Acting strictly on the policy of ‘zero tolerance’, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has expedited the task of constituting a Special Security Force (SSP), which will be granted the powers to search or arrest the accused without any warrant. Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Awanish Awasthi, said late Sunday: “The state government has given orders for the constitution of a special security force. A roadmap in this regard has been sought from the Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP).”
The powers of the force will be governed by a set of rules made by the state government. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on 26 June announced the formation of the force which is claimed to be a dream project of the chief minister. The decision to constitute this force came on the heels of the Allahabad High Court order last December.
Five battalions with 9919 Special Security Force personnel will be constituted in the first phase
Awasthi informed that the members of this force would be authorised to arrest any accused without the orders of a magistrate or a warrant. Initially, in the first phase, five battalions will be constituted and it would be headed by an additional director general (ADG)-ranked officer.
A total of 9,919 SSF personnel would be deployed within three months in the first phase, following which 1,913 more posts will be created. Expenses incurred in the first phase will be around Rs 1,747 crore, informed the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Awanish Awasthi adding that it was “a dream project of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister”. The basis of this force is an order of the High Court, which had expressed that there should be a specialised force for civil courts, said Awasthi.
Headquartered in Lucknow, this special force will provide security to the high court, district courts, administrative offices and buildings, Metro rail, airports, banks, financial institutions, educational institutions and industrial units. According to reports, even the court will not be able to take cognizance against the force without the government’s approval.
BJP MLA Nitish Rane has thrown light on an unexplored angle in the mysterious death case of celebrity manager Disha Salian. “Just like Rhea is the closest link to Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, the nearest to Disha Salian’s death is her fiance Rohan Rai”. Saying so, BJP MLA Nitish Rane has said that the CBI should investigate the role of Rohan Rai into celebrity manager Disha Salian’s suicide case as well.
Raising questions on Disha Salian’s fiance Rohan Rai disappearance since her death on June 8, the BJP MLA in an interview with Republic Bharat claimed that Disha’s fiance knows the ‘truth about June 8’ and is allegedly in hiding.
Strong link between Disha and Sushant’s death, claims BJP MLA Nitish Rane
The BJP MLA also indicated that there is a strong link between Disha and Sushant’s death and alleged that only Rohan has all the information but is currently in hiding.
The minister said that Rohan, who hails from Mangalore is currently at his native place in ‘hiding’. “He is not even in Bombay and not in touch with anyone,” he added. Rane also added that if Rohan does not come out and share information with the CBI, he is ready to share everything he knows with the investigating agency. Rane confirmed that he is privy to certain hidden information about June 8 and is ready to share with CBI.
Something must have happened at the party of June 8 and someone must have been present there because of which the Mumbai Police is on the back foot: BJP MLA
“You have to understand that there are very straight-forward evidence or a straight-forward link. And, there is a very suspicious way things have started unveiling after June 8th which led to the 13th. If you see, Disha Salian did not stay with her parents, but, in a live-in relationship with a guy called Rohan Rai. Surprisingly, they both were in a live-in relationship, madly in love. They were planning to settle down by the end of this year or next year. That is what we have heard. Surprisingly, since Disha’s death, nobody has heard about this guy called Rohan Rai till today, and what is his stand on the entire Disha Salian episode? Why isn’t he coming out and saying that this isn’t a suicide and this is what has happened?,” Rane said.
“Something must have happened at the party of June 8 and someone must have been present there because of which the Mumbai Police is on the backfoot. The whole system is trying to save someone who must have been present on both June 8 and 12. The CBI should check mobile tower locations to track these people. There definitely were certain people who were present on both dates”, furthered the BJP MLA, reiterating that he was 100 per cent sure that Rohan Rai has some dirty secrets up his sleeves which has forced him to go into hiding.
How Mumbai police impeded inquiry into the death case of Disha Salian
Sushant Singh Rajput’s former manager Disha Salian’s death has been claimed as suicide by Mumbai police, but it has been alleged that she was murdered and her case has links with the similar mysterious death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Disha, who had worked as Sushant Singh Rajput’s manager for a brief period of time, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on June 8, six days before Sushant allegedly died of suicide.
