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Karnataka: Praveen Nettaru’s murder triggers discontent among BJYM workers, MLA Renukacharya threatens to quit

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Praveen Nettaru’s murder triggers discontent among BJYM workers, MLA Renukacharya threatens to quit

Praveen Nettaru, a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha member, was hacked to death on July 26 by unknown assailants. After this incident, outraged BJP Yuva Morcha members started to furnish mass resignations. Members of the youth wing of the party are distressed after this incident and expressing their concern they took to social media to put up posts threatening mass resignation.

Karnataka BJP MLA Renukacharyra also said that Hindus are not safe despite there being a BJP regime and he has also threatened of tendering his resignation from the MLA post if the Hindus in the state are not protected.

Protests emerge after Praveen Nettaru’s murder

There is a massive protest in southern parts of Karnataka after Praveen Nettaru’s murder. Protests have broken out in Bellare and Sullia, and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has called for a bandh. Hundreds of people escorted Praveen Nettaru’s dead body as it was taken to his home on July 27 in the morning. The deputy commissioner of police, Mangaluru, remarked that the situation is being thoroughly probed. He said, “I spoke to the family regarding the autopsy and the funeral. We will forward the family’s requests to the government.”

According to police, 15 persons have been held for interrogation, and six teams have been formed to find the murderers. Three squads have been sent to Hassan, Madikeri, and the adjacent state of Kerala. Hindu activists and BJP workers surrounded BJP state party president Nalin Kumar Kateel’s car and heckled him as they protested Praveen Nettaru’s murder, demanding answers from senior party leaders.

Both the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada have seen an increase in the number of security officers deployed in an effort to prevent any potential law and order concerns. On July 27, most of the local businesses, including restaurants and retail outlets, remained closed. Several schools opted to close for the day given the difficult situation in the area.

On 26th July 2022, BJYM member Praveen Nettaru was hacked to death by unknown attackers. As per reports, the killers came on a bike in Bellari, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, in the late evening and attacked Nettaru with sharp weapons. Nettaru, who ran a poultry business, was returning home when the attack happened. The assailants escaped after the attack. Nettaru was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be saved.

NDTV had established itself by using and selling tapes and equipment stolen from Doordarshan: Reveals senior journalist at Doordashan

OpIndia Staff
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NDTV had established itself by using and selling tapes and equipment stolen from Doordarshan: Reveals senior journalist at Doordashan

A senior Doordarshan journalist has made sensational allegations against controversial news channel NDTV, saying that it had stolen tapes and equipment from Doordarshan during its initial days. Ashok Srivastav, consulting editor and senior anchor in Doordarshan, has made this explosive revelation during a panel discussion, the video of which went viral on Twitter today.

Ashok Srivastav said this during a panel discussion on the YouTube channel India Speaks Daily sometime in the past. A clip from the discussion containing the comments on NDTV were shared on Twitter by users.

Ashok Srivastava said that NDTV had stolen Doordarshan tapes and equipment to make a profit and to establish itself. He said that while NDTV used footage from tapes stolen from the public broadcaster, it had sold equipment stolen from Doordarshan. During that time, Bhaskar Ghosh had actively helped NDTV in doing so.

Ashok Shrivastava said, “NDTV channel is created and established by stealing Doordarshan tapes, stealing Doordarshan footage, selling that footage, and by selling the equipment that belonged to Doordarshan. Bhaskar Ghosh was the Director General of Doordarshan at that time and he is the father of Sagarika Ghosh. At that time, the government gave public money to uplift this channel.”

It is worth noting that NDTV is known for its anti-BJP and anti-Hindu agenda. NDTV is often accused of partial reporting siding with anti-BJP parties. In January 2021, NDTV promoters Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy were instructed to deposit 50 percent of the illegally earned money. The direction was issued by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).

In November 2020, SEBI found Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, the promoters of the controversial media network NDTV, guilty of taking undue advantage of insider trading. Subsequently, as a penalty for the financial offense, SEBI barred them from trading in the securities market for two years. The duo was also asked to return Rs 16.97 crore earned illegally through insider trading 12 years ago.

SEBI had found that Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy traded shares of the company while holding positions in New Delhi Television Limited where they had access to sensitive information about the price. Apart from Pranay Roy and Radhika Roy, former NDTV CEO Vikramaditya Chandra, senior consultant Ishwari Prasad Bajpai, and group CFO Sourav Banerjee were also found guilty of insider trading.

As per the investigation conducted by SEBI, they violated insider trading regulations (PIT). He was accused of possessing unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) during 2007-2008, which deals with the restructuring of New India Television Ltd. SEBI had taken this step after examining the trading in the shares of the company from September 2006 to June 2008.

As ‘liberals’ have a meltdown over flower petals on Kanwariyas, here is how politicians attended govts held Iftar parties

OpIndia Staff
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As ‘liberals’ have a meltdown over flower petals on Kanwariyas, here is how politicians attended govts held Iftar parties

Kanwar Yatra is happening this year with full enthusiasm after a gap of two years. Owning to Covid-19, Kanwar Yatra was suspended by the authorities to ensure the virus was contained. However, this year’s situation is under control, and Shiv Bhakts walked hundreds of miles to collect water from the River Ganga to do Jal Abhishek of Bhagwan Shiv at one of the Jyotirlingams.

