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Delhi BJP marches against AAP over snooping by Delhi govt’s feedback unit, demands removal of Manish Sisodia

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Delhi BJP marches against AAP over snooping by Delhi govt’s feedback unit, demands removal of Manish Sisodia

On 9th February 2023, the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party took a march from the ITO to the Secretariat to protest against the AAP government in Delhi for the alleged snooping by the Feedback Unit established by the Arvind Kejriwal government. BJP workers flagged posters and placards with slogans against the Delhi government and the alleged snooping near the Delhi secretariat. A large police force was deployed to ensure law and order.

BJP demanded the removal of Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia from his post over the alleged ‘snooping’ on politicians by AAP’s Feedback Unit (FBU).

It has been alleged that the feedback unit formed by Arvind Kejriwal’s government is spying on the opposition leaders from BJP rather than strengthening the vigilance. The BJP asked why the state would need a feedback unit when there is already an anti-corruption unit acting in Delhi. Besides, questions were also raised on the operations and motives of this unit.

Delhi BJP working president Virendra Sachdeva claimed that not just opposition leaders, the Feedback Unit was also snooping on journalists, businessmen, and senior officers. Calling it a ‘very serious’ matter, Sachdeva said BJP will continue to fight till both Kejriwal and Sisodia are in jail.

In 2015, Aam Aadmi Party came to power in the Delhi assembly. Soon after that, it formed a feedback unit. The newly formed team was supposed to inform the government about updates on various activities in different departments so that the government functions smoothly. Recently, the Central Bureau of Investigation submitted a report to the vigilance department of the Delhi government in which it stated that the feedback unit was involved in the political snooping of the opposition leaders as well as some of the AAP leaders.

The FBU, as it was known in official correspondence, also gathered “political intelligence” linked to “political activities of persons, political entities, and political matters affecting the political interest of AAP,” according to a preliminary investigation by the CBI on a complaint of an officer of the directorate of vigilance of the Delhi government in 2016. It has been alleged that the unit snooped on Union Ministers, MPs, the Lieutenant Governor’s office, media houses, leading businessmen and even judges of courts.

The FBU examined more than 700 instances in the eight months that it was operational, according to CBI’s report, however, it is unclear if it still exists or has been dissolved. According to a preliminary review of the reports it produced, 60% of them were purportedly about political intelligence and other topics unrelated to vigilance concerns, the investigative agency stated in its preliminary inquiry report.

On January 12, 2023, the CBI submitted a report to the vigilance department asking for permission from the appropriate official—in this case, lieutenant governor VK Saxena—to file a case against deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia under the Prevention of Corruption Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

However, the Aam Aadmi Party has denied the allegations, and said that there is no evidence to support the allegations. Calling the allegations politically motivated, AAP said that agencies like CBI and ED should investigate the relationships between PM Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani, instead of probing the snooping charges. The party said that BJP is spreading blatant lies against deputy CM Manish Sisodia.

Lilly Singh is unprofessional, makes errors in basic things, Battle of the Generations crew member reveals

OpIndia Staff
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Lilly Singh is unprofessional, makes errors in basic things, Battle of the Generations crew member reveals

YouTuber Lilly Singh is highly unprofessional and makes errors in even basic things, thereby delaying everything and overburdening the crew, reveals an insider on CTV’s new show Battle of the Generations. In a Reddit post, a user, ‘Bisexualdesi’ revealed how bad a host Singh is.

The user said, “I am a TV industry veteran and I work on the crew of Lilly Singh’s new Battle of the Generations CTV game show. I am flabber-gasted at how bad Lilly Singh is as a television host. She can not read off a teleprompter without flubbing her lines every two takes. She mispronounces easy names and words. Our crew works until 9pm every night because we have to do dozens of re-takes to fix her mistakes.

This is the real reason Lilly Singh complains on her gram about how tired she is. It is her own fault for being unprepared and unable to do basic TV gameshow hosting tasks like reading a few lines off a screen without errors. She makes everyone on set work an hour later than we need to because of her incompetence. I will say that she is nice and polite and I don’t think she is a bad person but someone more talented and qualified should have this job, not Lilly.

Lilly Singh did an insta story on how negative comments are not really constructive criticism if you don’t know the person. Whelp, I work 14 hour days on your show Lilly so I do know you, and everyone there including you can vouch that what I say is true about you making constant errors and having to do pickups that delay production for hours. We are fed up and it’s sad that NBC and CTV hire unqualified YouTubers like her rather than pros to host shows.”

