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Hundreds of Congress workers strip, go shirtless and flout COVID norms to protest against alleged phone tapping: Watch

OpIndia Staff
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Hundreds of Congress workers strip, go shirtless and flout COVID norms to protest against alleged phone tapping: Watch

Hundreds of Congress workers led by ‘youth leader’ Srinivas B V staged a protest on Monday over the alleged phone tapping issue. Flouting the Covid-19 norms the male workers who went shirtless for reasons best known to them, chanted ‘Jasoos Modi down-down.’

The protestors also demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee and a probe into the matter monitored by the Supreme Court. 

At some point one can see the ‘protestors’ come and easily lay down so that the police can take them away for detainment.

Srinivas claims Rahul Gandhi was a ‘potential target’

Sharing media reports, Srinivas also claimed through his Tweets claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was a ‘potential target’ to snooping in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Not just him, Rahul Gandhi’s aides were also in the list alleged Srinivas.

Srinivas, however, appeared in the protests wearing his t-shirt with an image of Rahul Gandhi on the left side.

Congress addresses a press conference

Meanwhile, the Indian National Congress party is addressing a press conference currently on the Pegasus snoopgate after The Wire published what it called an ‘explosive story.’

Netizens see this as a conspiracy

Meanwhile, the netizens have cast aspersions on the Congress for raking up this issue just before the monsoon session. The netizens brought to notice Rahul Gandhi’s obscure Tweet made two days ago where he asked ‘I am wondering what you are reading these days.

After The Wire broke out the alleged phone tapping story, Gandhi today quoted his earlier Tweet and remarked, “We know what he’s been reading, everything on your phone. #Pegasus.”

The Wire’s claim

On Sunday evening, left-wing portal The Wire reported that the names of 40 Indian journalists are there in an alleged leaked list containing people who were under surveillance using Israeli spyware Pegasus. The 40 Indians are apparently among the thousands of people mentioned in the so-called leaked list, which were earlier reported by The Guardian.

However, The Wire, or other international publications, have not given any proof of this so-called leak. Moreover, none of the media houses reporting this ‘leak’ has said from where this data was leaked, which government was allegedly spying on those people. As the list apparently contains names from several countries, it is difficult to tell who was being spied on by which country, considering the list to be real.

Government denies claims

the Indian government issued a statement responding to a questionnaire about the alleged leak. The statement says that “the story being crafted is one that is not only bereft of facts but also founded in pre-conceived conclusions. It seems you are trying to play the role of an investigator, prosecutor as well as jury.”

The statement said that both in RTI replies and in the Parliament, the govt has clarified that there has been no unauthorised interception by Government agencies. “The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever,” the statement said.

However, the INC and the ecosystem seeing this as an opportunity have launched a scathing attack against the Modi government seeking ‘clarity’. 

India sends oxygen concentrators and liquid oxygen to Indonesia as Chinese coronavirus pandemic rages: Details

OpIndia Staff
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India sends oxygen concentrators and liquid oxygen to Indonesia as Chinese coronavirus pandemic rages: Details

With the resurgent COVID-19 outbreak wreaking havoc in Southeast Asia, India has shipped a total of 300 oxygen concentrators and 100 metric tons of liquid medical oxygen to Indonesia, a country most severely affected by the raging new variants of the coronavirus.

Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar took to Twitter to announce that the Indian Naval Ship(INS) Airawat was on its way to Tanjung Priok in Indonesia with medical help. “India stands with its partners in the fight against covid,” the minister said.

Indonesia is amidst a galloping coronavirus outbreak, with record infections and deaths being reported in recent weeks. A report published in Reuters quoted health experts and epidemiologists saying Indonesia has become the most potent coronavirus hotspot in Asia. The current surge in the number of COVID-19 caseloads is fueled by the spread of the more virulent delta variant, with Indonesia leading the list of countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases in the last seven days, the report said. The country was second only to Brazil in the terms of fatalities reported.

Experts believe the peak of the current wave of the coronavirus outbreak in Indonesia is yet to come. For weeks now, Indonesia, home to about 270 million people, had been reporting thousands of daily cases and hundreds of death as the delta variant of coronavirus ravages the country.

The rising number of cases in Indonesia meant hospitals were working at near-full capacity while healthcare workers and equipment were stretched thin. Just a week ago, Indonesia sought help from countries across the world as the cases continued to soar dramatically. 

The Indian Navy says the ship started out for Indonesia on July 16 and would be reaching there anytime soon. 

