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Fact check: Fake tweet attributed to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Rupee vs Dollar debate goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Fact check: Fake tweet attributed to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Rupee vs Dollar debate goes viral

A misleading claim about Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, justifying the fall in the value of the Indian rupee as compared to the US dollar, has been doing the rounds on the internet.

On Thursday (May 12), a parody account named ‘Rofl Gandhi 2.0’ mocked the Indian Minister and claimed that she was ‘unaffected’ by the slippage of the Indian rupee, given that her monetary transactions were not in US dollars.

“My family buys groceries & other things with Indian rupees, we don’t use US Dollars. Why should we be concerned about Dollar value then? #RupeeVsDollar,” the parody handle had tweeted.

Screengrab of the tweet by the parody handle

Netizens share parody tweet about Nirmala Sitharaman as real

Although the satirical tweet took potshots at Nirmala Sitharaman based on another misleading claim attributed to her, several social media users perceived it to be true.

One Dibyendu Halder claimed, “Now I understood, why our economy is not growing because our FM is a non-matric graduate.”

One Shaukat Azmi claimed, “So foolish and brainless.”

Screengrab of the tweet

“Wow… What a useless lady… She does not understand anything…She speaks nonsense all the time,” tweeted one Ahmad Raza.

A Twitter user (@rashmisrkfan) inquired, “Did she really said that?”

The Truth about the viral claims

In a tweet, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) debunked the claims falsely attributed to Nirmala Sitharaman.

“A picture of Union Finance Minister @nsitharaman is being circulated on social media giving a statement on the value of Rupee and Dollar. #PIBFactCheck:This Claim is #Fake.No such Statement has been given by the Finance Minister,” it had remarked.

 FM Nirmala Sitharaman quoted out on context over onion prices

In December 2019, a cropped video of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying that she did not eat much onion and garlic was being circulated across social media by supporters of opposition parties, to accuse the finance minister of being insensitive towards the issue of soaring onion prices.

In the Lok Sabha, NCP MP Supriya Sule had asked the FM about rising defaults in Mudra loans, the soaring onion prices and the steps that were being taken by the government to tackle the shortage.

As the Finance Minister began to respond to Supriya Sule’s question, an MP intervened and asked her if she ate onions. While responding to his remarks, Nirmala Sitharaman replied, “I do not eat much garlic or onion, I come from a family where we do not bother much about onions.”

The cropped video of the same, without the questions and the context of the discussion, soon hit the social media platforms to mock her and convey to the public that the Finance Minister was being insensitive to them by stating that the price rise did not bother her.

AltNews cofounder calls ‘Trishul Deeksha’ ceremony of Bajrang Dal as ‘arms training camp’, joins Islamists in fearmongering

Gopal Tiwari
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AltNews cofounder calls ‘Trishul Deeksha’ ceremony of Bajrang Dal as ‘arms training camp’, joins Islamists in fearmongering

AltNews cofounder Mohammed Zubair joined hands with Islamists in fearmongering when on 15th May 2022, he called the Trishul Deeksha ceremony of Bajrang Dal an ‘arms training camp’ in his tweet. Mohammed Zubair did not stop his fearmongering by posting just his tweets, but he further went on to retweet Islamists like Irena Akbar who called the Trishul Deeksha ceremony a terrorist training camp.

Mohammed Zubair created an air of fear by calling a regular exercise by Bajrang Dal to be an ‘arms training camp’. Posting images of youths in saffron dresses with small trishuls in their hands, Zubair tweeted that “There was an arms training camp for a week in Sai Shankar Educational Institute in Ponnampet, Kodagu district, Karnataka.” He added that the event was organised by Bajrang Dal, where “weapons” were distributed to several Bajrang Dal Karyakartas.

Screenshot of Zubair’s tweet
Screenshot of Zubair’s tweet

However, alleged ‘fact-checker’ Md Zubair is actually spreading fake news by claiming that Trishul is a weapon, because it is actually divine symbol for Hindus. It one of the principal symbols in Hinduism, which is commonly found in most Hindu temples, especially temples dedicated to Shiva and Shakti. Just like kirpans carried by Sikhs are not considered to be weapons, just like swords and other items used by Muslims during Muharram are not considered illegal weapons, similarly Trishuls are not weapons, they are Hindu religious symbols.

As a religious symbols, Hindus regularly carry Trishul during religious rituals, and Trishul Deeksha is a regular program in Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. The members of the organization are worshippers of Lord Hanuman and Shakti. It is, therefore, a part of their activities to get a ‘Trishul Deeksha’, where they carry miniature Trishuls in their hands.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal have regularly organized such events even in the past. The covid-19 pandemic discontinued this annual activity in many places in the last two years. Recently, one such activity was organized in Karnataka where the members were given the Trishul Deeksha. Mohammed Zubair referred to the same as some arms training camp and peddled his usual Islamist agenda of Hinduphobic fearmongering.

