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Minister Anurag Thakur apologises after ruckus breaks out in Parliament over his comments on the Nehru-Gandhi family

OpIndia Staff
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Minister Anurag Thakur apologises after ruckus breaks out in Parliament over his comments on the Nehru-Gandhi family

On Friday, MoS Finance Anurag Thakur tendered an apology after the Opposition created a ruckus in the Lower House of the Parliament during a heated debate on PM Cares Fund. The Lok Sabha had to be adjourned four times by Speaker Om Birla between 4 pm and 6 pm.

When the House reconvened again, the Speaker urged the Parliamentarians to refrain from making allegations without evidence and desist from playing ‘blame games.’ The firebrand BJP leader then tendered his apology saying, “I had no intent to hurt the sentiments of anybody. Agar kisi ko thes pahunchi hai, to mujhe bhi is baat ki peeda hai (I am remorseful knowing that others are hurt by my comments).”

Anurag Thakur slammed the Congress for financial misappropriation

His apology came at the backdrop of accusations of financial impropriety that he levelled against the Nehru-Gandhi family. While addressing the House over the issue of ‘transparency’ regarding the PM Cares Fund, Anurag Thakur had stated, “PM Cares is a registered public charitable trust. I want to challenge the Opposition to prove otherwise. This trust is meant for 138 crore people of this country.”

Lambasting the Congress party, he emphasised, “You created a trust only for the Gandhi family. The PM Relief Fund had members such as Nehru and Sonia Gandhi. There needs to be a detailed discussion (on the financial impropriety). The country should be exposed to your real face. “

A rattled Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury then claimed that Chinese companies had donated ₹500 crores to the PM Cares Fund. He also demanded an investigation into the matter. Dismissing the allegations, Anurag Thakur reiterated, “I do not agree to the allegations. The Nehru-Gandhi family should be named in this. You have misled the country by transferring funds to several charitable organisations and benefitted yourselves. We will expose this. The Gandhi family has betrayed this nation.”

“You are supposed to be unprejudiced,” investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala schools BJP-hater NDTV journalist Sreenivasan Jain

OpIndia Staff
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“You are supposed to be unprejudiced,” investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala schools BJP-hater NDTV journalist Sreenivasan Jain

In a recent interview with investor and businessman Rakesh Jhunjhunwala on NDTV, ‘journalist’ Sreenivasan Jain got a lesson in ethical media reporting.

During the course of the interview, Jhunjhunwala accused Jain and his media house of being blinded in hatred against the BJP. He said, “You just criticise the government.” In a bid to negate the obvious, the journalist then resorted to accusing the famed investor of being a ‘fan of Mr. Modi and the BJP.’ Sreenivasan Jain then blamed his guest for failing to see the ‘good from the bad.’

The press is not a political animal, remarked Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

“I am a fan of Mr. Modi – This is a well-known fact. As an Indian, I have a right to my political choices… But, I find you prejudiced. I find NDTV prejudiced against the government,” Rakesh Jhunjhunwala emphasised. The NDTV journalist then made one last desperate attempt to dismiss the allegations against him and his media channel.

Sreenivasan Jain said, “You feel that your opinion is not prejudiced.” Lambasting the motivated journalism of NDTV and Jain, the businessman reiterated, “Well, I am a political animal. The press is not a political animal. You are supposed to be unprejudiced.” Without nothing left to say, the journalist laughed aloud and claimed, “I would love to think that I am unprejudiced.”

You can count my wealth by you can’t have it

The NDTV journalist faced another embarrassment when he brought the matter of value of the ace investor’s portfolio during the discussion. Jain said that the value of Jhunjhunwala’s investment had decreased during the lockdown, but subsequently bounced back. To this, Jhunjhunwala said that he does not like to discuss his personal wealth in public, and added that although Jain can count it, he will not able to have it. He then went on to slam the media for portraying the economy only negatively.

Saying that his opinion is not depended on his wealth and it is based on reality, he said that all the TV anchors are spreading doom and gloom in the economy.

