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Times Now’s Rahul Shivshankar slams “Rajdeeps of Lutyens” after Scroll publishes an article against him for interrupting a panellist digressing from debate topic

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Times Now’s Rahul Shivshankar slams “Rajdeeps of Lutyens” after Scroll publishes an article against him for interrupting a panellist digressing from debate topic

Times Now anchor Rahul Shivshankar today posted a tweet in response to a report published by leftist website Scroll.in, slamming him for asking a fellow panellist to not stray away from the topic of debate discussion.

In a sly attack against journalists such as Rajdeep Sardesai and others from the Lutyens cabal, accused of currying favours with the previous regimes, Shivshankar tweeted, “Amused by the trolling. The Rajdeeps of Lutyens have their own agenda. They will push it. I’ve never thought it necessary to wallow in the sanctimonious trough of unsolicited advice. Just don’t have the time. I’m an employee, not a crorepati consultant. Have to earn a living.”

Scroll published an article alleging Rahul Shivshankar of disregarding India’s shrinking GDP

This sharp rejoinder by Rahul Shivshankar was in response to the Scroll’s unscrupulous report titled “‘Don’t waste nation’s time’: Times Now anchor berates panellist talking about GDP drop instead of SSR” which claimed that the Times Now anchor had interrupted a panellist Sumanth Raman and told him “to not waste the nation’s time and the viewers’ time” when he discussed the alarming drop in India’s GDP in a debate about the latest developments in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.

The topic of the debate was about the latest revelations in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, but Sumanth Raman unwarrantedly digressed from the topic, expressing his concern over the economic fallout of the coronavirus lockdown. Shivshankar interjected Raman, saying he would entertain comments on GDP only during a debate on the economy and not on an issue like the late actor’s death probe which has no connections to the economy.

However, Rahul’s attempt to veer the debate in the right direction was deviously used by Scroll.in to portray that the Times Now anchor considered the shrinking of the country’s GDP as a trivial issue. The same article was shared by the official Twitter handle of the Scroll.in, without mentioning that Rahul had interrupted the panellist for speaking on an issue which was not connected with the topic of the debate. The tweet was also retweeted by the India Today employee Rajdeep Sardesai.

Rajdeep Sardesai’s hypocrisy in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case

While Rajdeep Sardesai endorsed Scroll’s dishonest portrayal of the Times Now anchor as someone who disregarded the issue of cratering economy and someone who placed more importance on having a debate on Sushant Singh Rajput’s death and not on the plummeting GDP, it is worth noting that Rajdeep Sardesai, who had been lecturing against the “media trial” of the Sushant Singh Rajput case, instantly pounced on the opportunity when he was asked to interview prime accused Rhea Chakraborty in the case.

Rajdeep had then flown to Mumbai in a charter flight to interview the prime accused in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case. However, the interview of Rhea Chakraborty with Rajdeep Sardesai did not receive a good response as netizens not only pointed several discrepancies in her statements but also pointed the hypocrisy of ‘journalist’ Rajdeep Sardesai for trying to whitewash the allegations against Rhea by carrying out an interview with an accused in the case.

Assam: All govt-run madarsas to be shut, minister Himanta Biswa Sarma says govt will promote only secular and modern education

OpIndia Staff
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Assam: All govt-run madarsas to be shut, minister Himanta Biswa Sarma says govt will promote only secular and modern education

Assam’s state Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while answering a question on provincialization of madrasas during a ‘Cut Motion’ on the Education department in Assam Assembly, said that govt madarsas are being shut from November, so no question of new madrassas being provincialised. He added that from now onwards, the Assam government will only promote secular and modern education.

The government will not patronize any educational institutes that run on religious lines. “All madrassas and Sanskrit tols located across the State will be closed from November this year. Hence, madarsas won’t be provincialized; and it won’t be possible to appoint new Arabic teachers. But the privately-run ‘Kherasi madarsas’ will continue,” he said.

The minister had declared earlier that the madarsa Board will be dissolved and the academics of the institutions will be handed over to the Board of Secondary Education.

