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US Senate passes bill for Hong Kong’s autonomy, proposes sanctions against China’s efforts to restrict autonomy

OpIndia Staff
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US Senate passes bill for Hong Kong’s autonomy, proposes sanctions against China’s efforts to restrict autonomy

The United States Senate on Thursday passed the ‘Hong Kong autonomy act’ unanimously. This act will allow the US government to penalize banks that will be doing business with the Chinese government or Chinese officials trying to restrict Hong Kong’s autonomy by the new National Security Law.

The bill was brought in by the Democrat Chris Van Hollen from Maryland and Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. As per reports, companion legislation has been introduced in the house with bipartisan support that is required to pass in the house of representatives to reach President Donald Trump’s desk.

Pat Toomey informed, “The mandatory sanctions established in this bill will punish those in China who seek to undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy or erode the basic freedoms promised to Hongkongers.”

The bill will allow sanctions against officials and institutions

As per reports, the Hong Kong Autonomy Act will enable the USA to restrict or ban visas for officials travelling to the USA, restrict them from acquiring property and making financial transactions subject to the jurisdiction of USA. Any banks or financial institutions who knowingly deal with such persons will be held accountable too.

The amended legislation would apply sanctions against financial institutions only if a bank is intentionally involved in a business with an official or entity that has already been sanctioned or contribute to the contravention of China’s obligation.

Trump signed Uighur bill

Last week, The Trump administration in the USA had signed legislation that allows the American Government to hold Chinese officials responsible for China’s persecution of Uighur and other Muslim minority groups. The bill, formally named the “Uighur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020,” was approved by the House and Senate in May.

Legislation asks for the closure of camps in Xinjiang

The Hill reported that the legislation objects to the treatment of Uighur Muslims and other Muslim minorities by the Chinese Communist Party. It calls for closure of such camps in the Xinjiang region of China. The legislation gives the American government the power to identify and sanction individuals responsible for the abuse of minority groups.

China’s National Security law

China recently passed a controversial national security law that significantly restricts the autonomy previously enjoyed by Hong Kong and enables extradition of wrongdoers from Hong Kong to Mainland China. Widespread protests had erupted in the city for much of last year but the coronavirus pandemic changed the scenario. Taking the cover of the coronavirus outbreak, the Chinese Communist Party quickly passed the national security law on the pretext of restoring law and order in the semi-autonomous region. Protesters have claimed this to be in violation of the treaty signed with Britain in 1997 and termed China’s move as autocratic to quell the dissenting voices.

Over 200 J&K youths issued Pakistani visas go missing, intel sources believe Pakistan training youths to carry out terror attacks in India

OpIndia Staff
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Over 200 J&K youths issued Pakistani visas go missing, intel sources believe Pakistan training youths to carry out terror attacks in India

Over 200 Jammu and Kashmir youths who have been given Pakistani visas by the Pakistan High Commission are found to be missing from the valley, which has put the Intelligence agencies on high alert. The authorities fear that these youths have been picked up by Pakistan, which is training them to create unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.

Intelligence sources said: “Pakistan has been targeting the youth from J&K by training, equipping and arming them to carry out terrorist attacks in J&K on the lines of February 2019 Pulwama attack.” 

According to reports, since 2017 the Pakistan High Commission has issued Pakistani visas to 399 youth from jammu and Kashmir, out of which whereabouts of 218 are not known. 

Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi not only runs espionage networks for its military spy agency but also recruits terrorists

Sustained efforts by Pakistan high commission officials in New Delhi to allegedly recruit young men from Jammu and Kashmir for terrorist activities was one of the factors behind India’s decision to reduce its staff presence by half, people familiar with the development said on Thursday.

A source in New Delhi confirmed that the probe by the intelligence agencies indicated that Pakistan was using its High Commission in Delhi not only to run espionage networks for its military spy agency but also recruits terrorists.

India for these reasons and also due to the mistreatment meted out to the Indian diplomats in Pakistan, who were abducted by Pakistani security agencies, asked Pakistan High Commission in Delhi on June 23 to reduce its staff presence by half within 7 days. India would also reduce its own staff in Pakistan by the same proportion.

The Ministry of External Affairs had summoned Pakistan’s Charge d’ Affaires Syed Haider Shah and informed him about India’s concerns regarding the activities of officials of his mission, who have been involved in espionage and associated with terror outfits.

Pak High Commission and its link to terror attacks and terror funding

In the past, India has thwarted many attacks on the Indian soil by terrorists who infiltrated India after receiving their training in Pakistan on the visa issued by the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. 

