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TMC’s Madan Mitra blames RSS for ‘attack’ on Mamata, compares it to Godhra carnage

OpIndia Staff
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TMC’s Madan Mitra blames RSS for ‘attack’ on Mamata, compares it to Godhra carnage

TMC leader Madan Mitra on Thursday in a veiled attack on the RSS claimed that the alleged ‘attack’ on Mamata Banerjee was carried out by ‘trained men in nikkars (knickers)’. Banerjee on Wednesday injured herself when her car door hit against a pillar. She had accused ‘4-5 men’ of attacking and pushing her. However, the eyewitnesses said otherwise.

Comparing the ‘attack’ to Godhra carnage, Mitra claimed that had the same incident taken place in any other states, like Gujarat, it would have become ‘another Godhra’. In 2002, a Muslim mob set a train on fire in Godhra, Gujarat, killing 59 karsevaks returning from Ayodhya. Subsequently, violent communal riots broke in Gujarat, leaving hundreds dead.

While Mitra did not explicitly compare the incident with Mamata Banerjee to the Godhra carnage, that he believes that the incident would ‘lead to Godhra like riots’ could mean only one thing. He believes that the ‘attack’ on Mamata was like the Godhra carnage.

Kerala: Thrissur administration bans Hindu devotees from performing rituals at Kodungallur Devi temple on Meena Bharani

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: Thrissur administration bans Hindu devotees from performing rituals at Kodungallur Devi temple on Meena Bharani

In a controversial decision, the Kerala government has banned Hindu devotees from performing ancient rituals at the Kodungallur Bhadrakali temple in Kerala and has deployed the police force to block the devotees from performing the same.

According to the reports, the Thrissur administration has restricted the ancient rituals at the temple dedicated to Maa Bhadrakali, citing coronavirus restrictions. The decision to ban the ritual has been taken arbitrarily by bureaucrats and devaswom employees without consulting with the Hindu devotees.

Hindu devotees and local Hindu leaders have made repeated requests to authorities to allow them to practice their rituals and celebrate the Meena Bharani festival. The oracles had earlier protested the scaling down of festivities by performing their ritual dance called Thullal. However, the district administration has canceled the celebrations without paying any heed.

According to the Hindu activist group ‘Reclaim Temples’, District Collector Shanavas banned the ancient rituals at the Kodungallur Bhadrakali temple in Kerala. The district administration had deployed a massive force to ensure the devotees and Oracles do not perform any ritual at the temple.

Hindu devotees perform annual ritual at Kodungallur temple on Meena Bharani

Every year in March, the Oracles from all over the state visit the Sree Kurumba Bhagavati Temple at Kodungallur for the auspicious Meena Bharani, which marks the news year celebration. They encircle the temple in their traditional attire, and as they attain divine trance, they hit their foreheads with their sickle-shaped swords. Then, the Oracles nurse the wounds with turmeric powder. They believe that the wound will heal due to divine intervention.

Lately, the traditions of Oracles, including animal sacrifices for Goddess Bhadrakali, have been stopped citing animal rights and religious reforms. The traditions have been replaced with the offering of the blood of birds called “Kozhikallu Moodal”, scheduled to be held this week. However, the Kerala administration has cancelled the rituals citing coronavirus restrictions.

Originally a Shiva Temple, it is believed that Parasuram himself installed the Kali murti near that of Bhagwan Shiva. The Kodungallur temple was also an important temple during the Chera period, with Kodungallur being their capital.

Administration cites Covid restrictions, bans performing rituals

Earlier, in a decision taken by the town council officials and elected representatives, the devotees were allowed to perform the rituals. However, the police rejected the proposals citing Covid-19 and have now closed three out of the temple’s four gates. Only a handful of devotees are being allowed to enter. 

Shockingly, the police have warned the local lodges and hotels not to rent out rooms for the devotees. The police are also stopping vehicles entering the city and are being sent back. No shops have been allowed to open in the vicinity of the temple.

The Kerala police have taken over the whole town and issued a strict warning to locals in the area not to allow guests. The police have promised further action to clamp down on this year’s festival.

Defying these threats, some ardent devotees have started to arrive and some oracles did perform their thullal and other rituals yesterday. 

In the video shared by ‘Reclaim Temples’, police personnel were seen all around the temple while devotees who came to perform rituals in front of the Goddess at Kodungallur Devi temple. However, the devotees performed rituals amidst the police presence.

