Punjab Youth Congress workers on Monday brought a tractor on a truck to mark protests against the various Agriculture Acts and set it on fire shouting Bhagat Singh slogans.
#WATCH: Punjab Youth Congress workers stage a protest against the farm laws near India Gate in Delhi. A tractor was also set ablaze. pic.twitter.com/iA5z6WLGXR
The incident took place near India Gate in New Delhi. Today is also birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, the revolutionary freedom fighter.
It may be noted that in January this year, at Rahul Gandhi’s Yuva Akrosh Rally in Rajasthan, the college students were brought there to fill in as crowd by telling them that they were going to dance party.
Update: Five Punjab residents have been detained in connection with burning the tractor incident. Legal action has been initiated.
RS Sodhi, Managing Director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF), popularly known by the brand name Amul, on Sunday took to Twitter to explain how the free market has helped the dairy farmers prosper.
Responding to PM Modi’s Mann Ki Baat on the farm bills, Sodhi said how milk as an agriculture produce is worth Rs 8 lakh crore, which is more than the combined value of wheat, paddy and sugarcane. He added that the dairy farmers whether or not they are associated with the GCMMF are free to sell their produce anywhere and buyers are free to buy it from anywhere. The competition for milk as a product is there even at village level.
He further added that while agriculture’s contribution to the GDP has been declining, milk’s contribution has been rising steadily. Along with the increase of milk’s contribution to GDP, there has also been a rise in farmers’ income because of this freedom to sell the produce anywhere they wish.
He added that while Amul may have a huge market share, dairy is an industry where 100% FDI is allowed. International players like Nestle and Unilever are already in India with their products.
You can read more about the recent agriculture Bills passed by the Parliament which got President’s assent here.
In an order passed on 25th September, the Delhi High Court ordered Twitter to take down several tweets by former India Today employee Rakesh Krishnan Thiyya for allegedly defaming the media house and Rajdeep Sardesai, a journalist with India Today TV. Hearing a plea filed by Rajdeep Sardesai and The Living Media Ltd, that owns India Today, Justice Rajiv Shakdher opined that the tweets lack justification, and use of cuss words in the tweets impacts the image of Sardesai.
The case was filed against the series of tweets posted by Rakesh Krishnan Thiyya on August 28, a day after the infamous interview of actor Rhea Chakraborty with Sardesai which was aired on Aaj Tak. Rakesh Krishnan Thiyya, who worked in the media house for nearly 2 years as an assistant copy editor, in a thread of Tweets has torn into the media house’s subterfuge, claiming that since the year 1999, Living Media Group has degenerated into a racket, with its editors turning into fixers rather than writers.
He had made several explosive claims about India Today, like commissioning opinion polls with predetermined results, manipulating circulation and viewership data to defraud advertisers, publishing fake letters to editor etc.
Apart from India Today group, he had also specifically targeted Rajdeep Sardesai, calling him a fixer, a dalla, referring to his interview of Sonia Gandhi. He had also tweeted, “Who knows how much money changed hands for the Rhea interview. Only time will tell.”
The petitioners argued that the allegations made Thiyya were false, and he also used cuss words like ‘fixer’, ‘dalla’ (pimp) for Sardesai, which is defamatory. They also rebutted claims about fabricated circulation numbers, quoting Audit Bureau of Circulations figures. The petitioners said that there is no basis of allegations made by Thiyya in his tweets, and these tweets have harmed the reputation of the media house along with Rajdeep Sardesai. Thus, they requested the court to order Thiyya to take down the alleged defamatory tweets.
Hearing the arguments, the court agreed with India Today group, and said that at least at this stage, the media house has established that the prima facie the tweets lack justification. The court said that usage of cuss words not only impacts the reputation of the concerned individual and lowers his image in the eyes of his friends, acquaintances, peers and associates but also impinges upon the business interests of the plaintiffs.
While the court didn’t comment on the truthfulness of the claims made in the tweets, it said that the defendant could have expressed his views while maintaining civility. “Since social media platforms are accessed by a large number of persons of various ages, it is expected of users to display sobriety and common courtesies to those towards whom the comments are directed,” the order said.
Accordingly, the court ordered Twitter, which was listed as defendant number 2 in the case, to take down 16 tweets posted by Rakesh Krishnan Thiyya.
