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‘I was fired as DD head in 2004 despite being an OBC journalist’: Deepak Chaurasia exposes Rahul Gandhi’s hypocrisy on OBC representation in media

OpIndia Staff
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‘I was fired as DD head in 2004 despite being an OBC journalist’: Deepak Chaurasia exposes Rahul Gandhi’s hypocrisy on OBC representation in media

In his election rallies, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi announced that if elected to power, the grand old party would conduct a nationwide caste census. He has been pressing on the issue further by publicly seeking caste profiling of Ministers, senior government officials, and management in media industries, and had reportedly asked the same from an Airline Industry. In particular, the Gandhi scion has been asking how many journalists are there from the OBC community in the media industry. 

Now, in a recent show on ‘India TV’, senior journalist Deepak Chaurasia, hailing from the OBC community, exposed the hypocrisy of the Congress leader on its poll plank by sharing an anecdotal incident. Chaurasia, who had a long stint in ‘Zee News’, revealed that despite being an ‘OBC journalist’, he had to endure hardships in the UPA era and was abruptly fired when he was the DD head in 2004.  

Notably, during the show, ‘Coffee per Kurukshetra’, the panel comprising India TV anchor Saurav Sharma, Deepak Chaurasia, and two others held a fluid discussion on Reservation and caste representation in the backdrop of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s Fake Video row. The developments in the fake video case can be read from here. Incidentally, the Congress and its ecosystem had peddled the doctored video of the Home Minister aiming to spread fake news that the BJP wanted to strike down the reservation for SC, ST, and OBC communities.

Exposing the Congress party on this issue, Deepak Chaurasia said, “I want to say one thing with a big heart. The amount of fake narratives spread by the Congress party on the reservation has never happened before. To be honest, most of the people will not know (what I am sharing now). I saw a video of Rahul Gandhi, in which he is looking for an OBC journalist. I am here, I am sitting in front. In 2004, Rahul Gandhi and his party removed me from Doordarshan and ousted me. I was the head of DD. I was an OBC journalist, they didn’t see it back then.”

He added that Rahul Gandhi and the people around him might not even know which are the major OBC castes in Uttar Pradesh. According to Chaurasia, today KC Venugopal is leading the entire Congress on behalf of Rahul Gandhi, and even he may not name 5 OBC castes of North India. He claimed the same thing regarding Rahul Gandhi’s current advisor, Jairam Ramesh. 

Chaurasiya emphasised that he shared the incident for the first time after 20 years had passed since then and added that he didn’t want to speak further about it.  

Senior DD journalist Ashok Srivastava came out to back Chaurasia’s assertions. Taking to X, the veteran Journalist wrote, “Today, Deepak Chaurasiya publicly acknowledged that in 2004, as soon as the Congress government, led by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, came into power, he was removed from Doordarshan despite being an OBC journalist. I revealed this disclosure in my first book, #NarendraModiCensored.”

However, he highlighted that Deepak Chaurasiya was not alone as around 100 journalists were targeted and removed by Doordarshan overnight during the Congress-led UPA regime. Taking a jibe at the Congress party for its hypocrisy on the matter, Srivastava added, “Today, the Congress is loudly proclaiming ‘freedom’ for the media in its manifesto.”

Jitesh Jethanandani, another journalist from Rajasthan hailing from the OBC community narrated the same ordeal. He stated that when he was overseeing the Rajasthan bureau of the national channel, TV 9 Bharatvarsh, he was fired from his job for saying that Bharat is, was, and will remain a Hindu Rashtra. 

According to Jethanandani, back then it was the BJP government that was in power. But many Congress leaders and poet Kumar Vishwas, along with leftist journalists exerted pressure on the BJP government and got him fired from the job, he added. 

He asserted that whosoever wants to see proof of it, he can show it to them while noting that since then he has been facing several economic hardships. He pointed out that while some organisations that have a Nation First mindset did try to help but lamented that leftist journalists still dominate the media landscape. He concluded by saying that the condition of the media remains the same even under BJP rule. 

Love Jihad in Rajasthan: Rashid pretends to be Hindu, repeatedly rapes girl in name of marriage, impregnates her and forces her to abort

OpIndia Staff
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Love Jihad in Rajasthan: Rashid pretends to be Hindu, repeatedly rapes girl in name of marriage, impregnates her and forces her to abort

An incident of love jihad has come to light in Rajasthan’s Dausa area where a Muslim man named Rashid Khan from Uttar Pradesh masqueraded as a Hindu to trap the victim and proceeded to rape her for multiple months. She has filed a complaint before Superintendent of Police Ranjeeta Sharma and a case was opened at women’s police station, Dausa. Police station in-charge Sita Yadav stated that a preliminary report has been submitted which highlighted that the accused lied about his identity and sexually assaulted the woman for seven months under the pretext of marriage.

