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PM Modi inaugurates the first phase of Shri Mahakaleshwar temple corridor in Ujjain

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi inaugurates the first phase of Shri Mahakaleshwar temple corridor in Ujjain

On Tuesday, October 11, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the Mahakaleshwar Temple corridor development project in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain, which has been constructed on the basis of “Shiv Leela” (108 murals and 93 statues illustrating stories relating to Lord Shiva).

The event started with PM Modi performing puja at Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh. Speaking on the occasion later, PM Modi said, “Phase I of the project will help in enriching the experience of pilgrims visiting the temple by providing them with world-class modern amenities.” PM Modi was accompanied by Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

After Varanasi’s Vishwanath temple and Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath shrine, Mahakal temple is the third ‘jyotirlinga’ temple to undergo extensive renovations under the Modi government. The Rs 800-crore Mahakal corridor is four times the size of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, which was inaugurated late last year by the Prime Minister.

Mahakal Maharaj Mandir Parisar Vistar Yojna is a plan for the expansion, beautification, and decongestion of the Mahakaleshwar temple and its adjoining area in the Ujjain district. The redevelopment project is being carried out in two phases. While the first phase of the Mahakal Temple expansion project has been completed as per the schedule and was inaugurated by the Prime Minister today, reports suggest that the entire project would be complete by June 2023.

In fact in January this year, the Madhya Pradesh government vouched for the development of Ujjain’s Mahakal Temple ahead of the Mahashivratri festival on March 1. “The Teerth in Ujjain will be developed in such a way that there will be a feeling of grandeur and divinity. Necessary works will be completed soon to increase the beauty of the city”, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan had tweeted.

The Mahakaleshwar Corridor’s first phase has been completed at a cost of Rs 350 crore while the total cost of the project is around 850 crores. Notably, the state budget of the Mahakal Temple Expansion Project is Rs 421 crores with the rest coming from the centre government. The management will further contribute Rs 21 crore to the project.

According to the plan, the 2.82-hectare Mahakaleshwar temple grounds will be expanded to 47 hectares and developed by the Ujjain district administration over two phases. Rudrasagar Lake, which covers 17 hectares, will be a part of this. The initiative is anticipated to boost city foot traffic from the existing 1.50 crore to about 3 crores annually.

First phases of the Mahakaleshwar Temple expansion project

A visiting plaza with two entrances, or Dwaars, known as the Nandi Dwaar and the Pinaki Dwaar, is one of the features of the first phase of the Vistar Yojna. Up to 20,000 pilgrims can congregate in the tourist plaza at once. Additionally, a plan for traffic flow has been created with consideration for how visitors enter the city and get to the temple.

Vehicle travel into the extended temple area has been restricted, and decentralised parking has been made available at a number of entry points. At the entry plaza, amenities like ticketing kiosks have been installed.

The plaza and the Mahakal temple are connected by a 900-meter pedestrian corridor that is adorned with 108 paintings and 93 statues that tell the tales of Lord Shiva, including the Shiv Vivah, Tripurasur Vadh, Shiv Puran, and Shiv Tandav Swaroop. Along this pedestrian strip, there are 128 convenience stores, restaurants, shops, florists, and other businesses.

On October 9, Sunday, Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje tweeted a video showing the aerial view of ‘Mahakal Lok.’ He wrote that its “design is inspired by Shiv Leela”.

What would be included in the second phase of redevelopment

The eastern and northern fronts of the temple would be expanded during the second phase. Various portions of the city of Ujjain, including Maharajwada, Mahal Gate, Hari Phatak Bridge, Ramghat façade, and Begam Bagh Road, will also be developed.

The complex of the Mahakal temple will be connected to buildings in Maharajwada, and a historical Dharamshala and Kumbh museum will also be constructed.

The second phase is being developed with funding from Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) under the City Investments to Innovate Integrate and Sustainable (CITIIS) programme.

Once the renovation is completed, the temple will have an almost eight-fold increase in space.

