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Election Commission announces schedule of assembly elections in four states and one union territory, counting on 2nd May

OpIndia Staff
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Election Commission announces schedule of assembly elections in four states and one union territory, counting on 2nd May

The Election Commission of India today announced the dates for upcoming assembly elections in four states and one union territory. The elections will be held in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry. The term of the current Assam assembly is up to 31st May, the term of Tamil Nadu is up to May 24, West Bengal assembly’s term will be over on May 30, while the same of Kerala will be over on 1st June.

Elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will be held in a single phase on 6th April, while the elections for West Bengal will be spread over eight phases, and it will be held in Assam in three phases in March and April. West Bengal will elections will span over a month, with the first phase on 27th March and the eighth phase on 29th April.

The counting of the votes will take place on 2nd May for all the assembly elections, which will be a Sunday.

StateElection dates
Assam27 March, 1st April, 6th April
Kerala6th April
Tamil Nadu6th April
West Bengal27th March, 1st April, 6th April, 10th April, 17th April, 22nd April, 26th April, 29th April
Puducherry6th April

Elections will be conducted for 294 assembly constituencies in West Bengal, 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, constituencies seats in Kerala, 126 constituencies in Assam and 30 constituencies in the union territory of Puducherry.

This represents elections in a total of assembly 824 constituencies in the country, where 18.68 crore electorates will cast their votes at 2.74 lakh polling stations, all of which will be situated will be on the ground floor.

The elections this year will be a bigger affair, as the number of poll stations is being increased to avoid crowding in view of the Coronavirus pandemic. Along with that, the polling time will also be extended by one hour, which was also done during the Bihar elections.

During the recent weeks, the Election Commission officials had travelled the poll-bound states to take stock of the preparedness for the elections. Following the meeting with state administrations, the Election Commission had held a meeting on Wednesday to finalise the dates for the polls.

The elections this year will be a bigger affair, as the number of poll stations is being increased to avoid crowding in view of the Coronavirus pandemic. As a result, it will be a big challenge in Kerala which has seen a big rise in cases in the recent weeks.

With the announcement of the election dates, the process of assembly election formally begins, and the model code of conduct will be applicable from today. This means, the governments in the polls bound states can’t take any major decision, and can’t announce any scheme that can influence the voters.

West Bengal will see the most high-profile in the elections, with Mamata Banerjee led TMC government facing strong competition from BJP. Several senior leaders of TMC have left the party and joined BJP, along with their support base. It is speculated that BJP may be able to repeat what happened in Assam and Tripura, where it had grabbed power following mass migration of politicians from the ruling parties.

Kerala will see another intense fight between the ruling left front and the Congress, who are otherwise allies in several other states. Tamil Nadu will witness the familiar fight between AIADMK and DMK, with DMK hoping to grab power after a decade.

BJP will hope to retain its power in Assam, where it faces opposition from Congress, AIUDF and several parties that came up in the last few months. But the party has done well in all the local body polls in recent months despite the opposition to the CAA, and it is expected that Sarbanandana Sonowal will be re-elected as the CM.

The Congress govt in Puducherry fell this week just months after the end of its term, after several MLAs from the ruling party resigned from the house. As a result, President’s rule has been imposed on the Union Territory and the assembly has been suspended.

‘Lifting Sachin Tendulkar on my shoulders one of my best memories’: Yusuf Pathan announces retirement from all forms of cricket

OpIndia Staff
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‘Lifting Sachin Tendulkar on my shoulders one of my best memories’: Yusuf Pathan announces retirement from all forms of cricket

Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan has announced his retirement from all forms of the game. With a reputation of being a big hitter of the ball, the batting all-rounder played for the national team for a brief period and won major trophies as well.

Statement by Yusuf Pathan
Statement by Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan said, “The time has come today for me to put a full stop to this innings of my life. I officially announce retirement from all forms of the game. I thank my family, friends, fans, teams, coaches and the whole country wholeheartedly for all the support and love. I am sure you will continue to encourage me in future as well.”

