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India joins the Champions Group of the Global Crisis Response Group at the invitation of the UN Secretary-General

OpIndia Staff
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India joins the Champions Group of the Global Crisis Response Group at the invitation of the UN Secretary-General

India has joined the Champions Group of the Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG). The decision of India to join the group came after the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG) was set up by the UN Secretary-General in March last year to address urgent and critical global issues related to interlinked crises in food security, energy and finance and to coordinate a global response. GCRG aims to help decision-makers to mobilize solutions and develop strategies to help countries address the interlinked crisis with food, energy and finance.

The GCRG is overseen by the Champions Group and currently, it comprises the heads of governments/states of Bangladesh, Barbados, Denmark, Germany, Indonesia and Senegal.

Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs has been designated as Sherpa to the GCRG process. The Sherpas will meet on 7th July virtually and a meeting of the Champions is scheduled to be held on July 21, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press release

The MEA in the press release said, “The decision to join the Group reflects India’s increasing global leadership and committment addressing contemporary global challenges. India’s participation will further boost the efforts of the United Nations in finding result-oriented solutions on developmental issues that impact the world, particularly developing countries.”

The current issues being handled by the GCRG include various aspects under food, energy and finance. It says that commodity prices have fallen due to bumper crops in Australia, Canada, Russia and the United States as well as by the optimism brought upon by the signing of the Black Sea Grain Initiative – a fundamental recommendation by GCRG – to reintegrate grains and sunflower oil from Ukraine into global markets and facilitate unimpeded access to food and fertilizers from Russia.

Under the Black Sea Grain Initiative of the GCRG, a newly established Joint Coordination Centre was established to allow for significant volumes of commercial food exports to depart from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, and paved the way for the first shipment to leave the port of Odesa on 1 August.

Under energy, the group says that the world needs to double down on renewables to meet net-zero goals, tackle energy poverty, and boost and diversify the global energy mix. The group further states that inflation rates continue to accelerate in developing and least developing countries due to their levels of income and exposure to global financial shocks.

Tied with wires, throat cut, and buried alive: Ex-boyfriend Tarikjot gets life sentence for killing Indian origin student in Australia

OpIndia Staff
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Tied with wires, throat cut, and buried alive: Ex-boyfriend Tarikjot gets life sentence for killing Indian origin student in Australia

A 21-year-old Indian origin nursing student in Australia was kidnapped by her scorned ex-boyfriend from India, driven about 650 kilometers, and then buried alive in the isolated Flinders Ranges of South Australia state in a horrifying act of revenge crime.

Tarikjot Singh killed Adelaide City resident Jasmeen Kaur in March 2021, a month after she reported him to the police for stalking.

She was taken from her place of employment on 5 March and driven more than 400 miles (644 km) in the boot of a car that the accused had borrowed from his flatmate. She was restrained with cable ties. He buried her in a small grave at Death Rock near Hawker after giving her superficial throat wounds that weren’t enough to kill her. She was blindfolded and conscious of her surroundings when she passed away at some point on 6 March as per the post-mortem report.

Tarikjot had pled guilty to the murder and the gory details of his crime were revealed during motions for sentencing at the Supreme Court on 5 July 2023. After being taken by the culprit from her workplace, the victim was forced to undergo “absolute terror,” according to prosecutor Carmen Matteo SC.

She stated, “She had to have been consciously suffering what could only be described as the absolute terror of breathing in and swallowing soil and dying in that way.” The attorney further added that Jasmeen Kaur was “made to suffer” and that the murder was “not efficient.”

The prosecutor informed that once their relationship ended, Tarikjot Singh began the “cold and clinical planning” of the murder. “The way in which Ms Kaur was killed involved an uncommon level of cruelty. It’s not known when her throat was cut, it’s not known when or how she got into or was placed into that burial grave and it’s not known when that was dug, other than the prosecution says it had to have been while she was still alive and in preparation for her burial.”

