A video clip has gone viral on social media where Mamata Banerjee is heard engaging in a deranged rant in order to prove that she speaks better Hindi than Prime Minister Modi. By the end of the clip, the West Bengal Chief Minister did not succeed in her efforts despite insisting that Narendra Modi speaks from a teleprompter to maintain fluency in Hindi.
Where #MamtaBanerjee sets out to prove that she can speak better Hindi than PM Modi.
Unfortunately for Mamata Banerjee, some social media users suspect that she used a vile abusive word during her speech. It was suggested that she used the word at around 59 seconds into the video after saying ‘Kem Cho’, a Gujarati phrase. It has become a source for many a laughs on the platform.
We listened to the speech in question carefully and determined that the Trinamool supremo had, in fact, not used the abusive word. Thus, although the speech provides plenty of material for laughter, the abusive word is not among them.
During the section of the speech under concern, Mamata Banerjee boasts that she is even fluent in Gujarati. In order to prove her proficiency in the Prime Minister’s mother tongue, she says, “Kem Cho? Bhal Cho.” ‘Kem cho’ is a common Gujarati greeting that translates to “How are you?” ‘Bhal cho’ was Banerjee’s attempt to demonstrate her fluency in Gujarati.
‘Bhalo’ means good in Bengali. So, the response to ‘How are you’ in Bengla is usually ‘Ami bhalo aachhi’, which translates to “I am good” or “I am doing well”. In Gujarati, the common response is ‘majhama’. What language ‘bhal cho’ falls under is anybody’s guess but quite clearly, it was Mamata Banerjee answering the Gujarati greeting in a twisted mixture of Bangla and Gujarati.
Nevertheless, the speech had multiple hilarious moments. In heavily accented Hindi, the West Bengal Chief Minister boasted about how she could fluently read the script. She even read a couple of lines to prove it. She claimed that the Prime Minister read from a teleprompter that had the words in the Gujarati script.
She did not stop there and went on to claim that she is well versed in Punjabi. She insisted that people talk to her in Punjabi so that she could demonstrate her fluency. She also said that she had traveled far and wide in Punjab during the terrorism years, which she described as ‘godhbodh’. ‘Gadhbadh’ is a Hindi word that roughly translates to disturbance.
Mamata Banerjee said that she had some difficulty distinguishing between different individuals because according to her, all of them looked the same. She also said that she eats ‘Halwa’ from Gurudwaras and ‘Litti’ from Biharis.
Such eccentric speeches are not new to the Bengal Chief Minister. In one speech, she hailed ‘Jai Bishnu Mata’. Vishnu is a male Hindu God and definitely not considered a mother (Mata). The Trinamool Congress is suffering a string of defections, which could perhaps explain her eccentricity in the speech. However, it is still not clear precisely when the speech is from.
On January 28, some Khalistani elements desecrated the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Davis, California. After over four days, the White House has issued a statement condemning the act. US President Joe Biden’s Press Secretary Jen Psaki Monday condemned the vandalisation of a statue and expressed concern over the incident.
“We certainly would have concerns about the desecration of monuments of Gandhi. And you know, that’s certainly what we would express,” Psaki said on February 1.
“But certainly we would, you know, condemn that desecration and watch it closely.”
“We do not support any actions that include the destruction of property. We understand that our community reflects a diversity of views and values, but we expect that everyone will extend respect to each other and to shared spaces, said the US spokesperson in her statement.
“We are committed to creating a city that is inclusive and lives up to our principles. We work diligently to ensure the physical and psychological safety of every resident. Acts of destruction are violent and shatter this safety,” she said.
Asked to throw light on the US President’s reaction to the entire fiasco, Psaki said: “If there’s more to share on the President’s point of view on it, I’m happy to get back to you on that.”
India condemns desecration of Mahatma Gandhi statue in California, seeks action
Immediately after the incident, India had condemned the act and taken up the issue with the US state department. The Indian embassy in Washington on January 30 (Saturday) sought “appropriate action” against those responsible for the act.
