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J&K Students Association sues Turkey-based TRT World for publishing fake images of three Kashmiri students in Agra sedition case

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J&K Students Association sues Turkey-based TRT World for publishing fake images of three Kashmiri students in Agra sedition case

On Monday, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association sent a legal notice to Turkey’s state-run media outlet TRT World for publishing fake images of students in the Agra Sedition Case and claimed compensation amounting to Rs 1 crore. The legal notice read that the Turkey-based outlet TRT World had broadcast fake images of three Kashmiri students falsely claiming that were arrested in Agra for cheering in support of the Pakistan cricket team in a recent T-20 World Cup Match.

According to the reports, the legal notice by the association was sent through their lawyer Aamir Masoodi who said that the students have been exposed to high risk and loss of career, education and reputation. The Association said that the TRT World had not verified the facts regarding the case and had broadcasted fake images of three Kashmiri students who are at present studying in Karnataka.

National Spokesperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association Nasir Khuehami in the statement claimed that the three students have no direct or indirect connection to the case. He added that TRT World through its ulterior motives had affected the lives of three innocent Kashmiri students and their families.

Seeking an unconditional apology to the students, Khuehami stated that the photographs published by TRT World were circulated continuously for over 24 hours and the consequences faced by the families and innocent students are huge. “TRT must tender an unconditional apology, failing which we shall proceed with defamation proceedings as advised by our legal team”, he said.

The notice read, “TRT World displayed the photographs of other three Kashmiri students namely Talib Majeed, Basit Ahmad Sofi, claiming that they were languishing in jail and are facing sedition charges for praising Pakistan. The claim is totally baseless, highly libellous, and concocted”.

The legal notice further stated that the three students were all studying in Karnataka’s Hubbali under Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme (PMSSS). According to the reports, they were maliciously arrested in the year 2020 for raising objectionable slogans. “They were released, shifted to the mainstream and are living their normal life peacefully,” it added.

In October last year, the three students named Arsheed Yusuf, Inayat Altaf Sheikh and Showkat Ahmed Ganai were arrested for allegedly sharing anti-India messages on WhatsApp after Pakistan’s victory against India in the T-20 World Cup Cricket Match. All in their twenties, the three students were enrolled at Raja Balwant Singh Engineering College in Agra in Uttar Pradesh state under a special scholarship programme meant for students from the conflict torn region.

They are currently lodged at the Agra district jail. They have been charged with cyber terrorism, sedition, promoting enmity between different groups, and making statements likely to cause alarm to the public.

Congress funded by Russians? Plurals Party of Bihar resurrects a 1970s issue: Read how

OpIndia Staff
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Congress funded by Russians? Plurals Party of Bihar resurrects a 1970s issue: Read how

In a stunning accusation, the Bihar-based Plurals Party has questioned the silence of the Congress party over the ongoing Ukraine crisis, asking them whether the alleged Russian funding has forced them to be a mute spectator amidst the ongoing global turmoil.

Taking to Twitter, the Plurals Party said that the government’s dilemma over the Ukraine invasion is still understandable. However, the silence of the opposition, including the Congress, who pretend to be liberals, is absurd. “Is it intellectual and moral impoverishment or the effect of Russian funding for elections?” The Plurals Party questioned the opposition party, especially the Congress.

Tweet by The Plurals Party

It is pertinent to note that Plurals Party, co-founded by the London-return Pushpam Priya Choudhary, had suffered humiliating results in the 2020 Bihar elections. Following the results, Pushpam Priya Choudhary had suffered a meltdown and had resorted to accusations of EVM tampering. 

The tweet put out by the Plurals Party comes amidst the ongoing clashes between NATO-backed Ukraine and the Russian troops. Last Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced limited military operations against Ukraine. In a televised address, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the special operation to be conducted in East Ukraine to “demilitarise” and “denazify” Ukraine.

Since then, the battle between the Russian troops and the NATO-backed Ukrainian forces has turned dangerous, resulting in massive damage to properties and loss of lives.

Amidst these clashes, the Indian government has taken a prudent stand to stay neutral and has repeatedly called both parties to adhere to UN Charter and international law while asking them to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.

In the meantime, the Modi-led government is also making all efforts to evacuate the Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine. More than 18,000 Indian students were believed to be staying in Ukraine when the clashes began. The government swiftly launched “Operation Ganga” to evacuate its citizens, mostly students, and has been running several flights to bring back to India safely.

