Home Blog Page 6008

After Priyanka Chaturvedi, Shiv Sena looking to induct ex-Congress leader Urmila Matondkar into party?

OpIndia Staff
-
0
After Priyanka Chaturvedi, Shiv Sena looking to induct ex-Congress leader Urmila Matondkar into party?

Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray’s close aide has reportedly met actor turned politician Urmila Matondkar according to a Times Now report. Urmila Matondkar had recently quit the Congress party after a brief stint with the party.


According to the report, Uddhav Thackeray’s close aide Milind Narvekar has been in touch with the ex-Congress leader perhaps in talks to join Shiv Sena after she quit Congress only last week.

However, the party seems to have clarified that as of now, it was only a courtesy call to Urmila Matondkar owing to the closeness that that Thackery family and Urmila Matondkar share.

While resigning from the Congress party, Urmila said that her political and social sensibilities do not allow her to let vested interests in the party to use her as a means to fight petty in-house politics. Urmila’s reason for offering resignation from the party reveals that everything is not going well in the Mumbai Congress and the party is plagued with internecine battles.

The resignation came merely after 5 months since she joined the party. The fallout among the Congress leaders in Mumbai has come out in open, especially after the party fared disastrously in the General elections 2019. Soon after Rahul Gandhi resigned from the post of Congress President, Milind Deora too had resigned from the post of Mumbai Congress President. Another senior Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam is at loggerheads with Milind Deora as he hailed Deora’s removal as Congress Mumbai President.

Interestingly, Urmila had spoken at length about how it was the Congress’ ideology that had attracted her towards politics. Now, if indeed the speculations of her joining Shiv Sena are true, it would be a diametrically opposite ideological stand that she would be taking. While in politics, there are no permanent enemies and friends, the change might even surprise her supporters.

Interestingly, Urmila, if rumours are to be believed, won’t be the first ex-Congress leader to join Shiv Sena. Earlier, Priyanka Chaturvedi who was the national spokesperson of Congress had also joined Shiv Sena after quitting the Congress party. For Chaturvedi, the reason for quitting was inaction on the part of the party on acting against Congress workers who had misbehaved with her earlier.

While Priyanka Chaturvedi and Urmila Matondkar both were in the party, it was rumoured that there was a rivalry brewing between the two. Both were vying for the North Mumbai seat, however, Congress had chosen to give a ticket to new entrant Urmila and not a party loyalist like Chaturvedi.

When Matondkar had quit the party, on the same day, Chaturvedi had tweeted about “Karma catching up” and many had speculated that it was meant for Urmila Matondkar.


If Matondkar does join Shiv Sena, it would interesting to see how this rumoured political rivalry pans out.

Rajasthan: 6 BSP MLAs meet speaker CP Joshi to join Congress

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Rajasthan: 6 BSP MLAs meet speaker CP Joshi to join Congress

All the six MLAs of the Bahujan Samaj Party in Rajasthan have given a letter late last night to speaker CP Joshi, requesting him to merge their legislative party with the Congress. Speaker Joshi has informed PTI about the letter.

As per reports, the MLAs are Rajendra Singh Gudha, Jogendra Singh Awana, Wajib Ali, Lakhan Singh Meena, Sandeep Yadav and Deepchand. The MLAs have decided to merge their legislative party in the assembly with the Congress. A congress leader has stated that all the six MLAs were in contact with Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and have now decided to come into the Congress fold.


There are 200 seats in the Rajasthan assembly. Congress holds 100 of them. With the support of 1 MLA from the Rashtriya Lok Dal, and the outside support of 12 out of 13 independent MLAs, Congress has the majority.

It is notable here that all the six BSP MLAs had also defected to Congress during Ashok Gehlot’s earlier tenure in 2009.

After the 2018 assembly elections in Rajasthan, BSP supremo Mayawati had declared that her party will stay out of government but will give outside support. Mayawati had supported Congress in Madhya Pradesh too. The BJP has 72 MLAs in Rajasthan.

