The Kerala Police have reported the registration of 42 cases in the state concerning cyber attacks, the dissemination of fake news, derogatory remarks against women, and the spreading of false information regarding electronic voting machines (EVM).
Taking to its official ‘X’ handle, the Kerala Police informed about the registration of 42 cases.
The police have also said that these offenses are linked to inciting hatred in connection with the ongoing Lok Sabha elections through various social media platforms.
In response, the authorities have vowed to take stringent action against individuals responsible for creating and sharing such malicious content, with a focus on preventing the spread of hatred and animosity in society.
To maintain peace and prevent hatred, the authorities have enhanced surveillance measures. They are also ensuring round-the-clock monitoring of all social media activities. According to the police, all social media will be under strict police surveillance 24 hours a day.
While voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 began on Friday across 102 parliamentary constituencies spread over 21 states and Union Territories, all 20 constituencies in Kerala will go to the polls on April 26 in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
The mega seven-phase electoral exercise commenced at 7:00 am. Voters will exercise their franchise until 6:00 pm.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
On Wednesday (17th April), dubious ‘fact checker’ Mohammed Zubair promoted a propaganda-laden documentary, produced by a Pakistani ‘journalist’ named Shehzad Hameed Ahmad.
The documentary was aired on Channel NewsAsia (CNA), which is owned by Mediacorp (State-owned media conglomerate of Singapore), on 12th April this year. The 46-minute-long film claimed to expose the ‘fake news industry’ in India.
Titled ‘India’s War On Fake News: How Disinformation Became India’s #1 Threat’, the documentary produced by Ahmad found several takers in India including Islamists and the Congress ecosystem.
A must watch documentary by Singapore based @ChannelNewsAsia on Indian Fake News Industry. The person (Internet Trolls / Cyber Cipahis) in the video claims, The BJP IT Cell employs freelancers with a monthly salary ranging from 40,000 to 50,000 rupees to spread Pro Govt… pic.twitter.com/EmXCVi4qiG
Mohammed Zubair, who runs the fake news outlet Alt News, tweeted a clip of the documentary and alleged, “A must-watch documentary by Singapore based @ChannelNewsAsia on Indian Fake News Industry.”
“The person (Internet Trolls / Cyber Cipahis) in the video claims,The BJP IT Cell employs freelancers with a monthly salary ranging from 40,000 to 50,000 rupees to spread Pro-government propaganda and to defame Opposition Leaders etc,” he claimed.
Congress spokesperson Lavanya Ballal Jain, also popular for spreading fake news, retweeted the post of Zubair to amplify the claim that BJP IT Cell is somehow involved in peddling fake news against its rivals.
Screengrab of the retweet by Lavanya Ballaljj, image via X/ @Iyervval
According to the LinkedIn profile of Shehzad Hameed Ahmad, the man behind the controversial documentary, he has worked for Star Asia Private Limited, Dawn News, Allainet Corporation, Capital TV and Utrade Private Limited in Islamabad.
The Pakistani ‘journalist’ had been championing the cause of ‘secularism’ in India for the past several years. He produced a three-part documentary series titled ‘In Bad Faith’ in 2021. One of the episodes (50 minutes long) was on the supposed rise in saffronisation in India.
The documentary insinuated that India has deviated from the ethos of ‘secularism’ to Hindu-first majoritarianism under the influence of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Ahmed has also produced ‘award-winning’ documentaries on India’s secular image. Not surprisingly, the Pak-origin filmmaker has never produced anything on religious freedom in #Pakistan. He though, has been issuing ‘secularism’ certificates to India.
As per reports published in Pakistani media, the anti-India propaganda of Shehzad Hameed Ahmad bore fruits as the episode targeting India won the 2022 Association of International Broadcasting Award at the London Film Festival.
Interestingly, he had also been the recipient of Pakistan’s Agahi Journalist of the Year award in 2016.
