by admin | May 25, 2021 | Uncategorized
SDPI National General Secretary Mohammed Shafi
By Pervez Bari
New Delhi: The Social Democratic Party of India, (SDPI), has expressed deep distress, anguish and concern over the last month promulgation of an ordinance Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020 which is being reportedly misused.
SDPI National General Secretary Mohammed Shafi reiterated that the Ordinance requires any proposal to convert permission from the District Magistrate, two months in advance. It prohibits any conversion by “misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement, or by any fraudulent means or by marriage.” The law significantly also says that marriages that are done “for the sole purpose of unlawful conversion or vice versa” would not be allowed.
Mohammed Shafi criticised the new anti-conversion legislation, aimed at curbing cases of so-called “Love Jihad”, calling it unconstitutional, and against fundamental rights. He said that it will require a miracle to uphold its constitutional validity. The Ordinance will not survive the test of constitutional validity as it violates Article 21 of the Constitution which guarantees personal liberty of every citizen of this nation irrespective of religion, caste and gender. It is one of the strangest legislations one has ever seen. “Love Jihad” a creation of religious extremists for the purpose of dividing people, he added.
In the latest such misuse of the Ordinance a Muslim man and his brother, who were arrested and jailed under Uttar Pradesh’s new law against “unlawful” conversion, were freed on December 19, 2020 after spending nearly two weeks in prison in Moradabad district. The UP Police was unable to find any evidence of forced conversion against them. The couple were heckled by the fanatic Bajrang Dal, and the pregnant wife was taken to a shelter after the men were arrested.
Shafi said that in the new law several of its provisions violate the fundamental right to practice religion, striking at the very root of right to life and liberty guaranteed under the Indian Constitution. This Ordinance was “capable of great public mischief”. In any criminal case, conversion is presumed to be illegal; the burden of proof is usually on the prosecution. In this ordinance, every religious conversion is presumed to be illegal. The burden of proof lies on the person accused of illegal conversion to prove that it is not illegal. So, there is a presumption of guilt. The offence is cognisable. It is non-bailable and the police can arrest anyone. The Ordinance has already taken its toll with large-scale arrest of people and stories of separation.
He questioned the clause that said the burden of proof would fall on the accused, and how the definition of “allurement” as mentioned in the law was far too vague and broad, and how it was strange that while conversion has been deemed illegal, reconversion back to the previous immediate religion was not. He also questioned how marriages can be done for unlawful conversions, as envisaged in the law, and pointed out that even children borne of such marriages would have to bear the brunt.
Shafi demanded that the Ordinance must be struck down immediately. And certainly must not be permitted to be enacted into a statute. There is urgent need to stop the destruction of these freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution can be done only by the judiciary.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Commodities
SDPI National Vice President Adv. Sharfuddin Ahmad
By Pervez Bari
NEW DELHI: The Social Democratic Party of India, (SDPI), has condemned the Nitish-led Bihar Government for following in the footsteps of Yogi Adiyanath-led UP’s BJP Government in the arena of safety of womenfolk who continue to be at the receiving end with rapes, murders, molestations etc. being committed on them.
SDPI National Vice President Adv. Sharfuddin Ahmad in a statement vehemently criticized Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for keeping under wraps the alleged incident of setting ablaze of young woman Gulnaz Khatoon in Vaishali district of the state by a jilted lover. The woman died after fighting for life at a hospital for 15 days. This was done ostensibly so as not to overturn his apple-cart at the hustings which were on when the incident took place, he added. The accused are at large with the police still unable to lay its hands on them even after more than two weeks of the gruesome incident.
It seems, Adv. Sharfuddin said, Bihar Govt. is competing to stand up with UP Govt. after the Hathras incident wherein a Hindu girl was raped and fatally assaulted while the state administration in a bid to save the accused cremated her body in a hurry without even the kin being present at the funeral. The blazing media attention on Hathras incident received with politicians falling over each other to score brownie points put the Yogi Govt. on the back-foot. However, in Bihar a Muslim girl was burnt alive after she spurned the offer of marriage from a Hindu youth of the neighborhood. On social media, citizens have begun calling out the hypocrisy of those who turn such crimes into examples of so-called “Love Jihad” if the accused is a Muslim. Not many are saying such things in this case where the victim is a young Muslim girl from a poor family, and the accused are from a dominant caste.
