PDP Leader Mehbooba Mufti, while speaking at her party’s ‘Tribal Youth Convention’ in Jammu on Monday, has remarked that getting rid of the BJP in the upcoming elections will be a greater ‘Azadi’ than freedom from the British in 1947.
Mufti said, “Seventy-five years ago people of this country got a chance to fight for freedom against the British. Now, we have the opportunity to get rid of the BJP”. With a move to incite people stoking the ‘Azadi’ narrative, she said, “Getting rid of the BJP in UP will be greater ‘Azadi’ than in 1947 because they want to break this country into pieces.” She alleged that the ruling party is dividing people on the basis of religion. While toeing the religious line herself, she later remarked, “Sikhs are being called Khalistanis, The Hindus who oppose are called anti-national, and the Muslims who raise a voice are being called Pakistanis”
Talking about the Uttar Pradesh Elections, the PDP leader said, Assembly Elections are going to take place in Uttar Pradesh and they are recalling Aurangzeb and Babur.” She urged the people to read history and write down their own destiny while taking inspiration from it. Mehbooba further claimed that Jammu and Kashmir acceded to ‘Mahatma Gandhi’s India and not Nathuram Godse’s India’. Lashing out at the BJP she said, “We will not allow this country to become Nathuram Godse’s nation. They (BJP) pray to Godse but Gandhi was the biggest Hindu, a vegetarian and a secular leader who was not having any hatred against anyone, even those who were non-vegetarians.”
While giving big statements about India and national unity, Mufti called migrant workers from other states working in the union territory as ‘outsiders’. “They are giving jobs and land to outsiders and then they (BJP) claimed that this will do development in the state. I ask them to show development in Uttar Pradesh. They can’t provide hospitals in UP.” Mehbooba Mufti claimed.
It is not understood why was Mufti worried about the upcoming elections. Her party has no candidates in the coming state elections and Mufti has declared that she won’t contest elections even in Jammu and Kashmir unless the statehood is restored.
Mufti has time and again instigated separatism and incited violence against the Indian government. In 2020, she had stated that she will not unfurl the Indian national flag. Earlier, she had warned that if any government tries to touch Article 35A, their hands will burn and violence and bloodshed will follow.
Amidst rising uncertainty over Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial candidate in Punjab, Arvind Kejriwal announced Tuesday that his party would fight the upcoming assembly polls in the state with Bhagwant Mann the CM face.
Bhagwant Mann is AAP Punjab president and a member of parliament from the Sangrur constituency.
पंजाब का अगला CM कौन होगा? आम आदमी पार्टी के CM चेहरे का एलान | LIVE https://t.co/aZiBEzSzZ2
Kejriwal ascribed the party’s decision to go ahead with Mann as the chief ministerial candidate to an unusual referendum, in the form of televote asking people to vote for their choice of leader as the party’s CM candidate.
People were asked to use their phones and Whatsapp to vote for their preferred candidate. More than 93 per cent of the people who voted their choice opted for Bhagwant Mann, Arvind Kejriwal told reporters.
Earlier on January 13, Kejriwal had launched a mobile phone number and asked people of Punjab to send suggestions on their preferred chief ministerial candidates.
Punjab assembly polls post-poned from February 14 to February 20
It is notable to mention that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has deferred the Vidhan Sabha elections for the State of Punjab from February 14 to February 20 this year.
In a tweet posted on January 17, ECI spokesperson informed, “After consideration of all facts made available, Election Commission has announced 2022 General Elections to the Legislative Assembly of State of Punjab on 8th January 2022 under which notification for the election is to be issued on 21st January 2022 and poll is to take place on 14th February 2022.”
The new date for election notification is January 25, the last day of filing nominations on February 1, and the scrutiny of nominations will be conducted on February 2. The last date for withdrawal of nomination is February 2.
Elections in the State will now coincide with the 3rd phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh. The decision by the ECI was taken in consultation with the Chief Electoral Officer (ECI) and the Punjab government. Votes in the poll-bound State will be conducted on March 10, 2022.
