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T- Series director Divya Khosla dismisses allegations by Sonu Nigam, accuses him of encouraging extortion and blackmail

OpIndia Staff
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T- Series director Divya Khosla dismisses allegations by Sonu Nigam, accuses him of encouraging extortion and blackmail

In an Instagram post, Divya Khosla, director and wife of T-Series owner Bhushan Kumar, defended her husband and refuted the allegations made by singer Sonu Nigam. Refuting Nigam’s claims that Bhushan Kumar is maligning his name for speaking out against favouritism in the music industry, Divya Khosla claimed that T-Series had given chances to 1000s of ‘outsiders’, referring to people who were not a part of the Hindi film fraternity. Divya said that a total of 10 such outsiders were given the opportunity to work in her 2014 film, Yaariyan, and emphasised that four of them later went on to become ‘big names’ in the music industry.

“Sonu Nigam said that the (music) industry does not provide a clear direction to talented people. You are a legend, a great artist. How many people were given a chance by you? Several people must have come to you, seeking for help… You neither talked about giving someone else getting a chance nor introduced any talented singer in the industry… It is easy to speak on camera. But, the fact is that you never promoted anyone except for yourself. You are blaming us today. 97% of people who work in T-Series are outsiders,” she stated.

Divya claimed that Sonu Nigam used to sing for ₹5 in Delhi’s Ramlila when he was spotted by Gulshan Kumar, the founder of T-Series. According to her, Kumar booked tickets for the singer’s journey from Delhi to Mumbai. She said that he had promised to make Sonu Nigam, a renowned singer, and had given him ample opportunities.

Divya alleged that Sonu Nigam moved to a different music production house, following the murder of Gulshan Kumar in 1997, instead of helping out the T-Series family. She further claimed that an ‘ungrateful’ Sonu Nigam was reminding Bhushan Kumar of his conferred favours in the form of introducing the latter with prominent personalities such as Smita Thackeray and Balasaheb Thackeray or singing for films such as ‘Deewana’. “Sonu Nigam said that Bhushan had asked for his help to protect him from Abu Salem. There should be an investigation of the connection between Nigam and Salem. He has said about this in the video. Why else would Bhushan go to him?”, Divya questioned.

Cook ‘Sheru’ to the rescue

In a bizarre turn of events, Divya Khosla got her ‘cook Sheru’ to testify against Sonu Nigam. Sheru who has supposedly been working with the T-Series since 1988 said that Sonu Nigam was brought to Mumbai from Delhi by the founder Gulshan Kumar. “He (Sonu Nigam) used to come in a scooty and would sit at the reception and wait for the master for hours. Gulshan Kumar had promised to give him work, gave him chances in several successful films, created many albums. Whatever Sonu Nigam is today is due to Gulshan Kumar”, the cook concluded.

Divya Khosla dismisses #MeToo allegations on husband

She said that Sonu Nigam had indirectly referred to Bhushan Kumar as a ‘MeToo rapist’ by citing the case of a girl who had alleged sexual harassment against the owner of T-Series but had taken her complaint back, following the intervention of the ‘mafia’.

“#MeToo was a great movement that was initiated to remove the evil from society. But, the movement was hijacked by extortionists, blackmailers, and those who wanted to seek vengeance. We had received several calls from people who wanted to extort money from us. We contacted the police and it was found in the investigation that the cases were fabricated and amounted to blackmail. We neither filed a defamation suit nor approached the media. We did not want to shame the girl. You are taking advantage of this. Should I claim sexual harassment at your hands?”, Divya threatened Sonu Nigam.

She further stated that there was no meaning to the ‘#MeToo movement without any proof’ and claimed that her family had started receiving extortion calls from several male singers and girls, following Sonu Nigam’s video. “We provide work to 80% of singers. The remaining 20% may not get work due to several reasons. But, now they start levelling allegations against you. This has become the trend today.”

Received rape threats, claims Divya

In her video, Divya also claimed that she had been receiving rape threats from unknown callers while her husband and child had been threatened with death on social media. She stated, “Why should I tolerate threats to my child? And your campaign has not stopped. You are creating a close-knitted group of unemployed singers and misleading them into this publicity campaign to destroy T-Series and Bhushan Kumar.”

