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Supreme Court upholds Centre’s power to appoint Delhi’s Chief Secretary, allows extension of Naresh Kumar’s tenure by six months

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court upholds Centre’s power to appoint Delhi’s Chief Secretary, allows extension of Naresh Kumar’s tenure by six months

On 29th November (Wednesday), the Supreme Court allowed the Union government to extend the tenure of the Chief Secretary of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD), Naresh Kumar, by six months. He was otherwise due to retire tomorrow (30th November). The apex court also upheld the Central Government’s power to appoint the Chief Secretary of the Delhi Government. 

The court also held that such power also includes the power to extend the term of the superannuating officer. The top court noted that the Centre is empowered to extend the tenure of the Chief Secretary who deals with police, land, and public order, which are beyond the Delhi government’s ambit. As per the newly passed Government of NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Act 2023, the three subjects namely public order, police and land are Constitutionally excluded from the powers of the Delhi government.

Notably, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra was hearing a writ petition filed by the Delhi Government. The bench rejected the Delhi government’s plea which had urged the court to restrain the Union from extending Kumar’s term as the Chief Secretary. 

The plea had also challenged the Union government’s power to unilaterally appoint a Chief Secretary or extend the term of the incumbent without consultation with it. The CJI refused Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s argument that the Delhi govt should have a voice because the CS is dealing with several other matters that are in the domain of the Delhi government.

The Supreme Court bench noted that the Centre’s decision was “not violative of Constitutional distribution of powers”. However, it clarified that its views were ‘prima facie’ in nature and that they were subject to the adjudication by the Constitution Bench on the validity of the Centre’s services law.

The bench said, “We conclude that at this stage, bearing in mind the judgement of this court in CB 2 and subsequent developments, the decision of the Union Govt to extend the services of Chief Secretary for 6 months cannot be construed to be violative of the law.” 

While rejecting the Delhi Government’s plea, the bench referred to the recent services law passed by the Parliament (Government of NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Act 2023). The law gives the Centre overriding powers over GNCTD services. 

While the validity of the Act has been referred to a Constitution Bench, the operation of the Act has not been stayed. 

The bench noted that three subjects are Constitutionally excluded from the powers of the Delhi government – public order, police, and land. During the hearing, the CJI highlighted that the Chief Secretary has to deal with these excluded matters as well.

The bench rejected the Delhi government’s plea a day after the Centre told the Supreme Court that it intends to extend the tenure of Naresh Kumar for a limited period. 

Regarding the Centre’s submission, the bench asked the Solicitor General under what provisions the government intended to do so. The Solicitor General replied, “Till a new appointment is done, we intend to extend the tenure of the present Chief Secretary.” 

Congress leaders share fake IB press note with R&AW logo, claims party winning Telangana elections a day before voting

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leaders share fake IB press note with R&AW logo, claims party winning Telangana elections a day before voting

On 29th November, the President of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) Telangana, Venkat Balmoor, shared a fake Intelligence Bureau press note claiming the Congress party would win Telangana elections. Later, he deleted the post, but the screenshots of it went viral on social media.

In the now-deleted post, Balmoor wrote, “Game over for BRS. IB report says it’s a clear majority for Congress in Telangana.”

Source: X/Vikram930019675

The so-called IB report was dated 23rd November 2023. While the report’s heading suggested “Intelligence Bureau”, the logo of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) was next to it. It was claimed in the fake press note that following the on-ground assessment, it was found that Congress was expected to win over 72 seats with a 44 per cent vote share. It further claimed the ruling party, BRS, would get around 34-37 seats, and BJP would end up with 2-4 seats. Polling for Telangana assembly elections will take place tomorrow, 30 November, while the votes will be counted on 3 December.

For those who are unaware, R&AW reports to the Prime Minister’s office. On the other hand, the Intelligence Bureau reports to the Home Ministry.

Source: X/Sai_alikachenu

Balmoor was one of many to share the fake IB report. In a post, Telangana Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) President’s official X account shared the fake IB report and wrote, “Game over for BRS. IB report says it’s a clear majority for Congress in Telangana.” He added, “This report has been reportedly submitted to the Union Home Ministry.” Reportedly, INTUC maintains a close relationship with the All India Congress Committee or AICC.

