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TMC falling like a house of cards: MLA Dipak Haldar resigns from party, says ‘not allowed to work’

OpIndia Staff
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TMC falling like a house of cards: MLA Dipak Haldar resigns from party, says ‘not allowed to work’

The political turmoil within the Trinamool Congress, triggered by the resignation of former state minister and a close associate of Mamata Banerjee, Suvendu Adhikari, in the month of December, ceases to end. Amidst a string of resignations, two-time MLA from Diamond Harbour Dipak Haldar also resigned from the party on Monday.

According to a local news report, Haldar has resigned from all the posts of the party. He had sent his letter of resignation to the party office by Speedpost. Haldar’s resignation letter reached the party headquarters, Trinamool Bhavan in Topsia, Kolkata on Monday afternoon.

“I am a two-time MLA. But, since 2017, I am not allowed to work properly for the masses. Despite informing the leadership, no action was taken to improve the situation. I am not informed about any party programme. I am answerable to the people of my constituency and supporters. So I have decided to quit the party. I will send my resignation to the district and state president soon,” the TMC MLA said.

Though Dipak Haldar has been tight-lipped, reports have it that he may join the BJP in Baruipur on Tuesday. 

Dipak Haldar has joined the likes of former Forest Minister of West Bengal Rajib Banerjee, Trinamool MLA from Bali, Baishali Dalmiya, Uttarpara MLA Prabir Ghoshal, Howrah mayor Rathin Chakraborty, and former MLA and five-term civic chief of Ranaghat Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, who were flown in to join the BJP yesterday.

Prior to this, six MLAs of the TMC along with former party stalwart Suvendu Adhikari had also defected to the BJP in less than 72 hours. On January 5, West Bengal Minister of State for Youth Services and Sports Laxmi Ratan Shukla had resigned from his post. He will, however, continue as an MLA.

All in all, 17 MLAs of the Trinamool Congress and one TMC MP have crossed over to the BJP in recent times.

Before putting down his papers, Dipak Haldar lashed out at Mamata Banerjee government for not allowing him to work for the public. “I am a two-time MLA. But, since 2017, I am not allowed to work properly for the masses. Despite informing the leadership, no action was taken to improve the situation. I am not informed about any party programme. I am answerable to the people of my constituency and supporters. So I have decided to quit the party. I will send my resignation to the district and state president soon,” he said.

According to reports, for the last few months, Haldar had been miffed with the party leadership and had been speaking against it.

In 2015, Dipak Haldar was suspended from the party after he was arrested for his alleged involvement in a clash between rival factions of the party’s students’ front in a district’s college. Later he was out on bail and was reinstated in the party.

With the West Bengal Assembly elections round the corner, it would now be interesting to see how Mamata Banerjee deals with this mass exodus from her party.

Here’s how Shekhar Gupta twisted meaning of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ to mislead people on Modi Govt’s policy

Jinit Jain
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Here’s how Shekhar Gupta twisted meaning of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ to mislead people on Modi Govt’s policy

The Print founder Shekhar Gupta today took to Twitter to rant against FM Nirmala Sitharaman’s comment on restoring India to her former glory of a major trading hub through the agency of atmanirbhar Bharat.

“Intrigued by reference to ancient India as ‘atmanirbhar.’ At its peak in ancient & even medieval history, India was a major trading power. It was far from self-insulated or import-protected,” Gupta tweeted.

Source: Twitter

Gupta’s tweet came in response to Ms Sitharaman’s reference to atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) in her speech while presenting the Union Budget 2021.

Sitharaman laid the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat saying, “AtmaNirbharta is not a new idea. Ancient India was largely self-reliant, and equally, a business epicentre of the world. AtmaNirbhar Bharat is an expression of 130 crore Indians who have full confidence in their capabilities and skills.”

However, FM Nirmala Sitharaman’s remarks promising to strive towards building a self-reliant country did not sit well with the former President of the Editors Guild of India, who perverted the meaning of atmanirbhar (self-reliant) to fulminate against the policy outlined by PM Modi in the wake of coronavirus-induced lockdowns that had severely crippled the global supply chains.

Shekhar Gupta, in his tweet, perversely likened the concept of atmanirbhar (self-reliance) to that of self-insulated and import-protected. He commented that even at its peak in ancient and medieval times, India was a major trading hub and was nowhere near self-insulated or import-protected.

