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Punjab police books Shiromani Akali Dal leader and 6 others for keeping a girl confined for 8 months, raping and selling her

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab police books Shiromani Akali Dal leader and 6 others for keeping a girl confined for 8 months, raping and selling her

In a major development, the Punjab police have lodged a case against 7 people, including a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader, for holding a 22-year-old girl in captivity and raping her for 8 months. As per reports, 3 police officials have also been suspended for threatening and intimidating the victim.

The victim’s brother informed that on June 24 last year, a female tenant staying in their house took his sister to the house of an Akali Dal leader’s brother. At that time, around 20-25 people were present at the house, including the SAD leader, a godman, and a few women. They had allegedly offered the victim a spiked drink, post which she lost consciousness. On the same day, she was gang-raped by the accused SAD leader, the godman, and several others.

The victim’s brother further said that his sister was kept in Pandhar village in Barnala for 17 days, following which she was taken to Sangrur for 3 days. She was then taken to Bhatinda and forcefully married off in exchange for ₹70000. When she was kept in captivity, the victim overheard a conversation by the accused wherein they were planning to sell her off for ₹3 lacs. The 22-year-old girl somehow managed to flee and contacted her mother. When her brother finally found her, she was in an intoxicated condition.

Victim’s family allege police intimidation

The family members then took her to a government hospital where she underwent a medical examination. The victim has also given her statement before the Magistrate. Fearing threats to their life, the family has demanded protection from the district administration. They alleged that the Station House Officer (SHO) at Barnala police station demanded money from them. The family members then requested to meet the Superintendent of Police but it was turned down. Meanwhile, the case was handed over to another SHO. They alleged that three police officials intimidated the victim to give a statement in favour of the accused.

Three police officials suspended, police investigation resumes

They have demanded stringent action against the 7 accused and the three police officials. DSP (Barnala) Lakhbir Singh Tiwana informed that a First Information Report (No. 340) was registered on July 10 last year. It was based on the complaint by the victim’s mother, who said that the victim was lured by her tenant. Tiwana emphasised that the accused woman was arrested and sent to jail. However, the victim, in her statement before the District magistrate, claimed that she wasn’t lured by anyone and had got married legally on her own accord. As such, the police probe came to a halt in the case.

On February 23 (Tuesday), the police received information that the victim was admitted at the Barnala government hospital. The Magistrate was called in and the victim’s statement was recorded. She has named several people for raping her and accused three police officials of intimidating her. The SP (Barnala) ordered the immediate suspension of the three police officials and directed the resumption of the police investigation. A case was thus registered against 7 people, who hail from different areas including Barnala, Bathinda, Panipat, and Ludhiana.

TMC leader Firhad Hakim spotted campaigning at masjid, promises to increase money paid to Imams, breaches model code of conduct

OpIndia Staff
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TMC leader Firhad Hakim spotted campaigning at masjid, promises to increase money paid to Imams, breaches model code of conduct

On Saturday, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Firhad Hakim was spotted delivering a political speech at a masjid in Kolkata ahead of the upcoming elections in West Bengal, in blatant violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Hakim is the Mayor of Kolkata and the Minister for Urban Development and Municipal Affairs.

The model of conduct clearly states, “There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes. Mosques, Churches, Temples or other places of worship shall not be used as forum for election propaganda.”

In an exclusive news story, TV9 Bharatvarsh reported that the TMC leader raised political slogans at the masjid. In a bid to continue its stronghold over the Muslim vote bank in the State, Firhad Hakim raised the issue of Gujarat riots that took place 19 years ago. While casting aspersions about the rival BJP, he alleged that the rioting that took place in Gujarat in 2002 should not be allowed to repeat in West Bengal. He appealed to the Muslims gathered in the masjid to note vote for the BJP.

Furthermore, Firhad Hakim said that the honorarium (bhata) paid to Imams would be increased if the Mamata-Banerjee-run-TMC is voted back to power. He assured that he has plans to increase the monthly income of the Muslim clerics in the State. Interestingly, the Imam sitting next to him urged the audience to say ‘Ameen’ (as a gesture of agreement to Hakim’s political speech).

On being confronted by TV9 Bharatvarsh leader, the TMC leader claimed that he had come to the mosque to offer prayers (dua) so that the ‘divisive forces’ can be demolished in the state. He further said that around 2000 people died during the Gujarat riots, 52 during the Delhi riots, and how terrorist Ishrat Jahan was supposedly killed in a fake encounter case. When quizzed about his promise to increase honorarium for Imams, Hakim tried to dodge the question and said that he did not promise anything.

