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Government of India issues final notice to Twitter for compliance with the new Information Technology Rules

OpIndia Staff
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Government of India issues final notice to Twitter for compliance with the new Information Technology Rules

The Indian Government on Saturday issued a final notice to social media behemoth Twitter for compliance with the new Information Technology (Intermediary guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

In a strongly worded letter, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology warned the social media giant that such non-compliance with India’s new IT rules will lead to unintended consequences, including Twitter losing exemption from liability as intermediary available under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2020. It said despite sending two notices, Twitter has not complied with the new digital rules.

The letter stated that Twitter has so far not provided details of the Chief Compliance Officer as required under the Rules. It also highlighted that the Resident Grievance Officer and Nodal Contact Person nominated is not an employee of Twitter Inc. in India as prescribed in the Rules. The Ministry also took objection to the office address provided by Twitter, stating that the address is that of a law firm, which is also not as per the Rules.

“The refusal to comply demonstrates Twitter’s Lack of commitment and efforts towards providing a safe experience for the people of India on its platform. The world’s largest democracy has been among the first countries in the world, outside the parent country of Twiner Ito enthusiastically adopt the Twitter platform,” the letter read.

It further said, “Despite being operational in India for more than a decade, it is beyond belief that Twitter Inc. has doggedly refused to create mechanisms that will enable the people of India to resolve their issues on the platform in a timely and transparent manner and through fair processes, by India based, clearly identified resources. Leave alone proactively creating such a mechanism, Twiner Inc. is in the inglorious bracket of refusing to do so even when mandated by law.”

The Ministry stated that though the rules have been in effect from 26 May 2021, as a gesture of goodwill, Twitter is given one last notice to immediately comply with the rules, failing which the exemption from liability available under section 79 of the IT Act, 2000 shall stand withdrawn and Twiner shall be liable for consequences as per the IT Act and other penal laws of India.

Twitter had demanded 3 months additional time for compliance with new rules

Twitter had been resolutely opposing the new digital rules notified by the government of India. Even though other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp have complied with the new laws, Twitter had last month asked the government for an additional three months for the same.

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, which came into effect from May 25, mandates the social media intermediaries with more than 5 million users and providing messaging services to identify the first originator of problematic content that may harm the country’s interests. The companies should also appoint an Indian grievance officer to deal with the complaints.

It is notable here that the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 were issued in February this year, and social media companies have already been given 3 months time to comply with the new regulations.

Prashant Bhushan tries to spread anti-vaccine propaganda again, but the report he uses shows how vaccines gave over 99% protection

OpIndia Staff
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Prashant Bhushan tries to spread anti-vaccine propaganda again, but the report he uses shows how vaccines gave over 99% protection

Controversial propagandist Prashant Bhushan continues his subtle agenda against Covid-19 vaccines. For several months now, the activist-lawyer had been trying to establish that ‘vaccines don’t work’ or that they are ‘untested’. In such an attempt, today he shared a news report hinting that people are dying of Covid-19 even after taking vaccines.

The report that he shared on Twitter is on Uttarakhand cops testing positive for Coronavirus, which was published on 3rd June on The Indian Express. The report stated that more than 2000 policemen in the state had tested positive, and 90% of them were vaccinated. Among them, 5 had died, the report said. With sharing this information, Prashant Bhushan ended his tweet with the expression ‘Hmmm’.

Although the left-wing activist didn’t make any comment, the fact that he shared a general news report, with mentioning that the cops were vaccinated and 5 of them had died, makes it clear that he posted this only to further his anti-vaccine propaganda. This can be concluded because he left out a key detail from the report.

The report states that out of the 5 deaths, only 2 of them had taken Covid-19 vaccines. And significantly, both of them had comorbidities. Three of them were not vaccinated, which was deliberately not mentioned by Bhushan. He knows that a large number of people don’t click on links shared on social media. Most people just read the post on Twitter, Facebook or WhatsApp, and scroll away, not bothering to read the shared report.

Therefore, among more than 22.5 lakh followers of Prashant Bhushan, a large number of them will read that five cops in Uttarakhand died from Covid-19, and as 90% of the cops are vaccinated, they will assume that all 5 were vaccinated. Alone this is not a big issue, but this is how subtle propaganda works, by spreading such misleading information bit by bit.

The report states that 2,382 policemen tested positive while they were on duty between April and May. Among them, 2,204 have recovered and 5 have died. It also says 93% of them were fully vaccinated by two doses of vaccines, which means around 2215 cops were fully vaccinated. Among the vaccinated, 2 died, which means the fatality rate among the vaccinated is less than 0.1%. And it needs to be remembered that both of them had other ailments.

