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After Mumbai HC stayed transfer of Kanjurmarg land for metro car shed, Shiv Sena govt eyes land at BKC worth Rs 45,000 crore

OpIndia Staff
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After Mumbai HC stayed transfer of Kanjurmarg land for metro car shed, Shiv Sena govt eyes land at BKC worth Rs 45,000 crore

The Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra leaves no opportunity to play petty politics even if it takes to compromise on the development of its state. Just two days after the Bombay High Court (HC) ordered an interim stay on the transfer of a 102-acre land in Kanjurmarg to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for an integrated Metro car shed, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has now suggested that it is eyeing at the land allotted for Centre’s ambitious bullet train project in Mumbai if Kanjurmarg metro car shed project is stopped.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government is considering using a plot of land in the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) that had been set aside to be the originating point for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train. Confirming the news, Chief secretary Sanjay Kumar said: “The Kanjurmarg plot, where the car shed is being planned, is entangled in a legal process, which will take time. Hence, it has been proposed to examine the technical feasibility of the BKC plot. Based on the findings of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), the state government will take the further decision,” Kumar said.

Bandra-Kurla Complex will increase the cost by several times

It may be noted that while deciding on the location for the metro car shed, the Bandra-Kurla Complex site was also considered, but it was rejected as the site is one of the prime commercial land in Mumbai fetching very high value. Former CM Devendra Fadnavis said that talks of setting up the Mumbai Metro 3 car shed at Bandra Kurla Complex are “ridiculous and childish” as it will increase the project cost multiple times. He said that such a move will increase the annual maintenance cost by five folds and also make the Metro venture non-feasible and non-starter.

He noted that last land sold at BKC was at the rate of Rs 1,800 crore per hectare, and as 25-hectare land will be required for the car shed, it would cost Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore. He said that due to the cost of land at that location, the bullet train station will be built three-level below ground, hence the land above will be available for commercial use. The proposed International Finance Centre (IFC) will be built above the bullet train station.

It may be noted that last year Japanese company Sumitomo had bought a three-acre plot for Rs 2,238 crore. Taking this rate, the 61 hectares (25 acres) needed for the metro car shed will be worth around Rs 45,000 crore, even more than the estimate by Fadnavis. This will be a far cry from the claim of Shiv Sena that relocating the project will not increase the cost.

Shiv Sena Govt’s decision leaves BJP govt furious

This decision of the Maha Aghadi government in Maharashtra has left the BJP government infuriated. BJP MLA Ashish Shelar slammed the Shiv Sena government saying that more than the construction of Metro car shed Uddhav Thackeray and his government is busy looking for opportunities to stall the Centre’s proposed bullet train project.

“The ego of an arrogant king and a luxurious prince is greater than every development project of Mumbaikars,” said Shelar taking an indirect dig at Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aditya Thackeray. Claiming that the development of Mumbai was being compromised due to the duo’s personal ego, Shelar added, “Not the opposition, they are the stumbling block in the development of Mumbai”.

Moreover, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis also tore into the Maha Aghadi government claiming that the people of Maharashtra want the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project but the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government led by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray does not.

“Now, after the coronavirus pandemic, how much will it benefit the people of Maharashtra? All material used will be from Maharashtra. Jobs would have been created. Only Maharashtra and the people of Maharashtra will get benefits from it,” the BJP leader said, furthering that the project would bring Rs 50,000 crores of investment in Maharashtra.

Bombay HC stays Kanjurmarg Metro car shed work

It is pertinent to note here that the Bombay High Court passed an interim order Wednesday, staying the October 1 order by Mumbai Suburban District Collector that transferred 102 acres of land to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to build a Metro car shed. The HC was hearing a petition filed by the Centre, which has claimed the land belonged to it. Adding that it would hear this case along with the Centre’s plea on the said land in February, the Bombay HC had directed the Maha Aghadi govt to stop work on the project.

In October the Uddhav Thackeray government had alloted this plot at Kanjurmarg for the Metro car shed project. This was after it scrapped the proposed car shed at the Aarey Milk Colony immediately after coming to power.