It was reported last month how Salian’s phone had remained active even after her death on June 8. Sources privy to the details claimed that Disha’s phone remained active for 9 days after her death. They also stated that Internet calls were made between June 9 and June 17 from Disha’s phone. However, though the Mumbai Police had reached the spot within minutes of Disha’s death, no phone was seized by the officials.
Similarly, Disha’s post mortem reports had revealed that her body was found nude. The report accessed last month by Republic TV showed that Disha Salian didn’t have clothes on her body when she was found dead after falling from the 14th floor of a building. Yet another shocking revelation which was also not revealed by the Mumbai police.
Earlier, the Mumbai Police had claimed that the files of the investigation into Sushant’s ex-manager Disha Salian’s alleged suicide case have been deleted “accidentally”.
Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, has tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus. Taking to Twitter, the AAP leader announced that he has gone into isolation after contracting COVID-19.
Manish Sisodia felt slightly slightly feverish Sunday night following which he took a COVID-19 test today. After testing positive for coronavirus, Sisodia assured his followers that he is not facing any complications and would soon return to work.
“After having a mild fever, I got tested for the coronavirus, whose report has come positive. I have kept myself in isolation. There is no fever as of now, and I am completely fine. By your good wishes and blessings, I will soon return to work,” Manish Sisodia tweeted.
हल्का बुख़ार होने के बाद आज कोरोना टेस्ट क़राया था जिसकी रिपोर्ट पोज़िटिव आई है. मैंने स्वयं को एकांतवास में रख लिया है. फ़िलहाल बुख़ार या अन्य कोई परेशानी नहीं है मैं पूरी तरह ठीक हूँ. आप सब की दुआओं से जल्द ही पूर्ण स्वस्थ होकर काम पर लौटूँगा.
Earlier today, 17 members of Parliament, including Meenakshi Lekhi, Anant Kumar Hegde, had tested positive for the virus. The compulsory tests were conducted before the start of the monsoon session this morning. Members belonging to the lower house of the parliament were tested on September 13 and September 14 for the novel coronavirus.
As per Delhi Government’s health bulletin, the national capital recorded 3,229 new cases of COVID-19, taking the cumulative tally of the city to over 2.21 lakh. The death toll has risen to 4,770 with about 24 deaths reported in the last 24 hours. The city has conducted around 45,000 tests in the past 24 hours, out of which 9,859 were RTPCR/CBNAAT/TrueNat tests and remaining 35,025 were rapid antigen tests.
Leftists such as Teesta Setalvad and those associated with Swaraj Abhiyan acknowledge that organisations such as PFI and SDPI radicalise the Muslim youth of the country, Times Now has reported. In a tape accessed by the news channel, Zia Nomani, an activist associated with Swaraj Abhiyan, is heard pleading with Setalvad to raise the threat posed by the radical Islamic organisations.
#Exclusive | Hear Umar Khalid backer’s admission. Shocking secret admission out; Teesta, Left lobby knows ‘truth.’
In the tape accessed by Times Now, Zia Nomani tells Teesta Setalvad, “I am very sure you all must be very concerned about what is happening in Bengaluru and the narrative that is being set nationally because of the unfortunate incidents.” He continues, “When we talk about fighting the RSS and if we don’t fight right wing coming from the community of Muslims, we don’t have the moral authority to fight them. And neither will the border liners and the seculars who are not Muslims or Dalits will come in our fight.”
“Because it is hypocrisy if we don’t fight organisations like SDPI and PFI. Now we might have differences and we might debate on whether such organisations should be banned or not but they should definitely be prosecuted for the radicalisation of youth. Zia Nomani also says that SDPI and PFI are willing to use violence to achieve their ideological objectives and emphasises the need to counter them.
Teesta Setalvad responded saying, “Wherever there is such a tendency developing in the Muslim community, strong statements are not made against it and that is wrong… I will only say this much for now that SDPI and PFI remain problematic for people like us and our organisations like Communalism Combat, Sabrang India. We have taken a public stand on not to share a public platform with them.” Both of them appear to agree in private that SDPI and PFI are legitimate threats.
Meanwhile, Swaraj Abhiyan has challenged the claims by Times Now and said that the discussion was not any secret but was part of a public discussion that was broadcast live on Facebook on the 16th of August.
