National

Aparna Yadav supports NRC, embarrasses Akhilesh Yadav

Published

1 month ago

December 16, 2019

S S

Lucknow: Aparna Yadav, the younger daughter-in-law of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, has, once again, crossed the party line to announce her support to the Centre’s National Register of Citizens (NRC).

She has also raised questions on those who are opposing NRC.

It is noteworthy that Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has opposed NRC, terming it as an exercise in ‘divisive politics’.

“NRC is another attempt by the BJP to frighten the people. This is the politics of division and fear,” he had said.

On her Facebook and Twitter accounts, Aparna has written, “Those who belong to India, why should they be afraid of NRC.”

This is not the first time that Aparna Yadav has supported the BJP, much to the chagrin of her own party leaders.

In the past, she lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Swachh Bharat” campaign. She then supported the abrogation of Article 370 by the Modi government even though her party opposed it.

Meanwhile, a close aide of Akhilesh Yadav said that Aparna had been consistently working against the party line and it was up to ‘Netaji’ (Mulayam Singh) to decide her future.

Aparna had contested the 2017 assembly elections from the Lucknow Cantt seat but lost the election.

National

Even if God asks me, I won’t forgive: Nirbhaya’s mom

Published

19 hours ago

January 18, 2020

S S

New Delhi: Reacting to a tweet by ace lawyer Indira Jaising urging her to forgive the four men on death row for brutally raping that finally took her life, Nirbhaya’s Mother Asha Devi said on Saturday: “Even if God asks me, I won’t forgive them.”

Nirbhaya’s mother said, “…even if god comes and asks me to forgive them, I will not. People like these (Jaising) are a blot on the society.”

Commenting on Jaising’s tweet, she said: “Who is she to tell or suggest to me to forgive them. What relation does she have with me. I have nothing to do with such people. She can be a relative of those (the convicts) that she is having a soft corner for.”

“She is an insult to women. She is running a business in the name of human rights. She is a veteran, she should give a message to the society. But she instead will go against her own kind,” she added.

Earlier in the day, Jaising had requested Asha Devi to follow the example of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who had moved for the clemency of a woman, Nalini Murugan convicted for the assassination of her husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

“While I fully identify with the pain of Asha Devi I urge her to follow the example of Sonia Gandhi who forgave Nalini and said she didn’t want the death penalty for her. We are with you but against death penalty,” Jaising tweeted on Friday.

A Delhi Court on Friday issued fresh death warrants against the four convicts — Akshay, Pawan, Mukesh and Vinay in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Satish Kumar Arora fixed February 1 as the date of execution of the four death row convicts. They will be hanged at 6 a.m.

The move came after the prosecution moved an application seeking issuance of fresh death warrants following the rejection of the mercy plea of one of the convicts Mukesh by President Ram Nath Kovind.

The 23-year-old victim was brutally gangraped and tortured on December 16, 2012, which later led to her death.

All the six accused were arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder. One of the accused was a minor and appeared before a juvenile justice court, while another accused committed suicide in Tihar Jail.

Four of the convicts were sentenced to death by a trial court in September 2013, and the verdict was confirmed by the Delhi High Court in March 2014 and upheld by the Supreme Court in May 2017, which also dismissed their review petitions.