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Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s wife not to appear before ED today, third summons in PMC Bank Scam to be missed: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s wife not to appear before ED today, third summons in PMC Bank Scam to be missed: Details

According to various media reports, Varsha Raut, the wife of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut will not be attending the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons today that was issued to her in the PMC Bank Scam worth over Rs. 4,000 crores. Reportedly, she has sought extension till the 5th of January from the agency.

As per reports, Varsha Raut is being summoned for over a Rs. 50 lakh transaction with the wife of another accused, Pravin Raut. It is believed to be the same transaction where she allegedly took a loan to buy a property.

This is, in fact, the third summons that would be missed by Varsha Raut. Earlier, two summons have been issued to Varsha Raut by ED to appear before the agency on December 11 and December 22 and for both summons, the wife of Sanjay Raut had not shown up.

What is the PMC Bank scam in which Shiv Sena leader’s wife is now embroiled?

The Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank is one of the largest cooperative banks, which was put under scrutiny by the Reserve Bank for fraud and misreporting of bad loans. Later, the bank had admitted that one large account, HDIL was the main reason for the current crisis.

Following this, the Mumbai Police’s EOW had arrested HDIL directors Sarang Wadhawan and Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan in connection with a fraud of over Rs 4,355 crores. According to the reports, PMC Bank officials gave loans to HDIL between the year 2008 and August 2019 despite the Wadhwans defaulting on previous loans.

Former MD of PMC bank, Joy Thomas aka Junaid Khan was also arrested by a special investigation team (SIT) of the EOW of Mumbai Police on the 4th of October, 2019. He had been absconding until then. The EOW had filed an FIR on September 30 last year against HDIL and PMC Bank officials in the PMC bank fraud case.

Later, it was revealed that Joy Thomas, former MD of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank had converted to Islam, married his assistant at the bank as per Islamic rituals in 2012, changed his name to Junaid Khan and owned 10 properties in Pune with his second wife allegedly as part of the Rs 4,355 crore scam.

The Enforcement Directorate had registered a case of money laundering and initiated their own investigation into the scam. Senior NCP leader Praful Patel was also accused of having links with the Wadhwans.

Days after being manhandled by Congress MLCs, Dy Speaker of Legislative Council SL Dharme Gowda found dead. Suicide suspected

OpIndia Staff
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Days after being manhandled by Congress MLCs, Dy Speaker of Legislative Council SL Dharme Gowda found dead. Suicide suspected

On Tuesday, Deputy Chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council, SL Dharme Gowda, was found dead in Kadur in Chikkamagaluru. His body was discovered near a railway track along with a suicide note.

As per Times Now, the 64-year-old Dharme Gowda had left his home last night citing personal work but did not return home, thereby leaving his family worried. And to their disbelief, he was found dead today morning. While speaking about the incident, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa stated, “I pray that the Lord grant the power to his family to bear this pain.” JDS heavyweight HD Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy had also shared their condolences with his family.

Dharme Gowda was upset about being manhandled by Congress, say reports

Quoting the driver of Dharme Gowda, News 18 reported, “We are used to waiting for them everywhere. I kept waiting and around 8.30 pm when I called him, his phone was switched off, he further said.” He informed that the JDS senior leader had confided about Gowda being upset after he was manhandled by Congress leaders in the Legislative Council.

“I spoke to him on 22nd. He had misgivings about sitting on chair. I told him these things happen in politics. But in 113 years such a thing never happened. Dharme Gowda was a very good man,” the man emphasised.

Congress manhandled SL Dharme Gowda in Legislative Council

On December 15, a ruckus broke out in the Karnataka Legislative Council after Congress legislator opposed SL Dharme Gowda from taking the Chair. As per reports, the chaos began over a no-confidence Motion against the incumbent Chairman and Congress MLC Prathap Chandra Shetty. The ruling BJP argued that since the motion was against Shetty, therefore, he could not preside over the session.

