On Monday, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati tweeted in memory of the soldiers martyred during the violent clash between India and China in the Galwan Valley, Ladakh, and emphasised that the course of action required to safeguard our borders must be left at the discretion of the government. She wrote, “The country is aggrieved, worried and agitated by the death of 20 soldiers, including a Colonel in the recent scuffle with Chinese forces on June 15. The government and the opposition must stay united and work towards finding a feasible solution.”
Mayawati added, “Amidst the challenging times, the opinion of the people and the experts may differ in terms of the future course of action that the government must undertake (to resolve the issue). However, it is best if we leave it to the government to decide the course of action regarding the nation’s security because it is the responsibility of the government to safeguard our borders.”
Mayawati’s tweet came at the backdrop of the ‘advice’ given by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his press release, Singh had said, “We remind the Government that disinformation is no substitute for diplomacy or decisive leadership. The truth cannot be suppressed by having pliant allies sprout comforting but false statements. “
2. ऐसे कठिन व चुनौती भरे समय में भारत सरकार की अगली कार्रवाई के सम्बंध में लोगों व विशषज्ञों की राय अलग-अलग हो सकती है, लेकिन मूल रूप से यह सरकार पर छोड़ देना बेहतर है कि वह देशहित व सीमा की रक्षा हर हाल में करे, जो कि हर सरकार का दायित्व भी है। 2/2
Earlier, the BSP supremo had said that the country had pinned its hopes on the government and that it will safeguard the pride, honour and territorial integrity of the country at all costs. “It’s a good thing that the country is united and has forgotten the shortcomings of the government (at this crucial juncture). The government must now stand up to the expectations of people,” she tweeted.
Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in a statement today said that this is the time to stay together as a nation. The statement was released by Indian National Congress in wake of the recent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan valley. Singh said in the statement that the sacrifice of the 20 brave soldiers who lost their lives on 15th and 16th June 2020 should not go in vain.
This is a moment where we must stand together as a nation and be united in our response to this brazen threat: Press Statement by Former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh pic.twitter.com/qP3hN3Od9D
Dr Singh in his statement said the decision of the government will decide how the future generation perceives us. The Prime Minister must be mindful of the implications of his words and declarations on the Nation’s security along with strategic and territorials interests. He added that China is illegally seeking claim on parts of Indian territories such as Galwan Valley and the Pangong Tsy Lake. “The Prime Minister cannot allow them to use his words as a vindication of their position and must ensure that organs of the government organs work together to tackle this crisis and prevent it from escalating further. This is a moment where we must stand together as a nation and be united in our response to this brazen threat,” he said.
Congress’s attempts to spread lies and misinformation
While ex-PM is calling everyone to come together against China’s mischievous plans, his own party has been spreading lies and misinformation since the incident came to light. Rahul Gandhi and other Congress Party leaders have tried to undermine the government over border issues with China. Congress leader Husain Dalwai said in a statement that no one from China’s side died and tried to promote China’s agenda.
Congress leader Zakir Hussain’s ‘private talk’ got leaked in which he mentioned that China should take half of Leh. He glorified the Chinese army and said Ladakh would break into 1000 pieces. Congress ecosystem tried its level best to propagate fake claims by China that they had zero causality. They also stated that China ‘saved’ ten Indian troops who were injured. In fact, despite multiple clarifications by the central government, Rahul Gandhi and Congress have maintained that China has successfully managed to take over the Indian territory and that the government is lying.
PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression.
If the land was Chinese: 1. Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed? pic.twitter.com/vZFVqtu3fD
In fact, it has been Congress leader, especially Rahul Gandhi, who has been regularly casting aspersions on the government and feeding the Chinese propaganda instead of standing united as a nation.
Although it is natural that the general public will not know the details of the India-China border issue, it is a surprise that Rahul Gandhi is surprised about soldiers not carrying arms at the LAC. Because it is agreements signed by governments led and supported by his party that prevents the soldiers from using firearms on the border with China. Rahul Gandhi headed the party that ruled India for half a decade, he keeps meeting Chinese officials behind the curtains often, and therefore, he should know why Indian soldiers were unarmed.
Further, Rahul Gandhi and Congress would rather indulge in petty politics than ‘stand united’ as suggested by Dr Singh.
If it was so painful:
1. Why insult Indian Army by not naming China in your tweet? 2. Why take 2 days to condole? 3. Why address rallies as soldiers were being martyred? 4. Why hide and get the Army blamed by the crony media? 5. Why make paid-media blame Army instead of GOI? https://t.co/mpLpMRxwS7
And ironically, it was Rahul Gandhi who also shared the message of Dr Singh which called for unity at such testing time.
पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री डॉ. मनमोहन सिंह जी की महत्वपूर्ण सलाह। भारत की भलाई के लिए, मैं आशा करता हूँ कि PM उनकी बात को विनम्रता से मानेंगे। pic.twitter.com/0QTewzmcyD
Facebook has taken cognisance of an OpIndia report that spoke about an employee of the social media giant who used to work with political strategist Prashant Kishor. Responding to OpIndia, Facebook has said that they treat these matters seriously. However, Facebook has refused to confirm the nature of action that will be initiated against the abusive employee, if any.
The OpIndia report and what it said about the Facebook employee Siddharth Mazumdar
On the 18th of June, OpIndia had published a report about an abusive employee of Facebook who used to work with the political strategist Prashant Kishor. The Facebook employee, who now abuses ideological opponents through an anonymous account called NyaySahay. The article traced his Twitter account back to his old handle, sid_mazumdar. Through that handle, we accessed several articles written by Siddharth Mazumdar that revealed that he was the co-founder of Citizens for Accountable Governance and used to work with political strategist Prashant Kishor. Digging further, we found his LinkedIn account which revealed that he is an employee of Facebook and works as their public policy manager.
The present avatar of the Facebook employee, Siddharth Mazumdar, NyaySahay often abuses Indians, the Modi government, Hindus, and anyone who refuses to agree with his worldview. Even during the India-China stand-off, this handle has questioned the integrity of India and gone as far as to abuse the Prime Minister and anyone who supported India’s actions against China.
Facebook’s statement about abusive employee Siddharth Mazumdar
OpIndia reached out to Facebook via email seeking a response on the report that detailed how their public policy manager was abusing the integrity of India during the India-China stand-off and was also being abusive towards anybody who doesn’t agree with his worldview.
In this regard, OpIndia asked Facebook 5 pointed questions:
1. Is Facebook aware of this situation?
2. Does the abusive tweets, from the past as well as from era when Siddharth joined Facebook, a cause of concern for Facebook? Is Facebook planning any action against him in the wake of the widespread complaint?
3. Does Facebook think that a politically active and aligned person like Siddharth Mazumdar can be fair and non-partisan while discharging his duties as public policy manager?
4. There have been calls on Twitter insisting that Facebook take action against partisan, abusive and biased employees such as Siddhart Mazumdar – is Facebook contemplating any action?
5. Does Facebook have any specific policy for social media use that is applicable to its employees? If yes, what is the policy and does the conduct of Siddharth Mazumdar breach that policy?
However, Facebook failed to respond to the questioned posed. Instead, Facebook issued a short statement that read as follows:
“The matter has been brought to our notice. We expect all our employees to follow an ethical code of conduct and Facebook treats these matters seriously.” – Facebook Spokesperson
If Facebook ‘treats these matters seriously’, will it launch an internal inquiry? The follow up and Facebook’s response
Following the statement by Facebook, OpIndia reached out to the spokesperson yet again to confirm whether any internal inquiry will be launched and action be initiated against the Facebook employee in question. For the first follow-ups, OpIndia did not receive a response. However, later, the spokesperson got in touch with OpIndia to assert that Facebook does not ‘disclose what actions might be taken publicly’. In essence, the Facebook spokesperson refused to confirm whether any action will be taken against their public policy manager Siddharth Mazumdar and whether an internal inquiry will be launched.
Through the conversation, the spokesperson reiterated that Facebook does take this issue seriously and that Siddharth Mazumdar is indeed the public policy manager of Facebook, however, what action will be taken is something that Facebook cannot confirm currently.
What is Siddharth Mazumdar tweeting even after Facebook has been made aware of its employee’s conduct
Even after Facebook spokesperson confirmed that they are aware of the situation and ‘treat these matters seriously’, Siddharth Mazumdar has continued to spew venom on Twitter, often undermining the position of India during the ongoing India-China conflict.
Currently, Siddharth Mazumdar who is an employee of Facebook is planning to approach the Supreme Court to demand an “independent enquiry commission” since he thinks the Modi govt is giving conflicting versions regarding what is happening with China. Essentially, Mazumdar is apparently planning to approach the SC to ensure that the government of India compromises national security and gives a blow by blow account of what transpired at the LAC.
