Begusarai (Bihar), Apr 23: Noted poet and Bollywood lyricist Javed Ahktar on Tuesday disapproved of Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu urging Muslims to unite and vote against the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asserting that a mind occupied with one's religious identity can never make an informed political choice.
Addressing an election meeting here, Akhtar who did not mention the Punjab minister by name but dropped ample hints to suggest that he was speaking about the former test cricketer said I do not expect much from them (BJP) who believe in mixing politics with religion. But you cannot speak this language when you are swearing by secularism.
Sidhu, who made the remarks earlier this month at a rally in Katihar, has been banned for 72 hours by the Election Commission of India as a punitive measure.
Akhtar, who was here to campaign in favour of CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar, said we must keep it in mind that wherever religion is mixed with politics, human rights and civil liberties become the first casualty. Look at any part of the world the Middle East, Europe or Latin America and you would find a similar trend.
Training his guns at the BJP, he said you profess to champion the cause of Hindus. Do you not realize that among the countrys homeless, unemployed and poor Hindus outnumber other communities. What do you have to offer to them except the promise of building a temple somewhere.
Scoffing at the party that has been in power for five years, Akhtar an avowed rationalist and atheist remarked the BJP is a peculiar outfit. All other political parties, be they the Leftist ones or those subscribing to any other ideology, have a frontal organization which may have its other wings. Here, the party itself is just a wing that of the RSS.
And what has been the RSS and its history. They, along with Mohd Ali Jinnahs Muslim League, were the biggest collaborators of the British when the struggle for Independence was underway. We need to understand their dislike for Nehru. The Muslim League, which was traitor like the RSS, got its reward with a separate country to rule in the form of Pakistan. These people got nothing, Akhtar remarked sarcastically.
You deride the country's liberals with labels like tukde tukde gang and descendants of Macaulay. These epithets fit you best since you want to divide the country on sectarian lines and it is you who have been responsible for executing the British idea of two-nation theory, Akhtar who is married to actress Shabana Azmi daughter of renowned poet and a card-carrying Leftist Kaifi Azmi alleged.
Taking a dig at Giriraj Singh, who is the BJP candidate from here, he said this gentleman asks all those who are opposed to Modi to go to Pakistan. In 2014, when Modi's popularity was at its peak, 31 per cent had voted for him which means even then 69 per cent of Indians were against him.
If Giriraj Singh's advice is taken seriously by such Indians, Pakistan's population would rise manifold and people will not find enough space on its soil to stand.
He also said Kanhaiya, a former JNU students' union president who is facing a sedition charge, is paying the price for standing up for truth and asked voters of Begusarai if you are thinking of not voting for the young man, vote for Giriraj instead of wasting your vote on Tanveer Hassan (RJD candidate).
Say Assalamu Alaikum (the Islamic form of greeting) to Giriraj and tell him you are voting for him. That way he would at least be grateful to you. If you vote for Tanveer, he will win anyway. But he would not give you any credit for that either, said Akhtar at the meeting where academician-turned-political activist Yogendra Yadav was among those present.
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Jaipur, Mar 28: Young Riyan Parag showed why he is considered a precocious talent as he struck a stunning 84 not out off 45 balls to set up a 12-run win for Rajasthan Royals against Delhi Capitals in their IPL match here on Thursday.
Sent in to bat, RR were reduced to 36 for 3 in the eighth over but the 22-year-old Parag single-handedly took the home side to 185 for 5 with a magnificent unbeaten knock studded with seven fours and six sixes.
Parag, who was promoted to number 4 by the team management this season and made 43 in the previous match, took 25 runs off veteran South African pacer Anrich Nortje with scores of 4, 4, 6, 4, 6, 1 in the final over to hit his highest T20 score.
Chasing 186 for a win, DC could only manage 173 for 5 in 20 overs though South African youngster Tristan Stubbs (44 not out off 23 balls) kept them in the hunt till the final over from which they needed 17 runs.
Avesh Khan conceded just four runs to help RR win their second consecutive match.
South African pacer Nandre Burger and Yuzvendra Chahal took two wickets apiece to also contribute in the RR win.
"Definitely disappointed. The best thing to do from here is to learn from it. The bowlers did well through the 15-16 overs. But the batters did well at the death, hopefully we do better in the next game," DC skipper Rishabh Pant said.
DC were reduced to 34 for 2 in the fourth over with Burger taking two wickets in three balls in a fine display of fast bowling.
Burger, who was brought in as Impact Sub for Shimron Hetmyer, dismissed opener Mitchell Marsh (23 off 12 balls) and Ricky Bhui (0) in the fourth over.
DC captain Rishabh Pant came out to bat at the fall of Bhui's wicket and along with senior batter David Warner built the innings without taking too much risk. Delhi were 89 for 2 at the halfway stage.
Warner was the more aggressive one as he got the boundaries to keep DC in the hunt. The senior Australian batter fell one run short of his fifty courtesy a brilliant diving catch by Sandeep Sharma off the bowling of Avesh in the 12th over.
Warner and Pant were involved in a crucial 67-run partnership for the third wicket.
Playing in his 100th IPL match and 14 months after a horrible car crash, Pant tried to build the innings with occasional boundaries. But he got out for a 26-ball 28 as Chahal induced a faint lower edge for Sanju Samson to do the rest behind the stumps in the 14th over.
The asking rate shot up to more than 13 runs an over and DC needed 66 from the last five overs.
Stubbs kept DC in the game with two consecutive sixes off Ravichandran Ashwin in the 17th over, but in the end the Delhi side were short by 12 runs.
They needed 34 runs from the final two overs which they could not get. It was DC's second consecutive loss.
Earlier, Parag shared 54 and 52 runs respectively with Ravichandran Ashwin (29) and Dhruv Jurel (20) after RR made a shaky start.
Royals captain Samson struck three consecutive boundaries in the fourth over bowled by pacer Mukesh Kumar before nicking a Khaleel Ahmed delivery two overs later to Pant to get out for 15.
RR were 30 for 2 by then as Mukesh had given DC their first breakthrough with the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal (5).
The Royals were in more trouble after wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav literally forced his captain Pant to take a review, which later proved to be successful, to dismiss Englishman Jos Buttler for an LBW decision.
Ashwin came out to bat at number five and he lofted a Kuldeep delivery for a six to help RR reach 58 for 3 at halfway stage. He gave Nortje even a harsher treatment with two sixes in the next over that yielded 15 runs.
Ashwin, however, holed out to Tristan Stubbs near the boundary ropes for a 19-ball 29.
Parag then made his presence felt, striking two boundaries and a six off Ahmed to take RR past 100 in the 15th over.