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‘There cannot be continued occupation of public places’: Supreme Court dismisses review petitions of Shaheen Bagh verdict

OpIndia Staff
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‘There cannot be continued occupation of public places’: Supreme Court dismisses review petitions of Shaheen Bagh verdict

The Supreme Court has reiterated that public spaces cannot be occupied in case of prolonged protests and dismissed petitions seeking review of its October 2020 verdict with regards to the Shaheen Bagh protests. The Court observed that the verdict for which a review was sought did not suffer from any apparent error.

“We have considered the earlier judicial pronouncements and recorded our opinion that the Constitutional scheme comes with a right to protest and express dissent but with an obligation to have certain duties. The right to protest cannot be anytime and everywhere. There may be some spontaneous protests but in case of prolonged dissent or protest, there cannot be continued occupation of a public place affecting rights of others,” the Bench comprising of Justices S K Kaul, Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari said.

“We have perused the Review Petition and record of the Civil Appeal and are convinced that the order of which review has been sought, does not suffer from any error apparent warranting its reconsideration” it added.

In its October 2020 verdict, the Supreme Court had said, “However, while appreciating the existence of the right to peaceful protest against a legislation…we have to make it unequivocally clear that public ways and public spaces cannot be occupied in such a manner and that too indefinitely.”

The Shaheen Bagh protests had followed the same pattern of events as the current ‘farmer protests’. The protests had continued for weeks and the blockade of roads had continued until the Coronavirus pandemic forced the protesters to evacuate.

Andolanjeevi Yogendra Yadav and NDTV start by spreading fake news, end with unwittingly praising farm laws by Modi govt

OpIndia Staff
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Andolanjeevi Yogendra Yadav and NDTV start by spreading fake news, end with unwittingly praising farm laws by Modi govt

Once again proving that the protests are against the farm laws are based on nothing but lies, Andolanjeevi Yogendra Yadav resorted to falsehood to claim that the newly enacted farm laws have harmed the farmers. Farmer union leaders and opposition parties have been claiming that the new laws will harm the APMCs, and to prove that the claim is true, ichchadhari protestor Yogendra Yadav produce a document containing the amount of tax collected by various mandis in Madhya Pradesh.

The document shows that the fee collected by 7 mandis in the state has come down considerably in January this year, as compared to the same month last year. Yadav said that the PM wants to know how have the news laws affected the existing APMCs. And proceeded to reply to the same by mentioning the total Mandi fee collection in Madhya Pradesh, which was ₹88 crore in January 2020, but ₹29 in January 2021. Concluding that the new farm laws had caused the mandi fee collection by a huge margin, he asked, “Would that count as adverse effect, Modiji?”

Although the document does show that the mandi fee collection in Madhya Pradesh has come down by 66.75%, it has nothing to do with the farm laws. Because, while he is claiming that new laws have already starting affecting farm produce market in the country, that is not possible. That is because, although the farm laws have been passed by the parliament in September last year, their implementation has been stayed by the Supreme Court.

On January 12 this year, the apex court suspended the implementation of the three farm laws in view of protests against them from the farmers of Punjab. The court had also formed a committee to resolve the issue. This means, even if the laws were already being enforced, they were suspended from January 12. Therefore, the reason for the drop in then mandi fee in Madhya Pradesh can’t be attributed to the new farm laws, it must have other reasons.

And that other reason is, the state government had reduced the mandi fee last year. In October 2020, the Madhya Pradesh government had decided to slash the fee from 1.70% to 0.50%. This means the fee was cut by around 70%, which matches with the collected fee which went down by around 67% in January. The decision was taken after the traders had gone on a strike demanding the cut the rate, saying the fee was too high.

Mandi fee reduction good or bad for farmers?