All the vaccines that have been approved for Covid-19 till now offer protection in the range of 50%-80%. Therefore, more than 99.9% protection rate is a very encouraging result.

It is also notable from this data is that 3 people died from 167 non-vaccinated cops. Therefore, the fatality rate among non-vaccinated cops were 1.8%. That is more than the all-India fatality rate of 1.1%, and almost similar to the rate for Uttarakhand, which is 1.99%. This also means that fatality rate for non-vaccinated people is 20 times of the fatality rate for vaccinated people.

Although the cops in Uttarakhand are not representative of the general population, the numbers show how the vaccines can make a huge difference in fatality rate of Covid-19. The fatality rate for non-vaccinated cops were 1.8%, while the same rate for vaccinated cops were 0.09%, which is a huge difference.

Despite this, Prashant Bhushan tried to imply that people are dying despite taking vaccines, completely ignoring the fatality rate difference between vaccinated and non-vaccinated people.

While Prashant Bhushan directly does not say that vaccines don’t work, he regularly shares articles that claim the same. Just a day ago, he had shared a report saying that 57 scientists had questioned the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines. This is despite the fact all the vaccines currently in use have undergone phase I, II and III trials, where their safety and efficacy are already tested.

Cartoonist Manjul cries ‘fascism’ based on standard Twitter correspondence: Here is the truth

OpIndia Staff
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Cartoonist Manjul cries ‘fascism’ based on standard Twitter correspondence: Here is the truth

On Friday (June 4), Anti-BJP cartoonist Manjul took to Twitter to insinuate that the Modi government has been trying to silence his freedom of expression. He had shared a screenshot of an email received from ‘Twitter Legal’, wherein it pointed out that the microblogging platform had received a request from Indian law enforcement authorities regarding his account. “Jai Ho Modi ji ki sarkar ki (All hail the Narendra Modi-led-government),” he alleged.

Screengrab of the tweet by Manjul

In another tweet, he claimed, “Thanks to the Modi government that it did not ask Twitter to shut down the handle for being anti-religion and atheist and not considering Modi ji as my God.” Manjul further insinuated that the warning from Twitter was received on the behest of the Indian government. He wrote, “It would have been better if the government informed about the tweet that had offended it. I could have re-posted the same tweet. This would have helped the people.”

Screengrab of the tweets by Manjul

Manjul was earlier a cartoonist with the Zee Media owned DNA. After taking up freelance work, he turned virulently anti-BJP and has been drawing cartoons since then to peddle anti-BJP agenda. The cartoonist turned propagandist soon recieved support from the left-liberal lobby, who further gave credence to the allegations of government’s attempt to silence him. While reacting to the development, alleged journalist Swati Chaturvedi claimed that the Modi government is now ‘terrified’ of a cartoonist.

Screengrab of the tweet by Swati Chaturvedi

What is the Truth?

As it turns out, Twitter correspondence is nothing out of ordinary. Popular Twitter user Ankur Singh shared an email sent by Twitter Legal containing the same message. “Twitter has received a request from Indian Law Enforcement regarding your Twitter account,” read the message. Earlier, cartoonist Vikaso too had a fair share of such emails.

Screengrab of the email received by Ankur Singh

Opindia regularly receives such ‘legal warnings’ from Twitter

Even Opindia has received 100s of emails from law enforcement authorities, warning of requests made by the Indian law enforcement authorities.

Screengrab of the emails received by Opindia from Twitter

Here is a screenshot of one such email received from ‘Twitter Legal’ by Opindia on January 24, 2021. This body of the email contains the same exact words as received by Manjul. Opindia regularly receives such notices and legal warnings from Twitter on account of our extensive coverage of the brutal killing of Hindus and BJP workers. It becomes obvious that a vicious lobby does not want our news reports to be published so that the deaths of countless Hindus and BJP workers remain unheard.

Screengrab of the email received by Opindia from Twitter

Irrational and motivated strategy to defame Modi government

While Manjul brazenly tried to portray the hand of the Modi government behind the Twitter correspondence, nothing can be further from the truth. If we apply the rationale of the anti-BJP cartoonist, then, it will imply that the Indian government is out there to destroy Opindia and popular Twitter users such as Vikaso and Ankur Singh.

While it is not unusual for the left-liberal lobby to pin the blame on the Modi government over trivial issues, the hullaballoo created on Twitter by Manjul appears to be a part of a new devious strategy to peddle propaganda against the incumbent government.

