Home Blog Page 5742

Sabarimala: Notice to close meat shops during Thiruvabharanam procession angers ‘seculars’, meat and animal carcasses found on path later

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Sabarimala: Notice to close meat shops during Thiruvabharanam procession angers ‘seculars’, meat and animal carcasses found on path later

Meat and animal carcasses were reportedly found thrown on the road where the annual Thiruvabharanam procession for Sabarimala temple was set to pass through. As per reports, the Thiruvabharanam procession is a traditional procession of Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala where the jewellery to be worn by the deity is taken in a grand procession from Pandalam to the main shrine at Sabarimala.

Three sacred caskets are used for carrying Thiruvabharanam ornaments made by the Pandalam king for his son, Lord Ayyappa, along with pooja utensils to Sabarimala temple. They are the Thriuvabharana Petti (sacred ornaments casket, the silver vessel casket, and the Kodi Petti (flag casket). The Thiruvabharanam procession takes a traditional route to Sabarimala, covering a distance of 83 km on foot. The boxes are carried on the head by 12 people. Thousands of devotees participate in the grand procession.


As per a report in Organiser, meat and animal carcasses were found dumped on the Mandiram-Vadaserikkara road, where the Thiruvabharanam procession was to pass. Devotees, led by several Panchayat members, had spotted the meat and animal carcasses hours before the procession was to pass and had rushed to wash and clean the spot.

As per reports, an order was passed by Panchayat Secretary on January 6 to keep all the meat and fish shops along the Mandiram-Vadaserikkara road on 13 and 14 January for the Thiruvabharanam procession.

Some local groups, reportedly Islamist and communist outfits had objected to such an order. They had reportedly stated that such an order is against the Kerala government’s ‘progressive’ stand. Many social media users had also shared the order and had outraged over the issue, complaining that it is against ‘secular’ values.

meat and carcasses on Mandiram-Vadaserikkara road being cleaned before the procession, image via Organiser

However, Panchayat President Shaji Manappallil of the Congress had stated that the order to close meat and fish shops during the days of Thiruvabharanam procession has been a regular practice since the last few years after local Hindu outfits had complained of poultry waste being discarded in an unhygienic way the nearby river and polluting the area.

Local Hindu outfits had complained that while the order of closure of the meat and fish shops has been a part of routine procedure being followed in the last few years, some groups are now deliberately trying to communalise the issue.

Panchayat officials have also stated that the controversy over the closure order of meat shops is misplaced as it is a part of regular practice to lower waste production and poultry waste dispersal.

Jyothi S, the Panchayat Secretary was quoted by Times Of India as saying, “It is a normal practice. We had cleaned up the path for the procession and still poultry waste was dumped yesterday. The notice is being misinterpreted. We have a facility for collection of poultry and meat waste, but some of the merchants don’t co-operate with it and that’s why the notice was issued as a precautionary step to avoid dumping of waste along the path of procession since it could lead to other issues also”.

Read: Congress, communists and Muslim League have attacked the root of our faith in Sabarimala: PM Modi in Tamil Nadu

The Thiruvabharanam procession has started from Pandalam on Monday and had passed through Vadaserikara on Tuesday. Saima S, the deputy director of the Panchayat Directorate had also stated that the issuance of notice to close meat and fish shops to avoid the dumping of meat and poultry waste is a routine affair. Some people are unnecessarily trying to create communal tension in the area by highlighting it.

She added that the Panchayat Secretary only wanted to ensure that the Hindu religious procession is carried out smoothly and there is no dumping of poultry waste on the path. It is a peaceful and proper way to conduct a religious event.

Minister Piyush Goyal not to meet Jeff Bezos during his India visit: Washington Post anti-India stand showing effect?

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Minister Piyush Goyal not to meet Jeff Bezos during his India visit: Washington Post anti-India stand showing effect?

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon Inc and the owner of Washington Post is in India for a tour even as several small traders are planning to stage protests against the retail giant for distorting the local market. India’s antitrust chief Ashok Kumar Gupta told Reuters on Tuesday that big e-commerce companies in India should not offer deep discounts which can potentially hurt and small-scale brick and mortar retailers in India. Amidst the ruckus, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has decided not to meet the WaPo owner Jeff Bezos during his three-day India visit.

