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Corruption charges against TMC leaders in cyclone compensation distribution: Mamata Banerjee orders probe fearing impact on polls: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Corruption charges against TMC leaders in cyclone compensation distribution: Mamata Banerjee orders probe fearing impact on polls: Report

In the aftermath of Cyclone Amphan that wrought havoc in West Bengal, the State Government had decided to compensate 5 lac people with ₹20,000 who had suffered damage to their houses. However, allegations of corruption and misappropriation of disaster relief funds have surfaced in recent times, thus leaving the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee irked over the conduct of administrative and panchayat officials.

According to a report by Ananda Bazaar Patrika, about 2,000 complaints had been filed by the Chief Minister with respect to the disbursement of funds for relief work. CM Mamata Banerjee informed Chief Secretary Rajiv Singh that she had received the said complaints through her sources and directed him to look into every allegation and take appropriate action. The report said that a majority of complaints were about the distribution of funds for farmers and house reconstruction. 

As per the report, several people had received the sum of ₹20,000 despite having pucca houses or not being affected by Cyclone Amphan. Reportedly, several relatives of panchayat officials had also received compensation. The disparity had been such that while several people had received funds in one particular neighbourhood, none got in the adjoining neighbourhood.

Reportedly, the State Chief Minister had also learnt about the ‘partiality’ displayed by officials in reconnecting power lines in several areas. The government officials had also informed that all complaints received by Prashant Kishore’s organisation, regarding the distribution of relief funds, had been communicated to Mamata Banerjee. 

However, government officials had claimed that the people who have been benefited by the relief funds outnumber the complaints received by them. They stated that a total of 8,500 crores had already been disbursed and errors in names, account numbers or IFSC codes were to be blamed for beneficiaries not receiving their due share.

Ananda Bazaar Patrika reported that around 40% of the funds did not reach the beneficiaries in the first phase but it was fixed later. A committee was formed for selecting the list of beneficiaries in consultation with Block Development Officers and people’s representatives. The amount of ₹20,000 was disbursed in accordance with the list provided by the Finance Ministry.

TMC Gram Pradhan suspended

Recently, Narendranath Singh who served as a five-time pradhan of Chanditala II block in Hoogly was reportedly expelled from the Trinamool Congress on charges of corruption in the distribution of relief funds. As per the Telegraph report, Singh had submitted a list of 166 people who were to receive the assured sum of ₹20,000.

However, the Pradhan had listed his phone number against 119 names, besides including his wife as one of the beneficiaries. In his defence, Singh said that the reason behind putting his phone number against the names of beneficiaries was that they did not have mobile phones.

“It is shocking to see that he used his own mobile number for 119 beneficiaries that included his wife. None of those had suffered any damage in Amphan. Local party workers had cautioned him, but he refused to listen. It was only after MP Kalyan Banerjee intervened that the top leadership came to know of this,” a Trinamool leader was quoted as saying. A probe was also conducted into the matter and the allegations of financial irregularities were found to be true.

When the Hooghly unit of TMC had asked him to resign, he refused to budge. As such, he was formally ousted from the party by the General Secretary Partha Chatterjee on Friday. According to reports, the Trinamool Congress had been cautious that the damage caused to the party, following corruption allegations, could hurt its prospects in the Assembly elections that are scheduled to held in 2021.

Allegations against other TMC leaders

Earlier, Minister Rajib Banerjee also reiterated that corruption by a few TMC leaders could severely affect the poll results. Earlier, a Trinamool leader in East Midnapore, Somnath Bera, had resigned after allegations of misappropriation of funds had surfaced against him. Bera submitted his resignation letter to the district president on the same day. However, Somnath has said that he was stepping down for personal reasons.

The State BJP had alleged that Rupam Bhava, TMC leader and a member of Gram panchayat in Dadpur village, had pocketed the relief fund, meant for victims of Cyclone Amphan, by submitting fake documents of about 20 beneficiaries. According to the report by ABP Ananda, the accused had listed his sister, mother, and neighbours as beneficiaries. In his defence, the TMC MP claimed that he did so to help a person who had recently met with an accident.

Show-cause notice to accused BDOs

According to the report by Ananda Bazaar Patrika, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has reiterated that corruption in the distribution of relief funds would not be tolerated. About 5-6 Block Development Officers (BDOs) from Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas have been handed show-cause notices, following complaints of misappropriation of funds.

