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Tryst of Women Activists: Gang rape of a woman at Tikri border and the silence of ‘farmer leaders’ like Yogendra Yadav

Qudrat
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Tryst of Women Activists: Gang rape of a woman at Tikri border and the silence of ‘farmer leaders’ like Yogendra Yadav

Tikri Border has been in news for the past six months ever since it became one of the most popular Farmer’s Protest sites, but recently Tikri Border made headlines for a very perplexing and worrisome reason for the Gang Rape of a 25-year-old woman from West Bengal. In the first week of April also, incidents of sexual harassment by Male activists of Swaraj Abhiyan were reported on Social Media by “Student for Swaraj” activists.

I am also one of those few girls who participate actively in student’s activism. Being a student activist from around past 4 years, I have travelled a lot within the Punjab state and even out of state various times, and luckily no such incident has ever happened to me or any of the other my co-girl-activist but hearing about this incident has shaken my conscious and that is why I felt that it was important to write about it.

Let us first dissect the horrific tale of the Gang Rape of a 25-year-old woman who came all the way from West Bengal to take part in the Farmer’s Protest at the Tikri Border site. She reached the protest site in Mid-April and since then she was subjected to sexual assault more than once. Even while coming to Delhi, she was subject to sexual assault on the train. On April 25, she was admitted to a private hospital in Bahadurgarh after her health deteriorated.

Her father came to meet her on April 29 when she narrated her story in detail but she died a day later on April 30. It would not have come to light had her father not reached Delhi and reported the matter to the police. Thereafter the FIR was registered by her father on May 8 against six accused. Such is the plight of women activists in the progressive circle that she doesn’t find a voice to speak about her pain and suffering.

From the very beginning of the farmer’s protest, we have seen women of all backgrounds and all age groups coming out of the homes and participating actively and leading this movement this actually was inspiring for every woman, irrespective of ideological and political barriers, but this gruesome incident has shaken the will of every woman. Once again women have been made to stand on such a pedestal where they will have to think not just once but a number of times before becoming a part of any revolutionary movement. All this has happened in presence of Self Proclaimed Progressive and Feminist Leaders including the communist leader Yogendra Yadav who choose to stay mute despite having knowledge of the incident.

The incidents that happened one after another are horrifying. A young, dynamic and enthusiastic 25-year-old woman who went there for a cause to fight for people’s right but unfortunately fell prey to so-called Farmer leaders of Kisan Social Army, lost her modesty, became a victim of gang rape that too various times and ultimately lost her life under mysterious circumstances. Women there on the protest site knew about her hardships but these could not be resolved. It was only his father who came down to the site and registered a case with the police, and even he was pressurised to say that his daughter died due to Covid. These all attempts hint at the support these rapists are drawing from the prominent leaders of the protests.

It is beyond our imagination what all she went through before reaching Tikri, at Tikri and even after leaving the Tikri border. Being a woman, hearing her story threatens my soul. This incident has put up a question mark on the safety of hundreds of women present at the site. This one incident managed to get unearthed, who knows how many heinous incidents would have went un-noticed there in past 6 months.

The intentions of people like Yogendra Yadav and other men and women who are leading this huge protest is also questionable. The silence of self-claimed Progressive and Feminist Leaders on this issue speaks the volume about their outlook towards women activists. They knew about what all she was going through but chose to remain silent. Had they raised voice against it, a precious, innocent life could be saved. This also forces one to think that what actually made them to remain silent? What was it that was more important to them than the dignity of a woman?

The most worrisome part of this horrific tale is the fact that the victim’s father said that he was pressurised to say that she died due to Covid. This simply raises the question that did she really died due to Covid? Deterioration of her health soon after a few people on the site came to know about her sufferings, is it really a coincidence? A lot of questions are yet unanswered, which will hopefully be answered in future and unearth the filthy mindsets of the Self- Proclaimed Farmer Leaders. But the damage which this incident has done to the consciousness of a number of women who wished to do something for their nation, for their people can never be repaired.

The author is Final Year Student of 3 year Law programm at Panjab University, Chandigarh. As Student activist she works and writes on Women Issues, Educational Issues.  She played key role in Girls Self Defence Program – MISSION SAHASI in Chandigarh.