NIA which is probing the case of suspended J&K DSP Davinder Singh, who was arrested along with two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists Naveed Babu and Asif Rather on the 11th of January when they were travelling together in a car, recently revealed that one assistant at Pakistan high commission named Shafaqat was in touch with Singh.

In the month of May, two officials of Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi were caught spying by Delhi Police on May 31. They are accused of roaming around in various places using fake identities.

The two officers, Abid Hussain and Tahir Hussain, reportedly worked in the visa section of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. The Delhi Police Special Cell nabbed the duo red-handed after they were found engaged in espionage activities using fake identities. 

Although they are officially employed in the high commission, they were actually ISI spies sent to India. Both the officers had been declared as persona non grata by the Indian government 

On April 5, three amongst five terrorists who were neutralised by the Indian Army were from Jammu and Kashmir. It was reported that Adil Hussain Mir, Umar Nazir Khan and Sajjad Ahmed Hurrah, the three terrorits who were killed, had travelled to Pakistan in April 2018 on the visa issued by the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

The NIA while investigating the Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case named the First Secretary Press at the Pakistani mission Mudassar Iqbal Cheema. Cheema was at the mission from September 2015 to November 2016. He had given Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, the main accused in the case, Rs seventy lacs in two instalments. Watali was the main conduit to send money to Hurriyat leaders from the Pakistani high commission.

Home Ministry calls out Reuters’ misleading report claiming Army has taken over COVID-19 facilities in Delhi, says ‘The news is far away from reality’

OpIndia Staff
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Home Ministry calls out Reuters’ misleading report claiming Army has taken over COVID-19 facilities in Delhi, says ‘The news is far away from reality’

The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a clarification with regards to a factually incorrect article published in the International news organisation Reuters which said that the Indian Army took over the control of COVID-19 facilities in Delhi as the number of caseloads surged uncontrollably. Refuting the allegations levelled in the article, the Spokesman of the Ministry of Home Affairs posted a tweet, saying the news is ‘far away from reality’.

The official Twitter account of the Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs, tweeted that Army has not been called in and only medical personnel of Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) had been asked to assist at some medical facilities in the national capital.

The clarification from the Ministry of Home Affairs came on the heels of an article titled-“India calls in army to run facilities in Delhi as cases surge” published on Reuters asserted that the coronavirus situation in India’s capital New Delhi is so dire that the Armed Forces of the country have been summoned to take control of the COVID-19 facilities in the city.

Source: Reuters

The article published in Reuters contended that the COVID-19 cases in the country are precipitously increasing and that the government had called in army to manage new treatment centres with thousands of additional hospital beds in New Delhi.

The article also quoted Union Home Minister Amit Shah to lend credence to their misguided belief that the Armed Forces will assume the total control of COVID-19 facilities in the national capital. “Armed Forces personnel have been detailed for providing medical care and attention to COVID-19 patients housed in the Railway coaches in Delhi,” the article quoted Home Minister Amit Shah as saying.

Reuters’ unverified claims about Indian Army managing the medical facilities in Delhi was picked up by several Indian and International Media organisations to assert that the Indian capital is so much overwhelmed by the coronavirus caseloads that the control of the medical facilities has been wrenched from the civilian authorities and handed over to the Armed Forces.

Pakistani news daily—Dawn also published the report crediting Reuters that the Indian government has asked the Army to preside over the administration of medical facilities in Delhi.

Source: Dawn

The US News and World Report, another International media organisation which carried the Reuters’ report alleged that the coronavirus situation in Delhi is so grim that Army is being called in to contain the irrepressible rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the national capital.

Source: US News and World Report

Not just International media organisations but Indian organisations also published the report without checking the veracity of the claims made by Reuters. The Essel Group owned India based news organisation— Wion put out a story saying that the Indian Army was called in by the government to run facilities in Delhi as the coronavirus cases saw a spike in the national capital.

Source: The Wion

Coronavirus outbreak in Delhi

The number of COVID-19 cases in India’s capital, New Delhi has risen sharply over the past few weeks as the number of confirmed infections touched the 70,000-mark while 2,365 have reportedly died of the contagion. However, soon after Delhi started reporting a surge in the number of coronavirus cases, Union Home Minister Amit Shah took the driver seat to rollout a synergised strategy to curb the spread of the infection.

