In the hustle and bustle of the day, it is only natural to miss some of the biggest developments that impact the nation. The OpIndia Evening Dispatch will catch you up on the day’s event even if you have been busy thus far.
1. PDP leader’s car used in 2017 Amarnath Yatra attack, ‘integrity report’ sought after suspicions of ‘sympathy towards separatists’: NIA
In a letter written to the Jammu and Kashmir police, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has sought an ‘integrity report’ on former PDP legislator Aijaz Ahmad Mir, saying that “it is believed that he has a soft corner towards the separatists.”
According to reports, a vehicle belonging to the former PDP legislator, Aijaz Ahmed Mir was used in the 2017 sensational attack on Amarnath pilgrims that left seven dead. Earlier a police officer named Adil Bashir Sheikh deployed with Aijaz Ahmad Mir had absconded with seven assault rifles of colleagues from a Police post guarding his residence. Later Sheikh had joined the Hizbul Mujahideen.
In a horrific incident, two Muslim cow smugglers have mowed down a police constable, Prakash Meshram and injured two others after they tried to stop these cattle smugglers near Warora late on Sunday night, reported Times of India.
According to the reports, two Muslim youth- Imtiyaz Ahmed Faiyyaz (19) and Mohammad Raza Abdul Qureshi (20) were present in one of the two pickup vehicles smuggling cattle from Wani in Yavatmal district to Nagpur. The police officials had barricaded the road to carry out the routine checks. The cattle smugglers, afraid of getting caught drove past the first check post while injuring two cops who tried to stop them. At the second check post, two police constables stood behind the barricades and signalled the drivers using torchlight to stop. instead of stopping, the smugglers drove their trucks over barricades killing one constable on the spot.
3. In Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh, third BJP leader found murdered within a week
Chhatrapal Singh Rawat, a BJP worker from Madhya Pradesh, was found murdered in Gwalior on Monday. This is third such murder of a BJP worker in Madhya Pradesh within a week. Another BJP office-bearer, Magan Siddiqui was seriously injured after he was reportedly attacked in Jabalpur on Sunday.
Earlier on Sunday, Balwadi BJP leader Manoj Thackeray was found murdered in a field after he had gone for a morning walk. Prior to that, Mandsaur BJP leader Prahlad Bandhwar was shot dead in full public view
4. After threatening to thrash BJP workers publicly, BSP leader now offers 50 lakh reward for MLA Sadhna Singh’s head
Reacting to the remarks made by the BJP MLA Sadhna Singh on BSP supremo Mayawati, a former BSP MLA Vijay Yadav has announced a 50 lakh bounty on Sadhna Singh’s head. Yadav has offered to award Rs 50 lakh to whoever brings Singh’s head. Sadhna Singh had made certain insulting remarks about Mayawati relating to the 1995 Lucknow Guest House incident when Mayawati was assaulted by Samajwadi Party workers in a Lucknow guest house and was rescued by an RSS Swayamsevak.
Few says ago Vijay Yadav had remarked in a public meeting that once the BJP is out of power, they (BSP-SP alliance) will thrash BJP workers publicly.
5. Trouble mounts for AAP: BJP Delhi files defamation case, demands de-recognition of AAP as political party
The BJP Delhi unit on Monday filed a criminal defamation case against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP members. The case has been for allegations levelled by Kejriwal against the BJP of deliberately deleting names of lakhs of voters from the electoral roll in Delhi. In December 2018, Kejriwal had alleged that the BJP got 30 lakh votes deleted.
Other than Arvind Kejriwal, AAP Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Gupta, MLA Manoj Kumar and AAP spokesperson Atishi Marlena have been named in the case. The Court has accepted the plea and the matter will be heard on 5th February.
6. Shut down madrasas across India as ISIS ideology is being promoted to influence students: Shia Waqf head Waseem Rizvi to PM Modi
Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board Chairman Waseem Rizvi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a shut down of all madrasas across India stating that ISIS ideology is being promoted there to influence the students, reports ANI.
Reportedly, in a letter addressed to PM Modi dated January 21, Shia leader Rizvi said that if madrasas in the country are not shut down with immediate effect, then within the next 15 years half of the country’s Muslims will get influenced by Islamic State ideologies.
7. Business Standard bigotry: After Kanwar Yatra, the Kumbh Mela gets linked to ‘unemployment’
The Business Standard’s bigotry towards Hindu festivals is scarcely ever hidden. Earlier, it had insinuated that the Kanwar Yatra was so popular because of unemployment in the country. And now, it has again made the assertion that the Kumbh Mela attracts millions of people because they are unemployed.
8. Here is why #DarpokAbhisar is trending on Twitter
When he is not busy making embarrassing videos ‘investigating’ train tragedies, the Ramnath Goenka award-winning journalist Abhisar Sharma is busy sending abusive direct messages to Twitter users who make fun of him. Turns out, the journalist went on a blocking spree because people dig out his old embarrassing tweets and Sharma could not take a joke or two. It all started when a Twitter user @firkiii made fun of him.
