Home Blog Page 3306

Congress supporter Jignesh Mevani’s journey from being Mukul Sinha’s sidekick to ‘Dalit leader’ to ‘Independent MLA supporting Congress’

Anurag
-
0
Congress supporter Jignesh Mevani’s journey from being Mukul Sinha’s sidekick to ‘Dalit leader’ to ‘Independent MLA supporting Congress’

Jignesh Mevani is a Gujarat-born politician currently serving as a Member of the Gujarat Legislature Assembly as an independent candidate from Vadgam. In September 2021, amid much fanfare, where it was speculated he will be joining the Congress formally, he said that he will support the party instead since his term as an independent MLA was not yet over. Mevani rose to prominence ahead of 2017 Gujarat state assembly elections.

Mevani’s father was a clerk at Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, and his mother was a clerk at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). He did his schooling at the Swastik Vidyalaya and then the Vishwa Vidyalay Madhaymik Shala. Mevani did graduation from HK Arts College, affiliated with Gujarat University.

In 2004, he completed a diploma course in Journalism and Mass Communication. Later, ‘lawyer-activist’ Mukul Sinha pursued Mevani to get a degree in Law. He completed his LLB in 2013 from DT Law College and practised as a High Court Lawyer. Mukul Sinha is father of cofounder of propaganda website Alt News, Pratik Sinha.

From 2004 to 2008, he worked as a reporter for the Gujarati Magazine Abhiyan in Mumbai. His early days of activism started with trade union wings. In 2008, he returned to Gujarat. During his college time, he used to idolise Mukul Sinha. Eventually, on his return to Gujarat, Mevani got a chance to meet Mukul Sinha at Jan Sangharsh Manch’s (JSM) office. On the day of the meeting, he joined the organisation as a volunteer.

Jan Sangharsh Manch

Jan Sangharsh Manch was formed by Mukul Sinha and his wife, Nirjhari Sinha. The organisation has been accused of floating theories, refuted by court appointed committees, that then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi had a role in the riots and that the Godhra carnage was not a preplanned conspiracy. Mukul and Nirjhari, along with other so-called activists, fought tooth and nail to call the eyewitnesses of the Godhra carnage liars, as evidenced in the Nanavati-Mehta Commission Report.

The organisation tried to whitewash the Godhra incident in which 59 Karsewaks were burnt alive. They used various narratives like ‘fire was started from inside, ‘short circuit’, and ‘spontaneous scuffle’ to prove the Muslim mob had no role in burning down the train.

As per the Commission’s report, a member of Jan Sangharsh Manch, a ‘civil rights organisation’ started by ‘activist-lawyer’ Mukul Sinha, filed a statement and questioned the criminal conspiracy angle of the state government and claimed that after the ‘evidence’ collected by him, it “appeared to him that burning of coach S/6 was because of the spontaneous scuffle and fight that had taken place between Ramsevaks and Muslim vendors on the platform of Godhra railway station and not because of any conspiracy hatched earlier.”

Mevani’s association with Sinhas

After joining JSM, he led a survey under the organisation in 2009 in Surendranagar and Ahmedabad districts on land allocation to the Dalits. Till 2015, he continued the project and filed multiple RTIs on the process. During these years, he was pursued by Mukul Sinha to get a law degree that he eventually used to fight cases under the organisation’s banner. While he was with Sinha, he also joined Aam Aadmi Party in 2014 and became Gujarat’s Spokesperson for the party.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Mevani had said, “It was at Mukul kaka’s office where, for the first time, I understood atrocity in the real sense of the term. When I heard stories of undertrials in POTA, I was not able to sleep for many nights.”

In an interview with Dalit Camera, he alleged POTA was being used to target Muslims. Under the organisation, he participated in many trade union strikes, rallies and dharnas. He formed the Gujarat Industrial Security Force Society, which comprised 2,500 members. The whole group sat on a hunger strike in Gandhinagar. On the fourth day, 176 of them fainted.

He further stated that while working with Sinha, he became left-conscious and got aware of the caste and class. Interestingly, during college time, he was not seen as a Dalit or Dalit leader. It was only after joining JSM that he was drawn towards it.