Allegations that Trishul Deeksha programs are meant to distribute weapons have emerged earlier also, and the Hindu organisations have denied it and clarified about the event. Hindu leaders have been explaining that it is only symbolic programme of distributing ‘trishul’. During such event on the occasion of Ayudha Pooja last year, VHP zonal secretary Sharan Pumpwell had said, “Many people have been opposing the Trishul Deekshe programme organized by us. We have not distributed bombs or grenades. We organized Trishul Deekshe since we are worshippers of ‘Shakti’. We organized this programme during Ayudha Pooja to instill confidence in workers and for the protection of religion. It is not against anyone and not aimed at harming people. Every year we have been organizing this programme, but due to Covid-19, the event was not held in the last two years.”

The VHP leader had also clarified the distributed Trihusls are not weapons as they don’t have sharp edges, and therefore can’t be used to harm anyone. “We distributed trishul made of steel and it has no sharp edges to injure anyone,” he had said.

Mohammed Zubair also tweeted two photos comparing the activities of youths coming from two different backgrounds. In one photo he highlighted minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar’s son during his convocation program implying that a minister’s son is getting higher education. He compared this photo with the one from the Trishul Deeksha program being attended by the Hindu youths. In the caption, he wrote, “Their kids… Your kids…” With this tweet, he tried to paint a picture that the sons of leaders are getting a good education while others are brainwashed to become foot soldiers. Mohammed Zubair comfortably ignored the fact that many of the BJP leaders have been active members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in the past and rose to their higher positions on account of their performance.

Trishul Deeksha program news of 2018

Irena Akbar retweeted Mohammed Zubair’s tweet with a caption that said, “Nobody would call this a ‘terrorist training camp’.” She essentially compared the Trishul Deeksha program to some terrorist training camps that many Islamist terrorist organizations usually do. Irena Akbar is known for her anti-India Islamist agenda that she always pours into everything she writes anywhere. When the novel coronavirus was playing havoc on the world at that time she had thanked God for Covid-19 and claimed that if not for the novel Coronavirus, Indian Muslims would have been in detention camps. The comments come a day after liberals online were debating fervently whether they should help a ‘Sanghi’ combat Covid-19.

Trishul Deeksha program news of 2019

Irena Akbar had said, “If it weren’t for Covid, Indian Muslims would’ve been in detention camps. I’m NOT being grateful for the virus which killed my aunt, sent my dad to the ICU & is causing tragedies across homes. I’m stressing the fact that while fascists were making their plans, God was making His.”

Trishul Deeksha Program News of 2021

Mohammed Zubair’s Islamist association with this anti-Hindu fake news peddler is quite an old thing. Like Mohammed Zubair, Irena Akbar also has her own version of the Gujarat riots of 2002. In 2020, while responding to the question of why Dalits are not out on the streets in the anti-CAA riots, Irena Akbar had said that she never trusted ‘them’ as Dalits were ‘foot soldiers’ when communal riots broke out in Gujarat after a Muslim mob set a train compartment of Kar Sevaks returning from Ayodhya on fire in Godhra.

Inside the MNREGA scam in Jharkhand: How IAS Pooja Singhal and other officials are accused of looting public money meant for poor

Suyash
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Inside the MNREGA scam in Jharkhand: How IAS Pooja Singhal and other officials are accused of looting public money meant for poor

The Khunti district MGNREGA scam in Jharkhand is one of the high profile scams that has made to the limelight of the present day, which actually dates back to Jharkhand of the 2010s. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is currently investigating the MGNREGA scam case of Rs 18.8 crore in the Khunti district as well as the irregularities in Chatra combining Rs 6 crore in Jharkhand. Along with this, the ED is probing the wrongful allotment of forest land for Palamu’s Kathotia Mines. The ED has given this information to the Jharkhand High Court while it has launched a fresh probe against IAS officer Pooja Singhal who was DC of the respective districts.

On April 11, a division bench of Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad directed the CBI to investigate the scam as well as the role of police officials who kept investigations of the cases pending for the last decade. The investigation into the scam and the money-laundering cases, however, can be best understood by peeping into the actors involved in the scam and the dramatic turns which unfolded the truth in the case until now.

District Magistrate Pooja Singhal and her Husband

On May 6, The Enforcement Directorate arrested Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal in the money laundering case related to the said embezzlement of MGNREGA funds during public works in the Khunti district of Jharkhand. Singhal, who is a 2000 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer is being probed under charges of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the ED. Reportedly, on May 6, the central agency had also briefly questioned her during the raids at her residence and other locations, along with her businessman husband Abhishek Jha and others. Her husband had been questioned by the agency and his statement was recorded.

