Days after the central government filed a review petition contesting the Supreme Court’s decision to free all convicts in the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, one of the six convicts, RP Ravichandran, stated that he will fight the review petition legally.
Ravichandran’s statement came after he visited the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) party headquarters on Monday. Speaking to reporters, Ravichandran, who was serving life sentences for almost thirty years for the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, said, “Today I came to meet VCK chief Thirumavalavan at his Chennai office. I thanked him as they (VCK) were with us for our freedom.” He added that he would be pursuing a legal fight against the centre.
Centre files a review petition challenging the Supreme Court order to release the killers of Rajiv Gandhi
On 17th November 2022, in opposition to the Supreme Court’s decision to release all convicts in the killing of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the Center filed a review petition with the top court.
The centre has asked for this review petition on the grounds that the centre wasn’t heard on the matter by the Supreme Court despite this being the case of the murder of a former Prime Minister of India. The centre is contending as to why it was not made a party in this case when its top office bearer was the victim in this incident that took place on 21st May 1991.
On November 11, the court released Nalini Sriharan and the five other remaining prisoners who were serving life sentences for almost thirty years, stating that the previous decision freeing AG Perarivalan also applied to them.
It is notable that, on May 18, a panel of Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna, exercising its exceptional authority under Article 142 of the Constitution, ruled in favour of Perarivalan, who had spent more than 30 years in prison.
Iran started their 2022 World Cup campaign in Qatar against England today, however, there was one distinctly noticeable thing about it. None of the Iranian players sang the national anthem of Iran when it was played before the match. Iranian footballers apparently did it in support of the protestors back home who have been protesting against the oppressive Iranian regime since the murder of Mahsa Amini.
To extend support to the protestors, the entire starting line-up of Iran was silent as Iran’s national anthem was played at the Khalifa International Stadium. The hardline Islamic leadership of Iran has been facing its biggest challenge since the revolution of 1979 that put them in power.
Iranian footballers are not the first celebrities to protest against the Iranian regime for their brutal dictatorship, just yesterday, 2 famous Iranian actresses were arrested for protesting against the ruling Ayatollah regime. Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi, the two actresses, are accused of collusion and acting against Iran’s authorities. Both women earlier appeared in public without their headscarves – a gesture of solidarity with demonstrators.
Mahsa Amini murder in Iran
A 22-year-old Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini was beaten to death by the ‘Morality Police’ in Iran for wearing hijab improperly. Iranian media reported that Amini died in hospital after suffering a heart attack after she was arrested for her improper hijab but her death ignited a series of protests that the Iranian regime is struggling to control.
Since Mahsa Amini’s death, protests have been raging across Iran with women showing up in public without a hijab and challenging the Iranian regime. Despite the brutal suppression of the protests by the government, the protests have only grown bigger and bigger during the past couple of months. Interestingly, most of these protests have been led by Iranian women who have had enough of the mandatory hijab imposed by the Iranian regime.
Under these circumstances, it is really brave of the Iranian football team to register their protest against the regime by refusing to sing the national anthem. However, it will be interesting to see how the Ayatollah regime in Iran deals with them upon their return to Iran.
Left-leaning liberals and intellectuals had a meltdown after the Times of India reported PM Modi’s factual comments against ‘activist’ Medha Patkar after she participated in Congress party’s PR stunt ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
Rohini Mohan, an Indian journalist and writer, who is currently working independently, took to Twitter to object to the Times of India’s report on PM Modi’s remarks against ‘activist’ Medha Patkar.
“I’m sure TOI journalists & editors know that Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar is not an anti-state actor. (for 30yrs NBA works with people displaced by Sardar Sarovar canals, a dam, and a statue of unity there). Why carry PM’s inaccurate, defamatory political statements?” tweeted Mohan, implying that TOI must stop being a news organisation that reported incidents as they happened and counter the factual statements made by politicians with their partisan opinions.
Source: Twitter
Mohan found support from her ilk, who rushed to the Times of India’s Twitter timeline to condemn the organisation for publishing a report that carried statements made by the Prime Minister.
