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Congress in trouble in its family’s pocket borough Rae Bareli as 35 office bearers resign from the party

Though Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli, the Gandhi family’s pocket borough, was the only saving grace for the Congress party which suffered a huge embarrassment during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, things may not be same for the party in the upcoming Panchayat elections. According to reports, 35 office bearers including former Congress secretary and former district in-charge and current PCC member Shiv Kumar Pandey have come out in open rebellion after being ignored by party leaders and sent in their resignation to Congress leader and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Shiv Kumar Pandey and the other rebel members are miffed purportedly by the formation of the party’s new executive set up at the block level. They have opined that the district president and other district-level officials have been working to weaken the party. They accused the party of not giving the due importance to the party’s old gaurds and instead choosing the younger and inexperienced leaders for the important posts of the block.

Though there is no confirmation whether the resignations have been accepted or not, people are of the opinion that this might be a redux of the embarrasment Congress party faced in Rahul Gandhi’s bastion Amethi in 2019.

Congress will lose Rae Bareli in 2024 just like they lost Amethi: Union Minister Smriti Irani

In fact, a day before senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took off for a vacation to Milan, Union Minister Smriti Irani who emerged as a giant slayer, defeating the Gandhi scion from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat in 2019 General Assembly elections, warned of a similar fate awaiting another Congress pocket borough, Rae Bareli, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The appalling performance in Bihar Assembly elections last year had led to a fresh flare-up within the party, with the senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal publicly commenting that the time for introspection is over. Following Congress’ disappointing performance in Bihar, 23 senior Congress leaders had reportedly written a letter to interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi demanding that an immediate CWC meeting be called to discuss the poll debacle in Bihar. They have reportedly also demanded organisational elections for the party president’s post be held at the earliest in the view of the electoral drubbing. They had also raised questions on the vacation by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra.

Ichchadhari protestor Yogendra Yadav warns Haryana and Rajasthan farmers for not joining protests, demands fruits, vegetables, buttermilk from them

Ichchadhari protester Yogendra Yadav, who has been on the streets instigating protestors to create nuisance under the pretext of protesting against the farm laws, on Saturday attempted to incite local villagers from Haryana and Rajasthan to join their so-called protests against the Modi government.

Taking to Twitter, Yogendra Yadav, who is currently busy playing ‘farmer’, asked the villagers living in the areas of South Haryana and East Rajasthan to join their ‘movement’ against the agricultural reforms initiated by the Modi government.

Mocking the innocent farmers for not joining their protests till now, Yadav attempted to manipulate these villagers by saying that history would judge them harshly if they do not listen to his call to join road blockages along the national highways leading to Delhi.

Yogendra Yadav, who is camping along the borders of Delhi causing massive inconvenience to the public, shared a video saying that he had a warning, complaint and an appeal to make to the villagers of Haryana and Rajasthan. Amidst the dwindling support to his so-called protests, Yadav resorted to pulling some crowd by not only peddling lies to them saying that farmers are angry against the government but also indulging in fear-mongering by claiming that no one will hear their grievances for the next two decades.

“I have a complaint to make against you. I am not able to witness farmers from local areas not joining our protests. History will remember that the farmers from the local areas (Haryana and Rajasthan) were sleeping when farmers from the rest of the country were protesting,” claimed Yogendra Yadav in an attempt to gaslight innocent farmers.

Bizarrely, after issuing subtle threats to farmers from Haryana and Rajasthan, Yogendra Yadav shamelessly asked the very same farmers to provide fruits, vegetables, milk and buttermilk etc for the protestors.

The far-left ‘activist’ Yogendra Yadav, who has lost all his relevance in the country, is leading a tractor rally outside Delhi with a few farmers and middlemen from Punjab. Yadav, trying to affect his importance by forcing himself into the ongoing negotiations, has been giving threats to the government stating that if their remaining demands are not accepted by the government. However, both farmer associations and the government has ignored him and have continued to resolve outstanding issues pertaining to the farm reforms.