The central government has dismissed state governments’ claims that the rejection of their tableau from the Republic Day Parade on Rajpath is politically motivated. The government refuted all of the CMs’ claims, asserting that the decision is made by a committee of non-political experts and that it should not be equated with regional pride.
“This is a wrong precedent, adopted by Chief Ministers of states to portray an outcome of an objective process as a flashpoint between the Centre and the states. This goes a long way in harming the country’s federal structure.” The sources from the central government are reported to have stated. They also stated that these chief ministers have perhaps “no positive agenda of their own that they have to resort to the same old trick using misinformation year after year”.
This comes after several states’ tableaus for the R-Day parade were rejected, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. All of the opposition states criticized the central government, alleging that everything had been intentionally done.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her anger and disappointment at the decision in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, emphasizing that the state’s tableau was rejected without explanation. Some politicians in Kerala have called it an “insult” from the national government. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin expressed his disappointment through a letter that the tableau of prominent liberation heroes from Tamil Nadu will not be featured in the procession.
குடியரசு தின அணிவகுப்பில், தமிழ்நாட்டிலிருந்து நாட்டின் விடுதலைக்காகப் போராடிய வீரர்களின் உருவங்கள் அடங்கிய ஊர்தி இடம்பெறுவது மறுக்கப்பட்டிருப்பது குறித்து மாண்புமிகு முதலமைச்சர் @mkstalin அவர்கள் மாண்புமிகு பிரதமர் @narendramodi அவர்களுக்குக் கடிதம் எழுதியுள்ளார். pic.twitter.com/l33BpS3WXc
The spat erupted again on Monday, with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin joining West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in pleading with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene immediately.
Selection process of Tableaux
The tableaux are not decided by the Central government. The Ministry of Defence appoints an expert panel consisting of prominent people from various fields like art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, dance, amongst others, for the selection.
Before making suggestions, the committee considers the topic, idea, design, and visual impact of the submissions. Only a few of the suggestions can be approved due to time restrictions. Out of the 56 proposals received from states and central ministries this year, 21 were selected for further consideration.
To say that Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are being treated unfairly would be incorrect as the same central government under Narendra Modi had accepted Kerala’s tableau proposals in 2018 and 2021. Similarly, Tamil Nadu’s tableaux were accepted in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2021 and West Bengal’s designs were accepted in 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2021.
Banerjee also accused the central government of disrespecting Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose for rejecting the state tableau. However, according to the sources cited by various publications, with this year’s tableau of the Central Public Works Department, which falls within the purview of the central government, incorporates Netaji as a topic. Hence, any question of his disrespect put up by the State government of Bengal does not even exist.
On Tuesday, the Rajasthan government declared that it would spend Rs 5 crore for the construction of boundary walls in waqf land or graveyards, madrasas and schools that belong to the minority community. This is after CM Ashok Gehlot on Monday approved the package of Rs 98.55 crores, especially for the development of the minority community in the state.
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot approved a revised proposal to spend Rs 98.55 crore in various schemes from a fund of Rs 100 crore set up for the inclusive development of the minority community in the state, reads an official statement
According to the reports, from the 100 crores set up for the inclusive development of the minority community, the CM has decided to allocate Rs 50 lakh for the development of traditional skills of the people of the minority community, also Rs 1.25 crores for the upskilling of the minority craftsmen.
The government will also be spending Rs 58 lakhs from state government funds for developing e-study rooms in 15 government minority hostels and Rs 44 crores for infrastructure development in minority-dominated areas. As proposed by Congress, under the Indira Gandhi Urban Credit Card Scheme, the Gehlot government has assigned Rs 5 crore for interest subsidy on loans. It has also decided to look after the development and restructuring of the Maulana Azad University, Jodhpur.
Reports further suggest that a research counter will be set up in the coming period for the upliftment of minorities and the government has sanctioned Rs 2 crore for the purpose. Official statement read that Rs 1 crore would be used for the Minority Meritorious Youth Promotion Scheme. The Gehlot administration has furthermore has decided to uplift the farmers of the minority community. It has proposed to set up a solar pump grant scheme for minority farmers at a cost of Rs 15.42 crore.
