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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.

Scammers posing as Adar Poonawalla dupe Serum Institute of over Rs 1 Crore: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Scammers posing as Adar Poonawalla dupe Serum Institute of over Rs 1 Crore: Report

Unknown cyber criminals defrauded Pune-based Serum Institute of India, the world’s leading vaccine manufacturer, of Rs 1 crore. According to the authorities, the scammer allegedly identified himself as the company’s CEO, Adar Poonawalla, and sent a WhatsApp message to a director requesting that money be transferred to the accounts of several people. The communication was accepted by the director, and the funds were transferred. The police are looking into the matter.

Senior Inspector Pratap Manekar of Bund garden police station stated that a report was filed against unnamed individuals on Friday based on the complaint by the company’s finance manager Sagar Kittur. The incident occurred between 1.35 p.m. on September 7 and 2.30 p.m. on September 8.

Satish Deshpande, one of SII’s directors, received a WhatsApp message from a person who introduced himself as Adar Poonawalla, according to the report. He instructed Deshpande to transfer the funds to several bank accounts as soon as possible.

A total of 1,01,01,554 rupees was transferred online

Satish Deshpande assumed the communication was from the CEO, according to Police Inspector Mankar. Rs 1,01,01,554 was transferred online as a result of this. Later, it was proven that Adar Poonawalla had never sent such a WhatsApp message. He stated that the individuals engaged in this case are being tracked down.

According to the police, the report was filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing handover of property), and 34 (common intention), as well as sections of the Information Technology Act. Efforts are being made to identify and apprehend the offenders, as well as the senders of WhatsApp messages and the owners of the bank accounts into which the money was deposited, the police said.

The Serum Institute of India (SII) is an Indian biotechnology and biopharmaceutical enterprise that is the world’s largest vaccine maker. SII has a factory near Pune. SII manufactures, among other vaccines, the anti-coronavirus vaccine Covishield. It is the most common Covid-19 vaccine used in India.

Delhi LG approves proposal to initiate CBI probe into the procurement of low-floor buses by AAP government. Here is what we know so far

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi LG approves proposal to initiate CBI probe into the procurement of low-floor buses by AAP government. Here is what we know so far

The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, VK Saxena, has given his nod to a proposal by the Chief Secretary to forward a complaint to the CBI about the alleged scam in the procurement of 1000 low-floor buses by the Delhi government.

In a complaint filed with the LG in June 2022, it was alleged that the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd (DIMTS) was appointed as a bid management consultant for the tender of 1000 low-floor DTC buses to facilitate wrongdoing.

It was also claimed that the Minister of Transport was appointed as Chairman of tendering and procurement committee in a pre-meditated manner. Reportedly, the complaint was then forwarded to the Chief Secretary on July 22.

On August 12, the Chief Secretary submitted his report, pointing out irregularities in the tender and recommended CBI probe into the matter. Delhi LG VK Saxena stated that a probe by the central agency was already underway and approved the clubbing of the existing complaint with the current complaint.

The Background of the case

In July last year, a three-member committee constituted by the Lt Governor of Delhi directed the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to scrap the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) awarded for low-floor buses due to ‘procedural lapses’.

The committee was constituted by then Delhi LG Anil Baijal to probe the alleged scam in the procurement and AMCs of the new fleet of buses. The DTC had floated separate tenders for the purchase and AMC for the buses. Although the initial plan was to award a ₹4265 crore contract for AMC for 1250 buses, the number was reduced to 1000 buses.

The maintenance contract of ₹3412 crores was kept for 1000 buses for a 12-year period. While the purchase order was given to JBM auto and Tata Motors on a 7:3 ratio, it was expected that a large number of companies will bid for maintenance contracts.

However, the committee found that the tender conditions ensured that there were not many bidders for the AMC contract. The committee highlighted that DTC could only procure low-floor CNG buses due to the orders of the Judiciary. It added that there are a few manufacturers of such buses in the market.

