RIVANCH

The suspension of BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma a week after she narrated a controversial episode on a television debate, has raised more questions than it has answered. The outrage of many BJP supporters or free speech absolutists who stood by her during the week, and the curiosity of those who heard about what she said for the first time, have both attained a crescendo. The questions that have arisen on the diplomatic front though, have now become the talk of the town. The Indian Vice President being on a tour to Qatar at the time further raised the stakes on the issue. How the issue unravelled at the international level in such a manner is what has left many Indians with a sense of unease. Three sets of perspectives or reactions have emerged to make sense of the ruling party’s decision. Interestingly, they don’t contradict each other at a fundamental level. In fact, it is only when they come together that one is able to see the puzzle in its entirety. The first reaction is the one

BJP national president JP Nadda on Saturday condemned the arrest of the party's West Bengal unit chief Sukanta Majumdar, accusing the state government of suppressing the voice of those who fight for people in a democratic manner. "On the one hand, the Bengal government boosts the morale of criminals and protects antisocial elements, on the other it suppresses the voice of those who fight for people in a democratic manner," Nadda said in a tweet. The detention of Majumdar and then arrest "without a reason" is extremely condemnable, he said. Majumdar, the MP of Balurghat in Uttar Dinajpur, was arrested on Saturday afternoon near the toll plaza on Vidyasagar Setu when he was on the way to violence-hit Howrah district, they said. "Mr Majumdar was trying to travel to Howrah where prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC have been clamped. His visit could have created a law and order situation. This is a preventive arrest," a senior police office

The Kerala Lottery Department will release the results of the Karunya KR 553 today, 11 June. Ticket holders can check the draw results by visiting the official website of the lottery department at  keralalotteryresult.net . The lottery draw will be conducted at Thiruvananthapuram’s Gorky Bhavan, near Bakery Junction under the supervision of professional judges. The live result of the KR 553 lottery will be declared at 3 pm while detailed results of the same will be published on the official website from 4 pm onwards. The Karunya KR 553 lottery results will also be released in the Kerala Government Gazette for the convenience of ticket holders. The first prize winner of the KR 553 lottery will receive an amount of Rs 80 lakh. The second and third prize winners will take home Rs 5 lakh and 1 lakh, respectively. Winning ticket holders should note that a Kerala lottery tax deduction of 30 percent and an agent Lottery commission of 10 percent are applicable to the prize money. Steps to c

Bhopal: Amid protests in parts of the country over the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad made by now suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, party's Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur has supported her, saying that if anybody insults Hindu deities, then such people would be told the "truth". Thakur, who is facing a trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case and is currently out on bail, made this statement as the central leadership of the BJP, following the massive uproar over the Nupur Sharma incident, has reportedly asked its leaders to refrain from criticising any religion. After Thakur's comments made in Bhopal on Friday, the opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh sought a clarification from the BJP as it pointed out that while the party has suspended Sharma over her remarks, the Lok Sabha member has now supported her. Read: Prophet row: Two dead after clashes between protesters and police turn violent in Ranchi Talking to reporters in the city, Thakur on Frida

At least two persons reportedly died of a bullet injury in Jharkhand’s Ranchi, where the police fired in the air to disperse a crowd pelting stones as protests erupted in several towns and cities across the country against derogatory references to the Prophet made by former BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal. Inspector General, Operations, Jharkhand Police, AV Homkar told The Quint , "Two civilians have died in the protest, which turned violent yesterday. One jawan also suffered bullet injuries and is being treated. The first priority is to bring all things back to normalcy." Read: Watch: Protest erupts outside Jama Masjid demanding Nupur Sharma's arrest A curfew was imposed in the violence-hit areas of the city and the internet suspended till 6 am on Saturday. #WATCH | Jharkhand: Protest over the controversial remarks by suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma turned violent in Ranchi. Vehicles were torched and vandalised and stone-pelting occurred. I

