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Maharashtra: Devendra Fadnavis, other BJP leaders detained by Mumbai Police amid protests demanding Nawab Malik’s resignation

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Devendra Fadnavis, other BJP leaders detained by Mumbai Police amid protests demanding Nawab Malik’s resignation

On Wednesday, the Mumbai Police detained Maharashtra BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and other leaders of the party as they staged protests at the Azad Maidan demanding the resignation of State Minister Nawab Malik. The leaders addressed the protest at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan with the motto ‘Nawab Malik Hatao, Maharashtra Bachao’.

According to the reports, Maharashtra BJP President Chandrakant Patil has also been detained by the Mumbai Police and the duo along with other BJP members were taken to the Yellow Gate Police Station. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis confirmed his detention and said on social media that he and his colleagues had been detained by the MVA government. “At the Yellow Gate Police Station, Mumbai after MVA Government detained me and colleagues”, he tweeted.

Former CM Devendra Fadnavis along with other BJP leaders staged protest in Mumbai demanding Nawab Malik’s resignation. “Mumbaikars are out on streets of Mumbai. They are angry, they are hurt. We demand Nawab Malik’s resignation! It’s clear Nawab Hatao Desh Bachao! MVA wake up!”, he tweeted. In the series of tweets further, he added that the party had no intentions to stop until Nawab Malik resigned from the Ministry.

“Nawab Malik’s connection with Dawood Ibrahim is shameful for Maharashtra. The state government is dedicated to terrorist and gangster Dawood Ibrahim. The govt is being sympathetic towards those who helped Dawood and his aides, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts”, he said in his address at the Azad Maidan today.

As reported earlier, the ED arrested Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik for his alleged links with Dawood Ibrahim. The opposition parties in the state have been demanding Malik’s resignation since then.

The MVA govt and the National Congress Party (NCP) is supporting Malik and has no intentions to make him resign from the Ministry. On March 2, the NCP had toughened its stand in the case and cleared that Malik would continue to be the Minister.

Fadnavis had then condemned the decision to retain Nawab Malik as a minister in the govt and had opined that for the first time in Maharashtra, a minister was behind bars but his resignation hadn’t been taken. “This government is coming together to save people who keep relations with Dawood. That’s why we have started protests and we demand that his resignation be taken immediately,” he had reiterated.

Linkages between Nawab Malik and 993 Mumbai Blasts accused terrorist

The ‘Malik saga’ actually kicked off when the ED arrested NCP leader Nawab Malik in the case pertaining to a PMLA instance related to elements linked to Dawood Ibrahim and the underworld. There were reports saying that Malik was involved in the Hawala transfers operated by Dawood Ibrahim. NCP Chief Sharad Pawar had criticized the act and said that Malik was being deliberately arrested because he was a Muslim. “If there is a Muslim activist who is their opponent, it is their (BJP’s) habit to link his name to Dawood. When I was the CM of Maharashtra, they had tried to link my name with Dawood as well. This is an attempt to harass those who are speaking against the misuse of central agencies,” he had said.

On February 15, the ED had conducted multiple raids in South Mumbai in connection with a money laundering case against the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. Close to 9 places in Mumbai and 1 in Thane had been raided including the residences of Dawood Ibrahim’s late sister Haseena Parkar and brother Iqbal Kaskar.

The agency later took into custody Iqbal Kaskar on February 19 and presented him before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court. Also, the National Investigation Agency had said that Dawood Ibrahim was planning to launch terror attacks in India and that he was transferring funds through Hawala channels to provide financial help to all those involved in a planned attack. Nawab Malik’s name appeared in the process of investigation after the intelligence inputs directed the agency to look into the Hawala transactions while probing a money laundering case against Ibrahim, Iqbal Mirchi, Chhota Shakeel, Parkar and Javed Chikna.

Earlier in November 2021 also, Fadnavis had stated that Malik and his family had bought land parcels from people linked with the underworld. The ED in the investigation process reportedly learned that Malik had actually purchased land worth Rs 3 crores in the year 2005 from Haseena Parkar at Rs 30 lakhs. The sale deed was deliberately made to look like the cost of the land was Rs 30 lakhs when the practical cost transacted was at Rs 85 lakhs. The market value of the land today is around Rs 300 crores, as per reports.

The case is under investigation by the ED who is tracing all the linkages of illegal money transfers, land purchases and involvement of NCP’s Nawab Malik in the Dawood Ibrahim case.

