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Pakistan: Hindu temple opens its gates to help the flood-affected people in Balochistan

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Hindu temple opens its gates to help the flood-affected people in Balochistan

The ongoing floods in Pakistan have left millions stranded or displaced, and over 1300 dead in its wake. While these floods have exposed the worst of humanity in some cases, it has also brought out the good and positive side of humanity in some other cases. In one such case, a Hindu temple in a little village in Balochistan has shown a ray of light in the darkness by offering food and shelter to roughly 200 to 300 flood-hit individuals, predominantly Muslims.

The Baba Madhodas Mandir in Jalal Khan hamlet in the Kachhi district, perched on high ground, has stayed relatively safe from the floodwaters and now serves as a refuge for flood-affected people during their darkest hours.

Due to inundation in the Nari, Bolan, and Lehri rivers, the settlement was cut off from the rest of the province, leaving the population to fend for themselves.

The local Hindu community welcomed flood victims and their livestock into the Baba Madhodas Mandir, as per a report by the Dawn newspaper.

According to locals, Baba Madhodas was a pre-partition Hindu saint who was revered by both Muslims and Hindus in the region.

The temple, which is frequented by Hindu devotees from all across Balochistan, is made of concrete and extends over a wide region. Since it is located on higher terrain, it was fairly secure from flooding.

At least 200-300 people, predominantly Muslims, and their cattle were provided refuge on the premises and cared for by Hindu families.

The area was first cut off from the rest of the district. The displaced claimed initially they were supplied relief material via helicopter sorties, but once inside the temple, they were fed by the Hindu population.

“In addition to residents, Hindus have sheltered goats and sheep, as well as the other animals,” said Israr Mugheri, a Jalal Khan doctor who has set up a medical camp inside the temple. “Local Hindus made announcements over the loudspeaker, urging Muslims to run to the temple for refuge,” he added.

All who sought refuge there expressed gratitude to the local Hindu community for coming to their rescue and offering food and shelter during this trying time.

UNFPA raises concerns over healthcare facilities in flood-affected Pakistan

The United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) expressed concern about providing healthcare to almost 6,50,000 pregnant women in flood-ravaged Pakistan.

On Friday, the UN Secretary-General landed in Pakistan on a two-day visit to express solidarity with the Pakistani people.

Hunger and illness are on the rise following record floods and heavy monsoons which have directly affected 33 million people.

The United Nations made an appeal for USD 160 million in aid for Pakistan last week. Separately, the United States has announced an extra USD 20 million in flood relief financial assistance.

Delhi govt has stopped supplying sanitary napkins to 30,000 girls under Udaan scheme for last 2.5 years: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi govt has stopped supplying sanitary napkins to 30,000 girls under Udaan scheme for last 2.5 years: Report

Amidst claims of ‘good governance’ by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, it has come to light that the Delhi government’s scheme (named ‘Udaan’) of distributing sanitary pads to 30000 out-of-school girls at ₹1 each has been non-operational for the past 2.5 years.

As per an exclusive report by The Hindu, the Delhi government has been unable to fix a new vendor since March 2020 to continue the supply of sanitary pads. The scheme was launched in April 2019 under which an estimated 30000 economically backward girls were to be given a pack of 6 sanitary pads for ₹6.

Initially, the Kejriwal government joined hands with a private company to facilitate the large-scale supply of pads. However, the contract expired in March 2020 and the scheme has been non-operational since then.

Only 60% of the original target was achieved during the pilot run

Former beneficiaries of the scheme have lamented the government’s apathy towards them. The father of a 15-year-old differently-abled girl child, Yogesh Kumar, informed that his family had not received sanitary pads for a long time.

“I spend around 40% of my salary on her medicines and other expenses. Any assistance from the government is very helpful,” she told The Hindu. This is despite the fact that funds for the scheme were originally provided to the Delhi government by the Centre under the Menstrual Hygiene Scheme (MHS).

The objective was to cover 50000 adolescent girls per month and create awareness about hygienic and safe menstrual health practices. However, the Delhi government could reach only 30000 to 35000 girls on average each month during its pilot run from April 2019 to March 2020.

Low-quality pads and restructuring of the Udaan scheme

Even then, several ASHA workers, who were in charge of the distribution, complained about the low quality of the pads. “Some used to complain about the quality of the pads, but families who could not afford to buy sanitary pads still found them useful and used to ask for them,” remarked an ASHA worker named Lakhvinder Kaur.