She proclaimed, “It was a killing that was committed as an act of vengeance.” She told the court that on February 9, the victim had filed a police report mentioning that the perpetrator was stalking her. She disclosed that in the days preceding the latter’s death, he composed multiple notes to her that he never got around to sending.

They featured sentiments like “Your bad luck that I am still alive, cheap, wait and watch, will get the answer, each and every single one will get the answer” and “deep inside what I feel but can’t get over.”

The day before her kidnapping, he downloaded a map of surveillance cameras in Adelaide, in accordance with the prosecution’s testimony in court. Carmen Matteo asserted that surveillance footage captured him purchasing cable ties from a hardware store on the afternoon of the abduction. 

She established that in order to “engage cell towers that would give the impression that he was at or near home,” he also took the SIM card out of his phone, put it in another one and left it there. He switched his car with that of his flatmate on the night of the crime and requested him to cover his shift.

The offender claimed that he did not recall the last time he saw his ex-partner and that he had been at home the night of her murder when he was first questioned by police on 6 March. He reported to the authorities one day later that she had died by suicide and that he had buried her in the Flinders Ranges. He led them to the burial spot, where they discovered her shoes, spectacles, and name badge in a bin with some twisted cable ties.

Two months prior to the murder, both his and her families met and “resolved unfavourably to the relationship continuing,” based on Martin Anders, Tarikjot Singh’s lawyer. He maintained that his reasoning was “gravely impaired” following the breakup of the relationship.

“This is not a man who really was orientated well in terms of his understanding of whose wishes, how those issues unfolded, and how he might reason appropriately through the circumstances of which he was confronted. He took steps which destroyed not only her life but his life,” he remarked.

The legal representative alleged that Tarikjot Singh had poor mental health and had developed hallucinations as a result of the passing of her ex-partner. The latter, as stated by him, posed a low chance of future offense.

He “put in train a series of careful steps over a period of time” to carry out the murder, noted Justice Adam Kimber. “He was punishing her for having been rejected. He, the prosecution says, bundled her into a vehicle, restrained her in the back seat or the boot, drove her a considerable distance, killed her, buried her, and disposed of evidence that might implicate him in that crime,” the judge observed.

Mandatory life in prison was awarded by him to the accused, with a non-parole period to be determined next month. Due to the fact that they called it a “crime of passion,” the defense argued for a lenient punishment. The mother and other members of Jasmeen Kaur’s family were present in court to hear the arguments for and against the sentence.

This West Bengal panchayat election, I sense the beginning of the end of TMC

Raju Bista
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This West Bengal panchayat election, I sense the beginning of the end of TMC

Ever since the Panchayat elections were declared in West Bengal, 17 people have been killed and hundreds injured in targeted political assassinations perpetrated by those running the state. The number of deaths would have been much higher, had it not been for the Central Forces deployed, thanks to the intervention by the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court. These elections are meant for ensuring the development of our villages at the grassroots level, but like all other elections, TMC has used it to spread a reign of terror in the state. Opposition candidates and their families have been attacked, their houses burned, and a threat of victimisation post-election looms large.

However, amidst the political terrorism spread by TMC in the state, I can sense a ray of hope being spread among the people. The enthusiasm, energy and positivity shown by our candidates in the panchayat election process have given hope to the people. People now believe that positive change is possible, eradication of corruption is possible, and elimination of dictatorship and brutality is possible.

In the past 12 years, West Bengal has suffered immensely under TMC. Be it open looting of public funds, diverting central schemes, seeking cut money from each and every single project, imposition of syndicate-raj, nepotism, policy paralysis, zero investment inflow, and failed governance – TMC has sucked the state and the people here dry.

But this time around, the people are resisting. The masses are awakening, they are asking questions, seeking answers, and demanding their rights, their share of funds, programs and projects.

This is what has left the TMC leadership extremely worried because the impact of this change won’t just be confined to the 2023 panchayat elections. The impact of this fundamental shift will gradually turn into a tsunami of public resentment against TMC. This tsunami will wipe the state clean of the violence, loot, arson, murder, corruption and failed governance of TMC.

This pivotal moment in history can be counted as the beginning of the end of TMC.

