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Vadra always travelling with a ‘Baraat’: ED tells court as Vadra’s interim bail gets extended to March 2

OpIndia Staff
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Vadra always travelling with a ‘Baraat’: ED tells court as Vadra’s interim bail gets extended to March 2

On Saturday, Delhi’s Patiala House Court extended the interim bail of Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and another accused Manoj Arora in connection with a money laundering case. The court has extended his interim bail till March 2, reported ANI.

According to reports, Robert Vadra had appeared before a Special CBI Court today in connection his anticipatory bail plea in a money laundering case. The interim bail granted to Robert Vadra was supposed to end on Saturday. The ED officials had earlier complained of non-co-operation of Robert Vadra in connection with the case.

Special Public Prosecutor DP Singh informed the special Court they are opposing the bail plea of Robert Vadra for non-cooperation. Singh further added that they need another four to five appearances of Vadra to complete the interrogation.

“If he is ready to answer questions and cooperate, we can see it then. If he wants to argue the bail plea, we can proceed that way as well,” said Singh. SSP Singh also objected to the use of social media by accused Robert Vadra, in which he had claimed the ED investigation as a part of political vendetta.

During today’s hearing, the ED prosecutor also stated that he (Vadra) travels, a ‘Baraat’ (wedding procession) follows him, whether it is to ED office or to court.


Senior Advocate KTS Tulsi, appearing for the accused Robert Vadra assured that they are ready to extend our complete co-operation. The court posted the hearing of anticipatory bail plea to March 2 and granted interim protection from arrest to remain in force till then.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a major development in the Bikaner Land Scam case, had yesterday attached the assets of Robert Vadra’s company M/s Sky Light Hospitality (P) Ltd worth Rs 4.62 crore.

Robert Vadra had finally appeared at the ED office for questioning on February 6, after several summonses. Since then, the ED had interrogated Vadra several times.

In April last year, ED had attached the properties of Vadra’ aide Jaiprakash Bagarwa in connection with the Bikaner Land Scam case. In the Bikaner Land Scam case, the land was allegedly allotted in the name of non-existent individuals by the State government officials in collusion with some fraudulent individuals including real estate developers.

Vadra also has a criminal case registered against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) over allegations that his firm, Sky Light Hospitality had bought a piece of land in Kolayat and Bikaner for cheap and sold the same at an extremely high premium through illegal transactions.

Women’s Wing of Congress party makes insensitive remarks about Pulwama terror attack in a tweet, deletes later

OpIndia Staff
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Women’s Wing of Congress party makes insensitive remarks about Pulwama terror attack in a tweet, deletes later

The Official Twitter account of the All India Mahila Congress tweeted an image taking a dig at the Vande Bharat Express which can only be construed as a deplorable politicization of the heinous Pulwama Terrorist Attack. The tweet has since then been deleted.

The tweet by All India Mahila Congress says, “A reply to Pakistan derailed on second day. #VandeBharatExpress which was hailed as a befitting reply to terrorism broke down the second day. Maybe @PiyushGoyal would have focused more on training than posting fake videos #NoMo”.

At a time when the whole country is standing united with the Armed Forces and the Government at this moment of tragedy, the deplorable tweet by the women’s wing of the Congress party is extremely distasteful.

As we have reported earlier, reports of Vande Bharat Express breaking down was actually Fake News and in reality, the train was halted after it suffered a cattle hit. Even Divya Spandana, a close aide of Congress President Rahul Gandhi and the head of the party’s IT Cell, made very insensitive remarks regarding the terror attack.

The Congress party appears to be playing a ‘Good cop-Bad cop’ routine over the national tragedy. It doesn’t appear to truly appreciate the gravity of the matter. Even Rahul Gandhi was spotted fidgeting with his cell phone when senior politicians of the country had gathered to pay their respect to the fallen warriors.

Navjot Sidhu sacked from Kapil Sharma Show after his shameful comments on Pulwama attack

OpIndia Staff
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Navjot Sidhu sacked from Kapil Sharma Show after his shameful comments on Pulwama attack

Navjot Singh Sidhu, the Congres minister in Punjab and a self-proclaimed admirer of Pakistan’s Imran Khan, has been sacked from the popular comedy show on Sony TV, The Kapil Sharma Show.

