Home Blog Page 2883

‘He made me wear sarees and put hot wax on me’: Bigg Boss fame designer Rohit Verma reveals his uncle raped him when he was 8

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘He made me wear sarees and put hot wax on me’: Bigg Boss fame designer Rohit Verma reveals his uncle raped him when he was 8

Bigg Boss star and renowned designer Rohit Verma has disclosed hitherto undisclosed secrets about his past. He recently appeared on RJ Siddharth Kanan’s talk program, where he opened up about his childhood, love, betrayal, and other topics. Rohit said that his uncle, who would frequently visit their house, raped him when he was a young boy. Rohit also described the agony he had suffered and discussed the days when he had to work as a prostitute.

“I am from a very good family. But my family members have very old ideas. Even though I was born into a good family, I was sexually abused in my childhood by my real uncle. I was raped by my uncle at the age of eight”, said Verma at the chat show.

“He used to make me wear a sari, put hot wax on my body and do horrific abusive acts. All this went on for three to four years. I never told my parents about this because of fear”, added the designer.

In the open interview, Rohit also described his years as a prostitute in Mumbai, when he would dress in female wear. He admitted that he purchased himself fancy bags and designing materials after being used once or twice by people. He added that he doesn’t regret the phase since he needed money back then.

Apart from this, Rohit also opened several other secrets. He said that he was dating an actor and they both lived in a live-in relationship. “His behavior with them changed when he started getting more work”, he said.

Rohit Verma is a renowned fashion designer. He has designed cinematic costumes for several films, as well as celebrities for fashion shows and collection launches. In 2009, he rose to prominence after appearing in the television reality show Bigg Boss 3.

In addition to his career as a fashion designer, he is well-known for his appearances in films such as Fashion (2008 film), Style Strip (2010), and Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai. Rohit Verma made his Bollywood film debut as a costume designer in the film Main Rony Aur Jony (2007) and later appeared as Viren in the film Fashion (2008 film).

‘If Rahul Gandhi has regret over partition, he should work towards Akhand Bharat’: Himanta Biswa Sarma takes a dig at Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘If Rahul Gandhi has regret over partition, he should work towards Akhand Bharat’: Himanta Biswa Sarma takes a dig at Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra

Before the Congress Party launched its ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ today from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma mocked the campaign, saying that the party should take its campaign to Pakistan. The Chief Minister stated that India was partitioned in 1947 under Congress and that it is pointless to begin the India Jodo Yatra.

The Assam CM made the comments on Tuesday in Kokrajhar, where a cabinet meeting of the Assam government was held. It is notable that after coming to power, Himanta Biswa Sarma govt had decided to hold cabinet meetings once every week, one of the meetings in every month is held at a district headquarter, instead of Guwahati. As per that, yesterday’s meeting was held at Kokrajhar, which is also the headquarters of Bodoland Territorial Area District.

When asked about the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ launched by the Congress party, Sarma stated, “During the Congress in 1947, India was split. If Rahul Gandhi wishes to begin the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, he should do so in Pakistan. What is the use of undertaking this Yatra in India? India is already united. I would want to propose to Rahul Gandhi that India is very much united and that he should do the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Pakistan.” 

“If Rahul Gandhi has any remorse for the mess up his maternal grandfather (Jawaharlal Nehru) did, and the partition shouldn’t have happened then, then he should start the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Pakistan and unite Pakistan and Bangladesh with India,” Sarma went on to say. He said that if Rahul Gandhi has any regret for the partition, he should work toward Akhand Bharat. The CM said that India is already integrated from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Silchar to Saurashtra, and there is no need for any integration campaign.

Himanta Biswa Sarma also took to Twitter to criticise the Congress party over the campaign, saying that the “Bharat Jodo Yatra is a Comedy of the Century”. He added, “The Bharat that we live in today is resilient, robust & united. The only time India was divided was in 1947 because Congress agreed for it. Rahul Gandhi ji should go to Pakistan for ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ if they want unification.”

