Controversial Ayodhya verdict, protests cap eventful year

News Network
December 31, 2019

Dec 31: A high-octane Lok Sabha election campaign, a historic Supreme Court judgment settling the decades-old Ayodhya dispute and violent protests over the amended citizenship law – it was an eventful year for Uttar Pradesh.

Rape accusations against saffron-robed former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand and a life sentence for expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar for the 2017 rape of a minor in Unnao brought the law and order situation in the state into sharp focus.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party swept Uttar Pradesh again in the Lok Sabha elections, pushing aside the Congress and the SP-BSP-RLD 'mahagathbandhan'.

Despite an aggressive campaign, followed with interest all over the country, UP’s opposition alliance could not make much of a dent. It won just 15 of the 80 parliamentary seats – Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party got 10 and the Samajwadi Party five.

The BJP won 62 seats, down from 71 earlier, but increased its vote share from 42.63 per cent in 2014 to 49.6 per cent. The SP-BSP vote share dropped from 42.2 per cent in the last Lok Sabha polls to 37.3 per cent.

The Congress managed to win just one seat – its Raebareli bastion -- despite Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's appointment as the party general secretary in charge of eastern UP and her extensive campaign across the state. The biggest jolt came for the then Congress president Rahul Gandhi who lost his own Amethi stronghold.

In November, a five-judge Supreme Court bench pronounced verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in Ayodhya, allowing the construction of a temple at the contested site by a trust.

The Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also directed the Centre to allot an alternative five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a "prominent" place in the holy town.

Later, the Supreme Court closed the doors on any further review of its 5-0 verdict, one of the most anticipated judgements in India's history.

In a case that triggered outrage and Supreme Court intervention, a 23-year-old law student accused former BJP MP Swami Chinmayanand of sexual abuse and rape.

A month later, after multiple twists and turns, Chinmayanand (72), who ran the trust that owned the college where the woman studied, was arrested. He was accused of misusing his authority for sexual intercourse, a charge short of rape.

The student was also arrested, on charges of extortion after the politician alleged that she was part of a conspiracy to extort money from him.

Apart from the Sengar episode, Unnao made news when a woman was set ablaze by five men, two of them accused earlier of raping her. She died later in Delhi.

The opposition kept targeting the Yogi Adityanath government over “rising” crime in the state, a charge trashed by it. The BJP government claimed there has not been a single communal riot during its tenure.

Another episode that provoked outrage was the gunning down of 10 Gond tribals in Sonbhadra’s Umbha village. They were allegedly attacked by a village head and his henchmen in an attempt to grab land. About 30 others were injured.

As the year drew to a close, violent protests broke out over the Citizenship Amendment Act, first at the Aligarh University Campus and a few days later in several districts after Friday prayers.

Police countered brickbats and arson with tear gas, rubber bullets and, in later admissions, by firing in “self-defence”.

About 20 people were killed during the protests, many of them due to firearm injuries. Human rights activists, however, allege a brutal police crackdown that targeted even those not involved in the protests.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi visited the state and the party has called for a judicial probe.

Midday meals served at schools also attracted controversy.

A video showed students at a school in Mirzapur being served just rotis and salt for their midday meal. Police initially booked the journalist who broke the story. Weeks later, a the staff at a primary school in Sonbhadra district was accused of diluting a litre of milk with a bucket of water to serve 80 children.

The bad press drowned out some feel-good stories from the state – like the staging of a Kumbh Mela that went off without a hitch and a groundbreaking ceremony for new projects, which the government claimed reflected a planned investment of Rs 65,000 crore.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 5,2020

New Delhi, Jan 5: A masked mob on Sunday entered the Sabarmati Hostel on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus and assaulted several students and professors with sticks and rods.

"I have been brutally attacked by goons wearing masks. I am bleeding. I was brutally beaten up," JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh told reporters.

She has been admitted to the AIIMS here for treatment.

Several other students were also injured in the incident.

In a video of the incident, a group of goons with their faces covered can be seen assaulting students with wooden sticks and rods.

A tweet from the official handle of the JNUSU said, "Sabarmati Hostel: right now. They are beating the students who are inside. Knocking on doors with rods. People are jumping from balconies. #SOSJNU #EmergencyinJNU."

"Professors who were trying to protect us have been beaten up. These are unknown ABVP goons, not all are students, they have covered their faces, and they are moving towards the hotels near the West Gate. Stay alert. Make human chains. Protect each other. #SOSJNU #EmergencyinJNU," another tweet added.

Meanwhile, the ABVP's JNU unit claimed in a tweet: "Emergency in JNU. Leftist goons of JNU accompained with their cadre from other universities have crossed every limit. They have proceeded with unimaginable violence on ABVP activists of JNU."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
May 31,2020

New Delhi, May 31: Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Sunday questioned the Prime Minister on how much money has been given to labourers from the PM-CARES Fund.

"I would like to ask Prime Minister Modi, 'Can you tell us how much money did you give to labourers from your PM-CARES Fund?' I request him to answer this question. Many people died during this period, some died while walking, some died in the train, some died of hunger," Sibal said while addressing a virtual press conference.

The senior Congress leader further asked how much ex gratia did the Prime Minister give to the labourers who died in the corona crisis while negotiating the lockdown.

"I refer you to Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act. It says that ex gratia assistance on account of the loss of life and also assistance for the restoration of livelihood should be provided by the government. Did the government give ex gratia assistance to people who died in the crisis? The act also mentions special provisions for widows and orphans. The government should clarify how much assistance they gave to such people," he said.

Sibal said that the government should keep aside its agenda for the last six years and concentrate on making pro-poor policies.

"In the coming days, our economy is going to go into the negative territory as also confirmed by RBI. There are 45 crore labourers in our country. What will be their state? We have to look at our future. That is why we want to request the government that the agenda that they have run over the last six years should be kept aside and that government should care about the poor and draft policies for them," the Congress leader said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 6,2020

Lucknow, Jan 6: Undeterred by the large scale protests that claimed as many as 20 lives in the state, Uttar Pradesh government has started the process of implementing the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

According to sources in the government, the district magistrates have been directed to identify the migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who have been living in their districts.

Sources said that the state home department has given oral instructions to the district magistrates. ''No written orders have been issued,'' said a senior official here preferring anonymity.

The official said that the district magistrates would be preparing a list containing names of those minorities, who had migrated from these countries following their persecution and had been living without obtaining the citizenship of India.

According to sources, the government expected that the migrants, who could be eligible for the Indian citizenship in accordance with the CAA, could be more in number in the districts, including Rampur, Ghaziabad, Shahjahanpur, Lucknow and some others.

''The list will be sent to the union home ministry,'' the official added.

Sources said that the state government will also inform the centre about the ''illegal Muslim migrants'' for their ultimate deportation to their countries of origin.

Different parts of UP had witnessed large scale violence last month during the protests against the CAA. At least 20 people, mostly youngsters, were killed allegedly in police firing and many others were injured. The state government had denied the charge. 

Alleged police excesses during and after the protests triggered a nationwide outrage with several rights organisations and activists slamming the BJP government and demanding a high-level probe into the allegations.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.