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Congress MP Kapil Sibal admits in Parliament that CAA will not take away citizenship of any Indian

OpIndia Staff
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Congress MP Kapil Sibal admits in Parliament that CAA will not take away citizenship of any Indian

Congress MP Kapil Sibal admitted in the Rajya Sabha today that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act does not take away the citizenship from anyone, a reality which his party members have been refuting vehemently since the time the law has come into being.

Rajya Sabha on Thursday was witnessing a debate on Delhi violence which was triggered by anti-CAA protests. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during his speech, said that people were misled on the Citizenship Amendment Act. While hitting out at the opposition for allegedly politicising the issue by spreading misinformation around the act which led to the riots in the national capital, Amit Shah asked if anyone in the house could point out if there was even a single provision in the CAA that took away the citizenship of Indians.

The Home Minister appealed that all political parties should say in one voice that nobody will lose citizenship due to CAA. Only after that, there will be no riots. “On what basis are we baking our political bread”, he asked. “Everyone sitting in this house is wise people, Kapil Sibal is a very senior advocate in Supreme Court, show me any provision in the CAA law due which Muslims will lose citizenship,” the home minister asked the house.

As Amit Shah had taken Sibal’s name, the Congress leader rose to intervene, and said, “nobody is saying that CAA will snatch the citizenship of any person. We are not saying that”.

After that Sibal went on to bring the issue of NPR, saying that during the enumeration for NPR, the enumerators will ask dozens of questions, and put D before names of people. This is not about Muslims, but poor will suffer, Sibal claimed.

Amit Shah then intervened to say several of Sibal’s party colleagues had made statements alleging the CAA will take away the citizenship of a particular group. He said that he can quote numerous leaders of Congress saying CAA is against minorities. Responding to Sibal’s allegations on NPR, the Home Minister also reiterated that no documents will be sought for NPR, like the last NPR during UPA govt. and people are free to not provide if they are not willing or able to provide some information. “As the Home Minister I am saying in Rajya Sabha, no name is going to be marked as D, there is no need for anyone to fear the process of NPR,” Amit Shah clarified. The home minister made it clear that nobody will be marked as D (doubtful) for leaving some columns during the NPR enumeration, as alleged by the opposition parties. To this, leader of opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad rose and asked, “I think the home minister is saying that no D will be put with anyone’s name, if I heard correctly. You are saying this? so there will be D?” Amit Shah replied in affirmative, which was acknowledged by Azad.

The home minister added that if any member of the house still has any doubt, leader of opposition Ghulam Navi Azad can bring them to him for clarifications. Shah said that senior leaders like Azad, Anand Sharma and other members can come to meet him to discuss the issue to remove all the myths about CAA and NPR, in the presence of officials.

Time has come to stop the myths about CAA and NPR, Amit Shah said.

Although CAA is meant to expedite the process of giving citizenship to persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and it has nothing to do with Indian citizens, several opposition parties including the Congress party and left-liberal intellectuals and journalists have been spreading the falsehood that CAA will take away the citizenship of Muslims, thereby causing fear among the community and resulting in riots across the country.

This is, however, not the first time the Congress leader has stated the fact contradicting the lies spread by other leaders of the party. In January 2020 while speaking at the Kerela Literature Festival, Congress leader and lawyer Kapil Sibal categorically stated that states do not have the power to stop implementation of a law that has been passed by the Parliament. His comments directly contradicted the rigid stance that the CMs of the Congress-ruled States had assumed.

Sibal’s views were also shared by Congress old guard, Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Monday. He stated that a State cannot say no to a law passed by the Parliament from a Constitutional perspective. Hooda, however, said that the law can always be challenged in a Court of law.

It is pertinent to note here that the Congress party has been vehemently opposing the Citizenship Amendment Law, along with NRC and NPR. In fact, in its manifesto released for the Delhi elections, the party promised to not implement the National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in its present form. The grand old party also vowed to challenge the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the apex court.

