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‘Sells his mother’: Congress sinks to new low, drags PM Modi’s 90-year-old mother in a debate about Congress disintegrating in Punjab

OpIndia Staff
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‘Sells his mother’: Congress sinks to new low, drags PM Modi’s 90-year-old mother in a debate about Congress disintegrating in Punjab

Congress is a party that has often been offended when Sonia Gandhi was called by her original Italian name, Antonia Maino. However, they seem to have no compunctions in insulting Prime Minister Modi’s mother repeatedly in an attempt to insult the Prime Minister himself. Today, in a discussion on Times Now Navbharat, a Congress spokesperson called Mudit Agarwal said that PM Modi ‘sells his mother on TV’.

Journalist and anchor Sushant Sinha took to Twitter to tweet a video of the exchange and say, “When the Congress leader said that “PM @narendramodi sell your mother” I was shocked. I can’t understand how anyone can say such a thing to a mother. The respect of women for the Congress is of such a level that even one’s mother should not be spared?”.

In a discussion about the dismantling of Congress after infighting erupted in Punjab, Chattisgarh and Uttarakhand, the BJP spokesperson said that BJP is proud of the fact that PM Modi used to sell tea and has worked his way up with hard work. He then asked the Congress spokesperson what Sonia Gandhi has done in her life for Congress to question the Prime Minister and his humble background.

To that, the Congress spokesperson said that the Prime Minister was lying. “He has never sold tea. He was lying. He is the kind of person who sells his mother on television”, said the Congress spokesperson.

Sushant Sinha, the journalist and anchor of the show countered the shameful comment by the Congress spokesperson by saying that he was crossing his limits and no matter whose mother was being spoken about, one cannot say that someone sells their mother on Television. The anchor, to make the Congress spokesperson realise his folly, also reminded the Congress spokesperson that if he is passing shameful comments like PM Modi sells his mother on television, then the BJP spokesperson would also ask him what Sonia Gandhi’s profession was.

Even after the stern warning by the journalist, the Congress spokesperson did not stop there. He said that whenever PM Modi goes to meet his mother, there are always camera’s present. When the anchor asked him about the merit of his given that cameras are present even when Rahul Gandhi meets Sonia Gandhi, the Congress spokesperson shamelessly repeated his statement saying, “PM Modi sells his mother”.

Sushant Sinha also said that if he will make statements like the PM sells his mother, then people will remind Congress how they sold “Bharat Mata” with all their scams. Ultimately, Sinha told the Congress spokesperson that from next time, he will not be invited to the show. Before the discussion carried on, the anchor lowered the volume of Mudit Agarwal, the spokesperson who had made shameful statements.

The statements of Mudit Agarwal come has no surprised since Congress has been indulging in such low level politics of abusing the PM’s mother ever since BJP came to power in 2014. In 2015, when PM Modi met Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg,

Towards the end of the townhall, to a pointed question from Zuckerberg about Modi’s mother, the Modi’s voice cracked when he recalled his mother’s hardships when she washed utensils at neighbours’ homes to support her family.

And for some reason, the Congress, who are sworn sycophants of only one “mother”, decided to raise this extremely personal issue making some very crass comments.

Anand Sharma was the man chosen by Congress to execute this dirty job and he claimed that Modi lied about his mother’s hardships. This was, of course, a patent lie.

That was not the only time that Prime Minister’s Modi’s mother, who is a private individual and has no political standing, has been targetted by the ‘liberals’.

Congress leader Raj Babbar had mocked PM Modi’s mother by saying how the Rupee is devaluating so much that it is reaching her age (97/98). A Pakistani newspaper had even insulted his mother by calling Modi a ‘son of a prostitute‘. Earlier, Congress leader and MP candidate had equated PM Modi’s and UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s aunt, mother and sister to stray cattle.