The 102 acre land at Kanjurmarg is actually owned by Salt Commissioner

While transferring this 102 acres of land at Kanjurmarg to the MMRDA, and the state govt had claimed that it owns the land hence it has the right to transfer the land for the metro car shed. But according to centre, that is not correct, as the land is actually owned by Salt Commissioner, which reports to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the union govt. Moreover, the land was transferred violating norms, as while the MMRDA had applied to DPIIT for allotment of the land, the state govt transferred it without waiting for a response by DPIIT.

Amidst all this, the one person who seemed quite excited with Maha Aghadi Government’s misdemeanors is none other than the ‘neutral’ journalist and the chief of the Editors Guild of India, Shekhar Gupta.

The thought that Modi government’s efforts could be impeded by the Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra was enough to make Gupta ecstatic. He opined that the entire fiasco was becoming “fun by the day”.

From promising similar reforms in Punjab elections to dramatically tearing off laws: The sordid saga of AAP’s U-turns on Farm Laws

OpIndia Staff
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From promising similar reforms in Punjab elections to dramatically tearing off laws: The sordid saga of AAP’s U-turns on Farm Laws

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his fellow AAP ministers on Thursday resorted to theatrics and sensationalism when he tore off the newly introduced Farm laws, in a bid to extend their support to the protesters demonstrating along the Delhi borders. Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government also passed a resolution demanding the annulment of the three agriculture laws.

Tearing the copies of Farm Laws, Kejriwal said, “I am pained and sad to have to do this. I did not intend to, but I can’t betray the farmers of my country who have been sleeping on the streets in the bitter cold.” He continued his rhetoric, designed to win over the farmers’ support, saying, “I am a citizen of this country first, a chief minister later. This Assembly rejects the three laws and appeals to the Central Government to meet the demands of the farmers.”

With this grand theatrics on the floor of Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal attempted to salvage AAP’s diminishing popularity among the Punjab farmers that had markedly shifted in support of the Congress party which has openly backed the demonstrations.

Kejriwal opposes against Farm Laws while his government in Delhi quietly notified one of the laws

While the Aam Aadmi Party supremo’s passionate grief regarding the ongoing protests was meant to position himself as the saviour of the farmers, his party’s numerous flip-flops on this matter have only served to portray Kejriwal as a wily politician who continuously changes his stances to suit his political ambitions.

Earlier in November, just when the Punjab farmers were threatening to launch an agitation against the new Farm Laws, the Kejriwal-led AAP government quietly notified one of the three laws that he now vigorously opposes. Despite opposing the Farm Laws and extending their support to the farmers, AAP in Delhi discreetly notified one of the three farm laws.

The Delhi government on November 23 notified the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance 2020. It is one of the three laws passed by Central government against which Punjab farmers launched a protest.

When Captain Amarinder Singh cited AAP’s notification as Kejriwal government’s betrayal of the farmers, alleging them of working behind the back of the farmers with the Centre, the Delhi chief minister hit back with a powerful riposte. Except, it made no sense. Kejriwal offered a bizarre explanation, stating that Amarinder Singh criticised him because he did not allow Delhi stadiums to be converted into temporary jails to imprison the protesting farmers.

Kejriwal criticises farm laws after pledging to legislate similar reforms in Punjab in AAP’s 2017 elections manifesto

In yet another instance of U-turn, Kejriwal headed AAP government, which is now fiercely opposing the Farm Laws, had vowed to bring in similar reforms in their 2017 Punjab elections manifesto. In an attempt to woo the farmers, AAP had promised private push to agriculture markets and bringing amendments to the APMC Act to allow farmers to sell outside the state.

AAP manifesto for Punjab 2017 assembly elections

The official Twitter account of the Aam Aadmi Party in 2016 promised of large scale private investments in markets and processing centres for farmers to sell their produce.

