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‘Punjab Police knew that PM’s convoy will be blocked, villagers were called from Gurudwara: India Today investigation

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‘Punjab Police knew that PM’s convoy will be blocked, villagers were called from Gurudwara: India Today investigation

On January 5, there was a security breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security when his convoy was halted on a flyover in Ferozepur, Punjab, due to protesters blocking the road. While Congress-led state government and Police officials have categorically denied security lapse from their end, a recent investigation by India Today tells a different story.

PM Modi was scheduled to travel by helicopter to the scheduled location for his rally. However, due to bad weather, he had to travel by road from Bathinda to Ferozepur. As per reports, the alternate route had already been shared by the Special Protection Group in case PM Modi had to travel by road. The state authorities were informed and directed to seal and sanitize the route as per protocol.

Furthermore, there were intelligence inputs about the planned protests shared by the Police Personnel with the concerning authorities. However, in the end, the route was not cleared as there were allegedly no orders from the higher authorities of Punjab Police to use any kind of force to clear the route. During the investigation, India Today reporters talked to two Police officials, a shopkeeper and a Sarpanch of the village where the car was stranded.

‘The protesters broke the barricades’

Ferozepur Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sukhdev Singh told India Today’s undercover reporters that he had sent messages to the Senior Superintendent of Police. He said, “At 11.45 AM, the protesters assembled and started moving towards Moga road. This message was delivered and read at 12.07 PM. At 12.20, the Ferozshah barricade was broken They were moving on the same route on which Modi was coming. This message was sent at 12.32 PM.”

Later, at 12:45 PM, Singh informed SSP that there were 200-225 protesters blocking the VVIP road. Five minutes later, SSP Bathinda called him to confirm there was no traffic jam on the route. He said, “I told him there was indeed a jam, and the entire area was blocked.” Shocked by the information, the SSP said, “We are doomed.”

It is noteworthy that on January 2, 3 and 4, Singh had officially informed Additional Director General of Police (Security) Nageshwar Rao about the inputs for possible road blockade.

Singh has also informed that the police knew about the plans by the BKU Krantikari to block the VVIP traffic on crucial roads and prevent BJP workers and supporters from reaching the venue of PM’s rally.

The input about Sikhs For Justice

DSP Singh said there was a video circulating the day before PM Modi’s visit. In the video, designated Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu had urged the protesters to block PM’s convoy. He also offered $100,000 for anyone who successfully hit PM Modi with a shoe during his visit to Punjab. DSP  said, “We had this input on January 4.” The input was forwarded to concerned authorities, but no action was taken.

‘No orders to use force to disperse protesters

Speaking to India Today reporters, SHO Birbal Singh, Kulgarhi Police Station, said they did not have any permission to use force against the protesters. He said, “Some people are angry. They had assembled. It’s their place, their right. What can we do? The government didn’t order us to beat them up.” He further added, “If we had orders to disperse them by lathis, tear gas shells or bullets, we could have dispersed them. But elections are coming. We couldn’t use force.”

SHO Singh alleged that the protesters came to the location all of a sudden, and there was a communication gap between the authorities. He alleged he was not aware of the protest.

‘There were not farmers but radicals’

SHO Birbal alleged that the protesting farmers were not actually farmers but radicals posing as farmers. He said, “Those who were protesting on January 5 on the road were not farmers. They were radicals posing as farmers.”

‘No one asked us to shut the shops’

As per the SPG protocol, the market on the route of the Prime Minister needs to be shut for the time the convoy passes through the area. However, in this case, the shops were not shut. An illegal liquor shop was also open within the market next to the flyover where PM Modi’s convoy was stranded for 20 odd minutes.

India Today talked to a shopkeeper named Bikir, who was present at his shop when PM Modi’s convoy got stuck at the flyover. He said his shop, along with others in the market, was open. No one asked them to shut the shops. When asked who the protesters were, he categorically said that they were not locals. He said, “All the protesters were outsiders and not from the area.”

‘Announcement was made from Gurudwara to join protesters’

Sarpanch Nichattar Singh told India Today that the locals were not involved in the protest. However, when the convoy was about to reach, the locals were urged to join the protesters. He said, “Announcement was made from the Gurudwara to join the protesters. Ten minutes before the convoy reached the bridge, two youth came running and informed us that there were farmers protesting on the road asking us to join.” Sarpanch further claimed that Kisan Union arranged the crowd that blocked the road.

