In the April 10 episode of the reality show Lock Upp, actress Mandana Karimi confessed to having an abortion in order to save herself from eviction. In her confession, she said when she was struggling with separation and divorce from her ex, she got into a relationship with a famous director. This was the time when she could not trust men in general, but that person projected himself as someone who could be his friend.
She said, “In the outside world, he talks about women’s rights. He talks about how women have to be independent, how women have to take their power into their own hands, and he is someone who is an idol to many people, the young generation who want to become a filmmaker or even just a normal teenager.” Karimi added her relationship went on for a year and a half. She kept it secret as she was not yet divorced and did not want anyone to know about it.
During the lockdown, they became closer and started living together. They became close, and it reached a point where he started saying that he loved her and wanted to be with her. She said, “He told me he wanted to move out of India with me. We should plan a family, and we did plan a pregnancy. But when it actually happened, he completely backed off.”
Karimi said he did not tell her directly. She said, “One day, he said we should go and meet my best friends as they were like parents to me. When we went there, he suddenly started saying he was not emotionally ready to become a father again and that I should have a divorce. He had this whole thing planned how my best friends could convince me to have an abortion. I was really upset, and I said sorry to my friend that he wasted your time because she thought we were in a conversation to have a nursery and hospital etc. The next thing I know, he was asking me to have an abortion where everything was planned.”
She added, “He told me he did not think at the age of 33 I could become pregnant so easily. He told me he thought I would understand. He has a public case against him. I have to make a decision. I come from a broken home. I cannot just have a child just because I was pregnant. I had to be strong. I did have an abortion, but then it just destroyed so much for me.”
When Karimi and that person came back home, his scriptwriter came, and she was sitting alone in the bedroom. She said, “While sitting alone and staring at the walls, I thought how anyone could be like this?”
Kangana Ranaut, the host of the show, appreciated her courage and said she should have kept the baby. Karimi replied, “No… because he was a coward. He stepped back when everything was planned and on track. I cannot let someone come into this world who would think, okay, this is my mother, and my father is a successful person, but why are they not together?”
Netizens speculate the person could be Anurag Kashyap
After the episode was aired, netizens discussed about the possible father of the aborted child. Many speculated it could be Anurag Kashyap.
Twitter user HudHudDabangg while replying to social media influencer Chetana’s post, said it was Anurag Kashyap.
Twitter user Prabhat_36 shared 2020 reports where Karimi had thanked Kashyap for helping her in a tough time and speculated it could be him who she had a relationship with.
Elon Musk was supposed to join Twitter’s board of directors on April 9, however, on April 11, Twitter’s CEO, Parag Agrawal, confirmed that Elon Musk will not be joining the company’s board of directors. Since Elon purchased a 9.2 per cent passive ownership in Twitter, this has reopened the floodgates of conjecture. Parag shared this information in a tweet.
Elon has decided not to join our board. I sent a brief note to the company, sharing with you all here. pic.twitter.com/lfrXACavvk
Interestingly, Variety reported that Musk is prohibited from owning more than 14.9 per cent of Twitter shares while serving as a director on the board. As a result, Elon joining the board would exclude him from seeking to take over the company for at least the next two years.
As a result, facts provided by Variety, one may surmise that Elon is not joining the board as a director for a solid reason. Elon’s net worth is estimated to be around $300 billion. As a result, there is a chance that Elon may want to take over Twitter as a whole in the near future, many have speculated.
Elon Musk is the largest shareholder
Elon Musk recently startled the world by purchasing a 9.2 per cent stake, the largest among shareholders, in the microblogging site Twitter Inc. Interestingly, Musk’s Twitter investment was made public barely a week after he conducted a Twitter poll in which he questioned if the social media giant was strictly sticking to free speech ideals. Musk has often hinted at how he intends to change Twitter, from prohibiting advertising to lowering its price.
It is worth noting that Musk has frequently been critical of Twitter and has made no apologies for this in his tweets. Musk uploaded a mysterious meme in December last year when Twitter announced that Parag Agrawal succeeded Jack Dorsey as CEO, depicting Agrawal as Soviet tyrant Joseph Stalin and Dorsey as Soviet secret police chief Nikolai Yezhov being dragged into the river.
In pre-market trading, Twitter’s stocks soared roughly 28 per cent after a 13G filing indicated Elon Musk has purchased a 9.2 per cent passive investment in the social media company. According to a statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk purchased approximately 73.5 million shares.
On April 10, the members of Left student organizations at Jawahar Lal University allegedly attacked the residents of Kaveri Hostel who were celebrating Ram Navami. According to Left organizations, the members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, had a scuffle with the mess manager as non-vegetarian food was being served on the day of Ram Navami.
