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How Shark Tank is exemplifying the New ‘Idea of India’

Suyash
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How Shark Tank is exemplifying the New ‘Idea of India’

In an interview to India Today in 1986, J.R.D. Tata was asked about the stalled economic growth of India after Independence. Confessing his frustration over the economic stagnation crafted by Nehruvian socialist policies, he had famously quoted, ‘When I was young I was an angry young man: we were under foreign rule, people were oppressed. Now I’m an angry old man because of all the opportunities that have been missed.’ This paranoia about India’s promised future was shared by other business tycoons and investors of that time as well.

Some thirty-five years later, Economic Liberalization had happened with India opening up itself to the market. Despite its quizzical spelling, ‘Entrepreneurship’ was no longer a dirty word for a society deeply wired in socialist programming. And while you switch on your television sets, two middle-aged women Kalpana and Uma Jha from Darbhanga, Bihar are seen pitching for investment for their handmade-pickle venture.

Indeed, The show ‘Shark Tank India’ has caught quite a frenzy among the masses in no time – thanks to the booming startup culture fueled by the right policies in the country. But how did India manage to negotiate this change – with high acceptance for a reality investing show aired on prime time?

Aman Gupta, who started his company boAt in 2016 says, “When we started, India was changing and a revolution was happening. A new India was taking its place”. Set sail in 2016, ‘boAt’ today is a shorthand for a durable, ultra-fashionable and pocket-friendly audio products range. Aman Gupta and his co-founder Sameer Mehta have carved out a niche in the Indian market which was earlier dominated by Chinese and German brands. According to Gupta, Shark Tank (USA) has a played major role in realising his dreams and shaping him as an investor.

In 2021, Sony Entertainment Television bought rights of the Emmy-winning ABC series ‘Shark Tank’ with a view to start its own version ‘Shark Tank India’. The show first aired on television on December 16 and runs on weekdays from 9-10 PM on Sony TV. The format of the show is simple – Budding startup firms get to pitch their ideas for funding in front of a panel of angel investors or ‘Sharks’.

The Sharks who have committed total funding worth Rs. 41.68 crore to 67 qualified budding ventures happen to be the biggest names in the business scene today. The galaxy of investors ranges from Aman Gupta (co-founder boAt), Ashneer Grover (MD and co-founder of fintech firm BharatPe), Ghazal Alagh (co-founder, Mamaearth), Vineeta Singh (CEO & Co-founder of SUGAR Cosmetics) to Anupam Mittal (founder, Shaadi.com), Namita Thapar (Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals) and Peyush Bansal (Co-founder and CEO of Lenskart).

In a very short span of time since its release, Shark Tank has hit the right notes within the aspirational, hard-working masses who have a vision and stake in India’s future. What is uniquely fascinating to see, are the stories from the breadth of India taking centre stage to carve out their identity through entrepreneurial zeal. New ventures ranging from gadget startups to businesses in the food industry have struck awe-inspiring deals from the Sharks.

Peeschute, a venture committed to improving toilet hygiene is a company producing affordable unisex disposable urine Bags. Siddhant Tawarawala, the founder who hails from Jalna, Maharashtra has struck a deal with Aman Gupta for ₹75 lakhs against 6% Equity. Similarly, it was Skippi Pops an Ice Pops brand from Hyderabad which raised the highest ₹1 crore for 15% Equity with all five sharks investing. This also underlines the power of collaborations in the business arena.

The USP of the show has been in showcasing the potential of hidden innovation in India which is anchored when ventures like Annie – a braille learning device talk about their flair to give it back to society. Shark Vineeta Singh, a graduate from IIM-A, who left an investment banking job promising her one-crore salary, talks about the role vision plays in the process. “When I declined my job, it made it to the headlines in the papers. But with a different vision and a lot of time, I have made my headlines myself – with SUGAR cosmetics having a valuation of 500 crores.”

The proposition of the show enables the audience to see how deals are struck, how ideas are materialized through business, how networking empowers community building and the inventive solutions startups churn to solve problems of the society. Here, it is not about the success stories that are glorified, but the viewer is humbled by seeing the journey of promising business of tomorrow taking shape.