The fact that Yogendra Yadav chose to use the Mandi fee in Madhya Pradesh also shows how he has no idea about farming issues. As many people replied to him on Twitter, if the tax collection has come down, it means that the farmers are now paying less tax. Even if we set aside the above mentioned facts and consider that the reduction in the fee collection was cause by the new farm laws, ‘farmer leaders’ should praise the laws, not criticise them. Because, it would mean that the farmers are moving away from APMCs to private buyers, where there is no mandi fee. The APMC mandis still exist, but if the farmers are choosing to sell to private buyers and in private markets in place of APMC mandis, they are using an option to get more price for their produce by not having to pay a tax.

This shows that as already pointed out by many already, the ongoing protests are actually for the middlemen who thrive on the regulated markets, and who will suffer once the free-market regime is established in the farm sector thanks to the new laws. Andolanjeevi Yogendra Yadav is more worried about the amount of tax collected from farmers, not on the savings the farmers will be able to make by selling outside the APMC mandis.

NDTV joins in spreading lies

Joining hands with Yogendra Yadav, controversial media house NDTV also published a report on the reduction in mandi fee collection in Madhya Pradesh, and blamed the new farm laws the same. The report blatantly ignored the fact that the laws have been suspended by the Supreme Court. NDTV also didn’t mention that the mandi fee rates have been reduced by the Madhya Pradesh government, a fact it itself had reported earlier. The report mentions that farmers are going to other sellers in place of going to APMC mandis. This implies that farmers are getting better prices elsewhere, and hence not going to mandis. But still the report tries to paint a gloomy picture on the situation, as part of creating baseless fear about the farm laws.

Gaana sacks employee Tanzila Anis for anti-Hindu tweets and dehumanizing Rinku Sharma after his murder

OpIndia Staff
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Gaana sacks employee Tanzila Anis for anti-Hindu tweets and dehumanizing Rinku Sharma after his murder

Gaana, the music streaming platform, has sacked employee Tanzila Anis a day after she made a disgusting comment on social media following the brutal murder of Bajrang Dal activist Rinku Sharma. The tweet appeared to celebrate and justify the murder of the Hindu youth.

In a statement on social media, Gaana said, “With regards to the social media posts by a recently joined employee of Gaana, these posts do not represent our values. She is no longer employed by the company.” The platform also said that it “respects all religions and communities of India.”

Gaana sacks Tanzila Anis
Gaana sacks Tanzila Anis

On Friday, Chandigarh BJP had filed a criminal complaint against Tanzila Anis and called for Gaana to sack her. A slew of tweets had also gone viral on the internet where she could be seen normalising hatred against the Hindu community.

Hours after screenshots of her tweets went viral, Gaana had issued a statement over the matter where it said that ‘necessary action’ will be taken at the earliest. Following the backlash for her tweet, Tanzila Anis said that she did not even know that a Banjrang Dal activist had been murdered and her tweet only alluded to the fact that members of the “extremist” organisation Bajrang Dal cannot be called an “activist”

Canada PM Justin Trudeau praises PM Modi, assures safety of Indian diplomats after Khalistanis protested outside Embassy: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Canada PM Justin Trudeau praises PM Modi, assures safety of Indian diplomats after Khalistanis protested outside Embassy: Details

The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had expressed ‘concerns’ over the ongoing ‘farmer’ protests in India, has now taken an u-turn on the issue to praise Narendra Modi government’s efforts to choose the path of dialogue in dealing with the farmers’ issues.

In his conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Canada PM Justin Trudeau commended the Indian government’s effort to engage farmers in talks and described it as “befitting in democracy”.

“You would have seen the readouts from both sides on the farmers protest, PM Trudeau commended efforts of India to choose the path of dialogue as befitting in democracy,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at a media briefing.

In early December, Trudeau had supported the protesters in India saying that Canada was there to defend the rights of peaceful protests and had also expressed concern over the situation.

Canada govt assures security for Indian diplomats

Speaking to the media, the MEA spokesperson said that the Canadian government has also assured security to Indian diplomatic missions and diplomats. The assurance comes after separatists and pro-Khalistani leaders had protested outside the Indian embassy in Canada demanding the withdrawal of the three farm laws.

