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Mining baron G Janardhan Reddy arrested in bribery case, sent to judicial custody till 24th November

OpIndia Staff
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Mining baron G Janardhan Reddy arrested in bribery case, sent to judicial custody till 24th November

Former Karnataka Minister and Ballari mining baron, G Janardhan Reddy, who was arrested on Sunday by the Crime Branch officials in connection with an alleged bribery case has been sent to judicial custody till 24th November. His bail application will be heard tomorrow, 12th November.

Reddy had appeared at the central crime branch office for questioning in relation to the bribery on Saturday. He is suspected of accepting bribe of Rs 18 crore (according to some reports, Rs 20 crore) from Syed Ahmed Fareed, owner of Ambident Group, to bail him out from an Enforcement Directorate investigation.

Fareed allegedly ran a Ponzi scheme and cheated thousands of depositors by promising  40% returns on investment in Ambident. But no returns were given. A complaint was registered by the investors after which the Enforcement Directorate issued a look-out notice for Fareed. A transaction of Rs 18 crore was tracked in the case. The money was allegedly sent to Janardhan Reddy’s personal assistant Ali in the form of gold bars after first passing through Ramesh Kothari, owner of Ambika Jewellery and then through Ramesh, owner of a jewellery store in Bellari, Karnataka. According to Bengaluru police commissioner Suneel Kumar, “The owner of Ambident claimed that Janardhana Reddy and his associates told him they will help him get rid of ED cases.”

Reddy, prior to appearing before the crime branch, had released a video message from an unknown location claiming that there was a ‘political conspiracy’ and that he had faith in police. “I have not committed anything wrong. The police do not have a single document to prove that I am wrong. They are misleading the media,” he claimed in his message.

“I decided to make this video to let people know the truth. I have faith in the police and believe that they would not succumb to any political pressure,” Reddy added.

Alok Kumar Additional CP, Central Crime Branch, told ANI, “We have taken the decision to arrest him on the basis of credible evidence and witnesses statements. We will produce him before the magistrate. We are going to recover the money and give it to the investors.”

PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate Multi-Modal Terminal in Varanasi along National Waterway-1 on the Ganga

OpIndia Staff
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PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate Multi-Modal Terminal in Varanasi along National Waterway-1 on the Ganga

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the newly developed Multi-Modal Terminal (MMT) on River Ganga in Varanasi on November 12. In a bid to develop India’s inland waterway sector, the Union government had decided to build Multi-Modal Terminals being along National Waterway-1 (NW) on the river Ganga.


According to the reports, the first terminal is developed at Varanasi and two other Multi-Modal Terminal are also being constructed on NW-1 at Sahibganj and Haldia. The MMTs are being developed as a part of the government’s Jal Marg Vikas project (JMVP) that intends to develop the stretch between Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal for navigation of large vessels weighing up to 1500-2000 tonnes. The objective behind the scheme is to promote inland waterways, primarily for cargo movement.

Began in June 2016, the MMT project along the National Waterway-1 on River Ganga was designed to hold the capacity of 1.26 MPTA. The Varanasi terminal project has a jetty of 200m length and 42m width and spreads across 33.34 hectares of land along with mobile harbour cranes, internal roads, stone pitching works, bank protection and other infrastructure needed for required operations.

The World Bank has been supporting the JMVP with technical assistance and investment support of Rs. 5,369 crores. The Multi-Model Terminal project in Varanasi is built at a cost of Rs 206 crores. The MMT project in Varanasi is expected to produce 500 direct employment and will create additional 2000 indirect employment opportunities in the surrounding areas of the project.

Recently, for the first time in India’s history, a container vessel was used for logistics transportation on the National Waterways-1 along the River Ganga. A container cargo belonging to PepsiCo (India) transported 16 containers of food and beverages from Kolkata to Varanasi.

India has a vast network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks. The total navigable length is 14,500 km, out of which about 5,200 km of the river and 4,000 km of canals can be used by mechanized crafts.