China: Power outages impact production, Evergrande fall out, coal crisis may trigger major economic trouble

OpIndia Staff
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China: Power outages impact production, Evergrande fall out, coal crisis may trigger major economic trouble

China seems to be slowly drifting into an economic crisis as the factory activities have contracted to the lowest level since February 2020. According to reports from the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) that analyses manufacturing activity, it has recorded a slump from 50.1 in August to 49.6 now. Any figure below 50 indicates the contraction of manufacturing activities. 

This is the first-ever decline China has witnessed on PMI since February last year when factory activities remained suspended due to the pandemic.

The world economy is slowly recovering after the pandemic, but according to media reports, China is facing a complex set of problems on many fronts.

China’s real estate giant Evergrande Group which once symbolized the real estate boom of China is making a desperate attempt to raise funds to pay outstanding liabilities worth $305 billion. Its share plunged to its lowest level in the last 11 years.

Set up in 1996 as a bottled water unit, Guangzhou based Evergrande moved to the real estate sector and expanded its business in more than 250 Chinese cities selling homes mostly to the middle class of China. But the financial crisis of the company has shaken the confidence of people. Financial experts fear that this can be “China’s Lehman moment”.

Power crisis

China has been facing an unprecedented power crisis affecting manufacturing and every other sector.  According to the media reports, the power outages have affected most of Eastern China, where the bulk of the population lives and works. The reports further state that blackouts have affected at least 17 provinces in recent months.

As the world economy has reopened and factories are back to production, it has increased the demand of coal which generates electricity. The high demand has increased coal prices. But Chinese regulators are not allowing power utilities to raise the rate to cover rising costs. So power utilities are not operating for more hours.

There are reports of many local power transmission authorities having issued orders to shut off power to many factories. Such instances were reported in Houjie which is a township in northwestern Dongguan.

Chinese state media has reported that 20 out of 30 provincial regions have implemented electricity rationing measures since mid-September. The current total stockpile of coal by China’s 6 major power generation units is just over 11.3 million tonnes, barely enough for 2 weeks.

Nomura’s Chief China Economist Ting Lu cut his forecast for Chinese GDP growth this year as factories shut down to comply with carbon emissions reduction targets. Nomura is a Japanese financial institution.

Apple, Tesla shut down factories temporarily

On Sunday (September 26), Apple Inc supplier Unimicron Technology Corp informed that production has been halted at 3 Chinese factories in order to comply with the new emission standards set by the Communist regime.

Reuters had recently reported that the power crunch in China has begun to affect tech manufacturers in the eastern and southeastern coasts of the country. Firms such as Tesla and Apple have been facing the brunt of it. About 30 Taiwanese firms with Chinese operations and 15 indigenous Chinese firms had mentioned power curbs hampering production activity in their exchange filings.

After Pala Bishop spoke about Narcotic Jihad and Love Jihad, Kerala Churches decides to ‘guard’ statements going out in the public

OpIndia Staff
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After Pala Bishop spoke about Narcotic Jihad and Love Jihad, Kerala Churches decides to ‘guard’ statements going out in the public

The statement made by Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt of the Pala diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church that non-Muslim boys and girls are increasingly becoming the victims of Narcotics Jihad along with Love Jihad in Kerala has created quite a flutter amongst the missionaries. The Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) held a meeting in Kochi on Wednesday, September 29, in which it decided to ‘guard its official communications and religious sermons in future, reports Outlook.

The Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) includes bishops of Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, Knanaya Catholic and Latin Catholic churches.

In an interaction with PTI, a Church official said the Church will continue to do its ‘prophetic responsibility’ but would henceforth present its statements, speeches and reactions before the public only after proper discussions and research at its appropriate forum.

“In future, our statements, speeches and responses will be guarded. We will be very cautious as we do not want to hurt the sentiments of other communities. The Church always stands for openness and strengthening the secular fabric of the society by enriching the communal harmony,” the official said.

It may be noted that this statement is the first-ever reaction since the Pala Bishop’s statement stoked a major controversy.

On September 9, OpIndia reported how Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt, speaking at an event, stated that non-Muslim boys and girls are increasingly becoming the victims of Narcotics Jihad along with Love Jihad in the state. Going a step ahead, the Bishop added that there are specific groups operational in Kerala that are targeting non-Muslim youngsters and even providing assistance to carry out targeted exploitation of non-Muslim youth. 

