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Mumbai Police now accuses Republic TV of colluding with BARC to bring down Times Now ratings, the channel responds

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai Police now accuses Republic TV of colluding with BARC to bring down Times Now ratings, the channel responds

In a new development in the TRP manipulation case, now Mumbai police have gone against the former officials of rating agency BARC, accusing it of colluding with Republic TV. The Mumbai police today upped its ante against Republic TV, levelling new allegations against the channel.

In a press conference today, Mumbai Police alleged that during the term of former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta, who has been arrested in connection with the case, ratings for other English news channels were deliberately brought down to make Republic TV number one in the sector. The police said that BARC manipulated viewership and TRP data to bring down the ratings of Times Now, which was number one English news channel when Arnab Goswami was heading it, before he launched Republic TV.

Making serious allegations against BARC, Mumbai police said that ratings were pre-decided, and to achieve that, viewership data was manipulated. Police alleged there was cartelisation of top officials of BARC. Mumbai police also alleged that three methods were employed to manipulate data, outlier method, meta rule and channel audience control.

Quoting an internal mail, Mumbai police said, “As required Times Now no were changed, Republic remains the same as required”. Police claimed that numbers of Times Now and CNN News 18 were changed by BARC, which had resulted in dramatic changes of Times Ratings. They claimed that Times Now was deliberately made number 2, to favour Republic.

This is the latest in the twists and turns in the TRP manipulation case, where Mumbai police are acting completely ignoring the original FIR filed in the case. The FIR was filed by Hansa Research, a private company that manages the Bar-O-meters of BARC that measure television viewership. The FIR had mentioned that India Today was bribing households with the meters installed to watch the channel, to boost its TRP. But Mumbai police had accused Republic TV of the same, and refused to act against India Today TV.

Hansa Research has even gone to Bombay High Court alleging that Mumbai Police is forcing them to give false statements against Republic TV. But this has not stopped the police under the Uddhav Thackeray government from running its vendetta against Republic TV. Even BARC has sent emails to Republic TV confirming that there is no allegations of TRP manipulation against the channel, but Mumbai Police continues its relentless attack on the media house.

Republic TV denies allegations, exposes holes in Mumbai Police version

Just an hour after Mumbai police levelled fresh allegations against the channel, Republic TV issued a statement denying all the charges. It said BARC had written emails to them twice saying that there was no question of any manipulation by Republic TV. It also said that police version does not make any sense, as the forensic Report that the Mumbai Police is referring to is from July 2020, and BARC’s emails to the channel are from November and December 2020. It defies common sense why BARC would give Republic Media Network a complete clean chit in November and December if the mails before that showed collusion of BARC officials with Republic.

Republic also pointed out that the channel’s ratings increased after the previous dispensation at BARC moved out. “The viewership increased in the second-half of 2020. Does the Mumbai Police have any explanation for this? Or does it hold the current dispensation at BARC guilty for the viewership of Republic TV?” the channel asked.

They also added, “Republic Bharat became the Number 1 Hindi news channel, following the coverage of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case post July 2020, when the new dispensation at BARC had taken over. Does the Mumbai Police claim that the new dispensation at BARC is hand in glove with Republic TV?”

Republic TV also noted a widely noted fact on social media, the viewership of news channels on internet. It noted that live streaming data of both Republic TV and Times Now show that Republic TV viewership is more compared to Times Now. “In its eagerness to please its political masters, does the Mumbai Police also believe that the record viewership of Republic TV has also been manipulated?” the channel further questioned.

Republic TV also mentioned that it has filed several complaints against Times Now regarding landing with the BARC, but the agency has not acted on them. Saying that all channels and industry bodies represent their case or complaints with BARC, Republic TV has also filed complained hundreds of times to BARC about questionable data of other channels. This is absolutely legitimate and it is absolutely absurd to call this a crime, the channel said.

The complete statement of Republic TV is given below:

