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AAP workers burst firecrackers to celebrate victory in MCD polls, forget about cracker ban imposed by Kejriwal from Diwali to New Year

OpIndia Staff
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AAP workers burst firecrackers to celebrate victory in MCD polls, forget about cracker ban imposed by Kejriwal from Diwali to New Year

The Aam Aadmi Party members in the capital city could be seen bursting firecrackers as the party won the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections on Wednesday. This is despite the fact that AAP supremo and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has imposed a ban on the bursting of firecrackers till January 1 during the Hindu festival of Diwali this year.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections on Wednesday, surpassing the halfway point with 132 seats. However, the BJP attained 104 seats, the Congress 9 and 3 seats were won by the independent candidates. On December 4, a little more than half of all eligible voters cast ballots, deciding the destiny of 1,349 municipal poll candidates in 250 wards.

Results from the SEC website

AAP workers celebrated the win by sharing sweets and dancing on the streets. Some of the AAP workers could also be seen bursting firecrackers on the streets, the video of which was shared by Times Now media network. The AAP workers could also be seen beating drums and waving party flags while they celebrated the win.

“AAP celebrating MCD win by bursting crackers. This, when graded response to pollution is already in force in Delhi,” NDTV’s Sanket Upadhyay tweeted.

On September 7 this year, Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal announced the re-imposition of a ban on manufacturing, selling, storing, and bursting firecrackers till January 1, including Diwali and other festivals. To impose the ban on firecrackers, the minister had said that 408 teams had been formed. 210 teams under the assistant commissioner of police in Delhi Police, 165 teams under the revenue department, and 33 teams under the Delhi Pollution Control Committee had been constituted. These teams, he said, would impose the ban on the citizens of Delhi and, if required, would arrest the ‘accused’ for bursting firecrackers up to January 1.

Later, Gopal Rai, the Environment minister of Delhi announced that manufacturing, storing, and selling firecrackers in the national capital is a punishable offence. He added on October 19 that anyone found indulging in these activities would face a fine of up to Rs 5,000 and a jail term of up to six months.

The victory of the party in the MCD polls today ushered its members to supposedly forget about the ban on firecrackers which was imposed by their party head ahead of Diwali. According to the ECI data, the party won 132 seats.

In 2017, the BJP had won 181 of the (then) 270 municipal wards, while the AAP had just 48 and the Congress had 30. 

As AAP won the elections, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia thanked the people of Delhi for trusting the party. He took to Twitter and wrote, “Heartfelt gratitude to the people of Delhi for trusting Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi MCD. By defeating the world’s biggest and most negative party, the people of Delhi have made a staunch honest, and working Arvind Kejriwal ji win. For us, this is not just a victory, it is a big responsibility.”

Also, party’s Raghav Chadha said that “BJP got a befitting reply from the people of Delhi. People have voted for the one who works for development. Today, Delhi has wiped out the garbage that BJP tried to throw on Arvind Kejriwal. We’ll transform Delhi into the most beautiful city in the world.”

In the closely watched polls held on December 4, Delhi recorded a voter turnout of 50.48%. The election was seen as a three-way race between an emerging competitor AAP, an assured BJP, and a hopeful yet nowhere in the fight, Congress. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has 250 wards, and 1,349 candidates were running in this election.

Canada: Filmmaker slams book publisher Penguin for publishing a memoir by her assailant who described the sexual assault as consensual

OpIndia Staff
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Canada: Filmmaker slams book publisher Penguin for publishing a memoir by her assailant who described the sexual assault as consensual

Zoe Charlotte Greenberg, a poet and filmmaker, recently took to the American publishing platform Medium to reveal how Canada’s biggest book publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, of publishing a memoir of one of her rapists who described the sexual assault as consensual.

“I was sexually assaulted when I was 16. This summer, @PenguinRandomCA published a memoir by one of my assailants claiming my rape was consensual. now I’m ready to share my story,” Greenberg took to Twitter to share her story about the assault she had endured.

