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Congress MP KTS Tulsi exposes secret AAP-Congress alliance for Delhi polls, says Congress made a sacrifice to prevent BJP win

OpIndia Staff
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Congress MP KTS Tulsi exposes secret AAP-Congress alliance for Delhi polls, says Congress made a sacrifice to prevent BJP win

On Sunday, a Rajya Sabha member backed by the Congress, KTS Tulsi hinted towards a “possible” AAP-Congress alliance. He alleged that the grand old party sacrificed itself to prevent “splitting of votes” that might have case advantage for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Delhi Assembly elections.


“If the Congress had also equally applied force in the campaign, it would have resulted in BJP’s win. It may be a tactical move, but I don’t know. Media people suggest there was an informal understanding to prevent splitting up of votes,” KTS Tulsi told news agency ANI.

The Rajya Sabha MP complained that the BJP was doing politics of hatred and stated it was important that the BJP was rebuffed roundly for the same.

Earlier, the BJP had pointed towards an “undeclared” alliance between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The statement made by KTS Tulsi lent credibility to the speculations that the “Congress was the B-team of the AAP.”

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Cabinet Ministers and several Chief Ministers of the BJP ruled states campaigned for the party ahead of the Delhi polls, many stalwarts were missing from the Congress camp.

Read- Delhi Elections: Congress concedes defeat? Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says if Kejriwal wins it will be due to focus on development

Even former Congress Chief, Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra campaigned at the last moment. Speculations are also rife on social media that the Congress party deliberately fielded weak candidates. On Sunday, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had also praised AAP Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and said that he fought the Delhi polls on the agenda of development.

Riding on the Anna Movement and a country-wide demand for a corruption-free government, the AAP party led by Arvind Kejriwal rose to power. In 2015, Congress’ vote bank (comprising of Muslims and Dalits) shifted towards the AAP.

Political experts are of the view that the Muslim-Dalit vote bank could have split between AAP and the Congress in 2020, had the latter put out a strong campaign. This could have benefitted the BJP and made it a stronger contender. However, a Congress-AAP alliance changes the equation. Exit polls also predicted that a whopping 69% Muslims voted AAP while 15% voted for Congress.

Pakistani clerics demand death for minor Hindu girl for renouncing Islam after she was abducted, forcibly converted and married to Muslim man

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani clerics demand death for minor Hindu girl for renouncing Islam after she was abducted, forcibly converted and married to Muslim man

Radical Islamists and clerics in Pakistan have demanded the beheading of a Hindu minor girl named Mehak Kumari, who was abducted, converted to Islam and forcibly married to a Muslim man, for leaving Islam. Mehak was abducted from the Jacobabad district of Sindh province in Pakistan on January 15. These Pakistani clerics now want the minor girl dead after Mehak retracted her previous statement in the court, where she had said that she had accepted Islam of her own free will.

In a video going viral on Twitter, few radical Islamists and clerics of Pakistan are heard blaming 14-year-old Mehak of murtad, or an act of Apostasy, and are demanding death punishment, accusing her of insulting Islam.

One of the clerics added that they have rejected the probe and proceedings of Sessions Court and have already moved to the high court. Additionally, one said that they will go to the Shariat Court if the girl is not brought to justice in a manner they want.


Mehak Kumari who had earlier admitted to willfully marrying Ali Raza and denied any external pressure behind her conversion to Islam has now retracted this statement of hers and alleged that she was forcefully converted to Islam.

Her parent’s had contended in court that Mehak’s confession should not be accepted as she is a minor. They said: “Pakistani law doesn’t give the voting right to a minor, they can’t get a driving license, then how could it accept a minor’s statement of willfully embracing Islam and marrying a Muslim man without the consent of her family?”


The minor Hindu girl was abducted by a man, Ali Raza, in Quetta city of Balochistan province in Pakistan on January 15. Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa had on January 17, posted an undated video on Twitter of the 14-year-old girl Mehak’s father, who was allegedly kidnapped by a middle-aged man named Raza, while she was returning from school. The accused Raza is said to have two wives and four children.