REPUBLIC NEWS RELEASE

The Mumbai Police’s claims are laughable. The Republic Media Network would like to destroy their claims with the following points:
1. BARC has on two occasions written emails to Republic dated 17 October, 2020 and 20 November, 2020 saying there was no question of any manipulation by Republic TV. We are annexing the letters of BARC with this press release.
2. The Forensic Report that the Mumbai Police is referring to is from July 2020. BARC’s emails to us are from November and December 2020. It defies common sense why BARC would give Republic Media Network a complete clean chit in November and December. The Mumbai Police should have thought about that.
3. Republic Media Network’s ratings soared high in 2020, after the previous dispensation at BARC moved out. If you look at the data, the viewership increased in the second-half of 2020. Does the Mumbai Police have any explanation for this? Or does it hold the current dispensation at BARC guilty for the viewership of Republic TV. ?
4. Republic has written over 50 emails to BARC about the use of landing pages by Times Now. We have constantly complained to BARC about Times Now’s use of landing pages across the entire country, in fact, we have been frustrated at the inaction of BARC despite our constant complaints. We are annexing some of our emails along with this press release so that the whole world knows the reality. Will the Mumbai Police now investigation why BARC refused to act on our complaints about the usage of landing pages by Times Now? If not, why not?
5. Republic Bharat became the Number 1 Hindi news channel, following the coverage of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case post July 2020, when the new dispensation at BARC had taken over. Does the Mumbai Police claim that the new dispensation at BARC is hand in glove with Republic TV?
6. LIVE Streaming data of both Republic TV and Times Now show that there is a big gap between the high viewership of Republic TV and the much lower viewership of Times now. In its eagerness to please its political masters, does the Mumbai Police also believe that the record viewership of Republic TV has also been manipulated?
7. All TV Channels constantly represent their case with BARC. Not just channels, industry bodies also represent their case or complaints with BARC. Republic TV has complained hundreds of times to BARC about questionable data of other channels. This is absolutely legitimate and we have made similar representations to the current BARC dispensation as well when we had questions about data of other channels. It is absolutely absurd to call this a crime.
8. In August and September 2020, Republic Bharat became the Number 1 Hindi news channel, upsetting older players. On May 6th, when we launched, Republic TV became the number 1 news channel upsetting other legacy channels. This is a function of our popularity and acceptance across the country.
9. For the last 3 months, the Mumbai Police has done everything possible to target our Network, and has fallen flat every time. This ridiculous and bizarre witch hunt was exposed once again today.
10. By their own admission, the Mumbai Police claims but has cleverly has not named the Telugu channels and conveniently kept them out of the press conference. Will they probe that too? If not, why not?
11. In recent days, the Mumbai Police has made absurd allegations by leaking stories about the finances of Republic TV. Every rupee of our investment is in the public domain, and because the Mumbai Police is frustrated at being unable to make any headway, they have reduced this so-called TRP investigation into a Whatsapp investigation.
12. By their own admission, Mumbai Police started by talking about Barometers being fixed. There is evidence that individuals were coerced into falsely implicating Republic. Does the Mumbai Police have an answer for this?
13. The research agency Hansa has filed a Writ Petition in the High Court that the Mumbai Police has tried to put pressure on them to implicate Republic. Will the Mumbai Police investigate itself? Is it not true that the allegations against the Mumbai Police are presently before the Bombay High Court?
14. Is it not an obvious case of absurd political witch-hunting when a city police force is accused in open court of trying to fix a news channel by trying to extract false statements from a reputed private company?
15. Is it not true that the NHRC has given a notice to the DGP of Maharashtra to investigate the custodial torture of Republic A-VP Ghanshyam Singh who was beaten with Chakki belt in custody? Is there anything left for the Mumbai Police to do in its desperation to target the Republic Media Network?
16. The Mumbai Police has thanked the current BARC dispensation for its help. It is the same BARC dispensation, under whose watch the Republic Media Network has become the Number 1 news network in Hindi and English. By any basic logic, is the Mumbai Police going to investigate the present BARC dispensation as well on how the Network became Number 1? Isn’t it obvious that the Network’s reach continues to grow regardless of who is at the helm at BARC?
17. The present BARC management has written to the Prasar Bharati CEO, who is the Government representative on the BARC board, saying there is absolutely no investigation or manipulation ever by the Republic Media Network since its inception. Does the Mumbai Police acknowledge this letter or does it challenge its authenticity?
The questions put above make it clear that the Mumbai Police is in the middle of a mindless farce of an investigation that has only one purpose: to try and target Republic. Unfortunately for them, the Network continues to grow stronger and the people of the country are standing resolutely with us.
Already, the false allegations leading to the illegal arrest of Arnab Goswami have been trashed by the Supreme Court. We are absolutely confident of getting justice from the courts of India, and support in the courts of public opinion.

‘Farmers’ vandalise several Reliance Jio towers to ‘protest’ against farm laws, Punjab CM appeals for calm after fanning protests

OpIndia Staff
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‘Farmers’ vandalise several Reliance Jio towers to ‘protest’ against farm laws, Punjab CM appeals for calm after fanning protests

After staging protests along the Haryana-Delhi border causing massive inconvenience to the public, the farmers from Punjab are now resorting to vandalism and forceful disconnection of power supply to Reliance Jio towers to express their opposition to three farm laws passed by the Modi government.

The farmers, who had just a few days back staged protests outside the petrol pumps and retail outlets of Reliance have now resorted to vandalism of private properties belonging to Reliance Jio as a mark of protests against the three farm laws.