If the response to the show-cause notice turned out to be unsatisfactory, then, stringent action would be taken against the said officials. Citing sources, Ananda Bazaar Patrika reported that Mamata Banerjee was herself looking into the issue of corruption in the distribution of relief funds.

Mamata Banerjee on June 6 had warned her party workers against ‘politicising relief work. She had reiterated that relief funds for both Coronavirus and Cyclone Amphan must reach all victims irrespective of party colours. Besides warning of dire consequences if found involved in corruption, West Bengal Chief Minister had advised the party leaders not to get involved in relief work and leave it to the administration.

Affluent people received government compensation

Earlier, it was reported that the owners of intact one-story and multi-story concrete houses in Madanpur II Gram Panchayat of Kalyani block in Nadia had received money by falsely claiming that they were the victims of Cyclone Amphan. It was found that 20 houses in the 28 did not suffer even the slightest damage, as they are pucca houses.

Local resident Narayan Haldar had lodged an official complaint with the Block Development Officer (BDO) Deep Chatterjee and the sub-divisional magistrate regarding this issue. “I was shocked to see the list of beneficiaries. They are highly accomplished people. All of them have pucca houses. It is a serious case of corruption,” Haldar was quoted as saying in media reports. Shockingly, TMC leader and Local panchayat member Somnath Adhikari, who too had received compensation for his undamaged house, had justified the same by saying that “whoever gets the opportunity will take government’s money. There is nothing poor or rich about it.”

Several other people had justified getting compensation despite suffering no loss due to the cyclone, and the complainant had accused that all of them are close to the ruling party.

Bank employee assaulted in Surat: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promises strict action against culprits

OpIndia Staff
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Bank employee assaulted in Surat: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promises strict action against culprits

In a viral video, a person was seen first arguing and then assaulting a bank employee. Later, media reports stated that the incident was from Surat where a police official had misbehaved and assaulted bank officials.

As per reports, the incident had occurred on Monday, where a female employee was attacked in the Saroli branch of Canara Bank (formerly Syndicate Bank). The incident had sparked widespread outrage and the Bank Employees’ Association had also requested the Finance Minister to take cognisance of the issue.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has promised in a tweet that there will be strict action against the police constable who had assaulted a female staff, Santoshi Kumari, in the Saroli branch of the Syndicate Bank. She added in her tweet that she had a word with Dhaval Patel (Collector, Surat) who has promised timely action.

She added that she would closely follow this matter. Sitharaman emphasized that irrespective of the challenges amid coronavirus spread, the bank officials are providing seamless services to the public. Nothing should threaten their safety and dignity.

In her tweets, the finance minister mentioned that her office spoke to Commissioner of Police, IPS Bhrambhatt, who will visit the branch and assure the safety of the staff members. He also assured that the accused constable shall be suspended immediately.

Lady clerk assaulted over passbook printing after customer services hours

As per reports, two men had entered the bank premises after working hours at around 4:20 PM to get their passbook updates and asked the female clerk to do the same. When she informed them that the printer was not working and customer services are only till 4:00 PM, they started abusing her and another staff member present at the scene.

After arguing for a while, one of them entered the cubicle and attacked a female clerk who was recording the whole incident at that time.

In the bank’s CCTV footage, the whole incident got recorded.

The attack was so intense that she fell on the floor and got injured. The staff informed the nearest police station immediately. An FIR was registered against unknown persons.

Bank Employees’ Association writes to Finance Minister

The All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) has written a letter to the finance minister explaining the incident and requested her to ensure immediate action against the culprits. In the letter, the association said, “Employees genuinely feel that they have joined the Banks to work in the Banks and earn their livelihood and not to get beaten by such goons and assailants in the grab of customers.” They added that despite the difficulties everyone is facing due to pandemic, bank employees are working as frontline warriors to provide banking services.

A few weeks back, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised strict action against those who assault or stop frontline workers from doing their job. 

Liberalman and more – watch these 5 clips going viral that expose liberal hypocrisy

OpIndia Staff
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Liberalman and more – watch these 5 clips going viral that expose liberal hypocrisy

Liberalman is the superhero we neither need nor deserve in real life. The fictional one, however, is something India absolutely needs to show the mirror to the hypocrisy of those who identify themselves as ‘liberals’ but are actually far from then. The Daily Switch, a political, media and culture website, on its social media account shared the antics of ‘liberals’ and ‘Liberalman’, the new superhero in town.