British activist Nigel Farage insists nobody in ‘History’ has done more for people of colour than British royalty: Here’s why he is patently wrong

Jinit Jain
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British activist Nigel Farage insists nobody in ‘History’ has done more for people of colour than British royalty: Here’s why he is patently wrong

Meghan Markle kicked up a massive storm this week with her stunning revelations in an extraordinary interview with Oprah Winfrey. Markle confided that her life as a member of the British royal member had become so desolate that she contemplated suicide. She also accused the British royalty of indulging in racism, claiming that some of them expressed concerns about how dark the colour of the baby’s skin would be.

Shedding light on the couple’s dramatic exit from the royal life, Meghan said she was refused help during her mental health crisis, was targeted by falsehoods, and that there was official concern regarding the skin colour of her unborn son. 

“In those months when I was pregnant… we have in tandem the conversation of ‘he won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born,” Meghan told Winfrey.

The British royal family has found itself mired in this raging storm after Meghan accused them of racism. On Tuesday this week, two days after the interview was telecasted, Buckingham Palace, in a statement on behalf of the Queen and the Royal Family issued a statement that they are “saddened” to learn about how challenging the last few years have been for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle. The statement also termed the allegations of racism as “concerning” and assured that they were being taken “seriously” by the monarchy.

Nevertheless, the anodyne statements issued by the British Royalty did little to quell the raging accusations of racism being levelled against them. In fact, the allegations of racism by Markle only brought to fore the structural racism within the monarchy since its colonial days.

Meghan’s ordeal underscores the rampant racism practised by the Britishers since its imperial days. Be it the subjugation of its subjects in the Caribbean, Africa or South Asia, or the slave business of people of colour, history is a testament to the racial discrimination of the British empire, which was presided over by the royal family. The questioning of the potential darkness of Meghan’s son’s skin colour is a legacy of racism that was at its peak during the imperial rule of the British over the Commonwealth countries.

With allegations of racism being alleged against the British royal family, several monarchy apologists and sympathisers rushed in their defence, proffering specious arguments to defend the family from charges of racial discrimination. Many others went to the extent of exalting the family of being the biggest benefactor of the people of colour.

Nigel Paul Farage, a British activist, political commentator, broadcaster and former politician, in a recent interview, not only whitewashed the racist legacy of Britain’s monarchy but also patronisingly asserted that nobody in history has done more for the people of colour than the British royal family.

The wild and delusional claim was tossed out by Nigel Farage at a Newsmax appearance on Wednesday night.

Speaking at the program, Nigel tried to discredit Meghan by raising questions on the assertions made by her. “I don’t for one moment want to downplay the importance of mental health as an issue, but equally we cannot have people claiming mental health issues as a means of closing down debate. She looked very in control of the interview to me,” Farage said.

After rebuking Meghan and her husband for “tarnishing the reputation of the UK in the world”, Farage went on to tackle the issue of racism alleged by the couple.

“The Queen and the royal family have spent the last seventy years touring around the commonwealth,” Nigel said, adding, “The vast majority of those people are Black and Asian.”

He continued, “I would put it to you that nobody in the world, in history, has done more for people of colour than the British royal family.”

Nigel’s remarks elicited sharp reactions on social media, where people slammed him for defending the racial inequities by the British royal family. One user said white folks don’t get to determine who has done what for people of colour.

Several others rubbished the claims made by Nigel, reminding him of Britain’s colonial history.

“Hey, Nigel. How did those countries end up in the Commonwealth?” asked Barry Malone, executive producer of Al Jazeera’s The Stream.

The racial reckoning of the UK’s royal family led many apologists to defend the monarchy. Those who rushed in the defence of the UK’s regal family resorted to hackneyed assertions that glossed over the atrocities committed by the British rule and exaggerated the British royal family’s contribution towards civilising and imparting the western liberal ideals to its subjects.

Nigel appeared to defend the palace by offering a feeble argument that the royal family could not be accused of racism because they have spent the last seventy years touring around the commonwealth, the countries which were earlier ruled by the Britishers. What Nigel seems to suggest here is that the 70 years of touring by the royal family is enough to condone the centuries of depredations by the British of their colonial subjects, most of whom were people of colour.

Perhaps, for Nigel and his ilk, Britain’s long and agonising history of brutal colonialism and slavery should be seen as a generous deed by the people of colour, especially in countries occupied by Britain. Nigel’s remarks also echo the views held by apologists of British imperialism, who argue that Britain’s mission of colonisation had a civilising influence on its subjects.

