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Hinduphobic Instagram Audio case: Naya Shahar Police arrests accused Nadeem, Sabnam absconding

OpIndia Staff
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Hinduphobic Instagram Audio case: Naya Shahar Police arrests accused Nadeem, Sabnam absconding

On April 6, an audio clip featuring Instagram influencer Sabnam and her friend Nadeem had gone viral where Nadeem was heard saying Hindus should be raped, identified, and killed. Now, the accused Nadeem has been arrested by Naya Shahar Police in Bikaner and has been taken into custody.

After the audio clip went viral on Social media platforms, a local resident from Pareek Chowk area, Rishi Kumar filed a complaint regarding the matter. Police had filed a case under sections 295 (A) and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

On Friday, one of the accused, Nadeem has been arrested from Naya Shahar area of Bikaner, while Sabnam is still absconding. Nadeem will be presented in the local court on Saturday for his hearing.

Speaking to OpIndia, the investigation officer of the case, Sub-Inspector Chandrajit Singh confirmed the arrest. The officer said, “An FIR under section 295 (A) and other relevant sections was registered against accused Nadeem after we received a complaint. We have arrested him and he is currently in our custody. Further investigation is going on in the case and more details will be provided via a press note later.”

Meanwhile, Guwahati police had also taken cognizance of the matter, as the influencer Sabnam is reportedly from Assam. A team of Assam Police is also present in Bikaner as per the reports to arrest the accused.

The Hinduphobic clip that went viral

On Wednesday, an audio clip of Instagram Influencer Sabnam and her friend Nadeem went viral on social media platforms. During the conversation with Sabnam, Nadeem was heard making extremely vile, violent, and abusive statements about Hindus, Hinduism, and Hindu Gods. He even went on to say that Hindus should be identified, raped, and killed.

While Nadeem was abusing Hindus, Sabnam was giggling at his comments and praising his sense of humor. Nadeem alleged he saw three Hindus being killed in front of him, and no Hindu dares to come to their area. He further said if he had an AK47, he would kill Hindus himself. He claimed to have sexually exploited many Hindu women during the clip.

After the audio clip went viral, Sabnam had played the victim card and posted stories that she was getting rape and death threats in the DMs. She further claimed that she would commit suicide as the issue went out of hand and she could not deal with it anymore.

Rahul Gandhi claims the country has committed violence against him: What he said

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi claims the country has committed violence against him: What he said

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday made an inexplicable claim that the country has committed violence against him.

“I have been beaten with shoes. I have been subjected to extreme violence in this country. When I introspected why is this happening to me, I got an answer that the country wants to teach me a lesson,” Gandhi said in a speech he made during an event organised to launch the book ‘The Dalit Truth-Battles For Realising Ambedkar’s Vision’.

Trying to project himself as an altruist leader who never sought power, despite the fact that he hightailed it to Wayanad on the prospect of losing Amethi, Gandhi postulated that it was never his intention to grab power and was thankful for the nation for showering him with love and respect.

“Desh ne sirf mujhe pyar nahin diya, desh be mujhe jhoote bi maare. You cannot understand, jitni zoron se, jitni hinsa se, is desh ne mujhe mara hai, peeta hai (But the country has not just given me love, it has thrown shoes at me. You cannot understand how hard, with what violence, I have been hit). I thought why is this happening. I got the answer. The country wants to teach me, the country is saying that you learn and understand. It doesn’t matter even if it pains you, learn and understand,” Gandhi said.

Rahul Gandhi predicts violence and chaos in India, thanks to politics he himself has been playing

The remarks made by Gandhi came a day after he had predicted violence and chaos in the country and had accused the BJP of dividing the nation, two months after he fanned separatist sentiments when he claimed India is not a country but a union of states.

Talking to reporters after meeting Sharad Yadav in Delhi today, Rahul Gandhi accused BJP of dividing the country, saying that it has stoked violence. “India has been divided into groups, earlier it used to be one country, now it has been several countries inside the country, these people have a different country, those people have a different country, those others have a different country, and all of them are being made to fight among themselves,” he said.

After that Rahul Gandhi said that this will lead to violence, by saying, “when this pain will be felt, violence will happen”. He said that people may not agree with him, but will see this situation after 2-3 years.