BJP-Congress engage in a war of words

The BJP and the Congress have begun a verbal war over Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra.’ Both parties’ leaders are leaving quivering remarks over the other’s party. In this sequence, Tamil Nadu BJP head Annamalai has mocked Rahul Gandhi for his ‘Jodo India’ voyage rather than his ‘Quit India’ trek. He said that Rahul Gandhi will see how PM Modi has altered the country in eight years as he goes through the country on this excursion.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot attacked Himanta Biswa Sarma, calling him an “opportunist” who deserted the Congress and should not be taken seriously. “It’s a different story now that he’s become Chief Minister,” he added.

The ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ would commence in Kanyakumari and conclude in Jammu and Kashmir

Prior to Mission 2024, Congress began attempting to revitalize the party through Pad Yatra. The Congress Party is launching the Bharat Jodo Yatra under this banner. The ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ campaign will begin in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, and end in Jammu and Kashmir. It will cover 3,570 kilometers across 12 states and two union territories over the course of 150 days.

Jammu and Kashmir: Govt official Abdul Rashid suspended for hurting religious sentiments, had used beef jibes to mock eating habits of Hindus

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Jammu and Kashmir: Govt official Abdul Rashid suspended for hurting religious sentiments, had used beef jibes to mock eating habits of Hindus

On September 6, District Magistrate Rajouri suspended Assistant Commissioner Panchayat Abdul Rashid Kholi (JKAS) for hurting the religious sentiments of a Hindu colleague by using cow jibes after he refused to eat meat.

In the order issued by DM Vikas Kundal, it was mentioned that his office received a complaint against Rashid where the complainant alleged he had made some objectionable remarks about a particular religion during a lunch at a hotel during office hours where four other subordinates were also present.

The order read, “[The] conduct of the officer is not only a violation of service conduct rules but also an issue of hurting religious sentiments of other community and has the potential of creating Law and Order problem within the district. Therefore, keeping in view of the above facts, Mr Abdul Rashid Kholi AC Panchayat is hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect.”

A committee has been formed under Pawan Parihar, ADDC Rajouri, to enquire into the matter. The committee will report back in 15 days to the DM.

‘If you eat beef (Cow meat), you will become holy for one year’

A complaint was filed by Secretary Panchayat Sanjeet Sharma to the DM where he had a complaint about Abdul Rashid and informed DM about the derogatory remarks he had passed when Sharma refused to eat meat. He mentioned in the complaint that the group was out to have lunch during office hours at Hotel Blue Star located in Muradpur. Zaheer Malik (Secretary Panchayat), Utish Ashok(Secretary Panchayat), and Tahir Mirza, MIS Operator, were also present at lunch, along with Sharma and Kholi.

When they ordered food, four of them ordered non-vegetarian food of their choice, but Sharma being a vegetarian, ordered vegetarian food. Rashid noticed that Sharma did not order anything non-vegetarian and asked him the reason, to which Sharma informed him that he was vegetarian and did not like non-vegetarian food.

Sharma’s refusal to eat food irked AC Panchayat Rajouri, who used “objectionable and un-parliamentary language against Hindu religion”. Sharma said, “By quoting VEDAS, He said If you eat eggs, you will become holy(Pure) for one day, If you eat chicken you will become holy for seven days, If you eat mutton you will become holy for one Month, but I was shocked when he told me that if you eat beef (Cow meat), you will become holy for one year. When I objected to his words, he repeatedly told me it’s a fact which is written in your religious scriptures. He said you didn’t read them.”

‘Read your religious scriptures… you will convert to Islam.’

Sharma mentioned that the other colleagues present at the table did not intervene. To his shock, Kholi further asked him to read the religious scriptures of Hinduism, and he would convert to Islam. He said, “The others colleagues were mute spectators. He said to go through your religious scriptures by reading them, you will convert to Islam. These objectionable comments on religious sanctity shocked me, which was unbearable and unacceptable at any cost.”

Sharma tried his level best and objected to the remarks as much as he could, but Kohli allegedly did not stop and continued to insult Hinduism and Hindus. He added that Kholi’s remarks for a specific religion despite being on a respectable post “speaks volumes of his agenda”.