Freight transportation by waterways is highly under-utilized in India compared to other large countries and geographic areas like the United States, China and the European Union. The trade done along the inland waterways in India is just 3.5% of the total trade as against 47% in China, 40% in Europe and 35% in neighbouring Bangladesh. The inland Cargo transportation in the country is restricted to few waterways in Goa, West Bengal, Assam and Kerala.

The Union government decided to develop inland waterways as it is much fuel-efficient, cost-effective and environment-friendly. Since inland waterways were neglected by the previous governments the central government has evolved a policy for the integrated development of inland waterways and passed the National Waterways Act of 2016, which declared additional 106 Waterways as National Waterways (NW) through addition to the existing five National Waterways.

Water transport is one of the cheapest and environment-friendly modes of transport. It also takes lesser time to transport cargo over water, as the chances of congestion and accidents on waterways are minimal. Addition to this, investment in developing inland waterways helps in economic growth of the country, as it helps in generating millions of jobs.

India can reap huge benefits from developing inland waterways, as it enhances domestic cargo transportation as well as for cruise, tourism and passenger traffic. With public-private partnership (PPP) led investments in activities like dredging, construction, operation and maintenance of barges, terminals, storage facilities, and navigation, the inland waterways can boost both intrastate and interstate trade which can augment India’s global maritime trade.

National waterways provide a logistically efficient, cost-effective and environment-friendly mode of transport, whose development as an additional mode will bring down the load-stress and traffic from over-congested roads and railways.

Promise to ban RSS from government premises may get Congress brownie points, but not votes in MP

Nirwa Mehta
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Promise to ban RSS from government premises may get Congress brownie points, but not votes in MP

Congress, in its manifesto released yesterday in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, has vowed to not allow RSS Shakhas in government buildings.


The 112-page manifesto also asserted that the order issued earlier to allow government employees to attend ‘Shakhas’ of RSS will also be revoked.

However, banning the ‘Shakhas’ from the government buildings may get Congress an applause from the ‘intellectuals’ circle, it may not necessarily convert into votes.

“In Madhya Pradesh, Congressis are not anti-Hindu. They are also not the activists or NGO type. In fact, many Congress leaders themselves maybe RSS members. This is neither unheard of nor unthinkable. This promise in the Congress manifesto wreaks of Delhi elitism and activist view and may backfire in Madhya Pradesh,” Ashish Chandorkar, author and political analyst told OpIndia.

Many believe that this posturing might not help Congress in actual electoral terms, as RSS-bashing is more of an ‘intellectual grandstanding’ than real politics. “Both Congress and BJP in Madhya Pradesh are known for infighting, though Congress suffers more from it. I think this promise to ban RSS is a result of Delhi mindset, which will get applauded in Delhi newsrooms but will not help them in getting any extra votes,” said a source close to the RSS.

Congress is known to play divisive politics. Earlier in May, Congress had demanded that the entry of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat be banned in Bihar stating that he ‘represents hateful ideas’. When former President and Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee addressed RSS cadres at Nagpur, he recieved a lot of flak from his former colleagues. Not only that, Days after Congress President Rahul Gandhi compared Muslim Brotherhood to the RSS, Congress IT cell head Divya Spandana drew parallels between the two on social media.

Which is kind of amusing since many Congress supporting ‘activists’ and commentators have often pointed out how local Congress units often try to reach out to some sections of RSS.


However, taking on the RSS is not the only thing Congress has vowed. Continuing its ‘soft-Hindutva‘ approach, Congress has promised an ‘Adhyatmik Vibhag’ (spiritual department) as well as plans to promote the Sanskrit language. Congress also reportedly talks about developing the ‘Ram Path’ the route which Lord Ram is believed to have taken during his 14 years in exile. Congress has also promised commercial production of ‘gau mutra’ (cow urine) and cow dung as well as setting up of ‘gau shala’ (cowshed) in every village panchayat.