The e-commerce player has come under investigations on multiple counts, including deep discounts and exclusive tie-up with preferred sellers, in India. On Monday, in a major setback ahead of Bezos’ India visit, fair market watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) ordered an enquiry into the operations of both Amazon and Flipkart on multiple counts, including deep discounts and exclusive tie-up with preferred sellers.

Finding merit in the allegations levelled by traders” body Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, the Commission asked its Director General (DG) to complete the investigation in 60 days from the receipt of the order.

However, other than Amazon’s market practices, there could be another crucial feature that has got Minister Piyush Goyal refusing a meeting with Bezos. In 2013, Jeff Bezos had purchased the Washington Post. Recently, Washington Post, owned by Bezos has launched a vicious campaign against India and its internal matters, whether it is the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir or even the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Washington Post harbours a deep-seated and mindless hatred for the Indian Prime Minister and has, on several occasions, written lie-ridden, baseless article to malign India and its ruling, democratically elected dispensation.

Washington Post had rallied against the decision of Gates Foundation to present Narendra Modi with an award for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. They are in staunch opposition of the decision to abrogate Article 370 and also the NRC and are accusing Narendra Modi of committing gross human rights violations.

Suchitra Vijayan and Arjun Singh Sethi, writing for the Washington Post, argue that the Indian Prime Minister’s “Hindu nationalist party has incited violence against minorities, silenced dissent and curtailed freedom of expression.” They add, “In light of Modi’s record, including promoting repressive policies in the past month in Kashmir and the northeastern state of Assam, he should not be given the award.”

Read: In opposing Narendra Modi, progressives at Washington Post reveal they are a mirror image of the ‘AltRight’

The same old tropes were peddled by Washington Post to demonise PM Modi without understanding the historical context of the Kashmir conflict, the India-Pakistan conflict, and, based on complete conjectures and lies.

So biased was there reporting on Kashmir that several Kashmiri Pandits from the USA had decided to demonstrate outside the Washington Post office and had even written a letter of dissent to the Editor taking strong exception to their Kashmir reportage.

“In the historic first, many Kashmiri Americans demonstrated peacefully outside your office against the biased news coverage on Kashmir following the removal of Article 370, a temporary provision governing the Federal state Constitutional relationship of Jammu and Kashmir,” read the memorandum submitted to Martin Beower, the executive editor of Washington Post.

The Kashmiri Pandit group also respectfully requested the Washington Post to publish the contents of this press release to ensure that their readers get a fair and balanced reporting of what has transpired.

Read: Dangerous reporting with use of Hindu-Muslim binary fanning religious polarisation: Kashmiri Americans write a scathing letter Washington Post

“Your coverage has not addressed the dejure lawlessness that existed in the State of J&K due to Article 370 accompanied by Article 35A which supposedly granted special status to the State,” the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora said in a memorandum submitted to the Washington Post. “Nowhere in the Washington Post media narratives is their mention that in this lawless State the most heinous genocide was committed against the aboriginal people, the Kashmiri Pandits, resulting in their virtual exile,” the organiser said.

The Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora also accused the daily of fanning religious polarisation in the region through their reporting. “The most dangerous framing of the issue is your reporting in fanning religious polarisation with the use of Hindu-Muslim binary,” said GKPD in its memorandum.

“Washington Post’s biased reporting ignores the inconvenient truth that Article 370 and Article 35A…have denied democratic rights to minorities, women and weaker sections of the society while throttling Kashmir’s economy…(and) Kashmir Valley became breeding ground for rampant corruption, separatism,” said Mohan Sapru, the chief coordinator of the rally.

Read: The Washington Post headline on Baghdadi’s death: Another progressive step in the long march of liberalism

In fact, after the Ayodhya verdict that gave the ownership rights of Ram Janmabhoomi to Hindus, Washington Post published an article headlined, “India’s Supreme Court endorses right-wing vision relegating Muslims to second-class citizens”. The article was written by hate-monger and fake news peddler Rana Ayyub who has been regularly given a platform by Washington Post without her hateful assertions being verified by the publication at all.