NPR is a part of the census and was earlier prepared in 2010-2011 along with the 2011 Census during the Congress-led UPA government. CAA aims to fast-track the citizenship of minorities from three neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have migrated to India illegally, owing to religious persecution. As for a nationwide NRC, no draft has been laid down by the government. The exercise to update the NRC in Assam was initiated during the Congress government in the state, while by the time it was completed BJP had come to power.

Despite hard-hitting facts, the Congress party and its leaders did not back down from rumour-mongering and casting aspersions on CAA, NRC, and NPR.

The distinct narratives peddled by these Congress loyalists often contradicted each other and thus left the people hanging in the balance to figure out the party’s official stand on its own. One thing, however, remained common in their various statements – the attempt to club NRC (National Register of Citizens) and NPR (National Population Register) with CAA.

Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault in landmark #MeToo case

OpIndia Staff
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Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault in landmark #MeToo case

In what is being considered as a big victory for the #MeToo movement, the New York court sentenced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault. The MeToo movement had started after allegations against Harvey had surfaced.

In the judgment that was announced on Wednesday morning at the Manhattan Supreme Court by Judge James Burke, the tainted filmmaker was given a minimum of five years and a maximum of 29 years in prison for raping an aspiring actress in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006. A second criminal case is pending in California.

Weinstein (67) had arrived at his sentence hearing in a wheelchair and handcuffs. The former movie producer’s trial came to a close at the end of February, with a New York jury of five women and seven men finding him guilty of rape in the third degree and a criminal sexual act in the first degree. The charges were based on testimony in a New York courtroom by Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann, who both spoke at the sentencing.

From the Manhattan courtroom, Weinstein was taken to the Downstate Correctional Facility, in Fishkill, 75 miles north of New York City, to await his assignment to an upstate prison, where he will start to serve his term.

He is likely to be sent in the near future to Los Angeles, where he faces charges, including forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint. Those charges, based on allegations made by two women, carry a potential 28-year prison sentence.

On the eve of sentencing, more than 1000 pages of emails and documents sent by the disgraced film producer were made public in which he had begged forgiveness and support from friends including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Mike Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Weinstein told them, in November 2017, a month after The New York Times published bombshell allegations against him, that he was suicidal.

Weinstein’s own brother Bob, with whom he co-founded entertainment company Miramax, responded: “F–k u Harvey Weinstein. I pray there is a real hell. That’s where u belong. You deserve a lifetime achievement award for the sheer savagery and immorality and inhumanness, for the acts u have perpetrated,” he wrote, adding that his brother should not reply to the email.

Harvey Weinstein is a former movie producer who established the Miramax Films Corporation with his brother, Bob, in 1979. Miramax went on to produce critical and commercial hits like ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘Shakespeare In Love’, and the brothers found more success after launching The Weinstein Company in 2005.

Weinstein’s reputation was severely damaged after the New York Times published an article in October 2017, detailing decades of allegations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein. Actresses Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd were among the women who had come forward. Among the accusations were that he forced women to massage him and watch him naked. He also promised to help advance their careers in return for sexual favours.

After this, many more women came up to share their ordeal, all of whom accused the producer of sexual harassment. More than 80 women had made allegations against Weinstein by October 31, 2017. Following these allegations, Weinstein was in October 2017, dismissed from his company and expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The allegations against him had, in fact, evoked the #MeToo social media campaign worldwide and many similar sexual abuse allegations against powerful men around the world started flowing in. This phenomenon was referred to as the “Weinstein effect“.

Weinstein was arrested in New York and charged with rape on May 25, 2018. His trial began on January 6, 2020, and he was also charged with rape in Los Angeles. On February 24, 2020, he was found guilty of two of five felonies in New York, charges which carry a sentence of up to 25 years. Today, on 11 March 2020 he was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Tamil Nadu government refuses to adopt resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act, opposition MLAs walk out of assembly

OpIndia Staff
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Tamil Nadu government refuses to adopt resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act, opposition MLAs walk out of assembly

The Tamil Nadu government led by AIADMK on Wednesday clarified in the Tamil Nadu state assembly that no resolution against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will be adopted because that will be amounting to cheating the public.