Meanwhile, the official further added that the statement made by Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt of the Pala diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church, on the prevalence of Love Jihad and Narcotics Jihad in Kerala, was an eye-opener for the Church as it was “misinterpreted” by a section of media and politicians for serving their “narrow political and business interests”. This he said had hurt the sentiments of people of the other community (Muslim community).

The council condemned the use of ‘controversial’ terminologies like narcotic jihad or love jihad and said that it opposes in unity all sorts of interpretations that undermine religious harmony and degrade healthy co-existence in society by mischievously twisting the words of the church’s pastors.

“The KCBC disapproves of any covert attempts to show that there exists disunity among the Churches. The fundamental values of truth, love and justice, which the Catholic Church upholds, constitute the basis of all inter-religious dialogue and harmony among religions,” it had said in the communique.

Kerala Catholic Bishops Council has warned against Love Jihad

Interestingly, earlier, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC), had slammed the State and Union Government for turning a blind eye to the issue, and not conducting a proper probe into the case of “missing women and children”.

“The menacing rise of Love Jihad stands to imperil the communal harmony and peace in Kerala. It is a fact that Christian girls are being targeted by the love jihad in the state,” the Media Commission of the Syro Malabar Church, the Synod of the Church stated explicitly in the press release.

After Punjab turmoil and brewing trouble in Chhatisgarh, now crisis may hit Congress in Uttarakhand: Here is what we know

OpIndia Staff
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After Punjab turmoil and brewing trouble in Chhatisgarh, now crisis may hit Congress in Uttarakhand: Here is what we know

Congress leader Harish Rawat has been called to Delhi by party high command once again as the party faces problems in more states. Notably, Rawat has been serving as a key mediator in Punjab affairs for the Congress Party and in-charge of the election campaign committee for Uttarakhand. Rawat has been travelling between Delhi and Punjab several times in the past few months due to the major turn of events in the poll-bound state.

Reports suggest that Rawat was unable to attend the second phase of Parivartan Yatra in Uttarakhand that begun on September 17 as he had to rush to the national capital. In the last polls, Rawat had contested from the Haridwar Rural seat and lost the election. On the contrary, overall performance was better in Haridwar compared to the rest of the state in 2017 as it was the only district where Congress managed to win three seats.

While talking to Times of India, Udit Ghildiyal, a political analyst, said, “First the absence of Rawat will hurt the Congress, and secondly things going out of hand in Punjab also raises a question over his leadership skills, and it will be a key factor in the election campaign.” Jay Singh Rawat, the political analyst, said it was a surprise that Rawat was made in-charge of Punjab elections as both Uttarakhand and Punjab would go for polling at the same time.

Jay Singh said, “While Rawat is an undeclared CM face of the Congress in Uttarakhand, he is also handling the affairs in Punjab. When elections of both states are scheduled at the same time, the decision to make him in-charge of Punjab comes as a surprise. He has been busy shuttling between Delhi and Punjab.”

Suryakant Dhasmana, Congress state vice president, Uttarakhand, said being a senior leader, Rawat’s presence in Uttarakhand in the next few months is important. He further added that despite the busy schedule, Rawat has been holding online meetings to connect to the local leaders and workers.

It is noteworthy that on September 21, Harish Rawat had hinted that he might pull out his name from the CM race in the 2022 state elections in Uttarakhand. As Congress has selected a Dalit Sikh as CM in Punjab, Rawat had said he would want to see a Dalit becoming CM of Uttarakhand. He said, “History has been made in Punjab as Congress leadership under party national president Sonia Gandhi, a son of Dalit has been appointed the CM. I want to pray to the almighty to let me witness a Dalit becoming the CM of Uttarakhand in my lifetime.”

