In response to a contempt petition, Deputy Solicitor General SB Pandey informed the Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench on Friday (December 8) that on October 20, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) served notices to actors Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Ajay Devgn for promoting tobacco brands. The bench has set the hearing for May 9, 2024, after hearing the submission.
This comes after lawyer Motilal Yadav filed a petition voicing concerns about the alleged involvement of celebrities and dignitaries, particularly ‘Padma Awardees,’ in advertisements or endorsements of specific products or items that are causing harm to the public’s health.
A court of Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan had earlier directed the central government to decide the representation of the petitioner, who had argued that action should be taken against artists and dignitaries who received high-profile accolades but were advertising for gutkha companies.
The petitioner argued that a representation was made to the government on October 22, however, no action was taken.
Following the hearing of the contempt petition, the high court issued a notice to the central government’s Cabinet Secretary. The Centre has issued show cause notices to Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Ajay Devgn, according to Deputy Solicitor General SB Pandey, who briefed the High Court on Friday.
Moreover, the court was informed that actor Amitabh Bachchan also sent a legal warning to a gutkha brand that was broadcasting his advertisement even though he had terminated his contract with it. It is worth noting that Bachchan withdrew from a paan masala advertising campaign in October 2021 after receiving flak from fans over a commercial that aired featuring him. The actor had announced in his blog post titled “The Office of Mr Amitabh Bachchan” that he has terminated his contract with the gutkha company.
Notably, actors Akshay Kumar alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn were seen in the advertisements of the brand Vimal. This sparked controversy, and Akshay Kumar resigned as Vimal’s brand ambassador last year after receiving criticism from his fans. Previously, he had signed up as a brand ambassador for the company’s Elaichi products. However, Vimal also makes tobacco products, and his endorsement of the brand was seen as an endorsement of those products. In October this year, Kumar refuted a media report claiming that he is returning as the brand ambassador for Vimal Pan Masala.
The President of the University of Pennsylvania, Liz Magill has resigned. This comes just days after her controversial testimony at a congressional hearing about the rise in antisemitism on campuses.
Magill issued a statement about her resignation. She stated, “It has been my privilege to serve as President of this remarkable institution. It has been an honour to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to advance Penn’s vital missions.”
According to the website of the University of Pennsylvania, Magill has “voluntarily” tendered her resignation. She will remain a tenured faculty member at the law college, Penn Carey Law.
Meanwhile, Magill will stay on until an interim president is appointed.
Netizens have welcomed the development. X, formerly Twitter, user Dr. Phil, who boasts a 1.4 million following on the social media platform said he was relieved that Magill has resigned.
I am relieved that Liz Magill resigned as President of @Penn. This week, I viewed a highly restricted @IDF video of the Oct 7 Hamas massacre. I was sickened by video images I can never "unsee" and appalled by university presidents, like Liz Magill, who are OK with calls for… pic.twitter.com/nC15BMqWtG
“I am relieved that Liz Magill resigned as President of @Penn. This week, I viewed a highly restricted @IDF video of the Oct 7 Hamas massacre. I was sickened by video images I can never “unsee” and appalled by university presidents, like Liz Magill, who are OK with calls for Jewish genocide on their campuses. @MeritStMedia,” he wrote.
Another X user named Libs of TikTok with 2.7 million followers pointed out how Magill was smirking while she answered during the Congressional hearing.
Liz Magill, President of @Penn has resigned. This was her smirking as she explained that calling for the g*noc*de of Jews on campus doesn’t violate any policies. pic.twitter.com/TKstRdIJ0u
The user wrote, “Liz Magill, President of @Penn has resigned. This was her smirking as she explained that calling for the g*noc*de of Jews on campus doesn’t violate any policies.”
Calls were being made for Liz Magill’s resignation after her shocking testimony at the congressional hearing about antisemitism on campus which drew widespread condemnation.
On 5th December, the Presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania were confronted by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik during the hearing over the issue of rising cases of antisemitism on their campuses.
During the hearing, the Presidents of all three universities including Liz Magill refused to condemn the calls for the genocide of Jews on their campuses as bullying and harassment, when asked to offer a simple “yes” or “no” answer on whether advocating for the murder of Jews would violate the University’s bullying and harassment policies.
