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‘Monitor, track variants through genome sequencing’: MoHFW issues guidelines amidst rising cases of Covid-19 across the world

OpIndia Staff
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‘Monitor, track variants through genome sequencing’: MoHFW issues guidelines amidst rising cases of Covid-19 across the world

On December 20, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued guidelines amidst rising cases of Covid-19 in several countries worldwide.

In a letter to additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries, and secretaries of health departments of all states, Rajesh Bhushan, secretary Department of Health and Family Welfare of MoHFW, said that in view of the sudden spurt of cases being witnessed in Japan, the United States of America, Republic of Korea, Brazil and China, India should gear up the genome sequencing of positive cases samples.

Bhushan mentioned that by following the five-fold strategy of test-track-treat-vaccination and adherence to COVID Appropriate Behavior, India managed to restrict the transmission of the disease. As of now, there are around 1,200 cases on a weekly basis in the country. However, the spur in the cases has resulted in around 35 lakh cases being reported across the world on a weekly basis.

The letter further pointed out that in the revised surveillance strategy in the context of Covid-19 was issued by MoFHW in June 2022. It emphasised early detection, isolation, testing and timely management of suspected and confirmed cases to detect and contain outbreaks of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Based on that strategy, Bhushan said that the monitoring of existing variants is of crucial importance.

Bhushan added, “In view of the sudden spurt of cases being witnessed in Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of Korea, Brazil and China, it is essential to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive case samples to track the variants through Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) network. Such an exercise will enable timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and will facilitate the undertaking of requisite public health measures for the same.”

All states have been instructed to ensure that the samples of all positive cases on a daily basis are sent to the designated INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories (IGSLs) that are mapped to the States and UTs.

The current situation of Covid-19 in India

As per the MoHFW website, there are 3,490 active cases of Covid-19 in the country, out of which Karnataka and Kerala are the most affected states, with 1,275 and 1,448 active cases, respectively. In the last 24 hours, 69 new cases were reported, and 178 patients were discharged. One person succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours.

The current situation of Covid-19 worldwide

According to World Health Organisation (WHO) data, over 35 lakh cases have been reported worldwide in the last 7 days. In the United States, 4,45,424 cases were reported, and 2,658 people died of Covid in one week. Japan saw a spike of 8,78,241 cases in one week, with 1,456 deaths. The Republic of Korea reported 4,61,472 new cases and 362 deaths. Frace reported 3,81,857 new cases and 747 deaths. Brazil reported 3,24,565, and China reported 1,48,665 new cases and 1,129 and 443 deaths, respectively. 

Gujarat: Mahmud Mansoori tries to rape a 9-year-old tribal girl in Sagbara, case filed under POCSO

લિંકન સોખડિયા
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Gujarat: Mahmud Mansoori tries to rape a 9-year-old tribal girl in Sagbara, case filed under POCSO

A shocking case has come to light from Sagbara in the Narmada district of Gujarat. A local Muslim youth tried to assault and rape a 9-year-old daughter of a poor tribal family who was playing on the river bank behind her house. A complaint was subsequently registered and a police investigation is underway in the case.

As per local reports, the incident pertains to Selamba village of Sagbara, where a minor girl was assaulted by a person named Mahmud Dagdu Mansoori, who lived in the close vicinity of the victim’s house. Taking advantage of solitude, Mansoori tried to force himself on her. But the girl screamed in fear, alerting her uncle, who was working in a nearby paddy field. He arrived at the spot and tried to catch the culprit, but Mansoori had managed to escape. 

However, a short distance away, villagers caught hold of Mansoori. The incident took place on December 15, but the family did not file a police complaint at the time fearing for their reputation and the prospect of a girl’s marriage in the future. 

But local Hindu organisations such as VHP and Bajrang Dal stood in support of the family, assuring them of help and assistance in pursuing the case against Mansoori. The family subsequently lodged a case under POCSO at the Sagabara police station on Monday (December 19), following which the police launched a probe into the matter. 

