After being called out for being a Chinese mouthpiece and pushing Beijing’s agenda, a Delhi-based media portal named NewsClick, which is financed by American tech mogul Neville Roy Singham has found support for its nefarious actions. In the latest development, the Press Club of India has come out to defend the dubious organisation and released a statement in its favour.
The letter termed the recent exposé as a “targeted campaign” and claimed to have “deep concern” about the same as well as criticised the suspicion raised after the shocking reveal. It stated, “We the undersigned organisations, express deep concern over the ongoing targeted campaign against the news web portal Newsclick and its founders. The recent accusations levelled by senior political figures, including some members of parliament, suggesting that the portal serves as a mouthpiece for a neighbouring country are both unwarranted and condemnable.”
The Press Club of India issues a statement condemning the targeting of Newsclick and journalists associated with it.
“The accusations leveled by senior political figures, including some MPs, suggesting that the portal serves as a mouthpiece for a neighboring country are both… pic.twitter.com/asZJInlRxv
The press release defended the media outlet and read, “While NewsClick, like other media outlets, critically examines government actions, this does not render it unpatriotic or a tool of any foreign nation. The portal features contributions from individuals of integrity and substance. Articles that offer critical yet appreciative perspectives on the policies of other countries should not be mistaken for advocacy on their behalf, nor should they be labelled as anti-national or seditious.”
It argued that the same transparency that is required for sources of finance of Newsclick should be applied to the advocates and promoters of multiple other publications supportive of the present government. The sponsors and funding sources of all such portals must be made public in the interest of complete openness and honesty. “Without such disclosure, the recent actions targeting Newsclick could rightly be characterized as a witch-hunt.”
The note further added, “Media organisations function within the confines of Indian law, and it is equally important for government agencies to adhere to these standards. A thriving democracy necessitates that media outlets, regardless of their affiliations, have the freedom to operate without government or corporate pressures. The vitality of democracy is inextricably linked to an independent media.”
It was signed by Umakant Lakhera who is the president of the club and Shobhna Jain, president of the Indian Women’s Press Corps. It also contained the names of C.K. Nayak, president of the press association along with Sujata Madhok, president of the Delhi Units of Journalists.
NewsClick and its China link
The Enforcement Directorate discovered more than two years ago after conducting a probe that NewsClick had received approximately Rs 38 crores in funds from abroad. The agency was able to follow the money trail to American millionaire Neville Roy Singham, who reportedly has extensive ties to the Communist Party of China’s publicity department.
The Bharatiya Janata Party raised the issue at the time and charged that anti-Indian groups were conspiring with foreign powers to denigrate India and undermine the administration led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Now, an investigation by the New York Times has recently uncovered an ecosystem of activist organisations, non-profits, shell corporations, and their intimate ties to China and Chinese propaganda. Notably, Neville Roy Singham is at the heart of this network. The article read, “What is less known, and is hidden amid a tangle of nonprofit groups and shell companies, is that Mr Singham works closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing its propaganda worldwide.”
It was highlighted that he has been successful in spreading talking points from the communist administration in nations including India, Brazil, South Africa, and the United States under the guise of progressive advocacy. The report pointed out, “In New Delhi, corporate filings show, Singham’s network financed a news site, NewsClick, that sprinkled its coverage with Chinese government talking points.”
Through this global ecosystem of activists and non-governmental organisations, China, which has been attempting to assert its economic and global might for quite some time, has created a system that covertly promotes the Chinese people and reiterates the official line. It showed how the country has been able to deflect criticism of its violations of human rights from around the world and how its position on global issues is woven into international discourses owing to this network.
NewsClick has come in for harsh criticism from both the BJP and the general public for its unethical practices since the report was released on 5 August. “Money from China came into NewsClick. An environment was created against the government using Chinese funds,” proclaimed Godda MP Nishikant Dubey in a scathing attack on the media house in the Lok Sabha on 7 August.
The grim reality of anti-Hindu Nuh violence which erupted on the 31st of July is slowly unraveling and the details of it are getting scarier. The murderous Muslim mob launched a premeditated attack on the Jalabhishek Yatra organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The mob pelted stones, fired gunshots, burnt scores of vehicles, and sieged the Nalhar Mahadev temple to execute a hostage-like situation.
Earlier, it came to light that not only Hindus, their temples, and police stations were attacked. But now it has come to the fore that the mobs hadn’t spared hospitals either. Evidently, in Nuh, there is an Alwar hospital that witnessed the barbarity of the frenzied mob and the signs of it were still visible when the OpIndia team visited the spot.
It is the same hospital where injured policemen and home guards were getting treatment on the ill-fated day of the violence. The rioters knew beforehand that security personnel were getting treatment in this hospital, an eyewitness told our team on the condition of anonymity.
The place where police and home guard personnel were undergoing treatment was also brutally attacked by the mob.
In the hospital, our team found that portraits of Lord Ram, Lord Krishna, and Guru Nanak have been vandalised. These torn and shredded portraits revealed that they had been attacked and desecrated with sharp objects, seemingly swords.
The pathway to the maternity ward had been ransacked, its door left shattered and broken. The vandalism in the maternity ward, where pregnant ladies and mothers of newborn babies are admitted, clearly hinted that the mob had targeted this area as well. The signs of vandalism and ransacking painted a grim and chaotic picture, prompting women to seek safety and run for cover.