The state administrations in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are equally enthusiastic about the festival, and the UP government showered rose petals on Kanwariyas too. Police officials happily participated in the grand festival to celebrate the God of destruction, Bhagwan Shiv.

However, the sight of the state government facilitating the Kanwar Yatra did not go well with the liberal section as they criticized the government for “spending money on rose petals”. Left-leaning ‘liberals’, including Barkha Dutt, Anusha Sood, Assadudin Owaisi and many others objected to the use of state machinery or government funds to shower rose petals on the pilgrims.

AIMIM leader Assasudin Owaisi is visibly angry over the idea of showing flowers on Kanwariyas. Alleging discrimination against Muslims, he said, “You are using tax payers money for showering flowers on Kanwariyas. POlice officers are massaging their feet. If someone offers namaz for few minutes public policy is getting disturbed. I want to tell BJP to practice equality among all communities. If it is ‘sabka sath sabka vikas’ why we are not showered with flowered but out houses are demolished using buldozers.”

Interestingly, these liberals never raised a question when crores of rupees were spent on Haj subsidy or when leaders, political parties and even Rashtrapati Bhawan organized iftar parties. There have been countless visuals and reports of these leaders attending and enjoying iftar parties for decades, but no one dared to say a single word against the practice. Police officers taking ‘chaddar’ to Mazar or serving food in iftar parties do not draw ire from the liberals.

First, let’s talk about the famous “journalist” Barkha Dutt. In a tweet, she wrote, “How is it ok for state officials to shower petals on Kanwariyas but object to namaz in public spaces? I am not a fan of religion spilling over onto shared common public spaces, but this is brazenly partisan.”

Source: Twitter

Now, if you go back 13 years, Barkha Dutt had informed his followers on Twitter that she had attended the iftar party by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In September 2019, she wrote, “Quiet day. Friday, Saturday non anchoring days for me. Attended PM iftar, where was told that the China story exaggerated vastly by media.”

Source: Twitter

There is photographic and videographic evidence of leaders and political parties holding iftars with large gatherings. In 2018, then-Congress President Rahul Gandhi hosted an iftar party. It was held at Taj Palace Hotel in Delhi. In 2015, then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh organized an iftar party that was attended by several leaders and celebrities, including Sonia Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Javed Akhtar, and Shabana Azmi, then-High Commissioner to Pakistan Salman Bashir, LK Advani, Sheila Dixit, Mulayam Singh Yadav, and others.

Source: News 18

In June 2016, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attended an iftar party.

In the same month, the Samajwadi Party chief and former CM of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav also attended the iftar party at 5, Kalidas.

Congress party organized iftar after a gap of three years at that time. The party was attended by the likes of Sonia Gandhi, former President Pranab Mukherjee, former President Pratibha Patil, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Vice President Hamid Ansari, Sitaram Yechury, Satish Chandra Misra, Dinesh Trivedi, Kanimozhi, Sharad Yadav, Danish Ali, Hemant Soren, DP Tripathy, Manoj Jha, Badruddin Ajman, Mehrajuddin and others.

Notably, Congress’s decision to organize iftar came at a time when then-President of India Ram Nath Kovind had decided to go away with all religious functions at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, including Diwali, Christmas and, of course, iftar. Before former President Kovind, former President APJ Abdul Kalam also stopped the tradition of celebrating iftar at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Before former President Kovind took charge, former President Pranab Mukherjee had organized an iftar party marking it as the last iftar at the President’s house.

In 2019, Trinamool Congress chief and Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee attended an iftar party organized by the Municipal Corporation of Kolkata. Notably, she attended that particular party days after terming Hindus chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in her state as criminals. Announcing about going for iftar, Banerjee had said, “I appease Muslims, no? I will go there a hundred times. If a cow gives milk, one has to be prepared for its kicks also.”

Akhilesh Yadav also attended an iftar party in April this year. He shared photographs of the event and wrote “Roza, iftar” on his Twitter account. He had attended multiple iftar parties during that month.

In April 2022, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar attended the iftar organized by Lalu Prasad’s RJD. In return, RJD’s Tejaswi Yadav attended an iftar organized by Nitish Kumar.

Source: HT

Not only leaders, but there have also been several instances where Police were seen attending iftar parties. In May this year, video has emerged from Maharashtra where Police officers served food to iftar party attendees including chindren.

Kanwar Yatra generating revenue for local vendors

After the controversy of government money being spent on Kanwariyas erupted, OpIndia met Police officers, Kanwariyas and shopkeepers who have shops on the Yatra route. It was revealed that Kanwariya Yatra had generated business worth crores for the shopkeepers. The flowers used for showering were bought from poor flower sellers. Fruit sellers earned good money as those who served fruits to Kanwariyas brought them from local vendors. From juice sellers to tea vendors, food stalls to small-scale cloth shops, everyone earned because of the Yatra.