This marks the first time that India has sent medical aid abroad after being hit by the second wave of coronavirus outbreak in April 2021. During that time, Indonesia had come to the aid of India in its fight against COVID-19 by donating 1,400 units of oxygen cylinders through the Indian Red Criss Society(IRCS).

Qatar-based Indian PhD scholar says false SC/ST case filed against her by Nagarjuna University professor who used to harass her online

OpIndia Staff
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Qatar-based Indian PhD scholar says false SC/ST case filed against her by Nagarjuna University professor who used to harass her online

A Dalit professor from Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur has been accused of filing a false SC/ST case against a Qatar-based woman and her entire family after she blocked him on facing harassment.

As per the FIR filed by Aruna (name changed), Dr. Kondru Sudheer Kumar- a Guest Faculty, Commerce and Business Administration Department at Acharya Nagarjuna University- got in touch with her following her query related to Ph.D. on a social media site. After exchanging contact Kondru agreed to work as Aruna’s co-guide for her Ph.D. 

Subsequently, Kondru began to harass Aruna for making him a co-guide despite not clearing the eligibility criteria. The woman was then forced to block his number. As per the defendant, Kondru began saving her pictures, morphed her images and dug personal information with ulterior motives.

After chasing for weeks, Kondru extracted the phone numbers of Aruna’s family and called her father-in-law to threaten. When he could not succeed in getting a response, Kondru filed a false SC/ST atrocities case against Aruna and seven other members of her family including her husband, mother-in-law, father-in-law and parents. 

Kondru in his FIR, a copy of which is in the possession of OpIndia, alleged that Aruna misused his work. Accusing her of plagiarism, Kondru claimed that she hacked into his account and deleted his research work BR Ambedkar and claimed that she and her family abused him for being a Dalit. 

The plaintiff also mentioned that his family had to endure trauma because of Aruna’s atrocities which hampered his career.

FIR filed by Kondru against Aruna and her family

Aruna was then forced to file a petition in Andhra Pradesh High Court pleading a stay on the arrest. She has also filed a case in Mangalore, her hometown, against Kondru as she did not receive much help from Guntur Police.

It is imperative to note that both the complainant and the defendant have specified in their respective complaints that the two have interacted only over the phone and social media platforms. As per Indian Kanoon, an incident of intimidation, insult or humiliation of a person belonging to SC/ST in “public view” is punishable.

Allegations against Kondru

Aruna in her petition, FIR and in an interview with OpIndia informed that Kondru who is a practising Christian as per his social media profiles (which has now been locked) and activities, continues to call himself a Hindu taking undue advantage of the reservation for SCs and STs. The petitioner claims, fearing his identity would be exposed Kondru refused to fulfil certain formalities which would have made him eligible for co-guide. 

Kondru’s social media posts

Aruna discovered only later that Kondru who introduced himself as an assistant professor was just a guest professor thereby making him ineligible for taking up the responsibility. 

Additionally, as per Aruna’s FIR Kondru is also a habitual molester. “His ex-students had told me that Sudheer is a habitual molester and had molested a girl from their class and also girls from other batches and courses. His molestation episodes were brought to the attention of the college management, but it was ignored. It is also rumoured that in 2015, Kondru Sudheer was suspended for molesting a lady student for a period of about 3 months,” reads her FIR. 

Aruna’s complaint against Kondru

The petitioner also shared previous social media conversations of the students of the university who were privy to his misdeed.

Tweets against Kondru

Aruna also suspects the involvement of IPS PV Sunil Kumar who was in news recently for abusing his position by running a private missionary organization. “As per the instructions issued by the ADGP, CID AP Mangalagiri vide proceedings in….and registered the same as a FIR,” read the FIR filed by Kondru against Aruna and her family. 

Kondru’s complaint

While speaking with OpIndia, Aruna urged that the judiciary must look into the blatant misuse of the SC/ST Act especially when the case is against a woman putting her family life and career at risk. 

PM Modi holding his own umbrella while addressing media ahead of the Monsoon session renews the debate surrounding Kaamdar and Naamdar

Jinit Jain
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PM Modi holding his own umbrella while addressing media ahead of the Monsoon session renews the debate surrounding Kaamdar and Naamdar

With rains pouring down in the national capital, PM Modi while holding an umbrella in his one hand addressed the media ahead of the parliament’s Monsoon session and appealed to the opposition lawmakers to participate in the Parliament proceedings and work together with the government to make the Monsoon session commencing on Monday a productive and constructive one. 