In her blog on Medium, Zoe Greenberg highlighted how Penguin Random House Canada carried on with the publication of a memoir written by her assailant despite being informed and provided with evidence that an act of sexual assault in the book has been wrongly portrayed as a consensual act.

“The summer I turned 16 I was sexually assaulted by two of my friends. I was drunk. I was crying. I was barely conscious, on my back by the side of a pool. I didn’t want it. They both sexually assaulted me. He did, then she did,” wrote Greenberg, describing about the incident when she was assaulted by two of her close friends.

Narrating her ordeal and mental trauma following the assault, Greenberg said she severed her friendship with the boy in the aftermath of the incident and weeks later, she mustered the strength to call off her friendship with the girl too. Their common friends also started distancing themselves from her. 

Although she changed schools and made new friends to overcome the trauma, the scars of the sexual assault and social exclusion left an indelible mark. But then, Penguin Random House Canada platformed one of her assaulters and she decided to pour out her trauma on a public platform.

“For decades, I lived with my trauma in a buried place that I could not fully access, sometimes telling loved ones, but never speaking of it publicly. Until Leah McLaren, the woman who sexually assaulted me when we were teenagers, published a memoir where she depicted their attack on me as consensual,” Greenberg wrote in her personal blog.

Greenberg said McLaren informed her that she would depict her in the book, alongside the story of “what happened” to her—an idea that her sexual assault would be portrayed by the woman who sexually assaulted her sickened her to the core.

The filmmaker felt it important to confront McLaren about the sexual assault she had participated in. She told her that the reason she’d stopped being her friend when they were teenagers was because of that night by the pool. She told her she felt violated by her and the boy, and couldn’t be her friend afterwards. To Greenberg’s surprise, McLaren immediately apologised and agreed to get her consent over that story and allow her to decide whether she wanted it portrayed in public. Greenberg had secretly recorded the audio conversation where McLaren admitted to her guilt and promised to have her vet the manuscript of the relevant sections before it went into publication. 

Two years later, McLaren shared her manuscript pages that she wanted approval from Greenberg. Instead of describing the actual turn of events, Greenberg said, McLaren described she’d had “a three-way” with her “best friend” who then “tearfully lost her virginity by the side of the pool”. There was no mention that the encounter was a sexual assault and nothing about the active participation of McLaren herself. Instead, the sexual assault of Greenberg was depicted as a virginity-losing incident, which disgusted the filmmaker. 

“The pages went on to invent a number of conversations between us, as well as ugly lies about my family, even an antisemitic joke. McLaren concluded with the suggestion that I was responsible for what she and the boy had done to me that night,” Greenberg added. 

Greenberg asserted that far from acknowledging that McLaren had participated in a sexual assault against her, she had weaved an altogether different story, contradicting the reality and in flagrant opposition to what she had promised to her years ago. 

The filmmaker contacted McLaren’s publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, and shared her concerns about the memoir with them. However, Penguin’s general counsel responded that McLaren did “not recall the specific act” she had depicted as the loss of my virginity. When Greenberg shared the audio recording of McLaren’s confession with Penguin Random House, the publication ceased all its communications with her. 

“I never heard from Penguin Random House again. I had thought publishers verified the memoirs they promoted to be certain they were truthful. I was never contacted by a fact-checker to corroborate any of what was published. I was never informed whether my sexual assault would be depicted honestly, or my trauma handled with sensitivity. It seemed to me that even though I had provided them with the credible allegation of sexual assault, Penguin Random House didn’t care. And they didn’t care what kind of harm they were causing by amplifying McLaren’s deception and marketing it as fact,” Greenberg said in her blog. 

Tihar videos effect? AAP loses all three wards in Satyendar Jain’s constituency

OpIndia Staff
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Tihar videos effect? AAP loses all three wards in Satyendar Jain’s constituency

On December 7, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) faced an unexpected shock as it lost all three wards in its cabinet minister Satyendar Jain’s constituency Shakurbasti. Jain is currently lodged in Tihar for his alleged involvement in a money laundering case. Recently, his videos from Tihar were leaked on social media where he was seen receiving lavish treatment inside prison. An inquiry into the matter revealed that the minister misused his powers and violated the prison rules.