Apparently, the aforementioned portraits of Hindu Gods, which have been desecrated, are used to adorn the area near the patients’ beds.
Evidence of vandalism starts from Hospital Entry
The entry doors of Alwar Hospital have been broken. There were 2 big glass panes inside the entry gate, which have been broken. These shattered glasses lie all over the place near the OPD at the entry gate. The walls of the hospital have also been damaged. Electric wires have been uprooted. Even the CCTV cameras were not spared.
The hospital also has pictures of Lord Ganesha. There is a board with Dr Jagir Singh’s name written on it. The wall clocks have Ganapati pictures in the background. For the time being, the shutter of the maternity ward was closed, however, here too the shattered glasses are all over the place. The broken glass doors have been tied with ropes. People present there showed red marks and stated that doors were attacked with swords.
The Muslim Mob targeted the ICU ward as well and it has been vandalised in the attack. The aftermath situation of this ward is not different either with shattered glasses. Here things are in complete disarray.
In fact here, the entire glass panel is missing in one of these doors. A large portion of the glass installed right next to the entry gate has also been damaged and the sword marks are also visible on it. The extent of destruction hints that not just patients but even the employees would have faced the brunt of it and run for shelter.
The hospital has 3 entry gates and all of them have been damaged in the attack. The iron-shutter gates have sharp markings as if attacked with sharp objects clearly indicating that the mob was armed.
Interestingly, there is a medicine shop inside the hospital with Zubair Khan written on the medical counter. He is a pharmacist and the shop is under his name. Although there is glaring evidence of vandalism throughout the hospital building, the medical counter shows no such signs of attack. There is no sign of destruction of any kind on Zubair’s shop and his counter. Can this be a mere coincidence or did the riotous mob sparred it seeing the name of Zubair on the medical counter?
The ransacked building and visible signs of vandalism completely shatter the misleading claims some have been adamantly peddling to reinforce their false narrative that no harm was meted out at the Alwar Hospital.
Rajdeep Sardesai refutes the attack on the hospital in Nuh
It is pressing for us to tell the unadulterated truth and the monstrosity of this anti-Hindu attack, as a section of the media has taken it on themselves, as a matter of prestige, to pin the blame on Hindus for this premeditated violence by the Muslim mob.
Evidently, Rajdeep Sardesai did a show in which he tried to pin the blame on Hindus while trying his level best to shield the Islamic fundamentalists. He unilaterally blamed Monu Yadav of Manesar for the anti-Hindu Nuh Shobha Yatra attack.
Going ahead, he tried to paint a false picture giving ropeway to the Muslim arsonist arguing as if even if the Muslims did violence, it was just a sporadic reaction.
Taking to X(Twitter), stating that he has checked the story with ADGP Haryana, Rajdeep Sardesai refuted the reports of the attack on the Hospitals and termed it fake.
However, on reaching ground zero, our team found that the hospital displays undeniable signs of vandalism and there is a clear pattern that the Islamist mob followed, while the hospital building has been damaged to a great extent, Zubair’s name surprisingly gave safety net to the medical counter.
There is a high possibility that nobody had reported the incident to the police, but it doesn’t mean the crime didn’t take place, cynical denialists should ask themselves – Will the patients save their lives first or will they go to register an FIR?
On 9th August 2023, Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the Lok Sabha during the ongoing monsoon session of the parliament. Amit Shah was answering the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition. He spoke for 2 hours and 13 minutes, breaking a 58-year-old record of the longest speech in the house. In 1965, former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri spoke for 2 hours and 12 minutes in a debate on a no-confidence motion, and Amit Shah broke that record by a minute.
The main portions of the speech by Union Home Minister Amit Shah are as follows:
“Opposition member Gaurav Gogoi brought the no-confidence motion. The sole purpose of this motion is to confuse the people. There is no question of the government being in the minority. The people also believe in the government because Narendra Modi’s government has filled their lives with hope through its performance. I go in the people. I talk to the people. Nowhere is this so-called ‘no-confidence feeling’ among people. Narendra Modi’s government is the most loved government in this country post-independence. People elected a government with a full majority consecutive twice after 30 years.”
“Narendra Modi is the most popular leader and prime minister of this country. He has worked the most. He has travelled the most. Many governments operate for multiple terms and do a handful of memorable tasks achieved. Narendra Modi has a list of achievements in his two terms as compared to a handful of tasks by others. All the electoral wins and losses before 2014 were affected by corruption, dynastic politics and appeasement politics. Modi has changed it into a politics of performance. But still, we see these three things in some places in the country. Therefore the Prime Minister has said ‘Quit India’ to these three things.”
“Bringing a no-confidence motion is the right of opposition. It exposes the real character of partners in an alliance. In July 1993, there was a no-confidence motion against the government of PV Narasimha Rao. They won it, but later many MPs were jailed as Jharkhand Mukti Morcha was bribed for voting in favour of the government. In 2008, Manmohan Singh’s government faced a no-confidence motion. MPs came with bundles of notes in the parliament and exposed the cash-for-vote scam. In 1999, a no-confidence motion was brought against Atal Bihari Vajpayee. We could have also saved the government by buying MPs at that time. But our party did not do that. The government lost by just one vote. But we proved our character. UPA’s character is that of corrupt practices to save the government. BJP and NDA have a character of principles. People watch everything. People know everything. We lost by one vote and then Atal Ji won a historic mandate for NDA. I want to recall people that this is a fight between those who buy votes by spending crores and those who leave the power position for principles.”