She further alleged, “Your wife has exposed you, Sonu Nigam, and that too in public! I did not want to make this video but I was in a state of dilemma.” Citing references from Hindu religious text, Bhagavad Gita, Divya cautioned, “The battleground is open and the war is on.”

Sonu Nigam reuploads her video

Taking a dig at Divya Khosla, Sonu Nigam re-uploaded her video on his Instagram account and wrote, “Presenting Divya Khosla Kumar.. I think she forgot to open her comments. Let’s help her in that.” As commenting is disabled in Divya’s video, he re-uploaded the video so that people can comment on it.

Screenshot of the Instagram post by singer Sonu Nigam

Dont mess with me, warns Sonu Nigam

Taking on the T-Series chief Bhushan Kumar, Nigam said that he had messed with the wrong person. He reiterated, “Now I have to take your name Bhushan. You are not alone. You have messed with the wrong person.” He alleged that Bhushan used to come to his house for help. He begged him to do Deewana album with T-series. Sonu Nigam also claimed that he also helped Bhushan to meet Smita Thackeray and Bal Thackeray.

In the video, Sonu Nigam made explosive allegations that Bhushan sought his help to save himself from gangster Abu Salem. “Remember Marina Kunwar? And the allegations she made? Why did she say this and why did she back out? Media knows. I have her video. If you mess with me, I will upload her video on my YouTube channel. Don’t mess with me,” he said.

Australian Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane raided by security agencies for his links with China, suspended from the party

OpIndia Staff
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Australian Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane raided by security agencies for his links with China, suspended from the party

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the country’s national security agency has raided the Labor Party leader and New South Wales upper house MP Shaoquett Moselmane for his alleged links with the Chinese government.

According to the reports, the ASIO carried out raids on the Labor party MP after they suspected a possible Chinese Communist Party influence. The country’s spy agency also searched his residence for evidence to support allegations of a Chinese government plot to influence a serving politician.

Reportedly, the controversial MP Shaoquett Moselmane is believed to be a strong supporter of China and is extremely vocal about the Communist country. He had even gone to the extent of praising China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, raising eyebrows in Australia.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed that raids has been conducted at the residence of the Labor MP. “This activity does not relate to any specific threat to the community,” ASIO said.

Reportedly, the investigation had been running for months. On Friday, Moselmane was questioned at NSW Parliament by federal agents outside his office.

Shaoquett Moselmane suspended from Labor Party

Shaoquett Moselmane has now been suspended from the Labor party following reports that his office is facing an investigation by national security agencies over alleged links to China.

Jodi McKay, the Australian Labor Party leader on Friday said Moselmane’s membership of the party would be suspended immediately pending the investigation.

Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane’s alleged close ties with China

In April, Moselmane had also resigned as assistant president of the Legislative Council after repeatedly praising China’s response to the coronavirus crisis. On his personal website, he had written that a nation needed ‘tough, unswerving leadership, focused on the mammoth task ahead’ in order to contain the virus’ spread.

“For the People’s Republic of China, President Xi stepped up and provided that leadership. He mustered the resources of the nation and together with the great people of China – fought it and contained it,” Moselmane wrote.

NSW MP Moselmane, however, continued to serve as an upper house MP and also a member of the Labor party.

There are reports that suggest that Moselmane has very close ties with China. Last year, it was reported that Moselmane had taken nine privately funded trips to China since entering parliament in 2009. The shocking disclosures had revealed that his transport and hospitality costs were often met by Chinese government officials or agencies.

Reportedly, Moselmane was the honorary chair of the Australian Shanghainese Association and a member of the Australian Chinese Association, both linked to China’s secretive network of foreign influence operations known as the United Front.

In 2018, Moselmane gave a speech proclaiming a “new world order” was needed for China to reach its potential and appointed John Zhang to his parliamentary office at the beginning of 2019. Zhang is listed as a vice-chairman of Australia China Economics, Trade and Culture Association, which according to the China experts say was a leading Chinese Communist party-aligned organisation in Australia.

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Australian Federal Police raids on the home and parliamentary office of NSW Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane demonstrated that the threat of foreign interference is “real”.

Australia’s souring relations with China

Australia’s relationship with China has been deteriorating recently. During the coronavirus pandemic, Australia had levelled serious allegations on China, leading to a veiled threat from Beijing. Australia had advocated for a thorough investigation into China’s role in spreading the Wuhan Coronavirus. PM Morrison had even called for a global crackdown on Chinese wet markets.