While there is a grain of truth in Shekhar’s assertion that India was a major trade centre in the past, his conflation of self-reliance with self-insulated and protectionism is grossly incorrect and profoundly misleading. Self-reliance, by no means, can be equated to being insulated and protected from the external dynamics. In fact, it means scaling indigenous capacities to cater to the rising global demands while simultaneously reducing dependence on others.

By comparing self-reliance to self-insulated and import-protected, Gupta is deviously attaching a negative connotation to the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The conflation of two seemingly disconnected concepts of self-reliance and isolationism is yet another attempt by Gupta to peddle anti-Modi government propaganda by raising aspersions on the policies formulated by the Centre.

Atmanirbhar Bharat, a policy aimed to integrate India with the global economy

The policy of Atmanirbhar Bharat as laid out by PM Modi is aimed to make India into a bigger and more important part of the global economy, a far cry from what Gupta has contended in his tweet.

Atmanirbhar Bharat doesn’t mean ‘self-containment’, ‘self-insulation’ or ‘protectionism’ as alleged by Shekhar Gupta. The focus of the initiative is to help further integrate India in the global value chain, including through trade, investment and technology.

In fact, self-reliance is one of the key drivers in turning a country into a major trade hub. Self-reliance reduces the country’s dependence on others by expanding its capabilities and therefore better safeguard itself from extrinsic factors. A self-reliant country has the power, confidence and resources to transform itself into a robust business centre.

A country well-integrated into the global economy is better positioned to provide a competitive and stable business environment. It is also well-equipped to absorb the arbitrary shocks and undercut the vicissitudes of fragile global supply chains. These are precisely the reasons why ancient and medieval India thrived as bustling trade hubs.

India was the fulcrum of the global trade for much of the ancient and medieval period until Britishers came and pillaged the country to satiate their rapacious greed. It is in this context, that FM Nirmala Sitharaman referred to ancient India as ‘atmanirbhar’.

Christian priest and lover thrash woman who caught them in a compromising situation: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Christian priest and lover thrash woman who caught them in a compromising situation: Report

A woman was brutally attacked in Tamil Nadu by a Christian pastor and a woman after she caught them in a compromising position, The Commune Mag has reported.

According to the report, Joseph Isidore, a Christian pastor from Kanyakumari district, administers an orphanage and old age home named Hermine’s Home for the Destitute in Rosmiyapuram, near Panakudi in Tirunelveli district. More than 30 destitute children and elderly stay in the orphanage.

A lady identified as Rajammal, who hails from Mudumottanmozhi Kovil Street near Thisayanvilai, worked as a cook there for several years.

There were rumours that pastor Joseph was having an affair with Jayalakshmi, an employee who worked at the same facility. It is said that Joseph and Jayalakshmi were spending their time together on January 25, and Rajammal accidentally walked into the room and saw them. Pastor Joseph and Jaya Lakshmi, who were shocked, picked up an argument and attacked Rajammal. The injured cook was admitted to Radhapuram Government Hospital.

Reportedly, Shiva Perumal, the Sub Inspector of Radhapuram was aware of the affair between the pastor and the lady. He reached the hospital and interrogated the injured Rajammal who then described the circumstances in which she was attacked.

Rajammal also said that she did not reveal the incident due to poverty and a lack of support. Pastor Joseph Isidore and Jaya Lakshmi are are now being prosecuted on the basis of the complaint given by Rajammal.

The Commune Mag noted that the above case is similar to the famous Sister Abhaya case in Kerala. The case pertains to the horrific killing of Sister Abhaya by Father Thomas Kottoor, Father Jose Puthrikkayl and a nun Sister Sephy after she had found them in a ‘compromising position’ on the morning of March 27, 1992. 

‘Pedophile’, ‘Devil’: Khalistanis in California oppose reinstallation of vandalised Gandhi statue, hurl obscene abuses at protesting Indian Americans

OpIndia Staff
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‘Pedophile’, ‘Devil’: Khalistanis in California oppose reinstallation of vandalised Gandhi statue, hurl obscene abuses at protesting Indian Americans

A state of Mahatama Gandhi was vandalized recently in Davis, California by unknown miscreants. The photographs of the vandalism was shared on social media by the California Sikh Youth Alliance. The pro-Khalistan organization also distributed sweets to celebrate the hoisting of the Sikh flag at the Red Fort.

Indian American protesters had gathered at the spot of the Gandhi statue on Sunday to register their protest against the wanton act of vandalism. However, they were met with counter-protesters from 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.

Suhag A. Shukla, Executive Director of the Hindu American Foundation, said that the anti-statue protesters hurled obscene abuses and invaded people’s personal space. The Police had to get involved.

