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BBC clarifies after being called out for presenting views of politicians on ‘The Kashmir Files’ as that of common Kashmiri Hindus, does not apologise

OpIndia Staff
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BBC clarifies after being called out for presenting views of politicians on ‘The Kashmir Files’ as that of common Kashmiri Hindus, does not apologise

Hours after popular Twitter user ‘The Hawk Eye’ exposed the British Broadcasting News (BBC) for presenting the critical comments of a few politically motivated individuals about ‘The Kashmir Files’ as a blanket opinion of Kashmiri Pandis on the movie, the news organisation has issued a clarification on Monday (March 21).

In a tweet posted by BBC News Hindi, it said, “BBC Hindi spoke to some people in the Jagti refugee camp in Jammu about the film ‘Kashmir Files’. We talked to them as part of our initiative to reach out to displaced Kashmiri Pandits of the Valley.”

BBC further added, “After the video went viral, it has been brought to our notice that these people also belong to two major political parties, Congress and BJP. The BBC did not speak to them as representatives of their respective parties. They do not represent the sentiments of all Kashmiri Pandits.”

Screengrab pf the tweets by BBC Hindi

The BBC, however, did not apologise for misleading its viewers into believing that its report reflected actual testimonies of aggrieved Kashmiri Pandits.

The Hawk Eye directs BBC to update its video description

In a tweet, ‘The Hawk Eye’ pointed out how the BBC was forced to issue a clarification after being exposed for its misleading narrative.

“After the propaganda video exposed & amplified by netizens, BBC issued CLARIFICATION: These ppl are politically affiliated 2. They do NOT represent entire Kashmiri Pandit community,” it tweeted.

The popular Twitter user asked the news organisation to update the description of the video posted by it on its Youtube channel.

The Background of the controversy

On March 16 this year, BBC News Hindi published an article, claiming to highlight the views of displaced Kashmiri Pandits who were relocated in the Jagti Township of Jammu.

The piece amplified the voices of two residents in the colony – Shadi Lal Pandita and Sunil Pandita, whose critical views against the release of The Kashmir Files were touted as the voice of the entire Kashmiri Pandit community settled in Jammu by BBC.

The Hawk Eye had pointed out that Sushil Pandita is a local ‘India against Corruption’ activist. While the BBC superimposed views like those of Sushil Pandita as voices of the entire displaced KP community, the Twitter handle revealed the ire he faced from the other residents living in his vicinity for his controversial views.

The BBC story also featured Shadilal Pandita who happened to be the president of the society. As reported by The Hawk Eye, Pandita is known for his anti-BJP stance and is currently leading a protest against the government for a relief demand, which is in turn supported by local Congress.

The fact remains that The Kashmir Files has been upheld as an arbitrator of the truth of the Kashmiri Hindu genocide by the global mass of the KP community itself. It is also for the first time, that ordinary Indians are standing with their Kashmiri Hindu brethren while doing everything to promote and support the film.

Delhi HC issues notice to central and state govt, Delhi police on plea for recovering damages from anti-CAA rioters who destroyed public property

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi HC issues notice to central and state govt, Delhi police on plea for recovering damages from anti-CAA rioters who destroyed public property

On Monday, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Centre, Delhi government and the Delhi police on a plea seeking recovery of damages from persons who damaged the public properties during the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the year 2020.

The notice was issued by the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla based on a PIL filed by advocate Hinu Mahajan and a law student named Amandeep Singh Gehlot. The petitioners stated that they had personally visited the various places in Delhi and were shocked and saddened to see the damages caused during the Delhi riots.

Meanwhile, Advocate Yudhvir Singh Chauhan, appearing for the petitioners also sought for setting up independent machinery for investigating the claims of damages and awarding compensation. The case has been listed for further hearing on September 21.

According to the reports, the petitioner, advocate Hinu Mahajan is also a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mahila Morcha and had made several political parties respondents in the case. However, the court has called for the deletion of the issue and has demanded an amended memo of parties to be filed.