The distressed father of Mehak could be heard saying that he approached the Station House Officer (SHO) and also the Supridentdent of Police (SP) to help him bring back his daughter. The father claimed that the authorities asked him to wait for two-three days.

Read- Pakistan court rules forced abduction, conversion and marriage of minor girl is valid as per Sharia law as she had her first period

A day prior to Mehek Kumari, two Hindu girls named Shanti Meghwad and Sarmi Meghwad were abducted in Pakistan on January 14. The girls are residents of Umar Village, Tharparkar, Sindh, Pakistan.

After the series of abductions of Hindu girls in Pakistan were brought to the fore, the government of India on January 17, had summoned a senior official from Pakistan High Commission to strongly protest and share serious concerns about the recent cases of abduction of minor girls belonging to the minority Hindu community of Pakistan.

Pakistan is notoriously known for its persecution of not only religious minorities but also ethnic minorities within their own country.

Few months ago, Huma Younus, a 14-year-old Christian girl from Karachi, was abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married off to her captor Abdul Jabbar. According to the reports, Younas was kidnapped on October 10 by three men who waited on the girl’s parents to leave the house before forcibly abducting her. She was reportedly taken to Dera Ghazi Khan, a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan, about 600 Kms from her home. Shockingly, a Sindh court has ruled that the forced conversion and marriage of the minor girl is valid as per Islamic Sharia law as she had her first period.

Read- UN Commission slams Imran Khan government over persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan

Earlier, Jagjit Kaur, a Sikh girl was abducted and forcibly converted to Islam in Nankana Sahib which had caused a huge uproar. In another horrific incident, a 13-year-old Pooja Sotahar Kumari, daughter of Fatan Rathore, resident of village Bakhsho Laghari in Hyderabad district’s Hosri Taluka, was kidnapped, forcefully converted and subsequently married off to a man identified as Syed Irshad Shah.

The persecution of minorities in Pakistan and other Islamic countries have continued unabated with rampant cases of abduction and forcible conversion of girls belonging to minority communities to Islam being reported regularly.

The Citizenship Amendment Act introduced by the government seeks to provide relief to such Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian minorities who had fled persecution from Islamic countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Places of Worship Act- A hurdle in reclaiming ancient Hindu heritage destroyed by Muslim invaders

Shriya Gune
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Places of Worship Act- A hurdle in reclaiming ancient Hindu heritage destroyed by Muslim invaders

As the Ram Janmabhoomi movement was at its peak, the Narasimha Rao govt at the centre had brought a new law with a motive to prevent Ram Janmabhoomi-like reclamation movements by Hindus in India. This law was the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991. This article wishes to shed some light on what this act is and how it is a hurdle in the reclamation of Hindu temples.

The statement of objects and reasons of this act reads as, ‘An Act to prohibit conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto’.

The act declares that the character of a place of worship freezes on 15 August 1947, meaning if a place of worship is a mosque as on 15 August 1947, its character is that of a mosque even if it was originally a temple. The act provides for punishment if any person changes or attempts to change the character of any place of worship of one religious denomination or section thereof into another section of the same denomination or other.

The act provides for abatement of any suits or proceedings in any courts in the country relating to disputes about the character of places of worship already pending at the time of commencement of this act. The act also prohibits any suits or proceedings that may be instituted after the commencement of this act. Ram Janmabhoomi dispute had been excluded from the purview of this act.

Read- ‘Gyanvapi Mosque now stands exposed, surrounded by Temples’, Muslims concerned over Kashi Vishwanath Corridor: Report

The govt at the time of passing this act presented it as a piece of legislation protecting the secular fabric of the nation. But what it actually does is to bar Hindus, Jains, Buddhists in India whose places of worship were desecrated, destroyed and converted into mosques by Muslim invaders, from reclaiming their dignity and honour. The act protects mosques in Kashi, Mathura and innumerable other places in this country that were built on the ruins of Hindu temples.

The act is a piece of colourable legislation. Legislature transgressed its legislative power and brought this law that attempts to negate the aggressions and extremism of Islamic invaders and tries to force injustice in the guise of secularism.

