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OpenAI signs deal with Financial Times to train its AI models on their content: How the paper repeatedly spread anti-India propaganda

Paurush Gupta
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OpenAI signs deal with Financial Times to train its AI models on their content: How the paper repeatedly spread anti-India propaganda

On Monday (29th April), the Financial Times announced a strategic partnership and licensing agreement with OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind the viral chatbot, ChatGPT. With the collaboration, OpenAI wants to enhance ChatGPT and improve the usefulness of its AI models by incorporating articles or excerpts from the Financial Times. On its part, the FT seeks to develop new AI products and features for its readers. 

After the implementation, ChatGPT users will show summaries and quotes from FT articles, along with links to these articles, in response to their queries. OpenAI will compensate the publisher for using its content to enhance OpenAI’s generative AI capabilities. However, the financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

The Chief Executive of the Financial Times Group, John Ridding said, “This is an important agreement that recognises the value of our award-winning journalism and will give us early insights into how content is surfaced through AI.”

With this, the Financial Times has become the latest major news organisation to strike a content licensing agreement with OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed startup. Over the past few months, OpenAI has signed similar deals with the Associated Press, global news publisher Axel Springer, France’s Le Monde, and Spain-based Prisa Media.

For those unversed, ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence-driven chatbot that was launched in late 2022. It kick-started the Generative AI boom worldwide and remains one of the leading players in the AI chatbot field. It can mimic human conversation and perform tasks such as creating summaries of long text based on users’ prompts (commands/queries).

However, it is pertinent to note that several AI chatbots, including ChatGPT, have been exposed for their anti-India biases and being riddled with wokeism. In our 2023 article titled, ChatGPT – The buzz around it, the inherent biases of the algorithm, its jokes on Hinduism, and more – The basics of the AI-based platform, OpIndia comprehensibly explained the inherent bias of these platforms, which can be traced back to the acute biases of the sources on which they rely. 

Conspicuously, FT, which will be the latest source to train OpenAI’s AI model, heaped praises for its “award-winning journalism” while announcing the strategic partnership. However, the publisher has been notorious for peddling lies, anti-India propaganda, fanning unsubstantiated allegations, baseless rhetoric of Muslim victimhood, conspiracy theories to discredit India’s success story, and unwarranted trespasses in India’s Internal affairs. 

Financial Times publishes shredded Indian Tricolour in its anti-Modi article, disrespecting the Indian flag

In November 2019, the Financial Times published an article where they had shown the Indian national flag in tatters. The FT article by Gideon Rachman showed the Ashok Chakra in the Indian flag broken into pieces. The disrespectful image that undermined the sovereign nation’s dignity and symbols drew widespread condemnation in India.

(FT published an image of Ashoka Chakra in tatters, disrespecting the Indian National flag)

Looking down on India: FT peddled lies claiming PM Modi may have ‘secretly’ taken a foreign dose during the COVID pandemic, had also discredited Indian vaccines

In a bid to mock and discredit India’s success story in vaccinating its large population, Amy Kazmin – the Chief of the Financial Times’ South Asia bureau, had resorted to weaving conspiracy theories around Prime Minister Modi. She had concocted a story saying that PM Modi might have already been vaccinated with a ‘foreign vaccine in secret’ as he did not trust the two Indian-made vaccines.

A report written by Ami Kazmin was published in FT on 26th January 2021, which raised doubts not only over India’s vaccine program, but also claimed that PM Modi had already been vaccinated with a foreign vaccine, but the information was kept secret.

(Like its Western media peers, FT came out publicly to lead a smear campaign against Indian vaccines, alluding that ‘poor Indians’ should take Western vaccines which would save their lives)

The report also spread false propaganda against the Bharat Biotech-manufactured vaccine saying top ‘Indian scientists’ have questioned the decision to use Covaxin.

The conspiracy theories of Amy Kazmin were busted after Prime Minister Modi took his first dose of the Indian-made Covaxin vaccine on 1st March, 2021, during the second phase of the centre’s vaccination drive, when the drive was started for senior citizens.

The Financial Times bats for terrorists, tries to pin blame on India over Nijjar assassination row

After Justin Trudeau strained diplomatic ties with India over the Nijjar assassination allegation against New Delhi, Financial Times tried to pin the blame on India. Like most of the other Western publications, the Financial Times had shifted the burden of proving India’s involvement in the killing of Nijjar from Ontario to New Delhi. It blamed India for being responsible for not denying the allegations convincingly enough for the West’s liking and Trudeau’s failure to furnish evidence that buttressed his claims. 

In November 2023, FT published an article sympathising with Khalistani terrorist Pannun over the alleged assassination plot against the SFJ terrorist. Instead of pondering on why the US has been harbouring terrorists, it claimed that the US govt was worried that ‘India-backed unknown gunmen’ might kill be on a killing spree.  

Financial Times blatantly tried to prove India the ‘weakest link’ in the Quad, despite the quoted experts stating otherwise

In another anti-India diatribe, the UK-based news outlet Financial Times had once declared India as the “weakest link” in the Quad alliance, an informal strategic alliance of four democracies – United States, India, Australia, and Japan to take on China. 

