India Today journalist Rajdeep Sardesai suffered another instance of humiliation when he tried to outsmart Smriti Irani after the Congress party decided to field a Gandhi loyalist, KL Sharma, from Amethi, and Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli. The video of his interaction with Smriti Irani and locals from Amethi has since gone viral on social media.
In the video, locals interrupt Rajdeep Sardesai as he asks Smriti Irani about the Congress party’s decision to field family loyalist KL Sharma against her. What follows later is the stuff of legend, akin to the boxing saga that Sardesai featured in while reporting from Madison Square Garden. While there was no physical scuffle this time around, the metaphorical assault delivered by the people of Amethi and their leader, Smriti Irani, was a sight to behold as the husband of the TMC Rajya Sabha MP appeared squirming and fidgeting when acquainted with the ground reality in Amethi and adjoining regions.
Asking Irani about why the social indicators of her constituency, Amethi, remain lower than the national average, a poised Smriti Irani reminded the India Today journalist that it was the Gandhi family that should be answering the question as they had ruled over the constituency for over 50 years as compared to her, who got elected as MP only 5 years back.
“They had 50 years and I had 5 years….When we are talking about social indicators, it is important to recognise that the Gandhi family ruled over Amethi for 50 years. They need to answer why despite ruling over Amethi for 50 years, the social indicators of the region are lower than the national average,” Irani shot back.
“Doesn’t that speak about their exemplary and disappointing leadership aptitude?” Irani rhetorically asked, to which Rajdeep Sardesai had to grudgingly respond in the affirmative.
The India Today journalist then spoke about the Congress party’s candidate from Amethi, KL Sharma, stating that the Congress leader had said he knows Amethi like the back of his hand and has worked for 30 to 40 years in the region.
By this time, the locals have had enough of what could be described as prejudiced journalistic practice by Rajdeep Sardesai. The locals surrounding Smriti Irani interrupted the interview. They informed Rajdeep Sardesai that KL Sharma and Congress hadn’t done anything for the region, and it was only after Smriti Irani that the district witnessed unprecedented development.
“I was there in Congress for 25 years, I know everything about them. Nothing has happened in this village when they were in power. When Smriti ji came to power 5 years back, the road you took to come here was 7 meters wide, today it is 14 meters wide. Every gram sabha in the region have received Rs 20-25 crores for development projects like Ayushmaan cards worth Rs 10 crores were distributed in our village, Rs 2 crores were spent on the construction of the water tank, and Rs 2 crore spent on constructing colonies,” the local tells Rajdeep Sardesai.
‘Rs 20 crores have been spent in one gram sabha, there are 1200 villages, do the math,” he further adds.
Ms Irani then made a pithy observation about why the Gandhis abandoned the Amethi constituency. “Mr Sardesai, if the Gandhi family had thought there was an iota of a chance of their victory, don’t you think they’d be fighting?”
Shama Parveen, a Muslim woman from Aurangabad, Bihar decided to return to the fold of Hinduism and made Shivam Verma who is from Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia her life partner. She will now be known as Poonam Devi. She is a resident of Kazichak village in Jagdishpur and has studied till high school. Her spouse who hails from Rajendranagar has passed 8th grade. He works as a craftsman in a bullion shop.
Shivam Verma had travelled to Buxar for his friend’s wedding almost a year prior and met Shama Parveen during the marriage ceremony there. They started chatting and soon their relationship started evolving into love. The two then decided to tie the knot but the girl’s family was against their relationship and opposed it due to which she left her house. The couple had to roam between multiple places for several days.
Meanwhile, someone told them about Pandit KK Shankhadhar of the Agastya Muni Ashram located in Madhinath, Bareilly. They heard he could arrange their marriage and made their way to his ashram. Pandit KK Shankhadhar checked their documents through an advocate and purified Shama Parveen with Gangajal. He has helped many such couples. The pair was then married according to Hindu rituals and the young woman was also given a Hindu name. She chose the name ‘Poonam’ for herself.
She revealed that her ancestors had converted to Islam due to the Mughal invaders but her faith and belief was in Sanatan Dharma and she worships Hindu gods and goddesses. Speaking of the wicked customs such as “halala” and “triple talaq” she asserted that Islam has no regard for women. According to Shama Parveen, she has voluntarily decided to do “ghar-wapsi” and embrace Sanatan Dharma.