Sreenivasan Jain and his prejudiced reporting

Sreenivasan Jain and his comrades from the left-liberal cabal are known for their blind hatred for PM Modi and the current political dispensation at the Centre. Earlier, the NDTV journalist published a misleading video to target and falsely implicate BJP leader Kapil Mishra for the Delhi anti-Hindu riots.

In the video, NDTV had spoken to one man named Sanjay Gupta, to whom the NDTV claimed as Mishra’s landlord. Gupta had blamed Kapil Mishra for the anti-Hindu riots by stating that violence in Delhi only started after Kapil Mishra made the speech on the eve of the riots.

However, Sanjay Gupta, who was referred to by Sreenivasan Jain as Mishra’s landlord turned out to be an imposter. In a hurry to implicate Kapil Mishra, NDTV had created a bogus ‘landlord’. According to NDTV’s own confession, Sanjay Gupta who acted as Mishra’s landlord was identified as a ‘broker’ and a witness in Mishra’s land dealings. As such, Gupta was not the landlord of Kapil Mishra as claimed by NDTV.

‘Women rioters attacked police with swords and knives hidden under their burqa’: Author Monica Arora shares anecdotes from her upcoming book on Delhi Riots

OpIndia Staff
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‘Women rioters attacked police with swords and knives hidden under their burqa’: Author Monica Arora shares anecdotes from her upcoming book on Delhi Riots

Recently, a book on the gruesome riots that convulsed the national capital earlier this year stoked a controversy after the publisher of the book, Bloomsbury India, unprofessionally called off the publication of the book ‘Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story’ by authors of Monika Arora, Sonali Chitalkar and Prerna Malhotra. Now, one of the authors of the book, Monica Arora, took to Twitter to share a few anecdotes from her book, revealing that the Delhi riots were not a spontaneous outburst but a meticulously planned pogrom.

Arora narrates the incident of Chand Bagh of Northeast Delhi when DCP Amit Sharma and his colleagues were attacked by the rioters after the women blocking the road in the neighbourhood asked him to come over for a discussion. The author asserts that as soon as DCP Sharma went to talk with the women, they pulled out swords and knives from beneath their burqa and attacked him.

The account of the incident as mentioned in the book is in harmony with the assertions made by the injured DCP’s wife in an interview in March this year. She had then said Muslim women had asked her husband for having a discussion and when he obliged them and went to have a discussion with them, they suddenly gheraoed him and one of the women rioters yanked his helmet and attacked him with hockey sticks and iron rods. His wife added that the rioters were armed with knives and pistols.

Arora further adds that the jihadists who attacked DCP Sharma and constable Ratan Lal continued chasing them even as the police personnel rescued the DCP and took him to a nearby nursing home for medical assistance. later went and burnt the nursing home where he was taken for medical aid.

“The murderous mob, including women, followed them with stones, sticks and rods in their hands. They kept stone-pelting and attacking the police with rods. Some people from the Hindu community came to rescue police from the Muslim rioters. Heart-wrenching videos of assault on the police have surfaced on social media afterwards,” Arora’s book said.

It further read, “The rioters had followed the police officers to the hospital, pelting stones and vandalising and torching Mohan Nursing Home and the official car of the DCP.”

Sharing extracts from her upcoming book, Ms Arora in another tweet highlighted the violent tendencies exhibited by the protesters who were demonstrating in the name of peaceful protests. She asserted that the Shaheen Bagh protests, which started on the pledges made by the protesters to uphold the honour of the tri-colour and the constitution culminated into violent strife in which tricolour flags were used by the rampaging rioters to make petrol bombs, which were used to inflame chaos and anarchy.

“The protests which began with the photos of Mahatma Gandhi and B.R Ambedkar and the unfurling of the Tricolour sadly ended with the Tricolour being used in making petrol bombs and torching shops and houses. The ‘iconic’ Shaheen Bagh model, eventually culminated in and set the stage for communal violence, a first of its kind in Delhi in contemporary times,” the extract from the book read.