The counter-protesters also called Mahatma Gandhi a ‘rapist’ and a ‘sex offender’ and celebrated the act of vandalism.

The anti-statue protesters demonstrated with a poster which described Mahatma Gandhi as a ‘Devil’ and called him anti-Black and accused him of harbouring ‘Nazi-love’. “It is absolutely unfair to have such a questionable figure planted in parks,” one Dr. Prabhjot Singh told the media. “We’re talking about a pedophile statue.”

The City of Davis had earlier condemned the vandalism of the Mahatma Gandhi statue. The Indian Embassy had also sought strong action regarding the same.

Book My Show shares hilarious meme on Rahul Gandhi, deletes tweet despite praise from netizens: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Book My Show shares hilarious meme on Rahul Gandhi, deletes tweet despite praise from netizens: Details

Book My Show, one of the biggest ticketing portals in India, has withdrawn a tweet where it joked about the expression former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had on his face while Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget for the financial year 2021-22.

The funny photograph had become a meme on social media and Book My Show had shared the same image in response to a question it had asked its followers on Twitter. The question went, “If Monday morning had a face, how would it be?” The ticketing portal has deleted its tweet since then.

Book My Show had made shared a funny photograph of Rahul Gandhi

It is not clear precisely why Book My Show has chosen to delete its tweet although it could very well be that it hose to do so in order to avoid political persecution. The ticketing platform has not provided any clarification on why it has decided to delete its tweet.

People on social media are now questioning whether it was merely a PR stunt.

Some were already expecting them to delete the tweet.

People are evidently not happy with the fact that they chose to delete the tweet.

Some had also speculated that Book My Show would be boycotted by Congress supporters following the tweet. The platform had earned great appreciation from social media for its humour, however, the opinions turned negative after the tweet was deleted.

After UP Police declares him as history-sheeter, Opposition leaders, ‘liberals’ rally behind Dr Kafeel Khan

OpIndia Staff
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After UP Police declares him as history-sheeter, Opposition leaders, ‘liberals’ rally behind Dr Kafeel Khan

Yesterday, Uttar Pradesh Police opened a history-sheet of 81 people in Gorakhpur district and Dr Kafeel Khan, who was named as the main accused of involvement in the deaths of several children in BRD Medical College in 2017, was amongst the top ten named in the list.

The inclusion of Dr Kafeel Khan’s name in the history-sheeter list has, on expected lines, ruffled the feathers of many Opposition leaders and their loyal journalists, who took to the micro-blogging site to pontificate as to why the Yogi Government’s decision was wrong.

Showering praises at the ‘doctor’, a member of the Rajya Sabha and also the spokesperson of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Manoj Kumar Jha also Tweeted “A people’s doctor who reaches with a helping hand anywhere/everywhere is being called a history Sheeter. Shame! Shame!”

Congress mouthpiece National Herald columnist Sanjukta Basu, too weighed in on the issue, calling it Yogi Adityanath’s personal egoistic battle against Dr Kafeel Khan.

Purveyor of fake news, Abhisar Sharma, too lamented about Khan being targeted by Yogi Government.

Tweeting in Hindi, Aam Aadmi Party supporter Vijay Fulara called the action taken against Dr Kafeel Khan a “political conspiracy”.

Vijay Fulara was not alone. There were other AAP supporters who jumped on to the bandwagon.

And when it comes to speaking against the BJP government, Congress loyalists cannot be left far behind. They too weighed in, calling it UP Govt’s “vendetta”.

Other Opposition party members including that of Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal were also irked by Yogi Government’s decision to implicate Dr Kafeel Khan.

Dr Kafeel Khan was suspended after allegations of medical negligence was levelled against him in 2017 after 72 infants had died in BRD medical college in Gorakhpur due to lack of oxygen supply, and was arrested on that charge. Two years later, after a probe by UP police, the charges of negligence and corruption were dropped, but he was still charged with running a private practice and two other accusations. He was released in 2018 after spending 9 months in jail, and he still continues to be suspended from his job.

In January 2020, he was arrested for his speech at Aligarh Muslim University on December 10, 2019, during anti-CAA protests. He had allegedly remarked against Home Minister Amit Shah that he was a murderer whose clothes are foul with blood. He had also said that the CAA made Muslims second class citizens. He alleged that the students in the RSS run schools are taught that people with beard are terrorists and that with the CAA the government has told us that India was not our country. Khan had urged people to fight for their existence.

