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After India’s tit-for-tat, UK backtracks, says no quarantine rules for Indians fully vaccinated with Covidshield: How events unfolded

OpIndia Staff
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After India’s tit-for-tat, UK backtracks, says no quarantine rules for Indians fully vaccinated with Covidshield: How events unfolded

A week after the Indian government imposed reciprocal travel restrictions on British visitors arriving in India, the United Kingdom (UK) has decided to scrap the mandatory quarantine period for ‘fully vaccinated’ Indian citizens arriving in the country. The fresh set of guidelines will become effective from October 11 onwards at 4 am.

In a statement, the British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis said, “Good evening! From Monday (October 11), a traveller, from India to the UK, double jabbed with Covishield or another vaccine recognized by the UK regulator, does not have to quarantine. So, it will be easier and cheaper to enter the UK. This is great news. We have actually been open for Indian travellers for months. We have issued 1000s of visas to students, business travellers and tourists.”

“The noise about this issue for the past few weeks show how people are keen to travel to the UK. And I am delighted by this. Let’s now take this a little further,” he remarked. Ellis further concluded, “Let’s open more flights between the two countries, allow British tourists to come to India and business travellers to come with e-visas. This is a further step down the road set by PM Modi and PM Johnson when they agreed to develop a strategic partnership.

According to updated guidelines issued by the UK government for travellers to England from India, it read, “India will be added to this list of countries and territories with approved proof of vaccination 4 am Monday October 11. If you arrive in England before that date you must follow the rules for people who are not fully vaccinated. If you arrive after that, you can use a vaccine certificate to prove your vaccination status.”

Health guideline issued by the UK government

UK and its discriminative travel restriction policy against India and the change of heart

Earlier in September this year, the United Kingdom government decided to label fully vaccinated Indian citizens as ‘unvaccinated individuals’ and force them to undergo a mandatory quarantine for 10 days. This was although Covishield had received recognition from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Indian government, under the programme ‘Vaccine Maitri’, had provided 5 million Covishield doses to the UK, which was later used by the country’s health authorities.

As such, it came as a rude shock when the UK government refused to recognize the Covishield vaccine. Interestingly, the jab was developed by Oxford- AstraZeneca (a UK-based company) and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), one of the largest vaccine manufacturers. Even then, Britain had declined to recognize the world’s most extensive Covid-19 vaccination programme, and the vaccine certificates issued via the CoWIN portal. Foreign Secretary of India Harsh Vardhan Shringla criticized UK’s approach on vaccines and its new policy on vaccines in a press conference. 

He said, “The non-recognition of Covishield is a discriminating policy and impacts our citizens travelling to the UK. The External Affairs Minister has raised the issue strongly with the new UK foreign secretary.” Secretary Shringla said that India found the non-recognition of the Covishield vaccine as discriminatory and indicated that reciprocal measures could be taken. As such, the Indian government on Friday (October 1) imposed reciprocal travel curbs on British visitors arriving in India from the UK, with effect from October 4. 

The Indian government had announced that all UK nationals travelling to India would have to undertake RT-PCR test 72 hours before their departure compulsorily. Besides, they would also be required to take the COVID-19 test on arrival and 8 days after landing. A 10-day quarantine was also made mandatory for the flyers from the UK, regardless of their vaccination status. 

The Indian Hockey team also pulled out of the Commonwealth Games at Birmingham in the United Kingdom. They cited the Coronavirus crisis and preparations for the upcoming Asian games for not participating in the competition. In a statement, Hockey India remarked that the UK had been the worst affected country in Europe amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hockey India said in a statement, “As you are aware that the Commonwealth Games are scheduled in Birmingham, England from July 28 to August 8 2022 and the Asian Games are schedules in Hangzhou, China from 10 to September 25 2022. There is only a 32-day window between the conclusions of the Commonwealth Games before the start of the Asian Games. You will also appreciate the Asian Games is the continental qualification event for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and keeping the priority of the Asian Games in mind, Hockey India cannot take a risk for any members of the Indian Teams contracting COVID-19 during the above Commonwealth Games (sic).”

“It is pertinent to mention that due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, England have issued guidelines that 10 days quarantine is required Indians arrivals in England even for those who are fully vaccinated, since unfortunately the Indian vaccinations are not yet recognized by the English government. Such discriminatory restrictions were not imposed on Indian athletes and officials during the recent Tokyo Olympic Games and this 10 days quarantine requirement for vaccinated sports persons will affect their performances. We feel these restrictions are biased against India and term it as very unfortunate (sic),” the statement added.

