Indian Abroad: May 1-15, 2022; Vol 2 Issue 6

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POLITICS

Vol 2, Issue 6 May 1-15, 2022

Na qvi snub s U K MP for ‘ Is la mo ph o b i a’ rem ark

New Delhi, April 22 (IANS) Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has snubbed UK Labour Party MP Naz Shah, asking her not to convert her prejudiced agenda of 'India Phobia' into 'Islamophobia'. "Please, don't convert your prejudiced agenda of 'India Phobia' into 'Islamophobia'. Every Indian citizen including Minorities is safe and secure in India. 'Co-existence' is our commitment and 'Inclusivity' is

our culture," Naqvi said in a tweet tagging Naz Shah. Naqvi's remarks came in response to a tweet by Naz Shah that said: "My message to @BorisJohnson on his visit to India is that our nation's foreign relations must not just be based on trade & internationalism but also on human rights. My plea to the @10DowningStreet is to raise the growing issue of Islamophobia with the Modi Government."

"The rising tide of everyday hate & mob lynching against Muslims in India is becoming worrying," Shah had said. Earlier on Thursday, India had strongly condemned the visit of US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir on April 20. Responding to a question in the weekly media briefing, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, had said that New Delhi has taken note of her visit to a part of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir which is currently illegally occupied by Pakistan. "If such a politician wishes to practice her narrow-minded politics at home, that may be her business. But violating our territorial integrity and sovereignty in its pursuit makes it ours. This visit is condemnable," Bagchi said while briefing the media.

Comments over distribution of ‘Right wing’ newspaper in train put Railways in a fix Bengaluru, April 23 (IANS) Indian Railways has found itself in a spot over its comments on the distribution of a Right wing newspaper -- ' The Aryavarth Express' -- in the Bengaluru-Chennai Shatabdi Express on Friday. The passengers borading from Bengaluru were surprised to find copies of Aryavarth Express in the train which contained controversial articles, prompting the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to issue a warning to the onboard services licensee later. The Indian Railways authorities were first slammed by Left activists for the distribution of Aryavarth Express copies in the train. The authorities then assured that the vendor has been advised to avoid such incidents in the future. They also assured that the staff will keep a strict vigil to avoid distribution of such newspapers as inserts. The clarification from the IRCTC has angered Right wing activists, who questioned the move saying anything related to the interests of Hindus would meet the same fate and whoever spoke in favour of Hindus would be penalised. The

IRCTC then deleted its tweets giving clarification. The issue started with the distribution of Aryavarth Express along with the officially permitted newspaper in the train to the passengers. The newspaper carried a lead article that read 'Genocide of Hindus, Sikhs and Budhists under Islamic rule needs to be recognised'. The other news items in the newspaper also spoke about the plight of Hindus. One of the passengers, Gopika Bashi, a gender justice campaigner, took objection to the distribution of Aryavarth Express in the train.

She slammed the IRCTC on its twitter handle and questioned how a 'blatantly propagandist' newspaper be distributed by it. Soon Bashi was joined by others who questioned the distribution of a Right wing newspaper in the train. The IRCTC, on its part, clarified that it was distributed as an insert along with the approved daily. The Railway Ministry has clarified that its tweet was only regarding distribution of newspapers, and had nothing to do with the content.

Demolition of India’s constitutional values: Rahul

New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) The Congress on Wednesday accused the Centre of undermining constitutional authorities after it failed to immediately follow the Supreme Court's order of a status quo on

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the demolition drive in Delhi's Jahangirpuri area. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said its demolition of Constitutional values and shared picture of preamble which is threatened by a

bulldozer. "This is a demolition of India's constitutional values. This is state-sponsored targeting of poor & minorities," he said in a tweet. Earlier Congress leaders had termed it "brazen contempt" and a very dangerous precedent of defiance by the civic agency and Delhi police. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave on Wednesday again mentioned the Jahangirpuri demolition matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, saying despite the top court's order, the municipal corporation had not stopped the demolition drive. Dave said the top court in the morning ordered status quo on the demolition, yet the municipal corporation did not stop the demolition drive at Jahangirpuri. He urged the top court to ask the secretary general to communicate the court's order to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), Mayor NDMC, and Commissioner of Delhi Police. "Once it's widely reported in the media, this is not appropriate...," said Dave. The Chief Justice then asked the registry to communicate the court's status quo order on the demolition drive to the respondents in the matter -- NDMC Commissioner, Mayor and Delhi Police Commissioner.

Political temperature soars in Telangana as parties warm up for 2023 state polls

Hyderabad, April 24 (IANS) There is still one-and-a-half years to go for Assembly elections in Telangana but the hectic activities by the main parties are already raising the political dust and heat in the state. Already in the grip of heat wave conditions, Telangana is also witnessing a rise in political temperatures with the main contenders for power and even the smaller parties vying with each other to catch the public attention. Padyatras or foot marches, foundation day celebrations and rallies by top leaders have already created a poll-like atmosphere in Telangana, where Assembly elections are due towards 2023-end. Aiming for a hat-trick of electoral victories, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is gearing up for the fight with foundation day celebrations next week while confident of wresting power, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in the midst of a padyatra by its state unit chief Bandi Sanjay. Looking to regain the lost ground in its former stronghold, the Congress party will be joining the bandwagon with its leader Rahul Gandhi scheduled to address a public rally in Warangal on May 6. Bandi Sanjay on April 14 embarked on the second leg of his Praja Sangrama Yatra with a bitter attack on the TRS government. During the month-long foot march, Bandi Sanjay will cover 385 kilometres in five districts. He will pass through 105 villages in 10 Assembly constituencies. Sanjay, who is also a Member of Parliament from Karimnagar, will walk 10-15 km every day to interact with people to know their problems. Several union ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states will join the yatra. The second leg of the yatra will conclude on May 14 at Maheshwaram in Ranga Reddy district. He has invited Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the concluding programme.