In order to seek votes, AAP conveniently promised reforms in the agriculture sector if it were voted to power in the elections. But when they were actually implemented, albeit, by a rival political party, it took a massive u-turn, criticising the Central Government for legislating the very same reforms which it had once promised in their manifesto. Here is the copy of the party’s 2017 Punjab manifesto which is accessible online [PDF].

Rubika Liyaquat shuts up AAP leader Sanjay Singh by highlighting promises made by AAP in Punjab

When ABP News journalist Rubika Liyaquat confronted AAP leader Sanjay Singh on his party’s vacillating stance on the Farm Laws, a thoroughly rattled Sanjay Singh proceeded to heckle and name-calling the journalist.

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Undeterred by Singh’s attempts to deflect the issue away from Aam Aadmi Party’s about-turns, Ms Liyaquat slammed the AAP leader for calling her channel a sellout and highlighted how his party’s official Twitter account had advocated privatisation in agriculture in 2016, a 180 degree turn from its latest theatrics in the Delhi Assembly.

New York Times admits ‘institutional failure’, says it was likely duped by a Pakistani-Canadian pretending to be an ISIS executioner

OpIndia Staff
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New York Times admits ‘institutional failure’, says it was likely duped by a Pakistani-Canadian pretending to be an ISIS executioner

New York Times has admitted an ‘institutional failure’ on its part following the ‘Caliphate controversy’. Rukmini Callimachi is on the dock for her podcast ‘Caliphate’ which sought to provide an insider perspective into the macabre word of the Islamic State. ‘Caliphate’ relied heavily on the account of one Abu Huzayfah al-Kanadi. He claimed to be an ISIS fighter and provided a vivid description of executions he had carried out.

The only problem was that the supposed terrorist was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police under the hoax law of the country for allegedly lying about the crimes he allegedly committed in the Middle-East. The supposed ISIS fighter has been identified as one Sheroze Chaudhry with origins in Pakistan. In a statement on Friday, the NYT admitted that the podcast “did not meet the standards for Times journalism.”

Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times, said that leaders in the newsroom were to blame, including himself. “When The New York Times does deep, big, ambitious journalism in any format, we put it to a tremendous amount of scrutiny at the upper levels of the newsroom,” he said, before adding, “We did not do that in this case.”

“And I think that I or somebody else should have provided that same kind of scrutiny, because it was a big, ambitious piece of journalism. And I did not provide that kind of scrutiny, nor did my top deputies with deep experience in examining investigative reporting,” he said. The internal review was initiated after Sheroze Chaudhry was arrested and charged with perpetrating a terrorist hoax.

“From the outset, ‘Caliphate’ should have had the regular participation of an editor experienced in the subject matter,” an Editors’ Note said. “In addition, The Times should have pressed harder to verify Mr. Chaudhry’s claims before deciding to place so much emphasis on one individual’s account.”

Baquet also said, “For the most part we’ve gotten everything right. But I think this fell through the cracks, because it was a different way of telling stories than The New York Times is used to. We didn’t have a system in place to manage that, to help the audio team manage that.” He admitted that the NYT was possibly “duped” by Sheroze Chaudhry.

The Daily Podcast scheduled to be released on Friday also discusses the lapses in a conversation between Baquet and Michael Barbaro, the host of the Daily podcast. He said that “the reporting team couldn’t find any independent evidence to back up his story of being an ISIS executioner in Syria.” He added, “I think this guy, we now believe, was a con artist, who made up most if not all that he told us.”

Rukmini Callimachi came under intense criticism from those on the Left who alleged that her podcast fueled Islamophobia. Shekhar Gupta had also addressed the matter on The Print’s YouTube channel where he called journalists attacking Rukmini Callimachi ‘vultures’. She will continue to work for the NYT but will be given a different beat.

Indian-American astronaut Raja Chari selected for the SpaceX Crew – 3 mission of the NASA, to be the spacecraft commander

OpIndia Staff
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Indian-American astronaut Raja Chari selected for the SpaceX Crew – 3 mission of the NASA, to be the spacecraft commander

Indian-American astronaut Raja Chari has been selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) as part of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission that will be launched in 2021. Raja Chari who will be flying to the International Space Station (ISS), will be leading the mission while two other astronauts namely Tom Mashburn and Matthias Maurer will be serving as pilot and mission specialist respectively. A fourth member is yet to be selected for the mission that is expected to be launched in 2021.

