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Netizens outrage after Scotch-Brite says it will remove ‘regressive’ bindi in new logo

OpIndia Staff
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Netizens outrage after Scotch-Brite says it will remove ‘regressive’ bindi in new logo

A controversy has erupted across social media platforms after a LinkedIn user and marketing executive pointed out the ‘gender marker’ logo on the packaging of the cleaning product Scotch-Brite.

Karthik Srinivasan, who claims to be communications strategy consultant, recently took to LinkedIn to call out Scotch-Brite for their logo which stereotyped gender roles. Pointing out at the vector image of a woman with a bindi, Srinivasan pointed out that how some of their products did not carry the same logo, while other products like scrub pad/sponge, brush, brooms, bathroom wipes, stainless steel scrubs, toilet brushes carried it.

In his LinkedIn post Srinivasan said that Scotch-Brite’s logo features a ‘vector image of a woman with a bindi’ and added that he understood that back in 1990 the ‘period was different’, but in 2020 ‘such gender markers seem awkward and out of place’.

Image source: LinkedIn

While Srinivasan talks about gender stereotype in logo, he mentions how the woman in logo is ‘Indianised’ with a bindi on her forehead. “While searching for the logo’s history (there wasn’t any that I could find), I also found 2 other logos of Scotch-Brite on logo websites that may or may not be older, official versions of the brand’s logo. But what was interesting about them was that they had this vector addition without the bindi/dot, that differentiates it as ‘Indian’. The first one seems like a ‘Western’ woman, while the 2nd one is closer to what we currently see in the Indian version of the logo, but with the bindi,” he writes in his post.

Following Karthik Srinivasan’s long post on the issue, Atul Mathur, who is the Head of Marketing – Consumer Business of 3M India responded to the controversy and thanked Srinivasan for his “insightful comment”.

“I head marketing in 3M India for our Consumer business. You have correctly surmised that this is a legacy vector, and that it is undoubtedly time to move on from regressive beliefs,” said Mathur. From his post, it is not yet clear whether he meant the gender stereotyping was regressive or the ‘Indianising the logo with a bindi’ was.

He concluded the post by saying, “I am pleased to inform you that you will see the logo change a few months down the line.”

Imate Source: Free Press Journal

The statements by the 3M India’s Head of Marketing Atul Mathur, however, created a storm on social media platforms after he called Hindu practise of adorning Bindi on forehead was a ‘regressive practise’. Netizens lashed out at the brand for ‘insulting Hindu women’.

Activist and Author Shefali Vaidya took to Twitter to slam the 3M India for insulting millions of Hindu women and said that she never bought your products ever.

Shefali Vaidya’s tweet

Smita Barooah also pointed how 3M India’s statement terming Hindu women ‘regressive’ was out of line and sync with Indian culture and norms.

A social media attacked the company stating that hope the female employees of the 3M India did not wear Bindis to work at your manufacturing units or perhaps not employed by them at all.

They also noted how 3M has women as part of their logo internationally but only found Hindu women wearing Bindi as a regressive practise.

The social media user and marketing executive Karthik Srinivasan who wrote the original LinkedIn post later took to Twitter to clarify that he did not mean the wearing the bindi as ‘regressive’.

He explained that he meant that gender stereotyping was regressive. Srinivasan claimed he pointed out the bindi in Indian logo as logo of other countries did not have that. Netizens pointed out that the gender stereotype could have been pointed out without specifying the bindi as it was quite evident the logo had a woman. He then claimed it was necessary to point out bindi-wearing logo for ‘gender disparity’ as woman logo in other countries didn’t don a bindi.

While Scotch-Brite may be stereotyping women as household cleaning experts through the logo, Indian women wearing a bindi is quite normal. Hence, when Srinivasan says he was shocked to see the ‘Indianised’ logo in a post on ‘gender stereotypes’ he contradicts himself as you’d hardly see foreigners wear bindis. It is not clear whether Srinivasan thought bindi-wearing woman on the logo is the wrong stereotype or just woman, because he has again highlighted the bindi part.

