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Parali, Diwali and media – How the Hindu festival is blamed for poor AQI in Delhi but stubble burning gets free pass from Indian mainstream media

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On 12th November, the Hindus celebrated Diwali in India with great fervour. Despite the ban imposed by the Supreme Court and Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government, restrictions imposed by various state governments, guilt-tripping posts by several activists, celebrities, and NGOs accusing Hindus of poor AQI (Air Quality Index), and mainstream media attacking Diwali for destroying environment, Hindus decided to ignore everyone and have one night of celebrations. AQI post Diwali celebrations was significantly better on the morning of 13th November than what it was earlier.

Interestingly, amidst all the drama and hullabaloo over fireworks on Diwali, the farmers of northern states of India, especially AAP-led Punjab, got no blame from every direction. Notably, 987 new stubble-burning instances were reported in Punjab on 12th November despite the Supreme Court’s strict instructions to the Bhagwant Mann-led state government to stop stubble-burning at any cost.

Satellite image of stubble burning instances in Punjab on 12th November 2023. Source: NASA FIRMS

On 11th November, there were 104 instances of stubble burning, and on 10th November, there were six instances of stubble burning in the state. Just a day before, on 9th November, there were 639 instances of stubble burning, on 8th November, there were 2003 instances of stubble burning, and on 7th November, there were 1515 instances of the same in Punjab. The PDF of 8th November is missing from the Punjab Government’s official website to track stubble burning in the state.

As data PDF of 8th November is not available on the website, here is a screenshot of the graph for the same day showing 2003 instances of stubble burning in a single day. Source: http://gis-prsc.punjab.gov.in/

Now, what needs to be pointed out here is that on 8th November, 9th November, and 10th November, the Supreme Court was hearing the matter of pollution in Delhi. On these days, the apex court categorically blamed Punjab for the national capital’s poor Air Quality Index (AQI). On 10th November and 11th November, the instances of stubble burning came down drastically in Punjab, and they resumed on the 12th just few hours before Diwali, with 987 instances, which was a nine times jump from the previous day and 160 times jump from 10th November. It is safe to assume that if farmers and the Punjab administration desire, they can completely stop stubble burning, but it is not happening anytime in the near future.

Media trial of Diwali and Hindus

Coming to the media’s role in blaming Diwali and Hindus for the poor AQI, it has become a habitual thing for the media personnel and media houses to find ways to blame Hindus.

One of the finest examples is India Today’s consulting editor and anchor, Rajdeep Sardesai. On 13th November, Sardesai posted on X that the AQI of Anand Vihar was 970. Sardesai used a screenshot of AQI data from AQICN.ORG. The funny thing is that it showed the AQI of the PUSA station in Delhi and not of Anand Vihar. The screenshot was taken at 7 AM as per the time shown in it.

Source: X

When writing this report, the AQI of PUSA station was 331.

Source: AQICN

The AQI of Anand Vihar, according to the same website, was 228. Another Anand Vihar station recorded AQI at 153 on AQICN.

Source: AQICN

Within a few hours, the AQI dropped drastically, as per AQICN. However, Sardesai got what he wanted by cherry-picking the time for recording AQI.

Another media person who blamed Diwali was Ravish Kumar. Quoting a post by one Hridayesh Joshi where he showed the pollution levels at 11:15 PM in Sanjay Nagar Ghaziabad, Ravish Kumar wrote, “People will live without breathing, but they cannot live without bursting fireworks.”

Source: X

At 11:15 PM on 12th November 2023, people were bursting fireworks to celebrate Diwali. It was the peak time for fireworks. At that time, it was obvious that the AQI would shoot up. Now, coming to the location at the time of writing this report, the AQI was recorded at 285. In the post, Ravish Kumar quoted PM10 at 1,366 and PM 2.5 at 959; Joshi had categorically mentioned those. At 11 AM on 13th November, PM10 was 337 and PM 2.5 was 194. It is clear from the data that AQI improved within hours of fireworks on Diwali.

Source: National Air Quality Index

Neither Rajdeep Sardesai nor Ravish Kumar have any posts on X about stubble burning this year. There are a few posts on Facebook where Ravish Kumar talked about pollution, but he did not mention Punjab or stubble burning in the text. Sardesai talked about stubble burning on his show last year but categorically avoided discussing it on social media this year as he talked about Diwali fireworks.

