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The Many Misdemeanors Of Gadde

By
Hasmitha Surapaneni
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As Elon Musk completed the takeover of Twitter on 28 October 2022 he immediately fired the top executives Parag Agarwal (CEO), Ned Segal (CFO) and Vijaya Gadde (Legal head).

Two among the three fired executives, Parag and Vijaya happen to be of Indian origin. Most related tweets seem to focus on Twitter’s now ex top legal expert and lawyer, Vijaya Gadde who has worked at Twitter since 2011.

Gadde was the key executive charged with overseeing Twitter’s trust and safety, legal and public policy functions. She was instrumental in making some controversial content restriction and censorship based decisions during her time at Twitter.

She had courted controversy both in the U.S and India by appearing to take decisions more aligned with the left-liberal side. She was seen internally as Twitter’s “moral authority” and the executive tasked with handling sensitive issues like harassment and dangerous speech.

She has shepherded Twitter through some of its most contentious political battles, including the decisions to remove all political advertising and to ban former U.S President Donald Trump, from the platform in the wake of the 6 January 2021 mob attack on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C, in which Trump’s Republican party supporters allegedly tried to overturn the 2020 U.S presidential results favoring the opposition Democratic party – a position that has earned her fans as well as, a large contingent of right-wing critics on Twitter.

She had convinced then-CEO Jack Dorsey not to sell political advertisements during the 2020 United States presidential election. She has spoken in defence of the decision by stating, “It wasn’t about anything other than, ‘This is the right thing to do for us as a company.’”

In India too, she had courted bad press and came under fire, when she appeared to appease the Indian left-liberal lobby.

In 2018, Gadde joined the then Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, for meetings in India where they talked with several Dalit activists about their experiences on Twitter.

After the meeting, the activists gave Dorsey a sign that read “Smash Brahminical Patriarchy,” which he was later photographed holding. The photograph attracted controversy, with some critics calling the sentiment discriminatory against Brahmins while others deemed it an appropriate response to caste- and gender-based oppression in India. She appeared to have spent time and was photographed with a group of left-liberal women including the journalist, Burkha Dutt and the offensive poster’s designer, Thenmozhi Soundararajan.

In November 2018, Anna MM Veticad, a Christian, had tweeted: “During Twitter CEO @jack’s visit here, he & Twitter’s Legal head @vijaya took part in a round table with some of us women journalists, activists, writers & @TwitterIndia’s @amritat to discuss the Twitter experience in India. A very insightful, no-words-minced conversation.”

In response to the above tweet from Anna, Rajiv Malhotra of The Infinity Foundation, a Hindu Advocacy group, replied thus.

Vijaya Gadde responded to the social media furore in India, with an apology in a series of tweets, “I’m very sorry for this. It’s not reflective of our views. We took a private photo with a gift just given to us – we should have been more thoughtful. Twitter strives to be an impartial platform for all. We failed to do that here & we must do better to serve our customers in India.”

 

Another questionably controversial censorship decision that has come back to bite her, is one where she decided to block certain content and temporarily suspend the Twitter handle of the U.S based newspaper, The New York Post, when the paper tweeted news regarding current U.S President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, during the time of the 2020 U.S Presidential elections. Critics claimed, the move was biased in favour of Left Liberals.

The new owner of Twitter Elon Musk, does not agree with Vijaya’s views on content restriction and censorship. He has called for Twitter to truly embrace free speech and has advocated for open-sourcing Twitter’s algorithm and removing all spam bots from the platform. Most significantly, Musk has signaled he supports vastly loosening the company’s content moderation policies, suggesting it should only remove content if it is required by law. That would be a huge shift for the company, which has spent years under Vijaya’s guidance, creating elaborate guidelines to reduce the amount of vitriolic and threatening content on its platform.

On the subject of the free speech-freedom of expression debate, Gadde herself had advocated strongly for ensuring that Twitter’s policies protect its most vulnerable users while protecting free expression — a position that is starkly at odds with Musk’s.

In 2015, Gadde had written an op-ed for the Washington Post, a paper with a Left-Liberal bias. She wrote “I’m often inspired by the vigorous debates on controversial issues that occur on Twitter, but I’ve also been seriously troubled by the plight of some of our users who are completely overwhelmed by those who are trying to silence healthy discourse in the name of free expression,.”

In the article, Gadde continues “At times, this takes the form of hateful speech in tweets directed at women or minority groups; at others, it takes the form of threats aimed to intimidate those who take a stand on issues.”

Earlier this year, Elon Musk had said that he would reverse the Twitter ban on Donald Trump that Gadde has previously imposed, although the former US president had said he won’t return to the platform. He has instead launched his own social media app called Truth Social.