“Winning two World Cups for India and lifting Sachin Tendulkar on my shoulders were some of the best moments of my career. I made my international debut under MS Dhoni, IPL debut under Shane Warne, Ranji debut under Jacob Martin and would like to thank them for believing in me. I thank Gautam Gambhir with whom, at KKR, we won the IPL trophy twice. I would also like to thank my brother and backbone Irfan Pathan who was always there for me during the highs and lows of my career,” he added.

However, he said that his retirement does not mean that his relationship with cricket is over. “Nothing can keep me away from cricket and my passion for the sport will remain the same. I will continue to entertain everyone even in future,” he said.

Yusuf Pathan played 57 ODI matches and 22 T20 internationals. In the IPL, he has played for Rajasthan Royals, the Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad. One of his most famous knocks included a 37-ball century in the IPL against Mumbai Indians that included a boundary of 11 consecutive balls. He is 38 years of age.

After accusations of Congress paying fisherman for photo-op emerge, ‘journalists’ fawn over Rahul Gandhi, question why others in media are not as smitten

OpIndia Staff
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After accusations of Congress paying fisherman for photo-op emerge, ‘journalists’ fawn over Rahul Gandhi, question why others in media are not as smitten

Even as Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi is accused of staging the so-called ‘swimming’ event in Kerala by paying the fisherman for a photo-op, the so-called ‘neutral journalists’ in the country are now fawning over Rahul Gandhi’s ‘brave jump’ into the Arabian sea.

On Wednesday, Congress leader and Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi took part in a fishing exercise in poll-bound Kerala’s Kollam district. During the exercise, Rahul Gandhi jumped into the sea along with fishermen as they cast their nets.

However, a day later, sensational details had emerged alleging that the entire event was a pre-planned drama and the fishermen were paid to play their parts in this event. The fishermen who had witnessed Rahul Gandhi’s theatrics on Thursday had made some sensational disclosure saying that the Congress party had staged the whole event and had paid money to fishermen who accompanied him.

Rather than posing tough questions to Rahul Gandhi, the journalists were caught praising Rahul Gandhi for jumping into the sea. The alleged journalists, who were mighty impressed with Rahul Gandhi’s swimming theatrics in Kerala, however, questioned the media in the country over the lack of coverage of Rahul Gandhi’s brave act.

Sunetra Choudhury, a former NDTV anchor who now works with Hindustan Times, was in awe of Rahul Gandhi’s swimming event in Kerala. Instead of challenging Rahul Gandhi over his repeated lies over ‘Fishing Ministry’ or confronting him on the allegations of the staged event, Sunetra Choudhury asked her followers on social media whether someone had seen the footage of Rahul Gandhi.

Vinod Kapri, a self-proclaimed journalist, lamented over the non-coverage of Rahul Gandhi’s event in Kerala. Attacking media over the lack of coverage, Kapri claimed that media would have referred to the person as a ‘superman’ or ‘waterman’ if it was someone other than Rahul Gandhi.

Following Vinod Kapri, his wife Sakshi Joshi also cried over media not discussing Rahul Gandhi’s swimming theatrics at the Arabian Sea on Thursday. According to Joshi, Rahul Gandhi jumped into the sea without wearing a life jacket, however, the media did not discuss this whole scene.

Echoing similar sentiments as Kapri, Sakshi Joshi, who has now turned into a YouTuber, said that media would have given space to Rahul Gandhi and would hail him as ‘Aqua Man’, ‘Bahubali’ if it was somebody else. Amusingly, Joshi claimed that it was the media’s job to show the opposition.

It is strange that the so-called journalists in the country, who are supposed to keep a check on the political class, have chosen to worship politicians like Rahul Gandhi and enable him to peddle political propaganda without any accountability. The ‘left-liberal’ journalists, who often claim to be the epitome of ‘neutral’ journalism in the country, are now sad that Rahul Gandhi’s PR events neither have an audience nor being promoted by the media networks.

