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Corruption, authoritarian working style haunt Chinese Pres Xi Jinping as CCP faces leadership challenges

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Corruption, authoritarian working style haunt Chinese Pres Xi Jinping as CCP faces leadership challenges

Despite the election of Xi Jinping for an unprecedented third term, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to face leadership challenges such as the test of long-term rule, reform and modernisation, revive the market economy and of the external environment, according to di Valerio Fabbri writing in Geopolitica.Info.

The primary cause behind the loss of faith in Xi’s leadership as well as that of the CCP by the Chinese masses is attributed to passive corruption, party’s authoritarian style of working and the separation of government from the masses. According to Liu Haixing, deputy director of the Central National Security Commission office, who recently wrote an article in People’s Daily on national security issues and was quoted by Fabbri in Geopolitica.Info, the national challenges facing the communist government are bound to create new problems in future.

In his article which discusses difficulties faced by China in terms of political means, Haixing quotes President Xi Jinping’s report from the 20th Party Congress, which notes that the nation has entered a developmental phase in which strategic opportunities, risks, and difficulties are present, however uncertainties and unanticipated factors are growing. Haixing issues a warning that various “grey rhino” and “black swan” disasters could happen at any time.

The CCP has persistent and recurrent issues with its working methods, the establishment of a clean government, and its anti-corruption initiatives. The Covid turmoil unravels, shocking the party leadership for the first time since the Tiananmen Square riots, making this observation almost prophetic, as per Geopolitica.Info.

Regarding the domestic issues, Liu argues that the issue of unbalanced and insufficient development is still a major issue, economic development is dealing with the triple pressure of demand contraction, supply shock, and weakening expectations, the reform task is still difficult, significant bottlenecks still exist in terms of China’s capacity for science and technology innovation, and the security of supply chains involving food, energy, and resources is put to a significant test.

Notably, the recent unrest seen in China was on November 24 when a fire tore through a residential building in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region’s capital Urumqi. After the incident, citizens circulated the videos on the internet space, with residents screaming and demanding authorities to open exits. The residents said they were closed under strict Covid-19 restrictions that have been in place for more than 100 days and have caused widespread hardship.

Furthermore, if national security matters are to be concerned, Chinese President Xi Jinping has ensured that armed forces make preparations to focus their energy on efficiency to launch wars, bolster their ability to win and effectively fulfil the “missions and tasks” of the army in the “new era.”

As per the Hong Kong Post, Chinese armed forces must “resolutely be loyal” to Xi Jinping and “support, safeguard and defend” the leadership to the core.

(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 dig out old tweets of ex-Twitter Safety Head Yoel Roth. Here’s what he said

OpIndia Staff
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Netizens dig out old tweets of ex-Twitter Safety Head Yoel Roth. Here’s what he said

Former Global Safety Head at Twitter, Yoel Roth, has come under the scanner over his old tweets about underage sex. He had been the subject of public ire, following the release of Twitter Files.

In a tweet dating back to 2010, he tweeted an article with the headline, “Can high school students ever meaningfully consent to sex with their teachers?” Social media users then accused him of endorsing child pornography and paedophilia.

Conservative journalist Jack Posobiec wrote, “If only there had been some warning signs about Yoel Roth,the head of Twitter Trust and Safety…And now we know why child abuse was not taken seriously”

Activist Eliza claimed that Yoel Roth might have been the reason for Twitter not taking action against child pornography on the platform. “This explains a lot”, remarked Elon Musk.

The new Twitter owner, Elon Musk, pointed out how the former Safety Head at the social media platform argued in favour of children’s access to adult Internet services in his PhD thesis.

American conservative political commentator, Liz Wheeler, remarked, “Child pornography flourished on Twitter when Yoel Roth was chief censor… Meanwhile Yoel tweeted sympathy for teachers having sex with students. Deeply disturbing.”

