New Delhi  – The principal opposition party in India has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of employing hate speech by referring to Muslims as “infiltrators,” which is considered to be one of his most inflammatory statements toward the religious minority. This comes only days after the commencement of the country’s lengthy general election.

The comments made at a political event on Sunday received strong condemnation, with some accusing Modi of promoting negative stereotypes about Muslims. The Congress party lodged a protest on Monday with the Election Commission of India, accusing him of violating regulations that prohibit candidates from participating in any action that exacerbates religious tensions.

Modi Is Accused Of Using Hate Speech For Calling Muslims ‘Infiltrators’ At An Indian Election Rally

Detractors of the prime minister, who openly identifies as a Hindu nationalist, argue that India’s longstanding values of diversity and secularism have been threatened since his Bharatiya Janata Party came into office ten years ago. The party is accused of promoting religious intolerance and occasionally even inciting violence. The party refutes the claim and asserts that its policies are advantageous to all citizens of India.

During a rally in Rajasthan, Modi asserted that while the Congress party held power, they claimed that Muslims had the primary entitlement to the nation’s resources.” Should the party regain power, it would collect all of your riches and redistribute it among individuals who have a greater number of children,” he stated, eliciting applause from the audience.

“They will allocate it to individuals who have infiltrated,” he said, questioning, “Do you believe that your diligently earned funds should be bestowed upon infiltrators?”

Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Congress party, characterized the prime minister’s remarks as “hate speech,” while party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi deemed them “profoundly objectionable.”

The party requested intervention from the electoral commission, which has a rule of conduct that prohibits candidates from making appeals based on caste or sectarian sentiments in order to obtain votes. The six-week election’s preliminary voting took place on Friday, and most polls indicate that Modi and his Hindu nationalist BJP will win. The results will be released on June 4th.

Modi Is Accused Of Using Hate Speech For Calling Muslims ‘Infiltrators’ At An Indian Election Rally

Asaduddin Owaidi, a Muslim legislator and leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen party, stated on Sunday that Prime Minister Modi has consistently targeted and insulted Muslims for political gain since 2002.

Rights groups argue that under Modi’s leadership, attacks against minorities in India, particularly Muslims, have gotten increasingly audacious, exacerbating the existing tensions between the Hindu majority and the Muslim community.

Hindu mobs have carried out acts of lynching against Muslims based on accusations of consuming beef or engaging in cow smuggling, an activity that is considered sacred by Hindus. Muslim businesses have faced economic boycotts, their houses and establishments have been demolished, and their places of worship have been intentionally set ablaze. There have been explicit calls for the extermination of their whole population.

Modi’s comments alluded to a statement made in 2006 by the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the Congress party. Singh asserted that it is imperative for India’s lower castes, tribes, women, and specifically the Muslim minority, to have an equitable role in the nation’s progress.

Singh asserted that they should be given priority access to resources. Twenty-four hours later, his office provided clarification that Singh’s statement encompassed all marginalized demographics.

The Congress party, in its plea to the electoral commission, alleged that Modi and the BJP had consistently used religion and religious symbols and sentiments in their election campaign without facing any consequences. “The commission’s failure to penalize the prime minister and the BJP for their clear violations of electoral laws has further strengthened these actions,” the statement stated.

“Modi has diminished the prestige of his position more than any other prime minister in the history of India,” stated Kharge, the head of the Congress party, on the social networking platform X.

The panel has the authority to issue warnings and temporarily suspend candidates for infractions of the code of conduct.

“We refuse to provide a statement,” a representative for the commission informed the Press Trust of India news agency on Monday.

During his speech, Modi reiterated a Hindu nationalist narrative that suggests Muslims are surpassing the Hindu population through higher birth rates. The Hindu population in India constitutes 80% of the total population of 1.4 billion, whereas the Muslim population, at 200 million, accounts for 14%. According to official statistics, the fertility rates of Muslims have experienced the most significant decline compared to other religious groups in recent decades. The rate has decreased from 4.4 in 1992-93 to 2.3 between 2019–21, which is slightly higher than the fertility rate of Hindus at 1.94.

Modi Is Accused Of Using Hate Speech For Calling Muslims ‘Infiltrators’ At An Indian Election Rally

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Modi has previously labeled Muslims as infiltrators and portrayed them as undocumented immigrants who entered India from Bangladesh and Pakistan. Several states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have enacted legislation that imposes limitations on interfaith marriage, citing the unsubstantiated conspiracy theory of “love jihad,” which alleges that Muslim males exploit marriage as a means to convert Hindu women.

Throughout the entire period, Modi has predominantly refrained from speaking out, which opponents argue has encouraged a faction of his most radical followers and facilitated an increase in hate speech targeting Muslims.

SOURCE – (AP)

Kiev, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian missile assault that damaged a prominent skyline television tower in Kharkiv was part of the Kremlin’s effort to terrorize Ukraine’s second-largest city, which has been targeted more frequently in recent weeks.

The strike aimed to “make the terror visible to the whole city and to try to limit Kharkiv’s connection and access to information,” Zelenskyy stated in a Monday evening address.

A Russian strike on Kharkiv’s TV tower is part of an intimidation campaign, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says

The northeastern Kharkiv region borders the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line where Ukrainian and Russian forces have been fighting for more than two years, following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. During an attrition war, the front line has remained relatively static, focusing primarily on artillery, drones, and trenches.

Since late March, Russia has increased pressure on Kharkiv, ostensibly to exploit Ukraine’s lack of air defense systems. It has battered the local power grid and struck apartment buildings.

On Monday, a Russian Kh-59 missile damaged Kharkiv’s 250-meter (820-foot) TV tower, severing it approximately in half and halting transmissions.

According to a Washington think group, Russia may consider launching a ground assault against Kharkiv.

“The Kremlin is conducting a concerted air and information operation to destroy Kharkiv City, convince Ukrainians to flee, and internally displace millions of Ukrainians ahead of a possible future Russian offensive operation against the city or elsewhere in Ukraine,” according to the Institute for the Study of War, which released an assessment of the situation.

The projected arrival in Ukraine of new military supplies from Western partners in the coming weeks may have spurred Russia to accelerate its attacks before the equipment arrives, the ISW said, adding that capturing Kharkiv would be “a significant challenge” for the Kremlin’s soldiers.

Instead, the Russian military command “may attempt to destroy Kharkiv City with air, missile, and drone strikes, prompting a large-scale internal displacement of Ukrainian civilians,” it stated.

The United States Senate returned to Washington on Tuesday to vote on $61 billion in war aid to Ukraine, following months of delays. Zelensky said US President Joe Biden informed him that the aid will include long-range and artillery capabilities.

“Four priorities are key: defense of the sky, modern artillery, long-range capacity, and to ensure that packages of American aid arrive as soon as possible,” he stated.

Also on Tuesday, Britain offered 500 million pounds ($620 million, 580 million euros) in fresh military supplies for Ukraine, including 400 vehicles, 60 boats, 1,600 missiles, and 4 million rounds of ammunition.

The shipment will also include British Storm Shadow long-range missiles, which have a range of around 150 miles (240 kilometers) and have been effective against Russian targets, according to the British government.

A Russian strike on Kharkiv’s TV tower is part of an intimidation campaign, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Zelenskyy on Tuesday morning to confirm the additional aid. He made the announcement during a visit to Warsaw later that day, where he met with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

However, the European Union delivered less positive news. EU countries with Patriot air defense systems provided no clear indication Monday that they would be willing to send them to Ukraine, which sorely needs at least seven of the missile batteries.

Ukraine’s army is also outnumbered in the conflict, and increasing the country’s mobilization has been a tricky matter.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned on Tuesday that authorities intend to crack down on young men of conscription age who have relocated abroad, with detailed measures to be announced soon.

“Staying abroad does not relieve a citizen of his or her duties to the homeland,” Kuleba said on the social networking platform X.

Meanwhile, Russia launched 16 Shahed drones and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles over Ukraine’s southern and central areas, the Ukrainian air force reported Tuesday morning. It stated that all but one of the drones were intercepted.

A Russian strike on Kharkiv’s TV tower is part of an intimidation campaign, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says

An nighttime attack in Odesa injured nine persons, according to Regional Governor Oleh Kiper. According to Kiper, the injured included two newborns and two children aged nine and twelve. Hennadii Trukhanov, the city mayor, reported that 58 flats in 22 buildings were destroyed.

Among other developments:

A Russian missile strike near Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, injured four people and sent them to the hospital, according to regional governor Serhii Lysak.

Russian forces launched a guided aerial bomb in Kostiantynivka, a city in the eastern Donetsk area, injuring five people riding in a car, according to authorities. Both of them were in critical condition.

SOURCE – (AP)

Port-au-Prince, Haiti – As the sun sets, a hefty man yells into a megaphone, drawing a curious crowd around him. Next to him is a little cardboard box containing many currencies worth 10 Haitian gourdes, or around 7 US cents.

“Everyone give whatever they have!” the man yells as he grabs the arms and hands of individuals approaching a district in the capital of Port-au-Prince that has been targeted by violent gangs.

The community recently voted to purchase a metal barricade and construct it themselves in an effort to protect inhabitants from the unrelenting violence that killed or maimed over 2,500 people in Haiti between January and March.

HAITI Scramble To Survive, Seeking Food, Water And Safety As Gang Violence Chokes The Capital

“Every day, I wake up and find a dead body,” said Noune-Carme Manoune, an immigration officer.

Life in Port-au-Prince has become a survival game, pushing Haitians to their limits as they struggle to keep secure and alive while gangs outnumber the police and the government is mainly absent. Some are erecting metal barricades. Others accelerate aggressively as they approach gang-controlled regions. The few who can afford it hoard water, food, money, and medicine, all of which have become scarce since the main international airport shuttered in early March. Marauding bandits have effectively stopped the country’s largest ports.