The Congress MLCs alleged that the Chairman was locked outside and prevented from taking the Chair. The angry Congress legislators then ambushed the well of the House, gheraoed the Deputy Chairman and began manhandling him. They also attempted to remove him from his Chair. In a video shared by ANI, the Congress leaders, namely, Naseer Ahmed and Narayana Swamy could be seen pulling SL Dharmegowda from his seat while the BJP MLCs tried to pull him back. The Congress leaders claimed that it was unconstitutional for him to occupy the Chair. 

Six returnees from UK test positive for mutated coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Six returnees from UK test positive for mutated coronavirus

Six returnees from the UK who reached India have tested positive for the mutated coronavirus.

Earlier this month, UK discovered a mutated, more transmissible virus strain which prompted the government to impose lockdown. Following this, India also suspended incoming flights from UK till 31st December 2020. All passengers from the UK were being tested and now six of those have tested positive with the new strain.

As per reports, the authorities have conceded that the virus has gone ‘out of control’ in the UK. “Unfortunately the new strain was out of control. We have got to get it under control,” informed UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock. The new variant, discovered in September, is said to be 70% more transmissible than its counterpart.

Assam: Himanta Biswa Sharma keeps his promise, tables bill to stop govt-funding of madarsas

OpIndia Staff
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Assam: Himanta Biswa Sharma keeps his promise, tables bill to stop govt-funding of madarsas

On Monday, the BJP government in Assam tabled a Bill in the state Assembly, seeking to abolish all state-run madarsas (Islamic schools) and transform them into regular schools.

As per reports, Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma proposed the abolishment of Assam Madarsa Education (Provincialisation) Act, 1995 and Assam Madarsa Education (Provincialisation of Services of Employees and Re-Organisation of Madarsa Educational Institutions) Act, 2018, amidst strong opposition. He said that although madarsas will be converted to regular schools, Arabic language will be continued to be taught in such schools.

While speaking about the government decision, Sharma emphasised that the government is abolishing only the teaching of the Quran in these state-run madarsas. He asked, “Madarsa education has been going on since the pre-Independence era… What if someone goes to court today and asks if the government is spending Rs 600 crore for teaching the Quran, why is it not spending the same in teaching the Bible…(or) the Bhagwad Gita?”

Himanta Biswa Sharma highlighted that the proposed law will not regulate state-run spiritual institutions and not private schools. He added that there is no attempt to stop religious education in private institutions as it would be against constitutional principles. It is important to note that there are currently 189 state-run high madarsas and madarsa higher secondary schools and 542 pre-senior, senior madarsa and Arabic colleges.

Assam government had proposed the idea since February

Earlier in February, Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma told media that it is not the job of government to teach religion, religious scriptures and Arabic and other languages for religious purposes. “If someone is teaching religion using own money that is no problem, but if state funding is used to teach Quran, then we have to teach Gita, Bible also,” he said. Therefore, the govt run madarsas, High madarsas and Sanskrit Tols (schools) operating in the state will be converted to regular schools very soon.

While answering a question on provincialisation of madarsas during a ‘Cut Motion’ on the Education department in Assam Assembly in September, he said that government madarsas will be shut from November, so no question of new madarsas being provincialised arise. On December 14, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the state cabinet has decided to make education secular in the state. Hence, 198 high madarsas and 542 other madarsas in Assam will be operating as general educational institutes. He further said that these institutes will not give admission to students for theological studies.

Not just nepotism: How KRK’s Desh Drohi is better than Alia Bhatt’s Sadak 2 and Bollywood roundup for 2020

OpIndia Staff
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Not just nepotism: How KRK’s Desh Drohi is better than Alia Bhatt’s Sadak 2 and Bollywood roundup for 2020

What if we told you that people think Kamaal R Khan, popularly known as KRK, is a better storyteller than veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt?

This is Desh Drohi’s IMDb rating.

Desh Drohi’s IMDb rating

Desh Drohi, released in 2008, with all its tackiness quotient is at 1.4 out of 10.

Sadak 2, on the other hand, is at 1.1.

