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Congress leader Jairam Ramesh insults party loyalist ‘journalist’ Mausmi Singh who had ‘promoted’ the party in the past, she gets upset: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Jairam Ramesh insults party loyalist ‘journalist’ Mausmi Singh who had ‘promoted’ the party in the past, she gets upset: Details

On Wednesday (28th February), Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh insulted journalist Mausmi Singh after she asked countering questions about Sonia Gandhi contesting polls from Rajasthan. Mausmi Singh works as a journalist at Aaj Tak and India Today and has a history of favouring the Congress party in the past few years.

During the press conference, Ramesh stopped the woman journalist from completing her question as she attempted to ask why Sonia Gandhi decided to contest the Rajya Sabha elections from Rajasthan and not from Himachal Pradesh. She asked if the party already knew about the cross-voting that happened on 27th February amid the Rajya Sabha polls.

She further indicated that the Congress knew about the dissatisfaction among the Congress leaders in the state of Himachal Pradesh and that they would opt to cross-vote in favour of the BJP. To this, Ramesh instead of answering the question interrupted the woman and said that she was twisting the fact and presenting it for the media story.

“This is very wrong. The situation is quite straight. You are unnecessarily twisting the situation and presenting it. Such questions should not be asked. You are arguing and imitating Amit Malaviya,” Ramesh said directing to Mausmi, the video of which is making rounds on social media.

It is important to note that Mausmi has a history of allegedly ‘supporting’ the Congress party. Recently, Mausm covered the roadshow by Congress in the Amroh district of Uttar Pradesh. She also interviewed Ramesh on 25th February who countered the BJP in the state.

In a series of reports, she further also lauded the Congress supporters for standing by the party amid elections.

Earlier to that, the journalist was also seen interviewing Jairam Ramesh after the UP Police recruitment exams had been cancelled by the state.

Singh has been reporting about the party activities very actively for India Today and Aaj Tak and felt insulted after, Ramesh whom she interviewed for several times in the past interrupted her and said that the question she posed was incorrect. Ramesh was later forced to apologize for his words after Singh began yelling during the press meeting.

Harsh Mahajan, the BJP’s nominee, defeated Congress stalwart Abhishek Manu Singhvi for Himachal Pradesh’s lone Rajya Sabha seat on Tuesday.

The campaign was deadlocked, with both the Congress and BJP candidates receiving 34 votes, indicating that at least six Congress MLAs voted against their party. The outcome was then determined by a random drawing.

In Himachal Pradesh’s 68-member assembly, the Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25. The remaining three seats are occupied by independent candidates.

Old video of pro-Khalistani Ajmer Singh using derogatory remarks on Maa Durga surfaces, the naxalite-turned-‘historian’ is now participating in Farmer Protest 2.0

OpIndia Staff
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Old video of pro-Khalistani Ajmer Singh using derogatory remarks on Maa Durga surfaces, the naxalite-turned-‘historian’ is now participating in Farmer Protest 2.0

On 28th February, an old video of pro-Khalistani Naxalite-turned-“historian” Ajmer Singh went viral on social media, where he used derogatory language against Maa Durga. Ajmer Singh is known for his pro-Khalistani views. He used to be a Naxalite and turned into a “historian” after Operation Blue Star in 1984. Interestingly, Ajmer Singh’s writings deeply inspired pro-Khalistani actor-turned-leader Deep Sidhu.

The video that went viral on social media was recorded in Ludhiana during a seminar on “nationalism” in April 2016. He talked about someone who called Mahishasur their “hero” in his statement. He compared Maa Durga with Shrupnakha and said, “Mahishasur was our hero. On one side, [Maa] Durga is worshipped, and on the other, Mahishasur is worshipped. How was he [Mahishasur] killed? He was misled by how Smiri Irani got furious in Parliament. When we talk about Shrupnakha, she tries to seduce Lakshman. It is okay to say so. However, it becomes controversial when the same is said about Durga and Mahishasur.”

Ajmer Singh actively participated and commented on farmer protests 1.0 and 2.0.

Deep Sidhu was influenced by Ajmer Singh

Interestingly, Pro Khalistani actor-turned-leader Deep Sidhu was highly influenced by Ajmer Singh’s writing. He explained in an interview that it was Singh’s books on Sikh history that changed his perception.

Smriti Irani expressed anguish in Parliament over derogatory language used by University students against Maa Durga

Ajmer Singh referred to an incident that happened in the Parliament where union minister Smriti Irani expressed concerns over lanugage used for Maa Durga in JNU. In 2016, Smriti Irani shared a pamphlet being distributed targeting Maa Durga in Jawahar Lal University (JNU), where a group called to celebrate ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’. Highly derogatory language was used against Maa Durga in the pamphlet. Later, an incomplete clip of her reading the pamphlet was shared on social media as a part of propaganda to show as if she was the one who used derogatory language against Maa Durga, the union minister had to clarify what happened in the Parliament.