When you fight one stereotype by playing up another

India to begin International flights to select countries via Air Bubbles till travel restrictions due to Coronavirus remain: Civil Aviation Minister

OpIndia Staff
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India to begin International flights to select countries via Air Bubbles till travel restrictions due to Coronavirus remain: Civil Aviation Minister

During a press conference on 16th July, Union Civil Aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that India is in a very advanced stage of negotiations with at least three countries to start International flights via Air bubbles. He added, “Unless the international civil aviation space reclaims its pre-covid space, air bubbles are the only answer to international flights.” The three countries are France, the US and Germany.

The passengers will be able to travel to the selected destinations using these flights. The passengers have to go through several checks before leaving and after landing in India. The foreign countries are also imposing restrictions that the passengers have to follow. That means even if someone has a visa for a particular country, travel will not be permitted without additional permissions and paperwork.

What are air bubbles in terms of aviation?

Air bubbles or travel bubbles, also known as corona corridors, green corridors or travel corridors, are exclusive partnerships between two countries to allow air travel. These arrangements are only possible if both countries either have successfully contained the virus or have shown promising results while combating with the Covid-19 pandemic within their borders. India started considering these corridors in the month of June to resume air travel to other nations.

Multiple flights announced but with restrictions

The civil aviation minister said that the international flights could function with limited scope amid Covid-19 pandemic. The travel industry is at still since the pandemic started expanding its roots outside China. India suspended all international flights with the announcement of the first lockdown in March. Puri said that as a part of Unlock-2, India has decided to resume international flights. Air France is planning to operate 28 flights between Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Paris from 18th July to 1st August. The US will operate 18 flights between 17th July and 31st July. German carriers have sent a request to Indian Aviation Ministry which is still under process.

Under Vande Bharat Mission, more than 6,70,000 people have returned through various means and more than 85,000 have flown out since 6 May 2020, said Aviation Minister.

Sachin Pilot & other rebel Congress MLAs approach Rajasthan HC against Speaker’s disqualification notice, court grants time to amend the plea

OpIndia Staff
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Sachin Pilot & other rebel Congress MLAs approach Rajasthan HC against Speaker’s disqualification notice, court grants time to amend the plea

The Rajasthan High Court today granted time to Congress rebel leader Sachin Pilot and his loyalist MLAs to file a fresh petition tomorrow against their disqualification by the speaker. The hearing which has been adjourned by the HC will be taken up tomorrow by a division bench.

While senior advocate Harish Salve and former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi are representing Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan High Court, the Rajasthan Assembly Speaker is being represented by Congress leader and lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on July 16 (Thursday) approached Rajasthan High Court to challenge disqualification notice issued by Assembly Speaker CP Joshi, which rebel leader and the other MLAs termed as a move of “unholy haste”, which is “mala fide and contrary to Assembly rules”.

Based on a petition submitted by Dr Mahesh Joshi, the Chief Whip of the Congress in Rajasthan, Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Joshi had issued notices on July 15 (Wednesday) to Pilot and 18 other Congress MLAs for explaining their “anti-party activities”.

The notice was issued under Article 191 of Constitution and the 10th Schedule as per the provision of Disqualification Rules 1989.

Pilot and 18 other MLAs have been asked to attend the proceedings on July 17 at 1 PM in the chamber of Assembly Speaker CP Joshi. The notice has also been pasted on the official residences of all these MLAs and they have been asked to submit written reply to the notice by July 1.

Lashing out at Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Pilot had said that the disqualification notices issued to him and 18 other Congress MLAs have no legal basis and were issued by Speaker Joshi on the diktats of Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot.

Congress sacked Sachin Pilot as the state chief and removed him from the Deputy CM’s post

On July 14, the Congress party had sacked the young Turk as Rajasthan state Congress chief and removed him from the post of Deputy Chief Minister of the state. The decision came minutes after a total of 102 MLAs of the Rajasthan Assembly present at the Congress Legislative Party meeting at Hotel Fairmont in Jaipur passed a resolution to remove him from the party.