While the Washington post whitewashes even the terrorist-in-chief of ISIS, Al Baghdadi, and call him an “austere religious scholar”. However, when talking about an elected representative in India, Washington Post derides him shamelessly simply because he wears saffron.

Washington Post headline about Yogi Adityanath

Washington Post has had a long history of taking a stand which is diametrically opposed to the interests of India and has been an active participant in spreading propaganda against India, the ruling dispensation and even Hindus.

Read: Washington Post publishes ‘Rising hate in India’ story based on fake data

When asked if Washington Post’s anti-Hindu, anti-India propaganda is the reason for Minister Piyush Goyal’s decision to not meet Jeff Bezos, sources alluded to the fact that this could be one of the main reasons along with Amazon’s faulty trade practices.

It should be kept in mind that Minister Piyush Goyal has on several occasions reiterated the fact that India will not tolerate any trade practises that hurt its local traders. The investigation into Amazon’s trade practices along with the deeply anti-India stand that Washington Post has taken recently is being attributed as the two prime reasons why the minister has refused to meet Jeff Bezos during his three-day India trip.

With the step, the Modi government is clearly signalling that the government is likely to take a zero-tolerance approach to propaganda that is routinely published in the foreign press and such shenanigans come with a cost.

Aligarh Muslim University to file FIR against police for ‘crossing the mandate’ and entering hostel without permission

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Aligarh Muslim University to file FIR against police for ‘crossing the mandate’ and entering hostel without permission

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Vice-Chancellor Prof Tariq Mansoor on Tuesday said that the varsity will file an FIR against the Uttar Pradesh Police for entering the hostel without permission. After the anti-CAA protests got violent on December 15, the AMU VC had given UP Police permission to enter the campus to maintain law and order. The AMU students were taking out a solidarity march with Jamia Millia Islamia students when things got violent at AMU.

As per the reports, the VC has now said that the police exceeded the mandate and while the permission was given to restore peace on campus, the police allegedly entered residential hostels.

Read: AMU students were aggressive and deliberately created disturbances, Police used non-lethal weapons for self defence: Aligarh SSP on anti-CAA riots

AMU spokesperson Shafey Kidwai reportedly said in a statement that an FIR would be lodged against the police to “raise voice against police high-handedness”.

Following the violence in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar, where Jamia Millia Islamia university is situated, it was reported that students of AMU had also clashed with UP Police on the night of 15 December. OP Singh, the DGP of UP, stated that after Jamia incident, rumours had spread to AMU where students were gathered. He added that despite the police interacting with the students to remain calm and not resort to violence, some students started stone-pelting.

After the fracas at the Aligarh Muslim University on the night of December 15, social media was flooded with assertions that the Uttar Pradesh police may have entered hostels, thrashed students and indulged in vandalism at the Aligarh Muslim University on Sunday night while dealing with a student protest over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Read: Complaint filed in Aligarh police station over ‘Yogi teri kabar khudegi, AMU ke dharti par’ slogans: Watch the video

The police stated that despite the proctoral team’s attempts, many students had scaled the gates, and had come outside to clash with the police at AMU circle. Another video showed the police warning the students not to resort to violence and breach orders of unlawful assembly. When the rioters continued to pelt stones, the police had to fire tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

Madhya Pradesh: 6 tribal infants dead in 12 hours at Shahdol district hospital, probe ordered

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Madhya Pradesh: 6 tribal infants dead in 12 hours at Shahdol district hospital, probe ordered

6 tribal infants have died in Madhya Pradesh’ Shahdol district hospital within a span of 12 hours, as per reports. The deaths have been reported between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

As per a report in the Times Of India, the hospital administration has stated that all the children were very ill and some of them were brought to the hospital in a critical condition. They asserted that there were no lapses in duty by the medical staff.

However, Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Tusli Silawat has ordered a probe into the deaths.