It is pertinent to note that the Centre had earlier last month prevented ‘multi-talented’ Yogendra Yadav from inviting himself and presenting himself as a part of the delegation of farmers that held talks with the government.

Yogendra Yadav instigating farmers just like he did during Anti-Hindu Delhi riots

It is important to note that Yogendra Yadav had used a similar modus-operandi last year in the run-up to the Anti-Hindu Delhi riots. After the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed by the parliament, Yogendra Yadav along with radical Islamists and far-left protestors had instigated the Muslim mobs to seize Delhi streets to protest against the CAA.

The Delhi Police has claimed in its supplementary charge-sheet had alleged that Yogendra Yadav had instructed mastermind of the Anti-Hindu Delhi riots accused Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid to mobilise students of Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University and Delhi University for a “chakka jam” or blockade to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Yadav, who was till recently was an ‘election expert’, has somehow transformed himself to be a farmer leader in a short span. He has now mobilised some of his party workers and has hit the streets to protest against the farm laws.

Yogendra Yadav organised protests, instigated people: Delhi police

According to the charge-sheet of the Delhi riots conspiracy case, in a protest organised by ‘United Against Hate’, Yogendra Yadav joining hands with riot-accused Umar Khalid, Nadeem Khan, Sharjeel Imam, had delivered speeches against the CAA. Reportedly, Umar Khalid, who was his “senior and mentor” from JNU introduced to the mastermind of Anti-Hindu Delhi riots Sharjeel Imam to Yogendra Yadav at this agitation.

Many witnesses had disclosed to the police that earlier, Umar Khalid had already told Sharjeel Imam to make a group of “like-minded individuals” from JNU, Jamia, DU etc and had explained the concept of Chakka Jam to him. As an extension of that theme, at the meeting with Yogendra Yadav, he was told to “mobilise students of Jamia, DU and AMU”.

According to the charge-sheet, during this meeting, it was decided between Yogendra Yadav, Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid that social media would be used to indoctrinate Muslims and for the mobilisation of people for Chakka Jam. Similarly, activists of far-left group Pinjra Tod – Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita had allegedly confessed to the Delhi Police saying that Yogendra Yadav and others had given them directions to protest in different parts of Delhi against the CAA and NRC.

The charge-sheet discloses the involvement of the likes of Yogendra Yadav in the early stages of the anti-CAA protests that later engulfed across Delhi. Similar to Anti-CAA protests, Yogendra Yadav has now been mobilising forces in the name of ‘farmer protests’, allegedly to create havoc on the streets of the national capital.

Signal stock increases 1100% after Elon Musk recommended it over WhatsApp privacy changes. The only problem? It’s not the Signal stock: Details

After Whatsapp made changes to its privacy policy, billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla CEO Elon Musk called upon his followers on Thursday to “Use Signal”, an encrypted messaging app called Signal. However, little did he may have imagined that his tweet would set off a massive buying in an unrelated stock with a similar name.

Following Musk’s tweet exhorting his followers to use the open-source app Signal, share prices of an obscure and relatively unknown company which goes by the name “Signal Advances” saw a staggering surge of 527 per cent on Thursday, followed by another 91 per cent on Friday. In a matter of two days, the share price of Signal Advances, which was earlier hovering around 60 cent mark, rose to $ 7.19.

Source: Dow Jones

When Musk asked people to use Signal, he was referring to the Signal messaging app which is operated by a nonprofit organisation and serves as an alternative to texting apps such as Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram and others. However, Musk’s suggestion to use Signal caused disruption to Signal servers as it witnessed a remarkable spike in the app downloads by the new privacy-conscious users.

The wild trading on an unknown stock and the disruption of the Signal’s servers, triggered by Musk’s recommendation underscores the Tesla CEO’s growing influence. On Thursday, he became the world’s richest man and subsequently on Friday, Tesla became the fifth most valuable company in the US.

