Pro-Monarchy sentiment appears to be on the rise in the erstwhile Hindu state of Nepal as hundreds and thousands of Royalists took to the streets to demand the restoration of the Hindu Monarchy in the Himalayan nation. Protests have been underway across the country all week and on Saturday, thousands marched in Kathmandu, the national capital, calling for a Monarchical restoration.
Nepal: Demonstration held in capital Kathmandu, demanding restoration of monarchy in the country. pic.twitter.com/TFjmKu9U9Z
Demands for the restoration of the Hindu Monarchy in Nepal has been steadily gaining momentum in recent times. Two weeks after the first round of protests for the same, the Rashtriya Shakti Nepal on the 30th of November threatened the restoration of the ‘Hindu Kingdom’ status of Nepal through a peaceful movement. In the previous round of rallies, slogans such as “monarchy must return to save the country” and “country above party” were raised.
Slogans such as “King, please come back and save the country,” were also raised. RSN leader Keshar Bahadur Bista said that since the fall of the Monarchy, Nepal had become a country with many kings. He said, “King Gyanendra has no parallel in world history, where a monarch quietly gave up the throne to give leaders a chance, but what they did in the past 14 years was indulging in rampant corruption and plunder.”
The Ministry of Home Affairs in Nepal, meanwhile, had issued directives to 77 districts to quell the current spate of protests, through force if needed. These protests have support from the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, royalist groups and pro-monarchy citizens. Damodar Wagle, president of the RPP youth organization Bagmati, told Nikkie Asia on Wednesday, “We are supporting the royalists, and our movement will continue despite the directive of the home ministry. If they use force, we will retaliate.”
“Our aim is to reestablish the monarchy and a Hindu state in Nepal. We will gather support from the streets and also push for a referendum based on the 2015 constitution via winning the next general election,” Wagle said. The protesters are carrying flags and placards of Prithvi Narayan Shah, the founder of modern Nepal. They demand the restoration of the Hindu Monarchy for the ‘sake of the country’s national unity and well-being of the people’.
Minutes after Haryana Home and Health Minister Anil Vij tested positive for coronavirus, Islamists, far-left and anti-Modi crusaders descended on social media platforms to celebrate and discredit the efficacy of indigenously developed coronavirus vaccine ‘Covaxin’.
The reports of Anil Vij contracting the Chinese virus came just weeks after he was administered a dose of Bharat Biotech’s ‘Covaxin’ at a hospital in Ambala, as part of its third phase trial. With Anil Vij getting infected with the virus, the left-liberals and the anti-Modi establishment sought to throw dirt on the indigenous development of the coronavirus vaccine in the country to insinuate that ‘Covaxin’ has actually failed.
The anti-Modi propagandists took to social media platforms to not only celebrate but also used the opportunity to spread misleading information against the indigenously produced coronavirus vaccine – Covaxin and caused panic among masses. The self-proclaimed intellectuals, Islamists, without losing an opportunity to mock the Modi government, used the opportunity of Anil Vij incident to question the rationale behind the entire vaccine development programme.
Prashant Bhushan, who was recently convicted for contempt of court case, in his hurry to discredited the Indian vaccine said that there was some questions about its side effects.
Without understanding the detail procedures and nuances behind the development vaccine and trials, Prashant Bhushan went on to mislead the public to claim that Anil Vij was tested positive for the Chinese virus due to the fast-tracking of the process by the government. In reality, it is a blatant lie.
Shivam Vij, who writes for Shekhar Gupta’s ‘The Print’ too put out misleading half-truth about ‘Covaxin’ when he posted a tweet saying two weeks after taking vaccine, Anil Vij tested positive for the coronavirus. The likes of Shivam Vij were indirectly hinting that it was the vaccine approved by the Modi government for carrying out Phase 3 resulted in transmission of virus to Haryana Minister.
Sayema, an Islamic propagandist masquerading as an Urdu ‘intellectual’ on social media, too was in a hurry to discredit the vaccine by falsely claiming that Anil Vij was tested positive a month after he was administered ‘Covaxin’. However, she did not provide any proofs to substantiate her claim before making such horrendous assertions about the vaccine.
