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Woman claims British manager of an Indian restaurant in Bahrain refused entry to her veil-clad friend, restaurant shut down

OpIndia Staff
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Woman claims British manager of an Indian restaurant in Bahrain refused entry to her veil-clad friend, restaurant shut down

An Indian Restaurant in the Muslim-majority kingdom of Bahrain has been shut down by the local authorities after allegedly denying entry to a veil-clad woman. ‘Lanterns’ was a popular Indian restaurant brand in the Island country with branches in four cities including Budaiya, Amwaj, Adliya, Riffa.

The action was taken after several Bahrainian news outlets broke the incident of a veiled woman being stopped from entering the Lanterns restaurant in Bahrain’s Adliya city, the video of which had become viral on social media platforms. Soon after the incident caused a stir, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA) launched a probe asking tourism outlets to comply with the regulations and avoid any policy that violates the laws of the kingdom. As reported by local media outlets, the department issued a statement saying, “We reject all actions that discriminate against people, especially regarding their national identity.”

While the authority is pursuing its legal actions, it has enforced Decree-Law no 15 of 1986 while regulating activities of the restaurant.

Apology from the Restaurant

The Restaurant administration posted an apology on its social media accounts saying that the said incident does not represent its policies. While acknowledging the mistake, the hotel announced that the manager involved has been suspended. “Everyone is welcome to Lanterns as how it has been for more than 35 years that we have been serving all nationalities in the beautiful kingdom of Bahrain. Lanterns is a place for everyone to come enjoy with their families and feel at home. In this instance, a mistake has been made by a manager who is now being suspended as this does not represent who we are.”

As a goodwill gesture, the place opened up itself to have complimentary food for its local patrons on March 29, Tuesday. While the restaurant clarified its official stance, it received many racial slurs directed at the Hindu Indian community living in the country. From Gaumutra slurs to remarks like ‘such people should be kicked out of the country’ were made on the Restaurant’s Facebook page on its apology statement. It should be noted that the Islamic Kingdom of Bahrain holds over 10.2% Hindu population residing in the country for generations.

Racist comments on Lanterns’ Facebook Page

While several people used this opportunity to target Hindus and the Indian community at large, as per a social media user present at the time of the incident, the manager was a British national. Social media user @Mariam1597, who had earlier posted about the incident from her Twitter account on 26th of March, informed that the manager was British, and not Indian. She posted this after some trolls were blaming the incident on “Hindu right-wing”.

Earlier on 26th March, Mariam had tweeted about the incident and had said that she was with her friends at the restaurant when the manager denied entry to one of her friends for wearing the veil. She had also tweeted that she is the one in the video viral about the incident.

The decision comes shortly after the Karnataka High Court upheld local colleges’ decision to enforce uniform regulations and thus ban any kind of veils including Hijab or Burqa in the college premises. A Controversy had sparked in Karnataka after Muslim girls demanded the usage of Hijabs to be allowed in the colleges in the state.

Note: The report has been updated with latest information.

‘Show proof of 12 lakh jobs Mr CM’ – BJP’s Kapil Mishra hits out at Delhi CM Kejriwal after RTI reveals way fewer jobs

OpIndia Staff
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‘Show proof of 12 lakh jobs Mr CM’ – BJP’s Kapil Mishra hits out at Delhi CM Kejriwal after RTI reveals way fewer jobs

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra has questioned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his claims about the number of jobs created in Delhi during AAP government’s tenure. In a tweet, Mishra shared RTI replies, and claimed both CM Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia had lied about the number of jobs created by the AAP government in Delhi.

In a tweet in Hindi, he said, “As per the RTI reply, Kejriwal government provided only 3246 jobs in seven years. Both Kejriwal and Sisodia are lying. It is an open challenge. Arvind Kejriwal, make public the list of candidates who were given these 12 lakh jobs.”