9. NIA and EVM Hackathon organisers rubbish sensational claims made by the ‘EVM Expert’
The Foreign Press Association, which was a co-organiser of the London EVM hackathon event, has rubbished hacker Shuja’s claims and termed them unsubstantiated. The FPA disassociated itself from the claim made by the masked hacker Syed Shuja and said that not a single claim made by the hacker has been corroborated. The Italian journalist moderating the event also said that the hacker had no solid proof for the “serious allegations” that he made about the elections in India and in London.
NIA has also ruled out any link between investigation into Gopinath Munde’s death and the death of NIA officer Tanzil Ahmed. The agency has said that the officer was shot dead over a property dispute, and his killer Muneer had also admitted to his crime
10. Did Congress just concede defeat after Court took cognisance of Vivek Doval’s defamation case against Jairam Ramesh?
On 16th January 2019, the Caravan Magazine published an article targetting Ajit Doval’s son Vivek Doval. The article insinuated wrongdoing on the part of Vivek saying that he heads a hedge fund in Cayman islands. Promptly the Congress had picked up the malicious article and conducted a press conference where allegations were hurled upon Vivek Doval, NSA Ajit Doval’s son.
After that, Vivek Doval flew down to Delhi to file a criminal defamation case against not just Caravan Magazine editor and journalist, but also Congress leader Jairam Ramesh for malicious and defamatory allegations.
After the massive blowback by Vivek Doval, the Congress seems to have developed cold feet, one would imagine. In a Congress press conference today, which was held by Anand Sharma, a journalist began to ask him a question regarding Vivek Doval. Immediately, Anand Sharma said that he doesn’t know “who this person is”.
As the Lok Sabha election comes closer, rebel BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha has started attending an increasing number of anti-BJP, anti-Modi events. After participating in the United India Rally organised by Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata, Sinha announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he had recently attended the Tahaffuz-e-Watan conference at Grand Oberoi, Kolkata.
Conference was organized at Hotel grand Oberoi Kolkata…. Shri Farooq Abdullah former CM of J&K, Shri Idris Ali MP TMC Muslim Ulema and other Muslim intellectuals were invited. This conference was sponsored by Urdu Daily newspaper, Awami News and Nature Veda and the convener was pic.twitter.com/rOIfxMb92q
As per Sinha, the conference was attended by Farooq Abdullah, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Idris Ali, MP from Trinamool Congress, the Muslim Ulema and other Muslim intellectuals.
As per Sinha’s own admission and the poster of the event that is visible in the photograph tweeted by Sinha, the convener of the event was the ex-adviser of GOI during the UPA era, Aziz Burney.
ex advisor of GOI Mr Aziz Burney. The threat to the constitution, law and order , unity and the danger to the Indian society was discussed. The security of the Nation was of primary concern for which the intellectuals had gathered and was my immense pleasure to be a part of pic.twitter.com/x1YdOY5dHO
For those unaware, Aziz Burney is the same man who had authored the infamous book ’26/11 RSS ki Saazish?’. In the book, Burney had alleged that the RSS was behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, not terrorists from Pakistan. RSS had filed a case against him for the book, following which he had tendered an apology. It appears extremely dangerous that politicians are endorsing such conspiratorial people by attending events organized by them merely because of their personal enmity towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As we had reported earlier, the US Ambassador had noted that the Congress party had deliberately chosen to pander to Muslim fears and was indulging in ‘dangerous politics’ for electoral benefits. One should also remember that senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh had endorsed the book blaming the RSS for the Mumbai Terror Attacks by attending the release of Burney’s book.
The event was also attended by Yashwant Sinha who recently claimed that he was the ‘closest’ man who had the capabilities required to the Prime Minister of the country.
“Tahaffuz-e-Watan” which translates to “Protecting or preserving the country” – a conference of democratic and like minded intellectuals – where I was happy to share the stage with statesman Yashwant Sinha and former Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah among other luminaries… pic.twitter.com/fH7OkQmB60
It certainly appears dangerous that leaders of the proposed Mahagathbandhan are endorsing such a man which could cause great damage to the social fabric of the nation.
The ultimate test of the value of a political system is whether it helps that society to establish conditions which improve the standard of living for the majority of its people – Lee Kyan Yew (Former Prime Minister of Singapore)
Singapore is a classic example of the perfect ‘Rags to Riches’ story. It transformed from a country devoid of natural resources and ravaged by unemployment into a country that has often topped the world’s best list. The Country has seen tremendous economic progress since 1970 owing to decisive leadership and gutsy reforms. Now, dubbed as the Monaco of the East, Singapore has seen sustainable development in just about 25 years, approximately the same time that the Gandhi Family has been contesting from Amethi (1981-91: Rajeev Gandhi, 1999-2004: Sonia Gandhi, 2004-2019: Rahul Gandhi).
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s positive obsession to turn Dubai into a Global city transformed it from an arid desert into a fastest growing immigrant city in the world. In 2010, he launched the UAE vision 2021 with the aim of making UAE one of the best countries in the world by 2021. Dubai has seen sustainable infrastructure and tourism upgrades like the Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab hotel, Dubai Internet City, Dubai International Finance Centre, Palm Islands and many more destinations. Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing released its annual visitor figures showing that Dubai attracted 14.9 million overnight visitors in 2016. Dubai accounts for 66% of the tourism industry’s contribution to UAE’s GDP. This industry represents 20% of Dubai’s GDP and accounts for approximately 6% of total employment. This is not a mean feat.
