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As farmer protest’s Shaheen Bagh model reaches Delhi-Jaipur highway, Amit Shah holds meeting amidst suspicions of potential violence

OpIndia Staff
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As farmer protest’s Shaheen Bagh model reaches Delhi-Jaipur highway, Amit Shah holds meeting amidst suspicions of potential violence

As farmers protest, premised on the Shaheen Bagh model to hold the Union government to ransom, gains momentum and reaches the Delhi-Jaipur highway on Saturday, Home Minister Amit Shah had held a high-level meeting with senior police, security and government officials on Friday.

As per reports, the objective of the meeting was to pre-empt the outbreak of violence at the bordering areas of Delhi. Intelligence reports had earlier pointed to the presence of at least 10 extremist groups, in the anti-farmer agitation. These groups have joined the protests to engage in violence, thereby forcing the police to intervene and resist.

On Friday, in response to the calls by farmer unions, the protestors have decided to block the Delhi-Jaipur Highway and picket toll plazas on Saturday. “More farmers have now joined the dharna sites at Singhu, Tikri, Ghazipur and Palwal. Farmers from Tamil Nadu have arrived and groups of farmers from almost all States of India shall be arriving to join the Delhi protest soon,” stated All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee.

Security tightened at Delhi’s bordering areas

The security arrangements have been tightened in light of the decision of the protestors to block the Delhi-Jaipur highway. Reportedly, the District Magistrate (Gurugram) has appointed 68 Duty Magistrates and deployed them at different locations to maintain law and order situation in the district. About 5000 police officials have been deployed along the Delhi-Haryana border.

Similarly, 2000 police personnel have been deployed along the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal intersection to prevent the blockage of the crucial Delhi-Jaipur highway. The Gurugram police have also chalked out diversion plans to prevent commuters from having inconvenience.

An additional 3500 police personnel, armed with riot equipment, have also been deployed. To prevent security breaches, Reserve Police Force officers have been sent to 5 tolls along KGP toll plaza, Pali Crusher Zone, Badarpur border, Gurugram-Faridabad border and Dhoj. A heavy police force has also been deployed at the Shambhu border.

The Anti-farm law agitation

The renewed anti-farm law protests began in late November, with demands to repeal the three historic farm laws that are aimed at ending the monopoly of middlemen, APMC markets, and bringing prosperity to the lives of farmers through fair pricing for their produce. While their demands have been rejected, the government has assured that they are open to discussion on the subject. The BJP had accused the Congress and the commission agents of misleading farmers and spreading rumours about ‘abolishment’ of Mandis.

Khalistanis, Naxal sympathisers take centre stage in farmers protest

In a shocking incident on Thursday, the protestors along the Tikri border, who started their protest as a grievance against the farm laws, began demanding the release of terrorist sympathisers and enablers such as Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bhardwaj, Varvara Rao, Anand Teltumbde, and riot accuses such as Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi etc.

BKU Ekta Ugrahan, which claims to be a farmers’ organisation and had gathered some of the protestors along the Delhi-Haryana border observed ‘human rights’ day at Tikri border and demanded the release of Urban Naxals arrested in Elgar Parishad case, Islamists arrested in Delhi riots case and others. The protestors also demanded the government to release the accused of Anti-Hindu Delhi riots case.

It is important to note that the Khalistan organisation SFJ, funded by Pakistan, had earlier declared a grant of $1 million for farmers in Punjab and Haryana in lieu of their support for Khalistan. On 23rd September, it was reported that the SFJ had attempted to capitalise on the ongoing protests by farmers and had declared that it would distribute $1 million among farmers who had defaulted on agricultural loans.

Farmers protest and Shaheen Bagh agitation share uncanny resemblance

The central government has time and again clarified that they are not doing away with the MSP. However, for some reason, these agitating ‘farmers’ still insist that government should not do away with MSP. How can the government not get rid of something they are not getting rid of?

This is exactly like the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protests in Shaheen Bagh where people claimed that Indian Muslims will be asked to show their documents to prove citizenship. This, when government clarified multiple times that CAA has absolutely nothing to do with Indian citizens, irrespective of religion. With these elements now rejecting the proposal by the government and planning to block more highways, it becomes evident that these protests are being modelled after the Shaheen Bagh protests, where the aim is to disrupt the nation and create unrest.