Bloomsbury India chickened out from publishing Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story’ book

The book ‘Delhi Riots 2020:The Untold Story’ by authors of Monika Arora, Sonali Chitalkar and Prerna Malhotra kicked up a storm after the Bloomsbury India caved into leftist demand and chickened out from publishing the book. The leftist intelligentsia had flown into a rage over Bloomsbury India’s decision of providing its platform to the book that purportedly offered to provide a factual account of the Delhi riots in February this year.

The decision to withdraw the book came after a left-wing outrage mob led by prominent ‘intellectuals’ on social media pressurised the publication house to take the decision. The organisers of the outrage mob included personalities such as controversial actress Swara Bhasker and other eminent ‘journalists’ and ‘intellectuals’.

The content of the book, implicating the Muslim anti-CAA protesters of fomenting trouble in the national capital ran counter to the leftist propaganda that had assiduously projected the riots to be the handiwork of the Modi government. The book eventually found a new publisher and will be available for order from September 20.

Uttar Pradesh police nab three persons in the Aligarh jewellery robbery case seen in viral video

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh police nab three persons in the Aligarh jewellery robbery case seen in viral video

The three robbers who had looted a jewellery shop in Aligarh were nabbed by the Uttar Pradesh near Noida following an encounter on Wednesday. The robbery was capture on CCTV, video of which went viral on social media.

According to the Uttar Pradesh police, a gunfight between the police officials and the accused took place when they were intercepted by the police near the road leading to the national capital. The cops had intercepted the accused near a check-post set up by the Sector 39 police station. The injured have been taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.

A few days back, a video had gone viral on the internet, in which it was seen that the three accused identified as Saurabh, Mohit and Rohit were robbing a jewellery shop in Aligarh at a gunpoint.

The robbery had taken place in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh last week. The shop owners had assumed the men as customers and had even offered sanitisers. The robbers sanitised their hands and then pointed country-made guns at the store workers and escaped with the jewellery.

All the three accused hail from Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district. “Initial investigation revealed that the trio was behind the daylight robbery in the jewellery shop in Aligarh on September 11,” said a senior police official.

Following the encounter, the police officials have recovered stolen items worth Rs.35 lakhs and their two-wheelers. The police are looking into the criminal history of all the three accused.

Maha Vikas Aghadi govt ‘struggles’ to pay salaries but ready to spend Rs 5.5 crores to appoint Pvt ad firms for Chief Minister’s publicity

OpIndia Staff
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Maha Vikas Aghadi govt ‘struggles’ to pay salaries but ready to spend Rs 5.5 crores to appoint Pvt ad firms for Chief Minister’s publicity

Despite the state’s cash position remaining stressed due to the coronavirus lockdown, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is all set to shell out a sum of over Rs 5 crores to promote his Maha Vikas Aghadi government. The Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government’s administration department has floated an e-tender, inviting private advertising agencies to apply for managing the PR of the Chief Minister and the Government of Maharashtra.

Image via Devang Dave on Twitter
Image via Devang Dave on Twitter

According to a government resolution issued by CMO and the Directorate General of Information and Public Relations, the agencies will use audio-visual content, develop creatives and come up with campaigns to promote the government’s image and policies. A major thrust will be on social media.

This entire PR exercise would cost the exchequer a hefty sum of Rs 5,43,60, 240, that is a little short of Rs 5 crore 50 lakhs.

The Thackeray govt justified the move saying that outsourcing the social media work to private agencies was the sole option available after the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DGIPR) argued that it lacks the technical expertise and trained manpower necessary to do the job effectively.

Financially stressed Maha Vikas Aghadi government struggles to pay employees

The decision comes at the time when the Maharashtra government is facing such a ‘massive financial crisis’ that it has been struggling to pay its own employees, let alone health care resources requested from other states. Recently, it was reported how a Maharashtra government employee of the State Transport Corporation has committed suicide after being in depression for not receiving his salary for the period of the last two months.

Earlier it was reported that not just the Maharashtra government employees but even the salaries of the doctors and nurses requested from Kerala were inordinately delayed by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. As a result, several of the doctors and nurses flew back to Kerala, alleging that the BMC had been interminably delaying their payments.