In a way, this empowers businesses from small-towns and especially women to carve out their identity through the capital. It was heart-warming to see the story of Rakhi – a millennial entrepreneur who parted ways with her home after criticism came when she co-founded EventBeep, a community network app for college campuses. Ashneer Grover, apart from offering the venture Rs. 30 lakhs against 2% equity, was interested in giving Rakhi Rs. 10 lakhs against a personal 0.5% equity share to secure her future.

Shark Anupam Mittal believes 2020-2030 is an ‘entrepreneurial decade’. It was also in 2021 when India added 33 new companies to its list of Unicorns. What led to the rise of unicorns (start-ups valued over $1 Billion or more) and a thriving ecosystem of growing startups was an undercurrent of entrepreneurial zeal wanting to be valued. This potential was tapped in 2014 when the Narendra Modi (with his experience in carving out market-driven growth in Gujarat) led government started the Start-Up India initiative.

A barrage of irrelevant colonial-era rules and socialist-era red-tapeism was cut, and ease-of-doing-business was actively worked upon. On a policy level, inventive schemes for new businesses were laid out in co-operation with individual ministries. Since then, a new generation of ‘wealth-creators’ sees a bright future for the Indian start-up scene. Shows like ‘Shark Tank India’ are a manifestation of this same Start-Up cult giving rise to this culture. It is where big dreams meet the biggest minds, and they together chart out a ‘new idea of India’.

Mumbai Police detains, interrogates BJP leader for comparing Rashmi Thackeray to Rabri Devi on Twitter

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai Police detains, interrogates BJP leader for comparing Rashmi Thackeray to Rabri Devi on Twitter

The Mumbai police have detained and have been questioning Jiten Gajaria, a BJP social media prabhari, over his two Tweets posted on January 4, on Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray’s wife Rashmi Thackeray.

As told by BJP Mumbai’s social media in-charge and secretary Pratik Karpe to OpIndia, a team of three officers of the Maharashtra police reached Jiten Gajaria’s office in the morning at around 10 am. They were not carrying any legal notice or warrant against Jiten Gajaria, yet they picked him up from his office and brought him to the cyber police station, BKC in Mumbai where he is currently being interrogated for the last three hours.

Pratik Karpe, who is BJP’s Mumbai secretary and social media in-charge, also took to Twitter to raise his voice against the tyranny of the Maharashtra government under Uddhav Thackeray.

The arbitrary action being taken against the BJP leader by the Maharashtra police at the behest of the Shiv Sena government led by Uddhav Thackeray was for two Tweets Gajaria had posted on January 4. In his first Tweet, Gajaria had referred to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray’s wife Rashmi Thackeray as Maharastra’s Rabri Devi.

In his second Tweet, he quipped at Rashmi Thackeray and Ajit Pawat by invoking the latter’s crass 2013 urine remark that had ridiculed the hunger strike by a drought-affected farmer in Maharashtra. Ajit Pawar had then said: “From where will we give him water? Should we urinate in dams?”

Gajaria had joked in Marathi, thereby indirectly referring to Ajit Pawar’s insensitive remark. His Tweet roughly translated to: “If Rashmi is running the government, am I the Deputy CM just to urinate? – @AjitPawarSpeaks to @OfficeofUT.

He had quipped that Ajit Pawar must be asking Uddhav Thackeray’s government what his position as Deputy Chief Minister would be if Rashmi Thackeray was running the government. Is he only in the government to urinate?

This is, however, not the first time the Uddhav Thackeray government has displayed such extreme intolerance towards opponents and basically anyone who dares to criticise them. Last year, six Shiv Sena goons had assaulted a retired Navy officer for sharing Uddhav Thackeray’s cartoon. The WhatsApp forward was allegedly a satirical cartoon featuring Uddhav Thackeray and his allies Sharad Pawar and Sonia Gandhi. Before that Sena goons had assaulted a person and had shaved his head for criticising Uddhav Thackeray on Facebook.

