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“₹5 For Hand***, ₹10 For Mouth***”: DMK MP Goes On An Abusive Rant Against ‘Savukku’ Shankar And Women Journo

By
The Commune
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On 11 March 2022, DMK Rajya Sabha MP MM Abdulla unleashed an abusive tirade against two individuals, one of whom is a woman journalist, for speaking against DMK IT wing whose members allegedly harass anyone who criticizes the party on social media.

It all started with DMK supporters and cadres sharing a morphed image of political commentator ‘Savukku’ Shankar. The original image of Savukku Shankar standing with a few men at a tea shop with a file close to his armpit was morphed to look like a pimp in front of a brothel.

Enraged, Shankar stated that this was the ‘disgusting work’ of the DMK IT team of Udhayanidhi in Chinnamalai (in Chennai), which is allegedly funded by the DMK State deputy secretary of IT wing Karthik Mohan alias ‘Anna Nagar’ Karthi. Shankar implied that the Chinnamalai IT team was funded by Karthik Mohan’s money from G Square, a real estate company allegedly linked to the DMK’s first family. He also stated that DMK Rajya Sabha MP MM Abdulla visits the Chinnamalai IT wing twice a month to encourage them to engage in abusive tweets and post on those who criticize DMK on social media.

Soon after Savukku’s tweets accusing DMK IT wing members of abusive tweets, a few anonymous accounts supporting the DMK began trending meme templates depicting Savukku Shankar as a ‘pimp’.

DMK MP MM Abdulla responded to Savukku Shankar’s accusation by saying, “Savukku Shankar is claiming that the Chinnamalai IT team photoshopped him to look like a pimp. If the Chinnamalai IT team had done it, they would have depicted him as a prostitute in the Marina beach background, demanding ₹5 for hand j*b and ₹10 for blowj*b.”

When Savukku Shankar said that MK Stalin has made such a person who uses abusive language in public as a Member of Parliament, MM Abdulla abused again saying,”Hey Moothevi (a slur word about Hindu god). Then do you think MK Stalin will make a broker like you as MP?”

In response to the abusive rant, Savukku Shankar asked if the MP was drunk, to which MM Abdulla replied, “Do you think I’m a pimp like you to pour (drinks) and pimp?” DMK MP MM Abdulla further continued his rant.

In another tweet, he abused a female journalist Sonia Arunkumar, who also spoke against the cyber harassment meted out by a few Dravidian Stockists. Linking Savukku Shankar and Sonia Arunkumar sexually, DMK MP MM Abdulla said,” I’m now a member of Parliament. Had I been a troll master like before… I would have posted the ‘Kaathal’ movie meme template showing them (Shankar and Sonia) as ‘Maama and Maami, a good combination’. Now that I am an MP I should not do that. It is wrong.”

Journalist Sonia Arunkumar responded to the sexual remarks by saying, “This is how he serves the state by becoming an MP. His sole accomplishment was inspiring four retards to pursue anyone who criticized them. I would have referred to him disrespectfully if he hadn’t been an MP.

This abusive rant of DMK MP MM Abdulla received backlash on social media. However, no mainstream media has covered the DMK MP’s vulgar rant.

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“Those Who Started New Parties With CM Ambitions Are Roaming Like Political Orphans”: MK Stalin Says

By
The Commune
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A meeting was organized at Chinniyampalayam, Coimbatore to welcome members from other parties who joined the DMK. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin presided the event as the chief guest.

Around 4000 Members from different parties like AIADMK, DMDK, Thamizhaga Munnetra Kazhagam and Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Mmiam (MNM) joined the DMK in the presence of party president MK Stalin.

MK Stalin welcome the newly-joined members with party’s veshti (white veshti with red black border) and other paraphernalia.

Addressing the members, MK Stalin said that those who floated new political parties with the dream of becoming Chief Minister  are no where today.

“We’re seeing new parties that appear suddenly. Such parties claim that they will form the government just one day after its formation or on the same day or even before forming. Those who said, ‘I am the next Chief Minister’, ‘We will only come to power’, and formed parties with such intentions, we’re witnessing to what extent they have gone, and how they are roaming like orphans.”, MK Stalin said.