Earlier the ED on Thursday, May 5, conducted raids at multiple premises, including that of Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal, in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to the alleged embezzlement of over Rs 18 crore MGNREGA funds in Khunti district of the state during 2008-11. According to the officials said the premises of the IAS officer and secretary of the department of mines and geology of Jharkhand government Pooja Singhal in Ranchi were being probed as part of the action.

The investigation against Singhal and her family members dates back to the money laundering case in which a former junior engineer in the Jharkhand government, Ram Binod Prasad Sinha, was arrested by the ED in June 2020. During the course of the probe, charges of irregularities were made against Singhal by the ED. During this time, Singhal served as the deputy commissioner and district magistrate of Chatra, Khunti and Palamu districts between 2007 and 2013.

In a remand note presented to the court, it was mentioned that Singhal and her husband received huge cash deposits amounting to Rs 1.43 crore over and above her salary in her family accounts. This was during the period concerning which she and her husband are facing charges of irregularities while Singhal was being posted as the DM at Khunti and other districts. IAS officer Pooja Singhal also transferred Rs 16.57 lakh from her personal account to an account controlled by her CA Suman Kumar.

Singhal’s CA Suman Kumar

The course of events turned dramatic when the federal agency arrested Singhal’s chartered accountant Suman Kumar on May 7 after over Rs 17 crore cash was recovered from his premises. During the interrogation, the CA revealed that the majority of the cash out of the Rs 17.49 crore belongs to Singhal. According to the ED, out of the Rs 17.49 crore nabbed from Kumar, Rs 16.57 crore was transferred by Singhal in the account administered by him.

During Kumar’s interrogation, he revealed that the cash was collected by him on Pooja Singhal’s instruction. Further, under Singhal’s direction, Kumar gave Rs 3 Crores in cash to a renowned builder for purchasing the land for Pulse Hospital owned by Pooja Singhal and her family. Following this, ED searches were being carried out under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at about 18 premises in Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and a few other states. Some other locations in Ranchi including the Pulse hospital were also being raided by ED officials who were provided security by CRPF personnel.

Ram Binod Prasad Sinha

It all started when a money laundering case was filed against a former junior engineer in the Jharkhand government, Ram Binod Prasad Sinha. In June 2020, Sinha was arrested from the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal by the ED after PMLA charges were booked against him in 2012. This started after the Jharkhand state vigilance bureau registered charges against him.

After this, the ED took cognisance of 16 FIRs and charge sheets filed against Sinha that accused him of abusing his official position for embezzling over ₹18.06 crore from government funds by way of forgery and misappropriation.

Ram Sinha was booked by the vigilance bureau under criminal sections of the IPC pertaining to cheating and corruption for allegedly defrauding public money and investing the same in his own name as well as in the name of his family members. He did the same while working as a junior engineer from April 1, 2008, to March 21, 2011. The said money was commissioned for the execution of government projects under the MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scheme in the Khunti district of Jharkhand. As told to the ED, Sinha claimed to have paid a five per cent commission out of the defrauded funds to the district administration.

In December 2018, when The ED filed a charge sheet against Sinha following which the special court in Ranchi issued a summons to him, he did not appear before the court. Then, the local court issued a non-bailable warrant against him on the basis of which a manhunt search was launched against him by the ED. Sinha was finally arrested in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas while he was hiding. After a revelation, Sinha’s assets worth ₹4.28 crore were also attached by the ED. 

According to the ED, Sinha used to regularly transfer government project funds to his personal accounts and thus generated illegitimate income out of his criminal misconduct while working as a public servant. The ED said, “It was found that movable and immovable properties have been acquired by the accused (Sinha) in his name as well as in the name of his family members.”

The turning point

In Chatra, during 2007-08, a case of discrepancy in MNREGA funds came to the fore. Rs 6 crore was given to two NGOs. On the other hand, 83 acres of land were given to a private company for mining at Kathoutia Mines in the Palamu district. It is alleged that the forest land was allotted to the company wrongly. During both cases, Pooja Singhal was the District Collector. At the same time, during the interrogation of ED, Ram Binod Kumar Sinha, the deputy engineer confessed that he used to give the commission amount to everyone.

After the matter was raised in the state assembly, the state government conducted an independent investigation in the case. DC Pooja Singhal had already received a clean cheat then. But a PIL filed by activist Arun Kumar Dubey in the Jharkhand High Court prompted the administration to start the probe into the case afresh. As of now, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Ravi Kejriwal has also been interrogated by the ED in the case. Kejriwal was once considered a close aide of current Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren.