Supreme Court grants bail to Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict AG Perarivalan despite severe opposition from centre

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court grants bail to Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict AG Perarivalan despite severe opposition from centre

On Wednesday, March 9, the Supreme Court granted bail to AG Perarivalan, who was one of seven convicted in the assassination case of former Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi. The bail was granted despite severe opposition from the Assistant Solicitor General KM Nataraj. Perarivalan has been serving a life sentence, as sis death penalty was commuted to life term imprisonment by the Supreme Court verdict in February 2014.

The Supreme Court was hearing the plea of 47-year-old Perarivalan, who was seeking a stay in the case until the MDMA investigation was completed.

While granting the bail, the apex court stated that the bail will be subject to trial court conditions and that Perarivalan must report to the CBI officer on the first of every month.

The apex court has been deliberating whether to grant bail to Perarivalan because the Governor has yet to rule on his petition for release from prison. The bench of justice L Nageswara Rao, however, granted the bail stating that AG Perarivalan had undergone imprisonment for 32 years.

The bench, which also included Justice B R Gavai, noted that there is no dispute about Perarivalan having served 32 years in prison and that the court was informed he had been released on parole twice previously with no complaints.

Perarivalan in his bail petition had stated that the Governor had yet to rule on his request for remission and that the delay was a basis for bail.

Centre objects bail of Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict AG Perarivalan

The centre had objected to the bail, claiming that Perarivalan’s request should be decided by the President. “In case of offences to which the executive power of the Union extends, it is the Centre which is entitled to decide on plea for release,” it said.

It also argued that Perarivalan had already reaped the benefit of a death sentence reduction to life imprisonment by citing a delay in deciding his mercy plea and that he could not reap the benefit again by citing another delay.

“It’s for life. Imprisonment is till life. He is a death row convict”, argued ASG KM Natraj, opposing the SC’s decision granting bail to AG Perarivalan.

On this, the Supreme Court said, “In view of the stand taken by the Union of India that the state government does not have the power to entertain the application especially after the sentence of death imposed on the convict has been reduced to life, the matter will have to be decided finally”. It further said that “sufficient material has been produced by the applicant to prove his conduct during the long incarceration, acquisition of degrees and ill health.”

Perarivalan, who was arrested in the case at the age of 19, was sentenced to death in May 1999. He was charged with purchasing the 8-volt battery used to detonate the belt bomb that killed former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. During the lengthy pendency of their mercy petitions, his sentence and that of two others, Murugan and Santhan (both Sri Lankans), were commuted to life in prison in 2014. Soon after, the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu ordered the release of all seven of the case’s convicts.

While the Governor did not consider Perarivalan’s pardon request in 2015, a Supreme Court order on a related petition in September 2018 clarified that the Governor was “deemed fit” to decide on the pardon. The AIADMK government recommended that all seven convicts be released within three days.

On September 9, 2018, the Tamil Nadu government recommended to the state Governor the early release of Perarivalan and six other convicts in the case.

The Tamil Nadu government’s decision to release all seven convicts, AG Perarivalan, V Sriharan alias Murugan, T Suthendraraja alias Santhan, Jayakumar, Robert Payas, Ravichandran and Nalini Sriharan, wife of V Sriharan under Article 161 of the Constitution is still pending with Governor. Four of the convicts – Sriharan, Santhan, Robert Payas and Jayakumar are Sri Lankan nationals.

13 others killed with Rajiv Gandhi

Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in a suicide bomb attack on 21 May 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. On that fateful day, along with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, 13 others had lost their lives. When Rajiv Gandhi’s family, including Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi, chose to ‘forgive’ the convicts and said they had no objection if the killers are released, the kin of those who had died along with Rajiv Gandhi were not too happy with the move. How could Sonia Gandhi or her children decide on behalf of family members of 13 others who lost their lives along with Rajiv Gandhi, they said

Ahead of counting, opposition parties raise EVM bogey as exit polls suggest BJP clean sweeping UP assembly polls

OpIndia Staff
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Ahead of counting, opposition parties raise EVM bogey as exit polls suggest BJP clean sweeping UP assembly polls

The counting for Assembly elections in five states that are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand, is scheduled for March 10. The exit polls have shown Bharatiya Janata Party winning the UP elections comfortably, which has triggered the opposition parties. As always, the leaders of the opposition parties have raised the EVM bogey to hide their inability to win elections.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, called the reports of EVM mishandling serious. He said, “The reports of EVM mishandling are very serious. If EVMs are being found in Garbage trucks, what does that say about the state of our electoral democracy? Does the EC have any answers? Has it become an extended arm of the BJP govt?”