There are two RTI replies added in the tweet, both filed by BJP leader Tajinder Singh Bagga. As per the reply, in 2019, under Service Department, 267 people got jobs in Education Department, one job was provided in Audit, one in Social Welfare Department, 10 in Education Department, five in General Administration, two in Health Department, three in Head Accounts Department, and one in Urban Development.

In the year 2021, 12 jobs were allotted in Legal Department, 2154 Lower Division Clerks, and 462 stenographers were appointed. Furthermore, 720 General Duty Medical Officers, and 270 non-teaching specialists doctors were appointed. In the social Welfare Department, 22 vacancies were filled in 2015, 2 in 2018, 44 in 2020, and a further 2 in 2021.

Arvind Kejriwal’s claim of 12 lakh jobs

In his speech during the discussion on Delhi’s Budget presented by Manish Sisodia, Arvind Kejriwal claimed that in the last five years, Delhi Government created 12 lakh jobs in the National Capital. He said, “1.8 lakh jobs were created in the government sector and around 10 lakh in the private sector.”

Though Kejriwal claimed to have provided 1.8 lakh jobs in the government sector, the RTI replies show that the government provided less than 2% of that number.

Shiv Sena leader Yashwant Jadhav had paid Rs 2.5 crores to ‘Matoshree’, acquired tenancy rights of 31 flats through cash and hawala payments

OpIndia Staff
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Shiv Sena leader Yashwant Jadhav had paid Rs 2.5 crores to ‘Matoshree’, acquired tenancy rights of 31 flats through cash and hawala payments

Former Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) standing committee head Yashwant Jadhav of the Shiv Sena had obtained tenancy rights to 31 flats in Mazgaon’s Bilakhadi Chambers for 10 crores, according to an Income Tax Department probe. He was able to do this with the support of his assistant Bimal Agarwal’s firm Newshawk Multimedia Pvt Ltd.

There was no mention of a monetary value in the agreement between the tenants for transferring their tenancy rights to the firm. According to reports, Jadhav paid all of them in cash, with the exception of two renters in the United States and Canada, who were paid through hawala. Jadhav paid Rs 4 crore to the landowner for ownership of Bilakhadi Chambers.

Bilakhadi Chambers.

Surprisingly, the officials confirmed to have discovered two diary entries in which ‘Matoshree’ was handed a watch for Rs 50 lakh and another present worth Rs 2 crore. Shiv Sena leader Yashwant Jadhav, on the other hand, insists that ‘Matoshree’ in the book entries refers to his mother and not Maharashtra Chief Minister’s residence. When questioned, he stated that the first diary entry was about him giving away watches on his mother’s birthday, and the second was about giving out presents to the poor on Gudi Padwa in honour of his mother.

The Income Tax Department is also investigating a Rs 15-crore payback of an unsecured loan to a Kolkata-based shell company that was subsequently channelled back to Jadhav aide Bimal Agarwal’s firm. According to l-T sources,  Jadhav used the money to buy a hotel and a property with renters who exploited a Pagdi system.

All of this occurred between 2018 and 2022, during Jadhav’s tenure as head of BMC’s standing committee. As the House’s tenure concluded this month, all of the corporators elected in 2017 became ex-corporators.

Bimal Agarwal and BMC contracts under scanner

Bimal Agarwal is an aide of Yashwant Jadhav and owns a firm Newshawk Multimedia Pvt Ltd. The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate both apprehended Bimal Agarwal a few years back.

In 2018, Agarwal was released on bail and began working with Jadhav. With the aid of Jadhav, Agarwal was able to secure several BMC contracts totalling Rs 30 crore during the Covid pandemic.

BMC contracts were awarded through bidding, and Yashwant Jadhav was refusing to let anybody else compete for work in the Byculla region, where his wife Yamini Jadhav is an MLA. He even intimidated Suraj Singh Deora, the contractor who got the BMC contract in the region, so that Agarwal could secure the project. In the year 2020, an audiotape of Jadhav threatening Deora became viral on the internet.