He claimed that only the ‘morally upright’ Muslims become Imams and that they suffer from financial crisis. The TMC leader added that while Mamata Banerjee made the initiative of ‘Imam bhata’, the funds available with Waqf board can solve their financial crisis. On being prodded further, Hakim reiterated that he was invited to the Imam Conference at the masjid premises and that he had come to only offer prayers. Hitting out at the TMC, the BJP has informed that they would approach the Election Commission and register a complaint against Firhad Hakim for violating the Model Code of Conduct.

The fight over Muslim vote bank in West Bengal

Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress party and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM have been locked in a battle for Muslim votes in Bengal.

It may be recalled how Mamata Banerjee had launched a scathing attack at Owaisi after the latter announced to enter the electoral fray in the state. She had accused AIMIM of being under the payroll of BJP, saying that they were indirectly helping BJP by dividing the Muslim votes. However, responding to the allegations of Mamata Banerjee, Asaduddin Owaisi had lambasted her by saying that he cannot be bought for money.

On one side, Asaduddin Owaisi is threatening to capture her Muslim vote bank while on the other, the Hindus have already consolidated behind the BJP due to her continuous Muslim appeasement. In such a precarious situation, it is only just that the unnerved Mamata Banerjee wants at least Owaisi to not enter the electoral fray of West Bengal. The Election Commission of India on Friday announced an eight-phased Assembly poll for West Bengal beginning March 27. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

As desperate Pakistan welcomes the Indo-Pak ceasefire with much fanfare, India takes it with a caution

Shashank Bharadwaj
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As desperate Pakistan welcomes the Indo-Pak ceasefire with much fanfare, India takes it with a caution

On Thursday, the Indian and Pakistan Armed Forces surprisingly announced a ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. The Directors General of Military Operations of India and Pakistan released a joint statement saying that they have held discussions regarding establishing a hotline contact mechanism and agreed to a ceasefire along the LoC starting from February 25.

The latest ceasefire agreement between the two sides comes nearly 17 years after such an agreement was first signed between India and Pakistan, which was broadly held till the 2016 Uri attack. Since 2018, the tensions have only escalated between the two sides, causing a violation of the ceasefire agreement with more than 5,000 incidents reported this year alone.

Interestingly, the latest ceasefire agreements between the two militaries come when Pakistan faces its toughest challenges – both domestically and internationally. Even though the latest ceasefire is being observed in India with caution, strangely, the Pakistan government and its security establishment have welcomed it with much fanfare. Not just in Pakistan, even the peaceniks and pro-Pakistan sympathisers in India are excited about the ceasefire agreement hoping that this could open avenues for rapprochement between the two sides and lead to normalisation of the diplomatic relations.

Though such unwritten understanding does not hold any large value, the ceasefire along the LoC, for now, has given some breathing space for Pakistan. The desperation of Pakistan to achieve some peace along the LoC through a ceasefire was evident from the statements put out by Moeed Yusuf, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s key advisor on security affairs. As the two sides announced the agreement, Yusuf said that the outcome was due to the “behind the scenes” contacts and hoped that the agreement would open more roads in future.

Desperate Pakistan ecstatic about ceasefire

Moeed Yusuf, who holds the post of special assistant to Khan on national security and strategic policy planning, revealed how Pakistan had to put all its efforts for many months and years to convince India on an agreement to have a ceasefire along the LoC. He also contended that the joint statement was a victory for Pakistan, as India did not initially agree to a ceasefire.

Most importantly, Yusuf stressed that Pakistan was “repeatedly saying that we want peace and we want that there should be a ceasefire at the LoC” so that innocent civilians are not killed. According to the people familiar with developments in Pakistan, Yusuf has played a key role in efforts to achieve a breakthrough with India and has the backing of the powerful military, including Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa.

If one takes a closer look at the latest ceasefire agreement and the subsequent statement released by the Pakistani establishment, it is rather evident that Pakistan seeks a ‘detente’ with India as it has become extremely costly for the terror-state to wage a proxy war against India continuously.

Why is Pakistan craving for ‘peace’ with India now?

It is not an unknown fact today that Pakistan is facing turmoil, both internationally and within the country. The internal dynamics in the Islamic republic has added to the increasing international pressure on the Pakistan government to act against the terror infrastructure it nurtured all these years. The mounting pressure on Pakistan seems to have a bearing on the ceasefire agreement as well. Multiple factors are behind Pakistan to engage in talks with India even as it continues to inflict terror in Kashmir.

The fear of sanctions by international watchdogs for failing to act on the terror appartus and the gradual decline of Pakistan’s relevance in the global power architecture due to its active support to terror has now been pushed the Islamic country into a corner. Facing the heat, Pakistan has been forced to take some tough decisions and rapproachment with India to achieve a short term peace is one of them.