Punjab CM keeps claiming that PM’s road travel was unplanned, internal police memos expose his lies

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab CM keeps claiming that PM’s road travel was unplanned, internal police memos expose his lies

More and more evidences are appearing exposing the lies of the Punjab government and Congress party over the security beach of PM Modi’s convoy in the state yesterday. After the VVIP convoy was blocked by protestors when the PM was going to Hussainiwala, Punjab CM and some Congress leaders had alleged that it had happened due to a sudden change of PM’s travel plans, and Punjab Police was not aware of such changes.

Some Congress leaders were claiming that PM Modi was scheduled to fly to Ferozepur, and the road travel was a sudden change. Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi is also claiming that the road route was not planned. In an interview with India Today, he claimed that in the plan received from PMO, the road route was not mentioned, and only the helicopter ride was mentioned.

‘There was no plan for the road route, therefore we didn’t make any arrangements for the same’, he said. He claimed that the plan for travelling by road was made at the last moment, and the state govt was not aware of it. He also claimed there was no security threat to PM’s life, saying that only a dozen people had blocked the road, and they could have been removed easily.

However, that claim is wrong, as visuals show that protestors had parked dozens of vehicles to block the road, and Punjab Police personnel were part of the protestors, having tea with them.

Moreover, the union home ministry has already clarified that although the PM was to take a helicopter, the road route was already planned as an alternate route as per security protocol. As the helicopter ride was not possible due to bad weather, the already planned road route was taken, which was informed to Punjab Police. The Home Ministry had said that as per the contingency plan, the Punjab govt was supposed to deploy additional forces to secure the alternate road, which was not done.

Police memo talked about possible road blockade by farmers

Now documents have appeared revealing that ADGP Law and Order of Punjab Police had sent instructions for traffic management due to PM Modi’s travel and the rally he was going to address, which included instructions for alternate road route in case helicopter ride is cancelled. Media has accessed three such letters sent by the ADGP (L&O) to Ferozepur police asking to ensure adequate security arrangements, which were sent on January 1, 3 and 4. These internal memos show that police had already anticipated that the PM may have to take the road due to bad weather, and the cops were asked to be prepared for it.

In the memo sent on January 1, it was said that due to bad weather and rain, the PM and other VIPs may travel by road, and the Chandigarh to Ferozepur route may be used. Accordingly, planning for the alternate route in case of bad weather was asked to be done in advance.

In the second memo sent on January 3, the ADGP had said that police force should be deployed on the route so that there is no possibility of protestors blocking the road. The cops were also asked to form mobile police teams to patrol the road so that if there is any blockade, it can be removed.

The letter sent on January 3

“Please ensure that protestors don’t block the rally route, plan advance alternate routes”, the ADGP had written. The letter had further said, “Deployment on routes should be in groups and be mobile just in case it needs to be moved to remove blockade.

The letter sent on January 4

The third letter sent on January 4 specifically talked about possible blockade by farmers, asking the cops to prevent this. The ADGP had asked the police to be ready for traffic diversions in case of such blockades. The letter had said, “You are requested to make necessary security, traffic route arrangements in your area, by deploying force at important points. You are further directed to keep a watch on the movement of farmers and they should not be allowed to move to the Ferozepur district to disrupt the rally. Any dharna may result in roadblocks therefore please make necessary traffic diversions in advance. Please brief your SPs personally to assess a plan of farmers and make necessary arrangements.”

It is notable that while the CM is still insisting that PM’s road route was not pre-planned, his own deputy has already refuted him. Yesterday the deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had admitted that everyone in the administration was aware of the road route selected as contingency plan. Admitting that it was a major security lapse, he had said that the alternative route was to be there, which was not done. He said that as the pre-planed route was blocked by protesters, an alternate route should have been planned, and it was a lapse on the part of police.

‘There’s life in this spit’: Jawed Habib caught spitting on woman’s hair during a haircut, NCW takes note

OpIndia Staff
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‘There’s life in this spit’: Jawed Habib caught spitting on woman’s hair during a haircut, NCW takes note

In a video that has now gone viral on the internet, the famous hairstylist-businessman Jawed Habib was seen spitting in a woman’s hair while doing her hair and boasting, “Thook mein jaan hain” (There’s life in this spit).