Who is Raja Chari?

Raja Chari is one of the three astronauts selected by the NASA for the SpaceX mission. He was among the eleven astronauts who joined NASA’s ranks in January this year. In 2017, Raja Chari was selected to join Astronaut Candidates Class by the NASA. Earlier this month, he was selected as a team member for NASA’s Artemis programme that made him eligible for assignments to future lunar missions.

Raja Chari, a US Air Force colonel, comes from Cedar Falls in Iowa. He graduated from the US Air Force Academy with a Bachelor’s degree in astronautical engineering and engineering science. He also holds a Master’s degree in aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has served as the Commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California. Raja Chari has accumulated 2500 hours of flight time in his career.

The SpaceX Crew-3 mission

The SpaceX Crew-3 mission is part of NASA’s contract with SpaceX under its Commercial Crew Programme. Under the programme, the SpaceX will provide six crew missions to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA astronauts. The crew members of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission will spend six months at the ISS. Their stay will overlap with the Crew-2 astronauts for a short time. The Crew-1 astronauts are already on the ISS, while the Crew-2 mission will be launched in March 2021.

NASA is planning to send the next man and the first woman to the Moon by 2024. According to NASA, increasing the total number of astronauts on the ISS is helping in boosting the number of science investigations being carried out in the microgravity environment.

This will be the third crew rotation mission of the human transportation system of SpaceX and its fourth flight with astronauts including the Demo-2 test flight, to the space station through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The programme has the objective of providing safe, reliable and cost-effective crew access to the space station and low-Earth orbit in partnership with the American aerospace industry.

SpaceX is a private aerospace company founded by Elon Musk. After more than 100 launches using its Falcon 9 family of rockets, for various missions like supply missions to ISS and launch of satellites, the company ran the first crew mission in November this year, when four astronauts were sent to ISS. It was the first operational mission to the International Space Station in the Commercial Crew Program of NASA. SpaceX uses its Crew Dragon spacecraft to transport astronauts.

VHP slams Rahul Gandhi for trying to defame Bajrang Dal citing already debunked report by Wall Street Journal

OpIndia Staff
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VHP slams Rahul Gandhi for trying to defame Bajrang Dal citing already debunked report by Wall Street Journal

On Friday, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) slammed Congress scion Rahul Gandhi after he tried to defame the organisation citing a report by left-propagandist media house Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The WSJ report had claimed that despite an internal assessment calling for a ban on the Bajrang Dal, Facebook had not cracked down on the Hindu nationalist group due to these reasons.

“Facebook US says Bajrang Dal content is offensive and should be banned. Facebook India tells our Parliamentary panel that Bajrang Dal content is not offensive. Is Facebook lying to India and its Parliament?” the former Congress President tweeted while sharing the Wall Street Journal report.

Screengrab of the tweet by Rahul Gandhi

VHP slams Rahul Gandhi, questions his anti-India stance

In a statement on Friday, VHP Spokesperson Vinod Bansal said that Rahul Gandhi has exposed his mindset by citing false accusations, made by Wall Street Journal. VHP Secretary General Shri Milind Parande stated that Rahul Gandhi has been proactive in his support of anti-national elements, Tukde Tukde gang, anti-CAA hooligans, pro-China and pro-Pakistan elements.

VHP reiterated that nationalist organisations such as Bajrang Dal have therefore become the eyesore of Rahul Gandhi. “His affiliation and rapport with China are well known. He would believe in an American newspaper but, not in a Pan-Bharat nationalist youth organization!” the organisation stated.

VHP Secretary-General Milind Parande has demanded an apology from the Wall Street Journal for its false reporting, targetting and discrediting India under the pretext of defaming Bajrang Dal. Highlighting media reports and Wiki-Leaks, he said that Congress President Sonia Gandhi had also tried to ban Bajrang Dal but failed.