China had objected to the recent defence deals signed between Australia and India and had termed it a ‘confrontation’ attempt with China.

Australia had recently admitted to a massive cyber attack and had stated that a nation-state is behind it, hinting at China.

Mangaluru: BJP corporator Manohar Shetty enters a manhole to clean it himself, images go viral

OpIndia Staff
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Mangaluru: BJP corporator Manohar Shetty enters a manhole to clean it himself, images go viral

BJP corporator from Kadri-Kambala ward in Mangaluru, Manohar Shetty, was recently applauded by netizens after images of him emerging out of an 8-feet-deep clogged drain went viral on social media. He had reportedly cleaned an overflowing manhole after sanitation workers expressed reluctance in doing so during the monsoon season.

The clogged drain was causing inconvenience to pedestrians and affecting the flow of traffic in the area. As such, Shetty directed the city corporation to send a vehicle with a built-in high-speed water jet to clean the manhole. He had asked the jet operator to enter the drain and clear the garbage using the water sprayer. But, the operator refused, saying that he was not authorised for the job.

After that, the BJP corporator, ignoring the risks associated with it, entered the drain to clear the debris. He was accompanied by four other labourers and the issue was fixed within half a day. Shetty said that it was his responsibility to resolve the civic grievances of people in his ward and that he would enter a manhole again if such a need arose. He remarked, “Of course I will (do it again). I am also a human being, not a god.”

Can’t depend on officials for everything, says Manohar Shetty

The BJP Corporator highlighted how Mangaluru witnesses heavy rainfall for four months during the rainy season which in turn could have aggravated the situation. “No one was ready to enter. Then, I decided to enter the manhole and clean the clogged pipe. We can’t force poor people to enter a manhole to clean the pipes for us. If something goes wrong, who will take responsibility? Which is why I decided to do the job myself. We can’t depend on officials for everything. We are elected representatives. If we can do something quickly, we must do that,” Manohar Shetty conceded.

Not just PMNRF, 7 ministries and govt depts, including MHA and 11 PSUs ‘donated’ to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation from 2005 to 2013

OpIndia Staff
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Not just PMNRF, 7 ministries and govt depts, including MHA and 11 PSUs ‘donated’ to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation from 2005 to 2013

With the Congress party facing criticism over their stand post the Galwan standoff between India and China, many startling revelations came to the fore yesterday that only intensified the questions. OpIndia reported how the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation had received donations from not just the Embassy of China but also the Government of China not once but at least thrice between 2005 and 2009. 

One donation amounted to Rs 10 lacs and another one amounted to Rs 90 lacs. Post the report, questions of quid-pro-quo were raised and launching an attack against Congress, BJP had asked whether Congress was soft on China and were making statements that favoured the Communist nation during the Galwan standoff because of the monetary transactions between Congress and China. 

As it turns out, taking monetary donation from the Government of China was not the only problematic element in the Annual Reports of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation which is chaired by Sonia Gandhi and has Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram listed as trustees. As disclosed in the Annual Reports, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received donations from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund not once but thrice.

If the massive impropriety of allocating PMNRF funds to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation was not enough, an analysis of the Annual Returns of the Foundation by OpIndia shows that multiple government departments, ministries and Public Sector Undertakings ‘donated’ to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation between the years 2005 and 2013.

Following is the list of Ministries and Government departments that donated to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation from the year 2005 to 2015. The years that the specific ministries and departments donated to the Foundation have been indicated in brackets.

Government Departments and Ministries that donated to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation

  1. Ministry of Home Affairs (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09)
  2. Directorate of Adult Education, Ministry of Human Resource (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09)
  3. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09)
  4. Ministry of Environment and Forest (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09)
  5. Ministry of Small Scale Industries (2007-08, 2008-09)
  6. National Self Employment Mission, a project by the Ministry of Rural Development (2008-09, 2010-11)
  7. Sabla by Ministry of Women and Child Development (2011-12, 2012-13)

Public Sector Undertakings that donated to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation

  1. LIC (2005-06)
  2. SAIL (2005-06)
  3. GAIL (India) Limited (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-11, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)
  4. OIL India Limited (2005-06, 2006-07)
  5. Oriental Bank of Commerce (2005-06)
  6. SBI (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)
  7. Bank of Maharashtra (2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-11)
  8. Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited HUDCO (2006-07)
  9. ONGC (2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-11, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)
  10. IDBI Bank (2006-07)
  11. Steel Authority of India Ltd (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-11, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)

Rajiv Gandhi Foundation is a foundation of which the Chairperson is Sonia Gandhi and others like Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram sit on the board.