‘Phobia is an irrational fear, my fear is real’ – Meet Masih Alinejad, the Iranian-American journalist on a mission against compulsory Hijab in Islamic nations

Anurag
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‘Phobia is an irrational fear, my fear is real’ – Meet Masih Alinejad, the Iranian-American journalist on a mission against compulsory Hijab in Islamic nations

Masih Alinejad is an Iranian-American journalist, author and women’s rights activist, who has been fighting a battle against Islamic veils for women made mandatory in Islamic nations. Born on September 11, 1976, in Iran, Masih is now an American citizen. She has been politically conscious from a very young age. Masih was arrested for the first time in 1994 when she produced leaflets critical of the Iranian regime. Masih fled Iran in 2009 and got United States citizenship in 2019.

Masih regularly shares her views against compulsory Hijab. On May 8, she re-shared an old video under the #LetUsTalk campaign of herself explaining the atrocities women face in Islamic regimes if they remove the Hijab. In the video, she had her head covered initially. She said, “This is what the Islamic Republic wants me to be. This is what Taliban and ISIS want us to be.”

She then removed her head cover and continued, “In Iran, I was if I take off my Hijab I will be hanged with my hair by God. I will get kicked out of school. I will get lashes. I will get jailed. I will get fined. I will get beaten up in the street every day by the morality police. If I get raped, it is my fault. If I take off my Hijab, I won’t be able to exist as a woman in my homeland. In the West, I am told that if I share my stories, then I will cause Islamophobia. I am a woman from middle-east, and I am scared of Islamic Laws. I am scared of all the brutalities that I have experienced. Phobia is an irrational fear, but my fear and fear of million of other women who lived under Sharia law in the middle-east is rational. So let us talk.”

On January 18, in a series of Tweets, Masih expressed her views on compulsory Hijab and told what all Islamic Republic had done to keep her silent. She said, “If you think we are safe in the West, this is what the Islamic Republic did to keep me silent. State TV faked my rape scene. Put my brother in jail for two years. Interrogated my 70-year-old mom. Brought my sister on TV to disown me. Tried to kidnap me from New York.”

Iran allegedly attempted to kidnap Masih from the US

On July 14, Masih published a video in Iranian. She said, “The police have been around my home for the past two weeks now. When I asked them why they were here, they told me it was to protect me. This is also what the FBI told me. They said they would tell me later, but that the police have to be here often. They are here from 5 AM to midnight. I am so not used to being protected by the police. Every time I see them, I assume it’s to arrest me. Yes, I am also worried. I see them often, even when I get out to check on the flowers in my garden. But it imbues me with a feeling of safety when I see the police protect me. This would not have happened in my homeland. It’s a weird feeling.”

A day before Masih had posted the video, Federal Prosecutors had said in a statement that the investigation agencies had foiled a plan by the Iranian government to kidnap Masih. In a sealed submission in a federal court in Manhattan, the prosecutors charged four Iranians with conspiracy to kidnap her.

Though she was not named in the documents, the federal prosecutors confirmed that she was the target in an interview. Out of the four Iranians accused in the case, one was 50-year-old Iranian intelligence official Alireza Shavaroghi Farahani. The other three were mentioned as Intelligence Assets. One accused was arrested in the case that was a supporter of the plot but not actively involved in the kidnapping attempt.

U.S. attorney in Manhattan Audrey Strauss had said, “A U.S. citizen living in the United States must be able to advocate for human rights without being targeted by foreign intelligence operatives.”

Masih and anti-Hijab campaign

In 2014, she started a Facebook page called “My Stealthy Freedom”. The aim was to protest against compulsory hijab in Iran. She argued that it should be a personal choice and not a compulsion by law. In 2017, the campaign escalated, and activists began removing Hijab in public as a form of protest. The Iranian government responded in a violent manner and arrested protesters.

Western female politicians are hypocrites, said, Masih

On multiple occasions, Masih has called out the hypocrisy of the western female politicians over compulsory Hijab. In 2016, while addressing a panel in European Parliament, she said when France imposed a ban on Burkini, she stood with the Muslim women against it. However, when the time came to stand against compulsory Hijab in the Islamic Republic, no one came forward.

She said when Western female politicians visit Iran, they wear Hijab and say they want to respect the law and culture of the country. However, when Iranian women like her wanted to talk about the atrocities they faced because of compulsory Hijab, they were not allowed to do so. Masih added she heard an excuse that Hijab was a small issue. On the contrary, if Hijab was a small issue, why the Iranian government would spend millions of dollars to ensure women get punished for not wearing the Hijab.

She said, “Who said Hijab was a smaller issue when the Government of Iran arrested 3.6 million women within a year just because not having a proper Islamic Hijab. 18,000 of these women were sent to the court. 40,000 cars were impounded in public. Why? Because the female drivers were not wearing proper Islamic Hijab”.

The Hijab controversy in India

While activists like Masih are protesting against Hijab in their homeland and seeking support from female politicians from across the world, India is facing a different issue altogether. The Hijab controversy that erupted in Karnataka has spread to many parts of the country.

