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After getting offended over ‘Jai Shree Ram’ chants, Mamata Banerjee complains about being ‘teased’ in front of the Prime Minister

OpIndia Staff
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After getting offended over ‘Jai Shree Ram’ chants, Mamata Banerjee complains about being ‘teased’ in front of the Prime Minister

Days feeling ‘disrespected’ at an event organised on the occasion of Netaji Bose’s birth anniversary in Kolkata due to chants of ‘Jai Shree Ram’, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee launched an attack on the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) saying that the latter should be re-named as ‘Bharat Jalao Party’. Speaking at the public rally in Hooghly’s Pursura months ahead of state legislative assembly election, Mamata Banerjee fulminated against the gathering which ‘teased’ her in front of the Prime Minister.

“Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose is everyone’s leader. They were teasing me in front of the PM. I don’t believe in guns, I believe in politics. BJP has insulted Netaji and Bengal. It has insulted Bengali icons in past and continues to do so,” she said. She, however, offered no explanation as to how any of what she was saying made sense because she had got offended at ‘Jai Shree Ram’ chants.

She also questioned the ‘courage’ shown by those people who chanted ‘Jai Shree Ram’ to tease her in front of the Prime Minister.

Unnerved by the recent series of defections from the TMC, the party chief exclaimed that she would not let her state turn into Gujarat. She said that “those who are lining up to leave Trinamool Congress should leave as early as possible. Bengal and TMC don’t need you”, said Mamata Banerjee furthering that since TMC would have not given them a ticket, they are leaving in fear.

TMC heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari’s resignation from the party had a domino effect as many leaders including WB’s sports minister Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Jitendra Tiwari, Abhijit Acharya, Diptangshu Choudhury, Silbhadra Datta, Banashri Maity, and other workers, MLAs and minister of the Mamata Banerjee-led party, have put down their papers and/or defected to the BJP since then. West Bengal Forest Minister Rajib Banerjee is the latest addition to the list of ministers who have ditched the TMC supremo.

Jharkhand: Family of Puja Bharti, who was found dead with hands and legs tied, dismisses ‘suicide’ claims, demand CBI inquiry

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Family of Puja Bharti, who was found dead with hands and legs tied, dismisses ‘suicide’ claims, demand CBI inquiry

Two days after the Jharkhand police floated the ‘suicide theory’ in the Puja Bharti case, the family members of the victim have dismissed the claims, reported The Times of India. The case pertains to the unnatural death of a 22-year-old medical student named Puja Bharti Purve whose body was recovered from Patratu Dam near Ranchi on January 12.

While dismissing the police findings, Puja’s father Awadh Bihari Purve asked, “If (the) police believe that she drowned herself after tying her hands and legs on her own, then why did the police claimed earlier that they were close to cracking the ‘murder mystery’?” He further emphasised that the investigative team had been behaving unprofessionally and demanded the intervention of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The demands for a CBI investigation has gained momentum with the intervention of several political and social organisations on Monday. Furthermore, Puja’s cousin, Vidyanand Punta rejected the claim that the victim was under stress. “She was in the extremely joyous mood while talking to her mother a few hours before her death,” he added.

Police claims ‘suicide’, unable to trace the victim’s cell phone

The comments of the family members came after Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) AV Homkar held a press conference on Saturday and ruled Puja’s death as a case of suicide. The DIG had also claimed that the victim had tied herself up using different ropes, prior to committing suicide. The cops have not been able to ascertain how Puja Bharti reached Patratu from Ranchi, the mode of transportation used or the whereabouts of her cell phone. As such, the police is conducting a further probe to unearth more details of the intriguing case.

Autopsy report revealed that Puja Bharti died of drowning

The autopsy, conducted under the supervision of a three-member medical board, had earlier confirmed that Puja died due to drowning. During the post-mortem, the doctors did not find injury marks on her body or private parts. The police had also sent the victim’s undergarments, vaginal swab, nail clippers, ropes and other items to the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFL) to probe the angle of rape, as per a report in Jagran.

After 1500 Jio towers were destroyed by Punjab ‘farmers’, has Rahul Gandhi cut down on his Adani-Ambani jibe?

OpIndia Staff
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After 1500 Jio towers were destroyed by Punjab ‘farmers’, has Rahul Gandhi cut down on his Adani-Ambani jibe?

