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Uttar Pradesh: Afzal becomes Rajiv to marry Hindu woman, tries to burn her alive with children for refusing to convert

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Afzal becomes Rajiv to marry Hindu woman, tries to burn her alive with children for refusing to convert

In Uttar Pradesh, yet another case of alleged grooming Jihad has surfaced wherein a Muslim man assumed a fake Hindu identity to entrap and marry a Hindu woman. The case pertains to state capital Lucknow where a man named Afzal allegedly identified himself as Rajiv and married a Hindu woman in the Arya Samaj Temple.

A few years after the marriage, the accused Afzal started pressuring his wife to give up her religion and embrace Islam. When the woman refused to abandon her religion for Islam, an enraged Afzal reportedly tried to burn her down, along with their children. However, the woman somehow managed to escape the fire and rushed to the nearby police station to file a complaint against the accused. Following her complaint, the police arrested the accused and slapped a case against him under the UP Anti-Conversion law.

As per the victim’s account, she had met Rajiv alias Afzal in 2009. Afzal had then described himself as a Hindu orphan and the duo had gotten married on 13 February 2009 at the Arya Samaj Temple. The couple had two children after their marriage. There was a dispute between the two when Rajiv alias Afzal insisted on keeping non-Hindu names of their children, the victim said. Rajiv’s insistence of keeping non-Hindu names of their children raised suspicions for the woman and she discovered that Rajiv was not a Hindu and that his real name was Mohammad Afzal Siddiqui. She also learnt that Afzal had parents and was not an orphan as he had claimed earlier.

In her complaint, the woman accused Afzal of not only pressuring her to convert her religion but also forced her to have physical relations with other men. When she raised her objections to this, she was subjected to domestic violence, the woman said. The woman also claims that she had filed complaints with the police several times about the violence inflicted on her by Afzal but no action was taken against him. According to the woman, on Wednesday night this week, when she was alone in the house with her children, Afzal bolted the door of the house from the outside and set it on fire.

The woman then called 112 control room and sought help. The police force was immediately sent to her place to rescue her, along with her children. The woman then filed a complaint with the police accusing Afzal of trying to burn her down with her children. A case has been registered under the Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020 at the Thakurganj police station against Afzal, his parents and religious clerics for carrying out a murderous attack against the woman.

Republic TV vindicated as provisional attachment order of ED mentions India Today over 50 times in the context of ‘bribe for TRP’: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Republic TV vindicated as provisional attachment order of ED mentions India Today over 50 times in the context of ‘bribe for TRP’: Read details

In a massive revelation in the TRP scam investigation, the Enforcement Directorate has released its Provisional Attachment Order, detailing the depth of the TRP scam and exposing the channels manipulating TRPs. India Today has been named 50 times in the order in the context of the TRP scam, along with Box Cinema, Fakt Marathi and Maha Movie for which money was paid to the households with the Bar-o-meters to increase their TRPs.

By contrast, the ED order does not mention Republic TV as one of the accused in the TRP manipulation scam as alleged by the former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh who has now been ousted in connection with the ongoing Antilia bomb scare case. Republic TV stands vindicated as the extensive findings and the elaborate testimonies in the ED order decisively debunk the Mumbai Police’s narrative that Arnab Goswami’s channels had dishonestly raised its TRP by bribing the households with Bar-o-meters.

Here are some of the highlights of the 64-page Provisional Order released by the Enforcement Directorate:-

India Today mentioned 50 times in the order with respect to TRP manipulation

India Today has been extensively mentioned in the Provisional Order, precisely 50 times in the 64-page long document. It is the same channel that was originally mentioned in the FIR with the Mumbai Police regarding the TRP manipulation scam and was inexplicably given a clean chit by the Mumbai Police within 48 hours of the complaint being filed. The report by the Enforcement Directorate mentions that the accused relationship managers working at the Hansa Research Pvt. Ltd. were paid money to induce households with Bar-o-meters to watch the India Today channel.

Main complainant Nitin Deokar of Hansa Research names India Today in the context of ‘bribes for TRPs’

The ED order mentions that the main complainant of the TRP manipulation case, Mr Nitin Deokar, Deputy General Manager of M/s Hansa Research Group Pvt. Ltd., testified in his statement that one Vishal Bhandari had admitted of being approached telephonically by a person named Vinay to convince 5 panel-homes in Mumbai to watch India Today channel daily for two hours. Deokar further mentioned that for this Bhandari was paid Rs 5,000 as a commission and Rs 200 per household was distributed to each panel household for watching the said channel. Deokar cited Bhandari’s confession before the BARC team to state that he had done the work of paying panel households for watching the India Today channel for the period from November 2019 till May 2020.

