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UP: One Abdul Saleem arrested for fraud phone calls as CM Yogi’s adviser to pressurise police officials

OpIndia Staff
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UP: One Abdul Saleem arrested for fraud phone calls as CM Yogi’s adviser to pressurise police officials

The Rae Bareli police on January 30 arrested a man named Abdul Saleem, a resident of Budheshwar, Alamnagar in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh for posing as an adviser to Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, in order to pressurise the Uttar Pradesh police to act in a dowry case. The case was registered based on a complaint lodged by Sardar Kotwali SP Ravindra Sonkar.

Following the arrest, Abdul Saleem, who is the main accused in the case, reportedly confessed that he made the plan along with his brother Abdul Haneef as they wanted to implicate their sister’s husband and her in-laws in a dowry case. The accused said that the plan was masterminded by one of their associates named Sayeed Nasar Nafeez alias Sahil, who gave them the idea of impersonating as Yogi Adityanath’s adviser to mislead and pressurize the police to take action against their sister’s husband and in-laws.

Rae Bareli police took to Twitter on January 31, a day after the arrest was made, to share the details of the case. In a Press release, the Rae Bareli police informed that on January 22, when SP Ravindra Sonkar was in official duty he received a call from a mobile phone on the PS’s landline. The caller had claimed to be calling from the CM’s office.

Introducing himself as CM Yogi Adityanath’s adviser, the caller told SP Sonkar that one of his acquaintances Dr Salim and his relatives would be visiting the police station. He ordered Sonkar to look into their case on an urgent basis and take prompt and strict action based on their complaint.

After a while, the impersonators visited the Sadar Kotwali and met SP Ravindra Sonkar. They handed over a complaint to him written by Haneef. In the complaint, Haneef had accused his sister’s husband and her in-laws of harassing her for dowry. Based on the complaint an FIR was registered against Haneef’s sister’s husband and in-laws, under IPC sections 498A, 354A, 323, 342, 504, 506.

Later, once again Sonkar received a call from the same mobile number. He was then asked to include IPC section 376 (Punishment for rape) in the FIR.

Press release by Rae Bareli police

The way efforts were being made to constantly pressurise the police to take speedy and strict action in the case, created aspersions about the credibility of the caller, following which police dialled the CM’s office to find out details about this person who had been posing as the adviser of chief minister Yogi Adityanath. The caller’s mobile number was put under surveillance, which revealed that he was actually a fraud.

The Rae Bareli police then filed an FIR against the imposter under IPC sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 and also evoked 66(C) and 66(I) of the IT Act. They conducted raids and arrested the main accused from his residence in Alamnagar, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

The Rae Bareli police have also recovered a mobile phone, two mobile SIMs, both belonging to different service providers, and Rs 25,000 in cash from the accused. Meanwhile, police have also announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for anyone providing information about the mastermind Sayeed Nasar Nafeez alias Sahil.

When protesting ‘farmers’ hailed Khalistani terrorists Sukha and Jinda in presence of ‘actor-farmer’ Deep Sidhu

OpIndia Staff
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When protesting ‘farmers’ hailed Khalistani terrorists Sukha and Jinda in presence of ‘actor-farmer’ Deep Sidhu

As the days pass, more videos of alleged farmers have emerged in which they are threatening violence if their demands are not met. In a now-viral video that was first released on January 4 on YouTube by Chadta Punjab TV, two ‘farmers’ can be seen singing a song in front of actor-turned-leader Deep Sidhu.

Notably, Sidhu was present at Red Fort on January 26 when two flags, a yellow rectangular flag and a saffron triangular flag, both with holy Sikh symbol, were hoisted alongside Tricolour. The incident was condemned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ramnath Kovind, among other leaders.

‘Bloodbath will follow’ – a song that threatened violence

A 5-minute video is making rounds on social media platforms sung by two ‘farmers’ in the presence of Deep Sidhu. The song’s lyrics suggest that the protestors will continue agitation even if they are termed as a rebel or terrorists. They further stated that if the government tries to get strict against them, a bloodbath will follow.

Notably, the song has been hailed by California based pro-Khalistan outfit California Sikh Youth Alliance. The same group was behind uprooting the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Davis, California. They had distributed sweets when the above two flags were hoisted on Red Fort on January 26.

