Attacks by cow vigilantes, threat to journalists in India: Amnesty criticizes in report
New Delhi: Religious minorities, particularly Muslims, in India faced increasing "demonization", global rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday, accusing Indian authorities of using laws to stifle freedom of expression in the country.
In its latest annual report released here, it said incidents like cow vigilantism and lynchings in the name of beef-eating plagued India over the past year, alleging inaction by the government.
"In India, dozens of hate crimes against Muslims took place across the country against the backdrop of a wave of Islamophobia under the Hindu nationalist government. At least 10 Muslim men were lynched and many injured by vigilante cow protection groups," it said, adding many of them seemed to operate with the support of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"Some arrests were made, but no convictions were reported. Some BJP officials made statements which appeared to justify the attacks."
The report also speaks about issues like threat to journalists and killing of Gauri Lankesh, an editor who was shot dead outside her residence in Bengaluru last year.
"Several journalists and human rights defenders lost their lives. Freedom of expression in universities also remained under threat. Lankesh, an outspoken critic of Hindu nationalism and the caste system, was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru by unidentified gunmen in September. Criminal defamation cases were brought against several journalists."
The report draws a dark picture of the plight of human rights, citing examples and of caste-based discrimination, communal violence, crimes against women and children in India.
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Rahul Gandhi expresses displeasure with Siddaramaiah over honey trap controversy: Report
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has reportedly expressed his unhappiness with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over his handling of the alleged honey trap controversy.
According to a report in Deccan Herald, when Siddaramaiah met Rahul in New Delhi this week, the Congress leader conveyed his displeasure over the matter being raised in the Assembly. Gandhi is said to have told the Chief Minister that the issue should not have been brought up on the Assembly floor, as discussions in the House are on record and can cause embarrassment to the party.
Sources cited by DH reveal that Rahul Gandhi advised Siddaramaiah to have handled the situation more diplomatically to avoid making it a subject of public discourse. However, the CM reportedly defended his actions, clarifying that Co-operation Minister K.N. Rajanna had not raised the matter in the Assembly on his own. Siddaramaiah explained that when two BJP members brought up the issue and mentioned Rajanna's name, the minister was simply providing a clarification, and it was not an intentional move to drag the issue into the legislative proceedings.
The controversy had also reached Congress President Mallikarjuna Kharge, who, during a meeting with Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru, conveyed that party leaders in Delhi were not pleased with the issue being debated in the floor of the House. Despite these developments, Siddaramaiah refused to comment on his discussions with Rahul Gandhi.