Rashid threatened Sharma with removing him from his post

Sharma added that when he objected to the remarks, Rashid threatened that he would quash him from his post. He said, “Being a subordinate of him, I did tell you to stop such remarks, then he threatened me of quashing from the post. Sir, is the services of an employee being ruled as Islamic rule or by laws framed by Indian constitution? I wondered how an officer can force someone to convert and do against the principles of one’s religion.”

Sharma said he would resign from his post but would not convert and eat whatever he decided to eat. He also requested DM to take appropriate legal action against Rashid as per the service rules and the law of the land.

Robert Vadra indicates entry into politics as Congress starts Bharat Jodo Yatra, BJP calls it Parivar Jodo

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Robert Vadra indicates entry into politics as Congress starts Bharat Jodo Yatra, BJP calls it Parivar Jodo

On Wednesday, as Congress party started its ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Kanyakumari, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi’s husband and Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra indicated the beginning of his political career. The businessman took to Twitter today to promote a party banner of the campaign featuring his image along with the other Congress leadership on it.

“Bharat Jodo”, Varda tweeted on September 7 sharing the posters of the campaign showcasing his picture with late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, incumbent party president Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Vadra, and Rahul Gandhi. According to the reports, this is a month after Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra had said that he was ready to be a part of politics.

“If people wish I should represent them and if I can bring some change for them, then I will take this step. By doing so, I will be able to serve people in a major way”, Vadra had said in April after offering prayers at the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain.

BJP slammed Congress after Robert Vadra posted the tweet hinting at his entry at the party. Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonwala said, “Congress’ Bharat Jodo is actually only PARIVAR JODO AND BRASHTACHAR JODO.’ ‘It’s not about Bharat Jodo but ‘Parivar ko Jodo’. It’s not ‘Pad Yatra’ but a yatra for a ‘pad’ (position)’, Poonawala said while talking to the media.

This comes amid the wave of resignations that the Congress party has faced in the past few days. Recently, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned from the Congress exposing the party in his 5-page resignation letter. He stated that experienced leaders were marginalized by the high command in favor of a new clique of inexperienced sycophants and that only the selective ones were allowed to handle the party’s business.

Many other Congress leaders including Jaiveer Shergill, Kapil Sibal, Sunil Jakhar, RPN Singh, Ashwani Kumar, Hardik Patel, GM Saroori, Haji Abdul Rashid, Mohd Amin Bhat, Gulzar Ahmad Wani, and Choudhary Mohd Akram have also resigned from the party.

The Congress ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra,’ described as an effort to unite and build the nation, will be formally launched today by former Congress President Rahul Gandhi. It would begin in Kanyakumari, go across 12 states, and end in Jammu and Kashmir, traversing over 3,500 kilometers in 150 days. It will pass through Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Nilambur, Mysuru, Bellary, Raichur, Vikarabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota, Dausa, Alwar, Bulandshahr, Delhi, Ambala, Pathankot, Jammu, and end in Srinagar.

Reports mention that a total of 118 Congress leaders are supposed to walk over the entire route with Gandhi in the Yatra. The participants are likely to walk 22-23 km daily with the march moving in two batches from 7 am to 10:30 am and from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm. The party also plans to organize similar small yatras of 50 km or 100 km in each state. This is being interpreted as another attempt by Congress to engage with the masses and promote Rahul Gandhi as a rival to Prime Minister Modi in the 2024 elections.

Mumbai: Arthur Road jail authorities deny Uddhav Thackeray permission to meet Sanjay Raut

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Mumbai: Arthur Road jail authorities deny Uddhav Thackeray permission to meet Sanjay Raut

The Arthur Road jail authorities denied former Maharashtra chief minister and leader of a fraction of the Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray permission to meet Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut who is currently in judicial custody in connection with the Patra Chawl case. According to a report by the Times of India, Thackeray had sought permission to meet Raut. The jail authorities have refused to give permission.

Raut was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on August 1 under the PMLA Act. Raut has been arrested by the ED in connection with the Patra Chawl scam case. His judicial custody has been extended for 14 days on September 5. As such, Raut will now remain in the custody till September 19.

