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‘Government can make any law, but Muslims will only follow Quran’: Samajwadi Party leader ST Hasan on Uniform Civil Code

OpIndia Staff
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‘Government can make any law, but Muslims will only follow Quran’: Samajwadi Party leader ST Hasan on Uniform Civil Code

Senior Samajwadi Party leader, ST Hasan who is known for his inflammatory utterances has asked, “Why does anyone have a problem if we apply Sharia law to ourselves”? He was speaking against the under-consideration Uniform Civil Code in the country.

“India is a land of unity is diversity. Our country is a bouquet of colorful flowers. When our country got independence, Dr Ambedkar wrote that every person is free to practice and preach their religion. This is written in our constitution. Why is anyone bothered if we want to live our life as per Sharia,” he asked.

According to him, Islam was the first faith to grant women rights over their paternal property. “How it is divided amongst boys and girls is a separate matter. The Quran has commanded it. If a Muslim is a sincere believer, he cannot reject the Quran. Even I can’t do it. Only the instructions provided to us by the Quran will be followed.”

He challenged, “They can enact countless laws. We won’t be impacted. Muslims solely adhere to Quran, and they will divide their assets among their offspring in accordance with Sharia. Why is it a problem for anyone,” he questioned and added, “Regarding the issue of the second marriage, I would like to know what your issue is if a man took a second wife with the consent of his first one if she is found to have a serious illness or couldn’t conceive.”

He charged that the government had institutionalized immorality and indecency in the nation. “You granted homosexuality and live-in relationships constitutional legitimacy. How is it possible for you to state that don’t marry twice? How can you prevent someone from getting married to multiple women if you can cohabitate with multiple partners in live-in relationships,” he questioned.

“Muslims observe the rules that Allah provided us in the Quran. My point of contention is that no one is troubled by them in any way. These are our personal laws. We will push back strongly against your plans to obliterate them,” the member of Lok Sabha from Moradabad warned. “We have been abiding by the same laws for 75 years. What problems have they caused since then? Has anyone complained if a female’s share of the paternal property is lower than that of a male?”

“What is your problem,” he reiterated. He alleged that it is not about UCC but preparation for 2024 when the next general elections are scheduled to be held. “They want to cultivate the seeds of animosity between the Hindus and Muslims who live in this country. BJP leaders are competing to torture Muslims. They rise to prominence in the party in direct proportion to how severely they torment Muslims. This is well understood by the Muslims.”

He further proclaimed, “I informed you that Sharia law does not bother anyone and that the instructions are already there in the Quran. Every Muslim conforms to the Quran, and anyone who refuses is not a good Muslim. Who could reject the Quran? Any Muslim can be queried about whether or not they comply with the Quran’s teachings. If you don’t want to, switch your religion. How are we to commit to anything else?”

Notably, Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply to all citizens equally regardless of their religion, gender, and sexual orientation. It has been in the election manifesto of the BJP for the past several years and recently 22nd Law Commission sought fresh suggestions from various stakeholders, including public and religious organisations, on the same.  

ST Hasan is infamous for making outrageous assertions and provocative statements in an effort to attack the BJP. He recently blamed the government for spying on opposition leaders after an objectionable film started playing on a CCTV monitor installed at his Moradabad residence. He alleged that the government is using Pegasus to spy on them.

In 2021, he argued that the central BJP government’s interference with Islamic Sharia law during its seven years in power is to blame for the deaths brought on by the coronavirus outbreak. He expressed that the occurrence of two cyclonic storms in the space of ten days and the death toll from the coronavirus epidemic are the repercussions of the injustices committed by the administration.

In opposition to the Triple Talaq law in 2019, he voiced that an individual would become furious if he returned home to find his wife with another man. In that moment of rage, triple talaq is preferable to killing her or setting her ablaze. Endorsing Zaira Wasim’s decision to quit the film industry he stated that acting is the same as prostitution.

Over 830 lakh tonnes of paddy procured at MSP, 1.22 crore farmers benefitted: Food Ministry

ANI
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Over 830 lakh tonnes of paddy procured at MSP, 1.22 crore farmers benefitted: Food Ministry

Over 830 lakh tonne paddy has been procured from farmers at Minimum Support Price (MSP) benefitting about 1.22 crore during the ongoing paddy procurement operations of marketing season 2022-23.

Payments worth Rs 171,000 crore have so far been transferred directly into their accounts, an official release from the food ministry said Wednesday. Food Corporation of India, the nodal central agency, along with other state agencies undertakes procurement of paddy under the price support scheme (at MSP). Those procured paddy is then milled to make rice and distributed to the public under various food security schemes.

Farmers are not legally bound to sell their produce to government agencies but they are free to sell their produce anywhere at any prices they get.

