A major confrontation between Russia and Ukraine is feared with reports of a military build-up in the eastern region of Ukraine. Reports are now coming in of shooting sounds being heard in the Kuibyshevsky district of Donetsk.
Journalist Ali Özkök shared videos of the same on Twitter. We cannot confirm the veracity of the videos being shared but such videos are circulating widely on social media.
Meanwhile, Russia has warned that any NATO deployment in Ukraine would increase tensions and Moscow will be forced to take appropriate measures in response to the same. On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that efforts to initiate a new conflict in Eastern Ukraine would destroy the country.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has “condemned recent escalations of Russian aggressive and provocative actions in eastern Ukraine.” Russia, however, maintains that its troop deployment in the region is to ensure its own security and not directed against anyone.
Earlier, it was reported that 4 Ukrainian soldiers had died on the 26th of March following shelling by Russia backed Ukrainian rebels.
Congress Dalit leader Udit Raj, going by his party’s penchant, has again tried to spread false caste narratives to gain relevance in the social media space. He took to Twitter to empathise with the multi-crore fodder scam convict Lalu Prasad Yadav, insinuating that whatever difficult condition the former Bihar CM is in today is because of his ‘caste’.
The Congress leader seems to be of the firm belief that the reason behind the former Bihar Chief Minister’s sufferings is his anti-Modi stance and his ‘caste’, not his multiple corruption cases and involvement in scams worth billions.
He took to Twitter to share a picture of Lalu Prasad recuperating in AIIMS and wrote in Hindi: “ये लालू यादव जी हैं । जेल में हैं । इस समय इलाज AIIMS में चल रहा है ।इनका दोष भाजपा विरोधी होना और पिछड़े समाज से आना है।” (This is Lalu Yadav ji. He is in jail. Currently he is being treated in AIIMS. His mistake is that he is at odds with BJP and belongs to the backward class).
ये लालू यादव जी हैं । जेल में हैं । इस समय इलाज AIIMS में चल रहा है ।इनका दोष भाजपा विरोधी होना और पिछड़े समाज से आना है। pic.twitter.com/kwGIgefiR3
The Congress spokesperson sympathises with the scam-convict politician, insinuating that his conviction in the multi-crore scam is nothing but political vendetta. While he accuses the Modi government of caste-based discrimination, he completely ignores the fact that the courts have convicted Lalu Prasad for amassing massive wealth by misappropriating public money after years of legal proceedings.
For Congress leader Udit Raj, it does not matter whether Lalu Yadav is corrupt or unethical, as long he furthers his party’s political narrative against the current political establishment in the country. He also ignored that along with Lalu, Jagannath Mishra was also convicted in the fodder scam cases.
Udit Raj’s falsehoods were called out by many on Twitter.
Have some knowledge on History. Lalu was first convicted by Court in 2013 (after 15 years of trial) and in UPA-2, Law Minister Sibal tried to bring a Cabinet decision to change PC Act to save Lalu. Then lot of resentment and that Cabinet Note was tear by Rahul at Press Club.
Some users even pointed out the lavish treatment Lalu Yadav is getting despite being a convicted criminal. It is notable here that Lalu Yadav had been admitted in RIMS for months. During the covid scare he was shifted to the RIMS Director’s bungalow from where he was even running party meetings during the 2020 Bihar election campaign.
अपराधी होने के बाबजूद AIIMS के आलीशान कमरे में इलाज होना कोई मामूली बात नहीं है, कितने अपराधियों को ऐसी VIP सुविधा मिलती है बताओगे? संविधान कहां लिखा है ऐसा भेदभाव ये हमारे संविधान का अपमान है जो इन जैसे अपराधी को VIP ट्रीटमेंट मिलता है दूसरे को सामान्य इलाज भी नहीं मिल पाता है। https://t.co/5ZMPd5jeME
Udit Raj’s remark do not completely surprise us, as his anti-Brahmin rhetorics are not hidden from anyone. The All India Parisangh, a Dalit organisation run by Congress leader Udit Raj, had once compared the Brahmin community to pigs. It posted an image of a pig wearing the janeu, the sacred thread that Brahmins wear. It also claimed that the Judiciary is comprised of only Brahmins.