Apart from this, the court also barred Thiyya to post any derogatory and/or defamatory statements, articles, comments etc regarding Rajdeep Sardesai and India Today group till further orders of the court.
The matter was listed for next hearing on 19th November.
In a shocking incident, a 47-year-old Argentinian legislator named Juan Emilio Ameri had to resign from the lower House of the Congress after a video of him kissing his girlfriend’s bare breast during a Parliamentary session went viral online. He is a representative from Salta and belongs to the Peronist party in Argentina.
The Argentinian lawmakers had met virtually over video conferencing to discuss pension fund investments. In the said video, the legislator’s girlfriend could be seen sitting on his lap while he snuggled on her breasts. He then pulled down her blacktop and began kissing her bare breasts. The incident took place on Friday and was streamed live on the official Youtube channel of the Argentinian government. The contentious video has now gone viral on social media.
Congress sessions in Argentina have been held via Zoom during the coronavirus pandemic. Wile few lawmakers physically attended the sessions, most of them participated in the debates vis video conferencing.
Argentinian politician wanted to check out his girlfriend’s breast implants
In his defence, Ameri claimed that he assumed that the session had ended and the camera was off. He said that he wanted to check out his girlfriend’s implants as she had recently performed a breast augmentation surgery. He stated, “I have a terrible [internet] connection at home. Let’s see how the implants look, I told her. Look, this one’s down more, this one’s down less, let’s look at the scars, and she was beside me and I kissed her tits, and that was all.”
Congress accepts resignation, issues statement
While he had initially pleaded to be suspended, Ameri later resigned on his own. The Congress had also accepted his resignation. In a statement condemning the incident, the Lower House of the Parliament noted, “We cannot allow irresponsibility of this magnitude, so we will guarantee that all the rules are applied so that he is sanctioned in the appropriate way according to the seriousness of his acts.”
Tensions have gripped between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Sunday morning after clashes erupted in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Following the clashes with Azerbaijan, Armenia has declared martial law and has also mobilised its male population for war. The two sides clashed each other in Nagorno-Karabakh, a mainly ethnic Armenian region inside Azerbaijan which declared independence in 1991,
The Azeri forces have shelled the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, while Armenian forces continued to shell Azeri military and civilian positions in retaliation. Meanwhile, two Azerbaijani helicopters have also been shot down by the Armenian forces.
Turkey, one of the neighbours of Armenia, on Sunday called for an immediate cease-fire and asked Armenia to end hostility towards Azerbaijan claiming that escalations could “throw the region into the fire”. Turkey, which has traditionally backed Muslim-majority Azerbaijan, also blamed Armenia for the tensions and called the country as ‘biggest obstacle to peace’.
As soon as Turkey extended its support to Azerbaijan, the eternal rental-state – Pakistan, which often shares a close affinity with Turkey and other Islamic countries in the Middle east, too jumped into the scene to blame Armenia for hostility towards Azerbaijan.
Many social media trolls from Pakistan descended on Twitter to spread their hatred against Armenia.
One Islamist troll from Pakistan, expressing his support to Azerbaijan said Pakistan does not recognize Armenia as a state.
Another troll Amir Tsarfati, who perhaps never heard the name of Azerbaijan before, vowed to stand by fellow Muslims in Azerbaijan. He said the war between two countries would represent a war between Christianity and Islam on European soil.
Another faceless Pakistani troll, sharing the flags of Azerbaijan, Turkey and terrorist-state of Pakistan, said his country stood with Azerbaijan in this dangerous situation. The troll ‘CyBerKniGhT’ also warned Armenia never to miscalculate the strength of the crescent.
Various other Pakistani trolls, angered over Armenia’s response to clashes, said that Azerbaijan was not alone in the war and urged fellow Pakistanis to support the Islamic country.
Azeem Ali, expressing his jingoism on internet, said that he would volunteer to fight alongside Azerbaijan military in the war.
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
The conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region began after the breakdown of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and lasted till 1994, with both Armenia and Azerbaijan claiming this strategic territory. In 1994, a referendum was held in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was boycotted by Azerbaijan, where the people chose independence over joining either of the two countries.
