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Maharashtra: Center to audit works of State Environment Ministry during Aaditya Thackeray’s tenure

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Center to audit works of State Environment Ministry during Aaditya Thackeray’s tenure

The Central Government has ordered an audit of the work done by the Maharashtra Environment Ministry for the period former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya Thackeray was Environment Minister. Reports suggest that since the removal of Uddhav Thackeray from the post of CM, the audit is going to be the biggest blow for the Thackeray fraction of Shiv Sena.

All the projects that were sanctioned during the period of 2.5 years of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government will be reviewed during the audit. Bharatiya Janata Party has always alleged that more funds were allocated for the projects under Environment Ministry than required. Reports suggest that these allegations will also be looked into during the audit.

As per a Zee News report, Aaditya allegedly used more funds than allocated in his constituency. It will be looked into if he has misused his position as a minister to use additional funds.

Eknath Shinde fraction has more MLAs and MPs

It is notable that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s fraction of Shiv Sena has more MLAs and MPs in his support compared to that of Uddhav Thackeray’s fraction. Because of the lower number of MLAs in support, Thackeray had to resign from the post of CM. After that, Shinde formed a government in Maharashtra with BJP’s support. He has also staked claim on the election symbol of Shiv Sena and applied for the same to the Election Commission.

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

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

Nishank Rathore, a third-year college student, was found dead on the railway tracks near Obaidullaganj town in 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.”

Uma Shankar Rathore, the father of the victim Nishank Rathore, received the message at 5.44 pm on Sunday evening. The message read, “Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek saza, sar tan sey judaa”. After reading the message, Uma Shankar tried to trace his son, 20 years old Nishant Rathore, a third-year student at Oriental College in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

However, Nishank was missing from his hostel room, and later, his dead body was recovered from the railway tracks in Obaidullaganj in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh.

Speaking to India Today TV, IG Suri said, “We have traced his movements through CCTV cameras right from the time he left his room in Bhopal. At 5.09 pm he was spotted at a petrol pump and he was not accompanied by anyone. The post-mortem has revealed that he died because of coming before a moving train.”

Multiple murders in the name of “Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek saza, sar tan sey zuda”

India has seen murders in the name of blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed (Nabi) for nearly a century, with Mahashay Rajpal being a notable figure to lose his life. However, these incidents have spiked in recent days after Nupur Sharma’s incident where she commented on Prophet Mohammed.

Since then, we have seen the open beheading of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur in broad daylight, the murder of Umesh Kolhe, and dozens of threats against individuals who supported Nupur Sharma. In all these cases, the threat was the same, “Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek saza, sar tan sey zuda.”

Propaganda outlet Newslaundry makes vulgar references to Anjana Om Kashyap, calls a show anchored by her “Dalla Bol” 

Amit Kelkar
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Propaganda outlet Newslaundry makes vulgar references to Anjana Om Kashyap, calls a show anchored by her “Dalla Bol” 

Newslaundry, a leftist propaganda outlet known for its gutter-level ‘journalism’, recently stooped further lower as it used vulgar remarks to degrade a female news anchor.

In its weekly video series NL Tippani, the propaganda portal, in its bid to ridicule Aaj Tak anchor Anjana Om Kashyap, called the popular news show “Halla Bol” anchored by her as “Dalla Bol”, a denigratory reference aimed at taking potshots at the journalist and undermining her credibility.

Source: YouTube

While Newslaundry fashions itself as a news portal committed to “independent journalism” and a bastion of “liberalism”, it showed no qualms in using objectionable and unseemly language to ridicule a journalist whose views do not jibe with the propaganda peddled by the leftist rag.

The spoof video, which appeared forced and poorly scripted even by Newslaundry’s already appallingly low levels, was squarely intended to mock the Aaj Tak reporter and the Centre for its recent notification over the expungement of certain words in parliament. The parody showed a female actor imitating Anjana Om Kashyap anchoring her show “Halla Bol”, taking digs at her and referring to her as “Dalla”, a pejorative slang that the leftist propagandists use to belittle journalists who do not conform to their worldview. 

Though being factual accuracy is not necessarily a prerequisite in parody videos, some amount of facts adds to the credibility of the videos, especially for an organisation that touts itself as an “independent media organisation”. But since Newslaundry seems least bothered with informing their viewers about the facts of the matter, something as elementary as the distinction between the ban and expungement of unparliamentary words, it persisted with its primary motive of stoking hatred against “unyielding” journalists that refuse to hew to its leftist political outlook. 