(Western media published articles predicting doom and gloom for India during and post-COVID phase, India proved all their unfound negative assertions wrong)

The piece written by Amy Kazmin and Demetri Sevastopulo claims that the coronavirus crisis that stuck India this year and the subsequent vaccine export ban imposed by the Indian government in response to the pandemic has overshadowed Quad’s intentions to be an alternative to China in the region. Instead, India’s failure has created an opportunity that China is exploiting, claims the report.

‘They were small satellites’: FT had ridiculed ISRO’s achievement of launching a record 104 satellites in one go

When launched 104 satellites into orbit in a single mission, instead of lauding India’s achievements, FT and other Western media outlets chose to snidely point out that many of the satellites were in fact of “smaller size”. The FT had tweeted, “Some of the satellites, owned by the US company Planet, were just 30cm in length and weighed under 5kg.”

FT journalist lied about being ‘kicked out’ of an India-Russia event for its crusade against Adani Group, later admitted that all journalists were asked to leave from ‘close door’ meeting

Last year, FT’s American journalist John Reed claimed that he was thrown out of an India-Russia event on 17th April 2023 over “security concerns”. The event in question was organised by FICCI at  Delhi’s The Leela Hotel. It was titled ‘India Russia Business Conclave’, and had Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov as chief guests. 

Soon, his supposed expulsion was presented as a crackdown on the media outlet, FT, for its reports against the Adani group and its refusal to take down its article on the Adani Group, even after the latter had pointed out that the allegations were “misleading” and “malicious”.

Incidentally, Reed informed on Twitter that he was asked to leave by a Russian and not an Indian.

In a further embarrassment, hours later, many social media users pointed out his fallacy, which forced him to reveal that all the journalists were asked to leave the event as it was converted to a closed-door event four minutes before it started. Simply put, it was a closed-door meeting between the two leaders, and all media persons were asked to leave, the FT scribe cried hoarse claiming that their outlet was being singled out for its “Award-winning journalism”. 

Nefarious agenda of “Interfering in India’s Internal matters” and “Impacting the outcome of Indian elections” 

Marching shoulder to shoulder with its Western peers, FT has been furthering the falsehood of India’s democratic backsliding, anti-Muslim rhetoric, and curbing media freedoms among others. It has been trying to meddle with the Indian election and politics, and acting as if it is also a political player. This includes unwarranted commentary on ongoing legal cases and carrying hit pieces on Indian businessmen and politicians that are perceived as supporters of the Modi government.

The tainted and anti-India reportage of FT and ilks has prompted users to express concerns about the possible fragmentation of the internet into several camps. The development can force nations to come up with their indigenous alternative to make them immune from the extreme biases and nefarious agendas like wokeism of these platforms. 

Incidentally, Google was once forced to apologise after its AI chatbot, Gemini AI refused to acknowledge the existence of ‘White’ people and generated only images of black persons. It drew massive flakes for its wokeist agenda. 

London: Sword-wielding man attacks police officers and civilians in Hainault, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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London: Sword-wielding man attacks police officers and civilians in Hainault, arrested

After attacking two civilians and two police officers on Tuesday (30th April), a 36-year-old man brandishing a sword was arrested in Hainault, in the northeast region of London. The police do not see the incident as a terror attack. The Metropolitan Police was alerted at around 7 am.

The sword-wielding accused man smashed a vehicle into a house in Thurlow Gardens, before stabbing several people. Following the incident, the Hainault Tube station in Ilford has been closed by the police. The police have not disclosed the identity of the attacker yet.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: Police and emergency services are in Hainault at a serious incident in which a man with a sword has been arrested. We were called shortly before 07:00hrs to reports of a vehicle being driven into a house in the Thurlow Gardens area. There were reports people had been stabbed. At this time we understand the suspect went on to attack other members of the public and two police officers. We are awaiting an update on the condition of those injured. A 36-year-old man was arrested at the scene and he is in custody.”

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said: “This must have been a terrifying incident for those concerned. I know the wider community will be feeling shocked and alarmed. People will want to know what has happened and will we provide more information as soon as we can. We do not believe there is any ongoing threat to the wider community. We are not looking for more suspects. This incident does not appear to be terror-related.”

Several ambulances, along with fire and rescue personnel, were also dispatched to the spot Five injured people were treated at the site by London Ambulance Service, and all five were taken to a hospital.

According to a witness to the Hainault incident, at approximately 7:00 BST, he heard screaming and then saw a man in a yellow sweatshirt jump over some fences. “I heard shouting, I heard shrieking…I thought ‘who would be shrieking at this time in the morning? The shrieking sounded like the police – you know when they are ordering someone to stop or to get on their knees or something…it was like that,” the witness said.

“I looked out the back window because the noise was coming from back there, I saw a bloke dressed in yellow jumping over some fences…then he went down an alley like he was going back onto the street again. I saw a policeman and policewoman…normal cops with the short-sleeved shirts… who chased after him and they were shouting for him to put it down,” he added.

A picture of a large grey van with damage on the right side of its bumper has emerged from the attack site. The doors at the back of the vehicle are also open.