Battle of the Generations is a quiz show format that asks how much each generation (baby boomers, gen X, millennials and gen Z) knows about other generations. The show is based in Canada.

Singh, a YouTuber, who originally posted videos under the pseudonym ‘Superwoman’ was born in Canada to Sikh parents who migrated there from Hoshiarpur, Punjab in India. Singh had extended her support to the protesting ‘farmers’ in India. The ‘farmer protests’ in India had received support from Sikhs based in Canada, many of whom have had Khalistani leanings. There have been reports that the protests, including the international support to them, were financed by Khalistani leaders.

Twitter down in Turkey amidst criticism of the earthquake response

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter down in Turkey amidst criticism of the earthquake response

As online criticism of the government’s response to last week’s tragic earthquake surged, Twitter became inaccessible on major Turkish cell providers on Wednesday. Twitter is being blocked “on multiple internet providers in Turkey,” according to the social media monitoring website netblocks.org. The monitor added, “Turkey has an extensive history of social media restrictions during national emergencies and safety incidents.”

According to reports, it followed online criticism of Erdoğan’s administration for failing to effectively respond after a devastating earthquake struck the country on Monday. Following the deadly earthquake, Turkish social media was swamped with complaints from users about the status of search and rescue activities in various localities. Erdogan was traveling through two of Turkey’s most severely impacted regions when the Twitter shutdown occurred.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, tweeted on Wednesday that the Turkish government had notified his company that full access to the social media network would return “shortly” to the nation.

The AFP news agency corroborated the claim of Twitter’s unavailability, stating that on Wednesday, the major Turkish cell providers were unable to offer access to the microblogging site to their correspondents on the ground. Only the use of VPN services to mask a user’s location allowed continued access.

Since the quake on Monday, Turkish authorities have also jailed more than a dozen people for posting on social media about the poor response of the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan government to the catastrophe.

Regarding the service disruption, no immediate statements were made by Turkish officials. However, they had issued several warnings about disseminating false information ahead of a pivotal election on May 14, in which Erdoğan will seek re-election.

Defence Ministry signs contract worth Rs 2,585 crore with Larsen & Toubro to manufacture 41 indigenous modular bridges

OpIndia Staff
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Defence Ministry signs contract worth Rs 2,585 crore with Larsen & Toubro to manufacture 41 indigenous modular bridges

On Wednesday, February 8, the Ministry of Defence approved a proposal worth Rs 2,585 crore for the indigenous manufacture of 41 sets of modular bridges for the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. This project aims to provide increased mobility on the western front and is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

In a press release issued by the Ministry of Defence, it has been stated that these “game-changing” bridges have been designed by Defence, Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and will be manufactured by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) which has been nominated as the production agency by DRDO.

As per the press release, seven carrier vehicles based on 8×8 Heavy Mobility Vehicles (HMV) and two launcher vehicles based on 10×10 HMV are required for each set of modular bridges. Each set will be able to mechanically launch a single-span fully decked 46-meter assault bridge.

The bridge’s fast launching and recovery characteristics allow it to be used over a range of obstacles, including canals and ditches. The equipment can keep up with wheeled and tracked mechanized vehicles and is highly mobile, versatile, and rugged.

The manually launched Medium Girder Bridges (MGB), now in service in the Army, will be replaced by these modular bridges. The modular bridges indigenously designed will be superior to MGB in several ways, including increased span, quicker construction, and mechanical launching with retrieval capability.

The procurement of these bridges will significantly improve the Army’s capacity to cross on the western front. The project will serve as a showcase for India’s advancements in the design and development of top-notch military hardware and pave the path for increasing defense exports to friendly nations.

Modular bridge

The modular bridge system is made up of prefabricated components that are bolted together with simple tools to form the appropriate bridge span or length. It can be swiftly installed in the field. As the bridge has a modular construction, it can be launched in different spans.

A crew of 6+1 (commander) can operate the equipment in plain, desert, and semi-desert terrain both during the day and at night. A modular bridge can be mechanically launched in 90 minutes without access to the far end, and its military load class is 70 tons.

It is notable that this modular bridge is different from the Multi-Span Mobile Bridging System, Sarvatra, which is also designed by DRDO. Sarvatra is a truck-mounted, multi-span, mobile bridging system, which consistis of five scissor bridges built on 8 x 8 Tatra vehicles.