According to a report in The Indian Express, Sidhu has been replaced with Archana Puran Singh after Sidhu’s comments over the Pulawama terrorist attack created a huge outrage on Social Media.

However, recent reports have quoted Archana saying that she has not been approached by the showrunners to permanently replace Sidhu and she would consider if she is approached in this regard. She had confirmed shooting 2 episodes on 9 and 13 February as a replacement for Kapil Sharma.


Sidhu, who was earlier under fire for visiting Pakistan to attend Imran khan’s oath-taking ceremony and hugging Pakistan’s army chief Qamar Bajwa there, had stated after the Pulwama attacks that terrorism has no religion and no nationality.

“This is a cowardly attack, people responsible for these attacks should be brought to justice. But, taking someone’s life is not a solution. Terrorism has no religion. Terrorism has no caste, party and Terrorism has no country,” he had stated.

Sidhu’s statement which betrayed his attempts to absolve his new found friend Imran Khan and Pakistan of any involvement in the attack. He had conveniently ignored that Jaish-e-Mohammad, the terrorist organisation responsible for the attack, is headed by Masood Azhar, a terrorist sheltered by Pakistan, also receives protection and help in Pakistan.

Sidhu’s reaction had created a massive social media outrage where people had requested Sony TV to drop Sidhu from their show.


Sidhu’s non-stop praising of Pakistan and his going out of the way to hug General Bajwa during his visit in November was even criticised by his own Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh.

Sacrifices of security forces will not go in vain, terrorists will pay a heavy price : Prime Minister Modi

OpIndia Staff
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Sacrifices of security forces will not go in vain, terrorists will pay a heavy price : Prime Minister Modi

Addressing a rally in Yavatmal of Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned terror state Pakistan and Islamic terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed of severe retaliation following the cowardly attack which killed 44 CRPF personnel on Thursday.

Reiterating his stand on anti-terror operations, Prime Minister Modi promised that perpetrators will surely be punished. He assured the nation that those responsible behind the attack will be made to pay a heavy price. Attacking Pakistan, he said that Pakistan has become a synonym to terrorism. He said that if people are able to live their dream, it because of the security forces.

“I know that we are all in immense pain after what happened in Pulwama, I understand your anger. Two sons from Maharashtra lost their lives in the attack, their sacrifice won’t go in vain,” said Prime Minister Modi.

“Terror organisations who have committed this crime, no matter how much they try to hide, they will be punished. Security forces have been given full freedom,” said the PM. PM Modi targeted Pakistan over Pulwama terror attack and said, “a nation on verge of bankruptcy has now become the second name for terror.”

At Yavatmal, Prime Minister also inaugurated Eklavya Model Residential School at Nanded which has a capacity of 420 students. The school built with the state of the art facilities will help in improving the quality of education amongst tribal students and also provide an avenue for their overall growth and personal development, said PM Modi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the government is working hard to meet the target of providing a home to every homeless by 2022. PM Modi said that around 1.2 crore farmers in the state will be covered under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme.

The Prime Minister is also slated to flag-off Ajni (Nagpur)- Pune train and will also lay the foundation stone for roads under the central road fund (CRF). Later in the day, Prime Minister Modi will visit Dhule to launch several projects including the inauguration of Lower Panazara medium Project under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchan Yojana (PMKSY).

Assam: Assistant Professor at Icon Commerce College, Guwahati, suspended over objectionable Facebook post on Pulwama terror attack

OpIndia Staff
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Assam: Assistant Professor at Icon Commerce College, Guwahati, suspended over objectionable Facebook post on Pulwama terror attack

We had yesterday reported that an AMU student had been booked for an objectionable tweet on the Pulwama Terror Attack. In addition to that, NDTV had suspended its Deputy News Editor for a post that appeared to celebrate the attack and disciplinary action had been initiated against students of other Universities as well.

Now, it appears, more people are being reported to the Police and the Police has taken cognizance of the social media posts bringing objectionable posts to their attention.

