A report published by Maryland Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday, April 5, revealed that more than 150 Catholic priests and clergymen associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland, USA, sexually abused over 600 children, and church officials spent decades covering up the crime. The report revealed that these incidents of sexual exploitation had been carried out over the last 80 years.
Notably, the archdiocese is the oldest Roman Catholic diocese in the United States and spans much of Maryland.
According to reports, this 463-page report was prepared in November last year following a four-year investigation but was made public on Wednesday, April 5, after getting the permission of the court.
The report identified Catholic priests who had been involved in sexual abuse since the 1940s. The investigation into the matter was launched in 2019 when Brian Frosh was Attorney General. The damning report was prepared after talking to hundreds of victims and witnesses and included a review of over 100,000 pages of documents dating back to the 1940s. One deacon in the report even admitted to having molested over 100 children.
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office said it had identified 156 abusers, including priests, deacons, instructors, and seminarians, who “engaged in horrific and repeated abuse,” emphasising that the perpetrators frequently preyed on the trust of parents or communities.
“The staggering pervasiveness of the abuse itself underscores the culpability of the Church hierarchy,” the report said. “The sheer number of abusers and victims, the depravity of the abusers’ conduct, and the frequency with which known abusers were given the opportunity to continue preying upon children is astonishing. Over 600 children are known to have been abused by the 156 people included in this Report, but the number is likely far higher,” the Attorney General’s report said.
The report stated that the majority of the sexually assaulted children belonged to low-income families and were members of the church. They were threatened with dire consequences if they opened up about their ordeal with anyone.
It also stated that the archdiocese attempted to cover up the 80-year-long sexual abuse for decades and failed to safeguard victims when claims of abuse appeared. For example, after learning in 1987 that a clergyman had sexually abused a 14-year-old girl and admitting to being “aroused by some young girls,” the diocese informed the victim that he would be given therapy and reassigned away from children. The bishop took no further action until new victims came forward in 1994.
According to the study, nine other girls had been assaulted by that point, and there was evidence of further victims who opted not to report their cases.
It further added that the number of victims was “likely far higher” than the reported figure of over 600 children while condemning the Church’s refusal to acknowledge allegations of child sexual abuse and shuffling known offenders to other locations.
“The duration and scope of the abuse perpetrated by Catholic clergy was only possible because of the complicity of those charged with leading the Church and protecting its faithful,” the study said.
Responding to the report, Baltimore Archbishop William Lori apologised, stating that the study “details a reprehensible time in the history of this Archdiocese, a time that will not be covered up, ignored or forgotten.”
On Thursday, 6th April 2023, militants in Lebanon fired multiple rockets on the targets in the northern part of Israel, forcing people into bomb shelters and injuring at least one person. Israel has reportedly intercepted many of the rockets in the attack by its Iron Dome air defence system. According to Israeli military, 34 rockets were fired into the border, 25 of which were shot down by the Iron Dome, while five of them landed within Israel.
Warning sirens were sounded in the town of Shlomi and in Moshav Betzet in northern Israel due to the rocket attacks, the Israeli army said. Israel’s ambulance service said one man had sustained minor shrapnel injuries. Reportedly Katyusha time rockets were fired.
David Saranga – the director of the digital diplomacy bureau in Israel‘s Ministry of foreign affairs – tweeted, “Over the last couple of hours, 34 rockets were fired from Lebanon at Northern Israel, putting innocent lives in danger. The Israeli government will take all necessary measures to defend its citizens against acts of violence!”
Over the last couple of hours, 34 rockets were fired from Lebanon at Northern Israel, putting innocent lives in danger.
The Israeli government will take all necessary measures to defend its citizens against acts of violence! pic.twitter.com/MRNIzQi9X0
It is notable that this attack came after clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians inside Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque. Threats of revenge had been sent from all around the region as a result of the violence within the third-holiest place in Islam. Israel also refuted accusations from Lebanon that it had responded to the incident with retaliation strikes.
According to reports, Lebanon had fired a “salvo” of rockets. Right now, no one has claimed responsibility for the assault. In the northern Israeli towns of Shlomi, Moshav Betzet, and Galilee, warning sirens were heard. According to the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he “received continuous updates regarding the security situation and will perform an assessment with the chiefs of the security services.”
Yoav Gallant, the defence minister, was also informed of the specifics of the rocket attack. A ministry spokesperson said, “The minister will soon conduct a situation assessment with senior officials in the defense establishment.”
Lebanon claimed that Israeli artillery fired several shells across the border after the rocket attack. But Israel has said that it had not retaliated.
Though no one claimed responsibility for the rocket attack, it is suspected that Hezbollah could be behind it. However, three security sources said Palestinian factions in Lebanon are behind the attack, not the heavily armed Lebanese Hezbollah group, according to a Reuters report.
Mohammad Al-Braim, the spokesman for the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees, praised the rocket strikes from Lebanon but did not claim responsibility for the same. He said that it was retaliation for Al-Aqsa incident.
