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Pakistani army claims an Indian missile violated its air space while Opposition gears up to topple the ‘selected’ government of Imran Khan: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani army claims an Indian missile violated its air space while Opposition gears up to topple the ‘selected’ government of Imran Khan: Details

On Thursday (March 10), the Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DGISPR) claimed that a surface-to-surface supersonic Indian missile fell in Mian Channu city in Khanewal district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The incident, according to him, took place on Wednesday ( March 9) evening.

While briefing the media, General Major Babar Iftikhar claimed that a ‘high-speed flying object’, allegedly launched from India, changed its trajectory and entered Pakistan’s air space on Wednesday at 6:50 pm. He said, “It was a supersonic flying object, most probably a missile, but it was certainly unarmed. When it fell, it damaged civilian properties”

DG ISPR alleged that the ‘flying object’ travelled 124 km from Sirsa in India to land in Mian Channu city of Pakistan. Genera Babar, however, made it clear that the flying object was not shot down and that it fell on its own.

He further claimed that the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) continuously monitored the path of the object and that it endangered civilian lives and aviation safety. ISPR said that the ‘missile’ passed close to airliners from Saudi Arabia, Qatar in Indian airspace and 3 flight courses in Pakistani airspace.

“Whatever caused this incident to happen, it is for the Indians to explain. It, nevertheless, shows their disregard for aviation safety and reflects very poorly on their technological prowess and procedural efficiency,” General Babr Iftikhar claimed. While calling it a ‘fragrant violation’, he went on to threaten India against the recurrence of any such event.

Pakistani trainer aircraft crashes in Mian Channu city

On the same night of March 9, during which an alleged Indian missile landed in the Pakistani territory, a private trainer aircraft crashed on cold storage at Chak 115 in Mian Channu city in Khanewal district in Punjab province of Pakistan.

The pilot operating the aircraft reportedly ejected in time, thereby causing no loss of life. The trainer jet crashed in an open field. The cops cordoned off the area and waited for the army officials to collect samples from the crash site.

No-confidence motion against Imran Khan and the outbreak of internal conflict

Interestingly, the claims made by the Pakistani military of an Indian missile ‘intruding’ into the country’s airspace comes two days after the Opposition parties had submitted a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly against the ‘selected’ government of Imran Khan.

A total of 100 Parliamentarians, belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League -Nawaz, had submitted the motion before the Secretariat of the National Assembly on Tuesday (March 8). Backed by the Pakistani army, Imran Khan had come to power in August 2018.

The protests to remove the former cricketer as the Premier of Pakistan as identified when Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) head Maulana Fazlur Rehman joined the Opposition against the ‘selected government’. The Islamic cleric has called upon his cadre to hit the streets of Islamabad or block the streets/ hold demonstrations where they are and bring the country to a standstill.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani Opposition parties had sought protection from Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F)’s private militia group called Ansarul Islam. In a video that has now surfaced on social media, JUI-F workers were seen surrounding an army vehicle and chasing it away amidst the growing sentiment against the ‘selected’ Imran Khan government.

“We will drag Imran Khan by the throat and get him out of Bani Gala (residential area in Islamabad). All the workers have reached Islamabad,” JUI-F leader Rashid Soomro was heard issuing threats to the incumbent Pakistani government.

A ‘rattled’ Imran Khan deployed police commandoes, Counter-Terrorism Department and Anti-Terrorism Force to evict them from the Parliament Lodges. The government also sought to ban the outfit on Thursday (March 9). 

“In pursuance of approval of the federal government in terms of Article 146(1) of the Constitution and after obtaining the consent from the provincial governments”, the federal government through the interior ministry “entrusts the provincial governments the power to take appropriate actions under Section 2 of the Private Military Organisations (Abolition and Prohibition) Act 1974 against Ansarul Islam which shall, inter alia, include the power to ban/abolish the said organisation,” the notification read.

Given the deteriorating internal situation in Pakistan, the timing of allegations levelled by the Pakistani army against India is being questioned. Possibly, these allegations are being levelled so Imran Khan can either play victim to his own people or try and market a fictitious threat from India to save himself domestically. Some have accused the army to deviate attention to geopolitical issues and ‘unify’ the government and the Opposition at a time when the political momentum is against Imran Khan.

