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National Herald case: Rahul Gandhi throws deceased Motilal Vora under the bus over alleged financial irregularities during ED probe

OpIndia Staff
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National Herald case: Rahul Gandhi throws deceased Motilal Vora under the bus over alleged financial irregularities during ED probe

Senior Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi during his probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over last few days blamed now-deceased Congress leader Motilal Vora for alleged financial irregularities. As per a report by Times of India, Rahul Gandhi told the ED officials that former Congress Treasurer was responsible for all transactions related to the acquisition of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) by Young Indian. AJL publishes National Herald, the party’s mouthpiece masquerading as a newspaper.

Motilal Vora passed away in December 2020 at age 92.

As per the report, Rahul Gandhi has washed his hands off from having any personal knowledge about the transactions which are being probed for money laundering. Young Indian and AJL are both companies which are controlled by the Gandhi family. Citing sources, the ToI report states Rahul Gandhi has denied having any knowledge of loans or the accommodation entries made by the Young Indian and put the blame squarely on shoulders of Motilal Vora, a Gandhi family loyalist who is no more. Congress, however, has refused to comment on the same.

Citing ED sources, the report further stated that it the ED did not grill Rahul Gandhi continuously for hours as suggested by Congress workers. The reason the questioning was delayed was because after every few hours Rahul Gandhi kept reviewing his answers. So effectively, they only managed six hours of questioning in three days of questioning. Rahul Gandhi has sought exemption from questioning on Thursday and hence it shall now continue on Friday.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who has also been summoned by the ED for questioning on June 23, and her son Rahul Gandhi together hold 76% stake in the Young Indian. Of the remaining 24%, deceased Motilal Vora and another Congress loyalist Oscar Fernandes held 12% each. Sonia Gandhi was last week admitted to hospital after she tested positive for Covid.

In April this year, the ED recorded statements of Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and current treasurer of Congress Pawan Bansal, who are also office bearers in AJL and YI. The summons to Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi were issued after that.

However, the Congress workers have taken to streets since Monday to protest against the summons by ED. In fact, the party workers indulged in arson and burnt tyres on streets of Delhi to protest. Now, the questioning will take place on Friday.

However, since past three weeks now, Fridays in some part of the country have turned violent after Muslim mobs have taken to streets to pelt stones while protesting against ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s comments on Prophet Muhammad. People have raised concerns of law and order situation for Friday as there is fear of Islamist mob resorting to stone pelting yet again as well as Congress workers who have been taken to violent protests as well. The two sets of protestors coinciding might worsen the law and order situation.

National Herald case

The National Herald scam is one of the most notable legal cases in Indian history, as the Gandhis are directly accused. The Mother-Son duo of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, along with their aides – Oscar Fernandez, Motilal Vora and Sam Pithroda are alleged to have been involved in massive ‘cheating and breach of trust’ in the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) by Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YIL). Assets worth crores of rupees had been allegedly transferred for purposes other than originally intended for a paltry sum. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi got unconditional bail in December 2015.

As an NRI Hindu, here is why the Nupur Sharma incident hurts me

Rudra Prasanna Banerjee
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As an NRI Hindu, here is why the Nupur Sharma incident hurts me

The suspension, the death threats and the protests against BJP leader Nupur Sharma from the party augmented a nationwide debate on the correlation between freedom of speech and religious sentiments. I would like to use this opportunity to express two incidents which are similar perhaps intertwined in some way and discuss my perception of life as an NRI, particularly as a Hindu, for the last seven years.

The first incident I have faced after the Kathua rape case in 2018. Many Indians irrespective of their religious beliefs protested against that incident on social media and also on the streets of India. I had been living in the capital of Alberta province in Canada at that time. Suddenly a notification popped up on Facebook that a rally was organized in the city to condemn the reprehensible incident in Kathua. While the heinous incident at Kathua needed to be condemned in the strongest words, the event itself was very surprising to me. I found that event offensive as the organizer tried to portray Muslims as being oppressed by Hindus in India and that led me to make a comment on that post to debunk their baseless claim with the fact that the Muslim percentage in India has been constantly expanding while Hindus from Pakistan and Bangladesh wiped out due to ethnic cleansing.

As a consequence of that, I received a death threat on messenger. Consciously, I contacted the local police station at that time to avoid any problem. I was advised not to chase that down any further. Owing to their advice I rested my case there and moved on, as it was vehemently difficult for me to fight against that force as an international student.

