Congress backed scrapping of Article 370, but not BJP's high-handed way: Manmohan Singh
Mumbai: The Congress does not need a certificate of patriotism from anyone, former prime minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday, pointing out that it voted in favour of the abrogation of Article 370, but opposed the high-handed way in which it was done.
The economist-turned-politician also said that agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) should not be used to settle "political scores".
Singh's comments came at a time when prime minister Narendra Modi and the BJP have been attacking Congress on Article 370 during the campaign for the Maharashtra Assembly polls, while NCP leaders including Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel are being investigated by the ED in various cases.
Addressing a press conference here, Singh said the Congress opposes the "high-handedness" with which Article 370 of the Constitution -- which gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir -- was introduced in Parliament.
Earning goodwill of the people of Jammu & Kashmir was necessary before such a move, the former prime minister said.
"Congress voted in favour of the move (the abrogation) in Parliament, not against it. Congress feels that Article 370 is a temporary measure, but if a change is to be brought, it has to be with the goodwill of the people of J&K," he said.
The ED, under the NDA regime, has got more powers than ever, and should not be used for political vendetta against leaders of "different hues", Singh said.
"Our hope is these powers will be used not to settle political scores," he said, expressing confidence that the government will do justice to Praful Patel.
Asked about the BJP's poll promise to seek Bharat Ratna for V D Savarkar, who was an accused in the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case but was acquitted, Singh said the Congress only opposes Savarkar's Hindutva ideology.
Referring to the Hindu Mahasabha leader with a reverential "Savarkar-ji", Singh said former Congress prime minister, late Indira Gandhi had issued a postal stamp in Savarkar's memory.
"(But) we are not in favour of the Hindutva ideology that Savarkar-ji patronised and stood for," Singh said.
Singh also hit out against the NDA government's Citizenship Amendment Bill, calling it a divisive move that discriminates against the Muslims by facilitating Indian citizenship for persons of all faiths except Muslims.
He also claimed that for the first time in the history of Parliament such a divisive bill has been tabled.
On the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in Assam, Singh said the BJP expected that it will exclude Muslims, but 12 lakh out of the 19 lakh people who could not establish their citizenship status were Bengali Hindus.
There is a need to look at things in objective manner in matters such as the NRC, and while people would want to identify foreign nationals and ensure they do not get any benefits, we need to look at the issue with full sympathy as a "human problem", Singh said.
Congress does not need anyone's certificate about its patriotic credentials, as its record during the freedom struggle is well-known, he said, adding that the BJP or its parent RSS were not part of the nationalist movement.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