Congresswoman Stefanik asked, “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn’s rules or code of conduct? Yes or no?” To this, Magill replied with a smirk that raised eyebrows, “If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment.” Magill maintained that if antisemitic speech becomes conduct, that is, committed in action, only then does it amount to harassment.
The White House also rebuked the presidents of the universities. White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said, “It’s unbelievable that this needs to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country. Any statements that advocate for the systematic murder of Jews are dangerous and revolting — and we should all stand firmly against them, on the side of human dignity and the most basic values that unite us as Americans.”
On 7th December, Magill issued a clarification saying that her statement was focused on the University’s long-standing policies “aligned with the US Constitution which say that speech alone is not punishable”.
She stated, “In that moment, I was focused on our University’s long-standing policies, aligned with the US Constitution, which say that speech alone is not punishable. I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate. It’s evil plain and simple. I want to be clear, the call for genocide of Jewish people is threatening, deeply so. It is intentionally meant to terrify people who have been subjected to pogroms and hatred for centuries and were the victims of mass genocide in the Holocaust. In my view, it would be harassment or intimidation.”
Calls for Presidents of Harvard and MIT universities are also being made on social media.
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill was forced to step down.
She didn’t really say anything different than the President of Harvard, Claudine Gay
The credibility of Ivy League institutions in the United States has come into question following the rise in antisemitic demonstrations, actions and even violence going unabated on their campuses in light of the Israel-Hamas war.
On Saturday (9th December), Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren attended a program in Pathargama in the Godda area of Jharkhand. While addressing various beneficiaries of different state government schemes, the CM asked in his speech whether the girls present there get the money to buy a cycle. In response, the girls answered ‘No’, leaving the CM visibly embarrassed. A video of this incident has gone viral on social media.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren had arrived to participate in the ‘Aapki Yojana, Aapki Sarkar, Aapke Dwar’ programme organised at Pathargama in Godda. He interacted with the children and the beneficiaries of the program. During this, the Chief Minister asked the girls whether they got the money for bicycles under the state scheme or not.
The girls responded by saying no. After this, Hemant Soren asked the officer standing behind him on the stage the reason for not providing the money for the bicycle. Hemant Soren was told the money was being sent to the girls’ account. He further asked if the girls were getting benefitted from the Savitribai Phule scheme of the state government. This time, the ‘No’ from the girls was even louder. A video of this whole exchange has gone viral on social media.
Bharatiya Janata Party also shared this video of Hemant Soren through their official account on the social media platform X. In the caption, the BJP wrote, “The hollow promises of the false government have been exposed. The daughters of Jharkhand exposed Hemant Soren’s false promises in front of him.”
BJP State President Babulal Marandi also shared the video and said that the CM has removed the video from the official platform, and asked how will he hide the corruption in the state.
सुनने में आ रहा है कि हेमंत ने अपने जगहंसाई वाला ये वीडियो सरकारी प्लेटफॉर्म से हटा दिया है l हेमंत जी, आपने वीडियो तो हटा दिया लेकिन…
– झारखंड के दामन पर भ्रष्टाचार की जो कालिख आपने पोती है, उसे कैसे मिटाएंगे?
– अलमारी से जो नोटों का जखीरा मिला है, उसका हिसाब कब देंगे?
Hemant Soren later said in the video that those who have already received the money in the Savitribai Phule scheme, only they will get it, and there is no rule now for money for the other children. Regarding the money for the cycle, the CM said that money will be directly transferred to the accounts and won’t be given there.
The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police, in a joint operation with Rajasthan Police, detained three persons, including two main accused, from Chandigarh in connection with the murder of Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, the Delhi police said on Sunday.
As per the police, the main accused, Rohit Rathore and Nitin Fauji, are also among those arrested today. The police informed that all three accused are being brought to Delhi.
Earlier on Saturday, December 9, Jaipur police arrested Ramveer Singh, a resident of Mahendragarh, Haryana, in connection to Gogamedi’s murder.
On December 5, Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi was murdered by two shooters, Nitin Fauji and Rohit Rathore, in an indiscriminate firing at his residence in Shyam Nagar and arrangements were facilitated for Nitin Fauji by the accused Ramveer Singh in Jaipur, said the Jaipur Police Commissioner in an official statement.