Crisis in Chhattisgarh

It was reported on Thursday that Congress is facing problems in Chhattisgarh as well. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has dispatched around 15 MLAs to Delhi, who is loyal to him. Reports suggest that he might send more MLAs to mobilize support in his favour. The MLAs have sought meeting with Congress high command as well as in-charge PL Punia.

The unexpected turns of events of Punjab

Punjab politics have become a political theatre of absurdity. First, Captain Amarinder Singh resigned from his post of Chief Minister. Then amidst a lot of speculations over the name for the new CM, Charanjit Singh Channi was appointed as the new chief minister. Later, Navjot Singh Sidhu also tendered his resignation from the post of party president in the state. Former CM Singh has met HM Shah and NSA Doval on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively fanning the speculations that he might join BJP. However, he rejected the theories but said he would not stay in Congress.

Casting director from South asked her to ‘compromise’ reveals actress Sneha Jain aka Gehna from Saath Nibhana Saathiya 2

OpIndia Staff
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Casting director from South asked her to ‘compromise’ reveals actress Sneha Jain aka Gehna from Saath Nibhana Saathiya 2

Television actress Sneha Jain who is playing the role of Gehna in the popular show Saath Nibhana Saathiya second season has revealed that a casting director from South subjected her to casting couch.

In an interview with ETimes TV, she said that early in her struggling days she once received a call from a casting director from the South Indian film industry about college going kids. Without naming him, she said that the film will be about three couples in equally important role.

After she sent him her pictures and profile, he asked her to travel to Hyderabad to meet the director and producer of the film. While she agreed to travel, she asked for details of the director and producer of the film along with storyline and banner. She also informed that she will travel with her mother. However, the casting director then put up condition that she would have to ‘compromise’ with the film director. “I was shocked,” she said.

Jain further informed that she was informed that when she would reach the hotel, she would get to know of the details about the film and such ‘compromise’ is a very normal thing. She was also asked to spend entire day with the director and do whatever he asks her to do. Regarding payment for film also she was informed that she would be given half the amount there and remaining after the film was complete.

Jain, however, rejected the offer. A few days later, the casting director again called her and told her that the offer still stands. “I yelled at him and asked him to stop calling me as I don’t want to be a part of such a project,” she said.

Pakistan: Prominent Sikh community member shot dead outside his Dawakhana in Peshawar

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Prominent Sikh community member shot dead outside his Dawakhana in Peshawar

Sardar Satnam Singh, a prominent member of the Sikh community and a famous Hakeem (doctor of traditional medicine) in Pakistan’s Peshawar has been shot dead outside his clinic on Thursday.

As reported by journalist Iftikhar Firdaus, unknown assailants attacked the Sikh Hakeem outside his apothecary in Peshawar’s Charadda Road area. He was reportedly fired 4 times. He is a resident of Hasanabdal area and ran the ‘Darmandar Dawakhana’, a popular clinic of traditional medicine in the city.

Though more details of the incident are awaited, initial reports say that the Sikh Hakeem’s murder was a planned and targeted attack. Multiple such attacks have been reported in the Islamic country against members of minority communities.

Satnam Singh was rushed to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, but could not be saved.

Sardar Satnam Singh was in his forties. Police have sealed his shop and cordoned off the area. The investigation is ongoing.

As UP SIT starts investigation, Rajkiya Unnayan Basti President accuses IAS Mohammad Iftikharuddin of luring him to convert to Islam

OpIndia Staff
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As UP SIT starts investigation, Rajkiya Unnayan Basti President accuses IAS Mohammad Iftikharuddin of luring him to convert to Islam

As the Special Investigation Team of Uttar Pradesh Police has initiated a probe into the charge of forcing religious conversions against IAS officer Mohammad Iftikharuddin, individuals have now come forward to talk about his conversion activity. Nirmal Kumar Tyagi, former president of Rajkiya Unnayan Basti in a statement said that back in October 2016, Iftikharuddin’s had gone to Kalyanpur and had told the residents to vacate the place as the land was to be used for the Metro project. When the locals pleaded with him not to destroy their houses, he lured them to convert to Islam.

