May 16-31, 2023 Issue of The Unrest Magazine

Niloofar Hamedi, Elaheh Mohammadi, and Narges Mohammadi have been named as the laureates of the 2023 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Photo: UNESCO

Dirty Politics

BJP Inputs for 2023 Corruption Research

Rahul Gandhi Fails to Get Court Relief

Press Freedom in India

India Rank Falls on Press Freedom Index Oligarchs with Modi Own Media Outfits

Crime in Politics

Global Conflicts

Campaign Supports Prisoners in Belarus

Crime, Corruption, and Impunity in India

Prize Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine Grand Corruption

Win

Arrested

Corruption Cases Kejriwal Blames Modi for ED Chargesheet

Delhi Disaster

After SC Order Kejriwal Is Still Powerless Crime Increasing in Delhi Housing Societies

Iranian Journalists

UNESCO

Imran Khan

in

Three Imprisoned Iranian Women Journalists Win UNESCO Prize

The annual UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize honours a person, organization or institution which has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom.

Niloofar Hamedi, Elaheh Mohammadi, and Narges Mohammadi have been named as the laureates of the 2023 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, following the recommendation of an International Jury of media professionals.

Niloofar Hamedi,

and Narges Mohammadi have been named as the laureates of the 2023 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Photo: UNESCO

The Award Ceremony took place on 2 May in New York, in the presence of Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO. “Now more than ever, it is important to pay tribute to all women journalists who are prevented from doing their jobs and who face threats and attacks on their personal safety. Today we are honouring their commitment to truth and accountability,” said Audrey Azoulay.

Elaheh Mohammadi,

Niloofar Hamedi writes for the leading reformist daily newspaper Shargh. She broke the news of the death of Masha Amini following her detention in police custody on 16 September 2022. She has been detained in solitary confinement in Iran’s Evin Prison since September 2022.

Elaheh Mohammadi writes for the reformist newspaper, Ham-Mihan, covering social issues and gender equality. She reported on Masha Amini’s funeral, and has also been detained in Evin Prison since September 2022. She had previously been barred from reporting for a year in 2020 due to her work.

Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi are joint winners of both the 2023 International Press Freedom Award by Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), and Harvard's 2023 Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism. They were named as two of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023.

Narges Mohammadi has worked for many years as a journalist for a range of newspapers and is also an author and Vice-Director of the Tehran-based civil society organization Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC).

She is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence in Evin Prison. She has continued to report in print from prison, and has also interviewed other women prisoners. These interviews were included in her book “White Torture”. In 2022, she won the Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) Courage Prize.

Created in 1997, the annual UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize honours a person, organization or institution which has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of danger.

It is the only such prize awarded to journalists within the UN System. It is named for Guillermo Cano Isaza, the Colombian journalist who was assassinated in front of

the offices of his newspaper El Espectador in Bogotá, Colombia, on 17 December

1986. It is funded by the Guillermo Cano Isaza Foundation (Colombia), the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation (Finland), the Namibia Media Trust, Democracy & Media Foundation Stichting Democratie & Media (The Netherlands), and the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

India on RSF Press Freedom Index: 142 in 2021, 150 in 2022, 161 in 2023

India’s press freedom performance is worse than that in traditional authoritarian nations such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, Belarus, Palestine, and even Pakistan.

The 2023 World Press Freedom Index released on May 3 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) shows that India is increasingly becoming a dangerous place for journalists.

India’s rank on the RSF Index fell from 142 in 2021 to 150 in 2022 to 161 in 2023, which is a manifestation of the fact that press freedom is constantly under state attack. One of the reasons for a poor press freedom position for India is its recent

Narendra Modi (file photo). Photo: PIB

raids on BBC offices in India, as BBC released a documentary that showed prime minister Narendra Modi’s role in Gujarat violence on Muslims. RSF had denounced the Modi government’s attacks on BBC.

In its analysis, RSF says that the violence against journalists, the politically partisan media, and the concentration of media ownership all demonstrate that press freedom is in crisis under Modi, who is the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the embodiment of the Hindu nationalist right.

Moreover, India’s press freedom performance is worse than that in traditional authoritarian nations such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, Belarus, Palestine, and even Pakistan. Now, India’s rank is close to the fully autocratic country Russia (164) in the list of 180 countries monitored by RSF.

“With an average of three or four journalists killed in connection with their work every year, India is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the media,” RSF said in its report.

It adds that journalists are exposed to all kinds of physical violence including police violence, ambushes by political activists, and deadly reprisals by criminal groups or corrupt local officials.

