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Priyanka Gandhi in trouble over snake video, animal rights activist seeks her immediate arrest for violating wildlife protection rules

OpIndia Staff
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Priyanka Gandhi in trouble over snake video, animal rights activist seeks her immediate arrest for violating wildlife protection rules

Trouble mounts for the Uttar Pradesh Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi as a complaint has been filed by an Animal Rights activist Gauri Maulekhi against her, accusing her of “serious violation” of Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and seeking her “immediate arrest”.


In a written complaint to Chief Wildlife Warden, Gauri Maulekhi, a close aide of the Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, had alleged that Priyanka Gandhi during her visit to Purwa village in Rae Bareilly had illegally procured 3 snakes of protected species through three unidentified persons and thereafter publicly endorsed the act of hunting and possession of snakes which is punishable under S.49 and S.52 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Maulekhi mentioned that one of the snakes which Priyanka was Spectacled Cobra which is a highly venomous snake and can be rendered “harmless” only if its fangs have been mutilated, its venom glands burnt or its mouth stitched up. She alleged that Priyanka Gandhi by her conduct had approved of and encouraged the illegal capture, mutilation, removal of fangs, burning the venom glands and confinement.

Maulekhi cites the Video and the news report which shows the alleged offence committed by Priyanka Gandhi while she was campaigning for the elections in Rae Bareilly. Her letter says that the first snake petted by her as seen in the video was a Spectacled Cobra which is protected under Section 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.


The letter mentions that the second snake handled by her was a Sand Boa which is protected under Section 4 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and the last one Ms Vadra uses for the delectation of crowd and election campaigning was again a Cobra. Priyanka Gandhi also specifically emphasises that the snakes are not dangerous, which the letter has highlighted alleging that Priyanka was aware of the mutilation and other barbaric tactics employed by snake charmers to render the snakes harmless.

The complaint not only accuses Priyanka Gandhi of illegal procurement of snakes and the facilitation of their public demonstration but also of intentionally aiding the hunting and encouraging the public to touch the snakes.

The complainant has stated that the offences are serious and non-bailable hence they should result in an immidate arrest. She has also exhorted the Chief Wildlife Warden to rescue the captured reptiles and be treated by a trained veterinarian and rehabilitated.

Chairman of Editors Guild justifies TMC’s violence in West Bengal, showers praise for fighting ‘fire with fire, venom with venom’

K Bhattacharjee
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Chairman of Editors Guild justifies TMC’s violence in West Bengal, showers praise for fighting ‘fire with fire, venom with venom’

On April the 30th, OpIndia.com had published an article where we had questioned the ostensible silence observed by The Print, a media portal run by the Chief of Editor’s Guild himself, on the rampant violence that had gripped West Bengal during the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha Elections.

Finally, Shekhar Gupta has spoken on the political developments of West Bengal. The Chief of Editors’ Guild has finally opened his mouth on the matter and he has opened to compliment, congratulate and shower adulation on Mamata Banerjee whose party is responsible for the most disgraceful events in the elections so far. He has this to say: “Fight fire with fire, venom with venom… Mamata in Bengal shows how the offence is the best defence to stop the Modi-Shah cavalry…”


The tweet gives the impression that Gupta was complimenting Mamata Banerjee’s proclivity towards violence. However, the article makes it clear that Gupta is referring to her political rhetoric. Small mercies.

However, the real concern is while Gupta has reserved vast criticisms for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, he has no words to offer to condemn the cycle of violence that West Bengal finds itself in. He calls Narendra Modi and Amit Shah ‘street fighters’ and yet, he blithely ignores the attack on journalists, on Union Minister Babul Supriyo by goons allegedly associated with Trinamool and the collusion of polling officers.

Gupta is the Chief of the Editors’ Guild. One would have expected him to sympathize with journalists at least who suffered at the hands of Trinamool and yet, such incidents are of no concern to Gupta at all.