The second incident took place after the historic verdict of the honourable Supreme Court of India on Ram Janmabhumi. I went to have some coffee during my lunch break and suddenly a group of students from one of our neighbouring countries called me to have some chit-chat. They were previously known to me, and we used to maintain a friendly relationship despite the fact that they belong to a different religion. On that day, they suddenly started asking my opinion on the Ram Janmabhoomi verdict. I made it very clear that I was exceedingly happy with the judgement.

They started arguing with me that it was unfair to them. I tried to keep quiet and ignore them, and subsequently, they started abusing Lord Rama and Lord Krishna to provoke me. I kept smiling all the time and tried to clear their doubts. Before I left there, I politely explained to them that to produce a baby we need a sperm from the male and an oocyte from the female, so, it is not possible to give birth to a child if the gender of that person remains unknown. I further asked them to explain this inconsistency as per their religious beliefs. For that comment, they lodged complaints to many places against me. Again, I was advised not to agitate other students based on religious issues as that could lead to some drastic actions against me. So, I moved on with a smile. 

I do not have any complaints with my Government when I had to keep silent abroad after my fellow friends from another religion purposely abused my religious beliefs but when a Hindu woman in India is forced to keep silent to react to abusive comments on her religious beliefs, it truly hurts! Reiterating Swamiji’s notion of being a Hindu, I believe every religion is true. Also, being a scientist, I believe in the fact that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Nupur Sharma’s comment on Prophet Mohammad was a reaction to recalcitrant comments on Hindu beliefs made by a Muslim panellist on that program. Hence, it makes no sense to leave her alone and fight against the system that killed Kamlesh Tiwari in India or Charlie Hebdo in France. The suspension of Nupur Sharma from the BJP should not be a matter of concern for us but those who are using Nupur Sharma’s reaction to capitalize on some political mileage must be identified as traitors to the nation. Being the homeland of Hindus, in India, we should have the liberty to use our freedom of speech in a meaningful way to criticize those who have been keeping faith in the medieval mindset with a lack of common sense, respectfulness and gratitude. 

Chandigarh university removes alumni section after netizens point out distorted map of India, had shown parts of J&K as Pakistan territory

OpIndia Staff
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Chandigarh university removes alumni section after netizens point out distorted map of India, had shown parts of J&K as Pakistan territory

On June 15, netizens pointed out that the Alumni section of Chandigarh University shows the wrong map of India and depicts Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) as part of Pakistan. It was first pointed out by Twitter user root3vil. He published a screenshot of the page and asked, “Hey Chandigarh University, don’t you consider POK a part of India?”

Several netizens reacted to the post and demanded action. Supreme Court lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha tagged Punjab Police and said, “Dear Punjab Police, Kindly initiate legal action against Chandigarh University for putting incomplete map of India on their website and showing parts of Ladakh and Kashmir in Pakistan.”

Author Arin Kumar Shukla said, “Use of these kind of maps must be prohibited in the nation. This not only is anti-India, but also hurts sentiments of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters.” Shukla tagged Home Ministry and Prime Minister’s office in his tweet.

Netizen Durgesh Kumar Lath tagged Home Minister Amit Shah and said, “Can this be rectified? This happens many times, either by oversight or intent? Corporates/educational institutes/individuals must use map provided by the government.”

Twitter user Shreeniwaz said, “Have shame you Chandigarh University! DGP Chandigarh Police, Home Minister Office, Amit Shah take strict and immediate action on the culprits. Extremely irresponsible behaviour by #Chandigarh University which is responsible for shaping the young generation of this country.”

Pakistani users jumped in to take advantage of the wrong info. A Twitter user from Pakistan Aligoga said, “Even Chandigarh University knows Kashmir belongs to Pakistan.” He tagged the wrong Twitter handle in his Tweet.

Tweet by Pakistani user. Source: Twitter.

Chandigarh University removed the Alumni section after outrage

After netizens pointed out the wrong map, the Alumni section disappeared from the University’s official website. When we tried to access the “search by map” page on the Alumni section, it showed a 404 error.

Alumni section removed from Chandigarh University’s website. Source: Chandigarh University Website

However, the page was available on Archive.org. From the screenshots available on Twitter and from the archived page, it is clear that the University used the wrong map of India. However, there is a catch to it.