After the death of Mukul Sinha in 2014, Mevani continued fighting cases for JSM in High Court.

Mukul Sinha’s brainchild ‘Truth of Gujarat’

Sinha and his son Pratik had started a propaganda website named “Truth of Gujarat”. It was basically a website to propagate anti-Modi content and spread lies about the carnage of Hindus and whitewash the attack by Islamist mob in the Godhra train burning incident. They tried to blame the victims for their own death.

Notably, in 2004, pro-Congress ‘activist’ Shabnam Hashmi organised a seminar in Delhi “Rebuilding Justice and Hope in Gujarat: The Agenda Ahead”. Amongst those present in the seminar were: actresses Sharmila Tagore and Nandita Das, lawyers Indira Jaisingh and Nitya Ramakrishnan, and journalists Praful Bidwai and Rajdeep Sardesai, along with many known critics of the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi. They all tried to figure out ways to ‘fix’ Modi legally, where Sinha gave a presentation to ‘prove’ the Muslim mob setting the train to fire was ‘false’ and that the fire was an ‘accident’.

Truth Of Gujarat website was seeded by such propaganda. The website of Truth of Gujarat is no longer functional. The last working archive of the website is from December last year when it seems like the website was hacked. Though there was no direct connection found between Mevani and the Truth Of Gujarat website, but was involved with the Sinhas while they actively worked on the propaganda website. 

Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation report in final stage, however, POJK refugees fear the worst: The ramifications of keeping 24 seats vacant

Vijay Kranti
-
0
Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation report in final stage, however, POJK refugees fear the worst: The ramifications of keeping 24 seats vacant

The Delimitation Commission, appointed by the Election Commission of India on the instructions of the NDA government is in the last stages of finalizing its report on Jammu & Kashmir. Although the leaders of ‘Gupkar Alliance’ have opposed the delimitation exercise, the New Delhi government strongly hopes that this exercise will be fair in giving due representation to every stakeholder of J&K and hence will rehabilitate peace and democracy in the troubled State. But if fears and objections raised by the community of displaced persons from Pakistan Occupied J&K (POJK) come true even partially, this exercise is doomed to nullify all the gains Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have promised the nation from their historic step of dilution of Article-370 and removal of clause 35A from the Indian Constitution. 

Despite repeated requests of the members of the community of displaced Indians from POJK the Commission has refused to even entertain their request that the old practice of keeping 24 seats, assigned for POJK should be changed and these seats should be filled from among the members of this community.

The POJK community’s argument is that by keeping 24 seats vacant in an Assembly of 111 seats and holding elections only on the remaining 87 seats over the past 70 years, the nation had surrendered the fate of the entire population of J&K to the Kashmiri leadership who have been holding the State as well as the nation to ransom on the strength of 46 seats for Kashmir Valley alone. Out of the remaining 41 seats, leaving 37 to Jammu and just 4 for Ladakh had left no chance for the State to live in peace. And after the near-complete ethnic cleansing of the Kashmir Valley for over three decades now, it will be living in a fools’ paradise to hope for any improvement.

In his written answer of 21 August 2020 to the ‘POJK Refugee Forum’, a common platform of Indian families from Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Kotli, Bhimber, Dev Batala and Ali Beg etc which have been lying under illegal occupation of Pakistan since 1948, the Secretary of the Delimitation Commission has taken shelter under the Section 14(4) of the ‘Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.’ Quoting this Section he writes that, “until the area of the Union Territory of J&K under the occupation of Pakistan ceases to be so occupied and the people residing in that area elect their representatives…….  24 seats … shall remain vacant…. And shall be excluded in delimiting the territorial constituencies as provided under Part-V of the Act….”. 

Reacting to this terse response of the Commission O.P. Dutta, the Co-Convener of the Forum and a senior journalist with his family roots in Muzaffarabad laments, “It is shocking that the Commission has not only rejected the right of POJK community of displaced persons in India to the 24 Assembly seats which are kept vacant in the name of their own homeland. But it is more shocking that the matter has been left pending infinitely till the day POJK returns to India. Unfortunately, this is what suits the separatist and anti-Indian forces of Kashmir to maintain their constitutionally gifted hegemony over the State. ”

In 1951 when the rest of India went through a well-organized exercise of delimitation to carve out Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies, Sheikh Abdullah the ‘Prime Minister’ of J&K was given a free hand to decide the structure of the State Assembly. In an Assembly of 100 seats, he introduced the idea of keeping 25 seats vacant in the name of POJK  and assigned a lion’s share of 43 seats to the Kashmir Valley, 30 for Jammu and just 2 seats for Ladakh.