After days of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, riots at Al-Aqsa, and an alleged Iranian drone launched from Syria earlier in the week, tensions were unprecedentedly high when the rocket attack occurred. After such instances, Hezbollah seemed to imply that it may possibly join the conflict.
Hezbollah had said in a statement, “Hezbollah forcefully denounces the assault carried out by the Israeli occupation forces against the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and its attacks on the faithful. Hezbollah proclaims its full solidarity with the Palestinian people and the resistance groups, and pledges that it will stand with them in all measures they take to protect worshipers and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to deter the enemy from continuing its attacks.”
Hezbollah controls most of the area in Southern Lebanon, across the border with Israel, and regularly clashes with Israeily border forces. This incident has raised fears of escalation in hostilities.
Locket Chatterjee, the West Bengal BJP MP from Hooghly, took to Twitter on Thursday to reveal how she was stopped by the State police officials from joining the Hanuman Jayanti procession in Hooghly. The BJP MP said that she was on her way to a temple at Banshberiea to perform puja on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti when the police stopped her vehicle and denied her to go further by calling her an ‘outsider.’
The MP tweeted in Hindi, “Like every year, I was going to the temple to perform Puja on the occasion of Shri Hanuman Janmotsav following a formal invitation, but the police stopped me, citing an order from the High Court that stated that no outsiders could attend the programme. Are Regional MPs outsiders for Mamta Banerjee’s government? she asked.
Locket Chatterjee was going to attend a Hanuman Jayanti program at the fruit market of Banshberia. A procession was also organised on the occasion. But she was stopped at Banshberia Boropara intersection in the district around half a kilometre away from the venue.
संकटमोचक श्री हनुमान जन्मोत्सव में हर वर्ष की भांति इस बार औपचारिक आमंत्रण के बाद गई तब पुलिस उच्च न्यायालय के उसे आदेश का हवाला दे रही है जिसमें लिखा है कोई भी Outsiders कार्यक्रम में नहीं जा सकता। क्या ममता बनर्जी की सरकार में क्षेत्रीय सांसद Outsiders है। pic.twitter.com/T0eIBK9QOp
In a video that the BJP MP shared on Facebook, she is seen arguing with some police officials, who reportedly stopped her from proceeding to a temple in Hooghly to offer prayers. ‘Mamata Banerjee’s police blocked me while going to Baansberia Hanuman puja at my Hooghly Loksabha constituency. Because I am an outsider. How Mamata’s police can tell this to a local public representative?’ she wrote along with the video.
The official cites the High Court order which states that outsiders are not permitted to enter Hooghly. The MP pulls out the order and reads it out to the officials. She reads the order which says outsiders will not be allowed and then shows her identity card and several other documents which show that she represents the Hooghly Lok Sabha constituency, and therefore she can’t be called an outsider.
She stated that she is sad to hear that she is called an outsider while she is doing lots of work in the constituency using her MPLAD fund, but the cops insist that she can’t go ahead as per the order.
She insists that nowhere does the order read that any leader or parliamentarian cannot join a Shobha Yatra, but the police keep persuading her to leave. Even after a lot of arguments, she was not allowed to visit the temple in her own constituency calling her an outsider.
As a result, Locket Chatterhee sat on a Dharna on the protest in protest against the Mamata Banerjee government. She shared a video of the same on Twitter where she said, “Is the Bengal Police allowed to call a regional MP an outsider and stop her religious rituals? Now in Mamata Raj calling regional MPs as outsiders and preventing them from going to the area and participating in programs is going to hurt the sentiments of the people,” she tweeted.
क्या बंगाल पुलिस को एक क्षेत्रीय सांसद को Outsiders बताने और उसके धार्मिक अनुष्ठान को रोकने की इजाजत है।
अब ममता राज में क्षेत्रीय सांसद को Outsiders कहकर क्षेत्र में जाने और कार्यक्रमों में शामिल होने रोका जाना लोगों की भावनाओं को आहत करने वाला है।@BJP4Bengal@BJP4Indiapic.twitter.com/LuLyjiKefi
“It is the responsibility of the state government to maintain law and order. Mamata government has clearly failed at this front”, Chatterjee added.
“I told them to allow me to offer prayers but they (police) said that I am an outsider. I am not an outsider, I am an MP from here. I represent Hooghly. How can I be an outsider? I called the Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate but they did not pick up the call. I spoke to the Governor,” Chatterjee told reporters present at the site. “They have no answer why they have stopped me, all they are saying is I am an outsider,” she added.
West Bengal burns during Ram Navami celebrations while the administration looks away
West Bengal has been marred with violence ever since March 30, when Islamists unleashed mayhem in various areas of the state on the occasion of Ram Navami.
At first, on March 30, violence broke out in the Howrah district when a Ram Navami procession was allegedly targeted with stones. The violence then escalated and spread to the North Dinajpur and Hooghly districts over the course of the next three days.