BARC Head of Vigilance and Investigation admits abnormal viewership growth of India Today in January-February 2020

Another intriguing revelation mentioned in the released ED order is that of BARC vigilance head Dharamveer Mahecha, who said that he was informed by the Market Analytics Team of BARC about an abnormal viewership growth of India Today on 25.02.2020 and a field investigation was undertaken.

As per the company process, the channel was again re-investigated after 13 weeks and the top 25 household panel were selected wherein the higher viewership of India Today Channel was observed. This reveals that even the rating agency BARC had doubts over the unnatural rise in the viewership of India Today, further firming up the suspicions about the TRP manipulations.

The panel information was handed over to one Abhijit Mehendale for carrying out the investigation into the unusual spike in India Today’s TRPs. Mehendale, AVP BARC, found that the presence of an extra meter inside a panel house that belonged to Vishal Bhandari, who worked as the Relationship Manager with Hansa. When accosted about the additional meter, Bhandari reportedly confessed to Mehendale that he had been approached by an unknown person and paid money to induce panel homes to watch the India Today channel.

Hansa’s ex-relationship manager confesses to manipulating ratings for India Today

The Provisional Order by the Enforcement Directorate also included the testimony of a former relationship manager at Hansa who confessed to having manipulated ratings for the India Today channel. In his confession, Umesh Chandrakant Mishra, Ex-Relationship Manager of Hansa Research, said that he was approached by Mr Vinay Rajendra Tripathi, also an Ex-Relationship Manager of M/s Hansa Research Group Pvt. Ltd, who offered him to convince some of the Panel Households where Bar-O-Meters were installed to watch the channel India Today for half to one hour daily. For this, Umesh was given around Rs. 15,000 per month in his bank account.

Umesh added that around Rs. 3000 had been distributed by him among the households (Rs. 500 each) in cash and the rest of the amount was his commission and expenses for the said task. He said he had done this work of paying the Panel Households for watching the India Today channel for the period between November 2019 to May 2020, minus January 2020.

Household owners confess to being paid for watching India Today

Also, the ED order enlists the testimonies of the household owners who have confessed to being paid to watch certain channels, including India Today. One Mukesh Dauda stated that he had been paid by Shri Dinesh Vishwakarma for watching India Today and News Nation. Similarly, another household owner with Bar-o-meter installed, Rajesh Rudramani Shukla recorded his statement under section 50 of PMLA, 2002 on 13.01.2021 wherein he stated that he had been paid by Shri Umesh Mishra for watching News Nation and India Today Channel.

Likewise, Vishal Bhandari in his statement said he also watched different channels, including India Today, after Vinay Tripathi approached him to convince Households for watching India Today and since his house also had a Bar-O-Meter installed.

BARC VP confirms abnormalities in viewership of India Today

Pulak Banerjee, Vice President of M/s Broadcast Audience Research Council, in his statement to the Enforcement Directorate confirmed abnormalities in viewership in respect of India Today, News Nation, Box Cinema, Maha Movie, Fakt Marath.

Fifth channel accused of manipulating TRP

Till now only four channels were named in the case filed by the Hansa Research in the case, India Today, Box Cinema, Fakt Marathi and Maha Movie. But the ED provisional order has revealed the name of a fifth channel, News Nation. According to the ED, panel households were bribed to watch the News Nationa channel also, helping in increasing its viewership data.

ED lays out financial trails of companies that routed money to rig TRPs

The ED found that the mode and manner of the payments to the households was layered and routed through various intermediaries to obliterate the trail of money flow and to make it difficult to link the channel owners with the bribe money. However, it has laid out financial trail of 3 channels, namely—Fakt Marathi, Maha Movies, Box TV—between November 2019 to September 2020 with respect to manipulation of ratings.

The order says, “It is absolutely clear that the entire revenue generated by the aforesaid four channels, during the tabulated period, were generated by increasing TRP, consequently attracted more clients for advertisement which in turn increased the revenue for the respective channels. Hence by committing scheduled offences, the revenue of the four channels was increased during the period.”