From fruit juice to oats, soaps to bulbs, Indian Medical Association endorses products in exchange for huge money: Details

OpIndia Staff
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From fruit juice to oats, soaps to bulbs, Indian Medical Association endorses products in exchange for huge money: Details

The Indian Medical Association (IMA), a private association of allopathic doctors in the country, seems to have put itself in a tough spot by embroiling in unnecessary controversies. First, the doctors’ body picked up a fight with Yoga Guru Ramdev by attempting to bully and threaten him over his opinion on the limitations of the allopathic system of medicine.

Not only did IMA take potshots on Ayurveda and Yogic sciences by describing it as ‘quackery,’ reports emerged in the public domain revealing how office-bearers of the Indian Medical Associations were indulging in proselytizing activities during the pandemic. Several netizens exposed how Dr Johnrose Austin Jayalal, the president of the Indian Medical Association accusing him of using the Covid-19 pandemic to convert patients to Christianity.

Even as IMA continues to face flak for its overzealous actions against Baba Ramdev, fresh allegations have surfaced against IMA, accusing them of promoting commercial products of private companies in exchange for huge fees. Several brands have paid the ‘fees’ to IMA in exchange for the association’s “stamp of approval”, which these brands often use to market their products. The IMA’s commercial endorsements of products at the cost of health safety have become a major talking point in the country.

Preferring money over consumers’ heath, the Indian Medical Association had not only endorsed a range of products from fruit juice to an LED bulb but also had given a stamp of approval for these products saying these products had health benefits.

Here are some of the products endorsed by Indian Medical Association in exchange for funds:

1. PepsiCo’s Products

In 2008, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) had endorsed PepsiCo’s Tropicana fruit juices and its breakfast cereal Quaker Oats, making it the world’s first medical association to endorse a food product.

Pepsico’s India affiliate had signed into a three-year deal with IMA, under which the association endorsed the Tropicana brand of fruit juices and the Quaker Oats brand. As per IMA, Pepsico’s ‘Tropicana’ and ‘Quaker Oats’ endorsement was a partnership for health.

Strangely, IMA has not revealed on what scientific basis did they certify the product or whether it was published in a scientific journal and the details regarding the study. Initially, IMA had said that the company did not pay money for the endorsement, instead, PepsiCo sponsored the association’s conferences and meetings for three years. Later, media reports said the IMA charged a whooping Rs 2.25 crore to endorse Pepsi Co’s products. 

2. Crompton Greaves

The IMA had also ‘certified’ a so-called anti-bacterial LED bulb that claims to kill 85% germs and an indoor paint that claims to kill 99% infection-causing bacteria within two hours of exposure to the painted surface.

The IMA, which often pontificates about the scientific temper and terms the other indigenous system of medicines as ‘quackery’, has no answers regarding the scientific rationale behind their Crompton Greaves LED bulb endorsement.

3. Dettol:

The antiseptic soap – ‘Dettol’ also had the endorsement of the India Medical Association. In the many un-dated videos aired by Reckitt – the company that produces the antiseptic soap brand, one can see the stamp of approval by the Indian Medical Association, claiming that the particular product protects people from the infection 10 times more than other brands.

The IMA endorsement to the particular product meant that the particular product must have efficacy that is 10 times any other product. However, there is no scientific basis to the prove same.

The particular advertisement raises several questions regarding the dubiousness of the IMA, especially in times of pandemic. While IMA dismisses treatments promoted by other non-allopathic systems of medicine, it was granting approvals to the brand to use its name and spread misinformation among the public.

4. Kent:

In 2015, the Indian Medical Association had caught up in a major scandal after it had endorsed Kent water purifiers. The IMA had given its approval for the water purifiers by stating that the association has ‘validated’ the products. In fact, IMA had signed an MoU with Kent for the ‘campaign’. Even though the resolution did not mention sponsorship, it said, “the campaign will also include the centenary conference (of the IMA) to be organized in November 2016 at New Delhi with the above subjects as the core issues”.

Several critics had pointed out the unethical practice of IMA, highlighting how the organisation had endorsed the rivals of Kent – ‘Eureka Forbes’ in another multi-crore deal.

In response to growing outcry against medical practitioners endorsing commercial products, the IMA had insisted that this was not an endorsement, but a ‘public campaign’ to educate ‘safe water prevents waterborne diseases.

5. Asian Paints:

Last year, an advertisement by a wall paint company prominently highlighted that their product was approved by the Indian Medical Association for providing protection from “viral transmissions” and reduce the number of harmful gases such as sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxide.