He was later booked under National Security Act. In September 2020, Allahabad High Court quashed his detention and ordered immediate release.

After Khalistanis, left-wing terror groups extend their support to ‘farmer’ protests

OpIndia Staff
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After Khalistanis, left-wing terror groups extend their support to ‘farmer’ protests

After Khalistani supporters hijacked the ‘farmer’ protests to unleash massive violence on the streets of the national capital, the left-wing terrorists have now extended their support to the so-called ‘farmers’ protest.

According to the reports, the banned CPI (Maoist) has come forward to extend their support to the ongoing ‘farmer’ protest days after rioters disguised as ‘farmers’ carried out large scale violence in Delhi and stormed the Red Fort to desecrate the national flag on Republic Day.

Three different outfits of the Maoists have now issued a joint statement claiming that they are supporting ‘farmers’ and appealed to them to continue the protests outside the national capital to protest against the three farm laws passed by the Modi government.

The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a terrorist organization that is outlawed in the country, which aims to overthrow the government of India through peoples’ war.

Maoists blame the government for Republic Day riots

Abhay, the spokesperson of the Central Committee of CPI (Maoist), claimed that the ‘farmers’ agitation in Delhi and across the country reminds the opposition to the Rowlatt Act of British India. He also claimed that the central government is showing its stubborn attitude towards the plea of farmers.

The outlawed organizations attempted to whitewash rioters’ crimes by claiming that the Republic Day tractor rally that culminated in large scale violence injuring more than 300 policemen as “peaceful”. The left-wing terror outfits held the union government responsible for the Republic Day riots.

Image Source: Ejaz Kaiser @KaiserEjaz

Ranita Hichami, head of Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sanghathan Dandakaranya and Vijay Markam of Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan also demanded withdrawal of the farms laws claiming that ‘laws would favour the corporate companies’.

Resorting to fearmongering, the Maoists claimed that not just the farmers but around 80 per cent of the country’s population would be affected by the three new agriculture laws.

Protesters resort to violence, vandalism, and destruction amidst Tractor Rally

Thousands of farmers breached barricades and proceeded towards Delhi amid huge police presence as they kicked off their tractor rally on Republic Day. Chaos was unleashed on the streets leading to the national capital as farmers flouted the designated route and marched towards the Parliament and Red Fort.

The participants of the tractor rally also resorted to vandalism as they ran amok on the highways, attacking the trucks and breaking the barricades that were put up by the Delhi police to control their route. As disorder swept over the city’s borders, protesters were baton-charged and tear-gassed by the policemen on duty.

The upheaval was primarily caused after the protesters who were allowed to hold the “Kisaan Parade” between 12 to 5 PM, started the march much before the allotted time and veered away from the agreed-upon routes. The security personnel had tried in vain to convince the farmers to stick to the plan of holding the tractor parade after the conclusion of the Republic Day parade at Rajpath. But, their requests fell on deaf ears as the protesters ran riot, breaking barricades and vandalising vehicles on their way.

Prior approval now necessary for government-funded organisations wanting to host online international seminars

OpIndia Staff
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Prior approval now necessary for government-funded organisations wanting to host online international seminars

The central government has passed a new directive, making it mandatory for academicians, professors, scientists and doctors from public-funded universities and institutes to seek prior approval from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for hosting virtual international seminars that are centred around India’s ‘internal matters’. 

Revised guidelines for holding online seminars issued by Ministry of Education

Besides, the names of all participants in such seminars will have to be approved in advance by the government. According to the new directive, an administrative secretary’s approval will be necessary for government officials/scientists/doctors participating in virtual international conferences. 

The circular issued by the Ministry of Education, cites all events related to security of state, border, J&K issues, which are clearly related to India’s internal matters, or sensitive in nature and belonging to political, scientific, technical, commercial or personal fields with provisions of sharing data will need MEA’s permission. 

Revised guidelines for holding online seminars issued by Ministry of Education

The notification also asked the institutes to share link to the online event while seeking approval out after getting approval for the seminars. The guidelines asks organisations to share details by email at [email protected], adding that this also applies to webinars and programmes having foreign funding or sponsorship. 

It is pertinent to note that online seminars and conferences has lately been a propaganda instrument for anti-India forces, who participate in the online programmes with the express purpose of undermining India by peddling lies and falsehoods against the country and the government.

Govt advises against using platforms and apps “hostile to India”

The ministry’s circular, dated January 15, was grounded in an earlier directive issued by the MEA on 25 November 2020. It has also advised institutions against using platforms and applications controlled and owned by countries or organisations inimical to India.

