On Monday (11th December), the Calcutta High Court heard a petition against author Arundhati Roy for anti-India statements she made to the Islamist propaganda news outlet Al Jazeera. The petitioner asserted that Roy stated in an interview with Al Jazeera that “India was becoming a fascist Hindu enterprise.”
A division bench consisting of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya noted that the plea had not been properly served on the respondents and ordered that it be listed after service had been executed on the respondents, which included Twitter Inc., whose name had subsequently been changed to “X Corp.”
The petitioner contended that Roy had disclosed these remarks to Al Jazeera, which is ‘affiliated with Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda’. Roy in the year-old video could also be heard calling the present rulers of India ‘gangsters’.
“Millions of people follow her. She called the Indian government a “Hindu Fascist enterprise” in an interview with AI Jazeera, even though India is one of the few secular nations in the world. The people have mandated the government, and Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda is represented by Al Jazeera. Thousands of people will share her speech, and renowned actor Prakash Raj has also referred to Hindus as fascists. Hindus are not fascists; we have learned dharma rakshite rakshita, which means we protect our dharma and it protects us,” the petitioner stated.
After hearing the plea, the Chief Justice asked the petitioners if they had previously filed a similar plea with the Delhi High Court. Additionally, it was mentioned that not all respondents had received the service and that Twitter Inc., one of the respondents, would have to be freshly arrayed as X Corp in the writ petition.
Meanwhile, the legal representative for the petitioner maintained that these remarks ‘don’t make any sense.’
Taking issue with these remarks, the plea was adjourned after service was completed, and the Chief Justice rebuked orally: “Are you calling us senseless?” Or the State’s attorney? Never use that word, and how long have you been in practice? From 2006? Even in a Magistrates Court, do not use these expressions because they can lead to criminal contempt. You are appearing before the first court in a chartered High Court, India’s oldest. You’d better watch your language. List after effective service is completed,” the court was quoted as saying.
The petition was moved by Advocates Mita Banerjee Ray and Barun Kumar Ray.
On 10th December, masked miscreants entered Gopal Temple in the Islamganj area near the Civil Hospital in Ludhiana wearing shoes and forcefully stopped Maha Aarti. As per reports, the miscreants entered the temple and approached the priest directly, performing the Maha Aarti. They forced him to stop the Aarti, leading to a dispute with the devotees. As the conflict escalated, they fled the scene. Hindu organisations in Ludhiana have strongly condemned the incident.
Speaking to the media, the caretaker of Gopal Temple, Vinit Dua, said that Maha Aarti was in progress on 10th December at around 7:30 PM. Some miscreants wearing shoes entered the temple. They had covered their faces. Upon entering the temple, they approached the priest conducting Aarti and forced him to stop. He added when the temple priest objected, they started abusing him. The miscreants allegedly threatened the priest that they would remove the idols from the temple if the Aarti was not stopped.
Sacrilege during Maha Aarti at Shri Gopal Mandir, Ludhiana:
Culprits have been identified as Jarnail Singh s/o Partap Singh, Varinder Singh s/o Jarnail Singh, Sonu Singh s/o Satnam Singh & are booked under section 295-A, 506, 34 IPC.
The incident was captured on CCTV installed inside the temple. The miscreants claimed they were ill, so they would not let the Aarti continue. The incident was reported to the Division Number 2 Police Station. The police have registered a case, and the investigation is underway. Reportedly, the miscreants have been identified as Jarnail Singh, Varinder Singh, and Sonu Singh. An FIR under Section 295A, 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against them.
Shiv Sena leader Bhanu Pratap condemned the incident and urged the police to take strict action against the miscreants. He asserted if police failed to take any action in the matter, Shiv Sena would take it to the streets.
Speaking to the media, Ludhiana SP Rupinder Kaur Sra said those who entered the temple were from the neighbourhood. They were objecting to loud noise coming from the temple. After receiving the complaint from the temple, police reached the spot and initiated investigation.
Chaos broke out in the Karnataka Assembly on Monday over a video of a Congress minister who can be heard trying to communalise the Speaker’s chair. Zameer Ahmad Khan’s remarks during an election rally in Telangana were brought up in the House on Monday (11th December). BJP MLAs staged a protest in the assembly demanding the sacking of the Congress minister.
The Housing, Waqf and Minority affairs minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan while targeting the BJP during the Telangana campaign had said that the BJP MLAs are now bound to join hands and bow down before a Muslim speaker in Karnataka thanks to the Congress.
The video of his address had gathered pace on social media and garnered widespread criticism.