Our very own city of Kutch rehabilitated and renewed itself into India’s Midnight Oasis after an earthquake devastated it in 2001. The common factor behind all these successful transformations is the decisive leadership of a visionary leader. Whether it is Lee Kuan Yew in case of Singapore, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s for Dubai, or Narendra Modi behind Kutch, the essence of true leadership is reflected in their outcomes.
If such massive nations can be built in 20 years then why Amethi can’t be made into a world class constituency.
Developmental parameters of Amethi
Amethi is a district in Northern Indian State of Uttar Pradesh and a Lok Sabha constituency. Amethi’s reputation precedes itself. It is by no means distinguished in any developmental sector like education, healthcare, Infrastructure, Tourism or Manufacturing. So why is every Indian familiar with this name? It is because of its ‘rich heritage’ of its Members of the Parliament, the heritage of the Gandhi family.
With no offence to nepotism, the good people of Amethi have been voting generations of Gandhi family into the highest echelons of power in India. It is often defined as the Fortress of the Gandhi Nehru Family. So is the Fort crumbling now? To study this we shift our focus to the Forever ‘Young, Dynamic, coming of age’ MP of Amethi Shri Rahul Gandhi.
Chart showing developmental parameters of Amethi
The above table compares Amethi district on various parameters of development like access to clean drinking water, sanitation, electricity, access to toilets in schools (especially for females), per capita income and other parameters. It has been found that Amethi not only lags behind its counterpart districts but also nationally on various critical development parameters.
Amethi as a constituency has been Nehru-Gandhi bastion since 1980’s and in spite of this; today it is no better than a backward district.
Surat: A Case Study for Model Development
Surat, in spite of the Plague outbreak in 1994, has come a long way to become the fastest developing city in the world. Bloomberg which has prepared a list of the fastest growing cities in the world 2019-35, predicts the top 10 will be from India. Significant development of large-scale industries has taken place within and around the Surat metropolitan area in recent years, and a number of units manufacturing chemicals and plastics have come up. Some of the major industries that have come up in and around Surat such as a major port at Hazira, petrochemical refinery, natural gas, cement, steel plant etc., with a total investment of about Rs. 1,00,000 million.
India’s dominance (source: Bloomberg)
So what are the options available for developing Amethi into a modern city? One of the alternatives is to see what the dynamic leader Smriti Irani has to offer on the other side of this political battleground.
In 2014 elections Smriti Irani lost Amethi Lok Sabha elections to Rahul Gandhi with a margin of nearly 1 lakh votes. 1 lakh votes would be sufficient to drive away any competition. However, as they say, true leaders always continue to support behind the scenes, Smriti Irani has continuously steered her support for the progressive development of Amethi. Unlike Arvind Kejriwal (who had abandoned Varanasi after losing elections against Narendra Modi), the zeal of Smriti Irani hasn’t stopped contributing to the welfare of Amethi.
So the basis of this article lies on the comparison of contributions of both Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani for the welfare of Amethi. The comparison here is between an MP, whose full responsibility is the advancement of his own constituency and a central minister who has undertaken a massive responsibility of 1.3 billion people and has many such constituencies to serve. Although the situation favours Rahul Gandhi, Let’s see who emerges the winner.
Smriti Irani’s Contributions to Amethi: Work behind the scenes
Below are few of the tasks undertaken by Smriti Irani for the welfare of Amethi. The fact check of these tasks is based on reports, press articles and videos published by the various media.
Agriculture
Approval to Soil testing laboratory and Krishi Vijnan Kendra for Amethi district
The yield of farmers from Amethi affected by hail storms was sold even when it was in bad condition.
100,000 (one lac) fruit trees were distributed in Gauriganj, Jagdishpur, Tiloi and Amethi through Khushhali Foundation, Bareli Uttar Pradesh.
Along with the Agriculture MOS Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, families of entire Amethi district and affected farmers and Kisan Panchayat were given Rs. 25,000 (twenty-five thousand) as compensation.
580 metric ton Nimboli seeds were purchased under Nim project.
Railway
Separate arrangements for reservation counter, ticket section, inquiry office for passenger facility on Gauriganj Railway Station
Better passenger facilities given on Amethi railway station.
Approval to railway under the bridge in Amethi and Mahaso
Approval for a high-level platform on Gauriganj railway station
Approval for the budget for Amethi- Unwahar railway line from Sultanpur
The trial for the Rail Neer scheme started, Established in 2014 at the cost of INR 8 crore, this plant has the capacity to produce 72,000 bottles of Rail Neer per day, giving earning potential to around 100 people
Approval for doubling the railway line from Bachharawan to Pratapgarh. Work started.
Electrification of the railway line from Bachharawan to Pratapgarh.
Funds allotted for doubling and electrifying Utaretiya Varanasi line via Rae Bareli and Amethi
Bani, Jayas and Gauriganj stations in Amethi were given the status of ideal railway stations.