On the contrary, ABVP accused Left student organizations and the National Students Union of India (NSUI) of stopping them from doing Hawan and Puja on Ram Navami. Speaking to OpIndia, ABVP JNU President Rohit Kumar said there was no agitation from their side. Everything was going on peacefully, and Hindu students were doing Hawan in the designated place, and Muslim students had Iftar inside the mess. “They are projecting everything wrong to target us,” he added.
Rohit said around seven days prior to Ram Navami, they had announced that there would be celebrations at Kaveri Hostel. “They did not like it. They started threatening us and tried to intimidate us so that we cancel the program, but we did not. They said they would throw bones at Hawan and would not let us do anything. They also issued a fake letter by the warden asking us not to perform any Puja, but it was debunked by the dean. We against issued a poster two days prior to the program to inform everyone about the Hawan and festivities,” he said.
Furthermore, there were celebrations at four different locations inside the JNU campus, but the maximum crowd was gathered at Kaveri Hostel. He said, “At around 3 PM, when we were about to start Hawan, a group of Left-backed students came and started protesting. There were members of ISCKON and many other students with us who had come to celebrate Ram Navami. Because of their protest, it was delayed for two hours. They kept saying they could not let Ram Navami be celebrated in the hostel as it was a secular place. We told them if it is a secular place, then Iftar should not happen, and the money spent on it should be used for students’ welfare.”
The festivities finished in a tense environment, but no physical altercation happened during that period. Rohit said, “The video they are promoting as we were stopping the vendor from delivering meat is misleading. It was from the time when we protested against them for interrupting the festivities.” After the festivities, a large group of people who allegedly were not Kaveri’s residents came to meet the warden. Rohit said, “That was the time when the scuffle took place. Several ABVP members were injured, and seven of them sustained severe injuries. We rushed them to the hospital and got MLCs early in the morning.” A complaint from ABVP is yet to be filed in the matter.
An FIR has been registered by Delhi Police against ABVP students based on the complaint of JNUSU, SFI, DSF and AISA under Sections 323, 341, 509, 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). ABVP would be filing complaint today.
Delhi Police registered FIR on the complaint of JNUSU, SFI,DSF and AISA against unknown ABVP students U/s -323/341/509/506/34 IPC.ABVP Students will also be giving in complaints against unknown students of JNUSU, SFI, DSF and AISA.
A JNU student Divya said in a video statement that she had a fast on Sunday and was there to perform Ram Navmi Puja. Suddenly some left-wing students came and attacked them. “I do not even know what they attacked us,” she said.
JNU छात्रा दिव्या को कांच की बोतल तोड़कर मारा गया क्योंकि रामनवमी पर हवन में शामिल होने आओ थी। AISA, SFI के गुंडे कार्यकर्ताओं द्वारा एबीवीपी छात्रा कार्यकर्ताओं को भद्दी भद्दी गालियां दी गई।#LeftViolenceInJNU#LeftAgainstRampic.twitter.com/x473m4YM8J
A Divyang student at JNU said that left-wing students did not spare him despite requesting them repeatedly. He said, “I requested them not to beat me, but they did not listen.” He was returning home after attending Puja at Kaveri Hostel when he was attacked.
Also today, a ‘divyang’ student of JNU, who was returning home after attending #RamNavami celebrations with his classmates, was beaten by the leftists on the JNU campus and his clothes torn.
— Priti Gandhi – प्रीति गांधी (@MrsGandhi) April 10, 2022
ABVP led a protest march
After the incident, ABVP students led a protest march against the left-backed students and demanded strict action against those who attacked them.
आज की वामपंथी हिंसा के विरुद्ध एबीवीपी का जेएनयू परिसर में मार्च। लेफ्ट के नक्सली कार्यकर्ताओं द्वारा चारो तरफ से हमले सहने एवं कई कार्यकर्ताओं के लहूलुहान होने के बाद भी परिषद हमारा हौसला नहीं टूटेगा। pic.twitter.com/pp8qgAxEN5
A group of left-wing students were caught on camera pelting stones at ABVP members. SFI leader Harendra Sheshma was seen among them throwing stones actively.
University clarified everyone free to eat, preach and wear anything
The University has clarified in a statement that the students at JNU are free to eat, preach and wear as per their choice. JNU Rector Ajay Dubey said the University had issued immediate notice to avoid any confusion in the matter.