Pakistani credit card recovered from Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik, was registered to his address in Mumbai

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani credit card recovered from Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik, was registered to his address in Mumbai

Trouble mounts for Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik as a credit card registered under the name of a Pakistani national is recovered from the premises of the Shiv Sena legislator. The Pakistani credit card is registered on the address of Pratap Sarnaik.

The shocking revelation comes after weeks of being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate in a Monnet laundering case.

ED raids at Sarnaik’s premises in connection with a money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate had last month raided the residences and official premises of the Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik. The search was conducted at 10 places across Mumbai and Thane with the links to the aforementioned Shiv Sena leader. The raids were carried out reportedly in connection with a money laundering case involving Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik.

Sarnaik, a reality sector baron, was once an auto-rickshaw driver

Pratap Sarnaik, the chairman of Vihang Group Of Companies, a major player in the real estate industry in Thane region, represents Ovala-Majiwada in the state assembly. He is also the spokesperson of Shiv Sena in Mira-Bhayander, a city in Thane district.

Sarnaik is also known for holding considerable clout in the Thane region and for his long rivalry with NCP’s Jitendra Awhad, who is the currently a cabinet minister in the Thackeray government. However, after Shiv Sena and NCP joined hands to form Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, Sarnaik and Awhad had come together and were recently seen in a joint press conference over a housing scheme launched by the NCP leader.

However, Sarnaik’s relative affluence and his growing stature in the Shiv Sena party is a recent phenomenon. According to a report published in the Indian Express, back in the 1980s, Sarnaik drove an autorickshaw and was struggling to make ends meet. Subsequently, he made a fortune by the reality sector boom that swept Mumbai and the adjoining regions in recent decades.

Pratap Sarnaik, a vocal critic of opposition parties and dissenting voices

Sarnaik had recently hogged the limelight after he had threatened to break actor Kangana Ranaut’s nose after she likened Mumbai to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir for allowing the streets of the city be defaced by Azadi graffiti.

Sarnaik has also been vocal against the opposition in Maharashtra. He had vigorously defended the allegations made against Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray and also asked for a drug probe against Kangana Ranaut for her earlier comment on rampancy of drug consumption in Bollywood. Sarnaik also brought in privilege motions against Kangana Ranaut and Arnab Goswami in the previous session of the Assembly.




After massage parlour and ‘gym langar’, video emerges of farmers making pizza, netizens wonder how they can join the ‘protest’

OpIndia Staff
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After massage parlour and ‘gym langar’, video emerges of farmers making pizza, netizens wonder how they can join the ‘protest’

The ‘farmers’ who are protesting against the Modi government over passing three farm bills causing inconvenience to the citizens of the National Capital Region (NCR) seem to be enjoying their free time at these protest sites. After getting extremely comfortable with massage parlours and a gym at these protest sites, these ‘farmers’ have now turned these public roads into a picnic spot by baking and distributing Pizzas to the so-called protestors.

On Friday, ‘Journalist’ Saba Naqvi took to social media to post a video in which it was seen how aggrieved ‘farmers’ are enjoying their time at the protest site by baking and distributing free pizzas.

Saluting the spirit of these protestors, Saba Naqvi hailed the enterprising idea of these protestors to set up ‘Pizza langars’.

In the video that has gone viral now, one can see how the protestors were waiting at a pizza stall that has sprung up at the protest site along the Haryana-Delhi border.

As videos of the ‘pizza party’ at the protest site along the Haryana-Delhi went viral, netizens began to wonder whether these alleged farmers’ protests were organised to put forth their grievances against the farm laws or to enjoy their time through such parties.

Another social media user asked whether the farmers converted the protests to another picnic spot.

Archie mentioned that the protestors, after distributing cashews and raisins to attract the crowd, are now serving Pizzas to the alleged farmers at the protest site. He said that the organisers are doing such acts to retain the crowd and attract more protestors.

A few of them also expressed their anger about the façade of these so-called farmers protests. Mr Sinha said that while goons and Khalistan sympathisers are enjoying Pizza and foot massagers by blocking roads in the name of protest, common people are suffering because of long traffic jams.