According to the popular Open Source Intelligence handle ‘OSINTwa_com’, Ahmad is yet to speak on the plight of religious minorities (Hindus, Christians and Sikhs) suffering facing persecution in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
His love for India is quite visible – from giving anti-India remarks at an event post the #Leicesterriots to abusing the Indian Cricket Team (ICT) to seeking separation of #Kashmir from India. A few of his vocab gems include addressing the ICT as “pussy cat” & his expression… pic.twitter.com/mNzu7cJno9
He was also seen referring to the Indian cricket team as ‘pussy cat’ on Facebook and peddling pro-Islamist narrative on the anti-Hindu Leicester riots, which took place in 2022.
In 2022 Ahmad made a ‘documentary’ on India supporting the blacklist of India for sliding religious freedom by Pak Jamaat-infiltrated #USCIRF. And now he has decided to pontificate on #fakenews in India?!
Shehzad Hameed Ahmad was also seen advocating for India’s blacklisting by the controversial United States Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
In his documentary, the Pakistani ‘journalist’ also featured the likes of Raqib Hameed Naik, an Islamist endorsed by Mohammed Zubair in his recent X (formerly Twitter) post.
Here's an interview by @raqib_naik who along with his team of volunteers runs @HindutvaWatchIn known for documenting Hate speeches across India. Their @X ID was withheld in India in Govt's request. Yes Documenting hate speeches come with a price to pay. pic.twitter.com/MJeIBDQvGH
A vicious fake news peddler, Raqib Hameed Naik is the founder of anti-Hindu disinformation outlet ‘Hindutva Watch.’
He is also infamous for denying the Hindu genocide, perpetrated by radical Islamists in the Kashmir Valley, in the early 1990s. Naik had also mocked the Hindu ‘Shivling’ found inside the Gyanvapi mosque in Kashi.
BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from central Chennai, Vinoj Selvam has accused the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) of creating mock EVMs near polling stations across the city.
Is this allowed @ECISVEEP ! We have been making frantic calls to officials to act. In the next 60 minutes I will sit dharna on mount road if the authorities don’t act. @chennaipolice_pic.twitter.com/avbZpp6f3U
— Vinoj P Selvam (மோடியின் குடும்பம்) (@VinojBJP) April 19, 2024
Selvam shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, wherein some people have set up a makeshift desk on the streetside and are sitting with a mock EVM to allegedly show voters which symbol to vote for.
This is happening throughout central Chennai. Please act @ECISVEEP Blatant violation of rules by DMK. Location : Naduvankarai, Anna Nagar AC. pic.twitter.com/zT3znocvkK
— Vinoj P Selvam (மோடியின் குடும்பம்) (@VinojBJP) April 19, 2024
“Is this allowed @ECISVEP! We have been making frantic calls to officials to act. In the next 60 minutes I will sit dharna on mount road if the authorities don’t act. @chennaipolice_,” the BJP candidate wrote on X.
In another post an hour later, he shared an image showing a DMK booth. He claimed that this is happening across central Chennai and demanded action from the Election Commission of India. “This is happening throughout central Chennai. Please act @ECISVEEP Blatant violation of rules by DMK. Location: Naduvankarai, Anna Nagar AC.”
Some videos were also shared on X by journalist Bhavya Dilipkumar claiming that three voters were sent back because their vote was already cast by someone else.
“Row erupts at Chennai Central election booth (Poll Booth no. AV 109) on voting day as around three citizens were sent back because their vote was already cast by someone else,” she wrote on X sharing a video of an altercation between voters and officials.
Meanwhile, Satyabrata Sahoo, Chief Electoral Officer in Tamil Nadu, said on Friday that the Chennai Central constituency witnessed minimum voter turnout as the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were delayed at some places due to technical faults.
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi and his wife Lakshmi cast their votes at a polling booth in Chennai during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections on Friday. Governor RN Ravi also urged people to turn up enthusiastically and do their democratic duty.
Bharatiya Janata Party South Chennai candidate Tamilisai Soundrajan also cast her vote in Saligramam in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Voting is underway in all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu today.
India began voting in the world’s largest election on Friday (19th April), with Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a historic third term. While the opposition parties led by Congress formed an alliance to face together the giant national ruling party, BJP, the fact is that the alliance participants are fighting amongst themselves amid the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 in various constituencies.