The terror-state of Pakistan is imploding as it faces innumerable challenges both domestically and internationally. The influential role of the Pakistan military in its domestic politics and over-reliance on terror as a state policy to confront its neighbours has backfired the Islamic country. On its western front, where it shares borders with Afghanistan, there are no clear signs of any definitive policy as the United States continue to drag their feet on Afghan peace talks with the Taliban. Pakistan intends to play a major role in Afghan security once an agreement between the United States and Taliban is achieved and hence has invested more monetary resources and troops on its Western front.

On its eastern front, it is not an unknown fact that Pakistan has outsourced its ‘holy war’ against India to the Mujahideens and Islamic terror groups, which it often treats as its second-tier militia. Several POK and Kashmir-based terror groups have become a mainstay of Pakistan’s India policy and have used these terror groups to bleed India with thousand cuts.

‘Terror’ as a state-policy is not yielding results for Pakistan

The coming of Narendra Modi and the aggressive approach of the Indian Armed Forces, which is vigorously carrying out counter-terror operations both inside the valley and deep inside the enemy’s territory, has forced Pakistan to rethink its state-sponsored terror policy. With its conventional Army reluctant to face Indian troops and the terror-groups, it sponsored all along is being eliminated by Indian forces, Pakistan has no choice but to seek peace with India along the Line of Control.

Another important factor that has forced Pakistan to plead for peace also emanates from the ongoing actions by the global watchdogs such as FATF, which have been extremely critical of Pakistan’s dubious standards of using terror apparatus as a diplomatic tool to negotiate both in Afghanistan and India. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which monitors terror financing, has placed Pakistan on the grey-list for almost three years now, leading to massive losses worth billions for the country. There are possibilities that sanctions could be imposed against Pakistan and place it under FATF’s blacklist if it fails to act against terror groups.

Perhaps, Pakistan hopes that a thaw in relations with India could give them the much-needed space and time to address other issues that threaten the very survival of the country.

Adding to increasing global pressure, there have been reports that China is forcing the Imran Khan government to take steps to re-engage with India. China, which has invested billions in developing its ambitious CPEC corridor in the Indian territory of POK, has been facing tremendous security challenges, both in PoK and Balochistan, where it is building a port at Gwadar. The Chinese have run into deep trouble in Balochistan and Gilgit- Baltistan as they continue to face stiff resistance from the local people.

The massive loss of face for China in the recent stand-off with India along the LAC has also limited Pakistan’s options, which miscalculated India’s strategic response to China’s belligerence on the northern border. The China-India disengagement process has altered Pakistan’s choices now, leaving it with an option of seeking peace with India. With India has no incentive to talk to Pakistan, any dialogue on peace has to start from Pakistan, and it has made its first move by holding talks with the Indian DGMO to announce a ceasefire agreement.

Pakistan also understands that it has reached an endgame in Kashmir as normalcy is slowly returning in the valley. Today, the people of Jammu and Kashmir are gradually entering the mainstream by rejecting Pakistan-based separatists. The Kashmiris are rejoicing the progress that has been made ever since the controversial Article 370 was abrogated. The Kashmir landscape has gone a major shift in the last two years that is openly visible today. There are no more funerals for terrorists, incidents of stone-pelting have reduced as there is a visible change in the mindset of the people of Kashmir. The Kashmiris want long-lasting peace and are aware that it is definitely not Pakistan that is going to deliver it for them.

India negotiates on its strength, ready to tackle Pakistan challenge

Perhaps, Pakistan has now understood that it cannot continue to inflict terror on India without paying a cost to it. Narendra Modi government’s aggressive posture towards Pakistan, especially on the issue of inflicting terror inside Kashmir, has forced Pakistan to amend its way. Ever since the Modi government took reign at the centre, Pakistan’s policy has always been resolute. Soon after coming to power, PM Modi invited Pakistan Prime Minister to his swearing ceremony and followed it with his surprise visit to Pakistan. The goodwill gesture and the intent shown by PM Modi towards achieving peace with Pakistan was honest and real.

However, Pakistan’s treachery was out in the open when it carried out the Uri terror attacks in 2016 and trained terrorists to carry out the Pulwama terror attack in 2019. With Pakistan continuing to use terror as the state policy against India, the Modi government seems to have learnt its lesson the hard way.

When its come to active dialogue with Pakistan, the Indian government has categorically stated that talks and terror cannot go hand-in-hand. There is no engagement between the two sides today. India has nothing to gain from speaking to Pakistan or having an active engagement with the hostile neighbour. The Indian security establishment has reiterated that the talks between the two sides will happen on its terms and not how Pakistan wants it.