“People talked about the welfare of the poor. Congress fooled people by slogans of Remove Poverty. Poverty remained as it is. Narendra Modi did not make big promises, but he performed because he himself comes from a poor family. I need to discuss the performance of the government because this motion is politically motivated. Modi Ji sent cooking gas cylinders to more than 9 crore families and the households got rid of the smoke from stoves. 11 crore families did not have toilets. The government provided it to the poor. There was no clean drinking water to so many households. 12.65 crore households got a tap water connection from our government. In every election, the opposition promises a loan waiver to farmers. They claim that they the waived Rs 70000 crore loan of farmers. We work to make a country where farmers get rid of this vicious cycle of loans. We sent Rs 240000 crore rupees to their accounts.”
“We do not believe in a freebies culture. We first surveyed who has land holding less than 2.5 acres and what are the expenses for that. We calculated it to be Rs 6000 for making the soil ready to sow the seeds. We gave that money directly to the farmers. Similarly, for affordable health services, 50 crore people are eligible to get free medical services to Rs 5 lakh per year. when we brought the Jan Dhan Scheme, people made fun of that scheme. I want to tell them, we opened 49 crore 65 lakh bank accounts. These accounts have Rs 200000 crore for the poor and people get DBT money from various schemes of the state and central governments. Rajiv Gandhi once said that his government sends one rupee but the poor gets 15 paise. I want to ask who used to get the remaining 85 paise. Those who opposed Jan Dhan Scheme are the ones who ate up those 85 paise of the poor. We gave Rs 25 lakh crores to the bank accounts of the poor people in this country directly through various schemes.”
“During the Coronavirus pandemic, we preferred to rise above party differences. Narendra Modi led that battle. We could succeed because the central government, state governments and all the people in India fought together against Coronavirus. Leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav demeaned the vaccine by saying that ‘Don’t take this Modi vaccine’. The Modi government gave free vaccines by administering 2 free doses of the vaccine to all the 130 crore people in the country.”
“Everyone said what will the poor eat if you administer a lockdown? We administer lockdown and at the same time, we ensured every poor gets a 5-kilogram ration per month and 80 crore people are still getting it. The opposition may not have confidence in the government but the people of India, especially the poor, have full confidence in this Modi government.”
“There is a leader in this house who has been launched in politics 13 times and he failed every time. I have seen one of the launchings. He went to a poor woman Kalavati to have a meal and describe the heart-wrenching condition of hers here. After that, his party was in power for 6 years after that. What did Kalavati get from them? Nothing. She received a gas cylinder, toilet, tap water, and free ration during the Modi government’s tenure.”
“Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government brought the nation from the 15th economy to the 11th economy. After him, an economist Dr Manmohan Singh somehow managed to keep it on 11th rank with all his expertise. Narendra Modi, with no economic background and who comes from a humble family, brought the country up as the fifth biggest economy. And all the experts in the world say that India is a bright spot in dark times.”
When Adhir Ranjan Choudhury intervened, Amit Shah said, “Your party did not put your name on the list to speak and you are intervening in my speech. You please be quiet. You don’t know the process?”
“In all the emerging sectors of global economics, Modi Government has laid a strong foundation so that India will emerge as the strongest economy in the coming times. We built airports taking the number up from 74 to 148. Vande Bharat semi-high-speed trains have started, Sagarmala project is almost 50 per cent complete. Port capacities have increased multiple folds and Bharat Net lines are laid in many areas of the country. We increased the number of seats for medical courses too.”
“Narendra Modi increased the respect of India in the world. India sets the narrative whether it is climate change or global warming. We are hosting G20 also. Narendra Modi is the only leader to get the highest civilian award of 14 different countries and we believe that this is the award given to all the people of the country and not Modi alone.”
“During UPA rule terrorists would enter the country, behead the soldiers and go back beyond the borders. No one would dare to give a befitting reply. Narendra Modi’s government executed two surgical strikes when Pakistan attacked. CDS is also one of the issues which was initiated in your times but settled by us. UPA governments have seen scams in defence procurements. Our government put many things on the no-import list and ensured that no scams occur in procurement, rather we produce it in-house and export it as well. This is Atmanirbhar Bharat. Rs 42000 crore was allotted to one rank one pension issue.”
“We operated 90 flights, talked to both countries, stopped the war for three days and brought Indians safely back home in the Russia-Ukraine war. Similarly, we brought Indians back during the Yemen crisis and before the Coronavirus lockdown as well. We have successfully built last-point connectivity even on the Indo-China border. We have also empowered the farmers so much that India is producing record grains. We are also administering a record of 896 lakh metric ton grains purchased at MSP which is 88% more than that in the UPA government. We have worked on the MSP the most among all the governments to date. We have decided to keep the MSP at 50 per cent more than the expenses incurred by the farmers to produce it. We have not only purchased more, but we have also given a higher rate of purchase to the farmers.”
“The opposition is not a wellwisher of farmers, the poor, and the backward classes. They do not see anything beyond their families. Narendra Modi has said today, dynasty politics Quit India, appeasement Quit India, and corruption Quit India.”