In the 2021-22 budget, the Rajasthan government had allocated Rs. 100 crores for the total development of ‘religious tourist circuit’ connecting places of worship of Sikhs, Jains, Hindus, and Muslims in order to develop ‘Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava’. According to the census, there are 13 per cent Muslims in the state who are contended with Rajasthan government’s decision to undertake the development of 9 Muslim religious places under the 100 crore ‘religious tourist circuit’ programme.
Late on Monday night, a youth tried to molest a girl inside the Jawaharlal Nehru University Campus, Delhi. As per reports, the incident took place at around 11.45 pm on Monday night when one person came on a bike inside the campus from the Eastern gate. He reportedly tried to molest the girl, who is a PhD student residing on the campus.
The Delhi Police has registered a case against the unnamed accused for sexual assault against the PhD student.
Delhi police registered a case against a person for outraging the modesty of a girl student pursuing PhD in JNU. The incident took place in the campus area last night, one boy came on a bike from inside campus and tried to molest her: Delhi Police
The Delhi Police has filed an FIR in the case. However, the police have reportedly stated that initial investigation has revealed that the motorcyclist had come from within the campus, and after the woman raised an alarm, he was seeing fleeing inside the campus.
DCP (South West) Gaurav Sharma stated to Indian Express that they had received a call regarding the incident late on Monday night.
In 2019, another case of alleged sexual assault had surfaced. A JNU student had alleged that she was raped by a cab driver in the night. The Delhi Police, however, had faced criticism for stating that their investigation showed the victim’s statement had inconsistencies and she was seen roaming outside the campus in an inebriated state, at the time of the alleged crime.
On Monday (January 17), Kollywood actor Dhanush announced his separation from his wife of 18 years, Aishwarya Rajinikanth. The actor is the son-in-law of superstar Rajinikanth.
As per reports, the duo tied the knot on November 18, 2004, when Dhanush was 21 and Aishwarya was 23 years old. They have two children, named, Yatra and Linga, who were born in 2006 and 2010 respectively.
In a Twitter post, Dhanush wrote, “18 years of togetherness as friends, couple, as parents and well-wishers to each other. The journey has been of growth, understanding, adjusting and adapting. Today we stand at a place where our paths separate…”
He further added, “Dhanush and I have decided to part ways as a couple and take time to understand us as individuals for the better. Please do respect our decision and give us the needed privacy to deal with this. Much love always to you all 🙂 Om Namashivaaya”
A similar message was posted on Instagram by Dhanush’s now estranged wife Aishwarya Rajinikanth.
Yesterday the Congress Party had shared a video of actor Sonu Soon to indirectly project Charanjeet Singh Channi as a CM candidate. In the video, Sonu Sood, like every Punjab politician giving a media interview nowadays, was for some reason, standing in a ‘Khet’. Punjab has been so stereotyped by Bollywood that anything about Punjab has to be about no-context ‘Khets’, but that is a discussion for another day.
Well, Sonu Sood, standing in a Khet for no apparent reason or context, was seen saying that an ideal CM should be the one who does not try to be one, but is offered the CM’s chair. “The real CM/ King is the one who is directly given the throne… Such a leader does not need to struggle or prove to others that he is a deserving candidate. It is like taking a backbencher and giving him the throne,” he was heard as saying.
The video then shows no-context clips of Channi, with no-context music lifted from the recent Allu Arjun blockbuster ‘Pushpa’. Thank god that Channi was not shown chewing a Bidi and saying “Channi ante flower anakunnava….. Fire u.”
The video was a very loud and dramatic projection of Channi as the Congress CM, only Congress, for some unknown reason, is not saying it directly, just showing us that it is Sonu Sood saying it, and giving us Telugu music to pick up the not-so-subtle hint and understand that Channi is their CM face.
However, now it has been revealed that Congress, in their overzealous ‘filmy’ mood, not just lifted the music from ‘Pushpa’, they even lifted the Sonu Sood clip, from, you would never have guessed it, Barkha Dutt’s Mojo. Nope. Not kidding.
