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Haryana approaches Supreme Court against HC order staying 75% quota for locals in private sector jobs: Why such a move spells disaster?

Jinit Jain
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Haryana approaches Supreme Court against HC order staying 75% quota for locals in private sector jobs: Why such a move spells disaster?

The Haryana government moved the Supreme Court in opposition to the Punjab and Haryana High Court order that stayed the state’s law providing for 75 per cent quota to local people in private sector jobs.

A Bench presided over by CJI NV Ramana agreed to take up the matter on February 7 after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought for urgent listing. 

The ML Khattar government approached the apex court after Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday stayed the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020, and admitted a plea challenging its validity. 

In the petition, Mehta argued that the High Court passed the stay order in just one and a half minutes. The order was with respect to a petition filed by the Faridabad Industries Association and other petitioners.

The law, which was notified in November 2021, provides 75 per cent reservations for local youth in private sector jobs that offered a monthly salary of less than Rs 30,000 from January 15, 2022.

According to the petitioners challenging the law, the Act was against the provisions of the Constitution and ran counter to the basic tenets of meritocracy, one of the cornerstones for businesses to remain competitive and thriving. 

The petitioners averred that the Haryana government’s ‘Sons of Soil’ policy to create reservation in private sector was an infringement of the constitutional rights of the employers. 

In their plea, the petitioners contended that private sector jobs are purely based on skills and analytical blend of mind of the employees who have a fundamental right accorded to them by the Constitution to work in any part of the country. By depriving them of employment through the agency of reservation, the Haryana government was infringing upon their constitutional rights, they submitted. 

Supreme Court had questioned for how long the reservations would continue validity

The Supreme Court had often rapped state governments for coming up with populist announcements of reservations in order to lure voters. Earlier last year, the top court had raised a significant question on the controversial issue of reservation policies in the country and sought to know for how long reservations in jobs and education could continue. 

Hearing the petitions challenging the validity of the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, which had extended a 16% reservation for the Maratha community, the Supreme Court posed pertinent questions on the reservation systems that prevail in the country currently. 

The apex bench had then sought to know whether the right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution would be affected if they remove the 50% limit on the reservation and whether it would lead to a “resultant inequality”. 

“If there is no 50% limit, what is the concept of Article 14 then? What would happen to the resultant inequality, and for how many generations will this continue?” the bench asked Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who urged the Supreme Court to reconsider the 50% cap imposed by the Indira Sawhney judgment. 

A five-judge bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, L Nageswara Rao, S Abdul Nazeer, Hemant Gupta and S. Ravindra Bhat is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Constitutionality of the Maharashtra State Reservation For Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) that provides 16% extra reservations for Maratha community.

The perils associated with Haryana govt’s move to introduce reservations in private sector

Not only is the Haryana government’s law mandating reservations in private sector constitutionally untenable, it also has the potential to stifle the growth of the state and in turn, the country. Policymakers have long argued that reservations need to be gradually phased out for the country to reach its true potential. Therefore, the expansion of reservations, as attempted by the Haryana government, in private sector could prove catastrophic for the country’s overall growth potential.

Additionally, the law by Haryana government is also dangerous in the sense that it advocates reservations in the private sector, something that could spell doom for a sector in which meritocracy and skills takes precedence over everything else. It is a bitter reality that talent and meritocracy are compromised in reservation. Private sector is a profit making enterprise but introduction of reservations in them could turn them into laggards similar to government-controlled organisations, where profitability is the least of the concerns. 

It would inevitably breed mediocrity and kill competition as less qualified people by the virtue of their domicile would be entitled to jobs in private sector organisations as compared to much-more qualified and deserving candidates from other states. This would undoubtedly have a negative impact on private sector companies in the long run, hobbling both their ambitions and growth.

If such a law is passed, private organisations might even contemplate of moving out of Haryana in order to do away with the mandate of 75 per cent quota for locals. At present, Gurgaon, a vibrant city of Haryana with swanky apartments and multi-national corporate companies, is a hub for bright minds from across the country. But if Haryana government manages to get sanction from the Supreme Court, Gurgaon might soon turn into a ghost city, with talented people shifting to places that value their skills and provides them with better and adequate job opportunities.

