A Muslim man trapped a Jain girl working as a manager at a company in love jihad in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore. Mohammad Shahrukh Sheikh pretended to be Yash Jain and became friends with her. He then proposed marriage to her and proceeded to sexually exploit her regularly at his aunt’s (mother’s sister) house. However, she began to gather information when she got suspicious and found out that he was not only a Muslim but also married.
She went to the Chandan Nagar police station and was sent to the Dwarkapuri police station from there. The authorities filed zero First Information Report (FIR) and handed over the case to the Hiranagar police station because the incident transpired in the Sukhlia area which falls under its jurisdiction.
The victim has charged the accused with befriending her by changing his name, lying about his religious identity and raping her under the false pretence of tying the knot. He is involved in the business of making furniture. The two met during his insurance work around a year ago. Dwarkapuri Police opened a rape case against Mohammad Shahrukh Sheikh, son of Mohammad Raees who lives in D Sector, Scheme No. 71 based on the girl’s statement and gave the case to Hiranagar police for immediate action.
She disclosed that he introduced himself as Yash Jain when the pair came across each other last year after which they started chatting and having conversations on the phone. He claimed to be serious about their relationship and wanted to marry her. She trusted his words and started dating him. The couple used to meet at his aunt’s residence located at MR-10 in Sukhlia. They met three to four times to discuss their marriage plans and he also sexually violated her. On 15th April, in the afternoon he took her to the same place. She suspected that he was hiding something from her.
She looked into him and discovered that his real name was Mohammad Shahrukh Sheikh and also has a house in Naya Pitha, Chandan Nagar. She reached there to find out more about him and talked to his family members. She learned that he already had a wife and informed her family about the entire instance. Afterwards, she and her family visited the police station and submitted a case against the culprit for practsing love jihad.
India on Thursday rejected the report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom that accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “reinforcing discriminatory nationalist policies” and said the organisation is completely ‘biased’ and it doesn’t even expect from the organization to understand country’s diverse, pluralistic and democratic ethos.
“The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is known as a biased organization with a political agenda. They continue to publish their propaganda on India masquerading as part of an annual report,” Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a press briefing on Thursday.
“We really have no expectation that USCIRF will even seek to understand India’s diverse, pluralistic and democratic ethos. Their efforts to interfere in the largest electoral exercise of the world will never succeed,” he added.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is a U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Earlier on Wednesday, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) which alleged that last year, Indian government failed to address communal violence disproportionately affecting Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, Jews, and Adivasis (indigenous peoples).
“In 2023, religious freedom conditions in India continued to deteriorate. The government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), reinforced discriminatory nationalist policies, perpetuated hateful rhetoric, and failed to address communal violence disproportionately affecting Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, Jews, and Adivasis (indigenous peoples). Continued enforcement of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and anti-conversion and cow slaughter laws resulted in the arbitrary detention, monitoring, and targeting of religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf,” the report said.
“Both news media and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reporting on religious minorities were subjected to strict monitoring under FCRA regulations. In February 2023, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs suspended the FCRA license of the Centre for Policy Research, an NGO dedicated to reporting on social issues and state capacity, including discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities. Similarly, authorities raided the offices and homes of NewsClick journalists, including Teesta Setalvad for her reporting on anti-Muslim violence during the 2002 Gujarat riots,” it added.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
In a recent order, the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur remitted a matter back to the Collector for further assessment of whether Shri Ram Janki Mandir, located in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, is a private or public trust.
The bench presided over by Justice GS Ahluwalia, was considering a case filed under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution challenging the legitimacy of numerous directives concerning the handling of the said land, LawBeatreported.
Advocate Ram Prasad Khare, representing the interests of the private trust associated with the Shri Ram Janki Mandir, contended that the land in question had been legitimately granted to the trust by the petitioners’ grandfather. Furthermore, it was argued that “The mother of the petitioner was appointed as Sarwarahkar (person entrusted to perform whatever is necessary for the deity’s service and protection of their property) and after her death, the petition is being prosecuted by her legal representative.”
The petitioners stated that the Collector’s designation as the manager in revenue records was erroneous as such a position is normally designated for public trusts, but the Shri Ram Janki Mandir is a private trust. They further emphasised the lack of consideration for the nature of the trust in the decisions taken by the Collector, Additional Commissioner, and Board of Revenue.
