‘Now this is going the way the Babri Masjid legal issue went’: Owaisi after Gyanvapi Masjid case order

News Network
September 13, 2022

Lucknow, Sept 13: The order of the Varanasi court allowing a petition from some Hindu women for year-long worship on the premises of Varanasi's Gyanvapi mosque should be challenged in the High Court, felt Asaduddin Owaisi, the chief of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen.

"I was hoping that the court will nip these issues in the bud. Now it appears that more such litigations will be coming and this is going the way the Babri Masjid legal issue went," he said in an interview hours after the verdict.

The court of District judge AK Vishvesha ordered today that a petition of five Hindu women seeking permission to conduct rituals inside the mosque premises through the year, will be heard. The court also made it clear that plaintiffs were not asking for a conversion of the premises and their suit "is limited and confined to the right of worship as a civil right, fundamental right as well as customary and religious right".

The contention of the Muslim petitioners that it would lead to instability, has no merit, said the judge, who was specially handed the case by the Supreme Court earlier this year.  

The top court had said given the "complexity and sensitivity" of the dispute, it requires experienced handling.

Mr Owaisi, however, said the order will "set off many things".  

"Everyone will say that we have been here before 15 August 1947. Then the aim of the 1991 Places of Religious Worship Act will be defeated. The 1991 Act was made so that such conflicts end. But after today's order, it seems there will be more litigations on this issue and we will be back to the '80s and it will create a destabilising effect," Mr Owaisi said.

The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991 maintains the religious status of any place of worship should stay the way it was on August 15, 1947. Section 3 of the Act bars the conversion of places of worship. The Babri Masjid case was the exception.  

But following the Supreme Court order allowing a temple in the disputed area in Ayodhya and giving Muslims a separate land for a mosque, a petition has been filed challenging the Constitutional validity of certain sections of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991.

The petition has argued that the law takes away the rights of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs to restore their "places of worship and pilgrimages" destroyed by invaders.

The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has also filed a plea contending that entertaining such petitions will open floodgates of litigation against countless mosques across India.

The Supreme Court will hear the matter on October 11.

A case is already being heard in Uttar Pradesh on the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Masjid Idgah dispute.   

Several petitions have been filed in Mathura courts, seeking the shifting of the mosque. The petitioners claim that it has been built at the birthplace of Krishna, within the 13.37-acre premises of the Katra Keshav Dev temple.

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News Network
November 18,2024

Advisors to US President-elect Donald Trump have instructed his allies and associates to refrain from using the inflammatory language they previously employed when discussing issues related to migrants and the deportation of asylum seekers, in a bid to avoid “looking like Nazis.”

US media reports said that Trump’s associates had been asked to stop using the word “camps” to describe potential facilities that would be used to accommodate migrants rounded up in deportation operations across the country.

The reports said the US president-elect’s allies had been ordered to stave off such charged terms as they would bring to mind “Nazis,” and be used against Trump.

“I have received some guidance to avoid terms, like ‘camps,’ that can be twisted and used against the president, yes,” one Trump ally told American monthly magazine Rolling Stone.

“Apparently, some people think it makes us look like Nazis.”

The presidential advisers also cautioned surrogates and allies to keep racist terms, which have dogged Trump’s campaign, out of their remarks.

They said with Trump’s heated rhetoric that used to compare undocumented immigrants to “animals” and his slight that they are “poisoning the blood of our country,” detractors did not need to reach too far to find parallels to Nazi Germany.

Stephen Miller, who Trump tapped to be his deputy chief of staff of policy, specifically used the word “camps” to describe holding facilities that he hoped the military could put together for immigrants.

Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is chosen by Trump to be in charge of the US borders, was no stranger to such language.

“It’s not gonna be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said in an interview earlier this week. “It’s not gonna be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”

Becoming a little more forthright about the new government’s aggressive deportation plans, Homan likened the early days of the Trump administration to the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“I got three words for them – shock and awe,” he said. “You’re going to see us take this country back.”