Revenue Minister RB Udhayakumar in a response to an issue raised by DMK leader MK Stalin said, “The Leader of Opposition MK Stalin demands to adopt a resolution against CAA. But he knows well that a resolution adopted by the State Assembly will not be binding on legislation enacted by Parliament. So, adopting such a resolution will be akin to cheating the people.”

Repeating that minorities need not have any fears over the NPR, the minister said, “All cases relating to CAA will be dealt with only by the Supreme Court. Hence, the House should ponder over how adopting a resolution against the CAA, an issue contested before the apex court will safeguard the interests of the people here.”

Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said, “AIADMK has been safeguarding the interests of all sections of the people for over four decades. So, the AIADMK government will check any trouble for minorities including Muslims and Christians.”

Udhayakumar also clarified that the central government is yet to respond to the state government’s letter seeking clarifications regarding certain questions in NPR 2020. He also stated that only difference between the format for carrying out NPR 2010 and NPR 2020 was the additional three questions relating to the details about the native place, date of birth of parents and spouse, mother tongue, Aadhar card and Driving License number added in the format for NPR 2020.

TN Udhayakumar said, “The Opposition demands that these questions should be dropped. In the same vein, the state government has also urged the Centre to avoid these questions during NPR. But we did not ask the Centre to give up NPR itself since it was carried out already during the UPA government in 2010. The state government has, so far, has not issued any notification for NPR 2020.”

Referring to parties which had earlier supported the CAA and later changed their stand, Stalin said, “As such, the Tamil Nadu government should adopt a resolution in the State Assembly that the NPR which would pave way for the NRC in future will not be carried out in the state. It is crystal clear that NPR 2020 is being carried out only for facilitating NRC. NPR would divide people on the basis of religion and this would affect the plurality of the country. Hence the state government should adopt a resolution saying NPR in the present format will not be carried out in Tamil Nadu.”

Since the ruling party indicated that no resolution will be adopted against CAA, Stalin walked out with his party. MLAs belonging to the Congress and IUML and Thameemun Ansari, an MLA who is an ally of AIADMK followed suit.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswamy had strongly defended the CAA, challenging the opposition to show any minority in India that will be affected by it.

Prima Facie, the riots on a large scale in such a short span of time reeks of a conspiracy: Amit Shah in Lok Sabha on Delhi riots

OpIndia Staff
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Prima Facie, the riots on a large scale in such a short span of time reeks of a conspiracy: Amit Shah in Lok Sabha on Delhi riots

Following the anti-CAA riots that gripped several parts of North East Delhi in the last week of February, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah today spoke for the first time about the ghastly violence that rendered about 50 dead and several hundred injured. The Lok Sabha discussed the Delhi riots today under Rule 193 of the house proceedings, which meant there would be no voting after the debate. The Congress legislators staged a walkout even as Shah detailed measures adopted by the government to contain the spiralling riots.

Here are salient points made by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his speech in the Lok Sabha:

No incidents of riots took place after February 25th

Paying homage and expressing his condolences for the victims of the Delhi riots, Shah said that no riots took place after February 25 and that attempts were being made to politicise the riots.

Shah praises Delhi Police’s handling of the riots

Defending Delhi Police, Shah revealed in the lower house of the parliament that the police contained the riots within 36 hours of their eruption. Delhi Police was held in the dock for their supposedly biased handling of the riots in the National Capital. Rubbishing the aspersions against the police, Shah lauded their effort and declared that the police probe is underway and it will soon be submitting a report on the violence in Delhi.

Shah also added that he skipped his visit to the pre-scheduled program with the US President Donald Trump and sat all day with the Delhi Police officials to monitor the situation in the National Capital, claiming that he chose not to visit the program as it would have caused Delhi Police to strain their resources on his security arrangements.