After Arnab Goswami questioned Sonia Gandhi over her silence on the lynching of Sadhus on Palghar, the All India Parisangh said that ‘only a Brahmin can fall as low as Arnav Goswami has fallen’. A complaint was registered against the same by a social worker from Rajasthan’s Bikaer with the Cyber Crime Branch in New Delhi.
Congress and caste based politics goes hand in hand
Evidently, the Congress spokesperson is no different from his party members. He only does what his party supremos indulge in doing all the time. One remembers how the Congress party had recently clung to the Hathras incident to gain some much-needed political capital in Uttar Pradesh, by exploiting the caste angles in the case. When the Uttar Pradesh police arrested the notorious gangster Vikas Dubey and encountered his aides, then too, the Congress party has stepped up its caste politics, trying to paint the BJP Government led by Yogi Adityanath as ‘anti-Brahmin’.
We have seen Congress supporting Bhim Army in Uttar Pradesh. They fanned the Bhima-Koregaon violence hailing the protests and blaming BJP for ignoring Dalits.
In the case of Rohit Vemula suicide too, Congress played and played it as much they could to generate ‘Dalit Injustice’ narrative. Their support to Hardik Patel just before the Gujrat polls further clarified it. Not only Hardik, Jignesh Mevani too became their darling when it came to opposing BJP. It has also tried to play the ‘Lingayat‘ card in Karnataka.
Indian cricket team under the charismatic leadership of MS Dhoni scripted a historic win and ended the 28-year-long drought on this day in 2011 when they lifted the second ICC Cricket World Cup in Wankhede stadium.
It has been 10 years since MS Dhoni played the winning six off Nuwan Kulasekara that led commentator Ravi Shashtri to describe the victory in the most emphatic manner.
“Dhoni finishes off in style, A magnificent strike into the crowd! India lift the World Cup after 28 years!”, Shashtri roared on-air as a dispassionate Dhoni saw the ball sailing through the crowd and casually twirled his bat as a mark of celebrating the victory.
On the other end was prolific batsman Yuvraj Singh, who broke into celebrations long before the ball was dispatched into the stands by the Indian captain. Though it was Gautam Gambhir’s crucial knock of 97 and Dhoni’s quick-fire half-century that sealed the victory, it was Singh’s consistent performance with the bat that saw India through to the finals. For his outstanding contribution to the team’s victories throughout the tournament, Singh was judged the man of the series.
The triumph sent goosebumps to billions of Indians as they saw MS Dhoni lifting the much-coveted World Cup and the unforgettable victory lap when junior team India members lifted the legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders to dedicate the victory to the Master Blaster and acknowledge his unparalleled contribution to the Indian cricket.
The Indian cricket team’s victory on 2 April 2011 was a moment of rejoicing for the nation it had never witnessed in the recent past. The triumph brought the country to a standstill, with cricket-lovers across the nation taking to the streets cavorting around in celebrations that went into the wee hours of the next morning.
The victory was so special that millions of Indian cricket fans, along with Team India members broke into cries of joy that night. The emotion was so overwhelming that even today, 10 years after India won the World Cup, Indian cricket fans and team members are acutely aware of that feeling and are filled with an immense sense of nostalgia remembering the victory. Even today, the iconic six slammed by MS Dhoni remains firmly etched in the memories of the Indian cricket fans.
Here are some of the reactions from players and organisations to mark the 10-year anniversary of India’s 2011 World Cup triumph:
The International Cricket Council took to social media to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Indian world cup triumph with an animated reel, recreating the victorious six hit by MS Dhoni.
State broadcaster DD Doordarshan shared the original clip from the match when Indian captain MS Dhoni creamed a six over the long-on and sealed the victory for his team.