Soon after the takeover, Musk made his stand clear about free speech and minimal censorship (in contrast to extensive censorship under Vijaya’s legal stewardship), by tweeting with U.S Conservatives and right wing commentators, Mike Cernovich and Saagar Enjeti (an Indian American).

On Tuesday, Musk responded to a tweet by Saagar Enjeti, the popular Indian American conservative podcast host, who shared a “Politico” story about Vijaya Gadde. She had apparently broken down in tears during a company meeting discussing Musk’s takeover of Twitter.

Musk said that suspending the Twitter account of a major news organisation for publishing a truthful story was obviously incredibly inappropriate.

Musk agreed that Vijaya Gadde’s decision to limit the spread of the New York Post’s story on Hunter Biden laptop back in 2020, over concerns that it may have been based on hacked material, was wrong. The laptop once belonging to Joe Biden’s son

The New York Post in November 2020 had published a story claiming that material found on a laptop once belonging to President Joe Biden’s son, supposedly contained salacious material about his personal life and business dealings.The laptop was later authenticated by other news organizations, though at the time, there were concerns about the authenticity and origin of the information.

As for India, Twitter’s new user-rules re: freedom of expression, may have a significant impact as Twitter has 2.36 crore users in India, making it the 3rd largest Twitter user base, after the U.S and Japan.

According to a recent official review, the Indian Government’s legal demands/orders for content blocking and takedowns issued to Twitter, comprise just 7 percent of the cumulative legal demands received by the microblogging platform in from 2012 to 2021, and are “proportional” to the expanding user base of the San Francisco-based company in the country.

This latest analysis comes even as Twitter and the Central Government are engaged in a faceoff over the increase in the number of official demands for takedowns and account blocks. Earlier this month, the social media platform had approached the Karnataka High Court challenging at least 39 such blocking orders issued by the union IT ministry.

Netizens are passionately speculating the future of Twitter. For now, Mr. Musk appears to be serious about his intention to promote free speech and minimal regulation of all human thought – social, political and everything in between. While left leaning “activists” in the US, India and elsewhere are crying foul and shedding tears for Vijaya Gadde, the Conservatives and right wing in many nations including the U.S and India, seem to be hailing the news.

The rabid leftist Dravidian Stockist online news portal, The News Minute, was quick to conjecture with the following title “Indian right wing happy as Elon Musk sacks Twitter’s Vijaya Gadde” just shows how deranged they are with Musk sacking her.

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DMK Spokie Lies About Stalin’s Lies on Thoothukudi Firings, Dravidian Stockist Journo Plays Along

By
The Commune
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Netizens exposed News 18 Tamil Nadu Editor Karthigaichelvan and DMK spokesperson Constantine Raveendran who in a debate tried to protect Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin who peddled a fake news regarding Sterlite protest firing.

On October 28, News18 Tamil Chief Editor Karthigaichelvan hosted a debate titled “Are political parties addressing the Coimbatore car blast incident responsibly?”.

While pointing out that DMK has long history of speaking irresponsibly in sensitive matter, State Spokesperson of Hindu Munnani A.T. Elangovan who participated in the debate pointed out the instance when DMK chief MK Stalin who was then the Leader of Opposition peddled fake news in a public meeting saying it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who asked the then Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami to order firing and killing several people.

The anti-Sterlite protests instigated by fringe groups like Makkal Adhigaram and supported by political parties like the DMK reached its climax on 24 March 2018 when thousands of protestors went on a rampage leading to a break down in law and order. As the protest went out of control, the Tamil Nadu police opened fire that killed 13 people.

When Elangovan mentioned about Stalin’s lies, Constantine Raveendran became enraged and yelled, “show me the proof or I won’t allow the debate continue.”

Though Elangovan was certain of the incident in which CM MK Stalin had lied about the Thoothukudi firing, he was not given sufficient time during the debate to furnish the video proof available on public domain.

Karthigaichelvan who was expected to know of the incident of MK Stalin lying, eluded by saying that he was unaware of the incident and declined Elangovan’s request to express his opinion.

Later, Elangovan in a social media post shared the video of MK Stalin’s brazen lies about Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordering then-CM Edappadi Palanisamy to issue firing orders.

Netizens have called out News18 Tamil Nadu editor Karthigaichelvan’s bias alleging that he is trying to protect MK Stalin by acting unaware of MK Stalin’s lies.

Karthigaichelvan, who was formerly the Editor-in-Chief of Tamil mainstream news channel Puthiya Thalaimurai, has been roped in by News 18 Tamil Nadu as its Editor.

In the past, Karthigaichelvan had peddled hatred against Prime Minister Narendra Modi several times.

Back in 2015, he had shared a disparaging cartoon implying that the Union Government under Narendra Modi is being controlled by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

In another instance, he shared another cartoon with the caption and the “Oscar goes to Mr. Narendra Modi”. In this cartoon there are two images of PM Modi – one sporting Hindu symbols is shown angry while another image of PM Modi shows him a secular, implying that PM Modi is an ‘actor’.