Now-deleted page of Chandigarh University Alumni section. Source: Archive.org

It seems that the developer who created the website used a third-party map to embed it in the website. On the bottom-right corner of the map, it says, “Leaflet | Map tiles by Stamen Design, CC BY 3.0 — Map data © OpenStreetMap”.

OpenStreetMap is a free-to-use open map built with the help of contributors. When we checked the website OpenStreetMap, it also had the wrong map of India. As it is an open-source map and users contribute the data, it is possible that the incorrect information was fed by the contributors.

Home screen of OpenStreetMap as seen from India. Source: OpenStreepMap.

It is notable that, unlike OpenStreetMap, Google Maps (which would have cost Chandigarh University to embed) show maps according to the location of the user. For example, if someone is looking at the map from India, PoK will be shown as part of India, but if someone is looking from Pakistan, PoK will be shown as part of Pakistan. Google maps have redrawn the maps to avoid any legal challenges it may face in different countries depending on their official political maps.

How Google Map shows Indian map when checked from India. Source: Google Map

Chandigarh University is not in Chandigarh, it is in Punjab

It is notable that Chandigarh University is a private university located in Punjab. It is not affiliated or linked in any way to Panjab University, which is a government-funded university located in Chandigarh. In the footnote of Panjab University, it is clearly mentioned that both Universities are different and have no affiliation with each other.

It reads, “Panjab University (Established in 1882) is a Central and State Governments Funded University located in Chandigarh. Panjab University is not related at all to Chandigarh University, which is a private university and located in Distt Mohali, Punjab about 25 Kms from Chandigarh. No official of Panjab University or Admission Cell is giving any call to the prospective candidate for seeking admission to PU or for submitting admission fee etc.”

Footnote disclaimer on Panjan University Website clarifying it is different from Chandigarh University. Source: Panjab University Website.

In a recent communication, Panjab University has decided to create videos and use social media to attract admissions. During the process, the University has made sure to point out the difference between Panjab University and Chandigarh University.

PU’s dean of university instruction (DUI), Renu Vig, said, “It was discussed that departments should make videos mentioning their strengths and also highlight their alumni. At the university level, we will make videos on PU, underlining its salient features, such as being one of the oldest universities with campus spread across 550 acres in sectors 14 and 25 in Chandigarh. We will also mention various rankings, highlighting famous alumni so as to differentiate it from Chandigarh University.”

OpIndia contacted Chandigarh University via email and will update the report when and if we get a reply.

Kerala CM removes police officer for warning mosques against hate speech on Fridays

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala CM removes police officer for warning mosques against hate speech on Fridays

On 15th June 2022, the Kerala government removed Biju Prakash, the station house officer of Mayyil police station in Kannur from his duties after the police officer issued a notice to the local mosque committee in which he had asked the responsible persons in the mosque to restrain from delivering any hate speech from the mosque during the Friday Namaz. Biju Prakash had issued the notice considering the recent violent protests and subsequent riots by the Islamists in different parts of the country against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her so-called derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad.

SHO Biju Prakash had sent the notice to the Juma Masjid committee in the area asking them to refrain from delivering provocative speeches during Friday prayers. He had told the mosque committee that the Friday prayers in the mosque should not be used to disrupt communal harmony and incite communal hatred. The notice had also said that appropriate actions will be taken against those who violate this advisory and delivers hate speech.

However, soon after the Mosque received the circular, there was an outrage against the cop. The Muslim community, including parties like Muslim League and SDPI protested against the circular. Muslim League Kannur district general secretary Abdul Karim Cheleri asked Chief Minister to clarify the govt’s stand on the issue. The Muslim leaders also lodged a complaint against the police officer with the Kannur City Police Commissioner.

Following the outrage, the circular was withdrawn and the SHO was removed from his post. After the govt action, the officer said that it was actually an oral advisory to the mosque committee. Withdrawing the circular, the police commissioner also sought an explanation from SHO Biju Prakash.

Reacting to the incident, an official release from the chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office mentioned that the notice issued by Biju Prakash was against the policy of the state government. It said, “The SHO had issued the notice without understanding the government policy. Hence, the DGP (director general of police) has removed him from duty. The notice was completely unwarranted and contrary to the view of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.”

