Why don’t you want to abolish Vedic reservations?
If we truly want equality, we must first take the initiative to end “Vedic reservations,” meaning caste-based socio-economic dominance. Do you want 78 years of constitutional reservations to end, while Vedic reservations, meaning the arrogance and arrogance of the caste system that has existed for thousands of years, remain intact? Why don’t you want to abolish Vedic reservations? Today, there is a strong demand from a section of “upper castes” for reservations based on economic grounds. Furthermore, misleading and insensitive comments are made on social media about constitutional concessions, the Prevention of Atrocities Act, and educational benefits available to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Misinformation and propaganda are being aggressively spread about all of this. There are also demands to limit Dalit reservations to just one generation—to impose restrictions like a “ceiling” or a “creamy layer.” There is a demand to provide reservations only to the poor. There is talk of abolishing the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is a safeguard for those who still face caste-based violence and discrimination in their daily lives. Regarding the misuse of laws, all laws are misused to some extent, but courts dismiss such cases. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are often targeted with hostility and even called “beggars.” Although some members of the Dalit community respond effectively, they are subjected to insulting taunts and intimidation. In response, incidents range from calls for rallies in front of Parliament demanding the abolition of reservations to threatening statements and derogatory slogans. On the other hand, these upper caste people fail to see or discuss the benefits of the “creamy layer” and reservations enjoyed by the children of millionaires and billionaires within their own community, or by those who have served the government for four or five generations. They only see the “creamy layer” and reservations associated with Dalits. They constantly spread false, fabricated, and one-sided narratives about Dalits. Such people fail to see the creamy layer of the sons and daughters of upper caste leaders and officials who are reaping benefits, and the Vedic reservation holders who have received degrees through donations. They fail to see the fraudulent degrees of upper caste people and the unfair benefits they receive by obtaining fake income and caste certificates. But they can see the creamy layer of Dalit leaders and officials from afar. Why is the creamy layer and ceiling of upper caste officials who have served for three or four generations not discussed and debated? Why is there no talk of imposing a ceiling on them? Why don’t they talk about giving the poor upper castes a share from their own share? Why are they resorting to tricks to get the poor upper castes a share from Dalits? Are they so malicious towards Dalits that they make such one-sided, false and fabricated accusations? Intellectuals who unilaterally question Dalits are dishonest and fraudulent. No member of the “upper castes” ever questions how their sons, daughters, and sons-in-law use their influence to get appointed to important positions—or why poor upper caste people aren’t appointed to such positions. Yet, when it comes to Dalits, all upper castes loudly and unanimously claim that the rights and positions of poor Dalits are being usurped or usurped by wealthy or influential Dalits. They constantly spread such rumors and propaganda, which reveals their evil intentions. Every affluent Dalit family is a resentment towards them. The people making such demands are upper caste people with fascist mindset, who are trying to usurp the rights of Dalits in some form or the other by raising various irrelevant issues. Some upper caste people vehemently demand the implementation of a “creamy layer” provision in Dalit reservations. They argue that wealthy Dalits take advantage of the poor. What exactly does this demand prove? Haven’t high-ranking, wealthy, and influential people like Jagjivan Ram, Ramnath Kovind, Draupadi Murmu, Jitan Ram Manjhi, and former Chief Justice Gavai faced caste discrimination—and are they still facing it? So, what justifies the demand for dividing Dalit reservations based on economic status? Is this truly a demand for their welfare, or a cunning ploy to usurp their rightful share and weaken them? It is noteworthy that reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has been an undisputed national policy to ensure social justice and participation in governance. This reservation is not a poverty alleviation program. This reservation is not a question of bread and butter. This reservation is not for providing employment and eliminating poverty. This reservation is not an economic issue. This reservation is a means to bring about a social revolution. This reservation is a matter of Dalits’ participation in governance and administration. This reservation does not provide jobs to everyone. It simply means that a fixed share and percentage of available government positions—approximately 1 to 2 percent of the total population of that reserved group—is set aside for that particular group. Its purpose is to ensure the participation of that section of society in governance and administration; it is not a solution to poverty, nor is it a plan to distribute jobs or eliminate poverty. Has