Again, three days after Islamists unleashed mayhem during the Ram Navami procession in the Shibpur area of Howrah in West Bengal, a fresh bout of violence erupted in Rishra in West Bengal’s Hooghly district on April 2.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was taking out a ‘Shobha Yatra’ in the area. Miscreants pelted stones at the procession, leaving several people, including one of BJP’s local legislators gravely injured. Following the incident, prohibitory orders were imposed, and the internet was suspended.
On April 3, fresh stone pelting incidents were reported in the district Hooghly of West Bengal near Rishra Railway Station. The local and mail express train services were suspended after the incident.
While West Bengal continued to burn, the ruling dispensation led by CM Mamata Banerjee was busy whitewashing Islamist atrocities in the state by first invoking their faith and second, blaming the violence on ‘outsiders.’ She insisted that Hindus should not venture into “Muslim areas” to carry out processions.
RAF and Police personnel attacked
The RAF and Police personnel present to control the situation were also attacked by the rioters. They had to use tear gas to disperse the mob. One police vehicle parked near the railway crossing was also damaged.
A social media sensation from Brazil, Larry Ingrid, also known as Larissa claims she overcame depression by having two partners and has plans to take on a third. She lives with her two ‘husbands’in Fortaleza, Brazil. “I don’t have depression anymore,” she gushed while describing her unorthodox mental health remedy on Se Liga VM show on the TV channel, Verdes Mares.
The 27-year-old singer is simultaneously involved with Ítalo Silva, 25, and João Victor, 18, and she has a daughter and a son respectively from them. The roots of a polyamorous relationship were planted when her beau Ítalo, whom she met eight years ago, suggested they have fun with other romantic partners as well. She agreed to this suggestion and decided to add her childhood buddy João to their marriage as the third spouse.
“I’ve known João since I was a child. He used to live next door to my mum, but he left and I remained good friends with his mother. When he came back, this handsome guy wanted to kiss me, so we kissed and here we are today. It was bigger than all of us,” she explained.
João was initially wary of dating someone who had a significant other but ultimately agreed when the trio formed an agreement to remain together. “I’ve always liked her since I was young. I already had this idea of being with her, but she made it clear that wouldn’t happen. As I wanted to stay with her regardless, I accepted,” said João on his decision to become the third tine of the trident leading to the formation of the throuple.
Larissa said that having two men at the same time in her life has improved her mental state. “I don’t have time to be depressed anymore, they are my husbands,” she laughed adding that it’s lovely to have two guys doing the dishes and cleaning the house for her.
However, having two husbands may have had the opposite impact on the mental health of this throuple’s family members, who at first found it difficult to accept their way of life. “It was complicated for my family, but over time they saw that it wasn’t an arrangement from out of this world, and ended up accepting it,” revealed João.
The two guys also struggle with the idea of “sharing” her. Ítalo who proposed the idea, acknowledged that João and he frequently become envious when one of the men is with Larissa. He even regards the latter’s daughter as his own and has his son’s name, along with both of theirs, tattooed on his body. He maintained that the trio never fights despite the simmering grudges. He asserted that ‘when we feel envious, we talk about it and it’s resolved.’
The social media celebrity speculates that her two ‘husbands’ may seek pleasure elsewhere, which is something she apparently understands because she will never let a woman into her menage. She, however, admitted that it was possible to increase their group’s male composition by adding one more guy to her ‘harem’.
On Thursday, April 6, Shahrukh Saifi, who set his co-passengers on fire in a moving train in Kerala, was sent for medical examination at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital and will be presented before the court today. Saifi was arrested on Wednesday from Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri and today was brought to Kozhikode. Meanwhile, shocking details about the accused have emerged.
Police have recovered notes from Shahrukh Saifi’s possession, the note has some Urdu words such as ‘Badkaar=Bura Kaam Karne Wala’, ‘Kufra’ which means infidel or impious, ‘Burak=Roshan Hona’ ‘Fariqain’ which means enemies, and ‘Maghloob’ which means subdued or defeated, and ‘Do it, Let’s do it’ scribbled on it. The police and intelligence agency are investigating if these words are some sort of code.
Kozhikode train fire accused Shahrukh Saifi will be produced before the court today. The motive behind the attack still remains unclear. The Kozhikode train attack led to three people losing their lives and several others suffering serious burn injuries.@vivekkarindalampic.twitter.com/KGD84uk48J
On another note, a timetable was written which included ‘reading Quran loudly’ and also included a record of his daily expenses.
“Do it. Let’s do it, this message was written on hand-written notes allegedly belonging to Shahrukh Saifi, the main suspect in the Kozhikode train attack,” @roypranesh decodes the details allegedly on Shahrukh’s notes.@priyanktripathi shares more info with @kritsween – Watch. pic.twitter.com/Esd97EMF65
Reportedly, suspect Shahrukh Saifi is a YouTuber by profession. Saifi changed his lifestyle in June last year as he quit smoking and started to spend more time in Namaz.
The police suspect that despite having a very small number of subscribers on his YouTube channel, Saifi is thought to have been approached by radicals because of his social media activity.