According to RSF, supporters of Hindutva - the ideology that spawned the Hindu far right - wage all-out online attacks on any views that conflict with their thinking. Terrifying coordinated campaigns of hatred and calls for murder are conducted on social media, campaigns that are often even more violent when they target women journalists, whose personal data may be posted online as an additional incitement to violence, RSF said.

The situation, according to RSF, is also still very worrisome in Kashmir, where reporters are often harassed by police and paramilitaries, with some being subjected to so-called “provisional” detention for several years. The RSF World Press

Freedom Index evaluates the environment for journalism in 180 countries and territories and is published on World Press Freedom Day (May 3).

Viasna Launches Campaign to Support Political Prisoners in Belarus

Viasna calls on people to express solidarity with all political prisoners on May 21.

The Viasna human rights center has designated May 21 as a Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners in Belarus. On this day two years ago, political prisoner Vitold Ashurak died in the Škloŭ penal colony No. 17.

According to Viasna, no criminal proceedings have been initiated following his death, while the situation with political prisoners has significantly deteriorated.

As human rights abuses are increasing continuously in Belarus, Viasna reports that by the end of 2022, there were 1,446 political prisoners in Belarus while 889 people were recognized as political prisoners.

Democratic forces in Belarus have been protesting the brutal regime since August 2020.

Photo: European Parliament (Representational Image)

Last year, the Day of Political Prisoners theme was the yellow tag used in colonies to mark inmates. It was Ashurak who first talked about it in his letter.

This year, according to Viasna, human rights defenders propose to make the theme of the Day of Solidarity with political prisoners in Belarus letters and the right to correspondence, which the Belarusian authorities have deprived hundreds of political prisoners.

Viasna calls on people to express solidarity with all political prisoners on May 21, draw the attention of the Belarusian and international community to their problems, and once again demand the release of all political prisoners from the authorities.

In March, a court in Belarus ordered the imprisonment of Nobel Peace Prize winner and rights activist Ales Bialiatski for 10 years. It is alleged that Bialiatski, 60, financed protests and other crimes – the allegations which are believed to be frivolous and politically motivated. Bialiatski and three co-defendants were charged with supporting protests and smuggling money.

Hundreds of Belarusians have been arrested and jailed because they peacefully exercised their rights to freedom of expression and assembly in response to a fraudulent election in August 2020 that allowed President Alexander Lukashenko to retain power.

When the intensity of protests increased, Lukashenko’s regime shut down dozens of independent organizations and media outlets. Bialiatski is a co-founder of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” which is a non-governmental organization formed in 1996 during mass protest actions of the democratic opposition in Belarus.

Although the UN human rights agencies and world leaders have failed completely to protect the peaceful protesters in Belarus, they keep releasing perfunctory bureaucratic statements which have no effect on autocratic President Lukashenko.

In February, for example, the Council of Europe (COE) Secretary General, Marija Pejčinović Burić, announced a 15-point action plan to support civil society and democracy representatives working towards a future free and democratic Belarus. However, this plan would be as ineffective as the other casual steps taken in the past.

Now, as part of its new campaign, Viasna urges people to record a video reading a letter from a political prisoner and post it on social media with hashtags #FreeThemAll #WeStandByYou.

You can also write a letter to a political prisoner and post it on social media with hashtags #FreeThemAll #WeStandByYou. The letter can be sent to the prisoner online through the Solidarity Postcards Atelier.

Why Rahul Gandhi Failed to Get Court Relief in ‘Modi’ Defamation Case

Now, after conviction in the defamation case, Rahul Gandhi is so terrified that he has stopped talking about Modi-Adani collusion in the financial fraud case.

As expected, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi did not get relief in the Gujarat High Court where he had filed an appeal to stay his conviction in the “Modi” surname defamation case.

After hearing the arguments of both sides, the court on May 2 reserved its order and is expected to pronounce it in June after the summer vacation.

Although it is said that Congress has a slew of good lawyers who can argue Rahul Gandhi’s case properly in the court, none of them could save him in multiple court hearings in different courts.

As a result, the Gujarat High Court Bench of Justice Hemant Prachchhak refused to grant any interim relief to Rahul Gandhi. The case was assigned to Justice

Prachchhak when another judge Justice Gita Gopi had recused herself from hearing the case.

Congress complains that the case against Rahul Gandhi is part of a political vendetta, as the Congress leader has been accusing prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi of a criminal collusion with oligarch Gautam Adani who is facing a series of financial fraud allegations.

GUJARAT FACTOR

It is alleged that in order to implicate Rahul Gandhi in a false case, the petitioner - a member of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - had filed his complaint in Gujarat, although Rahul Gandhi had made his remarks about “Modi” surname in Karnataka.