The police station-in-charge added that a case has been registered against the culprit and an investigation is underway after which action will be taken against him. Sections 376, 313, 419, 506 and 366 of the Indian Penal Code were invoked against him. The offender who is a native of Uttar Pradesh’s Kasai Padai worked at a private company along with the girl in Dausa. The two came in contact with each other in August 2023. He introduced himself with a fake name hiding that he is Muslim and befriended her over this period. He tricked her in the name of marriage and sexually abused her several times.

Sita Yadav mentioned that he repeatedly raped the girl from August 2023 to February 2024. Meanwhile, she became pregnant but Rashid Khan forced her to abort the baby. She launched a case against him after the truth about his identity was unveiled. Now, her statement is going to be recorded after which a probe will be initiated and he will face consequences of his abhorrent act.

CNN wants India to turn into a Sharia state and labels resisting it as Islamophobic: Its latest oped proves the Western media despises Hindus

Shraddha Pandey
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CNN wants India to turn into a Sharia state and labels resisting it as Islamophobic: Its latest oped proves the Western media despises Hindus

As India is in the midst of general elections, the Western media has gone all out to influence the Indian voters against the incumbent Modi government. Western media houses are publishing long and repetitive op-eds on how Narendra Modi is a Hindu nationalist hardliner, and a third term for him would result in India becoming a Hindu Rashtra. In its pursuit of pushing the anti-India and anti-Hindu narrative, these Western media houses often use their brown sepoys to pass on the lies, half-truths and Hinduphobic opinions as some deplorable realities of India.

On the 1st of May, US-based media house CNN published an article titled: “Rising Hindu nationalism leaves Muslims fearful in India’s holy city”. As the title suggests, the article desperately attempts to assert that Muslims residing in the sacred city of Varanasi (Kashi), which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency, are fearful over the prospect of PM Modi securing a third term.

CNN report

“Yet, 10 years after his ascension, many of Varanasi’s Muslims feel neglected, even betrayed, especially now as a centuries-old mosque becomes the latest flashpoint in a case that tests India’s secular fabric,” the CNN article reads.

Although CNN acknowledged India’s transformative advancement over a decade of Modi rule, it said that ‘religious polarisation’ has undoubtedly increased.

CNN claims ‘Hindu nationalists’ being appointed to top positions to ‘target’ Muslims

The propaganda piece authored by Aishwarya S Iyer, Rhea Mogul, Kunal Sehgal and Will Ripley lamented how under Modi’s India, ‘Hindu nationalists’ are being appointed to top positions in government institutions. To back its assertion, CNN linked one of its reports on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Although CNN did not explicitly name CM Yogi, it apparently tried insinuating that some random Hindu nationalists were appointed to top government posts giving them the right to change laws to target Muslims. However, Yogi Adityanath has been a five-time Member of Parliament from Gorakhpur consecutively. Under CM Yogi, significant strides achieved by the state government in developmental initiatives that do not discriminate against or favour any religious group but benefit all.

CNN suffers meltdown over abrogation of Article 370 and passing of CAA

The CNN article also lamented the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir insinuating that the Modi government snatched the autonomy of India’s only Muslim-majority state. However, it failed to mention that an erstwhile unstable region plagued by Islamist terror, anti-India protests, and stone-pelting on Indian armed forces is now witnessing development and much-needed stability. The Modi government has significantly invested in infrastructure, education, tourism and urban development establishing a solid foundation for long-term growth of the region.

It goes on to mention the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act that triggered violent protests by Islamists and their sympathisers. In its bid to project the CAA as somehow anti-Muslim, the CNN article said that the Modi “administration passed a controversial citizenship law that excludes Muslim migrants, giving rise to deadly riots.” However, CNN did not care to delve into why Shias and Ahmadiyas from Pakistan as well as Rohingyas coming from Bangladesh were not covered in the CAA. As OpIndia reported earlier, Pakistan’s persecuted Shias and Ahmadiyas identify as Muslims, thus their persecution is the Islamic Republic’s law and order issue. Meanwhile, Rohingyas persecuted in Myanmar come to India via Bangladesh, they enter India for material benefits and no longer remain a persecuted group, thus, they are excluded from CAA, not due to any anti-Muslim agenda or hatred.

CNN projects the 2020 Delhi anti-Hindu riots as an attack on Muslims

Citing the case of one Nasir Ali, who claimed to have been shot in the eye due to his Muslim identity, CNN did what an average left-liberal Hindu-hating propagandist does, accentuate incidents of alleged violence against a Muslim person to downplay the terror unleashed upon Hindus. CNN does not find IB officer Ankit Sharma’s brutal murder during the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi Riots, horrific enough to be talked about since he was not a Muslim. In the 2020 anti-Hindu riots perpetrated by Islamists, 53 people died while more than 200 people were left injured. It would not be surprising if the brown sepoys did not even know the names of Dilbur Negi or Constable Ratan Lal.

