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Kumar Vishwas calls Arvind Kejriwal a ‘habitual liar’

OpIndia Staff
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Kumar Vishwas calls Arvind Kejriwal a ‘habitual liar’

Rebel Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwas yesterday told the Delhi High Court that Arvind Kejriwal is a habitual liar and his lies have led to this situation. Calling out lack of supporting evidence against the defamatory statements against Arun Jaitley, Vishwas said that the AAP Supremo either lied then or is lying now. The AAP founding member said that his statements against Jaitley relating to irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) were based on information he received as a party worker.

Vishwas, who was present in the court, said that before apologising to Jaitley, he would like to know from Kejriwal when was he lying and when was he telling truth. He said he needs time to decide what statement he would make before apologising, since he is the only one against whom the case remains, so that the suit can be disposed of as he does not wish to take the matter further.

On 1st April, Kejriwal, along with other leaders like AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, leader Ashutosh and AAP National Executive Member Raghav Chadha who once found defamation suit slapped by Jaitley ‘interesting‘ had written an apology to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley since they now have come to the conclusion that the allegations were unfounded and unwarranted.

Kejriwal even added that the part where his former counsel Ram Jethmalani, who was supposed to get Kejriwal out of trouble, invited a second defamation case against Kejriwal by referring to Jaitley as a ‘crook’, did not have Kejriwal’s approval. He said he does not approve of the ‘disparaging and malicious statements made by Jethmalani’.

BJP leader Arun Jaitley in December 2015 had filed a defamation case against Arvind Kejriwal and 5 others for what he claimed were false allegations regarding his alleged role in certain irregularities in the DDCA (Delhi & District Cricket Association). Jaitley sought compensation of 10 crore rupees due to damages caused by alleged defamatory statements by Kejriwal. After the case was filed, Kejriwal sought the legal help of eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani to untangle himself from the mess. But for Kejriwal, hiring Jethmalani resulted in him getting into a further mess. During a hearing in May 2017, Ram Jethmalani went into an overdrive and called Arun Jaitley a “crook”, to which Jaitley lodged a strong objection. When Jethmalani was asked whether he was authorised by Kejriwal to use the term, Jethmalani answered in affirmative. Following which, Jaitley filed another defamation case against Kejriwal.

In a twist in the tale, in July last year, Jethmalani called Kejriwal a ‘liar’ and quit as his counsel. Jethmalani had also asked Kejriwal to settle his pending legal fees, which amounted over Rs 2 crore as per media estimates. In February last year, the Delhi government, on behalf of the Chief Minister and the five other AAP leaders, had cleared a bill of Rs 3.5 crore to Jethmalani by burdening the exchequer.

Recently, Kejriwal has been on an apologising spree with him seeking forgiveness for his remarks on union minister Nitin Gadkari, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Majithia and former union minister Kapil Sibal which led to defamation cases against him.

In Pics: Here are the two railway stations voted as the most beautiful in India

OpIndia Staff
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In Pics: Here are the two railway stations voted as the most beautiful in India

The Chandrapur and Ballarshah railway stations falling under the Nagpur division of Central Railways have been voted as the joint most beautiful stations in India, as informed by the official twitter account of the Central railway. These two stations outperformed 61 other entries from 11 zones in the country. All the entries contained artwork which has been done by local artisans.

As reported by PTI, these railway stations were beautified under the themes centred around the Tadoda National Park and local tribal themes. The second prize was shared between Bihar’s Madhubani railway station and Tamil Nadu’s Madurai. The third prize saw three winners namely the Gandhidham, Kota and Secunderabad railway stations.

This beautification initiative has been inculcated with the intention to beautify the railway stations. With local artists being employed for the said projects, the competition would have also generated healthy employment opportunities.

The winners were were awarded the prize money of Rs 10 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh for the first, second and third position respectively. The winners were chosen by a committee comprising of senior railway officials.

