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PM Modi to launch commemorative ‘Dandi March’ as part of celebrations of 75 years of independence

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PM Modi to launch commemorative ‘Dandi March’ as part of celebrations of 75 years of independence

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on March 12 from Gujarat to celebrate the 75 years of independence of India. The Prime Minister will also flag off a 21-day long commemorative ‘Dandi March’ from a place near Abhay Ghat, the resting place of late PM Morarji Desai near Sabarmati Ashram (where Mahatma Gandhi used to reside).

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the 75-week long programme would be organised at 75 places. He said that PM Modi had called upon all the Members of Parliament (MP) in the programme. Last week, the central government had announced the formation of a high-level national committee headed by PM Modi to commemorate 75 years of independence. The Prime Minister on Monday said that the celebrations should reflect the spirit of the country’s freedom movement and showcase its achievements to the world since 1947.

The celebrations will begin 75 weeks prior to Independence Day 2022 and will continue up to Independence Day 2023. The 75 sites for the programme will be decided by the states that will also plan events with active participation of the NCC and other volunteer clubs.

Dandi March was led by Mahatma Gandhi to defy the British monopoly on salt production

During the freedom struggle, Dandi March or Salt March was launched by Mahatma Gandhi as part of his non-violent protest against the British monopoly on production of salt. The March was held from March12, 1930 to April 6, 1930. It was led by Gandhi and around 78 people began the march on March 12 and reached Dandi on April 5, 1930. Gandhi produced salt after reaching Dandi to defy the British diktat on salt. He then moved to Dharasana Salt Works but was arrested on May 5.

Fact Check: Did AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal threaten to make India an Islamic country. Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Fact Check: Did AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal threaten to make India an Islamic country. Read details

Ahead of the assembly elections in Assam, a short video has gone viral on social media where AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal is heard making some very communal and provocative remarks. The video is a short clip, and it’s obvious that it is a compilation of several different remarks made by the controversial politician during a speech.

In the clip, Ajmal is heard saying, “Mughal Badshahs ruled in this country for eight hundred years in this country… This country will be made an Islamic state… Who will form the ministry? Our grand alliance. UPA, grand alliance will come together to form a government there, and in this government, your party AIUDF will also be a part… Not a single Hindu will remain in entire India, everyone will be converted to Muslin”.

These are obviously highly communal remarks, and social media users posted the video on social media platforms accusing the AIUDF chief of delivering a highly communal speech.

However, although Badruddin Ajmal has given provocative and communal speeches in the past, in this speech he didn’t make any such comment. The video of his speech was mischievously edited to retain only selected lines to imply that he threatened to make India an Islamic nation. The speech was delivered at an election rally in Barpeta in Assam during the Lok Sabha elections in April 2019.

The unedited portion of the speech containing the lines in question can be watched in the video below. You can enable the Close Caption option the YouTube by clicking the CC button to read the English subtitles of his speech.

His speech roughly translates as this,

“In this India, Mughal Badshahs ruled for 800 years. They never dreamt, dared, that they will make this country an Islamic nation. If they had thought of doing so, in the 800 years, in entire India, not a single Hindu person would have remained. Everyone would have been converted as Muslim. Did they convert them? Did they do it? They didn’t try it, they didn’t dare it. After that for 200 years, the British ruled this country. Even they didn’t try to make India a Christian nation. After that, after the nation became independent. In the 70 years, Congress ruled for 55  years. From Jawaharlal Nehru, Shashtri to Rajiv Gandhi, till Manmohan Singh, till Narasimha Rao, not a single Congress leader dreamt of making India a Hindu nation. Modi Ji, don’t dream of this, your dream will not come true.

This time, you have to reply Modi Ji, BJP, RSS, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Party by voting on lock and key (AIUDF symbol). Vote such way, that Insa Allah, Modi would not be able to become a prime minister after elections. Who will form government? our grand alliance, UPA, Mahagathbandhan will form the government there, and your party UDF will be an ally in this government.”

The text in italics from the transcript of his speech has been deleted from the video of the speech to create the short clip which has been circulated on social media now.

Therefore, the AIUDF didn’t make the comments that he was accused of making. The video that is being shared on social media is a doctored video. Moreover, the video is from the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, not during the upcoming assembly elections.

PC Chako resigns from Congress ahead of Kerala polls, alleges factionalism within the party

OpIndia Staff
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PC Chako resigns from Congress ahead of Kerala polls, alleges factionalism within the party

Ahead of the Kerala assembly polls, veteran Congress leader PC Chacko on Wednesday resigned from the party alleging that there is no democracy left in the party. He said that there is groupism in the party’s Kerala state unit. 