While Congress removed Sachin Pilot’s nameplate from its headquarter in Jaipur, Sachin Pilot had changed his Twitter bio shortly after being removed as Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan.

The resolution to remove him allegedly came after party president and Deputy CM Sachin Pilot did not show up at the CLP meet for the second time in as many days.

Announcing the party’s decision to sack the rebel leader, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that Congress had approached Sachin Pilot a number of times to placate him, but “Pilot became part of BJP conspiracy to destabilise the Congress government in Rajasthan, Surjewala alleged. He added that Pilot and his supporters are fired from their posts.

Rajasthan political crisis brewing for over two years

The infighting within the Rajasthan Congress, which compelled the young Turk to bid adieu to the grand old party, began soon after the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly elections. A power tussle ensued between Congress’ old guard Ashok Gehlot and youth leader Sachin pilot for the coveted post of the Chief Minister. Then, the party supremos had chosen Gehlot over Pilot, which resulted in the latter being sidelined, making way for Gehlot to become Rajasthan’s CM. This created an internal rift within the party, only to increase today.

Sushant Singh Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty requests home minister Amit Shah to hand over Sushant’s suicide case to CBI

OpIndia Staff
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Sushant Singh Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty requests home minister Amit Shah to hand over Sushant’s suicide case to CBI

Rhea Chakraborty, the girlfriend of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput has requested that the case of Sushant’s suicide should be handed over to CBI.

In a series of tweets addressed to union home minister Amit Shah, Rhea said that she has complete faith in the government, but in the interest of justice, she requested the home minister “with folded hands to initiate a CBI enquiry”.

Rhea added that she only wants to know Sushant was going through what pressures that prompted him to take the extreme step.

She has also revealed that she is receiving abuses and threats on social media following the death of her boyfriend. Sharing a screenshot of threatening message calling for her rape and murder, and asking her to commit suicide, she wrote on Instagram,  “I was called a gold digger ..I kept quiet I was called a murderer ….I kept quiet I was slut shamed ….I kept quiet But how does my silence give you the right to tell me that you will get me RAPED and MURDERED if I don’t commit suicide”.

She also asked the cybercrime department to take action against those who sent such messages to her.

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide on 14th June in his Mumbai house. After his death, a section of people on both social media and media had blamed some people in the Hindi film industry for the same. It was alleged that Sushant was under stress and depression for various reasons related to his profession.

Rhea Chakraborty is being interrogated by Mumbai police in connection with the case. Apart from the suicide case, she is also being probed for matter of spending Sushant’s money.

Maharashtra: NCP demands Rs.11,000 as ‘donation’ from aspirants to consider them for Gram Panchayat administrator posts

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: NCP demands Rs.11,000 as ‘donation’ from aspirants to consider them for Gram Panchayat administrator posts

The decision of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), one of the coalition partners of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, to seek mandatory donations from the aspirants to administrators’ post to the various gram panchayats in the state has now stoked a massive controversy, reports Indian Express.

According to the reports, the NCP leaders in Pune have asked all the aspirants of the post to pay Rs 11,000 donation to the party to be eligible for the post.

The state election commission, following the coronavirus restrictions, had postponed the elections to gram panchayats whose terms have ended and recommended the appointment of administrators. Following that, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government had decided to appoint administrators to nearly 14,000 Gram panchayats across the state in consultation with district guardian ministers.

The Rural Development Department headed by Minister Hasan Mushrif of the NCP had issued orders for the Government Resolution on the appointment of administrators.

Taking advantage of the, the NCP has now resorted to forcibly seek donations from the aspirants to make them eligible for the post. In Pune, NCP District president Pradip Garatkar has issued instructions to taluka heads of the party to collect donations from the aspirants.

