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Khalsa Aid founder slams cricketer Harbhajan Singh for ‘apologising for history’ over Bhindranwale post

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Khalsa Aid founder slams cricketer Harbhajan Singh for ‘apologising for history’ over Bhindranwale post

On June 7, Ravinder Singh, founder of Pro-Khalistani organisation Khalsa Aid questioned cricketer Harbhajan Singh for his ‘apology’ over the Bhindranwale post. In a tweet, he said, “Dear Harbhajan Singh! Ask these trolls how many times they’ve tweeted against the criminals in the Indian Parliament!! Don’t apologise for your history! First they attack us, then they want to silence us!!” Singh also shared a 2019 report that talked about the criminal cases against elected MPs in 2019.

Tweet by Khalsa Aid founder Ravinder Singh. Source: Twitter

Harbhajan had posted an Instagram story remembering Bhindranwale, then apologised

On June 6, on the 37th anniversary of the day when Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was killed during Operation Bluestar, cricketer Harbhajan Singh had posted an Instagram story in which he glorified the Khalistani Terrorists. His post was heavily criticised on social media platforms. After receiving a lot of flak from every nook and corner, Harbhajan posted an apology on Twitter and claimed he was “not aware of the content of the post.”

He said that the image he shared was a WhatsApp forward message, and he shared it without realising the content in it or the significance of the same. He said that he does not subscribe to the views on the post or support the people whose pictures it carried. “I am a Sikh who will fight for India and not against India,” he said while apologising unconditionally for the same.

Ravinder Singh is a well-documented Khalistan supporter

The founder of Khalsa Aid, Ravinder Singh, is a well-documented Khalistan supporter. He had tried to whitewash the atrocities done by Khalistani terrorists, including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, several times in the past. This year as well, he had published a series of posts on his social media platforms to “remember those who were killed during Operation Bluestar”.

It has to be noted that his organisation has been a frontrunner in supporting farmer protests. Pro-Khalistani groups had caused the violence in Delhi’s Red Fort on the occasion of Republic Day this year and have been deemed one of the possible reasons for the Covid-19 spike in Punjab during the second wave.

Maharashtra: Samajwadi Party leader Rais Shaikh seeks permission to allow Bakri Eid celebrations, writes to CM Uddhav Thackeray

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Samajwadi Party leader Rais Shaikh seeks permission to allow Bakri Eid celebrations, writes to CM Uddhav Thackeray

With over 1,74,000 active Covid-19 cases in the state of Maharashtra, Samajwadi Party leader Rais Shaikh has written a letter to state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to seek permission to celebrate the festival of Eid-Ul-Adha (Bakri Eid) this year.

Shaikh justified his demand in the letter by stating that the number of Covid-19 cases are on a decline in the state and the process of unlock has begun.

Sharing the letter, his Tweet read, “For every muslim Eid-Ul-Fitr and Eid-Ul-Adha ( Bakra Eid)  are very auspicious occasions. In the past 2 years, Eid could not be celebrated due to COVID-19.  Eid-Ul-Adha is approaching in July & I urge @CMOMaharashtra to allow the community to celebrate this holy day.”

“The city is undergoing an unlock process & the celebrations will be held safely & responsibly with evey guideline the state puts forward. On behalf of the community, I request @OfficeofUT to allow all activities during the auspicious occasion of Eid-Ul-Adha,” he added.

Rais Shaikh an MLA from Bhiwandi in the letter also informed that the preparations to purchase goats and other festival-related purchases begin prior to the festival. Claiming that there is despair in the Muslim community for not being able to celebrate the festival with fanfare because of the pandemic, he urged the Chief Minister to let the community celebrate the festival like in pre-Covid times this year.

Maharashtra’s 5-level unlock

The government of Maharashtra has announced a 5-level unlock strategy for the state depending upon the positivity rate of the regions. 

As per a state order, the Public Health Department has to declare the positivity rate and oxygen beds occupation percentage for each district every Thursday. 

The district management authorities, after accessing the parameters for shall decide which level of restrictions should be imposed in their administrative units in their units.

For Mumbai and Mumbai suburbs, with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as the disaster management authority, the civic body will decide the level of unlock based on positivity rate which is over 5% as of now and occupancy of the oxygen beds.

Central Vista project to save ₹1000 crores on rent each year: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Central Vista project to save ₹1000 crores on rent each year: Reports

Amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding the Central vista project, a government official in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has informed that the project will save ₹1000 crores worth of rental expenditure each year.