As per the results announced by Delhi’s State Election Commission, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Sikha Bharadwaj won Ward No 58 Saraswati Vihar against AAP’s Urmila Gupta by 3150 votes. While Bharadwaj got 13,167 votes, Gupta managed to get only 10,017 votes.

Source: State Election Commission, Delhi

In Ward No 59 Paschim Vihar, BJP’s Vineet Vohra defeated AAP’s Shalu Duggal by 2,044 votes. As per SEC Delhi, Vohra received 12,199 votes, while Duggal finished the race with 10,155 votes.

Source: State Election Commission, Delhi

In Ward, No 60 Rani Bagh, BJP’s Jyoti Aggarwal defeated AAP’s Mithlesh Pathak by 1,387 votes. As per SEC Delhi, Aggarwal received 10,346 votes, while Pathak got only 8,959 votes.

Source: State Election Commission, Delhi

In the 2017 elections, BJP’s Neeraj Kumar contested from Saraswati Vihar and won against AAP’s Desraj Aggarwal by 7,895 votes. In Paschim Vihar, BJP’s Vineet Vohra defeated AAP’s Sapna Marwaha by 4,787 votes. In Rani Bagh, BJP’s Vandna Jaitly defeated AAP’s Simmi Gulati by 2,091 votes.

As per the latest reports, AAP has won 132 seats in Delhi MCD polls, while BJP has managed 104 seats. Congress is scrapping the bottom with just 9 seats while independent candidates have won 3.

Satyendar Jain’s massage videos leaked before the elections

Satyendar Jain, who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail over his alleged involvement in a money laundering case, is under scanner for getting lavish treatment inside prison. On November 19, a video went viral on social media showing VIP treatment being meted out to Jain. Jain was seen receiving foot and head massages. In a bizarre defence of Jain getting a foot massage, Manish Sisodia claimed that Jain was taking physiotherapy for a ‘spine injury.’

Later on, it was revealed that the masseur of jailed Delhi Minister Satyendra Jain, whose videos of getting massages went viral, has been identified as one rape accused named Rinku, and not a physiotherapist.

The masseur providing massage to Satyendar Jain is a prisoner Rinku. He’s a prisoner in a rape case, charged under Section 6 of the POCSO Act & 376, 506 & 509 of IPC.

Multiple videos were leaked over social media from time to time showing Jain eating lavish food, getting massages and interacting with jail officials and other inmates. On December 2, it was revealed that the minister misused his powers and violated the prison rules.

As per reports, an Inquiry Committee was led by the Principal Secretaries of the Home and Law Ministries and the Secretary of the Directorate of Vigilance to probe the violation of the rules of Tihar jail. It found that the AAP Minister ‘misused his official position and authority in cahoots with the prison authorities.

According to the Committee, five inmates, namely Dilip Kumar, Sonu Singh, Manish, Rinku and Afsar Ali, were coerced by the Jail munshi, the warden and the superintendent to provide ‘special services’ to Satyendar Jain.

Both Rinku and Manish are being tried under the Prevention of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, while Afsar and Singh are being jailed for not paying maintenance to their respective wives.

Christian groups beat up each other over which direction to face while praying, 35 churches closed in Kerala

OpIndia Staff
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Christian groups beat up each other over which direction to face while praying, 35 churches closed in Kerala

On November 27, Sunday, St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Kerala’s Kochi witnessed a confrontation between two groups of devotees over the procedure of offering the unified mass on Sundays. St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica is the headquarters of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archeparchy. 

Archbishop Andrews Tazhath, the Apostolic Administrator, was even stopped from entering the Basilica by devotees who opposed the implementation of the unified mass service. Another group of devotees attempted to break the lock, which further fanned tension. Reportedly, the violent protestors also damaged church property. 