— Doordarshan National दूरदर्शन नेशनल (@DDNational) April 2, 2021
Gautam Gambhir, then a member of Team India and now a parliamentarian, remembered the victory saying: “A billion Indians won the World Cup on this day! Jai Hind!”
Cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who played a pivotal role in India’s World Cup triumph, took to Twitter to remember the victory. Singh released a video in which he expressed his gratitude to be able to represent India and bring glory to the nation. Singh also shared how the Team members wanted to win the World Cup for Sachin Tendulkar, who carried the weight of the nation’s expectations on his shoulders.
April 2, 2011 – a day when history was created! We wanted to win the WC for India & for the master @sachin_rt who carried the nation’s expectations over decades!
Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who is currently hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19, could not stop himself from reminiscing the iconic moment. Tendulkar wished Indians & his teammates on the 10th anniversary of the World Cup victory.
Thank you for your wishes and prayers. As a matter of abundant precaution under medical advice, I have been hospitalised. I hope to be back home in a few days. Take care and stay safe everyone.
Wishing all Indians & my teammates on the 10th anniversary of our World Cup ?? win.
On 2 April 2011, India won the Cricket World Cup for the second time in history. The first victory had come in 1983 under the leadership of legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev.
Once again, the Congress party has been caught spreading fake news against BJP and PM Modi. This time, the Congress party and Youth Congress president Srinivas BV was found sharing a badly edited video on Twitter to suggest that Narendra Modi was waiving at an empty ground with no people.
On Friday, Srinivas BV shared a video on Twitter, with the caption ‘are you also seeing what I am seeing in this video?’ The video showed blurry visuals of PM Modi waiving towards what looks like an empty ground and lines or trees in the distance. If the video is to believed, it would seem that there was no crowd at the event where PM Modi was present, and he was just waiving at imaginary audience. The video also lacks any audio.
After some time, the video was also posted by the official Twitter account of the Congress party, asking if it is another ‘oversight’, taking a jibe at the government for the reduction in interest rates, which was withdrawn saying it was ‘issued by oversight’. An archive version of the tweet can be seen here.
Screenshot of tweet by Congress
Although the blurred video seemed to suggest that Modi was waiving at an empty ground, the reality is different. Because, there was a huge crowd in the background, which got hidden after the video was blurred. Moreover, there was a roaring sound of the crowd, which was removed by simply removing the audio from the video.
Soon after Congress party and its leaders posted the video, alert social media users quickly posted the original video with sharp visuals and sound, which revealed the truth.
Original video with sound.
But @srinivasiyc not only blurs it to make audience invisible but also mutes it to ensure that the roar of crowd isn't audible.
Not only this, @Pawankhera RTs this blatant propaganda.
After their lies were caught re-handed by social media users, the Congress party and Srinivas BV deleted their tweets.
In fact, the original video was posted on Twitter yesterday itself, which showed PM Narendra Modi arriving at Jaynagar in West Bengal for an election rally. It can be seen in the video that the prime minister’s helicopter had landed on a very large ground, with at least three helicopters seen on the ground. The crowd was standing behind a fence at some distance. For that reason, it was easy to hide them by blurring the video, as the crowd got mixed with the treeline on the horizon.
Therefore, the fact is that PM Modi received a roaring welcome from the crowd at Jaynagar in West Bengal, and the ground was not empty as the Congress will like to believe.
The unmissable music, the unwavering anticipation for the next episode and the unmatchable connect with the stories and the characters. Doordarshan of the 80s and 90s was certainly the golden era of Indian television.
On April 1 in 1976, that Doordarshan radio and television were separated and Doordarshan Corporation was formed.
As we reminisce, let’s travel back in time to refresh some good old memorie of some of the most popular shows on Doordarshan.
Let’s begin and recap some classic entertainers from the era, not before listening to this epic track.
01. Hum Log
Doordarshan’s first serial drama series, Hum Log takes you straight to the India of 1980s. A middle-class family dealing with social problems like family planning, women’s issues, alcoholism and the harsh ground reality connected with the audience instantly. A huge hit, it was the longest-running serial at that time with a total of 156 episodes.