Aatmnirbharta Mission and Defence Budget 2023

The overall outlay proposed in the Union Budget for the Fiscal Year 2023–24 is Rs. 45,03,097 crore. Of this, Rs 5,93,537.64 crore, or 13.18% of the total budget, has been allotted to the Defense Ministry. The overall defence budget is up Rs 68,371.49 crore (13%) from the budget for 2022–2023.

Recognizing the critical role that Research, Innovation, and technological advancement play in strengthening the military’s capacity and advancing India’s Aatmanirbharta Mission funds have been allocated to DRDO.

To promote research and development in the defence sector, the DRDO has received a 9% increase in funding, totaling Rs 23,264 crore in BE 2023–24.

Recognizing the critical role that Research, Innovation, and technological advancement play in strengthening the military’s capacity and advancing India’s Aatmanirbharta Mission funds have been allocated to DRDO 

To promote research and development in the defence sector, the DRDO has received a 9% increase in funding, totaling Rs 23,264 crore in BE 2023–24.

In a bid to promote innovation, boost technology development, and expand the country’s Defence Industrial ecosystem, iDEX, and DTIS have been granted Rs 116 crore and Rs 45 crore, respectively, reflecting an increase of 93% for iDEX and 95% for DTIS over 2022-23.

Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal seeking investigation into Hindenburg Research report on Adani firms

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal seeking investigation into Hindenburg Research report on Adani firms

On Thursday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a petition asking for a directive to the Centre to establish a committee to examine the accusations made in the Hindenburg Research report against the Adani Group. The petition is asking for the committee to be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge.

The petition has been filed by Advocate Vishal Tiwari, who asked that the case be listed urgently before a bench presided over by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. Tiwari informed the court’s bench, which also included Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, that a separate appeal filed over the matter is slated to be heard on February 10.

He requested the judge to hear his plea and the separate plea together on Friday. In his public interest lawsuit (PIL), Tiwari has also asked the court to order the formation of a special committee to supervise the sanctioning of loans of more than Rs 500 crore.

Another PIL was submitted in the Supreme Court last week by attorney M.L. Sharma, asking for the prosecution of short seller Nathan Anderson of the US company Hindenburg Research and his associates in India and the US for allegedly taking advantage of unsuspecting investors and the “artificial crashing” of the market value of Adani Group’s stocks.

The Adani Group equities have suffered on the stock exchanges following a slew of accusations from Hindenburg Research against the corporate behemoth, including illegal transactions and share-price manipulation. The Adani Group has denied the accusations, claiming that it abides by all legal and transparency obligations.

Chandigarh: Sikh protesters go on a rampage on Chandigarh-Mohali border, 33 cops injured, riot gear looted

OpIndia Staff
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Chandigarh: Sikh protesters go on a rampage on Chandigarh-Mohali border, 33 cops injured, riot gear looted

On February 8, at least 33 police personnel, including female police officers, were injured, and dozens of police vehicles were damaged by armed Sikh protesters near the Chandigarh-Mohali border on the Sector 52-Sector 53 dividing road. The protesters were part of Kaumi Insaaf Morcha, demanding the release of Sikh prisoners, also known as Bandi Sikhs. Some of them are convicts of the Beant Singh assassination case.

In the video above, screams of police personnel can be heard. Chandigarh Police has registered a case under relevant sections at Sector 36 police station. Mohali Police has registered another FIR for an attempt to murder, rioting and assault of public servants at Mataur police station. A probe is underway into the matter.

As per reports, the protesters gathered near the border around 1 PM. They had planned to march towards Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence. The police barricaded the road and stopped them from proceedings. As per reports, the protesters pelted stones at the police officials and in retaliation police used water cannons to disperse the protesters. Within minutes, the clash between the protesters and police got violent. The visuals on social media platforms show that armed Sikhs attacked the police with rods, sticks, swords and other sharp-edged weapons. Protesters riding horses and tractors ploughed into police barricades attempting to enter Chandigarh.

The police retaliated and used lathi charges and water cannons to stop them. Reports suggest that the use of force by the police further angered the protesters. They climbed the water cannon vehicle and attacked the police officers controlling the machine, followed up by mounting their flags on it. Nihang Sikhs, who were on the road, created a ruckus and damaged dozens of police vehicles. Barricades were dragged from their positions and moved away while protesters raised slogans.