Sanskrit tols will become part of a university

While talking about the Sanskrit tols, Sarma said that Sanskrit is the mother of all modern languages. The government of Assam has decided to bring all Sanskrit tols under the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University (in Nalbari). They will function in a new form. “A notification on this alternative measure will be issued soon,” he added.

The University is to adapt a new form of teaching and change the education structure in those Sanskrit tols.

New schools and colleges

Sarma said that the government is establishing 150 new high schools in the state. The construction will begin on 2nd October 2020. The classes will start in these schools from April 2021. Fifteen government colleges, including nine colleges exclusively for girls, will be established in the state. The minister stated that the decision has been taken with an aim to help the people working in vast tea estates of Assam.

The February order

In February 2020, in a significant decision, the Assam government had announced that the government is shutting all state-run Madrassas and Sanskrit tols. Sarma, at that time, said that it is not the government’s job to teach religion, religious scriptures, Arabic and other languages for religious purposes. The minister specifically mentioned that all the religious schools under the state government would be shut. The Madrassas run by mosques and Sanskrit schools run by non-government organizations will face no effect by the decision.

Bajrang Dal urges CM Yogi Adityanath to take action against individuals involved in ‘love jihad’ and forced conversions

OpIndia Staff
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Bajrang Dal urges CM Yogi Adityanath to take action against individuals involved in ‘love jihad’ and forced conversions

Bajrang Dal leaders in Kanpur have written a letter to Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister Uttar Pradesh, urging him to take strict action against individuals involved in cases of Love Jihad and forced religious conversions. In a letter Atul Dwivedi, President and Ramji Tiwari, State Secretary, Bajrang Dal, they suggested that there are a handful of organizations that are involved in anti-national acts. They are spreading hatred towards the majority of Hindu society in India. They regularly engage in efforts to destabilize the country and trying to tarnish the cultural heritage of India, Bajrang Dal says.

A well-planned conspiracy

They said, “These organizations and individuals get involved in activities of love jihad and religious conversions. From the last few months, everyone is noticing the increasing number of cases related to Love Jihad and conversions.” They further said that it is not just about the love affair between individuals of different communities. It is a part of a well-planned conspiracy that is happening on a large scale in the country as an attempt to push the nation towards civil war.

They further added, “By electing a nation-devoting government, Hindus are looking towards him to save their honour, and they are hopeful that we will be freed from this humiliation.” Bajrang Dal requested CM Yogi to accept their four demands:

  • Conversion should be banned in the entire state of Uttar Pradesh.
  • Organizations that are involved in love jihad should be banned.
  • Any cleric who gets involved in marrying a Hindu girl and converting her to Islam should be punished.
  • Inter-religion Hindu-Muslim wedding should be banned.

Recent cases of ‘Love Jihad’ in Kanpur

Several love Jihad cases have emerged in Kanpur in the last few days. It started with the case of Shalini Yadav that was reported on 21st August. She married Faisal and converted to Islam. His brother claimed it was a case of Love Jihad. The case of Shalini Yadav started a domino effect, and other cases began to emerge. On 28th August, a case was reported in which Lucky Khan allegedly befriended a minor Hindu girl and took objectional photos to blackmail her. On 29th August, another case came in the light where a Hindu girl’s family claimed that Nafiz trapped their daughter and forcefully converted and married her.

50 years of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial – A Living Memorial

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50 years of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial – A Living Memorial

One of the magnificent traditional architectural marvels of modern India is the Rock Memorial of Swami Vivekananda. The memorial marks its fiftieth anniversary since its erection and inauguration, on 2nd September 1970. In India, there are thousands of beautiful monuments – beautiful structures whose presence tells tales of our history. They articulate our national memories – ancient and more recent. But hardly any is as bustling and full of life as the Rock Memorial. The structure was dedicated to the nation in the year 1970, and it keeps Swami Vivekananda’s ideas and teachings alive in the national memory.