Notably, the LawBeat report says that government lawyer Mohan Sausarkar, representing the state, was directed to determine from the orders of the Collector, Jabalpur, Additional Commissioner of Jabalpur Division, Jabalpur, and the Board of Revenue “whether any finding with regard to the nature of the trust has been given or not?”
The court noted a glaring omission after giving careful consideration to the arguments made and going over the orders issued by the relevant authorities: “It is fairly conceded that none of the Authorities have not (sic) taken the pains to decide as to whether Shri Ram Janki Mandir situated in village Budrai, Tahsil Sihora, District Jabalpur is a private Trust or public Trust.”
In turn, the court struck aside the orders issued by the Collector, Additional Commissioner, and Board of Revenue.
To ensure a fair reconsideration of the dispute, the court remanded the matter back to Jabalpur Collector “to decide the question afresh after giving a specific finding as to whether Shri Ram Janki Mandir situated in village Budrai, Tahsil Sihora, District Jabalpur is a public Trust or a private Trust.”
The court stressed that if the trust is deemed to be private, “then in the light of the gift deed executed by Shri Bhaiyalal by which the entire property was gifted to the Deity, it is directed that Shri Ram Janki Deity would be the owner of the entire property and each and every penny of the same shall be utilised for the Deity only.
It added that both, the money and the property shall not be utilised for personal purposes, and Sarwarahkar would be under obligation to submit weekly accounts before the District Judge, Jabalpur.
The Election Commission of India, while noticing various instances in the ongoing General Elections 2024, has issued an advisory on Thursday to all national and state political parties to immediately “cease and desist” from any activities that involve registering individuals for post-election beneficiary-oriented schemes through any advertisements, survey or applications.
The ECI has taken a serious view of activities by political parties and candidates seeking details of voters under the guise of various surveys for their proposed beneficiary schemes, as a corrupt practice of bribery under Section 123(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
It has noted that “some political parties and candidates have been engaging in activities that blur the lines between legitimate surveys and partisan efforts to register individuals for post-election beneficiary-oriented schemes”.
The Commission, while noticing various instances in the ongoing General Elections 2024, has issued an advisory today to all national and state political parties to immediately cease and desist from any activities that involve registering individuals for post-election beneficiary-oriented schemes through any advertisements/surveys/Apps.
The Commission said the act of inviting/calling upon individual electors to register for post-election benefits may create an impression of the requirement of a one-to-one transactional relationship between the elector and the proposed benefit and has the potential to generate a quid-pro-quo arrangement for voting in a particular way thereby leading to inducement.
The Commission while acknowledging that “generic and general electoral promises are in the realm of permissibility, noted that such activities as mentioned in the table below obscure the distinction between authentic surveys and biased attempts to enrol people in programs for political gain, all while masquerading as legitimate survey activities or efforts to inform about government programs or party agendas related to potential individual benefits.”
The Commission has directed all District Election Officers to take appropriate actions against any such advertisements within the statutory provisions namely Section 127A of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951, 123 (1) of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951, and Section 171 (B) IPC.
“The Newspaper advertisements call upon individual voters to register themselves for benefits by giving missed calls on a mobile or calling on a telephone number,” it added.
The poll body further mentioned that the distribution of guarantee cards in the form of pamphlets giving details of prospective individual benefits along with an attached form asking for details of voters such as name, age, address, mobile number, booth number, constituency name and number etc.
“Distribution of forms seeking details of voters such as name, ration card number, address, phone number, booth number, bank account number, constituency name & number etc. in the name of asocio-economic survey of prospective beneficiaries for expanding an ongoing government individual benefit scheme,” it added.
The Commission stated that the circulation or propagation of web platforms or web /mobile applications by political parties/ candidates seeking details of voters such as name, address, phone number, booth number, constituency name and number etc. (This may or may not have an invitation for availing individual benefits or revealing their voting preference).
Newspaper advertisements or physical forms regarding existing individual benefit schemes along with registration forms seeking details of the voter such as name, husband/father’s name, contact number, address etc, it added.
Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases till June 1 and votes will be counted on June 4.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
On 2nd May, speaking to TV9 Bharatvarsh, former Pakistani Minister Fawad Chaudhry extended support to the opposition in ongoing elections 2024 and said that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) must go out of power. He further added that stopping Prime Minister Narendra Modi from becoming PM again is a must.