“I have quit Congress and sent my resignation to the party’s interim chief Sonia Gandhi. I have been deliberating upon this decision for the past many days. I come from Kerala where there’s no Congress party as such. There are 2 parties – Congress (I) & Congress (A). It’s coordination committee of 2 parties functioning as KPCC,” Chacko caustically said. 

The leader was also unsparing in his attack against the top leadership of the party, stating that there was groupism practiced by even the senior party leaders. He claimed that the party command has been courting both the factions instead of bringing an end to it. 

He said, “Kerala is facing a crucial election. People want Congress to come back but there’s groupism practiced by top leaders of Congress. I’ve been arguing with high command that this should be ended. But the high command is also agreeing to the proposal given by both groups.”

“Congress is a great tradition. Being a Congress-man is a prestigious thing but today in Kerala nobody can be a Congress-man. One can belong to either ‘I group’ or ‘A group’. So I decided to call it a day. High Command is a mute witness to this disaster & there’s no remedy,” the Congress veteran leader further added. 

Congress loyalists slam PC Chacko after he resigned from the party

Chacko’s resignation has added fuel to the continuing debates about Congress’ leadership crisis. However, like the so-called ‘G-23 leaders’ of the party, Chacko too faced instant criticism after his resignation from loyalists of the Gandhi family.

Soon after Chacko submitted his resignation, Congress loyalists were quick to slam the leader. Abusive troll masquerading as journalist Swati Chaturvedi took to Twitter to disparage the veteran leader.

“The man who attacked the late Shiela Dikshit relentlessly, presided over the implosion of the congress in Delhi should have actually been sacked by @RahulGandhi The tragedy of the congress is “leaders” like Chacko,” Chaturvedi fumed.

Rushing in to the defence of the Congress party, journalist Rohini Singh said Chacko was upset because Congress was democratic in listening to both the factions of its Kerala state unit.

Journalist Saba Naqvi called PC Chacko’s resignation a farce and wondered if he is joining the BJP.

Several other users also took to Twitter to hate on the Congress leader.

PC Chacko, 74, one of the Congress’s top leaders and spokespersons, is a former MP from Thrissur in Kerala.

Chacko’s departure is a big setback for the Congress party before the crucial April 6 polls. It is also a major embarrassment for the party, where its star campaigner and leader Rahul Gandhi is an MP.

Watch: Trinamool Congress workers disrespect Indian flag at an election rally

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Trinamool Congress workers disrespect Indian flag at an election rally

In a latest embarrassment for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, especially in the run up to assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress workers were caught disrespecting the tricolour at a rally.

The video of the shocking act has gone viral on the internet now. In the video shared by BJP leader Akshay Singh, the Trinamool Congress cadres, who had participated in a rally recently, were seen disrespecting the Indian tricolour by flying it upside down. In addition to the tricolour, Trinamool Congress flags can also be seen in the crowd.

In another video, it can be seen how TMC workers are waving tricolour upside down amidst the presence of several other party workers. Shockingly, no one in the crowd attempted to stop the Trinamool workers from disrespecting the Indian flag.

While it is unclear where the above rally took place, it has been during the recent election rallies in West Bengal ahead of elections.

The eight-phase Assembly polls for the 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal will begin on March 27. The results will be announced on May 2.

As Arvind Kejriwal declares himself ‘Ram bhakt’, netizens remind him of his anti-Hindu comments

OpIndia Staff
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As Arvind Kejriwal declares himself ‘Ram bhakt’, netizens remind him of his anti-Hindu comments

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday declared himself a devotee of Lord Hanuman. He also claimed that since Lord Hanuman is a devotee of Lord Ram, by extension, even he is so.

Kejriwal announced that after the Ram Mandir is constructed in Ayodhya, he will take the elderly people from Delhi to Ayodhya for darshan. Except, Arvind Kejriwal’s assertion of his Hindu identity did not go down that well with netizens who reminded him of his own previous tweets and statements where he not only mocked, but insulted Hinduism.

Kejriwal had earlier questioned the construction of same Ram Mandir where he wants to take Delhi’s elderly for pilgrimage.

When Leftist students at JNU had attacked ABVP students in January 2020 over semester form in Jawaharlal Nehru University, Kejriwal had shared above cartoon to depict how Lord Hanuman, of whom he is a devotee, ‘set fire’ to JNU as a distraction.

Ahead of 2019 general elections, Kejriwal had shared an image where a man with a broom can be seen hitting the Swastika symbol, a symbol holy to Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.

