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Music label sues Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders for illegal use of KGF Chapter 2 music in Bharat Jodo Yatra promos

OpIndia Staff
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Music label sues Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders for illegal use of KGF Chapter 2 music in Bharat Jodo Yatra promos

On Friday, MRT Music, a Bengaluru-based music company, launched a copyright infringement lawsuit against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Supriya Srinate, and Jairam Ramesh. The company has alleged that the Congress party utilized songs from the Hindi version of the Kannada super-hit film KGF: Chapter 2 without permission to produce video content for the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra of the party led by Rahul Gandhi. It is notable that while Lahari Music and T-Series own the music rights for the South Indian versions of the movie, MRT owns the rights to the Hindi version.

According to the reports, the company mentioned in its complaint that it had spent a lot of money to attain the rights to the songs in the South Indian super-hit film KGF 2 in Hindi. Narasimhan Sampath, the music platform’s attorney confirmed that the music company had filed a suit against the Congress, represented by general secretary Jairam Ramesh, Supriya Shrinate, and Rahul Gandhi, for violation of copyrights belonging to MRT Music.

“The complaint mainly pertains to the unlawful fraudulent and illegal actions of the members of the steering committee in so far as violating the copyrights owned by MRT Music. The INC has created a video by unlawfully downloading and synchronizing and broadcasting the songs about the movie KGF Chapter 2 in Hindi and portraying it to be owned by the INC. They have also used a logo namely “Bharath Jodo Yatra” in the said video and have broadcasted the same on their official social media handles,” Sampath was quoted.

The company also released a statement to slam the Congress Party for committing unlawful actions amid the Bharat Jodo Yatra. “These unlawful actions committed by a national political party reflect their blatant disregard to the rule of law and the rights of private individuals and entities while they are conducting this Bharath Jodo Yatra to seek an opportunity to govern the county and frame legislation for protecting the rights of the common man and businesses”, the statement added.

The attorney stated that MRT Music’s primary asset is the copyrights it holds and that the firm filed the case merely to enforce its statutory rights. He added that the company has ‘no ambitions to destroy the reputation of any political party’. The matter meanwhile was also taken cognizance by BJP leader Amit Malviya who slammed the party for stealing the content.

“After illegally using a picture of Kannada actor Akhil Iyer in their campaign, Congress sued again. This time by MRT Music, which owns the popular music label of KGF2. Congress picked up songs from the movie for Bharat Jodo Yatra without seeking the firm’s permission. Theft every time, everywhere”, Malviya tweeted.

According to the complaint, the Congress party posted two videos of the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Twitter. “Rahul Gandhi has resorted to getting videos created showcasing his heroism and to portray to the general public at large that he is a mass leader. For this reason, he has portrayed himself in the infringing video particularly considering the fact that the movie and more particularly the songs and the audio visual clippings of the two songs in the movie KGF chapter two have gained mass appeal and acceptance”, the complaint read.

Copy of the complaint

The songs used by the party to portray Rahul Gandhi as a ‘hero’ are ‘Falak Tu Garaj Tu’ and ‘Sulthan’ from the movie KGF chapter 2. An FIR has been registered against the party, in general, and the three Congress leaders, in particular, under sections 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 465 (punishment for forgery), 120 (concealing design to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC, Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and under Section 63 of the Copyrights Act, 1957.

Earlier in September, the Congress party had illegally used a poster of a Bengaluru-based actor named Akhil Iyer in the Bharat Jodo campaign. Iyer had flagged the issue and had alleged that the campaign used his photo illegally and without his consent, and promised legal action on the matter.

The Congress party had used the actor’s photo without authorization in its ‘40% Sarkara’ campaign against the BJP government in Karnataka. Akhil Iyer had said that he was appalled that his photo was used without his consent in a campaign that he has nothing to do with.

Coimbatore car blast terrorist Jamesha Mubin had shaved his body before the attack like ISIS suicide bombers: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Coimbatore car blast terrorist Jamesha Mubin had shaved his body before the attack like ISIS suicide bombers: Report

Investigators probing the October 23 Coimbatore blast have concluded that Jamesha Mubin was indeed on a suicide mission as he had shaved his body before the mission, a usual practice of suicide bombers following ISIS ideology, reports TOI. Mubin was a 29-year-old engineering graduate who died after an LPG cylinder in a vehicle exploded in the communally sensitive Kottaimedu region. It was Mubin who was driving the car that exploded and is the prime suspect in the terror attack.