The violent clash lasted over two hours. 22 police personnel of Chandigarh Police and 11 of Mohali police were reportedly injured. Seven of them were female police personnel. Nine were from Rapid Action Force, and three were Home Guards volunteers. All of them were rushed to the hospital.

Director of Health Services of Chandigarh, Dr Suman Singh, said, “The injured cops were taken to Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16. Though most of the injuries were blunt, some cops were hit with sharp-edged objects. No cop sustained severe injuries. All are stable.” One police personnel was rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32. The injured police personnel of Mohali Police, including head constables and constables, were shifted to Phase-6 civil hospital.

Before the protesters left the scene, they allegedly took away a fire tender and over a dozen barricades of Chandigarh Police with them. While returning to Mohali after the violence, the protesters tried to march towards the police barricades placed by Mohali Police. However, they were stopped by the organisers of Kaumi Insaaf Morcha and directed to return to YPS Chowk, where the protests were happening.

Notably, Kaumi Insaaf Morcha and farmer unions have been protesting at YPS Chowk for several days seeking the release of Sikh prisoners. They also sought murder cases against officials and politicians allegedly responsible for the police action in Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan against Sikh protesters. The protest has been on since January 7.

Chandigarh Director General of Police (DGP) Praveen Ranjan has blamed Kaumi Insaaf Morcha for the violence. In a statement, he said, “Kaumi Insaaf Morcha is solely responsible for whatever happened today. Hooligans were part of the crowd. A meeting was already slated for them on Wednesday. Despite that, they resorted to violence. Legal action will be taken against all those involved.”

He added, “Three days back, the protesters announced that they would march to the Punjab CM’s house. They were informed that permission for any protest could not be granted, as Section 144 of the CrPC is imposed in Chandigarh. Yet on Wednesday, around 150 protesters came to Sector 52/53 dividing road to enter the city and attacked policemen when they were stopped,” the DGP detailed.

He further added that the police did not provoke the protesters and exercised restraint for a long time. However, the protesters went on a rampage, injured police officials, and took away fire tenders and barricades. DGP also raised questions over the inaction of the Punjab Police. He said, “How were armed men allowed to walk on the streets?”

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Chandigarh advisor Dharam pal said the matter would be taken up with the Punjab state government. On the other hand, the Kaumi Insaaf Morcha has condemned the violence. They also accused the police of using force against the protesters.

Jeenat, who converted and became Jyoti after marrying Sachin, says her family is threatening to kill her

OpIndia Staff
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Jeenat, who converted and became Jyoti after marrying Sachin, says her family is threatening to kill her

Jeenat, a Muslim girl from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, who had changed her name to Jyoti after getting married to Sachin Sharma and adopting Hinduism, has said that her family is threatening to kill her. The girl says she is being kept in captivity and her family is forcing her to marry another man. Jeenat made a video appeal asking for help, and said she was being threatened with death for refusing to have a Nikah with a man selected by her family. 

It is notable that Jeenat married Sachin Sharma earlier this year. The two got married at Agastya Muni Ashram in Bareilly on January 12, 2022. Following this, the family of the girl filed a case against Sachin Sharma accusing him of ‘kidnapping’ the girl.

Acting on the complaint lodged by the girl’s family against Sachin, the police traced the couple and later returned the girl to her family. 

Jyoti revealed in her video that she was being held captive in her house by her family members who are forcing her to marry someone else. Jyoti, who is against this marriage, decided to make a video to appeal for help.  Following the video, Hindu organizations urged the authorities to intervene. After that, Jeenat aka Jyoti was freed by the police from her family’s captivity.

According to reports, Jyoti was presented before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) by the police.  The committee then sent her to an orphanage for the time being and asked the police to produce her in court. Jyoti’s statement will now be recorded in court and a subsequent hearing will be held.

“Erdoğan responsible for this,” says opposition leader, as the President faces burgeoning criticism over earthquake response

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“Erdoğan responsible for this,” says opposition leader, as the President faces burgeoning criticism over earthquake response

After thousands of people were killed in two devastating earthquakes on Monday, anger in Turkey is building over what many see as the government’s lack of preparation. The political opposition and those who were affected by the disaster accused the government of a tardy and insufficient rescue effort. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s first visit to the affected area came as the outrage intensified because of the tight election that will take place in three months.

According to reports, on Wednesday, Kemal Klçdarolu, the head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has accused President Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of failing to adequately prepare the nation for earthquakes during their 20 years in office.