Assam Police has taken cognizance of a tweet that reported an objectionable post by one Papri Banerjee who claims to be an Assistant Professor of English at Icon Commerce College, Guwahati, Assam.


OpIndia.com contacted the College over the matter and we were informed by the Director of the College that Banerjee has been suspended from the college.

Suspension letter

Another Vaibhav Shamsher Rana was rusticated by the University he was a student of for an insensitive post. Furthermore, an FIR will be filed against the student. In a statement on Facebook, Graphic Era Hill University wrote, “He has gone ahead and written something damaging regarding our forces yesterday, which has enraged onlookers including us, who are deeply saddened by what has happened in Pulwama. The University has filed an OFFICIAL FIR against this person.”

Another University, BFIT, expelled one of its students after he celebrated the attack by bursting crackers. As per social media, the University has also said that it will not admit any Kashmiri student in the future.


There appears to be a concerted effort by people on social media to pursue legal action against people who have celebrated the heinous terrorist attack. Apart from those against whom has been taken already, people are also filing FIRs against others as well.

Apart from FIRs, employers are also being tagged on social media to take action against their employees who have denigrated the sacrifices of the armed forces on social media.


The Pulwama terror attack, one of the deadliest attacks in the history of J&K, had claimed the lives of over 40 of our soldiers. Since then, the reactions from leftists on the martyrdom of Indian soldiers have been quite shocking. People are quite upset with the manner in which the martyrdom of our soldiers is being denigrated and it appears they are taking the legal route to seek justice.

Dear Gujarat Samachar editor, how do you live with yourself?

Nirwa Mehta
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Dear Gujarat Samachar editor, how do you live with yourself?

Dear Shreyansh Shantilal Shah,

Having lived my entire life in Ahmedabad, I have grown up reading your newspaper. I remember when Divya Bhaskar debuted in Ahmedabad, the loyalty people have had towards Gujarat Samachar was such that along with the new newspaper, people continued their Gujarat Samachar subscription.

Gujarat Samachar Newspaper – a history of bias

People have known that your publication has always had an anti-government, anti-establishment stand. That you, as an editor, were never particularly fond of then chief minister Narendra Modi was quite evident.

Things became more obvious when during 2002 riots, instead of being a responsible publication and following some restraint, you went ahead and published inflammatory content for days. The Press Council came down heavily on you and your friend at Sandesh, another Gujarati daily, “for the infraction of the norms of journalistic conduct in some of the reports.” Apparently, the inquiry committee was upset because being the arrogant self that you are widely believed to be, chose not to even respond to five out of six notices. You continued to fill pages and pages of sensational reportage at a sensitive time because a person you didn’t like was occupying the chief minister’s chair.

Years later, the same man is now the Prime Minister of the country. But hate, as I have come to realise, is a purer and more natural human emotion than love is. So, when 44 CRPF jawans were killed by a terrorist who thought he would get ‘Jannat’ for killing the people who drink cow urine, your immediate instinct is not of shock and horror, but that of mocking Modi.

Why netizens are enraged today with Gujarat Samachar

Gujarat Samachar headline on 15th February

On 15th February, the day after the attack, your headline read, “56 ni chhatini kaayarta: aatankiyo befaam. 44 jawan shaheed,” roughly translated to ‘the cowardice of 56-inch chest, terrorists get a free hand. 44 jawans martyred’. The subheading read, “Z plus security vachhe farta vadapradhan desh ni suraksha karta jawano maate laachaar,” roughly translated to ‘the prime minister who moves around with z plus security is helpless when it comes to protecting the jawans’.

This was followed by a ‘News Focus’ column in your publication.

“How is the josh”

The headline reads, “Pulwama attack: Desh ni janta sarkar ne puchhe chhe, how is the josh?” roughly translated to, ‘Pulwama attack: Citizens ask the government, ‘how is the josh’?’ The reference to the film Uri, which was on surgical strikes India carried out to avenge the Uri attacks, you mock the government, which has been using the catchphrase while interacting with citizens lately.

But you are wrong. The phrase ‘how is the josh’ is not used by citizens to question the government, but it is actually used by jihadis to celebrate the Pulwama attack. Sometimes, terrorist sympathisers masquerading as mediapersons also use it to cheer for terrorists. And I don’t mean just you.