CNN’s heart bleeds for a Kashmiri Muslim being unable to find a home for weeks in Rajasthan allegedly due to his Muslim identity. It, however, fails to mention the killings of migrant labourers mostly from UP and Bihar in Kashmir by Islamist terrorists. Much like the left-liberal propagandists, perhaps CNN too wants crimes perpetrated against Hindus by Muslims for their Hindu identity to be seen as ‘isolated crimes’ and not targeting Hindus.

Conspicuously, a Kashmiri Muslim youth facing difficulty in finding a home is more severe than poor Hindus being killed for their Hindu identity.

Amusingly, the CNN article cites self-proclaimed defenders of human rights, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, both notorious for peddling anti-India and anti-Hindu propaganda and selective ‘activism’.

The CNN report further laments the lack of Muslim representation within the Bhartiya Janata Party absolutely neglecting that like any other party, BJP also looks into the winnability of the candidates in elections.

PM Modi called Indian Muslims ‘infiltrators’: CNN parrots the lies peddled by opposition parties and their sympathisers

In the desperation to somehow paint PM Modi as ‘anti-Muslim’ CNN resorted to passing off lies peddled by the Congress, Islamists, Leftists and their media allies about PM Modi’s 21st April speech criticising Congress party’s sinister wealth redistribution promise. The report claimed that PM Modi called Indian Muslims “Ghuspaithiye” (infiltrators). However, contrary to the misleading claims, PM Modi did not call Indian Muslims “infiltrators”, rather by this term he meant the illegal migrants.

CNN wants Hindus not to reclaim Gyanvapi, as it is ‘destroying’ India’s ‘secular fabric’

Hindus trying to legally reclaim Kashi Vishwanath Temple, the rightful abode of Lord Vishweshwara (Shiva) which was destroyed by Mughal tyrant Aurangzeb in the 17th century, is causing fear among Muslims of Varanasi, the CNN report claims.

“The mosque was built in the 17th century by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. It is widely believed a temple devoted to Lord Shiva on the same site was destroyed to make way for it,” the CNN report reads insinuating that the Hindu side’s case relies more on ‘popular belief’ than historical evidence although there is ample historical evidence including Saqi Mustaid Khan’s Maasir-i-Alamgiri confirming that the temple was indeed ordered by Aurangzeb to be demolished. The report quotes a local Muslim leader Yasin saying that he does not trust the police and judiciary adding that the “judiciary is giving judgments but not justice.” For him perhaps, justice is only when the judgment is in favour of Muslims.

Any anti-Hindu individual, political party or media outlet’s meltdown is incomplete without shedding copious amounts of tears over the reclamation of Ram Janmbhoomi and the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Throwing its weight behind the ‘critics’, CNN also lamented the consecration of Lord Rama in his rightful abode, and asserted that it has “pulled India away from its constitutionally secular foundations”.

If the so-called ‘unique fabric’ of India is threatened by Hindus legally fighting to reclaim their temples destroyed by Islamists in the past, then this ‘fabric’ is nothing but a façade. Hindus are expected to remain meek and silently allow the anti-Hindu forces to erase their historical, cultural and religious heritage as well as replace it with Islamic symbols, otherwise, they are labelled ‘Islamophobes’ anti-Muslim, bigots and whatnot by Islamists and their ‘pens for hire’.

Congress government knew about Prajwal Revanna, waited till Vokkaligas voted & allowed him to escape: Amit Shah

ANI
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Congress government knew about Prajwal Revanna, waited till Vokkaligas voted & allowed him to escape: Amit Shah

In a scathing attack on Congress, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said its government in Karnataka knew about the obscene video allegations against suspended JD-S leader Prajwal Revanna for months but allowed him to flee as it wanted the voting for Lok Sabha polls in Vokkaliga-dominated areas in the state to conclude.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Amit Shah said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and state Home Minister G Parameshwara were responsible for Revanna fleeing the country.

Congress and some other opposition parties have attacked the BJP over Revanna leaving the country.

Hitting back, Amit Shah accused the Congress government of waiting for action until the first phase of voting in the state on April 26 due to its political calculations.

“Whose government is it in Karnataka? Congress party’s. Law and order is their responsibility. They knew about it for months. But they didn’t nab him until the Vokkaliga voting concluded. They let him flee. Karnataka CM, HM, Deputy CM are responsible for it,” he said.

A political row has erupted over Prajwal Revanna, who has been booked by Karnataka Police in the “obscene video” case, “having left the country” and claims of some opposition parties that he had gone to a European country.

Congress and AIMIM are among the political parties who have claimed that Revanna has gone to Germany. Prajwal Revanna is the MP from Hassan and is re-contesting from the seat as a NDA candidate.

BJP and JD-S have formed an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls in Karanataka.

Revanna was booked in an alleged sexual harassment case on April 28 following complaints by his former housekeeper.