Signal messaging app issues clarification, says it has got nothing to do with Signal Advance

The unprecedented surge in the Signal Advance’s stock price also prompted Signal messaging app to post a tweet stating that they had got nothing to do with Signal Advance.

“It’s understandable that people want to invest in Signal’s record growth, but this isn’t us,” Signal wrote. “We’re an independent 501c3 and our only investment is in your privacy.” Signal tweeted.

Signal is a cross-platform encrypted messaging service developed by the Signal Foundation and Signal Messenger LLC. According to an article published in New Yorker in October, Signal runs entirely on donations. As Signal Foundation is a non-profit organisation, it is not listed in stock exchanges.

Signal Advance’ stock had consistently traded below $1 since 2015

On the other hand, Signal Advance, which witnessed an unusually high trading activity over the last two days in the American stock market, was founded in Texas under the name Biodyne in 1992 and catered services to medical and legal workers. Later, it shifted its focus to leveraging technology in the health care sector and changed its name to Signal Advance. The company made its stock market debut in 2014.

The company is so small in terms of its market capitalisation that it does not report its financials with the SEC, the US stock market watchdog. As of March 2019, the company had no full time employees besides its CEO Chris Hymel.

After people mistook it as the parent company of the Signal messaging app, Signal Advance now has a market cap of $600 million, up from $55 million a couple of days ago. Before Thursday, the stock had never breached the $1 mark since 2015.

Similar stock market snafus in the past

The surge in a stock price of one company based on information about a completely unrelated company is not a new phenomenon. It is a familiar issue on Wall Street. Earlier too, traders had mistaken a company with another one having a similar name and invested their money in that company instead.

A couple of years back, in April 2019, on the day when the Zoom Video Communication was going to make a debut under the ticker symbol ZM, stock prices of a Chinese company called Zoom Technologies leapt more than 80 per cent in just two hours of trading. However, as the distinction between the two company came forth, the stock gave up most of its gains and closed 10 per cent up.

Similarly, when investors were eagerly waiting for Twitter’s hotly-anticipated market debut, a company named Tweeter Home Entertainment Group jumped more than 1,000 per cent.

Demand for Made-in-India Coronavirus vaccine soar as Brazil, South Africa order shipments, China concedes India’s domain expertise

On Friday, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro requested Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expedite a shipment of Covishield vaccine, developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, and manufactured by Serum Institute of India, following a delay in the arrival of the vaccine.

Bolsonaro’s letter comes at a time when his government is under fierce criticism due to a delay in the rollout of the vaccination programme in the country. It is pertinent to remember that Brazil has been witnessing one of the deadliest Coronavirus outbreak in the world with 6,99,904 active cases. With questions lingering over government efficiency, Jair Bolosnaro has decided to step in and request the Indian government to expedite the shipment for Covishield vaccine.

He wrote, “To enable the immediate implementation of our National Immunization Program, I would appreciate … the supply to Brazil, with the possible urgency and without jeopardizing the Indian vaccination program, of 2 million doses.” Although the shipment from India was scheduled to arrive in Brazil on Saturday, it is assumed that it might not arrive before the end of January.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s federally funded Fiocruz biomedical centre is planning to import more finished doses of Covisheild vaccine from India, besides 2 million that it has ordered previously.

South Africa to order 1.5 million vaccines from India

On Thursday, the Health Ministry of South Africa announced that it would order 1 million vaccines from India and 0.5 million in February. It added that the Health Ministry had been working closely with SAHPRA to ensure no delay in the vaccination programme.

Addressing Parliament’s portfolio committee on health, health minister Zweli Mkhize said the imported vaccines would be used to vaccinate frontline healthcare workers. “Today we announce that South Africa will be receiving the first one million doses of vaccine in January and another 500,000 in February from the Serum Institute of India,” Mkhize said.