Saurabh Shukla, the ‘journalist’ at far-left news outlet NDTV, went a step further to take direct potshots at Modi government. Invoking the alleged promise of Rs 15 lakh made by PM Modi in the run-up to 2014 elections, the NDTV ‘journalist’ said that vaccine promise also turned out to be a dud just like the Rs 15 lakh promise.
Rajdeep Sardesai, know for spinning and twisting facts, was not far behind. Without even realising or trying to be aware of the actual procedures concerning vaccine trials, Rajdeep Sardesai too declared that the fastening of Phase 3 trials of ‘Covaxin’ as the reason for Haryana minister testing positive for the virus.
Sardesai misled and tried to create panic among already threatened masses by blaming the Bharat Biotech’s ‘Covaxin’.
As social media users attacked Rajdeep Sardesai for his irrational tweets, he soon deleted his earlier tweets and posted another tweet with a similar misinformation, now with more tone down approach to criticise Modi government for allegedly hurrying the vaccine trial procedures.
Despite having no information about what has really transpired in the Anil Vij’s case, Rajdeep Sardesai resorted to creating conspiracy theories to declare that it was some fault in the vaccine that has resulted in Anil Vij contracting the virus. However, in reality, details pertaining to Phase 3 vaccination trials is yet to be made public by Bharat Biotech.
Chaiti Narula, another India Today journalist, failing to realise the amount of damage they are doing by floating conspiracy theories, straight away linked Anil Vij contracting of coronavirus to the administration of vaccine.
Radhakrishnan RK of The Hindu group displayed his lack of knowledge when he compared Bharat Biotech’s scientifically developed ‘Covaxin’ to Baba Ramdev’s immunity booster ‘Coronil’.
Perhaps, the likes of Radhakrishnan who are in a false assumption that they are some sort of epitome of knowledge, thought that they can mock Indian scientists with all their hubris.
Geet V, another troll on social media, asked who wanted the next does of ‘Covaxin’. Perhaps, Geet thinks her statement was some sort of a joke and expects people to cheer. However, the joke is on the likes of Geet who discredits ‘Covaxin’ by associating with standalone incidents that regularly occur during vaccine trials.
The left-liberals’ desperate attempt to peddle their politics at a time when one of country’s senior most politicians tested positive for coronavirus, who dared to volunteer himself for the trials when others chickened out, is rather a new low.
Without even understanding the basic procedures associated with the vaccine development, trials and its manufacturing, the ‘erudite’ left-wing intellectuals, Islamists have pounced upon India’s vaccine in an effort to malign it. As usual, the media ecosystem has chosen to create panic in the society about the vaccine at a time when they should have created awareness about vaccine trials and explain it to people why there was no need to panic.
Instead, they have found a great opportunity to target Modi government and to hold responsible for Anil Vij testing positive for the virus. The unconditional support from the Modi government to Bharat Biotech towards the development of Covaxin seems to have caught the eye of the left-liberals, who are now trying everything to damage the reputation of the only indigenous vaccine to be developed in the country.
May be the opponents of PM Modi realises that the success of vaccine could be another feather in the cap for PM Modi and his government. Hence, all efforts are being made currently to depict Anil Vij incident as a major blow to the development of coronavirus vaccine in the country so that they could deny PM Modi his credit.
Haryana Minister tests positive for coronavirus
On Saturday, Haryana Home and Health Minister Anil Vij tested positive for coronavirus. Taking to Twitter, Anil Vij confirmed he has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been admitted to Civil Hospital Ambala Cantt. This comes days after Anil Vij was administered a dose of Covaxin at a hospital in Ambala, as part of its third phase trial. On November 20, Vij had offered to be the first volunteer for the third phase trial of Covaxin, which started in the state.
However, the news of Anil Vij testing positive soon caused panic among citizens in the country. The hysteria and sensationalism in some parts of the media have pushed some people to believe that the coronavirus vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech was a failure and the Haryana Minister contracted the virus only after he was injected with a vaccine during the test phase.