Apologists of the British imperial regime have long held that the British brought—democracy, the rule of law, infrastructural development—the touchstones of modern fulfilment that would have not been possible if it were not for the British rule. They conveniently brush under the carpet, the enduring oppression, the systematic torture, the financial exploitation and the slavery that accompanied their rule.

Britain’s exploitation of its colonial subjects, most of whom were people of colour

India, for instance, contributed about 25 per cent of the global GDP in the eighteenth century when the British were gradually expanding their control over the country. By the time they left the country in 1947, India’s contribution to the world GDP was just under 1 per cent. Besides the financial exploitation, Indians were tortured, killed, simply for demanding their rights. Even those Indians who chose to work for the British were not accorded the same respect and designations as were offered to their equally qualified British counterparts. If this isn’t racism, then what it is?

The Bengal famine in 1943 was perhaps the one in modern Indian history to not occur as a result of serious drought. It is widely documented that the Churchill-era British policies played a significant factor in contributing to the catastrophe that killed millions in its wake. According to Indian politician Shashi Tharoor, Churchill diverted food rations to the imperial army fighting World War II, even though they had sufficient stocks of ration stored. As a result, millions of people died of starvation in Bengal. When Churchill was informed about the devastation, he crassly remarked, if the shortages were so bad, why was Mahatma Gandhi still alive.

These are but a few instances of racism institutionalised and practised by the British rulers in the countries they ruled. There are similar horrifying stories of slave trading in Africa, where the British indulged in indentured labours, exporting the African natives to its colonies in the Americas and Europe.

Nigel’s statements shielding the palace from the charges of racism suggest that there is a sizeable constituency in Britain who still think that its imperial rule was an uplifting and edifying experience for its colonial subjects. It is time that this constituency is made aware of the fact that Britain has presided over the worst form of racism in the last two centuries. By citing leisurely tours undertaken by the royal family in pillaged countries, Nigel and his ilk cannot draw a veil over Britain’s problematic past that is steeped in racism.

Geeta is ‘Radha Waghmare’: Hearing and speech impaired woman finally reunited with family after 20 years

OpIndia Staff
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Geeta is ‘Radha Waghmare’: Hearing and speech impaired woman finally reunited with family after 20 years

Geeta, who was brought back to India from Pakistan by then-External Affairs Minister Late Sushma Swaraj in September 2015, has finally been reunited with her family in Parbhani, Maharashtra. When Geeta was merely nine years old, she accidentally crossed over to Pakistan. In 2015, Late Sushma Swaraj and the foreign office in Islamabad had a dialogue about her, and soon after, she was brought back to India. The journey, however, did not stop at that time.

The hunt to find Geeta’s family

As per a report in the Times of India, since the then 24-years-old Geeta arrived in India, finding her family was a big challenge as she can only communicate via sign language. Geeta was born deaf and had very vague memories about her childhood. The only thing she could remember about her time in India was a maternity home outside the railway station alongside a sugarcane farm. Since the hunt for her family started in India, several government agencies and NGOs spent hundreds of man-hours to locate the real family.

As she became a headline in both mainstream and local media, many families came forward from UP, Bihar, Telangana, and Rajasthan, claiming they were her blood relatives. However, none of them cleared verifications. In two of the cases, agencies conducted DNA tests as well, but the results were negative.

While the hunt for her family was on, Geeta was getting training in sign languages and other skills. When she arrived in India, Madhya Pradesh’s Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan promised to do everything in his power to find her family. He also promised to do ‘Kanyadan’ in case her family could not be located. Interestingly, Geeta has rejected over 25 marriage proposals since then. The TOI report, citing the social workers who are helping Geeta, says that she is a very independent woman and has rejected all the proposals for marriage.

Indore Deaf Bilingual Academy was the first to get custody of Geeta when she arrived in India. She stayed with them for 58 months. In July 2020, her custody was transferred to Gyanendra Purohit of Anand Service Society in Indore, who tried to find her family. Purohit got some promising clues that helped a lot in locating her family.

Nose piercing was a major clue

One of the most important clues was the nose piercing. While it is common to get a nose piercing on the left side in Maharashtra, her nose piercing was on the right side. Such piercing is common on the southern side of Maharashtra. He zeroed on to Marathwada, a small region that is still carrying forward the tradition of nose piercing on the right side since the time of Nizams of Hyderabad’s rule.