After Karauli, Hindus come under attack in Karnataka, stones pelted at a Sri Ram Shobha Yatra in Mulbagal

OpIndia Staff
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After Karauli, Hindus come under attack in Karnataka, stones pelted at a Sri Ram Shobha Yatra in Mulbagal

Communal tensions prevailed in Mulbagal town of Kolar district in Karnataka after a Sri Ram Shobha Yatra was attacked using stones. The incident happened on Friday night when the Shobha Yatra was being taken out ahead of Ram Navmi on Sunday.

As per reports, stones were pelted at the Sri Ram idol which was carried out in the procession. Cars and motorcycles that were part of the yatra were also attacked by the miscreants and a motorcycle was set ablaze by the stone-pelting mob. Kolar MP S Muniswamy was also reportedly a part of the procession.

The Shobha Yatra was planned as part of the four-day program at Avani Kesthra in Mulbagal from April 7 to 11. On Friday, the procession was passing through the main streets of the town when the violence broke out. As the procession headed towards Jahangir mohalla, a mob started throwing stones at the procession leading to chaos in the area. A power cut in the area added to the confusion and police had to resort to lathi-charge to bring the situation under control. Police have also arrested 6 accused for their role in the violence.

After the violence, to maintain law and order, two platoons of the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP), and six platoons of the District Armed Reserve (DAR) have been deputed in Mulbagal town to maintain law and order. Police is further investigating the case to identify others involved in this case of communal violence.

Disturbing trend of attacking Hindu processions

This stone-pelting incident in Karnataka came at the heels of the riots in Karauli, Rajasthan when a bike rally celebrating Hindu New year was attacked leading to large-scale violence. The safety of Hindu processions across the country has come under the scanner due to the repeated attacks on these processions.

Hindu procession in Karauli, attacked by Islamists, was first in 7 years, now, Hindus are being blamed: What it says about the police

Jinit Jain
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Hindu procession in Karauli, attacked by Islamists, was first in 7 years, now, Hindus are being blamed: What it says about the police

Earlier this month, on April 2, when Hindus around the world were celebrating their new year, a horrifying communal conflagration erupted in Rajasthan’s Karauli during a motorcycle rally organised by Hindus to mark the Nav Samvatsar passed through Hatwara Bazar locality in the city, an ostensibly a Muslim-dominated region.

The rally, which was the first time since 2015 that Hindus took out a procession in Karauli, was met with violence as it traversed through a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood. Stones were pelted at the rally; shops and vehicles were set on fire as miscreants ran amok indulging in arson, vandalism and destroying the public property.

According to reports, 43 people were injured in the clashes that erupted in the wake of the Hindu procession. The injured also included policemen, who were referred to the district hospital for tending to their injuries.

The Rajasthan Police had initially registered an FIR against 37 people for instigating the violence. While the police had identified Congress Councillor Matloob Ahmed as the main conspirator in the case, it booked BJP leader and Jaipur mayor Somya Gurjar’s husband Rajaram Gurjar for his alleged involvement in violence. The authorities also booked convenor Neeraj Sharma who had applied for permission for the rally, Sahab Singh Gurjar, state president of the Hindu Sena, and Rajaram Gurjar, former Chairman of the Municipal Council, Karauli.

Rajasthan Police blames Hindu rally for the violence that swept Karauli on April 2

However, on April 8, the Rajasthan Police blamed Hindus for the violence that erupted in Karauli, insinuating that ‘objectionable songs’ played in the Hindu rally were the cause for the communal flare-up that broke out in its wake. The police response implied that stone pelting was in response to the objectionable nature of songs that were played during the procession carried out by Hindus.

Mohan Lal Lather, DGP, Rajasthan, said that the way the Nav Samvatsar procession was carried out was dubious and objectionable songs were played, that’s why stone pelting took place. He further added that peace ensued across states and people celebrated festivals with amity except in Karuli’s Hatwada Bazar. “Such incident happened in Karauli as no procession was taken out the area since 2015. The Police had given permission to the organizers after monitoring the situation but no permission was granted for use of DJs,” DGP Lather added.