Sadak 2’s IMDb ratings

Well, that is that. More people find KRK’s Desh Drohi which is nothing short of cringe fest, more tolerable than Sadak 2. Bollywood, however, wants to dismiss this as ‘angry fans of Sushant Singh Rajput’ led to this. In a typical Bollywood victim playing style, the fault was of audience and not the film which was badly written and was just overall pathetic.

And before anyone jumps to their defence and claims that Bhatt’s anti-Modi stand made his film suffer, well, an average filmgoing audience does not really bother much. Salman Khan’s films usually do well because of the fandom, and not really his acting skills or storyline. Similarly, Akshay Kumar’s Laxmii bombed on the box office.

Laxmii’s IMDb ratings

This when Akshay Kumar is attacked by ‘liberals’ on a regular basis for his alleged ‘pro-Modi’ stand. Apparently making films that talk about importance of toilets in villages just when PM Modi decided to ensure every house in India has a toilet is being ‘pro-Modi’. ‘Liberals’ fail to see the fact that despite 70 years of independence, crores of people in India had no toilets in their homes.

IMDb rating of Laxmii is 2.3.

Varun Dhavan and Sara Ali Khan starrer Coolie No 1 released on Amazon Prime over the Christmas weekend and has not been able to capture audience’s attention. Even though film ‘critics’ at media houses gave the film 3 stars, the film has zero reason anyone should waste their 2 hours of their lives on.

This was an actual scene from the film.

Such tacky graphics were not even in the 1970s when one Master Raju will be polishing shoes of rich folks on railway station one moment and emerge as Amitabh Bachchan the next. Coolie no 1 is rated 1.3 on IMDb.

Chhapaak, Gunjan Saxena and other films

And while there were other movies which have done well in terms of ratings, they were problematic. Deepika Padukone starrer Chhapaak which released early this year had quite a few controversial PR stunts. Form mocking the acid attack survivors with horrifying makeup video on TikTok to Wikipedia page vandalism of Lakshmi to change name of attacker from Naeem to Rajesh, the film reached new lows.

Janhvi Kapoor starrer Karan Johar’s Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, which was supposed to be a biopic on Indian Air Force officer Gunjan Saxena, took quite a few creative liberties. From wrongly portraying gender bias in the Air Force to copyright infringement allegations, the film may have earned at the box office, but failed to leave a mark with the audience.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Shikara also came under fire, especially from some Kashmiri Pandits who felt betrayed that Kashmiri Muslims in the film were portrayed as ‘secular’ while Kashmiri Hindus were portrayed as ‘communal’. The downplaying of the atrocities and terror inflicted on the Kashmiri Hindus also did not go down well. And then the filmmaker just dismissed the allegation of watering down of Islamic terror.

And while there were decent movies like Tanhaji which triggered the Hinduphobic portals to go completely mental and Bulbbul on Netflix which was a visual delight, most other movies released in 2020 were painful disasters, best forgotten like rest of the 2020.

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh directs police to act against Jio tower vandals after senior Youth Cong leader incites more vandalism: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab CM Amarinder Singh directs police to act against Jio tower vandals after senior Youth Cong leader incites more vandalism: Details

Chief Minister of Punjab Amarinder Singh has directed the police to act against vandals who have been cutting power supply from Jio mobile towers across the state. The decision came after his appeal to the protesters went unheeded. The vandals are apparently doing it in support of the farmer protests.

Meanwhile, only hours earlier, Srivatsa, senior Youth Congress leader, had celebrated the acts of vandalism and even appeared to suggest that similar actions ought to be carried out all across India. “Farmers have understood that the only way to get Modi to directly talk to them is through making Ambani feel pain,” he said, before adding, “If this starts happening across India, Modiji will come running to Singhu Border.”

Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder had appealed to the ‘protesting farmers’ to not inconvenience the general public by disrupting power and destroying infrastructure. He had also urged the ‘protestors’ to not shut down connectivity and manhandle the telecom workers. However, the ‘protesting farmers’ did not pay any heed to the chief minister’s appeal. And now it appears even Congress leaders are cheering such lawlessness.