TV9 Bharatvarsh’s reporter Gauravraj Gupta questioned Chaudhry about the post he made on X (formerly Twitter) in support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. He said, “Whoever talks against extremists in ongoing elections in India, that person is right. I believe that Rahul Gandhi presented the current state of India very well. Talking about rights is universal, whether it is in India or in Pakistan. Rahul Gandhi explained the increasing difference between the poor and the rich. The poor has become obsolete in India and three billionaires are selling extremism in the country.”
When asked if he was promoting Rahul Gandhi, he said, “I will promote everyone who says the right thing. Whether it is Rahul Gandhi or someone else.” When asked if he was trying to interfere in the ongoing elections in India, he tried to present himself as moderate and said, “I don’t overestimate myself. I have no position to interfere in the elections.”
Gupta then asked if he wants to see Rahul Gandhi in power to which Chaudhry said, “I think at this time BJP should not come back. It is a must to stop Modi. It does not matter who comes after that.”
Fawad also participated in a debate on the same channel moderated by Samir Abbas. When asked why he was so interested in Indian politics and Indian elections, he said, “We live in a subcontinent. Policies of every country have effect on the other countries in the region. I beleive Modi’s policies have hurt peace in the region.”
PM Modi targetted Congress as Pakistan extended support to Rahul Gandhi
On 2nd May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked Congress after former Pakistan minister Fawad Ahmed Hussain Chaudhry praised Rahul Gandhi in a social media post. He charged, “The interesting thing is that Congress is dying here and Pakistan is crying. You must have heard that now Pakistani leaders are praying for Congress. Pakistan is eager to make “Shehzada” (Rahul Gandhi) prime minister. You must have seen it yesterday. We already know that Congress likes Pakistan. The alliance between the two has been completely exposed,” in an election rally in Gujarat’s Anand.
Fawad Chaudhry added, “Brothers and sisters, the adversaries of the nation don’t want a strong government in India. They want a feeble administration like there was during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks which used to send dossiers. The enemies of the country want a corrupt and unstable government like it was before 2014. Modi’s strong administration neither bows nor backs down. That is why the world is saying that its development can only be accelerated by India.”
Former Pakistan minister Fawad Chaudhry, who served under Imran Khan, comes out in support of Rahul Gandhi
On 1st May, former Pakistan minister Fawad Chaudhry supported senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as he reposted a video of the Gandhi scion’s polemics against the Modi government. In a tweet promoting Rahul Gandhi, Chaudhry tweeted, “Rahul on fire…”.
The former Pakistan minister appears to have quoted a sycophantic Congress IT cell account that shared a video of Rahul Gandhi from a public event where he claimed that since Amitabh Bachchan, Gautam Adani, and Mukesh Ambani were seen at the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Mandir, PM Modi was working for the top 10-15 people in the country and creating distractions to divert attention from issues of public importance. In essence, Rahul Gandhi tried to insinuate that the homecoming of Lord Ram to his birthplace after an agonising wait of close to 500 years was of little public importance.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday refused to comment on Australian media reports that alleged that the Commonwealth country expelled two Indian spies who were trying to ‘steal secrets’ and termed them as “speculative reports.”
“We see them as speculative reports. We really have no comments to make on those reports,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a press briefing on Thursday.
Earlier, Australian media reported that Canberra expelled two Indian spies after being caught trying to steal secrets about sensitive defence projects and airport security, as well as classified information on Australia’s trade relationships.
ABC News reported that the so-called foreign “nest of spies” disrupted by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) in 2020 was also accused of closely monitoring Indians living here and developing close relationships with current and former politicians.
ABC News reported citing the ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess who first alluded to the spy ring in his annual threat assessment delivered in 2021, but, he did not disclose which country was behind the activity, saying to do so would be an “unnecessary distraction”.
“The spies developed targeted relationships with current and former politicians, a foreign embassy and a state police service,” Burgess said during his March 2021 speech inside ASIO’s Canberra headquarters.
“They monitored their country’s diaspora community. They tried to obtain classified information about Australia’s trade relationships.
“They asked a public servant to provide information on security protocols at a major airport,” ABC reported.
On Wednesday, on being asked about the matter, Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong reaffirmed bilateral ties with India and said that Australia remains consistent with interests and values of engagement, adding that they don’t comment on Intelligence matters.
