Muslim leaders threaten protest over razed mosques in Telangana secretariat

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Muslim leaders threaten protest over razed mosques in Telangana secretariat

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, religious scholars and leaders of various Muslim organizations have condemned the demolition of two mosques in the premises of the old secretariat in Hyderabad and demanded their immediate reconstruction.

Hyderabad MP and other leaders of the United Muslim Forum (UMF), an umbrella organization of different Muslim groups, said the ‘tragic’ and ‘unconstitutional’ demolition of the two mosques caused pain and agony to the Muslims.

Owaisi, whose All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is a friendly party of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), and other leaders warned that if the government failed to take steps for reconstruction of the demolished mosques at the same place without any delay, Muslims would be forced to launch a strong protest.

They said Muslims were angry with the government over its action because according to the Islamic belief a mosque remains the property of Almighty Allah and its status can never be altered.

They stated in a joint statement that the demolition of two mosques shocked the confidence of the Muslim community in Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, who has been projecting himself as a secular.

Demanding that the demolished mosques be rebuilt at the same place, they said Muslims could never accept their reconstruction at another place.

The joint statement was issued by Asaduddin Owaisi, his brother and AIMIM floor leader in Telangana Assembly Akbaruddin Owaisi, Moulana Akbar Nizamuddin and Moulana Mufti Khaleel Ahmed of Jamia Nizamia, president of MUF Moulana Rahmeeuddin Ansari, Jamaat-Islami’s Telangana unit chief Moulana Hamid Mohammed Khan, Jamiatul Ulema Telangana and Andhra Pradesh unit president Moulana Hafiz Peer Shabbir Ahmed, eminent religious scholars Moulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, Moulana Jaffer Pasha, and others.

The leaders pointed out that both the mosques (Masjid-e-Hashmi and Secretariat mosque) had their record in Waqf Board and official gazette notification.

Meanwhile, in a delayed move Waqf Board sent a letter to the secretary, minorities welfare, urging him to save both the mosques. Waqf Board Chief Executive Officer Abdul Hameed, along with the letter, also sent gazette notifications of the mosques. He wrote that demolition could anger Muslims leading to law and order problems.

As per the Waqf Board record, the Secretariat Mosque was spread over 677 square yards. Namaz used to be regularly offered there till recently. Even after shifting of the secretariat to nearby BRK Bhavan last year, prayers continued at the mosque and it was only after COVID-19 breakout and resultant lockdown that people had stopped offering prayers there.

In 2008, during the regime of Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy in undivided Andhra Pradesh, the minorities welfare department had released Rs 35 lakh for renovation of the mosque, and the work was completed in 2010.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir who was a minister in Rajasekhara Reddy’s cabinet said the TRS government hurt the sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus by demolishing two mosques and a temple at the old secretariat complex. He recalled that in a letter to the chief minister on June 27, 2019, he had appealed to him to save the places of worship.

Shabbir said some ministers had assured that the places of worship would be protected. The Congress leader said the TRS government betrayed the people by demolishing the mosques and the temple.

PM inaugurates 750-MW solar power project in MP’s Rewa

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PM inaugurates 750-MW solar power project in MP’s Rewa

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dedicated to the nation a 750-MW solar project – said to be Asia’s biggest — at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh through a videoconference from Delhi.

The Rs 4,000-crore project has three units of 250 MW each at a solar park spread over 1,500 hectares developed by Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL), a joint venture company of Madhya Pradesh UrjaVikas Nigam Limited and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a central PSU.

Union Power Minister RK Singh and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.

Twenty-four percent of the solar power produced by the project will be used in the Delhi Metro and the remaining 76 percent by discoms of Madhya Pradesh.

The Centre gave Rs 138 crore to RUMSL for the project for which Mahindra Renewables, ACME Solar Holdings, and Solengeri Power were shortlisted through reverse bidding for the three units at tariffs of Rs 2.979, Rs 2.970 and Rs 2.974 for the first year.

This is the lowest tariff ever discovered through a bidding process for solar projects in India.

The project is a step towards India’s commitment to set up 175GW solar power capacity by 2022.

Economic mismanagement a tragedy, will destroy millions: Rahul

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Economic mismanagement a tragedy, will destroy millions: Rahul

Reacting to a research report that Indians are worst-hit on the economic front and that 8 out of 10 rural households had lost income during the coronavirus pandemic, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that the economic mismanagement was a tragedy that was out to destroy millions.