The advertisement went on to assert that the product would serve as a sanitiser for the house. Soon after it was aired on national television, many public health experts criticised IMA for approving the product when the world was battling the menace of the coronavirus outbreak.

In addition to the above brands, IMA has also endorsed products of Eureka Forbes, Dabur, Unilever and Procter & Gamble in exchange for huge financial deals.

‘Twitter is neither investigator nor judge, but trying to pretend it is both’: Delhi Police come down heavily on social media giant

OpIndia Staff
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‘Twitter is neither investigator nor judge, but trying to pretend it is both’: Delhi Police come down heavily on social media giant

The Delhi Police have issued a sharp rebuttal to the statements released by Twitter regarding the Congress toolkit case and its aftermath. Slamming the actions of the social media behemoth heavily, the Delhi Police have stated that Twitter’s statements doing rounds in media are not just mendacious but they are actively trying to impede a lawful inquiry.

The police’s press statement was shared by TOI’s Rohan Dua.

The Delhi Police further stated that under the guise of “terms of service” Twitter Inc is trying to adjudicate whether publicly available documents are authentic or fake (Congress toolkit). It added that Twitter in this case is trying to act as both investigator and judge while it has no legal sanction to be either.

The statement further read, the only legal entities authorised to investigate the issue is the police and to judge the veracity of the documents is the Courts.

The Delhi Police further stated that the preliminary complaint regarding the issue was registered at the behest of the Congress party, but Twitter has tried to show that it is an FIR registered by the Govt of India, which is completely false.

Twitter has material information but refuses to share it with lawful authorities: Delhi Police

They further stated that while the matter was under investigation by the police, Twitter decided to brand the document as ‘manipulated media’. This means that Twitter was acquainted with the case and has material information that was needed by a law enforcement agency. Thus, Twitter was asked by the Delhi Police, by multiple communications, to join the investigation. They added that Twitter is legally bound to share the information with the police and there can be no confusions regarding this.

The police stated that Twitter was sent a notice asking them to join in the investigation, but Twitter India’s managing director chose to be evasive rather than co-operate.

Deer caught in headlights

The police statement further stated that Twitter India’s MD has claimed that he is merely a sales head and has no role regarding content. However, these claims are contradictory to the Twitter MD’s own earlier press interactions where he had discussed the company’s plans to devise methods to identify abusive and manipulative content. Twitter India’s ‘convoluted’ stance is similar to that of a deer caught in headlights, the police statement read.

Further, the Delhi Police called out the contrived fear-mongering by Twitter, calling it misplaced and unfounded. Twitter India’s MD was merely served a notice, to participate in an inquiry, he was not ‘accused’ because Twitter (by adding the manipulated media tag) had claimed to possess information regarding the case.

The statement concluded by adding that Twitter India’s latest statements are devised to seek dubious sympathy when they themselves not only refuse to comply with the law of the land but also claim to possess material evidence in an ongoing police investigation but refuse to share it with the competent legal authorities.

It is notable here that Congress had recently withdrawn the complaint from Delhi and filed it in Chhattisgarh, where they run the state government. Further, they had written to Twitter, asking the social media company to take action against Union Ministers.

Video of BJP leader being beaten by Maharashtra police inside hospital premises goes viral: Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Video of BJP leader being beaten by Maharashtra police inside hospital premises goes viral: Here is what happened

A video has been doing the rounds on social media wherein some Maharashtra police personnel are seen mercilessly beating up a man with rods and belts, while the latter pleads for mercy with folded hands. The victim tries to give an explanation to the policemen, who pay no heed to what he says and instead continue to rain sticks and rods at him.

According to a report by Divya Marathi, the incident reportedly took place inside the premises of a hospital in Jalna, Maharashtra on April 9, 2021. The man who is being thrashed in the video is a local BJP leader named Shivraj Nariyalwale.

According to the local newspaper, on April 9, the day of the purported incident, Shivraj Nariyalwale, who is the General Secretary of BJP Yuva Morcha in Jalna district, was informed that a youth died while undergoing treatment at the private hospital. The relatives of the deceased accused the hospital of negligence. Nariyalwale, along with other activists reached the hospital and questioned the hospital administration.