While reacting to the development, Drinkin’ Bros Podcast host Dan Hollaway said, “And now we know why Yoel Roth et al. went so hard against Libs of Tiktok and “okay groomer” aficionado @ConceptualJame…because he’s a paedophile apologist. This Marxist “queer theory” always leads inevitably to child predators and their enablers.”

Earlier on December 4, journalist Glenn Greenwald dug out old tweets of Yoel Roth, which showed him praising the Democrats and displaying his abhorrence e towards the Republican party.

He had tweeted, “How can anyone claim pre-Musk Twitter was censoring to boost the Dem Party and silence its enemies, when this paragon of sober non-partisanship, Yoel Roth, was in charge of Twitter’s censorship regime? The only thing he loved more than banning critics of Dems was Hillary Clinton.”

The ‘Twitter Files’ has exposed how Yoel Roth has justified the censorship of the infamous New York Post story about Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden.

In the third tranche of Twitter’s internal communications, it came to light that the former Safety Head at Twitter had regular meetings with federal agencies. He lamented that he could not conceal his meetings with the FBI.

Yoel Roth was also seen patting himself on the back for quickly censoring Donald Trump. The top Twitter executive was also found siding with the Democrats and calling for the removal of warning labels from misleading tweets of party members.

Who is Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, the new chief minister of Himachal Pradesh chosen by Congress high command

OpIndia Staff
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Who is Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, the new chief minister of Himachal Pradesh chosen by Congress high command

Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu will be Himachal Pradesh’s new chief minister, while Mukesh Agnihotri has been selected as deputy chief minister. On 10th December 2022, Chhattisgarh’s chief minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel made this announcement after the meeting of the elected Congress MLA held in Shimla – the capital of the hill state. Baghel also informed that the leaders will take the oath of their respective posts on Sunday 11th December 2022 at 11 am.

A resolution empowering the Congress high command to choose the future leader of the legislature party was approved by the newly elected Congress MLAs. Accordingly, the leaders were chosen by the high command. Pratibha Singh, the state party president and the MP for Mandi, and Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of the opposition in the departing assembly, were the leading contenders for the position of chief minister in addition to Sukhu, who served as the chairman of the Congress campaign committee during the assembly election. The new CM was announced amid sloganeering by the supporters of Pratibha Singh, demanding to make her the CM

A brief account of the political career of Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is a 58-year-old four-term MLA from Nadaun in Hamirpur. In the recently held assembly elections, he defeated Vijay Kumar of the BJP by a margin of 3300 votes from the Nadaun seat. Born on 27th March 1964 in Nadaun, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is considered to be a close associate of Rahul Gandhi.

While the former Congress CM of the state Virbhadra Singh was from a royal family, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu rose from the grassroots level in politics. The new CM of Himachal Pradesh had a humble beginning, and his father was a government employee.

He started his political career as an activist at Himachal Pradesh University, then joined NSUI and went on to join the Congress party. He has contested five assembly polls so far and won four.

Sukhu has been a lifetime loyal member of the Congress party. He joined the Congress party as a student at the age of 17 and went on to become the state president of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) from 1989 to 1995. He later became the chief of party State Youth Congress. He held this post from 1998 to 2008.

He won the municipal election in Shimla twice between 1992 and 2002 and was made the secretary of the state unit of his party in 2008. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhi is a law graduate. He was the president of the party from 2013 to 2019.

In 2003, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu fought his first assembly election from Nadaun and won. He was reelected in the 2007 elections. However, he had to face a defeat in 2012. In 2017, he managed to return to the state assembly as an elected MLA. He was chief whip of the Congress Legislature party from 2007 to 2012.

Sukhu was the chairman of the campaign committee of the Congress party in the assembly elections and was the face of the party in the elections. Although he is a four-time MLA, he was never a minister in the state, and didn’t hold any other position like Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) or even Chairman of a Board or Corporation.

After the party’s high command named him as the chief minister candidate, he said, “I was never in any race for any post and would not be in the future. I am a Congress party worker. I never had longed for any post. Party has given me so much and to follow the party’s order is my duty.”