Against the backdrop of PM Modi paying a courtesy visit to the late DMK patriarch Karunanidhi, Karthigaichelvan shared a cartoon by the same artist in which PM Modi is shown hitch-hiking on Karunanidhi’s wheelchair.

He had also shared a cartoon mocking Digital India with a euphoric “Hahahaha”.

Once he was called out by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for deliberately trying to peddle anti-Modi propaganda saying that the Centre was waiving off loans taken by corporates.

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Hyderabad: FIR Registered Against Christian Family Who Had Abused Hindus For Making Rangoli On Diwali

By
The Commune
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Protests erupted outside an apartment in Hyderabad on Tuesday (25 October 2022), after a Christian family objected to their neighbouring Hindu family drawing the traditional Rangoli designs and lighting diyas in the common hallway space, in front of their own apartment.

The Christian family not only objected to the Rangoli, but also abused and threatened their Hindu neighbours. The incident took place at Archana Apartments on Golkonda Cross Road in Hyderabad’s Chikapally area.

The unsavoury incident took place on Diwali day, October 24th (Monday evening) when the Hindus drew rangoli patterns (“muggu” in Telugu ) and lit their evening Deepavali lamps, per age-old native tradition.

The Christians who live in the opposite unit, questioned the use of the common hallway space, even though the Hindu women had not infringed on the space in front of the Christian family’s apartment. It is a common and widely accepted practice in Indian apartments, to utilize a reasonable amount of space in the open, common hallway in front of one’s own apartment, to draw rangoli designs per Indian tradition.

This incidence of Christian intolerance towards a Hindu festival celebration in a metropolitan city like Hyderabad, has netizens discussing the often stated issue of christian conversations via hateful anti-Hindu indoctrination and the subsequent intolerance that converts are often observed displaying including denigration of Hindu deities and native cultural practices.

The incident gained attention and sympathy when the aggrieved Hindus uploaded a video clip on Tuesday, which clearly shows the aggression and intolerance of the Christian family. The video, which was shared on Twitter and went viral on social media, shows the Christian woman, Gona Shalini, threatening to hit the girls with a chappal for the rangoli and diyas. Her two sons are also seen and heard threatening the Hindu women with dire consequences including physical harm.

After the incident came to light, a group of Hindu organisations staged a protest at Hyderabad’s Archana Apartments, demanding action against the Christians who were objecting to a traditional celebration of Diwali . Supporters and Protesters were seen chanting “Jai Shri Ram” outside the apartment.

The protests continued till Wednesday afternoon and subsided only after the local police arrested the accused and assured the Hindus of a thorough investigation into this incident of agression and intolerence.

Another protest was held near the Chikkadpally police station (the jurisdiction of the Apartment in question), where several women protestors, said that their religious sentiments were being hurt and their rights to celebrate Diwali were infringed upon. They demanded stringent action against the Christian family.

https://twitter.com/exC_Esther/status/1585123118284435456

According to the Chikkadpally police inspector, N.Sanjay Kumar, apart from the incident on Diwali day, there had been previous issues related to the accused family’s dog as well.

Police officials registered an FIR against the family that objected to the Rangoli. The woman, Gona Shalini, her husband Gona Christopher and their sons Rajiv and Ajith, were booked under Sections 506 (Criminal intimidation) and 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code. They were arrested on Wednesday October 26, two days after the incident. Protesters had earlier demanded quick action on this incident of intolerence which had clear audio visual evidence.

One of the twitter users that reached out to netizens to highlight this incident of intolerance against the traditional celebration of a Hindu festival, was Esther Dhanraj.

She is a vocal advocate for Hindu rights and defence against Christian intolerance and aggressive Christian conversion tactics including preying on individuals and families in dire hardship, preaching at hospitals, direct and indirect indoctrination at Christian educational institutions , denigration of Hindu deities and native traditions and other dubious evangelist/missionary techniques aimed at achieving annual conversion goals, that gullible non-christians are often not aware of.

Interestingly, Esther Dhanraj is an ex- converted christian and preacher, who chose to return to her native faith of Hinduism, after growing disillusioned with Christianity, which she and her family had adopted more than 25 years ago, at a time of severe hardship. She claims to understand Christian conversion tactics better than the average Indian, because her family and herself had personally experienced the methods and process. Esther Dhanraj has spoken widely on this subject and is engaged in debates on local TV channels, in addition to actively fighting conversions at grassroot levels in rural India. She also counsels Hindu families whose youngsters have either become Christian or are contemplating Christianity. Through her recently launched “Quit Christianity” movement, she works with other former Christians in bringing awareness about Christianity and conversion tactics.

