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Punjab and Haryana HC stays investigation against BJP leader Tajinder Bagga, issues notice to Punjab Police

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Punjab and Haryana HC stays investigation against BJP leader Tajinder Bagga, issues notice to Punjab Police

On April 6, Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed further investigation against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga and issued notice to Punjab Police. In the petition, Bagga sought quashing of the FIR filed against him by Mohali Police on April 1 on charges of making provocative statements, criminal intimidation and promoting enmity between different groups. The petition was filed by senior advocates RS Rai and Chetan Mittal on behalf of Bagga in the Court of Justice HS Sidhu.

Bagga’s counsel informed the Court that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Dr Sunny Singh Ahluwalia’s complaint against their client was ‘wholly malafide’. They argued that the complainant did not reveal the actual statement and referred only to some part of the statement to get the FIR registered. “In the actual statement… there is nothing in which would constitute any offence, and there is no intimidation or incitement to violence,” they said.

Ahluwalia, in his FIR, claimed that Bagga allegedly threatened if Kejriwal did not apologise for his statement against Kashmiri Pandits, BJYM activists would not let him live. The counsels argued that the particular statement made by Bagga should be read in the context of the complete statement and not in parts. They said, “It is only intended to convey that till (Arvind) Kejriwal apologises for his statement which was considered objectionable by the petitioner, protests and demonstrations against him would continue.”

The Court fixed the date for hearing on April 7 and stayed further investigation in the matter till the Court reached any decision.

FIR against Tajinder Bagga

On April 2, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga said in a statement that while he was in Lucknow, Punjab Police arrived at his home in Delhi, presumably to arrest him. He alleged that Punjab Police failed to inform Delhi Police about their arrival in the state, which is against the law. In a video statement, Bagga said, “Tell me, Arvind Kejriwal. Are you happy now after registering FIR? Now I am telling you. Do not stop at one and register 100 FIRs against me. You got powers recently. Abuse them as much as you can. But I would like to tell you that even Raavan’s ego was broken, your ego would face a similar fate.”

A complaint was filed by Dr Sunny Singh Ahluwalia, Lok Sabha Incharge & Spokesperson, Aam Adami Party. In his complaint, Ahluwalia alleged that Bagga and other unknown persons gave a statement on March 30 in which he instigated his followers to cause violence, use force and cause hurt to Delhi CM Kejriwal and other AAP leaders.

Guwahati Police take cognizance of viral audio clip of Instagram Influencer and her friend on how to ‘rape and kill Hindus’

OpIndia Staff
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Guwahati Police take cognizance of viral audio clip of Instagram Influencer and her friend on how to ‘rape and kill Hindus’

On April 6, Guwahati Police took cognizance of the viral audio clip of an Instagram Influencer and her friend where they were calling for identifying, raping and killing Hindus. In reply to a Twitter user, Guwahati Police said that the matter had already been taken up.

The Hinduphobic audio clip went viral on social media

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 said Hindus should be identified, raped and killed.

While Nadeem was abusing Hindus, Sabnam was giggling and praising his sense of humour. Nadeem alleged he saw three Hindus being killed in front of him, and no Hindu dared 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.

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 deal with it anymore.

Both Sabnam and Nadeem (who already came live with a fake ID) have been reportedly changing their IDs to escape scrutiny.

TMC VP Yashwant Sinha loses cool, hurls abuse on Twitter, here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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TMC VP Yashwant Sinha loses cool, hurls abuse on Twitter, here is what happened

Trinamool Congress VP Yashwant Sinha on Wednesday lost his cool and called a Twitter user ‘ch*tiya’.

Yashwant Sinha’s tweet

On Wednesday evening, Sinha tweeted an incoherent tweet where he talked about how some people say they’d vote for Modi even if petrol prices reach Rs 200 per litre. He then talked about those who stand up when their Indian passports get checked in America and also said these people are also there in other countries.

To that, one Twitter user asked him what is the trying to say, while referring to the MP as ‘ch*tiya’. To which, the TMC leader appeared to have lost his cool and answered back that he wanted to say by his incoherent message that the Twitter user who could not decipher his cryptic tweet was a ch*tiya.

Ch*tiya is a derogatory term which is often used as an insult. This is not the first time he has been abusive. Back in 2014 he had said that any ch*tiya can become the chief minister of Jharkhand.

