Home Blog Page 4649

After multiple FIRs against ‘Tandav’, makers of another Amazon Prime web series ‘Mirzapur’ in trouble, SC issues notice

OpIndia Staff
-
0
After multiple FIRs against ‘Tandav’, makers of another Amazon Prime web series ‘Mirzapur’ in trouble, SC issues notice

Amazon Prime Video, the over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon.com is in deep trouble over shows it is streaming in India. After multiple FIRs were vregistered against the recent Amazon Prime web series ‘Tandav‘, another web-show aired on the platform ‘Mirzapur’ has come under the scanner.

The Supreme Court has sent a notice and sought responses from the makers of the web series and the OTT platform, on a plea complaining over the portrayal of Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur district in a bad light.

The petition was filed by one Noida-based lawyer SK Kumar, a resident of the Mirzapur district in Uttar Pradesh. Kumar accused the makers of “maligning the image of Uttar Pradesh”. He said that Mirzapur has been depicted “as a den of terror and illegal activities”.

“Mirzapur has rich cultural value, but in 2018 Excel Entertainment has launched a web series named Mirzapur of 9 episodes in which they have shown Mirzapur a city of goons and adulteresses,” said the plea.

The petitioner also raised strong objection to the distasteful portrayal of women in the web series. The series showed a woman hailing from the district having a sexual relationship with the servant and her father-in-law as well. “By showing such ridicules and shameless things on the name of a city/ district is the insult of approximately 30 lakh population and rich culture of Mirzapur,” added the plea.

The show’s first season was launched on Amazon Prime Video on November 16, 2018. The web series depicts the putrescence and rule of mafia dons, and the rivalry and crime prevailing in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh. Its second season was released in October last year.

The court’s notice came shortly after a first information report (FIR) was registered in Uttar Pradesh against Mirzapur’s producer Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, Bhaumik Gondaliya and Amazon Prime Video for allegedly outraging the religious sentiments, and portraying that a specific community had criminal links.

The FIR, lodged at Mirzapur’s Kotwali Dehat police station on Sunday, was filed after a complaint by local journalist Arvind Chaturvedi.

Arvind Chaturvedi had also accused the makers of the web series of hurting his “religious, social and regional sentiments”, adding that it presented the city of Mirzapur in a poor light. Chaturvedi highlighted that the web series shows abusive content as well as incest and illicit relationships.

Controversy erupts over another Amazon Prime web series Tandav

The petition against Mirzapur comes on the heels of scores of FIRs filed against another Amazon prime web series Tandav which again stirred up objections to the constant attempts by OTT platforms to allow Hinduphobic content.

Over the past few days, FIRs have been filed in Uttar Pradesh’s Luckow and Greater Noida, and another one in Mumbai and one in Bihar against the makers of the web series, which includes director Ali Abbas Zafar, writer Gaurav Solanki and Amazon Prime’s Head of India Originals, Aparna Purohit. They have been accused of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus and spreading caste-based-discrimination.

BJP MP wants action against makers of Mirzapur

Speaking to ANI, BJP Secretary and Lok Sabha MP from Kaushambi in Uttar Pradesh, Vinod Sonkar said that he is happy that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken cognisance of complaints against ‘Tandav’ web series, but also demanded that similar action be taken against the makers of ‘Mirzapur’ for allegedly hurting the sentiments of people belonging to the region.

Web series Mirzapur not new to controversies

This is, however, not the first time Mirzapur web series has been marred with controversies. Even before the second season of the series was launched, a call to boycott the show grew after the lead actors in the web series, Ali Fazal had come out to support the violent anti-CAA protests that had eventually culminated into the horrific anti-Hindu riots in northeast Delhi. 

Alarming disinformation campaign by China spotted across media platforms against its vaccine’s criticism

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Alarming disinformation campaign by China spotted across media platforms against its vaccine’s criticism

Criticize the Chinese vaccine, and its machinery will find a way to discredit you. This is what China seems to be doing right now. Instead of talking about the facts and releasing more information about its vaccine efficacy data, the Chinese companies and state media are trying to twist the information in their favour.