It continued to typecast journalists that do not align with its propaganda line as sellouts, not showing restraint in using derogatory language to run them down, including female news anchors. The deplorable attack against Anjana Om Kashyap is yet another instance where Newslaundry has displayed that its commitment to the liberal principles of respecting women is just a sham intended to take the moral high ground and sermonise others while covering up its reality of being a propaganda outlet that sanctions misogyny and vulgarity against ideological rivals.

Besides the expungement of a list of words from parliament, the NL video also sought to mock the journalist over other matters covered by her and her stands on them. But this has been hardly surprising, given that Newslaundry has been attacking conscientious journalists and indulging in hit jobs against those who, unlike them, uphold journalistic principles and dare to undermine their propaganda efforts and expose their political masters. 

Flower petals showered on devotees taking part in Kanwar Yatra, left liberals and Islamists get a major heartburn

OpIndia Staff
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Flower petals showered on devotees taking part in Kanwar Yatra, left liberals and Islamists get a major heartburn

On Monday (July 25), the left-liberal ecosystem in India suffered a major meltdown after flower petals were showered on Kanwariyas (devotees participating in Kanwar Yatra) in Meerut.

In a video shared by news agency ANI, Meerut’s District Magistrate Deepak Meena and Inspector General Praveen Kumar were seen showering flower petals on the Hindu devotees.

A similar video from Sunday (July 24) is also doing the rounds on the internet where the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police are seen showering flowers on Kanwariyas in UP’s Baghpat.

The sight of the Uttar Pradesh government facilitating the Kanwar Yatra smoothly has drawn the ire of the cabal of left liberals. ‘Journalist’ Barkha Dutt tweeted, “How is it ok for state officials to shower petals on Kanwariyas but object to Namaz in public spaces?”

She claimed, “Am not a fan of religion spilling over onto shared common public spaces but this is brazenly partisan.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Barkha Dutt

“Offering namaz in a public place attracts FIRs, intimidation and bullying by bigots & administration alike but a Hindu religious yatra in public places receives showers of flower petals from helicopter rides paid for by public money. The hypocrisy” wrote another ‘journalist’ Anusha Sood.

Screengrab of the tweet by Anusha Ravi Sood

Islamists too did not leave this opportunity to mock Kanwariyas under the pretext of criticising the government.

The Kanwar Yatra of 2022 is extremely special for the Bhagwan Shiva devotees as it is happening with full enthusiasm after a gap of two years. Lakhs of Kanwariyas all over India have been undertaking the arduous journey to collect water from the holy river Ganga and offer it to Lord Mahadev.

However, there have been multiple instances this year where the Yatra has faced hateful attacks. On July 19, an unidentified miscreant threw a piece of meat on Kanwar Yatra in Seelampur, Delhi.

Another incident happened in Meerut on July 22, where Islamists spat on Kanwariyas. Following the incident, Kanwariyas jammed the road and demanded action by the Police.

Reports suggest that the pilgrims were sitting on the side of the road to rest for a while. Two people came on a bike and tried to spit on them. After that, one of them got off the bike and spat on the Kanwariyas.

Moral policing in Kerala: At one place boys and girls thrashed for sitting together on a single bench, at another, bench cut to stop anyone from sitting side by side

OpIndia Staff
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Moral policing in Kerala: At one place boys and girls thrashed for sitting together on a single bench, at another, bench cut to stop anyone from sitting side by side

Several incidents of moral policing have been reported over the week in Kerala. A group of students reportedly underwent moral policing on Friday, July 22, at a bus stop in the Palakkad district. The students, who were a mix of boys and girls attending the Karimba Government Higher Secondary School, were attacked by a group of about 10 to 12 people for sitting close to one another.

The Kalladikode Police Station has received a formal complaint from the students. One person has been detained as a consequence of this. He has been identified as Siddique, a native of Karimba.

The incident happened while the students waited for their homebound bus. The group questioned why boys and girls were sitting together. After the students responded that they had every right to, the mob started attacking the women first and hurling insults at them as they were attacked. Boys who promptly intervened were also thrashed.

The incident comes only days after a similar incident at the College of Engineering in Thiruvananthapuram. In order to supposedly stop boys and girls from sitting together, hoodlums vandalised a steel seat in the bus stop shed and cut the bench into three different chairs.