However, the prime minister’s humble gesture of holding his own umbrella and not having an assistant to do the same instantly caught the attention of netizens online, who pointed out the past instances when Congress-era Prime Ministers and senior Congress leaders had helpers holding umbrellas behind them as they ventured out in inclement weather. The dichotomy between the two instances triggered an instant debate between naamdar and kaamdar, flooding the social media websites with images of PM Modi holding his umbrella juxtaposed with photos of Congress leaders with their staff members holding umbrellas for them.

Social Media users’ reaction on PM Modi holding his own umbrella

A raft of social media users on Twitter pointed out how PM Modi was humble enough to hold his own umbrella while Congress leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former party president Rahul Gandhi, delegated the work of carrying umbrellas to the retinue of helpers and assistants that accompany them. Many social media users also shared images from the past when staff personnel of Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi held umbrellas for them.

Many juxtaposed the image with those of opposition leaders, especially Congress’ Nehru-Gandhi family which is always surrounded by assistants.

Kaamdar vs Naamdar: The political debate between one who works and the one who received politics in inheritance

The Naamdar vs Kaamdar debate was first sparked by Prime Minister Modi himself during the run-up to the 2019 General elections. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, PM Modi cast himself as ‘kaamdar’ while taking a swipe at the Congress prime ministerial candidate Rahul Gandhi, alluding to him as ‘naamdar’, in a bid to distinguish one who works and one who received politics in the inheritance because of his surname.

Rahul Gandhi has the privilege of belonging to the Nehru-Gandhi family. Despite umpteen electoral failures, he continues to remain one of the towering leaders of the Congress party, perhaps because his adopted surname is Gandhi. This is in stark contrast to PM Modi, who has had to struggle his way to achieve what he has in his life. PM Modi rose through the ranks in BJP on his sheer hard work and experience, traits that immensely helped in becoming the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate in 2013. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi, who had a history of numerous poll defeats, continues to be one of the most important Congress leaders, by the virtue of his surname.

Driving home the difference between himself and Rahul Gandhi, PM Modi had said on multiple occasions that he was just like common people and was not born with a golden spoon and did not enjoy special privileges as dynasts in the country did. Rahul Gandhi and other dynasts in the country

The assertions made by PM Modi during the hustings seems to have struck a chord with people as BJP scored a thumping victory in the General elections, bagging 303 seats on its own—creating history and winning an unprecedented number of seats by a single party in decades. While Congress did marginally well than it fared in the 2014 elections, the writing on the wall was all too conspicuous to be ignored: “Kaamdar has emphatically trounced the naamdars in the elections”.

Shortly after the poll debacle, Rahul Gandhi resigned from the post of Congress president, raising hopes among the Congress supporters that the party might finally salvage itself from nepotism’s menace. However, since then Sonia Gandhi, the mother of Rahul Gandhi and former party president, is the interim party president and there are no signs of the Congress party being relieved from the control of the Gandhi family. Even as the party continues to languish election after election, the firm grip of naamdars only seems to be tightening.

Even Congress leaders have demonstrated no strong will to rescue the party from the quicksand it found itself bogged under in the 2019 elections. After breaking creative ground in the field of sycophancy and their servitude to the Gandhi family, an overwhelming number of Congress leaders still want Rahul Gandhi to lead the party, even though the party has been at its nadir in its more than 135 years of existence in India’s political landscape.

‘Bhindranwale would have held Modi by his neck’: Posters, banners and songs praising the Khalistani terrorist cloud farmer protest sites

OpIndia Staff
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‘Bhindranwale would have held Modi by his neck’: Posters, banners and songs praising the Khalistani terrorist cloud farmer protest sites

It has been around eight months since alleged farmer protesters reached the Delhi border and started causing trouble to everyone in the name of protests against the three agriculture laws passed in September 2020. Things would have been sorted by now if it had been indeed about the farm laws and farmers. However, the medlding of secessionist elements and banned Khalistani organisations have made things murkier.

Recently, OpIndia listed down causes against which these so-called farmers protested, which included demands to set hardcore criminals and Naxals free.

Screenshot from the song “Aj hunda Bhindranwala Je”. Source: Youtube

One thing that has been evident from the initial days of the protest is that separatist powers, including Khalistanis, have infiltrated the movement. On July 18, journalist Swati Goel shared a photograph of Pind Akhara, set up at Singhu Border. These ‘akharas’ have been set up so that farmers can exercise while staying to protest against the union government. Sounds interesting. Right?