Meanwhile, wheat procurement during the ongoing Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2023-24 has also progressed.
The procurement of wheat so far is 262 lakh tonnes, which is well above last year’s total procurement of 188 lakh tonnes.
About 21.29 Lakh farmers have already benefited from the ongoing wheat procurement operations with MSP payments of about Rs 55,680 crores.

Major contribution in the procurement has come from three procuring states: Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana with procurement of 121.27 LMT, 70.98 LMT and 63.17 LMT, respectively, the release said.

Before the harvest, during each Rabi or Kharif crop season, the central government declares the minimum support prices (MSP) for procurement.

“With the current procurement of wheat and rice, adequate food grains stock in Government granaries is maintained. The combined stock position of wheat and rice has reached 570 LMT which puts the country in a comfortable position to meet its requirements of food grains,” the release added.

India has three cropping seasons — summer, kharif, and rabi.

Crops sown during June-July and harvested in October-November are kharif. Crops that are sown during October-November and the produce harvested from January-March depending on maturity is Rabi. Crops produced after rabi but ahead of kharif are summer crops.

Meanwhile, third advance estimates of production of major crops for the agricultural year 2022-23 released by the agriculture ministry on Thursday pegged total foodgrain production in the country at a record 330.5 million tonnes, which is higher by about 15 million tonnes as compared to the previous year 2021-22.

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

Global business of Yoga grows to Rs 8 lakh crores as it thrives around the world, artisans and tribal women making careers, 48000 centres operating in the US

जयन्ती मिश्रा
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Global business of Yoga grows to Rs 8 lakh crores as it thrives around the world, artisans and tribal women making careers, 48000 centres operating in the US

In recent years, awareness regarding the physical and mental benefits of Yoga has skyrocketed among Indian youngsters and the elderly. The credit for this significant change goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who in 2014 proposed a day dedicated to Yoga at the United Nations. Following his suggestion the UN adopted a resolution on December 11, 2014, recognising the 21st of June as the International Day of Yoga. The Yoga Day was first celebrated in 2015. PM Modi had back then appealed to the people to turn up in large numbers at the Yoga programmes to celebrate the day dedicated to health and well-being. His appeal had such a profound impact that  Yoga gained prominence in schools, colleges and other institutions. The real impact of Yoga was observed when humanity faced the Covid pandemic.

During the Covid period, people professed trust in Yoga to keep their bodies and minds sound. Consequently, when the lockdown was relaxed, the number of yoga classes in parks spiked, several yoga centres emerged in offline mode, and many people began to adopt it online too. On the one hand, these initiatives benefitted those who required yoga as part of their fitness journey; on the other hand, Yoga enabled those who would never have believed that the field of yoga would unexpectedly emerge as a career or profession.

Women making successful careers in Yoga

Deepti Kulshrestha, a senior yoga teacher who has taught at Rishikesh Yoga Peeth for 15-20 years, told OpIndia that yoga is spiritual to her and that she is grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the surge in its popularity. Deepti opines that only those who practise yoga from the heart may truly practice it. Deepti also said that she started her online yoga courses after the Covid pandemic. She has formerly trained numerous foreigners in yoga as a senior yoga instructor.

In a similar vein, 30-year-old Yogacharya Preeti Verma of Nityam Yoga Centre in Laxmi Nagar says that 5 batches of yoga are held at her centre. Each batch has at least 10-12 learners. In this manner, she teaches yoga to more than fifty people per day at a fixed amount. Preeti, who has been working in the arena of Yoga for the past 12 years, says that people used to conceive of Yoga as an old concept associated solely with sages and spiritual beings.

However, once Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about Yoga and its significance, people’s awareness and passion for yoga increased, whereas, after the Covid, people began to feel a need for it on their own. She adds that she provided free yoga classes to people during the Corona outbreak and observed that those who practised yoga recovered quicker from the Coronavirus.

We may further assess the continued importance of yoga and its rise as a profession by the fact that people working in various sectors see distinct possibilities in it today. Sissy Auguston, for example, who works in public relations, began teaching yoga lessons a while ago. In a conversation with OpIndia, she stated that she recalls yoga becoming more popular after the year 2015.

Sensing the increasing health challenges among people, Auguston started giving yoga classes, and as the number of people learning yoga with her grows, she plans to run her yoga classes in a separate space.

Formation of Ministry of AYUSH 

While the history of Yoga in India dates back five to ten thousand years, India was assumed to be ‘backward’ in terms of being modern. The paradigm shift in this regard came about in 2014 when the Modi government took measures in this direction. Apart from awareness campaigns, one game-changing measure taken by the Modi government in 2014 was the establishment of the AYUSH Ministry. 