While denying permission to Uddhav Thackeray to meet Sanjay Raut, the jail administration has said that “Uddhav Thackeray should seek permission from the court in this regard if he wants to meet Sanjay Raut”. The jail administration has made it clear that Uddhav Thackeray can meet Sanjay Raut in the same way that ordinary prisoners meet outside visitors.

Uddhav Thackeray had sought permission to meet Raut in the jailor’s room. However, it has been informed by the jail administration that such special permission cannot be given, and Thackeray can meet Raut like other ordinary prisoners.

According to reports, Thackeray had not given any written request to the jail administration. The jail administration had received a call from a person from Uddhav Thackeray who told them that Thackeray wanted to meet Sanjay Raut in the SP’s room. However, the jail administration replied that if Uddhav Thackeray wants to meet Sanjay Raut, he will have to meet Raut like a common man and he will have to take permission from the court to make this visit.

It is notable that according to the jail manual, Only people with blood relations can meet a prisoner after permission from the prison administration. If someone else wants to meet the prisoner, he has to take permission from the court.

Delhi: AAP govt announces blanket ban on firecrackers ahead of Diwali, but no action plan yet on the stubble burning issue

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi: AAP govt announces blanket ban on firecrackers ahead of Diwali, but no action plan yet on the stubble burning issue

In what it called a move to combat rising pollution levels in the city, the Delhi government prohibited the manufacture, storage, sale, and use of all sorts of firecrackers on Wednesday.

The restriction will be in effect until January 1, 2023. This time, online sales and deliveries of firecrackers would also be banned in Delhi.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai, informed about the firecracker production, sale, and use ban through his tweets.

“There will also be a prohibition on the online sale/delivery of firecrackers in Delhi this time.” This restriction will be in effect until January 1, 2023. “An action plan will be developed in collaboration with Delhi Police, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), and the Revenue Department to strictly enforce the prohibition,” Rai tweeted.

Firecracker ban in Delhi for the fourth year in a row

The Delhi administration has banned firecrackers for the fourth time on the occasion of the Hindu festival Diwali. The government claims that because of the firecrackers, the pollution level in Delhi rises, causing health difficulties for the population.

Surprisingly, the Delhi government took almost no action to combat the chronic issue of stubble burning emanating from neighboring states, particularly in Punjab, which is clearly the primary source of pollution in the national capital. Aam Aadmi Party, which is now in power in Punjab has instead of chalking out a plan to help farmers of Punjab with the stubble issue, has outright banned sales of firecrackers which are not the primary source of pollution. 

Last year, despite the ban on sales and use of firecrackers, the pollution levels went up dramatically in the Delhi NCR region. Moreover, Delhi’s average AQI for November 2021 stood in the ‘severe’ category. The deterioration for the quality of weather in and around Delhi is largely attributable to the chronic stubble burning issue.

A study conducted by IIT Delhi revealed that biomass burning contributes the most to the air pollution of the national capital, and the pollutants from Diwali firecrackers don’t even remain in the air for a day. According to the research, biomass burning during winter includes stubble burning and burning of firewood etc for heat.

The title of the study ‘Chemical speciation and source apportionment of ambient PM2.5 in New Delhi before, during, and after the Diwali fireworks’ and published in Science Direct in Volume 13 Issue 6 (June 2022) of the Atmospheric Pollution Research journal of Elsevier BV stated that biomass burning was the principal contributors to pollution in Delhi than the firecrackers burst during Diwali.

‘Pappu’ and ‘Paltu’ of Indian politics come together, will they be able to ensure opposition unity before 2024 elections?

अजीत झा
-
0
‘Pappu’ and ‘Paltu’ of Indian politics come together, will they be able to ensure opposition unity before 2024 elections?

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday, September 5, 2022, weeks after switching sides yet again. Nitish Kumar has changed political allegiance so many times that opponents call him a ‘turncoat’ or ‘Paltu’ in Hindi. On the other hand, the political image of the other politician, known as ‘Pappu’, is such that a part-time actress like Swara Bhaskar has to come forward and say, ‘I have met him. He is not Pappu.’

