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After a humiliating drubbing in Gujarat local body elections, state Congress chief and Leader of Opposition resign

OpIndia Staff
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After a humiliating drubbing in Gujarat local body elections, state Congress chief and Leader of Opposition resign

Taking responsibility for the embarrassing defeat in the recently concluded local body polls in Gujarat, Gujarat Congress chief Amit Chavda and Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani Gujarat Congress chief Amit Chavda and Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani have tendered their resignations. However, both will continue on their post until the party top leadership finds their suitable replacements.

The party has accepted the resignation of the two leaders and requested them to continue till the end of March, as the state assembly session is underway, a report published in DeshGujarat said.

Chavda had expressed shock at the results of the local body polls, claiming that the party was receiving a good response from the people. He even blamed the EVMs for the Congress party’s poll debacle.

“The election results are totally opposite to what our expectations were. We had received good responses from people during our campaigning but the results do not reflect it. People have raised doubts on EVMs and all these things should be probed,” Chavda said.

In December 2019, the Congress party had indicated that there would be an imminent change in the party leadership. However, with the local body polls slated to occur in late February, the decision to bring in new leadership was shelved until after the local elections. Following Congress’ disastrous performance in the local body elections and the subsequent resignation of the Gujarat Congress party chief, a change in the guard is inevitable.

Earlier last week, Gujarat Congress working President Hardik Patel expressed his displeasure over the functioning of the party. He had then alleged that the Congress party was not using him to his potential. The Patidar leader claimed Congress had not organised a single public meeting for him ahead of the local body elections.

Congress wiped out as BJP sweeps local body polls in Gujarat

The crisis facing the Congress party precipitated in the wake of the Gujarat local body polls. The BJP has won all 31 seats, a majority of 81 municipalities, and over 200 of the 230 talukas that had gone to the polls on February 28. The emphatic victory came a week after the saffron party swept all six municipal corporations.

This is in stark contrast to the 2015 local body polls when Congress had made impressive gains on the back of the Patidar agitation that had roiled the state. The BJP had then faced a thorough pasting in 24 of the 31 district panchayats, along with losing 138 of the total 228 taluka panchayats. The party had, however, maintained its semi-urban base intact by winning 45 of the 57 municipalities.

The Congress party, on the other hand, could win only 1,768 seats, three municipalities and a few taluka panchayat bodies. It failed to open its account in any district panchayat.

Congress attacks the Modi government for a reduction in the unemployment rate: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Congress attacks the Modi government for a reduction in the unemployment rate: Read details

So absorbed is Congress in attacking the Modi government that it seems that they have taken leave of their senses. Usually, an increase in the rate of unemployment sparks outrage among the opposition parties. However, the Congress party is outraged because there is a reduction in the unemployment rate in the country.

Earlier today, the official Twitter handle of the Congress party posted a tweet, questioning the BJP whether it thinks through the decisions or weighs the disastrous consequences its decisions might trigger. The question was regarding the lockdown imposed by PM Modi in the last week of March 2020 to stop the inexorable spread of the coronavirus.

“Does the BJP ever think through their decisions; ever think of the disastrous consequences it imposes on the nation?” the official Twitter handle of Congress tweeted.

However, what was intriguing is the infographic that was attached to attack the Modi government’s decision of imposing a lockdown in March 2020. Along with the tweet, the Congress Twitter handle attached an infographic that displayed the unemployment rate in April 2020 and May 2020.

The infographic showed that the unemployment rate in April 2020 was 23.53 per cent, and in the subsequent month, it dropped to 21.73 per cent. The unemployment rates in April and May were displayed with vertical bars, with the bar representing the unemployment rate in May significantly smaller than that of April 2020.

Despite the marked reduction in the unemployment rate in May 2020 as compared to April 2020 and the stark difference between the two bars representing the unemployment rates in the two months, the Congress party went on to question the PM for not thinking about the workforce before imposing an unplanned lockdown. The question was included in the infographic, alongside the vertical bars indicating the fall in the unemployment rate.