The propagandist says of Mamata, “Not a word she says in response to the BJP is defensive, nothing is said to play the victim, and because you mocked her, she mocks you back like none else can, with the possible exception, lately, of Raj Thackeray.” One could almost laugh at the assertion that Mamata doesn’t play the victim. Lately, she came out in support of Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar and termed the CBI probe against him a ‘political vendetta’ by the BJP. She even sat on Dharna against the BJP over the CBI raids.

The entire article comes across as a paid advertisement to whitewash the crimes of a politician who is accused of great brutality. At another point, Gupta says, “Mamata also isn’t impressed by BJP’s shock-and-awe tactic. She is probably the toughest politician in India now, tougher than Mayawati. She is also a street-fighter, which Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, Kamal Nath and Akhilesh Yadav aren’t. But, for further clarity, Arvind Kejriwal is. Steeled through survival in a state that was no better than a Left Front concentration camp for her, she also knows the art of turning adversity into opportunity. Or grabbing the opportunity when Narendra Modi says it’s become difficult for Bengalis to even hold Durga Pujas.”

Gupta’s words only reveal that mainstream media journalists live in a make-believe world of their own. “Toughest Politician” he calls Mamata. Engaging in brutality, rigging polls, intimidating voters, leaders of the party urging followers to attack central forces, these are not evidence of ‘toughness’, it’s just corruption.

He concludes his article with the words, “If Modi and Shah have made a poisonous, polarising campaign their brahmastra for 2019, Mamata Banerjee is showing them its limitations. Or why it will “hoy na” (won’t happen) in her state of 42 MPs.” Even Mamata Banerjee won’t buy the sewage Gupta is selling here. If she felt that way, we wouldn’t have witnessed the extent of brutality that we have seen thus far.

It’s quite clear from the article that it was never Gupta’s intention to present an honest picture of what’s happening in Bengal. From the very outset, his primary objective was to present Mamata Banerjee as a noble character out to defeat the forces of communalism and bigotry manifested in the form of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah with Yogi Adityanath making a guest appearance. Harry Potter is closer to reality than the story Gupta tells us in his article.

It’s utterly disgraceful that Gupta doesn’t come close to mentioning the atrocities that are being perpetrated by the Mamata government. It’s a travesty that is unfolding in the state and Gupta doesn’t bother to mention that West Bengal is perhaps the only state where free and fair elections are not happening in the country. BJP Karyakartas are being killed with impunity, voters are too scared to vote and all Gupta has to say is to heap praise on the individual summarily responsible for all this.

The conduct of the Chief if Editors Guild only reveals that one need only be ‘Secular’ to have all his or her crimes absolved by mainstream media. To paraphrase Donald Trump’s infamous words, “When you’re secular, they let you do it. You can do anything. Murder your political opponents, rig elections, intimidate voters and polling officers, throw free and fair elections in the garbage bin. You can do anything.”

Ulrik McKnight, Gautam Makkar, Sonia Faleiro, Congress, a defence deal and how it all relates to Rahul Gandhi

OpIndia Staff
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Ulrik McKnight, Gautam Makkar, Sonia Faleiro, Congress, a defence deal and how it all relates to Rahul Gandhi

When trying to find out details about Rahul Gandhi’s nationality, we stumbled upon a mysterious, elusive name, Ulrik McKnight. Since his name appeared in the document shared by Congress as ‘proof’ of Rahul Gandhi’s nationality, it is only imperative that we try to dig deeper.

Ulrik McKnight is Rahul Gandhi’s business partner, whose name appeared in the document provided by Congress as proof of Rahul Gandhi’s nationality.

Document provided by Congress as ‘proof’ of Rahul Gandhi’s Indian nationality

Ulrik McKnight is the second director in one ‘Bristol Legal Services Limited’. When we looked up Ulrik McKnight on CompaniesHouse.gov.uk (Companies Registrar of the UK), we found discrepancies in the data related to Ulrik McKnight.

The data there shows two different Ulriks (both with different birth dates, nationalities and residence).

Ulrik McKnight details on Companies House

Two Ulrik McKnights on Companies House website. Both share the same middle name, but they both have given different birth dates as per the companies registrar.