Also, the law that mandates private sector companies to source 75 per cent of their human resource requirements locally would set a dangerous precedent for other states to follow. Once the law gets sanction from the Supreme Court, other states won’t waste time in legislating similar Acts within their jurisdiction in the name of securing employment for their citizens. In such a scenario, people will no longer have an incentive to travel to other states in search of employment. The interaction between people from varying backgrounds and cultures which enriches one’s experience would all but stop. It could also engender feelings of resentment among citizens of one state for domiciles of other, spurring hostilities and raising threats of the balkanisation of the country. 

Instead of pursuing the sanction of Supreme Court for its reservation law, the Haryana government should instead invest in skilling the youth and providing better educational opportunities to them so that they manage to get jobs on the basis of merit and not rely on reservations for their employment. Such endeavours would not only open youth to better income and job prospects but they would also help the state in achieving their developmental and growth objectives. 

Canadian truckers take a leaf out of farmers’ book, build wooden structures, store food and fuel for the long haul

OpIndia Staff
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Canadian truckers take a leaf out of farmers’ book, build wooden structures, store food and fuel for the long haul

Protesters in Canada are reportedly preparing to stay in Ottawa for the long term, erecting permanent structures and stockpiling fuel and food. According to reports, truckers protesting in Canada against vaccine mandates are constructing wooden shelters and planning to stay for an extended period of time.

This move is akin to the farmers’ protests that lasted over a year on the outskirts of New Delhi. Several farm unions organized a protest against laws passed by parliament that would allow private participation and investment in the agricultural sector.

On Thursday afternoon, CTV News reporters visited Confederation Park and found protestors erecting a wooden structure that has been dubbed a shared kitchen on social media. Hundreds of fuel canisters and propane tanks were stacked in a gated area. Since last week, vehicles and campers have been parked in Confederation Park.

Annie Bergeron-Olive, a CTV News reporter, wrote on Twitter, “Protesters at Confederation Park, right across from City Hall and beside the NAC and Rideaul Canal, appear to be building some type of wooden structure. They’ve also collected a stockpile of propane tanks and diesel fuel. @CTVNews”

The National Capital Commission (NCC) issued a statement on Twitter, replying to photos posted by CTV News reporter Annie Bergeron-Oliver. “The NCC is aware of this situation. We are working with @OttawaPolice to seek assistance on securing the site. We can confirm that the canisters have been removed from the site.” wrote NCC on Twitter.

However, another journalist with CTV reported that no action was taken and the structures along with canisters still existed at the same location.

As per the latest reports, Canadian PM Trudeau has announced that as of now, he is not considering bringing in the troops to disperse the truckers.

The Truckers’ “Freedom Convoy“

A convoy of 2700 trucks arrived in Ottawa last Saturday to protest Justin Trudeau’s ‘undemocratic’ Covid-19 policies, which include forced vaccination for truckers crossing the US-Canada border. The ‘Freedom convoy,’ as it is known, has gathered support from all levels of Canadian society.

Truckers poured into the Canadian capital from all sides, blocking a major thoroughfare near the Canadian Parliament. Protests occurred in the western part of the nation after the government imposed a 14-day obligatory home quarantine for unvaccinated truckers who had crossed the US-Canada border. They have gotten backing from conservative groups and opponents of Trudeau, and the protests have swiftly spread across Canada.

Kerala govt suspends employee for sharing a video of CM Pinarayi Vijayan dressed in shirt and trousers in Dubai

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala govt suspends employee for sharing a video of CM Pinarayi Vijayan dressed in shirt and trousers in Dubai

In a brazen display of power, the Kerala government has suspended an employee working in Kerala’s Ge neral Administration Department for sharing a video of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan dressed in a shirt and trousers in Dubai.

According to the reports, a video had gone viral on social media in which Vijayan was seen exiting from the Dubai airport wearing a full sleeve white shirt neatly tucked into a black pant, instead of his usual attire of dhoti and shirt.

A Manikuttan, the employee working as an attendant, had reportedly shared this particular video in a WhatsApp group of government attendants in the state secretariat. The employee had allegedly also criticised the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a message shared on WhatsApp.

Angered by his message on WhatsApp, the Kerala government served a suspension order to Manikuttan claiming that he had tarnished the Chief Minister’s image.