The controversy began earlier in January when several Muslim students were denied entry to classes because they wore hijabs. As the controversy went on, numerous more institutions joined in to prohibit burqa-clad students from attending classes, alleging a breach of their institute’s uniform guidelines. The matter was raised in the Karnataka High Court.

Later in March, the Karnataka High Court stated that the Hijab is not an essential practice of the Islamic faith, and therefore, all the petitions filed by Muslim girl students seeking permission to wear hijabs in educational institutions stand dismissed. The matter is now listed in the Supreme Court.

Gems of Arvind Kejriwal: How Delhi CM lied through his teeth in God’s own country

OpIndia Staff
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Gems of Arvind Kejriwal: How Delhi CM lied through his teeth in God’s own country

Yes, while the national capital is gripped in a heatwave with temperature in parts of Delhi touching almost 50 degrees Celsius, the chief minister of the city-state is busy announcing alliance of the party with one ‘Twenty20 Party in Kerala. While announcing the same, AAP national convener lied through his teeth about his government as well as his party leaders.

Kejriwal and free electricity

‘Free electricity’ is a great poll promise in a country where some villages have still not received electricity even 75 years after Independence. Here is what he said in Kerala:

Kejriwal claimed that the inverter, generator shops in Delhi have been shut because of 24×7 power supply ‘which is free of cost’. As a Delhi resident, I must vehemently reject the claims that there is 24×7 power supply. In fact, there have been not just power cuts, but also voltage fluctuations which has ruined some of the electrical appliances.

Prior to Kerala, Kejriwal made similar promise in Gujarat rally earlier this month.

Further the ‘free electricity’ myth he has been selling, it seems the national capital is finally feeling the burnt as very recently Kejriwal announced that the ‘free electricity’ in Delhi that was by default for first few units will now be withdrawn and the same will only be given to those who ‘opt in’ for it.

From 1st October this year, no more ‘free bijli’ for Delhi residents unless they ‘opt in’ for it.

Further, Kejriwal won Punjab elections on the plank of similar freebies. However, Punjab government is yet to give free electricity to its residents. In fact, in April this year, a month after Punjab elections, it was reported that Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government has not put up the request to the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) to provide subsidies to the consumers. PSERC has kept the tariff similar to the last year in its tariff order for 2022-23. The average cost per unit in the state stands at Rs 6.48 like last year.

Experts believe that with over 13,000 crores worth of financial support to all women above the age of 18 in Punjab and free electricity that would raise the bill by over 5,000 crores, the debt-ridden state will be in deep trouble. The total freebie bill may go beyond Rs 20,000 crores per annum which is not going to be easy for the state government.

Interestingly, Bhagwant Mann has already put up a demand of Rs 50,000 crores for two years to the central government during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kejri-Baba and 40 chor

Another thing Kejriwal said today in Kerala was about how opposition party leaders believe in ‘riots’ and ‘hooliganism’ while he and his party leaders focus on ‘development’.

Umm.

On Saturday it was reported that, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan was declared ‘BC’ (Bad Character) and a history sheeter by Delhi Police on 30th March.

He has 18 FIRs registered against him till now and was arrested in Madanpur Khadar on Friday while he tried to stop the anti-encroachment drive. Police said that Khan is declared a ‘history-sheeter’ and a ‘Bad Character’ because he is a habitual offender and has serious cases such as land-grabbing and assault lodged against him.

There is more.

Earlier in May itself, Delhi court ordered framing of charges against ex-AAP councillor Tahir Hussain over his alleged involvement in February 2020 anti-Hindu riots in Delhi.

Tahir Hussain Delhi Court

The Delhi Court observed that he was not just a mute spectator but also took active part and instigated others to indulge in rioting and ‘teach lessons to kafirs‘.

And these are just some of the examples countering Kejriwal’s claims in Kerala. Aam Aadmi Party worker and leaders have been accused of rape. In fact, when one of the AAP volunteers, Soni, escalated the matters, Kejriwal allegedly asked her to ‘compromise‘ instead. She later committed suicide.

Devasahayam Pillai, 18th century Indian who had converted to Christianity, declared a saint by the Pope

OpIndia Staff
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Devasahayam Pillai, 18th century Indian who had converted to Christianity, declared a saint by the Pope

On Sunday 15th May 2022, Pope Francis declared 10 people as saints of the Roman Catholic Church. One of them is Devashayam Pillai from Tamil Nadu in India, born on 23 April 1712 and died on 14 January 1752. Devashayam Pillai was originally from a Hindu Nair family, at Nattalam in Kanyakumari district, which was part of the erstwhile Travancore kingdom. But later he was converted to Christianity by a Dutch naval commander. 85-years-old Pope Francis canonized him in a Canonization Mass organized in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

Devasahayam Pillai, known as Lazarus, is the first Indian layman to become a saint, according to the Vatican. He was an official in the court of Travancore’s Maharaja Marthanda Varma. He converted to Catholicism in 1745 while working at the royal palace, where he met a captured Dutch commander who taught him about Christianity. After converting to Christianity in 1745, Devasahayam Pillai had assumed the Christian name ‘Lazarus’ in the local language which means ‘God is my help’.

