Month: August 2022

The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal on Friday lashed out at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma for demolishing the madrasas of the state without any complete inquiry.

“Many people only from these madrasas have sacrificed their lives for the country and if one or two teachers are found guilty, the whole community should not be called jihadi due to them,” said Badruddin Ajmal in Guwahati.
He said that government should shoot them wherever they find them, we have no sympathy for bad elements in madrasas.

“If any jihadi comes to India from Bangladesh or from Pakistan, it is the responsibility of the government to detain them and take strict actions against them,” he added.

Badruddin Ajmal also appealed to the citizens to cooperate with the government to stop terrorism in the country.

“As Chief Minster has appealed to the citizens to inform officials about any suspicious person or activities, I also asked for the same, but don’t do this because of your personal dispute,” he said.

Answering the question about the government’s decision of demolishing the Jamiul Huda Madrasa in the Moirabari area, he said, “Here in the state, we have Himanta Biswa Sharma as our Chief Minister, not Yogi. We have great trust in him that what other BJP’s Chief Ministers are doing in their states, Sharma will not do here in Assam.

The District Administration on Thursday demolished the Jamiul Huda Madrasa at the Moirabari area in the Morigaon district of Assam.

The Jamiul Huda Madrasa was run by an active member of Bangladesh-based terror outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), Mustafa alias Mufti Mustafa, who was a resident of Saharia Gaon in Morigaon and an important financial conduit of the ABT.

Earlier, the Morigaon district police had arrested Mustafa for having links with ABT and Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent (AQIS).

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the madrasa was demolished under Disaster Management Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and added that its students were admitted to different schools.

Assam Police, along with Central agencies, on Thursday, detained 11 persons including a Madrassa teacher for their alleged links with terror outfits Al-Qaeda in Indian Sub-continent (AQIS) and Bangladesh-based Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).

As per police information, accused Mustafa alias Mufti Mustafa, a resident of Saharia Gaon in Morigaon district is an important financial conduit of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) module in India. Mustafa was an active “Assam Police has detained 11 persons from Morigaon, Barpeta, Guwahati and Goalpara districts. They are connected to Islamic fundamentalism having linkages with global terror outfits viz. AQIS and ABT. Further action is being taken per law,” GP Singh, Special DGP L&O, Border, Director V&AC & Chief Anti-Rhino Poaching Task Force, Assam, told ANI.

The Chief Minister said that 700 government madrassas have been closed and now have started general education. All the children in those closed madrasas will be taken to the general schools. (ANI)

President Droupadi Murmu congratulated wrestler Bajrang Punia after he clinched a gold medal in the men’s 65 kg category event at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 on Friday.

Star Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia clinched Gold Medal for India after winning the final against Canada’s Lachlan Mcneil in men’s 65 kg.
Punia was extremely dominant in the first period and did not let his opponent score. He finished with a 4-0 lead over McNeil at the end of the first period.

“Congratulations to Bajrang Punia for winning second successive gold in wrestling at the #CommonwealthGames & creating history. Your consistency, dedication & excellence are inspirational for our youth. Your gold medals reflect the urge to be the best, the spirit of the new India,” tweeted president Murmu.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated the wrestler on his landmark gold medal win.

“The talented @BajrangPunia is synonymous with consistency and excellence. He wins a Gold at the Birmingham CWG. Congratulations to him for the remarkable feat, his 3rd consecutive CWG medal. His spirit and confidence is inspiring. My best wishes always,” tweeted PM Modi.

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur hailed Bajrang Punia for winning India’s first wrestling gold at the Commonwealth Games 2022.

“Bajrang Punia has done it again !!! Congratulations on getting home the first GOLD in wrestling in #CWG2022! Bajrang defended his CWG Gold in a time of 10min 14 secs. A hattrick at CWG proves that you have a champion’s consistency!” tweeted Thakur.

Talking about the match, McNeil made a comeback with a strong effort and he cut down the deficit by two points to make it 2-4. Punia took the lead once again after scoring two more points. The Indian did not look back from there and won the match 9-2.

Punia reached the final after defeating George Ramm of England in the semi-final. He defeated his English opponent 10-0.

He had reached the semi-final of the men’s freestyle 65 kg category after defeating Jean Guyliane Joris Bandou of Mauritius in the quarter-final.

Bajrang was at his very best in the match as he gained a 6-0 win by fall. The match lasted for just one minute.

Commonwealth Games started from July 28 in Birmingham and will go on till August 8. (ANI)

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla flagged off “Har Ghar Tiranga yatra” in the national capital on Saturday.

“Our ancestors fought for freedom, we are celebrating 75th year of Independence. We aim to take our country forward as per the dreams of those who sacrificed their lives for the nation’s freedom,” LS Speaker said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon all citizens to turn the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign into a mass movement by hoisting or displaying the national flag at their homes and using the ‘Tiranga’ as a display picture on their social media accounts between August 2 and August 15 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence.

To commemorate 75 years of Independence under the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will be hoisting the National Flag in 150 monuments and sites across the country.