Here is the video of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan dressed in shirts and trousers during his visit to Dubai:

It is being reported that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will now spend time in Dubai before returning home. He was supposed to return to Kerala directly from the US after his treatment on January 29.

Reportedly, the plan has been changed. He will now be spending some time in Dubai instead of flying to Thiruvananthapuram.

After a few days of holidays, Vijayan will inaugurate the Kerala pavilion during the ongoing Expo in Dubai on February 4. He is also believed to have arranged meetings with some of the UAE’s top leaders. He is expected to return to Kerala by February 7.

US Professor who was seen endorsing paedophilia barred from interacting with students, entering college campus

OpIndia Staff
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US Professor who was seen endorsing paedophilia barred from interacting with students, entering college campus

Days after a Philosophy Professor named Stephen Kershnar was heard supporting paedophilia in a viral video, the New York State University at Fredonia has barred him from interacting with students and entering the college campus.

In a statement, the university President Stephen H Kolison informed, “We will continue to investigate this situation. In the meantime, effective immediately and until further notice, the professor is being assigned to duties that do not include his physical presence on campus and will not have contact with students while the investigation is ongoing.”

He further added, “Please allow me to reiterate my earlier statement that I view the content of the video as absolutely abhorrent. I cannot stress strongly enough that the independent viewpoints of this individual professor are in no way representative of the values of the SUNY Fredonia campus. I appreciate your patience as we make every effort to resolve this matter as expeditiously as possible. “

Earlier on Wednesday (February 2), the State University of New York at Fredonia acknowledged a viral video wherein Professor Stephen Kershnar was heard supporting sexual relationships between underage children and fully grown adults.

“The views expressed by the professor are reprehensible and do not represent the values of SUNY Fredonia in any way, shape or form. They are solely the professor’s views,” remarked President Stephen H. Kolison. An internal investigation was launched by the varsity into the matter.

New York State University Professor supports paedophilia, says he finds nothing wrong in adults having sex with children

In a video shared by popular Twitter handle ‘Libs of Tik Tok’, Professor of Philosophy Stephen Kershnar was heard not just defending paedophilia but instead questioning as to why the heinous crime was wrong in the first place.

“Imagine that an adult male wants to have sex with a 12-year-old girl. Imagine that she’s a willing participant. A very standard, very widely held view is that there’s something deeply wrong about this — and it’s wrong independent of it being criminalized,” he was heard as saying.

“It’s not obvious to me that it’s in fact wrong. I think this is a mistake. And I think exploring that’s why it’s a mistake will tell us not only things about adult/sex and statutory rape and also fundamental principles of morality,” he added.

Stephen Kershnar made the objectionable comments during a podcast with historian Thaddeus Russell in December 2020. The Philosophy Professor did not find anything wrong in 8 or even 1-year-olds ‘willingly’ engaging in sex.

“One is even if you are looking for a threshold. Let’s say there’s a threshold. I’m making this number up, but let’s say it’s at age 8. Still, that tells you that some adult sex is permissible. Second, the notion that it’s wrong even with a 1-year-old is not quite obvious to me. There are reports in some cultures of grandmas fellating their baby boys to calm them down if they’re colicky,” Kershnar said.

He further added, “I don’t know if this is true but this is sort of widely reported as occurring in at least a foreign culture — and it working, that the grandmas believe that this actually works…If this were to be true, and again, I don’t know it to be true, if this were to be true, it’s hard to see what would be wrong with it.”

He also went on to claim that there are benefits to sexual relationships between underage children and grown adults.

According to his university profile, Stephen Kreshnar specialised in applied ethics and political philosophy. He had also written more than 100 articles and book chapters on abortion, pornography, adult-child sex, hell, punishment, most valuable player, sexual fantasies, torture and slavery.

Centre approves renaming of two cities in Madhya Pradesh: Hoshangabad becomes Narmadapuram while Babai changed to Makhan Nagar

OpIndia Staff
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Centre approves renaming of two cities in Madhya Pradesh: Hoshangabad becomes Narmadapuram while Babai changed to Makhan Nagar

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has informed on Thursday 3rd February 2022 that the names of two cities in the state have been changed. Hoshangabad will now be known as Narmadapuram while Babai will become Makhan Nagar, both fall under Hoshangabad district. Shivaraj Singh Chouhan has posted this update on Twitter on Thursday night. This change will officially take place on the occasion of Narmada Jayanti (Ratha Saptami) which is on 7th February this year.