Recently, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had also used the same term for a BJP woman leader and then defended it by saying ch*tiya means ‘stupid’. He had earlier referred to Kangana Ranaut as ‘haramkhor’ (another derogatory term) and claimed it meant ‘naughty’.

Parliament passes the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill 2022: All you need to know about the bill on collection of information related to crimes

OpIndia Staff
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Parliament passes the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill 2022: All you need to know about the bill on collection of information related to crimes

On Wednesday, Parliament passed the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill 2022. The Lok Sabha had passed the bill on Monday after Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced it. Two days later, the upper house of Parliament – Rajya Sabha, also passed the bill by a voice vote today.

With the passing of the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill 2022 in both houses, the bill will now be sent to the President for his assent. Once the bill receives his assent, it becomes an act.

Why was the new bill introduced?

  • The bill aims to replace the Identification of Prisoners Act 1920. In the 1980s, the Law Commission of India, in its 87th report, had recommended significant changes to the existing law.

What are the provisions of the new bill?

  • The new bill will allow the police and prison authorities to collect, store and analyse physical and biological samples, including retina and iris scans, of convicts and persons arrested on various charges.
  • The new bill is also applicable to the persons arrested under any preventive detention law.
  • Under the new bill, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has been the nodal agency to store the physical and biological samples, signatures and handwriting data.
  • The bill allows NCRB to preserve the data for at least 75 years. The NCRB has also been empowered to share the records with other law enforcement agencies.
  • It also authorises law enforcement agencies to take measurements of convicts and “any other persons” for identification and investigation in criminal matters, on the order of a magistrate.
  • Any state government of Union Territory administration may notify an appropriate agency to collect, preserve and share the measurements of a person of interest in their respective jurisdictions.
  • The new also penalises individuals if they refuse to allow authorities from taking sufficient measurements and data.
  • While consent will taken before taking biological samples, the bill provides for forceful collection of such samples from persons arrested for offences against a woman or a child, or if the offence carries a minimum of seven years imprisonment.

The Bill permits the collection of identification information about individuals for the investigation of crime. The bill expands the kind of information that can be collected, and it also expands the kind of persons whose data may be collected, as it includes convicts and arrested persons for any offence. It also allows the magistrate to order collection of information from any person, to aide in investigations.

The data to be collected can include biometrics data like finger prints, palm prints, foot prints, iris and retina scan, physical and biological samples like blood, semen, saliva, etc including DNA samples, and behavioural attributes like signature, handwriting, voice samples etc.

A person may refuse to give biological samples. However, it will not be applicable if the offence is related to crime against women or children, or the crime carries a minimum punishment of seven years imprisonment.

What is the significance of the bill?

  • The highlight of the new bill is that it has provisions for using modern technologies and procedures to capture and record appropriate body measurements. The existing law only allowed authorities to take only fingerprint and footprint impressions of a limited category of convicted persons.
  • The new bill also expands the “ambit of persons” whose measurements can be collected will help the investigating agencies to obtain necessary legally admissible evidence and establish the crime of the accused person.
  • The proposed bill will minimise the threat from organised crime, cybercriminals and terrorists who are proficient in identity theft and identity fraud. The bill will help to check serious national and global threats posed by them.

Gujarat: AAP leader Yuvrajsinh Jadeja sent to judicial custody for assaulting policemen

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: AAP leader Yuvrajsinh Jadeja sent to judicial custody for assaulting policemen

Aam Aadmi Party’s leader Yuvrajsinh Jadeja is sent to judicial custody in Sabarmati Central Jail on 6th April 2022 for attacking police personnel outside the superintendent of the police office in Gandhinagar on 5th April 2022. After Arvind Kejriwal held a roadshow in Ahmedabad, the leader of AAP’s Gujarat unit, had hit his car to a policeman right in front of the SP office. Gandhinagar police released 10-second video footage of the dashboard camera of Jadeja’s car showing a policeman being dragged on the bonnet.

Yuvrajsinh Jadeja, who calls himself a whistle-blower of government recruitment question paper leaks in Gujarat, had gone to the SP office and police headquarters in Sector 27, Gandhinagar, on April 5 to support 55 aspirants for Vidyasahayak teaching posts, who had been detained by police for carrying out a protest demanding an increase in vacancies.