Tyagi alleged that Iftikharuddin tried to threaten the residents of the settlement that their houses would be demolished as an attempt to lure them to conversion. He added that the IAS officer lured him to convert to Islam by offering him money as he was from a low-income family. He said, “When the commissioner was making this suggestion, a person present there started giving him literature related to Islam.” He added that it was not a one-time affair. Several attempts were made to convert the locals to the settlement. There are 600 families living at the settlement and has a population of around 5,000.

He said, “However, the locals decided that they would not accept the offer. When they approached the court regarding the issue of vacating the settlement, the crisis was resolved.” Tyagi further said if SIT summoned him for his testimony, he would testify against the IAS officer.

According to a report published in Dainik Jagaran, there was a plan to build a casting yard in place of the settlement. However, when the metro officials found out that the settlement could not be removed, they changed the plan.

The case against IAS officer Iftikharuddin

A few days back, Bhupesh Awasthi, national vice president of Math Mandir Coordination Committee, alleged that IAS officer Iftikharuddin was indulged in anti-Hindu propaganda. He released a video of religious meetings that allegedly took place at Iftikharuddin’s official residence in which he was seen telling people the benefits of converting to Islam.

In another video, while Iftikharuddin was seen sitting on the floor, a Muslim religious leader was seen giving a radical lesson to the attendees. Taking cognizance of the matter, Aseem Arun, Kanpur Police Commissioner, directed Somendra Meena, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), to initiate a probe.

As per reports, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also summoned the Police Commission Aseem Arun to Lucknow. After his visit to the CM office, an SIT was formed to investigate the case against Iftikharuddin. The two-member SIT is headed by GL Meena, DG CD-CID and Bhanu Bhaskar, ADG Zone.

Owaisi comes in support of Iftikharuddin

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi has come forward in support of Iftikharuddin. He said in a tweet, he accused the UP government of having double standards and said, “Uttar Pradesh govt set up an SIT to ‘investigate’ a 6-year-old video of senior IAS Iftekhar sb. The video has been taken out of context & is from a time when this govt wasn’t even in power. This is blatant, targeted harassment based on religion.”

He further added, “If the parameter is that no officer should be connected to religious activity, then prohibit use of all religious symbols/images in offices. If merely discussing faith at home is a crime then punish any officer participating in public religious celebration.”

‘Our pandering has allowed Pakistan to set the region on fire’: USA expert calls for end to the ‘toxic relationship’ with Pakistan

OpIndia Staff
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‘Our pandering has allowed Pakistan to set the region on fire’: USA expert calls for end to the ‘toxic relationship’ with Pakistan

The role of Pakistan in harbouring the terrorists of the Taliban while pretending to be the ally of the USA against the war on terrorism seems to be getting a lot of attention among American analysts and experts lately. What was known to India for decades is slowly being clear to the West too.

In a strongly-worded article in The Hill, US expert and author Arthur Herman, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, has written that it is time (for the USA) to pull the plug on the toxic relationship with Pakistan.

Arthur Herman’s article in The Hill

In the article, Herman has written, “For more than 3 decades, USA’s supposed ally in South Asia has systematically lied and manipulated successive American administrations, both Republican and Democratic, in a way that has made the world less safe. Since 2002, Pakistan has received more than 33 billion USD in assistance, including over 14 billion USD to combat terrorism, while doing the exact opposite.”

The article further says, “It is time for our policymakers, past and present, to explain why we continue to provide assistance to a country that cozies up to our enemies, has proliferated nuclear technology to some of the worst governments on earth, and has betrayed our friendship time and again.”

Pakistan helped North Korea to get nuclear weapons

The article says that Pakistan violated commitments to the USA in the 1980s to not build nuclear weapons. Then it went ahead and armed North Korea secretly via the AQ Khan network. Had the USA not intervened, the same network would have armed Iraq and Libya too, wrote Herman.

