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Karnataka to make EV chargers mandatory in malls and flats, says Deputy CM

By
The Commune
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Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said on Monday that the state government will lay down regulations to make charging points for electric vehicles (EV) mandatory in high-rise buildings, malls, metro stations, IT parks and apartment flats.

Speaking on the topic of ‘Future of Sustainable Mobility’ at the Harvard-India conference , the Deputy CM also stated that the government is seeking to replace 50 per cent of all its vehicles with EVs in the next two to three years, adding that the measure is a move to encourage e-mobility.

According to Deputy CM Narayan, the goal is to set up fast chargers along few important highways in the state such  as the Bengaluru-Chennai highway and the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway in order to establish world-class Karnataka Electric Mobility Research and Innovation Centre.

“Lack of infrastructure for charging EVs still remain a major concern and the State is working towards improving the situation”, he said.

The government has also assessed the situation and has received feedback from citizens regarding discount charging at pubic places, dedicated parking for e-cabs, and mandating EV charging facilities in building by-laws to improve the infrastructure in the state, he said.

Noting that EVs can deliver practicality, sustainability, safety and affordability, Narayan said that electricity demand from EVs could greatly improve the utilisation factor of underutilised power plants.

The Deputy CM said that Karnataka is looking forward to participate in partnerships and strategies with the United States of America in the e-mobility sector. Countries like Norway, the US and China could be examples for India in developing the e-mobility ecosystem in Karnataka, he said.

“The state has been able to garner a share of over 30 per cent market size and is planning its policy framework to garner 50 per cent market share of the digital engineering innovation economy segments like clean tech, EV, aerospace, med tech and construction among others offer significant opportunities for growth”, he said.

The Central government has been supporting electric mobility efforts through funding research, providing a conducive platform to design, develop and demonstrate EV projects.

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Canada Parliament passes motion against China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims

By
The Commune
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Canada’s Parliament has passed a non-binding motion on Monday (Feb 22) declaring that China’s treatment of its Muslim Uighur minority constitutes genocide, mounting further pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to follow suit.

Canada’s parliament voted 266-0 to declare a genocide, with Trudeau’s cabinet abstaining from the vote. The motion was sponsored by opposition Conservative Party.

“More than one million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims are or have been in camps. The testimonies we’ve heard from witnesses and survivors [have] been horrifying,” Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole told reporters after the vote.

PM Trudeau has repeatedly resisted calls to term Chinese action as genocide claiming he wanted to be sure “all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed.”

China has incarcerated at least one million Uyghur Muslim citizens in what it describes as “reeducation camps” in the Xinjiang region. Mass rapes and forced sterilization of Uyghur women have emerged over the past year.

The administration of former US President Donald Trump, on its last full day in office, said China had committed “genocide and crimes against humanity” against the Uighurs in Xinjiang.

In the last days of Trump administration, then then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “I have determined that the PRC [People’s Republic of China], under the direction and control of the CCP [Chinese Communist party], has committed genocide against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang.

“I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uyghurs by the Chinese party-state,” he added.

Pompeo’s declaration also accused China of crimes against humanity.

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Pogaru: Kannada film panned for insulting Hindus and Brahmins

By
The Commune
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pogaru brahmin
Featured Image: A scene from the film 'Pogaru' insulting Brahmins | Credits: Twitter

Makers of the Kannada film Pogaru have been panned by audiences in Karnataka over the film’s scenes that insult and demean Hindu rituals and the Brahmin community.

The film contains scenes where a rowdy insults a Brahmin priest performing a ritual and places his foots on the priest’s shoulder in a degrading manner. The protagonist of the film too indulges in such insulting scenes in the film, where, in one scene, he hangs a Brahmin upside down from a crane, assaults him and then proceeds to abuse him and the Hindu deities, and mocks the tradition of Hindus having darshan of deities in temples.

Furthermore, in another scene, the protagonist insults a Brahmin who is carrying water for puja by aggressively accosting him and using that water to wash his face; whereas, in other scene, he makes insensitive remarks about the vegetarian diet consumed by Brahmins.

The state’s Brahmin community is up in arms over the film’s offensive scenes that insult Hindu traditions and the Brahmin community.