Kashmir-based YouTuber Faisal Wani, who runs the fitness channel Deep Pain Fitness, shared a graphic video which showed him beheading suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. The video went viral soon after and was subsequently removed from the channel. Wani also released an apology video where he apologized for his actions. Nupur Sharma, the spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suspended over the controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad, is facing backlash from all quarters. The now-deleted video shows Faisal Wani saying "no action, no warrant" and then he beheads a digital effigy of the suspended BJP spokesperson. He then ‘picks up’ the ‘head’ and throws it away. Kashmir based YouTuber Faisal Wani with YouTube Account of Deep Pain Fitness shares graphic video showing him beheading Nupur Sharma. I am horrified. These people are not allowed to live in a city society. Keep them in cages. pic.twitter.com/V1uw5UIi0h — Dwivedi (@dwivedi_ji12) June 10, 2022

Srinagar: A Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorist was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said. The encounter started in the Khandipora area of Kulgam around midnight on Saturday. The operation is being conducted barely 2 km from Gopalpora, the place where a female government teacher was shot dead on 31 May. The police said the encounter happened after the police launched a cordon and search operation in Khandipora area of the south Kashmir district following a specific input about the presence of terrorists there. #KulgamEncounterUpdate : 01 #terrorist of proscribed #terror outfit HM killed. #Operation in progress. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice https://t.co/FqBjUaDAZA — Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) June 11, 2022 He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the hiding terrorists fired upon the forces. In the exchange of fire, one terrorists was killed, the official said, a

Two active LeT terrorists have been arrested in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla. Incriminating materials, arms, and ammunition which include 2 Chinese Pistols, 18 live rounds, and 2 magazines have also been recovered from them. According to the police, the terrorists have been identified as Irshad Ahmad Mir, son of Abdul Rehman Mir (a categorised terrorist) and Zahid Bashir, son of Bashir Ahmad, both residents of Nehalpora, Pattan in Baramulla. Police has registered a case under relevant sections investigation has been initiated. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/dcSIm4N FP Staff

Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari on Friday claimed that the law and order situation in the state has "completely collapsed" and requested Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to call in and deploy Indian Army or paramilitary forces to control the situation. In a letter to Dhankhar, Adhikari wrote, "I wish to inform you that since yesterday (Thursday), National Highways in several parts of West Bengal, mainly around Howrah, Uluberia and adjoining areas of Kolkata have been blocked by rioters. As a result, about ten thousand cars and about one lakh people are stuck on the road." He informed that these "same rioters are vandalising houses and shops of the common people in different areas including Sankrail, Uluberia and Howrah." "Howrah rural district BJP party office has been set on fire. Uluberia district BJP party office and Raghudebpur BJP party office have also been vandalised by them," he wrote. The law and order si

Voting to elect the members on 16 Rajya Sabha seats spread across four states begins. The polling of the Upper House of the Parliament comes amid speculations of horse-trading and fears of cross-voting. The polling will conclude at 4 pm on Friday (10 June). For the unversed, all 41 candidates in fray in today's poll from Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Telangana were elected unopposed after the biennial elections to 57 Rajya Sabha seats were announced recently. The voting for the 16 seats spread across Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and Karnataka is being held today due to the number of candidates exceeding the seats. Amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading in the Rajya Sabha polls, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar Thursday said special observers have been appointed to oversee the election process which will be videographed. To prevent poaching of their leaders, major

It is not often that an irate crowd sets a police station on fire. But that is exactly what came to an unholy pass on 21 May 2022 in Batadrava. The incident took place because of an alleged custodial death, but the manner in which the stage was set to muster the mob to take the law into their hands provides an insight into the extent to which Muslim fundamentalist organisations are proliferating in the region, especially Assam. The problem has always — in the opinion of the author — constituted a clear and present danger to the security of India, but the dangerous proportions that it has taken in recent months is a matter of great concern. The entry of Islamist groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and Islamic State into Assam from erstwhile East Pakistan and the recent apprehensions of cadres of Ansarullah Bangla Team is but a tip of the iceberg of the danger that the alien Islamist agenda poses for Assam and thereabouts. The Popular Front of India which entered Assam in 2016-17 in a deci