The latest composition of the State Assembly was adopted in 1995 when J&K went in for the second reorganization exercise. Later in 2002 when the rest of India went in for the fourth delimitation, the National Conference government headed by Dr Farooq Abdullah refused to participate in it in the name of ‘autonomy’ the State enjoyed under Article-370. Rather, using its absolute majority in the State Assembly the Farooq government introduced the 29th amendment in the State constitution to ensure that the composition of the State Assembly could not be changed until 2031.

The Kashmir dominated  State government was also known for the social engineering in its delimitation exercise of 1995 which manipulated constituencies like Rajauri, Punch Haweli and Kalakot to keep the tilt in favour of Muslim voters. The worst example is the Buddhist dominated Padum-Zanskar constituency within which far away located Muslim dominated areas of Lankarche (194 km), Barto (213 km) and Barso (213 km) of Kargil were integrated to ensure that Muslims constituted 60 per cent of the voters. When challenged by the Zanskar Buddhist Association the Supreme Court of India in New Delhi refused to take up the case on the ground that Article-370 kept the issue out of its jurisdiction. 

What worries the people from POJK about the provision of keeping 24 Assembly seats vacant is the misuse of the resulting brutal majority by Kashmir Valley. This majority was used in adopting and imposing laws over the entire population of the State which were illogical, inhuman and detrimental to the interests of a federal India. For example, in 1982 the National Conference government of J&K passed a law which opened the gates for the return of those residents of J&K who had migrated to Pakistan between 1947 and 1954. The law even offered them to come and take possession of their ancestral properties in the State along with all rights due to a ‘State Subject’. 

There were a plethora of laws which barred various communities, living in J&K for ages from enjoying even basic rights like voting or contesting in the State Assembly or any kind of civic elections; taking up State government jobs; getting their children admitted into State-run institutions of higher education; owning immovable property in the State, or even taking loans from State cooperatives and banks. These communities included refugees from Pakistani Punjab who had settled in Jammu in 1947; the ‘Balmiki’ community of scavengers; Gorkha families of soldiers of the Army of erstwhile Maharaja who are living in the State for generations; POJK ‘displaced persons’ settled outside J&K and even family members of Indian civil services, banks and scientific institutions who worked all their life in J&K.

Another law took away all civic rights, including government jobs and rights in their parental property, from the young women citizens who married outside the State. In the case of the Balmiki Samaj, the Punjabi scavengers (earlier known as ‘Bhangi’) the birth certificate of a new child in such families were obliged to be stamped to announce that the person was qualified to take up no State government job other than a ‘Bhangi’. To add insult to the injury to these communities, the State government quite liberally bestowed all citizen rights to those Muslims from Tibet and Xinjiang who had taken refuge in Kashmir following the occupation of their countries by China in the early 1950s.  

Although the Delimitation Commission is trying to sell its draft report by referring to the juggling of some constituencies and forking out some additional seats to the SC and ST communities, critics of the draft report have shrugged it off as just a cosmetic exercise. The real fear of those who want to see an effective end to Kashmir Valley oriented separatism is a genuine exercise in Delimitation which is free from old constitutional manipulations aimed at keeping the final power in the hands of Gupkar gang and those powers who have vested interest in keeping the State on a permanent boil.

Keeping the 24 Assembly seats vacant till POJK returns to India is a sure recipe for undoing all the gains that the dilution of Article-370 and abrogation of 35A have achieved or the Modi-Shah duo intended to achieve for integrating J&K as a peaceful and prosperous member of the Indian Republic.