Ulrik McKnight, who was born on October 1974

Ulrik McKnight, an American national is a director of a company called Optimal Armour Limited.

Ulrik McKnight born in August 1974

Ulrik McKnight, a Swedish National is a director in Composite Resin Developments Limited.

Composite Resin Developments Limited

Ulrik’s partners in Composite Resin Developments Limited are one Gautam Makker and one Sunil Chettuvetty Menon, both Indians nations. Makker and Menon, both, are also Ulrik’s partners in another company Optimal Armour Limited.

Optimal Armour Limited

All three of them have given different addresses for both the companies. We looked up Gautam Makker and Sunil Menon. They both run a company called ‘Flash Forge Private Limited’ in India.

Essentially, Flash Forge Private Limited acquired UK-based Optical Armour in 2011-12 and Composite Resin Developments Limited in 2013.

In 2011, French Naval Firm was given contracts by the Congress government to manufacture Scorpene Submarines. After the contract was granted by the Congress government, Indian firm Flash Forge was signed as a partner through its Indian subsidiary DCNS India. As per the India Today report from September 2011, the contract was worth Rs, 20,000 crores.

Flash Forge then acquires UK-based companies and takes Ulrik McKnight, Rahul Gandhi’s former business partner onboard.

Gautam Makker is married to one Shaila Maria Faleiro, who is Sonia Faleiro’s sister. Shaila is also a director in a company where other directors are one Sheeila Makker and one Niranjan Dev Makker.

Shaila Maria Faleiro is the director of a company named “Amber Durable Goods Private Limited” with its registered address as 17, Ganesh Chandra Avenue, 5th Floor, Kolkata, West Bengal,  700013. It is also the registered address for dozens of other companies.

Multiple companies registered at 17, Ganesh Chandra Avenue, Kolkata

Sonia and Shaila are daughters of Eduardo Faleiro, a Rajya Sabha MP and Congress leader. So, Gautam Makker, whose company got the defence contracts is related to Ulrik McKnight, who was a director in a company with Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

Clearly, when it comes to Congress, it is all about keeping it all in the family.

Sitaram Yechury calls Hindus violent and we must all thank him

Ashish Shukla
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Sitaram Yechury calls Hindus violent and we must all thank him

All Hindus, millions abroad and many times over in India, must stand up and applaud Communist leader Sitaram Yechury for stating that their epics Ramayana and Mahabharata are ample proof that Hindus have been violent in the past.

Angry? Don’t be for Yechury has hacked the very tree of his vicious ideology which swears by atheism, negates religion and treats Hindus reverence of their past as nothing better than mythology.  So the logical and rational Communists are now treating Hindu’s past as real. Isn’t it a matter of celebration?

Of course, a snake doesn’t let go of an opportunity to inject his venom. Yechury calls out Hindus for being violent in a bid to justify the “Saffron terror” narrative which the Congress-Communist combine have worked so hard to build since independence and which now is returning in waves to create a watery grave for the peddlers.

An average Hindu is gullible to propaganda. The vicious do it as a strategy so Hindus suffer from guilt, fail to unite and thus lack pride. Hindus without identity are easier to crush. The trophy of controlling or breaking India then goes to peddlers. That’s why I try to puncture this narrative as often as I can so these peddlers are nailed. If Hindus regain their pride, these peddlers would run out of lies.  Then the Big Game is over—happily for India and its majority.

In last 48 hours, two such attempts have been made—one by Sitaram Yechury and the other by Bollywood writer Javed Akhtar. Most of my Hindu friends have found themselves tongue-tied in countering them. Yechury and Akhtar have mocked Hindus who, because of their gullibility. I give you the words my brethren Hindus to stuff their filth back into their throats.

Yechury says that Ramayana and Mahabharata prove that Hindus have been violent. That it’s RSS which has tried to militarize Hindus in an ideology which is similar to fascist Mussolini (I also include similar analogy Yechury has drawn in the past between RSS-Hitler). Javed Akhtar, in response to Sri Lanka ban on veils following massive Easter Sunday suicide-bombings, mockingly tweeted that don’t leave out “ghoonghat” (head-cover of Hindus) too.