The National Commission for Women has taken cognizance of the incident and has demanded an immediate investigation into the case. “Have written to the Director-General of Police Uttar Pradesh to investigate the veracity of this viral video and take appropriate action. The action taken must be apprised to the Commission at the earliest”, it said.

The lady who was spat on by Habib has been identified as Pooja Gupta from Badod. Pooja had attended a seminar in Muzzafarnagar, Uttar Pradesh in which she was called up on the stage by Habib for a haircut demonstration. “Sir called me on the stage and misbehaved with me. He spat in my hair in front of hundreds who laughed and enjoyed his act. He was teaching the attendees to make use of saliva when there’s less water available for a haircut”, she stated in the video.

Pooja, who owns a ladies parlour in Badod refused to continue with the haircut and said that would never again visit any of the Jawed Habib outlets. The act was criticized by many users on social media. “If Jawed Habib had tried this in any western country, his entire chain would have been shut down and he would have been sued”, said Pune based author Shefali Vaidya.

Another lady user called it disgusting and said that ‘the entire community to which Jawed Habib belongs is simply awful’.

Jawed Habib insulting Hindus and Hindu Gods-

This is not the first time Javed Habib has been in the eye of the storm. Earlier in the year 2017, Hyderabad Police had registered a case against him for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus through an advertisement in West Bengal depicting Hindu gods and goddesses in a derogatory way.

The newspaper advertisement showed Goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati and Lord Ganesha and Kartikeya getting their hair fixed, applying makeup, and counting money with Durga looking over them in a Jawed Habib salon along with the tag, “Gods too visit JH salon.”

Jawed Habib joined BJP in 2019. According to his website, his grandfather was an official appointee barber to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Lord Montbatten in the 1940s. His father was an official stylist for Indira Gandhi. Jawed Habib salons today are scattered in 24 states and 110 cities. With a total of 846 outlets, the brand enjoys over 15 lakh customers.

Serious questions on Punjab Police’s conduct: BKU Krantikari leader says police told them PM was coming that way

OpIndia Staff
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Serious questions on Punjab Police’s conduct: BKU Krantikari leader says police told them PM was coming that way

Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Krantikari said they were the ones who blocked the PM’s convoy on Wednesday in Punjab. He has stated that they were told by Ferozepur SSP the PM was coming on that particular road shortly.

Surjeet Singh Phul, leader of the BKU (Krantikari), has informed this through a video in which he claims to clarify what actually has happened on the spot.

‘There was a mob of 2500’

Surjeet Singh in his video has said, “Actually the point at which we were standing was at a distance of about 750 meters to 1 kilometre from the flyover where the jam happened. The convoy could not come down, instead, it had to stop back on the flyover itself. The convoy was stuck there for about fifteen to twenty minutes. Soon, a crowd of around 2500 which included at least a thousand members of BKU itself, had gathered there.”

‘We did not plan to stop the convoy, we were just there and it was stopped because of us’ says BKU Krantikari leader Phul

Surjeet Singh further added that BJP workers were already present on the location even before the convoy arrived. Putting allegations against them, he said, “BJP workers stepped down from their buses and started beating us. In all, there were more than 2500 people. In this much of crowd, how can one identify a Prime Minister even if he stands beside him? “We had not planned to block the roads to the convoy but he just happened to be there, he added.

‘Was heading towards the DC office, but policed stopped us midway’

In an attempt to dismiss the allegations of any planned conspiracy by the so called protesting farmers, Surjeet Singh said that they were essentially going to the district collector’s office. He did not ascertain anything about why they were willing to visit the office. Further he said that it was the police who stopped them midway and prevented from going ahead towards the DC’s office which is why they had to jam the roads. He tried to play innocent by pretending that there was no alternative left to them but to jam the roads, and eventually the PM’s convoy was just one of those who got a little bit troubled.

About the role of the Punjab police

Surjeet Singh said, “The police knew it in the morning at about 10:30AM that the PM is arriving here after landing at Bhatinda airport. Nobody believed in first place that the PM is arriving here. It was all unplanned. Nothing of it was preplanned. So, we are declaring that, if after cancelling the aerial route and then taking the road route, the Prime Minister had to go back due to the blocked roads, it is only because of us and our protest march; but we really didn’t have any plan to do so. Once we blocked to roads, as the police prohibited us from going ahead, anyone passing by would have to face the same thing and thus the PM’s convoy too got trapped into the same. i am informing this truth to the media as we had no plan to block his way, we were just busy in our protests.”