The I.N.D.I.Alliance which is plagued by internal chaos, confusion, rivalry, and a propensity to undermine its own partners within the coalition has failed to field a joint candidate in several crucial battleground states, including Uttar Pradesh, which holds the highest number of Lok Sabha seats, and West Bengal, which ranks third in terms of seat count.
As per a report by India Today, it has come to the fore that the alliance members are fighting for over 100 Lok Sabha constituencies against each other. As per the data, the alliance members in the state of West Bengal are contesting against each other for around 40 seats and 20 in Kerala.
They are also contesting against each other for 6 seats each in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh, 5 in Maharashtra, and 4 each in the states of Assam and Jammu and Kashmir. This shows the disturbed coordination among the alliance party members.
Following several unproductive opposition bloc meetings, the I.N.D.I. Alliance coalition established a 14-member coordination committee in September of last year at a conference in Mumbai. However, if the committee is functioning at all, it has proven unsuccessful as a structural entity, failing to address the chaotic and fragmented handling of organizational issues like seat-sharing, inter-party coordination, and the resolution of rising internal tensions.
The central committee delegated all strategic decisions to regional subcommittees, which have no structural existence and function as a fluid coterie of ‘chosen’ elites. The huge divergence in electoral strategies between the coalition partners was evident during Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Jodo Yatra. The coalition partners clearly questioned the logic for holding the Yatra during the election season, when parties needed to focus on making critical election-related organizational choices, particularly candidate selection.
However, after missing the desired seat-sharing deadline of December 31st, the surviving members of the I.N.D.I. Alliance reached an agreement on a seat-sharing formula for Maharashtra, Bihar, and Jammu and Kashmir this week. This development came just a week before the first wave of polling, giving candidates little to no time to prepare for the campaign road.
Surprisingly, the I.N.D.I. Alliance suffered serious blows in the early stages of election politics while attempting to portray a united front with strong joint candidates in at least 400 constituencies against the BJP. Several significant alliance members left the group, including the TMC in West Bengal, the CPI(M)-led LDF/Congress-led UDF in Kerala, AAP in Punjab, PDP in Kashmir, and JD(U), to join the NDA.
Furthermore, efforts to court ‘third front’ parties, particularly the sought-after inclusion of the BSP in the grand alliance, were eventually unsuccessful. Overall, the coalition has failed to accomplish its early goals, producing few tangible results and losing numerous losses.
JDU joined hands with Bihar and TMC parted ways with Congress
In an unexpected turn of events, Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar quit as the Bihar Chief Minister on 28th January and decided to form the state government in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners in Bihar. This left the I.N.D.I.Alliance partially crippled until the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal decided to part ways with the Congress.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in January declared that the TMC would not form an alliance with the Congress for the Lok Sabha polls. “I had no discussions with the Congress party. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I am not concerned about what will be done in the country but we are a secular party and in Bengal, we alone will defeat the BJP,” Banerjee was quoted as saying.
CPIM and Congress in Kerala accuse each other of developing an ‘understanding’ with BJP
Interestingly, a similar situation has emerged in the state of Kerala where the CPIM and the Congress who are allies nationally are playing blame game and accusing each other of having an ‘understanding’ with the BJP. Rahul Gandhi on Thursday (18th April) questioned why the ruling party, the Centre, is not attacking Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, despite two chief ministers from the bloc being in jail. He questioned why the Chief Minister of Kerala is not being attacked, stating that people should consider this issue.
“Two chief ministers are in jail. How come this is not happening to the Chief Minister of Kerala? I am attacking the BJP 24×7, and the Chief Minister of Kerala is attacking me 24×7. This is a bit puzzling. He (Vijayan) says that he is ideologically fighting the BJP, but I know that when you fight the BJP ideologically, they attack you with everything they have. However, there is no attack on the Chief Minister of Kerala. This is something people of Kerala should think about,” the Congress leader said.