The ‘protestors’ have been targeting Reliance Jio towers because of claims that Reliance, as well as Adani group, are out to exploit farmers with help from the new farm laws. News agency PTI citing sources said that site managers were slapped and abused for trying to stop the protestors from destroying the infrastructure. Power lines were snapped and attempts were made to axe the towers.

Mainstream media targets Hindus, paints Temple foundation ceremony a ‘waste of resources’: Details

K Bhattacharjee
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Mainstream media targets Hindus, paints Temple foundation ceremony a ‘waste of resources’: Details

After maintaining silence over the senseless cutting of trees during Christmas, the mainstream media has suddenly rediscovered its voice for ‘rationality’ and ‘reason’. The subject of its ire this time around is a ritual observed by Hindus in Rajasthan. Hindustan Times journalist Aabshar H Quazi harangued Hindus over the foundation ceremony of Devnarayan temple to be constructed in Ratlai region of Jhalawar district.

The Hindustan Times report

Although the journalist refrains from overtly insulting Hindus, the tone and tenor makes abundantly clear what the motive of the report is. There is a subtle demeaning slant throughout the entire report that is hard to miss. Hindustan Times attempts to show the Hindus in poor light because they chose to perform the ceremony as per their religious beliefs.

The report says that milk, desi ghee and curd totaling 11,000 liters were used in the ceremony. “We collected 11,000 litres of milk, desi ghee and curd from the Gujjar community members and even others for the foundation ceremony of the Devnarayan temple as a mark of reverence for deity Lord Devnarayan,” Ramlal Gujjar, spokesperson of the temple construction committee, told the reporter.

The cost of it all amounted to about Rs. 1.5 lakh. Then the journalist proceeded to ask him “if the exercise did not seem like a gargantuan waste of resources”. It is a bizarre question that wouldn’t have been posed to Ramlal if he were a believer of any other religion. It is hard to imagine a journalist walking up to a Muslim man on the verge of slaughtering a goat on Eid and questioning him if he were feeling guilty about forcing the animal through such cruelty.

Ramlal answered the question as any devout Hindu would. “It is not at all a waste as in Gujjar community we pour some milk on deity Devnarayan as it protects our cattle,” he said. The report, although it does not overtly demean the Hindus, appears to have served its purpose as there are tons of people mocking and outraging against the devotees for merely practicing their faith.

There were others who went ahead and called the incident “bizarre”. East Mojo reported, “In a bizarre incident, around 11,000 litres of milk, 1,500 litres of curd and 100 kg of desi ghee were poured into a pit during the foundation ceremony of Devnarayan temple in Rajasthan.”

Source: East Mojo

Times Now was no different. They reported, “Several resources were wasted for the foundation ceremony of Devnarayan temple in Rajasthan. The temple is to be constructed in Ratlai region of Jhalawar district. The ceremony was held on Saturday, by members of the Gujjar community.”

Source: Times Now

Ordinary Hindus are now being mocked and their religious beliefs are being demeaned and for what exactly? The milk they offered belonged to them, they did not steal it or seize it from anyone. Quite clearly, everyone volunteered to contribute the dairy products and no one was forced against their will. And yet, our mainstream media will go out of their way to attack the religious beliefs of Hindus. It is a trend that has become almost the norm for our mainstream media.

Crackers become an issue only during Diwali. On New Years Eve, it is perfectly acceptable. People are asked to avoid high calories food during Diwali while the same media outlets recommend plum cake recipes on Christmas. Water conservation acquires a feverish pitch only during Holi. Every religious community is allowed to celebrate their festivals in a festive spirit but for Hindus, only moral sermons and pontification are reserved.

Clearly, the mainstream media feels a perverse joy in mocking Hindus for their religious beliefs and spreading negativity during Hindu festivals. Now, it appears, it is no longer limited to festivals alone but has also transgressed into the territory of ordinary Hindus performing religious ceremonies according to their customs.