Not just did @IncIndia filch & edit clip from @themojostory interview with @sonusood to ALMOST endorse Charanjit Channi as CM candidate ( still almost) ; they didnt reveal that Sonu Sood is not talking of Channi; he is talking of himself & his plans to contest elections. Watch ! pic.twitter.com/WzlbtAe9Va
Barkha has revealed that not only did Congress just steal the Sonu Sood clip from his talk with Mojo, they flipped the no-context Khet scene and used it in an entirely different context. Sonu was apparently speaking about himself and his plans to contest elections, he wasn’t speaking about Channi at all.
A video from here, a photo from 2010, some clips from Bangladesh: A sad story of Congress without content
Congress filching content has sadly become a habit of them. We are not saying that this is a habit they absorbed during the 6-decade-long reign on the country. But during the last few years of Modi rule, the Congress Party seems to be running out of MPs, MLAs, luck, political relevance, leadership and even campaign ideas.
Recently, Congress had shared another video, that was stolen from an old Flipkart ad.
Making a meme without consent is understood, but the Congress party is taking copyright infringement to the next level! Do their leaders not know about laws? That is some seriously capable leadership they have!! https://t.co/uMlpQJrNy9
Last week, they had shared a picture from 2010, from an incident of people protesting against the death of a local Kashmiri person, and had claimed that it was the ‘youth of the country’ protesting against the lack of jobs under the Modi government that came in 2014.
Congress using 2010 image from Kashmir
One of the favourite activities of Congress leaders is to find photos from Bangladesh and claim that it is poverty and suffering caused by the Modi government in India.
Congress’ official handle tweeting image of Rohingyas in Bangladesh as that of poor suffering in India.
In May 2020, Dalit Congress had shared a 2017 image of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to claim they are the poor people of India suffering under the Modi government.
In September that year, Congress princess Priyanka Gandhi Vadra used a UPA-era image to claim farmers are in distress under the Modi government.
Then they had used an image from 2013, showing a polluted river, to claim Modi did not fulfil his promises.
Congress using old images to make fake claims
Priyanka Vadra is quite fond of using old images from the UPA rule to blame BJP and Modi.
Priyanka using 2013 image to blame Modi for farmers’ problems in 2020.
In the above tweet, Priyanka had used a 2013 image to blame the BJP.
Congress had even claimed they help the poor more than the ruling party during the Covid crisis in 2020, by using video clips from 2019.
In February 2021, Congress leaders and their supporters just took some media images from a Left parties rally in 2019 at Kolkata’s brigade Ground to claim the crowd seen in the images are the people turned up at the Congress-CPM rally in the same place. You see, just because the city and the rally ground was the same, they thought that a 2-year time gap and parties involved hardly mattered.
Congress campaign song in 2020
the above image is a screenshot from Congress’ campaign song for Delhi in 2020, shared as ‘congress wali Dilli’. They had taken the photo from an anti-CAA march led by Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata and had passed it off as a Congress contribution to Delhi’s development.
Out of ideas, out of leadership
For the past couple of years, Congress has been declaring that Sonia Gandhi is only a working President and they are in the process of finding a full-time party president. Multiple factions of the party declare that they fully support Rahul Gandhi as party president, every few months. But Rahul never takes over the job. In the meanwhile, Priyanka, after registering a thumping loss in the 2019 general elections, gets propped up again and again as the next big leader.
By thumping loss, we are referring to 63 of the 67 Congress candidates losing their deposits in the 2019 general elections in UP ‘under Priyanka Gandhi’s leadership’. 66 of the candidates lost. Sonia Gandhi was the only winning candidate of Congress in that state.
Rahul Gandhi is out of the country ‘to undisclosed locations’ to spend holidays several times a year at crucial moments. There is no certainty when he is in India and when he is ‘abroad’ in some mysterious location. The party las lost Amarinder Singh, the only significant Congress leader who had won a popular mandate in the last few years and had been busy putting out internal fights among party leaders.