It is largely believed that the courts in Gujarat cannot dare to defy Modi’s diktats as Modi was the chief minister (CM) of Gujarat. According to a report by The Wire news service, Justice Hemant Prachchhak was one of the lawyers defending former BJP

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi showing in the parliament a photograph of the friendship of Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani. Photo: Congress

minister Maya Kodnani, an accused in the 2002 Gujarat riots case. In fact, Modi was also an accused in Gujarat riots.

The Wire has also reported that another judge Robin Paul Mogera, who was hearing Rahul Gandhi’s appeal in the Surat (Gujarat) Sessions Court in this defamation case, was home minister and BJP leader Amit Shah’s lawyer in the 2006 Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter case. Amit Shah is a close associate of Modi.

Congress alleges that the Surat District Court’s Justice Harish Hasmukhbhai Verma who punished Rahul Gandhi with a two-year sentence in March was promoted suddenly in December 2022 before his judgment, although he was not getting promotion since 2015.

Subsequently, this judge Verma hurriedly handled Rahul Gandhi’s case to convict him in the defamation case for making an innocuous statement about “Modi” surname. The surreptitious involvement of all these Gujarat judges in this defamation case cannot be a mere coincidence.

In his remarks, Rahul Gandhi had compared PM Modi with fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, saying “How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?”

He made this statement in a 2019 public rally that he addressed in Karnataka. But ignoring territorial jurisdiction, a random petitioner was allowed to file his petition against Rahul Gandhi in Gujarat where Modi was the chief minister.

According to reports, the case was filed against Rahul Gandhi by Modi’s party colleague Purnesh Modi who is a BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister.

In his complaint, the BJP leader alleged that Rahul Gandhi defamed the entire Modi community with his remarks, although the petitioner is not directly affected by Rahul Gandhi’s statement. Neither PM Modi nor any of the other Modis that Rahul Gandhi mentioned filed the petition against him. It is increasingly happening that

some mercenary petitioners who are not directly involved in cases file petitions against people who need to be harassed and surprisingly courts accept such petitions.

Astonishingly, the Gujarat court convicted Rahul Gandhi to the maximum prison sentence in this case – which is two years and which served as a ground to disqualify him from parliament.

Although it is being projected as a court decision to disqualify Rahul Gandhi from parliament, we must understand that in all autocratic regimes that work under the garb of democratic systems, the rulers silently use complicit courts to impose their own decisions on opponents to suppress all kinds of dissent.

Similar shady court trials happened in other autocratic countries such as Russia, Belarus, and Myanmar to imprison political opponents such as Vladimir Kara-Murza and Alexei Navalny in Russia, Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski in Belarus, and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar.

WEAK RAHUL GANDHI

As India is also an autocratic nation, Rahul Gandhi should not be surprised if he is jailed in this defamation case or a subsequent case filed in the court through rogue petitioners and decided by pliant judges.

In order to make it appear like a normal case, the court had suspended the Congress leader’s prison sentence for 30 days allowing him to apply for bail. The suspension period expired on April 22.

Congress said it is an attempt by the Modi regime to terrorize Rahul Gandhi who is questioning Modi on various issues. And it seems that as usual Rahul Gandhi - who is a weak man - is again terrorized. Now, after conviction in the defamation case, Rahul Gandhi is so terrified that he has stopped talking about Modi-Adani collusion in the financial fraud case. Earlier, after the Modi regime’s hostile actions against

Rahul Gandhi, he was so scared that he stopped questioning Modi and his government on issues such as Rafale corruption case, Pulwama terror attack, Gujarat riots case, Pegasus spyware scandal, and election frauds with electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Now once again frightened Rahul Gandhi has gone into hibernation and is silently waiting for the next court order about his conviction in the “Modi” defamation case.

Delhi Liquor Scam: Kejriwal Blames PM Modi for ED Chargesheet

The ED said that Sanjay Singh’s notice is an attempt to malign the image of the investigating agency while the matter is subjudice in the court.

Delhi chief minister (CM) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal - as usual - has accused prime minister Narendra Modi of collusion with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to implicate AAP leaders in the Delhi liquor scandal.

He was referring to a recent chargesheet filed by the ED in which an AAP leader Sanjay Singh’s name has been included. In response to a legal notice, ED clarified

Photo: RMN News Service

that Sanjay Singh’s name appears four times in the said chargesheet, but only one reference was wrongly typed.

But Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh, and other AAP leaders are issuing misleading statements that Sanjay Singh’s name was deliberately added in the chargesheet to implicate him in the liquor mafia case. However, the ED never said that Sanjay Singh’s name is not in the chargesheet.

The AAP group is also claiming falsely that ED has apologized for its mistake of including AAP leader’s name in the chargesheet. In fact, ED did not apologize and rather warned Sanjay Singh in its response to the legal notice by him that the AAP leader should not make misleading statements in the media as it is an illegal activity.