“PFI was working for disintegrating the nation by altering demography and inciting people. We acted and in a single day, we banned it and jailed many PFI members. We also took a strong stand against attacks on the Indian embassies in foreign countries. NIA is probing it. We will use UAPA against terrorist activities. We declared 54 people as terrorists under UAPA and no country took an objection. Gogoi was talking about narcotics. Let me be clear, Narendra Modi’s government has taken a zero-tolerance policy on narcotics. We have empowered the system with various dedicated, portals, departments and teams. 10 lakh kilograms of the narcotics we seized.”
“Gogoi Ji, numbers are shameless. And they remain even after us. There was a government in 2006 that seized drugs of 152000 kilograms worth Rs 768 crores till 2013. From 2014 to 2022 we seized 372000 kilograms of drugs worth Rs 18000 crores. And you question us? You may not have confidence but people do have. The number of cases has gone up from 1200 to 3700 because we are taking action against it. Your government did not act. 3 crore youths and 2 crore women were brought together under Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan taking the total number of participants to 9 crores.”
“Three main hotspots of internal security are identified as Kashmir, Leftist extremism, and northeastern India issues. India’s policy changed towards Kashmir after 2014. Our efforts are consistent to free Kashmir from terrorism. I urge the minister of parliamentary affairs to give 30 minutes time from our slot to Adhir Ranjan Choudhury who did not get any time from his party and keeps talking in between when I am addressing the house here. Narendra Modi took the key decision of abrogating Article 370 forever. 370 was a blunder by Jawaharlal Nehru. Now there are no double flags and double governments in Kashmir. An NGO close to the opposition says to talk to Hurriyat, Jamiat, and Pakistan. We will not talk to them anymore. We will talk only to the youths of the valley. Lakhanpur Toll tax where Shyamaprasad Mukherjee was arrested is not there anymore. In Kashmir, we gave reservations to backward communities and we formed the Women’s Commission, children’s Commission, and Dalit Commission. We gave domicile to Dalits who came there from Pakistan but did not get any domicile for generations. Mufti, Abdulla and Gandhi – these three families ruled Kashmir. For the first time, we administered free and fair democratic elections in the valley. Stone pelting has stopped now. Jammu and Kashmir’s police are active for the first time after 1990. We protected temples, grew tourism, and give the properties of Hindus back to them. In 2022, 1 crore 80 lakh tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir. After 33 years there are theatres, night shows, Shikara competitions, and Muharram as well. 68% reduction in terrorist incidents and 82% less civilian deaths, 56% fewer deaths of security personnel is a testimony of our work.”
“Leftist extremism numbers are also no different. From 118 districts, leftist extremism has now reduced to only 45 districts. We have acted consistently against it with a zero-tolerance policy. We achieved this through a development program as we empowered people and opened new CRPF camps. We involved NIA to hamper funding of leftist extremism. Jharkhand Bihar Orissa MP Telangana Maharashtra Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh was their target area. Now the major problem has reduced only to Chhattisgarh and we will finish this leftist extremism soon.”
“Northeast was considered the third hotspot of internal security. Violent incidents and deaths of security persons were reduced by 68 per cent. Civilian deaths were reduced by 82 per cent. For the ten years before our government, there were UPA governments in the northeast states. We made the northeast a priority. We connected it by road, rail, and airports – according to experts. But in fact, the closeness is not experienced in means of transport. It is felt by a heart-to-heart connection. PM Modi visited the northeast more than 50 times. It is an area greater than Uttar Pradesh and it was left just like that. We envision a flood-free northeast. We did not pacify the northeast just like that. We have worked hard for that. More than 8000 armed extremists surrendered during our tenure. We are also gradually lifting the AFSPA away. There is some work pending and that too will be completed by us only.”
“I will now talk about the Manipur issue. The violent incidents, their causes, and our actions are what I will cover in detail. I agree that violence took place there. We don’t support any of it but this is erupting out of certain situations which we need to discuss and understand. The incident there was shameful, but politicising it is more shameful.”
“People of the nation were shown a picture that government is not ready to discuss. I want to bring it to your notice that I demanded a discussion in the house by writing a letter to the speaker even before the session was declared. The fact is that they did not want discussion. The opposition thinks that they can silence us by making noise here. You can’t silence us because people have sent us here and voted us to power.”
“I want to recall the history because people need to understand the ethnic violence in Manipur. In Manipur, there is a BJP government for the last 6 years and till 3rd May 2023, there was not a single-day curfew, bandh, blockade, and extremist violence was almost nil. In 2021, there was a change in the regime in Myanmar. their democratic government collapsed and army rule took over. Kuki Democratic Front in Myanmar started an agitation for a democratic government. Because we share an open border with Myanmar, Kukis in Myanmar shifted to Manipur jungles which changed the demography. We took its cognizance and started fencing work. 10-kilometre fencing is completed. 60 kilometre is under construction and 600 kilometre is pending. Due to demographic changes, we started to identify refugee Kukis and started to collect their thumb impressions, eye impressions, and other details. We made their IDs. Marked them other than India’s voter list and AADHAR list.”