‘Sukha and Jinda will rise again’

They further sang that if the government denies to take back the agriculture laws, the duo of Sukha and Jinda will rise again in Punjab. The majority of the Indians are unaware of the terror Punjab had to go through during the insurgency. During that time, apart from Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, numerous Khalistani terrorists killed countless on the pretext of claiming a separate state Khalistan.

Two among those terrorists were Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha, who were members of the Khalistan Comando Force. The duo was part of several high-profile assassinations, including Congress leader Lalit Maken (accused of Sikh genocide), General Arun Vaidya (who designed and supervised Operation Blue Star) and Congress leader Arjan Dass (accused of Sikh genocide). They were also involved in India’s largest bank robbery in 1987 for funding Khalistan, a Sikh state.

Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha

Born to a farmer family, in Jandiala, Amritsar, Jinda joined the separatist Khalistan movement soon after Operation Blue Star. Sukhdev Singh Sukha, too, was born to Saini Sikh farmer family in Ganganagar, Rajasthan. They originally belonged to Hoshiarpur in Punjab. He, too, left his studies to join the Khalistan movement after Operation Blue Star. Both were members of Khalistan Commando Force.

On 31st July 1985, Congress leader and MLA Lalit Maken was walking towards his car parked near his house. He was gunned down by Jinda, Sukha and Ranjit Singh Gill alias Kukki. His wife Gitanjali and another visitor were also caught in the firing. While his wife survived the shooting, she succumbed to her injuries. Congress leader Ajay Maken is Lalit Maken’s nephew.

On 5th September 1985, Jinda and Sukha killed Congress leader Arjan Dass for his alleged involved in 1984 anti-Sikh riots that took place following the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Dass was named by various Sikh victims in their affidavits they had submitted to the Supreme Court appointed Nanavati Commission. He was a close aide of former Indira Gandhi’s son, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

On 10th August 1986, General Arun Vaidya, who had moved to Pune after his retirement, was shot to death by Jinda and Sukha when he was driving back home from market. The duo, who were riding a motorcycle, pulled up next to him and fired eight to nine shots at him. He is believed to have died instantly due to head and neck injuries. His wife, who was with him in the car, was also shot at and sustained injuries. Khalistan Commando Force took responsibility of the assassination and said he was killed to avenge Operation Blue Star.

On 13th February 1987, Jinda and Sukha along with other members of Khalistan Commando Force looted over Rs 5 crore from from Punjab National Bank, Ludhiana. About 12-15 Khalistani terrorists dressed as policemen and armed with submachine guns and rifles participated in the robbery. It is pegged as the biggest bank robbery in India’s history.

Also involved in this robbery was Mathra Singh, Jinda’s nephew. He was also uncle of Surjit Singh Penta, the Khalistani terrorist who consumed cyanide during Operation Black Thunder in 1988.

In march 1987, Jinda was arrested from New Delhi’s Majnu Ka Tilla. He was shot in his legs while the police tried to catch him. On 17th September 1987, Sukha was arrested after he was involved in a truck accident in Pune. He was riding same motorcycle that was used in assassination of General Vaidya. The duo admitted to their crime of assassinating Gen Vaidya but pleaded not-guilty. They justified killing him as he was ‘guilty of a serious crime, the punishment for which could only be death’.

The duo were sentenced to death on 21st October 1989 and hanged at Yerwada jail on 9th October 1992. When they were being taken to the gallows, they reportedly kept chanting pro-Khalistan slogans.

‘Enemies would have conquered India if Sikhs were not there’

They further claimed that India is safe only because Sikhs are on the border. If Sikhs move away from the border, India will cease to exist. They also said that they would not step back from sacrificing themselves as they are the Sikhs who saved and established India.

And while it is true that a lot of Sikhs protect our borders and their brave and exemplary courage has protected India from the enemies, when an individual dons the uniform, he is an Indian first, then anything else.

‘It is not easy to become Jarnail’

In the video, while remembering the Afghan-Sikh war, they alleged that because they defeated invaders, only warriors of their religion could become ‘Jarnail.’ The literal meaning of the word is commander-in-chief but the word in today’s context is often refers to the Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

‘India did not give due respect to Bhagat Singh and other Sikh freedom fighters’

They alleged that Bhagat Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha gave their lives for the country, but India did not pay due respect to the freedom fighters belonging to the Sikh community.