The ED also said in its response dated April 29 that Sanjay Singh’s notice is an attempt to malign the image of the investigating agency while the matter is subjudice in the court. The Delhi unit of BJP posted the ED response on Twitter.

In a tweet posted on May 3, Kejriwal said mischievously, “How can a name be included in a chargesheet by mistake?” He added along with a vague media report that Modi is trying to harm AAP and the liquor scam is a fake case.

In fact, a number of AAP politicians are allegedly involved in the multi-crore rupees liquor scandal. An AAP leader and former deputy CM in the Kejriwal government Manish Sisodia is already in jail for his alleged involvement in the liquor scam. The court has repeatedly rejected his bail applications.

According to an NDTV report of May 2, along with Sanjay Singh, even Kejriwal’s name is also mentioned in the chargesheet related to Delhi liquor scam. Another AAP politician and Kejriwal’s toady Raghav Chadha is also named in the chargesheet, although he believes that he is not an accused in this case. It is alleged that Chadha was a member of a meeting in which the dubious liquor policy was

discussed. The law states that if you are participating in a criminal activity and not informing about it to the police with the aim to hide the criminality, then you are also a culprit and complicit in the crime. The ED has not yet fully disclosed Chadha’s role in the liquor scandal.

While most AAP politicians are telling lies deliberately to hoodwink the gullible public, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had called Kejriwal for questioning on April 16 in the liquor scandal case. When their names appear in the investigation reports, AAP members start shouting loudly at repeated press conferences to make false claims.

Similarly, AAP politicians in Punjab led by CM Bhagwant Mann may be arrested and jailed as the dubious Delhi liquor policy is being implemented in Punjab also.

The president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Sukhbir Singh Badal has urged the Punjab Governor to hold a probe into the alleged Rs. 500-crore liquor policy scam committed by the AAP Government in the state.

Although Kejriwal and other AAP politicians are making false and misleading statements about the liquor scandal to mislead the investigating agencies, it is likely that soon more AAP members would be jailed for their criminality in this case.

Meanwhile, Delhi Lt. Governor (LG) Vinai Saxena has ordered an investigation into the reported Rs. 45 crore wastage of public money by Kejriwal on the renovation of his house. In this case of misappropriation of public funds, the AAP politicians are again making misleading statements to protect Kejriwal.

Appeal for Donations

As I have launched a comprehensive research project to compile an exclusive report on corruption in India, you are requested to support this project financially with your donations. You can click here to know more about this project and details for donations.

Thank You. Rakesh Raman

Short Stories of Politics and Unrest in the World

Reports of a Ukrainian breakthrough on the front line of the war have been denied by Russia - even though the claim was made by pro-Russia sources. Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group fighting on the Russian side, accused regular Russian troops of abandoning positions around Bakhmut. Russian military bloggers reported Ukrainian advances or troop movements in several areas on May 11. But the Kremlin denied Ukraine had made any significant advances. Read More

Tens of thousands of people marched through the Serbian capital, Belgrade, on May 12 to demand the resignation of top officials, better security, and a ban on violent TV content. It was the second large "Serbia Against Violence" rally after two back-to-back mass shootings in which 17 people, including children, were killed. Read More

President Biden declared on May 13 that white supremacy is “the most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland” and warned a predominantly Black audience that “sinister forces” embraced by his predecessor and putative challenger are trying to reverse generations of racial progress in America. Read More

FRANCE 24 spoke to Evgenia Kara-Murza, the wife of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition activist who was recently sentenced to 25 years in jail by a Moscow court for "high treason" because of his outspoken criticism of the war in Ukraine. Kara-Murza sent a message to her jailed husband: she will "never stop fighting" for him. She also discussed the current situation in Russia and said she felt unable to return there as she feared the authorities would arrest her to "put pressure" on her husband. Read More

CNN is facing a backlash over its town hall featuring former President Donald Trump, an event that swiftly turned chaotic in a stark display of the tightrope facing journalists covering a leading 2024 Republican candidate who refuses to play by the rules. The town hall on May 10 was the first major television event of the 2024 presidential campaign, and CNN defended its decision to hold it as a chance to put Trump in front of a wider audience, outside of the conservative media bubble he has largely kept to since early in his presidency. Read More

Oligarchs Linked to PM Modi Own Media Outfits in India: RSF

RSF says that Modi has an army of supporters who track down all online reporting regarded as critical of the government and wage horrific harassment campaigns against the sources.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) - which defends freedom of journalists in all parts of the world - has reported that media freedom is under severe threat in India.