“At the time I could not disclose further details. I am pleased to announce that the Serum Institute of India has given us permission to make public an announcement and start engaging with the relevant stakeholders in preparation for the rollout (of the vaccine),” the minister told Parliament.

China concedes that the potential of Made-in-India Coronavirus vaccines

Reportedly, China has also accepted the domain expertise of India in its indigenous production of Coronavirus vaccines. Chinese mouthpiece, Global Times, conceded, “Experts suggested that India’s vaccines are no less competitive than Chinese Covid-19 vaccines in both research and production capacity, considering that India has the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer and lower costs in labour and facilities.”

Although Global Times dubbed the move as a political tool for brand building and checking Chinese influence internationally, it quoted experts to reiterate that India’s vaccine production capacity and research was at par with China.

Quoting expert Jiang Chunlai, it said, “India has the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India that has a very mature production and supply capacity, even stronger than some Western countries. Indian vaccine manufacturers also have much earlier cooperation with global institutes including WHO, GAVI and the Pan American Health Organization in South America (PAHO), and earned their trust decades ago”

PM Modi highlights self-reliance of India in fighting Coronavirus outbreak

On Saturday, PM Narendra Modi informed that India has become self-reliant in fighting the pandemic during the inauguration of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention on Saturday. He stated, “India used to import PPE kits, masks, ventilators and testing kits from outside but today our nation is self-reliant. Today India is ready to save humanity with two ‘Made in India’ Covid-19 vaccines.” PM Modi said that the whole world has been waiting in anticipation of how India would roll out its vaccination programme and the impact the Made-in-India vaccines would have on the world.

Modi govt plans to roll out Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

After India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) approved the emergence use of Covishield (developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca) vaccine on January 1, plans were undertaken by the Modi government to roll-out the immunisation programme.

As such, a dry run was scheduled in at least three ‘session sites’ in every state capital and districts with poor logistical support. The objective of the government, behind this exercise, was to assess the on-field situation of the vaccination process. At the same time, a total of 96000 vaccinators have been trained to execute the inoculation programme.

Former Pakistani diplomat concocts fictional stories to justify a terror strike 10 km away from Indian parliament: Read details

During a TV programme on HUM News aired on December 23 last year, former Pakistani diplomat Zafar Hilaly decided to concoct fictional stories about the presence of ‘terror camps’ in India and urged the Pakistani Army to conducted strikes at one such supposed camp, barely at a distance of 10 km from the Indian Parliament. The anchor, Amir Zia, said that the Indian narrative of attacking Pakistani militant camps during the Balakot airstrike of 2019 found acceptance worldwide and asked Pakistan could do to strengthen its narrative.

Zafar Hilaly responded, “We don’t need to say anything. We have given them (Indian government) a dossier which clearly states that MQM terrorists, TTP (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan) and BLA (Balochistan Liberation Army) terrorists are trained in several parts of India, including Delhi. So, whenever India puts forward this narrative, we must seek permission from our friendly nations to conducted such strikes on these ‘terror camps’ in India. One such camp is located just 10km away from the Indian Parliament. That’s about it.”

(Video Courtesy: Youtube/HUM News)

By concocting imaginary stories of terror outfits operating from India, the former Pakistani diplomat perhaps tried to pre-emptively justify forthcoming plans of the Pakistani Army establishment to engage in cross-border terrorism or even target the Indian Parliament under the pretext of taking out so-called terror camps in India.

The Pakistani army and its stooges in the state-controlled media are not new to peddling lies and presenting them as facts. While doing so, they often run the risk of exposing their nefarious designs, of future terror attacks in India, to the world as has been the case with Zafar Hilaly.

Pakistani hand in 2001 Parliament attacks

On the 13th of December, 2001, one of the most deadly terrorist attacks on Indian soil and certainly the greatest assault on our democratic system was perpetrated. 20 years ago, our Parliament was attacked by Islamic terrorists linked to Pakistani terror outfits and six policemen and two Parliament Security Service personnel were martyred on that fateful day. Our democratic system has suffered and overcome many terrible affronts but the Parliament attack of 2001 remains one of the darkest spots in our country’s history.