However, with limited information in the public regarding the Covaxin trails, the media tried to mislead by claiming that the Haryana Minister tested positive for the coronavirus after he was injected with the vaccine.
Here is what you need to know about coronavirus trails and why there is no reason to panic yet
Bharat Biotech carried out India’s first phase 3 trails for a Covid-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’ and it is the largest phase-3 efficacy trial ever conducted in India.
During the trials, these volunteers, including Anil Vij, will receive two intramuscular injections on a gap of 28 days. These participants were randomly assigned to receive Covaxin or ‘placebo’, a dummy drug that does not have any effect. The participants are identified by numbers, not names, in the study records, and only a select few people have access to the record that links the numbers to the names.
The randomisation and the use of placebo interventions are designed to control for unexpected effects or disease incidence between the vaccine and control groups that can likely be attributed to the vaccine. In some cases, a person under trial, who has been injected with the placebo can show responses.
As Haryana Minister Anil Vij received the vaccine dose as part of the phase 3 trial, actually it is not known whether he received the actual vaccine of the placebo. Vij may have not been inoculated with the actual vaccine during the Phase 3 trials of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin at all. Moreover, the Covaxin needs to doses with a 28 days gap to be effective, and Vij received only the first dose. Hence, even if he was given the vaccine, he has not received the full dose.
Currently, here is no need to panic about the efficacy of the Covaxin vaccine currently as it is yet to be known whether Anil Vij was subjected to an actual trial vaccine or a placebo, and he has received only one of the required two doses.
Even as farmers from Punjab and Haryana are vehemently protesting against the new agriculture laws, a report broadcasted on TV9 Bharatvarsh showed that farmers from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have benefitted from the new farm laws that were passed by the Centre in September 2020.
राजस्थान और MP के किसान तो @narendramodi सरकार के नए केंद्रीय कृषि क़ानूनों का समर्थन कर रहे हैं. ज़रा उनकी राय भी तो सामने आए..ये भी तो हमारे अन्नदाता हैं..आंदोलनरत किसानों के एक पक्ष को तो आप लगातार सुन रहे हैं. अब @TV9Bharatvarsh पर दूसरा पक्ष भी सुनिएpic.twitter.com/2UVjwLb4Jo
One of the beneficiaries of the farm laws from Madhya Pradesh said that he has sold his agricultural produce at Rs 2500/- per quintal while the minimum support price of the crop was close to Rs 1800/- per quintal. Besides getting a premium, the farmer also said that the new laws have saved him time and rendered his transportation cost to zero as businesses came to his fields to collect the grains.
Similar is the story of other farmers in Madhya Pradesh, who said that earlier the trade in the Mandis was restricted to a few influential businessmen who would decide the price of the agricultural produce. With the passage of the three laws, the farmers can directly sell their produce to the businessmen at their preferred price.
“Earlier in the mandis, 10 kgs of grains was sent only for sampling purposes. It also took a lot of time in mandis to sell your produce. We had to bear the transportation and loading/unloading charges. We often had to wait for days, sometimes over a month to receive the amount for our agricultural produce. However, with the passage of the laws, the businessmen come to your farm and pay you for your produce upfront. Not only do we get a premium on the MSP but our transportation cost and time are also saved,” one farmer said.
Farmers in Rajasthan have also not joined the protests that are swelling around Delhi by the protesters from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. In the report by TV9 Bharatvarsh, a farmer from Rajasthan profusely thanked PM Modi for bringing in the new agriculture laws that have lifted restrictions on the farmers and enabled them to sell their produce to the choice of their customer and their preferred rates.
Congress politicians instigating ignorant farmers against the Agriculture laws: MP and Rajasthan farmers
Speaking on the ongoing protests by farmers in Punjab, Haryana and other states, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan farmers said that the protesters have been fooled by the Congress politicians into protesting against the new farm laws. They also added that contrary to the apprehensions harboured by them, the new agriculture laws are in farmers’ interest.
“We are not protesting against the farm bills because they are meant for our welfare. Those demonstrating against the agriculture laws are not aware of the benefits and the new opportunities it unlocks for the farmers. They have been tricked and instigated by the opposition politicians to launch an agitation against the Centre,” a farmer interviewed by the TV9 Bharatvarsh said.