In the latest 2023 World Press Freedom Index released on May 3, India’s rank on the RSF Index fell from 142 in 2021 to 150 in 2022 to 161 in 2023, which is a manifestation of the fact that press freedom is constantly under state attack.

The prime minister of India Narendra Modi at the Community Reception in Berlin, Germany on May 02, 2022. Photo: PIB (file photo)

In another report released on May 3, RSF asserts that all the mainstream media are now owned by wealthy businessmen or oligarchs close to prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi. This could be the reason that India has become one of the most dangerous places for journalists where they are harassed and killed with impunity.

RSF says that the phenomenon which dangerously restricts the free flow of news and information is the acquisition of media outlets by oligarchs with close links with political leaders.

According to RSF, this is particularly the case in “hybrid” regimes such as India, where all the mainstream media are now owned by wealthy businessmen close to PM Modi.

At the same time, RSF says, Modi has an army of supporters who track down all online reporting regarded as critical of the government and wage horrific harassment campaigns against the sources. Caught between these two forms of extreme pressure, many journalists are, in practice, forced to censor themselves, RSF said in its report.

It further says that North Korea, China, Vietnam, Myanmar – Asia’s one-party states and dictatorships - are the ones that constrict journalism most, regimes with leaders who have continued to tighten their totalitarian grip on the public discourse.

Starting with Xi Jinping, who secured a historic third term as China’s leader with a concentration of power without precedent since Mao Zedong, and has used it to pursue the crusade he launched against journalism ten years ago.

With the result that China is the world’s biggest jailer of journalists and press freedom defenders, closely followed by Myanmar, which has become a black hole for news and information ever since the military seized total control in a coup on 1 February 2021.

RSF concludes in its report that excessive, overly concentrated power is the main obstacle to journalistic freedom and it is when political, economic, and judicial powers are balanced and regulated that press freedom can fully flourish.

Donate: You can click here to donate to RMN News Service.

Write Articles for RMN News Sites and Digital Magazines

RMN Company offers 2 writing options to thought leaders and companies or organizations from all parts of the world.

Raman Media Network (RMN) Company has been working in diversified content creation, management, and distribution businesses on a global scale for the past 12 years.

The media business of RMN Company is being managed by Rakesh Raman who is a national award-winning journalist and founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation.

Besides working at senior editorial positions with leading media companies, he was writing an exclusive edit-page column regularly for The Financial Express, which is a daily business newspaper of The Indian Express Group.

He had also been associated with the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert to help businesses use technology for brand marketing and business development.

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RMN Company has been publishing since 2020 The Unrest news magazine which covers economic and political upheavals in the world. It has also been publishing The Integrity Bulletin news magazine since 2018 to cover local and international corruption news and issues to engage with different stakeholders who are trying to combat corruption.

Writing Options on RMN Media Properties (News Sites and Digital Magazines)

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Crime and Corruption Increasing in Delhi Housing Societies

The “Clean House” service reports about the crime and corruption happening in Delhi’s housing societies where millions of people live.

The cooperative group housing societies (CGHS) of Delhi have become dangerous centres of crime and corruption. The crimes in these housing societies are being committed by the management committee (MC) members or administrators in connivance with the corrupt officials of Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS) of Delhi Government, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi Police, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), and a few other departments.

Case Report: Illegal Construction Reported at Bank Niwas CGHS of Dwarka

Case Update: May 9, 2023

As an illegal construction activity has been happening at Bank Niwas CGHS, Mr. Pawan Jain (h/o Society member Ms. Usha Jain) resident of Flat No. 82 at Bank Niwas CGHS has complained to Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.

In his email letter dated May 1, 2023, Mr. Jain reports that unauthorized construction and encroachment have been happening at the Society building in connivance with the Administrator appointed by the Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS) office of Delhi Government.

Residents complain that various criminal activities are happening at Bank Niwas CGHS, Plot No 22, Sector 4, Dwarka, New Delhi 110 078 Photo courtesy: Residents

Mr. Jain alleges that only 5 or 6 people have begun the unauthorised construction in a couple of blocks without obtaining necessary approvals from Delhi Development Authority (DDA) or the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). He adds that an informal construction committee of a few residents is illegally expanding the size of balconies and corridors as well as altering the original building layout plan. In his

complaint, Mr. Jain has urged the authorities to hold an on-the-spot inspection of the Bank Niwas building and stop unauthorized construction and encroachment.

On May 8, 2023, Mr. Jain explained the case in a video interaction to the RMN News Service editor Mr. Rakesh Raman. The case has been updated at the online “Clean House” service page.

If the matter is not resolved in the next one week or so, the RMN News Service will approach the authorities including police to begin a formal investigation of the case.

The Bank Niwas CGHS Administrator can contact me to give their response to this complaint filed by Mr. Jain.