Manjul was earlier found sharing fake news to target the Modi government. He had shared an image from 2017 of a man carrying a dead body on a rickshaw to criticise the government’s efforts in tackling the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic.

‘Don’t use IMA to propagate any religion’: Read what the Delhi court said slamming IMA President John Rose Jayalal

OpIndia Staff
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‘Don’t use IMA to propagate any religion’: Read what the Delhi court said slamming IMA President John Rose Jayalal

On Thursday, a Delhi court ordered Indian Medical Association (IMA) President John Rose Austin Jayalal to not use the organisation’s platform to propagate any religion.

According to reports, the Delhi Court cautioned the controversial IMA President Jayalal, who is accused of exploiting the Covid-19 pandemic to convert patients into Christianity, against making any loose comments against the community.

Quoting a poem written by radical Islamist Mohammad Iqbal, the Delhi Court said, “Mazhab nahi sikhata apas mein bair rakhna, Hindi hai hum watan hai Hindustan humara; saare jahan se acha Hindustan humara”.

“The word Hindi in this couplet, written by a Muslim poet, does not refer to Hindus but is referred to all Hindustanis, irrespective of caste, colour and religion, which is the beauty of secularism,” the court noted.

Pulling up the IMA chief for his comments, the district judge said, “Any kind of unguarded or loose comment cannot be expected from someone chairing the responsible post. IMA is a prestigious institution…such a platform cannot be used to propagate an individual’s views on any religion”.

Do not indulge in activity contrary to principles of Constitution of India: Court to IMA Chief

The judge also asked the IMA chief not to indulge in any activity contrary to the principles enshrined in the Constitution of India and maintain the dignity of the position chaired by him.

“He shall not use the platform of IMA for propagating any religion and rather shall concentrate for the welfare of the medical fraternity and progress in the medical field,” the Additional District Judge said.

The court was hearing a plea filed by a petitioner named Rohit Jha against John Rose Austin Jayalal, the controversial president of the equally controversial organisation Indian Medical Association (IMA), for abusing his power and resorting to proselytization during the pandemic.

Petitioner alleged Jayalal using IMA platform to convert patients into Christianity

In his plea, Rohit Jha had stated that Jayalal is taking the umbrage of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), misusing his position and misleading the nation and its citizens in order to convert Hindu to the Christian religion. Citing controversial articles and interviews of the IMA president, Jha sought direction from the court to restrain him from writing, speaking in media, or publishing any content which is defamatory to Hindu religion or Ayurveda.

Rohit Jha added, “Even in the criticism of Ayurveda, the defendant does not lag behind. He alleged that the Modi government believes in Ayurveda because of its cultural values and traditional belief in Hindutva. He claimed that for the last three-four years, efforts are being made to replace Ayurveda with modern medicine.”

Dr Jayalal submitted he was not against ayurveda but against “mixopathy”.

The court noted that the suit was an offshoot of the latest “Allopathy vs Ayurveda” controversy and said that no injunction is required based on the assurance given by the Jayalal that he will not indulge in such kind of activity.

Complaint filed with MHA

Earlier, the legal activist group Legal Rights Protection Forum had filed a complaint with the Ministry of Home Affairs against John Rose Austin Jayalal, seeking action against him for abusing his power and resorting to proselytisation during the pandemic.

In its complaint, the LRPF sought revocation of Medical Practitioner’s License of IMA President John Jayalal, alleging that the controversial doctor has openly declared his intention of splitting human beings into Christians and non-Christians and converting the latter to Christianity using every available opportunity.

The legal-activist group asked the government to stop all funds to IMA until John Jayalal is removed from his position as President. Dr Johnrose Austin Jayalal was appointed as the national president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for the year 2020-2021 at its 95th annual national conference held in December 2020.

In its complaint, the LRPF has pointed out two interviews given by Jayalal where he had expressed strong views about proselytising Hindus. The complaint mentions Jayalal’s interview with Haggai International, where he says that the “Hindu Nationalist government” wants to destroy modern medicine. 

He had also that he is converting Covid-19 patients to Christianity. He had said, “the urgent need of the proclamation of the Gospel to people who are suffering from the virus has allowed us to share the Gospel even in secular institutions.”

In another interview to Christianity Today, Jayalal had said that it was the Church that took care of the poor people, implying that the government did not do anything. He had said that despite the hardships, difficulties, and restrictions that came in the wake of the pandemic, Christianity was growing.