Major security lapse by Punjab Police

The Union Home Ministry had yesterday stated that the security breach has been a major lapse by the Punjab Police. The Punjab Police were informed ahead about the PM’s schedule and the convoy had started only after necessary clearance by the Punjab DGP. It is the state police’s responsibility to provide a clear path for the PM’s convoy and the Punjab Police had evidently failed to do so.

Statement by MHA, image via Shiv Aroor on Twitter

As per available details so far, the Punjab Police was aware that there is a roadblock in the area due to farmer protests. The Punjab Police still gave the go-ahead to the PM’s security staff on the same route, knowing there is a roadblock. Further, the Punjab Police failed to clear the roadblock and created a major security lapse as the PM’s convoy was held for over 20 minutes, with dozens of civilian vehicles and thousands of people blocking the path. The police also did not provide an alternative route and eventually, the PM’s security staff decided to bring the PM back to Bathinda airport.

The Punjab government led by the Congress party, while tying itself in knots over contradictory statements, has suspended the Ferozepur SSP.

In several videos that have emerged on social media, the Punjab Police are seen casually hanging with the protestors and sipping tea while the PM’s convoy remains stranded.

Questions raised over Congress’ intentions

As the Punjab CM Charanjeet Singh Channi of Congress party entangles himself with various contradicting statements and stands after this incidence of lapse in the security of PM Modi, questions are being raised on the intentions of the Congress party who is currently ruling the state. The party workers were also seen celebrating the security breach while its leaders were seen posting comments like “How’s the josh, Modi ji?” on social media.

Congress leaders were also seen boasting that they were aware of the planned protests and intentions to prevent the PM’s public address in the state.

‘Don’t do anything that would put the state govt in a fix’: How Punjab govt prioritised politics over the security of the PM

OpIndia Staff
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‘Don’t do anything that would put the state govt in a fix’: How Punjab govt prioritised politics over the security of the PM

After the serious and deliberate security breach, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was travelling in Punjab to attend a political rally, Indian Express has now published details on how the Congress government in Punjab instructed the police to stand down, at the cost of the security of the Prime Minister, because it did not want to create a situation that would “put the government in a fix”.

Indian Express published a report after speaking to several police officials and local officials, including some “farmers” who were protesting in Punjab, that led to the security breach on the 5th of January. The report proves that the security breach was a result of petty politics and a failure of the state police to secure the route.

Attributing the information to sources, Indian Express reported that after the cavalcade of the Prime Minister came to a halt, the DGP contacted senior members in the Punjab government. According to the report, the DGP was in favour of using force to disperse the protestors who were blocking the cavalcade of the PM and creating a security breach.

Once the DGP asked the senior people in the Congress Punjab government, reportedly, the DGP was instructed to stand down. The DGP was told that he should not do anything that would “put the state government in a fix as had happened during police action against anti-sacrilege protesters at Behbal Kalan after the incident of sacrilege at Bargari in 2015”.

The sacrilege incident in 2015 was when two protestors were shot dead by the police.

The security breach that led to the Prime Minister being stranded on a flyover only kilometres away from the Pakistan border for over 20 minutes was a direct result of the Punjab government asking the DGP to stand down and not take action even as the violence protestors had already damaged buses and attacked BJP workers before the incident.

In fact, another report by Times Now reveals that the state government and the police already knew about the risk posed by the protesting farmers and communication proves that the police was asked to make adequate arrangements in light of the protests. Top Punjab Police officers had sent a letter to their subordinates regarding the same.

“You are requested to make necessary security, traffic route arrangements in your area, by deploying force at important points. You are further directed to keep a watch on the movement of farmers and they should not be allowed to move to the Ferozepur district to disrupt the rally. Any dharna may result in roadblocks therefore please make necessary traffic diversions in advance. Please brief your SPs personally to assess a plan of farmers and make necessary arrangements,” the letter read.