It further said, “The government does not believe that communal propaganda is going on at masjids. All should cooperate with the government considering the importance of communal harmony. Certain forces are trying to create communal tension in the country. At this stage, it is vital to protect peaceful life and harmony.”

This statement was issued by the chief minister’s office after the police were criticized for serving this notice. VT Balram, the vice president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee had questioned if the LDF government was going to issue notices to temple committees in the state to ban hate propagandists. VT Balram essentially referred to the recent alleged hate speech by veteran politician PC George at a temple event. Currently, Biju Prakash – the SHO who had issued the notice to the mosque committee – is removed from his duties.

All India Women’s Conference says Nepali is not an Indian language, furious Gorkhas demand apology and removal of ‘racist’ individuals

OpIndia Staff
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All India Women’s Conference says Nepali is not an Indian language, furious Gorkhas demand apology and removal of ‘racist’ individuals

A new controversy over languages arose in the north-eastern part of India as the NGO All India Women’s Conference failed to recognize Nepali as an official Indian language and barred a participant from performing a Nepali song in a program celebrating ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to mark 75th anniversary of India’s independence. AIWC refused to allow performance of Nepali song saying that the language is not from India. The matter surfaced as an audio clip of a conversation between an AIWC member from Kalimpong and the AIWC officials in Delhi surfaced. Getting furious over this insulting negligence, the Gorkha community and local elected representatives from Darjeeling are demanding an unconditional apology from the NGO and removal of officials who made the claim.

While shortlisting the performances for the program to be held on the 75th Independence Day, All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) member Chandra Prabha Pande rejected a performance in the Nepali language citing that ‘Nepali is a non-Indian language’. When Aruna Pradhan from Kalimpong tried to reason with AIWC Executive member Chandra Prabha Pande, instead of listening to her, Chandra Prabha Pande further insisted saying, “they [artists from Darjeeling Kalimpong region] cannot send performances in the Nepali language for India’s 75th Independence Day celebrations, as it is not a language from India”.

Nepali is a widely used language in the northeastern part of the country. It is included in the eighth schedule of the constitution of India. A body like AIWC was expected to know this. But the negligence in the current incident caused a great disappointment to the Gorkha community numbering around 1.5 crores which is one of the most prominent Nepali-speaking communities.

Gorkha rights activist Dr. Ashish Pradhan said while speaking to News18 about this issue, “We came across this telephonic conversation between the president of AIWC’s Kalingpom unit and her counterpart in Delhi. What the lady at the Delhi end had to say, we were deeply anguished. Because see, the entire language movement that happened in Darjeeling and Kalingpom and then after a long struggle the constitution of India was amended. The 71st amendment took place in 1992 and Nepali was included as one of the languages of India. Needless to say that the entire land has been the part of British India since 1860 and then part of the Indian Union and the contribution to the relation-building of the Gorkhas, the Nepali-speaking Gorkhas have been immense. In spite of this, we have ignorance amongst a large part of the intelligentsia. We seem not to register ourselves in the national imagination. This is deeply languishing.”

Raju Bista, Member of Parliament from Darjeeling Lok Sabha Constituency wrote a letter to the AIWC president in this regard and shared the same on his Facebook post. Calling AIWC racist, he demanded an apology form the NGO, and also demanded that the the racist persons who said Nepali is not Indian language should be removed from the NGO. He wrote, “What I find absolutely infuriating is that an esteemed organization like AIWC would have members, who are absolutely ignorant about the fact that the Nepali language is spoken by the 1.5 crores strong Indian Gorkha community, and it is duly recognized as one of the national languages such under the VIIIth Schedule of our Constitution. By claiming that Nepali is not an Indian language, and not allowing performance in the Nepali language, that too on the pious occasion of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations, AIWC has shown deliberate racism against the Gorkha community of our nation.”

BJP MP further Raju Bista further wrote, “Perhaps AIWC members are unaware that our Gorkha ancestors have played a vital role in ensuring India’s Independence, and I would suggest AIWC read about the contributions of Gorkha braves like Saheed Durga Malla of INA, Saheed Ms. Helen Lecha, Sh. Dal Bahadur Giri, Capt Ram Singh Thakuri of INA, Jangbir Sapkota, Subedar Niranjan Chettri, and thousands of other Gorkha brave hearts who have laid down their lives for our nation’s independence and keeping her safe from the enemies of our nation post-independence.