Below are a few pictures of Ballarshah and Chandrapur railways stations, adjusted as the most beautiful railway stations in the country:

In Pics: Here are the two railway stations voted as the most beautiful in India
Ballarshah Railway Station. Image via @TOI
In Pics: Here are the two railway stations voted as the most beautiful in India
Ballarshah Railway Station. Image via @tirup76
In Pics: Here are the two railway stations voted as the most beautiful in India
Ballarshah Railway Station foot over bridge
In Pics: Here are the two railway stations voted as the most beautiful in India
Chandrapur railway station. Image via Asian Age
In Pics: Here are the two railway stations voted as the most beautiful in India
Peacock portrait at these stations
In Pics: Here are the two railway stations voted as the most beautiful in India
Drinking water dispenser at these stations

The winning stations were also congratulated by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who gave credit to the forest department and Maharashtra’s forest minister for the same.

Here are a couple of pictures from the second placed Madurai:

In Pics: Here are the two railway stations voted as the most beautiful in India
Madurai Railway Station. Image via @drmmadurai
In Pics: Here are the two railway stations voted as the most beautiful in India
Madurai Railway Station. Image via @drmmadurai

We had reported in the past about the now second placed Madhubani railway station in Bihar. Here are a few pictures of the beautiful traditional art form, which was painted by as many as 200 Mithila painting artists, who took 15 days to complete their art:

In Pics: Here are the two railway stations voted as the most beautiful in India
Madhubani Railway station
In Pics: Here are the two railway stations voted as the most beautiful in India
Madhubani Railway station

Such a beautification project was also carried out for the suburban Mumbai railway stations of Borivali and Khar, besides the Titwala Railway station near Mumbai.

PM Modi continues his blitzkrieg against Congress in Ballari, Karnataka

Jhankar Mohta
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PM Modi continues his blitzkrieg against Congress in Ballari, Karnataka

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going through the third round of campaigning in poll-bound Karnataka today. The prime minister is holding a rally at Ballari. Earlier in the day, the prime minister held a rally at Kalaburagi (Gulbarga). He is also scheduled to hold a public meeting at Bengaluru (North).


Modi had launched his campaign blitzkrieg on Tuesday with a blistering attack on Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3N6Na8vDqI

At around 3 pm, PM Modi in his typical style addressed the people of Ballari by saying that people’s enthusiasm here proves the last bastion of Congress is set to crumble. He went on to talk about the Congress that has ruined the rich history and legacy of Ballari. That ‘by defaming Ballari, they have disrespected the people of this district’. He went on to blame the Congress government who were not even competent enough to frame a strong mining policy and provide effective water supply despite the state being rich in water resources.

Narendra Modi further went on to incriminate congress of being anti-minority, anti-Dalit, anti-OBC party. He went on to say that the Congress has been trying to block the constitutional validation of a special body meant for OBC welfare. In the last elections, Congress had projected Dalit-leader Mallikarjun Kharge as CM candidate, but once they won the elections he was sidelined, whereas when Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had enough votes to choose a President they chose a Muslim – APJ Abdul Kalam, and now again when Modi government had enough votes, they chose a Dalit, ‘self-less and self-made man’ – Ram Nath Kovind.

Modi went on to reiterate that the Congress party who has always used women empowerment card as a propaganda tool has termed Modi government as ‘Mahila Virodhi’. But how his government appointed the Defence Minister who is a woman and also a member of the Parliament from Karnataka itself. Modi clearly stated that ‘our critics used to say we are anti-women, but we appointed Nirmala Sitharaman as defence minister, which shut them up’.

He also said that Congress government in Karnataka is in ‘sleep mode.’ They did not spend the funds allocated by the central government for the development of Karnataka.

Modi praised the people of Ballari and applauded their determination and understanding for the need to change. Modi in his speech recapitulated that though five years have been wasted, not a minute now will be wasted in changing the future of Karnataka, underlining the fact that people have decided not to vote for Congress, instead bring Modi government to power in Karnataka. The Prime Minister sounded confident in his bid to push BJP’s attempt to add another state in its kitty.

The Prime Minister’s next round of campaigning would be at Tumakuru on May 5.

Modi resumed his campaign in the state after a long break yesterday–the last rally he addressed was in February– as he sought to give a big push to BJP’s efforts to return to power in the state for a second time unseating the Congress.