anyone found out how many Dalits are unemployed? Today, Dalits are more unemployed than upper castes. The demand for reservation based on economic basis raises the question: will providing reservation based on economic basis stop the birth of Dronacharya’s children? Will providing reservation based on economic basis eliminate the poison of caste? Will providing reservation based on economic basis produce highly meritorious individuals? Obviously, no such change is going to happen. The status quo will remain. Why do upper castes talk about reservation based on economic basis only in government jobs? They neither talk about nor demand reservations based on economic status in the country’s other resources, such as land, property, and ancestral property. When this issue is discussed, they remain silent. Even in the name of abolishing caste, they become silent. When asked if they can make a poor Brahmin a Dom
Student groups clash at COEP hostel over Rahul Gandhi’s Pune interaction
Pune: In a late-night development, two student groups clashed at the College of Engineering Pune Technological University hostel, prompting police to reach the spot and control the situation. NSUI representatives alleged that girl students were threatened, confined and beaten by members of the ABVP for supporting Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s upcoming interaction with students, ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’, scheduled to be held in the city on Saturday. ABVP members, however, alleged that NSUI representatives were forcing students to attend Rahul’s programme and had assaulted girl students. Speaking to the media at the spot, Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar said, “Two girl students were threatened and beaten by ABVP for supporting Rahul Gandhi’s programme. They are trying to stifle freedom of expression. We want action against those responsible. Even the police beat up the assembled students. If the police do not take action against the guilty, we will stage a sit-in protest,” Wadettiwar said. As night progressed, students and representatives from both organisations started arriving in large numbers while the police tried to disperse the crowd. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Omar Abdullah backs Rahul Gandhi, says LoP’s job is to make govt accountable
SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah Friday backed Rahul Gandhi, saying it is the job of the leader of the opposition (LoP) to question the govt and hold it accountable. He said, “If the opposition leader does not question the opposition, then what is the use of him?” Speaking to reporters, he said questions are not raised when the leader of the opposition in Jammu & Kashmir, Sunil Sharma (BJP), “asks useless questions again and again. But when he does it, you enjoy it. When Gandhi does it, you ask why he is doing this.” He said the opposition should not be judged on different scales. “Gandhi is doing what the country expects from him. The job of the opposition leader is to seek answers from the govt and make the govt accountable. Gandhi is doing the same,” he said, adding, “I would like him to continue doing so.” Omar’s remarks came after Gandhi sat on an over-six-hour protest at the Parliament Street police station in Delhi, seeking registration of an FIR on a complaint from a young man who had allegedly suffered pellet injuries during the July 20 protest at Jantar Mantar. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Pellet injuries: FIR filed after Rahul Gandhi sits on dharna
NEW DELHI: Delhi Police registered a case after leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi staged a five-hour dharna outside Parliament Street police station Friday, demanding an FIR in connection with pellet injuries suffered by 19-year-old Sahil Lochab during the July 20 Jantar Mantar protest, reports Abhay. Gandhi reached the police station with Lochab, his mother and their lawyer around 11.30am. He was later joined by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other party functionaries, and met the DCP and other senior officers. Displaying Lochab’s medical reports, Gandhi said more than 200 pellets had entered the student’s body, including three that struck his eye and put his vision at risk. Some pellets, he added, were lodged near Lochab’s heart and could not be removed by doctors. He also displayed a pellet recovered from the student’s body during treatment. “Brutality against a peaceful protest is a serious crime. An offence has been committed and we are demanding registration of an FIR,” Gandhi said, alleging Delhi Police told them they had received instructions “from above” not to register the case. The charge was denied by police. After over five hours, Lochab’s complaint was filed and an FIR registered against unknown persons under sections 118(1) and 125 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous means and acts endangering life or personal safety. Gandhi termed it “a first step towards justice”. Thanking him, Lochab said: “When he called to ask about my health, I mentioned that my FIR wasn’t being registered. He immediately said, ‘Let’s meet tomorrow; I will go and get your FIR filed.’ It took eight hours to get the FIR registered, and perhaps it wouldn’t have been registered at all if the LOP hadn’t supported me.” According to Lochab, he submitted a seven-page complaint to police on Aug 14 seeking registration of an FIR, but no action was taken. In his complaint, Lochab, a Najafgarh resident, said he had joined the July 20 Sansad Chalo march against the alleged NEET paper leak. He alleged that when the lathicharge and teargas firing began, he ran with the crowd towards Connaught Place, but as he approached Palika Bazaar and Connaught Place carrying the tricolour, he was hit multiple times by metal pellets fired by a person in a blue uniform carrying a large gun. Lochab stated that he suffered injuries to his right eye, face, arm and chest, and lost vision in his right eye. He was taken to Lady Hardinge Hospital and later referred to Safdarjung Hospital and AIIMS. His first eye surgery was performed on July 22. He said his MLC recorded that the eye injury was caused by a pellet and that the chances of recovery were less than 1%. An AIIMS CT scan showed more than 200 pellets lodged in his body, including in his eye, neck, chest, jaw and arm, Lochab stated, adding some pellets near the eye nerve could not be removed. He underwent a second eye surgery on Aug 1, but his vision had not returned, he added. Lochab also said the injuries had disrupted his studies and ended his hopes of joining Delhi Police. In his complaint, he sought preservation of CCTV and drone footage, forensic examination of the pellets removed from his body and registration of an FIR. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
‘RSS believes it knows the truth for everyone’: Rahul Gandhi attacks Sangh over ideology
NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha leader of opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi Thursday accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of trying to impose its idea of truth on people across India, arguing that every individual must have the freedom to find and define their own truth. Speaking at the “Hara Bhara Swaraj: A Tribute to Rajiv Gandhi’s Vision” programme in New Delhi, the Gandhi Scion described the ideological contest in India as a deeper struggle over how people understand themselves, freedom and their place in society. The Congress leader also drew a distinction between the RSS’s worldview and Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of ‘Swaraj’, saying no organisation or individual could claim to know what is true for another person. “What Gandhiji was saying was that every living being is a unique entity with their own path towards the truth. I cannot tell you what your truth is. Today, the ideological battle in India is precisely that. It is not fundamentally about environment, politics, or free media–those are symptoms. The real fight is that a small group of people have decided, because they control the system, that they know the truth of everyone in this country. That is my problem with the RSS: the RSS has decided that they know the truth of 1.5 billion people. And I say, no. Only 1.5 billion people can know their own truth,” Rahul Gandhi asserted. He said even he could not claim to understand another person’s truth because people’s experiences, families and circumstances are different. “And I say, no. Only 1.5 billion people can know their own truth. Even I cannot do that. If I begin to believe that I know your truth, I would be a madman. Because I am not you. I haven’t faced what you’ve faced; I haven’t seen what you’ve seen; I haven’t dealt with what you’ve dealt with. I don’t have the same parents, the same friends, or the same life. So how can I say that I know your truth?” he added. ‘My Experiments with Truth’ reflects individual journeys Rahul Gandhi then referred to Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, ‘My Experiments with Truth’, saying its title itself reflected the idea that truth is something each person explores through their own life. “Please notice, Gandhiji’s book was not called ‘The Truth’ or ‘My Understanding of the Truth’. It was titled ‘My Experiments with Truth’. I have experiments with my truth; you have experiments with your truth.” Rahul targets BJP-RSS over ‘exclusion’ The Congress leader also criticised the BJP and RSS over what he described as the exclusion of sections of Indian society. He said people from different religious and social communities must feel that they have an equal place in the country. “Imagine what the BJP and RSS have done. Imagine if I walked into this room and told 15-17 per cent of you–Muslims, Christians, Sikhs–‘You do not exist, and if you speak up, see what happens to you.’ Then telling 10 per cent Adivasis, ‘We will take your land whenever we want, and if you resist, we will shoot you,’ and Dalits, ‘You are complaining for nothing; everything is fine with the caste system.’ That is what is being done to our motherland. Every single person in this country–regardless of religion, community, or gender–must feel: ‘I belong here. I can walk freely in this country. I am loved, respected, and appreciated here, and my search for truth matters to the nation,’” he said. ‘Gandhi’s Swaraj is more than freedom’ Rahul Gandhi also explained why he believes ‘Swaraj’ should not simply be understood as the same thing as freedom or liberty in the Western sense. He used US President Donald Trump and Mahatma Gandhi to illustrate the difference, arguing that being legally free does not necessarily mean having control over one’s own actions and desires. “‘Swaraj’ is often confused with the Western word ‘freedom.’ People think that Swaraj means freedom; that it means liberty or independence. No–Swaraj means rule over oneself (Swa par raj / self-governance). If you go to America and ask, ‘Is Trump a free man?’, everyone will say, ‘Absolutely.’ But if you ask, ‘Does Trump rule over himself?’, the clear answer is, ‘No, he does not.’ Whereas Gandhiji in a prison 80 years ago would say, ‘I am not free, but I rule over myself. It is Swaraj,’” he explained. The Congress leader said this understanding of Swaraj makes it a personal responsibility rather than something that can simply be granted by a government or another person. “Swaraj is an Indian concept, and it carries deep responsibility. It is a way of thinking, and it is an individual project. I cannot give you Swaraj. Whatever I do… in a Western sense, I can grant you freedom by saying, ‘You are not in prison; I have given you freedom.’ But I cannot give you Swaraj. Because Swaraj is your personal relationship with the universe. Swaraj is an individual path. And Gandhiji’s conception of Swaraj was that every single person in this country should walk on this path.” His remarks placed the idea of individual self-rule at the centre of his criticism of the RSS, while presenting Gandhi’s philosophy of Swaraj as one based on personal responsibility and the freedom of each individual to pursue their own understanding of truth. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
‘Control disguised as concern’: Women share their experiences after Rahul Gandhi’s Instagram appeal
NEW DELHI: Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has asked women across the country to share what being an Indian woman means to them, seeking responses on their experiences, struggles, dreams and the challenges they face. In an Instagram video, Gandhi posed the question: “What does it mean to be an Indian woman?” “I want to know how you feel. Not society’s voice, not your family’s, but what does your own voice say?” he said, asking women to share their struggles, obstacles, perspectives and dreams. He also shared some of the responses he received, many of which highlighted experiences of control, patriarchy, discrimination and social expectations. Rahul Gandhi’s Instagram story ‘Constantly facing control disguised as concern’ One woman said she was “constantly facing control disguised as concern”, while another spoke about how paper leaks, unaffordable colleges and academic difficulties could push women towards early marriage. Another response said: “Patriarchy killing dreams, moral policing and being threatened for expressing.” Several women spoke about being unheard, overworked and misunderstood. One response read: “Unheard, compromising, misunderstood, made fun of, abused, weak, overworked but called devi.” Another said women “don’t get to choose how we want to spend our life.” Fear, struggle and sacrifice also emerged as recurring themes, with one woman describing herself as “somebody’s daughter, somebody’s wife” and saying women are marginalised. ‘From childhood, told you have to go to another home’ Some responses focused on the expectations placed on women from childhood. “Bachpan se yaad dilana ki tumhe kisi aur ke ghar jana hi hoga aur usi hisab se hume palna,” one woman wrote. Another spoke about restrictions on clothing, saying women are told they cannot wear certain clothes because “the men might lose control.” Other responses raised concerns over healthcare and governance, with one woman saying she felt “oppressed by the govt, & society” and that women were provided poor medical facilities. Gandhi says exercise helped him understand women’s experiences Gandhi said the idea came while his team was preparing material for his upcoming ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme, which is aimed at women. He said he asked women in his team to share their thoughts on being an Indian woman, including how society treated them, as well as the positive and negative experiences they had. The exercise, he said, helped him understand their experiences to some extent. “My team decided, why not open this up to everyone and make it accessible?” Gandhi said, inviting women attending the programme as well as those watching it to share their own experiences. Rahul Gandhi’s Pune event Gandhi is scheduled to participate in the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Pune. The event received permission from the Maharashtra government subject to 30 conditions. The programme is being positioned as a platform for women to share their experiences and perspectives, with Gandhi now seeking responses from a wider audience ahead of the event. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
No change in Punjab Congress leadership, says Baghel