One of the MLAs Jogendra Singh stated that the MLAs were in a dilemma because on one hand, they were to support the government at the state level and on the other, they had to fight against them during the general elections. He added that the BSP MLAs have taken this step keeping the welfare of their respective constituencies in mind.

State BSP chief Sitaram Meghwal and leader Dharmveer Ashok have stated that they had no idea about the MLAs joining Congress.

‘Professional Congress’ member posts promotional tweets for 500 rupees, blames ‘social media manager’ after having defended tweet

Nirwa Mehta
-
0
‘Professional Congress’ member posts promotional tweets for 500 rupees, blames ‘social media manager’ after having defended tweet

‘My manager did it,’ is the new ‘dog ate my homework’. Flipkart Big Billion Sale is here and well, ‘Congress supporters’ would like to earn a few quick bucks.

‘Professional Congress’ (yes, paradoxes exist) member, Andria D’souza, has found herself in a rather embarrassing situation after it was revealed that she charges Rs 500 for tweeting promotional tweets. ‘Social media influencers’ often charge a price to post promotional material on their platform. While there is nothing wrong in it, when the fact that Andria charged Rs 500 for her post got out, it rattled her a little. After that she disowned the post and blamed her ‘manager’ for the promotional post.

It all started when BJP Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Bagga tweeted last night that the Flipkart Big Billion Sale promotion tweet which Andria had posted was a paid one and that too she was given Rs 500 for the same. The screenshot he shared showed a conversation between two people where a deal was carried out that ‘@riarevealed’ will post a paid tweet for Flipkart for Rs 500. When Andria tweeted the Flipkart Big Billion Sale tweet as mentioned in the conversation, Bagga shared the conversation and added how it is actually his birthday and not Flipkart foundation date as she mentioned in her tweet.


The ‘Kamasurta 3D’ actress then deleted her tweet and had a complete mental breakdown. At first, after deleting her tweet, she posted another tweet with changed date, pretending as if she just made a mistake.


Except, she goofed up here as well because Flipkart Big Billion Day sale for 2019 is between 29th September to 4th October and not between 10th – 14th October as the ‘Adults Only’ star tweeted. The above dates are from 2018.

This is where her meltdown started. When people started mocking how her tweets are up for sale, which could cast aspersions on her genuine support to Congress, she first came up with an excuse that she tweeted it as she wanted a ‘referral code’ for discount.


Soon she started indulging in character assassination of Bagga and filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri who had mocked her for making ‘millions’ by trolling him.


And then came a shocking revelation that she was once a ‘reporter’ before getting into ‘Professional Congress’.


While looking up for details on which publication she worked on, one also came across the fact that she worked in a Pakistani serial ‘Maati’ during her stint as an actress other than ‘Kamasutra 3D’ and ‘Adults Only’. I’m wondering if she took one of the ‘roles’ she played when she was an ‘actress’ too seriously by calling herself a ‘reporter. We were still not unable to locate which publication she worked for at the time of publishing this report.

Today morning, perhaps after a night of tossing and turning in her bed, Andria then claimed how Tajinder Bagga ‘honey trapped’ her ‘manager’ who posted the tweet for Rs 500 ‘without her knowledge’.


So over a course of 10 hours, Andria went from ‘I love Flipkart and I tweeted for Rs 2000 referral discount’ to ‘my manager tweeted and now I fired him’.


Somehow, this prank on her was ‘honey trapping’ her manager.


According to Oxford Dictionary, honeytrapping is “a stratagem in which an attractive person entices another person into revealing information or doing something unwise.” With this, Ria also revealed (pun intended) her low IQ.

She then referred to taking money in lieu of posting tweets for brands as ‘hacking into social media’.


Reminds me of the epic song from classic movie Padosan.

Ghoda-chatur-ghoda-chatur

She has been going on and on while people are just having fun on her expense.


She found support from fellow Congress supporter who told her not to be ashamed or embarrassed for taking money to tweet on behalf of a brand. She was still busy pushing her ‘manager’ under the bus.