Left-backed students accused ABVP of ruckus
The students of Left student organizations, including AISA and others, have accused ABVP of creating a ruckus on Sunday. Former JNUSU president Sai Balaji said ABVP members stopped the cook at the mess from cooking non-veg food and shooed away the vendor. He further added his group reached the mess as soon as they got the information and gave a written complaint to the dean and the warden for the same.
In the midst of Pakistan’s social, economic, and political upheaval, slogans such as “Chowkidar Chor Hai” were raised in a rally in Punjab addressed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
The masses referred to the Pakistan Army as “Chowkidar” and dubbed them “thieves” for “stealing” Imran Khan’s mandate throughout the event. Rashid Ahmed was seen in the brief video attempting to dissuade people from raising anti-army shouts.
“Chowkidar Chor Hai,” a phrase originated by Indian Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the last general election, has now found its way to Pakistan. Thousands of PTI supporters descended on Lal Haveli in Pakistan’s Punjab province for the massive gathering, which Rashid Ahmed was seen addressing from a building’s terrace.
In an appeal to the gathering, Rashid said, “Don’t raise slogans… we will fight with peace.” “If you want to save your country then don’t make a decision in the dark of night but in daylight,” he further added.
Sheikh Rashid also urged all the supporters to be prepared to take the Jail Bharo march from Lal Haveli on a regular basis. “I will start it from Karachi myself,” he claimed, adding that he would “inform all Sindhis that the opposition leaders are thieves, docents, and robbers.”
Fall of Imran Khan government
Imran Khan lost the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly only minutes after midnight on April 9, bringing an end to a high political drama that had lasted several weeks and practically lasted till the last minute.
The trust vote was supposed to take place on April 3, but in an unexpected move, deputy speaker Qasim Suri cancelled the proposal, refusing to put it to a vote. Imran Khan then proposed dissolving the national legislature and holding new elections, which the president agreed to. However, the opposition filed a petition with the Supreme Court, which found that the deputy speaker’s actions were unconstitutional. On Thursday, the court reinstated the National Assembly and ordered a trust vote by Saturday.
Donation fraud accused Rana Ayyub was invited as a Speaker at the 16th edition of the International Journalism Festival (IJF), which was held at Perugia in Italy between April 6 and April 10 this year. The theme of the discussion was, “When the State attacks: journalism under fire in the world’s biggest democracy.”
The session, which was held on Friday (April 8), was divided into two parts: an address by Rana Ayyub to the audience members, followed by a discussion on the theme with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) Director Julie Posetti.
Throughout the session, Rana Ayyub made several misleading statements and twisted the truth to suit her personal agenda.
Reiterating debunked claims of Amit Shah’s involvement in the Sohrabuddin case
At about 5 minutes into the event, Ayyub had claimed, “After a couple of initial forays in Television, I joined this publication called Tehelka where my investigation had then sent the then serving Home Minister of State Amit Shah behind bars for extrajudicial murder of Muslims.”
Amit Shah was indeed arrested on July 25, 2010, in connection to the encounter of notorious criminal Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bi. He was charged with murder, extortion, kidnapping and 5 other sections of the Indian Penal Code.
However, within a month of Shah’s arrest, the then Gujarat police chief Geeta Johri had revealed that she was being pressured by the Special Director of CBI Balwinder Singh to implicate politicians including the then State Home Minister in the Sohrabuddin case.
It must be mentioned that the CBI was then under the control of the rival Congress party. Nonetheless, in December 2014, Amit Shah was acquitted of all charges. The Court had found no evidence that could remotely suggest that Shah ordered the cops to execute extrajudicial killing.
On December 21, 2018, a Special CBI Court had even acquitted all 22 accused, who were falsely implicated in the Sohrabuddin case. The court had held that the CBI (under the then Congress government) had a ‘premeditated theory and script’ to implicate political leaders rather than trying to find the truth.
It had also observed that the witnesses’ statements, which were used to allege a ‘fake’ encounter, were wrongly recorded by the central agency. While Rana Ayyub had gloated about sending Amit Shah to jail, she failed to inform the audience that he had been exonerated by the Judiciary 7 years ago.
Inability to find a publisher and the ‘truth’ of Gujarat Files
Rana Ayyub went on claim that her employer ‘Tehelka’ refused to publish her ‘coverage’ of the Gujarat riots, citing ‘political pressure.’ “I was only 26 then. It was a lot for a journalist to take who put her life in jeopardy and for her investigation to not be published,” she alleged.
Ayyub further added, “I went to every journalism organisation, back in the day, and they refused to publish. And then, I went to publishers saying can you publish the transcript of the tape of my sting operation. And they said, it is too risky a book.”