Within a week of India’s reciprocal travel curb and the withdrawal of India’s hockey team, the UK government has backtracked on its discriminatory stance and accepted Covishield certification as proof of complete vaccination.

‘He was killed by monsters’, says sister of Hariom, ‘I fear for my daughters’ says Shyam’s mother: Families of those lynched in Lakhimpur Kheri by ‘farmers’ speak

OpIndia Staff
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‘He was killed by monsters’, says sister of Hariom, ‘I fear for my daughters’ says Shyam’s mother: Families of those lynched in Lakhimpur Kheri by ‘farmers’ speak

The family members of two victims who were lynched to death at the Lakhimpur Kheri violence site by the so-called ‘farmers’ on October 3 have spoken out about the brutality inflicted on their innocent children.

According to a report by The Indian Express, the sister of Hariom Mishra, who was brutally lynched to death by the ‘farmers’, recalled how the family members “collapsed” when they saw Hariom’s dead body, which was brought home on Monday, October 4.

Hariom Mishra was BJP MP Ajay Mishra’s son, Ashish’s driver. He had been employed with Ashish for around five years. Hariom was a resident of Parsehra village. He is survived by two younger siblings, his mother Nisha and his father Radhe Shyam, who is mentally and physically disabled. The family relied on Hariom’s earnings because Radhye Shyam was unable to work.

Hariom’s sister Maheshwari added that his brother had left two or three days earlier for work. “We had no idea something had happened to him. He was killed by the farmers”, rued Maheshwari.

“What happened to him was brutal and inhuman. He was killed by monsters,” lamented Hariom’s mother Nisha, adding how she could bear to look at the body of her deceased son, who fell prey to the so-called farmers’ wrath on October 3.

Lynched BJP worker’s family recalls the terror unleashed on their son during the Lakhimpur Kheri violence

Meanwhile, the mother of another victim, Shyam Sunder Nishad (30) said that the video of the incident reached them before she got the news of her son’s death. Shyam Sundar Nishad’s family had gotten to know of his death when they received the video of him being beaten up by a ‘farmer’ mob on WhatsApp. Shyam Sunder Nishad was the BJP ‘mandal mantri’ for the Singahi area of the district. 

“There are people surrounding my son and questioning him as he bleeds and begs them for mercy,” rued Nishad’s mother.

Recalling how the angry farmers had unleashed terror on her son, Phoolmati said that the farmers questioned Nishad on whether he was sent by Mishra. Even though Nishad answered in the negative, the farmers were unsparing towards him. While Nishad kept pleading for mercy, the farmer protestors persistently kept grilling Nishad whether he was sent to “do an accident deliberately”.

Phoolmati confirmed that his son Nishad was an active BJP worker and had gone for a dangal event (wrestling event) in the MP’s (Mishra’s) village.

Concerned about their future after losing the family’s sole breadwinner, Nishad’s father Balak Ram (52) said, “The government has given a cheque for Rs 45 lakh. But we want justice. Those who killed him must face action, whoever they are”.

‘Nishad’s father also said he worries for his two daughters, one 3 and the other an infant of seven months.

‘Dada Dada chhod do’, Nishad’s video goes viral, seen begging for his life

Since the violent crash, Nishad’s video has gone viral on all social media platforms. His face was covered in blood and one could see the fear of impending death in his eyes. He was stunned and under the immense pressure of the furious crowd. The situation was evident in the video.

Nishad was seen begging for his life in the video. However, the barbaric mob was hell-bent, forcing him to say that he was sent by BJP leader Teni to crush the farmers. It was clear that the mob was forcing him to speak against the political party, but Nishad refused to budge in. He joined his hands and urged them to leave him while saying ‘Dada Dada chhod do‘ (please leave me). After that, his dead body was found. 

Sanjay Nishad, the brother of the late Shyam Sundar Nishad also spoke to OpIndia and divulged what transpired on October 3.

Family of those lynched by the ‘farmers’ during Lakhimpur Kheri violence call for action against Rakesh Tikait

On October 7, OpIndia reported that Hariom’s family members blamed opposition leaders for the violence. His family members further called Tikait “leader of the terrorists”. Holding the BKU leader responsible for the death of the four who were lynched by the so-called farmers, Hariom’s kin sought action against Tikait.

Meanwhile, the paternal uncle of another deceased Shubham Mishra, also said that the claims that protesters were attacked by the BJP workers are false. He said, “The BJP workers did not attack anyone. It was the terrorists [protesters] who started pelting stones.”