You, sir, are not mourning the loss of the Bravehearts who were martyred. You are mocking, almost cheering at how Modi ‘failed’ from saving the lives of these 44 martyrs. Your eyes are not welled up on seeing the gruesome images of the what remained of those soldiers. You have a smile on your face that ‘see how despite all your bravado, the soldier died.’

Makes me wonder, what has made you so hateful? What is the arrogance about? That you have the power of pen? You see, the thing is, with social media, people have realised that what was fed to them by traditional media may or may not be the truth. The readers and viewers have started questioning. The national media is either trying to get the facts right or they have started referring to all those who correct them or question them as trolls. Time is not too far when people will come after regional newspapers. Question them, question their ethics and morals and basic journalistic code of conduct.

If you were to log in to the Internet today, you would see how people are upset with you. And no, they are not all Modi ‘bhakts’. They are all decent human beings who are shocked that you lack empathy as an emotion.


These are your regular readers: students, professional. You have let them down today.

How do you live with yourself, knowing that over the years, you have focussed years of your life bringing down one person over dead bodies of others? Does your conscience not poke you? Or are you just so dead inside that you have no emotions left anymore?

Prashant Bhushan draws a ridiculous analogy between Indian state of JK and Afghanistan, Iraq

Jinit Jain
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Prashant Bhushan draws a ridiculous analogy between Indian state of JK and Afghanistan, Iraq

At the time when the nation is mourning the loss of its 44 Bravehearts to the dastardly attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorist, ’eminent’ Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan has drawn a preposterous comparison between Indian Union state Jammu and Kashmir and the sovereign countries of Afghanistan and Iraq.


Bhushan, in his tweet, seems to rationalise Adil Ahmad Dar’s decision of embracing terrorism after being supposedly beaten by troops. He also alludes to the invidious conduct meted out to the Kashmiris by the Indian Armed Forces. Bhushan further alleged that India should take a cue from the US which couldn’t hold control over Afghanistan and Iraq as suicide bombing became rampant there. The Supreme Court lawyer effectively wants India to give up on Kashmir, implying that its insistence to continue holding on to Kashmir might be catastrophic to India like it was for the US in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This is an utterly ridiculous analogy, for Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, not a sovereign state like Afghanistan and Iraq. Jammu and Kashmir is an Indian state, by the virtue of a treaty signed by Maharaja Hari Singh of erstwhile Kashmir province. Neither is Jammu and Kashmir ruled by a Terrorist group or a despot like the countries of Afghanistan and Iraq were when the US decided to invade it.

Moreover, by equating legitimate Indian rule in Jammu and Kashmir with the illegal invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, Prashant is providing fodder to the terrorist handlers which use such analogies to whip up hatred against India among its cadres. Instead of condemning terrorism in absolute terms, Prashant is not only lending credence to their cause by drawing such a condemnable parallel but is also disparaging the supreme sacrifice made by countless Jawans who have laid down their lives to keep our country safe and secure.

However, this is not the first time that Prashant Bhushan has taken a tendentious stance. In the past, Prashant Bhushan had moved heaven and Earth and got a midnight hearing at the Supreme Court to commute Death Sentence of terrorist Yakub Memon to Life Imprisonment. But the apex court refused to commute his sentence and maintained the capital punishment. Bhushan had then called it a ‘sad day’ for democracy.

The moral depravity of the mainstream media: Whitewashing the sins of the family of a terrorist

K Bhattacharjee
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The moral depravity of the mainstream media: Whitewashing the sins of the family of a terrorist

The loyalty of the mainstream media in India has hardly ever been in doubt. In the aftermath of the Pulwama Terror Attack, it became even more apparent as a concerted attempt was underway to absolve those who share a significant portion of the blame.

India Today, for reasons known best to itself, thought it was a good idea to air the opinions of the father of the suicide bomber who murdered our brave soldiers.

It is interesting to note that although the parents claimed that they were not aware of their son’s terror activities, they were very much aware that he wanted to become a terrorist. In the video, he says, “He was about to appear for his Class 12 examinations. He went to Jammu and never returned.” Then adds, “I had no idea about his terror activities.”

