Politics
India Election Victory Is Expanding a Hindu Monk’s National Profile
GORAKHPUR, India — The highly effective chief minister of India’s most populous state wakened at a Hindu temple, fed cows candy jaggery muffins, carried out a non secular ceremony for Lord Shiva, then hit the path on the final day of his election marketing campaign this month.
This blurring of faith and politics is what some supporters love and a few opponents concern most about Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the firebrand Hindu monk who received a essential state election and a second time period this week in Uttar Pradesh.
His election victory and continued reputation, regardless of a closely criticized authorities response to the coronavirus pandemic and an increase in hate speech and violence in opposition to Muslims beneath his watch, have cemented him as one of the vital galvanizing figures in right-wing Hindu politics, and more and more as an inheritor obvious to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
With the opposition in disarray, and with the assist of a fervent Hindu base that appreciates his us-or-them appeals, Mr. Adityanath’s election victory is broadly being seen as proof that Mr. Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Celebration has continued to shift the citizens away from the nation’s founding secularism.
Regardless of the nation’s rising financial woes and the poor state of public well being and faculties, Mr. Modi, Mr. Adityanath and the B.J.P. are succeeding in maintaining the dialog targeted on Hinduism in public affairs, bolstered by well-liked social welfare applications and a complicated mobilization of their supporters. And his election victory is prone to additional elevate Mr. Adityanath’s more and more nationwide profile.
Although he got here to public consideration because the founding father of a Hindu youth brigade and was as soon as imprisoned for hate speech in opposition to Muslims, Mr. Adityanath has extra not too long ago adopted Mr. Modi’s lead and considerably moderated his tone — although with out obscuring his Hindu-first message and insurance policies to his right-wing base.
In a TV interview in January, he forged the election by way of “80 versus 20” — a thinly veiled reference to the tough share of Hindus within the state in contrast with Muslims.
On Twitter, he railed in opposition to his political opponents as “worshipers of Jinnah” — a reference to Pakistan’s post-partition founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah — for whom the predominantly Muslim “Pakistan is pricey.” He additionally posted footage of a go to to New Delhi, strolling down a marble walkway with Mr. Modi embracing him like a beloved protégé.
Since changing into prime minister in 2014, Mr. Modi has more and more impassioned and emboldened far-right Hindus. And it’s on this local weather that Mr. Adityanath, 49, has discovered the power to quickly climb. His reputation largely derives from his capacity to talk on to his fervent base, whether or not in large public rallies or via his energetic Twitter account.
“Whoever speaks the reality, individuals will get up for him,” mentioned Pinki Patchauri, amongst a gaggle of ladies at B.J.P. headquarters in Lucknow on Thursday, cheering for Mr. Adityanath. “Yogi and Modi labored for the individuals,” she mentioned. “That’s why Yogi is everywhere.”
Certainly, footage of Mr. Adityanath are plastered throughout Uttar Pradesh, from towering billboards on highways to the perimeters of tea outlets in villages to the Gorakhnath Math Temple in Gorakhpur, the place his political profession took root.
One in all seven youngsters born to a forest ranger, Mr. Adityanath, born Ajay Singh Bisht, discovered his vocation in school as an activist within the pupil wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a right-wing Hindu group.
He grew to become a Hindu priest in 1994, as politics and faith converged throughout India. Gorakhnath Temple and different temples espousing right-wing Hindu nationalism produced a era of activists devoted to the rise of Hindu tradition and more and more targeted on demonizing the nation’s roughly 200 million Muslims.
Mr. Adityanath received a seat in Parliament for the primary time in 1998, changing into India’s youngest member of the nationwide physique on the time. From Gorakhpur, he based the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a hard-liner youth group, delivering an incendiary speech in 2007 after a Hindu boy was killed, calling for his supporters to kill Muslims. He was briefly jailed in Gorakhpur.
Talat Aziz, a former chief of the opposition Samajwadi Celebration, has accused Mr. Adityanath of main an assault on her political rally in 1999 throughout which her bodyguard was shot useless. A courtroom dismissed the cost in opposition to Mr. Adityanath in 2019.
“The plant which was planted in 1999 has grown into an enormous tree. Now the hatred, the polarization, dominates all the things,” Ms. Aziz mentioned.
Throughout his first time period as chief minister in Uttar Pradesh, antiterrorism, nationwide safety and sedition legal guidelines had been more and more used to jail critics and journalists. And the police have cracked down on dissent, fatally capturing almost two dozen Muslim protesters throughout an indication in 2019 in opposition to a citizenship regulation that’s broadly seen as discriminatory.
Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan, a constitutional lawyer and a minority rights activist, rose to prominence after main protests in opposition to the citizenship regulation. He ran an unlikely marketing campaign difficult Mr. Adityanath for the Gorakhpur seat, ending fourth with lower than 8,000 votes.
“He all the time performs the faith card, and that’s why he wins,” Mr. Ravan mentioned. “He’s making a idiot of individuals, and the nation is struggling for it.”