He rented a house in Marathwada and began the hunt with local police, civic administrations, and Marathi journalists. Her memory of a maternity home outside the railway station with sugarcane farms was among the main clues that local teams looked for. Finally, Parbhani was deemed as the final destination where a maternity home is located outside the railway station.

When her story appeared in the local newspapers, one Mina Dinkar Pandhare approached Parbhani district administration and claimed Geeta might be her daughter who went missing in 1999-2000. Mina’s first interview with Prabhakar was fruitful. The age of her daughter matched the age of Geeta. They also noticed a striking resemblance in Mina and Geeta’s looks. When Mina was asked if she remembered any identification marks on Geeta, she told about a burn mark on Geeta’s stomach which turned out to be exactly as she had described.

The burn mark was from an injury Geeta had suffered while she was a child.

No need for a DNA test

A DNA test is mostly done when the custody of a minor is to be decided. As Geeta is 29, she is free to decide about her future. Suchita Tirkey, Joint Director, Madhya Pradesh’s Social Justice Department, said in a statement that she is meeting with her family regularly and getting familiar with the surroundings.

The first meeting and journey since then

Geeta is currently under Aniket Salgaoncar’s supervision, who heads Pahal Foundation in Parbhani. When Geeta first met her mother in a room at Pahal Foundation’s office in Parbhani, she broke down and fell into the lap of her mother sobbing.

While comforting Geeta, her mother said, “Your real name is Radha Waghmare and your father’s name is Sudhakar Waghmare. He passed away some years ago.” The social workers say that Geeta is not keen on moving in with her family as of now. She is also continuing her studies and vocational training with the help of the social workers.

The journey from now is, however, difficult for Geeta. Salgaoncar said that she is not so keen on moving to the village as she lived in a setup where her all needs are being taken care of. Her mother, on the other hand, runs her family by selling clay pots. Geeta’s priority is to clear her Class VIII exam through distance education. “Once she secures some basic qualifications, we will request the Maharashtra government to help her get a job,” Salgaoncar added.

Tirkey said that Geeta is meeting her family regularly, and when she feels comfortable moving with them, she will be handed over to the family. “My sense is Geeta wants to be financially independent before she goes back to being Radha,” said Salgaoncar.

It is unclear how she reached Pakistan

A nine-year-old accidentally crossing the border seems like a story out of a film. There are some theories that can explain how she reached Pakistan. She had a habit of running away from home when she was little. As there were no CCTV cameras at that time, it is unclear what happened. But it is believed that she boarded Sachkhand Express to Amritsar in Punjab that halts for a short time in Parbhani. She might have then boarded Lahore Samjhauta Express, which halts at Amritsar.

When the rangers in Pakistan spotted her, she was already missing for four years. She was handed over to social activist Bilquis Bano Edhi, who runs a foundation in Karachi. Unfortunately, there is no record of when she was handed over to Edhi as many people take shelter in the said foundation. Geeta’s story may have some blind spots, but she has found her family and hopefully will be able to live happily with them.

Mumbai: 67-year-old Ahmad Shahi arrested for raping over 30 stray dogs in Juhu area

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai: 67-year-old Ahmad Shahi arrested for raping over 30 stray dogs in Juhu area

In a shocking incident, a 67-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping dozens of stray dogs in suburban Andheri West.

According to the reports, Ahmad Shah, a vegetable vendor and a resident of Juhu Galli, has been arrested after he was caught sexually abusing a female stray dog near Andheri. A complaint was lodged by Vijay Mohnani from NGO Bombay Animal Rights, who submitted a video to the police in which Shah could be seen raping the dog.

The video recorded by the NGO volunteer allegedly shows Ahmad Shah raping a stray dog. The complaint says that despite being warned by locals, he kept repeating such acts.

A report in Mid-Day stated that the NGO has submitted video evidence of the man raping dogs after giving them food. The police reportedly suspect that the vegetable vendor has raped over 30 dogs between 3 am to 4 am in the night over a long period of time. He allegedly offered the animals meat and raped them while they ate. The accused even claimed that since he had been feeding the animals and the animals “did not object”, it is not a crime.

The NGO has appealed to everyone to be kind to animals.

A senior official of DN Nagar police station, where the complaint has been filed, said that the accused Ahmed Shah has a history of committing such crimes. In the past, the residents had warned him against doing such barbaric crimes. One of the residents caught him indulging in the crime and informed an NGO about it.