He further said that on November 9, Nitin Fauji and his associates fired on the police of Mahendragarh Police Station Sadar and absconded. During this period, Nitin Fauji sent his friend Ramveer to Jaipur on November 19.
One of the assailants, Naveen Shekhawat, was killed at Gogamedi’s residence during the exchange of fire with the police. One of Gogamedi’s security guards was injured in the crossfire, as per the police.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Following the IT raids and discovery of unaccounted cash to the tune of Rs 300 crores and counting from Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu, the Congress party has officially distanced itself from the businesses of the party leader.
Taking to X, Congress party’s General Secretary in charge of Communications, Jairam Ramesh claimed that the Indian National Congress has nothing to do with the businesses run by its Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand. The senior Congress functionary added that only the accused in the case, Sahu could explain the source for huge piles of cash reportedly seized from his properties and demanded an explanation from Sahu.
The post conveying the message both in Hindi and English stated, “The Indian National Congress is in no way connected with the businesses of Dheeraj Sahu, MP. Only he can explain, and should explain, how huge amounts of cash have been reportedly unearthed by the income-tax authorities from his properties.”
सांसद धीरज साहू के बिज़नेस से भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस का कोई लेना-देना नहीं है। सिर्फ़ वही बता सकते हैं, और उन्हें यह स्पष्ट करना भी चाहिए, कि कैसे आयकर अधिकारियों द्वारा कथित तौर पर उनके ठिकानों से इतनी बड़ी मात्रा में कैश बरामद किया जा रहा है।
As per reports, the raids concluded today after four days. The total amount of seizure is expected to rise as additional cash is yet to be counted, and authorities have received intelligence indicating other locations where cash may be concealed. Additionally, tax officials have retrieved a bag containing gold jewellery, which has been seized.
Earlier in the day, Tax inspections continued on 9th December at the Odisha and Jharkhand properties linked to Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand Dheeraj Sahu after over Rs 200 crore and up to Rs 300 crore in undeclared funds were found in the investigation which commenced on 6th December. Three more bags were confiscated by Income Tax teams from the politician’s Ranchi premises recently.
I-T raids in Odisha |
Rs 46 crore cash has been counted on the second day, informs Bolangir SBI Regional Manager adding that the bank had received a total of 176 bags filled with cash; earlier, bank received 156 bags and 20 more bags came yesterday. 25 counting machines and 50…
Bhagat Beherea, the Regional Manager of the State Bank of India in Bolangir further informed that the bank has received 176 bags containing money in total. The bank had received 156 bags earlier and 20 more bags with cash arrived yesterday and the bank is yet to conclude the counting of currency notes. Fifty workers and twenty-five counting machines have been deployed to count the currency notes. He said that more people would be added to the task.
The IT sleuths have raided locations linked with the MP’s Boudh Distillery and its affiliated offices, Baldev Sahu Infra (a company linked to Boudh Distillery), and a rice mill owned by the same distillery across Odisha and Jharkhand.
“Countrymen should look at these piles of currency notes and then hear the addresses of its (Congress) leaders on honesty. Every penny looted from people will have to be returned. This is Modi’s guarantee,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media while reacting to the development.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested 15 terrorists in connection with raids conducted over 44 locations across Karnataka and Maharashtra in an ISIS terror conspiracy. The ISIS terrorists arrested had self-declared the village of Padgha in rural Thane as ‘Al-Sham’, which is a reference to ‘liberated zones’ in Syria.
Interestingly, one of the 15 terrorists arrested by the premier investigating agency is Saquib Nachan, a radical Islamist with a history of involvement in multiple terror cases. Nachan was convicted in a bomb blast in 2002 in Mumbai’s Ville Parle, Mumbai Central, and Mulund station, which resulted in dozens of deaths.
Former secretary of the banned terror outfit ‘Students Islamic Movement of India’, which was later rechristened as ‘Indian Mujahideen’ to evade punitive actions by intel agencies and evade arrests, Nachan was a BCom graduate and ran a business of land development before plunging into the world of Islamic terrorism.
Son of a Zill Parishad chief and social worker, Nachan owned vast tracts of ancestral land in and around Borivali village, Padgah, Thane district.
