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Karnataka: After expensive Hublot watch, a Mercedes car comes to haunt former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: After expensive Hublot watch, a Mercedes car comes to haunt former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

After facing severe flak over receiving expensive Hublot watch as a gift, a new controversy has struck former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as reports have now emerged that one of his close confidants has gifted him with a brand new Mercedes car worth Rs 1.8 crore.

According to the reports, Hebbal Congress MLA Bhyrathi Suresh, who is known to be a close aide of Congress leader and former CM Siddaramaiah gifted him a brand new expensive Mercedes Benz SUV causing huge controversy. The timing of receiving such gifts amidst the huge farm crisis looming over the state seems to have exposed the insensitivity of the Congress leaders.

Bhyrathi Suresh, who represents Hebbal is one of the richest politicians of the state with a net worth of Rs 416 crore. Suresh, along with his brother Bhyrathi Basavaraj-KR Puram MLA, is known to be from Siddaramaiah faction of the Karnataka Congress and incidentally hails from Kuruba community.

However, as soon as the news went viral, Suresh quickly denied that he had gifted the expensive car to the former CM, claimed that it was his car and had parked it in front of Siddaramaiah’s residence.

“I have not given Siddaramaiah any car. This is my car and I had parked it in front of his house. He may not even be aware of this,” Suresh stated and continued to state that his vehicles are always at the disposal of his friends, including Siddaramaiah.

Congress strongman DK Shivakumar, too, refuted these reports of Congress MLA gifting Mercedes-Benz car to Siddaramaiah, he said, “There is no gift or anything. We also sometimes take our friends’ vehicle to travel. There is no issue. Is there any record that he has received a gift or anything? Nothing, no record.”

Siddaramaiah’s love for gifts is not a closed secret anymore as this is not the first time he has allegedly accepted gifts from his party members and supporters. Earlier, Siddaramaiah was accused of receiving an expensive Hublot watch worth Rs 70 Lakh from a fugitive named Vijay Eshwaran, after which Siddaramaiah had to receive a huge backlash across the state.

In June 2018, KJ George, another close confidant of Siddaramaiah had gifted him a Toyota Land Cruiser to Siddaramaiah with fuel coupons for a year. George had explained that he had given the SUV to Siddaramaiah as the latter was not comfortable driving long distances in an Innova.

BJP President Amit Shah, who was suffering from Swine Flu, discharged from AIIMS

OpIndia Staff
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BJP President Amit Shah, who was suffering from Swine Flu, discharged from AIIMS

BJP President Amit Shah had informed his followers on 16th January that he is suffering from Swine Flu, and that he will be fine soon. Later, it was reported that Amit Shah is admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi. Now, BJP Spokesperson Anil Baluni has informed media that BJP President has completed his treatment and taken discharge from Hospital.


Later Amit Shah himself tweeted that he is fully healthy now and has been discharged from the hospital. He thanked everyone for their good wishes.


Amit Shah’s 4 day-long treatment was marred with indecency displayed by some ’eminent’ journalists and opposition leaders of the country.

A Quint journalist, Stutee Mishra had taken to Twitter to ask whether “people die from Swine Flu”, after news of Amit Shah getting admitted to AIIMS, had gone viral. Following this, the news portal Quint had condemned the tweet and had also promised strict actions.

The hate-filled tweets towards BJP President had not only come from The Quint journalists. An NDTV Journalist, Sunetra Chowdhury, too had expressed her celebratory mood on Twitter. She was also joined by a scribe working at leftist propaganda website The Wire, Maya Mirchandani. The NDTV journalist had also expressed her ‘excitement’ when then Cheif Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi had suffered from Swine Flu in 2009.

On 17th January, BK Hariprasad, a Congress MP from Karnataka had mocked BJP President Amit Shah’s health condition, as he had said that Shah was suffering from ‘suar ka zukam’. He had warned Amit Shah of facing a more graver disease than swine flu if the JD(S)- Congress government in Karnataka is destabilised. He had given the statement in the wake of the speculations of a few Congress MLAs turning rebel and switching over to the BJP camp. A day later, the same leader had again issued a controversial statement claiming that he has received reports stating that BJP President Amit Shah does not have any flu at all.