Rahul Gandhi’s ‘swimming’ event was staged, says a report

A day after Rahul Gandhi’s trip to Kerala’s Kollam, there were reports that the entire ‘fishing’ expedition of Rahul Gandhi and the subsequent ‘swimming’ event at sea was a pre-planned event. The fishermen who had witnessed the event had alleged that they were paid Rs 30,000 to accompany Rahul Gandhi to the sea on Wednesday.

According to a report from Deshabhimani, a Malayalam newspaper owned by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), two ‘sea farmers’ R Robin, who hails from Mothakkara and Biju Sebastian, a resident of Vaddy, were eyewitnesses to the fishing expedition of Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday. Speaking to the media, the two fishermen said that the whole fishing expedition of Rahul Gandhi was nothing but a PR event and the ‘swimming in the sea’ theatrics of the Gandhi-scion was a pre-planned act.

Robin, who saw fishermen’s group leaving the shores from Kollam on Thursday with Rahul Gandhi, said the drama was staged, and they were paid Rs 30,000 to accompany Rahul Gandhi. According to Robin, Rahul Gandhi did not join the fisherfolks for any fishing expedition at sea as they had already brought a load of fishes much before his arrival. Robin said Rahul Gandhi arrived at six in the morning and boarded the fishing boats. He said that fishing boats were already filled with the fishes.

Another fisherman Biju, confirming the same, said there was no sincerity in Rahul Gandhi’s gesture. If he had sincerity he should have been prepared to see the sufferings of the fishermen first hand, said Biju adding that fishermen usually jump into the water to prevent the fish from escaping from their nets.

The fishing fiasco of Rahul Gandhi had come just days after he was openly caught spreading lies about the country not having a separate fishing ministry. 

Official Twitter handle of India Today blocks users for calling Rajdeep Sardesai a ‘dalal’

OpIndia Staff
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Official Twitter handle of India Today blocks users for calling Rajdeep Sardesai a ‘dalal’

The official Twitter account of India Today which goes by the handle @IndiaToday is on a blocking spree on Tuesday afternoon for users who are addressing its journalist Rajdeep Sardesai as ‘dalal’.

On Friday afternoon, scores of Twitter users found themselves blocked by the official Twitter account of India Today, apparently for calling Rajdeep Sardesai a ‘dalal’. Interestingly, even when the users did not tag India Today’s official Twitter handle, the news organisation proceeded to block them.

Many social media users were seen asking whether the blocking spree was an effort by India Today to assuage the feelings of Rajdeep Sardesai who was recently taken ‘off air’ after he was found spreading blatant fake news on the Republic day when violent rioters were running rampage in Delhi.

Controversial journalist Rajdeep Sardesai was reportedly taken off air temporarily by India Today after he was caught spreading fake news during the tractor rally on Republic Day in Delhi. The media house also penalised him by reportedly cutting his salary for one month.

Sardesai was taken off-air by India Today group for ‘two weeks’ after he spread fake news about the death of rioter Navreet during the Republic Day riots. While Navreet had died after the tractor he was driving to break police barricades turned turtle, Sardesai put up a tweet claiming that he was shot at by police.

After about a month of keeping him off air over spreading fake news about death of rioter Navneet during Republic Day riots, India Today had recently reinstated Rajdeep Sardesai for the 9 PM show.

India Today channel blocking users for criticising its news coverage

Besides blocking users who addressed Rajdeep Sardesai as ‘dalal’ on Twitter, the official account of the news organisation also blocked users who criticised the organisation and its journalists in their tweets that included #AajTakSabseTez, a paid promotional campaign by the TV Today Network wherein it ridiculed other news channels for their sensational coverage of news while projecting itself as a no nonsense news channel.

When users posted tweets highlighting how Aaj Tak and India Today have been sensationalising the news items and peddling fake news, the India Today channel moved to summarily block them.

Conflict of interest? Advocacy group funded by Twitter, Facebook, Google and western governments criticises new Indian social media regulations

K Bhattacharjee
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Conflict of interest? Advocacy group funded by Twitter, Facebook, Google and western governments criticises new Indian social media regulations

Access Now, a western advocacy group, has spoken out against the social media regulations ushered in by the Indian Government on Thursday. The advocacy groups holds significant sway in the world of activism and therefore, its statement against the regulations requires some attention.