The Congress party seems to have a problem that despite the lockdown imposed in the country, the month of May 2020 witnessed a reduction in the unemployment rate as compared to April 2020. India had gone under lockdown from 22 March 2020 until the end of May 2020. It subsequently reopened in a phased manner, with necessary precautions and coronavirus guidelines in place.

Current unemployment figures are exceptionally low: CMIE report

While Congress continues ranting against the supposedly high unemployment rates, reports claim that unemployment in India in January 2021 is among the lowest in years. Ever since India emerged out of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the employment generation has rebounded at a breakneck pace, with nearly 12 million people getting employed last month. The unemployment rate in January 2021 was down to 6.5 per cent from 9.1 per cent in December 2020.

According to the CMIE report, the total unemployed who were willing to work but did not have any employment in January 2021 was 40 million. The report stated that it is lowest in the last two years. Subsequently, after 12 million people were employed last month, the number of unemployed came down to 28 million.

“These are the unemployed who are willing to work and who are actively looking for employment. This is an exceptionally low number. On average, 33 million persons who were willing to work and were looking for work were unemployed in 2019-20. This is now down to less than 28 million,” the report said.

The Wire publishes fake news regarding new guidelines for digital media sites, gets fact-checked

OpIndia Staff
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The Wire publishes fake news regarding new guidelines for digital media sites, gets fact-checked

Left-wing propaganda site The Wire was once against caught peddling fake news, this time on the newly announced guidelines under the IT Act for digital media outlets. However, their lie was fact-checked by Press Information Bureau’s Fact Check arm. PIB refuted The Wire’s claim that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting constituted the panel over sighting the content’s self-regulation.

PIB said, “The body would be constituted by publishers & not MIB or a panel by MIB. It can be headed by a retired SC/HC judge or an eminent person.”

What did The Wire say?

In its report titled “Why the New IT Rules Beg Urgent Judicial Review”, The Wire claimed “Rules 10, 11 and 12 require intermediaries to establish a two-tier “self-regulation” mechanism and be subject to an “oversight” mechanism by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MI&B).”

It further added, “while the body constituted at the second level of the self-regulating mechanism is being touted to be independent, in reality, it does away with all notions of independence as such a body is to be headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a high court-appointed from a panel prepared by the MI&B. The intermediary rules are silent on the modalities of the constitution of such a panel. This allows the MI&B to appoint partisan retired judges to head such a body.”

What do Rule 10, 11 and 12 of Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 say?

As per the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 [PDF] Rule 10 talks about the furnishing and processing of the grievance related to the content published by a publisher. It makes it essential that the grievance is disposed of in 15 days. In case the publisher fails to address the resentment of the complainant is not satisfied with the action taken by the publisher, the self-regulating body will come into action. The self-regulating body has to take the decision in 15 days, and if the complainant is still not satisfied, he can further appeal to the oversight mechanism set up by the MI&B.

Rule 10 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021

Rule 11 talks about the rules laid down for the appointment of the grievance officer. The grievance officer must be based in India. His name and contact information must be available on the website. He will act as the nodal point of interaction between the complainant, self-regulating body and the Ministry.

Rule 11 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021

Rule 12 talks about the formation of the self-regulating body. It clearly states that the publishers will form a self-regulating body. The retired judge of the Supreme Court, a High Court, or an independent eminent person from the field of media, broadcasting, entertainment, child rights, human rights or such other relevant field will head it.

Rule 12 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021

The oversight mechanism

As per Rule 13, there will be an oversight mechanism under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The oversight mechanism will only come into action if the complainant is not satisfied with the decision of the self-regulating body. Until that point, the Ministry will not interfere in the grievance redressal mechanism.

The Rule 12 make it clear that the publishers will form a self-regulating body, and they will select the retired judge to head it. Therefore, the claim made by The Wire that MI&B will have the power to choose the members and head of the self-regulatory committee is false.

Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin shows 81% efficacy, phase 3 trials with 25,800 subjects completed

OpIndia Staff
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Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin shows 81% efficacy, phase 3 trials with 25,800 subjects completed

Bharat Biotech announced today that the Phase 3 trials of its COVID-19 vaccine known as Covaxin, India’s indigenous vaccine, demonstrated an almost 81% efficacy rate. The Phase 3 trials, made up of 25,800 subjects, were the largest ever clinical trials conducted in India in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research.

This comes after PM Modi kicked off Phase 2 of the COVID-19 vaccination drive by getting vaccinated himself with the Covaxin vaccine.

The data from the Phase 3 trials reveals that vaccines and placebos were given to the subjects in a 1:1 ratio and that the vaccine was well tolerated by the subjects receiving it, the company said. “Trials will continue to the final analysis of 130 confirmed cases in order to gather more data and evaluate the efficacy of the vaccine”, the company further added. 

“Today is an important milestone in vaccine discovery, for science and our fight against coronavirus. With today’s results from our Phase 3 clinical trials, we have now reported data on our COVID-19 vaccine from Phase 1, 2, and 3 trials involving around 27,000 participants,” Bharat Biotech head Krishna Ella said. 

The efficacy rate of the vaccine was determined through a first interim analysis of 43 cases of COVID-19. 36 of these cases belonged to the placebo group of the vaccine trial, meaning that out of the individuals given the vaccine, 7 contracted COVID-19, resulting in the estimate of 80.6% efficacy rate. Covaxin is one of the two vaccines approved by the Indian Government to be included in the Government vaccination drive, of which the first phase commenced on 16th January. However, Covaxin is India’s only indigenous COVID-19 vaccine.

A National Institute of Virology analysis claims that the Covaxin can potentially neutralize more effective and virulent strains of COVID-19 like the U.K. Strain. “Analysis from the National Institute of Virology indicates that vaccine-induced antibodies can neutralise the UK variant strains and other heterologous strains”, the company stated. 

“Bharat Biotech expects to share further details of the trial results as additional data become available. An additional interim analysis is planned for 87 cases, and the final analysis is planned for 130 cases. All data from the second interim and final analyses will be shared via pre-publication servers as well as submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication,” the company statement read.

Bharat Biotech expects to supply its Covaxin to other countries, with at least 40 countries expressing interest in it. Recently, Bharat Biotech confirmed that the company has signed an agreement with Brazil for the supply of 20 million doses of Covaxin.

Feminism is not un-Islamic: Pakistan’s Aurat Azadi March explains ahead of Women’s Day after the rally was attacked last year

OpIndia Staff
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Feminism is not un-Islamic: Pakistan’s Aurat Azadi March explains ahead of Women’s Day after the rally was attacked last year

Ahead of the annual Aurat March (Women’s march) event in Pakistan, the official Twitter handle associated with the movement reiterated that it is not ‘un-Islamic’ for women to hit the streets for their civil liberties.

In a tweet on Friday (February 26), Aurat Azadi March Islamabad wrote, “The mainstream narrative about Aurat March is that it’s un-Islamic. This idea has been hammered into us that our norms & cultural values are at stake at the hands of these movements.” To break the stigma attached to it, they had also shared an animation explaining the concept of women’s freedom.

“Is demanding for social and financial equality and justice, un-Islamic? Is it against Islam to speak about education for women? Is it unIslamic to raise voice against the atrocities committed against women? Is it unislamic to speak against child abuse, acid attacks and killing women in the name of honour? If all of it is against Islam, then what is your Islam? Calling ‘Aurat March’ un-Islamic is akin to insulting the religion.”

“We are not against Islam or any religion. The majority of those connected with our movement practice their Faith in private. Feminism is not against Islam, Christianity or any other religion. We are against all such archaic practices that have been traditionally used to oppress women,” the video concluded. Aurat March was first organised in 2018 on the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8th, after which it has become an annual event. On this day, women march in various cities of Pakistan demanding equality and freedom.

Pakistani actress explains the slogans raised at Aurat March

Recently, Pakistani actress Mahira Khan clarified about one of the most ‘misunderstood slogan – Meri Jism Meri Marzi’ that was raised during Aurat March last year. While speaking to host Mira Sethi on her talk show, the ‘Raees’ actress emphasised, “When I say ‘Mera Jism Meri Marzi’, I don’t mean I want to strip my clothes off and run around naked!”