According to police, Yuvrajsinh Jadeja allegedly attacked a few policemen on duty. Then he tried to flee from the spot. While leaving the place, he tried to run over the policemen and dragged one of them on the bonnet for a few meters.

Police have booked Yuvrajsinh Jadeja and his aide Deepak Zala under IPC 307 for an attempt to murder and 332 for causing hurt to a public servant. On 6th April 2022, the police presented both the accused in front of a Gandhinagar court where police did not seek remand.

Abhay Chudasama, the Inspector General of Police and Gandhinagar SP Mayur Chavda released a video recorded in the dashcam of the car. A policeman being dragged on the bonnet is clearly seen in this video. IG Abhay Chudasama said, “Yuvrajsinh Jadeja had installed a camera on the dashboard of his car and his act of mowing down policemen was also recorded in it. We have confiscated the footage and his cellphone and given it to the forensic sciences laboratory for further analysis.”

He added, “We have booked him under IPC 307 because if the car hadn’t been stopped by us, then the policeman on the bonnet could have died or met with serious injuries. Whenever Jadeja came up with evidence of irregularities in government recruitments, police have cooperated with him, listened to his grievances and even carried forward his message to the state government. However, be it any leader or student activist, such behaviour of mowing down cops with their car will not be tolerated.”

After Yuvrajsinh Jadeja was arrested on Tuesday 5th April 2022, many of his supporters reached sector 21 police station in Gandhinagar and registered their protest. Informing about this, Abhay Chudasama said, “On Tuesday night, a few students assembled outside Sector 21 police station after being instigated by certain elements and tried to create a ruckus over there. After the police force arrived, they fled the scene. We are investigating it and I would like to appeal to students to confirm the truth first before getting instigated. Police have taken strict action against those accused who gave leaked papers in the past.”

On the other hand, the Gujarat state unit of AAP and its leaders in the state have alleged that there is a political conspiracy behind this whole sequence of incidents, the sole purpose of which is to silence Yuvrajsinh Jadeja.

Addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad, AAP leader Pravin Ram said, “The manner in which Yuvrajsinh Jadeja was booked under serious offences shows a political conspiracy to break the morale of the Gujarat youth. The written examination for Lok Rakshak Dal (LRD) police constable recruitment is scheduled on April 10 and the state government was nervous that Jadeja would again bring out irregularities in recruitment and they silenced him by pushing him behind bars.”

Friend of PM Imran Khan’s wife flees from Pakistan amid corruption charges, her ‘$90,000 bag’ picture goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Friend of PM Imran Khan’s wife flees from Pakistan amid corruption charges, her ‘$90,000 bag’ picture goes viral

Farah Khan, the much-talked-about friend of Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, has reportedly fled Pakistan amid rumours of corruption. Apparently, on April 3, Farah Khan left the country to flee to Dubai being amid the political turmoil which saw Imran Khan’s stepping down as the Prime Minister.

Opposition leaders claim Farah fled with a bag that costs a whopping $90,000

Shortly after she left, the photo of Farah Khan with her bag which allegedly cost USD 90,000 has made waves on Pakistani Twitter. The controversial photo features Farah Khan sitting inside a flight with a purple coloured-luxury handbag. After the picture went viral on social media, PML-N leader and former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Miftah Ismail took a press conference alleging that Farah’s bag featured in the picture cost USD 90,000. In the press conference, Ismail along with former Pakistan PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi charged Farah Khan for taking the money for the transfer of civil servants in Pakistan’s Punjab.

Ismail asked ‘Whom did the money go to?’ dismissing PTI’s cover that Farah Khan cannot be a corrupt person because she was a “private person”. Ismail said in the press conference, “She can engage in corrupt activities because she is friends with the wives of public officeholders. She was someone’s frontwoman,” Ismail alleged that Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar was also ‘someone’s frontman’. While talking about Fraha’s high-value bag, said, “Farah Gujjar, while using a Punjab government’s plane, had a bag that was worth $90,000 were told to have “one roti” instead of two,” during skyrocketed inflation in the country.