Haryana: Dera Sacha Sauda’s Gurmeet Ram Rahim convicted in 2002 murder case

OpIndia Staff
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Haryana: Dera Sacha Sauda’s Gurmeet Ram Rahim convicted in 2002 murder case

Self-styled ‘Godman’ and the tainted cult leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim of the Dera Sacha Sauda has been convicted in a murder case by the special CBI court in Haryana. As per reports, the special CBI court has found Gurmeet Ram Rahim and 4 others guilty in the murder case of Ranjit Singh.

It is notable here that Dera leader is already serving a long prison sentence after being convicted of rape.

As per reports, the CBI court stated that the quantum of sentence will be announced on October 12.

Ranjit Singh was Ram Rahim’s disciple. He was found murdered in July 2002. The investigation was later handed over to CBI and the probe agency had registered an FIR in December 2003 in the case after Ranjit Singh’s son Jagseer Singh filed a petition.

Last week, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had dismissed a plea seeking the transfer of the said case from the Panchkula CBI Court to another CBI court.

In 2019, Gurmeet Ram Rahim and three of his associates were convicted in the murder of journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati. Chhatrapati was murdered after he published an anonymous letter detailing the sexual exploitation of women inside Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s cult.

In August 2017, Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted by the same special CBI court for two separate incidents of rape. He is serving a 20-year jail term for the said rape cases. Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s frenzied followers had unleashed violence in the streets of Panchkula, clashing with police officials, torching vehicles and attacking buildings while protesting against his conviction.

After brutal clashes and multiple attacks at the police, about 36 of his followers had lost their lives in police firing amid the ensuing violence. Following Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s conviction, many financial irregularities at his Dera were also brought to the fore.

Tirumala Brahmotsavam begins at Lord Venkateswara’s abode: Here is what the festivities signify and how it is celebrated

OpIndia Staff
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Tirumala Brahmotsavam begins at Lord Venkateswara’s abode: Here is what the festivities signify and how it is celebrated

At Tirumala Tirupati, the annual festival of the 9-day Brahmotsavam began with the ‘Dhwajarohanam’ ritual yesterday on October 7, Thursday. The 9-day annual festival is celebrated with much fervour and enthusiasm at Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara.

Along with the many initiation rituals, the festival was formally inaugurated in presence of priests and officials of the TTD.

The ‘Dhwaja’ or the flag of Lord Venkateswara with the image of his servant Garuda is hoisted atop the Dhwaja Stambha or flag pole before the Lord’s temple. This ritual is considered a divine invitation to the Gods to come and witness the festivities that are to ensue.

Lord’s servant Garuda goes to the Devaloka to invite Gods like Brahma, Kubera, Indra, Yama, Agni, Vayu and sages like Vishwamitra and Vashishtha to come and attend the festivities.

The next stage of the festival is called Srivari Pedda Sesha Vahana Seva. In this ritual, Lord Venkateswara rides his faithful servant ‘Sesha Naga’ and gives divine Darshan to devotees.

Sesha Naga is depicted as the majestic 7-headed serpent on which Lord Vishnu rests on the Kheer Sagara, maintaining the divine balance in the universe. During the ritual of Srivari Pedda Sesha Vahana Seva, Lord Venkateswara rides on the Sesha Naga, and, accompanied by his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi, ventures out of the temple to give Darshan to devotees.

The 2nd day is marked with the next ritual, called Chinna Sesha Vahana Seva. In this ritual, Lord Venkateswara carries out his procession in his other Vahana, the 5-headed serpent. Later in the evening, the Lord will ride the ‘Hamsa Vahana’ or the Swan vehicle.

Other Vahanas, or divine vehicles used during Brahmotsavam are Hamsa Vahanam, Simha Vahanam, Mutyapu Pandiri Vahanam, Kalpavruksha Vahanam, Sarvabhupala Vahanam, Hanumad Vahanam, Gaja Vahanam, Suryapraha Vahanam, Chandraprabha Vahanam, and Ashwa Vahanam.

Tirumala Brahmotsavam

Lord Venkateswara’s Brahmotsavam is celebrated every year during the Ashwina month. During Brahmotsavam, the Lord carries out processions in Tirumala riding his divine ‘Vahanas’, to bless devotees with Darshan. It is believed that a Darshan of the Lord’s Brahmotsavam washes away the sins of mortals and they are freed from the cycles of Punarjanma (next birth).