Angered over the sheer negligence of the hospital authorities leading to the death of the youth, the relatives including family members of the deceased got into an argument with the hospital staff. This culminated in a scuffle between the two groups. Seeing the situation go out of hand, the hospital staff informed the police.

Senior rank officers of Maharashtra police beat up the local BJP leader

The Jalna police personnel led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sudhir Khiradkar and Inspector Prashant Mahajan of Kadim Jalna police station, rushed to the hospital. Initially, the police tried to persuade the relatives of the deceased.  However, when the relatives did not pay heed, the police started admonishing and abusing them. The local BJP leader Shivraj Nariyalwale took out his phone and started recording the police’ high handedness.

This further irked the Maharashtra police, who pulled out Nariyalwale from the crowd and took him to another room, inside the hospital premises, where they brutally thrashed him with belts and rods.

Though the incident happened in the beginning of April, it was not reported anywhere, since the BJP leader was too scared to come out in the open and narrate his ordeal.

The BJP leader speaks up 2 months after the incident, releases video

Recently, when reports emerged that Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sudhir Khiradkar has been suspended in a separate bribery case, the local BJP leader mustered the courage to release the video of the incident and speak up about the atrocities meted out at him by Maharashtra police.

Speaking to Divya Marathi, Shivraj Nariyalwale confirmed that the person in the purported video was him. “I was brutally beaten on April 9, 2021. At that time, the perpetrators were not ordinary police personnel but high rank officers like the deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and senior police inspector. I felt helpless when so many officers assaulted me together.”

“People ask me as to why then I remained silent and not lodge a complaint against the officers? I was really scared. The mental agony was more than the physical injury. But now I’m out of that mental stress. Ever since the video went viral, I have received many phone calls. While some have expressed sympathy, some have also advised me to forget about what happened. But, I will not remain silent now. I will file a case under IPC section 307 against those who had beat me inhumanely”, added the local BJP leader. 

Maharashtra police and its high-handedness

The high handedness of the Maharashtra police, working at the behest of the Uddhav Thackeray government in the state is quite well established.

Speaking of one such incident, last year, the Maharashtra police had resorted to attacking student activists belonging to Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad for protesting against the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government demanding a 30 per cent waiver of fees.

Then, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena activists wanted to meet Minister Abdul Sattar for urging a fee waiver and also present other demands, however, the Maharashtra police had then launched an all-out attack against the student activists and also punched them in the face in the presence of the Maharashtra minister, who was seen comfortably sitting inside his car.

Similarly in November 2020, the Mumbai police came down heavily on the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers staging a peaceful protest against the illegal crackdown on media and social media by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.

“Indian variant” is a repeat of how the world changed Hitler’s “hooked cross” to “Swastika”

Abhishek Banerjee
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“Indian variant” is a repeat of how the world changed Hitler’s “hooked cross” to “Swastika”

Brace yourselves folks, because a great evil is upon the world. Here it is, casting its evil shadow on the faraway nation of Australia.

“Indian variant”

From America to Europe to Australia, no human being on the face of this earth is safe. Because the “Indian variant” is coming for everyone. Look, the BBC even decided to release videos in five languages warning people about this most dangerous “Indian variant.” That’s right: five languages.

BBC describing ‘Indian variant’ in five languages

Here is a tiny side note. Notice how the languages belong to some region called “South Asia,” but the virus belongs only to India!

It is quite natural to compare the pandemic to a World War. It has spread to every corner of the planet and has caused at least 35 lakh confirmed deaths. The real number could be much larger. It has devastated economies, forced hundreds of millions of people into poverty. There is likely no human being anywhere whose life has not been turned upside down over the last year and half. Each one of us breathing today is lucky to still be alive. This is World War 2 all over again, possibly even worse.

And just as with World War 2, the global media faces a problem. One of these days, it’s going to be over. And then, the media and history books will have to record for future generations about the nature of the evil that caused this.

The “hakenkreuz” or hooked cross was the dreaded symbol of Hitler and his Nazis. At its peak, the Nazi flag with the hooked cross flew over almost all the capitals in Europe. Millions of innocent people were snatched from their homes and they perished inside gas chambers.

Who was behind this horrific crime? It was Christian fundamentalists, acting on their age old hatred against Jews.

But if you are a western historian, you can’t put that down. You cannot tell future generations that every member of the Nazi SS wore a belt with the words “Gott mit uns” (God with us). You cannot tell future generations that the Nazi symbol of the hooked cross is a variation of the Christian cross. And you cannot tell future generations about the deals between the Fascist Party and the Church. When tourists visit Vatican City, you cannot tell them that the city was a gift from Mussolini to the Pope.