As per reports, the Centre spends a whopping ₹1000 crore on renting buildings to house various government offices in central Delhi. The Central vista project will accommodate all such offices in the newly constructed buildings. He added, “Several offices of the central government are scattered in different places and many are in rented buildings that require huge amount. Once entire Central Vista project gets completed, all offices will come under one place. This will not only save the rent, but also have better co-ordinated workplaces.”

Under the central vista project, a total of 10 new buildings will be constructed while existing structures will be demolished on either side of Rajpath. A new Parliament building, MP offices, new residences for PM and Vice-President of India will be constructed while the central vista avenue in Rajpath will be remodelled. The overall cost of the project is estimated to be around ₹20,000 crores and is likely to be completed by 2026. Reportedly, none of the existing heritage buildings will be demolished as part of the project. Currently, only the new Parliament building and Central Vista Avenue are being built.

Delhi High Court terms Central vista project essential, fines petitioners

Last month, the Delhi High Court had dismissed a plea seeking suspension of Central Vista project work and had imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the petitioners for moving a motivated plea.

Raising concerns over the safety of the construction workers amidst the pandemic, a joint petition was filed by Anya Malhotra, a translator, and Sohail Hashmi, a ‘historian’ and documentary filmmaker who claimed the work does not fall in the essential category and can be put on hold. However, the Centre had already submitted in their response stating that utmost care had been taken with on-site accommodation and “access to immediate medical attention and proper care made available on site.

Court’s order specified that the DDMA had nowhere in its order prohibited the construction work and that the work is scheduled to be completed by November 2021 as time is of the essence in the contract. Solicitor General Tushar Mehra, representing the Centre, had said that the petition was a “facade” and a “disguise” to stall the project which was agreed by the Bench who dismissed the petition.

South Africa: Mahatma Gandhi’s great-granddaughter jailed for seven years in fraud case

OpIndia Staff
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South Africa: Mahatma Gandhi’s great-granddaughter jailed for seven years in fraud case

On June 7 (local time), Ashish Lata Ramgobin, daughter of social activist Ela Gandhi and great-granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi has been found guilty in a 6 million rand fraud and forgery case by a Durban court. She has been sentenced to seven years in Jail.

The fraud case of 2015

Ramgobin was accused of defrauding businessman SR Maharaj in 2015. Reports suggest that at that time, Maharaj gave her an advance of R6.2 million for allegedly clearing import and customs duties for a consignment from India that did not exist in reality. Ramgobin had promised him a share in the profits. The Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court also refused leave to appeal both conviction and sentence.

Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said during the trial in the case that Ramgobin provided forged documents and invoices to convince Maharaj that she had imported three containers of linen from India. Initially, she was released on bail of R50,000.

The court was informed that in August 2015, she met Maharaj, director of the New Africa Alliance Footwear Distributors that imports, manufactures and sells clothing, linen and footwear. The company also provides loans to other companies on a profit-share basis. When she met Maharaj, she told him that she had imported three containers of linen for the South African Hospital Group NetCare.

Natasha Kara, spokesperson, NPA, said in a statement, “She said she was experiencing financial difficulties to pay for import costs and customs, and she needed the money to clear the goods at the harbour.” She further asked Maharaj to lend R6.2 million so that she could clear the consignment. “To convince him, she showed him what she claimed was a signed purchase order for the goods. Later that month, she sent him what seemed to be a NetCare invoice and delivery note as proof that the goods were delivered and payment was imminent,” she added.

She even sent him confirmation from NetCare’s bank account that payment had been made. As Ramgobin had good family credentials and NetCare documents, Maharaj fell for the fraud and entered into a written agreement with her for the loan. Later, he found that the documents she provided were forged, and she never had any arrangements with NetCare. Maharaj immediately filed a complaint against her to initiate criminal charges.

The ‘real’ Gandhis

Lata Ramgobin is the daughter of Ela Gandhi. Ela Gandhi is the daughter of Manilal Gandhi, the second son of Mohandas Gandhi. Ela Gandhi is a known social activist in South Africa and was also a member of the South African Parliament.

Notably, many members of the ‘real’ Gandhi family, that is, the descendants of Mahatma Gandhi, are human rights activists, including Kirti Menon, the late Satish Dhupelia, Uma Dhupelia-Mesthrie, Ela Gandhi and Lata Ramgobin herself. She was the founder and executive director of the Participative Development Initiative at the NGO named International Centre for Non-Violence.

Chidambaram spreads lies over vaccine procurement, when caught, says ‘I was wrong, I stand corrected’

OpIndia Staff
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Chidambaram spreads lies over vaccine procurement, when caught, says ‘I was wrong, I stand corrected’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on Monday mentioned that it was the state governments that demanded they be allowed to procure vaccines for their citizens prompting the Union Government to change its vaccination policy.