Source: X
Source: X

Not to forget, in November 2022, Rajdeep Sardesai was supporting farmers in stubble burning.

Source: X

News agency ANI was also in full swing to capture “waste after Diwali” moments.

Times Now and Times of India also joined in and blamed Diwali for the smog.

Meanwhile, farmers have resumed stubble burning in Punjab as Diwali is getting blamed for poor AQI. In the next few days, if it does not rain in North India, especially in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, the AQI of the national capital will get worse due to the sudden spike in stubble-burning instances. However, the way media, activists, courts and state governments have made a habit of blaming Diwali, it is possible that farmers will get clean chit while Hindus will be ridiculed for bursting fireworks on Diwali and accused of poor AQI even days after the festival.

Chennai: Police lodge 581 cases against people for ‘flouting’ time limit of Supreme Court, burning firecrackers with ‘excessive noise’

The ban on firecrackers beyond the time specified by the Supreme Court was violated in several areas of Chennai as people rejoiced in the celebrations on Diwali night, an official release said on Monday.

As per an official release, a total of 581 cases have been registered so far in Chennai, including 554 cases related to the bursting of firecrackers beyond the time specified by the Supreme Court.

According to the order of the Supreme Court, on the pleas of the Government of Tamil Nadu, on the occasion of Deepavali, people were allowed to use fire-crackers for 2 hours only from 6 am to 7 am and from 7 pm to 8 pm.

However, revellers flouted the orders of the apex court and continued bursting crackers in several parts of the state capital on Sunday night. Accordingly, the Commissioner of Police, Greater Chennai Police, Sandeep Rai Rathore and several police teams led by Inspectors of Police were engaged in intensive surveillance in their jurisdiction.

The police team engaged in intensive surveillance from November 11-13 with raids on cracker distributors. 554 cases related to the bursting of firecrackers beyond the time specified by the Supreme Court, 8 cases related to running a firecracker shop in violation of Tamil Nadu Government rules and 19 cases regarding bursting of firecrackers with excessive noise, a total of 581 cases have been registered, said the release.

Post-Diwali, roads in Tamil Nadu’s capital city Chennai were left littered with fireworks waste and the air quality dipped to poor early Monday morning. The air quality in various areas of Chennai was also recorded as poor this morning.

In the last five years, the Tamil Nadu government has specified the timings for celebrating with firecrackers. “As per the Supreme Court’s directions, people are requested to follow the dos and don’ts to celebrate a safe and pollution-free Diwali,” the state government advisory read.

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

‘How much share has gone to the Delhi Darbar?’ PM’s stinging attack on Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel over Mahadev betting App scam

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address in Chhattisgarh’s Mungeli attacked the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government over the Mahadev Betting App scam. Seeking an answer from CM Baghel on the scam, he said that wads of cash have been seized in raids by investigation agencies and pointed out that the chief minister’s aides are also in jail.

PM Modi took a veiled jibe at Rahul Gandhi saying that “some great sages of the Congress have developed an interest in math”. “The Congress which is so interested in teaching math, today I want to ask them some questions,” PM said.

PM said that more than Rs 508 crore were allegedly distributed in the Mahadev Betting App scam. “The Chief Minister’s close aides are behind bars. These mathematicians of Congress will have to tell how much share the CM has received in this, what is the share of the money gone to other Congress netas and how much money has gone to the Delhi darbar?” PM Modi said in a stinging attack on Gandhi-Congress.

What is the Mahadev Betting App scam?

The Mahadev app is an online betting platform that operates illegally and launders the money it receives from users who are not located in India.

The Mahadev betting application was created by four people including key accused Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal from Madhya Pradesh and it gradually replaced at least 10 similar illicit betting apps that were being used all over the country.

The Mahadev Betting App scam allegedly involves high-profile names including politicians from Chhattisgarh and celebrities. Mahadev Online Book (MOB) has networked from its UAE headquarters to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan.

Charges against Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel

On 3rd November, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) revealed some findings from its investigation alleging that regular payments were made in the past and around Rs 508 crore has been paid by Mahadev App Promoters to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

The ED received credible inputs and conducted successful search operations on November 2 in Chhattisgarh in which Rs 5.39 crore in cash was intercepted in the poll-bound state.

The ED has already arrested four accused persons and seized proceeds of crime worth more than Rs 450 crore. The federal agency has also filed a prosecution complaint against 14 accused persons.