BJP’s march to political dominance: Out of 5 states that went to polls, BJP increased its vote share in 4 states, including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab

OpIndia Staff
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BJP’s march to political dominance: Out of 5 states that went to polls, BJP increased its vote share in 4 states, including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab

In the 2022 Assembly elections that concluded with the results yesterday on the 10th of March 2022, BJP won 4 states with AAP sweeping Punjab. The 4 states where BJP marched to victory were Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh. In Goa, BJP scored 20 seats, 32 in Manipur, 47 in Uttarakhand and 255 in Uttar Pradesh. In 4 out of these 5 states, BJP increased their vote share significantly, cementing their march towards political dominance.

Increase in vote share of BJP in Uttar Pradesh

In Uttar Pradesh, BJP secured 255 seats with the majority mark being 202. In the last Assembly Elections, BJP had scored a 312 seats.

While the seats of BJP have declined, there is an increase in BJP’s vote share in the state from 2017 to 2022.

In 2017, according to the Election Commission data, BJP secured 39.67% vote share in the state with 3,44,03,299 votes in total.

Election Commission data

In 2022, according to Election Commission data, BJP’s vote share went up significantly.

Election Commission data

From 39.67%, BJP increased its vote share to 41.3% in Uttar Pradesh.

Increase in vote share of BJP in Manipur

In 2022, BJP secured 32 seats in Manipur. In 2017, BJP had won 21 seats. In Manipur, BJP not only increased its voteshare but also its seats.

In 2017, BJP had secured 36.28% vote share in Manipur according to EC data.

Election Commission data

In 2022, however, according to EC data, the vote share went from 36.28% to 37.8%.

Election Commission data

Increase of vote share of BJP in Goa

In 2022, BJP won 20 seats in Goa whereas in 2017, BJP had secured 13 seats. In Goa, BJP not only increased its seats but also its vote share.

In 2017, BJP had won 32.48% of the vote share in Goa.

Election Commission data

In 2022, BJP increased its vote share in Goa.

Election Commission data

According to the EC website, BJP increased its vote share from 32.48% in 2017 to 33.3% in 2022.

Increase of vote share of BJP in Punjab

In 2017, BJP won 3 seats in Punjab by itself and that tally went down to 2 in 2022. However, BJP managed to increase its vote share in the state.

In 2017, according to the EC website, BJP on its own secured 5.39% of the vote share.

Election Commission data

In 2022, BJP managed to lose one seat but increase its vote share.

Election Commission data

From 5.39% in 2017, BJP increased its vote share in Punjab in 2022 to 6.60%.

The only state where BJP could not manage to increase its vote share was in Uttarakhand. BJP had in 2017 won 57 seats. That tally came down to 47 seats in 2022. In terms of vote share as well, BJP seems to have lost ground. In 2017, BJP had secured 46.51% vote share, however, in 2022, that vote share came down to 44.33%.

It is interesting to note that even after the raging farmer’s protest that turned violent and saw the involvement of Leftist and Khalistani elements, BJP has increased its vote share in Punjab.

With increasing vote share across the board, it would seem like BJP’s march towards political dominance is almost complete with regional parties withering away except in Punjab and partly in Uttar Pradesh and the only national party, Congress, delivering its worst performance ever.

Ukraine war: Facebook and Instagram update policy to allow calls for violence against Russians, users can now issue death threats to Putin

OpIndia Staff
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Ukraine war: Facebook and Instagram update policy to allow calls for violence against Russians, users can now issue death threats to Putin

Social media giant Meta Platforms, Inc. have eased their hate speech policy to allow Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers amidst the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.

According to internal emails accessed by Reuters on Thursday, Meta Inc. has made temporary changes to its hate speech policy to allow users to post content that calls for violence, including a call for death to Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

“As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’ We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.

The internal email accessed by Reuters also said that the Meta would allow posts that call for the death of Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko only if they did not contain other targets or discuss methods or locations.

