Home Blog Page 4837

Tehseen Poonawalla says ‘Love Jihad’ coverage by news channels will lead to genocide, writes to NBA president Rajat Sharma to ‘prevent a catastrophe’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Tehseen Poonawalla says ‘Love Jihad’ coverage by news channels will lead to genocide, writes to NBA president Rajat Sharma to ‘prevent a catastrophe’

Vocal Congress supporter Tehseen Poonawalla has written to News Broadcasters Association (NBA) President, Rajat Sharma expressing concern over the debates and discussions held by news channels on the issue of Love Jihad (also called Grooming Jihad). In his letter, Poonawalla requested Sharma to immediately issue guidelines to all the news channels regarding the coverage of the issue of love jihad.

Tehseen Poonawalla’s letter to Rajat Sharma (Source: Bar and Bench)

Poonawalla alleged that news channels were carrying out debates on love jihad blindly by inviting panellists who lie on national television about the law and the statistics “to vitiate the environment”. He cited the example of a debate where a panellist allegedly said that there were millions of love jihad cases but he failed to point out any cases. He said that a female panellist once told his that there were no laws to protect Hindu girls from murders and cheating which, he claimed, was not true as there is the Indian Penal Code is “religion neutral”. He added that such “fake arguments” are amplified on social media after receiving legitimacy on News channels.

Poonawalla, who is a relative of Robert Vadra, went on to predict a genocide and wrote, “…I fear we are heading for a genocide”. He urged Rajat Sharma to take up the matter with NBA, and prevent a catastrophe.

Later in the day, Tehseen Poonawalla tweeted to inform that Rajat Sharma called him to acknowledge the receipt of the letter from him. Sharma also told him that the letter has been forwarded to Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri, the Chairperson of News Broadcasting Standards Authority.

NBSA is an arm of the NBA, an organisation of select TV News Channels. Arnab Goswami, the editor in chief of Republic TV, runs a rival organisation named News Broadcasters Federations. Any decision to be taken by NBSA in the matter, hence, will not be bound on NBF members.

Denial of Love Jihad

Poonawalla is not the only one who is living in denial of the rising menace of Grooming Jihad. Recently, Communist Kavita Krishnan had refused to acknowledge the rampant cases of Love Jihad saying that she was yet to come across any case where Love Jihad was proved. The term Love Jihad is used to refer to cases where a Muslim man lures a Hindu woman, either by concealing and lying about his true religious identity or by pretending to be a non-Muslim, to develop a relationship with a non-Muslim girl. Such cases involve physical and emotional harassment of the victim often leading to murder when the victim confronts the culprit after the real identity is revealed. Cases of Love Jihad come up almost everyday. This has led to the government of the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Karnataka to contemplate law against Love Jihad.

Similar opinions were expressed by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Love Jihad who said that this was a term coined by the BJP to divide the country and disturb communal harmony. Denying the existence of Love Jihad, Gehot said that “marriage” was a matter of personal liberty and “Jihad had no place in love”.

Haryana BJP leader commits suicide, family says he was under pressure after he and daughter were booked for selling firecrackers on Diwali: Details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Haryana BJP leader commits suicide, family says he was under pressure after he and daughter were booked for selling firecrackers on Diwali: Details

On Thursday, a senior BJP leader named Harish Sharma committed suicide by jumping into the Delhi parallel canal on Gohana road near Binjhol village in Panipat, Haryana.

As per reports, Sharma was under mental stress after the Panipat police filed a case against him and his daughter Anjali Sharma for openly selling firecrackers and supposedly misbehaving with police on Diwali night. A case was registered against the duo and 8 others under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 186, 188, 201, 323, 332, 353, 379 A, 506, 511 and 34 and Explosive Act Section 9B.

The family of the former BJP councillor has alleged that the police was pressing for his arrest on Wednesday night. It forced Harish Sharma to spend the night at the residence of his friend Rajesh Sharma. He did not return home that night. The victim had made calls to his brother Satish and other family members, stating that he was going to commit suicide.