Within no time barrage of Tweets were put out by the opposition and the left ecosystem claiming that a ‘centralized’ process to procure Covid-19 vaccine is what their leaders have been demanding. Former Union Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram too during his interaction with ANI questioned which state government demanded decentralization of the process trying to put the blame on the Centre for a ‘poor policy’.

After getting a reality check and coming across West Bengal CM’s letter of demand, Chindambaram confessed that he stands corrected. He tweeted, “I told ANI ‘please tell us which state government demanded that it should be allowed to directly procure vaccines’. Social media activists have posted the copy of the letter of CM, West Bengal to PM making such a request. I was wrong. I stand corrected.”

Here is what the Mamata Banerjee led West Bengal government had demanded from the Centre in a letter dated February 24.

Banerjee in her letter had specified that the Centre must allow the state to procure vaccines in ‘large numbers.’ 

“We would request you to kindly take up the matter with appropriate authority, so that State Government is able to is able to purchase the vaccines from designated point(s) on top priority..”

The 24th February letter by Mamata Banerjee

Chindambaram forgets Rahul Gandhi’s letter

While Chindambaram in his Tweet mentioned that the ‘social media activists’ informed him about West Bengal’s demand, he conveniently eliminated a similar demand made by his party. Netizens flooded the comments section with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s letter too, however, Chidambaram chose to not highlight the same.

Rahul Gandhi in a letter to Prime Minister Modi dated 8th of April, 2021, had demanded that state governments have a greater say in Covid-19 vaccine procurement.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s letter to Prime Minister Modi

Rahul Gandhi said in the letter, “Centralization and individualized propaganda are counter-productive. Even though Public Health is a state subject, our states have been bypassed right from vaccine procurement to registration.” Consequently, he demanded, “Give State governments a greater say in vaccine procurement and distribution.”

Source: Official website of the Congress party

Netizens share old demands made by the opposition and left ecosystem to refresh their memories

Several from the left ecosystem who are now upset with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for fulfilling their demand which ultimately backfired, had vouched for it as the best ‘strategy’.

Netizens were quick to remind them of their ‘decentralization’ demand after they refused to take the responsibility for their failure.

Ironically, Chindambaram had himself in an interview to the NDTV in April had hailed former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his decentralization ‘strategy’ demand.

ThePrint’s Shekhar Gupta in a Tweet dated May 09 had said, “Many states’ demand to be allowed to manage their own vaccine distribution and use their own apps is fair. If the states have to find the shots & pay for them too, Centre must get out of the way. It can’t dump responsibility, and yet be a control-freak.”

Delhi Chief Minister also made a u-turn by first asking the Centre to decentralize the process and then urging the government to take it back into their hands after complete failure.

However, centralizing the process once again, Prime Minister Modi during his speech informed that the Union Government will procure 75% of the vaccines available and distribute it to the states for free while 25% will still be available for private hospitals to purchase.

Times of India names Rhea Chakraborty ‘Most Desirable Woman’ for 2020, calls her ‘gladiator wrestling several beasts’

OpIndia Staff
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Times of India names Rhea Chakraborty ‘Most Desirable Woman’ for 2020, calls her ‘gladiator wrestling several beasts’

Rhea Chakraborty, girlfriend of deceased actor Sushant Singh Rajput, topped the Times of India’s poll for ‘Most Desirable Woman’ for the year 2020. Rajput was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his apartment on June 14, 2020. While initially it was being reported as suicide, the family have alleged foul play. Rhea, his girlfriend at that time, is being probed in the drug abuse angle in relation to the death of the actor.

She spent most of her time last year being probed by various investigation agencies and has even spent considerable amount in the jail while under investigation.

Times of India, however, chose to romanticise her run-in with the law as if she was a ‘gladiator wrestling several beasts’. TOI describes her trial as ‘terrifying role off screen’ where she was cast as ‘perfect villain’.

“Before she could even grieve her loss, she was stuck in a circus with no ringmaster, caught in a state vs state, party vs party, agency vs agency tussle and shredded in a misguided, voyeuristic trial by television. Her innocence or guilt became the ground for heated debates and legal battles between state and central agencies, between estranged political allies, between the police of different states, and between channels demonising or humanising her. Thrown into the Colosseum, she was a gladiator wrestling several beasts, as they ripped apart her reputation, loved-ones, and career, while the audience watched one,” TOI goes on to describe.