“9 of us (Muslims) have been elected. 17 seats had Muslim contenders and 9 got elected. 5 have been given power. Zameer Ahmed Khan has been given three portfolios as minister, Raheem Khan has been made minister, Salin Ahmed has been made chief whip and Naseer Ahmed has recently been made political secretary. Till today, no one (Muslim) had been made Speaker. Today the Congress has made UT Khader Speaker. Today, BJP leaders join hands and salute before UT Khader (a Muslim leader) because of the Congress,” Khan said in his address.
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka along with other BJP MLAs assembled at the Well of the House demanding that Khan be sacked for his “insulting” remark involving the position of the Speaker.
He said, “We don’t know in which country we are living. Is this Pakistan? Khan should be sacked for showing BJP leaders in poor light.”
JD(S) also joined in the chorus as the protests went on for the entire duration of the House proceedings.
However, Speaker UT Khader did not heed the Opposition’s demand and the House passed five bills without discussion and concluded a discussion on drought with the government’s reply.
Meanwhile, the BJP also accused the Speaker of conducting the proceedings in a dictatorial manner like a “Congress Speaker” and insulting the Opposition. The BJP MLAs called the Congress minister’s statement as “anti constitution and anti Hindu”.
LoP R Ashoka also accused Khan of disrespecting the chair of the Speaker and trying to disturb the sentiments of Hindus and Muslims. A battle ensued in the assembly when Congress MLAs also rose in protest against the Opposition.
“Are we (BJP MLAs) gulams (slaves)? To say salaam the way he (Khan) has said,” R Ashoka asked. BJP MLA and former Karnataka minister CN Ashwath Narayan demanded Khan’s suspension from the assembly.
Meanwhile, the Speaker, UT Khader, himself told the Opposition that they should have raised the matter after giving a notice. Even as the assembly was adjourned for some time, the House proceedings continued later without heeding to the demands of the opposition.
“We respect the chair not because the speaker who occupies it is a Hindu or a Muslim. It is because of respect towards the Chair. The minister’s statement has humiliated Hindus, so Khan has to apologise. Extend the session by a week for discussion on key issues, but we won’t take back protests,” Ashoka said.
The BJP also called Khan a “Pakistani agent”. The LoP asked whether Congress is ashamed to take action when Hindus are insulted.
Zameer Ahmed Khan has reportedly refused to issue an apology or submit resignation. He was quoted as saying, “I had said that Congress, BJP, and JD(S) members bow down to the Speaker’s chair and respect it. I have merely highlighted that the Congress has elevated the Muslim community to such a high post. What’s wrong with that statement?”
About a year ago, the Congress minister had made headlines for his unheygenic display of appeasement. While marking Ambedkar Jayanti and Eid Milan at an event last year, Khan was seen in a video feeding a morsel of food to a Dalit priest, asked him to spit it out and then ate it himself.
The video had gone viral on social media.
Last year, the Congress leader had claimed that the numerical strength of Muslims is greater than the politically-dominant Vokkaliga community in the state.
He made the contentious remarks to support Siddaramaiah’s bid for becoming the Congress’ CM candidate in the Assembly elections.
In July 2022, the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) conducted raids on the residence and office of the Congress MLA in Bengaluru. The ACB officials also registered a case against Khan in the disproportionate assets case and booked him based on ED’s report.
The ACB officials raided 2 offices and 3 residential properties of Khan which include his residence in the Bengaluru Cantonment area, a flat in Silver Oak Apartment, a guest house at Sadashiv Nagar, GK Associates office at Banashankari, and National Travels Office in Kalasipalya in Bengaluru.
Khan along with several other Congress leaders was seen brandishing swords during the so-called celebration of Islamic tyrant Tipu Sultan at Bengaluru. BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, a Congress MLA from Chamarajpet, addressed the media while holding a sword.
The Delhi High Court has dismissed the News Portal NewsClick plea challenging the orders dated November 3 and February 20 passed by the Income Tax Department and said it has not been able to make out a prima facie case in its favour.
The bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna, while passing the order recently, said that the petitioner’s plea of financial stringency based on its balance sheet also inspires no confidence, as according to the Assessing Officer, the accounts have not been properly maintained. To put it mildly, the petitioner has a ‘lot to answer’ in the appeal, said the bench.
Newclick recently approached the Delhi High Court, challenging the orders dated November 3rd and February 20th, passed by the respondents, whereby the petitioner’s application for a stay of demand during the pendency of the appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) against the assessment order dated December 30th, 2022, has been dismissed.