“We want justice”: Victim’s parents

In an exclusive interview with OpIndia, the victim’s father, Rustambhai Bhil, who works as a wholesale coconut seller, said, “That day I took a lorry to Selamba market to sell coconuts. At 3 pm, I got a call from my brother-in-law who narrated the entire incident to me. I was shocked. I dropped everything and rushed toward home.”

Family members of the victim

“People gathered after hearing our daughter’s cries and her life was saved. Otherwise, I don’t know what that monster would have done to her and whether she would have been alive or not. We are from a humble background and know little of police work. But when Vishwa Hindu Parishad brothers came to our house, we got the courage and filed a complaint,” he added.

Arunabehan, the mother of the victim’s 9-year-old daughter, broke down while talking to OpIndia. She said she wants justice for her daughter and the strictest punishment for the accused so that no other girl faces such an ordeal.

A marked increase in crimes committed by Muslim youths in the region

Speaking to OpIndia, Prem Vasava, a local Bajrang Dal activist said, “There has been a rise in such cases in our area in recent years where the accused are Muslims. Not only rape and molestation but also assaults, and robberies have increased.”

A rise in criminal incidents involving Muslims

He further said that, a few days ago, a Hindu trader in the same area was threatened with death by 3 Muslims. The dispute was that when one Hiraram Rajpurohit demanded money from one Akram Pathan and his two friends for purchases they made from his shop, they got angry and refused to pay him his dues and threatened him of killing him and his family.

Hindu youth attacked for posting in support of Nupur Sharma

It is noteworthy to mention that the assault on the minor Hindu girl took place in the same village where a youth named Prem Vasava was attacked by a group of Muslim miscreants including Salman, Idris, and others for posting on Facebook in support of Nupur Sharma. 

At that time (June 13, 2022) Prem Vasava said in a conversation with OpIndia, “On the 12th around 10 am when I was having breakfast with my wife in my rented house, a Muslim mob, including Salman, Idrish and Yunush, barged into my house and grabbed my collar and started beating me up and abusing me in foul language. Then they dragged me downstairs where a group of 15-20 other Muslims were waiting to lay their hands on me.”

Pakistan poverty rate raises by 35.7%, ranks 92 out of 116 in list of countries on International Poverty Index

ANI
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Pakistan poverty rate raises by 35.7%, ranks 92 out of 116 in list of countries on International Poverty Index

The poverty rate of Pakistan has risen by 35.7 per cent and the prices of edibles have increased by 20 to 31 per cent, reported Pak vernacular media, Intekhab Daily. 

Pakistan ranks 92nd out of 116 countries on the list of the International Poverty Index. According to a report, Pakistan is advised to develop a system to control inflation because inflation has been badly affecting food security for the last few years, added Intekhab Daily. 

Pakistan’s food security was already affected by terrorist activities, conflicts with Afghanistan and weather changes. The rising inflation has worsened it. 

The rapid and continuous rising inflation has deprived people of their food and basic facilities, reported Intekhab Daily. 
Pakistan’s economic conditions are in very bad shape as evident from the following instances — the business community people are pleading before Import Consignment Clearance authorities for getting their goods out of Karachi airport, reported Pak vernacular media Kawish. 

The situation has arisen because of a dollar shortage in banks. The dollar scenario has reached such a most unenviable position in the country, the report added. 

The business community is worried about how to get their goods out of Karachi port. The finance minister and his team have miserably failed in bringing conditions under control, reported Kawish. 

The foreign reserves have reached their lowest level. The government exchange rate is Rs 224-225 but banks say they are running short of dollars and hence they say they cannot give dollars and hence dollars are costing Rs 240 or more in grey/black market. 

The lack of dollar availability in the open market is affecting imports of medicines, vegetables, oil and raw material required by several industries. 

“What will be the future of the country’s economy in such conditions? What had led to the state of default in Sri Lanka? Conditions are deteriorating on similar lines also in our country,” reported Kawish. 