Act was caught on camera, accused is a habitual offender

Animal Rights activist Mohnani has said in his complaint, “I received a call from a resident of Juhu Galli, who told me there is a man in their area who rapes street dogs. The man said he has a video shot in December 2020, where the accused is caught on camera raping the dog. I asked him why he did not complain to the police earlier… the man said he knew the accused and had warned him not to repeat the act, but the accused kept repeating it, and hence, he informed me about it.”

The police have now registered a case against Shah based on the evidence submitted by the NGO. We arrested him under relevant sections of IPC, including 377 (unnatural sex) and 429 (killing or maiming an animal) and Section 11 (treating animals cruelly) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, an official said.

In October last year, an 8-year-old female canine named Noorie was raped inside the Galleria shopping complex in Powai, Mumbai. A week before, a 65-year-old man was arrested for raping a dog at the Nerul railway station complex in Navi Mumbai. 

On Women’s Day when PM Modi was speaking about women entrepreneurship, Congress’ Bhupinder Hooda made women pull tractors

Nirwa Mehta
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On Women’s Day when PM Modi was speaking about women entrepreneurship, Congress’ Bhupinder Hooda made women pull tractors

On International Women’s Day, Haryana Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda led a protest march against the state government. In his ‘tractor march’, women Congress leaders could be seen manually pulling the tractors.

He carried out this rally at a time when Prime Minister Modi was hailing the Nari Shakti and applauding women achievers in India.

In a series of tweets, PM Modi had shared various products made by women artisans across India and encouraged more women to strive to be self-sustainable.

Bhupinder Hooda’s ‘protest march’ where he made women pull tractors, was just few days prior to the no-confidence motion was moved by Congress against the Khattar Government. On Tuesday, while speaking during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the governor’s address, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar got emotional. “This treatment to women MLAs was worse than bonded labour,” the Haryana CM hit out on Hooda.

While Hooda sat on a tractor, women Congress leaders pulled it.

Women Congress leaders pulling tractor manually

What is worse is that this happened on International Women’s Day. When party leaders like Senior Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi mouth off platitudes on women empowerment.

This, obviously, is not the first time Congress leaders have downright insulted women while giving gyaan on women empowerment.

Congress and women empowerment: A farce

Congress leaders as well as the party’s social media account has regularly indulged in misogynist behaviour. During the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, MP Congress tweeted how under the BJP-led government, women ‘have to sell alcohol’ which is very shameful. Other than the fact that it was a misleading image, since it was clicked during inspection where a woman in uniform was carrying out her duty, what exactly is wrong with women selling alcohol? Isn’t alcohol just another commodity? At least there is dignity of work and not making women pull tractor like an animal.

And while we are at topic of casual sexism, Congress leader Digvijay Singh had caught the spotlight a few years back when while praising a fellow party secretary, Meenakshi Natrajan at a rally in Madhya Pradesh he referred to her as ‘a 100 percent tunch maal’. (Translated from Bhojpuri, the remark roughly means ‘100 percent sexy woman’.) And what about the regular, incessant sexist and misogynist attacks on BJP’s Smriti Irani? Irani, however, responded with a resounding slap by snatching Amethi, the Gandhi-family ‘safe seat’ by defeating Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi had once commented “Have you ever seen women wearing shorts working in RSS?” without realising the sexist nature of the remark. It is shocking that Rahul Gandhi thinks that for women to feel and be empowered, they have to wear shorts. In fact, Rahul Gandhi has time and again displayed his toxic masculinity. Ahead of 2019 general elections, while addressing a farmers’ rally in Rajasthan, Rahul Gandhi said that the prime minister who boasted of a 56-inch chest did not attend the court of the public, that is the Parliament. “We demolished the Defence Minister’s speech. The prime minister, who has 56-inch-chest, asked a woman to defend him,” he said.

He had reduced Nirmala Sitharaman, independent India’s first ever Defence Minister to just a ‘woman’. That a woman gave befitting replies to his lies hurt him so much that he used ‘woman’ as an insult to her. The man who wants to become India’s Prime Minister gets rattled when a woman speaks up.

To quote Rahul Gandhi’s own words, “jab tak mahila chup rahe, kuch bole na tab tak mahila theek hai jaise hi mahila ne muh khola usko chup karvao.”