The convoy of PM Modi reached the area at 12:52 PM. After waiting for around 20 minutes, the convoy turned back at 1:10 PM. The Supreme Court of India has formed a committee to probe the blockade. Concerned officers who were responsible for the security have been suspended by the state government. While Congress and Police personnel claim there was no security lapse, there is no denying the fact that the Police personnel were sipping tea with the protesters while the convoy was on the way, and no action was taken to clear the road. Reportedly, SFJ has taken responsibility for the road blockade.

United Nations experts ask USA to close Guantanamo Bay detention centre, call out ‘relentless human rights violations’

OpIndia Staff
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United Nations experts ask USA to close Guantanamo Bay detention centre, call out ‘relentless human rights violations’

Experts from the United Nations have urged the government of the USA to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba. They have called it an “ugly chapter of relentless human rights violations”, adding, “20 years of arbitrary detention without trial accompanied by torture or ill-treatment is unacceptable.”

In a statement, the United Nations mentioned that it is 20 years since the first batch of detainees arrived at Guantanamo Bay. The UN experts called it a “site of unparalleled notoriety” and said its continued operation was a stain on the US Government’s commitment to the rule of law.

“Twenty years of practising arbitrary detention without trial accompanied by torture or ill-treatment is simply unacceptable for any government, particularly a government which has a stated claim to protecting human rights,” said the independent experts, appointed by the Human Rights Council.

“In 2003, the facility was holding 700 prisoners. Twenty years later, 39 detainees remain but only nine of them have been charged with or convicted of crimes, 13 have been cleared for transfer. Between 2002 and 2021 nine detainees died in custody, two from natural causes and seven reportedly committed suicide. None had been charged or convicted of a crime”, the statement reads.

“Despite forceful, repeated and unequivocal condemnation of the operation of this horrific detention and prison complex with its associated trial processes, the United States continues to detain persons many of whom have never been charged with any crime,” the experts said.

The UN experts have also condemned the lack of proper medical facilities and torture rehabilitation for an ageing population of detainees. The UN experts asked the US government to close the site, return detainees home or to safe third countries while respecting the principle of non-refoulment, provide remedy and reparation for those egregiously tortured and arbitrarily detained by their agents, and hold those that authorized and engaged in torture accountable as required under international law.

It also condemned the efforts by Military Commissions that are still undergoing pre-trial proceedings on motions to suppress evidence of torture. They added that the US judicial system has so far failed to protect human rights and uphold the rule of law when it comes to Guantanamo Bay. They added that the issue of Guantanamo Bay has been made a “legal black hole”.

Guantanamo Bay detention centre

The Guantanamo Bay detention centre is a high-security prison operated by the US government to hold suspected terrorists, especially those captured from Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. It was started by the George Bush administration in 2001 and is maintained near the US Naval base on the Bay of Guantanamo in Cuba.

The US forces have been occupying the Guantanamo coast since the Spanish-American war of the early 1900s. The Cuban government condemns the continued occupation and wants the USA to vacate the area. The detention facility essentially operates outside the legal jurisdiction, and initially, the identity of the detainees was also kept a secret. The Bush administration was adamant that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to the detainees of the centre.

As president, Obama had promised to shut down Gitmo, as the centre is called. But his 8-year tenure failed to close the centre. Trump had reversed the promises. Biden has also not taken any steps to shut down the facility so far.

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Twitter account compromised, briefly changes name to that of Elon Musk

OpIndia Staff
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Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Twitter account compromised, briefly changes name to that of Elon Musk

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) Twitter account was briefly compromised where the person in charge of account briefly changed the name of the account to Elon Musk.

MIB account compromised

The MIB account also sent fan messages to billionaire businessman Elon Musk.

MIB Account hacked, tweets to Elon Musk

The MIB account sent ‘GREATT JOB!!’ and other such tweets addressed to Elon Musk.

However, within minutes, the MIB account was restored. The ministry took to Twitter to inform users that the account has been restored.

No information regarding the breach has been given.

In December last year, PM Modi’s account was hacked to tweet pro Bitcoin tweet. Prior to that, Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Bill Gates were also targeted.

Rajasthan: Minor, specially abled girl gang-raped, left bleeding on flyover in Alwar

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Minor, specially abled girl gang-raped, left bleeding on flyover in Alwar

A specially abled minor girl was found abandoned at Tijara flyover in Alwar, Rajasthan. She was bleeding from her private parts and was admitted to hospital. Speaking to news agency ANI, SP Tejaswini Gautam said that the police is probing the matter.