Having failed at keeping the Udaan scheme operational for the past 30 months (2.5 years), the Arvind Kejriwal government has now decided to re-launch the scheme in a new avatar.

An official told The Hindu that the scheme is now being structured by the Delhi government. Under the new scheme, a total of 10 sanitary pads will be provided every month to 50,000 out-of-school girls and 20,000 female students of government-run schools.

“Also, the government is planning to give free sanitary pads every month to 6,000 ASHA workers and 11,000 anganwadi workers as part of the scheme,” he said.

Delhi govt had stopped supplying sanitary pads to school girls too

This is not the only scheme of sanitary pad supply that the Delhi govt has discontinued. Earlier, the AAP govt had stopped providing pads to high school girls under the scheme named Kishori Yojana. As a result, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Delhi High Court in May this year seeking directions to resume the scheme. The PIL had said that the Education Department of the Delhi govt had stopped supplying sanitary napkins since January 2021. In July, the High Court directed the Delhi govt to resume supplies under the scheme in July this year.

Maharashtra: Clash between rival Shiv Sena factions in Mumbai, 5 members of Uddhav Thackeray faction arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Clash between rival Shiv Sena factions in Mumbai, 5 members of Uddhav Thackeray faction arrested

A clash broke out between the two rival Shiv Sena factions in Mumbai today over a social media post. Party workers from CM Eknath Shinde faction and former CM Uddhav Thackeray faction were involved in the fight. Mumbai police arrested 5 workers from the Uddhav Thackeray faction and booked 30 others for rioting.

Sunil Shinde, a Shiv Sena leader from the Uddhav Thackeray faction alleged that MLA Sada Sarvankar fired in the air while the scuffle took place outside a police station. The police have booked the MLA as well now along with his son.

MLA Sada Sarvankar, his son Samadhan Sarvankar and six others are booked by the police under sections of the rioting & arms act. The police sources confirmed that the MLA fired outside the police station. However, Sada Sarvankar told while talking to the media that it was just a family dispute.

A reception counter was set up by both the Shinde faction and the Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena in the Dadar area of Mumbai for Ganesh Visarjan. Workers from both groups mocked and fought with each other in these reception rooms. They raised slogans against each other. The argument, which took place on the night of the Ganpati Visarjan procession, turned into a scuffle after a social media post. Shinde group’s member Santosh Telwane had targeted the Shiv Sena by posting a video on Facebook.

In his post, Santosh Telwane wrote, “We will raise our voice and slam the Penguin Sena. Better if they know their place.” Santosh Telwane of the Shinde group was allegedly beaten up by Shiv Sena goons of the Uddhav Thackeray faction on Saturday night. The police also had to resort to mild lathi-charge to disperse the mob at that time.

Santosh Telvane, 49, told the police the incident took place when a mob led by Uddhav faction member Mahesh Sawant attacked him and his supporters. Telvane said in his complaint that Mahesh Sawant and his men threw stones and attacked them with bamboo sticks. He also said that the mob robbed his gold chain worth Rs 2.60 lakh. 

The dispute over the power struggle in the state is still pending in the Supreme Court. Both factions claim that they are the real Shiv Sena and should get the party symbol.

Haryana: Khap Mahapanchayat held in Hisar over the murder of Sonali Phogat, demands CBI probe

OpIndia Staff
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Haryana: Khap Mahapanchayat held in Hisar over the murder of Sonali Phogat, demands CBI probe

On September 11, a Khap Mahapanchayat was held in Hisar where they demanded a CBI inquiry into the death of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sonali Phogat. The Khap representatives have given an ultimatum till September 23 to order the probe by a central agency. They added in case the CBI probe is not ordered, another Khap Mahapanchayat will be held on September 24 and they will decide on a strict course of action.

A team of 15 people including 5 members of Phogat’s family was formed at the Khap Mahapanchayat. Yashodhara, daughter of Sonali Phogat, was also present at the Mahapanchayat. She requested the representatives to support her family’s demand for a CBI probe into the matter to which the representatives agreed.

Notably, on September 9, the Goa Police said in a statement that the senior officials were reviewing the matter and a charge sheet will be filed soon on the objective grounds.

It is further notable that the family members of the BJP leader had sought a CBI probe into the death case several times. Vikar Singh, Sonali Phogat’s nephew, while speaking to news agency ANI said that a plea will be soon filed by the family in Goa High Court to seek a CBI probe. They have already written to Chief Justice of India UU Lalit for the same.