Among the deceased infants, two were reportedly admitted a fortnight back. 2 were in the general ward where other two were in the Special Neonatal Care Unit (SNCU) and the Pediatric ICU of the hospital. All the infants were less than six months old.

Three of the infants reportedly died in a span of four hours on Monday evening. The fourth infant was declared dead at 3.30 am and te fifth at 6 am. The sixth infant died at 7.30 am on Tuesday, 14 January.

As per reports, all the infants were diagnosed with pneumonia. Two more infant deaths were reported in Satna too. After the deaths were highlighted the media, the state health minister had ordered a probe. As per a report in the Dainik Bhaskar, the minister has ordered the respective district collectors and health officers to probe the incidents.

Kamalaeshwar Patel, the minister of Rural Development and Panchayat had visited the Shahdol district hospital on Tuesday morning and spoke to the families of the infants.

CMHO Dr Rajesh Pandey has stated that two of the six infants were on the ventilator. He added that efforts were made to save their lives but they were unsuccessful. He added that though initial probe may hint at medical negligence, a clear case will emerge only after a detailed probe.

Civil Surgeon in charge Mukul Chaturvedi has stated that two of the infants were brought there from other hospitals and were unconscious. He added that negligence can not be alleged on the hospital staff. He, however, added that a probe will be conducted.

Read: NCPCR issues notice to Kota Health Officer over deaths of kids in JK Lon Hospital, finds several irregularities in the govt hospital

It is notable here that recently the deaths of over 100 infants were reported from the JK Lon Hospital in Rajasthan’s Kota in the month of December. The incident had caused a furore nationally after Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot was seen reacting insensitively to the issue.

Present intelligent and logical arguments before public: PM Modi reminds media of its duty to present credible news

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Present intelligent and logical arguments before public: PM Modi reminds media of its duty to present credible news

Prime Minister Modi while addressing an event held by Tamil magazine reminded media of its duty of presenting credible news to public. Delivering a televised address from Delhi on Tamil political and satirical journal Tughlaq’s golden jubilee celebrations in Chennai, PM Modi said that facts give moral strength to news and asked media houses to present intelligent and logical arguments before the public.

Making a veiled attack at Congress, PM Modi said after coming to Delhi did he get to know that those who ruled the country for so many years liked to keep things in pendulum mode perpetuating uncertainty. “Cause the problem, further it and then pretend to solve it. But things have changed now. Our government has taken up mission of solving problems that have persisted for decades,” PM Modi said.

Read: Did ABP News ‘censor’ a clip from PM Modi’s interview where he slammed them and mentioned OpIndia’s expose on Rahul’s deals?

Stressing upon the development, PM Modi said that some people with vested interest are not able to digest it. “They are trying their best to mislead, confuse and create unrest,” he said.

Appreciating media’s role in spreading awareness about cleanliness and single use plastic, PM Modi said that he hoped the media would continue to support such nation-building initiatives.

Cautioning against those with vested interest trying to mislead public and cause unrest, PM Modi said that in such times it is the duty of the media to give credible news to public. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, who was also present at the event, said that ethical journalism should be practiced by all media houses.

Delhi elections: AAP leader Abdul Rehman, an accused in anti-CAA riots, to contest from Seelampur

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi elections: AAP leader Abdul Rehman, an accused in anti-CAA riots, to contest from Seelampur

Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday gave ticket to Abdul Rehman to contest from New Delhi’s Seelampur constituency in upcoming elections. Rehman, along with ex-Congress MLA Mateen Ahmed, have been named in an FIR by Delhi Police for ‘provoking the crowd’ to join the protests.

According to the FIR, a crowd had gathered at Seelampur T-point and had started pelting stones and throwing petrol bottles at police. At around 2:30 PM, an uncontrolled mob marched toward Jafrabad Police Station and Rahman had allegedly provoked people from nearby streets to join the mob. Rehman is currently East Delhi Councillor.

In December 2019, a rioting crowd in Delhi’s Seelampur set a schoolbus on fire and also resorted to beating up policemen. A Police post was also set on fire by the mob along with police and private motorcycles. Drone cameras were brought in to assess the rioters. The mob reportedly taunted the policemen to run after them following which they pelted stones at them.