The Ministry of Ayush was established on November 9, 2014, with the objective of revitalising our traditional medical systems and facilitating the optimal development and proliferation of Ayush healthcare systems. The Ministry prioritised education and research in Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy, as well as supporting startups in these areas.

Following its formation, the Prime Minister in the year 2015 announced the observance of Yoga Day, and then came about unprecedented growth in the industry of Yoga. According to statistics on pages 12-13 of the Ministry of AYUSH’s Annual Report (2022-23), there was a substantial rise in the AYUSH manufacturing industry from 2014-15 to 2020. The Ayush manufacturing industry was only valued at Rs 21, 697 crores in 2014-15. By 2020, it expanded sixfold to 1,37,800 crores. Additionally, preliminary data from the AYUSH service sector shows a revenue collection of Rs 1,66,797 crore.

Last year, Sarbananda Sonowal, India’s Union AYUSH Minister, had stated that by 2023, the Indian AYUSH sector will secure a market of at least US $ 23 billion. He stated that the Ministry of AYUSH is also implementing numerous initiatives to allow India’s AYUSH sector to meet this aim within the desired time frame.

WHO recognises the mettle of Yoga, craze surges in the United States

Moreover, in the yoga sector alone, the prominence of yoga has grown significantly in recent years, both locally and nationally, as well as internationally. In collaboration with the Ministry of AYUSH, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also launched the WHOmYoga app to take yoga to a global scale, and facilitate people in any corner of the world to practice Yoga.

As a result of these efforts, the popularity of yoga extended beyond India to countries such as the United States. According to a report, over 36 million Americans practice yoga now, and over 48 thousand pilates and yoga facilities have opened in the United States. There, an average yoga practitioner spends $62,640 on yoga classes, workshops, and equipment. Consequently, the yoga sector in America is growing in a remarkable fashion.

In terms of the global yoga market, the report asserts that the business of yoga reached Rs 8 lakh crore in 2022, with the prospect of a 9 percent increase to Rs 9.6 lakh crore (96,42,18,86,40,000) between 2023 and 2028.

Annual Yoga Day enabling the generation of employment

In a similar fashion in India, not only are those who practise and teach yoga boosting the industry but so are those who manufacture yoga-related equipment, such as mats. Apparently, the Modi government is fully committed to assisting such startups.

In a similar fashion in India, not only are those who practise and teach yoga boosting the industry but so are those who manufacture yoga-related equipment, such as mats. Apparently, the Modi government is fully committed to assisting such startups. According to an article published in the Economic Times on 20 June 2023, the Ministry of AYUSH collaborated with the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) to offer 34,000 yoga mats ahead of the International Day of Yoga. This remarkable endeavour is understood to be aimed at uplifting indigenous artists and showcasing their exceptional skills.

Moreover, MS Srinath, head of Noida-based yoga studio Pranav Yoga, told DNA last year that Yoga Day boosts his company by 30-40% every year in June and July. More than 300 yoga students were enrolled with him until last year, with 112 enrolling for permanent membership in these two months last year. Srinath also mentioned that the number of people signing up for yoga classes has increased in recent years.

Petty geopolitical interests, no sincere will to fight terrorism: India’s strong response after China blocks bid to blacklist 26/11 accused Sajid Mir at UN

OpIndia Staff
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Petty geopolitical interests, no sincere will to fight terrorism: India’s strong response after China blocks bid to blacklist 26/11 accused Sajid Mir at UN

India today slammed China for opposing a resolution to designate Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Sajid Mir as a global terrorist at the United Nations Security Council and stated that the move exhibits double standards and a “self-defeating justification” of terrorism.

Several member countries co-sponsored the motion to blacklist him, but India noted that if it failed, “we have righteous reasons to believe that something is genuinely wrong with the global counter-terrorism architecture.” India and the United States had jointly moved the resolution to recognise Sajid Mir as a global terrorist and subject him to asset freezing, travel restrictions, and an arms embargo under the 1267 Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UNSC.

India’s reaction was expressed in a statement that joint secretary Prakash Gupta read out at a high-level session on counterterrorism on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly. It observed, “If we cannot get established terrorists who have been banned across global landscapes proscribed by the United Nations – for petty geopolitical interests – then we really do NOT have the genuine political will to sincerely fight this challenge of terrorism,” in a sharp attack without naming the country.

“In this day and age of accountability and transparency, can we have genuine listing proposals blocked without giving any reason for the same,” New Delhi questioned and added that “can we allow for the submission of proposals under the garb of anonymity?”