The video interaction with Mr. Jain is available on the RMN YouTube Channel.

[ You can click here to read the full case report. ]

Thank You

Rakesh Raman

Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine

Marija Pejčinović Burić highlighted the Council of Europe’s relentless action following a three-pronged approach.

The Council of Europe (COE) Secretary General, Marija Pejčinović Burić, has decided to join the summit of leaders for creation of a Special Tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

"There can be no just and sustainable peace without accountability,” she said. “This is why Ukraine and the accountability for the crimes committed by Russia will be central to our upcoming fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government in Reykjavik on 16-17 May.” She was addressing the online summit of the leaders of

the member states of the Coalition (Core Group) on the creation of the Special Tribunal.

highlighted the Council of Europe’s relentless action following a three-pronged approach:

Support for the Office of the Prosecutor General in his investigations into war crimes and gross human rights violations;

Establishment of a Register of Damage, a necessary component of a comprehensive compensation mechanism;

Support for international efforts to set up a special tribunal on the crime of aggression.

“The Council of Europe is and remains mobilized to hold Russia accountable for its crimes and illegal actions. By working together, we will ensure that justice will be done,” concluded the Secretary General.

Secretary General of the 46-nation Council of Europe (COE), Marija Pejčinović Burić. Photo: COE Marija Pejčinović Burić

Crime, Corruption, and Impunity in India

Politicians, bureaucrats, police, and judges have formed a criminal gang in India. The following cases depict how they collude with criminals and commit crimes and corruption with impunity while the ordinary citizens are suffering. Click the following links for details.

UN Petition on Punjab Unrest RCS-EOW Case

Cabinet Secretariat Case

Prime Minister Office (PMO) Case

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Case

Delhi Lokayukta Case

DoPT Case CBI Case

Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Case Supreme Court Case

Delhi Govt Case Delhi Petitions Committee / CVC Case

NHRC Case Petition on School Education

Environmental Crime Case Lokpal Removal Case

Judicial Corruption Case

RCS Corruption Case

Lokayukta Delhi Corruption Case Widehouse Scandal

NHRC Case at UN HRC IAS Group Corruption Case

CPGRAMS Cases PGMS Cases

IAS Corruption Record UNCAC Petition

Delhi Police Case DoPT Processes

RCS RTI Violations

DDA Corruption Case

Petitions and Representations by Rakesh Raman. Up to April 2023

BJP Editorial Inputs for 2023 Research Project on Corruption in India

As I need editorial inputs from your party (BJP) for this research report on corruption in India, I request you to send me your response on the following queries.

To May 11, 2023

Mr. Jagat Prakash Nadda

National President

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of India, New Delhi

Dear Mr. Jagat Prakash Nadda,

I am a national award-winning journalist and founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation in New Delhi. As an anti-corruption activist, I publish The Integrity Bulletin news magazine, which covers local and international corruption news and issues. I am in the process of compiling a comprehensive report – under the title India Corruption Research Report 2023 (ICRR 2023) – on diverse aspects of corruption in India. The report ICRR 2023 will be the second annual report while the first report ICRR 2022 was released in October 2022. [ You can click here to download and read ICRR 2022. ] As I need editorial inputs from your party (BJP) for this research report on corruption in India, I request you to send me your response on the following queries.

Jagat Prakash Nadda, National President, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Photo: BJP

1. How does BJP define corruption as well as political corruption?

2. What process does BJP follow to receive, investigate, and resolve corruption complaints against its leaders and workers?

3. How many corruption complaints did BJP receive and resolve in 2022?

4. How many convictions (including imprisonment) of culprits did BJP have in the corruption cases of its leaders in the past 3 years: 2020-2022? Give details including names and designations of the convicts.

5. What mechanism does BJP follow to take action against its leaders who are corrupt or do not perform their duties honestly?

6. It is alleged that BJP controls and forces the investigating agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to implicate the opposition leaders in false corruption or money laundering cases. What is your response?

7. What is BJP response to grand corruption cases – such as the alleged collusion of prime minister Narendra Modi with oligarch Gautam Adani (Modi-Adani collusion case), Rafale scam, PM-CARES Fund case, etc. – which are in the public domain but have not been thoroughly investigated?

8. What system does BJP follow to weed out corruption from the party and the country?

9. You can add any other point from your side to explain the performance related to corruption prevention of your party.

You may please send me your response on the above queries on or before May 18, 2023. Please find attached a 4-page document including a concept note on this project and do the needful urgently.