The protestors of various farmers’ union have shut the power supply to several Jio towers in Nawanshahr, Ferozepur, Mansa, Barnala, Fazilka, Patiala and Moga districts in the last three days. In a video shared by Asianet news network, one can see how protestors have gone rogue in Punjab and disrupting power supply in the state. A protestor can be seen cutting power supply to Jio mobile towers disrupting the telecom company’s services in several parts of the state.

In Ferozepur, the power supply to the cellular transmission towers was cut by farmers separately under the banner of BKU (Ugrahan) and BKU (Dakaunda).

We are disconnecting power supply as a form of protest, says farmers’ union

Defending the vandalism, BKU leader said that they disconnected power supply to five Jio mobile towers in Ferozepur to lodge our protest. “Our fight is against the corporate houses,” he added. BKU (Ugrahan)’s Gora Singh Bhainibagha confirmed that they cut the power connection to four mobile towers in Mansa on Wednesday and on Thursday, staged a dharna outside Jio offices.

Reportedly, the violent protestors in Nawanshahr, under the banner of Kirti Kisan Union (KKU) disconnected power supply to 11 Jio mobile towers. KKU leader Master Bhupinder Singh Wariach claimed that these black laws have been made to benefit the corporates, hence we are lodging our protest as the government is not ready to listen to us at all.

Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, general secretary of BKU (Ugrahan ) said they have been protesting against the corporates sector ever since the Centre came up with the three farm ordinances.

“First we sat outside petrol pumps of Reliance and ESSAR. Then we protested outside the Reliance malls and stores. We lifted our dharna from the dealer-based petrol pumps of these firms but we are still protesting at the company-owned pumps. Next, our call was to boycott Jio cellular service as part of which farmers ported out their numbers and have now disconnected the power supply to mobile towers,” said Kokrikalan.

Pubjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh cautions protestors, asks not disrupt power supply networks and vandalise Jio towers

Following the vandalism by the protestors in Punjab, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has asked farmers not to disrupt state’s telecom services and inconvenience citizen.

According to Times of India journalist Rohan Dua, the Punjab government, realising the dangerous situation, appealed the protestors to follow not to disrupt connect or manhandle employee and technicians of telecom companies.

Interestingly, while Punjab farmers are vandalising Jio towers today after Captain Amarinder Singh fanned the protests, it was Captain himself who had blamed Akali Dal for stalling progress.

2016 tweet by Captain Amarinder Singh

That’s Captain Amarinder Singh, pleading with Punjab farmers, presumably with folded hands, to do themselves a favor. Explaining how the farmers could have tripled their incomes if only they had a chance to deal with Reliance. But alas, the Akalis rained on their parade.

Thousands of protestors from Punjab have camped at the Haryana-Punjab border for around a month as the stalemate between the government and the protesters continue. The protests which began as a grievance against the farm reforms has now turned political with Khalistani groups, far-left, Islamist groups hijacking the protests to further their political agenda.

The time when Balasaheb Thackeray regretted sending ‘idiot’ Pritish Nandy to Rajya Sabha

Dibakar Dutta
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The time when Balasaheb Thackeray regretted sending ‘idiot’ Pritish Nandy to Rajya Sabha

Filmmaker and former Shiv Sena MP have been the subject of social media backlash after his recent comment on West Bengal was deemed as provocative and inciteful by netizens.

While dismissing allegations against him, Nandy has now claimed that his jibe of West Bengal fighting back with ‘Rabindra Sangeet and bricks’ was ‘sarcastic’ in nature and did not give any call for violence. He further ‘clarified’ that he was not a Shiv Sena MP even though he won his election to the Rajya Sabha on a Shiv Sena ticket.

Pritish Nandy claimed that he was a joint candidate of the Sena-BJP alliance and that his candidature was supported and endorsed by BJP stalwart Pramod Mahajan. “Now I want to respond to the Shiv Sena MP barb. Yes, I won an election on a Sena ticket but as a Sena-BJP joint candidate. BJP’s then super boss Pramod Mahajan ran my campaign and ensured my victory,” the filmmaker tweeted.

Screengrab of the tweet by Pritish Nandy

Balasaheb Thackeray on Pritish Nandy

However, Editor of The Print, Shekhar Gupta in an article in the Indian Express on November 24, 2012, made interesting revelations about how former Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray felt about Pritish Nandy. The article titled, “National Interest: Through his wine glass, darkly” recounts Gupta’s interaction with the saffron heavyweight, days after his demise.

Screengrab of the article by Shekhar Gupta (Photo Credits: Indian Express)

Shekhar Gupta recounted how during one such dinner with Balasaheb Thackeray, he saw his grandson Aditya Thackeray wearing a T-shirt, bearing the picture of a bald-headed WWF wrestler. The Shiv Sena leader mistook the wrestler for Pritish Nandy, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha on his party ticket in July 1998.