Wife Yamini Jadhav investigated

Yamini and Yashwant Jadhav were discovered to have converted Rs 15 crore in illicit money into legal money through Kolkata-based shell business Pradhan Dealers Pvt Ltd, according to a separate inquiry undertaken by the IT department last year.

The money was transferred to Jadhav’s firm as an unsecured loan. The pair claimed they had returned the loan to Pradhan Dealers after the IT department produced a report on Yamini Jadhav. Jadhav returned the money, but it was funnelled back to him through Agarwal’s firm, and some of it was used to acquire the Imperial Crown Hotel in Byculla in the name of Jadhav’s mother-in-law, according to the investigation. Amazingly, the hotel was rented out to BMC as a quarantine centre during the epidemic.

Income Tax Department in action

IT officials raided 36 locations Last month, including Jadhav’s house in Mazgaon’s Bilakhadi Chambers, the home of Bimal Agarwal, and the homes of five private BMC contractors. They discovered information on at least 36 properties worth more than Rs 130 crore and recovered Rs 2 crore in undeclared cash and Rs 1.5 crore worth of jewellery.

The raids also unearthed receipts indicating cash payments totalling more than Rs 120 crore in the last year, primarily to BMC corporators, prompting the department to investigate the specifics of all 26 civic standing committee members.

Maulvi claiming his people are peaceful reminds how Muslims ruled Hindus for 800 years, demands ban on The Kashmir Files

OpIndia Staff
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Maulvi claiming his people are peaceful reminds how Muslims ruled Hindus for 800 years, demands ban on The Kashmir Files

The Vivek Agnihotri-directorial movie ‘The Kashmir Files’, based on the true stories of the Kashmiri Pandit genocide, has become the latest sensation in the country. As the nation remembers the horrific terror unleashed on the innocent Hindus in Kashmir, there are sections of alleged Indians unhappy with the movie, who are now busy vilifying and issuing threats to the filmmakers for showing the true face of Kashmiri Muslims, who led the killings of Kashmiri Hindus in the valley in the 1990s.

In a similar incident on Friday, a controversial Maulvi from the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir issued threats to the filmmakers and Hindus, saying that they will have face consequences if they do not stop screening the movie ‘The Kashmir Files’.

Journalist Ashish Kohli put out a video of a hate speech made by the controversial cleric Maulvi Farooq, in which he was issuing threats to ‘The Kashmir Files’ team saying that the movie only spoke about the killings of Kashmiri Pandits but did not show the alleged deaths of thousands of Kashmiri Muslims.

According to Maulvi, the Vivek Agnihotri-directorial film is divisive and is a pre-planned conspiracy against Muslims.

The Maulvi further attacked the Modi government for promoting the movie and asserted that they would not tolerate the film ‘The Kashmir Files’, which brings the horrific tale of atrocities committed against the Kashmiri Hindus in the valley in the 1990s.

Calling for a ban on the film, Maulvi Farooq said, “Don’t you agree that the movie ‘The Kashmir Files’ should be banned? There should be restrictions on this movie. We(Muslims) are peace-loving people, we intend to keep the country peaceful.”

The Maulvi also issued threats saying that Muslims have ruled this country for 800 years, however, the Hindus came to power just 70 years ago. “You want to target us. The reality is you will face death and consequences, but you cannot do anything to Kalma-chanting Muslims,” he asserted.

As Maulana delivered the inciteful speech, the Muslims assembled at the mosque in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir chanted Islamic slogans of ‘Naara-e-Takbeer’.

Twitter vs Elon Musk: Tesla chief hints at the launch of a new, open-source social media platform, here is how the saga began

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter vs Elon Musk: Tesla chief hints at the launch of a new, open-source social media platform, here is how the saga began

On Sunday (March 27), billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla CEO Elon Musk hinted at the launch of a new, open-source social media platform. He made the revelation on micro-blogging site Twitter while responding to Indian software developer Pranay Pathole.