On the occasion of PM Modi’s birthday in 2017,  a journalist associated with The Quint Suprateek Chatterjee had tweeted that he was happy to know that Prime Minister Modi was one year closer to death. The Quint later had disassociated itself from the scribe.

Congress leaders have not even spared incumbent Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parikar. They have repeatedly dragged CM Parikar’s aliment into politics. Last year in December Congress leader Jaipal Reddy had commented that Parrikar is ‘sticking to his chair like a leech.’ Before that, state Congress spokesperson Jitendra Deshprabhu had demanded that the BJP should either ‘show’ Parrikar is alive or they should conduct his ‘Shradh’ (death rituals).

“It is a matter for all of us to be glad, that our President Amit Shah, has finally cured himself and has received the discharge from AIIMS, and came back to his residence. Thanks to well-wishers and workers of the party” Anil Baluni tweeted.

Congress expels former minister Srikant Jena and former MLA Sagaria for ‘anti party activities’

OpIndia Staff
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Congress expels former minister Srikant Jena and former MLA Sagaria for ‘anti party activities’

According to a senior party leader, the Congress on Saturday expelled former Union Minister Srikant Jena and former MLA Krushna Chandra Sagaria for alleged anti-party activities.

The Odisha Congress’ disciplinary committee convener Ananta Prasad Sethi, made the announcement late last night saying, “Both Jena and Sagaria have been expelled from the party as per the approval of the All India Congress Committee.”

They issued anti-party statements to the media causing damage to the Congress and were expelled from the primary membership of the party, Sethi added.

The Congress leader further alleged that the two had also issued remarks against OPCC (Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee) functionaries.

While Jena was a former Union Minister in the previous UPA government, the Dalit leader, Sagaria represented Koraput in the state assembly.

Upset over failing to ensure justice for a rape and murder victim and her family at Kunduli in Koraput district, Sagaria, who was the lone Dalit MLA of the Congress in the party, had in November resigned from the membership of the Odisha assembly.

Earlier in the day, Sagaria had strongly criticised OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik by saying, “Congress is not a property of Niranjan Patnaik. He is indulging in anti-party activities by giving statements on who will get a ticket or not in the media.”

The Congress now seems to be in trouble in Odisha as few days prior to this, it’s working president Naba Kishore Das and tribal MLA Jogesh Singh resigned from the party to join BJD last week. At least six more sitting MLAs are likely to quit and join the BJD.

In 2014 Assembly polls, Congress had recorded its worst-ever performance in its electoral history winning just 16 seats that are merely 25.7 per cent of the votes polled. And now following the defections of Naba Kishore Das and Jogesh Singh and the expulsion of Sagaria and Jena, its strength in the House has come down to 12.

Similarly, in the 2017 panchayat polls, the Congress’ vote share dropped to less than 20 per cent as the party conceded the main opposition tag to the BJP.

Indian Railways mulls export potential for Train-18, plans to set its foot into $200bn global market with the new semi-high speed train

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Railways mulls export potential for Train-18, plans to set its foot into $200bn global market with the new semi-high speed train

Eyeing a market of over $200 billion rolling stock and semi-high speed railway market, the Indian Railways is looking at utilising the opportunity to make an entry into unexplored markets. Interestingly, Peru, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and some countries in the Middle East have expressed interest in importing the Railways’ state-of-the-art Train 18.

According to the reports, a senior official said on Friday said that many countries have expressed interest in the ‘Train-18’, which is yet to get the government approval to conduct its first run between Delhi and Varanasi.

“Many countries have expressed interest in the train set and we are happy and proud that an indigenously made product is attracting so much interest. The rolling stock market worldwide is worth about 200 billion dollars and we want a significant share of it. Now, the aim is to successfully run the train,” said Member, Rolling Stock, Railway Board, Rajesh Agarwal.

Reportedly, the train set equivalent to Train-18 standards costs around Rs 250 crore worldwide compared to Rs 100 crore at which the Indian version manufactured by Chennai’s Integral Coach Factory (ICF) is priced at.

India is the newest entry into the semi-high speed club and is looking forward to pitching Train-18 as a mascot of India’s manufacturing capabilities while hosting the upcoming International High-Speed Rail Association (IHRA) conference in February.

“The production of Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches increased from around 685 in 2014-2015 to 4,016 during the current year. The actual production up to December 2018 has touched 3,106 coaches with three more months to go. In fact, the total LHB production of the first 17 years has been exceeded in the last two years, which is unprecedented,” Agarwal said.