Written and directed by Nanda Kishore, and produced by B. K. Gangadhar, the film had earlier run into controversy over a song-and-dance sequence glorifying physical abuse, sexual harassment and eve-teasing. In the song-and-dance scene, the lead character, played by actor Dhruva Sarja, harasses his love interest, who is played by Rashmika Mandanna. To get her attention, the lead character and his henchmen burn motorcycles, vandalise shops and beat up people. The lead then proceeds to hug her inappropriately as she visibly squirms in his arms. In the dance sequence, the protagonist also threatens to cut her up with a knife and electrocute her using live wires. All this, while the henchmen watch and cheer on.

BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje too raised objections to the scenes in the movie on social media platform Twitter, and called for the screening of the film to be stopped.

“It has become a fashion to humiliate Hindus & take a ride on our sentiments. Whether they have guts to portray other religions in this manner? Screening of #Pogaru film has to be stopped until such objectable scenes are censored. Hurting Hindu emotions can’t be ignored [sic]”, she tweeted.

https://twitter.com/ShobhaBJP/status/1364159215695130624

Journalist Chiranjeevi Bhat too criticised the film for portraying Brahmins in a derogatory way and insulting the whole community. He objected to the scenes in the film in a video, which he uploaded on Twitter and YouTube.

Soon after, the journalist received several death threats via phone-calls from one Shekhar, an admirer of the lead actor Dhruva Sarja, asking him to take down the video, otherwise he would “do what needs to be done”.

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Bombay HC upholds bail granted to alleged ISIS fighter

By
The Commune
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bombay hc isis bail

The Bombay High Court upheld the bail granted to Areeb Majeed, who is accused of joining the global terror outfit ISIS and fighting for them in Iraq and Syria.

The Court set aside the findings of the Special Court in Mumbai, which is hearing cases being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). At one point, the Bombay HC questioned why a 21-year-old youth would think of going to Iraq, and leave his parents and family in grief. It also remarked that if Majeed would have utilised his abilities to the best at the age of 21, it would have been a matter of joy for the family and for the country.

The bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale passed the verdict upholding bail in an appeal by the NIA against the Special Court’s order which had granted bail to Majeed. The Court also considered the fact that Majeed has been detained for six years in jail. Given the long pendency of the trial, the Court held that bail can be granted on stringent conditions.

Soon after the order was passed, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh requested for a stay on the order. However, the Court refused to grant the request.

Majeed, who had travelled to Syria to allegedly join ISIS, was arrested upon his return in November 2014 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

He was charged with the commission of offences under Section 125 (waging war against government) of the Indian Penal Code as well as Section 16 (punishment for terrorist act) and Section 18 (punishment for conspiracy) of the UAPA.

Participation in terrorist activities serious, says ASG 

ASG Singh argued before the Court that the NIA had found enough evidence against Majeed which was present in the chargesheet and the supplementary chargesheets.

Singh further argued that Majeed, being a hardcore follower of ISIS, had  returned to India with an ulterior motive to carry out unlawful activities. He claimed that participation in terrorist activities was serious and that there was material available in support of his activities.

“Went abroad to help people; alleged offences not conducted within India, no proof of having injured or killed anyone”: alleged ISIS recruit

Majeed, arguing in-person, contended that the trial was being conducted for offences which were neither within Indian borders nor against India. He claimed that the evidence collected by NIA could not prima facie prove the offences charged by them.

He further submitted that the offences for which he has been charged with entail punishment of only up to five years’ imprisonment since he has not caused any injury or killed anyone. The chargesheet itself discloses these facts, he argued.

He highlighted that he has already spent more than six years in jail as an undertrial and that in itself is a ground for granting bail. In this regard, he placed reliance upon the recent judgment of the Supreme Court in Union of India v. KA Najeeb.

It was also his argument that he had gone abroad to help people there and not for any terrorist activities.

Bail bond of only ₹1 lakh for alleged ISIS fighter

Majeed will be now released on bail upon furnishing a bail bond of ₹1 lakh. He has been directed to stay with his family in his residential home and report to the nearest police station twice a day for the first two months. He has also been restrained from making any statements to the media and posting anything related to the case on social media.

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Xi Jinping could personally attend the BRICS summit to be held in India later this year

By
The Commune
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xi jinping brics

In a new development, Chinese President Xi Jinping may travel to India in the second half of this year to attend the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit, reports The Hindu.

If Xi travels to India, it would come after the easing of the border tensions at Ladakh between the two nuclear-powered Asian nations, following a military stand-off which lasted for nearly nine months. The Ladakh stand-off is the most serious military confrontation between India and China after the 1967 Sino-Indian war.