According to a report in Patrika, few men came in a car on Tuesday night at the flyover and left the minor girl covered in blood there. The girl has been admitted in the ICU and police are going through CCTV footage to nab the culprits.

As per the report, at around 8 PM on Tuesday night, some men drove down to the flyover and dropped off the girl there. Seeing the girl abandoned in unconscious state, passersby gathered and informed police immediately. Police soon arrived on scene and took the girl to the hospital. Noting her critical state, she was admitted in the ICU.

Witnesses said that the girl was in extreme pain and some people standing there were found taking videos of the girl. Some people from the crowd then called up police and police came and took her to hospital. As per police, the girl is about 15-16 years old and was bleeding from her private part. It is believed she was gang raped. The victim is currently extremely scared and not in a position to speak.

Actor Siddharth ‘writes a letter’ to Saina Nehwal for ‘subtle cock’ joke, calls himself ‘staunch feminist’

OpIndia Staff
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Actor Siddharth ‘writes a letter’ to Saina Nehwal for ‘subtle cock’ joke, calls himself ‘staunch feminist’

Bollywood entertainer Siddharth has written a ‘letter’ to ace badminton player Saina Nehwal over his crass ‘subtle cock’ joke after she tweeted over PM Modi’s security breach in Punjab last week. In a letter, he said that he would like to apologise for the ‘rude joke’ and claimed he had more grace in him than that tweet.

Siddharth, in his letter, insisted that his ‘subtle cock’ tweet was a joke and his ‘word play and humour’ had none of the malicious intent that so many people from all quarters have attributed to it. He further claimed he is a ‘staunch feminist ally’ and claimed there was no gender implied in his tweet. Siddharth further claimed he had no intention to attack Saina ‘as a woman’. Saina Nehwal had joined the BJP in January 2020.

Siddharth’s tweet on Saina

On January 6, 2022, Siddharth had responded to Saina’s tweet on PM Modi’s security breach and referred to former world no. 1 badminton player as ‘subtle cock’.

However, the ‘feminist ally’ Siddharth does have a history of crass tweets and comments on women he does not politically agree with. Just minutes after his distasteful ‘subtle cock’ tweet on Nehwal, Siddharth had made similar crass comments on Times Now journalist Navika Kumar and called her ‘stoolkit’.

Siddharth’s tweet on Navika

After Siddharth’s crass tweet on Nehwal went viral, he was pulled up by the NCW which wrote to Tamil Nadu DGP seeking action against Actor Siddharth seeking intervention and appropriate action against him.

Saina Nehwal’s achievements vs Siddharth’s achievements

Nehwal has won 24 international titles in her 16-year-long career. Out of 640 games she has played in her career, Saina has won 440 and lost 200. Here are some of her achievements.

In the 2012 London Olympics, Saina won the Bronze medal.

In 2015 and 2017, she won Silver and Bronze respectively in BWF World Championships.

In 2010 and 2018, Saina won Gold in Commonwealth Games.

In 2018, she won the Bronze in Asian Games.

In BWF World Tour 2018, she was runner-up in three events and in 2019, she was the winner.

In BWF Superseries, she has won 10 titles (one in 2009, three in 2010, two in 2012, two in 2014, one in 2015 and one in 2016).

In BWF Grand Prix, she has won ten titles from 2006 to 2017.

Siddharth is an entertainer.

Filmmaker Manish Mundra comes out to help Zomato executive Salil Tripathi’s family after his death in an accident by police car

OpIndia Staff
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Filmmaker Manish Mundra comes out to help Zomato executive Salil Tripathi’s family after his death in an accident by police car

Filmmaker Manish Mundra provided financial help to the family of Salil Tripathi, a restaurant manager who also worked as a Zomato delivery executive, following his unfortunate death after an SUV driven by a police constable rammed into him on Saturday night last week. Manish Mundra donated Rs 4 lakhs to the bereaved family after the demise of the sole bread-earner of the Tripathi family.

“Just felt sad about the whole series of events. And wanted to do something for the family. It can happen to anyone of us. As humans, we need to help and contribute as much as we can in such times. Though anything we do will not bring Salil back to his family,” Manish told OpIndia when asked why he felt like donating to the Tripathi family.

Mundra took to Twitter to inform about the donation he made and shared bank details of the decedent’s wife, Suchitra Tripathi.

Before long, several people came forward to extend their support to the Tripathi family in the time of their grief.

One of the Twitter users said he has saved money for celebrating Makar Sakranti with his children, but in the light of unfortunate tragedy befallen Salil Tripathi’s family, he has donated the amount to them.