As 6 JDU MLAs join BJP in Arunachal, Nitish Kumar quits as party chief, says he became CM of Bihar under pressure

OpIndia Staff
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As 6 JDU MLAs join BJP in Arunachal, Nitish Kumar quits as party chief, says he became CM of Bihar under pressure

Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, has dropped a bombshell on its party as he quit as party chief. RCP Singh, a close confidant of Nitish Kumar, was chosen as the new president of JD (U) yesterday. Kumar had proposed the name of Singh for the top post, which was then approved by other members during the party’s national executive meeting. The chief minister, who was re-elected as the JD(U) president in 2019 for three years, relinquished the post in favour of Singh, the party’s leader in Rajya Sabha.

After quitting as party chief, Nitish Kumar has reiterated that he had no desire to become the Chief Minister of Bihar and that he always wanted the mandate to be respected, no matter who became the CM.

During the JD(U)’s national executive meeting, Nitish Kumar reportedly said, “People are saying that the BJP wants the CM’s position. I do not care. I am not attached to the position.” Kumar claimed that he had to take up the CM chair due to immense pressure and he doesn’t care who takes up the Bihar hot seat.

“After the election results came, I made my wish known to the coalition. But the pressure was so much that I had to take up work again,” he added.

Interestingly, Nitish Kumar had ditched the BJP in 2016 Assembly Elections and created an alliance with the RJD and Congress, precisely to ensure that he becomes the Chief Minister. When the criticism against RJD started mounting, he had then again ditched the RJD and re-joined BJP to continue to be the Chief Minister.

Speculations are now rife that his sudden epiphany that he never wanted to be the Chief Minister of Bihar comes from his own party MLAs abandoning the ship.

Recently, 6 JDU MLAs had quit the party to join BJP in Arunachal Pradesh, kicking up a massive storm in the JDU. While the party leadership and senior leaders expressed displeasure over JDU MLAs joining alliance partner BJP, they said that this move is unlikely to affect the alliance in Bihar.

Saradha Scam: CBI says salaries for private TV channel were paid from CM’s relief fund, points fingers at Mamata govt

OpIndia Staff
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Saradha Scam: CBI says salaries for private TV channel were paid from CM’s relief fund, points fingers at Mamata govt

West Bengal Assembly elections are scheduled for next year, and the recent development in Saradha Scam is going to intensify the political heat in the state. In a contempt plea in Saradha Chit Fund Scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation has said in the Supreme Court that the funds from Chief Minister Relief Fund of West Bengal were used purportedly for the salaries of employees of Tara TV that is under investigation in the case.

Tara TV is a part of the Saradha Group of Companies. CBI has said that the CM Relief Fund paid Rs.27 lakh per month for 23 months from May 2013 to April 2015 towards the salaries of Tara TV employees.

In its application, the CBI said, “It is submitted that the said amounts were purportedly given towards salary payments of the employees of the said media company that was under investigation being part of Saradha Group of Companies.” The total amount clocks to Rs.6.21 crore that was paid using CM Relief Fund to pay Tara TV Employees Welfare Association.

CBI has also reportedly mentioned in its application that they had written to the chief secretary, West Bengal, on October 16, 2018, to provide information about the constitution and functioning of the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund so that the agency can investigate the suspicious payments further. However, they only got incomplete or evasive information from the state government.

High Court order did not ask to pay salaried from CM fund

CBI, while citing the High Court order when the court asked to pay the salary of the employees from the available funds, said that that order did not say that the salaries of the employees of a private TV channel can be paid using the state funds that were collected in the name of relief work. It said, “The Court order expressly states that the employees are to be paid out of the funds of the company. The payments from CM Relief Fund, ex-facie point towards a larger conspiracy and nexus.”

Mamata Banerjee Named in the application

The CBI appeal has hinted at the involvement of the Mamata Banerjee administration. It said, “Communication between the CBI and state authorities will show that there has been a concerted effort to evade, avoid and to escape the process of law and a conscious effort on part of the authorities to scuttle the investigation.”