Meanwhile, India’s consulate in San Francisco in California state separately took up the matter with the city of Davis and local law enforcement authorities, who initiated an investigation in the matter.
On January 28, Videos and pictures had emerged showing Khalistani elements in California vandalising the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Davis. It was broken and ripped from the base and thrown on the ground. Members of the pro-Khalistan organization also distributed sweets to celebrate the hoisting of the Sikh flag at the Red Fort.
Pro-Khalistani protestors oppose re-installation of the statue
On Sunday, some Indian American protesters had gathered at the spot of the Gandhi statue to register their protest against the wanton act of vandalism. However, they were met with counter-protesters from some members of the local Sikh community which opposed the statue.
Members of the CYSA reached the spot and protested against the installation of the Gandhi statue. The CYSA also said that they will lobby against the re-installation of the statue. Images of the protest were shared on social media by local journalists.
As Punjab descends into chaos, the car of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal was attacked in Jalalabad, Punjab. News agency ANI has accessed a video of the incident where several people were seen pelting stones at Badal’s vehicle. Many attackers were also seen armed with sticks. Gunshots were also heard being fired at Badal’s car. The party members have accused police backed ‘Congress goons’ of being behind the attack.
Badal was reportedly on his way to the Jalalabad SDM’s office when he was attacked. He was accompanying his party candidates to file nomination for the upcoming Punjab Municipal elections.
Police backed Congress goons today made an attempt on the life of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal. Three party workers who jumped into the president’s rescue received bullet injuries: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)
According to ANI, SAD has said in a statement: “Police backed Congress goons today made an attempt on the life of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal. Three party workers who jumped into the president’s rescue received bullet injuries”, SAD said.
The violent incident reportedly transpired after SAD members and Congress workers allegedly had heated arguments with one another, leading to the clash between the two groups. The Congress workers allegedly broke barricades and attacked the SAD members with sticks, weapons and bricks and stones. Many SAD members were injured in the ensuing violence.
Image source: PTC News
According to the reports, Jalalabad’s Congress MLA Raminder Awla’s son led the mob that attacked SAD president at SDM office complex. ‘Police backed Congress goons today made an attempt on the life of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal. Three party workers who jumped into the president’s rescue received bullet injuries, SAD said.
The party has also alleged that the police stood as mute spectators and refused to control the violent Congress workers who attacked SAD leader.
Badal’s media advisor Jangveer Singh accused the Congress of attacking the Akali workers, who were led by the son of ruling party MLA Raminder Singh Awla. “Congress goons stoned SAD president’s vehicle, fired and injured two Akali workers,” alleged Jangveer Singh. He also accused the police of remaining a “mute-spectator” during the whole incident. SAD leader Parambans Singh Romana alleged that Congress workers also fired from their guns.
Meanwhile, the Punjab police that has now come under the radar for allegedly being mute spectators have issued a statement.
Police will take action against whoever is found guilty: Fazilka SSP Harjeet Singh on attack on Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal's vehicle in Jalalabad https://t.co/ZdLgoehbldpic.twitter.com/A64EVbNuh8
Following the first paperless budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament yesterday, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to go paperless. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a training session for all ministers and at his official residence in this regard. All the ministers and officials participating in the meetings have been directed to bring tablets or laptops. The state government is planning to make the working of the government completely paperless.
Uttar Pradesh Cabinet to go paperless
According to reports, an e-cabinet training programme has been conducted during the meeting in which all the participants will be taught the basics of digital working. This step is an effort by the Uttar Pradesh government in the direction of implementing the Digital India Programme that was launched by the Modi government in 2015 with the vision inter alia of digitally empowering the country. An e-office system has already been set up by the Uttar Pradesh government at the Secretariat. The state government is now planning to make the cabinet meetings completely digital. According to reports, all the documents required by the ministers for the purpose of taking questions during the budget session to be held on February 18 will be made available by the state government on their laptops or tablets. From now on, all the communication within the cabinet will take place online.