Hyderabad: Four out of five minors accused of gang-raping 16-year-old granted bail, prime accused Saduddin Malik remains in the jail

OpIndia Staff
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Hyderabad: Four out of five minors accused of gang-raping 16-year-old granted bail, prime accused Saduddin Malik remains in the jail

On Tuesday, four out of the five minors who were arrested in early June for gang-raping a 16-year-old girl kidnapped from a Hyderabad pub were granted bail by the Nampally criminal court complex’s juvenile justice board. The Board however denied the bail plea of the fifth juvenile because his bail petition was pending before the High Court.

According to the reports, the fifth juvenile is the son of a law-maker who was involved in a serious crime against a 16-year-old girl in Hyderabad. The Court also rejected to grant bail to Saduddin Malik who is the prime accused in the case. The five youngsters had filed separate bail requests with the juvenile board twice in June, but they both had been denied. On Tuesday, however, the four were granted bail on the provision of a Rs 5,000 surety.

The Nampally criminal court complex’s juvenile justice board while granting the bail ordered the four to cooperate with the investigators and to appear in court whenever they are summoned. Saduddin Malik, the prime accused in the case was arrested by the Police on June 3 and was housed in the Chanchalguda jail while the five other minor accused were put in the custody of the juvenile court.

On 28th May 2022, a 17-year-old minor girl had gone to attend a party at the Amnesia and Insomnia Pub in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. The party was hosted by two of her friends. Some other boys also had met her in the same pub, from where she was taken in a Mercedes car and allegedly gang-raped by the accused. The Mercedes car in which the girl left the pub belongs to a TRS leader and an Innova car in which the crime took place belonged to a Waqf Board functionary.

It may be recalled that the Hyderabad police had on June 9, said that they will be pushing for the under-18 accused to be tried as adults so that they do not get lighter punishment on account of being juveniles. However, the four were granted bail on July 27. Earlier reports had emerged about how politically influential families of the five accused were using their political clout and influence to pressurize the victim’s family to drop charges against the accused.

Earlier, the Hyderabad police while investigating the case had confirmed that the all accused had clinically planned the entire crime. They were carrying condoms and even used them while raping the 17-year-old girl in a moving car on the night of May 28. “They even had condoms on them and used protection while committing the offense. We are trying to ascertain where they got the condoms from,” the Police official had said.

In the stated case, all the accused minors are between the ages of 16 and 18, with one of them, the son of an AIMIM MLA, just a month short of becoming 18. The police had charged the accused under sections 376-D (gang rape), 323 (causing harm), and 376 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code. A second charge was filed under the Information Technology Act for recording the rape and distributing the images and video.

Three murders, four brutal assaults and death threats: How radical Islamists have been attacking Hindus who have supported Nupur Sharma

OpIndia Staff
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Three murders, four brutal assaults and death threats: How radical Islamists have been attacking Hindus who have supported Nupur Sharma

Former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s alleged ‘blasphemous’ remark about Prophet Muhammad on May 26 sparked outrage amongst Islamists not just in India but around the world. Her decision to merely quote an excerpt from the Islamic Hadith during a TV show proved catastrophic for her political career and mental peace after AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair dog-whistled about her comments to Islamists.

This set off a series of incidents that culminated into a constant barrage of threats at Sharma and attacks on those who dared to speak out in her support, many of which turned out to be extremely brutal.

In the last few months, rabid Islamists, who have been using Nupur Sharma just as an excuse to show muscle power and challenge state forces, have brutally executed, attacked and threatened a number of people for voicing their support for the former BJP leader on social media.

Engineering student in Bhopal found dead on railway tracks a day after his father received ‘Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek saza, sar tan sey judaa’ message

Only yesterday (July 26), the mysterious death of an engineering student from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh came to light. Nishank Rathore, a third-year college student, was found dead on the railway tracks near Obaidullaganj town in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh on Monday. Before his death, his father had received a message that read, “Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek saza, sar tan sey judaa.”

Suleman attacks Mukesh Tiwari for supporting Nupur Sharma on social media

On July 23, a man identified as Mukesh Tiwari was beaten up by one Mohammad Suleman for alleged posts and comments in favour of former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma in Baikunthpur Police Station Area of Rewa, Madhya Pradesh.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Despite the suspension of Sharma and an apology from her for the alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed, the Islamists have been unsparing toward those who have dared to support her.

Islamists attack Bajrang Dal activist for supporting Nupur Sharma

On July 20, a Bajrang Dal activist identified as Ayush Jadam from Agar, Madhya Pradesh, was allegedly attacked by Islamists for supporting the former spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Nupur Sharma. As per reports, Ayush was travelling on Ujjain Road when a group of 10-12 people attacked him with sharp weapons.

In a statement, Ayush said that during the attack, the Islamists threatened to behead him for supporting Nupur Sharma. Ayush added that he suspected someone was following him for some days but did not pay much attention to it.