“Our country is faced with terrible destruction. What we see here is heartbreaking. Our hearts ache. You are never, ever alone. We will do everything we can to get our cities and villages back on their feet. We will move into the recovery phase in the most severely affected areas,” the CHP leader said.

He went on to suggest that Erdoğan was “primarily responsible” for the disastrous effects of the earthquakes since his AKP administration had neglected to take the necessary precautions during their 20 years in power despite earlier warnings from experts.

The opposition leader claimed that the government had not taken the necessary steps to coordinate resources, fully utilize Turkey’s experience in similar situations, ensure public institutions’ cooperation with municipalities and non-governmental organizations, send soldiers to earthquake-affected areas, and send miners, who are innately trained in search and rescue, to the areas that needed them before it was too late.

“In short, they failed in this as they did in everything else. That’s why I never think of meeting him (Erdoğan). I would never, ever see this issue as being above politics. His politics brought us to this situation. I refuse to align with those in power. I will fight for my people until the end,” Kılıçdaroğlu declared.

He added that he had instructed mayors in his party to do everything in their power to help earthquake victims, despite any efforts made by the AKP administration to erect “bureaucratic barriers” to stop them, as they had done during COVID-19.

“(I told them) If you have to be arrested for finding bread and blankets for the people, get arrested. The squabbles, the protocols [and] the bureaucracy are over. Millions of people are in the streets. Thousands of them are under the rubble. We are both sad and angry. Now is the time to repair and improve,” he proclaimed.

Selahattin Demirtas, a jailed Kurdish politician and former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), supported Klçdarolu on Twitter on Wednesday via his attorneys.

“Both a strong solidarity and a strong political stance are very important and valuable for us to get through this difficult period together,” Demirtaş said, referring to the CHP leader’s statements.

“Where is the state? Where have they been for two days? We are begging them. Let us do it, we can get them out,” Sabiha Alinak spoke while standing close to a collapsed building in Malatya that had imprisoned her young family under snow.

As they waited helplessly next to the rubble, unable to rescue those trapped because they lack the support or equipment necessary, Turks have long complained of a lack of resources. At times, they could even hear calls for assistance.

The criticism was dismissed by President Erdoğan. Furthermore, he called “provocateurs” individuals who claimed that security officers had not been present at all in certain locations.

“This is a time for unity, solidarity. In a period like this, I cannot stomach people conducting negative campaigns for political interest,” he told reporters in southern province of Hatay.

More than 11,000 people have died as a result of the earthquakes on Monday in southern Turkey and northwest Syria. Millions of people are suffering hardships as a result of the destruction of infrastructure and hundreds of buildings, leaving many homeless in the icy cold.

‘US Navy divers blew up the Nord Stream pipelines in Baltic Sea’: Pulitzer winner investigative journalist says in explosive story

OpIndia Staff
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‘US Navy divers blew up the Nord Stream pipelines in Baltic Sea’: Pulitzer winner investigative journalist says in explosive story

Famous investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has published an explosive story saying it was the USA Navy who blew up the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea in 2022. The critical pipelines, which bypassed Ukraine and supplied gas from Russia to Europe, were destroyed in ‘mysterious’ blasts near the island of Bornholm in September 2022.

Hersh, now 85 years old, had won the Pulitzer Prize, considered the highest award in investigative journalism, for exposing the US military’s brutal Mai Lai massacre in Vietnam. Over the years, he has also done a number of explosive stories about the Watergate Scandal, the torture of prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison at the hands of US military personnel.

In a story published on Substack, Hersh stated that a team of expert divers from the US Navy’s Diving and Salvage Centre, an elite diving training facility located in Panama City, Florida, had planted explosives to blow up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines.

He says that the C4 explosives were attached to the pipelines by the elite divers team during BALTOPS 22, a NATO exercise in the Baltic Sea in June 22.

Seymour Hersch’s story

Hersh has openly stated what was speculated by many since the critical energy infrastructure was blown up right when Europe was looking at an energy crisis due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

His article states that the Norwegian authorities had cooperated with the USA Navy for the operation and a surveillance aircraft of the Norway Navy had dropped a sonar buoy that used a signal to trigger the C4 explosives attached to the pipelines months ago by the US Navy divers team.

Nordstream pipeline explosion

The site of the explosions in Nordstream 1 and 2, image via Channel 4

2 pipelines, collectively called Nord Steam 1, have been carrying gas from Russia to Germany for over a decade. The Nord Stream 2, though complete, was not supplying gas yet due to diplomatic conflicts over it. The majority stakes in the pipelines are held by Russia’s government-owned energy giant Gazprom. A minority stake is held by 4 European energy companies, 2 German and one each from France and Netherlands.