37 circles of ASI will conduct different programmes involving local people in the spirit of Jan Bhagidari which embodies Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. These events include tree plantation drives, school samvaads, lectures, medical camps and children’s awareness programmes.

According to the Ministry of Culture, State, Union Territories, and Ministries are participating extensively in the campaign with full fervour. NGOs and Self-Help Groups from various places are already contributing toward making Har Ghar Tiranga, an iconic benchmark in the success path of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Places such as Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir, and Mandala in Madhya Pradesh are proving themselves to be an iconic example of showcasing people’s participation or Jan Bhagidari in the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign. This campaign aims to have flags hoisted across the country from August 13-15.

Various events involving people from all walks of life will also be organized at various locations connected with the freedom struggle, to portray the patriotism and unity of the entire country.

The Government of India has taken various steps to ensure the supply of flags across India. All Post Offices in the country shall start selling flags from August 1, 2022. In addition, state governments have also tied up with various stakeholders for the supply and sale of flags. The Indian National Flag has also been registered on the GeM portal.

The Centre has also tied up with various e-commerce websites and self-help groups to streamline the process of the supply of the flags.

The initiative of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav was launched by PM Modi on March 12, 2021 to celebrate and commemorate 75 glorious years of Independence of India.

Since its launch, the initiative has successfully showcased the magnificence of Indian culture all across the globe. With over 50,000 events successfully held across 28 states, eight UTs, and over 150 countries, the initiative of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is one of the largest programmes ever organized in terms of scope and participation, said the Ministry of Culture. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to cast his vote in the Parliament as voting to elect the country’s next vice-president began on Saturday.

Voting for the Vice Presidential election in which the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate is pitted against the Opposition nominee Margaret Alva began at 10 am and will continue till 5 pm. All MPs of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are entitled to vote in the vice presidential election.
Votes will be counted today itself and the next Vice-President of the country will take the oath of office on August 11, a day after the term of the incumbent Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu ends.

Janata Dal (United), YSRCP, BSP, AIADMK and Shiv Sena have expressed their support for Dhankar. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have expressed their support to Alva. the Trinamool Congress has said that is abstaining from the vote

On July 18, Dhankhar filed his nomination papers before Returning Officer and Secretary General, Lok Sabha in the Parliament House.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, and BJP chief JP Nadda were present when Dhankar filed his nomination.

The vice president of India, which is the second-highest constitutional post in the country, is elected through an electoral college consisting of members of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.

Dhankhar, who is a lawyer by profession, joined politics in 1989. He became the governor of West Bengal in July 2019 and has made headlines since then over his tumultuous relations with the Mamata Banerjee government. He tendered his resignation as the Governor of West Bengal.

On Wednesday, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) announced its support for the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar in the upcoming vice presidential elections.

Earlier, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati announced her party’s support for Dhankhar.

Meanwhile, Alva filed her nomination for the vice presidential election on July 19. Opposition parties on July 17 decided to field the former Rajasthan Governor as their joint candidate for the vice presidential election.

The decision to field Alva was taken at a meeting of Opposition leaders of 17 parties at the residence of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.

On Friday, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) announced to support Opposition candidate Margaret Alva for the vice-presidential elections.

In 2017, the NDA nominated Venkaiah Naidu as its candidate for the vice-presidential election and his term ends on August 10, 2022. (ANI)

After claiming the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games 2022, Sakshi Malik said that she got emotional when the national anthem played after she won.

Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik clinched the country’s third medal in the wrestling of the day at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham by defeating Ana Paula Godinez Gonzalez in the final of the women’s freestyle 62 kg category on Friday.
“This time I just wanted to win gold. I gave my best and I am very happy. I got emotional when the national anthem was played after my win,” Sakshi Malik told ANI.

Talking about the match, the Canadian Gonzalez was dominating the match initially as she gained a 0-4 lead in the first period. Then in the second period, Malik scripted an entire comeback to equal the scores 4-4 and won the match via fall. The match lasted for 3 minutes and 47 seconds.

Malik entered the finals by defeating Etane Ngolle of Cameroon by 10-0 on basis of technical superiority.

Sakshi Malik defeated Kelsey Barnes of England by 10-0 via fall in the quarterfinal of the Women’s Freestyle 62 kg to enter the semi-finals.

India have now won six medals in wrestling on Friday – three golds, one silver and two bronze. (ANI)

Arpita Mukherjee’s advocate on Friday, while claiming a threat to her life, pleaded before the court to get her Division 1 prisoner category.

ED advocate Phiroz Edulzi agreed with the argument of Arpita’s lawyer of life threat and further said that she should not be kept with more than four prisoners in general.
Earlier today, former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee were produced before the City Sessions Court.

“No one has come out and said that he had asked for bribe, neither in the CBI case nor in ED. Can they show any witness that he has asked for a bribe? Partha Chatterjee is not connected with the crime and the allegations levelled by the CBI are not appropriate,” argued Partha’s lawyer.