This is untrue. Indians, across political ideologies and religions have forever expressed their gratitude and hailed Bhagat Singh and other Sikh freedom fighters irrespective of their religion.

The current protests, however, have been infiltrated by Khalistani elements and have used this as an opportunity to pit the Sikhs against rest of India.

Did Mamata Banerjee say ‘bh*ncho’ while trying to prove she can speak better Hindi than PM Modi? A fact-check

OpIndia Staff
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Did Mamata Banerjee say ‘bh*ncho’ while trying to prove she can speak better Hindi than PM Modi? A fact-check

A video clip has gone viral on social media where Mamata Banerjee is heard engaging in a deranged rant in order to prove that she speaks better Hindi than Prime Minister Modi. By the end of the clip, the West Bengal Chief Minister did not succeed in her efforts despite insisting that Narendra Modi speaks from a teleprompter to maintain fluency in Hindi.

Unfortunately for Mamata Banerjee, some social media users suspect that she used a vile abusive word during her speech. It was suggested that she used the word at around 59 seconds into the video after saying ‘Kem Cho’, a Gujarati phrase. It has become a source for many a laughs on the platform.

We listened to the speech in question carefully and determined that the Trinamool supremo had, in fact, not used the abusive word. Thus, although the speech provides plenty of material for laughter, the abusive word is not among them.

During the section of the speech under concern, Mamata Banerjee boasts that she is even fluent in Gujarati. In order to prove her proficiency in the Prime Minister’s mother tongue, she says, “Kem Cho? Bhal Cho.” ‘Kem cho’ is a common Gujarati greeting that translates to “How are you?” ‘Bhal cho’ was Banerjee’s attempt to demonstrate her fluency in Gujarati.

‘Bhalo’ means good in Bengali. So, the response to ‘How are you’ in Bengla is usually ‘Ami bhalo aachhi’, which translates to “I am good” or “I am doing well”. In Gujarati, the common response is ‘majhama’. What language ‘bhal cho’ falls under is anybody’s guess but quite clearly, it was Mamata Banerjee answering the Gujarati greeting in a twisted mixture of Bangla and Gujarati.

Nevertheless, the speech had multiple hilarious moments. In heavily accented Hindi, the West Bengal Chief Minister boasted about how she could fluently read the script. She even read a couple of lines to prove it. She claimed that the Prime Minister read from a teleprompter that had the words in the Gujarati script.

She did not stop there and went on to claim that she is well versed in Punjabi. She insisted that people talk to her in Punjabi so that she could demonstrate her fluency. She also said that she had traveled far and wide in Punjab during the terrorism years, which she described as ‘godhbodh’. ‘Gadhbadh’ is a Hindi word that roughly translates to disturbance.

Mamata Banerjee said that she had some difficulty distinguishing between different individuals because according to her, all of them looked the same. She also said that she eats ‘Halwa’ from Gurudwaras and ‘Litti’ from Biharis.

Such eccentric speeches are not new to the Bengal Chief Minister. In one speech, she hailed ‘Jai Bishnu Mata’. Vishnu is a male Hindu God and definitely not considered a mother (Mata). The Trinamool Congress is suffering a string of defections, which could perhaps explain her eccentricity in the speech. However, it is still not clear precisely when the speech is from.

Four days after pro-Khalistani group in California vandalised Mahatma Gandhi statue, White House ‘condemns’ the act

OpIndia Staff
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Four days after pro-Khalistani group in California vandalised Mahatma Gandhi statue, White House ‘condemns’ the act

On January 28, some Khalistani elements desecrated the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Davis, California. After over four days, the White House has issued a statement condemning the act. US President Joe Biden’s Press Secretary Jen Psaki Monday condemned the vandalisation of a statue and expressed concern over the incident.

“We certainly would have concerns about the desecration of monuments of Gandhi. And you know, that’s certainly what we would express,” Psaki said on February 1.

“But certainly we would, you know, condemn that desecration and watch it closely.”

“We do not support any actions that include the destruction of property. We understand that our community reflects a diversity of views and values, but we expect that everyone will extend respect to each other and to shared spaces, said the US spokesperson in her statement.

“We are committed to creating a city that is inclusive and lives up to our principles. We work diligently to ensure the physical and psychological safety of every resident. Acts of destruction are violent and shatter this safety,” she said.