Furthermore, the advertisement revenue generated during the period of criminal manipulation of TRPs of the channels is termed by the ED as “Proceeds of crime” in terms of Section 2 (1)(u) of PMLA, 2002 which was acquired illegally on the basis of manipulation of the TRPs rating by conniving with the relationship managers (RMs) and bribing the households to raise the TRP, which in turn helped in getting the revenue, which otherwise would not have been possible.

Channel owners and Hansa relationship managers charged under provisions of PMLA

In accordance with Section 3 of the PMLA, 2002, the channel owners namely Shri Narayan Nandkishore Sharma(Owner of Box Cinema), Shri Shirish Pattanshetty (50 per cent owner of Fakt Marathi), Shri Manish Singhal(50 per cent owner of Fakt Marathi), Shri Darshan Singh(Director of the company that runs Maha Movie) and Shri Vishwajeet(Director of the company that runs Maha Movie) are accused of having committed the offence of Money Laundering.

Additionally, the relationship managers namely/Shri Umesh Mishra, Vishal Ved Bhandari, Dinesh Vishwakarma, Vikas Burungale, Mahesh Bompalli, Ashwin Motiwale and Rajesh Vishwakarma are also held equally responsible for their knowing assistance in the entire act of money laundering in terms of section 3 of PMLA, 2002.

Protecting Arhtiya system was Congress’ poll promise: How Congress has served Arhtiyas and how ‘farmers’ protest is not about farmers at all

K Bhattacharjee
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Protecting Arhtiya system was Congress’ poll promise: How Congress has served Arhtiyas and how ‘farmers’ protest is not about farmers at all

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has threatened to move the Supreme Court if the state bills against the farm laws do not receive the President’s assent accusing the Centre of attempting to break the ‘age old’ relationship between farmers and the middlemen. Singh described the relationship between farmers and arhtiyas as ‘age-old time-tested’.

“We will go to the Supreme Court, if the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind does not give assent to the State Amendment Bills, which unfortunately the Governor is still sitting on, instead of forwarding them for presidential approval, even though the Vidhan Sabha had unanimously passed the Bills, with all parties voting for them. It was tragic, however, that the Akalis and AAP had later started playing political games on the issue,” Amarinder Singh said

As is evident, the Congress party is openly batting on behalf of Arhtiyas at this point. For quite some time now, the opposition parties have abandoned the veneer of farmer interests they had donned and operating as the arms and voice of the middlemen. It became clear once and for all when the Punjab government opposed the Direct Transfer of Funds to farmers in the state for crop procurement.

Punjab Food & Supply Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu had said on the 13th of March that payments to farmers would reach “directly” through Arhtiyas.

The stand adopted by the Congress party, as it turns out, has historical precedence. When the UPA Government in 2012 had suggested direct transfer of payment to farmers, Congress leaders from the state had opposed the same as well. There was a SAD-BJP alliance government in the state then.

Union minister and Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, Sangrur MP Vijayinder Singla and other Congress MPs had met KV Thomas, the then union minister for consumer affairs, leading a delegation of the State Arhtiyas Association. They had urged the Union Government to be accommodative of Arhtiya interests as the latter formed the “backbone of the procurement process”.

“The union minister has apprised us that making direct payments to farmers was only a suggestion given to the Punjab government,” Preneet Kaur had said. “Without arhityas, there is no system in Punjab to carry out procurement of food grains. Abolishing the present system would only lead to problems for farmers.” Nine years later, nothing much appears to have changed.

However, what did change was the opinion of the farmer unions. The farmer unions had been furious with the Congress leaders for backing the Arhtiyas in the matter. “The Congress must come clean. Why this flip-flop? Several times the party leaders extended their support to abolish the system. Now they are supporting arhityas, who are looting the farmers in the name of commission,” Bhartiya Kisan Union (Dakunda) state president Buta Singh Burajgill said.

“When Capt Amarinder Singh was the chief minister, he had assured us that he would pursue the matter of doing away with arhtiyas as they were bringing miseries to farmers,” Consortium of Farmers Association state president Satnaam Singh Behru said. “In the recent past too, the Congress supported us. The U-turn must be due to pressure from the strong arhitya lobby, which has money power.

By 2016, however, during the election campaign, Amarinder Singh had promised that the arhtiya system would not be abolished should the Congress form the government in the state. He said while addressing a delegation of Arhtiyas, “The Congress government will not take any decision or formulate any new policy without getting mandate from the arhtiyas and other communities connected with the trade.”