The group said in a statement, “Access Now is extremely concerned by the alarming new powers the Indian government has granted itself, announcing today, February 25, its increased control over content on social media platforms. It has finalised an amended set of rules — for immediate publication and implementation — to change how it can regulate internet intermediaries such as social media platforms, and online media sites.”

Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia Pacific Policy Director at Access Now, said, “The mandates in the new rules would result in encouraging internet platforms to over-censor content, require dangerous unproven AI-based content regulation tools, retain vast amounts of user data for handing over to the government, and undermine end-to-end encryption crucial for cybersecurity and individual privacy.”

There is a conflict of interest, however. A quick look at the institutions funding the advocacy group makes it clear that its opposition to the regulations is motivated and it is not a neutral spectator as it pretends to be.

Until June 2020, the group had received hundreds and thousands of dollars in funding from western government institutions. Funders included the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (SFDFA), UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Access Now received over $2 million from SIDA, around $61,000 from FCO and around $40,000 from the SFDFA.

Access Now funders 2020

The previous year, the advocacy group received funds from Twitter and Facebook in addition to funds from government agencies. In fact, the majority of its funds came from government agencies. 56.3% to be precise.

Not a comprehensive list of funders

The story remains the same for 2018. 49.8% of its funds, almost half of it, came from government agencies. Twitter, Google and Microsoft were other prominent donors.

Almost half of Access Now funds in 2018 came from government agencies

In 2017, government agencies contributed 60% of Access Now funds. SIDA remained the highest remained the highest donor with nearly $3 million in funds. George Soros’ Open Society Foundations donated to them as well and in significant measure.

Contribution of government agencies was 60% in 2017

The story follows the same pattern in 2016. More than half of its funds came from government agencies. The Dutch Ministry has funded them as well apart from the Oak Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Access Now funds 2016

Thus, Access Now is majorly funded by the government of Sweden, from which it derives the overwhelming majority of its funds from government agencies. Other than that, it receives funds from the governments of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the Switzerland.

The new regulations will most directly impact Twitter, Facebook and Google and are designed to make them accountable, all of which are prominent donors of Access Now. Therefore, quite clearly, when the advocacy group criticizes the regulations, it will be extremely difficult to argue that they are acting in good faith.

The advocacy group says, “Access Now does not accept funding that compromises its organizational independence, including funding relationships that may influence its priorities, policy positions, advocacy efforts, regions of focus, or direct action work.” But that is difficult to digest indeed.

A day after Mamata Banerjee’s scooter ride becomes a meme, Smriti Irani rides one with ease in BJP’s roadshow

OpIndia Staff
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A day after Mamata Banerjee’s scooter ride becomes a meme, Smriti Irani rides one with ease in BJP’s roadshow

On 25 February, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had attempted to ride an electric scooter to protest against the rising fuel prices. However, as the Bengal CM tried to go ahead, she had lost balance and had almost fallen down, prompting countless social media jokes and memes.

A day after the famous scooter ride by the Bengal CM, BJP MP and Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani was seen riding a scooter with apparent ease during BJP’s roadshow in Bengal.

Today on Friday, 26 February, Union Minister Smriti Irani has arrived in Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district to participate in BJP’s election campaign in the state. She participated in a roadshow in Panchpota area. She was seen riding a scooter with ease and speaking to locals in Bengali.

Speaking to Republic TV, the Union Minister commented on the harsh, derogatory words CM Mamata Banerjee had used against the PM recently in her rally. Mamata Banerjee has called PM Modi the ‘biggest rioter’ and had stated that he will meet a fate ‘worse than Donald Trump’.

Smriti Irani stated that it is very disappointing to see a chief minister using such crude and harsh language for the Prime Minister of the country. She then added that it is not surprising for many because political etiquettes are not expected from Mamata Banerjee.

Addressing a rally in Hooghly on February 24, Mamata Banerjee had uttered some harsh words and had indulged in personal attacks against the Prime Minister. She had called him the ‘biggest rioter'(dangabaaz) and had referred to the PM and the Home Minister as ‘Danava (demon) and Ravana.