CET waiting shed
Damaged benches at Thiruvananthpuram bus stop. (Source: ONMANORAMA)

In response, the enraged students shared a picture of students, both male and female, sitting on each other’s laps. The kids said that they had been exposed to sexual comments and stares from residents for sitting together for numerous years.

Students sit in laps of each other. (Source: ONMANORAMA)

Referring to the recent moral policing incident in the district, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in the Palakkad district of Kerala said on Monday that the public must be made aware that every child is an individual with the right to mental and physical growth. M V Mohanan, chairman of CWC Palakkad, also stated that the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) will assist the students with any legal help needed to pursue the issue further.

According to police reports, the suspects have been detained, and they are looking into the possible participation of another individual, said Mohanan. He assured that the CWC will continue to follow up with the police on the matter.

Mumbai-based NGO files complaint against actor Ranveer Singh for ‘hurting women’s sentiments’ after pictures of his nude photoshoot goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai-based NGO files complaint against actor Ranveer Singh for ‘hurting women’s sentiments’ after pictures of his nude photoshoot goes viral

Ever since actor Ranveer Singh dropped his clothes to pose nude for a photoshoot for PAPER magazine, he has been receiving mixed reactions for his bold decision. While Bollywood has applauded the actor for his ‘brave and unapologetic’ decision to go nude, a complaint has been filed against him with Mumbai police for hurting women’s sentiments.

According to reports, the complaint was filed by a Mumbai-based NGO Shyam Mangaram foundation under section 67A of the IT Act along with sections 292, 293, 354 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code for hurting sentiments and insulting the modesty of women. 

“Last week we saw many nude photographs were clicked in such a manner that any male or female will feel ashamed about it”, the complaint says. “These kinds of acts should be opposed strongly, if it is not being opposed then second and third rank actors will also follow the same path for getting cheap publicity which will result in the worst condition,” a part of the complaint read.

It concluded by saying, “As this act of the accused person created shame in the eyes of the women at large and publishing and transmitting sexually explicit material.”

The images from Ranveer’s photo shoot for Paper Magazine were posted online on July 21, Thursday. Just like everything else from Bollywood, the photoshoot was ‘inspired’ by the west. Burt Reynolds’ similar nude picture shoot for Cosmopolitan magazine served as an inspiration for the photo shoot of Ranveer Singh. Soon after, social media users swarmed the comment sections of the images posted by the publication and others on Instagram. The actor posed wearing no clothes in most of the pictures from this latest photoshoot.

On Friday, Ranveer Singh shared the pictures from the Paper Magazine photoshoot on his Instagram handle. As soon as he posted the pictures, Priyanka Chopra, Masaba Gupta, Anurag Kashyap, and many others reacted to it and hailed Ranveer’s bold move.

“The best cover shot this country has seen. Brave and unapologetic,” wrote designer Masaba Gupta. Director Anurag Kashyap wrote, “What is this hotness (fire emojis). Matlab Kya?? Khamkhah ka Pressure”, while designer Manish Malhotra and director Zoya Akhtar dropped fire emojis. Dia Mirza dropped a Lion emoji while Youtube star Lilly Singh wrote, “Major WIN”.

“Adonis,” read actress Huma Qureshi’s comment. VJ Bani also commented, “Siri play ‘Naked as we Come’ by Iron and Wine. Great pictures, ahead of your time friend”.

Other celebrities like Zoya Akhtar, Maheep Kapoor, Aahana Kumra, Manish Malhotra, and Richa Chadha also dropped fire emojis in the comments section of the post.

While many celebs supported the actor, TMC MP and Bengali actress Mimi Chakraborty reacted strongly, questioning if women would have been appreciated if they shared similar pictures.

Meanwhile, the actor told the magazine how he has been naked in some of his performances where the audience can see his soul. “It’s so easy for me to be physically naked, but in some of my performances, I’ve been damn f******g naked. You can see my f******g soul. How naked is that? That’s being actually naked. I can be naked in front of a thousand people, I don’t give a s**t. It’s just that they get uncomfortable.”

TikTok promotes engineering and maths in China, while making youth in other countries addicted to twerking and porn

Anurag
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TikTok promotes engineering and maths in China, while making youth in other countries addicted to twerking and porn

TikTok, a short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is one of the most popular apps across the world. It allows the users to publish short videos on their platform. A lot of content creators have become ‘social media stars’ through this app. However, there is a dark side of this app that, instead of being talked about extensively, gets ignored most of the time.

