He has, however, received bail for appeal at a higher court, which has to be done in 30 days.

The magistrate also imposed a fine of Rs. 15,000 after finding him guilty.

The complaint had been filed by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi under IPC Sections 499 (defamation: Whoever by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said, except in the cases hereinafter excepted, to defame that person.) and 500 (punishment for defamation: Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.) against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged remarks stating that it has defamed all people with the ‘Modi’ surname while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The remarks had been video graphed by the video surveillance team and video viewing team duly notified by the office of Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer, Kollar District. The Gujarat High Court had vacated the stay on trial in the criminal defamation case in February this year.

Rahul Gandhi remained present in the court when the court pronounced its verdict. On earlier three occasions too, he was present before the Court.  

ICC judges issue arrest warrants against Putin for crises in Ukraine

Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova.

The ICC says it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine. The court said in a statement that Putin is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.

It also issued a warrant on Friday for the arrest of Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation on similar allegations.

Ukraine’s human rights chief, Dmytro Lubinets, has said that based on data from the country’s National Information Bureau, 16,226 children were deported. Ukraine has managed to bring back 308 children.

In WashingtonPresident Joe Biden called the ICC’s decision “justified,” telling reporters as he left the White House for his Delaware home that Putin “clearly committed war crimes.” While the US does not recognize the court either, Biden said it “makes a very strong point” to call out the Russian leader’s actions in ordering the invasion.

SpaceX launches 40 OneWeb internet satellites to orbit, lands rocket

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 40 broadband satellites to orbit for the UK company OneWeb on Thursday (March 9) and came back to Earth for a pinpoint touchdown. 

The two-stage Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida Thursday (March 16).

The rocket’s first stage came back to Earth right on schedule, touching down on a landing pad at Cape Canaveral about 7 minutes and 50 seconds after launch. 

It was the 13th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description(opens in new tab). Among those previous flights were SpaceX’s two private astronaut missions, Inspiration4 and Ax-1, which launched in September 2021 and April 2022, respectively.

The rocket’s upper stage, meanwhile, continued making its way to low Earth orbit (LEO). The OneWeb satellites were deployed in small batches beginning about 59 minutes after liftoff. All 40 had been successfully deployed by T+96 minutes.

ATK Mohun Bagan snaps up ISL crown

Kolkata’s super football team Mohun Bagan is again on top of the world, at least in India. Recently, ATK Mohun Bagan won the 2022-23 Indian Super League, defeating Bengaluru FC on penalties (4-3), after the game ended 2-2 after extra time. Bruno Ramires and Pablo Perez missed the decisive penalties for BFC, with Dimi Petratos, Sunil Chhetri and Roy Krishna finding the net in normal time.

This is the first ISL title for the ATK Mohun Bagan in their new guise, with ATK and Atletico de Kolkata winning three titles together. Sanjiv Goenka also announced that the club would be known as Mohun Bagan Super Giants going forward.

Bengaluru FC’s final started off with an ill-omen as Sivasakthi Narayanan went off injured, replaced by Sunil Chhetri in the fourth minute. As both teams adjusted to the change in personnel, there were a couple of half-chances made at either end.

Simon Grayson’s night went from bad to worse after Roy Krishna handled in the box while challenging Ashique Kuruniyan for a header, with the referee pointing to the spot. Dimi Petratos stepped up, and despite Gurpreet Singh Sandhu diving the right way, the penalty was struck too well, giving ATK Mohun Bagan the lead in the 14th minute.

In extra time, Udanta Singh and Rohit failed to hit the target with their respective chances, while Manvir missed from a few yards out for ATKMB. Towards the end of extra time, Sandhu spilt Petratos’ long-range strike, but it bounced out for a corner that led to nothing before the game headed into penalties.

In the nervy penalty shoot-out, Golden Glove winner Kaith stepped up for his team for the second game in a row, while no one missed from the spot in a game dictated by penalties throughout. As the winners, ATKMB took home prize money of Rs 6 crore, while runners-up Bengaluru FC were awarded Rs 2.5 crore.

Final score: ATK Mohun Bagan 2 (Petratos 14’-p, 85’-p) Bengaluru FC 2 (Chhetri 45+5’-p, Krishna 78’).

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It was a open and chilling depiction of the rot that has afflicted India sports for a long, long time, and it was out on the streets for the entire world to see. Olympic and World championship medallist Indian wrestlers landed at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to protest not only the high handedness of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, but they also alleged that they were subjected to sexual harassment from the BJP MP and former mafia don.

Among those present at the three-day protest dharna were Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, who have Olympic bronzes, Vinesh Phogat, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and other athletes. They started their sit-in on January 18.

Singh has, of course, denied all allegations against him and said the athletes have no evidence to support them. The athletes say they know of five or six players who have been victims of harassment.

Vinesh Phogat alleged that the president had sexually exploited and harassed women wrestlers over a period of years.

Vinesh, who has been at loggerheads with the WFI since the Tokyo Olympics, made a startling revelation and also confirmed that it was not her, but one of her colleagues who was exploited.

