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After Delhi police debunk claims of Kejriwal’s house arrest, video emerges of him attending a wedding

OpIndia Staff
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After Delhi police debunk claims of Kejriwal’s house arrest, video emerges of him attending a wedding

Hours after the Delhi Police rubbished fake claims of house arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, a CCTV footage has now surfaced online that further debunks the outlandish allegations of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Zee News journalist Jitender Sharma had shared the video wherein Arvind Kejriwal was seen visiting a wedding venue at 9:25 pm on Monday night. Kejriwal was escorted by his staff members, while one of them carried two bouquets of flowers. While replying to BJP leader Adesh Gupta, Shamra informed that the Delhi CM was actually attending a wedding, contrary to the allegations of house arrest made by AAP and their leaders.

It is pertinent to remember that Aam Aadmi Party had earlier claiming that Kejriwal was put under house arrest by Delhi Police. AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj further claimed that after Delhi Chief Minister returned from meeting the farmers at Singhu border, Delhi Police put up barricades around his house creating a ‘house arrest’ like situation.

Delhi police debunk fake claims of Arvind Kejriwal and his party

Police said that the security has been increased around CM’s house to avoid a clash between AAP and other party workers. As quoted by ANI, DCP North Delhi Anto Alphonse said that the CM has not been put under house arrest. In a tweet, DCP North Delhi shared an image from outside Kejriwal’s house and said that he continues to exercise his right to free movement within the law of the land. The DCP North Delhi reiterated that AAP’s claim of Kejriwal being put under house arrest is incorrect.

Kejriwal has a history of indulging in attention-seeking stunts

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and his supporters have often displayed such kind of an inflated sense of self-importance. On several occasions in the past, AAP supporters have pulled off such attention-seeking stunts to hog limelight and remain in news.

In December 2018, AAP had alleged that a man had hurled chilli powder on Arvind Kejriwal. The Delhi chief minister and his supporters instantly painted the aggressor as BJP man and accused the BJP of attacking him. However, several reports in the aftermath of the incident claimed that the accused, Anil Sharma, who had flung chilli powder on Kejriwal, had confessed that the attack was orchestrated by AAP leaders as a publicity stunt.

Congress rallies for Bharat Bandh now, former CM Bhupinder Hooda had supported ‘free and competitive markets’ for farmers in 2010

OpIndia Staff
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Congress rallies for Bharat Bandh now, former CM Bhupinder Hooda had supported ‘free and competitive markets’ for farmers in 2010

The Congress party has been a vocal opponent of the historic farm laws, ever since it came into force. From vowing to not implement the law in the Congress-ruled State of Punjab to lending its support to the Bharat Bandh on Tuesday, the grand old party has been up-in-arms against the current political dispensation.

“I would also like to announce that the Congress party extends its whole-hearted support to the Bharat Bandh on December 8…All our district headquarters and Pradesh headquarters will participate in this bandh. They will hold demonstrations and ensure that the bandh is successful,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera had remarked on Sunday. He further alleged, “What we are seeing today is the result of a conspiracy between the government and its corporate friends, wherein the victim would be the farmer, and the farmer knows this.”

In Haryana, former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda has been vocal and had supported the protests, calling the reforms inadequate.

However, a decade ago, former Haryana Chief Minister and senior Congress leader, Bhupinder Singh Hooda had supported the idea of ‘free and competitive markets’ for farmers. Journalist Marya Shakil had shared a report from 2010 titled, “Report of the Working Group on Agriculture Production” wherein Hooda was seen advocating the same ideas, as espoused by the BJP now.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda had highlighted the ‘monopoly’ of Mandis

“It is surprising but true that farmers have hardly any choice in marketing their produce,” the report stated. It emphasised that farmers are dependent on ‘regulated mandis’ which act as ‘monopoly institutions’ for the sale of the produce. “In the absence of credit and storage facilities, farmers are forced to go for distress sale of their produce. Thus a suitable change in this system is required,” Bhupinder Singh Hooda had emphasised.

Hooda emphasised on private competition

He pointed out that since Mandis was regulated by the government, private investment for storage and transportation of crops was scarce. “In order to give choice to farmers, and developing a more efficient supply chain, it is necessary to bring in private sector investments for developing marketing infrastructure including better handling of agriculture produce,” the report noted.