The alleged journalist also claimed to have pawned her mother’s gold to self-publish her book. Her claims do not hold much credence, given that the Congress party remained in power between 2004 to 2014 and was actively trying to frame Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
Ayyub’s book would have been the perfect ammunition for the grand old party. It is thus hard to fathom that the Congress party created such a hostile atmosphere for Rana Ayyub that she could not even find a publisher on her own.
While the alleged journalist maintains that the contents of her book were not published by Tehelka due to political pressure, former Managing Director and founder of the organisation Shoma Chaudhury had settled the controversy in 2016 itself.
Besides @julieposetti u need to check what India’s top court felt about this book,. This is from SC order and I’m deliberating quoting a publication that is opposed to current Govt to share this news as a proof of SC ruling https://t.co/4sOS0aj5hmpic.twitter.com/cpsuQ8b7it
In a tweet, she had clarified, “Rana Ayyub’s a courageous reporter but her story wasn’t published in Tehelka coz it didn’t meet editorial standards not ‘political pressure.”
Interestingly, Rana Ayyub published her book titled, “Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up” in 2016 i.e.during the 1st tenure of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India. This brings into question the claim that if CM Modi desperately wanted to ‘hide’ the truth, then why would he allow the publication of Ayyub’s book after becoming the PM?
The said book, which the alleged journalist claims to be the ‘ultimate truth’ about the Gujarat riots, has been junked by none other than the Supreme Court of India.
The Court had observed, “The book by Rana Ayyub is of no utility. It is based upon surmises, conjectures, and suppositions, and has no evidentiary value. The opinion of a person is not in the realm of evidence.” OpIndia, in a comprehensive report, had earlier debunked each and every lie that Ayyub chose to write in her ‘fictional book’ on the 2002 riots.
Fake news about detention of journalists at Hindu rally
At about 14 minutes into the session, Rana Ayyub further claimed, “Young journalists, four days ago, at a Hindu rally were out there to cover the hate speech against Muslims. They were beaten badly, called jihadists and the cops filed a case against the journalists.”
Earlier this month, the Delhi police had debunked the fake news surrounding the supposed detention of journalists at Hindu Mahapanchayat. The Quint reporter, Meghnad Bose, had originally claimed that he and ‘four other Muslim journalists’ were taken into custody by the Delhi police. He had also alleged that they were ‘assaulted’ by a Hindu mob at the event in Delhi.
Dear @julieposetti again I implore u to check this tweet of the police officer of the area, she is alluding to in this part- check this thread and I will let u decide if what she is trying to project is indeed true? https://t.co/PCc86PrPshpic.twitter.com/7hbVmGlRoY
Deputy Commissioner of Police, North-West Delhi, had clarified “Some of the reporters, willingly, on their own free will, to evade the crowd which was getting agitated by their presence, sat in PCR Van stationed at the venue and opted to proceed to Police Station for security reasons.”
“No one was detained. Due police protection was provided,” she had added. According to DCP North-West Delhi, the allegations of ‘assault’ as claimed by Bose were when Hindu activists objected to the presence of the journalists, in what happened to be an overtly ‘Hindu’ function.
Moreover, the DCP stated that police protection was provided to the journalists when they willingly climbed the police van for protection. While no journalists were detained by the police during the event, the DCP said that due necessary action shall be initiated against those spreading misinformation.
Gujarat riots, PM Modi and false impression of CAA
The 2002 Gujarat riots turned out to be a ‘good fodder’ for a section of the media, which left no stone unturned to project Narendra Modi as the ‘butcher of Gujarat.’ For a decade-spanning between 2002 and 2012, several journalists rose to prominence by demonising the then CM of Gujarat.
In 2012, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by the Supreme Court of India found no evidence of complicity of Narendra Modi in the Gujarat riots. Despite this, those who made a career out of the deadly riots continue to repeat the lies in the hopes of turning them into ‘post-truth’. As such, it was expected that Rana Ayyub would evoke the 2002 riots and PM Modi’s supposed role to gain sympathy on an international stage.
About 18 minutes into the event, Ayyub claimed, “I remember when he (Modi) was positioned as a Prime Ministerial candidate of India, a lot of well-meaning journalists said that we should give him a chance. I don’t understand how you give chance to somebody who has committed and enabled mass murder. How is that even a yardstick?”
Shahrukh Pathan intimidated a cop during the Delhi riots over CAA
At about 20 minutes, Ayyub raked up the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act and alleged that the humanitarian law discriminated between Hindus and Muslims as citizens of India. She also claimed that the ‘fascist regime’ of PM Modi jailed students, and activists and framed them in terror cases.