The temporary policy changes on calls for violence to Russian soldiers will apply in countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine, reports Reuters.

“We are issuing a spirit-of-the-policy allowance to allow T1 violent speech that would otherwise be removed under the Hate Speech policy when: (a) targeting Russian soldiers, EXCEPT prisoners of war, or (b) targeting Russians where it’s clear that the context is the Russian invasion of Ukraine (e.g., content mentions the invasion, self-defence, etc.),” Meta highlighted a change in its hate speech policy in its email.

Emails also showed that Meta would allow praise of the pro-Nazi Azov battalion, which is normally prohibited, in a change first reported by The Intercept.

Defending its decision to allow hate speech, the Meta stated the company is doing this because they have observed that in this specific context, ‘Russian soldiers’ is being used as a proxy for the Russian military. The Hate Speech policy continues to prohibit attacks on Russians, it claimed.

This comes after Russia had announced that it was banning Facebook in the country after the tech giant had enforced restrictions on Russian media on its platform. The Kremlin had cracked down on tech companies, including Twitter, over their arbitrary restriction of Russian state media RT and Sputnik regulations.

Meta spokesman Joe Osborne also said the company was “for the time being, making a narrow exception for the praise of the Azov Regiment strictly in the context of defending Ukraine, or in their role as part of the Ukraine National Guard.”

RLD workers create a ruckus, pelt stones after BJP candidate wins Baraut seat in Baghpat, police use lathi-charge to control the situation

OpIndia Staff
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RLD workers create a ruckus, pelt stones after BJP candidate wins Baraut seat in Baghpat, police use lathi-charge to control the situation

As BJP comes back to power in Uttar Pradesh consecutively for the second time, distressed RLD workers made ruckus outside a vote counting centre in the Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh after the BJP candidate was declared the winners. As the RLD workers pelted stones disagreeing with the poll verdict, the police had to lathi-charge and fire teargas shells to control the situation.

A huge clash had erupted between the police and the RLD workers in the last round of counting of votes in the Baraut assembly seat in the Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh. As soon as the news of the BJP candidate KP Malik’s victory in the Baraut seat was announced, the RLD workers created a ruckus alleging fraud in the counting process. During this time, the workers of both parties clashed with each other. There was heavy stone pelting on the spot. The police lathi-charged and forced the workers to run away. But the matter escalated instead of stopping.

Janhit Times has tweeted, “RLD workers resorted to violence outside the counting venue, the workers pelted stones and smashed chairs, insisted on going inside the counting venue, the police resorted to lathi-charge and burst tear gas, the incident outside the counting venue in Baghpat.” A video has also been posted with this tweet.

According to a report by Amar Ujala, it is being told that 10 workers of RLD were injured during the stone-pelting. Many policemen were also injured. The matter did not seem to be calming down. Police forces from several police stations have reached the spot. Sandeep Rai of Times of India has also posted a video of this incident from his Twitter handle.

RLD workers had alleged foul play in the Baraut seat and asked for recounting of votes, which led to a heated argument among BJP workers and RLD workers. The stone-pelting started amidst the commotion that lasted for some time. During this time, many policemen were also seen running to save their lives. As the case escalated, the police resorted to lathi-charge and tear gas shelling.

Railways to resume providing bed linen and blankets to passengers, curtains to return in trains with immediate effect

OpIndia Staff
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Railways to resume providing bed linen and blankets to passengers, curtains to return in trains with immediate effect

In a massive relief for railway passengers, Ministry of Railways has withdrawn the restrictions on the provision of linen, blankets, and curtains inside the trains with immediate effect. These restrictions were imposed as per the standard operating procedure for the movement of passengers by trains during the COVID-19 pandemic. With this decision, reserved passengers on the trains will be given linen and blankets, and the curtains will return to the AC coaches like earlier.

Ministry of Railways has issued a statement saying “Railways withdraws restriction on the provision of linen, blankets, and curtains inside trains with immediate effect.” The railways has sent an instruction to all the zonal managers of railways in this regard.