In Pune district, 750 gram panchayats posts have become vacant, which require administrators and it is expected that at least two thousand aspirants could apply for the posts, as per the Indian Express report.

Image Source: Mumbai Mirror

The letter written by Pradip Garatkar also sought details including caste, educational qualifications, previous experience in governance / social work and any post held within the party. The bank details have also been included in the letter.

“All taluka presidents (of the party) have been given guidelines regarding appointing administrators based on lists of their gram panchayats that would have gone to polls. Following those guidelines strictly, application forms as attached must be filled out by all applicants and submitted along with a non-returnable party fund donation of Rs 11,000 that must be credited to the official bank account of the NCP Pune district,” the letter read which carried the signature of NCP leader Pradip Garatkar.

NCP says no such instructions have been directed

Meanwhile, Maharashtra minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik refuted such claims and said that the party has not given any instructions regarding seeking applications for the post of administrators. “If they are preparing for the coming elections and preparing candidates, that is fine. If they are doing this for the posts of administrators, that is wrong,” he added.

Nearly half of Maharashtra’s 28,000-odd Gram Panchayats should have faced elections between March and November this year. With coronavirus restrictions, the elections are now postponed, giving an opportunity to the Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress to appoint administrators of their choice.

Reportedly, all the three coalition partners have informally-agreed on a formula in which these appointments will be granted by the district guardian minister in consultation with local MLAs. In places where none of the Maha Vikas Aghadi parties has any MLAs, then the district minister will take a call on the choice of the candidate.

Congress governments over four decades kept changing rules to allot free Lutyens land to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Congress governments over four decades kept changing rules to allot free Lutyens land to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation: Read details

The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, which has been caught up in a massive controversy over its financial links with China, is back on news again after a sensational disclosure that the Congress governments in the past had changed the rules of allotment of government land in Lutyens Delhi to benefit the Gandhis and the trusts controlled by the family.

A report by Times Now stated that an ongoing high-level probe on the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation has exposed a convenient arrangement that saw Gandhi family virtually taking over government lands through various trusts including the RGF.

Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs had set up an inter-ministerial committee to probe various violations by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust & Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.

Video Source: Times Now

The Times Now report also stated that the rules for the land allotted by the then Indira Gandhi-led government in 1975 for the construction of the Congress party headquarters was eventually violated and altered for the benefit of the Gandhi family and the trusts managed by them. The Congress party, however, did not construct the headquarters at the two-acres land but changed the land allotment rules to lease government lands for free to Gandhis.

The nearly two-acre land, which was allocated for the construction of the AICC office to build ‘Gandhi Bhawan Trust’ was altered by various Congress governments for over four decades, which was later handed over to Sonia Gandhi-led Rajiv Gandhi Foundation for free.

According to Times Now, the first alleged violation of terms happened in December 1976 under Indira Gandhi. The Congress, after renaming the ‘Gandhi Bhawan Trust’ to ‘Jawahar Bhawan Trust’ leased more lands during the Indira Gandhi government. The land was given in 2 tranches, once 4736 square yards and then 4500 square yards were granted, as per the Times Now report. The land was initially meant for the Congress party, but ended up under the control of the Nehru Gandhi family, though some clever tweaks.

Different Congress governments, one beneficiary, the Nehru-Gandhi family

In September 1988, during the Rajiv Gandhi government, the terms of allocations of the land were changed again, from the Congress party to the Jawahar Bhawan Trust (JBT), to allow the perpetual lease of the land and also for the construction of an office of the JBT. The government land was now transferred to a trust managed by the party for free, violating the land allotment rules.

Again in 1995, during the Congress government led by PV Narasimha Rao, the land allocated to JBT was rented out to another entity called ‘Rajiv Gandhi Foundation’ for free.

The fourth violation of the land allotment rules by the Congress government to favour the Gandhis came in May 2014, when the UPA government, days before losing power, gave permission to Sonia Gandhi-led Rajiv Gandhi Foundation to sub-rent the two-acre plot to four organisations, which are mostly controlled by the Gandhi parivar.