Fox News journalist and anchor Tucker Carlson recently talked about the content that is being promoted by the app’s algorithm in homeland China and compared it to the content in western countries. Carlson explained how the content differs at an extensive level and shows completely different genres to the users based on the location. It is a well-known fact that TikTok is quite famous for videos that do not make any sense most of the time.

Moreover, there is a lot of content that promotes problematic content, such as twerking, gender-altering therapies, and even teaching children how to hide their “gender identity” from their parents. A report in Daily Mail in December 2021 alleged that TikTok was promoting gender change surgery as something “cool” among the children, and by the time that report was published, such videos were being watched over 26 billion times.

The report talked about a deal signed between TikTok and Stonewall, the controversial lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights charity, to promote such content. Several TikTokers raised funds to change their gender and made it look like something cool that others should try too, and these videos were heavily promoted.

There is a Twitter user who goes by the name of LibsOfTikTok. She regularly shares videos from TikTok of alleged teachers and adults sharing their views about being trans or non-binary or telling the world about their weird pronouns such as “fish”. The flood of such content on TikTok, an immensely popular social media platform among the youth, is a serious problem that needs to be addressed at the earliest.

In January this year, a report in Answers in Genesis talked about how TikTok was enciting youth to identify as transgender.

TikTok in China is different

TikTok runs by the name of Douyin in China. It is owned by the same Chinese company ByteDance. Compared to the content that the users in the West see on TikTok, what it promotes in China is completely on the other side of the spectrum. It is noteworthy that there is a policy in Place in China where government-regulated content can be shown on any platform, and any other content cannot get any desired promotions by the platform.

Keeping that in mind, the majority of the content that Douyin promotes in China is related to technology, architecture, music and similar interests that increase the creativity in the users and help improve their skill set. As no such policy is in place in other countries, TikTok promotes content that can go viral quickly and generates revenue for the company. Also, there are some theories that are often discussed on Reddit that China is intentionally using inappropriate content generated in the West to “corrupt the minds” of the young generation.

‘TikTok is making you dumb’

During a podcast, comedian Andrew Schulz discussed the TikTok algorithm. He talked about how the algorithm promotes useless content in the West but shows extremely useful content in China. He said China does not want applications created by other countries to influence their future generation. Schulz raised the point that the app rewards people in China for creating useful content, for example on architecture, science, or maths. However, in other countries, it promotes content like stupid dances etc.

In a podcast, Crowder and Crew discussed how TikTok was making people dumb. They mentioned different studies that proved that TikTok could manipulate user behaviour and has the potential to take over the user content on any device by bypassing the privacy policies and terms set by Google and Apple.

How does the app influence users?

The basic idea behind TikTok is to promote content that can go viral in an instant and push content creators to create similar content. When TikTok was not banned in India, it was common to see content creators creating similar content if one video of the idea went viral. Generally, it is not possible to go viral by uploading a copied idea. However, it was different on TikTok. Those who uploaded copied ideas of a viral video got their video reaching millions of users quickly.

The more such videos went viral, the more content creators saw it as an easy opportunity to gain traction on the platform. Once users started creating similar content, TikTok started promoting content that they wanted to propagate in a particular area. For example, if they wanted the children of the US to get gender-altering surgery on a mass scale, they would promote content that would promote it as a cool, modern, easy and rewarding step to take. Shockingly, it is happening in the US, and no sane parent has been able to control the menace.

In fact, TikTok influencers have become so important in the US now that at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, US President Joe Biden invited TikTok influencers to the White House and sought their support to push the US agenda online.

From selling a useless product, to changing voting patterns, a platform like TikTok is capable of doing a lot of damage unless the governments come up with a strict policy to counter TikTok’s algorithm.

Rishi Sunak promises to ban all 30 China’s Confucius Institutes in Britain, terms Beijing as the “largest threat” to the UK

OpIndia Staff
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Rishi Sunak promises to ban all 30 China’s Confucius Institutes in Britain, terms Beijing as the “largest threat” to the UK

Rishi Sunak, one of the front-runners in the race to become Britain’s new prime minister, on Monday promised to impose new curbs to deal with an increasingly assertive China. Sunak said if he is elected to the high office, he would ban all 30 Confucious Institutes that are operational in the United Kingdom.

