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Article 370 was a ‘mistake’, its abrogation is only correcting the mistake, says eminent lawyer Harish Salve

OpIndia Staff
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Article 370 was a ‘mistake’, its abrogation is only correcting the mistake, says eminent lawyer Harish Salve

India’s eminent lawyer Harish Salve has asserted that Article 370 was a ‘mistake’ and the Modi government’s decision to abrogate it was the means to correct the mistake.

As per reports, Salve stated that Pakistan’s reactions after the abrogation of Article 370 are nothing but ‘complete bankruptcy’. He added that Jammu and Kashmir has always been an integral part of India and Pakistan has been squatting there.

Asserting India’s stand that Jammu and Kashmir belongs to India in its entirety, Salve further added, “Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is Indian, they (Pakistan) are squatting there. If there is any disputed territory, it is PoK. The Kashmir Constitution says Kashmir is an integral part of India, not just the Indian Constitution. Kashmir being an integral part of India has never been in doubt, except in certain Pakistani minds.”

Speaking to media in London at the Indian High Commission, Salve stated that he has always been a supporter of removal of Article 370. He added, “It was a mistake to allow Article 370. Bigger mistake to allow it to fester.”

Salve also stated that it is nonsense to claim that the government should have discussed and debated the matter. He added that doing it in one shot was the right decision and the SC will decide on it.

Salve was a part of India’s legal team that has secured a major victory yesterday in the Royal Court of Justice where the verdict over the Hyderabad Nizam’s funds of 35 million pounds held in a bank account in London came in favour of India. Pakistan has been claiming the funds since 1947.

Salve stated, “It was a wrongful claim by Pakistan which had to be fought. We fought that claim and won it.”

The 35 million pounds will now be shared between the Nizam of Hyderabad’s heirs and the Indian government based on a confidential agreement struck between the parties.

Salve also added that “Historians will be interested in seeing Pakistan’s open acceptance that they were supplying arms. It is an interesting dimension which has publicly been acknowledged.”

It is notable here that Salve has been representing India’s case on Kulbhushan Jadhav at the International Court of Arbitration in Hague. He was able to get a stay order on his death sentence pronounced by a military court in Pakistan.

Rae Bareli MLA defies Congress, attends special session of UP Assembly despite boycott call given by SP-Congress

OpIndia Staff
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Rae Bareli MLA defies Congress, attends special session of UP Assembly despite boycott call given by SP-Congress

Rae Bareli MLA and Congress leader Aditi Singh defied party call to boycott the special assembly session called by the BJP in UP Assembly to discuss sustainable development goals defined by the UN. On attending the assembly despite boycott call, Singh said that she did it as UP qualifies for 16 our of the 17 points for sustainable development defined by the UN.


“If we want to pay true tributes to Mahatma Gandhi we will have to follow his path and it can only happen if country develops,” she said. The BJP government had called for a 48-hour special session in the UP Assembly on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary. One of the matter on the agenda was discussing the sustainable development goals set up by the UN.

Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party decided to boycott the assembly session. Singh not only went against the party call, but also spoke in the assembly on sustainable development goals.

Not the first time Aditi Singh has broken away from party line

Earlier, too, Singh had gone against the party line and supported abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Welcoming central government’s move, she had tweeted her support.


When someone asked her isn’t she a Congress leader (so why is she supporting abrogation of Article 370), Singh had said she is an Indian first.


Singh had also stayed away from the elaborate ‘peace march’ organised led by Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Lucknow on Gandhi Jayanti.

Watch: Racist attack on Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh, asked to ‘cut off’ his turban in Montreal’s Atwater Market

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Racist attack on Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh, asked to ‘cut off’ his turban in Montreal’s Atwater Market

In a racist attack, Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh, was asked to ‘cut his turban off’ by a stranger in the streets of Montreal’s Atwater Market.


Singh, a Sikh born in Canada to immigrant parents from Punjab, is a Member of Parliament in Canada. As seen in above video, he is greeting a stranger in the market and asks how he (stranger) is doing. After exchanging pleasantries, the man leans in and tells Singh, “You know what? You should cut your turban off so you can look like a Canadian.”

Responding politely to this casual racism, Singh tells the man that Canadians look like all sorts of people. The man then continues the racist attack by telling him, “In Rome, you do what Romans do.” Singh again politely tells him that this is Canada but you can do whatever you like.