In 2018, the Punjab Government had brought a Bill to regulate Arhtiyas which drew sharp reactions within the party itself. While Amarinder Singh may now described the relationship between farmers and Arhtiyas as ‘age-old time-tested’, his own MLA had said back then, “There was a time when farmers and commission agents had a good equation but now the scenario has changed.”

By the time the protests against the farm laws began, the Congress party was fully on the side of the Arhtiyas. The Punjab Chief Minister accused the central government of adopting “intimidatory tactics” against “arhtiyas” following IT Raids against some of them.

Meanwhile, there were reports that the Arhtiyas found themselves on the wrong side of the fence when demonetisation was announced. “When we go to these arhtiyas for our money or for loans and advance payments, they make us sit for the whole day for even a paltry amount of Rs 5,000. How do they expect us to convert their black money worth lakhs into white overnight?,” one farmer had told Catch News.

It is widely known that Arhtiyas have been at the forefront of the ‘farmer protests’ and these protests in the name of farmers is, in reality, a protest by the middlemen, of the middlemen and for the middlemen. The recent statements by the Punjab Chief Minister and other Ministers in his cabinet have only served to drive home the point further.

Russian President Putin challenges Joe Biden to a ‘live debate’ after Joe Biden refers to Putin as a ‘killer’, White House shuts it down

OpIndia Staff
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Russian President Putin challenges Joe Biden to a ‘live debate’ after Joe Biden refers to Putin as a ‘killer’, White House shuts it down

Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with Russian state media responded to U.S. President Joe Biden comments referring to the Russian President as a killer. In the interview, Putin said, “I want to propose to President Biden to continue our discussion, but on the condition that we do it basically live, as it’s called. Without any delays and directly in an open, direct discussion. It seems to me that would be interesting for the people of Russia and for the people of the United States.”

There is a widespread belief that this proposal essentially amounts to a debate challenge from the Russian Prez to Joe Biden. This proposal from Putin comes after an initial response to Joe Biden’s “killer” comments, wherein Putin wished Joe Biden the best of health. In that statement, Putin said, “I wish you good health, I am saying this without any irony or jokes.”

This apparent debate challenge from Putin has already been shut down by the Biden Administration, with the White House quickly rejecting it, citing Joe Biden’s busy schedule. The White House Press Secretary also clarified that Joe Biden has “no regrets” over his comments calling Putin a “killer”.

“We are confident that we can continue to look for ways where there’s a mutual interest,” said press secretary Jen Psaki. “​But the president is not going to hold back, clearly, when he has concerns, whether it is with words or actions.”

In an ABC interview on Wednesday, Joe Biden was asked about whether he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin is a killer. “Mmm-hmm, I do,” Biden responded. Joe Biden’s remarks about the Russian President have elicited strong criticism in Russia, with Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying, “I’ll say only that these remarks by the U.S. president are very bad. He definitely doesn’t want to normalize relations with our country. And we’ll be acting based precisely on this premise.”

BJP candidate from Aushgram in Bengal seeks leaves from households where she works as a domestic help so that she can campaign

OpIndia Staff
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BJP candidate from Aushgram in Bengal seeks leaves from households where she works as a domestic help so that she can campaign

Kalita Majhi, the BJP candidate for Aushgram constituency in West Bengal for the assembly elections, has sought leave for the households where she works as domestic help, so that she can concentrate on campaigning. She had to made this arrangement after her name was listed as the party candidate from the reserved constituency on Thursday.

Kalita Majhi comes from a poor family in East Burdwan district, she had to end her studies even before completing her primary school. After marriage also, her economic situation has not seen much improvement, as her husband works as a plumber. As her husband’s income is not enough to meet the expenses of the family, 32 years old Kalita Majhi works as a domestic help in the area.

But all that may change, as BJP has named her as the party candidate from Aushgram constituency. Following her finalisation as the candidate, Kalita Majhi has geared up for the election campaign. A residence of the Majhpara area in ward number 3 in the Guskhara Pur in Aushgram, Kalita had to do another preparation that most other candidates don’t need to. She went to the households where she works as a domestic help, and sought a leave for one month as she will be busy in the elections. She works as a domestic help in three households in the area.

Kalita Majhi’s husband Subrata Majhi works as a plumber, and the couple has a son named Partha Majhi, who is in class 8. Her parental home is at Kashemnagar in Mangakot, she is among 7 sisters and 1 brother in the family. Her father was a daily wage earner, who has passed away.