On Thursday, Harish Sharma reached the Delhi parallel canal at 9:30 am in the morning, removed his clothes and jewellery, and jumped to his death. His friend Rajesh also drowned while trying to save him. Reportedly, Satish had also tried to save Harish by jumping into the canal but failed. He was rescued by another eyewitness Sonu Saluja. Following the tragic incident, BJP MLA Pramod Vij, Congress leader Virender Shah, councillors Lokesh Nagroo, Dushyant Bhatt and ex-transport Minister Krishan Panwar reached the spot.

Body of BJP councillor yet to be recovered

BJP MLA Pramod Vij, former transport minister Krishan Panwar, councillors Lokesh Nagroo, Dushyant Bhatt, and senior Congress leader Virender Shah also reached the spot. According to DSP (Headquarters) Satish Vats, the search for the BJP leader’s body is underway. The water level of the canal was reduced and the divers have been searching for the body of Harish. Rajesh’s body was reportedly recovered from the minor canal in Samalkha area near Burshayam village. His body was then sent for post-mortem at the general hospital.

Police officials suspended after BJP leader’s death

On Friday, the Panipat Superintendent of Police (SP) Manisha Chaudhary suspended sub-inspector Baljeet Singh and Assistant sub-inspector Mahavir Singh of Tehsil Camp police post over negligence in the investigation of the case against Harish Sharma and his daughter Anjali Sharma.

At the same time, a three-member committee has been constituted under ADGP Sandeep Khirwar, on the directions of Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij. The team had reached Panipat to probe Harish Sharma’s death on Friday and also met his family.

Man shot dead at a birthday party at Samajwadi Party MLC’s house in Lucknow, 4 people including MLC’s brother arrested

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Man shot dead at a birthday party at Samajwadi Party MLC’s house in Lucknow, 4 people including MLC’s brother arrested

A man was reportedly shot dead at the flat of Samajwadi Party MLC from Shahjahanpur Amit Yadav last night. The incident took place during a birthday party that was going in the flat late in the night. According to reports, five friends had organised a birthday party at the flat belonging to Yadav in La Place Apartments at Hazratganj, Lucknow.

Gunshot hit the victim in the face

A man named Rakesh was shot dead during the party. Some reports claim that a person named Vinay who was present in the party was testing his gun when the shot was firs by mistake and hit Rakesh. Some other reports say that there was a tussle between few people present there including the victim and the victim was hit when he was trying to snatch the pistol. The victim was rushed to KGMU hospital where he died during treatment. His body has been sent for postmortem. All the persons were under heavy influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. Police found 20 cans of beer at the flat.

Vinay told two versions of the story

Police received the information about the incident around 2 AM in the night. The people present in the party have been identified as Vinay Yadav, Gyanendra Kumar, Aftab Alam and Pankaj Singh apart from the victim. According to police, all five people reached at the flat around 8 pm yesterday. Pankaj Singh, who is the brother of the MLC, has been living in the house for five years. Vinay had called at 100 and 112 numbers in the night informing that Rakesh was accidently hit by a bullet while he was showing the pistol to someone else. He again dialled 112 later and said that the shot was fired by him by mistake. He told that Rakesh was taken to the trauma centre.

Pistol belonged to Pankaj Singh

Police have arrested all four people. During initial interrogation, police were told that the pistol was brought by the victim himself who then handed it over to Vinay. The shot was fired by mistake when he was testing it. On further interrogation, the police found that the pistol belonged to Pankaj Singh and it was already kept at the flat. He also had two magazines. Under the influence of alcohol Pankaj Singh brought the pistol from other room and Rakesh started to examine it. Vinay asked Rakesh to give him the pistol and in the ensuing tussle a shot was fired by mistake that hit Rakesh.

Statement of the MLC

Samajwadi Party MLC Amit Yadav said that Pankaj Singh used to live in the flat and that the incident took place during a birthday party yesterday. He said that he did not have further information as he was at his house in Shahjahanpur. DCP Central Somen Verma informed that a magazine and two cartridges have been recovered and the investigation was underway. Victim’s family have been informed about the incident.