Education
Approval to Central School in Gauriganj.
Women’s Security insurance of 25,000 women done in Amethi district under Pradhan Mantri Mahila Suraksha Bima Yojna.
Security insurance of 25,000 people done in Amethi district under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna.
Approval for a military school in Amethi and work started with the fund of Rs. 121 crores.
A satellite branch of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow was established
Rajeev Gandhi Petroleum University, Jayas Tiloi, district Amethi was completed with the fund of Rs. 360 crores from NDA Government and was publically launched.
Approval was given to girls’ college in Sangrampur block of Amethi.
Liking of working women, men, youth and students from Amethi Loksabha constituency with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOUR) and establishing National Open University Institute.
Roadways
Directed to convert national highway no. 56 from Lucknow to Varanasi into a 6- lane
Ambedkar Nagar via Fatehpur, Lalganj, Raibareli, Amethi and Sultanpur declared as the national highway for connecting Rae Bareli and Amethi through national highways. The fund also allotted and directions given to complete the work in one year.
Passenger rest places were provided in all major pilgrimage centres, railway stations, bus stands in Amethi Loksabha constituency.
Water supply
Approval to the dam by National Flood Calamity Management Board for stopping the cutting of Gomati River in Haliyapur and Pipri
Approval to around 250 India Mark hand pumps in entire Amethi Loksabha constituency in collaboration with CSR and task started to install them
Social Service
Matiyarikalan’s Mr Abhishek was brought back from Malaysia
Assistance was given with prompt efforts by helping people with cancer, heart diseases and serious diseases.
After receiving applications from local people from entire Amethi, admissions were given in Amethi district and in entire the country in central schools.
Every possible assistance given by Samrat Cycle to the farmers displaced
The residence was given to 2500 rural people under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Rural).
Distribution of cards to 1500 individual dignified beneficiaries under Swachch Bharat.
Distribution of relief material to affected families in fire incidents every year. Up to now, around two thousand families were helped.
Distribution of Divyang Jan assistance equipment to 1492 Divyang persons.
Healthcare
Approval from the State Government for women’s medical hospital centre in Jamo block with 200 beds.
Approval of a multipurpose building on Amethi railway station and the work for allocating funds is in progress.
Distribution of approval letters for the grant of 4 lacs under Daivi Apda (Unfortunate Calamity relief scheme).
The public launch of TB unit in the district hospital, Amethi.
Public inauguration of Primary Health Centre Odari, Tiloi.
Public inauguration of the community Health centre, Bajar Shukla.
Bhoomi Poojan for C. H. C. centre, Amethi.
Public inauguration of primary health centres in Saintha and Jethu Mavai
Skill Dev
Prime Minister Kaushal Centre was started in Jamo Gauriganj.
Women Empowerment
Distribution of 25 thousand Saris to women from entire Amethi Loksabha constituency
Although her duties are limited to the portfolios assigned to her (Human Resource Development, Information and Broadcasting and Textiles), her role extends to initiatives to introduce soil testing lab and promote plantation programme for the benefit of Amethi farmers.
Keeping in mind the NDA government’s emphasis on infrastructure, Smriti Irani has taken sufficient efforts to improve rail and road connectivity of the constituency. Smriti Irani also took approval from National Flood Calamity Management for the dam at Haliyapur and Pipri. She ensured that all government schemes effectively reached Amethi.
The healthcare sector was given a lot of importance in Amethi. Approval was granted for a 200 Bed hospital in Amethi and few health centres were established in Amethi. The initiatives mentioned above are in line with the publications and video news of the National Media. Overall we can say that Smriti Irani has taken considerable efforts to introduce many developments in the timespan of 4 years for the welfare of Amethi.
Rahul Gandhi Contributions to Amethi: The Throne of Power
Healthcare
Started Indira Gandhi Eye Hospital and Research Centre to provide affordable ophthalmologic care and serve the purpose of blindness cure
Started Indira Gandhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences to provide paramedical courses to students
Education
Setup Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Kendras to promote facilitate computer literacy among students of Amethi
Established Indira Gandhi School and College of Nursing to provide nursing education. It provides nursing courses at diploma and degree level
Started Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology at Amethi to provide Petroleum Engineering courses. The institute offers Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree programs, PG diploma courses and Doctoral programs in Petroleum Technology and Management in phases.
Setup extension branch of IIIT Allahabad at Amethi
Skill Development
Set up the Footwear Design and Development Institute to promote footwear design and manufacturing operations in Amethi
Transport
Upgraded 5 model stations as Ideal model stations
Constructed Railway Over Bridge at Gauriganj
Started two trains to Lucknow via Amethi. MEMU Sultanpur-Lucknow, via Amethi and Rae Bareli – A 12 coach train, with a capacity to carry 2,400 and DEMU Pratapgarh-Lucknow, via Amethi and Rae Bareli
Undertook project of doubling railway line from Amethi to Rae Bareli. A 60 Km long line was sanctioned at cost of 285 Crore
Amethi-Unchahar line was sanctioned at cost of 380 Crore which measures 66 km in length
Rahul Gandhi has introduced a few notable developments in Amethi. Some colleges have started in Amethi to boost education facilities among the students. The transport facilities have been upgraded to improve connectivity. But the progress doesn’t match up with the potential development that could be done in Amethi considering the timespan.