Congress snatched power from the Bharatiya Janata Party in Himachal Pradesh after a closely fought election in which the Congress party secured 40 out of 68 assembly seats while the BJP got 25 seats.

Meghalaya Govt files criminal defamation suit against TMC’s Saket Gokhale, Deputy CM calls him a ‘psycho’ : Read what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Meghalaya Govt files criminal defamation suit against TMC’s Saket Gokhale, Deputy CM calls him a ‘psycho’ : Read what happened

On Saturday, December 10, the Meghalaya government filed a criminal defamation suit against Trinamool Congress (TMC) national spokesperson Saket Gokhale for maligning the reputation of the state government by making “deliberate, derogatory and malicious” claims against a state-owned tourism firm.

The action comes days after Saket Gokhale claimed that there was Rs 632 crore worth of financial violations in the Meghalaya Ecotourism Infrastructure Development Project by an IAS officer Dr Vijay Kumar.

Meghalayan Age Limited, a state-owned company, filed a lawsuit in the East Khasi Hills District Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate under Section 200 read with Section 190 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. The company sought Saket Gokhale to be charged with criminal defamation in accordance with section 499.

On December 4, TMC’s Saket Gokhale said that the Meghalaya Ecotourism Infrastructure Development Project had anomalies of Rs 632 crore. According to Saket Gokhale, “These irregularities have happened under the company Meghalayan Age which is spearheaded by CM Conrad Sangma’s top aide IAS officer D Vijay Kumar.”

‘He has become like a psycho’: Meghalaya Deputy CM Prestone Tynsong slams the TMC leader for spreading fake news

The Meghalaya government had hit out at the Trinamool Congress leader terming him a ‘psycho’. Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong slammed Gokhale saying that the TMC leader intended just to spoil the government’s image.

“This man keeps making such allegations about the functioning of the state government. I personally feel he has become like a psycho. Now we have no more patience. By tomorrow, we will have filed a defamation case against him,” said Tynsong.

Refuting all of the accusations levelled against the government, the deputy chief minister asserted that all records are accessible and that even the tendering procedure was conducted online.

Lambasting the TMC leader Tynsong told the media that the allegations should be substantiated with documents but “this man it seems he just knows from here and there and ultimately he puts it in the public domain and brings out the allegation in the form of a statement, which is totally wrong.”

He said the government can no longer tolerate such irresponsible acts.

“We have no more patience. The allegations made by him are baseless and wrong. By tomorrow, we are going to file a defamation case against this man, who unfortunately last night or today morning was also picked up by the Gujarat police because of the allegation he made against the Prime Minister. So you can understand the credential of the so-called national spokesperson of the AITC”, Tynsong said.

TMC’s Saket Gokhale sent to two-day police custody for spreading fake news relating to Morbi bridge tragedy

Notably, on December 7, an Ahmedabad court remanded Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Saket Gokhale to two-day police custody after he was arrested by Gujarat Police. The former ‘RTI activist’ was arrested over his tweet endorsing a fake news report about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Morbi visit. 

Gokhale was apprehended in the early hours of Tuesday morning in Jaipur, Rajasthan, by officials from the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Cell and brought to Ahmedabad in the afternoon, where he was formally arrested.

Gokhale had shared a fabricated news report about an RTI query and its response that does not exist. He had claimed that ₹30 crore was spent on PM Modi’s Morbi visit, sharing a news clipping from an unnamed Gujarati newspaper, which was claimed to be Gujarat Samachar. But BJP has said that it is fabricated and no such report was published and there is no such RTI reply, and Gujarat Samachar also clarified that they have not published such a report. 

Twitter Files 3.0 confirms what we knew all along: Employees vindictively targeted conservative voices, showed leniency towards leftists

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter Files 3.0 confirms what we knew all along: Employees vindictively targeted conservative voices, showed leniency towards leftists

The third tranche of ‘Twitter Files,’ released on Friday (December 9, US local time), confirmed what we knew all along – The personal bias of top Twitter employees determined what form of speech was permissible on the social media platform.