In a string of tweets, Sunak elaborated how he plans to deal with China should he is elected as the Britain’s Prime Minister. He called China and the Chinese Communist Party the “largest threat to Britain and the world’s security and prosperity this century” and listed down measures he plans to take on being elected to the high office.

Sounding alarm over the growing influence of China’s Confucius Institutes that serve to strengthen Beijing’s soft power, Sunak said he would close down all 30 institutes in the United Kingdom—the highest number in the world. 

“Almost all UK government spending on Mandarin language teaching at school is channelled through university-based Confucius Institutes, thereby promoting Chinese soft power,” he tweeted. 

He also promised to forge a new international alliance of free nations to deal with the threat posed by China’s cyber warfare and share best practices in technology security.

Pledging to expand MI5’s reach to provide greater support to British businesses and universities to counter Chinese industrial espionage, Sunak said he will work across government and with security services to build a toolkit to help companies protect their intellectual property.

He also vowed to protect key British assets, which included examination of the need to prevent Chinese acquisitions of crucial companies such as strategically sensitive tech organisations. 

The pledges to tackle the Chinese threat come in the wake of an intense battle over the post of Britain’s Prime Minister. Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are working hard to win over the support of conservative lawmakers to become the next leader to occupy 10 Downing Street.

How Confucius Institutes have served to further nefarious designs of CCP

It is important to note that the Confucius Institutes (CIs) had come under scrutiny of western governments for allegedly infiltrating several institutions to further Chinese propaganda. There are allegations of spying against people associated with Confucius Institutes. 

Several CIs have been shut down in the US and Europe over such concerns. Last year, the US-based Tufts University in the United States decided to shut down the contentious Confucius Institute from its campus.

In September last year, the State Department had written to the governing boards of US universities cautioning them about the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party. US State Secretary Mike Pompeo had said that he was hopeful that dozens of Chinese-government funded Confucius Institute cultural centres on US campuses would be shut down by year-end. The institutes are accused of working to recruit “spies and collaborators”.

The Confucius Institutes now exist in 30 British universities and 150 schools. While they claim to promote Chinese culture and language, the Mail reported that they curb free speech and peddle CCP propaganda. The Confucius International Education Group bought the Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School, a school where Princess Diana studied, in 2015.

Partha Chatterjee greeted with ‘chor chor’ chants outside AIIMS, doctor says he will be discharged today: Some latest developments in WB SSC scam case

OpIndia Staff
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Partha Chatterjee greeted with ‘chor chor’ chants outside AIIMS, doctor says he will be discharged today: Some latest developments in WB SSC scam case

The West Bengal SSC recruitment scam case, in which former minister Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee have been implicated, is witnessing a number of interesting developments.

Partha Chatterjee ‘greeted’ with ‘chor chor’ chants outside AIIMS Bhubneshwar

According to the latest media reports, Partha Chatterjee was ‘greeted’ with ‘chor chor’ chants outside AIIMS Bhubneshwar earlier today. Videos have emerged wherein the crowd gathered outside the hospital can be heard shouting ‘chor chor’ slogans as Partha Chatterjee is being wheeled into AIIMS Bhubneshwar. He had reached the hospital through Air-Ambulance early on Monday, July 25. He was shifted from state-run SSKM Hospital in Kolkata to AIIMS Bhubaneswar, based on an order passed by the Calcutta High Court.

Meanwhile, Dr Ashutosh Biswas, Director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar has given a health update on Partha Chatterjee. He was quoted by ANI as saying, “He (Partha Chatterjee) was having problems because of his chronic illness. We investigated and the report has been submitted to the High Court, there was not much chest pain. He is in stable condition and will be discharged today.”

It may be recalled that a single bench of Justice Bibek Chaudhuri of Calcutta High Court heard the ED petition on 24th July 2022 and ordered that the accused be moved to AIIMS Bhubaneswar by air ambulance. The ED had moved the plea after a local court yesterday had ordered Partha Chatterjee to be admitted to a hospital.

Interestingly, after he was remanded to ED custody for two days in the SSC teacher recruitment scam, he complained of chest pain, and the court allowed him to shift to the SSKM hospital instead of ED custody.

Five properties purchased in Arpita’s name were bought by the TMC minister

In a separate development, during the ED raid, sale deeds of at least half a dozen properties in Arpita Mukherjee’s name were discovered at her home in Kolkata, West Bengal (ED). Out of these, Partha Chatterjee had invested in at least five properties, as per reports. The sale deeds included entertainment enterprises, flats in posh localities and high-rise towers, etc.