The case has been registered under sections 354A, 354D, 506, and 509 of the IPC on charges of sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging the dignity of a woman. As per the complaint, the victim has claimed that Prajwal Revanna and his father HD Revanna had sexually assaulted her. Revanna is the grandson of party supremo and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.

The Karnataka government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged obscene video case against Prajwal Revanna.

Earlier in the day, Prajwal Revanna made his first remarks after being booked by the Karnataka police.

The suspended JD-S leader has been asked to appear before the Crime Investigation Department (CID).

In a post on X, Revanna said, “As I am not in Bangalore to attend the inquiry, I have communicated to CID, Bangalore, through my advocate. The truth will prevail soon.”

JD(S) core committee on Monday recommended the suspension of Prajwal Revanna.

Answering queries, Amit Shah also refuted Congress allegations that BJP wants to “finish Constitution” if it gets 400 plus seats in the Lok Sabha, and said Rahul Gandhi is “scared” and is “misleading” people.

“Rahul Gandhi is lying. We have had the majority for 10 years now. What did we do to the Constitution? We utilised our majority in scrapping Article 370 and triple talaq, and in strengthening the country. BJP has majority for the past 10 years. He is scared of the ‘400 paar’ slogan and is, therefore, misleading people,” he stated.

The Home Minister further stressed that BJP won’t touch reservations for weaker sections. He also accused the Congress party over ‘deep fake’ videos pertaining his speech and said it is being done in “desperation”.

“Public knows and understands everything…For 16 years (1998-2004 and 2014-2024), we didn’t touch reservations. We don’t want to touch it. They (Congress) are desperate so they edited my video and attempted to wrongfully present it to the people,” Shah said.

“They are desperate and are fearing their defeat. So, they are promoting deepfake videos,” he alleged.

Voting for 14 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka was held on April 26 and the remaining 14 seats will go for polls on May 7.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

‘Vote jihad’ to ‘we are not kaafir’: How politicians of so-called ‘secular’ parties have tried to convince voters that voting for Modi is against religion

Paurush Gupta
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‘Vote jihad’ to ‘we are not kaafir’: How politicians of so-called ‘secular’ parties have tried to convince voters that voting for Modi is against religion

Congress leader Salman Khurshid’s niece, Maria Alam Khan recently gave a clarion call for Muslim voters to practice ‘Vote Jihad’, sparking a debate about the plummeting level of discourse and desperation among the politicians of the opposition ranks. Notably, she made the contentious remarks on 29th April while addressing a Samajwadi Party rally in the Farrukhabad district of Uttar Pradesh. 

In the presence of her uncle Salman Khurshid, Maria Khan said that practising ‘vote jihad’ is needed in the current situation. 

“We must practice vote jihad very silently and smartly. We need not be emotional about this. We must unite to save the Constitution and that demands Vote Jihad. That is all that is in our hands. We all together need to get this Sanghi government out of power. Only then can we save the Constitution,” Maria Alam Khan could be heard saying. The video of her controversial address is making rounds on social media.

Khan further added that all those Muslims supporting the BJP-led government should be barred from the community. 

Meanwhile, Congress leader Salman Khurshid supported Khan’s remark and said that usually ‘vote jihad’ terminology is not used in the open as people misinterpret it. Khurshid said that ‘Jihad’ just means fighting with the situation. However, he supported the claims made by Khan that said ‘vote jihad’ must be practiced.

However, Khan’s clarion call for vote jihad highlights the brazen communal outreach and has drawn widespread commendation. It has also brought attention to the use of the Jihadi playbook and Islamist, Hinduphobic jibes by the so-called secular politicians of the I.N.D.I. Alliance. Incidentally, on several occasions, leaders of the I.N.D.I. Alliance have implored the Islamist warcry that has an undertone for baying blood, harming rivals to rally and consolidate their Muslim vote bank against the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Modi government, ironically charging it of being a “communal force”.

“Secular” politicians invoke ‘Jihad’, a religious war that terrorists and Islamists have invoked to kill non-believers, Kafirs

It is pertinent to note that ‘Jihad’ is an Islamic theological construct that is one of the most sacred duties that pious Muslims are meant to perform. The word “Jihad”, is an Arabic word which means “struggle”. Jihad is the struggle for the cause of spreading Islam, using all means available to Muslims, including violence. This kind of Jihad is often referred to as the “Holy War”. 

Over the course of history, several terrorists and radical outfits have waged ‘Jihad’ against non-Muslims or those who are considered non-believers in the word of Prophet Mohammad, denounce the concept of “There is no God but Allah” or are pejoratively referred to as Kafirs (infidels) by the followers of Islam. 

Despite the well-established and theological foundation of the Islamist words which incidentally has been a warcry for terrorist and extremist outfits, opposition politicians have used these outrightly communally defined words in the garb of protecting secularism from the “communal” measures and biases of BJP.   

