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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

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.

A 2 minute video with 16 cuts: Pakistan releases new doctored video of Wing Commander Abhinandan days after committing to peace at LoC

OpIndia Staff
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A day after the second anniversary of the Balakot airstrikes, Pakistan has released a new video of Wing Commander Abhinandan who had fallen into the hands of the Pakistani Army while valiantly defending Indian territory. Like the previous one, which was released while he was still in captivity, this one is heavily doctored as well. It has 16 cuts during its 2 minute duration.

The Wing Commander was tortured in captivity and was coerced into making the statement. In the statement, Wing Commander Abhinandan is heard complimenting the Pakistani Army under duress and expressing his desire for peace.

The objective of the propaganda video is evident from the manner in which it is being used by ’eminent citizens’ of Pakistan. ‘Journalist’ Hamid Mir quoted very specific words where Wing Commander Abhinandan said, “I see no reason for us to continue with hostility, I think India and Pakistan need peace.” It is subtly insinuated that it is Pakistan that is trying for peace, despite its use of terrorism against India.

The mischief by Pakistan comes only a couple of days after India and Pakistan issued a joint statement committing themselves to observe the 2003 ceasefire agreement at the Line of Actual Control “in the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders”.

Pakistan had made use of videos captured during his captivity to peddle its own agenda during tensions between the two countries following the Pulwama terror attack. The Indian Government had said that Pakistan breached norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention by its ‘vulgar display of injured personnel’.

As EC announces 8-phase elections in West Bengal, violence by TMC begins: Election vans vandalised, LEDs stolen, BJP office vandalised

OpIndia Staff
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As EC announces 8-phase elections in West Bengal, violence by TMC begins: Election vans vandalised, LEDs stolen, BJP office vandalised

The BJP office in the Baranagar area of North Parganas district in West Bengal was vandalised on Friday night, the day when the Election Commission sounded the poll bugle in the state. The BJP has accused the TMC of being behind the vandalism.

One of the miscreants involved in the attack was beaten up by the BJP supporters and was later rescued by the police and taken to the police station.

The saffron party has also filed a complaint with the police with respect to the attack.

BJP’s Lokkho Sonar Bangla raths vandalised in Kolkata

Besides, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Lokkho Sonar Bangla raths were also damaged in West Bengal. The supporters of the Trinamool Congress entered its warehouse on Friday night and vandalised its publicity vans, the BJP claims. A few LEDs were also stolen from the spot. The incident took place at Kadapara in Kolkata and an official complaint was filed in this regard with the Kolkata Police.

As per initial reports, the incident took place in the wee hours of Saturday. According to the BJP, the vandals, allegedly the supporters of the TMC barged into its warehouse in Kadapara under Phool Bagan police station limits in Kolkata.

BJP leader Amit Malviya took to Twitter to share a video of the incident. Sharing the video, Malviya said that the elections will be tough for the EC to manage considering the culture of political violence perpetrated by the TMC.

Election Commission announces 8 phase assembly elections in

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.

In a press conference, CEC Sunil Arora said, “West Bengal will see eight-phase elections. 30 Assembly constituencies in five districts will go to polls in the first phase on March 27. 30 Assembly constituencies in four districts will go to polls in the second phase on April 1. In the third phase, 31 constituencies in 3 districts will go to the polls on April 6. 44 constituencies in five districts will go for polling on April 10.”

“In the fifth phase, 45 constituencies in six districts will witness polling on April 17. 43 constituencies in four districts in the sixth phase will go to polls on April 22. 36 constituencies in five districts in the seventh phase will go for polling on April 26. In the eighth and final phase, 35 constituencies in four districts will witness polling on April 29,” he said.

Attorney General declines his consent to Congress supporter Saket Gokhale to initiate contempt of court proceedings against ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi

OpIndia Staff
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Attorney General declines his consent to Congress supporter Saket Gokhale to initiate contempt of court proceedings against ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi

On Friday, Attorney General of India KK Venugopal refused to give his consent to initiate contempt proceedings against former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi. The development comes days after Congress troll Saket Gokhale wrote to AG seeking his sanction for contempt of court proceedings against the ex-CJI for comments made during an interview with India Today.

In his reply to Gokhale, AG KK Venugopal said, “It is true that in the interview referred to by you. Chief Justice (retd.) Ranjan Gogoi has initially made some very strong statements about the judiciary and the Supreme Court of India. The statements apparently reflect his deep frustration with the ills that undoubtedly beset the justice delivery system.”

While refusing to give consent to contempt of court proceedings, the Attorney General emphasised, “However, I had occasion to watch the entirety of his interview. It is obvious that all that has been said was for the good of the institution and will not in any manner scandalize the court or lower its authority in the eyes of the public. I accordingly decline consent to initiate proceedings for criminal contempt under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 read with Rule 3(c) of the Rules to Regulate Proceedings for the Contempt of the Supreme Court of India, 1975.”

Saket Gokhale seeks permission for contempt proceedings against ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi

In a letter to the Attorney General on Tuesday (February 23), Congress supporter Saket Gokhale cherry-picked comments made by former CJI Ranjan Gogoi to insinuate that he has spoken against the credibility of the Indian judicial system. The interview in question was organised by India Today group on February 12 this year.

