Journalist Ravish Kumar, the poster boy of the left-liberal jamaat, has recently been up-in-arms against the ‘shameful’ coverage of mainstream media, following the death of the 34-year-old actor Sushant Singh Rajput. In his primetime show on Thursday, Ravish Kumar expressed disappointment on how the media gave more importance to the ‘death of an actor’ than issues supposedly concerning the common citizens.
“It is high time to introspect. Is the society, which is busy watching the incessant news stories on Sushant Singh Rajput, interested to talk about the exams that are being conducted during this pandemic? This irresponsible section of the society has damaged journalism by watching the shameful coverage of several media houses on Tablighi Jamaat and Sushant Singh Rajput,” Ravish Kumar was seen patronising ‘other’ media publications on journalistic ethics in a snippet of the primetime video shared by popular Twitter user Ankur Singh.
While Ravish was giving Moral Gyan on TV coverage on Sushant Singh case, his own channels was flooded with news of Rhea?♂️ pic.twitter.com/HKWu1Tn4p4
However, a closer look at the official Youtube channel of NDTV India, the media house that employs Ravish Kumar, highlights an interesting picture. While Ravish Kumar had been busy in virtue-signalling and criticising others, his own media house has extensively covered stories surrounding the controversy over the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. In the following screengrab of NDTV India’s homepage, we can see a total of 10 videos out of 18 are dedicated to the said controversy.
Screengrab of the homepage of the official Youtube channel of NDTV India
While NDTV India has been extensively chasing the controversy, journalist Ravish Kumar in his primetime show patronises other media houses to refrain from doing so. Even though Ravish Kumar is not new to virtue-signalling, his recent rant is another instance of irony and hypocrisy.
The Wall Street Journal today published a report that said that the World Bank had suspended the publication of its annual Ease of Doing Business ranking because of certain discrepancies in the data. According to the report, the data of four countries – China, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – could have been inappropriately altered. It is pertinent to note that all 4 counties that are now under scanner ranked higher than India in the report released in 2019 Ease of Doing Business Rankings by the World Bank.
The report thus insinuated that the ranking of the 4 countries – China, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – could have been manipulated to show the ranking as higher than they actually deserved.
Since all 4 countries whose data seems to have inappropriately altered rank higher than India currently, it is entirely plausible that after the World Bank audits the reports it has released of the last 5 years, India’s ranking may actually improve from where it stands today.
However, the “liberals” who have seamlessly transitioned from hating Prime Minister Modi to hating India, immediately jumped the gun and started to insinuate that the improvement in ranking that India was so proud of may as well be a farce since the data was manipulated, according to the WSJ report.
The Hindu report, Suhasini Haider who is also the daughter of Subramanian Swamy, took to Twitter to completely misrepresent the WSJ report.
As the @WorldBank@WorldBankSAsia suspends its own Doing Business (EoDB) rankings due to rigged data issues, worth re-reading this investigation @HuffPost on how the govt lobbied, gamed, changed priorities in order to improve rankings here 2014-2018https://t.co/6qmL51r91L
In her first tweet, she wrote, “World Bank suspends `ease of doing business’ report: According to the now-withdrawn WB report, the economies with the most notable improvement in Doing Business 2020 were KSA, Togo, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, China, India and Nigeria”. And in the second, she plugged a report that supposedly insinuated how India lobbied with the World Bank.
However, the WSJ report does not even mention India. In fact, it does mention most of the countries that Suhasini has quoted, like Togo, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, India and Nigeria. The report is not pointing a finger at the countries whose ranking improved notably but 4 specific countries – China, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. That Suhasini felt the need to drag India into it only points towards the fact that she is trying to peddle an agenda without really telling people what the report actually says.
There were others who joined the bandwagon, misrepresenting the WSJ report and insinuating that this would mean India’s ranking could drop eventually.