Read: Seelampur violence: Announcements for mobilisation were made from local Mosques, says report

As anti-CAA rioters took to violence in New Delhi’s Seelampur, it was an Azaan, a call for namaz, that led to the rioting crowd to disperse. Following the azaan, the stone-pelters who were attacking police calmed down and simply stood in the street. Delhi Police saw an opportunity to control the mob and reached the mosque to appeal for peace to people. Police first talked to the members of peace committee and then the other people present there. Soon after the azaan, an appeal for peace was also made from the loudspeakers.

In the candidate list released yesterday, AAP has repeated 46 sitting MLAs while 15 sitting MLAs have been replaced and 9 vacant seats are given to new candidates. Arvind Kejriwal will contest elections from New Delhi constituency while Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will contest from Patparganj.

Marxist Kavita Krishnan lies about Karl Marx, says the son of a lawyer came from an extremely poor family

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Marxist Kavita Krishnan lies about Karl Marx, says the son of a lawyer came from an extremely poor family

Left-wing politicians are not unknown for peddling lies, but this reached a new height today when one of them lied about their god, Karl Marx. Kavita Krishnan, a politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML), today said that Karl Marx came from an extremely poor family, and therefore comparing Kanhaiya Kumar with him is correct.

Kavita Krishnan was replying to a tweet by fellow leftist Kunal Kamra, who had agreed that people objecting to him calling Kanhaiya a modern-day Marx were right. He gave three reasons why the two were not same, Kanhaiya is from a poor family, he is popular while he is alive, he can be understood by masses.

But Kavita Krishnan didn’t agree with any of the points, and she rebutted them all. She said that Marx came from an extremely poor family, he too was popular when he was alive, and he was understood by masses. Although the later two are subjective topics subject to interpretation, the claim that Marx came from an extremely poor family is an absolute lie, because he came from a fairly wealthy middle-class family.


Karl Marx was the son of Heinrich Marx, who was a lawyer in Trier city now in Germany. The family lived a relatively wealthy and middle-class life, and was not ‘extremely poor’ as the Marxist leader is claiming. The Marx family lived in a three-storied house, where the family occupied a total of five rooms on the ground floor and first floor. Karl Marx was born in this house, which has been converted to a museum now. A year after Karl’s birth, the family had moved to a ten-room property in the same city. Heinrich Marx also owned a number of vineyards, and he occupied a respected in the social life of the town as a lawyer.

House where Karl Marx was born

During childhood, Karl Marx was privately educated before he was admitted at the High School. After Schooling, he had enrolled in the University of Bonn, and later he was transferred to the University of Berlin by his father as his academic performance was not good. Far from being from an ‘extremely poor’ family, actually Karl Marx had led an extravagant lifestyle in university, which had made his father unhappy. An anguished Heinrich Marx had written to Karl that his son had spent almost 700 thalers in a single year, while the most wealthy didn’t spend more than 500 thalers a year.

Kavita Krishnan also added that Marx and his wife Jenny lived in poverty in London, and had lost three children to diseases. She wrote that while Jenny was from a wealthy family, she married an impoverished Karl. This also a lie, as Jenny had started dating Karl when he was at the university, leading an extravagant life according to his own father.

It is true that later Karl Marx lived as a poor man, but that is not because he came from an ‘extremely poor family’, but because of choices he had made in his life. He was not forced into poverty, he had chosen it. As a university educated graduate, Karl Marx could have taken any decent job at that time, but he had chosen to peruse the leftist ideology.

After completing education, he had become a journalist, and the first newspaper that he had joined was shut down after it published his articles, as the governments didn’t like his socialist ideas.

After he could not find a job any German newspaper, he had moved to Paris, but he was expelled from France for his writings, from there he had moved to Belgium, but he was expelled from Belgium also for the same reason. After that, he moved to England, where a large number of socialists expelled from Europe were living, and lived as a stateless person there for a long time. During this time, his source of income was limited, and mainly depended on aides given by people sympathetic to socialism. Even then, when he had received a large amount as inheritance after the death of his father, he had given away one-third of the same to workers organising revolutionary activities.