If Israel goes down, you and I are next: The brutal Islamist persecution of Jews and why Hindus support Israel – civilisational memory

October 7, 2023, will remain etched in Israeli memory as the day of the ‘Hamas Massacre’. It was not a war on Israel – it was a brutal, vile attack on unarmed innocent citizens of a country that does not have a right to exist according to the covenant of Hamas. They believe, like most Arabs, that Jews must be eliminated and they quote their holy book to cement this argument. 

The argument against Israelis by the Left begins with the argument that Jews are illegal occupants of the land of Palestinians, making us believe that there was no exodus, there was no Jew persecution and there was no Holocaust. They want us to forget that Israel has been denied the right to exist from the day it was formed.  This negation of the history of persecution and denial of basic rights to Jews is embedded in the Left and Islamist ecosystem. Because we forget history easily and because there are professional academicians who have worked assiduously to make the current generations forget unimaginable crimes against a small community whose only crime is that it is largely non-violent and that it has been marked by a certain holy book as an evil community. Can there be something more ironic than this duplicity?

We have read enough, we have heard enough and saw a few clips of the 7th October genocide that Jews faced yet again. But nothing prepares you for the sheer debased, inhuman behaviour that even the worst of animals would be ashamed of. 

How can someone shout “glory to one’s God” while killing, kicking, attacking unarmed people and even taking selfies? Is God really so vengeful and hateful? What kind of training must a person receive to turn him into the devil incarnate? 

3000 terrorists entered 30 towns of Israel early in the morning at around 7.30 PM. They let loose a reign of terror, rape, molestation, arson and mindless killings. 1100 unarmed unprepared citizens lost their lives and many more were injured and scarred for life. Their bestiality is recorded by their own bodycams, their own mobiles and CCTVs at various points. There are recordings of people who responded to their desperate calls for help. 

We see these brainwashed brutes taking selfies with severed heads, we see them hacking even dead persons to severe his head, we see heaps of bodies, entire families killed, we see bundles of charred bodies that include small children of hardly 2-3 years. We see the heads of children blown away. It is not some grim soldier of war on a battlefront, but young heavily armed youth rejoicing in these actions. We hear young men calling their families and telling their parents proudly, “Papa/Mama, your son killed Jews. I killed ten Jews with my own hands. Your son is a hero.”

What we were shown was just 10% of recordings that the Israeli defence forces have. The mayhem and madness that we saw was the short story of only 138 innocents out of 1100 killed that day. It is difficult to fathom the reason, why our left and Islamist cabal simply denies that anything like this happened.

We are told that it is the legitimate anger of Palestinians. If every persecuted community were to follow Palestinian models, what would be the reaction of these apologists to Jihadi violence? Imagine for a moment, some Kashmiri Hindu youth who had suffered unimaginable horrors had decided to take revenge. Imagine them armed with heavy sophisticated weapons, entering Muslim homes in Kashmir valley and killing them, not even molesting them; what would be the reaction of the same ‘liberals’? Imagine the persecuted Hindus of Bangladesh doing something similar. Or Armenians, or Kurds or Yazidis? 

Why do we need a world order, some global rules of existence and co-existence? We can go back to the 7th century and let every person with real or imaginary grievances pick up guns and bombs? Let us destroy each other, bomb out each other and go back to the stone age?

Can the “Liberals” ever question where the billions of dollars, given as aid to Palestinians, disappear? Why were those funds used for creating terror networks and not for the education and well-being of Palestinians? When Israel withdrew from occupied territories of Palestine including removing its well-settled citizens there, why did not Palestinian leaders and their Arabian neighbours help them rebuild their lives and their nation? Why are none of the treaties honoured by Hamas and its fellow travellers? 

There is no justification in a civilised world for such an uncivilised conduct. 

For Israel, it is a stark question of its existence and its people. They will not allow themselves to be annihilated because some book commands some people to do the supposedly holy job. Arabs have used Palestinians as pawns to harass and debilitate Israel as they know they can’t fight it. Their efforts multiple times to finish it have failed. It is their duty to give asylum to their brethren. It is a war that Hamas has invited upon itself. It must suffer consequences.