The act has some serious problems. One is that it violates the principle of ex post facto laws under Article 20 of the constitution. According to this principle, a person cannot be made liable for an act which was not an offence under any law when he committed it. This act in its section 5 provides for punishment if any person contravenes provisions of section 3. And section 3 provides that no person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination or any section thereof into a place of worship of a different section of the same religious denomination or of a different religious denomination or any section thereof.

This provision does not prescribe any date from when a person is barred from committing act of such conversion. If it intends to prevent persons from committing the act of conversion from the commencement of this act, the declaration of character of places of worship freezing on 15 August 1947 becomes pointless. The act does not explain what happens to acts of conversion committed from 15 August 1947 to 11 July 1991 i.e., the date of commencement of this act. This ambiguity leads to violation of the fundamental right under Article 20(1).

Read- India has charted new territories with the Ayodhya verdict: What the future holds now for other temple causes?

Further, the act abates suits and legal proceedings in retrospection which is unjust, unreasonable and arbitrary.

The most problematic provision of the act is the one that bars future suits and legal proceedings with respect to the conversion of any places of worship. And at the same time, it allows suits and legal proceedings if it is regarding conversion of a place of worship after 15 August 1947. So, if Hindus wish to reclaim temples in Kashi, Mathura and other temples they are barred. Such claims will be maintainable only if it can be proved that the place of worship contains or is believed to contain ruins or relics of historical and archaeological importance which have been in existence for not less than 100 years. But if Hindus had already restored any temples after 15 August 1947 that were earlier desecrated and destroyed, legal proceedings will lie.

This is morally unjust, legally arbitrary and ultra vires the constitution as no machinery is provided for dispute resolution. By baring future suits and proceeding, there is the extinction of remedy. This is beyond the powers conferred by the constitution on the legislature.

Read- Perils of historical amnesia : Hindus have forgotten about a thousand years of Islamic persecution

The act deserves to be struck down and declared ultra vires the constitution. The honourable Supreme Court lauding this act in the Ayodhya judgment said that ‘historical wrongs cannot be remedied by the people taking law in their own hands.’

This act by barring legal action forces people to take law in their own hands to remedy the historic wrongs. The Apex court in the judgment also said that ‘cognisant as we are of the history and of the need for the nation to confront it, independence was a watershed moment to heal the wounds of the past.’

What the Apex court might not have realised is that independence healed the wounds inflicted by the British. But the wounds that were inflicted on this civilization by years of Islamic invasions cannot be healed until justice is done. The Places of Worship Act thus must go, either by being struck down by the court or by being repealed by the parliament.

It shows no ‘Azadi slogans’ and Shikara proves that the Hindu community has not got Azadi from the traitors within

Guest Author
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It shows no ‘Azadi slogans’ and Shikara proves that the Hindu community has not got Azadi from the traitors within

Movie Shikara is another stab in the hearts of Kashmiri Hindus who after 30 years in exile are still anticipating for justice. It is a movie which very simply ignores our genocide, Jihad in the valley, militancy and radical Islam because of which Kashmiri Hindus were forced to either leave, convert or die.

Since all Kashmiri Pandits/Hindus were nationalists and staunch followers of the Sanatan Dharma, they decided to flee from their own homeland to protect their dharma and survive. This was not at all easy decision. It was not taken by some intellectual discourse but series of murders, gang rapes, torture against Hindus in the valley by their own Muslim friends, neighbours and locals of the valley. It was a genocide in independent India by armed Muslim local population against the helpless Hindus.

Kashmiri Muslims received armed resources and training in Pakistan. It was Pakistan that was the mastermind of making Kashmir as the Islamic state and that could not have been achieved in the presence of native Hindus of the valley. So, at the stroke of midnight on 19th January 1989, slogans were raised from the loudspeakers of masjids for all Muslims to gather in thousands on-road and declare Islamic Jihad in the valley. Kashmiri pandits were butchered, women were abducted and gang-raped, bodies were cut into pieces and the local Muslims used to piss on them and shout none to touch to do end rites otherwise they will meet the same fate.

