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How Mumbai’s long-awaited dream of IFSC status is nowhere near complete and Gandhinagar secured IFSC status

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How Mumbai’s long-awaited dream of IFSC status is nowhere near complete and Gandhinagar secured IFSC status

The then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had made an announcement during his campaign for the 2004 Maharashtra Assembly elections. The announcement was to turn Mumbai into Shanghai. For the first few years, the then UPA government was serious about this announcement. We know that turning Mumbai into Shanghai can’t be done by announcement alone. It takes a lot of work.

One such task was to create an International Financial Services Center (IFSC), which we call the International Financial Services Center. For this, the then UPA Government set up a High Powered Expert Committee (HPEC) under the chairmanship of industrialist Percy Mistry. In this committee, there were many veterans like  K. V. Kamath, Chandrasekhar Bhave, O. P. Bhatt, Aditya Puri and P. J. Nayak. The committee submitted its report to the government on February 10, 2007.

This entire 280 page report is available here. A 33 page executive summary of the same report is available here. According to the report, many things needed to be done to turn Mumbai into an IFSC. It consisted mainly of financial reforms to be done by the Central Government (which would apply to the whole of India, not just Mumbai) and few things (mainly upgradation of infrastructure) to be done by the State Government, in collaboration with the Central Government. It consisted mainly of 4 works. I quote them below from the reports.” 

“First, elementary, glaring deficiencies in Mumbai’s urban infrastructure will need to be addressed and rectified on a war footing. These deficiencies have, over the last decade or more, been discussed in central, state and municipal government circles, the media, the corporate world, and by the public at large. Progress in addressing these deficits is now being made. The HPEC was assured by the CM of Maharashtra that the pace of progress was about to accelerate.

Mumbai’s deficiencies include: crumbling housing in dilapidated buildings pervading the city; poor road/rail mass transit as well as the absence of water-borne transport in what is essentially an island-city; absent arterial high-speed roads/urban expressways; poor quality of airports, airlines and air-linked connections domestically and internationally; poor provision of power, water, sewerage, waste disposal, as well as a paucity of high-quality residential, commercial, shopping and recreational space that meets global standards of construction, finish and maintenance.

Second, Mumbai will need to be seen as a cosmopolitan metropolis that welcomes and embraces migrants from everywhere – from India and abroad. That will mean providing more user-friendly visa/resident permit mechanisms, making all arms of government expatriate-friendly, and exhibiting a gentle, tolerant, open and welcoming culture.

Third, lifestyle facilities that concern human welfare will need to be brought up to world standards and run on world-class lines in terms of their management and growth. These include: hospitals and the health system (public and private); educational facilities such as primary/secondary schools, colleges, and universities; recreational facilities such as sports stadiums (for a wide variety of sports and not just cricket), gymnasiums, cinemas, theatres, parks, clubs, hotels, bars, restaurants, racecourses, casinos and other entertainment avenues; as well as cultural institutions such as libraries, art galleries, museums and the like, catering to global tastes.

Fourth, the quality of municipal and state governance, the provision of personal security and of law enforcement, will need to improve dramatically from third-world to first-world standards to accommodate an IFC. That is likely to prove the greatest challenge of all.“

These tasks were to be completed by year 2020, which is the current year, in two phases. Could Mumbai manage to do anything of this? Answer is no. 

Now let’s go to the news that started this controversy. You can read the said news report of Mumbai Mirror here. This report clearly states that nothing has happened in Mumbai as expected in the HPEC report except the Versova-Ghatkopar Metro. 

Now lets dissect the issues point wise. First point; did Mumbai’s infrastructure increase? answer is no. The previous government led by Devendra Fadnavis started all the pending metro projects in Mumbai at the same time, in which the present ruling parties tried to score political points over petty issues like the Aarey Colony. As a culmination of the work that has been started in the last five years, we will see the launch of the second metro line in Mumbai by the end of this year or early next year, of course, if Corona situation doesn’t go out of hand, though situation is very bleak in Mumbai, with the city having most number of cases in the country.

Did inland water transport start? No. Did road and rail traffic improve? No. One of the terminals of the airport definitely was upgraded to the international standard, but the Navi Mumbai Airport has been lying dormant for the last 10 years. Even today, all the sewage of Mumbai is discharged into the sea without any treatment. Similarly waste management is in shambles. What about the world-class residential, commercial, shopping and entertainment facilities? Only a few which can be counted on the fingers of the hands. 