Ethiopia accuses WHO chief Tedros of trying to procure arms for Tigray rebels and providing diplomatic support to them: Read details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Ethiopia accuses WHO chief Tedros of trying to procure arms for Tigray rebels and providing diplomatic support to them: Read details

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been accused of supporting Tigray rebels TPLF in Ethiopia. Army chief of staff of Ethiopia, General Birhanu Jula, made the accusations in a televised statement on Thursday. He called Tedros a ‘criminal’ and called for him to be removed.

“He himself is a member of that group and he is a criminal,” the General said, accusing Tedros of trying to procure arms for the Tigray state’s dominant political party in addition to providing diplomatic support. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is currently engaged in a military conflict with federal forces.

“He has been doing everything to support them, he has campaigned to get the neighbouring countries to condemn the war. He has worked to facilitate weapons for them (the TPLF),” the General said. It is pertinent to mention that Tedros served as the Health Minister and the Foreign Minister between 2005-16 under a coalition headed by the TPLF.

Tedros, meanwhile, has denied the accusations. He said, “There have been reports suggesting I am taking sides in this situation. This is not true and I want to say that I am on only one side and that is the side of peace.”

The conflict in Ethiopia

Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, ordered a military offensive against the TPLF after an attack on one of its military bases early in November. Ahmed accused the rebels of being responsible for the attack which resulted in the capture of the military base by the rebels. A state of emergency has been declared in the country for six months.

Ahmed said that the attackers “tried to loot” military assets, asserting that “the last red line had been crossed”. “The national defence force that has been in the bunkers for the past 20 plus years defending its people and the country by paying heavy sacrifices with its blood and flesh, has been attacked, this evening in Mekelle and many other places, by traitors and the force they organised,” he said in a televised address.

During its initial years, the TPLF had a Marxist ideological bent but later, it moderated itself and claimed to be pro-democracy. In May 1990, a top US diplomat commented, “My own view is that the military success of the TPLF has gotten far ahead of its political agenda. These guys woke up one day and said, ‘My gosh, we may win!’ They have said they are strict Marxists, but I think they realize that they need to present themselves and their cause in a better way — not only within Ethiopia, but to the West. They are trying to broaden their base.”

Since 1991, after overthrowing what it labelled as a dictatorship, the TPLF and others formed a coalition government that ruled Ethiopia until 2018. In 2018, however, another coalition, the Prosperity Party, assumed power after the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front Chairman unified the constituent parties into a new coalition.

The TPLF did not accept the merger and called it illegal. As things currently stand, the Ethiopian government has claimed that it has taken control of two key towns from in Northern Tigray from the rebels.

Tedros, himself, has quite a shady past. He was accused of covering up epidemics in his home country Ethiopia even while he was the health minister in the government days before he became the director of the WHO. Tedros was Ethiopia’s health minister between 2005-12 and outbreaks had occurred in 2006, 2009 and 2011.

He had said these were only “acute watery diarrhoea” in areas where testing is “difficult”. However, in 2007, the UN and other aid agencies insisted that laboratory tests showed that the deaths were due to cholera. Ethiopia was also accused of covering up a cholera epidemic in 2017. New York Times reported that the Ethiopian government was saying the same thing in 2017 what Tedros had said on previous occasions.

Conduct of Tedros during the Coronavirus pandemic

The WHO found itself at a tough spot in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. It has been accused of ‘siding with’ the Chinese government by none other than the president of the United States himself. WHO and its director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus have come under severe criticism for their conduct since the pandemic broke out in China. The organization took long enough in declaring it a pandemic, leading to countries not being vigilant enough on time.

In January, WHO had endorsed the conclusion of Chinese authorities that the Novel Coronavirus does not spread from person to person, and stated that it does not recommend any specific health measures for travellers to and from Wuhan. WHO also ignored Taiwan which had informed them that it has evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus.

Taiwan wrote to WHO on the 31st of December, but WHO kept denying human-to-human transmission till mid-January. Experts are of the view that this laxity and callousness is responsible for the catastrophe that has struck the world and that the organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, like China’s Xi Jinping, should be held accountable for recklessly managing this deadly pandemic.