Earlier, she had blamed Prime Minister Modi for an incident of violence in our neighbouring country Pakistan. With Divya Spandana, Congress’ former IT cell head gone incognito, one would like to recommend Andria D’Souza as a personal reference to take the reins of Congress’ social media in her hand. While Divya restricted herself to spreading fake news and goof-ups through the social media handle, Andria has set the bar higher.

Update: Responding to the OpIndia report, Professional Congress troll Andria D’souza has said that the Flipkart tweet was done by her manager, who has now apparently been fired because he got ‘honey trapped’. She has also revealed that her rate is no less than Rs. 5000 per tweet for promotional content.

Mann Bairagi: Akshay Kumar releases the poster of the film based on PM Modi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali to produce the same

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Mann Bairagi: Akshay Kumar releases the poster of the film based on PM Modi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali to produce the same

After a series of biopics and teleshows featuring the story of Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit the screens earlier this year, another film on the PM Modi is on its way. Interestingly, the new movie will be produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and is titled Mann Bairagi.

The makers of an hour-long ‘special film’ released the first look posters of the movie on the 69th birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The short film on PM Modi is being produced by filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Mahaveer Jain.

According to the report, Sanjay Leela Bhansali said what interested him the most in the story is its ‘universal appeal and message’. “The story was very well-researched, and the turning point of our PM’s life as a young man really intrigued me. I felt that it’s an unheard story which needs to be told,” said Bhansali on PM Modi and the movie.

The film which is being produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and is being written and directed by Ssanjay Tripaathy is based on an “untold story from the life of the Prime Minister which has not been in the public domain so far,” its makers said.

The poster the movie on PM Modi produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali was launched on Twitter by film star Akshay Kumar.


Talking about his latest production, Sanjay Leela Bhansali revealed that the reason he decided to produce the film was because of its “universal appeal and message”.

“Mann Bairagi brings out that defining moment in the journey of PM Modi which has not been in public knowledge so far. I am sure it will connect with and inspire young people deeply, and that’s what excited us to work on this film,” said Jain.

Writer and director Ssanjay Tripaathy said, “For me, it’s a human interest story about the self-discovery of a person who went on to become such a strong leader of our country.”

PM Modi to visit Sardar Sarovar Dam to evaluate projects, to launch ‘Namami Narmade Utsav’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
PM Modi to visit Sardar Sarovar Dam to evaluate projects, to launch ‘Namami Narmade Utsav’

Prime Minister Modi, who arrived in Ahmedabad on the eve of his 69th birthday, has reached Kevadia in Narmada district to evaluate the projects on Sardar Sarovar Dam. On September 15, the reservoir dam reached full reservoir level (FRL) of 138.68 metres for the first time. PM Modi will preside over celebrations to mark the water levels in the reservoir which makes for a spectacular visual treat.

PM Modi will also participate in the Namami Narmade Utsav, a state-wide celebration organised by Gujarat government and perform ‘Maa Narmada Poojan’. Single-use plastic dumped in rivers and streams will be collected as a part of the celebration. He will also assess the work on the Statue of Unity. At 282 meters  it is the world’d tallest statue and was inaugurated by the PM on October 31, 2018 as a tribute to Sardar Vallabhai Patel on his birth anniversary.

Like last year, the PM will spend some time in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency with children with disabilities.

In the run up to PM Modi’s birthday on September 17, BJP is observing ‘Seva Saptah’ (service week) between September 14-20. Seva Saptah was launched by party president Amit Shah, working president JP Nadda, Vijay Goel and Vijender Gupta by cleaning the floors at AIIMS, New Delhi. Various social initiatives will also be undertaken by party leaders during this week.

BJP cadres are set to showcase various exhibitions across all districts in a bid to illustrate the social work done the PM. These exhibitions will highlight the achievements of the government of India under PM Modi’s leadership.

Not only the partymen but the common people are also excited to celebrate the birthday of their beloved leader. Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel flagged off a bike rally led by popular biker Raj Luxmi. The rally, aims at spreading awareness on the social messages by the PM, will cover a distance of 1,200 kms between Delhi and Vadnagar, the birthplace of PM Modi in Gujrat. Traversing across four states, it will touch down Vadnagar on September 20.