In a letter to the Attorney General of India, KK Venugopal, an applicant has sought consent to initiate contempt proceedings against ‘activist’ and senior advocate Prashant Bhushan. The applicant has urged for action against Bhushan under section 15 of contempt of courts act, to be read with rule 3 (C) for contempt of Supreme Court, 1975, for a contentious interview published in The Hindu newspaper on November 29.
“The contents of the interview are prima facie contemptuous,” the applicant stated. In the letter, it has also been pointed out that the full article was tweeted by Prashant Bhushan himself wherein he had claimed (on both occasions) that the independence of the judiciary has been ‘compromised’. The applicant has also attached scanned copies of his interview to substantiate his application.
BREAKING: Letter to Attorney General KK Venugopal seeking consent to initiate criminal #contempt proceedings against Prashant Bhushan for his Nov 2020 interview to The Hindu Magazine titled “‘The independence of the judiciary has collapsed” @TheHinduMag@pbhushan1#SupremeCourtpic.twitter.com/2I5eeuWtHt
On November 29, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan had tweeted, “The independence of the judiciary has collapsed: Prashant Bhushan”: This is the full interview online.
Screengrab of the tweet by Prashant Bhushan
In his interview with G Sampath of The Hindu, Prashant Bhushan had made insidious claims about the sanctity of the Indian judiciary. At the very onset, he claimed, “General corruption in the Supreme Court may have increased marginally since then (formation of Committee on Judicial Accountability in 1990).” He added that corruption in the apex court included financial, political affiliations and nepotism and have been ‘influencing’ the decision-making process of the Judges.
“I don’t think this form of corruption has substantially increased. But what is alarming is that in the last few years, the independence of the judiciary has collapsed. Today, the major problem is the lack of independence of the Supreme Court, and its willingness to kowtow to the government,” Prashant Bhushan alleged. While brazenly blaming the political dispensation at the Centre for ‘controlling’ the Judiciary, the senior advocate remarked, “The current regime has used state agencies to prepare a dossier on Chief Justices even before they assume office. They have often tried to have Chief Justices-to-be on tenterhooks till assured that they will kowtow to the government.”
Screengrab of the Prashant Bhushan’s interview with The Hindu newspaper
On being asked whether Justice Arun Mishra was the “worst Supreme Court Judge ever”, Prashant Bhushan agreed to the contentious assertion. “In many ways he would be regarded as such, yes. Because he was also brazen. He didn’t care about the impact of his decisions on the poor and marginalised, or about judicial propriety or how his decisions appeared to independent observers,” he reiterated.
AG had declined contempt proceedings against Bhushan after apology
Last week, the Attorney General had declined to give go-ahead for another contempt of court plea against Prashant Bhushan, as the advocate had already expressed regret over it. A Supreme Court Advocate had written to the AG in October seeking his consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Bhushan for his tweets targeting the Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, and linking the CJI’s visit to Madhya Pradesh with the disqualification case of MLAs of the state pending before the apex court.
Although K K Venugopal had refused to give permission, he had severely criticised Prashant Bhushan for his baseless allegations against the CJI.
Prashant Bhushan was convicted of contempt of court
On August 14, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court held Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court for his tweets against the judiciary and the Chief Justices of India. The Supreme Court had convicted senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan after holding him guilty in contempt of court, with a fine of Re 1. The court had added that if Bhushan fails to pay a fine of Re 1, he will be sentenced to 3 months in jail and suspension of his lawyering for 3 months. The case pertained to two tweets where Prashant Bhushan had cast aspersions against the Supreme Court and specifically, CJI Bobde.
Unusual scenes were observed at a Court in Aligarh on Saturday after a case of Grooming Jihad made its way to the Court premises. The trouble began when a man came to register his marriage with a woman from a different faith at a Court in Aligarh. He was apparently thrashed by unidentified individuals and a case has been registered in the matter.