The ‘cash stripped’ Maha Vikas Aghadi government clears purchase of six luxury cars worth Rs 1.37 crore

But while the state is floundering to make payments to the employees involved in the fight against the coronavirus, the government had given its authorisation for the purchase of 6 new luxury vehicles for its ministers, worth Rs 1.37 crore.

The court must not call out Sudarshan News for speaking for the rights of Dalits and calling out a Dalit leader who just would not

Editorial Desk
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The court must not call out Sudarshan News for speaking for the rights of Dalits and calling out a Dalit leader who just would not

Justice Joseph of the Supreme Court castigated Sudarshan News on Friday over the manner in which Congress leader Udit Raj was supposedly treated by its editor Suresh Chavhanke in episode 4 of its ‘UPSC Jihad’ series. Sudarshan News was heavily criticised by the other justices of the Court for its reportage on alleged favouritism towards Muslims in recruitment into civil services.

In the episode in question, Udit Raj was invited to speak on the agenda of the Zakat Foundation and the demands that the Islamic organisation has made related to the delimitation of constituencies reserved for Schedules Castes or Dalits. When he was given an opportunity to speak, Udit Raj went into a tirade against the RSS instead.

From 14 minutes onwards

Suresh Chavhanke implored Udit Raj to speak on the matter of concern and emphasised that the latter had not been invited as a Congress leader but as a politician who claims to speak for Dalits. The Congress leader, however, appeared unwilling to criticise the Zakat Foundation and claimed that there was nothing wrong with the demands of the Zakat Foundation and appreciated them even though conceding to their demands would mean that Dalits would lose access to seats reserved for them

When Suresh Chavhanke repeatedly insisted that Udit Raj speak on the topic of the discussion, the latter chose to leave the channel instead. The Sudarshan News editor never once used any offensive remark against the politician. No abuses were hurled at him neither was he subjected to any personal attacks. And yet, when it was insisted that he speak up for Dalits, the people Udit Raj claims to represent, he chose to leave the discussion instead.

For this reason, Justice Joseph believes that Udit Raj was mistreated. The Court seems to be taking objection to the media posing hard questions to politicians, individuals who want to represent us by seeking our votes and is opposing the media grilling politicians on the promises and speeches they claim to make. Are politicians now a protected class who cannot be questioned?

Questioning politicians is a fundamental right of the media, indeed, it is one of their sacred duties. If the media cannot grill politicians as they deem fit, then what is even the purpose of their existence? Denying journalists the right to question politicians is indeed the death of democracy.

In this particular instance, Suresh Chavhanke was questioning Udit Raj for seeking votes in the name of Dalit activism but remaining silent when the Zakat Foundation is demanding that seats reserved for Dalits be made unreserved. It is a very legitimate question to ask him the reason for his silence on the matter.

Udit Raj, on his part, has made several incendiary remarks in his pursuit of Dalit activism. A complaint was filed against him in April this year for making an anti-Brahmin statement while targeting Arnab Goswami. All India Parisangh, the Congress leader’s organisation, tweeted through its official handle in Hindi: “Itna neeche koi Brahmin hi gir sakta hain, jitna Arnab Goswami gira hain”, roughly translated as (Only a Brahmin can fall as low as Arnav Goswami has fallen).

On another occasion, the same organisation made derogatory comments against Brahmins and compared the community to pigs. After the death of Rishi Kapoor and Irfan Khan, Udit Raj asked why were not celebrities using ‘Gaumutra’ to cure cancer. This, of course, has become a regular pattern with the Congress politician.

Yet, the Court in its wisdom believes it is unfair for journalists to question Udit Raj regarding his supposed commitment towards Dalit Rights when a genuine opportunity arises to put his words to the test. If Sudarshan News is criticised for calling out a Dalit leader for not protecting the rights of Dalits, it portends very dark days for our democracy if courts start dictating the manner in which our politicians should be questioned by the media.

