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Jihadi bride Shemima Begum tried to recruit classmates to join ISIS before she left for Syria

According to reports published in dailymail, Shamima Begum who as a teenager travelled from the United Kingdom (UK) to Syria to be an Islamic State Jihadi bride wore an ISIS badge on her blazer and attempted to recruit class members to join the terror group.

In revelatory news, former pupils at Bethnal Green Academy have now spoken about their experience of attending school alongside the Jihadi bride who now wants to return to the UK.

It must also be noted that these former classmates of Shamima had also attended school alongside Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana who became infamous for being called the Bethnal Green trio.

Now one former high school student has recalled how she had noticed a change in all three of her Muslim classmates after they started to wear matching pins on the lapels on school blazers.

As per the former pupil whose identity was not revealed, “They’d start talking about religion and try to rope people in,’ the student. They were really pressuring about it, there were like ‘you know, if you don’t go to Islam you’re going to hell, you’re going to die,”.

The former classmate also revealed, Amira had encouraged him to meet with an Imam, an Islamic religious scholar to learn more about ISIS and adds that Shamima and Amira told him about how to live in a perfect society under Islamic rule.

Shemima Begum left the UK for Syria via Turkey along with Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana in February 2015 at the age of 15 and there is also a famous picture of them in Gatwick Airport.

However,  after losing all her three children Begum now wants to return to the UK but in a TV interview, she admitted she did not regret her decision to join ISIS when she was found living in a refugee camp in Syria in February 2019.

She is currently held up at the al-Roj camp in northern Syria with her British citizenship has been stripped by the Government. This has now become an ongoing legal battle as it is now being claimed there is “overwhelming evidence that Islamic State bride Shamima Begum was a victim of trafficking when she left the UK”.

Her legal team is challenging the Home Office’s decision to remove her British citizenship on national security grounds shortly after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019.

Her lawyers told the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) the Home Office had a legal duty to investigate whether Begum, 21, was a victim of trafficking when her citizenship was revoked.

Samantha Knights QC said ‘the counter-terrorism unit had suspicions of coercion and control’ at the time Begum left the UK. She argued that this ‘gives rise to the need to investigate the issue of trafficking’.

In written submissions, Begum’s legal team said the Home Office failed to consider whether she was ‘a child trafficked to, and remaining in, Syria for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced marriage’.

It must also be noted that Bangladesh also has decided not to recognise her as a citizen as her parents are from that country.

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Madurai: Army man arrested for biting off policeman’s nose

Feature Image Courtesy: News18 Tamil Nadu

An army officer has been arrested for biting the nose of a police officer who went to investigate a land dispute near Vadippatti in Madurai.

Navaneetha Krishnan (37), an Army man, lives in Kachchaikatti village near Vadippatti in Madurai. He was at loggerheads with Prakash(30), who hails from the same village, over a land dispute. In this situation, Navaneetha Krishnan, who was drunk, was arguing with Prakash on Saturday.

Prakash immediately alerted the Madurai Police Control Room since he was concerned about his behaviour. Head Constables Mani Maran and Rajendran went to the scene to investigate the matter.

Enraged by the investigation, Navaneetha Krishnan began assaulting police officers, biting the nose of Head Constable Manimaran, who came to interrogate him. Manimaran, who was badly hurt, was rescued from Navaneetha Krishnan and taken to Vadippatti Hospital where he was given first aid.

Later, he was taken to the Madurai Government Hospital for treatment. Navaneetha Krishnan was arrested and charged by Vadipatti police. The event has caused quite a stir in the area.

(with inputs from News18 Tamil)

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11 acres of Gauri Vinayaka Temple land worth ₹50 crores reclaimed in Sivagangai

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) Department authorities in Sivagangai reclaimed 11 acres of land belonging to the Gauri Vinayagar temple and sealed the building constructed on it.

HR&CE maintained Gauri Vinayagar Temple in Sivagangai has 11 acres of land in the village of Kanjirangal on the Thanjavur Highway. Pandi, a resident of Sivagangai, occupied the 11 acres of land belonging to the temple and built a commercial complex.

A complaint was lodged with the HR&CE Department by the locals regarding the encroachment of the temple land. Following this, the authorities went to the occupied area, reclaimed the land, sealed the building, and put up a notice board stating that the land belonged to the Gauri Vinayagar Temple.

According to HR&CE officials, the current worth of the recovered land is approximately ₹ 50 crore. Pandi, who usurped the temple land, is said to be a benami of former minister Baskaran. Residents and devotees questioned HR&CE officials about taking action against the former minister.

(with inputs from Kathir News)

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Karnataka unit of radical Islamist org PFI receives blue tick from Twitter

Social media giant Twitter has rewarded the nefarious radical Isalmist organization Popular Front of India (PFI) Karnataka with the “Blue Tick”.