In 2020, the Enforcement Directorate launched an investigation into a gold smuggling scam that resulted in the arrest of the Chief Minister’s former principal secretary. The ED is also looking into an illicit payment issue involving Vijayan’s daughter, Veena.
The Congress, which is in a national coalition with the CPI(M) but not in Kerala, has claimed that the Central agency was lenient on these instances, implying a link between the BJP and the Left party. Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan meanwhile has repeatedly attacked Rahul, accusing him of being silent on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act after its regulations were announced last month.
On Wednesday at Palakkad, Vijayan said, “Why is the Congress, especially Rahul, mute on CAA? Congress must declare that they share the Sangh Parivar’s attitude against the CAA.”
AAP in Punjab also decided to fight individually
The series of shocks the Congress received from its own ‘ally’ members was worth noting when even the Aam Aadmi Party after the JDU and TMC, decided that it would fight alone from the state and that it wouldn’t ally with the Indian National Congress.
Punjab chief minister’s statement came at a time when AAP and the Congress were discussing seat sharing in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Goa, and Gujarat for general elections in the country underway. “Punjab will become a hero in the country and the AAP will win 13-0 in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” Mann was quoted as saying.
Conclusion
The broken pan-India alliance has failed to produce a multiplier effect, demonstrating that the nationwide alliance was counter-intuitive. Except for Congress, which is rapidly losing its political relevance, the alliance partners wielded little power outside of their home districts.
They have failed to add to each other’s strength, instead directly or indirectly leveling significant accusations against their alliance partners on their turf, tarnishing their partners, including CPI(M)-Congress, AAP-Congress, and TMC-Congress, among others. In addition, the opposition bloc leaders have not conducted any united rallies despite knowing that it would have created a huge impact on the minds of the voters ahead of the elections.
The I.N.D.I. alliance comprises a dozen leaders seeking desire to contend for the position of Prime Minister. However, the leaders and alliances lack legitimate leadership, especially when elections are assuming a presidential-style format.
No I.N.D.I.Alliance leaders have proven and evidently, no one will prove to be a vote-catcher or credible leader outside of their tiny pocket areas, given its head being Congress which is already on the death bed, trying hard to survive.
On 18th April, the Tamil Nadu police cleared the Jaggi Vasudev popularly known as Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation in the missing persons case and stated that five out of the six volunteers who disappeared from its yoga centre in the Coimbatore district’s foothills had returned after departing for private reasons. The submission was made before a Division Bench of Justices M.S. Ramesh and Sunder Mohan of the Madras High Court after a habeas corpus petition (HCP) was filed by 56-year-old C. Thirumalai of Kulasekarapatti in the Tirunelveli district claiming his brother C. Ganesan (46) had been missing since March 2023.
The petitioner alleged that his brother was volunteering at the yoga centre. He discovered something was wrong on 2nd March of this year after he unexpectedly received a call from the centre inquiring whether his brother had returned home. The foundation revealed that C. Ganesan had been gone for two days. Afterwards, on 5th March, the administrator of the yoga centre, Dinesh filed a report with the Alandurai police and a missing person case was registered. The petitioner moved the HCP because his sibling remained untraceable even after the First Information Report was registered.
Additional Public Prosecutor E. Raj Thilak informed the court during the case’s hearing on 18th April that 36 people had been questioned at that point, including members of the Isha Yoga Centre’s staff and volunteers. However, the authorities needed more time to compose a status report on the matter. When questioned about E. Raj Tilak’s statement from the previous hearing regarding the disappearance of other Foundation volunteers, he responded that although five more individuals had been reported missing at the time, the majority of them had since returned to the centre and were determined to have left for private reasons.
The counsel assured the court that the police would “expedite the steps” to seek out C. Ganesan and write a status report. “Even in the present habeas corpus petition, the volunteer concerned has no other family member but for the petitioner who is his brother. If some time is given, we will expedite the steps to trace him out and file a status report,” he disclosed to the court.