It seems like ever since the so-called farmers from Punjab wantonly destroyed and damaged about 1500 Jio towers in opposition to the newly introduced Farm Laws by the central government, the former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has toned down on his rhetoric against businessmen Adani and Ambani.

For a long time now, Gandhi has been routinely trotting out Adani-Ambani jibes to allege that the Modi government is in cahoots with business conglomerates and is working against the interests of common people. However, the Adani-Ambani jeers that the Wayanad MP used to project that the Centre is practising crony capitalism are conspicuously absent.

This was pointed out by a Twitter user, who wondered what could have possibly transpired in the days between the destruction of 1500 Jio towers by the protesters in Punjab and his year-end holiday. In a tweet on January 10, Rahul Gandhi shunned using the familiar refrain of “Adani-Ambani” and instead, started using “Punjpati“(Capitalists) to attack the government.

Perhaps “Punjpati” had pronunciation issues and therefore within 4 days, Rahul Gandhi migrated to using “2-3 friends” instead. Speaking to reporters on January 14, Rahul Gandhi stated that the government is not only neglecting but conspiring to destroy protesting ‘farmers’ because they want to benefit “2-3 of their friends”. He said the government wanted to give what belongs to farmers to 2-3 of their friends.

However, even “2-3 friends” did not last for too long as Rahul Gandhi modified his jibe to “4-5 friends” two days later on January 16 when he was speaking to a reporter, accusing the centre of colluding with 4-5 of its friends with the new farm bills.

Curiously, “Adani-Ambani” jibe seems to have been permanently erased from the memory of Rahul Gandhi as he alludes to them as friends of the Modi government. From ceaselessly naming Adani and Ambani to mount an attack against the central government, Rahul Gandhi has resorted to being ambiguous in accusing the Centre of cronyism.

On January 19, Rahul Gandhi continued scare-mongering about the new farm bills and stoking farmers’ resentment against the Modi government. In a press conference by the Congress party, the former party president said that the increasing monopoly of 4-5 people in every industry meant that they were the new owners of the country. Gandhi said that till now there has been no monopoly in Agriculture, but the Modi regime is bent on upending the entire structure of farming and giving it in the hands of “4-5 people”.

Even on his visit to Tamil Nadu, Gandhi has been studiously avoiding to name the business conglomerates Adani and Ambani in his broadsides against the government.

In an interaction with people in Tiruppur on January 23, Gandhi insinuated that the central government has presided over a systematic and organised assault on workers and poor people of the country. Gandhi preened on himself for interacting with the common people and claimed that PM Modi would not do that and instead sit in a room with 5 biggest business people in the country and have discussions with them.

The following day, January 24, Rahul Gandhi at another event in Tamil Nadu, said, “Every action taken by the Indian government is done to strengthen 5-6 business people and weaken India’s real strength, i.e labourers, workers and others.”

Even today, Gandhi continued fuelling apprehensions about the new farm laws stating that the new bills would destroy Indian agriculture and will be handed over to “2-3 big industrialists”.

From once going all guns blazing against the Business conglomerates, unapologetically naming them and making unsubstantiated allegations against them, Gandhi has consciously refrained from mentioning them, particularly Adani and Ambani, in the last few days.

This behavioural change in Rahul Gandhi, who has otherwise shown a stubborn willingness to not learn from his past mistakes, came about in the wake of damages caused to 1500 Jio towers by the vandals masquerading as protesters. 

It remains to be seen what has prompted the Gandhi scion to abstain from making “Adani-Ambani” jibes. Is it the growing unpopularity of the Congress party amongst India Inc. or are there other complex and hidden dynamics that are at play? The coming days might, perhaps, unravel what has compelled Rahul Gandhi to curb himself from making “Adani-Ambani” rhetoric.

Khalistani terror group SFJ calls CISF to threaten ahead of Republic Day, urges protestors to hold Bhindrawale posters

OpIndia Staff
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Khalistani terror group SFJ calls CISF to threaten ahead of Republic Day, urges protestors to hold Bhindrawale posters

Days after Khalistani terrorist organization Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) provoked anti-farm law protestors to cut off the electricity supply to Delhi on January 25 and 26, it has now reportedly warned of violence in a phone call to the control room of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). SFJ was founded in 2007 with the intention to secede Punjab from the Indian territory.