Pathole had asked, “Would you consider building a new social media platform, Elon Musk? One that would consist (of) an open-source algorithm, one where free speech and adhering to free speech is given top priority, one where propaganda is very minimal. I think that kind of a platform is needed.”

Musk, who is ‘friends’ with Pranay Pathole on Twitter, had responded, “(I) am giving serious thought to this.” The revelation comes at a time when demand for alternate, open-source social media platforms are gaining momentum due to blatant censorship by social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter.

Screengrab of the response by Elon Musk

The ‘new social media’ saga

On Thursday (March 24), Elon Musk had conducted an online poll wherein he asked whether the Twitter algorithm should be made open-source by the company. About 82.7% of the 2 million voters approved of the proposal.

Twitter founder and former CEO, Jack Dorsey, responded by saying, “The choice of which algorithm to use (or not) should be open to everyone.”

Screengrab of the response by Elon Musk

On Friday (March 25), the Tesla CEO conducted another poll and asked whether Twitter rigorously adhered to the principle that ‘free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.’ About 70% of 2 million voters conceded that the microblogging platform had failed to uphold free speech.

“The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully,” remarked Elon Musk before the polling began.

Screengrab of the tweets by Elon Musk

On Saturday (March 26), Musk had asked, “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?” He followed it up with another question, “Is a new platform needed?”

Screengrab of the tweets by Elon Musk

On Sunday, the billionaire entrepreneur informed that he has been seriously thinking about starting a new social media platform that will support free speech and be open soucred at the same time. Several political leaders and governments have also criticised the arbitrary rules pertaining to censorship that are followed by the social media giants.

In February last year, French President Emmanuel Macron highlighted the manner in which former US President Donald Trump was purged from the internet. Germany’s Angela Merkel and Mexico’s Andrés Manuel López Obrador had also condemned the arbitrary censorship enforced by the social media platforms.

Karnataka: Civic authorities demolish illegal hotel building belonging to SDPI leader

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Civic authorities demolish illegal hotel building belonging to SDPI leader

On Saturday, the Udupi City Municipal Council demolished an unauthorised hotel building belonging to a local SDPI leader in the city.

According to the reports, the Udupi CMC demolished an illegal building belonging to Udupi District SDPI President Nazeer Ahmed and his brother Basheer Ahmed on Saturday after they found out that the radical Islamist leader had violated rules and regulations to construct the unauthorised building.

The SDPI leader had set up a restaurant named Zara Family Restaurant on a plot belonging to the Jamia Masjid on Mosque Road in the city. The building did not have any building license, nor did the hotel have the trade license to conduct the business, said Municipal Commissioner Uday Shetty.

The CMC had asked the SDPI leader and his brother to demolish the illegal building in 2018. However, the owners obtained a stay on the demolition order subsequently. The stay order was recently vacated, and the CMC decided to carry on with the demolition.

The demolition drive was led by municipal officers, including the municipal commissioner, Udupi tahsildar, town police station sub-inspector Pramod Kumar. The district authorities had deployed several police personnel to keep the situation in control.

As per the CMC, before setting up the hotel, the brothers ran a scrap shop on about a 250 sqft area belonging to Jamia Masjid. Later, the brothers renovated the premises and established the restaurant in about a 1,800 sqft area without any approval from the local body, he said.

However, SDPI leader Basheer Ahmed claimed that the action of CMC was nothing but political vendetta. Ahmed said that the authorities acted against them for protesting against the hijab order.

It is pertinent to note that PFI, the ideological arm of radical Islamic organisation SDPI and Jamaat-e-Islam, had orchestrated the hijab protests in Karnataka. The PFI and SDPI had hatched a detailed plan to instigate Muslim students in the coastal districts of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, to create chaos in the form of hijab protests.