In the 2010 report, Hooda informed that the Model Agricultural marketing law of 2003, to be adopted by the states, provided for the establishment of private markets and farmer-consumer marketing, aiding in contract farming, standardisation, grading of produce and e-farming promotion.”States need to adopt these reforms, operationalise them and in fact go beyond the measures proposed in the Model Law to provide free and competitive markets to farmers,” the report advocated.

Sharad Pawar had shared similar views on farm reforms

While the opposition has been actively scaremongering the public about corporatisation and takeover of farming by private players, in light of the new farm laws, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar had once been a vocal supporter of introducing private competition in the agriculture sector.

In an old interview with NDTV, the NCP supremo, who was the then agriculture Minister, was seen explaining how he believed that encouraging private players in the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) can benefit farmers. He had conceded that until private players are encouraged to work in the APMC sector, the government will not provide any financial support to the states.

Sharad Pawar had also written two letters, one in 2010 and another in 2011, to Delhi CM Sheila Dixit and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan highlighting how changes in APMC could benefit farmers.

AajTak streams wrong map of India during Bharat Bandh segment on Reliance Jio OTT platform

OpIndia Staff
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AajTak streams wrong map of India during Bharat Bandh segment on Reliance Jio OTT platform

Amid ongoing farmers’ protests and December 8 ‘Bharat Bandh’, AajTak was found streaming wrong map of India on Reliance Jio’s OTT platform. Netizen Dipesh shared images of Reliance Jio’s Fibre TV with AajTak on the front page of the JioTV+ app. He had tagged the Home Minister’s office on Twitter and urged them to take strict action against responsible individuals.

The map depicted in the images excludes major portion of union territories of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh from India.

To dig further on the issue, we checked other OTT platforms that live stream News Channels.

Screenshot from Disney+Hotstar’s news section

On Disney+Hostar, the map of India is depicted properly, though not to scale. So it seems only on Reliance Jio platform does AajTak depict the distorted map of India.

3-years in jail for showing wrong map of India

As per the law, anyone who publishes wrong map of India is subject to up three years in jail and/or fine. The law says, “Questioning the territoriar integrity or frontiers of India in a manner prejudicial to the interests of safety and securiety of India- (1) whoever by words either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representation or otherwise, questions the territorial integrity or frontiers of India in a manner which is, or is Likely to be, prejudiciar to t.e interests of the safety or security of India, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.”

OpIndia has reached out to Reliance Jio as well as AajTak regarding the wrong map displayed on Jio. We shall update the report once we hear back from them.

‘We have friends at the top’, ‘Wall Street can’t fix Trump’: CCP expert reveals shocking details, hints Joe Biden is compromised

OpIndia Staff
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‘We have friends at the top’, ‘Wall Street can’t fix Trump’: CCP expert reveals shocking details, hints Joe Biden is compromised

Di Dongsheng, Vice Dean of the School of International Relations, Renmin University of China, Vice Director and Secretary of the Center for Foreign Strategic Studies of China, delivered a speech in Shanghai which appears to have confirmed the worst fears of everyone wary of Wall Street, China and a Joe Biden presidency.

Wall Street helped China during Trump’s Trade War, according to Dongsheng, who revealed that China has ‘friends’ at very influential positions in the USA. He said, “As I said before, since the 1970s, Wall Street had a very strong influence on the domestic and foreign affairs of the United States. So we had a channel to rely on. But the problem is that after 2008, the status of Wall Street has declined, and more importantly, after 2016, Wall Street can’t fix Trump. It’s very awkward.”

“Why? Trump had a previous soft default issue with Wall Street, so there was a conflict between them, but I won’t go into details, I may not have enough time. So during the US-China trade war, they (Wall Street) tried to help, and I know that my friends on the US side told me that they tried to help, but they couldn’t do much,” added Dongsheng.

Dongsheng also hinted that China might have helped Hunter Biden, son of President-elect Joe Biden, build the network of ‘foundations’. He said, “Trump has been saying that Biden’s son has some sort of global foundation. Have you noticed that? Who helped him (Biden’s son) build the foundations? Got it? There are a lot of deals inside all these.”

“Then, so, at such a time, we use an appropriate way to express some goodwill. This is my personal understanding based on my limited professional background. If we understand this matter from the perspective of the international political economy, I think there is a tactical and political value in it,” the CCP expert stated.