The move to designate Sajid Mir, a senior member of LeT, was reportedly first put on hold by China in September and now has been stymied by it. He is one of India’s most wanted terrorists and has a bounty of $5 million placed on his head by the U.S. for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. US State Department revealed, “Mir was LeT’s operations manager for the attacks, playing a leading role in their planning, preparation, and execution.”

In a case involving the funding of terrorism, Pakistan’s anti-terrorism court sentenced him to more than 15 years in prison in June. In the past, Pakistan authorities had asserted that he had passed away, but Western nations had not been persuaded and had demanded proof of the same. Late last year, when Financial Action Task Force (FATF) evaluated the country’s progress on the action plan, the issue arose as a significant sticking point.

Divisive, fallacious argument by KTR: Breaking down the 321-slide presentation debunking lies about South’s tax devolution and central govt’s infra spend

S. Sudhir Kumar
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Divisive, fallacious argument by KTR: Breaking down the 321-slide presentation debunking lies about South’s tax devolution and central govt’s infra spend

One of the narratives around the South-North divide is that the South states contribute more money to the central government and are therefore much more superior than the Northern states. Leading this pack is none other than KCR’s son, KTR. He is also a cabinet minister in his father’s cabinet (duh!) and many consider him the de-facto Chief Minister. 

He claims that while Telangana paid 3.68 lakh crores to the central government, it only got back 1.68 lakh crores in return. He has been making this argument since the year 2020 (at that time the numbers were obviously lesser). He went to the extent of calling everyone who countered this fallacious argument “ignoramuses”. 

At various public meetings, he challenged the BJP to prove him wrong and he will resign. He successfully made it sound like the Government of Telangana actually gave the Government of India the 3.68 lakh crores and got only 1.68 lakh crores in return. The fallacious narrative was repeated so many times in the past 3 years that people and the media started believing in it. This dangerous, divisive and fallacious argument went un-countered for nearly 3 years. 

On June 17th, 2023, Union Minister Kishan Reddy (who is an MP from Secunderabad, Telangana) gave a nearly 3-hour long presentation to the people of Telangana. In a detailed 321 (yes, Three Hundred and Twenty-One) slide presentation, he explained along with proofs, how the central government and associated PSUs actually spent close to a whopping 27 lakh crores on various aspects related to Telangana. 

Outside of the 1.78 lakh crores of actual money that was transferred to the Telangana government as part of the devolution pool, a whopping 5 lakh crores has been spent by the central government on various infrastructure and other developmental works; 1.58 lakh crores was spent on procuring Cotton & Paddy at MSP; 7.5 lakh crores worth of loans by PSUs to the Telangana government and so on. 

The intention of this article is not to dwell on details of the above graphic; nor is it to ask KTR to resign because he has been proven wrong, and how! The intention is to discuss the phenomenal finance management of the Modi government over the past 9 years that enabled so much spending on infrastructure; and the dangerously divisive and fallacious argument that non-BJP parties are making in the South. 

In one of the slides, we are shown that there has been a whopping 376% in the actual amount that has devolved to the states from 2014 onwards, as compared to 2004-2014 (and that Telangana has seen an increase of nearly 253% increase in the absolute amount. 

By any standard, these are really phenomenal numbers that we have achieved. This is after the fact that Income Tax slab rates have actually reduced the amount of tax we pay; the GST on 100s of items is much lesser than the pre-GST days; Corporate tax is also lesser compared to earlier etc. This fiscal prudence has been achieved by increasing compliance – a feat that remains one of the most underrated achievements of the Modi government. 

In addition to devolving the actual cash of 41% to the states, it is yet another phenomenal achievement of how the remaining 59% was spent by the Modi government. Yet again, another snippet from this brilliant Kishan Reddy’s presentation gave, we see how the infrastructure spending has been phenomenal. Let’s just take the Roads as an example: 

The above graphic tells us that a whopping 1.08 lakh crore was spent on roads alone in just one state (that by the way doesn’t get accounted for the 1.78 lakh crore devolved to the government of Telangana). Similar statistics on Railways, Electricity, Civil Aviation etc are available and all prove the excellent meaningful spending on India’s infrastructure at a scale that was never seen before. 

This brings me to the second and the more important point I wanted to make – the dangerous, divisive and fallacious arguments that KTR (and his ilk) are making to create a rift between Indians. The argument is that South India pays more money to the central government and therefore is superior to North India.  

The argument is dangerous because they intend to showcase South India as the only torchbearer of India’s economy and therefore everyone else should be subservient to them.  By making it only about money, they want us to ignore manpower availability; infrastructure spending; defence spending; rescue spending; relief spending etc

The argument is divisive because it pits Indians against Indians in an Inferior vs Superior battle. True, today’s Bihar and UP don’t contribute as much money as Telangana does (as a %age population contribution) but then we have 10s of 1000s of workers from UP and Bihar working in Telangana, building infrastructure in Telangana. Would Telangana be able to construct so much infrastructure if not for the availability of manpower from other states?  