Singh later took to Twitter to talk about the incident and said, “do not change who you are”.


In a tweet in French, the Canadian MP said, “Many Canadians are told that we must change who we are to succeed. My message to you: do not change who you are. Everyone deserves his place.”

Canada is gearing up for the upcoming elections and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau was recently under the scanner when his old picture wearing racist brown make up in 2001 surfaced much to his embarrassment.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau in racist brown make up in 2001 (image: TIME)

Trudeau, the son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was 29-years-old back then when the picture was clicked. It appeared in the 2000-2001 yearbook of the West Point Grey Academy where he was teaching.

Following the publication of the photograph, Trudeau has apologised for the same. “I shouldn’t have done that. I should have known better and I didn’t. I’m really sorry,” he said. He even added that back then he did not consider it racist but now he “knows better”.

Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party in Canada said that Trudeau’s behaviour was “troubling” and “insulting”.

Canada is set to go to polls on 21st October and Trudeau is seeking reelection. Pollsters in Canada suggest it will be a close competition between Trudeau and his opponent Andrew Scheer.

Viral video shows Ahmed Patel asking where the party has gone in Haryana after told about dismal internal survey results for assembly elections

OpIndia Staff
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Viral video shows Ahmed Patel asking where the party has gone in Haryana after told about dismal internal survey results for assembly elections

With the assembly elections in Haryana scheduled to take place on 21st October, it seems that the Congress party is not very optimistic about its success. In a video that has gone viral on social media, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel was seen being very unhappy when he was told that the party expects to win only 14 seats in the state, asking where the party has gone.


In the video, Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is a former Haryana CM, are seen discussing party’s prospects in the upcoming assembly elections in front of the Parliament House. When asked about party’s internal assessments, Hooda counts some numbers and comes out with fourteen, presumably the number of seats Congress is expected to win as per the party’s estimate.

Ahmed Patel becomes agitated hearing this, asking “Party gayi kahan” (where the party has gone). The photojournalists clicking the politicians also had to face the displeasure of Patel, who asked them to stop saying enough photographs have been taken by them. It is not clear whether they were aware that their conversation was being video recorded by one of the reports.

Haryana assembly has 90 seats, and in the 2014 elections, Congress had won 25 seats, while BJP had formed the government after winning 47 seats. This means, Congress party’s internal survey shows party’s performance to be worse in the upcoming elections, going by the conversation heard in the video.

Madhya Pradesh: Kamal Nath government reshuffles SIT probing the honey trapping case, changes chief for the third time in ten days

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Kamal Nath government reshuffles SIT probing the honey trapping case, changes chief for the third time in ten days

Madhya Pradesh Cheif Minister, Kamal Nath’s predicaments seem to have risen ever since the high profile, murky honey trapping case has surfaced in Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh. The government is suffering an embarrassing time after the lurid details of the case is being unravelled one at a time by the investigative agency probing the matter. The dilemma is such that the CM has changed the SIT chief over and over again.

Chief Minister Kamal Nath on late Tuesday evening removed Sanjeev Shami as the head of the Special Investigative Team (SIT) that was formed to investigate the murky honey trap case. Kamal Nath also reshuffled the SIT probing the case.

Interestingly, this will be the third time SIT and its head has been changed after the sensational honey trap scandal broke out in the state, casting apprehensions on the intention of the government.

Known for his impeccable record and integrity, Sanjeev Shami will now be replaced by Rajendra Kumar who will now head the SIT and will be assisted by Milind Kanaskar and Ruchi Wardhan as members.

Notably, Sanjeev Shami, who had earlier replaced Srinivas Verma as SIT chief, and had been probing the case since 24 September, recovered thousands of video clips, sex chats and audio clips along with a diary which contained secret code words for the high profile ‘targets’.

This diary or the ‘red book’ allegedly contains the names of politicians occupying high positions and also some bureaucrats. After the diary reached the media it is being believed that the government issued a new circular to remove Sanjeev Shami as the SIT chief and instead gave charge of the probe to Rajendra Kumar.

Kamal Nath, in the meeting with the Director-General of Police, VK Singh and Chief Secretary of the state, SR Mohanty, apparently expressed his displeasure over the involvement of the ATS with the case.

The disapproval probably comes as Kamal Nath is convinced that the investigation into the case could throw up more than what his government could handle.