The then Home Minister, LK Advani remarked, “It is now evident that the terrorist assault on the Parliament House was executed jointly by Pakistan-based and supported terrorist outfits, namely, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. These two organisations are known to derive their support and patronage from Pak ISI. The investigation so far carried out by the police shows that all the five terrorists who formed the suicide squad were Pakistani nationals. All of them were killed on the spot and their Indian associates have since been nabbed and arrested.”

Indonesia: Boeing 737-500 of Sriwijaya Air loses contact minutes after taking off from Jakarta

A Sriwijaya Air aircraft that took off from Jakarta in Indonesia has gone missing shortly after its take off. Flight tracking websites Flightradar24 reported that that Boeing 737-500 plane lost more than 10,000 altitude in less than minute before disappearing from radar.

The Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 disappeared from radar screens around 4 minutes after take-off. The flight was going from Jakarta to Pontianak in West Kalimantan. The Indonesian transport ministry has confirmed that the contact with the flight was lost at 2:20 local time.

Adita Irawati, the spokesperson for the Transport Ministry of Indonesia said that they are coordinating the matter with Basarnas (the search and rescue agency) and KNKT (the transport safety body). She said that more information will be released as and when become available.

Reportedly, 56 people were travelling in aircraft. The passengers included 46 adults, 7 children and 3 infants. The plane lost contact near the Tanjung Pasir Pulau Lancang, according to an official of the Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. It is feared that the plane crashed into the sea. According to local TV reports, fisherman in the area have found pieces of cable probably belonging to the aircraft.

Photographs have emerged on social media showing local authority in the area fishing out wires and other debris from the water, which could be part of the aircraft.

According to latest media reports, a patrolling boat of the air and sea transportation authority of the Republic of Indonesia has found the location of the crash of the plane in the Thousand Islands. The boat found parts of human bodies and aviation fuel at the site, almost confirming that the plane crashed there. The captain of the boat said the local fishermen told him that they heard a sound of an explosion at the site.

‘Burqa clad women attacked police party: Bail of one Tabassum denied and how it proves again that Delhi violence was coordinated

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A Delhi court on Friday cancelled the bail application filed by one of the accused in connection with the murder of head constable Ratan Lal during anti-Hindu Delhi riots occurred in Delhi last year.

According to the reports, Additional Session Judge Vinod Yadav rejected the bail plea of accused Tabassum, a resident of Chand Bagh Area of Delhi, saying that her Call Detail Records (CDRs) revealed that she was in constant touch with several co­-accused persons to hatch riots. The judge further said that the charges against the applicant were serious in nature.

“Considering the facts and circumstances of the case in totality vis­-à­-vis gravity of the offence, I do not find it to be a fit case for grant of bail to the applicant. The bail application is accordingly dismissed,” the judge said.

The judgement by the Delhi court further proves that Delhi anti-Hindu riots were nothing but a pre-meditated conspiracy not just to destabilise India, but to target the Hindu population after Citizenship Amendment Act was passed by the parliament.

Rejecting the bail of the riot-accused, the judge noted that it is clearly evident that the protestors and organizers had motivated persons in the mob and certain unscrupulous elements had surrounded the scene of the crime and they appeared to be fully equipped with rioting material like stones, sticks, sharp ­edged weapons and another sort of raw weapons.

“Even burqa­ clad women are clearly seen attacking the police party with sticks and other material in their hands and they clearly appeared to be charged up. It has also come on record that some of the persons of the mob had taken possession of the rooftops of high­ rise buildings at or around 25 feet road, having firearms and other rioting material with them,” the judge made scathing remarks.