The manufacturer of the radio carried by JeM terrorists killed in Nagrota encounter is operated from Pakistani military bases- Read Details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
The manufacturer of the radio carried by JeM terrorists killed in Nagrota encounter is operated from Pakistani military bases- Read Details

The Nagrota encounter in Jammu on Thursday where four Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists were killed has turned out to be a major breakthrough in terms of exposing Pakistan’s link with terror activities in India. Some material recovered from slain terrorists directly proves that they came from Pakistan. A digital mobile radio made by a Pakistani company, medicines other products with Pakistani markings were found with the terrorists, proving beyond doubt that they belong to Pakistan.

But now with additional analysis of the radio set carried by the terrorists, it also shows how the terrorists have the active support of the Pakistani military. The Digital Mobile Radio carried by the terrorists, a two-way radio communication device used mainly by the military, carries the model name MPD 2505, and the brand name Micro. This device is manufactured by Micro Electronics International Pvt Ltd, a Pakistan based company.

The website of the company informs that MPD 2505 is a Walkie Talkie type Micro Secure DMR VHF Handheld Radio. The website also features the product brochure of the DMR made by the company, which mentions its technical and other specifications. The specifications made it clear that it is a military-grade product.

In fact, the about us page on the website of MEI makes it clear, as it mentions that the company is serving the military/government sector by providing radio systems. The company’s major clients include virtually every arm of police and defence establishment in Pakistan. It lists Strategic Plans Division, Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Rangers, Frontier Corps, Frontier Constabulary KPK, Police, Airports Security Force, Security agencies etc as its major clients, apart from other government and private organisations.

But the ties of the company with Pakistani military establishment goes beyond just a manufacturer-consumer relationship. In 1981, the company’s radio making facility was acquired and leased by the Ministry of Defence in the Pakistan government, to support the production of military radios. Till 1991, the company ran as a public-private partnership, before it was sold to private owners.

Major Manik M. Jolly, a gallantry award-winning Indian army veteran, also cybersecurity and renewable energy expert, pointed out several aspects linking the company with the Pakistani military, and its questionable ownership. He noted that the company’s Lahore office is located inside the Lahore Cantonment, a military-controlled municipal area, which serves as the headquarters of 4 Corps of Pakistani Army. It shows that the company has deep ties with the military, and can maintain a constant touch with the Army and the ISI.

Major Jolly also tweeted that the distance from Lahore to launching point near Nagrota is not very much, which could mean that it is possible that the terrorists were being handled from the military base.

Apart from the Lahore office, the company’s Rawalpindi office is located in Pakistan Military Accounts Officer Colony inside Rawalpindi Cantonment, and its Karachi office is located in the Services Club Building. Most importantly, the company also has a factory inside the Lahore Cantt in Lahore.

This shows that even though Pakistan govt no longer owns the company, it is still mostly operated from military bases.

The Indian Army veteran also pointed out that the new owner of the company is a person that seems to be fake. The owner is Muhammad Nauman, and his LinkedIn Profile says that he owns the company since 1997, 6 years after it was ‘sold’ by Defence Ministry. There is no other experience, education or any other detail of Nauman on LinkedIn, and Major Manik M. Jolly noted that he looks to young to be owner of the company for more than 23 years. He concluded that it is definitely a fake profile.

A Google search also reveals no information of the owner of such a high-profile organisation, indicating that Major Jolly’s conclusion could be correct.

The LinkedIn profile of the company says it has 11-50 employees. For a company involved in multiple lines of hi-tech products, with offices located in multiple cities in Pakistan, this is a surprisingly low number. This indicates that most of the details of the company are secret, and it may have personnel from the military working with it, which are officially not listed as employees of the company.

Apart from the Digital Mobile Radio, a large number of arms and ammunition were recovered from the terrorists killed in the Nagrota encounter. This included 11 AK-47 rifles, pistols, grenades, grenade launchers, RDX and other items. For four terrorists, these was a large inventory, which means that other terrorists were going to accompany them at a later state. The terrorists were also carrying very little food with them, which points towards the possibility that they were on a suicide mission.

Therefore, it was a major success of Indian Security Forces, who prevented a major terror attack by Pakistan based terror organisation JeM.

