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India to be toll plaza-free within a year, GPS imaging to be used for toll collection: Here is what Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said

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India to be toll plaza-free within a year, GPS imaging to be used for toll collection: Here is what Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday informed Lok Sabha that the central government will do away with the toll plaza booths across the country within a year. He said in place of physical toll plazas, GPS-based toll collection will be implemented.

“I want to assure the House that within one year all physical toll booths in the country will be removed. It means that toll collection will happen via GPS. The money will be collected based on GPS imaging (on vehicles),” Gadkari said in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

It is important to note that Gadkari’s assertion that the country will get rid of toll plazas does not mean that the travellers will not have to pay the toll charges. He meant that a system will soon be in place which will leverage the GPS imaging technology to deduct money directly from the registered bank account of the owner when the car passes through a toll road.

Government exploring ways to get GPS installed in old cars: Gadkari

“While now all commercial vehicles are coming with vehicle tracking systems, the government will come up with some plan to install GPS technology in old vehicles,” he said.

Gadkari also said that all toll collections may reach ₹34,000 crores by coming March. He informed, by using GPS technology for toll collection, the toll income in the next five years will be ₹1,34,000 crore.

93% of vehicles pay toll using FASTag: Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari also spoke about FASTag adoption, stating that about 93 per cent of the vehicles pay toll using FASTag, while the remaining 7 per cent have still not taken it despite paying a double toll. The minister said he has asked for a police inquiry for vehicles that still don’t pay toll using FASTag. There are cases of toll theft and GST evasion cases if FASTags are not fitted in vehicles, he said.

FASTag is an electronic toll collection system in India, operated by the National Highway Authority of India. It employs Radio Frequency Identification technology for making toll payments directly from the prepaid or savings account linked to it. It was introduced in 2016. Staring February 16, vehicles without FASTag are compelled to pay double toll fee at electronic toll plazas across the country.

The new vehicles have FASTag fitted with them, and for the old ones the government will provide free FASTags, Gadkari said.

West Bengal: PM Narendra Modi meets kins of BJP workers killed in the state, felicitates by giving them shawls

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West Bengal: PM Narendra Modi meets kins of BJP workers killed in the state, felicitates by giving them shawls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was in Purulia, West Bengal on Thursday, met the family of BJP workers who have fallen victim to the political violence in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Purulia, the families and relatives of BJP workers who were killed, ANI reported.

Before addressing the public rally, which saw a huge turnout, PM Modi honoured relatives of BJP workers, who were killed in political violence unleashed by TMC goons in Purulia. Prime Minister facilitated all the families by giving them shawls.

Addressing the rally, PM Modi said the BJP government would act against all the culprits responsible for killing innocent lives.

Purulia in West Bengal is not unknown to violence. The district shot to fame after the 1995 mysterious arms drop incident in which unauthorised arms were dropped from an Antonov An-26 aircraft in the fields of the district. It was said to be a conspiracy of the then Congress government at the centre together with RAW and MI5 to overthrow the communist government in West Bengal.

Since then, Purulia has seen a lot of political violence, the spate of which has only increased ever since the BJP has made successful inroads in WB posing a big threat to the incumbent Mamata Banerjee government. From the thirty-two-year-old BJP worker Dulal Kumar, who was found hanging from a high tension electric pole in Purulia in 2018, to the 18-year-old BJP worker named Trilochan Mahato who was found murdered in similar circumstances in Balrampur a week before Dulal Kuma, Purulia has seen a lot of bloodsheds.

However, these spates of political violence in not only confined to this region. Poll-related violence has been an integral part of the state under Mamata Banerjee, especially after the 2019 Lok Sabha, when BJP created history in West Bengal. The saffron made successful inroads by securing 18 out of 42 seats in Mamata’s Bengal. This success did not come easily for the party. Innumerable BJP Karyakarta’s have given their lives to make BJP’s surge possible.

