Actor Vivek Oberoi, who had last year faced the wrath of opposition leaders and a section of media for making a biopic inspired by the life and the struggle of PM Modi, has once again come under the fire from opposition parties after the Central Crime Branch of the Bengaluru Police searched his Mumbai home looking for his brother-in-law Aditya Alva in connection with the drugs scandal involving the Kannada film industry.
Using the incident to attack actor Vivek Oberoi, a vocal supporter of the BJP, Shiv Sena senior leader and Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said that the actor must be investigated for his possible links to the drug nexus in Bollywood. He said that NCB should take over the case from the Bengaluru police and probe Vivek Oberoi in the Bollywood drug abuse case, which the department has been investigating following actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. The Shiv Sena leader furthered that if NCB fails to probe Vivek Oberoi, then the Mumbai police will do the needful.
Along with the actor, the Maharashtra HM also named filmmaker Sandeep Ssingh who had produced PM Modi biopic that featured Vivek Oberoi. He said that the filmmaker too should be probed for his alleged role in the Bollywood drug nexus.
Bengaluru Police have come here to probe drug connection of Vivek Oberoi & filmmaker Sandip Ssingh. But NCB is not taking up the investigation. We’ll request NCB to investigate the drug connection & if they don’t, Mumbai Police will do it: Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh pic.twitter.com/fXqGdub0iT
Anil Deshmukh’s statement came after some Congress leaders met him with the demand following a raid at the actor’s residence by the Bengaluru Police on Thursday.
The Bengaluru police were looking for Vivek Oberoi’s wife Priyanka Alva’s brother Aditya who has been evading arrest after being named as in the drugs probe by the Central Crime Branch of the Bengaluru Police.
Congress ups its ante against Vivek Oberoi, Sandeep Ssingh
Congress leader Sachin Sawant had also joined the Shiv Sena minister to cast aspersions at Vivek Oberoi and producer Sandeep Ssingh. In a series of tweets, Maharashtra Congress General Secretary Sachin Sawant said that he had earlier asked the authorities to investigate the Bharatiya Janata Party’s connection in the case and had also named Alva. “But NCB didn’t pay heed,” Sawant tweeted. He also alleged that the BJP government in Gujarat favoured a company run by Oberoi and Ssingh for signing a memorandum of understanding.
I had demanded with NCB to investigate the BJP Drug connection in bollywood. In my questions to NCB I had specifically mentioned name of Aditya Alva found in Sandalwood drug racket who is brother in law of Vivek Oberoi who is partner of Sandeep Ssingh. But NCB didn’t pay heed https://t.co/lwHGTtvujc
Congress tries to link producer Sandeep Ssingh with BJP
It is pertinent to note here that earlier too, Congress leader Sachin Sawant had maliciously attempted to link the BJP with the alleged suicide case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Sharing a picture of Sandeep Ssingh, one of the first ones to reach Sushant’s residence after hearing the news of his death, with former Maharashtra chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, the Congress leader had then demanded that Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and Home Minister Anil Deshmukh look into BJP’s hand in Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.
However, much to the disappointment of the Congress leader, it was soon revealed that Sandeep Ssingh has not just been photographed with Devendra Fadnavis alone. Several prominent personalities, from different political parties, have been clicked with the producer. Ssingh was seen with Smita Thackeray, the former wife of Jaidev Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray’s elder brother. Smita was supposed to produce a movie on Balasaheb Thackeray along with Sandeep Ssingh.
Similarly, Ssingh has also been seen with the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who periodically allies with the Congress party to take on the might of the BJP.
PIBFactCheck, the fact-checking arm of Press Information Bureau of govt of India has said that a Business Standard report on reskilling retrenched workers is fake. The official Twitter handle of PIBFactCheck said that the article is factually incorrect, and it wrongly makes assumptions on rules which are yet to be framed.
Claim: An article by Business Standard claims that retrenched workers taking cash benefits from new reskilling fund may have to show proof of reskilling to govt#PIBFactCheck: The article is factually incorrect. It wrongly makes assumptions regarding the rules yet to be framed. pic.twitter.com/nvfiivgnDC
On 12th October, Business Standard had published a report titled “Show proof of reskilling or refund: Retrenched workers face Hobson’s choice,” where it had claimed that retrenched workers who take cash benefits from the new reskilling fund mooted in the labour codes may have to show proof of reskilling to the government.
The report had said that if such workers are unable to reskill within a fixed period of time, they will have to return the money given to them by the govt. The report had said that this is according to a proposal being contemplated by the central government, and the had cited a ‘senior government official’ for the quote. The report also claimed that such workers will also be asked to pay interest on the money.