Charges on Farah Khan

Opposition parties in Pakistan alleged that Farah Khan received a huge sum of money for getting government officers transferred and posted according to their choices. Calling Khan’s scam the “mother of all scandals”, certain opposition leaders estimated that Farah Khan snatched 6 billion Pakistani rupees ($32 million). PML-N VP Maryam Nawaz reiterated the claim that Farah Khan has done these activities at the behest of Imran and his wife. Amidst reports of Imran Khan’s close aids leaving the country, Nawaz alleged that Imran Khan is frightened as thefts will be now exposed.

It was estranged PTI leader Abdul Aleem Khan, who first took Farah Khan’s name as a party in the illegal transactions done at the behest of Imran Khan. Aleem Khan had demanded an investigation to uncover who Farah was forwarding the corrupt money received by her over transfers and postings of government officers in Punjab.

After the allegations of Farah Khan’s closeness with Bushra Bibi, her son Musa Maneka said that she betrayed his mother and Imran Khan. “My family had nothing to do with any dealings of Farah Khan or her husband” he added. Geo News reported that Farah Khan fled Pakistan on the very next day when Imran Khan dissolved the assembly. On reaching Abu Dhabi she apparently attended an Iftar dinner at Bushra Bibi’s sister’s house.

After NEET, Tamil Nadu govt now opposes Common University Entrance Test, CM MK Stalin urges PM Modi to withdraw it calling it ‘regressive’

OpIndia Staff
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After NEET, Tamil Nadu govt now opposes Common University Entrance Test, CM MK Stalin urges PM Modi to withdraw it calling it ‘regressive’

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to withdraw Common University Entrance Test (CUET). In the letter dated on 6th April 2022, MK Stalin called the centralized exam for admission to colleges and universities to be disadvantageous for students in marginalized communities including those in rural areas, economically backward students, and those studying on the state boards.

MK Stalin said that CUET is regressive

MK Stalin called the Common University Entrance Test to be a regressive step that will benefit coaching centers and not the students. He said, “This regressive step has clearly vindicated the consistent stand of our Government, which is based on the consensus across sections in Tamil Nadu that the introduction of NEET for MBBS admissions was not an isolated instance but a definitive prelude to the larger attempt of the Union Government to centralize higher education admissions. There is no doubt that this CUET, similar to NEET will side-line the diverse school education systems across the country, grossly undermine the relevance of overall development-oriented long-form learning in schools and make students rely upon coaching centers for improving their entrance examination scores.”

MK Stalin used state boards as a shield in his argument

MK Stalin used the difference between the state board of education and NCERT as a shield in his argument against CUET. He said, “I wish to reiterate that any entrance examination that is based on NCERT syllabus will not provide an equal opportunity to all students who have studied in varied State Board syllabi across the country. In most States, State Board syllabus students constitute more than 80% of the total student population and these students invariably hail from the marginalized sections. Hence an NCERT syllabus-based entrance examination would place this deserving majority in a disadvantageous position in securing admission to Central Universities. In Tamil Nadu’s context, this is likely to drastically reduce the number of students from our State in various Central Universities and their affiliated colleges.”

MK Stalin then cited the poor-rich divide

Further in his argument against CUET, MK Stalin said that he is worried for the students coming from the marginalized sections of society. He said, “The people of Tamil Nadu are apprehensive that like NEET, CUET also will be against the interests of the rural poor and socially marginalized students from the State and will only favor further mushrooming of coaching centers in the domain of admission in humanities also. Further, we feel that the indirect pressure brought on by the UGC on Non-Central Universities to adopt CUET is likely to make this centralization process even stronger. This trend would, over a course of time, undermine the State syllabus-based school education system by pushing students to opt for costly schools adopting NCERT syllabus.”

MK Stalin wrote a letter to PM Modi asking him to withdraw CUET. Image Source: Twitter

Concluding the CUET to be a wrong step by the central government, MK Stalin demanded to withdraw the test. He wrote, “Considering the above issues, we view this step of making CUET mandatory for all Central Universities as yet another undesirable step in the current trend of the Union Government trying to sideline both the roles of State Governments as well as the significance of school education system in the process of admission to higher educational institutions. Therefore, I strongly urge you to withdraw this step immediately.”

What is CUET?

On Monday, 21st March 2022, the University Grants Commission directed that admissions to undergraduate and postgraduate courses offered in Central Universities should be strictly done on the basis of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET). The new decision does away with the criteria for considering Class 12 marks for UG admissions from the session 2022-23.