“One is ‘Danava (demon), one is ‘Ravana’. Both are running the country. Modi and his monster friend speak a lot. They speak for two months because we will speak after that. It is not that easy to win Bengal. I will ensure a grave for the BJP on this ground”, Banerjee had said.

‘We should be outraged!’: Senator Rand Paul grills Biden’s nominee as Dr Levine refuses to condemn sex change procedure for little children

OpIndia Staff
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‘We should be outraged!’: Senator Rand Paul grills Biden’s nominee as Dr Levine refuses to condemn sex change procedure for little children

U.S. Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky, who ran for the Republican nomination for U.S. President in 2016, took his opportunity to ask very direct questions related to genital mutilation and transgender medication to Joe Biden’s nominee for Assistant Secretary of Health, Dr. Rachel Levine at her confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate.

Dr. Levine is a transgendered individual herself, and therefore was expected to answer multiple questions in order to clear up some myths about gender dysphoria and transgenderism. However, the exchange between Sen. Rand Paul and Dr. Levine did not reveal much, instead further obscuring the Biden administration’s exact policies with regards to the treatment of minors affected with gender dysphoria.

Sen. Rand Paul began his line of questioning with a description of the genital mutilation issue affecting minors. “Genital mutilation has been nearly universally condemned. Genital mutilation has been condemned by the WHO, the United Nations children’s fund, and the United Nations population fund. According to the WHO, it is recognized internationally as a violation of human rights. Genital mutilation is considered particularly egregious because as the WHO notes, it is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children,” Sen. Paul stated during the hearing.

“It is typically not performed by force, but as WHO notes, by social convention, social norm, the social pressure to conform and do what others do and have been doing, as well as to be accepted socially, and the fear of being rejected by the community,” Sen. Paul concludes.

Sen. Rand Paul then ties his point about the prevalence of genital mutilation due to societal pressures together with the current mainstream American culture. “American culture is now normalizing the idea that minors can be given hormones to prevent their biological development of their secondary sexual characteristics,” Rand says. Sen. Rand Paul then cites the American College of Pediatricians, which gives the statistic that 80-95% of all pre-pubescent gender dysphoria cases would resolve on their own if there is no social or medical intervention, asking Dr. Levine about whether adults should interfere in such cases.

“Like surgical mutilation, hormonal interruption of puberty can permanently alter and prevent secondary sexual characteristics,” Paul said. “The American College of Pediatricians reports that 80% to 95% of pre-puberty children with gender dysphoria will experience resolution by late adolescence if not exposed to medical intervention and social affirmation. Dr. Levine, do you believe minors are capable of making such a life-changing decision of changing one’s sex?” asks Sen. Rand Paul

Dr. Rachel Levine did not answer the question directly and instead chose a basic response. “Transgender medicine is a very complex and nuanced field with robust research and standards of care that have been developed. If I’m fortunate enough to be confirmed as the assistant secretary of health, I will look forward to working with you and your office and coming to your office to discuss the particulars of the standards of care for transgender medicine.”

Sen. Paul, seemingly not satisfied with the answer, pressed Dr. Levine further, especially about the potential harm to minor children. “The specific question was about minors, let’s be a little more specific since you evaded the question,” Paul shot back. “Do you support the government intervening to override the parents’ consent to give a child puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and/or amputation surgery of breasts and genitalia. You have said that you’re willing to accelerate the protocols for street kids. I’m alarmed that poor kids with no parents who are homeless and distraught, you would just go through this and allow that to happen to a minor.”

Sen. Paul then enquired Dr. Levine about whether sex-altering treatments for minors and interventions facilitating that should be supported by adults. “What I am alarmed at is that you’re not willing to say absolutely minors shouldn’t be making the decision to amputate their breasts or to amputate their genitalia. For most of our history, we have believed that minors don’t have full rights and parents need to be involved. So I am alarmed that you won’t say with certainty that minors should not have the ability to make the decision to take hormones that will affect them for the rest of their life. Will you make a more firm decision on whether minors should be involved in these decisions?”