Social Media was used as an instrument to incite violence

According to Shah, Delhi Police are closely scrutinising about 60 social media accounts which were created on February 22 and closed down on February 26, 2020. Shah stated that the violence in Delhi was fanned by inflammatory posts on social media by nefarious elements, adding that a thorough investigation by Delhi Police is underway to determine the culprits behind the incident.

700 FIRs registered till date in the Delhi violence case

While talking about the police action in the violence that gripped north-eastern part of Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that about 700 FIRs have been lodged till date since February 27 in connection with the riots in the National Capital. Shah assured that all those who have been involved in causing unrest in the city will be brought to book and none of them will be spared.

Riots in Delhi were orchestrated and a case of conspiracy has been registered to probe the angle: Shah

Shah contended that the riots on such a massive scale in a short span of time is impossible without the possibility of a conspiracy. He stated that a case of conspiracy has been lodged to investigate the angle and the police have made 3 arrests on the charges of financing the violence in the North East Delhi.

“We did not take the riots casually. Prima facie, I believe that the riots were pre-planned. I assured families of the riot victims that the culprits will not be spared no matter which religion, caste or political party they belong to,” Shah said.

Fearing similar fate? Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot hits out at Jyotiraditya Scindia over joining BJP, calls him an ‘opportunist’

OpIndia Staff
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Fearing similar fate? Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot hits out at Jyotiraditya Scindia over joining BJP, calls him an ‘opportunist’

The Rajasthan chief minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot tore into former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia for joining BJP after leaving the party following an 18-year-long association with it.

The Congress senior leader took to Twitter to call Scindia an “opportunist”, saying: “People will teach him a lesson”.

“What has happened in Madhya Pradesh, it is murder of democracy. Entire nation is watching, how shamelessly horse trading is being done. In which direction they are taking the nation? They will definitely be taught a lesson by the people when the time comes”, he tweeted.

Ashok Gehlot said in several tweets, “attempts are being made to threaten, intimidate and worst kind of tactics are being used. Such brazen abuse of power has never been seen. Entire Congress party is united and we will together teach them a lesson. Their attempts to destabilize elected govts are because of their money power and horse-trading. They are not talking about any ideology. They want to grab power on basis of huge amount of money they have hoarded. The biggest scam that is happening in country, is of electoral bonds. They have amassed huge amounts of money, people are being looted by creating fear of CBI, ED, IT inquiries. Corruption is at its peak. On this money power, they are plotting to destabilise democratically elected govts. They are giving threats now but public is not going to be intimidated by their threats. People will never bow down due to these threats, nor are we going to bow down. I am very much hopeful that they will be taught a lesson. The sooner opportunists leave, the better. Congress party gave so much, held various posts for 17-18 years, was made an MP, a Union Minister. Despite all this, what came out was just an opportunist, public would never forgive”.

“Such opportunists should have left the party much earlier. Congress party gave him so much for 18 years. People will teach him a lesson,” Gehlot told media at Jaipur Airport. Reacting to the Madhya Pradesh crisis, he said: “Mauka aane pe maukaparasti dikhai hai”.

Speaking at Jaipur, the Rajasthan CM furthered: “Everyone can see how democracy is being murdered. MLAs are coming to Jaipur, you can see what kind of horse-trading attempts are being made there (in MP). Aisa nanga naach kabhi nahi dekha gaya hai, jo satta mein baithe huye log kar rahe hain. We stand together”, said Ashok Gehlot.