We see that, from the above data, in 15 years Rahul has 12 major achievements whereas in 4 years Smriti has a staggering 46 achievements. All the data was gathered from information available in the public domain.
Conclusion
The contention of the article here is not to debate on “who’s the best” blindly, but whether their contributions are equitable or not.
Leaders understand that it’s not about enriching themselves but to benefit the people they serve. While the mother-son duo helmed Amethi for 20 years, Smriti has had a mere 4 years. Amethi has been responsible for escorting the Gandhis to corridors of power and what have they done to thank it, reward it. While in power, neither Sonia nor Rahul held any portfolios in the centre. They could have used that time to transform Amethi into something spectacular. Even if the progress of foreign nations is overlooked, one can still take a leaf out of Surat’s or Kutch’s books. People of Amethi still struggle for basic amenities like running water or electricity. Don’t they deserve better?
The work done by Congress may seem worthy, but is it what Amethi is expecting for past 20 years? On the contrary, the weight of Smriti’s contributions for the last 4 years is significantly higher. If this can happen in 4 years on losing side, imagine how it would be if she was MP for the next 5 years.
In such a big-ticket election we have seen the vanquished return to shadows, but here we see a resurgent Smriti Irani ready to take responsibility for the constituency that once rejected her. As a true leader, she knows that the people are much bigger than her and she needs to work hard to gain their trust.
It is evident from the fact that all 4 Vidhan Sabha seats in Amethi district are BJP ruled, So why not at the Centre too. The decision is up to the people of Amethi, Whether they want their next leader to be an entitled prince who has shown a morbid propensity for slow-paced development or a Visionary who is ready to overhaul the constituency to new heights of progress.
Note: Smriti Irani and Rahul Gandhi’s achievements have been taken from publicly available information available. We have tried our best to be balanced in covering achievements of both Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani. If we have failed to include any developmental work done by either Rahul Gandhi or Smriti Irani, we would be happy to rectify ourselves if such information is made available to us.
Days after the opposition came together to display their show of strength and unity in a Mahagathbandhan rally held in Kolkata, senior Congress leader Natwar Singh, has dismissed the possibility of Rahul Gandhi being their PM candidate. Singh has expressed his support for Mayawati as the opposition’s PM face.
While there has been no consensus as to who will be the PM face for the united opposition, the veteran Congress minister Natwar Singh made a big statement on the opposition Prime Ministerial candidate. He believes that this time the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati’s candidature is the strongest, dismissing Rahul Gandhi’s chances of becoming the PM.
Former EAM Kunwar Natwar Singh in Alwar, Rajasthan: Bharat varsh ki sahi maayne mein rajneeti chalti hai UP (Uttar Pradesh) se. Aur Bahujan Samaj Party walon ko toh pata hai ki netritva karengi Mayawati ji. Iss waqt Mayawati ji ka pallaa bhaari hai. (21.01.19) pic.twitter.com/4kHJ1EXXI6
The former Union Minister also alleged that the politics of the country rests on Uttar Pradesh, and since SP-BSP-RLD have come together, Mayawati becomes the obvious as well as the most powerful individual amongst other opposition leaders.
Dismissing Rahul Gandhi’s candidature for the PM post, Singh said that barring MK Stalin, no other opposition leader has shown faith in Rahul Gandhi’s candidature. Hence it is clear that Rahul Gandhi won’t be the PM. Singh also added this time around that the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ will remain united against the BJP.
On the other hand, the BJP has questioned the viability of Mahagathbandhan claiming that they have multiple leaders harbouring the dream of becoming PM. PM Modi alleged that the Mahagathbandhan is an alliance of corrupt parties who have no vision for the country and the only reason they have come together is to save their political existence becoming irrelevant.
The Election Commission of India has written to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, requesting that action be taken and FIR should be lodged against Syed Shuja who had recently claimed that he was part of the EVM design team in 2014 and could hack into them. He had also claimed that the General Election in 2014 and the Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat Assembly Elections were rigged.
It is pertinent to mention that senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal was an attendee of the event where such assertions were made by Shuja. OpIndia.com has accessed the copy of the letter written by ECI.
The ECI stated, “EVMs with adequate safeguards under the control of ECI has been lauded the world over. Hon’ble Supreme Court and various Hon’ble High Courts have also endorsed the use of EVMs in the elections through various judgments.”
The ECI also remarked that when an opportunity was presented to all parties to demonstrate any vulnerability of the EVMs, no one had actually turned up. It stated, “On 3rd of June, 2017 when a few political parties raised some issues regarding the use of EVMs, ECI organized an open challenge for all to come forward and make an attempt to demonstrate any vulnerability of the EVMs. Nobody turned up for such demonstrations.”
The ECI further asserted that Shuja’s remarks were in violation of Section 505(1)(b) and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The relevant section states, “Whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquillity.”
The Commission requested to be informed of the action that was taken.