Taking charge of the coronavirus situation in Delhi, Shah called an all-party meet and took stock of the situation by visiting the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital. The Home Minister took charge of the situation after the Supreme Court pulled up the Delhi government for its abysmal handling of the coronavirus crisis and called the situation in the national capital as scary.

To tackle the increasing surge in the count of coronavirus cases, Amit Shah ordered a makeshift facility at Radha Soami Satsang Beas in south Delhi’s Chhatarpur, which is set to be the biggest Covid-19 temporary hospital in India with over 10,000 beds. The medical facility is set to be operational from today. This temporary facility has been handed over to ITBP for operation, but the other health facilities in the city remain under civilian control.

“Deliberate attempts to cause misunderstanding between Bhutan and Assam”: Bhutan Govt denies claims that it has stopped irrigation water to Assam

OpIndia Staff
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“Deliberate attempts to cause misunderstanding between Bhutan and Assam”: Bhutan Govt denies claims that it has stopped irrigation water to Assam

Hundreds of farmers in Baksa district along Indo-Bhutan border, Assam, had staged a protest early this week against the Bhutan government’s decision to not allow farmers from the Indian side to channelise water from Bhutan’s side for irrigation.

Thousands of farmers from around 25 villages under Tamulpur sub-division of Baksa district along Indo-Bhutan border are involved in the cultivation of paddy rice by using water from the 100-year-old indigenous irrigation system called dong bandh on the Bhutan side. But this year Bhutan govt didn’t allow the farmers to enter Bhutan to repair the channels, due to which water didn’t reach the farms in Assam.

With demands to resolve the problem, hundreds of farmers of 25 villages in Tamulpur sub-division, on June 22 (Monday) staged protests and blockaded Rongia-Bhutan connecting road for several hours. The farmers demanded the Assam government to take the issue seriously and resolve it soon.

Farmers on Indo-Bhutan border using “Dong” bandh since 1953.

Farmers in Baksa region which is along the Indo-Bhutan border have never seen their harvest getting spoilt by either drought or delayed rainfall, despite having no access to irrigation pipes or water pumps. This is because for the past several decades the farmers in Baksa have been relying on water from the “Dong” bandh system in Okaladonga Barnadi Ashama Aranga. The channels have been used by farmers of Bhutan and India in the region since 1953 to use water from several rivers that originate in Bhutan and flow through the region towards the Brahmaputra.

Several decades ago, farmers in the Indo-Bhutan border, had built small dams on the rivers and routed the water through canals to their paddy fields and household ponds. The Dong bandh irrigation systems of Baksa, which spreads over 300 square kilometres, serve around 149,000 farmers and 94,600 agricultural labourers. This irrigation system is maintained by the Okaladonga Barnadi Ashama Aranga Dong Bandh Committee, which makes sure that the water keeps flowing to the farms. As the bunds are earthen structures, they require regular maintenance, and the channels also get blocked every year due to silt. Assamese farmers every year go across to the Bhutan side and clear the channels and repair the bunds to divert water from rivers in Bhutan into channels that irrigate farms in Assam.

However, as the farmers were not allowed to enter Bhutan this year, the channels could not be cleared and the fields in the area didn’t get water, which had created massive resentment in the entire district.

The news of protest by farmers was used by many to claim that after China and Nepal, now India’s relation with Bhutan has also deteriorated. But now both the Bhutan and Assam govt has issued statements clarifying that Bhutan has not taken any hostile step against Indian farmers, and the problems were created by Coronavirus and natural factors.

Bhutan govt call media reports a “deliberate attempt” to cause misunderstanding between India and Bhutan

After the outrage, the Bhutan government has now issued clarifications. It has rejected claims of stopping irrigation water supply to Assam. The Bhutan Foreign Ministry has said that the charges “are totally baseless” and that these are “deliberate attempts” to cause misunderstanding between the people of Bhutan and Assam.

It clarified that due to the coronavirus restrictions, the farmers from Assam were unable to enter Bhutan to maintain the irrigation system, which otherwise is a usual practice and this has led to the problem in the water supply.

Issuing a clarification on its Facebook page, the Bhutan Foreign Ministry has said: “It is a distressing allegation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to clarify that the news articles are totally baseless as there is no reason why the flow of water should be stopped at this time. It is a deliberate attempt by vested interests to spread misinformation and cause misunderstanding between the friendly people of Bhutan and Assam.”