Trump made immigration a central element of his 2024 presidential campaign but unlike his first run, which was mainly focused on building a border wall, he has shifted his attention to interior enforcement and the removal of undocumented immigrants already in the United States.

People close to the US president and his aides are laying the groundwork for expanding detention facilities to fulfill his mass deportation campaign promise.

The businessman-turned-politician deported more than 1.5 million people during his first term.

The figure do not include the millions of people turned away at the border under a Covid-era policy enacted by Trump and used during most of Biden’s term.

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News Network
November 15,2024

Udupi: The Tourism Department is planning a major eco-friendly development initiative for Kamini Island, located near the Blue Flag-certified Padubidri End Point beach, aiming to attract more visitors while maintaining environmental sustainability.

Assistant Director Kumar CU emphasized that, given the island’s proximity to the Blue Flag beach, all development efforts will center around eco-friendly practices. “We are looking to enhance the Kamini River and the island’s surroundings by adding a hanging bridge, nature trails, and eco-friendly food courts offering traditional cuisine. Visitors will also be able to reach the island by pedal boats or kayaking,” he said.

The development project is estimated to cost between Rs 3 crore and Rs 4 crore. Meanwhile, the Blue Flag beach, Padubidri, continues to see a steady flow of visitors. Vijay Shetty, manager of the beach, shared that tenders for food courts and water sports have been awarded to private parties. Recently, three new coracles have been introduced, which are proving to be a hit with visitors. Additionally, three more shelters are expected to be ready by November 20.

Shetty mentioned that the beach can now accommodate between 2,500 and 3,000 visitors daily, although footfall remains lower than other district beaches due to user fees and activity restrictions. “Initially, most visitors were from Mangaluru, but now nearly 40% come from other districts, showing a shift in the visitor demographics,” Shetty noted.

To further boost tourism and promote a healthy lifestyle, a Beach Carnival is set to take place on November 23-24, featuring the National Sea Swimming Championship and a sea marathon in collaboration with the Padubidri JCI, which is celebrating its golden jubilee. Cultural events will be held at the main beach, with some sports events taking place at the Blue Flag beach. Emphasis will be placed on making all activities environmentally friendly.

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News Network
November 11,2024

birensingh.jpg

The Manipur Kuki MLAs have released a statement calling out Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's 'lies' in the Supreme Court. In a joint statement, the MLAs, including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party, said they had not had any meeting with the Chief Minister since May 3, 2023, nor did they intend to meet him in the future as “he was the mastermind behind the violence”.

As per the MLAs, the SG lied about state CM N Biren Singh speaking to Kuki MLAs to control the situation there, in order to halt a Supreme Court probe into the leaked tapes which allege that Singh has been complicit in the violence that broke out between Kukis and Meitis there.

"We...clarify that we have never had any meeting with Chief Minister, Shri N. Biren Singh since May 3, 2023, nor have any intention to meet him in future as he is the mastermind behind the violence and ethnic cleansing of our people from the Imphal valley, which is continuing till today, the latest being the brutal killing and burning of Mrs Zosangkim Hmar on November 7, 2024," the letter read, while condemning the recent 'barbaric' killing of the woman there, and noting the SG's assertion is 'tantamount' to misleading the top court.

“We, the undersigned ten MLAs, have come to know that during the Supreme Court hearing held on November 8, 2024, the Solicitor General of India submitted that ‘CM is meeting all Kuki MLAs and trying to bring the situation down to get peace’. In this connection, we hereby categorically state that this submission is a blatant lie and tantamount to misleading the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” the statement said.

The Supreme Court, while hearing a petition by a Kuki organisation, asked that it submit audio tapes to substantiate its claim that the Chief Minister was instrumental in inciting and organising violence in the northeastern State.

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta orally informed the court that the Chief Minister was meeting all the Kuki-Zo MLAs and that peace in the State had come at a huge cost.

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