Bharti Singh resisted initially but offered full cooperation once she realised NCB officials were treating her far better than Kapil Sharma ever did: OpIndia brings details

K Bhattacharjee
-
0
Bharti Singh resisted initially but offered full cooperation once she realised NCB officials were treating her far better than Kapil Sharma ever did: OpIndia brings details

The residence of comedian Bharti Singh has been raided by the Narcotics Control Bureau in the most recent instance of its continued crackdown on the Bollywood Drug Racket in the aftermath of the death of Sushant Singh Rajput. Sources with knowledge of the situation informed us that although Bharti Singh resisted quite a bit initially, she soon offered her full cooperation once she realised that the NCB was treating her far better than her colleague Kapil Sharma ever did.

In her haze, Bharti Singh broke out into an impromptu jig, elated that she could finally count herself as a Bollywood celebrity now that she has been raided by the NCB. She also insisted that the ‘acid’ the NCB was trying to seize from her was actually acid that she had purchased for cleaning purposes at her residence. But Dr. Salunkhe from the CID, who was present at the scene, quickly tested the contents and confirmed that it was ‘acid’ acid and not acid ‘acid’.

Meanwhile, we approached Kapil Sharma for a comment. He said, in no uncertain terms, that he always ‘suspected she was on some pretty good sh*t’ because ‘no one in their right mind’ could possibly have dealt with the ‘sh*t’ he threw at everyone only for a few hundred thousand more bucks. He advised us to tip off NCB about Archana Puransingh as well because of her tendency to laugh even at terribly unfunny jokes.

Recognising he was in a good mood and was unlikely to get abusive and attack us with the broom lying in the corner, we decided to carry on the conversation. On questioning why Navjot Singh Sidhu should be let off by the same metric, he told us that wasn’t the affect of drugs. Sidhu got hit on the head one too many times by those nasty bouncers, Kapil Sharma said justifying his reasoning.

According to him, Sidhu’s decision to quit the BJP in favour of Congress and his antic since then are a consequence of those ‘nasty bouncers’ as well. “It’s like someone quitting IPL to play for the Pakistan Super League, going from Mumbai Indians to Lahore Qalandars… Man, the bouncers did him good,” Kapil Sharma said on Sidhu’s political career.

The NCB is surprised as well at the widespread prevalence of drug use in the entertainment industry as well. Reliable Sources (who are as reliable as CNN Doofus Brian Stelter’s) told us that at first, the NCB officials were hesitant to raid Bharti Singh as her ‘good health’ did not indicate extensive drug use. But in the end, seniors made the call that if Bharti Singh too was in the grips of it, then pretty much everyone was in the loop.

The NCB suspects that the widespread use of drugs also explains how movies such as Student Of The Year 2 was ever made. It is also suspected that drugs could potentially explain the questionable casting choices that have been made in recent times. Someone must have been under the influence of some potent drug to enlist Bobby Deol, a luminary of the Bollywood Hall of Fame for flopstars, for Housefull 4, we are told.

However, we can confidently say that Ram Gopal Verma is not under the radar. We were astonished by the decision given that the Twitter feed of RGV and his movies such as ‘Aag’ (the Sholay remake) could not possibly have been made by someone in complete control of their mental faculties. But we were reliably informed that RGV has always been this way, having been dropped too many times on his head as a kid.

In other news, we have learnt that Deepika Padukone is furious with her hubby Ranveer Singh. She believes that she found herself on the NCB radar because Ranveer’s fashion statements were a dead giveaway. Dino Morea, meanwhile, is extremely grateful to the NCB because finally, his name was taken in the same breath as Shahrukh Khan. However, his biggest crime remains participating in the abomination titled ‘Pyaar Impossible’ featuring Uday Chopra in the lead.

The NCB suspects that the Bollywood Drug Racket has been operating in the film industry for years and years now. Officials admitted that they should have spotted the warning signs when movies such as ‘Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani’ and ‘Rudraksh’ started hitting the theatres. Now, the problem has gotten much worse.