Mubin, the 29-year-old engineering graduate, was on a suicide mission to destroy a large area including a Hindu temple using his car bomb, but it didn’t work as planned and only an LPG cylinder in a vehicle exploded in the communally sensitive Kottaimedu region, killing him. Initially thought as a regular accident, later it emerged that it was a jihadi terror attack gone wrong.

TOI quoted an officer involved in the preliminary investigation as saying, “His body was not fully burnt and there was enough skin that showed he had shaved his body before the incident.”

The officer further said, “In a CCTV footage Mubeen was seen in a shirt and trousers. Later he shaved off his body hair with a trimmer (recovered by police) and took bath and changed into other clothes. He offered prayers and drew the IS flag using chalk on a black slate.”

Mubeen inscribed Jihadi material on slate

Along with a prayer that featured on the IS flag, Mubeen inscribed on the slate in Tamil, which translates to ‘those who dare to touch Allah’s house will be uprooted,’ according to the source. “We have evidence that he was influenced by videos of Sri Lankan Easter bombings mastermind Maulvi Zaharan Bin Hashim,” the official said.

Mubeen also left a scribbling on a white piece of paper that stated the call to Jihad,” an officer said. “He maintained that it was the duty of the youth, not children and the elderly, to wage the holy war” (jihad). In another scribble, he classified mankind into two groups: Muslims and Kafirs. ‘vaal yenthu’ (wield the sword) was written on one of the scribbled notes.

Jamesha Mubin was radicalised by reading books on Jihad

It may be recalled that earlier reports had revealed that Mubin was motivated by the Islamic State and was engaged in preparing for jihad and constructing explosives.

Among the handwritten entries in Tamil that Tamil Nadu police found at Jamesha Mubin’s home in the Kottaimedu neighbourhood of Ukkadam were references to Muslims as “second-class citizens,” the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the hijab dispute in Karnataka, and a flow diagram with the names of Gods from various religions.

The diaries were supposedly among the literature, including books and reading materials, confiscated from Mubin’s residence, according to a source cited by The Indian Express who is aware of the evidence found during the inquiry.

Ansar Sheikh, prime accused in the Jahangirpuri violence against Hindus, who made ‘Jhukega Nahi’ gesture after arrest, granted bail: Read why

OpIndia Staff
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Ansar Sheikh, prime accused in the Jahangirpuri violence against Hindus, who made ‘Jhukega Nahi’ gesture after arrest, granted bail: Read why

On Friday, the Rohini District Court in Delhi granted bail to Mohammad Ansar Sheikh, the prime accused in the anti-Hindu Jahangirpuri violence which occurred earlier this year. Ansar was arrested on April 17 along with 13 other people. Following his arrest, it was revealed that he was considered the Muslim leader of the area and was the one who initiated the confrontation resulting in the violence.

Bail was granted to the offender Ansar alias Mohd Ansar by Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar of the Rohini District Court. After submitting a personal bond in the sum of Rs 25,000 and one surety in the same amount, Ansar was granted bail.

The accused’s investigation has already been finished, the court claims, and a chargesheet has been filed. A trial, in this case, has also been scheduled in court. The accused should not be kept in judicial custody because the trial would take a long time to finish, stated the court in its order.

Advocate Satnarain Sharma, the advocate for the accused, said that in order to resolve their conflict, the local police had falsely linked the accused to the present case even though he had no connection with the alleged crime.

Following the incident, several reports came up mentioning that Ansar was an Aam Aadmi Party worker and was closely involved in the operations and functioning of the party in his area.

Made Pushpa ‘Jhukega Nahin’ gesture while being taken to court

Riots accused Ansar made the Pushpa ‘Jhukega Nahi’ gesture while being taken to Rohini Court by Delhi Police after the violence. Ansar had previously been allegedly involved in mobilizing people from Jahangirpuri to Shaheen Bagh during anti-CAA violence. As per Delhi Police, he was previously involved in two cases of assault and was also charged repeatedly under preventive sections and booked five times under the Gambling Act and the Arms Act.