Some netizens also mentioned that the ‘farmers protests’ looked like a much dangerous conspiracy than the Shaheen Bagh anti-CAA protests that subsequently resulted into the Anti-Hindu Delhi riots.

Not just free pizzas, protestors can work out at ‘Gym langars’

Apart from free pizzas, the protestors have set up ‘Gym Ka Langar’ at the Singhu border. To cater to all the sportspersons who have joined the farmers in solidarity and anyone who wishes to work out, Mangat Singh, former Captain of the Indian Kabaddi team, and Aman Hothy, a powerlifter have set up gyms at the protest site.

The open gymnasium has been equipped with dumbbells, weight plates, a bench, a rod and two holders. The bench and holding rods were made from scratch here in Delhi, according to those people who set up the gym.

Amidst all these attempts to turn the protest sites into another picnic spot by the protestors, it is pertinent to note how Khalistani sympathisers have hijacked the ‘farmer protests’ are using to further their secessionist agenda. Foreign-based Khalistanis and certain entertainers with a shady history have been extremely vocal over the course of these protests.

Most importantly, organisations that have connections with pro-Khalistani outfits are now operating in these protest sites to facilitate the so-called protests against the Modi government. Pro-Khalistan organisations, in order to attract the crowd to these protests, had also come up with the idea of free foot massage centres at the protest site.

‘Farmer protestors’ enjoys foot massage at the protest site

Earlier, we had reported about how Khalsa Aid India had set up massage centres at Singhu border. In an effort to attract more crowds for the already dwindling protests, Khalsa Aid India had also opened stalls at these protest site to provide massages to the farmers.

The Khalsa Aid is a front organisation for the Khalistani outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).

In a Facebook post, they announced, “Khalsa Aid India has set up this makeshift space as a massage centre. This is for our farmer brothers and sisters who were experiencing pain. We are overwhelmed by the love and blessings that our farmers bestow on us.”

Khalsa Aid India opens massage center at Singh Border for farmer protests

Khalsa Aid is suspected to have ties with radical Khalistani terror networks. The NIA had registered a case in 2012 where the allegations were summarised as, “On the allegation that Punjab based BKI operatives are receiving money from UK based BKI operatives (viz. Balbir Singh Bains, Joga Singh) and its front organizations, including but not limited to, Sikh Organisation for Prisoner Welfare (SoPW), Akhand Kirtanee Jattha (AKJ) and Khalsa Aid, to commit terrorist acts in India, with the active support of Pakistan based BKI leaders (Wadhwa Singh, Jagtar Singh Tara)”.

Further, Intelligence agencies had suggested that the money is being distributed to sleeper cells, jailed terrorists and the families of the terrorists in Punjab.

Are Farmers protest sites turning out to be another ‘Shaheen Bagh’?

The gradual turning of ‘farmers protests’ into party spots reminds of a similar trend that had emerged during the Anti-CAA protest site at Shaheen Bagh. The Islamists, left-wing protestors, who had captured the public roads in the name of protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act, had also turned the protest site into a picnic spot.

After the protests against the Modi government earlier this year began to fizzle out, the organisers had begun to attract the Muslim mobs by offering free Biryani, thus energising them to protest for long hours so that they could create further nuisance to the public.

The free Biriyanis, proclaimed by the protestors as ‘Kudrati Biriyani’, dramatically depicted as the ‘Biryani sent by none other than one true God -Allah’ became a household name across the country, depicting how freeloading can work to mobilise crowds to further a political agenda.

Expectedly, a similar trend has now emerged at the protest sites along the border of the NCR this time, however, this time with a change. ‘Kudrati Biriyanis’ have replaced with more lavish pizzas and foot massaging centres. Perhaps the organisers of the so-called farmer protestors are much more generous than Islamists of the Shaheen Bagh.

Shoyab Khan, who befriended a minor girl under false identity then abducted and forced her into marriage, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Shoyab Khan, who befriended a minor girl under false identity then abducted and forced her into marriage, arrested

The Delhi police have arrested an 18-year-old Shoyab Khan on serious charges of impersonation, kidnapping and forced marriage of an underage girl. The case is an addition to the already worsening situation of ‘Grooming Jihad‘ wherein sections of radical Muslims specifically target non-Muslim women.