In the wake of escalating tensions, the police intervened and asked the protesting groups to vacate the church. Subsequently, the church was locked until the situation turns normal. 

However, the violent protests did not end. As per a Dainik Bhaskar report, 35 churches have been closed after various Christian organizations took out violent protests. The Almaya Munnettam group, which believes that holy mass should be offered while looking at the devotees, claims that the new format is being imposed on them despite the pope’s permission to continue worshipping in their traditional manner. The group also warned the Roman Catholic Church that if the new decision is not reversed, it will face consequences, Danik Bhaskar reported.

Notably, in August 2021, the Synod of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church decided to enforce a uniform method of conducting Holy Mass across its churches. It is important to mention here that offering mass is believed to be the best procedure of worship among Christians.

The synod decided that all churches must use the same mass format, with priests facing the gathering of devotees during the introduction and conclusion of the masses and facing the altar during the main part of the mass. However, the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese opposed the implementation of a new format without discussions.

Subsequently, the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese wrote to Pope Francis against the Synod’s decision. On March 25 this year, Pope Francis responded to the complaint and directed the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese to implement the Synod’s decision of a unified mass. 

MCD elections: AAP wins 132, leads in 2, BJP secures 104 while Congress manages 9

OpIndia Staff
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MCD elections: AAP wins 132, leads in 2, BJP secures 104 while Congress manages 9

On Wednesday (December 7), the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have been fighting neck and neck as both parties taking the lead every few minutes. However, now it seems we have a clear winner in Aam Aadmi Party in the local body polls in national capital.

As per latest official ECI data, AAP has won 132 seats and is leading in 2 seats while BJP has won 104 seats.

Election Commission results

The Congress on the other end has managed to get 9 seats while independent candidates have won 3 seats each.

Notably, the Exit Polls had predicted a landslide victory for the Aam Aadmi Party saying that the AAP will breach BJP’s 15-year-old citadel. Various exit polls had predicted that the AAP will manage to win 150+ seats.

In the 2017 MCD elections, AAP was a distant second winning only 48 seats while BJP won 181 seats.

In the exit polls for the 2022 MCD elections, various media channels predicted victory for the Aam Aadmi Party on 150+ seats.

According to an exit poll conducted by Aaj Tak, the AAP may win 149-171 wards.

According to another exit poll conducted by Times Now, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s party received between 146 and 156 wards with BJP winning just 84-94 seats.

In the closely watched polls held on December 4, Delhi recorded a voter turnout of 50.48 percent. The election was seen as a three-way race between an emerging competitor AAP, an assured BJP, and a hopeful yet nowhere in the fight, Congress. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has 250 wards, and 1,349 candidates are running in this election. Taking everyone to surprise BJP proving the exit polls wrong is giving a tough fight to AAP. It will thus be too early to predict which party will emerge victorious. 

Pakistan Government locks Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh Gurdwara for worship in Lahore, declares it a ‘Mosque’

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan Government locks Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh Gurdwara for worship in Lahore, declares it a ‘Mosque’

On Tuesday, the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) of Pakistan shut down Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh in Lahore for worship, declaring that it is a mosque. Pakistan’s ETPB, together with certain fundamental extremists, locked down the Gurdwara, infuriating the Sikh community in the neighbouring Islamic country.

Evacuee Trust Property Board is a statutory body under the Government of Pakistan that administers property left behind by Hindus and Sikhs who migrated to India during the partition. It was formed in 1960 following the  Nehru-Liaqat Pact in 1950 and Pant Mirza Agreement in 1955.

According to the reports, the controversy over the existence of Gurdwara situated in Lahore has been long-running now. Notably, a large number of devotees from the Sikh community attend the Gurdwara daily to recite the Guru Granth Sahib. The Gurdwara, which is located in the Shaheed Ganj Naloukha region, has a lengthy and tumultuous history and is believed to be a source of friction between the city’s Sikhs and Muslims.