Second point – there is no need to say anything differently about the feelings for migrants, especially with the current ruling party.

Point number three – How many new health facilities have been set up till date? Today, the whole of Mumbai is struggling with Covid 19 and Mumbai is dependent on the British era Kasturba, JJ and KEM hospitals. How many new schools have been built and how many have been improved? Did Mumbai build a new university? How many sports stadiums have been built besides cricket? How many new galleries, museums, libraries have been built? None. Even today, casinos are not allowed.

Fourth point – How precarious our security is, was proven by the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai which were carried out in less than two years after HPEC report. There was also a Ram Pradhan Committee set up on the security lapses which resulted in this attack. This report is yet to implemented and lying in some cabinet of some Mantralaya in Mumbai.   

Then why did Gandhinagar get IFSC status? When this report was presented, the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi decided to take advantage of it. Because all the financial reforms recommended in the report were for the whole of India and not just for Mumbai. He started building a GIFT city near Gandhinagar as per the infrastructure needs mentioned in the report. Being a new city, Gujarat had no problem building infrastructure.

Watch this video to see what this GIFT City will look like when it’s ready. Have a look at the video linked below of GIFT city, on how it will look when completed. 

According to the Indian Express, GIFT City is about 20% complete, employing 9,000 people in 200 companies. No city is built overnight and so it takes time. Here too, there are some teething problems but the work is moving in the right direction. But the pace of this project is definitely faster than Mumbai.

Who first recognized GIFT as IFSC? Narendra Modi? No. It was the UPA government led by Dr. Manmohan Singh which recognised GIFT as IFSC. When did this happen? In 2011. So what is Congress doing in Maharashtra? Lying to the public.

The then UPA government made it clear in 2013 that the Mistry Committee’s report was not limited to Mumbai, and that the central government’s job was to reform the economy as envisaged by the committee, and if Bangalore or Ahmedabad could become world-class financial services centers, the central government would not stop them. What the Congress Government said in 2013, was known to Narendra Modi in 2007 after the report of the Mistry Committee came out, and he started building this city accordingly. Just as he brought Tata Motors Singur project from Bengal to Gujarat in 15 days, just in the same way Narendra Modi had a vision for IFSC. Narendra Modi was vying for IFSC when the Maharashtra leadership was busy in boasting.

Therefore, if IFSC has gone to Gandhinagar today, it should not be forgotten that it was due to the hard work of the then Chief Minister of Gujarat and therefore, without making it an issue of Maharashtra-Gujarat, the Maharashtra Congress – NCP leaders who are criticising Narendra Modi today, need to reflect on their own actions when they were in power last.

(This article has been written by Keshav, a media graduate, who left journalism for an alternative career. Traveller, Aviation Enthusiast. Indian, Marwari, Marathi in that order)

Pakistan: After destroying under construction walls, radical Islamists recite Azan at proposed Hindu temple site

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: After destroying under construction walls, radical Islamists recite Azan at proposed Hindu temple site

Days after the Muslim community and the cabal of Islamic clerics objected to the construction of a new Shri Krishna temple in Islamabad in Pakistan, a video of some radical Islamists reciting Azaan (Call for Islamic prayer) at the under-constructed site has now gone viral on social media. Through Azaan, the man, dressed in white, urged other Muslims to come to the Hindu sacred site and offer Namaz.

Sharing this disturbing video on Twitter, a Hindu activist from Sindh, Kapil Dev wrote, “Isn’t this ridiculous that you want to force other people to read Namaaz at a place which has been allotted by the government for the temple and tell them that there will be no temple here? This is our fault that our forefathers were loyal to their mother earth (Pakistan) during the partition of India and considered it as their homeland!”

Islamists desecrate temple boundary wall

In another video, a Muslim man can be seen using a brick to dismantle the boundary wall of the Shri Krishna temple. A person named Malik Shani Awan invoked the name of Allah while demolishing the boundary wall of the Temple that was to be constructed. For greater effect, he added music to the whole thing to make the video more entertaining. The lyrics of the song said something along the lines of “I have not let my children suffer… I am Pakistan.”