I propose below how an astute Hindu must reply to the likes of Yechury and Javed Akhtar not only to counter but also to regain their own convictions. That’s how you should shape your reply:

Mr Yechury, you say Hindus have been violent in the past. But is being violent the same as spreading “saffron terror”? You could be violent in wars, which is a matter of dharma (righteousness), but killing innocent people in suicide bomb attacks is terror. Please name any Hindu suicide-bomber from our entire history, failing which stuff your mouth.

You claim that RSS follows the Fascism/Nazism ideology. But RSS has never given a call for genocide. If RSS were adherents of Nazism and Hitler, did they give a call that Muslims must not hold public office; or inter-marriages must not happen, or that “Pogroms of Muslims” was the answer? Did they ask for Muslim professors to be removed from universities after the Partition?

Further, Mr Yechury what would you say of your “God” Karl Marx who echoed Hitler’s ideology describing Jews as “arch-exploiters”? Or John F. Kennedy who praised Fascism-for-Italy and Nazism-for-Germany in the 1930s? Or our own Pandit Nehru who swore by socialism even as millions were being massacred by your ideologue grandparent (Stalin) in Russia? And if RSS is fascists/nazis, how would you describe Islamic laws?

Subhas Chandra Bose was hailed in India even though he had joined hands with Japan, an ally of fascist-nazist forces. Do you condemn millions of Hindus for supporting Subhas Bose? I dare you Mr Yechury to give us your opinion on Subhas Bose.

And lastly on Javed Akhtar. A burqa can be a security threat—not a “ghoonghat”. So please don’t draw a false, mocking analogy. I can cite you dozens of example where burqas were used to enact terrorism acts. Why go far, let me give you a Bollywood analogy itself, easier to for you to recall. Did you see “Dil Se”? How do you think Manisha Koirala was trying to blow up the Republic Day parade?

And please do let us know when you’ve found a “terror” act being carried out under the guise of a “ghoonghat.” The fact is you can’t. So where do you think Hindus should shove your comments back in you?

Both Yechury and Akhtar lose no opportunity to insult Hindus. It’s for the Hindus to stand up to such inimical forces. The crux for Hindus is: Know your history and facts. Regain your pride. It would do good to you and the future of your children and grandchildren.

India won’t mind either.

PM Modi takes a dig at Congress’ ‘vote-cutter’ admission, mention Rahul’s Backops links in his UP rally

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi takes a dig at Congress’ ‘vote-cutter’ admission, mention Rahul’s Backops links in his UP rally

Speaking at a rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgadh, PM Modi mocked the Congress party over its admission of being a vote share cutter party in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier Priyanka Gandhi and then Rahul Gandhi had admitted that in areas where Congress doesn’t have a strong candidate, it will extend its support to the secular candidate to win the elections and defeat the BJP.


Taking a swipe at the Congress president Rahul Gandhi, PM Modi said, “Those who were dreaming of becoming PM before the elections were reduced to being a ‘vote-cutter’ party in Uttar Pradesh after the first phase of elections got over.” Modi contended that the dispute between Congress and the Samajwadi Party is merely a drama. Attacking the clandestine understanding between the Congress party and the SP, he asserted that their undeclared alliance will seek to undermine the authority of BSP chief Mayawati.

In an apparent reference to Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha campaigning for his wife Poonam Sinha who is an SP candidate, PM Modi said, “Congress leaders are happily sharing stages with Samajwadi Party in their rallies, these people have so cunningly betrayed Behenji that she is unable to perceive it.”

PM Modi also raised the murky links between Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi with Backops UK. As per the India Today report, Ulrik Mcknight, who was 35% co-owner of Backops UK, in which Rahul Gandhi owned a majority 65% equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up, later went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011, when UPA was in power.

The report also states that Rahul’s sister Priyanka also served as the co-director of Backops Services Private Limited.