Chandigarh: Amid sustained pressure from a section of Punjab Congress leaders seeking a change in the state leadership, AICC general secretary in charge of Punjab Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday once again ruled out any change in the existing organisational structure, saying the focus was on expanding the committees already announced and bringing more leaders into the party’s election preparations. “There will be no changes now. Only expansion will take place,” Baghel said, making it clear that the existing committees would be enlarged by adding more members and new committees could also be constituted as part of the party’s organisational preparations. The development comes against the backdrop of an increasingly bitter power struggle within Punjab Congress, particularly between a group of senior leaders associated with former chief minister and Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi and the camp led by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. The differences became more pronounced after Congress, on July 1, retained Warring as the PPCC president while announcing several election-related committees. The camp of leaders backing Channi, including senior figures such as Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Rana Gurjeet Singh and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, has since expressed dissatisfaction with the organisational arrangements and pressed the party high command to address their concerns. They have been seeking the removal of Warring and a greater role for Channi. Baghel, however, dismissed the suggestion that senior Punjab leaders meeting the party high command were doing so merely to lodge complaints. Meanwhile, Congress is working on a proposal for a programme involving senior party leader Rahul Gandhi in Punjab, with the plan awaiting his approval. Baghel said a proposal had been submitted to Rahul Gandhi and that the party was waiting for his approval. As part of the tentative plan, Rahul Gandhi may begin a bus journey from Amritsar after paying obeisance at Golden Temple. He is expected to travel with senior Punjab Congress leaders in an apparent effort to bring them onto a common platform. According to party sources, the proposed first phase of the journey could cover the stretch from Amritsar to Hussainiwala, a distance of around 135 kilometres, and pass through approximately 25 to 30 Assembly constituencies. If finalised, the programme could provide Congress an opportunity to publicly project unity among its senior leaders at a time when factionalism has emerged as one of the party’s biggest challenges in Punjab. Congress leadership has held several rounds of meetings in recent weeks in an effort to ease tensions within the state unit and resolve differences among senior leaders. Party assessments have also underlined the need to contain infighting, which has repeatedly hurt Congress in Punjab. The internal rift became particularly visible during ‘Har Booth, Congress Mazboot’ campaign, when Baghel and Warring travelled across different parts of the state. Supporters of rival factions raised slogans at some programmes, while protests against Baghel were also witnessed. At some meetings, tensions between supporters of different groups reportedly escalated into scuffles. The infighting later spilled into a poster war, with posters portraying Baghel as General Dyer appearing at some places, while separate posters targeting Warring also surfaced. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Rahul Gandhi asks Congress to monitor party netas’ social media stands
NEW DELHI: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is learnt to have asked the party to monitor social media of functionaries if they are amplifying the party line on social justice issues. The direction came after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at CWC meeting Wednesday said that many netas don’t push the party’s stand in public. Kharge also lamented that he did not get enough support from the party when “RSS-BJP” workers did a “purification” of the rally venue in Haldwani where he had addressed a gathering – an act of caste discrimination. Interestingly, sources said, there was a difference of opinion between Rahul and Congress MP Manish Tewari at CWC meeting over the history and trajectory of students’ movements in the country. Tewari, sources said, argued that the big four students’ movements in the past including anti-Mandal Commission protests had been organic and not led by the students’ wings of the political parties. Rahul apparently argued that students were with the Congress till very late. A day later, apparently reflecting his pique over the exchange and an oblique warning to the leadership, Tewari tweeted a quote from Churchill, “Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body; it calls attention to the development of an unhealthy state of things. If it is heeded in time, danger may be averted; if it is suppressed, a fatal distemper may develop.” On the Haldwani issue, sources said, when some leaders said that party functionaries had organised demonstrations and participated in them, Kharge took a dig that “those who write well and look good” did not raise the issue strongly and urged them to pitch in in future. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Mumbai: Man Posing As Transgender Rapes Powai Woman on Pretext of Blessing Her With Child, Arrested