Lending his support to Mohan’s misbegotten outrage, a Twitter user named Uttam Sengupta tweeted that he had banned reporting on VHP when he was in TOI Lucknow, an illustration of how personal prejudices shaped the newsroom policies that claimed to be neutral and objective.
Source: Twitter
Uttam Sengupta is currently employed with Congress mouthpiece National Herald as a Consulting Editor. He worked for the Times of India in various capacities for over 12 years, from February 1991 to May 2003. During his time at the TOI, Sengupta worked as Resident Editor for the organisation for two and a half years. After leaving TOI, he hopped on to many other publications, including Anand Bazar Patrika, Dainik Bhaskar, and The Tribune, before joining Congress mouthpiece, National Herald.
Netizens slam Rohini Mohan over her tweet criticising TOI for covering PM Modi’s comments
Nevertheless, many social media users called out Mohan for her tweet criticising the Times of India for reporting an event attended by the country’s Prime Minister.
A Twitter user criticised Mohan for her tweet, saying TOI simply reported whatever PM spoke in the rally, adding that reporting as it is not unethical as Mohan seemed to suggest.
I'm sure TOI is only reporting a factual news story. PM held a rally? Yes. Said something? Yes. Political? Yes. Factual? May be or may be not. As a news publication, TOI reported whatever PM has said. TOI may write an editorial if it disagrees. Simply reporting is not unethical.
Another Twitter user replied to Mohan’s tweet stating that Medha Patkar is a paid activist whose intervention caused the cost of the Sardar Sarovar Dam to bloat manifold.
She was paid activist then she is paid activist now. Only due to her cost of Sardar Sarowar increased manifolds. So मोदी will definitely question मेधा पाटकर Only and he must. There was nothing logical in her protest then at all. She just wanted to stall the project that's it
Yet another Twitter user highlighted how Medha Patkar delayed a project that has helped scores of people across different states, adding that all Patkar wanted was anarchy.
And how many people, in more than one state is Sardar Sarovar helping? Instead of finding an amicable solution for people she seems so dearly to care for, she made then dig their heels to not let a critical development project happen. She wanted anarchy & not a solution.
PM Modi hauls Congress over the coals after Medha Patkar joins ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’
PM Modi on Sunday launched a blistering attack against Congress after ‘activist’ Medha Patkar, infamous for her role in delaying the Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada, joined Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
PM Modi lashed out at the Congress leaders and so-called social workers who delayed the Narmada project that has brought water to the households in the drought-hit areas of Kutch and Kathiawad in Gujarat.
In his 30-minute speech, PM Modi spoke at length about the water revolution that took place in Gujarat during his tenure as the chief minister first and the prime minister later and how it was achieved with the spirit of people’s power. At the same time, PM Modi did not forget to slam those responsible for delaying the projects related to this revolution for more than three decades.
PM Modi said, “There has been so much delay in the Narmada project. Pandit Nehru laid the foundation stone of the Sardar Sarovar Dam and it took so much time to complete that Narendra Modi had to come for the inauguration of the same. Just imagine how much time and money was wasted by this delay. And so many people came in between to resist this project for their own reasons.”
“Recently, a photograph was published. A Congress leader is seen in that photograph. Ask him, with what face would he come to you to seek votes. This Narmada was the only way to provide drinking water to our people living in the Kutch and Kathiawad regions. The water of this Narmada river was stopped from reaching your homes for more than three decades. Decades went into courts and procedures. Problems were created. Dirty agitation movements were started to ensure that the water does not reach here. Gujarat was being defamed in order to ensure that no one in the world including the world bank invests money in or gives money to Gujarat,” he further added.
Medha Patkar and her role in delaying Sardar Sarovar Dam
Medha Patkar is best known for her ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ against the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river. The protest contributed to the years-long postponement of the Sardar Sarovar Dam project on the Narmada River. So-called social activists and environmentalists like Medha Patkar expressed concern as soon as the construction of the project started. When Medha Patkar visited the project site in 1985, she accused that the dam had fallen short of the social and environmental requirements set forth by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
For suspected money laundering during the “Narmada Bachao Andolan,” the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed an FIR against activist Medha Patkar on April 5 this year. In addition to the ED, investigations into Patkar’s shady dealings have also been initiated by the Department of Revenue Intelligence and the Income Tax Department.