Even as the government is making all its efforts to bring back stranded Indians safely, the political blame-game back at home has not stopped. The opposition parties, especially the Congress party, have again resorted to politicising issues concerning the country’s security by repeatedly questioning the government over its stand on the Ukraine-Russia crisis.

Ever since the war broke out, the Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi has openly criticised the government’s approach in handling the issue and has been continuously attacking the Modi government’s evacuation process.

Congress party and the allegation of its nexus with the Soviets

The allegations of the Congress party’s nexus with the Russians is not a new one. For decades now, there have been rumours and allegations that the Congress party is one of the beneficiaries of the Soviet Union, especially during the Indira Gandhi rule in the 1970s.

According to reports and testimonials by former Soviet spies, during the cold war period, both CIA and KGB, the spy agencies of the US and USSR, respectively, carried out proxy civil wars in various countries and fought hard to establish their influence.

Vasili Mitrokhin, a KGB spy who later defected to the United Kingdom, had revealed many secret documents in his “Mitrokhin Archive”, in which he revealed that Joseph Stalin had a rather poor opinion of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. He had disclosed that Stalin regarded Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi as “imperialist puppets”. However, the Soviets had a favourable opinion of Indira Gandhi, nicknamed Vano.

The KGB had managed to infiltrate deeper into the Indian government, revealed Mitrokhin, adding that Indira Gandhi was given 20 million rupees in exchange for crucial information. Mitrokhin had also claimed that at least seven cabinet ministers from the Congress party were elected due to Soviet funding during the regime of Indira Gandhi, while the defence minister during Nehru’s tenure – V Krishna Menon was also given Soviet backing.

Mitrokhin Archives said that due to Soviet backing and influence, former defence minister V. Krishna Menon purchased Soviet MiGs instead of British lightning aircraft after his election campaign got funded by KGB in 1962 and 1967.

The Congress party had denied all the allegations made by Soviet spy Mitrokhin.

The ‘absolute’ State of the Union: President Joe Biden confuses Ukrainians with Iranians during his speech

OpIndia Staff
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The ‘absolute’ State of the Union: President Joe Biden confuses Ukrainians with Iranians during his speech

On March 1 (local time), Joe Biden, President of the United States, appeared to have confused Ukrainian people with Iranian people during his State of the Union speech. He said, “Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks, but he’ll never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people.” White House website specifically mentioned the transcript of the speech ‘As Prepared for Delivery’ where ‘Ukrainian’ was mentioned instead of ‘Iranian’.

Daniel Chaitin, Deputy News Editor, Washington Examiner, also pointed out the fact that after the gaffe made by the President, the White House used ‘Prepared for delivery’ instead of ‘as delivered’ with the transcript of the speech.

The video of the blunder made by the US President has gone viral on social media and is being widely shared. Thomas Massie, the Republican Congressman, wrote several phrases in a tweet thread that had confused the audience during Biden’s speech. He asked, “Does anyone speak Biden? Can you translate these?”

Some Twitter users shared videos highlighting VP Kamala Harris muttering ‘Ukrainian’ when Biden mistakenly said ‘Iranian’.

It is noteworthy President’s “mental sharpness” and overall health has raised several questions in the past. According to a recent poll conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News, 54 per cent of Americans think President Biden does not have the “mental sharpness it takes to serve effectively as president”. The poll suggested 59 per cent of Americans do not see Biden as a strong leader.

The US President has made multiple errors in the past that has put his health in question. So much so, in December 2018, he had called himself a “gaffe machine”.

In August 2021, he confused facts about his late son during an interview and claimed Beau had served in the Navy in Afghanistan. In October 2021, there were rumours floating in Rome that US President Joe Biden had a “bathroom accident” during his meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. In February 2021, he casually dropped N-word during Munich Security Conference.

Mumbai: BMC plans to chop off 2000 mangrove trees to build bridges, while Aarey Metro car shed project is still stuck

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai: BMC plans to chop off 2000 mangrove trees to build bridges, while Aarey Metro car shed project is still stuck

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has planned to chop off nearly 2000 mangrove trees to make way for bridges in the Andheri and Malad region, as per a report in The Indian Express.

The report states that an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report for six bridges that have been planned by the BMC has been submitted to the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA). Recently, the MCZMA had cleared a proposal for one bridge that will require 48 trees to be cut. The Coastal Regulation Zone approval for 5 other bridges is pending.

