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Pakistan: 73 people, mostly preachers of Islam evangelical event, die as gas cylinder bursts in moving train while cooking eggs

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: 73 people, mostly preachers of Islam evangelical event, die as gas cylinder bursts in moving train while cooking eggs

At least 73 persons died and several others were injured when a train caught fire near Liaquatpur in Pakistan. According to reports, three coaches caught fire when a gas cylinder used by passengers in a coach to boil eggs exploded. All three coaches were destroyed in the fire.

The train named Tezgam Express was travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi when the incident happened. The blast was so powerful that 16 bodies were charred beyond recognition.

The business class coach where the cylinder exploded were booked by members of Tabligi Jamaat, an evangelical Islamic preachers. Ijtema is a congregation of Muslims which is an essential part of Tablighi Jamaat. Often referred to as a show of strength of the Muslims, the 3-day event is all about moral reform of individuals and often described as ‘making Muslims true Muslims’.

They were boiling eggs on a gas stove for breakfast on Thursday morning. But accidentally the gas cylinder exploded, causing a massive fire. The raging fire engulfed two nearby economy coaches of the train. While many passengers succumbed to the fire, some of them died when they tried to jump from the moving train to escape from the fire.

Fire tenders and other emergency teams immediately rushed to the site and carried out the rescue operation. Bodies and injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ).  Pakistan Army contingents have also been sent to the area to take part in rescue and relief activities. An Army Aviation Helicopter was used to airlift the injured persons to hospitals.

Also Read: Pakistan suspends Samjhauta Express, asks India to send driver to take the train back

Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad blamed the passengers for the tragedy, saying Railways was not at fault. He said that an enquiry will be conducted to find out how Taleeghi Jamaat members carried gas cylinders and stoves and used them in the coach.

Sheikh said that the passengers were using two stoves to cook food in the coach. He informed that they had cooking oil which added fuel to the fire.


On the other hand, an eyewitness and a member of Taleeghi Jamaat contradicts the official version that the member of the organisation was responsible for the fire. He said that the fire was caused by short-circuit in the coach and the safety system of the train was not working.


Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan tweeted that he is deeply saddened by the terrible tragedy and offered condolences for the families of victims and prayers for the injured. He informed that he has ordered an immediate inquiry to be completed on an urgent basis.

Here is why ‘liberals’ can’t complain that BJP is ‘co-opting’ Sardar Patel

Abhishek Banerjee
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Here is why ‘liberals’ can’t complain that BJP is ‘co-opting’ Sardar Patel

It is the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, the Iron Man of India. In a touching tribute to the great man, the Govt of India has chosen this day to formally and officially finish off the task of unifying India. Today, Article 370 is not just dead, it is buried. Obliterated, if you will. Because the state of Jammu and Kashmir has just ceased to exist. In its place, we have two new Union Territories.

One nation but two flags? Two separate legal systems? Not any more.

On the occasion of Sardar’s birthday, there are massive celebrations planned at the towering Statue of Unity in Gujarat, a nationwide unity run and much more.

Read: The wall has been broken down, Sardar Patel’s dream has come true: PM Modi dedicates J and K decision to India’s Iron Man

‘Liberals’, as usual, are unhappy. Today you will see the usual litany of complaints about how the BJP is “co-opting” Sardar Patel. You will find them digging out old quotes of his and whining that he was against the RSS. As if that is a counterpoint to present-day Modi government celebrating his achievements.

First of all, that is some top-class hypocrisy from sympathizers of a party that co-opted the entire history of India’s freedom struggle as well as a dynasty that co-opted the entire legacy of the Indian National Congress.

And so what if Sardar belonged to the Congress Party? How does it matter today? He made several important contributions to Indian history. We remember not which party he belonged to.

Read: Congress leader says Sardar Patel responsible for partition, Nehru’s statue should have been ‘Statue of Unity’

This is an established pattern in democracies everywhere. Washington. Lincoln. Jefferson. Roosevelt. Reagan. Kennedy. Who knows which party they belonged to? Does anybody care?

In fact, it is the RSS/BJP which has been able to rise above 70-year-old partisan quarrels and celebrate his life. Meanwhile, Congress could not even remember their own leader for 70 years out of loyalty to a dynasty.