On September 18, the high-profile honey-trapping racket that blackmailed and exhorted top politicians and government officials with videos was busted by Madhya Pradesh police officials in Bhopal. Five women, including the wife of a former Congress IT cell vice-president, have been arrested in connection with the case.

Shweta, the kingpin, has reportedly confessed that she had trapped dozens of college girls and made them sleep with bureaucrats and politicians. Videos were made of these sexual escapades and these videos were then used by the gang to extort money.

West Bengal: Hindus in Kanglapahari village have been celebrating Durga Puja since 2016 after not being allowed for years by Muslims

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: Hindus in Kanglapahari village have been celebrating Durga Puja since 2016 after not being allowed for years by Muslims

A news report has been doing the rounds on social media which is being used to claim that Hindus from Kanglapahari village in West Bengal are being denied permission to celebrate Durga Puja due to objection from Muslims.


The news report is from September 2016 and it stated that for “the fourth consecutive year when 300-odd households in a village in West Bengal’s Birbhum district are running from pillar to post seeking permission from the district administration just to organise a Durga puja in their village. In the past three years, they were denied a go-ahead by the local administration following objections by a few Muslim families in the village.” The reports say that Durga Puja was denied to be celebrated in the village due to the opposition of only 25 Muslim families in the village, although the number of Hindu families number 300,

Although it is true that Hindus were denied to organise Durga Puja for three years, the Puja was conducted in Kanglapahari in 2016 itself following intervention by Hindu Samhati, contrary to the claims being made. The Hindu rights group stated on its website, “Hindu Samhati took up the case and filed a Writ Petition in Calcutta High Court challenging the decision of the administration. On 5th October, the court allowed the villagers to hold puja at their premises. Even after the order of the court, local administration took dilly-dally attitude and did not allow villagers to allow the idols to move from the place where they were being built. But Hindu Samhati activists talked to different level of administration and ensured proper arrangements. Administration tried every dirty trick to stop the puja. They even imposed Section 144 (prohibitory order not to allow assembling of more than three persons) so that Hindus could not celebrate the puja. But with the support of Hindu Samhati, local villagers were determined this year and they went on with puja.”

On 5th October 2016, the Calcutta High Court had issued an interim order allowing Durga Puja to be held at any residential place in the village, although the court had said that the puja can’t be held at any public place. Since then, the Puja has been organised at the residence of a villager in the village as per the interim order, while a final judgement has not been issued by the High Court in the case.

Photos from the 2016 Durga Puja at Kanglapahari was released by Hindu Samhati as well.

For last four years, the 300 hundred Hindu families were unable to perform the Durga Puja during the Navratri as the…

Posted by CurrenTriggers on Sunday, 9 October 2016

While it’s true that Durga Puja was prevented in Kanglapahari for three years, the Puja has been performed in the village every year since 2016. We can now confirm that it has been organized ever since then and it will be organized this year as well. Photos from 2018 are also available on social media.

OpIndia.com talked to Debtanu Bhattacharjee of Hindu Samhati and he told us that the Durga Puja has been organized regularly since 2016. OpIndia.com also spoke with Chandan Sau of Kanglapahari Durga Mandir Committee who confirmed that the Durga Puja has been organized every year since 2016 and is being organized this year as well.

Article 370 was the only temporary provision in the constitution: EAM S Jaishankar explains rationale behind govt’s Kashmir decisions

OpIndia Staff
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Article 370 was the only temporary provision in the constitution: EAM S Jaishankar explains rationale behind govt’s Kashmir decisions

In an interview with journalist Lin Xueling of the Channel News Asia (CNA), the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar gave a comprehensive response when questioned about the wisdom behind abrogating Article 370 from the Indian constitution. Defending the government’s move, Jaishankar explain detail the government’s rationale in doing away with Article 370.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMRgkMk7SQE?start=1050]

“Whatever changes were brought about were brought about by following parliamentary procedures. About 2/3rd of the Indian parliament passed the legislation to strike down Article 370. The Article 370 was the only provision of the constitution that was acknowledged explicitly, uniquely as a temporary provision. It had written temporary right next to it,” Jaishankar said.

The interviewer then proceeded to assert that the termination process has not been smooth as expected, questioning the External Affairs Minister about the timing of the decision as to why the government felt it was a good time to revoke the article with reports of clashes with security forces, allegations of people being hurt and law enforcement agencies being forced to impose curfew coming from Kashmir.