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur called the wrestlers over to his place and held two long meetings. At the end, Thakur asked Singh to move away from his post for a while, while investigations are held into the allegations. The IOA, headed by PT Usha, has formed an investigative body with MC Mary Kom, former multiple time world champion boxer as its head.

Of course the entire episode will be investigated, but it is a known fact in Indian sports that well-known and often respected administrators in different disciplines have always exploited women athletes, not that even politicians have stayed away from such acts.

Several protests, from lesser known athletes, have failed to germinate. They have been, time and again, crushed under administrative boots, denied due placed in teams and even their reputations and job prospects have been destroyed. This is not new.

One has to be thankful for these famous wrestlers to bring to the open the dark and ugly underbelly of Indian sports administration.

The allegation

Veteran Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, on January 18, alleged that WFI President Brij Bhushan has been involved since many years in sexually exploiting women wrestlers. Vinesh further claimed that several coaches at the national camp in Lucknow have also exploited women wrestlers.

Vinesh revealed that while she was never harassed or exploited, one of the victims of harassment was actually present at the dharna. She was not named. The 28-year-old also claimed that she had received death threats from officials close to President Brij Bhushan after she shared issues around wrestling in India with PM Narendra Modi after the Tokyo Olympics.

Bajrang Punia termed President Brij Bhushan a ‘dictator’ and also claimed that the WFI has been run in an arbitrary manner. Some of the notable Indian wrestlers and Olympic as well as CWG medal winners were present at the dharna.

Sakshi Malik, Sarita Mor, Sangeeta Phogat, Anshu Malik, Sonam Malik, Satyawart Malik, Jitendra Kinha, Amit Dhankar, and Sumit Malik were among the 30 wrestlers present at the protest besides Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia.

Vinesh highlighted harassment and misbehaviour with female wrestlers. “Coaches are harassing women, and some coaches who are favourites of the federation misbehave with women coaches as well. They sexually harass girls. The WFI president has sexually harassed so many girls,” she revealed. Vinesh even disclosed that the president called her “Khota Sikka” post her Tokyo Olympics campaign. The organization tortured her mentally, and as a result, she even got suicidal thoughts.

A bit about Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

Singh, 66, has been the president of the WFI since 2011. He was elected for a third consecutive term in February 2019. He is a politician, currently with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and is serving as a Member of Parliament from Kaiserganj.

In 2012 he became the president of the wrestling body for the first time by defeating Congress MP Deepender Hooda. He has also called the wrestlers sitting on dharna at Jantar Mantar as puppets of Deepender Hooda. In support of his point, the official of the wrestling association cited the statements of the wrestlers sitting on the dharna, in which there was only a demand for the resignation of Brij Bhushan, but later the demand for the dissolution of the entire wrestling federation, including all the state wrestling associations, was included. 

In his defence Singh he called allegations fake. “There is no truth in any of the allegations. Why should I quit? Even if one woman wrestler comes and proves the sexual harassment charge, I am ready to be hanged. There is an industrialist behind it (conspiracy),” the 66-year-old WFI President said at a media interaction.

“There can be an investigation by the CBI or police. There is no dictatorship. These same wrestlers had met me a week back and did not say anything.”

Answering Vinesh’s death threat claims, he said, “Why didn’t Vinesh talk to me or approach the police at that time? Why did she not meet the PM or the sports minister? Why is she saying this now?”

The WFI chief said that the new policies around competition in National Championships are causing trouble to the wrestlers and that is the reason behind the protest. “Different states host Nationals and all want the country’s best athletes to compete. None of these wrestlers has competed in the Nationals. We have made it clear that only those athletes who compete and win at the National Championship will be selected for the National camp.

Brij Bhushan has also been quoted as saying that some of the wrestlers were pressured to sit on dharna. “97 percent of players are with the WFI. I am hurt by the sexual harassment allegations. Not a single player can bring such charges against me or the chief coach. Some wrestlers were pressured to sit on a dharna.”

He also responded to Vinesh’s claims against the coaches in a conversation with the ANI. “A few days ago, in a meeting, Vinesh (Phogat) demanded that the chief coach be changed. A coach can’t be changed on the whims and fancies of one player. We have to think about players from other states as well. They should have come with names of the coaches, who they claimed are involved in sexual harassment.”

The reaction from the sports ministry

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) stated that they have taken cognisance of the events and have asked the WFI to issue an explanation within 72 hours.

The MYAS statement as quoted by Quint mentioned, “Since the matter pertains to the well-being of athletes, the Ministry has taken a very serious view of the matter. The Ministry has further stated that if WFI fails to furnish the reply within the next 72 hours, the Ministry will proceed to initiate action against the federation in terms of the provisions of the National Sports Development Code, 2011.”

The Ministry of Sports on January 22 suspended Vinod Tomar, assistant secretary of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).

Protests called off

Wrestlers called-off the protests after Brij Bhusan Sharan Singh stepped aside as the President for a month. Bajrang stated that the union Sports Minister has listened to their demands and has assured that there will be a proper investigation As a result, they were calling-off the protests.