The Indian Express report further states that the construction of all 6 bridges will be in the sensitive CRZ areas and over 1966 mangrove trees will have to be cut for the construction work. A patch of mangrove forest spread over 6.35 hectares will be impacted by the construction.

The BMC’s proposal was reportedly tabled before the MCZMA’s 157th meeting for consideration. The MCZMA reportedly asked the BMC to carry out the EIA for all the six planned bridges individually and asked to study the socio-economic impact of the structures on local fishermen by taking the consultation of the local communities.

The 6 bridges that are planned by the BMC are as follows, Madh to Versova Creek between Andheri and Malad, Marve to Manori in Malad, a bridge on Ramachandra Nullah in Evershine Nagar in Malad, Lagoon Road to Infinity Mall in Malad, Oshiwara River to Malad Creek, a bridge on Marve Road in Dharivali village.

The BMC had in 2021 appointed a consultant for the environmental impact study for the six planned bridges. As of now, the MCZMA had cleared only the proposed bridge on Ramachandra Nullah in Evershine Nagar. It had asked the BMC to get the clearance from the Bombay High Court for Mangrove cutting, promise five times afforestation and get due clearances from the forest department.

A report in the Hindustan Times on March 1 stated that the MCZMA has asked the BMC to seek alternate alignments for the proposed bridge network, adding that the current proposals will have a considerable negative impact on the mangroves.

These 6 bridges, along with another proposed bridge by the MMRDA connecting Borivali to Gorai, will eat up nearly 29.6 acres of mangroves, HT had reported earlier.

Aarey Metro car shed project is stuck

It is notable here that while the BMC and the Maharashtra government have no qualms about cutting trees and harming the mangrove forests that are crucial to the city, the Aarey Metro car shed project is stuck after the MVA government came to power. Despite all due clearances, and a Supreme Court order, the MVA government halted the project soon after coming to power, riding over a wave of activism that launched Aaditya Thackeray’s career as a politician.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led govt, in a vindictive order, had declared the Aarey area where the metro car shed was planned as ‘forest land’ and had shifted the facility to government land in Kanjurmarg. 

Even though the metro project will substantially improve the environment by removing lakhs of fossil fuel-guzzling vehicles from the roads, the project was opposed due to political reasons. The decision to shift the metro car shed from Aarey to Kanjurmarg will now increase the project’s cost by at least Rs 4,000 crore, which was estimated by a committee appointed by the current government. Further, the project will also be delayed by several years due to ongoing litigation and the condition of the new site.

A month after extreme activism by Shiv Sena to impress its coalition parties – Congress and NCP, Sena had exposed its hypocrisy by ordering the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation to chop down 1,000 trees for a Bal Thackeray memorial in Priyadarshini Park.

In January 2020, a committee set up by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in December had recommended lifting the stay on construction of the Mumbai Metro Line 3 car shed at Aarey Milk Colony. Reportedly, the committee has said that shifting the car shed site from Aarey would not be viable. 

Student pursuing MBBS in Ukraine turns out to be Gram Pradhan of UP, Panchayat Raj issues notice: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Student pursuing MBBS in Ukraine turns out to be Gram Pradhan of UP, Panchayat Raj issues notice: Details

The Russian-Ukraine conflict has jeopardised Gram Pradhan’s seat in Uttar Pradesh. A video of Vaishali Yadav, who was elected Gram Pradhan last year, had surfaced on February 24 when Russia announced military action against Ukraine. Yadav is currently pursuing MBBS from Ivano Frankivsk National Medical University had appealed to the Government of India to rescue the students stuck in Ukraine.

Reports suggest that the villagers were not aware that Yadav had returned to Ukraine after being elected as Gram Pradhan, and the information has irked them. Panchayati Raj has reportedly issued a notice to Yadav seeking an explanation why she moved back to Ukraine after getting elected as Gram Pradhan.

It appears that in the last year, while Yadav was in Ukraine, the work in her village continued, and some funds were utilised. As per a report in News18, Panchayati Raj would conduct an investigation on the funds utilised by Gram Panchayat in her absence.

‘I chose Ukraine as its degree is accepted across EU’

Speaking to Times of India, 24-years-old Vaishali said she chose Ukraine for MBBS as its degree is acceptable across European Union. She said, “I never thought that I would get stuck here in the crossfire. I have only chosen Ukraine because its degree is accepted for practice anywhere in the EU. I only want a flight back home now.”