Shahrukh claimed to have carried out the attack near Elathur by himself, however, police suspect there may have been other people involved in the train fire incident that took place on April 2. So far, the police have noticed that the several statements given by Saifi are not true. He also claimed to have known about Kerala through hearsay while the police reportedly found a list of targeted railway stations.
Moreover, Saifi failed to give a definite answer when asked about the motive behind the crime, further adding to the suspicion of the police.
While Saifi reportedly told the cops about his changed lifestyle before carrying out the train fire attack, his family in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh claimed that Shahrukh Saifi never showed any explicit religious behaviour.
Earlier it was reported that a Kerala Police team visited accused Saifi’s residence in Shaheen Bagh and questioned his parents who claimed to have no information about Saifi’s involvement in any sort of criminal activities. Saifi went missing from his residence on March 30, following which his parents lodged a missing person complaint.
Accused Shahrukh Saifi had reportedly boarded the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train in Kozhikode at around 9.45 pm on Sunday, April 2, to pour an inflammable liquid on fellow passengers in the moving train and set them on fire. The bodies of a woman, a man, and a child were found on the tracks near the Elathur station after the incident, the police had stated.
Disqualified Wayanad MP and senior Congress leader on Thursday launched a fresh attack on PM Modi and Gautam Adani in a bid to cast aspersions that the industrialist has gotten a Chinese national involved in infrastructure projects in India. Rahul Gandhi posed a question and asked why are India’s critical ports, airstrips being built and controlled by a ‘Chinese company’.
PMC Projects – ‘Pradhan Mantri Chinese’ Projects?
Why are India’s critical ports, airstrips, railway tracks and electricity lines being built & controlled by a Chinese company? pic.twitter.com/lzAHLZ0Sm3
Of course, Chinese investment in India’s infrastructure would be a significant security concern and as responsible citizen of India it should bother us. But how much truth is in the claims made by Rahul Gandhi. And who is this mysterious ‘Chinese citizen’ Rahul Gandhi talking about.
‘Adani Watch’ website and dubious claims
Rahul Gandhi had shared a screenshot of one ‘Adani Watch’ website with his own social media logo. The headline read “EXCLUSIVE: Firm linked to Adani’s infrastructure projects owned by Chinese national”. Hmm. Okay. Let’s see what rest of the article says. The article is written by one Ravi Nair and edited by one Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, both very vocal Modi haters. Which is fine, if they would have had their facts in order.
The first line of the article claims that a Chinese company connected with Adani Group is involved in building critical infrastructure in India. “The firm, PMC Projects (India) Private Limited, has been developing seaports, container terminals, airstrips, electricity transmission lines and railway tracks, among other public utilities,” the report claimed.
Curious, we got looking for the investment details of PCM Projects (India) Pvt Ltd details.
PCM Projects India Pvt Ltd.
So, for a company which is constructing such high stake critical infrastructure in India only has investments in mutual funds and that too at an approximate value of Rs 6 crore in 2021. What are they constructing?
Further, the companies related to Adani Group which are actually carrying out infrastructure activities are all wholly owned subsidiaries of Adani Enterprises Limited.
Adani Metro Transport Ltd
Adani Metro Transport Ltd was formed to focus on metro rail infrastructure and as seen above it is a 100% owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprise Limited (AEL), the flagship of Adani Group.
Adani Airport Holdings Ltd
Adani Airports Holdings Ltd is an airport operating company which currently operates Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports. This, too, is a 100% owned subsidiary of AEL.
Adani Infra
Adani Infrastructure Pvt Ltd which is involved in power transmission, thermal power and solar power is also a 100% owned subsidiary of AEL.
Adani Railways
Again, another critical infra company, Adani Railways Transport Ltd – that is also a 100% subsidiary of AEL, the publicly listed company. The above information is derived from the annual financial accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 for Adani Enterprises Limited. You could read the 508 page document here [pdf].
It is also notable that while Rahul Gandhi claims PMC is building critical infrastructure, the Hindenburg report claims otherwise. The report basically claims that PMC Project is an entity of the Adani group. It claims that it was used to route money out of Adani’s listed companies. While Rahul Gandhi claims PMC Project has built India’s critical infrastructure like ports, airstrips, railway tracks and electricity lines, Hindenburg Research says the company does nothing, and it is just a dummy company of Adani, and most of its revenue comes from other Adani Group companies.
The Hindenburg report says that there are no signs that “PMC Projects does anything separate and apart from functioning as an arm of the Adani Group”. It further mentions that according to a 2014 DRI investigation, PMC Projects was a “dummy firm” used by the Adani Group in a coal/power equipment over-invoicing scandal.
Therefore, Adani has been accused of using PMC Projects as a dummy firm to route money. Nowhere in the report, Hindenburg claimed that PMC was working on critical infrastructure projects as Rahul Gandhi is claiming.
It is also notable that while DRI had alleged that PMC was a dummy company used in an over-invoicing scam, the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESAT) had quashed the charges. After DRI had moved Supreme Court against this order, the Supreme Court had also ruled in favour of the company, ruling out any irregularities. The rulings had said that no link was found between PMC and Adani.