Kalita Majhi said that she could not study much due to financial condition, and she will have this regret for her entire life. She added that if she wins, she will try her best to ensure that poor students get opportunity for education. “I understand the suffering of the poor”, she said.

Majhi is an active member of the party, and had earlier contested the Panchayat elections.

Other than Kalita Majhi, BJP has fielded another woman in the Bengal election who is the wife of a daily wager earner. Chandana Bauri, BJP candidate for Saltora Assembly, is among the poorest candidates in the polls. Her husband Sraban is a mason who works as a daily wager earning about Rs 400 per day. Sometimes Chandana also works as a helper with her husband. She is an active worker of the party, a senior member of the district unit.

After defending tainted Mumbai police officer Sachin Vaze, Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana defends Parambir Singh: Here is what it said

OpIndia Staff
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After defending tainted Mumbai police officer Sachin Vaze, Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana defends Parambir Singh: Here is what it said

After going all out to defend Mumbai police’s tainted officer Sachin Vaze, a prime accused in the Antilia bomb scare case, Shiv Sena is doing whatever it takes to guard Mumbai’s former police commissioner Parambir Singh. Despite Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh openly admitting that Parambir Singh’s transfer was not a routine one, Shiv Sena in its editorial on Friday in Saamana, the party mouthpiece said his transfer does not mean he is guilty. 

“The government has to do the rejig in police under certain specific circumstances. Parambir Singh was replaced in the post of Mumbai Police Commissioner, which doesn’t mean he is guilty. He took the command of the post of Mumbai Police Commissioner during very difficult times,” read the editorial, news agency ANI reported. 

Interestingly, only yesterday, the state’s Maha Vikas Aghadi government, of which Shiv Sena is also an integral part, had said that ‘unforgivable lapses in probe’ of the Antilia bomb scare triggered Singh’s transfer. Anil Deshmukh while speaking to the media revealed that Parambir Singh was not transferred through a routine procedure and that the decision was taken by him in conjunction with Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

The editorial further defended Parambir Singh saying that a lobby in Delhi had grudges against him, following the unearthing of the TRP scam. “He is the one who opened up the TRP case file. A particular lobby was against Singh due to this reason only”, read the article in Shiv Sena mouthpiece.

Attacking the central government, the article said it has hurriedly involved the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Antila bomb scare probe to defame the state government. The editorial claimed that the real motive would be known soon.

Seeking justification of an NIA probe into the case, Sena asked what is the terror angle in this case. “NIA investigates matters related to terrorism. But despite not having any link to terrorism, the agency has been handed over the case. What is the matter? What probe did the NIA do in the Uri attack, the Pathankot attack, and the Pulwama attack? How many criminals have been arrested? This too is a mystery. But 20 gelatin sticks in Mumbai seems to prove to be a big challenge for NIA,” it wrote.

“Who is the political boss in the Mansukh Hiren case is their (BJP) question, but they should perhaps find out who is the political boss, because there is no political boss in such cases”, read the article launching a seething attack at the central government.

Shiv Sena defends Sachin Vaze

Prior to this, Shiv Sena had also come out in defence of Mumbai police’s tainted Mumbai police office Sachin Vaze. After the conclusion of the Budget Session of Maharashtra Legislature, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had said: “Sachin Vaze is not Osama Bin Laden. It is not right to target a person and hang him and then investigate.”

Moreover, in a searing article published on Monday, Shiv Sena mouthpiece claimed Mumbai Police was capable enough to crack the Antilia Bomb scare case but the NIA team, sent by the Centre, arrested Sachin Vaze and insulted the Mumbai Police force.

Shive Sena senior leader Sanjay Raut was earlier seen heaping praises for Vaze calling him a “very honest and capable officer”.

Raut’s statement cames at a time when Vaze, a former Shiv Sena leader himself, had allegedly named Shiv Sena leaders in the gelatin case. Vaze had reportedly said that he was just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ and policemen and Shiv Sena leaders had a bigger role.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh transferred amidst shocking revelations in the Antilia bomb scare

For the uninitiated, on March 17, Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh had been transferred and posted as DG Home Guard. Singh is replaced by Hemant Nagrale, who will be the new Commissioner of Police in Mumbai.