Image Source: Times Now

Congress used government-owned RGF land to give platform for Anti-India propaganda

Further, the Times Now report also stated that the Congress party organisation Seva Dal was wound up from the land to make way for the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, which then gave space to Anti-national elements such as Anti-Hindu riots accused Umar Khalid, far-left members of Anti-India brigade Kanhaiya Kumar, former SIMI terrorist SQR Ilyas etc.

The conspirators of the Anti-Hindu riots, members of various anti-Hindu front were time and again given space by the Sonia Gandhi-led foundation through the controversial Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.

Sonia Gandhi-controlled Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received funds from China

Recently, shocking details had emerged wherein it was revealed how Sonia Gandhi-controlled Rajiv Gandhi Foundation had received funds from the Chinese government during the UPA era under the garb of charities.

Last month we had reported how the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation had received funds from not just the Embassy of China but also the Government of China not once but at least thrice between 2005 and 2009. One donation amounted to Rs 10 lakhs and another one amounted to Rs 90 lakhs was given by the Chinese to the Sonia-Gandhi controlled Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.

The Annual Statements of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation had also revealed a far more sinister agenda as it turned out, the Chinese government had not only donated to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in the year 2006 but in the subsequent years as well. 

It is important to note that Sonia Gandhi is the Chairperson of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Since the year 2005, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were the trustees.

The significant disclosure had come at a time when the Congress party was caught over its secret deals with the Communist Party of China (CPC) back in 2008. There have been serious allegations against the Congress party and its interim chief Sonia Gandhi over receiving funds from not only China but also for diverting public money for her private foundation. Documents had also revealed that Sonia’s loyalist Manmohan Singh had tried to allocate Rs 100 crores to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in the Union Bidget of 1991-92 when he was the finance minister.

Watch: Alcoholic man ruthlessly beat a stray dog to death in Ghaziabad, gets arrested after video of the act go viral

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Alcoholic man ruthlessly beat a stray dog to death in Ghaziabad, gets arrested after video of the act go viral

Social media has been abuzz with people posting a gruesome video of a man ruthlessly beating a stray dog with a wooden baton. The incident, which is reportedly two-three days old, took place in Modinagar in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh. After the disturbing video went viral on social media, Ghaziabad police apprehended the accused. The Ghaziabad SSP, Kalanidhi Naithani took to Twitter to share that the accused, Sunil alias Danny, has been taken into custody for the heinous crime and legal action is underway.

It is believed that the accused, who is an alcoholic, is a repeat offender and has many times in the past brutally killed stray animals. He reportedly even threatens to kill the people who try to stop him from killing the stray animals.

The video, which was first shared on Facebook by Tazza Khabar, shows the accused, in a green shirt, mercilessly beating a stray dog with a thick wooden stick. He initially hits the dog once and then goes away, only to return after a few seconds. He again starts hitting the helpless canine repeatedly with his heavy wooden baton. The stray dog is seen lying helplessly on the floor screaming from pain. Shockingly, the person who is recording the video, and others who can be heard in the background, no one comes forward to stop the person from performing the gruesome act or rescue the helpless canine. In fact, towards the end of the video, two children are captured laughing as the man continues to hit the dog.

This outrageous act has drawn massive public outrage. According to Tazza Khabar, people are threatening to take to the streets if the perpetrator is not brought to justice. It is believed that the accused is an alcoholic and has a track record of abusing animals in the past as well.

Amidst all this, one Anu Pandey has also started an online change petition, which has garnered more than 6,900 signatures, demanding actions against such acts of cruelty.

“Was attacked because I’m a Dalit”: Says social media user Madhur Singh who finds inaction of NCW against comedian Kenny Sebastian worrisome

OpIndia Staff
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“Was attacked because I’m a Dalit”: Says social media user Madhur Singh who finds inaction of NCW against comedian Kenny Sebastian worrisome

Social media user Madhur Singh, popularly known as ThePlacardGuy has expressed concern that the lack of action of National Commission for Women against comedian Kenny Sebastian for obscene comments against his mother. “I was attacked because I am a Dalit,” he said.