To commemorate PM Modi’s 69th birthday, a Surat bakery will bake a 700-ft cake. Weighing 7,000 kg, this cake would be cut by ‘700 honest people’ from Surat.

A day ahead of the PM’s birthday, NaMo app was upgraded with an aim to generate more traffic and the PM had informed the same through a tweet.

Child Rights Commission sends second notice to Mumbai police to investigate suspected torture on juvenile during Worli evangelical event

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Child Rights Commission sends second notice to Mumbai police to investigate suspected torture on juvenile during Worli evangelical event

At the beginning of September 2019, an evangelist event was illegally organised in a school in Worli, Mumbai by New Life Fellowship mission which was exposed by a Bajrang Dal activist.

The Child Rights Commission, which had earlier taken cognisance of this incident and issued a letter to the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai on the Worli incident has now issued a second notice to Mumbai police to lodge an FIR and investigate the suspected torture on a juvenile which transpired during the course of the event.


The second letter issued by NCPCR says that this letter was in continuation to letter issued to Mumbai police dated September 3. In this letter, the commission said that a CD containing video recordings of the Evangelist program arranged in Mumbai School had been enclosed for the Mumbai Police’s reference. It further reads that the commission has also taken cognisance of the video in relation to the earlier complaint forwarded and requested Mumbai police to file an FIR as per provisions of law and investigate the said video in relation to the complaint.

NCPCR has asked Mumbai police to submit an action taken report to the commission in the next 7 working days from the date of receipt of the letter.

The Child Rights Commission had issued the first notice to the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai on the Worli incident on September 3, 2019.

The letter then issued by NCPCR said that prima facie, it looked like the event violated Article 28 (3) of the Indian Constitution and hence, the police is requested to investigate the matter. The letter then too mentioned that a report must be given to the Commission within 7 working days and that the report should include statements from the students and parents who attended the said activity.

Article 28 (3) of the Indian Constitution states, “No person attending any educational institution recognised by the State or receiving aid out of State funds shall be required to take part in any religious instruction that may be imparted in such institution or to attend any religious worship that may be conducted in such institution or in any premises attached thereto unless such person or, if such person is a minor, his guardian has given his consent thereto Cultural and Educational Rights”.

NCPCR had in its first letter to the Mumbai police also spoken about the video in which a juvenile participating in the same program was screaming due to unknown reasons. “We suspect that the unknown juvenile present at the venue is either being exposed to inhuman torture or beating or sexual harassment which made her scream/ cry in deep pain for help”, had read the letter.

NCPCR had taken cognisance of the illegal event after Legal Rights Observatory, an activist group, on 2nd September, lodged a complaint with National Commission for Protection of Child’s Rights and raised an issue regarding the event being held in school premises. In its complaint, it stated: On September 1, 2019, The New Life Fellowship mission, an evangelist group has arranged a program at Mumbai Municipal School, Worli Mumbai.

Legal Rights Observatory had further said that the event came under the ‘Black Magic Act’ and was not merely a prayer meeting.

However, in its effort to subtly further the agenda that the Christian prayer meet was disrupted due to hate, the Mumbai Mirror had published a report on September 4th 2019, headlined “Bajrang Dal workers barge into Christian Prayer meet at Worli School” which detailed how activists from Bajrang Dal ‘disrupted’ an ‘innocent prayer meet’ being held inside the school premises. The report had claimed that Bajrang Dal suspected that the prayer meeting was a front for religious conversion and after they barged in, the first video recorded the event and then, called the police.

EC forms Media Monitoring Committee in Haryana to keep paid news under check ahead of assembly polls

OpIndia Staff
-
0
EC forms Media Monitoring Committee in Haryana to keep paid news under check ahead of assembly polls

Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana has constituted a state-level Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) ahead of the Haryana assembly elections with immediate effect.

