Kodnani spent 10 mins at spot, left after inciting mob: SIT
The SIT probing the Naroda Gam massacre case of 2002 Gujarat riots told the special court on August 3 that the main accused and former state minister Mayaben Kodnani was present at the incident site for around 10 minutes and had left after “instigating the mob”, a report said on August 4. Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Gaurang Vyas told Special Judge MK Dave that concrete evidence in the form of eyewitness accounts established Kodnani’s presence at Naroda Gam around 9 am on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train burning incident.
Questioning the defence witnesses who had claimed that Kodnani was either in the Gujarat Assembly in Gandhinagar, or at her hospital in Ahmedabad or at Sola civil hospital that day, Vyas said such witnesses were “created only to save Kodnani”.
End Soft Approach Towards Sanatan Sanstha
Almost a decade after the October 2009 bomb blast in Margao brought the shadowy activities of the Sanatan Sanstha into the open, the recent police disclosure that well known Konkani writer Damodar Mauzo also figures on the list of those marked for elimination by the group has hit a raw nerve, a report said on August 1. The Sahitya Akademi awardee was provided security cover after intelligence reports from Karnataka alerted the Goa government of the threat to Mauzo.
The Goa writer has been in the cross hairs of extremist outfits for some time due to his outspoken criticism of the culture of fear fomented by right-wing extremism. In January 2016, speaking at a seminar in Dandi, Gujarat, Mauzo had said he was proud of his Goan roots because the state is an example of harmonious co-existence, but added that he was ashamed the Sanatan Sanstha had its base there. “Such tame acceptance only emboldens the right-wing,” he told The Wire. “I am insignificant in the larger picture. What is important is to do away with the ill designs of the right-wingers based in Goa. I hope the government takes some action now.”
BJP Can Brand Me ‘Infiltrator’: Mamata Banerjee
Attacking the Centre on the NRC issue, West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee on August 1 said the government could even brand her an “infiltrator” as her parents did not have papers to prove that they were born in India. Banerjee said even genuine voters were not included in the final draft National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“My father or even my mother never had birth certificates to show that they were born here. “Luckily, I have my documents, but on the ground that my parents do not have proper documents, the BJP government could have branded me infiltrator,” the West Bengal chief minister told reporters here. Lashing out at the BJP, the TMC chief said the ruling party cannot dictate terms and decide who is the real citizen of the country. Her comments come against the backdrop of the Assam government publishing the draft NRC on July 30.
UP temple purified with ‘Gangajal’ after woman MLA’s visit
A temple in Hamirpur was allegedly purified with ‘Gangajal’ and statutes of deities were sent to Allahabad to be cleansed after a woman BJP MLA paid a visit there recently, a report said on August 30.
BJP MLA Manisha Anuragi visited the temple on July 12 and was unaware of the practices of the temple. She said, “It’s an insult to women if such things have happened. These are deeds of half-witted people.”
The temple which is located in Muskura Khurd village which is in Anuragi’s constituency has a traditional ban on women entering the temple which she was unaware of. On the insistence of her party workers, Anuragi visited the famous Dhrum Rishi temple to offer prayers. However, she received flak from the villagers for entering the inner sanctum.
The priest said, “Till today no women had entered the temple. When Manisha Anuragi entered the temple I was not there otherwise I would not have allowed her to enter.”
government shelves ‘Surveillance’ hub
The Narendra Modi government has shelved a proposal to create a social communication hub that had prompted the Supreme Court to observe that the country cannot become a “surveillance state”, a report said on August 4. “The Government of India will review its decision and does not propose to go ahead with the proposal” to open the software tender on August 20, attorney-general K.K. Venugopal told the top court on August 3. “The decision has been taken pursuant to certain observations made by this court,” he added.
On July 13, the apex court had asked the government whether the move by the Centre to create the hub was to monitor social media messages. “If every single tweet or WhatsApp message is monitored, we will be moving towards becoming a surveillance state,” Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had said.
India didn’t red-flag Choksi: Antigua
The Antigua government on August 4 said that it had granted citizenship to bank-fraud accused Mehul Choksi because India had not red-flagged it at any stage of the paperwork, leaving the government red-faced, a report said on August 4. The Centre reported scrambled for an explanation all day as the Congress reopened fire over the diamond merchant’s “great escape’’ along with his nephew, fellow diamantaire and co-accused Nirav Modi.
By evening, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said the regional passport office in Mumbai had issued the police clearance certificate to Choksi on the basis of a clear police verification report available on his passport. The Congress seized its chance and released several documents, which were already in the public domain, to show that complaints against Choksi’s Gitanjali Gems had been pending with the corporate affairs ministry, Mumbai police, the Ahmedabad economic offences wing, the Prime Minister’s Office and Sebi for several years.
Saffron coat on Gandhi statue, Cong protests
After painting CM’s Office, government buildings, Dr Ambedkar’s statute, police stations, toilets, etc. in saffron hue, now a 20-year-old statue of Mahatma Gandhi was saffronised in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, a report said on August 4. According to police, the white-coloured statue of Mahatma Gandhi, installed at the gram sabha land in Dhaka Ghanshyampur in Shahjahanpur, was painted in saffron colour on Wednesday night by some miscreants.
Tension prevailed in the area when villagers saw the statue turning saffron overnight. They blamed the local BJP leaders behind the act. The Congress District President Kaushal Mishra alleged that it was the handiwork of BJP and RSS to create trouble in the area.
Mughalsarai station turns saffron as Amit Shah visit nears
As BJP chief Amit Shah was set to visit UP’s Mughalsarai on August 5, the Mughalsarai railway station’s colour is being changed to saffron. The painting work started on August 1 and was expected to be completed by August 4. The contractor who has been given the contract reportedly said railway authorities asked him to colour the white-coloured station saffron.
Meanwhile, Mughasarai’s divisional railway manager Pankaj Saxena said the re-painting was being done “for an important event”. “We do such things in our houses before a marriage ceremony. Likewise, we are decorating this railway station for an important function,” he said.
Dalit students denied admission in UP govt school
Even as controversy over Dalits being denied entry into a Meerut temple is yet to die down, yet another caste discrimination case was reported from the same district of Uttar Pradesh when two Dalit students were denied admission in a government primary school, a report said on August 2. The incident was reported from Panchchali Patti village in Mawana area of Meerut. Jagjeevan Ram, a Dalit by caste, alleged that his two sons Kautuk (6) and Gaurav (7) were denied admission in Government Primary School in the village when his wife Poonam Sheeshpal went to the school.