Mamata Banerjee calls for “Jihad against BJP”, makes Kafir jibe asserting Kafirs has to eventually die

In the last week of June 2022, Mamata Banerjee drew ire for calling upon her party cadres and supporters to launch a “jihad against the BJP”. Notably, while addressing a public gathering in Asansol, Banerjee called upon her party cadres and supporters to launch a ‘jihad’ against the BJP from 21st July, a day when her party was slated to observe as ‘Shahid Diwas’ (martyr’s day).

The BJP had launched a scathing attack against her for her contentious and Islamist remarks. Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition, had slammed Mamata Banerjee saying her hate speech indicated her “jihadi” mindset. He asserted that Banerjee issued the appeal for ‘jihad’ against BJP keeping in mind her Muslim vote bank.

Later, the then West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar asked her to withdraw her remarks pointing out that “authoritarian and undemocratic” statements like that would bring the “death knell” of democracy and rule of law. 

However, despite receiving harsh criticism, Mamata Banerjee defended her ‘Jihad against BJP’ remark at the India Today Conclave East 2022, calling it the “state’s local language”. 

Later, on 22nd January 2024, the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi consecrated Ram Lalla’s idol in Ram Mandir, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee allegedly gave an inciting speech where she implored Islamists warcry. 

Addressing the gathering at Park Circus Maidan, she issued a stern warning to those who support or vote for BJP. She said, “Ek bat yaad rakhna, BJP ko madad mat karna, BJP ko agar tum log madad karoge koi to Allah ki kasam aap logo ko koi mafi nhi karega hum to mafi nhi karenge.” (Translated – Do remember one thing, don’t support/assist/vote for BJP. I am swearing on Allah if you help/assist BJP, nobody would forgive you, let alone me.) 

In her address at Circus Maidan during the ‘Sarv Dharm Sambhav’ rally, she also reportedly said, “Jo Kafir hain, woh darte hain, Jo ladte hain, woh jeet te hain.”

Kafir is a pejorative jibe used by Islamists to refer to anyone who doesn’t believe in Islam, polytheists, and idol worshippers even calling for direct harm (annihilation of their existence).

Shivraj Patil defends Jihad as a viable last option when everything fails

Likewise, UPA-era Home Minister Shivraj Patil had once defended the use of Jihad as a ‘viable last plan’ of action to achieve something good albeit while claiming that Lord Krishna taught Jihad to Arjun in the Bhagwad Gita. He made the bizarre analogy during the launch of the biography of Congress leader Mohsina Kidwai. 

On 20th October 2022, Shivraj Patil asserted, “There is a lot of discussion about Islam. And our work in the Indian Parliament is not about Jihad but ideals. Jihad is only evoked when all efforts, undertaken with a clear mind, fail.” 

The former Home Minister further alleged, “It is said that when all efforts fail, one can use power (Shakti) against the other.” Patil drew false equivalence between the Dharmic concept of Shakti and Jihad, a term used by Islamists to kill and maim non-Muslims across the globe.

“The concept of Jihad is not limited to the Quran but also the Bhagavad Gita, which is a part of Mahabharata,” he continued. “Lord Krishna had taught Arjuna about Jihad (In Bhagwat Gita). And Jihad does not exist only in Hindu and Islamic scriptures. It is also present in the Holy text of Christians,” he insinuated.

The UPA Minister was alluding to the fact that the opposition has attempted too many failed bids in its fight against the Modi government. Pertinent to note that Patil had served as the Minister in the UPA government when the grand old party had coined the term ‘saffron terror’ and tried to whitewash the crimes of Batla House terrorists.

In an attempt to mobilise their Muslim vote bank, “secular” politicians overlook that words have their own currencies and they carry weight. Their blatant outreach, disguised as naivety and political innocence, in pursuit of narrow political gains, ultimately diminishes the gravity of a ‘well-defined Islamist war cry,’ portraying it merely as a ‘protest’ or harmless political opposition against their rivals. This inadvertently contributes to the proliferation of radicalisation within society.

Election Commission bans Telangana CM KCR from campaigning for 48 hours

OpIndia Staff
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Election Commission bans Telangana CM KCR from campaigning for 48 hours

The Election Commission of India has imposed a two-day ban on BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s campaign activities for the Lok Sabha elections, effective from 8 p.m. on May 1.

In its directive, the ECI expressed strong disapproval of statements made by Chandrashekar Rao during a press conference in Sircilla on April 5, condemning his conduct and citing a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

Accordingly, Chandrashekar Rao is prohibited from participating in any public events, processions, rallies, shows, interviews, or making public statements in media (electronic, print, social media) for 48 hours starting from 8 p.m. on May 1, 2024.

The ECI’s decision came after a complaint lodged by the Congress party’s senior vice president for Telangana S Niranjan on April 6, alleging derogatory and objectionable remarks made by Chandrashekar Rao against the Congress party and its leaders during the Sircilla press conference.