The BJP has also lined up a line-up of leaders, including Union home minister Rajnath Singh, UniMinisterter for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari, Textiles Minister Smriti Irani, among others to address public meetings in the next few days.

Fact check : Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegations against the Modi government don’t add up

Anubhav
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Fact check : Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegations against the Modi government don’t add up

Rahul Gandhi is not only the de-facto leader of opposition in this country but he represents the oldest party in India, the Congress. Thus, the expectations from Rahul are quite high but time and time again Rahul has proven to be the quintessential “only if” man of Indian politics. Only if Rahul could grasp simple concepts, he would have been a decent politician. Only if Rahul Gandhi could not make blunders and make a mockery of himself, he could be taken seriously. Only If Rahul Gandhi’s constant allegations had any substance, he would be able to prove his worth.

In his latest attack against the Modi government, Rahul Gandhi tweeted about MSP’s for Kharif crops in Karnataka and stated that the central government has cheated the farmers of Karnataka.


Minimum Support Price or MSP is a form of market intervention by the Indian government to safeguard agriculture producers against sharp fall in farm prices. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) recommends these prices at the start of every sowing season. It is not an apparatus for farmers to make more profit but rather to cut down losses to a reasonable extent. These prices work like a guaranteed price in years of bumper production or a glut in the market. MSP’s are like a security net for farmers, which should be considered as the place to avoid distress sales by farmers.

The statistics put forth by the Congress president are misleading and selective. It actually hinders the growing MSP under the current government. For instance –

Arhur (Tur) MSP has increased by 400 INR/Quintal.

Moong MSP has increased by 350 INR/Quintal.

Cotton MSP has increased by 160 INR/Quintal.

Soybean MSP has increased by 275 INR/Quintal.

Ground Nut MSP has increased by 230 INR/Quintal.

Maize MSP has increased by 60 INR/Quintal.

All the above-mentioned comparisons are made against the year 2016-2017. If we compare this year’s MSP’s with that of the year 2013-2014, the claims made by Rahul seems more hypocritical.

A table with numbers.
Comparison of MSP

It is evident from the comparison, that MSP has been increased by leaps and bounds under the Modi government. It seems to have become a habit with Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party to tout the perceived failures of the Modi government without comparing numbers with their own government and how the situation has improved in the past 4 years. His allegations are often grand statements with zero substance or even proof.

Now, if look at the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna, the directive from the centre is quite clear, all farmers growing the notified crops, irrespective of their state, can get insurance.His claim that this initiative is not adequate is farcical. If we look at the data and categories covered, it becomes evident Rahul is not only misinformed but also delusional.

Comparison Of Three different schemes.

The premium rate that is to be given by the Farmer has been lowered substantially. Farmers often find it hard to pay their premiums during the harvesting season, thus the news scheme has made it easier for the Farmers to pay their premiums by making it a one premium affair per harvest season. Additionally, the localized risk coverage has been extended in included Inundation and for post-harvest losses incurred the coverage has been extended to all of India which was previously restricted to only coastal areas and cyclonic rains, this new approach also provided coverage for unseasonal rain giving the farmer much-deserved relief.  All these facts are wilfully discarded by Rahul.

Coming to the issue of contributing to the farm loan waiver of Karnataka, The incumbent central government has been very clear on its policy regarding farm loan waivers. The Central government will not partake in loan waivers as it intends to focus on achieving its financial goals and will not heed to political adventurism by various states. The Central did not partake in any of the states loan waivers, be it Uttar Pradesh or elsewhere. They recently rejected a proposal by the Punjab government. even the RBI governor has warned about such loan waivers will create a fiscal situation which will get out of hand if not checked.

By making a mockery of himself and exposing his lack of comprehensive skills with this tweet, Rahul has yet again proven himself to be India’s “only if” man. Now, only if Rahul reads this and gets his act together.

Rahul and Sonia skip meeting called to prepare for Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul and Sonia skip meeting called to prepare for Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations

Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his predecessor Sonia Gandhi skipped a meeting called by President Kovind for discussing ways to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations in 2019, as reported by Hindustan Times.