As per reports, the phone call was made on behalf of designated terrorists and SJF Chief Gurparwant Singh Pannu. In a bid to intimidate the Centre to further its sinister agenda, the Khalistani terror outfit said that the government would be responsible for any outbreak of violence on Republic Day. “If there is any violence in the farmers’ tractor rally on January 26, India will be responsible for that,” the phone call warned. Reportedly, the said call was received from the number 13477934761. Following the threat of violence, Delhi Police and intelligence agencies have been on high alert.

SFJ terrorists provoke ‘protestors’ to display portraits of Bhindranwale

Besides the threat call, SFJ terror group has also asked anti-farm law protestors to display large portraits of Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and Beant Singh, the assassin of PM Indira Gandhi. The Khalistani terrorists told the protestors to carry these portraits during the scheduled tractor rally on the occasion of Republic Day.

The Delhi Police had earlier granted permission to the anti-farm law protesters to conduct a tractor parade at the national capital on the occasion of Republic Day. Dependra Pathak, Special CP, Intelligence, Delhi Police informed that the rally will enter Delhi from Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur borders and return to its originating points.

SFJ warns to plunge Delhi into darkness

In a video provoking Sikhs to disrupt peace on Republic Day, Gurparwant Singh Pannu provoked farmers from Punjab to cut the electricity supply to Delhi on January 25 and 26. Pannu provoked the farmers to destroy the grids owned by BSES Rajdhani Power Limited and BSES Yamuna Power Limited, which provide electricity to the Delhi region.

He claimed that by cutting the electricity, farmers would be able to wake up the central government which has ‘turned deaf’ to their demand to repeal laws. In his video, Pannu threatened the residents of Delhi and asked them to stay at home if they want to be safe from Republic Day.

As per the latest reports, security has been tightened around power grids and power substations of BSES in Delhi after the threat by SFJ.

SFJ threatens to hoist Khalistan Flag on India Gate

On January 11, SFJ had released an incriminating video on its YouTube channel to provoke Sikh individuals living in India. Pannu had asked the Sikh youth to hoist the Khalistani flag and ‘remove and crush’ the Indian flag India Gate as well as from every corner in Delhi.

He said, “On January 26, Sikhs should roam in Delhi on their tractors and remove every Tricolor. The Indian flag is the symbol of suppression that Sikhs have faced in India. Every Indian flag must be removed and crushed.” Pannu further added that whoever hoists the Khalistani flag on the India gate will be rewarded with Rs. 1.8 crores.

‘What is wrong with your mindset? Such people must not be spared,’ MP HC makes scathing remarks against Munawar Faruqui: Details

OpIndia Staff
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‘What is wrong with your mindset? Such people must not be spared,’ MP HC makes scathing remarks against Munawar Faruqui: Details

The Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has made scathing remarks against Munawar Faruqui while reserving the order on the self-proclaimed stand-up comedian’s bail application. The single judge bench of Justice Rohit Arya also asked the advocate appearing for Munawar Faruqui whether he wanted to withdraw the bail application, LiveLaw has reported.

The judge asked, “But why you take undue advantage of other’s religious sentiments and emotions. What is wrong with your mindset? How can you do this for the purpose of your business?” Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha argued on behalf of Munawar Faruqui, “He has committed no offence in the matter your lordships. Bail should be granted”.

“The accused Munawar Faruqui has posted several previous video which was circulated on social media.These remarks were made 18 months ago. He repeated the same remarks on three different occasions i.e. comedy shows. This has led to other comedians making such remarks about Hindu Gods. This is happening with 70% of the comedians,” one lawyer opposing the bail application said.

Finally, Justice Rohit Arya stated, “Such people must not be spared. I will reserve the order on merits.” The order regarding the bail application of Nalin Yadav, a co-performer arrested along with Faruqui, has also been reserved.

The Munawar Faruqui controversy

Faruqui and four other persons identified as Edwin Anthony, Prakhar Vyas, Priyam Vyas and Nalin Yadav were arrested for allegedly mocking Hindu Gods in a stand-up comedy show in Indore based on the complaint of Eklavya Singh Gaur, an activist and the chief of Hindu Rakshak Sangathan.

They were booked under IPC sections 295-A (outraging religious feelings), 269 (unlawful or negligent act likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) and other relevant provisions. Section 269 was invoked for allegedly ignoring COVID-19 safety protocol. Faruqui was sent to judicial custody till January 13 which was later extended to January 27. Earlier, his bail application was adjourned to this week.