This move of Twitter which has been at loggerheads with the Indian Government for failing to comply with the laws of the land is being seen as a deliberate provocation. 

https://twitter.com/ShobhaBJP/status/1406540512807383050

The organization which is known for instigating communal riots and aiding terrorist attacks in India.  PFI, SDPI and other associated organisations have been under the scanner in UP after the anti-CAA riots that wrecked havoc in north-east Delhi. Members of the PFI were named as accused in the Bengaluru riots that took place in August 2020. PFI members were accused of killing 42-year-old PMK office member Ramalingam near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu.

Several investigation agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), have named PFI in many cases. 

In other news, involvement of several high-level officials of the forestry department aiding the Islamist PFI to carry out arms training in the dense forest has come to light.

According to investigation agencies, the appointments were made for the post of ‘forest fire watchers in all the forest areas, except for the Padam area.

PFI is involved in arms training in various parts of Kerala and now the Padam arms training camp has become the focus for intelligence agencies.

After the police found materials used to make explosives including gelatine sticks, detonators, and wires from the Padam forest area the possible terror attack emanating from Kerala has now increased.

In other development, the reason for the delay in the appointment of forest fire watchers in Padam was delayed until February 16 because the date has significance with PFI’s “Unity march” that happened on February 17.

During a search operation conducted by the Kerala Forest Department in cashew plantations under the Forest Development Corporation in Padam, Pathanapuram, and Kollam, explosive material such as Gelatin sticks-2, Detonators-4, battery, wires, guns, were discovered.

The investigating agencies discovered that over 200 Muslims were receiving arms training from this area which is known for its dense forests ideal for training terrorists in guerrilla warfare.

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Major overhaul expected in TN BJP, non-performers and others responsible for defeat to face severe action?

Top leaders of the BJP Tamil Nadu have reportedly discussed the steps to be taken to restructure the party by removing non-performing executives from party responsibilities.

Tamil Nadu went to the polls on April 6 where the BJP contested in 20 seats and the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat as part of AIADMK alliance.

Being in power at the Centre and striking an alliance with the party that was in power at the State, the BJP set a target of winning seats in double digits. National level BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah, had come down to campaign vigorously in the constituencies where the BJP and its candidates were contesting.

However, the DMK won the elections with a simple majority and came to power after 10 years. The BJP could win only four seats – Modakurichi, Coimbatore South, Nagercoil and Tirunelveli. In light of this, a high-level committee meeting of the Tamil Nadu BJP was held at a private hotel in Injambakkam, Chennai to introspect the election results.

BJP National General Secretary C.T. Ravi, senior leader Sudhakar Reddy, Tamil Nadu BJP President Dr. L. Murugan former Union Minister Pon. Radhakrishnan, State Organization Secretary Kesava Vinayagam, BJP Tamil Nadu Vice President VP Duraisamy, General Secretaries Karunagarajan and K.T. Raghavan, senior leaders CP Radhakrishnan and H. Raja,  participated. Also present were MLAs Nainar Nagendran, Vanathi Srinivasan, and some key executives of the RSS.

The meeting was supposed to happen on May 11 but could not be held as per scheduled due to the lockdown imposed by the Tamil Nadu government. Initiatlly, it was thought to be held through video conference but several leaders agreed that it would be better to meet in person and discuss. The meeting was organized at a private hotel instead of Kamalalayam to maintain confidentiality and ensure that what is discussed doesn’t get leaked.

Some of issues that were discussed were allegedly about the AIADMK not allocating the seats demanded by the BJP. and the fiasco in selecting candidates. It was also said that some of the AIADMK leaders did not work effectively in constituencies contested by the BJP. Despite raising the matter with the leadership of the AIADMK, there has not been a convincing response. It was discussed if the party should continue the alliance for the upcoming local body elections.

During the meeting, it was discussed that those with considerable influence among people and senior leaders who had come from other parties like the DMK and AIADMK would be given a Rajya Sabha ticket and even a Minister if possible. They will undertake a state-wide tour to participate in welfare work and strengthen the party at the booth level. The party has decided to remove non-performers and those responsible for the party’s poor performance in the elections and include more youngsters.

(With inputs from Dinamalar)

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“Did we give a date for fulfilling promises?” DMK Fin Min PTR on not reducing fuel prices

In yet another U-Turn made by the DMK government, the ‘accomplished’ Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan on Sunday (June 20) announced that it is not possible to cut the petrol and diesel price, something the DMK had promised in its manifesto.

Speaking to reporters, Palanivel Thiagarajan said that it was impossible to reduce VAT on petrol and dieses prices given the current situation. He went on to shift the blame on the Central government saying that the state was not get its share of revenue as the Centre is levying cess.

He gave an astounding justification for the DMK government in not reducing the VAT saying that doing so might be seen as supportive of the Central government’s move which would be an injustice to Tamil Nadu people.