The argument is fallacious because it is simply bereft of logic and common sense. It is a fair argument to make that states that do better on population control and tax collections should be rewarded. Guess what? Modi government is the first government to have rewarded states that perform well on population control and tax efforts. This has also created a healthy competition between states to do well on these parameters too. 

The central government collects income tax from the people of India, and so to make it sound like it is the Government of Telangana that gave 3.68 lakh crores to the central government is insincere to the core. This argument can simply be extended to KTR’s own ministries – for example – how much taxes are people of Hyderabad paying and how much of that is being spent on Hyderabad? The argument can be extended to even asking how much taxes people of a rich street pay versus how much is being spent by the government on that sheet. We had countered a similar argument the many opposition parties often made on the money released by the central government during natural disasters and did not bother about the huge logistical support that the central government provides (Armed forces, tonnes of relief material, trains etc). 

The Modi government is now releasing this data for all states one by one. It shows how infrastructure spending and the availability of loans to various sections of society are as uniform as it can possibly get. We all still remember the days when Railway ministers used to stand up in the Parliament, present India’s Railway budget but include a slew of trains exclusively for their home states! In a very short time, we have come a long way from travesties such as that. If anything, Kishan Reddy’s amazing 3-hour long presentation proves that the Modi government’s uniform approach towards developing entire India is something to be extremely proud of.

Times Now Editor-in-Chief Rahul Shivshankar resigns, social media rife with speculations

OpIndia Staff
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Times Now Editor-in-Chief Rahul Shivshankar resigns, social media rife with speculations

Times Now Editor-in-Chief Rahul Shivshankar quit the channel on Tuesday evening. The development was communicated by the Times Now HR department to select senior employees. OpIndia has exclusively accessed the copy of the internal email communication.

Shivshankar’s Twitter bio too has been updated to “Editor-In-Chief Times Now, 2016 to 2023”. Shivshankar reportedly exited all WhatsApp groups of the channel.

21 June will be his last day at the Times Network.

The operations of the channel will now be helmed by Group Editor Navika Kumar, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of Times Now Navbharat.

Rahul Shivshankar joined Times Now in 2016 after resigning as Editor-in-Chief of NewsX. He rose to fame by hosting the 8 PM primetime show “India Upfront”.

Meanwhile, the newsroom rivalry between Rahul Shivshankar and Navika Kumar has always been a hot topic of discussion. While Shivshankar held the lone position of chief editor, Navika had dual power as group editor and chief of TN Navbharat.

It is only natural to assume that Rahul Shivshankar will now pursue an opportunity of relatively unchallenged power, unlike the situation in his previous organisation.

Shivshankar leaves social media speculating

Even as the Times Now HR’s internal communication says that Rahul Shivshankar has decided to part ways with the network, some Twitter users are speculating whether he was sacked.

Rahul Gandhi loyalists have somehow absurdly linked Shivshankar’s resignation to “winds of change”.

Another Twitter user linked the development to the 2024 general elections.

Meanwhile, some are also speculating that Rahul Shivshankar could join NDTV, which too has seen some big names resign following the takeover by the Adani Group.

In January this year, reports of Padmaja Joshi likely to join NDTV were galore after the resignation of former group editor Srinivasan Jain. However, the same did not materialise.

Recently, news anchor Rubika Liyaquat quit ABP News to join Bharat24 as vice president.

Mumbai: ED raids close aides of Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut in money laundering case

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai: ED raids close aides of Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut in money laundering case

On Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on the properties belonging to the close aides of Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut. The ED is investigating the properties of Suraj Chavan, a close aide of Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aditya Thackeray, and Sujit Patkar, a close aide of Sanjay Raut. The raids are underway at 10 locations in Mumbai.

According to the reports, however, the names of the persons whose premises are being raided by the ED are yet to be confirmed by the authorities. Businessman Sujit Patkar is being investigated in the money laundering case revolving around fraudulent civic body contracts for managing COVID-19 field hospitals during the pandemic.

This is months after the Pune Police filed an FIR against Patkar, Sanjay Raut’s business partner in Lifeline Hospital Management Services (LHMS), along with several others for fraudulently obtaining a contract of Shivaji Nagar Pune Jumbo Covid Center as alleged by complainant BJP’s Kirit Somaiya.

On April 10, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya filed a complaint of cheating and forgery with the Pune city police against the Lifeline Hospital Management Services (LHMS) and its partner Sujit Patkar alleging irregularities in the allotment of a jumbo Covid centre in 2020.