Violent anti-CAA protests and UP govt’s action against rioters

It is important to note that UP CM Yogi Adityanath has been very clear about his intentions from the day the riots took place in the state of Uttar Pradesh. He had warned rioters that taking the law into their hands, indulging in arson can land them into trouble. In the year 2020, the UP government had approved the ‘Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damage to Public Properties Ordinance, 2020’ thereby enabling the confiscation of properties of individuals involved in damaging property during riots in the state, including the recent anti-CAA riots.

Earlier in March 2020, the UP government had put hoardings of 57 anti-CAA vandals in prominent intersections in state capital Lucknow. The hoardings included their names, addresses, and photos of the violent protesters who damaged public property during the riots that claimed 22 lives in December last year. The rioters were asked to pay the penalty amount within a month.

The Allahabad High Court had ordered the state government to remove the hoardings, saying that there is no law backing the action of the government. The High Court had said that the posters were ‘unwarranted interference in the privacy of people’. But the Yogi government later filed a plea at the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order, saying that those vandalizing public and private property had no right to privacy. The SC then had specifically said that a strict law is needed to prevent the damage to property during protests, agitations, bandhs, hartals etc by rioters. The apex court had also ordered the videography of such incidents, and to recover damages from the rioters.

Recently, in the month of February this year, the Supreme Court made it clear to all that the government can issue fresh notices against the rioters and can re-attach the properties under the new law that was brought by the UP government.

The apex court has also directed that all the notices issued for recoveries by the district administration should be withdrawn and has allowed fresh notices to be issued under the Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Act, 2020.

Kerala: 14-member Salafist family, led by Abdul Hasheem and his wife, tried to enter war-torn Yemen to ‘study Islam’, denied entry

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: 14-member Salafist family, led by Abdul Hasheem and his wife, tried to enter war-torn Yemen to ‘study Islam’, denied entry

A 14-member family from Kerala was sent back by the Yemen authorities after they tried to enter the war-torn country to ‘study Islam’. Reports suggest that the Yemeni border security denied entry to the family and sent them back to India. Kerala’s Special Branch officer told The New Indian Express that the family follows Salafism. It was headed by a couple from Kasaragod and Kozhikode. They came back to Kerala after being denied entry in Yemen.

The couple that led the family to Yemen has been identified as 32-years-old Abdul Hasheem of Vidyanagar, Kasaragod and his wife, who hails from Kodiyathur, Kozhikode. In the group of 14 people, apart from the couple, there were 12 close relatives, including four minors. They started their journey a month ago. All the relatives hailed from Kozhikode.

The Special Brand has sent a report on their attempted journey to the headquarters. Notably, in 2015, the Indian Embassy had evacuated the Indian citizens and some foreigners from war-hit Yemen. The Indian embassy was also shifted from Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, to Djibouti, a neighbouring country of Yemen, in the light of ongoing conflict.

The officer investigating the case told TNIE that Indians who wish to travel to Yemen need special permission from the Central Government. He further said the family reached Salalah in Oman and attempted to enter Yemen. “He said, “But they were blocked by Yemeni security at the check post and sent back.” After that, they returned via Muscat and reached back India via Kozhikode International Airport. When the investigating agency asked them about the motive of the journey, the family said they went to ‘study Islam’.

Yemen is one of the poorest countries in Asia. Owning to the ongoing insurgency and civil war, the country has been struggling for a long. However, many who want to study Islam sees Yemen as a preferred destination. Irrespective of the ongoing crisis, the Yemen Universities are still open for foreign students of religious studies.

Operation Raahat

In the year 2015, India evacuated over 4500 Indians and foreign nationals from war-hit Yemen. Late Sushma Swaraj was the foreign minister at that time. General VK Singh led the operation to evacuate the Indians from Yemen. The operation ran for two weeks and Indians were given safe passage after Prime Minister Narendra Modi requested Saudi Arabia King for the same. Every day, the war was halted for two hours and flights were allowed to facilitate the evacuation of the Indian nationals.