However, as disengagement continues unabated, China on Monday (22 February) expressed its “support” for India hosting this year’s meeting and made it very clear that the border crisis will have no impact on the summit.

“We support India in hosting this year’s meeting,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. “We will work with India and other members to strengthen communication and dialogue, and consolidate the three-pillar cooperation.”

The three-pillar cooperation refers to economic cooperation, political and security cooperation, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most meetings between heads of state have taken place virtually. However, the BRICS summit will not have to be held virtually. 

Wang, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing, expressed China’s support to India hosting the meet and said, “In recent years, BRICS has seen greater solidarity, deeper practical cooperation, and greater influence,” he said. “It is now a positive, stable and constructive force in international affairs. China attaches importance to this mechanism and we are committed to deepening strategic partnership within it to consolidate solidarity and cooperation.”

China was also in favour of working with the grouping to “expand BRICS-plus cooperation and work for greater progress under BRICS, and help the world to defeat COVID-19, resume economic growth and improve global governance,” he added.

In 2017, just five days after the 72 day-long stand-off between India and China on the Doklam plateau had ended, PM Modi travelled to China to attend a BRICS summit. It seems the Chinese want to replicate the same move to keep diplomatic options open.

Also, to strengthen diplomatic ties in India’s neighbourhood, Modi is expected to make his first overseas trip to Bangladesh in March. He could also attend the India-EU meet in Portugal in May and the G7 summit in the UK.

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PFI defies authorities again, holds unauthorised rally in Mayiladuthurai and Kayalpatnam in Tamil Nadu

By
The Commune
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pfi rally tamil nadu
Featured Image Credits: Organiser 

After carrying out a very provocative unauthorised rally in the coastal town of Ullal in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, the Popular Front of India (PFI), an Islamic fundamentalist organisation, again carried out an unauthorised march in Tamil Nadu’s Mayiladuthurai and Kayalpatnam, reports Organiser.  

A few days back, the PFI had held a rally in Malappuram in which 5,000 Muslims, donning the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh uniform were shown handcuffed, and thousands of Muslim men dressed in traditional attire marched with swords in their hands.

They say flattery is the best form of imitation and the PFI march is a copy of RSS’s pathsanchalan. However, when the RSS holds an event it has all the permission from the local authorities, unlike the PFI.
 
On the 17th of this month, PFI carried out a ‘Unity March’ to celebrate its 8th anniversary in Mayiladuthurai which is also a district headquarter. 

National Women Front state president Fathima Aalima, addressing the gathering said, “The country has gone into the hands of robbers from Britishers. We need another freedom struggle to retrieve India from them and for that PFI is the right choice. We will rally behind them always in this cause.”
 
State President Md. Sheik Ansari in his address accused the BJP of being ‘fascist’ and said, “I appeal to all forces that believe in Democracy and unity. The fascist BJP is misusing police machinery by foisting false cases including defamation charges on whoever opposes its dividing policies. It targets particularly PFI. We will not be cowed down by such pressure and intimidation tactics. I appeal to public support PFI.”

SDPI state secretary Abdul Hameed said, “PFI raises the Unity slogan against this communal BJP which divides people on the religious lines. The BJP, in collusion with RSS and Sangh Parivar outfits, are trying to bring in the Manu based non-secular rule in India.”

Most of the speakers in the meet spoke against BJP, RSS and Sangh affiliated organisations with false narratives.

Indu Makkal Katchi chief Arjun Sampath said, “Muslims in Kerala demanded a ban on Hindu holy ‘Omkaram’ as it is against Islam and their religious belief. Now their population has crossed to 40 per cent unofficially. Their original masks have been revealed. Hindutva is on the brink of danger in God’s own land. Still believing that all religions are equal, shall we deceive ourselves? Or shall we protect our Dharma and our Bharat? SDPI and PFI have to be banned to protect Bharat. Kerala is an example that when they once become the majority, they try to dictate terms of how to be ruled. In Kerala, both communal and communist forces joined hands. Hindus are facing grave danger from them.”

Sampath also condemned the Tamil Nadu government for allowing Muslim women with 28 per cent qualifying marks in the police selection test and said that for a woman in general quota it is 47, ST 44, widows 28 while for Muslim 28 per cent. He said such appeasement is not even practised in Kashmir where Muslims are a majority.

The leader of the Indu Makkal Katchi demanded an end to preferential treatment for Muslim men and women in police recruitment because anti-social elements, fundamentalists and terrorists can infiltrate into police machinery and called for merit-based selection and not back-door entry policy.