Source: X

Chairman of INC Puducherry Korkadu Ashok also shared a similar post.

Source: X

Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party used such tactics. On several occasions, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal claimed that his party would win the elections, per the IB reports. However, AAP only cited imaginary IB reports, unlike Congress leaders, who went one step ahead and shared a fake “confidential” IB report on social media.

In October 2022, Arvind Kejriwal cited an imaginary IB report and claimed that AAP would win the Gujarat Assembly elections. When the results were declared, AAP managed only five seats and lost the deposit on 126 seats. After losing the election, AAP leader Naresh Balyan claimed Kejriwal never talked about reports by the Intelligence Bureau. He was talking about reports from “Internal Broadcasting” that gives the assessment of the seats. Notably, there are videos available where Kejriwal is specifically saying Intelligence Bureau that can be checked here and here. The tweet by Balyan, despite being fake, was not removed. In 2017, Kejriwal shared an unverified “IB report” stating a clean sweep for AAP in Punjab. AAP managed to win a few seats, but the election winner was Congress.

​Uttar Pradesh: Doctors Akram Jamal and Hifzur Rahman nabbed for selling newborn to Councillor Nisar by lying that the child had died, hospital sealed

OpIndia Staff
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​Uttar Pradesh: Doctors Akram Jamal and Hifzur Rahman nabbed for selling newborn to Councillor Nisar by lying that the child had died, hospital sealed

In a shocking case from Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur, two doctors falsely declared a newborn baby dead only to sell the infant, who has now been recovered after the mother’s month-long struggle. The police have arrested the accused identified as Dr. Akram Jamal and Dr. Hifzur Rahman, and the hospital where the incident happened has been sealed by the administration.

Pushpa Devi, wife of Jai Jairam, was admitted to the Mission Hospital and Maternal Child Surgical Center in Pachpedwa on 29th October. Dr. Akram Jamal of the hospital called Dr. Hafizur Rahman of Siddharth Nagar for the operation. Accordingly, the operation was performed by Dr. Hifzur Rahman.

However, after that the doctors sold the newborn child to Nisar, the councillor of Badhni Nagar Panchayat ward no 2. After regaining consciousness, Pushpa Devi was told that her child had died but the mother did not believe the same and kept pursuing the hospital to return her child.

According to reports, Pushpa Devi’s husband thought that she was in shock and he kept trying to placate her, however, she would demand that her child be returned every day for the last month. She would visit the hospital every day with that demand. Finally, her husband approached the Pachpedwa police station to file a complaint. The police too reportedly tried to make Pushpa Devi understand thinking that she is unable to believe the news of her child’s death.

But it was Pushpa Devi’s confidence which prompted the police to get to work. The police launched an investigation and found out the truth.

Inspector-in-charge Awadhesh Raj Singh said that at first, he thought that the mother was unable to accept the loss of her child, but after seeing her persistence, they decided to take action. The police also got a tip-off indicating the child was sold.

In the probe, it was found that Pushpa Devi had delivered a healthy baby, but doctors Akram Jamal and Hifzur Rahman handed over the child to councillor Nisar and lied to her that the child had died. Subsequently, the doctors were arrested and sent to jail. The child was also recovered from Nisar’s house and handed over to the family.

According to police, the arrested accused claimed that Nisar was without a child hence they gave the child to him without taking any money. However, the same has not yet been confirmed. The police are investigating all angles which could also involve a child trafficking racket.

In the meanwhile, the councillor has reportedly escaped to Nepal and efforts are underway to arrest him.

Following the development, the health department sealed the Mission Hospital and Maternal Child Surgical Center in Pachpedwa, and removed the board outside the hospital on Wednesday. The administration also revealed that the hospital was being run illegally.

While raiding the hospital, the officials found that another hospital in the area was also being run illegally without any valid documents, and that hospital was also shut down.