You can’t write off a people who refused to let their collective memories of more than 2000 years die a silent death – who suffered silently with dignity to have their homeland one day.  They have returned, they are not occupants. Let this reality sink in. The onus is on the Arab world to let terror advocates this simple reality and find a way of co-existence. Saudi Arabia and Israel had taken the first steps to overcome this illogical animosity of 1400 years, but this path-breaking idea is a casualty right now of some machination of third countries who are trying to play global chess from their comfortable perches thousands of miles away.

The onus is on the Palestinian people who have allowed Hamas to rule them and support them. The onus is on Islamist terrorists. They can either co-exist peacefully or take the world down with them. They have been fighting fratricidal wars for decades destroying millions of lives. Surely, the global community cannot allow this to continue. 

We Bharatiyas, particularly Hindus have witnessed eight hundreds of sustained vile, inhuman violence from Islamist hordes. We are hated because we refused to be finished off. We kept fighting and have remained a living civilisation. We have lived to tell the tale of how millions were massacred mercilessly and violated in ways similar to what Jews have faced. We can identify with Israelis. It is not some ‘Hindutva’ blind support to Israel. It is our civilisational memory that makes us support Israel. We have not allowed to be brainwashed about the greatness of invaders despite negationist history being forced down our throats by leftist academics. 

Israel is not fighting just its own war of survival. It is one of the fronts of multiple fronts opened by the forces thriving on violence in the hope of happiness in another promised world. If Israel goes down, you and I could be the next target. So, beware of supporting mindless violence. 

Telangana: IT raids at relatives of Minister Sabitha Reddy, pharma company also under radar

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On Monday (13th November) Income Tax officers conducted raids at the residence of relatives of Telangana Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy in Hyderabad. These raids come ahead of the assembly elections scheduled in Telangana.

According to the reports, the officers searched the home of one of the close relatives of Minister Reddy, identified as Pradeep. Pradeep’s Gachibowli flat was searched along with the residences of other relatives of Minister Reddy. 

The authorities, meanwhile, also carried out raids at a well-known pharmaceutical company in Hyderabad. Concurrent searches were conducted at 15 different locations throughout the city.

The raids were conducted at the residences and offices of the chairman, CEO, and directors of a pharma company in the state.

Searches were also conducted at the staff offices and the home of the pharmaceutical company’s owner. It is believed that Kotla Narendra Reddy who is associated with the well-known pharma company, Dr Reddy’s Lab, is connected to the ongoing probe.

However, the reason behind the raids or further details has not yet been made public by the officers. These raids come ahead of the assembly elections scheduled in Telangana.

The 2023 Telangana Legislative Assembly election is scheduled to be held from 30th November and shall end on 5th December to elect all 119 members of the state’s Legislative Assembly. The voting is scheduled to take place on 30th November, and the votes will be counted on 3rd December.

ASI serves notice to Karnataka govt for digging nail into the pillar of Hampi’s Virupaksha temple for CM Siddaramaiah’s visit

On Saturday (11th November), the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) issued a notice to the Karnataka Endowments Department after officials dug a nail into one of the pillars of the UNESCO-protected Virupaksha Temple in Hampi.

As per reports, the incident took place during the visit of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the temple on 2nd November this year. The officials used a drilling machine to dig a nail into a pillar to supposedly manage the crowd of devotees who enter the premises from the south and exit from the North

In its notice to the Endowment Officer, the Conservation Assistant of ASI made it clear, “I have to state that Sri. Virupaksha Temple and Complex is a centrally protected monument maintained by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, Archaeological Survey of India, Hampi Circle through Hampi Sub Circle, Kamalapur.”

“This office has noticed that, you have closed the actualNorthern exit of the Virupaksha Temple Garbhagruha by barricading at the steps and a separate way was done for the devotees as such your office has not taken any permission to close the exit and also your office has fixed the MS hollow pipes in between pillars by making holes and inserting the iron piece in the decorative pillars which is the clear violation of the section 30 of AMASR Act (Amendment and Validation Act) 2010,” the ASI made it clear.

The Karnataka Endowments officials did not seek permission from the Arcaheological Survey of India and dug a nail into the UNESCO Heritage site without their consent. ASI made it clear that under the AMASR Act, desecration of a protected monument is punishable with imprisonment that can extend up to 2 years and a fine of upto ₹1 lakh.

“Any person who moves any antiquity in contravention of a notification issued under sub-section (1) of section 25 shall be punishable with fine which may extend to One lakh rupees: and the court conviction a person of any such contravention may by order direct such person to restore the antiquity to the place from which it was moved. This is for favour of kind information and for further needful action in the matter please,” it concluded.