Despite this, the route details were leaked to protesting farmers, as confirmed by a BKU leader to Times Now. In fact, videos had emerged where police officers were seen sharing tea with the protestors right before the cavalcade of the Prime Minister was stranded and the security breach happened.

Further, Punjab Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has admitted that it was a major security lapse, saying that an alternate route should have been planned earlier but was not done.

The Congress leader also busted the claim of several Congress leaders and members, who were saying that PM Modi’s travel to Punjab by road was not pre-planned and it was not informed to the state govt in advance. Dy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa informed that everyone was aware that PM Modi was travelling by road and Punjab Police was supposed to have made arrangements for the same.

After the deliberate security lapses, it becomes evident that the instruction by members of the government stopped the police from taking action against the protestors and therefore, forced PM Modi and his cavalcade to be stranded on a flyover for over 20 minutes. This was done clearly to further petty political interests. The Punjab government has been placating the Khalistani elements in the state and giving a long rope to the violent protestors. This step can also be seen in that light. The Punjab government did not want to police to take firm action against the protestors because politically, it would hurt them in the state elections and therefore, it ignored the violence unleashed by the protestors and the severe security breach of the Prime Minister by asking the police to stand down.

Supreme Court to hear plea over PM’s security breach in Punjab: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court to hear plea over PM’s security breach in Punjab: Read details

On the 7th of January 2022, the Supreme Court will hear a plea that seeks a court-monitored probe into the Prime Minister’s security breach when he was on his visit to Punjab on Wednesday, January 5. A bench headed by CJI NV Ramana will hear the case on Friday.

Senior advocate Maninder Singh, who brought the petition before the SC bench has been asked to give a copy of the petition to the Punjab government.

The petition contends that it must be ensured that what happened is not repeated. Advocate Singh urged the bench to take up the plea and in response to his request, the Supreme Court will hear the same on Friday.

What actually happened in the courtroom?

The bench headed by the CJI Ramana asked the petitioner Maninder Singh what he expected the court to do in this matter. Singh said that such an incident is a very serious lapse and the security breach is unacceptable. Considering the political situations in Punjab, there must be a probe monitored by the court into the police arrangement and law and order situation, the advocate argued. He further added that it was necessary to ensure that no such incident occurs again.

Punjab government sets up probe panel

Meanwhile, the Punjab government formed a high-level team to probe the security lapses during the Prime Minister’s visit to Punjab on Wednesday. It is a two-member committee that includes Justice (Retired) Mehtab Gill of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and Anurag Varma, Principal Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs and Justice. The committee will submit its report within three days.

Meanwhile the President of India has also expressed his concern over the incident of security breach that happened in Punjab. The PM met the president briefly earlier today.

The security lapse in Punjab

The convoy of Prime Minister Modi was blocked by political protesters on a flyover on the way to Hussainiwala in the Ferozepur district of Punjab, where he was to visit the National Martyr’s Memorial and subsequently address a public meeting. Later yesterday, it had also become evident that Punjab police, which itself was seen enjoying a tea party with the protesters who blocked the roads, has been complicit the security lapse that endangered the PM.

The Union Home Ministry had stated that the Punjab Police was given all details and the convoy had started only after confirmation with the DGP. The Punjab Police had failed not just in securing a clear path for the PM’s convoy but had also failed to provide an alternative route.

OpIndia Exclusive: Was AIMIM chief Owaisi denied a room in a ‘Hindu’ hotel in Moradabad? Here is the truth

Jhankar Mohta
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OpIndia Exclusive: Was AIMIM chief Owaisi denied a room in a ‘Hindu’ hotel in Moradabad? Here is the truth

A video has gone viral on various social media platforms showing AIMIM UP President Shaukat Ali arguing at the hotel reception in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. The video claims that a ‘Hindu hotel’ declined a room to the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

Owaisi was in the city on January 4, 2022, to address a political rally ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

In the 2.20-minute video, AIMIM Uttar Pradesh president Shaukat Ali can be seen exchanging a heated conversation with the person sitting at the hotel reception and thereafter leaving the premises with his party members. Shaukat Ali, who looks visibly angry, speaks on the phone while leaving the premises. After a while, the AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi is seen walking into the hotel. He is seen waiting at the reception area for some time before he sits in his car and leaves the premises.