Somaiya alleged that the LHMS did not have any experience in providing healthcare, but bagged the contract for the jumbo Covid centre in Shivajinagar in 2020 from the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority after submitting forged documents.

Somaiya highlighted Sujit Patkar’s relation and partnership with Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut and had said that the actual contract between the MCGM and Lifeline Hospital Management Services was never signed.

The matter had come to fore after ED raided Sujit Patkar’s properties in 2022 in connection with the land scam worth Rs 1034 crores. The document by ED reflected that Patkar had signed the agreement with MCGM one year after actually getting the contract and receiving Rs 32 crores in his account.

How Adipurush is turning out to be a box-office disaster: Collects just 10 crores in India on Tuesday, 75% dip in earnings as the slide continues

OpIndia Staff
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How Adipurush is turning out to be a box-office disaster: Collects just 10 crores in India on Tuesday, 75% dip in earnings as the slide continues

Adipurush, Om Raut’s controversial adaptation of the Hindu epic Ramayana is rapidly collapsing at the box office with an unimpressive performance after massive criticism by Hindus who slammed the movie for insulting Hindu Gods. The movie which was off to a great start with 200 crore in its first weekend raked only 10 crore on June 20. It experienced a startling drop of 75% on Monday and a subsequent decline on the next day.

It reportedly grossed 10 crore nett on Tuesday (across all languages), with its Hindi portion accounting for merely 5 to 6 crore. An industry tracker, Sacnilk, estimated that Adipurush minted 10.80 crores in total. Its occupancy in Hindi was approximately 11.16 per cent. T-Series announced that the film has made 375 crores worldwide on Tuesday.

The multilingual project’s global box office performance was also weak. It clocked 17.93 crores on Tuesday, following the first-day total of 140 crores internationally, per film industry observer Manobala Vijayabalan. Less than 120 crore Hindi nett in box office receipts for the movie has effectively ended its run. The movie allegedly cost more than 500 crores for its production, however, its global box office revenue has not yet reached 400 crores.

While Salman Khan’s last Eid release Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (which generated just under 100 crore and failed) has been surpassed by Adipurush, the T-Series movie will now find it difficult to top the studio’s own co-production Tu Jhooti Main Makkaar. The rom-com with Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead roles fetched 149 crore in March.

One of the most expensive Indian films, Adipurush which was released on 16 June to negative reviews is ‘based’ on Valmiki’s Ramayana. Written and directed by Om Raut and produced by T-Series, it features Prabhas as Raghava, Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh, Kriti Sanon as Janaki, Sunny Singh as Shesh and Devdatta Nage as Bajrang. It was shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu languages.

Controversy around Adipurush

The 3D project has been in the headlines due to its revered subject ever since the makers announced its inception. The excitement soon turned into disappointment after its teaser was released. After the extreme backlash to the visual effects and CGI, its budget was increased to 500 crores from 400 crores to improve and enhance the visual effects, CGI, lighting and colour grading. The makers also pushed back the original release date from January to fix the issues pointed out.

However, when it finally made its way to the theatres it proved to be a huge letdown, largely owing to the colloquial dialogues penned by Manoj Muntashir Shukla, the performance and outfits of the actors, the lousy storyline, the awful VFX, the poor direction and most importantly the deviation from the source material.

The low numbers seem to be a result of the negative word of mouth against the film. Adipurush has been slammed for its dialogues and for giving a colloquial twist to the sacred Ramayana. There have been calls for a ban on the movie by several Hindu outfits, other organisations as well as audiences for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.

Manoj Muntashir’s bizarre justification

Manoj Muntashir informed that the unflattering dialogues in Adipurush will be changed after the massive backlash. He had initially defended the same but had to concede to the wishes of the public. He also appeared on several media platforms and claimed that the film is not based on Ramayana but rather just draws inspiration from it. Notably, he and the other members of the Adipurush team have previously repeatedly declared that the movie has its roots in the holy scripture.

Additionally, he made an attempt to shift responsibility for his terrible writing onto the general people by alleging that Adipurush used such terminology to make Ramayana comprehensible and relatable to the younger generation which further infuriated the masses.

Om Raut also came forward in defence of his movie and expressed his happiness over the initial box-office success and remarked that he was super proud of the results. He even went so far as to charge that only fools claim to fully understand Ramayana. Interestingly, no other cast member has yet commented on Adipurush or its unfavourable reception.

‘Those who build temples and believe in God are BJP supporters who don’t believe in democracy’: Sam Pitroda makes bizarre statements

OpIndia Staff
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‘Those who build temples and believe in God are BJP supporters who don’t believe in democracy’: Sam Pitroda makes bizarre statements

On the 19th of June, Congress leader Sam Pitroda, one of Rahul Gandhi’s most trusted advisors and aide, gave an interview on a youtube channel, ‘4 PM’. In the interview, Pitroda reiterated his earlier statement that temples will not create jobs. He added that what he meant earlier was that we need to focus on Jobs and the future rather than history. 