Recent Tweet by Siddharth Mazumdar
The ideological bias in several social media platforms, specifically Facebook and Twitter have been a subject of discussion worldwide for quite some time. The bias against conservative voices worldwide has led to a heated debate about political parties and ideologically motivated elements making inroads in the management of these platforms. The Cambridge Analytica fiasco blew the lid off how the Left was exploiting Facebook to silence political opponents. In fact, the role of Congress and how it had worked closely with Cambridge Analytica to skew elections was also revealed.
With the ideological bias being admitted by Facebook rather openly, several times we have seen employees of these social media giants displaying their hatred towards conservative voices. In India, the hate has been directed at PM Narendra Modi and any individual who is seen as supporting the Prime Minister.
With Facebook acknowledging that Siddharth Mazumdar is indeed a Facebook employee, it remains to be seen whether any action is initiated against him.
While the landlocked country of Nepal has been at loggerheads with India over the supposed encroachment of regions such as Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura, China has reportedly occupied the Rui village in Gorkha district of Nepal. As such, the village has now been annexed to Tibet, an autonomous region of China. As reported by Nepal-based newspaper, Khabarhub, the aggressive stance of Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli towards India has been an eyewash to suppress the events in its own territory.
Even though Rui is still included in the map of Nepal, China has removed the boundary pillars to legitimise its occupation, the report says. The village which consists of about 72 houses, has reportedly been under siege, owing to the negligence and apathy of the Nepalese government and its officials. According to the Land Revenue Office (Gorkha), it has a record of revenue collected from the residents of the village of Rui. Khabarhub reported that the records are still secured in file number one in the Land Revenue Office.
As per historian Ramesh Dhungal, both the villages of Rui and Teigha which are located in the northern part of Gorkha district have been lost due to the negligence of the Nepalese authorities in fixing the boundary pillars. He added that Rui was neither lost by Nepal in war nor was it the subject of any special agreement with Tibet. He said, “India’s border is accessible. People walk around it. Therefore, border issues with India are visible to all, but the situation of Nepal at the northern border with Tibet is extremely bad.”
Map of Gorkha district of Nepal and adjoining Tibet (Photo Credits: News 24)
Rui villagers still pay land revenue to Nepal
The President of Chumubari Rural Municipality ward number 1, Bir Bahadur Lama, conceded that even though the people of Rui had deposited their share of land revenue to the Nepal government, yet they had become Tibetans following the encroachment by China. Khabarhub reported that pillar number 35 was demarcated as the border between Samdo and Rui village. However, during the restoration work of the pillar no. 35, owing to negligence, the village came under Chinese occupation, Dhungal was quoted by News 24.
Agitated residents fled to adjoining villages
While the language, culture, and places of worship of the people of Sama, Samdo, and Rui villages are the similar, ward President Lama informed that his elders had told him that the agitated residents of Rui returned back to their farms in Samdo and established a new settlement there. “Several people did not want to join Tibet and instead fled to Samdo. They had come historical and cultural documents that were 1000-1200 years old. They built their places of worship here. The sacred site still has historical evidence of Aditya Malla and Punya Malla, the two historical deities of the Malla kings.”
Nepal initiates radio warfare against India
Nepal has started radio warfare in bordering villages of Uttarakhand. The residents of these villages can catch Nepali Radio stations that are now playing anti-India songs from the last few months. These songs mainly state that areas like Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura in Uttarakhand are part of Nepal and India should return them. Nepal has recently included these areas in its new map. These songs are played several times between shows, including news bulletins. Along with anti-India sentiment, these songs also taunt Nepalese politicians for “not doing enough” to take control of the land that “belongs” to Nepal.
Amidst the ongoing LAC standoff and the diplomatic tensions with China, the Prime Minister’s Office has sought product-wise details of cheap imports, tax disadvantages (if any) and comparison with the domestic prices from all sectors. The aim is to curb low-quality shipments, especially from China, to promote manufacturing at the domestic level under Atmanirbhar Bharat.
PMO held high-level meeting
According to the reports, a high-level meeting took place at the prime minister’s office to discuss ways to promote Atmanirbhar Bharat and cut import dependency on China. During the meeting the PMO reportedly asked for further details to form an action plan. The discussion over reducing imports from China has underlined significance amidst increasing border tensions between the two nations. There has been a rise in the demand to boycott products from China.
The PMO has asked the industry to send suggestions and comments on goods and raw materials imported from China. The list includes wrist watches, ampoules, glass rods, glass tunes, hair shampoos, eye and lip makeup raw materials and ingredients, paints and varnishes, tobacco items, wall clocks, face powder and many others.