Apart from the mother-son duo, others who skipped the meeting on Wednesday included Chief Ministers from eight states, left front leaders and the Chief Justice of India. The states from whose Chief Minister gave a miss were Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana, Tripura, Punjab, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

The prominent political absentees included CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge. Foreign dignitaries like former UN secretary Generals Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon, erstwhile US Vice President Al Gore too could not attend the meet.

As per a report by NDTV, these celebrations would start on 2 October 2019 and will go on for a whole year until 2 October 2020. Thus the National Committee constituted to plan the same met on Wednesday for the first time.

Some of the suggestions floated during the meeting included implementing specific measures to help farmers, creating travelling exhibitions and infrastructure and linkages in locations associated with Gandhi. A general consensus was created during the meeting that the focus needed to be on tangible and actionable legacies which would make a difference to ordinary people’s lives.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who also attended the proceedings suggested setting up programs revolving around “Gandhi in action” which include an use of technology so as to get the whole world to take note and participate.

He also suggested that the celebrations move beyond the government and transform into a mass movement.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, indicated the global scale of the celebrations by informing that her ministry was planning on holding celebrations in 193 countries. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee who too was present at the meeting, disagreed with the celebration’s format and asserted that celebrations should begin in 2018 and go on for two whole years.

Paranoid Ravish Kumar screams ‘surveillance’ when confronted with pictures of him violating traffic rules

OpIndia Staff
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Paranoid Ravish Kumar screams ‘surveillance’ when confronted with pictures of him violating traffic rules

In a recent incident senior journalist and champion of free speech, Ravish Kumar has been allegedly caught not only violating traffic rules but also threatening a person who took the photograph of him doing it. An image of that has gone viral on social media. The Journalist was found to be driving with his earphone, which is a punishable offence under the Indian Road Rules. This is a serious violation as many fatalities have occurred in the past when drivers were using earphones while driving.

The NDTV Journalist has responded to these allegations in a rather interesting way. Ravish Kumar claims to be under threat. In his post, he said, “My life is under threat as somebody is chasing me and taking pictures. Somebody is following me for a very long time and they are collecting all my personal data”. Ravish also said that he feels that he is under some sort of huge surveillance system and doesn’t offer any credible proof for that. He said that his family too has been under massive surveillance and are feeling threatened by this. In his post, He said he will continue to use the earphones despite it is against the rules. Interestingly, Ravish does not explain how using earphones while driving helps him warding surveillance.

The person who has claimed to have taken this photo has reacted to Ravish’s post. In his post, he claims that Ravish Kumar was using his phone while driving. He even accuses the ‘liberal’ journalist of threatening him and his family and said that Ravish Kumar sent goons to attack him. The person named Anupam also claims that Ravish followed his car for about 40 minutes. In his post, Anupam says he is worried about his life after the photo taken by him has gone viral. It seems that the Journalist has resorted to a Facebook post as soon as the photo of violating the rules went viral.

Twitter users mocked him for sheer display of paranoia. The users alleged that the journalist is using the theory of surveillance rather than admitting his mistake of violating traffic rules and threatening people. Some people even questioned his credibility over his facts.


Interestingly some even went to the extent of accusing him of doing surveillance and propagating the same narrative in the past.


This event has caused apprehensions in public about disrespect for rules and regulations by journalists who claim to be the voice of the people and how easily they get away with crimes citing bizarre theories on surveillance. This changing of goal posts rather than admitting the mistake can be seen as the arrogance of elites in the media and is unfortunate.

Journalists continue to get attacked in West Bengal, as mainstream media maintains stoic silence

Anubhav
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Journalists continue to get attacked in West Bengal, as mainstream media maintains stoic silence

We may have different opinions about how the press reports or doesn’t report a particular incident but we all have to agree on the fundamental principle of press freedom and its inseparability from the idea of democracy. Without a free press, there would be a monopolization of information specifically, a state-backed monopolization, which would restrict citizens from forming reasoned opinions about society at large. Thus, regardless of how one feels about the media, we need the media because that is our only source of alternative information, information which often gets buried in the coffers of the forces desperate to stay in power.