All the communication to happen online
As told by the spokesperson of the state government, after the implementation of the e-cabinet system, the functioning of the cabinet would become paperless. This would be a step in the direction of implementing e-governance envisioned by PM Modi with the motto of ‘minimum government, maximum governance’. Digital working is also likely to speed up departmental procedures. Last year, CM Yogi had decided to make the working of the CM office paperless. As a result, an e-office was set up for the CM that was connected to his iPad. E-office has enabled CM Yogi to work while travelling. He undertakes most of the official work on iPad and responds online.
Under the Digital India project, the Modi government envisions a technologically empowered Indian society by making use of technology at various levels of governance.
Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday shared on Twitter what could only be described as a ‘WhatsApp forward’. Sidelined by the high-command of the BJP, he can often be found clutching at straws in order to undermine the central government.
On Tuesday, Subramanian Swamy took a jibe at petrol prices in India by invoking the Ramayana. He said that petrol cost Rs. 92 in “Ram’s India”, Rs. 53 in “Sita’s Nepal” and Rs. 51 in “Ravan’s Lanka”. While some might believe it was a clever jibe, the fact is it was far from the truth.
Subramanian Swamy shares a ‘WhatsApp forward’
According to Nepal Oil Corporation, as of the 19th of January, the price of Petrol in Birgunj, a city in the Himalayan nation, was 108.50 in Nepali Rupees (NRs). On that date, the same in Raxaul, India was NRs 140.76. In Indian currency, that is Rs. 67.95 in Nepal and Rs. 88.15 in India.
Thus, quite clearly, the price of petrol was much higher in Nepal than the one suggested by Subramanian Swamy even on the 19th of January. According to NOC, the current selling price of Petrol is NRs 110 which translates to Rs. 68.89.
Nepal Petrol Prices
In Sri Lanka, as well, the cost of petrol is Rs. 61 as of now and not Rs. 51 as claimed by Swamy. The cost of petrol was Rs. 51 in Sri Lanka in September 2019. It appears that the cost mentioned in Swamy’s tweet cited the September 2019 cost in Sri Lanka.
petrol prices in Sri Lanka in 2019 as per Ceylon Petroleum Corporation
In India, the cost of petrol is in the higher Rs. 80s in most places while in Mumbai, it is Rs. 92.86. Thus, unlike what Subramanian Swamy suggests, the difference in petrol price between India and Nepal is Rs. 20 at most places or slightly under or above. Compared to Sri Lanka, it is in the higher 20s and not 40s.
It is not a secret that the retail price of petrol is higher in India than elsewhere. The price is raised by the taxes that are imposed on it by the government to fund its expenses in other sectors. For instance, in August 2018, the price of petrol in Delhi was Rs. 77.49 per litre. This included Excise Duty of Rs 15.33 /litre, Dealer Commission (Average) Rs 2.51 /litre and VAT (including VAT on Dealer Commission) is Rs 10.16/litre.
Thus, of the Rs. 77.49 that was the cost, Rs. 25.49 was just taxes. Things have not changed in the opposite direction since then.
Amusingly enough, Subramanian Swamy appears to have launched a crusade against the Union Budget that was presented by Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday even though it has earned praise from all quarters of the political spectrum.
Source: Twitter
The disgruntled leader has also been retweeting abusive tweets on the social media platform directed at those who have criticised him.
Source: Twitter
Subramanian Swamy has also been retweeting tweets that say the BJP ‘IT Cell’ and Prime Minister Modi are scared of him.
Source: Twitter
It is no secret that Swamy has not taken well to being sidelined from the party. Unable to affect any real changes, he can be often spotted on social media peddling misinformation. Most recently, he had floated conspiracy theories to claim that the Red Fort siege on Republic Day was a PMO plot. He also went on an anti-vaccine rant to target the Modi Government over Covid-19 vacines.
Today, 2 February 2021, marks the 106th birth anniversary of literary giant Khushwant Singh. Besides being a prolific author, having written 80 books, Singh was also a lawyer, a former diplomat, and an up-front political commentator and social critic. He was also known for the close relationship he shared with the Gandhi dynasty.