Pitroda asserted, “We have to build temples for creating jobs but the temples we are currently building will not create jobs.” 

When the interviewer pointed out that the construction of the temple also creates jobs, the Congress leader argued that there are two types of jobs, permanent and temporary jobs. He asserted that the assets should be invested in such places that they create permanent jobs. It is not understood what is the logic behind Pitroda’s claim that construction jobs are not ‘jobs’.

Pitroda then claimed that the NRIs, people of Indian origin who listen to PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi know that is the truth and what is a lie. He added that the Indian media does not give favorable coverage to Rahul Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi is made the subject of unfair scrutiny.

He even cited his “Jo hua so hua” statement for the 1984 anti-Sikh genocide was “twisted” and wrongly portrayed in Indian media. He added that he only wanted to assert that 1984 is past and we should move on.

PM Modi is being honored by the US government only for the potential business deals

Pitroda then claimed that the honor USA is bestowing on PM Modi is because of the potential business deals that the US will benefit from. “Ye maan deal banane ke liye mil raha hai“, he said.

Pitroda said that the PM should address the global media like Rahul Gandhi did, instead of the ceremonial events. He added that the PM should have a broad conversation, instead of broadcast.

The interviewer claimed that the reason behind Biden govt not appointing an ambassador for India was that PM Modi had supported Trump during his earlier US visit.

Pitroda insisted that instead of signing deals with Biden, PM Modi should visit US universities.

USA is not invested in saving democracy but in countering Russia and China

Slamming the USA for focusing on transactional relationships, Pitroda insinuated that the US government ‘likes’ pm Modi only because they see a potential benefit for American interests with regards to Russia and China. He ‘hoped’ that US will focus on long-term issues like ‘democracy’.

30% of NRIs support Modi, rest 70% support Rahul, insinuates Sam Pitroda

When asked about the preferred choice of People of Indian origin—whether they get excited about meeting Rahul Gandhi or meeting PM Modi—Pitroda stated that there are two types of NRIs.

He said, “One group is of those who built temples, believe in God, believe in BJP and RSS. That group is small, less than 30% but they are very vocal, they are very visible, they put extra time money, and effort to get their point across.”

Pitroda added, “Then there is another group of 70% people who believe in democracy, freedom, human rights, justice, equality, diversity and these are professionals, academicians, scientists, engineers, businessmen who are busy. They are not temple-going mostly.” The underlying insinuation was that the latter 70% support Rahul.

The host interjected asked the Congress leader why he has so much prejudice against temples, especially since Rahul Gandhi also becomes a very ‘visible’ Hindu during his election campaigns. But Pitroda’s response could not be seen because the interviewer suddenly started discussing Rahul’s marriage prospects.

‘America has always backed authoritarian leaders’, says Sam Pitroda

While the host cast aspersions on the possible defense deal between India and US, Pitroda added that he is not making any such allegation of making a deal but when the PM is visiting the US he should meet Press, and go to universities. 

Highlighting the example of Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines, and Iran, he said, “America has always backed authoritarian leaders.”  

He added, “So America likes to some extent what is happening in India from the viewpoint of deal making but America also has to understand that Indian democracy is in their interest. And I wish American leadership will speak up about what is going on in India in terms of polarising politics, weaponization of Social media, weaponization of institutions, undermining of civil society and change in the mindset of people.” 

He also argued for Gandhian non-violence instead of massive defense spending. He said, “World has to focus on non-violence in the next couple of decades, we can’t go on spending trillions of dollars for defense, for what? 

Gaurakshak murdered in Nanded, activists suspect the involvement of Sheikh Rafiq Mehboob gang and PFI connect: Details of FIR, what locals said and more

Siddhi Somani
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Gaurakshak murdered in Nanded, activists suspect the involvement of Sheikh Rafiq Mehboob gang and PFI connect: Details of FIR, what locals said and more

On Tuesday, the Maharashtra Police filed an FIR against 12-15 miscreants for launching an attack on the gaurakshaks in the Apparaopeth village of Kinwat taluka in Maharashtra’s Nanded district. The miscreants attacked around 8 gaurakshaks and hit them with sharp weapons and sticks on the night of June 19 killing one and injuring five. The accused have been booked under sections 302, 307, 143, 147, 148, 159, and 427 of the IPC and sections 4 and 7 of the Arms Act.