Significance of Ujjain’s Mahakal temple for Hindus

Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is a Hindu temple devoted to Shiva and one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, or shrines believed to be Shiva’s most sacred abodes. It is situated in the ancient city of Ujjain in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The temple is located on the banks of the sacred river Kshipra, which was originally built by Lord Brahma in accordance with Hindu mythology.

The idol of Mahakaleshwar faces south which is why it is also known as ‘dakshinamukhi.’ This is a unique characteristic found only in Mahakaleshwar among the 12 Jyotirlingas as the rest all face east. The temple is regarded as one of India’s 18 Maha Shakti Peeths.

According to the chronicles, the presiding god, Shiva in the lingam form is thought to be Swayambhu, which is self-manifested or in other words, deriving Shakti (power) from within itself, and distinct from any other jyotirlingas in the nation which were ritually established and invested with mantra-shakti.

It is believed that there was once a king named Chandrasena who ruled Ujjain and was a Shiva devotee. God manifested himself in Mahakal form and destroyed his adversaries. Shiva agreed to live in the city and become its deity at the request of his devotees.

Interestingly, Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar temple finds a mention in several ancient Indian poetic texts. In fact, Kalidasa described the Mahakal temple in the early part of the Meghadutam (Purva Megha), which was written in the fourth century.

History has it that in the 13th century, during an invasion of Ujjain, Shams-ud-din Iltutmish demolished the temple complex. Shams-ud-din Iltutmish was one of the slaves turned son-in-law of Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who had first attacked the Kashi Vishwanath in the 12th century under Mohammad of Ghori’s orders.

In 1734 CE, Ranoji Shinde, a Maratha general, built the present five-storeyed temple structure. Prior to independence, the temple was managed by the Dev Sthan Trust. Following independence, Ujjain’s municipal corporation assumed control. The temple’s administration is currently in the hands of the Ujjain district collectorate office.

‘Temples are places of exploitation’: AAP Gujarat President Gopal Italia’s hate-filled video from 2018 goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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‘Temples are places of exploitation’: AAP Gujarat President Gopal Italia’s hate-filled video from 2018 goes viral

On October 11, an old hate-filled video from 2018 of Aam Aadmi Party’s Gujarat State President Gopal Italia went viral on social media platforms in which he said that temples are places of exploitation and women should not dance during Kathavachan (preaching sessions that happen at temples and during religious events).

In the video, Gopal Italia was holding a book titled “Mahila Arakshan Avam Bhartiya Samaj”, authored by Harimohan Dhavan and Arun Kumar. The book was launched in 2011. It has no ratings on either Amazon or Goodreads and has only one rating on Flipkart.

In the video, Italia said, “I want to request to your mothers and sisters. Oh, my mothers, sisters and daughters, you will not get anything by going to temples or Kathavachan. These are the places of exploitation. If you want your rights, if you want to rule this country, if you want similar rights, then instead of dancing during Kathavachan, my mothers and sisters, read this book.”

Gopal Italia calls PM Modi ‘neech’

This is not the first time a hate-filled video of Gopal Italia has gone viral on social media. Recently, an undated video of Italia where he called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a ‘Neech’ went viral on social media.

In this video, Gopal Italia said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a ‘neech’ person. I can’t confirm, but I want to ask you, is there any former Prime Minister of the country who has made so many gimmicks while going to cast a vote? This ‘neech’ type of person is doing road shows here. And he is showing how I am making this country C. You better understand the meaning of C. He talks about digital India and rushes to Gujarat from Delhi to cast a vote. This is how he is making country C. So, this ‘neech’ type of person is giving a message to the country about how he is making this country C.”

Earlier in September this year, a video of Italia went viral where he was addressing a rally. In a speech in Gujarati in Dwarka, Italia said, “Now to relieve everyone from Bhagwan Shri Krishna and these demons of BJP, Arvind Kejriwal has come as Arjun…” While this appears like a slip of the tongue, neither Italia nor Arvind Kejriwal has apologised for comparing Shri Krishna to demons.

Again in the same month, he was booked for using derogatory remarks against Gujarat BJP chief CR Patil and Minister Harsh Sanghavi during a rally that was conducted ahead of the Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022.