Srinagar: Hindu student who was booked for ‘blasphemy’ for sharing an old video, and his Kashmiri Muslim friend receive death threats from Islamists

OpIndia Staff
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Srinagar: Hindu student who was booked for ‘blasphemy’ for sharing an old video, and his Kashmiri Muslim friend receive death threats from Islamists

Amidst a controversy over a Hindu student at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar sharing an old video of Hamas founder Sheik Hussain Yousef’s son Mosab making critical comments about Islam and Prophet Muhammad on his Instagram story, social media is flooded with death threats from Islamists to the Hindu student and his alleged Kashmiri girlfriend.

An FIR has been registered at the Nigeen Police Station against the non-local student on Tuesday under sections 295A (outraging religious feelings),153A (promoting enmity) 153 (provocation) of the IPC. Taking to X, Srinagar Police informed about the registration of the FIR and wrote, “Police has taken cognizance of the incident of uploading of sensitive content against religious sentiments of a particular community by one student of NIT Srinagar. Upon receipt of communication from NIT authorities, case FIR No.156/23 u/s 295A,153A,153 IPC registered.”

FIR copy

Even though an FIR has already been registered, protests and “Allahu Akbar”, “Labaik ya Rasoolallah”, and Sar tan se juda” sloganeering were reported at the Amar Singh and Islamia Colleges of Srinagar on Wednesday in addition to the online threats, harassment and calls for hanging the accused.

The Islamists on X revealed the personal details of the Hindu youth including his pictures along with his Kashmiri girlfriend. The online bloodthirsty mob has been claiming that the Hindu youth lured the girl into the alleged “Bhagwa love trap”. As seen in many X posts, the online harassers blurred the pictures of the girl, however, deliberately revealed the Hindu youth’s face for fellow Islamists to identify him.

The vile comments against the Kashimir girl allegedly dating the Hindu student included “Men spill blood for the nation (Kashmir) and women like these just pee on it”.

An X user with username “kashir_koor” wrote, “Gustakh-e Nabi (saw) ki ek saza sar tan se juda sar tan se juda.”

Another one threatened to kill the Hindu student’s lady friend and wrote, “My petition is to kill that girl #NIT.”

One Abid Nazir wrote, “Hang both of them at NIT gate, disrespect of our prophet will not be tolerated.”

Another one wrote, “Gustakh-e-Rasool ki ek hi saza, Sar tan se judaa…”

Another Islamist expressed his hatred for a Kafir (non-muslim) and wrote, “I am unable to understand how Kashmiri girls fall for these pajeets. During my university days, I used to avoid these pajeets because they smelled like ambi anchaar(mango pickle) . When I used to see these pajeets, I used to change my way. Yakh thuu. #NITSrinagar #pajeet #bihari.”

Another Islamist went a step ahead saying that if the girl was his sister, he would have “chopped her in thousand pieces and thrown to dogs,” adding that she should be “exposed” and “humiliated.”

As reported earlier, Islamists on X have also launched a trend “#HangblasphmerPrathmeshNIT” demanding that the Hindu youth be hanged to death for an Instagram story.

Meanwhile, the website of NIT Srinagar has reportedly been hacked. Although specific pages on the site are opening the Home Page of the website is inaccessible and displays a message, “Sorry for the inconvenience but we’re performing some maintenance at the moment. If you need to you can always contact us, otherwise, we’ll be back online shortly! —CSC Web Team.”

NIT Srinagar website home page

This comes after the Hindu student shared an already viral video of Mosab Hassan Yousef making critical comments about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad to his Instagram story on Tuesday (November 28). Following a massive protest and fervent sloganeering an FIR was registered on the complaint of the registrar at NIT Srinagar, Atikur Rehmaan.

In the viral video Mosab Hassan Yousef, the disowned son of a senior Hamas terrorist group leader Sheik Hassan Yousef speaking at a conference back in 2012 said, ”Let’s look at Prophet Muhammad’s life. Did he kill people? Yes. Did he marry a 9-year-old child? Yes, he did. Did he kill the Jewish community of Khyber because they did not give him the treasures? And did he have physical relations with Sophia the wife of Kinana the leader of that community the same night he killed her husband? Yes, he did. So where is the tolerance in that? I understand the Muslims are tolerant, But the real nature of Islam is Evil.”