“Well, you would be unsurprised to hear me respond that we don’t comment on intelligence matters. But at a level of principle about the democracy, I think you would have heard me and other Ministers on many occasions assert the importance of our democratic principles, assert the importance of ensuring that we maintain the resilience of our democracy, including in the face of any suggestion of foreign interference, and we have laws to deal with that. And to continue to say that we deeply value the multicultural fabric of the Australian community. It is a strength and we welcome people’s continued engagement in our democracy,” she said.
“Well, again, say we don’t comment on intelligence matters, but as a matter of general principles, Australia remains consistent to our interests and to our values in all of our engagements,” she added.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Trinamool Congress leader has created a massive stir by threatening to drown BJP workers in the Bhagirathi river within 2 hours. He said that there are only 30% Hindus in Murshidabad, while the rest 70% are Muslims. The Bharatpur MLA made the controversial comments while addressing a party’s booth workers meeting at Shaktipur in Murshidabad.
In the video of the speech, he can be heard saying, “I will leave politics if I don’t drown you people (referring to BJP workers and Hindus) in the Bhagirathi River within two hours. I will not let you people stay in the Shaktipur. You are 30 per cent people, we are also 70 per cent here. If you think that you will demolish the mosque of Kazipada and the rest of the Muslims will sit back and relax. Then, I want to tell the BJP that this will never happen.”
Bharatiya Janata Party Party has reacted strongly to the TMC lawmaker’s offensive utterances. The majority of Hindus in this neighbourhood, according to party leader and IT chief Amit Malviya, are refugees who left Bangladesh to avoid religious persecution but are now facing new threats. He added, “In Murshidabad, Hindus are a minority. Just 28%. And this is what they are being subjected to. Imagine, what fate awaits Hindus, if they become a minority in the rest of Bengal.”
“Appeasement politics in West Bengal has touched a new low. Thanks to Mamata Banerjee, Hindus are now worse than second-class citizens in Bengal. Will she dare to kick out this MLA from the party? Can those intellectuals who routinely spread venom against the Hindus dare to speak a word,” he challenged.
At the booth workers sammelan at Shaktipur, TMC’s Bharatpur MLA Humayun Kabir said:
Quote
If I can't throw BJP into the Bhagirathi river within 2 hours, will leave politics. I will not let you guys stay in the Shaktipur (most Hindus in this area are refugees, who fled from… pic.twitter.com/EMRTFMg26T
— Amit Malviya (मोदी का परिवार) (@amitmalviya) May 2, 2024
Humayun Kabir grabbed headlines earlier for calling former cricket player Yusuf Pathan of Baharampur an “outsider” and opposing his candidacy for the Lok Sabha seat. This caused a rift inside the party and he threatened to run as an independent from Baharampur if the party did not replace the nominee. He had claimed that Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of the Congress could not be defeated by a person from another state.
The politician stirred up controversy the previous year when he insisted that “Muslim leaders” take the place of other TMC members on the Murshidabad party committee. “Why should two members of the same house get powerful positions in the party? Are others unworthy? Is the top leadership blind? Murshidabad district has a 70% Muslim population. Will this community not receive importance from Mamata Banerjee,” he asked.
He warned the party high command that the community would turn against the party if “Muslim leaders” were not placed in control of Murshidabad. “In 2021, 90 out of every 100 Muslims voted for the Trinamool Congress. This is why the party has 20 legislators from the district. On the other hand, Hindus voted en masse for the BJP and made the saffron party strong. It cannot happen that those who gave power to Mamata Banerjee will now tolerate betrayal from her and we are expected not to speak a word about it. I will not tolerate this.”
He added, “Shaoni Sinha Roy should be removed and replaced with a competent Muslim leader. You cannot take the people of Murshidabad for a toss. Give us their due. They gave you their full support in 2021. So, Mamata Banerjee now must fulfil their aspirations.”
Fresh and explosive revelations have come to the fore in the NewsClick case as witnesses who have worked with the media portal have made some shocking statements during the investigation. Witnesses who were employed by the alleged media house said that they were instructed to provoke Muslims to engage in violence and riots. They received cash to distribute to protesters during the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and Shaheen Bagh demonstrations.
Furthermore, witnesses have stated that rioters obtained proceeds from China through the media platform to purchase firearms for unrest and arson. Money was also handed over to people in Kashmir to create insurrection, as per a report by India Today based on the chargesheet filed by the police.