Despite desperate attempts by TMC to divert the attention of the people using non-issues, people have come to realise that these elections are about the development of their villages, peace in their villages, better schools for their children, employment opportunities available in their village itself for our youths and adults, better healthcare, better roads, connectivity, drinking water in every household, fair and impartial, nepotism free implementation of all Central and State Govt schemes and programs, and nothing else.

The voters are ready to vote without any fear, compulsion or coercion. They will be voting with their conscience, and voting for a strong today and stronger future for the state.

FIR against Neha Singh Rathore for defaming RSS over the Sidhi urination case

OpIndia Staff
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FIR against Neha Singh Rathore for defaming RSS over the Sidhi urination case

On 6th July 2023, an FIR (first information report) was registered against folk singer Neha Singh Rathore for intentionally defaming Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) with a cartoon tweet over the Sidhi urination case.

This FIR is filed by one Suraj Khare in the Habibganj police station of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. Suraj Khare is a member of the SC ST cell of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh.

Neha Singh Rathore shared a cartoon on 6th July 2023 from her Twitter handle. In this picture, an RSS member was seen urinating on a poor man. It is notable that in a similar incident that came to light earlier this week, one Pravesh Shukla was seen urinating on a poor tribal man in a viral video. It was speculated by many on social media that the accused is related to the Bharatiya Janata Party. However, many BJP leaders have clarified that he is not related to the party.

In her tweet, Neha Singh Rathore wrote, “MP me ka ba? Coming soon…” This means, ‘What is there in Madhya Pradesh?’. While it was a signal to her followers that she is coming with a new song, Neha Singh Rathore also shared a picture with this tweet. The picture showed an RSS member who has removed and thrown away his shorts peeing on a poor man sitting on a bench. Neha Singh Rathore essentially implied that the people of RSS commit such acts as seen in the viral video of the Sidhi urination case.

In the next tweet, she wrote, “Some people call me an agent of the Congress, some call me an agent of the Samajwadi Party, and some of the Aam Aadmi Party. There is a similar rumor in Bihar as well. Everyone knows the truth. I am only in opposition. Whichever party is in opposition in every state, I am with it. When these parties of the opposition come to power, they will be able to see me stand with their opposition. Whichever party is in opposition at the Centre, I am with it. Governments will change, but I will remain in the opposition. A folk artist should question the government by being on the side of the public. This is the duty of the artist. I am with my duty. I am with democracy.”

In the FIR the accused Neha Singh Rathore is charged with section 153A of the Indian Penal Code citing tweet may potentially incite enmity between the tribal communities and the RSS members.

After the FIR was filed, Neha Singh Rathore tweeted, “In Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district, a BJP leader urinated on the head of a tribal man. An FIR has been lodged against me for criticizing this incident. When I objected to urinating on a tribal person, the media in charge of BJP’s Scheduled Caste Morcha got an FIR lodged against me. Amazing is their love for tribals..!”

Neha Singh Rathore made it to the news with her songs ‘Bihar me ka ba?’ and ‘UP me ka ba?’ in which she allegedly criticized the governments in the respective states over various issues. She has received legal notice for spreading hatred among society through such songs even in the past. Now, a member of the MP BJP has filed an FIR against the singer.

The Sidhi Urination Case

A one-year-old video of a man named Pravesh Shukla from Sidhi urinating on the head of a tribal person named Dashmat Rawat in Madhya Pradesh went viral on 4th July 2023. The Madhya Pradesh police arrested the accused and initiated strict action against him. Meanwhile, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met Dashrath Rawat, the poor tribal victim, and washed his feet at the Chief Minister’s residence in Bhopal on Thursday (July 6). This came a day after the accused from Sidhi, Pravesh Shukla’s house was razed by authorities on Chouhan’s orders.

Other similar tweets

Neha Singh Rathore’s was not the only tweet defaming RSS in this regard. One Tanya Ghosh shared a similar picture and named the man sitting on the bench India. The person urinating in this picture was clearly named BJP and RSS. In the caption, Tanya Ghosh wrote, “India: Here is your Fate for what you chose. Be wise in 2024.”