“Yeh kya, idiot Pritish Nandy ka shirt pahan ke ghoom raha hai (Why are you wearing the shirt of that idiot Pritish Nandy)?” Thackeray rebuked his grandson. His statement, however, took Shekhar Gupta by surprise. He inquired, “He is your party MP. How can you speak of him so disparagingly?”

Screengrab of the article by Shekhar Gupta (Photo Credits: Indian Express)

In his unique, no-holds-barred style, Balasaheb Thackeray replied, “Theek hai. Idiot toh main hoon,not Pritish (This is true. Actually, I am the idiot, not Pritish).” The Shiv Sena supremo emphasised, “He took Rajya Sabha from me and I figured only much later, too late, that he is Christian.” Remembering the conversation, Shekhar Gupta wrote, “Yet, it seems, at least once, he claims to have been foxed and that too by a poet journalist.”

Claims of Pritish Nandy on Pramod Mahajan, Balasaheb Thackeray

In an article titled, “The irrelevance of the BJP” published in The Times of India on May 3, 2010, Pritish Nandy claimed that while the Shiv Sena votes alone were not enough to secure his election to the Rajya Sabha, Balasaheb Thackeray had made ‘impassioned plea’ for him. The appeal of the then Shiv Sena supremo helped him get votes from the BJP as well.

Screengrab of the article by Pritish Nandy in Times of India

“Clearly, the BJP was behind my victory even though Pramod Mahajan never quite liked me. But he listened to Balasaheb,” he noted. Today, Pritish Nandy suggests that it was the BJP which proved to be game-changer for by emphasising that Pramod Mahajan had campaigned for him.

However, he had claimed in 2010 that the BJP stalwart did not like him and would not have ‘ensured’ his victory, had it not been from Balasaheb Thackeray. Given the saffron leader’s comments about Pritish Nandy, it is safe to conclude that Balasaheb Thackeray and Pramod Mahajan were misled into believing that the ‘idiotic’ filmmaker would uphold the party’s beliefs, post his election to the Rajya Sabha.

Afghanistan arrests 10 Chinese citizens on charges of espionage, asks China to apologise

OpIndia Staff
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Afghanistan arrests 10 Chinese citizens on charges of espionage, asks China to apologise

The National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Afghanistan, has detained 10 Chinese citizens on charges of espionage and operating a terror cell in the capital city of Kabul. As per reports, these detainees are believed to be linked to China’s spy agency, Ministry of State Security. It was on December 10, 2020, that Afghanistan’s NDS started the crackdown.

According to reports, President Ashraf Ghani has been briefed about the detentions. He has authorised First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, a former chief of the Afghan intelligence agency, to oversee the investigation. Amrullah Saleh, in turn, has held a meeting with the Chinese envoy to Kabul Wang Yu to brief him about the detention. 

‘Apologise or face criminal proceedings’, Afghanistan tells China after busting its espionage cell

Reports have it that the First Vice President has indicated that the Afghan government could consider a pardon for the Chinese spies if Beijing submits a formal apology that admits to the violation of international norms and a betrayal of Kabul’s trust. Otherwise, the Afghan government would go ahead with criminal proceedings against the 10 Chinese spies.

The crackdown by Afghanistan NDS

It is for the first time in years that Chinese nationals have been caught spying in Afghanistan. On December 10, Afghan NDS first arrested a Chinese intelligence operative Li Yangyang, who was operating in the country since July this year. Yangyang was arrested from his Kabul residence. The NDS also recovered arms, ammunition, and explosives, including Ketamine powder from his residence.

On the same day, the Afghan NDS then arrested another Chinese spy, Sha Hung from her Shirpur residence in Kabul. During the search operation, explosives and other highly objectionable material were recovered from Hung’s residence.

Subsequently, eight more Chinese spies were arrested by the NDS. All of the arrested individuals were operating as Chinese spies in Afghanistan.

Investigations revealed that both Li Yangyang and Sha Hung were kingpins of the espionage network and both of them had been meeting commanders of the Taliban-backed terror group Haqqani Network (HQN).

Pakistan’s ISI acting as a mediator between Haqqani Network and the Chinese Intelligence agents

It is believed that Pakistan’s ISI has been acting as a mediator between Haqqani Network and the Chinese Intelligence agents. According to experts, China is closely working with Pakistan’s ISI and terror outfits backed by them. Besides working with the HQN, China is also financing the Taliban through Pakistan to tackle the American influence. 

Experts believe that these Chinese spies were meeting Talibani commanders to monitor the Uyghur activists who have fled to Afghanistan or to West Asia and were reporting the same to the Chinese government. Meanwhile, the Afghan security forces is of the belief that the detainees were creating a fake East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) module in Afghanistan to entrap ETIM operatives in Afghanistan.