Damaged van at the attack site (Source: SkyNews)

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the attack “shocking” and said that there is no place for such violence on the streets of Britain.

“This is a shocking incident. My thoughts are with those affected and their families. I’d like to thank the emergency services for their ongoing response, and pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery shown by police on the scene. Such violence has no place on our streets,” PM Sunak posted.

Notably, there has been a significant surge in street crimes in London in recent times. Just last month, former England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen took to X to voice his concerns about the staggering rate at which street crimes in London are rising. Resharing a post by @CrimeLdn, which had posted a video of a recent knife attack on a train in London, the cricketer labelled London as “a disgrace of a place”.

As reported earlier, the Met Police data showed that London saw a 32% increase in crime in the year ending in April compared to the same period in 2022 with theft being the most common offence. Data shows that throughout the same period, stealing increased by 66% and robbery by 34%. In comparison to 2021, knife crime increased by 25% in 2022 and 12% from March to April of 2023, the data revealed.

As priests are arrested over donations in Tamil Nadu, read how a law brought by the British has taken over Hindu temples with mafia-like grip

Dibakar Dutta
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As priests are arrested over donations in Tamil Nadu, read how a law brought by the British has taken over Hindu temples with mafia-like grip

On Thursday (25th April), the police arrested four Hindu priests for keeping donations (dakshina) left by devotees on puja thalis. The incident took place in Mettupalayam town Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu.

As per reports, the four people were identified as L Saravanan, S Vishnukumar, R Ragupathi and S Thandapani. They work as priests at the Vanabadrakaliamman Temple.

Their only ‘crime’ involves taking home dakshina, left by devotees on Puja plates. Unlike most parts of India where a particular temple administration lays down its own rules of conduct, the Hindu places of worship in Tamil Nadu are managed by the State government.

The administrative control is established through the implementation of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Act of 1959, legislation [pdf] that was supposed to ensure ‘smooth administration’ and ‘proper management’ of Hindu temples and mutts.

According to the HR&CE ‘rules’, Hindu priests are not allowed to take dakshinas left by devotees on puja thalis. They have been directed to submit all donations to the temple hundis, a diktat that has reportedly received the approval of India’s Judiciary.

Assistant Commissioner of HR&CE, U S Kailasamurthy remarked, “There is a government order to this effect. The Madras High Court too has backed the practice and ordered to consider the entire donations, including the collections on the plate, as a temple’s revenue. The four were not following the practice.”

Data furnished by the HR&CE Department of the Tamil Nadu govt in 2022

As a result, the four priests of the Vanabadrakaliamman Temple were arrested for flouting rules made by the Tamil Nadu government and were sent to judicial remand.

This form of governmental interference in the management of Hindu places of worship is not just limited to Vanabadrakaliamman Temple. This is the case for over 38,658 temples and mutts in Tamil Nadu as per the publicly available data.

History behind the controversial legislation

To understand how these centres of Faith fell into the hands of the Executive, we need to dive into the history [pdf] of the State. The temples in present-day Tamil Nadu flourished during the rule of the Pallavas, Cholas, Cheras, Pandiyas and Nayakars.

Following the fall of the majestic Hindu empires and the rise of the East India Company, the temples came under the control of private persons and their families.

There were accusations that the new ‘owners’ of the temple were involved in the appropriation, misuse, and unauthorised sale of properties. The devotees demanded proper management of the Hindu places of worship.

In the year 1817, regulations were issued for the supervision and endowment of temples by the East India Company. To this effect, the Madras Endowments and Escheats Regulation No. VII was introduced and the Board of Revenue was empowered to supervise the temples.

Local agents were appointed to examine the expenditure of temples. About 46 years later in 1863, the Religious Endowments Act was enacted by the then-British government. It made way for local committees, whose members were appointed for life, to oversee the administration of temples.

Over the following decades, several laws were passed under the pretext of enhancing ‘transparency’ in the management of Hindu places of worship.

In 1927, the anti-Brahmin ‘Justice Party’ oversaw the enactment of the Madras Hindu Religious Endowments Act and the constitution of the ‘Madras Hindu Religious Endowments Board.’ For the first time, Executive Officers were appointed to the temples.

Various amendments were made to the legislation in the years 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1939, 1944, 1946 and 1947.

Following complaints to the Indian Law Commission about the supposed ‘misuse’ of temple funds and properties, the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act was enacted in 1951.

This established further control of the government on temples in Madras through the formation of a dedicated Department called ‘Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments.’

The position of the Commissioner was created and powers were vested in him to regulate the functioning of the temples. Besides, a plethora of officers with varying hierarchies were appointed to regulate ‘secular affairs of Hindu temples and Mutts.’

Despite the interference of the Madras government in the management of Hindu places of worship, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Act in the infamous Shirur Mutt case of 1954.

Five years later in 1959, the government enacted the ‘Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act.’ A Hindu Religious Endowments Commission was also formed between 1960-1962.

Tamil Nadu govt controls appointments and finances of temples

Through the ‘Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act’, the State government exercises unprecedented control over the administration, functioning and management of Hindu temples and mutts.