Thank You

Rakesh Raman

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Imran Khan Faces Corruption Charges in Multiple Cases

Like most other politicians, Imran Khan claims that the corruption charges against him are politically motivated. He has not yet furnished any evidence in his defence. Former prime minister (PM) of Pakistan Imran Khan was sent to custody for 8 days on May 10 in corruption cases that he has been facing.

Imran Khan. Photo: PTI (file photo)

Pakistan's top anti-corruption authority the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had asked an Islamabad court for a custody of 10 days for questioning him in corruption cases. However, he was released on bail.

Imran Khan, 70, is facing corruption charges leveled by the Pakistan election commission for selling foreign gifts that he received when he was the PM of Pakistan. He was supposed to hand over the gifts to the government Toshakhana. According to reports, the court sent Imran Khan to NAB custody in the Al-Qadir University Trust case, a day after his arrest in Islamabad on May 9, while he was indicted in the Toshakhana case.

Editor’s Note: Although the PM of India Narendra Modi is also allegedly involved in a number of corruption cases, the Indian courts and anti-corruption agencies are so weak and also complicit in crimes that they do not question or arrest Modi.

The corruption cases - worth billions of dollars or thousands of crores of rupeesin which Modi is allegedly involved include the Modi-Adani collusion case, Rafale corruption case, and PM-CARES Fund case.

The leader of the main opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Imran Khan had been arrested for alleged corruption in the Trust case. Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency has filed charges against him in an anti-corruption court, which had issued the arrest warrant as Imran Khan failed to appear in the court. Like most other politicians, he claims that the corruption charges against him are politically motivated. However, he has not yet furnished any evidence in his defence.

Imran Khan was arrested on May 9 deceptively by the paramilitary forces when he was entering the Islamabad High Court for hearing in a case. He was dragged and pushed into a vehicle.

Imran Khan was anticipating the arrest as he tweeted a video message before his departure for the court in which he said that he is ready to get imprisoned if there is a valid case against him. He added that there have been repeated assassination attempts to eliminate him because he is mobilizing people in support of the

Constitution. He warned that civil unrest - like it happened in Sri Lanka - is imminent in Pakistan.

Earlier, he had said that he may be killed after incarceration by the authorities which are trying to arrest him in the corruption case. In a video message released in March, Imran Khan said that police have come to arrest him and if he is killed his supporters should keep fighting for their rights.

His supporters pelted stones on Pakistan police which had come to arrest him from his Lahore home in March. In response, the police used water cannons to drive away the crowd.

After a series of public protests led by opposition parties against Imran Khan’s failure to revive the economy in Pakistan, he was removed from the PM position in April 2022. In May last year (2022), Imran Khan led a massive protest to demand early elections in Pakistan.

According to a tweeted message by his party PTI, Imran Khan will be produced in the court on May 17. However, after the Supreme Court intervention, the Islamabad High Court granted him two-week bail on May 12 in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

Even After Supreme Court Order Kejriwal Is a Powerless CM

The Supreme Court has given its order in favor of the elected government, but confusion persists.

Although the Supreme Court of India had passed an ambiguous order on May 11 allowing the elected Delhi Government of chief minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal to exercise control over service matters, Kejriwal’s directives are not being honoured.

According to a Hindustan Times report of May 12, the Kejriwal government has again approached the Supreme Court to clarify its decision. However, as things stand today, it is highly unlikely that Kejriwal will get full control over the administrationparticularly because Delhi is not a full state.

In a judgment pronounced on May 11, the Supreme Court said that the Delhi Government headed by the chief minister (CM) will exercise control over service matters in the city-state.

So far, Delhi Lt. Governor (LG) was handling the service matters including transfers and postings of Delhi bureaucrats. With this judgment, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was supposed to have control over the bureaucracy and LG Vinai Saxena would supervise only Public Order, Police, and Land in Delhi.

The Supreme Court observed that the elected government should have more powers than the selected officials like the LG - who has been handpicked by the Central government led by prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi.

In a tweet posted in Hindi, Kejriwal - who is the leader of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)welcomed the Supreme Court decision and said that now development work will accelerate in Delhi. Although the Supreme Court has given its order in favor of the elected government, the confusion persists. Earlier, the Government of National

Arvind Kejriwal with Vinai Saxena

Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021 had stated that the term “government” in Delhi means the LG of Delhi and the elected government of Kejriwal cannot take any decision independently. In other words, the Kejriwal government will have to take LG’s consent before taking any executive action.

Now, the new Supreme Court order has conflict with the law passed in 2021. Therefore, there is a likelihood that LG Saxena will exploit the ambiguity in law and continue to enjoy full administrative powers in Delhi.

In the past, Kejriwal and AAP often complained that LG Saxena was not allowing them to perform freely and interfering in their work through direct interactions with bureaucrats.