“According to a 1968 pact with Myanmar people 40 kilometres from either side of the border need no passport. A rumour spread on 29th April that certain areas of jungles are declared towns. The problem escalated more by the Manipur High Court decision ruling that the Meitei community a tribal. On 3rd May 2023, riots started. These riots have emerged out of a situation. After military rule in Myanmar, drug trafficking is also affected. The tipping point was the judgment of the court.”
“In 1993, a Naga-Kuki ethnic fight erupted in Manipur which lasted for one and a half years. At that time, the Prime Minister did not answer. MoS Rajesh Pilot answered at that time. And you people ask why PM is not visiting. And you are not ready to listen to my answer. In your times, MoS answered. And now you are asking for an answer by PM. In your times, no minister visited there. There was ethnic violence during the Inder Kumar Gujaral government’s tenure. Nobody answered. Nobody even asked for an answer. When I am ready to answer, you stalled the parliament. In 2004, 1700 people were unilaterally encountered during Manmohan Singh’s tenure. People believe that it was ethnic violence by wearing a uniform which I do not believe because I believe in the system. But nothing happened during your time and here is a Prime Minister like Modi who called me in the middle of the night over this issue and he also woke me up in the morning by a call regarding this issue only.”
“We have changed the DGP, security advisor and many other officials with immediate effect. One should even change the CM if he does not cooperate. But here is a chief minister who is cooperating in this situation. And you ask why don’t we apply 356 here? Till now 152 people are killed in that violence. 107 in May, 30 in June, 15 in July and 4 in August. In May, 658 people were killed in the first three days only. This indicates that the violence is decreasing gradually. We should try to decrease the violence. But what did Rahul Gandhi do? He politicised it by going to Chura Chandrapur by road when we were offering him a helicopter ride. He went there by road to flaunt his so-called Satyagrah and while coming back, he came back by helicopter. 1106 FIRs are registered till today.”
“The viral video is of an unfortunate incident that took place on 4th May. No one can support such a condemnable act. I want to ask this because media personnel have sowed this question in my mind. If someone has this video, should he not give it to the DGP? Why this was made public just before the monsoon session? Anyone who had the video should have given it to the DGP. As soon as the video surfaced we arrested all the 9 people involved in that act and they are today facing trials.”
“I lived there for 3 days and 3 nights. MoS Home Minister Nityanand Rai lived there for 23 days which is a record. A commission of retired high court judges, an IPS and an IAS is formed. The resentment is not reduced but violence is under control because a force of 36000 security forces is deployed there which are chaired by the security advisor we have appointed. An SIT is formed to probe six conspiracy cases. 30000 metric tons of rice is sent for relief. All DMs are equipped with video conferencing for hearings. Students have started their schooling by video conferencing now. All the situations are monitored from here by unified command. We believe that we will contain the violence in minimum time as compared to the violence during all other governments’ tenures. I appeal to the tribes in Manipur with folded hands on behalf of both houses, that violence is not the way towards a solution. I would urge everyone not to politicise it. someone has lost his life someone has lost dignity. However distantly situated, they all are our people.”
“Now I will answer the political allegations. Gaurav Gogoi gave a lot of numbers regarding ethnic violence in Manipur. I would like to tell him that Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi’s regimes collectively hold the record for most communal and ethnic violence of various kinds across the nation and I will read out the list now. Will you listen to an appeal for peace only after I threaten you? We never stalled the house like the opposition is doing.”
“Gaurav Gogoi said that institutions are tarnished. What did Indira Gandhi do? She made Hansraj Khanna a judge bypassing four judges and brought him to her case. She snatched the rights of UPSC. She curbed the rights of JNU. Supriya Sule said that the BJP collapsed the state government in Maharashtra. Let me tell her, it was Sharad Pawar who for the first time sacked a government in Maharashtra with the support of Bharatiya Jan Sangh in 1978 by backstabbing Vasant Dada Patil.”
“Gaurav Gogoi mentioned the China issue. It is true that Modi ji met the Chinese leader in some international meetings, but he did not raise the slogans of Hindi Chinin Bhai Bhai. The Chinese embassy has a picture of Gandhi’s family meeting during the Olympic games.”
“Recently, a Newsclick issue was unearthed. Newsclick bats for Congress and its allies and it is run on the money received by China. UPA changed its name. Do you know why? UPA regime is credited to scams worth Rs 12 lakh crores. I could not count beyond them. UPA parties did scams like Bofors, cash for note, Satysm, Adarsh, National Herald, DLF, Chara, Ghaziabad Provident Fund, Harshad Mehta, Hasan Ali, IPL, 2G, CWG, Coal, Submarine, and what not. They did not have any alternative than changing the name. We need not change our name because we did not commit any such scam. NDA gave stability for 10 years. Congress gave support to many coalition governments but sacked each of them. Instability is what they seek.”
“We instilled patriotism in the minds of all children of the country in the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence. We will start the Amrit Kaal as we complete the 75th year of independence. You may not have confidence in us, but the people of the country have undeterred confidence in us.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that Tahawwur Rana, an accused of the 26/11 Mumbai attack will face the Indian judiciary soon.
While speaking in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday during the debate on No-Confidence-motion moved by the Opposition, Shah highlighted the measures taken by the Modi government to curb terrorism and Naxalism.