The government appoints the Commissioner, the Joint Commissioner, and the Assistant Commissioner of the HR&CE Department. It also appoints the Board of Trustees of each religious institution (temples and mutts with annual income of more than ₹10 lakhs).

The Commissioner is entrusted to appoint Executive Officers as well as the Board of Trustees for temples and mutts with annual income between ₹2 lakhs -₹10 lakhs.

Similarly, the Assistant Commissioner appoints Board of Trustees for Hindu places of worship with annual incomes less than ₹10000 while the Joint Commissioner does the same for temples and mutts with annual incomes between ₹10000- ₹2 lakhs.

As such, it becomes crystal clear that the Tamil Nadu government directly and indirectly appoints the Board of Trustees of each religious institution under the Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments.

The government is also in charge of the assets of the temples and mutts (both movable and immovable), and controls the finances in the name of ‘improving viability’ and ‘sustained development.’

Moreover, it solicits money from the same temples and mutts to the range of 1.5%-4% under the garb of annual income audit.

Affirmative action over Hindu customs

Since 2006, the Tamil Nadu government has been using Hindu places of worship as its laboratory for affirmative action and social justice, in complete contrast to the age-old traditions of individual Hindu temples and mutts.

Every community (sampradaya) within the Hindu fold has its unique customs and ritualistic way of worship. The community decides the pujaris and the management of the temple.

The Tamil Nadu government overrides this Hindu practice in the name of social equality and appoints archakas of its liking under the HR&CE Act.

To make matters worse, a total of 11 Mutts have lost their character under the supervision of the same Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department. As such, total Mutts in Tamil Nadu have decreased from 56 to 45 as of 2022.

Use of temples for politics

All thanks to the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Act of 1959, the State government has a free licence to use temples and mutts for its political propaganda.

For instance, the DMK government under MK Stalin introduced the ‘Kalaignar Sacred Tree Sapling Planting Scheme’ in memory of party oligarch M. Karunanidhi. The temples across the state were directed to plant one lakh sacred tree saplings under the ‘political scheme.’

In January this year, the Tamil daily Dinamalar published a report stating that the DMK-led-Tamil Nadu government had given ‘unofficial verbal directive’ to temples against conducting special prayers and offering Annadanam (free food) on the occasion of Ram Mandir Pran Prathistha.

The report pointed out that the government has verbally warned temple administrators against organising special programmes on behalf of the devotees.

Several BJP leaders including Tamil Nadu State President K Annamalai had criticised the decision of the Tamil Nadu government, an allegation that it continues to deny in public.

Conclusion

It is thus clear that the Tamil Nadu government had weaponised the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Act of 1959 (with amendments from time to time) to influence, control and even interfere in the religious affairs and practices of the Hindu community.

The controversial legislation traces its roots to the East India Company and the British Empire in India. Instead of doing away with it after Independence, the law was further strengthened to control the appointment of officers, trustees, and even priests of Hindu temples and mutts.

It also gave access to the government to the finances of the Hindu places of worship. The unjustified interference, emboldened by the activism of the Judiciary, has now reached its zenith.

The Tamil Nadu government now gets to decide whether the Hindu pujari can take home the donation (dakshina) left by devotees on the puja thali.

Such is the state of high-handedness of the government in a State that boasts of the maximum number of Hindu temples in India.

UP: Samajwadi Party candidate from Sambhal, Zia Ur Rehman, seeks votes in the name of gangsters Atiq Ahmed, Shahabuddin and Mukhtar Ansari; FIR registered

OpIndia Staff
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UP: Samajwadi Party candidate from Sambhal, Zia Ur Rehman, seeks votes in the name of gangsters Atiq Ahmed, Shahabuddin and Mukhtar Ansari; FIR registered

On Monday (29th April), Zia Ur Rahman Barq, the Samajwadi Party candidate for the Sambhal Lok Sabha constituency was booked for making incendiary statements about deceased gangster-turned-politicians Atiq Ahmad and Mukhtar Ansari. Other than Zia Ur Rahman, five other unidentified persons have also been named as the accused in the case lodged at Kotwali Police Station.

While meeting with residents at the Chaman Sarai locality in Sambhal, Zia ur Rehman, the grandson of the late former MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq, on Sunday, April 28, sought votes in the name of the “Qurbani” [sacrifice] of gangster-turned-politicians Mohammad Shahabuddin, Mukhtar Ansari, and Atiq Ahmed.

In the said speech, the Kundarki MLA said: “Jo Qurbani. Jo Pareshani BJP key time par hui hai. Wo apko zyada bataney ki zarurat nahi hai. Chahey Azam khan ko jail mai dal kar, unke pure pariwar ko jail mai dal kar kiya gaya hai. Chahe hamare Sahabuddin Sahab ho, Atiq Ahmed Sahab ho, Mukhtar Ansari sahab ho, jo unke saath hua hai, who koi bhul nahi sakta. Meri guzarish hai aap sab logon se, kasam hai aap logon ko, ki unki Qurbani ko zaya mat hone dein. Is Bharatiya Janata Party ka supda saaf ho kar rahega. [There is no need to remind you of the sacrifices and challenges faced during the BJP’s rule. Putting Azam Khan Sahab and his family in jail. No one can forget what happened to Shahabuddin Sahab, Atiq Ahmad Sahab, or Mukhtar Ansari Sahab. I urge everyone to vow not to let their sacrifices be forgotten. The BJP must be defeated in the elections].”