It is worth mentioning that the recent political parties that claimed to be an alternative to both Dravidian parties initially was Kamal Haasan’s MNM. Kamal Haasan had openly expressed his ambition to become Chief Minister and change fate of Tamil Nadu forever. However, he has today moved closer to the DMK alliance with the MNM openly coming out in support of DMK-ally Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan in the recently-concluded Erode East Assembly Elections.

Many on social media wondered if Stalin was indirectly taking a jibe at Kamal Haasan.

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Corruption In Toilet? GCC Awards ₹432 Cr Contract To Pvt Player For Building 372 Toilets

By
The Commune
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The proposal of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to construct toilets at a cost of more than a crore per toilet drew criticism from the public and sparked concerns about whether public funds were being looted in the name of constructing toilets.

On Wednesday (March 8), a ceremony was held on behalf of Greater Chennai Corporation to award a contract for the construction of toilets in areas of Rayapuram, Thiruvika Nagar, and Teynampet in the Chennai district.

It is said that the contract for building and maintaining the toilets has been given to a private player. A budget of ₹430 crores has been set aside by Greater Chennai Corporation to construct 372 toilets. However, the name of the private player has not been made public.

It is worth noting that the Greater Chennai Corporation has laid the groundwork for a 13,708-square-meter park as part of the ‘Singhara Chennai 2.0’ project, near the mint flyover on Basin Bridge Road in Chennai’s district.

This raises a number of concerns about the GCC project to construct toilets at a cost of more than a crore each. Why should Chennai Corporation award a contract to construct 372 restrooms at a cost of ₹432 crores if it can construct a 13,700 square meter park on its own for 5 crores?

Netizens questioned if they are building toilets or a five-star hotel.

(with inputs from Dinakaran and Malaimalar)

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Puthiya Tamizhagam Dr Krishnasamy: DMK Is Doing Politics In Banning Online Rummy Like NEET Exam

By
The Commune
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Dr. Krishnasamy, President of the Puthiya Tamizhagam Party, has stated that the DMK is doing politics in banning online Rummy gambling similar to the NEET exam.

While addressing a press conference in Chennai on February 10th, Dr. Krishnasamy said, “What has the governor to do with this bill? Why can’t the CM and his son visit Raj Bhavan, which is close by, when they can travel to Delhi? Why are you looking at Governor as an alien? Why don’t the chief minister, his son, or a DMK minister go straight to the governor and tell him that online rummy is making people suffer? What’s holding them back? There is no point in blaming the governor for Rummy issue.”

He said, “Even after two years in power, the DMK has not kept its election promise to measure electricity once a month. Various protests were held on behalf of the New Tamil Nadu Party and other parties in this regard. DMK is mistaken in believing that people will eventually forget their promises.”

He further added, “The Erode by-election victory, which was marred by many irregularities, should be annulled and a re-election should be held. The DMK government has no intention of banning online gambling.”

He went on to say, “Every time a law is proposed for legislation, it should be done with the intention of passing it; however, the DMK government is only doing this for the sake of passing a law. Like NEET, this is a diversion played by them (DMK). DMK is doing politics in banning online Rummy gambling like it was doing politics in the NEET exam.”

He said, “The governor has made a compelling argument that only the central government has the legal authority to legislate on online gambling. Instead of blaming the governor, the DMK government should investigate legally and take action.”

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“United We Stand, Divided We Fall”: A Word Of Caution For EPS And Annamalai

By
The Commune
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There is a friction that is straining the ties between BJP Tamil Nadu led by K. Annamalai and the Edappadi K. Palaniswami-led AIADMK. This friction has turned intense following the exit of CTR Nirmal Kumar who headed the IT wing of BJP Tamil Nadu. Nirmal Kumar jumped ship to AIADMK owing to his differences with Annamalai. It wouldn’t have mattered if he had just resigned and joined another party. However, just moments before his formal announcement of joining the AIADMK, he left a resignation letter in bad taste. This is being seen as a political move by Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) in order to gain upper hand over the BJP and as a distraction tactic to shift the focus away from the AIADMK’s drubbing in Erode East by-poll

As a result of this episode, there is a friction with cadres and supporters of both sides smoking and leaving sparks in support of their respective leaders.

Speculation is also rife that AIADMK leader EPS is going to ditch Narendra Modi for Rahul Gandhi for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to get minority votes.