Twenty-four sexual predators jailed in the UK: How Britain is reeling from the scourge of grooming jihad

OpIndia Staff
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Twenty-four sexual predators jailed in the UK: How Britain is reeling from the scourge of grooming jihad

More than two dozen men have been thrown behind bars after eight young girls in West Yorkshire were raped, abused and trafficked over a period of 13 years in the UK. The abuse that lasted years in Kirklees and was dubbed “abhorrent in the extreme” resulted in a total of 346 years in prison for the 24 sexual offenders. The latest sentencing took place at Leeds Crown Court on 26th April as the men were apprehended after West Yorkshire Police learned of their acts.

Operation Tourway, a multi-year investigation into the sexual exploitation of young girls in North Kirklees, which includes the towns of Dewsbury and Batley, looked at incidents that transpired between 1999 and 2012. The perpetrators were awarded a total of 346 years in prison for the crimes they committed between 1999 and 2012 against the victims.

Heckmondwike resident Khurum Raziq (42) received a 22-year term for eight rape offences. Nasar Hussain (46) of Dewsbury was given an 18-year sentence for three rape crimes.36 counts of rape, 5 acts of indecent assault, and 3 counts of aiding and abetting rape resulted in a 30-year sentence for Dewsbury resident Zafar Qayum (44). 47-year-old Ansar Qayum of Dewsbury was sentenced to a 20-year term for four rape offences and one attempted indecent assault charge. Mohammed Jabbar Qayum (43) of Dewsbury was handed down a 13-year term for two rape offences. 45-year-old Batley resident Mohammed Imran Zada obtained a 15-year sentence for four counts of rape and having intercourse with a child under the age of fifteen.

Wakefield resident Michael Birkenshaw (37) obtained an eight-year term for rape. 40-year-old Amran Mehrban from Batley was awarded a 13-year term for two rape offences and one assault by penetration. 38-year-old Sarkaut Yasen of Dewsbury was given a 15-year sentence for three counts of aiding and abetting rape and trafficking. Dewsbury resident Mohammed Saleem Nasir (48) was given a 19-year term for three rape offences as well as one for aiding and abetting rape. Irfan Khan (37) of Batley was found guilty of three charges of rape and uttering death threats. He was given a 12-year sentence with a five-year parole. Batley resident Omar Farooq Hussain (39) received an 18-year term for four rape offences.

40-year-old Sarfraz Hussain Riaz of Dewsbury earned a 15-year term for two rape convictions and one attempted rape offence. 38-year-old Batley resident Zafar Iqbal was given a 17-year term for three rape offences, child trafficking and obscenity. Rape and trafficking charges resulted in a ten-year term for Batley resident Nasar Iqbal (38). Batley resident Mohammed Chothia (47) received a 17-year sentence for four counts of rape and trafficking. Bilal Patel (42) of Leicester was handed a 13-year term for his involvement in human trafficking and rape. 53-year-old Batley resident Asif Ali received a 24-year sentence for 14 charges of rape, two counts of forcing or inciting a child to engage in sexual conduct and crimes of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, purposeful encouragement or assistance of an offender and aiding, abetting or procuring rape.

Mohammed Tauseef Hanif (39) from Dewsbury was convicted of rape and sentenced to nine and a half years in prison. 38-year-old Ali Shah, a Dewsbury resident received a 10-year term for rape. Heckmondwike resident Moshin Nadat (38) was jailed for a seven-and-a-half-year term for rape. 49-year-old Safraz Miraf of Dewsbury was given a four-and-a-half-year term for trying to commit rape. 38-year-old Batley resident Mohammed Nazam Nasser received a seven-and-a-half-year term for rape. Batley resident Amir Ali Hussain (45) received an eight-year term for rape.

Reporting limitations pertaining to multiple trials conducted over a two-year period were removed after eight individuals were recently sentenced at Leeds Crown Court. More than twenty years in prison were imposed on four of the individuals found guilty in the series of trials. Jurors were presented with details of “absolutely shocking offending,” according to West Yorkshire Police where victims were treated like “defenceless commodities to be abused and traded at whim.”

“The conviction and sentencing of these latest eight men represents a significant milestone for victims in this case. Their bravery in coming forward and identifying their abusers has allowed us to take action against men whose offending and behaviour can only be described as abhorrent in the extreme. Now that reporting restrictions have been lifted we can, for the first time, disclose full details of all those sentenced so far in what has been a long trial process. Throughout the last two years, juries have heard details of absolutely shocking offending committed against victims in these cases,” remarked Detective Chief Inspector Oliver Coates, of West Yorkshire.

He pointed out, “Some of these men received in excess of 20 years each for the multiple offences they committed and the unbelievably callous and degrading way in which they treated these then-young girls. Men such as Asif Ali, who alone was found guilty of 14 rape offences, committed appalling sexual abuse on a scale which can barely be believed, and saw their young victims as defenceless commodities to be abused and traded at whim.”