The parents claim that their son wanted to become a terrorist ever since he was supposedly harassed by Indian Armed Forces. “He was beaten by Indian troops a few years back when he was returning from school,” said his mother. “This led to anger in him against Indian troops.” “We searched for him for three months,” she said. “Finally we gave up efforts to bring him back home.”

Therefore, when the father says he wasn’t aware of his son’s terror activities, he presumably means that he did not have any knowledge about his suicide bombing plans, not that he was not aware of his son’s terrorist inclinations.

Hindustan Times, too, confirms this fact. They too try very hard to absolve the parents of their sins.

HT carried the parents’ version of events which blamed a humiliating encounter with the Army for their son’s terrorism. However, as per the same report, it appears that the family has a history of terrorism. The report states, “In 2016, one of his other cousins left home to join militancy and was killed in an encounter with security forces within 11 days. Another cousin who joined militancy and returned home was booked under the Public Safety Act.” Under such circumstances, it appears utterly dishonest for the parents to claim that it was an encounter with the armed forces that turned their son into a Jihadi.

In fact, as per India Today, the parents blamed politicians for their son’s fate. “They should have resolved the issue through dialogue,” he is reported to have said. “It is they who are responsible for driving these youth into militancy. The sons of the common man die here, whether they are Indian troops or our sons.”

It’s despicable for any parent to blame politicians for their child’s actions. Parents are supposed to have and they do have the most influence on the lives of their children. If politicians succeed in turning their children into terrorists against their wishes, then the parents have failed monumentally in their most sacred duty. Blaming politicians for their child’s fate is an abdication of responsibility to avoid culpability in the crimes of their son.

The parents’ remarks and the mainstream media airing it faithfully is a despicable attempt to whitewash the crimes of the family of the terrorist. Terrorism does not exist in a vacuum. Nowhere in the parents’ statements is an admission of guilt, an acknowledgement of their own sins. Instead, they project themselves as victims. It is almost amusing that anytime anywhere a terrorist attack happens, liberal media rushes to interview the parents of the perpetrator, and the parents feign ignorance, blame everything and everyone, but never once acknowledge their own culpability.

The mainstream media appears to be overeager to put martyrs and jihadists on the same plane. It is understandable that parents and family of the martyrs are interviewed and their statements are shared widely in the media. Why on earth are the parents of the terrorist awarded the same courtesy? Do parents of martyrs and terrorists similar treatment? It appears that the immoral mainstream media believes they do. It only goes on to show that much of the mainstream media very much fancy the idea of Azad Kashmir, a Jihadist fantasy.

Not too long ago, The Quint, introduced the world to Osama bin Laden, the ‘husband and father’. It is a regular pattern of behaviour now. In the event of a terrorist attack, its primary objective appears to be to absolve the terrorist’s family of their sins and build a narrative that the Indian Army defending Indian territory is somehow responsible for the death of Indian soldiers. The mainstream media, which has appointed itself the moral guardian of society, cannot distinguish between the family of martyrs and terrorists. Indeed, that it even attempts to put the two on the same pedestal only goes on to show its moral bankruptcy and depravity.

Fugitive Vijay Mallya files for permission to appeal against his extradition orders in the UK

OpIndia Staff
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Fugitive Vijay Mallya files for permission to appeal against his extradition orders in the UK

Trying his level best to evade the extradition process, fugitive liquor baron, Vijay Mallya has filed his application in the UK High Court, seeking permission to appeal against the extradition order signed by the British Home Secretary.

As per reports, the business tycoon, who remains on an extradition warrant in the UK, had made the application in the Administrative Court division of the High Court on Thursday, 10 days after Home Secretary Sajid Javid signed the extradition order, giving Mallya a 14-day window for the appeal application.

According to a UK court representative, “the application has been sent for a judge on papers decision, which is expected any time between two to four weeks.”

A ‘judge on papers’ decision will involve a High Court judge examining the merits of the application and if it is accepted, the case will proceed to a ‘substantive hearing’ in the next few months’ time, as per reports.

If by any chance Vijay Mallya’s application gets rejected at this stage, he will have the option to submit a ‘renewal form’.