As per ANI, Shoyab Khan had befriended the 15-year-old girl under a false name on the social media platform, Facebook. He then abducted her and forced her for marriage. However, the minor girl was soon found. The Rajouri Garden police launched a probe in the case, following a complaint by the victim’s father. The accused has now been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.

The growing menace of Grooming Jihad

Last month, a Hindu man from Delhi had accused a Muslim woman from Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, whom he had married, of hiding her Muslim identity and later forcefully converting him to Islam after revealing her true identity. The man had met the woman on Facebook. The woman reportedly used to play victim during their conversation on Facebook and had told him that she was Hindu and her parents assaulted and mistreated her. Finally, they got married but the woman went back to her father’s house soon after their marriage.

The man had alleged that when he went to Gonda along with his mother to bring his wife back, a policeman threatened him and demanded an amount of Rs 80,000 from him. He further alleged that the woman’s relatives kept him and his mother locked in the room of a hotel and forcefully converted him to Islam by threatening to kill his mother. His Nikaah was also performed after he was converted. The man had accused the woman’s relatives of forcefully getting his circumcision done.

In another such case, a minor victim was lured by one Golu Khan by posing as a Hindu and ultimately forced her to convert to Islam and perform Nikaah with him. He went to the extent of wearing a Tilak and Kalawa in order to make his presence as a Hindu more convincing.

In another case, a minor girl from Ballia was lured by Imran after hiding his religion. He managed to elope with the girl but her relatives with help from relatives managed to track them down. He was arrested by the Police in the end and a case was registered against him under relevant sections of the IPC. In yet another case, a Muslim man engaged in a relationship with a Dalit Hindu woman by posing as a Hindu and later, told her that she had to convert to Islam if she wished to get married.

The list of such cases is endless. Ultimately, political parties have been forced to take cognizance of the phenomenon and governments in numerous states have decided to enforce legislations in order to combat the crime. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other states have either passed such laws or are in the process of passing them.

Pranab Mukherjee’s last memoir, set to be released in 2021, slams Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi for Congress’ downfall: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Pranab Mukherjee’s last memoir, set to be released in 2021, slams Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi for Congress’ downfall: Details

In the fourth volume of his autobiography titled, ‘The Presidential Years (2012-2017)’, former President Pranab Mukherjee had blamed the Congress party for losing its focus, after his elevation to the post of the President. The new book of Pranab Mukherjee, who passed away on August 31 this year, is slated to be released in January 2021.

On Friday, publisher Rupa Publications shared excerpts from the much-anticipated book wherein President Mukherjee had made making scathing observations about his former party. “We are delighted to announce the publication of ‘The Presidential Years’ by Pranab Mukherjee. Releasing in January 2021. ‘The Presidential Years’ gives us a glimpse of President Pranab Mukherjee at his best,” the publication tweeted.

Pranab Mukherjee attributed Congress’ loss of 2014 elections to lack of ‘political focus’, slammed Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi

The former President narrated how several Congress leaders believed his lack of elevation to the post of the Prime Minister in 2004 was responsible for the defeat of the once-formidable Congress party in the 2014 General Elections.

Pranab Mukherjee recounted, “Some members of the Congress have theorized that, had I become the PM in 2004, the party might have averted the 2014 Lok Sabha drubbing. Though I don’t subscribe to this view, I do believe that the party’s leadership lost political focus after my elevation as President.”

While blaming top brass of Congress leaders for the debacle, Mukherjee added, “While Sonia Gandhi was unable to handle the affairs of the party, Dr Singh’s prolonged absence from the House put an end to any personal contact with other MPs.” It is pertinent to mention that Congress tally in the 2014 elections had reduced to a dismal 44.

As per the book excerpts, Pranab Mukherjee pointed out how the lack of governance, on the part of Manmohan Singh who was busy in coalition politics, cost them the popular vote. While emphasising on differences between Singh and incumbent PM Narendra Modi, President Mukherjee wrote, “While Dr Singh was preoccupied with saving the coalition, which took a toll on governance, Modi seemed to have employed a rather autocratic style of governance during his first term, as seen by the bitter relationship among the government, the legislature and the judiciary.”