He was referring to the incident where Samajwadi Party workers have alleged EVMs were being shifted from a strong room in Varanasi. In reality, those EVMs were not used in polls and were marked for training purposes. Before counting, Election Commission trains the counting officials how to check and record the votes on EVM machines. The machines that were “captured” by the SP workers had a clear mention on them that they were for training purposes, and it was clarified by the District Magistrate of Varanasi as well.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said, “Varanasi DM is transporting EVMs without giving any information to local candidates. EC should look into it. We need to be alert if EVMs are being transported this way. This is theft. We need to save our votes. We may go to court against it but before that, I want to appeal to people to save the democracy.”

SP Maurya, SP, alleged EVMs were found outside strong rooms. He said, “EVM machines were found outside the strong room in Varanasi, Sonbhadra, Bareilly & Unnao. This raises questions on respective dist. administrations. If any EVM needs to be transported, it’s done in presence of all stakeholders. I urge EC to take action.”

RJD Uttar Pradesh claimed if people are scared of foul play in EVMs, there must be something substantial as such reports were not coming from Punjab.

Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said, “This EVM being moved from an election sensitive state for training in another state is a bit far fetched and hard to believe! Why would ECI at a time when state results are awaited want to move machines from that state only? Winning or losing aside, it is a matter of concern!”

Mukul Wasnik, General Secretary, Congress, shared a video of SP workers hijacking a small truck that was transferring EVMs marked for training purposes and said, “It’s a free for all in Modi Regime it seems. EVM machines being flaunted like trophies after election in Uttar Pradesh.”

The training for poll counting

According to information available on ECI’s website, the EVMs and VVPATs used for training purposes are added to the poll day reserve. That means these machines cannot be used unless the polling has been done at all centres. Once the polling is done, ECI provides training to the officials so that they are aware of the process of counting votes on EVM machines. When required, a set of rules are followed to take out the EVMs and VVPATs marked for training purposes from the strong room. ECI clearly mentions that these machines must be marked with a specific sticker that says the machines are for training purposes only.

‘Gouge out eyes, set fire in public’, Gujarat Congress leaders instigate women to take law in their hands, clash with police in Gandhinagar

OpIndia Staff
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‘Gouge out eyes, set fire in public’, Gujarat Congress leaders instigate women to take law in their hands, clash with police in Gandhinagar

During a programme organised by the Congress Sevadal in Gandhinagar to commemorate International Women’s Day on March 8, Tuesday, Gujarat Congress MLA Geniben Thakor called on women to pour petrol on those who commit crimes against women and publicly burn them alive. She stated that in the event of an atrocity, women should band together without waiting for police assistance and publicly burn the perpetrator.

“Without waiting for the police or the government to help us, whenever there is an atrocity, injustice against a woman, 50 nearby women should come together, douse the criminal with kerosene and set him on fire in the public,” said Thakor, who represents Vav Assembly constituency in the Banaskantha district.

Addressing the same event, another Congress MLA Chandrikaben Baria opined that the eyes of the ‘goons in this BJP government’, who look at women with ill-intention should be gouged out.

“I am sorry to say that we have to deal with goons in this BJP government. The eyes of those who look towards women (with an evil intention) would be gouged out,” said Baria, who represents Garbada, a Scheduled Tribe (ST) constituency.

Scuffle breaks out between Sevadal members and Gujarat police after former violates permissions

A report by Desh Gujarat suggests that a minor clash had also broken out between the Congress workers and the police after the aforementioned event. In what transpired, the police had only granted permission to conduct this event but the members of the Congress Seva Dal made an announcement at the end of the event that they would also be holding a march to the State Assembly, which the police objected to. Despite no permission being granted, Congress workers walked towards the state Assembly and sat on a dharna. They raised anti-BJP government slogans and rebuked the state administration for the increasing incidence of crime against women. 

This resulted in a minor scuffle between Gandhinagar police and Congress workers, including Seva Dal national president Laljibhai Desai and Mahila Seva Dal Gujarat unit chief Pragati Ahir. The Police were compelled to use minimal force to prevent the Congress members staging dharna around the Assembly.