What is a 100% owned subsidiary company?
A wholly owned subsidiary is a company where 100% of its shares are held by another corporation, which is called a parent company. In above cases, the companies which are invested in the critical infrastructure development are – as seen – are 100% subsidiaries of Adani Enterprises Limited, an Indian company – which is publicly listed.
Nowhere can one see PCM Projects India Pvt Ltd being part of the annual accounts or being associated with Adani Enterprises Limited. To prove that PCM Projects carrying out operations on behalf of Adani Enterprises, ‘Adani Watch’ provides its registered office as prove of it being related to Adani Group. According to the Companies Act, 1956 (as amended time to time), more than one company can have same registered office address and they could be not related too. Just because Nair and Thakurta are unaware of the law, does not make something illegal.
The ‘China’ connection
Now, we’ve made one point clear that the claims on PCM Projects has absolute no basis as ‘Adani Watch’ never provided any evidence to back their claims.
Moving on, let us go to the ‘Chinese company’ theory Rahul Gandhi has peddled shooting off ‘Adani Watch’ fable. ‘Adani Watch’ cites Hindenburg report and claims that it made “explosive allegations about the group’s practices, discussed PMC’s activities in some detail.” Let us go back to the allegations made by Hindenburg report, which Adani Group has categorically denied. But for arguments’ sake, let us revisit them.
Hindenburg report only talks about the ‘owner’ of PMC projects. Hindenburg report also makes it clear that Adani Group has not mentioned PCM as its ‘related party’. But let us talk about the ‘owner’ here.
As per Hindenburg report, Chang Chien-Ting, son of Chang Chung-Ling, an old associate of Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod Adani, was the ‘sole beneficial owner’ of PCM Projects. “Taiwanese media covered an official government event attended by PMC Projects’ owner Chang Chien-Ting and described him as “Adani Group’s Taiwan Representative.” The article included a picture of Chien-Ting holding an Adani sign and speaking on behalf of the Adani Group at the event.” Hindenburg report mentions.
So going by Hindenburg report itself, is now clear that PMC Projects is a separate entity as its sole beneficial owner is Chang Chien-Ting. And he also acts as Adani Group’s Taiwanese representative. If we were to believe this is correct, two corporates CAN get into agreement where they represent each other in their respective countries – that is how global businesses work. Taiwan is a friendly country and India has good relations with Taiwan. So if an Indian company gets into a commercial transaction with a Taiwanese national, it should be treated as business as usual, right?
But wait. Did we say Taiwanese national? Yes. Because that is what Chang Chien-Ting is.
Here is what Adani Watch report says:
Adani Watch report screenshot
Adani Watch report mentions that Chang Chien-Ting is a citizen of ‘Republic of China’. Which is correct. But in very next line questions ‘Chinese ownership of an Indian company’. But Chang Chien-Ting is not a citizen of ‘People’s Republic of China’ but of ‘Republic of China’. The former is umm, China as we all know and latter is Taiwan. Chang Chien-Ting is NOT a Chinese citizen but a Taiwanese.
So even if for all arguments’ sake if we are to believe that Adani group is undertaking business with Chang Chien-Ting, he would be a Taiwanese national, not a Chinese and company owned by him would be Taiwanese, not Chinese. Without getting into the dispute between China and Taiwan, it would be safe to say that Chang Chien-Ting is NOT the Chinese national Rahul Gandhi seems worried about.
Right above his nationality, in the same screenshot, they have mentioned his address which is in Taiwan. If they would have read it, they would know it is Taiwan and not China. But in their blind hate for Modi, they chose to ignore facts – whether wilfully or maliciously, we leave it up to readers.
So which Chinese national is he talking about? Or did he again mix up separate reports and come up with a conspiracy theory of his own? Or does Rahul Gandhi endorse China’s ‘One China’ policy of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that China and Taiwan are part of China?
Rahul Gandhi, China, Congress and CCP – The secret affair
On August 7, 2008, when Congress-led UPA was in the power, the party had signed an agreement with the CCP. Rahul Gandhi’s mother, Sonia Gandhi was the party president at that time. India’s ruling party had signed an MOU with the ruling party of China.
During UPA1 in 2008, the Congress party and the Communist Party of China (CPC) had signed a deal in Beijing for exchanging high-level information and co-operation between them. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) also provided the two parties with the “opportunity to consult each other on important bilateral, regional and international developments”.
Interestingly, the MoU was signed by the then Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and on the Chinese side, it was signed by none other than Xi Jinping himself, who was then the Chinese vice-president and standing committee member of the CPC’s politburo. The MoU was signed in the presence of his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi.
Before the signing of the MoU, the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi had held a long meeting with Xi and other senior leaders of the Communist Party of China to discuss issues of mutual interest.
In 2008, Sonia Gandhi had visited Beijing along with Rahul, daughter Priyanka, son-in-law Robert Vadra and their two children to attend the opening of the Olympic Games. A year before, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had also led a delegation of the Congress party to China.
