MNS leader's son quizzed for 6 hours, says he consumed alcohol before joyride
A close friend of Rakhi Sawant, Rajshree, made headlinesfew weeks back after she posted a video on social media where she made contentious comments about the local Maharashtrian community.In the video, she questioned the efforts to enforce the Marathi language on the state's residents and argued that local Marathi people should instead be motivated to work harder.She also warned that Mumbai's local Marathi community's condition could worsen if migrants left the city.SHINDE SENA LEADER CONDEMNS INCIDENTAfter the matter came to light, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) leader Sanjay Nirupam condemned the incident and slammed Rahil for his indecent behaviour with a woman."MNS leader Javed Shaikh's son has misbehaved with a woman. He rammed his car into hers and was drunk. What kind of Muslim is he who consumes alcohol? When the woman resisted, he abused her and flaunted his father's position," Nirupam said in a video message on Monday.He added that the MNS is resorting to hooliganism in the name of Marathi. "They don't care about Marathi language or it's cultural pride. If they did, they wouldn't have misbehaved with Rajshri More".Nirpuam also questioned as to why only Hindus are attacked by MNS workers. He dared them to try and attack Urdu-speaking people in the name of Marathi.The Sena leader claimed that the MNS is running a campaign against Hindus at the behest of its Muslim leaders like Javed Shaikh.Nirupam requested the state government to take MNS "goons" to task and ensure the safety and security of the people belonging to all sections of society in the state.- Ends
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The Hindu
32 minutes ago
- The Hindu
As Assam CM defends eviction drives, Opposition sniffs ploy to clear space for corporate houses
Jiten Gohain is the head of one of 218 families evicted during a drive the authorities in Assam's Lakhimpur district carried out on July 3 to reclaim 78 acres of Village Grazing Reserve (VGR) land across four locations. On July 8, the district's Sub-Divisional Land Advisory Committee approved the allotment of 1.5 kathas (4,320 sq. ft) of land each to 21 families evicted, in one of the fastest such exercises. Among them were 12 belonging to the Ahom community, which is seeking Scheduled Tribe status, to which Mr. Gohain belongs. District Commissioner Pronab Jit Kakoty said the eviction drive was conducted following 'due process'. He said the affected families, which failed to produce land ownership documents, were served notices on June 29. 'I had a larger plot from where we were evicted, but the government has at least provided some space,' Mr. Gohain said. Abul Hasan Sheikh, one of some 200-odd Bengali-speaking Muslim families evicted from Lakhimpur, is not sure if the government would be equally 'generous' to provide him an alternative plot. He is originally a resident of western Assam's South Salmara-Mankachar district along the border with Bangladesh. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma named him and at least a dozen others from faraway districts – most of them Muslim-majority – to underline the alleged 'agenda of demographic invasion by strategically occupying lands in areas dominated by indigenous communities'. 'An analysis has revealed that the families evicted from Lakhimpur included 76 from Barpeta, 63 from Nagaon, seven from Goalpara, and two from South Salmara-Mankachar. Why should someone from South Salmara go to Lakhimpur instead of going to West Bengal, about 50 km away?' Mr. Sarma told reporters on Tuesday. 'Voter list deletions' The Chief Minister said more than 50,000 people have been evicted from 'protected areas, wetlands, VGR and PGR (Professional Grazing Land), government khas (land owned by the government that has not been settled) and wasteland, and those belonging to satras (Vaishnav monasteries) and namghars (prayer halls)' over the past few weeks. According to the State's Revenue and Disaster Management Department, the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation of 1986, the Land Policy of 1989, and a 2011 Supreme Court judgment mandate protection of government and village common lands. It also cites the violation of the Assam Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act of 2010 as a punishable offence. After the BJP came to power in Assam in May 2016, the first eviction drive was carried out in three fringe villages of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. Two persons, including a minor girl, were killed during the eviction based on a Gauhati High Court order in September 2016. 'Most of those evicted are listed as voters in places from where they came. We have asked the authorities from where they were evicted to delete their names from the electoral rolls to eliminate duplicate names,' Mr. Sarma said. Citing the case of the 12 Ahom families, the All Assam Minority Students' Union has demanded rehabilitation for the evicted Muslim families. It claimed many people had lands they were evicted from before these were declared as reserve forests. The Opposition parties have criticised the eviction drive for disproportionately targeting the minority communities. 'The Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission should take note of the eviction during the court holidays in Assam to target poor Muslims. The government must first provide adequate rehabilitation and only then undertake eviction,' All India United Democratic Front MLA Rafiqul Islam said. 'The BJP government has been projecting the evicted people as Bangladeshi. The government provided a compensation package of ₹14.72 crore to 332 families evicted from Kaziranga. People evicted [in 2021] for the Gorukhuti project [Darrang district] were compensated and given land in the Dalgaon area. Why is the government doing so if these people are Bangladeshi?' Congress leader and advocate Aman Wadud said. Others pointed out that the Dhubri district administration has asked 1,400 families displaced from Chapar town, reportedly to make space for a thermal power plant by the Adani Group, to relocate to a sandbar in the middle of the Brahmaputra river. 