Born in Punjab, Khushwant Singh was educated in Modern School, New Delhi, St. Stephen’s College, and graduated from Government College, Lahore. He completed his LLB from the University of London. After working for the Lahore High Court for eight years, Singh joined the Indian Foreign Service upon the Independence of India in 1947. He was appointed journalist in the All India Radio in 1951 and was later moved to the Department of Mass Communications of UNESCO at Paris in 1956.
His last two tenures encouraged him to pursue a literary career. He is best known for his book Train to Pakistan, written against the backdrop of India’s partition. Living for almost a century, Singh chronicled his journey in detail in his several books and his weekly column With Malice Towards One and All, which appeared every Saturday in Hindustan Times.
Singh was known for his irreverent wit, sarcasm, humor, and his enduring love of poetry. While Singh had a stellar career spanning different fields, he was also known for his close relationship with the Nehru-Gandhis. Being a close Gandhi-aide and having lived for over 99 years, Singh had the privilege of intimately knowing and observing the four generations of the Gandhi clan—from Jawaharlal Nehru to the current Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi—and uninhibitedly expressed his opinions on them. Being close to the Gandhi family, Singh was all-praise for Jawaharlal Nehru, Sanjay Gandhi but he did not hold back from voicing disapproving views against the dynasty.
‘Indira Gandhi was insecure because of her poor education’: Khushwant Singh
One of the highlights of Singh’s assessment of the Gandhi dynasty was his critical views on Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and the current Congress President Sonia Gandhi. According to Singh, Indira Gandhi was “not qualified” for the post of Prime Minister. Singh, in an interview with Rediff, opined that Indira Gandhi was insecure among educated people because her own poor education and therefore surrounded herself with second-rated people, hangers-on and tolerated their corrupt practices. Even though Singh was one of the ardent supporters of The Emergency imposed by Mrs Gandhi, he later opined that she did great harm to the country.
Singh also opposed Indira Gandhi’s move to let the Indian Army enter the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Singh was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974, however, he returned the award in 1984 in protest against Operation Blue Star in which the Indian Army raided the Golden Temple in Amritsar to eliminate the Khalistani terrorists.
‘Rajiv Gandhi was not a leader. He was not cut out for politics’: Khushwant Singh
Similarly, Singh had a dim view of Indira Gandhi’s elder son Rajiv Gandhi as well. While Singh was in the thrall of the younger and impatient Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv, the elder of the two Gandhi brothers, failed to impress Singh. In his book ‘Absolute Khushwant’, Singh was unrestrained in criticising Rajiv Gandhi. He said that Rajiv Gandhi was not a leader.
“Rajiv was bullied into a position he wasn’t equipped to handle. He was pleasant enough and had some good ideas, but none of them extraordinary…He wasn’t really a leader. And I don’t think he was cut out for politics,” Khushwant Singh noted in his book.
Singh was also unhappy with Rajiv Gandhi’s role in the Shah Bano case and his handling of the Babri demolition incident. Furthermore, Singh remarked that Rajiv Gandhi followed in his mother’s footsteps and repeated many of the same mistakes.
‘Sonia Gandhi appointed undeserving and incapable people to lead the Congress party’: Khushwant Singh
After initially lauding Sonia Gandhi for refusing to be appointed as the president of the Congress party, Singh’s praises for the Gandhi daughter-in-law gradually vaporised, making way for criticism of her leadership style. In an interview with Deccan Herald in 2004, Singh said that Sonia Gandhi was not a confident leader because she did not allow leaders around her to grow. He accused Gandhi of rewarding undeserving candidates while disparaging the ones who deserved to be rewarded and elevated in the party.
“I don’t think she has allowed other people to grow, which most leaders who are not confident of themselves do. Such people’s worst enemies are the No 2 and No 3. And so they keep them at a distance and belittle them as best as they can. She has done that successfully, so we have no one really coming up. Two or three people – Ambika Soni, who would not win a municipal election and Pranab Mukherjee, who would not win an election from Kolkata for a municipality? – are ruling the roost,” Singh said in the interview.