The Economist is trying to charge Indians Rs 3799 per head to tell them how to save their democracy

Abhishek Banerjee
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The Economist is trying to charge Indians Rs 3799 per head to tell them how to save their democracy

“I really haven’t. All I know is… I know that my servant Gunga Din gave me my bed tea very late so I woke up very late… What else can I say? I really don’t know!”

Somebody told me this was the official response from the Burra Memsahib who is the Editor in Chief of The Economist when she was asked why they woke up after four phases of the election to tell Indians how to vote in order to save their democracy. Is this true?

Nevertheless, as a common Indian, it is heartwarming to hear such expressions of concern from countries around the world who wish us well.

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Narendra Modi has already been Prime Minister for five years! Imagine the damage he has already done.

If he rules for another five years, more than a billion people could lose their democracy. That’s a Category 5 threat to humanity. Wait, is that why The Economist waited till the 5th phase to sound the alarm? No, that doesn’t make any sense. I guess I can’t think clearly because I am so scared right now. Let me read what important people have to say about the future of our country.

You’ll never guess what happened next.

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Blocked! Thus far and no further.

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The Economist is trying to charge me Rs 3799 to let me ‘discover the story’ of how my democracy is in danger? They call it ‘Best Value’! What?

Let me get this straight. Some well off and highly privileged people in the first world discover that a billion people in a developing country are about to be crushed by fascism. That those unfortunate people have one last chance to save their democracy. And then these privileged people come up with a business plan to sell them the warning at Rs 3799 per head.

Let me explain the situation using a tone and language that foreign correspondents might understand. Imagine this:

Geeta, 36, is a flower seller. Every day, from dawn to dusk, she sets up shop in a narrow lane in the temple town of Ayodhya in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The neighbouring walls are covered with images of the masculine frame of Rama, the mythical warrior king at the centre of the Hindu epic Ramayana. Along with him are images of his dutiful wife Sita as well as that of the monkey god Hanuman. 

Cows, bullocks and people all make their way through his narrow stretch where Geeta spends her day. On average, Geeta makes about 500 Rupees a day (approximately £5.49 by 2019 conversion rate or £5.10 by 2014 conversion rate) which she uses to feed her family of five. Most recently, Geeta’s business suffered a devastating blow when Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a sudden decision to demonetize high-value currency notes in 2016. 

Geeta still does not fully realize the kind of danger that Modi poses, but she is eager to vote in the 2019 election in a way that will save India’s democracy. On her phone, she shows me the headline of the article in The Economist. To know more, she must pay Rs 3799 (or about £41.69). It is more than what she earns in a week.

Tell me, dear Economist, what do you have to say to “Geeta”?

I understand that everything comes at a price. But don’t you think Rs 3799 (or about $55) per head for a billion Indians, i.e., $55 billion is a bit too greedy?

Especially when all you really want is to save a billion people from fascism.

Or is it that you do not expect people like “Geeta” to have the interest and/or intellectual capacity to understand threats to democracy?

Here’s a hint. Next time you want to get your message out among common Indians, try publishing in Opindia instead of The Economist. It’s free and you might actually reach a wider audience. You may not meet the editorial standards though.

Or maybe your only aim in publishing that article was to pat Indian liberals on the head and assure them that Mother England still cares. In that case, you have done well to wake up before voting happens in Lutyens Delhi. A mother’s love is priceless. And at just $55, it’s a bargain.

Comedian who made fun of PM Modi’s apolitical interview to Akshay Kumar says “aayenge toh Modi ji hi”

OpIndia Staff
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Comedian who made fun of PM Modi’s apolitical interview to Akshay Kumar says “aayenge toh Modi ji hi”

On 28th April, Shyam Rangeela, a popular comedian published a video on YouTube that mocked Prime Minister Modi and his apolitical interview with Akshay Kumar. In the video Shyam was seen mocking both PM Modi and Akshay Kumar, even insinuating that the questions were Whatsapped to Kumar. The video was soon picked up by opposition parties like Congress and even Pakistan (the two seem connected at the hip, recently) to mock PM Modi.

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

The spoof was, of course, picked up by Congress leaders like Dr Ajoy Kumar.