The committee emphasised, “If these deviations had become necessary, DTC should have ensured that they did some kind of reasonableness test for the rates of the AMC, especially since the rates were far higher than what they were in earlier contracts. To say that they did not have the expertise is not a good enough response.”

The report concluded, “The committee, prima facie, did not come across any material to impute criminal misconduct attributable to any public official. There were only procedural lapses apparently arising out of a bonafide decision-making process. However, a greater effort for understanding the market and a greater degree of due diligence in assessing the reasonableness of bids was required compared to what seems to have been demonstrated.”

The committee comprised of IAS OP Agarwal, Principal Secretary (Vigilance) KR Meena, and Principal Secretary (Transport) Ashish Kundra.

Kerala: Churches in Kochi join protests against the Adani port project in the state

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: Churches in Kochi join protests against the Adani port project in the state

Kochi churches on Saturday rallied in solidarity with fishermen protesting the development of the Adani port in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The churches of Kochi-Alappuzha Archdiocese made a 17.5-kilometre-long human chain with the help of locals for 30 minutes to resist the Vizhinjam International Transhipment Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport’s construction.

Image: The Print

Jacob G Palackappilly, Deputy Secretary General of Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC), said, “It is the solidarity to the protest at Vizhinjam. Their request is genuine. Fishermen are asking the Kerala Government to stop the construction works of the Vizhinjam port for the time being and make a scientific study on the impact of the port construction.”

“All the Catholic churches in Kerala support the protestors at Vizhinjam. This human chain is in the significance of that support,” he further added.

Protests against the Adani Group’s Vizhinjam International Transhipment Deepwater Multipurpose port in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala have been ongoing for some time, with fishermen leading the charge and numerous communities and pressure groups backing them. The Catholic Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram has now taken the lead with fishermen pressing their demands under their leadership.

The protesters’ main demand is that the construction of Rs 7,525-crore deepwater port and container transhipment facility in Vizhinjam on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram be halted and an environmental impact analysis be conducted.

Six other demands have been made by the protestors: (i) rehabilitating families who have lost their homes due to sea erosion; (ii) effective measures to reduce coastal erosion; (iii) providing financial assistance to fishermen on days when weather warnings are issued; (iv) providing compensation to families of those who have lost their lives in fishing accidents; (v) subsidising kerosene; and (vi) establishing a mechanism to dredge the Muthalappozhi fishing harbour in Anchuthengu in Thiruvananthapuram district.

The Kerala state government has agreed to all of the proposals with the exception of subsidising kerosene and stopping the port’s development. Additionally, it has pledged to help displaced families find housing. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated in the Assembly on August 23, that the demonstration in certain districts appeared to be “orchestrated”. The government, he said, was prepared for negotiations and wanted to allay the worries of the fishing community, but it was unable to agree to stop the project.

Uttar Pradesh: 19-year-old Sarfaraz rapes and impregnates 12-year-old on the pretext of marriage in Sonbhadra, booked under POCSO Act

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: 19-year-old Sarfaraz rapes and impregnates 12-year-old on the pretext of marriage in Sonbhadra, booked under POCSO Act

On September 10, a case of grooming jihad came to light in Uttar Pradesh. Pannuganj Police arrested a 19-year-old man identified as Sarfaraz s/o Mainuddin for allegedly raping and impregnating a 12-year-old minor girl on the pretext of marrying her. In a statement, the police said, “The girl’s uncle alleged that she is eight months pregnant. She is a student of class X and her medical examination has been done. The medical report is awaited. Things would be clear once we get the medical report.”

A Police complaint was filed by the maternal uncle of the victim against the youth on Friday evening. Based on the complaint, an FIR against Sarfaraz was filed under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).

The police officer investigating the case told Indian Express, “The survivor had been staying at her maternal uncle’s home after her mother passed away around seven years back. The accused used to visit the girl’s house to meet her uncle. Around three days back, the survivor complained of stomach ache and she was taken to hospital, where the doctors told her that she is pregnant.”