Reacting to the incident, the Superintendent of Police Mayur Chavda said that the police had specifically given permission to the Congress Seva Dal to organise the Mahila Divas programme. Some people made provocative remarks during the function and then left. Later, Congress workers announced that the march would take place. “This was a pre-planned conspiracy,” opined SP Mayur Chavda.

Congress stages walkout from Assembly to protest police ‘atrocities’ on their female workers

As expected, the Congress used the oppourtunity to launch an attack on the state administration. The Opposition Congress in Gujarat on Tuesday staged a walkout from the Assembly during the ongoing Budget session, protesting the alleged ‘physical assault and atrocities carried out on its female workers by male police officers’.

Former Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee chief Amit Chavda told the House that the party’s female workers were demonstrating at the Satyagrah Chhavni in Gandhinagar on International Women’s Day on Tuesday after obtaining police permission. They were, however, physically assaulted by male police officers on direct orders from the state government, Chavda alleged. 

Interestingly, despite the police making it clear that the Congress workers did not obtain any permission for the march to the State Assembly, Chavda claimed in the Assembly that the party’s female workers were demonstrating at the Satyagrah Chhavni in Gandhinagar after obtaining police permission. The fact that the Congress workers had headed towards the State Assembly without seeking prior police permission did not find any mention in Amit Chavda’s statement.

Gujarat Congress MLA Geniben Thakor famous for making controversial remarks

Meanwhile, Geniben Thakor, a Gujarat Congress MLA who was actively seen instigating women to take the law into their own hands, has previously been in the news for other contentious remarks. In July 2019, the Congress MLA had extended her support to the resolution adopted by Thakor community in Banaskantha district which bans unmarried girls from using mobile phones. The resolution also banned inter-caste marriage. She said that such a ban would put a stop to ‘such incidents’.

Congress MLA Geniben Thakor justified the move by saying that such ban on usage of mobile phones by unmarried girls will ‘automatically control the boys’. “Since girls are easily controlled because they stay with their parents, it is right to ban the mobile phones for girls,” she said.

Prior to this too, while addressing a farmers’ gathering in 2018, Geniben Thakor had said that she was pained by the plight of the farmers and if it were up to her, she would kill them (BJP leaders) and go to jail if it were to come to that.

Zee Studios deny ‘sabotage’ of The Kashmir Files, says it will release on 500 screens, but keeps mum on low media & outdoors publicity

Nirwa Mehta
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Zee Studios deny ‘sabotage’ of The Kashmir Files, says it will release on 500 screens, but keeps mum on low media & outdoors publicity

Zee Studios, the production and distribution house for Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Kashmir Files’ which is set to release on 11 March 2022 has denied allegations of ‘sabotage’ after netizens raised questions regarding low media and outdoor publicity for the film.

Ahead of the release of the film, several netizens had taken to social media to express concerns that while mainstream media has dismissed the film because it talks about the Islamic terrorism in the Kashmir region and the brutal exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, the producers of the film also do not appear too keen to put money into the marketing of the film so that it reaches a broader audience.

Netizens had alleged that Zee Group, one of the producers of the film, were reducing the release of the film to less than 200 screens, thereby reducing the reach of the film.

Some felt that this was being done so that the whitewashing of the atrocities inflicted by the Islamic terrorists backed by Pakistan in the valley can continue.

OpIndia reached out to Shariq Patel of Zee Studios on the concerns raised by netizens. While he was reluctant to react, a Zee Studios spokesperson said, “Zee Studios believes in the power of untold stories such as ‘The Kashmir Files’ and fully realises its box office potential. Drawing from our past experiences from films such as ‘Tashkent Files’; we expect the film to have a long run at the theatres. Our current release plan will reflect that belief with over 500 screens worldwide and approximately 2000 shows a day.”

The Kashmir Files has been getting tremendous feedback from Kashmiri Hindus who have lived through the exodus and genocide, many of whom feel that this has been the first-ever true depiction of what the community went through over three decades back. Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, while speaking to audience at the special screening of the film in Delhi had said that while the film is cinematic representation, not a single death or atrocity was fictional. Even some of the situations where the terrorist Yasin Malik was seen cosying up with politicians and activists were real and evidence of the same can be found via a simple Google search even now.

Speaking to OpIndia, a Kashmiri Hindu, whose family spent years in the camps in Jammu said, “not only were the crimes against us whitewashed and watered down but it took someone over 30 years to say the truth as is.”

The film has run into legal troubles where petitions were filed to stall its release. However, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed the same, paving way for the release of the film on Friday. As of now, The Kashmir Files is topping the list of most anticipated Indian movies and shows on IMDb.

