National News
JD-U yet to take a call on PFI ban despite BJP pressure
After a suspected terror module was busted in Patna’s Phulwari Sharif, there is disagreement between Bihar’s two ruling alliance partners – the BJP and the JD-U – over a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI), which was allegedly involved.
BJP leaders like state minister Jivesh Mishra, Rajya Sabha MP and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, state President Sanjay Jaiswal and MLA Hari Bhushan Thakur and others are demanding a ban on the PFI while the Janata Dal-United’s leadership is yet to decide.
Minority Affairs Minister Jama Khan, of the JD-U, said: “The investigation is currently underway. There is no clarity over whether the organisation (PFI) is involved in anti- national activities or not. Hence, you can’t declare an organisation illegal. How could a ban be imposed on an organisation only on the basis of the assumption of some people. The action will be taken against the organisation only after its guilt would be proven by the authorities and courts.
“Any organisations like the RSS, the Bajrang Dal or PFI, they are connected with political parties. The probe should take place on this line too. If any organisation is involved in wrongdoing, the state government will take action against them. Ban cannot be imposed on the demand of some leaders of a political party,” Khan said.
On the other hand, BJP Minister Mishra demanded complete ban on PFI.
“The security agencies have busted PFI terror module of Phulwari Sharif… the NIA is investigating this case. If its operatives’ terror links will be proven in future, the Centre will ban it. We are already demanding a ban on such an organisation,” he said.
“I also appeal to the Central government to identify organisations like PFI and ban it immediately. When the Narendra Modi government came to power, it made every possible effort to destroy such organisations. They have given life threats to BJP leaders but they are not worried about it,” Mishra said.
Jaiswal alleged that a “large number of sleeper cells” were active in Bihar.
“The Popular Front of India Phulwari Sharif module developed in Patna. I am hoping that the security agencies will break the chain of terror modules developed in every district of Bihar. It is an international conspiracy against the country to destroy… it will be prevented….
“Whoever had taken the training under the PFI from 2016 to 2022 will be exposed and arrested,” he asserted.
“The BJP leaders are not the soft target of terrorists but their connection from Bihar is emerging before us. Wherever terrorist activities taking place in the country, it has some connection with Bihar. This is also indicating that a large number of sleeper cells are active in every district of Bihar,” Jaiswal said.
BJP leader Neeraj Kumar Bablu sought that security agencies should scan all madarsas existing in Bihar.
“There are many madarsas in Bihar having excellent education systems while some of them have a fishy atmosphere. Hence, those madrasas need investigation and should be kept under close watch of intelligence agencies,” he said.
Why the Nitish Kumar government is not imposing a ban on PFI?
Despite a strong demand for a ban on the PFI by BJP leaders, the JD-U believes otherwise. The party think tank believes that banning an organisation only on the basis of allegations may prove dangerous in upcoming polls.
The JD-U is on the driving seat in Bihar but it is only due to the bargain and not due to its political strength. The party performed poorly in the 2020 Assembly election and won only 43 seats. It managed to win two more seats in the by-elections to reach 45, and subsequently merged an LJP MLA and an independent MLA to reach at the figure of 47. Still, it is in the third position in the house, as the RJD has 80 and the BJP has 77 MLAs.
The JD-U leadership believed that the party had reached to the third position not due to opposition but the “lethal” political moves of the BJP. In the last 21 months, these two parties were often involved in mud-slinging on almost every single issue.
The PFI issue has emerged as another flashpoint.
In the past few weeks, BJP hardliners like Union Minister Giriraj Singh and Hari Bhushan Thakur have claimed that they have received threatg calls from militant organisations. Even a number of BJP leaders were attacked during the Agneepath protest. Following that, the Centre government has given Y-category security to 10 BJP leaders including Giriraj Singh, Thakur, Ashwini Kumar Chaubey, Tar Kishore Prasad, Renu Devi, Sanjiv Chaurasia, Ashwini Kumar Chaubey and others.
Despite all provocations, no communal tension or riots occurred in Bihar under the Nitish Kumar government, which is why a sizable part of the minority community reposes faith in him. The JD-U also knows that if the state government would impose a ban on the organisation like PFI, it would be a disaster for it in the next election as the minority community will entirely swing over to the RJD.