This was despite knowing that CAA did not take away the citizenship of Indian Muslims but only fast-tracked the citizenship of persecuted religious minorities from neighbouring Islamic countries, currently living in India without any legal status. She also invoked the ‘pregnancy’ of riot accused Safoora Zargar to stir a wave of sympathy in her favour. CAA does not concern existing Indian citizens, irrespective of their religion and CAA does not stop anyone, let alone Muslims from applying for Indian citizenship in the usual process. CAA was only a one-time remedy for religiously persecuted minorities already living in India as refugees.
Ayyub however failed to mention that Zargar was arrested in April 2020 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for her involvement in the Anti-Hindu Delhi riots. The Delhi Police had also claimed that she was part of the conspiracy to “destroy, destabilize and disintegrate the Government of India in order to compel to withdraw the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the alleged National Register of Citizens”.
This false sense of victimhood and deliberate distortion of the CAA in public discourse fanned the violent protests, which eventually culminated in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots. The carnage lasted for over 3 days and claimed the lives of over 50 people.
A section of media, of which Rana Ayyub is a part, went hammer and tongs alleging that the Delhi riots were an ‘anti-Muslim pogrom‘ and tried to paint the Modi government as Nazis and the Muslims as Jews. This was despite the images of Islamist mobs, pelting stones and brandishing guns (such as Shahrukh Pathan), to hold the State to ransom. Roughly half the victims in the riots were Hindus and multiple reports had shown that certain Muslim groups had prepared for the riots, collected stones, petrol bombs and acid to attack neighbouring Hindus.
Half-truths about Gauri Lankesh and Siddique Kappan
Rana Ayyub saw to it that she made references to the incarceration of Siddique Kappan and the killing of Gauri Lankesh to paint a disturbing image of India on a global platform.
At about 21 minutes into the session, Ayyub alleged that her ‘friend’ Gauri Lankesh, who had translated ‘Gujarat Files’ into Kannada, was gunned down by right-wing fundamentalists. At the very next moment, the alleged journalist contradicted herself by saying that none knows who killed Gauri Lankesh to date.
She also hailed ‘journalist’ Siddique Kappan, who was arrested on October 5, 2020, while trying to enter Hathras with a fake ID. In its affidavit to the Supreme court, the Uttar Pradesh government informed that Kappan was using the garb of journalism to create a caste divide and law & order disturbance in the State.
Kappan was associated with the radical Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) and a banned terrorist organisation named Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The Uttar Pradesh government had submitted a copy of a front-page story by Kappan in Thejas, dating back to November 30, 2011, wherein he claimed that Al-Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden was a ‘martyr’.
The government revealed that Siddique Kappan was the mastermind of several other riots, who in collusion with Thejas Editors, wanted to create religious unrest in the State of Kerala. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet against Siddique Kappan in a money laundering case.
Repetition of baseless allegations of rape in Hathras case
Ayyub also alleged that the 19-year-old ‘lower caste’ victim in the Hathras case was raped, although both forensic and medical reports dismissed allegations of sexual assault. The Hathras incident took place on September 14, 2020, after which the victim was admitted to Safdurjung hospital in Delhi. She succumbed to her injuries on September 29.
The victim’s brother had also not mentioned rape in the complaint registered on the day of the incident. The rape allegations surfaced much later on September 22, 2020, when the police recorded the statement of the victim. The Hathras case sparked massive political debates in the country, especially after media reports twisted facts and started claiming that the victim had been brutalised.
It is notable here that the initial statements of the victim, the family’s FIR and statements had all alleged a strangulation attempt. However, later, the family added the charges of rape and eventually gang rape to their list of allegations. Since the victim was a Dalit, political parties had tried to exploit the caste violence angle.
The entire timeline of the case, media misreports, political spins and controversies, and the government’s actions can be read here. Building on this warped narrative, the left-liberal propagandists masquerading as journalists tried to keep the matter boiling, apparently to earn political dividends in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Rana Ayyub downplays charges of embezzlement of Covid-19 funds
During her conversation with Julie Posetti, Rana Ayyub alleged that the allegations of misuse of Covid-19 funds for personal gains arose after she criticised the supposed mismanagement of Covid-19 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the second wave.
She insinuated that ₹10-12 crore is a small sum of money that did not merit public scrutiny. “Now there is a case of money laundering against me. I will give you a small example. The other day when I was trying to get a court verdict to come here to speak. Just look at the lawlessness. The Judge said that this is just a small amount. Even if it was 10 or 12 crores, why does it merit coming here?”, Ayyub had remarked.