The Common University Entrance Test or the CUET will be conducted in the first week of July by the National Test Agency (NTA). UGC Chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar while announcing the exam said that the computer-based exam will be conducted in 13 regional languages including English, Hindi, Gujarati, Assamese, Bengali, Kannada, and Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. The test will be mandatory for seeking admission into 45 central universities in the country.

It may be noted that Tamil Nadu govt is also opposing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to medical and dental colleges, and DMK had promised to get an exemption from it for Tamil Nadu before the assembly polls. In September lasts year, the Tamil Nadu assembly had passed a bill against NEET, however it was returned by the governor. After that, the assembly re-adopted it in February this year, and it will be sent to the President for assent.

Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Arif Masood criticizes party’s decision to celebrate Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti, asks why Ramzan not included in celebrations

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Arif Masood criticizes party’s decision to celebrate Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti, asks why Ramzan not included in celebrations

After glaring defeat in the assembly elections and diminishing relevance of the Congress in the societal sphere, the party’s Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Kamal Nath instructed party workers to celebrate the upcoming Ramnavmi and Hanuman Jayanti within the state. However, Arif Masood, an MP from Bhopal, has objected to Kamal Nath’s orders stating that Congress being a secular party should take along people from all faiths.

After Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s temple runs did not materialise Congress’ exercises in soft Hindutva, Kamal Nath has now ordered its foot workers in Madhya Pradesh to celebrate the Hindu festivals of Ram Navami falling on April 10 and Hanuman Jayanti on April 16 this month. However, Congress MP from Central Bhopal Arif Masood objected to the decision stating that Congress is a Secular party. Talking to the media on Tuesday, Masood said, “Such instructions from the top brass will set wrong precedents.”

“Why such directives were not issued for Congress workers about celebrating Ramadan and festivals of other faiths? Being a political party, Congress should not have issued such a circular. We take along all the religions,” Masood was replying to some questions by the media. Masood added that he would not hesitate in raising any issue that will harm the party’s prospects and go against its constitution. “My colleagues in Congress and other party workers celebrate Ram Navami with fervour but there was no need to issue any circular,” he added.

Further pointing out Congress leader Chandra Prabhash Shekhar’s letter, Arif Masood said that it did not mention the ongoing Muslim fasting month of Ramzan, Chaiti Chand, and Mahaveer Jayanti. “I objected because for Congress all the festivals should be equal,” Masood commented.

According to reports, Madhya Pradesh Congress had asked its workers to celebrate the Hindu Festivals by organising mass recitals of the Sunderkand and Hanuman Chalisa. Narottam Mishra, Home minister of the state took a dig at Congress saying infighting within the Congress is not surprising because it is only concerned for the Muslims. To be noted, Arif Masood is the same leader who infamously wished to crush French President Emmanuel Macron’s face in the Prophet cartoon row in 2020. The radical Islamist leader had filed a plea in the MP High Court in a move to oppose Surya namaskar programmes being held in government schools to commemorate 75 years of Independence.

‘India has been an elder brother to Sri Lanka’: Former SL cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga lauds PM Modi for assistance amid economic crisis

OpIndia Staff
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‘India has been an elder brother to Sri Lanka’: Former SL cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga lauds PM Modi for assistance amid economic crisis

As India extended help to Sri Lanka amidst the biggest economic crisis since its independence, former cricketer and Sri Lankan politician Arjuna Ranatunga thanked PM Modi and India for supporting Sri Lanka in every possible way in the hour of its need. Arjuna Ranatunga said India has been an elder brother to Sri Lanka.

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ranatunga said, “PM Modi was very generous to give the grant to start Jaffna International Airport. India has been an elder brother to us… They’re looking at our needs like petrol & medicines… India has been helping us in a big way.”

He further added, “India has been like an elder brother to us. I am glad that they are monitoring rather than just giving money to Sri Lanka. They are looking at our needs like petrol and medicine. I am sure that those are the things we will lack in the next couple of months. I think that is why India might have come out and India has been helping us in a big way.”

Talking about his other major concerns for his country, Arjuna Ranatunga said, “My major worry is that I don’t want to see a bloodbath. I am very very scared. I don’t want people to start another war which we suffered for thirty years. Some of the politicians who are in the government are trying to show that this is created by the Tamils or the Muslims. By doing that they are trying to divide this country again. That is my major worry.”