Indications are coming from all sides that Pakistan’s economy is on ventilator. PM Shehbaz Sharif said action would be taken against those hoarding dollars, but will he be able to take action against those who are from his own party and also from allies’ parties? questioned Kawish. 

Most often political mafias are found involved in supporting irregularities in wheat, dollar and urea in grey markets/black markets. 

So far, finance minister Ishaq Dar seems to be failing in his missions to restore the economy and do something that can help Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) win people’s soft corner. In such a situation PTI continues to be the common man’s choice as a party for their future. 

PML(N) has failed to retain its image in Punjab. Chaudhary brothers and PTI are confident of giving tough times to PML-N in the next polls, reported Kawish. 

On the other hand, Baloch and Pushtoon parties, which are part of the alliance government in Islamabad, are now planning to come out in support of the Pakistan Democratic Movement alliance government in Islamabad following the Reko Diq pact issue. 

In such times, if Punjab and KPK assemblies get dissolved, it will only add to the federal government’s tensions. The alliance parties, including Akhtar Mengal’s Balochistan National Party (Mengal) and Jamait e Ulema Islam (F), are also against legislation on the Reko Diq issue and both these parties have also threatened to quit the alliance government in Islamabad, reported Kawish. 

According to political observers, after Imran Khan, some political parties in the PDM government can become a big headache for the government on the issue of the Reko Diq pact. 

Balochistan National Party-Mengal and National Party held separate demonstrations in Quetta and another part of Balochistan province against the bill passed on the Reko Diq Copper-gold project, Dawn reported. 

They threatened that if the legislation passed in the dark of the night regarding Reko Diq was not withdrawn and Balochistan people were not considered as the heir of mineral and other resources of Balochistan then the BNP-M would take a tough decision in this regard. 

The resolution said under the Bill, all powers of the Balochistan government had been given to the federal government, bypassing the local people and this process was a clear violation of the country’s laws, Constitution, and the 18th amendment, according to Dawn. 

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

Netizens mock Ravish Kumar after he claimed Adani spent thousands of crores to silence him

OpIndia Staff
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Netizens mock Ravish Kumar after he claimed Adani spent thousands of crores to silence him

The microblogging site Twitter is flooded with jokes mocking the ex-employee of NDTV, and alleged ‘journalist’ Ravish Kumar. Ravish Kumar claimed in an interview with The Wire’s Karan Thapar, that Gautam Adani, the chairman and founder of the multinational conglomerate Adani Group, “spent thousands of crores to buy NDTV to silence him.” Notably, Ravish Kumar had willingly quit NDTV after Gautam Adani took control of the media group.

After quitting the media house, Ravish Kumar gave two interviews and in one of them, he chatted with Karan Thapar from the leftist propaganda outlet called The Wire. While speaking to Karan Thapar, Ravish Kumar discussed Gautam Adani’s intention of acquiring a majority stake in NDTV. He claimed that the billionaire industrialist is spending hundreds or thousands of crores only to silence him (Ravish Kumar) and to make him unemployed.

Netizens couldn’t stop themselves from satirising the ‘journalist’ after The Wire released Ravish Kumar’s interview in which he was heard giving himself unwarranted prominence. Within no time, Twitter users started sharing funny jokes and memes with the hashtag #MainBhiRavish.

Ravish Kumar’s self-centred remark became a source of entertainment on the social networking site. Twitter user @whyteknight mocked the journalist with numerous one-liners. “Steve Jobs invented Apple to get me addicted to smartphones #MainBhiRavish,” he tweeted.

In his subsequent tweet, he wrote, “Anil Ambani gave free phones to everyone because he wanted me to call my girlfriend #MainBhiRavish.”

“Elon Musk spent 44 Billions and bought Twitter because he was scared of my tweets #MainBhiRavish,” read his third Tweet in an obvious reference to Ravish Kumar’s bizarre remark on Gautam Ambani buying a stake in NDTV to settle scores with him.