Seeking permission to participate in online seminars akin to applying for conference visas

Traditionally, prior approval has been required by the Home Ministry or MEA for a small set of seminars and international conferences organised in India, particularly those which involve foreign participants coming to the country on conference visa. 

Events that see participation from guests from Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and China are watched over closely. 

The revised guidelines extend the rules to online seminars and conferences that don’t involve foreigners entering India physically. This is akin to creating a visa system for online participation of people belonging to other countries in seminars and conferences organised on digital platforms. 

Participation of state ministers and govt officials

The new guidelines also provide a provision for state government ministers and government officials, doctors, scientists of the rank of JS and above, who wish to take part in any online international conferences and seminars. For such officials, they need to first seek approval from the MEA for participating in such online events.

‘Liberals’ try to ‘scare’ Yogi govt with US pressure over American citizen Siddharth Varadarajan

Nirwa Mehta
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‘Liberals’ try to ‘scare’ Yogi govt with US pressure over American citizen Siddharth Varadarajan

Within hours after the Rampur administration warned The Wire Editor Siddharth Varadarajan for spreading fake news on the death of the rioter during Tractor Rally violence, ‘liberals’ activated their network and sent out feelers to the higher ups in Yogi government to urge them to desist from taking any action against Varadarajan.

OpIndia has learnt that the UP government officials were ‘warned’ that if action is taken against Varadarajan, the US government may get involved too since he is a US citizen. This, especially when most advisors in the Biden administration are leftists.

No sooner the FIR was registered against Varadarajan for fake news, the usual suspects were out of their burrows to cry foul.

Columnist with Wall Street Journal Sadanand Dhume called India a ‘fast becoming international joke’ for actually taking action against someone spreading fake news.

Conceited journalist Aatish Taseer, whose Pakistani father was killed for opposing blasphemy, tagged US Vice President Kamala Harris, nudging her to not be friends with India.

Last time also, ‘journalists’ who work for foreign media had gone to lengths had raised a storm in international publications when action was initiated against Varadarajan for wrongly attributing a quote to UP CM Yogi Adityanath.

Tunku Varadarajan, Siddharth Varadarajan’s brother, painted a dystopian picture through Wall Street Journal.

Others, too, had rallied behind Varadarajan.

And some more.

Varadarajan, in a bid to whitewash the deeds of Tablighi Jamaat, had wrongly attributed a fake quote to the UP CM. Despite warnings from the state government, Varadarajan neither deleted the false article and nor apologised for the same. The Founder-Editor of The Wire took quotes of an expelled mahant and misattributed them to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to whitewash the Tablighi Jamaat superspreaders.

The Wire and hit jobs against Yogi govt

The Yogi administration has also had enough of the hit jobs carried out by the propaganda website against Yogi Adityanath government. In July last year when the notorious gangster Vikas Dubey was killed during a police encounter, The Wire was spinning a completely different yarn. An article published in The Wire insinuated that Yogi Adityanath was ‘casteist’ because in his ‘encounter raj’, a ‘Brahmin’ gangster would never be encountered and killed.

The Wire’s article on Vikas Dubey

The Wire insinuated that most people encountered in the state have been low rung, petty criminals and that none of the most wanted criminals have ever been encountered in the state.

The Wire then takes their propaganda further.

Article by The Wire on Vikas Dubey

The Wire made very clear insinuations here:

  1. The Yogi Adityanath government had no intention of going after Vikas Dubey
  2. The Yogi Adityanath government went only after Muslims and Dalits
  3. The Yogi Adityanath government went after petty criminals, not the ones who were ‘connected’

The very basis of the article by The Wire article on Dubey was that the Yogi government goes only after Muslims and Dalits. However, if the Yogi government had no intention of nabbing Vikas Dubey, the initial raid itself would not have been set up.

Prior to Yogi government, under Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav’s rule, Vikas Dubey ran amuck with impunity and no coercive action against him. When a raid was conducted to nab Dubey, 8 policemen were brutally murdered by Dubey’s men. A manhunt was launched as a result of which, Dubey was nabbed in Madhya Pradesh. When UP Police was bringing him back to UP, he tried to escape and was shot in an encounter.

Further, there have been umpteen instances when The Wire employees have tried to peddle propaganda that could lead to law and order situations. Remember when The Wire’s Arfa Khanum Sherwani advised Muslims protesting against the CAA to appear inclusive ‘as part of strategy‘? This when the Citizenship Amendment Act does not affect Indian Muslims in any way. It only speeds up citizenship process for non-Muslims from three neighbouring Islamic countries who have taken refuge in India because of religious persecution.