Not just Rahul Gandhi, his great grandfather Nehru also thought that India does not need an Army

OpIndia Staff
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Not just Rahul Gandhi, his great grandfather Nehru also thought that India does not need an Army

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had in Tamil Nadu yesterday opined that India does not need the armed forces especially at the Indo-China border. Rahul Gandhi, for a reason best known to him, feels that the Indian Armed forces can be replaced by India’s farmers and labourers.

Addressing a rally at Erode, Tamil Nadu, Rahul Gandhi said: “You are using the Indian Army and Navy to protect India from China. If you use India’s farmers, labourers, and workers, you will not need the Army, Navy, and Airforce at the borders”.

Well, Rahul Gandhi’s ridiculous idea for obliterating the Indian Armed forces is probably inspired by his great grandfather, who, during his regime wanted to scrap the India Army.

According to the biography of Major General AA “Jick” Rudra of the Indian Army written by Major General DK “Monty” Palit, Jawaharlal Nehru, had batted for abolishing the Indian Army as he thought that the police are good enough to meet India’s security needs and it was futile to retain the Army.

‘Rubbish! Total rubbish!’ Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India shouted. ‘We don’t need a defense plan. Our policy is ahimsa (non-violence). We foresee no military threats. Scrap the army! The police are good enough to meet our security needs’, the book quoted the then PM of India as saying. According to Major General AA “Jick” Rudra’s biography, Nehru’s remark came when the Indian Armed Forces’ First Commander-in-Chief Gen Sir Robert Lockhart went to him in 1946, asking for a government directive on India’s defence policy.

The book read that Sir Robert Lockhart told Major General AA “Jick” Rudra that Nehru had refused to even look at the documents. The moment he took one look at my paper, he reportedly lost his cool and commented.

According to the book, Jick believed the Kashmir war saved the Indian Army.

Retired army officers slam Rahul Gandhi for his tweet on India-China border issue

It is pertinent to note here that many Army officers had earlier too reminded Rahul Gandhi of the historical blunders made by his great grandfather. The remarks had come in response to the senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “ill-conceived” and “ill-timed” statements and tweets questioning the handling of India-China border disputes by the armed forces and the Government of India. 

During the India-China standoff in the Galwan valley last year, Rahul had taken off on the Modi government’s handling of the situation. It was then, that this retired Army veterans castigated him for the past blunders made by his great grandfather and asked: “Does Rahul Gandhi not know that Tibet was handed over to China on a platter by Mr Nehru and China constructed roads through Aksai Chin and later occupied it when Nehru was the prime minister.”

The veterans had praised the Modi government for being committed to developing the required infrastructure in border areas to enhance India’s combat effectiveness, which had not been done after the 1962 war, chiding the Congress senior member.

Is it actor Prosenjit Chatterjee in the portrait of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose inaugurated by President Kovind? A fact check

OpIndia Staff
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Is it actor Prosenjit Chatterjee in the portrait of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose inaugurated by President Kovind? A fact check

President Ramnath Kovind inaugurated a portrait of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at Rashtrapati Bhavan on the occasion of the great freedom fighter’s birth anniversary on the 23rd of January. The President of India paid homage to the sacrifices of the legendary stalwart, however, it led to a ridiculous controversy. Prominent ‘journalists’ and politicians started claiming that the portrait was that of Bengali actor Prosenjit Chatterjee who had played the character in a movie.

Barkha Dutt, former NDTV ‘journalist’, said, “I wish this were a headline from the Onion. I had to look twice to make sure it had actually happened. How utterly embarrassing”.

Netaji Prosenjit Chatterjee
Source Twitter

One Adil Hossain appears to have played a prominent role in spreading the claim that the portrait inaugurated by President Kovind was, in fact, Prosenjit Chatterjee. He said, “President of India unveils the official portrait of, yes believe me, of actor Prasenjit Chatterjee (Bumbada) and not Netaji at the Rashtrapati bhavan. Bumbada acted as Netaji in Srijit Mukherjee directed film Gumnaami. Hail the casting”.

Netaji Prosenjit Chatterjee
Source: Twitter

Another user, @Joydas, popular in liberal circles, claimed the same thing. He urged people to focus on the portrait’s eyes.

Netaji prosenjit chatterjee
Source: Twitter

Mahua Moitra, the TMC MP who fancies herself as the desi version of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, was quick to jump into the situation as well.

Netaji prosenjit chatterjee
Source: Twitter

When all his comrades had jumped in, how could Sidharth Bhatia, the founder-editor of the far-left propaganda portal The Wire, be far behind?