And which Congress? The Congress Party to which Sardar Patel belonged has long ceased to exist. We see today a descendant of Congress (I), where the “I” stands for “Indira.” Simply because Indira Gandhi happens to be Nehru’s daughter and Nehru was in the Congress does not automatically make Sardar Patel a member of Indira Congress.

When did Sardar Patel posthumously swear loyalty to Indira Gandhi as well as her heirs and successors?

Read: Sardar a “right-wing bigot”? How liberals defame India globally

In fact, anybody who discusses party affiliations nearly 70 years after a person has passed away betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of how political parties are supposed to work in a democracy. Political parties are supposed to be democratic, with their ideologies and principles evolving with each generation of members and leaders. Sardar Patel being in Congress in 1950 says nothing about 2019. Only those who think of political parties as privately owned family businesses can think otherwise.

The BJP’s move on Sardar Patel is just as legitimate from a political standpoint. History is dynamic. The Mahatma said that the Congress in 1947 had already performed its historic role and should be disbanded. The Mahatma was a devout Hindu and staunchly against cow slaughter. And yet Nehru and his descendants co-opted him and used his image as the face of their politics for 70 years. In the meanwhile, they let Sardar Patel fall by the wayside. The BJP had the bright idea to pick up this discarded gem and give him due respect. And the BJP is claiming the political credit for this. Fair enough.

Read: Historians need to reevaluate our freedom struggle: Vikram Sampath talks about Congress being a British creation, Savarkar and more

How can the Congress and the liberals cry foul now? What stopped them all these years from remembering Sardar Patel? Evidently, it was about his ideological differences with Nehru. And today, when the descendants of Nehru are thoroughly discredited in the public eye, they want to crawl back into history and dust up the figure of Sardar Patel? Sorry, not happening.

One question remains. While the right is so willing to embrace Sardar Patel, why are the same people so severe on Nehru? Was he not also another great historical figure who made memorable contributions to India?

Read: Know the man behind Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s ‘Statue of Unity’

The answer is simple. The Congress party insists that Nehru’s achievements are the private property of a dynasty, not that of the Indian nation. How can we as Indians take pride in something that you say does not even belong to us? If Congress wishes for all Indians to take pride in Nehru, they should end the dominance of their first family and dedicate Nehru’s legacy to the nation. You can’t have it both ways.

Oct 31, 2019, is the day when India became one. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari. No exceptions. Sardar would have been a happy man.

Pakistan violated the Vienna Convention in the Kulbhushan Yadav case: ICJ tells UNGA

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan violated the Vienna Convention in the Kulbhushan Yadav case: ICJ tells UNGA

In a significant development in the Kulbhushan Yadav case, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that Pakistan violated the Vienna Convention by not granting consular access to India in the case.

Presenting his report to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, ICJ president Judge Abduylqawi Yusuf said that the world court had concluded in its judgment that Pakistan violated its obligations under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention by wrongly stating that its provisions were not applicable to prisoners suspected of espionage.

ICJ was asked to define the meaning of the term “without delay” in respect to the Vienna Convention. Yusuf said that as Pakistan took about 3 weeks to notify the arrest of Kulbhushan Yadav, it breached the provision of the convention under which it was required to inform India’s consular office “without delay”.

ICJ said that the appropriate remedy, in this case, was effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentencing of Yadav by Pakistan’s military court.

ICJ also refuted the claims of Pakistan the arrests made under espionage charges are not subject to Vienna Convention. Yusuf said that Article 36 of the convention does not exclude persons suspected of espionage. Therefore, the provision fully applies to the case, he asserted in front of the UNGA.

On 17th July, in a major victory for India, the ICJ had ruled that Pakistan violated Vienna Convention in the Kulbhushan Yadav case, and had ordered review of the case. The international court also had ordered Pakistan to grant consular access to India.

Jadhav is an Indian national and a retired Navy officer, who was arbitrarily arrested by Pakistan in 2016 for being an ‘Indian spy’. A Pakistani military court sentenced him to death in April 2017 on charges of espionage and terrorism.

Tamil Nadu: NIA conducts raids in six locations to bust Islamic State module which was planning to murder Hindu leaders

OpIndia Staff
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Tamil Nadu: NIA conducts raids in six locations to bust Islamic State module which was planning to murder Hindu leaders

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday carried out searches at six locations in Tamil Nadu in connection with a plot by an IS-inspired group to murder leaders of Hindu organisations. A police officer said that the NIA was probing into the conspiracy to kill Hindu Makkal Katchi leader Arjun Sampath and his son Omkar by the Islamic State-inspired groups. The NIA was alerted by the local police in July about the plot.