The latest ceasefire agreement, initiated by Pakistan, does not stop India from acting on terror groups emanating from Pakistan. The Indian security establishment is now closely watching how Pakistan would uphold the terms of the agreement. It also understands that such informal ceasefire agreements with Pakistan should be taken with extreme caution. Hence, it is not surprising to see that neither the Indian security establishment nor the strategic observers have shown any enthusiasm over the latest ceasefire agreement in contrast to the excitement shown by Pakistan and a few peaceniks in India.

One has to see whether Pakistan keeps its words to keep peace along the borders or indulge in its usual tricks of using terror as a state policy to inflict terror on India. Nevertheless, India seems to be well prepared to tackle the Pakistan challenge this time with more intent and vigour if Pakistan violates the ceasefire agreement in the near future.

Congress leader Hardik Patel, touted as ‘answer to Modi’ by neutral journalists, expresses anger against his party after Gujarat rout

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Hardik Patel, touted as ‘answer to Modi’ by neutral journalists, expresses anger against his party after Gujarat rout

Long touted by ‘neutral journalists’ as an ‘answer to Modi’, Congress working president Hardik Patel is miffed with the Gujarat Congress unit for not using him enough. Patel, who rose to prominence after spearheading the Patidar quota agitation in 2015, is unhappy with the Gujarat Congress leaders and has made no bones about it.

“I am not used to the best of my abilities. I am associated with Congress and connected with their ideology. So I am working to help the party win the elections. I came to Congress because of the ideology of the party. I want to see the party winning elections,” Patel said.

Speaking in an interview with the Indian Express, Hardik stated that the Congress’s state leadership did not organise a single public meeting for him ahead of the local body elections. Patel, who was campaigning for the second phase of the local body polls, said he attended 27 public rallies, all on his own and not organised by the Congress party. Patel bemoaned that if Ahmed Patel were alive, the Congress loyalist would not have let the BJP gain 219 seats uncontested so far.

Highlighting that Gujarat Congress has underutilised him, Hardik said, “Many times I tell the party that when I joined the Congress, I thought Congress would utilise me. Even there, I feel that my Pradesh high command, the state party in-charge has failed. Organise my meetings, I am ready to do 25 meetings a day. You tell me from today you have to do a 500 km padayatra, assign me something, I tell the party, again and again, give me some work.”

“…Not a single one of my tours have been decided by the PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee). Still, I am on my toes because I want to strengthen the party, whether someone else does or not. They (Congress leaders) might be wanting to pull me down, push me and bring me down. Let them, I will stand up again,” Patel said.

BJP retains all six municipal corporations in Gujarat that went to polls on February 21

Patel’s lamentation comes after an embarrassing poll drubbing that Congress received in the six Municipal corporation elections in Gujarat and ahead of the second phase of the polls in which seats for 81 municipalities, 31 district panchayats and 231 taluka panchayats will be up for grabs on February 28. The results of the elections will be declared on March 2.

In the recently concluded local body polls, the ruling BJP retained power in all the six municipal corporations in the state — Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar. The polls were held on February 21. Congress had a disastrous poll outcome, with other political parties such as AAP making impressive gains at its expense.

Encryption vs Compliance: The new IT Act guidelines put messaging services like WhatsApp in a tight situation

OpIndia Staff
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Encryption vs Compliance: The new IT Act guidelines put messaging services like WhatsApp in a tight situation

The recently announced guidelines for social media intermediaries under the IT Act are going to impact the concerned companies in a major away. While most of the talk is about how it will impact Facebook and Twitter, the two major social media companies, it will have a greater impact on messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. It may be noted that the new guidelines define ‘social media intermediary’ as an intermediary that allows two or more users to create, upload, share, disseminate, modify or access information using their services. This means that internet-based messaging services are also part of such intermediaries.

The most significant change that is being brought into the social media spectrum by the guidelines is the responsibility of the companies to not allow its users to post content which have been barred under the guidelines, and identify the origin of such objectionable content.

To combat the menace of fake news, and the trend of inciting violence, issuing threats etc through the intermediary platforms, the guidelines state that the companies will have to identify the user who had posted such content for the first time in India. The guidelines also have a long list of the type of content which are not to be allowed on the intermediary platforms, like contents which are defamatory, obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, inciting violence, against national integrity, misleading, false etc.

If the companies don’t comply with these rules, they will lose the safety harness that is provided to them under the IT Act, which shields them from any objectionable content on their networks. The same IT Act says that if the companies do not observe the due diligence defined under the act, the companies will lose the safety harness, and they will be deemed responsible for the content posted on their platforms, and their officials will be prosecuted and can be punished, including imprisonment.

Therefore, now the social media companies won’t be able to ignore orders by government or courts to remove objectionable content, and identify the originator of such content, like they had done earlier.