The petitioner had further prayed for a stay of demand during the pendency of the petitioner’s appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).
Senior Advocate Devdutt Kamat appeared for the petitioner and submitted that the discretion to stay the demand during the pendency of an appeal has to be exercised judiciously and reasonably, based on relevant grounds, with due application of mind, and must not be exercised arbitrarily, capriciously or based on irrelevant considerations. He states that in complete violation of this mandate, the impugned orders are arbitrary, have been passed mechanically, and suffer from complete non-application of mind.
Recently, the Delhi Police special cell arrested NewsClick’s founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha and HR Head Amit Chakravarty under Sections IPC and UAPA.
The Delhi Police’s Special Cell, in its FIR against news web portal NewsClick’s founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha, stated that the People’s Dispatch Portal, owned and maintained by M/S PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd, has been used for intentionally peddling false narratives through paid news in lieu of crores of rupees of illegally routed foreign funds as part of a conspiracy.
The Delhi Police FIR further stated that foreign funds in crores have been infused illegally in India by Indian and foreign entities inimical to India in pursuance of a conspiracy with the intention to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, to cause disaffection against India and to threaten the unity, integrity, and security of India.
Foreign funds in crores have been infused illegally in India by Indian and foreign entities inimical to India in pursuance of a conspiracy with the intention to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, to cause disaffection against India and to threaten the unity, integrity, and security of India, as stated in the FIR.
(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 12th December, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will likely introduce three criminal law bills in Lok Sabha after amending them based on the standing committee’s recommendations. The three bills previously introduced in Lok Sabha on 11th August were withdrawn by the Home Minister on 11th December, subjected to the amendments. The three bills that will replace the colonial-era criminal laws are the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023.
Source: yuvnique/X
Hindustan Times quoted an unnamed source familiar with the matter saying, “Based on the committee’s recommendations, amendments have been proposed in the three criminal law bills, which the home minister will introduce along with two other bills around 5 pm on Tuesday.”
Reportedly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his office disagreed with two of the proposed amendments as they were seen as against the Supreme Court and its judgments. The two suggestions aimed to criminalise adultery and homosexual sex. Notably, the Supreme Court had struck down the law that made adultery an offence, saying it was discriminating against women, perpetuating gender stereotypes and diminishing the dignity of women. Though the apex court had struck down the criminalisation of homosexual sex between consensual adults, the committee suggested retaining it in the new bill.
Notably, after introducing the bills in August this year, they were sent to the standing committee on home affairs for review. The committee submitted a report on 6th November and proposed 50 amendments to the bills. Reportedly, HM Shah said in the Parliament, “Based on the committee’s recommendations, amendments are proposed in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023. It is proposed to introduce a new bill in place of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023.” Similar statements were made to withdraw the other two bills as well.
The three criminal law bills seek to replace colonial-era criminal laws named the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
HM Shah introduced bills to replace colonial-era criminal laws
In August 2023, the Home Minister introduced three bills to replace the British-era criminal code in the country—the move aimed at removing colonial legacies, with 475 referencing the British Raj being eliminated.
The notable changes in the law included a shift in the focus to crime against women and children with penalties for offences like gang rape and rape of minors, including the death penalty. Furthermore, measures against love jihad, organised crime, terrorism and mob lynching were introduced in the bills. Time-bound investigations, trials and judgments were part of the new bills to replace British-era criminal laws. The digitisation of the entire legal process, mandatory community service, and increased use of forensic science are also emphasised.
More than 345,000 Afghans have been deported from Iran to Afghanistan in over two months, Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported, citing a senior official of the Taliban-led Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation.
Abdul Rahman Rashid, Taliban-appointed Deputy Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, said, “Since the first of Mizan (23rd September) till 17 Qaws (December 8) there were approximately 345,000. Each family has been provided with 10,000 Afs in cash assistance by the Islamic Emirate.”
Mohammad Yousuf and Fatih Khan, who left Afghanistan and went to Iran to make both ends meet, have been deported from Iran. They complained about the mistreatment of Afghan refugees by Iranian forces, according to TOLO News report.
Yousuf said, “There was no work here, then we went to Iran through illegal paths. They beat us and detained us.”
Khan said, “They captured us and beat us. They beat us badly and forced us to return.” The deportees raised concerns regarding the lack of employment in Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to make efforts to create jobs for the citizens.
Shirin Agha, a deportee, said, “We call on our government to provide us with work so the people are not forced to leave.” Ahmadullah, a deportee, called on Taliban to provide them with work. This comes as Iranian officials have said that Afghans without legal documents will be deported from Iran, TOLO News reported.