Devnarayan Temple in Bhilwara, locked for 47 years over claims by Muslims, to be opened again, announces Rajasthan minister Madan Dilawar

OpIndia Staff
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Devnarayan Temple in Bhilwara, locked for 47 years over claims by Muslims, to be opened again, announces Rajasthan minister Madan Dilawar

On Wednesday (28th February), Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar announced that the historic Devnarayan Temple in Bhilwara will be opened and worship will be allowed there. The temple has been locked for 47 years since 1977.

Speaking at an event celebrating the 143rd Vijay Singh Pathik Jayanti at Pink City Press Club in Jaipur, Minister Madan Dilawar said, “The lock was placed because some people had problems with the bhajan-kirtan taking place at the Bhagwan Devnarayan Temple. In such a scenario, the government at the time used appeasement tactics and shut the temple, which has remained locked to this day.”

“I had also announced and spoken with Gopal Gurjar’s family members that once the Bharatiya Janata Party government takes power, the temple’s lock will be opened. It is now officially confirmed. A discussion has been had with the Chief Minister [Bhajan Lal Sharma] regarding this, and after a few days, when the auspicious time arrives, the lock on Bhagwan Devnarayan temple in Mandal will be opened,” the minister continued.

Taking to X, Gopal Singh Gurjar Bassi, the state president of Pathik Sena Sangathan said, “Big announcement by Hindu Sher Respected Shri Madan Dilawar ji (Education and Panchayati Raj Minister)…It has been announced to open the lock of Lord Shri Devnarayan Temple in Mandal Bhilwara, which was closed for almost 48 years. The temple will be opened soon after finding a good time. is going to be announced.”

Notably, for years there has been demand to open the lock on Devnarayan Temple which was sealed in 1977 on a court order and its keys were deposited at Maandal Police Station. According to the police, there is a structure in the temple compound which is claimed by the people of another religion.

The temple was locked because Muslims claimed that the place belonged to Meethu Shah Fakir. The matter has been sub-judice since 1977, and the temple has been locked since then. The temple is dedicated to Lord Devnarayan, who is a folk deity in Rajasthan and is considered an avatar of Lord Vishnu.

Back in 2022, the local Hindus including the Gurjars took out a 17-kilometre-long march demanding that the temple be opened for devotees. The protest on 14th March 2022, was organised by Deepakpuri of Neelkanth Mahadev Temple, Hemraj Poswal, priest of Malaseri and Udaylal Bhadana, convenor of Devnarayan Sangharsh Samiti.

Notably, Gopal Singh Gurjar Bassi broke the locks of the Devnarayan temple which was closed for 45 years in Mandal on 11th of March, 2022. Bassi was then booked for allegedly ‘inciting’ religious sentiments and contempt of court.

Different replies on evils of Hinduism and Islam, triple talaq affects Hindu women, and others: Ola’s Krutrim AI Chatbot faces criticism over questionable responses

Anurag
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Different replies on evils of Hinduism and Islam, triple talaq affects Hindu women, and others: Ola’s Krutrim AI Chatbot faces criticism over questionable responses

On 26th February, Ola’s CEO Bhavish Aggarwal announced the Beta rollout of Krutrim’s first generative AI chatbot. In a post on X, he said, “We’ve rooted Krutrim strongly into Indian values and data with over 10+ Indian languages and ready to assist in English, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati and even Hinglish!” However, the rollout faced criticism on social media as it failed to generate trustworthy responses. Notably, Bhavish mentioned that the chatbot will be improved significantly, and there could be some “hallucinations”. “We will be working overtime to find and fix!” he added.

Krutrim was launched in December 2023. The company claimed they have trained the model-based dataset of two trillion tokens. However, the company is yet to publicise information related to training methods, the nature of datasets and more. Notably, Krutrim became a unicorn company within one month of its launch, as it got a valuation of USD 1 billion and raised USD 50 million in equity from investors, including Matrix Partners India.

The social media users who tried the chatbot and the tech community have shared their views on the problems they faced while using it. Notably, the chatbot raised eyebrows when one of the social media users shared that Krutrim was throwing a response that it was created using OpenAI’s ChatGPT 3.5 platform. Furthermore, there have been concerns over accuracy and attributions.