“India’s economic mismanagement is a tragedy that is going to destroy millions of families,” he tweeted.

He said that it would no longer be accepted silently.

The Congress leader has been raising the issue of economic problems Indians are facing due to the lockdown amid coronavirus pandemic.

Rahul Gandhi was quoting research by the University of Chicago and Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, which said that 80 percent of rural and 75 percent urban households have suffered a loss in income.

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal in a statement on Tuesday said that the country lost nearly 13 crore jobs, with many states reaching unemployment figures of 40 percent.

SL extends voting time for parliamentary polls

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SL extends voting time for parliamentary polls

The Sri Lankan Elections Commission (EC) has increased the voting time for the upcoming parliamentary polls by an hour, it was reported on Tuesday.

In a statement on Monday, the Commission said the revised polling time will now be from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Daily Financial Times newspaper reported.

The statement did not mention the reason for the extension but it was likely that the decision was made to give the public enough time to vote while adhering to social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sri Lanka is set to hold its parliamentary elections on August 5, after they were postponed twice due to restrictions linked to the pandemic.

The elections were initially set to be held on April 25, after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had dissolved Parliament in March following his landslide victory in the November 2019 presidential polls.

The date was shifted to June 20 after lockdown measures were announced in mid-March.

The elections are set to be held under strict health protocols with campaign meetings limited to a maximum of 100 people, while the Elections Commission has recommended using the print and electronic media for campaign purposes and cutting down physical meetings to avoid exposure to the virus.

The Commission has also limited house-to-house campaigns to a maximum of three people.

Rajapaksa was sworn-in as President after an easy victory in November 16, 2019, polls on the back of an agenda focused on national security.

Soon after, he appointed his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister and dissolved the opposition-majority Parliament.

The President’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party has to win the majority in the house in order to secure the government’s full control in the semi-presidential representative democracy.

BJP central leadership to decide MP portfolio allocation

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BJP central leadership to decide MP portfolio allocation

The Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet in Madhya Pradesh has been expanded, but the issue of portfolio distribution is still unresolved. Now, it has been learned that it is the central BJP leadership which will decide who gets what in Madhya Pradesh.

It has been five days since the Chouhan cabinet was expanded, but the exercise of portfolio distribution is still going on. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has been shuttling between Bhopal and Delhi for quite some time, met all the top leaders in Delhi for two days and discussed the distribution of portfolios with the central leadership.

On July 2, a total of 28 new ministers were inducted in the council of ministers, including 12 from Jyotiraditya Scindia’s camp. Of the 22 Congress MLAs who resigned from the Congress to join the BJP, 14 are now ministers.

Sources have said that Scindia has been demanding independent charge for the ministers of state and has put forth a proposal to the central BJP leadership to allot plum portfolios to his loyalists.

Sources also added that if the party agrees to Scindia’s demand, no minister will have two portfolios as there are only 34 departments in the state.

A meeting was held on Monday night between Madhya Pradesh BJP in-charge Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and Scindia amidst the ongoing race for allocation of portfolios. The two leaders also believed to have discussed the strategy for the by-elections for 24 assembly seats to be held soon.

Sahasrabuddhe said that a meeting with Scindia was held at his residence to discuss by-elections and other political issues of the state.

BJP sources said that the Chief Minister has submitted a list of possible portfolios of ministers to BJP President J.P. Nadda. The list will be discussed between Nadda and General Secretary (Organization) B.L. Santhosh and only then a final decision is likely to be taken. The announcement of portfolios of ministers is expected anytime by late Tuesday evening.

Sources say that the Scindia camp has been insisting on getting departments like Rural Development, Panchayats, Women and Child Development, Irrigation, Home, Transport, Public Relations, and Food Supply. The party is considering these demands.

The BJP government was formed in March after toppling the Kamal Nath government with 22 of the Congress MLAs breaking away along with Scindia to support the BJP. Out of the 22 MLAs, who have to seek re-election now, 14 have been made ministers. Now the churning is going on for the portfolio distribution.

Well-known Iraqi political expert shot dead

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Well-known Iraqi political expert shot dead

Hisham al-Hashimi, a well-known Iraqi political and security expert, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the capital Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

The incident took place on Monday in Zaiyouna district when the gunmen on two motorcycles opened fire at al-Hashimi’s car near his house, the source told Xinhua news agency.

Al-Hashimi was shot more than 20 times and was transferred to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, the source said.