Rajasthan Police arrest five over death threats to man for supporting the ex-BJP leader

On July 16, Bhilwara Police in Rajasthan arrested five people for giving death threats to a man identified as Ayush Soni. As per reports, he was receiving ‘sar tan se juda’ threats after he allegedly shared a social media post supporting Nupur Sharma. He had shared the post on WhatsApp, after which he received these threats.

When Hindu organizations came to know about the death threats given to Soni, they demanded quick and strict action. Protests and bandh were called by the Hindu organizations in Bhilwara. Later on Saturday, the Police arrested five people for threatening Soni, and security was provided to his family.

Ankit Kumar Jha was stabbed for watching a video of Nupur Sharma

Prior to the above incident, a 23-year-old man named Ankit Kumar Jha was stabbed multiple times for watching a video of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on social media. The incident took place in the Sitamarhi district in the Tirhut Division of Bihar on July 15.

As per reports, Jha was watching the video of his own social media status about Nupur Sharma on his mobile which drew the ire of the Islamists, who then attacked him with a knife at least 6 times, leaving him critically injured.

A complaint was filed by the victim’s family at the Nanpur police station against the four accused, namely, Mohammed Bilal, Mohammed Nihal, Gulab Rabanni (alias Gora) and Hilal. Two of the accused had been arrested and sent to judicial custody.

Young businessman receives death threats for supporting Nupur Sharma

Death threats to people supporting Nupur Sharma on social media still continue. A case appeared in the Umra area of Surat city in Gujarat on July 15, where a young businessman received death threats for supporting Nupur Sharma on social media. An FIR was registered in the Umra police station, and the police arrested three persons in the case. 

The complainant youth runs an amusement park in the city. A picture of former Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma was uploaded on the Instagram page of the park. After this, the youth received death threats from seven persons. Initially, the youth ignored these threats but as the threats continued, he contacted the police station and told the officials about the threats. The police initiated the procedure to file an FIR and arrested three youths.

The arrested accused were identified as Mohammad Ayan Atashbajiwala, Rashid Bhura, and a woman named Aliya Mohammad.

Lawyer in Gujarat receives death threats from Islamists after he used the image of Nupur Sharma as WhatsApp status for 3 minutes

Yet another incident where Islamists exhibited extreme intolerance was when one Ahmedabad-based lawyer received threats for life after he used an image of Nupur Sharma as his WhatsApp status picture for just three minutes. The incident was reported on July 6.

The 32-year-old lawyer Krupal Raval had uploaded Nupur Sharma’s image as his WhatsApp status in last month but had removed it in just three minutes. But even in that short duration, Islamists took note of it. Raval said that soon after he had removed the status, he received threats for ‘supporting’ Nupur Sharma.

Around two hours after he had removed the image, he received a message on WhatsApp from a person who abused him using derogatory language and asked him why he was supporting Nupur Sharma. Krupal replied back asking for the person’s identity, but then blocked the number.

A few hours later, he received a call on his phone from an unidentified person, who threatened to kill him for supporting Nupur Sharma.

Hindu boy brutally assaulted by a Muslim mob for sharing social media post in support of Nupur Sharma

Islamists have been unrelenting toward all those Hindus who have voiced their support for the ex-BJP leader. On July 5, a frenzied Muslim mob in Arrah, Bihar, attacked a Hindu boy for posting a social media post in support of the former BJP leader.

Deepak, the victim, had shared a post on Facebook in support of Nupur Sharma that drew the ire of one Islamist named Raees, who responded to the social media post with indecent remarks. The matter escalated in the evening when the war of the words spilt onto the streets in the form of a fierce fistfight between Raees and Deepak, following which Raees brought 20 to 30 men to beat Deepak up. Reportedly, the Islamists also vandalised the tea shop owned by one Sonu Kumar Singh.

The assault against the Hindu man comes close on the heels of fatal attacks against Udaipur’s Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Kolhe—two Hindu men killed for extending support to former BJP leader Nupur Sharma over her remarks on Prophet Muhammad, despite the fact that whatever Sharma told during a TV debate is corroborated by Islamic hadiths and many scholars.

Umesh Kohle was brutally hacked to death by Islamists for sharing a social media post supporting Nupur Sharma

On the night of 22nd June 2022, Chemist Umesh Kolhe was killed by some Islamists in Amravati of Maharashtra for allegedly sharing a social media post supporting former Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma.  Dr Yusuf Khan, Kolhe’s close friend, shared his social media post with another group called Rahebariya and informed his friends Sheikh Irrfan and others, and created hatred in their minds for Umesh Kolhe, resulting in the attack that led to his death.

Udaipur Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal beheaded in broad daylight

On June 28, a Hindu man named Kanhaiya Lal was brutally murdered in Udaipur, Rajasthan, over an alleged post in support of Nupur Sharma.

His neighbour Nazim filed a complaint against Kanhaiya Lal, following which he was arrested. Nazim also leaked Kanhaiya Lal’s number, photograph, and address to his community groups. After being released on bail, he continued to receive threats.