The Gurdwara was constructed in the place where Sikh fighter Bhai Taru Singh was executed in 1745 by the Mughals. The Gurdwara was built on the grounds where the Shaheed Ganj Mosque existed earlier. This has led to the dispute that continues even today. While the Gurdwara was built in 1747, the mosque also remained in place for a long time, while the dispute between Muslims and Sikhs were heard by courts under British rule. But the mosque was demolished by a group of Sikhs in 1935, which led to communal riots.

The gurdwara is located just outside the walls of Lahore, in a locality known as Nalaukha, which is said to have previously hosted Prince Dara Shikoh’s renowned palace. According to the report, Shikoh served as governor of Lahore before being assassinated by his younger brother, Aurangzeb.

The Sikhs hold that under the instructions of Mir Mannu, the governor of Lahore and a representative of the Mughal Empire, hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women, and children from the community were massacred at this location.

The Sikhs allege that Mir Mannu personally authorized them to build a gurdwara here after they promised to assist him in the conquering of Multan at the request of Diwan Kaura Mal, who was afterward granted command of Multan by Mir Mannu, according to the story. Muslims, on the other hand, claim that once the Mughal Empire fell, the Sikhs forcibly took over the mosque, which was still operational. It is notable that After the fall of the Mughal empire, the Sikh empire was established in Punjab.

This is not the first time Pakistan has closed down a Gurdwara and declared it an Islamic place of worship.  A similar event occurred two years ago when a major Gurdwara was designated as a mosque, forcing Indian officials to intercede and file a protest in the matter. India had previously maintained that the Gurdwara is a site of devotion, and the Sikh community regards it as ‘sacred.’

6 Maharashtra trucks attacked on their entry in Karnataka, hundreds of Kannada Rakshana Vedike activists arrested for pelting stones at vehicles

OpIndia Staff
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6 Maharashtra trucks attacked on their entry in Karnataka, hundreds of Kannada Rakshana Vedike activists arrested for pelting stones at vehicles

On Tuesday, the ongoing border issue between Maharashtra and Karnataka escalated as six trucks ferrying goods from Maharashtra were attacked by members of Kannada Rakshana Vedike upon entering Karnataka via Belagavi district. Around 400 Vedike activists protested and pelted stones at the vehicles near Hirebagewadi, some 24 kilometres from Belagavi.

This follows the Karnataka government’s orders prohibiting the Maharashtra ministry delegation from entering the state. After the violence, the Karnataka officers arrested Karnataka Rakshana Vedike president Narayan Gowda, and hundreds of other workers. The activists clambered onto the trucks and chanted anti-Maharashtra slogans. They also removed the license plates of the vehicles and painted them black.

The protesters meanwhile also climbed on the police vehicles and waved Kannada flags as they shouted slogans against the Maharashtra Ministers. According to the reports, the Karnataka Police banned Kannada activists from entering Belagavi city to preserve law and order as Maharashtra ministers cancelled their visit to the state.

The activists then staged a protest at the Hire Bagewadi toll gate after police denied them to permit entry into Belagavi. Over 400 Vedike activists travelled from Dharwad to Belagavi on nearly 100 vehicles to stage protests amid the ongoing Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue. “This is not a one-day agitation. The government is using the police force to nip our struggle. We will teach a lesson to the government. We will discuss laying siege to the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha when the winter session will be held,” Narayan Gowda said during the protest.

KRV President Narayan Gowda detained by Police (Image Source- ABP News)

The states, of Maharashtra and Karnataka, were both established in 1960. However, Maharashtra has maintained that 865 villages along the boundary, including Carvar, Nippani, and Belgavi (formerly Belgaum), should be amalgamated with it since its establishment. Karnataka, on its side, has claimed control over 260 Kannada-speaking villages along the Maharashtra boundary.