Jahangirpuri violence planned a week in advance by Ansar

OpIndia reported in April of this year that the incident was planned in advance by the main accused, Mohammed Ansar Sheikh. Ansar allegedly had a meeting seven days before Hanuman Jayanti to plan the attack on the Shobha Yatra, which would take place on that day.

Ansar, who lives in Jahangirpuri’s C block, is said to be the area’s Muslim leader. When the procession reached the Masjid, he is reported to have begun an argument, and when the conversation became heated, the procession was attacked violently.

Ansar had links with Trinamool Congress

OpIndia reported how West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari had said that Ansar Sheikh is close to the Trinamool Congress party, and is actively involved in the acts of political violence by the TMC goons. 

The BJP leader said that Ansar regularly visits Haldia in West Bengal and alleged that Ansar was involved in the attack on his car after the assembly elections last year. 

West Bengal BJP leaders had said that Ansar Sheikh has close links with Sheikh Ajijul Rahman, a TMC councillor from Ward No 15 in Haldia municipality. Photographs also emerged showing them together, one of them showing Ansar placing his hand on Ajijul’s shoulder.

It is notable that Ansar Sheikh owns a luxurious mansion in Haldia, the industrial town in the East Midnapore district, and he frequently visits the place as alleged by the state BJP.

Jahangirpuri Hanuman Jayanti riots

On Saturday, April 16, on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, when a procession was being taken out in New Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, a Muslim mob started pelting stones and attacking the procession. Subsequently, riots escalated and guns were fired too. 

More than 20 people were arrested by the police after the incident. Further probe revealed that the violence seemed to be a planned one and there was a possibility of larger interest being vested in the riots.

Entitled Indian ‘journalist’ wants Rishi Sunak to find her lost wallet in London, gets ridiculed for her missing sense of reality: Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Entitled Indian ‘journalist’ wants Rishi Sunak to find her lost wallet in London, gets ridiculed for her missing sense of reality: Here is what happened

On Friday (November 4), social media users slammed an entitled Indian ‘journalist’ for expecting the UK’s new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to take cognisance of her stolen wallet.

In a tweet, ‘journalist’ Sakshi Joshi claimed, “This is extremely shocking. I landed in London & first day pickpocketed on the busiest & supposedly posh Oxford Street. It’s been 20 hrs now. Have filed a complaint with London’s Metropolitan Police but no response.”

She then went a step further and tagged the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the newly appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Screengrab of the tweet by Sakshi Joshi

“My wallet was pickpocketed from my bag at the busiest hour on 3rd Nov, 7.30 pm. It has cash, a forex card, my credit card, debit card, Aadhaar, PAN, Driving Licence, everything gone. And my country’s High Commission hasn’t responded. Metropolitan Police doesn’t care. This is London for you,” she brazened it out.

The entitled ‘journalist’ assumed that the police investigation in London would be expedited on account of her influence in leftist circles in India. The archived version of her tweets can be accessed here.

Screengrab of the tweet by Sakshi Joshi

Social media users mock Sakshi Joshi

Netizens were visibly surprised at Sakshi Joshi’s sense of entitlement. As such, they mocked her for being out of touch with the struggles of the real world.

“Are you serious? You are tagging PM of UK for pickpocket thing?” asked one Prapti.

Another Twitter user (@SaffronQueen_) inquired, “You’re tagging the PM of the UK & Mayor of London for this? I’m sure the police will conduct a full investigation…….Chill it’s been 20 hrs, not 20 months! Oh & a quick question- Are you sure you didn’t drop ur wallet in the parking lot?””

One Twitter user tried to instil a sense of reality in Sakshi Joshi. She wrote, “What do you expect Rishi Sunak to do? Seriously? You filed a complaint now wait! The police have far more pressing things to be investigating!!! Jeez!”

“I’m extremely shocked you haven’t tagged UN Secretary and US president yet! Super shocked that you haven’t asked King Charles about it! Shocking!!”, mocked one Preetam Rao.

One Guru Samy also took potshots at the leftist journalist. Given that the ecosystem consistently demands the resignation of PM Modi over trivial things, he said that Rishi Sunak too must resign for failing to recover Joshi’s lost wallet.

A Twitter user, Devi Prasad Rao, exclaimed, “OMG, after Rishi & Sajid received you at the airport, where did they drop you? Why wasn’t the High Commission providing you (with) 24X7 armed bodyguards? This is an unmitigated disaster! Apart from Modi, which other world leaders should resign?”