The Wire’s ’email leak’ to explain their first fabricated story against Amit Malviya also turns out to be fabricated: What Meta’s CISO said

OpIndia Staff
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The Wire’s ’email leak’ to explain their first fabricated story against Amit Malviya also turns out to be fabricated: What Meta’s CISO said

In an article published on October 10, 2022, titled ‘If BJP’s Amit Malviya Reports Your Post, Instagram Will Take It Down – No Questions Asked’, leftist propaganda website ‘The Wire’ alleged that BJP’s Amit Malviya is an all-powerful individual who can get any social media post on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram removed. 

After the article was published, Meta’s head of communications Andy Stone dismissed the story and stated that it is based on fabricated documents. However, The Wire was not letting the story go despite being clearly told that there is no substance to it. They did another story on October 11, where they alleged that the documents they used were not fabricated. To support their wild allegations, The Wire shared a screenshot of an alleged mail by Andy Stone where he was upset that an internal document has been leaked to them.

The Wire claimed this email was sent by Meta’s communications head

Frustrated with another hitjob against their company, Meta’s Chief Information Security Officer had to come out and clear the air that The Wire’s entire reporting is fabricated and based on forged documents. Guy Rosen, Meta’s CISO, shared a thread on Twitter where he detailed how The Wire’s reports don’t hold any water.

Rosen tweeted, “I wanted to set the record straight about two stories run this week by @thewire_in with untrue claims about Meta’s content moderation operations and processes. tl;dr these stories are fabrications.”

In the thread, Rosen shared that both the reports by The Wire are totally incorrect and contained misinformation about their cross-check program. Rosen also went on to share several anomalies in the reports, including email address which isn’t used by Andy Stone, URLs that are not in use, and addresses that aren’t used at their company.

Guy Rosen ended his thread by hoping that The Wire is a victim of some hoax, and is not actually promoting one itself. However, looking at The Wire’s track record of hitjobs, we seriously doubt that they are the victims here.

Amitabh Bachchan recalls when Dhirubhai Ambani tried to get him back on his feet by paying off his debts, old video goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Amitabh Bachchan recalls when Dhirubhai Ambani tried to get him back on his feet by paying off his debts, old video goes viral

October 11, 2022, marks the 80th birthday of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan. Big B, as he is fondly called by his fans, without a doubt India’s biggest superstar, is also one of the richest actors in the country today. However, there was a time when he was facing a severe financial crisis and was drowned in debt up to his neck. 

Today, on the occasion of his birthday, while his fans have turned to Twitter to wish him by sharing numerous memorable dialogues and snippets from his countless blockbusters, another video has gone viral. In that video, the Bollywood legend discusses his difficult times and how Reliance Industries founder Dhirubhai Ambani offered to assist him after he literally turned bankrupt in the 1990s.

The video is reportedly from an event held in 2017 to mark the fortieth anniversary of Reliance Industries Ltd. Speaking during the event, Amitabh Bachchan stated that when Dhirubhai Ambani learned about his financial woes, he advised his son Anil Ambani to help him by giving him some money. Big B recalled the encounter and stated, “The sum of money he was attempting to present me would have ended all my troubles. I got emotional at his generosity. However, I felt that I won’t be able to repay his generosity. By God’s grace, times changed. I began getting work and I paid off all of the loans.”

During the event, the legendary actor recalled yet another encounter with the Reliance founder. “During one of the functions to which all the big businessmen and celebrities were invited, I was also present as the guest of Anil Ambani. While I sat quietly chitchatting with Anil, Dhirubhai called me in front of the guests and said, “This boy had fallen down but got back on his own. I respect him for that.”

Years later during the annual event, Amitabh Bachchan said that those words are still more valuable to him than the amount of wealth he was offered by Dhirubhai Ambani.