The chief minister has informed that the state government had sent a proposal to the central government for this name change and the union government had nodded to go ahead with this change in names. He has also expressed his gratitude towards the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for accepting the proposal.

In his tweet, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said “On the auspicious occasion of Narmada Jayanti, the Hoshangabad city situated on the banks of the holy river Narmada will be renamed as Narmadapuram. Narmada is the lifeline of the state. The division has already been named as Narmadapuram after the name of this river.”

He further said, “Babai, situated in Hoshangabad is the birthplace of the revered poet, journalist, and great writer Makhanlal Chaturvedi. He is the author of many great poetic verses like ‘Mujhe tod lena banmali, us path par tum dena fenk, Matrubhumi par sheesh chadhane jis path jaave, veer anek’ (which means Oh Gardener, pick me up and throw on the path taken by the braves to sacrifice their lives in service to the motherland). His hometown will now be known as Makhan Nagar.”

The Madhya Pradesh CM has also thanked the central government and the Prime Minister for accepting the proposal to change the names. He has said in his tweet “The Madhya Pradesh government had sent the proposal of renaming Hoshangabad as Narmadapuram and Babai as Makhan Nagar to the central government. The proposal is now accepted. I express my gratitude towards the central government and honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this pleasant decision taken in cohesion with the people’s aspirations.”

Makhanlal Chaturvedi was born on 4th April 1889. He was an eminent poet, writer, journalist, and playwright. He was also called Panditji. He had participated in India’s freedom struggle. He is remembered for his phenomenal contribution to the Neoromanticism movement in Hindi literature. He was awarded the first Sahitya Akademi award in Hindi literature in the year 1955. The government of India had conferred the Padma Bhushan award on him in 1963. He passed away on 30th January 1968.

Independent probe reveals financial irregularities at BharatPe, founder Ashneer Grover and his family’s involvement surfaces: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Independent probe reveals financial irregularities at BharatPe, founder Ashneer Grover and his family’s involvement surfaces: Details

Ashneer Grover, the founder of BharatPe, who took a “voluntary leave of absence” until the end of March after the abusive phone call controversy, is now again caught in the eye of the storm as allegations of financial fraud as surfaced against his wife and brother-in-law.

According to Live Mint, a risk advisory company Alvarez and Marsal (A&M) was hired by BharatPe to look into the alleged financial irregularities. The law firm had delivered its investigation report to the BharatPe board on January 24th. On the 30th of January, Mint reported that the board had decided to terminate Grover’s services based on the preliminary assessment, despite the fact that it had commissioned a complete inquiry.

The preliminary investigation by the law firm had highlighted that there are two key grounds for the claims of financial malfeasance. The first concerns anomalies in recruitment, while the second concerns paying non-existent vendors. Madhuri Grover, Ashneer Grover’s wife and her brother, Shwetank Jain are reportedly linked to both the financial wrongdoings.

Madhuri Grover had been serving as head of control at BharatPe since incorporation and headed procurement and admin departments.

The report by A&M, interestingly mentions a “Panipat connection,” with all of the vendors listed in the invoices generated as being from Panipat. Madhuri Jain is also from Panipat, according to the report.

The recruitment scam masterminded by the wife of Ashneer Grover

BharatPe used to pay HR consultants fees for employees that were hired through them. The company was recruiting employees but falsely paying a network of staffing companies that had nothing to do with the employment and appeared to be tied to each other as well as Madhuri Grover, according to the inquiry.

The invoices for fees paid to these consultants were examined by A&M. Employees validated the date on which they began working, as stated on the vendor invoice. They, on the other hand, denied being recruited by the alleged consultants or having any knowledge of them.

According to the investigation, Madhuri Jain, the wife of BharatPe founder Ashneer Grover, received at least three of these invoices and passed them to the company for payment. According to the study, Shwetank Jain, Jain’s brother, had prepared these invoices. These consultancy companies were mostly sole proprietorships.

Furthermore, the firms involved commonalities such as similar email addresses, physical addresses, formats, and bank branches and most importantly, they were all based in Panipat. The A&M report notes that Madhuri Grover is originally from Panipat. 