Singh says that while he has received death threats for raising his voice in the past, that didn’t scare him much. However, the obscenity hurled towards his mother distressed him. Speaking to OpIndia, he said, “My mother had no involvement in the twitter spat between Kenny and I, but yet he abused her and almost made remarks which in some way means that he’s raping her. This thought has put me in immense mental distress. Shubham Mishra and Imtiyaz made videos saying similar things for Agrima Joshua and they were arrested the very next day but no action against Kenny makes me lose my faith in the system.”

After an online spat between Singh and Sebastian early this month, Kenny went on to post obscene and abusive comments on photo-sharing app Instagram. In some of the comments on a post, Sebastian can be seen hurling abuses like ‘teri maa r*ndi’ and other such obscenities.

In his defence, Sebastian took to Twitter to claim that the screenshots making rounds on social media are ‘fake’. He claimed that the abuses posted from his account were ‘manipulated’ as he reported an account of someone who he claims was ‘abusing his religion’. He claimed he will approach Mumbai Police to investigate the ‘fake messages’. However, later netizens shared videos of his profile wherein it can be seen that the comments from his account were not fabricated. Later, on 9th July, the NCW took cognisance of the obscene messages and asked for probe.

“NCW had urged the Maharashtra DGP to take action against Sebastian, but nothing has been done so far. This weakens my faith in the judicial system,” Singh said.

This is not the first time Madhur Singh has been on the receiving end of hate and abuses. Earlier this year, he was threatened with Kamlesh Tiwari-like fate for his Instagram stories on Islamic fundamentalists. Kamlesh Tiwari was an outspoken Hindu Activist who was brutally murdered by Jihadists for blaspheming against Islam. He was stabbed 15 times. The post-mortem report suggested that there were two deep cut marks on the neck which pointed towards attempts to slit his throat. These threats and abuses were directed not only towards Madhur himself but also for the women in his family. Some of the abuses appeared to come from ostensibly fake accounts with no followers or posts.

‘India took extraordinary step to ban TikTok and other Chinese apps, US shouldn’t trust them either’: 25 US Congressmen urge Trump to follow India’s lead

OpIndia Staff
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‘India took extraordinary step to ban TikTok and other Chinese apps, US shouldn’t trust them either’: 25 US Congressmen urge Trump to follow India’s lead

Soon after the Indian government red-flagged 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, America has also been considering to ban the apps, amidst the rising privacy concerns over Chinese apps including TikTok. After the US Secretary of State and the US NSA batting for the ban on the Chinese app, 25 US Congressmen have now written to the US President to consider banning the app.

India took an extraordinary step of banning Chinese affiliated-apps, including TikTok, said US Congressmen

Praising India’s decision to ban 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, the US Congressmen, in a strongly worded letter dated July 15, asked Trump not to trust these apps either.

The letter praised India for the “extraordinary” step it took in June to ban the Chinese affiliated-apps, including TikTok, due to national security concerns. Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) systemic campaign to collect and illicitly transmit user data to the Chinese govt is not unique to Indian consumers,” it read.

Stressing on the fact that TikTok’s privacy policy for the US residents is upfront about the vast quantity of user data it collects and shares with the CCP, the Congressmen said: “The US shouldn’t trust TikTok or other Chinese-affiliated social media websites/apps to protect Americans’ data, privacy or security. We urge you to take strong action to stop CCP’s sophisticated espionage campaign against our country and protect our national security,” said the US Congress members.

Adding that the recent finding in an Australian Strategic Policy Institute report said that ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, works closely with the Chinese government to enable human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims by disseminating the CCP’s state propaganda, the Congressmen also revealed that “ByteDance is also required under Chinese law to provide seats on the company’s board of directors to CCP officials, further cementing the authoritarian government’s role in setting these policies.”