Leftist propaganda websites like Scroll that was then peddled by Anti-Modi, shoddy journalists like Anna Vetticad.


BBC did an interview with Shyam Rangeela as well, highlighting the segment mocking PM Modi and Akshay Kumar for the interview.

Interestingly, it must be recalled that Shyam Rangeela is the same comedian who had accused The Wire of twisting his words earlier. In 2017, The Wire had ran a story that Shyam Rangeela was asked not to mimic Modi but was given permission to mimic Rahul Gandhi on a television show. Rangeela had confirmed to OpIndia that The Wire was the first one from the mainstream media to approach him, but they twisted his words, which gave the entire story an anti-BJP and anti-Modi spin. The truth was that he was asked to stay away from political mimicry in the show and not do spoofs on either Modi or Rahul Gandhi.

Now, however, Shyam Rangeela has come up with another video talking about the spoof segment and saying ‘aayega to Modi hi’.

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

In the video, Shyam Rangeela says that it is his job to entertain and make fun of people and he will continue to mock not just PM Modi but even other leaders from other political parties like Congress and AAP.

He says he doesn’t ordinarily care when political parties pick up his videos to lash out at opponents, but it does affect him with Pakistani media does the same. He says his video was featured by Pakistani media to insinuate that India doesn’t like or respect Prime Minister Modi at all and that the country is sick and tired of PM Modi.

He says there was nothing of the kind in the video and he has been deeply distressed by Pakistan Media’s portrayal.

He says the Pakistan media channel that showed his spoof video was called ‘Ab Tak’, a channel that talks big while copying Indian channel ‘Aaj Tak’.

He then gives out a message for Pakistan media and channels like Ab Tak saying that ‘Ayenge to Modi ji hi’. He said that even though he mocked PM Modi, he is the same comedian who is now saying that it would be PM Modi who would come back to power.

Reiterating that it is his job to mock, he asks Pakistan media why they never showed the videos where he was mocking Rahul Gandhi and Congress leaders. He then says that Pakistan doesn’t show videos mocking Congress and only that of Modi being mocked because they are “allergic” to Modi. And because Pakistan is allergic to Modi, he is the one who will come back to power in 2019.

He continues saying that he likes the fact that Pakistan dislikes PM Modi because it makes him feel like there is one man who Pakistan fears.

He then throws a challenge to the Pakistan media. He says that he will soon make a video that is a spoof on Rahul Gandhi and if that video is shown by Pakistan media in the same demeaning light that they projected PM Modi, then he promises he will vote for Rahul Gandhi. He says that if Pakistan starts detesting Rahul Gandhi as much as it detests PM Modi, then he would have no issue voting for Congress too.

Shyam Rangeela then apologises to people who might have been hurt by Pakistan’s portrayal of his video but says that he will continue to make such videos as is his job.

Concluding the video message, Shyam says that his vote will go to the man who Pakistan dislikes and opposes and that he does not belong to any political party, but when it comes to India and someone from outside India mocking the Prime Minister, he will vote for the man who Pakistan dislikes.

3 former Army Chief’s deny Congress claims of having conducted Surgical Strikes during their regime

OpIndia Staff
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3 former Army Chief’s deny Congress claims of having conducted Surgical Strikes during their regime

The biggest blow to Congress’ claim of conducting Surgical Strikes has been dealt by General V.K. Singh, former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), and now a Member of Parliament from the BJP and MoS External Affairs. He accused the Congress party of lying, said there was no surgical strike by India in his tenure and demanded to know which surgical strike exactly they are attributing to his tenure as COAS.


Another former COAS, Retired General Bikram Singh, too, had echoed similar sentiments in 2016. It was clear that no such strikes were conducted during his tenure and he did not think such attempts were made earlier as well. General Bikram Singh was COAS from 2012-2014 and succeeded General V.K. Singh.


General Ved Prakash Malik, who was COAS between 1997-2000, too, said that he wasn’t aware of any such strikes either.


Therefore, three COAS, two of them who were COAS during the UPA regime, claim that no such surgical strikes were ever carried out by the UPA government. It appears the Congress party was so secretive that they managed to conduct Surgical Strikes without informing the Armed Forces of the country as well.