“You know what news channels were saying: Judge accuses Rana Ayyub of money laundering 10-12 crores”, she further continued. At that point, the host interjected, “Just for the context, we are talking about 20,000 Dollars essentially.”
Instead of bothering to correct Julie Posetti, Rana Ayyub chose to play along with that. While being aware that the audience members were not well-versed with the dollar to rupee exchange rates, she responded with ‘exact.’
Ayyub thereby gave the impression to the audience that ₹10-12 crores equalled a mere USD 20,000, a supposedly ‘small amount’ for which a journalist of her stature should not be questioned. In reality, 12 crores in Indian rupees amounts to nearly 1.6 million US dollars.
Ayyub had collected money in the name of Covid relief, kept it in personal accounts
On February 10 this year, OpIndia had reported that ED seized Rs 1.77 crore in Ayyub’s and her family’s accounts under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. A few days after the expose, Ayyub alleged in a statement that she was being framed for her “journalism” and she did not misuse the money.
However, all her claims were debunked by a Twitter user Hawk Eye who was the first to share details of alleged charity fraud last year. The ED has, in its attachment order, said, “Rana Ayyub has cheated the general Public Donors in a pre-planned manner and with the intention to cheat the general public donors.”
The order emphasised that the ‘scam’ started from the time she received the funds, which she did not use for Covid-19 relief work. She instead made a fixed deposit of ₹50 lakhs and transferred the amount to the savings account of her father, and sister through net banking. You can read the details about the allegations of misuse of Covid-19 funds by clicking on the link here. ED had also stated that the bills Ayyub had provided to show relief work do not add up.
On March 29, Rana Ayyub was stopped by Indian Immigration officials from boarding a flight to London due to the pending money laundering case against her. On April 4, she was granted permission to travel abroad by the Delhi High Court with the pre-requirement that she divulges details of her travel, contacts and her place of stay.
Presenting a distorted version of Aakar Patel case
At about 39 minutes into the session, Julie Posetti claimed that the Indian government was escalating restrictions on the ability of Indian journalists to connect to the international community. Rana Ayyub nodded in affirmation and raked up the case of Aakar Patel to bolster her claims, although nothing can be further from the truth.
On April 6 this year, Aakar Patel was stopped from boarding a flight to the USA at the Bengaluru airport. The former Amnesty India chief had tweeted that he was put on an exit control list.
He added that a CBI officer informed him that he was on a Look Out Circular because of the case against Amnesty International India regarding the FCRA violations. He was later granted temporary relief by the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi. And the CBI has stated that they would challenge the court order.
immigration says CBI has put me on the list why @PMOIndia
The Special CBI court in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court stayed the order issued by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of the same court, where CBI was instructed to withdraw the Look Out Circular against Patel immediately.
In February last year, the Enforcement Directorate had attached movable properties of Amnesty International India worth Rs 17.66 crore in a money laundering case. ED had found that after the cancellation of the FCRA license by the Indian government, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust and other Amnesty entities adopted ‘new methods’ to receive money from abroad.
Conclusion
During the hour-long session, Rana Ayyub weaved an emotional tale around her controversial career as a journalist. To bolster her unfounded claims, she resorted to half-truths, conjectures and surmises.
While being fully aware that the predominantly Western audience at the 16th edition of the International Journalism Festival knew nothing about the internal affairs of India, the alleged journalist used the platform to peddle misinformation and false claims.
The international platform served as a perfect opportunity to reiterate the tale of ‘perpetual victimhood’, as evident from the deliberate reference to her being Muslim. Coupled with the ‘ignorance’ of the moderator and the lack of ‘journalistic’ accountability of Ayyub, the world was exposed to even more lies about India than before.
On April 11, Parag Agrawal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Twitter, announced that Elon Musk would not be joining Twitter’s board of directors. He said in a statement that after numerous discussions with the other board members and Elon himself, they had offered him a seat on the board. Parag had announced on April 5 that Elon would be appointed to the Board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance.
Elon has decided not to join our board. I sent a brief note to the company, sharing with you all here. pic.twitter.com/lfrXACavvk
Elon was supposed to join on April 9, but on the same morning, he informed Twitter management that he would not be joining. Parag said, “I believe this is for the best. We have and will always value input from our shareholders, whether they are on our Board or not. Elon is our biggest shareholder, and we will remain open to his input.”
He further added that there would be distractions ahead, but the company’s priorities and goals would not change. He said, “The decisions we make and how we execute are in our hands, no one else’s. Let’s tune out the noise and stay focused on the work and what we’re building.”
Full statement by Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal
Team,
Elon Musk has decided not to join our board. Here’s what I can share about what happened.