“Incidentally, Facebook has clarified that there is no reason to block Bajrang Dal on Facebook. This reflects their hostile anti-Hindu mindset. Sri Parande said that now Rahul Gandhi and the Wall Street Journal should apologize to the Bajrang Dal and the Hindu society that forms 1/6th of the global population,” VHP emphasised.

Claims of the Wall Street Journal on Bajrang Dal debunked by Facebook

Facebook India Head Ajit Mohan told a parliamentary panel on Wednesday that the social media giant had found no cause to act against the Hindu-nationalist organisation Bajrang Dal after reports had emerged claiming Facebook did not scrutinize accounts belonging to the Hindu organisation.

According to the reports, Ajit Mohan was summoned by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology on Wednesday chaired by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor to discuss the safety of user data. Responding to the allegations by the WSJ, Facebook officials said before the panel members that Facebook’s fact-checking team had not, so far, found any content, among material posted by the Bajrang Dal, that violated its social media policies.

Facebook India chief Ajit Mohan has also rejected the WSJ report saying it was “factually wrong and untrue”. The Facebook team led by Mohan told the parliamentary panel that people quoted in the WSJ report “had no knowledge or authority, and were not in the hierarchical chain” to comment on the decision making process.

Six senior TMC leaders resign from Mamata Banerjee’s party posts in the last 72 hours

OpIndia Staff
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Six senior TMC leaders resign from Mamata Banerjee’s party posts in the last 72 hours

All is not well in Mamata Banerjee’s party. Trinamool Congress (TMC) stalwart and once Mamata close aide, Suvendu Adhikari’s resignation has had a domino effect in the cabinet as 5 more senior cabinet ministers ditched Mamata Banerjee in the last 72 hours. According to reports, Silbhadra Datta, TMC MLA from Barrackpore Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas, has tendered his resignation from the party Friday.

While announcing his exit from the party, Dutta wrote in a letter to the party supremo Mamata Banerjee: “With due regards to you I am tendering my resignation as a member of All India Trinamool Congress as well as from all others positions held by me in the party and its associate organizations with immediate effect.”

Dutta was not the only one to abandon Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress party today. TMC leader Kabirul Islam, general secretary of the party’s minority cell, also tendered his resignation from the party post, reported news agency ANI.

These resignations came a day after Trinamool Congress leader and Chairman of South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC) Col. (Rtd) Diptangshu Chaudhury tendered his resignation from his post. Retd. Col Chaudhury also tendered his resignation as the Advisor of the CMO’s Grievance and Monitoring Cell. Chaudhury was the third TMC leader to have resigned from their various posts after Trinamool Congress (TMC) stalwart Suvendu Adhikari’s resignation Wednesday.

The other two leaders who had followed Adhikari’s suit were Asansol MLA Jitendra Tiwari who had quit as the Chairman, Board of Administrators, Asansol Municipal Corporation and Abhijit Acharya quit as Vice-President of Paschim Bardhaman. Meanwhile, many other resignations are taking place at the lower tiers of the party.

Earlier today, Jitendra Tiwari was seen leaving for Kolkata along with two more rebel TMC leaders.

Tiwari and Adhikari’s resignations came amid reports that they are likely to join the BJP in the next few days. Adhikari, in fact, is expected to join the BJP on Saturday, when Union home minister and former BJP president Amit Shah visits the poll-bound state.

Moreover, the party had expelled Kanishka Panda, who is perceived to a close aide of Adhikari. Panda, who was the general secretary of the party at East Midnapore, had reportedly questioned the party leadership for withdrawing Adhikari’s security.