According to a Pioneer report, Patkar’s NGO received a donation of roughly Rs 1.2 crores within a year of its foundation in 2004 but managed to elude authorities for almost 17 years.
The investigation raised a number of concerns regarding the payments. According to records obtained by Pioneer, the NGO received the funds on June 18, 2005, from 20 different sources in a single day. Surprisingly, the amount of all 20 donations was the same, which was Rs 5,96,294. Pallavi Prabhaar Bhalekar, one of the donors, was a minor at the time the donations were transferred.
According to Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, the advocate for the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi case, a Live Law report on the Gyanvapi case hearing in the Allahabad High Court is inaccurate and erroneous. He accused Live Law of unfairness in its reporting, claiming that its coverage on today’s hearing before the Allahabad High Court was incorrect. Advocate Jain alleged that the report ignored several aspects and observations by the court and that his arguments in the court were not reported.
Advocate Jain took to Twitter and wrote, “The report of live law are not correct with regards to todays hearing before allahabad high court. Many aspects and observations by the court have been missed. Also the submissions made by me have not been reported and incomplete reporting has been done.”
Screenshot of Advocate Jain’s tweetScreenshot of Advocate Jain’s tweet
The report of live law are not correct with regards to todays hearing before allahabad high court. Many aspects and observations by the court have been missed. Also the submissions made by me have not been reported and incomplete reporting has been done
The Allahabad High Court heard a petition today contesting a Varanasi court’s decision to refuse Hindu devotees’ request for a scientific study of the Shivling unearthed inside the Gyanvapi structure.
OpIndia reached out to Advocate Jain on the issue, who stated that the Live Law report contains inaccurate details. He said that the report by Live Law contains factual errors and several important observations have been missed. An archived version of the report can be found here.
“Live Law reported that the ASI has submitted that carbon dating of the Shivling cannot be done as it can damage it, but these remarks were not made by ASI in the court. Instead, the ASI asked 3 months time to assess what can be done to determine the age of the Shivling,” Advocate Jain said.
He further added, “The observation of the court that there is a need for such scientific investigation otherwise how will plaintiffs prove the case has been cleverly omitted from the reporting.” He added that the court also observed that the district judge is wrong when he recorded a finding that the Shivling will be damaged. “How can this be presumed without even asking the ASI,” the court observed according to Advocate Vishnu Jain.
The ASI, represented by Manoj Kumar Singh, stated that relative carbon dating can be done to assess the age of the Shivling. Advocate Jain submitted in the court that it was essential to determine the age of the Shivling without damaging it.
During the hearing, the court questioned Advocate Jain if the Shivling and fountain question was contested, to which Jain responded by referring to the affidavit of the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, which disputed that the structure is a fountain and not a Shivling. The court listed the matter for further hearing on November 30.
Today ASI has sought time to file a report with regard to the age of shivlingam. Prima facie the asi is of the view that there are modern techniques by which the age and character can be ascertained. The next date of hearing is 30.11.22 before hc
Earlier, on October 14, the Varanasi district court turned down the petition of the Hindu side, which demanded a scientific evaluation of the Shivling found inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex.
The Shivling was discovered inside the Wuzukhana of the Gyanvapi complex on May 16, 2022, during a survey by the court-appointed panel. The Hindu side has maintained that this is major proof that the mosque was erected by razing Lord Vishweshwar’s temple in Kashi.
A series of brutal murders and abuse centred around forced conversion has been reported in recent times, highlighting the growing menace of love jihad and forced religious conversion of Hindu women to Islam in name of ‘love’. When clearly asked about his views on this phenomenon, Rajasthan CM and Congress senior leader Ashok Gehlot Monday went on to dismiss cases of Love Jihad by calling it ‘Jumla.’