Trinamool Congress goons under Mamata Banerjee’s realm have carried out targeted killings of the ground-level workers, mostly students, teachers, labourers, farmers, agricultural workers and small shopkeepers and this time the brunt of most of the ire was borne by BJP workers in Bengal as they were standing as the biggest threat to Mamata government.

Dozens of BJP workers and leaders have been brutally attacked or killed before and during the election seasons in Bengal. 

‘He had committed unpardonable mistakes’: Maha Home Minister Anil Deshmukh admits Param Bir Singh’s transfer was not a routine one

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‘He had committed unpardonable mistakes’: Maha Home Minister Anil Deshmukh admits Param Bir Singh’s transfer was not a routine one

Spilling beans on the abrupt transfer of the former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh today said that ATS had found some “unpardonable mistakes” committed by Singh.

Deshmukh was speaking to the media when he revealed that Param Bir Singh was not transferred through a routine procedure. He added ‘unforgivable lapses in probe’ of the Antilia bomb scare triggered Singh’s transfer. Deshmukh said the decision to transfer Singh was taken by him in conjunction with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

“The probe in the case is underway. The matter was first handled by him(Singh). As the Mumbai Police Chief, unforgivable mistakes were made by his colleagues from his office. So the decision to transfer him was taken,” said Deshmukh. “Some police officers have made mistakes. Those who are found guilty in the investigation will be prosecuted. The NIA will investigate how the explosives were planted outside Antilia. ATS and NIA are professional agencies and they will trace the culprits involved in this case.”

MVA leaders prematurely rushed to defend Singh’s transfer, termed it a routine procedure

With Maha Vikas Aghadi government finding itself in the eye of the storm that was kicked up in the wake of the Antilia bomb scare, leaders of the three alliance partners had tried to downplay Singh’s transfer as a routine procedure.

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi had called it a standard procedure, which she claimed was followed by various state governments and even the Centre, to ensure a free and fair investigation.

After Singh’s transfer was announced yesterday, Congress spokesperson Charan Singh Sapra stated that the transfer should be seen as a routine transfer.

Even NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase echoed similar sentiments, asserting that the transfer of Param Bir Singh was a routine procedure and that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was not facing any heat.

He had said there was no damage to the constitutional machinery.

Param Bir Singh transferred amidst shocking revelations made in the Antilia Bomb scare

Amidst shocking revelations coming forth in the Antilia bomb scare, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh was transferred yesterday and posted as DG Home Guard. Singh was replaced by Hemant Nagrale, who assumed the charge of 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.

Earlier yesterday, an Indian Express report claimed that Sachin Vaze stage-managed the planting of a bomb outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence Antilia on instructions of Mumbai Commissioner of Police, Param Bir Singh. The report says that an unnamed Maharashtra Minister made these allegations. The report further states that Mumbai CP Parambir Singh may be fired soon. The same is believed to have been discussed in the meeting held on Monday between Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

Another incident of spitting on rotis emerges, Delhi Police arrests Mohammad Ibrahim and Anwar who worked in a West Delhi eatery

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Another incident of spitting on rotis emerges, Delhi Police arrests Mohammad Ibrahim and Anwar who worked in a West Delhi eatery

Another incident of people spitting on rotis they are making has come to light, this time from the national capital Delhi. A video of the incident had appeared on social media two days ago, where two-man was seen making rotis. One of them was seen spitting on the rotis before putting them in a tandoor. It was being said that the video is from a hotel in Seelampur in Delhi. Now, the two men in the video have been arrested by the police.

A tweet by Jinternder Sharma, a TV9 journalist, confirmed that West Delhi Police has arrested Mohammad Ibrahim and Anwar who were seen spitting on tandoori rotis in the viral video. The duo worked in a hotel in West Delhi and were caught by a customer spitting on rotis. The customer had also recorded the video. An FIR has been filed against the accused under IPC sections 269, 270, 272, 273 and 34 at Khayala Police Station, New Delhi.