Parents of murdered photojournalist Danish Siddiqui to take legal action against Taliban, move International Criminal Court: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Parents of murdered photojournalist Danish Siddiqui to take legal action against Taliban, move International Criminal Court: Details

8 months after Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was brutally executed by the Taliban, his family members have decided to move the International Criminal Court (ICC) against his killers. Siddiqui came under the public spotlight after his images of burning Hindu pyres were used for anti-India propaganda during the second wave of Covid-19 in India.

“On Tuesday, 22nd March 2022, Danish Siddiqui’s parents Akhtar Siddiqui and Shahida Akhtar will initiate a legal action to investigate his killing and bring those responsible, including high-level commanders and leaders of the Taliban, to justice,” read a statement by his family, which was posted on Twitter by India Today journalist Geeta Mohan.

“These acts and this killing constitute not only a murder but a crime against humanity and a war crime. This was not an isolated incident,” they further added. Siddiqui’s parents had accused the Taliban of being involved in over 70,000 civilian casualties.

The petitioners will be represented in the International Criminal Court by advocate Avi Singh of Cicero Chambers. A press conference will be held on Tuesday (March 22) during which Singh will brief the media about the salient features of the petition and will reveal the names of the accused involved in the brutal murder of Danish Siddiqui.

Details of the torture inflicted by Taliban

Danish Siddiqui was killed by the Taliban on July 16, 2021 during an assignment in the war-torn country of Afghanistan. He had travelled with the Afghan National Forces to the Spin Boldak region to cover the clashes between Afghan forces and the Islamists.

A report by PTI said that the Taliban attacked the Afghan forces when they reached a customs post. The Afghan forces split up, leaving Siddiqui with three other Afghan troops. During this attack, Siddiqui and Afghan forces were hit by shrapnel, who escaped to a local mosque where they received first aid.

Soon, the Taliban got to know that the Indian journalist was taking refuge inside the mosque. The local investigation suggested that the Taliban attacked the mosque only because of Siddiqui’s presence there.

“Siddiqui was alive when the Taliban captured him. The Taliban verified Siddiqui’s identity and then executed him, as well as those with him. The commander and the remainder of his team died as they tried to rescue him,” a report in the Washington Examiner said.

It was also reported that the Islamists had mutilated his body simply because he was an Indian. Afghan Army Commander Bilal Ahmed had disclosed that the Taliban first shot Danish and then ran a car over him.

The Taliban had mowed his lifeless body with the car, displaying their hatred for Indians. The revelations by the Afghan commander came to the fore when certain sections of the “liberal-secular” media in the country were absolving the crimes of the terrorist group by claiming that the Muslim photojournalist was killed during a crossfire.

Rajasthan: Section 144 imposed in Kota, screening of ‘The Kashmir Files’ one of the reasons cited in the order, BJP pulls up Congress govt

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Section 144 imposed in Kota, screening of ‘The Kashmir Files’ one of the reasons cited in the order, BJP pulls up Congress govt

On March 21, the administration in Kota, Rajasthan, imposed Section 144 in the city for a month starting from March 22 to April 21. One of the reasons mentioned in the order issued by the District Collector was the ongoing screening of the film The Kashmir Files. The order read, “Section 144 will be imposed in Kota from tomorrow, March 22, till April 21, in the view of maintaining law and order with the screening of ‘The Kashmir Files’ and upcoming festivals.”

Details of the order

The order stated in the view of upcoming festivals including Good Friday, Yatha Chetichand, Mahavir Jayanti, Baisakhi, and Jumatulvida etc. and ongoing screening of the film ‘The Kashmir Files’, the administration has imposed Section 144 to maintain Law and Order in the district. It further read despite multiple warnings, young boys swim in Chambal and other rivers that, resulting in over two dozen deaths this year. Under the order, such activities have also been banned.