The Congressmen concluded by urging Trump to take strong action to stop the CCP’s sophisticated espionage campaign against America and protect American’s data, privacy or security.

Banning TikTok and other Chinese apps would take away China’s ‘big espionage tool’: US NSA

Yesterday, US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien had opinioned that by banning the app, America would take away China’s ‘big espionage tool’. “India has already banned those apps, as you know. And if they lose India and the United States, they lose some western European countries, that takes a big tool away from the espionage work or the surveillance work of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party),” the US national security advisor said.

US President too had said that banning TikTok is ‘one of many’ ways he is looking to hit back at the Beijing government over the coronavirus. His comment had come one day after Michael 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.

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 move came after the violent Galwan Valley clash in Ladakh which took place because of China’s attempts to unilaterally change status quo. India had lost 20 of its brave soldiers in the standoff.

Here is why #BabyPenguin is trending on Twitter, and why Aaditya Thackeray is called so by some

OpIndia Staff
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Here is why #BabyPenguin is trending on Twitter, and why Aaditya Thackeray is called so by some

On Thursday, the hashtag BabyPenguin was trending on Twitter, after a complaint was registered against a social media user calling Aaditya Thackeray a Baby Penguin.

Dharmendra Mishra, legal head of Yuva Sena, the youth wing of Shiv Sena, has filed a complaint against Sameet Thakkar, a Twitter user, for alleged derogatory tweets against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Tourism and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray and Energy Minister Nitin Raut. An officer from V P Road police station said that they had registered an offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections of obscenity (292), defamation (500), and section 67 of the Information Technology Act.

According to the complaint registered with VP Road Police, Thakkar shared a photo on 1st July in which he allegedly referred to Aaditya Thackeray as  ‘Mohammad Azam Shah of Maharashtra aka baby penguin.’ He also referred to CM as ‘Modern day Aurangazeb’ and posted a derogatory comment on Raut.

Mishra said he was shocked when he checked Thakkar’s twitter profile as Prime Minister Narendra Modi follows him. “It is not the first time Thakkar has used derogatory language against the state leaders. So I decided to complain to him and approached the V P Road police,” added Mishra.

Thakkar had posted a sarcastic video on 13th July and referred Aaditya Thackrey as ‘baby penguin”.

Another tweet by Thakkar in which he called Aaditya “Baby Penguin”

Sameer in a recent tweet said that while CM of Maharashtra can indulge in name-calling by referring to former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as “Man of Afzal Khan,” ordinary citizen gets booked for calling CM Modern Day Aurangzeb.

Why Aaditya Thackeray is called Baby Penguin

Aaditya Thackeray was given the nickname after his insistence to bring penguins in Mumbai Zoo. The administration spent around 2.5 crores on the project that included the cost of an artificial environment built for the flightless birds. Eight Humboldt penguins — Donald, Daisy, Popeye, Olive, Flipper, Bubble, Mr Molt and Dory — were brought from Seoul, South Korea, in 2016 to the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan, popularly known as the Byculla Zoo. It was known as a ‘pet project’ of Aaditya Thackeray, as he had led the project to bring penguins to Mumbai. But a few weeks later, one penguin “Dory” died due to bacterial infection, triggering a massive controversy.

The experts said that the bird died due to sudden change in the environment, and the zoo administration did not have the training and knowledge to handle such exotic birds. Several experts had also said that it was a bad idea to bring penguins to hot and humid India. Later, the first baby penguin hatched in India had also died.

Netizens raised voice in favor of Thakkar

While calling the complaint absurd, netizens have pointed out the hypocrisy of state government. A Twitter user Aarthi pointed out that several users regularly post derogatory tweets against PM Modi and enjoy their freedom, but BJP is termed as fascist. Another user pointed out that Aaditya’s father a political satirist and cartoonist. Some users urged everyone not to call Aaditya “Baby Penguin” sarcastically while one user pointed out that NCP used the same term for Aaditya before allying with them.

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