Over the years, the conflict between ethnic Armenians and ethnic Azerbaijanis in Nagorno-Karabakh has increased with Armenia and Azerbaijan accusing each other of attempting to carry out ethnic cleansing. The situation became tense when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, an administrative unit, decided to vote to join Armenia given its large Armenian population.
Hostilities Break Out Between Armenia and Azerbaijan/ Image Source: Buzzenga
In May 1994, Russia mediated a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan, however the conflict has continued till today, with instances of ceasefire violations and violence instigated from both sides.
The current tensions erupted at the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan after Azerbaijan moved troops into the area, close to its border with Georgia. In July this year, heavy clashes had erupted along the border killing at least 17 troops from both sides.
The threat posed by China has become evident with the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic. While the West has dithered to check the rise of the authoritarian state, it can no longer afford to do so as China threatens to challenge western supremacy. Recently, a lot of attention has been paid to the extensive efforts China has made to interfere in the internal matters of other countries. In this regard, the apparatus that facilitates such interference, the United Front system, has largely escaped escaped attention.
Here, we shall focus on the United Front system and the mechanism of its functioning. We shall rely primarily on a report prepared by Alex Joske, an analyst working with the International Cyber Policy Centre of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute that was published in June 2020. The report titled ‘The party speaks for you’ provides in-depth information on the United Front system.
The United Front system (UFS) is basically a network of party and state agencies which is responsible for influencing groups and entities outside the party and tasked with the management of the United Front (UF). The UF, in turn, is a coalition of entities that works towards furthering the agenda of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Source: The party speaks for you: Foreign interference and the Chinese Communist Party’s united front system
It is through the UFS that the CCP interferes in the internal affairs of other countries, often fomenting chaos and anarchy through its propaganda that incites racial tensions and fuels division. It also encourages espionage and technology theft from global tech companies. Chinese president Xi Jinping has focused his attention in recent times on strengthening the institution, the report says, and it is due to this reason combined with China’s ambition for global dominance that makes a closer inspection of the UFS so necessary.
The report says, “In recent years, groups and individuals linked to the CCP’s United Front have attracted an unprecedented level of scrutiny for their links to political interference, economic espionage and influence on university campuses. In Australia, businessmen who were members of organisations with close ties to the United Front Work Department (UFWD) have been accused of interfering in Australian politics. In the US, at least two senior members of united front groups for scientists have been taken to court over alleged technology theft.”
“Confucius Institutes, which are overseen with heavy involvement from the UFWD, have generated controversy for more than a decade for their effects on academic freedom and influence on universities. Numerous Chinese students and scholars associations, which are united front groups for Chinese international students, have been involved in suppressing academic freedom and mobilising students for nationalistic activities,” it adds.
The report further states that the UFS “helps the CCP claim legitimacy, mobilise its supporters and manage perceived threats”. Furthermore, “It also oversees the CCP-led political model of ‘multiparty cooperation and political consultation’ that’s been in place since 1949.” The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) provides the platform for such consultation and is chaired by the Politburo Standing Committee member in charge of the UFS.
The director of the UFWD was quoted in the report as saying, “The United Front is a political alliance, and united front work is political work. It must maintain the party’s leadership throughout, having the party’s flag as its flag, the party’s direction as its direction, and the party’s will as its will, uniting and gathering members of each part of the United Front around the party.”
Source: The party speaks for you: Foreign interference and the Chinese Communist Party’s united front system
While the work of the UFS is constantly changing to reflect the shifting goals of the CCP, in recent times, its work has revolved around increasing “CCP’s political influence, interfering in the Chinese diaspora, suppressing dissident movements, building a permissive international environment for a takeover of Taiwan, intelligence gathering, encouraging investment in China, and facilitating technology transfer.”
It is important to note here that the UFS works both domestically and overseas. Within China’s borders, its primary responsibility is ensuring that every section of Chinese society finds political representation only through CCP controlled platforms so that the authority of the CCP is never undermined. Abroad, it works to strengthen China’s efforts towards global domination.
A United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission report in 2018 stated, “United Front work serves to promote Beijing’s preferred global narrative, pressure individuals living in free and open societies to self-censor and avoid discussing issues unfavourable to the CCP, and harass or undermine groups critical of Beijing’s policies.”