After two years of long travel across the sacred land of Bharat, Swami Vivekananda had reached Kanyakumari and after doing ‘Sadhana’ on the rock (present-day Vivekananda Rock Memorial ) situated at Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India, on 25-27 December 1892, Swamiji began his work for the revival of India. It is the same stone situated at the confluence of the three seas, where “Shripad” of Mata Kanyakumari still exists. The memorial has been constructed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) Pracharak, Honourable Eknath Ranadeji, who brought the memorial to life by establishing the “Vivekananda Kendra” – a spiritually oriented Service Mission in 1972.

In 1963, the birth centenary of Swamiji was celebrated all over the country. On this occasion, the locals of Kanyakumari formed a committee to build a memorial on that historic rock. Due to obstacles at various levels, that committee approached the then RSS Sarsanghchalak, Shri Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar ji, who entrusted the responsibility to Eknathji. While on the one hand Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Bhaktavatsalam categorically refused to give approval for any construction on the rock, on the other hand, Humayun Kabir, the Union Minister for Cultural Affairs, created hurdles by saying “the monument on the rock will spoil the natural beauty”.

By his efficient management, patience and purity, Eknathji kept the issue public, he met various leaders and personalities in Delhi and apprised them of the subject at various levels by keeping it away from politics. Eknathji raised Members of Parliament (MPs) of various political parties from their individual political differences to “Bharatiyata” and in three days reached the then Home Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastriji with the signature of 323 MPs. When such a large number of MPs expressed their desire to build a memorial, the message was clear that the entire country is in favour of the memorial, Congress or Socialist, Communist or Dravidian all leaders agreed in unison.

Permission was now secured, but where would the money come from? Eknathji sought cooperation from each and every province, ranging from the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Sheikh Abdullah to Hokishe Sema of Nagaland. When he met the left Communist leader Jyoti Basu, then the Deputy Chief Minister of West Bengal, He said- “it appears to me that you couldn’t have come to meet this Jyoti Basu because I have nothing to do with Vivekananda “. Eknathji said- “How can I believe that you have nothing to do with Swamiji?” Didn’t he raise his voice for the downtrodden? You are also the benefactors of the downtrodden. Like you, he was also the defender of the oppressed.

Jyoti Basu said, “Yes, from this point of view, I admire him because he was the representative of oppressed and downtrodden”, but he expressed his inability due to his membership of the Communist Party. Eknathji connected Smt. Kamala Basu (Jyoti Basu’s wife) with the work. Eknathji told her that he will give her the receipt book and then she can collect whatever amount possible from her personal contacts, Smt. Basu replied that she had never made any collections but if Eknathji doesn’t have any high expectations from her, she will definitely approach her contacts for this work. Eknathji said even if you know ten persons approach them. Inform them about this work, and in reply whatever amount they give you can take, ten or Hundred rupees. This might not turn into a huge amount, but still you may be able to do something for us.

Smt. Basu did her best and she was able to contribute 1100 Rupees through her friends and relatives. By doing so, Eknathji got various ideologies to enter the “confluence of “Bharatiyata”. Irrespective of the party in power, almost all the state governments donated Rupees one lakh each. The first donation of Rs 10,000 for the memorial was made by Swami Chinmayananda of “Chinmaya Mission” to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee. To connect the society with the memorial, nearly 30 lakh people gave contributions in the denominations of Rupees 1, 2 and 5. About one per cent of the adult population at that time participated in it.

Swami Vireshwarananda, President of Ramakrishna Math and Mission consecrated Vivekananda Rock Memorial and it was formally inaugurated on 2nd September 1970 by Shri V. V. Giri, President of India. The inauguration ceremony lasted for about 2 months and the Prime Minister of India, Smt. Indira Gandhi also attended.

 “Vivekananda Kendra – a spiritually oriented service organization” was established on 7 January 1972 to give life to the memorial. Thousands of volunteers of Vivekananda Kendra conduct activities in the tribal and rural areas – like education and natural resource development, cultural research, publications, youth engagement programme “sanskar” classes and yoga classes for all.