Therefore, although Karl Marx lived a poor man for a substantial part of his life, he didn’t come from an extremely poor family as Kavita Krishnan was claiming. He came from a relatively wealthy family, but fell into poverty due to his socialist ideas.

Nirbhaya convict’s delay tactics: After SC rejects curative plea of 2, convict Mukesh files mercy petition

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Nirbhaya convict’s delay tactics: After SC rejects curative plea of 2, convict Mukesh files mercy petition

One of the four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya rape and murder case, Mukesh Kumar (32), today submitted a mercy petition to the Tihar jail authorities against his pending capital punishment. His mercy petition would now be sent to the Delhi government, then the Ministry of Home Affairs and finally the President for review.

This might be seen as a delaying tactics by Mukesh, who along with the other three convicts – Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) – is scheduled to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail as a Delhi court had issued their death warrants on January 7.

The death warrant has to be executed in 14 days, according to the order, and the convicts have this period to use exercise their remedies.

Mukesh might have resorted to this last resort since the Supreme Court refused to stay his execution while dismissing a curative petition filed by him and another accused, Vinay Sharma, against their conviction and capital punishment, earlier in the day today. The five-judge bench comprising of Justices N V Ramana, Arun Mishra, R F Nariman, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan upheld the convictions and confirmed the death penalties handed to the four men.

A curative petition is the last to last legal option against the death sentence.

All the four convicts in the Nirbhaya rape and murder case will be executed together at Tihar jail, where officials had started preparing a month ago, the court had said on Tuesday.

Read- Delhi HC dismisses plea filed by Nirbhaya’s murder convict seeking clemency claiming he was juvenile at time of offence

The four adult accused were convicted by the trial court in September 2013, and was awarded a death sentence. The High Court had upheld that verdict in March 2014. In the same year, the Supreme Court had stayed their execution until their appeal was heard by the apex court.

In May 2017 the Supreme Court had rejected their appeal against the death sentence, and in 2019 the review petitions were also dismissed. Subsequently, the president had rejected their mercy plea on the recommendation of the Home Ministry.

Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur were convicted of brutally raping and murdering a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, nicknamed as Nirbhaya by media, on December 16, 2012. The fifth convict was a minor, and he was released after spending 3 years in a juvenile home. The sixth person involved in the crime and also the main accused, Ram Singh was found dead during the trial period, who had allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail on March 11, 2013.

Three days after attending event in Pakistan, Mani Shankar Aiyar joins anti-CAA protests in Delhi where ‘Jinnah Wali Azadi’ slogans were raised

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Three days after attending event in Pakistan, Mani Shankar Aiyar joins anti-CAA protests in Delhi where ‘Jinnah Wali Azadi’ slogans were raised

Senior Congress leader and close aide of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Mani Shankar Aiyar, has finally graced the protests at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi. Aiyar’s entrance comes after the Delhi Police initiated attempts to clean the area of protesters as residents were suffering due to blockade of roads for a month caused by the protests and the resultant wastage of time and fuel.


A key road between Noida and South East at the area has been closed since December 15 as a large number of people, including women, have been holding a sit-in protest on the road. As a result, the police have cordoned off the road by putting barricades, causing huge traffic jam and forcing the motorists to take longer alternate routes.

At the protests, Aiyar thanked the protesters for ‘saving’ Bharat Mata. He also said, “No one can imagine an India without Islam and Muslims.” He also refered to Modi as ‘Katil’ (murderer), when he said ‘if there is any need to sacrifice, I am also part of that. Now lets see whose hand have more power, us or that murderer’.


However, most interesting is the timing of Aiyar’s entrance at Shaheen Bagh. His entrance comes at a time when the police is trying to peacefully resolve the standoff.

Even more suspiciously, however, Aiyar went to Shaheen Bagh three days after attending an event in Lahore, Pakistan. This is particularly suspicious because the protests have been going on at Shaheen Bagh since the 15th of December and yet, the senior Congress leader went there only three days after he spoke at the ‘ThinkFest’ in Lahore.