The 2008 MoU between CCP and Congress came at a time when the Left parties in India had expressed lack of trust in UPA-1 government led by Congress. The India Today report suggests that even as China was aware of the political landscape in India, Xi Jinping went ahead and signed the pact with Congress as CCP wanted deeper ties with Congress, especially the Gandhi family.
Not just the MoUs, but the close relationship between the Chinese leadership and the Congress party, especially Rahul Gandhi had also got highlighted just few years ago during the Doklam stand-off when Rahul Gandhi was caught secretly meeting Chinese officials.
The Gandhi-scion, not once but twice, was caught meeting Chinese officials, raising suspicion among the policymakers regarding the intent of his secretive meeting with the Chinese.
The first meeting had taken place in 2017, when Rahul Gandhi had a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui, especially at a time when India and China were in the middle of a stand-off at Doklam. At first, the Congress party had denied such meetings and had termed news reports suggesting that the Gandhi-scion had indeed met Chinese officials as ‘fake news’.
However, Congress party had to face massive embarrassment after the Chinese embassy had themselves confirmed about the meeting between the then Congress vice president and the Chinese envoy.
This meeting was especially suspicious, because the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi, at that time were vehemently attacking the Indian government over their stand in the ongoing military standoff with China.
TaiIn 2018, Rahul Gandhi had himself revealed regarding the secret meeting with a couple of Chinese ministers during his trip to Kailash Mansarovar in September 2018. The meeting was kept secret initially but later Rahul Gandhi had revealed the details of the meeting accidentally leading to people to speculate even more as to why both the Congress party and China were trying to hide the meeting.
To summarise:
‘Adani Watch’ report makes absolutely baseless claims about an obscure company being a close associate of Adani Group being involved in creating critical infrastructure projects.
As per Adani Enterprises Limited, the flagship company of Adani Group, the companies which are actually involved in making critical infrastructures are 100% wholly owned subsidiaries of AEL (no Chinese involved here).
The person ‘Adani Watch’ and Rahul Gandhi are referring to as ‘Chinese national’ is not a Chinese national but a Taiwanese one. India has friendly bilateral relations with Taiwan.
Rahul Gandhi has yet again floated conspiracy theories based on his very limited understanding of how businesses work. He should read up more if he does not want to end with an egg on his face. You can read about his other wild theory here.
And while Rahul Gandhi is trying to portray that Adani, with backing of PM Modi, is getting Chinese individuals involved in critical infrastructure projects, one expects that at least the person they accuse of being Chinese is Chinese to begin with.
Union Ministry of Home Affairs has recommended a CBI probe against Oxfam India over alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. The Income Tax Authorities had earlier conducted a survey at Oxfam’s Delhi headquarters in September 2022 on possible economic irregularities. A survey was also done by the department at the CPR (Centre for Policy Research) think tank in Delhi. Authorities reportedly suspect that Oxfam India might have sent money in the form of a commission to the Centre for Policy Research.
According to reports, a source in the Ministry of Home Affairs said, “Oxfam India continued to transfer Foreign Contributions to various entities even after coming into force of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020 which prohibits such transfers. The amendment came into force on September 29, 2020. Oxfam India transferred funds to other NGOs, violating provisions of the FCRA, 2010.”
Oxfam India continued to transfer Foreign Contribution to various entities even after coming into force of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020 which prohibits such transfers. The amendment came into force on September 29, 2020. Oxfam India transferred funds…
The source further said, “From emails, found during an IT survey by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, it is revealed that Oxfam India was planning to circumvent the provision of the FCRA, 2010 by routing funds to other FCRA registered associations or through the for-profit consultancy route.”
From emails, found during IT survey by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, it is revealed that the Oxfam India was planning to circumvent provision of the FCRA, 2010 by routing funds to other FCRA -registered associations or through the for-profit consultancy route: Source
“Oxfam India, which is registered to carry out social activities, routed funds to the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) through its associates and employees in the form of commission,” the sources said. The same is also reflected in the TDS data of Oxfam India which shows a payment of Rs 12,71,188 to the CPR in the Financial Year 2019-20 under section 1943.
“Oxfam India received foreign contribution amounting to Rs 1.50 crore (approx) directly into its FC utilization account instead of receiving foreign contribution in designated FCRA account,” added the sources.
Oxfam India was registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010 (FCRA, 2010) for undertaking social activities and its registration certificate was valid up to December 31, 2021. The organisation’s FCRA license ceased on January 1, 2022, after it failed to apply for renewal.
Continuing with targeting the Modi government alleging undue benefits to Adani group, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that a Chinese company was given contacts to build critical infrastructure projects. Quoting a report by an anti-Adani propaganda portal named Adani Watch, the disqualified Lok Sabha member asked, “Why are India’s critical ports, airstrips, railway tracks and electricity lines being built & controlled by a Chinese company?”
Referring to an Adani group company PMC projects mentioned in the report, he said, “PMC Projects – ‘Pradhan Mantri Chinese’ Projects?”