Speaking on the supply of Indian vaccines to Canada, the MEA spokesperson said that the decision on the supplies will be calibrated as per domestic production and the requirements of national vaccination programme which is the largest vaccination drive in the world.

Earlier, Canada had asked India to allow the supply of Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pune-based Serum Institute of India.

On Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dialled Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss a range of issues, including Canada’s requirement for the Indian made coronavirus vaccine.

Speaking to Trudeau, Prime Minister Modi had assured that India would do its best to support Canada’s vaccination efforts. The Indian government’s large-hearted response to Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and its willingness to the help the people of Canada comes at a time when the Canadian government is not only trying to interfere in India’s domestic affairs but also actively supporting Khalistanis, who are instigating and organising the so-called ‘farmer’ protests in the country.

Left-liberals twist statements released by MEA, puts out misinformation

The left-liberals in the country, who were earlier celebrating the interference of foreign celebrities into India’s domestic affairs, suffered a major jolt as Canadian PM Trudeau sought help from the Indian government to get vaccines. As left-liberals could not hide their embarrassment, they resorted to misleading the public by putting half-truths about Modi and Trudeau’s conversation.

Suhasini Haider, the journalist at ‘The Hindu’, twisted the statements released by the Indian government to claim that Canada PM Trudeau did not request for vaccines from India, instead he discussed the issue of ‘access’ to vaccines. The ‘foreign affairs expert’ Suhasini Haider also blatantly lied when she claimed that Trudeau spoke to PM Modi about resolving the issues ‘farmers protests’ through dialogue.

ISRO and MapmyIndia join hands to build an alternative to Google maps with ‘make in India’ mapping portal and geospatial services: Details

OpIndia Staff
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ISRO and MapmyIndia join hands to build an alternative to Google maps with ‘make in India’ mapping portal and geospatial services: Details

In another bold step towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and MapmyIndia, the navigation solutions provider, have teamed up to build an alternative to Google maps. It will be developing a fully indigenous, made-in-India mapping portal and geospatial services.

MapmyIndia CEO and Executive Director, Rohan Verma took to LinkedIn on Friday to announce the initiative. Verma said that both the organisations would come with an India made mapping portal and geospatial services. Verma added that the collaboration will boost Aatmanirbhar Bharat, where, in the future, the users in India can rely on a made-in-India solution and not a service designed outside India. “You don’t need Goo*le Maps/Earth any longer”, Verma wrote in his LinkedIn post.

ISRO confirmed that the Department of Space (DoS) has joined hands with MapmyIndia to combine their geospatial expertise and build holistic solutions by leveraging their geoportals. On February 11 (Thursday), DoS signed a memorandum of understanding MaymyIndia parent CE Info Systems Pvt. Ltd.

The official website of ISRO confirmed that Shri R Umamaheswaran, Scientific Secretary, ISRO, signed the MoU on behalf of DOS and Rakesh Verma, CMD, M/s CE Info Systems Pvt Ltd signed from MapmyIndia’s side.

MoU signed by both parties

Elaborating about the partnership, ISRO in a statement said: “The collaboration will enable them to jointly identify and build holistic geospatial solutions utilising the earth observation datasets, “NavIC”, Web Services and APIs (application programming interface) available in MapmyIndia, “Bhuvan”, “VEDAS” and “MOSDAC” geoportals.”

Speaking of the advantages of having a country made mapping and geospatial service, MapmyIndia CEO Rohan Verma said: “MapmyIndia, being a responsible, local, Indian company, ensures that its maps reflect the true sovereignty of the country, depicting India’s borders as per Government of India, and hosts its maps in India.”

Through the combined partnership with ISRO, MapmyIndia’s end-user maps, apps and services will now integrate with ISRO’s huge catalogue of satellite imagery and earth observation data.

Google maps face criticism for tampering with the map of India

It is pertinent to note here that the popular search engine, Google maps came under severe criticism in February last year when it redrew the Kashmir’s borders making it appear different when searched from outside India. It showed Kashmir’s outlines as a dotted line acknowledging “dispute” when it is viewed from outside India.