Terror was upon Hindus of the valley and the only option left was to flee from there and the only help came to Kashmiri Hindus was from then Governor Jagmohan, Indian Army and post exodus, BJP and Bal Thackeray (Shiv Sena) who helped us rehabilitate in other parts of the country.

Read: Shikara paints Kashmiri Muslims as ‘secular’ and Kashmiri Hindus as ‘communal’: Divya Razdan in conversation with OpIndia

The biggest salt on our wounds was the selection of Muslim lead roles for the depiction of Kashmiri pandits plight. I have nothing against the lead cast but they don’t even know and understand what happened to us. We, Kashmiri Pandits minority were persecuted by Muslims majority in the valley because of our religion. Kashmiri Hindus have lost that trust on them and when we see movie director selects both lead casts who are in real life Kashmiri Muslims, only adds up our pain. It was pure politics to appease Muslims on the pretext of Hindu genocide and while the actors are not at fault, it was almost a calculated move by Vidhu Vinod Chopra to add an element that helps in watering down the genocide.

Nevertheless, we hoped that movie will at least depict something from the reality but it was to my astonishment that movie came out to be anti-Hindu (filled with Hinduphobia) and portrayed our country in a bad light at the time of the exodus. From the very first scene in the movie, it is shown that the Kashmiri pandit character is writing letters to the President of America and asking to understand Kashmiri pandits plight and solve it. On the subtitle of the movie, it was written that nearly 1664 letters have been written to the president of America regarding our plight, a plight which was not even touched in the movie.

This scene depicted that we Kashmiri pandits had no trust in Indian government or constitution, the moviemaker has portrayed our community against the identity of India which is mere propaganda. Kashmiri Hindus/pandits are today surviving, living and contributing to the country because of the Indian Army and because we believe in the Indian constitution and consider ourselves as Indians. However, this is not the case with Kashmiri Muslims who don’t identify themselves as Indians and they always considered Indian government, constitution and army against them because of Pakistan’s influence of jihad. So, what I figured out was that movie maker had clearly injected a conspiracy against Hindus to defame them and also fire the jihadi tactics keeping the gun on Kashmiri Hindu character’s shoulder.

Moving on, there is one scene where another Kashmiri Hindu is seen saying that this whole problem of conflict (no mention of religion, jihad etc) is because of the supply of guns from the America to Afghanistan which has created problems in the Kashmir valley (totally ignoring the mastermind of jihad that was Pakistan). This only whitewashed our religious genocide. Then there is another scene where a Kashmiri pandit is gun downed by “thin air”, yes, who shot him is still a question.

Read: “Truth has two sides”: Shikara director Vidhu Vinod Chopra dismisses Kashmiri Pandit woman’s criticism of watering down Islamic terror in the movie

The movie does not show any Islamic radicalization, jihad, and on top of it they only showed one Kashmiri pandit murder that too without any “human” intervention (totally ignoring the militancy). Another scene in the movie shows again from “thin air” some bullets killed three policemen in front of the lead female actress. She is shown in fear and runs to home, in the next moment only we see her smiling because the doctor did check-up, declared she is fine. This is how subtly movie maker just changed the emotion of terror into happiness, oh let me correct myself, into an emotion of love because after all, it is a love story depicted by two Kashmir Muslims as Kashmiri pandits in the movie. What a slap on us! Story of Kashmiri pandits can never be a love story. Our genocide was not shown, the whole movie was as I quote Sushil pandit ji,” a huge coat of secular varnish & a genocide romanticized”.

This movie moves on to show Hinduphobia in a scene where a Kashmiri Hindu refugee kid around 8-9 years old is shown to speak slogan like, “mandir to wahi bane ga, masjid per” (refereeing to the Ayodha movement). However, never in the movie, we see any Islamic slogans or jihad or militancy, nothing! If this is not anti-Hindu conspiracy then what it is?