Earlier OpIndia reported how the flat from where the massive amount of cash had been recovered by the ED was also owned by Partha Chatterjee. He had ‘gifted’ it to the actor Arpita Mukherjee.

In fact, it had also emerged that the TMC minister owns a luxurious flat in the Naktala neighbourhood of South Kolkata, which is reportedly used to keep his dogs. As per reports, the TMC Minister does not stay there and uses the air-conditioned flat as an exclusive space for his four-legged friends. The veteran politician has 3 pet dogs, which are housed on the 2nd floor of the ‘Siddhi Enclave.’ The air-conditioner is reportedly run 24 hours to keep the dogs cool. Moreover, Partha Chatterjee has also hired 2 caretakers, including a woman, to look after his pets. The flat earlier had four dogs, but one died some time ago, and now there are three dogs.

ED uses RBI’s assistance to transport money and other valuables seized from Arpita Mukherjee

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had reportedly called upon the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regional office in Kolkata to assist it to move the huge sum of cash and valuables seized from Arpita Mukherjee’s home to the agency’s office at the CGO complex at Salt Lake in Kolkata.

Officials from the ED stated that the truck was carrying 20 steel trunks that were meant to carry the valuables seized from Mukherjee’s home. Later, the 15 trunks that were filled with cash and valuables and five empty trunks were transferred to the ED office at the CGO complex in Salt Lake, Kolkata.

As per reports, the central agency had recovered Rs 21.20 cr cash in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000, gold ornaments estimated to be around Rs 90 lakh, foreign currency amounting to around Rs 60 lakh, 20 high-end Apple iPhones, sale deeds of 8 other flats, papers of multiple costly vehicles from the house of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of Partha Chatterjee.

ED arrests Partha Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee in connection with the money laundering aspect of the SSC scam

On July 23, officials of the Enforcement Directorate arrested Partha Chatterjee and later produced him before the Bankshall court. He was sent to judicial custody for a period of 2 days by the court. Arpita Mukherjee also has been arrested after the recovery of just a stash of cash from her flat.

The arrest came a day after the Enforcement Directorate began search operations at various premises linked to the recruitment scam in the West Bengal School Service Commission (WB-SSC) and West Bengal Primary Education Board. Prior to the arrest, Partha Chatterjee was questioned for around 26 hours in connection with the SSC scam case. The Enforcement Directorate also raided 13 locations linked to the TMC Minister.

I would go to any extent for my country; ready to compete with Laal Singh Chadha with my next: Producer of ‘The Kashmir Files’ in an exclusive interview with OpIndia

अनुपम कुमार सिंह
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I would go to any extent for my country; ready to compete with Laal Singh Chadha with my next: Producer of ‘The Kashmir Files’ in an exclusive interview with OpIndia

‘The Kashmir Files’ has been the biggest Hindi blockbuster of the year. Not just box office success, the film got critical acclaim as well as it kept destroying records in cinemas. While The Kashmir Files became a raging topic of discussion across every Indian household, the man who produced the film stayed away from the limelight. Abhishek Agarwal, who believed in the concept of the film and put his money behind the project, pretty much stayed out of the media focus even as the film kept touching record highs.

With two more highly ambitious projects in “Karthikeya 2” and “Tiger Nageswara Rao” coming up from Abhishek Agarwal, OpIndia spoke to him about his upcoming projects, as well as ‘The Kashmir Files’ and its phenomenal success. Below is the transcript from the interview.

Question – How has your life as a film producer changed after the massive success of ‘The Kashmir Files’? Can you please share your experience?

Answer – More than as a producer, it gives me immense satisfaction as an individual. Every night I go to bed with happiness that I have done something for the country and society by showing the truth and pain of our brothers in Kashmir. My family is now the whole of India. I would be supporting anything which is good for the nation. I would be going to any extent for my country, my religion, and my culture.

Q – You are producing ‘The Delhi Files’ along with Vivek Agnihotri. What is the film about and how is it different from ‘The Kashmir Files’?

A – ‘The Delhi Files’ is too early to discuss.

Q – What was your equation with Vivek Agnihotri and Pallavi Joshi throughout the making of ‘The Kashmir Files’ and now? What do you like about them?