The founder of KissanAI took on X (formerly Twitter) and shared his views. While constructively criticising the platform, he suggested possible solutions for the Krutrim team, including applying Differential Privacy Optimization (DPO) and altering dataset mentions from OpenAI to Krutrim. Responding to his inputs, the Krutrim team acknowledged a data leakage linked to one of the open-source datasets it utilised in the fine-tuning process of the Language Model or LLM.

Users share several misleading responses. For example, X user The Skin Doctor shared how the chatbot became diplomatic while talking about social evils among Muslim communities but remained blunt and critical when it was asked about Hindu communities.

In most of the cases, Krutram gave a standardised reply that “as Krutrim’s training data is limited, potentially resulting in occasional inaccuracies or biases. Please validate the model’s responses for accuracy and utilize the “Thumbs Down” option to offer feedback if needed. Your input is essential to enhance Krutrim.“

While the chatbot refused to reply to The Skin Doctor on “social evils among Muslims”, when OpIndia checked, it was highly diplomatic. We asked, “Can you tell some social evils in Muslim society?” to which it replied, “It’s important to note that the perception of Muslim society can vary greatly depending on the specific context and location. However, some social evils have emerged in certain communities, often due to cultural practices or misinterpretations of religious teachings. Some prominent social evils in Muslim societies include child marriage, forced marriages, gender inequality, and extremism. To address these issues, it’s essential for Muslim communities to engage in dialogue and education to promote understanding and tolerance. Additionally, governments and non-governmental organizations can play a role in implementing social reforms and providing support to those affected by these social evils. In summary, social evils in Muslim societies can be complex and multifaceted, often stemming from a combination of cultural practices, religious interpretations, and socio-political factors. To address these issues, it’s crucial for individuals and communities to engage in open dialogue, education, and social reform efforts.”

Here is a comparison of replies for the Hindu and Muslim communities.

Source: Kritrum
Source: Kritrum

We then asked it to tell us about Triple Talaq, Krutrim gave the following reply.

Source: Kritrum

Interestingly, when asked if Triple Talaq is a social evil, it claimed it affects Hindu women as well.

Source: Kritrum

When we asked how Hindu women can be affected, it said, “Triple Talaq can be a topic of debate in Hindu societies because the issue transcends religious boundaries and affects the lives of women across different communities. The practice of Triple Talaq is specific to Islam, and its impact on Hindu women is a result of the interconnectedness of social and religious practices in India. The debate is not about the practice itself being inherently good or bad, but rather about the implications of the practice on the rights and well-being of women. The issue of gender inequality and the need for social reform are central to the discussion, regardless of the religion involved. As such, the debate on Triple Talaq serves as a broader reflection on the challenges faced by women in society, and the need for all communities to work together to promote gender equality and social justice.“

Source: Kritrum

Krutrim is currently in its beta testing stage. Recognising the complexities involved in developing and fine-tuning AI technologies is essential. Krutrim’s team has assured that they are working on the problems faced by the users and addressing them on priority.

I.N.D.I. Alliance propagandist Pragya Mishra calls Brahmins and Thakurs as ‘gaddaar’ because of the SP MLAs who voted for BJP in RS election

Rukma Rathore
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I.N.D.I. Alliance propagandist Pragya Mishra calls Brahmins and Thakurs as ‘gaddaar’ because of the SP MLAs who voted for BJP in RS election

On 27th February, the Bharatiya Janata Party managed to pull a remarkable victory in Rajya Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh and secured 8 out of 10 seats, stunning the opposition amid cross-voting by at least seven Samajwadi Party MLAs. The cross-voting has irked the entire ecosystem of I.N.D.I. Alliance including its disgruntled supporters in the media who have resorted to hurling insults at the party’s ‘upper caste’ leaders and labelled them “gaddar” (traitor) and “anti-OBC” (Other Backward Class).

Pragya Mishra, a YouTuber and ‘journalist’ used the offensive terminology to express her anger over political drama in the Samajwadi Party where the chief whip Manoj Pandey and several other MLAs cross-voted for BJP.

In a video titled “Brahmin-Thakur vidhayakon ne dhokha diya, haar ke bhi jeet gaye Akhilesh bhaiya” (Betrayal of Brahmin-Thakur lawmakers, Akhilesh brother won even after losing) uploaded on her YouTube channel on 27th February, she blatantly displayed her hatred while highlighting the caste of four of the seven legislators in bold letters who voted for the BJP. Furthermore, in a shameless portrayal of her casteist agenda, she conveniently ignored the names of the other two MLAs because they belonged to the lower caste.