“I demand that AIWC issue an apology to the Indian Gorkha community forthwith, and ensure those racist individuals are all removed from their posts and positions in the organization,” the MP demanded in his letter to the organisattion.

It is notable that Nepali is listed the 14 languages in the 8th schedule of the constitution of India, and it is the native language for a large number of people in the country. Nepali speaking Gorkhas are concentrated in North Bengal, while large numbers of Nepali speaking people live in Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal and other northeastern states.

Pakistan ‘Cutting Chai’: Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal asks people to drink fewer cups of tea to keep economy afloat

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan ‘Cutting Chai’: Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal asks people to drink fewer cups of tea to keep economy afloat

On Wednesday, Pakistani Minister Ahsan Iqbal urged the people of Pakistan to reduce their tea intake to keep the economy afloat. “Pakistan imports tea and for that, it has to borrow money. Until the country becomes independent in tea production, people should avoid all such items”, the Federal Planning and Development minister said on June 15.

According to the reports, Pakistan is the world’s largest importer of tea. It imported around $60 million worth of more tea than the last fiscal year for which it had to apparently borrow the money. “I appeal to the nation to cut down the consumption of tea by one to two cups because we import tea on loan,” he was quoted.

This is amid the severe financial crisis in Pakistan reflected by its lower foreign currency reserves. Reports mention that the rapidly falling foreign currency reserves are pressurizing the Pakistan government to reduce the high import costs and save the funds.

The recent economic crisis is a major test for PM Shehbaz Sharif, who replaced Imran Khan in April. Meanwhile, the video of the incident has gone viral over the internet with netizens wondering how cutting down their daily tea consumption would help Pakistan overcome the economic crisis.

One of the users slamming the state for its appeal, said that the Government of Pakistan does not provide tea for free. “Consumers pay for the chai they consume. There’ll be no compromise on Chai”, she tweeted.

Another mocked Iqbal. Said, “Ahsan Iqbal sahib, we can also try ‘intermediate’ fasting so we just stop eating/drinking all together. So excited with your vision of the future. 500 years ahead of it’s time. Bless you oh saviour of mankind”.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves accounted for $10 billion in the first week of June. The same in February accounted to $16 billion. Reportedly, the Pakistan officials have also cramped the import of non-essential luxury items to save and protect the funds.

International North-South Transport Corridor: Russia sends test consignment to India through Caspian Sea – Iran route avoiding Suez Canal

OpIndia Staff
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International North-South Transport Corridor: Russia sends test consignment to India through Caspian Sea – Iran route avoiding Suez Canal

Russia has started using an alternate route to ship goods to India, through Caspian Sea and Iran, bypassing the Mediterranean Sea – Suez Canal route. Russia dispatched a test cargo to India from St. Petersburg via Iran o Saturday, operationalising the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). According to Russia Briefing, Iran’s state-owned shipping firm has announced the first transit of Russian products to India via the INSTC.

Economic Times, quoting Dariush Jamali, director of a joint-owned Iranian-Russian terminal in Astrakhan, reported that goods originating in St. Petersburg are on their way to Russian city Astrakhan, which is the Caspian port city located on the delta of Volga river. In Astrakhan, the cargo will be reloaded at the Solyanka Port in the city. They will then go across the Caspian Sea to Iran’s Anzali Port, where they will be carried by road through Iran to the port city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. The goods will again be loaded onto ships at the Iranian port, and from there the goods will be delivered to India’s largest container port in Navi Mumbai. 

Two 40-foot (12.192-meter) containers of wood laminate sheets totalling 41 tonnes were included in the test shipment. The duration of the journey is less than 25 days, as opposed to the approximately 40 days it now takes to move cargo from Russia to India through the Baltic Sea – North Sea – Mediterranean Sea – Suez Canal – Red Sea -Arabian Sea route. Aside from shortening the time it takes for transport between India and Russia, INSTC is seen as a feasible alternative for Indo-Russian trade in the face of present international issues. The journey time will shorten even more after a rail route Iran is constructing is completed.

The International North-South Transport Corridor

The International North-South Transport Corridor is a multi-modal connectivity project that will build a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road routes to move freight between India, Russia, Iran, Europe, and Central Asia. The INSTC would provide access to landlocked Central Asian states. INSTC, which was conceived long before China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), would not only assist reduce the cost and time it takes to transport commodities from India to Russia and Europe via Iran but will also serve as an alternative connectivity strategy for countries in the Eurasian zone.