The sum paid by BharatPe for undelivered services was estimated to be close to Rs 4 crores based on an analysis of just two of the vendors, as revealed in the report.

According to reports, BharatPe is also conducting a probe into alleged frauds by its founder Ashneer Grover who is on voluntary leave till April 1. Grover has meanwhile hired a legal firm and there could be a likelihood that he along with his wife (who was overseeing recruitment operations) may have to exit the firm.

The Grovers and BharatPe are yet to respond to the controversy.

BharatPe pays penalty to avoid being served show-cause notice

According to the investigation report, searches were conducted by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) at BharatPe’s head office in October 2021. DGGI had issued summons to the company’s authorised signatory to appear before the authority on November 1, 2021.

The summons required the company to present purchase invoices for various businesses as well as bank statements showing payments to these vendors.

The company informed the DGGI in writing that they were non-existent vendors and that BharatPe did not want the DGGI to issue a show-cause notice with a request to waive the notification.

The letter was, interestingly, signed by “Deepak Jagdishram Gupta”. The Alvarez and Marsal report says Gupta was responsible for procurements at the company and is Madhuri Grover’s brother-in-law.

According to the audit, the company lost Rs 10.97 crore due to fraudulent invoicing, whereas the total spending related to 30 suppliers was Rs 53.25 crore.

The company reversed the claimed input credit of Rs 9.54 crore and paid a penalty of ₹1.54 crores.

A&M recommended to the board that this requires deeper investigation as to why the company was dealing with ‘non-existent vendors’.

BharatPe founder Ashneer Grover and the abusive call controversy

It may be recalled that last month, BharatPe had released a statement in which it stated that Ashneer Grover had gone on a “voluntary leave of absence” till the end of March, which the company maintained was in the best interests of the company, employees and investors. It was then speculated that Grover’s leave of absence was linked to the audio clip of him abusing an employee of Kotak Mahindra Bank that had surfaced on social media platforms a couple of weeks ago.

On January 5, an anonymous person tweeted a link to a now-deleted audio clip from Soundcloud, an audio hosting platform. In the audio clip, a bank employee was heard trying to calm down the two customers over the call. The customers could be heard using abusive language. When the audio was made public, it was alleged that the bank employee was from Kotak Mahindra Bank and the customers were Ashneer Grover and his wife, Madhuri. The customers not only used alleged abusive language but also threatened the employee.

After the audio went viral on social media platforms, Grover had issued a statement on Twitter alleging it was fake audio. However, things had turned sideways when on January 9, Kotak Mahindra Bank issued a statement in the matter and said they were pursuing legal action against the couple over the abusive language they used during the conversation with their employee.

Interestingly, after his audio had gone viral, netizens had also widely discussed Grover’s alleged toxic culture at BharatPe and his caustic behaviour on the reality show Shark Tank India.

Tibetans in Delhi stage protests against the Beijing Winter Olympics, burn Chinese flags and demand freedom

OpIndia Staff
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Tibetans in Delhi stage protests against the Beijing Winter Olympics, burn Chinese flags and demand freedom

On Friday, a group of Tibetans in Delhi staged protests in front of the Chinese embassy against the Beijing Winter Olympics that begins later today. ‘Boycott, boycott Beijing Olympics’, the protesters cried as they stepped on the Chinese flags with full force and burned them.

The protesters blocked the main road leading to Delhi’s Diplomatic enclave where the Chinese embassy is located. The Delhi Police is said to have detained the protesters after they broke the perimeter while they demanded ‘freedom for all’ and yelled ‘Boycott Beijing Olympics’.

This is after around 500 Tibetans marched outside the International Olympic Committee headquarters to protest against Beijing hosting the Games. The activists were seen dragging the Chinese flags on their skis.

According to the reports, Tibetans across the globe are demonstrating protests against China demanding freedom and are of opinion that the Chinese are mass murderers and dictators. The protesters at IOC HQ also raised the slogans of ‘Boycott Beijing Winter Olympics’, ‘Stop human rights violations in Tibet’ and called Bejing Winter Olympics a ‘Game of shame’.

The demonstrators also chanted ‘No rights, no Games’ and ‘Beijing Olympics: genocide Games’ as they climbed up on the roof of IOC entrance read ‘No Beijing 2022’.