One of the projects they are eyeing is the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High-Speed Rail (HSR) project which is currently stalled because of pricing issues. Many companies from China, Japan, South Korea and Europe are believed to have expressed interest in the project. Indian Railways now wants to bid in this project as they believe that the project would be financially viable with a semi high-speed train.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly also asked the railways officials to make a presentation on the Train-18 before heads of all Indian missions so that they can popularise the train in countries where they are posted as a part of economic diplomacy push.

Train-18, the country’s first engine-less, self-propelled train for inter-city travel manufactured by Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, under the ‘Make in India’ initiative is capable of running at a speed of up to 180 kmph. The Train-18 is all set to replace the Shatabdi Express that has been in the service of Indian Railways for the past 30 years.

Madhya Pradesh: BJP Mandal President Manoj Thackeray found murdered in a field

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: BJP Mandal President Manoj Thackeray found murdered in a field

BJP leader Manoj Thackeray who had gone for an early morning walk has been found dead in a field. His body, with his head smashed by stones, was recovered.


The perpetrators are yet to be identified. Thackeray’s body was found a few minutes away from the road near Radha Swami Bhawan of Balwadi village. According to police, a blood stained rock has been found near the crime site. It is believed that he was killed with that rock. Investigation is currently underway.

More details are awaited in the case.

CJI Gogoi, Retd Justice Madan Lokur attend Pakistan Chief Justice swearing-in, Lokur shares bench with the new Chief Justice

OpIndia Staff
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CJI Gogoi, Retd Justice Madan Lokur attend Pakistan Chief Justice swearing-in, Lokur shares bench with the new Chief Justice

The swearing-in ceremony of new Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan, Asif Saeed Khosa had the unusual attendance of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and former Supreme Court judge, Justice Madan B Lokur. The latter also shared a bench with the new Chief Justice and heard three cases for about 45 minutes on Friday.

According to the reports, the 26th Chief Justice of Pakistan was sworn at the Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad, while President Arif Alvi administered the oath to Justice Khosa, who said, “I will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour.”

Reportedly, along with Indian judges, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Narin Ferdi Sefik, Chief Judge of the State of Borno in Nigeria, Kashim Zannah, justice Lokur’s wife Savita, former Canada judge and founding president of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, Sandra E Oxner and her husband were also present at the swearing-in ceremony.

Interestingly, Justice Lokur also shared a bench with the new Chief Justice and heard three cases for about 45 minutes on the occasion. The first matter was a challenge of a conviction, the second a bail hearing and the third a civil matter, which resulted in a compromise between the two parties.

Reportedly, Justice Lokur and Justice Khosa have been close friends since 2004, when Justice Khosa was in the Lahore High Court and Justice Lokur was a judge in the Delhi High Court. He further described the reception in Pakistan as “unprecedented” and appreciated the gesture of inviting him to preside with the CJI for the cases. When asked whether he considers his attendance for the ceremony an extraordinary gesture, Justice Lokur told the Indian Express that “Justice knows no boundaries”. Accompanying Justice Lokur in yesterday’s swearing-in ceremony was his wife, Savita Lokur.

Meanwhile, Justice Lokur has also attended such a swearing-in ceremony in Pakistan in the past. He was invited five years ago when former Pakistan Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani had taken charge as the Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court.

The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of the Air Staff Aasim Zaheer, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Supreme Court judges, senior lawyers and other government officials and ministers.

Retired Justice Madan B Lokur, along with the current Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and two other judges, were involved in an open rebellion within the judiciary and were part of the controversial press conference against the then CJI Dipak Mishra who has retired from the Supreme Court on November 30.

“How’s the josh?” asks PM Modi at the inauguration of the National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai

OpIndia Staff
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“How’s the josh?” asks PM Modi at the inauguration of the National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated country’s first National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) in Mumbai. Following the inauguration, while addressing a gathering of film industry people, PM Modi said a dialogue from the film Uri, based on the sugrical strike carried out by the Indian Army in 2016.


“How’s the josh?”, asked Modi and the audience replied with an enthusiastic “High Sir”.