Concentration on the developing world

According to a report in CNN, China has been praised for its decision to focus on the developing countries for the distribution of the Covid vaccine. The decision is in contrast with the western drug makers Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, whose vaccine is being rolled out in the United States. The Chinese companies Sinopharm and Sinovac have produced vaccines that do not require expensive cold storage. The other vaccines developed by western countries require cold storage. All these factors have talked in favour of the Chinese vaccines, but the story is slowly turning on its head.

Insufficient data and mismatch in efficacy reports

Both Sinopharm and Sinovac have repeatedly claimed that their vaccines have over 78% efficacy, which is much higher than what WHO has set (50%) for approval for distribution among the general public. If we go by the numbers stated by these companies, it is higher compared to the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine and second to mRNA-based vaccines developed in the US. Notably, both vaccines need cold storage and difficult to distribute.

However, the efficacy data coming from different regions are raising concerns. As per reports, the last-stage trials of the Sinovac vaccine in Brazil noted that the vaccine’s efficacy is around 50.38% and not 78% as claimed by China. The true efficacy rate is still unclear. Interestingly, Turkey reported an efficacy rate for the same vaccine at 91.25%, and Indonesia reported 65.3%. In its recent statements, Brazil said that the level of efficacy is greater in some cases compared to others.

As a result of the mismatch in numbers and uncertainty over the data available in the public domains, some countries have decided to put the vaccine under review and pause the rollouts. The scientists have urged the company to release more information.

Role of Chinese officials and media in promoting vaccines

China has made its vaccines a matter of national pride. It looks like the country is trying to win back the ‘trust’ world had before it grossly mismanaged the Wuhan virus outbreak back in January 2020. China has been accused of silencing the whistleblowers and punishing those who have said anything against the country related to the Covid-19 spread.

Global Times editor Hu Xijin is using his social media presence to put Chinese vaccines at a higher ground. While blaming Western media in an op-ed, Hu claimed that the major media in Western countries, including the US, are publishing negative information on China-made vaccine. He added, “The press is out to destroy the reputation of the Chinese vaccine, hoping that the world will wait for Pfizer and other American and Western companies to produce surplus vaccines and finally get vaccinated.”

China blamed Western media for downplaying deaths related to the Covid-19 vaccine

Global Times is not talking about the effectiveness of the vaccine while defending but trying to bring down the reputation of the western pharma companies. In a recent editorial, he claimed that the western media is downplaying the deaths in Norway that are allegedly linked to the vaccines. “Those major Western media will immediately hype any unfavorable information about Chinese vaccines and try to amplify their impact on public psychology,” he wrote.

Media houses rushing in linking deaths to vaccination

Ethically, media houses based out of anywhere, including China, the US, India or else, should not rush to report on deaths possibly linking them to vaccines. Some outlets have been criticized for sensationalizing the allergic reactions to vaccines or reporting vaccines related deaths without evidence to link the death to the vaccine.

Allergic reactions to any vaccines happen quite often. All vaccines come with a set of side effects categorized in common and rare, and it may lead to death in case of a severe reaction. However, it does not mean that one should call the vaccine unsafe.

Misleading headlines

Inside, the articles that have sensational headlines linking deaths to vaccines often clarify that the case might be different and the death may not be directly related to the vaccination. However, the headline put a different perspective and unfortunately, people do not read the whole article. It gives a false impression that the Covid-19 vaccines are not safe.

Take the example of the Indian mainstream media. So far, India has immunized over 2.5 lakh people across the country. There have been a very limited number of allergic reactions reported, along with few deaths. While the media houses have jumped to connect death to the vaccine, there was no proof that the shot caused the death of the vaccinated person.

On January 18, several news agencies reported that a 48-year-old ward boy died in Uttar Pradesh after taking the vaccine. However, the autopsy report released by the health department on January 17, a day before media reported it, clearly stated that the death was not linked to the vaccination. He died due to already existing carcinogenic and septicaemic shock due to an existing cardiopulmonary disease.

A similar attempt was made by Congress supporter Saket Gokhle who tried to sensationalize the fact that pregnant women must avoid taking the Covid-19 vaccine claiming the information was not available to the general public before.

Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan shot down his claims and said that the information is available on the ground. He also shared a tweet thread from January 15 in which it was clearly mentioned who should avoid the vaccine.