The attackers managed to flee before the arrival of security forces.

Al-Hashimi, who specialized in the affairs of the Sunni and Shia armed groups, is known for his support for the anti-government protests that broke out last October and his strong criticism of armed groups and militias.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held an outlawed militant group responsible for the assassination and pledged to pursue the killers.

“We pledge to pursue the killers to bring them to justice, and we will not allow the assassinations to return to Iraq to undermine security and stability,” al-Kadhimi was quoted as saying in a statement following the incident.

The Iraqi leader described al-Hashimi as an opinion-maker and a supportive voice for the Iraqi forces during the war against the Islamic State (IS) terror group, according to the statement.

The security situation in Iraq was dramatically improved after the Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017, but sporadic attacks occurred in the war-ravaged country.

Delhi CM appeals to cured Covid patients to donate plasma

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Delhi CM appeals to cured Covid patients to donate plasma

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday appealed to the cured COVID-19 patients to donate plasma to treat those infected with the virus in the national capital.

Signaling that demand of plasma is more than its uses, Kejriwal said there is no harm in donating plasma and the process does not hurt anyone.

His appeal came at a time when a total of 99,444 confirmed COVID-19 patients were reported in the national capital as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHF) data.

He also mentioned that the process to donate plasma is easier than blood donation.

The Chief Minister also appealed to the cured COVID patients to come forward for the noble cause so that others can be treated and informed that “pick and drop facility” will be given to the donor. He also appealed to all Delhi hospitals for holding a counseling class for cured COVID-19 patients to encourage them to donate plasma till a vaccine of the disease is available.

Noting that the number of COVID-19 patients has now been decreasing in the national capital, Kejriwal appealed to people to help others by donating plasma, the only option to treat infected people so far.

The appeal came four days after he announced the launch of the country’s first plasma bank to treat coronavirus patients in Delhi. The plasma bank is now operational at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences in South Delhi, which the Chief Minister said, is a facility where no COVID-19 patient approaches.

“It is safe if anyone has any doubt of being infected,” he said.

“The plasma bank will only be successful when people would come forward and donate for patients,” he added.

Plasma therapy is considered effective for people struggling to cope with coronavirus. It involves the injection of blood-component plasma extracted from a cured patient to a positive coronavirus case. The plasma extracted from a cured patient is considered to be having virus-fighting antibodies. It strengthens the immunity of the person getting the plasma.

Gorakhpur doctor’s letter from jail stirs controversy

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Gorakhpur doctor’s letter from jail stirs controversy

A four-page hand-written letter by suspended Gorakhpur doctor, Kafeel Khan, has stirred up a hornet’s nest.

The letter which narrates the ‘hellish’ conditions of the Mathura prison where he is presently lodged for participating in anti-CAA protests, claims that about 150 inmates are sharing a toilet.

Mathura jail senior superintendent Shailendra Maitri, on the other hand, has questioned the veracity of the letter.

“Kafeel denies having written any letter. We screen all the outgoing mails and did not see any such letter written by Kafeel. And after the lockdown began, no one has been allowed to meet the inmates. So, how did the alleged letter go out?” he asked.

Kafeel, in the letter to his family, has written, “With just one attached toilet and 125-150 inmates, the smell of their sweat and urine mixed, with unbearable heat due to electricity cuts, makes life hell over here. A living hell indeed.”

He further wrote, “I try to read but cannot focus due to suffocation. Sometimes I feel that I might fall due to dizziness. The entire barrack seems like a fish market full of all kinds of smells. People are coughing, sneezing, farting, urinating, and sweating. Some people snore, some fight, some scratch themselves.”

The doctor also questioned his detention. “Why am I being punished? When will I be able to see my children, my wife, my mother, and my brothers and sister? When will I be able to fulfill my duties as a doctor in fighting the menace of Coronavirus?” he asked.

Kafeel’s brother Adeel Ahmad Khan, said that the letter was written by Kafeel on June 15 and had reached them on July 1.

Adeel claimed that the letter was sent by post.

Kafeel Khan was booked for his alleged inflammatory remarks at an anti-CAA protest at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on December 13, 2019.

He was arrested from Mumbai on January 29 this year and was granted bail on February 10 by a court in Aligarh.

But, on February 13, the UP government invoked the National Security Act (NSA) against him, ensuring that he remains behind the bars.

Kafeel Khan first hit the headlines in August 2017 when he was blamed for the deaths of 30 children due to an oxygen shortage in the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur.