The museum has been constructed with a cost of over Rs 140 crore and is housed in two buildings – the new building and the Gulshan Mahal ( a 19th-century Victorian Gothic bungalow). The new Museum spreads over 12,000 sq m and is adjacent to the Gulshan Mahal.

Appreciating the fact that the Museum has 30 hour long footage on the Indian military including the participation of Indian soldiers in the First World War, Modi said that the Museum will be a medium for the younger generation to know and understand the journey of the Indian cinema.

Modi said that the cinema and the society have been reflections of each other. Cinema has been able to identify the changes taking place in the society much before they actually became visible and reflect it through films. Similarly the society also gets inspired from the cinema. “Movies these not only point out the problems but also offer the solutions”, said the PM appreciating the film industry.

Modi talked about the changes that have taken place in terms of how films used to be made in earlier times and how films are made now. Smartly taking a dig at the previous government, Modi said that like government schemes movies also used to take years earlier but now both the movies and the government schemes take less time. “Film Industry can play a great role in encouraging tourism in the country”, Modi said speaking about how tourism generates immense employment opportunities.

Prime Minister also addressed some issues like piracy, difficulty in obtaining the permission to shoot at a location etc. which were brought before him by the film fraternity. He termed piracy as an insult to the hard work and competence of artists. He said that government is planning to amend the Cinematography Act 1952 to make piracy a punishable offence and provide for a stricter punishment.

Regarding the problem relating to obtaining the permission for shooting, Modi assured that on the lines of ease of doing business, the government has started working on creating a single-window system to make the process of obtaining permission for shooting easier as a step towards ‘ease of filming’.

Modi suggested a full fledged university dedicated for the study of communication and entertainment. He urged the people of the film industry come forward for setting up such a university and assured full cooperation from the government. He also expressed the wish to have an International Entertainment Summit on the lines of Davos World Economic Summit which is not restricted to the artistic aspect of industry but covers its business aspect as well.

OpIndia Evening Dispatch: Saturday, 19th January 2019

OpIndia Staff
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OpIndia Evening Dispatch: Saturday, 19th January 2019

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.

Today’s news wrap up of the day.

1. ‘Mahagathbandhan’ takes shape as numerous Opposition parties attend Trinamool Congress’ ‘United India’ rally at Kolkata

On Saturday, Kolkata was witness to the ‘United India’ rally by Opposition parties at Kolkata organized by the Trinamool Congress. The rally witnessed a conglomeration of political parties which represent everything that is wrong with the Indian political system. The most corrupt, the most communal and the most fascistic parties have gathered to fight for democracy, secularism and corruption.

It’s akin to Kauravas going to war against the Pandavas after accusing the latter to insulting the dignity of women. It’s akin to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan lecturing India on how to treat minorities. It’s akin to people from Bollywood and mainstream media, the corridors of which are teeming with sexual predators, lecturing others on women empowerment. If it weren’t so dangerous, it would have been quite comical.

At the rally, where the most corrupt and tainted leaders were talking about saving democracy, a Freudian slip had everyone in splits, including Mamata Banerjee. Sharad Yadav of the JD(U) started delivering a speech in the hope to further the same trope that Congress has been harping on for several months. That of the fictitious “scam” in the Rafale deal. However, as is the nature of Freudian slips, the truth could not be hidden for long.

Yadav took to stage and started talking about the Bofors scandal where a money trail had been established and corruption was proved beyond doubt, leading straight up to Rajiv Gandhi himself. Sharad Yadav said that Bofors was daylight robbery and that while our soldiers laid their lives down at the border, the ruling dispensation had robbed and stole in the Bofors case. Funnily, while Sharad Yadav thundered away, Derek O’ Brien, the MP from TMC and former quizmaster walked up to Sharad Yadav and whispered the correction in his years, presumably telling Yadav that he was meant to mention Rafale and not Bofors.

Reacting to the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ rally, Modi said the opposition leaders have gathered in Kolkata and are shouting ‘bachao bachao’ crying for help. He said that these people are trying to save their parties while I am working hard to take the country forward. “These people are infuriated by the actions being taken by the government against corruption and corrupt persons. That is why they have come together to form a Gathbandhan”, said Modi.

Criticising the regional parties for joining hands with Congress to form the Mahagathbandhan, Modi said, These people who used to curse the Congress Party endlessly have come together with Congress on the same platform. This gathbandhan is only against Modi but against the whole country”.”Their activities can them a place in the newspapers but they will never be able to get a place in the hearts of people”, he added.