This is the latest such incidents that have emerged in the last few weeks. One such incident took a violent turn when a Iqbal (43) shot Manoj Sharma who objected to Iqbal spitting out his shop, as reported by Amar Ujala. The accused upon being arrested confessed to having shot Manoj outside his shop on Brahmapuri Main Road when Manoj opposed to him spitting. Manoj, who is undergoing treatment at Max Hospital was shot in the jaw. CCTV footage revealed that Iqbal, who lives in Brahmapuri was involved in the crime and a pistol has also been recovered from him.

One Mohsin spits on rotis before cooking at an engagement ceremony in Ghaziabad (Source: Breakingtube)

Earlier, a man named Naushad was arrested for spitting in rotis while making them in a wedding at UP in February. In another such incident recorded on camera, Ghaziabad police arrested Mohsin after his video of spitting on rotis before cooking at an engagement ceremony went viral.

YouTube removes video interview of Yati Narsinghanand where he spoke about the Dasna temple controversy

OpIndia Staff
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YouTube removes video interview of Yati Narsinghanand where he spoke about the Dasna temple controversy

Google’s video sharing platform YouTube has removed a video interview of Dasna temple Head Priest (Mahant) Yati Narsinghanand with DO Politics Editor Ajeet Bharti, where he spoke about the recent controversy over the Dasna temple, Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.

The co-founder of DO Politics took to Twitter to reveal the same, raising concerns on how Hindu voices are being continuously suppressed by the “left-wing and Islamofascist Nexus in India”.

The video has been removed for violating YouTube’s hate speech policies.

Ajeet Bharti’s video interview of Dasna temple Mahant Yati Narsinghanand removed by YouTube

In the now-deleted YouTube video, Ajeet Bharti had tried to break down the controversy surrounding the Dasan temple that erupted last week. Left-liberal media cried foul at how the Dasna temple authorities had forbidden Muslims from entering the premises. This happened following the incident in which a teenage Muslim boy named Asif claimed that he was beaten for trying to drink some water inside the temple premises.

According to a few snippets of the video available on Twitter, Ajeet Bharti spoke on how the propaganda peddled by the left-media and the secular media ecosystem about the Muslim youth being ‘thrashed’ for drinking water inside the temple premises was untrue.

In another clip of the deleted video shared by DO Politics on its official Twitter handle, Ajeet Bharti speaks to the Dasna temple Head Priest (Mahant) Yati Narsinghanand, who slams the radical Muslims for their violent extremist ideologies.

Speaking about the left-liberal media bias, Yati Narsinghanand said that prior to him, all the Mahants of the temple have been brutally killed, but no media had ever shown any interest in those murders. Ever since this incident has happened, the left-media and the secular media ecosystem had pounced on the people responsible for managing the Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad.

The Mahant emphasises that he was never an Islamophobic, but after he recognised the truth of the religion, he did what he thought was best for his Hindu daughters and sisters, said the Mahant.

Yati Narsinghanand emphasised that incidents of theft, assault and sexual harassment of female devotees went on to such an extent that the temple management was forced to bar Muslims’ entry into the temple premises.

For the uninitiated, the Devi temple of Dasna, Ghaziabad had come under limelight after a teenage Muslim boy named Asif claimed that he was beaten for trying to drink some water inside the temple premises.

Speaking about the incident, Shringi Yadav, who was arrested in connection with the alleged assault on the Muslim boy Asif, dismissed the claims that the Muslim boy was targeted inside the temple for drinking water. Rubbishing the allegations, Yadav, who is now being depicted as the ‘mascot of hatred’ by the ‘left-liberal’ media, said that Asif was caught urinating on the Shivling inside the Dasna Devi temple. He also added the claims of Muslim youth entering the premises to drink water is not true.