When her family members asked, the girl shared that the accused had assaulted her sexually multiple times under the pretext of marriage.

According to a Zee News report, the victim’s parents are no more and she lives with her grandparents. Sarfaraz was his uncle’s friend and often visited the house. He lured the victim on the pretext of marriage and raped her several times. As a result, the victim got pregnant but the family did not reveal the information to anyone. However, later the locals in the village came to know about it.

The victim’s family said the family of the accused offered marriage of the two on the condition that the victim would convert and get married as per Islam. However, the victim refused to accept it. A month later the alleged compromise was offered, and the family filed a complaint against Sarfaraz. OpIndia accessed the complaint filed with the Police in which the grandfather of the victim said when he tried to talk to Sarfaraz about the matter, he threatened to kill him.

The Hindu organizations in the region said similar incidents have happened in the past. They added the inspector handling the case was not sensitive about the matter. They demanded justice for the victim and threatened to protest if action was not taken.

The Police said they have arrested the accused and further investigation into the case is underway.

Actor Shreyas Talpade advises Alia Bhatt to stop asking people not to watch her films, says “actor exists only till audiences like them”

OpIndia Staff
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Actor Shreyas Talpade advises Alia Bhatt to stop asking people not to watch her films, says “actor exists only till audiences like them”

On social media, there has been a boycott trend against Bollywood for the past several days. The boycott trend affected even Aamir Khan’s highly anticipated film Lal Singh Chaddha, which ended up as a flop. In such a scenario, several Bollywood personalities like Sunil Shetty, Arjun Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar, and Alia Bhatt have made callous remarks trying to dismiss this boycott trend. Meanwhile, Actor Shreyas Talpade strongly opposed the arrogant statements made by Bollywood actors like Alia Bhatt during the Ganesh Chaturthi special program of News18 Lokmat.

Shreyas Talpade advised actress Alia Bhatt, who has been engaged in controversy owing to statements such as “If you don’t like me, don’t watch me,” to respect the audience. 

When asked what would he wish from Lord Ganpati this year, Shreyas Talpade answered, “I would wish from Lord Ganesha to give wisdom to Bollywood celebrities giving arrogant statements over ‘boycott Bollywood trend’. Right now, I don’t appreciate the statements coming from the Bollywood industry regarding the boycott calls.“ Shreyas on Alia Bhatt’s ‘If you don’t like me, don’t watch me’ statement said, “It is very wrong to say that if you do not like me just do not watch my movies. This way you will end up alienating yourself from the audience. An actor exists only till the audience likes him.”

He also used a metaphor to support his perspective. According to Shreyas Talpade, if your lover or better half is unhappy for some reason, will you tell him/her to leave? Instead, we will try to persuade them not to leave and regain their trust by apologizing for a mistake.

Alia Bhatt’s controversial statement

Alia Bhatt’s recent statement sparked controversy ahead of Brahmastra’s release. During the interview, Alia Bhatt said, “I will not always defend the protest. People who don’t like me don’t watch my film. I can’t do anything for this.”

Brahmastra: A ‘king-sized failure’

Notably, despite all of the hype around it, Karan Johar’s film Brahmastra, which is presently running in theaters, has failed to impress cinema critics and reviewers. Taran Adarsh, a well-known film reviewer, reviewed the film on Twitter on Friday. He dismissed the film entirely, calling it a “king-sized failure.” Adarsh gave the Ayan Mukherjee-directed film a two-star rating, stating that it was ‘poor on the material.’ He said the film was “all gloss, no soul.”

Taran Adarsh was not the only one who was underwhelmed with the film. Many other film critics and media outlets gave the film terrible ratings ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 stars out of 5.

This ‘boycott Bollywood trend’ has affected Aamir Khan’s ‘Laal Singh Singh Chaddha,’ Akshay Kumar’s ‘Raksha Bandhan,’ and Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt’s ‘Brahmastra’ in recent months.

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