12 candidates of Punjab Congress attend a dinner party at Captain Amarinder Singh’s farmhouse ahead of election results: Report

OpIndia Staff
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12 candidates of Punjab Congress attend a dinner party at Captain Amarinder Singh’s farmhouse ahead of election results: Report

Just two days before the declaration of the Punjab assembly election results, 12 leaders of the Congress party in Punjab attended a dinner party at the farmhouse of the former chief minister of the state Captain Amarinder Singh. All the 12 leaders of the Congress party have recently contested the elections and they were joined by two other candidates of AAP in the dinner party held on 8th March 2022 at night.

According to a report by Republic World, party switching is expected among the ranks of many parties after the declaration of results. Captain Amarinder Singh’s party Punjab Lok Congress has made an alliance with the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (United) for the recent assembly elections in Punjab. It is being speculated that if Aam Aadmi Party fails to secure a clear majority in the state, Shiromani Akali Dal may join hands with this three-party alliance to form a government in the state.

As per reports, the party was held for celebrating the birthday of Captain Amarinder Singh at his Siswan farmhouse.

Pritpal Singh Baliawal, former Congress leader and spokesperson for Amarinder Singh’s party tweeted a cryptic message with a video of the party. He asked AAP and Congress to “be ready for shock”.

According to various exit polls, the Congress party is likely to get around 30 seats in the 117-member assembly of Punjab. This is considered a big blow to the Congress party. Besides, the alliance of Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP is also likely to remain away from the magic figure 59. While Aam Aadmi Party leads the charts with most of the exit polls expecting it to get a clear majority, the three-party alliance of the BJP, SAD (United), and the Punjab Lok Congress have been predicted to be away from the majority mark.

On this backdrop, many Congress MLAs and AAP MLAs possibly joining one of the alliances after the results becomes a possible scenario after the results. The former chief minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh had left the Congress party to form his own Punjab Lok Congress.

USA: Americans vent their anger against Putin on Russian restaurants, many are actually run by Ukrainians

OpIndia Staff
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USA: Americans vent their anger against Putin on Russian restaurants, many are actually run by Ukrainians

Russia’s military action on Ukraine has put the Russian Restaurants in New York City in trouble. Ironically, most of them are against the war and are owned by Ukrainian immigrants. The Russian restaurants have been receiving rude phone calls, negative reviews on online platforms and getting angry emails.

Popular Russian restaurants have reported reservations being cancelled, and even on peak days, they are struggling to fill the tables. Some restaurants have reported vandalism at their premises. Some restaurants have claimed their reservations dropped by up to 60% since Russia initiated a military attack on Ukraine.

New York Times quoted owners of Sveta, a small Russian restaurant in the West Village, saying they have been receiving hate mails. One of the emails they received only said, “Go Home.” The owner of the restaurant, 64-years-old Sveta Savchitz, is a Ukrainian who came to the US in 1993. She opened the restaurant in 2015 and promoted it as Russian as they thought it would bring more recognition for them. However, now the recognition as a Russian restaurant is attracting hate, so they have changed the online description from ‘Russian’ to ‘Eastern European’.

Russian Samovar, a family-owned Russian piano bar in Midtown, has received calls where the callers addressed the owners as Nazis. Vlada Von Shats, the matron of the restaurant, said, “People have kicked in our door at night.” She is a Russian, and her husband is from Ukraine. The restaurant hosted a fundraiser for Ukraine and posted a blue and yellow flag with a sign saying, “Stand with Ukraine. No War.” But the attacks still happened and continued. They claimed the reservations were down by 60%. Von Shots said, “These people don’t realize that we have nothing to do with Putin.”

Restaurants are not the only ones that are facing hate-filled attacks. Recently, it was reported that a restaurant in France, La Maison de la Poutine, that has the signature dish ‘poutine’ had to make a public statement on social media to clarify that Poutine is a Canadian dish and has no connection to Putin.

Another Restaurant, The Russian Tea Room in New York City, is under attack. The 100-year-old legacy of the restaurant has failed to save it from the haters. In an email statement to CNN, the owners of the restaurant said, “Founded by refugees with Kyiv in its blood, the heart of the Russian Tea Room is with the people of Ukraine, but we are not the story here. Russia has gotten away with mass murder for too long, and the focus should remain on those suffering and dying in Ukraine.”