When one of the reporters pointed out that reduction of petrol and diesel prices by 5 and 4 rupees respectively, the Finance Minister got agitated and responded angrily saying “Have they put any date on fulfilling the promise?”.

This has triggered a storm on social media with the opposition and other critics of the DMK lashing out at the Finance Minister for his arrogance and for cheating the public in the name of empty promises.

Some of the netizens started putting their creativity to use coming out with memes and oneliners taking a dig at the DMK and the ‘accomplished’ Finance Minister. The hashtag #தேதிபோட்டாங்களா is now trending on Twitter in light of the Finance Minister’s comment.

Doctor from Andhra ‘secretly sends away’ intersex baby to transgender community, NCTP seeks inquiry into incident

In a shocking incident that happened in Andhra Pradesh, a doctor working in a government hospital reportedly gave away a baby that was found to have intersex traits to a transgender community. The doctor was found to have given it to a Nayak from the Hijra Jamaat.

This went to the notice of Gopi Shankar, the southern regional representative of the National Council for Transgender Persons, who has sought an inquiry into the incident. It was reported that the baby had been abandoned by the parents after they were informed that it was born with intersex traits.

“Primarily, one should understand that such babies who are termed as intersex infants are not transgenders. They may be born with diverse sex characteristics which cannot be classified as male, female or transgender,” said Gopi Shankar. Gopi went on to say, “We wish that the authorities concerned, including the CWC, the District Collector and the Commissioner of Police, take up the issue and see that an inquiry is initiated. The State government should think of passing an order on the lines of Tamil Nadu.”

“More than 10,000 intersex infants are born in India. They are at risk of forced medical interventions such as sex-selective surgeries. They are also at risk of being trafficked or being handed over to the Hijra Jamaat or Haveli if parents disown them,” Gopi was quoted saying.

According to the law, sex-selective surgery is a crime and has been banned. Any related procedure is a punishable crime by law, and children born with intersex traits are to be produced before the District Child Welfare Committee (CWC). This Committee is to take care of them until adopted.

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Suriya, a mediocre product of nepotism talks about social justice radiating hypocrisy in all its glory

It is true that there exists little or no connection between the reel and real life of actors in the film industry. M.N. Nambiar who played negative roles and came across as a cruel villain on-screen was a righteous man who upheld the highest standards of morals and ethics in his real life.

But today, some actors considering themselves to be heroes both on and off-screen, virtue signalling their wokeness by mouthing dialogues in front of a camera or whenever they get hold of a mike,  turn out to be hypocrites of the highest order. What they preach and do are in direct contradiction of who they are and what they do in real life.

Suriya is one such fine actor belonging to this league.

The establishment of a committee to examine the impact of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) exam on medical admissions has once again sparked a debate on the matter, as vested interest groups have begun propaganda against NEET under the pretense of safeguarding government school children.

Suriya Sivakumar, took to his social media on Saturday (June 19) calling the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) a threat to government school students. He said that education should be a state government’s responsibility and right. The actor demanded that NEET should be abolished and added that it has been wreaking havoc in the future of students from marginalized communities and government school students.

However, the actor mouthing about ‘social justice’ and questioning the concept of competitive exams needs to be slapped with some truth and facts.

Prior to NEET, government school students in Tamil Nadu found it difficult to enroll in medical colleges. Between 2006 and 2016, only 340 government school students were admitted to government medical colleges. The best year for government schools was 2007 when 62 students were admitted. The worst year was 2013 when just 18 students made it.

Similarly, from 2007 to 2016, 74 students from government schools were admitted to aided/private medical institutions, with annual admissions in the single digits, with the exception of 2014, when 12 students were admitted.

Things changed dramatically in 2020, when the AIADMK government announced a 7.5% reservation in medical seats for government school students. The number of government school students getting a medical seat saw a drastic increase with 405 students getting admitted last year. The idea of this 7.5% internal quota was first mooted by the current BJP National President JP Nadda who advised the Tamil Nadu government when he was Health Minister to give reservation to government school students in the NEET exam.

If actor Suriya was truly worried about government school students entering in medical course, why was he silent for a decade, from 2006 to 2016, when the number of government school students enrolled in medical school was in single digits each year?

The government data also revealed that wealthy students from private schools in Erode-Namakkal region were taking the bulk of medical seats in the past before NEET. These schools that charges in lakhs put children through torture robbing them of their childhood.  The majority of the schools in that area are run by the land-owning, affluent Gounder community, that Suriya belongs to.

His deafening silence from 2006 to 2016, while Gounder caste-run schools grabbed up the majority of medical seats, and his sudden outcry when those schools lost their importance after NEET, makes one wonder if his interest is for government school students or for his caste.

