

Making Marathi mandatory

By making Marathi mandatory in state schools, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has brought yet another compulsion on non Marathi speaking students just like in Tamil Nadu and other states. At the moment it is only optional in CBSE and ICSE board schools. This is done to give Marathi language a pre-eminent status. Despite this, if there are still some schools which are not teaching Marathi then the government will initiate action against those institutions. This will put a break on learning an additional subject especially a foreign language, which will enhance their wish to pursue higher studies. This is a new development which will pose a problem for growing children learning in state schools. Making Marathi mandatory is one more hurdle for school children.

C.K.S. Mani

Cut off gimmick

Small dip in cut off marks is not going to make much difference. The Education Board is feeling the heat and it is time to revamp its policies regarding them. The education standard has to go up and the children must get quality education for low fees. Who is to bell the cat? The Education Board has to go in for new system and make the students learn the subject without much stress. Sky rocketing cut-offs is a cause of worry for students and more so to the parents. It is just absurd and not in lines with education system with other countries in the world. More so because some of the colleges are accepting nothing less than 100 per cent as cut off marks for college admission. Definitely the marks race go out of hand and remains the cause of worry even for the next generation also.

Anandambal subbu

Strict law necessary to check social media misuse

It refers to balanced Supreme Court verdict ordering release of Delhi-based journalist Prashant Kanojia from jails as Right-To-Liberty, but disapproving his highly objectionable series of tweets in name of Right-To-Freedom of Expression.

It is time that some guidelines may be framed so that defamatory and objectionable postings either on social-media or Whatsapp group may not be possible.

Politicians should avoid opposing those who are not followers of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. There is a sizeable section in society including even in ruling BJP who think freedom of nation did not come from so-thought non-violent move, rather according to them British rulers left India because of tough resistance created by Azad Hind Fauj established by Subhash Chandra Bose. It is time that central government exposes those officially who did not help Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev and other pre-independence martyrs in court-cases or otherwise who were hanged to death for their protest against British rulers.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Mid-term polls in Karnataka?

Rajesh Choudhary

June 21, 2019

After grand-son Nikhil Kumaraswamy, his grand-father and Chief of the Janata Dal-Secular HD Deve Gowda has given indications that the Congress-JD (S) Government in Karnataka may collapse anytime as it is on the mercy of the Congress. He said on Friday that mid-term polls for the State Assembly are imminent and he is not sure how long the Congress-JDS coalition government would last. Deve Gowda said, “They [Congress] said they will support us for five years, but their behaviour has not been in line with this promise.” On the other hand, Congress’s state unit president Dinesh Gundu Rao said that there is no question of mid-term polls as the government is stable despite efforts of BJP. After Congress’s response on the issue, HD Deve Gowda issued a clarification saying that the mid-term polls are not in his hands. He said, “As long as Congress will be strong, we will be strong.”

Dr. BL Shankar, vice president Karnataka Congress told Afternoon Voice, “Later on, HD Deve Gowda made clarification on this issue. His statement was not related to assembly elections. There is a post-poll coalition in Karnataka. Some misunderstanding will continue and differences will surface from time to time. But the Kumaraswamy government will complete its 5-year term.”

It is worth mentioning that lack of trust between coalition-partners the JD (S) and the Congress, hostile statements by leaders both parties against each other, fear of defection and continuous attempt of the BJP to topple the Kumaraswamy government have always posed a threat to the Karnataka government. CM Kumaraswamy assumed office on May 23, 2018, and he is facing threats of instability since then. His one year in office is full of ups and downs. The debacle in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections has increased the threat of instability as the BJP is in full confidence and some leaders of the Congress and JD (S) are openly saying that the alliance in Karnataka is hurting their parties.

Janata Dal-Secular MLA Devananda Chouhan said, “Nothing will happen and the Kumaraswamy government will continue to work for the next four years. From starting there is strife between both coalition partners. Our National President HD Deve Gowda made a statement regarding ongoing tussle with the Congress.”

In spite of all these, Congress and JD-S leaders are making all efforts to save the government, with even plans of cabinet expansion, fearing the BJP might revive efforts to topple it encouraged by the glorious victory in the Lok Sabha polls in which it won 25 of the 28 seats in the state. The coalition partners have won only one seat each. In order to save the state government, two Independent MLAs were recently inducted into the CM HD Kumaraswamy-led cabinet. They believe that it would strengthen the 13-month-old coalition government.

Karnataka BJP spokesperson Dr. Vaman Acharya said, “There is no need of mid-term polls. Our party BJP has won 106 seats in 224 membered Karnataka Assembly. We are lacking 6-7 seats for the majority. If Janata Dal-Secular is unable to run the government in the state, let them resign. In that condition, a group of MLAs of JD(S) will support us and the BJP will form the government. We are not afraid of elections. At present, the atmosphere is in favour of the BJP.”

The Janata Dal-Secular has been opposing the policies of the Congress since its inception and it is the root cause of its existence in Karnataka. The only thing which binds the Congress and the JD(S) is the opposition of the BJP. Both parties were keen to prevent the BJP from coming to power in the state. Therefore, they formed a post-poll coalition to keep the BJP out of power. But there are a lot of many issues on which both parties have different views. In the 2018 Karnataka state elections, the BJP won 104 seats but the party failed to secure a majority of 113 seats in the assembly. The Karnataka Legislative Assembly has a total of 224 seats. The JD(S) with 38 seats and the Congress with 77 seats came together to form the government.

Prior to HD Deve Gowda, his grand-son Nikhil Kumaraswamy had said his party workers to get ready for mid-term elections. A video related to this controversial statement had gone viral recently.