The video has been circulating with claims that the people of the likes of the AIMIM chief are being denied rooms in the ‘Hindu hotel’ in Uttar Pradesh because of their anti-Hindu stand. Many media houses like Lucknow Hindi news shared the video, which was then circulated widely on the microblogging site.

Vernacular media outlets LiveHindustan and ABP News also reported how the party members had booked the room earlier for the AIMIM members but when Owaisi arrived at the hotel named Drive-In 24 in Moradabad, the hotel authorities denied him a room.

What is the truth

The Hindustan report quoted the hotel manager Vipul as saying that according to the guidelines, they need prior approval before allotting rooms to any political figures. “We operate within the confines of the law. I am ready to give the room once I receive authorization”, said the hotel manager as per the report by Hindustan, who was quoted as further saying that the hotel does not believe in any kind of discrimination.

OpIndia spoke with a hotel employee named Arvind Singh Katheria, who claimed to have looked into the arrangements for the entire AIMIM team, which was said to have stayed in the hotel from January 4 to 6. He refuted the news that has been circulating in media that Owaisi was denied a room in the hotel. Katheria, on the contrary, confirmed that Asaduddin Owaisi was allotted a room immediately on his arrival on January 4 and had a very pleasant stay at the hotel and personally thanked the hotel staff before he checked out on January 6.

Narrating the sequence of events, Katheria said the Owaisi had arrived at the hotel and after checking in, he immediately left for a meeting. Some people who had accompanied him checked in later in the evening.

Divulging further details, the hotel staff said that as per protocols, whenever any VIP guest arrives, the LIU team needs to be informed in advance so that their security arrangements can be made.

According to him, if a member of any political party checks into a hotel, a letter must be issued in advance to the district magistrate’s office, which would then alert the hotel and make the necessary security arrangements for the team. The hotel had not received a letter from the district magistrate’s office since it had not been forwarded to them by the AIMIM team in advance.

“We were awaiting a response from the office of the district magistrate when the AIMIM state president Shaukat Ali got agitated. He demanded that the rooms be made available to them immediately. We only asked them to wait for a little. Their check-in was done before we even received the letter from the district magistrate’s office. Only some formalities were left, as it is a matter of security and we cannot take any chances.

At this point, one of the AIMIM members started spreading rumours that the hotel had denied him a room, leading to the rumour that the AIMIM chief had been denied a room in the hotel over religious discrimination.

This was a small issue that was blown out of proportion and misrepresented. Soon after, rumours circulated that Asaduddin Owaisi had been denied a room, which Arvind Singh Katheria said was “totally false and unsubstantiated.”

“He (Owaisi) was very pleased with our services and thanked the hotel employees personally before checking out today (January 6)”, Katheria added.

AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi, who has taken to the communal route to fight the upcoming state assembly elections, was on a two-day visit to Uttar Pradesh as a part of his election campaign. Interestingly, Owaisi had kickstarted his campaign for Uttar Pradesh 2022 state elections from Ayodhya claiming that the “Muslims of UP will win” and since then he has given several inflammatory speeches, instigating Muslims to choose an Islamic leader and not rely on the ‘Dallas’ of other political parties. 

The Uttar Pradesh police had on September 9, registered two FIRs against the AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi in connection with his public meeting in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki. The Hyderabad MP had been booked on charges of attempting to disturb communal harmony, flouting Covid norms and disrespecting the national flag.

Owaisi, who is eyeing to make inroads in Uttar Pradesh by wooing the Muslim vote bank, had delivered a communally charged speech in which he, despite clarifications from authorities of the Mosque being an illegal structure, tried to provoke the Muslims by making references to the razing of a mosque in the Ram Snehi Ghat tehsil in May this year. 