However, the union govt has now clarified that this was a fake news by Business Standard, and at present there is no proposal to asked the retrenched workers to pay back the reskilling allowance if they don’t undergo the training. The rules for the reskilling fund are being framed, and Business Standard carried a speculative report based on anonymous sources.
In the Industrial Relations Code 2020, which was passed by the Parliament in the monsoon session last month, there is a provision for creating a worker reskilling fund. According to Section 83 of the code which was notified on September 29, the govt will set up a fund called the worker re-skilling fund. When a worker is retrenched, the employer has to contribute an amount equal to the fifteen days of wage last drawn by the worker to this fund. This amount will be credited to the account of the retrenched worker within 45 days of the retrenchment.
The workers will utilise this allowance to upgrade their skills after their retrenchment, and they will receive it every time they are retrenched.
The Gazette notification notifying the Industrial Relations Code 2020 does not mention anything about workers having to return this amount after their retrenchment, nor any official communication on the matter. This shows that Business Standard ran a story based on an anonymous source which is not correct.
Congress party has stirred up a massive political row by fielding former Aligarh Muslim University Students Union (AMUSU) President Dr. Maskoor Ahmad Usmani from Jale constituency in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. Usmani, who has a sedition case registered against him, had protested in support of hanging of the portrait of Pakistan’s founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah in the AMU campus.
Congress denied ticket to former Railway Minister Lalit Narayan Mishra’s grandson Rishi Mishra who joined Congress after leaving Janata Dal (United) to field Usmani from the Jale constituency. Miffed by the denial of ticket, Mishra called Usmani a follower of Jinnah who put Jinnah’s portrait in his office. He said that he would have been okay if someone else would have received the ticket instead of Usmani.
It’s a cruel joke. I left JD(U) to contest from Jale. I would’ve been okay if someone else got ticket but they gave it to a Jinnah follower who has sedition case against him. He (Congress candidate Maskoor Usmani) puts Jinnah’s photo in his office: Rishi Mishra, Congress #Biharhttps://t.co/Tcc3kqW9zNpic.twitter.com/9juWLcTiEi
Launching a scathing attack on Bihar Congress President Madan Mohan Jha, Mishra said that Jha and Congress President Sonia Gandhi who decided the ticket should explain why they gave the ticket to Usmani. He added that Congress was Gandhi’s ideology party and it should not be made Jinnah’s ideology party. He said that the Jinnah’s photo could not be kept in Gandhi’s country.
BJP leader and Member of Parliament Giriraj Singh also took a dig at the Congress party for fielding Usmani in Bihar Assembly elections. He asked the party and the Mahagathbadhan to answer whether their candidate from Jale constituency supported Jinnah.
Congress & Mahagathbandhan leaders have to answer the country if the Jale candidate supports Jinnah. Congress & Mahagathabndhan have to tell if they also support Jinnah? Will Sharjeel Imam be their star campaigner?: Giriraj Singh, BJP on Congress candidate Maskoor Usmani#Biharpic.twitter.com/NrzHNKv8hY
Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Singh asked the Congress party and the Mahagathbandhan to clarify whether they also supported Jinnah. He questioned whether the party will make Delhi riots accused Sharjeel Imam their star campaigner.
Usmani claims ‘moral victory’ before elections
Responding to the criticism against his candidature from Jale constituency, Usmani said that it his candidature has given a moral defeat to the people opposing him.
#Breaking#Exclusive | Maskoor Usmani speaks up on his candidature from Jale constituency in Bihar.
‘There should be a positive competition’, he says.
Usmani said that Tejashwi Yadav was the Chief Ministerial candidate of the Mahagathbandhan and that he supported his leadership. He thanked Sonia Gandhi for putting faith in him.
Who is Maskoor Usmani
Maskoor Ahmad Usmani entered student politics in 2016 and became the president of the AMUSU in 2017. He had protested in support of Jinnah’s portrait in the AMU and even written to the President of India seeking his intervention in the year 2018. Usmani had also fervently opposed the CAA and the NRC.
Responding to criticism from BJP leaders on quitting the NDA over the projection of Nitish Kumar as the Bihar CM face, Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan today described himself as the ‘Hanuman’ of PM Modi, saying that he doesn’t need PM Modi’s photos for his election campaign and that he lived in his heart.
In a dramatic declaration, Chirag Paswan said, “I don’t need photos of PM Modi. He is in my heart. Some day I will cut open my heart to show that PM Modi resides in it.”