With elections coming closer, Congress has upped their ante to show that they are a ‘Hindu-friendly’ party. While Congress leader Randeep Surjewala had announced Rahul Gandhi has ‘Brahmin samaj DNA’, Kamal Nath had promised a ‘gau shala’ in every panchayat. After his recent pilgrimage to Mansarovar, posters of Rahul Gandhi posing as a Shiv-bhakt had also appeared across Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh is one of the five states to go for elections over the next few weeks. The voting will take place on 28th November and the counting will happen on 11th December.

State Congress unit under fire as Telangana Congress minority cell makes a host of demands for ‘Christians’

OpIndia Staff
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State Congress unit under fire as Telangana Congress minority cell makes a host of demands for ‘Christians’

A list compiled by the Telangana State Congress Committee (Minority Departments), coming just a few days before the crucial assembly elections, seeking a host of demands for Christians, has left the State Congress unit under fire.

The list reportedly submitted on October 9, which comes at a time when Rahul and Sonia are both set to campaign in the state, is being dubbed as the Congress ‘Christian manifesto’.

The Telangana State Congress Committee (Minority Departments) is seeking a host of SOPs for the Christian community which includes demands for protection for Christian Bishops, funds, subsidy for Christian pilgrimage, houses for Christian journalists and seats allotted in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Assembly for Christians.

As per reports, Congress Telangana has cleared that it’s just a letter from the minority cell head, recommending the 10 points as a proposal. Nothing, the source said, has been accepted till now.

Congress and its allies are long known for the minority appeasement stunts they try pulling off before every election. In March ahead of Karnataka elections, a document allegedly belonging to the Directorate of Minorities of Karnataka recommending media kits for minority journalists and two pages of government advertisements (per month) for newspapers owned by minorities has emerged in public domain, giving an altogether a new dimension to their mollification stunt.

However, it will be interesting to see, whether Telangana State Congress, this time, would buckle under the demands of their own minority cell or adopt a different course of action.

After Telangana Chief Minister KC Rao dissolved the Assembly, the state also went in for early election. Telangana is set to vote on 7th December and the counting will take place on 11th December along with rest of the four states: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh.

One BSF personnel martyred as Maoists triggered 6 IED blasts in Kanker a day before first phase elections in Chhattisgarh

OpIndia Staff
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One BSF personnel martyred as Maoists triggered 6 IED blasts in Kanker a day before first phase elections in Chhattisgarh

One BSF jawan has been martyred as Maoists triggered six IED blasts in Kanker district on Sunday targeting a team of BSF. One day ahead of the Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Maoists reportedly carried out two incidents of violence in the state. In the other incident, an encounter reportedly took place in Bijapur between Maoists and the security forces in which one Maoist was gunned down and another was apprehended and a large quantity of explosives was recovered.

Confirming the news of the attacks, Special Director General of Police (anti-Naxal operation), DM Awasthi said that the exchange of fire broke out in the forest of Bedre police station limits when a team of Special Task Force (STF) was out on an anti-Naxal operation.

As per information given by the police, a set of six IED blasts was triggered by Maoists to target the security forces in between Kattakal and Gome villages. The blast took place at around 8.30 am when a team of BSF was on routine area domination in Koliyabeda area.

Kanker SP K L Dhruve said, “One BSF ASI, Mahinder Singh, sustained splinter and bullet injuries in the blast and was rushed to the hospital. We have launched a combing operation in the area after the blast.” Singh later succumbed to injuries.

Maoists have declared to boycott the upcoming assembly elections. They have carried out a number of brutal attacks in the past few days to hinder the polls. On Oct 30, a CRPF patrolling party and a TV crew of Doordarshan was attacked by the Naxalites in the Aranpur area of Dantewada in which two security personnel were martyred and a DD cameraman was also killed. Three days ago, on Nov 8, Naxals triggered an IED blast on a bus near Bacheli in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada area in which 3 civilians and 1 CISF personnel lost their lives.

On the same day, a CPI worker was beaten to death by Naxalites on the suspicion of being a police informant.