With political strategist Sunil Kanugolu having worked with EPS and is currently working for the Congress, this speculation has been gaining credence.

On the other side, there is Thirumavalavan who seems to be dejected in the DMK alliance as evident from his recent speech, waiting for the AIADMK to severe ties with BJP so that he can ditch the DMK or at least leverage it for bargaining more seats in 2024 Lok Sabha elections within the DMK alliance.

The EPS-led AIADMK alliance polled nearly 40% in the 2021 Assembly polls. Booth-wise study will show that a majority of that 40% were predominantly Hindu votes.

 On the other hand, DMK polled 45% to emerge victorious and out of which say 20% in absolute terms were minority votes. A rough calculation would would make one arrive at this number – for every 8 Hindus who voted for EPS, only 5 voted for Stalin.

Yet DMK emerged victorious as parties like NTK and AMMK led by TTV Dinakaran spoiled the chances for ADMK led alliance in many seats as they ate into ADMK’s vote bank.

EPS has to understand minorities never backed ADMK over the last 50 years. It is consolidation of the dominant Other Backward Communities, Scheduled Castes plus Forward Community votes which helped AIADMK rule the state for a record 31 out of 50 years of its existence. 

EPS lost 2021 not because minorities did not vote for him but because TTV Dhinakaran led AMMK sabotaged AIADMK’s chances in more than 20 seats and the AIADMK had no strong regional satrap to win the KTCC region covering Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur, Chennai and Chengalpattu districts where AIADMK lost 35 out of 36 seats.

Inability of EPS to accommodate TTV Dhinakaran and inability of the party to groom a satrap in Chennai were the reasons for the defeat, not minority votes as minorities would not have voted for AIADMK anyways going by past history.

EPS must realize that there is no anti-Modi wave in Tamil Nadu now like 2019 and there is a huge underlying anti-incumbency and Hindu grouse against the incumbent DMK government.

This anti-incumbency could potentially swing 5% more in NDA’s favour in 2024 and help them take a lead over UPA provided the alliance exists till 2024.

If EPS accommodates AMMK along with BJP, PMK and numerous smaller outfits and leads NDA in TN in 2024, he would be spearheading a strong united NDA that can potentially repeat 1998 LS polls outcome in 2024 by winning 25+ seats and 45%+ votes. 

If EPS ditches Modi-led BJP, DMK alliance will romp home in all 39 seats with even just 40% votes and EPS stands the risk of finishing third behind Annamalai-led BJP. In such a scenario, both the BJP and the AIADMK will score ducks with 20-25% votes each. 

EPS stands the risk of losing many strong satraps in future even in Kongu region to BJP if he ditches Modi for Rahul. These satraps along with TTV, OPS and BJP could emerge as a far bigger electoral combination for EPS to tackle.

EPS indirectly contributed to the growth of BJP big by letting them stand alone in the recently concluded local body polls. With anti-Modi wave waning out, EPS risks the chance of letting BJP emerge as the second largest party in 2024 and he getting relegated to the third place by going with Rahul.

EPS proved he is a sensible and a shrewd administrator as a Chief Minister. He also proved to be a jack of the political trade by successfully keeping the party together in the years after Jayalalithaa.

Hope he proves his shrewdness and political deft once again by not ditching Modi for Rahul.

None can pull off another a MGR or a Jayalalithaa in AIADMK henceforth. Both of them were phenomena. Though EPS can’t become one of them, he can rise in his stature only if he wins 2026. And to win 2026, he needs Modi by his side all the more than Rahul given the fact BJP is growing fast in Tamil Nadu. He gains by being with BJP because of the latter’s ability to complement AIADMK electorally through consolidation of Hindu and anti-DMK votes.

If EPS-led NDA could garner 8 Hindu votes for every 5 garnered by DMK in 2021, it can easily garner 9 or even 10 Hindu votes for every 5 DMK is going to garner in 24 by aligning with Modi-led BJP given the changing ground realities and the emergence of BJP in Tamil Nadu. BJP is no longer a liability for AIADMK given the changed dynamics. In fact, it could tilt the scales in AIADMK’s favour big time. It is up to EPS to realise this and act accordingly.