The many rituals and the stages of Brahmotsavam are as follows:

  • Aalaya Shuddhi
  • Mritsangrahanam
  • Dhwajarohanam
  • Vahana Seva
  • Srivari Koluvu
  • Snapanam
  • Choornabhishekam
  • Chakrasnanam
  • Devatodwasanam
  • Dhwajavarohanam

After the different Vahana Sevas, Snapanam is the ritual of bathing, to relieve the Lord of the tiredness after the different Vahana Sevas. Choornabhishekam involves treatment of the Lord and his consorts with different scented oils and sandalwood after the bathing rituals. After Choornabhishekam, the Lord is again taken in a procession and priests offer the sandalwood powder to awaiting devotees.

On the last day of Brahmotsavam, the Lord undergoes Chakrasnanam, the final bathing ritual after a Yagna or holy activity. Devatodwasanam is the ritual where the Lord says farewell to the invited Gods from Devaloka and sees them off. Lord Brahma is offered gratitude by the priests for organising the festivities.

Dhwajavarohanam is the last stage of the festival when the Garuda Dhwaja is lowered, marking the ending of the festivities.

It is notable here that, unlike the Jagannath Rathayatra, where the main wooden idol is taken out, the Utsava Murti (or the festival idol) of Lord Venkateswara is taken out for procession in Brahmotsavam.

The main idol of Lord Venkateswara is fixed (Dhruva). It is an 8 feet stone idol. For festivities and processions and other rituals of the temple, other idols like the Bhoga Beram, Ugra Srinivasa, Utsava Beram, and Koluvu Srinivasa are worshipped as manifestations of Lord Venkateswara.

Due to Covid restrictions, the number of devotees has been limited this year. The processions are carried out only within the temple premises. Usually, Brahmotsavam brings lakhs of devotees from all over the world to Tirumala every year.

‘With a BJP govt in the state, the interests of Hindus will be given primacy’: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya to OpIndia after Durga Puja restrictions being lifted

Akshita Bhadauria
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‘With a BJP govt in the state, the interests of Hindus will be given primacy’: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya to OpIndia after Durga Puja restrictions being lifted

Reacting to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) withdrawal of illogical restrictions imposed on Durga Puja, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya in an exclusive statement to OpIndia mentioned that his government will protect the interest of Hindus. 

“With a BJP government in the state, the interests of Hindus will be given primacy and they will be protected,” the President of BJP Yuva Morcha said. 

Following a hard-hitting letter by the BJP MP and public outrage, BBMP Commissioner Gaurav Gupta on Thursday withdrew the order with immediate effect.

Arbitrary restrictions by BBMP

At the pretext of curbing the spread of Covid-19, BBMP on Wednesday had announced that the height of Durga idols should not exceed 4 feet and had even imposed a ban on the use of drums for the festival among other guidelines. The BBMP in its guidelines also mentioned ‘sanitizing’ the idols before installation which received a strong objection from devotees. 

Calling the restrictions colonial in nature and biased towards the Hindu community, the BJP leader had urged the BBMP commissioner to revisit the guidelines. 

Elaborating on the issue, Surya in his statement to OpIndia pointed out, “I don’t understand the logic behind restricting the idol size to 4 feet. The same kind of restrictions was put during the Ganesha Festival. It also laid down that only basic prayers must be offered.  This time, they had said Dhol or Dhak must not be drummed in front of the deity.”

Taking objection to bureaucracy dictating terms on how to offer Puja, Surya further said, “How can an administrative body decide as to what kind of rituals must be carried out? This is to be exclusively decided by the devotees.”

“Some feel that it is okay to restrict anything in any manner as long as the Hindus are concerned, thinking we will meekly accept it,” he added further. 

‘Celebrate festivals with favor but responsibly’

Thanking the BBMP for quick course correction, the BJP MP urged people to celebrate the festivals with great fervour but responsibly. 

“Let’s make sure we don’t forget that the COVID virus is still around us,” concluded the MP. 

Lakhimpur Kheri violence: NDTV manipulates video clip, adds audio disturbances to the clip that was the earlier cropped

OpIndia Staff
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Lakhimpur Kheri violence: NDTV manipulates video clip, adds audio disturbances to the clip that was the earlier cropped

As the investigation, as well as the propaganda around Lakhimpur Kheri violence, intensifies, a new video of police interrogating an associate of former Congress MP’s nephew has emerged on social media. 

In the viral video, a police officer is seen asking the injured man his name, address and other details. The man reveals that he is a resident of Charbagh Lucknow and works with Ankit Das, nephew of Congress leader and former MP Akhilesh Das. 