The man has been identified as one Sonu Malik. Following the incident inside the Aligarh Court premises, dramatic scenes were also observed outside. The woman could be heard saying that she is not a minor and has immense love for Sonu. The Police decided that they have had enough when she said ‘Meri jaan hai woh’ (He is my life) following which she was guided into a vehicle and the footage stops at that point.
The man was equally dramatic. He said, “Mere pyar ko rok liya, humein bahut maara court me,” (“They have stopped my love, they thrashed me a lot in Court”), Sonu Malik could be heard saying as he was being dragged by the Police. He kept saying “Mere pyar ko rok liya” but the Police did not appear particularly bothered by such profound declaration of affection.
Later, however, the woman revealed that Sonu had introduced himself as a Hindu but it was only later that she discovered he was a Muslim. She came to know him through Facebook and she travelled with him from Chandigarh three days earlier. She appeared calm and composed while talking to the media after the initial spell of distraught.
The woman further revealed that the man had emotionally blackmailed her saying that he will drink poison if she did not meet him and could not live without her. Shalabh Mani Tripathi, press adviser to Yogi Adityanath, revealed that it was the girl’s family who had provided some ‘service’ to the man inside the court, hinting that it was them who thrashed him.
Tripathi also revealed that it was at the Aligarh Court that it was discovered that Sonu is actually a Muslim and his name is Mohammed Sonu. The girl’s family reached the spot after being alerted by the lawyers. Tripathi also said that the new law against ‘Love Jihad’ was working well.
हिंदू लड़की को अपना नाम सोनू बता कर जाल में फँसाया,शादी करने कोर्ट पहुँचा तो पता चला कि असली नाम तो मुहम्मद सोनू है,लव जिहादी मौक़े पर ही धरा गया,वकीलों की सूचना पर पहुँचे लड़की के घरवालों ने थोड़ी सेवा भी की,योगीजी का ‘नया क़ानून’ बखूबी काम कर रहा है,वकीलों को ‘विशेष’ साधुवाद ? pic.twitter.com/h5yEPThe4S
The new anti-conversion law is aimed at preventing forced conversions under the pretext of love and marriage. “There were more than 100 incidents reported in which forceful religious conversion was being done. Also, it was reported that religious conversions were going on in the state using deceitful means. So to make a law on this becomes an important matter of policy now,” UP Cabinet Minister Siddharth Nath Singh had earlier remarked.
Under the new law, a jail term of 1-5 years is awarded to the accused (extended to 3-10 years in case of SC/STs) and a fine of ₹15,000 (₹25,000 in case of SC/STs). Moreover, the offender’s proven guilty for mass conversion will attract a jail term of 10 years.
Cases registered under anti-Grooming Jihad law
Multiple cases have been registered already under the new law. Muzaffarnagar police have registered a case against two accused named Nadeem and Salman on Monday evening. The two are accused of trying to force a married Hindu woman to convert to Islam. According to Akshay, the duo started luring his wife to leave him and marry one of them.
They also started asking her to convert to Islam on multiple occasions and tried to lure her for Nikkah. But Akshay got wind of the matter, and before things go out of hand, he left Bhagwanpur. Uttar Pradesh police have also arrested Uwais Ahmed, the accused who was absconding ever-since a case was registered against him, for trying to forcibly convert a Hindu girl to Islam.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee yesterday urged Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP from Contai Sisir Adhikari, who is the father of rebel TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari, to get rid of party leaders who are allegedly engaged in anti-party activities. In a virtual internal meeting held by Banerjee yesterday with the top party leadership, district unit chiefs, MPs and MLAs she reportedly gave a lot of importance to the Contai MP. This was contrary to the speculations that Adhikari would not attend the meeting considering his son’s equation with the party.
According to reports, a Minister who attended the meeting informed that the West Bengal CM entrusted Adhikari, who is party’s Vice-President, of eliminating the party leaders who were indulged in anti-party activities in East Midnapore. The Minister added that Banerjee asked Sisir Adhikari to work with TMC state president Subrata Bakshi and ensure that rebels are replaced with loyal party leaders in places like Nandigram, Haldia, Contai, Nandankumar and Ramnagar.