At the same time, the BJP in Tamil Nadu is a fast-growing party but is yet to match the organizational structure that the DMK or AIADMK has at present. Annamalai’s infectious energy has got the cadres enthused and has given a new zeal to the party. His upcoming padayatra across Tamil Nadu will definitely help in strengthening the party’s presence. However, he will need the support of AIADMK atleast for the next two elections – 2024 Lok Sabha and 2026 Assembly Elections, to put up a fight against a united DMK front. Of course, a lot can happen over this timeline.

If the BJP decides to go alone for 2024, it has to end the alliance now so that the cadres and voters can be prepped in the run up to the elections. If it keeps the tension simmering between them and AIADMK but finally strike an alliance with AIADMK closer to elections, it would only be a name-sake alliance with no chemistry on the ground. The BJP should negotiate and convince the AIADMK leadership to go with the MGR formula (more seats for Lok Sabha elections while settling for less seats in Assembly).

One thing is clear. The enemy is united and rock-solid, as on date. A fractured fight is no fight. The need of the hour is a strong united front that can take on the enemy head-on.

Remember – United we stand, divided we fall.

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After Online Outrage, TNM Rephrases Article In Which It Justified Setting Ablaze of Hindu Man By Muslim ‘Friend’ During Holi

By
The Commune
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On the occasion of Holi on Tuesday (March 7), a man named Mohammad Shabbir in Telangana set his ‘friend’ Anjaiah on fire simply because the latter smeared colors on him. ‘The News Minute,’ which covered the incident, attempted to portray the perpetrator of the crime in a less negative light trying to shift the blame on the Hindu victim.

The online outlet meticulously wrote their article to defend the man’s rage for assaulting his friend. However, the news organization subtly changed the text of the report after enraged Twitter users called attention to the impudence.

When describing Muhammed Shabbir’s gruesome murder, TNM stated that the accused Shabbir felt so disrespected and insulted that he doused Anjaiah in petrol and set him ablaze, trying to project that Anjaiah committed the crime rather than the accused Shabbir.

A Twitter user named Sai called out TNM’s one-sided story, tagging Dhanya Rajendran, Editor-in-Chief of TNM, and asking, “Who writes copy like this? It almost sounds like a justification. Even by #TNMurasoli standards, this is terrible.”

https://twitter.com/Saiarav/status/1633914637552066562?s=20

Later, TNM changed the text of the writing without issuing an apology for the original version after receiving backlash on social media for their insensitive writing.

The person who called attention to this offensive writing claimed that Dhanya Rajendran, who deleted the tweet and edited the text, would give a sermon on media ethics.

https://twitter.com/Saiarav/status/1634096950420316160?s=20

It should be noted that the article by The News Minute was released on March 9, two days after the horrifying incident in which a Hindu man was mercilessly set ablaze by one Mohammed Shabbir for no other reason than that he had applied some color to him. The TNM’s headline stated: “Upset at being smeared with color, a man allegedly sets friend ablaze in Telangana.” The News Minute, as seen in the headline, defended the offender from the beginning by implying that the victim was to blame for smearing Muhammed Shabbir with colors during Holi.

The bias displayed by TNM in its coverage of the incident was quickly brought to light by users online. As a result of the controversy on Twitter, the media outlet quietly changed the article’s text. The two words “Insulted and disrespected” that had been used to defend the horrifying crime committed by Mohammad Shabbir were removed from the revised article.

(With inputs from OpIndia)

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Union Government Releases 14th Instalment Of Tax Devolution To State Governments

By
The Commune
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Featyre Image Credits:xy

The Union Government has released 14th instalment of tax devolution to State Governments amounting to ₹1,40,318 crore today, as against normal monthly devolution of ₹70,159 crore.

This is in line with the commitment of Government of India to strengthen the hands of States to accelerate their capital and developmental expenditure.

State-wise breakup of amounts released is given below in the table:

(With inputs from PIB)

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Sahil Sayyed In Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar Booked For Raping Hindu Woman

By
The Commune
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Maharashtra Police on 6 March 2023 registered an FIR against one Sahil Mohammed Shakir Sayyed for forcing Hindu woman to have sexual relations and issuing death threats to her. The accused also reportedly forced the woman to follow Islamic rituals and practices.