PMC Projects – ‘Pradhan Mantri Chinese’ Projects?
Why are India’s critical ports, airstrips, railway tracks and electricity lines being built & controlled by a Chinese company? pic.twitter.com/lzAHLZ0Sm3
The report by Adani Watch published today claims that while the company PMC Projects (India) Private Limited operates from premises owned by Adani Enterprises, it is owned by a Chinese national named Chang Chien-Ting (also known as Morris Chang). It says that Chang Chien-Ting son of Chang Chung-Ling, who has been a director of many Adani companies over the years.
Claiming that Chang Chien-Ting is a Chinese national, the portal wrote, “The involvement of a Chinese-owned company in the establishment of critical infrastructure in India raises questions about national security.” It says that PMC Projects has been developing seaports, container terminals, airstrips, electricity transmission lines and railway tracks, and other public utilities in India.
But the claim by Adani Watch and Rahul Gandhi that PMC Projects is owned by a Chinese national is completely false, because, Chang Chien-Ting is actually a Taiwanese national. Taiwan has friendly relations with India, and therefore, there is nothing wrong if a Taiwanese national on a valid visa works for an Indian company.
Interestingly, the Hindenburg report, which is the source of the Adani Watch article, mentions that Chang is Taiwanese, but they still called him Chinese. The Hindenburg report quotes an official filing showing that Chang Chien-Ting was named as a significant beneficial owner of PMC Projects, following amendments made to the Companies (Significant Beneficial Owners) Rules, 2018.
In this document, the nationality of Chang Chien-Ting is listed as the Republic of China. Presumably, Adani Watch and Rahul Gandhi deduced that he is Chinese from this. But the fact is, the Republic of China is not mainland China, it is the official name of Taiwan. On the other hand, mainland China’s official name is the People’s Republic of China.
The reason for this confusing name of the two countries is that both claims to be the official Republic of China. The Republic of China was a sovereign state located in mainland China from 1912 to 1949. Following the Chinese Civil War, the Chinese Communist Party and its People’s Liberation Army defeated the nationalist government and established the People’s Republic of China in 1949. After the defeat, the leadership of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan island, along with a large number of people opposed to the Communist Revolution.
While they lost the mainland, they retained Taiwan and some of its nearby islands and established the Republic of China government there. Both ROC and PROC claim to be official China.
Therefore, Chang Chien-Ting is from Republic of China which is Taiwan. In fact, the same document lists his address as Xianfu Road, Taoyuan district, Taoyuan city, Taiwan. The Hindenburg report also clearly states that Chang is Taiwanese. It said, “Chinese media also referred to Chang Chien-Ting as Adani Group’s Taiwan representative,” citing a Chinese video report.
Despite this, Adani Watch and Rahul Gandhi wrongly claimed that Chang is a Chinese person.
Notably, calling a Taiwanese person Chinese is a sensitive issue, because China considers Taiwan to be part of it, and claims that people living in Taiwan are Chinese citizens. By this claim, Rahul Gandhi is furthering the CCP propaganda that Taiwan is part of China.
Rahul Gandhi also ignored other claims regarding PMC Project mentioned in the Hindenburg report while attacking PM Modi. The report basically claims that PMC Project is an entity of the Adani group. It claims that it was used to route money out of Adani’s listed companies. While Rahul Gandhi claims PMC Project has built India’s critical infrastructure like ports, airstrips, railway tracks and electricity lines, Hindenburg Research says the company does nothing, and it is just a dummy company of Adani, and most of its revenue comes from other Adani Group companies.
The Hindenburg report says that there are no signs that “PMC Projects does anything separate and apart from functioning as an arm of the Adani Group”. It further mentions that according to a 2014 DRI investigation, PMC Projects was a “dummy firm” used by the Adani Group in a coal/power equipment over-invoicing scandal.
Therefore, Adani has been accused of using PMC Projects as a dummy firm to route money. Nowhere in the report, Hindenburg claimed that PMC was working on critical infrastructure projects as Rahul Gandhi is claiming.
It is also notable that while DRI had alleged that PMC was dummy company used in an over-invoicing scam, the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESAT) had quashed the charges. While DRI had moved Supreme Court against this order, the Supreme Court had also ruled in favour of the company, ruling out any irregularities.
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday condemned the vandalisation of a Hindu temple in Canada’s Windsor yesterday and said that the MEA is in touch with the Indian consulate.
While speaking to the reporters on Thursday, the MEA spokesperson said, “We will continue to insist that action is taken against the perpetrators. They are identified and persecuted. Also, as important as measures to prevent such occurrences.” “We want these incidents not to happen, we want action and ensure that the Indian community’s places of worship are protected,” Arindam Bagchi added.
“This issue has been taken up with the Canadian authorities to catch the perpetrator and ensure this doesn’t happen again,” he added.