It must be mentioned that the monument complex suffered damage when four miscreants deliberately vandalised and brought down some pillars in February 2019 A court in Hospet fined them Rs 70,000 each and ordered them to re-erect the pillars.

Uttar Pradesh: Woman gang-raped and assaulted in Agra hotel, forced to consume alcohol; 5 arrested

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Five people have been arrested in connection with an alleged gang rape of a woman at a hotel in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra, police officials said on Sunday.

The woman informed the authorities that her friend, along with a few others, compelled her to consume alcohol. Subsequently, she was forcibly taken into a room where she faced physical assault from some men when she attempted to voice her objection. Additionally, she reported that a glass bottle had been shattered on her head during the altercation.

Police said they received a call from the victim late Saturday night, following which they rushed to the homestay and took action against the accused.

“On Saturday night, Tajganj police received a call that in a rich homestay, a woman here had been raped and assaulted. According to the complaint filed by the victim, a case has been filed under relevant sections,” Archana Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Agra Sadar, said on Sunday.

“Four men and a woman have been arrested after the incident. The medical examination of the victim will be done and legal action is being taken in the case,” Archana Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Agra Sadar.

The victim had been employed at the homestay for eighteen months. A video, currently circulating widely, depicts her urgently seeking assistance as a man pulls her into a room.

In the video, her plea for assistance, “Please help me!” is audible as a man forcibly takes her into a room. The footage further reveals her lying on the ground, accusing the men of “torture.”

In a separate video, the woman mentions that she is being blackmailed with a compromising video that was recorded earlier.

“Save me, please! I have four daughters. They dragged me and confiscated my phone. They’re blackmailing me with a video of mine. Additionally, they’ve extorted money from me,” she pleaded in the video.

A case has been filed under charges of rape, assault, and pertinent sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In connection with the case, four men and one woman have been apprehended by the authorities.

(This news report is published with inputs from ANI’s syndicated feed)

Popular Korean vlogger Myochi returns to India to celebrate Diwali, visits Ram Mandir in Ayodhya

Diwali is the most important festival for Hindus in India in which people gather, light lamps, share sweets, and wish each other an abundance of prosperity and happiness. The festival marks the celebration of the return of Lord Rama, Goddess Sita, and Lakshmana to Ayodhya from 14 years of exile. Hence, Diwali in Ayodhya is a lavish affair and is celebrated with pomp and fanfare. The same this time was witnessed by popular Korean vlogger named Myochi.

On Sunday (12th November), Myochi took to social media platforms to reveal that she was loving her second trip to India and that she was happy celebrating the festival of Diwali in Ayodhya. “Happy #Diwali from Hanuman Garhri Mandir. I am heading to Ram Mandir! Thanks for everybody suggesting a perfect plan for Diwali. My second trip to #india starting beautifully #HappyDiwali,” she said in a tweet.

The vlogger arrived in India on November 11 and began her journey to explore the biggest and the most important festival of the Hindus. In one of her posts, she said that many of the netizens had suggested she witness the Deepotsav during Diwali in Ayodhya so she had traveled from Korea to India for Diwali.

The vlogger shared several pictures of her visiting the Hanuman Garhri temple and also having prasadam. She could be seen wearing a huge tilak on her forehead reading ‘Jai Shri Ram’. Later Myochi went to the Sharayu Ghat in Ayodhya to witness the Deepotsav and also could be seen lighting a lamp (diya).

Meanwhile, the vlogger after the Diwali celebrations at the Sarayu ghat claimed that she was harassed by one unidentified individual in the city. “While taking a picture there was one guy with a yellow shirt, he was grabbing my butt. The first time I thought was it because it was too crowded but the second time I grabbed his hand as it grabbed my butt and screamed at him ‘Don’t touch me’ and left. I felt terrible because this is not the first time,” she said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

She said that she had no intentions to defame India and that she had come to India for the second time only because she had a wonderful time during her last visit. “I came here again because I had such a wonderful time before and to experience the biggest celebration this time and I won’t let other people ruin my journey. I don’t want to be a ‘Girl who got sexually harassed’ all the time so this is gonna be the first and the last time,” she said in a tweet thread.

