Today’s protest organised by the Kerala government at Jantar Mantar on February 8 (Thursday) was on the attacks on federalism by the Centre, especially anomalies in devolution of resources, turned out to be a gathering of Opposition States.

Besides Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who inaugurated the protest, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann joined the protests. Senior political leaders such as CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D. Raja, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Rajya Sabha member and lawyer Kapil Sibal, Tamil Nadu Minister and DMK leader Palanivel Thiaga Rajan and several Ministers, MPs and MLAs belonging to the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala too attended the gathering. Members of INDIA bloc partners other than the Congress and the Trinamool Congress also participated in the protest.

Facts

For every one-rupee Maharashtra gives Centre, it gets back Rs 0.08 paise, Karnataka gets Rs 0.15 paise, Gujarat gets Rs 0.28 paise, TN Rs 0.29 paise, while UP gets Rs 2.73 and Bihar gets Rs 7.06. At some stage, ‘penalising’ states for better demographic and economic performance was always going to become an issue. That most of these states are south of the Vindhyas and are opposition ruled gives their demands a political edge. Besides, the flood-hit opposition ruled states like Himachal Pradesh (HP) and TN and drought hit Karnataka have also claimed that their relief funds delayed. Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee has been vociferously claiming that Bengal’s MNREGA funds are being denied. Interestingly, way back a decade, when Narendra Modi was chief minister (CM), Gujarat, he used to make claims that the then UPA government was discriminating against Gujarat? Today’s detailed state issues are the manner in which the 16th Finance Commission has disbursed funds. The issue is crucial for co-operative federalism to be more than just a slogan

Democratic protest: Vijayan

In his inaugural address on Thursday morning, Mr. Vijayan said when federalism is destroyed, it will cause losses to all the States. “On top of that are the politically motivated actions against non-BJP-run States. Efforts are on by certain sections to depict the genuine demands of States as an issue of north-south divide. It is totally untrue, unfounded and baseless. Ours is a democratic protest against the undoing of federal structure and the sheer discrimination against the States irrespective of north-south considerations. However, taking into account the interests of our people and our State, we cannot be quiet,” he said.

Governors creating impediments: Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal said the situation has become such that the States have to come to Jantar Mantar to protest demanding their rights. “Mr. Vijayan is not here to ask some money for his family. He is here to get the allocations due to Kerala,” said Mr. Kejriwal, adding that other than denying resources, the Centre is using Governors and Lieutenant Governors to create impediments to the Opposition-ruled governments.

He referred to the arrests of Opposition leaders and said it is “a tactic” used by the BJP to silence Opposition. “We, the Opposition parties, represent 70 crore people of this country. Are you considering these States as your enemies?” Mr. Kejriwal asked, seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s explanation on the “attacks on federal rights.”

Mr. Mann said the Centre has denied shares of revenues to Punjab too. He said the BJP is “busy communalising” the country and that Punjab needs no lessons from the Sangh Parivar on patriotism.

DMK Lok Sabha MPs wear black robes to protest over non-allocation of funds to Tamil Nadu

Meanwhile, at another venue outside Parliament, beside the Gandhi statue, DMK member G Selvam said they are protesting against Centre not releasing flood relief funds. It has been raising the issue for last few days both inside and outside Parliament.

DMK wore black robes in protest against Centre over non allocation of requisite funds to Tamil Nadu in the interim budget. “We are wearing black robes in protest against Centre not releasing flood relief funds,” DMK member G Selvam told PTI. The DMK has been raising the issue of non-allocation of funds for the last few days both inside and outside Parliament.

Related:

Karnataka leads the southern states’ protest against squeeze of funds by Modi regime

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Thiruvananthapuram: A collective of eight independent church organisations has asked Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to intervene and stall the transfer orders issued to five nuns who had protested against rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal.
 