Attending meetings via video calls

In December 2021, Amar Ujala had reported ‘praising’ Vaishali for attending Gram Panchayat meetings via video calls. The report suggested Yadav wanted to develop her village Tera Pursali on the lines of villages in Ukraine. Vaishali, who had done her schooling from Hardoi district and Lucknow, has been pursuing MBBS in Ukraine for the last three years.

Last year, she expressed her desire to contest Gram Panchayat elections to her father and former Block President Mahendra Singh Yadav. The report further suggested initially, her father did not agree as she had to return to Ukraine to complete her studies, but she ‘insisted’ she could attend Gram Panchayat meetings via video conferencing and continue her studies in Ukraine.

Though Amar Ujala’s report suggested she wanted to come back after completing her studies and work for the betterment of her village, the TOI report suggested she selected Ukraine as its degree is acceptable in European Union.

OpIndia tried to reach out to the Panchayati Raj District head and Arwal Police Station but could not connect.

‘Son could not get a medical seat due to caste-based reservations, donation’: Shekarappa, father of Naveen, Indian student killed in Ukraine

OpIndia Staff
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‘Son could not get a medical seat due to caste-based reservations, donation’: Shekarappa, father of Naveen, Indian student killed in Ukraine

Shekarappa, the father of deceased Naveen – the Indian student who died in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, said that his son could not get a medical seat even after scoring 97 per cent in his MBBS entrance in India, prompting him to go abroad to pursue his education in Ukraine. Shekharappa, a retired mechanical engineer, regretted that the caste-based reservation and the menace of donations have pushed intelligent and meritorious students out of the country. 

“For MBBS In India, donations are very bad. Due to this, intelligent students are going abroad as they have to spend crores in India. Seats here are being allotted based on caste-based reservations and not on merit,” said Shekharappa, who lost his son in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine clashes. 

The father of the deceased Indian student said that his son could not secure a medical seat despite scoring 97% in PUC. “It became inevitable for us to send him to Ukraine for studies. But we lost him,” he added. 

Naveen, a fourth-year MBBS student who died in a shelling incident in Kharkiv, was a native of Chalageri village in Ranebennur taluk of Haveri district. 

Gangadhar Gyanagoudar, a relative, recalled that Naveen was a bright student from the beginning, but his family could not afford the cost of medical education in India. So he was sent to study medicine in Ukraine. Speaking to the media, Shekharappa urged the Indian government to end the menace of donations and caste-based reservations to enable meritorious students to pursue their education in the country itself. He also urged the government to make all efforts to bring his son’s mortal remains to India. 

Naveen died in shelling at Kharkiv

Naveen Shekharappa, the 21-year-old MBBS student in Kharkiv, lost his life on March 1 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, when he was out of the shelter to buy something from a nearby store. 

The final year medical student from Karnataka’s Haveri died when Russian soldiers blew up a government building on Tuesday.

According to the TV9 report, Naveen was standing in a line for food outside Governor’s house city hall. A Russian individual grabbed the phone found near the body and took it to Indians, which helped identify Naveen. The mortal remains have been shifted to the local morgue. Around 3000-4000 Indian students are stuck in Kharkiv.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi confirmed the death and tweeted, “With profound sorrow, we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning. The Ministry is in touch with his family.”

Priyanka Chaturvedi targets the Indian Embassy in Poland over a video of a student stuck in Kyiv, Netizens give her a lesson in geography

OpIndia Staff
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Priyanka Chaturvedi targets the Indian Embassy in Poland over a video of a student stuck in Kyiv, Netizens give her a lesson in geography

Despite being snubbed by Poland’s Ambassador to India, Adam Burakowski, for propagating false information, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Tuesday, sent out another tweet to attack Indian Embassy in Poland. However, in her haste to do so, she landed up making a mockery of herself as she went on to share the plight of a student stranded in Kyiv instead of Poland.

On March 1, 2022, the Shiv Sena MP used Twitter to re-post a clip from the news agency NDTV in order to once again vilify the Embassy of India in Warsaw, Poland. She captioned her Tweet as, “Hello @IndiainPoland another fake news for you to RT”.

The student speaking in the video shared by NDTV was Shreya, a trapped Indian in Kyiv. Priyanka Chaturvedi, who was undoubtedly so outraged by yesterday’s humiliation, that she directed it at Indian Embassy in Poland, despite the NDTV Tweet clearly mentioning that the student was in Kyiv.