Gems of Andy Mukherjee: Bloomberg columnist whose hot takes on India should be free for all and put in museum for everyone’s enjoyment 

Jinit Jain
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Gems of Andy Mukherjee: Bloomberg columnist whose hot takes on India should be free for all and put in museum for everyone’s enjoyment 

Two years of coronavirus pandemic followed by Russia’s war on Ukraine not only had the world economy in a tailspin but also left a traumatising scar on the psyche of the people. India has been no exception to the adverse impact the pandemic and Ukraine crisis had on the economy and the population’s mental well-being.

Amidst this gloom and doom, there have been some altruist individuals who have taken it upon themselves to dispel the clouds of despair and entertain and amuse people with their hot takes on matters concerning economy. One such Good Samaritan is Bloomberg columnist Andy Mukherjee, whose opinion gems lately have been a source of amusement and distraction for the pandemic and war-weary population.

Here are some of the gems by Andy Mukherjee:-

Rupay can’t overthrow Visa and Mastercard and therefore, India should internationalise UPI

For instance, in March 2022, Andy Mukherjee wrote a column arguing if India can really overthrow Visa and Mastercard with its homegrown Rupay payment services. In his opinion piece, Andy asserted that Rupay must have an international approach instead of its current domestic-centric focus. However, while contending so, Mukherjee ironically also denigrated Rupay’a foreign tie-ups with Discover and Japan’s JCB International Co., stating that if the goal is to lower nation’s reliance on foreign payment services, partnering with overseas companies is not a good solution. 

Source: Bloomberg

He further added that India should instead internationalise Unified Payments Interface or UPI as it is widely known, rather than pushing its card payments services to the Indian masses. Of course, for Mukherjee, UPI and card payments services are perhaps exact substitutes, which is why he is so confidently pontificating to the Indian government to export UPI instead of developing indigenous card payments services.

While the West guzzles up Russian oil, India should refrain from importing energy at discounted rates from Moscow

In another article titled “India Shouldn’t Fall for Putin’s Rupees-for-Rubles Deal”, dated March 31, 2022, Andy Mukherjee made a case against India buying discounted Russian oil in rupees, contending that such a transactional relationship between Moscow and New Delhi could irk the West.

Source: Bloomberg

Mukherjee was willing to forgo a steep $35 per barrel discount Russia was offering along with millions of rupees saved in dollar conversion just because such a mercantilist setting would annoy the West, which, by the way, did not mind guzzling up gazillions of Russian oil to power houses and factories despite imposing sanctions against Moscow in the wake of its war on Ukraine.

RBI is raising interest rates to recoup its “lost credibility”

In still another article, Mukherjee advised the Central Bank of India to raise rates more to “regain credibility”. The article that was published on 5 May 2022 said the Reserve Bank of India’s unhurried approach toward inflation has caused damage to the Indian economy, and its decision to hike 40 basis point in benchmark rates will be a hard slog. 

Source: Bloomberg

What Andy conveniently glosses over in his article is that aggressive action by the Central Bank could have led to the risk of setting in recessionary pressures, especially on the heels of the coronavirus pandemic that had the businesses and economy in its throes due to sweeping restrictions.

Andy Mukherjee says curbing wheat exports amid disruption from Ukraine war is akin to brewing food crisis in home

Andy Mukherjee, a doomsayer of sorts but rarely gets it accurate, had also penned an article about looming wheat crisis in India. The author claimed that India has flip-flopped on its decision to feed the world with its ban on wheat export as it was facing a “chapati crisis” at home. 

Source: Bloomberg

India’s decision to stop wheat exports, Andy alleged, was due to stunted grain formation caused by climate change that had sent the mercury rising to unprecedented levels. However, the Indian government clarified its stance, stating that it had imposed a ban on wheat to ensure food security amidst the global crisis touched off by the Russian war on Ukraine.

India should buy Chinese made vaccines to fight COVID-19: Andy Mukherjee

However, the best piece of advice Andy Mukherjee had for the government of India was about importing Chinese coronavirus vaccines. In May 2021, barely four months after India kickstarted its inoculation campaign, Mukherjee authored an article declaring that India’s vaccine strategy had failed. Amid delays in vaccine production, Andy suggested the government procure Chinese-made vaccines to inoculate its over 1.4 billion population to blunt the impact of the pandemic and foster immunity to fight future variants of the ever-evolving coronavirus.

Source: Bloomberg

Thankfully, the Indian government did not heed his advice and ploughed on with its vaccination drive, which recently reached the milestone of jabbing 200 crore vaccine doses. On the contrary, China, which boasted its authoritarian system in swift vaccine production and administration, is still reeling under chronic waves of coronavirus pandemic despite having administered its population with Chinese-made vaccines.

At present, when a semblance of normality is beginning to return across the world, China has still imposed sweeping curbs in some parts of the country to tackle the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.

Andy Mukherjee loses hope in India

In November 2020, Andy Mukherjee wrote an opinion piece in Bloomberg titled “Why I am losing hope in India.” The piece apparently led to a global rethink about India and even a headline in Scroll that ran“Why columnist Andy Mukherjee is losing hope in India…” Eventually, the Society of Publishers in Asia decided to give an award to this piece for “Excellence in Global Writing.”

What did Andy Mukherjee get from Indians in return for his grand intellectual contribution? Trolling, mostly.