Reportedly, the NIA was carrying searches at six locations including two locations at Coimbatore beside one each in Elayangudi, Trichy, Kayalpattinam and Nagapattinam. A five-member team carried out searches in the house of Nissar in GM Nagar and Sauridin in Lorrypet in the Coimbatore, police said.

Read: NIA raids houses of 7 persons linked to ISIS for plotting to kill Hindu leaders in Tamil Nadu

In September last year, a Special Investigation Unit of the Coimbatore police had foiled a plot by seven-members of an IS-inspired Islamic group in Tamil Nadu to murder Sampath, Hindu Munnani leader Mookambikai Mani and Sakthi Sena leader Anbu Mari.

Since then NIA has been working and collecting intelligence in various cities of south India and looking into activities of suspected radical youths.

The NIA officials stated that Tamil Nadu tops the list of Indian states where anti-terror agencies have unearthed modules of Salafi jihadi terrorist organization IS over a period of five years since 2014. The NIA has claimed to have arrested 127 IS sympathisers from across India since 2014 and 33 were from Tamil Nadu.

Read: NIA raids UP madrasa in connection with a terror suspect who used to study there

Lately, Coimbatore has become a hub of Islamic terror as in July the NIA had nabbed an Islamic state module after they had conducted raids on several locations in the city. The arrested terror sympathisers were in touch with Zahran Hashim, the main accused in the Sri Lanka bombings, over Facebook.

Germany supports EU position on Kashmir, Article 370 is internal matter: German Ambassador

OpIndia Staff
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Germany supports EU position on Kashmir, Article 370 is internal matter: German Ambassador

Ahead of the German chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to India, Germany has reiterated its support to the European Union position on Kashmir.

Walter Lindner, the German ambassador to India, speaking to the media said, “Both leaders can discuss anything so this issue (Kashmir) may come up. We fully support the EU position in the matter. As was detailed by Mogherini. Our position remains that Article 370 is an internal matter for India. But we support dialogue between India and Pakistan and any restrictions (in Kashmir) should be lifted as soon as possible.”

Lindner also said that the ongoing visit by EU MEPs was a private visit. “The EU has already said it is a private visit and that is our stand too. We didn’t have any idea that they are coming to India and I know as much as you do,” added the German ambassador.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be arriving on Thursday to sign nearly 20 agreements with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Lindner has informed that representatives of about 15 ministries of the German government would be in the delegation.

The German ambassador said that the two heads of the government will discuss regarding the stalled Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA). “We regret the delay in the BTIA. Germany is an export nation. We’re second only to China in exports and are totally in favour of free trade agreements. The fact that we have made no movement is not good.”

Merkel will be accompanied by 13 business leaders too. Reportedly, Angela Merkel will also be visiting Raj Ghat on Friday and also visiting Gandhi Smriti. Merkel will also be interacting with Indian female personalities who made an impact in the society, Lindner said. ”

India and Germany are expected to sign deals on green urban mobility, artificial intelligence, agriculture and football training.

‘Prophet’ Bajinder Singh of ‘Church of Glory and Wisdom’: Why is Doordarshan Punjabi promoting dangerous conversion events?

OpIndia Staff
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‘Prophet’ Bajinder Singh of ‘Church of Glory and Wisdom’: Why is Doordarshan Punjabi promoting dangerous conversion events?

A “Big Healing Crusade” event organised by The Church of Glory and Wisdom is being held in Odisha on 5th and 6th November. The event will be presided over by one ‘Prophet’ Bajinder Singh.

Event banner

As soon as the event was tweeted by the Twitter handle @noconversion, it caught the eyes of many. Certain obvious questions that arose out of banner was why was DD Punjabi promoting an event that obviously furthered the conversion activity by a dubious individual called ‘Prophet’ Bajinder Singh and a shady “Church of Glory and Wisdom”.

To understand why there is an outcry about Doordarshan Punjab promoting “Pastor” Bajinder Singh, one needs to understand what “Church of Glory and Wisdom” and Singh is all about and the kind of events they organise, promote and preside over.

According to reports, “Pastor” Bajinder Singh was a Haryanavi Jat who had converted to Christianity. After his conversion, he styled himself as a “miracle healer” and started preaching in Punjab. The “Church of Wisdom and Glory” is actually a “church” that was set up by Bajinder Singh himself. It is a pentecostal church that was set up by him in Tejpur village in around 2016.