Tweet by one Rupa Subramanya, who fancies herself as an economist
Rupa Subramanya, who fancies herself as an economist went on to quote the World Bank statement and say that it is a blow to India since it “bragged about its improved performance, never mind the ground reality”. She further asked, “What will the Modi govt do now”.
Frankly, the Modi government will do nothing at all since it is not even one of the countries that is under the scanner. The World Bank statement mentions no country specifically. However, the WSJ report does mention 4 specific countries. Of the 4 countries, China is one of them, and India is not.
Thus, to allege that India would somehow be affected adversely by the audit that is about to be conducted by the World Bank seems to be wishful thinking by those who miss the gravy train they were on before the Modi government came to power.
Tweet by propagandist Ashok Swain
Show Swain, the career propagandist responded to Rupa saying that while Modi made a big deal about India’s improvement, World Bank has suspended the report due to wrong data. The tweet against insinuated that it was India’s data that was wrong and gave no indication that there are 4 specific countries, including China, that are currently in the dock.
Tweet by journalist Mahesh Langa
Another journalist, Mahesh Langa, also wondered if India’s ranking would be adversely affected.
Interestingly, while the “liberals” wondered whether India would trip and fall, none of them mentioned the 4 countries explicitly that are under the scanner, including Saudi Arabia and China.
It is not surprising that the “liberal journalists” would shield China or use the opportunity to target the Modi government, however, it is quite remarkable to note how their hate for the government has translated into their hate for the country, where they, almost with bated breath, hope and wait for the country to be shamed.
On Wednesday, Justice Javed Iqbal Waniof the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had issued notice to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, reportedBar and Bench.
The notice was issued in response to a petition moved by Baridar Sangharsh Committee, a Hindu religious denomination of Baridars, and 54 other petitioners who sought administrative, managerial and governance rights of the shrine board. The notice has sought response from the Union territory within a span of 4 weeks.
— Arun Pudur (अरुन् पुदुर्) (@arunpudur) May 23, 2020
In May this year, it was reported that the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has been preparing meals for Sheri, Iftar for over 500 Muslim families who were quarantined by the government in the Ashirvad Bhavan in Katra.
Petition alleges high-handedness and corruption of State-appointed Board
As per the petition filed in the Court, the Baridars managed and controlled the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine until 1985, post which the State took over its administration. The petitioners have argued that the shrine was established by the Baridars in the 10th century under Pandit Shridhar and that sufficient evidence was available in public to ascertain the facts. The petition challenged the Jammu & Kashmir Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act, 1988 which empowered the State to reign its control over the temple.
Besides, the petition sought for an external audit of the mode of utilisation of funds by the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine. Accusing the shrine Board of malpractice, corruption, and mismanagement, the petitioners alleged that the State was working against Hindu interests. They, therefore, sought rights to the management, administration, and governance of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.
Petitioners accuse Shrine Board of employing non-Hindus, throwing Iftar parties
Moreover, the petition alleged that the Shrine Board had used funds for the temple to host Iftar parties to favour members of different ‘religious groups’ in violation of Section 4 of the Jammu & Kashmir Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act, 1988. The petitioners have accused the Board of employing non-Hindus at several administrative posts and actively taking ‘effective steps’ for the destruction of the sacred landmarks such as Charan Padukas, Ardha Kunwari, and so on.
Petition demands enforcement of Fundamental Right to Religion
Advocate Ankur Sharma, appearing for the Baridar Sangharsh Committee emphasised, “Despite being equally empowered in taking over management, administration, and governance of religious institutions belonging to other religions, the State in brazen violation of Article 14 has exercised its authority only against Hindu Temples. In all the decades, the Hindu Religious Institutions in Jammu and Kashmir have been under the thumb of the State, the ability of the Hindu community to administer its own institutions has been systematically clipped and pared-down.”
He added that the petition has been moved in the High Court to safeguard and enforce the Fundamental Rights of the petitioners under Article 14, 25 (2)(a), 26, 29, and 31 A (b) of the Indian Constitution.