As the propaganda peaked, several Congress-friendly journalists started sharing cropped videos trying to further their propaganda. In the video shared by several journalists including Rohini Singh, the man only speaks about Thar ‘running over’ the crowd and mowing people. The portion where he mentions he was in the Fortuner with the nephew of a Congress leader is cropped out. 

NDTV, however, took their propaganda to a whole different level.

Earlier, NDTV posted a report pertaining to the viral video. In its headline, NDTV insinuated that the man suggested the presence of the Union Minister’s son in the violence-affected area. 

NDTV in its report assumed that the man is referring to UP Minister’s son Ashish Mishra as ‘bhaiya.’ “The “Bhaiya” is seen (as) a reference to Ashish Mishra, Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son,” reads the report. This despite the man referred to Ankit Das as ‘bhaiya’ in the first half of the viral video.

Interestingly, while this report was shared on Twitter at 11:28 AM on the 6th of October, a couple of hours before that, at 9:26 AM, NDTV posted a video of their news segment where the anchor was talking about the viral video and the video itself was also aired.

In that video, NDTV added an audio disturbance in the video to shield the Congress leader and the nephew who were being named by the man being interrogated by the police.

At the 00:46 second mark, when the man in the video says that the nephew of a Congress leader and ex-MP was driving the Fortuner car, NDTV added audio disturbance so the name is not audible. While the ticker on the video says that the man “claims Fortuner belongs to the nephew of ex-Congress MP, Union Minister”, the sound in the video is beeped out where he names Ankit Das. In the video, NDTV had added audio disturbance to ensure that the name of the Congress leader’s nephew was not audible. This is the same video that had earlier been shared by journalists like Rohini Singh after the name of the Congress leader’s name being cropped from the video.

It is interesting to note that while NDTV mentioned the man taking Congress MP and his nephew’s name in the ticker, they added the audio manipulation so his name was not audible. This could simply be done because most people would be listening to the audio and not reading the fast-moving ticker, and therefore, would miss the reference completely.

NDTV tweet

To be clear, every media organisation has editorial freedom. It is often seen that media organisations decide to not cover a certain incident or cover it from a different angle because their editorial line makes them see an incident differently. However, manipulating media can’t, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered editorial freedom of a media organisation.

In this video, NDTV deliberately beeped out the names being taken by an injured man and an eye-witness. Their motivations could be that they want to help the Congress implicate Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, in order to target the Yogi government ahead of elections. However, the practice to manipulate a media in the manner that NDTV did points towards deeply unethical practice by the media organisation to further a political agenda in an incident that is already volatile with 8 lives lost.

Who is Ankit Das?

Ankit Das is said to be the nephew of former Congress MP Akhilesh Das who was the Minister of Steel from January 2006 till May 2008 in the Manmohan Singh UPA-I government. 

He was also the Mayor of Lucknow from May 1993 to November 1996. 

UP police on the look out for Ashish Mishra

Uttar Pradesh Police pasted a notice outside the resident of the Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra in Lakhimpur Kheri in UP, asking his son Ashish Mishra to appear before the police. Earlier, the UP police had named Ashish Mishra in the FIR filed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case.

The notice asks Mishra to appear at the crime branch office at the reserve police lines, Janpad Kheri at 10 am on October 8. The notice states that Ashish Mishra has been booked under sections 147, 148, 149, 279, 338, 304A, 302, 120B of the Indian Penal Code in the case where eight lives were lost. He has been asked to personally appear before the police to produce material, written, oral and electronic evidence in his defence.

What it says about NDTV and the Congress ecosystem

On October 3, a ‘farmer’ mob attacked a BJP convoy with stones and sticks. The windshield of one of the cars broke and the driver seemingly lost control, thereby running over the crowd. Two protestors are believed to have lost their lives. Subsequently, the mob took to violence and beat up the men from the convoy and killed BJP workers. As of now, it is reported about 8 people have lost their lives in the incident.

Ever since then, the Congress ecosystem has been trying to fan further violence by not only reaching Lakhimpur Kheri to completely whitewash the brutal lynching of 4 BJP workers and leaders but also to incite the protestors further to incite violence. The Congress ecosystem had also witnessed strife when Rakesh Tikait was seen in a press conference with the UP police when they were announcing compensation to the victims of violence and talking about an embargo on politicians visiting the spot, in order to maintain peace.

While the UP administration tried to control the violence, the narrative was politicised to the extent that Rakesh Tikait, self-proclaimed farmer leader, went on to say that the BJP leaders who had been lynched to death deserved no compensation since they were barbarians.