Once seen as one of Rahul Gandhi’s closest aides, Jyotiraditya Scindia ditched the Congress party, leaving its government in Madhya Pradesh in chaos on Tuesday afternoon. His resignation, along with that of 21 MLAs, has left the Kamal Nath government in the state on the brink of collapse. It is currently five MLAs short of the new majority mark of 104. Scindia joined BJP today and he has nominated by BJP for upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

Probably distressed over his party’s fate in Madhya Pradesh and scared of facing a similar fate in his state, Ashok Gehlot had taken to Twitter yesterday also to strongly denunciate Jyotiraditya Scindia, saying he betrayed the “trust of the people and the ideology” and dubbed him as a leader with “self-indulgent political ambitions”.

Gehlot said, “Joining hands with BJP in a time of national crisis speaks volumes about a leaders self-indulgent political ambitions. Especially when the BJP ruining the economy, democratic institutions, social fabric and as well the Judiciary.”

The tremor of Jyotiraditya Scindia’s revolt in Madhya Pradesh is now being felt in Rajasthan as well. All eyes are now on Sachin Pilot, a close friend of Scindia, amid speculation that he could take the same route. 

Rajasthan chief minister, who has not been sharing a cordial relationship with his deputy CM Sachin Pilot is now probably having cold feet after Jyotiraditya Scindia quitted Congress on Tuesday, leaving the party in Madhya Pradesh in a lurk.

Gehlot has been in a continuous tussle with state party president Sachin Pilot who was sidelined in the race for the Chief Minister’s post following the Congress’s win in the State Assembly elections.

Sachin Pilot’s camp had insisted that it was his hard work as state party chief that enabled the Congress to return to power in Rajasthan but the Chief Ministerial crown was handed over to veteran leader Gehlot. Ever since, Pilot has remained a constant challenge for Gehlot, often criticizing his own government in the past 15 months.

Last year, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot blamed Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot for the defeat of his son Vaibhav from Jodhpur constituency. Following this development, Congress MLA Prithviraj Meena had suggested that Pilot should replace Gehlot.

Yogi government moves the Supreme court against the HC order of removing the ‘Name and Shame’ hoardings comprising the details of Anti-CAA rioters

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi government moves the Supreme court against the HC order of removing the ‘Name and Shame’ hoardings comprising the details of Anti-CAA rioters

The Supreme court on Thursday is set to hear a petition filed by Uttar Pradesh government challenging the Allahabad high court order of removal of hoardings comprising photos and other personal details of anti-CAA hooligans who had damaged public property during riots.

The bench of justices UU Lalit and Aniruddha Bose of the Supreme court will hear the petition.

The High Court on Monday ordered Lucknow District Magistrate and Commissioner of Police to remove the hoardings comprising pictures of Anti-CAA rioters and their personal details. The court stated that the state’s action “violates” Article 21 of the Constitution and is an infringement of privacy.

An Allahabad High court bench of Justices had Govind Mathur and Ramesh Sinha said, “Privacy is an intrinsic part of the right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and the actions of the state government amount to an unwarranted interference into it.”

The HC bench also stated, “why the personal data of these persons have been placed on banners though in the State there are lakhs of accused persons who are facing serious allegations pertaining to the commission of crimes whose personal details have not been subjected to publicity.”

The Uttar Pradesh government had vowed to move the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court order in its bid to continue “profiling” the rioters. 

The UP government has put up hoardings of 57 anti-CAA rioters in prominent intersections in state capital Lucknow. The hoardings included their names, addresses, and photos of the rioters who damaged public property during the riots that claimed 22 lives in December last year. They were asked to pay the penalty within a month.

ED likely to summon Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for questioning over sale of painting to Yes Bank founder, may attach her cottage near Shimla

OpIndia Staff
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ED likely to summon Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for questioning over sale of painting to Yes Bank founder, may attach her cottage near Shimla

At the time when Congress was trying to corner the ruling BJP for the Yes Bank crisis, it has itself landed into an unsavoury controversy over the sale of a painting by its general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to former Yes Bank chief Rana Kapoor, which was given by acclaimed painter MF Hussian to the then Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi during the centenary celebration of Congress in 1985.

According to a report by Times of India, the Enforcement Directorate, which is investigating the case, based on the statements recorded by Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, might summon Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for questioning and is also likely to attach her cottage near Shimla.