He remains suspended from service even though he was cleared of the charges in a departmental inquiry.

Yogi sanctions housing facilities for policemen

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Yogi sanctions housing facilities for policemen

There is finally some good news for police constables who have been living in dangerously dilapidated barracks in police Lines.

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has sanctioned 471 projects at a cost of Rs 2,789 crores for hostel buildings for the constables.

Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Avanish Awasthi told reporters, “It is not so that we are giving them only a decent housing facility. The government has also decided to construct and renovate fire stations and police stations to offer better office space to the force. The chief minister is personally monitoring the work progress.”

He said that the Chief Minister is aware of the housing problems of the policemen and is clear about what work has to be done.

The government orders (GOs) were recently issued for all projects.

For the first time, 44 hostels each are being constructed for male and women police personnel and at 322 police stations, special rooms would be constructed for investigating officers.

Hostels and barracks would also be constructed at police stations to offer better housing facilities to the police personnel of lower ranks.

Former Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Brij Lal said, “For decades, police jawans and their families have been living in barracks which were constructed during the British period. Many generations have spent their entire lives in these dilapidated buildings. Now, for the first time, a Chief Minister has looked into their problems. Yogi Adityanath is doing a great job for the force by offering them a decent living accommodation.”

He said that the Chief Minister’s decision would also help in giving a better life to the police force.

“The housing facility for the three-lakh strong force has always been a matter of concern for the state and police personnel have been living in miserable conditions,” he stated.

It’s Centre’s responsibility to save Amaravati: Chandrababu

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It’s Centre’s responsibility to save Amaravati: Chandrababu

The protest in Amaravati over YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government’s move to create three state capitals in Andhra Pradesh entered 200th day on Saturday with former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu stating that the Centre has the responsibility to save Amaravati.

Addressing a protest organized by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to mark the occasion, Naidu called upon people to continue ‘save Amaravati, save Andhra Pradesh’ movement.

Paying tributes to 64 farmers who died during the Amaravati movement, the TDP chief alleged that the Jaganmohan Reddy government hatched many conspiracies to kill new Andhra Pradesh’s capital Amaravati, which would have brought investment to the state and jobs to its people.

“Was it our mistake to build a state capital which the whole world should admire,” asked Naidu who wanted to build Amaravati as a world-class city.

The Singapore government had prepared the master plan for Amaravati, the foundation stone for which was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2015.

Amaravati was planned to be developed on the banks of Krishna river at a cost of more than Rs 1 lakh crore. The farmers had given 33,000 acres of land for the development of the state capital under the land pooling scheme.

After Naidu’s TDP lost power in the elections last year, Jaganmohan Reddy had announced a review of all projects launched during TDP rule. Alleging insider trading in the development of Amaravati, the YSRCP government stopped all work in Amaravati and launched a probe.

It was in December last year that the Jagan government decided to develop three state capitals, shifting some capital functions from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam and Kurnool. It announced that Amaravati will continue as the legislative capital while Visakhapatnam and Kurnool will be developed as executive and judicial capitals respectively.

Alleging that the move would harm their interests, Amaravati farmers have been staging protests against the government’s decision. They are demanding that Amaravati be developed as the only state capital.

The former chief minister recalled that his government had embarked on developing Amaravati as the state capital as it was centrally located.

Naidu said the TDP government-built buildings for Assembly, Secretariat, High Court and Raj Bhavan. He said 72 percent of work on MLA and MLC quarters was also completed. He revealed that Rs 9,000 crore was spent on all the work.

Naidu claimed that 139 companies had come forward to make investments in Amaravati and this would have created thousands of jobs.

He alleged that the Jagan government tried to suppress the Amaravati movement and used repressive measures against the protestors including women. The leader of opposition said the government violated human rights.

Meanwhile, barring YSRCP, leaders of all political parties addressed a virtual rally organized by Amaravati Joint Action Committee (JAC) spearheading the protest. They assured their continued support to the people’s movement and urged the Jagan government to withdraw its three capitals move.

YSRCP rebel MP Raghurama Krishna Raju also addressed the rally. Extending his support to the Amaravati movement, Raju said three capitals were not part of YSRCP’s election manifesto.

The Narsapuram MP urged the government to respect the sentiments of people of Amaravati and drop its move to develop two more capitals. “Government is a continuous process. As 80 percent of the capital works were completed in Amaravati, the government should not shift the capital,” Raju said.

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