In a stunning riposte, Jaishankar counter-questioned the host asking her about the situation of Kashmir before the abrogation of Article 370. Lin retorted back saying that the government’s decision has only exacerbated the situation in Kashmir. However, adopting a confrontational approach, Jaishankar informed the host that about 40000 people have perished in the Valley since the last 3 decades. He also stressed upon the immensity of resources that India has to invest to stem terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

Jaishankar further added, “The government came back in power with a strong mandate. They had mentioned in their manifesto of abrogating Article 370. I know it’s unusual in politics but this government believes in fulfilling promises which it makes to the people and it did exactly that.”

Explaining the necessity for the government to remove the article, EAM S Jaishankar cited the old local governance that had created a barrier between India and Kashmir. “Kashmir was socially out of sync with the rest of the India because a lot of progressive legislations such as women’s rights, domestic violence, child protection and legislation on affirmative action did not apply in Kashmir because of the temporary provision and local political ethos were resistant to them,” Jaishankar said.

The EAM also cited lack of economic opportunities in Kashmir as a reason for the government to bring about the change that it did. “There was very little worthwhile economic opportunity in Kashmir that would provide employment to the people of Kashmir. The youth there blamed New Delhi for the lack of employment in their state. What was initially meant as a comfort provision for alignment of state with the Indian Union ended up as an obstacle that engendered mental isolation among the masses in the Valley,” Jaishankar said.

When questioned when would the good times come in Kashmir, Jaishankar replied that the changes will come gradually but they will be effective only if the people of the state accept and embrace them positively. He further added that the normalcy is slowly coming back and the restrictions are being progressively lifted in select areas of the state. Jaishankar said that the efforts are underway to bring Indian industries to invest more in Kashmir and provide employment to the citizens of the state.

“Efforts are to call upon the industries to invest in Jammu and Kashmir and create jobs for the citizens there. Today, Kashmiris go out of the state to study, for medical treatment, for jobs. This is not good for them or us. The abrogation of Article 370 is an effort to say that the old way of things is not working. Lets be honest and courageous enough to accept it. Lets try something different,” Jaishankar said.

Controversial Samajwadi MP ST Hasan compares parliament to ‘Dharmic congregation’, says he is feels ashamed to be there

OpIndia Staff
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Controversial Samajwadi MP ST Hasan compares parliament to ‘Dharmic congregation’, says he is feels ashamed to be there

In a shocking statement, controversial Samajwadi Party (SP) MP ST Hasan compared the Indian parliament to a religious congregation as he said that the environment inside the Parliament is such that he felt parliament was a religious group rather than a governing body. “Mera sar sharm se jhuk jata hai” (I feel shamed and bow my head), claimed the SP MP.

Reportedly, addressing a gathering, ST Hasan, who represents the Moradabad Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, said, “The situation in Parliament is such that it seems like I’m in a religious congregation rather than Parliament of the country.”

Questioning the Modi government for bringing major reforms, the Moradabad MP asked what did the Hindus achieve by the dilution of Article 370 and criminalising triple talaq. He further stated that Kashmir was always ours and will always be ours but the stripping it of its special status had not provided anything to the common man.

Spreading misinformation and fear against the NIA, he stated that the new bill passed in parliament has given such powers to the NIA that it can call someone a terrorist and jail him just on the basis of suspicion. He had also called the NIA raid in Amroha last year on a terror module as fake and claimed that NIA had claimed garage equipment as rocket launchers.

In the run-up to passage of Triple Talaq Bill in the Lok Sabha, ST Hasan had made a shocking statement stating that it is better for the husband to give his wife triple talaq instead of killing her or burning her to death if he finds out her wife with another man.

Samajwadi MP ST Hasan had earlier too stoked controversy after he had compared actresses to a ‘tawaif’. Speaking on the Zaira Wasim controversy, Hassan had then endorsed Wasim’s decision to quit films because it interfered in her faith.

Pakistan faces yet another embarrassment, British HC rules in favour of India in Nizam of Hyderabad’s property rights case

Jhankar Mohta
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Pakistan faces yet another embarrassment, British HC rules in favour of India in Nizam of Hyderabad’s property rights case

Pakistan which has been facing severe humiliation after its Kashmir rhetoric and false anti-India narrative fell flat, is having to deal with yet another embarrassment. The British High court on Wednesday ruled in India’s favour in the legal tussle with Pakistan on the rights over the wealth of the Nizam of Hyderabad. While it rules that the Nizam’s property belongs to India, it also unmasks Pakistan’s deceit.