The things are grimmer than one may expect. The banner of the Akhara has a quote in Punjabi that reads, “Aaj hunda Bhindranwala je, Modi nu gal ton phad lainda” that means “If Bhindranwale had been here, he would have held Modi by the neck”. One may think, from where these sentiments are coming from? How the youth and farmers of Punjab are still hung on a terrorist who almost destroyed Punjab during the insurgency in the state?

The sentiments for Bhindranwale never died completely in Punjab, and from the last few years, the same sentiments have been stirred constantly by political elements and foreign organisations. These farmers protests are full of posters, banners, speeches and songs praising Bhindranwale and others who were neutralized by the Indian Army and Punjab Police at that time. The quote on the banner, as shared by Swati, is inspired by a song with the same lyrics.

The song was launched around September 2020 when the protests were rising across Punjab. Released by Jagowala Jatha, UK, this song has praises for Bhindranwale. It says, “The majestic leader who had the courage to fight the system alone if he had been alive today, he would have held PM Modi by his neck.”

The song further says that Bhindranwale was fearless and he did not pay heed to the Indian government. If he had been there, he would have done the same to the Modi government. It says, “He would not have chosen the path of protests. If he had raised his arms and called for his followers, the government would have hidden in the closet.” It further claimed that though farmers spend all their lives in the fields, they do not get the right price for the produce. Evidently, the Khalistan movement is also believed to have begun because of farmer protests and demand for the right price for the produce. It seems, using the shoulders of farmers to shoot the bullet is the easiest way for the anti-India forces to push their agenda.

Ironically, the three farmer laws empower the farmers to sell their produce anywhere and to anyone, liberating them from the clutches of Mandis and also gives them the power with regard to pricing, and negotiations.

The reach of songs praising Bhindranwale

Alarmingly, these songs are not limited to Youtube or forwards on WhatsApp. They are available “legally” on multiple music streaming platforms such as Spotify, Amazon Music, Gaana, Hungama and Wynk.

The wide reach of the songs praising Bhindranwale. Source: Google search

Apart from these services, it is widely shared on WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media networks. Sadly, this is not the only song praising Bhindranwale. Several high profile Punjabi singers including Jazzy B, Sikh granthis, pathis and kathavachaks including Barjinder Singh Parwana have released songs and audio stories on Bhindranwale. Notably, Parwana recently came in limelight for supporting those who lynched an Army man in Gurdaspur Gurudwara. The trend has picked up pace recently, and clearly, it is helping to fan secessionist sentiments in Punjab.

Why Pegasus snoopgate is concerning: Forbidden Stories, links to US establishment and regime change propaganda in middle east

K Bhattacharjee
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Why Pegasus snoopgate is concerning: Forbidden Stories, links to US establishment and regime change propaganda in middle east

The Wire published what it called an ‘explosive story‘ on Sunday involving allegations of spying with spyware Pegasus but unfortunately for them, it turned out to be a rather damp squib. The most startling part is that by their own admission, there is no evidence that the Indian Government was involved in any of it. It could very well be that adversarial governments wanted to coerce Indian journalists into peddling their agenda given that the Pegasus spyware was in the possession of foreign governments as well.

Interestingly, however, The Wire and its partners were fed the information by two very dubious organisations. One was Amnesty International and the other was Forbidden Stories. Since the antics of Amnesty are already well documented and so is its animosity towards the Indian Government, we shall first look into Forbidden Stories (FS). And it is important that we remember here that the entire series of reports by The Wire and others is based on information provided by these two organisations.

Forbidden Stories

According to its website, “Forbidden Stories ensures that journalists under threat can secure their information.” “We provide them with the ability to drop their sensitive information into one of our secure communication channels. If something happens to them, we will ensure the survival of their stories, beyond borders, beyond governments, beyond censorship,” it adds.

FS was launched by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Freedom Voices Network. In the past, the RSF has funded media organisations that produce regime change propaganda against Syria and its president Bashar al-Assad. RSF itself receives funding from the US Government. Thus, the inclinations of at least one of the founders of FS becomes abundantly clear.

A casual glance at the funders of FS is even more revealing. While it takes cares to mention that donors do not influence their coverage, it is only in an extremely idealistic world that this rings true. Since we do not live in one, there’s no reason for us to take their words at face value.