Sorry to disappoint you @TimesNow, your super exclusive #UmarLobbySecretTape is actually part of a public conversation
➡️ NOTHNG PRIVATE: The tape you claimed was accessed by ‘Security Agencies’ was public & broadcasted Live on Facebook on 16 Aug
The PFI has a history of committing violence to further the cause of Radical Islam. Their members have come under the scanner on several cases of violence. During the investigation into the Delhi Riots and the violence across the country in the wake of the Citizenship Amendment Act, the role of PFI has been suspected and numerous members of the PFI have been arrested for their involvement in the riots. However, Leftist organisations have been far too hesitant in opposing them in public although they appear to concede in private that these are dangerous organisations.
Donald Trump, President of the United States has agreed to debate Joe Biden in a podcast with Joe Rogan. While replying to a quoted-tweet of MMA fighter Tim Kennedy, President Trump wrote “I Do!” confirming his approval for a 4-hour long debate between the incumbent president and the challenger for the upcoming 2020 elections.
Donald Trump confirms he is willing to debate Joe Biden with Joe Rogan as moderator
In his tweet, Kennedy talked about a podcast with Joe Rogan in which Rogan offered to moderate a debate between Biden and Trump. “It would be for four hours with no live audience. Just the two candidates, cameras, and their vision of how to move this country forward. Who wants this?” he added.
On my podcast with @joerogan he offered to moderate a debate between @JoeBiden and @realDonaldTrump It would be four hours with no live audience. Just the two candidates, cameras, and their vision of how to move this country forward. Who wants this? #debates#Election2020
Joe Rogan has more than 9.5 million subscribers on his podcast channel on YouTube. Known for his unapologetic and straightforward podcasts, he has interviewed several high profile politicians on his podcast, including 2020 presidential aspirants Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard and Andrew Yang.
In his podcast, Rogan said that he would prefer to vote for Trump over Biden but later clarified that he is not a supporter of Donald Trump. He has also questioned Biden’s mental health. He said, “The news media on the left has completely ignored all of these Biden speeches that clearly show some kind of cognitive decline.”
Earlier, Joe Rogan had endorsed Bernie Sanders for the presidency, which was proudly advertised by the Sanders campaign. But sections of the Sanders supporter-base had slammed the campaign for accepting the endorsement of someone they considered transphobic.
A month after Hindu rights activist Shivam Rawat had filed a complaint against ‘comedian’ Munawar Faruqui for derogatory comments against Hindu deities, he has alleged inaction on the part of the police. Rawat runs a Youtube channel named ‘Pen of Dharma.’
The complainant has informed that even after a month since the complaint was filed, a First Information Report (FIR) has not yet been lodged. Rawat stated that he had been following up on his complaint with the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Kishangarh police station. The SHO told him that the matter has been taken up by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) due to the sensitive nature of the case.
Sensitive cases take time, police justifies ‘inaction’ over complaint
The complainant has alleged that it took 10 days for the DCP to take cognisance of the matter. Shivam Rawat stated that he has been told that such cases need time. While speaking to Opindia, he said, “I can understand such things take time. But, four weeks have passed now.” He further continued, “My complaints are based on viral videos, which were trending on Twitter a few months ago. This case is neither one-sided nor based on propaganda. However, despite, all of this, the police are taking time to lodge the FIR.”
When inquired about the status of the case, Rawat alleged that he is told that the investigation will take time. “They don’t tell me about how long should I wait to get the FIR registered. Should I wait for 3-4 months or a year?”, he asked. “I agree that getting FIR registered is not an easy thing. But it cannot take this long. A complainant means that the processing of a case has begun. However, a real investigation commences only after an FIR is lodged.”
When Opindia contacted Kishangarh police station, they refused to comment on Rawat’s complaint. We also tried to reach out to the DCP but it was in vain.
Details of the complaint
In his complaint, Rawat emphasised how the comments made by Munawar Faruqui hurt the sentiments of millions of Hindus including him. In his complaint, Rawat has stated how Faruqui had used Bollywood songs to make crass, disrespectful remarks on Hindu gods and belief system.