CBI also noted that when Enforcement Directorate questioned former Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Kumar Ghosh in October 2013, it was revealed that CM Banerjee and Saradha Group promoter Sudipta Sen had very good relationships.

Ghosh is also one of the accused in the case. CBI said, “It is submitted that the same establishes that the Chief Minister used to talk to Sudipta Sen using the phone of Kunal Kumar Ghosh,” said the application. During the investigation, when CBI checked the call details of two numbers of Sen for one year, the agency found that he and Ghosh talked 298 times on one number and nine times on the second number, as per a report by Business Standard.

Role of former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajiv Kumar

The CBI also sought custodial interrogation of former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and said that Bidhannagar police had concealed evidence related to the connection between the ruling party of the state and Saradha Group of Companies on the behest of Kumar. CBI alleged that the step was taken to save everyone in the case.

When ED questioned Ghosh as a witness in October 2013, it was revealed that Kumar was in contact with ED during the arrests of Sudipta Sen, Debjani Mukherjee, or witnesses Ghosh and others during September to November 2013. CBI said, “It was ensured by the officials that grave facts narrated by these accused persons or witnesses must not be taken on record as part of the investigation with a purpose to shield the influential persons.”

During the investigation, the agency reportedly found more evidence that proved Kumar was actively involved in shielding and protecting the influential co-accused in the case who had illegally collected funds using illegal business activities of the group of Ponzi companies.

Saradha chit fund scam

The Saradha scam broke out into the open in 2013 when a Ponzi scheme run by the Saradha Group, a consortium of over 200 private companies, collapsed after collecting hundreds and thousands of crores from over 15 lakh investors.

Rajiv Kumar was part of the Special Investigation Team set up by the West Bengal government to probe the scam. In 2014, the Supreme Court handed over the investigation to CBI. In November 2019, the Supreme Court had sought a response from the IPS officer on the CBI’s appeal against Calcutta High Court’s order to grant anticipatory bail to Kumar. It is notable here that when CBI officials had gone to interrogate Rajiv Kumar in the case, CM Mamata Banerjee had sat in a dharna for days. She had called the interrogation a ‘political vendetta’.

The Hindu journalist accused of publishing fake news because his wife was not given insurance business: Details

OpIndia Staff
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The Hindu journalist accused of publishing fake news because his wife was not given insurance business: Details

Sanchaita Gajapati, Chairperson at MGVR Learning, has alleged that The Hindu journalist K Srinivasa Rao has engaged in biased reporting against MANSAS Trust after she refused to give the insurance business for MANSAS to his wife. She said that the biased reporting was part of a fake news campaign against her. She has attached screenshot of text messages which purportedly show The Hindu journalist imploring to consider engaging the insurance services provided by her wife.

The attached screenshots show Sanchaita Gajapati receiving texts that say that many industrialists and ‘VIP families’ are exploring LIC policies. The sender also informs her that his wife is an advisor at LIC. The texts also inform her of the benefits of the policies. Gajapati, who is also the chairperson of the Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam, claims that Srinivasa Rao proceeded to publish fake news against her because she refused the business proposal.

Report by K. Srinivasa Rao on MANSAS Trust

Only recently, Rao’s report had been published on The Hindu with the headline “MANSAS loses people’s trust in 2020”. The Maharaja Alak Narayana Society of Arts and Science (MANSAS) Trust was established by P.V.G. Raju in 1958 for the purpose of providing higher education. Gajapati said, “Reporters like K Srinivasa Rao who believe in quid pro quo journalism are a blot on this (The Hindu’s) news legacy.”

There is also internal feud between the members of the Royal Family of Vizianagaram as Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju objected to his removal as the Chairperson of the institution and the appointment of Sanchaita Gajapati Raju in the same as he had claimed only male heirs of the MANSAS family are eligible to head the MANSAS trust as per the by-laws.

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