The Diocese of Jalandhar had in 2018 disassociated the Church from Bajinder. The Jalandhar Diocese PRO, Father Peter, had said that the pastor was in no way aligned to the Diocese. “He ran an independent church, which is not even recognised. His style of preaching does not conform to the mainline churches,” he added.

In 2018, the self-appointed Pastor was accused of rape. In July 2018, Bajinder Singh was arrested from the Delhi airport following a complaint filed by a woman. He was held from the Delhi airport as he was about to board a flight to London to attend yet another “healing event”. Bajinder was reportedly on the run for a couple of months before the police nabbed him.

Read: Punjab: Ailing Sikh man made to read Kalma then thrashed by Muslim neighbour for resisting forced conversion to Islam

The charges against him were grave. The woman had accused him of raping her and recording the act on tape. She alleged that she was then blackmailed with it with Bajinder telling her that if she complained against him, he would release the videotape of her getting raped. The “Pastor” is currently out on bail in the case.

“Prophet” Bajinder claims to heal all ailments. From cancer to HIV to making the blind see, the deaf hear, in some cases, even the dead, alive.

In a shameless stunt, 2017 shows how “Prophet” Bajinder Singh brought a dead child back to life. With a massive cross hanging from the boy’s neck, “Prophet” miraculously brings the child “back to life”.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP6zTURqMsg]

In another, he brings a patient who has “been in a coma” back to life.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwJ-6oqmnGo]

There are several other such videos which are equally disturbing, with an aim to dupe people. Such videos are often used for conversion of people belonging to other faiths to Christianity, or even induct people into a cult that purports to follow Christianity.

The dangers of such “healers” are several. The most pertinent problem is how innocent, ailing people are duped with claims that the dead can be brought back to life or serious ailments like cancer, that need urgent medical attention can be healed miraculously.

The other problem with such events is that it is used for rampant conversion of the innocent by duping them with false promises, hopes and solutions to their problems.

Why is Doordarshan promoting ‘Prophet’ Bajinder Singh?

In the event poster promoted by this alleged “Church”, it says categorically that the programs of this “Prophet” are telecast every Friday from 10 to 10:30 PM. It is not just in this poster, but several other posters have this advertisement too.

Source: Facebook

The quesion is why would Doordarshan Punjab promote events that clearly are designed to dupe the vulnerable?


Doordarshan is a public broadcaster and for it to telecast this conversion tactic every Friday is questionable to say the least. Being a public broadcaster, no less, the burden of responsibility is far more on Doordarshan and the telecast of a conversion program clearly doesn’t bode well.

OpIndia has reached out to Doordarshan officials for their comment on the matter and will update this report with their response.

The wall has been broken down, Sardar Patel’s dream has come true: PM Modi dedicates J and K decision to India’s Iron Man

OpIndia Staff
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The wall has been broken down, Sardar Patel’s dream has come true: PM Modi dedicates J and K decision to India’s Iron Man

Today is 31st October, the 144th birth anniversary of India’s Iron Man, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. PM Modi is addressing an event at the Statue of Unity, Kevadia to commemorate the birth anniversary of Patel, who was the key to a unified India when he had brought together 562 princely states to form the Union of India after it gained independence from the British in 1947.


PM Modi is addressing the commemorative event to honour Sardar Patel on his birthday at the Statue of Unity, Kevadia, Gujarat.

Read: The tallest statue in the world should serve as a reminder: It is time to reclaim our History

Today’s date will also be known to the future generations as the day when the former state of Jammu and Kashmir ceased to exist and the two new Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were born.

On August 5, the government of India under PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had taken the historic decision of abrogating Article 370, thereby ending the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir. Article 370 had made it impossible for the citizens in the former state to enjoy the rights and benefits enjoyed by citizens in the rest of India.

PM Modi today dedicated the August 5 decision to Sardar Patel. PM Modi stated that centuries ago, it was Chanakya who had brought together hundreds of smaller provinces under one flag with his dream of a unified India. He also added that India’s unity and diversity is the biggest challenge for every rival of India but there is something about India’s people that has kept them standing strong.

Read: How Sardar Patel ensured Hyderabad’s inclusion in India

PM Modi also discussed the necessity of Article 370’s abrogation. He mentioned that terrorism in the valley has taken thousands of lives so far.