Pragya Mishra stated, “The names of the MLAs of Akhilesh Yadav who chose to side with the BJP in the Rajya Sabha election are Manoj Pandey-Brahmin, Rakesh Pratap Singh-Thakur, Abhay Singh-Thakur, Rakesh Pandey-Brahmin and Vinod Chaturvedi-Brahmin.” The list also featured the names of Pooja Pal and Ashutosh Maurya but they were spared from her vitriolic rant by the virtue of their caste lineage.

She complained, “Five of the seven people mentioned in the list are upper caste, two Thakurs and three Brahmins. It means that the ones who don’t want the PDA (Pichhde, Dalit, and Alpsankhyak) to become strong, those who dislike the PDA, hate the backward class and cannot stand their progress, turned out to be traitors and have been identified in due time.” The Samajwadi Party has showcased PDA as its campaign trope for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and beyond. She then quoted Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and stated that it was not his loss but in fact a victory.

Pragya Mishra rationalised the statement by alleging that if the MLAs had not exposed themselves now, it would have damaged the I.N.D.I. Alliance in the upcoming general election. She added that it has provided a valuable lesson to Akhilesh Yadav and he would be better prepared for the 2024 Lok Sabha poll. She also quoted Samajwadi Party leaders to lash out at the BJP and further prove her point.

Pragya’s ‘gaddar’ rant is strangely similar to Akhilesh Yadav’s post on ‘loyalty’

Interestingly, Pragya Mishra’s rant was very similar to what Akhilesh Yadav posted on X. “Our third seat (bid) in the Rajya Sabha was actually a test to identify the true companions and to know who was with the PDA at heart and who was against the backward classes, Dalits and minorities by conscience,” Akhilesh Yadav wrote in Hindi on X.

On 27th February, the Samajwadi Party suffered a major dent when the party’s chief whip Manoj Pandey resigned from his post ahead of the crucial voting for Rajya Sabha seats. Pandey is an SP MLA from Unchahar in the Raebareli district. Ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections, he announced that he would be voting for the BJP candidate. The Samajwadi Party accepted his resignation and Pandey’s nameplate was removed from outside the chief whip’s office. 

In total, 7 MLAs cross-voted for the BJP, as per reports. Akhilesh Yadav later claimed that the third seat bid was a ‘loyalty test’ to filter out disloyal MLAs. He added that he is glad that MLAs who did not support the PDA (Pichhde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak, meaning backward, Dalits and minorities) wholeheartedly.

More importantly, these same people willingly ignore the attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his backward caste by senior leaders of the opposition because it doesn’t suit their political agenda. However, this doesn’t come as a surprise as hypocrisy is an integral component of the opposition and its lackeys masquerading as otherwise.

Notably, caste politics which used to be considered as a domain of regional parties like Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal and late Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party among others has also been taken up by the Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi who is latching onto the most destructive and polarising policies in an attempt to revive the Congress party.

Rahul Gandhi and his divisive caste politics

Rahul Gandhi has promised to conduct a nationwide caste census if the opposition coalition is voted to power in the centre. Referring to his campaign as “jitni abadi utna haq” (rights proportionate to population) he has repeatedly called for a caste census after failing to do the same while Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in the government for an entire decade from 2004 to 2014. Ironically, historical Parliament documents revealed that former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi strongly disagreed with this notion and even charged that his successor Vishwanath Pratap (VP) Singh was attempting to use the Mandal Commission report to instigate caste conflicts in the nation.

Senior advocate and Congress party veteran Abhishek Manu Singhvi had also schooled Rahul Gandhi and stated the idea would ultimately culminate in “majoritarianism”. He also pointed out that equality of opportunity is not the same as equality of outcomes. However, he had to remove the social media post after Rahul Gandhi’s loyalist and party’s general secretary in charge of communication Jairam Ramesh distanced Congress from the tweet and remarked that the views don’t reflect the stance of the party.

Rahul Gandhi is turning to offering perilous promises that could have disastrous consequences for the country in an attempt to salvage his collapsing party. India is still recovering from the heat of the Mandal Commission fire. However, Rahul Gandhi and the opposition seem to be determined to put India, which is currently developing rapidly, back on the same path and undo all of the progress it accomplished in recent years for petty political gains. It has become the new norm in their political discourse to bring up caste and detest the upper castes to pretend to be pro-backwards class and minorities in the eyes of voters.

Delhi Court convicts AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal for abetment to suicide, threat, extortion of a doctor in 2020

ANI
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Delhi Court convicts AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal for abetment to suicide, threat, extortion of a doctor in 2020

The Rouse Avenue court on Wednesday convicted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Prakash Jarwal and his associate Kapil Nagar for abetting a doctor’s suicide. They also have been held guilty for the offence of criminal conspiracy for extortion and threat to deceased Rajender Singh.

The deceased was a doctor and was also engaged in water supply through tankers.