She added, “I mean to say that I am a human and this is my body, so it is up to me whether I allow you to stare at it or touch it, or not. It means that I can report to you if you don’t comply. It means that I can take an action against you if you harass me because you have no right over MY body.”

Paradox: Women protested against ‘Aurat March’ that fought for equal rights for women

In March last year, radical Islamists pelted stones, shoes and sticks at the Aurat March participants, thereby bringing the march to a sudden halt in Islamabad. In May 2020, a group of Burqa clad women took out a rally at Zila Council Chowk in Faisalabad, Pakistan against the “Aurat March” orchestrated by progressive women seeking equal rights at par with men in the orthodox Pakistani society. The Official Twitter account of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Women Wing dubbed the rally against the ‘Aurat March’ as ‘Haya March’ (loosely translated as “march of modesty”). It also alleged that Islam protects Women’s dignity.

“#DismissAbhijitSarkar” hashtag trends on Twitter over Oxford faculty’s Hinduphobic rant against Rashmi Samant

OpIndia Staff
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“#DismissAbhijitSarkar” hashtag trends on Twitter over Oxford faculty’s Hinduphobic rant against Rashmi Samant

After 2 weeks days of her resignation, voices are now coming out in support of Rashmi Samant, the Oxford student who was forced to resign from the post of president-elect of Oxford University Student Union on February 17. Within two days of her winning the election, her old posts were circulated on social media platforms defaming her. She was bullied, threatened and ridiculed for being a Hindu.

Amidst all the hate she had to face, there was one post that was a stark example of the kind of hatred and discrimination centred around Samant’s Hindu identity. The post was made by one of the Faculty members at Oxford, identified as Dr Abhijit Sarkar. In his long post against Samant on Instagram, he showcased his bigoted Hinduphobic nature and ranted how someone who follows Sanatan Dharma should not be allowed to become the leader of the student union.

Post made by Abhijit Sarkar against Samant

Sarkar shared Samant’s photograph with her parents with the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ batch and alleged that it was Islamophobic. He also alleged that her campaign was funded by Indians. Towards the end of his post, he wrote, “Very glad to see that she has been forced to resign within 2 days after her election ❤. Tell Zee News that Oxford students are still not ready for “Sanatani” president.”

In the particularly vile post, Sarkar accused Rashmi of being Islamophobic by alleging that she came from coastal Karnataka, which the faculty member termed as “a bastion of Islamophobic far-right forces”.

“…Far-right Desi forces hate White people and Western modernity because they want to reinstate Sanatan Hindu “culture” with its inherent caste-based tortures and the most violent form of patriarchy. Of course, they are always ready to destroy statues of non-Hindutva people, be it Muslims or Christians or liberal Hindus,” the post read.

Reaction from netizens

Netizens have come forward in support of Samant and demanded action against Sarkar. Alpesh B. Patel, former Visiting Fellow at Oxford, said in a tweet, “I find faculty exhibiting views like this overtly against my faith indeed any faith, obscene offensive and probably criminal incitement to hatred. No Vice-Chancellor should permit this.”

English Bahen, a vlogger, urged Oxford University to take action against Sarkar and said, “As a former DPhil student at Oxford, I am appalled to read the views of Faculty member Abhijit Sarkar about my Hindu religion and also his obscene words of hatred against a young Hindu student. Abhijit is instrumenting Hindu Genocide.”

Sanjay Dixit, former IAS and author, called Sarkar a “mentally enslaved Hindu hater Modiphobe who led the campaign to oust the newly elected Oxford Student’s Union President Rashmi Samant.”

The trend #DismissAbhijitSarkar was shared by many on social media, urging the Oxford University to sack the hateful person.

Sarkar has a history of making Hinduphobic comments

This was not the first time Sarkar had made vile Hinduphobic comments on social media.