Hindu Panchayat stops temple construction after Islamic pressure and threats

On Saturday, the Islamabad Hindu panchayat informed that it would halt the construction of a new Sri Krishna temple in the city after a mob of radical extremists razed the boundary wall of the temple to the ground. Lal Chand Malhi, a Hindu lawmaker and a PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf) politician, informed that Hindus in the area avoided visiting the site, following the act of desecration. He added that the wall was constructed using the resources of the panchayat and that the work had been temporarily stopped in light of ‘unpleasant incidents’. The decision was made by the Hindu panchayat Islamabad on Saturday, in an emergency meeting, following the blasphemous act.

The proposed Hindu temple was to be the first temple in the Pakistani capital city. The city development authority had allocated a plot of land to the Hindu community to build a temple recently, after years of requests and persuasion. However, since the beginning, radicals, even lawmakers in the Islamic country have been vocally opposing the temple, claiming that building a temple for the minority Hindus in the Islamic country will be against the idea of Islam.

After praising India’s TikTok ban, Mike Pompeo says the USA may also ban Chinese social media apps

OpIndia Staff
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After praising India’s TikTok ban, Mike Pompeo says the USA may also ban Chinese social media apps

Amidst questions surrounding the data security of users on the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok, Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State said that his country is ‘certainly’ looking at banning the app, along with other Chinese apps that threat data security. In an interview with Fox News, Pompeo was quoted as saying, “I don’t want to get out in front of the President, but it’s something we’re looking at.”

India bans TikTok

On June 29, the Indian government had banned 59 China-linked apps, including TikTok for being a threat to national security. The Ministry of Information Technology, invoking its power under section 69A of Information Technology Act, with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009 has ordered a block on the use of 59 apps saying that these apps are “engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order”.

Mike Pompeo applauds India

Last week, Mike Pompeo had reportedly applauded India’s move to ban TikTok. He stated that India was ensuring its security through a ban on Chinese apps. “We welcome India’s ban on certain mobile apps… (It will) boost India’s integrity and national security,” he was quoted as saying. In its defence, TikTok said that it did not share user data with the Chinese government.

PoK: Protests held against Pakistani govt and China over illegal dam construction on Neelum and Jhelum rivers

OpIndia Staff
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PoK: Protests held against Pakistani govt and China over illegal dam construction on Neelum and Jhelum rivers

In Muzaffarabad city of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), residents are protesting against China and Pakistan for illegal construction of Dams on the Jhelum and Neelam rivers. On 6th July, The residents held a massive rally to condemn the construction of Dams for Neelum Jhelum and Kohala Hydropower projects.

China is trying to control waters

It is reported that the residents of the area are against the economic, environmental and demographic impacts of the massive construction projects. They say thay the regions are being exploited by the Pakistani government and the Chinese. The workers and labourers are not locals and the benefits are reaped by China while local resources are depleted.

The protesters said that there is an environmental impact of the dams being constructed by Pakistan and China. A Twitter trend with hashtag #SaveRiversSaveAJK was launched to highlight the issue in front of the world. The protesters have asked the Pakistan government under which law they are constructing a dam in a disputed region.

They claim that Pakistan and China have violated UN Security Council resolutions by occupying rivers. ANI quoted one protester saying, “We should march towards Kohala project and continue protest there until it does not stop.”

As per the reports, an agreement was signed between the governments of Pakistan and China along with a Chinese company to construct 1,124-megawatt hydropower project in Kohala that will cost 2.4 billion dollars.

The dam project on the Jhelum river was awarded to Kohala Hydropower Company Ltd (KHCL), a subsidiary of China’s Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC). It is being built under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Gold smuggling scandal rocks Kerala, CMO’s links with main accused Swapna Suresh under scrutiny

OpIndia Staff
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Gold smuggling scandal rocks Kerala, CMO’s links with main accused Swapna Suresh under scrutiny

The Chief Minister’s office in Kerala has again found its name dragged in a major scandal. The investigators have confirmed that the 30 Kg of gold that was seized on 5th July by customs was smuggled by misusing diplomatic immunity.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s close aide and IT secretary M Shivshankar allegedly helped a woman named Swapna Suresh smuggle the gold. Shivshankar’s name had appeared earlier in roping Sprinklr Inc. to analyze public data for coronavirus outbreak.

Swapna is a former employee of the UAE consulate. When customs interrogated an Ex PRO of the UAE consulate named Sarith on 6th July, they found that Swapna has forged the Consulate documents to take advantage of the diplomatic immunity for smuggling gold from Gulf on 2nd July. She is currently working as the marketing liaison officer Space Park under the Kerala State IT Infrastructure Limited (KSITIL) that comes directly under the IT department.