During the meeting, CM Mamata Banerjee said, “They (the BJP) are at it again, with their manipulative politics, misusing agencies to scare people. Those who cannot overcome their fears are free to leave. For ever such departure, we will bring up one lakh others…I need people with an upright backbone”. Banerjee who is known for her stiff demeanor reportedly got emotional during the meeting saying that some of the party leaders wanted to see her dead to get her position. This made Subrata Bakshi emotional who said that Banerjee needed to live a long, healthy life, for the sake of Bengal.
Suvendu Adhikari resigned as Minister
Rebel TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari, who is considered a number two in the party, submitted his resignation on November 27 as the Transport Minister of West Bengal. Speculations are rife that Adhikari might soon join the BJP giving a major setback to TMC in West Bengal ahead of the State Assembly elections.
Yograj Singh, the father of ex-cricketer Yuvraj Singh, continues to make provocative speeches amid the ongoing farmer protests. After raking controversy for justifying the “Indira thok di” comment and supporting the threats to kill India’s Prime Minister, the former cricketer and actor has now gone on to insult Hindus.
Multiple videos of Yograj Singh, Yuvraj Singh’s father, have gone viral on social media where he has been giving provocative speeches amid the ongoing farmer protests. One of these videos, where the former cricketer is heard making extremely derogatory remarks against Hindus and Hindu women, has particularly infuriated many social media users, who are now demanding his arrest. In this video, Yograj Singh is heard saying “Yeh woh log hai jinhone hamare saath gaddari ki hai, yeh woh kaum hai jinhone hazaron saal gulami ki 5000, 7000 saal” roughly translated as (these are those people who have betrayed us, this community has been slaves for thousands of years).
This was, however, not where he stopped. Yograj Singh humiliated Hindu women by 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, said Singh.
Though Yograj Singh does not explicitly mention Hindus in the videos, it is clear from the speech that it is what he meant.
Yograj Singh speaks at the farmer’s protest
In an attempt to instigate the farmers, Singh furthered: “our leaders have betrayed us. We voted for them and brought them to power and they instead stabbed the farmers in the back. He said that in the past, he has witnessed how these political leaders were auctioned for Rs 5 crore, 10 crore, 15 crore, 20 crore…in Delhi.
Yograj Singh went on to target PM Modi and HM Amit Shah for being Gujaratis. He said he had spent 15 years with Gujaratis in Mumbai. “These people would take a u-turn even if they swore on their mothers, sisters, and daughters,” he said.
Mentioning separatist 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.
Yograj Singh calls for violence, justifies “Indira thok di” comment
On November 2, we reported how Yograj Singh, while speaking to a local Punjabi news channel Rozana Spokesmen, had justified death threat to PM Modi. hen the anchor asked him about the statements made by the farmers wishing the death of PM Modi, Yograj tried to justify them by saying, “As you sow, so shall you reap.”
He said in the end, it is the fight of the sentiments. There is nothing wrong with making such statements. Pointing out to PM Modi, he said that the government should not make any statements that may divide the people of India. During the current agitation, a Sikh farmer from Punjab had said that if we can kill Indira, we could kill Modi as well.
He further accused the central government of carrying out ‘atrocities’ worse than those carried out by barbaric invaders like Babur, Aurangzeb and the British. Comparing PM Modi with the devil, he said, “I have seen him [PM Modi] and other leaders in the central government. Their faces look like the face of the devil.” He had also gone on to threaten PM Modi and HM Amit Shah.
Farmer’s protest hijacked to incite Punjabi farmers against the Modi government
Since new farmers’ laws were notified after President’s approval, the farmers especially in the state of Punjab are agitating against them calling them anti-farmers. Not only are some of the protestors completely clueless about the reason behind protests, some are not even farmers. The incidents transpiring during the so-called ongoing farmer’s protest, which includes threats that PM Modi would meet the same fate as that of former PM Indira Gandhi and the pro-Khalistani slogans hailing the face of Khalistani movement – Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, leaves no doubt that the agitation has been hijacked by pro-Khalistani elements who are using the ‘protest’ with the back support of anti-BJP political parties to incite Punjabi farmers against the Modi government.