With the new video of an injured man naming the nephew of a Congress leader and ex-MP as the owner of the Fortuner (we still don’t know who owned the Thar or was driving it), the entire ecosystem tried to ensure that the name of the Congress leader does not surface in the media and not just that, they cropped the video so they could claim that the man was talking about Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra.

The fact is that in Lakhimpur Kheri, the protestors attacked the convoy and after losing control, the car mowed down 4 protestors. After that, the protestors lynched 4 BJP workers to death. Who was responsible for fanning the violence will only be apparent after a thorough investigation is done. The Congress ecosystem, however, is hell-bent on naming Ashish Mishra as the person driving the car and therefore, starting tweeting a cropped video and NDTV beeped out the name of Ankit Das, nephew of Congress leader.

Clearly, the Congress ecosystem is least interested in finding out who fanned the violence or who were involved in the lynching. They simply want to implicate BJP leader Ajay Mishra and his son Ashish Mishra because it would help them implicate the Yogi government ahead of the UP elections.

India detains Chinese soldiers temporarily after they cross LAC in Tawang to damage unoccupied bunkers: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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India detains Chinese soldiers temporarily after they cross LAC in Tawang to damage unoccupied bunkers: Reports

Last week, India detained some People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers temporarily after 200 of them intruded into the Indian side and tried to damage unoccupied bunkers, reported News18. The incident occurred in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh; a district China claims to be a part of ‘Southern Tibet.’

News 18 reported that the Chinese troops transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between Yangtse and Bum La border pass. Indian soldiers quickly challenged their aggressive move and detained a few of them. Although both armies have no official comment, News18 reported that the Indian side did not suffer any damages. A source informed, “The matter was subsequently resolved at the local military commanders’ level. The Chinese soldiers were released and the situation was defused.”

The source added that there is no formal demarcation of the India-China border and that both countries view the LAC differently. “Peace and tranquillity in these areas of differing perceptions have been possible by adhering to existing agreements and protocols between the two countries… Whenever patrols of both sides physically meet, the situation is managed according to established protocols and mechanisms agreed by both sides. Physical engagement can last for a few hours prior to disengaging as per mutual understanding,” the source concluded.

The strategic importance of the Tawang region and China’s record at breaching LAC

News 18 reported that both sides would soon hold the 13th round of Commander-level talks in Eastern Ladakh and discuss the disengagement of troops. China had been eyeing the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh since the 1962 India-China war. The region provides strategic access to the plains of Brahmaputra, Guwahati, and the extended Siliguri corridor, thereby making it significant militarily. An official informed, “Bomdilla, Nechiphu and Se La (connecting Tawang to the rest of Arunachal Pradesh) — aid in deployment of defences by India.”

However, this was not the first time the Chinese PLA soldiers breached existing agreements and intruded into the Indian territory. In September this year, the Economic Times reported that the Chinese forces marched aggressively in the Barahoti sector in Uttarakhand near the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Similarly, around 200 Chinese soldiers entered the Indian side of LAC at Yangtse in 2016. Before that, they had tried to climb a 250-metre long wall and damaged it in 2011.

India and China disengage at Gogra in Ladakh

In August 2021, the Indian Army had announced that disengagement was completed at another friction point along the LAC with China. The Indian Army, in its statement, said that both sides restored the landform in Gogra to the pre-standoff period. “As per the agreement reached during Corps Commander talks, India and China have ceased forward deployments in (Patrolling Point) PP-17 (Gogra Post) in a phased, coordinated and verified manner,” the statement released by the Indian Army said. The disengagement process was carried out over 4-5 August 2021.

The Army said that all temporary structures and other infrastructure created by both sides were dismantled and mutually verified. “The agreement ensures that Line of Actual Control in this area will be strictly observed and respected by both sides. Both India, China expressed commitment to take talks forward and resolve remaining issues along LAC in eastern Ladakh,” the statement further added.

Bengaluru: Following backlash and letter from MP Tejasvi Surya, BBMP scraps height limit for Murti and puja restrictions for Durga Puja

OpIndia Staff
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Bengaluru: Following backlash and letter from MP Tejasvi Surya, BBMP scraps height limit for Murti and puja restrictions for Durga Puja

Bhartiya Janta Party MP from Bengaluru, Tejasvi Surya had lashed out at Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Wednesday for issuing discriminatory and illogical restrictions for the ongoing festival of Durga Puja.