“They [the BJP] are trying to instil fear in us by displaying bulldozers but they don’t know that we fear no one except Allah,” he added.

Speaking about the case registered against Zia Ur Rehman Barq, Shrish Chandra, Additional Superintendent of Police (Sambhal), stated that they are reviewing video footage of Zia Ur Rehman’s speech. According to a police officer, the suspects were charged under IPC sections 171-C (undue influence during elections), 153-A (promoting hatred between various groups on the basis of religion and race), and 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant).

The police stated that Zia Ur Rehman characterised “heinous criminals who belong to a particular religion as heroes” in his address, thereby inciting a breakdown of public order.

Notably, Atiq Ahmed was shot dead in police custody in Prayagraj last year, and Mukhtar Ansari died of cardiac arrest in a Banda hospital last month. Former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Azam Khan is presently in Sitapur jail after being convicted in multiple cases.

Reacting to the case registered against him, Zia Ur Rehman Barq said: “When BJP violates the rules, then no action is taken while when I gave a speech, a case is registered. We will not forget this one-sided action…Our time will also come.”

Congress tosses Reetam Singh under the bus: Party confirms he was a ‘war room coordinator’, but claims the fake video was shared ‘in a personal capacity’

OpIndia Staff
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Congress tosses Reetam Singh under the bus: Party confirms he was a ‘war room coordinator’, but claims the fake video was shared ‘in a personal capacity’

On 30th April, Congress confirmed that Reetam Singh, a man arrested for sharing a doctored video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding reservation, was indeed the party’s war room coordination. However, reacting to the fake video he posted, Congress leader and chairperson of the Assam Congress media cell Bedabrata Borah said the post was done by Reetam in a personal capacity and had nothing to do with the party. Congress Party appeared to have thrown Reetam Singh under the bus to save itself from the backlash.

Speaking to Times Now, Borah said that the party has raised the issue of arresting their war room coordinator late at night. He confirmed that Reetam was in judicial custody. When asked about the video, he said, “It was a personal matter. It is not related to Congress. Whatever he has done, he did in his capacity. However, he is Congress’s war room coordinator. Whatever he posted on Facebook or Twitter was done in his capacity.”

The party condemned the arrest and claimed that he was arrested for criticising the government’s policies that were detrimental to democracy. Borah said, “Assam Congress chief Bhupen Borah has also condemned the arrest of Reetam Singh and demanded his immediate release.”

Speaking to IANS, he added, “Reetam Singh was arrested for a tweet; however, no action was taken against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after he issued a provocative statement to set ablaze Sonia Gandhi’s house in the national capital. Thirty cases are pending against Badruddin Ajmal, yet he has not been arrested. The BJP’s way of functioning is a threat to democracy.”

HM Shah criticised Congress for sharing a fake video

Reacting to the fake video, Union Home Minister Amit Shah played both real and fake video during a press conference and said, “Giving quota on religious lines is unfair and cannot be allowed. We have already removed it in Karnataka. This was what I had said in the video. The fake video twisted it to say the BJP will scrap all reservations.” He added that the BJP would not remove reservations for SC, ST and OBC and would not allow anyone to do so. “This is Modi’s gaurantee,” he added.

HM Shah said, “Rahul Gandhi says that if the BJP gets 400 seats, it will remove reservations. I want to say that we had a full majority for two terms, but Narendra Modi is a supporter of reservation. I want to say that it is a Modi guarantee that neither will the BJP remove reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs nor will it allow anyone to do so.”

“The Congress has now resorted to misleading citizens with fake videos out of panic and fear of defeat. The right to reservations in the country belongs to SC, ST, and OBC brothers and sisters, and as long as the BJP government is in office, no one can change it. The INDI Alliance has given reservations to Muslims, reducing the share of SCs, STs, and OBCs. Congress is misleading people by editing a speech of mine in which I committed to abolishing the unconstitutional reservations for Muslims. Directions have been issued to the police to address this issue as per the law. If you come across any such fake video anywhere, please inform us about the details of the disseminator. We will take strict action against the culprits,” HM Shah said in a post on X.

Reetam Singh, one of the fake news peddlers on social media arrested in a doctored video case, has a history of not only sharing fake news but also threatening people. In fact, he has been threatening OpIndia’s editor-in-chief Nupur J Sharma for years. He tried to doxx and leak the address and other personal details of Nupur J Sharma after OpIndia reported that he was linked to anti-CAA protests.

Is Congress planning Shiva vs Ram? Kharge promotes Chhattisgarh candidate Shivakumar Dahariya saying ‘Shiva can give a tough fight to Ram’

OpIndia Staff
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Is Congress planning Shiva vs Ram? Kharge promotes Chhattisgarh candidate Shivakumar Dahariya saying ‘Shiva can give a tough fight to Ram’

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge made a controversial statement during a rally in Chhattisgarh’s Jangir-Champa constituency. While promoting Congress candidate Shivakumar Dahariya, Kharge emphasised his name ‘Shiva’ and remarked that he could rightly compete with Ram.