Last week, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Wahidi reiterated that Afghan citizens who are currently residing in Iran illegally should return to their country, according to TOLO News. However, Wahifi did not mention a group or a country but said that the “enemy” wants to start anti-Afghan sentiments by creating a conflict between Afghans and Iranians.
He further highlighted that Iran’s capital, Tehran, has also planned for immigrants with documents, according to TOLO News.
“When the Taliban came here, I told them that you should prepare the ground for them (Afghan immigrants) to return to their country. After all, everyone should return to their own lives. You should come up with a mechanism for their return, and they said to give us some time,” Wahidi said.
Asifa Stanikzai, a women’s rights activist, said, “Different countries and organisations should continue their humanitarian aid to the refugees who need help, regardless of the internal conditions of Afghanistan.”
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Indian American businessman and GOP Presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy faced an embarrassing moment when he forgot to mute his mic while taking a ‘loo break’ from an active X (Twitter) space. Around 2.3 million listeners were tuned in when Ramaswamy encountered the hot mic moment.
On the X (Twitter) Space, Ramaswamy was participating in a discussion on the future of technology. During the session, Elon Musk was explaining the rationale behind reinstating the banned X account of Alex Jones, founder of the website Infowars, back on his micro-blogging platform. However, interjecting in the conversation, Ramaswamy conveyed that he would have to take a short break, hurriedly stating, “Gentlemen, I have to go.”
While Elon Musk continued the discussion, the unmistakable sound of running water could be heard in the background.
Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy takes a piss with his mic on during an ? Space with 100K+ listeners
Pointing towards unusual noises, Alex Jones sarcastically remarked, “Someone’s got their thing open peeing. Somebody’s got their phone in the bathroom.”
Responding to Jones’ remark, the host Mario Nawfal alerted Ramaswamy that the source of the noise was his phone. Nawfal said, “Vivek, that’s your phone. But I am not able to mute you.”
On returning from the short break, Vivek Ramaswamy realised that his mic was unmuted and understood what had transpired. He immediately apologised for the embarrassing moment.
However, on a lighter note, Musk quips, “I hope you feel better now”. To which Ramaswamy replied, “I feel great. Sorry about that guys.”
While the awkward moment was initially met with stunned silence, it sparked a flurry of witty reactions.
Musk later responded to the post that had caught the incident stating that he was bursting into uncontrollable laughter. Musk wrote, “I’m literally rofl rn.”
An X user noted encountering a similar awkward moment saying, “As a host of a live show, random shit like that happens, LOL. I left the microphone hot once to come back to find my cat attacking it and meowing into it, LOL.”
Another user tweeted, “Poor guy, this is will (sic) never leave him now.”
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is conspiring and the government is sending people to hurt him physically
“It is the CM, he is conspiring and he is sending these people to hurt me physically. The constitution seems to be collapsing. The collapse of the constitutional machinery cannot be allowed,” the Governor said, speaking to reporters.
Khan said that hooligans are trying to rule the roads of Thiruvananthapuram.
“Today the ‘gundas’ are trying to rule the roads of Thiruvananthapuram. When they came, I stopped my car and I got down (from my car). Why have they fled? What have I done? Because I do not wish to be pressurised by their tactics, therefore they are trying to threaten me. They are trying to scare me. I am not the person to take things lightly,” the Governor said.
Khan also accused the state police of colluding with them under the direction of the Chief Minister.
“They came before my car. They hit my car from both sides. I got down. Will they allow anyone to come near the car of the Chief Minister? Police knew them but what can the police do when the CM is directing them? When I got down they all got into their jeeps and they ran away. The Chief Minister’s program is going on. Is it possible that people will bring cars and they will bring protesters than them?”
The BJP State president, K Surendran, condemned the alleged attempt to manhandle Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan by the members of the student and youth organisations of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday.
Arif Mohammed Khan said that his vehicle was hit with hands by members of SFI (Students’ Federation of India) and DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India) on both sides after being surrounded by them on Monday. The alleged incident happened when they were protesting against the governor, alleging that he appointed people associated with the BJP in the senates of various universities in the state.
Surendran said that the alleged attempt to assault the governor was made with the tacit support of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
“SFI and DYFI criminals tried to manhandle Governor Arif Mohammad Khan in Trivandrum City yesterday and today,” Surendran told ANI.
“The violent incident happened with the silent support of the police. The chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, is supporting the perpetrators and culprits in this issue. We strongly condemn the undemocratic acts of the SFI and DYFI” he added.