As per reports, the Electronics Corporation of India Limited has today informed the Election Commission that Syed Shuja was never their employee and he was not even a part of the EVM design and development team from 2009 to 2014. Shuja had claimed that he was associated with the organisation and had helped design the EVMs.
BJP president Amit Shah today kicked off the party’s campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with a rally in Malda, West Bengal. Despite suffering from Swine Flu, BJP supremo Shah took the battle to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after her government did not allow permission for BJP’s “rath yatra”, citing law and order concerns.
Stating that he has come to Bengal to kickstart the election campaign in Bengal, Amit Shah stated that the 2019 Lok Sabha election in more important for Bengal than for the rest of the country. “This election is to determine whether this autocratic TMC government will remain or will be thrown away. 2019 polls will determine Bengal’s future,” said Amit Shah.
Launching an all-out war against Mamata Banerjee led TMC government, Amit Shah slammed the West Bengal CM for letting infiltrators enter India and accused her of not letting people of Bengal celebrate Durga Pooja or Saraswati Pooja in the state. Amit Shah asked the gathering whether such government was needed for Bengal.
Amit Shah targetted Mamata Banerjee for not allowing BJP to conduct yatras in the state. Shah said that West Bengal CM can stop their yatras but cannot remove BJP from hearts of people. “You don’t give us permission for the yatra. It isn’t a big deal. We will work harder, will sweat it out, but will sure dethrone you,” he asserted.
Attacking Mamata Banerjee for denying permissions to freely celebrate Durga Pooja and Saraswathi Pooja, Amit Shah added that TMC cannot stop people from performing Hindu festivities. The Mamata government has a problem with Durga Visarjan, Saraswati Pooja and almost everything. This has to stop, said Amit Shah.
“Do you want a Bengal where there is no permission to immerse the idol of Durga and there is no permission to worship Saraswati,” Shah asked the audience.
He urged the people of West Bengal to elect the BJP in upcoming elections to bring back Democracy in the state. Amit Shah said TMC has turned Bengal into a Kangal (penniless)state and added that they needed to bring back the Bengal of Tagore, Subash Chandra Bose, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, etc.
He stated that after the communists brought down the economic prosperity of the once abundant state, the TMC government is also hell bent on keeping the state poor and deprived.
BJP Chief Shah also accused Mamata Banerjee of not allowing people to vote in the recently held panchayat polls which were inflicted with extreme violence by the TMC workers. “You (TMC) did not let people vote in the rural polls. Don’t try it this time. The central election commission and the central armed forces will be in charge of the Lok Sabha elections. Their staff will be in all the booths. People need not fear,” says Amit Shah while addressing a huge gathering at Malda.
Speaking on the issue of recently held opposition rally at Kolkata, Amit Shah took a dig at the leaders saying that everybody has united fearing for PM Modi. “What is this gathbandhan? It’s about power and self-interest. They didn’t chant Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata Ki Jai in Opposition’s Kolkata rally. Instead, they were chanting Modi, Modi” said Shah. He further ridiculed the proposed alliance saying that they were at least nine Prime Minister contenders present at the stage of the opposition rally that was held last week.
Stating some facts, Amit Shah said that the previous UPA government had given Rs 1.32 lakh crores in 5 years to Bengal while Narendra Modi-led NDA government gave Rs 3.95 lakh crores. Questioning the government about the utilization of funds, Shah said that money was consumed half by infiltrators and the rest half by TMC leaders.
Amit Shah also addressed the people of Bengal regarding concerns raised against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, said Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh people living here that they need not fear NRC. “I want to ask Mamata, the refugees who have come from Bangladesh are asking you whether you will support the Citizenship Amendment Bill,” said Amit Shah.
Taking a strong note on illegal cow smuggling and slaughtering in West Bengal, Amit Shah promised the people of Bengal that if BJP is elected to power, they will guarantee that not a single cow will be stolen or smuggled.
Amit Shah further alleged that Mamata Banerjee fearful of BJP did not allow his helicopter to allow at Malda. “The administration has been politicised. There was no permission for my helicopter and for the rath yatra”, says Shah.
BJP will put an end to all factories that are manufacturing bombs, said Amit Shah. “Bomb and weapon making industries are prevalent in Bengal. Where Rabindra Sangeet used to play, bomb blasts fill the air. The BJP shall bring the glory back to Bengal. This is what a real speech from a leader sounds like,” added Amit Shah.
Listing all the achievements, including the 129 welfare scheme launched by the Narendra Modi government, Amit Shah slammed Mamata Banerjee for indulging in cheap politics by not allowing the people of West Bengal to benefit from Ayushman Bharat– a health insurance scheme initiated by the present NDA government.
Concluding his speech, Amit Shah urged the voters of Bengal to vote for the BJP in the upcoming elections and requested people to elect BJP in at least 22 seats of the 42 Lok Sabha seats of West Bengal.
All the gifts and mementoes that Prime Miniter Narendra Modi has received so far will be put for auction at National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma has said that the money received from the auction will be used by the government to fund projects like Clean Ganga Project.