Opindia had earlier reported how Sakshi Joshi had spread disinformation to cast aspersions on the Modi government and tried to downplay the sins of the Covid-19 superspreader, Tablighi Jamaat.

Last year, she had asked election strategist Prashant Kishor about the incumbent West Bengal CM’s toilet routine and seemed to be in awe of Mamata Banerjee for her ability to control her bladder.

‘Billionaire making efforts to comply with the law’: Attorney who sued Twitter after Elon Musk started laying off employees

OpIndia Staff
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‘Billionaire making efforts to comply with the law’: Attorney who sued Twitter after Elon Musk started laying off employees

Elon Musk’s proposition to cut 3,700 jobs from the social media site or nearly half of its working population, has prompted litigation against Twitter Inc., which workers claim was executed without sufficient notice and in breach of federal and California law.

Shannon Liss-Riordan, the attorney who ‘pre-emptively’ sued Twitter Inc on the day of Elon Musk’s mass layoffs expressed her pleasure after she learned that at least some staff members will continue to be paid until January 4. “The billionaire is making an effort to comply with the law”, Riordan said.

The class action lawsuit was filed by the attorney on Thursday in San Francisco federal court. Later, the company notified its employees via email that staff reductions would begin Friday onward. According to the reports, Musk had agreed to cut costs at the platform he recently paid $44 billion for.

However, under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, big corporations are prohibited from implementing mass layoffs without providing at least 60 days’ notice. Musk also meanwhile justified his decision following Twitter Inc’s big layoffs. “Unfortunately, there is no alternative when the firm is losing over $4M/day,” he remarked in a tweet. Those that left were given three months’ severance pay, “which is 50% more than what is legally necessary,” he noted.

The lawsuit seeks the court to issue an order requiring Twitter to comply with the WARN Act and restricting the company from requiring employees to sign agreements waiving their right to participate in legal proceedings.

“We filed this lawsuit tonight in an attempt to make sure that employees are aware that they should not sign away their rights and that they have an avenue for pursuing their rights,” Shannon Liss-Riordan, the attorney who filed Thursday’s complaint said.

Liss-Riordan, who filed a similar lawsuit against Tesla Inc. in June, said she “will be monitoring the situation at Twitter to ensure workers receive sufficient notice and compensation. “Billionaires are not above the law”, she was quoted.

“I am pleased that Elon Musk learned something from the lawsuit we brought against him at Tesla. We filed this case preemptively to make sure a repeat of that violation did not happen”, she said.

The company in the email to its employees had said that it was cutting 93 jobs in Los Angeles, 784 in San Francisco, and 106 in San Jose. “The affected employees will be paid all wages and benefits they are entitled to through January 4, the official termination date”, it added.

ED arrests Abbas Ansari, son of former BSP MLA ‘Don’ Mukhtar Ansari, was grilled for 9 hours in a money laundering case

OpIndia Staff
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ED arrests Abbas Ansari, son of former BSP MLA ‘Don’ Mukhtar Ansari, was grilled for 9 hours in a money laundering case

Abbas Ansari, a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and the son of don Mukhtar Ansari was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Friday after he was interrogated for 9 hours. Abbas was summoned for interrogation post his name came up in investigations into the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against his father Mukhtar Ansari.

The Mau MLA was grilled for 9 hours at the Prayagraj office of ED. Abbas skipped multiple summonses, leading to a lookout notice being issued by ED. The investigation pertains to a case of money laundering against his father Mukhtar Ansari in March 2021.

Abbas was on the run after UP Police registered a case against him for hate speech during the assembly elections in the state this year. He has also been declared an absconder by a special MP-MLA court in an arms license case this August. Later he was granted bail after he surrendered on October 21.

“Abbas Ansari was called by the ED for the second time today and he had come around 2 pm. The questioning lasted till 11 pm after which he was arrested and taken to some unknown place. Can’t tell why they have been arrested and taken away,” said Mohammad Farooq, lawyer of Abbas Ansari.

Don Mukhtar Ansari’s wife Afsa Ansari, MLA son Abbas Ansari and brother-in-law were all declared fugitives by the Police in July. Multiple raids were conducted to trace them including one at their ancestral residence in Ghazipur.