The string of resignations, which comes ahead of West Bengal polls in April-May 2021, might bring in a lot of trouble for the chief of the ruling dispensation in West Bengal, who is eyeing at a third consecutive term. The political sphere is rife with rumours that the exodus of these TMC senior leaders are ascribed to Mamata Banerjee’s affinity towards election strategist Prashant Kishore and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

TMC senior leader Suvendu Adhikari tries to resign, but Bengal Assembly speaker rejects

These resignations, that too in a span of 72 hours must have surely come as a massive jolt to the Mamata Banerjee government, especially when the state is gearing up for the 2021 Assembly polls. Probably in a last ditched effort to save the sinking ship, Speaker Biman Banerjee refused to accept the resignation of Suvendu Adhikari today claiming that his resignation was not in a proper format.

According to reports, Speaker Biman Banerjee has asked Adhikari to meet him on Monday, saying the letter was not in order and he was not satisfied that it was “genuine and voluntary”.

Animal fat used to make ghee in Agra: Police recovers animal horns, hooves and bones, arrests Shafi, Chand Babu and others

OpIndia Staff
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Animal fat used to make ghee in Agra: Police recovers animal horns, hooves and bones, arrests Shafi, Chand Babu and others

Uttar Pradesh police have busted a racket involving an adulterated ghee manufacturing unit in Khandauli area of ​​Agra where animal fat, horns, hooves and bones were being used to make ghee. Police raided the factory at night and recovered more than 100 kgs of counterfeit ghee along with animal bones, horns and hooves. Apart from this, many other types of chemicals were also recovered from the factory, which was purportedly used to convert the animal fat into ghee.

According to reports, an illegal slaughterhouse was also operating adjacent to this particular factory. While two people fled during the raid, the police managed to nab 4 others namely Shafi, Irshad, Tahir and Chand Babu, the owner of the factory. Police have sealed the factory and a case has been registered against the accused.

On receiving the information, officials of the Food Safety Department reached the spot and collected samples of the Ghee which was being made in the factory for investigation. Based on the information provided by the Food Safety Officer Tribhuvan Singh, UP police have lodged an FIR against the 6 accused and booked them under IPC Section 420 (cheating), 272-273 (adulteration of food or beverages for sale) and section 26 (unsafe-contaminated-sub-standard food) of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

The counterfeit ghee was produced at Rs 23 per kg and sold in the retail market for Rs 200 per kg

The arrested accused confessed to the UP police that the business of making adulterated ghee out of animal fat was going on in the factory for a very long time. Explaining the entire process, the accused said that they first boiled the fat of the animals on high flame and then mixed it with an equal quantity of refined oil. After this process, an essence was put into the mixture, to give it the aroma of ghee.

The accused confessed of procuring animal fat at Rs 18 per kg. The total cost incurred to produce this counterfeit ghee amounted to nearly Rs 23 per kg, which the accused sold to retail traders for Rs 60 per kg. The traders, in turn, mixed this adulterated ghee with Dalda and sold it in the market for 200 per kg. The factory has been sealed after the raid.

Rahul Gandhi claims BJP conspiracy to get him elected Cong president, Kapil Sibal fears he could miss out on role of Wormtail in Bollywood remake of Harry Potter

K Bhattacharjee
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Rahul Gandhi claims BJP conspiracy to get him elected Cong president, Kapil Sibal fears he could miss out on role of Wormtail in Bollywood remake of Harry Potter

Rahul Gandhi is extremely displeased after senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala announced that 99.9.% people within the Congress party want the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to be appointed party president. Rahul Gandhi has claimed that it is part of a well thought-out conspiracy by the BJP to prevent him from vacationing abroad.

Earlier, Surjewala had announced that the Congress party will soon initiate the process of electing its new party president. The decision was taken keeping in mind that if the elections are not held soon, then the tenure of Sonia Gandhi as ‘interim party president’ will soon exceed Rahul Gandhi’s whose position she was filling in temporarily.

Meanwhile, Kapil Sibal is angry as well since he believes it is part of Surjewala’s sinister designs to put an end to his acting career before it began. Since Rahul Gandhi quit as the president of the Congress party, Sibal has been trying to pursue his passions outside of politics, where he believes his talent actually lies. But now that the former president looks poised to make a return, he fears that he will be summoned again to actually run the party from the shadows once again.