JD-U sources are claiming that the Union Home Ministry’s handing over the probe to the NIA is a part of ploy to declare it an anti-national and terrorist organisation and ban it.
As BJP leaders are citing the example of neighbouring Jharkhand, which has imposed a ban on the PFI, the JD-U notes that the Hemant Soren government took the decision as its “core constituency” is different.
Bihar Minister and former IPS officer Sunil Kumar said: “It is a decision of Jharkhand government to impose a ban on the PFI. Bihar government will take any such decision on the basis of the investigation report and legal observations.
As the ban on PFI is an extremely sensitive matter, officials of Bihar Police are tightlipped on it and avoiding recommendation to the state government for ban.
Meanwhile, the RJD questioned the updates in the investigation so far.
State RJD chief Jagadanand Singh said: “They (investigating agencies) are claiming that a person has a telephonic conversation with a Pakistani national. The investigators should release the transcript of the conversation in public domain. They should reveal what the act was done by youths of a particular community which turn threat for the nation. During Partition, a large number of Muslim families went to Pakistan and their relatives are living in both the countries. Can they clarify whether interacting with relatives in Pakistan is a crime?”
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, while referring to Patna SSP M.S. Dhillon’s now controversial comments, said: “RJD is saying right from the beginning that the RSS is a threat to the country. At present, whatever the poisonous and hatred spread in the society is only due to the RSS. It is in the agenda of RSS to communalise the society.”
Patna police have arrested 8 persons so far in these two cases, including the PFI module. In the suspected terror module case, Athar Parvez, Mohammad Jalaluddin, and Arman Malik were arrested, and have revealed the names of Margoob alias Danis and Shabbir. Margoob was running a social networking group called Ghazwa-e-Hind and connected with the youths of Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The investigators claimed that Parvez was attached with the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and his brother Manzar Alam was involved in 2013 serial bomb blast in Gandhi Maidan rally of then PM candidate Narendra Modi. Jalaluddin also has some connection with the SIMI. During the raid, the joint team had recovered some objectionable documents which indicate that they were allegedly involved in brainwashing Muslim youths and working on “Mission 2047” to make India a Muslim country.
Crime
Telangana Minister condemns attack on Allu Arjun’s house
Hyderabad, Dec 23: Telangana’s Minister for Roads and Buildings and Cinematography Komatireddy Venkata Reddy on Monday condemned the attack on the house of Tollywood actor Allu Arjun.
The minister took to ‘X’ to condemn the attack on Allu Arjun’s house in Hyderabad by a group of persons on Sunday over the Sandhya Theatre stampede issue.
“I strongly condemn the attack on the house of film actor Allu Arjun. There is no room for physical attacks in a democracy. No one should act in a way that disrupts peace and order. The matter related to the Sandhya Theatre incident is in court. The law will take its course,” the Minister posted.
Earlier, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy also condemned the attack on the actor’s house. He directed the Director General of Police and City Police Commissioner to take strict action to maintain law and order. He made it clear that no laxity would be tolerated in this regard.
The Chief Minister also asked senior officials to prevent police personnel who are not connected with the investigations into the Sandhya Theatre incident from speaking on the issue.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Vishnu Murthy, was suspended recently following allegations of corruption, Sunday addressed a press conference about the December 4 incident at Sandhya Theatre. He accused Allu Arjun of lacking a basic understanding of the law and also targeted the film industry for criticizing the police department.
Taking serious note of the suspended police official’s action, top officials initiated disciplinary action against him.
Akshansh Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Central Zone, said in a statement that Vishnu Murthy conducted the press meeting without obtaining prior permission from higher authorities or intimating any senior officer. “This action is a clear violation of disciplinary norms. We are forwarding a report against Sri Vishnu Murthy to the Director General of Police (DGP) for initiating disciplinary action. The DGP’s office will investigate this matter and take necessary action,” he said.
“We reiterate that such actions will not be tolerated, and necessary disciplinary measures will be taken against those who violate the conduct rules,” the DCP said.
Vishnu Murthy was previously working as the DSP Task Force at Nizamabad, and later attached to the DGP Office on allegations and subsequently suspended in October 2024.