‘We have friends in important places’: Dongsheng

Dengshong also revealed that China has ‘people at the top’ in the USA. Explaining the relationship between the two countries between 1992 and 2016 and the deterioration since then, he said, “Because we know that the Trump administration is in a trade war with us, so why can’t we fix the Trump administration? Why did China and the U.S. use to be able to settle all kinds of issues between 1992 and 2016? No matter what kind of crises we encountered, be it the Yinhe incident, the bombing of the embassy, or the crashing of the plane, things were all solved in no time, like (a couple) do with their quarrels starting at the bedhead but ending at the bed end.”

He continued, “We fixed everything in two months. What is the reason? I’m going to throw out something maybe a little bit explosive here. It’s just because we have people at the top. We have our old friends who are at the top of America’s core inner circle of power & influence.” Tucker Carlson reported on his show at Fox News that the Communist Government in China had removed the video from its social media platforms.

Note: The translations were provided by Jennifer Zeng

Pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice threatens to ‘shut down’ Indian consulates on December 10 in support of farmer protests

OpIndia Staff
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Pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice threatens to ‘shut down’ Indian consulates on December 10 in support of farmer protests

The Pro-Khalistani group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) on Monday threatened that they would close down the Indian diplomatic missions in London, Birmingham, Frankfurt, Vancouver, Toronto, Washington DC, San Francisco and New York on December 10 through car, tractor and truck rallies.

Earlier on Sunday, top SFJ functionary Paramjit Singh Pamma, who is on the most-wanted list of the NIA, was seen at a “Kisan Rally” in London. Pamma was at spotted at the rally with his supporters. The rally saw khalistani flags and anti-India slogans.

Claiming that “Khalistan is the only solution to the Punjab farmers’ plight”, SFJ,s Gurpatwant Singh Pannun stated that his organisation has given the call to shut down Indian embassies on UN Human Rights Day.

Pamma, a designated terrorist in India, had fled Punjab in the 1990s and allegedly travelled to Pakistan, before being granted political asylum in Britain in 2000. He has links with terror organisations such as Babbar Khalsa International and Khalistan Tiger Force and is also linked to the 2010 Patiala and Ambala twin bomb explosions and the 2009 murder of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat leader Rulda Singh, as per a report in Times of India. 

Pamma was arrested in Portugal in 2015 after India requested for his extradition. His extradition, however, did not come through, and he returned to the United Kingdom.

Pro-Khalistani SFJ members participated in “Kisan Rally” in London

SFJ leader Pannun further added that the organisation was emboldened by the stands taken by Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, British parliament members and a representative of the UN Secretary-General on supporting the farmers’ protest. Another Khalistan supporter named Kuldeep Singh Chaheru of the Federation of Sikh Organizations was also seen in the London protests. FSO a known front of Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh extremist organisation.

The Minister for Press and Information, Vishwesh Negi, expressed that the protest was orchestrated by anti-India separatist forces.

“More than 3,500 to 4,000 people gathered in front of the high commission, flouting social distancing norms during a pandemic. As expected, it soon became clear that the gathering was led by anti-India separatists, who took the opportunity of pursuing their own agenda in the name of backing the farmer protests back in India,” Negi said.

SFJ links to the farmers’ protests in India

The farmers’ protest saw participation from pro-Khalistani elements. Several ‘farmers’ resorted to violence and worrying slogans, supporting Khalistan were also raised. With pro-Khalistan and anti-Indian slogans being raised during the ‘farmer protest’ along the Haryana-Punjab border, questions were also being raised over the alleged involvement of SFJ in instigating Punjab farmers to protest against the Modi government under the pretext that the three farm bills are ‘anti-farmer’ in nature.

The shady role of the SFJ was being analysed as more and more details are emerging that points towards the possible interference of pro-Khalistan elements to hijack these farmer protest. 

It is important to note that the Khalistan organisation SFJ, funded by Pakistan, had earlier declared a grant of $1 million for farmers in Punjab and Haryana in lieu of their support for Khalistan.

On 23rd September, it was reported that the SFJ had attempted to capitalise on the ongoing protests by farmers and had declared that it would distribute $1 million among farmers who had defaulted on agricultural loans.

“From October 1 to October 8, any farmer — irrespective of his faith — can register 25 votes for the Khalistan Referendum 2020 and get a grant of Rs 5,000 as assistance to repay their agricultural loans,” SJF said. The security agencies have since received inputs on the latest offer by SFJ.