The Madras High Court issued a warning in the meantime and declared that if the petitioner, who filed the lawsuit claiming his brother’s disappearance does not show up for the hearing, the case will be dismissed. He was not there in the court for the hearing that day, as the bench observed. The petitioner’s attorney was not present, therefore the judges noted his submissions and ordered the High Court registry to post the case on 7th June with the caption “For Dismissal” and made it clear that it would be the last chance for the petitioner to appear.
Six individuals from the Isha Foundation have vanished since 2016, the police told the bench last month at Thirumalai’s habeas corpus hearing. However, the police had informed the court at earlier hearings that most people who depart from the Foundation do so on their own accord.
Islamists and leftists insinuated foul play
The news of missing people first came to the fore in March and the leftists and Islamists started slamming the Isha Foundation and Sadhguru hurling accusations at both. A user wished for the spiritual leader to be incarcerated.
Another called the Sadhguru a “charlatan,” mocked his brain surgery and implied that rather than imprisoning him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was utilizing him to garner votes. “This should have been the only question you should have asked ANI. This charlatan had himself claimed that doctors found his brain empty. How many people have gone missing from Isha foundation and when will your master stop using him for votes and send him to jail,” the person asked.
This should have been the only question you should have asked ANI …this charlatan had himself claimed that doctors found his brain empty… How many people have gone missing from Isha foundation and when will your master stop using him for votes and send him to jail pic.twitter.com/dblPa15PEM
An appalling incident in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has caused a stir in the region. A Muslim building contractor forcibly converted a lady engineer for marriage, sparking tensions in the city.
After the young woman involved made allegations, three individuals named Taher Pathan, Tayyab Shabbir Pathan, and Ayesha Baher Pathan were formally charged with crimes at the police station concerning this case.
A troubling event involving the abuse and coerced conversion of a young engineer to another religion has taken place in the city. In connection with this incident, charges have been filed against Taher Pathan, Tayyab Shabbir Pathan, and Ayesha Baher Pathan and as per the accusations made by the young woman, Taher Pathan, who works as a contractor, purportedly concealed his identity and unmarried status to subject the engineer to abuse and forcibly convert her on February 11. He allegedly pressured her into performing prayers, wearing religious clothing, and participating in a fraudulent marriage ceremony.
However, subsequently, these three accused individuals subjected the young woman to violence. Further investigation is underway in this case. Recently, a few days ago, two underage students in the city were also forcibly converted, leading to the opening of an investigation by the City Chowk police station. More information regarding the incident is being provided to the police for further investigation.
A day after the brutal murder of the daughter of Congress leader Niranjan Hiremath from Karnataka at the hands of accused Fayaz came to the fore, it is learned that the victim, Neha Hiremath had firmly refused the proposal of the accused saying that he was from the different community.
While talking to the news agency, Press Trust of India, Congress councillor Niranjan Hiremath said, “After my daughter’s classes ended at 4:30 pm, she came out of her college and an unknown man attacked her by stabbing. She died on the spot.”
He also added that the accused had earlier proposed to the girl and she had sternly refused to it saying that the duo belonged to the two different communities and that she did not intend to engage in any such relationship. “Keeping this in mind, the accused stabbed the girl 7 times in just 30 seconds, leaving her dead on the spot,” he added.
VIDEO | “After my daughter’s classes ended at 4:30 pm, she came out of her college and an unknown man attacked her by stabbing. She died on the spot,” says the father of the Hubballi murder victim Niranjan Hiremath. pic.twitter.com/micMenry7R
Notably, Niranjan Hiremath claimed that an ‘unknown man’ killed his daughter, while the fact is that the accused has been identified as Fayaz who has been arrested by the police.
24-year-old student, Neha was stabbed to death on her college campus on Thursday (18th April). The incident took place at B V Bhoomaraddi College of Engineering and Technology in Hubbali, where Neha was studying in her first year of MCA. The attacker Fayaz was a BCA student of the same college and was a classmate of Neha. He is from Savadatti in Belagavi district.
As reported earlier, Fayaz was waiting for her to come out of the college and attacked her with a knife. He stabbed her in the neck multiple times with the knife, which was caught on CCTV camera. He was covering his face with a mask. After the stabbing which left Neha profusely bleeding, the assailant fled the scene with the weapon in his hand.