During these donations were being made, Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister of India and Sonia Gandhi was the ‘Super PM’. Essentially, it was Sonia Gandhi who made the decisions and acted as the Prime Minister of the country.

That the government which was being run by Sonia Gandhi ‘donated’ public money from these departments and ministries to a privately owned Foundation chaired by her and managed by other members of Congress including her children raises several red flags.

Manmohan Singh tried to allocate Rs 100 crores to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in the Union Budget when he was Finance Minister

OpIndia Staff
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Manmohan Singh tried to allocate Rs 100 crores to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in the Union Budget when he was Finance Minister

The long list of donations made to the Gandhi Family controlled Rajiv Gandhi Foundation seems to have opened a can of worms for the Congress party. After the links of the Chinese Communist Party emerged, the foundation receiving huge monetary benefits from the Chinese government had created a political storm.

Yesterday, it was revealed that even the Chinese government had made donations to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Now, another explosive detail has emerged.

In a tweet, lawyer and TV panellist Shahzad Poonawallah has shared that as India’s Finance Minister in 1991-92, Manmohan Singh had tried to allocate a sum of Rs 100 crores from the Union Budget to the Sonia Gandhi-headed Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, to be donated over a period of five years, and it was stalled only after a huge uproar.

The archived records of the Indian parliament’s discussion of the Union Budget in 1991-92 shows a section when, after the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh allocated a sum of Rs 100 crores to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, there was a huge uproar from the opposition parties who questioned that how can the Congress-run government allocate funds for a foundation headed by the Gandhi family.

Not just 100 crores, Manmohan Singh kept aside 250 crores ‘if further needed’

The Union budget document of 1991-92 made by Manmohan Singh also had another provision. It stated that a sum of Rs 100 crores will be donated to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation over the period of 5 years. The amount was to fund the initiatives of “Research and action programmes relating to the application of science and technology for development, propagation of literacy, the protection of the environment, the promotion of communal harmony and national integration, the uplift of the under-privileged, women and handicapped persons, administrative reforms and India’s role in the global economy.”

The Union Budget was to also keep aside another Rs 250 crores if the 100 crores were not enough. The section 58 of the budget document read, “Pending determination of the exact amounts that will be necessary for each of these new initiatives, a lump sum provision of Rs.250 crores has been included in the plan outlay of the Ministry of Finance.”

Union Budget 1991-92

Stopped after huge political uproar

In the subsequent discussions that followed, Manmohan Singh had read a letter from the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, that stated that the Foundation appreciates the generous sum but it thinks that the government should itself invest the funds in suitable projects.

To Manmohan Singh’s response that it is the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation which had generously declined to take the huge sum, (after a massive political controversy), Janata Dal MP from Azamgarh Chandra Jeet Yadav had lambasted Manmohan Singh.

Chandra Jeet Yadav had questioned whether Manmohan represents the cabinet of the Gandhi family in parliament

Yadav had stated that the Finance Minister is dealing with the budget very casually. He had added, “We are discussing the Budget of the country and the discussion is going on. The Government cannot take this kind of a most casual approach to allot the money of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and then withdraw it. From this, it appears, as if the Foundation is the master of the Budget of this country. The moment a letter comes from the Foundation, the Finance Minister comes before the House and makes a statement. I do not know whether he is speaking on behalf of Cabinet. Also, I do not know whether the Government had an opportunity to discuss it or not. This is not the way to deal with the Parliament of this country, which is the master of running the financial affairs of this country.”

Yadav had even gone to the extent of questioning whether Manmohan Singh was speaking on behalf of the cabinet as the finance minister of the country or he is representing the Congress royal family. He had even stated that from the behaviour of Manmohan Singh, it appears as if the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation is the ‘master of the budget’.

Rajiv Gandhi Foundation

OpIndia had earlier reported that according to a document available on Chinese Embassy in India website, the then Chinese Ambassador to India to India Sun Yuxi had donated Rs 10 lakhs to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, which has links to the Congress party and is run by Congress leaders.