Liberalman ‘chooses’ who needs his help

In one of the viral videos, two animated characters are looking helplessly at their burning building where their 4-year-old is trapped. ‘Liberalman’, with his superpowers, flies in and the parents are hopeful that the superhero will save their child. However, Liberalman’s rescue operations come with terms and conditions. He only ‘helps’ the most ‘repressed’ people. When the ‘parents’ inform that their daughter is only 4 years old, Liberalman agrees as she would have surely been a victim of sexism. Liberalman, however, helps via options like candlelight march and the ‘dafli of doom‘. Clearly, Liberalman has his priorities sorted.

Liberals and Sonu Sood

A ‘liberal’ initially agrees with a commoner that Sonu Sood did great work helping migrants reach their hometowns. However, when Sonu Sood in a video says that he is a fan of PM Modi, ‘Liberal’ person now believes that Sonu Sood was irresponsible as sending back migrants might have spread coronavirus to villages. He also wants ‘azaadi’ from ‘murderer’ Sonu Sood.

‘Liberals’ offers solution to flop comics and actors

Struggling and washed up standup comics and actors have a new ray of hope. ‘Liberals’ in India have a solution to restart their career. The Placard and woke message combination. It may not make them funny, but at least it’ll make them famous!

Liberals vs IT cell

This is just so relatable. Unless you agree with them you are from the ‘IT cell’. Or from the RSS. A true liberal will never agree with anything right is happening in India under PM Modi.

How ‘liberal’ students reacted to coronavirus

Not to undermine the efforts of everyone who have put forward everything they have to help India fight the pandemic, we all now the one equivalent to the ‘JNU student’ above who is armed with a ‘dafli of doom’ while fighting those who are fighting the pandemic.

For more, you could follow The Daily Switch here.

Bengal: TMC MLA Tamonash Ghosh passes away due to coronavirus, had heart and kidney ailments

OpIndia Staff
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Bengal: TMC MLA Tamonash Ghosh passes away due to coronavirus, had heart and kidney ailments

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Tamonash Ghosh who was diagnosed with the Wuhan Coronavirus in May passed away on Wednesday. He was 60-years-old.

Ghosh was a three-time MLA from the Falta constituency in South 24 Parganas of West Bengal and had been the party treasurer since 1998. He was admitted to the Apollo Hospital after testing positive for the deadly disease. Besides Coronavirus, he was suffering from heart and kidney complications.

As per a report in Anandabazar Patrika, he was initially negligent about the disease. However, the condition of the late TMC politician became critical by the time he was hospitalised. His condition had worsened in the past 3 days, leading to multi-organ failure. Hospital sources had revealed that Tamonash Ghosh was also diabetic. The doctors had to remove the phlegm that had congested his chest but the presence of pre-existing diseases turned fatal. His family members were also diagnosed with Coronavirus but had recovered due to timely treatment.

West Bengal CM pays homage to Tamonash Ghosh

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shared her condolences on Twitter. She remembered Ghosh’s contribution through social work and his long-standing association of 35 years with the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Banerjee added, “He has left a void that will be difficult to fill. On behalf of all of us, heartfelt condolences to his wife Jharna, his two daughters, friends, and well-wishers.”

West Bengal has so far registered 14,728 cases of coronavirus. The death toll stands at 580. on Tuesday alone, 370 fresh cases weer detected. Active cases in the state stand at 4930.

Did Hong Kong approve new maps including Chinese-occupied territories as parts of India? Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Did Hong Kong approve new maps including Chinese-occupied territories as parts of India? Read details

Since few days a set of images is being circulated across social media platforms claiming that Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam Cheng had posted a tweet stating that the ‘Republic of Hong Kong’ is going to approve a new map that includes Chinese-occupied areas of Aksai chin, Thag La ridge, Khinzemane and Tibet Autonomous region as parts of India under the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Various social media users took to Twitter to share the purported post to claim that ‘Republic of Hong Kong’ had released a new map of the country in which it has approved Chinese-occupied territories as parts of India.