West Bengal: Four children injured while playing with crude bombs they found near a mosque in Malda, investigation underway

OpIndia Staff
-
0
West Bengal: Four children injured while playing with crude bombs they found near a mosque in Malda, investigation underway

On Sunday, four kids were injured in a crude bomb explosion while playing football in West Bengal’s Malda district, according to authorities. The crude bombs, according to officials, were concealed in a trench nearby a mosque where the children were playing.

The incident occurred in Gopalganj’s Kaliachak police station area. Two of the four children were discharged from the hospital after getting preliminary medication, while the other two are being treated at the Malda Medical College and Hospital.

The children took up the explosives and began playing, mistaking them for balls. Police stated they are looking into who stored the crude bombs beneath a litchi tree next to the nearby mosque.

Police have cordoned off the area, according to Superintendent of Police Amitava Maiti. The other bombs recovered would be neutralized on Monday, he added. A team of local police and a bomb squad arrived on the scene, and an inquiry is currently ongoing.

It is notable that on March 25, police seized 200 crude bombs from Margram village in Rampurhat II CD Block in West Bengal’s Birbhum district. Margram is only a few kilometres from Bogtui hamlet, where eight people were burnt to death after the purported murder of a TMC leader called Bhadu Sheikh.

‘Converted tribals should not be entitled to ST benefits’: Gujarat BJP MP lambasts those involved in forced conversions

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘Converted tribals should not be entitled to ST benefits’: Gujarat BJP MP lambasts those involved in forced conversions

On Sunday (April 24), BJP MP (Bharuch constituency) Mansukhbhai Vasava addressed a public gathering during which he demanded the delisting of converted tribals from benefits made available to the Scheduled Tribes (ST) community.

While slamming the forced conversions of Hindus, the tribal leader said, “These elements who break Hindu dharma and who are into religious conversion activities, if they don’t (stop) in a simple manner, then make a law for them!”

He further added, “Those tribal who are born in Hindu faith, to Hindu parents, if they leave the Hindu faith, then they should not get rights available only to tribals. You can change your friend, you can change your wife, it happens, but does someone change their own parents? Parents are parents.”

He pointed out that the ancestors of the tribal community were born and raised in the Hindu Faith. “Like you don’t change your parents. you can’t change your faith. You can change all but not your faith,” Vasava emphasised.

The BJP MP said that it was a matter of existence for the Hindus or else India would witness the emergence of Mughal and British rule. “Those who criticise Hindu Gods on social media, do they criticise Prophet or Jesus? I consider Jesus as God. He had done good work. But how do they have the right to criticise our faith, ridicule our Gods?” he inquired.

Mansukhbhai Vasava highlighted the menace of foreign funding and its direct impact on forced conversions. “Christian and Muslim religions are foreign dharma. This is a democratic country therefore these things go on. They work through foreign funds that arrive here to break this country. Foreign powers are working behind the curtains!” he had concluded.

Gujarat anti-conversion law

Grooming Jihad and deceitful mass conversions have plagued several parts of India, especially in the Bharuch city of Gujarat. OpIndia had earlier reported how as many as 37 tribal families were converted to Islam back in 2018 by luring them with promises of better jobs, money, and marriage.

While speaking to OpIndia, Pravin Vasava, who had converted to Islam and went by the name Salman Patel, till he reverted, said, “We were taught there is no such religion as Hindu religion and Islam is true religion.”

“Tribals are poor people. If someone gives some food grains, we believe they are nice people. Which is why people get lured to religious conversion,” Vasava had said while speaking to OpIndia.

In a bid to contain the menace, the BJP government had amended the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act of 2003 In June last year. As such,  fraudulent religious conversions and marriages involving forcible conversions or assistance for the same were brought under the ambit of the law.

Uddhav Thackeray government to launch probe to identify ‘elements’ who persuaded Ranas to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside Matoshree

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Uddhav Thackeray government to launch probe to identify ‘elements’ who persuaded Ranas to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside Matoshree

According to reports, the Maharashtra government is set to launch an investigation to identify “the elements” who reportedly persuaded independent MP Navneet Rana and her husband Ravi Rana to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s house.

On Sunday, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and state home minister Dilip Walse-Patil told reporters in Nashik that the police will examine the incident and find out who was behind these two politicians’ intentions. “We will call for call detail records of the MP and the MLA. They can’t make such a daring attempt unless someone is behind their actions…,” home minister Patil said.