Throughout history, people in power have tried to suppress information which may put a dent in their ability to stay in power. India witnessed such subjugation of press during the emergency but it would be ill-informed for people to assume that India has attained press freedom. While the Lutyens media might not have noticed, West Bengal has witnessed a massive surge in attacks towards journalists, their only crime is responsibly doing their duty.

The attacks have been happening sporadically for a long time now but the frequency of such attacks has gone up considerably in the run-up to the panchayat elections, which are to be held in the very near future in West Bengal. It all started around 11 a.m on 9th of April when Biplob Mondal, a photographer from the Times of India Kolkata bureau, took out his phone to take a few pictures of the nomination proceedings in front of the administrative building in South 24 Parganas. Two men approached him and asked to see his phone when Mondal explained that he was from the press the two men called up few more men and started thrashing Mondal with their bare hands. The journalist was coerced into deleting all the pictures he took later the men took him to a nearby village and stripped him. Mondal told CPJ –

“Later, they took me to a small village near the administration building where they stripped me of my clothes, took photos and threatened to publish them on the internet”.

The incompetence of the state apparatus to provide safety to journalists does not end there, on the same day another journalist was allegedly beaten up by a gang of 30 to 40 people in front of the same building. Manas Chattopadhyay, a reporter from the ETV Bharat regional channel was hit in the head with a stick because he was taking pictures. The assailants also snatched the mobile form the reporter. The Police were just standing there as Chattopadhyay was asked by the concerned police officer to leave the area and the officer even called a taxi for him but failed to take any action against the assailants. The press commission has asked the West Bengal government to provide a report on the proceedings of the 9th on 14th of April. Journalists also took to the streets on the 11th April protesting against attacks on their colleagues.

Despite all of this, again on 23rd April attacks occurred and it followed the same pattern of the previously mentioned cases. On 23rd April, Pragya Saha, a reporter from a regional news channel was covering the nomination proceedings outside the Alipur DM office. She was trying to get information about her assignment and as she was going about her business, a few women accompanied by a few men allegedly approached her and started to intimidate her. To deter these assailants Pragya stated that she is a journalist trying to do her job but to no avail. They abducted her and allegedly took her to a nearby building where they kept intimidating and harassing her all the while constantly asking if there are any photos or videos on her phone. Pragya’s phone was snatched from her but they failed to find anything.

The police in the meantime started searching for her. The assailants got the news and allegedly moved her from that building to a nearby location just behind the Alipur jail. There, the reporter’s phone was formatted by the assailants just in case they may miss something. Police tried tracking her phone and found that she was being held up around Bhawanipur. One would expect that the police would take the initiative to search and rescue her but here the assailants dropped her off in front of Hazra where a police van picked her up. She was missing for over two hours.

Pragya Saha had narrated her ordeal on the TV channel she works for, yet, it is staggering that none of the mainstream media channels and portals, that pretend to be the harbingers of free press picked up the issue.

In front of the same building, on the same day, another journalist was allegedly beaten up mercilessly. A senior journalist from Anandabazar Patrika, the largest Bengali daily in India, was beaten black and blue for doing his job. Two bike-borne assailants allegedly took the journalist to a back ally in the adjacent area and refused to let him go, it was only after other journalists and the Police confronted these two men, that they bailed.

One has to stand in awe of the silence observed by the national media about these incidents. People who more than often feel like press freedom is being eroded in this country did not utter a word about this grave injustice being done to their colleagues. This lopsided view of press freedom may force the mainstream media into paying a price they can not afford.

This is not the first time, the West Bengal government has indulged in censorship, during the Darjeeling protest a channel was taken off the air. An FIR was lodged against a Zee News Anchor for reporting communal tensions on the rise in the state. For a state which has produced so many men of integrity, greatness and many world-class statesmen, it is a matter of shame that democratic progressive principles are being abused and freedom of the press being trampled in broad daylight.

