Rajasthan publishing house owner booked for Islamist terrorism reference in textbook
Jaipur, Mar 18: The Rajasthan State Textbook Board and the owner of a publishing house have been booked for hurting religious sentiments over a reference to Islamist terrorism in a political science textbook, police said on Thursday.
The FIR against the board and Mohseen Rashid Khan, the owner of Sanjeev Passbook Publication, was registered on Wednesday, they said.
A chapter in the political science textbook in Hindi, 'Terrorism, Criminalisation of Politics and Corruption', states "Islamist terrorism is a form of Islam". The textbook was published in 2018 under the former BJP government and is no longer in circulation.
Convenor of the political science textbook Bhanwar Singh Rathore, who was an associate professor with a government college in Jodhpur and wrote this portion, died in September 2020.
The case against the Rajasthan State Textbook Board and the owner of Sanjeev Passbook Publication has been registered under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 295A (Hurting religious sentiments) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the police said.
"We registered the FIR on the basis of a complaint lodged by Muslim community leaders late on Wednesday. They objected to the text comparing Islam with terrorism," Station House Officer (SHO), Lalkothi, Surendra Singh said.
The office of Sanjeev Passbook Publication was vandalised on Wednesday by a group of people miffed over the content of the textbook. Three people were arrested in connection with the incident, the police said.
Manager of Sanjeev Passbook Publication Vijay Shukla said after the matter came to light, the books were recalled from the market and destroyed.
He added that the publishing house has apologised in writing but it continues to receive threat calls.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