(With inputs from India Today)

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UN Special Rapporteur Says Rohingya Extremists Should Be Held Accountable For Massacre Of Hindus In Myanmar

By
The Commune
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On 26 October 2022, Tom Andrews, the UN Human Rights expert on Myanmar, said that the extremist Rohingya organisation that has been involved in the massacre of Hindus in Myanmar should be apprehended and held accountable.

Asked at a news conference on Wednesday, about the attacks on Hindus by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) that has been documented by Amnesty International, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said, “We need to make certain that there’s a full execution of the of the law when it comes to apprehending these individuals.”

“There are radical groups that we know of that are in many, many communities, including the Rohingya community,” he said, “we know that they have been responsible for some heinous crimes and I call them out.”

“It’s my view, regardless of who you are, in any of these issues or conflicts you have a fundamental responsibility to respect human rights, including organisations such as ARSA,” Tom Andrews, who is also a former member of the U.S Congress, said.

On 25 August 2017, Hindu villages in a cluster known as Kha Maung Seik in the northern Maungdaw District of Rakhine State in Myanmar were attacked and 99 Bengali Hindu villagers were massacred by Muslim insurgents from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). A month later, the Myanmar Army discovered mass graves containing the corpses of 45 Hindus, most of whom were women and children.

An Amnesty International investigation confirmed that “up to 99 Hindu women, men, and children” had been massacred by muslim militant ARSA fighters, who also abducted Hindu villagers in August 2017 in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

ARSA is led by Pakistan born ( Karachi-born ) Ata Ullah abu Ammar Jununi. Both Myanmar authorities as well as International Investigators of repute, blamed ARSA for the brutal massacre of the minority Hindus in Myanmar. While the Myanmarese authorities were preoccupied with ARSA’s insurgent operations at the time, Kyaw Zaw Oo, a Rakhine State Hluttaw MP, investigated the massacre and posted a detailed account on his Facebook page on 13 September 2017. He was one of the first to alert domestic and international communities about the massacre. The militant ARSA has denied responsibility and even rejected Amnesty’s report.

“Our latest investigation on the ground sheds much-needed light on the largely under-reported human rights abuses by ARSA during northern Rakhine State’s unspeakably dark recent history,” said Amnesty International Crisis Response Director Tirana Hassan.

She also stated, ″It’s hard to ignore the sheer brutality of ARSA’s actions, which have left an indelible impression on the survivors we’ve spoken to. Accountability for these atrocities is every bit as crucial as it is for the crimes against humanity carried out by Myanmar’s security forces in northern Rakhine State … In this brutal and senseless act, members of ARSA captured scores of Hindu women, men, and children and terrorised them before slaughtering them outside their own villages. The perpetrators of this heinous crime must be held to account″.

The reiteration and confirmation by international authorities, of the brutal murder of Hindus by militant Muslims in Myanmar, comes at a time when the “liberal-secular” lobby in India, is asking for special privileges for the thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees now living in the country. The BJP government has stated that the refugees pose a security threat to India, amidst reports of radical muslim outfits from Bangladesh and Pakistan attempting to indoctrinate the muslim Rohingya refugees currently residing in refugee camps in India.

Background

Bengali Hindus constitute a minority group in Maungdaw District. With a population of around 5,000, they constitute about 1% of the population in Buddhist majority Myanmar (erstwhile Burma). They can trace their presence in Myanmar back to the middle ages, when they were first brought to the kingdom by the Arakanese kings themselves. The Myanmar government makes an official distinguision between the Hindus and the Rohingya Muslims who trace their more recent presence in Myanmar, back to present day Bangladesh.

According to eyewitness accounts, on 25 August 2017, unidentified men in black masks attacked the Hindu villages in Kha Maung Seik also known as Fwaira Bazar or Fakira Bazar.They objected to the official identity cards provided to the Hindus by the Myanmar authorities.

The masked men took around 100 people hostage and forced them to march through the fields. They were led into a forest on a hill, where the insurgents separated eight fair skinned women from the group of hostages, allegedly to set them aside for marriage to the muslim insurgents later. The insurgents then blindfolded the remaining captives, tied their hands behind their back and tied their legs. Witnesses were horrified to see the throats of the hostages slit with machetes and knives. The corpses were dumped inside three pits which were dug by the insurgents.

Nine Hindu villages were burnt, resulting in more than 500 Hindu refugees fleeing across the border to Bangladesh. The Hindu villages of Kyeinchaung and Ngakhuya survived the arson attacks, and the villagers have since returned.

Following the massacre, hundreds of Hindu families along with the Rakhines fled the rural areas to take shelter in Sittwe. More than 500 Hindus took shelter in four Hindu temples in Sittwe and were partially supported by the Myanmar government relief team. Many Hindus also took refugee in Buddhist monasteries in Ponnagyun and Kyauktaw townships.