According to a news report, a spokesperson of the office of Chief Electoral Officer said the committee will be chaired by Anurag Aggarwal, the Chief Electoral Officer for Haryana.

MCMC will comprise members including Director (M&C), Chandigarh, PIB, Pavitra Singh, Senior Technical Director, NIC, (Scientist F), Ganesh Dutt and Deputy Director, Information, Public Relations and Languages Department, Anita Dutta. However, Inder Jeet (Media Incharge), Joint Chief Electoral Officer has been appointed as Member Secretary of the committee, the press release stated.

“This committee will decide on the appeal made for certification of the advertisements of committees constituted under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Electoral Officer at the district level as per the guidelines of Election Commission,” added the spokesperson.

All appeals for paid-news against the decision of the committee will be monitored by the district level MCMC, besides investigating cases independently.

NCW takes suo moto cognisance of alleged rape of Muzaffarpur shelter home survivor, asks Bihar police to investigate on a priority basis

OpIndia Staff
-
0
NCW takes suo moto cognisance of alleged rape of Muzaffarpur shelter home survivor, asks Bihar police to investigate on a priority basis

Taking suo moto cognisance of the alleged rape of a Muzaffarpur shelter home survivor, on Friday night, the National Commission for Women(NCW) has issued a notice to Bihar DGP requesting him to treat this case on an urgent basis and commission a speedy probe in the matter.


In addition to this, the NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma will visit Muzaffarpur on September 19 and 20 to evaluate the progress of actions taken by officials in this case. She is also set to meet the victim to inquire upon her welfare and provide her with all the possible help and support.

In a shocking incident, Muzaffarpur shelter home survivor, who was reunited with her family after a sex scandal broke out in May 2018, was allegedly abducted and gang raped in a moving car by four members of the same family on the Bettiah-Pakhnaha road in West Champaran district. The girl has already identified two of the perpetrators.

An audio clip has gone viral, which apparently contains the confession of the accused of the heinous crime. In the audio clip, the younger of the two brothers alleged to be involved in the brutal crime can be heard recounting the entire incident to someone. He is heard talking about the involvement of five people including himself. However, he denied his elder brother’s involvement in the case.

The police is yet to establish the authenticity of the clip. However, the accused can be heard admitting that the victim was gang-raped in a moving Scorpio car. The victim was a survivor of the Muzaffarpur shelter home run by Brajesh Thakur. 42 girls were allegedly mentally and physically abused at this government-aided shelter home.

Imran Khan, the ‘ambassador of Kashmir’, slammed by President of World Uighur Congress for ignoring the plight of Uighur Muslims in China

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Imran Khan, the ‘ambassador of Kashmir’, slammed by President of World Uighur Congress for ignoring the plight of Uighur Muslims in China

Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan who also juggles as a self-styled ‘ambassador of Kashmir’, has been slammed by Dolkun Isa, President of World Uighur Congress. Isa exposed Khan for his bigoted views on human rights violations stating that though he talks about the Kashmir issue, he prefers to stay mum on the plight of the Uighur Muslim community in China.

Talking to news agency ANI, Isa said that, “Pakistan Prime Minister brings up the Kashmir issue all the time but when it comes to the Uighurs he closes his eyes and supports China’s policy, this is a double standard, it is a shame.”


Isa added that the “Pakistan Prime Minister very well knows what the Chinese government is doing to Uighur Muslims but he doesn’t want to talk on this”. He also denied the claim made by the Chinese government that the detention camps where Uighur Muslims are kept are actually vocational training camps. “They are trying to hide things and are committing crimes against humanity”, he said.

It is a known fact that the abrogation of Article 370 has added to the anxiety of the PM Khan. Having been left red faced, he is now trying hard to keep his political identity afloat amid the cacophony. As the PM of the country that is the epicentre of terrorism, Khan found solace in declaring himself as the messiah of Kashmiris. Amidst the noise, he conveniently chose to brush aside the atrocities meted out to Uighur Muslim community, by his all weather friend China, under the carpet.