“The rape survivor and the other five nuns, Sr. Anupama, Sr. Josephine, Sr. Alphy, Sr. Ancitta and Sr. Neena Rose who supported her in the case against Franco Mulakkal are facing an imminent threat of being separated and sent away from Kerala by their congregation, the Missionaries of Jesus. Ever since they participated in the month-long agitation held at Vanchi square, they were individually targeted and harassed within the convent by the church authorities,” Save Our Sisters (SOS) wrote in the letter.
 

The collective urged the state government to “initiate immediate action” to stall the orders asking the nuns to move out of their present convent, “where the government is giving them protection till the trial is completed”.
 
Earlier this month, the Catholic Church ordered four nuns – Alphy Pallasseril, Anupama Kelamangalathuveliyil, Josephine Villoonnickal and Ancitta Urumbil – to leave the Kuravilangad convent and return to the convents that had been assigned to them between March and May. The following week, the fifth nun – Neena Rose Edathil – was also asked to report to the Missionaries of Jesus congregation’s Jalandhar convent.
 
Mulakkal has been accused of raping a nun belonging to the order of Missionaries of Jesus several times between 2014 and 2016. He spent three weeks at Pala jail before he got bail.
 
SOS was concerned about the nuns safety and the future of the case. “Now that the case is being actively pursued by the state, the Congregation has strengthened its pressure tactics against the nuns in an obvious attempt to weaken the case by influencing and interfering in their evidence. The four nuns who are supporting the rape survivor, who are also key witnesses in the case against Franco Mulakkal, have been asked to join different convents in Punjab, Jharkhand, Bihar and Kannur. Sr. Neena Rose is being asked by the church to appear before the authorities in Jalandhar by Jan 26, where Franco Mulakkal is at present housed, and explain her actions. All five of them are key witnesses in the case. This act of commanding the nun for personal appearance amounts to a direct intervention of church authorities in weakening their case, and throttling their voice from the public sphere,” they wrote.
 
SOS also spoke about how another nun was obstructing justice and harassing the protesting sisters. “It is apparent that the Congregation is ensuring that the key witnesses are moved out of the Kerala police jurisdiction, but at the same time accessible to Franco Mulakkal and his supporters. It needs to be emphasized here that Sr. Regina, the Mother Superior, who has directed the sister for a personal appearance at Jalandhar is a strong supporter of Bishop Franco and had voluntarily deposed before the police in his defence. Besides, she had also come out explicitly against the nuns both in print and visual media. It is also evident that Sr. Regina denied opportunity to Sr. Neena Rose to appear for the final examination of her Post Graduate course. Apart from this, Sr. Anupama was compelled by Franco Mulakkal to write an apology in November 2017, and Sr. Regina was instrumental in making this happen. It needs to be noted with a high amount of suspicion that since Sr. Regina is directly involved in commanding a witness to go to Jalandhar, where Franco Mulakkal reportedly resides, the highest offices of power in the church is being misused for the illegal protection of Franco Mulakkal,” they wrote.
 
“In this context, it is to be noted that one of the main witnesses, in this case, Fr. Kuriakose Kattuthara died under suspicious circumstances in Jalandhar after Franco Mulakkal was released on bail. Fr. Kattuthara’s relatives have raised this issue and they suspect a well-planned murder. We strongly believe that by enforcing the transfer order issued to the nuns supporting the survivor/witnesses, the congregation of Missionaries of Jesus is, in fact, helping the accused Franco Mulakkal to come in contact with the witnesses in a bid to influence their evidence. In effect, the congregation authorities are liable for criminal obstruction of justice. Also, the effort to scatter the nuns should also be read as an attempt to destabilise the solidarity that they have built within the church and among the public around this issue,” they added.
 
Speaking about the Witness Protection Scheme, they added that the congregation was impinging upon the nuns rights. “Further, in the Witness Protection Scheme 2018 approved by the Supreme Court of India, the section “Types of Protection Measures” envisages that the authorities should ensure that “witness and accused do not come face to face during investigation or trial”. The principle underlying the Witness Protection Scheme is to see that the accused and his supporters never threaten or intimidate the witness or endanger their lives or use any kind of force or influence over them. Hence, the congregation of Missionaries of Jesus is bound to extend protection and support to the rape survivor and the nuns (witnesses) who rallied around her. Moreover, the state is also bound to ensure their safety and ensure safeguards guaranteed under law,” they said.
 