Dr. Levine once again seemingly refuses to give a direct answer and repeats her previous response almost ad nauseam. “Transgender medicine is a very complex and nuanced field, and if confirmed to the position of assistant secretary of health, I would certainly be pleased to come to your office and talk with you and your staff about the standards of care and the complexity of this field,” Dr. Levine replies to Sen. Paul.

After repeated failures to receive a direct response to his questions, Sen. Paul asks the record to reflect that the witness i.e. Dr. Levine has refused to answer his questions. Sen. Paul then highlights the permanent nature of transgender medications and then asks a specific question, ‘Should minors be making these momentous decisions?’

Sen. Paul also expressed his outrage at minor children aged just 3 years old in gender dysphoria clinics. “We should be outraged that someone is talking to a three-year-old about changing their sex!” Sen. Paul then informs Dr. Levine that if she can’t answer his questions about Levine’s support for hormonal therapy and genital surgery for minor children, then he cannot support her nomination as the Assistant Secretary of Health.

Dr. Rachel Levine is a transgendered individual who rose in fame due to her handling of the COVID-19 epidemic in the State of Pennsylvania. She is nominated for the role of Assistant Secretary of Health in the Biden administration. In the U.S. political system, all cabinet nominations of the President are required to face a confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate where the Opposition can ask the nominees questions. The nominees are then either confirmed or not by a majority vote in the Senate.

Meet British MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: Khalistani connections, pro-Pakistani stance on Kashmir and vocal during ‘farmer protests’

OpIndia Staff
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Meet British MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: Khalistani connections, pro-Pakistani stance on Kashmir and vocal during ‘farmer protests’

The ‘farmer protests’ in India have managed to attract global attention. Elected representatives of western countries have found the protests fertile ground to strengthen support among their constituents. One such politician is Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, or Tan Dhesi as he is addressed sometimes, a Labour MP in the United Kingdom.

Tan Dhesi became a meme on the internet when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ‘misheard’ his question regarding the protests in India. Dhesi presented an extremely misleading picture of the protests but what grabbed attention was the expression on his face when Johnson said that tensions between India and Pakistan are for the governments of the two countries to settle.

Tan Dhesi here is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir (APPGK). There have been financial transactions between the Pakistan Government and the APPGK in the past. In 2020, APPGK received between £31,501 and £33000 from Pakistan when its members paid a visit to the country and PoK. Their apparent objective was to support the right to ‘self-determination’ of Kashmiris and seek ‘justice’ for ‘human rights abuses’.

The APPGK had received around £12,000 from the Pakistan High Commission in London in 2018 for a trip to Pakistan and PoK the same year. Debbie Abrahams, who leads the group, had her VISA cancelled by Indian authorities and she was deported when she landed in India in 2020.

Tan Dhesi, of course, has been extremely critical of the Indian Government in the past as well and taken quite an adversarial stand. In the aftermath of the Delhi Riots, the Labour MP from Slough was part of a group of MPs that pressed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to share the details of the discussions it had held with Indian authorities regarding the matter.

Saying that the riots brought back “painful memories”, he asked, “[I have witnessed it] as a religious minority during the 1984 genocide of the Sikhs, while I was studying in India. Mr Speaker, we must learn from history, not be fooled by those whose insidious aim is to divide society, [and who are] hell-bent on killing and destroying religious places, all in the name of religion. I ask the Minister, what message has he given to his Indian counterpart [regarding] that persecution of Indian Muslims?”

More recently, in the first week of February, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi attended a ‘Kashmir Solidarity Conference’ organised by Tehreek-e-Kashmir United Kingdom (TeK UK) President Faheem Kayani through video link. More than 40 British MPs participated in the conference, Tan Dhesi was one of them.

During the conference, PoK President Sardar Masood Khan ranted against India and spread outright lies regarding the situation in Kashmir. He spread the usual canards that India is depriving Kashmiris of their civil rights and the ‘genocide’ of Kashmiris by the Indian Army.