The Tibetan protest in Delhi also comes after India boycotted the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing as China chose Qi Fabao as torchbearer, a soldier who fought in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley against the Indian troops in 2020. MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi regretted that the Chinese side had chosen to politicize an event like the Olympics.

“India will not be attending the opening nor the closing ceremony of the Beijing 22 Winter Olympics”, he said in a media briefing yesterday. It is pertinent to note that Qi Fabao is a regiment commander in the PLA who sustained head injury during the fighting. China has picked him up as one of the 1,200 torchbearers in the Games terming him as a ‘hero’.

The United States has also asserted that it stands with India against Chinese aggression for the Beijing Winter Olympics. State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Friday said, “When it comes to the India-China border situation, we continue to support direct dialogue and a peaceful resolution of the disputes”.

“We’ve previously voiced our concerns on Beijing’s pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate its neighbors. We stand with friends, we stand with partners & allies, to advance our shared prosperity, security, & values in the Indo-Pacific”, he added further.

The 2022 Games are subject to various concerns and controversies as well as diplomatic boycotts due to the ongoing Uyghur genocide and human rights abuses in China. Reports mention that the US, UK and Canada have already declared a diplomatic boycott of the Games, along with Australia, Lithuania, Kosovo, Belgium, Denmark and Estonia.

Karnataka: ITI student Shashank beaten up by Taufiq and 3 others for speaking to a Muslim girl

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: ITI student Shashank beaten up by Taufiq and 3 others for speaking to a Muslim girl

In a shocking incident, four men brutally attacked a youth inside a bus for speaking to a Muslim girl in Karnataka. The incident was reported from Kundapur taluk in Udupi district on Thursday morning.

According to the reports, a 19-year-old youth identified as Shashank, a first-year student at ITI of Bidkalkatte, was assaulted by a gang of four men.

Shashank was travelling by bus with his friends Prajwal and Ganesh, and a Muslim girl who is a B.Sc student. When the bus reached Halady, a gang of four attackers confronted Shashank for speaking with a girl from the Muslim community and assaulted him. They also allegedly warned the victim and his friends and asked them to stay away from the girl.

The police said that three out of the four attackers got down from the bus on the way while only one travelled to Kundapur. Shashank is seriously injured, and he is currently being treated at Kundapur Government Hospital in the city. He has also lodged a complaint against the four at the Shankaranarayana Police Station.

As the news of moral policing and subsequent attacks on the youth spread, activists from pro-Hindu organisations gathered at Shastri Circle of the city to protest against the attacks. DySP Srikanth K, CPI Gopikrishna and PSI Sadashiva Gavaroji visited the spot.

The police have now registered a complaint against the attackers under IPC sections 323, 341, 504, 506 and 295 (A). The police have identified 31-year-old Taufeeq as the main accused, and a search is on to nab all the four attackers. The police also informed that the accused had threatened Shashank against speaking to his friend a few days ago.

This is not an isolated incident, as such incidents of moral policing are regularly reported from Karnataka where Hindu boys are assaulted or threatened for talking with Muslim girls.

‘There is more that can be done’: White House asks Spotify to take ‘further’ action against podcaster Joe Rogan

OpIndia Staff
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‘There is more that can be done’: White House asks Spotify to take ‘further’ action against podcaster Joe Rogan

On Tuesday (February 1), the White House directed audio streaming platform Spotify to take ‘more’ steps in censoring podcast host Joe Rogan for allegedly spreading Covid-19 related misinformation. The development came a day after Spotify announced that it will add a content warning to Covid-19 related discussions and podcasts on its platform.

While speaking about the matter, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had stated, “Our hope is that all major tech platforms — and all major news sources for that matter — be responsible and be vigilant to ensure the American people have access to accurate information on something as significant as COVID-19.”

She further added, “That certainly includes Spotify. So this disclaimer, it’s a positive step, but we want every platform to continue doing more to call out misinformation while also uplifting accurate information”

She also claimed that an unvaccinated Covid-19 infected individual is 16 times more likely to be hospitalised and 68 times more likely to die than someone who has taken the jab. “That’s pretty significant. We think that should be the basis of how people should be communicating about it,” Psaki concluded.