The opposition is alleging that M Shivshankar has a significant role in appointing her for a highly sensitive project like Space Park in the IT department six months back. During the appointment, a crime branch case and adverse remarks by the intelligence wing against her were ignored.

Swapna is absconding

While Sarith has been nabbed by customs and is being interrogated, the main accused Swapna Suresh is absconding. As per reports, despite being terminated from the UAE Consulate office, Sarith was in contact with some officials, including Swapna. As diplomatic luggage is not examined, they were smuggling gold by taking advantage of Swapna’s allegedly forged credentials. The UAE Consulate has made it clear that they have no role in the corruption and their staff members were not involved. The baggage with the smuggled gold was opened by customs in the presence of the Consular attache´ and after due permission from the Ministry of External Affairs.

CM denied allegations

When CM Vijayan was asked about Suresh’s appointment in the IT department, he said his office didn’t know about it. “The matter has not come to my notice. We will ensure that no one will go unpunished as this matter is concerned,” he added.

The opposition parties BJP and Congress blamed the Chief Minister saying that his party is trying to save Swapna. BJP state president said that “Calls were made from the CMs office to the customs office on behalf of Swapna to halt the investigation and a person close to the CM had made the call.” Vijayan replied to the allegation calling it nonsense and said that no one with a suspicious track record could function from the CMs office.

Customs officials have arrested Sarith and raided the residence of Swapna Suresh. In 2019, a total of 550 KG gold was seized in Kerala, which was a national record. Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar believes that irrespective of the lockdown, the customs department will do better this year. In the meanwhile, the state government has fired Swapna from her post in the IT department saying she was hired on a contractual basis.

After India banned them over privacy concerns, TikTok claims it will pull out of Hong Kong due to ‘new Chinese law’

OpIndia Staff
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After India banned them over privacy concerns, TikTok claims it will pull out of Hong Kong due to ‘new Chinese law’

Days after India banned TikTok over privacy and security concerns, the video sharing app owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has claimed it will pull out of Hong Kong Market due to ‘new Chinese law’. As per reports, TikTok made this ‘decision’ after Chinese government changed some data privacy law wherein Hong Kong companies would have to share user data with the Chinese government. TikTok has claimed that since it does not share user data with government, the alleged change in law will not make it possible for them to continue operations.

It must be noted that India had banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps over privacy and security concerns in June this year. TikTok India had also claimed that the company does not share user data with the Chinese government. Now, TikTok has claimed that since it does not share user data with Chinese government, it will have to pull out of Hong Kong after the communist government in China introduced a new law by which would track online activity.

Interestingly, while TikTok had millions of users in India, as of September last year, TikTok had only 1,50,000 users in Hong Kong. As per the company, it was a small and unprofitable market. Reuters reported that TikTok was not accessible from mainland China and hence the parent company ByteDance operates Douyin, a China-specific video sharing app.

Cricket, fans, media and dogs: 10 Dhoni quotes which will bring smile on your face

OpIndia Staff
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Cricket, fans, media and dogs: 10 Dhoni quotes which will bring smile on your face

Former Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni turns 39 today. The champion wicket-keeper batsman is not only famous for hitting huge sixes or winning ICC trophies for India but also famous for his witty one-liners in a press conference or post-match presentation. Here we are presenting 10 of his most famous quotes.

You die, you die. You don’t see which is the better way to die. – When a journalist asked Dhoni which defeat was more painful, 0-4 against England or 0-4 against Australia

If you look at it, the two-hour bus ride from the airport was more tiring and difficult for us than the last few weeks of the IPL. – On IPL scheduling and the stress players have during IPL

You won’t see a Sreesanth batting like a Don Bradman just because he wants to bat like one. – On why Indian batsman can’t cope with Australian pitches.

When I am motorcycling and stop at a red light area, people flock to me and speak to me in Tamil. – On the love he gets from Chennai people .

Frankly speaking, I dont understand Duckworth-Lewis. I just wait for the umpires decision. – Even for MS Dhoni, Duckworth-Lewis is confusing

You [media] change my girlfriends every two days. Please let one continue for some time. – When Dhoni was single and media used to connect his name to random Bollywood female stars.