Uttar Pradesh: Several projects worth Rs 214 crore kicked off in Bareilly as air-connectivity set to boost economy

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Several projects worth Rs 214 crore kicked off in Bareilly as air-connectivity set to boost economy

The Yogi Adutyanath government in Uttar Pradesh is focusing on developing the infrastructural capability of the state. In order to resonate with PM Modi’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, the Uttar Pradesh government has launched several development projects in the most populous state of the country. PM Modi’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ was well-reflected in the state budget presented by the state Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna last month in the state assembly. The budget carved out a large chunk of funds for a number of infrastructural projects like housing, Smart City Project, Sadak Yojana, etc.

Projects worth Rs 214 crore inaugurated in Bareilly

After allocating Rs 200 crore in its budget under the Smart City Project to Bareilly, the Uttar Pradesh government has now allocated another Rs 214 crore to ramp up the infrastructure of the city. In an event organised at Circuit House yesterday, Urban Development Minister Ashutosh Tandon laid the foundation stones of projects worth Rs 214 crore in Bareilly while also inaugurating some completed projects. Tandon inaugurated around 31 projects in the city including a solid waste management plant and Bareilly drinking water project. Tandon informed the people about several government schemes like Health centre, Smart class, Micro Skill Centre and Integrated Control and Command Centre.

Bareilly airport made functional on International Women’s Day

This comes after an airport was inaugurated at Bareilly on International Women’s day on March 8. Union Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri flagged off the first flight from the airport on March 9. The Bareilly Airport was upgraded for commercial flights under UDAN-RCS. This makes it 56th airport to have been operationalised under UDAN. The inaugural flight reportedly had an all-women crew to mark the International Women’s Day. The Bareilly airport is the 8th functional airport of Uttar Pradesh others being in Varanasi, Prayagraj, Lucknow, Agra, Gorakhpur, Kanpur and Hindon.

Recently, the Uttar Pradesh government had made an announcement regarding the establishment of Lord Ram University in Ayodhya which, as proposed, will be a centre for research on the life and principles of Lord Ram as well as on Hindu religion and culture.

After failing to protect Jio towers, now Punjab Government decides to give only Jio connection to PSPCL staff

Anurag
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After failing to protect Jio towers, now Punjab Government decides to give only Jio connection to PSPCL staff

While Congress leader Rahul Gandhi keeps accusing the Modi government of working for the benefits of Ambani and Adani, the Congress-ruled Punjab government has directed the employees of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited to use only Jio network as official connection for their phones. The PSPCL has directed its employees to send the details of their existing SIM card details so that those can be replaced with Jio SIMs. This comes just months after Jio mobile phone towers were destroyed by ‘farmer protesters’ while the state government remained a mute spectator.

In a letter issued on March 8 by a deputy chief engineer headquarters cum administration, North Jalandhar office of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) officials have been directed to send details of their SIM cards to the senior authorities with immediate effect. The directive was issued as the PSPCL’s contract with Vodafone has ended, and Reliance Jio grabbed the contract in recently released tenders.

The letter that was issued in Punjabi said, “Under your area, all Vodafone SIM users (PSPCL employees) should give the details of their SIM cards as per the requirement mentioned in the letter by 3 pm today, and if the details were not sent on time then the received information from other offices except yours would be sent to the higher authorities and the entire responsibility of it is of your office.”

Letter issued by PSPCL

Thousands of employees at PSPCL have been using Vodafone connection for years under the corporate connection scheme. As per reports, there was no severe connection problem reported by PSPCL. The employees also get a certain amount of data free under the corporate connection scheme. 

A Venu Prasad, Chairman cum Managing Director PSPCL, in a statement to The Indian Express, said that new tenders were called in after the contract with Vodafone was over. Three companies that Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone, participated in the bidding. The state-owned telecom company BSNL did not participate in bidding.

Prasad further said that the rate of Reliance Jio was the lowest compared to Vodafone and Airtel. “Reliance had quoted Rs 2.3 crore against Rs 2.92 crore of Vodafone, so there was a difference of Rs 62 lakh between the rates of two, so we chose the lowest one,” he added. Jio is also providing additional services.

The backlash on social media

After the letter issued by PSPCL started making rounds on social media, the Punjab government faced a backlash. It has to be noted that a large number of farmers and their supporters have been boycotting Jio services in Punjab. There were several reports about damaging Jio towers in Punjab as a mark of protest. The protesters destroyed a total of over 1500 towers.