A – I approached Vivek Ji and he trusted me immensely to travel together on this life-changing journey. The journey was tough but there was always the constant support of Vivek Ji and Pallavi Ji. The honesty of both to tell the heart-wrenching tale of Kashmir is admirable and inspiring. Both of them are National Award winners and it was a pleasure knowing them and working with them. They are now my family.

Q – Let’s move to your upcoming movie ‘Karthikeya 2’. What prompted you to produce this movie? What excited you about this film to put your money into this?

A – ‘Karthikeya’ was a successful film and when Chandoo, the director, came up with the script for ‘Karthikeya 2’, I wanted to be on board because of the nature of the film and it became one of my dream projects. The movie deals with Lord Sri Krishna and his greatness. There are thrilling elements in the movie which would be liked by one and all. I will be taking ‘Karthikeya 2’ to the Hindi audience and I am confident that they would like it because of the interesting subject.

Q – The theme of the movie ‘Karthikeya 2’ is based on the secrets of Dwarka and Sri Krishna. Do you think numerous movies could have been made about our culture and heritage? Our real history was ignored by Bollywood. Who do you find responsible for this?

A – Karthikeya 2 is one of my dream projects. And we have produced it on a large scale. Our country and Sanatana Dharma are home to rich culture, heritage, history, and stories. ‘Karthikeya 2’ deals with the mystery of Lord Sri Krishna and the city of Dwarka, which now lies submerged in the Arabian Ocean. To tell any story from our culture there needs to be a lot of research and needs to be told without altering facts and beliefs. This is tricky and hence it is an un-treaded path. Bollywood has refrained from telling such stories and with the scenario slowly changing, we might get to see stories based on our culture and heritage.

Q – Recently, the lead actor of ‘Karthikeya 2’ Nikhil Siddhartha said that some Bollywood movies of recent times veered toward demeaning our culture. Do you agree with him? People are angry with Bollywood for its anti-Hindu propaganda. What are your views on this?

A – There have been instances where a few Bollywood films have demeaned our culture and have hurt the sentiments of the public. It is high time that makers should realize that people are now well aware and they have to be sensitive towards our culture and beliefs. Everything sells is no longer a valid attitude.

Q – You are producing a very big movie named ‘Tiger Nageswara Rao’ with Ravi Teja, who is fondly known as ‘Mass Maharaja’ among his fans. Do you think he has the potential to join the PAN-India league constituting the likes of Prabhas and Yash?

A – Ravi Teja is an actor and star whom everyone loves in Telugu. The hard work and efforts he has put to be the Mass Maharaja are appreciable. While there is no comparison between stars, ‘Tiger Nageswara Rao’ will surely take Ravi Teja closer to everyone across the nation.

Q – Are you sure that the Hindi audience will like TNR? What would you like to say to the Hindi audience about this movie?

A – ‘Tiger Nageswara Rao’ is a biographical film based on one of the most notorious thieves of Stuartpuram in the 1970s. The story surely has a global appeal and the way our director Vamsee readied the script has given us the confidence to make the movie in multiple languages. The scale of the film and the emotions involved will surely work in the Hindi market as well.

Q – Recent movies of Ravi Teja were not as successful at the box office and he is going through a dull phase in his career. What makes you believe in him and TNR?

A – Ravi Teja is a seasoned star and has nothing to prove. TNR is a subject that is entirely new for Ravi Teja as well and he is putting in his best to play the titular role. I’m sure that Ravi Teja will be back at his best with his next projects and Tiger Nageswara Rao

Q – You met PM Mod after the success of ‘The Kashmir Files’. What was the experience of meeting him? What do you like about PM Modi?

A – That was a lifetime moment for me. PM Modi Ji appreciating the film is one of my greatest achievements. PM Modi Ji has been striving for the betterment of our nation for many years. The devotion and sincerity he puts into his job are inspiring. Thanks to his efforts, India has taken a center stage on the global map.

Q – Your next movie ‘Karthikeya 2’ is clashing with Aamir Khan’s ‘Lal Singh Chaddha’ & Akshay Kumar’s ‘Raksha Bandhan’. Both are very big movies. What is your take on that? Do you think people’s anger with Bollywood would help your movie?

A – Since it is a festive weekend, multiple movies are bound to clash at the box office. The audiences would embrace good cinema and good content. All the films have different genres, so there is no competition as such. I would like to extend my best wishes to all the films which are releasing.

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