According to Rajasthan Police, Hindus who carried out the procession were responsible for the violence because devotional songs played by them were intolerable to the other side, which got triggered pelting stones and escalated the violence. Instead of blaming the Islamists for having a low threshold for inter-religious tolerance and clamping down on their unlawful activities, the police proceeded to hold Hindus responsible for the imbroglio simply because they dared to carry out a procession to celebrate their new year.

The age-old Congress tradition of indulging in minority appeasement and demonising the majority

However, blaming the majority community, regardless of culpability, is often the modus operandi of law enforcement agencies working under the aegis of Congress governments, who have made minority appeasement a cornerstone of their national polity. For decades now, the Congress party has weaponised minorities like no other, ceaselessly stoking the victimhood narrative among them and demonising the majority as a community bent on changing the religious character of the country.

Since the Congress government view minorities as voter blocks, they often gloss over transgressions committed by members of the minority community, in a bid to remain in their good graces. Instead, the majority community, i.e Hindus, take the rap and are deviously projected as aggressors and enemies of peace and tranquillity.

In Rajasthan, where the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government is in power, the police seem to be operating on the same principle. Minorities are mollycoddled, their vices and criminal behaviour overlooked and instead, the majority community is held responsible when a communal cauldron erupts and results in violence and rioting. However, the Rajasthan Police’s stance on Karauli violence also betrays the insidious rise of Islamism, which is either unchecked or perhaps enjoys the state’s sanction.

What stance on Karauli violence tells us about the Police

The fact that a Hindu procession took place for the first time in seven years indicates how Islamism has mushroomed in Karauli, right under the nose of Rajasthan Police, which in all likelihood, was oblivious to their rise or, even worse, complicit in empowering them so much so that they could not even tolerate one Hindu procession, that too, carried out after more than half a decade. As years passed by, without Hindus carrying out any procession, the Islamists in Karauli seemed to be all the more emboldened to continue stamping their authority and subjugating the non-Muslims, including stripping them of their right to organise peaceful rallies to celebrate their festivals.

The action of pushing the blame on Hindus also reveals the Rajasthan Police’s pusillanimity in treating the rampant menace of Islamism plaguing the society. Islamists are allowed to do as they wish because opposing them and initiating disciplinary action against them would incur a political cost, which the Congress government does not seem inclined to pay, given that Rajasthan remains one of the few states where the party has managed to cling on to power.

But besides the political compulsions that are forcing the government in Rajasthan to blame Hindus for the violence, the Rajasthan Police’s stance on the matter is tantamount to endorsing a no-go in “Sharia-compliant zones” in the country, places where Islamists expect non-believers and apostates to conform to the supremacy of their religion, not celebrate festivals of any other faiths and in case if they do, they are alone responsible for the violence that follows in its wake.

Amidst Navratri, Hindu temple vandalised with idols of deities shattered into pieces in Jammu, was attacked two times in recent past

OpIndia Staff
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Amidst Navratri, Hindu temple vandalised with idols of deities shattered into pieces in Jammu, was attacked two times in recent past

Hooligans vandalised a Hindu temple in Sidhra, Jammu, according to reports and video evidence. As per accounts, the god and goddess idols were vandalised and shattered into pieces. The incident occurred late Friday evening in Jammu’s Sidhra sector, but villagers just learnt about it on Saturday morning, triggering a heavy police presence in the area.

While police have cordoned off the whole area, the entrance to the shrine has also been limited for the time being. The Jammu & Kashmir police have also initiated legal proceedings, and a Forensic Science Lab (FSL) team has arrived at the location to gather samples for further examination.

This is not the first time a temple in Jammu has been vandalised. Furthermore, this occurred during the Navratri festival, which has the potential to cause unrest and rioting among the general public.

Notably, the temple has already been exposed to two vandalism attacks on the idols. As a consequence, the temple was adorned with new idols.

Former Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician Kavinder Gupta issued a statement condemning the attack on the Jammu temple, saying such attacks are carried out to break the area’s ethnoreligious harmony.

He said, “Similar incidents have taken place in the past in Jammu, however, this time, the attack which came after many days raises several questions about the administration itself.”

To ensure that security at the temple is even tighter, the BJP leader indicated that a complete inquiry into the incident would be conducted in order to prevent such incidents in the future.