Mocking Ravish Kumar for believing that the billionaire industrialist invested thousands of crores in NDTV merely to silence him, popular social media user Norbert Elekes tweeted, “Gautham Adani started selling Refined Oil so that my Cholesterol goes high & I d!e early.”

Similarly, many other social media users shared such witty remarks to mock Ravish. Sharing a piece of news shared by Bloomerang that the Adani Group rolled out a digital platform for its airport vertical, a Twitter user @darshanpathak wrote in jest that it was done simply to keep tabs on Ravish Kumar’s global movements.

“This revelation by Ravish ji has given me strength to reveal what has happened to me too.. E|on Musk spent hundreds of crores buying twitter to suppress my views and limit my reach on twitter..,” tweeted popular social media user @coolfunnytshirt.

In a subsequent tweet, the Twitter user shared screenshots of similarly amusing tweets that ridiculed Ravish Kumar for his bizarre remark, claiming that the NDTV ex-employee is not only delusional but also hallucinates.

It is important to recall here that on Wednesday, 30th November 2022, veteran TV ‘journalist’ Ravish Kumar resigned from NDTV India. Ravish Kumar was working as Senior Executive Editor of NDTV India, the Hindi News channel of NDTV group. His move comes after the Adani Group acquired over 29% stake in NDTV by acquiring 99.5% in RRPR, the promoter firm through which promoters Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy held 29.18% in NDTV Ltd.

Reportedly, Ravish Kumar’s resignation was disclosed in an internal email addressed to NDTV employees by Suparna Singh, president of NDTV Group. She said in the email, “Ravish Kumar has resigned from NDTV and the Company has agreed to his request for his resignation to be effective immediately.”

Since willingly resigning from NDTV after Gautam Adani took control of the media group, Ravish Kumar has given two ‘interviews’, and he has spoken his heart out, or let’s say, has preached sermons to willing listeners. One was a chat with Ajit Anjum, a former TV journalist turned YouTuber, and another with Karan Thapar from the leftist propaganda outlet called The Wire.

They are not really interviews as there were hardly any tough questions – something over which Ravish keeps attacking every journalist who interviewed PM Modi since 2014 – but the two ‘interviews’ also went on to prove that the charge he frequently throws at PM Modi – of being some megalomaniac of sorts – that is actually applicable to him.

For example, while chatting with The Wire’s Karan Thapar, he went on to say about NDTV’s takeover by Adan is not a normal takeover, and it is like snatching food from someone’s mouth, he even went on to claim that Adani is spending thousands of crores to buy NDTV to silence him.

‘Due diligence was required, or a Google search’: The Quint CEO pulls up Ravish Kumar on his claims of Adani owning the organisation

OpIndia Staff
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‘Due diligence was required, or a Google search’: The Quint CEO pulls up Ravish Kumar on his claims of Adani owning the organisation

On December 20, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Quint, Ritu Kapur, fact-checked former NDTV reporter, anchor, and senior editor Ravish Kumar, stating that Adani Group has no ownership in her company.

In a tweet to the former NDTV journalist, Ritu said, “Requesting Ravish Kumar to check facts on his assertions on “sale of The Quint to Mr Advani” on The Wire. For the record: Adani does NOT have ANY ownership in The Quint. Journalistic due diligence was required or a Google search.”

Ravish Kumar has claimed Adani Group is investing in The Quint

During an interview with The Wire that was published on December 19, Ravish Kumar ranted against Adani Group and claimed that Adani bought NDTV to kick him out of the company. Kumar, who recently resigned from NDTV on his own, also claimed Adani earlier invested in The Quint, but it does not make any difference. He said, “He [Adani] invested in The Quint as well. What happened?”. Notably, during the interview, Kumar claimed he does proper research and follows journalistic ethics before reporting anything.

In the interview, Kumar also mentioned that crores of rupees (on the part of Adani) were being spent to ‘silence’ him. The journalist who quit NDTV, after the Adani Group bought a stake in NDTV’s promoter firm RRPR Holding, said that if Adani Group wanted to achieve the journalistic success they could have as they had bought shares in Quint, but nothing major came out of it. 