For social media companies, it is not a big issue to implement, as the content posted on those platforms are already in the public domain, and the companies will able to identify content that has been deemed objectionable as per the rules, and also to identify the origin of such content in India.

But it poses a serious challenge for the messaging platforms, which have been built around the concept of privacy and encryption. WhatsApp for example, which has the highest number of users in India among all intermediaries, offers end-to-end encryption. This mean, once a message is sent, it can be viewed only by the recipient, nobody can snoop on a message going through the network in between. WhatsApp claims that its encryption is so strong that, even the company itself can’t view the messages passing through its network. Other messaging services like Telegram or Signal also make similar claims of data privacy on their platforms.

Now this feature of data privacy directly comes into the way of the new guidelines under the IT Act. In order to identify objectionable content, and the originator of such content, now companies like WhatsApp will have to look into the content of the messages, and users who sent them.

The government says that it does not want the content of the messages, as it will be already in the public domain if any action will be initiated against it, and govt only want the originator of the message. But it does not solve the problem for the messaging platforms. Because, to find who sent a particular message, the company will still have to look into the messages.

This means, platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram, who advertise their encryption as their main USP, will be forced to break their encryption to comply with the Indian laws. Moreover, if the companies implement some measures to circumvent their encryption to look into the content, it will be potential security hazard, as hackers could take the advantage of such a measure.

In this regard, it is important to note that social media intermediaries will not be forced to reveal the originator for all cases. Government can ask to reveal the originator only in those cases where the content violates such an Indian law which have jail term of minimum 5 years as punishment. This means, companies will have to identify the origin for social media posts that threaten the sovereignty and integrity of India, friendly relations with other nations, public order, and offences related to rape, child sexual abuse material etc only. For cases like defamation, fake news, pornography etc, the companies will not be forced to reveal the originator.

In the past, when the Indian government had asked WhatsApp to identify the origin of fake news spread on the platform, the company had refused to do so citing its encryption policy. But now that disclosing such information when sought has been made mandatory, and refusing to do so will mean losing the safe harbour provision, the company will be in a very tough situation.

Even if the company decides to comply with the Indian laws and breaks its encryption, it will be breaking its own rules and regulations. It may also attract litigation from users for compromising with their privacy. It is notable that Supreme Court of India has declared that Right to Privacy is a fundamental right.

In case WhatsApp concedes and devises some way to break its encryption on India government’s demand, it may open a pandora’s box, and governments and law enforcement agencies in other countries will also start demanding the same. It will put the company in a difficult situation.

To maintain a balance between finding anti-social elements and ensuring privacy for general users, the government of India had suggested that every message on WhatsApp should have an ‘digital fingerprint’ attached to it, so that the messages can be traced back to its originator. While the government claims it is technically possible, WhatsApp claims its end-to-end encryption does not allow such traceability.

Caught in such a catch-22 position, the messaging services will have to find way out. If they don’t want to compromise with their encryption technology, they may even be forced to terminate their operations in India. Or may be the company can launch an India specific app without the encryption, and make the original app not available in India.

Although the guidelines were issued on Friday, the companies have been three months to implement them. It is possible that the companies will find a way around this mess. Also, companies may be able to negotiate with the government to tweak the rules which makes it easier to implement.

‘You are Brahmin, all of you is for sale’: AAP supporter spreads caste hatred against Brahmins after alleging fraud by Congress supporter

OpIndia Staff
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‘You are Brahmin, all of you is for sale’: AAP supporter spreads caste hatred against Brahmins after alleging fraud by Congress supporter

There was a great feud between two prominent members of the left-liberal coterie where eminent Congress supporter Saket Gokhale was accused of fraud by AAP supporter Amit Behere. The latter admitted that he was stupid enough to fall for the former’s tricks and ended up contributing Rs. 25,000 towards Gokhale’s crowdfunding scheme.

Amit Behere is influential among the left-liberal ecosystem and is followed by many official functionaries of Congress like Sanjay Jha, members of Aam Admi Party, journalists with various publications including Barkha Dutt’s MoJo, the alleged fact-checking website Alt News’ co-founder, Harsh Mandar, and many other ‘secular-liberals’.

Now, as it appears, the AAP supporter has embarked upon a venomous tirade against the Brahmin community, calling them thief and fraud, and suggested that his Brahmin caste played a part in Gokhale’s antics.

Amit Behere said, while quote-tweeting Saket Gokhale, “You are Brahmin. *ALL* of you is for sale, since millennia. You beg for money from people.”