Hacked? Website of NIT Srinagar goes offline amid ‘sar tan se juda’ protests against Hindu student for sharing allegedly blasphemous video

OpIndia Staff
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Hacked? Website of NIT Srinagar goes offline amid ‘sar tan se juda’ protests against Hindu student for sharing allegedly blasphemous video

Amid the controversy in NIT Srinagar after protests against a Hindu student for sharing an old video of Hamas founder Sheik Hussain Yousef’s son Mosab making allegedly blasphemous comments in Prophet Muhammad and Islam, it has come to notice that the website of the institution has gone down. While the reason for the site going down is not known, it is suspected that it could be a hacking attack linked to the protests.

A visit to the website of NIT Srinagar shows the message “Sorry for the inconvenience but we’re performing some maintenance at the moment. If you need to you can always contact us, otherwise we’ll be back online shortly!” It links an email-ID to which mails can be sent.

While the message says that the site is undergoing ‘some maintenance,’ an important fact is that some other pages of the site are directly accessible, while the homepage of the site is down and showing the message. When one searches for NIT Srinagar, several links to pages in the site are shown in search results, apart from the home page. While clicking the homepage results in the error message, clicking in other links land the respective pages, like Admissions 2023, Academic Affairs, Departments etc.

Screenshot of the website of NIT Srinagar

After opening these pages, the links there can be used to navigate to other pages, except the homepage. This means that most of the site is working properly, but only some pages including the homepage is not working.

If it was a site maintenance, the entire site would have gone down, not just the homepage. Therefore, it is suspected that it is a hacking attack, and the attackers have targeted the homepage of the site.

OpIndia has written to NIT Srinagar requesting a clarification on the website, and this report will be updated if and when a response is received.

The reason for suspecting an external attack is the controversy over a Hindu student named Prathmesh, who has been facing massive protests for sharing an old video containing allegedly anti-Islam comments. Prathmesh had shared an already viral video of Mosab Hassan Yousef, the disowned son of a senior Hamas terrorist group leader Sheik Hassan Yousef, where he was making critical comments about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.

This prompted a massive protest against by Islamists at the institution’s campus, with protestors chanting ‘sar tan se juda’ (call for beheading) slogans. Subsequently, an FIR was registered against the Hindu students for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. Prathmesh has been booked under sections 295A, 153A and 153 of the Indian Penal Code.

Hacking websites of organisations embroiled in controversies have becoming common. Last month the website of ABES College in Ghaziabad was defaced after controversy over a student was thrown off stage for chanting Jai Shree Ram at an event. Earlier this year, the website of the Vansthali Public School in Delhi was attacked after some Hindu students had alleged that the school had forced them to cut sacred threads tied on their wrists. A poster of lord Ram was also torn by a teacher in the school, and a student who said ‘Jai Shree Ram’ was suspended.

Censor board asks Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal to delete close-up shots in ‘intimate scene’, here is a list of all cuts in the ‘A’-rated film 

OpIndia Staff
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Censor board asks Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal to delete close-up shots in ‘intimate scene’, here is a list of all cuts in the ‘A’-rated film 

Sandeep Reddy Vanga-directed ‘Animal’ featuring Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna in lead roles will be released in theatres on 1st December. The filmmakers had already revealed that the film received an ‘A’ certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for its silver screening.

Now reports have revealed that apart from giving an A-certificate, the Censor Board had also asked the filmmakers to make eight alterations in the film to have a theatrical release. The censor board has asked the filmmakers to delete an “intimate scene” between two characters. 

Stating that it has accessed a copy of the censor certificate, Hindustan Times reported that close-up shots of the characters named ‘Vijay’ and ‘Zoya’ have been deleted in an intimate sequence. Although it is not yet clear who are playing these characters in the film media reports indicate that these character names could be of lead actors Ranbir Kapoor and Rashika Mandanna.  

Furthermore, cuss words have been modified “wherever they occur”, as mentioned in the censor board directive.  