She also possesses great reverence for cows, however, she unveiled that her family ate beef in their house. She mentioned that in contrast to all of this, Hinduism has a deep respect for women. Shama Parveen was scared that she could be forced to marry her cousin and took the decision to marry her boyfriend following Hindu customs as soon as possible.
Former Congress Delhi President Arvinder Singh Lovely, who recently resigned from Congress, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday.
Lovely joined the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, BJP General Secretary Vinod Tawde and Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva.
Along with Lovely, former Congress MLAs Raj Kumar Chauhan, Naseeb Singh and Neeraj Basoya and former Youth Congress President Amit Mallik also joined the BJP.
Meanwhile, Arvinder Singh Lovely resigned from the Delhi Congress chief on April 28 and wrote a letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge citing that he was against the alliance between Congress and AAP in Delhi.
“The Delhi Congress Unit was against an alliance with a party which was formed on the sole basis of levelling false, fabricated and malafide corruption charges against the Congress Party. Despite that, the Party made a decision to ally with the AAP in Delhi…,” Arvinder Singh Lovely wrote in his resignation letter.
He also highlighted the comments made by the North-East Delhi candidate (Kanhaiya Kumar), for falsely praising the Delhi CM and endorsing the work done by AAP in the Education, Health, Road and Electricity sector.
“Such ill-thought and factually incorrect statements have not gone down well with the Local Party Unit since, the local party workers had an inherent understanding that the alliance was not done in appreciation of AAP’s false propaganda of the development of Delhi and was in fact, a “compromise- to improve the chances of victory for the Party as part of the National Alliance,” he said.
Voting for all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi is scheduled to take place on May 25, during the sixth phase of the ongoing general elections. The counting for all seven phases is scheduled for June 4.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
In a shocking incident of crime against a minor, a Taxi driver named Haji Muhammad has been booked under the POCSO act for sexually harassing a minor girl who hails from the Dalit community in Rajasthan. It is alleged that the Taxi driver who used to drive her to school, sexually harassed the 12-year-old victim for over a month. After the girl narrated her ordeal with her mother, her family filed a Police complaint. Subsequently, the Police have booked the accused under the stringent Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The accused is currently absconding.
According to reports, the family of the victim, residing in Pali, Rajasthan, had arranged for a taxi to transport their minor daughter to school. The 12-year-old girl used to travel alone in this taxi, making her vulnerable to the ill intentions of 35-year-old taxi driver, Haji Muhammad. The incident came to light when the girl told her mother that the Taxi driver uncle indulged in bad touch.
According to the complaint, finding her alone, the accused Haji Muhammad started inappropriately touching the victim and sexually harassing her. It is further alleged that he sexually harassed her daily for over a month. Narrating the ordeal, the victim stated that he used to ask her to sit in the front seat of the car and would then inappropriately touch her below the waist.
According to the minor, Haji Muhammad used to ask her to touch his body. He used to say to the victim that she should come to him when she grew up. He used to lure the victim by promising her a taxi ride. Additionally, he had also threatened the minor not to tell anything about his acts to her parents otherwise he would kill them.
After enduring sexual harassment for over a month, the victim approached her mother and shared everything with her mother. Later, her family approached the school management as well as the police.
The family members lodged a police complaint against Haji Muhammad. A case has been registered against him under several serious sections including POCSO and SC/ST Act. The minor has also undergone a medical examination. The accused Haji Muhammad has been absconding since the case was registered, and the police are currently conducting raids to apprehend him.
Cab driver Adil Khan accused of raping a woman multiple times after developing an acquaintance and later spiking her cold drink and blackmail
In a separate incident from Jaipur, a cab driver named Adil Khan is accused of raping a woman after developing an acquaintance and exchanging numbers in the garb of cab booking.
According to reports, police said that a 39-year-old woman resident of Rajpark registered a case that she had booked a cab to go to the market in December 2023. Back then, she met cab driver Adil for the first time. Accused Adil Khan claimed to be a resident of Transport Nagar. He asked her to note down his mobile number to book his cab. After that, cab driver Adil started calling her repeatedly and pressuring her for friendship. Along with friendship, he even offered to marry her.
Later, he came home to meet her on 22nd March and brought a cold drink that was spiked with drugs. After giving her the spiked drink, the accused raped her while she was unconscious. It is alleged that he also recorded the act of raping her. When she regained consciousness and protested, accused Adil Khan promised to marry her. He then started sexually assaulting her on the pretext of marriage. When the victim pressed to marry her, he not only refused to marry her but also went on to rape her multiple times by blackmailing her with her obscene videos.