PM Modi’s tweet, lighting a lamp after his call to the nation in April, becomes most retweeted tweet in politics category in 2020

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi’s tweet, lighting a lamp after his call to the nation in April, becomes most retweeted tweet in politics category in 2020

On Tuesday, Twitter announced the Golden tweets of 2020, across politics, business and sports. The said tweets, by public figures, had garnered the most number of likes, retweets or quoted tweets/replies between January 1 and November 15 of this year. As per Twitter, the ‘light a lamp’ tweet by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the most retweeted tweet in the category of politics.

Prime Minister Modi had posted pictures with a burning lamp and had also urged the public to follow suit to switch off all the lights of the house and stand in the balcony after lighting a lamp, switching on the flashlight of their mobile phone or holding a torch.

He had said that this collective expression of purpose and togetherness would help the nation get through this time of crisis. His tweet was retweeted 118.4k times and had 513.2K likes.

Most retweeted tweet in Sports category

Following his retirement from international cricket, MS Dhoni received a heart-warming letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his contribution to the nation. While taking to Twitter, the former ace cricketer wrote, “An Artist, soldier and Sportsperson what they crave for is appreciation, that their hard work and sacrifice is getting noticed and appreciated by everyone. Thanks, PM Narendra Modi for your appreciation and good wishes.”

His tweet was retweeted 78.2K times and received 333.3K likes. It became the Golden tweet on the social media platform in the sports category.

Most retweeted tweet in Business category

When the ever philanthropic industrialist Ratan Tata announced that Tata Trusts would commit ₹500 crores to fight the Coronavirus pandemic in India, his tweet received appreciation from all quarters. His tweet received 67.4K retweets and became the most retweeted tweet in the business category.

Most retweeted tweet overall

Vijay, the highest-paid actor in Tamil film industry, took a selfie with his fans in February 2020. When he posted the selfie on Twitter, little did he know that His tweet would receive the most retweets (1.6 lac).

Most replies/quoted tweets

When veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan announced in July that he had tested positive for the deadly Coronavirus, his fans wished him a speedy recovery. He had tweeted, “I have tested Covid positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff underwent tests, results awaited… All that has been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested”. His tweet received the most replies aka quoted tweets at 166.4K

Virat Kohli’s tweet garnered the most likes

When Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma informed that they were expecting a child, cricket fans across the world, were thrilled beyond measure. His tweet received 644.1K likes, making it the most liked tweet on Twitter India.

“2020 was a unique year for everyone, which means conversation on Twitter was unique too. As the world grappled with a global pandemic, Indians took to Twitter to stay informed, connected and entertained while talking about their passions, re-discovering interests and having diverse conversations,” the social media giant stated.

‘Maaro isko maaro’: Shocking details emerge of how Mumbai police tortured Republic TV AVP, was beaten with ‘chakki belt’

OpIndia Staff
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‘Maaro isko maaro’: Shocking details emerge of how Mumbai police tortured Republic TV AVP, was beaten with ‘chakki belt’

Republic TV has alleged that Ghanshyam Singh, assistant vice president of Distribution at the channel, was brutally tortured by the Mumbai Police while he was in their custody. In an affidavit that was filed before the Bombay High Court on Tuesday, the channel claimed that Singh was tortured brutally, physically assaulted and lashed with a ‘chakki belt’.

The channel said that on the second day of police custody, Ghanshyam Singh “was repeatedly pressured to parrot a premeditated script to self-incriminate and incriminate his network in the TRP case, but when he did not give in to the pressure tactics deployed by the Mumbai Police, he was threatened and taken to a room dressed with torture tools and lashed multiple times.”

According to the affidavit that was filed, officials of the Mumbai Police were saying “inko maaro maaro maaro” (beat him). Ghanshyam Singh was also whipped with a thick belt. He apparently cried out in pain due to the torture that was inflicted on him but the subordinates continued following the instructions of their superiors.

At another point, Ghanshyam Singh was taken to a different room where he was told by a police officer, “Aap aase nahin manoge…” (You will not obey this way) and “…Abhi batao, tum paise diye, aap mile the inse…” (Now tell us you gave him money, you met him) while referring to an individual he did not know.

As per the affidavit, a police officer told him, “…Abhi bhi nahin bologe toh humare pass aur bhi raaste hain” (If you do not tell us even now, we have more tricks up our sleeve). The affidavit says, “Mr. Singh was left with deep bruises and injury marks on his hand following the assault on him in custody. All due process was disregarded, procedural safeguards were sidelined and a horrific, horrendous and heinous exercise to assault him in custody, torture, harm and physically break him down were undertaken.”