Pakistan gave safe haven Laden, helped Haqqani Network and Taliban to flourish

While the USA was engaged in a war with the Taliban and Al Qaeda after the 2001 WTC attacks, Pakistan had been hiding the USA’s most wanted man Osama Bin Laden inside their own country. Herman further wrote that while pretending to be a US ally, Pakistan has been aiding, arming and helping the Taliban, Haqqani Network and other terror organisations.

Even as US and NATO troops kept fighting and dying in their war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, Pakistan’s military and intelligence service continuously kept working with those same terror groups, Herman noted.

Herman even mentioned how the ISI chief had recently travelled to Kabul, to ‘bless’ the Taliban government after their takeover of Afghanistan

Pakistan’s intimate ties with china

Herman noted that over the years, Pakistan has become a ‘Chinese client state’. With the CPEC, military cooperation and other bilateral developments, Pakistan has effectively become a vassal state for China, as noted by many experts on Asia. Herman noted that these are not the actions of an ally and the USA should immediately stop sales of military equipment and all economic assistance to Pakistan, and should even induce other allies like Britain and Saudi Arabia to do the same.

For its continued support to terrorist groups, Pakistan should be put on the FATF black list too, Herman stated.

No need to be blackmailed by nuclear weapons

Herman noted that over the years, Pakistan has been negotiating with global powers with a wild card, its nuclear arsenal. There have been strong concerns that playing tough with Pakistan may trigger it to “go rogue” and possibly supply nuclear weapons to rogue dictatorships and terrorist organisations.

Herman asserted that the fears and apprehensions have not stopped Pakistan from going “rogue” anyway. Pakistan has never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. And it has already found clandestine ways to supply nuclear technology to nations like North Korea and Iran.

Herman argues that the US leadership should take assertive steps to put an end to the ‘toxic relationship’ with Pakistan and thwart its blackmailing tactics. As pointed out by John Bolton in a recent Washington Post article, Pakistan has both arsonists and firefighters in its government and the USA should work to put the arsonists permanently out of business.

Herman has stated that the USA’s pandering has allowed Pakistan to help set the rest of the region on fire.

Pakistan’s support to Taliban

For the 20 years that the USA kept fighting the Taliban radicals, Pakistan has been a safe haven and a support base for the terrorists. Many US soldiers have voiced that while they continued to chase Taliban fighters, they managed to escape by going to Pakistan. Pakistan not only provided tactical support, aid and shelter to the Taliban, it also kept fooling the USA, pretending to be their ally in the war against terrorism.

Pakistan’s role in providing support to terrorists has been highlighted time and again by India on the UN and most other international forums. Pakistan allows Islamic terrorists to use its soil as a training base and launchpad for sending terrorists into India. Global designated terrorists roam openly in Pakistan, run charity organisations and religious radicalisation centres, while the whole world pretends to look the other way.

For over two decades, Pakistan provided safe havens to Taliban leaders to cool their heels and organise their resistance. Wanted Talibani leaders and commanders moved around Pakistan without any restrictions.

When the US-led forces invaded Afghanistan, the Talibani leaders, as well as the top Al Qaeda commanders, bolted for their safe hideouts in Pakistan. For over two decades, Pakistan provided safe havens to Taliban leaders to cool their heels and organise their resistance. Wanted Talibani leaders and commanders moved around Pakistan without any restrictions.

Recently, US defence analyst Sarah Chayes in an interview with CNN explained how Pakistan’s ISI ran a sophisticated campaign for reinstalling the Taliban in power. When asked if the Taliban had cleverly utilised the 20 years time to build its capability and stake its claim to power, Chayes said it wasn’t the terror group but Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI that used its resources cleverly to help topple the US-backed Ashraf Ghani government in Afghanistan.

West Bengal by-polls: BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal catches a fake voter at a booth in Bhabanipur allegedly planted by TMC

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal by-polls: BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal catches a fake voter at a booth in Bhabanipur allegedly planted by TMC

Voting for the crucial by-polls is being held in south Kolkata’s Bhabanipur constituency, where BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal is taking on West Bengal CM and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. As the voting continues, a video has surfaced on social media in which Priyanka Tibrewal claimed to have has caught a youth at Khalsa English High School in Bhabanipur, whom she alleged is a fake voter sent by the Trinamool Congress.