So you change terminology. You can’t use the original German word “hakenkreuz” that the Nazis used to describe their own symbol. You cannot use the term hooked cross, which would be the literal English translation of that. Nor can you use English, French, German, Spanish, Russian or Portuguese to describe it. That would leave the Christian west with too much blame.

So you go halfway around the world and dig out a Sanskrit word for a somewhat similar looking symbol. And thus the hated Nazi symbol becomes designated as the “Swastika.” For hundreds of millions of people in the west, “Swastika” will be the only Sanskrit word they know. And they will despise it. Each time they hear it, they will think that Hitler was inspired by the pagan Hindus.

The same thing is happening today. They can’t name where the virus came from. That would hurt the global compact between the Religion of ‘Love’, the Religion of ‘Peace’ and the Religion of ‘Equality.’ Instead, they want to settle on “Indian variant.” They want to blame the pagans again. With a reported 33 crore gods, it has to be the fault of the pagans somehow.

Look at poor TIME Magazine, wondering what other options they have, other than calling it “Indian variant.”

Time discussing ‘Indian variant’

Oh India is “demanding,” are they? How dare the pagans stand up for themselves? Why are they making this inconvenient in some small way? If people don’t call it “Indian variant,” what other name could they possibly use? All the possible names in all languages of the world have run out. If you don’t like names, you could use combinations of letters and numbers to designate viruses. As in B.1.617.2, the official scientific name. But hey, with the media looking for something to call it, even the numbers ran out somehow, despite there being infinitely many by definition.

By the way, if we have to have geographic names, did anyone consider calling it the “South Asian variant”? They already designated my entire culture and history as “South Asian” instead of “Indian,” so why not use it for virus variants too? I know. Because South Asia has a lot of countries and you can’t point a finger at the ones that have an Abrahamic faith as their state religion.

The blame must go to the one country and the one culture with a billion pagans in it.

They can’t name the country where the original virus came from. But the variant is from India and they make sure everyone knows that. They did it with the hooked cross of Nazis. It came from Christian Germany, but it was remembered only as the Swastika. Now, we have a virus that came from Wuhan in China, but all we should remember is the so called Indian variant.

While WhatsApp alleges ‘privacy violation’ against new IT rules, here is why they are important to catch criminals behind serious crimes

Raju Das
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While WhatsApp alleges ‘privacy violation’ against new IT rules, here is why they are important to catch criminals behind serious crimes

The new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, announced in February this year, came into effect on 26th May. The social media intermediaries, streaming platforms and digital media houses were given three months to implement the rules. But for some reason, almost all of them ignored the rules completely and did nothing to either implement or challenge them in the last three months. When the new IT rules came into effect, the impacted platforms have hurried to file lawsuits against them or seek more times from the govt.

Twitter has sought another three more months to comply with the rules, Facebook and Google have said they are ready to implement the rules, but need some time. On the other hand, Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp has filed a lawsuit at the Delhi High Court challenging the new IT rules, saying it violates the privacy rights of the citizens. It may be noted that while the social media companies have suddenly woken up to the new IT rules, Digital Media platforms had already challenged it in March, when The Wire, The Quint and LiveLaw had filed against the provisions on digital media contained in the rules.

The main issue that WhatsApp is objecting to is the traceability clause. The section 5(2) of the IT rules says that significant social media intermediaries providing messaging services must enable the identification of originator of messages that violates certain laws. According to the new rules, if a message that originates on a messaging platform like WhatsApp violates any law that carries jail term of minimum five years as punishment, the company must reveal the originator of such messages.

This is not an issue with general social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, where posts are generally available in public. But it is created a big problem for messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram etc, as they have built the platforms around privacy, and complying with the rules means that they will have to break their own privacy features.

WhatsApp have claimed that complying with the new IT rules will break end-to-end encryption of the app and it fundamentally undermines people’s right to privacy. While it is true that WhatsApp may have to make some modifications in its codes, its claim that the rules violate the rights of privacy is completely wrong.