1. “You want a 5 trillion dollar economy but you have a ramshackled judiciary” 2. “If you were to go to the co., you’d be only washing your dirty linen in the court. You won’t get a verdict. I have no hesitation in saying it.” 3. “Only corporations, willing to take chances with their millions of rupees go to the Supreme Co.” 4. “What is your opinion of the judiciary? Not very positive.” 5. “The judicial system has not worked for more reason than one.” 6. “Unfortunately, there are many judges who are succumbing to criticism made in the media.” Gokhale quoted these 6 statements made by the former CJI.

Gokhale also attempted to draw moral high ground by drawing false equivalence with the contempt cases against Kumal Kamra and Rachita Taneja. “Moreover, precedent established by your office in granting prosecution consent to contempt cases against comedian Kunal Kamra and artist Rachita Taneja have established a benchmark for what constitutes contempt of court in your opinion. The comments made by former CJI Sh. Ranjan Gogoi are far more contemptous in their degree and seriousness in scandalizing the Hon’ble Supreme Court than the innocous tweets made by the other two individuals above-named,” he claimed.

He added, “These statements, especially coming from a former Chief Justice of India, who is now a Parliamentarian, constitute a gross contempt of court and undermine the sta. of the Hon’ble Supreme Co. especially considering they come from not a layperson but from someone who sat on the highest seat of our judiciary.”

Attorney General had refused consent to Gokhale for contempt proceedings against activist Shefali Vaidya

Saket Gokhale, who claims to be an ardent follower of Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi, had sought the permission of the Attorney General in December last year to file a contempt petition against writer Shefali Vaidya under Section 15 of Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, alleging that she had made some objectionable comments against country’s judiciary. Responding to the letter, Attorney General KK Venugopal said that the tweets posted by Shefali Vaidya on her Twitter page, which according to Gokhale was contempt of court, were made almost a year back.

The Attorney General KK Venugopal said that according to the Section 20 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, one cannot initiate any contempt action either suo motu or otherwise after the expiry of one year from the date of the allegedly contumacious conduct. “In these circumstances, therefore, without going into the merits of your request, no action can be taken against Ms Shefali Vaidya. I accordingly decline consent,” the AG Venugopal said.

Spokesperson of Samajwadi Party resigns after workers abuse his wife for sharing anti-Akhilesh Facebook post: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Spokesperson of Samajwadi Party resigns after workers abuse his wife for sharing anti-Akhilesh Facebook post: Details

Anil Yadav, spokesperson of Samajwadi Party, has resigned from the party after his wife, Pankhuri Pathak, was abused by SP workers. His wife Pathak is a media panelist for the Indian National Congress.

Pankhuri Pathak had shared a post made by a Congress worker on her Facebook account following which Samajwadi Party workers unleashed a torrent of abuse and filthy language. The concerned post was directed against SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav.

Anil Yadav says that instead of initiating an enquiry against those guilty of abusing his wife, SP functionaries started offering him advise instead, asking him to instruct his wife not to share such posts. Furthermore, he was removed from the official WhatsApp groups of the party.

He said that he had hoped the party will take action against the abusers but was disappointed when functionaries started chastising him instead. Anil Yadav said that he realized how could he speak of empowering women in the state as a Samajwadi Party member when he could not even secure respect for the women in his own family.

Yadav said that it was hard for him to quit the party as he had never imagined such a day would come to pass. He said that he has been associated with the party since college days and had worked for it to the best of his abilities.

In a show of strength against party leadership, ‘G23’ group of dissident Congress leaders hold a rally in Jammu

OpIndia Staff
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In a show of strength against party leadership, ‘G23’ group of dissident Congress leaders hold a rally in Jammu

In a show of strength, the dissident ‘Group of 23’ or G23 leaders of the Congress party are assembling in Jammu on Saturday and are expected to make a statement against the party’s top leadership.

According to the reports, senior Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Nabi Azad is scheduled to make a three-day visit to Jammu on Saturday. The senior leaders of the party, who had voiced their opinion against the party’s leadership just a few months back, are joining Azad at Jammu and hold a joint press conference to speak on the issue of party leadership.

Former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former UP Congress chief Raj Babbar, former union ministers Anand Sharma and Kapil Sibal arrived in Jammu on Saturday. Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha and Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari are also joining them. The senior Congress leaders will attend a function of an NGO called Gandhi Global Family in Jammu on Saturday. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is the chairperson of this NGO.

Reportedly, the group of “dissidents” are expected to express their displeasure over the party’s functioning. It is said that the “group of dissenters” in the Congress are unhappy with Rahul Gandhi’s recent ‘North-South’ remarks. They are also disappointed over Ghulam Nabi Azad not being re-nominated to the Upper House of Parliament.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had recently stoked controversy in Kerala after he had said politics in South India was over real “issues”, while people in North India did politics over superficial things.

Congress party says visit is not official, Azad to stay in Congress

Meanwhile, the Congress party has said that the visit by the senior leaders of the ‘G23’ group is private and not an official party visit.