ETIM is a Muslim separatist group alleged to be active in Xinjiang province, home to China’s ethnic minority Uyghur Muslims. Its founder Hasan Mahsum, an Uyghur from Xinjiang’s Kashgar region, was shot dead by Pakistani soldiers in 2003. Rights groups say China uses the ETIM threat as an excuse to impose restrictions on Uyghurs and discredit human rights activists outside China.

After opposing reforms that free farmers from shackles of middlemen, Congress now sees middlemen in DBT payment to farmers

OpIndia Staff
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After opposing reforms that free farmers from shackles of middlemen, Congress now sees middlemen in DBT payment to farmers

A senior Congress leader has confirmed what was being suspected for some time now, that most who are protesting the three new farm laws have not read the laws, and are not aware of the provisions of the laws. Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused the govt of not addressing the issue of middleman in agriculture, when the fact is that new laws do exactly the same.

Reacting to the PM Modi launching the distribution of funds under PM Kisan scheme to farmers across the country, AR Chowdhury made some bizarre comments. He said that while the government claims Rs 18,000 crore directly transferred to farmers, but middlemen still exist and the entire amount does reach the farmers.

This is a completely baseless argument, because the PM Kisan scheme is implemented through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), which does not involve any middlemen or intermediary. The Union Government of India makes the payment directly to the farmers by transferring the amount to their bank accounts. Once a farmer is registered in the system under the scheme, no further action is needed for getting the payment, the instalments are paid directly through DBT. Hence the claim that there are middlemen and farmers don’t reach the entire amount is completely false. Farmers have received instalments of Rs 2000.00 in full, without having to pay any bribe or commission.

It is notable that while farmers across the country are receiving the benefit under the scheme, farmers in West Bengal are deprived of it. This is because, the Mamata Banerjee government has refused to allow farmers of the state to receive the fund directly from the central government, and insisting that the fund should be transferred to the state government. TMC is an ally of Congress party against the BJP, and the same TMC is wanting a system that will enable middlemen in the scheme.

There were huge irregularities in the distribution of compensation to the victims of the cyclone Amphan, and the same is bound to happen if the PM Kisan scheme money is also distributed through the state govt machinery, a state famous for ‘cut money’. In the Amphan compensation distribution, several TMC Panchayat secretaries were suspended for misuse of money, and several TMC members had even admitted to receiving compensation without suffering any damage from the cyclone.

Therefore, it is ironical that while the Congress party is supporting a party that does not want direct transfer of money to farmers, it is talking about middlemen.

But that is not enough, AR Chowdhury’s comments point towards even bigger hypocrisy of the party, because it is opposing a law that specifically seeks to remove middlemen from agriculture. The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act allows the farmers to sell their produce wherever they want, as opposed to the current system under which they can only sale to APMC markets. These markets are run by middlemen, and farmers have to pay hefty commission to those agents to sell their produce.

The new law gives the farmers the option of selling directly to buyers without having to going through middlemen, and the Congress party is supporting the farmers from Punjab who are demanding that this reform should be repealed. Therefore, the Congress party seems to confused about its stand on middlemen, and it should clarify does it want middlemen or not. In their manifesto for 2019 Lok Sabha election, the party had promised to remove the APMC system citing the same issue of middlemen, and now they are protesting against a law that does the same thing.

It is also notable that former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been very vocal against the new farm laws, alleging that govt is dismantling the APMC system. But the fact is that the state that he represents in Lok Sabha, Kerala, does not even have APMC markets. As PM Modi noted today, if the APMC system is so good, they should demand it in Kerala also. But displaying blatant hypocrisy, the opposition parties continue to support the farmer protests against the farm laws while themselves not implementing pro-farmer policies and schemes of the central govt.

Corona affects Hindus, Muslims have dua, don’t need vaccine: Kolkata’s Maulana Barkati

OpIndia Staff
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Corona affects Hindus, Muslims have dua, don’t need vaccine: Kolkata’s Maulana Barkati

As India gears up for vaccination drive against Coronavirus, the debate over the alleged use of pork in the COVID-19 vaccines has intensified amongst various Muslim scholars and organisations. Today, Maulana Noor-ur Rehman Barkati, the Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Masjid in Kolkata, West Bengal, has come out to argue against the coronavirus vaccine.

The Imam said that though the entire world is facing the scourge of coronavirus, the Muslim community is not afraid of the virus and will not take the vaccine. “I am saying in clear words that Muslims will not use the vaccine”, said the Imam in an interview to the Hindi news channel TV9 Bharatvarsh.

“Corona a threat to Hindus, not Muslims’: Kolkata Shahi Imam Maulana

Calling it a conspiracy of the Jews to kill the Muslims of India through this vaccine, Maulana Barkati said that coronavirus was never a threat to the Muslims. “Corona is a threat to Hindus, not to Muslims. The virus has not affected the Muslim localities. We have such blessing of Allah, that we remain unaffected”, said the Maulana.