‘An injunction order from us is like a nuclear missile’: Justice Chandrachud acknowledges the far-reaching ramifications of the stay order on Sudarshan News’ ‘UPSC Jihad’ show

OpIndia Staff
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‘An injunction order from us is like a nuclear missile’: Justice Chandrachud acknowledges the far-reaching ramifications of the stay order on Sudarshan News’ ‘UPSC Jihad’ show

Justice Chandrachud while hearing Sudarshan News’ plea challenging the stay on the telecast its show on the alleged ‘UPSC Jihad’, acknowledged the consequences of the Supreme Court’s intervention over the content of news media. The court had earlier put a stay on the broadcast of the remaining episodes of Sudarshan News’ ‘UPSC Jihad’ show.

“An injunction order from us is like a nuclear missile and we know it,” Justice Chandrachud said, adding, “We know how an injunction order will be looked like. I am afraid that there will be injunctions galore and we don’t want that to be the law of land.”

Solicitor General mentions a journalist ‘guiding’ terrorists in Pathankot

Justice Chadhrachud spoke about the ramifications of a court intervention on the news content, but he also stressed on the need of a competent and effective regulatory body to ensure self-regulation in the broadcast media. “You need to give them teeth”, he added.

At this point, the Solicitor General cited an instance when a journalist was actually found guiding terrorists in Pathankot.

SC objects to targeting a particular community

The sharp remarks came in the wake of the order that restrained Sudarshan TV from airing further episodes of its show ‘Bindas Bol’ on the alleged ‘UPSC Jihad’ which claimed to shed light on terror links of the Zakat Foundation which is funding the coaching of Civil Services aspirants.

However, Justices Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra noted that the pictorial representation of a Muslim having a beard, donning a green t-shirt, with flames in the background serves to alienate even the good members of the community and defended the injunction order lamenting that in absence of a potent regulatory mechanism, the courts had to step in and prevent the channel from broadcasting controversial content.

“If there was a viable method of regulation, we would not have to step out. Your undersecretary wrote saying program code should not be violated. @MIB_India didn’t check what happened after the broadcast and how it violated the program code,” Justice Chandrachud said.

Sudarshan TV defends its show ‘UPSC Jihad’ saying it wanted to highlight suspicious donations received by Zakat Foundation

Earlier today, senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing Sudarshan TV in the court, cited the affidavit by Editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke to demonstrate that the channel’s show on the alleged ‘UPSC Jihad’, whose broadcast had been temporarily halted by the top court, has grave implications on public interest and national security of the country.

The channel had urged the court to pass the judgment after all the episodes are aired on television. 4 episodes have been already broadcasted in the serialised show after which the Supreme Court placed a ban on its telecast. Divan contended that the ban on the airing of the show would infringe upon the rights and freedom of Editor-in-Chief Suresh Chavhanke.

They believe religious teachings are superior to state laws: What China’s whitepaper says about Uyghur Muslims and their ‘re-education’

OpIndia Staff
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They believe religious teachings are superior to state laws: What China’s whitepaper says about Uyghur Muslims and their ‘re-education’

In a whitepaper published by the State Council Information Office, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has insinuated that the Uyghur Muslims are responsible for what China is doing to them. In a startling claim, China has revealed that it has placed over 1.29 million people in re-education camps between 2014 and 2019 in the Uyghur-dominated province of Xinjiang.

The whitepaper, titled, “Employment and Labour Rights in Xinjiang” has shrewdly tweaked coercive re-education camps as ‘vocational training centres’ to avoid global criticism.

China highlights the problematic religious beliefs of people in Xinjiang

The whitepaper claimed that Uyghur Muslims were ‘terrorists’ who believed in the ‘afterlife’ and rejected modern science owing to religious dogmatism. The Chinese regime, keeping the rise of radical Islam in mind, justified, “Terrorists, separatists and religious extremists have long preached that “the afterlife is fated” and that “religious teachings are superior to state laws”, inciting the public to resist learning the standard spoken and written the Chinese language, reject modern science, and refuse to improve their vocational skills, economic conditions, and the ability to better their own lives.”