Just after this, the JD (S) swung into damage-control mode. The CM’s office said that Nikhil’s statement was taken out of context. The statement said, “Nikhil Kumaraswamy cheering up party workers have told them that they should always be ready to serve the society. Not only during elections, but they should also always keep the party in a state of activeness so as to win the election whenever it comes.

Meanwhile, HD Deve Gowda said he told Rahul Gandhi, “From day one I am watching, I am hurt very badly. This is the first time I am telling you. You take a decision. Please request all your Karnataka leaders not to speak in public about the government.” Former prime minister’s reaction came in the backdrop of leaders of the state’s ruling Janata Dal-Secular-Congress coalition repeatedly airing their differences publicly following the alliance’s drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls in the state.

Recently, after meeting Rahul Gandhi Congress leader Siddaramaiah said that the coalition is not working well and the party would have performed better if it had contested the elections alone. Two Congress legislators were spotted at the home of former Karnataka chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader S.M.Krishna, setting off alarm bells for the H.D.Kumaraswamy-led coalition government.

Though the Congress reassured Kumaraswamy of continued support, leaders from both sides had blamed each other of working against the coalition’s interests that cost them dearly in the Lok Sabha polls, leaving the JD(S) and Congress with just one seat each as against two.

Congress’ Trump Card launched at wrong time?

Vaidehi Taman

June 21, 2019

The Congress is on revival mode but most expected trump card of the party miscarried miserably. For many years, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was seen as the trump card in the Indian National Congress’s (INC) pack. So in 2019, when she did decide to enter politics, most people believed that she would provide a much-needed booster that would aid her brother in the elections.

Relying on this belief, INC President Rahul Gandhi deployed her in the most crucial of all states, Uttar Pradesh. She was hailed as a perfect bundling of charm, energy, and strength. At one point, she was even spoken of as a rival to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Varanasi constituency. The recent stern message to party workers by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress general secretary and in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, for “letting down the party” in the State has raised eyebrows among political analysts, with one of them quizzical the timing of her outburst. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi represent hope. But in the current scenario, it is clear that the latter is likely to face a couple of defeats before being able to make a mark, not unlike her brother.

In Indian politics, charisma has worked wonders. But on any given day, it is the ground level equations, consolidation of communities matter more. The Congress seems to be lacking on this count. The main risk from Priyanka’s tough-talking was its potential to hurt the morale of party workers at a time when a clutch of by-elections to the Assembly are due. This was a time to energize and console their workers. She should begin by owning up the defeat and assure the workers of a better strategy.

The people of Rae Bareli stood like a rock but certainly, we have evidence that in other large parts of Uttar Pradesh, possibly, things were wanting and in the true spirit of investigation that is being reviewed. With the exception of 2009 when the Congress won 21 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats, the party has been on a steady decline in the state over the past eight Lok Sabha elections. And 2019 has seen the worst performance with the party managing to win just Sonia Gandhi’s Lok Sabha seat in Rae Bareli. If Priyanka Gandhi had contested from Phulpur, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s seat, or from Allahabad, where the Nehru family has a family connection, the Congress may have fared better in two, three seats. In Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as a politician was a failure. Further, BSP and SP alliance was not of any help to Congress, as the party’s organisational strength is poor. It has been once again proved that there are now fewer and fewer takers for Congress party with its so-called secular agenda and vague economic agenda. I believe if senior Congressmen think that the Congress party has a future as a centrist (to be precise, left of the centre) political party, they cannot depend on Gandhi family as it no longer attracts voters. More importantly, they should reconsider the Congress party’s so-called secular agenda which depends too much on minority voters for its survival- this I suppose is an important lesson of the 2019 LS election results. Would today’s Congress leadership be able to make a break from the past and grow?

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s entry into active politics as the general secretary of AICC barely three months before the Lok Sabha elections has failed to woo voters in Uttar Pradesh. It was an uphill task ahead for Priyanka to bring back the party’s lost glory in the state in its triangular battle with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and newly formed Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP)-led Grand Alliance or Mahagathbandhan. While some called it a masterstroke move, many perceived it as a hurried decision by the Congress. Priyanka did 38 rallies during her campaigning out of which 26 were concentrated in UP. She also campaigned for Congress candidates in MP, Delhi, Jharkhand, and Haryana. In 97 per cent of the constituencies where she campaigned, the Congress faced a defeat. UP has always been a centerpiece of Indian politics as it is the biggest state in terms of its representation in the Lok Sabha with 80 seats out of total 543.

The eastern UP which has 41 Lok Sabha constituencies included various key constituencies like Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seat Varanasi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s Gorakhpur along with Rahul’s family’s bastions Amethi and Rae Bareli. The BJP-led NDA government got a massive mandate, winning 353 seats to regain power, while the Congress-led UPA managed to get only 90 seats in the Lok Sabha. In Uttar Pradesh, the performance of the UPA was even more dismal as it managed to win only one seat. It was the biggest blow for Rahul Gandhi who lost election from his family bastion Amethi to the BJP’s Smriti Irani in a see-saw battle by a thin margin of around 44,000 votes. However, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi managed to retain the Congress party’s another bastion Rae Bareli.

The NDA won 59 seats while SP-BSP Mahagathbandhan managed to win 15 seats. The UPA got a vote share of 8 per cent. The Congress had contested 67 seats in UP, while its allies contested four seats in the state. According to the India Today-Axis My Nation exit poll, the UPA failed to woo voters across demographics. While the Muslims and Yadavs favoured the Mahagathbandhan, the BJP-led NDA managed to get Jat votes along with the majority, while Hindu upper caste also voted on bloc for the party. There will be elections again, this time the Congress needs to work hard.

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