Imam Barkati cleared that none of his Muslim brothers should get this vaccine until the “formula” of the vaccine is revealed before the Islamic scholars. “It is harmful to us. Eating pork or using it in any way is considered ‘haram’ in Islam, so the formula of this vaccine should be put before the Islamic scholar and then this vaccine should be given to the people of Muslim community”, opined the Imam.

For the unversed, Shahi Imam Noor-ur Rehman Barkati, once a close aide of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, had, in 2018, stirred controversy when in a sting operation he admitted that he can fix Muslim votes for parties. The cleric is also caught confessing that he can ‘influence’ 25 lakh votes for Rs 5 crore. In 2017, an FIR was lodged against the Maulana for refusing to comply with the Centre’s ban on the use of lal batti (red beacon). “I don’t follow the orders of the Centre. Who are they to order me? Didi (Mamata Banerjee) asked me to use it”, the Maulana had then said, defying the central government’s orders.

Meanwhile, a Muslim cleric from UP’s Darul Uloom Deoband has also urged Muslims to wait for fatwa before taking coronavirus vaccine. The cleric said before taking the vaccine Muslims should check whether the ingredients used to make the vaccine are permissible in Islam or not.

Whether the vaccine is safe for Muslims will be decided by the head of the Fatwa department, he said.

Fatwa issued by Muslim scholars over rumours of pork being used in Corona vaccines

Yesterday we reported how Sunni Muslim scholars from Raza Academy, Mumbai, and All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama have issued a fatwa against the ‘Chinese vaccine’ that allegedly contains pork gelatin. The Raza Academy scholars claim that the pork gelatin component of the vaccine makes it “haram” for the Muslim community.

Meanwhile, spokesperson for Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca have said that pork products are not part of their COVID-19 vaccines.

Jimmy Dore sets the cat among the pigeons as Democrats and ‘Progressives’ bicker after comedian pushes ‘Force The Vote’ on ‘Medicare for All’

K Bhattacharjee
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Jimmy Dore sets the cat among the pigeons as Democrats and ‘Progressives’ bicker after comedian pushes ‘Force The Vote’ on ‘Medicare for All’

A movement has begun within the Democrat party in the United States of America that has widespread implications for the party as a whole and larger American politics. Progressive political commentator and comedian Jimmy Dore is one of the central figures of the movement which calls itself ‘Force The Vote’ and is concerned with providing healthcare to all American citizens.

The 2020 US Election results are at the core of the rise of the movement. Before the elections, Democrats enjoyed a comfortable majority in the House with 232 seats compared to 197 for Republicans. In the elections that transpired, Republicans gained 15 seats and the parties currently stand at 222-212 in favour of Democrats. The majority figure is 218.

‘Medicare for All’ activists demand that progressive politicians withhold their votes which are extremely necessary for Nancy Pelosi in order to get re-elected as the Speaker of the House unless she agrees to hold a vote on the matter on the Floor of the House. A candidate requires 218 votes in order to be elected speaker. If only five progressive congressmen and congresswomen refuse to vote for her, she cannot get elected Speaker.

Source: Force The Vote website

The website for the ‘Force The Vote’ movement states, “Voters sent progressives to Congress to fight for Medicare for all and this is their fleeting moment of leverage. Establishment Democrats make demands of Pelosi for their votes and so should progressives. Wall Street makes demands of Pelosi for their support and so should progressives.”

“Democrats ran under the banner of “healthcare is a human right,” but it’s easy to campaign on or sponsor legislation that will never come up for a vote. A vote on Medicare for all will prompt a national conversation on guaranteeing health care in the middle of a pandemic. It will show the country who really supports it, not just rhetorically, but in practice. Then we can hold our representatives accountable,” it adds.

The initiative was launched by Jimmy Dore and has received support from others including including Aaron Maté, Briahna Joy Gray, Caitlin Johnstone, Dr. Cornel West, Graham Elwood, Katie Halper, Krystal Ball, Kyle Kulinski, Marianne Williamson and Max Blumenthal. A petition launched for the initiative has attracted over 28,000 signatures.

Force the Vote petition

The petition was addressed to 15 specific Congress representatives who campaigned on providing ‘Medicare for All’. The list of members include Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Barbara Lee, Chuy Garcia, Cori Bush, Ilhan Omar, Jamaal Bowman, Jamie Raskin, Katie Porter, Marie Newman, Mark Pocan, Pramila Jayapal, Rashida Tlaib, Raúl Grijalva and Ro Khanna. The petition asks its audience and the elected representatives, “Will you stand up to Democratic Party leadership when we need it the most?”

‘Medicare for all’ has been one of the most basic progressive demand in recent times. The second most popular politician in the Democrat party, Bernie Sanders, campaigned on the idea during his presidential run. But progressives appear far more hesitant than one would have assumed them to be now that their progressive base is holding their feet to the fire.