#WATCH I don’t need to use PM Modi’s photos for campaigning. He lives in my heart, I am his Hanuman. If needed, I’ll tear open my chest and show it: LJP chief Chirag Paswan#BiharElectionspic.twitter.com/KhVPG4w2J2
Chirag Paswan scoffed at Nitish Kumar, saying it is the JDU leader who needs PM Modi’s photos more since he is “insecure”.
Paswan’s impassioned assertion came after the 37-year-old LJP leader drew the ire of BJP leaders for fielding candidates against Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United (JDU) and declaring support to the BJP.
Earlier today, Paswan declared that Nitish Kumar will not return to power in the state and that his party will form a government in the state in an alliance with the BJP. He added that the people of the state were angry with Kumar’s governance and want a change.
The Jamui MP, in mourning after his father and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s demise last week, claimed that Nitish Kumar had slighted his father and not expressed his condolences to him even once.
BJP warns LJP against using PM Modi’s photos for election campaigns
Chirag’s response comes in the wake of BJP leader Prakash Javadekar’s allegations that the LJP leader is trying to mislead the people of Bihar by taking up names of PM Modi and called his party as “vote-cutter” party.
Paswan has been extolling top BJP leaders such as PM Modi and Amit Shah while criticising the key NDA partner JDU and its chief Nitish Kumar, giving rise to the speculations that of a tacit understanding with the saffron party.
The BJP has issued a stern warning to the LJP against using PM Modi’s photo during the election campaign to garner votes. The party has also pledged to take up the matter with the Election Commission if non-NDA party is found using PM Modi’s photo for their election campaigning.
A day after a woman in southeast Delhi had claimed that she was assaulted and abused by her landlady for being a ‘Kashmiri’, more details are emerging in the case exposing her dubious claims.
On Friday, various media outlets had reported a story of an attack against a Kashmiri woman named Noor Bhat. The media reports suggested that the Kashmiri woman was assaulted and abused by her landlady and a man in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar.
Noor Bhat, who belongs to Srinagar in Kashmir, had taken to Twitter to claim that her landlady entered the house with a man whom “she had never seen before”. She alleged that the landlady called her a ‘terrorist’ because they were from Kashmir. Further, Noor Bhat claimed that the incident took place in front of cops and accused the landlady of stealing her belongings from the house.
“So my landlady enters my house along with a man, that I have never seen in my whole life and starts to call me and my friends ‘TERRORISTS’ just because we are from KASHMIR that too, in front of a police official. They trespassed, broke in and our money, furniture (sic)” the Kashmir woman, Noor, said on Twitter.
Noor Bhat’s tweets making allegations against her landlady.
“The man literally pushed me and the landlady as well tried to attack me, all in front of Delhi Police,” Noor Bhat claimed.
Reportedly, the house was rented to two sisters and one of the sisters, who is claiming to be a victim in the case, stated that her house lock was broken and valuables were stolen from the place.
As Noor Bhat took to Twitter to put her story, the ‘liberal-secular’ media latched onto the story of the ‘aggrieved’ Kashmiri woman and aggressively reported on the same. As the story went viral, many social media users took to Twitter to express their solidarity with the Kashmiri woman and condemned the landlady for attacking and abusing the Kashmiri woman by referring to her as a ‘terrorist’.
With the alleged victim being a ‘Kashmiri Muslim’, the left-liberals and the Islamists too joined to severely condemn the landlady and also attempted to weave a narrative around the issue.
Image Source: Aisha Khan
Image Source: Anoo Bhuyan
Not just left-liberals and Islamists, even the Delhi Commission for Women, managed by Aam Aadmi Party leader Swati Maliwal jumped into the scene to take cognizance of the matter. “This is shocking & shameful. DCW team is in touch. We’ll ensure action,” she said.
DCW Chief Swati Maliwal also took a suo-motu cognizance of the matter and issued a notice to Delhi Police to look into the alleged attacks against the Kashmiri woman in Delhi.
However, days after Noor Bhat made strong allegations against her landlady by claiming that she was attacked and assaulted by her landlady, more details and evidence are emerging which completely contradicts the allegations made by Noor Bhat.
OpIndia speaks to landlady of the house
Speaking to OpIndia over the phone, Taruna Makhija, against whom the allegations of attack and assault have been made by the Kashmiri woman said that the allegations made by Noor Bhat were a blatant lie. In fact, according to Makhija, Noor Bhat is not even the real name of the Kashmiri woman.
The passport details accessed by OpIndia revealed that the name of the woman is Fiza Manzoor Bhat, who also goes by the name Noor Bhat.