Read- Fact-Check: Bhutan is not going to charge mandatory fee of $250 per head per day from tourists from India, Bangladesh and Maldives

“Baksa and Udalguri Districts in Assam have been benefitting from the water sources in Bhutan for many decades and they continue to do so even during the present difficult times when we are faced with the COVID-19 pandemic,” added the Bhutan government.

“However, understanding the difficulty that would be faced by the farmers in Assam, the Samdrup Jongkhar District Officials and the general public have taken the initiative to repair the irrigation channels whenever there are problems to ensure the smooth flow of water to Assam,” said the Bhutan government statement.

Assam chief secretary, Kumar Sanjay Krishna states that the actual reason is “natural blockage”

Earlier in the day, the Assam chief secretary, Kumar Sanjay Krishna had also given similar clarification while speaking to ANI: “Irrigation water comes to Assam from hills of Bhutan, but there were boulders on the way which stopped the flow. We talked to Bhutan and they immediately cleared the path. There’s no dispute and to say that they stopped the water to Assam is wrong.”

Taking to Twitter, Krishna had shunned all media reports calling it “incorrect” and stated that “the actual reason is the natural blockage of informal irrigation channels into Indian fields”.

He also stated that Bhutan has been actually helping to clear the blockage.

The editor of The Bhutanese newspaper in ThimpHu, Tenzing Lamsang had earlier in a series of tweets, stated that Bhutan had, since March, imposed a mandatory 21-day quarantine even for its own citizens upon entering the kingdom. This has also had the effect of preventing Indian farmers from doing so for their agricultural needs.

“This is how we have prevented community transmission so far. Please don’t politicize this or draw non-existential inferences. Situation is not as heartless as it is being made out to be as local government on Bhutan side there had earlier agreed to maintain those water channels,” he tweeted.

Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden demands the ‘restoration of people’s rights’ in Kashmir; expresses his disapproval for CAA-NRC

Jinit Jain
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Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden demands the ‘restoration of people’s rights’ in Kashmir; expresses his disapproval for CAA-NRC

Joe Biden, the 77-year-old former vice president of the United States and now the presumptive Democratic nominee for the forthcoming US Presidential elections, has kicked up a controversy by expressing his unsolicited views on Jammu and Kashmir, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in India.

Democrat Biden who is challenging the 74-year-old Republican incumbent president Donald Trump in the November 3 presidential elections, wants India to take necessary steps to ‘restore rights of all Kashmiris and has expressed disappointment over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as well as the implementation of the National Register of Citizens in Assam.

A policy paper—’Joe Biden’s agenda for Muslim American community’ was posted recently on his campaign website, which said that the measures (the CAA and the National Register of Citizens) are irreconcilable with the country’s long tradition of secularism and with sustaining a multi-ethnic and multi-religious democracy.

A group of Hindu Americans contacted Biden campaign to express their displeasure over the language used for India and urged it to reassess its views on India. The group has aso sought a similar policy paper on Hindu Americans.

However, the Biden campaign did not respond questions in this regard.

In order to project that Biden comprehends the pains endured by Muslim-American with respect to what is happening in Muslim-majority nations and countries with sizeable Muslim populace, the policy paper categorised Kashmir and Assam in India with the forced detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province, and discrimination and brutalities faced by Burma’s Rohingya Muslim minority.

“The Indian government should take all necessary steps to restore rights of all the people of Kashmir. Restrictions on dissent, such as preventing peaceful protests or shutting or slowing down the Internet, weakens democracy,” said the policy paper on Muslim Americans.

The policy paper further added that the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden is disappointed by the measures that the government of India has taken with the implementation and aftermath of the National Register of Citizens in Assam and the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

In a bid to lure Indian-American voters, the policy paper hailed Joe Biden as one of the best friends of India and Indian-Americans, claiming the former vice-president, who served under President Barack Obama for eight years, played an instrumental role in the passage of the historic India-US civilian nuclear deal and strongly advocated increasing the bilateral trade between the two countries to $500 billion per annum. Well-acquainted with the Indian-Americans, Biden regularly hosted Diwali at his vice-presidential residence, it said.

However, Rishi Bhutada, a board member of Hindu American Political Action Committee, said that the Biden campaign is missing the much-needed context about “Pakistan-sponsored cross border terrorism in regards to Kashmir”. Defending the CAA, Bhutada added that the former vice president’s election campaign is also missing how the new citizenship amendment act is a good-faith effort by the government to alleviate the pains of approximately 30,000 persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who continue to live in India and are deprived of their basic human rights because of lack of citizenship.