However, the sad old party is keeping its social media game top-notch, like a 15-year-old who fails in every subject in school, but is a TikTok celebrity.
If only elections could be won by filching a video from here and a music score from there, using some photos from Bangladesh and Nepal, Congress would easily rule over the country. Sadly for the party, the people keep voting for others.
On January 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed World Economic Forum. During his address, a minor technical glitch happened, which was picked by Twitter trolls to dent the image of PM Modi, yet again on the international forum. Interestingly, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi relied on these trolls and tried to defame PM Modi on social media.
In his tweet, Gandhi wrote, “Even Teleprompter could not bear such lies.”
Twitter trolls had a ‘rollercoaster ride’ of propaganda
Several verified Twitter trolls, some of them masquerading as journalists, saw the technical glitch as an opportunity to run their agenda-filled propaganda against PM Modi. The Wire journalist Rohini Singh said, “Seems some poor technicians in the PMO will lose their job today. Just hope they aren’t charged with sedition/UAPA and what not. Noida media must be on standby to take out some Khalistani link to the embarrassment today!”
Filmmaker Vinod Kapri said, “Unbelievable. The sad thing is that as soon as the teleprompter failed in the #WEF address, Narendra Modi could not utter a single word, and the stammer after that is even more painful.” Kapri is known for his anti-Modi and anti-BJP rants.
Congress leader Jignesh Mevani said, “Worried about teleprompter operator. We all know how vindictive he can get, especially when it’s his own inadequacies are exposed.”
Maharashtra Congress SM Coordinator Pankaj Saraf said, “This movement, it is proved he is just an actor (Parrot), not a leader.”
What happened during PM Modi’s WEF address?
OpIndia checked the recording of PM Modi’s address available on WEF’s official YouTube channel. His address started at 8:37. In less than a minute, someone from his team signalled him. That was the time when he had looked at his left. It can be seen between 9:20 to 9:26. At 9:27, someone from the background said, “Sir aap unse ek baar poochein ki sab jud gaye kya. (Sir, please ask them if everyone has joined)”.
Then, from 9:33, PM Modi confirmed from Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, if he could hear him, to which he confirmed he could hear him. After that, Schwab asked to officially start the address and first introduced PM Modi. After his introduction, PM Modi addressed the forum again.
It is notable initially translator was not speaking while PM Modi was addressing the forum. She started translating PM Modi’s speech in Hindi only after PM Modi restarted his address following Schwab.
The issue of teleprompter
It is obvious that the speech of the Prime Minister was being run on the teleprompter. The speeches that PM gives on such platforms are prepared in advance. When PM Modi is addressing a crowd, the teleprompter is located on the sides. In such cases, PM Modi often looks at left or right periodically.
However, when such an address is given virtually, or he is recording an address, the teleprompter could be located in front of him. It is evident as PM Modi looks straight into the camera during such speeches. In this case, someone from PM’s team must have tried to get his attention when he looked on the side.
The explanation was detailed in a video by popular Twitter account Politikal Keda as well on its Twitter account.
Waiting for @TwitterIndia to mark all those tweet with “Manipulated Media” who were running fake propaganda of Teleprompter failure. pic.twitter.com/bZvySTI19y
It is amusing that Rahul Gandhi, who has a history of gaffes himself during public addresses would want to take a dig at PM Modi for what was obviously a technical glitch.
Ahead of the upcoming Vidhan Sabha polls in the State of Punjab, Congress is projecting incumbent Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as the face of the party.
On Monday (January 17), the official Twitter handle of the Congress posted a video of actor Sonu Sood, indirectly endorsing Channi as the Chief Ministerial candidate. “The real CM/ King is the one who is directly given the throne… Such a leader does not need to struggle or prove to others that he is a deserving candidate. It is like taking a backbencher and giving him the throne,” he was heard as saying.
“Such a politician will have the ability to transform the country,” the Bollywood actor concluded. Although the short monologue of Sonu Sood did not name any political leader, the video was followed by images of Charanjit Singh Channi. With elections just a month away in Punjab, the Congress party seems to have thrown its weight behind the incumbent Punjab CM.