Each time characters smiling in the movie only tried to ignore the pain of genocide and propagated their love story which had nothing to do with Kashmiri Hindus genocide. Another scene is shown at the end of the movie, that Arti another Kashmiri pandit character and “good human being” Latif who is a Kashmiri Muslim, who was very progressive, cricketer by profession ended up in some “mistakes” because state violence killed his father. The secular Latif had no angle of love jihad as there is nothing like love jihad. He just happens to kill a family of Kashmiri pandits in which she was also there. It was a mistake only. Yes! Here comes the secular hero of the movie, the lead actor as Kashmiri pandit listening to all this and smiling and saying I have come to see my “DOST” and he does not care about Indian Army.

Read: #HumWapasAayenge: Kashmiri Pandits take a vow of returning back to Valley ahead of the 30th anniversary of Kashmiri Pandit exodus

In the end, I just want to say, this movie is indeed pure love story but had no connection with Kashmiri pandits genocide and exodus. There was not even one scene depicting jihad, Islamic radicalization and how Kashmiri Hindus were persecuted. It has indeed secularized Hindu Genocide in Kashmir. Refugees from Jagati camps were merely used as the props. Movie Maker played with the emotions and sentiments of Kashmir Hindus to just mint money. The movie is a big conspiracy to spread Hindu Hate and Anti India venom. This has made our struggle to get justice bumpier than never before. This movie mocked persecuted Hindus of the valley and the party which helped us to rehabilitate. In the end, I just want to say, there was no Azaadi slogan shown and neither we Hindus have received any Azaadi from such people’s betrayal.

(This article has been written by Divya Razdan who is a journalist & researcher. She is also an Associate Member at IDSA)

Official Twitter account of LensKart turns troll, posts tweet against NRC

OpIndia Staff
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Official Twitter account of LensKart turns troll, posts tweet against NRC

On Sunday, the official Twitter handle of Lenskart, India’s leading eyewear business company, put out a controversial tweet in reply to Prajwal Busta, Member of Himachal Pradesh State Planning Board, who questioned the doublespeak of Shaheen Bagh protestors.

She had highlighted how those who refused to show documents were willingly displaying their Voter IDs while standing in queues outside polling booths.


In defence of the Shaheen Bagh protestors, Lenskart tweeted, “These documents are not of 1950, Miss Prajwal.”

Lenskart turns "troll", speaks against NRC and draws the ire of Netizens
The contentious Anti-NRC tweet has now been deleted.

The “reference to 1950” was a jibe at the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process that was first conducted in Assam in 1951. This anti-NRC tweet irked several Twitter users who called out the company for its tweet.

It may be noted that Prajwal Busta didn’t tag LensKart or any other handle in the tweet, she had only included few hashtags in the tweet, along with a photograph of voters in front of a polling booth. Still the official Twitter handle of LensKart chose to respond to the tweet with a controversial tweet.

Journalist Kanchan Gupta accused the company of deliberate misinterpretation of the Citizenship Amendment Act that has fuelled protests in Shaheen Bagh. He suggested his followers to avoid using the company’s glasses.


A user who goes by the handle, @Jal_Kukdi, took a jibe at Lenskart and suggested that they themselves need better quality spectacles to avoid misreading things.


Read- Modi government dispels myths about NRC: Here are 13 FAQs and their answers published by the govt

Miffed by the contentious tweet, a Twitter user (@sanjeevpathak2) dropped his plans to buy a new set of spectacles from the company.


Another Twitter user (@Chandan_tndn) wrote that companies such as Ola and Snapdeal can now sympathise with Lenkskart for being at the epicenter of social media backlash.


This is not the first time that such a prominent establishment has come under the scanner for controversial tweets. Earlier, an Islamist by the name of Khurshid Zenia tweeted in support of the rioters in Jamia Millia Islamia from the official Twitter handle of the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

Delhi Elections: Congress concedes defeat? Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says if Kejriwal wins it will be due to focus on development

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Elections: Congress concedes defeat? Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says if Kejriwal wins it will be due to focus on development

The Delhi elections concluded yesterday and the results will be declared on 11th, but the Congress party seems to have already given up. Weighing the issues on the basis of which his party and its opponents fought the elections, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday said that if Kejriwal wins, it will be a victory for the development agenda.

“We fought this election with all our strength. In this election, BJP put forth all the communal agendas whereas Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Ji put forth developmental agendas. If Kejriwal wins, then it will be a victory of the developmental agendas,” Chowdhury said.