But voters’ notion that the streets of Uttar Pradesh have change into safer, coupled with a bevy of social welfare applications and a transparent dedication to Hindutva — a religious Hindu tradition and lifestyle — have proved a successful mixture.
Mr. Modi greeted the election victory in Uttar Pradesh as a street map for the 2024 basic elections.
“Once we fashioned the federal government in 2019, consultants mentioned it was due to the 2017 victory” in Uttar Pradesh for his B.J.P., he mentioned in a speech Thursday. “I consider the identical consultants will say that the 2022 election end result has determined the destiny of the 2024 nationwide elections.”
The B.J.P. received 4 of 5 state elections in polls that stretched from the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand within the north to coastal Goa on the Arabian Sea.
“The Hindutva enchantment that the B.J.P. has been creating for the final seven years, that is actually now come to remain,” mentioned Arati Jerath, a political analyst.
“Its sturdy Hindu management plus mushy welfare measures mixed rather well to offer the B.J.P. that sweeping edge over the opposite events,” she mentioned.
Mr. Adityanath appears snug with being seen as a possible successor to Mr. Modi, who turned 71 in September.
“That is the blessing of 250 million individuals of Uttar Pradesh,” Mr. Adityanath mentioned at a victory speech at get together headquarters in Lucknow, the state capital.
“We settle for these blessings, and as per the expectations of frequent individuals and with the mantra of along with all, growth of all, belief of all and efforts by all, we are going to carry ahead repeatedly.”
Again in Gorakhpur on the ultimate night time of campaigning, the B.J.P. went all-out for Mr. Adityanath with an extravagant procession, together with a brass band, a troupe of male dancers sporting bells round their waists and ankles, a truck stuffed with cameras, and boisterous supporters moshing to bass-heavy dance music and snare drums.
From the balcony of a medical apply in downtown Gorakphur, Dr. Sharad Srivastava and his household flung handfuls of marigold and rose petals on Mr. Adityanath, adorned in a saffron turban over his typical saffron gown, giving a regal wave from his perch atop an orange B.J.P. truck festooned with flowers.
“We need to restore such a nationalism,” Dr. Srivastava mentioned. “We need to regain our heritage. Yogiji isn’t anti-Muslim. He’s in opposition to those that are anti-national.”
The next morning, dozens of individuals waited on the Gorakhpur temple for a phrase with the “maharaj,” which suggests nice king, but additionally refers to Mr. Adityanath’s put up as temple president. They stood as he silently strode previous with a big entourage of monks in saffron robes and safety forces armed with machine weapons.
Karan Deep Singh contributed reporting from Lucknow, India.
Politics
Appeals court rules Texas has right to build razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration: 'Huge win'
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that Texas has the right to build a razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration into the Lone Star State.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the ruling on X, saying President Biden was “wrong to cut our razor wire.”
“We continue adding more razor wire border barrier,” the Republican leader wrote.
Wednesday’s 2-1 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clears the way for Texas to pursue a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of trespassing without having to remove the fencing.
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It also reversed a federal judge’s November 2023 refusal to grant a preliminary injunction to Texas as the state resisted federal efforts to remove fencing along the Rio Grande in the vicinity of Eagle Pass, Texas.
U.S. Border Patrol agents cut an opening through razor wire after immigrant families crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, Sept. 27, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee during the president-elect’s first term, wrote for Wednesday’s majority that Texas was trying only to safeguard its own property, not “regulate” U.S. Border Patrol, and was likely to succeed in its trespass claims.
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Duncan said the federal government waived its sovereign immunity and rejected its concerns that a ruling by Texas would impede the enforcement of immigration law and undermine the government’s relationship with Mexico.
A Venezuelan immigrant asks Texas National Guard troops to let his family pass through razor wire after they crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, Sept. 27, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)
He said the public interest “supports clear protections for property rights from government intrusion and control” and ensuring that federal immigration law enforcement does not “unnecessarily intrude into the rights of countless property owners.”
Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling a “huge win for Texas.”
“The Biden Administration has been enjoined from damaging, destroying, or otherwise interfering with Texas’s border fencing,” Paxton wrote in a post on X. “We sued immediately when the federal government was observed destroying fences to let illegal aliens enter, and we’ve fought every step of the way for Texas sovereignty and security.”
Migrants attempt to cross the southern border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, in February. (David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The White House has been locked in legal battles with Texas and other states that have tried to deter illegal immigration.
In May, the full 5th Circuit heard arguments in a separate case between Texas and the White House over whether the state can keep a 1,000-foot floating barrier on the Rio Grande.
The appeals court is also reviewing a judge’s order blocking a Texas law that would allow state officials to arrest, prosecute and order the removal of people in the country illegally.
Politics
Rep. Katie Porter obtains temporary restraining order against ex-boyfriend on harassment allegations
U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) secured a temporary restraining order Tuesday against a former boyfriend, saying in dozens of pages of court filings that he had bombarded her, as well as her family and colleagues, with hundreds of messages that she described as “persistent abuse and harassment.”