According to Makhija, a residential space managed by their firm ‘Femstay’ was rented to Kashmiri youths named Shayaan Mohammad Nazir, Fiza Manzoor Bhat aka Noor Bhat. According to the agreement accessed by OpIndia, Bhat along with her sister Yuhanna Manzoor and Shayaan had occupied the residence from June 2, 2020, for a monthly rent of Rs. 55,000.
Makhija alleged that two sisters were staying in their residence from the past four months and were extremely irregular in paying the rent. The landlady alleged that the Kashmiri women behaved in a most atrocious manner and also created repeated nuisance in the housing complex.
She also alleged that once the women didn’t pay salary to their maid falsely accusing her of theft.
Taruna Makhija also informed that her tenants have not paid their electricity bill for months, and around Rs 70000-75000 is due to be paid. Due non-payment of the bill, the power connection to their house was disconnected, after which they illegally established a connection and were stealing electricity, she said.
Repeated complaints by RWA against Kashmiri residents
Taruna Makhija also revealed that she has been receiving several complaints against these two Kashmiri women ever since they occupied the apartment. She also added that the two Kashmiri women regularly created disturbances in the housing society by playing loud music at the night.
“We have received several complaints from RWA alleging that several friends of these Kashmiri women visited them and played loud music at their residence. Some of her friends used to brandish guns and fired bullets in the air,” said the landlady.
Not just that, we have accessed complaints by other residents of the housing society, alleging how these two youths had damaged the bicycle of one of their maids.
Here are the screenshots of a complaint raised by one of the other residents against the two Kashmiri women. According to the complaint made by the residents to Taruna, the Kashmiri girls, who are the residents of the fourth floor had broken their property and also a bicycle belonging to their maid.
Screenshots of complaints made against Yuhanna alias Noor Bhat by fellow residents.
Kashmiri women did not pay rent regularly
According to Taruna Makhija, the two Kashmiri women were extremely irregular in paying their rent. When asked to pay rent in August, one of the two sisters – Yuhanna had threatened to file a harassment case against the landlord.
In one of the conversations, Yuhanna, the sister of Noor Bhat had not only abused the landlady for asking the rent but had also threatened to sue her for allegedly ‘harassing’ and asking her to pay rent.
Screenshots of conversation between landlady and one of the Kashmiri sisters
In fact, after receiving numerous complaints against these Kashmiri women, the landlady had asked them to vacate the house after clearing all their dues. Speaking to OpIndia, Makhija also said that she had even lodged a complaint in Amar Colony police station.
However, the Delhi Police did not take the matter seriously and asked us to settle the issue matter amicably as it was a ‘civil issue’, said Taruna Makhija. Taruna Makhija also shared details of complaint registered against the Kashmiri youth in the Amar Colony police station asking them to help to vacate the unruly Kashmiri residents.
Kashmiri residents had not paid their electricity bills, attacked BSES operator
In addition to these, the Kashmiri residents had even refused to pay the electricity bills of the residence. The landlady said that the tenants had to pay an outstanding balance of Rs. 62,360 to BSES. Despite requesting the two Kashmiri ladies to clear the electricity dues, they had not paid it, following which BSES officials had cut the electricity supply to their residence.
Shockingly, the two women had even attacked and manhandled the BSES officials for disconnecting the power supply to their residence following the non-payment of the due.
In the below video, one can see how the Kashmiri sisters – Noor Bhat alias Fiza and her sister Yuhanna are manhandling the BSES operator for disconnecting their connection. One of the Kashmiri sisters can be heard hurling abuses and threatening the BSES employee for carrying out his duty.
No evidence to substantiate their claims of being attacked
Interestingly, the allegations put up against the landlady by Noor Bhat, claiming that she was attacked and abused as a ‘terrorist’ falls flat as there is no evidence to back her claim.
However, another video accessed by OpIndia contradicts the whole claim made by Noor Bhat in which she alleges the landlady of calling her ‘terrorist’ for simply asking to pay their bills.
In the above video, the landlady can be heard confronting the Kashmiri woman for allegedly attacking the BSES operator. In reaction to that, one Kashmiri youth reacts to her aggressively by making false observations. “Are you calling Kashmiri students a terrorist?,” the Kashmiri youth asks.
In reality, no one in the video uttered any such words calling the Kashmiri youths as ‘terrorists’. Moreover, the Kashmiri woman has not produced any evidence to substantiate her claim even if the landlady has allegedly made such remarks off the camera.
In another video, one of the Kashmiri sisters along with her friends can also be seen mocking the landlady for asking to vacate from the residence for failing to pay the bills.
The Kashmiri woman had also claimed that she was physically attacked by their landlady. Showing some injury marks on her neck, the Kashmiri woman had alleged that her landlady had attacked asking them to vacate. She had also alleged that the landlady had taken away their furniture.