Amit Behere rants against Brahmins
Amit Behere rants against Brahmins

The AAP supporter has claimed that Gokhale is a “confirmed” fraud. He stated further, “Every Brahmin, every Gokhale, every Behere who asks for money is a CONFIRMED fraud.”

Amit Behere rants against Brahmins
Amit Behere says all Brahmins are frauds

He did not stop there and called the Congress supporter a “textbook Brahmin thief”.

Amit Behere rants against Brahmins
Source: Twitter

Behere “categorically” stated that “all Brahmins are frauds”.

Amit Behere rants against Brahmins
Source: Twitter

While his allegations against Saket Gokhale would require further investigation, the extent of his hatred towards Brahmins is shocking indeed.

Source: Twitter

His rants against Brahmins have been going for over a week. When someone from his camp suggested that he was being bigoted, he insisted that what he was saying is perfectly acceptable.

Source: Twitter

Behere claimed that Gokhale had committed a “Brahminical fraud”.

Source: Twitter

Behere attacked Rahul Gandhi as well and claimed that he is a failure of a politician because he is a “Brahmin at heart”.

Source: Twitter

Amit Behere appears to have special hatred in his heart for Marathi Brahmins. The entire thread is not visible because he has deleted one tweet.

Source: Twitter

Following the serious accusations by Amit Behere, Saket Gokhale asked him share his account number to return the money he had paid as donation.

The Congress supporter said he was neither donating to Sanghis nor he was Behere’s personal banker and went on to share the receipt of the money he returned to the AAP follower. However, he did not clarify about the alleged lakhs of rupees that he had collected, as per Behere’s allegations.

Is Yogendra Yadav now an anti-election activist?

Abhishek Banerjee
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Is Yogendra Yadav now an anti-election activist?

“We should have an outcome very soon, we do not have a mandate.” These were the words of Yogendra Yadav speaking to NDTV on the day of election results in Bihar.

There are two ways to interpret this statement. First, you could be generous to him. When these words were said, there was still some chance of the RJD catching up with NDA. Or there could have been a hung assembly. Maybe that’s what he meant.

You could also look at it another way. By forcing some kind of distinction between mandate and outcome, is Yogendra Yadav subtly trying to undermine elections themselves? If you think that might be a stretch, listen to what he said the following day. He comes up with not one but three reasons why one should not read much into the results of the Bihar elections.

“… and third and most importantly, because elections are no longer the most happening things in our democracy. Some of the most important things are happening outside the Parliamentary electoral arena.“

That is an astounding statement. He just dismissed the significance of electoral results from Bihar, a state of 100 million people. Then he said elections are not even the most happening things in our democracy. And finally, he left little to the imagination by specifying that the important things in our democracy are happening outside the Parliamentary electoral arena.

Do these sound like the words of an individual who believes in our constitution? I’m just asking.

Is this merely a case of Yogendra Yadav choosing his words poorly, two days in a row? Maybe. But you decide if you can find a pattern somewhere. Here he is, telling us all to “worry” about the upcoming elections in Bengal.

The Print article by Yogendra Yadav

In some ways, that article sort of reads like a masterpiece of plausible deniability. It goes into great detail about accusations of manipulation, booth capturing and strong-arm tactics in the 1972 state elections in Bengal. It then explains why the BJP needs Bengal in 2021 at least as much or even more desperately than Congress needed the state in 1972. In the last few paragraphs, the article makes a sharp turn. Yadav suddenly says he is “ultra-cautious” and refuses to make direct allegations of rigging or fraud. All he does is present some general, routine fears about misuse of government machinery and tells us all to “worry.”

Let me show you this as well. This was written just before Bihar elections.

The Print article by Yogendra Yadav

Here are just some of the quotes from the article that I found interesting.

“Elections, at the state or national level, are no longer pivotal to our political life.“

“Elections became more of a routine exercise, which mattered immensely to the candidates and parties, but did not reflect deeper trends. Gradually, elections were more about money, media, and management than about masses.“

“As the BJP became more and more focused on winning elections at all costs, elections were emptied out of their larger significance. It’s now all about the election machine and media management.“

“More importantly, elections are no longer the registers of resistance to the powers-that-be.“

Everyone gets frustrated about politics from time to time and goes off on a rant. But you can’t miss the extreme vitriol that Yogendra Yadav seems to have towards elections in India. Most tellingly, this line:

“It is increasingly unlikely that a serious counter to the hegemony of the BJP will come through elections.“

Whose rhetoric is this? What does it remind you of when someone tells you that elections are no longer useful as “registers of resistance” against power? Who talks like this?

To be sure, Yadav fills up the space between these one-liners with loads of “context.” He refers to all sorts of peaceful protests and mass movements in the history of India. That’s reassuring. But he does keep coming back to his jibes against our elections. And someone may wonder: is the rest of the article just context? Or could it be camouflage? I’m just asking.