Forced Conversions

Ni Maul, a Hindu leader who helped Myanmar’s authorities with the search of the bodies, told the media that the mass-graves were found from testimony of eight Hindu women whose lives were spared and brought to Bangladesh after they agreed to convert to Islam.

Four Hindu women in Bangladesh told Agence-France Presse, that they were among the eight who escaped. They stated that they were forced to marry the muslim attackers in order to save their lives and they were later taken to camps of Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh.The Hindu women stated that the militants found them beautiful and decided to convert them. The eight women along with children were later taken to a house in Bawtalar village where they were forced to eat rice with meat, which is against some Hindu beliefs. They were then brought to Kutuparlaung refugee camp on 28 August where they were housed with Muslims and forced to wear burqas.

Current Predicament

The Hindu refugees are scared of going back to their native places in the Rakhine State of Myanmar and at the same time fearful of staying in refugee camp in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Instead, they hoped for rehabilitation in Hindu-majority India.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad leadership expressed that India was the natural homeland for the Hindu refugees from Myanmar. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad along with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh intended to submit a report to the Indian Home Ministry demanding a new policy that would allow Hindus of Bangladesh and Myanmar to seek asylum in India.

(With inputs from Hindu Post)

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DMK’s History Of Derogating Women

By
Vallavaraayan
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The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has a history and that history is loaded with its leaders derogating women.

Right from its founder CN Annadurai to his successor M. Karunanidhi and the latter’s grandson Udayanidhi Stalin, from senior leaders like Duraimurugan, A. Raja, and Ponmudy to up till the last cadre standing, there are numerous instances when DMK leaders have made misogynistic and unsavoury remarks about women.

From assaulting their arch rival Jayalalithaa in the Assembly, to pinching the hips of their own women cadres, here are a few instances of DMK men derogating women.

Annadurai

Despite the fact that Annadurai excelled in governance with his talents like public speaking and writing, he was caught in a controversy after he was allegedly involved in an affair with a famous actress. Unlike today’s politicians who would have vehemently denied such accusations, Annadurai, who was the state’s Chief Minister at the time, commented on this issue saying, “I’m not a monk. I have my own desires, and I am human. Neither was she a woman of chastity.”

This is the same man who is now being conferred titles like ‘Perarignar’ (renowned scholar).

Karunanidhi

Next up is Karunanidhi, who has a track record of consistently speaking crassly about women. Once during a protest staged by the DMK in Madurai, Congress leader Indira Gandhi, who was the Prime Minister at the time, was hit in the head and started bleeding. When asked to comment about the injury, Karunanidhi had perversely said that it would have been ‘menstrual blood’ that could have leaked for Indira Gandhi.

In another incident, a female Congress MLA called Ananthanayaki had questioned in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, as to where the so-called Dravida naadu (dravidian country) was, to which Karunanidhi replied saying she should lift her petticoat and check underneath to find it.

He also went on to criticise former CM Late Jayalalithaa after he had consistently lost to her, saying that she will no longer be able to have kids since her best years were behind her, and said that he would have helped her have kids if she had asked him. He then went on to say that she knew a lot of languages because she was in ‘that kind of a job’, hinting at prostitution.

Duraimurugan

On March 25, 1989, the Tamil Nadu Assembly witnessed a shameful episode when Duraimurugan who was then a Minister in the Karunanidhi government assaulted Jaylalithaa and pulled her saree.

She was physically attacked by DMK MLAs as she made her way out of the House.

Karunanidhi, then the chief minister, reportedly threw expletives at her after she called him a criminal in Tamil.

Udhayanidhi Stalin

Following suit, his grandson Udhayanidhi Stalin made disgusting remarks about Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s appointment as Chief Minister saying that he would have ‘gone inside Sasikala’s legs’ to get the post of CM.

“This is the problem I face whenever I go for campaigning too. I try to say ‘Edappadi’ government, immediately someone from the crowd says ‘Edupudi aatchi’ [slave government]. I wonder whose slave.. Modi’s slave. From another side another man shouts it is not ‘Edupudi’, it is ‘deadbody’. [again laughs]. That is how he was lying down at the feet of Sasikala right! He went under the table, chair to fall at her feet. Given the chance, he would have gone inside her legs as well!” Udhayanidhi Stalin made a tongue-in-cheek remark with a smile to which DMK cadres can be heard laughing and clapping.

PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan

In what can be called as a behaviour unbefitting for a person holding public office, Madurai Central MLA and Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan unleashed abuses and made personal attacks on Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan who had called out the former for insulting Goa during the 43rd GSR Council meeting.

Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan had condemned the behaviour of Palanivel Thiagarajan’s behaviour at the GST Council meeting and called it an insult to democracy.