The victim was rushed to the KIMS Hospital by fellow students who witnessed the horrific crime, but she died there because of the critical injuries.
The police have arrested Fayaz who was on the run after the murder, and further probe is underway. The police said that he was planning to kill Neha, as he told his friends that he would finish the girl who had rejected his offer. Given that he chose to stab her in the neck, it can be confirmed that he intended to kill her.
City Police Commissioner Renuka K Sukumar confirmed saying, “They were classmates during their BCA studies (last year). While Neha continued her education and pursued her MCA, Fayaz discontinued. He has been apprehended, and investigations are underway.”
Swastika Chandra, a 35-year-old woman from Sydney and the multinational giant Uber are at odds after she was forbidden from using the services and removed from the platform for violating its terms only because of her name. Notably, Swastika/ Swastik are a common name in India because the Swastika symbol is an integral part of the Hindu faith. It symbolizes good fortune and prosperity in the ancient Sanskrit language.
The young mother stated that throughout her formative years in Fiji, she frequently heard the name called in class. It is a country with a large Indian population and Swastika is a popular name among them. She expressed, “It is a very common name. I personally know four or five other girls with the same name. In school, we had two or three other girls with the same name. It means good luck. It means good things to me.”
Her birth certificate, Australian citizenship certificate, health care card and driver’s license all bore her name without any trouble. However, Uber suspended her account in October of last year citing her name’s appropriation by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party and neo-Nazis as a breach of their conditions of usage. She was informed that in order to regain access to the application, she would need to modify her name.
She revealed, “I was putting in an order for food one afternoon and went to the payment stage and this pop-up came up saying, ‘Your first name is in violation and you need to change your name on the app’.” Uber introduced fresh restrictions on potentially offensive phrases, including the Swastika, at the same time as the Israel-Hamas war broke out.
Although the Hindu woman is well aware of the wrong perception of her name in the West, she believes that the public should be aware of the word’s etymology. “They don’t know that the Hindus used it for thousands of years before Hitler used it in the wrong way. A bit of education, I think, is needed. I’m very proud of my name. I believe in the good that comes with it and I’m not changing it for anyone.”
After a period of five months, Uber has conceded, expressed regret and offered her permission to re-join the platform. However, it required the assistance of the New South Wales attorney general, the Jewish community, The Hindu Council and Australia’s leading Hindu organisation to intervene.
The Hindu community is now honouring Swastika Chandra for her efforts in opposing a multinational behemoth and also offered advice for all the other young girls who might not share a similar name as others. “Don’t let the past be a stepping stone for your future. Be proud of your name. It’s your identity – it’s who you are.”
The rideshare giant also released a statement on the issue and claimed, “Uber is committed to facilitating a safe and welcoming environment for all users. For that reason, Uber has a global policy of restricting access to users whose names entered into the Uber app contain potentially offensive words. We understand that there are different cultural nuances to names, and therefore our teams address incidents like this on a case-by-case basis to ensure we evaluate each account fairly. In this case, after reviewing Ms Chandra’s request, we reinstated her access to the app. We have apologised to Ms Chandra for the inconvenience this caused her, and we appreciate her patience as we reviewed the matter, which took longer than we hoped it would.”
“We welcome the decision by Uber to permit Ms Chandra to once again access Uber services. It is clear in the circumstances that there is a material difference between Ms Chandra innocently, and without malice, using her natural name and the deployment of a sinister symbol to promote hate or foster division,” mentioned the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies in response.
Difference between Swastika and Nazi symbol: How the West continues to denigrate a sacred Hindu symbol thousands of years old
There is an important difference between the two symbols, which international media houses, leftists, and propagandists ridiculously use interchangeably, not only to hurt Hindu feelings but also to display their inherent Hinduphobia. A religious symbol for Hindus, the Swastika was first mentioned in the Vedas and is made up of ‘su’ meaning ‘good’ and ‘asti’ meaning ‘to be.’ The word has been translated from the Sanskrit base. In other words, the symbol indicates well-being and attracts happiness. It dates back some 6,000 years. Scholars generally agree it originated in India. Other ancient cultures, including the Vikings and Greeks, as well as Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains, recognised Swastika as a symbol of good luck, prosperity and all things auspicious.