International North–South Transport Corridor - Wikipedia
International North-South Transport Corridor. (Source: Wikipedia)

INSTC is not a new concept; numerous European, Indian, and other foreign traders have employed it to reach Central Asian markets. The present INSTC project, on the other hand, was launched in September 2000 in St. Petersburg by Russia, India, and Iran. The agreement was signed on 16th May 2002. Azerbaijan joined this agreement in 2005 and later several other countries ratified it, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Ukraine. The route largely comprises transporting goods via sea, train, and road from India, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia.

ED refutes ‘20-hour’ grill reports, says Rahul Gandhi questioned for 6 hours, the remaining time spent by him on correcting answers

OpIndia Staff
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ED refutes ‘20-hour’ grill reports, says Rahul Gandhi questioned for 6 hours, the remaining time spent by him on correcting answers

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has refuted news reports claiming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was grilled for 20 hours in connection with money laundering charges related to the National Herald case.

The premier central agency said the Gandhi scion was questioned only for 6 hours, and the rest of the time spent was used by him to review his answers.

The clarifications came in the wake of multiple news reports that said the Enforcement Directorate had the Wayanad MP put on the wringer for 20 hours as Rahul Gandhi arrived on Wednesday in the ED office for the third straight day of questioning in the National Herald money laundering case.

As per ED sources quoted by Times Now, the agency had questioned Rahul Gandhi for approximately 3 hours on Monday and for the same amount of time on Tuesday. The rest of the time, the ED source reportedly said, was utilised by Gandhi to evaluate and proofread his responses. The responses are reviewed, corrected and retyped before they are signed by Gandhi.

Gandhi has been recording his statement in multiple sessions in connection with the National Herald case. After Tuesday’s questioning, the Gandhi scion has reportedly clocked roughly over 20 hours of interrogation with the ED officials. However, reports quoting agency sources say the former Congress president has been thoroughly checking the transcript of his statements before submitting them.

Rahul Gandhi questioned by ED over National Herald case

On Monday (June 13), Congress scion Rahul Gandhi appeared before the Enforcement Directorate after he was issued a summons by the central agency in connection to a money laundering case related to the National Herald case.

He was interrogated for several hours and his statement was recorded under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Reportedly, the Congress leader was quizzed by the Assistant Director of the ED and the questioning was supervised by a Deputy Director.

Gandhi’s statement was typed out by another officer. He may be summoned for further questioning on Tuesday (June 14). It must be mentioned that the ED had recorded the statements of all those involved in the case, with the exception of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.

National Herald scam

The National Herald scam is one of the most notable legal cases in Indian history, as the Gandhis are directly accused. The Mother-Son duo of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, along with their aides – Oscar Fernandez, Motilal Vohra and Sam Pithroda are alleged to have been involved in massive ‘cheating and breach of trust’ in the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) by Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YIL). Assets worth crores of rupees had been allegedly transferred for purposes other than originally intended for a paltry sum. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi got unconditional bail in December 2015.

‘Write how Kashmiri Hindus were killed, women were raped’: Anupam Kher slams Bhaskar journalist, performs Tripindi Shradh rituals in Varanasi

OpIndia Staff
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‘Write how Kashmiri Hindus were killed, women were raped’: Anupam Kher slams Bhaskar journalist, performs Tripindi Shradh rituals in Varanasi

Bollywood actor Anupam Kher took a journalist of Dainik Bhaskar head-on in an exchange of words on Twitter on 15th June 2022. In his tweet, the actor reprimanded a journalist named Rajesh Sahu and advised him to write an article on the atrocities committed against Kashmiri Hindus.

Kher asked Rajesh Sahu that instead of preaching knowledge to others, he should try to write on terrorism or about the Kashmiri women who were raped. Anupam Kher replied to Rajesh Sahu in response to a tweet by Sahu in which he suggested Anupam Kher leave the puja rituals and ask for security for Kashmiri Hindus.

This Twitter fight started on the night of 14th June 2022 when Anupam Kher tweeted, “Tomorrow, I am going to Varanasi where I will be doing Shanti Path for the peace to the souls of the Kashmiri Hindus who were brutally killed in the Hindu genocide by the terrorists. This was a resolution I made during the shooting of the film The Kashmir Files. This puja is called Tripindi Shradh Puja. I thank the organizers.”