“Sardar Patel had said that had the Kashmir issue been put on his shoulders, it wouldn’t have taken so long. Today, on his birth anniversary, I dedicate the historic decision taken on Aug 5 today to Sardar Patel”, said PM Modi.

PM Modi stated that from today, the two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Laddakh will walk towards a new future, on the birth anniversary of the Iron Man of India.

PM Modi further stated that he had promised to the people in J and K in August every benefit and facility that central government employees in every Union Territory enjoy. He added that the employees in J and K and Ladakh will now get the perks and raise accorded under the 7th pay commission.


PM Modi further stated that the people of India will fight and defeat every attack against its unity. He also added that taking inspiration from Sardar Patel, his government is working towards empowering the emotional, economic and constitutional integration of India.

India’s space station to accommodate three astronauts, ISRO to set it up in five-seven years

OpIndia Staff
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India’s space station to accommodate three astronauts, ISRO to set it up in five-seven years

In what seems to be the most ambitious mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation is planning to set up an ‘Indian Space Station’ in the next five to seven years, which will have space for three astronauts, reports Times of India.

According to the reports, the ISRO’s space station will be an extension of the human spaceflight programme Gaganyaan. The initial designs for the space station, which is still in a nascent stage, suggest a 20-tonne modular abode in the low earth orbit (LEO), at an altitude of 120km to 140km.

ISRO Chairman K Sivan announcing the project in June this year had said, “We don’t want to be part of ISS. Our station, which will be set up in five to seven years, won’t be very big.”

Read: Mother of all ‘divert attention’ formats: ISRO launched Chandrayaan 2 to ‘divert attention’ from economic condition, says Mamata Banerjee

The International Space Station (ISS), which is currently in the low earth orbit of the space is jointly managed by the US, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada. The ISS orbits at an average altitude of 400 km.

However, the mission to set up a space station depends on the success of Gaganyaan, which envisions to send three Indian astronauts to space and bringing them back in the same crew module in 2022. ISRO plans to use technologies from Gaganyaan for the space station. These include an orbital module, life-support system and human-rated launch vehicles for space station programme.

Meanwhile, ISRO has been working on space docking technology for three years now, which is a crucial aspect to manned space missions. The Department of Space has earmarked Rs 10 crore to achieve this technology. The technology will allow the transfer of humans from one vehicle or spacecraft to another and refuel spacecraft. ISRO is also likely to conduct a docking experiment in 2020.

Read: After successful launch of Chandrayaan-2, ISRO set to launch missions to the Sun and Venus in the coming years

According to ISRO officials, private firms will also be part of the space station programme. “They will make significant contributions,” said a scientist. ISRO Sivan had earlier stated that Gaganyaan will include participation from about 650 industries.

A space station with its zero-gravity environment and exposure to space is a unique laboratory for scientific research that is often impossible to carry out inside Earth’s atmosphere. The cells and chemicals behave in a different way in space, which enables scientists to study variant behaviours and their applications. The space station serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields.

Some of the major experiments being conducted at ISS include those on Parkinson’s disease and resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy. Research in space has applications also in material development, disaster relief, food and water conservation and waste management.

Special Police officers who left the force to join Hizbul behind the orchard killings in Kashmir: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Special Police officers who left the force to join Hizbul behind the orchard killings in Kashmir: Reports

The Jammu and Kashmir Police have identified former special police officers (SPOs) Syed Naveed Mushtaq and Rahil Magray as suspects behind the recent killings in Shopian and Pulwama apple orchards, reports Times of India.

The two former SPOs had quit the force and had joined Islamic terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen in 2017.

According to the reports, the police informed that Mushtaq has been directing overground Hizbul workers (OGW) to put up posters and distribute pamphlets for the past couple of months in Shopian asking apple growers to boycott NAFED’s fruit procurement process.

Mushtaq has been using another name – ‘Babar Azam’, to sign these posters, a senior official said. A Punjab-based apple trader, a truck driver and a labourer have been killed by these terrorists. The terrorists set ablaze at least four farms.

Read: Missing Kashmiri student from Sharda University has joined IS, releases video holding AK-47

The police officer said that these two men operated a ‘broadcast service’ in 2018 and 2019 on several social media groups to “instigate” SPOs to join terrorist outfits. Shockingly, these two began to eliminate them if they did not respond. The two former SPOs-turned-terrorists have been operating across a 60-kilometre stretch between Pulwama and Anantnag and had recently met 11 saffron traders, threatening them to not supply their produce to any government agency.