The motormouth Congress leader added that if BJP loses the Delhi Assembly elections, the communal agenda will also end with the party’s defeat.


“BJP brought all its leaders here and kept shouting ‘Shaheen Bagh’ and on the other hand, Arvind Kejriwal kept saying- Mohalla Clinic and spoke about other works as well. Congress tried to convey a message that long-term development was witnessed during the term of former Delhi CM Shiela Dixit,” he added.

Further speaking about BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari’s statement showing confidence over his party’s victory in the Delhi Assembly polls, Chowdhury said that daydreaming is his fundamental right but BJP won’t win the Assembly polls.

Read- Watch: Congress candidate Alka Lamba slaps AAP worker at polling booth

“We know that he sings and dances really well but elections are something way more different than that. He can daydream…that’s his fundamental right but it will still be a dream. BJP won’t win in Delhi Assembly polls,” Chowdhury said.

The Delhi elections concluded on Saturday evening. The Exit polls gave a landslide majority to Aam Admi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal. While the Exit polls show that BJP may improve its tally, AAP is the clear winner in the state. Axis poll which is telecast by India Today, in fact, predicted the Aam Aadmi Party to win 63 seats, and the BJP to win seven seats. The Congress, just like in 2015, is unlikely to win any seat in the 70-member Delhi assembly.

AAP minister Kailash Gahlot’s brother named in FIR filed after Delhi police seize alcohol smuggled inside Delhi for distribution among voters

OpIndia Staff
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AAP minister Kailash Gahlot’s brother named in FIR filed after Delhi police seize alcohol smuggled inside Delhi for distribution among voters

The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police has named Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot’s brother Harish Gahlot in an FIR registered in a case of smuggling of alcohol. Harish Gahlot was allegedly smuggling illegal consignment alcohol inside Delhi before the polling of Delhi Assembly Elections 2020 on Saturday, February 8. The FIR was registered under sections 33, 38 and 68 of the Delhi Excise Act, 2009.

The Excise department had reportedly seized a pickup truck with bottles of alcohol with ‘for sale in Haryana only’ printed on it on February 6, from Old Dal Mill Complex, village Mitrau, Nafarganj, News Delhi, merely 2 days prior to the polling in the Delhi Assembly elections. Two persons, Ravinder Singh and Virender Singh were arrested along with the vehicle. These suspects have now revealed before the Delhi Crime branch that the alcohol was being supplied on the directions of Kailash Gahlot’s brother Harish Gahlot.

Notably, the AAP minister Kailash Gahlot also represents the Najafgarh constituency of New Delhi and the sitting MLA from the constituency. Gahlot is also the Transport & Environment minister of Delhi. Further investigation revealed that these illegal consignments of liquor were being smuggled into Delhi to be distributed in the elections.

The FIR says that the liquor was to be distributed during the Delhi elections at the behest of Aam Aadmi Party leader Kailash Gahlot’s brother and Harish Gehlot. It says that the liquor was to be distributed among the voters to influence them.

Although the FIR has been filed against Ravinder and Virender, it mentions that they were transporting the 15 cartons of liquor on the instructions of Harish Gahlot. Each carton contained 48 quarter bottles of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL). Police have seized and sealed the cartons, after taking one bottle from each cartons as sample for testing.

Liquor was reportedly being supplied by Haryana Liquor Barron Balbir Mann. Balbir is the owner of an L1 liquor shop in Gurgaon.

Copy of FIR registered against AAP Minister Kailash Gahlot’s brother
Copy of FIR registered against AAP Minister Kailash Gahlot’s brother (page2)
Copy of FIR registered against AAP Minister Kailash Gahlot’s brother (page3)

At the time when liquor was seized, Harish Gehlot was not present there. Briefing on the issue, the Delhi Police Crime Branch officials have said that a notice will be issued to Harish Gehlot soon. While the police might arrest Harish Gahlot, AAP minister Kailash Gehlot may be summoned for questioning.