The family is reportedly not satisfied with the probe by Goa Police. They met the Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar and urged him to intervene to bring CBI into the investigation. CM Khattar assured them of the same.

On September 9, a team of Goa Police visited Sant Nagar Resident of the deceased BJP leader located in the Hisar district of Haryana. The team seized three diaries and inspected the bedroom, wardrobe and password-protected locker that belonged to Phogat. The locker was also sealed by the Police.

Death of Sonali Phogat

BJP leader Sonali Phogat was rushed to the hospital after she complained of uneasiness on August 22 where she was declared dead on August 23. Earlier, it was believed she died of a heart attack. However, the post-mortem report revealed she sustained blunt force injury. A murder case was registered based on the report. Earlier, Goa Police also found that she was forcibly drugged by two of her associated who were arrested and named as accused in the alleged murder case.

Jharkhand: Muslim youths brandishing weapons threaten girls to befriend them or else face the consequences: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Muslim youths brandishing weapons threaten girls to befriend them or else face the consequences: Report

Some Muslim youths from the community are threatening Hindu girls and pushing them to befriend them at Project Plus 2 High School in Ormanjhi in the Ranchi district. As per a report by Jagran, the Muslim youth who entered the school brandishing weapons, threatened class IX students to become friends or they would pick them up.

When the school’s professors and several other students protested, they were also threatened with grave consequences. According to the female students, such threats have been made to tribal and other Hindu girls for the past week. The terrified girls told their parents about it, following which, on Saturday, a meeting was organized on the school grounds to discuss the situation. 

The Ormanjhi police station has been informed about the entire situation. The act has sparked outrage among the residents of the neighborhood. Angry locals have filed a formal complaint at Ormanjhi police station against all of the accused, Firdous Ansari, Suhail Ansari, Muzammil Ansari, Taufik Ansari, and Jameel Ansari, all of whom live in Mayapur Chandra.

The accused’s families were also present at the village meeting

A large number of villagers attended the meeting, as did public figures from the region, social workers, school teachers, and members of the management committee. Complete information concerning the incident was obtained from the school’s students present at the meeting.

Prior to the meeting, some public representatives visited the home of a student, questioned her, and confirmed the truth. Some of the accused’s parents had also arrived at the meeting. The villagers demanded that the accused youngsters should also be called to the meeting. The cops from the Ormanjhi police station also arrived after getting the information. 

The locals have requested that the police file an FIR against the offenders. Rajiv Kumar Singh, the in-charge of the police station, stated that legal action will be taken after a case is filed against all.

The matter escalated on the occasion of Teacher’s Day

The issue escalated on September 5, Teacher’s Day, when the accused overturned the generator installed in the school. Then, in front of the school teachers and students, they waved weapons and assaulted some of them.

The students of the school told the gathering that some Mayapur youngsters summon the youths of Kute, Kokdora, Chakla, and Chandwe, and then they hang out in and around the school. They consume drugs and make crude remarks about schoolgirls. Their audacity has grown to the point where they enter the school by climbing the wall, and molest the female students. Protesting students and instructors were also threatened. The school administration committee has access to this information as well. Some of them are students at the same school who have been temporarily expelled.

Tamil Nadu: Conversion racket exposed in a Christian school, warden forces hostel girls to convert, assaults them for refusing

OpIndia Staff
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Tamil Nadu: Conversion racket exposed in a Christian school, warden forces hostel girls to convert, assaults them for refusing

A conversion racket has been exposed in Tamil Nadu where the warden of CSI Monahan Girls Higher Secondary School, Royapettah, allegedly pressured the girls to convert to Christianity. A ruckus erupted when the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) team visited the hostel. Upon learning what was happening in the hostel, NCPCR wrote to the state authorities to initiate an investigation into the matter.

The state unit of NCPCR visited the school and communicated with the girls living in the hostel. The commission found that the girls from poor families live in the hostels and there were forced to convert to Christianity.

In a written complaint to the commission, the girls alleged that they were assaulted and severely tortured. The girls said the hostel warden not only abused them but also kept them hostage and forced them to convert to Christianity.

The conversion racket came to light when an NCPCR team was inspecting hostels linked to the schools across the state. When the team reached the hostel attached to the school, the girls living in the hostel started crying and urged the team members to save them. The team found that there was no registration of the said hostel and no facilities were being provided to the girls living in the hostel.