Gorakhpur temple attack accused Murtaza used a code language full of Arabic words, received e-mails from ISIS

OpIndia Staff
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Gorakhpur temple attack accused Murtaza used a code language full of Arabic words, received e-mails from ISIS

Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi, accused of attacking security personnel outside Gorakhpur’s Gorakhnath temple, used a code language consisting of Arabic words. Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi was in touch with a young woman from the ISIS camp. He came in contact with the young woman through e-mail. During interrogation, it has also been revealed that Murtaza had sent money several times to the account mentioned by the young woman.

According to a report by Amar Ujala, Murtaza, who was preparing to join ISIS, said during an Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) investigation that he was e-mailed by a young woman from the ISIS camp. The young woman sent her photo to him and promised to meet him when she came to India. Murtaza had sent 40 thousand rupees on her demand. During interrogation, Murtaza revealed that in the year 2017, he started learning computer programming on the internet. Here, he began to have thoughts that he was in Paradise, but Allah was unhappy with him.

From January 2020, Murtaza started learning high-tech computer coding. During this time, he once again came in contact with Syrian terrorist organizations. Impressed by them, he sent eight lakh rupees from Nepali accounts.

Murtaza felt that the whole world was harassing Muslims. Radical ideology and Jihadi mentality took over his mind. In the meantime, he went to the suspected madrasas on the Nepal border and heard the speeches.

Murtaza has sent money to several accounts. After this information came to light, the ATS is now also collecting details of his assets. It will be seen how much his earnings were and how much money he has sent to other people. It will also be seen where the money in his account came from. And if the money came, where was it used?

Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi Used to speak in the code of the Arabic language. The ATS has found jihadi literature from Murtaza’s house. There’s also an Arabic book. Initial investigations believed that Murtaza read it because of his allegiance to the religion. Along with Murtaza, the ATS also took the book to the Lucknow headquarters. On close examination, several words have been found underlined in the book.

Code words used by Murtaza

While talking on the phone in the country or outside the country, he used the Arabic word Rihlat Tayaran for flight. This Arabic word means flight. Murtaza had highlighted the word with a marker in the book. The Arabic word Aljihad was used to brainwash Murtaza. Murtaza was given information about Paradise which is Jannat to make him fidayeen which literally means a person sacrificing himself. In the conversations that led Murtaza on the path of jihad, his name was not used. He was called Abdulla in such conversations. Whenever an outsider came to meet Murtaza, he was first informed about it. The code word for outsiders was Mehman. Whenever there was any funding-related conversation with Murtaza, the word Bakhshish was used for that. In the conversations with Murtaza, the police or security agencies were called khatmal which means mosquito.

Murtaza thought he was homosexual. When the family came to know about these things, they started treating him. Doctors described it as a hypomania disease. On 6th April 2022, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also mentioned that the accused has bipolar disorder. However, the doctor who treated Abbasi refuted the claims that he was mentally unstable.

Crowdfunding fraud accused Rana Ayyub downplays embezzled fund value as ‘small amount’, agrees to ‘ignorant’ host

OpIndia Staff
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Crowdfunding fraud accused Rana Ayyub downplays embezzled fund value as ‘small amount’, agrees to ‘ignorant’ host

Alleged journalist Rana Ayyub has once again courted controversy after she tried to downplay allegations of misusing funds, meant for Covid-19 relief work, for personal gains.

In an interview with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) Director Julie Posetti, Ayyub insinuated that ₹10-12 crores 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 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 equaled 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.

Allegations of fund embezzlement against Rana Ayyub and Delhi High Court order

On February 10, 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.

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.

Karnataka: Hindu outfit campaigns to not hire Muslim cab drivers when visiting temples, says ‘they have impure food choices’

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Hindu outfit campaigns to not hire Muslim cab drivers when visiting temples, says ‘they have impure food choices’

Amid the hijab row, halal meat issue, and loudspeaker row ongoing in the state of Karnataka, a new issue of ban on Muslim cab services emerged on Friday. The Bharata Rakshana Vedike, a Hindu right-wing organization, on April 8 called for a campaign asking all the Hindus to avoid the services of Muslim cab drivers across the state while visiting Hindu religious places.