According to Church Chroniclers, the Brahmin chief priest of the kingdom, the feudal lords, members of the royal household, and the Nair community brought false charges on Devasahayam to the Dewan, Ramayyan Dalawa. Pillai was divested of his portfolio in the Travancore administration and was later accused of treason and of divulging state secrets to rivals and Europeans. According to the Vatican, his faith, and his preaching of equality of all peoples, a so-called revolutionary view at the time, caused a stir and when he refused to renounce his new religion, he was arrested.

It is said that after almost three years of imprisonment and torture, during which he began to be visited by pilgrims, he was shot dead in a forest on the orders of the king on January 14, 1752. His mortal remains were interred near the altar inside St. Xavier’s Church, Kottar, Nagercoil, which is now the diocesan Cathedral. He was declared a martyr and beatified in 2012.

As the process is completed, he is now the first layperson from India to become a saint. It is mandatory to have at least two miracles to one’s credit for getting declared a Saint. The miracle of resuscitating a foetus in the 20th week of pregnancy attributed to Devasahayam Pillai was recognized by Pope Francis in 2014, clearing the path to his canonization in 2022. Earlier in 2016, the Pope had recognized one such miracle by Mother Teresa to clear her way to sainthood.

West Bengal: Locals in Malda accuse a police officer of trying to forcibly convert Hindus to Islam, women stage protest

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: Locals in Malda accuse a police officer of trying to forcibly convert Hindus to Islam, women stage protest

A group of Hindu women in Malda in West Bengal have accused the Inspector-in-Charge of a local police station of forcibly trying to convert them and their husbands to Islam. The incident took place in Kaliachak town in Malda district of West Bengal.

The matter came to light after a video of a female BJP worker, narrating the ordeal of the said women, went viral on social media. In the undated video, the BJP worker informed that several posters had come up near the post office in the Englishbazar area of the Malda district. The protesting women were seen holding several placards saying that the police officer is forcing them to convert to Islam. They had also hung several banners behind them in front of Malda post office saying that they will resist this and will not change their religion.

She pointed out that a demonstration was being carried out by three Hindu women, whose husbands were incarcerated by the police. “I salute them for their courage… They are protesting by themselves in the middle of the city. We have not given them as much attention as they deserve,” she remarked.

“Their firm resolve to not convert, despite mounting pressure, is a sign of bravery,” the BJP worker was heard as saying. She directed the camera towards a few saffron posters, which encapsulated the objective behind the demonstration carried out by the 3 women.

“The Inspector-in-Charge of Kaliachak Thana has ordered us to convert to Islam. He is using various pressure tactics to ensure that we become Muslims. We do not want to change our religion,” read one banner, located adjacent to the statue of Hindutva icon Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.

“If we don’t listen to him, then, he will continue to intimidate, arrest and harass us,” read another banner. The BJP worker had expressed fear that the State of West Bengal might soon turn into Bangladesh. She has also accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of complicity in allowing illegal immigration from Bangladesh

“We need to stay vigil and stand by each other in such a time of crisis…This is not the fight of a few people,” she appealed to everyone to support the Hindu demonstrators in their endeavor.

BJP demands safety of Hindus in West Bengal

While condemning the incident, BJP (West Bengal) chief Sukanta Majumdar lamented how a law enforcement officer was coercing poor Hindu women and their families to convert to Islam. He pointed out that it is the responsibility of the State to protect the Freedom of Right to Religion of citizens.

“The government must ensure the safety of Hindus in West Bengal. The complaint of these families should be taken seriously and the accused police officer should be removed from service if found guilty. Otherwise, BJP will hit the streets in the coming days,” he had warned.

While reacting to the development, former Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy tweeted, “The community (Bengali Hindus in this case) which conveniently forgets atrocities committed against them in romanticising the world is doomed to have a fate like this.”

He had also shared a newspaper cutting from December last year, wherein it was reported that 2 Hindus were forced to convert to Islam through fear.

The Kaliachak area in Malda has been a hotbed of communal tensions in the past. In January 2016, frenzied Muslim mobs went on carnage and attacked the police and the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel. They torched several vehicles and injured several uniformed officers over remarks made by deceased Hindu leader Kamlesh Tiwari.

Besides attacking police stations, vehicles, and cops, the Shani temple, Durga Temple and other Hindu temples were also attacked at Baliadanga. Around 25 Hindu houses and shops were also ransacked. A 22-year-old RSS activist Gopal Tiwari sustained a gunshot too. It took hours for police to bring the situation under control, after several shots of blank firing.