At the pretext of curbing the spread of Covid-19, BBMP had announced that the height of Durga idols should not exceed 4 feet and had even imposed a ban on the use of drums for the festival among other guidelines. 

The BBMP in its guidelines also mentioned ‘sanitizing’ the idols before installation which received a strong objection from devotees. 

Taking cognizance of the matter, BJP MP from Bengaluru South Tejasvi Surya had written a letter to the Chief Commissioner of BBMP to revisit Durga pooja rules. 

BBMP withdraws restrictions

Following a hard-hitting letter by the BJP MP and public outrage, BBMP Commissioner Gaurav Gupta has withdrawn the order with immediate effect. The decision was taken after Gupta held a meeting with the various Durga puja committees in Bengaluru on Thursday.

“The restriction of 4 feet height of the Durga idol in public places has been lifted,” informed Gupta in an official release.

Further, there will be no further restrictions for ‘Pushpanjali’ and ‘Sandhi’ puja. Traditional instruments like ‘dhol’ have also been allowed to be used for prayer rituals.

‘This is a colonial relic’

BBMP’s restrictions on idol height and ban of musical instruments had sparked a controversy on social media.

Taking a strong objection to the baseless guidelines, Surya had Tweeted, “I spoke to @BBMPCOMM & asked him to revisit Durga Pooja rules which are discriminatory, arbitrary & illogical. He assured me that these rules will be reviewed forthwith & the sentiments of devotees will be given utmost importance. Let’s celebrate with all fervour!”

Surya in his letter had also called out the colonial hangover and general bias exhibited towards Hindu festivals by the bureaucracy time and again.  “The restrictions imposed through the order regarding the size of the idol appears to be taken without any logical relevance. It is beyond the understanding of any reasonable person as to how the size of the idol is related to the spread of the Covid-19 virus,” he said in his letter.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s letter to BBMP. Image Source: Twitter

“It is highly regrettable that the administration imposes such harsh and arbitrary rules only during celebrations of the Hindu community and turns a blind eye towards celebrations of other faiths,” the letter said further.

Giving a call to end the colonial hangover, Surya in a follow-up Tweet said, “There is a general tendency in sections of the bureaucracy to think that it’s OK to put any and every kind of restrictions on Hindu festivals. This is a colonial relic. Post-2014, the awakened Hindu resists such attempts.”

People react to restrictions on Hindu festivals

After the Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh government, it was BBMP that received flak for imposing baseless restrictions on Hindu festivals. Several netizens took to Twitter to register their protest. 

“BBMP rules are illogical! What has Murti height got to do with Pandemic? Sanitisation of Murti before installation? Why no restrictions for Friday Prayers and Political rallies?” Tweeted Girish Bharadwaj of Vishwa Hindu Parishad. 

“Which law permits such restrictions?  Right to worship comes under freedom of religion but laws are only in books,” asked another user. 

Another user questioned, “What is the scientific significance behind having idol’s height at 4ft?”

It is also imperative to note that the process of idol-making commences a few months prior to the festival. Hence, releasing such arbitrary restrictions a few days prior to the festival only leads to huge losses for the idol makers and disposing of the idols that do not fit the guidelines. 

After detaining a Congress team led by Navjot Singh Sidhu, UP police allows them to visit Lakhimpur Kheri under police supervision

OpIndia Staff
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After detaining a Congress team led by Navjot Singh Sidhu, UP police allows them to visit Lakhimpur Kheri under police supervision

As the Congress party continues its attempt to extract maximum political mileage out of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in UP, a large contingent of Congress leaders and workers led by Punjab Congress Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu arrived in the state to visit the place. However, the contingent along with Sidhu had been detained for a few hours at the Saharanpur border in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, September 7 by the UP police. The Congress leader, along with a large group of ministers, legislators, and party workers were on his way to Lakhimpur Kheri district when they were stopped by Uttar Pradesh police at Saharanpur.

The police had said that they won’t allow the Congress team to visit Lakhimpur Kheri, and had asked them to return. But later in the evening, there was a reconciliation between the Congress party and the Saharanpur administration and the administration allowed them to go to Lakhimpur Kheri. According to reports, the Saharanpur administration has allowed all the leaders to go in their own vehicles but decided that the UP police vehicles would escort the delegation to Lakhimpur Kheri.

Navjot Singh Sidhu, MPs, MLAs and other leaders of the Congress party will visit Lakhimpur Kheri tonight itself.