Prakash Raj shared a cartoon picture in which a person wearing the RSS uniform shorts is shown urinating on another person. The picture also showed a man wearing the RSS uniform shorts consuming cow’s urine (Gomutra). In the caption, Prakash Raj wrote, “Bigots chronology.”

The Habibganj police are further investigating the case against Neha Singh Rathore.

Mumbai: Bharat Jain, the world’s richest beggar continues to beg even after having a net worth of Rs 7.5 crore

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai: Bharat Jain, the world’s richest beggar continues to beg even after having a net worth of Rs 7.5 crore

The word “beggar” brings to mind the idea of people who are poor, dressed in tattered, old clothing, and having messy hair. However, some people have taken begging to a new level by turning it into a successful and rewarding business.

According to the reports, Bharat Jain is the world’s richest beggar and still continues to beg on the busy streets of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra.

Bharat Jain is the world’s richest beggar, according to a report by the Economic Times, and he can be spotted begging on the streets of Mumbai. Jain, who is married, has a family that includes his wife, two boys, his brother, and his father. He was unable to pursue formal schooling in his childhood due to financial instability.

Jain at present has amassed a net worth of 7.5 crores, as per reports. His monthly income from begging fluctuates between Rs 60,000 and Rs 75,000.

Additionally, he owns two retail establishments in Thane that fetch Rs 30,000 a month and a 2BHK flat in Mumbai that is worth Rs 1.2 crores. According to reports, Jain begs at well-known areas like Azad Maidan or Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai. 

Jain continues to beg on the streets of the financial centre despite being a property owner. While many in the city find it difficult to earn even a few hundred rupees after working long hours, Jain manages to make between Rs 2,000 and Rs 2,500 per day in a matter of 10 to 12 hours, thanks to the kindness of Indians. 

A 1BHK duplex residence in Parel is home to Jain and his family. His children have finished their schooling at a convent school. His other relatives run a stationery shop. They constantly tell Jain to stop begging, but he doesn’t listen to them and continues to do it.

Bharat Jain’s story has been in media for years

It is not the first time that this ‘world’s richest beggar’ has created news. His story first appeared in the media in 2015. A that time too, his monthly income was mentioned to be around Rs 70,000. Jain’s story keeps surfacing in the media every couple of years. In 2019, a beggar named Burju Chandra Azad died while crossing the railway tracks in Govandi. When the police reached his residence, they found Rs 1.5 lakhs of cash, mostly in coins. Further inquiry revealed that Azad had over 8.7 lakhs in bank deposits.

Krishna Kumar Gite is another such ‘famous’ beggar from Mumbai. He reportedly owns a flat in Nala Sopara. Other such rich beggars who keep making it to news headlines are Sarvatia Devi from Patna, and Sambhaji Kale from Solapur. These persons have been begging as a professional endeavor and have lakhs of rupees and properties in their names.

Kanpur: Lucky Khan befriends minor Hindu girl on Instagram, rapes and forces her to convert, arrested along with accomplice Suhaib Khan

Jhankar Mohta
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Kanpur: Lucky Khan befriends minor Hindu girl on Instagram, rapes and forces her to convert, arrested along with accomplice Suhaib Khan

On July 5, Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur police arrested two youths named Lucky Khan and Suhaib Khan. The duo are accused of kidnapping, blackmailing and raping a minor Hindu girl and later forcing her to convert to Islam. 

According to the police, the accused, Lucky Khan and his friend Suhaib Khan, who are residents of the Nawabad locality in Jhansi were arrested at the Sarita Palace Hotel in Kanpur, where they had forcefully taken the victim and gangraped her.

The Kanpur police said that during interrogation, the accused confessed that they had befriended the victim on Instagram a few months back. While chatting, Lucky Khan managed to procure the victim’s photos, which he morphed and started using to blackmail her into meeting him. The girl, however, kept refusing to meet them.