It has been found that the Chinese government had donated to the Foundation multiple times. It has also een found that soon after the Foundation received huge donations from the Chinese government, it went a step further and studied the feasibility of a Free Trade Agreement between India and China.

PMNRF under Congress govt donated to RGF

As disclosed in the Annual Reports, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received donations from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Funds not once but multiple times. The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation which is chaired by Sonia Gandhi, has Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram listed as trustees.

In the year 2005-2006, the Annual Report makes a disclosure that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received a donation from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. The same disclosure is also made in the 2006-2007 report. Again in 2007-2008, the Foundation for a ‘donation’ from the PMNRF.

‘She can gift the PM her bangles and a lot of other things’: Congress MLA’s offensive, misogynist remarks against Smriti Irani

OpIndia Staff
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‘She can gift the PM her bangles and a lot of other things’: Congress MLA’s offensive, misogynist remarks against Smriti Irani

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Shashank Bhargava, the Congress MLA from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, for making derogatory comments against Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani.

The Congress leader reportedly made the misogynist and offensive remarks during a cycle rally organised by the party against the surge in the price of petrol and diesel. The FIR was lodged at Vidisha Kotwali police station under Sections 294 (Obscenity) and 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), following a complaint by Municipality Chairman Mukesh Tandon and other BJP leaders.

“The economy is in a turbulent condition, owing to the Coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent lockdown. The hike in fuel prices must be rolled back. In the past, Smriti Irani would roam around with a lot of bangles in her hand. She is close to the Prime Minister and can give her bangles and a lot many other things. I will request her to gift the Prime Minister her bangles and whatever else he wants and ask him to roll back the price hike”, Bhargava was seen saying.

BJP protests against Shashank Bhargava

As per a report by Jagran, around 150 BJP workers in Vidisha staged a protest outside the factory run by the Congress MLA. Soon, it led to a clash between the two sides. Reportedly, Bhargav’s office that was located within the factory was vandalised and glass panes of two vehicles were broken. He had also alleged that eggs and gunshots were fired during the clash. Reportedly, Bhargava’s personal security guard was also attacked during the scuffle.

On being informed about the incident, police officials including SP Vinayak Verma rushed to the scene. Security has now been tightened up outside the residence of Shashank Bhargava.

Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received ‘donation’ from the PMNRF not once but thrice: Here are the details

OpIndia Staff
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Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received ‘donation’ from the PMNRF not once but thrice: Here are the details

With the Congress party facing criticism over their stand post the Galwan standoff between India and China, many startling revelations came to the fore yesterday that only intensified the questions. OpIndia reported how the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation had received donations from not just the Embassy of China but also the Government of China not once but at least thrice between 2005 and 2009.

One donation amounted to Rs 10 lacs and another one amounted to Rs 90 lacs. Post the report, questions of quid-pro-quo were raised and launching an attack against Congress, BJP had asked whether Congress was soft on China and were making statements that favoured the Communist nation during the Galwan standoff because of the monetary transactions between Congress and China.

As it turns out, taking monetary donation from the Government of China was not the only problematic element in the Annual Reports of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation which is chaired by Sonia Gandhi and has Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram listed as trustees. As disclosed in the Annual Reports, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received donations from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Funds not once but multiple times.

In the year 2005-2006, the Annual Report makes a disclosure that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received a donation from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. The same disclosure is also made in the 2006-2007 report. Again in 2007-2008, the Foundation for a ‘donation’ from the PMNRF.

Though the amount of such donation is not clear yet, it is a fact that a donation was indeed made.

The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was established in the year 1948. Initially, the purpose of the fund was to provide assistance to displaced people from Pakistan during and right after the partition of India. The resources of the PMNRF are now utilized primarily to render immediate relief to families of those killed in natural calamities like floods, cyclones and earthquakes, etc. and to the victims of the major accidents and riots. Assistance from PMNRF is also rendered, to partially defray the expenses for medical treatment like heart surgeries, kidney transplantation, cancer treatment and acid attack etc.

The fund consists entirely of public contributions and does not get any budgetary support. The corpus of the fund is invested in various forms with scheduled commercial banks and other agencies. Disbursements are made with the approval of the Prime Minister.