In this meeting, both leaders conversed for about 50 minutes. The media reporting of this meeting focussed on the opposition unity, a fantasy already discussed too much. Nitish Kumar, who recently joined hands with Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar, had earlier met Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. He also met HD Kumaraswamy of Karnataka and is planning to meet Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. In near future, he is planning to meet all those regional leaders whose political career is endangered because of the ever-increasing popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It is also being said that before the elections, some of the parties born out of the disintegration of the Janata Parivar may also merge together. The logic given for this probable merger is that in most such parties, there is a second generation of the respective families leading the parties. These second-generation leaders are in search of proper political space in their respective states. Their ambitions for national-level politics don’t clash with each other in the way those of their parents did have, causing a split in the Janata Parivar. There have been so many alliances in the Indian polity which went on to rule despite the inherent mismatch in the parties sharing the power in those alliances. To make all of it appear logical and justified, the socialist leaders in India are blessed with a formula given by Ram Manohar Lohiya which is ‘Join, fight and break’.

The so-called socialist leaders in India are trying for a united opposition ahead of the 2024 general elections. At the same time, Rahul Gandhi is starting the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ on 7th September 2022. Interestingly, this Yatra is being compared with a Yatra by another socialist leader and former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar despite the fact that only the name ‘Bharat’ is common in these two Yatras. The motives and leadership of these two Yatras mark great differences.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra

This Yatra starts on 7th September 2022 from Kanyakumari. The 150-days-long Yatra will pass through 12 states and 2 union territories in the country. The 3500-kilometre-long Yatra is scheduled to conclude in Jammu and Kashmir. The three primary motives behind the tour by the Congress leader are fighting the economic imbalance that allegedly grew under the Modi regime, combating the increasing crimes and discrimination in the society and fighting the alleged misuse of the central agencies.

The need to connect India

It is not new for Congress to defame India for its political gains. Be it an agreement with China’s ruling party or secretly meeting its envoys or asking for proof of the valor of the Indian Army in the fight against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, Congress continuously demonstrated this part of its character. Once again, by naming its political campaign ‘Bharat Jodo’, the party has shown the same mindset.

Despite a pandemic like Covid-19, India became the fifth largest economy in the world. The Naxal violence in the country has come down. Terrorists are constantly being eliminated by the security forces. There has been no major terror attack after the Mumbai terror attacks also known as the attacks of 26/11. India is becoming self-reliant in the defense sector as well. Facilities like cooking gas, toilets, tap water, etc. are reaching the doorsteps of the poor common man even in remote rural areas.

Against this backdrop, it becomes an important question to be asked to Congress as to where does it find a potential threat of breaking the nation that it wants to take a Yatra to join it back? In fact, it is just the ever-diminishing popularity and public support of the grand old party that it is attempting to nourish the forces that enhance the challenges of internal security.

Congress leaders are known to be involved in activities like the anti-CAA protests or the demonstrations by the so-called farmers near the borders of Delhi. These activities are actually aimed to vitiate internal security situations. Does Congress want to create a situation before 2024 through this yatra, which the government might have to deal with on many fronts within the country? It has a history of appeasement of Islamic fundamentalists anyway.

Comparison with the Yatra taken by former PM Chandrashekhar

Chandrashekhar tried to explore the problems of independent India. He started his Bharat Yatra from Vivekananda Memorial in Kanyakumari on January 6, 1983. The 4,200-km pedestal march ended at Rajghat in Delhi on June 25, 1984. During this march, he stayed at many places and made some of them a center for churning ideas and named them Bharat Yatra Kendra. One of them is the Bharat Yatra Kendra at Bhondsi and it is spread over about 600 acres. In later years, Bhondsi Ashram remained During this visit, he stayed at many places and made some of them a center of ideas in the name of Bharat Yatra Kendra. One of them is the Bharat Yatra Kendra at Bhondsi, spread over about 600 acres. In later years, Bhondsi Ashram remained just a center of politics and the Bharat Yatra was erased from the public memory.