Khushwant Singh liked Rahul Gandhi
Singh had not been critical of Rahul Gandhi. A younger Rahul Gandhi had once sought an appointment to meet Singh and had spent an hour with him. Writing about Rahul Gandhi, Singh had mentioned that Rahul is ‘more talented’ than his father and he is impressed with the way the young Gandhi dynast is conducting himself.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India refused to pass an order after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh moved the apex court, seeking protection from arrest against a non-bailable warrant in a case registered by the Uttar Pradesh police.
A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against the AAP leader after he had accused the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh of being ‘pro-Thakur’ in a press conference on August 12, 2020. Sanjay Singh had also claimed in his press conference that the BJP had insulted the Dalits by not inviting President Ram Nath Kovind for the ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
Supreme Court refuses to pass any order on #AAP Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Singh’s plea seeking protection from arrest, in connection with FIRs registered against him under various charges, including sedition, in Uttar Pradesh.#SupremeCourt to hear the plea next week. #TV9News
Following multiple FIRs against him, Singh had approached the Supreme Court to quash all the charges or alternatively transfer them outside of the State. He had also filed a separate petition against the order of Allahabad High Court, which refused to quash the charges on January 21 this year. However, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R S Reddy on Tuesday refused to pass any verdict without going through the Allahabad High Court’s order first.
In his writ petition to the Supreme Court, Sanjay Singh’s lawyer Sumeer Sodhi said, “In the said press conference, the petitioner had merely raised certain social issues, namely neglect and apathy of the government towards a certain class of society.” When his lawyers urged the court for relief, the Judges noted that Singh can avail exemption from appearance before the trial court instead. The matter has been adjourned till the following week.
Details of the FIR against Sanjay Singh
A Lucknow-based lawyer, Avinash Tripathi, had filed a complaint with the Hazratganj Police against Singh last year for making derogatory remarks with an intention to disrupt communal harmony.
A case was registered against the AAP leader under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 153 b (assertions prejudicial to national integration), 501 (printing matters which are defamatory) and 505-2 (promoting hatred). Similar cases were registered against him in Sant Kabirnagar, Aligarh, Muzaffarnagar, Lakhimpur Khiri and Greater Noida.
Sanjay Singh had claimed that the FIRs against him were politically motivated. He alleged, “(The cases) are manifestly attended with mala fides and have been maliciously instituted to unleash political vendetta against the petitioner and to harass him…The said FIRs have been filed against the petitioner out of the malice and sheer political vendetta with intent to coerce, harass and intimidate the petitioner as a part of larger ploy to muzzle the opposition leaders, from speaking up against the government of Uttar Pradesh”.
Labelling the cases as,”frivolous, baseless, vexatious”, the AAP leader claimed that 7 FIRs were registered, with the same verbatim, in several districts of the State in about a few hours’ time. He alleged that the cases against him were against the constitutional right of freedom of speech and expression (Article 19). He added that the Yogi government’s main aim is to stop him from campaigning in the 2022 UP polls.
In January of 2021, GST collections rose to an all time high of Rs 1.2 lakh crore. Even more significantly, this is up 8% compared to January of 2020. Note that there was no fear of Covid and no lockdown back in Jan 2020 and therefore no cushion of a low base effect. Despite 2020 being a year of unprecedented global economic disaster, FDI into India rose sharply by 13%. This was not just the highest among all major economies, India was among just two countries to see positive growth in FDI inflows. The other country was of course China, which lagged far behind at 4%, but showed positive growth nevertheless. For this year, the IMF projects India’s GDP growth around 11%, again the highest in the world.
We can always disagree about the extent, but you cannot deny the fact that India has posted a smart economic recovery. By all accounts, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented a bold, reformist budget. Privatization of two public sector banks, FDI limit in insurance hiked to 74%, a massive infra push by means of a Development Finance Institution (DFI) and a “bad bank” to gather up stressed assets and clean up the balance sheets of our banks. The market has cheered it too, going up 7% by the time of writing. Now, markets go up and down, but 7% is definitely an outlier.