In response to these allegations, Taruna Makhija said that they never attacked the Kashmiri residents and challenged them to come forward and appear for a medical test. The Kashmir lady Noor Bhat is yet to appear for a medical test.
According to Makhija, the furniture belongs to their firm and they had rented a fully-furnished apartment to the Kashmiri women in June.
“Cat died due to non-availability of water and electricity, be happy that we are paying at least some rent”
In another video, the two Kashmiri women along with her friend Shayaan can be seen creating a ruckus on the streets. The Kashmiri residents were seen shouting at the landlady claiming that her cat had died because of non-availability of water and electricity.
In the below video, one of the Kashmiri sisters can be seen arguing with the landlady over the issue of payment of bills. The Kashmiri woman claims that her cat had died due to the non-availability of water and contends that the landlady should be happy that they were paying some rent to them.
The above images and videos indicate that the claims made by Kashmiri woman are bereft of truth. In fact, the serious allegations made by other residents and the documents accessed by OpIndia suggests that the two Kashmiri sisters and their friends have not only misbehaved with the residents of the housing society but also harassed the landlady by delaying the payment of rent and electricity dues.
Instead of clearing their dues, the Kashmiri women seems to have created a ruckus to falsely accuse the landlady of harassing them. The ‘liberal-secular’, who are often desperate for stories which depicts Kashmiri as ‘victims’ seems to have latched onto it without even verifying facts of the matter.
Taruna Makhija can be seen talking about her tenants in the video given below in an interview given to a media house.
(We at OpIndia tried reaching Noor Bhat. However, we have not received her response yet. The story will be updated once Bhat responds to us)
Chief of Editor’s Guild and Editor-in-Chief of The Print, Shekhar Gupta, called journalists a ‘different kind of vultures’ during the 15th October episode of Cut The Clutter on the media outlet’s YouTube channel. During the episode, he was discussing the controversy revolving around New York Times journalist Rukmini Callimachi.
Speaking of Rukmini Callimachi, Shekhar Gupta said, “She rose as an international star and you know what happens? When you rise as a star anywhere, a lot of people, particularly those who get left behind start sharpening their knives. And I can tell you something. There is no place more perilous for a successful professional than a newsroom. Because reporters have to compete all the time in a cut-throat manner.”
He continued, “And we are worse than vultures, most times. The vultures usually only eat up what somebody else killed or what died by itself naturally. And vultures usually perform a useful job by cleaning it up, by scavenging it for you. But we are different kinds of vultures. We are always waiting, I am not saying all of us, there are always exceptions, we are always waiting for some reporter, particularly a star reporter to get something wrong.”
“Even a little thing wrong. Then, if the person is down, then you go after the person and kill the person, then you clean up the person, pick the person’s flesh off her bones. So the newsroom is a very tough place,” said Shekhar Gupta. He called them vultures later in the show as well. It may be recalled that Rajdeep Sardesai has admitted in the past that journalists are like vultures.
At another point in the show, Shekhar Gupta expresses surprise that “civilised countries” have hoax laws and tells his audience, “Can you imagine if we had a hoax law in this country? I think a lot of people will be in jail.” The implication appears to be that India is not a civilised country and that is why India does not have hoax laws.
The Rukmini Callimachi Controversy
Rukmini Callimachi is one the dock for her podcast ‘Caliphate’ which sought to provide an insider perspective into the macabre word of the Islamic State. ‘Caliphate’ relied heavily on the account of one Abu Huzayfah al-Kanadi. He claimed to be an ISIS fighter and provided a vivid description of executions he had carried out.
The only problem was that he was arrested recently by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police under the hoax law of the country for allegedly lying about the crimes he allegedly committed in the Middle-East. The supposed ISIS fighter has been identified as on Sheroze Chaudhry with origins in Pakistan. On her part, Rukmini Callimachi claims that she has explained in an episode what she can and cannot confirm about his claims the conflicting strands in his story.
2. Below is a link to Chapter 6, which exposes both what we know he lied about, explores the conundrum of what to do when you discover that a source has lied, and lays out for readers what we know to be fact and equally the many things we still don’t knowhttps://t.co/tKJWGqt02D
Despite her clarification, Rukmini Callimachi has come under intense criticism from those on the Left who appear to believe that her podcast fuels Islamophobia.
Days after the civil court in Mathura had dismissed the plea seeking the removal of the Idgah mosque allegedly built over Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi, the district court in Mathura has accepted the plea today. The court of district judge Sadhna Rani Thakur on Friday accepted the petition and posted the matter for the next hearing on November 18.