Navjot Singh Sidhu argues with UP police when stopped from visiting the politically sensitive Lakhimpur Kheri district

In a video shared by news agency ANI, Sidhu was seen arguing with the Uttar Pradesh police when he was stopped and asked to return.

“You won’ tell anything to the minister and teach us the law. Mishra has been left free, is it his father rule of law? the Congress leader questioned, adding that “We don’t attack from behind”.

“Beat us up, we will faint, die but won’t move back an inch. If UP police can leave Mos Mishra free even after murder then we can be left free as well,” Sidhu reportedly told the UP police, after which he along with other Congress leaders were detained and taken to Sarsawa Police Station.

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu had threatened to march towards Lakhimpur Kheri if Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son is not arrested and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is not released from detention.

How Congress using Lakhimpur Kheri tragedy in the run-up to the UP assembly elections

Notably, following the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, many Congress leaders including Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, have hurried to the area to earn political mileage out of the incident. The Uttar Pradesh police were forced to detain the Gandhi scion on Monday for defying prohibitory orders to visit Lakhimpur Kheri.

Here it becomes important to understand that whenever a politically sensitive situation as the one in Lakhimpur Kheri arises, it becomes the state administration’s responsibility to ensure the law and order situation is maintained. Therefore, it is understandable why when Priyanka Gandhi Vadra refused to pay heed to the police’s request and stay back from visiting the violence-hit area, and instead threatened the UP police of accusing them of molestation, it left the latter with no option but to detain her.

While members of the Congress party are attempting to exploit their leader’s detention as yet another political gimmick, it is important to remember how Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been milking the situation in the run-up to the UP assembly elections in order to kickstart her political career once again.

Besides being seen sweeping her room with a broom in her hand while in detention, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also accused the Uttar Pradesh government of ‘monitoring’ her move through drones.

Protesting farmers attack convoy of BJP MP Naib Singh Saini in Haryana, vehicle hits a protestor but no casualties

OpIndia Staff
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Protesting farmers attack convoy of BJP MP Naib Singh Saini in Haryana, vehicle hits a protestor but no casualties

After the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which a mob of ‘farmers’ attacked a BJP convoy with stones and sticks leading to the death of 8 people, a similar incident has come to the fore from the Ambala district in Haryana on Thursday. In the incident, BJP MP from Kurukshetra Naib Singh Saini has alleged that the protesting ‘farmers’ attacked him as he was leaving an event at Naraingarh in Ambala.

The BJP MP further claimed that the protestors, who had gathered there in large numbers, also grabbed his driver by his throat and attacked him.

The BJP MP said that his car was left behind in the convoy when the protestors surrounded the car and launched an attack. He added that the protesting ‘farmers’ shouted out that the car belongs to an MP. They then ran and attack the car from behind.

Divulging further details, Naib Singh Saini said that when the protestors launched an attack on his car, his staff got out of the car through its rear window and pushed back the farmers’. He added that no one was injured in the incident.

In contrary to what the BJP MP revealed, the ‘farmers’ have yet again alleged that the BJP convoy carrying BJP MP Nayab Saini had hit them, injuring one of the people in the crowd.

According to reports, the injured farmer was identified as one Bawan Preet. Sources were quoted as saying that the farmer was admitted to a government hospital in Naraingarh and was discharged after primary treatment.

Lakhimpur Kheri incident and how Congress and the leftist ecosystem used the incident to malign BJP

Interestingly, during the Lakhimpur Kheri incident too, the ‘farmer’ mob had attacked a BJP convoy with stones and sticks, leaving 8 people dead. Reports suggested that the protesters went violent and pelted stones at BJP’s convey.

Video had emerged that showed that the protestors had attacked a vehicle after which the driver lost control and ended up running over farmers, after which the protesters not only burnt down two vehicles but also ambushed people. While four farmers had died in the incident, two BJP leaders, a journalist a driver was reportedly beaten to death by the protesters.

However, opposition and the entire left ecosystem had immediately started peddling similar lies, accusing the son of cabinet minister Ajay Mishra of being behind the attack. Journalist Vinod Kapri had shared a cropped image on Twitter to insinuate that the son of a BJP leader was driving the car that ran over farmers.

A video also did the rounds where it is claimed that it shows the son of cabinet minister Ajay Mishra running away from the scene after their car runs over ‘farmer protesters’.

The Congress and their friendly journalists had also shared the video to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

However, an investigation by Navbharat Times had revealed that the person in the video is not Aashish Mishra but BJP leader Sumit Jaiswal. 

Sumit Jaiswal had later claimed that the protesters attacked Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra’s convoy and not the other way round.

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