The opposition is up in arms. How will Indian students appear for exams such as JEE and NEET in the middle of a pandemic? Does the government not care about the students? Better to postpone the exams, they say.
Now if you click on the link I gave you, which is from The Indian Express, you might be surprised to see that the date of the article is January 8, 2020. That is well before we were all scared of the Coronavirus. Back on January 8th, 2020, the WHO and its Chinese masters were still denying that the virus could jump from person to person. So what is going on? Well, this:
Article from the Indian Express
Indeed, the opposition trade unions called for a Bharat Bandh on January 8th this year. How will candidates reach the exam venue if public transport comes to a halt on the day of the exams or the day just before the exams? If you were a student taking these exams, how would you feel?
The opposition didn’t care. Instead, they wanted the JEE Exams postponed. Eventually, the NET exams were delayed, but JEE exams were not. Imagine what the students went through. Imagine years of preparation for an exam that can change your life. And when you are going to the exam venue, some lazy comrade with no future is blocking your train or bus. How would you feel?
Who were all these trade unions that wanted JEE exam postponed? Not just comrades. There was also the INTUC, the trade union-backed by the Indian National Congress. Thank you Sonia ji! Just because your son flunked his exam last year and no amount of preparation will get him through, did you want the hardworking JEE candidates to lose out on their life-changing opportunity?
Speaking of last year, check this out.
Article from the Times of India
The Indian Express report above was from January 8, 2020. This Times of India report is from January 8, 2019, exactly one year before that. Indeed, every year the JEE Mains are held around Jan 8. And every year the opposition is ready with a Bharat Bandh to block their path.
Every year, lakhs of young students go out to take the JEE Exams, trying to reap the harvest for years of hard work. Every year, like a plague of locusts, the comrades descend on them.
The only saving grace is that the opposition simply does not have the kind of ground-level support needed to make their Bandhs work. They had claimed 25 crore workers would take part in the strike. But like production quotas in the erstwhile Soviet Union, these were on paper only.
Again, imagine you are on your way to take an exam that could change your life. You have spent years preparing for it. You have spent many nights dreaming about all the great things you could do with your life once you clear the exam. And now there is a comrade blocking your path. A lazy Communist who contributes nothing to society. They cannot succeed in life. They don’t want you to succeed in life.
The comrades couldn’t mobilize the 25 crore people in January 2020. Or in January 2019 for that matter. This time, they have placed their hopes on a pandemic to try and stop students from succeeding.
They don’t care about students or their safety. They just can’t bear to see anyone succeed in life.
On Thursday, the Karnataka unit of the BJP had reportedly distanced itself from the comments of MLC AH Vishwanath after he had hailed tyrant Tipu Sultan as the ‘greatest freedom fighter.’ The party has made it clear that the controversial remark was made in personal capacity and did not reflect the stand of the party on the 18th-century ruler.
Tipu Sultan was the greatest freedom fighter this country saw. He triggered the freedom movement in the country. The country has to respect to such eminent personalities: BJP MLC AH Vishwanath in Bengaluru yesterday pic.twitter.com/WlBpZIlFz9
Vishwanath had defected to the BJP last year after his stint in both the Congress party and the JD(S). Following his disqualification, he lost from the Hunsur constituency during by-polls held in December. Later, he was nominated to the Legislative council.
BJP MLC demands statues for Tipu Sultan
While speaking to reporters on August 26, Vishwanath had said, “Kithur Rani Chennamma, Belawadi Mallamma, and Tipu Sultan are the greatest freedom fighters which this country witnessed. Kithur Rani Chennamma, Belawadi Mallamma, Sangollu Rayanna in North Karnataka, and Tipu Sultan in the South – these are the greatest personalities who triggered the freedom movement in the country. India has to give respect to such eminent personalities.”