Recently, a report revealed the notorious radical Islamic outfit Campus Front of India (CFI) – the student wing of Popular Front of India and banned radical terror outfit Jamaat-e-Islami Hind had counselled Muslim students to orchestrate the hijab controversy in Karnataka. This had come at the backdrop of the repeated instances of PFI – the parent organisation of the Campus Front of India and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind attempting to radicalise the Muslim youth, especially in Kerala and Karnataka. 

Read how Surat Police nabbed gangster Sajid alias Sajju Kothari from hidden bunker even as women folks threw chairs and furniture at them

OpIndia Staff
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Read how Surat Police nabbed gangster Sajid alias Sajju Kothari from hidden bunker even as women folks threw chairs and furniture at them

On Saturday (March 26), the Surat City Police Crime Branch apprehended notorious criminal Sajju Kothari (real name Sajid Ghulam Mohammad Kothan) from a secret chamber, built at his residence in Jamrukh Gali in the Nanpura area.

As per reports, the operation was executed by a total of 40 police personnel including 7 sub-inspectors, 3 police inspectors and ACP Sarvaiya. Kohari was hiding in a 5-storey building, which was locked from outside. Since the criminal’s residence had walls laden with steep spikes, the police had to use a ladder to reach the first floor.

The cops then entered the house by breaking a glass window and unlocking the latch from inside. During the search operation, they found a furniture wall that appeared hollow from inside. The police knocked on it several times and heard different sounds, which made them conclude that the wall was hollow.

The furniture wall led the police to a secret chamber/ bunker, where Sajju Kothari was hiding. Reportedly, the notorious gangster is involved in kidnappings, looting, extortion and other serious crimes.

He was booked twice under the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime (GUJCTOC) Act. He had reportedly clashed with the police on several occasions but managed to escape successfully, As such, it had become a matter of prestige for the cops to apprehend the notorious criminal.

While speaking to the media, Surat Police Commissioner Ajay Tomar informed that Sajju Kothari aka Sajid Ghulam Mohammad will be remanded to 12 days in custody. Tomar said that police had been relentlessly working towards arresting Sajid. He said that even women cops were deployed because earlier he had used women around him as shield to escape.

As per reports, Sajid had escaped from Police custody in January this year from Lajpore Central jail. His associate, Mohammad Samir Sheikh, was also nabbed from neighbouring building. As per the police, the team went to his building, “Amanat” where he operated his office from ground floor and lived with family on first floor. The women of the house started throwing chairs and furniture at the police standing on the ground. They climbed a ladder and reached the first floor.

Upon entering the house, the police did not find Sajid. They even searched adjoining building but could not find him. Then they spotted an oddly placed mirror in the drawing room and decided to further investigate. When they knocked, it sounded hollow and upon breaking the door they found Sajid hiding there.

51 criminal cases are registered against Sajid as of now including two GUJCTOC cases. One murder, 11 rioting and assault on cops cases are also registered against him.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh sentenced to one-year jail term for assaulting BJYM workers

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Digvijaya Singh sentenced to one-year jail term for assaulting BJYM workers

Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh has been sentenced to one year’s rigorous imprisonment in connection with a case related to a clash with protesting workers of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in 2011.

According to the reports, a district court in Indore on Saturday sentenced Madhya Pradesh’s former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, former Ujjain MP Premchand Guddu and five others to one year’s rigorous imprisonment for their role in attacks on BJYM workers in Ujjain in 2011.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on the convicts. Later, the court granted bail to all the convicts on a surety of Rs 25,000 each.

Judge Mukesh Nath convicted Digvijaya Singh, and former Ujjain MP Premchand Guddu under Indian Penal Code sections 325 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 109 (abetment to assault). The other accused, Anant Narayan, Jaisingh Darbar, Aslam Lala and Dilip Chaudhary, were all convicted under IPC section 325.