The two brother’s Kailash and Harish Gahlot have had a very intriguing past. Last year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had seized assets worth Rs 1.46 crore belonging to Harish Gahlot, brother of Aam Admi Party (AAP) MLA Kailash Gahlot. As per the investigation initiated under FEMA then, Harish Gehlot had allegedly held assets worth Rs 1.46 crore in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which was in violation of section 4 of the FEMA.

In October 2018, the I-T Department had seized assets worth Rs 2 crores which included unaccounted jewellery worth Rs 28 lakhs and Rs 37 lakh in cash from AAP MLA Kailash Gahlot and his wife.

Moreover, in the past, it was alleged that Kailash Gehlot had misbehaved with a female IAS officer and insulted her in front of subordinates. The statement also claimed that the minister threatened to have the officer implicated in false cases.

It is interesting that a minister with such contentious past not only represents the Najafgarh constituency of New Delhi on AAP ticket but also remains to be a cabinet minister of Arvind Kejriwal led Delhi government.

AAP disappointed as Exit polls show BJP losing? After predicted AAP sweep in Delhi, AAP leaders allege EVM tampering, questions EC

OpIndia Staff
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AAP disappointed as Exit polls show BJP losing? After predicted AAP sweep in Delhi, AAP leaders allege EVM tampering, questions EC

The Delhi elections have finally concluded and the Exit Polls show a thumping majority for Aam Admi Party. Exit polls have predicted that while BJP may increase its tally, AAP is set to sweep the elections hands down. However, in a strange turn of events, AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Saturday, after the predicted win of AAP, alleged EVM tampering in Delhi by sharing some videos on Twitter.

Sharing two videos, AAP leader Sanjay Singh alleged that voting machines were being taken away illegally.

“Does the reserve (forces) not go with the EVM? This official was caught with an EVM by people at Saraswati Vidya Niketan School in Babarpur assembly constituency,” tweeted Sanjay Singh.


Right after the Exit polls and the reported surge in voting post 4 PM, Sanjay Singh, meeting AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said, “EVMs that should be taken directly to the strong room after getting sealed, are still with some officers. It is an incident of Babarpur. A similar incident is being reported from Vishwas Nagar”.


It is rather interesting that AAP would allege EVM tampering when the Exit Polls show an AAP sweep. Either AAP itself does not believe that it could win with those numbers, or they are covering their base just in case the surge in voting results in BJP bettering their tally.

The Election Commission has refuted these baseless allegations.

EC has said that all the EVMs used for polls have been sealed in front of the party agents and have been brought to the strong rooms directly from the polling stations.

“All EVMs that were used for the polls have been accounted for. EVMs have been stored safely with police protection in centres and party agents are also allowed to stay outside the centre if they wish”, an EC official has reported having said.

Following up on their allegations of EVM tampering, AAP has also started fear-mongering and raising questions on the EC. It has asked why the voting percentage hasn’t been released and ‘what is cooking’ behind the delay.


AAP’s shenanigans with the EVM are not new. One recalls how Saurabh Bharadwaj, the AAP MLA had conducted a grand show of ‘hacking an EVM’ by opening and playing with a toy prototype machine inside Delhi assembly. The MLA, whose affinity towards science fiction was confirmed when he had blamed the death of homeless persons in Delhi on intoxication rather than the coldwave, had then decided to go global. He had Tweeted that he had met the opposition leader of a country called ‘Bostwana’ (Botswana) and assured them that he will help them prove the vulnerability of EVMs in their highest court.

Blaming EVMs for every lost election has become the easiest excuse for political parties. Despite the ECI explaining multiple times that tampering is not possible in EVMs, political parties never miss an opportunity to raise questions over a constitutional body and undermine the public mandate, insulting the very ethics of democracy bitterly every time the results are not in their favour. A few vested interests have even tried to propagate the idea internationally and insult India’s firm democratic system.

A number of countries have shown interest in purchasing and adapting India’s EVMs into their national elections. The ECI has already announced that all commission will ensure 100% coverage under VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) to ensure transparency and reliability.