But there was a fundamental problem with Andy’s piece. It did not jibe with the available data. While he continued to lament over losing hope in India, the data suggested that India was powered by strong growth that kept it on the path to the world’s fastest growth. Real investors continue to invest real money in India. In the most recent quarter of that year, it was $22.5 billion.

As for FDI equity inflows in Apr-Jun 2021, that was up by 168 per cent. Somehow the opinion pandits know something that the real investors just don’t seem to grasp. India’s economy was failing, according to Andy, and it was collapsing even before the pandemic struck.

Two years since the pandemic swept India, the country remains among the fastest growing economy, as per the IMF. But perhaps, the IMF does not have the “divine foresight” that Andy Mukherjee appears to possess, who continues to make apocalyptic predictions for the Indian economy.

Unfortunately, such treasured quality that Andy Mukherjee possesses should not remain restricted behind a paywall, as is the case with his pieces on the Bloomberg website. In the interest of humanity, Bloomberg should grant free access to Andy Mukherjee’s column, whose opinion pieces should perhaps be preserved in a museum for not just public consumption for the current generation but for posterity as well. After all, there are few economic analysts and geopolitical observers who have been as consistent in being terribly wrong as Andy Mukherjee has been.

To borrow a quote from George Orwell and modify it to pay tribute to Andy Mukherjee’s invaluable contribution, one can say “In the times of universal distress, writing amusing pieces is a revolutionary act”, and there should not be any restriction to access revolutionary acts.

VHP announces Gharwapsi campaign for those whose ancestors were Hindus: Aims to connect 5 lakh people against love jihad and forced conversions

OpIndia Staff
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VHP announces Gharwapsi campaign for those whose ancestors were Hindus: Aims to connect 5 lakh people against love jihad and forced conversions

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) announced a Gharwapsi campaign for those people whose ancestors were Hindus. The decision was taken in a two-day meeting organized in Prayagraj. It was decided in the meeting that the organization would connect with the people who have left Hinduism and would try to reawaken the faith in Hinduism in their minds. VHP will run a Gharwapsi campaign for these people.

In this meeting, the VHP also decided to convey its activities to every household in order to stop forced conversions. Champat Rai, the vice-president of VHP, said that attacks on Hinduism are increasing every day. Therefore, a Hitchintak Abhiyan (Wellwishers Campaign) will be carried out in the 19 districts of the Kashi region and we will connect 5 lakh people with our organization. This campaign will run from 6th November 2022 to 20th November 2022.

The issue of love jihad was also discussed in this meeting along with forced conversions. In this meeting, Champat Rai said, “VHP is continuously trying to connect the Hindus. Hindus are continuously attacked. Incidents of love jihad are increasing. Huge inducements are offered to people getting converted. We should come ahead to stop all this.”

This two-day meeting of the VHP was organized on 23rd and 24th July 2022 in the RD College of Prayagraj. In this meeting, Champat Rai also told about the other activities of the organization. He told that the organization is about to complete its 60 years and many programs will be organized to celebrate this occasion.

Champat Rai stated that from 12th August 2022 to 16th August 2022, the organization will organize the foundation day program with the intent of ensuring the integrity of the undivided nation. From 17th August to 24th August 2022, there will be various programs in every locality of the Kashi region. The organization will also hold programs on various occasions like Durga Ashtami and Geeta Jayanti.

As most Monkeypox cases remain confined to gay men, WHO warns against stigmatisation, says it can spread to general population

OpIndia Staff
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As most Monkeypox cases remain confined to gay men, WHO warns against stigmatisation, says it can spread to general population

As World Health Organisation designated Monkeypox as Global Health Emergency, it has emerged that the disease is most prevalent among gay men. While initial reports suggested that the virus can be transmitted to humans through a person, animal, or any material which is already infected by the virus, WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stated that the disease has only been reported in men who have sex with other men, particularly those who have multiple sexual partners.

While declaring the disease as global health emergency, Dr. Tedros had said. “For the moment this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners. That means that this is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups.”

Concerning the communities further who have sex with men, Dr. Ghebreyesus directed the affected countries to work for the health and dignity of the affected communities. “It’s therefore essential that all countries work closely with communities of men who have sex with men, to design and deliver effective information and services, and to adopt measures that protect the health, human rights, and dignity of affected communities”, he said.

He also said that the stigma and discrimination could be as dangerous as any virus. So far, about 16,000 monkeypox cases from over 75 countries have been reported. However, reports mention that it is not clear yet if Monkeypox is just a sexually transmitted illness. The disease reportedly is said to spread through close contact, including kissing, caressing, oral, and penetrative vaginal or anal intercourse with an already affected partner. But it is also not clear yet if an asymptomatic person can spread the virus.

Statistics show that overwhelming majority of people infected with Monkeypox virus are men men who have sex with men. For example, a study by UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that out of 152 patients interviewed, 151 of them identified themselves as identified as gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). Similarly, among 336 confirmed cases in the UK till June 6, 311 were male and only 3 were female, while gender information was not available for the rest.