Arjuna Ranatunga further said, “General Public is only asking for basic things in protests like milk powder, gas, rice, petrol. I don’t agree with the violence happening. The country has gone into a major crisis in the last 2 years, they can give excuses like COVID but the world went through it.”

Ranatunga slams the Rajapaksa government for the current predicament of Sri Lanka

Criticizing the current government in Sri Lanka, Arjuna Ranatunga said, “This govt changed the entire constitution for their own benefit. Unfortunately, these people didn’t handle COVID properly and were cocky & overconfident. If President thinks he can’t handle it, he can step down. We’re begging for money around the world. Luckily there are countries helping us out, mainly India.”

It is notable that the economic crisis in Sri Lanka has forced the country to give up on its primary needs including healthcare. India has extended a very firm helping hand to its neighbour, assisting it to recover from the current economic crisis.

The dire economic crisis that is engulfing Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is faced with the worst economic crisis in its history, with inflation reaching a record high of 17.5% in February 2022. The residents of the island nation are struggling with an acute shortage of food, and cooking gas. Power cuts are frequent and people are seen standing in long queues in the National Capital for buying diesel fuel.

The government, headed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has been seeking credit lines from countries such as India, China and even Bangladesh for purchasing milk powder and diesel. The situation is so grim that the central bank is forced to buy oil from Iran by bartering tea leaves.

Schools in the western province of Sri Lanka were forced to postpone the exams of their students because the country had run out of printing paper. Due to a shortage of US dollars, it had become impossible to finance the imports. Electricity power cuts have stretched up to 14-16 hours a day, making it impossible for factories to churn out products and remain profitable.

Haldiram’s trends on social media after TV reporter confronts store employee over “Urdu” text on product packets

OpIndia Staff
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Haldiram’s trends on social media after TV reporter confronts store employee over “Urdu” text on product packets

On Tuesday, netizens were surprised to know that popular food company Haldiram’s dominated trends across social media platforms. A heated exchange between a TV reporter and a Haldiram’s outlet manager over the usage of “Urdu” labelling on its food products sparked off a fresh debate on social media platforms.

In a video going viral, a reporter from Sudarshan News TV was seen having an intense debate with a woman employee at a Haldiram’s store. The lady reporter was heard asking the staff the reason behind the usage of Urdu on the packaging of a product made for people fasting during Navratri.

In the clip, the reporter was also heard asking what Haldiram’s was trying to hide was and whether the snacks contained beef oil or any oil produced using animal fat.

The Sudarshan News reporter confronted Haldiram’s over a company’s product – ‘Falhari Mixture’, a Gujarati snack that is a mix of peanuts and potatoes.

The packaging of the product shows text in English and Gujarati on the front, along with a green dot, symbolising it’s a vegetarian product. On the backside of the product, there are details about ingredients written in Arabic, which was presumed to be Urdu by the reporter.

As the reporter asked the Haldiram’s staff to explain the rationale behind the inclusion of Urdu on a product catered to Hindu customers, the staff got infuriated. The reporter also said that the company was betraying Hindus who fast during Navratri.

“You can do whatever, mam. Haldiram’s will not entertain such tantrums,” the staff can be heard telling. As the reporter continued to confront the staff, the angry lady claimed that people of all communities who speak different languages come to the store.

“Why do you have to read in Urdu, mam? It is written in English and Hindi as well,” the staff said.

As the reporter continued to ask the motive behind the usage of Urdu, the staff retorted, “If you want to have this, you can have it. If you do not want to have it, you can just keep this here and go from my outlet.”

The incident has evoked mixed responses on social media platforms. While the left-liberals and Urdu fanatics jumped to hail the Haldiram’s staff for shouting at the Sudarshan News reporter, several netizens demanded answers from the company for using “Urdu” packaging, a product that is used explicitly by Hindus, especially during Navarathri.

It may be noted that several products made by Indian manufacturers use Arabic text also on the packages, because those products are exported to the Gulf countries. Haldiram products have a huge market in the Gulf nations, and as those counties use Arabic language, several Haldiram products use Arabic text. However, it does not answer the question why the company use same packaging for both domestic and export market. The company can easily use different packaging with different labels and avoid such controversies.

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