Taking cognizance of the event, Maharashtra Dy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed anguish on Tuesday and called Karnataka Chief Minister Bommai. He asked CM Bommai to look into the matter and take immediate action in the case. “Bommai has assured strict action against the culprits and that vehicles coming from Maharashtra will be protected. He assured me that immediate action would be taken and that the state would never support such activists amid the border dispute,” Fadnavis said adding that he would write to Home Minister Amit Shah to look into the matter.

Meanwhile, reports emerged saying that Shiv Sena workers (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) from Maharashtra had vandalized a couple of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation buses that were parked near Pune’s Swargate bus terminal. The Pune City Police arrested seven Sena workers after the incident on December 6. When asked about the incident, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said that ‘every action had the equal and opposite reaction.’ He also asked the activists in Maharashtra to maintain law and order and avoid engaging in such acts.

Earlier on Monday, Bommai had said that despite Karnataka asking the Maharashtra government not to let ministers visit the district, they had gone ahead and done so and it was not the right thing to do. “No one can stop our ministers from visiting any state in this free nation. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will announce the final decision on the issue,” Fadnavis was quoted saying on Tuesday evening.

In Belagavi, security has been strengthened on all roadways bordering Maharashtra and Karnataka, and over 1,000 police officers have been posted at 21 border checkpoints and villages.

‘I did no wrong, so I won’t apologise’: Anand Ranganathan in contempt case over ‘whatever happened to dissent being safety valve of democracy’ remark

OpIndia Staff
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‘I did no wrong, so I won’t apologise’: Anand Ranganathan in contempt case over ‘whatever happened to dissent being safety valve of democracy’ remark

On Tuesday (December 6), scientist and author Dr Anand Ranganathan refused to apologise for supporting remarks made by filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri and S Gurumurthy condemning Justice S Muralidhar for granting bail to Urban Naxal Gautam Navlakha. 

Anand Ranganathan who was made a party in the contempt case against Gurumurthy and Vivek Agnihotri has issued a statement and said that he did nothing wrong and will not apologise.

Taking to Twitter, Ranganathan said, “My statement on today’s developments in the Delhi High Court, in the suo motu criminal contempt case regarding relief provided by the hon’ble judge to UAPA-accused Gautam Navlakha. I have done nothing wrong. I will NOT apologize.”

In his statement, Ranganathan said that he was made a party of the contempt of court case filed against Vivek Agnihotri and Gurumurthy for his tweets, “I stand with them” and “Whatever happened to dissent being the safety valve of democracy?,” both the tweets were unilaterally withheld by Twitter back then. 

Incidentally, ‘Dissent being the safety valve of democracy’ was used by the Supreme Court of India when Navlakha was arrested.

Ranganathan further clarified that he supported the two not only because he is a free-speech absolutist but also because is “fundamentally opposed to the contempt of court charge.” 

It is due to his opposition to contempt charges that he even supported a “rogue Prashant Bhushan” despite disagreeing “vehemently with his opinion on a Supreme Court judge and his judgment.”

This comes after Vivek Agnihotri tendered a written apology in the Delhi High Court. However, a bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh asked Agnihotri to appear in person in the court and apologise.

“I have done nothing wrong, and I continue to oppose the criminal contempt of court charge, and I remain a free-speech absolutist, and so I will not apologise,” Dr Anand Ranganathan said in a statement released on Twitter. 

It is important to note here that Economist S Gurumurthy was dropped as a respondent in the case. As informed by his lawyer, Dr Gurumurthy had refused to apologize, but since Twitter user who had originally posted had deleted tweets, he withdrew his tweets.

On May 4 this year, Anand Ranganathan, Vivek Agnihotri and Swarajya Magazine were served fresh notices by the Delhi High Court in the case. 

Refusing to apologise, Ranganathan said in his statement on Tuesday that “I have done nothing wrong and continue to oppose criminal contempt of court charge and will not apologise. I remain a free-speech absolutist. I have remarked on this once and saying it again, if I’m not in jail right now it is because the State has decided that I need not be jailed, however, if now the state has decided otherwise, so be it.”