Perhaps what makes this question somewhat interesting is that Yadav has played an important role in a movement that has now occupied the outskirts of Delhi for several months. On Republic Day, certain people, who may or may not have been part of this movement, stormed our Red Fort and raised another flag. Some people have said that it looked like an attempt at insurrection, but what do they know?

Here is another thing that may or may not be worth mentioning. The so-called leaders of the so-called farmers’ movement don’t seem to be very concerned with the question of money power, or even foreign money power behind the protests. They don’t seem to be very concerned that foreigners are being provided with ‘toolkits’ to interfere in our domestic affairs. Even if the support and financing for the overseas campaign could be coming from known Khalistani groups.

I am trying to contrast this with Yogendra Yadav’s cynical views on our electoral system:

“Gradually, elections were more about money, media, and management than about masses.“

Some people might say that the so called farmer protests are also more about money, media and management than about masses. Full page ads in the New York Times cost a fortune. Some people say that a top celebrity influencer like Rihanna charges millions of dollars for a single tweet.

It is rather strange if Rihanna’s Twitter timeline is a barometer of what the masses want, but elections are not. Ten thousand people protesting on the streets is about the masses, but millions of people standing in line to vote means almost nothing.

By the way, on TV shows and many other forums, Yogendra Yadav is often introduced as national president of some entity called “Swaraj India.” Somebody told me once that it is a bit like a political party, but it rarely seems to contest elections. But then, elections matter little. Maybe Swaraj India is engaged in the other, more happening things in democracy. How can I say?

To borrow an expression from Yadav himself, I am going to be “ultra-cautious, almost a conservative” in my conclusions. I don’t know anything about Yogendra Yadav’s beliefs or intentions. I would never accuse him of any wrongdoing. But I know he is kind of a big deal on TV these days. So I just want to know if he considers himself an anti-election activist. A simple yes/no answer would help.

Yogi Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh advances to the second position on the GSDP list ahead of Tamil Nadu, was fifth only a year ago

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh advances to the second position on the GSDP list ahead of Tamil Nadu, was fifth only a year ago

The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh has become the second-largest state in the country in terms of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at Rs 19.48 lakh crore, moving past industrialised states such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. UP was ranked fifth in 2019-2020 and in 2020-2021, it jumped three ranks, to swap its position with Tamil Nadu.

The government’s data reveals that Uttar Pradesh’s GSDP in the financial year 2020-21 has crossed the Rs 19.48 lakh crore mark, pushing the state to the second position from number five in 2019-20. The achievement accomplished by Uttar Pradesh reflects the economic revival amidst the global downturn in the wake of coronavirus-induced lockdown and restrictions.

The news was shared by UP CM Yogi Adityanath on his official Twitter account. He said UP is the second-highest in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) despite the slowdown triggered by the pandemic.

A report published in Times of India said: “Of late, the state has been in the headlines for leaving an impact at the national level and jumped to the second rank in the ease of doing business and was declared a best-performing state in Kisan Samman Nidhi distribution. CM Yogi had on Wednesday announced in the Assembly that the state government has received a certificate from the Union government for benefiting 2.37 crore farmers under Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana.”

According to experts quoted in the report, though agriculture has been the primary source of to vast population during the lockdown and layoffs, the staggering rise of Uttar Pradesh in the GSDP list, surging past more developed states such as Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu reveal that the non-agriculture activities are showing signs of resilience.

Reportedly, Maharashtra tops the GSDP list at Rs 30.7 lakh crore, followed by UP at Rs 19.48 lakh crores. The state of Tamil Nadu which was last year at number 2 position has slipped to 3 with Rs 19.2 lakh crores. Karnataka has recorded Rs 18 lakh crore GSDP while Gujarat is at Rs 17.4 lakh crores.

The report further mentions that chief minister has informed the house that MoUs of Rs 4.28 lakh crores were signed during the investors’ summit in February 2018, and projects worth Rs 3 lac crores have started at the ground level. State exports have also increased to 32 per cent in the last two years.

Uttar Pradesh’s impressive climb in the GSDP list can also be partially attributed to Yogi Adityanath’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Despite being one of the most populous states in the country, Uttar Pradesh has successfully managed to restrict the COVID-19 outbreak within limits.

Congress leader indulges in creepy behaviour with Playboy model, who supported the ‘farmer protests’ which culminated into 26th January violence

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader indulges in creepy behaviour with Playboy model, who supported the ‘farmer protests’ which culminated into 26th January violence

Days after Playboy model Amanda Cerny voiced her support for the ‘anti-farm law agitation in India, that culminated into unbridled violence on the 26th of January, Congress leader Surendra Rajput was seen desperately trying to draw her attention on social media.