It was then reported, that the borders on Google’s online maps displayed Kashmir as an integral part of India when viewed from India, contrary to what it appeared when seen from elsewhere. For example, when viewed from Pakistan, the Kashmir region had appeared disputed marked with dotted lines.

Earlier in 2013, Google Maps had come under criticism for showing PoK and Aksai Chin (and parts of Arunachal Pradesh) outside the Indian map, and the then government had asked it to correct it.

‘Warriors will destroy your kingdom’: UK fines Khalistani network that called for violence against India, showed flames superimposed on Red Fort

OpIndia Staff
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‘Warriors will destroy your kingdom’: UK fines Khalistani network that called for violence against India, showed flames superimposed on Red Fort

In a move against Khalistani propaganda machinery in Europe, the United Kingdom’s media watchdog has imposed a fine of 50,000 pounds on a pro-Khalistan network – Khalsa Television Ltd or KTV for broadcasting a hateful music video and a discussion programme that asked British Sikh to commit violence and also contained a terror reference.

According to the reports, the British media regulator – Office of Communications (Ofcom) has issued the order to penalise the pro-Khalistan TV network on Friday following its investigations it had launched in 2019.

In a scathing order, the British media regulator has directed the channel to broadcast a statement of Ofcom’s findings on a date and in a form to be determined by the watchdog. They have warned KTV not to repeat the music video or the discussion programme found in breach of its rules.

“Ofcom has imposed financial penalties of 20,000 pounds and 30,000 pounds on Khalsa Television Limited in relation to its service KTV for failing to comply with our broadcasting rules. The 20,000 pounds penalty relates to a music video. The 30,000 pounds penalty relates to a discussion programme,” the Ofcom order reads.

The video and the show advocated violent action against the Indian state and glorified violent acts promoting Sikh secessionist movements. They encouraged violence towards those who criticise the Sikh faith and legitimises a terrorist organisation. The music video had images of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which Ofcom considered “video’s narrative of advocating violent action against the Indian state”.

The video had a caricature of Indira Gandhi with blood dripping from her mouth, accompanied by the caption “You drank the blood of innocents you evil woman”. The lyrics read, “Warriors will destroy your kingdom”, that had images of flames superimposed on the Red Fort in Delhi.

KTV is a television channel broadcasting largely to the Sikh community in the United Kingdom under a licence held by Khalsa Television Limited.

The Ofcom had launched an investigation after receiving complaints against KTV that their music video and discussion programme was likely to “encourage or incite crime or violence”.

Video and programme had incited violence, says Ofcom

In July 2018, KTV broadcast a music video for a song called ‘Bagga and Shera’. The individuals referred in the video include Bagga and Shera, Khalistani terrorist Jagtar Singh Johal, and former leaders of the KLF, the regulator said.

In the video, the two characters are preparing to carry out assassinations in the UK, juxtaposed with images of real people who have been convicted of or charged with committing murders for political reasons.

Earlier, the NIA has indicted several individuals linked to the KLF, including Sikh activists Ramandeep Singh Bagga and Hardeep Singh Shera, for their attempts to carry out targeted killings in India.

Following its investigation, Ofcom had found that the music video was an “indirect call to action for Sikhs living in the UK to commit violence, up to and including murder”.

KTV programme defended Khalistani terror organisation – Babbar Khalsa

The pro-Khalistan network had carried out a discussion show – ‘Panthak Masle’ that was aired live on March 30, 2019. The programme had offered a platform for several guests to air objectionable views that amounted to “indirect calls to action and were likely to encourage or incite the commission of a crime or lead to disorder”.

During the show one of the panellists, Baldev Singh, referred to the Babbar Khalsa, saying, “We have no arguments with anybody…Babbar Khalsa, we eat and drink with them, we have good links with all of them”.