Kapil Sibal was planning to audition for the role of Peter Pettigrew, a Voldemort pet, in the Bollywood remake of the Harry Potter movies. Sibal was convinced that he would be selected for the role due to his close resemblance with the actor who played the role in the original Harry Potter movies and also because of his great real-life experience in serving She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in the Congress party.

Ramchandra Guha, meanwhile, was heard screaming wildly at his residence after Surjewala made the announcement. The fiction writer had only recently declared that the Gandhi family must quit politics since their presence only helps strengthen the Hindutva movement. He was later spotted at Yogendra Yadav’s house amid speculations that the Ichchhadhaari protester would be roped in to protest the reappointment of Rahul Gandhi.

Surjewala, meanwhile, was well aware that the former Congress president was not on board with the idea of returning as the Congress president. But he believes that he has a remedy for that affliction. He intends to hire Shah Rukh Khan as Gandhi’s personal motivational coach after watching the actor’s performance in ‘Chak De! India’. Surjewala is also convinced that Rahul Gandhi will make a return if a dedicated team of Congress workers performs ‘Nadaan Parinde Ghar Aaja’ from the movie Rockstar in front of Gandhi’s residence for three days straight.

Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on the other hand, has landed himself in trouble, as he so often does, by talking a bit too much. After hearing the news on television, he reportedly confided in a Congress leader, “Gadha ke mere Ghodha korte parbey ki? (Can you turn an ass into a horse by thrashing it?)” Chowdhury said that in reference to Gandhi, who he appears to believe is a lost cause when it comes to politics.

The unhappiest person, undoubtedly, was Plurals Party chief Pushpam Priya Choudhary. She believed that with Rahul Gandhi on the verge of quitting politics, she would be the undisputed youth icon in Indian politics. But with his return being imminent, it appears that she will have to wait till 50 to become a youth icon herself.

The only happy person in this overall sad situation is Tehseen Poonawala who is overjoyed at the prospect. He is throwing a party to celebrate the event. Shehzad Poonawala is also expected to attend the party. Sources close to Tehseen informed us that he invited his brother only after the latter produced a written affidavit confirming that he will not contest the party elections against Rahul.

Journalists are also happy with the development. Rahul Gandhi’s appointment means that the Congress party will have to invest heavily in media management to prevent further embarrassment to the party. Job security and employment opportunities for journalists in the mainstream media suddenly look much better than it ever has since the Coronavirus pandemic began.

Meanwhile, other senior Congress leaders are checking Surjewala’s travel history to see whether he has met Amit Shah in recent times. Some have also suggested putting him in some resort after the made the announcement.

Note: The above is a work of satire and should be taken in humour

‘You can’t deliver sermons’: Karnataka High Court rebukes CPI(M) after the party filed affidavit highlighting its fundamental right to protest

OpIndia Staff
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‘You can’t deliver sermons’: Karnataka High Court rebukes CPI(M) after the party filed affidavit highlighting its fundamental right to protest

Karnataka High Court rebuked the Communist Party of India (Marxist) after the latter filed an affidavit before the court highlighting their ‘fundamental right to protest’. Strongly disapproving the affidavit, a Division Bench of Justices Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Vishwajith Shetty said that the affidavit gave the impression that the court was trying to impair the party’s fundamental rights to hold protests and rallies.

“You are talking as if somebody is trying to take away your fundamental right of speech. Who is taking away your fundamental right of speech? Are you saying that the Court wants to infringe your right to protest?”, the Court said, as reported by Bar and Bench. A plea had come up before the court alleging that the National Directives for Covid-19 Management, part of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines were not being followed in Karnataka. The CPI(M) had filed the affidavit following a previous court order asking the political parties if they were intending to issue instructions to their members/followers to follow the guidelines regarding wearing of masks and social distancing in political gatherings.