The complaint has been filed under IPC sections 376 (rape), 377, 504 (insult intended to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), and also under sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s), 3(2) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

According to the FIR copy obtained by OpIndia, the victim and the man got married as per the Islamic rituals in the year 2022. The woman post-marriage got a new Islamic name and began staying with her husband in the Mukundnagar area of the city. The accused, after a few days, began eyeing the Hindu female friends of the victim and would harass them by calling them at odd times. He would also defame the victim woman on calls.

The incident came to light when one of the female friends of the victim called her and informed her about Sayyed. She complained that the latter called at 1:30 midnight one day and harassed her over the phone. Later, the accused also happened to issue death threats to the victim woman. The woman then reached the police station and registered a complaint against her husband.

The accused was called and the matter was somehow settled by the police. The duo then reached home, where the accused turned furious and picked up a rod to hit the woman for approaching the police. However, to save herself from the beatings, the woman consumed a bottle of chemicals. She was immediately taken to the hospital by the accused. The incident is said to have happened on December 21, 2022.

Sayyed then asked the victim to go to her maternal aunt for rest till January 10 this year. But in the meantime, he brought another Hindu woman to his home and began staying with her. The victim never returned to her home after December 21 and began staying with her sister, as per the FIR.

The man then forced the woman to return and stay together with him and his new wife. On refusal, he barged into her residence and established sexual relations with her without her permission. The woman in the complaint mentioned that she was brutally raped and assaulted by the accused.

“He raped me and forced me to stay with him and his new wife. He also told me that he wanted to establish sexual relations with me and his new wife at the very same time. He said he wanted to see how it feels. I refused. He then threatened me and used abusive language for my family,” the woman stated in the complaint.

As per the complaint, Sayyed has also snatched all her jewellery and assets including Rs 1.25 lakhs and is refusing to return them. The woman further said that the accused has a total of 3 wives including the new one. He has issued death threats to the victim and has been using derogatory language for the family members of the victim.

The complaint in the case has been registered under IPC sections 376 (rape), 377, 504 (insult intended to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and also under sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s), 3(2) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

This report was originally published in OpIndia and has been republished here with permission.

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Telangana CM Daughter Postpones ED Meeting For Protest in Delhi

By
The Commune
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Telangana’s ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi party’s (BRS) former MP, current MLC and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter, K Kavitha decided to prioritise a women’s “protest” over a summon from the Enforcement Directory (ED) regarding her involvement in the Delhi government’s Liquor Scam.

Kavitha’s brother and the CM’s son, KT Rama Rao, is the state’s Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries & Commerce as well as Information Technology. The CM’s nephew, T Harish Rao is the Minister of the Medical – Health, and Finance Department of Telangana. 

With four members of the Telangana CM’s immediate family in important State Ministerial positions and key BRS party posts, including the CM himself, the BRS party has developed a reputation of a typical Indian regional dynastic political party. 

Dominated by one family in a typical dynastic manner, Telangana’s BRS party members are expected to support and rally behind CM K Chandrasekar Rao’s family, regardless of the matter at hand. One scandal that refuses to go away; one that the CM’s family and his party are unable to exercise their power and influence over, is the infamous Delhi “Liquorgate” scam that the CM’s daughter, K Kavitha is reported to be involved in and being investigated for, by both the CBI and the ED investigative agencies. 

While the BRS party, parroting the words of other opposition parties, claims that Kavitha’s case is one of political vendetta by the BJP, the state’s BJP asks why, although they have made statements indicating cooperation. The BRS party and Kavitha are uncomfortable with an ED investigation into the matter. It is still unclear why Kavitha is not yet able to furnish any conclusive evidence of her non-involvement in the Delhi liquor scam, which involves big names like Aam Aadmi Party’s Manish Sisodia.

Critics also question Kavitha’s hesitation and eventual postponement of her scheduled enquiry/ED investigation, if indeed, she has no financial irregularities to hide and she is indeed innocent as claimed by BRS party leaders. Kavitha asked for a postponement of the original ED date of Thursday, March 9. She will now appear before the ED on March 11, after leading a women’s reservation protest in Delhi, on March 10. The CBI had earlier interrogated Kavitha, filed charges, and summoned her for questioning, based on the CBI’s reports. 