This is undoubtedly erroneous as Kyiv is the capital city of Ukraine and the Embassy of India in Warsaw, Poland may only assist Indian people stranded in Poland’s border areas or seeking entry into the country. They can’t aid students stuck in Ukraine, no matter how hard they try, until they fly to the country’s borders. A fundamental understanding that the Shiv Sena MP should perhaps brush up on before sending out such erroneous tweets that simply serve to embarrass her.

Priyanka Chaturvedi’s effort to mock the Embassy of India in Warsaw, Poland boomeranged at her. Netizens used the opportunity to give some geography lessons to the Shiv Sena MP.

Many social media users highlighted that Kyiv was in Ukraine and that Priyanka was harassing the Indian embassy in Poland.

Another social media user said people like Priyanka Chaturvedi should be barred from tweeting in such crucial times. The user further said that she is clueless about diplomacy and has zero understanding of geopolitics.

“I think she has a lack of knowledge in geography,” said another social media user.

Priyanka Chaturvedi embarrasses herself after making fallacious claims about Indians being stopped from entering Poland on Ukraine border

On February 28 too, the Shiv Sena MP had embarrassed herself after she claimed that Indians are not being allowed by Poland to enter from Ukraine’s border. Chaturvedi had tagged Poland’s Embassy in India and said entry to Poland was being denied to lots of Indian students. She further alleged those students who were allowed entry on Sunday were sent back.

No sooner she Tweeted, Adam Burakowski, Ambassador of Poland to India, refuted the claims and snubbed her for spreading fake news. Burakowski requested Chaturvedi to check her sources before posting anything on social media. He said the Polish government did not deny entry to anyone from Ukraine.

Meanwhile, a popular social media user going by the handle @Scar3rd has claimed that the Poland government has complained to India of unprovoked harassment of the Polish Ambassador by an Indian Rajya Sabha MP.

India to operate buses on the Ukrainian side for Indians

As per the latest advisory by the Embassy of India in Poland, ten buses have started operating at Shehyni on the Ukraine side of the border.

The buses would take the Indian citizens to other border checkpoints for transit entry into Poland. The buses would drive through Krakowiec and Budomierz border checkpoints and drop students at the residential accommodation arranged by the Embassy at Rzeszow, Poland.

The aim is to reduce the crowding at Shehyni and provide Indian nationals safe environment. The buses are exclusively arranged for those who are stuck at the Shehyni border. The embassy has further urged the Indians lodged in Lviv to stay put and wait for the congestion at the Shehyni border to ease. The government of Poland had also earlier declared that Indian students will not be asked to produce visas.

Russia expelled from FIFA World Cup and UEFA after International Olympic Committee asked to ban athletes

OpIndia Staff
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Russia expelled from FIFA World Cup and UEFA after International Olympic Committee asked to ban athletes

Russia has been expelled from the 2022 FIFA World Cup and other football competitions as a reaction to its invasion of Ukraine.

In a joint statement with European football body UEFA, FIFA stated that Russian clubs and national teams had been banned from competitions “until further notice”.

The move came in the wake of a letter written by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), asking sports organisations to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and sports officials from participating in any international events. The IOC said the move was needed to “protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants.”

The International Olympics Committee last week decided to withdraw the Olympic order from Russian President Vladimir Putin stating ‘the extremely grave violation of the Olympic Truce and other violations of the Olympic Charter by the Russian government in the past.’ The Geopolitical situation amidst the Ukraine-Russia tussle has caught the ire of the international sports community while many have asked to bar Russia from participating in sports competitions and leagues in the future.

Soon after IOC’s Executive meeting took place, the European football governing body confirmed that Russian players will be suspended from FIFA and UEFA. Earlier on Sunday, Football’s world governing body announced sanctions against Russia. Russian players were however allowed to compete under the name, ‘Football Union of Russia’ with no flag or anthem. With this move, pressure mounted over FIFA to remove Russia while Labour MP Chris Bryant from the UK labelled the body’s response a ‘shambles’.

After IOC’s meeting, the FIFA Council and the Executive Committee of UEFA issued a statement saying, “‘Following the initial decisions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which envisaged the adoption of additional measures, FIFA and UEFA have today decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice.”