The internal communications exposed how Republicans and conservative voices were censored, based on the whims and fancies of Twitter’s top executives. They revealed how a small group of Twitter employees controlled political discourse on the social media platform and sided with the Democrats.

The ‘Twitter Files 3.0’ also showed how the content moderation team came up with one excuse or the other to justify their vicious attempts at censorship.

Independent Journalist Matt Taibbi, who covered the story, emphasised that former US President Donald Trump was targeted on multiple occasions by the same group.

Taibbi shared that Twitter employees were keen on putting a ‘label’ on Trump’s tweet about the Ohio ballot mishap, thereby suggesting that the former US President was misleading the public about 50,000 incorrectly mailed ballots in the state of Ohio.

To the despair of the Twitter employees, the story turned out to be true, and plans to include a disclaimer to Trump’s tweet on the subject were abandoned. Soon, the opportunity presented itself again and they were able to restrict the visibility of the US President’s tweet (despite no particular violation of Twitter rules).

The top Twitter executives, including Yoel Roth (former Global Head of Trust & Safety), patted themselves on the back for quickly taking action against Donald Trump. When American actor James Woods pointed out how Twitter was suppressing the tweet of a sitting US President, the vindictive employees vowed revenge.

After it dawned on them that they could not censor him under any pretext, one employee announced, “…Can hit him hard in future vio with firmer basis.”

Matt Taibbi also pointed out that attempts were made to censor other Republicans, including Congressman Jody Hice, for simply tweeting that mailed ballots are vulnerable to fraud as compared to in-person voting.

Twitter had suggested that the tweet of the conservative leader, which is based on common sense, was somehow misleading by putting a label saying, “Voting by mail is safe and secure.”

In December 2020, the top Twitter executives announced the launch of a new tool named ‘L3 Deamplification’ to censor the tweets of US President Donald Trump. The new tool would imply the de-amplification of tweets, alongside warning labels underneath the original tweet.

“The significance is that it shows that Twitter, in 2020 at least, was deploying a vast range of visible and invisible tools to rein in Trump’s engagement, long before January 6 (US Capitol riots). The ban will come after other avenues are exhausted,” Matt Taibbi pointed out.

The independent journalist also highlighted how top Twitter employees used cryptic terms to describe censorship instead of stating it explicitly. These terms included “bot” (automated heuristic moderation rule) and “bounce” (putting an account under review for 12 hours).

Other terms included “Interstitial” (putting a label atop a tweet) and “Public Interest Interstitial/PII” (a covering label applied for “public interest” reasons). Matt Taibbi pointed out that the Twitter moderation team also employed multiple “bots” against Donald Trump in the run-up to his permanent suspension.

After studying the extensive internal Twitter communications, Matt Taibbi said, “Before the (January 6) riots, the company was engaged in an inherently insane/impossible project, trying to create an ever-expanding, ostensibly rational set of rules to regulate every conceivable speech situation that might arise between humans.”

He further added, “This project was preposterous yet its leaders were unable to see this, having become infected with groupthink, coming to believe – sincerely – that it was Twitter’s responsibility to control, as much as possible, what people could talk about, how often, and with whom.”

Taibbi stated how the top Twitter employees made rules on the go to rationalise their decisions. “The firm’s executives on day 1 of the January 6th crisis at least tried to pay lip service to its dizzying array of rules. By day 2, they began wavering. By day 3, a million rules were reduced to one: what we say, goes,” he concluded.

Leniency towards Democrats

‘Twitter Files 3.0’ also pointed out how the top Twitter employees let their personal biases, political preferences, and ideological inclinations cloud their sense of judgment and public responsibility.

While the second tranche of Twitter Files exposed that the Twitter content moderation team routinely censored right-wing journalists and conservative activists under one pretext or the other, the same treatment was not meted out to the leftists, liberals, and Democrats.