The BRS party’s K Kavitha and her “NGO”, Bharath Jagruthi, plan to stage a dharna/protest involving a women’s reservation bill,  just in time, when Kavitha is trying to fight negative publicity for herself, her political family, and her father’s BRS party with regards to the Delhi liquor scam. It is expected that around 500 people will sit on a hunger strike, demanding the Centre to pass a Women’s Reservation Bill, to ensure a 33% reservation for women in the Parliament and State Legislatures.

Critics are questioning the timing of the “protest” and asking why Kavitha, the BRS party, and other opposition parties didn’t sincerely strive for a larger women’s political and legislative representation/reservation earlier – why did they wait till now and what are all these political parties doing for women’s political participation and reservation, within their own parties? 

The BJP points out that it has had a better track record of women’s representation and offering key legislative positions to its women leaders, than most of the other political parties. Critics ask why Kavitha’s BRS party or the several other parties joining today’s protest, had not put on a tough fight for a women’s reservation bill during the tenure of the earlier non-BJP regime. 

Other opposition parties who see an opportunity at being in the right place, at the right time, are also expected to help Kavitha put on a show at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. It is to be noted that her father, Telangana’s current CM, Chandrasekar Rao tried to create a third front of sorts back in January 2023, to showcase his national ambitions and a semi-opposition unity (not all opposition parties chose to join his bandwagon) under his leadership. 

Kavitha’s Delhi protest is expected to bring several Opposition parties together. Opposition leaders who have agreed to participate in support of the Women’s Reservation Bill include, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Omar Abdullah, leaders from Kavitha’s own BRS party, and others leaders from the National Conference, PDP, Akali Dal, Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal (U), RJD, Samajwadi Party, CPI, CPM, DMK, NCP, Shiv Sena, Aam Aadmi Party, and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.

It appears that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has directed current Telangana ministers, Satyavathi Rathod and P Sabitha Indra Reddy along with women MPs, MLAs, and MLCs from the BRS party to actively participate in his daughter’s Delhi protest.

Mild tension had prevailed at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Thursday, after the Delhi Police asked the Bharat Jagruthi (an “NGO” led by K Kavitha) to confine itself to one-half of the requested protest area as they had granted permission on the same day, for another BJP-led protest against the Delhi government’s Excise/liquor policy scam, in which, ironically,  Kavitha is being investigated. As of last night, the BRS-led protest was permitted to utilise the whole ground as originally requested. It is reported that the BJP decided to hold its liquorgate protest at a different venue, the Deendayal Marg. 

Kavitha said earlier “I request President Draupadi Murmu to ensure passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill.” In the same breath, Kavitha complimented Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for having backed the Women’s Reservation Bill despite leading a coalition government at the Centre! The BJP is scoffing at the BRS’s attempt to score points with the Congress, even as both parties launch scathing attacks at each other in the state, as Telangana’s state elections draw closer.

Kavitha’s involvement in the liquorgate scam is via her close business association and related activities with Butchibabu Gorantla, a Hyderabad based Chartered Accountant and Anil Kumar Boinapally, a Hyderabadi businessman. A group of individusls from the South with proven links to both Andhra’s YSR party and Telangana’s BRS party (informally referred to as “the South group” by the ED) are reported to have struck a financial deal with certain decision makers of Delhi’s AAP party for the cartelization of Delhi’s liquor purchase/import, distribution and sale.

Ex-Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia’s secretary/ PA went on record, exposing evidence of the ‘South Group’s’ ₹100 Cr illicit payments to the AAP’s coffers.

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The Pagan Origins Of Women’s Day

By
Ondippulee Ondippulee
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As with any other “International Day”, women’s day has its origin in history, particularly Greco-Roman that got transmogrified into Catholicism as we know it today. 

Transmogrification refers to the act or process of being transformed into a different form. In theology, this refers to the process when one religious cult, co-opts, or modifies an existing festival or ritual and makes it their own. We will see below how Catholicism was good at this.

Before going into history we have to be familiar with 2 terms – Equinox and Solstice. Equinox refers to the time of the year when the day and night are of mostly equal length, occurring in March and September. Solstice refers to the days with the longest and shortest sunlight times respectively, occurring in June and December. Please note that these reverse in the Southern Hemisphere, however as all documented civilizations developed in the Northern Hemisphere, we will stick with the Northern perspectives.