The bodies highlighted, “Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine. Both Presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people,”

In 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency put a two-year ban on Russian athletes to compete in the Olympic events as a measure to punish the country for its state-sponsored doping program. Going beyond Football, IOC’s steps are going to affect individual Russian players participating in international leagues as well. Daniil Medvedev, the Russian tennis player who bagged world number one after defeating Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka at the ATP 500 tournament might lose his position owing to IOC’s current move.

“By being a tennis player I want to promote peace all over the world, We play in so many different countries. I’ve been in so many different countries as a junior and as a pro. It’s just not easy to hear all this news. I’m all for peace,” said the 26-year-old player affected by IOC’s decision condemning the Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Russian football team Spartak Moscow is also banned by the UEFA – European governing body on football to participate in the ongoing Champions League finale which was due to take place in St Petersburg on May 28, 2021. With the blanket ban on Russia by the European clout in International sports, cancel culture has concreted its way into sports, being dictated by geopolitical changes. Gone are the days, when calls of separating sports and politics were given; it looks like the politics of sports is here to dictate who plays and who doesn’t.

Telangana Congress president stokes north-south divide, claims CM KCR has Bihari DNA and relies on Bihari officers​

OpIndia Staff
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Telangana Congress president stokes north-south divide, claims CM KCR has Bihari DNA and relies on Bihari officers​

Taking a leaf out of Congress playbook of regional polarisation, Telangana Congress president A Revanth Reddy recently fanned ‘North-South’ divide in his attempt to rundown chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. Reddy claimed that KCR had a Bihari DNA in him and is running the state with the help of Bihari officers like chief secretary Somesh Kumar and acting DGP Anjani Kumar.

The remarks were made in response to TRS’ decision to rope in poll strategist Prashant Kishor for the 2023 assembly elections and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Insinuating that KCR is working against the interests of Telangana, Revanth said the CM, who used to rely on his welfare schemes to win him elections, is now seeking help of strategist from Bihar for acing the polls. 

“The ancestors of KCR belonged to Bihar, which he himself had admitted in an interview to a television channel in 2008 and that they had migrated to Telangana. KCR, who used to bank on his welfare schemes to win elections, is now taking the help of a political strategist from Bihar in Prashant Kishore,” Revanth said in an official statement released after a meeting held in Secunderabad to review the status of digital membership drive of the party.

Revanth cited the appointments of Somesh Kumar and Anjani Kumar, both of whom are from Bihar, to the post of chief secretary and acting DGP respectively, to back his claim that KCR is employing discriminatory measures against the people of Telangana.

“The top post in state administration, that of the chief secretary has been given to Somesh Kumar who is from Bihar and in charge director general of police Anjani Kumar is also from Bihar. Municipal administration principal secretary Arvind Kumar, Sandeep Kumar Sultania among others— all holding a major chunk of portfolios in the state administration are from Bihar. Our bureaucrats from Telangana like R S Praveen Kumar have been meted out a raw deal,” Revanth was quoted as saying by Times of India. 

Continuing his attempt to fuel ‘North-South’ discord, Revanth asked people whether they wanted Telangana state to be governed by a Bihar batch, calling upon the IAS and IPS officers from the state to give up their post and demonstrate to the world the “pourusham of Telangana.”

“You all know how the politics of Bihar is run on the strength of the sword. Violence mars elections. Women cannot venture out safely during night. You all know how bad law and order is in Bihar,” Revanth said, trying to insinuate the consequences of voting KCR back in power. 

The Congress playbook of stoking sub-nationalism and polarising the country on regional lines

It is worth noting that Revanth’s chauvinistic remarks came weeks after another Congress leader, Charanjit Singh Channi, made hateful remarks against people from UP, Bihar, while campaigning for assembly elections in Punjab. 

“The bhaiyas from UP, Bihar and Delhi come here to live and rule the state, we will not allow them to enter,” Channi said while addressing a public meeting. Notably, ‘Bhaiye’ in Punjabi is a pejorative reference for people of UP and Bihar. While Channi was promising to evict people from UP and Bihar, Priyanka Gandhi was standing by his side unflustered and instead, cheering the Punjab CM on his comments. 

Her brother, Rahul Gandhi, too has a storied history of stoking regional polarisation in a desperate bid to reverse his sagging political fortunes. In February 2021, the Gandhi scion on his visit to Kerala insulted the voters of Amethi, his former constituency from where he was defeated by BJP’s Smriti Irani in 2019 General elections. 