“In ED Case on July 22, when his house was raided nothing has been recovered. If you try to ask a man who is not involved in the crime, he will obviously be non-cooperative,” he added.

Meanwhile, Arpita Mukherjee’s advocate said that there is a threat to her life.

“Her food and water need to be tested first and then should be given,” said the ED Lawyer.

While Partha Chatterjee advocate pleaded for bail citing that he will not be harmful. “As he is not a political person now he can leave the MLA post if required,” the lawyer said.

ED also demanded judicial custody of Arpita.

The court sent Arpita and former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee to judicial custody till August 18 in connection with the School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam.

The hearing concluded from both sides including Arpita Mukherjee and Partha Chatterjee.

The ED unearthed many disproportionate assets of Partha Chatterjee since his arrest, of which were three flats in West Bengal’s Diamond City.

The ED sleuths have recovered around Rs 50 crore in cash, along with jewellery, from Mukherjee’s two flats in southwest Kolkata and Belghoria.

The arrest of Partha Chatterjee followed Rs 21 crore in cash and jewellery worth above Rs 1 crore being recovered from the Kolkata residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of the former education minister.

The Enforcement Directorate July 23 recovered over Rs 21 crore in cash from the house of an associate of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee.

The ED raided Arpita Mukerjee’s house in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam. Earlier, Rs 20 crore was recovered from her residence in South Kolkata.

ED officials also conducted a raid at the residence of businessman Manoj Jain in Ballygunge. Jain is reportedly an aide of state minister Partha Chatterjee. (ANI)

Indian grappler Deepak Punia won Gold medal in the Men’s Freestyle 86kg category in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 after defeating Pakistan’s Muhammad Inam at the Coventry Arena Wrestling Mat B on Friday.

Earlier in the day, veteran Indian wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik too bagged Gold in their weight category, raising the Indian ranking to fifth place in the total medal tally.

Punia won the gold medal match 3-0. This was India’s third wrestling gold at the Commonwealth Games 2022. The grappler took 2-0 lead in the first period and all the pressure was on the Punia’s opponent heading into the last three minutes.

Punia was in good form in this match. In the final three minutes, he managed to hold his own and he kept his opponent at bay to walk away with the gold.

The Pakistani wrestler struggled to find a way through Punia’s strong defence and went home without scoring a point.

Earlier, star Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia clinched a gold medal for India after winning the final against Canada’s Lachlan Mcneil in the men’s 65 kg.

Anshu Malik had to settle for the silver medal in the women’s 57kg freestyle wrestling after losing to Odunayo Folasade Adekuoroye of Nigeria.

Commonwealth Games 2022 started in Birmingham on July 28 and will go on till August 8. (ANI)

The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is, and will remain an integral and inalienable part of India, responding to a statement of the General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The Official Spokesperson of MEA, Arindam Bagchi said, “The statement issued by the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Jammu and Kashmir today reeks of bigotry.”

On the third anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A that gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status in the Indian Constitution, OIC General Secretariat reiterated the call for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.

He said that “August 5 marks the third anniversary of the illegal and unilateral actions taken in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which were followed by additional unlawful measures including illegal demographic changes.”

“Such illegal actions can neither alter the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir nor prejudice the legitimate right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people,” the press release added.

Responding to his remark, Bagchi said, “The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is and will remain an integral and inalienable part of India. As a result of the long-awaited changes three years ago, it today reaps the benefits of socio-economic growth and development.”

“The OIC General Secretariat, however, continues to issue statements on Jammu and Kashmir at the behest of a serial violator of human rights and notorious promoter of cross-border, regional and international terrorism.”

“Such statements only expose the OIC as an organization devoted to a communal agenda being pursued through terrorism,” he added. (ANI)

As Jammu and Kashmir moved into its third year as a Union Territory after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A of the Constitution, Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Friday pledged to restore J-K’s flag and Constitution.

Mufti said that they would “compel” the government to solve the long-standing issue of Kashmir.

“The BJP will remove the Constitution of the country in the coming time and make it a religious nation. The flag that you hoist with pride will be changed to the Bhagwa (saffron) flag. If you still do not wake up, everything will be destroyed. They will change Constitution in the same way that they snatched the flag and Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir,” the PDP chief said while cuationing the people.

“But we pledge, we will not only take back our flag but our Constitution as well, but also we will compel the government to solve the issue of Kashmir for which numerous people have sacrificed their lives,” she added.

The BJP hit back at her remarks accusing her of propagating an “anti-national agenda”.

Speaking to ANI, J-K BJP leader Ravinder Raina said that the PDP chief is “frustrated” seeing massive support for Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in the Valley.

“Seeing massive support for Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti is in frustration. She once created controversy over the tricolour and today when she saw people in J-K hoisting the flag, she is in desperation. She is stoking anti-national propaganda,” he said.

Raina further alleged that Mufti is making attempts to create a “vicious” atmosphere.

“People have rejected her theory of divide and rule, which is why she is making an attempt to create a vicious atmosphere,” he said. (ANI)