He pointed out that the role of the local police here too is suspicious, much like the Hathras case. According to the news report, the police got information about soon after the attack and reached the hospital. Even though they reportedly met the victim and registered her statement, the police did not register an FIR in the case. It was only after the video of the victim giving her statement in hospital pin-pointing the accused went viral, after four days, the police registered an FIR stating the report.
He stated that there has been no uproar from any quarter and none has come forward to help the aggrieved family of Gulnaz to get justice. The national media virtually ignored it while the ruling BJP-JDU combine has maintained a stoic silence over the issue so as not to mar their celebrations of their electoral victory. The Opposition parties of all hues have looked the other way, not even making any ritualistic mention of the incident to express their grief. This incident spells out as how Muslim-Hindu divide has penetrated deep into the psyche of the society and the administration alike.
Adv. Sharfuddin opined the “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” slogan raised by PM is a farce as in BJP ruled states women are victims of rapes, murders and molestation incidents but the police and government are mainly concerned as how to hush up the case shamelessly. The civilized societies do not have incidents such as this. It is saddest situation with all the pain and trauma for the victim girl. The culprits must be punished and the police who showed negligence and partisan approach must be rebuked.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, News
Patna: For the ensuing Bihar assembly election, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) on Wednesday announced its list of 15 candidates here at a press conference. SDPI is one of the constituents in a newly formed and much talked about political alliance in Bihar that is Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) which has 8 partners.
Addressing media persons, M. K. Faizy the National President of SDPI announced the names of candidates in Chanakya Hotel Patna.
He reiterated that all 8 allied parties of PDA are committed to bring a much awaited change in the style of governance in Bihar which is reeking under poverty and backwardness. The alliance PDA which will contest all seats in Bihar assembly election, he added.
Faizy said PDA is all set to bring a political change of Bihar with massive support by the people who are fed up of existing anti people, opportunist, and fascist alliances ruling over the state for the last 30 years without bringing any change to the life of general masses. He said, PDA is committed to the overall development of Bihar and to reinstate the constitutional by means of social justice values.
SDPI leader appealed to the people of Bihar to support PDA and elect its candidates to make Bihar a vibrant and progressive state.
Besides SDPI, Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) of Pappu Yadav, Azad Samaj Party (ASP) of Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan, All India Minority Front (AIMF), Bharatiya Lok Charitha Party (BLCP), Bihar Lok Nirman Dal (BLD), Janatha Congress (JAC), Vanchith Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) are other constituents of the alliance which will take on the ruling NDA led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD-led Grand Alliance. There is also another alliance of Samajwadi Janata Dal, Assaduddin Owaisi; AIMIM and Upendra Khswah’s VKP and BSP and other political outfits.
Political observers feel that the contest will be tougher this time for the ruling NDA as it is facing an acute anti-incumbency wave while late Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP, which is fighting elections separately under the tacit backing of the BJP, would eat the votes of ruling JD(U).
SDPI will contest Bihar Shareef, Jokihat, Kishanganj, Kasba Balram pur ,Barari,Jale, Marhoura ,Purnia ,Sadar Mahu,Araria, and Raghunath Pur. Candidates names are Shamim Akhtar ,Mohd. Shabbir Alam, Mahbubur rehman, Nurul haque Munawwar Husain, Nasim Akhtar, Md. Mahboob Alam, Md. Ehsan, Vijay Uraon, Riyaz Ahmed,Qamrul Huda Madani, and Md. Kaif.
Press conference was also addressed by Pappu Yadav- President JAP, Chandershekhar Azad- President ASP, Parkash Ambedkar- President VBA, Mohammad Shafi, National General Secretary, SDPI and Dr. Tasleem Ahmed Rehmani, National Secretary, SDPI.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News
New Delhi: MK Faizy, national president of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) expressed deep shock and grief at the distress of the Kashmiris, and took strong exceptions to the brutal military atrocities in the ‘locked-down’ Kashmir. It’s not only the geographical territory of Kashmir, but the inhabitant Kashmiris too are Indian. Killing, torturing and alienating Kashmiris on the basis of their religious faith will never bring peace but only aggravate the situation in the area, said Faizy in a statement.
Following the undemocratic and unscrupulous abrogation of Articles 370, and 35A and dividing Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories in August 2019, Kashmir was put under complete lockdown by the rulers at the centre. As against international convention, the Internet access was banned or restricted denying the citizens all communications with the outside world. Prominent, secular political leaders are under detention in or outside the state. Outsiders were banned from entering lest they should see the real nature of crackdown. Extra-judicial killing, physical torture, rape, etc have become the new normal in Kashmir.