Addressing the public in Trivandrum, Kerala, the senior Congress leader said that “people in Kerala are interested in issues and not just superficially but going into detail in issues”. One was left to wonder whether Rahul Gandhi was insinuating that the people in the North are not as serious and informed as the people of the South. 

Approximately a year before that, Rahul Gandhi attacked North Indian states claiming that they had emasculated Panchayati Raj. In April 2020, Rahul Gandhi had said that North Indian states are not empowering people as much as the South Indian states, because the North Indian states believe more in centralisation of power while South Indian states believe in ideas like Panchayati Raj.

More recently, in February 2022, Rahul Gandhi was accused of stoking sub-nationalism when he ignited a massive debate in the country by questioning the very idea of India as a ‘nation’. Speaking in the Parliament on the motion of thanks to President’s Address in Lok Sabha, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi claimed that India was just a “union of states” and not as a nation.

Subramanian Swamy hurls abuses at PM Modi for “being neutral” while students are being rescued from a war that has nothing to do with India

OpIndia Staff
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Subramanian Swamy hurls abuses at PM Modi for “being neutral” while students are being rescued from a war that has nothing to do with India

Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy hurled abuses at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ‘being neutral’ amidst the conflict in the Eastern European country.

In a tweet on Tuesday (March 1), Subramanian Swamy claimed, “Now that it is clear that what Russia has done in Ukraine violates BRICS Resolution in Delhi Declaration of last year.” He asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct Russia to stop its military offensive.

Screengrab of the tweet by Subramanian Swamy

“Will Modi have the guts to tell Putin to back off?” said the Parliamentarian displayed his ignorance. It must be mentioned that on February 24 (the day of invasion), PM Modi had called for an immediate cessation of violence in Ukraine during his telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Keeping geopolitical concerns and the country’s interests in mind, India abstained from voting on the United Nations Security Council resolution that criticised Russia’s action against Ukraine. Despite this, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations TS Tirumurti made it clear that India was deeply disturbed by the turn of events in Ukraine.

“No solution can ever be arrived at at the cost of human lives. We are also deeply concerned about the welfare of the Indian community, including a large number of students, in Ukraine. The contemporary global order has been built on the UN Charter, international law and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states,” he stated.

The career diplomat had added, “All members need to honour these principles and find a constructive way forward. Dialogue is the only answer to settling disputes. However, daunting it may appear at this moment,” TS Tirumurti told the United Nations.

Given that it is not ‘India’s war’, the government chose to stay balanced while being upfront in condemning hostilities carried out in Ukraine by Russia. Swamy, a vocal critic of the BJP government, held the belief that such a move displayed that the Modi government lacked guts.

Subramanian Swamy calls PM Modi a ‘political Hijda’

A Twitter user (@AndyKapur1) had emphasised, “No, he’s caught between a rock and a hard place, the best is to play neutral which he is doing.” Miffed by the response, Swamy resorted to using derogatory language against the transgender community.

In a bid to label the “Indian government’ as ‘incompetent’, Swamy dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a ‘political Hijda.’ Swamy claimed, “A Prime Minister of 1.4 billion cultured people cannot be a political hijda.”

Screengrab of the tweet

Operation Ganga to the rescue

While Subramanian Swamy has been busy in mud slinging, the Indian government, under ‘Operation Ganga’, has moved a massive amount of personnel and resources to repatriate every stranded Indian from Ukraine.

The Ukrainian airspace was closed for civilian aircraft from Thursday (February 24) morning onwards. As such, the Indian embassy in Ukraine had to coordinate with the embassies of neighbouring countries in Poland, Romania and Hungary for the creation of safe evacuation channels.

Under ‘Operation Ganga’, Indians are first taken in batches from Ukraine to bordering countries (currently Hungary and Romania) via buses/commute arranged by the embassy. They are then airlifted to Delhi or Mumbai through chartered Air India flights.

On Saturday (February 26) evening, the first Air India flight carrying 219 Indian nationals reached the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai from Bucharest in Romania.

As of Tuesday (March 1), a total of 2012 Indians were evacuated via 9 chartered Air India flights under Operation Ganga. It must be mentioned that prior to the closure of the Ukrainian airspace, Air India had evacuated 240 people from Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv on Tuesday (February 22). This puts the total number of Indian evacuees at 2252.

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