The Plaintiffs had approached the district court in Mathura on October 12 (Monday) after a civil court had dismissed the plea on September 30. While hearing the plea today district court judge had summoned a record from the lower court.
The petition was filed by advocate Ranjana Agnihotri, the “next friend” of Shri Krishna Lala Virajman and seven others in Mathura district court. The petitioners also appealed to the court to get 13.37 acre land of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi vacated.
“Next friend” is a legal term for a person who represents someone directly unable to maintain a suit.
Mathura civil court dismisses plea seeking removal of Idgah Mosque from Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi
It may be recalled that senior civil judge Chhaya Sharma had dismissed the petition earlier on September 30. It had dismissed the petition citing the bar under the Places of Worship (Special Provision) Act, 1991. The plea was filed last month in the court of Civil Judge Division Chhaya Sharma in Mathura district. Under the petition, the land on which the Shahi Idgah is erected adjacent to the Krishna temple at Katra Keshav Dev in Mathura was claimed. The plea had sought the “removal of encroachment and superstructure illegally raised by Committee of Management of alleged Trust Masjid Idgah with the consent of Sunni Central Board of Waqf …at Katra Keshav Dev city Mathura belonging to deity Shree Krishna Virajman.”
Pertinently, the Places of Worship (Special Provision) Act, 1991 was enacted the by the Congress government under the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, which fixed the status of all the places of worship in the country as they existed on August 15, 1947.
The petition named the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board; Shahi Masjid Idgah Trust; Shri Krishna Janambhoomi Trust; and Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan as defendants.
Movement to reclaim Krishna Janmabhoomi
The Shahi Idgah Mosque stands at the Krishna Janmabhoomi in the city of Mathura. The Islamic invader Aurangzeb had destroyed the ancient Keshavnath temple and built the Shahi Idgah Mosque on its plinth in 1669.
The movement around the liberation of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura had gathered steam, especially following the historic Supreme Court verdict on Ram Janmabhoomi case. Earlier in August, in an effort to liberate Mathura, Hindu sadhus had formed the ‘Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Nirman Nyas’ on the lines of Ram Mandir trust. The 80 Hindu Sadhus who had come together to set up the new trust had said that a signature campaign would be launched to connect other saints and seers for the ‘liberation’ of the Krishna Janmabhoomi.
Social media giants Twitter and Facebook are facing lots of heat for censoring a report by NY Post investigative report alleging Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden’s links with Ukraine. As lots of articles have been written on how the social media sites are trying to influence the US elections by restricting the spread of anti-Biden reports, US President Donald Trump shared a satirical report by popular right-wing satire website The Babylon Bee on the attempts by Twitter to censor the explosive report by the New York Post exposing the rampant corruption Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden indulged in during his vice-presidential tenure.
The satirical report claimed that Twitter had decided to shut down its entire network to prevent the spread of negative coverage of Joe Biden. In a tweet that appeared to convey the impression that Donald Trump had fallen for a satirical news report believing it to be true, the US President said, “Wow, this has never been done in history. This includes his really bad interview last night. Why is Twitter doing this. Bringing more attention to Sleepy Joe & Big T”.
Twitter Shuts Down Entire Network To Slow Spread Of Negative Biden News https://t.co/JPmjOrKPcr via @TheBabylonBee Wow, this has never been done in history. This includes his really bad interview last night. Why is Twitter doing this. Bringing more attention to Sleepy Joe & Big T
A lot of people came to the conclusion that Donald Trump had fallen for fake news but that appears rather unlikely as The Babylon Bee is one of the most popular right-wing outlets and gains a lot of traction on social media. Therefore, the assumption that someone such as Trump who engineered his 2016 electoral victory relying greatly on social media traction is not aware of one of the most popular satirical websites does not ring true.
The tweet appears to be another occasion where Donald Trump is just basically being Donald Trump and resorting to thinly veiled trolling to ensure that the news about Joe Biden’s corruption continues to attract attention.
Twitter has been suppressing all attempts to share authentic news about the corruption and going out of their way and even suspending major accounts to prevent the news from spreading.
Twitter had gone so far as to suspend the account of White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany for tweeting about Joe Biden’s corruption. The official Twitter account of the Trump Campaign was also suspended. Thus, Donald Trump’s tweet sharing The Babylon Bee report appears to be driven by two factors. First, to avoid having his Twitter account getting suspended and second, to ensure that the attention continues to remain on Joe Biden’s corruption without sharing the actual report.