Netaji Prosenjit Chatterjee
Source: Twitter

Rohini Singh, too, participated in the charade, as she often does. She did not forget to take a jib at Kangana Ranaut as well.

Netaji Prosenjit Chatterjee
Source: Twitter

Sagarika Ghose went to the extent of demanding that the portrait of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose be removed claiming that it was Prosenjit Chatterjee.

Netaji Prosenjit Chatterjee
Source: Twitter

Another propagandist, Swati Chaturvedi, was also part of the fracas.

Netaji Prosenjit Chatterjee
Source: Twitter

Was it really Prosenjit Chatterjee in the portrait of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose?

Thus, we arrive at a pertinent question here. Was it really the portrait of Prosenjit Chatterjee as is being claimed or is it propaganda directed at hurting BJP’s electoral prospects ahead of the West Bengal Assembly Elections?

First and foremost, it is abundantly clear at the first glance itself that it could not be Prosenjit Chatterjee who played the character in a movie. The differences are so great that it compels one to ask if it was indeed an innocent mistake on the part of clowns or part of a political agenda.

The portrait of Netaji on the Left and Prosenjit Chatterjee on the right
The portrait of Netaji on the Left and Prosenjit Chatterjee on the right

Chandra Kumar Bose, the grand-nephew of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, had shared a photograph of the great leader in January 2020 which makes it abundantly clear that the portrait inaugurated by President Kovind is, in fact, that of Netaji himself.

Photograph of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose shared by his grand-nephew
Photograph of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose shared by his grand-nephew

Now it has come to light that it was the same photograph on which by a Bengali painter of repute and Padma Shri Awardee Paresh Maity based his portrait on. His signature is visible at the bottom right corner of the portrait.

The portrait is the work of a Bengali painter of repute and Padma Shri Awardee Paresh Maity and is definitely not Prosenjit Chatterjee
The portrait is the work of a Bengali painter of repute and Padma Shri Awardee Paresh Maity

Thus, the similarity between the photograph of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose shared by his grand-nephew and the work of Paresh Maity is more than evident when a comparison is made. Therefore, claims that it is actually Prosenjit Chatterjee in the portrait inaugurated by President Kovind can be summarily rejected.

Mamata Banerjee once held a bogus PhD degree from a University that did not exist. Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Mamata Banerjee once held a bogus PhD degree from a University that did not exist. Read details

In 1985, the then Congress MP from Jadavpur Mamata Banerjee stood exposed when the United States Educational Foundation in India proclaimed that there did not exist an institution named ‘The University of East Georgia’ from where she had claimed to have allegedly completed her doctorate.

A Twitter user named @trunills has shared an old newspaper clip from ‘The Telegraph’ saying that Mamata Banerjee, an MA in Islamic History from Calcutta University, had in 1982 claimed that she had received the “doctorate” for her research work entitled “The Impact of Mughal Harem on state and policies” under the guidance of a certain Dr. Karuna Pada Datta.

As per the Telegraph report, it was later revealed that Datta too had completed his “PhD” from ‘The University of East Georgia’ and both the teacher and student had bogus doctorates.

In the run-up to the 1984 elections, as per the tweet, Mamata Banerjee prefixed her name with ‘Dr’, claiming that she had completed her doctorate. Reportedly, the walls of Jadavpur, from where Banerjee contested the seat, were painted with “Dr. Mamata Banerjee”. After it came to light that the University from which Banerjee had putatively completed her PhD did not exist, she stopped prefixing her name with the ‘Dr’ title.

After Mamata Banerjee started using the title of ‘Dr’, the United States Educational Foundation in India began receiving a host of queries on the bona fides of the ‘University of East Georgia’. Responding to one such query in February 1985, the USEFI said that “there is no record whatsoever of the existence of a university called the University of East Georgia”. It further added that any person or organization claiming to represent one or more of the bogus organizations mentioned above is a fraud.

In another response to a research scholar, USEFI said that “American International University” to which the “University of East Georgia” was supposedly affiliated, was “not properly accredited” and ipso facto the institution “may not be recognised by other universities and governments”.

Though the original 1984 news clipping could not be found on the internet, there are several references to this scandal in the media. A 2009 article published in the Economic Times mentioned the University of Georgia and the fake credentials.

Article headline by ET

Further, a January 21st article in the Telegraph India itself confirms that this report from 1985 was indeed published by Telegraph and is authentic.