Mushtaq, who is a resident of Nazneenpora in Shopian, is suspected to possess four AK 47s which he had stolen from the police in 2017. Another terrorist Magray has been sending “intimidating messages” to growers in Shopian and Pulwama through local boys.

“Mushtaq had whisked away four AK 47s in 2017 during his posting in Budgam. He became Shopian’s Hizbul Mujahideen district commander and has been supplying the weapons to other terrorists. We are in the process of identifying the other group members,” the official said.

Read: Kashmir: IPS officer’s younger brother joins terrorist organization Hizbul Mujahideen

The report cites the Jammu and Kashmir Police sources saying that the terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen had recently held a meeting with representatives of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). In the meeting it was decided that HM would target civilians while the other two outfits would keep safety installations and security officials on their radar. Reportedly, the JK police intercepted at least six messages between October 14-18 regarding this meeting held in Shopian.

Since the abrogation of Article 370, a desperate Pakistan and its terrorists in Kashmir have been trying to disrupt peace in the valley. As the Kashmir valley is slowly returning back to normalcy, the Islamic terrorists, backed by Pakistan have been targeting civilians, especially truck drivers and labourers, mainly those from outside Jammu and Kashmir to carry out attacks on them to instil fear in the minds of the people.

On last Monday, a truck driver from Udhampur was killed in Anantnag. On October 24, two non-Kashmiri truck drivers were killed by Jihadi terrorists. On October 14, a truck driver from Rajasthan was killed by two terrorists. On  October 16, an apple trader from Punjab and a brick kiln worker from Chhattisgarh were shot dead in Pulwama district.

On Tuesday, in a horrific terror attack, 6 labourers were shot dead by terrorists in Katrusu village of Kulgam in South Kashmir today evening. All six persons are from West Bengal and were daily wage earners.

Andhra Pradesh: Jagan Mohan govt issues controversial order, gives bureaucrats the power to sue media

OpIndia Staff
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Andhra Pradesh: Jagan Mohan govt issues controversial order, gives bureaucrats the power to sue media

The YSRCP government has issued a controversial order in Andhra Pradesh that giver bureaucrats the power to sue media houses over defamatory, ‘baseless’ and false reports.

The order (GO RT No 2430) was issued on Wednesday. The state cabinet had taken the decision on October 16.

As per reports, the new government order comes two weeks after the Andhra Pradesh cabinet took the decision to take action against defamatory media reports. Despite protests by journalists and media houses in the state, yesterday the state government has released the order officially.

The order states that secretaries in all government departments can now file rejoinders, complaints and initiate lawsuits through the public prosecutors against editors, publishers of certain media outlets if they find their report defamatory and false.

Andhra govt order, image via @ncbn

The order states “Government hereby accord permission to delegate powers to the secretaries of respective departments to issue rejoinders, file complaints and lodge appropriate cases, if need be, through public prosecutor against defamatory news items published/telecast/posted in print/electronic/social media pertaining to their respective departments after following due process of law.” It is issued by T. Vijay Kumar Reddy, ex-officio special secretary to the government, Information and Public Relations Department.

Reacting strongly to the controversial order, former CM and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu tweeted saying that the right to question, criticize and showcase the failures of a govt is fundamental to democracy. Calling the order ‘draconian’, he further added that the order aims to curb the freedom of expression and stifle people’s voices on social media.

Naidu further added that this order will be used by the state machinery to file false cases and harass media outlets and individuals who are attempting to highlight the government’s failures. He claimed that his party will fight against the order.

As per a report in Outlook, the Jagan Mohan government had explained earlier that through the order, the government is only decentralising the power which was, till now, vested with the Commissioner of Informations and Public Relations.

The Andhra government had further stated that filing cases or defamation suits will be the last resort and media outlets will be first issued a rejoinder to ensure that the correction and clarification over a false or misinformative report is given the same time slot, prominence and clarity.

Many journalists, including prominent journalists’ unions, have spoken against the order. Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) President IV Subba Rao and Indian Journalists’ Union’s national vice president Ambati Subba Rao have presented a memorandum at the CMO stating that the decision will result in the suppression of media freedom and democracy.

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