“We banned PFI in the country and conducted raids at over 90 locations in the country. Cases regarding attacks on our missions in London, Ottawa and San Francisco were handed over to NIA (National Investigation Agency). 26/11 Tahawwur Hussain Rana will also soon face the judiciary in India,” Shah said.
Rana was arrested in the US on an extradition request by India for his role in the Mumbai attacks in which 10 Pakistani terrorists laid a more than 60-hour siege, attacking and killing over 160 people, including six Americans, at iconic and vital locations in Mumbai.
Indian authorities allege that Rana conspired with his childhood friend David Coleman Headley to assist the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba ” in the orchestration of the terror attacks.
Headley and Rana attended military high school in Pakistan together.
Rana’s immigration law centre in Chicago, as well as a satellite office in Mumbai, was allegedly used as a front for their terrorism activities between 2006 and 2008, prosecutors say.
Headley, the master plotter of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, had pleaded guilty and testified against Rana. Rana is fighting extradition by claiming double jeopardy because he was acquitted of Mumbai massacre charges in a Chicago federal courtroom. Rana is arguing that he has already been acquitted of the charges he would face overseas.
However, Shah further said that terrorism was eradicated from Jammu and Kashmir after Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed a government at the Centre.
“In the view of internal security, there used to be three hotspots- Kashmir, the region of Naxals and Northeast and it continued to be the same for years. We changed our policies towards Kashmir in 2014. From 2014 to 19, Rajnath Singhji was Home Minister, and after that, I became Home Minister. We eradicated terrorism in the region,” Shah said.
“Naxals limited to only 3 districts in Chhattisgarh now…,” he added.
Hitting out at the previous government at Centre, Shah said that the UPA government was there from 2004 to 2014 and terrorists would just enter across the border and cut our soldiers’ heads off, no one did anything about it.
He further said, “We will talk to the youth of Kashmir valley, not Hurriyat, Jamiat and Pakistan.”
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that the Opposition has moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government only to create a delusion despite having a majority in the House and termed it as “politically motivated”.
“The Prime Minister has given new hope to the poor of this country. Nowhere in this country is there a whiff of no-confidence. There is not a no-confidence in the PM and this government in the country. People have complete faith in PM. This no-confidence motion has been brought only to create a delusion…. This no-confidence motion is politically motivated,” Amit Shah said while participating in the debate on No-confidence motion in Lok Sabha.
Amit Shah further said that after independence, it is the only PM Modi led-government which has won the trust of most people in the country and added that PM Modi is the most popular leader who works tirelessly for the welfare of the people.
“After Independence, PM Modi’s govt is the only one which won the trust of most of the people. PM Modi is the most popular leader among the public…PM Modi works tirelessly for the people of the country. He works continuously for 17 hours a day, without taking a single leave. People trust him”, the Home Minister said in the House.
Amit Shah said that this no-confidence motion will show the real character of the Opposition in the country.
MP Gaurav Gogoi began the discussions after the Congress party tabled the motion of no confidence in the Lower House on Tuesday.
The Congress said that it was forced to move the motion against the government in order to break PM Narendra Modi’s “maun vrat” (vow of silence) on Manipur.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing his second no-confidence motion in Parliament today, the first in his second term as the PM.
Manipur had been on the boil for the last three months after ethnic clashes broke out between two tribal communities Meitis and Kukis, when the Manipur High Court asked the state government to consider adding one of the communities to the list of Scheduled Tribes.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Days after an Islamist mob unleashed violence in the Nuh and Gurugram districts of Haryana, numerous Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) in Gurugram are said to have begun collecting and maintaining a record of domestic help and drivers belonging to the Muslim community.
Citing anonymous sources, IANSreported that the Resident Welfare Associations are providing details to the police stations in their respective areas as a preventive action against anti-social elements.
#Gurugram violence: RWAs to collect, maintain data on domestic help, drivers of particular community
According to reports, Gurugram police have asked RWAs to furnish information on drivers, security guards, sweepers, domestic helpers, and others in order to ensure proper police deployment.
“We don’t want to cause people to panic. We simply asked RWAs to provide details of domestic help, drivers, security, sweepers, and others so that police deployment at their residence could be ensured,” a senior Gurugram police official said, adding that no official orders have been issued in this regard.
“It was a year-old notification of the Haryana Government to maintain a database of tenants and police verification as security measures,” Ashish Kumar, RWA President of Uniworld City, Sector-30 Gurugram, told IANS. Kumar, however, added that verification of Muslims or any particular community of people was not done in the society recently related to the recently transpired Gurugram violence.
Suncity RWA President Kusum Sharma told IANS, “We only hired domestic help via registered agencies.” Police verifications are the responsibility of the particular resident. However, we have not lately conducted any verification of Muslim people.”
Violence in Nuh
On Monday (July 31), tensions gripped several parts of Haryana when stones were pelted at the Jalabhishek Shobha yatra in the Muslim-majority region of Mewat. The procession was taken out to mark the auspicious occasion of Shravan Somwar. Around 5 people were killed during the violence, including two personnel from the Haryana home guard. Vehicles were burnt and stones pelted at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Jalabhishek Yatra as clashes erupted between two communities in the Muslim-majority region of Mewat in Haryana.
As the communal clashes in Nuh spilt over to Gurugram, incidents of mob violence, and vandalisation of shops in several areas including Badshahpur, Sohna, Sector 66, and Sector 57 were reported.