The incident came to light when the victim lodged a report against the accused cab driver at Transport Nagar police station.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led-Delhi government has not provided a single job since 2021, revealed a Right to Information (RTI) obtained by activist Vivek Pandey on Friday (3rd May).
According to the RTI reply, only 28 jobs were provided in 2020 through the employment portal of the Delhi government’s Department of Employment. Since then, no employment opportunities have been provided to the job seekers.
RTI filed to Directorate of Employment exposes a stark reality: Since 2020, only 28 jobs have been provided.
Despite Arvind Kejriwal's pledge to deliver 12 lakh jobs.
When the RTI reply is compared with another RTI filed by activist Vivek Pandey in 2022, we find that the Kejriwal government had provided 176 jobs in 2015, 102 jobs in 2016, 66 jobs in 2017, 68 jobs in 2018 and 0 in 2019.
The total number of jobs, provided through the Employment portal, in the past 9 years (2015-2024) thus stands at 440. This is in complete contrast to the claims of providing 12 lakh jobs to the youth of Delhi by Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal.
Screengrab of the RTI reply obtained in 2022
According to the employment portal of the Delhi government, a total of 16.22 lakh job seekers had registered on the platform launched by the Kejriwal government.
The claims by Arvind Kejriwal of providing 12 lakh jobs to the youth in the National Capital were questioned by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in April last year.
During a press conference, the Assam CM inquired, “He (Arvind Kejriwal) said that his government gave 12 lakh jobs. How he can give this many jobs in seven years when there are only 1.5 lakh job vacancies in Delhi?”
In April 2023, BJP leader Manoj Tiwari also hit out at Arvind Kejriwal for misleading people with inflated claims of employment. “Kejriwal is the biggest liar and the most corrupt and dishonest chief minister in the country. It sounds good that 12 lakh jobs have been given, but it is a false claim as has been proved by a RTI reply of his government itself,” he had said.
AAP defended itself in 2023
At that time, the Aam Aadmi party had defended itself by claiming that the data provided in the RTI was limited to the employment portal and did not account for government and state-wise data on jobs.
“If the BJP leaders were educated enough, they wouldn’t have been embarrassing themselves daily by making such ridiculous statements. They are citing an RTI response of the employment directorate of Delhi government, which itself states that it does not maintain government-wide and state-wide data on jobs generated,” it had claimed.
“Just the number of bus marshals appointed in Delhi’s buses is over 13,000. Delhi government has already presented a detailed summary of 12 lakh jobs created in the city in Delhi Assembly, including nearly 2 lakh jobs in Delhi government,” the party further added.
Former President of Congress party and its current ideologue, Rahul Gandhi officially deserted the family ‘bastion’, Amethi, on 3rd May 2024 to file nominations from Raebareli, a perceived safer seat for the Gandhi scion in the background of 2019 defeat at the hands of BJP leader Smriti Irani in Amethi. While the BJP has cornered the Congress leader with his “Daro Mat” catchphrase, the grand old party in a flurry of tweets described it as a “Masterstroke” and a deft “Chess move”.
A smarter political move has not been witnessed in recent times. A hundred Modis can’t match the political deftness of the Gandhis. #KaunSmriti ?
Pertinent to note, this comes amid Rahul Gandhi’s recent re-launch, for the umpteenth time, as a Chess ‘Grandmaster’. However, this is not the first time the Gandhi scion has “come of age” as a sporting icon, an athletic politician, and a ‘Youth leader’.
Incidentally, the grand old party led by Rahul Gandhi had a strike rate of around 12% and 8% in direct fights against the BJP in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections respectively, exposing the political inefficiency of Rahul, the current Congress ‘ideologue’. Similarly, apart from a few victories of regional Satraps within the grand old party, Congress under Rahul Gandhi has displayed no signs of stabilisation, let alone resurgence. Consequently, the Congress party has been forced to recurrently devise newer plans and re-branding efforts to relaunch Rahul Gandhi that can be aptly summed with the tagline, ‘leader wahi, khel/Avatar nayi‘ (Translation – Same leader in a different game/Avatar).
Rahul Gandhi: The Chess Genius
Recently, Congress party released a short video in which Rahul Gandhi featured as a ‘Chess genius’. He claimed that he defeated his tutor in his first attempt while learning the basic skills of the game at the young age of 7.