This is because, the government of India is not asking the messaging platforms to reveal the origin of every message, they are being asked to identify the origin of messages that constitute serious violations of laws of the land. According to the rules, the messaging app companies will have to identify the origin of messages that threaten the sovereignty and integrity of India, friendly relations with other nations, public order, and offences related to rape, child sexual abuse material, sexually explicit material etc only. Moreover, the companies will have to reveal the originator only if they are ordered to do so by a court or a competent authority and the case involves charges that carries imprisonment for a term of not less than five years.

Relevant section of the IT Rules 2021

This means, before the rules, if someone had posted a video of a sexual assault of a girl on WhatsApp, or a video of a terrorist issuing threat, the authorities could not ask the company to reveal the origin of the video so that the culprits can be traced and booked. The New IT rules address that problem, and ensures that the origin of messages that are serious violation of select laws are identified. It may be noted that posts related to defamation, fake news etc are not covered under these rules. If some message is accused of defaming someone or spreading fake news, the platforms will not be asked to reveal the origin of such posts.

WhatsApp is specifically known for number of rape and sexual harassment videos that circulate on the platform. When activists and police find such videos, they take steps to identify the victim and the culprits, but often it is difficult to trace the origin of such videos to find them, as the videos reach the police after being forwarded by dozens of people, with no sign of the origin. With the new rules, WhatsApp will be required to keep tag of the origin of such messages, so that in case of serious violations, the authorities can question the origin of such messages, who can be either witnesses or criminals themselves. Therefore, this will ensure that the criminals will be brought to the book, if the origin of such messages that violates laws can be identified.

Responding to the objections of WhatsApp, the union government has also clarified the government respects the right of privacy and has no intention to violate it when WhatsApp is required to disclose the origin of a particular message. “Such requirements are only in case when the message is required for prevention, investigation or punishment of very serious offences related to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, or public order, or of incitement to an offence relating to the above or in relation with rape, sexually explicit material or child sexual abuse material. Right to Privacy is a Fundamental Right,” the Ministry of Electronics and IT said in a press statement.

The departmental minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that its entire objective is to find out who started the message that led to commissioning of specific crimes mentioned in the rules, and ordinary users have nothing to fear about the rules. “The new Rules are only designed to prevent abuse & misuse of social media. Govt welcomes criticism including the right to ask questions. The Rules only empower the ordinary users of social media when they become victims of abuse & misuse,” the minister added.

It is notable that while WhatsApp is opposing the IT rules citing violation of privacy rights, it itself has silently enforced its own controversial privacy rules to share its user data with other Facebook companies. The arbitrary decision to update its privacy norms has led its users to believe that WhatsApp would now be able to peek into its users’ personal messages and share the personal data of users with Facebook.

IMA files police complaint against Baba Ramdev, seeks FIR against him after threatening with 1000 crores lawsuit

OpIndia Staff
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IMA files police complaint against Baba Ramdev, seeks FIR against him after threatening with 1000 crores lawsuit

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has filed a complaint against Yoga Guru Ramdev at IP Estate Police Station in New Delhi for his remarks on modern medicine.

According to the reports, the IMA has sought an FIR against Ramdev over his recent opinions on the limitations of the allopathic system of medicine.

The complaint, signed by General Secretary of IMA, Dr. Jayesh Lele, said that Ramdev, along with his associates, “operated in furtherance of their illegal and dishonest intention with a view of obtaining wrongful gain and consequently causing wrongful loss to the medical fraternity and general public in large”.

In its complaint, the IMA claimed that Baba Ramdev had committed cognizable offenses and is liable to be prosecuted under all applicable and relevant provisions of the law, including Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.

Further, IMA said that a police investigation is necessary to unearth the identity of other persons involved with Ramdev in the “conspiracy of making scurrilous and malicious statements in public and obtaining unjust gains from the promotion of unproven and unapproved treatment methods.”

IMA has sought an FIR against the yoga guru under relevant provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, Disaster Management Act, 2005, Indian Penal Code, 1860, and other relevant provisions.

IMA wants to sue Baba Ramdev for Rs 1,000 crore

On Wednesday, the IMA had sent Rs.1,000 crore defamation notice to Yoga Guru for his statements on allopathic medicine. The IMA has threatened Baba Ramdev, saying that if he does not post a video countering the statements given by him and tender a written apology within the next 15 days, they will be demanding Rs 1,000 crores from him.

The latest controversy between IMA and Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev erupted after a video of Baba Ramdev went viral on social media platforms, where he was heard saying that allopathy is a hollow practice and that many people have lost their lives due to allopathic medicines.