Matt Taibbi revealed that pro-Biden tweets, which openly cast aspersions about the integrity of US Presidential elections and falsely accused Donald Trump of hijacking the votes, were given a free pass by Twitter executives.

In one case, former Attorney General of the United States (2009- 2015) Eric Holder peddled the disinformation that Donald Trump “deliberately crippled” the US postal service to interfere in the electoral process.

The Twitter moderation team responded to the fake news with a generic warning label but was quick to remove it when Yoel Roth (former Global Head of Trust & Safety who justified the censorship of Hunter Biden story) insisted.

“Hey folks – Can we reverse the label on this tweet,” Yoel Roth asked. The other Twitter executives readily complied with his request. ‘Twitter Files 3.0’ also made it clear how the left-wing bias of the top executives determined who got to keep his/her views forward.

Donald Trump thanks Elon Musk for releasing the ‘Twitter Files’ 

Hours after the third tranche of ‘Twitter Files’ was released to the public, Donald Trump thanked Elon Musk for exposing how the FBI and the Justice Department colluded with Twitter officials to manipulate the 2020 US Presidential elections.

While taking to his social media platform Truth Social on Friday, Trump said, “ELON: The Twitter releases are a revelation in that they show, in a very powerful fashion, the FBI and “Justice” illegally colluding, proving conclusively, in one more very powerful way, that the 2020 Presidential Election was Rigged & Stolen.”

“What everyone is REALLY waiting to see, however, is the Twitter information and thought process leading up to the time of the so-called “Election,” and ultimately the “Deplatforming” of the President of the United States. Big moment in history. Thank you!” he further added.

While responding to his message on Twitter, Musk informed that transcripts of more internal communications will be released in the coming days.

It must be mentioned that Truth Social is an alternate social media platform, created by Trump Media & Technology Group, after the former US President was de-platformed from Twitter in the wake of the US Capitol riots of January 6, 2021. Last month, Elon Musk reinstated the Twitter account of Donald Trump after buying Twitter out.

NCP leader Amol Mitkari insults Hindu deities and rituals in the guise of criticising Narendra Modi and BJP government

OpIndia Staff
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NCP leader Amol Mitkari insults Hindu deities and rituals in the guise of criticising Narendra Modi and BJP government

On 9th December 2022, Nationalist Congress Party leader Amol Mitkari insulted Hindu deities and rituals in the guise of criticizing PM Modi and the BJP rule while addressing a public meeting at Bakshi Hipparaga village near Solapur in Maharashtra. Criticizing Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Amol Mitkari – an MLC from the NCP – mimicked Hindu Brahmins who read various Kathas and religious stories while performing different rituals. Amol Mitkari went on to take a jibe at Narendra Modi and his various schemes as he narrated the story.

Reciting poems like a ‘comrade’

Amol Mitkari’s address included leftist-style poetry that meant, “Who are these people? They are the companions of Hitler. They are the ones who participate in the funeral processions (ensuring genocides). They don’t ask who are you, instead, they ask what is your caste and religion. Identify them. Beware of them. Some of them are sitting in Delhi. Some of them are in Mumbai. Many others are there from the internet to jumbo jets. They are camouflaged in the color of Asaram. They are attending the Satsang of Ramdev. We just do voting. All they do is just setting.”

Amol Mitkari call Modi a copycat

Accusing Narendra Modi of copying radio announcer Amin Sayani’s style, Amol Mitkari said, “He is a copycat. In old times there used to be a program of Hindi songs on the radio and Amin Sayani was the announcer of the program. Amin Sayani used to say ‘Bhaiyo aur Behno’ (that is brothers and sisters) before announcing the new song in the program. All Modi has done is just bring the style of the radio announcer into politics.” Mitkari also mimicked both Amin Sayani and Narendra Modi at this time.