The affidavit states, “The police officers repeatedly tried to psychologically pressurise and coerce Mr. Singh to extract a false narrative that never was in relation to the alleged TRP scam”. “While Mr. Singh maintained that there was no wrongdoing and repeatedly stated that he had not made any payment to manipulate TRPs, he was threatened by the senior police officer of the Respondent No. 3. In fact, one of the police officers intimidated Mr. Singh by saying- “humare pass doosrae raaste bhi hain… half hour later you will say… 10 days later you will,” it adds.

Ghanshyam Singh was released on bail on the 6th of December after remaining in custody of the Mumbai Police for 26 days.

Fake TRP scam

On the 8th of October, Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh held a press conference where he categorically stated that Mumbai police have been alerted about a new racket involving false television rating points (TRP). Parambir Singh had specifically mentioned that Hansa Research had filed a complaint with the police. Interestingly, in this FIR that was filed by Hansa Research, Republic TV was not mentioned even once. The channel that was mentioned several times was India Today.

Margaret Keenan becomes the first non-trial recipient of COVID-19 vaccine as the UK starts mass vaccination

OpIndia Staff
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Margaret Keenan becomes the first non-trial recipient of COVID-19 vaccine as the UK starts mass vaccination

A 90-year-old woman from the UK named Margaret Keenan has become the first recipient in the world to get a shot of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday. The NHS has launched the biggest ever vaccine campaign to fight the pandemic. Keenan said, “I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19, it’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year.”

Keenan is from from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland in The UK.

UK becomes the first country to launch Covid-19 vaccine program

The United Kingdom has become the first country to launch a vaccination program against Covid-19 infection. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine candidate had received approval from the UK government after positive results in the trials. The vaccine has shown 95% effectiveness against the infection, and it can be administered to all age groups.

80+ age group and health care workers to get the vaccine first

As per the plan, those who are above 80 years of age will get the vaccine first, along with care home staff and health workers. Eventually, the UK government is planning to vaccinate millions of people in the coming months against Covid-19. Everyone has to get two shots of the vaccine with a gap of 21 days. As of now, 800,000 doses of the vaccine have been delivered to the hospitals, which will be enough to serve 400,000 people. The UK has already secured 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which will be enough for 20 million people.

Matt Hancock, Health Secretary, said that he felt emotional after seeing the photographs of Keenan getting the vaccine. He said, “It’s been such a tough year for so many people but finally we have our way through it, the light at the end of the tunnel. It seems so simple having a jab in your arm but that will protect Margaret and the people around her. If we manage to do that for everyone who is vulnerable to this disease we can move on and return to normal.”

Sir Simon Stevens, NHS England chief executive, while praising those who were involved in delivering the new vaccine program, said, “Less than a year after the first case of this new disease was diagnosed, the NHS has now delivered the first clinically approved Covid-19 vaccination – that is a remarkable achievement.” He thanked the scientists, workers, and volunteers for achieving the task of developing the vaccine in months, which normally takes years.

How Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine will be rolled out in the UK?

The first set of the vaccine has been marked for those who are residents in care homes for older adults and their carers. The second step will be to immunize all those who are above 80-years. In the third step, everyone about 75 years of age will get the vaccine, followed by those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and above 70 years of age. The vaccine will then be made available for people of 65-years and above, followed by everyone from the age group 16 to 64 with underlying health conditions that put them at risk of getting the infection. After that, the vaccine will be rolled out step-by-step for the remaining population in the UK.

When is India rolling out its vaccination plan

India is expected to roll out a vaccination program in the next few weeks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keeping a close eye on the progress of the development of vaccines. On December 4, in an all-party meeting, it was decided that elders and frontline health workers will be in the front of the queue to get the vaccine. Prime Minister Modi also clarified that the healthcare, frontline workers and elderly person suffering from serious diseases will be given priority in vaccination.

Nidhi Razdan says the fake news of Delhi Police putting Arvind Kejriwal under house arrest is ‘Kashmir model’

OpIndia Staff
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Nidhi Razdan says the fake news of Delhi Police putting Arvind Kejriwal under house arrest is ‘Kashmir model’

Former NDTV ‘journalist’ Nidhi Razdan was seen spreading the false news of ‘house arrest’ of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by Delhi police. Razdan supported the false claim of the Aam Admi Party (AAP) on Twitter by retweeting it and went on to declare the imaginary house arrest of the Delhi CM as the ‘Kashmir Model’.