Notably, in the 1990s, came Amitabh Bachchan’s career’s biggest setbacks. During those years, Big B’s movies somehow started failing so he launched India’s first entertainment firm, the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd (ABCL) in 1994 with the goal of diversifying into film production, distribution, event management, talent management, and television marketing. The company enjoyed initial popularity as an innovative idea at the time, only to bankrupt Big B in a couple of years.

By 1999, the company was in shambles as it lost millions and Big B’s debts reached an all-time high of Rs 90 crore, compared to his net worth of Rs 60.52 crore in 1999.

Big B has stated in various interviews that creditors began showing up at his house to collect their money back and his renowned bungalow Pratiksha was threatened with seizure. In fact, Canara Bank had even requested permission from the Mumbai High Court to attach Pratiksha in order to recover its dues.

As it is said, all bad things must come to an end, things turned for the better for the actor when Kaun Banega Crorepati came his way. The actor accepted to host the show. The first season of KBC premiered on July 3, 2000, on Star TV and it was Amitabh Bachchan’s first time as a television host. KBC Season 1 was a roaring success.

Alongside, Big B also approached his old friend, colleague and director Yash Chopra, requesting work, and returned to Bollywood with Mohabbatein and the rest is history. He not only paid off all of his liabilities over time, but he also restored his financial security and stardom.

Kerala human sacrifice: Md Shafi, CPM worker Bhagaval Singh, and his wife murder 2 women to attain financial prosperity, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala human sacrifice: Md Shafi, CPM worker Bhagaval Singh, and his wife murder 2 women to attain financial prosperity, arrested

On Tuesday, the Kerala police uncovered a disturbing case of human sacrifice and black magic practised to bring wealth and prosperity to a family. The Kochi city police apprehended three persons suspected of kidnapping and killing two women in Kochi as part of black magic rituals. The three accused persons have been identified as Mohammed Shafi (agent), BhagavalSingh, and his wife Laila.

According to the reports, Shafi is a resident of SRM Road, Ernakulam, while the Singh couple is native of Thiruvalla, and were residing at Elanthoor, Pathanamthitta. The couple confessed to having murdered two women as a part of a witchcraft ritual. The accused justified their actions by saying that the women were murdered for the economic prosperity of their family in the Pathanamthitta district.

Police stated that Mohammed Shafi had persuaded Bhagaval Singh and Laila that performing human sacrifices would bring the family riches and great fortune. He also lured the two victim women and took them to the accused before they were murdered.

The two women who were murdered have been identified as Padmam (52) of the Panchavady colony in Ponnurunni, and Rosily (50) a native of Vadakkencherry in Thrissur district. The two were residing at Kalady in Ernakulam district when the incident happened. Their bodies were severed into parts and buried at Elanthoor in the Pathanamthitta district.

Padmam worked as a lottery dealer, while Rosily worked as a salesgirl. According to police sources, the incident came to the fore while investigating Padmam’s missing case. The investigation into Padmam’s disappearance brought the police to Thiruvalla. Then they discovered Rosily’s case as well. The subsequent investigations in the duo’s case led to the unexpected revelation on October 11.

Padmam’s son Selvaraj had filed a complaint on September 27 that he stopped receiving calls from his mother for several days. “My mother used to call me daily, but when that stopped I panicked. I came to Kerala and searched. When I could not find her, I filed a missing person complaint with the police”, he was quoted. According to Selvaraj, his mother was a lottery seller. The Police discovered her dead body in the Aranmula in the Pathanamthitta district, where the woman’s mobile signal was last traced.

However, the remains of Rosily were also found in the same spot during the investigation. Reports mention that Rosily who worked as a salesgirl had gone missing six months ago. The body parts of the deceased were buried close to trees under the accused Singh’s house at Elanthoor, Pathanamthitta district. The ladies reportedly were tied to the cot firmly and beheaded by Laila after chopping the entire body with a sharp weapon. Later, bodies were destroyed and buried in the nearby area.  

The incident has sent shock waves throughout the entire state. CM Pinarayi Vijayan also condemned the brutal murder and said that the incident has shaken the progressive minds of the state. “Only people with a sick mentality can do such things. Incidents of black magic and sorcery are challenges to a progressive society. We have to create social awareness against such evils while ensuring stringent action against such incidents. People should come forward to bring such social evils before society”, he said.