'Politics of polarisation' 'The eviction is being carried out for two reasons. Firstly, they want to clear land for corporate houses. Secondly, evicting minorities paves the way for the politics of polarisation... so that the Hindu voters back the BJP, especially in eastern Assam, where it is facing challenges,' Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi said. Lurinjyoti Gogoi, the chief of Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), said eviction drives are a form of the tried-and-tested ploy of weaponising the 'Bangladeshi issue' before the poll. The Assembly poll in Assam is due by May 2026. 'The Chief Minister claims he is doing everything for the indigenous people. In reality, more tribal families have been evicted than the Muslims. In Karbi Anglong, 20,000 Adivasi, Karbi, and Naga families have been evicted to hand over 18,000 bighas of land to the Reliance Group,' the AJP leader claimed. In Assam, one bigha is equivalent to 14,400 sq. ft. He also cited 9,000 bighas of land 'to be handed over to the Adani Group' in Dima Hasao district, 45 bighas 'taken away' from the Adivasis for a hotel project near Kaziranga, and 75 bighas for a Patanjali project in the Golaghat district. 'It is evident why the government is on a land acquisition spree. Of the 49,000 bighas cleared, only 6,000 bighas were under the occupation of the religious minorities,' the AJP leader said.
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Business Standard
33 minutes ago
- Business Standard
SCO summit: EAM Jaishankar flags conflicts, competition, coercion
In a reference to China restricting the supply of critical minerals, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Tuesday expressed India's concerns over 'conflicts, competition and coercion' as well as economic instability, underlining the need to stabilise the global order and address longstanding challenges that 'threaten our collective interests'. Addressing his Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) counterparts in Tianjin, China, Jaishankar urged the grouping to remain true to its founding objective of combating terrorism and extremism, and to take an 'uncompromising' stance on these issues. He also elaborated on India's rationale for Operation Sindoor, defending the country's response to the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22, in which 26 people were killed. Earlier in the day, Jaishankar, along with other foreign ministers of SCO member states, called on Chinese President Xi Jinping. Jaishankar called for improved transit facilities and better connectivity among SCO member states. 'Deepening collaboration within the SCO naturally requires more trade, investment, and exchanges. For that to move to the next level, it is imperative that we address some current issues,' he observed. 'One of them is the lack of assured transit within the SCO space. Its absence undermines the seriousness of advocating cooperation in economic areas. Another is the need to ensure the promotion of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC),' he said. The INSTC is a 7,200-kilometre-long multi-modal transport project for moving freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe. India has consistently supported the project. Jaishankar's comments on terrorism — made in the presence of his counterparts from Pakistan, China, and other SCO member nations — come amid India's concerns during and after Operation Sindoor over Beijing's assistance to Islamabad. China has also blocked India's efforts at the United Nations Security Council to sanction Pakistan-based terrorists. On June 26, at the SCO defence ministers' meeting in Qingdao, China, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had refused to sign a draft joint communiqué because it omitted the Pahalgam terror attack and did not explicitly address India's concerns over Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism. While Singh had demanded that the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam be mentioned in the communiqué, the Pakistani delegation insisted that the document include a paragraph on militant activities in Balochistan. 'India wanted concerns reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to a particular country. As such, the joint statement was not adopted,' Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said. On Tuesday, alluding to Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has faced criticism, Jaishankar said in Tianjin that India will continue to approach new ideas and proposals positively, but such cooperation must be based on 'mutual respect', 'sovereign equality', and in accordance with the 'territorial integrity and sovereignty' of member states. Jaishankar said the Pahalgam attack was 'deliberately conducted' to undermine Jammu & Kashmir's tourism economy and sow religious discord. The SCO foreign ministers' meeting will decide on the agenda for the SCO Summit in Tianjin later this year, which Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi is expected to attend. Jaishankar also held separate meetings with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, focusing on bilateral cooperation and the situation in West Asia. Among other topics, Jaishankar and Lavrov discussed the evolving regional security scenario. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India later this year for the annual India-Russia summit. In his speech at the SCO foreign ministers' meeting, Jaishankar said, 'Economic instability is also visibly on the rise. The challenge before us is to stabilise the global order, derisk various dimensions, and, through it all, address longstanding challenges that threaten our collective interests.' He argued that the SCO's ability to shape world affairs will depend on how well it unites behind a shared agenda. 'That means taking everybody on board,' he said. 'The world is today moving towards greater multi-polarity. This is not just in terms of redistribution of national capacities, but also the emergence of effective groupings like the SCO.' The external affairs minister also urged the grouping to step up development assistance to Afghanistan. The SCO — comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Belarus — is an influential economic and security bloc that has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations. The Congress on Tuesday expressed hope that PM Modi will 'finally agree' to a discussion on China during the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, pointing out that if Parliament could debate the border situation during the 1962 Chinese invasion, then there is no reason it can't do so now. Tagging a media report on Jaishankar meeting Xi Jinping and apprising him of recent developments in India-China ties, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the EAM, saying he is 'now running a full-blown circus aimed at destroying India's foreign policy'. 'I guess the Chinese foreign minister will come and apprise Modi about recent developments in China-India ties. The EAM is now running a full-blown circus aimed at destroying India's foreign policy,' Gandhi said in a post on X.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Syria announces ceasefire after latest outbreak of deadly sectarian violence