Anti-Hindu riots was a well hatched conspiracy, says Delhi court

Justice Yadav mentioned that all this prima facie indicates that everything was being done under a well­ hatched conspiracy, the common object whereof was to cause blockage of the main Wazirabad Road and if resisted by the police, then to go to any extent to liquidate them by use of force.

The Delhi police have opposed the bail plea alleging that Tabassum used to share the stage with other rioters to instigate the Muslim mob against the Government that finally led to violence on February 24, 2020, which resulted in the death of more than 50 people in North­ East District of Delhi, including head constable Ratan Lal.

The police also submitted that the mob also attacked the Delhi police officials during the protests that led to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shahdara, Amit Sharma, Anuj Kumar, ACP Gokalpuri and 51 other policemen suffering severe injuries. Two senior officers Amit Sharma, Anuj Kumar almost received death blow, while constable Ratan Lal was killed by the frenzied mob.

In her application, the accused Tabassum had admitted having participated in the protest, however, claimed that protesting against some legislation was her ‘legal and fundamental right’, which could not be snatched away from her as it was her ‘legitimate belief and perception that Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) and National Register for Citizens (NRC) were against a particular religion’.

She further submitted that the investigating agency had not been able to establish the contents of her speech and whether they were inflammatory or instigating. The accused also claimed that participating in the protest against a particular law did not amount to the conspiracy of incitement of violence where head constable Rattan Lal had died.

Murder of Ratan Lal during the Delhi anti-Hindu riots

The charge sheet filed in connection will the killing of head constable Ratan Lal during the violence that swept northeast Delhi in February this year stated that the murder of Ratan Lal was a part of a deeper conspiracy to gin up communal riots across the national capital. 

The Special Investigation Team of Delhi Police has filed a 1,100-page charge-sheet in the murder of Ratan Lal and deadly attacks by rioters on IPS Amit Sharma and IPS Anuj Kumar. At least 17 accused have been named in the charge-sheet. There are about 4 to 5 key conspirators in this whole case, which includes Salim Khan, Salim Munna and Shadab. The police stated that the riots were engineered in Delhi through a conspiracy to malign the image of the country. 

Constable Ratan Lal was murdered on February 24 when he was shot at by rioters while patrolling along with his seniors. The police had alleged in the charge-sheet that a group of 45 people held a meeting at the basement of a house on February 22, where the conspiracy of the riot was conceived. On February 23, a after the conspiracy was hatched, rioters asked senior citizens and children to stay indoor as they ran riot on the streets, indulging in vandalism. 

A day later, on February 24, rioters and vandals again hit the streets, damaging public properties, setting vehicles on fire and causing bloodshed. Around 1 PM in Chand Bagh area, patrolling party in Chand Bagh was vastly outnumbered by a huge crowd of rioters. Senior police officials tried to placate the riotous mob but the crowd turned violent and attacked police. Head constable Ratan Lal was shot dead by the rioters. Amit Sharma, Anuj Kumar and several policemen received serious injuries, the charge-sheet said.

Senior Youth Congress leader calls on Twitter to suspend accounts of BJP leaders after Trump’s suspension

The suspension of the social media accounts of incumbent US President Donald Trump could have devastating consequences for the social media platforms as for the rest of the world, it is a natter of national sovereignty and not merely ideology. As such, Indians would not have been expected to cheer the actions of the tech oligarchy. However, Youth Congress leaders and sympathizers and ‘journalists’ are calling for more censorship.

Senior Youth Congress leader Srivatsa has called on Twitter India to ban on BJP’s IT-department head Amit Malviya and MP Tejasvi Surya because apparently, “they incite violence and enmity between groups.”

Senior Youth Congress leader Srivatsa wants censorship
Senior Youth Congress leader Srivatsa wants censorship

Amusingly enough, Srivatsa was inciting vandalism across the country and celebrating the Jio tower vandals in Punjab. But he was not the only one. ‘Eminent intellectual’ Ashok Swain, the academic version of motormouth Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, called for similar censorship in India.