“Ofcom also found that it included a reference to the proscribed terrorist organisation the Babbar Khalsa, and which in our view could be taken as legitimising it and normalising its aims and actions in the eyes of viewers,” it noted.

Babbar Khalsa is a terrorist organisation that intends to create an independent Sikh state in India through violent means and is responsible for several terror attacks in the country resulting in many civilian deaths.


Murderers of Rinku Sharma strangulated his mother too, mastermind works as a home guard in police: Read OpIndia exclusive ground report

OpIndia Staff
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Murderers of Rinku Sharma strangulated his mother too, mastermind works as a home guard in police: Read OpIndia exclusive ground report

Following the gruesome killing of 26-year-old Bajrang Dal activist Rinku Sharma in Mangolpuri area of West Delhi on Thursday, the deceased’s younger brother Manu Sharma made startling revelations during an exclusive conversation with OpIndia.

“The media reports, which are suggesting that Rinku Sharma’s death was due to birthday party and business-related disputes, are baseless. We don’t own any business. My deceased elder brother Rinku Sharma was a lab technician at the Balaji Medical Hospital. The story about the business dispute is false. I am requesting the media portals to stop spreading rumours about the incident,” he informed.

Manu Sharma emphasised, “When we went to the hospital, the accused were already there. When we took our brother to the Emergency ward, Zahid Ali tried to take out the knife stuck in Rinku’s body. But, when he failed to remove the knife, he fled the scene. Zahid’s uncle Tasuddin assaulted my brother’s friends, slapped them and even held my mother by the neck.” He also informed that Tasuddin works as a home guard in the police department, and was earlier posted in the local police station. He also said that Tasuddin also works as a police informer.

It may be noted that home guards work as an auxiliary Force to the Police in maintenance of law and order and internal security situations.

On being asked if the attack on Rinku Sharma was pre-planned, Manu added, “They have been opposing us from the start. We do ‘Hanuman Chalisa path’ every Tuesday and have been actively spearheading the campaign to collect funds for the Ram Janmabhoomi incident. When we took out a yatra on the occasion of Bhumi Pujan on August 5 last year, they began opposing us.”

They should cry like I am crying today, says Rinku’s mother

Manu Sharma had also revealed that he had received calls from the accused’s family, perhaps to threat him into silence. He also said that the frenzied mob that lynched Rinku Sharma comprised of 5 Muslim brothers, their children and nephews. “The accused had earlier pleaded us to forgive them and we did. We did not bother to file a case because we did not know the consequences. They had said that Rinku was like their son…” the victim’s mother said.

She further added, “Manu suffered injuries while trying to protect Rinku. No neighbour turned up for help as they were too scared to be hit by stones and sticks. Even his friends sustained injuries. Tasuddin held me by my neck and tried to choke me. Their family should cry like I am crying today.”

Rinku Sharma had nothing to do with scuffle at the restaurant

As per Rinku’s friend Akash, Rinku Sharma had nothing to do with the fight that broke out at the restaurant and the theories about Rinku Sharma being murdered because of the scuffle at the birthday party is completely false. The scuffle was actually between one accused Zahid and another friend of theirs, Sachin, that did not involve Rinku at all. Aakash’s statement also gives credence to the family’s version that Rinku was murdered not because of some fight at a birthday party but because the Muslim mob was enraged by Rinku chanting Jai Shree Ram and wanted to get back at him for collecting funds for Ram Mandir, Ayodhya.

They had planned to burn the entire family

Rinku Sharma’s mother made another sensational accusation, saying that the attackers had tried to burn the entire family alive. This can be ascertained from the fact that apart from attacking Rinku with sticks and knives, they had also tried to snatch a LPG cylinder from the kitchen. But she and her son prevented them from doing so, and therefore they were not able to set it on fire. This allegation is proved by the video of the incident, where it can be seen that she had resisted the attackers from taking out the cylinder from the kitchen, after which they had given up and proceeded to stab Rinku.