Govt grants approval to NGOs to open SBI account for receiving foreign contributions, to get letter of commitment from donor about purpose of donation

OpIndia Staff
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Govt grants approval to NGOs to open SBI account for receiving foreign contributions, to get letter of commitment from donor about purpose of donation

On Thursday (June 3), the Union Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Delhi High Court that all NGOs, with the exception of one, have been permitted to open bank accounts with the State Bank of India in the National Capital, reported The Economic Times. It must be mentioned that all NGOs, receiving foreign donations, are required by law to have their primary bank account registered with the State Bank of India under the amended Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2020.

It is pertinent to note that the NGOs are supposed to spend Rs 15 lakhs to be eligible to get any FCRA contributions. According to the law, the donor is also supposed to give a commitment letter detailing how much money is being donated, the specific purpose of the money being donated. This letter is then submitted by the NGO to the government.

The Union government emphasised that the time period for verification and application for bank accounts must be cleared within 1 week from the date of removal of all objections (if any). Accordingly, the Delhi High Court ruled, “It is the stand of the respondent no. I (GoI) that all applications under FC-6 would be cleared within one week from the date all objections, in respect, thereof, are removed by the applicant (NG0s).” Reportedly, there are over 22,000 NGOs with FCRA licences that are required to obtain prior approval from MoH for opening/transferring bank accounts to SBI’s main branch in New Delhi.

Following a nod by the Union government including MoH and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the NGOs need to open the bank account in SBI, where they will receive foreign contributions. While speaking about the matter, a Home Ministry official informed, “An extension has been granted till June 30 for the NGOs to open the bank accounts. In the past two weeks, applications have been fast-tracked and approvals are given. While fresh applications are expected to come up for renewal, incomplete applications may take more time.

Provisions of FCRA Amendment Act 2020 

There has been significant fine-tuning in recent years in regulations related to foreign contributions to private non-profit entities, the most recent of which has been the FCRA Amendment Act of 2020. Under these provisions, the court officers, academics in Government institutions/Universities, people on boards of statutory bodies set up by the Government of India or State Governments will have to relinquish their positions in FCRA NGOs.

Moreover, the funds cannot be transferred to other organizations but must be spent directly by the organization involved. The NGOs will also have to restrict administrative expenses to 20% of the inflow. At the same time, primary inflow is to be through an SBI branch in New Delhi. All remittance transactions can be intimated to MHA through the PFMS on a real-time basis. Similarly, all withdrawals can be intimated to MHA on a real-time basis

Mehul Choksi extradition case: Indian team returns after the court in Dominica adjourns hearing

OpIndia Staff
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Mehul Choksi extradition case: Indian team returns after the court in Dominica adjourns hearing

On May 4 (Friday), a multi-agency team that had been in Dominica to bring back fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi returned to India. The team, led by CBI DIG Sharda Raut, boarded a Qatar Airways private plane from Dominica’s Melville Hall Airport after a Dominica judge deferred hearings relating to Choksi’s extradition.

The Bombardier Global plane, carrying an eight-person crew to ensure Choksi’s repatriation to India had arrived in Dominica at 1:15 pm local time on May 28. The experts stayed in Dominica for nearly seven days to see if the court would allow Choksi to return.

According to local media, the hearing on a habeas corpus plea filed by Mehul Choksi’s lawyers was adjourned. The next hearing is anticipated to take place in a month, allowing Choksi to continue staying in Dominica until then.

Judge Bernie Stephenson will decide the next date of hearing after meeting both sides.

Indian govt has sent a jet to Dominica to prove that Mehul Choksi is a fugitive before the court

Last week, on May 30, the Prime Minister of Antigua Gaston Browne had conceded that the Indian government has sent a jet to Dominica to prove that Mehul Choksi is a fugitive before the court.

“Yes, I can confirm that there is a jet. My understanding is that the Indian government has sent certain documentation from the courts in India to confirm that Mr Choksi is a fugitive. My understanding is that it will be used before the court next Wednesday. As you know, the judge in Dominica has actually put a stay on his deportation until the hearing next Wednesday. So, the Indian government is going all out to ensure that he is repatriated to India and can stand trial there,” Gaston Browne emphasised.

In an interesting turn of events, the fugitive diamantaire had mysteriously gone missing on May 23 from Antigua and Barbuda, where he has been staying since 2018 as a citizen since he fled Delhi. He was eventually discovered in Roseau, Dominica, at the Canefield beach. He was apprehended while attempting to dispose of some important documents in the sea. Choksi was held by law authorities for “illegal entry” into Dominica, according to a news release from the Dominica Ministry of National Security and Home Affairs.

Despite the fact that Mehul Choksi is an Indian citizen, Dominica has stated that he will be repatriated to Antigua rather than India. Following this development, the Indian government dispatched a delegate to Dominica, armed with the necessary papers, to pursue the fugitive’s deportation to India.

