Home Blog Page 3007

Aamir Khan claims he loves India, then why did he want to keep Gujaratis deprived of water

Nirwa Mehta
-
0
Aamir Khan claims he loves India, then why did he want to keep Gujaratis deprived of water

As calls to boycott Aamir Khan’s latest film Laal Singh Chadha, a seemingly poor copy of Hollywood classic Forrest Gump, gain momentum ahead of its theatre release, the Bollywood actor has now said that he ‘loves India‘ to get people to watch his film. While some people want to boycott Laal Singh Chaddha because they fear that Aamir has ruined another Hollywood classic, most are boycotting it because of Aamir’s anti-Hindu stance in his movie PK and subsequent anti-India statements despite India making his film the highest ever grosser.

PK may be a distasteful film which mocks the faith of Hindus, who have called for boycott of film instead of beheading like people from other faith do, but Gujaratis have other reasons to dislike Khan.

In April 2006, Aamir Khan joined hands with Medha Patkar of ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ and protested against Gujarat government’s decision to raise the height of Narmada Dam. The increased dam height will not only provide drinking and irrigation water to people in parched areas of Gujarat like the Kutch and Saurashtra region but also in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Subsequent to his support opposing development work in Gujarat that would bring water to lakhs of homes, Gujaratis had decided to boycott his film Fanaa. When he was asked whether Gujaratis boycotting his film will affect the revenue, Khan had said how losing Rs 5 to 7 crore will not impact the film. Khan had claimed he was not opposing construction of dam but wanted those being displaced by the damn to be rehabilitated. You can read the action taken regarding the rehabilitation of those displaced in all three states, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh here.

I remember he had joined the protests against Sardar Sarovar Dam right around the time his film Rang De Basanti was in the theatre. In the film, he played role of a man who chose to hang around in Delhi University even after he had graduated from the college. One of the dialogues in the film was how he hangs out at Delhi University even after all these years because outside of the walls, no one knows him. Somehow, after death of their friend, who played role of Air Force officer, suddenly bunch of losers in college became revolutionaries and decide to kill the Defence Minister over allegations of corruption in procuring the fighter jets.

In one of the interviews during his ‘protests’, Khan had said how he was inspired by his role in Rang De Basanti and hence was joining in the protests. Khan had dropped in at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi along with his costars of the film and joined in the ‘protests’. Khan had claimed his joining the Narmada Bachao Andolan protests was not to seek publicity for his film. One is to believe that more than one actor of the film that made ‘revolutionaries’ out of jobless men coincidentally appeared at a protest site. Totally believable.

It has been over 15 years since then but Khan has not quite joined any protests in India, even when his peers from fraternity joined them because they thought if so many people have gathered for protests, it must be right. The level of intelligence Bollywood-types exude it is no wonder that when audiences reject their films, instead of introspecting, they blame the audience for not liking trash.

Now, with social media, as more and more people are voicing their views and calling out the Hinduphobic content in films and television, especially when any kind of comment on other faiths leads to beheading and riots, filmmakers cannot get away with offending religious sentiments of majority of cinegoers. However, film actors and entertainers often refer to those who criticise their films as ‘Bhakts’ because somehow in their own narcissistic bubble they are above criticism and anyone rejecting their trash on celluloid is doing so because of their political stand.

No, Gujaratis rejected Aamir Khan’s film and are still upset over his supporting Medha Patkar is because the protests were anti-people. In their madness to oppose anything Modi does, they wanted Gujaratis to die of thirst. Just to give an example, here is a clip from a village in Kutch where Narmada waters reached for the first time.

Just look at the sheer happiness. The Narmada waters have travelled almost 750 kms from the Sardar Sarovar Dam to reach this far off village in Kutch.

This water could have reached them years ago if the likes of Medha Patkar supported by Khan and such did not stall projects.

As the then chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi launched the Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation (SAUNI) Yojana in September 2012. SAUNI word in Gujarati means “everyone’s”. Through SAUNI Yojana, 115 dams in the arid Saurashtra region will be filled by diverting flood waters which overflow from the Sardar Sarovar dam in South Gujarat, a couple of kilometres away.

A spider pipeline network of 1,125 km long was involved. SAUNI Yojana will provide benefit of Narmada water to 737 villages of 11 districts and 31 cities in the Kutch-Saurashra region.

Imagine keeping all these people, animals in drought-prone area deprived of water, just because you don’t like one man, Narendra Modi.

So, Aamir Khan, people are angry with you for having portrayed yourself as mocking Lord Shiva, for having a scene in your movie where you appear to be urinating on a wall next to a suitcase with image of Goddess Lakshmi on it. You have offended the Hindu. Hindus have not called for your beheading for insulting our gods. They just want to show you how Goddess Lakshmi, the divine feminine who only knows how to love, does not shower her blessing on someone who does not respect her.

‘Quattrocchi filing case against Bofors’: Himanta Biswa Sarma slams Jharkhand MLA for filing ‘fake FIR’ after 3 Congress MLAs were held with cash

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘Quattrocchi filing case against Bofors’: Himanta Biswa Sarma slams Jharkhand MLA for filing ‘fake FIR’ after 3 Congress MLAs were held with cash

On Tuesday, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma revealed that the FIR filed by the Jharkhand Congress MLA named Kumar Jaimangal alleging that the 3 arrested Congress MLAs had lured him to meet Sarma, was fake. “Fake FIR in Jharkhand. The so-called FIR looks like Congress asking Ottavio Quattrocchi to file a case against Bofors”, he tweeted in sarcasm slamming Jaimangal for filing fake FIR.

This is a day after Jharkhand Police filed an FIR based on the complaint filed by Jaimangal against Congress MLAs Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kachchap, and Naman Bixal Kongari. Jaimangal in the complaint claimed that the three MLAs had called him to Kolkata to meet Assam CM who was allegedly planning to topple the JMM-led government in Jharkhand. According to Jaimangal, the MLAs told him that Sarma would give him a ministerial berth in the new government as well as Rs 10 crores if he were to assist in overthrowing the current government.

Jaimangal also alleged in the complaint that arrested MLA Ansari had informed him that Sarma was involved in efforts to destabilize the administration with the permission of ‘top guns of the BJP political party sitting in Delhi’. He claimed that he did not want to be a part of ‘the unconstitutional, unlawful, and frankly criminal behavior’ and had requested the authorities to intervene in the matter.

Reportedly, the three MLAs were arrested on Sunday after the West Bengal Police found a huge amount of cash in their vehicles. Following this, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that he was in touch with the Congress leaders but they never discussed politics. Sarma had left Congress and joined BJP in the year 2015. “We don’t talk about politics but being in a party for over 22 years, we keep in touch. I don’t know why FIR was filed on this”, he was quoted.

On Tuesday as Assam Minister Piyush Hazarika tweeted about the said FIR and called allegations put forth by Jharkhand Congress MLA Jaimangal baseless. “He made fake allegations that 3 arrested MLAs had lured him to meet the Assam CM. 5 days before filing the fabricated FIR, Sarma Sir took him to the residence of the Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi Ji at 9 am of 26th July 2022 in order to help him in his trade union related matter”, he said sharing a few pictures of the meeting.

Hazarika also added that Jaimangal has been meeting CM Sarma regularly. Reiterating that the FIR filed by the Congress MLA was fake, he said that ‘Jaimangal should face the law for making a fraudulent allegation against Chief Minister of Assam and against those tribal MLAs’.

The state of Jharkhand is governed by a coalition of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Congress, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, with the Bharatiya Janata Party in opposition. On Sunday, an FIR based on Jaimangal’s allegation was submitted at Ranchi’s Argora police station. Sections 8 (bribery of a public servant) and 9 (bribery of a public servant by a commercial organisation) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Section 171B of the Representation of the People Act (bribery), and criminal conspiracy sections of the Indian Penal Code have been cited by the police.

Jharkhand: Primary Education Dept orders to remove ‘Urdu’ from name of schools not notified by govt, weekly off to be only on Sunday, not Friday

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Jharkhand: Primary Education Dept orders to remove ‘Urdu’ from name of schools not notified by govt, weekly off to be only on Sunday, not Friday

On August 1, the Directorate of Primary Education under the Department of School Education and Literacy issued an order to remove the word ‘Urdu’ from the schools that have not been notified as Urdu Schools. The department further ordered to keep the weekly holiday on Sunday and not on Friday, as these schools have started observing.

The order, signed by Secretary of DOSE&L Rajesh Kumar Sharma, stated that the department received information that some schools have added the word ‘Urdu’ and started observing weekly offs on Friday instead of Sunday. It further noted that those schools also changed the schedule of mid-day meals accordingly and changed the pre-prayer methods.

It read, “Keeping in view the seriousness of the subject matter, the following guidelines are given after due consideration:

  1. Except for the notified Urdu school, in which the word Urdu has been added, the Urdu word should be removed from the part of that school without delay
  2. Weekly holidays on Sundays should be ensured except for notified Urdu Schools, and the mid-day meal should be operated on Sundays
  3. Under no circumstances should any kind of academic activity be conducted on Sundays in non-notified Urdu schools.

It should also be ensured that prayer is conducted in non-notified Urdu schools as per the earlier method.”

Furthermore, the order stated that if any local person, school management or others cause any kind of obstruction in implementing the orders, it will be considered as obstructing government work and disturbing social harmony, which would lead to appropriate legal action.

The probe was ordered following reports of ‘Urdu’ added to school names

On July 20, it was reported that the Jharkhand Education Department had initiated a probe into a school in the Lohardaga district over the matter of change of name from primary school to Urdu high school. The probe was ordered after Jharkhand BJP MP Sudarshan Bhagat demanded an investigation into the case.

The MP had stated that residents and parents had voiced concerns over the word Urdu, particularly in the context of Charhu Urdu High School. “They claim it was a normal school, but how quickly it transformed into an Urdu high school. We informed the department that the problem should be looked into”, he was quoted.

Reports suggest that similar incidents have happened in multiple schools in Jharkhand where names, weekly offs and other routine activities were modified to facilitate the “requirements” of the Muslim students in Muslim-dominating areas.

PM Modi calls for changing social media DP to the Tricolour ahead of Independence Day, netizens join in to celebrate

OpIndia Staff
-
0
PM Modi calls for changing social media DP to the Tricolour ahead of Independence Day, netizens join in to celebrate

Prime Minister Narendra Modi changed his profile photo to Tiranga and called fellow citizens to do the same between August 2 to August 15. The call was made by the PM as a part of the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ movement under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav from August 13 to August 15.

During his July 31 Mann Ki Baat episode, PM Modi said, “My dear countrymen, under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, from the 13th to the 15th of August, a special movement – ​​’Har Ghar Tiranga- Har Ghar Tiranga’ is being organized. By becoming a part of this movement, from August 13 to 15, you must hoist the Tricolour at your home or adorn your home with it. The Tricolor connects us, inspires us to do something for the country.”

He suggested changing the profile photo on social media to Tiranga from August 2 to August 15. He said, “I also have a suggestion that from August 2 to August 15, all of us can place the Tricolor in our social media profile pictures. By the way, do you know, August 2 also has a special connection with our Tricolor. This day is the birth anniversary of Pingali Venkaiah Ji, who designed our national flag. I pay my respectful homage to him. Talking about our national flag, I will also remember the great revolutionary Madam Cama. Her role in shaping the Tricolor has been very important.”

PM Modi added, “Friends, the biggest message that emerges from all these events being organized in the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is that all of us countrymen should follow our duty with full devotion. Only then will we be able to fulfil the dream of those countless freedom fighters… and to build India of their dreams. That is why this Amrit Kaal of our next 25 years is Kartavyakaal, a period of duty for every countryman.”

Netizens joined the movement to change Twitter profile to Tiranga

Following PM Modi’s call, netizens changed their profile photos to Tiranga.

The ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ movement

This is not the first time PM Modi has asked his fellow Indians to join him in a movement. Before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi gave the slogan “Chowkidar Chor Hai”. In retaliation to the derogatory slogan calling PM Modi a thief, the whole concept was turned around by Bharatiya Janata Party, and PM Modi gave a call to the citizens of India to change their profile photo to a photo with a logo saying “Main Bhi Chowkidar”.

The call turned into a mass movement, and millions of social media users from India participated in it.

Gurugram: Aaqib Javed, Taslim and Sabir arrested for online liquor fraud and sextortion, Rs 25 lakhs seized in bank account

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Gurugram: Aaqib Javed, Taslim and Sabir arrested for online liquor fraud and sextortion, Rs 25 lakhs seized in bank account

On Monday, the Gurugram Police arrested three persons for allegedly duping people under the pretext of providing home delivery of liquor in the city. The arrested three persons have been identified as Aaqib Javed, Taslim Khan, and Sabir Khan, all natives of Bharatpur, Rajasthan.

The information was made public by ACP Gurugram Preet Pal Singh Sangwan who also said that the three were involved in sextortion. “They were also involved in sextortion. The accused used to contact people by sending them online links following which the people were duped”, in said while addressing the press on August 1.

According to the reports, the gang led by the three arrested accused was exposed after one of the victims lodged an FIR against the gang members for duping the customers. The victim was duped for around Rs 1 lakhs. He filed a complaint at the cyber crime police station and said he had ordered Rs 11,717 worth of liquor online after receiving an online liquor service message on his phone.

He mentioned in the police complaint that the accused sent him another link that asked him to pay a service charge of Rs 10. On clicking, Rs 93,380 were debited from the victim’s account and he was duped for a total of Rs 1,05,097. The Police further revealed that the accused had duped people in several other ways.

“The accused were involved in many other frauds where they had cheated people on the pretext of buying and selling vehicles online. They were also into sextortion”, ACP Singh said adding that the accused would video call people and ask them to do pornographic acts. Later the accused used these videos to blackmail the customers for money.

He went on to say that while Aaqib and Taslim Khan used to contact individuals by giving them internet links and calls over various mediums like SMS, WhatsApp, and so on, Sabir Khan used to supply bank accounts and SIM cards with bogus KYC. The suspects used to withdraw cash from ATMs and POS machines after getting the money in their accounts.

After investigating their bank accounts, which have now been seized, the police discovered that they had scammed others to the tune of Rs 25 lakh in the previous 15 days.

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who had praised Hijab protests in Karnataka, blasted to death by US drones in Afghanistan

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who had praised Hijab protests in Karnataka, blasted to death by US drones in Afghanistan

On August 1 (local time), United States President Joe Biden announced that terrorist organization Al-Qaeda’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had been killed in airstrikes. In his statement, Biden said, “I authorized a precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield, once and for all.”

71-years-old Zawahiri used to be a close aide and personal physician of Al-Qaeda founder and chief Osama Bin Laden. Since Laden was neutralized 11 years ago by the US, Zawahiri had become a prominent face of the terrorist organization.

As per reports, he was hiding in downtown Kabul with the aim of reuniting with his family. As per reports, he was killed in “a precisely tailored airstrike”. The US armed forces used drones to fire two Hellfire missiles for the kill at around 9:48 PM ET on July 31. The authorization for the military action to eliminate Zawahiri was given after several meetings with the US cabinet and the key advisers. At the time of the strike, no American personnel was present in Kabul.

Furthermore, Taliban officials were not informed about the strike. The reason behind it was explained as the Taliban was aware of his presence in Kabul but chose not to inform the US officials, which was a clear violation of the Doha agreement. As per reports, the Taliban’s senior leaders allegedly took precautionary steps to conceal the presence of wanted terrorists in the area and relocated his family members rapidly. Notably, the US officials said the family of Zawahiri was intentionally not targeted during the strike.

Reaction from Taliban

Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid took on Twitter to inform about the air strike. He said in Pashto, “An air strike was carried out on a residential house in Sherpur area of Kabul city on July 31.” The statement added that the nature of the incident was not revealed at first, but the later investigation found that it was done by American drones.

He said, “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan strongly condemns this attack on any pretext and calls it a clear violation of international principles and the Doha Agreement. Such actions are a repetition of the failed experiences of the past 20 years and are against the interests of the United States of America, Afghanistan and the region. Repeating such actions will damage the available opportunities.” (Translated using Google Translate)

Biden called it ‘justice served’

Calling it ‘justice delivered’, Biden said Zawahiri was deeply involved in the planning of the 9/11 attack. He added, “One of the most responsible for the attacks that murdered 2,977 people on American soil. For decades, he was the mastermind of attacks against Americans.”

Biden said, “Now, justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more. People around the world no longer need to fear the vicious and determined killer,” he continued. “The United States continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the American people against those who seek to do us harm. We make it clear again tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out.”

Speaking about the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, Biden said, “[I] made the decision that after 20 years of war, the United States no longer needed thousands of boots on the ground in Afghanistan to protect America from terrorists who seek to do us harm, and I made a promise to the American people, that we continue to conduct effective counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and beyond. We’ve done just that.”

Zawahiri was a close ally of Laden

Hailing from Egypt, Zawahiri belonged to a distinguished family. He was one of the top leaders of Al-Qaeda who planned the terrorist attack of 9/11. In April 2002, a videotape was released in which he said, “Those 19 brothers who went out and gave their souls to Allah almighty, God almighty has granted them this victory we are enjoying now.” Later, after the killing of Bin Laden by the US Armed Forces in 2011, he became the Al-Qaeda leader.

Zawahiri’s first appearance as a terrorist happened back in 1981 after his involvement in the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. In May 1998, he announced his association with Bin Laden. He said, “We are working with brother bin Laden.” With the announcement, he merged his terror organization Egyptian Islamic Jihad with al Qaeda. They signed a ‘fatwa’ “The judgment for killing and fighting Americans and their allies, whether civilians or military, is an obligation for every Muslim.”

Since the 9/11 attack, he regularly appeared in videos and audiotapes and urged Muslims to join the Jihad against the US and its friendly nations. His calls were turned into terrorist attacks on several instances, including a suicide bombing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that killed 23 people, including nine Americans. The US State Department had announced a $25 million bounty for anyone who would provide information that would lead to his arrest.

Zawahiri had praised Hijab protests in Karnataka and called Muskan Khan a ‘noble woman’

The now deceased Al Qaeda chief had supported the Muslim girls in a college in Karnataka where they have been demanding to wear the Islamic attire burqa to college, in violation of the uniform dress code. Making a rare video appearance, Zawahiri had penned a poem and had praised Muskan Khan, the burqa-clad woman whose video of raising ‘Allahu Akbar’ slogans had gone viral.

In a nine-minute video released by Al-Qaeda’s official Shabab media, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of terror outfit Al-Qaeda, praised Muskan Khan. In the video titled “The Noble Woman of India”, which carried an infographic depicting Muskan Zainab Khan, Zawahiri recited and dedicated a poem he had composed to praise Khan.

The terrorist also attempted to incite Indian Muslims saying they needed to react to the “oppression” carried out against them by the Indian state. Zawahiri also attacked countries that have banned the hijab, along with Pakistan and Bangladesh, whom he accused of being “allies of the West”.

NDTV, in service of Congress: How the rag tried to downplay scathing observations made by HC in Smriti Irani case, against Congress leaders

OpIndia Staff
-
0
NDTV, in service of Congress: How the rag tried to downplay scathing observations made by HC in Smriti Irani case, against Congress leaders

Despite all the Congress propaganda stating otherwise, Delhi High Court has noted that neither Smriti Irani nor her teenage daughter Zoish Irani was ever issued a license in connection with a restaurant named Silly Souls Cafe and Bar located in Goa. 

Justice Mini Pushkarna made these observations while issuing summons to Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, and Netta D’Souza in a civil defamation suit filed by Union Minister Smriti Irani against them seeking damages of Rupees 2 Crores for their libellous statements.

The court made several scathing observations, including the fact that Smriti Irani or her daughter did not own the Goa restaurant and bar. This order by the High Court, was by all accounts, a scathing indictment of how the Congress tried to peddle absolute lies against Smriti Irani, her teenage daughter and the BJP in order to malign her reputation, perhaps because Smriti Irani had defeated Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, and had regularly held press conferences questioning the Gandhis about their rampant corruption (for which they are being interrogated by ED).

With the massive embarrassment for Congress, friendly channels like NDTV jumped to their rescue. In a tweet that the channel shared, they tried to water down the observation made by the High Court in favour of Smriti Irani and against the Congress party.

On August 1st, NDTV shared a news card, the text of which said, “Smriti Irani, daughter, don’t seem to own Goa restaurant and bar: High Court Order”.

NDTV appears to have inserted the word “seem” in the statement attributed to the High Court order with an intention to downplay the scathing remarks by the high court. While NDTV reported that the HC order said, “Smriti Irani, daughter don’t SEEM to own Goa restaurant and bar”, the order by the High Court actually did not even contain the word “seem”.

Here is the relevant portion of the court order that NDTV was quoting:

Court order in Smriti Irani case
Court order in Smriti Irani case

In the order copy, the court says, “Neither the restaurant nor the land on which the restaurant exists is owned by the plaintiff or her daughter”.

In the original court order, there is no “seem” in the sentence being quoted by NDTV. Therefore, it is safe to assume that NDTV, from the goodness of his heart, added the word “seem” to dilute the words of the High Court.

When the media adds words like “seem” in a statement, they are essentially saying that the High Court did not give a definitive statement indicting Congress and affirming the position of Smriti Irani. However, that is not true if one peruses the Court order.

NDTV pandered to Congress while diluting the position taken by the High Court, by giving them a line of survival, claiming that the court did not give a sweeping judgement against Congress.

What else did the High Court say, slamming Congress, exonerating the position of Smriti Irani

The High Court said that prima facie, the court was convinced that the statements against Smriti Irani were libellous and slanderous and done with malicious intent.

Court order in Smriti Irani case
Court order in Smriti Irani case

The court also said that the Congress party did not verify facts before making the allegations. Further, the court said that there was malicious intent was proven by the fact that the accused did not even respond to the legal notice furnished by Smriti Irani.

Earlier, Congress leaders in a press conference had alleged that the restaurant ‘Silly Souls Cafe and Bar’ is run by Union Smriti Irani’s daughter in Goa, and it had got its excise license fraudulently. Following the allegations, Smriti Irani sent a legal notice to Congress and its senior leaders Pawan Khera, Jairam Ramesh, and Netta D’Souza over their malicious allegations against her daughter and asked them to tender a written unconditional apology.

The hit-job against Irani and her daughter didn’t stop with the fake allegations by the Congress leaders, fake menus of the restaurant were circulated with beef in the menu to try and demonise the BJP leader. Senior Trinamool Congress leaders like Kirti Azad even posted highly derogatory caricatures of Irani in the aftermath of the manufactured controversy.

Meanwhile, on Friday, July 29, owners of the restaurant Merlyn Anthony D’Gama and her son Dean D’Gama replied to a show cause notice issued by Excise Commissioner Narayan M Gad. In the reply, they stated that the property “is exclusively its business and involves no other person/ persons”.

However, once the case went to court, the High Court asked the Congress leaders involved to delete all allegations made by them in their press conference from all social media platforms.

Prelude to World War III? Amidst sabre-rattling from China, Pelosi to go ahead with Taiwan visit

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Prelude to World War III? Amidst sabre-rattling from China, Pelosi to go ahead with Taiwan visit

Hours after China warned its military will not ‘sit idly’ if U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, reports say she is going ahead with her visit to the island country off the south-eastern coast of China. 

According to reports, Nancy Pelosi would continue with her visit to Taiwan, despite warnings from the Biden administration, who are worried about the rising escalation with China that had already warned against Pelosi’s proposed visit to the island nation. Taiwanese and US officials have stated that Pelosi will visit Taiwan as a part of her Asia tour, and will stay in Taiwan overnight, though it is not clear when she would land in Taipei.