Remember Munawar faruqui?? Watch his latest video targeted at Hindus who stood against his ugly remark on our lord. He is refering to Hindus as “Bhedo ki nasal” https://t.co/nBRt2wpTEW There is no stopping them.@RameshSolanki what was the outcome of the previous complaint?
Quoting comments made by Munawar Faruqui, Rawat implied that the so-called ‘comedian’ has deliberately hurt Hindus and their faith. Rawat also pointed out how he mocked the brutal massacre of Hindus in the Godhra carnage by claiming, “Marney ke baad jaltay hai na? (Hindus get burnt anyway after death).” He further emphasised that inaction against such miscreants has led to the repeated humiliation for the Hindu faith.
Earlier on being asked why he filed complaint against Munawar Faruqui now, the founder of ‘Pen of Dharma’ replied, “I was agitated after I watched the rap song made by Faruqi. Instead of apologising, he seems to challenge us that we cannot do anything about him or stop him from making derogatory comments about our Gods. As a practicing Hindu and a devotee of Lord Ram, I have come to realise that if such behaviour is left unchecked, it will only encourage others to display more of such Hindu hatred.”
Munawar Faruqi on 2002 Godhra Carnage
During a show in April, Munawar Faruqui mocked the 2002 Godhra carnage where 58 Hindus returning from Ayodhya were burnt alive by a Muslim mob. In a part of the clip that had gone viral on social media, one can hear him refer to the carnage as a fictional film ‘directed’ by Amit Shah and ‘produced’ by RSS.
“I was watching The Burning Train on TV. My father came and told me not to watch such nonsense and turned off the channel. I was like, ‘why so?’ He was like this is the video of Godhra kaand. And this is a news channel. I thought it is a movie directed by Amit Shah, produced by RSS… I don’t know…,” he said. Munawar Faruqui then referred to the news about 2002 Godhra carnage as ‘cartoon’.
Arrested in connection with the violent riots that swept the national capital earlier in February this year, former JNU student and ‘activist’, Umar Khalid has been sent to 10 days of police custody by the Karkardooma court. He was produced before the Court through video conference by Delhi Police Special Cell on Monday.
#Breaking | Umar Khalid sent to 10-day police custody.
The order was passed by judge Amitabh Rawat after Delhi Police sought 10 days of police custody to confront the ‘JNU scholar’ with data that runs into 11 lakh pages. Delhi Police had arrested Umar Khalid for his alleged role in instigating the riots in Delhi.
Representing Umar Khalid, advocate Trideep Pais alleged that the former JNU student had been arrested under trumped-up charges by the Delhi Police. Pais argued that Khalid had been fully co-operating with the Delhi Police, but as the police could not find any incriminating evidence against him, they have resorted to arresting him.
Umar Khalid arrested by Delhi Police on Sunday night
On Sunday, a Special Cell of the Delhi police has reportedly arrested erstwhile JNU student Umar Khalid in connection to the Delhi Anti-Hindu riots. He was booked under the newly amended Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and will be produced before the Court today.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police arrested Khalid under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) after almost 11 hours of interrogation. Khalid has been accused of playing an active role in fomenting violence in the national capital.
The charge sheet filed in FIR 114 clearly outlines his role in hatching the conspiracy of the Delhi riots. It says that Tahir Hussain was connected to Khalid Saifi of United Against Hate Group and through Saifi, he was also in touch with Umar Khalid. Khalid Saifi, it says, had arranged a meeting between the ‘communist atheist’ and Tahir Hussain on the 8th of January at Shaheen Bagh. In that meeting, it was decided to take ‘big action’ so the government gets shaken up on the issue of CAA and NRC and also, ensure that the international community takes notice of that action.
The Zakat Foundation has found itself in a raging controversy recently after allegations have been made that Muslims receive undue advantages in their efforts to gain recruitment into the civil services. Since then, we have published multiple reports highlighting the links of the foundation with international Islamist organisations, including radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.
The Zakat Foundation has opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act and opposes the Uniform Civil Code. Its president, Syed Zafar Mahmood, had made ridiculous demands in return for conceding the Ram Janmabhoomi to Hindus while negotiations were underway between the Hindu and Muslim side. However, there is another aspect to their ideology that has yet not been received the focus that it deserves; that is, it’s the romanticisation of Muhammad Iqbal.