Sharjeel Imam, the Shaheen Bagh mastermind, too is a columnist at The Wire. He is currently in jail on sedition charges.

What Yogi govt says

However, any of these ‘soft warnings’ had no effect on the Yogi administration and the police was directed to act accordingly and an FIR was duly filed late on Saturday.

“If the legal requirements need us to arrest, we will arrest him (Siddharth Varadarajan). Yogi govt doesn’t work for Biden but for Indian people. US citizens can go back to their country if they don’t want to follow laws of India,” an official in the CMO told OpIndia, though he said he was not aware of any pressure tactics applied by the ‘liberals’ and activists.

From cheering censorship to ranting against govt action on fake news: Here’s why liberals cannot complain about Twitter accounts being withheld

K Bhattacharjee
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From cheering censorship to ranting against govt action on fake news: Here’s why liberals cannot complain about Twitter accounts being withheld

Around 250 tweets and Twitter accounts were withheld in India after the intervention of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) on Monday. The action was taken after the users trended the #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide hashtag and made fake, intimidating and provocative tweets on Saturday.

As expected, there is great outrage among liberals concerning the decision.

The outrage is quite ironic given the outburst of celebrations that were recently observed on social media following the suspension of the social media accounts of former US President Donald Trump. An ordinary person would expect some semblance of objectivity here but that, unfortunately, is nowhere to be found.

Twitter had banned Donald Trump from its platform not because he incited violence as liberals like to claim. He was actually suspended because Twitter assessed that his tweets could be interpreted by his followers as incitement to violence. There is great difference between the two.

Fast forward to the current situation. There were massive riots on Republic Day, the Red Fort was held at siege. And on Saturday, the accounts which were withheld in India trended the hashtag that claimed that the Indian government was planning a ‘farmer genocide’ in the country.

It is fearmongering of the most atrocious kind that could have devastating consequences and lead to violence. How on earth, then, can liberals claim that such accounts should not have been suspended? Regardless of what they may claim, the only reason they oppose the suspension of such accounts is because they agree with their politics.

Let alone Donald Trump, multiple non-left accounts have been suspended in India for airing contrarian points of view. And liberals cheered for the censorship because they disagreed with the politics advocated by such accounts. Prominent non-left Twitter accounts have also been suspended because they implored the police to enforce law and order and crack down on rioting mobs.

And here, liberals want such Twitter accounts to go unpunished despite pushing a dangerous narrative that has the potential to unleash unparalleled violence at the Delhi border. Indian liberals have continuously advocated that fake news should be punished, legally as well as action by Twitter India.

By any metric, the claim that the Modi Government was planning a ‘farmer genocide’ is as much of a fake news as it gets. It is a million times worse than QAnon or the conspiracy theories peddled by Alex Jones. The Infowars founder was deplatformed by social media giants for much less than that. And liberals have continuously cheered for Big Tech censorship.

In the current scenario, the government has decided to act because it has perceived that such provocative tweets by these accounts could lead to major law and order problems in the country. Consequently, they communicated to Twitter that they must be withheld in India.

Thus, quite clearly, Indian liberals appear to be perfectly comfortable with faceless Silicon Valley employees censoring accounts on the internet. However, they have a problem with the democratically elected government of India taking appropriate measures to maintain law and order.

The current situation is not about freedom of expression at all. Even in the United States of America, the First Amendment does not empower citizens to scream fire in a crowded theater. Similarly, claiming that Narendra Modi was planning a ‘farmer genocide’ in the country days after ‘farmer protesters’ stormed the national capital does not fall within the parameters of freedom of speech.

Liberals will attempt to justify just about anything and it is something that we have come to expect from them. An FIR was registered against Rajdeep Sardesai and The Caravan journalists among others for spreading fake news to incite riots. Liberals somehow managed to turn it into a press freedom issue.

Mandeep Punia, a journalist associated with The Caravan, was detained at Singhu Border for misbehaving with the Police. Liberals turned that into a press freedom issue as well. Quite clearly, they appear to labour under the delusion that people who agree with their politics could never do anything wrong and any legal action against them must be because the ‘evil government’ wants to ‘oppress’ them.

Nevertheless, it is quite hilarious indeed to watch people who justified censorship by tech giants and celebrated it suddenly cry oppression when accounts are being withheld, not even suspended, for tweeting dangerous nonsense that could have catastrophic real life consequences.

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