On 31st July, a Muslim mob in Nuh of Mewat, Haryana, attacked thousands of Hindu devotees attending the Jalabhishek Yatra on Shravan Somvar. OpIndia accessed several FIRs registered in the case. One of the FIRs was registered on the complaint of Exemplee Head Constable (EHC) Rupesh Kumar under Sections 148, 149, 186, 332, 353, 307, 435, 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 25, 54 and 59A of Arms Act. It was registered against Rahish, Farukh, Mohammed Saad, Dilshad, Injmamul, Hashim, Faruq, Arbaaz, and 700-800 unknown rioters.
Details of the FIR
EHC Rupesh Kumar is posted as CIA Staff, Nuh. In his complaint, EHC Rupesh Kumar said he was posted for duty at Mewat Religious Jalabhishek Yatra on 31st July with CIA Incharge Subhash, PSI Pradeep, constable Manoj, constable Indraraj and SPO Jaan Mohammed.
They were at Khedla Mod Jhanda Chowk with the Yatra when around 700-800 people of one community attacked the vehicles passing by and police personnel intending to kill. They had sticks, batons, stones and illegal weapons in their hands.
Source: Haryana Police
The police personnel moved to Gaushala turnaround to control the mob. SHO went out of the vehicle to stop the rioters. Other officials were trying to alleviate the situation. EHC Rupesh was inside the vehicle at that time. Suddenly, the mob charged at his vehicle and opened fire, intending to kill him. EHC Rupesh somehow managed to escape. The mob attacked him and burnt his vehicle.
In the FIR, it was mentioned that police arrested a few people and were in the process of recovering the illegal weapons.
Nuh Shobhayatra attack
On 31st August, a mob of hundreds of Muslim rioters attacked Hindu devotees participating in the Brijmandal Jalabhishek Yatra in Nuh, Mewat of Haryana. At least six people were killed as a result of the riots. During the investigation into the riots, OpIndia accessed over 25 FIRs and complaints that provided a clearer picture of what happened during the violence. Based on information available via FIRs, complaints and witnesses, the attack appeared pre-planned. OpIndia came across several videos posted two days before the Jalabhishek Yatra instigating Muslims against Hindus.
Muslims have claimed the riots happened because of Bajrang Dal activist and Gau Rakshak Monu Manesar. Old videos of Manesar were circulated to instigate Muslims saying he was going to Nuh that day. The video that was mostly circulated was from October 2022. Detailed reports can be checked here.
Furthermore, a cyber crime police station was attacked in Nuh. Police officials were injured. Home guards were killed. The rioters first shot one of the Bajrang Dal activists Abhishek, then his throat was slit and his head was crushed leading to his death.
OpIndia’s complete coverage of the Mewat Shobha Yatra Attack can be checked here.
On 31st July, a Muslim mob in Nuh of Mewat, Haryana, attacked thousands of Hindu devotees attending the Jalabhishek Yatra on Shravan Somvar. OpIndia accessed several FIRs registered in the case. One of the FIRs was registered on the complaint of Vikram Singh, who is posted at Police Line as a driver. The FIR was registered under Sections 148, 149, 332, 353, 186, 435, 307 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act against Armaan, Rizwan, Azad, Salim, Shahrukh, Anis, Aahis and others.
Details of the FIR
In his complaint, Vikram Singh said he was posted for duty to maintain law and order during Mewat Religious Jalabhishek Yatra on 31st July with other police personnel, including head constable Virendra. He was at Khedla Mod Jhanda Chowk when 700-800 rioters of one community attacked them. They had sticks, batons, stones and illegal weapons in their hands.
Source: Haryana Police
While police personnel tried to control the mob at the Gaushala roundabout, he was sitting in the vehicle. Suddenly, the rioters opened fire at him intending to kill him. He somehow managed to escape. The rioters burnt his vehicle.
Source: Haryana Police
In the FIR, it was mentioned that the police arrested some of the rioters during raids. They were in the process of recovering the illegal weapons used in the attack. Some of the rioters ran from Haryana and absconded. The police have already traced some of them.
Nuh Shobhayatra attack
On 31st August, a mob of hundreds of Muslim rioters attacked Hindu devotees participating in the Brijmandal Jalabhishek Yatra in Nuh, Mewat of Haryana. At least six people were killed as a result of the riots. During the investigation into the riots, OpIndia accessed over 25 FIRs and complaints that provided a clearer picture of what happened during the violence. Based on information available via FIRs, complaints and witnesses, it appeared that the attack was pre-planned. OpIndia came across several videos posted two days before the Jalabhishek Yatra instigating Muslims against Hindus.
Muslims have claimed the riots happened because of Bajrang Dal activist and Gau Rakshak Monu Manesar. Old videos of Manesar were circulated to instigate Muslims saying he was going to Nuh on that day. The video that was mostly circulated was from October 2022. Detailed reports can be checked here.
Furthermore, a cyber crime police station was attacked in Nuh. Police officials were injured. Home guards were killed. The rioters first shot one of the Bajrang Dal activists Abhishek, then his throat was slit and his head was crushed leading to his death.
OpIndia’s complete coverage of the Mewat Shobha Yatra Attack can be checked here.