In fact, there was no politics at the core of this Yatra by Chandrashekhar. The five key issues addressed in that Yatra were – potable water for all, getting rid of malnourishment, education for all children, the right to good health, and social harmony.

Is there any key takeaway from the Yatra for Congress?

There is no unusual situation like an emergency in the country where opposition parties can give up their own interests and come together under an umbrella. Nitish Kumar is basically trying the same thing Mamata Banerjee was trying a few months ago. Before 2019, similar things were being discussed about Chandrababu Naidu but everyone is aware of the results.

There are many examples in history of gaining power from such Yatras. But there were some common factors behind them all. For example, there was a sense of resentment among the people. Those leading the Yatra were known for their political posturing or people sympathized with them, as was seen in Jaganmohan’s case. All recent surveys show that Narendra Modi’s popularity remains the same. He is the hero the common people of India expect. At the same time, Rahul Gandhi has not been able to create the image of a serious politician before the people of this country. Be it Nitish Kumar’s ‘opposition unity’ or Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, it seems like a rattle that makes a lot of noise, but fails to attract people.

Uttar Pradesh: BJP’s Ruby Khan performs Visarjan of Lord Ganesha idol in the Ganga, says not scared of death threats and fatwas

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Uttar Pradesh: BJP’s Ruby Khan performs Visarjan of Lord Ganesha idol in the Ganga, says not scared of death threats and fatwas

On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh BJP leader Ruby Asif Khan performed the Visarjan ritual to immerse the idol of Lord Ganesha at the Narora Ghat amid heavy security. This is after the Islamic clerics and muftis had issued death threats and fatwas against her for installing the idol of Lord Ganesha and celebrating the Ganesh festival at her residence in Aligarh.

Ruby Asif Khan is the Mandal Vice President of BJP’s Mahila Morcha in Aligarh.

According to the reports, Khan, unfazed by the threats and fatwas issued against her, travelled all the way from Aligarh to Narora with her two sisters and her husband for the immersion ceremony of Lord Ganesha. “I am taking Lord Ganesha’s idol for immersion at Narora Ghat. Maulanas are saying that I have become a Hindu as I am celebrating this festival”, she said.

“I am receiving threats to boycott me from Islam and to burn my family alive. When I go out, people call me names but I am not afraid of fatwas and Maulanas. The way I installed the idol, in the same way, I will immerse with due respect”, she added on September 7. She further said that she would continue to worship and install Lord Ganesh’s idol without any fear.

Earlier, the Mufti Arshad Farooqui from Deoband had issued a fatwa against Khan for performing the Puja of Lord Ganesha in his house amid Ganeshotsav this year. The Mufti said that Khan’s conduct was unIslamic. He had said that Lord Ganesha is highly revered by Hindus and he is known to bring happiness and prosperity with knowledge, but in Islam, there is no idol worship.

“In Islam, no one is worshipped except Allah. Those who are doing this are against Islam. Those who worship an idol, the same decree is issued against them which is issued for those who go against Islam”, he had added. Responding to this the BJP leader then had said that such clerics and muftis are not true Muslims and they just want to divide the country.

Refusing to bow down to the Mufti, Khan further added, “Muftis and Maulana are of extremist and jihadi mindset. These people do not talk about Hindustan while staying in India and if he is a true Muslim, he should not talk like this”, she said.

Ruby stated that she has always been celebrating Hindu festivals and will continue to do so. She said that the cleric even got posters put up against her in the past but she only wants to maintain Hindu-Muslim unity. Earlier, it was reported that Ruby Asif Khan installed a Ganesha idol at her home for seven days. Ruby, a resident of the ADA colony under the Rorawar police circle, brought a Ganesh idol to her home and set it up with all rituals.

Income tax raids at think tank Centre for Policy Research, various unrecognised political parties across India

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Income tax raids at think tank Centre for Policy Research, various unrecognised political parties across India

Income tax raids are being conducted across various locations pan-India including at Delhi-based think tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR). CPR is currently headed by Yamini Aiyar, daughter of senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar.

Raids across country are also carried out in tax evasion probe against registered unrecognised political parties (RUPP) over their alleged dubious funding. Raids are currently underway at Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and other states.