A 30-year-old man reportedly posed as a transgender person, entered a woman’s house in Mumbai’s Powai area and sexually assaulted her on the pretext of blessing her with a child. The accused, identified as Anil Shinde, was later arrested. The police nabbed accused Anil Shinde, 30, from Kalwa after tracing the autorickshaw which he had taken from the building. A 30-year-old man reportedly posed as a transgender person, entered a woman’s house in Mumbai’s Powai area and sexually assaulted her on the pretext of blessing her with a child. The accused, identified as Anil Shinde, was later arrested. The police nabbed accused Anil Shinde, 30, from Kalwa after tracing the autorickshaw which he had taken from the building. Woman Alone With Elderly Relative When Accused Entered Home The woman, who has been married for around five years, lives with her husband, who was away at the time of the incident, and an elderly relative, The Indian Express reported. The couple do not have a child, and Shinde used it as a pretext to enter the home and perform a ritual to bless them with a child. Shinde then s*xually assaulted the woman and fled the house with INR 2,000 on Wednesday afternoon, police was quoted as saying. The police nabbed the accused the same night after tracing the autorickshaw, which he had taken from the building after assaulting the woman. Befriended on Instagram, 14-Year-Old Girl Lured to Nalasopara Chawl and Gang-Raped; 2 Minors Arrested. How The Crime Took Place Anil Shinde allegedly arrived at the flat on Wednesday, posing as a transgender person, when the elderly relative of the couple opened the door for him. The woman’s husband was at work at that time. He initially pretended to bless the elderly woman, police was quoted as saying. But during his conversation with her, Shinde learnt that there was a young woman in the house and had no child despite being married for several years. He then offered to perform a ritual on the woman that would bless the couple with a child. He allegedly spoke to the young woman for some time and then asked her to lie down on the bed, police said. He first touched her head on the pretext of performing the ritual and then touched her inappropriately and raped her, the Indian Express report added, citing police. Raipur: 16-Year-Old Raped by Father, Passed Off as Adult; Newborn Sold, 8 Arrested. Woman Realised She Was Assaulted An Hour Later She realised that she had been s*xually assaulted almost an hour after Shinde left the house, telling her that she would be soon blessed with a child. Shinde demanded money before leaving, and the woman allegedly gave him INR 2,000. After realising that she had been raped, the woman informed her husband, and the couple approached Powai police station that evening. The police registered a rape case and began examining the CCTV footage from the building and surrounding areas, in which they allegedly spotted Shinde boarding an autorickshaw. He was traced to Kalwa and was detained on Wednesday night. Accused Was A Man Posing As Transgender, Police Probe Similar Cases During the investigation, police found that Shinde was indeed a man who was posing as a transgender person. He has been arrested and produced before a court, which remanded him to police custody till Monday. Police are now investigating if Shinde may have used a similar modus operandi to carry out similar crimes. Women and Child Helpline Numbers: Childline India – 1098; Missing Child and Women – 1094; Women’s Helpline – 181; National Commission for Women Helpline – 112; National Commission for Women Helpline Against Violence – 7827170170; Police Women and Senior Citizen Helpline – 1091/1291. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 21, 2026 08:12 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). By Team Latestly Courtesy : LatestLY Note: This news is originally published on https:/latestly.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Transgender influencer Jaanmoni Das held over anti-Modi remarks linked to NEET paper leak protest
KOZHIKODE: Transgender make-up artist and social media influencer Jaanmoni Das was arrested by Kozhikode Cyber Police on Thursday over alleged derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his family in a video linked to protests over the NEET question paper leak, police said. Das and two others who had shared the video on social media were summoned by the cyber police, questioned and arrested, officials said. After evidence collection, interrogation and other procedures were completed, all three were released on bail. The case followed a complaint filed by BJP Mahila Morcha state president Navya Haridas on July 27. According to police, Das allegedly made the remarks in the context of protests over the NEET question paper leak. A video containing the alleged remarks subsequently circulated widely on social media. After the video triggered a controversy, Das posted an apology and said the remarks were made because of a lack of knowledge of the language. The case has been registered under Sections 192 (provocation for causing riot) and 356(2) (criminal defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 120(o) (causing nuisance) of the Kerala Police Act. Police said all the offences invoked in the case are bailable. Das, who had shot into the limelight after appearing on a popular Malayalam reality show a few years ago, spoke to reporters after leaving the police station and said she had provided investigators with all the information they sought. She alleged that the case was an act of revenge over her participation in a Cockroach Janata Party protest in New Delhi against the NEET question paper leak. Das said the controversial video did not contain her own statement and claimed that she had only translated into another language a statement made by someone else in Hindi. “That was not my statement. I just translated what another person said. It shouldn’t have come from my mouth, and I have apologised for it. But still, people are targeting and bullying me,” Das said. She also said she was not a politician and had travelled to New Delhi to take part in the protest after several students from Kerala participated in it. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights