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Mallikarjun Kharge urges Rajya Sabha Chairman to expunge remarks by union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal about Sonia Gandhi

OpIndia Staff
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Mallikarjun Kharge urges Rajya Sabha Chairman to expunge remarks by union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal about Sonia Gandhi

On 29th July 2022, the leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge urged the Chairman of the house in a written letter to expunge the remarks made by Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal on Sonia Gandhi in the House on July 28. There was an uproar in both the houses of the parliament on 28th July 2022 over the ‘Rashtrapatni’ jibe by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury against President Draupadi Murmu.

In his letter, Mallikarjun Kharge said, “I wish to draw your kind attention to a matter of grave procedural Irregularity. Yesterday, i.e. 28 July 2022, at about 11:10 hrs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman raised the matter with regard to the usage of a term by the Leader of Indian National Congress In Lok Sabha in regard to Hon’ble President of India, and in this context, she inter alia stated “I demand an apology from the President of the Congress Party, who, herself being a woman, has allowed her leader in the Lok Sabha to speak insultingly about our Rashtrapati. Shrimati Sonia Gandhi should come before the nation and apologize to the Rashtrapati and also to the entire country for the insult that her own leader in the Lok Sabha has…(done). I demand an apology from Shrimati Sonia Gandhi. Thereafter when the House reassembled at 12:00 hrs, Leader of the House Shri Piyush Goyal inter alia stated Congress President should apologize in this matter.”

Kharge stated that it has been a tradition of the house that reflections or critical remarks should not be made on the other House or members of the other House. Supporting this thing, he further said in his letter to the Chairman, “In this regard, wish to draw your attention to the ruling made by Shri R. Venkataraman the-then Hon’ble Chairman of Rajya Sabha on 15 April 1987 wherein he inter alia observed ‘No person who is not a member of this House can be referred to in the House in a derogatory manner or in any other way affecting his reputation.’ In fact, even a Question of Privilege cannot be raised directly in one House against the members of the other House.”

Kharge added, “In this regard, a procedure has been laid down based on a report of the Joint Sitting of Committees of Privileges of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha which was presented to both Houses on 23 August 1954 and later adopted by the Houses in December 1954. As per this procedure, when a question of breach of privilege or contempt of the House is raised in either of the House in which a member, officer, or servant of the other House is involved, the procedure followed is that the Presiding Officer of the House in which the question of privilege is raised refers the case to the Presiding Officer of the other House.”

Mallikarjun Kharge further wrote in his letter that mentioning and making remarks in regard to a member of the Lower House in the Upper House is a gross violation of the time-honored conventions. Concluding his request, he urged the Chairman to expunge the remarks made by Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal about Sonia Gandhi. Mallikarjun Kharge also pleaded that the ministers should furnish an apology for violating the sacrosanct conventions of the House.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had called President Draupadi Murmu ‘Rashtrapatni’ which he later claimed was done by mistake. Both the houses of the parliament witnessed a heated uproar against this jibe and were adjourned.

Autopsy reveals death due to tuberculosis, media claims minor Muslim boy beaten to death: Truth about the death of 15-year-old student in Kannauj

OpIndia Staff
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Autopsy reveals death due to tuberculosis, media claims minor Muslim boy beaten to death: Truth about the death of 15-year-old student in Kannauj

A 15-year-old Muslim boy died during treatment at Murari Lal Chest Hospital in Kanpur late on Monday (July 25) night. The boy was identified as Dilshan alias Raja, a resident of Madaiya West village under Chhibramau Kotwali in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh. After the student’s death, different versions of the news started circulating in the media.

While police confirmed that the student’s autopsy report listed the cause of death as cardiorespiratory failure and chronic lung disorder, many media houses quoted the family as claiming that the boy was beaten to death by three teachers of a school in Madaiya village of Kannauj district on suspicion of stealing a watch when he went there to seek admission.

Speaking about the case on July 27 Kannauj Superintendent of Police, Kunwar Anupam Singh, confirmed in a video byte that the police had sent the body of the deceased student for a post-mortem after registering an FIR in the aforementioned case. The autopsy report confirmed that there were no injury marks on the deceased’s body. In fact, the cause of death was mentioned as chronic lung disease. He added that the allegations of torture and assault have been found to be untrue. The SP said that the police are thoroughly investigating the case and action will be taken on the basis of evidence.

How media houses misreported the death of the Kannauj student

The Kannauj police’s Tweet had come in response to a Tweet posted by the Millat Times, wherein the news portal shared a picture of the student with claims that a teacher of a school in Madaiya village of Kannauj district, named Shiv Kumar Kumar summoned Dilshan and accused him of stealing a watch. On suspicion of theft, the teacher had beaten up the student so badly that he succumbed to the injuries.

Notably, Millet Times was not the only media house that highlighted this version of the incident. Other media houses like the NDTV, Hindustan Times and Times of India also reported along the same lines, highlighting the family’s claims that the 15-year-old boy was allegedly beaten to death by three teachers of a school in Madaiya village of Kannauj district on suspicion of stealing a watch when he went there to seek admission.

Since in the aforementioned case, the victim was a Muslim, Maktoob Media used the opportunity to play Muslim victimhood by highlighting the religion of the boy in the headline. It headlined the report, “UP: Muslim boy beaten to death by teachers, police begin probe.” Interestingly, the report published by the Islamist propaganda portal was dated July 28, a day after the Kannauj police revealed that the death was not due to assault but because of chronic lung disorder.

Report published by Maktoob Media on July 28.

The reports read that the father of the boy, Jahangir Khan, alleged in his police complaint that Dilshan was locked in a room and assaulted at the RS Inter College in the Ramlila Maidan area on July 23. The complaint states that teacher Shivkumar Yadav summoned Dilshan and accused him of stealing a watch. Following this, Shivkumar and his colleagues Prabhakar and Vivek Yadav locked Dilshan inside a room and assaulted him, states the complaint.

Jahangir said Dilshan had suffered internal injuries and when he came back from school, he fainted after vomiting. “We took him to the hospital. Doctors referred him to Kanpur as there was no improvement in his condition,” he said.

Reacting to the complaint, SP Kunwar Anupam Singh had cleared then too that they were investigating if the death was due to an assault. “Strict action would be taken against the accused, as per the rules, if the post-mortem report confirms the assault,” he said.

Two days later, the autopsy report of the 15-year-old boy revealed that he allegedly died of tuberculosis.

In fact, Vinod Kumar, the Chief Medical Officer also confirmed on Wednesday that the boy identified as Dilshan died of tuberculosis, according to the autopsy report. “Both of his lungs had puss deposits; there was no sign of contusion or abrasion found on the body,” he added.

Shamshera flop show: Critic Taran Adarsh blames pandemic for movie failure, says audiences now want content rooted in Indian culture

OpIndia Staff
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Shamshera flop show: Critic Taran Adarsh blames pandemic for movie failure, says audiences now want content rooted in Indian culture

Ranbir Kapoor starrer movie Shamshera which has been badly rejected by the audience and the reviewers has recorded only Rs 40.5 crores of collection in the last seven days. While the movie has been declared a flop, some experts went on to blame the pandemic for the failure along with the content and the timing of the release.

Commenting on the failure of the movie, well-known film critic Taran Adarsh said that movies like Shamshera were planned and executed for pre-pandemic audiences. He said that the audiences post-pandemic had begun craving for more content that is rooted in the Indian culture.

“These were pre-pandemic films that were planned and executed for the pre-pandemic audience. However, during the pandemic, the requirements from films for movie-going audiences have changed. They want content more rooted in Indian culture, wholesome entertainment films”, he said while in an exclusive conversation with Zoom Digital. He added that the movie could have done well as it starred Ranbir Singh and was directed by Karan Malhotra, the man behind Agnipath, but it did not translate into box office numbers due to the pandemic.

Screenshot from the article published by Zoom Digital

Meanwhile, Producer and film business analyst Girish Johar too blamed the pandemic for the poor performance of the movie. “Some of the biggest films got stuck in the pandemic and they are coming out now – when audience preferences have seen a shift. It was just a string of bad luck”, he said.

Shamshera’s poor performance at the box office is part of a wider story that appears to have plagued Yash Raj Films for quite some time. All the recently released YRF films including Bunty Aur Babli 2, followed by Ranveer Singh’s Jayeshbhai Jordaar, Akshay Kumar’s Samrat Prithviraj, and now Shamshera have bombed at the box office.

It is notable here that Adarsh had called Shamshera “unbearable” and an “epic disappointment” in his review.

To note, Film actor Sanjay Dutt on Thursday took to social media and said that he stands by the film Shamshera and tweeted ‘#ShamsheraIsOurs’ claiming that those who criticised the film over its Hinduphobic content are ‘spewing hatred’ on ‘one of the most hardworking and talented actors of our times’.

It is notable here that a number of Bollywood movies have flopped in recent months while South Indian movies like RRR, Pushpa and KGF-2 have been superhits all over India.

Shamshera has been on the receiving end of criticism not only from apolitical mainstream film critics who have given it a low rating and even called it unbearable but even an average movie-going audience seems to be unhappy with the storyline. Shamshera portrays the villain, played by Sanjay Dutt (Shuddh Singh) as a devout Hindu and a ruthless barbarian. He is shown in the film as a devout Hindu with a Shikha and a Tripund Teeka. His character is named Shudh Singh, a brutal authoritarian general who has imprisoned and enslaved a warrior tribe.

Shamshera was released in cinemas on July 22 with a lot of expectations. Sadly, the big-budget action entertainer starring Ranbir Kapoor and produced by Yash Raj Films (YRF) failed to pull significant crowds. With less than Rs 40 crore in seven days’ worth of box office revenue, Shamshera, a movie with a huge budget of Rs 150 crore, has decisively been rejected by fans, putting YRF under a lot of strain. The film’s script has also been criticized by viewers and reviewers for its weak content with many saying the storyline has no point.

Bhopal: Congress’ Digvijaya Singh manhandles a police officer during protests over local body polls, grabs his collar and assaults him

OpIndia Staff
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Bhopal: Congress’ Digvijaya Singh manhandles a police officer during protests over local body polls, grabs his collar and assaults him

Senior Congress leader and former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh, manhandled a police officer deployed outside the District Panchayat office in Bhopal while protesting over the local body polls. In the visuals that have emerged from the protests, Singh is seen breaking the police cordon and holding a cop by his collar.

Singh and other Congress leaders were a part of a protest and have alleged that the local body polls were rigged by the BJP government in the state, and that the police and administration were working under the pressure of the government.

BJP candidate Ram Kunwar Gurjar won the District Panchayat elections in Bhopal amid protests from Congress leaders who alleged that the polls were compromised.

Digvijaya Singh alleged that nine votes were cast with fake medical certificates and accused the BJP of kidnapping Congress district panchayat members. “Anyone who is uneducated or not fit to cast their vote can get another family member to do it. But here. nine votes were cast with fake medical certificates. They are bringing government cars full of people, who cast votes. It’s a violation of election rules,” the Congress MP claimed.

A scuffle also broke out between Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and police outside the District Panchayat office in Bhopal after Congress alleged that police acting at the behest of the ruling dispensation. In order to ensure that polls took place smoothly, the police cordoned off Congress leaders and supporters who had gathered outside the building over protest against the state government. In their bid to enter the District Panchayat office, Singh and other Congress supporters tried to break through the cordon, resulting in clashes with the on-duty police officials, videos of which have gone viral on social media.

Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury holds a police officer by his collar during protests against ED in Hyderabad

However, this is not the first time that a Congress leader has displayed brazen contempt toward law enforcement officials. Earlier last month, senior Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury had grabbed the collar of a police officer on duty during the AICC protests against Enforcement Directorate in Hyderabad.

During the protests, members of Congress clashed with police officers attempting to control the scene. When the officers were attempting to take Renuka Chowdhury into custody while handling the situation, she and the cops got into a dispute. Renuka Chowdhury lost her calm and grabbed the collar of a police Sub-Inspector.

The police officer was seen maintaining restraint and not taking any coercive action against Renuka, even while some other Congress worker tried to calm Renuka down and move her hand away from the policeman’s collar.

West Bengal SSC Scam: Drama outside Kolkata hospital as Arpita Mukherjee breaks down in tears, refuses to come out of vehicle for health check-up

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal SSC Scam: Drama outside Kolkata hospital as Arpita Mukherjee breaks down in tears, refuses to come out of vehicle for health check-up

Arpita Mukherjee, close aide of SSC Scam accused formed minister Partha Chatterjee, broke down when she was brought to a hospital for medical examination by the Enforcement Directorate. There was a high-voltage drama outside the ESI hospital of Kolkata on 29th July 2022, as she was being taken for medical examination by the agency. Depressed Arpita Mukherjee, weeping, was seen falling down a number of times and the police were forced to drag her out of the car in order to take her for check-ups as ordered by the court.

As per the court orders, arrested accused Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee both are supposed to undergo medical check-ups every 48 hours when they are in ED custody. They were taken to Joka’s ESI Hospital by Enforcement Directorate officials. However, when ED’s vehicle carrying Arpita Mukherjee reached the hospital, she resisted getting out of the vehicle. She burst into tears and refused to come out of the vehicle, and the female staff of ED and the accompanying central armed forces had to virtually drag her out and take her to the hospital building.

She screamed, flailing her arms and shoving the security guards who were trying to get her out. She sat on the ground after being forced to leave. She was seen being pulled by security staff after they had attempted to persuade her to come. She was eventually dragged in, still weeping, on a wheelchair. On the other hand, Partha Chatterjee entered the hospital before Arpita Mukherjee even though his vehicle had arrived later.

Partha Chatterjee told the media personnel present there that he is innocent. He said, “I am a victim of conspiracy”.

According to reports, while investigating the details of this scam, the probing agency has found a shell company in which Arpita Mukherjee is one of the directors and there are records of transactions worth more than 74 lakhs in the name of the accused Arpita Mukherjee who is a close associate of the TMC leader and recently sacked West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee. When asked about the transactions, Arpita Mukherjee has thrown the former minister under the bus saying that all this was done by Parth Chatterjee and that she is innocent.

Earlier on 28th July, following the recovery of huge amounts of cash from two of her flats by the Enforcement Directorate, Arpita Mukherjee confessed that the cash belonged to Partha Chatterjee, and he was using her houses as ‘mini banks’. Arpita confessed in front of the ED officials that Chatterjee used her flats as storerooms for his illegal cash.

Arpita also mentioned during interrogation that Partha Chatterjee forced her to keep the cash there, and used to come there with one of his close associates who isn’t known to her. As per Arpita, whenever Chatterjee visited her residence, he used to have closed-door meetings with this unknown person in one of the rooms and she was not allowed to participate in those conversations.

So far, ED has recovered over 21 Crores from Arpita Mukherjee’s Tollygunge flats and nearly 29 Crores from another flat in Belgharia. Apart from the cash, a lot of gold, jewellery and foreign exchange also been found on the premises of these flats. Both Arpita Mukherjee and Partha Chatterjee are currently under ED custody following their arrest in the SSC scam case.

Karnataka government to hand over Praveen Nettaru murder case to NIA

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka government to hand over Praveen Nettaru murder case to NIA

On Friday, July 29, Karnataka chief minister CM Basavaraj Bommai said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) would probe the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru.

Praveen Nettaru, a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha member, was hacked to death on July 26 by two bike-borne assailants, triggering massive outrage among the ranks of BJP Yuva Morcha, who started to furnish mass resignations to protest against his murder.

The two assailants, however, were arrested on Thursday in connection with the murder of BJP youth wing leader Praveen Nettaru. The arrested accused have been identified as Zakir (29) from Savanoor in Haveri district and Mohammed Shafiq (27) from Bellare. Police said the two accused are allegedly behind the conspiracy to murder Nettaru.

Praveen Nettaru murder accused linked to Islamist organisation PFI

The duo reportedly have links with the Islamist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI).

According to reports, the wife of Shafiq has confirmed that her husband was an active member of the PFI and that he used to participate in all the ‘social’ activities. She also said that on the day of the incident, he was not at home hinting that he might be involved in executing the murder of the BJP youth member. “My husband was a PFI member. He was aware that the murder took place,” Shafiq’s wife told India Today.

Shafiq is also associated with SDPI (Social Democratic Party of India) and has organized various ‘social’ events. The wife after the arrest while talking to the media also said that initially, her husband was not aware of the murder. Later he had tears in his eyes when he came to know about who was murdered in the village. Meanwhile, a video report by News18 also shows Safiq’s picture at an SDPI event.

Karnataka: NDTV’s video report on Md Fazil’s murder case ignores suspected Shia-Sunni love affair angle, shows saffron-clad men raising slogans

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: NDTV’s video report on Md Fazil’s murder case ignores suspected Shia-Sunni love affair angle, shows saffron-clad men raising slogans

Hours after reports emerged revealing that a 23-year-old youth named Mohammed Fazil was killed by a group of assailants on Krishnapura-MRPL road in Mangaluru, Karnataka, the NDTV tried to insinuate that the murder was executed in retaliation to the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Nettaru.

According to the Police, Fazil was attacked with a lethal weapon by 4-5 unidentified miscreants. The preliminary investigations led by the Police reportedly found that the deceased may have been murdered because he was in love with a Shia woman while following Sunni Islam himself. The miscreants arrived in a car near the cloth shop owned by the deceased, killed him, and fled from the spot after the murder.

Though the police are yet to verify the claims regarding the motive behind the murder, the NDTV while reporting the incident suggested that the suspects might be Hindus and hinted that Mohammed Fazil was murdered in retaliation after the Islamists killed BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Nettaru on July 27. NDTV, which had established itself by using and selling tapes and equipment stolen from Doordarshan, tend to ignore the suspected Shia Sunni love affair angle in the case and targeted the members of the Hindu organization.

In the video report, the NDTV showcased the CCTV footage that was accessed by the Karnataka Police in connection with Fizal’s murder and then showcased Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers protesting against the murder of Praveen Nettaru. The report clearly attempted to indirectly insinuate that Fazil on July 28 was allegedly murdered by Hindus in retaliation for Praveen’s murder. Such alleged claims put forth by the NDTV have been dismissed by other media reports who stated that Fazil’s murder may have been linked to a Shia-Sunni love affair.

Mangaluru Police Commissioner, N Shashi Kumar, confirmed the death of Fazil on July 28 and said that the incident happened at around 8 pm. “There was an incident where a 23-year-old boy was brutally attacked by 4-5 people near Krishnapura Katipalla road, Surathkal. The boy was immediately shifted to a hospital and was declared dead”, he said.

Following the incident, the police appealed to the Muslim community to hold Friday prayers at home. Liquor shops have also been closed down on Friday and police are not permitting more than five persons in a group. “We have requested all Muslim leaders to perform their prayers at their homes, in the larger interest of the law and order of every locality”, Kumar said also requesting the citizens to not succumb to any rumours being spread by vested-interest groups.

Earlier, BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru was hacked to death by assailants who were on a bike in Bellari, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, and attacked Nettaru with sharp weapons. Two accused named Zakir and Mohammed Shafiq have been arrested in Kerala. Reports mention that the two are linked to the Islamist terrorist organizations named SDPI and PFI.

The case has been registered under the relevant sections of the IPC and the Police are investigating the case to verify the motive behind the murder. The Police have also recovered the CCTV footage from the spot which has shocked the state. Further investigations are underway.

Telangana: Municipal Commissioner issues memo to govt hospital employees for not attending minister KT Rama Rao’s birthday celebrations

OpIndia Staff
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Telangana: Municipal Commissioner issues memo to govt hospital employees for not attending minister KT Rama Rao’s birthday celebrations

Commissioner of Bellampally Municipal Council in Mancherial District in Telangana has issued a memo to four employees of a government hospital for failing to attend Telangana Municipal Minister KT Rama Rao’s birthday celebrations on July 24, 2022. The employees were asked to provide the reason for their absence on the occasion within 24 hours after receiving the notice.

The memo issued by Municipal Commissioner Gopu Gangadhar reads, “With reference to the above cited, regarding the birthday celebrations of Hon’ble Municipal Minister Sri K. Taraka Rama Rao were held on 24.07.2022 at Bellampally Government Hospital at 10.00 AM. All the office staff was informed to attend through WhatsApp message. But the message was ignored, and the memo was issued due to poor attendance of the below employees.” The four employees mentioned in the memo are, Smt T. Rajeshwari, Senior Assistant, Sri S. PunnamChander, Junior Assistant, Sri A. Mohan, System Manager, and Shravan, Bill collector. While the names of the first three were printed in the memo, the fourth name Shravan was added later in handwriting.

“In this connection, so why action should not be taken against you for not attending the above mentioned event. You can reply to this memo within (24) hours after touching it. Otherwise, disciplinary, action will be taken against you and your superiors will be informed if you do not respond to this memo,” it further added.

On July 24th, a celebration was held at the Government hospital in Bellampalli to celebrate the birthday of Municipal Minister KTR. A WhatsApp message was circulated to all office employees inviting them to the function. According to the Municipal Council’s office, the message was ignored, and four employees did not attend the event.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) workers and leaders had organised birthday celebrations across the state on 24th July on the occasion of K.T. Rama Rao, Minister for Industries, IT and Urban Development. The minister had appealed to not organise any celebrations due to the rain and floods faced by the state, but the party workers had ignored that call. The himself had refrained from any celebration of his birthday.

UPA-era coal scam: Former Union Coal Secretary HC Gupta, who worked under Manmohan Singh, joint secretary KS Kropha and 1 other convicted

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UPA-era coal scam: Former Union Coal Secretary HC Gupta, who worked under Manmohan Singh, joint secretary KS Kropha and 1 other convicted

A special CBI court in Maharashtra on Friday convicted former Union Coal secretary HC Gupta and former joint secretary KS Kropha among others in a coal scam case. The court found irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks in Maharashtra’s Lohara East.

As per reports, Mukesh Gupta, the director of a Nagpur-based firm Grace Industries Limited has also been convicted in the coal scam case by the CBI court.

The CBI court of special judge Arun Bharadwaj found HC Gupta, KS Kropha and Mukesh Gupta guilty under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The sentences will be decided on August 22. The case was registered by the CBI in September 2012 under sections 120B r/w, 420 IPC r/w, 13(2) r/w, 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

In its initial charge sheet filed in October 2014, the CBI had named Mukesh Gupta and his Grace Industries Ltd. The court, however, asked the probe agency to continue further investigation into the matter to ascertain the role of senior government staffers in the allocation of coal blocks. The court had asked CBI to seek sanctions to prosecute KS Kropha, the then joint secretary in the Ministry of Coal and VS Sawakhande, the former Director of the Directorate of Mining and Geology, Government of Maharashtra.

The CBI had reportedly found that Mukesh Gupta had obtained coal block allocations for Grace Industries Ld through cheating and fraudulent documents and that his actions were aided and supported by senior government officials like HC Gupta and Kropha. The irregularities in allocation were reported between 2005-2011. CBI had also alleged that Mukesh Gupta had used false documents to show his company’s net worth as 120 crores while its actual net worth was just 3.3 crores.

In August 2014, the Supreme Court of India cancelled the entire allocation of coal blocks. During the hearing of the case, the special court had also observed that the conduct of officials from then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office was not satisfactory.

A total of 34 witnesses were produced by the CBI in the case.

Not the first conviction for HC Gupta

It is notable here that former Union Coal secretary HC Gupta was earlier sentenced to 3 years in prison and then granted bail by a Delhi court in a coal scam case from West Bengal in 2018. Gupta’s conviction had garnered criticism, even from the IAS Association in the past, stating that Gupta was a public servant and he has been made a victim of circumstances, while the minister who he worked for had the final say, and was the final signatory in the allocations.

The coal scam was one of the biggest blots on the UPA government under Manmohan Singh. Even the ex-PM’s own office had come under scrutiny for alleged involvement in the irregularities.

In 2018, Minister of State for PMO and personnel Jeetendra Singh stated in a reply in Lok Sabha that the CBI is probing the role of a former PM’s office in the coal scam case. He had not used Manmohan Singh’s name. he stated that the CBI has obtained files in at least 20 cases related to the coal block allocations from the ex-PM’s office. He added that the former PM also acted in the capacity of the Minister of Coal.

The coal block scam is regarded as one of the biggest scams in India. The final CAG report in the matter pegs the total loss to the country at 1.86 lakhs crores. After the NDA government came to power, the process of allocation of coal blocks was cancelled and reallocation was done in a transparent auction.

HC Gupta was the Coal secretary from December 31, 2005, to November 2008 and had served under the Manmohan Singh government where the Coal ministry was under Shibu Soren and PM Manmohan Singh himself for different periods of time.

In another coal scam case pertaining to the allocation of a Chhattisgarh-based coal block, HC Gupta was acquitted by a Delhi court in August 2019. The court had opined that CBI had failed to prove its charges against Gupta.

In May 2017, HC Gupta, KS Kropha and KC Samria, who was the director in charge of coal block allocation, were convicted in a coal scam case by a special CBI court. The same court had given a clean chit to former PM Manmohan Singh who also had the portfolio of the Coal ministry during the period. The court had stated in its judgement that the convicted bureaucrats had withheld information from Manmohan Singh.

The screening committee that Gupta had headed during his tenure as Union Coal Secretary had cleared around 40 cases of coal mining rights, as per reports.

‘Rashtrapatni’ row: BJP MP Rama Devi slams Sonia Gandhi, says instead of reproaching Adhir Chowdhury, she acted outrageously in Parliament

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‘Rashtrapatni’ row: BJP MP Rama Devi slams Sonia Gandhi, says instead of reproaching Adhir Chowdhury, she acted outrageously in Parliament

A day after a verbal spat broke out between Congress’s interim President Sonia Gandhi and BJP leader Smriti Irani in the lower house of the parliament, BJP leader Rama Devi who was approached by Sonia Gandhi, criticized her for her conduct with Irani. “Sonia Gandhi shouldn’t have acted outrageously in the parliament”, Rama Devi said on July 28.

According to the reports, the saga began after Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Adhir Chowdhury referred to the newly elected President Droupadi Murmu as ‘Rashtrapatni’ while addressing the press. Irani on Thursday then slammed Congress and demanded an apology for maliciously targeting President Droupadi Murmu and said that the country knows that the opposition party is anti-tribal, anti-Dalit, and anti-women.

Irani also led the protest in Lok Sabha against the blatant remarks by Chowdhury and sought an apology from both Chowdhury and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. She also slammed Congress for disrespecting the newly elected President. Amid the protest, Sonia Gandhi who was present in the house approached BJP MP Rama Devi and asked ‘What is my fault? Why is my name being dragged in this?”. Seeing this, Smriti Irani intervened to know what was the matter that was being discussed when Sonia Gandhi was outraged and said, “you don’t talk to me”.

Rama Devi while talking to the media on July 28 said that Gandhi’s fault was that she had selected Chowdhury as the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha. “When Smriti Ji said that you (Gandhi) should know that such a thing has been said to a President by your (Congress) leader. You should ask him about the fault who you’ve chosen as your leader. To this, Sonia Gandhi said I am not talking to you. On this, Smriti Irani said that you have come to ask Rama Ji, then why will I not speak and then the argument started”, Rama Devi stated.

Rama Devi further said that Sonia Gandhi had delivered her statement in anger, which she should not have spoken. “She should have asked Congress’ leader instead that how he dared call the President as ‘Rashtrapatni’, that too not once but twice”. She also cleared that Smriti Irani was not angry, but Sonia Gandhi was angry about who was going out of the house, but then returned. “If Adhir Ranjan had apologized, the matter would have ended. Instead of getting infuriated, Sonia should admit her mistake and control her leader”, the BJP leader from Sheohar in Bihar said.

The matter was also given attention by BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman who led similar protests in the upper house of the parliament. “Some of our Lok Sabha MPs felt threatened when Sonia Gandhi came up to our senior leader Rama Devi to find out what was happening during which, one of our members approached there and she (Sonia Gandhi) said you don’t talk to me”, Sitharaman said.

BJP women members were seated in the front rows in the Lok Sabha as they led the protests in the House against Chowdhury’s remarks. To note, India has had a female President before. The first time this happened, there was a slight dispute about how would the state address the Head of State, reportedly because ‘Rashtrapati’ has a patriarchial connotation. The dispute then had quickly died down once it was decided that terminology like Rashtrapati and Sabhapati (Speaker) are believed to be gender-neutral under India’s constitutional structure.

Bal Thackeray, the Shiv Sena supremo who had supported Patil’s presidential candidacy also had attempted to resolve the controversy. In a statement published in his Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna in June 2007, he had said, “I believe there is no need for a ‘Pati’ or a ‘Patni,’ and Pratibhatai should be known as Rashtradhyaksh,” he had stated.

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