“The Kashmir model, which the Delhi CM was only too happy to support the, now comes to Delhi”, she wrote on Twitter today. The Aam Admi Party had earlier posted a tweet claiming that CM Arvind Kejriwal was put under house arrest. “BJP’s Delhi Police have put Hon’ble CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal under house arrest ever since he visited farmers at Singhu Border yesterday. No one has been permitted to leave or enter his residence”, read the AAP’s tweet. AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj had also claimed that the Delhi CM was arrested after he returned from a meeting with the protesting farmers at Singhu border and supported them. He said that the Delhi police had barricaded Kejriwal’s house creating a house arrest like situation.

However, the Aam Admi Part’s claims were refuted by the DCP Delhi Police who clarified that the Delhi Chief Minister was free to exercise his right to freedom of movement. A picture of his house was posted by DCP Delhi Police in the tweet to show that there was not any extra deployment or barricading around the CM’s house.

Commenting on the tweet posted by DCP Delhi Police, Razdan questioned Delhi police’s claims and said that Kejriwal should walk out of his right now and test the claims of Delhi police. She even added that the picture doesn’t say anything.

Razdan and fake news

After the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed by the Parliament, CM Kejriwal was seen blatantly spreading misinformation about the Act during townhall session on NDTV moderated by Nidhi Radzan in January this year. The Delhi CM claimed that even Hindus in the country who do not have government issues birth certificates will have to leave the country as Razdan sat watching him spread lies. Razdan did not correct him that the law was not applicable to Indian citizens and instead she contributed to his lies.

Razdan is quite used to spreading fake news and false propaganda. As an NDTV host, she had even conducted an entire ‘debate’ based on fake news. She had also wanted the government of India to ‘clarify’ whether citizens would be able to change the temperature on their ACs or not after she fell for another fake news. She had even refused to believe when people told her that default doesn’t mean ‘stuck forever’ and customers can change it.

Sonia Gandhi, the daughter (in-law) of the soil, makes the ultimate sacrifice to support farmers: Read what it is

OpIndia Staff
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Sonia Gandhi, the daughter (in-law) of the soil, makes the ultimate sacrifice to support farmers: Read what it is

Interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi has decided to make great sacrifices in order to demonstrate her self-proclaimed unparalleled devotion towards the farmers of the country. The interim party president has announced that she will not be celebrating her birthday on the 9th of December in light of the ongoing protests against the newly passed farm bills and the Coronavirus pandemic.

With this announcement, Sonia Gandhi has demonstrated why her tenure as interim president could very well last longer than the presidential tenure of Rahul Gandhi. She, at the very least, has functional intellectual faculties that help her to at least pretend that she cares for people; quite unlike Rahul Gandhi who was busy partying immediately after the Mumbai Terror Attacks in 2008.

“Farmers are on the street-facing the harsh climate and brutal crackdown from the Government, Congress leaders instead of celebrations should strengthen the efforts to provide relief to all those who are suffering and extend support to fighting Anndatas,” she is reported to have told Congress functionaries. Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal has also instructed state heads of the party to refrain from all celebrations including cake-cutting.

Her health does not appear to be conducive for a birthday celebration either. Sonia Gandhi was advised by doctors to move out of Delhi as the poor air quality and pollution had aggravated her chest infection. She is currently recuperating in Goa and Rahul Gandhi is accompanying her. Sonia Gandhi turns 74 on the 9th of December, 2020.

This is the second consecutive year that Sonia Gandhi will not be celebrating her birthday. In 2019, she did not celebrate her birthday citing the rising instances of rapes in the country. It appears very likely at this point that she is not fond of celebrating her birthdays anymore, which is very natural as birthday festivities appear extremely pointless to everyone after a certain age. Inventing such convenient excuses for not celebrating birthdays also provides politicians the means to score political points.

It could also very well be that the birthday gift that the Telangana Congress presented to her was shocking enough to dissuade her from celebrating her birthday ever again. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief Uttam Kumar Reddy said that a victory in the state assembly elections will be their gift to the UPA chairperson.

When results emerged 2 days after her birthday, the TRS won 88 seats in the 119 seat assembly while the Congress managed only 19. Such gifts are awful enough to dissuade anyone from celebrating their birthdays.

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