One of the donors of FS is Limelight Foundation (LF). The LF funds numerous organisations. One of the prominent among them is Bellingcat, a media initiative that produces propaganda that seeks to legitimize the West’s illegal war against Syria.

Bellingcat has extensive ties to NATO, as reported by The Grayzone, and has cooperated with United Kingdom’s efforts to “weaken Russia”. In addition, it also receives grants from the National Endowment for Democracy, which in turn is a US Government funded project.

Another donor of FS is Luminate, founded by The Omidyar Group in 2018. Luminate’s Strategic Plan for 2018-2022 mentions that “‘Illiberal democracies’ are emerging,” “Civic space is shrinking, and civil society is under attack,” “Rising populism is creating ruptures in historical party politics,” “Insular, nationalist perspectives are resonating with more people,” and “Communities are becoming more polarized among other things.

While the strategic plan and its animosity towards nationalism makes its ideological orientations abundantly clear, it is important to note that the Omidyar Group funds a host of media organisations worldwide, mostly leftist globalist portals such as Scroll.in.

As per The Grayzone, Luminate donated to the Sundance Institute for producing films “used strategically to articulate pressing public issues and movement-building campaigns.” The Grayzone report states, “Among the films cited by Omidyar’s Luminate as a strategic success was The Last Men in Aleppo, an Oscar-nominated propaganda vehicle for the Syrian White Helmets that was produced by the Sundance Institute.”

According to the report, “The White Helmets are a Syrian insurgent-aligned “civil rescue” group founded in Turkey by a British former military intelligence officer. Operating exclusively in rebel-held territory, including in the al Qaeda-controlled Idlib province, the White Helmets have been funded by USAID, the U.K. Foreign Office and the Qatari monarchy.”

Thus, Luminate which funds FS is known to fund propaganda movies to justify the West’s regime change war against Syria. Furthermore, as per The Grayzone, Luminate was run by Ben Scott, an Obama Administration official who has also worked in Hillary Clinton’s State Department.

Other donors to FS include George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF), whose attitude towards the Indian Government is well documented, and Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, which is cloaked in a shroud of secrecy.

FS also proudly displayed the endorsement by Mediapart’s Head of Investigations Fabrice Afri on its website until recently. Mediapart is the same leftist French organisation that has been peddling propaganda over the Rafale deal. FS has now removed the page “The support us” altogether from its website.

Amnesty International

Amnesty is known to have links to the British Government and was accused of having links to the Taliban. In 2020, Amnesty was forced to shut shop in India after its accounts were frozen by the Indian Government.

Amnesty was in violation of Indian laws after never registering under the FCRA, which is a requirement for all foreign-funded NGOs. The NGO regularly peddled the Jihadist line on Kashmir and its former India head Aakar Patel is known to make inflammatory comments regarding Indian domestic issues.

Thus, quite clearly, the information that The Wire chose to rely on for its ‘explosive’ report did not come from neutral sources. They came from sources that are intricately linked to western governments who regularly serve as their propaganda wing.

The donors of these sources are known to have been involved in peddling propaganda for regime change operations in the Middle East, which served the interests of western governments, especially the USA. Now, we have more information coming from these same biased sources that are being used to undermine governments abroad.

NSO, the Tel-Aviv based firm that owns the spyware Pegasus, threatened to file a defamation suit against The Wire for its report. “The report by Forbidden Stories is full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories that raise serious doubts about the reliability and interests of the sources. It seems like the ‘unidentified sources’ have supplied information that has no factual basis and is far from reality,” the company said.

At the same time, Siddharth Varadarajan, the founding-editor of The Wire, is a core member of the group South Asia Media Defenders Network (SAMDEN), which is a project of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI). CHRI receives funds from the US State Department and its members regularly interfere with Indian internal matters, such as the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Thus, every entity involved in the production of the Pegasus report which targets the Indian Government without any evidence has links to western governments. Their donors serve as propaganda wings for western interests. Therefore, the credibility of the reports is severely undermined by such associations.

Agra: Private hospital forced to return extra money charged for treatment after CM Yogi Adityanath’s intervention

OpIndia Staff
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Agra: Private hospital forced to return extra money charged for treatment after CM Yogi Adityanath’s intervention

A private hospital in Agra was compelled to return the exorbitant amount of money charged for the treatment of a patient after CM Yogi Adityanath’s personal intervention. The son of the patient had lodged a complaint against Yashwant Hospital and Trauma Center in New Agra in the Janata Darshan programme of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Yogi Adityanath, in turn, took immediate cognisance of the complaint, after which the district magistrate of Agra carried out an investigation in which the hospital was found guilty. The extra amount was recovered from the hospital and returned to Ashish Pathak, a resident of Maurai village under Khandauli police station of Agra, on the same day.