No forcible conversions: Malda Police

After the reports on social media, Malda Police has come out and denied any incidents of forcible conversions. As per a Twitter post from Malda District Police, both the men converted of their own free will as per their statement in Court.

The local police also said that the posts being shared on social media are false and politically motivated.

*This article was updated based on the police response to the social media posts

Andrew Symonds – A hard-hitting batsman, great fielder, World Cup winner and controversial figure

Ritesh
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Andrew Symonds – A hard-hitting batsman, great fielder, World Cup winner and controversial figure

In less than 3 months, the cricket world is mourning again the death of another Australian cricketer, Andrew Symonds. On Sunday morning he passed away at the age of 46 in a car accident. The aggressive all-rounder played a very important role in Australia’s success in white-ball cricket.

Born in Birmingham, England, to Afro-Caribbean and Swedish parents, Symonds was adopted by Ken and Barbara Symonds and moved to Australia with his parents when he was just 3 months old. ‘I’m an adopted child, right, so I don’t actually know my natural parents. I’ve never met them,’ he told this to Brett Lee last month.

Symonds was always known for his hard-hitting batting, in 1995 during his knock of 254, Symonds smashed 16 sixes for Gloucestershire in the county match which was a record at that time. The same year he was selected for the England A team for the tour of Pakistan but he refused as he wanted to play for Australia.

In 1998, he got the chance to play for Australia when he made his debut in white-ball cricket against Pakistan but didn’t get a chance to bat. He was then dropped and got back into the team after around a gap of 10 months. But after making a comeback Symonds cemented his place in the ODI squad and became an important member of the team. Symonds was not only a hard-hitting batsman but was also a useful part-time bowler and an absolute gun fielder.

Many people regard his 143* against Pakistan in the World Cup 2003 as one of the greatest world cup hundred. Symonds scored these runs against the likes of Wasim, Waqar, Shoaib etc when the team was struggling after losing 4 wickets for just 86 runs. In the semi-final of the same World Cup, he smashed 91 against Sri Lanka when no one else could score even 40 from either side. Australia went on to win the World Cup and again in 2007, both Symonds and Hayden were part of these two wins and they are the only two players who never lost a World Cup match, among those who played minimum 5 world cup matches. Symonds has amazing consistency outside Australia. In countries where he played minimum 10 innings, he averaged 60 while in Australia he averaged just 29. Symonds played 198 ODIs for Australia in which he scored 5504 runs and took 133 wickets.

6 feet tall Symonds was considered one of the greatest fielders of the modern era because he was quite an athlete. He could hit the stumps at will and his agile throws saw many batsmen short of the crease. He took 85 catches in white-ball cricket and dismissed many batsmen through runouts.

In Tests, Symonds wasn’t as successful as he was in white-ball cricket but one of his test hundred is remembered by many, especially Indians. In the 2007 Sydney Test, Symonds scored 162* against India in the first innings. It was a controversial knock as he nicked the ball when he was on 30 and didn’t walk. Later the monkey-gate episode and dubious decision on the fifth day of the test made it more ugly.

Later that year, he was sent to mental rehabilitation by Cricket Australia for missing a mandatory team meeting and falling out with seniors. Just after completing the mental rehabilitation, Symonds was caught in an altercation at a Brisbane pub. Though he was proven innocent Symonds published an apology statement, “I have told my teammates that I am sorry to have put them through this distraction at a time when they are trying to prepare for a Test match. I have been and am still going through a counselling process and I give my teammates, Cricket Australia and Australian cricket fans a commitment that I will continue the counselling work which, as I have already said publicly, is something I want to use to help me understand how and why I behave so I can be a better person. Wearing Baggy Green is an honour and being part of this group is a privilege that is important to me. I have learnt a valuable lesson from this incident and I know that actions speak louder than words and that’s how I will be judged.”

Symonds was part of the IPL too. In the second season of IPL, his team Deccan Chargers won the tournament. Later he moved to Mumbai Indians to play alongside Harbhajan Singh who was involved in the monkey-gate episode.

He was a controversial figure but he will be remembered as one of the greatest fielders of all time and one of the greatest white-ball cricketers from Australia.

Gautam Adani’s Adani Group acquires 49% stake in Raghav Bahl’s Quint, Bahl had earlier sold Network18 to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance

OpIndia Staff
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Gautam Adani’s Adani Group acquires 49% stake in Raghav Bahl’s Quint, Bahl had earlier sold Network18 to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance

Gautam Adani’s Adani Group has acquired 49 percent stakes in Quintillion Business Media Pvt Ltd. The execution of the shareholders’ agreement was made public by the Adani group through a document on 13th May 2022.

AMG Media Networks Limited, a subsidiary of the Adani group has acquired 49 percent stakes in Quintillion Media Limited, Quintillion Business Media Limited, and Quint Digital Media Limited.