This is the Golden Jubilee year of this monument, which is in a true sense a national memorial. A memorial for whose construction all MPs, irrespective of their political affiliations appealed for, for which people donated from all over the country. The only memorial for which almost all state governments donated minimum one lakh rupees each. Celebrating its 50th year, the Vivekananda Kendra initiated the “Ek Bharat, Vijayi Bharat” connectivity campaign by meeting the President and Prime Minister of India, through this connectivity campaign the volunteers of Vivekananda Kendra will contact thousands of people from different sections of the society and inspire them by “giving the message of Swami Vivekananda as well as motivating them to contribute for the welfare and promotion of the society.”

Kangana Ranaut makes sensational claims, says Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal are rumoured to be ‘cocaine addicts’, demands blood test

OpIndia Staff
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Kangana Ranaut makes sensational claims, says Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal are rumoured to be ‘cocaine addicts’, demands blood test

Making a sensational claim, Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut on Wednesday dropped a bombshell by revealing that there were rumours that several Bollywood actors consumed drugs and were ‘cocaine addicts’.

Kangana Ranaut also demanded the government to carry out a blood test for drugs on actors, directors amidst the rumours of them being severe drug addicts.

Taking to Twitter, the three-time national award winner Kangana Ranaut alleged that there were rumours that a few Bollywood actors such as Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushik, director Ayan Mukherjee were cocaine addicts.

Kangana Ranaut’s tweet

Kangana Ranaut, asking her fellow colleagues in the movie industry to come clean on the issue, urged them to undergo a drug test so that they can inspire millions of fan by presenting clean samples.

The damning statements made by Kangana Ranaut will now open a can of worms amidst all the raging debate on the issues of drugs, nepotism and favouritism in the movie industry.

Last year, Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa had made a similar allegation and had also shared a video from Karan Johar’s party. The Akali Dal leader, sharing a video posted by Karan Johar, had claimed that the actors were in a ‘drugged state’.

Interestingly, the video had featured Ranbir Kapoor, Ayan Mukherjee, Vicky Kaushal, Deepika Padukone, Arjun Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Shahid Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and others. However, most of the actors, including Vicky Kaushal and Karan Johar had rubbished the allegations.

Drugs flow like water in Bollywood: Kangana Ranaut

Earlier, exposing the dirty underbelly of Bollywood involving drugs, Kangana Ranaut had also alleged that 99% of people in the film industry are drug users.

In an interview given to Arnab Goswami on Republic, Ranaut confirmed what was believed for a long time, that drugs flow like water in Bollywood parties, and industry insiders start giving newcomers with drugs from the beginning.

National award-winning actor said that it is common for Bollywood stars to use drug, and newcomers also start with drugs early on. 99 per cent of start consume drugs, she claimed. Same drugs dealers supply drugs like cocaine, LSD, ecstasy etc to them, she said.

“Everything is handled in a systematic manner. Their wives also host these parties. It is a different environment altogether. You will find people who only do drugs and indulge in debauchery in such parties,” Kangana said. She had alleged that many governments have helped this Bollywood-drug mafia grow.

Maharashtra and Delhi governments not interested in implementing migrant workers welfare enactments: Supreme Court

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra and Delhi governments not interested in implementing migrant workers welfare enactments: Supreme Court

The Apex Court on Tuesday rebuked the governments of Maharashtra and Delhi for failing to file affidavits before the court showing compliance with the welfare enactments for migrant workers. A Bench comprising of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah had passed an order on July 31 in a suo motu case on Covid-19 migrant worker crisis which required the states to submit an affidavit showing the implementation of Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act,1979, the Construction Workers Act, 1996 and the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008.

Without mincing words, the court said that the two states had the maximum number of migrant workers and yet they failed to comply with the court order which showed their lack of interest in the matter. “Although various States have filed their reply but the States of Maharashtra and NCT of Delhi have not filed their affidavits in compliance with our order dated 31.07.2020. The States of Maharashtra and Delhi are the States where maximum number of migrants have come and are working”, the court noted.