On Saturday, the model and vlogger posted her mirror selfie on Twitter with the caption, ‘Moving Day’. Hours after she uploading the picture, the media panellist of the Indian national Congress Surendra Rajput commented on her picture saying, “Nice click Gorgeous Lady Amanda.” The Congress leader, who boasts of 32.5K followers on social media, represents the party during debates on several news channels.

Screengrab of the tweet

Surendra Rajput seems to be obsessed with the Playboy model. On February 23 (Tuesday), Amanda Cerny had tweeted, “I just took off my eyelashes. The night is officially over.” The Congress leader replied, “Hahahahaha it’s morning in India, Amanda. You are keeping watch of Indian events. We are glad.”

Screengrab of the tweet

However, this is not the first time that Surendra Rajput has displayed excessive sympathy towards a female Twitter user. When popular Twitter user Preeti Khatri was lost in her own world of thoughts, the Congress media panelist offered his services. “Thoughts get stuck in my mind”, she had said. However, Rajput quickly went from ‘Tell me about the problem’ to ‘Either please call or come to DM’.

Screengrab of the tweet

Netizens take potshots at the Congress leader

Netizens were quick to call out Surendra Rajput for his creepy behaviour. Popular Twitter user Rosy shared the lyrics of a song sung by Arijit Singh that loosely translates as ‘No shame, no decency for a change.”

Another user wrote, Uncle, focus on work. Anyway, the Congress part is in the grave.”

Another Twitter user suggested Surendra Rajput to learn something from his party member, Shashi Tharoor. “Learn from Shashi Tharoor. Directly message her in private chat,” he recommended.

Farmer protests, Amanda Cerny and ‘Only Fans’ account

It must be mentioned that Amanda Cerny, meanwhile, has been very vocal about the ‘farmer’ protests. On February 7, the Playboy model had shared a post by United Nations Human Rights, asking India to ‘exercise restraint’ and allow ‘peaceful protest’ and expression both online and offline.

“Who hired the idiots that wrote this propaganda. ‘A completely unrelated group of Celebrities conspiring end being paid to destroy India•? I mean come onnnnnnn. At least make it SOMEWHAT realistic’, she had tweeted. “Amanda Cerny DM’d a farmer her nudes and that’s why the Internet in India crashed. Now that’s believable!” read another tweet. Team Kisan, a group that purportedly supports the ongoing protests against the farm laws, has offered to receive the Playboy model Amanda Cerny at the airport in a tractor after said that she found tractors ‘sexy’.

Her comments and screenshots of her snarky replies on social media drew enormous support from the usual suspects in India, so much so that she reminded her followers that they could pay her on OnlyFans for exclusive content. OnlyFans is mostly used by pornographic models to earn money by selling nude photographs of themselves although fitness enthusiasts and musicians also use the platform.

Covid vaccine to cost Rs 500 in the second phase of the vaccination drive? Here are the facts

OpIndia Staff
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Covid vaccine to cost Rs 500 in the second phase of the vaccination drive? Here are the facts

The next phase of India’s Covid vaccination drive is set to begin from the 1st of March, 2021. With only a few days remaining. misinformation regarding the same is rife on the internet. On Saturday, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) debunked some of the fake news that is circulating on social media.

Claims are being made that the vaccine will cost Rs. 500 per person and 40 per cent of the vaccinations on any given date will be reserved for pre-registered individuals while the remaining will be walk-ins. The PIB has now cleared the air surrounding the Covid vaccination drive.

Source: @PIBFactCheck

The second phase of the vaccination drive will cater to all individuals above 60 years of age and those between 45 to 59 with specific co-morbidities. The individuals must carry their Aadhar Card or Voter ID or other official photo identity proof as specified.

The government said in a press release on the 26th of February, “Vaccination will be free of charge at the Government Vaccination Centres. The beneficiary will have to show a photo ID document for proof of age (preferably Aadhar card or EPIC card) and certificate of co-morbidity (if required). Those taking the COVID vaccine at any designated/empanelled private health facility will have to pay a pre-fixed charge.”

The press release also specified three routes for the vaccination drive. The first is advanced self-registration through the CO-Win 2.0 portal and through other IT Applications such as Arogya Setu. The second is on-site registration for those who cannot self-register in advance. The third is the Facilitated Cohort Registration “where target groups of potential beneficiates will be vaccinated”.

As is clear, the cost of the vaccine is not yet decided. However, it will be free at government hospitals. Furthermore, there is no 40-60 rule as the viral text suggests. Also, individuals can use their Aadhar Card or Voter ID card or any other photo identity proof as specified.

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