Before I start I should say I read an article by you [Shastri]in Cricinfo. You said Australia were the favorites. Today I think me and the boys, we proved you wrong. – In post-match presentation ceremony to Ravi Shastri, after India qualified for the finals of WT20 by beating Australia in the semi-final.

God is not coming to save us. – Dhoni’s advice to the team after scoring a low total in Champions Trophy final, 2013.

I have three dogs at home. Even after losing a series or winning a series, they treat me the same way. – When India lost a match and the crowd started pelting stones.

You play the helicopter shot to a certain delivery. I can’t hit it off a bouncer. Maybe if I stand on a stool and go for it. – When a reporter asked why has he stopped playing helicopter shots.

“I will kill all Hindus”: Pakistani man makes his kid display bigotry in all glory over construction of temple in Islamabad. Watch video

OpIndia Staff
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“I will kill all Hindus”: Pakistani man makes his kid display bigotry in all glory over construction of temple in Islamabad. Watch video

The controversy over construction of temple in Islamabad took another turn on Tuesday after a video surfaced on social media where a young kid, about 5-6 year old, was seen spewing hate and giving death threats to Hindus. In a video shared by Twitter handle ‘Ex-Muslims of North America’, a Pakistani man is seen taking pride in the venom spewed by his really young sons.

In the video, one can see the man greets his ‘brothers and sister’ and tells them that his son has a message. The camera then pans to the kids, one of who says, “Khan sahab, agar Islamabad mein mandir bana to yeh yaad rakhna, main un Hinduon ko chun chun ke marunga. Samajh gaye? Allah Hafiz. (Mr Imran Khan, if a temple is constructed in Islamabad, then remember, I will kill all Hindus one by one. Understand? Allah Hafiz.)” The other, much younger kid next to him, too chimes in and endorses. The man identifying himself as the father of the kids then says, “See, now it is up to you.

Islamabad temple controversy

Islamists in Pakistan had recently opposed the construction of Shri Krishna temple in Islamabad, the country’s capital. A fatwa was also issued against its construction. Other than the fatwa, a petition was also filed in the Islamabad High Court against the construction of the temple. Later, the boundary wall which was constructed was demolished by an Islamist who has taken a vow that he will never let a Hindu temple be constructed there. Eventually, the Hindu Panchayat decided against constructing of the temple.

Theatre of absurd: Hateful Hansal Mehta launches online petition asking Amitabh Bachchan to unfollow hateful KRK on Twitter

OpIndia Staff
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Theatre of absurd: Hateful Hansal Mehta launches online petition asking Amitabh Bachchan to unfollow hateful KRK on Twitter

The untimely demise of Sushant Singh Rajput reignited the debate over the pervasive nepotism that afflicts Bollywood. Many laid the blame of his suicide on prominent individuals like Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt for perpetuating the culture of nepotism in the industry and being responsible for shunting out the talented “outsiders”, forcing them to take the extreme step of giving up their lives.

While Karan Johar has been widely criticized for being accountable for Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who had earlier taken up the cudgels for Shaheen Bagh protests, in a bizarre request, signed an online petition requesting Amitabh Bachchan to unfollow KRK on Twitter for his rude and mean tweets against the Kai Po Che actor.

Petition filed by Hansal Mehta asking Amitabh Bachchan to unfollow KRK on Twitter

The petition floated by Mehta said that being an iconic actor, role model and respected public figure with a huge fan following, it does not behove Amitabh Bachchan to follow someone like Kamaal R Khan alias KRK, who is a self-proclaimed actor, critic and a social media influencer, known for making derogatory and vulgar remarks against films, actors, directors and producers.

Mehta draws a distinction between the two personalities, exalting Amitabh Bachchan as a public figure who embodies dignity, empathy and humility while debasing KRK as a churlish individual, notorious for his abusive tweets and videos and who has made a “business out of trolling, abuse and mental harassment”.

“It is therefore very disturbing that somebody of Mr Bachchan’s stature actually follows this toxic social media presence. By following him alone Mr. Bachchan provides indirect endorsement for the hate and abuse unleashed by KRK on hapless industry persons through his ‘reviews’ and slanderous tweets. Case in point is the young Sushant Singh Rajput who tragically passed away a few weeks ago. For the past 3 years or so KRK had made it a point to target and post highly offensive material on the late actor,” the online petition read.