T- Series director Divya Khosla dismisses allegations by Sonu Nigam, accuses him of encouraging extortion and blackmail

OpIndia Staff
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T- Series director Divya Khosla dismisses allegations by Sonu Nigam, accuses him of encouraging extortion and blackmail

In an Instagram post, Divya Khosla, director and wife of T-Series owner Bhushan Kumar, defended her husband and refuted the allegations made by singer Sonu Nigam. Refuting Nigam’s claims that Bhushan Kumar is maligning his name for speaking out against favouritism in the music industry, Divya Khosla claimed that T-Series had given chances to 1000s of ‘outsiders’, referring to people who were not a part of the Hindi film fraternity. Divya said that a total of 10 such outsiders were given the opportunity to work in her 2014 film, Yaariyan, and emphasised that four of them later went on to become ‘big names’ in the music industry.

“Sonu Nigam said that the (music) industry does not provide a clear direction to talented people. You are a legend, a great artist. How many people were given a chance by you? Several people must have come to you, seeking for help… You neither talked about giving someone else getting a chance nor introduced any talented singer in the industry… It is easy to speak on camera. But, the fact is that you never promoted anyone except for yourself. You are blaming us today. 97% of people who work in T-Series are outsiders,” she stated.

Divya claimed that Sonu Nigam used to sing for ₹5 in Delhi’s Ramlila when he was spotted by Gulshan Kumar, the founder of T-Series. According to her, Kumar booked tickets for the singer’s journey from Delhi to Mumbai. She said that he had promised to make Sonu Nigam, a renowned singer, and had given him ample opportunities.

Divya alleged that Sonu Nigam moved to a different music production house, following the murder of Gulshan Kumar in 1997, instead of helping out the T-Series family. She further claimed that an ‘ungrateful’ Sonu Nigam was reminding Bhushan Kumar of his conferred favours in the form of introducing the latter with prominent personalities such as Smita Thackeray and Balasaheb Thackeray or singing for films such as ‘Deewana’. “Sonu Nigam said that Bhushan had asked for his help to protect him from Abu Salem. There should be an investigation of the connection between Nigam and Salem. He has said about this in the video. Why else would Bhushan go to him?”, Divya questioned.

Cook ‘Sheru’ to the rescue

In a bizarre turn of events, Divya Khosla got her ‘cook Sheru’ to testify against Sonu Nigam. Sheru who has supposedly been working with the T-Series since 1988 said that Sonu Nigam was brought to Mumbai from Delhi by the founder Gulshan Kumar. “He (Sonu Nigam) used to come in a scooty and would sit at the reception and wait for the master for hours. Gulshan Kumar had promised to give him work, gave him chances in several successful films, created many albums. Whatever Sonu Nigam is today is due to Gulshan Kumar”, the cook concluded.

Divya Khosla dismisses #MeToo allegations on husband

She said that Sonu Nigam had indirectly referred to Bhushan Kumar as a ‘MeToo rapist’ by citing the case of a girl who had alleged sexual harassment against the owner of T-Series but had taken her complaint back, following the intervention of the ‘mafia’.

“#MeToo was a great movement that was initiated to remove the evil from society. But, the movement was hijacked by extortionists, blackmailers, and those who wanted to seek vengeance. We had received several calls from people who wanted to extort money from us. We contacted the police and it was found in the investigation that the cases were fabricated and amounted to blackmail. We neither filed a defamation suit nor approached the media. We did not want to shame the girl. You are taking advantage of this. Should I claim sexual harassment at your hands?”, Divya threatened Sonu Nigam.

She further stated that there was no meaning to the ‘#MeToo movement without any proof’ and claimed that her family had started receiving extortion calls from several male singers and girls, following Sonu Nigam’s video. “We provide work to 80% of singers. The remaining 20% may not get work due to several reasons. But, now they start levelling allegations against you. This has become the trend today.”

Received rape threats, claims Divya

In her video, Divya also claimed that she had been receiving rape threats from unknown callers while her husband and child had been threatened with death on social media. She stated, “Why should I tolerate threats to my child? And your campaign has not stopped. You are creating a close-knitted group of unemployed singers and misleading them into this publicity campaign to destroy T-Series and Bhushan Kumar.”

She further alleged, “Your wife has exposed you, Sonu Nigam, and that too in public! I did not want to make this video but I was in a state of dilemma.” Citing references from Hindu religious text, Bhagavad Gita, Divya cautioned, “The battleground is open and the war is on.”