Similarly, Pawar said, “When police said not to visit a place for safety reasons, we avoid it. Ranas didn’t follow the advice and hence action will follow.” The police action against Ranas was justified by both the deputy CM and the state home minister.

Navneet Rana, an independent MP, and her husband, Ravi Rana, an independent MLA, have made national news over the Maharashtra Hanuman Chalisa controversy. The couple challenged to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s ancestral home, ‘Matoshree,’ but their attempts were thwarted by Shiv Sena activists, who retaliated with violence. 

Navneet Rana and her husband Ravi Rana were arrested and taken to the Khar Police Station following the violence. On Sunday (April 24), they were produced in Bandra Court and were remanded to 14 days in judicial detention. Sedition charges were also added in the FIR against them.

Weighing into the incident, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut threatened Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana, the Amravati-based independent political couple. “Don’t even think of messing with Matoshree.” Raut threatened to bury them 20 feet beneath the ground during a press conference in Nagpur.

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya was also attacked in front of the police when he went to meet Ranas at the Khar Police Station. Both Pawar and Walse-Patil denounced the attack on Kirit Somaiya but claimed the BJP leader’s visit to the Khar police station to meet the imprisoned couple was unjustified. “People in custody are only allowed to see their lawyers and families, according to the law. Somaiya should not have gone there to contribute to the conflagration” Patil said.

Ancient Nalanda Buddha statue returned to India from USA, was among the 14 bronzes looted from Nalanda Museum

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Ancient Nalanda Buddha statue returned to India from USA, was among the 14 bronzes looted from Nalanda Museum

An exquisitely carved bronze statue of Buddha Shakyamuni or the Bodhisattva Maitreya from Nalanda, Bihar, has been returned to the Indian Consulate in the United States.

This is the second Nalanda Buddha to be returned to India, following the one in London in 2018. These statues were robbed from India’s Nalanda Museum and smuggled to Western countries in the early 1960s.

On August 22, 1961, and again in March 1962, the Nalanda Museum was looted. In 1961, fourteen bronzes were looted. The repatriation of the first Nalanda Buddha took place in a magnificent ceremony in London on August 15, 2018, and was applauded by activists battling illegal artefacts trafficking.

The sculpture of Buddha Shakyamuni, also known as the Bodhisattva Maitreya, is made of gilded copper alloy. For lack of sufficient proof, the Los Angeles County Museum (LCAME) in the United States kept this sister bronze of the idol given over in London.

According to S Vijayakumar of India Pride Project, the case was another key triumph in their battle against illicit antiquities trafficking and continuous cooperation with Homeland Security agencies and agents. This specific case has perplexed India since 1961, and the LACMA had been looking for definitive evidence since the 1970s.

Vijayakumar stated, “We worked with Sanjeev Sanyal and Dr Biswas for old documentation of the case and proved the theft. Based on our matching agent Chad Fredrickson of Homeland security, we launched an investigation which has finally resulted in this victory.”

Sachindra S. Biswas is the former Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India and Sanjeev Sanyal is a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.

On the festival of Makar Sankranti in January, the High Commission of India in London recovered an old Indian statue of a goat-headed goddess that had gone lost from a temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Lokhari village 40 years ago. The statue is part of a larger collection of Yogini statues that went stolen from Lokhari between 1978 and 1982.

Gujarat: Illegal structure around ‘dargah’ inside Heritage Complex in Surat demolished

Nirwa Mehta
-
0
Gujarat: Illegal structure around ‘dargah’ inside Heritage Complex in Surat demolished

The illegal structure constructed around a dargah/mazar inside the Heritage Complex in Surat’s Chowk Bazar area has been demolished by authorities.

According to sources, the illegal structure was demolished on Wednesday itself last week after authorities were made aware of the encroachment. OpIndia had reported earlier on Sunday that an illegal structure around a ‘mazar’ had come up in the Surat Heritage Complex building in Chowk Bazar. According to sources, the tomb itself has been around since a few years but the construction around had been done recently.