Lauding the foresight of Rahul Gandhi, Congress wrote, “Strategy, patience & foresight! (pawn emoji) Just like in chess, Shri @RahulGandhi stays ahead of the game, always thinking several moves ahead!”
In the video released by Congress party, Rahul Gandhi said, “You know, the first time I played chess was when I was seven years old. This person taught me chess, they just taught me the rules, and then I played the game with them. And then the first time I played, I beat them. And they got really angry with me because I beat them.”
According to Rahul Gandhi, “an expert player in the game” can turn the opponent’s most powerful piece to start working for him. Ironically, this sounds akin to the ‘conspiracy theory‘ that the senior-most Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, is the biggest campaigner/asset for his rival party, the BJP.
Replying to the query, ‘What do you like about Chess?’, the Congress leader added, “One of the most interesting things about Chess is once you start to get slightly better at it the opponent pieces actually operate almost like your own. So you don’t just look at your pieces you look at the opponent’s pieces, your pieces, and the board and then very often, it can be the opponent’s piece that is very powerful piece for the opponent is actually working for you.”
Further in the video, Rahul Gandhi explained the similarities between Chess and Politics asserting that the most important skill in both these traits is to “control the centre”. He explained, “In chess, the idea is make sure that you are controlling the centre, and you can apply pressure on the centre from the sides in different ways. But if you don’t understand the centre and you don’t have a view on the centre, you cannot make that properly. In the same way, if you don’t have a clear idea of what you are trying to do in politics, you don’t understand the centre, and it means you won’t be able to operate.”
Rahul Gandhi listed French Defense, Sicilian Dragon, and King’s Indian as his favourite openings and boasted himself as the Best Chess player among Indian politicians.
Further, Rahul Gandhi mentioned Russian Grandmaster Garry Kasparov as his favourite player adding that he puts a lot of psychological pressure on the opponents and is a nonlinear thinker. Incidentally, his favourite player retorted by taking a hilarious dig at the Congress leader.
Notably, an X user shared a sarcastic post about Rahul Gandhi’s chess prowess arguing that he felt relieved for Grandmasters and World Champions Viswanathan Anand and Garry Kasparov that they didn’t have to face Rahul Gandhi, the “greatest chess genius of our time”. Responding to the post, Kasparov took a veiled pot shots at Rahul Gandhi by advicing him to focus on winning Raebareli seat before venturing or challenging greats in other games.
Kasparov wrote, “Traditional dictates that you should first win from Raebareli before challenging for the top!” followed with a laughter emoji.
Traditional dictates that you should first win from Raebareli before challenging for the top! ?
While replying to a few more posts by Indian X users, Kasparov went on to describe Rahul Gandhi’s latest avatar of a ‘pro’ in Chess as some sort of superficial or casual act terming it as “dabbling”. Kasparov argued that while he may not have expertise in Indian politics, he can’t fail to see a politician “dabbling” in his beloved game.
Quoting a post by Ranvir Shorey, he replied, “I very much hope my little joke does not pass for advocacy or expertise in Indian politics! But as an ‘all-seeing monster with 1000 eyes,’ as I was once described, I cannot fail to see a politician dabbling in my beloved game!”
I very much hope my little joke does not pass for advocacy or expertise in Indian politics! But as an "all-seeing monster with 1000 eyes," as I was once described, I cannot fail to see a politician dabbling in my beloved game! https://t.co/MlBnR4PeZ6
I very much hope my little joke does not pass for advocacy or expertise in Indian politics! But as an "all-seeing monster with 1000 eyes," as I was once described, I cannot fail to see a politician dabbling in my beloved game!
The light-hearted banter sparked a frenzy among netizens, prompting them to troll Rahul Gandhi by crafting a Game of Thrones-style introduction reminiscent of that used for Daenerys Targaryen played by Emilia Clarke.
I can’t stop my tears ?. Russian Chess Grandmaster and former World Chess Champion, is trolling our resident Chess Champion/Martial Arts Expert/Hockey Player/Wrestler and leader @RahulGandhi , mercilessly. Kasparov doesn’t know Rahul Gandhi ji is a National shooting champion… pic.twitter.com/K8KrqlY7Ic
Did Congress give Political ‘Nob’ a Sports makeover?