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has been facing protests from these organisations of the ruling party over the university appointment issue.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, The Washington Post has launched a campaign of sorts to de-legitimise those exposing anti-India narratives and promote individuals disseminating propaganda against India.
On Sunday (10th December), the leftist media outlet carried out a hit job on the Indian OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) handle ‘Disinfo Lab.’ To this effect, it published an article titled ‘Covert Indian operation seeks to discredit Modi’s critics in the U.S.’
The development comes two days after American political commentator Jack Posobiec revealed how The Washington Post ‘journalist’ Priyanshu Verma had been soliciting information about ‘Disinfo Lab.’
Screengrab of the propaganda piece in The Washington Post
‘Disinfo Lab’ is the same OSINT handle, which earlier exposed how the US State Department was relying on misleading data (sourced from Christian evangelist groups and radical Islamist outfits) to allege a decline in India’s religious freedom.
It was thus obvious that US-based leftist media outlets such as The Washington Post would make attempts to de-legitimise ‘Disinfo Lab’ sooner or later.
Based on ‘sources’, Pranshu Verma and his two other colleagues claimed on Sunday (10th December) that the OSINT handle is run by an Indian Intelligence Officer named Lt. Col. Dibya Satpathy.
Screengrab of the website of ‘Disinfo Lab’
The trio at The Washington Post alleged that the objective of ‘Disinfo Lab’ is to ‘research and discredit foreign critics of the Modi government’, ‘combine fact-based research with unsubstantiated claims’, ‘intimidate individuals overseas’ and ‘run covert influence operation.’
However, a cursory look at the website of the OSINT handle reveals that it is focused on uncovering disinformation campaigns, aimed at tarnishing the image of India on a global scale. Nevertheless, this did not stop The Washington Post from making sweeping claims about it.
“The Disinfo Lab’s activities show how the online propaganda campaigns waged by the BJP and its allies have been expanding beyond their traditional, domestic aims of shoring up popular support and denigrating opposition parties — and now seek to influence attitudes far beyond India’s borders,” it brazened out.
The Washington Post and its reliance on controversial ‘experts’
The leftist media outlet roped in several ‘experts’ to suggest that the Indian government led by PM Narendra Modi is using an OSINT handle with 45.6K followers to undermine political rivals and create a global narrative.
One such expert was an ‘academic’ named Joyjeet Pal. He claimed, “The Indian right wing is a new player that has arrived on the world stage and wants to shape global discussion…So far, much of it is done in the same way it’s done within India — through crude, blunt force. But it’s getting smarter.”
The Washinton Post introduced Pal as a University of Michigan Professor ‘who studies disinformation in India.’ Interestingly, he is the same ‘expert’ whose obscure research was used by Indian leftist propaganda outlet The Wire to discredit calls for investigating the unnatural death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Claim: Raksha Mantri @rajnathsingh admitted on @CNNnews18 that Chinese soldiers crossed Indian side of LAC
Fact: The Minister was referring to differing perceptions of LAC & presence of Chinese troops It is being misinterpreted as if Chinese troops entered Indian side of LAC pic.twitter.com/Xews6Ba1bq
Another controversial expert cited by The Washington Post in its report was ‘journalist’ Ajai Shukla. He claimed, “(The defence establishment) exists to serve national and strategic interests, not political interests. But the BJP under Modi has seen critics as anti-Indian, the enemies of India itself.”
Shukla has a history of peddling fake news (here and here) in the context of the India-China border dispute. He had also disseminated conspiracy theories post the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and was dubbed sexist by a prominent Italian journalist.
Despite such dwindling credibility, The Washington Post roped him as an expert for its propaganda-laden piece on ‘Disinfo Lab.’
Leftist media outlet shamelessly defends US State narrative
India has been under tremendous pressure to choose sides, following the Russia-Ukraine war. The US state apparatus and the media on several occasions had even threatened India with sanctions for purchasing oil from Russia, only to receive befitting replies from External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Nevertheless, The Washington Post saw it as an opportunity to attack India’s neutral position in the ongoing crisis. “Coordinated social media accounts have been found to play a role, for instance, in spreading identical posts in support of Russia, an important supplier of weapons and energy to India…” it furthered the US State narrative.
The leftist news outlet targeted the ‘Disinfo Lab’ for exposing the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and its biased reporting on India, which is often used to cast aspersions on Indian democracy.
In February this year, OpIndia reported in detail about the ties of former USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava to far-left billionaire George Soros. We also exposed how the controversial body has relied on the dubious ‘Tek Fog’ story to make insinuations about India.