He had also advocated building statues of the tyrant in Belagavi Suvarna Soudha, besides including chapters about him in textbooks. Vishwanath further reiterated, “Tipu Sultan does not belong to any party or caste or religion. Tipu Sultan is the son of this soil, so he should not be belittled, by limiting him to any religion.”
BJP cannot accept Tipu Sultan as ‘noble’ ruler; seeks explanation from MLC
Reacting strongly to the controversial remarks, BJP spokesperson Ganesh Karnik said, “The remarks of Vishwanath, MLC, on Tipu Sultan, are his personal (comments), made in his individual capacity. The BJP distances from these remarks.” He emphasised that Tipu was a fanatic bigot who killed thousands of Hindus and Christians in Kodagu and Managaluru district respectively in order to propagate and establish Islamic rule in his kingdom.
Karnik further added, “Tipu Sultan was zealous in converting people by the threat of sword. Tipu Sultan had made Persian as the official language of his kingdom and hence he was against Kannada. We cannot and will not accept Tipu Sultan as a noble ruler.”
On Thursday, BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel reiterated, “I came to know about his statement on Tipu through media. I will seek an explanation. It is his personal view. The BJP, which has been critical of Tipu’s rule, sticks to its stand.”
Karnataka government halts deletion of chapter on Tipu Sultan
Earlier, the Karnataka government had reportedly halted its decision to drop chapter on Tipu Sultan from the class 7 curriculum in the State. Besides, the chapter on the ruler has also been retained in the syllabus for class 6 and class 10.
As per reports, the Education Minister S Suresh Kumar informed that the proposal to drop the chapter on the 18th-century tyrant of Mysore will be finalised after estimating the remaining days in the current academic year. An official statement, regarding the issue, read, “On the instructions of primary and higher education minister, the announcement on the revised syllabus (is) on temporary hold. After reviewing the trimmed lessons, details will be announced on the website.”
In a shocking report that has emerged, the Wall Street Journal has reported that the World Bank has put a halt to its “Ease of Doing Business” Ranking report since it could be susceptible to manipulation. According to the report, the data of four countries – China, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – could have been inappropriately altered. It is pertinent to note that all 4 counties that are now under scanner ranked higher than India in the report released in 2019 Ease of Doing Business Rankings by the World Bank.
What the WSJ report says about the World Bank Rankings
Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the World Bank was putting a halt to the publication of the Ease of Doing Business report due to irregularities in the data and it would be reviewing the reports of the last 5 years. According to the report, data of 4 countries – China, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – were manipulated and altered to show a higher ranking than they deserved.
The WSJ report quoted World Bank officials saying, “It is beginning a systematic review of the data, launching an independent audit of the process, and that it would correct the data”.
The World Bank has reportedly said that the reports that were released in October 2017 and October 2019 could have been affected with these data manipulations and that owing to the audit, the report that was set to release in October 2020 would be delayed.
The WSJ reports:
“For three of the countries affected, China, Azerbaijan and the U.A.E., the World Bank had reported a marked improvement in their business environments in recent years. Five years ago, China ranked 90th in the report. Last year, its ranking climbed to 31st. Azerbaijan rose from 80th to 34th over that time. In last year’s report, the U.A.E. was ranked the 16th-best business environment in the world, up from 22nd five years ago. Saudi Arabia’s ranking slipped from 49th to 62nd in the past five years“.
Justin Sandefur, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development said that the rankings are strife with conflict of interest which is bound to happen when the counties being ranked are the ones that get a loan from the World Bank. Hence, he said, there might be pressure from within to either show a countries performance as better or worse. He was also of the opinion that the report on Ease of Doing Business should be scrapped.
India ranking in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business report could be higher
In the WSJ report, 4 countries have been mentioned, whose data may have been manipulated to give them a better ranking – China, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Interestingly, all 4 nations whose data is said to have been manipulated were ranked above India in the report that was released in October 2019 (Ease of Doing Business Rankings 2020).
While India ranked 63 in the Ease of Doing Business Ranking, China ranked 31, Azerbaijan ranked 24, UAE ranked 16 and Saudi Arabia ranked 62.