Mukhtar Ansari, the ‘Don’

Mukhtar Ansari is a former MLA from Mau and belongs to Yusufpur in Mohammadabad in the Ghazipur district of UP. Mukhtar Ansari is facing more than 50 criminal charges across the country and not only in Uttar Pradesh. The ex-Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) MLA has a long criminal record, having spent time in prisons in Ropar, Ghazipur, Mau, Agra, and Lucknow on extortion allegations. Ansari is now jailed at the Banda district jail after being moved from Punjab on the orders of the Supreme Court.

Mukhtar Ansari’s gang is listed in Uttar Pradesh’s records as IS (Inter-State) Gang 191, and his assets have been seized under Section 14 A of the Gangster and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act. Mukhtar Ansari, his family, and the gang have lost about Rs 390 crore as a result of Uttar Pradesh police actions.

Imran Khan declares himself ‘Mujibur 2.0’, compares ongoing situation in Pakistan to 1971 when Bangladesh was created, Pak Army cries ‘defamation’

OpIndia Staff
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Imran Khan declares himself ‘Mujibur 2.0’, compares ongoing situation in Pakistan to 1971 when Bangladesh was created, Pak Army cries ‘defamation’

On Friday (November 4), former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan likened himself to the ‘Founding father of Bangladesh’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and alleged that the situation in the country was similar to that of 1971 (which forced the creation of another nation).

He made the remarks at the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore. The development came a day after he was shot by an assailant during the ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’ of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) in the Wazirabad area of Punjab.

Once a blue-eyed boy of the Pakistani establishment, he did not mince any words before attacking the army. “What happened in East Pakistan? The military acted against the party that won the majority and snatched their rights,” Khan was heard as saying.

The ex-Pakistani cricketer was suggesting the role of the Pakistani military in unseating him as the country’s Prime Minister, despite ‘winning’ the people’s mandate. He highlighted how the military intervention in East Pakistan and disregard for people’s choices led to the breakup of the country.

“The Pakistan cricket team went to Bangladesh, 18 years after the 1971 war, to play two exhibition matches against India. We won the matches and the stadium (filled with Bangladeshis) reverberated with the chants of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’,” he claimed.

Imran Khan further alleged, “They did not want to leave us but we committed atrocities, which forced them to hate us. You (The Pakistani army) are doing the same thing now. Subjugating the largest political party (aka PTI) and trying to assassinate its leader.”

Only PTI can keep the country together: Imran Khan

“People are not recognising the group of thieves (referring to the ruling parties, PML-N and PPP) as their leaders, who are now being handed power in Pakistan (by the establishment),” he continued.

Imran Khan claimed, “As such, they are trying to kill me. In this way, Pakistan’s largest party will disintegrate without a leader. The only party that can keep the country intact is PTI.”

The former Pakistani Prime Minister has also blamed three people, namely, Major General Faisal Naseer, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and incumbent PM Shehbaz Sharif, for the assassination attempt against him.

Pakistan army cries foul, accuses Imran Khan of defaming institution

In a statement, the Pakistan army has termed the allegations against Major Naseer and the establishment as ‘baseless’ and ‘irresponsible.’

“Pakistan army prides itself for being an extremely professional and well-disciplined organisation with a robust and highly effective internal accountability system applicable across the board for unlawful acts, if any, committed by uniformed personnel,” it said.

The army emphasised, “However, if the honour, safety and prestige of its rank and file is being tarnished by vested interests through frivolous allegations, the institution will jealousy safeguard its officers and soldiers no matter what. The baseless allegations hurled at the institution/officials today are highly regrettable and strongly condemned.”

“No one will be allowed to defame the institution or its soldiers with impunity. Keeping this in view, the government of Pakistan has been requested to investigate the matter and initiate legal action against those responsible for defamation and false accusations against the institution and its officials without any evidence whatsoever,” the statement concluded.

‘We are ready to deliver oil’: Iranian ambassador to India Dr Iraj Elahi says Iran is ready to ‘increase economic ties with India’

OpIndia Staff
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‘We are ready to deliver oil’: Iranian ambassador to India Dr Iraj Elahi says Iran is ready to ‘increase economic ties with India’

On Friday, 4th November 2022, the Iranian ambassador to India Dr. Iraj Elahi said that Iran is ready to supply oil to India. He said that Iran is willing to take the step despite US sanctions as both countries have close ties. Dr. Iraj Elahi made this remark during an interview with the news agency ANI. His statement has come at a time when India has already raised its oil imports from Russia after the Russia-Ukraine war despite hostile reactions from the west, especially the European Union.