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi also has close ties with Khalistani outfit Sikh Federation UK. He had addressed a gathering at the SFUK National Convention as well. The same group had co-organised an event with the Sikh Network where Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was awarded a ‘lifetime achievement award’. One of the main Gurudwaras in Slough, Gurdwara Sri Singh Sabha, displays two large Khalistan banners. Dhesi addressed a gathering at the same main hall of the Gurudwara that displayed the Khalistan banners.

The Slough MP had come out in support Jeremy Corbyn following the latter’s adverse comments against India following the abrogation of Article 370. Complimenting Corbyn, he had said, “We cannot remain silent in the face of human rights abuses. We need to stand in solidarity with the #Kashmiri people in their hour of need.” Few days later, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had met the Labour and immediately expressed regret afterwards.

The RSS, naturally, has been one of his targets as well. He said in 2019, “The RSS doesn’t want me to be in parliament because we fearlessly speak for human rights. They are spreading hate against the Labour party particularly the members who are raising their voice against the brutalities and violations of human rights either in Kashmir, Palestine, Myanmar or any other part of the world.”

He went on to say that he will not be “blackmailed” by the BJP and RSS. “I will continue without fear. I don’t care being on the target list of BJP and RSS. I will continue to speak up for the right causes. It’s our duty to speak up for the rights of people in Kashmir, Myanmar and Palestine.”

According to reports, Dhesi attacked India at a Referendum 2020 rally, a Khalistani Movement, organised by the banned terrorist outfit Sikhs for Justice. He has been extremely vocal about the current ‘farmer protests’ as well. He wrote in a tweet on the 11th of February, “Over 100,000, incredibly from all 650 #UK constituencies (inc 3K+ from Slough), signed online petition; adding to 100+ MPs who wrote to PM. Given arrests of journalists and activists like #NodeepKaur, need Parliament debate ASAP on #FarmersProtest –largest protest on the planet.”

Thus, given his affiliations, it is not really surprising that he has come out in support of the ‘farmer protests’ in India. The protests have served as a platform for Khalistanis around the world to orchestrate a global campaign against India, many intricate details of which were exposed by the Greta toolkit.

PFI member Rauf Sharif, accused of stirring unrest in Hathras, refuses to sit in UP Police vehicle

OpIndia Staff
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PFI member Rauf Sharif, accused of stirring unrest in Hathras, refuses to sit in UP Police vehicle

The prospect of a ride in an Uttar Pradesh Police car could be warning bells for criminals. The fear among miscreants and criminals of UP police is so acute that Rauf Sharif, the Popular Front of India (PFI) student wing leader, stubbornly refused to sit in the vehicle after his five-day police remand was over and the STF was taking him for a medical test, a report published by News 18 said.

After his police custody was over, Rauf was to be presented in court on Tuesday this week. According to the STF sources quoted in the report, when Rauf was being seated in a government jeep to take him to a government hospital for a medical treatment late Monday night, he was adamant to not sit in the UP police jeep. After a long explanation and assurances, Sharif was convinced to sit in the jeep and was taken for his medical check-up. 

The following day, i.e Tuesday, the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge First Anil Kumar Pandey sent the accused to judicial custody.

PFI leader Rauf Sharif arrested for conspiring to stoke riots in Hathras

Rauf Sharif, leader of the radical Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), was nabbed by the Enforcement Directorate officials in December 2020 from Thiruvananthapuram airport after he attempted to escape from the country.

As per the ED report, Rauf Sharif had funded the trip by PFI members and self-proclaimed journalist Siddique Kappan to Hathras, Uttar Pradesh after the controversy over the case. A lot of political parties and organisations had gathered in Hathras, trying to stoke unrest and stir up caste violence. The investigation agencies alleged that the PFI members and Kappan intended to disturb social harmony and incite caste violence in the region.

UP STF recovers inflammatory posters from PFI offices

A few days back, acting on the information disclosed by Sharif in his interrogation, the UP Police’s Special Task Force(STF) raided several locations, including the office of Popular Front of India (PFI) based in Delhi. Inflammatory posters, electronic devices, religious literature and CDs were recovered from the PFI offices. Some of the incendiary posters were related to the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the controversial Babri structure. 