Special judge M K Nagpal held guilty Prakash Jarwal and Kapil Nagar for the offences of abetment to suicide, extortion, attempt to extortion and criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy for extortion.

They have been held guilty under section 506 (Criminal Intimidation to kill) Part 2 under which maximum punishment is upto seven years.

Third accused Harish Jarwal has been convicted for the offence of criminal intimidation.

The court said that the prosecution has been successful in proving the allegations beyond reasonable doubts.

Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Manish Rawat argued on behalf of Delhi police.

The court has directed the accused persons and prosecution to file their affidavits. The matter is listed on March 13 for hearing.

On November 11, 2021, the court had framed charges against Prakash Jarwal, Kapil Nagar and Harish in different sections of IPC.

The court had said that the offences under Sections 120 B IPC read with Sections 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt), 384 (extortion) and 506 (Criminal intimidation) and offences under Section 384 read with Section 120 B (Criminal Conspiracy) IPC, Section 386 read with Section 120 B IPC and Section 506 read with Section 120 B IPC and also under 306/34 IPC are prima facie made out against the accused Prakash Jarwal and Kapil Nagar.

The accused Harish was discharged for the offence under Sections 306 and 386 IPC but he was charged for the offence under Section 506 IPC by the court.

An FIR was registered on the basis of the complaint dated 18.04.2020 of Hemant Singh, in which he had stated that his father late Rajender Singh was doing the work of supply of water through tankers since 2005. Delhi Jal Board had never harassed his father.

However, since the accused Prakash Jarwal had won and become MLA of Aam Admi Party, he and his associate Kapil Nagar who worked with him and others started harassing his father for money regularly, he alleged.

It was alleged that accused Kapil Nagar, at the instance of the accused Prakash Jarwal used to take monthly amount and used to give to the accused Prakash Jarwal. The accused Prakash Jarwal was a member of Delhi Jal Board and without taking the monthly amount, he did not allow the plying of their tankers with Jal Board.

Complainant had stated that if his father did not pay the monthly amount to the accused Prakash Jarwal, he used to threaten his father and also threatened to destroy him. His father used to regularly give lakhs of rupees monthly to accused Prakash Jarwal who was harassing his father forcibly and mentally. His father had written about the same in a diary. When his father opposed the giving of monthly amount, his tankers were got removed from Delhi Jal Board about which his father made a complaint to the Executive Engineer, Delhi Jal Board, GK-I on 09.04.2020.

It was also stated that the father of the complainant had pleaded with the accused Prakash Jarwal several times not to harass him as he was a heart patient but the accused

Prakash Jarwal did not listen and kept harassing his father continuously of which they also had a phone recording.

It was further stated that the accused, Prakash Jarwal used his power to get the payment of the deceased stopped. The father of the complainant had written about the mental harassment in his diary and he had also mentioned the amount given to accused Prakash Jarwal in the diary which amount was taken forcibly.

It was alleged that due to the exploitation and pressure, the deceased used to remain troubled and used to write about the instances in his diary.

It was also alleged that the father of the complainant had sold his ancestral land and taken loan on the jewellery of his wife for which they also had receipt and at the instance of accused Prakash Jarwal had given the money to Kapil Nagar.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

‘They are looting tax money and insulting ISRO scientists’: PM Modi attacks DMK in Toothukudi over Ad featuring Chinese rocket

OpIndia Staff
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‘They are looting tax money and insulting ISRO scientists’: PM Modi attacks DMK in Toothukudi over Ad featuring Chinese rocket

On Wednesday (28th February), Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam over a newspaper advertisement that featured a ‘Chinese rocket’. DMK released the ad in several newspapers on the occasion of the launch of ISRO’s second rocket launch pad in Tamil Nadu, but the print ad featured a rocket with the Chinese flag painted on it.

The Prime Minister further slammed the DMK for ‘looting’ people’s tax money and stated that the state government humiliated scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) who participated in the country’s successful space projects, including Chandrayaan 3.

“DMK is a party that does not work but stands ahead to take false credit. These people paste their stickers on our schemes. Now they have crossed the limits, they have pasted China’s sticker to take credit for the ISRO launch pad in Tamil Nadu,” PM Modi said while addressing a gathering in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. He also stated that the DMK is ‘not ready’ to acknowledge India’s success in the space industry.

“They are not ready to accept India’s progress in the space sector and with the taxes that you pay, they give advertisements and do not even include a picture of India’s space in it. They did not want to present India’s space success in front of the world, they insulted our scientists, our space sector, and your tax money. Now it’s high time that the DMK is punished for their deeds,” PM Modi said.