Netizens also mocked that after having taken the made-in-India Chinese coronavirus vaccine, Kejriwal seems to have had sudden change of heart.

However, not everyone called him out for his soft-Hindutva ahead of UP elections where AAP wants to contest. Many were upset for him straying from his ‘secular’ credentials.

Similarly, some were upset how he ‘ended up’ being a Ram Bhakt.

He was also accused of ‘pandering out to religious majority’.

This is not all. Kejriwal and his party has time and again insulted Hindus.

AAP tweet

In August last year, the official Twitter handle of AAP had shared pictures of Kanchenjunga in Sikkim, Kamet Peak, and Nanda Devi hills in Uttarakhand and drew analogies with a humongous landfill at Ghazipur in Delhi. The contentious tweet was accompanied by the caption, “Highest Mountains of India.”

AAP Youth Manifesto during Punjab Elections.

In 2016, during the run-up to the Punjab assembly elections, AAP’s youth manifesto had an image of AAP election symbol, the broom, on the holy pool at The Golden Temple.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo faces multiple allegations of sexual harassment, sixth woman comes forward

OpIndia Staff
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo faces multiple allegations of sexual harassment, sixth woman comes forward

Another woman has come forward and accused New York governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment, making it the sixth such allegation against him.

According to the reports, the victim, a member of the Executive Chamber staff, alleged that Cuomo had sexually assaulted her after inviting her to the governor’s mansion on work. The aide said that Cuomo touched her inappropriately late last year. 

Meanwhile, Cuomo has responded to the allegation by claiming that he is unaware of the latest allegation. His comments came after the governor’s office was made aware of the latest allegations against the controversial democrat, who was elected as the New York Governor in 2011. As per reports, the information has already been passed to Attorney General Letitia James, who is overseeing an investigation into Cuomo’s workplace conduct.

Sexual harassment allegations against New York governor Andrew Cuomo

Several women who have worked with Cuomo have alleged they were sexually harassed or subjected to the governor’s demeaning behaviour. Five out of the six women, who have accused Cuomo of inappropriate behaviour, have worked alongside him in the past. 

First, Lindsey Boylan, a former economic development director, had said Cuomo commented on her looks, summoned her to unnecessary meetings, joked that they should play strip poker and once kissed her on the lips at the end of a meeting.

A few days later, another victim Charlotte Bennett, a onetime aide, said the governor had once told her about his hunt for a girlfriend. Bennet had said that Cuomo had asked her about her sex life and whether she would be open to a relationship with an older man. Another former aide, Ana Liss, had alleged that Cuomo kissed her on the hand and cheek and made flirtatious comments.

Separately, Karen Hinton, who worked with Cuomo, said the New York governor had invited her to his hotel room during a work trip to California. He asked her personal questions about her marriage and hugged her repeatedly in a “too long, too tight, too intimate” manner.

Similarly, 33-year-old Anna Ruch had also alleged the governor made unwanted advances toward her and planted an unsolicited kiss on her cheek at a 2019 wedding.

‘I will not resign’, says Cuomo as pressure mounts

As a consequence of several sexual harassment cases, the controversial New York Governor has been facing increasing pressure for resignation. Not just from the public, even top Democrats have been demanding the resignation, and some have withdrawn their support for Cuomo.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins became the first senior Democrat in the state to demand Cuomo’s resignation. In a statement, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said, “It is time for the Governor to seriously consider whether he can effectively meet the needs of the people of New York”.

Meanwhile, Cuomo has remained defiant, suggesting it would be “anti-democratic” for him to step down. “There is no way I resign. Let’s do the attorney general’s investigation, let’s get the findings, let’s go from there,” he said.

Cuomo under heat for mismanagement for COVID-19 in New York

In addition to the sexual harassment charges, Andrew Cuomo has also faced heat for his mishandling of the coronavirus crisis in New York.

The New York governor has been accused of conspiring to cover-up Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes as the pandemic hit his state last year. The allegations are that New York under-reported deaths in nursing homes by as much as half. Nearly 9,250 deaths of residents were allegedly wiped-off from the record. A federal investigation has also been ordered to look into the irregularities in New York nursing homes.

More than 1.7 million COVID-19 case were reported from New York, and nearly 50,000 deaths were reported in the state due to the Chinese pandemic. The huge deaths in New York were attributed to the mishandling of coronavirus pandemic in the state by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Artist Subhaprasanna, who had valued paintings by Mamata Banerjee, summoned by ED in Saradha chit fund case

OpIndia Staff
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Artist Subhaprasanna, who had valued paintings by Mamata Banerjee, summoned by ED in Saradha chit fund case

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned artist Subhaprasanna in connection with the Saradha scam case. The artist has been asked to appear before the ED for questioning on 15th March.