In a video that had gone viral on social media, newly laid stones with fresh cement work could be seen where the person taking the video said that the construction around the dargah had come overnight. “Today there has been encroachment here, tomorrow it will be at your place,” the person in the video can be heard saying. The ‘dargah’ is one of Gaiban Shah Walid.

As per sources, when the police were approached for details of the dargah which was looking into ownership of the same. The police said that the ownership records show that the land belongs to three parties. One party is Surat Municipal Corporation, one is government land and one party is a private party. On being probed who the private owner is, Surat Police official said that it is a trust with 5-6 trustees. The police said that they have reached out to city survey for further details on ownership of the land.

One Ghanibhai Desai, Gordhanbhai Chokhawala, Yashwantbhai Shukla, Ishwarlal Desai, Chunibhai Bhatt are trustees which partly owns the land. Essentially, the land of Heritage Complex has three separate owners. Part of it is owned by Surat Municipal Corporation, part is owned by Gujarat government and some part is owned by the trust mentioned above. To find out where the dargah falls under the authorities will need to know ownership of that particular area from city survey.

It is not yet clear whether the state waqf board has laid claim on the dargah.

Hanuman Chalisa at Matoshree: MLA Ravi Rana shifted to Taloja jail while his wife, MP Navneet Rana is sent to Byculla women’s jail

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Hanuman Chalisa at Matoshree: MLA Ravi Rana shifted to Taloja jail while his wife, MP Navneet Rana is sent to Byculla women’s jail

Hours after a Mumbai Court remanded Ravi Rana to 14-day judicial custody, the Badnera MLA was shifted to the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai on Sunday (April 24) night.

The independent MLA was first taken to the Arthur Road jail but was shifted to Taloja jail due to ‘overcrowding.’ Meanwhile, his wife Navneet Rana has been taken to Byculla women’s jail.

The Background of the Case

MP Navneet Rana and her husband MLA Ravi Rana were earlier arrested by Mumbai police for planning to recite Hanuman Chalisa before Matoshree, the family residence of CM Uddhav Thackeray. Though they had later withdrawn their plan, the duo was arrested from their home. Charges of sedition were also pressed against them.

They were produced before Bandra Court on Sunday (April 24) and sentenced to 14 days in judicial custody. Both of them were booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups), 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), and Section 135 of the Mumbai Police Act (violation of prohibitory orders).

Public prosecutor Pradip Gharat said that IPC Section 124-A (sedition) is being attracted in this case as the Rana duo allegedly challenged the government machinery and made remarks against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Advocate Rizwan Merchant who submitted a bail application on behalf of Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana said that all the charges against the couple are baseless. Merchant alleged that public prosecutor Gharat has framed sedition charges against the Ranas on instructions from the police department.

“Prosecutor Gharat was not able to show even a single word that was uttered allegedly by the Rana couple that shows disaffection towards the state government. The only content of the remand application was that they had prepared to come here for the purpose of chanting Hanuman Chalisa.” Advocate Rizwan, who appeared on behalf of the Ranas stated.

France re-elects Emmanuel Macron as President, congratulations pour in

OpIndia Staff
-
0
France re-elects Emmanuel Macron as President, congratulations pour in

On April 24 (Local Time), France re-elected Emmanuel Macron as President for the second term. For the first time in two decades, France has re-elected a sitting President. With Macron coming back as President, France’s allies would be happier as Marine Le Pan was being projected as pro-Russia during the elections. In simple words, France would not step back from imposing sanctions being put in place by NATO and European Union.

The exit polls had shown that Macron would have an easy win. However, the next five years are not going to be easy for the President. 44-years-old Macron has been accused of not showing empathy for the voters. During his first term, several disruptions, street protests and rising prices were seen that pointed toward growing anti-incumbency.

However, his re-election to the post has brought a lot of relief for the investors. In his victory speech, he said, “I am so proud to serve you again. To those who voted for me, not to support my ideas but to block those of the extreme right, your vote obliges me. This evening, I am no longer the candidate of one camp but the President of all.”