He went on to accuse the Congress and DMK of ‘dividing’ the nation. “India commemorated the Pran Pratishtha of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. A resolution was introduced in the Parliament a few days ago on this topic. All DMK members exited the house. This behavior demonstrates how much the DMK leaders despise your faith,” he stated.

“The DMK and Congress are hellbent on breaking the nation,” the Prime Minister stated adding that the BJP considers everyone to be a family member. He also expressed confidence that the people of the state turn to the BJP for progress.

This is hours after the state’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) published full front-page newspaper advertisements displaying pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister MK Stalin, DMK Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and other party leaders on Wednesday. PM Modi is in Tamil Nadu to lay the foundation stone of ISRO’s new spaceport for small satellite launches in Kulasekarapattinam in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district.

The advertisement by DMK Minister Thiru Anita Radhakrishnan was published in several Tamil newspapers on 28th February. However, in a shocking display of allegiance to China, the print advertisement used an image of a Chinese rocket, instead of the image of an IRSO rocket.

In the image, the top of the rocket could be seen painted in red with yellow stars, depicting the flag of China. The ad also depicted several other rockets in the background, but they were all foreign rockets. The promotion didn’t feature even one indigenous rocket to the shock of many.

Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai slammed the DMK government over the advertisement. He said that ever since the ISRO’s second launch pad in Kulasekarapatinam was announced, DMK has been “desperate to paste stickers”.

He tweeted, “The amount of desperation only proves their attempt to bury their past misdeeds, but we must remind them that DMK was why the Satish Dhawan Space Centre is today in Andhra Pradesh & not Tamil Nadu.”

During the event, the Prime Minister unveiled approximately 15 new projects. He said the initiatives represented the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’. “Today, Tamil Nadu is writing a new chapter of progress in Thoothukudi. Many projects are being inaugurated here. These projects are an important part of the roadmap for a developed India. One can also see the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ in these developments,” the Prime Minister said.

These initiatives may be in Thoothukudi, but they will also help to accelerate development in many other parts of India, he said. The Prime Minister launched several projects aiming at transforming the VO Chidambaranar Port into the country’s first green hydrogen hub. These projects include a desalination plant, hydrogen generation, and a bunkering facility. 

During the program, the Prime Minister also launched India’s first indigenous green hydrogen fuel cell inland waterway vehicle under the Harit Nauka initiative.
The vessel, built by Cochin Shipyard, is a pioneering move towards embracing clean energy solutions and aligning with the country’s net-zero ambitions.

During the program, the Prime Minister also dedicated tourist facilities in 75 lighthouses spread across 10 states and union territories.

PM Modi dedicated to the nation the Vanchi Maniyachchi-Nagercoil rail line, which includes the Vanchi Maniyachchi-Tirunelveli segment and the Melappalayam-Aralvaymoli part. The Prime Minister also dedicated to the country four road projects in Tamil Nadu, which cost approximately Rs 4,586 crore.

Pakistani experts ‘analyse’ Arabic text on a woman’s dress over ‘blasphemy’ allegations, discuss punishments despite confirmation that it was just random words

Shraddha Pandey
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Pakistani experts ‘analyse’ Arabic text on a woman’s dress over ‘blasphemy’ allegations, discuss punishments despite confirmation that it was just random words

Pakistan, a politically and economically unstable self-proclaimed ‘Riyasat-e-Medina’ has been drowned in Islamic fanaticism to such an extent that it no longer realises what self-mockery it is indulging in. Recently, a woman in Lahore city of Pakistan was surrounded and attacked by an Islamist mob because they believed she committed blasphemy by wearing a dress with Arabic calligraphy.

The Sar Tan Se Juda mob, led by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan members, thought that the colourful Arabic text on the white dress was Quranic verses. In reality, the Arabic letters were just random texts, nothing Islamic or Quranic. Now, the absurdity has advanced further with Islamic clerics ‘analysing’ the said dress to decide whether to get an FIR registered against the woman or not.

In a video shared by journalist Naila Inayat, some Islamic clerics can be seen “analysing” the Arabic text printed on the dress and discussing that the text is similar to Quranic verses. In a blatant display of their lack of education, common sense as well as lack of respect for the Arabic language, these clerics want an FIR to be registered against the woman who was nearly lynched, just because they ‘think’ the printed Arabic text looks ‘similar’ to Quranic verses. This comes despite reports saying that the dress in question has no Quranic verses printed instead those were just random Arabic words like beautiful, sweet etc.

Instead of getting an expert on the Arabic language, if it’s such a burning need for a country struggling to feed its people, with rising inflation and depleting foreign exchange reserves in addition to other challenges the country is facing, they are busy deciding how to punish an innocent woman to jail or give her in the hands of Sar Tan Se Juda enthusiast Islamists, in the name of some imaginary ‘blasphemy’.