From a 2016 presentation by Syed Zafar Mahmood
The Zakat Foundation uses compositions by Muhammad Iqbal to inspire Muslims to join the Civil Services. It believes that the bureaucracy rules the country and by joining civil services, Muslims can capture the Prime Minister’s Office and other ministries for the next 35 years. They believe that Muslims should join the bureaucracy not for employment but to empower the Muslim community.
From a 2016 presentation by Syed Zafar Mahmood
Muhammad Iqbal was one of the significant proponents of the two-nation theory and the creation of Pakistan in the first half of the 20th Century. In his renowned composition, Tarana-e-Milli, Iqbal wrote, “Cīn o-ʿArab hamārā, Hindūstāṉ hamārā, Muslim haiṉ ham, wat̤an hai sārā jahāṉ hamārā”. This is the pure vision of the Ummah in poetry. The Ummah which does not constrain itself with any national boundaries but believes that it has an Allah-given right to lord over the entire world.
Iqbal wrote further, “The treasure of tawhid is in our hearts, It is not easy to wipe out our name and mark. The first house we have liberated from idols is the Ka’abah; We are its custodians, and It is our protector.” Tawhid refers to the concept of Monotheism in Islam. The words seen in unison reflect quite clearly the deep hatred for idolatry and polytheism that Muhammad Iqbal carried in his heart.
From a 2016 presentation by Syed Zafar Mahmood
Muhammad Iqbal was an Ahmadiyya, a widely persecuted sect of Islam currently in Pakistan. But Ahmadiyyas were at the forefront of creating a separate state for Muslims, that is, Pakistan, during the 1940s. It was only during his later years that he quit the sect. It is widely known that he remained in touch with the Ahmadiyya leadership till 1931, when he vouched for the Ahmadi Khalifa as the most able person to lead as the first president of the newly founded all-India Kashmir Committee.
From a presentation made at a Conference on Issues of Indian Muslims and their Solutions by the Zakat Foundation president
The president of Zakat Foundation, Syed Zafar Mahmood, is also the founder chairman of the Iqbal Academy India. Thus, quite clearly, despite Iqbal’s advocacy for the creation of Pakistan, the foundation clearly has no issues with romanticising him. Combined with other aspects of its ideology, it does present a rather dangerous picture. It is also to be noted that the foundation helps in the settlement of Rohingyas in India, who have been deemed to be illegal immigrants and a security threat to the country.
Days after ‘gracefully’ accepting the punishment meted out to him by the apex court, Advocate Prashant Bhushan has decided to file a review petition in the Supreme Court against its verdict and the punishment meted out to him.
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan files review petition in the Supreme Court against its judgement convicting him and imposing a fine of Re 1, for criminal contempt of court pic.twitter.com/bF81OOglBl
Bhushan said that though he was submitting the Re 1 fine in the registry today, it did not mean that he had accepted the SC’s verdict. “Just because I’m paying the fine does not mean I have accepted the verdict. We have filed a writ petition that there must be an appeal procedure created for conviction under contempt,” Bhushan told the media before submitting the fine.
Saying so, the Advocate confirmed that he would be filing a review petition against the convictions and the fine inposed on him.
“The State is using all means to silence voices of dissent. The ‘truth fund’ will be used to protect the personal liberty to those persons who face the State’s persecution,” Bhushan said.
Prashant Bhushan ‘gracefully’ accepted the punishment
While the reason for this flip flop is unknown, it becomes imperative to note hear that barely a fortnight ago, the senior lawyer had taken to Twitter to confirm that he had ‘gracefully’ accepted the punishment. Taking to Twitter, Bhushan stated that his lawyer Rajeev Dhavan had immediately paid up the Rs 1, that the SC had decided as his penalty.
The SC had on August 31, announced the quantum of punishment for Prashant Bhushan in the contempt case. The court had asked Bhushan to pay the penalty of Rs 1 for being guilty of contempt of court or face three months of jail time and suspension of his law practice in the apex court for 3 years.
SC holds the advocate guilty of contempt
Last month, the Supreme Court had held advocate Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court. The case pertained to two tweets where Prashant Bhushan had cast aspersions against the Supreme Court and specifically, CJI Bobde.