To this, the DMK Minister remarked if the BJP woman MLA was a ‘congenital liar’ or a person with ‘low IQ’.

The Finance Minister had later blocked the BJP woman MLA and went on to justify it saying “I block you like a normal person closes a window to avoid bad smell”.

RS Bharathi

RS Bharathi, the Organizational Secretary of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), made derogatory comments about late AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa and her aide Sasikala.

Speaking at an event held in Ambattur in Chennai in February 2021, RS Bharathi said ““Recently, Jayalalithaa’s memorial hall was opened on January 27. They gave ₹40,000 per bus from all over Tamil Nadu. They gave ₹2000 to those who boarded the bus. They picked them up and dropped them off at Marina Beach. Edappadi and OPS thought that the whole crowd would come to the Jayalalithaa memorial. But the crowd thought, instead of visiting that ‘moodhevi’ (a derogatory slang in Tamil), they visited Kalaignar’s [Karunanidhi’s] memorial”.

Speaking further about CM Palaniswami, RS Bharathi said “”When Udhayanidhi Stalin spoke, he said that you fell at the feet of Sasikala and became CM. But Udhayanidhi is facing a case for that. EPS went between the 2 legs of the table and then went below her 2 legs and fell down”.

Dindigul Leoni

In the run up to the 2021 Assembly Elections, Dindigul Leoni who was the party’s propaganda secretary spoke disparagingly of women, comparing their figure to that of barrels, and said that if they had to obtain the figure resembling the number 8, they should stop drinking the milk of imported cows.

This man who had made these sexist remarks has been made the head of the Tamil Nadu Textbook & Educational Services Corporation by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.

A Raja

During the peak of the election campaign in March 2021, DMK Lok Sabha MP and the party’s deputy general secretary A. Raja spoke ill of then CM Palaniswami’s mother when he was canvassing in support of DMK candidate Ezhilan in the Thousand Lights constituency in Chennai.

He had said that MK Stalin, who had worked as a grassroots volunteer in the party and rose to become the Chief Ministerial candidate, was a golden child born from a healthy relationship, while Palaniswami was born illegitimately.

He said “Our DMK leader Stalin is the leader who was born of pure blood and as a fully grown healthy baby, as well as by legitimate means, whereas Edappadi Palaniswami was born premature, and was born out of an illegitimate relationship.”

After denying to have derogated Palaniswami’s mother, he once again repeated the same words at a meeting in Cuddalore.

Dayanidhi Maran

DMK MP from Chennai Central constituency Dayanidhi Maran was campaigning in the Kinathukadhavu constituency for the party’s candidate Kurichi Prabhakaran during the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections.

During the campaign, the DMK MP said “Minister Rajenthira Balaji says Jayalalithaa is their ‘Amma’ (mother) and Modi is their ‘daddy’. Look at the kind of relationship they have. If we say this, they (AIADMK) will make a huge hue and cry.”

DMK Youth Wing Man Pinches Hips Of Woman Functionary

In April 2018, during a protest against the Centre for the formation of the Cauvery Management Board, a DMK youth wing cadre named Prabhu assaulted Jayamani, a woman DMK functionary and allegedly pinched her hip.

The disgusted and traumatized had staged a protest against her own party man’s behaviour.

“A bold woman like me gets pinched in the hip and no one is questioning the assaulter, how can any woman stay in DMK?”, the woman had lamented to reporters.

Ponmudi

While speaking at a function recently, DMK Minister K. Ponmudi belittlingly reminded women members in the audience about the ‘free bus scheme for women’ introduced by Stalin government.

“For you only 4000 rupees per card. Did he (Stalin) give or not? You got it right? Open your mouth and say. You got 4000 right? How are you going in bus today? If you want to go from here to Koyambedu or anywhere, you are going in ‘OC’ (free). You are going in ‘OC’ bus.”, he said.

Saidai Sadiq

Entering this hall of fame is foul-mouthed DMK spokesperson Saidai Sadique who made derogatory and misogynist comments targeting women leaders of the BJP Tamil Nadu.

Saidai Sadiq said,”How will you expand the BJP in Tamil Nadu? The BJP has four actresses. Khushbu, Namitha, Gayathri Raghuramm, Gauthami. We built the DMK party in North Madras with strong leaders such as TR Balu and Balraman in the past, and Elaya Aruna in the present.”

He referred to all four Tamil Nadu BJP actresses as prostitutes, saying, “We built the party with strong leaders, but if you look at the leaders in the BJP, all four women are ‘items’ (prostitutes).”

He also made sexual innuendos about Khusbhu obliquely stating that the DMK leader Elaya Aruna had sex with Actress Kushboo several times.He used the word “Potrukiraru (போட்டிருக்கிறாரு)” – a Tamil cuss word used to mention having sex.