As per the FIR copy obtained by OpIndia, the victim persons have been identified as Shekhar Rapelli, Sopan Pentewar, Mahesh Kondalwad, Dnyaneshwar Karlewad, Vishal Mendewad, Vitthal Anantwar, Balaji Raulwad and Suryakant Karlewad. Among these, Shekhar Rapelli is said to have died on the spot while the other victims are undergoing treatment at the hospital.

FIR copy obtained by OpIndia

The incident is said to have happened on June 19 at around 11:30 pm. As per the complaint registered by one of the victims named Sopan Pentewar, they were attacked by 12-15 unknown miscreants while on their way home from Telangana. “We had gone to a relative’s place for a function. While on our way home, we came across a white Bolero pickup. We found the car suspicious so we followed it and stopped them at Malakjam area to check what was in the vehicle. On asking the driver, suddenly 10-12 people from the vehicle got down with sticks and sharp weapons. Later when some of us moved towards the vehicle to check what was in there, miscreants attacked from behind injuring 4 of us severely,” the FIR copy read.

Complaint filed by Sopan Pentewar

Pentewar further said that one of the victims, Shekhar Rapelli was attacked with a sharp weapon after which he collapsed on the spot. The accused persons are also said to have attacked the vehicle in which the victims were travelling. As per the complaint, the victims then managed to reach the government hospital in Shivni where the doctors declared Shekhar as already dead. The other victims persons are undergoing treatment at the hospital.

As per the Legal Rights Observatory (LRO) the accused persons are cow and guthka smugglers and are members of Sheikh Rafiq Mehboob gang. However, the same is yet to be confirmed by the authorities. Locals and activists tolld OpIndia that Sheikh Rafiq Mehboob has a huge hold on illegal guthka trade in the city and around the Shivni area. He also is said to be associated with the PFI organization which has been banned by the Indian government. Further, according to the sources, the Police at present are interrogating the relatives of the victim persons.

Superintendent of Police, Nanded, Shri Krishna Kokate confirmed the incident and said that the police has launched a manhunt to nab the accused. “A group of people, residents of Nanded, were coming from Telangana. They had got information about a suspicious vehicle carrying cows illegally. The group (gaurakshaks) followed the vehicle when people from the vehicle carrying the cattle attacked them with sharp weapons. In this incident, one died and 6 others were injured for which they are being treated at a local hospital. Nanded police has lodged an FIR and the search for the accused is underway,” SP was quoted as saying.

Nanded SP says teams formed to nab the accused in Nanded gaurakshak killing case from OpIndia Videos on Vimeo.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Kiran Bechiwar also commented on the issue and said that the victim persons have now been shifted to a hospital in Nanded. He also condemned the attack and could be heard saying that, “The police has formed 2-3 teams to look for the accused who have been charged of murder. No one has yet been arrested. We strongly condemn the incident and will keep the dead body till all the accused members are arrested.”

VHP leader Kiran Bichewar condemns the Nanded gaurakshak killing incident from OpIndia Videos on Vimeo.

One of the local BJP leader, Prakash Gade further talked to OpIndia this morning to further confirm that all the accused have been identified by the Police and that an SIT has been formed to investigate the case. Notably, the local persons of Nanded district yesterday had launched a protest outside the hospital demanding strict action against the accused persons. They also had called for ‘Nanded Bandh’ on June 21 (today) but the protests were revoked after the Police lodged an FIR and assured action in the case.

Cow protection has been painted as a ‘communal’ issue where gaurakshaks are depicted as rogue groups that attack ‘innocent’ Muslims transporting cows to slaughterhouses. Cattle are a source of livelihood for millions in rural India and are loved as their family members. Cows, especially, are also considered holy by Hindus and slaughtering them is considered to be a sin.

The government has imposed a ban on cow slaughter as per the Animal Welfare Act. In spite of this, numerous cows, bullocks, cattle, and other animals are smuggled across Telangana state at night in both large and small vehicles from the state of Maharashtra.

Earlier, in February this year, the Nanded police had arrested the gaurakshaks and allowed 8 smugglers to allegedly escape. A cop from Nanded was suspended after a video showing him brutally beating up many youths who were stopping cow smugglers had gone viral over social media. The cop was identified as Islapur Police’s API (Assistant Police Inspector) Raghunath Shewale.

LRO then had said that Shewale had thrashed the Gaurakshaks, who are Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal (BD) members as they tried to stop two vehicles carrying smuggled cattle. It also pointed out that the cops allowed 8 cow smugglers to escape and instead arrested the youths who were gaurakshaks.

In the given case, the accused persons are believed to be the members of the Sheikh Rafiq Mehboob gang and have been booked under sections 302, 307, 143, 147, 148, 159, and 427 of the IPC and sections 4 and 7 of the Arms Act.

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