Expressing displeasure over the States’ non-compliance, the court said, “When the Court passed specific order directing States to file affidavits, the Court’s intention was to see the working of the aforesaid Acts. Non- filing of the affidavit clearly indicates that the States are not interested in implementing the aforesaid enactments”.

The Court took notice of the implementation of the welfare enactments after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) filed an application before the court highlighting non-implementation of the enactments by various states. The enactments require the States to maintain a register of the migrant labourers to facilitate the distribution of the funds allocated for their welfare. The court has granted two-weeks time to the two States to file the affidavits.

Commerce ministry caps MEIS benefit to exporters during last 4 months of the scheme, govt says move aimed at protecting genuine exporters

OpIndia Staff
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Commerce ministry caps MEIS benefit to exporters during last 4 months of the scheme, govt says move aimed at protecting genuine exporters

After the Commerce ministry announced a cap on benefits given to exporters under the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS), the ministry has said that only 2% exporters who claim the benefit will be impacted by the change. According to an analysis done by the Department of Commerce, 98 percent of the exporters who claim MEIS will be unaffected by the changes.

The department added that the unaffected exporters who have already factored in MEIS in the pricing of their products do not face any change or uncertainty. This is because, neither coverage of products nor rates of MEIS will be changed for them. “Genuine exporters are protected and allowed to claim benefits for exports in the period and the possibility of fraud by taking new Importer Exporter Code (IEC) to circumvent the cap is avoided,” a statement issued by the department said. It also added that advance notice of four months of the end date of MEIS provides certainty for future pricing decisions.

On 1st September, the Department of Commerce under the ministry of Commerce and Industry had announced caping MEIS benefits to exporters to Rs 2 crores for the period 1st September t0 31st December. Amending the relevant sections of the Foreign Trade Policy, it was announced that total reward granted to an IEC holder under the MEIS scheme will not exceed Rs 2 crore on exports made during this period.

It also says that any IEX holder who has not made any export with Let Export Order (LEO) date during the period 1st September 2019 to 31st August 2020, or any new IEC obtained after 1st September 2020 will not be eligible to claim any benefits under MEIS for any export made after 1st September 2020. The ceiling of Rs 2 crore may be reduced further so that the total benefit given under the scheme does not exceed Rs 5,000 crore, the allocation determined the union govt.

Benefits under MEIS will not be available for exports made from 1st January 2021. Which means, the scheme will be withdrawn from the beginning of the calendar year 2021.

Under the MEIS, the govt provides rewards to exporters to offset infrastructural inefficiencies and associated costs. The rewards vary according to products and country, and it is calculated as percentage of realised free-on-board value, which may be 2%, 3% or 5%. Exporters receive Duty Credit Scrips for their scripts, which freely transferable, and they can be used for making various payment like basic customs duty, additional customs duty, central excise duty etc on import or domestic procurement of goods. The objective of the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) is to promote the manufacture and export of notified goods/ products.

Earlier this year, the Commerce Ministry had announced that the MEIS will not be available after 31st December 2020. The government is bringing a new export incentive scheme in its place, the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme. The new scheme will reimburse the taxes and duties incurred by exporters such as local taxes, coal cess, mandi tax, electricity duties and fuel used for transportation, which are not getting exempted or refunded under any other existing scheme. The rebate would be claimed as a percentage of the Freight On Board (FOB) value of exports. The MEIS was also not compatible with WTO guidelines, while the RoDTEP complies with all WTO guidelines on export incentives.

After de-platforming Delhi Riots 2020 book, ‘liberals’ go after another Bloomsbury India author

OpIndia Staff
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After de-platforming Delhi Riots 2020 book, ‘liberals’ go after another Bloomsbury India author

Days after left-wing ‘activists and Islamists had bullied Bloomsbury India into withdrawing the publication of the book ‘Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story’, a similar attempt was made by a few Islamists and left-liberals on Wednesday after they targeted one of the authors associated with the publishing house for expressing his opinion on animal cruelty.