Earlier, it was a requirement for the Congress President to be on the board of PMNRF, however, later, that was changed and it was mandated that fund disbursement from the PMNRF will be carried out at the discretion of the Prime Minister.

It is for this reason that the “donation” from PMNRF to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation becomes rather dubious.

It is to be kept in mind that from 2005 to 2008, the period in which donations were made from PMNRF to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, the Prime Minister of India was PM Manmohan Singh, who is famed to have little control over the government. Sonia Gandhi had complete control of the government of the time. In fact, NAC files had revealed that Sonia Gandhi was indeed the ‘Super PM’ and had complete control on the decisions taken by Manmohan Singh.

Thus, in this scenario, for all practical purposes, it was Sonia Gandhi who diverted funds from the PMNRF to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, a foundation that she is the chairperson of. What is pertinent to note here is that all the funds in the PMNRF is contributed by the citizens of India and is to be used during national disasters and calamities. Thus, on the face of it, it is evident that the people’s money which was meant to be used for relief to the people during national disasters was diverted to a privately controlled fund by Sonia Gandhi.

The PMNRF vs PM CARES controversy

In April 2020, Sonia Gandhi, the current President of the Congress party has asked the Prime Minister to transfer all the funds received under PM CARES, that was set up to fight the Coronavirus pandemic, to the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund (PMNRF). According to Sonia Gandhi, this should have been done for ‘better transparency, accountability and efficiency’. 

Sonia Gandhi and even Rahul Gandhi had repeatedly insinuated that the PMNRF is far more transparent and when such a fund existed to battle national emergencies, the setting up of PM CARES was not necessary. The entire “liberal” cabal had also gone on an overdrive to insinuate that the funds received under PM CARES would not be used judiciously and transparently.

Interestingly, the PMNRF is far less transparent than the PM CARES since after PMNRF was deemed a trust, it has functioned without a trust deed. Essentially, giving unbridled power to the Prime Minister with zero accountability. Till date, nobody knows what the guidelines that govern the PMNRF are. 

The lack of transparency in the employment of funds under PMNRF is now apparent with information coming to light about how its funds were misappropriated and transferred to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation by Sonia Gandhi.

BJP reacts to PMNRF funds being diverted to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation

The BJP came out all funds blazing demanding answers from the Congress party and Sonia Gandhi.

BJP President JP Nadda issued a statement saying, “PMNRF, meant to help people in distress, was donating money to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in UPA yrs. Who sat on PMNRF board? Sonia Gandhi. Who chairs RGF? Sonia Gandhi. Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes & not bothering about transparency”.

He further said, “People of India donated their hard-earned money to PMNRF to help their fellow citizens in need. To divert this public money into a family run foundation is not only a brazen fraud but also a big betrayal of the people of India”.

The United States to move troops from Europe to counter the Chinese threat to India and Southeast Asia

OpIndia Staff
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The United States to move troops from Europe to counter the Chinese threat to India and Southeast Asia

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said that the decision to reduce the troops in Europe and deploy them in several other places was in response to the Chinese threat to India and Southeast Asian nations.

Speaking at the Brussels Forum, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the increasing Chinese aggression in the region was one of the main reasons why they decided to move the troops close to India and Southeast Asia. Responding to the sudden reduction of US troops in Germany, Pompeo said troops were no longer there because they were being moved to be deployed in other places as per current challenges.

Secretary Pompeo added, “We are going to make sure the US military is postured appropriately to meet the challenges”.

The decision to move the troops from Europe comes at the backdrop of the recent cowardly attacks by the Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control near Ladakh, that killed 20 Indian soldiers.

US is carrying out strategic review: Secretary Pompeo

Pompeo also pointed out that the Trump administration had carried out a long-overdue strategic review of the US military two years ago and fundamentally relooked at the threats it faced and how it should allocate its resources, including intelligence and military and cyber.

“We are going to make sure we are postured appropriately to counter the PLA (People’s Liberation Army). We think that is the challenge of our time and we are going to make sure we have resources in place to do that,” added Mike Pompeo.

“There will be other places – I just talked about the threat from the Chinese Communist Party – threats to India, threats to Vietnam, threats to Malaysia, Indonesia, South China Sea challenges, the Philippines. We are going to make sure we are postured appropriately to counter the PLA (People’s Liberation Army). We think that is the challenge of our time and we are going to make sure we have resources in place to do that,” he said.