Meanwhile, the constant attacks, abuses and Sar Tan Se Juda threats compelled the woman to apologise for no mistake of her. In a video, ASP Syeda Shehrbano Naqvi, the brave SDPO of Gulbarg Lahore, said that the woman had come to the market wearing the Kurta with Arabic calligraphy, however, a confusion arose as some people thought that the Arabic text was similar to Quranic verses, thus blasphemous.

Later in the video, a visibly terrified woman who was sitting while hiding her face ‘apologised’ in the presence of the police and maulvis. “…the Kurta I was wearing, I bought it for its design. I did not know that people will think something [offensive] is written in Arabic. I had no such intention. It all happened inadvertently. Still, I apologise. Being a Sunni Muslim I cannot even think of doing ‘Gustakhi’ against Quran and Sunnat or Gustakhi-e-Rasool…” the woman said while two maulvis sitting next to her were seen directing her on what to say.

Kuwaiti fashion company asks Pakistanis not to disturb them with needless messages, says Arabic is their own language

As reported earlier, the Kuwait-based company that designed the dress slammed Pakistani Islamists for sending them “disturbing” messages and dragging them into the episode. Instagram account semplicitakw published a story reminding Pakistanis that the brand uses Arabic texts in various fonts ‘everywhere’, alluding to the clothing that provoked an all-brawn and no-brains Islamist mob.

In their post, the Kuwaitian company wrote, “Dear Pakistani people, We have nothing to do with the recent incident that happened to the innocent girl. We are based in Kuwait company (sic) And we do NOT ship worldwide. Please stop following and messaging since its (sic) really disturbing. We use Arabic words and letters in different fonts everywhere since its our language!” 

It happens only in Pakistan, that people are subjected to harassment, violence, Sar Tan Se Juda threats and mob lynching over mere suspicion and often completely baseless claims. A country like Pakistan which is literally surviving on debts taken from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has got its priorities all wrong since Islamic fanatics largely dominate the country.

Dire state of Pakistan’s economy

A Dawn report from December 2023 says that several multinational companies (MNCs) have left or scaled down operations in Pakistan in various sectors including the pharmaceutical, telecommunication, and oil sectors due to political instability and inconsistent policies. Norwegian company Telenor, South Korea-based Lotte Chemical Company Pakistan Ltd. which makes purified terephthalic acid (PTA) etc divested its stakes.  Many overseas investors have suffered losses in their Pakistan investments. Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd. which last year had stopped manufacturing vehicles in Pakistan had in December 2023 announced its decision to delist from Pakistan Stock Exchange after continued losses.

Not much time has passed since Pakistan was engulfed in multifaceted crises and floods leaving its people struggling for even essential food grains. However, instead of working for their economic, political, and social upliftment, the Pakistani Islamists are pushing the country further into the darkness of extremism and its trademark ‘terrorism’.

This bizarre yet horrifying incident of mob attack on a woman for wearing an Arabic text-printed dress in Pakistan was not the first and certainly will not be the last incident of harassment of innocent people over alleged, assumed and imagined blasphemy. Pakistani low-IQ fanatics are so ready to assault and behead a ‘blasphemer’ that even QR codes on soft drink bottles can rile them up.

OpIndia has covered numerous such incidents wherein an Islamist mob resorted to violence and barbarism over a supposed ‘insult’ to Islam. What happened to the woman for wearing a Kurta featuring random Arabic calligraphy would certainly have resulted in a brutal outcome had she been a Hindu or a Christian. Sri Lankan man Priyantha Kumara did not have the luxury of police protection when an Islamist mob of hundreds of fanatic bloodthirsty people lynched him to death and burned his body in broad daylight. With the rising number of incidents of violence over ‘blasphemy’, Pakistan is turning into a self-destructive entity, in addition to its ‘world famous’ status of being the global haven for terrorism.

“I don’t think India has declared China an enemy country”: DMK MP K Kanimozhi defends party’s ‘Chinese Rocket’ Ad after PM Modi’s criticism

ANI
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“I don’t think India has declared China an enemy country”: DMK MP K Kanimozhi defends party’s ‘Chinese Rocket’ Ad after PM Modi’s criticism

DMK MP K Kanimozhi came to the party’s defence after Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the state government’s newspaper advertisement allegedly showcasing ‘China rocket’ picture.

“I don’t know from where the person who did the artwork found this picture,” Kanimozhi said while speaking to reporters outside Chennai airport on Wednesday.