AAP Punjab did not leave the chance and claimed that the contract was given to Reliance because of the friendship between Captain Amarinder, CM Punjab and Mukesh Ambani.

One Twitter user said, “At a time when Reliance is being opposed in Punjab due to the farmers’ protest, has issued an order to change the employees’ mobile from Vodafone to Jio.

Netizens took social media to outrage over the contract given to Jio by the state-owned power company. It has to be noted that after several towers were destroyed in Punjab and not strict action was taken by the Punjab government, Reliance Jio had moved to Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking orders for strict action against the protesters. While Punjab CM was directing Police to take action, Youth Congress leaders were provoking protesters to destroy towers.

Video of two Raebareli women fighting with each other goes viral, Brijesh Nirmal’s injured wife files case against Rashid’s wife

OpIndia Staff
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Video of two Raebareli women fighting with each other goes viral, Brijesh Nirmal’s injured wife files case against Rashid’s wife

A video of two women wrestling with each other in full public view in a village has been doing rounds on social media. In the viral video from Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, two women can be seen pulling each other’s hair, as a man and a woman make unsuccessful efforts to stop the fight. The man asks them to let go of each other but the two women continue to wrestle rolling on the ground. He eventually walks away leaving the two fighting.

Two small kids, apparently belonging to either of them, can be seen crying seeing the two fight with each other. However, the women pay no heed to either their cries or the locals’ appeals to stop fighting. Both of them can be seen exchanging blows and kicking each other. Meanwhile, another man intervenes to stop the two towards the end of the video. It is not yet known why the women were fighting in public like that.

However, responding to the video shared on Twitter, Raebareli police said they have taken cognisance of the matter after receiving complaint about the fight and the appropriate action would be taken in the matter.

Fight between wives of Brijesh Nirmal and Rashid, case filed

According to reports, the incident took place on Wednesday in Etora village in Unchahar Kotwalil region in UP. The women who were fighting are the wives of Brijesh Nirmal and Rashid. Reportedly, the fight started with a minor argument between the two women fro the same village, but soon it turned violent and the two women started a violent physical fight. Brijesh Nirmal’s wife Chandrakali was severely injured in the fight. Afterwards, Chandrakali lodged a complaint with the Unchahar police station against the other woman, after which the police registered a case in the matter. Unchahar Kotwalil OC Binod Singh said that legal actions are being taken in the matter on the basis of the complaint filed by the woman injured in the fight.

Antilia bomb scare: Telegram channel used for sending terror message was created in or near Tihar Jail

OpIndia Staff
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Antilia bomb scare: Telegram channel used for sending terror message was created in or near Tihar Jail

Terrorist organization Jaish Ul Hind used a Telegram channel to take responsibility for the parked vehicle outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence. Now a private cyber agency has claimed that the channel was created in Tihar Jail, Delhi.

The Indian Expresses quoted official sources and said that the investigating agency asked the firm to track the location of the phone that was used to create the said channel on the messaging app Telegram. However, it is unclear which investigating agency had hired the private cyber experts, but the findings have been shared with the Special Cell of Delhi Police by the central agencies.

Channel was created using TOR network

As per the security analysis report submitted by the private cyber firm, the channel was created using the TOR network. TOR network is used for accessing the darknet, the dark side of the internet which is not visible for normal web browsers. The mobile phone and SIM card used for creating the channel was located near or in Tihar Jail. The report suggests that the channel was created on February 26. It lists the mobile number used for accessing the internet while creating the channel. The message taking responsibility for the SUV outside Ambani’s residence was posted on February 27 night.

Jaish Ul Hind later denied the claim

On February 28, Jaish Ul Hind allegedly used another channel on Telegram. The terror group claimed that they did not post the previous message and they had no connection to the SUV parked outside Ambani’s house. The police believe that the second message was sent from outside the country, but the location could not be pinned.

The message that was allegedly sent from or near Tihar Jail demanded money from Ambanis. A link for payment through cryptocurrency was also mentioned in the message. However, the link was not functioning, according to Mumbai Police. The message claimed that it was only a trailer, and “the big picture was yet to come.” It further added, “the brother who placed the SUV near the Ambani house has reached the safe house.”

Investigating agencies probing the case

Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorist Squad was looking into all cases related to the terror scare, death of Mansukh Hiren and missing vehicle case. However, the National Investigation Agency took over the terror scare case and now ATS is investigating the remaining two cases that are the death of Mansukh Hiren and his missing car.

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