While, his favourite chess player, Garry Kasparov, soiled Rahul Gandhi’s efforts by calling his Chess video a “dabbling” move, the grand old party had earlier exploited his pass time activities to present him as a Sporting legend. They have flaunted these Sporting skills of Rahul Gandhi in furtherance of their efforts to rebrand and catapult him as a “political leader” and relinquish the image of Pappu (De-Pappufication of the Congress leader).
(Congress re-launching Rahul Gandhi again and again aiming to ‘De-Pappufy’ the Congress leader, as once peddled by the Congress sympathising ecosystem.)
(Congress wants ‘De-Pappufication’, hence exploiting Rahul Gandhi’s pass time activities hoping to catapult him as a Sporting legend in National politics)
Strikingly, resembling Gurmeet Ram Raheem’s boastful description about himself, Rahul Gandhi had once introduced himself as a Sports enthusiast and a ‘pro’ in several sporting fieds.
In 2017, Rahul Gandhi had boasted, “I exercise, run, swim & also hold a black belt in Aikido but I never speak of these in public. Sports is important in my life.”
I exercise, run, swim & also hold a black belt in Aikido but I never speak of these in public. Sports is important in my life: Rahul Gandhi pic.twitter.com/UvZqNjQ8df
In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leader flaunted his skills in martial arts. On several occasions, he highlighted that he is a ‘black belt’ in Aikido, a Japanese martial art form.
In 1989,National Rifle Association Of India Certified Rahul Gandhi is Position Holder in 25 Mtr.Centre Fire Pistol @ National Shooting Champ pic.twitter.com/BvwbDnudQx
Until now, Congress has only revealed that Rahul Gandhi is a black belt in Aikido, a national shooting champion, trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu martial art, sword fighting, and an excellent swimmer, among many other secret hidden sporting talents. Additionally, the Congress leader is a trained Pilot and had also learnt the traits of ‘Boxing’.
#WATCH: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi doing push-ups and 'Aikido' with students of St. Joseph's Matriculation Hr. Sec. School in Mulagumoodubn, Tamil Nadu pic.twitter.com/qbc8OzI1HE
While the Congress hoped to use his sports skills to boost his political image nationally, it only fueled critics’ claims that he could excel anywhere but in politics.
Rahul Gandhi has abs, good swiming skills, dimples, and a black belt in Aikido. Sab kuch hai bhai ke paas except one thing needed to become a politician – Dimag.
All these efforts have faced harsh criticism due to the Congress leader’s dismal performance in electoral politics. In the vein of Game of Thrones, while Congress may wish to introduce him akin to how her courtiers introduced Daenerys Targaryen, in the political realm, he has turned out to be more like Jon Snow who knows nothing about ‘electoral success’ and the domain of his choosing.
A 23-year-old woman has been taken into custody for killing her infant by throwing it from the fifth story of her Vidya Nagar apartment in Panampilly Nagar in Kochi. Kerala. The baby was pronounced dead following a postmortem examination and the mother was charged with murder by the authorities. According to the preliminary autopsy results, the infant died from head injuries. Since the woman was a rape victim, the police informed the media that her identity could not be disclosed. The investigation team intends to ask for the woman’s judicial custody after she recovers. She was moved to the Ernakulam General Hospital for treatment.
After she became pregnant, the woman had attempted to abort the child before but her efforts had failed. The woman added that she had searched the internet for information on how to get rid of the baby after he was born. She disclosed to the police that she did the deed out of dread of having given birth to a kid. She mentioned that on 3rd May at about 5 in the morning, she had given birth in the apartment’s bathroom. She then put a piece of cloth in the newborn’s mouth to prevent any cries and used a shawl to choke him. After that, she wrapped the baby in a plastic bag and flung the baby down to the road from the fifth-floor balcony when her mother knocked on the door, even though she had originally intended to ditch the body somewhere. She also contemplated ending her life at that point.
She also unveiled to the authorities that her parents had nothing to do with the incident and were not aware that she was pregnant. The parents have given similar statements as well. However, the cops are suspicious of their involvement and seek to question them once more to acquire more information.
The woman had transferred to a city college a month ago after studying in a nearby state. It has come to the attention of investigators that she was dating a young man from Thrissur whom she had met on social media but she didn’t say anything against him. A case will be registered only if she made any statement against him, per the police.
The corpse was spotted on the road by a school bus driver, wrapped in the plastic cover of an online shopping platform at around 8.15 am and called the police who rushed to the scene immediately. Other accounts divulged that the body was discovered by city cleaning staff who contacted the police. People’s representatives also reached there as well.