On Wednesday, the accused reached Kanpur and booked a room in the Sarita Palace Hotel. They then went to Shivrajpur village, where the girl stayed. They told her that they wanted to talk to her about something and urged her to meet them. The youths threatened to make her photos viral on social media if she refused.

When the girl came to meet the duo, they forcefully made her sit in a car and took her to the hotel. There they took turns to rape her. They also forced her to convert to Islam.

Notably, when the youth came out of the hotel along with the girl, they had an argument with her. When the hotel staff saw this, they informed the police.

Inspector Kalyanpur Dhananjay Pandey said, “Medical examination of the girl has been done. On the victim’s complaint, an FIR has been registered against the accused for kidnapping, gang rape, threatening, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation, 5/6 POCSO Act and UP Law Against Religion Change Prohibition Act. The accused were produced in court and sent to jail on Thursday.” 

Social media has become the new breeding ground for love jihad. In another such case reported in June this year from Aligarh, a youth named Zihad with an account by the name of Aryan, befriended a Hindu woman on Instagram. For 6 months, they kept messaging each other on the social media platform until they decided to elope.

The Meerut-based Zahid arrived in Aligarh on 17 June, Saturday. He handed some intoxicating pills to the Hindu woman and asked her to mix them with her family’s food. Following this, they hatched a plan to elope at night.

Zahid also told the woman to get money and ornaments from her house. They were caught by the police shortly after attempting to flee. She has been handed over to her family.

Gujarat HC dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s plea: Read what options he has now to evade continued disqualification as MP

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat HC dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s plea: Read what options he has now to evade continued disqualification as MP

On 7th July 2023, Gujarat High Court dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s plea to stay the conviction in the criminal defamation suit in the ‘Modi Surname’ case. Justice Hemant Prachchhak refused to stay Rahul Gandhi’s conviction.

Notably, the conviction in the case resulted in his disqualification as a Member of Parliament. Rahul Gandhi was an elected member of Lok Sabha from the Wayanad constituency of Kerala. He won that seat in the 2019 general elections. The court’s dismissal of the review plea by the Congress scion will further prolong his disqualification.

Justice Hemant Prachchhak said in his order, “Rahul Gandhi is seeking a stay on conviction on absolutely non-existent grounds. A stay on conviction is not a rule. As many as 10 cases are pending against him. It is needed to have purity in politics. A complaint has been filed against Rahul Gandhi by the grandson of Veer Savarkar in Pune Court after Rahul Gandhi used terms against Veer Savarkar at Cambridge. In any way, the conviction would not result in any injustice. The conviction is just and proper. There is no need to interfere with the said order. Therefore, the application is dismissed.”

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified because of his conviction in defamation case

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified under section 8(3) of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, which states that any MP or MLA convicted of any offense and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of conviction.

Rahul Gandhi, the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala, has been disqualified with immediate effect, as section 8(3) of the Representation of Peoples Act states that an MP or MLA will be disqualified from the date of conviction if the jail sentence awarded is two years or more.

How long will the disqualification last?

Apart from the current disqualification, Rahul Gandhi will also not be able to contest the next general election, and also perhaps the 2029 elections, if the conviction is not overturned by a higher court. According to the law, the disqualification will continue for six years after release from jail.

Therefore, if Rahul Gandhi does not appeal and goes to jail now, he will remain disqualified for eight years, 2 years in jail and 6 years after that. If he appeals, which he will, as announced by the Congress party, it will depend on how long it stays in the courts till the Supreme Court, and what is the final verdict. Theoretically, if Rahul Gandhi does not get relief from the courts up to Supreme Court, the length of his disqualification will increase by the time taken in the appeal process. However, if any subsequent court overturns the verdict or even reduces the sentence, his disqualification will be withdrawn.

What are the options before Rahul Gandhi now?