Article by Telegraph

Mamata Banerjee defended herself after it came to light that her PhD was bogus

Apparently, Ms Banerjee had sent her thesis to Dr Datta along with the prescribed fees. The latter sent the thesis to a certain Prof P.K Mahesh, “admission counsellor, University of East Georgia”, and faculty member, American International University, USA, posted in Delhi.

Banerjee had then received a provisional certificate for her research work and was promised the “original degree” on sending $500 to the university authorities. Even after three years since she completed the doctorate and received a “provisional certificate”, she had not sent the $500.

After it became evident that the University of East Georgia is a bogus university, Ms Banerjee had defended herself in an interview with The Telegraph. Mamata had alleged that she had submitted her thesis in good faith to Dr Datta as it would not binding on her to visit the United States. Dr Datta, on the other hand, had passed the buck on Prof. P.K Mahesh for his predicament. Datta had then said that it was Mahesh who had authorised him to serve as a research guide in Kolkata(Calcutta) and had been maintaining regular correspondence with the latter. Datta also wondered if Mahesh could run an office in New Delhi if there was anything murky about the ‘University of East Georgia’.

As India becomes the focus of the world with Coronavirus vaccines, China unleashes propaganda war

OpIndia Staff
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As India becomes the focus of the world with Coronavirus vaccines, China unleashes propaganda war

With the world ravaged by multiple waves of COVID-19, a contagion that is believed to have emanated from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, India has displayed remarkable agility in pulling off a diplomatic coup with its aggressive vaccine diplomacy. As New Delhi has launched a vigorous global blitz by exporting vaccine candidates made in India, Chinese mouthpiece Global Times has sought to belittle the credibility of the Indian-made vaccines with a smear campaign.

In the last few days, India has shipped COVID-19 vaccines to neighbouring countries including Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh. India has, so far, supplied more than 5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the last five days. The country will also be donating more vaccine vials to Seychelles, Mauritius, and agreements with Afghanistan and Sri Lanka are also in place. On Friday last week, Indian-made vaccines also reached Brazil borders and other countries in the queue for receiving the Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech developed vaccines.

China, on the other hand, after having bungled up the initial response to coronavirus outbreak, was seeking desperately for redemption after being blamed for endowing the world with an intractable contagion that has so far claimed lives of around 2 million people globally. China was eyeing the vaccine diplomacy as a means to placate hostile feelings among nations that were once firmly embedded in its orbit but were estranged following the coronavirus outbreak.

However, with the past experience of getting faulty PPE kits and masks and the recent reports emerging that the Chinese vaccine candidates were not as efficacious as expected, the world turned towards India for its vaccine requirements. A legion of countries have reposed their faith in the vaccines developed by Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech while shunning their Chinese counterpart. This has irked Beijing and it has resorted to ugly shenanigans to discredit Indian vaccines.

Chinese mouthpiece Global Times runs a smear campaign against Indian-made COVID-19 vaccines

With the world showing little enthusiasm and interest in Beijing’s vaccine candidates, Chinese mouthpiece Global Times has launched a smear campaign against the Indian initiative of distributing vaccines. Realising that they are miserably losing on the vaccine diplomacy front, Global Times launched a propaganda campaign, raising questions over India’s capacity to manufacture vaccines after a conflagration broke out in Serum Institute of India. It also gloated upon how Indians in China were “embracing” Chinese vaccines.

The Chinese state propaganda website cited a BBC report to raise aspersions on the emergency approval granted to the SII-produced Covishield by the Drugs Controller General of India. The report claimed that All India Drug Action Network, a patient’s rights group, said that the approval of Covishield was rushed as the manufacturer had not completed the “bridging study” for the vaccine. The GT further stated that as per BBC, the bridging trials will be conducted by the company in February.

Quoting anonymous netizens and analysts in an article, the Global Times asserted that SII fire may affect people’s confidence in high-quality vaccine production and India’s vaccine production was not likely to keep up with the Indian government’s ambitions. The article cited an analyst to claim that the Indian vaccines were mostly distributed as aid and not many countries are inclined to buy India’s vaccine candidates because of “quality concerns”.

In another article published in Global Times, the CCP mouthpiece quoted Indian restaurant workers in China as saying that they were prepared to be vaccinated by the Chinese vaccines as they had no doubts about its efficacy. The report also claimed that health care was in India were wary of taking the jab of Indian vaccines.