CCP boasts about ‘training’ 1.29 million workers in 5 years

Reiterating that such outdated ideas led to poor educational opportunities and employability, they needed to undergo ‘vocational training’ for being able to be a part of the mainstream. “Through vocational training, Xinjiang has built a large knowledge-based, skilled and innovative workforce that meets the requirements of the new era. Every year from 2014 to 2019 Xinjiang provided training sessions to an average of 1.29 million urban and rural workers, of which 451,400 were in southern Xinjiang,” the report emphasised.

It further stated, “From 2014 to 2019, the total number of people employed in Xinjiang rose from 11.35 million to 13.3 million, an increase of 17.2 percent. The average annual increase in urban employment was more than 471,200 people (148,000 in southern Xinjiang, accounting for 31.4 percent)”

Reportedly, Xinjiang now has an additional 2.59 million people in rural workforce with over 1.65 million of them in the southern part of the province. In its whitepaper, the Chinese regime emphasised, “Xinjiang has provided dynamic, categorized and targeted assistance to people having difficulty finding work and to zero-employment households in the entire autonomous region — having each and every one of them identified, registered, assisted, and ensured stable employment.” It claimed to have helped Xinjiang residents develop at least one skill that would help them find one ‘stable’ source of employment.

Persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China

According to a 2017 report by the head of the Institute of Sociology at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, the increasing Muslim population in Xinjiang contributed to increased political risk, poverty, and extremism. One of the reasons cited behind their high birth rates was the Islamic belief that the foetus was a gift from God.

However, experts are of the view that it is a strategy of the Communist Party of China (CCP) to strip Uighurs of their religious and ethnic identity and assimilate them into the dominant Han Chinese ethnicity. While Uighur Muslims are often subjected to re-educational programs, forced labour, and digital surveillance, their children are indoctrinated in orphanages.

Reportedly, Uighur Muslims have been the subject of a massive crackdown since 2017. They were held up in prisons for praying, travelling abroad, or even using social media under the pretext of containing ‘ religious extremism’. According to researcher Zenz, two county and townships have directed authorities to leave no ‘blind spots’, contain illegal births, and decrease fertility levels.

Julio Ribeiro and Open Letters, a love story better than Twilight: Here are some letters that the former IPS officer has signed

OpIndia Staff
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Julio Ribeiro and Open Letters, a love story better than Twilight: Here are some letters that the former IPS officer has signed

Former IPS officer Julio Ribeiro has been in the news recently over a letter that had been written to the Delhi Police regarding their supposedly flawed investigation into the communal riots that occurred in Delhi in the month of February. Ribeiro questioned the Police’s supposed lack of action against “BJP stalwarts” while ‘doubting the patriotism’ of “true patriots” such as Harsh Mander and Delhi University professor Apoorvanand.

To be clear, Harsh Mander, who Julio Ribeiro calls a “true patriot”, is a member of an Italian organisation that works closely with the Italian government and its secret services in order to help them achieve their foreign policy objectives. In addition to this, Mander is also closely associated with George Soros, the American Billionaire who has declared war upon nationalists and nationalism, including Prime Minister Modi.

Thus, it is quite evident that Ribeiro’s definition of a ‘true patriot’ may not be entirely consistent with the dictionary definition of it, or how the term is understood in popular culture. As it so happens, Julio Ribeiro is part of a collective that calls itself the ‘Constitutional Conduct Group’ (CCG). The primary objective of CCG appears to be composing open letters in order to build undue pressure upon institutions.

In every open letter that it releases, CCG states, “We are a group of former civil servants belonging to the All India and Central Services who have worked with the Central Government as well as different State Governments of India. As a group, we have no affiliation with any political party but believe in being neutral, impartial and committed to the Constitution of India.” Interestingly, however, every single time, their open letters endorse political positions that lie on the liberal end of the political spectrum.

Sudarshan News Open Letter

The CCG has written an open letter to the Home Minister, Chairman of the UPSC, Minorities Commission, and other authorities demanding action against Sudarshan News for what it called a ‘malicious campaign to promote hatred and divisiveness in society’. Consequently, the letter said, “We, therefore, urge the Union Home Ministry, the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, the Chief Minister, Delhi and the Commissioner of Police, Delhi to order the lodging of FIRs under the relevant legal provisions.”