President-elect of the United States of America, Joe Biden, is not new to making gaffes. During the presidential campaign, there were numerous occasions on which he did not appear entirely in control of his mental faculties. But recently, during an interview with CNN, he made comments that could only be described as bizarre.
Joe Biden appeared to float the idea that should he ever disagree with Vice President Kamala Harris on moral grounds, then he would fall sick and resign. It appears to be an attempt at humour but the joke clearly did not land well at all. From the look on her face, it does not appear Kamala Harris found it especially funny. If she did find it funny, it would have been more than obvious to everyone in the room.
Joe Biden was speaking on the professional relationship he shared with Kamala Harris. He said that the two “are simpatico on our philosophy of government and simpatico on how we want to attack — approach these issues that we’re facing. … and when we disagree it will be just like — so far it has been just like when Barack and I did.”
The odd moment came after. “Like I told Barack, if I reach something where there’s a fundamental disagreement we have based on a moral principle, I’ll develop some disease and say I have to resign,” the president-elect said. He made the comment while answering a question on what he would do in case of a disagreement with his vice-president.
On the face of it, it appears that Joe Biden was referring to the time when he served as Barack Obama’s VP. He appears to be saying that he had told Obama that he would cook up some story about some disease and offer his resignation if the two developed some serious disagreements on moral grounds. It is easy to see why the ‘joke’ did not land well.
The ‘joke’ appears to suggest that should Kamala Harris have any disagreement with Joe Biden over some irreconcilable moral difference, then she always has the option to resign. Indeed, it is what Joe Biden would have done if he were in his position. And secondly, the times we are living in, it is probably not a very good idea to joke about mysterious diseases and sudden disappearances.
Furthermore, it has been suggested by POTUS Donald Trump along with a vast section of people across the board that the Kamala Harris will effectively be the president due to massive apparent decline in Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities. Under such circumstances, Joe Biden speaking of resigning in the context of a disagreement with Harris does make the eyes of his detractors light up.
Joe Biden is currently busy picking his team to help him during his Presidency. His nominations to key positions have attracted great criticism from the populist right and the progressive left for their apparent proximity to corporate interests. One of them, Neera Tanden, is infamous for making the suggestion in the past that Libya should be made to pay USA money for the latter bombing them into slavery.
As the ongoing farmers’ protests continue to roil the national capital region, several opposition politicians have sought to exploit the agitation and cast the Modi government as anti-farmer. One such politician is the former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who has been eyeing for another relaunch after an embarrassing defeat in the General elections 2019. The Gandhi scion recently posted a tweet in support of the farmers protesting against the three agriculture bills and slammed the government regarding the MSP and APMC.
Rahul Gandhi expressed concern for the farmers of the country, who according to him, are facing severe difficulties in the absence of MSP and APMC. Extending his support for the farmers, the Wayanad MP said that it’s his duty to back the farmers of the country.
“The farmers in Bihar are in grave difficult without MSP-APMC and now the Prime Minister had pushed the entire country into an abyss. In such a situation, it is our duty to support the provider (farmers) of the country,” Gandhi tweeted.
बिहार का किसान MSP-APMC के बिना बेहद मुसीबत में है और अब PM ने पूरे देश को इसी कुएँ में धकेल दिया है।
While Rahul Gandhi emphatically expressed his support for the farmers and railed against the lack of MSP and APMC, the Congress manifesto from 2019 General Assembly elections reveals a diametrically opposite stand of the party when it went to polls last year.
Congress manifesto for General elections 2019 promised abolition of APMC Act
The Congress Manifesto for the 2019 General elections stated that it would abolish the APMC Act altogether. “Congress will repeal the Agriculture Produce MArket Committees Act(APMC) and make agricultural produce—including exports and inter-state trade—free from all restrictions,” the manifesto read.
Congress Manifesto for General Elections 2019(Page 17)
Congress promised for the complete abolition of the APMC Act in its manifesto while the Modi government has not repealed the APMC Act in its entirety. The new laws passed by the current dispensation provides the farmers with an additional avenue to sell their produce besides the state-run mandis. The provisions in the bills exempt transactions done outside the physical premises of APMC (agricultural produce market committee) mandis from any “market fee or cess or levy” imposed by state governments.