These protected witness testimonies were recorded in court under section 41 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and are also included in the chargesheet that the Delhi Police recently submitted and cognizance has been taken on the same. The witnesses, some of whom had worked with NewsClick, unveiled that the staff was dispatched to the anti-CAA and Shaheen Bagh demonstrations to incite people against a particular religion. The employees of NewsClick collected payment from the company so that it could be transferred to the agitators and utilized to fuel the chaos.
Several groups, particularly two on WhatsApp, were active, and one of these groups wanted to use the anti-CAA, farmers and Shaheen Bagh protests to intensify the civil turmoil. The latter was engaged in efforts to sustain the uprising in Kashmir. There were people on the payroll of NewsClick who were not only working as journalists but also furthering propaganda. They altered maps of sensitive regions including Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.
Furthermore, the name of Sharjeel Imam, an accused in the anti-CAA violence case has also surfaced. He took money from Prabir Purkayastha to forward their nefarious agenda. The chargesheet, witness statements and the evidence of the funds have all been submitted by the Delhi Police in the court.
Routed money from Neville Roy Singham to Teesta Setalvad
The report states that one of the persons who received foreign funding through the portal was activist Teesta Setalvad. In the chargesheet, police claimed that she received the money through “convenient ways” which was use to revive her portal ‘Sabrang India’. According to the chargesheet, the ‘news-syndications scam’, whereby columnists and authors worked for Teesta Setalvad, were paid by Prabir Purkayastha.
In the articles supplied by Teesta’s group published by the portal, the names and authors were shown as ‘Sabrang India’, and the real writers were not revealed. This helped Teesta Setalvad to earn nearly Rs 3 lakh for ‘Sabrang India’, more than Rs 1 crore for her employees, and Rs 39 lakh for personal use by her family, as per the chargesheet.
Delhi Police in its chargesheet said that this was the “most convenient way” of receiving tainted foreign money by Teesta Setalvad despite being under the radar of probe agencies. The police said that analysis of retrieved e-mails, examination of witnesses, financial instigations and testimonies of protected witnesses established that Teesta Setalvad, Prabir Purkayastha and Neville Roy Singham were in an “interoperable triumvirate”. Singham is Purkayastha’s long-standing associate and an American millionaire.
The chargesheet further claimed that the three persons were supporting each other for their individual needs, apart from the execution of a larger Left Wing Extremism (LWE) agenda of Neville’s financiers. As per the police, email exchanges between Teesta Setalvad and Neville Roy Singham show that Neville Roy Singham was funding her portal ‘Sabrang India’ and NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace’ (CJP) via Prabir Purkayastha.
As per the chargesheet, during an investigation on December 13, 2023, a Special Cell team had gone to Mumbai to investigate this and a notice was served to Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand – also the co-editor of ‘Sabrang India’ – to provide details on the transactions. The team sought Sabrang India’s agreement with the NewsClick founder-editor for sharing manpower, salary details and articles/videos produced by them.
NewsClick is accused of collecting over Rs 80 crore from Chinese corporations. The First Information Report mentioned that the news outlet took money from Chinese organizations with the goal of “disrupting the sovereignty of India” and stirring up hatred for the country. A Delhi court had earlier granted police another 10 days to complete their investigation into Prabir Purkayastha. The head of NewsClick’s HR division and a former accuser who is now an approver, Amit Chakravarty’s judicial custody has been increased by ten days.
Police informed that in October 2023 raids were conducted at 88 locations in Delhi and seven other states, targeting the individuals included in the FIR as well as those whose names emerged during data analysis. Furthermore, Prabir Purkayastha is charged with conspiring to sabotage the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and collaborating with the People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS).
The Delhi Police arrested Newsclick founder and editor Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty on 3rd October of last year under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Delhi Police raided and sealed the NewsClick office on the same day in relation to the case involving foreign funding from China to spread narratives that were critical of India.
On the 1st of May, IndiaToday journalist Rajdeep Sardesai faced embarrassment at the hands of former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N. Gopalaswami after he asked him about the alleged delay in Election Commission publishing voter turnout data of phase I and phase II.