Dr. Iraj Elahi said, “We always express our readiness to increase our economic ties with India. We are ready to deliver oil.” It is notable that recently, the US issued regulations against a global network of businesses, including a petrochemical company with operations in India, that deal in Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals. The Iranian representative strongly negated this claiming that the US oil restrictions are unlawful.

He said, “Sanctions are an obstacle. India and Iran should find a way to solve this problem according to their national interests and not according to illegal US sanctions. We want to sell oil to India and buy what we need from India.” Iran was a major energy provider to India until May 2019, when the country ceased doing so after the US threatened to impose more sanctions.

Under the banner of “The World United Against Terrorism,” the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi organized a condolence prayer session to commemorate the victims of the ISIS terrorist assault in Shah Cheragh, Iran. The condolence prayer was attended by DP Srivastava, a former Indian ambassador to Iran, Trilochan Singh, a former chairman of the National Commissioner for Minorities (NCM), as well as a number of Muslim clerics and scholars. Asserting Iran’s stand on terrorism, Dr. Iraj Elahi said, “Iranian govt has close relations and close cooperation with India against terrorist groups and we hope we enforce that cooperation.”

US sanctions on Iran

The US keeps repeating that Iran’s nuclear program is advancing in defiance of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, that is, the Iran nuclear deal). The US administration has stated that it will continue to swiftly execute its sanctions against Iran’s shipments of oil and petrochemical products.

The US treasury department said in its statement, “These enforcement actions will continue on a regular basis, with an aim to severely restrict Iran’s oil and petrochemical exports. Anyone involved in facilitating these illegal sales and transactions should cease and desist immediately if they wish to avoid U.S. sanctions.”

‘Almost justified arrest’: Indian Express publishes editorial condemning action against Arnab Goswami after 2 years, Republic TV lashes out

OpIndia Staff
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‘Almost justified arrest’: Indian Express publishes editorial condemning action against Arnab Goswami after 2 years, Republic TV lashes out

On the night of 4th November 2022, Republic TV took to Twitter to lash out at Indian Express after they published an editorial that condemned the arrest of Arnab Goswami under the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government two years ago. In The Indian Express editorial, it was written that the “arrest spectacle” of Arnab Goswami was a message to independent media by the then government.

Republic TV tweeted a snippet of that article saying, “Interesting that @IndianExpress has ‘condemned’ action against our Editor-in-Chief 2 years after Uddhav’s govt arrested him as part of the biggest conspiracy against the media. Ironic that the same portal ran stories with blanket source-based quotes from Param Bir’s cops. Has @IndianExpress forgotten it was the one publishing screaming headlines of all fabrications of Uddhav govt against the Republic & our Editor-in-Chief? Standing up for freedom of the press can’t be an occasional, convenient & selective cause, as it’s become for Lutyens Media”.

Republic TV then tweeted reminding Indian Express that while they try to condemn the high handedness of the then Maha Aghadi government against Arnab Goswami and Republic TV staff, they had almost justified the arrest of the editor-in-chief by publishing an article that claimed that the arrest was the first step to justice for the Anvay Naik family.

“We even had to point out to @IndianExpress with a legal notice how they acted as judge, jury & executioner in breach of journalistic ethics & absolute facts while reporting the TRP case. Hypocrisy on press freedom is the embedded rot in Indian media now & calls for introspection. While the truth triumphed in that case, and in every case, a section of the Indian media must do some soul-searching on their role in being the true Fourth Pillar of Indian Democracy– irrespective of ideologies, political views and their notions of what is ‘liberal'”, said Republic TV further.

While Republic TV lashed out at Indian Express, it is pertinent to note that the publication only tangentially condemned the arrest of Arnab Goswami because they had to defend The Wire against the recent raids carried out at the premises of its founding editors and staffer, after they published a fabricated story recently.

The Indian Express essentially says that the raids against The Wire are an intimidatory tactic used to silence independent media. “These are challenging times for the independent press, their work an inalienable part of the citizen’s fundamental right to freedom of expression and the right to know. Across the world, even and especially in settled democracies, fidelity to Constitutional compacts is tested by the weight of popular and populist movements. India is no exception. Governments both at the Centre and in many states have often shown a striking disregard for press freedom”, the IE says. They then start by condemning the arrest of Arnab Goswami simply to justify their tropes in the case of The Wire.