Congress manifesto also promised replacing the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 with a new act
Secondly, the Congress manifesto for General elections 2019 also promised to replace the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, by an act that can be invoked only in the case of emergencies. “The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 belongs to the age of controls. Congress promises to replace the Act by an enabling law that can be invoked only in the case of emergencies,” Congress manifesto said.
Congress Manifesto for General Elections 2019(Page 18)
It is worth noting that one of the farm bills passed by the Modi government is The Essential Commodities(Amendment) Act, 2020. With this Act, the Government of India will list certain commodities as essential to regulate their supply and prices only in cases of war, famine, extraordinary price rises, or natural calamities. The commodities that have been deregulated are food items, including cereals, pulses, potato, onion, edible oilseeds, and oils.
The Essential Commodities(Amendment) Bill, 2020, passed by the government is to a large extent what the Congress party promised of bringing in if it was elected to power at the centre in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
However, the Congress party and its foremost leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent stance on the new farm bills passed by the Centre is markedly different from what they had promised in their manifesto 2019 General elections. The Congress party had promised to remove the APMC Act and bring amendments to the Essentials Commodities Act, 1955. The Modi government, on the other hand, has not abolished the APMC Act and has made amendments in the Essentials Commodities Act similar to what Congress has vowed. Yet, the Congress party has been inflaming farmers against the agriculture bills and stoking unrest in the country.
Congress inflaming apprehensions among farmers about the new farm bills
Congress has been actively supporting the farmers’ uprising against the central government. In September, after Congress states brought in laws to negate the farm bills passed by the centre, the Congress invoked Bhagat Singh, whose birth anniversary was being celebrated today, during the protests, and Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh took part in a sit-in at the ancestral village of the freedom fighter.
The protests have been hijacked by Khalistani supporters and leftist activists but still, the Congress has been resolutely backing the agitation. Despite the protesters gloating over the assassination of the former PM Indira Khan and dishing out similar threats to PM Modi, Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amrinder Singh has been standing in support of the farmers stating that these laws are against their benefits.
If the laws are indeed against the welfare of the farmers, why did the Congress party include them in their manifesto for the 2019 General elections? Either the Congress party was lying then about repealing the APMC Act and amending the Essentials Commodities Act or it is lying now that the three bills brought by the Modi government are against the farmers. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party should first come clean on what’s their actual stand instead of instigating the farmers against the new farm bills.
On Saturday, a Mumbai court granted bail to Republic Media Network’s Assistant Vice-President Ghanshyam Singh, after he was arrested by the Crime Branch of the Mumbai police, in connection to the fake TRP scam, which has turned into a witch-hunt against Republic TV and its editor-in-chief, Arnab Goswami.
He was kept at the Taloja Central Jail for 25 days after he was arrested by the cops from his residence on November 10 morning. Singh was humiliated and paraded like a terrorist, with a black cloth covering his face, before being produced in court.
The hearing of the bail petition of the Republic Meda Network’s Assistant Vice President Ghanshyam Singh was adjourned on November 19 until November 24. According to Republic TV, the adjournment came after the Maharashtra government sought the time of 5 more days to respond to Singh’s bail plea.
On the 8th of October, Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh held a press conference where he categorically stated that Mumbai police have been alerted about a new racket involving false television rating points (TRP). Parambir Singh had specifically mentioned that Hansa Research had filed a complaint with the police. Interestingly, in this FIR that was filed by Hansa Research, Republic TV was not mentioned even once. The channel that was mentioned several times was India Today.
Location of Ghanshyam Singh remained unknown after bail hearing adjourned, Republic TV had said
After the bail plea of Republic TV Assistant Vice President Ghanshyam Singh was adjourned for 5 days by a Mumbai court, the media network has said that his whereabouts were not known to the channel and Singh’s family. A statement issued by Republic Media Network had said that the police and jail authorities were not clarifying where he had been placed while being in custody, or in which jail he is presently lodged. The channel said that they are trying to learn about the location of Singh, and by concealing his location, the state govt and police are actively denying him his basic legal & human rights.