Furthermore, the entire hostel was unhygienic and the beds were dirty. There were bibles placed next to the beds and photos of Jesus Christ were pasted on the walls of the hall. The hostel administration has also restricted girls from wearing bindi, earrings and flowers in their hair.

The commission wrote a letter to Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu and DGP Silendra Babu and asked them to initiate an inquiry and take appropriate action as per the law against the school for forcibly converting girls to Christianity. The commission also wrote to the state government urging them to evacuate the girls but reports suggest no action has been taken by the state government so far.

Forced conversions are not new for Tamil Nadu schools

This is not the first time reports of forced conversions have come to light from Tamil Nadu. In January 2022, a class 12th student named Lavanya committed suicide after being forced to a school in Tamil Nadu to convert to Christianity. Her family alleged that she was thrashed and tortured by the hostel warden when she refused to convert.

On January 9, Lavanya could not bear the pressure and consumed poison. She was rushed to the hospital where she died on January 19 following 10 days of treatment. The Tamil Nadu allegedly government tried to cover up the matter.

Uttarakhand Waqf Board to demolish unauthorised constructions on its properties in the state

OpIndia Staff
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Uttarakhand Waqf Board to demolish unauthorised constructions on its properties in the state

On Sunday, 11th September 2022, Shadab Shams – the newly elected president of the Uttarakhand Waqf Board – announced that the board plans to destroy unauthorized constructions on its lands across the state as soon as possible.

Shadab Shams was unanimously elected as the president of the 10-member-board on September 7. Shams claims that Waqf properties worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore are being unlawfully occupied throughout Uttarakhand.

To remove these encroachments on its own, the board would need bulldozers. At its meeting on September 15, the board will propose purchasing or renting the bulldozers required to demolish the illegal encroachments on the Waqf property all across the state.

While speaking to a news agency PTI, Shams said, “Thousands of acres of Waqf land is illegally occupied in different parts of the state. We want to free our properties from the clutches of the mafia to make them useful for people they are really meant for.” He said that notices are being served to illegal occupiers, and the crackdown will start any time next week.

He added, “The action will begin with Prem Nagar in Dehradun, where 14 bighas of Wakf land is occupied by Muslims from Aligarh, who came here years ago to work in factories in the Selaqui area and built their houses there. Around 200 families reside on such lands. Who knows who they are? They may be people with dubious antecedents. Uttarakhand is not a Dharamshala.”

Shadab Shams informed that the Waqf Board intends to use the site for progressive purposes such as establishing shelter houses for the underprivileged, coaching institutions, and skill development centers for the youth. He also made it clear that the Waqf board also has important objectives for changing the curriculum at its madrassas, reducing the time spent memorizing religious texts and substituting NCERT book lessons for those hours.

Shadab Shams said, “Uttarakhand Board syllabus will be introduced in about 103 madrassas being run by the Waqf Board and NCERT books will be taught there. We want modern education to be imparted to children at the madrassas as in any other school. We will create a system in our madrassas where only two hours will be allocated for teaching the Quran and the Hadees to students. The rest of the hours will be dedicated to teaching other subjects as in any other school.”

He added, “Why shouldn’t students produced by Madrassas also become doctors and engineers? I want Muslims in the country to follow the example of former president APJ Abdul Kalam and become progressive nationalists rather than fanatics. We want total transparency in our activities.”

The Uttarakhand Waqf Board is now headed by BJP leader Shadab Shams. Shams was elected unopposed as president in the election held at the secretariat on Wednesday. Four opposition members on the 10-member board also agreed on his name. The process of election of the Waqf Board was going on for the last eight months. After the formation of a 10-member board, the president is elected from these. The process of electing the president could not begin earlier due to the Champawat by-election. Later, the date for this was fixed for September 7.

Shams, who was Bharatiya Janata Party’s state spokesperson, had earlier served as vice-chairman of the 15-point program implementation committee. The term of the chairman of the board is five years. After being elected president, Shams, along with other board members, met Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Later, he held discussions with the waqf board members and officials on various topics.