Mehta also highlighted the prevailing toxicity that besets the film and entertainment industry. “A lot is toxic in the times we live in. Some of that toxicity exists within the film industry and entertainment media too. Blind items, vicious bashing and a lot of trash masquerading as news adorn tabloids. It has to be fought. Not with whataboutery. One step at a time,” Mehta said in a tweet following his request to sign the online petition asking Amitabh Bachchan to unfollow KRK.

KRK tries to take advantage of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death

Kamaal R Khan, popularly known as KRK, is a self-proclaimed actor, critic, who prides himself in making derogatory and spiteful videos against popular actors, directors and producers, in a bid to gain cheap publicity, tried to ride on the sympathy wave that rose following the demise of Sushant Singh Rajput.

In the wake of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, Kamaal R Khan, who had been severely critical of the actor in past, tried to profit off the tragedy by posting eulogising tweets and videos in solidarity with Sushant Singh Rajput, against those who have been perpetuating the culture of nepotism in Bollywood.

While in the latest video, KRK mourns the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, in his earlier videos, he was seen asking producers like Ekta Kapoor, Sajid Nadiadwala and others to not patronize Sushant, claiming he was a terrible actor. The self-proclaimed critic had posted particularly nasty tweets against the actor while he was alive, a collage of which was also shared along with the petition floated by Hansal Mehta. Consequently, the disparaging tweets against Sushant Singh Rajput, mentioned in the collage have been deleted by KRK.

Hansal Mehta takes up the cudgel for Shaheen Bagh protesters

While Mehta tries to draw attention towards the hatred that exists in the film industry, it is worth noting that Mehta had been one of those Bollywood filmmakers who had come in defence of the Shaheen Bagh protests that eventually culminated into full-blown anti-Hindu riots in the national city in the last week of February this year.

In response to Vivek Agnihotri’s incisive tweet claiming that the Shaheen Bagh had transformed into an Islamic conversion centre and a hideout for all kinds of criminals, Mehta quickly came into the defence of the thuggish protesters at Shaheen Bagh, asking Vivek to embrace Islam to understand what the religion stands for.

“Unfortunately twitter has become a haven for hate-mongering cowards like you. I sincerely hope you get converted to Islam and you get to understand what the religion really stands for. In fact, I wish you’d first understand Hinduism so that you do not continue tarnishing it,” Mehta tweeted.

Significantly, Mehta defended the Shaheen Bagh protests, which had been the plank from where the deadly anti-Hindu riots engulfing the national capital were engineered.

Russian journalist convicted for “justifying terrorism” asked to pay fine of $6,950, prosecutor demands six-year imprisonment

OpIndia Staff
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Russian journalist convicted for “justifying terrorism” asked to pay fine of $6,950, prosecutor demands six-year imprisonment

A Russian journalist on Monday was convicted by a court in the city of Pskov on charges of “justifying terrorism” and ordered to pay a fine amounting to 5,00,000 rubbles (approximately $6950) in the case. Prosecutors have also requested the court to send the journalist, Svetlana Prokopyeva, to six-years of imprisonment.

The verdict has been widely criticised calling it the Russian government’s attempt to trample freedom of the press. The journalist, speaking about a 2018 incident had reportedly criticised the federal government for its coercive policies, arguing that the Russian Government gives very little opportunity to the young people to express their discontentment, which eventually leads to despair and disappointment amidst the youth against the administration.

The Russian journalist insists that she only did her work as a journalist

While opinionating, the journalist had spoken about the October 2018 suicide attack in which a 17-year-old Russian man blew himself up at the entrance of the office of the Federal Security Service (FSB), in the northern city of Arkhangelsk. Along with the 17-year-old youth, 3 FSB officers had also been injured in the incident.

“I am not afraid to criticize law enforcement or tell the security organs that they are wrong,” the journalist said in her final statement in court on Friday. “Because I know how really horrific it will become if I don’t speak out — if no one speaks out.” She insisted that she only did her work as a journalist.

“I did not do anything that was beyond the framework of my professional duty,” Prokopyeva told the court “And that is not a crime.” Prokopyeva said she would appeal the verdict.

Demanding the acquittal of the Russian journalist, many human rights groups and media outlets and watchdogs have criticised the verdict calling it an attempt to suppress the rights of freedom of speech and expression.

Russian govt denies charges that the judgement was an attack on media freedom

Asked about the verdict, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, denied that the verdict represented an attack on media freedom. Peskov said the ruling reflected “legal nuances” related to Russia’s counterterrorism law.

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