Anand Ranganathan mired in “contempt of court” case

It all began when Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao wrote a letter to then Chief Justice Rajendra Menon about an article written by S Gurumurthy accusing Justice Muralidhar of bias in granting bail to Urban Naxal Gautam Navlakha in the Bhima Koregoan case. On Desh Kapur’s blog ‘Dhristikone,’ Gurumurthy wrote the article “Why has Delhi High Court Justice Muralidhar’s relationship with Gautam Navlakha not been disclosed?” The article was retweeted in a tweet by filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, who received a contempt of court notice as well. 

Anand Ranganathan condemned this action by the High Court in a couple of tweets. It turned out that certain tweets of his were withheld in India with the message “This tweet from @ARanganathan72 has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand.” The two tweets were withheld evidently in response to legal demand which was criticising the contempt of court notices that were earlier served to S Gurumurthy and Vivek Agnihotri. It was later known that the same charges had been levied against Dr Ranganathan as well.

Update (11 December, 2022): The article earlier mentioned Dr Gurumurthy had offered unconditional apology. However, he has not apologised for the same as informed by his lawyer and the article has been updated to reflect the same.

Elon Musk fires Twitter lawyer Jim Baker over his involvement in censoring Hunter Biden’s laptop and links to FBI’s Russia probe against Trump

OpIndia Staff
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Elon Musk fires Twitter lawyer Jim Baker over his involvement in censoring Hunter Biden’s laptop and links to FBI’s Russia probe against Trump

On December 6 (local time), it was revealed that the delay in the second edition of Twitter Files was due to the revelation that former Deputy General Counsel James Baker was found to be reviving the Twitter Files. As per reports, he was immediately fired by the new owner of the company Elon Musk. Baker was allegedly involved in the handling of Hunter Biden’s laptop story by the social media platform.

As per the expose published by freelance journalist Matt Taibbi, it was revealed how top officials at Twitter dealt with the Hunter Biden story in New York Post in October 2020. Notably, Baker was general counsel at the FBI before joining Twitter. He was also a key figure in the investigation into the alleged interference of Russia in the 2016 presidential elections.

Baker was involved in the discussion about if the story would fall under the Twitter policy against ‘hacked materials’. In one of the emails during a discussion over the story, Baker had written, “I support the conclusion that we need more facts to assess whether the materials were hacked. At this stage, however, it’s reasonable for us to assume that they may have been and that caution is warranted.” He was replying to an email sent by a Twitter executive seeking information if they could “truthfully claim” that the laptop policy would be “part of the policy” against hacked material.

As per Fox News report, in 2016, Baker met Attorney Michael Sussmann, who gave Baker purported data and white papers demonstrating an alleged covert communication channel between Trump Organisation and Alfa Bank, a Russian entity. It was further reported that initially, Sussman informed Baker he was not working for anyone but later billed Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the work. Later, in 2022, he was acquitted on one count of making a false statement to the FBI.

Furthermore, Baker was also involved in the FISA warrant application submitted to initiate surveillance on Carter Page, who was involved in former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Later, Baker admitted in a statement that his role in the said application was rather “unusual”.

The series of events that led to Baker’s removal from Twitter

On Tuesday (October 6), freelance journalist Taibbi said that two journalists, he and Bari Weiss, were provided with the documents access that was based on the Twitter Files. Following the first release of Twitter Files, they started to observe obstacles to new searches. This was when they discovered that Baker was responsible for releasing the files over the weekend.

Taibbi said, “On Friday, the first instalment of the Twitter files was published here. We expected to publish more over the weekend. Many wondered why there was a delay. We can now tell you part of the reason why. On Tuesday, Twitter Deputy General Counsel (and former FBI General Counsel) Jim Baker was fired. Among the reasons? Vetting the first batch of “Twitter Files” – without knowledge of new management.”