Read- Watch this epic meltdown of Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar after he gets triggered when reminded of his ‘chaiwala’ comment

Conspicuously enough, Aiyar spoke about the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Pakistani soil. Speaking at a session on “Is Liberal Democracy Dead?”, which is itself ironic given the fact that it was organized in an Islamic State that uses terrorism as state policy, Aiyar again insulted India.


During the discussion, while Aiyar said that India must not emulate Pakistan’s example by creating a religious state, he said that there was indeed something India could learn from Pakistan. He said, “What India must learn from Pakistan is the smooth way of transfer of power from one democratic government to another in the last three general elections.” Aiyar’s comment is rather shocking given the nature of Democracy in Pakistan. The transfer of power after elections in India have been always smooth, while in Pakistan democratic governments have been replaced by military rule multiple times. So it is not sure what India has to learn from Pakistan in this regard.

In another discussion in which Sadanand Dhume participated in as well, themed around “India’s Populist Revolution”, Aiyar expressed great ‘despair’ at the turn India was taking and spoke extensively on the Citizenship Amendment Act and the NRC and spread lies and distortions on the subject. He denigrated Hindutva and claimed that Narendra Modi had given a ‘Triple Talaq’ to the Muslim community.

The discussion with Sadanand Dhume happened on the 12th of January as per the schedule. The schedule, however, does not mention Aiyar as a speaker in this particular discussion. The ThinkFest was also attended by numerous Pakistani ministers, including the Minister of Science and Technology, Fawad Hussain who justified slapping a journalist during the panel discussion he participated in. The event was organized over two days, the 11th and the 12th of January.

Aiyar’s entry into Shaheen Bagh protests merely a couple of days after attending an event in Pakistan is particularly troubling as, in the past, he had sought Pakistan’s help in order to oust Narendra Modi from the Prime Minister’s seat and help Congress return to power. He has denigrated India and praised Pakistan on Pakistani soil on several occasions in the past.

Shaheen Bagh is the same place where ‘Jinnah wali Azadi‘ slogans were raised by the protesters against the Citizenship Amendment Act, hinting at the Radical Islamic inclinations of the protesters. It is pertinent to remember that Aiyar, again in Lahore, had hailed Jinnah and condemned Veer Savarkar during an event two years ago.

Tennis player Andy Murray’s comment on his mom’s Instagram shows how he’s just one of us

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Tennis player Andy Murray’s comment on his mom’s Instagram shows how he’s just one of us

The generation gap is nowhere more prominent than it is on social media. All of us, in some way or the other, have helped our elders get accustomed to the internet. However, often, we find ourselves exasperated by how our previous generations navigate their way through social media. And as it turns out, it is an experience that the youth the world over have to go through.

Judy Murray, the mother of tennis superstar Andy Murray, recently shared an image on Instagram of some Mandarin oranges arranged in some order with the caption “How to say Hello in Mandarin”. However, the pattern wasn’t exactly obvious from the picture as it was cropped on the photo-sharing platform. Presumably, the pattern said ‘hello’. Soon, Andy Murray commented on the post, explaining to his mother how it all worked.

Andy said, “…if you post a picture with half the content cut out it doesn’t work.. you will get less likes and people will unfollow you (probably a wise decision on their part)”. Then, adding further cheek to the comment, he added, “This just looks like a few mandarins scattered on a table.. I wouldn’t want people to think you’re a mad old lady. Please try to do better. Love from your baby boy.” To sum up the funny exchange, he ended the comment with “This is your final warning before I unfollow”.

Andy Murray’s funny and adorable exchange on Instagram with his mother is relatable at all too many different levels. All of us have had a similar experience at some point or the other. Judy later uploaded another image, much better than her previous one, after her son’s comment.

Judy Murray and Andy Murray share a very strong relationship and the Tennis player has always credited his mother greatly for his success in the courts. During his matches, Judy could be often spotted in the crowd being a total nervous wreck, as mothers are often wont to be.

1...5,7415,7425,743...7,607Page 5,742 of 7,607