China has been trying to influence the Indian media. In the last few years, China has been accused of paying foreign journalists, including India, to write positive reports about it. The mainstream media in India has carried propaganda articles to put the Chinese government in a good light. At the same time, they have tried to downplay India’s efforts to block China’s hold on any sector in India, including pharmacy. The recent spike in anti-vaccine content in the mainstream media raises several questions about the intentions of the media outlets in India.

10 months after lockdown started, Lakshadweep reports the first coronavirus case. Details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
10 months after lockdown started, Lakshadweep reports the first coronavirus case. Details

On January 19, the Health Ministry said that the first Covid-19 case in Lakshadweep had been reported, almost a year after the pandemic had hit the country. A team of experts has reached the Union Territory to provide necessary support and assistance in containment activities. The Ministry said that a traveller from Kochi in Kerala had travelled to Lakshadweep on January 4 on a ship. He has been reported as the index case after he was admitted with suggestive symptoms of Covid-19 and tested positive.

So far, 46 primary contacts of the index case have been traced. 31 of them were quarantined, while 14  people have been found positive for the coronavirus and isolated. The Ministry, in a statement, said, “Fifty-six contacts of positive cases detected so far have also been traced and quarantined. The UT Administration has initiated disinfection procedures and intensive risk-communication activity has been operationalised.”

It further added that a central multi-disciplinary team had been sent to Lakshadweep. The team has experts from Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry; National Institute of Virology, Pune; and Regional Office of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

Lakshadweep relaxed mandatory quarantine guidelines two weeks ago

It has to be noted that the first Covid-19 case in Lakshadweep was reported just a few days after the UT revised its Standard Operating Procedures and removed mandatory quarantine guidelines that were arriving on the Island. The Ut administration allowed everyone to visit the Island provided they present a negative RT-PCR report taken 48 hours before travel.

Kerala contributing to 50% of new cases in India

The ‘Kerala Model’ to manage Covid-19 is still struggling to control the increasing number of cases in the state. As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the state has reported 6,815 new cases on January 20, while the total number of new cases in India stood at 15,233. Kerala and Maharashtra are contributing to 61% of the overall cases. 18 deaths were reported in Kerala on Wednesday.

Notably, for months, Kerala’s Covid-19 model was lauded across the country. Media houses praised the CPI(M)-led Kerala government in every possible way while ignoring notable work done by other states like Uttar Pradesh in containing the disease. Even the World Health Organization published a report on Kerala’s Covid management in July.

Those who blamed Modi for market crashes must congratulate him for Sensex at 50,000

Abhishek Banerjee
-
0
Those who blamed Modi for market crashes must congratulate him for Sensex at 50,000

The Bombay Stock Exchange just hit the huge psychological mark of 50,000. Woo hoo!

But fortunes swing wildly on the stock market. Most serious people know that. They know not to get too exuberant when the market is rising. They know how to take it on the chin when there is a crash. On the market, patience and grit usually pay off.

There are mature investors and analysts on one side. And then there are the crazies in the anti-Modi ecosystem. Always rushing to judgement, forever itching to blame anything and everything on Modi. Here is the Indian National Congress, speaking on March 9 last year.

Surjewala when market crashed by almost 2,500 points

In March 2020, the world was facing a truly unprecedented, possibly once in a century situation. Half the world under lockdown already and the rest scrambling to shut everything down. Literally thousands of people dying in America and Europe each day. The world’s richest countries on their knees. What would happen once the pandemic begins to spread across the developing world? What kind of nightmare could India be facing? Nobody knew. No wonder markets in India and around the world were crumbling.

But the Congress party has a bot like response to anything going wrong. Blame Modi.

So what happens now? Will Randeep Surjewala put up another tweet thanking PM Modi for shepherding the stock market out of this panic? Or will it suddenly be all about global factors?

In other words, take your pick and stick to it. If Modi is to blame for market crashes, then he gets all the credit when there is a bull run. It is the only intellectually honest position.

It wasn’t just 2020. Even in 2015, the Congress connected a fall in markets to PM Modi.

Congress blaming PM Modi for market crash in 2015

So when is Congress going to thank PM Modi for bringing Achche Din?