“His name is Shiva and Kumar. He can give a tough fight to Ram because he is a Shiva. Even my name is Mallikarjun, which means Shiva,” Kharge said, a video of which has gone viral on the internet, with many raising questions over whether Congress intends to divide the Hindu votaries with Shiva and Ram reference. 

It is worth noting that several senior Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, had declined an invitation to the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Mandir organised on January 22, 2024. 


The decision ignited a political firestorm, with the BJP accusing the main opposition party of standing against Lord Ram and the beliefs of millions. Congress had once even questioned the existence of Lord Ram. It had allied with the DMK in Tamil Nadu, a party whose leaders have often made hateful remarks against Sanatana Dharma, most notably Udhayanidhi Stalin, who had last year compared Sanatana Dharma to dengue and malaria that “need to be eradicated”.

Telangana: How Congress fooled the public, once again, in the name of 6 guarantees they gave during assembly elections

S. Sudhir Kumar
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Telangana: How Congress fooled the public, once again, in the name of 6 guarantees they gave during assembly elections

In the run-up to the Assembly elections of Telangana, the Congress announced 6 guarantees for the people of Telangana. As elections started nearing, current Telangana CM Revanth Reddy repeatedly promised that he will implement ALL guarantees within 100 days of coming to power. The conviction in his tone was believed by the people of Telangana, and they voted the Congress to power.

First of all, what are these 6 guarantees? Below is a variant of the info-graphic that Congress used in all newspaper ads and through all their official handles.

Image via Telangana Congress X handle

It is a very well-designed info-graphic that gives you the first impression that there are actually only 6 guarantees in the promise. A second look, and you will realise how the Congress scammed you even with something as simple as a number! A closer perusal of the document shows that the actual guarantees being promised are 13 in number, and not 6! Almost every “Guarantee” has sub-guarantees included in them.

  • Guarantee # 1 is titled Mahalakshmi, and has a total of 3 sub-guarantees.
  • Guarantee # 2 is titled Rythu Bharosa, and has a total of 3 sub-guarantees.
  • Guarantee # 3 is titled Yuva Vikasam, and has a total of 2 sub-guarantees.
  • Guarantee # 4 is titled Indiramma Indlu, and has a total of 2 sub-guarantees.
  • Guarantee # 5 is titled Gruha Jyothi, and is the only guarantee with no sub-guarantees!
  • Guarantee # 6 is titled Cheyutha, and has a total of 2 sub-guarantees.

It is now very clear that Revanth Reddy wanted to get away with implementing any 6 out of these 13 Guarantees within 100 days and claim that he kept his promise. I must say, it was a very innovative way of doing a scam! Now, let’s take a look if he actually executed this intelligent scam. The Congress government completed 100 days on March 17th, 2024. The election code kicked in on March 16th, 2024. In the above info-graphic:

  • Guarantee (1) has 3 sub-guarantees.
    • The 2500/- per month to every woman scheme, has NOT been started at all.
    • Oher 2 Sub-Guarantees are being implemented.
  • Guarantees number (2) and (3) have NOT even started.
  • Guarantee (4) has 2-sub guarantees.
    • The “250 sq.yards plot for all movement fighters” has NOT been initiated at all.
    • The “House site and 5 lakh for people not having own house” is only PARTIALLY started now (announced only in the 1st week of March for a limited set of people)
  • Guarantee (5) has been announced and is being implemented from March 1st.
  • Guarantee (6) has 2 sub-guarantees.
    • The “4000 rupees monthly pension” has NOT been started at all.
    • The increase in health insurance was perhaps the easiest one to implement and is under implementation now

So, that essentially means that only 4 out of the promised 13 guarantees (in 100 days) are currently being fully implemented. If you want to give credit for partially implemented promise, then Congress is implementing only 4.25 out of the promised 13 guarantees! Let’s for a moment not even delve into this much detail and just go by the slogan “6 Guarantees” that were promised in 100 days. Even among those, only 4 are being implemented which is a clear violation of the vehement promise CM Revanth Reddy gave before the elections.

Outside of these 6 Guarantees, Revanth Reddy also promised a loan waiver program for the farmers, again within 100 days. Caught openly with this lie, Revanth Reddy now promised a new date for only this promise – August 15th!

Caught in a quagmire over his unkept promise, Revanth Reddy is using a new strategy. He is openly telling people that if they don’t vote for the Congress party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, then it will be very difficult for him to provide these “guarantees”. It is a really strange argument but it is also not surprising because this has been the Congress DNA – to threaten voters with dire consequence for trusting them in the first place. The voters trusted Revanth Reddy when he said he will fulfill ALL guarantees within 100 days. Voters are obviously angry that he did NOT keep his promise. Instead of apologising to them, Revanth is threatening them that if they don’t vote for Congress, they will not get the other guarantees as well!