The Nazi symbol ‘Hakenkreuz’ which means twisted or hooked cross in German on the other hand is widely recognized as a symbol of anti-Semitism, having resulted in the deaths of approximately 6 million Jews during the Holocaust. The symbol represents fascism and also it is a trauma for many people to date. It is banned in many countries.
In a bizarre statement on a day when 102 constituencies across the country are casting votes for the 2024 general elections, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy has made a bizarre statement casting doubts on the very EVMs on which he won an election less than 6 months ago.
Speaking to ANI, Revanth Reddy, the Congress leader and Telangana CM insinuated that Rahul Gandhi should be the PM of India for the next 20 years. However, he even made contradictory claims, saying that he has been told by BJP leaders that EVMs favour only Modi, and not Congress.
He seems to have forgotten that he, a Congress leader, just won the Telangana elections barely six months ago, in an election where the same EVMs were used to vote.
#WATCH | Wayanad, Kerala: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy says, "…Rahul Gandhi is going to be the Prime Minister of this country. For the last 10 years, the Prime Minister has been from Varanasi and for the coming 20 years, the Prime Minister will be from Wayanad. Everyone has the… pic.twitter.com/GRflg90i46
Taking his bizarre, self-contradictory claims a step further, he added that all over the world, elections are held on ballot papers and only in India they are being held by EVMs. The same EVMs where Congress-led UPA had won the 2004 and 2009 elections.
Reddy even claimed that EVMs are a ‘failed’ experiment and the public of India no longer believes in EVMs, only BJP believes in EVMs.
Reddy did not explain his own victory. Or other state elections where non-BJP parties have won decisive victories. But asserted that the only thing that is keeping Rahul Gandhi from becoming the PM of the country is EVMs.
Reddy did not even elaborate why, if Rahul Gandhi is so powerful and popular, the I.N.D.I.Allainec never declared Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate. Forget the I.N.D.I.Alliance, even the Congress party itself did not elect Rahul Gandhi as their President.
It is notable here that despite overt insinuation by the Congress top leadership, the I.N.D.I. Alliance members never agreed to Rahul Gandhi, or for that matter, anybody else as their PM face, leading to chaos and eventual breaking down of the alliance where their largest member TMC broke apart. The CPM, another I.N.D.I. Alliance partner is also miffed at the Congress, and especially Rahul Gandhi, for contesting the election against CPM’s Annie Raja in Wayanad.
Revanth Reddy should first explain how he won the election on the same EVMs if EVMs are allegedly rigged, as per his own claims.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, attempts are being made to discredit the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and create a sense of panic among the voters. One such attempt was made in Kasaragod town in Kerala, where Congress and CPIM exploited a technical glitch during a mock poll to suggest that EVMs were favouring the BJP.
On Wednesday (17th April), Onmanorama published a contentious report (archive) wherein it alleged that four Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) erroneously registered votes in favour of the BJP during a mock poll in Kasaragod town in Kerala.
The outrageous claims were initially made by CPIM leader M V Balakrishnan and the agent of Congress candidate Rajmohan Unnithan, identified as Nasar Cherkalam, to the Election Commission of India (ECI). They had also sought the replacement of the ‘erring’ voting machines
Screengrab of the report by Onmanorama
“Nasar Cherkalam said the BJP’s lotus was getting extra votes during the commissioning of the machines for the polling stations in Kasaragod Assembly Constituency. He also pointed out that the Congress’s ‘hand’ symbol was smaller than other symbols on the voting machines and asked the officials to change it,” the report by Onmranorama read.
The agent of Congress candidate Rajmohan Unnithan alleged that the VVPAT units attached to four EVM machines gave vote to the BJP even though the party’s lotus symbol was not pressed.