2. Fake names, male pilgrims, false age: Kerala government pulled all forgery tricks to make list of ’51 women under 50′

Kerala government, in its affidavit filed yesterday, had claimed that the list is obtained from the Digital Queue management System maintained by the Kerala Police. They had claimed that over 16 lakh people have applied to visit the shrine this year and over 7500 of them are women. they had claimed that more than 8.2 lakh pilgrims have visited so far and 51 among them were women under 50.

Many reports have now surfaced where the names and details of the ‘women’ listed are found to be a hoax. A number listed under ‘Kalavathi’ registered in the list was found to be of a driver who has ferried many people to Sabarimala. When contacted by Times Now, the man confirmed that there is no woman named Kalavathi and his number has been wrongly listed.

Similarly, another name Deivasigamani, listed as a 42-year-old female was found to be that of a male and the number belonged to his friend. The journalist has informed that he dialled 5 random numbers listed as that of women under 50 who have entered the temple and all 5 were found to be fake.

Read the full story here. 

3. ‘Felt like chopping Ram Kripal Yadav’s hands off when he joined BJP,’ says Misa Bharti

Daughter of convict Lalu Prasad Yadav, Misa Bharti, has sparked a controversy with her recent statement on Ram Kripal Yadav who snubbed the RJD to join the BJP in 2014. He is now a Union Minister.

Bharti stated that she felt like chopping his hands off when she heard the news of him joining BJP. She said while addressing a gathering at Patna, “He (Ram Kripal Yadav) used to cut the chaff. We had huge respect for him. However, we stopped respecting him when he went on to join hands with Sushil Kumar Modi. At that time I felt like cutting his hands from the same chaff cutting machine.”

Read the details here. 

4. Arvind Kejriwal govt delays in giving sanction to prosecute ‘tukde tukde gang’, Court rejects chargesheet till approval given

As per reports, the Court has refused to accept the 1200 page chargesheet by the Delhi Police stating that they first had to get sanction to prosecute from the Arvind Kejriwal government.

The court has reportedly questioned the Delhi police as to why the chargesheet was filed without proper sanction from the Delhi government and the police told Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat they will procure the required sanctions within 10 days. The hearing is set to resume soon.

Since the request for sanction was given in 2016 and then recently on Monday, one wonders what is taking the Arvind Kejriwal led Delhi government to give permission for prosecution and whether the police is set to approach the LG of Delhi or even the central government is the Delhi government delays further.

Read the details here.

5. Court nod for FIR against Delhi CM Kejriwal for disrespecting National Flag in 2014 rally

A Madhya Pradesh court in Sagar on Friday gave its authorisation to file an FIR against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP workers for allegedly disrespecting the national flag during a rally in January 2014. As per the reports, separate cases will be registered in Sagar, Bina, Khurai and Delhi.

The court passed the order in response to a petition filed in 2015 by advocate Rajendra Mishra, who alleged that Kejriwal and AAP workers during the campaigning for the 2014 general elections held the national flag alongside brooms, their party’s symbol and waved them together. In his appeal, Mishra contended that the AAP workers first swept the floor with brooms and later waved them with the tricolour.

Read about the developments here. 

6. Hail Mary pass: The stained ghosts of Niira Radia resurrected by the Congress ecosystem

Barkha Dutt, one of the main characters of the Niira Radia scandal is all set to be co-opted yet again by the Congress ecosystem. It is now being reported that Barkha Dutt is going to be a part of a new news channel sponsored by Congress Minister Kapil Sibal, who had famously expounded the 0 loss theory in regards to the arbitrary 2G spectrum allocation.
In any civilised country, a journalist who was a political conduit would be shunned to oblivion. In India, the Congress ecosystem reportedly led by Kapil Sibal, no less, has co-opted Barkha Dutt yet again, the stains of the Radia scandal washed away in a Hail Mary pass by the Congress. A last ditch effort for the Congress to turn the narrative in their favour.

7. Rahul Gandhi: The perfect heir to Indira Gandhi’s legacy of the Emergency

Rahul Gandhi is often mocked by many for his numerous gaffes. However, it is time that we realise that Rahul Gandhi is the perfect heir to Indira Gandhi’s legacy of the Emergency.