We were also told Himesh Reshammiya’s amazing transformation from an average looking Gujarati man to an Indian version of ‘The Undertaker’ (if he were a singer instead of a WWE superstar) and finally to a pirated Justin Bieber has nothing to do with LSD. NCB officials told us that as further evidence of Reshammiya’s clean record, he has been calling everyone in the movie industry to tell them, ‘Mujhe tere ghar me roti chahiye, LSD nahi!’

Note: The above article is a work of satire and should be taken as humour

Bollywood Drug Racket: Comedian Bharti Singh and her husband detained by NCB for questioning

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Bollywood Drug Racket: Comedian Bharti Singh and her husband detained by NCB for questioning

The residence of comedian Bharti Singh was raided by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday in connection with its investigation into the drug racket in the entertainment industry.

Since then, according to reports, Bharti Singh and her husband, Haarsh Limbachiyaa, have been detained by NCB for questioning.

NCB Bollywood Drug Racket

Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had recently summoned film producer Firoz Nadiadwala in connection to the probe in the high-profile drug scandal surrounding the Hindi film industry. Consequently, his residence in the upscale western suburbs of Mumbai was searched by the narcotics team in connection to the case.

Earlier, it was revealed that NCB has initiated a probe into Shah Rukh Khan, Arjun Rampal and Dino Morea for alleged drug abuse. Till then, the names of only actresses like Deepika Padukone and Sara Ali Khan had come up in the drug abuse probe.

Previously, the NCB officials had impounded mobile phones of Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Rakul Preet Singh and Deepika’s manager Karishma Prakash. During the interrogation, the NCB officials had confronted Deepika Padukone with the digital evidence gathered from Jaya Saha’s phone that showed the actor’s chats about procuring ‘maal’ for her. However, as per a report, Deepika had claimed that by ‘Maal’ she meant cigarettes and ‘Hash’ referred to the different brands of cigarettes.

SP friendly ‘journalist’ blames citizens for rising in COVID cases in Delhi, after hailing Arvind Kejriwal for controlling the pandemic

OpIndia Staff
-
0
SP friendly ‘journalist’ blames citizens for rising in COVID cases in Delhi, after hailing Arvind Kejriwal for controlling the pandemic

The utter failure of Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government to tackle the coronavirus pandemic has now resulted in the rising number of fresh cases in the national capital. It has become a daunting challenge for the authorities to manage the health crisis and are now hoping that the Modi government at the centre would come to their rescue just as they did by intervening in June by setting up emergency health care facilities in the national capital.

At a time when Delhi government is under severe criticism for its mismanagement of the pandemic, certain self-proclaimed ‘journalists’ are now trying hard to cover up for the Delhi government’s failures by blaming the citizens of the national capital for the increasing number of cases in the city.

Rohini Singh, who calls herself a ‘journalist’, on Friday, attempted to shield the Arvind Kejriwal-led government from any criticism for mishandling the coronavirus crisis and instead pushed the blame on the citizens of Delhi for the rising number of fresh cases in the national capital.

Taking to Twitter, Rohini Singh, known for sharing a good working relationship with Samajwadi Party leaders, claimed that till citizens did not co-operate with the government, they would lose the battle against the pandemic. It must be recalled that just after the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, Rohini Singh had taken a long sabbatical from Twitter since she had actively batted for Akhilesh Yadav winning the state.

“The price we pay for not wearing one is not worth it,” said Rohini Singh on Twitter.

Rohini Singh’s lecture on the importance of masks on Twitter came after Delhi Chief Minister had tweeted about his meeting with traders in the national capital to assure them of not imposing another lockdown in the capital and also helping the people to understand how it was necessary to wear masks to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Tweet by Rohini Singh on 20th November 2020

It is important to note that the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s theatrics on the streets of Delhi, to promote the use of masks came only after Delhi High Court slammed AAP government for its inability to tackle the pandemic. The Delhi High Court had severely criticised the Kejriwal-led government for the rising number of cases in Delhi and had said that the fines imposed by the Delhi government are not working either as they seem to have failed to set a deterrent.

Following the Delhi High Court observation, the Delhi government had decided to impose a fine of Rs 2,000 for not wearing masks and flouting social distancing norms in the national capital.