Another post by Sarkar where he claimed he used to break Goddess Saraswati idols

On February 16, he shared a post in Bengali with Goddess Saraswati photo in it and wrote, “I remember when I was a kid I broke several Saraswati idols by thrashing them on the floor. I have been aggressively anti-religion from childhood you see.”

‘Was shot at because I carried out Tiranga rally and opposed throwing of beef outside Hindu houses’: RSS activist narrates political violence in West Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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‘Was shot at because I carried out Tiranga rally and opposed throwing of beef outside Hindu houses’: RSS activist narrates political violence in West Bengal

West Bengal remains to be one of the states worst hit by political violence. The incidents of violence against political opponents only increased following an impressive performance by the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 when it managed to bag 18 of the 42 seats from the state. As West Bengal gears up for the upcoming assembly elections, OpIndia got in touch with several victims of political violence and tried to understand their perspective.

One of the victims OpIndia interviewed is Bir Bahadur Singh, an RSS activist, who was shot at point-blank range in Kolkata’s Metiabruz area in public view. Singh was on his way to teach at Tantia High school, near Mohammad Ali Park, Kolkata, when he was shot at from behind.

Subjected to constant harassment since I helped Hindu victims of beef attack in 2018: Singh

Speaking about the attack on him, Singh recounts that it all started in January 2018 when he attended a Tiranga rally in the area. At the time of the rally, unknown miscreants had thrown a piece of beef outside the houses of Hindu minorities in the neighbourhood. Singh had accompanied the victims to the local councillor’s office to register their complaint.

The local councillor, belonging to the ruling TMC came to the area, picked up the piece of beef and threw it away, Singh remembers. However, the councillor did not direct a probe to ascertain the culprits behind the incident. Following this, Singh and others went to the police station to file a complaint in the matter.

Singh claims when he and others went to the police station to file a complaint about pieces of beef were thrown outside the houses of Hindus, the police officials refused to file a complaint. He also recounts that they were mentally tortured for 2 hours at the police station and were released only after they signed a confession document that said they were the ones who threw beef.

Four months later, Singh was charged for stoking communal tensions. A few months later, he was charged with a case of robbery. The systematic harassment of Singh culminated in an attack in December 2019 when the RSS activist was shot at point-blank, allegedly by goons of the TMC councillor.

“I had gotten out of my house and was walking to a place when I was shot at from behind. There was nobody in the vicinity to help so I walked 200 meters and called for help. After some time, a relative of mine came, whom I asked to call the police. The police admitted me to a hospital. I have not got justice so far. The bullet tore through my body. I was warned a couple of days before the attack that my life may be in danger,” Singh said.

Bir Bahadur also said that some leaders in West Bengal are rattled by ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chants. He also said some people have made it their business to intimidate Hindus and coerce them into leaving the area. Singh cited an example of a Hindu family that has been threatened to vacate their house or suffer the consequence for their defiance.

Change in Bengal inevitable; fight for justice will continue in new Bengal: Singh

The RSS activist also expressed confidence in getting justice and stated that there is going to be a change in Bengal in the coming two months after which he will seek justice for all the victims of the political violence.

When asked if the party leaders helped him through his difficult time, Singh said senior members of the RSS stood beside him all the time and extended their help in whatever capacity they could to fight against the tyranny of the ruling TMC and their goons. He also added that the senior RSS members have assured him that they will continue to seek justice for him and other victims of the violence.

Minority Hindus fleeing Metiabruz for safer places : Singh

Regarding Metiabruz, a Muslim-majority region, Singh said that earlier a large number of Hindus lived in the area, but the number has steadily come down because of mounting threats that have forced them to flee. It is worth noting that Metiabruz is the same area that was declared as ‘Mini Pakistan’ by a Trinamool Congress minister.

Mamata Banerjee’s minister Farhad Hakim had told a Pakistani journalist that Metiabruz of the Garden Reach area is the ‘mini Pakistan’ of Kolkata. He told the journalist of ‘The Dawn’ – “Come, I will take you on a tour of Mini Pakistan”. This is the same area where the last Nawab of Awadh, Wazid Ali Shah, spent the last 30 years of his life.