South Asian countries under scanner
The commerce and industry ministry is also revisiting the bilateral agreements with South Asian countries. The main aim is to check if these agreements lead to a rate difference of imports on finished products than the raw material.
South Asian countries covered under South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and bilateral pacts with Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Singapore are under the ministry’s radar. There are suspicions that China, to take advantage of trade pacts, is routing its products through these countries. For example, China has recently heavily invested in Vietnam, which has an agreement with India for low-cost import and export.
A ministry official was quoted by ET as saying that there is a suspicion of circumvention of free trade agreements (FTA), and Chinese goods entering the Indian market by violating the rules of origin norms.
Details of imports sought to decide restrictions on import
As per reports, the industry has been asked to provide details about import surge between 2014-15 and 2018-19. The PMO also asked for the price comparison of the similar goods made in the local industry. Other areas under scrutiny involve the domestic capacity of these products, inverted duty issues (if any) and imports under free trade agreement. The views and suggestions will be sent to the commerce and industry ministry.
Recently, the government has put import restrictions on tyres. Also, now it is mandatory to take prior approval from the government for foreign investments from countries that share land borders with India. The government took this step to curb ‘opportunistic takeovers’ of domestic firms during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some experts suggest that the step was taken to restrict FDI from China. In recent times many concerns were raised over potential investments by China in struggling economies across the world taking advantage of the pandemic.
Chinese state media Global Times, the English language paper of Communist Party of China, on Monday took to Twitter to claim that should China reveal the actual figure of Chinese soldiers who died in the violent faceoff in Galwan Valley, Ladakh last week, Indian government would come under pressure.
Global Times’ tweet
In a series of tweets, Global Times claimed that China has not released ‘casualties’ number is because China also wants to avoid escalation. “If China releases the number which is less than 20, the Indian govt would again come under pressure,” China said citing an ‘observer’.
Here again it is important to note that China is using the ambiguous term ‘casualties’ which could mean dead and/or injured soldiers. However, in normal parlance, casualties is used to refer to soldiers who are killed in action. China has been extremely tightlipped about the casualties, including number of injured soldiers.
In fact, so much that China, through unofficial channels, had tried to spread propaganda that no Chinese soldiers lost their lives while only 5 were injured.
Chinese propaganda
The Indian side had reported 20 soldiers martyred and more injured.
This ‘admittance’ of Chinese side that they have casualties (even if they use the ambiguous term), however, is not new. Last week, China had inadvertently admitted to having suffered major casualties.
Global Times admitting casualties
An 18th June 2020 article in the Chinese state media had mentioned how in the biggest military confrontation between India and China in four decades led to ‘casualties on both sides’. Evidently, since it is one of the biggest confrontation by China’s own admission, the Chinese casualties (death and injury) being less than 20 is kind of hard to believe.
On the plus side, Chinese state media has finally officially reconfirmed that there have been casualties (death and injury to soldiers) for PLA soldiers too.
On Sunday, the Andhra Pradesh police had reportedly seized about 26,000 kg of beef at Purushothapuram check post in Srikakulam, located along the Andhra-Odisha border. As per reports, the beef was being transported from the State of West Bengal to Tamil Nadu in a truck. The seized meat was worth ₹20 lacs in the market and was neatly packed in small parcels.
Two drivers, identified as Francis and Ganapathi Sekhar, had been arrested by the Ichapuram police of Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh. While Sekhar is a resident of Selam in Tamil Nadu, Francis hails from Tirunavelli district. Reportedly, the vehicle was coming from Odisha when it was stopped at NH-16.
Andhra Pradesh: 26,000 kg beef seized from a container at Purushottapuram check post in Srikakulam. Satyanarayana, Ichapuram Sub-Inspector says, “1300 packets of beef, each weighing 20 kg seized. Police also detained 2 drivers. Legal formalities underway”. (21.06.20) pic.twitter.com/59Kaj7XDhd
According to sub-inspector (SI) Satyanarayana, 1300 packets, each weighing 20 kg, were used to transport the seized 26,000 kg of beef. The container truck was stopped by the police, following its suspicious movement, and the drivers were asked to produce bills for the cargo. Acting on a tip-off, the Ichapuram police had seized the truck at around 9 am on Sunday.
The accused reportedly provided fake bills and were arrested after a huge consignment of beef was discovered. As per a report in the Punjab Tribune, the tip-off was received from the Bajrang Dal unit in Berhampur, Odisha. The meat was kept at the police station and sent for Coronavirus testing before producing it as evidence in the Court.