Moreover, Mahant Yati Narsinghanand, the Mahant of the temple, said that Shiv Shakti Dham has a tap near the main gate and another tap close-by. If someone wants to drink water, why would he go inside the premises? He further alleged that it is a conspiracy against the temple. He alleged that there had been incidents of robbery at least four times in the temple premises.

There had been incidents of molestation of women and girls visiting the temple. To stop anti-social elements of the particular community, the temple authorities have placed a board at the temple entrance where it is clearly written, “The entry of Muslims is forbidden here.” It is being said that the board was installed around 7-8 years ago. 

TMC divided over anti-dumping duty on newsprint, two Trinamool MPs write to PM Modi opposing and supporting the measure

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TMC divided over anti-dumping duty on newsprint, two Trinamool MPs write to PM Modi opposing and supporting the measure

On January 19th, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies, which is the investigation arm of the Commerce Ministry, recommended imposing anti-dumping duty on newsprint coming from several countries. However, this has caused a strange reaction from the Trinamool Congress, as leaders are giving opposing views on the matter.

Newsprint is the paper used to print newspapers, and the DGTR had recommended anti-dumping duty on newsprint imported from Australia, Canada, European Union, Russia, Singapore and United Arab Emirates, to protect the domestic industry. The DGTR had initiated an investigation into the issue, and had extensive consultations with the industry. They had obtained submissions from the companies located in the concerned countries that export newsprint to India.

After going through all the data, DGTR had determined that the imports are prices below the cost of sales, which had a depressing effect on the prices of domestic industry. The report by DGTR said that while imports have increased over the last few years, domestic production and sales have decreased. As a result, the market share for domestic industry has shrunk. As a result, the DGTR had suggested imposing anti-dumping duty on newsprint imported from the concerned countries.

The newspaper industry has opposed proposed anti-dumping duty on newsprint. Publishers have rejected the DGTR report, claiming that there not enough capacity in India. They have also claimed that the quality of newsprint produced in India is not same as the imported product.

TMC leader and Rajya Sabha MP Nadimul Haque had come in support of the publishers, opposing the anti-dumping duty. He has written a letter to PM Narendra Modi, saying that the “anti-dumping custom duty will create big problem on financial health of thousands of small and medium language newspapers, who are already suffering on account of low revenues, due to COVID-19.”

He had requested the PM to look into the matter and to not consider any anti-dumping duty on standard newsprint.

However, Nadimul Haque’s position is completely different from the stand taken by TMC’s Lok Sabha MP Saugata Roy, who had written to the PM to protect the Indian newsprint manufacturing industry.

Writing on the behalf of the employee unions of Gulmohar Paper Ltd and the Indian Newsprint Manufacturers Association, he had said that domestic newsprint industry is facing a “complete close down due to continuous increase in aggressive and unethical dumping of imported newsprint”. He wrote that more than 100 papers miss in the country has closed down and a large number of paper mills are on the verge of closure. “It is totally against your flagship programme of Atmanirbhar Bharat”, the TMC MP said, asking the PM to take necessary steps.

Thus, it is quite intriguing that two TMC MPs are fighting for the two sides in the issue. While Saugata Roy wants to revive Indian industries by blocking imports, Nadimul Haque opposes any such measure claiming it will harm the newspapers.

Seven unruly passengers deboarded by various airlines for violating COVID-19 protocols

OpIndia Staff
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Seven unruly passengers deboarded by various airlines for violating COVID-19 protocols

Amid rising coronavirus cases cross India, airline operators have also been trying to strictly abide by the advisory issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last week. The new rules have asked airlines to act against passengers flouting COVID-19 protocols. In view of a notice, three carriers have acted against seven such unruly fliers. Alliance Air, IndiGo and Air Asia have made such passengers de-board their flights for flouting the COVID-19 norms.