The Board and I had many discussions about Elon joining the board and with Elon directly. We were excited to collaborate and clear about the risks. We also believed that having Elon as a fiduciary of the company, where he, like all board members, has to act in the best interests of the company and all our shareholders, was the best path forward. The board offered him a seat.
We announced on Tuesday that Elon would be appointed to the Board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance. Elon’s appointment to the board was to become officially effective 4/9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board. I believe this is for the best. We have and will always value input from our shareholders, whether they are on our Board or not. Elon is our biggest shareholder, and we will remain open to his input.
There will be distractions ahead, but our goals and priorities remain unchanged. The decisions we make and how we execute them is in our hands, no one else’s. Let’s tune out the noise, and stay focused on the work and what we’re building.
Elon Musk became the largest shareholder on Twitter
On April 4, it was reported that Elon Musk had boughta 9.2 per cent passive stake in Twitter. The share price of the company shot up by 28% after the news broke. Musk bought nearly 73.5 million shares, a document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed. In the last week, Musk had come up with multiple polls regarding Twitter policies. He also ridiculed Twitter’s free speech policy.
He has also slightly gone slightly unhinged on Twitter, suggesting whacky changes in Twitter experience while mocking the site.
As Hindus across the world celebrate Ram Navami, several incidents of religious processions taken out on the occasion being attacked have happened in several places in the country. In one such incident, a Ram Navami Procession in Howrah in West Bengal was attacked, and the devotees had to abandon the procession due to the attack by Muslims. Several participants of the procession were injured in the attack including stone pelting.
Several videos have been posted on social media, showing the Ram Navami Shobha Yatra coming under attack in Howrah, the twin city of Kolkata. According to Twitter users from the city, the Muslim mob pelted stones at the procession, and the police didn’t do anything to stop the attack.
The procession was organised Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and Durga Bahini, and it was started from Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur. However, the procession was attacked in the midway near Fazir Bazar at PM Basti on GT Road in Shibpur, Howrah.
West Bengal BJYM Vice President Priyanka Sharma posted a video on Twitter to inform about the attack, who said that when the procession was on its way, stones were pelted on them. She further alleged that after attack, police had lathi charged on the Hindu procession, and later arrested them, but didn’t take action on the attackers.
Several participants of the procession were injured due to the attack, and were shifted to hospitals for treatment. Some of them were seriously injured due to stone pelting.
?????Stones were pelted by the”Visesh Samuday”on a peaceful #RamNavami Shova Yatra in Howrah,West Bengal.A lady was seriously injured and was rushed for treatment.Hindus are being denied to celebrate their festivals in their own homeland.What kind of SECULARISM is this?!??? pic.twitter.com/pVOCgBTnQ4
The attack and the subsequent action by police completely disrupted the religious procession. But the mob was not satisfied with it, and the procession was abandoned and the Hindus had left the place, the Islamists started attacking houses and shops belonging to the Hindus.
Later when police tried to control the attacks, the mob also attacked police and pelted stones on them.
A similar incident had taken place in Gujarat today, where a Ram Navami procession was attacked while going through a Muslim dominated area in Himmatnagar.
A Muslim leader from Bharatiya Janata Party in Telangana faced fierce opposition from the Muslim people. The minority leader Mohammad Anwar had donated coolers for the local mosque, but the angry people picked up all the coolers and threw them out. The incident took place in the Torumamidi area of Bavantaram Taluka of the Vikarabad district in Telangana.
Mohammad Anwar, a minority leader from the Vikarabad district of Telangana, had donated several coolers in the mosque to get rid of the rising heat. Donating the coolers, he said, “The BJP has done a lot for Muslims. The BJP loves Muslims very much. In fact, Congress has distanced Muslims from the BJP.
BJP’s minority leader donated cooler to the mosque in Telangana, the public picked it up and threw them out pic.twitter.com/6CeygKjsEH
Mohammad Anwar further praised the BJP and said, “The BJP has done a very good job for Muslim women by bringing in the triple talaq bill. Muslims are quite happy, the Congress has done nothing for the Muslims. The Congress used Muslims.”
However, the Muslim people of Vikarabad seemed to be very angry with the BJP leader even after the help he had given in the mosque. They picked up coolers donated by him in the mosque and threw them out and later they collected all the coolers and threw them in front of his house.
This is not the first time that the Muslim community has displayed their anger toward other fellows from the community for supporting BJP. Many incidents have happened in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in which Muslims were beaten up by other Muslims for supporting BJP or chanting Jai Shri Ram. Now, a similar incident has appeared in Telangana.
Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam reacted to the way the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and his party leader Rakhi Birla made fun of Kashmiri Pandits in the past few days. Sonu Nigam said that Arvind Kejriwal himself knows how much wrong happened to Kashmiri Pandits yet he called The Kashmir Files a false film in the Delhi Assembly.
Sonu Nigam said that he is not a devoted supporter of any party. He also opposed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) decision that ordered the closure of meat shops during Navratri. Sonu Nigam said that, according to him, it is wrong to do this because this decision leaves those helpless who are earning livelihood by selling meat.
Sonu Nigam hits out at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
Sonu Nigam showed his anger for Arvind Kejriwal saying why, at all, did he call the film The Kashmir Files a false film. He said, “You can make fun of anything but not of Kashmiri Pandits. I haven’t watched the film yet. But they have at least tried to show something which even Arvind Kejriwal also knows has happened. The whole world knows that there has been genocide. If you have won Punjab, you make Punjab Files. Make 84 Files. You make Godhra Files. Let people know how lousy a person can be that he can cut a woman from the middle or cut the throat of someone’s children or feed someone with blood-soaked rice. How bad we humans can be.”
He said, “If you don’t tell people, how will they know? You’re playing politics.” He asked, “In one place, Arvind Kejriwal calls The Kashmir Files a false film and on the other hand, he says that it has been 25-30 years since this incident has happened, what has the BJP done? Does Kejriwal not feel that he is making some people happy and making the majority of Hindus against himself?
Describing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a good opposition, Sonu Nigam said that there is no one in front of the BJP at the moment. He asked, “If AAP does such a thing, what will be their own stand? Is it necessary to do politics in everything? You won Magsaysay, man. You are such an educated man. People expect from you. How can you talk like that? How can you make fun of it?”
Sonu Nigam also condemned the laughter of AAP’s woman leader Rakhi Birla. He said, “How shamelessly the woman was laughing there. One can also speak with dignity. But you’re laughing. You are making fun of them. What message will it pass to other people?”
Sonu said that he respects the post currently held by Arvind Kejriwal, but he is raising the questions as a citizen. He underlined that even if the last thirty years of his life have been in Mumbai, before that he lived in Faridabad and he had spent his childhood in Delhi. He said that let people raise their voices that it should be good with the temple, good with the mosque, and good with the Churches also; that’s how a society should be.
Sonu Nigam was recently awarded the Padma Shri award after which he appeared on Times Now Navbharat. On the loudspeaker controversy attached to him, he said, “Three years after I said this, the loudspeaker was banned in Saudi Arabia. People linked my point to religion. Now that I put a mic in my house and sing a song, the problem is not with singing, the problem is due to the loudspeaker. You can’t say I’m free and do anything.” On the hijab issue, Sonu Nigam supported the dress code and said that in Bollywood, he himself has seen the underworld era. He said in this interview that his favorite CM is Yogi Adityanath.
Kuldeep Yadav, who spent 7 years at Kolkata Knight Riders, returned to haunt his former side as his 4 wickets haul helped Delhi Capitals (DC) to a comfortable win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL. Kuldeep finished with 4 for 35 from his 4 overs as Delhi won comfortably by 44 runs in the end.
Having been put in to bat by Kolkata, Delhi got off to an excellent start through their diminutive opener Prithvi Shaw and Australian veteran David Warner as they raced to 90 at 11 runs per over. Once Shaw was dismissed after scoring his half-century, Captain Rishabh Pant kept up the scoring rate and took the side to 148 in the 13th over.
KKR made a bit of a fightback after that as they took 4 wickets for 18 runs, including the wicket of the dangerous Warner at 61. However, an explosive 49 runs partnership off 20 balls between Indian all-rounders Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur pushed Delhi to a formidable 215 off their 20 overs.
Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur pushed Delhi to a total beyond KKR (Image via @IPL on Twitter)
In response, Kolkata lost both their openers within the power play but they were still well in the game thanks to an excellent partnership of 69 between captain Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana. With plenty of big hitters to come, KKR was still in with an even chance while that partnership was in place.
However, Nitish Rana falling to part-timer Lalit Yadav opened the floodgates, and then the innings was taken over by Kuldeep. He dismissed the set Shreyas Iyer, and then quickly accounted for last game’s hero Pat Cummins and dangerous Sunil Narine. He was ably supported by the returning Khalil Ahmed who ended up with 3 for 25.
Despite losing, KKR remain on the top of the table but having played more games than anyone else. They next play Hyderabad on Friday, while Delhi will look to continue their new found winning form against Royal Challengers on Saturday.