The renewal process will lead to a 30-minute oral hearing, during which Mallya’s legal team and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), representing the Indian government, will renew their respective claims for and against an appeal for a judge to decide if it can proceed to a full hearing. This process may take months depending on various factors, such as availability of judges.

Following the outcome at the High court level, both parties could appeal to the Supreme court, which would further delay the process by another six weeks.

However, that process is more complex as the UK High Court must certify that the appeal involves a point of law of general public importance, and either the High Court or the Supreme Court gives leave for the appeal to be made.

Mallya who is active on social media did not make any renewed comment on his appeal. However, earlier after the home secretary had signed off on the Westminster Magistrate’ Court order in favour of Mallya’s extradition on February 4, the businessman had taken to social media to confirm his plans to seek an appeal.


The fugitive business tycoon and the former boss of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines has been wanted by Indian authorities after he fled to the UK in early 2016.

Recently, there have been reports that the Enforcement Directorate (ED), through a consortium of banks led by the SBI, has informally conveyed to Heineken NV, the part-owner of United Breweries (UB), that it intends to allow banks to auction Vijay Mallya’s shares in the company that the banks had attached once the court grants its approval to the agency for the same.

Earlier last month the former Rajya Sabha MP was declared a fugitive economic offender by the special PMLA court in Mumbai and there were reports that his properties could now be confiscated by the Government of India.

It was reported in October 2018, that Swiss bank USB had moved the UK High Court seeking an order of eviction against Vijay Mallya, his mother, and son from their plush multi-million-pound mansion overlooking Regent’s Park in London. The bank has sought repossession of the property over the non-payment of a 20.4 million pounds’ mortgage loan.

Mallya had left India in March 2016 and is wanted by Indian authorities for defaulting on loans taken from a consortium of Indian banks to the tunes of 9000 crores.

Congress IT Cell head shares NDTV’s half truth to discredit Vande Bharat Express, insensitively drags Pulwama terror attack

OpIndia Staff
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Congress IT Cell head shares NDTV’s half truth to discredit Vande Bharat Express, insensitively drags Pulwama terror attack

In a rush to discredit the success of India’s fastest train ‘Vande Bharat Express‘, the actor-turned-politician Divya Spandana not only resorted to propagating fake news but also went on to pass some insensitive statements regarding the recent Pulwama terror attack.

In a tweet, Divya Spandana, the Congress IT cell chief and one of the close aides of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, attempted to disrepute the newly launched India’s fastest train-‘Vande Bharat Express’ which was stopped midway after it had suffered a cattle hit. Divya Spandana through her post not only resorted to propagating fake news but also tried to use it as an opportunity to politically target and troll Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.

Train-18, which has been officially renamed as ‘Vande Bharat Express’ was on a trial run with few passengers from Varanasi to Delhi. While the newly launched train was returning to Delhi, it suffered a cattle hit and broke down early on Saturday morning at Tundla, around 200 km from Delhi.

As one of the cattle had come under train’s wheels, the communication system of the last coach broke down affecting the train’s control management system. The coach was isolated and the train resumed its journey at 8.15 AM. However, the ‘Vande Bharat Express’ was not a scheduled commercial run.

NDTV, the Congress-backed left-wing channel, often known for propagating fake news, deliberately ignored the fact of the cattle hit and presented their report as if Train-18 had stopped due to some technical issues while trying to discredit NDA government for its successful initiative.

Divya Spandana, in a hurry to target the NDA government, especially at a time when the entire nation is mourning for the death of 44 CRPF soldiers, used the half-truth report of the NDTV to paint a picture that Train-18 was already a failure. In her attempt to defame Indian Railways, she also dragged the heinous incident of Pulwama terror attack to troll Railway Minister Piyush Goyal for his alleged statements, where he had allegedly said that Train-18 was a response to Pakistan for perpetrating terror in recent Pulwama attack.


The Congress social media cell head has also shamefully justified Pulawama terror attack mastermind Adil Dar joining Terrorism. Divya Spandana retweeted a Twitter post of highly controversial, ultra-left wing lawyer Prashant Bhushan, in which he had justified Kashmiri youths joining terrorism to wage war against the country.

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