Ashok Swain is at it again

One would have expected journalists, at least, to be wary of such power grabs but not all ‘journalists’ appear averse to censorship.

A ‘journalist’ cheers for censorship

Nearly all social media platforms have banned Donald Trump from their platforms. Twitter, Facebook and others have suspended his accounts on the platforms in the aftermath of the violence at Capitol Hill. People worldwide have criticized the move by the platforms saying that things have gone too far. Twitter specifically was called out for its double standards.

West Bengal: Acting president of AIMIM in West Bengal joins Trinamool Congress along with several other members of the party

The political scenario in West Bengal is in a state of flux, with several twists and turns taking place almost every day as the 2021 Assembly election in the state draws closer. After many Trinamool Congress stalwarts jumped ships to join BJP recently, reports have emerged that several members of the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) including it’s acting West Bengal unit president Sk Abdul Kalam and convenor Sheikh Anwar Hussain Pasha joined TMC Saturday. The AIMIM leader and his followers joined the TMC in presence of senior party leader and state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya.

Have joined to keep the “poisonous air” in West Bengal at bay: AIMIM state unit chief

While joining Mamata Banerjee led-TMC at its headquarters in Kolkata, Kalam opined that he has switched sides to keep the “poisonous air” in West Bengal at bay. “We have seen that West Bengal used to be an oasis of peace. But of late, the air has become poisonous and this has to be set right. That is why I decided to join the Trinamool Congress,” he told reporters.

Attacking AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM’s West Bengal convenor Sheikh Anwar Hussain Pasha said that this is not the right time to seek a political entry into West Bengal, claiming that the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party was only acting as a polarizer of votes to help the BJP.

Asaduddin Owaisi eyeing at West Bengal in the upcoming Assembly election

After winning five seats in Bihar and playing spoiler in some seats, speculations were rife that AIMIM will play a major role in the upcoming Assembly election in West Bengal. In fact, the war of words between WB CM Mamata Banerjee and AIMIM chief has already reached a pinnacle. When Mamata Banerjee alleged that the BJP is giving money to a party from Hyderabad to divide votes in the ensuing Assembly elections, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had hit back at her saying the Muslim voters were not her “jagir (property)”. Rubbishing the allegation by the Trinamool Congress leader, Owaisi commented that nobody can buy him with money.

Moreover, the Hyderabad MP had also tweeted that Mamata Banerjee does not like those Muslims who think and speak for themselves.

Will Asaduddin Owaisi dent Mamata Banerjee’s Muslim vote bank?

Now, this sudden development of AIMIM stalwarts jumping ships might turn out to be a big hurdle for Asaduddin Owaisi-led party which is planning to make a debut in poll-bound West Bengal and swing the Muslim votes, which accounts for nearly 30 per cent in West Bengal, in his favour. For years Mamata Banerjee has been thriving in West Bengal by appeasing her Muslim vote bank. Now if Asaduddin Owaisi ventures into West Bengal and consolidates Muslims electorally, it may prove to be a major disaster for the incumbent Trinamool Congress in the state of West Bengal.

Chinese soldier taken into custody after crossing over into the Indian side of LAC: Details

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The Indian Army has taken a Chinese solider into custody for transgressing into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). He was apprehended in the early hours of the 8th of January 2020.

The Indian Army, in a statement, has said that the PLA soldier is being dealt as per established procedure and laid down norms. The soldier was captured around Rezang La and both sides are said to be in touch over the matter.

China and India have been locked in a conflict since last year. Things reached a peak with the clash in Galwan Valley where both sides suffered casualties and since then, the battle has largely been waged over words and propaganda from the Chinese side.

In September, India foiled Chinese infiltration bids and occupied new heights along the LAC. Meanwhile, Chinese media outlets have been threatening India often with dire consequences for opposing China’s expansionist tendencies, however, they do not have any significant achievements to boot.