While cautioning the current political dispensation, he highlighted, “Only time will tell if there is a better understanding of such matters in the second term of this government..” He had authored 3 other memoirs titled, ‘The Dramatic Years: The Indira Gandhi Years’, ‘The Turbulent Years: 1980-1996’ and ‘The Coalition Years: 1996-2012.’

It is perhaps due to this outlook for the former President that the relationship between Sonia Gandhi and Pranab Mukherjee became sour. In 2019, when it was announced that the Bharat Ratna would be conferred on Pranab Mukherjee, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi had displayed staggering pettiness and decided to stay away from the award ceremony.

Despite an invitation extended from the Rashtrapati Bhavan, even former Congress President Rahul Gandhi stayed away from Pranab Mukherjee’s Bharat Ratna event.

While it is not yet clear why he chose to skip the function felicitating one of the party’s veteran leaders, there were speculations that it might be because of the fact that Mukherjee chose to attend an RSS event last year. The former President had hailed Hedgewar, the founder of the RSS as a ‘great son of Mother India’. Even back then Congress had displayed displeasure at his decision. While Rahul Gandhi chose to not even tweet his congratulations to Mukherjee, Manmohan Singh and Sonia were also absent from the ceremony.

Bollywood actress Arya Banerjee found dead in her apartment in Kolkata, body sent for post-mortem: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Bollywood actress Arya Banerjee found dead in her apartment in Kolkata, body sent for post-mortem: Read details

Actress Arya Banerjee, who had acted in several movies, was found dead at her south Kolkata residence on Friday. According to the reports, the 33-year-old woman, who came to limelight for her role in ‘The Dirty Picture’, was found dead at her Kolkata residence. The police broke the door of her apartment and found that her body was lying in the bedroom.

The police reached the spot after her domestic help got suspicious as she did not respond to the doorbell and phone calls in the morning. The domestic help had informed the neighbours who called the police. Arya lived alone and kept to herself mostly, the domestic help said.

The police said that the body has been now sent for post mortem examination and a forensic team collected samples from her room.

No foul play, body of Arya Banerjee sent for post-mortem, says police

They said that primarily it appears to be no foul play. The exact cause of death will be known when the post-mortem report reaches us, a senior police officer said.

“She was getting her food through app-based delivery platforms for some time now. She used to spend time with her pet dog. Neighbours said she didn’t mix with anyone in the locality. We are trying to find out who would visit the house for any work. Her call details are being scanned to see if she was in any distress and if she had received any food from outside in the last 24 hours,” the police added.

Arya Banerjee, the daughter of late sitarist Nikhil Bandyopadhyay, had acted in ‘LSD: Love Sex Aur Dhoka’ (2010) and other films besides ‘The Dirty Picture’ (2011). She had also done some modelling work in Mumbai.

Don’t share ideology: Yuvraj Singh tries to distance himself from father’s anti-Hindu rant but supports ‘Award Wapsi’ nonetheless

OpIndia Staff
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Don’t share ideology: Yuvraj Singh tries to distance himself from father’s anti-Hindu rant but supports ‘Award Wapsi’ nonetheless

Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh on Saturday said that he was ‘saddened and upset’ by his father Yograj Singh’s hate speech during the ongoing farmer protests in NCR and added that his ideologies are not similar to that of his father.

Yuvraj Singh, who turned 39 today, took to Twitter to clarify his stand on the latest controversy surrounding his father Yograj Singh. The former cricketer also said that he wished for a speedy resolution of the ongoing conflict between farmers and the central government.

“Birthdays are an opportunity to fulfil a wish or desire and this birthday, rather than celebrating, I only wish and pray for a swift resolution of the ongoing talks between our farmers and our government” Yuvraj posted on Twitter.

He further said that he wished to clarify that his father’s remarks have been made in an individual capacity and their ideologies are not the same in any manner.