Hong Kong court sends five speech therapists to prison for ‘seditious’ children’s books about sheep fighting with wolves

OpIndia Staff
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Hong Kong court sends five speech therapists to prison for ‘seditious’ children’s books about sheep fighting with wolves

On September 10, a Hong Kong court sentenced five speech therapists to prison for 19 months after they were found guilty of publishing children’s books that were interpreted by the government as ‘seditious’. In the books, sheep try to hold back wolves from their village that according to authorities were symbolizing Hong Kong and the Beijing government. The speech therapists have been identified as Lai Man-ling, Melody Yeung, Sidney Ng, Samuel Chan and Fong Tsz-ho.

On the contrary, the authors argued that the books “chronicled history from the people’s perspective”. The judge, who was handpicked by the government according to the report, concluded that the books were “a brainwashing exercise”.

The five speech therapists were charged under colonial-era sedition law. Notably, it has been used rarely in the city until recently. Interestingly, they were not charged under the national security laws that China had imposed in 2020.

The five convicted speech therapists had already spent more than a year in jail while waiting for the verdict. One of their lawyers was quoted by BBC suggesting they would be released within a month considering the time already served. All of them are between the ages of 25 to 28.

The cartoon book produced as e-books irked the authorities who had interpreted them as if they were explaining the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong to the children. The books were published in form of a set of three books. In one of the books, the story narrated how a village of sheep fought back against a group of wolves who tried to take over their settlement.

During the sentencing on Saturday, the convicted group maintained that the idea behind the books was to help children understand systemic justice. However, Judge Kwok Wai-kin did not believe in the argument and accused them of “sowing in the seed of instability” in the city and across China. He said, “children will be led into the belief that the PRC Government is coming to Hong Kong with the wicked intention of taking away their home and ruining their happy life with no right to do so at all,” referring to China.

It is noteworthy that in 2020 China imposed new national security laws in Hong Kong to crack down on civil liberties. The sentencing of the five authors came following the new laws. Interestingly, critics say the laws imposed by Beijing were designed to squash dissent and weaken the autonomy of Hong Kong. However, China denied the allegations and said the laws were needed to bring stability to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong comes under the “one country, two systems” principle of China and is deemed as a Special Administrative Region of China giving it certain freedoms.

Export of broken rice banned by India: As media and politicians spread propaganda, here is how the move is necessary for India

OpIndia Staff
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Export of broken rice banned by India: As media and politicians spread propaganda, here is how the move is necessary for India

The union government has clarified that the export of broken rice has been banned due to control rising prices in the country, as the domestic industries dependent on broken rice was being badly hit. The clarification from the government came after some opposition leaders and media houses slammed the govt for the export ban, and demanded immediate rollback of the same.

On September 8th, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution changed the export policy of rice from “free” to “prohibited”, banning the export of broken rice. Along with that, an export duty of 20% was imposed on the export of non-Basmati rice. Following this decision, the opposition started to attack the govt by saying that the union govt is preventing the farmers from earning more by taking the benefit of higher international prices.

Haryana Congress leader Bhupinder Hooda called the move ‘anti-farmer’. He said, “Due to such decisions, farmers will not be able to benefit from the high prices of food grains in the international market arising out of the Russia-Ukraine war.” Similarly, TRS working president KT Rama Rao also targeted the union government over the decision, accusing the Modi govt of not having any long-term plan for the country’s food needs.

On 9th September, Telangana Today also published an oped saying that the ‘Ban on export of broken rice exposes Centre’s lack of vision’. The article by S Sandeep Kumar alleged that earlier the centre refused to buy paddy produced in Yasangi Season in Telangana saying more broken rice is obtained from Yasangi paddy, and now the centre has banned the export of broken rice due to rising international demand.

Quoting Indian Farmers Association Consortium Chief Advisor P Chengal Reddy, the article alleged that the decision to ban export of broken rice appears to be a politically motivated decision. It also claimed that there is no specific reasoning for the ban on exports of broken rice. The article on Telangana Today claimed that the centre could have bought rice from the state to sell in the international market, earning foreign exchange.

Amid such criticism, the ministry has issued a clarification and said that it is a misconception that farmers would have earned more due to higher international prices. The ministry said that the farmers have already sold their crop of paddy at MSP, and they are not getting any additional benefit from higher export prices. As traders and exporters have already bought paddy from the farmers, they benefit from higher prices by selling it in the international market, not the farmers.

“This decision has been taken as the Country has to serve its own people first before serving others,” the ministry. Explaining the reasoning for the ban on the export of broken and 20% export duty on non-Basmati rice, the ministry said that the policy has been changed to ensure adequate availability of broken rice for consumption by the domestic poultry industry and for other animal feedstock; and to produce ethanol for successful implementation of EBP (Ethanol Blending Programme) program.