It’s an unfortunate incident. It has been given a name & ‘jumla’ has been made. Inter-caste & interfaith marriages have been taking place for a long time now. But politics is being done on basis of the manner in which one community has been targetted: Rajasthan CM on ‘love jihad’ pic.twitter.com/gs1WNe5ma9
In a video clip posted by news agency ANI on Monday, November 21, the reporter is heard explicitly asking Gehlot what he thinks of ‘Love Jihad.’ Gehlot casually suggested, citing Shraddha Walkar’s horrific death as a mere context, that “love jihad” is a “Jumla” devised to attack and defame a particular community.
The question posed to Gehlot was about the Love Jihad cases, however, the Rajasthan CM brought in Shraddha’s case, which is not a case of Love Jihad, and used it as an excuse to dismiss all Love jihad cases as ‘Jumla’.
Rajasthan’s chief minister stated, “Shraddha’s death was an unfortunate incident. Inter-caste and interfaith marriages have been common for a long time. However, by linking the ‘Jumla’ to the tragedy, politics is being done in a way that targets one specific community.”
#WATCH यह एक दुर्घटना है, इसे नाम दे दिया गया है, जुमले कह दिए गए हैं। सदियों से अंतरधार्मिक शादियां हो रही हैं यह नई बात तो नहीं है। लेकिन आपने एक कौम को एक धर्म को टारगेट बना दिया है, उसके आधार पर राजनीति हो रही है: लव जिहाद पर राजस्थान CM अशोक गहलोत pic.twitter.com/oZ8eq1waaF
The Rajasthan Chief Minister’s reaction is consistent with the left ecosystem and mainstream media, which have consistently turned a blind eye to Hindu (and even Sikh and Christian) victims. So much so, that even forceful and rampant religious conversions plaguing the country have been termed as a Hindu right-wing conspiracy.
Cases of Grooming Jihad, more commonly known as ‘love jihad’ fly in from every part of the country. From Islamists luring Hindu women by disguising themselves as Hindu men, bribing Hindu men of jobs and marriage on conversion to converting deaf and mute kids to push them into terrorism. There’s no dearth of cases to indicate how the forced religious conversion industry works like well-oiled and planned machinery.
Whether the widespread liberals and the left-controlled education system believe it or not, it is now a well-established fact that the menace of Grooming Jihad or Love Jihad exists and a well-organised syndicate, sponsored by many radical Islamic organisations has been working towards it in an attempt to push the Islamist political goals of demography change and eventual establishment of a caliphate in non-Islamic regions.
We at OpIndia have, over the years, reported multiple such incidents where susceptible and vulnerable Hindu women are being targeted by Muslim men, lured and brainwashed, forcefully converted to Islam, tortured, raped and then either killed or abandoned.
Gehlot had earlier claimed that the murder of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur, where 2 self-confessed Islamic jihadis beheaded a poor tailor and proclaimed it as a punishment for ‘insulting Islam and Islam’s prophet’, is not communal. He had called it an act of terror and had tried to insinuate that religion had nothing to do with it.
On Monday, the Delhi High Court ordered news channels to follow the standards that govern them and to assure that all broadcasts covering the liquor scam case are predicated on official press releases issued by the investigative agencies. The court ordered television news channels to affirm that all telecasts on the excise fraud case are “in tune with the official press releases.”
The directives were issued in response to a plea brought by AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair, an accused in the Delhi liquor scam case, who claimed that the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate had released sensitive material to news channels. Nair said that the purported disclosure jeopardised his legal rights.
Five television news networks received notices from a single-judge panel chaired by Justice Yashwant Varma, and the National Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) was given instructions to “duly examine the broadcasts and tell the court whether they have complied with their guidelines.”
During the hearing, the high court directed the CBI and the ED to document their official press releases and communications, and stated that it would assess the statements issued to the media to ascertain whether the TV channels reported the case on the basis of the official statements or on “a figment of their imagination.”
Following a review of the press releases, the court concluded that there is no correlation between the news broadcasts and the information supplied by the agency. However, the court noted that “…it is not a case where information was collectively leaked by investigative agencies.”