On Wednesday, a social media user named Saira Shah Halim, who claims to be a TEDx Speaker put out a tweet claiming that vegetarianism and non-violence are not interlinked. To substantiate her claims, Saira Halim cited Nazi leaders as an example, who according to her, were noted for their love for pets and animals.

Image Source: Saira Shah Halim

Halim claimed that Hitler, who was a vegetarian and hater of hunting, adored dogs. She went on to add that people should stop gloating over the supreme leader over their love for animals. “Nazis need to be called out,” said the social media user.

The tweet by Halim invoking vegetarianism, nazis and their love for animals was an indirect reference to the recently shared videos of Prime Minister Modi, where he was seen spending time with peacocks and feeding them at his residence.

Responding to Halim’s post, Author Alpesh Patel posed a witty reply, asking her to share the correct procedure for chopping a goat.

Goats are slaughtered as part of ‘sacrifice’ on Bakri Eid.

Following Alpesh Patel’s post, Saira Shah Halim tried to bully him by dragging Bloomsbury into the controversy instead of responding to him peacefully. Tagging Bloomsbury, Saira asked the publishing house whether Alphesh was an author with them.

Image Source: Sara Shah Halim

Soon, others descended on her timeline to further threaten the author Alpesh Patel for expressing his views. Another user attacked Alpesh Patel, called him a bigot and accused Bloomsbury of having employed author who is ‘bigots of the highest quality’.

Another Twitter user demanded Bloomsbury to put up the stand taken by them on the issue.

These left-liberals and Islamists, taking a cue from the recent episode of intense bullying by Islamists and left-liberals which led to de-platforming a book by Bloomsbury, perhaps thought that they could once again bully the publishing house to take action against Alpesh Patel for simply asking a question to the social media user.

Bloomsbury falls prey for Islamist, left bullying, withdraws book

A few weeks back, Bloomsbury had announced that it is withdrawing a book titled ‘Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story’ due to pressures from the Islamists and left-liberal lobby.

The book ‘Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story’ is authored by Monika Arora, Sonali Chitalkar and Prerna Malhotra. The book, which is a factual account based on investigation and interviews conducted by the authors, was to be released in September. However, pushed by left-liberals, Bloomsbury had withdrawn the book even as the authors were attending a virtual event to launch the book.

Days later, another publisher Garuda Prakashan jumped in to take the rights of the yet-to-be-released book and opened the booking platform. It is pertinent to note that the ‘Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story’’ book has been pre-ordered over 15,000 times till now.

China-Pakistan working secretly to expand biowarfare capabilities with anthrax-like pathogens: Australian journalist claims

OpIndia Staff
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China-Pakistan working secretly to expand biowarfare capabilities with anthrax-like pathogens: Australian journalist claims

With the world distracted by the coronavirus pandemic that emerged from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, China has stealthily unleashed its expansionist designs, aggressively asserting the numerous overlapping territorial claims it has with at least 14 of its neighbours.

In the last few months, China had sunk a Vietnamese fishing boat in the disputed South China Sea, persistently harassed a Malaysian offshore oil rig, threatened Taiwan with an attack, tightened its grips on Hong Kong by passing a controversial national security law and flexed muscles with India along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.

Recently, the simmering tensions along the Line of Actual Control in India’s Ladakh aggravated when a platoon of 400-500 PLA troops was halted by the vigilant Indian Army from encroaching upon the Indian territory.

As China has exploited the coronavirus pandemic to pursue its aggressive expansionism, several reports that have emerged give credence to the speculations that Beijing might have waged deliberate biological warfare to throw the world into chaos. China’s surprisingly low numbers of coronavirus infection and its subjugation of the raging pandemic has only added to the rumours that the pandemic might be a part of China’s biological warfare.

Australian journalist claimed Pakistan-China had entered a covert deal to develop bio-warfare capabilities

These suspicions were given further prominence by Australian journalist Anthony Klan, who in July this year, published a report, claiming that China and Pakistan had entered into a “secret three-year deal” to augment potential bio-warfare capabilities, including running several research projects related to the deadly agent anthrax.