Asked to throw light on the US President’s reaction to the entire fiasco, Psaki said: “If there’s more to share on the President’s point of view on it, I’m happy to get back to you on that.”

India condemns desecration of Mahatma Gandhi statue in California, seeks action

Immediately after the incident, India had condemned the act and taken up the issue with the US state department. The Indian embassy in Washington on January 30 (Saturday) sought “appropriate action” against those responsible for the act.

Meanwhile, India’s consulate in San Francisco in California state separately took up the matter with the city of Davis and local law enforcement authorities, who initiated an investigation in the matter.

On January 28, Videos and pictures had emerged showing Khalistani elements in California vandalising the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Davis. It was broken and ripped from the base and thrown on the ground. Members of the pro-Khalistan organization also distributed sweets to celebrate the hoisting of the Sikh flag at the Red Fort.

Pro-Khalistani protestors oppose re-installation of the statue

On Sunday, some Indian American protesters had gathered at the spot of the Gandhi statue to register their protest against the wanton act of vandalism. However, they were met with counter-protesters from some members of the local Sikh community which opposed the statue.

Members of the CYSA reached the spot and protested against the installation of the Gandhi statue. The CYSA also said that they will lobby against the re-installation of the statue. Images of the protest were shared on social media by local journalists.

Vehicle of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal attacked in Jalalabad, party alleges ‘Congress goons’ behind the attack

OpIndia Staff
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Vehicle of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal attacked in Jalalabad, party alleges ‘Congress goons’ behind the attack

As Punjab descends into chaos, the car of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal was attacked in Jalalabad, Punjab. News agency ANI has accessed a video of the incident where several people were seen pelting stones at Badal’s vehicle. Many attackers were also seen armed with sticks. Gunshots were also heard being fired at Badal’s car. The party members have accused police backed ‘Congress goons’ of being behind the attack.

Badal was reportedly on his way to the Jalalabad SDM’s office when he was attacked. He was accompanying his party candidates to file nomination for the upcoming Punjab Municipal elections.

According to ANI, SAD has said in a statement: “Police backed Congress goons today made an attempt on the life of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal. Three party workers who jumped into the president’s rescue received bullet injuries”, SAD said.

The violent incident reportedly transpired after SAD members and Congress workers allegedly had heated arguments with one another, leading to the clash between the two groups. The Congress workers allegedly broke barricades and attacked the SAD members with sticks, weapons and bricks and stones. Many SAD members were injured in the ensuing violence.

Image source: PTC News

According to the reports, Jalalabad’s Congress MLA Raminder Awla’s son led the mob that attacked SAD president at SDM office complex. ‘Police backed Congress goons today made an attempt on the life of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal. Three party workers who jumped into the president’s rescue received bullet injuries, SAD said.

The party has also alleged that the police stood as mute spectators and refused to control the violent Congress workers who attacked SAD leader.

Badal’s media advisor Jangveer Singh accused the Congress of attacking the Akali workers, who were led by the son of ruling party MLA Raminder Singh Awla. “Congress goons stoned SAD president’s vehicle, fired and injured two Akali workers,” alleged Jangveer Singh. He also accused the police of remaining a “mute-spectator” during the whole incident. SAD leader Parambans Singh Romana alleged that Congress workers also fired from their guns.

Meanwhile, the Punjab police that has now come under the radar for allegedly being mute spectators have issued a statement.

SSP Harjeet Singh has said that the police will take action against whoever is found guilty.

UP government to go digital, CM Yogi organises training for ministers and officials

OpIndia Staff
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UP government to go digital, CM Yogi organises training for ministers and officials

Following the first paperless budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament yesterday, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to go paperless. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a training session for all ministers and at his official residence in this regard. All the ministers and officials participating in the meetings have been directed to bring tablets or laptops. The state government is planning to make the working of the government completely paperless.

Uttar Pradesh Cabinet to go paperless

According to reports, an e-cabinet training programme has been conducted during the meeting in which all the participants will be taught the basics of digital working. This step is an effort by the Uttar Pradesh government in the direction of implementing the Digital India Programme that was launched by the Modi government in 2015 with the vision inter alia of digitally empowering the country. An e-office system has already been set up by the Uttar Pradesh government at the Secretariat. The state government is now planning to make the cabinet meetings completely digital. According to reports, all the documents required by the ministers for the purpose of taking questions during the budget session to be held on February 18 will be made available by the state government on their laptops or tablets. From now on, all the communication within the cabinet will take place online.