Curfew has been imposed and the Army has been called in to conduct a flag march in Bhaderwah town in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir as tension spread in the area Thursday evening over some controversial social media posts. According to news agency ANI , police informed that the communal tension broke out in the area following a purported video showing instigating announcement was being made from a mosque in Bhaderwah. Internet Services have also been suspended to maintain peace, law and order in the Bhaderwah town. The police have been keeping a close watch on the situation and have registered a case over the alleged inflammatory speeches. People in the town have be warned against taking the law into their own hands. "Curfew has been imposed as a precautionary measure in view of communal tension," news agency PTI quoted an official saying. Additional security personnel have been deployed in the area to ensure peace. As per reports, inflammatory speeches were made du

A prominent politician and a senior journalist made a legal point recently on ‘The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991’. They have argued that this law is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India. In precise terms, this is an incredibly wrong legal position to argue. It is true that in courts anything and everything can be argued, still there are some legal ground realities which are not up for a debate. Even a cursory reading of the statement itself proves that it is wrong. The 1991 law is an ordinary law enacted by Parliament, it is not a part of the Constitution of India, which is a separate document. To argue that this law is part of the basic structure of the ‘Constitution’, is counterintuitive. How can some law be a part of the basic structure of the Constitution when it is not even a part of the Constitution in the first place? To understand the issue, I will first explain what is the basic structure doctrine. The Basic Structure Doctrine was pro

Nearly six months after the tragic death of General Bipin Rawat, then Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), in a helicopter crash in the Nilgiris, the government issued a notification on 6 June amending the Service rules of the Army, Navy and Air Force. According to new gazette notifications for the three armed forces, any Lieutenant General or General equivalent officer (retired or serving) below the age of 62 can now be appointed as the CDS, which technically makes scores of officers eligible for the top post. The CDS was viewed as a long outstanding requirement and its implementation was rightly considered one of the biggest reforms by the present government in the higher defence management. Ironically, after the unfortunate demise of Gen Rawat, who had been appointed as India’s first CDS on 1 January 2020, the government seemed to be in no hurry to appoint his successor. As a result, the foot seems to have been lifted off the accelerator as far as the reforms in the pipeline were concerne

“The vision of LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) is to live a lifestyle that is in tune with our planet and does not harm it. And those who live such a lifestyle are called Pro-Planet People. Mission LiFE borrows from the past, operates in the present and focuses on the future,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the World Environment Day on 5 June 2022, showcasing his commitment to clean growth and green growth, that work on the avowed maxim of a zero-carbon lifestyle. From 1.5 per cent ethanol blending in 2013, the number today is a healthy 10 per cent and is slated to move beyond 20 per cent in the near future, which will reduce not only India's carbon footprint but will also reduce the inflationary impact pertaining to fuel prices. India’s commitment to reach 40 per cent of installed electric capacity from non-fossil fuel-based sources has been achieved, nine years ahead of schedule. In this piece we examine how Modinomics has deftly surmounted challenges arising from glob

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that the Prophet remark row did not come up during talks between Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in New Delhi. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "this issue was not raised during that conversation." "My understanding is that what you are referring to in a readout has been pulled down (by Iran)," Bagchi told reporters. He was referring to an Iranian readout that said that Abdollahian raised the issue over controversial remarks made on Prophet Muhammad by now suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, in a meeting with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Wednesday. "Doval assured Abdollahian that offenders will be dealt with in such a way that others will learn a lesson," PTI quoted the Iranian readout as saying. However, Iran has now removed this statement from its foreign ministry's website, News18 reported. Bagchi added that the re