Clearing India’s stand on recent incidents of vandalisation at Indian consulates and High Commission, Arindam Bagchi said, “It (Vandalisation) has happened in a couple of places. We have made it pretty clear to our host governments what actions we expect from the host government in terms of what they need to do. We are in contact with the host governments. We had conveyed our expectations about the security of our premises and the safety of our personnel.”
“What is important is action to be taken rather than assurances,” he added.
A Hindu temple was vandalised with anti-India graffiti in Windsor in Canada’s Ontario, Windsor police said in a statement.
The Windsor Police Service started an investigation into the vandalism as a “hate-motivated incident” and two suspects are wanted in the incident.
According to the statement, police personnel were sent to the Hindu temple on April 5 after a report of hate-motivated vandalism.
“On April 5, 2023, officers were dispatched to a Hindu temple in the 1700 block of Northway Avenue following a report of hate-motivated vandalism. Officers discovered anti-Hindu and anti-India graffiti sprayed in black on an exterior wall of the building,” Windsor Police said in the statement.
In the investigation, police officers obtained a video that shows two suspects in the area just after 12 am (local time).
“In the video, one suspect appears to commit the vandalism on the wall of the building while the other keeps watch,” Windsor police said in the statement.
“At the time of the incident, one suspect wore a black sweater, black pants with a small white logo on the left leg, and black and white high-top running shoes. The second suspect wore black pants, a sweatshirt black shoes, and white socks,” the police further said.
The Windsor police have called on residents in the immediate vicinity of the temple to check their home surveillance between 11 pm – 1 am (local time) for evidence of the suspects. Police have urged people to call the Mortality Unit if they have any information regarding the incident.
Earlier in February, the Ram Mandir in Canada’s Mississauga was vandalised with anti-India graffiti. The Consulate General of India in Toronto condemned the defacing of the Mandir and requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action against the perpetrators.
“We strongly condemn the defacing of Ram Mandir in Mississauga with anti-India graffiti. We have requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action on perpetrators,” tweeted the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
In January, a Hindu temple in Brampton was defaced with anti-India graffiti triggering outrage among the Indian community. The Consulate General of India in Toronto condemned the vandalism at the Gauri Shankar Mandir stating that the act has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Indian community in Canada.
The consulate office in a statement said, “We strongly condemn the defacing of Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton, a symbol of Indian heritage, with anti-India graffiti. The hateful act of vandalism has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Indian community in Canada. We have raised our concerns on the matter with Canadian authorities.” Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown also condemned the vandalism of the temple.
(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 mayoral and ward elections in Leicester city in the United Kingdom, the Labour Party has de-selected 7 sitting Indian-origin councillors from contesting the polls on the party ticket.
As per a report by The Timesof India, 6 of the de-selected councillors are from the Hindu community. The development comes a month before the scheduled local elections on May 4 this year.
They include Hemant Rae Bhatia (Beaumont Leys), Rashmikant Joshi (North Evington), Rita Patel (Rushey Mead), Nita Solanki (Belgrave), Padmini Chamund (Belgrave), and Mahendra Valand (Belgrave).
Labour party deselects all 7 Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) councillors in Leicester ahead of May Council elections.
No Hindu Councilor is left in Leicester from the Labour party. This has raised eyebrows in the light of recent violence on Hindus by radical Islamists in… pic.twitter.com/XqPCt5MZSo
Reportedly, the Labour national executive committee (NEC) had decided to field candidates instead of allowing local Labour branches to oversee the process.
While speaking about the matter, councillor Hemant Rae Bhatia told The Times of India, “The way Labour took away the democratic right of branches to select their candidates does not match what Keir Starmer said at party conference, namely that branches are fundamental and democratic units of the party.”
He also lashed out at Leicester’s controversial Mayor Peter Soulsby, who met Islamist Majid Freeman during the anti-Hindu violence in the city. “Hindus and Muslims don’t have trust in Soulsby now. Anyone who challenges how he dealt with the unrest got deselected,” he emphasised.
Bhatia and councillor Rashmikant Joshi have now defected to the Conservative Party. The four other Indian-origin Hindu councillors have decided to contest independently from their respective wards.
Tension in Leicester due to Muslim enclaves and their majoritarianism: Report
The de-selection of the 7 Indian-origin (6 Hindus, 1 Christian) councillors in Leicester is significant in light of the recent revelations of the fact-finding report, presented by the Centre for Democracy, Pluralism and Human Rights (CDPHR) before the UK’s House of Commons.
The report, prepared by activist Rashmi Samant and political analyst Chris Blackburn, highlighted how the Leicester attack on the Hindu community was a direct assault on “democratic institutions and rule of law.”
It noted that the attack on Hindus was a direct fallout of territorial tensions and localised majoritarianism (of the Islamists in East Leicester). The report also found that a concerted attempt was made to defame the Hindu community as ‘Hindutva nationalists’ and nationwide mobilisation outside of Leicester.
“Symptoms of territorial ethnic cleansing were found through the analysis of the different slogans and speeches made by the majority community of East Leicester and the temporary displacement of Hindu community as a result of the unrest,” CDPHR said in its report.