“Neither did we ask for the visit of these leaders, nor has the party leadership in Delhi deputed them to pay a visit to Jammu. But after coming to know about Azad Sahib’s Jammu visit, we requested him to meet the J&K unit party leaders at Pradesh Congress Committee office in Jammu,” India Today quoted an unnamed Congress leader from Jammu.

The Congress leader said Ghulam Nabi Azad while interacting with party leaders in Jammu, has made it clear that he was not leaving the Congress or joining the BJP. There were rumours that Azad might quit the party after Congress decide against sending him to Rajya Sabha for another term.

“A contest between my ball and your ball”: Netizens in splits after comments of Harsha Bhogle go viral

OpIndia Staff
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“A contest between my ball and your ball”: Netizens in splits after comments of Harsha Bhogle go viral

Ace sports presenter Harsha Bhogle is not usually known to commit gaffes while commenting during cricket matches or while hosting post-match analysis. However, recently, Bhogle did inadvertently make an awkward remark that had the netizens in splits.

In a video interaction with the former English cricketer Michael Vaughan over the recently concluded test match in Ahmedabad, Harsha said: “If it is a contest between my ball and your ball” which made the social media users break into fits of laughter.

However, Bhogle’s comment ‘If it’s a contest between my ball and your ball’ tickled the funny bones of the social media users who couldn’t stop themselves from expressing their amusement over Bhogle’s poor choice of words to describe a cricketing contest between bowlers of the two rival sides. Many Twitter users shared the viral clip and express their hilarity over the comments made by Harsha Bhogle.

Bhogle and Vaughan were discussing the much-debated nature of the pitch in Ahmedabad that had come under the firing line of the English cricket fans and supporters, after the third test match between India and England at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad ended within two days and resulted in an embarrassing pasting of the visiting side.

Harsha was stressing the importance of having a surface that aides both bowlers and batsmen to have an even contest. He asserted that a contest in cricket is not between a bat and a bat or a ball and a ball. Instead, he added that a great test match cricket involves a tough competition between a bat and a ball.

“Great test match cricket is a contest between a bat and a ball. If it’s a contest between bat and bat, meaning I score 500, you score 500, that’s not fun to watch. If it’s a contest between my ball and your ball, that’s not great to watch either,” Bhogle said.

India registered a comprehensive victory over the visiting England side in the third test match in Ahmedabad when the visitors were bowled out cheaply in both their innings, thanks to the spin wizards—Axar Patel and R Ashwin—putting India on the brink of the World Test Championship final.

DIGIPUB, with VC accused of money laundering and links to Gautam Navlakha, wants new Digital Media rules repealed: Details

OpIndia Staff
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DIGIPUB, with VC accused of money laundering and links to Gautam Navlakha, wants new Digital Media rules repealed: Details

DIGIPUB News India Foundation, that counts Prabir Purkayastha as its Vice Chairperson, has criticised the new social media regulations and written to the government expressing its “reservations” regarding the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.

The association said in a statement, “These Rules in some places appear to go against the fundamental principle of news and its role in a democracy. While rules and laws already exist to hold news media accountable, the aforesaid rules enable the executive government to even remove content published as current affairs or news (Rule 14.) among other things.”

The statement also said that the new rules are a ‘threat to democracy’ and hinted that they were ‘unconstitutional’. It said, “We offer once again to have consultations with stakeholders before notifying these Rules. We ourselves wrote to the Honourable Minister for Information and Broadcasting on December 2, 2020, requesting to be part of a consultation process, but never received a reply. We believe it is still not too late.”

“We request you to repeal these Rules, or at least put them on hold, until meaningful consultations are undertaken with all the stakeholders,” it added. The letter was signed by Dhanya Rajendran of The News Minute, Prabir Purkayastha of NewsClick, Ritu Kapur of the Quint and Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri on behalf of DIGIPUB.

Prabir Purkayastha is the Vice Chairperson of the association and also a Director.

DIGIPUB director accused of money laundering

Prabir Purkayastha’s office and home was raided recently by the Enforcement Directorate to investigate the proceeds of crime related to PPK NEWSCLICK Studio Private Limited under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The company is alleged to have received over Rs. 30 crores in 3 years.

It was also alleged that the funds were disbursed to journalists and activists in the name of consultation fee. The beneficiaries include those associated with Teesta Setalvad. Other beneficiaries include Gautam Navlakha, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta among others.

Links to Gautam Navlakha

Prabir Purkayastha was the Director at companies along with Gautam Navlakha. Gautam Navlakha is one of the ‘Urban Naxals’ arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case and allegedly has links with Pakistan’s ISI. Following his arrest, it was reported that Gautam Navlakha was in touch with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists as well.

Gautam Navlakha was an “Independent Partner” of PP NEWSCLICK STUDIO LLP where he was appointed to the position on the 17th of April, 2017. PPK NEWSCLICK Studio Private Limited, the current owner of Newsclick, was incorporated on the 11th of January, 2018, 10 days after the Bhima Koregaon violence.

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