However Suriya’s hypocrisy shines through his teeth when one looks at the selection process for students seeking financial help for higher education through Agaram Foundation run by the actor. According to the Agaram Foundation’s website, they have a rigorous scoring system in place to identify ‘deserving’ students. If Suriya can use a filtration method to choose deserving students for the Agaram Foundation, why can’t the government use NEET, which is also a filtration process, to select deserving students for medical school?

It is important to note that, as many as 1,633 students out of 6,692 students from government and aided schools in Tamil Nadu have cleared the NEET 2020. Students and parents have understood the politics played by Dravidian politicians which is evident from the fact that the number of students taking the NEET exam in Tamil Nadu has only been increasing year on year, with 1.17 lakh students taking the exam in 2020.

Actor Suriya, who got into the film industry because of his father Shiva Kumar, seems to be not having much luck with his films oflate. With the exception of Soorarai Potru, all of his recent films have been box office disasters, including Anjaan, Kaapan, Singham 2, Singham 3, NGK, Thaana Sentha Kootam, and others. It makes people wonder whether he’s merely making these statements to stay in the limelight.

So, Mr. Suriya, please spare us your wokeness and focus on your film career which seems to be going downhill. At the same time, it is high time people see through the hypocrisy and the double-standards of these stars who take fashionable positions while being morally bankrupt.

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DMK goes back on another poll promise, Fin Min PTR says not possible to cut petrol and diesel price

In yet another U-Turn made by the DMK government, the ‘accomplished’ Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan on Sunday (June 20) announced that it is not possible to cut the petrol and diesel price, something the DMK had promised in its manifesto.

Speaking to reporters, Palanivel Thiagarajan said that the DMK government right from the time of Karunanidhi to the present Chief Minsiter MK Stalin goes by the principle of ‘doing what they say and saying what they do’. He said that they have fulfilled the promise of giving ₹4000 as cash to people as relief despite the fiscal condition costing the government around ₹9000 crores. He added that a white paper on the Tamil Nadu’s financial status would be released soon in July.

Adding further the Palanivel Thiagarajan said that it was impossible to reduce VAT on petrol and dieses prices given the current situation. He went on to shift the blame on the Central government saying that they had increased the taxes from ₹10 in 2014 to ₹32.09 now. He said that Centre was collecting taxes in the form of cess and surcharge and keeping the revenue to itself without giving 1 paisa of the collections to the state.

He gave an astounding justification for the DMK government in not reducing the VAT saying that doing so might be seen as supportive of the Central government’s move which would be an injustice to Tamil Nadu people.

The Minister said that they are not reducing the tax now and that they they will reduce the price any time during the 5 year term.

This is not the first promise that the DMK has faulted on. Many in Tamil Nadu have complained that they have not received the cash assistance provided by the government. On June 19, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian had said that since the National Eligible Entrance Test (NEET) for medical admissions continues to exist, the students should prepare for the exam this year. The DMK had promised in its manifesto that NEET exam would be cancelled and MK Stalin in his election speeches had said that as soon as the DMK comes to power, the first signature that he would be giving is for the cancellation of NEET exam.

Opposition parties like the AIADMK and BJP has lashing out at the DMK for misleading people and going back on whatever they had promised.

BJP Tamil Nadu Spokesperson SG Suryah said that Tamil people have once again been cheated by the DMK with its empty promises.

AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan said that the Tamil Nadu Finance Minister was a living example of ’empty vessels making more noise’. He asked Palanivel Thiagarajan to deliver instead of playing blame game and asked him to quit if he can’t.

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Bhutan receives Buddha statue from India to celebrate Guru Rinpoche’s birth anniversary

India displayed its brotherhood towards Bhutan by presenting the country with a statue of the Buddha on the birth anniversary of Guru Rinpoche. He was an eighth-century Guru, born in India and propagated Buddhism in countries like Bhutan, Tibet, and the rest of southeast Asia. His birth anniversary is a national holiday in Bhutan and falls on 10th day of the 6th lunar month, which is the 20th of July this year.

The statue resembles The Buddha sitting in the padmasan posture. It weighs 200 kilos and 3.3 feet tall. It has been completely made of bronze by Naresh Kumar Kumawat, a renowned sculptor.

This was presented at a virtual conference by Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, who is the president of the ICCR. Speaking at the event, he said, “the statue symbolises not just our age-old cultural ties, but also our shared commitment to the values that Buddha taught us and the relationship between Bharat and Bhutan is laced with cultural bondage since time immemorial… What was destroyed in Nalanda and other similar places are the assets saved by your monasteries, stupas..we owe a lot to our friends in Bhutan.”

At the virtual hand-over, Bhutan’s Foreign minister Dr Tandi Dorji was present, who said, “This is a fitting tribute to our special relationship as the close bonds of friendship we enjoy today, have roots in our deep religious and spiritual connection.”

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