In the video, Tibrewal is seen asking the youth to produce his voter identity card or any other identity card to prove his innocence. The media, which stands surrounding the youth, also asked him to abide by what Priyanka Tibrewal is asking him to do. They questioned his whereabouts and asked him to show his voter card.

Priyanka Tibrewal informed the media persons that the youth is a resident of Bansdroni, a residential locality in South Kolkata. The journalists persuaded the youth, who is seen sitting in a corner frantically typing on his phone, to show either of his identification cards.

Despite repeated prodding, the youth paid no attention. He doesn’t have a smidgeon of fear on his face. He is heard telling the people surrounding him that he is a student and lives in Bansdroni, and is calling for his voter card. The youth further added that he came to cast his vote but did not know that he needs to carry his voter identity card.

The police personnel are also seen surrounding him like mute spectators. At this point, suddenly, from nowhere, a man in a black safari suit appeared from behind and asked him “are you a student?” The youth nodded his head. Then, the man in the black safari suit and another man in a blue shirt asked him to get up. They pull him out from there and start escorting him out of the premises. When the people gathered there started shouting ‘yeh dekho chor… chor..pakdo..pakdo’ (just see…thief… thief…catch them), the trio started running towards the main entrance of the school. Amidst the chaos that ensued, the youth fleed the spot.

The BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal claimed that he was a fake voter sent by Mamata Banerjee.

It may be noted that earlier in the day, Priyanka Tibrewal had accused Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Madan Mitra of ‘purposely shutting the voting machine to capture the booth’.

Bombs hurled in Samserganj

In another incident of violence, which has become the new normal in Mamata Banerjee’ regime, bombs were hurled in West Bengal’s Samserganj just before the polling began. This is despite the tight security measures undertaken at polling booths.

Besides Bhabanipur, by-polls are also being held in two other Assembly constituencies of West Bengal- Samserganj and Jangipur.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 have been imposed within 200 metres of the polling booths. There is heavy deployment of forces, including quick response teams, in Bhabanipur. Security has also been heightened in the Samserganj constituency.

The voting will continue till 6:30 PM on 30th September and the result will be declared on 3rd October.

Vikram Sampath, who authored books on Veer Savarkar, gets elected as Fellow of the Royal Historical Society

OpIndia Staff
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Vikram Sampath, who authored books on Veer Savarkar, gets elected as Fellow of the Royal Historical Society

Award-winning author and historian Vikram Sampath who has been in the news lately for his historical work on the life of Veer Savarkar has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (RHS).

Sampath took to social media to share the news of his selection. “Absolutely delighted to share that the @RoyalHistSoc has elected me as a Fellow of the Royal History Society in recognition of “contribution to historical scholarship.” I’m immensely grateful for this rare honour both to me & Indian historiography as a whole!” he said in a Tweet. 

“As a fellow, you are eligible to vote in Council elections, to seek election to the RHS Council and to apply for positions on the editorial board of our various publications,” read the letter by RHS to Sampath.

Letter received by author Vikram Sampath from RHS. Image Source: Twitter

He has also been invited for upcoming activities and events planned by the Society.

What is Royal Historical Society?

As per their official website, the Royal Historical Society is the United Kingdom’s (UK) foremost society working for historians and history. The nearly 150-year-old organization promotes the vitality of historical scholarship through support for research and publication. 

As of today, nearly 4500 historians belong and contribute to RHS as fellows and members active in the UK and worldwide. 

Books on Veer Savarkar by Vikram Sampath

Vikram Sampath’s book, ‘Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past’ was released in the year 2019 and had earned great praise from every quarter. 

Touted to be the definitive biography on the great Hindutva thinker, Sampath released the second book of the series titled ‘Savarkar-A Contested Legacy 1924-1966’ in July this year. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the inauguration of Sampath’s book had opined that not having fact-based conversations about Savarkar was a big disservice to the nation. 

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