The High Court expressed disapproval

Making scathing remarks on the affidavit, the High Court said, “We strongly disapprove of this…Just because you were asked to file an affidavit, you can’t deliver such sermons”. “The 7th respondent (CPI(M)) in its affidavit states that this Court wants to prohibit holding of rallies and their right to protest. After going through para 4 and 5 of the affidavit, we are of the opinion that the respondent has not understood the scope of this petition nor the directions of the court. No prayer has been made in any of the petitions to ban protests. While we accept paras 8 and 9, we express our disapproval towards paras, 4 and 5”, the order read.

The court said that it failed to understand why the Karnataka government did not recovering fines on the organisers of a rally held on December 5. “The State government is reluctant to implement the sections of Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act. It appears that there was a rally on 5th December but fine of Rs 50,000 has not been levied from the organisers of the rally”, the court said. The Court directed the Commissioner of Police to file an affidavit giving reasons for not collecting fines from the organiser of the rally. The Commissioner of Police is also directed to explain why criminal law was not invoked against person violating social distancing norms and wearing masks.

The next hearing of the matter is scheduled on January 11.

Kerala High Court orders Pinarayi Vijayan govt to return Rs 10 crores to Guruvayur Devaswom Board. Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala High Court orders Pinarayi Vijayan govt to return Rs 10 crores to Guruvayur Devaswom Board. Read details

The Kerala High Court on Friday ordered the immediate return of Rs 10 crores that were taken by the state government from the Guruvayur Temple Devaswom funds to the chief minister’s fund. The verdict was issued on the pleas filed against the move by many, including BJP leader N Nagesh.

The Kerala High Court deemed the payment made by the temple board to the chief minister’s fund as illegal and noted that Guruvayoorappan is the heir to all the properties related to Guruvayur Temple. The court observed that Devaswom Board, as a trustee, has a sole right to maintain the property but no right to pass it on to anyone else. This was enshrined in the Devaswom Act, the court said, adding that the Governing Body can only act within the limits of the law.

The Guruvayur Devaswom Board is one of the four Devaswom boards in Kerala that manage the affairs of the temples across the state. The Guruvayur Devaswom Board presides over 12 temples including the Sri Krishna temple in Guruvayur, 30 km from Thrissur.

“Matters such as contributions towards Disaster Relief Funds do not fall under purview or jurisdiction of the Devaswom Board,” the court order said. Slamming the Kerala state government, the high court ordered that it has no power or authority to requisition the funds managed by the Devaswom Board or direct them on how to proceed in these matters.

The order also directed the division bench of the high court to decide on how to recover the amount donated to the Chief Minister’s relief fund. The Board had given Rs 10 crores to the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund during the floods and the COVID-19 period.

BJP attacks Left government in Kerala for taking funds from Hindu temples

Earlier in May 2020, a controversy was kicked up after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala had taken the money for the Chief Minister’s Covid-19 Relief Fund from the Guruvayur Devaswom Board. The funds were handed over by Guruvayur Devaswom chairman KB Mohandas to District Collector S Shanavas, stating that the contribution to the fund was a part of the Devaswom’s social responsibility. 

Moreover, Mohandas had brazened out the decision, saying that there was nothing unlawful about it. He further said that the Devaswom board had earlier donated to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund during the floods in 2018.

The transfer of money from temple reserves to the chief minister’s relief funds had touched off a massive controversy, with Kerala BJP leaders castigating the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government for appropriating the temple funds. Kerala BJP President K Surendran attacked the Kerala government for transferring the money from Hindu temples to the relief fund and said that Devaswom’s step was wrong.

This money should have been sent to temples that have been struggling to light the lamps, Surendran added. He also asked the Kerala government why the chief minister’s fund was not taking money from other religious institutions.

A similar case of temple funds being used by the state government had come up when the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department of Tamil Nadu had issued a controversial order dated April 22 asking Hindu temples of the state to transfer Rs 10 crores to the Chief Minister’s Coronavirus Relief Fund. On the similar lines, the Tamil Nadu government’s order had triggered outrage, with opposition leaders vehemently criticising the move. Finally, the Tamil Nadu took back its order after the Madras High Court found it ‘not legally tenable. 

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