Porter, 50, alleged in a filing with Orange County Superior Court that her ex-boyfriend Julian Willis, 55, was contacting her and her family with such frequency that she had a “significant fear” for her “personal safety and emotional well-being.”
Judge Stephen T. Hicklin signed a restraining order Tuesday barring Willis from communicating with Porter and her children until a mid-December court hearing. He also barred Willis from communicating about Porter with her current and former colleagues.
In the court filing, Porter said that Willis had been hospitalized twice since late 2022 on involuntary psychiatric holds and had a history of abusing prescription painkillers and other drugs.
She said in a statement to The Times that Willis’ mental health and struggles with addiction seemed to have gotten worse since she asked him in August to move out of her Irvine home. She said she sought the court order after his threats to her family and colleagues “escalated in both their frequency and intensity.”
“I sincerely hope he gets the help he needs,” Porter said.
Willis declined to comment. He will have an opportunity to file a legal response to the temporary restraining order and challenge Porter’s allegations.
Porter is leaving the House of Representatives in January after losing in California’s U.S. Senate primary in March. She has been discussed as a front-runner in the 2026 governor’s race in California after Gov. Gavin Newsom is termed out, but has not said whether she will launch a campaign.
The 53-page court filing, first reported by Politico, included 22 pages of emails, text messages and other communications among Porter, family members and colleagues who had received messages from Willis, as well as messages that Willis sent to Porter’s attorney and to her political mentor Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
The filing also included messages between herself and Willis’ siblings as they discussed trying to help him during his psychiatric holds and while he was staying in a sober-living facility.
Porter said that since she ordered Willis to move out, he had sent her more than 1,000 text messages and emails, including texting her 82 times in one 24-hour period in September, and 55 times on Nov. 12 before she blocked his number.
Porter said in the filing that her ex-boyfriend had “already contacted at least three reporters to disseminate false and damaging information” about her and her children, which she said “poses a serious risk to [her] career and personal reputation.”
The filing includes an email that Porter said Willis sent to her attorney late Monday, in which Willis said he had visited Porter’s son at college in Iowa and told him that he would “bring the hammer down on Katie and smash her and her life into a million pieces.”
Another screenshot shows Willis telling Porter’s attorney that he would file a complaint about Porter, who has children ages 12 and 16, with child protective services.
One of Porter’s congressional staff members received a text message from Willis saying he would “punish the f—” out of him if he did not agree to “cooperate” with a New York Times reporter and Willis’ attorneys, according to a screenshot included in the court document.
Willis previously made the news in 2021, when he was arrested after a fight that broke out at a Porter town hall at a park in Irvine.
Times staff writer Christopher Goffard contributed to this report.
Politics
Homan taking death threats against him ‘more seriously’ after Trump officials targeted with violent threats
Incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan reacted to news of death threats against Trump nominees on Wednesday and said he now takes the death threats he has previously received seriously.
“I have not taken this serious up to this point,” Homan told Fox News anchor Gillian Turner on “The Story” on Wednesday, referring to previous death threats made against him and his family.
“Now that I know what’s happened in the last 24 hours. I will take it a little more serious. But look, I’ve been dealing with this. When I was the ICE director in the first administration, I had numerous death threats. I had a security detail with me all the time. Even after I retired, death threats continued and even after I retired as the ICE Director. I had U.S. Marshals protection for a long time to protect me and my family.”
Homan explained that what “doesn’t help” the situation is the “negative press” around Trump.
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President Elect Donald Trump, left, and new appointed Tom Homan, right (Getty)
“I’m not in the cabinet, but, you know, I’ve read numerous hit pieces. I mean, you know, I’m a racist and, you know, I’m the father of family separation, all this other stuff. So the hate media doesn’t help at all because there are some nuts out there. They’ll take advantage. So that doesn’t help.”
Homan’s comments come shortly after Fox News Digital first reported that nearly a dozen of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees and other appointees tapped for the incoming administration were targeted Tuesday night with “violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” prompting a “swift” law enforcement response.
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Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he arrives to speak at a campaign event at Nassau Coliseum, Wednesday, Sept.18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The “attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting,’” according to Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman and incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” she told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “In response, law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action.”
Sources told Fox News Digital that John Ratcliffe, the nominee to be CIA director, Pete Hegseth, the nominee for secretary of defense, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, the nominee for UN ambassador, were among those targeted. Brooke Rollins, who Trump has tapped to be secretary of agriculture, and Lee Zeldin, Trump’s nominee to be EPA administrator, separately revealed they were also targeted.
Threats were also made against Trump’s Labor Secretary nominee, GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and former Trump attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz’s family.
Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
Homan told Fox News that he is “not going to be intimidated by these people” and “I’m not going to let them silence me.”
“What I’ve learned today I’ll start taking a little more serious.”
Homan added that he believes “we need to have a strong response once we find out is behind all this.”
“It’s illegal to threaten someone’s life. And we need to follow through with that.”
The threats on Tuesday night came mere months after Trump survived two assassination attempts.
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report
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