The Washington Post legitimises anti-Hindu,anti-India activists
Throughout its article, The Washington Post desperately tried to whitewash both anti-Hindu and anti-India activists and paint them as ‘victims’ of the social media exposé by ‘Disinfo Lab.’
One such activist mentioned by the leftist media outlet happens to be Pieter Friedrich, who has ties to Khalistani terrorist Bhajan Bhinder.
“The organization released a dossier nearly 100 pages long alleging that Pieter Friedrich, a California-based activist and journalist who has written magazine articles and given public speeches critical of the BJP and affiliated Hindu-nationalist groups, had ties to the Sikh separatist movement and Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency. The Disinfo Lab burrowed into California state records to uncover Friedrich’s employment history, published his parents’ names and plotted detailed graphs about his social media activity,” it claimed.
1) The days of people like Friedrich making threats against non-white people,especially because of the color of their skin, their religious affiliation, or their country of origin must remain behind us.
— Rev Jesse Jackson Sr (@RevJJackson) June 3, 2022
In 2021, OpIndia reported how Pieter Friedrich evolved from a Christian zealot and a Gandhi basher to a ‘critic of Hindu fascism’ and a Khalistani asset. In June last year, he was slammed for allegedly giving death threats to a Hindu US Representative from Illinois, Raja Krishnamoorthi.
The Washington Post lamented that ‘Disinfo Lab’, which posted a plethora of evidence tying ‘activist’ Sunita Vishwanath to far-left billionaire George Soros and his Open Society Foundations (OSF), was used against Congress scion Rahul Gandhi.
“The Disinfo Lab dug into her past and reported that a nonprofit she launched to help female Afghan refugees had received funding from Soros’s Open Society Foundations. Two months later, after Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi attended a meeting in Washington with Viswanath as part of a U.S. tour, Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP’s social media team, tweeted a photo of the meeting and shared a flowchart stamped with the Disinfo Lab logo illustrating Viswanath’s connections to Soros,” wrote the leftist media outlet.
Ties of Sunita Vishwanath to Open Society Foundations, graphic by DisinfoLab
Sunita Vishwanath is the co-founder of an organisation named ‘Women for Afghan Women’, which is funded by OSF. She is also the co-founder of ‘Hindus for Human Rights (HfHr)’ and has tried to create hysteria and panic among Indian Muslims about the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“We are especially appalled by the most recent nightmare of the Kashmiri people, and the situation of 1.9 million people in India who are rendered stateless due to the imposition of the travesty called the National Register of Citizens”, Vishwanath said in 2019.
In September 2021, she also participated in the Hinduphobic conference ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva.’ The Washington Post also roped in the policy director of Hindus for Human Rights (HfHr), Ria Chakraborty, to make a case for an organisation named ‘Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC).’
➡️IAMC's terror angle
IAMC has close ties with terror organizations like SIMI, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-e-Islami.
Infact, Mohammad Siddiqi, the founder of SIMI, was once hosted as a guest at IAMC.
According to the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), the Indian Americal Muslim Council has links [pdf] with the banned Islamic terror outfit, Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
Besides, the Indian American Muslim Council has ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) through its founder Shaik Ubaid. The IAMC is a Jamat-e-Islami-backed lobbyist organisation claiming to be a rights advocacy group.
It had been caught spreading fake news to further the Islamist cause in India. It had also been slapped with the UAPA in 2021.
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey with anti-Brahmin poster designed by Thenmozhi Soundarajan
The Washington Post also made references to anti-Brahmin activist Thenmozhi Soundarajan and her organisation ‘Equality Labs’. Soundarajan had shot to fame in 2018 after the then Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey clicked pictures with a poster, designed by her, carrying the tagline ‘Smash Brahmanical Patriarchy.’
In April 2022, tech giant Google cancelled a talk by Thenmozhi Soundararajan, owing to the fear that it might create ‘division and rancour’ in the workplace. Google spokesperson Shannon Newberry had said, “We also made the decision to not move forward with the proposed talk which — rather than bringing our community together and raising awareness — was creating division and rancour.”
In November last year, she went on an unhinged tirade against Yoga. During the one-and-a-half-hour-long podcast, Soundararajan cast aspersions on the history of the ancient Indian Hindu practice and claimed that it was used by Brahmins to oppress the Dalit community. She also insinuated that Yoga had an in-built system of hierarchy, which supposedly made it vulnerable to abuse.