According to Supreme Court lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, Rahul Gandhi now has the option of filing a petition in the High Court in front of a larger bench or the Supreme Court. He said, “Rahul Gandhi may first file a petition for bail. If a bail plea is rejected, he may have to go to jail. Such a case has come before the court before. The Supreme Court, in the Lily Thomas case of 2013 and in another case of 2018, had said that the disqualification of a public representative under the Representation of the People Act can be overturned if the sentence is suspended or the conviction is stayed by an appellate court. However, it is necessary that the appellate court also suspends the decision of disqualification.”

He added, “The court had sentenced Lakshadweep MP Mohammad Faizal to 10 years in an attempt to murder case. After this, Faizal lost his parliament membership. Faizal had approached the Kerala High Court against the trial court. The court had stayed the lower court’s decision. After this, Faizal’s parliament membership was also restored. In such a situation, if the decision had come in favor of Rahul Gandhi, it was possible that his membership would also have been restored.”

What is the case?

The criminal defamation case was filed over a remark made by Gandhi during the 2019 Lok Sabha campaign. Referring to persons like Lalit Modi, and Nirav Modi, Rahul Gandhi had asked “Why do all thieves have the same surname?.”

After BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi accused Rahul Gandhi of defaming the entire Modi community with his comment, a criminal defamation case was filed against Gandhi. Subsequently, on March 23, 2023, the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrates in Surat found Rahul Gandhi guilty and sentenced him to 2 years imprisonment, resulting in his disqualification as a member of Lok Sabha.

However, his sentence was suspended on the same day, and he was granted bail, allowing him to file an appeal against his conviction within 30 days. On April 3, Rahul Gandhi approached the Surat Sessions Court to challenge his conviction and requested a stay on the verdict. However, his plea for a stay was rejected on April 20. Nonetheless, the Surat Sessions Court granted him bail until his appeal is resolved. Now, a single-judge bench of the Gujarat High Court has dismissed his plea to review the conviction in this case.

I am better than your wife: Dog owner tells man after being asked to put a muzzle on her pet inside a lift

OpIndia Staff
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I am better than your wife: Dog owner tells man after being asked to put a muzzle on her pet inside a lift

A video of a heated confrontation between a dog owner and a husband-wife duo has gone viral on social media. The incident is said to have taken place at the Logix Blossom County in Sector 137 in Noida city of Uttar Pradesh.

In the viral video, a pregnant woman and her husband are seen telling a dog owner to put a muzzle on her pet inside the lift of their housing society. “The muzzle is hanging from your dog’s collar. Put it on,” the woman said.

The husband intervened, “My wife is pregnant. Let’s assume that the dog bites her.” The woman aggressively told the dog owner to develop ‘some sense’ and highlighted instances when unmuzzled dogs have bitten humans.

“You have started recording it? Okay,” the dog owner responded. The pregnant woman stated, “When dogs bite, CCTV footage is shown by news channels.”

“People like you air such footage…Dogs do not bite everyone but only people like you”, she was heard telling the pregnant woman. At that time, the man intervened, “We just asked you to put on a muzzle…What kind of a lady are you?”

“I will not put muzzle on my dog, even if it means holding the lift for next 30 minutes… Atleast, I am better than your wife,” she was heard telling the man. Meanwhile, netizens have reached out to authorities in Noida seeking action against the dog owner.

Hyderabad: Stray street dogs kill 4-year-old boy

On February 19 this year, stray street dogs killed a 4-year-old boy in a housing society in Hyderabad, Telangana. As per reports, the boy was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead. CCTV footage of the incident has since gone viral on social media.

In the video, the boy can be seen playing in society when a pack of dogs attacked him. The boy made attempts to escape, but the dogs kept biting him. The boy fell on the street while the dogs tore his flesh.

His father, Gangadhar, works as a security personnel at the housing complex where the incident occurred. When he heard the child’s screams, he rushed to the spot and rescued him from the dogs. He rushed his son to the hospital, where he was declared dead.

Freedom of expression doesn’t mean free hand to terrorists: India strongly reacts to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s comments on Khalistani activities

OpIndia Staff
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Freedom of expression doesn’t mean free hand to terrorists: India strongly reacts to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s comments on Khalistani activities

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has strongly reacted to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statements regarding Khalistani activities in his country and stated that room must not be provided to extremist and terrorist elements in the name of freedom of expression.

The Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi remarked, “There is a rally on the 8th (July). You would have seen posters inciting violence against the Indian diplomats. These posters inciting violence against our diplomats and diplomatic premises abroad are unacceptable and we condemn them in the strongest terms.”

He further continued, “The matter has been strongly taken up with the Canadian authorities both in New Delhi and in Ottawa. We have called on the government of Canada to take all steps to ensure the safety of our diplomats and the security of our diplomatic missions in Canada.”

New Delhi countered Justin Trudeau’s observations about freedom of expression and voiced its concerns. “It is a matter of concern that freedom of expression and speech is once again being misused by anti-India elements based in Canada and elsewhere. We continue to press the Canadian side to ensure that our diplomats can carry out their normal functions without fear or intimidation.”

He added, “We have seen some media reports about the comments by Prime Minister Trudeau. But let me make the larger point that the issue is not about freedom of expression, but its misuse for advocating violence, propagating separatism and legitimising terrorism. So, that is actually what we would like to emphasise.”

He invoked S. Jainshankar’s assertion and proclaimed, “We have also had instances or situations where these kinds of threats have also taken place in the US, Australia and the UK to name a few. You would have seen the external affairs minister himself mention in the context of Prime Minister Trudeau’s comments that countries should not pander to vote bank politics.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that Canada has always taken ‘serious action’ against terrorism and refuted criticism that his government has been lax on pro-Khalistan activists within the country. His pronouncements come days after India protested a poster by proponents of Khalistan that threatened Indian ambassadors in Canada. However, he had claimed that India was wrong in saying that Canada is being soft on Sikh extremism because he relies on Sikh votes.

India had said that Canada is being soft on Khalistani terrorism activities after a tableau glorifying the assassination of former PM Indira Gandhi was paraded by Khalistanis in Canada’s Brampton last month. “I think there is a larger underlying issue about the space which is given to separatists, to extremists, to people who advocate violence,” Minister S. Jaishankar had said after the incident. India had repeated the appeals to Canda to not give space to terrorists after posters calling for a ‘kill India’ rally had come up. However, when asked about India’s reaction to the development, Justin Trudeau claimed that India is wrong.

The Canadian PM alleged, “They are wrong. Canada has always taken extremely seriously violence and threats of violence. We have always taken serious action against terrorism and we always will. We have an extremely diverse country and freedom of expression is something that we have. But we will always make sure that we are pushing back against violence and extremism in all its forms,” while responding to a question about the float depicting the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, the “Kill India” posters by Khalistani separatists and the charges of the Indian government on him for being soft on Sikh extremism for political gains.

Arindam Bagchi further mentioned, “As you are aware we have had problems with the security of our mission in London. We have taken up the latest issue of threats against our diplomats with the UK authorities. We have noted these comments by UK foreign secretary but we would naturally judge them by what happens on the ground.”

Against the backdrop of reported plans by pro-Khalistan elements to carry out a “Kill India” rally to the Indian high commission in London on July 8, British foreign secretary James Cleverly declared that any attacks on the mission are “completely unacceptable.”

Canada along with the UK, the US and Australia has become a hub for Khalistan activities in recent times. Now, pro-Khalistani elements have announced a “Kill India” rally outside India High Commission in London on 8th July. A poster of the event has been circulating on social media platforms including Twitter. The announcement came days after the arson attack on San Francisco Indian Consulate.

PM Modi fires salvos at Congress in Chhattisgarh, launches all-out attack over Rs 2,161 crore liquor scam under Bhupesh Baghel govt

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi fires salvos at Congress in Chhattisgarh, launches all-out attack over Rs 2,161 crore liquor scam under Bhupesh Baghel govt

Prime Minister Narendra Modi fired salvos at the Congress-run Chhattisgarh government on Friday in Raipur while addressing party workers at the Vijay Sankalp Yatra. The PM hit out at the Baghel government over corruption amid the ongoing liquor scam investigation.