All the communication to happen online

As told by the spokesperson of the state government, after the implementation of the e-cabinet system, the functioning of the cabinet would become paperless. This would be a step in the direction of implementing e-governance envisioned by PM Modi with the motto of ‘minimum government, maximum governance’. Digital working is also likely to speed up departmental procedures. Last year, CM Yogi had decided to make the working of the CM office paperless. As a result, an e-office was set up for the CM that was connected to his iPad. E-office has enabled CM Yogi to work while travelling. He undertakes most of the official work on iPad and responds online.

Under the Digital India project, the Modi government envisions a technologically empowered Indian society by making use of technology at various levels of governance.

Subramanian Swamy shares fake data about petrol prices and RTs abusive tweet about ‘Bhakts’ as Union Budget is praised over all

OpIndia Staff
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Subramanian Swamy shares fake data about petrol prices and RTs abusive tweet about ‘Bhakts’ as Union Budget is praised over all

Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday shared on Twitter what could only be described as a ‘WhatsApp forward’. Sidelined by the high-command of the BJP, he can often be found clutching at straws in order to undermine the central government.

On Tuesday, Subramanian Swamy took a jibe at petrol prices in India by invoking the Ramayana. He said that petrol cost Rs. 92 in “Ram’s India”, Rs. 53 in “Sita’s Nepal” and Rs. 51 in “Ravan’s Lanka”. While some might believe it was a clever jibe, the fact is it was far from the truth.

Subramanian Swamy
Subramanian Swamy shares a ‘WhatsApp forward’

According to Nepal Oil Corporation, as of the 19th of January, the price of Petrol in Birgunj, a city in the Himalayan nation, was 108.50 in Nepali Rupees (NRs). On that date, the same in Raxaul, India was NRs 140.76. In Indian currency, that is Rs. 67.95 in Nepal and Rs. 88.15 in India.

Thus, quite clearly, the price of petrol was much higher in Nepal than the one suggested by Subramanian Swamy even on the 19th of January. According to NOC, the current selling price of Petrol is NRs 110 which translates to Rs. 68.89.

Nepal Petrol Prices, Subramanian Swamy
Nepal Petrol Prices

In Sri Lanka, as well, the cost of petrol is Rs. 61 as of now and not Rs. 51 as claimed by Swamy. The cost of petrol was Rs. 51 in Sri Lanka in September 2019. It appears that the cost mentioned in Swamy’s tweet cited the September 2019 cost in Sri Lanka.

Subramanian Swamy
petrol prices in Sri Lanka in 2019 as per Ceylon Petroleum Corporation

In India, the cost of petrol is in the higher Rs. 80s in most places while in Mumbai, it is Rs. 92.86. Thus, unlike what Subramanian Swamy suggests, the difference in petrol price between India and Nepal is Rs. 20 at most places or slightly under or above. Compared to Sri Lanka, it is in the higher 20s and not 40s.

It is not a secret that the retail price of petrol is higher in India than elsewhere. The price is raised by the taxes that are imposed on it by the government to fund its expenses in other sectors. For instance, in August 2018, the price of petrol in Delhi was Rs. 77.49 per litre. This included Excise Duty of Rs 15.33 /litre, Dealer Commission (Average) Rs 2.51 /litre and VAT (including VAT on Dealer Commission) is Rs 10.16/litre.

Thus, of the Rs. 77.49 that was the cost, Rs. 25.49 was just taxes. Things have not changed in the opposite direction since then.

Amusingly enough, Subramanian Swamy appears to have launched a crusade against the Union Budget that was presented by Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday even though it has earned praise from all quarters of the political spectrum.

Subramanian Swamy
Source: Twitter

The disgruntled leader has also been retweeting abusive tweets on the social media platform directed at those who have criticised him.

Subramanian Swamy
Source: Twitter

Subramanian Swamy has also been retweeting tweets that say the BJP ‘IT Cell’ and Prime Minister Modi are scared of him.