Yuvraj Singh also urged the citizens of India to continue to take necessary precautions against the Covid-19 virus and infection as our society continues to fight against the pandemic. “Undoubtedly, farmers are the lifeblood of the nation and I truly believe that there is no problem which cannot be resolved through peaceful dialogue,” Yuvraj Singh said in a statement on Twitter.

Yuvraj Singh also said that the farmers are demanding the right thing and the government should listen to them. “It is really high time that the government should come up with solutions in this regard and I back all those sportspersons who are returning their prestigious award,” Yuvraj said.

The clarification from Yuvraj Singh comes after his father Yograj Singh had recently made a vile speech against Hindus, especially women during the ongoing farmers protests along the Haryana-Punjab border.

However, the clarification by Yuvraj Singh is being seen as hogwash by many since it comes several days after the controversy broke out and the shocking speech was made by his father. Also, several people noted that even though he is trying to distance himself from his father, he is still supporting the falsehoods being spread in the name of the farm bills by vested interests and thus, doubted his genuineness.

Father of Yuvraj Singh, Yograj Singh’s hate speech against Hindus

Recently, addressing a gathering of protestors at the farmer rally at the national capital, Yograj Singh had made an abhorrent speech targeting Hindus. The videos had gone viral where Singh was not only heard humiliating Hindus but also making some extremely repugnant remarks against Hindu women.

While giving a speech at the ongoing farmer protests at the outskirts of Delhi, Singh remarked on Hindu women saying “Inki aurate take-take ke bhaw bikti thi” (their women were sold for two cents). When their women and daughters were abducted by people like Ahmed Shah Durrani and sold off for a paltry sum, it was we Sikhs who saved them. These are the people who have betrayed us. This community has been slaves for thousands of years,” said Yograj Singh.

While attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for being Gujaratis, Yograj Singh said, “I have spent 15 years with Gujaratis in Mumbai. These people would take a u-turn even if they swore on their mothers, sisters, and daughters.” 

Mentioning terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Yograj urged the farmers to raise another Bhindranwale amongst themselves. “Every person here is a ‘Jarnail.’ If you want to save Punjab, ensure that power is in your hands. If the power is in your hand, you will see a new sun rising from the land of Punjab,” he said.

Earlier, Yograj Singh had also justified death threats to PM Modi. He further accused the central government of carrying out ‘atrocities’ worse than those carried out by barbaric invaders like Babur, Aurangzeb and the British.

Days after his vile rant against Hindus, filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri had dropped the former cricketer and actor from his directorial movie The Kashmir Files. 

ANI denies allegations of running disinformation campaign at EU, calls it an attempt by Pakistan & its proxies to hurt ANI’s credibility

OpIndia Staff
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ANI denies allegations of running disinformation campaign at EU, calls it an attempt by Pakistan & its proxies to hurt ANI’s credibility

News agency ANI had denied the allegations that it is running an operation to influence EU parliamentarians against Pakistan. ANI editor Smita Prakash said that Pakistan and its proxies are behind the propaganda against Asian News International (ANI).

Smita Prakash tweeted, “an attempt has been made by Pakistan & its proxies to hurt ANI’s credibility by hurling wild accusations of fake news.” She said that partners and subscribers fully understand the politics that is behind all this, and continue to repose faith in the depth reach and credibility of their coverage.

The ANI editor was responding to a report by EU Disinfolab, an organisation which claims to tackle sophisticated disinformation campaigns targeting the European Union, its member states, core institutions, and core values. They had alleged that a 15-year long campaign is being run to target the EU and UN to serve Indian interests.

They claimed to have “uncovered a massive operation targeting international institutions and serving Indian interests”, and EU Disinfolab named it as ‘Indian Chronicles’. The report prepared by them claims that the main objective of ‘Indian Chronicles’ is to run pro-Indian and anti-Pakistan, anti-China campaign on international platforms, and to consolidate the power of India.

The report claimed the operation conducted a massive fake news operation, created by obscure local media networks. It said that ANI repackaged those reports and circulated in mainstream media across the world. It claimed that as the reports were created by obscure news networks, it required an established news agency like ANI to distribute them. “Once repackaged by ANI News, the content from EU Chronicle is reproduced by other major Indian outlets, then reaching a domestic audience in India,” EU Disinfolab claimed.