Four passengers on board Alliance Air’s Jammu-Delhi flight on Tuesday were de-boarded for not wearing masks properly inside the flight despite repeated warnings by the cabin crew. Charging them as ‘unruly/disruptive passengers’, the airline authorities handed the passengers over to security agencies at Delhi Airport. The details about violation of COVID-19 norms of other three passengers are not yet known.

In a circular issued on March 13, the DGCA had directed airport officials and security personnel to ensure that no one is allowed to enter the airport without wearing a mask. This, the regulator, said come as it has been noticed that some travellers undertaking air journey do not adhere to COVID- 19 protocols. These norms mandate wearing of mask properly, not below the nose, during all times of the journey from entering the Airport for departure to exiting the airport after arrival.

“On board the Aircraft, in case any passenger does not adhere to wearing of mask properly even after repeated warnings he or she should be de-boarded, if need be,” the circular had said. The adherence to the above directions shall be ensured by all concerned with immediate effect and strict action shall be taken in case of any violation.

This came days after the Delhi High Court gave airline crews the authority to offload any passenger who isn’t wearing their mask properly and place them on a no-fly list either permanently or for a stipulated time if they show “stubborn reluctance.” The judge had taken note of passengers’ callous behaviour at airports and issued directives to the DGCA. 

After a period of steady decline, the coronavirus cases in a few states in India has been on a rise again. In the last 24 hours, India recorded 35,871 fresh coronavirus cases, the highest daily rise since early December. As of 7th January 2021, India was out of the list of top ten countries with the most active coronavirus cases in the world. However, between March 1 and 15, 70 districts in 16 states have seen an increase of more than 150 per cent in the active cases.

Amid the worrying rise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a meeting with chief ministers of states, urging them to take big and decisive steps to immediately stop the emerging second peak in the country.

Maulana Irshad, who had hailed Ghaznavi’s attacks on Somnath Temple, arrested by Gujarat Police from Panipat

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Maulana Irshad, who had hailed Ghaznavi’s attacks on Somnath Temple, arrested by Gujarat Police from Panipat

Maulana Irshad Rashid, who was seen in a viral video hailing Mahmud Gaznavi’s destruction of the Somnath Temple while standing on a beach near the holy Hindu shrine, has been arrested by Gujarat Police from Panipat. As per a report by Jagran.

As per the Jagran eport, Rashid’s wife claimed that he had spoken with Gujarat Police over phone and had promised to present himself but was picked up by 5 policemen from Panipat. Maulana Rashid runs a madarsa in Baljit Nagar Colony which has around 50 students. However, the madarsa has been shut for the past two days. Rashid’s wife had been staying at her brother-in-law’s residence with her 8 kids since the incident.

Apart from the madarsa, Irshad Rshid also leads Namaz in a mosque in the city.

Sources claim that Rashid has had a history of putting up offensive content on Facebook and Whatsapp. It was also revealed that Rashid got into a brawl two years back when he stopped a person from offering Namaz in a mosque. Reason unknown, but the former head of the Dalbir Nagar mosque said that he got abusive with the person.

His wife now accepts that her husband made a mistake and preaches that all religions must be respected.

Maulana Irshad Rashid had made a video praising the invaders Mahmud Ghaznavi and Muhammad Qasim and requesting other Muslims to read and study about the ‘glorious past’ of the barbaric invaders.

Pointing towards the Somnath Temple, he was seen urging Muslims to remember their ‘glorious past’ because the ancestors of Muslims like Gaznavi and Qasim had invaded Somnath and all over India. The video which was allegedly shot in May 2019, recently went viral on Twitter, following which a complaint was filed by Vijay Singh Chavda, the manager of the Somnath Trust.

In a recent YouTube video, Maulana Irshad was seen apologising for his remarks and claiming that he respects all religions.