According to the WHO, 99% of confirmed cases in United Kingdom, the United States, Canada have been detected among gay men, especially who have multiple partners.

With the increasing information that the disease is mostly confined to gay and bisexual men, concerns about stigmatisation have also emerged. Warning against associating the disease with the GBMSM community only, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “Stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus.”

Moreover, the WHO has clarified that while the disease spreads among gay men, that is not the only mode of transmission, and it is not limited to gay men, saying that is ‘not the case everywhere’. The UN health agency said that while cases have so far been concentrated primarily within gay and bisexual communities, there is little evidence to suggest that the disease will remain confined to those groups. WHO officials also expressed alarm about the stigma and discrimination surrounding monkeypox by associating with the gay and bisexual community.

At a news conference in Geneva, Dr Rosamund Lewis, WHO Technical Lead on Monkeypox, said that such stigma around Monkeypox should be avoided since it would compromise the fight against the illness. Dr. Catherine Smallwood, senior emergency officer at the WHO, said that there is no certainty that the disease will remain confined to these specific groups only. “At the moment, cases continue to be reported among men who have sex with men for the most part, but we should not expect that to remain as such,” she said. Smallwood added that it is not uncommon for a virus outbreak to start in one particular group or setting before spreading more widely in the general population.

Monkeypox, a rare tropical illness transmitted by wild creatures, has spread suddenly all over the world in the last two months, raising worries about what it is and how harmful it might be. While there have been hundreds of confirmed cases in the UK, infections have been recorded in many countries outside of Africa, including the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and India.

India at present houses five such patients one from Delhi and Telangana each and three from the state of Kerala. The newly identified suspect is a 40-year-old man from Indiranagar Colony, Kamareddy district who showed monkeypox symptoms after he returned from Kuwait on July 6. The three cases reported from Kerala all in their thirties also showed symptoms after they returned from UAE. However, the one from Delhi who tested positive for the disease has no travel history. The recent case reported on Sunday has alarmed the country of the newly arrived zoonotic disease which belongs to the same family of viruses that causes smallpox.

How does the disease spread

The virus spreads mostly through direct or indirect contact with the afflicted patient’s body. Scientists have yet to determine if it is solely transmitted through intercourse. News agency ANI talked to Dr. Dhiren Gupta, a senior consultant at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital to know the truth about the spread. He agreed with the statement of the WHO chief and added that hugging and massages, use of sex toys as well as prolonged face-to-face contact could also lead to contraction of the virus.

Meanwhile, another dermatologist Dr. Deepali Bharadwaj suggested that people needed to take care amid the spread. “Monkeypox can spread by sex, the touch of all sorts hence strict isolation is the key. Use of face masks, hand hygiene, and social distancing might help”, she added.

Symptoms of Monkey pox

Fever, severe headache, back pain, myalgia (muscle pains), severe asthenia (lack of energy), and lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph nodes) are all symptoms of the virus. Reports mention that these signs and symptoms might linger for up to five days.

The skin eruption generally develops one to three days after the fever appears. The rashes are more noticeable on the face and limbs. The rashes afflict the face in 95% of monkeypox cases, while the palms of the hands and soles of the feet are affected in 75% of cases. The rash might also progress from macules or flat-based lesions to papules or slightly elevated firm lesions. It then progresses to vesicles or lesions with clear fluid, followed by pustules or lesions with yellowish fluid. The rash eventually heals and falls off.

Steps taken by Indian government to curb the spread

In a move to take major steps to the prevention of the spread in India, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has directed the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the ICMR to keep a close watch and monitor the situation. The Union Health Ministry has also directed airport and port health officers to be vigilant. They have been instructed to isolate and send suspected samples to the National Institute of Virology of any sick passenger with a travel history to infected countries.

While Ukraine gets ravaged, Zelenskyy and his wife set up ‘wartime’ theme for Vogue photoshoot, now the PR stunt is drawing ire

OpIndia Staff
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While Ukraine gets ravaged, Zelenskyy and his wife set up ‘wartime’ theme for Vogue photoshoot, now the PR stunt is drawing ire

On July 26, fashion magazine Vogue published an article on Olena Zelenska, wife of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, where they portrayed her as a brave woman. The article talked in length about her ‘struggle’ during the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia and how she always stayed behind the scene. While such articles are often well-received, this particular one drew ire. The reason behind the outrage is the photoshoot that Vogue did for the article.

There were a total of five photographs published by Vogue with the article. All photographs were staged and well-lit to make Zelenska look like a powerful woman who stood by her husband during difficult times. However, netizens did not take it well and criticized the way the photographs were shot. Vogue posted videos of the photoshoot, which showed how it was well planned and how the scenes where the photos were taken were staged.

In the video posted by Vogue on Instagram, the President and the first lady of Ukraine were seen discussing with the Vogue photographer about the photoshoot, followed by getting photographs clicked. From the cover photograph to the couple’s shot, every photograph seems to have been well thought out, well planned and perfectly lit as per the requirements of the magazine. President Zelenskyy was seen involved in a discussion with the photographer about the shots. In the 18-second video, different locations were shown to portray the first lady as strong support for the President during war times.