What does it mean to address the structural violence at the heart of yoga? I break the silence on the religious abuse that is at the heart of yoga and how healing begins with debrahminizing and decolonizing. Check it on the latest #conspirituality pod https://t.co/7OadWRA1EPpic.twitter.com/gWgEWCwIv7
The Washington Post also attempted to whitewash far-left billionaire George Soros and his nefarious anti-India agenda.
The leftist media outlet wrote, “In February, Soros, a frequent critic of Modi, warned in a speech at the Munich Security Conference that the Indian leader was undemocratic and would lose his “stranglehold” over the Indian government. A day later, the Disinfo Lab posted a lengthy tweet thread alleging that Soros had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and manipulated “fake” U.S.-based advocacy groups to smear India. A spokesperson for Soros’s Open Society Foundations called the Disinfo Lab’s claims “entirely baseless” and said they were part of a “campaign by this site and others in India against advocates of human rights, democratic governance and the rule of law in the service of the political aims of the BJP and its allies.”“
India has been fighting a ‘perception war’ on all fronts since the start of 2023. On February 16 this year, George Soros exploited the Adani-Hindenburg controversy and launched a scathing attack on the Indian government.
He claimed, “Modi and business tycoon Adani are close allies. Their fate is intertwined…Adani Enterprises tried to raise funds in the stock market, but it failed. Adani is accused of stock manipulation and his stock collapsed like a house of cards.”
Soros accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of crony capitalism. “Modi is silent on the subject, but he will have to answer questions from foreign investors and in parliament,” he added.
The Hungarian-American billionaire also said that the ‘shakedown’ caused to the Indian markets due to the Hindenburg Research report will result in ‘much needed institutional reforms’ and ‘democratic revival’.
George Soros and his vicious ecosystem of NGOs, activists and journalists had been trying to prove PM Modi as an ‘electoral autocrat’ who needed to be ousted for the ‘greater good’ of this country. And it has been a work in progress for a long time.
The Hungarian-American billionaire has also tried to use international institutions, which are funded by him, including Freedom House and V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) Institute to tarnish the image of India at a global level.
In January 2020, the American billionaire committed $1 billion to start a global university to “fight nationalists” and climate change, calling them twin challenges that threaten the survival of our civilisation.
The Washington Post ends up vindicating ‘Disinfo Lab’
Throughout the article, The Washington Post resorted to insinuations, and source-based allegations to discredit ‘Disinfo Lab.’ However, it failed to provide any empirical evidence that could dispute any claims of the Indian OSINT handle.
The leftist news outlet had not refuted the assertion by ‘Disinfo lab’ that its exposé had led to the shutting down of several sources of fake data. “In its response to The Post, the Disinfo Lab pointed to its record of forcing “activists” and “human rights fronts” to shut down by exposing them,” it noted.
Ironically, one such source of fake data, DOTO (Data of Database of the Oppressed), was cited by WaPo tech ‘journalist’ Pranshu Verma in an article in January 2023 to allege that ‘religious hatred’ is on the rise in India.
Turned out DOTO was full of fabrication & outright imagination. We exposed their fabrication, after which they first tried revising their data and later deleted and disappeared.
DOTO met its fate in October this year and is no more among us. (RIP!)
‘Disinfo Lab’ had earlier exposed the fabrications of DOTO, following which the latter first revised and then deleted the database. The OSINT handle also uncovered the lies of another dubious organisation called OFMI (Organization for Minorities of India), following which the latter shut shop permanently.
But after our exposé they shut down OFMI, pulled down its website, deleted traces, and went into oblivion. Most of the activists associated with them have also removed all references to OFMI.
The Washington Post resorts to ‘shrewd dishonesty’
The leftist media outlet had reached out to prominent people in the hopes of deterring them from sharing informative posts by ‘Disinfo Lab’.
The Washington Post ‘journalist’ Pranshu Verma messaged American political commentator Jack Posobiec on Friday (8th December) and claimed that the Indian OSINT handle is run by an Intelligence officer.
“We are doing a story on a group called Disinformation Lab. Our reporting shows this group combines fact-based research with unsubstantiated claims to paint U.S. government figures, researchers, Indian American human-rights activists and international humanitarian groups as part of a conspiracy, purportedly led by global Islamic groups and the billionaire George Soros, to undermine India. Our analysis found you have retweeted this organisation’s content,” he claimed.
Some guy claiming to be from the Washington Post, just sent me a long text message alleging that I retweeted a post from an Indian intel agency-run media outlet
He further added, “Do you know about the organization’s background? Our research has found Disinfo Lab is actually run by an Indian Intelligence Officer. Did you know that?“
Pranshu Verma then sought a response from the American political commentator based on his unsubstantiated assertions. “Due to the sensitive nature of this story, the time for response is tight. Please provide a response by the end of day today, Friday, December 8th,” he emphasised.