The transfer comes in the midst of an ongoing investigation in the Antilia bomb scare in which the role of Mumbai Police Sachin Vaze has come under the scrutiny of investigative agencies. Vaze was recently arrested by the NIA in connection with the Antilia bomb scare case. It was also reported that Vaze had sought the CCTV footage of his own society, presumably with the purpose of destroying the evidence. It was also revealed that the explosives-laden Scorpio car found outside the Ambani residence was never stolen and was used by Vaze.

Yesterday, in another sensational disclosure, it came to fore that the vehicles—Scorpio and Innova—were driven by drivers who were employed with the police force. Subsequently, Vaze got a Mercedes with a fake number plate inside the Mumbai Commissionerate precinct without getting its details registered at the entrance was also revealed.

It is pertinent to note that it was the Parambir-headed review committee that reinstated Sachin Vaze after 16 years despite a court order against the controversial cop.

Bangladesh: Hindu temple attacked, Maa Kali idol burned down

OpIndia Staff
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Bangladesh: Hindu temple attacked, Maa Kali idol burned down

The minority Hindus in Bangladesh continue to face persecution in the country as in yet another act of vandalism, the miscreants have attacked and damaged an idol of the Hindu goddess Kali at a temple in Thakurgaon.

According to reports in Bangladeshi media, the incident has occurred in Uttargaon village of Thakurgaon’s Ranisankail Upazila. Some miscreants torched an idol of Hindu goddess Kali at a temple on Thursday night. The police said the attackers vandalised the temple and burned the Kali idol.

“A group of people damaged the idol at the Kali Temple adjacent to Shanto Chandra’s house in the village around 9 pm and fled,” said Officer-in-Charge of Ranisankail Police Station, Jahid Iqbal. 

The local people rushed to the spot, however, the idol was already reduced to ashes, the police said. The police officer said patrolling in the area has been stepped up and an investigation is underway.

Sadhan Bosak, General Secretary of Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council’s upazila unit said a complaint will be registered in this regard.

Priyanka Chopra talks to Oprah Winfrey, reveals how Islam, Christianity and Hinduism formed a part of her upbringing: Watch

OpIndia Staff
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Priyanka Chopra talks to Oprah Winfrey, reveals how Islam, Christianity and Hinduism formed a part of her upbringing: Watch

After the controversial Prince Harry and Meghan Markle interview, American show host Oprah Winfrey will be hosting Indian actress Priyanka Chopra in her Super Soul Sunday this week.

In the latest promo of the Oprah Winfrey interview, released on Friday, Priyanka Chopra is seen talking about having a spiritual foundation and how she believes in the existence of a higher power. In the show, the former Bollywood actress also talked about being aware of other religions such as Christianity and Islam while growing up.

As Oprah shared her own experience during visits to India and asked Priyanka about her spiritual foundation, the actress said, “In India, it is hard not to with the swirling number of religions that live within the country. I grew up in a convent school, so I was aware of Christianity. My dad used to sing in a mosque, I was aware of Islam. I grew up in a Hindu family. Spirituality is such a large part of India that you cannot ignore it, but also my family believed in having higher power, having a sense of faith.”

The actress continued, “My dad used to tell me that religion is a way to get to the Supreme power. Every religion has a different face in the same direction where we are going. I am a Hindu, I have a temple in my home and I pray as often as I can but at the same time, I am a believer in the fact that a higher power does exist and I like to have faith in that.”

The interview of Oprah with Priyanka will air on Discovery Plus on March 20.

Oprah Winfrey’s show with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Last week, Oprah Winfrey’s new show with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had stoked a massive controversy. In the interview, which released on March 8, the couple had made some explosive revelations about their life as senior members of Britain’s royal family.

In the show, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle had indirectly accused members of the British royal family of being ‘racists’. Meghan Markle had confirmed the suspicions of facing racial discrimination after she claimed there were talks about the ‘dark skin colour’ of the yet-to-be-born child of the couple.

Meghan said to Oprah that when she was pregnant, there was a lot of ‘conversations’ going around in the royal family sphere about how the coming 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. When Oprah asked whether it was because of Archie’s “race” (Meghan is of African-American descent), Mackle paused for a second and took a deep breath.

In the interview, Meghan also said that during her pregnancy, a member of the Royal family had even talked to prince Harry about ‘how dark the child’s skin colour is going to be when he is born’. 

In the same interview, Prince Harry has also admitted that he had to face a lot of pressure and emotional challenges for being a part of the royal family. Harry has stated that his family had cut him off financially in the first quarter of 2020, and all he had was what his mother, the late Princess Diana, had left him.