The bragging of the HM Amit Shah that abrogation of Article 370 and 35A would ensure peace in the valley is proven to be wrong. Kashmir is now under undeclared martial law. Brutalities of the army have exceeded all limits of human decency.
The latest heart-wrenching photograph of a three-year old child sitting on the dead-body of his grandfather now being widely circulated on social media has triggered outrage all over the world. The military/government version is that they saved the boy from the militants who shot dead his grandfather. But the family of the deceased, and the witnesses refute this claim of the military and they say that the army dragged out the civilian from his car, shot him dead, made the child sit on his body, photgraphed it and circulated it putting the blame of killing on the militants.
Faizy, demanded that the inhumane atrocities of the army in Kashmir should be ended immediately and an independent team of human rights and social activists be allowed to visit Kashmir and take stock of the situation and report it.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
SDPI national president M. K. Faizy
By Pervez Bari, Maeeshat.in,
New Delhi : The Social Democratic Party of India, (SDPI), has described the interim Union budget 2019 as vote garnering election budget of the BJP-led NDA Government. The Interim Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal has announced doles for the farmers, tax rebate to salaried class and sops to workers of the informal sector to entice them to vote for the BJP.
SDPI national president M. K. Faizy in a statement has said that the budget is focussed to tempt and bribe middle class, farmers and the unorganised sector voters to propel BJP to retain power in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections which is due in April-May this year. He said that the interim budget is sheer number games, political gimmicks and far from reality. Had the BJP wanted to please farmers, salaried class and informal workers with rain of exemptions and freebies, they should have done in 2018 Budget itself? Since it is the interim budget, show of this kind of pleasing Budget in the election period is nothing but indirect inducement to voters.
Faizy sad that people would have appreciated the government had the measures been taken at least a year before elections, else it is considered as not people friendly but power friendly. Earlier, when UPA declared the Food Security measure in the last interim 2014 budget by the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, it was argued that it was so glaringly last minute hasty insincere measure since there was no corresponding financial provision in the budget. Every government, thus, wishes not to serve the people’s welfare but to hold on to its own chairs of power. There is no joy when the measures are blatantly self-serving!
He said that even the middle class is fooled. The government is talking as if it gave a big relief to middle class. Only those with taxable income less than 5 lakhs rupees will get the tax exemption and that too a maximum of around 13000 rupees per year. If you earn more than Rs.5 lakhs then there is no change in tax. The increase in the income tax exemption limit is with an eye on elections. Will the salaried class be lured by such carrot and stick announcement? No middle class is going to benefit by this and it’s an insult to the middle class…another “Jumla”!
The statement said that while the government announced a scheme called PM-Kisan or ”Pradhan Mantri KisanSamman Nidhi” wherein small and marginal farmers, who own less than two acres of land, will receive direct annual handouts of around Rs. 6,000. The amount would be deposited directly in their bank accounts in instalments of Rs.2, 000. First handout of Rs.2000 is indirect bribe for vote because the effective date is back dated to December 2018 which is principally wrong. A family of 5 will just get about Rs. 3.40 per day which may be just equal to the price of half cup of tea. It is an interim budget only valid till next government takes over and presents routine budget. Clearly, it is a clever attempt to purchase the voters officially by making payments directly in their bank accounts out of the tax payers’ money. The ‘PM-Kisan’ scheme is nothing but rubbing salt on wounds of farmers in the light of the persisting agrarian crisis, he added.
He questioned whether the provision of rebate in income tax limit only provided due to the complex return processes? Will it be going to be discontinued by the government once the return process is reduced to one day? Secondly, will “Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan” scheme announced for the informal sector workers supersede the APY, (Atal Pension Yojna) which is currently providing similar pensions guarantee on attaining the age of 60 year against fixed periodic contributions?
Faizy stated that one thing is clear that neither the Congress nor BJP have Developmental plans, programmes for the country. These political class people just have ad hoc policy with short-sighted gains, not having long term and durable plans and policy which will make our country really a Super Power. Instead they will be playing with words like Emerging Economy or moving towards advanced economies globally at a faster pace, this kind of phrases we have been listening since UPA rule. Now, BJP is playing the same card. Both the parties think that the people of India are fools, illiterates, hence can be fooled every time with this kind of populist Budget? In every sphere of economic, social, educational we are lagging behind as compared to other countries like Japan and China. It is painful to see Indian markets and cities flooded with Chinese products and foreign goods.