Syria's defence minister announced a ceasefire shortly after government forces entered a key city in southern Sweida province on Tuesday, a day after sectarian clashes killed dozens there. Neighbouring Israel again launched strikes on Syrian military forces, saying it was protecting the Druze minority. The latest escalation under Syria's new leaders began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province, a centre of the Druze community. Syrian government forces, sent to restore order on Monday, also clashed with Druze armed groups. A ceasefire announcement On Tuesday, Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said an agreement was struck with the city's 'notables and dignitaries' and that government forces would 'respond only to the sources of fire and deal with any targeting by outlaw groups.' However, scattered clashes continued after his announcement — as did allegations that security forces had committed violations against civilians. Syria's Interior Ministry said on Monday that more than 30 people had been killed, but has not updated the figures since. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said on Tuesday that 166 people had been killed since Sunday, including five women and two children. Among them were 21 people killed in 'field executions' by government forces, including 12 men in a rest house in the city of Sweida, it said. It did not say how many of the dead were civilians and also cited reports of members of the security forces looting and setting homes on fire. Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in a statement that he had tasked authorities with 'taking immediate legal action against anyone proven to have committed a transgression or abuse, regardless of their rank or position.' Associated Press journalists in Sweida province saw forces at a government checkpoint searching cars and confiscating suspected stolen goods from both civilians and soldiers. Israel's involvement draws pushback Israeli airstrikes targeted government forces' convoys heading into the provincial capital of Sweida and in other areas of southern Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes sought to 'prevent the Syrian regime from harming' the Druze religious minority 'and to ensure disarmament in the area adjacent to our borders with Syria.' In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces. Meanwhile, Israeli Cabinet member and Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli called on X for al-Sharaa to be 'eliminated without delay." A soldier's story Manhal Yasser Al-Gor, of the Interior Ministry forces, was being treated for shrapnel wounds at a local hospital after an Israeli strike hit his convoy. We were entering Sweida to secure the civilians and prevent looting. I was on an armored personnel carrier when the Israeli drone hit us," he said, adding that there were 'many casualties.' The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Israeli strikes had killed 'several innocent civilians' as well as soldiers, and called them 'a reprehensible example of ongoing aggression and external interference" in Syria's internal matters. It said the Syrian state is committed to protecting the Druze, 'who form an integral part of the national identity and united Syrian social fabric.' Suspicion over Syria's new government Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria's new leaders since al-Sharaa's Sunni Islamist insurgents ousted former President Bashar Assad in December, saying it doesn't want militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. Earlier on Tuesday, religious leaders of the Druze community in Syria called for armed factions that have been clashing with government forces to surrender their weapons and cooperate with authorities. One of the main Druze spiritual leaders later released a video statement retracting the call. Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, who has been opposed to the government in Damascus, said in the video that the initial Druze leaders' statement had been issued after an agreement with the authorities in Damascus but that 'they broke the promise and continued the indiscriminate shelling of unarmed civilians.' 'We are being subjected to a total war of annihilation,' he claimed, without offering evidence. Some videos on social media showed armed fighters with Druze captives, beating them and, in some cases, forcibly shaving men's moustaches. Sectarian and revenge attacks The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Since Assad's fall, clashes have broken out several times between forces loyal to the new Syrian government and Druze fighters. The latest fighting has raised fears of more sectarian violence. In March, an ambush on government forces by Assad loyalists in another part of Syria triggered days of sectarian and revenge attacks. Hundreds of civilians were killed, most of them members of Assad's minority Alawite sect. A commission was formed to investigate the attacks but no findings have been made public. The videos and reports of soldiers' violations spurred outrage and protests by Druze communities in neighbouring Lebanon, northern Israel and in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, where the Israeli military said dozens of protesters had crossed the border into Syrian territory. The violence drew international concern. The US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, called the violence 'worrisome on all sides' in a post on. 'We are attempting to come to a peaceful, inclusive outcome for Druze, Bedouin tribes, the Syrian government and Israeli forces,' he said.