It so happened that Ashish Pathak, whose mother was treated in the aforementioned private hospital from April 23 to May 11, met Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath at the Janata Darshan on Friday. He apprised the CM of how the hospital had overcharged him for his mother’s treatment.

Ashish informed the CM that he had admitted his mother, Gudiya Devi, to Yashwant Hospital and Trauma Center in New Agra on April 23. She was discharged on May 11. In these 17 days, Ashish said that the hospital in question charged him exorbitantly in the name of treatment.

He complained that his mother was not put on a ventilator yet the hospital charged him for level three ventilator for six days amounting to Rs 1.50 lakh. Besides, he said, that the hospital charged a total of Rs 90,000 for 18 days for a bed in the general ward.

Additionally, the visiting charge of the doctor was Rs 2,000 per day and for eight days he was charged a total of Rs 16,000 as the doctor visiting fee. This was over and above Rs 34,000 charged as doctor’s fee.

Medicines were also provided for his mother at prices one-and-a-half times more than the market price, which amounted to Rs 1.49 lakh, informed Ashish Pathak.

Following the complaint, CM Yogi Adityanath immediately ordered a probe and the extra money charged by the hospital was returned to the family. Ashish thanked CM Yogi Adityanath for the help extended towards his family.

When death is not a leveler: Why did we forget the murder of cameraperson Achyutananda Sahu by liberal terrorists in Chhattisgarh?

Abhishek Banerjee
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When death is not a leveler: Why did we forget the murder of cameraperson Achyutananda Sahu by liberal terrorists in Chhattisgarh?

“The Editors Guild of India is saddened to learn of the death of a cameraperson and two policemen after they were attacked by Maoist insurgents in the Dantewada district of poll bound Chhattisgarh.“

This is text from an Oct 2018 letter from the Editors Guild after Doordarshan cameraperson Achyutananda Sahu was murdered by left wing terrorists while on duty in Chhattisgarh. Here is the full letter, all of one paragraph. Below it are the names of eminent mediapersons such as Shekhar Gupta and Sheela Bhatt, who were then office bearers of the Editors Guild.

Editors Guild of India

While the Editors Guild was saddened, there does not appear to be a whole lot of emotion in this letter. For one, the DD cameraperson had a name and the Editors Guild must have guessed that. Were they too lazy to look it up, because his name does not appear anywhere in this letter. Also, I don’t see the word “condemn” anywhere in this letter. When it came to the murder of the DD cameraperson, even kadi ninda was too much to spare. By the way, good on the Editors Guild for remembering to use non-judgmental language. Maoist insurgents, not terrorists.

I remembered this 2018 incident the other day, when I was saddened to learn of the death of a Reuters photojournalist after an attack by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. I looked up the name of the Doordarshan cameraperson. It was Achyutananda Sahu. As for the two policemen who died alongside him (whose lives were equally precious!), I could not even find their names reported anywhere. Here is a picture of Sahu.

You’ve probably never seen his face because his picture did not go viral on social media nor mainstream media. I would love to tell you more about him, but the problem is I simply don’t know anything. Because there were no tearful tributes about his life and work from the big “national” channels or the mainstream news websites. Nobody wanted to talk about his hopes and dreams and the lives of those he touched. Nobody even cared to send hazaar lanaatein (thousand curses) to the bullet that killed him.

If you must know, there are a few local channels in Odisha that cared to speak to his grieving family. But that’s all. No “national” channel thought of taking the trouble. You see, some deaths are local, while some others are global.

The question is why. What does it say about our society when death is no longer the ultimate leveler? What does it say when liberal privilege transcends even death?

I have no idea about the political ideology of Achyutananda Sahu. But it seems he did not have a blue tick social media handle. He did not go to college with any celebrity dissenters of today. Or if he did, he did not distinguish himself in their company by showing pathological hatred against a certain mainstream political ideology. None of this makes his life less precious.

Achyutananda Sahu died in Chhattisgarh, on Indian soil. Those who took his life were terrorists who seek violent overthrow of the Government of India. Why did they not give his murder the attention it deserved? Is it because he was not a member of the liberal elite? Worse, is it because his life was taken by “liberal” terrorists in Chhattisgarh? The media has worked extremely hard to convince us that all leftists are “80 year old poets.” Did the media overlook Sahu’s death because they did not want to talk about the brutal reality of Indian leftism?