But it wasn’t just Congress. A number of elites had been taking potshots at the Prime Minister whenever markets went south.

All and sundry blaming Modi for stock market crash

Ah! So now that the stock market has decisively changed direction, can we expect to see an article in Scroll thanking PM Modi’s ‘structural reforms’ and praising their impact? Or will it be back to the usual refrain of how the real economy and the stock market are different?

But that was just Scroll.in. I pity them. Here is Bloomberg, which should really have known better.

Bloomberg should’ve known better

Don’t draw profound conclusions from stock market swings. Old lesson. But completely forgotten because of the itch to go after PM Modi. Will Bloomberg take back its sweeping conclusions now? I doubt it.

Then, there was the outright absurd stuff like this.

ET after Namaste Trump event

How about a headline like this: PM Modi’s tweet congratulating President Biden lifts Sensex to 50,000?

That would be an absurd thing to say. But I’m not the one who started this game.

Like the stock market, Modi’s critics also go through cycles. When the going is bad, everything is Modi’s fault. When things are looking good, it is global factors, black magic and almost anything else. If they had any sense, they would realize that Congress party stock is in free fall, with an incompetent CEO and a board of directors that is perpetually out of touch. The only thing that still works over there is the ecosystem of tale bearers rushing back and forth.

Bengal: TMC leaders attack BSF, accuse it of working for BJP’s benefit, BSF hits back

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Bengal: TMC leaders attack BSF, accuse it of working for BJP’s benefit, BSF hits back

Shortly after Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress levelled serious allegations against the Border Security Force, questioning its integrity and ethics, the latter has responded saying that they are an apolitical force and respect all leaders, all parties equally. “Border Security Force (BSF) is an apolitical force. We respect all leaders, all parties. We are mandated to ensure national security”.

The BSF was responding to allegations meted at the force by West Bengal’s Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister and Kolkata’s mayor Firhad Hakim and TMC’s secretary-general Partha Chatterjee.

TMC leaders attack BSF

All India Trinamool Congress leaders Partha Chatterjee, Firhad Hakim, Subrata Bakshi and Subrata Mukherjee had on Thursday met the full bench of Election Commission of India to discuss on the issues related to the upcoming Assembly elections. The TMC leaders stated before the EC that the BSF is threatening people in the border areas of the state to cast their votes in favour of a particular political party.

The TMC leaders reportedly also complained to the EC over the BJP’s claims about illegal immigrants and Rohingya refugees featuring in voters’ list, saying that it is the central government’s fault if it is true.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora had arrived in the state with EC’s full bench on Wednesday evening on a two-day visit ahead of the high voltage 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls.

TMC accuses BSF of working at the behest of BJP

After meeting with Election Commission of India officials, the Kolkata’s mayor Firhad Hakim told the reporters: “We told Election Commission (EC) that the BJP is sending BSF to nearby villages of the border. They are using it to terrorise people so that people vote for them. EC said that they have their own way to cross-check it.”

The controversial mayor of Kolkata-Firhad Hakim

For the uninitiated Firhad Hakim is the same controversial TMC leader who had earlier called a Muslim-dominated area of Kolkata as “Mini-Pakistan.” In order to pacify Muslim rioters, during the anti-CAA riots that had seen extensive vandalism, arson and damage to public properties, Hakim, referring to the rioters as ‘brothers’ claimed such acts by Muslims will ‘help BJP to come to power in Bengal’ and then the Muslims have to ‘keep their heads down’, like they allegedly do in UP. Hakim was also found mocking the brutal murders of the BJP workers in the state.

Meanwhile, Partha Chatterjee told the media, after meeting the ECI delegation, that West Bengal is in a dangerous situation and the ECI must look into it.

Election commission visiting West Bengal to overview preparations for Assembly polls

The state poll panel was meeting representatives of various political parties before holding discussions with officials of central and state regulatory agencies. According to reports, the state poll panel will be holding a review meeting with the divisional commissioners, district election officers and senior police officers soon to discuss the upcoming Assembly polls in the state.