At the time of the explosion, though the supply of natural gas was halted due to conflict between NATO and Russia, the pipelines were filled with gas.

USA has been vehemently opposed to Norstream 1 and 2

It is notable here that the USA has been vehemently opposed to the Nord Stream pipelines, stating that these pipelines increase Europe’s dependability on Russia for energy needs. After the mysterious explosions in the pipelines, USA and Ukraine had even gone ahead to blame Russia for it.

US President Biden had even famously declared that they would bring an end to Nord Stream 2 if Russia crossed the border of Ukraine.

It is notable here that the government officials in Denmark and Sweden had refused to share the findings of their investigation into the explosions in the pipeline with Russia and even to include Russia in the investigation. Recently, Germany stated that they have found no proof of Russia’s complicity in blowing up the pipelines. A number of experts opined that Russia has nothing to gain from blowing up the pipelines since they are a major source of revenue for the Russian government.

It is notable here that after the damage to the Nord Stream pipelines, the USA stands to gain significantly as it rises up to be the main energy supplier for many European nations. After Seymour Hersch’s story broke, a number of videos, featuring undersecretary of state Victoria Nuland, have been doing rounds on social media where they are seen declaring that non-functional Nord Stream pipelines are in USA’s interest, and rejoicing that the Nordstream 2 is now ‘a hunk of metal’ at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

The White House, in the meanwhile, has stated that the allegations are “utterly false”.

‘Prahlad Joshi will have to wait a long time’: TMC MP Mohua Moitra blatantly refuses to apologize for using ‘hara*i’ word in the parliament

OpIndia Staff
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‘Prahlad Joshi will have to wait a long time’: TMC MP Mohua Moitra blatantly refuses to apologize for using ‘hara*i’ word in the parliament

On Wednesday, TMC MP Mahua Moitra who sparked a controversy by using abusive language in the Parliament remained obstinate and stated that Pralhad Joshi, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, would have to wait for a long time to get her to apologize.

Refusing to issue an apology for using unparliamentary language in the Parliament, Moitra said, “He is going to be a long time waiting for that one (apology) because before he asks me for an apology, he should ask his ‘not so honourable’ MP from Delhi who did nothing but jumped up and down like a monkey yesterday, trying to heckle my speech.”

Moitra was speaking at the India Today exclusive interview. “I think he should first ask his MP to apologise and to get his act in order before he comes around me seeking an apology,” she blatantly added.

Moitra on Tuesday used the word ‘hara*i’ while another lawmaker, K Ram Mohan Naidu of the Telugu Desham Party was speaking in the Lok Sabha. The MP from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s party went on an unhinged rant following the uproar on social media over her actions. The video of the incident went viral over the internet with netizens questioning her behaviour, which further irked the MP.

On February 7, the Chairperson of the Parliament mentioned that none of her statements would go on record. He said, “No harsh word need be used in the House, that too, offensive word should not be used. When it has been used, as we all know, I will request the Leader of the concerned Party and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs to consult and take an appropriate decision.”

Following this, Pralhad Joshi, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs met Sudeep Banerjee of the TMC and asked for Moitra’s apology. In the Lok Sabha, Pralhad Joshi had promised to talk with the TMC party leader. “I would ask them to apologise but if she doesn’t, then it’s their culture,” Joshi had said.

Despite several BJP leaders criticising Moitra for using unparliamentary language for BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, Moitra remained defiant about her comments and blamed the Indian patriarchial system. She indicated that nobody would have targeted a man for saying what she said. The MP instead of issuing an apology, counter-attacked the people yesterday who slammed her for using the ‘hara*i’ word inside the parliament.

“BJP is saying how can I use such a word being woman, do I need to be a man to be able to give it back as good as it gets? So there’s patriarchy. I’m surprised BJP is teaching us parliamentary etiquette. That representative from Delhi heckled me. I’ll call an apple an apple, not an orange…if they’ll take me to the privileges committee, I’ll put my side of the story,” TMC MP Mahua Moitra said on February 8.

In the meantime, BJP MP Bidhuri criticised Moitra and stated that people send their leaders to Parliament as their representatives and that the leaders are supposed to act in accordance with the rules of the House. Bidhuri and Moitra exchanged heated argument in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

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