However, her visit has not been taken kindly by the Chinese state media, which has served to heighten the tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations over Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, an independent country that Beijing claims sovereignty over. Hu Xijin, a prominent Chinese commentator for state-run Global Times, warned of “military friction” over Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

Responding to the reports that Nancy Pelosi will go ahead with her visit to Taiwan, Xijin tweeted, “Let her go to Taiwan. But pray before departure: wish herself a safe journey and wish herself not be defined by history as a sinner who starts a spiral of escalation process expanding military frictions to a large-scale war in the Taiwan Strait.”

Source: Twitter

If Pelosi visits Taiwan as in her tour of Asia, it would be the first visit of a US House speaker in a quarter of a century. China, which claims the island as its own province, has made it clear it would see such a move as an unacceptable provocation.

Earlier today, China ratcheted up its warning, saying that its military would “not sit idly by” if the visit happened.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that because of Pelosi’s status as the “No. 3 official of the U.S. government”, a visit to Taiwan, which China claims as its own, would “lead to egregious political impact”.

Lijian added that it would be “a gross interference in China’s internal affairs” if Pelosi visits Taiwan, and warned that it would lead to “very serious developments and consequences.”We would like to tell the United States once again that China is standing by, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will never sit idly by, and China will take resolute responses and strong countermeasures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zhao said in a regular daily briefing.

Taiwan missing from Nancy Pelosi’s itinerary after Chinese commentator urged govt to shoot down her plane

Earlier yesterday, a high-octane drama ensued on Twitter over the upcoming visit of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi to Asia. It all started after a report by CNN about Pelosi’s visit to Asia, where she was scheduled to make stops at various US allies in the region, including Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. However, there were talks of her possible visit to Taiwan as well, but China had issued a strong warning against it.

Quoting CNN’s tweet about Pelosi’s visit, Chinese Propagandist Commentator with the state media, Global Times, Hu Xijin said, “If US fighter jets escort Pelosi’s plane into Taiwan, it is an invasion. The PLA has the right to forcibly dispel Pelosi’s plane and the US fighter jets, including firing warning shots and making the tactical movement of obstruction. If ineffective, then shoot them down,” on Twitter. The tweet was later deleted by Twitter, stating it was against its Terms of Services.

Taiwan is among the major flashpoints between the US and China. Following the threat issued by the Chinese President Xi Jinping over the call to President Biden, the National Security Officials had reportedly worked to convince Pelosi against her trip to Taiwan. However, latest reports say Pelosi might visit Taiwan, stoking further tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Aamir Khan, who once thought of moving out of India due to rising intolerance, says he ‘really loves’ India as ‘BoycottLaalSinghChaddha’ trends online

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Aamir Khan, who once thought of moving out of India due to rising intolerance, says he ‘really loves’ India as ‘BoycottLaalSinghChaddha’ trends online

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, who is eagerly awaiting the release of his upcoming movie- Lal Singh Chaddha, a copy of the Tom Hanks starrer Hollywood classic Forrest Gump, has reacted after hashtags like #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha started trending on Twitter. Urging people not to boycott his film, which he has also co-produced, the Bollywood actor, claimed that he loves India, contrary to the impression some people may have.

While some people want to boycott Laal Singh Chaddha because they fear that Aamir has ruined another Hollywood classic, most are boycotting it because of Aamir’s anti-Hindu stance in his movie PK and subsequent anti-India statements despite India making his film the highest ever grosser.

Speaking to PTI, the Bollywood actor said, “That Boycott Bollywood… Boycott Aamir Khan… Boycott Laal Singh Chaddha… I feel sad also because a lot of people who are saying this in their hearts believe I am someone who doesn’t like India… In their hearts, they believe that… And that’s quite untrue.”

The actor added, “I really love the country… That’s how I am. It is rather unfortunate if some people feel that way.” Asking his fans and the audience to give his film a fair chance, Aamir Khan further said, “I want to assure everyone that it’s not the case so please don’t boycott my films, please watch my films.”