Pompeo blames China for escalating tensions

Earlier, Pompeo had also criticised the Chinese Army for escalating the border tension with India and militarizing the strategic South China Sea. He had also described the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) as a “rogue actor”.

Launching a scathing attack on the Chinese government, Pompeo said that the Communist Party of China intends to undo all the progress the free world has made through institutions like the NATO and adopt a new set of rules and norms that accommodate Beijing.

“The PLA has escalated border tensions with India, the world’s most populous democracy. It’s militarizing the South China Sea and illegally claiming more territory there, threatening vital sea lanes,” Pompeo had said last week while expressing his deep condolences to India on the death of 20 soldiers in a violent attack by the PLA troops.

US-EU dialogue on China and its threats

Highlighting the increasingly aggressive Chinese actions, Secretary Pompeo listed the “bloody border confrontation with India”, Beijing’s activities in the South China Sea and its predatory economic policies. He also announced that the US and the EU would start a dialogue on China and the challenges it poses.

It would help the trans-Atlantic alliance to build a ‘common understanding of the threat posed by China’ and added that the two sides needed ‘a collective data set’ on China’s actions so the two could take action together. It is notable here that the US moving its troops out of Germany had angered the EU.

Hindustan Unilever to drop words like ‘whitening’, ‘lightening’ and ‘fairness’ from skincare products

OpIndia Staff
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Hindustan Unilever to drop words like ‘whitening’, ‘lightening’ and ‘fairness’ from skincare products

Hindustan Unilever Limited has announced that they will refrain from using words like fair/fairness, White/whitening and light/lightening. The consumer product giant released a statement in which it stated that as the next step in the evolution of their skincare portfolio to a more inclusive vision of beauty, the brand will stop using the aforementioned words on its products packs and advertisements.

Many products like fairness creams have been facing criticism for glorifying a sense of racism towards people with other skin tones. President of beauty and personal care of Hindustan Unilever, Sunny Jain said, “We are fully committed to having a global portfolio of skincare brands that is inclusive and cares for all skin tones, celebrating greater diversity of beauty.”

He further stated, “We recognize the use of words ‘fair’, ‘white’ and ‘light’ suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we don’t think is right and we want to address this. As we’re evolving the way that we communicate the skin benefits of our products that deliver radiant and even tone skin, it’s also important to change the language we use.”

Jain further announced, “We have been working on the evolution of our Fair & Lovely brand, which is sold across Asia, progressively moving to a more inclusive vision of beauty that celebrates skin glow. We have changed the advertising, communication and – more recently – the packaging in South Asia, and we think it’s important that we now share the next step that we have been working on: changing the brand name. We will also continue to evolve our advertising, to feature women of different skin tones, representative of the variety of beauty across India and other countries. We want Fair & Lovely to become a brand that celebrates glowing and radiant skin, regardless of skin tone.”

The release from the company asserted that the brand’s advertisement has been changing since 2014 to give a message of women empowerment. It stated that Fair & lovely upholds principles that no association should be made between skin tone and a person’s achievement, potential, or worth.

The statement also clarified that that the historic advertising is available on the internet are not aligned with the current values of the brand.

Uttar Pradesh Child Rights Panel issues notice to Priyanka Gandhi for “misleading” comment on Kanpur shelter home

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh Child Rights Panel issues notice to Priyanka Gandhi for “misleading” comment on Kanpur shelter home

The Uttar Pradesh Child Rights Panel has issued a notice to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi seeking a reply within three days for her comment that she made in a Facebook post on the Kanpur shelter home. On 22nd June, there were reports that 57 girls in a state-run shelter home in Kanpur were tested positive for Covid-19, out of which two girls were found pregnant. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi in a Facebook post lashed out on Uttar Pradesh government, saying it shows the real face of such facilities. She also alleged that facts were being suppressed in the name of investigation.

In her post, Gandhi said that the incident at the shelter home is similar to the case that happened in Muzaffarpur (Bihar) that came into light in 2018. She also equated it to a case that came in light in Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh in 2018.

The commission took suo motu cognizance of the comment and said that the post was “misleading and without any proof.” The commission added that her comment hurts the honour of the girls. In the notice, Vishesh Gupta, chairman Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said, “The commission has sought her reply within three days. Action under a relevant section will be taken against her if she did not issue a corrigendum of her post.”

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