Rajesh Sahu, in response to the actor’s tweet, wrote, “You need to go to Kashmir before you come to Varanasi. The situation there is bad. Go there and talk to the Governor about the safety of the Pandits. Then you come to Mahadev and do the puja rituals for the peace to the souls of the Kashmiri Pandits.”

Many users reacted to this response by the Dainik Bhaskar journalist. Anupam Kher responded to Sahu’s tweet and wrote, “Do something yourself. You are a journalist in Dainik Bhaskar. Write an article describing how brutally terrorists have killed Kashmiri Hindus in Kashmir in the last 35 years. Write how their mothers and sisters were raped. Condemn terrorism. I am going to perform the Puja for those who were killed by the bullets of those very terrorists.”

While replying to this tweet by Anupam Kher, Rajesh Sahu twisted the topic and took it in a different direction. He held the film The Kashmir Files responsible for the negativity in the He wrote, “We write that atrocities took place in Kashmir. But why not blame the then government at the time of violence against Kashmiri Pandits? This part was cleverly hidden in your film as well. Your film has spread only negativity. In Kashmir as well as in the country.”

Sahu’s tweet in Reply to Anupam Kher

It is notable that since the release of The Kashmir Files, many influential persons like Farooq Abdullah have cited this film as the reason for the target killings of Hindus, trying to pretend that the movie is the reason for the attacks against Hindus. Apart from them, the liberal community of social media never digested the things shown in this film. Many of them shared similar reactions in replies to the tweets by Anupam Kher and Rajesh Sahu. Some of them even mocked Anupam Kher’s acting in this film.

While they spent their energy trying to blame the then governor, the then government, VP Singh, and even the recently released film for the brutal targeted killings of Hindus in Kashmir, none of the Islamists and ‘Left-liberals’ ever condemned the actual reason behind the killings and violence, Pakistan-sponsored Islamic terrorism.

Even Sahu’s comments that ‘The Kashmir Files’ “only fanned negativity” is another attempt in that direction. The Hindus in Kashmir have been killed systematically long before, during and after the exodus in 1990 and the murders are still ongoing, but all these ‘secular liberals’ try to do is ignore the actual perpetrators, while blaming the movie that presented the brutal truth. A 2022 movie is being blamed for the systemic, organised murders targeting the minority Hindus that have plagued the valley for decades while whitewashing Islamic terrorism that actually committed the murders and is still at it.

The Tripindi Shradh was performed in Kashi on Wednesday for the peace of the souls of Kashmiri Pandits. As declared in his tweet, Anupam Kher attended the rituals and represented the Kashmiri Pandits. The program started at around 10 am at the Pishachmochan Kund in Kashi. People from Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh were present in this ritual. The Shradh rituals were performed by Shrinath Pathak alias Rani Guru while Dr Santosh Ojha performed the Anushthana. The Tripindi Shradh rituals were organized by an NGO called Aagaman.

UAE suspends re-export of Indian wheat: Low IQ Islamists rejoice after NDTV report said UAE banned import of Indian grain

OpIndia Staff
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UAE suspends re-export of Indian wheat: Low IQ Islamists rejoice after NDTV report said UAE banned import of Indian grain

Amid the global wheat shortage due to Russia-Ukraine war, countries have taken various steps to protect food security for their populations. As part of such measures, gulf nation UAE has decided that it will no re-export of wheat imported from India. However, NDTV chose to give the news a spin, and reported that UAE has banned import of wheat of India.

NDTV India posted a tweet that said “Bharat se Ghenhu nehi mangayega UAE”, which means ‘UAE will not import wheat from India’.

However, while using this completely false claim in the tweet, the linked report said that India has approved export of wheat to UAE for domestic consumption, and due that UAE has banned re-export of Indian wheat.

While NDTV English didn’t use such a blatant false text, their headline was also somewhat confusing, which resulted in many people to assume that UAE has taken some punitive action against India. Their tweet and headline said, “UAE To Suspend Exports Of Indian Wheat For 4 Months: Report”. As a result, without reading the details, many Islamists and ‘left-liberals’ rejoiced the decision assuming UAE banned the export of wheat to India, or maybe thinking UAE stopped buying wheat from India, the second-largest producer of wheat in the world. NDTV’s report was based on Reuters’ report.