Yet another Twitter user said she had donated Rs 50,000 to the family.

Salil Tripathi killed after being rammed into by an SUV driven Delhi Police constable

In a way, Salil Tripathi symbolised the worse the nation’s workforce had had to endure to the relentless and repeated bouts of coronavirus outbreaks.

A native of Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya, Tripathi was a hotel management graduate and had worked his way up to become a restaurant manager in the national capital. He was living a comfortable life with his parents, wife, and their only son when the first wave of tragedy struck them.

During the first half of 2021, as the first coronavirus-induced lockdown kicked in, Tripathi lost the job that he had worked so hard to gain. Then a year later, a second tragedy struck the family as he lost his father in the second wave of the pandemic. The compulsions of feeding his family turned this hotel management graduate into a Zomato delivery executive.

The family was having financial difficulties. Salil worked as a manager at Ricos in Hudson Lane but after the pandemic struck, he was removed from the job. So to make ends meet, he took up the job of Zomato delivery executive.

As per Salil’s family, he used to earn Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 per month when he was employed as a restaurant manager. However, after COVID-19, he had to take up the job of a delivery executive, working 7 to 8 hours every day delivering food and earning Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 a month.

Then on Saturday, January 8, 2022, the last straw came in the form of Salil’s death after he was hit by a drunken police constable. As per police, constable Zile Singh rammed his car into Salil’s bike near Baba Saheb Ambedkar hospital before going on to hit a DTC bus. Salil was hurled into the air and crashed into the divider. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

Social media are awash with videos of the incident where locals were seen taking photos of the damaged car. The videos reportedly show the constable sitting inside the police car and surrounded by bystanders, who seize him. As per locals, the constable was speeding and driving rashly.

Singh has been arrested and a case under sections of rash driving and death due to negligence has been registered against him, DCP Pranav Tayal informed. Police have also tested the constable for blood alcohol levels.

Speaking to the Indian Express, Salil Tripathi’s wife expressed the ordeal she is facing after her husband’s death. “What do I do now? I have lost him forever. My son keeps asking questions,” she said, adding that they might soon relocate to Ayodhya.

“Exposed to a cocktail of pathogens”: IIT professor slams BMC for poor facilities and hygiene at a quarantine centre

OpIndia Staff
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“Exposed to a cocktail of pathogens”: IIT professor slams BMC for poor facilities and hygiene at a quarantine centre

Revealing how bad an institutional quarantine experience can be, IIT Professor from Mumbai on Monday shared some disturbing visuals of the Jumbo COVID Care Centre in NESCO, Goregaon. IIT faculty member, Amit Sethi who had been forcibly confined by the BMC to opt for an institutional quarantine, said that he had to go through the prisoner like experience.

In a series of tweets, he states that there were many complaints lodged against the BMC for maintaining no hygiene and providing poor facilities to patients who have been isolated at the COVID care centre run by the corporation. “I am a guest/prisoner of the BMC for the next few days. Exposed to a cocktail of pathogens”, he said posting a few images of unclean toilets, stray dogs roaming and excreating openly in the corridors of the Centre.

Sethi also said that the patients are not able to sleep with heavy bright lights kept on in the ward even at the night. “The area has no way for sun or fresh air to come in and help people recover faster. No sense of day or night. It has dogs running around and pooping in corridors. Its public toilets are filthy with malfunction and squalor”, he added also attaching images of human excreta on the floor.

Taking cognizance of the report, the BMC today shifted Sethi to a better facility and thanked him for informing him about the nuisance. The BMC also has ordered the Ward-PS of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to take immediate action in the case.

One of the COVID warriors, Dr Muffi who is a bariatric, laparoscopic robotic surgeon at the Digestive Health Institute, Mumbai, also extended help asking the professor if he is comfortable being shifted to another facility where he will be satisfied with the arrangements. “It’s a pandemic and we are trying our best to help out”, he tweeted.

IIT professors say BMC denied home quarantine

Amit Sethi had been to the United States to see an ailing relative of him on December 27. On his return, on developing a mild fever from COVID, he volunteered to get tested on January 7. Further, he was forcibly confined by the BMC after his mild COVID symptoms subsided and was given no option to stay in home quarantine or pay for a better facility. He was also denied from availing of on-campus isolation in a guest room offered by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. “I was fine with home quarantine. I was taken out of home quarantine”, he noted.