It added, “We also request the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the News Broadcasting Standards Authority of India to investigate whether or not the show would run afoul of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, read with the Cable Television Networks Rules 1994, and the Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards and take suitable action.”

“The National Human Rights Commission, the Minorities Commission, and the Union Public Service Commission are also requested to take notice of this vicious hate campaign to malign a particular religion and community through the propagation of slanted news that will not stand scrutiny by any objective criterion,” it stated. Among others, the letter was signed by Harsh Mander, former NSA Shivshankar Menon and Julio Ribeiro himself. Other than Mander, Menon also sits on the Board of Trustees of an organisation with George Soros.

Facebook Open Letter

There was some controversy recently over the conduct of one of Facebook India employees who was accused of unfairly favouring the Bharatiya Janata Party. While it was evident from the beginning that the allegations levelled at Ankhi Das were politically motivated, the CCG composed an open letter on that as well and decided to pile up the pressure on Facebook. The open letter addressed to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was penned on the 24th of August.

The open letter stated, “…we are surprised that Facebook did not take action against some clear and serial offenders in India – persons like T Raja Singh and a few others – for their derogatory comments against people belonging to a different religion, accusing Muslims of spreading Covid 19, indulging in ’love jehad’ and various other misdemeanours. What is striking about Facebook’s leniency towards these persons is that all of them happen to be members of the political party in power.”

It continued, “We are writing to you in the expectation that you will make serious efforts to audit the implementation of Facebook’s hate speech policy in India and, while such an audit is under way, ensure that the present Public Policy Head of Facebook, India, is not in a position to influence the investigations.”

“We also fervently hope that in future, you will not let your company’s business prospects stand in the way of implementing your own policy against hate speech and posts which can lead to hate crimes. This is a sure way of demonizing minorities and inflicting violence upon them while undermining the democratic and secular basis of the Indian Constitution,” it added.

Unlike the Sudarshan News open letter which was signed by 91 individuals, this was signed by only 54. However. Harsh Mander and Julio Ribeiro did appear on the list of signatories apart from a few others who appear to be regulars.

Statement on the Rule of Law and Article 19 of Indian Constitution

The CCG issued a statement on the 4th of July that “arises from our deep concern at the assault on the Rule of Law in India and on its citizens’ rights to free speech and dissent, basic elements of any democracy.” In that statement as well, the CCG made a valiant defence of its ideological compatriots such as Harsh Mander and Kafeel Khan and relied on like-minded individuals such as Amartya Sen to bolster their argument.

It said in its letter, “The rampant erosion of the rule of law in evidence today militates against the actualization of the freedom of speech which is the cornerstone of democratic functioning. The gulf between the Rule of Law rhetoric and reality is getting wider and wider. The police establishments across the country appear to have become proxies for the respective ruling parties.”

In the statement, they defended ‘Urban Naxals’ such as Gautam Navlakha, who has links to Pakistan’s ISI, and Sudha Bharadwaj, Shoma Sen and Anand Teltumbde as well as ‘hundreds of political activists’ in Kashmir. Siddharth Varadarajan, who is in the dock for spreading fake news about UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, was also defended by the collective of ’eminent citizens’. The letter had 99 signatories.

Defence of Harsh Mander

CCG came out in strong defence of the Italian Secret Services linked ‘activist’ Harsh Mander. In an open letter to the media, that was signed by Julio Ribeiro, Soros-aide Shivshankar Menon and others, the collective claimed that the ‘activist’ was being unfairly vilified and claimed that his incendiary speech on the 16th of December was ‘mischaracterised’.

The letter said, “We are writing to you to please consider whether you can bring to the notice of the general public the continued misrepresentation and mischaracterization of his speech at Jamia Millia on December 16, 2019, and the possible misuse of law against a champion of non-violence and believer in the rule of law. In the meanwhile, those political leaders who publicly used hate speech and incited violence roam free with impunity.”