Revanth Reddy has been constantly claiming that the Lok Sabha election is a referendum on his 4-month rule. The media also went gaga over him and his working style. Revanth Reddy is also going national, with his appearances on various channels, and is eloquently explaining Rahul Gandhi’s divisive agenda in these interviews! The hard reality is that the Congress has yet again cheated people with false promises and is now threatening the very same people with dire consequence. After all, old habits die hard!

Amit Shah doctored video row: Jignesh Mevani’s PA and AAP worker arrested; complaint filed against 16 including INC, NCP (Sharad Pawar) workers

OpIndia Staff
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Amit Shah doctored video row: Jignesh Mevani’s PA and AAP worker arrested; complaint filed against 16 including INC, NCP (Sharad Pawar) workers

At least two members associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress respectively have been arrested in connection with the alleged fabricated video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The arrested persons, identified as Satish Vansola and RV Varia, were arrested on Tuesday (30th April) by Ahmedabad’s Cyber Crime Department. Vansola is the personal assistant to Congress leader Jignesh Mevani.

Lavina Sinha, DCP, Zone-1, Ahmedabad, stated that an edited video of the Union Home Minister was posted on social media from two Facebook profiles. “We have filed an FIR under sections 505A, 1B, 469, 153A and IT Act.”

She stated that the videos were posted on the Facebook profiles of two persons named Satish Vansola and RB Bariya. “We nabbed both of the suspects yesterday. The primary inquiry revealed that they are affiliated with political parties. An additional investigation is underway,” she added.

According to BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya, a video of Amit Shah was manipulated to distort his comments on Telangana’s Muslim minority quotas.

“Congress is spreading an edited video which is completely fake and has the potential to cause large-scale violence. Home Minister Amit Shah spoke about removing the unconstitutional reservation given to Muslims, based on religion, after reducing the share of SCs/STs and OBCs. This fake video has been posted by several Congress spokespersons. They must be prepared for legal consequences,” Malviya said in an X post.

On Tuesday, the Union Home Minister also slammed the Congress, stating that the opposition should contest elections based on manifestos rather than bogus videos. Shah stated that politics has reached a new low under Rahul Gandhi.

Mumbai Police also books 16 Congress and NCP (Sharad Pawar) supporters in the case

Meanwhile, the Mumbai police have filed a case against the Maharashtra Youth Congress social media handle and 16 people for allegedly spreading a deepfake video of Shah.

Mumbai BJP functionary Pratik Karpe is said to have filed a case at the Bandra Kurla Complex cyber police station on Monday (29th April). OpIndia has obtained the said complaint copy. 

“Union Home Minister Amit Shah never made any statement about cancelling reservations to SC/ST or OBC, this video is fake. Publishing such fake videos is an attempt to malign and tarnish Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with the Bharatiya Janata Party and an attempt to create a rift among various sections of the society. And hence, if certain anti-social elements are resorting to attempts to spoil the harmony and peace in society by indulging in such malicious deeds, immediate action must be taken against them,” Karpe said while exclusively talking to OpIndia.

The 16 persons booked by the Maharashtra Police include Congress supporters and NCP (Sharad Pawar) supporters.

Meanwhile, Jignesh Mevani claimed he could not endorse such fraudulent videos or propaganda. “I condemn all such actions, but no one should be targeted during elections. Satish (Vansola) is like a brother to me, and I am delighted to have him as a friend. However, he is never the type of person who intentionally commits something awful. I’ve known him for six years,” the Gujarat Congress leader said.

On Monday (29th April), the Delhi police summoned Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on May 1 for questioning on the issue. According to the reports, notices issued to five Telangana Congress members, including its president Reddy, who posted the video on X, were sent to the CM’s office and the party office at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad on Monday by Delhi Police’s Special Cell.

They have been asked to appear with their mobile phones, laptops, tablets, or any other electronic equipment used to make, publish, and tweet the video on their X accounts.

‘I will do everything in my power to oppose his candidature’: AAP leader Waqar Choudhary accuses party’s East Delhi candidate Kuldeep Kumar of serving him pork

OpIndia Staff
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‘I will do everything in my power to oppose his candidature’: AAP leader Waqar Choudhary accuses party’s East Delhi candidate Kuldeep Kumar of serving him pork

On 18th April, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Mohammed Waqar Choudhary released a video statement on Instagram saying that AAP’s Lok Sabha Elections 2024 candidate and sitting MLA Kuldeep Kumar offered him pork. He said that Kumar’s actions hurt him deeply and demanded party leaders to remove Kumar as cadidate from East Delhi. “Otherwise, I will do everything in my power to oppose his candidature,” Choudhary said.

In his video statement, Waqar Choudhary said, “I am feeling very hurt since Kuldeep Kumar offered me ‘Jangli’ meat. I am unable to sleep. I am unable to find peace. This is why I made this video so that you all know the reality. A day before yesterday, Nitin and me went back to Kuldeep’s office after completing the work at Okhla at around 12:30 AM. I was starving. I asked him if there was something to eat. He said there was non-veg and offered me to eat. I asked what was there in non-veg. He said it does not matter as all non-veg are same. I got suspicious.”