Nachan gained infamy after being involved in multiple terror blasts in Mumbai in just four months. He was accused of a blast at Mumbai Central railway station that injured 25 people in December 2002. A month later, he was accused of another bomb blast, this time in Vile Parle which killed 1 and injured 25 others. In March 2003, Nachan was named in a bomb blast at Mulund station that killed 11 and injured 82.
He was arrested shortly thereafter by Mumbai Police in April 2003 and held in prison for over 7 years. In 2011, he managed to secure bail but was arrested months later in connection with an attempted murder of VHP activist and lawyer Manoj Raicha.
The former secretary of SIMI was finally convicted in March 2016 for possessing weapons under the anti-terror law and sentenced to 10 years in jail. He served one year and 8 months in jail as a convict, while the remainder of the term as undertrial to come out free in November 2017.
However, Nachan’s rearrest indicates that a decade in prison had done little to discourage recidivism and instil fear in him of the law of the land.
Earlier in August this year, the NIA arrested Saquib Nachan’s son in connection with the ISIS terror module that was busted by police in Pune in July 2023.
Shamil Nachan, a resident of Padgha in Thane, was in touch with the other arrested accused identified as Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, Mohammed Imran Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki, Simab Nasiruddin Kazi and Abdul Kadir Pathan, along with other suspects, the agency had said then.
NIA arrests 15 ISIS terrorists, village in Thane was declared as ‘Al-Sham’, ‘liberated zone’ like Syria
On 9th December, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) announced that it raided 44 locations in Maharashtra and Karnataka in which they arrested 15 ISIS terrorists of the ISIS Maharashtra module. As per the initial investigation of NIA, the arrested accused had self-declared the village of Padgha in rural Thane as a ‘liberated zone‘ and as ‘Al-Sham’. Seemingly areas in Syria are referred to with such notations. They were motivating impressionable Muslim youth to relocate to Padgha from their place of residence to strengthen the Padgha base, NIA revealed in its official press release.
NIA investigations have further revealed that the accused, all members of the ISIS Maharashtra module, were operating from Padgha-Borivali. From there, they had hatched the conspiracy to spread terror and carry out acts of violence across India, the agency noted.
The NIA also pointed out that the accused were also aiming to wage a war against the Indian government. The press release reads, “Pursuing the path of violent Jihad, Khilafat, ISIS, etc., the accused had aimed to disturb the peace and communal harmony of the country and to wage a war against the Government of India.”
The US authorities claimed that earlier this year they foiled a purported assassination plot of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, alleging the involvement of Indian government officials/agents in the act. Additionally, the US argued that this purported attempt to kill ‘US citizens’ on US soil by India or its government officials impinged on its sovereign authority.
While the US allegations are still under investigation, Spanish media has revealed that at least two US officials/agents were caught bribing Spain’s secret service officers. Subsequently, they were discreetly expelled from Madrid on Thursday (7th December), as reported by Spanish media El Pais.
As per reports, at least two U.S. agents stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, who were directly involved in recruiting spies of Spain’s Secret Service CNI, have been discreetly expelled from Spain. The revelation that US officials were bribing two agents from Spain’s CNI intelligence service to provide classified information has led to diplomatic friction between Madrid and Washington.
According to a Spanish media report, Spain’s Foreign as well as Defence Minister reprimanded the US ambassador separately and sought an explanation for such an act from the US side against its NATO ally and friendly nation, Spain. Responsible for overseeing the CNI, Spanish Minister of Defense Margarita Robles summoned the U.S. ambassador to Spain, Julissa Reynoso, to her office and sought an explanation.
(File Photo of Spain’s Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles (L) and the U.S. ambassador to Spain, Julissa Reynoso (R), Image Source – Spanish Media El Pais)
According to sources, when U.S. Ambassador Reynoso was summoned by Minister Robles, she said that she was not aware of the case. She allegedly claimed that the U.S. agents who had bribed the Spanish spies were working independently of her. She argued that the purported program was launched before current President Joe Biden assumed power at the White House and for reasons unknown, it had been maintained until now.
The same sources added that Reynoso apologised for what happened and promised utmost collaboration with the ongoing investigation. The case has left the U.S. in an embarrassing situation, the report noted.