Adani acquired a stake in Quintillion Business Media Pvt Ltd

On May 15, it was reported that Adani Group acquired 49 per cent stakes in Quintillion Business Media Pvt Ltd. The execution of the shareholders’ agreement was made public by the Adani group through a document on May 13 2022. AMG Media Networks Limited, a subsidiary of the Adani group, has acquired 49 per cent stakes in Quintillion Media Limited, Quintillion Business Media Limited, and Quint Digital Media Limited.

The document stated, “We would like to inform you that AMG MediaNetworks Limited (AMG Media), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, has signed Shareholders’ Agreement with Quintillion Media Limited (QML) and Quintillion Business Media Limited (QBML) and Share Purchase Agreement with QML QBML and Quint Digital Media Limited (QDML) dated May 13, 2022, in connection with its proposed acquisition of 49% stake in QBML.”

Quint Digital Media Limited owns the English and Hindi portals of The Quint. QBM is a business and financial news company that covers content based on the Indian economy, international finance, corporate law & governance, and business news, amongst others, through its platform Bloomberg Quint which changed its name to BQ Prime on May 15, 2022. Earlier in November 2021, Quint Digital announced the acquisition of a 100% stake in Quintillion Business Media. Earlier this year, on March 1 2022, Adani group announced that it would acquire a minor stake in QBM.

This, however, means that Adani’s shares in BloombergQuint (BQ) are separate from other media subsidiaries of Quint Digital Media. BQ is owned by Quintillion Business Media, which is a subsidiary of Quint Digital Media. Therefore, the deal with Adani did not include other digital properties of Quint Digital Media, like as The Quint, Quintype Technologies, the News Minute and Youth Ki Awaaz.

‘Such abuses reveal the true character of the Gandhi Family’: Smriti Irani tears into Congress over misogynistic remarks

ANI
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‘Such abuses reveal the true character of the Gandhi Family’: Smriti Irani tears into Congress over misogynistic remarks

After Congress leader Ajay Rai stoked fresh controversy over his “latke-jhatke” remark about Smriti Irani, the Union Minister on Tuesday asked if such “indecent” statements are made to “please” the Gandhi family.

The Minister said that such “abuses” reveal the “true character” of the Gandhi family, in the presence of which many of the “foul” statements were made. Irani’s remarks came after Congress leader Ajay Rai, Uttar Pradesh party chief, said that Irani comes to her constituency Amethi only to do “latke-jhatke” and goes away.

Speaking to ANI, Irani asked why is it that the Congress leaders feel that using such language will “please” the top leadership of the party.

“Using inappropriate words for the Army, making derogatory remarks against a woman representative who has defeated their party president, and calling common Indians who were a part of the freedom struggle a “dog”, why do the Congress leaders feel that by using such indecent language, the Gandhi family will be pleased?” she said.

Further inquiring if the Gandhi family encourages such behaviour of its leaders, Irani said that the remarks reveal their “true character”.

“What is the culture which the Gandhi family has certified in Congress? Many of the derogatory remarks were made in the presence of the Gandhi family. Is it that the Gandhi family encourages such indecent behaviour? The basic question is, will the Gandhi family let you progress if you use such foul abuses? If yes, then this reveals the true character of the Gandhi family. If the Gandhi family likes such language why will leaders apologise?” Irani said.

The Minister said that it is not the culture of India and Varanasi to make derogatory remarks against women.

“I know Banaras, India. In our culture, in our civilization, it is not a matter of our culture to make indecent comments towards women. This may be a mirror of Congress’s political culture, but it is neither Kashi’s culture nor such words that are any description of our politics or cultural and social makeup,” she said.

Earlier on Monday, talking about Irani, who had dethroned Rahul Gandhi from his bastion Amethi in the 2019 elections, giving an unflattering reference to dance moves Rai said, “She only visits the constituency and ‘latke-jhatke dekar chali jaati hain (She does ‘latke jhatke’ and goes away).