Questioning the Hindutva ideology of Eknath Shinde

Amol Mitkari said, “Eknath Shinde went to Guwahati and sought blessings of Goddess Kamakhya to form a government. Why did he choose that deity? Wasn’t there any Goddess left in the state? There are so many temples of Devi in the state. He says that he did it for Hindutva. Later, his wife visited Ajmer. What kind of Hindutva this is?”

Amol Mitkari again mimicked Hindu priests (Brahmins )

On 19th April 2022, Amol Mitkari mimicked Hindu priests (Brahmins) as he made fun of Hindu rituals like Kanyadaan at weddings while addressing a rally. This time he made fun of the ‘Vaibhav Lakshmi’ pooja rituals. For those who are unaware, ‘Vaibhav Lakshmi Vrat’ is a ritual held by Hindu women on Thursdays in the Margashirsha month. On the fifth Thursday, at the time of completion of the ritual, women do a grand pooja and it is believed that the deity bestows her blessings upon the worshipper in the form of prosperity.

Mocking this ritual, Amol Mitkari said, “Women are misled by these Kathas (stories) which are repeatedly read during these various Vrat Poojas. Now that the month of Margashirsha is started, Vaibhav Lakshmi Vrat will be in full swing. A Thursday has already passed. My mother reads the story of Vaibhav Lakshmi since my childhood. It is believed that the Goddess Lakshmi becomes happy only after completing the Vrat task of five Thursdays and ensures prosperity in your life. The story is also very entertaining.” Hereafter Amol Mitkari started analyzing the religious story on so-called modern parameters.

He said, “There was a town where lived a king The king had two queens. Look, here is a right for a man to keep two wives. Thanks to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar who wrote the constitution, there is no such ill provision now. Recently a youth from Akluj (a nearby town) married two twin girls. Isn’t he charged now for the offense? He had to go to jail. Because Babasaheb Ambedkar wrote the constitution, no Hindu can marry a second wife when the first one is alive. But the religious story says something else. It says there was a town where lived a king, he had two queens and the king liked one of the queens while he disliked the other. So, it does not end with two queens, but then there is a categorization based on like and dislike. See what else is there in the religious story.”

Amol Mitkari further said as he laughed and mimicked the priest, “And this storybook of ‘Vaibhav Lakshmi Vrat Katha’ is just for five rupees. If you want to do timepass buy these books. See what is written there. Shyam Baala was the beautiful daughter of the king. See what they write. They only write. We follow blindly. It has been like this for so many years. They write anything in these stories.”

Praising Sharad Pawar

Mitkari then quoted a Marathi saint Chokha Mela’s poetry that means sugarcane is rough but sugar is sweet, similarly, a devotee can be ill-learned but his emotions are pure. In the very next sentence, he said, “Don’t look at my external expression. I am loyal to Sharad Pawar and he only is our Lord Viththala. We are sons of farmers and we are most loyal. We are innocent people. We are descendants of Raja Bali who was deceived by Vamana. Vamana asked for three feet of land and Raja Bali agreed. He did not know that in two steps, Vamana will conquer the Earth and heavens. He did not know that he will put the third step on his head and will kill him. Today, these Vamanas are sitting in Mumbai and Delhi. They are killing the Bali Raja among us. See what kind of religious stories they have imposed on us.”

Throughout his talk, Mitkari continued various Hindu practices like Jyotish, Pooja rituals, etc. in the name of preaching progressive thoughts. He claimed that the government in Maharashtra will soon collapse after the cabinet expansion. Devendra Fadnavis is aware of it and therefore he is not expanding the cabinet. Besides, he also accused BJP of creating conflicts between the people of Maharashtra and Karnataka on the basis of linguistic differences.

Mukesh Agnihotri to be the Deputy Chief Minister in Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress govt in Himachal Pradesh

ANI
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Mukesh Agnihotri to be the Deputy Chief Minister in Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress govt in Himachal Pradesh

Congress central leadership on Saturday decided that Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu will be Chief Minister and Mukesh Agnihotri Deputy Chief Minister in Himachal Pradesh.