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, also spoke with Reynoso and expressed the Spanish government’s unease over the revelations, the report added citing government sources.
Albares agreed to expel at least two American spies who were involved in recruiting and bribing the CNI agents. However, some sources claim that there were more spies. The spies were expelled discreetly, as Washington rushed to remove them.
The report added that such actions are considered hostile and are not expected between two allies. Additionally, it also pointed out that the case is a very serious matter as it involves recruiting secret agents of a host state to betray their own country which is considered an openly hostile act. It noted that such actions may be taken with enemy or adversary governments, but never with friends and allies.
The Spanish double agents were arrested in September but the court kept it secretive
According to El Confidencial news website, the two CNI agents were arrested in September for leaking top secret data to the US. The investigation started when during a CNI security check, it was found that the two Spanish agents had accessed classified information not pertinent to their duties, and they were not authorised to know.
Subsequently, the internal investigation confirmed that at least one of the agents had been recruited by U.S. spies to gather secret information in return for a large sum of money. The agent was positioned as a middle-ranking official in the secret service.
According to CNI sources, one of the agents held the role of an area chief within a section of the intelligence division, while the other agent worked as their assistant.
After concluding its investigation, the CNI director, Esperanza Casteleiro, brought the case to the attention of the Prosecutor’s Office at Spain’s highest court, the National Assembly. The case was subsequently transferred to the Prosecutor’s Office of the High Court of Madrid, as deemed the competent authority. The Madrid tribunal then complained to the investigative courts of Plaza de Castilla.
As per reports citing sources, it was during this period that the Spanish government opted to disclose the investigation’s findings to the United States and condemned the incident.
Launching a scathing attack on their ‘ally’ US, sources noted, “What do Americans have to pay for if we give them everything they ask for?”
They asserted that Spain openly collaborates with the United States, and always exchanges information. The sources added that the number of times in which Spain has refused to share information of interest to Washington is “between one and zero.”
Meanwhile, the Madrid court sealed the investigation, issuing orders for the arrest of the two purported CNI spies and the search of their residences. Both individuals were subsequently taken to the Estremera prison module in Madrid. However, the CNI assistant was released last month but his superior remains incarcerated.
Both the arrested CNI agents working for the US are accused of the crime of revealing secrets. They could face a jail term of 6-12 years under Article 584 of the Penal Code. The rule punishes “a Spaniard who, with the purpose of helping a foreign power, association or international organization, procures, falsifies, disables or discloses information classified as reserved or secret, that is likely to harm national security or national defense.”
However, reports indicate that this is not the only instance where the Spanish secret service has reported one of its agents for espionage. In an earlier incident in 2007, the CNI initiated a case against former spy Roberto Flórez, who had served at the center from 1992 to 2004. The action was taken following the discovery of classified documentation in his residence and two apartments he owned in Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife.
The CNI also confiscated a letter directed to the Russian secret services, wherein Flórez proposed collaboration in exchange for an initial payment of $200,000. While there was no conclusive evidence that Flórez had handed over the classified documents, the Provincial Court of Madrid handed him a 12-year prison sentence in 2010. Subsequently, the Supreme Court reduced this sentence to nine years.
On Friday (8th December, US local time), American political commentator Jack Posobiec took to X (formerly Twitter) to inform that a reporter from the leftist media outlet The WashingtonPost was soliciting information about Indian OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) handle ‘Disinfo Lab.’
The ‘reporter’ was identified as Pranshu Verma, a tech ‘journalist’ who started working with The Washington Post in February 2022. He had reached out to Jack Posobiec in the hopes of deterring the American political commentator from sharing informative posts of ‘Disinfo Lab.’
“We are doing a story on a group called Disinformation Lab,” Pranshu Verma revealed his plans to carry out a hit job on the Indian OSINT handle.
“Our reporting shows this group combines fact-based research with unsubstantiated claims to paint U.S. government figures, researchers, Indian American human-rights activists and international humanitarian groups as part of a conspiracy, purportedly led by global Islamic groups and the billionaire George Soros, to undermine India. Our analysis found you have retweeted this organisation’s content,” he told Jack Posobiec.
