MP: Muslim man forced to chant 'Jai Shri Ram', cops arrest two men; Cong says govt 'mute spectator'
Bhopal/Ujjain, Aug 29: A Muslim scrap dealer was allegedly threatened and forced to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' by two men at a village in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain district, following which the police have arrested the accused duo, an official said on Sunday.
The incident occurred on Saturday and two purported videos of it have gone viral on social media.
Talking to reporters, R K Rai, Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP), Mahidpur, said, "The incident happened on Saturday when scrap dealer Abdul Rasheed, a resident of Mahidpur town who has been doing this business here for a long time, went to Sikli village under Jharda police station area to collect some scrap in his mini truck."
However, Rasheed was forced to leave the village and also threatened against doing his scrap business in the area. When he left the village, two men intercepted him at Pipliya Dhuma, manhandled him and forced him to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'. The man somehow got out from there after giving in to their demand, he said.
Jharda police station in-charge Vikram Singh Ivne said that an offence was registered against the two accused, identified as Kamal Singh (22) and Ishwar Singh (27), for disturbing communal harmony, and they were arrested.
The duo was booked under IPC sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 505 (2) (public mischief), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), among others.
Meanwhile, two videos of this incident went viral on social media, which drew the ire of several netizens.
In one purported video, the two men were seen throwing scrap from the victim's four-wheeler and asking him not to enter the village again, while another video shows them threatening and forcing him to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'. It shows them asking him how he dared to enter their village and the victim chanting the slogan as told by the accused.
Reacting to the incident, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath said that similar incidents had earlier occurred in Indore and Dewas in the state.
"Has it been happening under a specific agenda? The government is watching everything as a mute spectator. An atmosphere of anarchy is being created in the entire state and the law is being mocked," he said while demanding a strict action against the accused who are "disturbing peace" in the state.
Minister for Medical Education Vishvas Sarang said the state government was taking strict action in all such incidents.
"We are committed to taking action and preventing such incidents. But the questions remain as to why such videos are being made viral from the social media department of Congress. Whether the Congress is behind making such videos and spreading them?" he said.
It is a matter of investigation whether these incidents are planned, the minister added.
Where will this hatred take us? Incident of Ujjain district where in the name of calling Jai Shri Ram, goods were thrown after beating up Muslim junk. pic.twitter.com/nVqxf8FFoB
— आफताब खाँ सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता (@Aftabkhaa1) August 29, 2021
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