I know they will accuse me of ‘whataboutery‘ here. First of all, that is not an accusation, they only make it sound like one. Comparing and contrasting things is a standard way to learn about the world. In fact, in many situations, it is the only logical way to learn about the world.

But more importantly, I am not even comparing the two incidents. I am just trying to get some attention for the unfortunate victims of left wing terrorism in the heartland. Violent leftists murder hundreds of people each year, but the liberal elite overlooks all of that. I lack the cultural power of the liberal elite, so I cannot get the word out about these victims.

With the murder of the Reuters photojournalist in Afghanistan, I find people grieving and hurt. This might be a time when they will be open to hearing about what is happening under the jackboots of leftists in the heartland. These leftists threaten our sovereignty the same way the Taliban threatens the Afghan people. Like the Taliban, the leftists want to turn the clock backwards. And like the Taliban, they kill whoever stands in their way. These leftists run kangaroo courts and hand out corporal punishment. They carry out mass executions to scare locals into submission.

And just as with the Taliban, the liberal elite are saying that these left wing terrorists are less dangerous than “Sanghis.” Surely you can’t fall for this.

SC avoids passing order to stop Kerala’s lockdown relaxation for Bakra Eid, had taken suo motu case against Kanwar Yatra in UP

OpIndia Staff
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SC avoids passing order to stop Kerala’s lockdown relaxation for Bakra Eid, had taken suo motu case against Kanwar Yatra in UP

The Supreme Court Monday deferred the hearing in the plea filed before it against the decision of the Kerala government to relax COVID lockdown restrictions in the State for three days in view of Bakra Eid. It has asked the Kerala Government to file its response by the end of the day to the plea and directed the registry to list the matter for hearing on July 20 (Tuesday).

The court was hearing the plea filed by one PKD Nambiar, a Delhi resident. Nambiar had filed the petition as an intervention application in the suo motu case already initiated by the Supreme Court regarding the holding of Kanwar Yatra by Uttar Pradesh.

Surprisingly, the apex court’s decision to go soft on the Kerala Government’s decision to relax Covid curbs during Bakra Eid is in stark contrast to its stand on the celebration of Kanwar Yatra in Uttar Pradesh.

Image via TOI

Senior advocate Vikas Singh submitted before the court that Kerala has an official positivity rate of 10.96% and yet the relaxation has been granted. Furthermore, Kerala has 13,000 cases where as UP has much less. He appealed the SC to pass orders quashing the relaxation granted by the Kerala government ahead of Bakra Eid.

Kerala government contested that only a few shops will be allowed to open for the Bakra Eid festival shopping and otherwise all Covid restrictions will be followed.

Supreme Court takes suo motu case against Kanwar Yatra in UP, issues warning to Yogi Govt

The apex court had last week taken suo moto cognisance of the news that the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to allow ‘Kanwar Yatra’ amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. It had strictly warned the Yogi Adityanath government against holding the Hindu festival amidst the pandemic.

In fact, the same bench headed by Justice RF Nariman, that failed to pass any order on Monday to stop Kerala’s lockdown relaxations for Bakri Eid, had on July 16 (Friday), said categorically that the State of Uttar Pradesh cannot go ahead with its decision to allow the Kanwar Yatra in the State amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Either we will pass orders directly, or will give you one more opportunity to reconsider your decision”, Justice Nariman told Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan, who had appeared for the State of Uttar Pradesh.

Following SC’s warning, the Uttar Pradesh government decided to cancel the Kanwar Yatra this year.

After taking the Uttar Pradesh government’s statement that it has decided to cancel the Kanwar Yatra this year on record, the Supreme Court decided to close the case it took as suo moto against UP’s decision to hold Kanwar Yatra amid COVID-19.

Meanwhile, PKD Nambiar, who moved SC against the Kerala Government’s decision to allow relaxations during the Bakri Eid festival, submitted before the court that Kerala has been consistently showing an alarming rise in the numbers of COVID cases, though other states have improved their situation.

Adding that the decision to allow the relaxations by the Pinarayi govt was based on political and communal intentions, PKD Nambiar in his plea pointed out how the top court had taken a strict view against holding Kanwar Yatra citing the right to health of citizens.