The former CEC appeared on Rajdeep Sardesai’s show on IndiaToday on Wednesday. Insinuating that somehow the alleged delay of 11 days in publishing voter turnout data was alarming, Saredesai asked that the opposition parties are raising questions over the manner in which the election commission released the voter turnout figures of the first two phases of the general elections. He asked Gopalaswami if he was surprised over this alleged delay.
To this, the former CEC called out Sardesai for making misleading claims and said that just because Sardesai is not interested in checking the already available data that does not mean the ECI caused any delay.
“This eleven days and four days (after which the final data was published on 30th April) is your imagination. The information is available the very second day. It is available in their [EC’s] website. Everybody can see it. If you don’t care to see it then its alright. You don’t see it, they are publishing [the data] and still getting a bad name,” Gopalaswami said.
The former CEC further advised the Sardesai to “stop the nonsense” and not to try to be helpful to the opposition parties. “I thought of suggesting to them, stop this. Don’t try to be helpful to them. Stop this nonsense,” he said.
Despite the embarrassment, Rajdeep Sardesai did not refrain from peddling the opposition’s misleading claims. Following this, the former CEC explained to him how exactly the ECI officials operate after the polling concludes.
“Every polling station at the end of the day, the form 17C is filled in where the voter turnout figure is incorporated. Copies are signed by the polling agent and all of them have their copies. By the night, the approximate figures are put out. But when all these 17C forms go with the returning officer. He takes it one by one and keeps on updating the election commission’s website. When he completes it, all the data is put up there. If you have to see…” Gopalaswami said adding that making the claims about 11 days delay is “out of ignorance”.
Behaving the like true loyalist of the opposition, Sardesai decided to trust more on what “some people” told him than the former CEC as he reiterated his claim that there was a 11 day delay in publishing the final official data regarding the voter turnout of phase I and II.
N. Gopalaswami, however, made it clear that even “final official data” is published on ECI’s website on the third day as the voting phase concludes and that the data released on 30th April was just a compilation the ECI has put out. He further deemed it “unfortunate” that the ECI is publishing additional information and the opposition parties and their media allies are finding fault in it.
“If you don’t have time to look at the data, they [ECI] are trying to be helpful to you and release the data in the manner that you can look at it in newspaper or as a handout to the press. The data is available already,” he said adding that even all the contesting candidates know which polling station voted how many through their polling agents who are given form 17C…” Gopalaswami said.
Notably, in Form17C for Returning Officer, all relevant data, from the identification number of EVMs, Control Unit, Ballot, and VVPATs to total number of electors assigned, number of voters registered in Form17A, number of voters not allowed to vote under 49A and number of votes recorded per machine are included besides other details. In the second part of the same form, the results of counting are recorded.
Rajdeep Sardesai then claimed that the ECI’s data published on the 30th April was revised and that the same revision should have been done within 2 to 3 days. However, Gopaplaswami raised a strong objection to Rajdeep’s haranguing and said: “It [data] was available after the third day and then no change is made at all,” he said and explained the procedure involved in releasing the polling data.
The IndiaToday journalist later in the conversation tried to drag the former CEC into the political war of words and asked him what would he tell the opposition parties which are raising questions over the neutrality of the election commission and insinuating that somehow the results are being ‘influenced’. To this, Gopalaswami made it abundantly clear that he is not supposed to answer what the politicians are saying. He has simply explained the process of how the data is collected and published.
Opposition accuses ECI of causing delay in putting out final voter turnout data, Mamata Banerjee raises question over EVMs
Notably, the claims around the alleged delay in publishing voter turnout figures were made by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and the CPM(I). On Wednesday, Jairam Ramesh said: “Late last night, after a completely unacceptable delay of 11 days for Phase I and 4 days for Phase 2, the ECI finally released the voter turnout data. However, two issues have emerged in the ECI’s latest data release – 1. The number of registered voters per Lok Sabha and the assembly constituencies included in that Lok Sabha constituency have not been published along with the turnout data by the ECI, as is usually done. 2. The breakup of the number of votes and not just the vote percentage – as is typically made available by the ECI – is still not available,” Ramesh posted.
Late last night, after a completely unacceptable delay of 11 days for Phase I and 4 days for Phase 2, the ECI finally released the voter turnout data. However, two issues have emerged in the ECI’s latest data release –
1. The number of registered voters per Lok Sabha and the…
“The whole point of releasing such data is to make it comparable over time. The ECI’s failure to release voter turnout data in the same format frustrates the very purpose of it all. One can only hope that political games are not being played through such data,” he added.