The CM also added that the Police shall take stringent action against the accused and bring all persons involved in the crime before the law. However, reports mention that one of the accused named Bhagwant Singh is associated with CPI (M). Singh is an active CPI (M) worker and former Branch Secretary of the Communist Party and at present a local committee member. He is also a leader of the farmers’ organization controlled by the party.

Some media reports had mentioned the name f Bhagaval Singh as Bhagawant Singh.

State BJP President K Surendran visited the spot today and noted that this is not the first time that such a horrific incident has happened in the city. “Bhagwant Singh is a practitioner of black magic and an active worker of CPI(M). The police should also investigate the role of radical terror outfits in human sacrifice”, he tweeted.

Surendran also said that Mohammed Shafi who worked as an agent in the entire episode had links with Islamic terrorist organisations.

Iran: Mahsa Amini’s family says they are receiving death threats from the Iranian government amid anti-hijab protests

OpIndia Staff
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Iran: Mahsa Amini’s family says they are receiving death threats from the Iranian government amid anti-hijab protests

On Monday, the family members of the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in Iranian moral police custody three weeks ago, said that they are receiving death threats from the Iranian government for participating in the protest against hijab laws. They are also being warned not to get involved in the demonstrations against the mandatory hijab laws.

“Our family has been under immense pressure from the Islamic Republic’s officials, so we don’t talk to human rights organisations or channels outside of Iran and inform anyone from the outside world about her passing”, said Erfan Mortezai, cousin of Mahsa.

According to the reports, Mortezai is a Peshmerga soldier for Komala, an exiled Iranian Kurdish opposition organization based in Iraq, which Iran accuses of separatism. The Amini family in Iran, on the other hand, has frequently denied backing Kurdish separatist organizations. Mortezai identifies his late cousin as Zhina, the name her loved ones gave her. Her parents were obliged to use Mahsa as her official Iranian name on papers since some Kurdish names are illegal in Iran.

“Zhina was a normal person, she was not political. The regime has been making up scenarios and disinformation – saying that Zhina was in contact with me and I taught her and sent her back to Iran to do a certain activity, when in fact this is completely baseless,” Mortezai said.

He said that regime authorities in Iran had threatened him and Mahsa’s family on Instagram, using bogus identities to warn them that they would be killed if they participated in the protests. “Myself, I have been receiving many threats over the phone, that if they see me in the city, they will kidnap me and kill me,” he added.

Mahsa Amini’s custodial death sparks anti-hijab protests across Iran

According to the reports, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was abducted by the ‘morality police’ in Tehran for not complying with the mandatory hijab laws of the country. Amini who was on a pleasure trip to Tehran had not covered her hair properly in the hijab. She was arrested by the police and then beaten in the police van while being taken to a detention centre, dubbed as a ‘re-education class’ for not conforming to the country’s mandatory hijab rules.

The police took the woman to the police station on Vozara Avenue where already dozens of other women were being held for not following the hijab rules. They beat the women and schooled them about the proper dress rules of the country. Mahsa was brutally beaten and taken to the hospital after she stopped responding in the custody. The doctors at the hospital stated that her heart continued to beat but her brain was no longer functioning. The woman breathed her last three days after the incident.

Her killing sparked massive protests in Iran, with women taking to the streets to up raise their voices against the regime. Several ladies including school-going girls burnt their hijabs in sympathy with the tragedy, while women all throughout the world trimmed their hair in the protest. Protests erupted in dozens of places around the country in the aftermath of her death after which the government retaliated with a harsh crackdown.

However, three weeks after the death of Amini, Iran’s Forensic Organisation revealed a report stating that the woman had died due to illness and not due to blows and beatings given to her in police custody. Earlier, the Police had also tried to cover up the matter claiming that Mahsa was already suffering from a heart problem and that she was never beaten in the custody.