To this, the Indian Medical Association had taken a strong objection and had threatened to move Court if the Union Health Ministry does not take cognizance of the remarks made by Ramdev. The Health Ministry had issued a letter to Ramdev directing him to retract his statements.

In response to IMA’s attacks, Baba Ramdev too had launched an attack on the Indian Medical Association on Tuesday, firing 25 pointed questions at them. With these questions, Ramdev tried to highlight the shortcomings of allopathy and asking for permanent solutions to some of the most common diseases.

Taking a sly at the ongoing debate, Ramdev had also asked if allopathy has any treatment for the growing hatred and violence and also a cure that can put an end to the fight between allopathy and Ayurveda.

It is also notable here that IMA’s ire against Baba Ramdev also comes at a time when the IMA President JA Jayapal’s statements exposing his intentions to use the Covid pandemic as an opportunity to spread Christianity were doing rounds on social media.

Saudi Arabia restricts the use of loudspeakers by mosques, directs to keep the volume at a one-third level: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Saudi Arabia restricts the use of loudspeakers by mosques, directs to keep the volume at a one-third level: Details

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs has issued a new directive ordering mosques to limit the use of loudspeakers. The Ministry has allowed the loudspeaker to be used only for calls for prayers Azan (call for prayer) and Iqamat (second call for prayer indicating that the Imam has taken his place for the prayers).

A circular has been issued by Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs Abdul Latif Al-Sheikh, to all mosques directing that the volume of the loudspeakers are to be kept at not more than one-third of the level. Any violations in the rule will invite heavy penalties as per the order. 

The order was based on Sharia evidence which suggests calling the Lord quietly. “One should not trouble the other and one should not raise the voice in recitation or in prayer over the voice of the other,” read the order based on Hadith. 

As per a report, external amplifiers and loudspeakers used for anything other than the Azan harm patients, old people, and children in the houses in the vicinity of the mosques.

The Ministry also ruled that prayers conducted by Imam should be specific to the devotees within the mosques with no legitimate need to convey it to those at home. 

“In addition to the fact that reading the Quran on external amplifiers is disrespectful to the Quran when it is recited loudly using external loudspeakers, while no one is listening to and pondering on its verses,” said the circular,” read the circular. 

The order released by the Ministry is based on fatwas by most senior Islamic scholars like Sheikh Mohammed bin Saleh Al Othaimeen and Saleh Al Fawzan of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Ministry in 2019 too had asked the mosques to limit the usage of loudspeakers in the Holy month of Ramadan. 

Google’s Corporate Communications Director shares derogatory posts against PM Modi. Not the first ‘big-tech’ employee to do so. Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Google’s Corporate Communications Director shares derogatory posts against PM Modi. Not the first ‘big-tech’ employee to do so. Read details

On May 27, screenshots of a post made by Meenu Handa, reportedly a Corporate Communication Director at Google, started to make rounds on social media platforms.

In the said post, she had shared a derogatory artwork against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and wrote, “Always in awe! How do they think of these things, so creative,” with a wink emoji.

The said post was originally created by Allen Shaw, who had targeted PM Modi over the new IT ministry guidelines for social media giants claiming to be ‘intermediaries’, “India’s new social media rules. Dear Government, please do not confuse a public toilet with your throne.”

Original post by Allen Shaw. Source: Facebook

As the post started to make rounds on social media, Meenu Handa locked her account on Twitter. However, we managed to scan her profile and found several posts displaying blatant hatred against PM Modi and the current union government. It has to be noted that she had retweeted posts from serial fake-news peddlers like Prashant Bhushan and Kunal Kamra, liberal ‘journalists’ like Shekhar Gupta, and Congress party office bearers like Srivatsa YB and Gaurav Pandhi.

Post of Modi-hater Prashant Bhushan RTed by Meenu Handa. Source: Twitter
Another misleading post shared by Meenu Source: Twitter
Another post blaming PM Modi for the surge in Covid cases. Source: Twitter
Meenu expressing happiness over report suggesting PM Modi’s popularity is declining. Source: Twitter
Another misleading report shared by Meenu about Centra Vista project. Source: Twitter
Misleading The Print’s report about Covid situation in India. Source: Twitter
A post by Congress’s Srivatsa. Source: Twitter
A post by Congress’s Gaurab Pandhi comparing PM Singh and PM Modi. Source: Twitter
A post RTed by Meenu showing Republic’s Arnab Goswami as a dog. Source: Twitter

Handa’s timeline on social media is not about being opposed to policies of the current government or voicing dissenting opinion. The shares are more about displaying a visceral hatred against PM Modi, often in a derogatory manner.