As Anurag Kashyap, Taapsee Pannu and others face raid by Income Tax department, ‘liberals’ descend to cry vendetta

OpIndia Staff
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As Anurag Kashyap, Taapsee Pannu and others face raid by Income Tax department, ‘liberals’ descend to cry vendetta

Hours after the Income Tax Department raided 22 locations linked to director Anurag Kashyap and actress Taapsee Pannu in a tax evasion case on Wednesday, liberals suffered a meltdown on Twitter.

The meltdown of the ‘liberal bandwagon’

‘Nira Radia tapes‘ famed journalist Vir Sanghvi insinuated that it is an act of vengeance on the part of the government, against its own people. “At some point, this strategy will stop working. People will not be scared. They will still speak the truth. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, actor Taapsee Pannu face income tax raids,” he wrote.

Screengrab of the tweet by Vir Sanghvi

Serial fake news peddler Mohammed Zubair quoted PM Narendra Modi to suggest that the CBI has been politicised and working on the behest of the Indian government to trouble ‘innocent people’ such as Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu. He wrote, “Politicization of CBI, its misuse, troubling innocent people… You will have to answer the people of India for this: Shri Narendra Modi (2013).”

Screengrab of the tweet by Mohammed Zubair

‘Activist’ and lawyer Prashant Bhushan did not leave behind. He said, “Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, actor Taapsee Pannu face income tax raids. BJP’s A team at work to harass, intimidate and silence those who don’t fall in line. India has never seen such malafide use of IT Department, ED, NIA, police etc.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Prashant Bhushan

‘Journalists’ Swati Chaturvedi and Saba Naqvi resorted to one liners to target the Modi government. While Chaturvedi wrote, “So predictable”, Naqvi contented herself with “Why am I not surprised” gimmick.

Screengrab of the tweet by Swati Chaturvedi

Another ‘visionary’ journalist, Deepal Trivedi claimed, “Yeh to Hona hi tha (This was bound to happen).”

Screengrab of the tweet by Deepal Trivedi

Besides Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu, the IT Department also raided the properties of producer Vikas Bahl, and producer Madhu Mantena. As per reports, the IT department has alleged these four have evaded tax. Phantom Films’ office has also been raided. The company was formed by Kashyap, Bahl, Mantena and Vikramaditya Motwane. In 2018, the company was dissolved following sexual assault allegations against Bahl by a former Phantom employee.

Metro car shed: Maha govt says it is ready to pay for disputed Kanjurmarg land, months after claiming it cost Rs 0

OpIndia Staff
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Metro car shed: Maha govt says it is ready to pay for disputed Kanjurmarg land, months after claiming it cost Rs 0

Months after Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray boasted that the land acquired in Kanjurmarg for the development of the Metro car shed was secured free of cost, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, in its latest application to the Bombay High Court, expressed its willingness to acquire the land by granting all benefits and compensation to whoever may be successful in the legal dispute.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has approached the Bombay High Court seeking its approval to start its work related to the construction of an integrated car shed for Metro lines 3, 4 and 6 at the disputed site in Kanjurmarg. An application in this regard was filed by the MMRDA in the High Court last month. The case was heard in the court on Tuesday, which said that it would hear the case finally on March 12.

In the application, the MMRDA argued that without the construction of the car shed, Metro lines 3 (Colaba-Bandra- SEEPZ), 4 (Kasarwadavali-Wadala) and 6 (Lokhandwala-Vikhroli) cannot be commissioned and made available for the use of public. Besides the problems caused to the public, the delay would even incur financial costs to the MMRDA, the application said.

The MMRDA was seeking modification of the court order passed on December 16, 2020, wherein it restrained the authorities from carrying out any construction work pertaining to the car shed at the said land. The court had put an interim stay on the order passed by the Mumbai suburban district collector on 1 October 2020, allotting 102 acres of land in Kanjurmarg to the MMRDA for construction of an integrated car shed.