According to police, the victim had prepared herself completely for giving delivery in her home’s bathroom. They arrived at the location at about 8.30 am after receiving news that a newborn’s body had been found on a road. An official stated, “There were CCTV cameras installed outside the apartment. When we checked the footage, it was found that around 8- 8.15 am, a cover landed on the road from the top floors of the building. Thus we confirmed that someone living in the apartment had thrown out the body.”
However, when investigators examined the plastic cover next to the body, they made a breakthrough. There was a barcode printed on the Amazon plastic cover. When they scanned it, they found the address to which the package was delivered. “We managed to find a barcode on the plastic cover. After scanning the bar code, we found the address of the accused who was living in a flat on the fifth floor of the apartment. We interrogated the accused and she confessed to the crime,” an officer added.
An investigation into the situation has been launched by the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The Kochi City police commissioner has been asked to provide a report to the commission. KV Manoj Kumar, the chairman of the Child Protection Rights Commission, conveyed that no one should harm newborns if they are unable to safeguard them. “There are many government systems to protect them, including Ammathottil, Children’s Home. They will grow up safe there.”
Meanwhile, a former maid named Sreeja who was fired from the household a few months ago has come forth with statements critical of the family amid these occurrences. Sreeja claimed that she had worked as a maid in the home for almost nine years before her unjust dismissal two months prior. According to her, the family members didn’t converse freely and were usually reticent. Additionally, Sreeja alleged that they owed her a month’s salary. She recounted being dismissed from work when the daughter returned from Bengaluru two months ago. She was taken aback to learn that the daughter was expecting because the girl was constantly using her computer while she was around.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Saturday sought a four-day remand of accused Vinod Chauhan in the Delhi excise policy money laundering case.
The accused, Vinod Chauhan, was arrested by the ED from Goa based in connection with the case on Friday and was produced before the Special Judge in Rouse Avenue Court today.
Chouhan has been arrested by ED for allegedly transferring a cash bribe amount from South Group to the election campaign of the Aam Aadmi Party during the Goa assembly elections in 2022.
ED alleged before the Court that Rs 1.06 cr was seized from Vinod Chauhan. The ED also submitted before the Court that Vinod Chauhan was aware that this money was the proceeds of crime from the Delhi liquor scam.
“Vinod Chauhan transferred this money through hawala routes for Goa elections,” the counsel for ED argued.
Counsel for ED said that Vinod Chauhan could not explain the source of this money.
“We are seeking four days of custody. We have digital, material, and physical records that need to be confronted with Vinod Chauhan. Also would like to confront Chauhan with other accused,” the counsel for ED said.
The federal agency has also arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his party associate and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, K Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, as well as several liquor businessmen and others in the Delhi Liquor Policy scam case.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
On April 9, the Delhi High Court dismissed Kejriwal’s plea for release from jail and rejected his argument of political vendetta amid the looming Lok Sabha elections.
In a recent development, the Supreme Court on Friday said that it may consider hearing on May 7 arguments on the interim bail of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal because of the ongoing 2024 general elections.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has rejected recent remarks by US President Joe Biden describing India as “xenophobic” and emphasised that the country has been open and welcoming to people from diverse societies.
Speaking to the Economic Times, Jaishankar also refuted the allegation that the Indian economy was faltering. The Union Minister said that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government showcases India’s welcoming approach.
On April 2, Biden had said the “xenophobic” nature of India, China, Japan and Russia is responsible for their economic troubles and argued that America’s economy is growing because it welcomes immigrants to its soil. He made the statement while campaigning for his re-election at Washington fundraising event and argued that Japan, along with Russia and China, would perform better economically if the countries embraced immigration more.
“Why? Because we welcome immigrants. We look to — the reason — look, think about it. Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India? Because they’re xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants,” Biden said.
Jaishankar said in the interview published on Saturday said, “First of all, our economy is not faltering.”
“India is always… India has been a very unique country… I would say actually, in the history of the world, that it’s been a society which has been very open… different people from different societies come to India,” he said.
Jaishankar stated that Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government showcases India’s welcoming approach.
He said, “That’s why we have the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), which is to open up doors for people who are in trouble… I think we should be open to people who have the need to come to India, who have a claim to come to India.”