In this letter, Vipul Singhal, director for passenger marketing of the Railway Board, has said, “In view of Pandemic & Covid Protocol due to Covid-19, Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) for Movement of Passengers by trains was issued which imposed a restriction that no linen, blankets, and curtains shall be provided inside the train.”

He further says in this letter, “It has now been decided to withdraw the above-mentioned restriction with regard to the supply of linen, blankets, and curtains inside the train, with immediate effect and the same, maybe provided as per applicability during Pre-Covid Period.” He has asked the zonal managers to ensure necessary action accordingly and confirm.

The Union Minister of State for Railways & Textiles Darshana Jardosh has tweeted saying, “Today and from now on, you will also get blankets, linen, and the rest of the facility. May your journey be pleasant.”

The restrictions on the provision of linen, blankets, and curtains inside the train were imposed by the ministry of railways on 5th May 2020 as a preventive measure to contain the spread of Covid-19. It was felt that the virus may spread from person to person through these clothing items, and therefore they were discontinued from the trains.

As the passengers were not provided blankets, the temperature maintained in in AC coaches were increased to 24-25° Celsius. Earlier the temperature was kept lower, and therefore the passengers of AC coaches needed blankets.

‘Sun is sure to set on dynastic politics in the country’, PM Modi addresses BJP workers after the party’s thumping victory in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand

OpIndia Staff
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‘Sun is sure to set on dynastic politics in the country’, PM Modi addresses BJP workers after the party’s thumping victory in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand

Following the BJP’s resounding victory in the four states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed BJP workers at the party’s headquarters in Delhi. In his address, PM Modi thanked the Party karyakartas for their hard work, which made it possible for BJP to achieve the landslide victory in the 4 states. He lauded the voters, especially the first time voters and the women voters who came forward in large numbers and took part in the elections.

“Today is a day of excitement, a day of celebration. This festival is for the democracy of India. I congratulate all the voters who took part in these elections. I thank the voters for their decision,” said PM Modi.

PM Modi lauds BJP workers for the ‘jeet ka chauka’

Lauding the BJP workers PM Modi said that the hard-working Karyakartas of BJP have made sure we hit a “jeet ka chauka” (victory 4). He added that these workers had promised him that Holi would begin from 10th March this year, and they’ve kept their promise. These workers worked 24*7 and were successful in winning the trust of the people across states.

A visibly elated and proud PM Modi said that Uttar Pradesh has given many prime ministers but for the first time it has reelected a CM after he served a full term. Moreover, after 37 years in UP, a government has come for the second time in a row, added Modi in the victory speech.

Modi further said that the BJP’s vote share has increased in Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Goa, even after being incumbent. All exit polls were proven incorrect in Goa, and the people of Goa have given BJP the chance to serve them for the third consecutive time.

Addressing the BJP workers, Modi said that today’s results strongly vindicate BJP’s pro-poor and pro-active governance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the poor and underprivileged had put their faith in the BJP. “It required a lot of hard work to ensure that good governance is delivered to the citizens. I have been a chief minister, and that’s why I know. Earlier, people had to work hard to get basic necessities like electricity, water, gas and telecommunication,” he said. He further said no one would work the way in which he had for the poor. “When you are empathetic to the poor, when you have the country’s best interests at heart, only then can you make brave decisions and that’s where I derive my strength,” he added.

Modi lauded the country’ ‘Nari Shakti’ who became BJP’s partners in this victory. “It is our good fortune that BJP has got so much affection, received so many blessings from the mothers, sisters, and daughters of India,” said PM Narendra Modi.

The blessing of the mothers, sisters and daughters of the country is my ‘Suraksha Kawach’: Modi

Sisters, mothers and daughters have been benevolent towards us. Everywhere, women’s vote share was larger than men and the BJP has secured a bumper win. Women have been the charioteers of our win, said Modi.

“As a CM, people would ask me, ‘Modiji, why are you lax about your own security.’ I would tell them, I have the protection of my mothers wishing well for me, their blessings are my ‘Suraksha Kawach (shield)'” added Modi.