Subramanian Swamy
Source: Twitter

It is no secret that Swamy has not taken well to being sidelined from the party. Unable to affect any real changes, he can be often spotted on social media peddling misinformation. Most recently, he had floated conspiracy theories to claim that the Red Fort siege on Republic Day was a PMO plot. He also went on an anti-vaccine rant to target the Modi Government over Covid-19 vacines.

On his 106th birth anniversary, read the scathing remarks Khushwant Singh made against Indira, Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi

Jinit Jain
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On his 106th birth anniversary, read the scathing remarks Khushwant Singh made against Indira, Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi

Today, 2 February 2021, marks the 106th birth anniversary of literary giant Khushwant Singh. Besides being a prolific author, having written 80 books, Singh was also a lawyer, a former diplomat, and an up-front political commentator and social critic. He was also known for the close relationship he shared with the Gandhi dynasty.

Born in Punjab, Khushwant Singh was educated in Modern School, New Delhi, St. Stephen’s College, and graduated from Government College, Lahore. He completed his LLB from the University of London. After working for the Lahore High Court for eight years, Singh joined the Indian Foreign Service upon the Independence of India in 1947. He was appointed journalist in the All India Radio in 1951 and was later moved to the Department of Mass Communications of UNESCO at Paris in 1956.

His last two tenures encouraged him to pursue a literary career. He is best known for his book Train to Pakistan, written against the backdrop of India’s partition. Living for almost a century, Singh chronicled his journey in detail in his several books and his weekly column With Malice Towards One and All, which appeared every Saturday in Hindustan Times.

Singh was known for his irreverent wit, sarcasm, humor, and his enduring love of poetry. While Singh had a stellar career spanning different fields, he was also known for his close relationship with the Nehru-Gandhis. Being a close Gandhi-aide and having lived for over 99 years, Singh had the privilege of intimately knowing and observing the four generations of the Gandhi clan—from Jawaharlal Nehru to the current Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi—and uninhibitedly expressed his opinions on them. Being close to the Gandhi family, Singh was all-praise for Jawaharlal Nehru, Sanjay Gandhi but he did not hold back from voicing disapproving views against the dynasty.

‘Indira Gandhi was insecure because of her poor education’: Khushwant Singh

One of the highlights of Singh’s assessment of the Gandhi dynasty was his critical views on Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and the current Congress President Sonia Gandhi. According to Singh, Indira Gandhi was “not qualified” for the post of Prime Minister. Singh, in an interview with Rediff, opined that Indira Gandhi was insecure among educated people because her own poor education and therefore surrounded herself with second-rated people, hangers-on and tolerated their corrupt practices. Even though Singh was one of the ardent supporters of The Emergency imposed by Mrs Gandhi, he later opined that she did great harm to the country.

Singh also opposed Indira Gandhi’s move to let the Indian Army enter the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Singh was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974, however, he returned the award in 1984 in protest against Operation Blue Star in which the Indian Army raided the Golden Temple in Amritsar to eliminate the Khalistani terrorists.

‘Rajiv Gandhi was not a leader. He was not cut out for politics’: Khushwant Singh

Similarly, Singh had a dim view of Indira Gandhi’s elder son Rajiv Gandhi as well. While Singh was in the thrall of the younger and impatient Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv, the elder of the two Gandhi brothers, failed to impress Singh. In his book ‘Absolute Khushwant’, Singh was unrestrained in criticising Rajiv Gandhi. He said that Rajiv Gandhi was not a leader.

“Rajiv was bullied into a position he wasn’t equipped to handle. He was pleasant enough and had some good ideas, but none of them extraordinary…He wasn’t really a leader. And I don’t think he was cut out for politics,” Khushwant Singh noted in his book.

Singh was also unhappy with Rajiv Gandhi’s role in the Shah Bano case and his handling of the Babri demolition incident. Furthermore, Singh remarked that Rajiv Gandhi followed in his mother’s footsteps and repeated many of the same mistakes.

‘Sonia Gandhi appointed undeserving and incapable people to lead the Congress party’: Khushwant Singh

After initially lauding Sonia Gandhi for refusing to be appointed as the president of the Congress party, Singh’s praises for the Gandhi daughter-in-law gradually vaporised, making way for criticism of her leadership style. In an interview with Deccan Herald in 2004, Singh said that Sonia Gandhi was not a confident leader because she did not allow leaders around her to grow. He accused Gandhi of rewarding undeserving candidates while disparaging the ones who deserved to be rewarded and elevated in the party.