As already explained while announcing the decision, the ministry reiterated that there has been a rise in global demand for broken rice due to the geo-political scenario which has impacted price movement of commodities including those related to animal feed. During the period April to August 2022, the export of broken rice increased by 4178% as compared to the corresponding period in 2019.

From FY 2018-19 to FY 2021-22, the export of total broken rice increased by 319%. The export of broken rice has increased by more than 43 times in the past 4 years (~21.31 Lakh Metric Tonne exported from April-August, 2022 compared to 0.41 LMT in the same period in 2018-19). During the period April to August 2022, the export share of Broken Rice increased to 22.78% as compared to the 1.34% corresponding period of 2019.

Due to an increase in global demand, the domestic price of broken rice, which was around ₹16/Kg in the open market has increased to about ₹22/Kg in States because of exports due to higher international prices. The ministry added that the Poultry sector and animal husbandry farmers were impacted the most due to the price hike of feed ingredients as about 60-65% of inputs cost for poultry feed comes from broken Rice. The surge in prices of feedstock will lead to an inflationary trend in poultry products like Milk, Egg, Meat etc, which will in turn contribute to food inflation.

Apart from use as feed, broken rice is also used to produce ethanol, and adequate availability of ethanol in the country is vital for the success of the Ethanol Blending Programme. As sugar-based feed stocks alone cannot meet the requirements of 1100 crore litres of ethanol for 20% ethanol blending by 2025. The Indian government has allowed the production of grain-based ethanol, and has also allowed the Food Corporation of India to sell rice to ethanol plants for fuel ethanol production.

However, in the current Ethanol Season Year 2021-22, against the contracted quantity of 36 crore litres, only about 16.36 crore litres (till 21.08.2022) have been supplied by distilleries due to low availability of broken rice for ethanol production.

Moreover, the government also said that some countries which have never imported broken rice from India have started to buy it, to further sell it in the international market to exploit the market situation, at the cost of Indian consumers.

Due to these reasons, the export of broken rice has been banned, and a 20% duty on the export of non-Basmati rice has been imposed. However, the ministry clarified that there is no ban or export duty on the export of Basmati Rice and Parboiled rice.

The ministry added that Parboiled Rice and Basmati Rice constitute around 55% of total rice export from India. So, the farmers will continue to get good remunerative prices and dependent/vulnerable countries will have adequate availability of parboiled rice as India has a significant share in the global rice export.

ED stops TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s sister-in-law from flying abroad, summons issued

OpIndia Staff
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ED stops TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s sister-in-law from flying abroad, summons issued

Maneka Gambhir, a relative of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee, was barred from boarding a foreign-bound flight at Kolkata airport by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). According to official sources, Maneka Gambhir has also been summoned to participate in an inquiry into money laundering. Gambhir arrived at the airport at 9 p.m. last night to board a flight to Bangkok.

According to sources, Gambhir was denied immigration clearance on the basis of a Lookout Circular (LoC) issued by the central investigation agency against her. They said that Gambhir was prevented from boarding the plane by immigration officials, who then contacted ED officers, who arrived at the airport, spoke with them, and denied permission to travel.

According to sources, ED officials then summoned her to appear at its office in Kolkata’s Salt Lake region at 11 a.m. on Monday (September 12) for questioning in a money laundering case. This money laundering case is linked to the West Bengal coal scam case.

In this case, the ED has not yet questioned Gambhir. She has already been questioned by the CBI earlier. In August, the Calcutta High Court directed the ED to question Gambhir at its regional office in Kolkata rather than in Delhi. At the same time, HC ruled that no coercive action be taken against Gambhir until the next date of hearing on the subject.

Gambhir had challenged the ED’s summons, claiming that she had been summoned to appear in Delhi on September 5 in connection with the suspected coal scam, and had sought the court to order the agency to conduct interrogation in Kolkata. In this matter, the ED had already questioned West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira.

Although Abhishek Banerjee has been questioned by the ED in both Delhi and Kolkata, Rujira has only been questioned in Kolkata after obtaining a similar judicial relief as Gambhir.

The ED is investigating this case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), with Anup Majee accused of being the ringleader of a coal mining pilferage-related money laundering case involving Eastern Coalfield Limited’s mines in Kunustoria and around Asansol, West Bengal.

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