Taking a dig at the opposition in Uttar Pradesh, Modi said that UP chose ‘vikas,’ proving everyone wrong who said the state votes on caste. He said the people of UP had been divided by casteism earlier, but now the people had chosen development in 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2022. “I’d also say today that, following the 2019 election results, some political experts claimed that the 2017 results determined the 2019 results. I believe they will say again this time that the results of 2022 will determine the results of 2024,” he said.

As the MP for Banaras, I can say that the people of Uttar Pradesh have realised that it is now necessary to avoid those who engage in caste politics and defame the community, and prioritise the development of the state.

Sharing his concerns about how the opposition parties have gone to great lengths to denigrate India on a global scale, PM Modi added that “It is unfortunate that even when thousands of Indian students, Indian citizens were stranded in Ukraine, there was talk of breaking the morale of the country. Despite the world lauding India’s vaccination efforts, these people also went on to question this sacred mission. They also tried to malign Operation Ganga. These people have given a different colour of regionalism and communalism to every scheme. This is a big concern for the future of India,” said Modi.

‘Sun is bound to set on dynastic politics in the country’: PM Modi

Without taking names PM Modi took a jibe at Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, and the Congress Party by saying, “Parivarvad rajniti ka suryaast desh ke nagrik karke ke rahenge”, roughly translated as “a day will come when the sun will set on dynastic politics in the country.” “In this election, the country’s voters demonstrated their comprehension, indicating what will happen next”, said Modi.

“We must work together to ensure that we do not waste a single moment, no matter how difficult the challenges are, but our determination to win is stronger than that. The country must be taken forward with big resolutions, big dreams, and the intention of crossing every height. This historic victory ensures India’s bright future,” said Modi lauding the voter’s mandate.

The full victory speech can be viewed here:

Notably, an impressive performance by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in assembly elections has helped it retain power in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa.

In Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath has won an unprecedented second term as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, after the SP failed to prevent the saffron party from regaining power. The BJP retained its (albeit reduced) majority of 263 seats, while the SP won 135 seats and the Congress was reduced to 2 seats. In contrast, the BSP was reduced to a single seat. AIMIM was unable to open its tally.

In Uttarakhand, the BJP won a second consecutive term on Thursday. The BJP won 47 seats, while the Congress won only 19, and the AAP did not win a single seat.

In Goa, the Congress was unable to prevent the BJP from gaining a simple majority. The BJP has reached the halfway point by winning 20 seats and will form the government with Independents and a TMC ally, the MGP. CM Pramod Sawant is expected to remain in office.

In Manipur, the BJP has reached the halfway point by winning 30 seats. It has joined forces with the NPF to form a new coalition government, largely replacing N Biren Singh as CM despite the poll victory.

BJP crosses majority mark in Manipur even after allies left NDA before polls, Congress comes down from 28 to 5 seats

OpIndia Staff
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BJP crosses majority mark in Manipur even after allies left NDA before polls, Congress comes down from 28 to 5 seats

Out of five states that went to polls, BJP has been able to retain all four states where it was in power, while Congress lost Punjab to AAP. BJP has returned to power in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, with an increase in number of seats over the last assembly elections in Goa and Manipur.

In both those states, BJP was not the single largest party in the 2017 assembly polls, and had formed govt with the alliances. But this time, the party has won 20 out of 40 seats in Goa, and has crossed the majority mark in Manipur by winning 32 seats in the 60-member assembly.

This means, now BJP will form a majority govt on its own in Manipur. In the last elections in the state, BJP had won 21 seats against 28 won by Congress, but the party had formed the govt by forming an alliance with National People’s Party, Naga People’s Front and the Lok Janshakti Party. With this, the party had formed a govt for the first time in the north-eastern state.

However, the BJP’s number had gone up in the assembly later as several MLAs in the house had switched sides, including several Congress MLAs who had joined BJP.

This time, BJP has won 32 seats, which means CM Biren Singh won’t need any outside support to form the next government in the state. The CM called the win a “historic victory”, and said that it is a testament of the people’s faith in the dynamic leadership of PM Narendra Modi and citizen centric governance.

