Freedom Under Fire: Ramdev says 'Capable of Beheading Those Not Respecting Bharat Mata'; Encounter Cops Go Missing
A round-up of news, both bad and good, on the rights front from India.
Baba Ramdev. Credit: PTI
‘If no law, would cut heads of those not saying Bharat mata ki jai’: Ramdev
According to an Indian Express report, Baba Ramdev said on Sunday that he would have “decapitated lakhs” if the country didn’t have laws. He was referring to Muslims who refuse to say ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ at a RSS rally in Rohtak.
“Some person wears a cap and stands up. He says I will not say Bharat Mata ki Jai even if you decapitate me. This country has a law, otherwise let alone one, we can behead lakhs. But we respect this country’s law. If somebody stands up and speaks like this, that gives strength to hooligans. We respect this country’s law and Constitution, otherwise if anybody disrespects Bharat Mata, we have the capability of beheading not one but thousands and lakhs,” he said.
Devendra Fadnavis stands by ‘Bharat mata’ claims, says ‘no to Bharat mata’ is ‘mala fide’
A day after Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis courted controversy by saying anyone who could not say ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ should leave the country, he stood by his claim by adding that those refusing to chant the slogans had “mala fide interest and intentions”, The Hindu reported. “It is not merely about the slogan but it is about those lakhs and lakhs of freedom fighters who sacrificed their life chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai, about those thousands and thousands of soldiers who selflessly attained martyrdom chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai,” Fadnavis said in his statement.
Four die of asphyxiation in a manhole
The lack of safety equipment claimed the lives of two sanitation workers and two passers-by who tried to help them in Doddaballapura, Karnataka, The Hindu reported.
Though the Supreme Court has ordered against making people enter manholes without adequate safety gear and avoiding human entry into manholes in all possible cases, the two workers had no safety equipment. They were being monitored by a misthri. A case has been registered against the misthri and the contractor, who are both absconding. The Karnataka State Commission for Safai Karamcharis has demanded that a case also be filed against the Municipal Corporation, where equipment is available for hire but was not used.
According to a Times of India report, 18 sanitarian workers have died on the job in Karnataka in the last three years.
Hindu Sena threatens to disrupt music launch of Ghulam Ali starrer 'Ghar Wapsi'
According to a CNN-IBN report, the music launch of the film Ghar Wapsi starring Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali is facing threats of disruption from the Hindu Sena. Director Suhaib Ilyasi has filed a complaint with the police after receiving an alleged threat call from Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta. Gupta has claimed that the film is “anti-Hindu”, and they will protest against it.
27 cops held guilty of fake Pilibhit encounter go ‘missing’
27 of the 47 policemen found guilty by a Lucknow CBI court on Friday for killing 11 Sikhs at three different fake encounters in Pilibhit district on July 12, 1991 have gone ‘missing’, the Times of India reported.
Do you know of any other incident we should highlight in this column? Write to me at jahnavi@cms.thewire.in.
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