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Saket Gokhale filed a Representation affidavit to prevent BJP from using Orakandi trip for Bengal election

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On the day the West Bengal election 2021 is set to begin, Modi would be visiting  a Matua temple in Orakandi in Bangladesh. Schedule for the upcoming elections in India (four states and a UT) was announced on February, 26, 2021. In West Bengal, the election will be held in 8 phases from March 27 to April, 29 and the vote counting will take place on May, 02, 2021.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

Though the official reason for the Bangladesh-trip is participating in the 50th anniversary celebrations of Bangladesh’s independence, the timing set at the beginning of the election in West Bengal 2021 cannot be unseen. BJP MP from Bongaon, Shantanu Thakur would be present at Orakandi during Modi’s visit.

Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur, Gurus of Matuas were born in Orakandi, which is the cradle of Matua Mahasangha, which is largely comprised of Namasudras. Matuas believe in the idea of self-realization and many of them had migrated to West Bengal after the 1947-partition and had mostly settled around Thakurnagar in the Indian state.

In Bangladesh, some Left-front groups and Islamic organizations have shown opposition to the trip of Modi. In this regard, the authorities in Bangladesh have ruled out any security threat to the Indian delegation. Junior foreign  minister of Bangaldesh, Shahriar Alam criticized Bangladesh Nationalist party, the opposition in the country for protesting against the visit by Indian delegation stating that they should refrain from double standards as earlier they had praised Modi in his first term (2014-19).

Given the timing of the schedule of the visit during the West Bengal election, RTI activist Saket Gokhale has filed a representation affidavit with the Election commission of India, with regards to PM’s visit to Orakandi which bears influence over 29 assembly seats in West Bengal, specifically in north 24 paraganas and Nadia.

Activist Gokhale  had earlier disproved the Tukde-tukde idea, (that was spread by the BJP-IT cell) using RTI approach, when the Home ministry had admitted that they have no definition or SOP related to the said category of people.

Also Read: After disproving the tukde-tukde theory, RTI activist Saket Gokhale questions the claims of the bomb-factories

In order to ensure that the visit does not influence the election, Gokhale, in his affidavit, has made three specific demands. He has asked for a copy of the speech to be given by the PM at Orakandi. He further asked that all the TV channels should broadcast Modi’s Orakandi programme on March 27, only after 6 pm, when the polling ends for the day. Gokhale also asked the election commission to restrain BJP from using the state-visit for election campaigning.

Also Read: Civil Writ Petition filed by RTI activist Saket Gokhale to remove Rekha Sharma as NCW chairperson for invoking love jihad theory

Saket Gokhale has persistently brought matters which are directly related to public importance, for example-issues like PMCARES, issue of Raju Sabnani, the issue of vaccination and others, under the public light. This has always put the central government in a tight spot. Response of the Election commission of India to the representation affidavit would show whether it really is free of influence from BJP. Influence of saffron party over ECI has been blamed by many (especially TMC leaders). It is time for the nation to see whether the ECI is truly free of BJP’s influence.

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After disproving the tukde-tukde theory, RTI activist Saket Gokhale questions the claims of the bomb-factories

Saket-Gokhale

Activism using the Right to Information Act can dismantle the misinformation campaign and the barrages of fake information peddled by people, especially those in authority for the sake of political capital.

RTI activist Saket Gokhale criticized the Union home minister for “openly perpetrating fake news about the internal security matters just to malign & insult the state of West Bengal for electoral gains.”

This development comes after Gokhale had put forth an RTI query regarding the claim made by Amit shah in October in an interview given on CNN News18. In that interview, Amit Shah had claimed that “there are bomb-making factories in every district of West Bengal”.

As a response to this claim, which came months before the state is about to go to the polls, RTI activist Saket Gokhale had filed a four point RTI. As per the points raised by Gokhale in his RTI request, he asked for the list of bomb making factories in West Bengal which were referred by Amit Shah. Gokhale had also asked whether the MHA had briefed Amit Shah about the factories & whether Shah’s comments were based on official records. The fourth point in Gokhale’s RTI request was whether the information on the bomb factories has been shared with the West Bengal police.  The answer from MHA to Gokhale was NO. Also the MHA had claimed in its response that the law & order is a state subject. In fact, these questions have thrown the MHA into a huge discomfort.

But, the almost nil response from the MHA about the alleged bomb factories in West Bengal shows a clear absence of such information on bomb factories which was claimed by the Home Minister. After dissecting the response from the authority on the RTI request, Gokhale stated in his tweet, that this is a shocking situation that the Union Minister of India would openly perpetrate fake news about the internal security matters just to malign & insult the state of West Bengal for electoral gains. He further asked, “how can the Home Minister be trusted when he lies openly on record.”

Also Read: Civil Writ Petition filed by RTI activist Saket Gokhale to remove Rekha Sharma as NCW chairperson for invoking love jihad theory

This is not the first time that Gokhale’s RTI request has placed the authorities in discomfort and in a position with no answer.

Amit Shah in one of his rallies in Delhi had declared, “The Tukde Tukde Gang of Delhi needs to be taught a lesson and punished”.

In December 26, 2019, Saket had filed an RTI request to the MHA regarding the details of the Tukde tukde gang which was referred by Amit Shah. The MHA in its response given to Gokhale on January 20, 2020, vide registration number MHOME/R/2019/54751, had stated, “Ministry of Home Affairs has no information concerning tukde-tukde gang”.

Gokhale’s RTI requests & the subsequent answers have time and again proved the hollow nature of the claims made by BJP leaders in the public domain for the sake of polarization politics.