Biren Singh has won from Heingang seat defeating the only other candidate from the seat, Congress leader Pangeijam Saratchandra Singh.

While BJP saw an impressive improvement in the state over last elections, the Congress faced a massive drop in numbers. Against 28 seats won by the party in 2017, Congress has managed to win just 5 seats, and is the third largest party in the state. JD(U) and NPP both have won 6 seats each.

The Congress party suffered from various defections in the last five years in Manipur, and the grand old party’s general decline in the entire country also reflected in the state. While Rahul Gandhi had visited the state to attend election rallies, Priyanka Gandhi had addressed a virtual rally.

It is notable that while a BJP-led alliance was in place in Manipur, there was no pre-poll alliance. Due to difference over AFSPA, NPP, NPF and JD(U) had decided to contest the polls separately in the state. Only one NDA ally remained in the alliance before the polls, Lok Janshakti Party. The party’s lone MLA in last assembly had already joined BJP last year.

However, despite strong sentiments among the people of the state against the controversial law Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1985, these three parties could not capitalise on it. The act that gives special powers to armed forces are applicable in the north-eastern states, and demands to repeal it were at the peak after Indian armed forces had mistakenly killed 13 civilians in a botched up operation against terrorists in Nagaland.

UK sanctions Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich for ‘close ties with Putin’, efforts to sell the club in jeopardy

OpIndia Staff
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UK sanctions Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich for ‘close ties with Putin’, efforts to sell the club in jeopardy

The United Kingdom has added Russian oligarch and Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich to its list of sanctioned individuals as a response to Russia’s special military interventions against Ukraine. According to the reports, Roman Abramovich’s efforts to sell his football club Chelsea are in doubt after the UK government sanctioned the Russian oligarch and froze his assents in the country.

Abramovich’s UK assets, including Chelsea FC, have been frozen by the Boris Johnson-led government after Putin ordered his troops to launch military operations in Ukraine. In a document published by the British government, Roman Abramovich is identified as “a pro-Kremlin oligarch” and was said to be “associated with a person who is or has been involved in destabilising Ukraine and undermining and threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, namely Vladimir Putin, with whom Abramovich has had a close relationship for decades.”

The UK government has claimed that Abramovich has had a close relationship with Putin “for decades” and that the association has benefited him financially.

“This association has included obtaining a financial benefit or other material benefit from Putin and the Government of Russia. This includes tax breaks received by companies linked to Abramovich, buying and selling shares from and to the state at favourable rates, and the contracts received in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup. Therefore, Abramovich has received preferential treatment and concessions from Putin and the government of Russia,” the British government claimed.

According to the reports, the government has granted Chelsea a special license to continue fulfilling its fixtures and carrying out the football business, including paying players and club staff. However, certain actions such as buying and selling new players will not be permitted, in addition to selling tickets for games beyond those already sold to fans.

Apart from inability to sign new players, the team also can’t renew agreements with existing players. This has created a massive uncertainty among the team’s players about their future.

As per the new regulations, the existing season ticket holders will be allowed to attend matches and fans who purchased tickets before Thursday. In addition, fans can buy food and drink at these matches, and third party retailers who bought or produced club merchandise before Thursday will be allowed to sell their existing stocks as long as no money is given to Chelsea. However, broadcast and prize money from the allowed matches will be frozen by the govt.

Meanwhile, Abramovich has rejected allegations that he is linked to Putin or the Russian state or that he has done anything to merit being sanctioned.

With the sanctions, Abramovich’s plans to sell Chelsea or invest in the club might not go through. The 55-year-old had put the club up for sale last week.

AIMIM loses deposits in 99 out of the 100 seats the party contested in Uttar Pradesh, sees a marginal increase in vote share

OpIndia Staff
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AIMIM loses deposits in 99 out of the 100 seats the party contested in Uttar Pradesh, sees a marginal increase in vote share

Hyderabad-based Muslim-oriented political party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has lost deposits in 99 of the 100 seats it contested in the assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh. Though it has gathered some more votes as compared to what it could in 2017, the party led by Asaduddin Owaisi has miserably failed to deliver in a manner it pretended to do especially in the Muslim majority areas, and has not won a single seat in the state.