As per reports, in many places, the censor board directed the filmmakers to replace certain words like ‘costume’ has been replaced by ‘Vastra’. Similarly, the word “Natak” has been muted. In the subtitle, it has been replaced with “You change pads four times a month”. Meanwhile, the word ‘Black’ has also been modified but the certificate doesn’t specify the replacement for it. 

The censor board directive includes all these changes – 

  1. Close-up shots between two characters in an ‘intimate scene’ have been chopped 
  2. Dialogues like “Kabhi nahi” and “Kya bol rahe ho aap” have been modified 
  3. Cuss words have been modified ‘wherever they occur’
  4. Certain words like ‘Black’ modified, ‘costume’ replaced with ‘Vastra’, and ‘Natak’ have been muted and corresponding changes have been made in the subtitles

A purported leaked ‘Censor Certificate’ for the film is also doing rounds on the internet which incidentally also indicates these changes. 

For its UK release, Ranbir-starrer Animal has received a rating of 18+ with the description of “strong bloody violence”. 

In an interview with The Hindu, film director Vanga expressed satisfaction that Animal received an A certificate. He emphasised that the film is intended exclusively for adult audiences. He stressed that he would not take his own son to watch the film.

After the modifications and certification, ‘Animal’ has a 3 hours 23 minutes run-time. Responding to the query that the film is too lengthy, director Sandeep Vanga had earlier said, “The first cut of Animal was 3 hours 45 or 46 minutes. I chopped till 3:21. I have seen the film multiple times and it is an engaging film. Ranbir is a great performer and will not let the audience relax for a second. My job is done when the producer is confident of getting his money back with some profit.”

Meanwhile, days before its theatrical release the film is already facing criticism for misleading teenagers and turning every child longing for love into a violent Animal. 

Nitish Kumar govt issues ‘clarification’ after school holidays controversy, says they have different rules for Urdu medium schools

OpIndia Staff
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Nitish Kumar govt issues ‘clarification’ after school holidays controversy, says they have different rules for Urdu medium schools

The Bihar Education Department issued an official press release on 28 November to address the controversy caused by the publication of the school holiday schedule. It claimed that the previous notification was only in relation to Urdu medium schools. The department aimed to clarify any ambiguity or concern regarding the calendar’s initial distribution and the distinct scheduling for Urdu and regular schools would be made transparent.

Source: Bihar Education Department

The notification read, “Information has been received that various misleading things are being spread in social media and newspapers regarding festivals. The precise matter is that the calendars of the Urdu medium and regular schools are designed separately and two different notifications bearing numbers 2693 and 2694 respectively pertaining to the school holidays calendar for the year 2024 have been made public by the department.” It added that this uncertainty regarding festivals may have spread because social media and news outlets hurriedly skimmed official announcements and made assumptions about them.

The education department went on to state unequivocally that there has been no adjustment made about the total number of holidays granted in 2024 compared to the previous year which is sixty days. The anniversaries of a few prominent individuals like Ashoka and Veer Kunwar Singh are not commemorated separately because they come within the summer vacation period. However, previously, schools would remain open on the birthdays of notable people and freedom fighters. The press announcement mentioned that the summer break was commutated in view of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

No holiday on Rakshabandhan, Janmashtami, Ram Navami, Shivratri

The Janata Dal United-Rashtriya Janata Dal ruling coalition in Bihar came under heavy criticism from both the Bharatiya Janata Party and netizens after a government notification showed the absence of holidays on significant Hindu festivals like Makar Sankranti, Rakshabandhan, Saraswati Puja, Janmashtami, Ram Navami, Bhaidooj and Shivratri for the academic year 2024.

Bihar government’s notification on school holidays.

According to a press release from the Bihar Education Department, the 220 days of instruction needed to comply with the Right to Education Act (RTE) were met when creating the 2024 vacation schedule. The number of days allocated for summer vacation was raised from 20 to 30 in the new schedule. Hindu holidays like Hartalika Teej and Jitiya have been cancelled in order to make room for the three-day celebrations of Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha (Bakrid).