On the 9th of August, Matthew Smith (35), a former deputy head teacher of an elementary school in London was sentenced to 12 years in prison for using the dark web to commission child abuse. He would encourage men to lure children away from their family homes and then send him footage of sexual abuse. Between 2017 and 2022, Smith paid £67,000 for the on-camera sexual abuse of boys in India, in the age group of eight to ten.
Matthew Smith, a former deputy head of Thomas’s Preparatory School – Prince George and Princess Charlotte's first school – has been jailed for 12 years after he paid a teenager £65,000 to abuse children in India and send him footage of the attacks. pic.twitter.com/IPWU79ISDD
While imposing a sentence of 12 years on Smith, Judge Martin Griffith said, “You were paying money – £67,000 – and asked them to provide images of the sexual abuse of young boys under 13.”
The Southwark crown court judge said it was clear Smith “took advantage” of those he was abusing. He added, “You sent requests for images you wanted to be made, sometimes involving sending pictures and asking for them to be recreated by the boys in question.”
In November 2022, the National Crime Agency caught him red-handed while he was ‘chatting’ with a boy in India via the dark web and asking him to send sexual images of a younger child, in exchange for money. He was arrested from his home in East Dulwich. The NCA officials found more than 120,000 sexual abuse images of children on his devices.
Prosecutor Martin Hooper said, “Over 120,000 child sexual abuse images were found on Smith’s computers along with messages to men in India in which he encouraged them to rape and abuse children.”
During the proceedings, the court was informed that one of the men, Smith had commissioned to abuse children was someone he had groomed from a young age.
Earlier, he confessed his crimes and pleaded guilty to 17 charges. These included charges of encouraging the rape of a child under 13, causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and arranging the sexual abuse of a child.
During interrogation by NCA officers, Smith said, “Clearly I have an addiction, probably in this area. I don’t like the person I am. I would give anything to be normal. Anything.”
However, the Senior Officer at the NCA, Helen Dore categorically noted, “Matthew Smith is a prolific offender and master manipulator, who coerced young men into abusing children on his behalf.”
Earlier, at the age of 24, Smith moved to Chennai, India. However, he spent most of his stay in Nepal where he worked as a teacher. Between 2007 and 2014, he worked intermittently in orphanages and NGOs all around India. In July, he shifted back to the UK and started working as a deputy head teacher and head of pastoral care at Thomas’s prep school in Battersea.
Now, he will languish in jail for the crimes he committed against young boys in India and serve at least eight years of the 12-year prison sentence.
On 31st July, a Muslim mob in Nuh of Mewat, Haryana, attacked thousands of Hindu devotees attending the Jalabhishek Yatra on Shravan Somvar. OpIndia accessed several FIRs registered in the case. One of the FIRs was registered on the complaint of Exemplee Head Constable (EHC) Rajendra under Sections 147, 148, 186, 307, 323, 332, 353, 379B, 427 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It was registered against Tarif, Imran, Ashraf, Irshad, Asif, Rizwan, Azaharuddin, Mujahid, Farukh, Shahrukh, Aarif, Mustafa, Salim, Haroon, Sakeel, Asru, Salim, Aftab, Hamza, Aasif, Farmaan, Saabir, Saleem and others.
Details of the FIR
EHC Rajendra is posted at Taoru City Police Station, district Nuh. In his complaint, EHC Rajendra said he received information at the police station that some miscreants had jammed the Sohna Road on the Taouru bypass. Sub-Inspector Abdul Majid, SPO Manoj Kumar, constable Sunil, HGH Jaipal, HGH Subhash, ESI Mahendra Singh, SPO Shyamlal, SPO Dharmendra and EHC Rajendra went to the bypass road to clear the area.
Source: Haryana Police
When they reached the spot, 30-40 people on the road were not allowing the vehicles to pass. When asked to clear the road, they got agitated and started pelting stones at the police vehicles, where some police personnel got injured. The rioters had sticks and batons in their hands. They pulled down SPO Manoj Kumar, who is EHC Rajendra’s driver, out of the vehicle intending to kill him. They hit him on the head and body with stones and snatched Rs 3,000. Rioters caused severe damage to the police vehicles.
Source: Haryana Police
After that, the police personnel had to escape to save their lives. The rioters shouted at them and threatened to kill them if they returned.
Nuh Shobhayatra attack
On 31st August, hundreds of Muslim rioters attacked Hindu devotees participating in the Brijmandal Jalabhishek Yatra in Nuh, Mewat of Haryana. At least six people were killed as a result of the riots. During the investigation into the riots, OpIndia accessed over 25 FIRs and complaints that provided a clearer picture of what happened during the violence. Based on information available via FIRs, complaints and witnesses, it appeared that the attack was pre-planned. OpIndia came across several videos posted two days before the Jalabhishek Yatra instigating Muslims against Hindus.
Muslims have claimed the riots happened because of Bajrang Dal activist and Gau Rakshak Monu Manesar. Old videos of Manesar were circulated to instigate Muslims saying he was going to Nuh on that day. The video that was mostly circulated was from October 2022. Detailed reports can be checked here.
Furthermore, a cyber crime police station was attacked in Nuh. Police officials were injured. Home guards were killed. The rioters first shot one of the Bajrang Dal activists Abhishek, then his throat was slit and his head was crushed leading to his death.
OpIndia’s complete coverage of the Mewat Shobha Yatra Attack can be checked here.