These posts went viral in the country at a time when India and China are amidst a stand-off along the Line of Actual Control, which had led to violent clashes on June 15.

One user claimed that the ‘Republic of Hong Kong’ has approved a new map where Aksai Chin, Thag La Ridge, Khinzemane and Tibet Autonomous Region showing as part of Ladakh as belonging to India. The user said it is time India supports Hong Kong’s independence from China.

Netizens also shared a similar news claiming that the government of Hong Kong approved news maps that includes Chinese-occupied territories,

Fact Check:

The claim of Hong Kong releasing such new maps is untrue as no new maps have been approved by the Hong Kong government which includes China-occupied regions as part of India.

The photos of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng signing an ordinance is not related to the new maps but related to the ‘National Anthem ordinance’ passed by the legislative council of Hong Kong earlier this month. In the photo, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng is seen signing National Anthem ordinance and not the new maps.

When we reverse-searched the images shared on the social media, it was found out that the image was related to a press release of the Hong Kong Government with the title ‘CE signs National Anthem Ordinance’. This Ordinance was introduced to promote and protect China’s National Anthem in Hong Kong.

Various news reports have also shared the similar images linking it to National Anthem ordinance.

Image Source: Chinadailyhk

The social media account – Carrie Lam Cheng, which initially posted the images is a fake account created in the name of Hong Kong Chief Executive. The Hong Kong CE does not have an official Twitter account.

In 2014, the same fake account had posted tweets from India. Old tweets from this handle appear to be from India and all about India.

Image Source: Carrie Lam Cheng

Hence, it can be said that the news of Hong Kong approving new maps that includes China-occupied regions as part of India under Union Territory Ladakh is not true.

Moreover, there is no ‘Republic of Hong Kong’. Hong Kong is a special metropolitan area that is currently under the administration of China. It has a Legislative Council whose chief executive is Carrie Lam Cheng. The city was under Britain’s rule till 1997 but was handed over to China as per their agreement. The people of Hong Kong are currently carrying out protests demanding full democracy.

Pakistan: Ten cricket players test positive for coronavirus ahead of England tour, PCB says no change in schedule

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Ten cricket players test positive for coronavirus ahead of England tour, PCB says no change in schedule

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed that seven more Pakistani cricketers have tested positive for Covid-19 infection. In a press release, the board informed the names of the players that are Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hasnain, Wahab Riaz, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Kashif Bhatti and Imran Khan.

On 22nd June, the board had confirmed that Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and Haider Ali had tested positive for the infection. As of now, ten Pakistani cricketers have tested positive.

Pakistan is preparing for its tour of England scheduled for August this year. These tests were done as per mandatory safety protocol. As a total of ten players have been tested positive, there are speculations over the tour. On Monday, the board announced three players’ results to be Covid-positive in Rawalpindi and informed that the results of other players are awaited. Team masseur Malang Ali also tested positive for the virus.

England tour in August might be in jeopardy

Experts believe that these test results are a massive setback for the team. However, the board’s CEO Wasim Khan suggested that the tour of England will happen as per the schedule. As of now, all but one player from the main test team have tested negative. Only Mohammad Rizwan has tested positive.

Khan said, “The tour is very much on track, the squad will depart as per schedule on 28th. Fortunately, all first-choice red-ball players, barring Rizwan, are negative, which means they can start training immediately after they are tested & given all clear when they arrive in the UK,”

Pakistan will play three-match test series and T20 matches in England during their tour in August. The players who got tested positive for the infection are under self-isolation at home. They may join the team later after clearance from the board. Shoaib Malik and bowling coach Waqar Younis have not been tested yet.

If the England tour gets canceled, it will cost PCB an estimated loss of 90 million dollars in broadcasting revenues.

IMA ‘Halal’ ponzi scam: Senior IAS officer accused of corruption found hanging at his residence in Bengaluru

OpIndia Staff
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IMA ‘Halal’ ponzi scam: Senior IAS officer accused of corruption found hanging at his residence in Bengaluru

In a shocking development, senior IAS officer BM Vijay Shankar, one of the accused in the multi-crore I-Monetary Advisory (IMA) ‘halal’ investment scam, has ended his life in his Jayanagar residence in Bengaluru on Tuesday evening.

According to the reports, former Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Bengaluru Urban BM Vijay Shankar, who was under suspension for his alleged role in the IMA Ponzi scheme, allegedly committed suicide at his residence by hanging himself.