Rinku Sharma was a resident of Delhi’s Mangolpuri area. Besides rendering his voluntary service to the Hindu organisation, Rinku Sharma worked as a lab technician in a hospital in Paschim Vihar. He was brutally stabbed and murdered by a mob of 25-30 Muslims from his neighbourhood. The young activist is survived by his mother Radha Devi, father Ajay Sharma and brothers Ankit and Manu Sharma. The Delhi police have arrested five people so far, including Zahid, Mehtab, Tasuddin, Nasruddin, and Mohammed Islam.

Murderers of Rinku Sharma tried to set the gas cylinder kept in the kitchen on fire to burn down his entire family: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Murderers of Rinku Sharma tried to set the gas cylinder kept in the kitchen on fire to burn down his entire family: Read details

Chilling details are coming out every day in the case of the brutal murder of a Bajrang Dal activist named Rinku Sharma in Muslim dominated Mangolpuri area of Delhi. A mob of Muslims had entered the residence of Rinku Sharma and had attacked the entire family.

It is now being reported that the murderers of the Rinku Sharma had reportedly tried to burn his whole family. According to Jagran, Rinku’s mother Radha alleged that the Muslim mob that hacked her son to death barged into their house and tried to set ablaze the gas cylinder kept in the kitchen.

Attackers allegedly wanted to burn the whole family and remove all evidence against them

Narrating the horrifying details of the unfortunate incident, Radha reportedly said that the Muslim mob attacked her sons with sticks. Then they dragged outside the gas cylinder kept in the kitchen and tried to set it on fire. However, she managed to snatch away the gas cylinder from the Muslim attackers with the help of her sons.

Rinku’s brother Mannu Sharma reportedly said that the attack on his family on Wednesday was a pre-planned conspiracy. He said that the attackers wanted to burn his whole family as they did not want to leave any evidence. Mannu said that the attackers had left after stabbing his brother leaving the dagger stuck in his back.

However, when the family and the neighbours were taking Rinku to hospital, the attackers blocked their way and attacked them again using sticks. The attackers did not want Rinku to reach the hospital. When Rinku was being taken to the ICU, they even tried to pull out the dagger stuck in Rinku’s back so that no evidence could be found against them. However, when they could not take the dagger out, the pushed it further to ensure Rinku died.

Rinku Sharma’ brutal murder by a Muslim mob

25-year old Bajrang Dal activist Rinku Sharma was stabbed to death by a Muslim mob on February 10. The incident has terrorised the Hindu residents of Mangolpuri, a Muslim dominated area where Rinku lived with his family. According to reports, the incident was a fallout of the argument that had taken place between Rinku Sharma and his murderers over the collection of funds for the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. The dispute was, however, resolved at that time.

It is reported that Rinku Sharma had even donated blood one and a half years ago to the wife of one of his attackers when she was pregnant and was in critical condition. He donated blood to her twice. Rinku had even helped Shakuru, brother of Islam who attacked Rinku, get admitted to a hospital after he was infected with Covid-19.

The police have been investigating the brutal murder of Rinku Sharma. Four assailants have so far been arrested by the police namely Mohammad Islam, Danish Nasruddin, Dilshan and Dilshad Islam.

NHAI officials raze compound walls of Prashant Kishor’s Bihar residence: Read why

OpIndia Staff
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NHAI officials raze compound walls of Prashant Kishor’s Bihar residence: Read why

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials on Friday demolished the compound walls of an ancestral house belonging to political strategist and former Janata Dal (United) vice president Prashant Kishor in Bihar’s Buxar.

According to the reports, the ancestral property is located near Ahirauli village on National Highway 84. The officials razed the boundary wall and the main gate by a bulldozer during the road-widening work.

The NHAI had acquired a portion of Kishor’s ancestral house for the expansion of the National Highway-84. Reportedly, Kishor has not applied for compensation for this part of the land from NHAI.

The house was built by Kishor’s late father late Dr Srikant Pandey. However, Prashant Kishor no longer lives here.