Prior to this the election body had visited WB on December 19th, 2020 and had asked all the DMs and SPs of the state to keep a close watch on the law and order situation in West Bengal and send them daily reports regarding the same. It asked the police authorities to identify the trouble makers so that arrangements could be made to put all of them behind bars once election notification is issued. The EC had specified that they are willing to take all possible steps so that voters can exercise their franchise in the politically sensitive state of West Bengal. 

Has the govt increased interest rate on Kisan Credit Card loan from 7% to 12%

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Has the govt increased interest rate on Kisan Credit Card loan from 7% to 12%

While the Congress has stepped up its the offensive against the Modi government, using obstructionist tactics to malign the much-needed reforms in the agriculture sector, there are a few media houses which are also trying to further slander the government by now spreading false and malicious news regarding loan under the Kisan Credit Card scheme.

Reports have emerged saying that the trouble for the Indian farmers have increased as Modi government has decided that the ones who have taken loan via KCC card will now have to pay interest at 12% per annum instead of 7%. This is, however, untrue. The Press Information Bureau has taken to its official Twitter handle to fact-check the dubious claim.

Sharing the screenshot of the Hindi newspaper clipping which reported that Govt has increased the interest rate for loans against KCC, PIB said that the claim is fake. The Central Government has not made any such announcement regarding increasing the interest rate of KCC loan, the Tweet in Hindi read.

The truth is that the rate of interest for a loan taken by farmers against their KCC remains unvaried. For the loan under the KCC scheme, farmers have to pay simple interest at 7% per annum for a year or up to the repayment due date, whichever is earlier.

In case of non-repayment within the due dates, interest is applied at the card rate. However, if one fails to pay beyond the due date, interest will be compounded half-yearly. However, the repayment period may be fixed as per the anticipated harvesting and marketing period for the crops for which a loan has been granted. 

The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme was launched in 1998 with the aim of providing short-term formal credit to farmers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last year launched a saturation drive for distribution of Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to all the beneficiaries under the PM-KISAN Scheme.

Under this initiative, over 25 lakh beneficiaries of PM Kisan across the country had been provided KCC and over 2,000 bank branches in rural areas had been tasked with providing the KCC to farmers.

Union government decides to conduct periodic performance reviews of Jamia faculty, teachers take offence

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Union government decides to conduct periodic performance reviews of Jamia faculty, teachers take offence

In a significant decision, the Union government has decided to subject the teachers at Jamia Millia Islamia University for a “periodic review” of performances to determine whether their employment should continue or if they should be retired ‘prematurely’.

According to the reports, following a Union government notification, the Jamia authorities have issued an order to subject the teachers for a periodic review of their performance under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972.

However, the order by the university authorities has not gone well within the Jamia Teachers’ Association, who have now criticised the notification saying that the CCS Rules did not apply to university teachers and demanded that the order be withdrawn.

Jamia Teachers’ Association opposes the order, demands its withdrawal

The notification was sent to all deans of faculties, heads of departments, directors of centres and all senior administrative officials including chief proctor, dean of students’ welfare, and controller of examinations.

The JTA had also called a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the order. After the meeting, the JTA secretary Mohammad Irfan Qureshi said that the entire JTA EC believed that Jamia Millia Islamia University (a central university) is an autonomous body where CCS rule cannot be implemented. He added that JTA demanded the Registrar, JMI to withdraw the said impugned office order with immediate effect.

Echoing similar sentiments, Registrar Nazim Husain Al-Jafri said, “A government notification had come in this regard, so we issued it. We haven’t scheduled anything (review) right now. But CCS Rules can be adopted by universities if they want. I’m not aware of the teachers’ association position. This is our internal matter.”

Jamia Milia Islamia – a university clouded by controversies

A few weeks earlier, Jamia Millia University had stoked another controversy after it had arbitrarily terminated 23 employees belonging to the Valmiki community.

A video of sanitation workers from Jamia had gone viral on social media platforms. One of the terminated employees identified as Rajesh Kumar Valmiki made a heart-wrenching appeal against Jamia’s administration’s decision to terminate 23 Sanitation workers’ employment.

Rajesh Kumar Valmiki had said that 23 Sanitation Workers had been removed from their posts by the Jamia authorities. He had alleged that the authorities have told that they have got orders from Ministry of Human Resources (HRD) to remove 23 out of 132 sanitation workers.