Most recently, she also retweeted a link shared by Rana Ayyub, the so-called journalist who has been running propaganda against PM Modi since the time when he was CM. The post was linked to an article written by Umar Khalid, who is currently lodged in jail for his alleged role in the anti-Hindu riots of Delhi in February 2020. The article talks about the “struggles” Khalid is going through in jail and tries to whitewash his wrongdoings.

Meenu RTed a post by Rana Ayyub with a link to an article written by terror-accused Umar Khalid. Source: Twitter

Other politically biased tech company bigwigs

This is not the first time large tech corporations have appointed individuals with blatant and glaring political bias on decision-making posts. In 2018, it came to notice that Twitter India’s policy head Mahima Kaul had made several derogatory posts against Prime Minister Modi in the past. When the screenshots of her old posts started to make rounds on social media, she deleted them.

In June 2020, Siddharth Mazumdar was appointed by Facebook as policy head. Mazumdar’s Twitter account NyaySahay was filled with hate posts against PM Modi. He had mocked and abused PM Modi repeatedly and even commented under union ministers’ posts in very derogatory language.

In August 2020, it was revealed that one of Facebook’s officials, identified as Vijaya Moorthy, is a Modi-hater and a dedicated follower of the Congress Party. On her LinkedIn profile, she mentioned her job as Policy manager for Facebook India. Also, Ankhi Das, former Public Policy Director, Facebook India, who was termed as BJP agent by opposition leaders, had expressed her open admiration for TMC leader Mamata Banerjee and Aam Aadmi Party.

Watch: Six-year-old Khushboo greets Yogi Adityanath with flowers and Radha-Krishna idol, CM gives his blessings

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Six-year-old Khushboo greets Yogi Adityanath with flowers and Radha-Krishna idol, CM gives his blessings

A video clip is doing the rounds on social media where the Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath is seen gently interacting with a 6-year-old girl, while the latter greets the CM with a rose, a garland and a Radha-Krishna idol during his visit to the Susvalia village of Padrauna block in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh. The CM was on a visit to Deoria and Kushinagar district on May 26 (Wednesday) to review the pandemic preparedness in these places, when he met the 6-year-old, Khusboo.

“Dada, yeh aapke liye”, says the little girl, while gifting a rose flower to Yogi Adithyanath, who in turn, lovingly enquires about the class she studies in.

The CM explains to the girl that due to the pandemic situation, temporarily she would be required to study from the house and not go to school.

The girl then gifts the Uttar Pradesh CM a Radha-Krishna idol, which Yogi Adityanath politely returns. “Yeh meri taraf se tumhare liye” (this you keep from my side), says Yogi Adityanath, while gently drawing her closer to him for a picture. The girl also carried a letter, addressed to the CM from her family, in her hand, which Yogi Adityanath accepts politely. The girl then seeks the blessing of the CM by touching his feet.

The heart-warming incident happened when Yogi Adityanath went to meet the family members of a home isolated Covid-19 patient at her home in Susvalia village of Padrauna block to ask about her well being. While he was leaving the village he was greeted by the 6-year-old.

Yogi Adityanath visits Deoria and Kushinagar district to review the pandemic preparedness

Yogi Adityanath also visited the Integrated Covid command and control room in the Kushinagar district. Moreover, during his visit to Deoria, the UP CM went to Katrari village and interacted with the Gram Pradhan as well as the members of the Covid monitoring committee. During his visit, Yogi Adityanath asserted that all eligible persons in the state will be vaccinated against Covid and said a vaccine for those in the 12-18 age group is coming soon.

“Vaccine for people in the age group of 12-18 years is coming soon. We will vaccinate everyone,” Adityanath said in Deoria. The chief minister said the state proved naysayers wrong about a surging infection rate during the second wave. Declaring the state as a “Covid safe zone”, Yogi said that the state managed to successfully blunt the surge by the state adopted the “trace, test and treat” method.

The Uttar Pradesh CM also confirmed that the state is now preparing for the probable third wave of infection.

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