While the Russian restaurants are facing the heat, the Ukrainian restaurants have seen a rise in sales by up to 75%. Veselka, a Ukrainian restaurant in the Lower East Side of New York, has seen customers lining up to try their cuisine. The owner Jason Birchard told CNN that he has been running a fundraiser for an NGO on a humanitarian mission in Ukraine and raised around $10,000 in the first week. He expected to send another $15,000 within a week to the NGO.

Anti-Russia sentiments

Since February 24, when Russia announced military action on Ukraine, anti-Russia sentiments have increased in the western world. Over a hundred companies have shut their shops in Russia, and outlets in western countries have removed Russian products from the shelves. Financial companies like Visa, Master Card and Paypal have stopped their operations in Russia. The US has announced it would no longer import oil from Russia, among other sanctions.

NATO shares image of Ukrainian soldier wearing Nazi insignia; deletes it later

OpIndia Staff
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NATO shares image of Ukrainian soldier wearing Nazi insignia; deletes it later

On Tuesday, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) tweeted a picture of a Ukrainian woman soldier with a Nazi symbol on the uniform and said that the Ukrainian women were a symbol of strength for their nation. NATO later deleted the tweet realizing that the post included a picture of a women soldier wearing the black sun symbol.

“All women must live free and equal. This international women’s day, we think of the remarkable women of Ukraine. Their strength, bravery and resilience are symbolic of the spirit of their nation #IWD2022”, the tweet by the official Twitter account of NATO read.

Image Source- Twitter

In the tweet that was deleted later, NATO had shared 4 pictures of Ukrainian women to celebrate International Women’s Day. One of the pictures was that of a woman soldier who was wearing the black sun symbol on her uniform. According to the reports, the black sun symbol is associated with Nazism and is popular with neo-Nazis in Ukraine. The symbol is composed of two concentric circles and rays that start from the smaller circle to the larger one.

Reportedly the symbol is different from the Hakenkreuz symbol which is most commonly used by Nazis. The black sun symbol refers to movements linked to esotericism and the occult of the mid-19th century. The symbol was first employed by the Schutzstaffel or Protection Squad in Germany but it became popular in 1991.

In Ukraine, the black sun is one of the symbols associated with Nazism that are part of the insignia of the Azov Battalion, a right-wing militia formed by several individuals with a history of activity in neo-Nazi organizations. As reported earlier, the Azov battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard is a neo-Nazi unit and they often flaunt their Nazi inclinations openly. It is a far-right volunteers group and their leaders have called Putin ‘a Jew’ in the past.

Earlier the day, in one similar incident, a photograph of a Ukrainian soldier who was evacuating civilians near the capital Kyiv had gone viral over the internet because of a symbol associated with Nazism present on his uniform.

Also on February 28, the Ukraine National Guard had shared a video of a neo-Nazi unit greasing bullets with pig fat to be used against Chechen forces fighting from the Russian side. “Azov fighters of the National Guard greased the bullets with lard against the Kadyrov orcs”, the tweet read.

Ukraine’s dalliance with neo-Nazi forces: A problem that NATO chooses to paper over

It is important to note that, the neo-Nazism ideology has not only taken root in the Ukrainian conscience but has also gained the Ukrainian government’s sanction. This has done anything but raised concerns in Moscow as was evident in the speech made by Putin days before Russia’s military offence in Ukraine.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine came amidst heightened tensions between Moscow and NATO countries, with the former concerned about their precarious security apparatus as the latter mulled over its expansion in eastern Europe. Even as NATO and the US mount a propaganda blitz to counter Russia’s invasion, they have turned a blind eye to a festering problem that seemed to have played a pivotal role in Putin’s calculus to wage an armed conflict in Ukraine.

On February 24, Putin had justified his country’s aggression against Ukraine as a peacekeeping mission and couched the forthcoming military operation by Russian forces as ‘denazification’ of Ukraine. “We will seek to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine and put to justice those that committed numerous bloody crimes against peaceful people, including Russian nationals,” Putin had said while justifying a military incursion in neighbouring Ukraine.

One such neo-Nazi group that enjoys Ukrainian state patronage is the Azov Movement, one of the 30-odd privately-funded “volunteer battalions”, that does much of the frontline fighting with Ukraine’s army against the pro-Russian separatists in the country’s restive eastern region. The Azov is not just known for their reputation of being ruthless on the battlefield but also for espousing a militant ideology that shares its roots with the Nazi army that wreaked havoc in Germany in the second world war.