“I don’t think she has allowed other people to grow, which most leaders who are not confident of themselves do. Such people’s worst enemies are the No 2 and No 3. And so they keep them at a distance and belittle them as best as they can. She has done that successfully, so we have no one really coming up. Two or three people – Ambika Soni, who would not win a municipal election and Pranab Mukherjee, who would not win an election from Kolkata for a municipality? – are ruling the roost,” Singh said in the interview.

Khushwant Singh liked Rahul Gandhi

Singh had not been critical of Rahul Gandhi. A younger Rahul Gandhi had once sought an appointment to meet Singh and had spent an hour with him. Writing about Rahul Gandhi, Singh had mentioned that Rahul is ‘more talented’ than his father and he is impressed with the way the young Gandhi dynast is conducting himself.

AAP’s Sanjay Singh in soup as SC refuses to give protection from arrest in Uttar Pradesh FIRs: Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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AAP’s Sanjay Singh in soup as SC refuses to give protection from arrest in Uttar Pradesh FIRs: Here is what happened

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India refused to pass an order after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh moved the apex court, seeking protection from arrest against a non-bailable warrant in a case registered by the Uttar Pradesh police.

A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against the AAP leader after he had accused the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh of being ‘pro-Thakur’ in a press conference on August 12, 2020. Sanjay Singh had also claimed in his press conference that the BJP had insulted the Dalits by not inviting President Ram Nath Kovind for the ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Following multiple FIRs against him, Singh had approached the Supreme Court to quash all the charges or alternatively transfer them outside of the State. He had also filed a separate petition against the order of Allahabad High Court, which refused to quash the charges on January 21 this year. However, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R S Reddy on Tuesday refused to pass any verdict without going through the Allahabad High Court’s order first.

In his writ petition to the Supreme Court, Sanjay Singh’s lawyer Sumeer Sodhi said, “In the said press conference, the petitioner had merely raised certain social issues, namely neglect and apathy of the government towards a certain class of society.” When his lawyers urged the court for relief, the Judges noted that Singh can avail exemption from appearance before the trial court instead. The matter has been adjourned till the following week.

Details of the FIR against Sanjay Singh

A Lucknow-based lawyer, Avinash Tripathi, had filed a complaint with the Hazratganj Police against Singh last year for making derogatory remarks with an intention to disrupt communal harmony.

A case was registered against the AAP leader under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 153 b (assertions prejudicial to national integration), 501 (printing matters which are defamatory) and 505-2 (promoting hatred). Similar cases were registered against him in Sant Kabirnagar, Aligarh, Muzaffarnagar, Lakhimpur Khiri and Greater Noida.

AAP leader cries foul, alleges ‘political vendetta’

Sanjay Singh had claimed that the FIRs against him were politically motivated. He alleged, “(The cases) are manifestly attended with mala fides and have been maliciously instituted to unleash political vendetta against the petitioner and to harass him…The said FIRs have been filed against the petitioner out of the malice and sheer political vendetta with intent to coerce, harass and intimidate the petitioner as a part of larger ploy to muzzle the opposition leaders, from speaking up against the government of Uttar Pradesh”.

Labelling the cases as,”frivolous, baseless, vexatious”, the AAP leader claimed that 7 FIRs were registered, with the same verbatim, in several districts of the State in about a few hours’ time. He alleged that the cases against him were against the constitutional right of freedom of speech and expression (Article 19). He added that the Yogi government’s main aim is to stop him from campaigning in the 2022 UP polls.

Covid economic crisis: How left wing experts wanted to nationalize assets and impose a maximum salary cap

Abhishek Banerjee
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Covid economic crisis: How left wing experts wanted to nationalize assets and impose a maximum salary cap

In January of 2021, GST collections rose to an all time high of Rs 1.2 lakh crore. Even more significantly, this is up 8% compared to January of 2020. Note that there was no fear of Covid and no lockdown back in Jan 2020 and therefore no cushion of a low base effect. Despite 2020 being a year of unprecedented global economic disaster, FDI into India rose sharply by 13%. This was not just the highest among all major economies, India was among just two countries to see positive growth in FDI inflows. The other country was of course China, which lagged far behind at 4%, but showed positive growth nevertheless. For this year, the IMF projects India’s GDP growth around 11%, again the highest in the world.