Furthermore, just four Hindu holidays, Diwali, Durga Puja, Chhath Puja and Holi have been taken into account. The total holidays on Hindu festivals account for nine days. On the other hand, the holiday calendar included six Muslim festivals including Shab-e-Barat, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Zoha, Muharram, Chehallum and the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. The length of Islamic holidays is eleven days. Furthermore, Urdu language schools were permitted to have a weekly off on Friday instead of the gazetted Sunday holiday.

However, now the state govt has claimed that this holiday list is only for Urdu medium schools, and not for all schools.

Nobody can stop the CAA, it is the country’s law and we will implement it: Amit Shah in Kolkata

ANI
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Nobody can stop the CAA, it is the country’s law and we will implement it: Amit Shah in Kolkata

Kolkata: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that nobody can prevent the Central Government from implementing the the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Addressing a mega public rally here, the BJP leader lashed out at the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government accusing it of indulging in “appeasement politics” and urged people to vote to power the BJP government in the next assembly polls.

Shah in his address said that the CAA is the “country’s law” and the Narendra Modi-led Central government is going to implement it at any cost.

“Citizenship (Amendment) Act is the country’s law, no one can stop it and we will implement it,” Amit Shah said.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 aims to facilitate the grant of citizenship to migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 was notified on December 12 and came into force on January 10 in 2020.

Citing political violence, corruption, and appeasement in the state, the union minister said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has destroyed West Bengal.

“Mamata Didi came to power by removing the communists with the slogans of Sonar Bangla and Maa Mati Manush, but there was no change in Bengal. Even today infiltration, appeasement, political violence, and corruption are happening in Bengal. Communists ruled Bengal for 27 years, and Mamata Banerjee’s government was formed in the third term. Both of them together ruined Bengal. Mamata Banerjee has not been able to stop infiltration in Bengal. Voter cards and Aadhar cards are being distributed openly to infiltrators in the state and Mamata Banerjee is sitting silent,” Shah alleged.

The Union home minister further said that the people of the state will avenge the ‘political murder’ of the BJP leaders in the 2026 assembly polls.

“Bengal is gripped by infiltration, appeasement, political violence and corruption…In the entire country, election violence is highest in Bengal. 212 BJP workers killed in West Bengal, people will avenge these murders with their votes in 2026 assembly polls as BJP will form a government with two-third majority in 2026,” the minister added.

Shah also alleged that the ‘Trinamool syndicate’ does not allow vast sums of money sent by PM Modi to reach the poor of Bengal.

“Modi Ji sends lakhs of crores of rupees for ensuring welfare in Bengal, but the ‘syndicate raj’ in Bengal doesn’t allow the funds to reach the poor!” the BJP leader said.

Further, listing out the work done by the BJP government at the Centre, Shah said that West Bengal has been left behind from the development due to Mamata Banerjee.

“Modi ji has ended terrorism from the entire country. Modi ji abolished Article 370 for which Bengal’s son Shyamaprasad Mukherjee had sacrificed his life to remove it from Kashmir. Ended leftist extremism. India’s tricolor was sent to the moon through Chandrayaan 3. A new Parliament was built and Modi ji took the country’s economy from 11th to 5th…. But West Bengal has been left behind because of didi’s (Mamata Banerjee) politics of appeasement,” he said.

Shah also said that the people of the state want the BJP government in West Bengal.

“The people of Bengal are saying, ‘Didi, Aapka Samay Ab Samaapt Ho Chuka Hai’ (Didi, your time is up now!),” he said.

Shah also appealed to people to elect the BJP government in the next assembly elections.

“The people of West Bengal have blessed the BJP with around 2.30 crore votes and 77 seats…their enthusiasm states clearly that they have decided to bring the BJP Government in 2026! You should remember that in order to bring the BJP government to power here in 2026, you’ll have to lay its very foundation in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections…Give so many seats to BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha polls that Modi ji says I have become PM due to Bengal…” Shah said.

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

From South Sudan, Yemen, Ukraine to Uttarkashi: General VK Singh has been at the forefront of major rescue missions under Modi govt

OpIndia Staff
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From South Sudan, Yemen, Ukraine to Uttarkashi: General VK Singh has been at the forefront of major rescue missions under Modi govt

Union Minister General (Dr) Vijay Kumar Singh (Retd.), known as General VK Singh, is a man of all seasons. This has been proved not once but several times, most recently in the rescue operation of 41 workers trapped inside the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi.