Mahesh Parmar, the Congress MLA from Tarana, Mukesh Bhati and Hemant Chauhan were acquitted for lack of evidence.

Reportedly, the Congress workers had attacked the BJYM activists for showing black flags to Digvijaya Singh on July 17, 2011, when his convoy was passing through the Jiwajiganj area of Ujjain.

Meanwhile, Digvijaya Singh has claimed that this was the 10-year-old case in which his name was not even in the FIR but was added later under political pressure. I will appeal in the High Court, the former MP Chief Minister said.

Dhoni rolls back the years, but CSK still lose to KKR in the IPL opener

OpIndia Staff
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Dhoni rolls back the years, but CSK still lose to KKR in the IPL opener

The much anticipated Indian Premier League (IPL) opener ended up with a comfortable Kolkata Knight Rider (KKR) win in the end. However,former Indian captain MS Dhoni made a statement in his first match after giving up the captaincy of Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Playing first time as just a normal player for CSK, Dhoni smashed a 38 balls 50 to give some respectability to the Chennai score but it wasn’t enough.

The day started with Umesh Yadav, who has played little IPL during last 2 years, blowing away CSK’s new opening pair Ruturaj Gaikwad and Davon Conway. Robin Uthappa tried to fight back with some aggressive stroke-play but soon he was out stumped against the impressive Varun Chakravarthy. Uthappa’s dismissal was quickly followed by a horror mix-up resulting in Rayudu’s run out and then Shivam Dube was caught out by Andre Russell’s pace.

That brought Chennai’s 2 full time captains in their entire history together as MS Dhoni joined Ravindra Jadeja in the middle. After a very slow start, the duo combined for 47 runs in the last 3 overs with Dhoni leading the charge.

Image source: NDTV

However, the target they eventually managed to set, 132, turned out to be too easy for Kolkata Knight Riders. Ajinkya Rahane, who has faced a lot of criticism over the past 2 years for his Test form, gave KKR a very solid start with a well constructed 44 from 34 balls.With useful contributions from everyone else in the top order, KKR managed to get to their target comfortably with 9 balls to spare.

In the absence of Deepak Chahar, CSK missed someone who can get wickets upfront in the power-play, and even though Bravo picked up 3 wickets, it was never going to be enough while defending a small target of 132.

KKR next play Royal Challengers Bangalore on the 30th of March, while CSK will look to get their first win on the board against new team Lucknow on the 31st of March.

PM Modi announces extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana(PMGKAY) till September 2022

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi announces extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana(PMGKAY) till September 2022

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana has been extended by 6 months. PM Modi on Saturday announced that the Centre has decided to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana(PMGKAY) by six more months till September 2022. PM Modi said more than 80 crore people of the country will benefit from the decision.

Until now, the last date of PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana was March 31, 2022. This scheme (PMGKAY Scheme) was announced in March 2020 to provide assistance to the poor in the COVID pandemic period. The objective of PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana is to reduce the stress caused by the COVID pandemic and ensure a smooth ration supply to the people. Initially, the PMGKAY scheme was launched for the period April-June 2020 but was later extended till 30th November 2020. It was then extended till March 31, 2022, and is now being extended till September 30, 2022.

PM Modi informed people about this decision from his Twitter handle. He tweeted, “The power of India lies in the power of every citizen of the country. To further strengthen this power, the government has decided to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for six more months till September 2022. More than 80 crore people of the country will be able to take advantage of it as before.”

Under this scheme, the poor get 5 kg of foodgrains per person for free. Due to the lockdown after the corona infection, the government had started a free ration scheme for the people who are suffering for livelihood.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana(PMGKAY), the government provides free ration to 80 crore ration cardholders identified under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Free ration cardholders are given PMGKAY ration in addition to the subsidized foodgrains they get through ration shops. Earlier, in UP, Yogi Adityanath extended the free ration scheme for 3 months on Saturday 26th March 2022.

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