It is notable that, AIMIM had fielded most of its candidates in the constituencies which have a significantly higher percentage of Muslim population and voters. Even in the last assembly elections, when AIMIM had fielded 38 candidates from such Muslim-dominated constituencies, almost all of its candidates had lost their deposits.

Similarly, in the 2022 assembly elections, AIMIM candidates from almost all the contested seats have lost their deposits. However, while speaking with Times Now, the party spokesperson Waris Pathan has said that the party is growing in Uttar Pradesh.

The only candidate to have saved the deposit is Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali from the Mubarakpur constituency. He was earlier in Bahujan Samaj Party. After leaving the BSP he first approached Samajwadi Party where he was denied a ticket. Then he came to AIMIM and contested the assembly election from the Mubarakpur seat from the AIMIM party. He has got slightly above 24% of the total votes according to the latest updates on the official website of the ECI.

Among major Muslim-dominated seats, Deoband was one of the most important assembly constituencies. Deoband is home to Darul Uloom Deoband which is the Islamic Seminary of Deobandi sect of the Sunni Islamic cult. AIMIM had given a ticket to Maulana Umair Madani who could get only 3501 votes in the land of one of the biggest schools of Islamic doctrine. It is notable that it is the Deobandi version of Sunni Islam that is followed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. BJP candidate Brijesh Singh has won from Deoband.

Interestingly, on the Varanasi North assembly seat, AIMIM had given a ticket to Harish Mishra, the surprising non-Muslim candidate by AIMIM in this election. This move of social engineering in Varanasi by AIMIM was seen as equivalent to its alliance in Maharashtra with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi of Prakash Ambedkar in the 2019 general elections. In those elections, all the Dalit candidates of VBA had contested on the election symbol of AIMIM.

Talking about the vote percentage and the actual number of votes in favor of the AIMIM, it is a marginally better performance as compared to that in the assembly elections of 2017. In 2017, the AIMIM party had fielded 38 candidates and they collectively secured around 2 lakh votes. This time the 100 candidates of the party have secured more than 22 lakh votes which is quite a growth in the number of votes if not the percent vote share. In 2017, AIMIM had 0.2 percent votes in Uttar Pradesh while in 2022, it got 0.4 percent votes.

As BJP wins in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath addresses the public after his victory: Here is what he said

OpIndia Staff
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As BJP wins in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath addresses the public after his victory: Here is what he said

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed BJP workers and the general public at the party headquarters in Lucknow as the Bharatiya Janata Party is poised to form government in Uttar Pradesh after gaining a landslide victory in the assembly elections.

The BJP is poised to win 255+ seats in the election in Uttar Pradesh sweeping all others.

Yogi Adityanath arrived at the party headquarters in Lucknow at 05:30 p.m., where he was greeted by party members and all top leaders of the state. Swatantra Dev Singh, the state BJP president, greeted him with garlands and congratulated him on this victory. Singh praised the BJP workers and the people of Uttar Pradesh for giving Yogi Adityanath the mandate.

CM Yogi Adityanath addressed the crowd by thanking all for their efforts to make BJP win. He said “I am grateful to the people of Uttar Pradesh for giving us another opportunity to serve them. The people of Uttar Pradesh chose development and public order by voting for the BJP. I am grateful for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and guidance. PM Modi is to thank for the BJP’s victory in all four states.”

“Being the most populous state, Uttar Pradesh is watched by all. There were questions on the public order in the state but we have proved that we have good public order by conducting elections without any incidence of violence in the state. I want to thank the Election Commission of India for conducting free and fair elections. There were fake allegations of EVM tampering but all the election and counting processes happened without any ruckus. The staff involved in the election procedure is to be thanked for this,” he added.

He further went on to state that the Public of Uttar Pradesh has chosen a Nationalist government and they have shown faith in BJP’s policy of “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, and Sabka Prayas.” He reiterated that the double engine government will remain committed to the welfare of people in Uttar Pradesh.

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