The document says, “We would like to inform you that, AMG MediaNetworks Limited (AMG Media), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company has signed Shareholders’ Agreement with Quintillion Media Limited (“QML”) and Quintillion Business Media Limited (QBML) and Share Purchase Agreement with QML QBML and Quint Digital Media Limited (“QDML) dated 13th May 2022 in connection with its proposed acquisition of 49% stake in QBML.”

The English and Hindi portals of The Quint are owned by Quint Digital Media Limited. QBM is a business and financial news company that covers content based on the Indian economy, international finance, corporate law & governance, and business news, amongst others through its platform Bloomberg Quint. Earlier in November 2021, Quint Digital announced the acquisition of a 100% stake in Quintillion Business Media. Earlier this year on 1st March 2022, Adani group had announced that it will acquiring a minor stake in QBM.

The Quint was founded by Raghav Bahl and Ritu Kapur in 2015 after their exit from Network18. It is interesting to note that now Raghav Bahl can be credited for entry of two major India business tycoons in the media. In 2014, Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries had acquired Network18, when Raghav Bahl was the Managing director of the company. Therefore, Bahl brought both Ambani and Adani in the media sector in India.

Press Club of India Journalists whine over increased liquor prices in the club, allege that complimentary liquor from companies have gone missing

OpIndia Staff
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Press Club of India Journalists whine over increased liquor prices in the club, allege that complimentary liquor from companies have gone missing

Journalist members of Press Club of India in Delhi are angry, not because of some political or ideological issues, but over alleged higher prices of alcoholic drinks served in the club. A flyer from the club’s members appeared on social media on Sunday, where the journalist members of the Press Club of India were seen complaining about the increased rates of liquor in the club, calling it a loot. Now, this has ignited a conversation over the comparative liquor prices in Press clubs across the country, rendering our journalistic eminences with quite a puzzle.

Image posted on Twitter by Sanjay Kaw

Be it a long reporting assignment on the field or after a heated debate in a TV studio, a chilled beer at one of the Press Clubs is a journalist’s last refuge to call it a day. As the temperatures in the country alongside the political cauldron have soared high, so have the liquor prices at Delhi’s Press Club of India. This seems to have added to the worry of PCI members who have taken it upon themselves to ask the administration over the increased liquor prizes at the club.

The Press Club which hosts its own restaurant-cum-bar in its premises in Lutyens Delhi, serves a host of liquor varieties including Vodka, Brandy, Whisky, Rum and Beer of various labels at the disposal of its members and guests. The PCI members however are miffed with the body over the increased prices. They have alleged that PCI members are being looted over this for several years. Alleging that the liquor in PCI is costlier than that served in other press clubs, the members have published a flyer that contains a chart comparing liquor prices of various labels served at PCI, Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) in Delhi and Chandigarh Press Club.

According to the chart, a 30 ml serving of Johnny Walker Black Label costs Rs. 260 /- at PCI while it is available at Rs 200 and Rs 250 respectively at FCC and CPC. Kingfisher small beer costs Rs 105 per 30 ml serving while the same costs Rs 95 and Rs 62 at the other two clubs. Journalists and media personnel who are members of the PCI are calling this ‘The Great Press Club of India Loot’. While prices in Delhi and Chandigarh can be different because of different tax rates, it is indeed interesting that prices in Press Club of India is much higher compared to Foreign Correspondents Club, both of which are located in Lutyens Delhi.

Further, the members have asked why all the schemes on liquor granted to them have been stopped. They also alleged that complementary liquor given by companies have gone missing in recent times. “Where is the complimentary liquor from companies meant for the Press club members going missing?” the flyer asks. The aggrieved members also asked why some brands of liquor are not made available to them, and why the prices of food and drinks were increased without informing them. The members have also complained about same menu and food served at the club for years at high rates.

Interestingly, it is quite a revelation that companies offer complimentary liquor to the Press Club of India.

When Senior Journalist at The Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle, Sanjay Kaw posted the flyer on Twitter, Chander Shekhar Luthra, Joint Secretary at PCI responded and refuted the allegations. He said that the prices have been increased in order to meet the monthly expenditure at the club. In his rebuttal, he also blamed the increase in food prices for losses incurred by PCI on food. “PCI has not increased any food prices after Covid despite this failed govt has failed to check the food inflation…” he tweeted while targeting the Central government.

It should be mentioned that the Press Club of India is a meeting point for the journalists, with a campus located in Lutyens Delhi, near the Parliament. Started in the 1930s, the present premises were allotted to the Club by the government. The Club offers services including a conference room, a media centre, an indoor games room and a gymnasium for its members alongside a bar and a restaurant. Recently, the club was caught in a controversy when it cancelled Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri from hosting a press conference regarding ‘The Kashmir Files’ at its conference hall.

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