According to the reports, the members of the organization went from door to door of Hindu families to explain to them the reason behind not employing the Muslim cab drivers. The organization stated that the Hindus must not use Muslim cabs, especially when visiting the Hindu temples or pilgrimages.

Speaking on the issue, Bharat Shetty, the chief of the Bharata Rakshana Vedike said that Hindus don’t eat non-veg and it will be a disrespect to our religion if we take someone to a temple who does not believe in God, has impure food choices.

“When we go to temples or shrines, we do not eat non-veg and taking someone who does not believe in our gods or make us impure with their food choices would be a disrespect to our culture and religion. They call us kafirs (non-believers) and just as their religion is important to them, ours is to us,” Shetty was quoted.

The chaos of Muslim persons wearing hijab in educational institutions-

The state of Karnataka has witnessed huge controversies, some also leading to the national level in recent times. The Karnataka hijab row was chaotic as the Muslim girls stayed adamant about wearing hijab in the schools and colleges even after the High Court decision. Some Muslim students at Karnataka’s Pre University College petitioned the High Court to be allowed to attend lectures while wearing the hijab. They were denied admission to courses because the hijab is not part of the college uniform according to the college administration. The students demonstrated, and hit the streets while wearing burqas.

On March 15, the Karnataka High Court dismissed the plea filed by Muslim girls seeking permission to wear hijab in educational institutions. The court stated that the hijab is not an essential practice of the Islamic faith. The students then confessed that they had a meeting with Campus Front of India (CFI), the student branch of the Islamist organization Popular Front of India (PFI) in October 2021, and began wearing hijab in December 2021.

Ban on Halal products-

Another controversy that flared up meanwhile was a ban on Halal products. On March 28, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti called for a boycott of halal meat as it launched a nationwide campaign demanding a ban on Halal products. Spokesperson Mohan Gowda in the statement said that crores of rupees were being collected over certifying meat as halal and that it would pave the way for India to become an Islamic state. Gowda also said that Halal certification was against the precepts of Secularism and gross injustice to the traditional butchers and meat traders.

The matter reached the High Court after Lawyer Rehmatullah Kotwal filed the petition seeking directions to not impose any restrictions upon the Muslim meat traders. He also sought directions from the court to refrain politicians from giving ‘provocative’ statements immediately. The High Court however has refused to hear the matter urgently, saying it will hear the case as per the list.

The issue of Azaan offerings on loudspeakers-

Lately, the issue of Azaan offerings on loudspeakers is grabbing massive attention. The state of Karnataka on April 6 has issued notices to religious institutions across the state, ordering them to maintain the noise of loudspeakers within the prescribed limit. The notices have been sent by Bengaluru Police to 301 mosques, temples, churches, and other establishments.

This is after right-wing organizations in Karnataka complained about the noise pollution being created due to the loudspeakers. Also, BJP leader and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa had noted that prayers through loudspeakers in mosques were disturbing the elderly persons, students, and patients.

Several Hindu organizations in Karnataka have stated that they would play bhajans every morning if the Azaan on loudspeakers is not stopped. State Home Minister Araga Gyanendra meanwhile has warned of severe action against 125 mosques, 83 temples, 22 churches, 12 industries, and 59 pubs and bars if the noise of the loudspeakers is not reduced to the permissible limit.

‘Recording higher cases than other states’: Centre writes to 5 states including Maharashtra to warn about rising Covid-19 cases, asks not to let guard down

OpIndia Staff
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‘Recording higher cases than other states’: Centre writes to 5 states including Maharashtra to warn about rising Covid-19 cases, asks not to let guard down

With COVID cases again on the increase in several states, the Union Health Ministry addressed a letter to five states including Delhi and Maharashtra on Friday, recommending that state authorities maintain a close eye on the situation and take immediate action if necessary. Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Mizoram are the States concerned.

In the letter, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan directed the state authorities to continue monitoring the spread of coronavirus infection and to adhere to the five-pronged approach of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and Adherence to COVID appropriate behaviour. States have also been instructed to regularly monitor influenza-like illness (ILI) and SARI cases in all health institutions in order to discover early warning signs.