While it is natural to assume that Donald Trump actually fell for the satirical report, it has to be conceded that over the years he has mastered the art of trolling. And his ability to manipulate the media has also ensured in the past that he receives billions of dollars of free media coverage. Therefore, it is far more likely that the tweet was an attempt to attract media attention than it is that he is just too stupid.
New York Post ‘expose’ on Joe Biden
In the investigative report, the New York Post had asserted that they had accessed material from a damaged Macbook Pro, which revealed that Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son, had introduced a businessman from Ukraine to his father while the latter was Vice President of the United States. It is pertinent to note here that Hunter Biden at the time was appointed to the Burisma Board and received a salary of $50,000 per month.
The report had published several documents and mentioned a video that proved that Joe Biden met Vadym Pozharskyi, an adviser to the board of Burisma, where the extent of the Biden family’s involvement, and the sacking of a prosecutor, allegedly after pressure from the then VP Biden, is now under scrutiny.
A few days back, reports had suggested that there are chances that Biden had helped his son Hunter using his influence as the VP of the United States in his business in Ukraine. The Biden Camp has categorically denied all the allegations.
A Special Court in Delhi took cognizance of a complaint filed by Enforcement Directorate against absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. In an order passed yesterday, the CBI special also asked to expedite the process of extradition of Robert Vadra’s close aide Bhandari from UK.
The court issued summons to Sanjay Bhandari and others named in a case under section 44 and 45 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and directed ED to expedite the process of extradition of Sanjay Bhandari which is pending before UK Authorities, so that he can be brought to India for trial in accordance with the law.
On June 1st this year, ED had filed a prosecution complaint, which is equivalent to a charge sheet, against Sanjay Bhandari and other co-conspirators, including various companies floated by Bhandari in foreign locations for the purpose of money laundering case.
Earlier, a complaint under Section 51(1) of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income & Assets) and Imposition of Act, 2015 [Black Money Act] was filed against accused Sanjay Bhandari by Income Tax authorities. It was revealed that accused Sanjay Bhandari stashed black money abroad with the assistance of his accomplices to evade taxes, causing huge financial loss to the national exchequer.
Since the offence under Section 51 of the Black Money Act is a scheduled offence under PMLA, investigation was handed over to ED. During the course of investigation, it was revealed that Sanjay Bhandari owned assets in various foreign jurisdictions, incorporated various entities in UAE as owner / beneficial owner and also had financial interest in entity incorporated in Panama. It was also revealed that all those foreign assets and entities were not disclosed by Sanjay Bhandari to Income Tax authorities in India.
Apart from the money laundering case, Sanjay Bhandari is accused in several other cases in India, like the Pilatus Aircraft scam and the ONGC/ONGO petro addition (OPAL) case. A FIR filed in July this year by CBI had alleged that that Bhandari acted as a middleman and helped M/s Samsung Engineering in approaching unknown public servants working with ONGC/ONGO petro addition (OPAL) to show “undue favor” to the company.
In the Pilatus Aircraft scam, CBI had registered an FIR in 2019 against notorious arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, unknown officials in the Indian Air Force and Swiss aircraft maker Pilatus over alleged irregularities and corruption to the tunes of 339 crores. Kickbacks were allegedly given during the procurement of 75 basic trainer aircraft for the IAF in 2009. CBI’s inquiry had found that in 2009, Sanjay Bhandari’s company had received the kickback amount through his Singapore based bank account. From there the money was laundered to Bhandari’s company in Dubai and then, it was allegedly used to purchase properties in London.
Robert Vadra was also named in the Pilatus Aircraft case by ED. The agency had stated Robert Vadra was linked with the bribe paid by Pilatus to influence the Rs.2900 crore deal for basic trainer aircraft. Bhandari was also named as acting on behalf of Vadra for the purchase of properties in London.
On June 1st this year, ED had filed a complaint against Sanjay Bhandari and other co-conspirators, including various companies floated by Bhandari in foreign locations for the purpose of money laundering.
Earlier, a complaint under Section 51(1) of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income & Assets) and Imposition of Act, 2015 [Black Money Act] was filed against accused Sanjay Bhandari by Income Tax authorities. It was revealed that accused Sanjay Bhandari stashed black money abroad with the assistance of his accomplices to evade taxes, causing huge financial loss to the national exchequer.
Since the offence under Section 51 of the Black Money Act is a scheduled offence under PMLA, investigation was handed over to ED. During the course of investigation, it was revealed that Sanjay Bhandari owned assets in various foreign jurisdictions, incorporated various entities in UAE as owner / beneficial owner and also had financial interest in entity incorporated in Panama. It was also revealed that all those foreign assets and entities were not disclosed by Sanjay Bhandari to Income Tax authorities in India.