02. Buniyaad
Haveliram struggles to navigate between his familial duties and the desire to live in an independent India. Buniyaad went on to become a hugely popular serial that showcased the life of a common man after India’s partition and its aftereffects. Amid the nationwide lockdown last year, Buniyaad made its way back on Doordarshan for a rerun.
03.Karamchand
“Shut up Kitty” said India’s favorite detective. A detective show with a hint of comedy, Karamchand solved a new case every episode. The show was hugely popular amongst audiences from all age groups.
Pankaj Kapoor in Karamchand
04. Malgudi Days
Swami and his friends, the theme song and the touching stories. Goosebumps. Stories by RK Narayan, Malgudi Days makes us miss the days when life was far less complicated and simple. The plot set in a village in South India, brought to us stories of carefree school boys and their escapades.
RK Narayanan’s Malgudi Days
05. Nukkad
Nukkad had 26 characters who led a simpleton life. The show had nothing fancy but the right amount of comedy and drama. From Guru the electrician to Khopri, the show focused on the struggles and experiences of people from the working class.
And it’s time for a short break…
Old ads on DD
06. Ramayan
Reserve your seats as it’s time for the next episode of Ramayan. The iconic serial on the life of Lord Sri Ram got every member of a family glued to their seats. The ones who did not own a TV rushed to the nearest house with a TV set hours before to not miss a minute of the episode. The craze for the show was evident when it crossed all the TV entertainment records in the rerun during the lockdown in 2020. Such is the fan following!
07. Shaktimaan
Our very own superhero, Shaktimaan definitely made our childhood memorable every time he entered and exited a scene twirling. Even though it was a show based on a fictional superhero, it always ended with a takeaway for the kids. Shaktimaan’s title song, dialogues, his suit and the serial’s characters were all immensely popular among kids and even adults.
08. Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi
A slapstick comedy, Ye Jo Hai Zindagi beautifully captured a middle-class family’s life. Every element of the show seems relevant even today, be it budgeting before visiting a restaurant or telling a harmless lie to avoid a relative.
Ye Jo Hai Zindagi
09. Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne
When put down by everyone around him from his wife to his boss, Mungerilal gets back at all of them in his daydreams. The show that connected well with its audience was also hugely popular for its title song.
Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne
10. Chanakya
A historical drama epic, the series is an account of the life and times of 4th century BCE Indian economist, strategist and political theorist Chanakya (Vishnugupta). From Chanakya’s childhood to the coronation of Chandragupta Maurya, the serial covered every major aspect of his life and strategies.
So which of these magical shows was your all-time-favorite?
A video has gone viral on social media where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee could be seen shaking her supposedly injured leg comfortably without any apparent discomfort. It is generally observed that a plastered leg causes some amount of pain if the person is not cautious enough, however, Mamata Banerjee does not appear encumbered by such mundane affairs.
At another point in the video, she put her other leg on top of her supposedly injured leg. The video has sparked much laughter and mockery on social media. It is not clear when and where the video was captured.
BJP leader Vishnu Vardhan Reddy has commented on the same saying that the video tells a different story than the one voiced by Mamata Banerjee herself.
So @MamataOfficial ji claims that her leg is broken but this video says a different story…
Another video had surfaced earlier which showed the West Bengal CM standing on her feed on her injured leg with her aides rushing to seat her. She said that she cannot remain seated during the National Anthem and therefore, had to make an effort to stand up. It was a perplexing spectacle, indeed.
The Bengal CM was campaigning for the high-octane Nandigram seat. During a rally, the TMC supremo stood up with her fractured leg for the national anthem pic.twitter.com/cR9fFDEtUd
The circumstances of her injury have been mysterious from the very beginning. While Mamata Banerjee claimed that she was attacked by goons associated with the BJP, eyewitnesses said that it was an accident and a report submitted to the Election Commission said the same thing as well.