The decision came a day after newly-elected Congress MLAs authorised the party high command to appoint the leader of the legislature party. “Congress leader Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu to be CM of Himachal Pradesh and Mukesh Agnihotri to be Deputy CM. The oath ceremony will take place tomorrow at 11 am,” Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel told ANI.

Agnihotri, a former journalist, is a five-time MLA and won the polls from Haroli in Una district of Himachal Pradesh. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the previous assembly. Sukhu, a former state Congress chief headed the campaign committee during the elections and won from Nadaun in the Hamirpur district.

AICC in-charge of Himachal Pradesh Rajeev Shukla, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Bhupesh Baghel were in Shimla to oversee the election of new leader.

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu hailed Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for the responsibility given to him.

“I am thankful to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and the people of the state. Our government will bring change. It is my responsibility to fulfill the promises we made to the people of Himachal Pradesh. We have to work for the development of the state,” he said.

Earlier today, the supporters of Congress state president Pratibha Singh, gathered and raised slogans demanding the Congress state chief’s appointment as the Chief Minister.

Congress won the assembly polls in the state and got 40 seats.

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

Hyderabad: Police deny permission to the launch ceremony of the Telugu edition of the book ‘Halal Jihad’ by Ramesh Shinde

OpIndia Staff
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Hyderabad: Police deny permission to the launch ceremony of the Telugu edition of the book ‘Halal Jihad’ by Ramesh Shinde

On 10th December 2022, Hyderabad police refused permission for the launch ceremony of a book titled ‘An Attack on Indian Economy: Halal Jihad?’. The event was scheduled to take place on 11th December 2022 at Badruka college auditorium, in the Kachiguda area of Hyderabad. Hindu Janajagruti Samiti was going to organize this program to launch the Telugu edition of the book written by Ramesh Shinde.

In a statement, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti said, “The Police forced us to cancel the book launch for the Telugu edition. Whereas the same book, which speaks about threat to National Economy & nothing about any specific Religion, was already launched in English, Hindi, Marathi & Kannada languages, without causing any controversy across India.”

It is notable that the book addresses various questions like what’s the meaning of Halal, why the Halal economy is running parallel in a secular and democratic nation like India, why Halal products are up for sale in the Indian market, how to oppose the Halal Jihad, etc. The former chief secretary of the Andhra Pradesh government LV Subramanyam, former DGP of Telangana T Krishna Prasad, and Ramesh Shinde of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti were among the chief guests of the program.

Ramesh Shinde – the national spokesperson of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and also the author of the book – wrote in a tweet, “Cancellation of ‘Halal Jihad’ book launch program in Hyderabad! Police have refused to grant permission for Book Launch & forced us to cancel the event. Book is available online.”

He further wrote in the next tweet, “All the guests for the book launch event were learned personalities of Indian Administrative system & no one is known for communal or hate speech. Still, Hyderabad Police forced us to cancel the event.”

An excerpt from the book says, “Halal is a case of creating an economy based on the Sharia law, which will certainly affect the secular credentials of India. The Indian Government should conduct an in-depth inquiry into the earnings of organisations that issue Halal certificates. What is the need for private organisations to issue Halal certificates, when the Government of India has its own ‘Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’ (FSSAI)?”.

It further states, “The purpose of compiling this book is not to question or insult the religious sentiments or religious rights of a particular strata of society. It has been compiled to honour the rights of the majority 1 Billion Hindus and to caution about the peril in store for the Nation.”

Pakistani YouTuber Azlan Shah gifts a baby donkey to his newly wedded wife as wedding gift, video goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani YouTuber Azlan Shah gifts a baby donkey to his newly wedded wife as wedding gift, video goes viral

Two Pakistani YouTubers, Varisha Javed Khan and Azlan Shah, had an intricately planned wedding that gained enormous popularity on social media. However, the bizarre present Azlan Shah gifted his newlywed wife, a baby donkey, was what made the wedding a talking point rather than any other aspect of it.