The Union Minister, along with Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, welcomed the rescued workers with garlands and embraced them outside the tunnel in which they were trapped for 17 days. He has been at the tunnel site supervising the rescue efforts for several days.

On 23rd November, General Singh arrived at the tunnel site to review the operation and has been overseeing the efforts ever since. General Singh was coordinating responses, and overseeing the complex operations, where multiple teams were at work day and night.

The former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) had earlier visited the tunnel site on 16th November.

His efforts were noticed by PM Modi too, who during his telephonic conversation with the rescued workers, mentioned that General VK Singh’s Army training was of great use during the rescue operation.

General VK Singh has helmed many such challenging rescue operations in recent times. His tactical experience in the forces combined with his assuring presence as a union minister has given the much-needed impetus to such operations.

Last year, General VK Singh led the evacuation drive from Poland under Operation Ganga to bring back Indian nationals who were rescued from war-torn Ukraine. The Indian government rescued nearly 22,500 Indian nationals from Ukraine, mostly young students.

A video shared by the minister on his X handle showed the Indian nationals chanting “Vande Mataram” as he addressed them.

In 2015, General VK Singh, who was then the Minister of State for External Affairs, successfully oversaw the completion of the evacuation mission in Yemen from Djibouti rescuing 5,500 Indians and 1000 foreign nationals under Operation Raahat.

The minister received a hero’s welcome when he landed in the national capital. Speaking to the media, General Singh said that the operation faced several challenges amid airstrikes and ground attacks across Yemen.

The former COAS’s experience once again proved his mettle in a battlefield situation where facilitated the rescue of thousands of people.

In 2016, 300 Indians stranded in violence-hit South Sudan were rescued by the Indian government under Operation Sankat Mochan. Again, General VK Singh rose to the occasion and the same was widely appreciated by the citizens for his relentless efforts in service of the nation like that of a soldier.

The rescue efforts mentioned above earned India praise worldwide. The retired General in 2018 visited Iraq to bring back the mortal remains of the 39 Indians who were killed in Mosul by ISIS.

General (Dr.) Vijay Kumar Singh (Retd.) was previously the Union Minister of State for External Affairs.

He also held independent charge of the Ministry of Development of the North-eastern Region, Ministry of Planning and Statistics and Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.

General Singh has been the Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) representing the Ghaziabad constituency (Uttar Pradesh) since 2014. He served as the 24th chief of staff in the Indian Army (2010-12).

Haryana: Arif poses as Veer to trap a Hindu girl in a ‘love affair’, gang-rapes her with male relatives and converts her to Islam; 14 booked

OpIndia Staff
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Haryana: Arif poses as Veer to trap a Hindu girl in a ‘love affair’, gang-rapes her with male relatives and converts her to Islam; 14 booked

A dreadful case of ‘Love Jihad’ has come to the fore from the Faridabad district of Haryana. The state police have filed an FIR against an individual identified as Arif who posed as a Hindu to trap a minor Hindu girl into a love affair. The accused raped the girl and also forcefully converted her religion to Islam. The Police have begun the investigation into the case.

According to the report by Aaj Tak, the accused introduced himself as Veer before he trapped the girl in a love affair. He then fed the girl with drugs after which he deceptively shot some derogatory videos of her. He then used these videos to blackmail the girl for his sexual needs.

The girl reportedly failed to fulfil the demands put forth by the accused after which she was brutally raped by the accused. The girl in the complaint to the Police said that she was also raped by several male friends and relatives of the accused.

The accused eventually forcefully married the woman after she became an adult. It was after marriage that she came to know about the original identity of the accused.

He forced her to abort several pregnancies and also killed her 6-month-old daughter. According to the complaint, the accused and his brother raped the girl for around a year and then tried to throw her away from a hilltop in Manali.

The victim was also forcefully converted to Islam by the accused. The woman somehow managed to reach the police to file a police complaint against the accused. The Police have filed an FIR against 14 persons in this case. Further investigations are underway.

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