Sonu Nigam reuploads her video

Taking a dig at Divya Khosla, Sonu Nigam re-uploaded her video on his Instagram account and wrote, “Presenting Divya Khosla Kumar.. I think she forgot to open her comments. Let’s help her in that.” As commenting is disabled in Divya’s video, he re-uploaded the video so that people can comment on it.

Screenshot of the Instagram post by singer Sonu Nigam

Dont mess with me, warns Sonu Nigam

Taking on the T-Series chief Bhushan Kumar, Nigam said that he had messed with the wrong person. He reiterated, “Now I have to take your name Bhushan. You are not alone. You have messed with the wrong person.” He alleged that Bhushan used to come to his house for help. He begged him to do Deewana album with T-series. Sonu Nigam also claimed that he also helped Bhushan to meet Smita Thackeray and Bal Thackeray.

In the video, Sonu Nigam made explosive allegations that Bhushan sought his help to save himself from gangster Abu Salem. “Remember Marina Kunwar? And the allegations she made? Why did she say this and why did she back out? Media knows. I have her video. If you mess with me, I will upload her video on my YouTube channel. Don’t mess with me,” he said.

Australian Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane raided by security agencies for his links with China, suspended from the party

OpIndia Staff
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Australian Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane raided by security agencies for his links with China, suspended from the party

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the country’s national security agency has raided the Labor Party leader and New South Wales upper house MP Shaoquett Moselmane for his alleged links with the Chinese government.

According to the reports, the ASIO carried out raids on the Labor party MP after they suspected a possible Chinese Communist Party influence. The country’s spy agency also searched his residence for evidence to support allegations of a Chinese government plot to influence a serving politician.

Reportedly, the controversial MP Shaoquett Moselmane is believed to be a strong supporter of China and is extremely vocal about the Communist country. He had even gone to the extent of praising China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, raising eyebrows in Australia.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed that raids has been conducted at the residence of the Labor MP. “This activity does not relate to any specific threat to the community,” ASIO said.

Reportedly, the investigation had been running for months. On Friday, Moselmane was questioned at NSW Parliament by federal agents outside his office.

Shaoquett Moselmane suspended from Labor Party

Shaoquett Moselmane has now been suspended from the Labor party following reports that his office is facing an investigation by national security agencies over alleged links to China.

Jodi McKay, the Australian Labor Party leader on Friday said Moselmane’s membership of the party would be suspended immediately pending the investigation.

Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane’s alleged close ties with China

In April, Moselmane had also resigned as assistant president of the Legislative Council after repeatedly praising China’s response to the coronavirus crisis. On his personal website, he had written that a nation needed ‘tough, unswerving leadership, focused on the mammoth task ahead’ in order to contain the virus’ spread.

“For the People’s Republic of China, President Xi stepped up and provided that leadership. He mustered the resources of the nation and together with the great people of China – fought it and contained it,” Moselmane wrote.

NSW MP Moselmane, however, continued to serve as an upper house MP and also a member of the Labor party.

There are reports that suggest that Moselmane has very close ties with China. Last year, it was reported that Moselmane had taken nine privately funded trips to China since entering parliament in 2009. The shocking disclosures had revealed that his transport and hospitality costs were often met by Chinese government officials or agencies.

Reportedly, Moselmane was the honorary chair of the Australian Shanghainese Association and a member of the Australian Chinese Association, both linked to China’s secretive network of foreign influence operations known as the United Front.

In 2018, Moselmane gave a speech proclaiming a “new world order” was needed for China to reach its potential and appointed John Zhang to his parliamentary office at the beginning of 2019. Zhang is listed as a vice-chairman of Australia China Economics, Trade and Culture Association, which according to the China experts say was a leading Chinese Communist party-aligned organisation in Australia.

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Australian Federal Police raids on the home and parliamentary office of NSW Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane demonstrated that the threat of foreign interference is “real”.

Australia’s souring relations with China

Australia’s relationship with China has been deteriorating recently. During the coronavirus pandemic, Australia had levelled serious allegations on China, leading to a veiled threat from Beijing. Australia had advocated for a thorough investigation into China’s role in spreading the Wuhan Coronavirus. PM Morrison had even called for a global crackdown on Chinese wet markets.

China had objected to the recent defence deals signed between Australia and India and had termed it a ‘confrontation’ attempt with China.

Australia had recently admitted to a massive cyber attack and had stated that a nation-state is behind it, hinting at China.