This is not the first time Jamia has found itself deep in controversies. The foundation of Jamia Milia Islamia was laid by Maulana Mahmud Hasan. One of its founders was Mohammad Ali Jauhar who dreamed of Hindustan Darul Islam and had opposed Vande Mataram in 1923. During the anti-CAA protests, Jamia students were allegedly involved in demonstrations and violence.

Alibaba stocks soar eight per cent after Jack Ma makes his first public appearance since October

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Alibaba stocks soar eight per cent after Jack Ma makes his first public appearance since October

Shares of internet giant Alibaba jumped Wednesday as billionaire Jack Ma was seen in public for the first time in three months after he went mysteriously missing in October 2020 after criticising Chinese government.

According to the reports, Alibaba stocks soared more than eight per cent on Wednesday. There was massive speculation about his whereabouts after the Chinese billionaire, with a fortune estimated at around $58 billion, had disappeared from the public after criticising the government and President Xi Jinping.

Shortly, after his appearance, Alibaba’s share picked up the price and soared 8.5 percent to HK$265.00 in Hong Kong.

According to Bloomberg’s analysis, after Alibaba’s market cap jumped by $58 billion, 5.5 per cent, closing at 265.49 on the New York Stock Exchange. China’s JD.com (JD), Tencent Holdings (TCEHY), Pinduoduo (PDD), and Baidu (BIDU) were also impacted by Ma’s reappearance. JD.com leaped 4.6 per cent to 95.31, another firm Baidu climbed only 4.2 per cent to 260.90.

Shares of Tencent Holdings Ltd climbed to 2.5% to 88.07 and Pinduoduo’s went up to 1.3 per cent to 170.96. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong trended the highest ever since April 2019, and Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index reached its highest level in three years. China’s Ministry of Commerce reported online retail sales value of goods jumped 14.8 per cent to $1.5 trillion. 

On Wednesday, Chinese state media Global Times released a video wherein Jack Ma made a stunning reappearance.

As per Global Times’ claims, the Alibaba founder showed up at a rural teacher-themed social welfare event via video. The Chinese government mouthpiece claimed that Jack Ma had attended the Jack Ma Rural Teachers Award ceremony, an annual event launched by the Jack Ma Foundation in 2015.

Jack Ma address public, praises China’s poverty alleviation efforts and China’s ‘leadership’

As per the report, Ma addressed 100 rural teachers across China and said he would meet them once the Chinese coronavirus pandemic was over.

In the speech, Ma praised China’s poverty alleviation efforts, a central target of the Communist leadership, and vowed to dedicate more efforts towards helping rural teachers. “My colleagues and I… are even more determined to devote ourselves to education and public welfare,” he said,

A spokesperson for the Jack Ma Foundation, said that Ma had participated in the online ceremony of the annual Rural Teacher Initiative event. The Alibaba group and Ant have reportedly reassured the Chinese authorities of positive co-operative relating to Chinese regulations.

Jack Ma mysteriously disappeared soon after criticising Chinese govt

The business tycoon had been mysteriously missing after he made disparaging statements against Communist-ruled China’s government and was reported off the radar by several Chinese run media outlets.

Ma had gone on a tirade against China’s current banking system, the financial regulatory structure of the Communist-ruled country and how it was unsuitable for his fintech giant, Ant group. Ma’s critical remarks for the Communist regime, which demands nothing more than complete and utter obedience, terminated the planned IPO of his fintech giant, Ant Group, on November 3, just two days before it was scheduled to begin trading.

Days after his unflattering opinion of the Chinese authorities, Ma was summoned to a meeting with Communist Party officials. His other venture, Alibaba is also under investigation for monopolistic behaviour, as per a statement released by the Chinese Communist Party’s market supervision arm.

Ma’s disappearance from the public sphere is a part of a bigger design by the CCP to exact compliance and loyalty from individuals who hold great sway in shaping public opinion. It is apposite to note that Jack Ma is not the first high-profile man to have disappeared out of a thin air.

China, under President Xi Jinping, has been ruthless against its critics and has unleashed a drive to arrest all the dissidents of the regime. In March a property tycoon had disappeared after he called President Xi Jinping a ‘clown’ for his handling of the coronavirus crisis. Ren Zhiqiang a billionaire financier, was sentenced to 18 years in prison after he ‘voluntarily and truthfully confessed’ to various crimes of corruption. 