Pertinently, the actor’s reaction came after some Twitter users dug up Aamir’s controversial 2015 “India’s growing intolerance” statement and made it viral. Back in 2015, Aamir Khan had said that he and his wife Kiran Rao (now ex-wife) were feeling petrified of the rising intolerance in the country and were seriously considering migrating to some other country.

It may be recalled that while speaking at an award function in 2015, Aamir Khan said, “When I chat with Kiran at home, she says ‘Should we move out of India?’ That’s a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make. She fears for her child (son Azad). She fears what the atmosphere around us will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day.”

The Bollywood megastar further said, “That does indicate that there is this sense of growing disquiet, there is growing despondency apart from alarm. You feel why this is happening, you feel low. That sense does exist in me.”

Recalling Aamir Khan’s aforementioned 2015 statement, Netizens called for boycotting his upcoming movie. Soon #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha started trending on Twitter.

Meanwhile, amid #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha trend, an old video of Kareena Kapoor is also going viral on social media. In the video, Kareena can be seen talking about nepotism in an interview. In the video, she gets upset and says, “don’t watch out movies, nobody has forced you.” She then said, “aap aa rahe hon na movie dekhne, toh mat aao” (you are coming to watch the movie right, then don’t go).

Kareena Kapoor Khan and Mona Singh will be seen playing titular roles in Aamir Khan’s upcoming movie Laal Singh Chaddha.

Notably, this is not the first time that #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha is trending. Earlier too, the uproar began after the trailer of Khan’s movie was dropped in May 2022. Then too, Netizens had raked up Khan’s 2015 controversial statement and called him anti-Hindu and anti-India. 

Laal Singh Chaddha, an Indian copy of Tom Hanks’ Forrest Gump, is slated to release on August 11. It also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Mona Singh and Naga Chaitanya.

UP: Conversion attempt foiled in Azamgarh, six women arrested for luring villagers to convert to Christianity

OpIndia Staff
-
0
UP: Conversion attempt foiled in Azamgarh, six women arrested for luring villagers to convert to Christianity

On Saturday, July 30, the Azamgarh police in Uttar Pradesh busted a conversion racket by arresting six women who were attempting to convert vulnerable villagers to Christianity. According to reports, the racket was being carried out under the guise of a birthday party.

In what transpired, the main accused Indrakala, who was living in a rented house in the Vanchit Basti Vishnu Nagar ward of Maharajganj police station in Azamgarh with her husband, had gathered over 100 villagers from hers and the neighbouring villages under the pretext of celebrating her son’s birthday. The invitees, as per reports, were mainly the women of the villages.

During the program, Indrakala her aides started distributing sweets to the villagers, but before that, they handed over pamphlets to the villagers and forced them to read it and adopt Christianity before they could get to eat the sweets.

The accused evangelists also tried to lure the villagers by offering them money. They also assured them that turning to Christianity would assist them to be rid of the possession of ghosts and spirits.

While the program was being carried out, some villagers informed about the same to some Bajrang Dal members who in turn intimated the local police about the same. The Azamgarh police immediately reached the spot and stopped the so-called birthday celebration. While many fled seeing the police, the police managed to nab the main accused Indrakala and her five accomplices, identified as Subhagi Devi, Sadhna, Samta, Anita and Sunita. They also seized a lot of religious books and pamphlets from the spot.

Speaking about the alleged conversion program, Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kumar said, “Sub Inspector Kamlesh Yadav of the Maharajganj police station was in the vicinity with other staff when he learned that some women are pushing impoverished villagers to convert their religion. They were also being threatened with dire consequences in case they resented or protested against the same. After receiving information, police went to the Dalit basti of Ward No-1 of Maharajganj Nagar Panchayat, where people were being enticed to convert under the guise of a birthday party. Six ladies were arrested on the scene and sent to jail. The police have initiated a detailed investigation into the case, added SP Siddharth Kumar.

1...3,0063,0073,008...7,629Page 3,007 of 7,629