The UFWD has different bureaus working under itself that caters to specific needs. There are the ones for Xinjiang and Tibet. Other than that, there are the ‘Ethnic Affairs Work Bureau’, ‘Overseas Chinese Affairs Bureau’, ‘Religious Work Bureau’ among others. As per the report, agencies that are involved in UF work include the Propaganda Department, the Organisation Department, the Ministry of Education, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the Ministry of State Security (PRC’s civilian intelligence agency).
The groups targeted by UF work include private businesses and urban professionals apart from overseas and returned overseas students. The individuals are targeted not merely to neutralise any opposition but also to turn them into conduits for CCP’s strategic interests. There is also no clear distinction between the UF’s domestic and overseas work. All the bureaus of the UF and all activities usually involves both domestic and overseas work.
There is little consensus as yet regarding how precisely to tackle the menace or combat it. There is also the very conspicuous threat that the CCP is basically attempting to use the Chinese diaspora to undermine the country they are residing in. For instance, when US President Donald Trump blamed China for the coronavirus crisis and called the virus ‘Wuhan Coronavirus’, the CCP accused him of being racist towards the Chinese.
The report by Alex Joske makes the recommendation: “Political leaders should improve how they frame efforts to counter foreign interference, making clear that they are not targeting minority communities, and seek to publicly attribute major cases of foreign interference.” Such recommendations elucidate perfectly the extent of the threat that it poses.
In future reports, we will delve further into the United Front, its history and the ties that Xi Jinping himself has had with it. We will also look at the propaganda work that it conducts and its mode of operation.
A 15-year-old rape victim in Haryana has written a letter to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), complaining over police inaction against the perpetrators of the crime.
On September 4, the 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by three youths Ismail, Sahir Sahir and Irshad for over 28 hours in a millet field in the Nuh district of Haryana. Reportedly, Ismail had lured her to the field when she had gone out for relieving herself around 5 am on September 4 and made her consume a drink, laced with drugs. As per the victim, she was then gang-raped by Ismail and two other accused continuously for over a day after she lost consciousness.
Victim cites harassment at the hands of freed accused
In her letter, the minor girl has alleged that the Haryana police have arrested only one accused, namely Ismail while the remaining two accused have been scout-free. The two accused have been identified as Irshad and Sahir. The victim has alleged harassment of her and the family at the hands of the two perpetrators. “Both the accused (Sahir and Irshad) have threatened to kidnap us and kill our daughter if their names are not withdrawn from the complaint,” the father of the minor girl alleged.
Reportedly, the police had initially dismissed the complaint of the victim’s family by alleging that the girl willingly went with her perpetrators. However, a complaint was registered three days after the crime on September 7, following a public demonstration by the villagers outside the police station.
Police dismisses charges
The cops have, however, dismissed all allegations of inaction as stated by the family of the minor victim. A police officer claimed that they have found no evidence to suggest that Irshad and Sahir were involved in the crime. Besides, he stated that the girl is not a minor.
Mysuru Police conducted a raid on a ceremony that was organized to distribute fake honorary doctorate degrees on Saturday. Deputy Commissioner of Police A N Prakash Gowda led the operation where two people were arrested. It was alleged that fake honorary doctorate degrees were being provided to around 150 people in exchange for money.
“You want Honorary Doctorate?”
Intl global peace university hon.doctorate costs around Rs 1L.
But wait, there’s no such university & this fake hon.doctorate scam was busted y’day in Mysuru where 150 ‘dignified’ ppl were ready with graduation gowns.
The ceremony was organized by Gangamma Devi Shakti Preetham Trust, National Human Rights Peace Council, and International Global Peace University at “Ruchi The Prince” hotel located on Hunsur road. The chief guest of the ceremony was an MLA from Harihara, Ramappa.
In a statement, the police informed that the MLA left the premises without attending the function as Covid-19 guidelines were not being followed. Also, the organizers did not take permission for the ceremony. “The MLA was also a candidate for the degree. A total of 142 candidates from across the state and from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh had gathered to obtain the degrees,” added the police officer.
The candidates had paid anywhere between Rs.20,000 to Rs.100,000 for the degrees. Some of the candidates requested police officers to give them their degrees, but the police denied such a request. The investigation is underway by Vijaynagar Police.