Recently, in an interview with Al Jazeera, Khan unravelled his naivety and duplicity in  response to a question on Muslims in China. He was asked if he had the opportunity to discuss the matter with the Chinese administration, to which he admitted that he had not. He went a step further and claimed that he didn’t have much knowledge about the persecution of Uighur Muslims in China.

“And frankly, we have been facing so many of our internal problems right now, that I don’t really know much about this problem. And since we have been in power for one year, domestically, apart from the economy, and now with Kashmir, we have been inundated with problems. But I will say one thing for China, for us China has been the best friend,” he told the news organization.

The PM who claims to be the messiah of the Muslims of Kashmir and feigns ignorance about the gross hardships faced by Uighurs in China reeks of prejudice.  Ironically, his focus seems to be hinged on a false narrative around Kashmir whereas he hasn’t cared to updated himself on the plight of Uighurs. Even in March, in response to Uighurs, Khan had claimed to know nothing about their persecution.

Given Pakistan’s economic condition, it appears that the parody nation doesn’t want to offend it’s trusted accomplice for the fear of getting into its bad books!

Suvarna news anchor wants scientist arrested for his sarcastic Tweet about ‘Mysore Pak’, claims his act was ‘seditious’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Suvarna news anchor wants scientist arrested for his sarcastic Tweet about ‘Mysore Pak’, claims his act was ‘seditious’

The sarcasm in the tweet made by Dr Anand Ranganathan on the issue of ‘Mysore Pak’ is surely being missed by some of the anchors in the Kannada media. Taking it to the next level, an anchor of Suvarna news, Jayaprakash Shetty has now asked for the arrest of scientist Ranganathan for claiming Mysore Pak belonged to Tamil Nadu.

In an angry tone, the anchor questioned the credentials of Dr Anand Ranganathan as a professor and shockingly calls him a ‘Thikla’ meaning a deranged man. He further goes on to say that Anand Ranganathan was the one who gave the idea to Nirmala Sitharaman to declare GI tag for Mysore Pak in favour of Tamil Nadu.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQp5V-haP0s]
Shockingly, the anchor then asked for the arrest of Dr Anand Ranganathan for falsely attributing the origins of Mysore Pak. Calling his tweets ‘seditious’, the anchor questioned why can not he joke about Dr Ranganathan having connections with Pakistan. Shetty in the video expressed his anger over Anand Ranganathan as he claimed that the JNU scientist was attempting to create a divide between two states.

In an unnecessary attack against Ranganathan, Shetty further misled the viewers by referring to a tweet made by Anand Ranganathan where he had promptly requested the people of Karnataka to end the issue. The anchor states that it was because of the pressure exerted by the media, Dr Ranganathan sought to apologise for his gaffe.

Magnifying the issue, the anchor further stated that Dr Anand Ranganathan has tried to hurt the feeling of Kannadigas. However, after his attempts backfired, he sought the help of Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya to save him from the wrath of Kannadigas, said the anchor while personally attacking Dr Anand Ranganathan.

The whole Mysore Pak incident concerning Dr Anand Ranganathan was totally uncalled for. The sarcastic tweet made by the scientist was deliberately picked by the Kannada media to target him. In doing so, many Kannada news channels resorted to fake news to mislead people over the issue.

The Mysore Pak has been one of Dr Ranganathan’s long time gags on Twitter. Ranganathan is a big fan of the delicacy, had said that after meeting Finance Minister Sitharaman that talks are proceeding smoothly over granting of GI tag to Tamil Nadu, his home state. However, no one had expected that a huge controversy would erupt over the issue of Mysore Pak, which originated in Mysuru during the rule of Wodeyar dynasty.

Dr Anand Ranganathan is one of the foremost genetic engineering and biotechnology scientists of the country. An alumnus of Cambridge University, Dr Ranganathan is known for his objectivity over a range of issues and is also one of the highly respected individuals across the social media platforms. A man of varied interests, he is currently researching dengue and tuberculosis at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Delhi and Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, JNU.

1...6,0076,0086,009...7,575Page 6,008 of 7,575