Interestingly, they even claimed that Pakistani media also came under the influence of ‘Indian Chronicles’ to run anti-Pakistan propaganda. In one example they gave to illustrate how ANI allegedly spread propaganda, they used the copy of a report by Dawn, a major Pakistani newspaper.

Ministry of External Affairs of India also reacted to the report by EU Disinfolab and denied the allegation. Saying that it is Pakistan which is spreading disinformation, and not India, the MEA in a statement said, “as a responsible democracy, India doesn’t practice disinformation campaigns. In fact, if you’re looking at disinformation, the best example is the country next door which is circulating fictional & fabricated dossiers & purveys a regular stream of fake news.”

MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava added, “Disinformation is practised particularly by those who have records to hide such as sheltering international wanted terrorists including Osama Bin Laden, & seek unsuccessfully to cover up their own tracks such as on the 26/11 Mumbai Attack.”

Subramanian Swamy likely to sue BBC journalist Stephen Sackur for accusing him of endorsing discrimination against Muslims

OpIndia Staff
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Subramanian Swamy likely to sue BBC journalist Stephen Sackur for accusing him of endorsing discrimination against Muslims

Firebrand politician Subramanian Swamy is all set to file a case against BBC journalist Stephen Sackur after the latter accused him of discrimination against Muslims and falsely attributed ‘Muslims not equal’ comments to him. Advocate Ishkaran Singh Bhandari took to Twitter to inform that a case in this regard is about to be filed.

In an interview with Ram Madhav on BBC HARDtalk, Sackur seemed intent on cornering the BJP leader, questioning him on a host of issues including Kapil Mishra’s tweets, Home Minister Amit Shah’s ‘termites’ remark for illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Subramanian Swamy’s allegedly discriminatory remarks against India’s Muslim population.

Ram Madhav cautions BBC journalist of a legal suit if his Swamy’s remarks about the Muslims are false

When Ram Madhav repudiated Sackur’s allegations of BJP’s alleged prejudice against the Muslims, the BBC journalist said, “Are you not aware that just last month the BJP MP, Subramanian Swamy, said, ‘Muslims if they become anything like 30% of our population, they will be a danger to the country.’ Muslims, he said, are not in an equal category. This is the language of pure discrimination and coming from senior figures in your party.”

Madhav responded to the question, stating that the BBC journalist should be careful, for if the allegations levelled by him against Dr Swamy are not true, he will face a legal suit by the BJP MP. Madhav also added that if the statement is at all true, the party does not subscribe to such sentiments.

“Ok, I have not seen the statement directly. I take it that what you are saying is true. You be careful that if it is not true, you will be sued by Dr Swamy. Having said that, we do not approve of such sentiments,” Madhav said.

The BBC journalist’s question came in reference to Swamy’s interview with Vice News where he was asked if the Citizenship Amendment Act was in contravention of the Article 14 of the Indian constitution that grants equal rights to all Indian citizens regardless of their religious background.

Swamy had then said, “It’s misinterpretation of Article 14. Article 14 guarantees equality for equals”.

“If Muslims become more than 30 per cent, that country will be in a danger,” Swamy said while speaking to Isobel Yeung.

BBC journalist cites Amit Shah’s “termites” remark out of context to paint BJP as anti-Muslim

Subsequently, the BBC journalist asked Madhav to provide an explanation on Home Minister Amit Shah’s “termite” remarks for the Bangladeshi infiltrators in India. He asked, “If you are so sure that there is no discrimination, communal hatred, racism directed by the saffron party towards Muslims, then how would you react when your own Home Minister Amit Shah describes migrants from Muslim majority Bangladesh living in India as ‘termites’ who will be thrown into the Bay of Bengal?”

Madhav coolly responded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks were taken out of context.

Shah had referred to the illegal immigrants in West Bengal as termites ahead of the General elections 2019. He made the comment in reference to the enormous strain the illegal immigrants posed for the limited resources in the country which are meant for the poor.

“The illegal immigrants are like termites. They are eating the grain that should go to the poor, they are taking our jobs. The T of TMC stands for Tushtikaran, (appeasement), M for Mafia and C for Chit funds. After coming to power, the BJP would find these termites and throw them out,” Shah said.