“The police breached an important red line when it entered The Wire‘s newsroom, and seized the electronic devices used by its staffers. In a democracy, a newsroom’s exchanges with the world, many of which are and must remain confidential, the back and forth of honest journalistic practice, need protection. In its effort to distance itself from its own story, The Wire, which to its credit, most recently brought Pegasus to light, breached an important line too. It did not do its job, it blamed everything on a colleague, and, on record, invited the police and the powers in — playing perfectly to the latter’s script”, says IE further.

Interestingly, while calling out The Wire for ‘abdication of responsibility”, the purpose of the editorial by Indian Express was to cast aspersions on the raids against The Wire by insinuating that it was an action to stifle their free speech. They spoke about how their journalistic practice requires “protection”.

However, the Indian Express fails to mention some basic facts. The raids were not for defamation as per some leftist ‘intellectuals’ but for consistently indulging in forgery, cheating, fraud, fabrication, and criminal conspiracy. In fact, there is no civil defamation case against The Wire, Varadarajan, and others involved in the case. They face a criminal case for forgery, fabrication, and hatching a criminal conspiracy. These are serious sections under the IPC and clearly, there has to be an investigation into the source of the fabrication that was perpetuated by The Wire.

It is, therefore, disingenuous of The Indian Express to use the arrest of Arnab Goswami in an attempt to shield The Wire from legitimate and legal police action.

Legal notice by Arnab Goswami to Indian Express

In January 2021, Republic TV had serviced Indian Express with a legal notice asking them to take down their defamatory article. “We are constrained to issue this notice in view of your false news report mischievously titled, “Arnab Goswami paid me $12,000 and Rs 40 lakh to fix ratings: Partho Dasgupta” published and reported on 25 January 2021 in the Indian Express, digital and print media, and other social media platforms. The news report is a part of a mala fide, vicious and vexatious campaign to tarnish the reputation of our client”, the notice had said.

The notice had said:

The news report has alleged that the former BARC CEO, Mr. Partho Dasgupta has stated:“I worked with my team to ensure manipulation of TRP ratings that made Republic TV get number 1 rating. This would have continued from 2017 to 2019. Towards this, in 2017 Arnab Goswami had personally met me at St Regis hotel, Lower Parel and given me 6000 dollars cash for my France and Switzerland family trip…also in 2019 Arnab Goswami had personally met me at St Regis and given me 6000 dollars for my Sweden and Denmark family trip. Also in 2017, Goswami had personally met me at ITC Parel hotel and given me Rs 20 lakh cash… also in 2018 and 2019… Goswami met me at ITC hotel Parel and gave me Rs 10 lakhs each time…”.

The very headline of your news report would mislead any reader into wrongly believing that, as a matter of fact, payments were made by our client, Mr. Goswami to Mr. Partho Dasgupta. Such a headline is squarely deliberate and mischievous. Furthermore, the news report then deliberately omits to mention that the above statement was extracted by the Mumbai police from Mr. Partho Dasgupta under coercion and duress, is inadmissible in law, and has already been denied by Mr. Dasgupta himself. The news report is a vile, hateful, malicious attempt by you and part of a severely prejudicial campaign engineered and implemented by the Indian Express against our clients and aimed at attempting to irreparably destroy their reputation as well as the reputation of the Republic Media network. Through your defamatory news report, you have spun a false narrative of prejudice against our clients in complete breach of ethics, morality, integrity and journalistic duties. The malicious intent is to further your own corporate/commercial interests by defaming our clients.

You have acted as a judge, jury and executioner in breach of all journalistic ethics and against the well-settled law. By concealing material facts, pronouncing our client guilty of TRP manipulation, even though the matter is pending investigation and is also sub judice, your assertions amount to criminal contempt of court and, it appears, that these are intended to further your own commercial and corporate interests through sensationalism at the cost of our clients’ reputation, and presumably to divert attention away from fact that the BARC audit report of July 2020 points towards the guilt of another channel. Your actions are aimed to discredit a senior journalist, run-down a legitimate and established media house and ensure unfair and undue personal gains in the process.