“People in the capital are trapped; they have nowhere to go,” stated Philippe Branchat, the International Organization for Migration’s leader in Haiti, in a recent statement. “The capital is surrounded by armed groups and threats. “The city is under siege.”

Phones frequently buzz with warnings reporting gunshots, kidnappings, and fatal shootings, and some shops have so many armed guards that they resemble tiny police stations.

Gang attacks were once limited to specific places, but they can now occur anywhere and at any time. Staying at home does not ensure safety: A stray gunshot hit a man in the back while he was playing with his daughter at home. Others were killed.

Schools and petrol stations are closed, with fuel on the illicit market retailing for $9 per gallon, or about three times the official price. Banks now ban consumers from withdrawing more than $100 per day, and cheques that used to clear in three days now take a month or more. Police officers must wait weeks to be paid.

Haitians Scramble To Survive, Seeking Food, Water And Safety As Gang Violence Chokes The Capital

“Everyone is under stress,” said Isidore Gédéon, a 38-year-old guitarist. “People are distrustful of one another following the prison breach. The state does not have control.”

On February 29, gangs with an estimated 80% control of Port-au-Prince initiated coordinated attacks on crucial governmental infrastructure. They set fire to police stations, attacked the airport, and stormed Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing over 4,000 inmates.

At the time, Prime Minister Ariel Henry was in Kenya to advocate for the deployment of a police force supported by the United Nations. Henry is still barred from entering Haiti, and a transitional presidential committee charged with appointing the country’s new prime minister and Cabinet might be inaugurated in as soon as this week. Henry has promised to quit once a new leader has been installed.

Few expect that this will be the end of the crisis. Not only are gangs causing bloodshed, but Haitians have also embraced a vigilante movement known as “bwa kale,” which has slain several hundred suspected gang members or associates.

“There are certain communities I can’t go to because everyone is scared of everyone,” he stated. “You could be innocent, and you end up dead.”

In only one month, more than 95,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince as gangs invade towns, torch homes, and kill people in opposing territory.

Those fleeing by bus to Haiti’s southern and northern provinces face the possibility of being gang-raped or killed as they transit through gang-controlled areas where gunmen have opened fire.

According to the International Organization for Migration, violence in the capital has rendered approximately 160,000 people homeless.

“This is hell,” said Nelson Langlois, a producer and camera operator.

Langlois, his wife, and their three children spent two nights sleeping flat on their home’s roof as gangs raided the neighborhood.

Haitians Scramble To Survive, Seeking Food, Water And Safety As Gang Violence Chokes The Capital

“Time after time, we peered over to see when we could flee,” he said.

Langlois, who was forced to split up due to a lack of shelter, now lives at a Vodou temple while his wife and children reside somewhere in Port-au-Prince.

Langlois, like the majority of city dwellers, spends much of his time indoors. The days of playing pickup soccer on dirt roads and drinking Prestige beer in pubs while listening to hip-hop, reggae, or African music are over.

“It’s an open-air prison,” Langlois explained.

The violence has also pushed companies, government organizations, and schools to close, leaving many Haitians unemployed.

Manoune, a government immigration official, stated that she has been making money by selling treated water because she is out of work due to postponed deportations.

Meanwhile, Gédéon stated that he no longer plays the drums for a living, saying that pubs and other venues have closed. He sells small plastic bags of water on the street and has worked as a handyman, repairing fans and fixing appliances.

As the crisis worsens poverty in Haiti, students are also entering the workforce.

Sully, a tenth-grade student whose school stopped over two months ago, stood on a street corner in Pétion-Ville, selling fuel he bought on the illegal market.

“You have to be careful,” added Sully, who requested that his last name be omitted for safety reasons. “During the morning it’s safer.”

He sells approximately five gallons every week, earning about $40 for his family, but he can’t afford to join his classmates who are learning online.

Haitians Scramble To Survive, Seeking Food, Water And Safety As Gang Violence Chokes The Capital

“Online class is for people more fortunate than me, who have more money,” he remarked.

The European Union confirmed last week the establishment of a humanitarian air bridge from Panama to Haiti. Five flights arrived in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti’s only working airport, bringing 62 tons of medicine, water, emergency shelter equipment, and other crucial supplies.However, crucial items cannot be guaranteed to reach those in most need. Many Haitians are still confined in their homes, unable to buy or look for food amid flying gunshots.

According to aid organizations, approximately 2 million Haitians are on the edge of hunger, including over 600,000 children.

Nonetheless, individuals are devising strategies to survive.

Back in the area, residents are putting up a metal barricade, and sparks fly as one man cuts metal while others shovel and mix concrete. They are well into the project and aim to complete it soon.

Others are doubtful, noting accounts of gangs jumping into loaders and other heavy machinery to demolish police stations and, most lately, metal barricades.

SOURCE – (AP)