“A sustained and significant decline in the number of Covid-19 cases has been observed in India over the past 2 months, with the country reporting less than 1,000 daily new cases for the past few days. The weekly positivity rate has remained below 1 per cent. There are a few states which are reporting a higher contribution to India’s daily new cases,” the letter read.

Union Health Secretary Bhushan explicitly stated that Kerala had recorded 2,321 new cases in the previous week, accounting for 31.8 per cent of all new cases in India. “The state has also seen an increase in positivity in the last week from 13.45 per cent to 15. 53 per cent,” he wrote.

“Laxity at any level may nullify the gains in pandemic management so far. Regular monitoring and follow-up action in emerging areas of concern is crucial,” the letter further added.

The health secretary also cautioned the states that it is vital that they maintain a close eye on any regions of concern and, if required, take preventive steps to minimise the spread of sickness. To track the virus’s transmission and development, testing and surveillance are still required.

The letter emphasised in the context of Maharashtra that the state had registered 794 new COVID cases in the previous week, accounting for 10.9 per cent of all new cases in India. Similarly, Delhi was advised to be cautious, as the Union Territory’s positive COVID cases grew from 0.51 per cent to 1.25 per cent in the previous week.

The ministry has also recommended authorities conduct genomic sequencing on samples taken from both international travellers and local clusters of patients. The ministry has expressed the states that it will continue to provide the necessary support in order to contain the outbreak.

According to the Union Health Ministry, India recorded a single-day increase of 1,109 new coronavirus infections on Friday, bringing the overall number of COVID cases to 4,30,33,067, while active cases decreased to 11,492.

Watch: Mani Shankar suffers meltdown when confronted with tough questions, old video goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Mani Shankar suffers meltdown when confronted with tough questions, old video goes viral

Strangely, on Saturday, an old interview of controversial Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar became viral on social media platforms.

Without any specific context or reason, netizens took to Twitter to share a three-year-old interview of Mani Shankar Aiyar to highlight the Congress leader’s theatrics in response to tough questions posed by the journalist.

Twitter user Mihir K Jha put out a video of Mani Shankar Aiyar’s interview with ETV Bharat journalist Rakesh Tripathi. “How did I miss this interview?” asked the Twitter user as he mocked the Congress leader for his dramatics during a TV interview.

The interview with ETV Bharat was published on August 13, 2019, in which Mani Shankar Aiyar was posed tough questions on the party’s stand on the Kashmir issue and other developments surrounding Kashmir.

During the interview, senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar was confronted by the journalist on his controversial ‘chaiwala’ remark. It is pertinent to note that just before the 2014 general elections, Aiyar had claimed that Modi would never become a PM and he could arrange it for him to sell tea at the AICC meet if Modi so wished.

While the full version uploaded by ETV Bharat has this portion edited out, the following clip has gone viral on social media. As the ETV Bharat journalist asked Aiyar about this degrading remark, the veteran Congress not only denied making a controversial ‘chaiwala’ remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi but also lost his cool.

The Congress leader also tries to defend his comments which were made at the Talkatora Stadium, saying that he was misinterpreted.

“I had said ‘if he (Modi) wanted to’ and not because ‘he was’ a chaiwala. I only said that he would lose, and if he wanted to sell tea, we would help him,” Mani Shankar Aiyar claims in the interview.

The journalist points out to Aiyar how it is a little demeaning to say something like that. However, Aiyar hits back by saying that that is what the journalist is thinking. Aiyar then asked the reporter to stick to Kashmir and not stray away from the topic.

When the reporter replied, saying that Aiyar could not dictate the questions that the reporter should ask, the Congress leader tried to evade the situation with his histrionics.

“Your questions on Kashmir are over, so the interview is now over,” Aiyar says, making a gesture of getting up. He then tells the journalist to get back to Kashmir and then threatens to get up from the interview.

Aiyar was reminded that as a journalist, he could ask him questions, especially in a democracy.

The Congress leader suffers a huge meltdown at the end as the journalist tells Aiyar that he respects him because he has been a great leader. Aiyar suddenly loses whatever cool he had left and starts making strange sounds and says ‘thank you’ with folded hands in a very dramatic voice. He even touches the journalist’s feet while continuing to talk in a strange voice and mannerisms.

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