Some guy claiming to be from the Washington Post, just sent me a long text message alleging that I retweeted a post from an Indian intel agency-run media outlet
Without furnishing any evidence, The WashingtonPost ‘journalist’ claimed, “Do you know about the organization’s background? Our research has found Disinfo Lab is actually run by an Indian Intelligence Officer. Did you know that?”
Pranshu Verma then sought a response from the American political commentator based on his unsubstantiated assertions. “Due to the sensitive nature of this story, the time for response is tight. Please provide a response by the end of day today, Friday, December 8th,” he emphasised.
However, he did not anticipate a befitting reply from Jack Posobiec that would put ‘The Washington Post’ in the dock. ” So if it’s a intel agency run-media outlet that basically makes it the same as the Washington Post then?” the American political commentator wrote.
Jack Posobiec told Verma that The Washington Post is a media outlet run by the United States Intelligence and by his ‘assertion’ would make it similar to ‘Disinfo Lab.’ As expected, the tech ‘journalist’ did not respond to the message.
Brown sepoy romanticises Islamists and their make-believe stories
Although Pranshu Verma writes mundane articles on technology, he was roped in by The Washington Post to disseminate anti-India propaganda.
In January this year, he romanticised an Islamist named Raqib Hameed Naik in an article titled ‘Tracking rising religious hatred in India, from half a world away.’ 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
Screengrab of the article by Pranshu Verma
In his article in January 2023, Pranshu Verma relied on a database provided by ‘DOTO’ to allege that ‘religious hatred’ is on the rise in India.
‘Disinfo Lab’ had earlier exposed the fabrications of DOTO, following which the latter first revised and then deleted the database.
Coincidentally, The Washington Post ‘journalist’ is now hounding the same Indian OSINT handle that uncovered the dubious nature of his news report.
Verma’s story is a desperate attempt to paint ‘rising hatred in India’ and one of the ‘evidences’ he has quoted is the DOTO database. DOTO was fabricating numbers of ‘atrocities’ on minorities in India.
AFTER our expose, DOTO first REVISED its database and later DELETED!
Around the same time he was soliciting information about ‘Disinfo Lab’ from Jack Posobiec, ‘rebel’ Pranshu Verma staged a one-day strike against his employer The Washington Post over lack of ‘fair wages.’
“Today I walked off the job with more than 700 of my Washington Post colleagues because the company is breaking the law and bargaining in bad faith,” he had tweeted on Thursday (7th December).
“Respect our @PostGuild picket line: Avoid Washington Post journalism on Dec. 7. Thrilled to see so many colleagues on the picket line today,” he said in another tweet.
As the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in India inch closer, Western media cartels and other vested interests are increasingly targeting those exposing anti-India narratives on social media.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came together to slam Congress leader and Sivaganga Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram for mocking the Tata Group’s plans to set up a semiconductor plant in Assam. Refering to a report saying that Tata Electronics is planning to invest ₹40,000 crore to set up a semiconductor plant in Assam, he wrote on 8th December, “Call me when the facility is actually operational.”
It is notable that on 8th December, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the Tata group has sought approval for a semiconductor plant in the state. He shared, “Tata Group has submitted an application to set up a semiconductor processing plant in Assam with an investment of Rs 40,000 crore. This will be a game-changer. My gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his continuous guidance in transforming our state,” on social media and the Congress leader picked it as an opportunity to target the state government.
By the comment, Karti Chidambaram wanted to imply that it is just a hollow promise and that the plant will not come up in Assam.
However, the BJP leaders as well as netizens responded strongly to the attack. The Assam chief minister promised to call him as soon as the plant is established in the state. He tweeted, “Yes. I will. Promise”
BJP national general secretary BL Santhosh called out the “arrogance” of the Congress politician and asserted, “This arrogance has cost you Tamil Nadu outside Shivagangai. Has cost Assam too. You will face the brunt across Bharath too. Hope your Assam leaders read your tweet.’
This arrogance has cost you Tamilnadu outside Shivagangai . Has cost Assam too . You will face the brunt across Bharath too . Hope your Assam leaders read your tweet . https://t.co/Gjmuqe6JdG
Dr SG Suryah, state secretary of BJP Tamil Nadu reminded the Congress leader of his father’s anti-digitalization argument. “Dare to challenge even after your father’s historical nose cut on Digital Transactions in India,” he asked.