The dogfight between Kejriwal and Saxena was so wild that the development work in Delhi was completely hampered. Today, Delhi has become the world’s most polluted national capital and corruption is rampant in almost all departments of Delhi Government.

In fact, a couple of ministers in the Kejriwal government - Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain - have been jailed under charges of massive corruption and money laundering.

Also, Kejriwal and a slew of other AAP leaders are facing investigations while Delhi LG Saxena has ordered a probe into the reported Rs. 45 crore misappropriation of public funds by Kejriwal on the renovation of his house.

Similarly, the standard of education is pathetic in Delhi schools and the Mohalla Clinics that Kejriwal praises are in a deplorable state. There is a lack of basic amenities such as water, electricity, and transport in Delhi.

While the city is littered with stinking household waste, it has become a colossal dustbin as swarms of mosquitoes breed in homes making life miserable for Delhi residents.

Now the people of Delhi are facing a serious mosquito threat as the mosquito density in the city has increased manifold. The Delhi homes are full of mosquitoes and many people may be dying with mosquito bites. But the negligent Delhi Government has failed to deal with the mosquito menace in the city.

Meanwhile, a new global report (Ecological Threat Report 2022: Analysing Ecological Threats, Resilience & Peace) has warned of an imminent ecological disaster in Delhi. The report says factors such as poor infrastructure, lethal air pollution, weak regulatory framework, and administrative failure are going to make Delhi unsustainable for its population of over 30 million.

Thus, Delhi continues to be a living hell for millions of people who live here and now the ambiguous Supreme Court order is expected to cause more conflicts between the LG and the Kejriwal government. So, the people of Delhi should not expect any relief.

About the Editor

The editor of The Unrest news magazine Rakesh Raman is a national award-winning journalist and founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation. Besides working at senior editorial positions with leading media companies, he was writing an exclusive edit-page column regularly for The Financial Express (a daily business newspaper of The Indian Express Group).

Nowadays, for the past 12 years, he has been running his own global news services on multiple news sites. He runs various environment protection, education awareness, and anti-corruption campaigns, and publishes digital magazines and research reports on different subjects. Earlier, he had been associated with the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert to help businesses use technology for brand marketing and business development.

At present, Rakesh is associated with the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project as a Country Expert for India to provide expert research inputs on multiple topics pertaining to democracy and governance. The V-Dem Project is managed by V-Dem Institute under the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

In order to inform the Indian citizens and the global community about the extent of corruption in India, he compiled and released in October 2022 a comprehensive report on corruption in the country. Under the title “India Corruption Research Report 2022 (ICRR 2022),” the research report covers diverse aspects of corruption in India.

He has also been publishing The Integrity Bulletin news magazine since 2018 to cover local and international corruption issues to engage with different stakeholders who are trying to combat corruption in the world. He has also announced the new project for 2023 to compile the India Corruption Research Report 2023 (ICRR 2023). You can click here to know about the project and support it financially with your donations.

He has launched a nationwide campaign to introduce social democracy in India in order to build an egalitarian society in which all citizens could enjoy equal rights, opportunities, freedoms, and access to justice. He is running an editorial section / microsite “Power Play: Lok Sabha Election 2024 in India” to cover the election news, events, and political campaigns.

He is also running a nationwide campaign to save school students of India from directionless education so that students could acquire modern skills that can help them in the job market. In his anti-corruption activities, he participated in a global petition led by Germany-based international organization Transparency International to call for the UN General Assembly Special Session against

Corruption, UNGASS 2021, to direct all countries to set up central, public registers of beneficial ownership.

He runs a community-driven anti-corruption social service “Clean House” to help the residents of Delhi raise their voice against the growing corruption and injustice in housing societies where millions of people suffer because of rampant corruption and lawlessness. He has also formed an environment protection group called Green Group in New Delhi, which is the most polluted national capital in the world.

As Rakesh has been facing constant threats including death threats for his editorial and anti-corruption work, the Paris-based international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) that defends freedom of journalists has urged the Indian government to save him from threats and persecution. You can click here to read his full profile.

Collaboration with the Project

THE UNREST news magazine is being published by RMN Foundation, which is the humanitarian initiative of RMN News Service. It is being circulated among different UN agencies, government departments, leading global politicians, international political organizations, colleges / universities, law-enforcement agencies, civil society organizations, social activists, and others in India and abroad.

As the founder of RMN Foundation and editor of RMN News Service, I am managing this project independently without any financial or other support. RMN News Service is looking for sponsors and collaborators across the world who can help it expand the content creation activity around this editorial initiative.

Contact

Rakesh Raman Founder

RMN Foundation 463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4 Dwarka, Phase I, New Delhi 110 078, INDIA Call: 9810319059 | Contact by email