Eknath Shinde faction gets two swords & shield as a poll symbol from the Election Commission of India

OpIndia Staff
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Eknath Shinde faction gets two swords & shield as a poll symbol from the Election Commission of India

In a new move in allocating election insignia to the Shiv Sena’s two factions, the Election Commission of India has granted the Eknath Shinde faction two swords and a shield symbol (Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena). This comes after the Uddhav Thackeray group received Mashaal (flaming flame) as their electoral symbol yesterday.

The bow and arrow symbol of Shiv Sena had previously been frozen by the Election Commission of India as both sections of the party continued to contest it. The Eknath Shinde camp earlier proposed a trumpet, a blunt mace, and a sword as electoral symbols, but all three were rejected, and they were instructed to submit three new ideas to the Election Commission.

The two groups were attempting to finalise their emblems ahead of the Andheri East bypoll, which fell vacant in May 2022 following the death of Shiv Sena leader Ramesh Latke. The elections will take place on November 3rd, later this year.

Shinde had defied Uddhav Thackeray for establishing an “unnatural alliance” with Congress and the NCP. Thackeray was forced to resign as Chief Minister of Maharashtra when more than 40 of the Shiv Sena’s 55 MLAs backed Shinde. Shinde, who was later acknowledged to be the original Shiv Sena leader, won support from 12 of the Shiv Sena’s 18 Lok Sabha members.

On October 5, both Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde engaged in a war of words, with Thackeray calling Eknath Shinde ‘Kattappa‘ and Shinde hitting back. During a speech, Thackeray called Shinde ‘Katappa’ and said, “The only thing I feel bad and angry about is that when I was admitted to the hospital, the people whom I gave the responsibility (of the state) became ‘Katappa’ and betrayed us. They were cutting me and thinking that I will never return from the hospital.”

On this Shinde responded while addressing a huge crowd on Dussehra celebrations, “They call me ‘Katappa’. I want to tell you, that even ‘Katappa’ had self-respect, and was not double standard like you.”

‘Vile woman, committing shirk’: ABP journalist attracts the wrath of Islamists for visiting the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain

OpIndia Staff
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‘Vile woman, committing shirk’: ABP journalist attracts the wrath of Islamists for visiting the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain

ABP journalist Rubika Liyaquat on Tuesday drew the ire of Islamists on Twitter after she posted pictures of her visit to the hallowed Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. 

Earlier today, Ms Liyaquat took to Twitter to share her pictures from a visit to the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain. Sharing her pics from the visit, the ABP News journalist said that the visit to the king of Ujjain had left her spellbound.

Islamists attack Rubika Liyaquat for sharing pictures from her visit to the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain

No sooner did Ms Liyaquat post pictures of her visit to the Mahakaleshwar Temple, a raft of Islamists descended on her timeline, abusing her for “betraying Islam” and committing the sin “shirk”, which means ‘idolatry’ and is strictly proscribed under Islam.

An Islamist who identifies herself as a journalist responded to Rubina’s tweet, saying: “No religion is a joke! In this way you are insulting both religions, it is right to respect every religion but it is wrong to do paganism by calling yourself a Muslim. Do not insult any form of God to improve your image.”

Rubika Liyaquat
Source: Twitter

Another Islamist who seemed profoundly aggrieved by Rubina’s visit to Mahakaleshwar Temple said that praying to anyone except Allah is shirk and those who commit it are consigned to hell.

Rubika Liyaquat
Source: Twitter

Many others attacked her for visiting a Hindu temple even though she is a Muslim and a follower of Islam which prohibits idol worshipping. 

Yet another Islamist declared that Rubika is a Hindu and warned her that she should not call herself a Muslim. Citing Sharia and Islam, the social media user said those who commit shirk cease to be Muslim.

Rubika was also called a ‘kaafir’ who would project herself as a Muslim to further the ‘Hindutva agenda on TV’.

But some Islamists tried to veil their attack against Rubika by linking it to the Garba controversy recently after Bajrang Dal members had stopped Muslims feigning as Hindus from attending the religious functions.