The Nizam’s property worth around £35 million has been the bone of contention between the two countries, as Pakistan, which is in a habit of lying through its teeth, has been claiming rights on the Nizam’s wealth.

However, coming as a slap on the face of Pakistan, the British HC today rejected Pakistan’s claim as it ruled that Pakistan has “no stake in the claim” in the decades-old case.

The Nizam’s property was deposited in a London bank account during the time of partition in 1947. The matter, however, reached the UK High Court after Pakistan persisted with its claim on the wealth. India has also been consistently putting in efforts to prove Pakistan wrong.

The Nizam’s descendants, Prince Mukarram Jah, who is the titular eighth Nizam of Hyderabad, and his younger brother Muffakham Jah, had recently joined hands with the Indian government in the dispute against Pakistan over the wealth lying deposited with London’s NatWest Bank plc.

Around £1,007,940 and nine shillings, which has since then appreciated into millions of pounds, were transferred from Osman Ali Khan, the then Nizam of Hyderabad, to the British High Commissioner of the then newly-constituted Pakistan in 1948.

Sonia Gandhi is right, Gandhi would not like the India of the last 5 years: Here is why

Editorial Desk
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Sonia Gandhi is right, Gandhi would not like the India of the last 5 years: Here is why

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Sonia Gandhi made some grandiose remarks at Rajghat following a padayatra led by Rahul Gandhi. Addressing a crowd of Congress workers, the Congress President said, “India has Gandhi’s principles as its foundation. The India we have seen in the last five years will shake Gandhi’s idea of India.”

Essentially, Sonia Gandhi is right. India has displayed a remarkable shift from the days of pathological nonviolence that defined Gandhi’s legacy in the past years. And it’s not a bad thing at all. Contrary to the Gandhian policy of offering the other cheek when one of them is slapped, India has decided to combat the Pakistani state-sponsored terrorism with disproportionate costs imposed through the Indian Armed Forces.

The Surgical Strikes following the terror attack at Uri and the airstrikes following the Pathankot terror attack is evidence of that. And now, with the abrogation of Article 370, it has become more than evident that India shall not shackle itself through impractical expectations of the kind that Gandhian philosophy represents.

Sonia Gandhi further said, “Only Congress has followed Gandhi’s path and will continue to do so.” She is right insofar as she is referring to the pathological nonviolence aspect of Gandhi’s ideology. The refusal to use India’s military might against Pakistanis and emphasizing talks instead to resolve issues between the two countries bear testament to that fact.

However, the Congress party has completely ignored the other aspect of Gandhi’s ideology, one that was concerned about the welfare of cows and the manner in which he prioritized cow protection. Gandhi once said, “Cow protection is the gift of Hinduism to the world. And Hinduism will live so long as there are Hindus to protect the cow…… Hindus will be judged not by their Tilaks, not by the correct chanting of Mantras, not by their pilgrimages, not by their most punctilious observances of caste rules, but their ability to protect the cow.”

While Gandhi was concerned greatly with Gauseva and cow protection, the Congress party slaughtered a cow on the streets of Kerala and consumed its meat. Therefore, it does seem rather hypocritical on Sonia Gandhi’s part to claim that only the Congress party has followed Gandhi’s path when it violated one of the core principles of Gandhi’s ideology so blatantly and in an extremely vile manner.

She also said, “Some people who are trying make RSS the symbol of India and sideline Mahatma Gandhi, those who want to have absolute power, will never understand Gandhi.” These are mere talking points that have very little to do with actual facts. The truth is, the BJP and the RSS have co-opted Gandhi and have adopted Gandhi’s legacy, not only within the country itself but also at the international scene. Mahatma Gandhi has not been sidelined at all, in fact, he is one more stalwart of the country whose legacy is being used to further cement Hindutva’s hold over the political scene of the country.

In much the same way as the Congress party clung on to only one aspect of Gandhi’s ideology, the BJP, too, has only focused on Gandhi’s emphasis on Gauseva and Swachh Bharat and other aspects while completely abandoning Gandhi’s pathological nonviolence. Therefore, Sonia Gandhi is right when she said that the last five year will shake Gandhi’s idea of India. But as it so happened, Nehru’s idea of India already killed it long back.

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