Moreover, the number of strikes that the UPA government apparently conducted keeps changing with remarkable frequency. We have documented the phenomenon here. Moreover, on the same day that Rajiv Shukla claimed that the Congress party had conducted 6 surgical strikes, Rahul Gandhi in his interview to India Today claimed that Manmohan Singh’s government had conducted 3. And today, in his press conference, the Congress President again fell back to  6.


It’s quite a spectacle that’s unfolding here. The COAS during the UPA regimes claims that they are not aware of any such surgical strikes. The Congress party claims on the number of surgical strikes vary from 2 to 15. It’s so bewildering that on the same day, one senior Congress leader claims UPA conducted 6 surgical strikes while the Congress President in an interview says it only conducted 3.

Therefore, Congress doesn’t appear to have much clue about the surgical strikes that were conducted, the Armed Forces have no clue about the surgical strikes that were conducted. And yet, the people of this country are expected to believe them when they say that surgical strikes were indeed conducted during the UPA regime. It’s quite a fascinating story indeed.

In fact, an RTI query last year to the DGMO had also revealed that there have been no surgical strikes on Pakistan prior to September 2016.

“We will not be cowed down by propaganda”, Lt Gen Sangha of Grenadiers Regiment calls out malicious video against soldiers

OpIndia Staff
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“We will not be cowed down by propaganda”, Lt Gen Sangha of Grenadiers Regiment calls out malicious video against soldiers

Recently, a video had gone viral on social media where some people were seen claiming that soldiers of the Indian Army were acting as a political tool, and were casting ‘proxy votes’ and ‘forcing’ people to vote for BJP.’


The almost two minute long video showed some army personnel standing near a vehicle, allegedly near a voting booth, while the persons shooting the video were accusing them of ‘proxy voting’ and influencing people to vote to a certain party.

Many on social media had shared the video, accusing the Army of being the government’s political tool and trying to influence voters.

However, in the video, the soldiers are seen merely waiting near their vehicle, unprovoked by the repeated attempts by the people shooting the video.

Many Army veterans and officials had soon dismissed the video as malicious propaganda, they claimed that certain political leaders are upset because service voters voting at their place of posting disturbs the vote bank politics certain parties had indulged in.

Via Twitter


It was later revealed that the incident was from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh where army personnel and their families were taken in Army vehicles to cast their votes at the assigned booth. However, some miscreants had reportedly objected to the Army personnel casting their votes and had tried to intimidate them.

The Army had proceeded to file a formal complaint regarding the incident. In a formal complaint to the local police dated May 1, the Grenadiers Regimental Centre in Jabalpur had stated, “On 29 April 2019, the day of voting for parliamentary elections, soldiers and their spouses at the Grenadiers Regimental Centre proceeded to cast their votes via bonafide transport at Booth no 146, at Swami Vivekananda Higher Secondary School, Katanga, Jabalpur. When they were at the process of exercising their right to vote, some miscreants approached and snatched their voter id cards by criminal force and tried to obstruct them from casting their votes.”

Image credit: Snehesh Alex Philip on Twitter
Image credit: Snehesh Alex Philip via Twitter

The complaint also states that the soldiers who are visible in the video are the ones who had managed to take back their voter id cards from the miscreants and had proceeded towards their parked vehicles. It further states that by circulating the video in the social media falsely accusing the soldiers of influencing voters, the unidentified miscreants had attempted to malign the image of the Indian Army and its soldiers participating peacefully in a democratic process.

Further, Lt General GS Sangha of the Grenadiers Regiment had come out to support the soldiers. In an open letter addressed as “Countrymen”, Lt Gen Sangha has condemned the allegations that say the army is being used as a political tool. In his open letter published in Times of India, Lt Gen Sangha has written, “The Army is not going to be cowed down by any propaganda, internal or external, be it by internal enemies or ISI of Pakistan or any other adversary.”