Maharashtra government expresses its willingness to compensate whoever wins the litigation to acquire the Kanjurmarg land

The Maharashtra government and the Centre are embroiled in a legal dispute over the ownership of the land allotted by the state for the construction of the car depot that was earlier planned at Aarey Colony, an area in suburban Goregaon. After the district collector earmarked the land to the Metro body, the Centre had filed a petition in the HC last year, challenging the collector’s order and claiming that the land at Kanjurmarg belongs to its Salt Department.

Now, as the legal dispute drags on, the MMDRA has said in its application that it has, at no time, attempted to claim the ownership of the land and expressed its desire to compensate whomsoever be the successful party in the dispute.

“The MMRDA is ready and willing to undertake to give all benefits and compensation to which the owner and/or the lessee would be entitled on the acquisition of the said land to whomsoever may be the successful party in the dispute,” the application filed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) at the Bombay High Court last month said.

Earlier, the Bombay HC had also slammed the collector’s order regarding the transfer of Kanjurmarg land for the metro car shed, saying that it borders on fraud.

Aaditya Thackeray had boasted acquiring the disputed Kanjurmarg land free of cost

This stand by the MMRDA, a body of the Government of Maharashtra that is responsible for preparation of Regional Plan for MMR and the infrastructure development of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, is in sharp contrast to what Maharashtra Environment smugly boasted back in October 2020. Thackeray had then claimed that the car depot land in Kanjurmarg was acquired for free of cost.

“Car depot of Metro 6 & Metro 3 will be common at Kanjurmarg. The land for the same has been handed over to @MMRDAOfficial last week, for a sum of ₹0/- (Free of cost) and soil testing has begun. It was always told it’ll cost more than ₹10,000 crores. It happens for be free,” Thackeray tweeted.

The Metro car shed project at Aarey had been a battleground between environmentalists, who were allegedly backed by vested interests and the Mumbai Metro Rail authorities, ever since the plans were first drawn up in 2015. The previous government led by Devendra Fadnavis in an overnight operation on October 4, 2019, had ordered to fell 2,141 trees at the proposed 33-hectare site, following a Bombay High Court verdict.

However, the Shiv Sena, then a partner in a BJP-led state government, had actively backed the so-called environmentalist and had lent a political voice to those protesting the felling of the trees. Sena prince Aaditya Thackeray, now the state environment minister, spearheaded the movement against the construction of the Metro Car shed and was instrumental in getting the project shifted to Kanjurmarg.

Maha Vikas Aghadi government already knew beforehand the land was under dispute: Report

Even though Aaditya Thackeray and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government preened themselves on acquiring the land for free, a report published in the Times of India in December 2020 revealed that the state government knew beforehand that the Kanjurmarg land it had finalised for the Metro card shed was under litigation. The report said that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government were already informed about the challenges in regard to the Kanjurmarg land site in January 2020, about 9 months before the government decided to shift the Metro car shed from the Aarey colony.

A committee headed by Chief Secretary Manoj Saunik had turned down the plan of a depot at Kanjurmarg in its submissions made in January 2020. The 98-page report submitted by Saunik revealed that officers of Mumbai suburban Collectorate admitted that the land at Kanjurmarg is “still sub judice”.

Is the Education ministry making madarsas teach Gita, Ramayana? A fact-check

OpIndia Staff
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Is the Education ministry making madarsas teach Gita, Ramayana? A fact-check

On March 2, Ramesh Pokhriyal’ Nishank’, Union Minister of Education, released the study material for Indian Knowledge Tradition courses for the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in Noida Uttar Pradesh.

NIOS has prepared 15 courses of Indian Knowledge Tradition that include Veda, Yoga, Science, Vocational Skills and Sanskrit language subjects available in Sanskrit, Hindi and English medium at all three levels of the Open Basic Education Program. These courses are equivalent to 3rd, 5th and 8th standards.

While announcing the new subjects in the 2021 curriculum, NIOS chairperson Prof. Saroj Sharma said that NIOS is trying to include students from Gurukul and Madarsas in the mainstream education program. She also noted that NIOS is working with madarsas to introduce modern education for its students who cannot afford regular school.