THE LOBBY STORY

Haryana lobby has become weak in the last ten years

According to a senior official of the WFI, the Haryana lobby has been very strong in the Indian Wrestling Association. Earlier Haryana used to dominate most of the posts related to the team support staff from inside the Wrestling Federation of India. But in the last 10 years during the tenure of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, this dominance of the Haryana lobby has ended. He said, in an attempt to regain this supremacy, the case of wrestlers protesting at Jantar Mantar has become ‘Haryana vs All India’. To strengthen his point, he cited Haryana’s wrestlers being at the forefront in this whole matter and Deepender Hooda standing vociferously in their support

TIMELINE

Jan 18: 
In a startling revelation, a crying Vinesh Phogat alleged that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been sexually exploiting women wrestlers for many years, a charge rejected outright by the sports administrator. The 28-year-old though clarified that she herself never faced such exploitation but claimed that “one victim” was present at the ‘dharna’ they began at Jantar Mantar. So disturbed was Vinesh that she along with Bajrang Punia had even met Union home minister Amit Shah to flag their issues about three months back. Rio Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik, world championship medallist Sarita Mor, Sangeeta Phogat, Anshu Malik, Sonam Malik, Satyawart Malik, Jitender Kinha, Amit Dhankar and CWG medallist Sumit Malik were among 30 wrestlers who assembled at the famous protest site.

Jan 19: 
On day 2 of the protest, three-time CWG medallist and BJP leader Babita Phogat came with a “message” from the government in the afternoon and assured the grapplers that their demands will be met after elite wrestlers insisted that WFI be disbanded. The wrestlers’ late-night meeting with Union sports minister Anurag Thakur remained inconclusive as they refused to back down from their demand. The marathon meeting began around 10pm on Thursday. The wrestlers left Thakur’s house at 1:45am.

Politicians also reacted sharply with Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar asserted “we will not let their morale to break”. Congress leaders also came out strongly in support of the players, with former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda saying “it is a matter of great misfortune and shame that our players, the pride of the country, have to protest on the streets today”.

Jan 20: 
It was a high-voltage day. Taking cognisance of allegations of sexual harassment, the Indian Olympic Association, led by PT Usha, formed a seven-member committee, headed by MC Mary Kom, to probe the charges. The panel was constituted even as the wrestlers’ sit-in protest entered the third day which also saw them meet union sports minister Anurag Thakur for a second round of talks in less than 24 hours.

Besides legendary boxer Mary Kom and wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, the panel includes archer Dola Banerjee and Indian Weightlifting Federation president and IOA treasurer Sahdev Yadav.

Meanwhile, Beijing Olympics bronze medallist boxer and Congress leader Vijender Singh also visited the protest site at Jantar Mantar, showing solidarity with the wrestlers.

Jan 20-21: 
In a late-night development, the wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Ravi Dahiya, decided to end their protest after a breakthrough was achieved during a marathon second round of talks with Anurag Thakur. Thakur said an oversight committee will be formed that will investigate the allegations. The committee, members of which will be named on Saturday, will also oversee the day-to-day affairs of the federation. Making the announcement, Thakur said the committee will submit its report in one month’s time.

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The fact of the matter is that while in Gujarat the Narendra Modi factor still holds sway, and to a huge extent – that was evident in the party winning an all-time best of 156 out of 182 seats – the Congress was a more of the usual anti-incumbency wave that always is the trait of Himachalis. There was no arithmetic in any of this, and for the Congress, there was hardly a face either. And, surely, there was no current issue involved.

The interesting part about Gujarat was that neither the price rise, nor the slowdown of the economy, or the Morbi bridge disaster or even the disastrous state of business, as Surat and other regions of the state have witnessed, mattered in the end.  The minds of the people were made up, and nothing cut into their thought process. This level of polarisation has little meaning, except that faith has proved to be, again, a very strange emotion.

Himachal is a small state with a small mandate, but also gave the Congress its third state in the country – after Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and this was the first victory for the party under its new president Mallikarjun Kharge. Whether this means anything deeper only time can tell, though.

For Congress, though, Gujarat was a disaster, they have notched up the lowest number and it will be a long fight back to respectability. There was also the factor of Arvind Kjeriwal and his Aam Admi Party (AAP) eating into Congress votes. The AAP has acted in the most horrible manner. AAP has not been able to make any dent in the Gujarat mindset – nearly 70% of their candidates losing their deposits – but its presence helped the BJP notch up a bigger win. One has to look deeper into the AAP’s designs in the future.

Overall, it seems elections die for the next year will, again, NOT be fought on issues. That, probably, is not a good sign for Indian policy as a whole.

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The move to evacuate Indians through the western borders of Ukraine follows assurances from President Putin to PM Narendra Modi that Russian forces have been instructed to ensure their safety. The timing will be decided as the evacuees reach the eastern European capitals.

Modi will review the situation in a meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Security today. These flights have been chartered from the airline by the government. The government will bear all the cost.

There are nearly 16,000 Indians (mostly students) stranded in Ukraine. By Friday evening, 200 Indians from western Ukraine had been taken to Romania through the Suceava border crossing.

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