Seriously? Dare to challenge even after your father’s historical nose cut on Digital Transactions in India?? https://t.co/pf6RV9cmXB
Minister in Assam government Pijush Hazarika asked if Karti Chidambaram meant that “Assamese people aren’t capable of building a semiconductor facility?”
What exactly are you trying to say ? That Assamese people aren’t capable to build a semi conductor facility ? https://t.co/R5QX7DilyD
Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai posted a hard-hitting tweet, saying, “Dynast Thiru @KartiPC & his father Thiru @PChidambaram_IN do not often step out of their palace to witness the reality & transformation the country is witnessing today.” He quoted how P Chidambaram had in 2017 said that vegetable sellers will never accept online payments, and mentioned how UPI has proved him wrong.
Dynast Thiru @KartiPC & his father Thiru @PChidambaram_IN do not often step out of their palace to witness the reality & transformation the country is witnessing today.
“Go to a village fair, buy potatoes & tomatoes and pay ₹7.50 by a credit card. What will the poor lady do?… https://t.co/XR1PViCb8H
Annamalai added, “Today, Thiru @KartiPC mocks a Northern Eastern State Assam & its CM Thiru @himantabiswa avl for their capability to attract an ₹40,000 Cr semiconductor processing plant. So, another failed challenge to the long list of failed challenges for the Father-Son duo in the making.”
The official spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Telangana unit referred to the recent electoral defeat of former state chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and charged, “We had a son of the chief minister just like you. Now, he is in a farmhouse without power. To question is something legitimate, but arrogance and shamelessness will be answered with the ballot. By the way, your party is nonexistent in the Northeast due to the same arrogance.”
We had a son of CM just like you.
Now he is in farmhouse without power.
To question is something legitimate, but arrogance and shamelessness will be answered with ballot.
Meanwhile, social media users also raised questions about his statement and denounced him for the same. A popular handle named BefittingFacts commented, “To work as a labour? Dont think you are qualified enough to work as a labourer. You can open an Idli Dosa stall outside the factory.”
To work as a labour? Dont think you are qualified enough to work as a labour. You can open a Idli Dosa stall outside factory.
Neha S taunted the Congress MP about the charges of corruption levelled against him. “Why don’t you disclose the trick of making hundreds of crores from growing cabbage in pots? My kitchen garden has lots of space and I have around 20-30 pots with good soil that are ready to use. I think this facility is operational.”
Why don't you disclose the trick of making hundred of crores from growing cabbage in pots. My kitchen garden have lots of space and I have around 20-30 pots with good soil are ready to use. I think this facility is operational ?https://t.co/2n9SQOs1A2
“Remove Chidambaram from your surname, no one will even recognise you,” remarked one individual drawing attention to the Congressman’s nepotistic roots.
Remove Chidambaram from your surname, no one will even recognise you…#nepotism
Another recalled the comments passed by the Congress leader and pointed out, “Even your papa once mocked about digital India. You didn’t learn from it.”
Even your "papa" once mocked about digital India…You didn't learn from it…
One person told the Lok Sabha MP to email his curriculum vitae (CV) to the Assam chief minister for the job. “Do mention your skill, I mean, other than being a gardener during the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) era,” he added.
Email your CV to him for the job. Do mention your skill, I mean, other than being a gardener during the UPA era..
Notably, Karti Chidambaram is the son of former Union Finance Minister in the Congress government and current Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram who took a jab at the present government’s ‘Digital India’ campaign in 2017.
Interestingly, the senior Chidambaram vehemently criticised the Modi government’s ‘Digital India’ program earlier in 2017 in a speech in Rajya Sabha by claiming that it was impossible to discuss a cashless economy in a rural area. “You go there and the people ask ‘What digital?’ It is very difficult to get away with a lie. The best way to do so is to utter the biggest lie.”
He further charged, “You speak about digitisation. First, teach that to the RBI. Every rupee has come back, except in Bhutan, Nepal and NRIs, whose money can’t come now, because you breached your promise to them,” arguing that the ambitious initiative of the central administration was bound for a massive failure.