Lowkey hailing her as a victorious hero, TOI further described her ordeal as, “But she didn’t break, and held her own through it all. Though she never asked for this ugly role (or to be called a gold-digger, a murderer, a drug peddler and a witch, for that matter), she retained her dignity amidst a barrage of insinuation and abuse. With her strength, resilience and prolonged restraint, she rose above it.”

Recently, Chakraborty had told the NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) that Sushant Singh Rajput was addicted to prescription drugs. She had also alleged that it was his sisters who would ask him which drugs to take and also that the family members too consumed drugs. Recently, house aides of the deceased actor had turned witnesses in the drugs case against Chakraborty.

Kolkata: Twitter user Shashank Singh alias BefittingFacts gets death threat, message says will feed his corpse to dog, complaint filed

OpIndia Staff
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Kolkata: Twitter user Shashank Singh alias BefittingFacts gets death threat, message says will feed his corpse to dog, complaint filed

Popular Twitter user Shashank Singh, whose account has the username BefittingFacts, received a death threat from an account with the username @rosso_alpha. The user called himself a ‘Bengali supremacist’. Singh has lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime Department of the Kolkata Police in connection with the matter.

The FIR filed by Shashank Singh

On the 6th of June, @rosso_alpha threatened Shashank Singh, “Shashank Singh I know where u live in Kolkata I am giving u 2 dats to get out of Bengal or else I will cut in to pieces and feed to my dog already there are so many hindi speaking b*st*rds like u living here so no one will care if I sacrifice one”. The user ended his threat with an emoji.

The death threat sent by @rosso_alpha

@rosso_alpha has since then appears to have deleted his account. When one visits the account with the said username, Twitter says the account does not exist.

@rosso_alpha has deleted his account

In the complaint, Shashank Singh alias BefittingFacts has also alleged that the user is trying to divide people on the basis of their ethnicity and the language they speak. Singh told OpIndia, “I just want the Kolkata Police to find the user as soon as possible.”

Read the letters by Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee where they demanded Centre allow state govts to procure Covid-19 vaccines

OpIndia Staff
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Read the letters by Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee where they demanded Centre allow state govts to procure Covid-19 vaccines

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation today mentioned that it was state governments which demanded that they be allowed to procure vaccines for their citizens that prompted the Union Government to change its vaccination policy.

The state governments demanded that they should have more say in the procurement of vaccines. Soon, however, after realising that the task far exceeded their capabilities, they changed their tune and started demanding that vaccine procurement be centralised.

In this whole circus, one of the prominent characters, unsurprisingly, was former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. In a letter to Prime Minister Modi on the 8th of April, 2021, he demanded that state governments have a greater say in vaccine procurement.

Rahul Gandhi said in the letter, “Centralization and individualized propaganda are counter-productive. Even though Public Health is a state subject, our states have been bypassed right from vaccine procurement to registration.” Consequently, he demanded, “Give State governments a greater say in vaccine procurement and distribution.”

Source: Official website of the Congress party

Rahul Gandhi was not the only opposition leader who demanded the same. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was also vocal in her demands for the same.

The 24th February letter by Mamata Banerjee

“We would request you to kindly take up the matter with appropriate authority, so that the state government is able to purchase the vaccines from designated point(s) on a top priority basis, because the West Bengal government wants to provide vaccination free of cost to all the people,” the letter by Mamata Banerjee on the 24th of February reads.

Narendra Modi revealed that two weeks into May, states started realising that the earlier policy was better. The earlier policy was a centralised vaccine procurement policy which the states wanted to be changed. Now, the Central Government, again on the request of states, has decided to revert to the earlier policy.

Now the Union Government will procure 75% of the vaccines available and distribute it to the states for free. 25% will still be available for private hospitals to purchase.

Rhea Chakraborty tells NCB Sara Ali Khan offered her marijuana and vodka, SSR’s family used to have drugs with him: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Rhea Chakraborty tells NCB Sara Ali Khan offered her marijuana and vodka, SSR’s family used to have drugs with him: Reports

Rhea Chakraborty has told the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) that Sara Ali Khan, daughter of Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh, offered her marijuana and vodka, Zee News has reported. She made the comments when she was being questioned by the NCB in connection with its investigation into the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.

Rhea Chakraborty, former girlfriend of Sushant Singh Rajput, has revealed a chat she had with Sara Ali Khan on the 4th of June, 2017. In the chat, Sara Ali Khan reportedly offers Rhea Chakraborty rolled marijuana joints (doobies) and vodka. The statements were available in the chargesheet filed by the NCB.

Chakraborty also claims that Sushant Singh Rajput was an ‘addict’ before he met her. She further told the NCB, “There are some conversation relation to uses and effect of Clomnezepan. I would like to explain that above are prescription drugs prescribed by Dr Nikita Shah. Showik and I are seen here discussing the Google side effect of Clomnezepan.”