These instances show that derogating women has become something of a tradition for the DMK.

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DMK Leader Calls Actresses In Tamil Nadu BJP As “Items”, Makes Sexual Innuendo About Khusbhu

By
The Commune
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In yet another instance of insulting women, a DMK spokesperson has made derogatory and misogynist comments targeting women leaders of the BJP Tamil Nadu.

DMK leader Saidai Sadiq, who was speaking at a meeting in RK Nagar organised by DMK Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services Mano Thangaraj, used derogatory language to describe the women leaders of the BJP who are also working as actors. The incident took place with the Minister on stage.

Saidai Sadiq said,”How will you expand the BJP in Tamil Nadu? The BJP has four actresses. Khushbu, Namitha, Gayathri Raghuramm, Gauthami. We built the DMK party in North Madras with strong leaders such as TR Balu and Balraman in the past, and Elaya Aruna in the present.”

He referred to all four Tamil Nadu BJP actresses as prostitutes, saying, “We built the party with strong leaders, but if you look at the leaders in the BJP, all four women are ‘items’ (prostitutes).”

He went on to say, “Khushbu once stated that the BJP will grow in Tamil Nadu. But I tell her that while hair can grow on Amit Shah’s head, lotus can never bloom in Tamil Nadu.”

He also made sexual innuendos about Khusbhu obliquely stating that the DMK leader Elaya Aruna had sex with Actress Kushboo several times.He used the word “Potrukiraru (போட்டிருக்கிறாரு)” – a Tamil cuss word used to mention having sex.

He then continued, “Nobody should misinterpret what I said. I told that our leader Elaya Aruna, had many public meetings with Kushboo when she was in the DMK. ”

He asserted, “Can people like these (prostitutes) group together to destroy the DMK and strengthen the BJP? No.”

This speech of the DMK leader comes a few days after Chief Minister MK Stalin said that the party leaders are giving him sleepless nights through their actions. The speech of the DMK leader has drawn flak from the people.

Reacting to this speech, BJP leader Khushbu took to her social media and asked if this is part of the new Dravidian model under MK Stalin?

With this speech triggering social media outrage, DMK MP Kanimozhi who is the party’s Deputy General Secretary Kanimozhi and the women’s wing secretary condemned the speech of Sadiq.

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Jamaat Union Calls Coimbatore Blast “An Act Of Terror” Due To Failure Of State Intelligence

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The Commune
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Representatives from all Jamaats in the Coimbatore district on Wednesday strongly condemned the blast near Kottai Eswaran temple in Ukkadam, claiming that the “act of terror” was the result of a failure of state intelligence agencies. Coimbatore District United Jamaat leaders met with the city police commissioner and pledged their support in the fight against terrorism.

Addressing the Press after meeting with Coimbatore city commissioner, Abdur Jaffer, General secretary of Coimbatore District Jamaat Union said,” In the early hours of 23rd october, infront of Kottaimedu Eswaran Temple, a massive car blast happened. First, they(Police and DMK) said it is a car cylinder blast. However News started to unfold a little later. In continuation of that there is a panic in Coimbatore south area.”

He continued, “we met the commissioner regarding the blast. According to us, this is an “act of terror”. Only god has saved the people of Coimbatore. God has punished those involved in the “act of terror”. There are people still out in open who were involved in this incident. All those have to be found and brought to books.”

He also stated that the Union Jamaat will work with the police to root out terrorism and will make the necessary efforts to do so.

“We came to meet with the police commissioner to express our concern about the failure of state intelligence, and we doubt if it is functioning, and why haven’t they gathered information about the blast before it happened,” he added.

He ended the press meet saying that the Jamaat has requested commissioner to strengthen the state intelligence.

The video was shared on Twitter by Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai, who questioned TN CM MK Stalin, saying, “If Thiru Abdur Jaffer calls the blast “an act of terror,” what is stopping the CM from saying the same?” He also said that the DMK government’s inability to govern is out in open now and that minority appeasement politics will no longer work.

It is to be noted that this statement from Jamaat Union, calling it an “act of terror”, is contrary to the statements from Police authorities and the DMK leaders who tried to downplay the entire incident as mere cylinder blast.

Mylai DMK MLA Velu downplayed the explosion in his tweet to Annamalai, saying,”Why these needless words. Those who incited the crime should be punished first, rather than the perpetrators. Entire Tamil Nadu knows who is the reason for this (alleged “cylinder blast”). Go to the butcher shop and put your head in there. Tamil Nadu will be peaceful.”

In another case, Isai, the State Deputy Secretary of DMK IT Wing, had shared a clip from Tamil movie Kadhalan in which the antagonist discusses with another man about creating a law and order situation through bomb blasts in order to topple the government.