There has been a growing disenchantment among the progressive voter-base with the establishment wing of the party and they have come to the conclusion that the ‘progressive’ politicians such as AOC they helped get elected are not doing enough to deliver on core demands such as ‘Medicare for All’.

The movement has not only exposed fissures between the progressive voter-base and their elected representatives but also within so-called progressive media. Jimmy Dore had a public falling out with Cenk Uygur, a giant in the progressive space but suspected of dubious loyalties.

Cenk Uygur, for some bewildering reason, is against the idea of withholding the vote for Nancy Pelosi and has lashed out in public against the comedian who previously worked at The Young Turks, a digital media venture established by Uygur, before going on to establish his own YouTube channel ‘The Jimmy Dore Show’.

Cenk Uygur accused Dore of ‘jumping in’ with a ‘half-baked plan’ and said that his former colleague had made a ‘mess’. Jimmy Dore, on the other hand, has shot back and accused the other of lying and took potshots at him for taking money from Clintons donors. Cenk has also fueled the notion that the Speaker’s position would fall to Republicans if progressives in the House do not vote for Pelosi, an idea that Dore calls a lie as Republican candidates would require 218 votes as well which they do not have.

Jimmy Dore goes off at Cenk Uygur

Cenk has also claimed that the comedian “has his feelings hurt so much he lashes out wildly against all other progressives” with Dore hitting back at him for taking a great deal of money from Clinton donors and asking for donations from people multiple times during the day in the middle of a grave economic crisis.

Jimmy Dore slams Uygur for asking for donations in the middle of a pandemic

Jimmy Dore also dedicated a segment to the TYT founder on his YouTube channel where he went all in at the ‘independent media guy’ for trying to subvert the progressive movement for ‘Medicare for All’. He was visibly angry with Cenk for repeated calls for donations as Dore has himself made his content free since the economic crisis began.

The two have had previous disagreements in the past and it was obvious since Dore quit TYT that the two had decided to charter different paths but the differences have been aggravated a lot more during the Trump years. Unlike Cenk, Jimmy Dore does not believe in Russia conspiracy theories and has spent significant time in debunking the Russian collusion allegations against Donald Trump.

The comedian has also been appreciative of Trump on specific issues and was not onboard the ‘Orange Man Bad’ train. He was a staunch supporter of Bernie Sanders who gave up on the Democratic Socialist because he believed the latter lacks leadership qualities and is not willing to fight for his supporters. Dore has also appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News to speak on progressive issues.

It remains to be seen how the ‘Force The Vote’ movement transpires and if it manages to secure a victory. But clearly, the issue itself has immense support on the ground and overwhelming support among Democrats. Medicare for All would guarantee healthcare to every citizen in USA at a time when millions of people have lost their insurance after falling into unemployment.

The movement has clearly exposed the fissures within the Democrat party as well and even within the ‘Progressive’ bandwagon itself. AOC, by some weird twist of fate, is not enthusiastic about Dore’s idea. The comedian shot back at her as well after the Congresswoman made it clear that she was not enthusiastic about the idea.

Jimmy Dore has made quite a few ‘enemies’ due to his relentless criticism of ‘progressive’ politicians and Joe Biden. At a time when supporters awarded Joe Biden their complete support, Dore maintained that he was not sure the president-elect was a lesser evil than Donald Trump. During this movement, he is again facing a barrage of criticism and personal attacks, including allegations that he received money from a ‘pro-Assad’ group.

UK police arrests three pro-Khalistani men accused of RSS leader’s murder in 2009

OpIndia Staff
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UK police arrests three pro-Khalistani men accused of RSS leader’s murder in 2009

The West Midlands police in the United Kingdom has arrested three pro-Khalistani persons accused in the murder of RSS leader Rulda Singh in 2009. The three accused who are nationals of the UK have been identified as Gursharanbir Singh Wahiwala, Amritbir Singh Wahiwala and Pyara Singh Gill. They were arrested on December 21 after extradition warrants were issued against them by the Westminster magistrate’s court. They were released on bail with strict conditions after being produced before Westminster magistrates’ court.

Murder of Rulda Singh

Rulda Singh was associated with the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Rulda Singh was murdered in Patiala in 2009. He was reportedly shot dead outside him shop by some assailants. On his visits abroad, Singh used to urge Sikh living in foreign countries to return to India.

Accused had travelled to India to kill Rulda Singh

According to reports, a senior Punjab Police official said that Gursharanbir Singh Wahiwala and Pyara Singh Gill had come to India to murder Rulda Singh. Gursharanbir had reportedly travelled on his brother Amritbir Singh Wahiwala’a passport. In 2009, Punjab police had arrested four people in connection to his murder but released them later. Punjab police has shared details of the case of Rulda Singh’s murder with the the West Midlands police in July 2010 after which Gursharanbir was detained temporarily. A team of UK police had visited Patiala in December 2010 to interrogate the other accused in the case who were lodged in Nabha jail at that time.