The court was surprised by the News Broadcaster and Digital Standard Authority (NBDSA)’s claim that it lacked the authority to restrict the channels. According to Advocate Nisha Bhambhani, counsel for the NBDSA, some of the broadcasters were not their partners. After taking note of the submission, the bench directed to Implead NBDSA and investigate what had been broadcast. The case has been adjourned until February 7, 2023.
On September 27, Vijay Nair was arrested and held in CBI custody for five days. In court, the CBI alleged that Nair was actively involved in the formulation of the Delhi government’s liquor policy for 2021-22 and that he met with the co-accused, liquor manufacturers, and distributors in various hotels in Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi to arrange illicit money through hawala operators.
Vijay Nair was the former CEO of Only Much Louder, a Mumbai-based entertainment and event management organisation (OML). He served as a ‘part-time volunteer’ for the Aam Aadmi Party in the run-up to the 2020 Delhi State Legislative Assembly elections. OpIndia published a detailed report on Vijay Nair and his association with the Aam Aadmi Party.
Ahead of Gujarat state assembly elections, Rahul Gandhi took a slight detour from his Bharat Jodo ‘container yatra’ and visited the poll bound state to address rallies. His one rally was in Surat, where he arrived via helicopter, and other in Rajkot. While addressing a rally in Surat, Congress brought up former Gujarat Pradesh Congress President Bharatsinh Solanki on stage as ‘translator’ so he could translate Rahul Gandhi’s speech from Hindi to Gujarati.
However, amusingly, after about 13 minutes into addressing the gathering, while Rahul Gandhi was recounting the anecdote about his grandmother and how he enjoyed reading a picture book, Solanki stopped translation midway and left the stage saying how people in Gujarat can understand Rahul Gandhi’s Hindi and they would not quite need a translator.
Gujaratis, as a community, have always been welcoming and even if they are not fluent in Hindi, they would try to accommodate those who do not understand regional language to make them feel at home. Further, Gujarati and Hindi being sister languages, Hindi becomes fairly simpler to comprehend.
Bharatsinh Solanki had taken ‘break’ from politics over altercation with estrange wife
Former Gujarat Congress President Bharatsinh Solanki, in June this year announced a ‘short break’ from active politics after his estranged wife beat him up along with a woman she accused him of having an affair with. She had earlier accused him of domestic violence.
In the viral video from June this year, Solanki’s wife caught him with a girl in the girl’s house, and that even led to a physical altercation. During the press conference, Bharatsinh Solanki leveled several allegations against his wife, with whom he has been having a long-standing dispute.
Reshma Patel, Bharatsinh Solanki’s estranged wife, was seen beating him up after she caught her husband red-handed with another girl in his bungalow in Anand.
In the video, it is seen that as soon as Reshma Patel opens the door and enters the house, Bharatsinh Solanki comes running and stops Reshma Patel and asks to call the police. However, Reshma Patel and the people accompanying her enter the house and Reshma Patel catches hold of the girl and starts beating her and pulling her hair. However, in the meantime, Bharatsinh Solanki appears to be stopping them.
In the video, ‘You are sitting with my husband… I won’t leave you…’ and more sentences like ‘Take the video of this’ and ‘Show your face’ are heard. Meanwhile, the girl is seen trying to hide her face.
Later Solanki had said he had gone to the woman’s house to have an ice cream. “That house belonged to the girl Riddhi Parmar. Let me be frank and tell you that if I get rid of my wife, she will be ready to accept me and it will be my third marriage. If someone agrees to accept me, then I am destined to have a third marriage,” he had said.
However, despite the videos of a woman associated with Solanki being beaten up brutally by his estranged wife had gone viral, no one from party’s leadership have given a statement on it. For a party that claims to be about women empowerment, they have been quite silent on the two women in this story.
Bharatsinh Solanki is son of Madhavsinh Solanki, former Gujarat Chief Minister who came up with the ‘KHAM’ (Kshatriya-Harijan-Adivasi-Muslim) theory for Congress votebank. Under his chief ministership, Gujarat witnessed some of the worst communal riots in the 80s.