Mangaluru: BJP corporator Manohar Shetty enters a manhole to clean it himself, images go viral

OpIndia Staff
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Mangaluru: BJP corporator Manohar Shetty enters a manhole to clean it himself, images go viral

BJP corporator from Kadri-Kambala ward in Mangaluru, Manohar Shetty, was recently applauded by netizens after images of him emerging out of an 8-feet-deep clogged drain went viral on social media. He had reportedly cleaned an overflowing manhole after sanitation workers expressed reluctance in doing so during the monsoon season.

The clogged drain was causing inconvenience to pedestrians and affecting the flow of traffic in the area. As such, Shetty directed the city corporation to send a vehicle with a built-in high-speed water jet to clean the manhole. He had asked the jet operator to enter the drain and clear the garbage using the water sprayer. But, the operator refused, saying that he was not authorised for the job.

After that, the BJP corporator, ignoring the risks associated with it, entered the drain to clear the debris. He was accompanied by four other labourers and the issue was fixed within half a day. Shetty said that it was his responsibility to resolve the civic grievances of people in his ward and that he would enter a manhole again if such a need arose. He remarked, “Of course I will (do it again). I am also a human being, not a god.”

Can’t depend on officials for everything, says Manohar Shetty

The BJP Corporator highlighted how Mangaluru witnesses heavy rainfall for four months during the rainy season which in turn could have aggravated the situation. “No one was ready to enter. Then, I decided to enter the manhole and clean the clogged pipe. We can’t force poor people to enter a manhole to clean the pipes for us. If something goes wrong, who will take responsibility? Which is why I decided to do the job myself. We can’t depend on officials for everything. We are elected representatives. If we can do something quickly, we must do that,” Manohar Shetty conceded.

Not just PMNRF, 7 ministries and govt depts, including MHA and 11 PSUs ‘donated’ to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation from 2005 to 2013

OpIndia Staff
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Not just PMNRF, 7 ministries and govt depts, including MHA and 11 PSUs ‘donated’ to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation from 2005 to 2013

With the Congress party facing criticism over their stand post the Galwan standoff between India and China, many startling revelations came to the fore yesterday that only intensified the questions. OpIndia reported how the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation had received donations 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 lacs and another one amounted to Rs 90 lacs. Post the report, questions of quid-pro-quo were raised and launching an attack against Congress, BJP had asked whether Congress was soft on China and were making statements that favoured the Communist nation during the Galwan standoff because of the monetary transactions between Congress and China. 

As it turns out, taking monetary donation from the Government of China was not the only problematic element in the Annual Reports of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation which is chaired by Sonia Gandhi and has Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram listed as trustees. As disclosed in the Annual Reports, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received donations from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund not once but thrice.

If the massive impropriety of allocating PMNRF funds to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation was not enough, an analysis of the Annual Returns of the Foundation by OpIndia shows that multiple government departments, ministries and Public Sector Undertakings ‘donated’ to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation between the years 2005 and 2013.

Following is the list of Ministries and Government departments that donated to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation from the year 2005 to 2015. The years that the specific ministries and departments donated to the Foundation have been indicated in brackets.

Government Departments and Ministries that donated to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation

  1. Ministry of Home Affairs (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09)
  2. Directorate of Adult Education, Ministry of Human Resource (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09)
  3. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09)
  4. Ministry of Environment and Forest (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09)
  5. Ministry of Small Scale Industries (2007-08, 2008-09)
  6. National Self Employment Mission, a project by the Ministry of Rural Development (2008-09, 2010-11)
  7. Sabla by Ministry of Women and Child Development (2011-12, 2012-13)

Public Sector Undertakings that donated to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation

  1. LIC (2005-06)
  2. SAIL (2005-06)
  3. GAIL (India) Limited (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-11, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)
  4. OIL India Limited (2005-06, 2006-07)
  5. Oriental Bank of Commerce (2005-06)
  6. SBI (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)
  7. Bank of Maharashtra (2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-11)
  8. Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited HUDCO (2006-07)
  9. ONGC (2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-11, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)
  10. IDBI Bank (2006-07)
  11. Steel Authority of India Ltd (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-11, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13)

Rajiv Gandhi Foundation is a foundation of which the Chairperson is Sonia Gandhi and others like Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram sit on the board.

During these donations were being made, Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister of India and Sonia Gandhi was the ‘Super PM’. Essentially, it was Sonia Gandhi who made the decisions and acted as the Prime Minister of the country.