We can always disagree about the extent, but you cannot deny the fact that India has posted a smart economic recovery. By all accounts, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented a bold, reformist budget. Privatization of two public sector banks, FDI limit in insurance hiked to 74%, a massive infra push by means of a Development Finance Institution (DFI) and a “bad bank” to gather up stressed assets and clean up the balance sheets of our banks. The market has cheered it too, going up 7% by the time of writing. Now, markets go up and down, but 7% is definitely an outlier.

As India gets on the road to recovery and reform, here is just a small reminder of how the great liberal intellectuals of India wanted to tackle the Covid situation. Who remembers how liberals wanted to use this opportunity to impose a 1930s style Stalinist collectivization on the Indian economy?

Here is the liberal plan for tackling the Covid induced economic crisis, in writing.

7-point agenda of ‘liberal economists’

Read point no. 7.1: They wanted to treat *all resources* (cash, real estate, property, bonds, etc) with citizens or within the borders of the country as “national resources.”

Chilling. Absolutely chilling. Do you remember who came up with this?

Those who endorsed this ‘Mission Jai Hind’

What a star cast! Those are some of the most “brilliant” economists in the world, who have worked at places from JNU to NYU to the London School of Economics. On any average day, you can find media liberals demanding that we pay homage to these experts and their supposed expertise.

Then, there was an outcry. You and I may have only studied at Whatsapp University. You and I were never “Associate Professor of Journalism” at Harvard. But when we heard that the big experts want the state to take away our cash, property, real estate everything (however little we may have), we protested.

We said NO! Comrade Stalin, go back! Not here. Not today.

One by one, the experts backed out. Apparently, there was some confusion. Some said stuff like they didn’t get to see the proposal or did not mean it that way. The great Yogendra Yadav backtracked too. He explained they were just talking about raising taxes. I suppose it was too hard to use the three letter word “tax” in a sentence.

This entire proposal was barely the length of a high school essay. Even if you give them the benefit of doubt, you have to accept that a bunch of the world’s leading economists could not compose one single page properly on a subject of their own expertise. And media says we should bow down before these experts?

Better go to Whatsapp university and learn how to compose tweets at least. What use is the London School of Economics if you cannot write even a coherent one page proposal on economic policy?

By the way, the government did not raise any taxes in the Budget yesterday. Let alone nationalize people’s property and cash, they have decided to privatize public sector banks. And India is still recovering sharply. In other words, folks like Yogendra Yadav did not know the way forward. What a surprise!

This was by no means the only time when liberals suggested using the pandemic to turn India into a nation of 1930s Soviet style collective farms. Have you seen this opinion piece in The Wire?

The Wire’s hot take on economics

Turning businesses into trusts working as non-profits? Yes, it is exactly as terrifying as it sounds.

“All private companies could be converted to trusts with a board of trustees replacing the board of directors and a managing trustee replacing the owner. Everybody working for the company could be paid salaries decent enough for survival. “

It gets worse. They event wanted to set a maximum salary limit for individuals.

“If the minimum daily wages under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is Rs. 202 in UP, then the maximum salary anybody should draw in government or private sector in UP should not exceed Rs. 2020 per day or Rs. 60,600 in a month.“

A salary limit of Rs 60,600 per month for any person. And what happens to profits?

“Any profit above total expenditure of private companies for the next three years  should go to the government treasury and the government could waive income tax for this duration. “

Can you imagine what would happen if the government actually tried to seize the profits of all private companies. Investors would flee India immediately. The stock market would collapse in half a second, turning everyone into a pauper. Whoever had any capital would try to escape and would never come back.

Ah, but I’m almost sure the authors of this brilliant proposal have factored that in. I suppose they would want the policy implemented by surprise, putting capital controls. In an instant, I guess the workers would seize the “means of production.” And the kulaks — counter-revolutionaries trying to protect their cash, assets, homes, chickens, anything .. would have to be rounded up and arrested. Did I guess correctly?

Who are the authors of this proposal, by the way? Apparently, they are “Lucknow based activists” Arundhati Dhuru and Sandeep Pandey. Could this be the same Sandeep Pandey who received a Ramon Magsasay award in 2002? I have no idea.

What I do know is that I am glad that India is run by the elected government of Narendra Modi and not by left wing experts like these. Are you?

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