“Earlier, Kuldeep Kumar had asked me if I eat ‘Jangli’ meat. I told him such humour is not in good taste. At that time, he straightforward offered me and said what difference it would make if I eat ‘Jangli’ meat. I want to tell him with heavy heart that Kuldeep Kumar, you have narrow mind. You are offering a Muslim ‘Jangli’ meat. If we take its name, our prayers are not accepted for 40 days. You want to feed me, a Haji, such meat? You should be ashamed. I want to ask the top leadership to replace Kuldeep Kumar from East Delhi. Bring some other candidate. We will win,” he said.

In the extended version of the video that is going viral on X, Waqar adds that if party did not remove Kuldeep’s cadidature from East Delhi, he would revolt against him and do whatever he could to oppose him.

The next day, he came live on Facebook and Instagram. He alleged that AAP workers threatened him and sent him abusive messages for coming out against Kuldeep Kumar. He further added that he was asked how much money he took from the Bharatiya Janata Party to speak against Kumar. He said, “I am not someone who takes money, but I am someone who spends money on party work.”

He further added that he has a recording of the incident when he asked him if he eats pork at his house and if he would share it with relevant people. Speaking about AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal being in jail, he said, “Because of the top leadership in jail, these people are abusing and threatening me. If Kejriwal had not been in jail he would have understood my pain, a party worker’s pain.”

On the same day, Waqar Choudhary released another video outside DCP Office, East District, Delhi, and said, “I am getting threat calls and messages continously. I fear my life. I have filed a complaint at DCP Office and the DCP assured me that they will take care of the security of me and my family.”

On 25th April, Waqar led a march comprising of AAP workers and supporters against Kuldeep Kumar in the East Delhi constituency.

On 29th April, Waqar held a press conference with AIMIM Delhi State President Shoaib Jamai and accused AAP and BJP of using Muslims for their own benefits. He said, “Both the parties are same. They insult Muslims to get votes.”

Lok Sabha Elections 2024

Two phases of voting for Lok Sabha Elections 2024 have completed so far. Next phase of polling will take place in 6th phase on 25th May. The last phase of voting will take place on 1st June and the results will be announced on 4th June 2024.

Kerala: Rules flouted, terrorists, murderers, and religious extremists kept together in same block in Thiruvananthapuram Jail during Ramzan – Report

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: Rules flouted, terrorists, murderers, and religious extremists kept together in same block in Thiruvananthapuram Jail during Ramzan – Report

In a shocking development, local media in Kerala have stated that hardcore terrorists, murderers, and members of religious extremist organisations stayed together in the same block in the Central Jail during Ramzan, flouting jail rules. The reports have also made serious allegations against the Jail administration. The administration has been accused of letting the ‘religious extremism classes’ take place as well as “providing” facilities like ‘furniture’ for the meetings, allowing drug money to flow, and also of ‘financial’ quid pro quo. 

Alleging that the Thiruvananthapuram Central Jail is turning into a hub for ‘Religious extremism classes’, the reports added that Muslim prisoners stayed in the same block for 32 days on the occasion of Ramzan which was in direct violation of prison rules. During that time, they were provided an opportunity to organise. Flouting jail rules, the terrorists were reportedly allowed to live in same cell. It is further alleged that the gatherings used to take place to give classes on religious extremism as well as terror-related activities. 

As per reports, around 84 such hardcore terrorists, anti-India, and anti-social elements were allowed to stay together in one block on religious grounds. The hardcore inmates allowed to gather in one place included terrorists, inmates convicted in cases of treason, individuals convicted in murder cases, terrorists involved in the Ranjit Srinivasan murder case which is under NIA investigation, other murder suspects, and members of religious extremist groups. It also included inmates who had been convicted in drug and murder cases, inmates who hail from other states, and those who came from countries like Bangladesh and were caught in terrorist activities, all of them were allowed to organise in one place. 

During these gatherings in the month of Ramzan, the terrorists reportedly took classes. It is said that they were giving classes to exterminate people of other religions, fight against the country, and eliminate specific individuals. They have also made shocking revelations that the convicts also discussed carrying out terrorist activities after their prison sentences were over. 

The reports have also accused the jail administration of providing many facilities to these hardcore convicts inside the jail. They allegedly provided all the facilities including furniture for the meetings. The inmates are also reportedly getting huge financial help from outside.

As per reports, if these hardcore terrorists and criminals organised on religious and political lines or tried to riot in the jail, instead of taking action, the jail administration allegedly provided facilities to them. 

According to the reports, the developments of these terrorists and hardcore criminals in the prison have left other inmates in fear. They are being forced to fall into the trap of the gangs of these hardcore convicts.

On 12th April, the inmates of the fourth block of the jail, who were not ready to gather together and pray, were brutally assaulted. Although the victims complained in writing, the authorities did not take any action.

The reports noted that some inmates had filed complaints about these incidents but the jail authorities did not act. 

It is pertinent to note that the reports added that the opportunity to get together for the class continued even after Ramzan. However, reports also mentioned that such illegal treatment was not given in prison during Ramzan fasting in previous years. 

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