First phase of elections will be held in Chhattisgarh tomorrow with Naxal-affected districts like Bastar and Dantewada will be going to vote. Second phase of elections in Chhattisgarh will be held on 20th November and the counting of votes to be carried out on 11th December along with rest of the four states, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana.

Mahila Congress misspells the first Education Minister’s name on National Education Day

OpIndia Staff
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Mahila Congress misspells the first Education Minister’s name on National Education Day

Adding to the list of bloopers committed by social media team of Congress, Mahila Congress today, in an attempt to pay their respects to independent India’s first Education Minister, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, referred to him as ‘Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad’, mixing up his name with former President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam.


This is rather appalling that being a part of an institution which claims to be the oldest and the first political party in India, the members of the Mahila Congress probably need a lesson in history while remembering our first education minister.


The Central Government with a resolution dated September 11, 2008, has declared November 11, the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, freedom fighter, eminent educationist and the first Union Minister of Education, as National Education Day.

This is, however, not the first time Congress members have exhibited such ignorance on the public platform. Umpteen number of times, earlier, other Congress members including Rahul Gandhi, their leader, (in the true sense of the word) has made headlines for reasons often less flattering.

Several times the Congress’ Twitter handle has been lampooned for the gum-ups which makes them the butt of all jokes on Twitter. Last year Congress social media team got trolled for bringing back Indira Gandhi from the dead for inaugurating a bridge in West Bengal in 1992, 8 years after she was assassinated.

Congress IT cell, in 2017 had run a series of “polls” with the hashtag #KnowYourLegacy. Their #KnowYourLegacy question had, however, backfired, and they got trolled for the #KnowYourLegacy quiz which came back to haunt them about the horrors from the time of Congress misrule.

They had also goofed up in dates while paying tributes on death anniversary. They had written the date of death (27th September 1833) before the date of birth (22nd May 1772) which appears as if he was born on 27th September 1833 and passed away on 22nd May 1772 which is just not possible.

With these kinds of gaffes becoming a penchant with the Congress one is forced to believe that the Congress, instead of spending so much time in chastising PM Modi, should dedicate its precious time in educating its members and probably disciplining or if the need arises, changing their scriptwriters!

Even Gods are unsafe in Mamata’s Bengal, Maa Durga ‘converted’ to Mother Mary in Barasat

OpIndia Staff
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Even Gods are unsafe in Mamata’s Bengal, Maa Durga ‘converted’ to Mother Mary in Barasat

In what seems to be an outrageous attempt to hurt Hindu sentiments by defaming Hindu Gods, a Kolkata youth organisation named Nabapally Association has set up controversial pandals and has depicted the Hindu Goddess Kali or Durga as ‘Mother Mary’ holding Lord Shiva akin to Mary holding Baby Jesus.

This incident has taken place when the Nabapally youth association decided to set up pandals at Barasat’s Colony in Kolkatta on the occasion of Durga Puja. The organisers had set up the Durga pandal with a theme that represented the 2018 Fifa World Cup held in Russia. The organisers had designed the pandal in such a way that it looked like the replica of Russia’s St Basil’s Cathedral of Moscow, Russia.

Inside the ‘Cathedral’, the Nabapally Youth Association has installed the statue of Goddess Durga which has been “converted” to look like Mother Mary. The most bizarre part of the statue is the sheer contempt displayed towards Hindu Gods, where they have depicted Maa Durga holding Lord Shiva just like Mother Mary holding Jesus Christ.

Image Source: Nabapally Association

It is still not understood how organisers decided to convert a football-themed Durga Pandal to give it a communal angle by using Christian symbols to depict Hindu Gods. It seems that organisers have chosen certain symbols of a particular religion to promote one faith but one may argue it ends up showing contempt towards Hindu gods.

At a time, when the entire country unites to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali, this attempt to insult Hindu Gods is not only shameful but also condemnable as it could lead to religious disturbance in already volatile West Bengal.