Bangladesh: Members of hardliner group Hefazat-e-Islami attack Hindus over Facebook post

OpIndia Staff
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Bangladesh: Members of hardliner group Hefazat-e-Islami attack Hindus over Facebook post

In a fresh violent attack on minorities, over 80 houses of Hindu in the village of Sunamganj, Bangladesh were attacked and vandalized by the supporters of Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam. The attack was planned after a young Hindu man criticized Joint-Secretary General Mawlana Mufti Mamunul Haque in a Facebook post as reported by Dhaka Tribune.

The report details, a conference held at Derai upazila on Monday hosted Hefazat-e-Islam’s (Islamist Advocacy group of madrassah teachers and students) Amir Allama Junaid Babunagari, Joint-Secretary General Mawlana Mufti Mamunul Haque and several other central leaders. A young Hindu man from Noagaon, Shalla Upazila was enraged by Mawlana Mamunul Haque’s speech and made a Facebook post criticizing it which he uploaded on Tuesday.

Upon discovering the post, Hefazat leaders staged a protest on Tuesday night alleging attempts to incite communal violence. The police had arrested the boy the same evening to bring the situation under control. Yet several thousand members of Hefazat-e-Islam attacked the boy’s village with makeshift weapons on Wednesday morning.

Many local Hindus had to flee their homes fearing for life which gave the attackers an opportunity to ransack and loot their homes.

Upon receiving the information of attack, a large number of police from Shalla police station and Derai upazila were deployed to bring the situation under control.

The boy is still under custody and Shalla Upazila Nirbahi Officer Al Muktadir Hossain, in a public statement clarified that the accused youth has been handed over to the law enforcement for ‘insulting’ Mawlana Mamunul Haque on Facebook. He claimed the situation is calm and some who had fled their homes had returned.

Bangladesh continues to be infamous for its failure to protect the Hindus, which are in a minority. A 2020 report revealed Hindus in Bangladesh were under attack over 30 times by violent Islamists mobs in just one month.

Rioters to compensate for damages: Haryana clears Bill to recover damages to public properties during violent protests

OpIndia Staff
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Rioters to compensate for damages: Haryana clears Bill to recover damages to public properties during violent protests

The Haryana Assembly on Thursday passed a bill seeking recovery of damages to public properties from rioters that indulge in vandalism while carrying out demonstrations. Titled as ‘Recovery of Damages to Property during Disturbance to Public Order Bill, 2021’, the Bill provides for recovery of damage to public properties caused by people during disturbance to public order by an assembly, lawful or unlawful, including riots and violent protests.

The passage of the bill is particularly significant, considering that it has come against the backdrop of farmers protests that have roiled the border areas of the national capital, including some parts of Haryana. As per the newly passed legislation, the Haryana government has the authority to seek reparations for the damages caused to the public property during a protest or riots. The protesters and rioters involved in such incidents will be held liable to pay the compensation.

The bill also provides for the establishment of a Claims Tribunal to evaluate the damages caused and to ascertain the liability to award the compensation in Haryana. The Collector shall have the power to issue an order of attachment of property or bank account of any person against whom an award has been passed by the Claims Tribunal to pay compensation.

The bill authorises the government to confiscate the property or bank accounts of the offenders till the time they make the payment of the amount due.

Opposition leaders stage a walkout to oppose the bill

Earlier on Monday, when the government tabled the bill in the Assembly for discussion, it triggered a walkout by the opposition leaders on the refusal of their demand for a division on the Bill. Soon after the Bill was tabled for discussion, senior Congress member RS Kadian raised aspersion on the timing of the bill, claiming that it will send a wrong signal amid the ongoing farmers’ agitation.

Former Chief Minister BS Hooda, who is the Leader of the Opposition, had claimed that the government authorities had dug up roads to prevent farmers from reaching their desired destination and wondered who will be held liable in this case for damage to public property. Congress leaders asked for a division of the voting in the assembly but it was turned down by the Speaker.

However, the protestations by the opposition leaders elicited a sharp response from Haryana Minister Anil Vij, who sharply questioned the Congress members whether they were in support of destruction of public and private properties, burning of buses or against it.

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