The video that has now emerged casts further doubts into the story peddled by the Trinamool Congress.
The much-awaited trailer of Rocketry-The Nambi Effect starring actor R Madhavan was unveiled on Thursday. The movie stars versatile actor R Madhavan playing the character of Nambi Narayanan, a former scientist and aerospace engineer of the Indian Space Research Organisation, who was hounded and persecuted by the Congress government.
Rocketry-The Nambi Effect is shot in three languages—Tamil, Hindi and English—and is the directorial debut of actor R Madhavan. The movie is set to release later this year. Here’s the trailer of the movie:-
Source: YouTube
The trailer captures the real-life story of former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan, his professional success and events that led to his imprisonment and police cases against him by the then governments. Many scenes in the trailer are hard-hitting and reminiscent of the forgotten pain of one of India’s most decorated and criticised scientist.
How Congress hounded India’s most celebrated rocket scientist Nambi Narayanan
It is pertinent to note that scientist Nambi Narayan was a victim of persecution by the Congress party. The political rivalry between the two factions of the Kerala Congress party led to the arrest of Narayanan, along with two other scientists D Sasikumaran and K Chandrasekhar in November 1994. The Kerala police had levelled charges of espionage under sections 3,4 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act against the scientists.
Apart from these three scientists SK Sharma, an Indian representative of the Russian Space Agency, a labour contractor and a man named Fauzia Hassan were also arrested. Narayanan was then heading the cryogenics division at the ISRO. All of them were accused of giving secret information about ISRO’s rocket engine to Pakistan.
The backstory of this arrest is rather interesting and a scathing indictment of how the quest for power with the Congress party led to the wrongful arrest of Nambi Narayanan and his associates.
Earlier in 1991, Kerala Congress was divided into two faction—one led by AK Antony and the other led by chief minister K Karunakaran. A coalition government headed by Congress leader PV Narasimha Rao was ruling the Centre, while K Karunakaran was the Chief Minister of Kerala. AK Antony, along with the future Chief Minister of the state, Oommen Chandy was waiting for an opportunity to undermine the K Karunakaran government.
However, they got an opportunity when Mariam Rashida was arrested in October 1994, on the charges of overstaying her visa. Reportedly, S Vijayan, a Kerala Police Inspector had arrested Rashida on false espionage charges after she had rejected Vijayan’s offer to indulge in sexual activities.
In the meantime, a plot was designed to embarrass K Karunakaran. AK Antony and Oommen Chandy, along with few aspirational police officers used the opportunity of Rashida’s arrest to target the senior police officer Raman Srivastava, who was close to the Chief Minister Karunakaran then. Within a month of Rashida’s arrest, the case was given a sinister twist by the few senior officers, when Nambi Narayanan’s deputy D. Sasikumaran and three others were arrested. Two weeks later, on November 30, 1994, Narayanan was also arrested.
After his arrest, he was remanded in police custody for a period of 50 days during which he was harassed and tortured by officials of Kerala police and the Indian intelligence bureau.
CBI found allegations of spying against Nambi Narayanan to be false
However, after an investigation by the CBI, the allegations on him were found to be false and in 1998, the Supreme Court upheld the findings by the CBI and had asked the Kerala government to pay Rs 1 lakh in compensation to Narayanan and others. However, Dr Narayanan had approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)seeking justice for the harassment and agony meted out to him. In 2001, the NHRC had awarded a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to him.
The Supreme Court also awarded former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan a compensation of Rs 50 lakhs in September 2018, for his wrongful arrest and harassment by the Kerala Police in the 1994 ISRO spy case. The apex court had also ordered a probe into the role of the police officers involved in Narayanan’s arrest and alleged harassment in custody. The three-member probe panel was headed by former judge DK Jain.
In 2019, the Union government led by Narendra Modi finally awarded prestigious Padma Bhushan to Nambi Narayanan on the occasion of 70th Republic Day in 2019.