Maharashtra
Delhi HC to pronounce today verdict on anticipatory bail plea of ex-IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar
New Delhi, Dec 23: The Delhi High Court is slated to deliver on Monday its judgment on anticipatory bail plea of sacked Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who allegedly submitted false OBC and PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) certificates and fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limits provided for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) by faking her identity.
As per the causelist published on the website of the Delhi HC, a bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh will pronounce its verdict on December 23.
Earlier on November 28, Justice Singh-led Bench reserved its decision after hearing both sides. It was then clarified that till the judgment is delivered, the interim relief granted earlier to Puja Khedkar shielding her from arrest will continue.
Asking Khedkar to cooperate with the investigation, the Delhi High Court, in an interim order passed on August 12, granted her protection from arrest.
Earlier, a court here had turned down her anticipatory bail plea and asked the investigating agency to find out if anyone from inside the UPSC had helped Khedkar.
Widening the scope of the probe, Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala had asked Delhi Police to investigate if other people recommended by the UPSC have availed quota benefits without entitlement.
The Centre, on September 7, sacked Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect, a month after the UPSC cancelled her selection in government service. Khedkar has been found guilty of faking and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits.
After cancelling her selection, the UPSC also barred her for life from taking the entrance exam after finding her guilty of faking her identity to take the exam multiple times.
In a status report submitted to the Delhi High Court, Delhi Police had contended that former Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Khedkar had submitted two separate disability certificates for her UPSC exam. The disability certificates dated 2018 and 2021 citing ‘multiple disabilities’ were purportedly issued by the Ahmednagar District Civil Hospital for her UPSC attempts made in 2022 and 2023.
However, as per Delhi Police’s status report, the hospital authorities had denied that the certificates claiming ‘multiple disabilities’ were issued to her by them. It was found that Khedkar availed relaxed criteria for OBC candidates and persons with disabilities.
It then came to light that her father, a former Maharashtra government officer, had property to the tune of Rs 40 crore and that she did not qualify for the non-creamy layer OBC quota.
The UPSC had said that its Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) “could not detect her number of attempts primarily because she changed not only her name but also her parents’ names”.
The Delhi High Court also issued notice to Khedkar on an application filed by the UPSC alleging that she committed perjury by swearing a false affidavit and making a false statement in relation to her anticipatory bail plea.
In its application, the UPSC disputed that it did not collect any biometrics (eyes and fingerprints) during Khedkar’s personality test and she made a “false statement” regarding the collection of her biometrics for obtaining favourable orders.
National News
‘Stubborn, anti-farmer’, Kharge attacks Centre while paying tribute to Chaudhary Charan Singh
New Delhi, Dec 23: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday accused the Centre of being stubborn and anti-farmer, hoping that the government would not do injustice to the farmers and implement its promises.
He said this while paying tribute to former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, whose birth anniversary is marked as the Farmers’ Day.
In a post on X, Kharge wrote, “Farmer is India, the pride of the country. Warm wishes to all farmer sisters and brothers, and farm labourers on Farmer’s Day. Respectful tributes to former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh ji on his birth anniversary, who fought for the farmers of the country.”
Attacking the Modi-led Centre, the Congress chief accused the government of being stubborn and anti-farmer. “It is hoped that the Modi government will not do further injustice to our farmers through its stubbornness and anti-farmer policies and will implement its old promises,” he further wrote.
Even as Kharge attacked the government on the farmers’ issues, the Centre on Sunday said it has been recognising the vital role of farmers and has introduced a suite of initiatives designed to support their socio-economic upliftment and ensure sustainable agricultural growth.
“These programmes, including the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojana (PM-KMY), are aimed at providing financial security, risk mitigation, and long-term social security for farmers,” said a government statement.
It said that by addressing both immediate challenges and long-term needs, these schemes underscore the government’s commitment to nurturing the backbone of the nation and fostering a sustainable agricultural future.
Earlier in the day, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and others paid rich tributes to the former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar paid tribute to Chaudhary Charan Singh at Kisan Ghat, Delhi. Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary — RLD chief and grandson of Chaudhary Charan Singh — was also present with the Vice President.
After paying tributes, the Vice President said, “On the occasion of Kisan Diwas, I salute all the farmers of India. In 2001, the right decision was taken and Kisan Diwas was started in the name of such a great man who dedicated his life to the nation’s development along with the farmers and rural development. His thinking and philosophy are exemplary for all of us.”
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