That the government which was being run by Sonia Gandhi ‘donated’ public money from these departments and ministries to a privately owned Foundation chaired by her and managed by other members of Congress including her children raises several red flags.

Manmohan Singh tried to allocate Rs 100 crores to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in the Union Budget when he was Finance Minister

OpIndia Staff
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Manmohan Singh tried to allocate Rs 100 crores to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in the Union Budget when he was Finance Minister

The long list of donations made to the Gandhi Family controlled Rajiv Gandhi Foundation seems to have opened a can of worms for the Congress party. After the links of the Chinese Communist Party emerged, the foundation receiving huge monetary benefits from the Chinese government had created a political storm.

Yesterday, it was revealed that even the Chinese government had made donations to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Now, another explosive detail has emerged.

In a tweet, lawyer and TV panellist Shahzad Poonawallah has shared that as India’s Finance Minister in 1991-92, Manmohan Singh had tried to allocate a sum of Rs 100 crores from the Union Budget to the Sonia Gandhi-headed Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, to be donated over a period of five years, and it was stalled only after a huge uproar.

The archived records of the Indian parliament’s discussion of the Union Budget in 1991-92 shows a section when, after the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh allocated a sum of Rs 100 crores to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, there was a huge uproar from the opposition parties who questioned that how can the Congress-run government allocate funds for a foundation headed by the Gandhi family.

Not just 100 crores, Manmohan Singh kept aside 250 crores ‘if further needed’

The Union budget document of 1991-92 made by Manmohan Singh also had another provision. It stated that a sum of Rs 100 crores will be donated to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation over the period of 5 years. The amount was to fund the initiatives of “Research and action programmes relating to the application of science and technology for development, propagation of literacy, the protection of the environment, the promotion of communal harmony and national integration, the uplift of the under-privileged, women and handicapped persons, administrative reforms and India’s role in the global economy.”

The Union Budget was to also keep aside another Rs 250 crores if the 100 crores were not enough. The section 58 of the budget document read, “Pending determination of the exact amounts that will be necessary for each of these new initiatives, a lump sum provision of Rs.250 crores has been included in the plan outlay of the Ministry of Finance.”

Union Budget 1991-92

Stopped after huge political uproar

In the subsequent discussions that followed, Manmohan Singh had read a letter from the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, that stated that the Foundation appreciates the generous sum but it thinks that the government should itself invest the funds in suitable projects.

To Manmohan Singh’s response that it is the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation which had generously declined to take the huge sum, (after a massive political controversy), Janata Dal MP from Azamgarh Chandra Jeet Yadav had lambasted Manmohan Singh.

Chandra Jeet Yadav had questioned whether Manmohan represents the cabinet of the Gandhi family in parliament

Yadav had stated that the Finance Minister is dealing with the budget very casually. He had added, “We are discussing the Budget of the country and the discussion is going on. The Government cannot take this kind of a most casual approach to allot the money of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and then withdraw it. From this, it appears, as if the Foundation is the master of the Budget of this country. The moment a letter comes from the Foundation, the Finance Minister comes before the House and makes a statement. I do not know whether he is speaking on behalf of Cabinet. Also, I do not know whether the Government had an opportunity to discuss it or not. This is not the way to deal with the Parliament of this country, which is the master of running the financial affairs of this country.”

Yadav had even gone to the extent of questioning whether Manmohan Singh was speaking on behalf of the cabinet as the finance minister of the country or he is representing the Congress royal family. He had even stated that from the behaviour of Manmohan Singh, it appears as if the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation is the ‘master of the budget’.

Rajiv Gandhi Foundation

OpIndia had earlier reported that according to a document available on Chinese Embassy in India website, the then Chinese Ambassador to India to India Sun Yuxi had donated Rs 10 lakhs to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, which has links to the Congress party and is run by Congress leaders.

It has been found that the Chinese government had donated to the Foundation multiple times. It has also een found that soon after the Foundation received huge donations from the Chinese government, it went a step further and studied the feasibility of a Free Trade Agreement between India and China.

PMNRF under Congress govt donated to RGF

As disclosed in the Annual Reports, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received donations from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Funds not once but multiple times. The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation which is chaired by Sonia Gandhi, has Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram listed as trustees.

In the year 2005-2006, the Annual Report makes a disclosure that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received a donation from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. The same disclosure is also made in the 2006-2007 report. Again in 2007-2008, the Foundation for a ‘donation’ from the PMNRF.

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