Subhaprasanna confirmed before media that he has received the summon from the ED. However, he didn’t confirm whether he will attend the questioning.

The artist was earlier questioned multiple times by ED and CBI in the Sarada chit fund scam case. Subhaprasanna is known to be close to Trinamool Congress, and also had links with the Saradha Group. He is being probed into the chit fund case regarding certain financial transactions done with the Saradha Group through his bank account. The transactions were linked to buying a television channel, and the probe agencies have found irregularities in those transactions.

The artist is also being probed over the paintings of Mamata Banerjee sold at very high prices. During the probe into the Saradha case, CBI had found that Saradha promoter Sudipto Sen had bought a painting by the West Bengal CM for a whopping Rs 1.8 crore. It is alleged that Sudipto Sen and many others were forced to purchase paintings by Mamata Banerjee at very high prices.

Allegedly, artist Subhaprasanna was involved in valuation of the paintings, which many believe were overpriced. According to the probe agencies, apart from fixing the prices, the artist had also named the paintings and was involved in their sales.

The ED has also summoned East Bengal Club official Debabrata Sarkar in connection with the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam. Earlier this month, the agency had questioned TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh for questioning in the case.

While trying to mock Modi supporters, ‘comedian’ Mohit Morani mocks the Kashmiri Pandit exodus

OpIndia Staff
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While trying to mock Modi supporters, ‘comedian’ Mohit Morani mocks the Kashmiri Pandit exodus

‘Stand-up comedians’ have often resorted to attacking PM Modi and his supporters to make up for their unfunny jokes. ‘Comedian’ Mohit Morani also seems to have done the same thing in his gig where he mocked PM Modi’s supporters. The video of the gig was uploaded on YouTube last month wherein Morani could be seen mocking PM Modi’s supporters. However, in making fun of PM Modi and his supporters, he was seen throwing jokes at the Kashmiri Pandit exodus.

In the video titled “Modi Bhakt Roommate”, Morani narrates about a supporter of PM Modi who is associated with the BJP.

Morani says when his roommate received a call from a certain Abdul from the HDFC Bank, he bawled him out saying, “Why are you talking now? Did you speak up when Kashmiri Pandits were expelled from Jammu and Kashmir?”

In a bid to mock PM Modi’s supporters, Morani showed that he has no qualms in making fun of the trauma and anguish suffered by the expelled Kashmiri Pandits. Instead, their exodus was used by him to make a joke on PM Modi’s supporters that was not even funny, not by a long shot. In an attempt to make jokes, the comedian seems to have forgotten than thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were driven away from their homes by radical Islamists after a brutal spree of mass-murders, burning and rapes. The Pandits still remain refugees in their own country.

Comedian Samay Raina uses Kashmiri Pandit exodus to rant against the Indian judicial system

It is pertinent to note that Morani is not the first comedian to mock and trivialise the genocide faced by the Kashmiri Pandits. Earlier in January 2021, ‘comedian’ Samay Raina flippantly cited the 31st anniversary of the Kashmiri Pandit genocide to rant against the Indian judicial system for the continued incarceration of ‘comedian’ Munawar Faruqui, who was arrested earlier for allegedly making indecent remarks against Hindu gods, the Godhra incident and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Samay Raina, ostensibly a Kashmiri Pandit, tweeted, “Today marks 31 years of the Kashmiri Pandit genocide. How I wish I could go back to my homeland, Kashmir where I would not have the internet to read about the death of our judicial system.”

Samay Raina, himself being a Kashmiri Pandit, had no problems in mentioning the tragic Kashmiri Pandit exodus, to peddle his propaganda against the arrest of ‘comedian’ Munawar Faruqui. About 31 years back, a wave of terror was unleashed against the Kashmiri Pandits in the valley, with rabid Muslim mobs chasing them out of their homes and forcing them to leave Kashmir. Kashmiri Pandits were made to witness a chaotic, macabre night in the form of blaring threats and slogans, asking them to flee their homeland, convert or die.

Maharashtra: BJP MLA asks if a fine of Rs 143 crore on Bajaj Auto was reduced to Rs 25 crore after meeting Aaditya Thackeray

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: BJP MLA asks if a fine of Rs 143 crore on Bajaj Auto was reduced to Rs 25 crore after meeting Aaditya Thackeray

BJP MLA from Kandivali East in Maharashtra, Atul Bhatkhalkar today asked the Maha Vikas Aghadi government if a fine of Rs 143 crore levied on Bajaj Auto was reduced to Rs 25 crores after a meeting convened by Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray. Bhatkhalkar also sought details whether the fine was collected or not. 