Spotify is an online streaming behemoth with more than 300 mn monthly listeners, including more than 170 mn who pay for subscriptions to the service.

Joe Rogan and the controversy surrounding Spotify

TV personality Joe Rogan has been in the midst of controversy for claiming that young Americans were not at risk of contracting the Wuhan Coronavirus and therefore did not need to take the vaccine. He has also been at the receiving end of criticism for interviewing an infectious disease expert Dr Robert Malone, who in the podcast episode streamed on December 31 had opposed COVID-19 vaccines for children.

Since the podcast raised aspersions about Covid-19 vaccines for children, a large number of people had slammed Rogan for sowing disinformation about vaccination among the public. It must be mentioned that Joe Rogan was roped in by Spotify in 2020 at a whopping $100 million for the exclusive rights of his popular, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast.

The programme is among the top podcasts on Spotify and is reportedly downloaded by over 200 million times a month. As per The Independent, the TV personality had not uploaded any new episodes since the controversy.

Canadian-American musician Neil Young had threatened the audio streaming platform to choose between him and Rogan. Spotify responded by pulling down the former’s music from the platform. Several media outlets, PhD candidates and medical professionals had written to the audio platform to take action against Joe Rogan.

Meanwhile, Rogan had tendered an apology and vowed to maintain a ‘balance’ in views in his future shows. He emphasised, “I’m not trying to promote misinformation. I’m not trying to be controversial,” he said. “I’ve never tried to do anything with this podcast other than just talk to people and have interesting conversations.”

Interestingly, Spotify announced that it has a critical role to provide a balance between allowing the creators to express their opinions and ensuring the safety of the users on the platform. On Wednesday (February 2), Spotify CEO Daniel Ek had also responded to the controversy by siding with Joe Rogan.

He said, “We don’t change our policies based on one creator, nor do we change it based on any media cycle or call from anyone else. I do believe they’re right for our platform. And while Joe has a massive audience — he is actually the No. 1 podcast in more than 90 markets — he also has to abide by those policies.”

Uttar Pradesh police detain 2 for firing on the car of Asaduddin Owaisi, govt provides him Z category security cover

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh police detain 2 for firing on the car of Asaduddin Owaisi, govt provides him Z category security cover

A day after bullets were fired at the car of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi after a poll event in Kithaur, Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, the police have detained the second suspect. The first suspect was nabbed yesterday itself, while the second one had managed to flee, who was caught today. Though the inquiry is ongoing, Superintendent of Police Hapur, Deepak Bhuker, stated that the assaulters attacked Asaduddin Owaisi because they were offended by Owaisi’s “anti-Hindu” statements.

Prashant Kumar, ADG (Law and Order) informed that the arms used in the crime have been recovered, and the accused will be produced before the court. According to the police officer, an illegal 9 mm pistol was recovered which was used in the crime. Five teams have been formed for the investigation.

After the attack, Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi has been provided with Z category security cover by the government. This he will get a security detail of 22 personnel, including four to six NSG commandos and the rest from the police or CAPF personnel. Earlier today, Owaisi had said that he has never sought security cover and he never would, because it is the responsibility of the govt to protect his life.

Owaisi and his brother’s statements have hurt our faith, said one of the accused detained

The police officials confirmed that the two accused were present at Owaisi’s meeting in Meerut. The police added that both of the accused have been pursuing Owaisi for some days and have attended his meetings. The incident was not a spur-of-the-moment occurrence but meticulously planned.

One of the accused, Sachin, stated that he was enraged by Owaisi and his brother’s remarks. Both accused believe Owaisi and his brother are hurting their beliefs.

Meanwhile, the AIMIM chief has said that he will be addressing the Parliament about a security breach and attack on his convoy on Friday, February 4. Asaduddin Owaisi will reportedly meet Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla to discuss the issue.

AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi attacked in Uttar Pradesh

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had alleged that four rounds of bullets were fired on his car after a poll event in Kithaur, Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. The incident reportedly took place on Thursday afternoon when Owaisi was returning to Delhi in his car after a poll event in UP.

Images posted by Owaisi showed two holes on the two doors of his car apparently created by the bullets fired at the car. He also said that the tyres of his vehicle were also punctured in the attack. Reportedly, a total of four bullets were fired aiming at the bottom of the car. Nobody was injured in the incident.

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