As India gets on the road to recovery and reform, here is just a small reminder of how the great liberal intellectuals of India wanted to tackle the Covid situation. Who remembers how liberals wanted to use this opportunity to impose a 1930s style Stalinist collectivization on the Indian economy?
Read point no. 7.1: They wanted to treat *all resources* (cash, real estate, property, bonds, etc) with citizens or within the borders of the country as “national resources.”
Chilling. Absolutely chilling. Do you remember who came up with this?
Those who endorsed this ‘Mission Jai Hind’
What a star cast! Those are some of the most “brilliant” economists in the world, who have worked at places from JNU to NYU to the London School of Economics. On any average day, you can find media liberals demanding that we pay homage to these experts and their supposed expertise.
Then, there was an outcry. You and I may have only studied at Whatsapp University. You and I were never “Associate Professor of Journalism” at Harvard. But when we heard that the big experts want the state to take away our cash, property, real estate everything (however little we may have), we protested.
We said NO! Comrade Stalin, go back! Not here. Not today.
One by one, the experts backed out. Apparently, there was some confusion. Some said stuff like they didn’t get to see the proposal or did not mean it that way. The great Yogendra Yadav backtracked too. He explained they were just talking about raising taxes. I suppose it was too hard to use the three letter word “tax” in a sentence.
This entire proposal was barely the length of a high school essay. Even if you give them the benefit of doubt, you have to accept that a bunch of the world’s leading economists could not compose one single page properly on a subject of their own expertise. And media says we should bow down before these experts?
Better go to Whatsapp university and learn how to compose tweets at least. What use is the London School of Economics if you cannot write even a coherent one page proposal on economic policy?
By the way, the government did not raise any taxes in the Budget yesterday. Let alone nationalize people’s property and cash, they have decided to privatize public sector banks. And India is still recovering sharply. In other words, folks like Yogendra Yadav did not know the way forward. What a surprise!
This was by no means the only time when liberals suggested using the pandemic to turn India into a nation of 1930s Soviet style collective farms. Have you seen this opinion piece in The Wire?
The Wire’s hot take on economics
Turning businesses into trusts working as non-profits? Yes, it is exactly as terrifying as it sounds.
“All private companies could be converted to trusts with a board of trustees replacing the board of directors and a managing trustee replacing the owner.Everybody working for the company could be paid salaries decent enough for survival. “
It gets worse. They event wanted to set a maximum salary limit for individuals.
“If the minimum daily wages under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is Rs. 202 in UP, then the maximum salary anybody should draw in government or private sector in UP should not exceed Rs. 2020 per day or Rs. 60,600 in a month.“
A salary limit of Rs 60,600 per month for any person. And what happens to profits?
“Any profit above total expenditure of private companies for the next three years should go to the government treasury and the government could waive income tax for this duration. “
Can you imagine what would happen if the government actually tried to seize the profits of all private companies. Investors would flee India immediately. The stock market would collapse in half a second, turning everyone into a pauper. Whoever had any capital would try to escape and would never come back.
Ah, but I’m almost sure the authors of this brilliant proposal have factored that in. I suppose they would want the policy implemented by surprise, putting capital controls. In an instant, I guess the workers would seize the “means of production.” And the kulaks — counter-revolutionaries trying to protect their cash, assets, homes, chickens, anything .. would have to be rounded up and arrested. Did I guess correctly?
Who are the authors of this proposal, by the way? Apparently, they are “Lucknow based activists” Arundhati Dhuru and Sandeep Pandey. Could this be the same Sandeep Pandey who received a Ramon Magsasay award in 2002? I have no idea.
What I do know is that I am glad that India is run by the elected government of Narendra Modi and not by left wing experts like these. Are you?
In a startling incident, about 30 ancient idols have been stolen from a Digambar Jain temple at Ghat Ki Guni area in Jaipur in Rajasthan, reportedThe Times of India.
As per reports, the incident took place on Monday during which burglars broke into the Parshavnath Bohara Ji temple premises and locked the room where the priest was sleeping. They then stole ₹65,000 cash, silver items and took away the idols that are said to be about 500-years-old. The priests of the temple have now registered a complaint with the police.