He praised the woman who had come forward to narrate their ordeals. “Far from being powerless, however, those young women have instead fought back as adults and forced them to account for their crimes. They displayed real courage and determination in giving evidence through what have been lengthy trials and supporting our investigations. I hope they can find some closure and satisfaction in knowing they have enabled police and partners to mount a huge and highly difficult investigation which has taken sexual predators off our streets for years to come.”

With their conviction, a total of 25 people have been punished for their roles in the trafficking, rape and sexual abuse of the girls in the probe. An additional individual was placed under a hospital order following court proceedings. As safeguarding investigators probed into the matter, they discovered other suspects in relation to the reports they had received regarding some of the males from 2015. They were charged in December 2020 after a wave of arrests took place around West Yorkshire starting in late 2018. Court proceedings started on 11th December and they were sentenced in five trials that Leeds Crown Court heard between 2022 and 2024.

Grooming jihad in the UK

Grooming jihad has reared its head time and again in the United Kingdom. Many regulatory loopholes have allowed the culprits to evade punishment, including the authorities’ fear of being labelled as racists because the majority of these crimes are committed by Muslim males, especially those from Pakistan. Grooming jihad is occurring on a far larger and more terrifying scale with teenagers particularly minor girls. October of last year witnessed the charging of Omar, Khalid, Jameel, and twenty-one other people in Bradford with four years of child rape.

Sexual abuse scandals were discovered in a series of locations, including Huddersfield, Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford, Bristol, Peterborough and Newcastle. Young British females were sexually assaulted and mistreated by primarily Muslim male gangs. The nation was shocked by the vast number of victims and the sexual offences committed against them. The disappearance of Charlene Downes from Lancashire was one of the most horrifying cases. It was feared that Muslim gangs groomed her and then ended her life. Her body was allegedly minced into pieces and served as kebabs to customers at a takeaway restaurant in the area.

Nearly 19,000 adolescents in England are estimated to have been sexually groomed from 2018-2019, based on government numbers. England’s local authorities have identified approximately 18,700 potential victims in the aforementioned year, compared to 3,300 five years prior. The data revealed a notable rise in the number of children who have been groomed during the previous five years. Bradford, Lancashire, and Birmingham had the highest recorded rates of child grooming victims in the United Kingdom.

According to a report by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), there has been an 82% increase in online grooming offences against youngsters over the past five years. UK police have registered nearly 34,000 internet grooming crimes against minors. Primary school students were the target of 1 in 4 of these crimes committed in the previous 5 years. 73% of crimes took place on social media applications, Snapchat and Meta.

Research conducted by the charitable Sikh Mediation and Rehabilitation Team unveiled that Pakistani men have been raping and abusing Sikh girls in Britain for many years. The report asserted that the concerns were “recklessly ignored” by the police due to “political correctness” and mentioned, “The research has found verification demonstrating a history of predominantly Pakistani grooming gangs targeting young Sikh females for over 50 years. The over-representation of such perpetrators in selecting non-Muslim victims would appear to be indicative of a wider acceptability in certain sections of the community towards the targeting of young females from outside of the Pakistani community and/or Muslim faith.”

UK’s clamp down on grooming jihad

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak formed a new Grooming Gangs Taskforce to assist law enforcement authorities in investigating the serious problem of Muslim grooming gangs in the country. According to an official announcement from his office in April of last year, the task force will have specialized police to assist in the investigation to guarantee that the criminals accountable for breeding gangs would be brought to jail. The task group, led by the police, will get support from the National Crime Agency. Its investigators will have a plethora of experience probing these groups. The task force’s objectives are to break up grooming gangs and lock up the culprits.

The statement additionally noted that data analysts would be assigned to the task force in order to use data and information to determine the various criminal types that commit these offences. Furthermore, data analysis will assist law enforcement in apprehending criminals who may otherwise avoid punishment. The UK has previously experienced several issues, chief among them the supposed cultural sensitivities that led to critical events such as these being dismissed. Police-recorded ethnicity data will be incorporated into the new system to ensure that suspects cannot avoid punishment solely on the basis of their ethnicity.

Furthermore, he promised to make sure the ringleaders and members of the grooming group received the worst punishments for their crimes. The government would also draft legislation, demonstrating its commitment to applying the most severe penalties possible for these offences, to include the grooming gang leader as a statutory aggravating factor during sentencing.

As Reetam Singh gets arrested for fake video of Amit Shah, here is how his father was caught lying after Reetam met with an accident while speeding

OpIndia Staff
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As Reetam Singh gets arrested for fake video of Amit Shah, here is how his father was caught lying after Reetam met with an accident while speeding

Assam police on Monday (29 April) arrested Congress party’s “war room coordinator” Reetam Singh in connection with a fake video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He had posted a doctored video to claim that Amit Shah has promised to end reservations for SC, ST and OBCs. In this context, it is important to note that his father was earlier caught spreading fake news.