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

Lionel Messi’s World Cup post beats the famous egg to become the most-liked photo on Instagram

OpIndia Staff
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Lionel Messi’s World Cup post beats the famous egg to become the most-liked photo on Instagram

The Argentinian legend, Lionel Messi uploaded a heartfelt post on Instagram following his World Cup triumph, which has become the most-liked post ever on Instagram crossing 58 million likes by Tuesday. The post has created a new world record surpassing the earlier most-liked picture on Instagram featuring an unbroken egg.

According to the reports, the picture of the egg which was posted in January 2019 by the ‘world_record_egg’ Insta ID owned by Chris Godfrey had attracted 56.3 million likes. However, the photos posted by Lionel Messi of him and his teammates after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina attracted 58.9 million likes thus far, surpassing the world record egg.

On January 4, 2019, the ‘world record egg’ Instagram handle posted a snapshot of an egg to exceed the then-most-liked Instagram post, a photo of Kylie Jenner’s kid, which had 18.6 million likes. Serghei Platanov took the shot of that egg, which he subsequently uploaded to Shutterstock on June 23, 2015, with the caption “eggs isolated on white background.” The account ‘world record egg’ was created by Chris Godfrey, an advertising creative, and his pals CJ Brown and Alissa Khan-Whelan.

On January 14, 2019, the egg picture became Instagram’s most-liked post, prompting the egg account’s owner to write “This is madness. What a time to be alive. ” Kylie Jenner also reacted on Instagram with a video of herself cracking an egg open and captioning it, “Take that little egg.” The original photographer of the egg was taken aback by the photo’s popularity, remarking, “Egg is just an egg.”

However, the picture of egg happened to surpass even the recently posted photo by Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo who had shared a picture of him and Messi playing chess, advertising for Louis Vuitton. The picture had attracted 42.1 million likes as on November 19, 2022.

Lionel Messi posted the photos on Monday after beating France in the FIFA World Cup final at the Iconic Stadium in Lusail in Qatar. The Messi-led Argentina won the FIFA World Cup after a 36-year wait when Maradona inspired the team to a historic win. Argentina defeated France 4-2 in a penalty shootout after the game finished in a 3-3 stalemate after extra time.

“CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!!!!!! So many times I dreamed it, so much I wanted it that I still don’t fall, I can’t believe it… Thank you so much to my family, to all who support me and also to all who believed in us. We prove once again that Argentinians when we fight together and united we are able to achieve what we aim. The merit is of this group, which is above individuals, is the strength of all fighting for the same dream that was also the one of all Argentinians… We did it!!! LET’S GO ARGENTINA DAMN!!!!! We’re seeing each other very soon,” Messi wrote in his Instagram post which attracted over 58 million likes.

Lionel Messi has 402 million Instagram followers, with about one-eighth of them making his post the most-liked ever. Notably, Messi has around 8 Instagram posts that have been liked the most by Instagram users and have made it to the list of top 20 most-liked Instagram posts.

Is BJP planning to ban Halal meat in India? Here is how the media is spreading fake news

OpIndia Staff
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Is BJP planning to ban Halal meat in India? Here is how the media is spreading fake news

While there is little doubt about Halal being a religiously discriminatory practice and its imposition on non-Muslims patently unconscionable, several media organisations have recently published reports claiming that the BJP government in Karnataka is all set to ban halal meat in the state.

Times of India published an article claiming that the BJP government in Karnataka is planning to place a bill that would prohibit halal meat in the state.

Source: Times of India

Zee News also published an article that read, “Karnataka: CM Basvaraj Bommai set to ban HALAL meat, plans to introduce bill in assembly soon”.

Halal ban
Source: Zee News

Hindi news organisation Amar Ujala also published an article with the headline insinuating that the Karnataka government is mulling banning halal meat in the state.