Mentioning that Kota district is a communally sensitive district, the order read the miscreants might see the upcoming festivals, screening of The Kashmir Files and deaths that have been happening at Chambal and order rivers as an opportunity to cause a communal disturbance.

As Section 144 has been imposed, there will be a ban on crowd gathering for any event, including for the screening of the film. The upcoming festivals will be conducted in a ceremonial manner. People will not be allowed to take baths in rivers and canals.

There is a ban on carrying any sort of weapon, including gupti, pistol, gun, rifle, stones, bricks and more. Notably, people of the Sikh community will be allowed to carry Kirpan as per the regulations. Old people who cannot walk without a cane can also carry canes with them.

The order also imposed a ban on DJ systems. It further hinted at strict action against those who try to cause disharmony using social media.

BJP targets govt, says orders passed to halt Chandi March

Former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Prahlad Gunjal called out the Rajasthan government and alleged the orders were passed to ban Chandi March scheduled for March 22. He was quoted by India Today saying, “A huge ‘Chandi march’ will be held in the Kota North assembly constituency on Tuesday, therefore, Section 144 was imposed and ‘The Kashmir Files’ is just an excuse.”

He further added, “Earlier, a similar clause was invoked a day before the protest. Women and girls are being raped, and a minister terms Rajasthan as ‘the state of men’. This has hurt the self-esteem of women. They will proceed with the rally tomorrow. The government is so scared that Section 144 has been imposed. No power in the world can stop the ‘Chandi March’ tomorrow, whether the police resort to lathi-charge or arrest.”

The Kashmir Files

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s film The Kashmir Files is based on the true incidents related to the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir valley. The film has attracted large crowds to the theatres and brought the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits to the mainstream. Several states, including Haryana, UP, Tripura, Goa and Gujarat, among others, have declared the film tax-free.

Pakistan: 18-year-old Hindu girl Pooja Oad shot dead in the middle of the road for resisting an abduction attempt

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: 18-year-old Hindu girl Pooja Oad shot dead in the middle of the road for resisting an abduction attempt

In another attack against the minority Hindu community of Pakistan, an 18-year-old girl, Pooja Oad, was shot dead in the street of the Sindh district after she resisted attempts to abduct her, reported Friday Times. Pooja Oad, was shot dead in Rohi, Sukkur after she resisted an abduction attempt.

According to Pakistani reporter and commentator Naila Inayat, it was one Wahid Lashari who tried to abduct Pooja Oad and shot her dead when she resisted the attempt.

Hindus, who are a minority in the Islamic nation of Pakistan are regularly targeted with hate, abductions, rapes, forced marriages and murder. According to the Peoples Commission for Minorities’ Rights and the Centre for Social Justice, 156 incidents of forced conversions took place between 2013 and 2019, it said. 

In 2019, a bill outlawing forced conversions was introduced, however, due to the influence of Islamists in Pakistan, it was never passed and the minorities still suffer the consequences.

A 2019 field investigation report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has reaffirmed an unpleasant reality that is already known for far too long—minorities in Pakistan live under constant fear of persecution as their perpetrators enjoy court sanctions, support from the influential and affluent section of the society and patronage from political leaders.

The courts in Pakistan have consistently failed in providing justice for Hindus in Pakistan. In fact, in some cases, the courts have empowered the culprits responsible for abducting and forcibly converting the Hindu and Christian minorities. In the case of Reena and Raveena, for example, two underage Hindu girls who disappeared from their homes in Daharki city and were later found to be married to Muslim men after being converted to Islam, the Supreme Court granted only 5 minutes for the mother to meet her daughters. The mother later reportedly said that both her daughters were continuously weeping and looked fearful. Similarly, in June 2020, a district magistrate allowed a Muslim man to keep his Hindu wife even after the parents of the girl alleged that their daughter was kidnapped and forcibly married off to the man.

Even Pakistan’s civil society turns a blind eye to the sufferings of the Hindu families whose daughters are abducted, forcibly converted and married off to older Muslim men. Most good lawyers hesitated in taking on such cases, fearing social ostracism, the residents lamented. The lack of access to legal counsel was also exacerbated by the fact that most of the Hindus in Pakistan lived in abject poverty, which severely hampered their ability to afford legal services.