These days signify change in seasons and are hence called as:

  1. March Equinox – Vernal Equinox
  2. June Solstice – Summer Solstice
  3. September Equinox – Autumnal Equinox
  4. December Solstice – Winter Solstice

Now, the Vernal Equinox is also called the Spring Equinox as it signifies the end of Winter and the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere particularly above the tropic of Cancer. As a result, a lot of bronze age civilizations developed holidays or feasts to celebrate this day as the day to welcome spring. The arrival of spring is a very well documented celebration in Mesopotamia, Egypt and in Chinese civilizations, apart from our own. The festival is a celebration of the sacred feminine.

Having understood the Vernal Equinox, we have to get inside the Greco-Roman Pantheon of Gods. The Greek Goddess of harvest and agriculture was Demeter, and her daughter through Zeus was Persephone, the Greek Goddess of spring and vegetation. The myth is that she was kidnapped by her uncle Hades and taken to the underworld, her uncle raped and forcefully married her. As she stayed in the underworld for a long time, she also became the Goddess of the underworld.

After some time, she was rescued by Demeter with the help of Zeus. Her homecoming coincided with the Vernal Equinox and was celebrated as the day of Persephone’s uniting with her mother Demeter. This day or feast signified the arrival of spring. 

Now in the middle republican era, Rome conquered Greece. Interestingly, in the Roman pantheon, Liber Pater (free father) was the God of male fertility and freedom and his female counterpart was Libera. Around the 200s BCE, during the conquest of Greece by Romans, Persephone and her mother Demeter were part of the Eleusinian Mysteries based out of ancient Elefsina, the most recent version of the ancient Greek religion. The initiation ceremonies into this mystery cult are well documented at this time.

During this time, as Rome co-opted Greek culture, Persephone was transmogrified into the Latinised Proserpina. This happened around 205 BCE. These divine alliances were formed as the Romans wanted to defeat Carthage in the Second Punic War. Proserpina was now the new Libera, or the Goddess of fertility, freedom, spring, vegetation and underworld. The Spring Equinox by this time was a feast in honour of the new Goddess Proserpina in the Greco-Roman world. As you may know, the Roman calendar was filled with Holidays and feasts in honour of their ever expanding Pantheon of Gods and Goddesses.

This feast continued for over 500 years or till the 4th century CE. Please note that by this time, there was no New Testament and followers of Jesus or Cristianos were mostly outlawed. It was around 305 CE that Constantine mooted the idea of the new religion, Catholicism. Now, as Catholicism as a religion was being invented, the existing Roman feasts and holidays had to be Catholicised for being considered Abrahamic enough. It was because, unlike most ancient religions and civilizations from the Americas to Asia, where the earth, the nature, the planets, the Sun were considered living Gods, Abrahamics or the previous Old Testament considered them to be created for the use of man. 

Hence, as a part of this exercise, the feast of Proserpina, was transmogrified into the day of annunciation, the day when Gabriel the Angel announced to Maria that she was the chosen one to carry the seed of God. Now another interesting part that most of us miss is the fact that the virgin birth concept is not original to Catholicism. It has existed in many Mediterranean cultures including the ancient Egyptians. In fact, no festivals, or myths or legends are original to Catholicism, which is another story for another time.

Thus was born the day of annunciation or the Lady’s day. In Spanish, this is called the Fiesta de la Anunciación and in Latin is called annuntiatio.

In modern days, with the rise in Feminist movements, 8th March is accepted as Women’s day which is the most recent transmogrification of the Annunciation day which itself was taken from the Greco-Roman feast of Proserpina. The original feast was a celebration of the sacred feminine who was an equal to her male counterparts in western world. However, her downfall began with the advent of Abrahamic religion, the sacred feminine lost her role in Western and Middle Eastern societies.

So, there is the story of women’s day that is purely derived from Catholicism, the invented religion of the Romans of late antiquity, though she never is considered an equal to man. Thus in conclusion, we may safely say that we the Sanatanis are the only living children of ancient civilizations that accords equal if not a pedestal above for the sacred Feminine, the Shakthi, the seed bearer of all life on earth, and beyond. Our Holi festival is a direct witness to this. Instead of blindly copying what the west tells us, be proud of our own culture and heritage while we celebrate Women’s day and pay respects to Her, just like our ancients taught us to do so.

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