Read this opinion piece by Karan Bhasin to know how.  

Hail Mary pass: The stained ghosts of Niira Radia resurrected by the Congress ecosystem

Jinit Jain
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Hail Mary pass: The stained ghosts of Niira Radia resurrected by the Congress ecosystem

One of the most enduring legacies of the UPA-II is that of the Radia tapes. It acquainted us with how the narrative is set, Cabinet berths negotiated, the disgraceful nexus between journalists and politicians and the political impunity to brush aside the scam. Not only was this issue hastily swept under the rugs but also all the dramatis personae involved in brokering the deals in Delhi’s power corridors have escaped unscathed from its implications.

Some of those who have had central roles in these tapes have suddenly disappeared from the face of Earth. Others who were in the thick of the controversy have rubbished the tapes as doctored and extenuated themselves from any wrongdoing. In fact, it is a glorious irony that one of them, Vir Sanghvi, who allegedly sought the lobbyist Niira Radia’s opinion on how ‘slanted’ does she wanted an article to be is today hosting a news programme with the name ‘Virtuosity’. The other journalist who featured in Radia tapes, M K Venu, today, has started his own leftist propaganda organisation ‘The Wire’ to counter the ‘supposed’ propaganda run by the MSM, notwithstanding the fact that he actively promotes fabricated and concocted stories through his social media account.

Another liberal lodestar, perhaps the cynosure of this story is Barkha Dutt, who sounded as an alleged conduit for Congress in the Radia tapes, relaying the information sought by Ms Radia and seeking directions from her when in doubt. According to the conversation transcripts between her and Niira Radia, Ms Radia was lobbying against the reappointment of Dayanidhi Maran to the post of Union IT and Communications minister and Barkha was actively mediating between the two parties to somehow end the stalemate and form a government at the centre.

In the 2009 elections, the Congress emerged as the single largest party but evidently, it was short of the 272-mark to claim a stake at the government. Congress needed DMK’s support to form the government. As a result, DMK came with a set of demands including Cabinet berths and ministerial positions for some of its ministers. The ensuing impasse sparked off a series of negotiation which the transcripts between Radia and Barkha allude to.

Niira and Barkha talked multiple times over amidst the raging imbroglio. It can be inferred from the conversation between the two that Congress and DMK were not on the same page as far as the conditions of extending the support to Congress was meant. DMK was presented with labour, fertiliser, Chemical and IT ministeries by Congress in return for DMK’s support. However, the lack of communication between the Congress party and DMK chief Karunanidhi caused the stalemate. According to the transcript, DMK’s Maran was not relaying the correct information to Karunanidhi, so Radia asked Barkha to ask Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad to speak to Karunanidhi and convey Congress’ stand on the matter to him.

However, in her defence, in a debate on NDTV alongside senior journalist Dileep Padgaonkar, Swapan Dasgupta, and Manu Joseph, Barkha appeared to brazen it out saying, “I was desperate for news, I took it from whoever I did. My error of judgment is that one got to be careful about how one talks to somebody who has a special interest and I acknowledge that inadvertent, innocent error of judgment.”

The impasse was eventually sorted out and A Raja from DMK was handed the ministry of IT and Telecom by the Congress then. It is pertinent to note that it was under A Raja, that the serious charges of arbitrarily allocating the 2G spectrum and crony capitalism were levelled against the government by the CAG.

It is now being reported that Barkha Dutt is going to be a part of a new news channel sponsored by Congress Minister Kapil Sibal, who had famously expounded the 0 loss theory in regards to the arbitrary 2G spectrum allocation. The Supreme Court, however, didn’t buy his theory and later cancelled the arbitrary spectrum allocation and ordered the government to have a fresh auction for the 2G spectrum bands.

It is also noteworthy to mention that the most of the opposition leaders who were part of the UPA-II coalition government have come together to display their show of strength and unity in a Mahagathbandhan rally held today in Kolkata organised by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. The agenda of the meet was to somehow depose Modi out of power in the 2019 elections. Each one of them purportedly sees a potential chance to strike negotiations for ‘lucrative’ ministries on the condition of extending their respective party’s support to form the government at the centre. And a friendly media channel funded by Kapil Sibal with their favourite journalist, Barkha Dutt, might just give them a much-needed push, with or without Niira Radia.