BMC didn’t take my samples for Omicron, reveals Professor

The IIT Professor further revealed that his quarantine period was supposed to end by January 13 but the BMC officials have asked him to stay quarantined for more than seven days. “My home quarantine was supposed to end on Jan 13 as per protocol, but here I have been told that I have to stay for a minimum of seven days, and possibly longer”, he said.

Sethi also has accused the BMC of taking the Omicron variant lightly. “The dates and mild symptoms strongly imply a locally gained Omicron infection. I would have understood if they wanted to collect my sample for sequencing of new variants potentially coming from abroad, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. They aren’t taking my sample for sequencing at all,” he said.

The sufferer noted that the BMC has made no different arrangements for patients with mild and severe COVID symptoms. “All of them are put under the same roof that seems to be like a Faraday cage of a metal warehouse structure”, he added. Though he has been shifted to a better facility, he has called for attention to the COVID care Centre anyhow, on behalf of thousands of patients in there. “Not all can be vocal. This place needs to be cleaned for the most voiceless people it houses”, he said.

Today it is 12, tomorrow it can be 120: SC slams Maharashtra govt for suspending 12 BJP MLAs, leaving constituencies unrepresented

OpIndia Staff
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Today it is 12, tomorrow it can be 120: SC slams Maharashtra govt for suspending 12 BJP MLAs, leaving constituencies unrepresented

The Supreme Court has come hard on the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for the suspension of 12 BJP MLAs for one year in July last year, calling the move “worse than expulsion”. The apex court bench of Justices Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Ravikumar on Tuesday called the suspension of the MLAs unconstitutional, according to Article 190(4) of the Constitution.

“If for a period of 60 days a member of a House of the Legislature of a State is without permission of the House absent from all meetings thereof, the House may declare his seat vacant,” noted the SC bench adding that had the Speaker then resolved the dispute, this crisis could have been avoided.

‘Today it is 12, tomorrow it can be 120’, SC slams Maharashtra government for the arbitrary decision

The SC bench further reminded the state that 12 constituencies could not be kept unrepresented for such a long time and that the constituents had a right to representation. Judges Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Ravikumar rebuked the Maharashtra state government by adding that allowing such a precedent would put democracy in jeopardy.

“Today it is 12, tomorrow it can be 120,” Justice Khanwilkar exclaimed.

Saying so, the bench refused to accept Senior Advocate C Aryama Sundaram’s argument for the State of Maharashtra and stated that it cannot examine the quantum of punishment imposed by a legislative assembly.

Sundaram requested time to receive directions from the State after the bench voiced these views. As a result, the hearing has been postponed until next Tuesday.

While Senior Advocate C Aryama Sundaram represented the state government, senior advocates Mahesh Jethmalani, Mukul Rohatgi, Neeraj Kishan Kaul, and Siddharth Bhatnagar had led the arguments for the suspended BJP MLAs.

Maha Vikas Aghadi govt suspends 12 BJP MLAs from Maharashtra Assembly for one year

It may be recalled that on July 5, 2021, just as the two-day Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Assembly commenced, 12 BJP MLAs had been suspended for one year for allegedly heckling and using unparliamentary language against speaker in-chair Bhaskar Jadhav. 

According to reports, BJP MLAs Parag Alvani, Ram Satpute, Sanjay Kute, Ashish Shelar, Abhimanyu Pawar, Girish Mahajan, Atul Bhatkhalkar, Shirish Pimple, Jayakumar Rawal, Yogesh Sagar, Narayan Kuche and Kirti Kumar Bagdia had been suspended from the House.

Reacting to the suspension, Maharashtra BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis in an address to the media claimed that they had suspected his move by the MVA to reduce the numbers in the House. Denying all the accusations, “The government has created a story out of the incident and suspended 12 of our MLAs. Our MLAs didn’t abuse the Speaker. There were some heated arguments but our senior member Ashish Shelar on behalf of all MLAs apologised to the Speaker in-Chair Bhaskar Jadhav. Later, the government came up with this plan to suspend our MLAs. We will continue our fight,” informed Fadnavis to the media. 

As per reports, the opposition created an uproar at the Maharashtra assembly over the OBC issue when the Speaker in-chair Bhaskar Jadhav didn’t give them enough time to speak on the issue. 

The BJP sought to bring an adjournment motion to conduct a detailed discussion over the issue of pending public service commission exams and appointments of eligible candidates, but the request was turned down by the Council chairman.