Netizens criticized the photoshoot

Writer and producer David Angelo said, “Zelensky is such a fraud. I swear to god, what are we doing here? I’m not risking WWIII for a Vogue shoot.” He added, “We paid like 90 billion dollars so they could air drop Annie Leibovitz into Kyiv.” Annie Leibovitz is a celebrated American photographer famous for dramatic celebrity portraits. Declared a ‘living legend’ by the Library of Congress, Leibovitz took the photographs of Olena Zelenska and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Republican leader from California David Giglio said, “I’m confused. The Ukrainian people are stuck fighting a war that they cannot possibly win, and instead of working towards a life-saving solution Zelensky has time for photo shoots with Vogue. This is the “world-class” leader the media was telling us about??”

Legal correspondent for The Federalist Margot Cleveland said, “People are criticizing the Zelensky Vogue wartime glamour shoot as narcissistic, in poor taste, and wrongly timed but what they forget is that it’s also tone deaf and elitist.”

Rebel News Australia Chief Avi Yemini said, “I respected Zelensky at the beginning of the war when we were flooded with photos of the Ukrainian President on the frontline in tactical gear. Turned out the photos were faked. An act like the man himself. Now posing for Vogue. All to grift billions from western taxpayers.”

Presenter Max said, “No shade, but I find the First Lady #olenaZelenska and President #Zelensky doing a shoot with #Vogue odd .. I know it’s about how she is coping and being strong. This pic just looks so posey and maybe not the right vibe.”

Why do people find the photoshoot problematic?

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has been going on for over five months. Since the war started, President Zelenskyy has appealed the citizens to take up arms and join the army to fight Russia. Weapons were provided to the civilians for the same. Many soldiers and civilians have died during the ongoing war.

Notably, he has refused to negotiate with Russia even though, despite endless help from the western countries, Ukraine has lost a major share of the land to Russian troops. More and more weapons are being provided to Ukraine for the war by the USA and other NATO countries, but it has not done any good for the country so far.

Amidst all the pain and suffering during the war, Zelenskyy apparently thought that this was the best time to improve his image by doing a well-planned photo shoot for a fashion magazine. Countries like the United States have provided aid in the form of weapons and more. Russia is facing sanctions from the Western countries, but overall the situation has not shown any signs that go in favour of Ukraine. Still, the President of a war-hit country found time to do a photo shoot for a fashion magazine that looked odd and tasteless to netizens.

The photographs will be used in the October 2022 issue of the magazine.

SC upholds ED’s power to make arrests, constitutional validity of PMLA: Here is what the petitioners had gone to Court against

OpIndia Staff
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SC upholds ED’s power to make arrests, constitutional validity of PMLA: Here is what the petitioners had gone to Court against

On Wednesday (July 26), the Supreme Court of India upheld the constitutional validity of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and the power of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to arrest, search, seize and attach properties.

As per reports, the matter was heard by a 3-Judge Bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, AM Khanwilkar, and CT Ravikumar. The apex court in its verdict upheld Sections 5, 8, 15, 17 and 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

It further pointed out that ED officials are not ‘police officials’ and thus recording statements of the accused by the central agency is not hit by the fundamental right against self-incrimination.

The Supreme Court also stated that an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), which is essentially an internal document of the central agency, cannot be equated with a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the police.

As such, provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which are applicable to an FIR, will not affect the filing of ECIR. The Court also held that supplying ECIR was not mandatory although Special courts can seek for it to determine whether continued imprisonment of an accused is essential to the case.

In a major relief to the Union government, the Judges upheld the competence of the Parliament to amend the provision of ‘twin conditions for bail’ that is enshrined in Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

This was despite the fact that the twin conditions were struck down by the apex court in the Nikesh Tarachand Shah vs Union Of India case of 2017. It must be mentioned that the Supreme Court had earlier reserved the judgment in the case on March 15, 2022.

Currently, the Enforcement Directorate is probing matters involving the unlawful recruitment of non-teaching personnel, teaching staff, and primary school teachers in West Bengal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The petition against PMLA and ED

During the hearing, the petitioners had argued that the offence of “money laundering” under Section 3 is applicable only if the property is projected as untainted property. The SC dismissed it, asserting that the ‘and’ in Section 3 has to be read as ‘or’ and stated that the section has a wider reach, and covers every activity involved in the process of money laundering, not just the final act. The section also says that possessing the proceeds of the crime can also be termed as money laundering.

The case was before the courts as Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v Union of India, later, 240 other petitions against the PMLA and ED’s powers were also clubbed in the case. The petitioners in the case had questioned the ED’s powers to arrest, the need for a magistrate’s permission, and had argued that the provisions under PMLA violate the fundamental rights of a person by placing the burden of proof on the accused.

The petitioners had also asked the SC if the act of money laundering can be considered a standalone offence and whether it is constitutional to add actions that took place prior to the addition of offences under the PMLA act. They have also questioned the validity of provisions under PMLA that allow authorities to attach properties, saying that it is a violation of rights to property under Article 300A.

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