Meanwhile, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee while addressing a poll rally said: “There are lots of doubts and the commission must address it. There are apprehensions of manipulation of results by the BJP as several EVMs were missing for a long period.” She also raised questions over the credibility of the EVMs and went on to demand that the information about the company manufacturing EVMs should be made public.
Election Commission refutes the false allegations levelled by the opposition
The opposition and its media allies are spreading lies despite the fact that the ECI has stated that the final voter turnout numbers released on Tuesday were the same as those collected from constituency-specific voting figures on the poll body’s voter turnout app on 20 April evening, a day after the first phase ended, and 27 April evening, following the conclusion of the second phase.
Speaking to TOI, an ECI source said that form 17C, which records turnout at each polling station in absolute numbers at the end of voting, was inspected on the evening after polling day, and the turnout was 66.14 percent for the first phase and 66.71 percent for the second phase.
Source: ECI
“There was absolutely no delay in such disclosure on poll day… the narrative about non-disclosure of data is completely unfounded, without proper appreciation of the system in place. Leave alone constituency, even booth data of votes polled is available with the candidates and cannot be changed at any stage. Candidates use this data of votes polled station-wise to keep check on counting day,” ECI functionary said.
Rajdeep Sardesai’s past incidents of humiliation
Interestingly, this is not the first time that Rajdeep Sardesai has been schooled by a guest on his own show. In March 2017, India Today Conclave published a 6-minute interview of Rajdeep Sardesai with business tycoon Mukesh Ambani. Sardesai introduced him as the most powerful person in the country. When he asked Ambani how he felt when he introduced him the way he did, Ambani said, “I don’t believe that. I do not take you seriously.” Sardesai, humiliated by the ‘most powerful person’, could only say, “Are yeh kya baat hui (What are you saying).”
On December 14, 2021, during a debate on India Today where former Indian Captain Sunil Gavaskar was a panellist, he told Rajdeep it would not matter if Sardesai would not agree with him as he would not lose sleep over it. The debate was about the alleged rift between cricketers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, which has been making rounds the whole day.
In January 2022, during a news debate on Devendra Fadnavis’ appointment as Deputy Chief minister after serving as the chief minister of Maharashtra, Rajdeep Sardesai asked BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla if that would affect the former CM, to which Poonawalla reminded the India Today journalist how he was once the Editor-in-chief of CNN IBN, and now he is working as Consulting Editor of India Today, which has not affected his stature or respect.
The greatest of all embarrassments for Sardesai was when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2007. PM Modi was attending Hindustan Times Leadership Summit as a guest. Sardesai, who was interviewing him, asked if he was sorry about what had happened in 2002.
Then-CM Modi said, “A person who had got a chance to become anchor is trying to impose his propaganda while going out of the line from the topic for which I was called for in this Summit.” He questioned the organizers and asked them to decide how they wanted to move ahead with the interview.
5 persons have been arrested in Hyderabad in the case of circulating a deep fake video to defame Home Minister Amit Shah. As per reports, the arrested persons include members of the Congress social media cell in Telangana and political leaders of the party.
Amit Shah Deepfake Video Case: Congress Social Media Team Members Among 5 Arrested In Hyderabad pic.twitter.com/KiFK83mjhn
Earlier today, a team of Delhi Police had reached Telangana to investigate the deep fake case. The team had visited the Congress office too. The deep fake video falsely depicting Union Home Minister Amit Shah saying they would end reservations for SC-ST and OBCs was shared by the Telangana Congress’ social media handles.
The arrests have been made by the Hyderabad Cyber Crime department. Times Now journalist Sowmith Yakkati posted that 4 persons named Asma & Geetha, Naveen, Shiva and one more person have been held. 2 persons among these are Congress leaders while 3 are members of the Congress party social media team.
Telangana CM Revanth Reddy has also been summoned by the Delhi Police in the case. He has been asked to submit his gadgets for examination too.
It is notable here that during the assembly elections in November this year, Congress’ Telangana unit was accused of circulating deep fake videos to defame BRS. BRS leader KTR had condemned Congress for deep fakes.
Earlier, the X handle of Jharkhand Congress was withheld in India for sharing the deep fake video. Reetam Singh, a Congress IT cell member from Assam has been arrested in the case.