Rohini Singh, who claims to be a ‘journalist’, rather than questioning the failure of the Delhi government to tackle the pandemic in the first place, blamed the citizens of the city for the rising number of cases. Instead of holding Arvind Kejriwal accountable for his ineffective policies, the likes of Singh, in a class act of victim-shaming, held the citizens responsible for the mess.

While the citizens have an important role to play in controlling the pandemic, and that fact cannot be denied, it is the sheer hypocrisy of Rohini Singh and her u-turns to shield Arvind Kejriwal from blame that is rather interesting, and negates her phony concern for the raging pandemic and the control of it thereof.

Rohini Singh credited Arvind Kejriwal for ‘successful’ fight against pandemic

While today, Rohini Singh is blaming the citizens of Delhi, ironically, ‘journalist’ Rohini Singh, a just a few months back, was hailing Arvind Kejriwal for showing exemplary leadership in his fight against the pandemic in Delhi. Praising the so-called effective strategy of Arvind Kejriwal in tackling the pandemic, Singh in June had said hospitals were not overcrowded as corona cases were coming down in Delhi.

Claiming that the testing is being easily available in Delhi, Singh said that Arvind Kejriwal had achieved to win over the Chinese pandemic without even imposing a ‘nonsense of partial lockdowns’ like many other states. Well done Arvind Kejriwal, she said.

Tweet by Rohini Singh in July 2020

Interestingly, Rohini Singh, who is eager to blame common citizens for rising cases in Delhi, did not even care to praise them in July when she had made such absurd observation. For Singh, the credit for the so-called effective handling of coronavirus crisis in Delhi in June, which itself is a factually incorrect claim, was because of Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership and not because of the citizens.

However, with second wave of cases hitting the national capital, Rohini Singh is now conveniently blaming citizens for the rising number of cases.

As we speak, the coronavirus cases continue to rise in Delhi. On Friday, Delhi recorded 6,608 fresh COVID-19 cases taking the total tally in the national capital to over 5 lakh. Delhi saw 118 new fatalities, pushing the death toll to 8,159.

If Arvind Kejriwal, as falsely claimed by Rohini Singh had indeed taken any effective steps months in early months of April and June, perhaps Delhi would have been in a recovery phase by now.

Rather than speaking truth to power, the ‘journalist’ Rohini Singh shows all her bravado against common citizens of Delhi, knowing fully well that these powerless citizens will not seek accountability from her.

Facebook Oversight Board, which controls content, has a Muslim Brotherhood figure: Details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Facebook Oversight Board, which controls content, has a Muslim Brotherhood figure: Details

The Facebook Oversight Board has been a cause of much consternation ever since it was proposed. Ultimately, when the board to regulate content on the social media platform was set up, it created quite the stir after it was revealed that 18 of the 20 members were linked to the American Billionaire and prominent Democrat donor, George Soros.

Since then, another revelation has come to light. One of the members of the Facebook Oversight Board is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a terrorist outfit banned in multiple Arab and Western countries, in addition to being a Nobel Peace Laureate. The Nobel Peace Prize does not carry much meaning at this point given the fact that Barack Obama, another winner, went on to bomb Libya into slavery apart from plunging the entire Middle-East into further chaos.

But membership of the Muslim Brotherhood does carry a lot of meaning. The Middle-East Online (MEO) reported in June that Yemeni journalist and activist Tawakkol Karman, co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011, is a member of the terrorist outfit who was awarded a place in the Facebook Oversight Board in order to regulate the platform’s content.

According to the report, Tawakkol Karman was formerly a member of the Islamist Yemeni Islah Party (YIP) that was backed by the Muslim Brotherhood. She called the MB “one of the victims of official tyranny and terrorism in the region.” The MB acknowledged their ties with her and proudly congratulated her after she won the Nobel Peace Prize.

A MEMRI report quoted one of her interviews on BBC Arabic on September 15, 2013 as saying, “The most important achievement of the January [2011] Revolution [in Egypt] was the abolishment of the emergency law. Unfortunately, the July 3 [2013] coup reinstated that law. The Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters, who oppose the military rule, are engaged in a legendary struggle, which they are waging with their blood, their resolute steadfastness, and their belief that they will restore the revolution to its true path.”