“In the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak on Chinese soil, China’s now infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology has signed the covert deal with Pakistan military’s Defense Science and Technology Organization (DESTO), to collaborate research in “emerging infectious diseases” and advance studies on the biological control of transmitted diseases,” the journalist alleged in his article about the alleged China-Pakistan nexus in carrying out secret research for contagious diseases.

“China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology had ‘lent all financial, material and scientific support for the project,” Klan quoted a source privy to the details of the covert deal.

Klan had claimed that China’s plan was to designate Pakistan a destination for hazardous bio chemical research while evading use of its own territory for such activities. Though one example was a proposal to test a Coronavirus vaccine, made by Chinese state-owned company Sinopharm, on Pakistani citizens, The China-Pakistan biological project had already undertaken experiments on the Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV), Klan claimed citing sources.

Klan’s report claimed that Pakistan had been provided with the reagents for Bacillus Thuringiensis by the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the covert China-Pakistan project has conducted “successful soil sampling tests” to isolate Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT), which has a ‘striking similarity’ to Bacillus Anthracis – or anthrax bacteria.

The Wuhan lab was also providing extensive training on manipulation of pathogens and bio-informatics to Pakistani scientists to help Pakistan develop its own virus collection database, the Klaxon report had said.

Wuhan Institute of Virology accused of spreading the coronavirus pandemic

The Wuhan Institute of Virology has been in the news because the coronavirus is believed to have been originated in Wuhan. As the pandemic had its origins in Wuhan, many claims have emerged that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was behind the creation of the coronavirus that is afflicting the entire world.

Earlier in April, the Fox News, in an exclusive report on the origins of the coronavirus, claimed that an intern working at Wuhan laboratory may have accidentally contracted the contagion and spread it to others. Later, US President Donald Trump echoed similar sentiments, saying he had a “high degree of confidence” that the coronavirus had its roots in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Also, the speculations over the involvement of Wuhan Institute of Virology in sparking off a global pandemic were raised further when Shi Zhengli, an expert on SARS-like coronaviruses claimed that the coronavirus bears stark resemblance with the frozen samples of bat virus that were sent to Wuhan Institute of Virology, collected from an abandoned bat cave in China’s Yunnan province in 2013.

TMC’s Derek O’Brien writes to Facebook, accuses it of links with BJP ahead of Bengal elections

OpIndia Staff
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TMC’s Derek O’Brien writes to Facebook, accuses it of links with BJP ahead of Bengal elections

Harping on the alleged BJP-Facebook links, All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MP Derek O’Brien has written a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg requesting him to maintain the integrity of the platform in the upcoming elections in West Bengal. The Rajya Sabha MP accused Facebook of blocking pages and accounts in Bengal due to its alleged ‘links’ with the BJP.

Brien also questioned the role of Facebook in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, accusing the platform of having links with the BJP. He referred to the articles published in the BBC, the Wall Street Journal and others alleging Facebook’s bias towards the BJP and requested Zuckerberg of investigating the charges levelled against its senior management in India.

This comes after Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad wrote a letter to Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg yesterday pointing at the inherent bias of the social media platform against the political factions that apparently go against the Left. In the letter, Prasad had highlighted how the dominant bias and political leanings of the employees and officials of Facebook India reflected in its actions censoring freedom of speech and expression.

Last month a report of the Wall Street Journal had alleged that one of the top executives of the company, Ankhi Das, supported the BJP and PM Modi and therefore this was reason enough to question her neutrality. This was countered by some shocking revelations made by BJP IT Cell Head Amit Malviya about Congress leaders hiring lobbyists in the USA to spread propaganda.

Recently, BJP’s Amit Malviya had shared several screenshots alleging that many top officials of Facebook India have been promoting parties like Congress, AAP and TMC. After the allegations of Congress supporters on the social media against Ankhi Das, she had also filed a police complaint claiming a threat to life.

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