Following the allegations, Buckingham Palace had issued a statement saying the allegations were “concerning” and would be addressed privately by the royal family. In a statement released on behalf of the Queen over the allegations of racism made by Harry and Meghan Markle in an Oprah Winfrey interview, the British royal family said that they are taking the issue “very seriously” and added that the family is saddened to learn about the challenging years of Harry and Meghan.

West Bengal: Illegal bombs manufactured ahead of elections to terrorise public, says CRPF

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: Illegal bombs manufactured ahead of elections to terrorise public, says CRPF

The poll-bound state of West Bengal is infamous for the incidents of political violence and bomb attacks that frequently come to light from the state. From attacks on political rivals to clashes, West Bengal is witnessing such incidents irrespective of elections. In yet another case of political violence in West Bengal, about a dozen crude bombs were hurled allegedly by TMC workers at the office-cum-residence of BJP MP Arjun Singh yesterday.

Time and again, allegations have been made of political patronage being given to anti-social elements and illegal bomb makers. However, what is far more troubling is that the investigations conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in cases of bomb blasts have revealed the presence of a Pakistani terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda in the state.

According to a report of News 18, security forces deployed in the state ahead of elections are planning to unearth the illegal weapon factories operating in the state before the Assembly elections start.

Speaking to News 18, DG, CRPF Kuldeep Singh said that illegal bombs are manufactured in West Bengal during elections to terrorise the public.

“These kinds of bombs like petrol bombs, like sutli bombs, like different kinds of other bombs are manufactured in Bengal during the time of elections for terrorising the public and other things. And if you dominate the area and keep on searching like cordon and search operations in the villages, in ghettos, in those areas where those kinds of elements stay and store these kinds of elements, so, once we round them up, once we seize these materials, the likelihood of these things happening during elections would reduce”, said Singh.

Head of Bangladesh based terror group sentenced to 29 years in jail for his role in Burdwan bomb blast

As per the report, the NIA has found cross-border terror links during the investigation of the Burdwan IED blast case that took place in 2014 in West Bengal. Two were reported dead in the blast that took place in a rented house.

A special NIA court sentenced a Bangladeshi national and head of terrorist group Jamat-ul-Mujahidin Bangladesh named Kausar to 29 years in prison for his involvement in the Burdwan bomb blast. Kausar is reportedly accused by the NIA of attempting to radicalise, recruit and train young men to commit terrorist acts and wage war against the democratically established governments of India and Bangladesh.

NIA files charge sheet against persons from West Bengal and Kerala in Al-Qaeda module case

In the Al-Qaeda module case, the NIA filed a charge sheet against nine persons arrested from West Bengal and Kerala. The investigation in the Nimtita bomb blast has been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Last month, a crude bomb was hurled at Minister of state for labour Jakir Hussain when he was walking towards Nimtita railway station to board a train. Over 20 people were injured in the blast.

Considering the history of political violence and bomb blasts of the state, the Election Commission as well as the Ministry of Home Affairs had justified the holding of Assembly elections in 8 phases. However, conducting elections in a peaceful and non-violent manner is going to be a challenge for the security forces as the incidents of violence have started taking place even before the first phase of elections has started.

Joe Biden refers to VP Kamala Harris as ‘President Harris’, fuels dementia speculations again

OpIndia Staff
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Joe Biden refers to VP Kamala Harris as ‘President Harris’, fuels dementia speculations again

US politics seem to be in a stage where satire and reality have become indistinguishable. Recently, US President Joe Biden was heard referring to his deputy, Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘President Harris’.

Biden was speaking about vaccination centres. During his address, Biden said, “This is really important. Because we believe speed and efficiency must be matched with fairness and equity. Now, when President Harris took a virtual tour of a vaccination centre in Arizona not long ago, one of the nurses on that tour, injecting people, giving vaccinations, said that each shot was like administering a dose of hope.”

This is the second time that Biden has referred to Harris as his Commander-in-Chief. Earlier, he had once called her ‘President-elect’ before he assumed office.

It is notable here that the political and social media commentators in the USA often speculate about Biden’s alleged ‘dementia’ and there are discussions that he is just a front and Kamala Harris will soon eventually take over. Biden’s ‘slip-of-tongue’ only fuels those speculations.

While a lot of social media users have mocked or expressed outrage at the President of the United States ‘mis-speaking’, many have also expressed delight, saying that Kamala Harris will eventually become the first female President of the USA.

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