Le Pan, after accepting the defeat, said, “I will never abandon France.” Reuters quoted her saying, “Tonight’s result is in itself a remarkable victory (for us). Emmanuel Macron will do nothing to repair the fractures that divide our country and make our compatriots suffer. I fear that the five-year term that is about to begin will not break with the brutal methods of the previous one. In order to avoid the monopolisation of power by a few, more than ever, I will pursue my commitment to France and the French people with the energy, perseverance and affection that you know me for.”

World leaders congratulate Macron on re-election

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted to congratulate him on his second term as President. He said, “Congratulations to my friend Emmanuel Macron on being re-elected as the President of France! I look forward to continuing working together to deepen the India-France Strategic Partnership.”

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “Congratulations to Emmanuel Macron on your re-election as President of France. France is one of our closest and most important allies. I look forward to continuing to work together on the issues which matter most to our two countries and to the world.”

Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison said, “Congratulations, Emmanuel Macron, on your re-election as President. Another great expression of liberal democracy is in action in uncertain times. We wish you & France every success, in particular your leadership in Europe and as an important partner to Australia in the Indo-Pacific.”

Macron won the election with 58.55 per cent votes against 41.5 per cent votes for the contender.

“Moving On”, Elon Musk’s cryptic tweet sends people guessing about his future plans with Twitter

OpIndia Staff
-
0
“Moving On”, Elon Musk’s cryptic tweet sends people guessing about his future plans with Twitter

As the Twitter acquisition saga of Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk rolls on, the richest man in the world dropped a cryptic tweet saying, “Moving On” which has again set the rumor mills abuzz. Social media users are casting aspersions whether Musk will manage to acquire Twitter fully or the Twitter board’s ‘poison pill‘ strategy has forced him to move on from this venture.

While people were busy speculating whether Elon Musk has decided to abort his attempt to take over Twitter, he sent out a clarification a short while later stating that he has decided to move on from mocking Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Elon Musk has been trolling Bill Gates recently over his decision to short Tesla shares, where Musk is the CEO and the largest shareholder.

On April 18, billionaire Elon Musk said on Twitter that if he manages to acquire the company, he will slash the company’s board salary to USD 0. Replying to Gary Black of The Future Fund LLC, Musk wrote on Twitter, “Board salary will be $0 if my bid succeeds, so that’s ~$3M/year saved right there.” This came after he reiterated his offer to take over Twitter and take it private. He said the company has a lot of potential, and he could help Twitter in using it better if he can take the company private.

It all started when Elon Musk earlier revealed that he had acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter, with speculations that he may take over the company in near future. After buying the largest stake in the company, Elon Musk was invited to a seat on the board of directors of Twitter Inc., which he had initially accepted but later decided not to join the board. However, Musk made an offer to buy the whole of Twitter in his attempt to make it a private company. He assured that his proposition will reward the shareholders with a handsome price.

In an SEC filing regarding the offer, he wrote, “I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for USD 54.20 per share in case, a 54% premium over the day I began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced.”

However, the Twitter Board decided not to accept the offer and opted for the Poison Pill. Under the strategic move, the rights become exercisable if anyone acquires ownership of 15% or more of Twitter’s stock in a transaction not authorised by the board. The micro-blogging tech company implemented a limited-duration shareholder rights plan to protect itself from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s $43 billion cash takeover offer.

Also, hours after Tesla CEO Elon Musk offered to buy 100% shares of Twitter, Saudi Arabian Prince, and billionaire businessman al-Waleed bin Talal refused to sell his stake in Twitter, citing the future growth prospects of Twitter and low share value for turning down the offer of Elon Musk. Now after the fiasco over Elon Musk’s hostile takeover proposition, another cryptic tweet from the world’s richest man has set the ball of speculations rolling.

There are nascent assumptions about Musk pulling back his offer to buy Twitter, which is unlikely to happen. However, as highlighted by him in his SEC bid, there are chances, he might even reconsider his share in the company if his offer is not accepted. “If the deal doesn’t work, given that I don’t have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market. I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” the Tesla CEO had said categorically.

The ball has always been in Elon Musk’s court over his Twitter propositions. However,  it is to be seen whether the Twitter board and management manage to stop him from completing his hostile takeover of the micro-blogging platform.

1...3,3053,3063,307...7,640Page 3,306 of 7,640