Image courtesy: @desertfox61l via Twitter

He has further added, “If India starts believing that Indian Army is favouring a particular party, god forbid, we will be no better than Pakistan. But rest assured dear countrymen, we, the defence forces, will make sure it does not happen, ever.”

It is notable here that though the miscreants who snatched the voter id cards from soldiers and shot the malicious video are yet to be identified, the Congress candidate from Jabalpur, Vivek Tanakha has been seen mirroring the exact lines used by the miscreants. In a complaint to the election commission, Tanakha has reportedly stated that an army officer has ‘friendship’ with the BJP candidate.

When Rahul flew over the cuckoo’s nest: Metaphysics of fruit flavours and Rahul Gandhi’s desperate attempt to appear smart

K Bhattacharjee
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When Rahul flew over the cuckoo’s nest: Metaphysics of fruit flavours and Rahul Gandhi’s desperate attempt to appear smart

Rahul Gandhi’s interview to India Today has already been shrouded by a cloud of mystery. There are rumours going around that the interview was actually in video format, however, the end product was not to the Congress party’s liking and therefore, only a print version was released in the end. And the answers he gave to some of the questions only reveals why people find him unworthy of occupying the seat of Prime Minister.

One of the hallmarks of sound intellect is the ability to answer simple questions in a simple manner. Rahul Gandhi appears to lack that ability. His answers to some of the questions that were posed, only shows that the ‘Pappu’ tag has affected him so deeply that his answers are tailored not to answer the question itself but to present him as someone of deep intellect.

And so it happened that Vipassana found a mention in a question about which fruit he liked. The answer, quite obviously, doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. But it’s quite evident that by mentioning Vipassana in a question that involves fruits, Rahul is trying to prove that he is a wise person of remarkable intellect.

The answer is worth reading in its entirety because it reveals the terrible inferiority complex the Congress President is suffering from. He could very well just tell the interviewer about the damned fruits he liked but that wouldn’t have shown the public that he was smart. Someone, preferably Sammy (Sam Pitroda, of course), should have informed Rahul Gandhi that not every question is an opportunity to show the world the depth of your great intellect. That he fails to understand such a simple thing only reveals how smart he actually is.

“I do Vipassana. The mind constructs the flavour of the fruit. You can like or dislike any fruit you want. You can choose to like mango, you can choose to hate it,” the Congress President said. Well, if I wasn’t aware already who said these words, I would have assumed they were said by someone in one of those cheap self-help books you find in street stalls that no one actually bothers to read. But here we are.

It appears to be the general theme of the entire interview. The interviewer asks him a simple question. The Congress President then gives the impression that he has been asked something related to Quantum Physics and then proceeds to give an answer that is convoluted at best and word-salad at its worst.

There was another question about his relationship with his mother and sister. His initial answer was fine enough but when he asked whether he had any preference for who he decided to confide in, the best Rahul Gandhi could come up with it, “My Mother is my Sister. My Sister is my Mother. They are the same thing, the same force.” Well, thank you, genius.

The most hilarious bit of the interview, however, came when the interviewer asked Rahul Gandhi about his foreign policy. When he was asked what was the difference between Narendra Modi hugging world leaders and him hugging Narendra Modi, the best he could come up with is “My hug had love in it.”

Of course, maybe we just didn’t understand Rahul Gandhi’s pearls of wisdom because we didn’t “go at him with sophistication”. He really did say “come at me with sophistication and I will come back at you with sophistication”. We truly wanted to add an exasperated emoticon here, but that would perhaps be unprofessional.

Rahul Gandhi is any PR agent’s nightmare. The questions which provide him with the opportunity to display his intellect, he comes up terribly short while answering them. And questions which demand simple answers, he goes all Einstein on it. The questions about his family and his favourite fruits were meant to show him as a person just like us. Instead, he came across as a tosspot whose hobby is to ponder upon the metaphysics of fruit flavours.

Considering some of the answers that the Congress President gave in his interview, it suddenly makes a lot of sense for people to want to bury the video of it. Rahul Gandhi appears so stupid just by reading the answers, one can only imagine how stupid he will actually look in a video saying all the stuff that he did.

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