On the 1st of September, propaganda outlet Newslaundry published an article that essentially said that the Modi government could not ‘capture’ PTI and hence, it launched PBNS. Alleging that the Modi government had a ‘hunger for publicity’, it alleged that just at the start of the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus, FM Gold became a 24-hour news station to satisfy the Modi govt’s urge for publicity and the change cost 80 casual employees their jobs.
The article said, “The actual motivation wasn’t as mundane, however. There are multiple threads linking FM Gold’s sudden transformation to the spat between Prasar Bharati, the state broadcaster, and the news agency Press Trust of India; the formation of the Prasar Bharati News Service last year; and the Narendra Modi government’s excessive love for publicity”.
The article essentially insinuates that since the Modi government could not influence PTI and Prasar Bharati had an ‘open spat’ with PTI, the Modi government turned FM Gold into a news channel and launched PBNS so he could have a hold on the ‘publicity’ he so craved.
The entire article was laden with lies and unsubstantiated insinuations.
Here are 12 lies that The Newslaundry furthered in their desperation to malign the Modi government.
Claim 1: FM Gold became a news station on March 25, the same day India went into lockdown. As a consequence, 80 casual employees lost their jobs almost overnight.
Casual assignees are not employees of All India Radio/Prasar Bharati. They are part-time freelancers who are engaged on a need basis only and are referred to as Casual Assignees. They are paid for the number of assignments done by them. Since their services are utilized for specific assignments on a need basis, there is no employer-employee relationship between them and All India Radio. They are free to accept employment in other public and private organizations of their choice or pursue any other business or profession. Such persons can be teachers, managers, engineers, doctors, lawyers or entrepreneurs and can yet contribute to All India Radio as casual assignees in their spare time.
Several casual assignees continue to receive payments from All India Radio for assignments completed as may have been assigned to them during the lockdown period and till date. There is no further entitlement for casual assignees to receive payments from All India Radio outside of assignments.
This lie is not unique to Newslaundry and has not been spread for the first time. In April 2020, Indian Express and The Hindu had spread the same fake news. There were two articles published, one in The Hindu and the other in the Indian Express that had spread fake news at a time the nation is dealing with a pandemic. The articles aimed to target Prasar Bharati, India’s Public Service Broadcaster, and allege that the channel had fired its employees amidst the Coronavirus pandemic despite the directive from the Prime Minister about retaining employees through the lockdown period. At that time, OpIndia had debunked these misplaced assertions.
Claim 2: FM Gold became a news station on March 25, the same day India went into lockdown. The rationale provided by AIR for this drastic move was that in a pandemic people needed information more than they did entertainment.
Under the Prasar Bharati act, the following mandate is given:
“The Corporation shall, in the discharge of its functions, be guided by the following objectives – safeguarding the citizen’s right to be informed freely, truthfully and objectively on all matters of public interest, national or international, and presenting a fair and balanced flow of information including contrasting views without advocating any opinion or ideology of its own.”
Speaking to OpIndia, sources from AIR said that in all cities where AIR operates, out of 3 Radio frequencies in the FM mode, 2 frequencies have been dedicated to entertainment (Vividh Bharati, FM Rainbow), and one frequency has been dedicated to news and current affairs.
Claim 3: There are multiple threads linking FM Gold’s sudden transformation to the spat between Prasar Bharati, the state broadcaster, and the news agency Press Trust of India; the formation of the Prasar Bharati News Service last year, and the Narendra Modi govt’s excessive love for publicity.
While Newslaundry has conveniently tied PBNS and FM Gold, the truth is that PBNS is a Digital News Service of India’s Public Broadcaster which broadcasts Breaking Alerts, digests and curated developing stories from across the Globe. It has no connection with FM Gold.
Claim 4: The PBNS has to fulfil its mandate of reducing Prasar Bharati’s annual budget by ending the broadcaster’s reliance on PTI and UNI.
Newslaundry in its article craftily tries to insinuate that the PBNS was started solely for the purpose of reducing Prasar Bhart’s reliance on PTI. However, that is not the case and nothing that has been done goes beyond the purview of the mandate given in the act.
According to the Prasar Bharati Act, “the Corporation (Prasar Bharati) may take such steps as it thinks fit to establish a system for the gathering of news for radio and television”.