The Arabs were incensed by her nomination to the Facebook Oversight Board. “Tawakkol Karman does not deserve to be on an international council to supervise Facebook content. Hate speech and Karman are just like branches on a tree,” prominent political science professor Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla said. “This news is a major catastrophe, because her appointment to this position enables her to pass judgment on Facebook policies regarding the region,” commented Emirati writer Ola Al Shaikh.

Egyptian activists launched a campaign against her as well. Dr. Hani Raji said, “This means granting the supervision of Facebook in Egypt directly to the Muslim Brotherhood. She is an explicit enemy of political regimes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, either she will be removed from the committee or Facebook will be closed!”

“Karman was considered a symbol of the Yemeni revolution against the rule of Saleh, but over time she has become associated with intolerance, discrimination and lack of neutrality,” Hani Nasira, a terrorism and extremism expert, told Arab News. It was also reported that following her Nobel Peace Prize win, she was invited to Doha and personally congratulated by Muslim Brotherhood leader Yusuf-al-Qaradawi. The preacher is known to call for suicide bombs and praise Adolf Hitler for “punishing” the Jews.

“Karman’s loyalty to, and association with, governments that flout all norms of democracy, such as Qatar and Turkey, deprives her of any claim to neutrality and objectivity,” she stated further. “Her political rhetoric encourages extremism, divisiveness and shunning of those who disagree with her current loyalties.”

The conduct of social media platforms has come under intense scrutiny, especially in light of the presidential elections in the United States where tech giant have regularly censored the sitting US president, based on grounds widely perceived to be frivolous. Under such circumstances, the presence of an Islamist on the Facebook Oversight Board is likely to attract further scrutiny for the social media platform.

Furthermore, questions regarding whether platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are legitimately a threat to Democracy will have to be answered as well. Without a shadow of a doubt, such tech giants have disproportionate influence over the control of information and when the self-appointed oversight boards have Islamic extremists on them, such questions cannot be disregarded completely. Democracy relies heavily on the communication of information and it is well past time that India has this discussion as well.

‘One day Karachi will be a part of India’: Devendra Fadnavis chimes in after Shiv Sena bullies Karachi Sweets owner

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘One day Karachi will be a part of India’: Devendra Fadnavis chimes in after Shiv Sena bullies Karachi Sweets owner

Responding on the Karachi Sweets controversy, former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis pitched for ‘Akhand Bharat’ and said that one day Karachi will be a part of India. Fadnavis made the statement to PTI when asked about his reaction on the Karachi Sweets controversy where a Shiv Sena worker had threatened the owner of ‘Karachi Sweets’ shop to remove Karachi from his shop’s name as it was a Pakistani city. 

“We believe in Akhand Bharat and we believe one day Karachi will be part of India,” Fadnavis said. 

Shiv Sena leader issues threat to Karachi Sweets owner to change its name ban

An owner of a sweets shop named Karachi Sweets in Mumbai had to hide his shop’s name with newspapers after a Shiv Sena leader named Nitin Nandgaokar threatened him to change it and use some other name in Marathi.

In a viral video of the incident, Nandgaokar can be seen asking the owner of the Karachi Sweets shop located in Bandra West to change the name of his shop to something in Marathi. He said that he hated the name of the shop and that he would give him time to change the name. As per the conversation in the video, the forefathers of the shop’s owner used to live in Karachi before partition which is currently located in Pakistan. They moved to India after partition and named their shop as Karachi Sweets in memory of their former homeland.

Fadnavis says attacking and abusing Hindus has become a mark of being secular

The BJP leader also commented on the raging controversy of ‘Love Jihad’. When asked about Congress leader and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot accusing the BJP of ‘manufacturing’ the term Love Jihad and disrupting communal harmony, Fadnavis said that some pseudo secular people believe that attacking and abusing Hindus is secular. 

He also added that ‘Love Jihad’ is happening across the country and it is recognised in Kerala as well where BJP was not in power.

1...4,8364,8374,838...7,648Page 4,837 of 7,648