Notably, Myochi was harassed in Mumbai last year by two persons who were identified as Mobeen Chand Mohammad Shaikh and Mohammad Naqeeb Sadrealam Ansari. The Mumbai Police had arrested the duo after they tried to grab her and kiss her during live streaming. The girl was shocked and was quoted as saying, “Please don’t tell me if I have done something wrong. Did I? Maybe I should stop smiling at strangers. That’s right? Not being nice to other people. Is that what you are saying? Don’t tell me that I have done something wrong.”

Myochi, whose original Korean name is Hyo jeong, is a popular vlogger who livestreams her travelling experience.

’88 diplomats from 54 countries came to witness Deepotsav in Ayodhya’: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday that 88 diplomats from 54 countries had visited the new Ayodhya and witnessed the grand ‘Deepotsav’ in the holy city.

Speaking to ANI about the grand Deepotsav, CM Yogi said, “The country and the world have witnessed the Deepotsav of Ayodhya. Diplomats from 54 countries have come and visited the new Ayodhya. The grand ‘Deepotsav’ was part of Prime Minister Modi’s vision. The festival of Diwali is a medium for all of us to transmit positive energy. I wish everyone a very happy Diwali and pray for the well-being of the people of the state.”

The Chief Minister also said those who were not present on the occasion mentioned that they had missed the chance to come to the holy city on the festive day.

“88 diplomats from 54 countries came yesterday (to Ayodhya). Those who were not present here (Ayodhya) texted us that they had missed the chance to come to Ayodhya. Those diplomats) who were present here during Deepotsav said that they should have come with their family, it would have been more delightful,” said the Yogi.

Earlier on Diwali day, CM Yogi visited the Hanuman Garhi temple on Sunday morning and offered prayers to Lord Hanuman in Ayodhya on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. He also visited the site of Ram Lala Virajman in Ayodhya and offered prayers.

Ayodhya organised a grand Deepotsav on Saturday and illuminated over 22.23 lakh ‘Diyas’ (earthen lamps) to celebrate the festival of lights.

The temple town set a new Guinness world record by lighting over 22.23 lakh ‘Diyas’ (earthen lamps) during ‘Deepotsav 2023’ and broke its previous world record of 15.76 lakh Diyas lit last year on Diwali eve.

Artists from different countries, such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Russia, performed Ramleela at Ayodhya’s Deepotsav. The residents of Ayodhya were delighted to witness the enactment of Ramleela and the artistic expressions of artists from different countries.

The Sri Lankan artists portrayed the character of Shri Ram, while artists from Janakpur, Nepal, staged incidents from the life of Shri Ram. The Russian artists also delivered a splendid performance.

To make the event more exciting, a light and sound laser show based on the Ramayana was organised for about 20 minutes at Ram Ki Paidi during Deepotsav.

Along with the Chief Minister, Governor Anandiben Patel, foreign diplomats, and members of the Yogi cabinet attended the event.

The Chief Minister also visited the grand 3D holographic show, projection mapping, and laser show based on the Ramayana.

At the Naya Ghat, everyone, including the Chief Minister and other guests, was enthralled by the spectacular musical fireworks.

The homecoming of Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshman was staged at a programme organised prior to the mega event Deepotsav.

The occasion was further embellished with the showering of flower petals from a helicopter, eliciting joy throughout Ayodhya. (ANI)

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

Is Mahua Moitra targeted for being an English-speaking MP: Rajdeep Sardesai shamelessly defends TMC MP, casts aspersions on Darshan Hiranandani instead

On Saturday (11th November), ‘journalist’ Rajdeep Sardesai courted controversy after he suggested that TMC MP Mahua Moitra was being targeted for being an ‘English speaking MP’. He made the contentious claims during his analysis of ‘MahuaGate’ on his YouTube channel.

“First Rahul Gandhi’s suspension and now Mahua Moitra’s likely expulsion. Is there an ominous message being sent out? If so, who is sending out this message?” the ‘journalist’ hinted at a larger conspiracy.

He then glossed over the TMC MP’s involvement in the ‘cash for query’ scandal and claimed, “Did Mahua Moitra become a target simply because she became a high profile English-speaking MP who made too many enemies too soon? Think about it.”

Although Rajdeep Sardesai set out to unravel the ‘backstory’ of this high-profile scandal, he ended up painting the Trinamool Congress leader as a victim of political vendetta.

The ‘journalist’ tried to garner sympathy for Mahua Moitra by claiming that she chose to return to India and serve grassroots politics despite studying at an American University and working as an investment banker.