PBNS is an effort towards the same; it has nothing to do with FM Gold.
Claim 5: In March 2018, FM Gold was robbed of its 106.4 MHz frequency
Newslaundry insinuates that AIR “robbed” FM GOLD of its 106.4 frequency, to insinuate that it was “stripped for its identity” because it wanted to ensure that the entertainment channel was turned into a news channel.
OpIndia reached out to the people in the know within AIR. Speaking on the issue, AIR said, “to achieve one nation, one frequency for FM Gold across the country, its 106.4 MHz frequency was swapped with that of Vividh Bharati 101.4 MHz. Vividh Bharati was given 106.4 MHz”.
Claim 6: FM Gold was handed over to AIR news division. Now it airs news bulletins all day long, as also Modi’s speeches, government ads and repeated programmes.
While Newslaundry seems to allege that Prasar Bharati stripped FM GOLD of its identity, it seems that the author of the article had not read the Prasar Bharati Act that clearly states what the aim of any division of the PB is.
The public service mandate as specified in Prasar Bharati Act, “it shall be the primary duty of the Corporation (Prasar Bharati) to organise and conduct public broadcasting services to inform, educate and entertain the public and to ensure a balanced development of broadcasting on radio and television.”
It would thus appear that FM GOLD is doing exactly what the Prasar Bharati Act mandates it to do, but Newslaundry seems to have a problem because it is conforming to the law and not their agenda.
Claim 7: Running Modi’s old speeches and repeating programmes became necessary after the firing of the 80 employees brought the production operations to a near halt.
OpIndia found that FM Gold’s operations have continued uninterrupted with more than 12 Hours of daily fresh news and current affairs programmes. Interestingly, in this claim also, Newslaundry repeats the lie of Prasar Bharati firing 80 employees that have long been debunked.
Claim 8: The news broadcasts on FM Gold are heavily skewed towards Modi’s government and party.
OpIndia spoke to people in the know from Prasar Bharati. They said, “News broadcasts on FM Gold are not unique to FM Gold, they are produced by news services division of All India Radio, and are carried throughout the network of All India Radio in multiple modes, such as local FM (FM Gold etc.), mediumwave analogue and digital, Satellite Radio (DD FreeDish DTH), Internet streaming (NewsOnAir and YouTube)”.
Claim 9: Prasar Bharati had ordered all its employees over 35 years of age to be rescreened and reinstituted.
Speaking to OpIndia, sources from Prasar Bharati sad that no such order had been passed and they have no idea where Newslaundry was getting its information from.
Claim 10: Prasar Bharati News Service, an ambitious project of the Modi government. Bureaucrats and journalists aligned with the BJP advised the government to start its own news agency using Prasar Bharati.
Newslaundry claims that PBNS was started solely because the Modi government wanted a channel they could control and further the agenda of the Modi government. It also claims that journalists aligned with the BJP advised the government to do so using Prasar Bharati. Firstly, it is hard to imagine Newslaundry having any sort of access to private conversations even if they did take place. Given the track record of the publication, it is not unthinkable that they would make this claim up entirely.
Further, they have proven yet again that they have failed to do their due diligence and read the Prasar Bharati Act. The Act says, “the Corporation (Prasar Bharati) may take such steps as it thinks fit to establish a system for the gathering of news for radio and television”.
PBNS seems to fulfil the mandate as mentioned in the Prasar Bharati Act itself and the assertions by Newslaundry, as usual, ring hollow and reek of propaganda.
Claim 11: In 2017, Prasar Bharati decided to stop subscribing to PTI and UNI in favour of Hindusthan Samachar, a news agency backed by the RSS. The truth is, Prasar Bharati had already been using the services of Hindusthan Samachar, offered by it free of cost. In the end though, given the uproar the news had generated, Prasar Bharati didn’t subscribe to Hindusthan Samachar.
PTI has been receiving huge fees from the public broadcaster, the fees are said to be in crores and it has been going on for decades. Reportedly, Prasar Bharati pays PTI over RS. 9 crores annually, which is in addition to the amount paid by PIB. In fact, currently, Prasar Bharati pays PTI approximately 9.15 crores, OpIndia has leant.