Indian industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata on Sunday took to Instagram to appeal for empathy and kindness amid an increasing hatred and online bullying on various social networking platforms.
Taking to Instagram, he said how this year has been full of challenges for everyone. He laments over increasing online bullying and hate where people are bringing each other down, harshly and with quick judgements.
“I believe this year especially calls for us to be unified and helpful and is not the time to pull each other down. More of sensitivity towards each other, more of kindness and more understanding and patience than what one sees today,” he said in his viral post.
He added that while his online presence is limited, he hopes that the social networking platforms evolve into a place for empathy and support for everyone instead of online bullying and hate.
In a letter to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MP Kanumuru Raghu Rama Krishna Raju had alleged threats to his life from his party members. Raju who was elected from the Lok Sabha constituency of Narsapuram in Andhra Pradesh had also sought security from the Central Government. He has reportedly been a vocal critic of the current political dispensation in the State in recent times.
In his letter, the YSRCP MP had claimed that the local police did not take action on his complaints and thus demanded tighter security from the Centre. “One MLA has publicly abused me in filthy language and threatened to kill me. The YSRC cadre has also been issuing threats in the last few days. As the local police did not take any action against those people, I sought protection from the Lok Sabha Speaker,” Raju was quoted as saying.
Has been a vocal critic of the YSRCP government
Raju who was an industrialist prior to his stint in politics had earlier raised critical issues concerning the Andhra Pardesh government such as the sale of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) properties, corruption in the sand sale and house-site distribution. His actions had irked party legislators and supporters, leading to verbal confrontations. Raju who was earlier with the BJP had defected to YSRCP before the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Last week, he reportedly claimed that his election victory was not the result of the face value of State Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy.
YSRCP MP admits mass conversions in Andhra Pradesh
Last month, the YSRCP MP had made an explosive admission on a debate on Times Now where he admitted that the Christian missionaries in Andhra Pradesh were using money to carry out widespread religious conversions in the state. Raju asserted that the religious conversions in Andhra Pradesh were not a recent phenomenon after Jagan Mohan Reddy assumed the office of Chief Minister but that they continued to happen extensively across the state even before he became the chief minister. He also defended the rampant religious conversions in the state by claiming that such proselytisation has been prevalent across the country and is not limited to Andhra Pradesh alone.
Recently, the OTT platforms are gaining popularity and concerns have been raised over the content quality, since the usual censorship of movies and TV do not apply on streaming platforms like Amazon, Netflix, Zee5 etc. According to a report in HT, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has written to PM Modi to take appropriate action to bring streaming platforms under censorship.
In a recent letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar has written that as the content on OTT platforms is not censored, viewers have unrestricted access to content high on obscenity, sex and violence. It is harming the minds of the viewers.
Kumar demanded in his letter that the series and films streamed on these platforms should be brought under censorship so that the inappropriate content is not accessible by the viewers. He added that airing such content has a deep impact on the children and exposure to such content for in the long term can lead to social problems that include crime against children and women. As per the HT report, Kumar has also referred to the ban on pornographic websites.
Kumar said, “The streaming services are cheaper than Direct to Home (DTH) and cable services, a reason why it has become more popular among consumers. As there is less clarity on legal provisions binding on the content aired through streaming services, uncensored stuff is getting aired without much advertisements in such programmes.”
Censor content under Cinematograph Act-1962
The centre must take appropriate steps to ensure censoring of all programs streamed online under Cinematograph Act-1952, Kumar has written. He also added that there should be legal provisions so that those who create and publish such content can be punished as per the law. “There is an immediate need to categorise the production and airing of such inappropriate content through streaming services as an offence so that it could be checked. I urge the PM to look into the matter,” the Bihar CM’s letter read.
Controversies over content on OTT platforms
In the last few years, there has been a rise in bold content on OTT platforms and many local platforms that showcase b-grade and c-grade content without any check from the government. Even if such content has age-restrictions, bypassing it to access the content is not that difficult.
Recently, controversies have also erupted over deliberate misrepresentations and communally targeted content spreading hate and lies against particular groups. Ekta Kapoor had to remove scenes from Alt Balaji’s series after it was alleged that it was a deliberate attempt to defame soldiers and hurt religious sentiments. Netflix was criticized recently for streaming ‘Chippa’ that insulted Hindus and Lord Hanuman.