Media misquotes Uma Bharti, twists her statement to project her as anti-Dalit

Sanghamitra
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Media misquotes Uma Bharti, twists her statement to project her as anti-Dalit

Union Minister Uma Bharti recently became a victim of selective misquotation by Media. On Wednesday the senior BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh CM were reported addressing to the public while she made some remarks on eating at a Dalit’s home.

Media houses like Times Now, DNA and CNN News 18 chose to mention only a part of her statement and even misquoted her in their reporting of the statement. DNA report claimed that Uma Bharti has stated that eating at Dalit’s home won’t ‘cleanse’ them. The CNN News 18 report claimed that Uma Bharti has stated, “I am not Lord Ram, I cannot purify Dalits”. The Times Now report stated that Uma Bharti has said that we are not Lord Ram and us having food at Dalit homes won’t make them pure and pious.

As expected the news reports soon grabbed public attention. People began to object to the Minister’s views and even started slamming the BJP for being anti-Dalit. Here are some glimpses:

People soon started to brand this as anti-Dalit mentality and started equating this with a recent incident where BJP MLA was seen having food at a Dalit home but later the homeowner had claimed that the food was not cooked but ordered from outside.

The interesting thing to note here that all the above news reports have referred to the original news reported by ANI which featured the complete statement by the Minister. The said news reports even have the ANI report in the body of the article but for some unknown reasons, have misquoted or half quoted Bharti. The entire statement was as follows:


Even Times Now itself had aired the video clip where Uma Bharti was making the statement. She was reportedly speaking at a Smajik Samrasta Bhoj organised at a village in Naugaon. Samajik Samrasta Bhoj are mass meals events organised by BJP and RSS leaders aimed at propagating social harmony. Dalits and non-Dalits sit down to eat together in these events.


In the video clip the minister is clearly heard saying, “I support these events, but personally, I prefer to invite Dalits to my home to dine with me. We are not Lord Ram that the Dalits will be purified when we dine with them, instead, we will be purified when they visit our home and dine with us.”

As any Hindu will immediately understand, Uma Bharti was referring to the incident mentioned in Ramayana, when Lord Ram accepted berries from the hands of the old Shabri after she tasted them for sweetness herself. The minister clearly states that we are not Lord Ram, she meant that we are mere humans and we will be purified when Dalits grace our home to dine with us. When understood the context, it was indeed a genuine and beautiful sentiment expressed by the minister which News channels chose to twist it in their headlines.

While the body of the articles does have the entire statement and context, the selective quoting and twisting is understandably an attempt to stir controversy when there was none. There have been numerous incidents like this in the recent past when BJP leaders are selectively quoted or misquoted to generate controversy. Caste discrimination stories are the current media favourite. We have seen how the simple issue of plate segregation at a hostel in IIT Bombay was twisted into a casteism story and how the case of the murder of a young man in Gujrat was twisted to show that he was killed for ‘daring to own a horse’. Many of such fake narratives by the media have been busted recently.

Digital media is a powerful weapon and we are living in times where false news can travel fast and can be used by people with vested interests to create unrest in the society. The Bharat Bandh violence across the country is a grim reminder of the fact. The false news that the government is abolishing reservations had stirred unrest and driven people to violence. One wonders why national media houses have a tough time sticking to facts while quoting someone. Given the fact that The Times Group had recently themselves been a victim of fake news circulation when some miscreant altered their headline and doctored images were circulated in the social media, due diligence and avoidance of misleading headlines are expected from media powerhouses.

Ghaziabad madrasa where minor girl was raped, gets shut down for lack of permission

OpIndia Staff
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Ghaziabad madrasa where minor girl was raped, gets shut down for lack of permission

The Ghaziabad madrasa where a minor girl was raped, has now been shut down owing to its lack of permission to operate, as reported by Hindustan Times.

The rape which took place on 21 April, has seen a youth and Muslim cleric being accused of the crime. The incident had later taken a turn for the worse when Islamist trolls had demanded that the minor victim is married off to her rapist, which was also echoed by a student Congress leader. Such a targeted harassment of the girl by these Islamist trolls had left the family traumatised.