In an article OpIndia had done back in June 2020, we had explored that since 2016-2017, Prasar Bharati has been trying to rationalise the amount paid to PTI as it does not think that the service provided by PTI is worth more than Rs. 2.5 crores. In 2017-18, Prasar Bharati had rationalised the amount paid to PTI and unilaterally reduced the amount paid to PTI by about 25%. However, sources had confirmed that it is just the tip of the iceberg and there is a long way to go before the fees are rationalised to Rs. 2.5 crores.
The assertion by Newslaundry that Prasar Bharati has stopped subscribing to PTI and UNI is a pure lie. Further, Newslaundry saying that Prasar Bharati does not subscribe to Hindusthan Samachar after “hue and cry” is also a lie.
Truth is, Prasar Bharati continues to subscribe to PTI, UNI and Hindusthan Samachar.
Speaking to OpIndia, a source said, “These are purely commercial arrangements and Prasar Bharati reserves the right to review these commercial arrangements based on their usefulness and its needs from time to time”.
Claim 12: When the PBNS started its operation, Kumar became its CEO.
Hilariously, Newslaundry says, “Here’s where it gets rather shady. Back when Prasar Bharati was considering going with Hindusthan Samachar, the news agency’s CEO, Sameer Kumar, was involved in the decisionmaking. When the PBNS started its operation, Kumar became its CEO”.
There are so many contradictions in this article, that it makes the head spin.
Firstly, earlier in the article, Newslaundry had clearly said that after the outrage, Prasar Bharati had not signed a contract with Hindusthan Samachar. Though it was not true and Prasar Bharati does have contact with them, for Newslaundry to later claim, in the same article, that the CEO of Hindusthan Samachar became to “CEO of PBNS” due to this contract, it is rather amusing.
Further, PBNS is an internal unit of Prasar Bharati. It doesn’t have a CEO. The CEO of Prasar Bharati is Shashi Shekhar Vempati and Samir Kumar is the head of PBNS, not the CEO.
Aside from these glaring contradictions, Newslaundry seems to be terribly inept at simple research.
Prasar Bharati got into a contract with Hindusthan Samachar in February 2020. However, Samir Kumar quit Hindusthan Samachar as their CEO in February 2019, according to his LinkedIn profile and became the PBNS head in March 2019.
Linked In profile of Samir Kumar
What Newslaundry essentially wants to say is this: Prasar Bharati did not get into a contract with Hindusthan Samachar because their content was substandard, however, when the talks were going on with Hindusthan Samachar, Samir Kumar was a part of the discussion. Then, when PBNS was launched, he became the CEO of PBNS, and even though Prasar Bharati had no contract with Hindusthan Samachar, this job change by Samir Kumar indicates impropriety.
However, facts do not support their argument. The contract between Prasar Bharati and Hindusthan Samachar happened only in February 2020. To insinuate that Samir Kumar became PBNS head in March 2019 due to some sort of a quid pro quo is ridiculous in itself.
But why let facts come in the way of propaganda.
It is interesting to note that Newslaundry has published a propaganda piece, laden with lies against Prasar Bharati only after it decided to rationalise its payments to PTI. PTI had recently gone rogue and touted the China propaganda during the stand-off between India and China.
PTI had come under great criticism recently after an interview with Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong. During the interview, the Chinese ambassador blamed India for the clash between the two countries at Galwan Valley. Journalists of other agencies were outraged by the fact that the PTI did not bother to counter-question the Chinese ambassador on his dubious claims. People have also pointed out that the ‘interview’ came across as a press released by the Chinese Communist Party rather than a genuine interview.
By peddling the Chinese propaganda and going rogue as far as its content is concerned, PTI stands to lose the crores that it earns from the public broadcaster.
Prasar Bharati is India’s largest public broadcasting agency. It is a statutory autonomous body set up by an Act of Parliament and comprises the Doordarshan Television Network and All India Radio, which were earlier media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
With Prasar Bharati being a public broadcaster, it is obvious that such blatant anti-India propaganda which goes against the government of India and its stand in sensitive issues like the China conflict will not sit well.
It is only after this fiasco has Newslaundry sprung into action to further their lies and propaganda perhaps at the behest of PTI that stands to lose crores that it makes from Prasar Bharati.