Prashant Kishor, who came to limelight during the 2014 general elections, had worked with Narendra Modi before his victory in 2014 elections. Later, he joined hands with JDU and aided Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to win the Assembly polls in 2015. Following this, Kumar appointed Kishore as the vice president of Janata Dal (United).

Kishore was expelled from Janata Dal (United) in January 2020 over certain disagreements with the party leadership. Currently, Prashant Kishore is working with Mamata Banerjee‘s Trinamool Congress ahead of Bengal assembly elections.

Exclusive: Congress puts personal data of thousands of its supporters at risk, massive security loophole found on its website

OpIndia Staff
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Exclusive: Congress puts personal data of thousands of its supporters at risk, massive security loophole found on its website

The recently launched drive by the Congress party to induct a whopping 5 lakhs ‘social media warriors’ to support the party has turned out to be an exercised marred with massive security loopholes. The Congress IT cell seems to have slipped even in employing basic IT security systems in place for this initiative.

A special website made by the Congress party to solicit applications and interest for joining this online army has now potentially turned into a publicly available database of Congress supporters with their names, phone numbers, addresses, emails, social media profiles and some other personal details leaked online. The online drive can soon turn into an online scam.

The website was launched with a video message by Congress President Rahul Gandhi on February 8, 2021, asking people to join the drive, by submitting their personal details. Many did so, but little did they know that they could be at risk due to loopholes in the entire process. The security loopholes have continued since then i.e. for at least 5 days since its launch.

The aforementioned website, available at the URL incsmw.in, used an online application form to collect information like names, addresses, phone numbers, email ids, social media profiles, education details, number of hours a person is willing to work daily for the Congress party, and many other such details.

This data collected by the Congress party was supposed to be safe with the party and its IT cell and for their internal use, but now it’s virtually out in open thanks to bad security protocols employed by the party while creating this website.

This loophole was exposed by Twitter user @rsgovin who put out a detailed thread about the website vulnerabilities this morning (February 13, 2021). The user masked the identifiable personal details of people wanting to become Congress’ social media warriors so that they are not misused or the Congress supporters are not harassed.

Following is the screenshot of all applicants who applied to become part of this Congress initiative in Bihar. The identifiable personal details have been masked by @rsgovin and put online to prove how the website of Congress is indeed leaking personal data.

Leaked details of Congress supporters applying to become social media warriors for Rahul Gandhi

Not just Bihar, the data of Congress supporters wanting to become the social media warriors of the party in any state or union territory can be downloaded in Microsoft Excel format by running a few php queries by anyone. A person wanting to extract such data doesn’t even need to have administrative access to the website. This is a major security flaw and has exposed personal details of thousands of Congress supporters.

“In this manner, the personal data of all the users registered on their website is at risk. The data can be downloaded by anyone, by simply tweaking a few queries on their website!” Twitter user @rsgovin revealed in a thread. @rsgovin further checked if the submitted details by some users like their Voter ID are genuine, and he found so.

Basically many Congress supporters trusted the party in good faith to keep their personal details safe, but the party clearly failed to do so.

In fact, @rsgovin demonstrated that he could log into the administrator area too of the website launched by Congress, so much weak are the security protocols employed at the website to build an ‘online army’ for the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi.

While sensitive data like physical address and phone numbers not being kept safe is itself shocking, the website launched by the Congress party has been found to be not employing even the simplest security step like not storing passwords in plain text format. This further puts the registered Congress volunteers at risk because this could mean that their social media accounts could also be hacked if they are using same or similar passwords there.

OpIndia tried to verify the claims of @rsgovin and we found that the security loopholes definitely existed at the time of filing this report and the Congress party had not fixed it yet despite @rsgovin tagging them on Twitter and bringing this vulnerability to their notice.

In these five days, thousands have registered on the website as claimed by the Congress party, and that means thousands of people are now at risk of being targeted either by hackers or marketers who will have access to their personal data. All because they trusted the Congress party to keep their data safe.

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