“I don’t think India has declared China an enemy country. I have seen that the Prime Minister has invited the Chinese PM and they have gone to Mahabalipuram. Just because you do not want to accept the truth, you are finding reasons to divert the issue,” the DMK leader said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier in the day, also criticised the DMK government over the newspaper advertisement while he was addressing a gathering in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli.

“DMK is a party that does not work but stands ahead to take false credit. These people paste their stickers on our schemes. Now they have crossed the limits, they have pasted China’s sticker to take credit for the ISRO launch pad in Tamil Nadu,” PM Modi said while addressing a gathering in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu.

The Prime Minister alleged that the DMK is ‘not ready’ to accept India’s progress in the space sector.

“They are not ready to accept India’s progress in the space sector and with the taxes that you pay, they give advertisements and do not even include a picture of India’s space in them. They did not want to present India’s space success in front of the world, they insulted our scientists, our space sector, and your tax money. Now it’s high time that the DMK is punished for their deeds,” PM Modi said.

Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai hit out at the ruling DMK for allegedly using a ‘China rocket’ picture in a newspaper advertisement promoting the proposed second launch pad of ISRO in the state.

“This advertisement by DMK Minister Anita Radhakrishnan to leading Tamil dailies today is a manifestation of DMK’s commitment to China and their total disregard for our country’s sovereignty. DMK, a party fighting high on corruption, has been desperate to paste stickers ever since the announcement of ISRO’s second launch pad in Kulasekarapatinam was released,” Annamalai said in a post on X.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Congress high command orders DK Shivakumar to fly to Himachal urgently, Karnataka leader boasts about ‘loyalty’ of party MLAs a day after cross voting

OpIndia Staff
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Congress high command orders DK Shivakumar to fly to Himachal urgently, Karnataka leader boasts about ‘loyalty’ of party MLAs a day after cross voting

As the political crisis unfolds for the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Congress observer for Himachal Pradesh, DK Shivakumar, is leaving for Himachal Pradesh after the party’s direction asking him to step in for crisis management.

Shivakumar also alleged of “horse-trading,” was going on in the hill state and said someday it will “boomerang.”

“Congress party has issued a direction that I should be there. I don’t know why BJP is in such a hurry…any government should have a strong opposition. It is not right, this type of horse-trading, someday it might boomerang…I am confident that all our legislators will be loyal to the party,” said DK Shivakumar.

In a post on X, Shivakumar stated, “There is absolutely no need to indulge in any hearsay, as I am confident that Congress Party legislators will be loyal to the party and stay put with the mandate that has been accorded to them.”

Interestingly, Shivakumar’s statement on the loyalty of Congress MLAs has come just a day after multiple Congress MLAs cross-voted for BJP, resulting in the loss of Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and the win of BJP’s Harsh Mahajan. These included Rajendra Rana, an MLA who had been demanding the ouster of Sukhu as CM.

Lamenting the cross-voting, Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi had stated that the MLAs had dinner with him the previous night and some of them had even sat down for breakfast with him.

Meanwhile in Shimla, as many as 15 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs of Himachal Pradesh were suspended from the House by Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Wednesday allegedly for creating ruckus in his chamber.

The 15 BJP MLAs who were suspended from the House include Jai Ram Thakur, Vipin Parmar, Randhir Sharma, Hans Raj, Vinod Kumar, Janak Raj, Balbir Verma, Lokinder Kumar, Trilok Jamwal, Surinder Shourie, Puran Chand, Dalip Thakur, Inder Singb Gandhi, Ranbir Nikka, and Deep Raj.

The BJP legislators were suspended by the Speaker after State Parliamentary Party Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan moved a proposal recommending the expulsion of the MLAs from the house.

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly was adjourned till 12 pm amid disruptions, with opposition members staging protests in the well of the House, proceedings of the house are yet to resume.

The BJP however has dubbed this a move by the Congress to prevent its government from toppling ahead of the Budget session.

BJP’s winning Rajya Sabha candidate Harsh Mahajan said, “Congress Government is toppling. So such attempts are being made – to suspend them. These are delay tactics and are followed in every Vidhan Sabha…Congress has dismantled from here. All the attempts they make now will fail. BJP will form the Government here…Nine MLAs (who cross-voted) are in my support…”

Delivering another blow to the party in state, Vikramaditya Singh, a powerful minister and son of the former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, stepped down from his position on Wednesday.

“All I would like to say is that under the current circumstances, it is not correct for me to continue as a part of the government. So, I have decided that I am resigning from the Council of Ministers. I am resigning as a minister,” Singh said.

The trouble for the government comes at a time when the Assembly’s annual Budget session is going on and ahead of voting on the state finance bill in the Assembly

(With inputs from ANI)

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