The petitioner argued that the Kerala government’s move violates the Supreme Court’s July 16 order in the matter, which had specifically emphasised that the health of the citizenry of India and their right to life is paramount and that all other sentiments are subservient.

Nambiar, therefore, sought a similar intervention as regards the decision of the Kerala government to relax lockdown restrictions for three days.

Despite rising covid cases, Kerala Govt relaxes restriction in the run-up to Bakra Eid

It is pertinent to note here that Kerala on July 17 (Saturday) logged 16,148 new Covid-19 cases, the highest in a month. Despite the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, the Communist government in the state led by Pinarayi Vijayan has eased the lockdown regulations on July 18, 19, and 20 in the run-up to Bakri Eid on July 21.

IMA asks Kerala to withdraw order allowing Bakri Eid gatherings

In fact, this decision by the Pinarayi govt in Kerala was also criticised by the Indian Medical Association, which on Sunday warned the Kerala government against easing restrictions ahead of Bakri Eid even as the Chinese coronavirus pandemic rages unhinged in the state.

IMA raised concerns that Kerala and Maharashtra are contributing to over 60% of total new Chinese coronavirus cases in India and that Kerala has been topping the list of states with the highest new cases since days now and the trend is only upward with a test positivity rate of over 10%.

Citing how other states had restricted the Kanwar Yatra owing to the pandemic, IMA warned the Kerala Government to either withdraw its decision or they would be compelled to move the Supreme Court.

How limestone became marble and Congress ruled Rajasthan govt lost Rs 1,000 crore: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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How limestone became marble and Congress ruled Rajasthan govt lost Rs 1,000 crore: Read details

As the country limps back to normalcy after the devastating second wave of Chinese coronavirus pandemic, reports of a mining scam being unearthed have emerged in Rajasthan. According to a report by Dainik Bhaskar, the Mines Department in Congress ruled Rajasthan government has allegedly converted limestone mines to marble grade and cost the exchequer a loss of Rs 1,000 crore.

The Mines Department reportedly tweaked the category of ‘limestone (cement)’ to marble and allowed RDSA Mining company to continue operations in Danta (74.249 hectares of land) and Kela- Mela (10.4162 hectares of land) blocks in Pratapgarh in Rajasthan. It must be mentioned that that limestone falls under the category of ‘major mineral’ and is auctioned as per the rules of the Central government. On the other hand, marble comes under the category of ‘minor mineral’ and is auctioned under the rules of the State government.

A survey conducted by the Mines Department between 1983-1985 found that the two blocks in Pratapgarh have limestone. Similarly, in July 2019, another committee stated that the mineral category in Danta and Kela-Mela must be labelled as limestone. However just 9 months later, a committee recommended that the mineral category was marble and not limestone. Thus, the categorisation of the mine blocks was changed.

Screengrab of the Dainik Bhaskar e-paper

The deliberate change in categorisation of limestone, under the supervision of Additional Chief Secretary Subodh Agarwal and Director KB Pandya, allegedly resulted in an estimated ₹1000 crore loss to the government. It is estimated that Danta and Kela-Mela mine blocks contain 11.4 crore tonnes of limestone. Given that it has been characterised as a major mineral, the auction price begins from ₹419 crores and can reach up to ₹1000-₹1500 crores.

However, the deposit amount for the auction of marble is around ₹4-5 crore. The figure of ₹1000-₹1500 crores is drawn from the fact that limestone mines of approximately 250 hectares in Nagaur were earlier auctioned for ₹5000-6000 crores. Since Danta and Kela-Mela mine blocks are of 85 hectares, the auction amount would have been around the 1000-1500 crore mark. Citing sources, Dainik Bhaskar reported that the change in categorisation was done to benefit RDSA Mining company, which has been tasked to extract marbles from the mine.

The report states that in order to further benefit the company, no condition was imposed for the use of extracted mineral (limestone) in the cement industry. The Department of Mines and Geology has claimed that the change in categorisation would increase recovery and royalty by 70%. This is despite the fact that the usual recovery rate in Rajasthan is about 20-25%. While speaking to Dainik Bhaskar, Additional Chief Secretary Subodh Agarwal claimed, “In Pratapgarh, the allotment was done in a transparent manner. There was no scope for any mistake. The government will get higher royalty from marble.”

Rules state that if the mineral that has been recovered is different from the mineral that was auctioned, the mineral extracted will be categorised in the group it belongs to. Officers, however, refute the allegations of scam and claim that the entire process was done transparently.

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