All the items can be viewed at the portal PM Mementos. The basic reserve price for the items ranges from a few hundred to few thousands of Rupees. More than 1800 items, which includes paintings, sculptures, shawls, pagris, jackets and traditional musical instruments from across the country, will go under the hammer. The physical auction will take place between 27th and 28th January. The remaining items will go for e-auction after the physical auction.
All the gifts and mementoes received by PM Modi are maintained by the National Gallery of Modern Art, an undertaking of the Ministry of culture. They had organized an exhibition of all the items last year in October.
“We have proposed to have an auction of the gift items presented to our Prime Minister by the various individuals and organisations in the country. The money collected will go for a noble cause. Our plan is to have the auction within the next 10-15 days.” Minister of Culture Mahesh Sharma was quoted by reports.
Since PM Modi was elected to office, he has put great efforts in the Clean Ganga Project. In December last year, it was reported that there is a marked improvement in the level of dissolved oxygen in the river in more than a decade. The experts had also asserted that along with dissolved oxygen, even pH amount has reached satisfactory levels.
On 16th January 2019, the Caravan Magazine published an article targetting Ajit Doval’s son Vivek Doval. The article insinuated wrongdoing on the part of Vivek saying that he heads a hedge fund in Cayman islands even though his father, the NSA, talks about cracking down on tax havens. Promptly, as has been the case with most such shoddy hitjobs, Congress picked up the malicious article and conducted a press conference where allegations were hurled upon Vivek Doval, NSA Ajit Doval’s son.
Following the Congress press conference which was conducted by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, Vivek Doval, NSA Ajit Doval’s son flew down to Delhi to file a criminal defamation case against not just Caravan Magazine editor and journalist, but also Congress leader Jairam Ramesh for malicious and defamatory allegations.
In the defamation plea that was filed by Vivek Doval, he had submitted 18 years of payment slips and tax returns as a dare to Congress. Almost setting a gold standard in transparency and probity, Vivek Doval also submitted his entire career path from 2001 to today. He also said that the total fund value of his hedge fund is Rs. 77 crores of which, only Rs. 14 crores were invested in India that too, the money was not raised in India. This was in response to Jairam Ramesh’s allegation that he had money laundered Rs. 8300 crores. He has also traced how the hedge fund came into existence and how many years it took in the ideation stage.
After the massive blowback by Vivek Doval, the Congress seems to have developed cold feet, one would imagine.
In a Congress press conference today, which was held by Anand Sharma, a journalist began to ask him a question regarding Vivek Doval. Immediately, Anand Sharma said that he doesn’t know “who this person is”. When one sees the video, one realises that Sharma did not even give the journalist a chance to finish her question and as soon as he heard the name Vivek Doval, he proceeded to deny knowledge of his existence altogether.
It is indeed astonishing that right after Congress held a much-publicised press conference, that Anand Sharma would rush to deny even the knowledge that Vivek Doval exists. This claim to have been mouthed off by Anand Sharma is even more intriguing after the court has taken cognisance of the defamation case against Jairam Ramesh and Caravan Magazine just hours ago.
ACMM Samar Vishal takes cognizance of Vivek Doval’s defamation complaint agaisnt The Caravan and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh for publishing an allegedly defamatory article. #VivekDoval@thecaravanindia@Jairam_Ramesh
One wonders now, what is it that changed? Did the Congress simply decide to back-off after Vivek Doval took the stern step that he did, that too, decisively? Did they get spooked after Doval submitted his returns for 18 years and displayed utmost transparency in his quest to nip this malicious story in the bud? Or are they, as usual, playing the good-cop-bad-cop by pretending to be aloof from these developments while their senior party leaders rabblerouse in their “personal capacity”.
It is amusing that Anand Sharma denied knowing Vivek Doval just hours after the defamation suit got accepted by the court and mere days after the Congress party went hammer and tongs against Ajit Doval’s son. However, whatever the reasons might be, it is rather evident that this litany of lies, like many others, is not going to be allowed to just slip by Vivek Doval.
A self-proclaimed US-based EVM expert Syed Shuja, who on Monday made shocking revelations about the hacking of EVMs is facing flak from various quarters for his unsubstantiated claims. The Foreign Press Association has censured the hacker for propagating serious allegations without backing them up with evidence.
The alleged EVM expert hacker Syed Shuja had claimed that he had designed the EVMs used in India, later adding that the EVMs used in 2014 Lok Sabha polls were rigged. He also asserted that BJP leader Gopinath Munde was aware of the tampering of the EVMs which resulted in his murder.
The Foreign Press Association strongly disassociates itself with any claims made by the speaker Syed Shuja during the #IJA event in London yesterday. Not one of the masked speaker’s accusations have so far been corroborated.
However, the Foreign Press Association which was a co-organiser of the London hackathon event rubbished hacker Shuja’s claims and termed them unsubstantiated. The FPA disassociated itself from the claim made by the masked hacker Syed Shuja and said that not a single claim made by the hacker has been corroborated. It may be noted that the so-called hacker had addressed the ‘hackathon’ via video conferencing with his face hidden behind a mask.
The Italian Journalist Deborah Bonetti, who was moderating the event and asking questions to the hacker also concurred with the FPA and said that the hacker had no solid proof for the “serious allegations” that he made about the elections in India and in London.