Bengaluru police commissioner Bhaskar Rao has informed, “Vijay Shankar, former DC of Bengaluru committed suicide by hanging himself. He was . It was an unnatural death and we are investigating the case.”

Vijay Shankar was earlier arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on July 8, 2019, for his alleged involvement in the Rs 4,000 crore IMA scam. He was incarcerated under judicial custody at Parappana Agrahara jail in Bengaluru.

Later that month, Shankar was granted bail by a special court for cases under the PMLA. Later the CBI took over the investigation on August 30, 2019, and filed at least three FIRs in the case. The investigative agency had filed the first charge-sheet against IMA founder Mansoor Khan and 19 others. It had named Vijay Shankar as an accused in the third FIR. 

Initially, the Karnataka government had appointed Vijay Shankar and LC Nagaraj to investigate the complaints against IMA group under the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments (KPID) Act, 2004.

Later, the CBI had found that both Vijay Shankar and Nagaraj had submitted a report to the government favouring IMA, which had duped thousands of people by running a Ponzi scheme. The officers were accused of accepting bribes from the IMA directors to give a favourable report. The probe had stated that Vijay Shankar had allegedly received an amount of Rs 1.50 crore.

On June 11, 2020, the CBI had requested sanction from the state government to prosecute Vijay Shankar and two other officers in the ponzi scam.

IMA halal investment scam

The IMA halal Ponzi scheme was run by the founder of IMA group Mohammed Mansoor Khan and his associates, who duped lakhs of people by promising higher returns using Islamic way of investment. The IMA promoter has been charged for running the Ponzi scheme, which allegedly duped 40,000 investors to the tune of over Rs 4,000 crore. 

The IMA scam is one of the biggest money laundering and financial fraud cases unearthed in Karnataka recently. Around 40,000 investors reportedly lost their money in this scam. IMA Managing Director Mohammad Mansoor Khan had attracted investors, especially Muslims, by offering an investment scheme that appeared to follow Islamic precepts and provided lucrative returns.

More than 41,000 complaints were registered by investors accusing IMA directors of committing fraud after the firm closed in May 2019 and ceased to pay dividends. 

The names of few Congress leader had also surfaced for their alleged involvement in the Ponzi scheme, making it a high-profile case. Senior Congress leaders like BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, former Congress MLA Roshan Baig, Congress legislator from Khanapur in Belagavi Anjali Nimbalkar’s husband and Karnataka IPS officer, Hemant Nimbalkar’s name had also surfaced in the investigation.

Two Karnataka cadre IPS officers Hemanth Nimbalkar and Ajay Hilori along with three police personnel were also booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Rs 4,000 crore IMA scam. 

Times of India apologises for using alive food bloggers’ photo as a dead couple’s photo on the front page of their paper

OpIndia Staff
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Times of India apologises for using alive food bloggers’ photo as a dead couple’s photo on the front page of their paper

On Wednesday, the Times of India tendered an apology for wrongly using the image of a happy and alive couple, Amit and Shilpi Agarwal, for a story about a man who strangled his estranged wife and killed his mother-in-law before shooting himself. The national newspaper informed that the couple shared the same names as that of those involved in the incident.

The Times of India further said that the photograph which was sent by a source was carried by other newspapers as well. “The moment we discovered our mistake, we removed the picture from our website with sincere apologies right at the top of the news report; we also took it off our e-paper. And we apologised on Facebook and Twitter,” the national daily reiterated.

Apologising for the editorial oversight and wishing the couple a joyous life ahead, the Times of India claimed that it takes precautions before publishing anything, including editorial pictures that accompany a story. The newspaper highlighted that the gaffe has made it revisit their protocols to make the system ‘airtight’ and ensure re-verification of photographs that are shared by the official sources.

Amit and Shilpi Agarwal – The Namesake

Food vloggers Shilpi and Amit Agarwal who live in California took to Facebook earlier on Tuesday to express their angst after they discovered their happy pictures were passed off as that of a couple who had died after the husband went on a killing spree before shooting himself. In a video uploaded on Facebook, the vlogger Amit Agarwal accused the Times of India for taking their picture off their Facebook page and using it for the contentious story. After the video was uploaded, Times of India has updated its web story and used a representational image and added the disclaimer that they had used a wrong image earlier.