Former Bihar DGP (Director General of Police) Gupteshwar Pandey, who took voluntary retirement from active service, today joined the Janata Dal (United).
#Patna: Former Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey, joins JDU today
"I was called by CM himself & asked to join. Whatever the party asks me to do, I will do. I don't understand politics. I am a simple person who has spent his time working for the downtrodden section of society," he says pic.twitter.com/6tdJ7PgPrS
He joined the JD(U) at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s residence in Patna, Bihar. On joining JD(U), he said that he was personally invited by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to join the party. “I do not understand politics. I am a simple person who has spent his time working for the downtrodden section of society,” he said.
Pandey who is a 1987 batch IPS officer had earlier served as zonal IG at Muzaffarpur. He served at various posts including SP, Range DIG, ADG Headquarter and DG BMC. SK Singhal, who is currently serving as DG Home guard, will now succeed Pandey as the Bihar DGP. SK Singhal was posted at the Headquarters for a long time before being promoted as the DGP.
A group of women, including dubbing artist Bhagyalakshmi and women ‘activists’ Diya Sana and Sreelaksmi Arackal, in an act of moral policing, attacked and poured motor oil on YouTuber Dr Vijay P Nair for posting a video on YouTube insulting feminists.
On Saturday, the three women ‘activists’, barged into the room of Dr Vijay P Nair in Thiruvananthapuram and attacked him. Shockingly, the self-proclaimed activist Diya Sana also shared the live video of the incident on her Facebook profile.
In the video that has gone viral now, it can be seen that two women – Bhagyalakshmi and Diya Sana slapped the Youtuber and also poured black oil over his head. The women landed up in his residence at Thiruvananthapuram to question him for putting out a video and then slapped him for doing so.
Artiste Bhagyalakshmi & trans activist Diya Sana attacked a man alleging derogatory video on them & feminists.#Kerala#Feminism
These criminals Slapped him, tried to Disrobe, molested him, violated his modesty, Entered his house, used vulgur words, poured black oil over him etc. pic.twitter.com/ELYobm1v6G
As the women attacked and screamed at him, Youtuber Nair, with folded hands, apologised to women for hurting them. The women ‘activists’ also asked him to delete the videos he has uploaded on his YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, a police complaint has been lodged against Nair at Thampanoor police station for defaming feminists in his video. Apparently, these three women ‘activists’ forcefully took away the laptop and other gadgets used by Nair to submit to the police station.
Women ‘activists’ got triggered after a video posted by Nair on his Youtube channel
Reportedly, these women ‘activists’ had got triggered by a video posted by Nair on his YouTube channel a month ago. In the YouTube video, Nair had allegedly made some derogatory remarks against some feminists in Kerala. Nair had put out a video titled “Why do feminists in India, especially Kerala, not wear underwear?”
In his YouTube channel ‘Vitrix scene’, Nair had allegedly used some derogatory terms to attack feminists and had also accused feminists in Kerala of being sex workers.
According to journalist Nidheesh, the three women had decided to attack the YouTuber after he had allegedly claimed that Kerala feminists were like toilets in public transport stands as they have sex eight-nine times every day. He had also allegedly said one dubbing artist would have sex after every movie.
The women had reportedly lodged a complaint to at least four state organs— Women’s Commission, Police Cyber Cell, Women & Child Development Department and Gender Advisor— yielding to no actions. Ystdy, they got the man to apologise and “seized” his laptop and mobile phone.
These women ‘activists’ had reportedly lodged a complaint against Vijay Nair with Kerala Women’s Commission, Police Cyber Cell, Women & Child Development Department and Gender Advisor. However, as these authorities did not take any actions, these women ‘activists’ took the law into their hands and resorted to the act of moral policing.
Speaking to the media, Bhagyalakshmi said that they were forced to take things into their own hands as authorities did not take any action against the Youtuber despite numerous complaints.
“It was Sreelakshmi Arackal who reacted against him first. But we decided to react when we realized that no action was being taken on the complaint. There will be comments that we should have moved legally. But let me ask you, what happened to the complaint that was filed?” Bhagyalakshmi said to Mathrubhumi.