The video was also retweeted by the official Twitter handle of the Punjab Congress. The development comes hours after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal announced that the name of the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate will be declared on Tuesday (January 18).
Interestingly, the video not just ‘presents’ Channi in a Bollywood style ‘hero-entry’ sequence, it also indirectly takes a dig on Sidhu, insinuating that ‘real’ CMs do not have to fight for the CM’s post.
Punjab Congress retweeted the video of Sonu Sood
With speculations on the rise about Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu being sidelined by the grand old party, a source from the ‘Sidhu camp’ tried to downplay the significance of the video posted by the official Twitter handle of the Congress.
While speaking to India Today, the source claimed that the video featuring Sonu Sood and Charanjit Singh Channi was posted by the social media war room and ‘promo team’ of the party. “They often edit clips and put them on the social media handle to create buzz,” he added. The source claimed that the party’s social media team tweets about both Sidhu and CM Channi from time to time.
He concluded, “This should not be seen as an official announcement or sanction by the Congress party high command.” On Monday (January 17), the Election Commission of India (ECI) informed that the Vidhan Sabha elections for the State of Punjab had been re-scheduled from February 14 to February 20 this year.
On January 16, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, alleged people from Gujarat had come to UP for campaigning. He added such people should be sent back, and he would write to the Election Commission for the same. SP chief also raised questions over IPS officer Aseem Arun who recently joined Bharatiya Janata Party. He alleged the officers who had worked under him would function as BJP workers during the elections. He further demanded the removal of all officers who had worked under Arun in the last five years.
‘People from Gujarat have come UP for campaining’
While interacting with reporters in Lucknow on Sunday, the SP chief alleged a month ago people from Gujarat had come to Lucknow for training. He alleged these people were trained to spread rumours, hate, lies and distribute money during the elections. He claimed those who got training in Lucknow would be used to train others in the state.
Yadav claimed his party workers from other states had not come to UP to ensure his party followed Covid-19 protocols. Interestingly, Yadav had held an alleged virtual rally in which hundreds of supporters had gathered. Later, Yadav had claimed he “did not know the meaning of virtual rally.”
Yadav claimed he had the information about the people from Gujarat who got training in Lucknow, and he would make it public. However, to date, no such information has come to light from Samajwadi Party. He further alleged his party had filed a complaint against four officials to the Election Commission, but the commission did not act.
‘People of Gujarat took away everything’
Yadav further alleged people of took away everything from UP’s economy. He said, “I remember meeting a Gujarat BJP MLA in London. I asked him why he was in UP (during the elections). He said he was in Banaras. When I asked him about spreading things during the elections, he said they did not only spread but also distributed (things).”
Earlier Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee have hated on Gujaratis
Akhilesh Yadav is not the first politician to spew venom on Gujaratis. During the West Bengal state assembly elections, Mamata Banerjee had led a hate campaign against Gujaratis and vowed not to let ‘Bengal turn into Gujarat’. In a blatant display of hatred against Gujaratis, she had alleged, “Gujaratis are trying to capture Bengal by bringing goons from UP and Bihar.” The West Bengal CM had emphasised, “We will not allow Bengal to become like Gujarat.”
Similarly, Rahul Gandhi, too, has regularly played divisive politics. In February 2021 in poll-bound Assam, Rahul Gandhi had promised to steal money from Gujaratis to fund his own political ambitions. Letting his hate for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, both Gujaratis, spill on to the people of Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi had claimed that Assam tea workers get paid Rs 167 per day wage while ‘traders in Gujarat’ get tea gardens. He did not give any proof to back his claims. He ‘promised’ that should the Congress come to power in Assam, the workers will get Rs 365 per day wage. “Where will the money come from? It will come from Gujarat’s traders”, he had said.
The above politicians have also regularly indulged in insulting industrialises Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani and accused them of being ‘Modi’s friends’ only because they are both with Gujarati roots. Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are Gujaratis which has been a major contributing factor for these people to hate on Gujaratis.