On November 17, Chennai Police arrested 28-year-old Najibuddin alias Raju Mani Nair for killing his lover’s 18-year-old daughter. The incident took place on November 12. The forensic experts said Najibuddin had intercourse with the corpse before fleeing the crime scene. He was hiding in Virar East. Najibuddin was a live-in partner of the victim’s mother.
Media reports decided to use Najibuddin’s alias to report the crime
Najibuddin, who has an alias Raju Mani Nair, was named Raju in the media reports. While media houses like Times of India and New Indian Express at least named him Najibuddin once in their reports, Mid Day decided to use only Raju Mani Iyer in the report and completely ignored the name Najibuddin.
The mother found her daughter motionless
The mother of the victim filed a complaint at Poonamalle Police Station, Chennai, against her lover for allegedly strangulating her daughter when she was not at home. The complainant said, “When I returned home from work, the house was locked from the outside. I opened the door with my keys and found my daughter lying unconscious. There were marks around her neck, and she was not breathing. I was in shock. Later, when I asked a neighbour, she said Raju had left in a hurry after locking the door.”
Najibbudin stole jewellery and cash
She further told the police that Najibuddin took away the earrings and the silver anklet of her daughter that she was wearing at that time. “A part of the jewellery, Rs 20,000 in cash, were missing. As per reports, the woman was not living with her husband for the past five years. Both of her children lived with her husband. Later, she started living with Najibuddin. A few months ago, she brought her daughter to live with them. In her statement to the police, she said, “Raju had promised me that he would take care of my children. That is the reason I brought them to stay with me.”
The victim’s mother accused Najibuddin of making sexual advances on her daughter
She added recently, Najibuddin started making sexual advances at her daughter. Around fifteen days ago, he touched her daughter inappropriately while they were sleeping. “She got up and shouted at him. Even since then, my daughter started to dislike him,” the mother said in her complaint. As per the New Indian Express report, following the incident, the mother had a fight with Najibuddin and asked him to leave.
Najibuddin might have planned the murder
The police are not denying the possibility that Najibuddin might have planned the murder as he had asked the victim’s mother to leave the phone at home when he was leaving for work. Inspector PR Chidambaramurugesan of the Poonamallee police (law and order) said, “The forensic team orally told me that the killer had sexual intercourse with the girl’s body.”
The police booked the Poonamallee police (law and order) under Sections 302 (murder) and 380 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). After committing the crime, Najibuddin went to his wife. Chidambaramurugesan said, “At the time of fleeing, he had taken the mobile phones of the deceased and her mother. Though he had kept his phone switched off, he had turned on one of the stolen phones, sending an alert to the police. We then contacted Virar police and reached there to arrest him.”
Najibuddin was previously involved in robbery and chain snatching
As per reports, the police had formed five special teams to arrest Najibuddin. He was traced based on the mobile location and CCTV footage. On Thursday, he was located in Mumbai and arrested by the police. Najibuddin was allegedly involved in crimes previously, including robbery and chain-snatching.
9 European countries, including England, Wales, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Denmark have decided that their captains will not be wearing ‘One Love’ armbands during the Qatar World Cup after FIFA threatened to sanction the players if they wear one. With the possibility that their captain may see a yellow card at best and even a red card, the football associations of these countries decided against the armband.
The idea behind the armbands was to extend support to the LGBTQ+ community during the World Cup in Qatar, a country where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by law. Treatment of LGBTQ+ community in Qatar has been a matter of a lot of discussion in the lead-up to the tournament, however, FIFA is in no mood to let that discussion continue.
JUST IN – England, Wales, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, and Switzerland will not wear the "OneLove" armband at World Cup in Qatar.
The captains of these European countries, like Harry Kane, Gareth Gale, and Simon Kjaer had pledged to wear the armband to support LGBTQ+ community during the tournament but now that their football associations have bowed down to FIFA’s pressure, it is unlikely to happen.
A joint statement by the football associations said that they couldn’t put their captains in a situation where they could be sanctioned.
The statement said, “We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play”.