Speaking at the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha, BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar said that Bajaj Auto was fined Rs 143 crore for not commencing work on 200-acres of land that was granted to it by Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in 2007. He said that the fine was imposed after the automobile company didn’t start any work on the allotted plot at Chakan till 2020.

The BJP leader asked if the fine was reduced to Rs 25 crores in a meeting convened by Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray. Although he said that 200 acres of land was allotted to Bajaj Auto, actually it was 250 acres.

According to MIDC rules, land acquired by companies in the Chakan region must be utilised within three years, else the companies will have to surrender the land. MIDC had imposed extension charges on Bajaj for keeping the land vacant for more than a decade after acquiring it.

Bajaj Auto had acquired 250 acres of land in Chakan, where it had planned to set up a plant to manufacture a car in collaboration with Renault. Both the companies had planned to manufacture an ultra-low-cost car in India. But as the partnership didn’t materialise, the plan for the car plant had to abandoned. The company had later sought permission to utilise the land for setting up a two-wheeler and three-wheeler manufacturing facility, but even after that, the plot remained unutilised. The company had also offered to return 20-25 acres out of the total 250 it was allotted.

Last year the company announced that it will invest Rs 650 crore for setting up a manufacturing facility on the plot. The company plans to manufacture high-end KTM, Husqvarna and Triumph motorcycles, and electric vehicles like Chetak scooters in the plant. Production is expected to start from 2013. However, it means the company delayed utilising the land for a decade, and therefore it is liable to pay the fine to MIDC for the same.

Kerala: CPI(M) workers demand TM Siddique as a candidate in Muslim-majority Ponnani constituency, reject P Nandakumar

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: CPI(M) workers demand TM Siddique as a candidate in Muslim-majority Ponnani constituency, reject P Nandakumar

Ahead of the assembly elections in the state, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) cadres in the Muslim-majority constituency of Ponnani in Kerala’s Malappuram district have rejected the party candidate P Nandakumar and instead demanded that the party nominate TM Siddique as a candidate.

According to the reports, hundreds of CPI(M) workers and sympathisers took to the streets in protest against their own party for nominating P Nandakumar as the candidate in the upcoming assembly elections. A section within the party has now raised a revolt against Nandakumar’s candidature. They have now demanded that the party should nominate district committee member TM Siddique as the candidate instead.

It is pertinent to note that Muslims comprise more than two-thirds of the population in the constituency. Hindus are just over 30 per cent of the total population in the Ponnani constituency.

Reportedly, CPI(M) has finalised CITU all India secretary P Nanda Kumar as the party candidate from Ponnani, a seat currently represented by Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan. Sreeramakrishnan is not contesting elections, having completed two consecutive terms as a legislator, a rule introduced by CPI(M) in this election.

As TM Siddique, a prominent leader in the Muslim-majority constituency, did not figure in the probable candidates’ list, the local community was enraged and hit the streets on Monday. The protestors held banners that read, “party would correct the leaders, people would correct the party”.

Reacting to the protests, CPM district leadership distanced themselves from the protesters, saying they are not leaders or party members. However, EN Mohandas, CPM Malappuram district secretary, said that the party would study the reason for the protest and find out the details of the organisers of the protest.

Protestors slam district leadership, party sticks to its decision

Meanwhile, the protesters have slammed the CPM district leadership’s statement, saying, “The party wins the elections with the votes of the local people who may not be members or leaders of the party. So, the party’s statement that the protesters are not the party members makes no sense”.

Despite the protests, the CPI(M) has stuck to its decision to field Nandakumar from Ponnani. The CPI(M) leadership, taking a serious view of the protest in Ponnani, held several rounds of meetings on Tuesday and decided that they would neither succumb to the protests nor change their decision on the candidate.

Veteran CPI(M) leader and former MLA Paloli Mohammedkutty, Ponnani’s incumbent MLA and Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan and state committee member P Nandakumar attended the meetings held at constituency and panchayat levels. In the meeting, the party leadership said that no revolt by any group could do any major harm to the CPI(M)’s winning chances in Ponnani.

The single-phase election in Kerala will take place on 6th April 2021. The counting of votes will be held on 2nd May 2021.

In the 2016 Kerala Assembly Elections, the Left Democratic Front (LDF), a coalition of left-parties, had won 91 seats out of the 140 seats, while the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) had secured 47 seats. BJP had one election in one constituency.

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