Peace Party’s Shadab Chauhan, known for voicing fringe opinions on social media, targeted Rubika Liyaquat for her visit to the Mahakelshwar Temple. “Nowadays, the Bajrang Dal members are mulling over banning the entry of Muslims at Garba events, so how did they let you inside? Do you have a pact with them? Well, whatever it is, it is your constitutional right to worship whomever you want to, and I have no comment to make.”

Visiting Hindu temples with a sense of respect and admiration and entering Garba venues under fake aliases are two disparate things that folks like Shadab are either incapable of comprehending or deliberately choose to conflate in their bid to discredit modernist Muslims.

Bajrang Dal members objected to the entry of those Muslims who assumed fake aliases and ulterior motives to cause disruptions at Garba programmes, an intimately religious function for Hindus. By drawing false equivalences to Rubika’s visit to Mahakaleshwar Temple, which reflected the ABP News anchor’s deep reverence and high regard for the Hindu God, Islamists like Shadab try to draw a veil over the lumpen elements who visit Garba pandals, not out of any respect or with the aim of worshipping the Hindu deity, but to ogle at Hindu women and girls and make lewd remarks against them.

Facebook’s parent company Meta designated as a ‘terrorist organisation’ by the Russian govt

OpIndia Staff
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Facebook’s parent company Meta designated as a ‘terrorist organisation’ by the Russian govt

Reports claim that Meta Platforms Inc. of the United States has been added to Rosfinmonitoring’s list of “terrorists and extremists” in Russia. After Meta was convicted guilty of “extremist activity” in Russia in March, a Moscow court rejected its appeal in June. At the time, Meta’s attorney testified in court that Meta was not involved in extremist activities and was opposed to Russophobia.

Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O) was convicted guilty of “extremist activity” by a Moscow court in March this year. The Russian state prosecutors’ petition to prohibit Meta’s operations on Russian soil was upheld by Moscow’s Tverskoi District Court. The agency’s case, according to Meta’s attorneys, was unjustified and illegitimate. The business denied engaging in extreme behaviour. According to company executives, Meta opposes both demands for violence and racial prejudice.

The social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger are all owned by Meta. Facebook and Instagram, two of Meta’s most prominent platforms, are already prohibited in Russia, and the court later stated that the decision would not apply to WhatsApp.

Instagram was blocked after Meta claimed that it would permit social media users in Ukraine to post messages calling for violence against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the troops Moscow sent into Ukraine on February 24. 

In March an internal email accessed by Reuters also said that the Meta would allow posts that call for the death of Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko only if they did not contain other targets or discuss methods or locations.

The temporary policy changes on calls for violence against Russian soldiers were to apply in countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine, reports Reuters.

Tensions between Moscow and foreign internet platforms have increased as a result of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. Previously, Anton Gorelkin, a member of the State Duma’s information and communications committee in Russia, stated that Moscow may reopen the Russian market to Meta, but only on its terms. The basic prerequisite, according to Gorelkin, is that Meta complies with a Russian regulation requiring international firms with more than 500,000 daily users to create Russian representative offices. Gorelkin had fiercely criticised foreign businesses while promoting domestic alternatives.

Next Nobel Prize in maths, tough competition to Priyanka Chaturvedi: Netizens mock AAP’s Raghav Chadha over ‘debt per person in Gujarat’ calculations

OpIndia Staff
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Next Nobel Prize in maths, tough competition to Priyanka Chaturvedi: Netizens mock AAP’s Raghav Chadha over ‘debt per person in Gujarat’ calculations

Do you know, according to Aam Aadmi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Ragha Chadha, who happens to be a Chartered Accountant by profession before joining politics, every person in Gujarat has a debt of Rs 58,000 crores, and the Gujarat government spends Rs 38,000 crores on every person annually. These two bizarre figures were thrown at the public during Chadha’s two brief media interactions on October 11 during his visit to Amreli district and Bhavnagar district in Gujarat.