The first phase of the yatra had started in Hyderabad in August 2021. It lasted for 36 days covering 19 Assembly constituencies and half a dozen Parliamentary constituencies in eight districts. According to BJP central leader and in-charge of party affairs in Telangana, Tarun Chugh, the yatra is aimed at liberating Telangana from family rule and to achieve "Golden Telangana" with double engine growth. However, Bandi Sanjay is not the only politician currently undertaking a padyatra. YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) leader Y. S. Sharmila is already on a 'Praja Prasthanam' padyatra to know the people's problems. Sharmila, sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, had launched the padyatra from Chevella on October 20 but had to suspend it due to the election code in force for the Legislative Council elections and the third wave of Covid-19. She resumed her walkathon on March 11. Sharmila's padyatra is to expose the �failure' of the TRS to fulfil its promises and deliver �Bangaru (golden) Telangana'. She is promising to bring back the welfare rule of her father and former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, and walks 12-15 km every day to meet farmers, women and other people. Sharmila, who floated the party on July 8 last year, plans to walk 4,000 km covering 16 of the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies and all Assembly constituencies except those coming under the limits of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka is also undertaking a padyatra, �People's March' in Madhira Assembly constituency represented by him. Bahujan Samaj Party state coordinator and former IPS officer

R. S. Praveen Kumar is also on a �Bahujan Rajyadhikara Yatra'. He launched a 300-day-long yatra on March 6. The 21st formation day celebrations of TRS on April 27 will add to the political heat in the state. The party will hold a day-long plenary in Hyderabad to mark the day. TRS president and Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao will kick-off the party foundation day celebrations by hoisting the party flag. Later, he will deliver a welcome address and introduce 11 resolutions. The meeting will debate these resolutions and adopt them. The plenary to be attended by about 3,000 delegates is likely to set the agenda for the party to retain power in the state. It is after a gap of two years that the TRS will be holding foundation celebrations on a grand scale. For the last two years, the celebrations were low-key due to the pandemic. KCR, who floated the TRS on April 27, 2001 to revive the movement for a separate state, is likely to not only highlight the tremendous all-round progress the state has made under TRS rule during the last seven years but may also launch a spirited attack on the BJP to counter its determined bid to project itself as a viable alternative. The TRS chief is likely to come down heavily on the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for �discrimination' against Telangana. The refusal of the Centre to procure paddy from Telangana has already provided fresh ammunition to the TRS to step up its attack on the BJP. KCR, who is also aiming for a larger national role at the Centre, is also likely to reveal his plans to bring together non-BJP parties at the national level to provide an alternative to the BJP. The first week of May will further intensify the political activities with the two-day visit of Rahul Gandhi. He will address a public meeting at Warangal on May 6 and the next day he will hold a meeting with the party leaders in Hyderabad. This will be Rahul Gandhi's first visit to Telangana after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and this comes close on the heels of his intervention to put the Congress house in order in Telangana in the wake of differences among leaders coming to the fore. The second week of May is likely to see the activities gathering further momentum with Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressing a public meeting on May 14 to mark the end of the second leg of the state BJP president's padyatra.

After differences crop up, Kerala’s top bureaucrat removed by Pinarayi Vijayan’s son-in-law Thiruvananthapuram, April 25 (IANS) V. Venu, one of the senior-most bureaucrats in Kerala, has been moved out of the Tourism department after differences cropped up with the Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas, who is also the son-in-law of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Venu has been serving in the tourism department for close to three decades in various positions and is credited with Kerala tourism success story. He belongs to the 1990 IAS batch and presently holds the additional chief secretary rank. Ever since Riyas married Vijayan's daughter Veena Vijayan in 2020, his (Riyas) stocks have been rising. At the 2021 Assembly polls, he was given a very safe seat Beypore in his hometown -- Kozhikode replacing sitting legislator V.K.C. Mammed Koya. After winning, Riyas, a first time legislator, was made a cabinet minister and the biggest surprise came when he was given the prized Public Works Department portfolio and also the Tourism portfolio. With no administrative experience, other than heading the Youth Wing of the CPI-M, Riyas as Minister, was making waves by making surprise inspections in offices and places in his departments with the media

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always toeing him and giving him good coverage. Medical professional-turned IAS, Venu along with the present Chief Executive officer of Niti Ayog -- Amitabh Kant, was largely instrumental in first identifying the tourism potential of Kerala in the late nineties and since then Venu has practically held every top post in the Tourism department in the state, till he was removed the other day from the post of Tourism Secretary.

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What's more important is that the sudden shifting was effected when Vijayan left for the US for further medical treatment and will be there for three weeks. Incidentally, Venu in the past was moved out from the Rebuild Kerala Initiative and also as Revenue Secretary, but for some reason, he continued to be in the good books of Vijayan. Venu's wife Saradha Muraleedharan is also a high-ranking IAS official here holding key posts.

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