Taliban terrorist who had shot Malala Yousafzai escapes from prison, releases audio accusing Pakistan govt of not honouring “agreement”

OpIndia Staff
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Taliban terrorist who had shot Malala Yousafzai escapes from prison, releases audio accusing Pakistan govt of not honouring “agreement”

Taliban terrorist leader Ehsanullah Ehsan, who had shot the controversial Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai for campaigning for female education in Pakistan’s Swat Valley in 2012, has reportedly escaped from a prison in Pakistan.

The story of his escape came to light after an alleged audio clip was released by the former Taliban spokesperson, confirming his escape. Ehsan who had surrendered to the Pakistani forces on February 5, 2017, has complained that the law enforcement failed to deliver on its promises made to him. This motivated him to escape from the confines of the Pakistan security agencies.


Ehsan alleged, “I followed the agreement for about three years. But these shrewd security institutions put me in prison along with my children in violation of the agreement.” The Taliban leader did not reveal his location but stated that he would announce his future plans in the upcoming days. It is important to mention that the authenticity of his audio clip had not been verified by the Government of Pakistan.

Ehsanullah Ehsan said in the audio clip that he escaped on January 11. According to reports, Ehsanullah Ehsan escaped during an operation against terrorists being conducted on the basis of information gathered from him. Reportedly he has escaped to Turkey, Pakistani authorities are still silent about the news of his escape.

Read- Resurrected Pakistani Taliban surfaces, issues threat to women and children

The Taliban leader was also responsible for the terrorist attack in Peshawar Army school in 2014 that resulted in 149 deaths (including 132 children). The mass shooting was executed by 8-10 suicide attackers who wore paramilitary Frontier Corps uniforms and shot mercilessly inside school classrooms.

Reportedly, parents and family members of the victims have now filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court seeking contempt of court proceedings against government officials over reports of the Taliban leader’s escape.


Malala Yousufzai, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize Winner, has often being accused of staying silent on the plight of religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In 2019, she came under the scanner for peddling fake news about a Kashmiri girl not being able to write her exam, owing to the lockdown post the abrogation of Article 370.

Kashmir: Senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar becomes the latest politician to be booked under the Public Safety Act

OpIndia Staff
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Kashmir: Senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar becomes the latest politician to be booked under the Public Safety Act

On Saturday, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Naeem Akhtar was booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA). He will be lodged in M-5 hut that is located on Gupkar Road in Srinagar. Akhtar who served as a minister in the PDP-BJP coalition governments was earlier detained under Section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).


He is now the 6th leader in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to be booked under PSA. On Wednesday, PDP politician Muhammad Sartaj Madni and National Conference (NC) general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar were detained under the said Act.

Former Chief Ministers of the erstwhile state, namely, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were also detained under PSA on Wednesday, hours after the expiry of their “preventive” detention period. This was done keeping in mind their vehement opposition to the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A. The dossier accused Mufti of being “pro-militant and pro-separatist.” National Conference has condemned the move by the Centre and called it “atrocious.”

Read: How pro-Islamist lobby is whitewashing threat by Omar Abdullah of Kashmir breaking away from India by attacking PM Modi

The Public Safety Act was introduced in 1978 under which a person can be detained for 2 years without a trial. The amendments made to the Act in 2012 reduced the detention period from 2 years to 6 months for first-time offenders. Having said that, the provision to extend the period of detention to two years was left open.

However, two NC politicians Tanvir Sadiq and Mubarak Gul had been shifted to their residences from the MLA hostel sub-jail. Omar’s father and NC President, Farooq Abdullah, was the first politician to be booked under the said Act in September 2019.

Recently, the Public Safety Act dossier against the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba mufti has suggested that she was collaborating with separatists underlining her provoking tweets and remarks made against the army and pro-terrorist in public rallies.

Read: Public Safety Act dossier suggests PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti was working with separatists: Reports

The dossier is including Mehbooba Mufti’s provocating speeches and the tweets in which she’s calling for violence like the one, “no one will remain alive to unfurl tricolour in Jammu and Kashmir if 370 goes”. Also threatening the central government, she had said ” if you won’t understand, you will be finished. Even your story will not be in history”.

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