‘Mosques under ASI control, entry after sunset not allowed’: Delhi police clarifies why Namaz was not allowed in some mosques on Shab-e-Barat

OpIndia Staff
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‘Mosques under ASI control, entry after sunset not allowed’: Delhi police clarifies why Namaz was not allowed in some mosques on Shab-e-Barat

The Delhi Police has clarified after former Delhi Minority Commission Head Zafarul Islam Khan had alleged that Muslims were not allowed to enter certain mosques in Delhi during Shab-e-Barat this year. Zafarul Islam in a tweet had alleged that Delhi Police was not allowing Namaz to be offered in 16 mosques of the Panchsheel area of ​​Delhi on the day of Shab-e-Barat.

Zafarul Islam Khan, who is the former chairman of the Delhi minorities commission under the Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi tweeted on Sunday that Friday Namaz was disallowed by Delhi Police in sixteen mosques of Panchasheel in Delhi. He also added a newspaper clipping of the Urdu daily Inquilab, while quoting an Imam of a mosque that this was the first time in fifty years when namaz was stopped there. Khan alleged that the Friday Namaz could have been transferred to 3 PM instead of cancelling it outright.

Khan further alleged that by this logic, tomorrow temples, churches and gurudwaras could also be closed. During a conversation, while he accepted that law and order situations could arise given Shab-e-Barat and Holi fell on the same day, he argued that Namaz could have been offered inside the mosque with police protection.

Refuting Zafarul Islam Khan’s allegations, Delhi Police stated that Shab-e-Barat celebrations often becomes a site for bikers to engage in road rage and thus law and order situation remains tense. Since Holi and Shab-e-Barat fell on the same day, Friday, the Police maintained that elaborate arrangements were made to maintain law and order. However, to address the same, people were not allowed to enter certain buildings including Mosques late in the evening.

Furthermore, Delhi Police PRO Suman Nalwa clarified that all the mosques which Zafarul Islam was talking about are monuments under the aegis of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). According to the ASI rules, entry to these monuments is not allowed before sunrise and after sunset. Therefore, the Namaz timings could not have been postponed for those mosques as that would mean entering those buildings after the sunset. Ignoring the underlying administrative reasons, Zafarul Islam Khan involved a communal angle to the action of the Delhi Police, which was thrashed later.

The leader is infamous for making hateful comments against Hindus and has been earlier slammed by the National Minorities Commission for his divisive statements. In an earlier Facebook post hailing Islamist Preacher Zakir Naik and thanking Kuwait for standing with Indian Muslims, he attracted sedition charges for which he was asked to submit his personal laptop by the Delhi Police for investigation.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor not to attend national seminar of CPI-M on the orders of party chief Sonia Gandhi

OpIndia Staff
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Congress MP Shashi Tharoor not to attend national seminar of CPI-M on the orders of party chief Sonia Gandhi

Congress Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, has declined the invitation from Communist Party of India, Marxist (CPI-M) to their national seminar. He has done so after being ordered by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to skip the meet.

A political row had erupted in Kerala Congress after Tharoor accepted an invitation by CPI(M) to attend seminars during its 23rd Party Congress, scheduled to be held at Kannur in the state from April 6 to 10.

Tharoor and senior leader KV Thomas were among the leaders who were invited by the CPI(M) but Congress’ Kerala state president K Sudhakaran had instructed all party leaders to keep away from the events. This was opposed by Tharoor who took the matter to the interim Congress president. However, as per reports, Tharoor was ordered by Sonia Gandhi to stay away by the party head.

Reportedly, Sonia Gandhi talked to Shashi Tharoor today afternoon, and she made it clear that the Kerala MP has to follow the instructions of the party’s state unit.

Tweeting a typically verbose letter after being told off, Tharoor said that he had accepted the invitation since the event is a national one, and Congress has a cooperative relationship with the CPI (M) nationally.