This is why India’s women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur wears the number 84 jersey

OpIndia Staff
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This is why India’s women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur wears the number 84 jersey

Team India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, sporting jersey number 84, scored a century in the ICC World T20 Championship match against New Zealand. Like any other sport, the cricketers are assigned jersey numbers for various reasons.


Kaur’s jersey number stands in solidarity to the riot victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots which shook the nation.

Following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 31st October 1984 by her two Sikh bodyguards as aftermath of Operation Blue Star where Indian Army damaged the Golden Temple and the Akal Takth, widespread riots broke out across the country where thousands of Sikhs were murdered.

Usually, the memories of 1984 riots trigger bad memories for the Sikhs, but for Harmanpreet, she has made it into a positive emotion by standing in solidarity with the victims.

Last year in August, Kaur was awarded the Arjuna Award which recognises outstanding achievement in sports by the President of India.

Lawyer demands Bharat Ratna for PM Modi citing precedents of Nehru and Indira getting the honour while in office

OpIndia Staff
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Lawyer demands Bharat Ratna for PM Modi citing precedents of Nehru and Indira getting the honour while in office

A Mumbai based lawyer, Jay Sayta, has written to the President of India demanding a Bharat Ratna for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the highest civilian award in India.

Lawyer Jay Sayta’s letter to the President of India
Lawyer Jay Sayta’s letter to the President of India

In his letter, Sayta urges the President to bestow Prime Minister Modi with the Bharat Ratna for ‘working tirelessly for transforming the lives of all Indians and lifting millions of citizens out of poverty through social welfare schemes’.

He lists out the various initiatives started by the government under PM Modi’s leadership which has helped towards nation building. Sayta also points out the international awards won by Prime Minister Modi like ‘Champions of the Earth’, ‘Seoul Peace Prize’ and ‘King Abdulaziz Sash’, Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honour.

Further, he points out that Jawaharlal Nehru got Bharat Ratna while still in office in 1955. And Indira Gandhi received Bharat Ratna while still in office in 1971. He pointed out that six prime ministers for the Bharat Ratna earlier.

He said that the President acts as per the advice of the Council of Ministers. Article 74(1) of the Constitution mentions this provision. However, in 1955, the then President, Dr Rajendra Prasad had conferred the title to Prime Minister Nehru. Dr Prasad had done so using his discretionary powers and without consulting the Cabinet.

Thus a Bharat Ratna for Narendra Modi could also be given, even if Prime Minister Modi himself or his cabinet don’t come up with any recommendation, the lawyer suggests.

Last year, Prime Minister Modi had announced that unlike in past, anyone can now recommend names for the Padma awards. Earlier, nominees for Padma Awards could only be recommended by government employees.

Statue of Unity attracts 1 lakh visitors in just 10 days, earns Rs 2.1 crores

OpIndia Staff
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Statue of Unity attracts 1 lakh visitors in just 10 days, earns Rs 2.1 crores

The Statue of Unity which was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31, 2018, to pay a tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel has attracted around 1,08,247 visitors so far in just 10 days since its opening doors.

Until yesterday, the count of tourists visiting the memorial was 74,671. With 33576 tourists visiting today, the number of visitors has gone well-past 1 lakh mark and the revenue generated has crossed whopping Rs 2.1 crores just within 10 days of its inauguration.

Installation of the statue hasn’t gone down well with the usual suspects with a few of them even questioning the government on the necessity of the statue, while others evaluating the time it will require to achieve breakeven. Self-proclaimed activist Dhruv Rathee created an elaborate video and posted it on Youtube explaining how it would take almost a century to recover the cost incurred in setting up the statue. He also questioned Modi government’s economic prudence in having it at the banks of river Narmada, for it will hardly attract any visitors and tourists there.

With these figures trickling down, it appears that the naysayers will have to eat their words back on the assertions they made regarding the quantum of tourists visiting the statue and the time it will take to retrieve the cost incurred in building the statue.

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