Apart from the money laundering case, Sanjay Bhandari is accused in several other cases in India, like the Pilatus Aircraft scam and the ONGC/ONGO petro addition (OPAL) case. A FIR filed in July this year by CBI had alleged that that Bhandari acted as a middleman and helped M/s Samsung Engineering in approaching unknown public servants working with ONGC/ONGO petro addition (OPAL) to show “undue favor” to the company.
In the Pilatus Aircraft scam, CBI had registered an FIR in 2019 against notorious arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, unknown officials in the Indian Air Force and Swiss aircraft maker Pilatus over alleged irregularities and corruption to the tunes of 339 crores. Kickbacks were allegedly given during the procurement of 75 basic trainer aircraft for the IAF in 2009. CBI’s inquiry had found that in 2009, Sanjay Bhandari’s company had received the kickback amount through his Singapore based bank account. From there the money was laundered to Bhandari’s company in Dubai and then, it was allegedly used to purchase properties in London.
Robert Vadra was also named in the Pilatus Aircraft case by ED. The agency had stated that Robert Vadra was linked with the bribe paid by Pilatus to influence the Rs.2900 crore deal for basic trainer aircraft. Bhandari was also named as acting on behalf of Vadra for the purchase of properties in London.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has been subjected to relentless attack by the left-leaning media organisations and individuals. There have been constant attempts to hound his government over issues that the same entities blissfully ignore in other states, especially non-BJP ruled ones. When he became the CM, they had mocked his saffron robes, his open, and vocal support for Hindu causes and his proud adherence to his role of Peethadhishwar in Gorakhpeeth.
A 3-year-old video of the UP CM shutting up NDTV’s Prannoy Roy on casteism, Ram Mandir, Hindu identity and other issues is doing the rounds on the internet.
Many social media users have shared a clip from an interview in March 2017 during the Uttar Pradesh election campaign when Prannoy Roy and the President of the Editors’ Guild of India, Shekhar Gupta, interviewed Yogi Adityanath before he was anointed to lead the state following a resounding BJP victory.
NDTV’s Prannoy Roy and Shekhar Gupta interview BJP’s Yogi Adityanath during the UP election hustings
With an unmistakable air of patronising superiority, Prannoy Roy and Shekhar Gupta posed a plethora of questions ranging from the Hindu identity, casteism, construction of Ram Mandir and several other issues, which were cogently and calmly responded to by the current Uttar Pradesh chief minister.
Hindu and India are two meanings of the same identity: Yogi Adityanath
When asked if he is a Hindu or an Indian first, Yogi Adityanath sedately responded that Hindu and Indian are synonymous. He added that Hindu represented the cultural manifestation while Indian was a geographic identity and therefore there was no difference in being a Hindu and an Indian.
On being asked if Hindus and Muslims can live in peace in the country, Yogi said, “Why not? Absolutely. They can live in one nation, under one constitution. If they believe this, there won’t be any problems.”
Yogi Adityanath says caste is fine but casteism is not
Yogi was then asked his views on the ubiquity of castes in Hinduism. To this, he said that castes play the same role in society as land dividers do in farms, keeping things orderly and organised. “Caste is fine, but not casteism. We are against casteism perpetrated for furthering one’s political interests,” Yogi responded.
Subsequently, Prannoy Roy asked Yogi Adityanath whether he and his party would wait for the Supreme Court’s verdict on Ram Mandir or would find other means to accomplish their desire. Yogi had then said that he and his party would appeal to the Supreme Court for a quick resolution of the matter but if there is a delay in the decision, they would try to find an alternative way to address the problem.
Shri Ram and India are complementary to each other: Yogi Adityanath
Roy then put forth a cunning question in a bid to decouple nationalism with chanting of Jai Shri Ram slogan. Roy asked if one has to love his country first or chant Jai Shri Ram. However, Yogi, being prepared for such tricky questions, did not take the bait and answered back that chanting Jai Shri Ram and loving the country are complementary to each other.
“Shri Ram and country are complementary to each other. Ram is the embodiment of the nation, an extensive form. The boundaries of the nation have been defined by Lord Ram himself. Lord Ram and India cannot be separated,” Yogi said.
The Print’s Shekhar Gupta then threw a curve at Yogi Adityanath with his question on whether the caste system in India is right or wrong. Yogi Adityanath calmly responded that the Hindu religion does not acknowledge the caste system that pigeonholes people based on their birth but it categorises people on basis of their deeds.
“The Sanathan Hindu religion has never recognised the birth-based Jati(caste) system. Here we are categorised not on the basis of birth but by our vocations and deeds,” Yogi said.