On learning about the incident, the temple’s working committee members rushed to the crime scene along with the police. They also demanded immediate arrest of the culprits and requested the Rajasthan government to protect the Jain temples in the State.
A police officer informed, “At least 30 idols which included some made up of ashtadhatu (eight metals) were stolen. Some of these idols are nearly 500 years old. We visited the spot and took the statements of priests and others.” Another officer said that a preliminary probe indicated the hand of an organised gang in the incident. The cops are also probing the CCTV camera footage to establish the escape route of the perpetrators.
22 idols stolen from 800-year-old temple in Odisha
This is not the first time that such an incident has come to light. In December last year, around 22 antique idols worth crores of rupees have been stolen from a 13th century Shiva temple in Odisha’s Khurda district. Police confirmed that some unidentified miscreants barged into the sanctum sanctorum of the 800-year-old Daksha Prajapati temple in Banpur town of Khurda district in Odisha by breaking open the locks of three doors and fled with the precious idols.
Among the stolen idols were statues of Maa Kanaka Durga, Gopinath Dev, Kaliyugeswar Dev and Chandrasekhar Dev. Some of the idols were made of ashtadhatu (an alloy of gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, tin, iron and mercury).
Hollywood actress Evan Rachel Wood on Monday took to social media to level serious allegations of sexual abuse over the years on rockstar Marilyn Manson. Wood and Manson started dating in 2007. They got engaged in 2010 and broke up after few months. In the past, Wood had said that she is a rape and domestic abuse survivor but did not take any name. However, on February 1, Wood decided to tell the name of the abuser for the first time via an Instagram post.
‘My abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson’
Wood started by naming her abuser as Brian Warner, popularly known by the name Marilyn Manson. She said, “The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson.” Wood claimed that Manson started grooming her when she was a teenager and abused her for years. “I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives,” she added.
Showing solidarity with other victims of Manson, she said, “I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.” Her post brought a storm of similar allegations on the social media platforms, and several others joined in narrating their allegedly horrific experiences with the American singer-songwriter Manson.
‘Many nights, I feared for my safety’ – Ashley Walters
Soon after Woods, other women also came up and spoke up against alleged sexual abuse on hands of Manson. Ashley Walters, who worked for Manson full-time as a personal assistant, alleged that he was violent and often threw heavy objects and glass plates.
She said Manson reached out to her in 2010 for a photoshoot. After about six months, he asked her to join him full time. “He was very skilled at gaslighting his inner circle,” she alleged. Walters further said that Manson was extremely interested in mind control and spy devices to gather information and manipulation.
“Many nights, I feared for my safety or the safety of others. Sometimes I was too scared to tell management everything. Sometimes I was told it was my fault because I wasn’t setting enough boundaries,” she added. Walters ended her professional relationship with Manson a year later, after which she alleged that he continued to harass her and smear her reputation for a long time.
‘I was emotionally abused, terrorized and scarred.’ – Sarah McNeilly
Model Sarah McNeilly alleged that Manson lured her with ‘love bombing.’ She said as he was wooing her, she came to know that he had tortured others.
“I was emotionally abused, terrorized and scarred. I was locked in rooms when I was ‘bad,’ sometimes forced to listen to him entertaining other women,” she added. McNeilly further added that she was not allowed to have male friends.
“I was thrown up against a wall, and he threatened to bash my face in with a baseball bat he was holding for trying to get him to pick out a pair of pants prior to a music video,” she said. She further added that she suffered from mental health issues and PTSD that have affected her personal and professional life.
‘I was tied and raped repeatedly’ – Gabriella
Artist Gabriella who is known as SourGirrrl on Instagram, alleged that Manson repeatedly tied and raped her. She said she met Manson in 2015 when she was 22 and he was 46.
“The first thing that he ever said to me was that he was ‘going to bite me.’ He immediately love-bombed me telling me that he felt like he’d known me for years and I felt similarly.” He invited her to his tour bus in which he offered her cocaine. Then he asked her to take off her clothes and take a shower in front of him, she alleged.