Qatar has come under a lot of criticism for its treatment of the migrant workers in the country and its treatment of the LGBTQ+ community before the tournament began last night in Al Bayt Stadium. However, looks like FIFA is in no mood to let anyone talk about Qatar’s controversial policies while the tournament is in progress.
In place of the one love armband, FIFA has proposed a “No Discrimination” armband that can be worn right through the tournament. FIFA will start its “No Discrimination” campaign from the Quarter Finals stage of the tournament, however, openly supporting LGBTQ+ community will not be allowed during the campaign.
In a disclosure of allegedly deep seeded corruption in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday presented two sting recordings at a media briefing allegedly showing the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) selling tickets for Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) elections.
Bindu Sriram, a former AAP worker, allegedly filmed the clips and asserted she was asked to pay 80 lakh rupees for a ticket. AAP leader Sriram, who filmed the sting, was also present at the press conference, along with BJP national spokesman Sambit Patra and Rohini MLA Vijender Gupta.
AAP official Puneet Goyal and a man by the name of Dinesh Saraf can be heard telling AAP leader Bindu Sriram that she must pay Rs. 80 lakh in return for an electoral ticket from Ward 54 Rohini-D in the first part of the sting operation. Saraf is a relative of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta, whilst Goyal is in charge of the Rohini-D seat and is reported to be close to Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai.
(Sting Video 1): Arvind Kejriwal’s party selling MCD ticket for 80 lakh rupees. Want the full payment in one go. Not in instalments.
Puneet Goyal, the conduit, in conversation with aspirant Bindu Sriram Bhargav.
In the second portion of the sting operation, shot in a vehicle, Bindu Sriram demands confirmation of the bribe from senior AAP politician RR Pathania. He is the in-charge of the North West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency and the convenor of the Delhi AAP’s SC/ST wing. He also serves on the AAP National Executive. In the video, both of them can be heard saying that the choice of tickets is made by senior party leaders such as Gopal Rai, Atishi Marlena, Durgesh Pathak, and Saurabh Bharadwaj, upon confirmation of the payment.
(Sting Video 2): AAP ticket aspirant Bindu Sriram Bhargav doesn’t trust Puneet Goyal and wants confirmation from Pathania, on whose behest he collects money.
Pathania claims committee comprising Gopal Rai, Durgesh, Saurabh and Atishi, all close to Kejriwal, take the final call… pic.twitter.com/FEDRGfKACc
In the media briefing, BJP leader Sambit Patra said, “Bindu had to pay a total amount of Rs.80 lakh. The first instalment was Rs.21 lakh. The second instalment was Rs.40 lakh. And the third instalment was Rs.21 lakh out of which Rs.10 lakh was cash and a cheque of Rs.11 lakh in the form of a donation to AAP.”
“A candidate is bringing to your notice that AAP is selling tickets in Delhi. Every worker is working on the ground in every seat. But he doesn’t have the reach. Instead of him, the ticket is given to those rich people who have money. This is the proof. Many people will have proof. But they are scared of producing it,” Bindu Sriram said
Bindu Sriram said that the entire gang is in action where a fully corrupt party has taken the voters of Delhi in confidence and has been dodging them to their advantage. She said the leader of the gang is Arvind ‘Natwarlal.’ Bindu appealed to the voters of Gujarat to not vote for Arvind Kejriwal as he is the one who is selling tickets for the MCD elections and “if he can sell a ticket, he can sell entire Gujarat.”
AAP MLA’s kin arrested for selling MCD election ticket
On November 16, Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Model Town MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi’s brother-in-law Om Singh, Tripathi’s Personal Assistant (PA) Shiv Shankar Pandey alias Vishal Pandey and Prince Raghuvanshi for allegedly taking bribe for tickets of Municipal Elections in Delhi.
They were arrested under relevant sections of the Corruption Act and bribery in elections. As per reports, cash worth Rs 33 lakh was recovered from their possession.
In his complaint to the Additional CP, complainant Gopal Khari alleged that on November 9, he went to Akhilesh Tripathi’s office seeking a ticket for his wife. He was told he had to pay Rs 90 lakh for the ticket.