He further stated that the topic for the seminar doesn’t involve any matter of sensitivity in Kerala but is on “center-state relations”, where there is no difference of opinion between CPI(M) and Congress.

While Congress and CPI(M) have remained opponents in Kerala, nationally, they have been following the same policies and agendas for past several years. However, in his letter, Tharoor accepts that he has to skip the event as per the wishes of Sonia Gandhi.

Shashi Tharoor firmly believes he should attend this seminar of CPI(M), as his letter indicates, looks like an order from Sonia Gandhi is still good enough to override all his genuine arguments in favor of attending this seminar.

Interestingly, Shashi Tharoor had also attended a meeting of the Congress rebels last week. However, looking at his submission to Sonia Gandhi’s order today, it will be several decades before Tharoor dares to openly revel against present Congress leadership.

BBC publishes views of a select few Kashmiri Pundits relocated in Jammu to target The Kashmir Files

OpIndia Staff
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BBC publishes views of a select few Kashmiri Pundits relocated in Jammu to target The Kashmir Files

As the matter of exodus of Kashmiri Pandits has become the most discussed topic after the release of The Kashmir Files, BBC News Hindi recently published an article intending to cover the views of displaced Kashmiri Pandits who were relocated in the Jagti Township of Jammu. The piece amplified the voices of two residents in the colony – Shadi Lal Pandita and Sunil Pandita, whose critical views against the release of The Kashmir Files have been touted as voices of the entire Kashmiri Pandit community settled in Jammu by BBC.

On March 16, five days after the release of The Kashmir Files, The BBC Hindi published a video covering views of re-settled Kashmiri Pandits in the Jagti township of Jammu. Captioning quotes like ‘This Film is a stunt for 2024 elections’ and ‘Such films will further create divisions’ styled as voices of the Kashmiri Pandits over the film, The BBC was doing open propaganda on Twitter while the film had already become a massive hit. Soon the tweet was quoted by several opposition politicians wherein they started peddling a narrative that these are the only real voices of Kashmiri Pandits who should be listened to.

In the video attached to the tweet, a resident Sushil Pandita can be seen voicing his strong opinion on the release of the film. According to Pandita, such films will further create ‘animosity’ within the communities living in the valley. He said, “Since 1990, only films have been made in our names but nothing substantial has been done. While the film is being made, it doesn’t serve my relocation in the valley, nor does it serve Jammu and Kashmir or India in any way. We have been used as political tissue papers.”

Pandita further added, “While we as a civil society filled the gaps between the communities, films like (The Kashmir Files) will widen them. The Hawk Eye, a page that does independent investigative journalism on Twitter claimed that Sushil Pandita is a local ‘India against Corruption’ activist. While the BBC superimposed views like those of Sushil Pandita as voices of the entire displaced KP community, The Hawk Eye revealed the ire he faced from the other residents living in his vicinity for his controversial views.

Another resident, Pyarelal Pandita urged through the video that ‘The Kashmir files’ is a one-sided film serving the cause of Kashmiri Hindus. “Some other filmmaker should step in to show the other side of the genocide as well. What the majority community is facing in Kashmir alongside the Minorities should be collectively thrown light upon. What the majority community faced was also sponsored by Pakistan,” he added. The video further featured Shadilal Pandita who happens to be the president of the society. In the video, he said, “It is true that we have faced much in the valley. We were boycotted and slogans were given to throw us out. But it is also true that Kashmiri Muslims and Sikhs were also killed, which has not been shown in the film.”

He added, “The BJP government has done nothing for us since eight years while they put allegations on others for the same. We have been exploited and thrown out of the valley. Yet not a single work has been done in favour of us.” As reported by The Hawk Eye, Pandita is known for his anti-BJP stance and is currently leading a protest against the government for a relief demand which is supported by local Congress.