Twitter censors Donald Trump’s tweet as ‘abusive behaviour’ after he warns DC protestors

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter censors Donald Trump’s tweet as ‘abusive behaviour’ after he warns DC protestors

Social networking giant Twitter on Tuesday flagged one more tweet of US President Donald Trump for ‘abusive behaviour’ and ‘violating guidelines’.

Donald Trump’s tweet flagged by Twitter.

“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about abusive behavior. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible,” Twitter put up the notice on Trump’s tweet which remains hidden on timeline till you choose to view it.

In a statement, Twitter said, that US President Donald Trump’s tweet is abusive behaviour, “specifically, the presence of a threat of harm against an identifiable group.”

Twitter claimed that while Trump’s tweet violates its policies, it will remain online because of the ongoing conversation regarding the political movement in the US.

Trump, in his tweet, had said that as long as he is the President of US, there will not be any ‘autonomous zone’ in Washington D.C. “If they try they will be met with serious force!” he tweeted.

Trump was referring to the violent protests in US where rioters tried to pull down the bronze statue of former US President Andrew Jackson and tried to establish “Black House Autonomous Zone”.

Prior to this, Trump had tweeted that he has authorised the federal government to arrest anyone who vandalises public property.

Trump had threatened police action against the rioters and vandals.

Twitter flags Donald Trump’s tweet for ‘violating guidelines’

US President Donald Trump has locked horns with the social networking giant over censoring his tweets earlier too. He has been involved in a raging battle against Twitter after the latter included a ‘fact-check’ on a tweet he had made regarding mail-in ballots. In May his tweet was censored by Twitter after he promised to send the military to deal with looters who are running amok on the streets of USA. Trump had said, “Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” And for that reason, Twitter found that the US President had violated rules regarding ‘glorifying violence’.

Donald Trump’s tweet censored by Twitter

The political censorship of conservative opinion on social media platforms has been a long standing issue that tech giants have had to grapple with. The censorship of US President Donald Trump himself on social media is the natural culmination of the gradual progression of events.

Chinese propaganda outlet Global Times claims Rajnath Singh will meet Chinese defense minister in Russia, Indian MoD refutes claims: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Chinese propaganda outlet Global Times claims Rajnath Singh will meet Chinese defense minister in Russia, Indian MoD refutes claims: Report

As tensions continue to simmer between India and China following violent clashes in the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh, the Chinese state media— Global Times has claimed that Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe will attend Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow on Wednesday, and since Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is also attending the event, the two will “very likely meet in Moscow over border tensions between the two countries”.

Global Times, the propaganda arm of the Chinese Communist Party, has written that sources familiar with the matter has confirmed the news to Global Times.

However, the Indian journalist who is also a defence correspondent, Shiv Aroor took to Twitter to apprise that India MoD has refuted the claim made by Global Times.

Singh, who is attending the victory day parade in Moscow, arrived in Russia on Monday evening for a three-day visit.

Foreign minister S Jaishankar warned China of serious impact if it does not reasses and take corrective steps

Since the June 15 violent clashes between Indian and China, the two country’s have not met formally. Recently, foreign minister S Jaishankar had a telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi regarding Ladakh.

During the conversation, the minister cleared that the unprecedented development “will have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship” and China had to reassess its actions and take corrective steps.

Global Times continues Beijing’s psychological warfare against India

After the violent standoff between India and China, Global Times, China’s propaganda arm had continued Beijing’s psychological warfare against India by sharing a disparaging caricature of an elephant personifying India on its Twitter account.

Alleging India of having a misguided perception about its global heft, the official Twitter account of the Chinese propaganda machine Global Times tweeted, “#GTCartoon: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the superpower in the world?” along with a picture depicting an elephant gloating over its strength in front of a mirror. The elephant in the cartoon wore a short with saffron, white and green stripes, leaving no doubt about whom it intends to represent.

The caricature belittling India was shared by the Global Times as a part of the stratagem it has adopted lately to dissuade India from going hard against the expansionist People Liberation Army along the border in the Eastern Ladakh.

However, possibly realising that the caricature might do more harm than good for the Chinese interest in India as well as across the globe, the Global Times promptly pulled down the post that carried the cartoon that mocked India.

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