China accuses US of having 336 Biolabs in 30 countries including 26 in Ukraine, demands ‘full account of its biological military activities’

OpIndia Staff
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China accuses US of having 336 Biolabs in 30 countries including 26 in Ukraine, demands ‘full account of its biological military activities’

In the midst of Ukraine-Russia tensions, US-funded biological weapon laboratories in Ukraine have garnered considerable attention. After Russia, now China has accused US military of operating “dangerous” Biolabs in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian Tweeted a snippet from a press conference where he asked the US to release “relevant details as soon as possible” regarding alleged US biological laboratories in Ukraine. He captioned his Tweet as, “The US has 336 labs in 30 countries under its control, including 26 in Ukraine alone. It should give a full account of its biological military activities at home and abroad and subject itself to multilateral verification.”

Speaking in Mandarin, the official standard language of China, Zhao Lijian responded to a question posed at him by a local reporter. He said, “US Biolabs in Ukraine have indeed attracted much attention recently.”

“According to reports, in these facilities, large quantities of dangerous viruses are stored. Russia has found during its military operation that the US uses these facilities to conduct military plans. Accoridng to data released by the US it has 26 labs in Ukraine. The US has 336 labs in 30 countries under its control. The US has also conducted many biological military activities in Fort Detrick. What is the true intention of the US? what has it done specifically? The International community has doubts,” Zhao added.

He urged the US to give a full account of its biological military activities at home and abroad and accept multilateral verification.

US admits there are Biolabs in Ukraine

Interestingly, on Tuesday, the US State Department official Victoria Nuland in a way had admitted that US-funded Biolabs are working on developing bioweapons on Ukrainian soil. Nuland testified before a Senate Foreign Relation Committee hearing on Ukraine in Washington, DC, and said that the United States was working with Ukraine to prevent invading Russian forces from seizing biological research material. The State Department also stated that it was concerned that Russian forces are trying to gain control of biological research facilities within Ukraine.

By stating that Russia will be held responsible for any ‘biological or chemical weapon attack,’ Nuland had effectively admitted what the Russian government has been saying all along: that US-funded Biolabs are developing bioweapons on Ukrainian soil.

Russian Defence Ministry says they found evidence of US-funded Biolabs in Ukraine

On Sunday, March 6, the Russian Defense Ministry had claimed that there were “evidence of a US-financed military biological program developed in Ukraine.” Igor Konashenkov, the spokesman of the Russian Defense Ministry, said, “In the course of the special military operation, evidence of the Kyiv regime’s hasty measures to conceal any traces of the military biological program finance by the US Department of Defense in Ukraine has been revealed.”

In fact, when Russia had started attacking military installations in Ukraine, there had been speculations that the United State’s Biolabs that have been established in Ukraine in the name of research and defence are also among the targets. Social media had been abuzz with discussions on how the Russian government, in addition to objecting to NATO’s expansion in the region, had been highlighting their concerns, accusing the USA of running bioweapon labs near their border.

These remarks, however, echo claims made last year about the Wuhan lab’s research on deadly viruses being funded by the US and overseen by Anthony Fauci.

Since the outbreak of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic, experts have hinted at the possibility of the leakage of the deadly virus from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). In fact, Chinese Virologist had also gone on record to declare that the Covid-19 virus indeed emerged from China and was intentionally leaked by the Chinese Communist Party as a ‘bio-weapon’. Many reports had emerged that testify China’s nefarious plans to weaponise the SARS Coronavirus against the world.

Wuhan lab’s research on deadly viruses was funded by the US

In September last year, a new book had claimed that the United States funded the research of WIV on ‘deadly viruses with pandemic potential’.

The book titled, ‘What Really Happened in Wuhan: The Cover-Ups, the Conspiracies and the Classified Research’ has been authored by award-winning Australian journalist Sharri Markson. Published by Harper Collins, the book delves into a ‘secretive project’ that the US funded at the Wuhan laboratory in China. Daily Mail reported that the contentious lab was being used to create a database of ‘lethal viruses’.

It must be mentioned that WIV is one of the few laboratories in the world that can undertake ‘gain-of-function’ research i.e. make viruses deadlier and more infectious. While such research work has been hailed for predicting pandemics, providing opportunities for researchers to work pre-emptively on medicines and vaccines, it has been criticised for its ability to unleash dangerous viruses in the world.