The location where the video was shot was Jagti society in Jammu. Developed as a township for displaced Kashmiri ‘migrants’, it was inaugurated by ex-PM Manmohan Singh and then CM of Jammu and Kashmir state Omar Abdullah. The BBC highlighted this fact by shooting a video of a resident in the backdrop of the society plaque. However, this was the same society where allegations of favouritism had risen from the Kashmiri Pandits in the allotment of over 6000 housing units in the society.

In a single video that has grabbed over a million views until now, the BBC managed to juxtapose voices of a select few Kashmiri Pandits as voices of the whole community. In an attempt to suggest that the film does not capture the condition of KPs in totality, the British news agency ended up with subtle propaganda which was then peddled by left-sympathetic circles. The fact remains that The Kashmir Files has been upheld as an arbitrator of the truth of the Kashmiri Hindu genocide by the global mass of the KP community itself. It is also for the first time, that ordinary Indians are standing with their Kashmiri Hindu brethren while doing everything to promote and support the film.

Congress likely to lose the Leader of Opposition position in Rajya Sabha after elections to the upper house

OpIndia Staff
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Congress likely to lose the Leader of Opposition position in Rajya Sabha after elections to the upper house

Clouds have gathered over the fate of Congress in the upper house of Parliament Rajya Sabha after its smashing defeat in the recent assembly elections. While the Congress has already lost its stature as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the party is sure to face a setback in Rajya Sabha with decreased representation in the state assemblies.

As of now, The Congress party holds clout over the RS seats from Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Maharashtra, i.e the states where it participates in forming governments in power. With the recent loss in Punjab, all Five seats from the state are likely to be swayed away by the AAP. While the results of assembly elections of five states are out, the election for 13 Rajya Sabha seats will be held on March 31. Out of the 13 seats, 5 seats are from Punjab, 2 are from Assam, 1 in Himachal Pradesh, 3 in Kerala and one seat each in Nagaland and Tripura. By the end of the year, another set of RS seats including 13 seats in Uttar Pradesh, five in Bihar, four in Rajasthan, three in Madhya Pradesh, two in Punjab and one seat in Uttarakhand will go on polls.

The Punjab dreams of Congress have been dashed after its shameful defeat in the assembly elections. With the AAP bagging 92 out of 117 assembly seats, in all likelihood, the 5 Rajya Sabha seats from Punjab will go to AAP’s basket. Today, the party nominated party leaders including Dr Sandeep Pathak and Raghav Chadha, Cricketer Harbhajan Singh, industrialist Sanjeev Arora from Ludhiana and Ashok Mittal of the Lovely Professional University as candidates for Rajya Sabha.

While the AAP has fielded all five of its candidates, the opposition has not given any candidate as of now. While the tally of AAP members in Rajya Sabha will increase from 3 to 8, the increasing strength of regional parties in their respective states has affected Congress the most with its Rajya Sabha stature. As of now, the party can only hope to secure one seat from Kerala or Assam at the very least. With elections for over seventy-five seats to be held in the upper house by the end of the year, the Congress party which currently holds 34 members will be reduced to 27 – owing to its continued downfall in the assembly elections.

This rings alarm bells for the Congress as it is a requisite for a party to hold at least 10% of the total seats in the house to retain a position for Leader of Opposition. The Rajya Sabha has 250 seats wherein 238 seats represent the states, whereas 12 are nominated by the President. Hence for Congress to retain its position as Leader of Opposition which is currently led by veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, it is imperative that it holds at least 25 seats in the house. However, looking at the party positions in various assemblies, it looks difficult for the party to retain its course in the Rajya Sabha.

Owing to its impressive performance in the recent assembly elections, the BJP looks forward to adding up a few more seats in the Rajya Sabha. With a current tally of 97, BJP’s number will increase to 104 and by the end of the year, NDA will collectively secure a majority with 122 seats in the Rajya Sabha as well. It is important to note that representation in Rajya Sabha is directly linked to the stature in the states as RS MPs are elected by the state legislative assembly members and not directly by the people like in Lok Sabha.

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