As reported, the madrasa which falls under the Sahibabad locality, came under scrutiny after the rape, which resulted in the district minority welfare office conducting an inspection of the office. During the inspection, documents regarding the institution were sought from the NGO which operated it.

But it was later found that no permission was obtained from the minority welfare department to operate the madrasa, with its authorities have only put up a board which called the building a madrasa.

As per Sonu Kumar who is the district minority welfare office, about 4-5 minor students from Bihar were residing in the madrasa building, who have now been sent home.

A Patrika report has claimed that Delhi’s crime branch had analysed the documents related to the madrasa and found that the license of its parent NGO had expired on 30 April. Following this, the madrasa was shut down by the authorities on Tuesday. Besides this, the loudspeaker atop the building was pulled down and restrictions were imposed on carrying out any sort of activities on the premises.

An Amar Ujala report though claims that the operators of the madrasa situated in Nilmani colony were asked to furnish all the registration papers by Monday, which they failed to do. Hence the operators themselves proceeded to shut shop on Tuesday before a team of authorities could reach the spot.

This report also quotes Sonu Kumar as explaining that the NGO named Mehboob Ilani and Sabri welfare society’s registration didn’t allow it to operate the madrasa and a masjid. Besides this, he stated that the NGO’s licence too had expired on 30 April.

Journalist and former Editor of Tehelka under CBI radar for alleged involvement in Chidambaram’s benami deals

OpIndia Staff
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Journalist and former Editor of Tehelka under CBI radar for alleged involvement in Chidambaram’s benami deals

Social media was rife today morning with several reports of ‘journalist’ Upendra Rai being arrested. Some are claiming he is arrested by CBI on bribery charges while there are some reports of him being picked up by CBI for questioning.


Upendra Rai who had joined Tehelka as CEO and Editor-in-Chief in 2016 has been reportedly associated with many shell companies and allegedly lead a lavish lifestyle, unprecedented for a journalist. News website pgurus.com had claimed in many investigative reports on the alleged benami transactions and properties owned by Rai.

As reported in pgurus.com, Rai is allegedly one of the ‘benami’ s of former finance minister P Chidambaram and owned as many as 19 residential buildings in various cities. The buildings reportedly include a 30 crore bungalow in Delhi’s Greater Kailash and flats in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow and a palatial bungalow in his ancestral town. He also reportedly owns a flat in London. As claimed by pgurus.com, he also allegedly owns several luxury cars including an Audi and Maybach. His other indulgences include a 30 crore membership of Delhi’s Gymkhana club and frequent travels in a charter aircraft. Upendra Rai is reportedly only 37 years old and suspicions were raised on how did he manage to amass such wealth in a short span and with a journalist’s salary.

Senior BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has claimed that CBI has also raided Rai’s properties and he might be involved in IPL related money laundering too.


Reports in pgurus.com also claim that Rai allegedly got paid through consultancy agreements via various shell companies, a point of similarity in the Karti Chidambaram’s involvement in the INX Media case. The website had also raised suspicions on why Rai holds a media accreditation card issued by Press Information Bureau despite being placed under the Undesirable Contact Men (UCM) list by CBI. Rai also holds an All Airports Entry Pass by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). As claimed by pgurus, Rai also allegedly earned hundreds of crores by influencing investigations and policy-making through his contacts in the government. Pgurus also claims that Rai took 19 housing loans in between 2014 to 2017 and paid all of them off prematurely. Rai had allegedly been paid in several crores frequently by shell companies like Mumbai based White Lion Real Estate developers. Rai had also reportedly filed an FIR on pgurus.com.

Rai had also been associated with the Sahara Group in the past where he worked as Group CEO and Editor-in-Chief before joining Tehelka and had been associated with other media houses in the past too.

Upendra Rai was accused of threatening and blackmailing investigative officers on behalf of Sahara chief Subrata Roy too. In 2013, Rai was issued a notice by the Supreme Court on charges of the Enforcement Directorate on allegations of threatening and blackmailing the ED investigative team headed by Rajeshwar Singh.

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