Ease of Doing Business Ranking
In fact, the rise in the rankings of China have been rather remarkable.
How China’s ranking changed over the years
If one sees carefully, until 2018, China’s ranking was rather low in the Ease of Doing Business report. However, it managed to reach a 31 ranking almost all of a sudden in the Ease of Doing Business Rankings 2020 (released in October 2019).
India, which was ranked 77th among 190 countries in the previous ranking, had shown an improvement of 14 places compared to its position in 2018. 2018 rankings were also an improvement of 23 places. Even though the jump in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking is remarkable, India had missed its target of getting within the top 50 in the report released in 2019. The country’s score had improved from 67.3 to 71.0, as per the survey released by the World Bank in October 2019.
Graph showing ranking of India over the years (Image courtesy: All India Radio)
Given the manipulations in the rankings, it is plausible that India’s ranking, which currently ranks below all the 4 nations, could jump up once the audit of the last 5 years in conducted.
The Lucknow Police have arrested a man named Mohammad Dilshad, reportedly the legal incharge of PFI and SDPI in Uttar Pradesh, for posting hateful material with an intention to trigger communal tension in the area.
Dilshad has been arrested from Lucknow’s Krishna Nagar area. He has allegedly been posting communally hateful messages on WhatsApp and Twitter. He was arrested on Wednesday night.
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE LUCKNOW (@lkopolice) August 27, 2020
The Police Commissionerate, Lucknow, has informed in a press note that Dilshad was arrested from near the Noorani Masjid, Azadnagar area under Krishna Nagar police station. Dilshad has informed the police that he is the legal in charge of PFI and an active member of SDPI.
As per reports, the Lucknow Commissioner Sujeet Pandey has informed that Dilshad is a graduate and is currently unemployed. He has been arrested because he has been circulating hateful and communally sensitive speeches through WhatsApp.
It is notable here that the PFI, SDPI and other associated organisations have been under scanner in UP after the anti-CAA violence that were triggered in the state last year and this year. The UP government had stated that these organisation were actively involved in rumour mongering, funding and triggering violence leading to destruction of public and private property.
In August, 4 members of PFI and a Madarsa teacher were arrested in Uttar Pradesh for spreading hate on social media on the day of Bhoomi Pujan and to spread communal and religious tension.
In a significant development in the alleged suicide case of Sushant Singh Rajput case, it is now being revealed that the first set of images of actor’s mortal remains that went viral on the internet soon after his death may have been morphed to convince people that the actor had committed suicide.
On Thursday, Times Now accessed two images of Sushant Singh Rajput’s mortal remains, which was captured by his sister Meetu when she arrived at his apartment on that fateful day. These images are said to be the first ones to be taken after the actor was found dead in his apartment. These images have been reportedly shared with CBI by his family.
According to Times Now, these new pictures are different from those that got leaked on social media just after his death. These new set of pictures reportedly show several inconsistencies in the mark on the neck. The ligature marks on these pictures are different from those seen in the pictures that were leaked earlier.
#Exclusive | STUNNING REVELATION: NEVER SEEN BEFORE PICTURES OF SSR’s BODY
CBI sources: We have all. Let the circumstantial legal evidences be examined by CBI, then only a conclusive medical opinion could be made without any flaw. | @thenewshour with Navika Kumar | #SSRTrueStorypic.twitter.com/Bkb4PAJvMO
The pictures that show several inconsistencies, especially the ones which shows the mark on the neck of the late actor, has now raised suspicion about attempts to push the suicide theory.
Meanwhile, the CBI’s forensic team has asked for more pictures from the Mumbai Police and the forensic team of Cooper Hospital where the actor’s body was taken for post mortem. According to Times Now, the CBI too suspects that leaked images may have been morphed in an attempt to convince people that it was a suicide.