In 2022, Reetam Singh’s father had claimed that an Ola scooter Reetam was riding accelerated after applying its brakes, causing an accident in which his son was injured badly. However, the company had busted his lies by publishing the data from the electric scooter, which showed that the accident was caused because Reetam was over-speeding, and the brakes worked normally.

On 15 April 2022, Reetam’s father Balwant Singh posted a series of tweets blaming ‘fault in regenerative braking’ for the accident with his son on 26 March in Guwahati. The father claimed that when his son applied the brakes on the newly purchased Ola S1 Pro scooter, it accelerated instead of stopping, and generated so much torque that the two-wheeler crashed.

He claimed that the scooter went airborne after the brakes were applied, and then it went crashing and skidding. Reetam was severely injured in the accident, with fracture in left hand and needing many stitches on the right hand. He was flown from Guwahati to Mumbai for surgery, “to save his left hand from life long disability”. The father had also posted photographs of Reetam in hospital.

Balwant Singh said that Ola Electric took away the scooter on 11 April and an executive called to understand the issue, but there was no information from the company after that.

After Singh posted the tweets on 15 April, Ola responded to him on the same day saying that they were working on the issue. Then on 21 April, the company informed that the scooter has been returned and there was no issue with the scooter as alleged, and advised him to ride safely.

Incidentally, on the same say, union transport minister Nitin Gadkari said that the govt has constituted an expert committee to look into the issue of several mishaps involving electric two-wheelers during that time.

Gadkari tweeted that “if any company is found negligent in their processes, a heavy penalty will be imposed and a recall of all defective vehicles will also be ordered.” In the meanwhile, Balwant Singh posted some more tweets addressing Ola over his son’s accident.

 As the issue stared to gain momentum on social media, in a surprise move, Ola Electric on 22 April 2022 published the telemetry data of the scooter, showing that Reetam was riding the scooter at very high speed leading to the accident. As per the data, he rode the scooter in hyper mode at 114 km per hour in two sections just before midnight, and then when he was riding again in hyper mode and had reached 95 kmph, he applied the brakes suddenly.

The company’s data shows that he applied all three brakes, front brake, rear brake and the regenerative brake, which is reversing the throttle. Regenerative braking is a feature in electric vehicles which generates power by running the motor in reverse using the kinetic energy of the wheels.

The company asserted that the brakes of the scooter worked fine, decelerating from 80 kmph to 0 kmph in just 3 seconds. The data also showed that there was no sudden torque or acceleration after applying the brakes, as claimed by Balwant Singh. The sensors of the vehicle showed that it fell on its right side.

After the Ola published the report, Balwant Singh claimed that it is wrong, and the third spite in the speed was after Reetam had applied the brakes. He claimed that when the scooter crashed, it was in normal speed.

Before Ola published the report, netizens were attacking the company, because several incidents of electric scooters of the company were being reported at that time. However, after the report was published, it was proven that this accident was the result of over-speeding, not because of any fault with the vehicle.

Therefore, Reetam Singh’s father decided to change tactic to attack the company, and claimed that the company violated privacy laws by publishing the report with his consent. He sent the company a legal notice asking it to take down the telemetry data report.

However, Ola Electric hit back instead of complying, asking Singh to remove all social media posts attacking the company. The company asked him to take down “all negative and defamatory statements, posts, tweets, re-tweets, reposts, articles and reports” made against Ola Electric, saying that appropriate action will be taken if the allegations are not removed.

There seems to be a stalemate after that, with neither parties carrying out their threats. The Ola telemetry data report remains on the company’s Twitter (now X) handle. Similarly, Balwant Singh’s posts are also available, and he has continued to amplify various allegations made by others against Ola scooters.

Former Pakistan minister Fawad Chaudhry, who served under Imran Khan, comes out in support of Rahul Gandhi

OpIndia Staff
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Former Pakistan minister Fawad Chaudhry, who served under Imran Khan, comes out in support of Rahul Gandhi

On Wednesday, 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 comment comes at a time when India is in the midst of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Two phases of the general elections have already concluded, with 5 more phases to go. As per several opinion polls and news reports, PM Modi’s returning to power at the centre is all but certain, with some claiming his victory might be the biggest by any Prime Minister in three decades. The most conservative estimates say BJP alone might rack up upwards of 350 seats, with the NDA alliance bagging close to 380-390 seats.

Congress, on the other hand, is in shambles, with many of its leaders sensing an imminent poll drubbing, switching to the BJP. 

Nevertheless, Chaudhry’s tweet applauding Rahul Gandhi will provide the BJP with yet another ammunition to slam the Congress party over drawing support from Pakistan. The BJP has already pushed Congress on the back foot, stating that the party’s manifesto reeks of the ideals of the Muslim League, the founding party of Pakistan. 

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