He added, “The process for producing the “Twitter Files” involved delivery to two journalists (Bari Weiss and me) via a lawyer close to new management. However, after the initial batch, things became complicated. Over the weekend, while we both dealt with obstacles to new searches, it was Bari Weiss who discovered that the person in charge of releasing the files was someone named Jim. When she called to ask “Jim’s” last name, the answer came back: ‘Jim Baker.'”

“Baker is a controversial figure. He has been something of a Zelig of FBI controversies dating back to 2016, from the Steele Dossier to the Alfa-Server mess. He resigned in 2018 after an investigation into leaks to the press,” he tweeted further.

In a tweet, Taibbi said, “The news that Baker was reviewing the ‘Twitter files’ surprised everyone involved, to say the least.”

Musk said in a Tweet, “In light of concerns about Baker’s possible role in suppression of information important to the public dialogue, he was exited from Twitter today.” Replying to a Twitter user who asked if Baker was given a chance to explain himself, Musk said, “Yes. His explanation was …unconvincing.”

Twitter Files

On December 2 (local time), freelance journalist Matt Taibbi published a Twitter thread detailing how the former Legal Head of the company, Vijaya Gadde, was at the helm of the censorship exercise under the garb of vague and arbitrary rules. It is pertinent to note that Gadde was accused of refusing to take down child porn even as the victim’s parents had pleaded for removal.

The internal communications revealed how the Twitter moderation team routinely received directives from the Biden administration to censor tweets. “More to review from the Biden team,” read a response by a Twitter executive dated October 24, 2020. Though the expose revolved around the Hunter Biden story by the New York Post, it was just a drop in the ocean of possible actions Twitter took at the state’s behest.

Interestingly, Taibbi alleged that former CEO and founder of Twitter Jack Dorsey was “kept in the dark” over the coverup of the Hunter Biden story. Since the story broke, there have been calls for booking Gadde for what she did during her tenure at Twitter. Furthermore, Musk announced there would be the second edition of Twitter Files that were supposed to be published on December 3. However, the second edition is still awaited.

Kerala: Drama praising Pakistan wins first prize at a school youth festival in Kozhikode

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: Drama praising Pakistan wins first prize at a school youth festival in Kozhikode

On December 2, Memunda Higher Secondary School won the first prize at the school youth festival in district Kozhikode for a pro-Pakistani play. As per reports, a part of the play titled ‘Boundary’ that raises pro-Pakistani sentiments has made it to social media platforms.

In the play, a girl asks, “We clap when Brazil wins, we cheer when Argentina, Brazil, England and New Zealand win. Then what is the issue when we cheer up for Pakistan”? Replying to her “emotional” question, her mother says, “My dear daughter, what can we do ! Our countrymen have not come up to your level”. Notably, reports suggest that Memunda is a CPM-dominated school.

It is unclear how such a play was allowed in the youth festival. Above all, the play grabbing the first prize raises several eyebrows, especially among right-wing thinkers. Notably, around four years ago, the same school students staged another play titled ‘Kithaab’. It raised several questions, including why women are not allowed to offer prayers at mosques, why there are no male ‘hoors’ in heaven, while women possess half the wisdom of a man and so on.

The Muslim organisations strongly protested the play and said it would not be allowed in the youth festival. However, the school authorities have argued that it was based on the story “Vaank” (Adhaan) by Unni R. However, Unni denied that his story was on similar lines. The school later apologised to the Muslim community and promised it wouldn’t be staged again.

Netizens called it shameful

Netizens have reacted to the clip from the play and called it shameful. Twitter user Arun Prakash said, “Urban Naxals & Jihadis exploiting the school children for their Anti-India & Anti-Hindu Agenda. A drama performed by the students from Memunda HSS in Calicut District of Kerala got first prize in District Art Contest. The drama includes some dialogues arguing for Pakistan.”

Another Twitter user Bharatheeyam said, “What a shame? A school in Kerala has eulogised Pakistan as a more civilised nation, and India didn’t grow enough like Pakistan. What are these communists bent on? Poisoning the young minds?! Shameful.”

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