At Amreli, he said, “I am a Chartered Accountant by profession. I was looking at some figures. I am feeling very sad while telling you that the Gujarat government is in debt of Rs 3.5 lakh crore because of the corrupt policies of a corrupt leader. It is said, and it might be true, that the people of Gujarat if they touch a stone, it turns into gold. The people of Gujarat are the best at running businesses. The business is in the air of Gujarat. People perfectly understand businesses here. They know how to convert a loss-making business into a profit-making business.”

He added, “However, the corrupt leaders of Gujarat have turned a profit-making government into a loss-making government. There is a debt of Rs 3.5 lakh crore on the people of Gujarat. The total population of Gujarat is 6.5 crores. If you calculate, every person has a debt of 58,000 crores. Every person has a debt of Rs 58,000 crores. If a child takes birth in Gujarat, there is a debt of Rs 58,000 crores on his or her head from day one.”

Now, for once, let’s forget the fact that the debt liability is of the state and not of the public. If we divide 3.5 lakh crores (Rs 35,00,00,00,00,000) with 6.5 crores (6,50,00,000) then we get Rs 53,846, not Rs 58,000 crores as Chadha claimed. If every person supposedly had 58,000 crores debt, Gujarat government would have ended up with Rs 3,77,00,000 lakh crores (3,77,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000) worth of debt.

At Bhavnagar, he said, “The annual budget of Gujarat government is Rs 2.5 lakh crores. That means the Gujarat government spends 2.5 lakh crores on infrastructure development. I want to ask the people of Bhavnagar if a share of the budget reached them. The total population of Gujarat is 6.5 crores. The annual budget is Rs 2.5 lakh crores. That means the government spends Rs 38,000 on every person. Every person gets facilities worth Rs 38,000 crores every year. This is what the government gives you theoretically on paper. I want to ask you did those Rs 38,000 crores reach you. No one got it.”

Initially, he did not use ‘crores’ with Rs 38,000, but later, he added ‘crores’ to it and messed up his calculations again. If we calculate, the government, according to Chadha’s figures, spends Rs 38,461 every year on every person in Gujarat and not Rs 38,000 crores that he has claimed in his statement. One may wonder how much Gujarat Government’s budget would have been if it started to spend Rs 38,000 crores every year on every person living in Gujarat!

Reactions from netizens over the goof-up

Following Chadha’s amazing calculations, netizens had a lot of fun at his expense.

Twitter user BefittingFacts said, “AAP MP Raghav Chadha says that every Gujarati has debt of ₹58000 Crore. He didn’t stop there, he also said that if a new baby is born in Gujarat, he borns with debt of ₹58000 Crore. Total debt on Gujarat is around ₹3.5 lakh crore around. Priyanka Chaturvedi didi got competition.(sic)”

Twitter user PoliticalKida shared a video of Chadha announcing he is a chartered accountant followed by the goof-up. He called it the “Gems of AAP”.

Another popular Twitter user Being_Humor rooted for a Nobel in Mathematics for Raghav Chadha while quoting another Twitter user Naman who had shared the video.

AAP has a history of messed-up calculations

This is not the first time an Aam Aadmi Party leader has come up with bizarre figures. Raghav Chadha, in May 2021, took to social media to give logic-defying calculations with respect to cryogenic oxygen tanks. In a video, he claimed that there are 1631 cryogenic tanks in India. He said that the total production of liquid medical oxygen is 8,500 MT. He then claimed that these tankers have the actual capacity to carry 23,000 MT of oxygen but are used only for ferrying 8,500 MT of liquid medical oxygen.

A Twitter user pointed out many of these tankers ply empty to the source of oxygen to be refilled before they can ply again with oxygen to the required destination. Moreover, many of these tankers take over 24 hours for the one-way journey because of the long distances they have to cover. It is not that the tankers can teleport in an instant. Some even pointed out that if all tankers were to ply at the same time with oxygen, with none returning to the source for refilling, there would be a huge lag in deliveries.

Not to forget, in 2014, Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the price of a ticket for a Bullet Train would be Rs 75,000 for a one-side trip.

Kejriwal is an IIT graduate and worked with the Income Tax department before becoming a full-time activist, followed by a full-time politician.

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