UP: Cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya resigns, Akhilesh Yadav welcomes him into SP

OpIndia Staff
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UP: Cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya resigns, Akhilesh Yadav welcomes him into SP

Swami Prasad Maurya, cabinet minister and backward caste leader in the Yogi Adityanath government, resigned from the ministry. As per reports, he has already joined the Samajwadi Party but it is not clear whether he had resigned from the BJP or not.

He had deserted the BSP and joined the BJP before the 2017 legislative elections. He has been a 5-time MLA. At present, he is the MLA from the Padrauna seat. A 4-time MLA from BSP, he was considered to be very close to Mayawati till he joined BJP.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted, “Hearty welcome and greetings to the popular leader Swami Prasad Maurya ji and all the other leaders, workers, and supporters who came with him to SP! There will be a social justice revolution — there will be a transformation in twenty-two.” Akhilesh wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of Swami Prasad Maurya.

In his letter of resignation, Maurya accused the Yogi Adityanath government of neglecting Dalits, farmers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and jobless youngsters.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had urged Swami Prasad Maurya to have a dialogue before taking hasty decisions.

As per some reports, he was dissatisfied because his son, Utkrusht Maurya, had not been “suitably accommodated” in the Yogi Adityanath government. Reports stated that Maurya wanted an MLA ticket for his son from Raebareli’s Unchahar, but BJP was reluctant. Sanghmitra Maurya, his daughter, is a BJP MP from Badaun. According to sources close to Swami Prasad Maurya, Sanghmitra Maurya will remain in the BJP “for the time being.”

According to reports, four MLAs, including AYUSH Minister Dharam Singh Saini, may also follow suit after Swami Prasad Maurya’s exit. Dara Singh Chauhan, a minister, may also depart the BJP. Not only that, but Kanpur BJP MLA Dehat Bhagwati Prasad Sagar was also sighted visiting Swami Prasad Maurya’s house. Roshan Lal Verma, a BJP MLA from Tilhar, is also expected to join the SP.

Experts consider such trends before of assembly elections to be significant. Elections in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled to take place in seven phases beginning February 7, with the counting of ballots taking place on March 10.

BCCI ends association with Chinese mobile maker Vivo as IPL title sponsors, finds new partner in Tata group of companies

OpIndia Staff
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BCCI ends association with Chinese mobile maker Vivo as IPL title sponsors, finds new partner in Tata group of companies

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to exit the partnership with Chinese mobile manufacturer Vivo as the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL) once and for all and instead collaborate with one of India’s largest business conglomerates, the Tata Group. The decision was taken during a meeting held by the event’s governing council on Tuesday, January 11. The league will now be called Tata IPL.

Speaking about the decision of replacing the Chinese mobile company Vivo with Tatas as the title sponsor for the upcoming edition of the tournament, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel told Cricbuzz: “Vivo has exited and the Tatas will be title sponsors.”

“This is indeed a momentous occasion for the BCCI IPL as the Tata Group is the epitome of global Indian enterprise with an over 100-year-old legacy and operations in more than 100 countries across six continents. The BCCI like the TATA Group is keen to promote the spirit of cricket across international borders, and the growing popularity of the IPL as a global sporting franchise bears testimony to the BCCI’s efforts. We are truly happy that India’s largest and most trusted business groups have believed in the IPL growth story and together with the Tata Group, we will look to take Indian cricket and the IPL forward to greater heights,” Jay Shah, honorary secretary, BCCI, was quoted by TOI as saying.

According to reports, though the money associated with the deal is yet to be known, a Tata spokesperson also confirmed the development with a ‘Yes”. He did not divulge any further details regarding the deal.

Reportedly, the Chinese mobile brand, Vivo, had bagged the title sponsorship of the event in 2018 for ₹2,199 crores for a period of five years, which ended in the year 2022. They had agreed to pay the league around Rs 440 crore per season in the five-year arrangement. Vivo had earlier replaced the American carbonated behemoth PepsiCo to enter the title sponsorship space, after the latter backed out of a Rs 396-crore agreement in 2016. The IPL had then collected a 450 per cent premium from the entire arrangement.

BCCI and VIVO India cancel IPL partnership amidst violent standoff at Ladakh

Following the violent standoff at Ladakh which started in May 2019, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and VIVO Mobile India Pvt Ltd had suspended their partnership for the 2020 IPL tournament. The decision came days after Indians across called for a boycott of Chinese brands and products after the aggression at Galwan Valley in Ladakh from the Chinese Army and the violent faceoff wherein Indian soldiers were martyred.

Despite rumours that they were looking to sell the rights to a potential bidder, Vivo had returned as IPL title sponsor in 2021.

 

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