He said, “One of the 36 promises made in Congress’s manifesto was liquor ban in the state. 5 years on and the Congress govt has committed thousands of crores of liquor scam. Newspapers are filled with reports on the same.”

He added that the Cong government has betrayed the mothers and sisters of Chhattisgarh. “The (liquor scam) commission money has allegedly gone to Cong’s kitty,” PM said.

Taking a jibe at the rift between Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo, PM Modi quipped, “Some say the 2.5-year formula for Chief Ministership couldn’t be implemented due to the scam.”

Calling the Chhattisgarh government the “Congress model of Corruption”, PM Modi said the state is like an atm for the Congress party. “Their scams are not limited to liquor. There is not a single department and area of work which is out of the ambit of doubt. Coal mafia, sand mafia, land mafia…all kinds of mafias are dwelling under Congress. They didn’t even spare the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme. All including ground-level leaders to top ministers in Congress are accused. The Chhattisgarh government is a model of Cong corruption and misgovernance.”

The Prime Minister also mocked the Opposition saying, “Those who are blotted are trying to come together now. Those who used to incessantly curse each other are today trying to find excuses to join forces. They think by doing this they can scare Modi. Every corrupt must hear this that if they are the guarantee of corruption then Modi is the guarantee of action against corruption.”

Saying that the Congress party cannot breathe without corruption, PM warned that whoever is involved in graft will not be spared. “Whatever I have today has been given by you, by the nation. They will threaten to dig my grave, they will conspire against me but they don’t know that he who is afraid cannot be Modi.”

Meanwhile, reaching out to the farmers, downtrodden, tribals, and Adivasis, PM said that the Congress government has only made false guarantees to them. “Congress has always used the tribals and adivasis as a vote bank. Congress has always deprived tribals of resources and facilities. It is the BJP government that included them under Scheduled Tribes list. Districts which are difficult to visit have been deemed backward and ignored by Cong,” he said.

He criticised the Congress governments for “insulting Adivasi freedom fighters like Bhagwan Birsa Munda.” He listed the work done by the BJP to pay tribute to the Adivasi freedom fighters like Rani Durgavati.

He concluded that the Congress government will be ousted by the people of Chhattisgarh come the Assembly elections. PM Modi is on a two-day visit to poll-bound states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan.

What is the Chhattisgarh liquor scam?

The Enforcement Directorate unearthed a Rs 2161-crore liquor scam in Chhattisgarh wherein a crime syndicate allegedly run by some babus and top ministers altered the liquor policy to derive benefits. Links to Congress and names of bureaucrats have emerged in the case. The ED on Thursday filed a prosecution complaint at the special PMLA court.

Baghel govt marred with graft charges

In January this year, OpIndia in its exclusive investigation exposed The Chhattisgarh Files revealing details of how the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government in the state attempted to save the prime accused in the NAN scam.

In 2015, when the BJP was in power in Chhattisgarh and Dr Raman Singh was the Chief Minister, Congress had alleged that the government was distributing sub-standard quality grains under the PDS and that officials had received kickbacks from rice millers to allow this. The Nagrik Apurti Nigam is the nodal agency in Chhattisgarh responsible for procuring and distributing food grains under PDS.

The BJP government had launched a probe into what came to be known as the NAN scam and subsequently, 27 people were booked by the BJP govt – Anil Tuteja and Alok Shukla being the prime accused. ACB later started a money laundering probe as well and a chargesheet was filed in 2015. After this, Congress came to power in Chhattisgarh.

What transpired in Chhattisgarh after the Bhupesh Baghel government took reign was corruption with impunity, a coordinated campaign to save the primary accused, Anil Tuteja, in the NAN scam and an attempt to use IPS officers, the Judiciary and other means at the government’s disposal to Ex-Chief Minister, Raman Singh and his family members, former Principle Secretary Aman Singh and his wife Yasmeen Singh, Former DG (Police) Mukesh Gupta, Ashok Chaturvedi and Chintamani Chandrakar, using fabricated evidence, coercion of witnesses and other extra-judicial means.

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