NDTV reported UAE banned export of Indian wheat. Source: Twitter

As several gulf nations had issued statements condemning the comments on Prophet Mohammed by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, the Islamists and left liberals assumed that UAE has gone ahead in the matter. Though some of the tweets targeting the Indian government have been deleted by the original posters (OPs) after realizing they were making a fool of themselves, here are some of the gems that we found.

In a now-deleted tweet, actress Richa Chadha said, “Welcome to the international economic impact of hate.” Chadha, without reading the report, posted the Tweet but later deleted it after getting backlash from the netizens. Chadha, in her knee-jerk reaction, had just assumed that the news means one of the Gulf nations just did something to harm India’s economic interests, something the Islamists and Left-liberals keep dreaming of.

Richa Chadha called it the international economic impact of hate. Source: Twitter

Writer Harneet Singh wrote, “When are we sending Bulldozers there?” Later she probably realized her mistake and deleted the tweet, but by then, it was too late. In one of the follow-up tweets, she said, “Arre bhai galti ho gayi. Maan liya. Tweet delete kar diya. Peace. (I made a mistake. I admit it. I have deleted the Tweet).”

Harneet Singh questioned if “we” will be sending Bulldozers to UAE. Source: Twitter

A Twitter user Salmank004 said, “In a few days India is going to be like Sri Lanka.”

Salman said India will become Sri Lanka soon. Source: Twitter

Twitter user Aanuup said in Hindi, “Show this tweet to Vishwaguru.” Vishwaguru is a term used for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Aanuup asked to show the report to PM Modi. Source: Twitter

Another Twitter user Sheikh Zafar said, “Effect of Fringe element,” without having any idea what the report was exactly about.

Sheikh called it effect of Fringe element. Source: Twitter

A Twitter user Japneet Singh said, “Hamare foreign relations kaa satyanaas krke maanenge lagta h (I feel they will completely ruin our foreign relationships).” How the UAE banning the re-export of Indian wheat to other countries will impact foreign relations of India with any country is unclear.

Japneet said govt will destroy India’s foreign relations. Source: Twitter

Another Twitter user, iambossr, thanked PM Modi and MEA Dr Jaishankar sarcastically for India’s foreign policy and said, “Thank you Modi Ji and Dr Jaishankar for their brilliant foreign policy and diplomacy.” The Twitter user was completely unaware that India has no role in the export policies of the UAE to other countries.

NormalMan thanked PM Modi and MEA Dr Jaishankar. Source: Twitter

Twitter user nomezwa said, “BJP will destroy India. Open your eyes before it’s too late.”

Nomezwa said BJP will destroy India. Source: Twitter

UAE Banned the re-export of Indian wheat to other countries because it wants to keep its wheat stocks for now

Ministry of Economy, UAE, issued a press release on June 15 informing about the ban on the export of Indian wheat to other countries for four months. The ministry said the ban had been imposed starting from May 13, 2022, on all wheat varieties (spelt), namely hard, ordinary, and soft wheat and wheat flour (spelt flour).

Press Release by Ministry of Economy, UAE. Source: Ministry of Economy, UAE.

It further explained that the companies that wish to export or re-export wheat and wheat flour varieties of Indian origin that were imported into the country before May 13 would require permission to export the wheat outside UAE.

The decision has been taken in view of the international developments that have affected trade flows. It further added, “in appreciation of the solid and strategic relations that bind the UAE and India, especially after the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries and the Indian government’s approval to export wheat to the UAE for domestic consumption.”

The decision by UAE came as an effect of India’s decision to ban the export of wheat as it was found that several countries including China were hoarding Indian wheat to control the prices, and also in light of the possibility of lower production in the coming season. However, India is still exporting wheat to countries in need of wheat. The GoI had announced a ban on May 13 but relaxed exports with conditions on May 17. Therefore, India is now allowing export of wheat for domestic consumption of the various countries, but not allowing it to be used for speculative and price manipulation practices.

Contrary to what the Islamists and ‘Liberals’ had hoped for, the decision by UAE by no means affects their relationship with India or impacts India’s economic interests in any way. It actually shows that UAE has accepted India’s demand that Indian wheat will only be used for domestic consumption, and not for further export at higher proces.

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