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Salem gets Asia’s largest livestock research park

By
The Commune
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Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy inaugurated the largest livestock research park and college in Asia, built at a cost of about ₹1,000 crores on a thousand acres at Thalaivaasal in Salem district.

Speaking about this, Animal Husbandry minister Udumalai K Radhakrishnan said, “The institute has 20 buildings in total over 3.72 lakh sq ft. Works are underway to ensure uninterrupted drinking water supply to the facility at the cost of ₹260.16 crore. Besides, AIIRLAS’s research centre will attract researchers from across the globe.” Radhakrishnan further said that the sixth and the seventh veterinary colleges would soon be inaugurated in Theni and Udumalaipet (Tiruppur), respectively.

The inauguration ceremony of the Veterinary Research Park and Veterinary College at a cost of ₹23 crores was held at the entrance of Salem District. Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy participated in the event and inaugurated the Veterinary Research Park and Veterinary College. The Chief Minister also issued admission orders to students from three colleges, namely, Thalaivaasal Veterinary College, Theni Veterinary College, and Udumalai Veterinary College.

Later, the Chief Minister unveiled the inscription for the formation of Thalaivaasal taluka. Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy addressed the function, which was graced by Udumalai Radhakrishnan, Minister of Animal Husbandry. He inaugurated 58 completed projects at a cost of ₹126 crores and laid the foundation stone for 58 new projects at a cost of ₹181 crores.

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Wedding guest gives the newlyweds a can of petrol as wedding gift

By
The Commune
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Unlike usual wedding gifts, a newlywed couple in Salem got the surprise of their lives when a relative gave them petrol as a wedding gift. The wedding ceremony of Mohammad Rahbathin and Jabsoom Nazia took place in the Salem Fort area. Relatives and friends who came to the wedding greeted the bride and groom by giving them various gift items.

At this point, Mohammad Qasim drew everyone’s attention by giving the bride and groom 5 liters of petrol in a can as a wedding gift.

Mohammad Qasim said that petrol was given as a wedding gift to the bride and groom as the price of daily essential petrol was rising day by day, and that he wanted to give them a gift that was valuable as well as useful.

In a similar incident that happened in Chennai, the image of the friends bringing an LPG cylinder, a gallon bottle of petrol, and garlands of onions for the bride and the groom, gifting them on the wedding stage and getting their picture clicked became viral. The newly married couple of Karthik and Saranya can be seen smiling and enjoying this great turn on a wedding day gift.

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Woman bites off man’s tongue during street fight, Seagull flies off with tongue

By
The Commune
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In a bizarre incident that happened in Scotland, a seagull got a man’s tongue whilst he was involved in a street brawl with a woman. A man named James McKenzie had gotten into a heated brawl with Bethany Ryan on the street, which resulted in her biting off his tongue in broad daylight on the street, quite literally. He watched on in horror as a seagull swooped down and chomped on the severed tongue before flying away with it.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard the grisly incident which came after a row broke out between the strangers in the city’s Leith Walk.

“She kissed him on the lips and during the course of that she bit through his tongue which caused a piece of his tongue to be removed,” prosecutor Susan Dickson said in Edinburgh Sheriff Court. “Mr McKenzie walked off and spat it out, at which point the piece of muscle was picked up by a large seagull that made off with it,” she added.

Seagulls have been known far and wide for their notoriety. In fact, not so long ago, a seagull was filmed pulling a live wild rabbit out of a hole and then swallowing the animal in whole.

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KS Alagiri’s family faces lawsuit over running a college without accreditation

By
The Commune
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A case has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking action against Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President KS Alagiri for fraudulently running a college without accreditation.

The Maritime Science College in Chidambaram, owned by Tamil Nadu Congress leader KS Alagiri, has been de-accredited for non-compliance with the rules. In a related case, the High Court ordered a 50% refund of tuition fees for students. The order has been appealed on behalf of the trust that runs the college.

A petition was recently filed by a student named Hariharasudan against the college. In the petition, he has demanded action against KS Alagiri and his family for running the college without recognition and defrauding the students of one and a half crore rupees. He said that his future was affected due to his studies in this college and demanded 10 lakh rupees as compensation for it. His petition is also expected to come up for hearing soon.

It is believed that the college management will be held liable for the loss of money and time of the aforementioned student, and appropriate compensation will be granted for the same.

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TheCommune
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