She further informed that in the recent meetings held with madarsas, the stakeholders had shown interest in introducing Indian Knowledge Tradition as subjects in madarsas. She said that initially, NIOS is planning to offer these subjects under OBE Program in 100 madarsas and in future it will be expanded further to 500 madarsas.

It has to be noted that NIOS is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education. There are some speculations that the Ministry of Education is trying to force these subjects that include Vedas, Ramayana and other Hindu Scriptures in madarsas which is not true. As the stakeholders have shown interest in incorporating these subjects, NIOS decided to explore the possibilities. Secondly, these subjects are optional. There is no compulsion on any student in madarsa or otherwise to learn these subjects.

Is the education ministry ‘imposing’ these courses on madarsas?

Several news agencies like the Times of India picked up the news but distorted several facts. For example, they did not mention that the stakeholders had shown interest in the subjects. Following the news reports, there were some claims on social media that the government is imposing madarsa students learn Hindu religious teachings.

imposing

Following the emerging controversy, NIOS issued a clarification. It said, “It is clarified herewith that NIOS accredits madrassas under SPQEM (Special provision for quality education of Madrassas). Various subjects are offered to learners under this provision-without any hard-line boundaries of fixed subject combinations unlike that in the formal education system. It is totally the discretion of the learner to opt for subject combination from the bouquet of the subjects provided by NIOS.”

It further added that around 50,000 students from 100 Madarsas are accredited with NIOS. “There are around 100 Madrassas with 50,000 students are accredited with NIOS. Further, there are plans to accredit around 500 more Madrassas with the NIOS in the recent future- totally on the basis of demand of Madrassas,” NIOS said.

NIOS is doing a commendable job in promoting Indian Knowledge Traditions – Pokhriyal

While addressing the attendees, Pokhriyal said that NIOS is doing a commendable job in making efforts to spread the Indian Knowledge Traditions in-country and abroad.

He also informed about the additional courses, including Vedic Studies, Sanskrit grammar, Indian philosophy, Sanskrit literature and Sanskrit language, prepared for Secondary and Senior levels at NIOS. These courses are available in Hindi and Sanskrit language. Experts are translating these subjects in English medium and other major foreign languages so that the Indian culture and knowledge tradition can be taught abroad.

The Minister further added that the course material prepared by NIOS is in sync with the new education policy recently enacted by the central government. The efforts made by NIOS to promote Indian culture, heritage, ancient knowledge and philosophy will prove to be a milestone.

Indian Knowledge Tradition subject details in the latest curriculum

Under OBE, three levels are equivalent to 3rd, 5th and 8th standards. All levels have five subjects that are Veda, Vijnana, Yoga, Sanskrit and Vocational Skills. Under Veda courses, lessons on Ramayan narratives, teachings of Bhagwad Gita, Maheshwara Sutras, Ekatyasastotra, Vedic hymns, Vishnushatranama stotra, the Shikshaavalli, Brahmavalli, Bhriguvalli and Lallishatnama stotra and more are included.

Under Yoga subjects, lessons on Patanjali kritasutra, yoga sutra exercises, Surya namaskars, asanas and activities, pranayama, Yama, niyam, hatha yoga and more are included along with memory-enhancing exercises.

In vocational courses, lessons such as watering plants, cow rearing, cleaning of cowsheds and hygiene, garden care, sowing and harvesting and many others are included.

In Science or Vijnana, lessons such as water, air, vegetation and land conservation in the Vedas, the origin of creation, Panchamabhut, and others are included.

Conclusion

NIOS is an autonomous body that provides distance education, especially to students who cannot afford regular school. It comes under the Ministry of Education. The latest courses under OBE Program include lessons of Ramayana, Gita, Yoga, and more. Though NIOS is introducing these courses in Madarsas, it is being done only after the stakeholders showed interest in these subjects. Moreover, these subjects are optional. It is not mandatory for any madarsa student to study these courses. Thus, speculating that the Ministry of Education is forcing students at Madarsas to learn these subjects is false.

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