Bengaluru school student alleges teacher forced class to pray to ‘better god’ Allah as punishment, school says it was eye exercise

OpIndia Staff
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Bengaluru school student alleges teacher forced class to pray to ‘better god’ Allah as punishment, school says it was eye exercise

A Bengaluru school has got involved in a major controversy after one of its teachers allegedly forced students to say Islamic prayers as punishment. Reportedly, a math teacher in Orchid International School forced students to pray in the name of Allah for failing to solve a problem, and also instructed them to keep silent about the matter. However, the school, which has campuses in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad, has denied the allegations.

The matter of what some are calling ‘Education Jihad’ came to light when Vikram Simha, a furious parent, recorded a video of her daughter who said that she was forced to pray in the name of Allah at Orchid International School, BTM branch, Bengaluru. The girl in the video that went viral on social media, said that her teacher asked the Hindu students to make a bowl shape of their hands and pray. “The Math problem was confusing, we weren’t able to crack that problem. So the teacher told us to pray to Allah. Despite telling her that we are Hindus and we are not supposed to pray to Allah, she scolded us and made us make a bowl shape with hands and pray”, she said.

According to the girl, the teacher said that Allah is a better god, and asked them to pray to Allah.

Blatantly denying the fact, the Bengaluru school in its official statement said that the child in the video was lying and that the teachers at school don’t promote the practice of religion. “We talked to the parent. No such instance occurred in the Math class as the teacher focused only on her subject and never said anything about the religion in the class”, it said after what it called a thorough investigation.

The statement by the Orchid International School reads-

“The management swiftly conducted an intense investigation to find that the teacher also does not practice the religion alleged to have been promoted. The allegations made by the child and the parent are baseless. We have checked the CCTV footage of the class and have also spoken to other children. They all have denied the happening of any such incident”, the statement read.

It has further called the act of making a bowl shape with hands as the act of eye palming exercise. “It is a Two Minutes Eye Exercise conducted during online sessions, which is intended to help the children rest their eyes due to the screen time,” the school said. It is pertinent to note that the school has locked its official Twitter handle after Vikram Simha came up with yet another video with his daughter revealing the actual truth.

Vikram Simha says the school didn’t allow his daughter to speak-

The parent in response to the statement by school management said that it was not entirely true. “It is correct we had a conversation with the school authorities (Principal and their legal team), but they refused to let my daughter speak about the incident happened in the class”, he said.

Posting yet another video with his daughter, Vikram Simha noted that Mrs Manjula, the Principal of the BTM Branch school at Bengaluru, refused to listen to the child. The girl in the next video, again fearlessly spoke about her teacher named Sarika Rana teaching the students that ‘Allah is a better God’.

Further, refuting to the eye exercise claims made by the school, the daughter said that she did not get confused over the act of making a bowl shape with hands to be the Two Minutes Eye Exercise. “We rub our hands and place them on our eyes in the exercise. But the teacher made us make a bowl shape of our hands and pray to Allah”, she showed into gestures.

Several BJP leaders and activists have come up in support of the child and demanded strict action against the school and the communal teacher. However, it seems that the city police has not taken cognizance of the issue yet.

The Orchid International School that is managed by St Theresa Educational Cultural and Social Development Society, which was earlier in news in October 2014 for sexual assault on a 4-year-old kid. According to the reports, the staff was being questioned in the case of assault on a minor girl in the school campus in the city.

‘Bulli Bai’ app case: Delhi Police arrests main culprit from Assam

OpIndia Staff
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‘Bulli Bai’ app case: Delhi Police arrests main culprit from Assam

In the latest development in the ‘Bulli Bai’ app case, the Delhi Police have arrested the main conspirator from Assam, as per reports.

ANI reported that the Delhi Police, IFSO special cell has arrested the main conspirator behind the derogatory app that targeted Muslim women from Assam.

Earlier, the Mumbai Police, acting on the social media outrage over the derogatory app, had arrested one 21-year-old named Vishal from Bengaluru and an 18-year-old named Shweta from Uttarakhand. In earlier media reports, Shweta was named as the ‘primary’ accused. Another person named Mayank Rawal was also arrested later.

Some reports have stated that the person arrested is named ‘Neeraj Bishnoi’

On social media platforms, a person named ‘Giyou’ had claimed that he had created the app. Details regarding the Delhi Police operation and the person arrested are awaited. This is a developing story.

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