Rejecting the criticism of CAA, Jaishankar said, “There are people who publicly said on record that because of CAA, a million Muslims will lose their citizenship in this country.” He further said, “Why are they not being held to account? Because nobody has lost citizenship.”
During the roundtable on The Economic Times, Jaishankar also spoke on the ongoing anti-Israel protests in American university campuses and criticised a section of the Western media for its biased coverage, suggesting that it is “very ideological” and not “objective” reporting. He said that this section of media wants to shape the global narrative and is targeting India.
In response to a question on reports claiming India’s involvement in targeted killings of terrorists in Pakistan, Jaishankar said, “Terrorists are there in large numbers. Statistically, where they will be in large numbers, things will happen to them. Now they have created an industry which is the terrorist’s industry… things could happen there.”
Meanwhile, hours after Biden termed India, Japan and other nations, “xenophobic,” the White House clarified the President’s intentions, emphasising his “respect” for allies and partners.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre asserted that the President’s comments were part of a broader message emphasising the strength derived from America’s immigrant heritage. She stressed that Biden’s focus remains on bolstering diplomatic relationships with nations such as India and Japan, evident in his actions over the past three years.
“Obviously, we have a strong relationship with, India with Japan, and the President if you just look at the last three years has certainly focused on those diplomatic relationships,” she said.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has once again invoked the derogatory “gaumutra” jibe which terrorists, communists and Islamists regularly use to degrade Hindus in an attempt to attack the Bharatiya Janata Party on 3rd May while he was addressing an election rally in Kankavali, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg district of the state. He claimed, “BJP’s Hindutva is gaumutradhari (cow urine worshipper, meaning regressive). Our Hindutva is reformist. When the INDI Alliance comes to power, I will ensure the lost glory of Maharashtra is reclaimed.” He also accused the Modi government of looting the state.
His remarks followed Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s criticism of the Shiv Sena (UBT) over its Hindutva ideology. He questioned whether Uddhav Thackeray could “mention freedom fighter and Hindutva ideologue, V D Savarkar in his speeches,” slamming the politician. He also condemned Uddhav Thackeray regarding Shiv Sena founder Balashaheb Thackeray’s legacy and charged, “You do not get Balasaheb’s legacy this way. You may be his son, but his legacy is with Narayan Rane, Eknath Shinde and Raj Thackeray. You have abandoned his legacy.”
He also accused Shiv Sena (UBT) of being “nakli” (fake) and asked, “What are you as Shiv Sena chief if you are ashamed of taking Savarkar’s name? You are running a fraudulent Shiv Sena. The real Shiv Sena is with (Chief Minister) Eknath Shinde.” On 7th May, voters in the third round of the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra will cast their ballots in Baramati, Raigad, Osmanabad, Latur (SC), Solapur (SC), Madha, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Kolhapur and Hatkanangle.
Notably, Uddhav Thackeray has frequently mocked Hindus in his speeches by employing the Hinduphobic “gaumutra” barb. Last year he used the term to launch yet another tirade against the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur after the former slammed his faction for joining forces with the Congress Party. “Every time I am accused of going with the Congress and leaving Hindutva, is there no Hindu in the Congress? There (RSS-BJP) Hindutva is Gaumutradhari Hindutva,” he alleged at Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi’s event to show ‘unity and strength.’
“Did our country get freedom by sprinkling cow urine? Did it happen that cow urine was sprinkled, and we got freedom? It was not so. The freedom fighters had made sacrifices, and then we got freedom,” he expressed during a meeting held at Ratnagiri’s Khed village in March of 2023 after the Election Commission decided to hand over the Shiv Sena party symbol to Eknath Shinde’s faction after the original Shiv Sena split into two groups in 2022.
Shiv Sena (UBT) accused the BJP of indulging in what the party called “Gaumutradhari Hindutva” while justifying the activities of the Muslim youths who had broken into the Trimbakeshwar Temple on 13th May of last year in an effort to desecrate the Shivling located in the sanctum santorum. “The threat to Hinduism comes not from Muslim youths offering dhup (burning of incense) but from these gaumutradharis. BJP’s Hindutva is nothing more than cow urine. Their Hindutva is devoid of logic as was seen in the way it handled the recent Trimbakeshwar incident. This Hindutva gang attempted to propagate their hatred throughout Maharashtra by sparking riots in the name of Hindutva, but this conspiracy was foiled by the calm and reasonable residents of Nashik-Trimbak,” the party wrote in an editorial piece in its mouthpiece Saamana.