Later in December 2019, the Kerala government approved to provide compensation of Rs 1.3 crore to former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan for his wrongful arrest and harassment by the Kerala Police in the 1994 spying case.
BJP candidate from Dipak Halder was attacked, allegedly by TMC goons, while he was campaigning for the West Bengal Assembly Elections in Haridebpur. Dipal Halder and his supporters were thrashed with sticks following which he was grievously injured. He has been rushed to the hospital.
#NewsAlert | BJP candidate from Diamond Harbour, West Bengal, has been injured in what is being alleged as an attack by the TMC workers.
BJP MP from Barrackpore, Arjun Singh, has condemned the attack in a statement on social media. Dipak Halder is currently receiving treatment for his injuries.
Diamond Harbour is the bastion of Mamata Banerjee’s ‘Bhaipo’ (nephew) Abhishek Banerjee, who is the sitting MP from the constituency. Arjun Singh alleged that the TMC goons were patronised by Abhishek Banerjee himself. Halder was a member of the Trinamool Congress itself but had quit recently to join the BJP.
There have been multiple attacks on BJP candidates during the run up to polls. Senior Bengal BJP leader Locket Chatterjee was attacked, former cricketer Ashok Dinda suffered injuries during an attack and Suvendu Adhikari’s convoy was attacked as well.
A lawyer has threatened a popular Twitter user for an apparently funny tweet on Times Group MD Vineet Jain. The lawyer, claiming to represent Bennett Coleman & Company Limited whose d/b/a is The Times Group, accused Twitter user @BefittingFacts of making a “malicious statement” that has harmed BCCL/MD greatly.
The DM @BefittingFacts received as claimed by him
The direct message (DM) was allegedly received by @BefittingFacts due to a tweet he made in response to Times of India’s nonsensical virtue-signaling on the occasion of Holi. The tweet, made in jest, showed Vineet Jain celebrating Holi in full fervour.
He asked Times of India to confirm if it was indeed their lawyer who was threatening him or if it were someone using their name.
It is not clear what is precisely defamatory about the tweet in question. The photographs contained there in are available on their website and if they are defamatory in themselves, then the group ought to remove them from their website first.
Furthermore, the TOI Holi Party is quite famous and there is extensive media coverage of the annual event. This year, people on social media voiced their outrage against the clockwork seasonal propaganda against Hindu festivals where brands engage in virtue-signaling and demonize the festival.
Holi has been targeted branding it a festival of molestation, which people on social media did not take kindly to. The user who has been threatened with legal action made the tweet to mock TOI for their propaganda campaign.
A Charity in the United Kingdom has revealed that it initially kept a dination from Meghan Markle, wife to Prince Harry, a secret because they feared it would damage their reputation. The charity in question, Himmah, deals with racism, poverty, Islamophobia and social exclusion.
“The reason we didn’t go public is the trustees took a view that she was like Marmite and there could be reputational issues – people not liking our charity because they don’t like her – so we decided to keep the donation secret,” its director Sajid Mohammad told BBC News.
Mohammad said that he felt the necessity of showing ‘solidarity’ towards the couple after their controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey aired on CBS in March. The donation of $13,000 (£10,000) was received in August through The Royal Foundation, a charity the Sussexes shared earlier with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
“After the interview we realized we’re a poverty and race organization” and “that we needed to show solidarity,” Sajid Mohammad said. He revealed that he initially thought it was an “elaborate hoax” and cried when he realised it was real.
Mohammad further said that the volunteers and trustees of Himmah were “completely moved by the very kind and generous and gracious words of the duchess.” The Oprah interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry triggered a great controversy after the couple accused the British Royal Family of being racists.
Meghan told Oprah that when she was pregnant, there were a lot of ‘conversations’ in the royal family sphere about how baby of Meghan and Prince Harry, formerly the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, may not be given any royal title, and their child may not be given the title of a prince.
Following the interview, the British Royal Family issued a statement saying that the matter raised by Meghan Markle was concerning.