Halal ban
Source: Amar Ujala

Before long, several blog websites and social media users started spreading the claims and stoking fears among Muslims that the Karnataka government is moving towards imposing a ban on the consumption of halal meat within its geographical jurisdiction.

Many others, including Saba Naqvi, shared the article published in the Times of India. Naqvi posted a picture of the article from the Times of India and commented that it should make international news if it’s for real.

Halal ban
Source: Twitter

And soon thereafter, many across the world, especially the Muslim countries in the Middle East, took cognisance of the reports published in Indian dailies and expressed their concern over the purported ban on halal meat in Karnataka.

Source: Twitter

Is BJP imposing a ban on halal meat?

Contrary to what the media organisations would have us believe, the bill floated in the Karnataka Assembly is for the ban on halal certification by any organisation except the state government/centre-linked organisations and not on halal meat. The written by N Ravikumar to the governor urges the prohibition of certification issuance by anyone other than the state/centre affiliated body. Interestingly, the letter didn’t even have the word “halal” in it, as pointed out by Twitter user @thehawkeyex. In addition to this, the minister also added that such a move may bring a windfall of Rs 5,000 crores to the state exchequer.

Bill aimed at banning halal certification by unauthorised organisations and not halal meat

Recently, Karnataka Legislative Council Member N Ravikumar sought permission to introduce a private bill during the upcoming winter session of the assembly seeking a ban on Halal certification issued by several Muslim organisations. Notably, Halal certification is not limited to meat products but has expanded its reach to vegetarian food products, cosmetics, medicines, and construction businesses.

Ravikumar is the state general secretary of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In a statement on December 14, he said that several organisations charge money for issuing the certification without any authorisation. Notably, the word Halal is Arabic, which translates to “permissible”. It is in contrast to Haram, which translates to “forbidden”. Any food or product is Halal only if it is prepared as per Islamic law.

Ravikumar added, “The Halal certification, which was earlier restricted to meat, has now been extended to various products like cosmetic goods, and food items, among other things.” Furthermore, he questioned, “The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is the government agency which gives the certification. But who permitted these Muslim organisations to certify halal products? They are not a certified authority to do this. They charge lakhs of rupees to give halal certification. Where does this money go?”

He added that the private bill he plans to introduce in the legislature would seek amendments to the Food and Safety Standards Act 2006. Ravikumar said it would help the government to take action against the illegal certification.

India has no legal body to give Halal certification like Arab countries. The certification in India is obtained on a voluntary basis by the businesses. Several private bodies are comprised of Muslim clerics, religious groups and others who provide such certifications.

Longstanding demands against Halal certification

Notably, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) has been raising voices against Halal certification for a long time. They recently announced that the organisation would restart a state-wide campaign against the certification. On Tuesday, the members of HJS reportedly met several leaders of the BJP and submitted a memorandum seeking a law to ban the certification. The leaders who HJS approached included National Secretary of BJP CT Ravi and State Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar.

Mohan Gowda, the spokesperson of HJS, said in a statement, “In the name of halal certification and religion, there is a huge conspiracy and mafia to sell halal products across India. Muslim organisations are collecting crores of rupees using halal certification, and the money is being used for anti-national activities.

AAP’s Gujarat chief Gopal Italia tweets that he has been arrested by the BJP govt in Gujarat. Here is what we know so far

OpIndia Staff
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AAP’s Gujarat chief Gopal Italia tweets that he has been arrested by the BJP govt in Gujarat. Here is what we know so far

On Tuesday (December 20), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and their Gujarat chief Gopal Italia took to Twitter to claim that he was arrested by the Bhavnagar police in Gujarat.

Gopal Italia claimed that he was arrested by Umrala Police in Bhavnagar in Gujarat, but actually, he withdrew his bail plea and came to the police station himself. The police took him into technical custody and released him.

In a tweet, the AAP Gujarat chief alleged, “The newly elected BJP government has started working on its sinister agenda. Just today, I was arrested by the Bhavnagar police.”