Further, a CBI source to Times Now has also stated that they have now accessed all the information pertaining to Sushant Singh Rajput’s CBI investigation. The investigation agency also added that the circumstantial legal evidence will now be examined by the CBI and a conclusive medical opinion will be made without a flaw.
Lawyer Vikas Singh says viral images of Sushant Singh Rajput after his death were morphed
Speaking to Times Now, advocate Vikas Singh, who is representing Sushant Singh Rajput’s family stated that he had received a few pictures from Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister Meetu. However, he later got another set of pictures on WhatsApp groups, which he shared with someone in the Forensic Department.
According to Vikas Singh, the Forensic expert had revealed to him that the pictures that circulated earlier were morphed ones. More than 70 images of the actor’s mortal remains were taken soon after the body was found at actor’s residence on June 14.
I got set of pictures earlier also in WhatsApp and I shared those with Forensic. The department said that those pictures which were circulated earlier are ‘morphed’: @vikassinghSrAdv, Lawyer of SSR Family tells Navika Kumar on @thenewshour. | #SSRTrueStorypic.twitter.com/NTgMjXr2nZ
“I got set of pictures earlier also in WhatsApp and I shared those with Forensic. The department said that those pictures which were circulated earlier are ‘morphed’,” said Vikas Singh, the lawyer of Sushant Singh Rajput.
The lawyer Vikas Singh also said that there are several loopholes in the post-mortem report itself.
The mystery surrounding the death of the 34-year-old actor Sushant Singh Rajput is getting deeper with each passing day. The final autopsy report of the deceased actor, conducted under the watch of the Mumbai police, has also revealed crucial details which have now put the investigative authorities in the dock.
After the Congress party decided that Sonia Gandhi will remain as interim president of the party for the time being, their ally in Maharashtra Shiv Sena on Thursday showed their support for Rahul Gandhi. They alleged that the letter 23 senior Congress leaders wrote to Sonia Gandhi was a “conspiracy to finish off Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.” In the letter, the Congress leaders have demanded full-time party president.
In an editorial published in Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece “Saamana,” the party asked the said leaders where were they when BJP was attacking Rahul Gandhi with “below the best” remarks. Gandhi resigned from the Congress president post, but none of these leaders was ready to take charge and accept the challenge to revive the party, the editorial said.
It further added, “When people from within are involved in the national conspiracy to finish off Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, the party is sure to meet its ‘Panipat’ (defeat). These old guards have sabotaged Rahul Gandhi internally, damage which even the BJP hasn’t inflicted on him.”
It was further written that none of them are leaders even at the district level. But they have become union ministers and chief ministers while riding on the shoulders of Gandhi-Nehru family. It said that prominent leaders of the Congress Party are only interested in their positions. They do not care about the party. If they do not get what they want, they shift to BJP. Sena called the attitude of the senior leaders of Congress towards Party a new political coronavirus.
A controversy had broken out in Karnataka after several people raised objections over certain derogatory content against Hindu religious beliefs in the curriculum of Class VI social science textbooks. According to the reports, Eshapriya Theertha Swami – the seer of the prominent Admar Mutt of the Udupi had raised objections about a lesson in the Class VI textbooks, which had mocked the Hindu traditions of ‘yaga’ or ‘yagna’.
The seer had raised the matter before state education minister Suresh Kumar and had apprised him of such content. Reportedly, the seer had also informed the minister that there are a few rules and regulations for ‘yaga’ in Bhagavatha.
The Poorna Prajna Education Centre, one of the top most education institutions in the state is run under the aegis of the Udupi Sri Admar Mutt.
Following the controversy, the Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S Suresh Kumar has now ordered teachers to drop the controversial lesson from the social science curriculum.
The minister said, “The controversial lesson was not printed this year. The syllabus has not been revised this year. Controversial lessons will be removed from the textbook from next year. As the textbook has already reached the children, it is not possible to remove the lesson. The government will take the utmost care to ensure that such mistakes do not recur in the future.”