It is pertinent to note that recently, the CBI came out with its chargesheet in which it has categorically stated that Republic TV had not indulged in TRP manipulation.

Anvay Naik case and the arrest of Goswami

On 4th of November 2020, Mumbai police, led by Sachin Vaze (not in jail) had barged into the home of Arnab Goswami and arrested him in the Anvay Naik suicide case. What was interesting is that Arnab Goswami was suddenly arrested in a 2018 abetment to suicide case which was closed and re-opened only recently, unilaterally, without the consent of the court.

The case that the Maharashtra government had chosen as a hill to die on, was an abetment to suicide case from 2018 in which a closure report was filed by the very police that arrested Arnab Goswami for it. OpIndia had done a detailed story at the time detailing how Arnab Goswami was given a clean chit by the Mumbai Police when it had filed a closure report. The report can be read here.

Twitter fires almost all employees in India, major layoffs in the marketing, communications and engineering teams

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter fires almost all employees in India, major layoffs in the marketing, communications and engineering teams

Microblogging social media platform Twitter is undergoing many changes after being acquired by Elon Musk. In a recent development, Twitter laid off most of its employees in India on November 4, 2022. Though the company has laid off employees in its marketing, communication and engineering department in large numbers, other departments of the company are also undergoing significant shuffle and layoffs including the engineering department.

The CEO of Twitter, Parag Agrawal, as well as the CFO and a few other senior executives were fired last week by the world’s richest businessman, Elon Musk, who started his tenure there. Musk has now begun a significant effort to reduce the company’s overall staff. Layoffs in India are a component of the same exercise. The extent of this radical shift in the organizational structure can be gauged by the fact that Twitter has 300 employees in India and almost 250 employees across all the functions were fired by Elon Musk who was anyways not happy with the old management for their allegedly dishonest and untrue appearance during the acquisition deal.

Initially, it was speculated that only employees from certain departments are fired. It later became clear that the layoff covers almost all the departments. The major change that was seen in the process was the complete layoff of the communications team. Besides, employees from sales, marketing, and engineering teams in India are also fired. However, the severance packages of these employees are not disclosed yet.

In an email sent to its employees, Twitter said, “In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce on Friday. We will temporarily close all offices for the safety of employees as well as Twitter systems and customer data. If you are in an office or on your way to an office, please return home.”

However, most of the employees who have been fired have not received information about the same from the company. They learnt this when they reached their offices today morning and found that they are unable to log into their systems, email accounts and Slack. Instead, people who have been retained received ‘survivor’ emails, informing them that they have not been fired. The people who have been laid off will receive communication from the company on their personal email accounts, said a fired employee.

Economic Times quoted a Delhi-based employee who said that her entire team has been fired. “Many from content, partner, curation, communication, sales, and social marketing have been impacted,” she told ET. She complained that they should have been given notice before firing them, which was not done.

The report said that Twitter’s Bengaluru office Benniganahalli’s RMZ Tech Park seemed to be closed, and nobody was seen there except a security guard.

As of December 2021, Twitter employed about 7,500 workers, up from 5,500 the year before.

As the company is reducing the number after Elon Musk acquired it, the now ex-employees took to Twitter to inform that they were part of the lay off process. 26-year-old Yash Agarwal, who was in Public Policy in Delhi, tweeted earlier today that he has been just laid off. He tweeted, “Just got laid off. Bird App, it was an absolute honor, the greatest privilege ever to be a part of this team, this culture.”

The tweet of Yash Agarwal went viral for showing a positive attitude even after losing his job.

Another ex-employee Shifalika Yogi wrote, “It’s been an honor to be a part of this team and this organization. It gives me immense gratitude to be able to call you folks my colleagues and my friends. It’s been an amazing ride.” She held the post of Senior Client Account Manager at Twitter India.

According to a report by Moneycontrol, Musk has a tough hurdle in his attempt to transform the business by boosting sales while navigating the perilous terrain of content moderation and hateful speech. Additionally, the worldwide financial slump has caused a major slowing in the digital advertising business, which has adversely affected the business expansion of internet companies that depend on advertisements, including Twitter, Meta, Alphabet, and Snap.

Elon Musk tweeted, “Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists. Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.”

In an attempt to broaden Twitter’s revenue sources, Musk has recently discussed updating the company’s membership program Twitter Blue with a new $8 monthly cost and charging for verification.

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