Campaign against CAA-NRC-NPR

In yet another open letter, this time signed by over a hundred individuals, the collective called for the repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act and provided a lengthy explanation of why CAA-NRC-NPR is not necessary. The letter was addressed to the citizens of India but it was not ready by too many Indians outside of their echo-chamber. It is unlikely that it would have changed anyone’s mind either.

The open letter stated, “The provisions of the CAA, coupled with rather aggressive statements over the past few years from the highest levels of this government, rightly cause deep unease in India’s Muslim community, which has already faced discrimination and attacks on issues ranging from allegations of love jihad to cattle smuggling and beef consumption.”

“That the Muslim community has had to face the brunt of police action in recent days only in those states where the local police is controlled by the party in power at the centre only adds credence to the widespread feeling that the NPR-NRIC exercise could be used for selective targeting of specific communities and individuals,” it added.

The letter also raised concerns about the “constitutional validity of the CAA provisions, which we also consider to be morally indefensible.” It continued, “Above all, we see a situation developing where India is in danger of losing international goodwill and alienating its immediate neighbours, with adverse consequences for the security set-up in the sub-continent. India also stands to lose its position as a moral beacon guiding many other countries on the path to liberal democracy.”

Apart from demanding a repeal of the CAA, the open letter demanded the repeal of “Sections 14A and 18 (2) (ia) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, pertaining to the issue of national identity cards and its procedures and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 in its entirety” and the withdrawal of “the Foreigners (Tribunals) Amendment Order, 2019” and “instructions for construction of detention camps.”

Other Open Letters

By this point, readers would have realised that Julio Ribeiro and his band of ’eminent citizens’ love writing and signing open letters. Apart from the ones mentioned here, the CCG has written open letters on a variety of political issues, always siding with the left. The collective penned an open letter on Ram Janmabhoomi on the 6th of December 2019.

On December 5, it penned a letter on supposed irregularities in the conduct of the Lok Sabha Elections of 2019. In October the same year, CCG wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the ‘victimization’ of ‘honest civil servants’. On the 24th of April, an open letter was penned against the candidature of Sadhvi Pragya Thakur from Bhopal.

On and on the open letter saga goes. It does not appear to have had any impact on anything significant as of yet; however, it could not be blamed on a lack of effort.

Paytm and Paytm First Fantasy Game apps removed from Google Play Store for alleged violation of gambling policy

OpIndia Staff
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Paytm and Paytm First Fantasy Game apps removed from Google Play Store for alleged violation of gambling policy

Google has taken down popular Indian financial services app Paytm from the Play store alleging violation of its policies. The Paytm and Paytm First Fantasy Game apps have been removed from the Play Store but other apps from the company like Paytm for Business, Paytm Mall, Paytm Money are still available. Paytm informed about Google’s action on Twitter and assured its users that their money was safe and that the app will be back very soon.

The apps cannot be downloaded from Play store by Android users though it is available on the Apple store. The users who have the Paytm apps already installed on their devices can continue to use the app. Although Google has not revealed the reason for removing the app, a blogpost by Google India indicated that it was due to violation of gambling norms on Play Store. Paytm promotes fantasy sports services within its app which facilitate sports betting like Dream 11. This was in violation of the policies of Google Play store which prohibit online casinos and unregulated gambling apps.

According to Google, online casinos and other unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting are in violation of the policies of the Play store applicable in India. Paytm reportedly violated Play store’s policies through its fantasy sports service called Paytm First Games. As per Google Play store policies, if an app leads consumers to an external website that allows them to participate in paid tournaments to win real money, it will be deemed a violation of the Play store policies. Google had sent out emails to several firms in India asking the developers to stop the advertising campaigns in their apps that lead the customers to websites offering installation of sports betting apps.

The Vice President, Product, Android Security and Privacy states in Google, Suzanne Frey said in the blog that Google had policies against online casinos and unregulated gambling apps to protect users from potential harm. She said that whenever an app violates these policies, the developer of the app is notified and the app is removed unless it complies with the policies. In case of repeated policy violations, more stringent action may follow which can include termination of Google Play Developer accounts.

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