“Within months of entering the Lok Sabha, she made an instant impression. She quickly earned the reputation of being an effective public speaker, taking on the Narendra Modi government,” Rajdeep Sardesai heaped praise on Mahua Moitra for supposedly doing what other Opposition leaders had failed.

He claimed that the Trinamool Congress MP took the Adani Group head-on with ‘facts’ and was the only politician apart from Congress scion Rahul Gandhi to exhibit such political courage.

Rajdeep Sardesai raked up the issue of the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi and suggested that it could have been the consequence of his critical speeches and tweets against Indian businessman Gautam Adani.

The ‘journalist’ skirted over the fact that the Congress scion was disqualified for defaming the ‘Modi’ community. Nonetheless, he claimed, “Now Mahua Moitra is in danger of being expelled from Lok Sabha? Is there a connection?”

Rajdeep Sardesai attacks Darshan Hiranandani

In a bid to make a case for Mahua Moitra, Rajdeep Sardesai questioned the integrity of Darshan Hiranandani who turned approver in the ‘cash for query’ scandal involving the TMC MP.

“Why was Darshan Hiranandani not summoned by the ethics panel to explain his conduct? Why isn’t Darshan Hiranandani questioned before Mahua’s guilt is pronounced?” he asked.

“It is indeed this unusual haste with which this entire operation is being carried out…Actions cannot take place without a due process and not through media trial and not where an Ethics Committee instead of following principles of natural justice reduces itself to a Kangaroo court,” the ‘journalist’ insinuated a ‘witch-hunt’ against Mahua Moitra.

Lok Sabha Ethics Committee recommended the expulsion of Mahua Moitra

On 9th November, it came to light that the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee’s draft report accused Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra of “unethical conduct”. The report stated that she shared her login credentials with unauthorised individuals. The draft revealed that Moitra made multiple trips to UAE, and her account was logged in 47 times from Dubai. The Ethics committee sought a report on IP addresses and emphasised the legal consequences of the MP’s action.

Recommending Moitra’s expulsion, the report called it “unethical conduct” and “contempt of the House” while seeking a government inquiry into the matter. OpIndia accessed a portion of the report draft containing conversations between the committee members with Mahua Moitra and Danish Ali.

The discussion between the committee members and Mahua Moitra revolved around her foreign trips and where she stayed. The questions led to a heated exchange centred around the “appropriateness” of the questions. Moitra and the opposition leaders vehemently raised objections to the questions.

In the parts of the conversation that OpIndia accessed, Moitra accepted twice that she had shared credentials with Darshan Hiranandani. Agitated by the so-called “personal questions”, she said, “We are here to determine two things. Number one, whether I gave the login and password to Darshan Hiranandani, to which he had unauthorized access. I have already told you since 2019, he has had a person in his office typing my questions. The questions were mine but not unauthorized because it was my OTP. So he did not have access. The first question has already been answered.”

Moitra categorically refused to accept that she received kickbacks from Hiranandani in exchange for the questions asked in the Parliament. She claimed that the assertion that she received kickbacks was based on the ex-boyfriend’s complaint, referring to Supreme Court Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai.

The Background of the Controversy

On 14th October, the Indian political scene experienced a major tremor as BJP MP Nishkant Dubey wrote to the ethics committee seeking an inquiry against TMC MP Mahua Moitra in the ‘Cash for Query’ matter.

He based his complaint on the letter written by Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, who alleged that most of the questions asked by the TMC MP in Lok Sabha directly or indirectly benefit businessman Darshan Hiranandani.

Dehadrai also accused Moitra of “kidnapping” his pet dog Henry, adding another layer of complications to Mahuagate. Moitra filed a case against Dubey and Dehadrai but never denied accepting gifts. Interestingly, she has also been accused of sharing her Lok Sabha credentials with Hiranandani so he can post questions independently.

Hiranandani has reportedly turned approver in the case and submitted an affidavit suggesting the allegations against Moitra are true. Dehadrai and Dubey were called to submit evidence of Moitra’s alleged wrongdoings in front of the ethics committee on 26th October.

When the Ethics Committee initially called Moitra, she refused, claimed to have prior engagements and sought another date. She got another date for the hearing, and on the day of the hearing, she played the victim card while coming out, claiming she faced “cheerharan” like Draupadi from Mahabharat. Meanwhile, Henry has been returned to Dehadrai.