Meanwhile, his predictions didn’t come to fruition and with 1,124 crore United Payments Interface (UPI) transactions in November this year, the nation’s digital payments through UPI surpassed the 11 Billion threshold for the second consecutive month. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) released data showing that these transactions were up 54% from the 730.95 crore transactions that the payments network registered in November 2022. Chidambaram had argued that small traders like vegetable sellers will never be able to accept cashless payments, but now every single roadside stall has small boards displaying their QR codes enabling them to receive payments via UPI.
Days after Senior Supreme Court advocate Kapil Sibal sparked a controversy by claiming that Assam was originally a part of Myanmar, Congress leader Debabrata Saikia demanded an apology for distorting history. The leader of the opposition in Assam has written a letter to former Congress leader Kapil Sibal in this regard.
Debabrata Saikia wrote that this incorrect representation of Assam history by Sibal is very unfortunate and it has hurt the pride and prestige of Assam. “It seems the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and AAMSU might have provided you with incorrect information about Assam history and your team has failed to cross check the data before presentation,” he wrote. AAMSU stands for All Assam Minority Students’ Union.
Assam Congress Legislative Party Leader Debabrata Saikia has written a letter to Kapil Sibal to apologize publicly to people of Assam. Sibal, who was a Union Minister several times during Congress govt, had himself said in Supreme Court that Assam was under Myanmar in the past. pic.twitter.com/L3ypEAEnE7
— Nandan Pratim Sharma Bordoloi (@NANDANPRATIM) December 9, 2023
Debabrata Saikia is MLA from Nazira constituency and the son of former Assam chief minister late Hiteshwar Sarikia.
Explaining the contention that Assam was part of Myanmar is wrong, the Congress leader wrote, “The history of Assam is the history of a confluence of the Austroasiatic, Tibeto- Burman (Sino-Tibetan), Tai and Indo-Aryan cultures. The Ahom kingdom ruled Assam for six centuries and unified Assam. Although invaded over centuries, it was never a vassal or a colony to an external power until the third Burmese invasion in 1821, and subsequently the British ingress into Assam in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War. The colonial era began with the establishment of British control after the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826.”
The Congress leader added, “Therefore, Assam was never a part of Myanmar and this comment from a senior statesman like you have hurt the pride and emotion of indigenous people of Assam.” Asking Kapil Sibal to withdraw the comments made in the Supreme Court, Debabrata Saikia also asked him to issue an apology to the people of Assam for distorting the history of Assam. “In view of this, I request you to kindly withdraw the statement and render a public apology before the public of Assam for mis-representation of Assam’s glorious history,” he wrote.
Kapil Sibal made the controversial comments on 7th September in Supreme Court while opposing petitions challenging Section 6A of the Citizenship Act. A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 provides a different cut-off date for immigrants to be considered illegal immigrants. As per this, all foreigners who entered Assam on or before 25th March 1971 will be granted Indian citizenship, against the cut-off date of 19th July 1949 for the rest of the country.
While arguing against the petitions, Kapil Sibal said that history of Assam is complicated as it was part of Myanmar which was later handed over to the British. Sibal also claimed that migration to Assam can’t be mapped, as ‘no migration can ever be mapped’.
Kapil Sibal said in the apex court, “If you look at the history of Assam, it is impossible to figure out who came when. Assam originally was a part of Myanmar, and it was way back in 1824 after the British conquered a part of it. A treaty was entered into and that is how Assam was handed over to the British.”
What Sibal said was incorrect, because while the Burmese army occupied Assam for a very brief period of time, that led to the first Anglo-Burma war that ended in 1826, Assam was never a part of Assam. The Treaty of Yandabo was signed between Myanmar and British India after Myanmar lost the war, under which Myanmar ceded control of Assam and Manipur to British government.
Before Burma occupied Assam in 1821-1822 that lasted till 1826 during the war, it was never a part of any other country in recorded history. Assam, previously known as Pragjyotishpur and Kamrup, is being ruled by local rulers for thousands of years, and the state, along with neighbouring states, are part of the greater Indian culture from pre-historic times.
Earlier Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma slammed Kapil Sibal for the comment, saying that those who do not know history should not make such statements.
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