Source: DNA

She added, “On confirming with the doctor she confirmed to continue the prescription medicine as advised. Sushant was not doing well and his condition was worsening, hence, Showik was worried about Clomnezepan and its side effects.” 

She stated further, “I would also like to add that on 08 June 2020, Sushant Singh Rajput received a WhatsApp msg from his sister Priyanka Singh telling him to take librium 10 mg, Nexito, etc. which are drugs under the NDPS Act, 1985. She has also provided a prescription from Dr Tarun who is a cardiologist and has marked Sushant for OPD patient, without consulting or meeting or online consultation with Sushant. These medicines are not to be given or administered without a psychiatrist consultation.”

Chakraborty also said that his family used to consume drugs with him. She said, “I would also like to add that Sushant’s family members were aware of his marijuana addition. I would also like to state that his sister Priyanka Singh and brother-in-law Siddharth were also consuming Marijuana with Sushant and even procured the same for him.”

Source: DNA

She also said that she feared for the actor’s life when his sister Meetu used to live with him. Recently, house aides of the deceased actor had turned witnesses in the drugs case against Chakraborty.

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his house last year under mysterious circumstances. After his death, a lot of questions were raised related to his death and involvement of Rhea and her family in Sushant’s alleged emotional and financial exploitation was mentioned in a complaint filed by Sushant’s father KK Singh in Patna.

The case eventually got transferred to CBI on Bihar Police request and the Supreme Court’s orders. The case that was intended to be a simple open and shut situation for Mumbai Police has turned into a much bigger conspiracy that includes drug dealings, money laundering and the alleged murder of the actor.

As PM Modi takes matters into his own hands, govt clarifies that 9 states, all non-BJP, underutilised vaccines

OpIndia Staff
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As PM Modi takes matters into his own hands, govt clarifies that 9 states, all non-BJP, underutilised vaccines

On June 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to the nation, announced that Central Government is taking the matter of vaccine distribution into its own hand as states are failing to procure the vaccines on their own. It was earlier reported that at least nine states have underutilised vaccine doses supplied to them between January and March. Their lethargic attitude towards the vaccination drive has caused a slowdown in the immunisation drive against the Chinese virus pandemic. Notably, all the nine states are non-BJP ruled states.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Delhi have underutilised the doses provided to them. HT quoted a top government official saying, “These states, despite having adequate supplies of vaccines from the Centre in January, February and March, failed to commensurately use those supplies to effectively vaccinate a large enough proportion of their respective populations.” Every month, the Centre provided an increasing number of vaccines to these states, he added.

Supplied vs Utlized

As per the data, from January to March, Rajasthan got 10.6 million doses, but it managed to utilise 5.7 million doses. Congress-led Punjab received 2.9 million doses, but it utilised only 840,000. In the case of Congress-led Chhattisgarh, 1.9 million doses were used out of 4.3 million supplied. TRS-led Telangana utilised only 1.3 million out of 4.1 million doses supplied. Coming to YSR Congress Party-led Andhra Pradesh, it received 6.6 million doses, but the government only administered 2.6 million doses.

LDF-led Kerala received 6.3 million doses from the Centre but utilised only 3.4 million. UPA-led Jharkhand utilised 1.6 million out of 3.1 million doses provided. MVA-led Maharashtra received 14.3 million doses from the central government till March 31 but utilised only 6.2 million doses. AAP-led Delhi government got 4.4. a million doses but utilised only 2.1 million.

Vaccine hesitancy and states’ role in slow vaccination drive

Data revealed that vaccine hesitancy is not the only reason for the slow vaccination drive against the Covid-19 infection in the country. The non-BJP states were awfully slower than the BJP-ruled states in administrating vaccines in the first two months. The coverage only picked up in the third month. The official quoted above said, “A few states have contributed disproportionately to the slowdown in the nationwide vaccination drive.”

Another official known to the program said that [non-BJP] states have demanded to widen and decentralise the vaccination program to cover all adults at an early stage of the program. However, in reality, they were unable to utilise the doses provided by the union government. The states have now demanded the Centre should buy the vaccines after they failed to acquire them on their own. PM Modi made an announcement on June 7 in this regard and said that the central government will now provide vaccines for 18+ category to the states for free of cost

Vaccination drive in India

As of June 7, India has administered 23,27,86,482 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. 4,62,71,709 people have got both doses of the vaccine while 18,65,14,773 people have got the first dose. As of now, Maharashtra is leading in terms of total vaccination doses administered, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

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