In any civilised country, a journalist who was a political conduit would be shunned to oblivion. In India, the Congress ecosystem reportedly led by Kapil Sibal, no less, has co-opted Barkha Dutt yet again, the stains of the Radia scandal washed away in a Hail Mary pass by the Congress. A last ditch effort for the Congress to turn the narrative in their favour.

The emergence of a strong leader in Narendra Modi has set desperation among the opposition leaders who are staring at their increasingly irrelevant political careers. Radia tape case serves as a reminder to us about the potential outcomes when seemingly incongruous and ideologically disparate parties come together to form a government at the centre. If this happens, this time around the opposition will not be naive enough to let their conversations of striking underhand negotiations for Ministerial berths be drawn out in open, much less be snooped on by the administrative agencies.

‘This Gathabandhan is not only against Modi but the country’: Highlights from PM Modi’s speech at Silvassa

OpIndia Staff
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‘This Gathabandhan is not only against Modi but the country’: Highlights from PM Modi’s speech at Silvassa

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Silvassa, the capital of Union Territory (UT) of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, today to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of a number of projects worth over 1400 crore. He laid the foundation stone of Medical College in Sayli to improve the healthcare facilities in Daman, Diu, Dadar and Nagar Haveli. New Industrial policy and new IT policy were also launched to encourage industries.

Addressing a packed crowd of people in Silvassa Modi said that he was feeling nostalgic on visiting the Union Territories. Crediting the work done by his government, Modi said that it was because of the amount of work done over the last 5 years in the two Union Territories, that both the UTs have to be declared Kerosene free and all the houses in the UTs now have the LPG connection, electricity supply and water supply.

PM Modi congratulated the people who were allotted houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY). Attacking the previous Congress government the PM said that the previous government built only 25 lakh houses in 5 years, while this government has constructed over 1.25 crore houses in the last five years. He said that the houses built under the PMAY will be provided with free of cost electricity connections, free of cost LPG connections.

The Prime Minister announced that the Medical College, which will be built at a cost of 200 crores, will have 150 seats initially for medical students which will be increased later on according to requirement. Paramedical and nursing seats have also been announced for the UTs.

Projects are being worked on to develop Silvassa and Diu into smart cities. A seawall is being constructed in Moti Daman to ensure the safety from sea waves and also to reduce soil erosion. Under the Van Dhan Yojana, Centres are being set up across the country for value addition and promotion of forest produce. The MSP  margin for the forest products sold by the Adivasis has also been increased to help them get appropriate prices. Steps are also being taken to preserve the cultural and historical monuments of Dadar and Nagar Haveli to utilise the tourism potential of the area which will provide employment opportunities to youth. Under the Blue Revolution scheme, the government is working to increase the income of the fishermen and to provide them with easy market access. Steps are also being taken to covert the traditional boats of fisherman into motorboats. A fund of Rs 7000 crore has been set up to provide loans to fishermen.

Coming down heavily on the Opposition, Modi said the opposition leaders have gathered in Kolkata and are shouting ‘bachao bachao’ crying for help. He said that these people are trying to save their parties while I am working hard to take the country forward. “These people are infuriated by the actions being taken by the government against corruption and corrupt persons. That is why they have come together to form a Gathbandhan”, said Modi.

“A certain party which ran the government for decades in the country looked only for the possibilities for one family in everything. This was the reason that they were more concerned about the name rather than work”, said Modi attacking the Congress Party.

Criticising the regional parties for joining hands with Congress to form the Mahagathbandhan, Modi said, These people who used to curse the Congress Party endlessly have come together with Congress on the same platform. This gathbandhan is only against Modi but against the whole country”.”Their activities can them a place in the newspapers but they will never be able to get a place in the hearts of people”, he added.

Targeting the TMC government in West Bengal Modi said that they are scared of a party with just one MLA (referring to BJP) in the State. He attacked the Mamata government for not allowing the BJP Rath Yatra in the State. Referring to the politically motivated killings of BJP members in the States of West Bengal and Kerala he said, “When people who killed members of rival political parties for filing nominations in Panchayat elections talk about saving democracy all the country wants to say is ‘Kya scene hai‘.”

Modi concluded by saying that the fight is between positive thinking and negative thinking, corruption and development, and the people of the country and the Mahagathbandhan.

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