Similarly, Xian Jianhua, a billionaire financier, was snatched from a Hong Kong hotel in 2017 and taken to the mainland. 

Kangana Ranaut pens a heartfelt note for Sushant Singh Rajput on his birth anniversary, calls out movie mafia

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Kangana Ranaut pens a heartfelt note for Sushant Singh Rajput on his birth anniversary, calls out movie mafia

On the birth anniversary of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput who died a mysterious death last year in June, actress Kangana Ranaut wrote a thread on Twitter remembering him. She expressed regret for not being able to help the late actor when he needed it. “Dear Sushant, movie mafia banned you, bullied you and harassed you, many times on social media you asked for help and I regret not being there for you. I wish I didn’t assume you are strong enough to handle mafia on your own. I wish…”, wrote the actress.

Ranaut recalled how the actor was targeted by “movie mafia” and that he had hinted about the same on social media before his death. “He complained about nepotism in his interviews. His blockbuster films were declared flop”, she wrote.

She called out the production houses and Bollywood bigwigs who allegedly banned him and declared him a flop actor. She named YashRaj films that had allegedly banned the late actor. She also took Karan Johar’s name for releasing the late actor’s film on an OTT platform and allegedly declaring him a flop actor.

Slamming filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt whose name had also emerged in the late actor’s death, Ranaut alleged that despite Bhatt’s own children suffering from depression, he told Rajput that he would die like late actress Parveen Babi who had allegedly died of depression. “These people collectively killed him and Sushant himself wrote that in his social media interaction before his death. Never forgive, never forget”, she added.

Rajput’s sister announced scholarship in his name

On his 35th birth anniversary, Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister Shweta Singh Kirti today announced that a fund has been set up at University of California, Berkeley in Rajput’s name. A scholarship worth USD 35,000 will be provided by the Sushant Singh Rajput Memorial Fund in Physics for those interested in studying Astrophysics at the university.

The late actor was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his apartment on June 14 last year. Initially, his death was purported to have resulted from suicide but later on, after much public outrage, the investigation of his death was handed over to the CBI. The CBI investigation in his death had also exposed a drug nexus which is being probed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Several big Bollywood celebrities have been interrogated by the NCB in the case so far.

How Indian Railways came to the rescue of a pregnant woman who slipped and injured herself: Read details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
How Indian Railways came to the rescue of a pregnant woman who slipped and injured herself: Read details

On Thursday, a passenger named Ravi took to Twitter to share that his pregnant wife had twisted her ankle while stepping down from a foot-over bridge in Junagadh, Gujarat. The social media user requested immediate help from the local Railway authorities saying that his pregnant wife was suffering from tremendous pain after twisting her ankle.

As soon as Ravi requested the help, Indian Railways swung into action and asked the Divisional Railway Manager at Bhavnagar to immediately look into the issue. The DRM Bhavnagar soon responded to the aggrieved passenger saying that necessary instruction has been given to concerned.

The DRM Bhavnagar also assured the passenger that the concerned staff at Gondal station had been instructed for assistance. In just an hour, the medical support staff reached the Gondal station to provide necessary medical attention to Ravi’s pregnant wife.

As Indian Railways displayed their exceptional professionalism by responding to one of its passengers’ crisis, the aggrieved passenger expressed his gratitude towards the Indian Railways for their swift response. Ravi again posted a tweet saying that the country was indeed transforming and thanked the Indian Railways and Union Minister Piyush Goyal.

Responding to Ravi’s tweet, Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal hailed Indian Railways for its readiness and added that it is always committed to providing passengers amenities and support to its passengers. He said that he was glad that the railway staff came to his help immediately.

“Indian Railways is committed to providing passenger amenities and support in every situation. I am glad that the readiness of our railway staff helped you immediately. Indian Railways will always continue to work for the benefit of passengers,” said Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.

The transformation of Indian Railways, especially in terms of handling customer grievances and developing basic amenities, infrastructure has been one of the major highlights of Narendra Modi-led government.

1...4,6484,6494,650...7,652Page 4,649 of 7,652