In a bizarre turn of events, Karasik & Associates, attorneys for
Indian National Overseas Congress, a
subsidiary of Indian National Congress,
headed by Sonia Gandhi, in INOC v. Kataria, et al. served a Notice of Discontinuance in the above-named action to Justice Emly Jane Goodman of the Supreme Court of New
York on September 29, 2008. The
Notice of Discontinuane tantamounts to an unconditional surrender by the
Congress Party and could be construed as a victory of Dharmic
forces. In actuality, the
hearing in this case, originally, was scheduled to be held October 2,2008.
The
prominent Law Firm of Kornstein,
Veisz, Wexler & Pollard
represented Narain Kataria, Arish
Sahani and Indo Caribbean Council. The stipulation between the attorneys of the
two parties was agreed to, signed
and stamped in the Court on October 2,
2008. Prior to this last month a similar case filed by INOC in New Jersey
Court against Sunanda Thali, Satyanarayana Dosapati,
Naresh Sharma, and Mahatma Gandhi
International Foundation, Inc., was summarily dismissed by the Judge who found
that the Plaintiff had no locus standi in filing such a frivolous case.
It is a matter
of great happiness for all NRIs,
particularly Hindus, that the
famous adage from Vedic literature Satya Mev Jayate (Truth shall always
prevail, once again, prevailed in New York and New Jersey Courts, on the Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi!
In this
connection, it should be noted that
the INOC had filed these two lawsuits on the alleged grounds that Kataria, Sahani et al had defamed President of Indian
National Congress, Sonia Gandhi, by bringing out a full page advertisements in
The New York Times, dated October 6, 2007. Some extracts from that advertisement
are as follows:
“UN’s
declaration of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on October 2nd as the
International Non-Violence Day is commendable. However, instead of a true Gandhian delivering his message
of peace and non-violence, Sonia
Gandhi who is not a representative of Gandhian values is chosen.
“Sonia Maino
Gandhi is NOT related to Mahatma Gandhi. She is attempting to
misappropriate his name for political mileage and international legitimacy.
“Sonia is
known to be vindictive and undemocratic. Her party uses various mechanisms, such as tax raids,
direct threats to subjugate opposition. (“Know your Sonia” by Dr. Subramanian
Swamy, visiting Harvard Professor)
“Due to her
party’s pro-terrorist policies,India
has second highest number of terrorism victims after Iraq. Her Government is requesting clemency to Afzal Guru, the mastermind of attack on Indian
Parliament. In pursuit of Muslim vote bank,
she has created soft borders and turned a blind eye towards Islamic
fundamentalism.
“Her husband
Rajiv Gandhi is alleged to have received payments from KGB. According to
Schweizer, Illustrierte, Rajiv has a secret Swiss Bank account of 2 billion
dollars. Her son Rahul projected as next Prime Minister of India, was detained by FBI with large
unaccounted cash at BostonAirport in 2001. (Swiss magazine Schweizer, Illustrierte 11/1991,
Indo Asian News Service).
“Her party was
involved in the UN Oil for Food Scam that helped Saddam Hussain. She was
involved in numerous scams, scandals
and controversies. Before entering India, she was an au-pair with modest
means. Since then, she and her
family members have amassed millions through questionable means. (Know
Your Sonia by India
First Foundation)
The purpose of
these cases, it is believed, was to silence the voice of the critics of Sonia
Gandhi through her surrogates,
stifle the voice of freedom, make
defendants financially bankrupt,
frighten them into submission, and
suppress the truth.
It is also
worthwhile to mention here that these two cases had generated an inquisitive
interest in media, a sense of unity
and brotherhood among Indian Diaspora,
particularly Hindus and Sikhs, who
had organized fund raisers and established Hindu Support Fund to defray
attorneys’ fees and other related expenses to be incurred in these cases.
It is a matter
of great satisfaction and joy that the Right of Free Speech guaranteed under
the First Amendment of American Constitution has been upheld by the judges and
the sinister designs of enemies of freedom of speech,
actuated by the malicious desire to muzzle the voice of free speech, truth,
and vilify the defendants,
have been nipped in the bud.
Protest on Oct 1, 2 - Press coverage, photos and videos
The following links contain press releases, photos and videos of the event.
Click herefor media coverage of the protest event.
Click here for the forum's Rebuttals and Responses to various news items
Click here for TV Asia's coverage of the protest event
Press Release - Post Event
The Forum for Gandhi Heritage Organization and other likeminded associations held a peaceful protest rally outside the United Nations headquarters on October 2. About 500 people from around the US joined the protest objecting to the UN invitation to the Indian Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Read more .
Rebuttal to Mr. Arun Gandhi letter in Rediff.com
Forum for Preserving Gandhi Heritage considers it unfortunate that Mr. Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi characterized the protest against Ms. Sonia Gandhi representation of Mahatma Gandhi at UN as "unwarranted and senseless attack against Sonia Gandhi. His remarks lacked substance and of low taste. It is surprising that such remarks could come from someone who claims to be a direct descendant of Mahatma Gandhi. However, Forum would like to note that other extended members of Mahatma Gandhi family have provided extensive support for the protest. Read more...
Rebuttal to Surinder Malhotra's letter to NYTimes
Dear Editor:
We received a copy of the letter sent to you by the Indian National Overseas Congress President Surinder Malhotra dated Oct 10, 2007 in response to the Ad placed in New York Times by Forum for Preserving Gandhi Heritage on Oct 6, 2007 (page 11). We were surprised at the tone and the accusations Mr. Malhotra made in his letter which lacked any meaningful content. In his obsession to protect his leader he seems to have lost rationale in his accusations of the organizers without any proof and his questioning of the integrity of an esteemed paper like New York Times. Forums Advertisement passed through both Acceptability and Legal Departments of New York Times based on the detailed proofs and documents provided by the Forum for each point mentioned in the Ad. Read more...