This clip was shared by the DMK IT Wing leader suggesting that the Coimbatore blasts was a handiwork of the BJP. The tweet by Isai was retweeted by Mannargudi DMK MLA and the party’s IT Wing head TRB Rajaa.

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Massive Ancient Shivalingam Unearthed Near Aravakurichi In TN

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The Commune
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A 5-foot-tall Shivalingam idol along with a Nandi statue was discovered in the garden of a farmer named Kanthasamy in Arasampalayam, near Sithapatti Colony, near Aravakurichi in Karur District.

A bogline machine was used to excavate the 1000-year-old five-foot-tall Shivalinga with a matching pedestal. Following this, Sivanadiyars and devotees from the neighbouring area flocked to the site to worship the Shivalingam. They cleansed the Lingam with water and worshipped it with special pujas using milk, fresh water, turmeric, sandalwood, and perfumes.

The incident happened on the auspicious day of Deepavali (24 October 2022).

On receiving information, Aravakurichi Tahsildar, other Revenue officials and Archeology Department officials rushed to the spot and recovered the Shivalingam idol from the locals and proceeded with their investigation.

According to the archaeological department, the recovered Shivalingam was part of an ancient Shiva temple on the banks of the Amaravati River, where the Amaravati and Kudakanaaru rivers meet.They also said that the temple may have been destroyed centuries ago by a flood in the river.

(With inputs from Samayam Tamil)

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Three Swedish Nationals Caught Preaching At Assam Church, Penalized For Violating Indian Visa Rules

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The Commune
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Feature Image Courtesy: OpIndia

Assam Police detained three Swedish nationals on 26 October 2022 for violating their tourist visa norms by participating in Christian religious activities at a prayer meeting, including preaching and offering “blessings” with the intent to convert the Assamese locals.

Upon receiving reliable information, Assam Police had visited a church in Namrup of Assam’s Dibrugarh district, where the three Swedish nationals, identified as Marcus Arne Henrik Bloom, Hannah Mikaela Bloom and Susana Elisabeth Hakanason, were caught in the act of Christian missionary activities. They had arrived in India on October 19 and reached Assam on October 24.

“We had information that they were involved in missionary activities and were preaching at a church in Namrup. Based on the information, we collected photo and video evidence and found the allegation to be true,” Dibrugarh superintendent of police Shwetank Mishra was quoted saying in a report.

“Since they arrived on tourist visas, it was a violation of visa norms. It was also found that they violated Section 14 of the Foreigners Act (for actions in violation of visa conditions). Based on that, they were apprehended,” he added.

They were detained and later released after they paid US $500 each ( about ₹41,500 each ) in fines, a district official said.

The tourists were produced before a court and found guilty under the Foreigners Act. The court directed the deputy commissioner and the district police to arrange for their deportation.

The tourists will be sent to Guwahati today (Thursday) and subsequently deported to Sweden, Mr Chetia said.

The Church event is being organised at Achabam Ghinai 1 No. playground in Nakarkatia from October 25 to 27 by United Churches Fellowship and Bless Assam Mission Network, with permission from the local authorities. The event was dubiously named “Peace and Healing Prayer Festival” and people were invited to seek blessings and get healed in the event, but in reality, the intent of the program was to convert locals into Christianity. The Swedish nationals were caught red handed, at this event. The three were trying to lure people to convert to Christianity in the tea garden areas of the region.

Last month, Assam Police had announced that they would crack down on foreign nationals, violating visa provisions more assiduously because, they said, Bangladeshi Islamic clerics were violating tourist visa norms by organising religious meets in remote areas of the state.

More recently, 17 Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in Assam’s Biswanath district, with the police claiming that muslim clerics from Bangladesh were radicalising young male residents of the state.

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Man Hacked To Death In Mettur Hospital

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The Commune
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The murder of a painter by cutting his throat in Mettur Government Hospital caused quite a stir.

Raghu (28) is a painter from Thottilpatti near Mettur in Salem district. He is married and has two daughters. According to reports, Raghunathan, who was a member of a gang led by Vellaiyan from the same neighbourhood, recently joined another gang. This enraged Vellaiyan, who assaulted Raghunathan at his home on Monday with his friends.

Raghu, who had suffered grievous injuries, managed to get away from the attackers and sought treatment at Mettur Government Hospital. The three men, Villiyayan, Murthy and Prakash, who followed on a two-wheeler, entered the government hospital and stabbed Raghu with a knife and slit his throat.

Nurses and patients in the hospital screamed and fled after witnessing the murder. Mettur DSP Vijayakumar reached the scene, seized the body and sent it for autopsy. The three murderers were apprehended and taken to police station for interrogation.

The CCTV footage of the murder inside the government hospital has gone viral on social media, prompting Netizens to question the state of law and order in Tamil Nadu.

(with inputs from News18 Tamil)

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