He claimed that the arrest took place at a time when his family was mourning his grandmother’s death. “My grandmother passed away yesterday (December 19). My whole family is mourning but the BJP government has arrested me. May be the BJP was elected to power to do such things,” Gopal Italia insinuated.

Following his tweet, one user questioned whether the AAP leader was actually mourning the death of his grandmother. The user (@jagat-janan) had shared the tweet of Gopal Italia, posted on Monday (December 19), wherein he was seen hailing a speech of AAP leader Raghav Chaddha as a ‘sixer.’

Earlier this year, Gopal Italia had courted controversy by comparing Lord Krishna to ‘Rakshas’ (demons) and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to ‘Arjun’ who would get rid of the demons.

A First Information Report was later filed against Gopal Italia in Bhavnagar based on a complaint by one Amit Ahir, a member of the Ahir community. The AAP leader was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 295A and 298.

Months after Pakistan’s exit from FATF Grey List, terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad regroups, collects funds on the pretext of building mosques

OpIndia Staff
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Months after Pakistan’s exit from FATF Grey List, terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad regroups, collects funds on the pretext of building mosques

Two months after the country of Pakistan exited the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, the Islamic terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has begun its regrouping and collecting funds from people on the pretext of building mosques in the country.

The Masood Azhar-led terror group which is responsible for many attacks against India including the hijacking of the Indian Airlines Flight IC 814, the attack on the Indian Parliament, and the Pathankot attack in 2016, has now restarted its annual fund collection drive.

According to an exclusive report by India Today, the JeM is collecting money on the pretext of building hundreds of mosques in the country of Pakistan. The terror outfit has also sent an open invitation to the masses on several social media platforms to seek donations from the public for claimed religious purposes through bank accounts.

Some of the WhatsApp chats and audio conversations between the ‘donors’ and JeM terrorists have been attained by India Today which shows people asking for bank details to deposit the so-called donation amount. One of the under-cover reporters at India Today meanwhile is heard talking to one Imran Khan Mohammad from JeM. He is heard saying that he has been following JeM activities and that he is happy about JeM regrouping and collecting funds. Imran while talking to the reporter says that he is from Peshawar.

“I am happy that the activities of JeM have begun again by Allah’s grace. I just saw the message on the group and I wanted to contribute for the purpose. I have also given zakat (a donation given in Islam for religious purposes) and want to continue giving it. I just wanted to know where are you building the mosque?” the reporter asked amid the exclusive coverage.

Imran Khan Mohammad responded to this saying that the terror outfit has been collecting funds from villages and nearby areas from Peshawar and that the Mosque would be built in Peshawar. “Now we are building a mosque in Peshawar. More mosques are to be built across the country, in several villages and districts. I will send you the details on this,” Khan said.

The India Today report monitored several social media links and groups associated with the banned terror outfit to find that a lot of conversation has happened around the new mosque that is to be built in Peshawar. The report mentions that every year JeM terror group launches a mass donation drive to collect money from the public on the pretext of building mosques. “They come up with a particular number of mosques to be built. This time its 313. This is the old module of how JeM collects funds for its terror activities,” the report stated.

The exclusive report also stated that the team communicated to several operatives from Saudi Arabia and London who revealed the details of the project and bank details which are being used for collecting funds on the pretext of building mosques.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on October 2022 excluded Pakistan from the grey list of global watchdogs on terror financing and money laundering. “Pakistan is no longer subject to FATF’s increased monitoring process; to continue to work with APG (Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering) to further improve its AML/CFT (anti-money laundering & counter-terrorist financing) system,” FATF was quoted saying.

Earlier in November, there were media reports stating that the terrorist group had begun large-scale construction work near its headquarters in Bahawalpur. According to the reports, the area was acquired by the terrorist group in 2022 and it houses a seminary that teaches several hundred children.

The JeM is an Islamic terrorist organization with its base in Pakistan and is active in the terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir. It has been associated with multiple terrorist attacks on Indian soil.

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