She further said that when she met him the second time, he broke a wine glass and demanded to make a blood pact. “Things went 0 to 100 at full speed. In the beginning stages of a relationship, he worked a kind of magic on me.” Later he invited her to a tour where he would repeatedly tie her and raped her, she alleged. “I sobbed for hours on the floor in the hotel room and when I looked at him, he was smiling,” she added.
‘I have night terrors, PTSD, anxiety, and mostly crippling OCD’ – Ashley Lindsay Morgan
Model Ashley Lindsay Morgan said that she was contacted by Manson while she was modelling overseas in Bangkok in 2009-10.
“He seemed intelligent, authentic and caring. After a long time of talking and texting, he flew me out of Los Angeles to be a part of a film and photo series,” she said. Morgan said that he was like many musicians she had met but with cocaine and absinthe. She went from the Roosevelt Hotel to living with him, after which things went south quickly.
Morgan said she was given rules, and she got “in trouble” for any behaviour he did not approve of. “There was abuse, sexual violence, physical violence and coercion. I still feel the affects every day. I have night terrors, PTSD, anxiety, and mostly crippling OCD,” she said. She further added that there is much more that had happened, and she does not want him to do it to anyone else.
‘He would go from charming to complete monster behaviour’ – Scarlett Kapella
Stripper model and photographer Scarlett Kapella said that Manson pursued her in 2011 in Mexico City.
Source: Scarlett’s Instagram Stories
“He would go from charming & loving to complete monster behaviour, subjecting me to emotional, physical and sexual abuse,” she said. Kapella further alleged that Manson would control when she was allowed to speak and what outfits and colour lipstick she could wear.
‘A mentally & physically abusive drug addict’ – Dan Cleary
Dan Cleary, guitarist and radio co-host, wrote a long thread on Twitter in September 2020 in which he narrated what had happened with Wood when he had worked for Manson in 2007-08. He alleged that Manson turned Wood into a different person in just one year. In 2014-15 he saw how Manson abused his-then girlfriend, Lindsey. “He would threaten to kill her, cut her up, bury her, embarrass her to the world. Making her cry & fear him made him feel good,” Cleary wrote.
He is a brilliant musician, an incredibly smart & funny man. But he’s also a mentally & physically abusive drug addict that has the ability to be super kind & emotional. It’s hard to wrap your head around. I’m not asking for him to be “canceled”, fuck ALL that cancel stuff.
Cleary further said that Manson is a brilliant musician, an incredibly smart & funny man.
He would threaten to kill her, cut her up, bury her, embarrass her to the world. Making her cry & fear him made him feel good. He would remind her that she’d be homeless without him and make fun of her learning disabled family member.
“But he’s also a mentally & physically abusive drug addict that has the ability to be super kind & emotional. It’s hard to wrap your head around,” he added.
Marilyn Manson fantasized about smashing Wood’s head with a sledgehammer
Though Manson’s representatives have not replied to any of the allegations made against Manson, they had previously said that there are numerous articles in which Evan Rachel Wood had spoken very positively about her relationship with Manson. They said, “Unfortunately, we live in a time where people believe what they read on the internet, and feel free to say what they want with no actual evidence. The effects can be catastrophic and promoting non-fact-based information is wholly irresponsible.”
In 2019, when Wood’s Phoenix Act was passed and came into effect in January 2020, she testified to Congress that her abuser had hidden drug and alcohol addiction from her. She alleged that his addiction resulted in wrecking her home, cornering her in a room and threatening her. At that time, Manson’s representative denied replying to the allegations stating it would be “inappropriate to comment” on personal testimony.
In a 2009 interview with Spin, when Manson was asked about his relationship with Wood, he said that he had fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer. Mentioning his song “I Want to Kill You Like They Do in The Movies,” Manson had said that the song was about his fantasies. He added, “I have fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.”
Following the allegations, Manson has been officially dropped from his record label and wo television appearances. Denying the allegations, he claimed that they are ‘horrible distortion of reality’.