It is believed the raids are undertaken after the Election Commission struck off 87 entities from its list of RUPP after it was found that they ddi not exist when physical verification was conducted. The EC had announced that it would take action against over 2,100 RUPPs for flouting rules and election laws. The EC also said that some of these parties were indulging in serious financial impropriety.

There is no official statement from income tax department on the raids yet.

Note: This is a developing story.

Congress ropes in ‘Break India’ forces for its ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, is it trying to replicate siege of ‘farmers’ with dozens of containers?

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Congress ropes in ‘Break India’ forces for its ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, is it trying to replicate siege of ‘farmers’ with dozens of containers?

With the general election in 2024 in mind, senior Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi will kick off the party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Kanyakumari today covering a distance of 3,500 kilometres in 150 days. Earlier in the day, he paid a visit to his father Rajiv Gandhi’s memorial in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, where the former Prime Minister was killed in a suicide bombing on May 21, 1991.

Rahul Gandhi has previously stated that the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ is a ‘Tapasya’ to him to unite the country, alleging social fragmentation and political centralization under BJP rule.

With only a year and a half till the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress, which is struggling to stay relevant in the current political scenario, is looking to project Rahul Gandhi as PM candidate from an opposition side which is way too fragmented with leaders such as Mamata Banerjee, Nitish Kumar and even Arvind Kejriwal wanting to be Prime Minister.

Congress Party itself is breaking apart

In fact, members of his own party are unwilling to accept him as a leader, except for a few sycophants. All of the prominent leaders who have broken away from the Congress, including Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal, have expressed their displeasure with the party leadership. This is why the party is looking at ‘reinventing’ itself via the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. Except, the problem is, that they have roped in some of the notorious elements who have nothing but ‘Bharat Todo’ (break India) in their minds and hearts.

It is also ironic that Rahul Gandhi who cannot even ‘Jodo’ (unify) his own party, is pretending to unify a country. In recent months, several senior Congress leaders have resigned. Amarinder Singh floated their own parties, and veterans like Ghulam Nabi Azad have openly voiced their discontent at the abject failure of the Gandhi family to lead the party.

Congress to do ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ with backing from ambassadors of ‘Bharat Todo’ ideology

About 150 left-leaning ‘activists’ and so-called socialists including Yogendra Yadav, Aruna Rai, Medha Patkar, and PV Rajagopal, Devenura Mahadev, Ali Anwar, Dr. Sunilam, Bezwada Wilson will join Rahul Gandhi in this ‘Bharat Jodo’ yatra. Medha Patkar, who stalled developmental projects in Gujarat and left people there thirsty for decades because of the farce that ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ has been, will also be joining Rahul Gandhi.

Yogendra Yadav, a professional protestor who decides his cause for protest as per flavour of the season, will also be participating. It must be noted that Yadav was at the forefront of year-long ‘farmer’ protests against the new agriculture laws where ‘protestors’ from Punjab, mostly, and political activists, blocked the national capital highways and choked Delhi for a year. There were reports of Khalistani elements supporting these protests. The new laws would have given more choice to farmers to sell their crops, but the ‘protestors’ were against the same.

These ‘protests’ got tacit support from opposition political parties, predominantly Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party and Congress. This makes one wonder if the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ which has a cavalcade of over 60 ‘containers’ fully equipped with bathrooms and beds and air conditioners, yet another way to block the highways leading to the capital.

Recently, when Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi were called in by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in the National Herald scam, Congress workers had taken to streets and protested, sometimes violently. Somehow, the Congress workers cannot fathom having their Dear Leaders being questioned by investigative agencies even when they claim innocence.

During ‘farmer’ protests, on 26 January 2021, on Republic Day, the ‘farmers’ had held a tractor rally that culminated into riots and the Red Fort, where the Prime Minister gives the Independence Day address, was attacked. Yogendra Yadav was at the forefront of organising these protests. Now that he has extended his services to the new ’cause’, one wonders what the 60-container strong cavalcade would lead to. And how the law and order situation is taken care of.

1...2,8822,8832,884...7,599Page 2,883 of 7,599