The hacker had also claimed that NIA officer Tanzil Ahmed was killed because he was investigating the Gopinath Munde death case. But that allegation is completely baseless as the incident was investigated by CBI, not NIA. Before shot dead by two persons, Ahmed was handling several cases related to the Indian Mujahideen (IM), and was not associated with any investigation into the death of Gopinath Munde.
NIA has also ruled out any link between investigation into Gopinath Munde’s death and the death of NIA officer Tanzil Ahmed. The agency has said that the officer was shot dead over a property dispute, and his killer Muneer had also admitted to his crime.
The doctors at AIIMS who did the postmortem on the body of Munde have also ruled out the possibility of homicide in the incident. Dr. Sudhir Gupta, who heads the forensic medicals department at AIIMS and other doctors involved in the postmortem of the deceased BJP leader’s said that it was not a case of homicide, but a case of road accident. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which had investigated the incident, had already declared in 2014 that Gopinath Munde died of the injuries he sustained from the road accident.
The Election Commission of India had yesterday issued a statement rejecting the outrageous claims made by the hacker. The EC is currently contemplating over taking legal action on the matter. It has claimed that EVMs are manufactured under highly secured environment and its hacking is not possible.
Proximity to the elections has resulted in the new normal for India where journalists have started to selectively read statistics. A couple of years ago, it was said that journalists are supposed to be generalists, they must have breadth in terms of understanding rather than having depth subject. These days, however, they claim to be experts in every subject without realizing the limitations of their understanding of intricate issues related to public policy, governance and economics.
A key issue policy consideration is the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao which has witnessed an unprecedented success under the Modi Government. It is known that there has been a huge gender gap in enrollment rates as Indians tend to avoid sending girl children to schools. There were multiple reasons behind them with an important factor being the lack of toilets for girls in public schools. Prime Minister Narendra Modi realized this problem early during his days in Gujarat and he took on the responsibility to construct toilets in schools for girl children. In fact, the Prime Minister who was then the Chief Minister was very proactive in ensuring that the girl children are not deprived of education as he personally made it a point to oversee the progress.
It came as no surprise when he resumed office, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao was one of the earliest policies that were announced by him. From the ramparts of Red Fort, for the first time, the Prime Minister on 15th August 2014 dared to speak about the challenges that India faced- including lack of toilets and this was unprecedented. He showed India a mirror that it desperately needed while ending his speech by promising to work towards overcoming each of these challenges.
The experience of the Prime Minister while he was the Chief Minister came in handy towards ensuring the success of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao. (To see why it is a success refer to the figure below on Gender Enrollment for men and women- the gap has successfully reduced). Toilets were just one part of the problem as what was also required was the need to spread awareness and change the attitude of people towards the education of the girl child. As a result, an unprecedented campaign to spread awareness was launched across the country. The two most critical impediments towards improving the enrollment rates for women were simultaneously targeted through concentrated government action.
The Prime Minister led the campaign from the front when he used social media for awareness purposes by running the #SelfieWithDaughter campaign. A lot of my liberal friends wrote it off by saying that it won’t have an impact, but they failed to recognize the symbolic impact of such a gesture. The conservative attitude and unwillingness to change behaviour have historically been a major reason behind why most of our campaigns have failed to create a significant impact on the ground. In a diverse country like India, changing behaviour and attitude of people takes a lot of time and money, however, with the Prime Minister leading a high-pitched campaign along with concentrated policy action combined with an outreach and engagement program has largely been successful towards causing this change.
(NSSO Labor Bureau Survey and All India Survey of Higher Education)
While people may criticize the spending on advertisements, the fact remains that data never lies, and it shows how concentrated policy action with the outreach program has almost bridged the gender gap in enrollment rates. This is important because the sex ratio in India is already skewed so somehow this data categorically demonstrates the success of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao program.
While people may selectively look at the advertisement spending, the reality remains that the outreach and awareness program was critical towards ensuring the success of the program along with the ambitious project of construction of toilets for girls across all schools.
Rahul Gandhi has depended on a Leftist portal, habitual of spinning facts to suit their narrative, to insinuate that the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme is a failute because a bulk of the funds have spent in ‘advertisement’. The fact remains that the scheme itself is an awareness campaigne and a large part of creating awareness is advertising. One key element of Beti Padhao Beti Bachao is nation-wide awareness and advocacy campaign, hence the high media spend. But, of course, expecting Rahul Gandhi or his pet media to be aware of facts is a tall ask, one which is never going to get fulfilled.
Interestingly, since 1947 Indian National Congress has governed India for the most part yet, according to 24 Akbar Road (the book), the Indian National Congress headquarters has not a single dedicated toilet for women. This shows the apathy of the Congress towards the cause of “Women Empowerment” despite Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi being at the helm of affairs.
I wonder if those who’re questioning the spending on awareness under the program have ever questioned why the headquarters of Indian National Congress does not have a specially dedicated toilet for women? Perhaps, Rahul ji was waiting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji to help construct a toilet at the INC headquarters just like Congress was waiting for the Prime Minister to electrify all villages and households across India.