Sharing a picture of the gift on Instagram, he wrote in a post, “I always knew that Warisha loved baby donkeys, so this is my wedding gift”. He further clarified that the donkey’s child has not been separated from its mother, which is why he has brought her along.

Azlan Shah, the Pakistani YouTuber, and Varisha Javed Khan had already married to each other earlier. The Nikah was followed by the Dawat-e-Walima (wedding feast). At this reception party, Azlan gifted the baby donkey to his wife. Azlan posted a video along with pictures of the event on his Instagram handle. He explained in detail the thought behind gifting a baby donkey to his wife. Azlan was heard saying, “the question is why only a donkey in the gift? So the answer is that one you like it (donkey) and secondly it is the most hardworking and loving animal in the world.

Varisha Javed Khan also had a word of appreciation for her husband for gifting her the animal. She said, “I won’t let you become a donkey.” Azlan further said about this unique gift, “Even though some people may disagree, the donkey is my spirit animal, and I love them, so this is my gift to Varisha.”

After that, Azlan chuckles and urges everyone not to mock his decision. Azlan Shah also told the people that he had not separated the donkey’s child from its mother and that she has also come with the foal.

“I always knew that @warisha.jk loves baby Donkeys so here’s a wedding gift to her from my side. P.S: we didn’t separate this baby Donkey from his mother we brought her along,” the Pakistani YouTuber wrote as he shared some pictures of the duo with the foal.

According to reports in the Pakistani media, Azlan and Varisha’s wedding was one of the most expensive weddings in Pakistan. It was attended by a large number of YouTubers, TikTokers, and Pakistani celebrities. But what made it one of the most talked about events on social media was the bizarre gift the Pakistani YouTuber decided to give his newly wedded wife.

After Congress high command picks Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu as Himachal CM, supporters of Pratibha Singh raise slogans demanding to make her the CM

ANI
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After Congress high command picks Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu as Himachal CM, supporters of Pratibha Singh raise slogans demanding to make her the CM

Supporters of Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh raised slogans in her favour on Saturday soon after reports that the party high command had given its nod to the elevation of party leader Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu as the next Chief Minister.

A large number of supporters of Pratibha Singh, wife of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, came out and raised slogans near the hotel where the central observers are staying. They said the Chief Minister should be like “Rani Sahiba”, a reference to Pratibha Singh as she is married into the erstwhile royal family of Rampur Bushahr. Virbhadra Singh, who passed away last year, had been chief minister several times and was a dominant political leader of the state. Pratibha Singh has said that the legacy of her late husband and his goodwill among people was a major factor in the Congress victory in the state.

“High command hosh me aao, Hamari CM kaisi ho rani sahiba jaisi ho. Rani sahiba zindabad,” were some of the slogans raised by Pratibha Singh’s supporters. They also raised slogans hailing Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi

A Congress worker, who was part of the gathering, said if Pratibha Singh is not chosen as the CM, Congress will not be able to win a single seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

“When the state was going through difficult days Rani Pratibha Singh was elected as the MP. Today when Congress has come to power with her as the party chief, she has not been declared CM. In the 2024 elections, Congress will not win a single seat if Rani is not chosen as the CM,” he said.

Congress sources had said earlier that Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, a former chief of Himachal Congress, is expected to be the next chief minister of the state with the party’s central leadership approving his name.

“His name will be announced by this evening after discussing it with other leaders,” a source said.

The decision came a day after the newly-elected Congress MLAs passed a resolution authorising Congress high command to select the next leader of legislature party.

The sources said Vikramaditya Singh, son of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, is likely to be given a big responsibility in the government.

They said Sukhu’s name was decided after consultations with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge who talked to members of the Gandhi family.

Congress had won the assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh winning 40 seats. The BJP won 25 seats.

Sukhu is MLA from Nadaun and has held several organisational posts in the hill state.

Talking to reporters, Sukhu said that he was not aware of the decision of the High Command.

“I am not yet aware of the decision of the High Command. I am going to the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting,” he said.

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

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