Ram Madhav, in his defence, said that the allegations of BJP leaders and the saffron party being anti-Muslims are totally baseless, and have their origins from the nefarious campaign ran by the opposition parties and individuals who are opposed to the Modi government. He further cited the approval ratings of PM Modi commissioned by independent agencies, stating that they are above 90 per cent, which means that both Hindus and Muslims have voted in favour of the prime minister.

The menace of Grooming Jihad: How neighbours, lawyers, landlords etc come together to report potential cases

OpIndia Staff
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The menace of Grooming Jihad: How neighbours, lawyers, landlords etc come together to report potential cases

As Uttar Pradesh continues to be afflicted by the increasing number of Grooming Jihad cases, the residents of the state have taken upon themselves to report suspected cases with the help of social media networks, in an attempt to nip the menace in the bud.

As per a report published in the Times of India, a strong network of landlords, neighbours, temple managers, marriage registration officers, lawyers and others are involved in reporting on the potential cases of Grooming Jihad relationships fostering in their midst.

Initially, it is those who are close to the couples, such as neighbours and the family relatives, who approach the Hindu groups to save their daughters or acquaintance from falling into potential cases of Grooming Jihad. But on the second level, neighbours, temple managers, lawyers, marriage registration officers, parents and others, who were earlier shy of approaching Hindu organisations, have openly reported the possible grooming jihad cases to them.

“There is seismic change in the outlook of the parents and people who would earlier go against us,” said Chetna Sharma, the national president of Hindu Swabhiman, adding, “things are changing now are concerned parents and neighbours come to them to save their daughters from getting into a wrong relationship”. Sharma told TOI that every year she rescues 15 girls on an average from wrong marriages.

Neighbours, temple managers, family relatives act as informers to nip potential cases of grooming jihad in the bud

Aligarh convenor of Bajrang Dal Gaurav Sharma and former west UP convenor Balraj Dungar echoed similar sentiments about the growing awareness among people with regard to incidents of grooming jihad. They confessed that an array of people, from businessmen to students, to neighbours, act as informers, apprising the Hindu organisations of potential grooming jihad cases blossoming in their vicinity.

“We did not have to prowl streets in search for the Bareily couple,” Dungar said while referring to an interfaith couple from Bareilly whose landlord reported them on Tuesday this week. Dungar informed that even social media websites are used to keep track of the probable cases of grooming jihad. He said that every year his organisation stops at least 20 to 30 potential cases.

The Meerut circle convenor of the Hindu Yuva Vahini informed that his organisations had eyes on temples where Hindu girls would come with Muslim men to get married and temple managers would let them know about the interfaith marriages.

UP government passes ordinance to curb the menace of Grooming Jihad

The Uttar Pradesh government recently enacted a law to curb the rising menace of Muslim men pretending to be Hindu to lure Hindu girls into relationships, a phenomenon known as grooming jihad, also known as love jihad. The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cleared an ordinance against forced conversions, which the Yogi Adityanath government has been mulling ever since the cases of the purported crime had been reported from various parts of the state.

The decision to promulgate an ordinance was taken after a spate of cases of forced conversions of Hindu woman by Muslim men, on the pretext of marriage, had come to the fore. Though, cases of love jihad have been reported from across the length and breadth of the state, Kanpur had emerged as the epicentre of ‘organised love jihad’ cases. There have been several cases of forced conversions of women on the pretext of marriage reported from the city that it has fuelled suspicions about a new model of entrapping Hindu women gaining a foothold in the city.

OpIndia has decided to use the term ‘Grooming Jihad‘ in place of ‘Love Jihad’ for the latter term fails to capture the gravity of the Jihad that is being waged by sections of radical Muslims to target non-Muslim women. Non-Muslim women are being groomed to accept their own subjugation at the hands of Muslim men. They are kidnapped, raped, lured, converted to Islam, punished and brainwashed. There is no ‘Love’ in these crimes against humanity. There is no ambiguity that it is a form of Jihad. We believe that the term ‘Grooming Jihad’ is far more appropriate since it encapsulates within itself all categories of crimes that keep women at the centre of this Jihad.

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