Yogendra Yadav’s distress at BJP likely to sweep UP elections despite everyone rooting for Akhilesh is an assault on our collective intelligence

Nirwa Mehta
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Yogendra Yadav’s distress at BJP likely to sweep UP elections despite everyone rooting for Akhilesh is an assault on our collective intelligence

There are a few grounds on which a political party can win elections in India. One is the promise, the hope of better governance (which brought the Modi government into power at the Centre in 2014), the second one is good work (which is why the Modi government got elected the second time with a larger mandate in 2019), third is other options are terrible, coupled with faith in the ruling party being way better (which is why BJP has had an uninterrupted winning streak in Gujarat since the late 1990s), fourth is caste politics, freebies (which explains AAP, Samajwadi Party, DMK) and fifth is a government actually fulfilling the promises made.

Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh came to power in 2017 on the promise of development and improving the abject state of law and order in the state. Opinion polls, exit polls have predicted a clean sweep by the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Whether they come true tomorrow is something time will tell. However, going by the initial reactions, it seems the exit polls may not be too far off from the actual result.

This, however, has upset the psephologist cum activist cum farmer cum protestor cum columnist cum Sonia Gandhi’s ex-aide cum politician and everything else under the sun, Yogendra Yadav. Yadav, in his column for Shekhar Gupta’s ThePrint, wrote that if BJP wins UP, it will be because ‘it effectively captured popular mindset, not booths’. One would think he is happy that BJP’s victory may be on full honesty and not because of booth capturing, as was widely the case in Lalu Yadav’s Bihar and the UP hinterlands when Samajwadi Party had a freehand. Except, that is not the case.

Yogendra Yadav is distressed (his words) that the forecast shows BJP winning. He is also shocked (his words) that some are projecting 300 plus seats for the BJP. He then points out how the Akhilesh-friendly media might have misinterpreted the crowds at Akhilesh Yadav’s rallies.

Yadav says how his comrades shared stories of BJP being wiped out in Western UP and decimated in Poorvanchal and hence he understands how they must be in shock over exit polls. He’s shocked that despite the coronavirus pandemic followed by the ‘farmer protests’, a ‘mediocre government’ has managed to get popular approval.

Yadav then details how he went to UP and travelled for six weeks and despite all the propaganda created by opposition parties on the farm laws and used the plight of migrant workers during the pandemic for political gains, the voter on the ground still seems to have gone with the BJP. He says how despite issues like unemployment and other issues and complaints people might have had with the Yogi government, they were not quite angry with the government. That everyone except Yadavs, Jatavs and Muslim voters shared a ‘commons sense’.

As per Yadav, people were upset with issues like inflation, job loss due to pandemic, difficulties one faced due to pandemic past two years but they also had the common sense to realise that since pandemic was a global issue, ‘what can the government do about these things?’ Yadav then lists out how the people in UP were happy they got food grains over and above the standard quota because of pandemic and how women feel safer due to improved law and order. “Things would have been worse but for Modiji.” was a standard response Yogendra Yadav got.

So, here, Yadav was met with answers like Modi and Yogi governments (double engine ki sarkar as the campaign has been) has worked effectively and people, including Samajwadi Party voters, were happy with the current dispensation on issues such as law and order. Perhaps Yadav is shocked that for a change a government has done work on the ground for voters and hence voters might be rewarding the government by bringing them back to power.

Yadav then dismisses the voter sentiment as ‘they had made up their minds’ and not really something the government did. Apparently, the campaigns, the advertisements (which every political party worth its freebie does all the time to win elections) is ‘rigging television and phone screens’. “It is not booth capturing, but mindscape capturing, an effective capture of the moral and political common sense,” writes Yadav making effective election campaigning done by the BJP which has resonated with voters appear like it is a crime.

He then gives his friends in media a piece of advice to not stay in an echo chamber and to go out and talk to actual voters because, well, 2024 (general elections) is still two years away.

Effectively, Yogendra Yadav is distressed UP voters chose law and order, fair handling of the pandemic in terms of vaccines, ration and other usual things a voter looks for in elected government and that the propaganda of opposition parties firmly backed and fanned by the mainstream, influential and friendly media failed. And hence, for 2024, the preparations should start from now. Because in the scenario BJP comes back to power for the third time with Modi as Prime Minister, lord knows how many would need to check into facilities for mentally disturbed.

Speaking of the mentally disturbed, we at OpIndia are quite looking forward to the meltdown. Hope our favourites do not disappoint.

OpIndia team keeping an eye on the usual suspects
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