They said, “It is now a well-known fact that the accused Franco Malakal enjoys immense clout among his congregation members, priests, nuns and laity alike, inside and outside Kerala. We strongly fear that any move to get the nuns, who are key witnesses in the case, out of their convent where police protection is already ensured will be disastrous and is likely to annul their evidence and may even put their lives at risk. Under these circumstances, we urge the government to ensure that their lives and safety are not endangered by enforcing the transfer order.”
 

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Image: PTI

The flamboyant chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 18 against the Delhi University’s alleged discriminationagainst students who include certain subjects in their “best of four” while seeking admission. In his letter, Vijayan says,  “It has been reported that several languages included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, including Malayalam, are not a part of the Modern Indian Languages list considered by the university. It means they cannot be included in calculation of the “best of four” marks, which determines the aggregate score for admission into DU.” Aspiring students who can include languages like Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Kannada, Marathi and Malayalam in their “best of four” aggregate are subjected to a 2.5%-deduction in their total marks, because these languages are not “academic subjects” listed by the University, he said.

Thus, says Vijayan, the DU admission procedures was violative of the Constitution. “It is a matter of great concern that a Central University is penalising their prospective students on the basis of their language, when it ought to lead by example in ensuring national integration,” the letter further said.He urged the prime minister to take necessary steps to ensure that all languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution are included in the university’s admission process.Dean of Colleges Devesh Sinha said he is not aware of such a letter, according to The Indian Express. “If it comes to us, we will look into it,” he was quoted as saying.
 

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A young woman who was allegedly raped repeated by a godman for the past three years, chopped off his genitals with a knife before he could do it one more time.

The 54-year-old named Sreehari, is also known as Ganga Shashwatapada Swamy. The swamy who is from an ashram is Kerala’s Kollam district has been admitted to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.

The woman complained to the police that she was the repeated of repeated sexual assaults by the man for the past three years, since she was a minor. On Friday, when he attempted a fresh assault, she sliced off his genitals with a sharp knife. The attacker was later taken to the hospital by the girl’s family.

A case under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) has been registered against the man. The victim’s mother has been taken into police custody as well as she is believed to have worked in connivance with the godman.

The Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has come out in support of the young woman saying, “It was a courageous step, no doubt about it.”
 

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The BJP MLA from Hyderabad's Goshamahal constituency, T Raja Singh on Saturday posted a Facebook video threatening to stop the meeting organised by the CPI(M), which will be attended by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on March 19 in Hyderabad.

Alleging that several RSS workers have been killed from when the CPI(M) government came into power in the state, the BJP MLA stated that the “Hindu community is not safe in Kerala."

"The Kerala CM, who is a murderer of Hindus, is invited to the event on March 19 in Nizam College. I strongly oppose this and will not allow the event to happen. I will go to any extent to stop the meeting,” he said.

He also went on to say that the Telangana Chief Minister and police could take his words as an appeal or as a warning.

“If the CM is not stopped from coming to the meeting. I will also come with my supporters, and conduct a meeting. After that Telangana police and government will be responsible for any law and order problem,” he added.

Reacting to Raja Singh's claims, CPI(M) leader BV Raghavulu has also reacted.

"Our meeting has government and police permission. If Raja Singh has guts, let him obstruct the meeting. We know to deal with the BJP and its leaders like Raja Singh," he told Deccan Chronicle.

This comes days after an RSS leader from Ujjain put a bounty of Rs 1 crore on Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan's head.

Raja Singh himself, is no stranger to controversy. 

Last year, on July 30, he posted a video on Facebook saying that the assault on Dalits for skinning a cow in Una in Gujarat, was a "good deed."

On several occasions, the MLA has been accused of making controversial statements and speeches, particularly against Muslims.

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