“The officials tested 20 machines at a time. When all 10 options on the EVMs were pressed one time each, the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) gave two votes to the BJP in four machines. When the BJP’s lotus was not pressed, the same four erroneous VVPAT units gave one vote to the party, said Nasar Cherkalam,” the report claimed.
Nasar Cherkalam cast aspersions on the integrity of the voting machines and inquired why the EVMs did not erroneously favour the CPIM or the Congress party during the mock trial. The report also highlighted how 6 machines out of 228 had technical glitches.
Supreme Court directs Election Commission
Advocate turned conspiracy theorist, Prashant Bhushan, cited the Onmanorama report in the Supreme Court on Thursday (18th April) during the hearing of the ongoing EVM-VVPAT case, seeking 100% verification of the VVPAT slips.
“There was a mock poll in Kasaragod, Kerala. 4 EVMs and VVPATs were recording one extra vote for BJP. Manorama carried this report,” Prashant Bhushan told the apex court.
This prompted the Supreme Court to direct the Election Commission to investigate the matter. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said, “Mr. Maninder Singh (ECI Counsel), please crosscheck it,”
The News Minute joins the ‘conspiracy circus’
In the meantime, leftist propaganda outlet The News Minute published a report (archive) reiterating the claims made by the Onmanorama report about EVMs erroneously returning votes for the BJP.
“Three VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) machines printed one extra slip each with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s lotus symbol during a mock poll in Kerala’s Kasaragod on Wednesday, April 17,” the report alleged.
The report further claimed, “The machines had the BJP symbol as the topmost option. During the second round of mock poll too, the same three faulty VVPAT machines once again printed an extra slip with the lotus symbol. The issue was only rectified during the third round…”
VVPATs print extra slip with BJP lotus symbol during mock polls in Kerala The same VVPAT machines printed another extra slip with the lotus symbol during the second round of mock poll as well. The issue was rectified only during the third round.https://t.co/d3V8gekGZ1
The News Minute went on to cite the Congress and CPIM leader to insinuate that EVMs are not full-proof and have somehow been tampered with by the ruling BJP government at the Centre.
The Editor-in-Chief of the leftist propaganda outlet, Dhanya Rajendran, also tweeted the story from her official X (formerly Twitter) handle.
Clarification issued by the Election Commission
On Thursday (18th April) afternoon, the Election Commission rubbished the claims floated by Onmanorama news and The News Minute about EVMs favouring one political party.
“These news reports are false. We have verified the allegation from the district collector and it appears that they are false. We will submit a detailed report to the court…” Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Nitesh Kumar Vyas was quoted as saying.
Counsel for Election Commission, Maninder Singh told the apex court that more than 118 crore people have cast their votes since the introduction of VVPATs in India. During this time, 4 crore VVPAT slips were counted and only 25 complaints were received by the Commission, which turned out to be false.
In a statement released on X, the Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul in Kerala emphasised, “Confusion was caused when it was alleged that during the mock poll conducted as part of the commissioning in Kasaragod constituency, additional VVPAT slips came out.”
“The fact is that at the time of printing of test ballot slips after symbol loading, some machines were taken to the commissioning table without having taken the full print of VVPAT test slips. When the machine is restarted at the next commissioning table, the symbol of the first candidate was printed along with a standardization slip/first diagnostic slip which was supposed to be printed in the previous session,” he pointed out.
Voting Machines are Error-Free; Allegations Unfounded: Chief Electoral Officer
Chief Electoral Officer-Kerala Sanjay Kaul IAS said that the allegation that a candidate received extra votes in the mock poll conducted as part of the commissioning of the Electronic Voting Machine…
— Chief Electoral Officer Kerala (@Ceokerala) April 18, 2024
He highlighted that all EVMs used in the Lok Sabha elections in the state are error-free and safe.
In the meantime, Bharat Electronics Ltd, which manufactures EVMs said, “The incomplete symbol loading which had happened in four VVPATs in Kasaragod could have occurred due to disconnection of the cable or by moving the VVPATs to the next stage before completion of prints.”
