All stories by SYED FIRDAUS ASHRAF
Loya verdict: 'Important facts remain unanswered'
Rediff.com20 Apr 2018'A number of facts are still left unaddressed by the Supreme Court judgment.' 'I think there are enough grounds for an inquiry to be ordered.'
'RBI has reduced cash supply to banks'
Rediff.com19 Apr 2018'The RBI is not releasing Rs 2,000 notes for the last 10 days; probably they have stopped printing it.'
'NIA has become the BJP's parrot'
Rediff.com17 Apr 2018'We were expecting death sentences, but now the court has acquitted them, despite Aseemanand himself admitting to his crime in front of a judge.' More importantly, it seems the tag of 'Hindu Terror' coined by the United Progressive Alliance government was wrong all along. Amjedullah Khan, spokesperson for the Majlis Bachao Tehreek, has been tracking the Mecca Masjid blast case from day one and was also involved in securing the release of more than 100 Muslims youths who were falsely accused in different terror cases in the aftermath of the blast. He spoke to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com about the acquittal of Swami Aseemanand and what it means.
Kathua rape: 'This crime can never happen in a temple'
Rediff.com12 Apr 2018'There are communal overtones in the chargesheet.' 'Hindus and Muslims live peacefully in Jammu and by highlighting such facts in the chargesheet they are committing a conspiracy against Jammu.' The reason: A Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the Kathua rape-cum-murder case (see box below) and the deportation of Rohingya immigrants. Speaking to Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf, B S Salathia, Jammu Bar Association explains their call for a bandh and the communal divide it has brought about in Jammu.
Just how much money is riding on Salman?
Rediff.com5 Apr 2018'If he gets bail, he will bounce back.'
All you need to know about Salman's blackbuck case
Rediff.com5 Apr 2018How many such cases are there against Salman Khan? What is their status?
The BJP's Dalit MP who wants Modi to walk the talk
Rediff.com5 Apr 2018'Today, Dalits can become IAS officers, doctors, IPS, MLAs, MPs and even the President due to the Constitution of India.' 'And if you destroy India's Constitution, then poverty will never disappear.' 'If the BJP is pro-Dalit, they must implement policies which are pro-Dalit.' 'It cannot work if they only talk.'
'Why is the prime minister not transparent?'
Rediff.com28 Mar 2018'I am only asking about his travel bills and expenditure.'
'Quran does not encourage polygamy'
Rediff.com28 Mar 2018'Due to lack of understanding or patriarchal misinterpretation, a common notion was generated that if you are a Muslim man you can marry four times.'
'Modi is not defending SC/ST Atrocities Act'
Rediff.com26 Mar 2018'In 2013, Modi said his government would be of Dalits and OBCs.' 'During his tenure, the highest number of atrocities have taken place.' 'What they want is that this Ambedkar Constitution must not be practised in India in the future.'
'Only BJP will be left in the NDA'
Rediff.com21 Mar 2018'NDA allies have realised that if they don't dump the BJP, then people will dump their party in 2019.' 'People's mood is against the BJP'
'Why were we not given jobs?': Angry rail protestor speaks
Rediff.com20 Mar 2018Bharat Pardeshi, one of the leaders from the All India Railway Act Apprentice Association, spoke to Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf about why they had to resort to the unpopular move, disrupting the lives of thousands of railway commuters in Mumbai.
'Till farmers are not free from debt, this struggle will go on'
Rediff.com13 Mar 2018'This has always been a trend by the ruling party, that they give assurances but never fulfill it.' 'The BJP is known for it as it is their character.' 'They agree when the farmers' movement is on, but turn their backs when the farmers leave.' 'We have to keep a constant pressure on the government for our demands.'
PHOTOS: Protesting farmers turn Mumbai's Azad Maidan red
Rediff.com13 Mar 2018Scenes from Azad Maidan.
No breakfast, only dal-rice on the way. How 30,000 farmers reached Mumbai
Rediff.com12 Mar 2018'All these farmers and tribals were told to bring their own wood and ration to cook food during the march.'
'Why can't BJP government waive our loans?'
Rediff.com12 Mar 2018'I hope that by seeing us in such huge numbers the government will get scared and agree to our demands.'
Why I may stop reading the newspapers
Rediff.com12 Mar 2018'...I have not read newspapers for quite some time,' a psychologist tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf, 'and I am perfectly normal.'
'The BJP government's entire record is of betrayal'
Rediff.com11 Mar 2018'Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called us for a meeting in March 2016 and we submitted the same charter of demands that we are submitting now.' 'He gave us wishy-washy assurances.' 'We thought he was the new chief minister and we believed him, but later we found out that nothing is moving on the ground.' 'This time we want a written assurance and a concrete timetable for implementation.' 'We will not leave Mumbai, come what may.'
'His statement is almost like him making a threat to the Supreme Court'
Rediff.com7 Mar 2018'It is a very irresponsible statement.' 'He is saying all the wrong things.'