National
BJP removes Ghaziabad unit head over ‘love jihad’ clash
Ghaziabad, Dec 27 (IANS) The ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh has removed its Ghaziabad city president Ajay Sharma after he, along with over a hundred others, clashed with police over the marriage of a Hindu woman with a Muslim man which they dubbed as a case of “love jihad”.
The state party President Mahendra Nath Pandey took the decision at 11 p.m. on Tuesday.
The letter, signed by state General Secretary Vidya Shankar Sonkar, said in view of the protest against the inter-religious marriage, Ajay Sharma has been removed from his post. The letter also states that Man Singh Goswami, the city General Secretary, has been appointed as city president. Goswami took charge at 11.30 p.m. on Tuesday.
On December 22, the woman’s family had organised a wedding reception at their house in Ghaziabad.
Over 100 workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party and other Hindu outfits, including the Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal and Jai Shiv Sena, staged a sit-in outside the house in Raj Nagar, protesting the wedding, and disrupted traffic.
Police said they removed the protesters by using mild force on the grounds that they were trying to interfere in the personal lives of individuals.
“How can the police allow people to barge into someone’s house? We got a distress call and we performed our duty,” said Senior Superintendent of Police H.N. Singh.
Later in the day, a criminal case was registered against Sharma and over 100 others for the clash with police and rioting over the marriage.
The FIR was lodged under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 336 (endangering life of others), 341 (wrongful restraint), 427 (causing damage), 353 (assault) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 7 of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act (loitering or intimidating).
The police filed a complaint from the bride’s father also in support of its own FIR.
The bride’s father Pushpendra Kumar told IANS: “I received phone calls asking me to stop the marriage. But both (bride and bridegroom) are mature enough to know what’s wrong and what’s right. I don’t see any ‘love jihad’ in it.”
Bride Nupur Singhal is a psychologist with a Ph.D in Human Psychology, while her husband Mansoor Harhat Khan holds a Master’s in Business Administration and works with a private company. His family originally hails from Aligarh, though his father lives in Delhi but owns a house in Noida as well.
According to Pushpendra Kumar, the boy even offered to marry as per Hindu rituals. “But neither the groom’s family nor ours put any conditions and left it to the girl and the boy, and they went for court marriage,” the father added.
The woman is the grand-daughter of retired IAS officer Rajendra Kumar who was the District Magistrate here in 1990.
–IANS
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National
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.