In the interrogation, Rauf Sharif, who is on custodial remand, also informed the STF about the anti-citizenship amendment law demonstrations in Delhi. He reportedly named several other members of the PFI involved in the conspiracy of Delhi riots. 

Fear grips criminals in UP following the encounter of gangster Vikas Dubey

An overwhelming fear of being persecuted in an encounter pervades the criminals in Uttar Pradesh following the encounter of notorious gangster Vikas Dubey, who was killed by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) in an encounter after the gangster tried to flee upon reaching Kanpur.

Vikas Dubey, who was arrested from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, was being brought to Kanpur in a UP Police car. The police has said that the police car met with an accident and the car overturned. After the accident, Vikas Dubey tried to snatch the weapon of injured policemen and attempted to flee. It was then that the police fired in retaliation, killing the gangster.

Varun Gandhi warns YouTube news channel for spreading fake news against him, the media group apologises

OpIndia Staff
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Varun Gandhi warns YouTube news channel for spreading fake news against him, the media group apologises

On Friday, BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP Varun Gandhi threatened legal action against a news network called SPN9 News for publishing ‘ridiculous and trashy’ videos against him. SPN9 News is a YouTube channel that airs news and current affairs videos, and is run by a Delhi based company named Spn9news Media Private Limited.

Taking to Twitter, the Member of Parliament from Pilbhit said that he had decided to send a legal notice to SPN9 News for publishing fake news targeting him with ridiculous and trashy videos. He said it was unfortunate that the people live in an era of fake news that makes it easy to tarnish and defame anyone in public life.

Varun Gandhi took objection to the videos published by the lesser-known news network – SPN9 News and asserted that it was important for him to take a stand and put an end to conspiracy.

The obscure SPN9 News has been publishing reports targeting the Pilibhit MP for a long time now. In one of the videos published on February 20, it had accused Varun Gandhi of spoiling BJP’s chance in the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Image Source: Varun Gandhi

The news network published a series of videos saying that Varun Gandhi was leaving BJP to join the Congress party ahead of the Uttar Pradesh elections. The videos had also claimed that the BJP was in deep trouble after reports that Varun Gandhi might quit BJP to join the Congress.

Here are some of the images of the news reports published by SPN9 News, which have been deleted from their YouTube channel now:

Image Source: Varun Gandhi

Another video published by SPN9 News, saying BJP in panic and the Congress party was in a celebratory mood following a crucial decision by Varun Gandhi.

Image Source: Varun Gandhi

News outlet apologises for its publication

After Varun Gandhi warned the news outlet of initiating legal action, the SPN9 News has promptly issued an apology to the BJP MP, saying that they deeply regretted the contents they had aired on their YouTube channel. They also informed that they have removed the reports targeting Varun Gandhi from their platforms.

“If we have shown something false or defamatory, we apologise unconditionally. We are committed to media ethics…We have removed all the 20 to 30 objectionable content from all of our platforms and assure you that any such content found in our database shall be removed immediately and unconditionally,” said the apology mail issued by the news network to Varun Gandhi.

Responding to the apology issued by SPN9 News, Varun Gandhi said in a tweet, “I hope this is a message to bullies in the media and fake news operators everywhere. It is important one takes action every time we are a victim of political conspiracy”.

Despite claim of removing content, videos remain on Facebook

While SPN9News said that they have removed 20-30 objectionable content, and indeed the videos have been removed from their YouTube channel, some videos still remain on their Facebook page. These videos make the same claim of Varun Gandhi’s alleged increasing distance from BJP and possibility of joining Congress.

The above report published on 22nd February claims that . BJP never gave him any important post, but he can become a big leader in the Congress party, claims the report. The language of the report makes it clear that it is designed to provoke Varun Gandhi to leave BJP and lure him into Congress promising a bigger role. The YoutTube channels looks like a tool used by the Congress party to poach leaders from other parties.

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