Contrary to what the Global Times would have us believe, India has a commercial contract with several countries. India is supplying vaccines on a contractual or commercial basis to Brazil, Bangladesh, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar and Morocco. India had last week announced that several countries have expressed their interest in accessing the vaccines. The government had also stated that India would continue to offer vaccines to partner countries in a phased manner while ensuring that manufacturers have enough stocks to meet the domestic requirements.

China’s massive failure in vaccine diplomacy

In contrast to India’s spirited vaccine diplomacy, China’s attempt to peddle its vaccine has been met with suspicions and mistrust. China is struggling to get the world to trust its vaccines, a report published last month said. Surveys in many developing countries, from China’s eternal rental state, Pakistan, to the poorer nations of Latin America, the notion of a vaccine developed by China has evoked scepticism among people, in spades.

The lack of global endorsement, the apprehensions over the efficacy of the Chinese-made vaccines, and the growing mistrust of the clinical trials carried out by them have only served to heighten the misgivings about the vaccines developed by Beijing. Recently, a Brazilian study revealed that the Chinese vaccine is only 50.4 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 symptoms. The new results contradict the earlier data provided by the same institute a few days earlier, which claimed that the Chinese vaccine was 78-100% effective against the virus.

Even China’s close allies have shown reluctance in approving the Chinese-made vaccines. Nepal’s regulator is yet to approve the use of Chinese vaccines. The Maldives government sources said there has been no correspondence from Beijing on the delivery of Chinese-developed vaccines. China’s close ally Cambodia has also requested for vaccines from India despite receiving a million vials of Chinese vaccines. A Reuters report published last week said China and Bangladesh are at loggerheads after the latter denied contributing towards development cost of the vaccine.

Republic under siege: How Congress, career-protestors, opposition parties and Khalistanis are setting the stage for violence

K Bhattacharjee
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Republic under siege: How Congress, career-protestors, opposition parties and Khalistanis are setting the stage for violence

The Republic Day in 2021 will be quite a spectacle. Apart from the usual annual parade, there will be another this time around. The Delhi Police has granted permission to farmer protesters for their tractor parade at the national capital on the 26th of January. There were security concerns previously and it is not clear really if they have been alleviated.

The farmer protests became toxic a long time ago and the toxicity will penetrate the Republic Day celebrations as well. The Republic Day is extremely important for the State of India. The 26th of January is probably the most important day for the Indian State. It is the celebration of the day when India became a Republic.

And it is indeed a sorry day for the country that this year, those who have continued to hold the country under siege will mock the Indian State by orchestrating their own show of strength. So, how did we get here? Truth be told, everyone has to accept their share of the blame but obviously, there are those who are more responsible than others.

The Congress Party

As we have maintained here at OpIndia, the Congress Party will be more than willing to set the entire country on fire if only they could rule over the ashes. They have demonstrated that quite eloquently during the whole set of events.

The only thing that mattered to the Congress party is that it saw an opportunity which it could use to undermine the ruling dispensation. It conveniently ignored the fact that they had advocated for the same reforms earlier. Instead, they threw their full weight behind the protesters.

Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, former president of the Congress party, and in all probability the next one, has been making comments that come across as WhatsApp forwards. “There is no deadlock. The government, in its arrogance, believes that they can tire out farmers. But farmers cannot be fooled. Indian farmers know more than the Prime Minister. There is only one solution that they have to take back the laws,” he said addressing a press conference.

More recently, he has said that the three laws will permit ‘2-3 big industrialists’ to take over Indian agriculture. Such rhetoric had terrible consequences and eventually, Jio Towers were vandalised in Punjab in large numbers. The Punjab Chief Minister had to come out strongly against the vandals but it is his own party that incited the whole fracas. The Congress party led the horse to the water and then cried foul when the horse decided to drink it.

Undermining Democracy

It is not just the Congress party that is responsible for inciting such protests. The Opposition parties must take blame as well. Every opposition party has fueled these protests and encouraged them. The Aam Aadmi Party, consistent with its hysterical brand of politics, provided the protesters with free WiFi.

Mamata Banerjee encouraged the protests as well. And so did the Samajwadi Party and every other opposition party. It’s important to realize what exactly such opposition parties have been supporting.

They support holding the country to ransom in order to demand that laws passed by the democratically elected Parliament of India are repealed. Thus, rather ironically, political parties are backing protests that directly attack our democratic system.

Unfortunately, they do not realize the dangerous game they are playing here. Or, perhaps, they do and they are doing it anyway. If organized mobs can attempt to force their will upon the whole country by blocking highways, why should a citizen bother voting for any of these parties?