Involvement of Choksi in the PNB scam

Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank in the amount of Rs 13,600 crore. The fraud was discovered in 2018, and he and his nephew have been on the run ever since. Choksi was in Antigua when Modi was in the United Kingdom. Recently, a UK court had ruled that his nephew Nirav Modi will be extradited to India from UK to face charges of conspiring to defraud PNB.

Choksi is accused with criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, deception, and dishonesty, as well as property delivery, corruption, and money laundering.

Giant hypocrite: Activist confronts Twitter CEO over censorship, asks why he ‘hates Jews and Conservatives’. Watch

OpIndia Staff
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Giant hypocrite: Activist confronts Twitter CEO over censorship, asks why he ‘hates Jews and Conservatives’. Watch

On Saturday (June 5), Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was heckled by one activist Laura Loomer during the Bitcoin 2021 conference organised in Miami in the United States. The incident took place after Loomer was aghast at the censorship rules of the micro-blogging site.

Disclose tv wrote, “JUST IN – Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey heckled over censorship during a Bitcoin event.” The popular Twitter handle had also shared a video wherein Jack Dorsey was being shouted down by the activist. During the event, Loomer had accused the Twitter CEO of undue censorship of free speech through his platform. While labelling him as a ‘giant hypocrite’, she said that he was interfering with people’s rights through the implementation of new censorship rules.

“How can you say that this is a currency for everyone in the world when you are the king of censorship. Bitcoin is all about decentralisation. You have no right to be here,” she lambasted the Twitter CEO. “Censorship is human rights violation…It’s almost as if Twitter hates Jews and conservatives. When is Jack Dorsey going to stop censoring conservatives? When am I going to get my Twitter back? I’ll be here as long as it takes,” Loomer was quoted as saying. It must be mentioned that the Twitter CEO had claimed to make the micro-blogging platform censorship-free.

While responding to the accusations made by the activist, Dorsey claimed, “By creating a new (social media) platform … inspired entirely by Bitcoin, we want to do the same thing for Twitter…I know you don’t believe me, I know you’re calling me ‘liar.’ I’m going to prove it to you.” Following the verbal confrontation, Loomer was escorted out of the event by the security officials. The 44-year-old Twitter CEO was joined by Alex Gladstein, who serves as the chief strategy officer of the Human Rights Foundation and a Bitcoin advocate.

Laura Loomer was earlier banned by Twitter

In November 2018, the activist was banned by the micro-blogging site over a tweet criticising Islamist Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar. Loomer had called Omar “anti-Jewish” and emphasised that she was a follower of a religion where women are abused, forced to wear a hijab, and homosexuals are oppressed. She had 2,60,000 followers on Twitter prior to her ban. In her defense, she said, “Everything I said is 100 percent true and factual. It’s not malicious, it’s not mean, it’s not hateful.” She had reportedly protested against the ban by handcuffing herself to a glass door, which led to Twitter’s headquarters in Manhattan, US.

Often dubbed as ‘far right’, ‘conspiracy theorist’ and ‘anti-Muslim’ by left-leaning news platforms, the 28-year-old political activist was the Republican nominee from Florida during the 2020 US House of Representatives elections. However, she lost the election to Democrat nominee Lois Frankel. Reportedly, Loomer had worked for Project Veritas until 2017, which conducts undercover investigations to unearth the propaganda of left-leaning organisations, groups, and news portals.

Nigeria suspends Twitter indefinitely for censoring President’s tweet

On Friday (June 4), Nigeria had banned Twitter from the country for interfering in the country’s politics. The Nigerian government on Friday announced that it has indefinitely suspended Twitter’s activities. The move came two after Twitter had deleted a Tweet by president Muhammadu Buhari warning against secessionist movements. The decision was announced by Information Minister Lai Mohammed on Friday. He said, “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.

He didn’t elaborate further on how the suspension will be executed. According to Reuters, the Twitter website and apps are still working in the country. The move is seen as a response to Twitter deleting the president’s tweet, and suspending his account for 12 hours. Yesterday, Lai Mohammed took had slammed Twitter for deleting the tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari who issued a warning to troublemakers in Nigeria.

“We have a country to rule, and we will do so to the best of our ability. Twitter’s mission in Nigeria is very suspect, they have an agenda. The mission of Twitter in Nigeria is very suspicious,” he had said. In the now-deleted tweet, Buhari had made a reference to the country’s 30-month civil war in 1967-1970, and had warned “those who wanted the government to fail” to desist from fomenting trouble.

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