Gursharanbir Singh Wahiwala was declared a proclaimed offender by a Patiala court in February 2015. Five others arrested by the police in relation to his murder were acquitted by Patiala court due to lack of evidence.

NIA probe revealed Gursharanbir Singh’s Khalistani links

Gursharanbir Singh Wahiwala was also found to be one of the chief conspirators in the case of targeted killings in Punjab between 2016 and 2017 which included the murder of RSS leader Brigadier Jagdish Gagneja (Retd). He was reportedly a key associate of Harminder Singh Mintoo, head of Khalistan Liberation Force, who died in 2018 in a jail in Punjab. Mintoo faced several cases other than murders and unlawful activities. Gursharanbir Singh Wahiwala is also said to be a close relative of British national Jagtar Singh Johal, one of the prime accused in the targeted killings. In September 2018, the West Midlands Counter-Terrorism Unit (WMCTU) had raided the house of Gursharanbir Singh Wahiwala.

Last month, the NIA had filed the charge sheet naming 11 accused in case of the murder of RSS leader Brigadier Jagdish Gagneja (Retd). Brigadier Jagdish Gagneja was shot dead by some assailants in August 2016 in Jalandhar. Gursharanbir Singh Wahiwala and Jagtar Singh Johal have been named in the charge sheet.

Maharashtra: NCP Corporator’s husband Aziz Sheikh charged with committing robbery at factory headed by BJP leader

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: NCP Corporator’s husband Aziz Sheikh charged with committing robbery at factory headed by BJP leader

In a new turn in the robbery case at Vaidyanath Sahakari sugar factory in Parli Taluka, headed by BJP leader Pankaja Munde, the husband of the local NCP corporator has been charged by the police for carrying out the theft.

Husband of NCP corporator charged of theft at Munde’s sugar factory

The accused, identified as Aziz Ismail Sheikh alias Mangaldada, is charged for stealing materials worth Rs 38 lakhs from Munde’s sugar factory. Aziz Sheikh is currently absconding and the police are on the lookout for him. Police have arrested Aziz Sheikh’s son in connection with the case.

A complaint was lodged in the case with the Parli Rural Police on December 22 which mentioned that unknown thieves stole goods worth Rs 37.84 lakh from the factory store godown and workshop. The police registered a case and launched an investigation into the robbery. So far, 4 suspects have been arrested in the case.

Robbery committed at sugar factory and godown in October 2020

Vaidyanath Sahakari Sugar Factory, headed by Pankaja Munde, has a store godown and a workshop godown. The theft took place on October 17, 2020 in this godown. Storekeeper G.T. Munde informed about the robbery to the factory clerk and legal in-charge Zamin Sheikh. Sheikh had then inspected the theft site. At that moment, it came to notice that the shutters at the back of the store and the workshop had been lifted, confirming the robbery.

An investigation was launched by the sugar factory administration after the theft was confirmed. It began by estimating what materials were stolen from the factory.

According to the factory administration, goods worth Rs 37 lakh 84 thousand had been stolen. These include factory computers, copper material, mill bearings, bush sound bars and many more.

Hyderabad: Superstar Rajinikanth admitted to hospital. Know why

OpIndia Staff
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Hyderabad: Superstar Rajinikanth admitted to hospital. Know why

On Friday, actor Rajinikanth was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad in Telangana after fluctuations in his blood pressure levels. He had earlier isolated himself after several people on the set of his upcoming film ‘Annaathe’ had tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus.

In a statement released by the hospital administration, it said, “Mr Rajinikanth has been admitted in the hospital today in the morning. He was shooting for a movie in Hyderabad since the fast 10 days. A couple of people on the sets tested positive for Covid-19. Mr Rajinikanth was tested on 22 December for Covid-19 and he was negative. Since then he isolated himself and was monitored closely.”

The hospital further informed, “Though he did not have any symptoms of Covid-19, his Blood Pressure showed severe fluctuations and needed further evaluation for which he has been admitted to the hospital. He will be investigated and monitored closely in the hospital till his blood pressure settles down before being discharged. Apart from fluctuating blood pressure and exhaustion he does not have any other symptoms and is hemodynamically stable.

Shoot for film ‘Annaathe’ featuring Rajinikanth postponed

Earlier on Wednesday, Sun Pictures informed on Twitter that the shooting of the movie ‘Annaathe’ featuring Rajinikanth, had been postponed after four crew members were diagnosed with Coronavirus.

It tweeted, “Announcement: During routine testing at Annaathe shoot, 4 crew members have tested positive for Covid19. Superstar Rajinikanth and other crew members have tested negative. To ensure (the) utmost safety, Annaathe shooting has been postponed.

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