Our votes are not worth a damn thing if organized mobs can force their way through using unconstitutional methods and it is outrageous that political parties, who are in the business of earning votes, are supporting this madness.

Apart from opposition parties, career-protesters such as Yogendra Yadav have also played their part. It is unclear precisely when that despicable man became a farmer or a leader or a farmer leader. But he has and he is one of the ones primarily responsible for taking the farmers on a joy ride for his personal agenda.

Khalistani Separatists

From the very beginning, it has been clear that Khalistani elements have been attempting to hijack these protests for their own ends. Celebrities and various prominent Khalistani organizations have been involved in the organization of the protests. Anyone with a set of functional eyes is fully aware of this.

However, when the Government said in Court that Khalistanis were attempting to hijack the protests, Opposition parties were up in arms. Eventually, Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu himself said that Khalistanis were involved, in a stinging rebuke to the narrative his party had been peddling.

Thus, the farmer protests have been a platform for losers of all sorts to revive their fortunes. Celebrities who are long past their sell by date, creepy celebrities who just love attention, the Opposition parties whose political prospects have been in tatters for some time and, of course, Khalistanis, whose dream for Khalistan will remain a dream for the foreseeable future.

Thus, if Democracy be damned, why would any of them care anyway? Celebrities are not known for their remarkable intellect anyway and Democracy has not exactly been treating our opposition parties very well recently.

Working towards the same end

It is quite worrying, really, that everyone who has encouraged the tractor parade is working towards the same goal as Khalistanis. The core agenda for all the actors involved is embarrassing the central government which, under current circumstances, would amount to an embarrassment for the Indian Republic.

Terrorist organization Sikh For Justice has announced a Rs. 1.8 crore award for hoisting the Khalistani flag at India Gate on Republic Day. Gurpatwant Singh Pannu of the SFJ said, “On January 26, Sikhs should roam in Delhi on their tractors and remove every tricolour. The Indian flag is the symbol of suppression that Sikhs have faced in India. Every Indian flag must be removed and crushed.”

Rakesh Tikait, one of the prominent figures involved in the protest, had then announced a march from Red Fort to India Gate but that appears to have been abandoned. Several instances have occurred where the protesters raised Kahlistani slogans and indulged in violence.

Pro-Khalistan and anti-India slogans have also been raised at these protests and now such people will likely march at the tractor parade at the national capital on Republic Day.

Republic Under Siege

Thus, all such elements have come together to herald a situation where our Republic is under siege. The Tractor Parade on Republic Day is the demonstration of strength by hostile forces that want to hold our country hostage.

Democracy is in crisis today and in large parts, it is so because vast sections of the establishment maintain the pretense when it suits them that protests are, by default, morally sound and protesters, by default, are on a morally superior plane than elected governments. It is the same approach that was adopted in the United States when left-wing mobs were permitted to run riot and it is the same approach that we see in regards to the anti-farm law protesters.

Until now, they have been allowed a free run. The protesting sites have practically become areas where Indian laws do not apply. Female reporters are being sexually harassed, people are being held hostage against their will and brutally thrashed as evidenced by what happened to Masked Man Yogesh. And if he is to believed, there may be more currently in their captivity.

Now the same people, under the patronage of whom all of this has been happening, will march at the national capital at a tractor parade on Republic Day. It is a direct threat to the Indian State and ought to be interpreted as such. Will the criminals among them be brought to justice? It is extremely unlikely that they ever will be.

There is the threat of violence and it cannot be emphasized enough that violence at Delhi on Republic Day will be seen as the ultimate embarrassment for the Indian State and that is precisely what the protesters seek. The SFJ has already claimed that should there by any violence at the tractor parade, the government will be responsible for that.

Thus, the tractor parade on Republic day will be demonstration of the fact that the Indian Republic is being held hostage by hostile elements which, unfortunately enough, includes political parties of our Democracy. Violence may not happen on the 26th of January but it will remain a possibility even after tomorrow.

Passions have been roused to such a degree that protesters are unwilling to make any compromises and should the Government give in to their demands, it will set a terrible precedent and will effectively make Democracy untenable.

Motivated actors have set the stage where an outbreak of violence more imminent than ever. If India can manage to avoid such an outcome, we should consider ourselves really fortunate and thank the Gods for their generosity. But as of now, all possibilities are on the table.

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