However, he did not anticipate a befitting reply from Jack Posobiec that would put ‘The Washington Post’ in the dock. ” So if it’s a intel agency run-media outlet that basically makes it the same as the Washington Post then?” the American political commentator wrote.
Jack Posobiec told Verma that The Washington Post is a media outlet run by the United States Intelligence and by his ‘assertion’ would make it similar to ‘Disinfo Lab.’ As expected, the tech ‘journalist’ did not respond to the message.
Excerpt of the article published by The Washington Post
After the article was published, The Washington Post did not reproduce the actual response of Jack Posobiec. While resorting to shrewd dishonesty, it wrote,” Posobiec did not address whether he was familiar with the organisation’s background.“
Washington Post and its targeting of India before 2024 elections
With the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in mind, The Washington Post is leaving no stone unturned to make insinuations about the Modi government and target individuals and accounts known for debunking anti-India propaganda.
Just last month, The Washington Post published a misleading piece wherein it dubbed requests for action to X (formerly Twitter) against extemists by Indian government as ‘global standard for online censorship.’
Screengrab of the news report by The Washington Post
Earlier, it romanticised an Islamist named Raqib Hameed Naik in an article titled ‘Tracking rising religious hatred in India, from half a world away.’ A vicious fake news peddler, Raqib Hameed Naik is the founder of anti-Hindu disinformation outlet ‘Hindutva Watch.’
He is also infamous for denying the Hindu genocide, perpetrated by radical Islamists in the Kashmir Valley, in the early 1990s. Naik had also mocked the Hindu ‘Shivling’ found inside the Gyanvapi mosque in Kashi.
Screengrab of the article by Pranshu Verma
The Washington Post has also published a dubious report on India and its solar power systems. It has given editorial space to the likes of scam-accused ‘journalist’ Rana Ayyub to parrot the narrative of ‘Muslims are in danger in India.’
None of these articles are random but serve a sinister agenda to create a narrative that paints the incumbent elected government as ‘anti-democracy’ and ‘anti-minority’.
In the US, The Washington Post has attempted to distort public perceptions through its dissemination of the Russian disinformation hoax – A conspiracy theory that suggests that the victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 US Presidential election was influenced by Russia.
It had also suppressed the ‘Hunter Biden Laptop’ story and influenced the outcome of the 2020 US Presidential election. With less than 6 months left for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Indian public must be wary of attempts by Western publications to peddle their sinister agenda
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has suspended all of its political activities for the next seven days.
The party said the decision has been taken to stand in solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the Supreme Court’s verdict on Article 370.
A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld the validity of the Union government’s 2019 decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution, which conferred the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, while pointing out that Article 370 is a “temporary provision.”
“The party president, Mehbooba Mufti, was scheduled to address various worker conventions as part of her ongoing public outreach programme, and many such conventions were scheduled over the next few days. Many other political activities were also scheduled by the party. But to stand in solidarity with our people at this crucial juncture in the wake of the Supreme Court of India’s verdict on the issue of Article 370, we have decided to cancel all our political activities for the next seven days,” Syed Suhail Bukhari, PDP Chief Spokesperson, said in a statement.
The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Union Government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 of the constitution which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and said that every decision taken by the Centre on behalf of a State can’t be subject to a legal challenge.
A five-judge Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant delivered the verdict.
CJI Chandrachud reading out the judgement said that every decision taken by the Centre on behalf of a State under proclamation can’t be subject to a legal challenge and it will lead to the administration of the State to a standstill.
Supreme Court said that it has held that Article 370 was a temporary provision. “The proclamation of Maharaja stated that the Constitution of India will supersede. With this, the para of Instrument of Accession ceases to exist…. Article 370 was an interim arrangement due to war conditions in the State. Textual reading also indicates that Article 370 is a temporary provision,” the Court said.
The Court also noted that Article 370 was meant for the constitutional integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the Union and it was not for disintegration and the President can declare that Article 370 ceases to exist.
“Concurrence of the State government was not required to apply all provisions of the Constitution using Article 370(1)(d). So, the President of India taking the concurrence of the Union government was not malafide,” the Court noted.
The Supreme Court also directed the Election Commission to hold Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections by September 30, 2024. The Supreme Court said given the Centre’s submission on the restoration of the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, it directs that statehood shall be restored as soon as possible.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