As per officials known to the case, senior Congress leader Milind Deora is also likely to be quizzed in connection with the murky transaction which he allegedly coerced Yes Bank chief Rana Kapoor into.

In his statement recorded at the ED office in Mumbai on Sunday, Rana Kapoor claimed that Congress’s former South Mumbai MP Milind Deora pressured him to buy a portrait of ex-PM Rajiv Gandhi from Priyanka for Rs 2 crores.

Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the money taken from Kapoor, an accused, which Priyanka spent on her cottage near Shimla, qualifies to be treated as “proceeds of crime”, and this renders the property vulnerable to the prospect of being attached by ED.

ED sources cited text messages recovered from Kapoor’s mobile phone and his statement to claim that the tainted banker, Rana Kapoor who had siphoned off Rs 4,000 crore from Yes Bank, may not have bought the painting on his own will. He was actually forced by Milind Deora, whom Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had authorised to negotiate the deal on her behalf.

Sources have revealed that a letter dated 1st May 2010 has emerged written by senior Congress leader Milind Deora, the then Member of Parliament, to Yes Bank chief Rana Kapoor, suggesting he buys the Rajiv Gandhi painting in Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s possession.

In the letter, he mentions that the painting which Kapoor is desirous of purchasing and for the same he should get in touch with Priyanka Gandhi as she and her family members would be willing to sell the painting ‘if buyer will keep it safely with the respect it deserves’.

Following this, on 8th May, Deora again wrote to Kapoor urgently seeking time to speak to him. A copy of his email is with OpIndia. This is followed by a series of text messages sent between 8th May 2010 to 12th May 2010, Deora kept following up with Kapoor. The senior Congress leader allegedly kept hounding Kapoor to strike the deal.

Finally, the deal was struck. On 4th June 2010, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote a letter to Rana Kapoor, at Bungalow No 1, Grand Paradi address in Mumbai. (Note, it is home address from 2010, not addressed to Yes Bank CEO) wherein she mentions she is selling the M F Hussain painting of her father gifted to him by the painter in 1985 on the centenary celebrations of the Congress.

The BJP on Tuesday attacked Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for her alleged role in the controversy. Addressing a press conference at the BJP office, party spokesperson Sambit Patra said wherever there is corruption, there has to be the Congress party.

“What MF Hussain was to the world of painting, the Congress is to the corruption. If corruption is an art, Congress is its artist,” said Patra.

Patra said the BJP demands the entire episode involving the sale of the painting by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should be investigated as “she got money from Kapoor’s account which had the money from criminal proceeds.

Following the revelation, Gandhi is now accused of expropriating a souvenir granted to the Congress party and accruing financial dividends from unilaterally presiding over the sale of the artwork officially belonging to the Congress party. It is still unclear under what capacity did Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sell this painting to Rana Kapoor.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor under money laundering charges in the wee hours of Sunday. The banker was held under the provision of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) around 3 AM after he did not cooperate with the officials.

Rana was questioned by the ED sleuths for over 30 hours after the central agency raided his residence on Friday night. He will be produced before a local court during the day to obtain custody, the officials said.

Yes Bank is in the midst of a crisis as it accumulated a torrent of bad loans in 2018 by lending to corporate defaulters such as DHFL, Jet Airways and Cafe Coffee day and others. The bank was put on a moratorium by RBI for a period of 30 days, capping its withdrawals at Rs 50,000. The Reserve Bank of India has also announced ‘Yes Bank Ltd. Reconstruction Scheme, 2020’, changing the authorised capital to Rs 5000 crores and 2400 crore equity shares standing at Rs 10 each. In addition, SBI which leads the consortium of banks investing in the ‘reconstructed bank’ will not reduce its holding below 26% before the completion of three years.

Stefano Maino: Sonia Gandhi’s father once served in the Italian fascist Benito Mussolini’s army

OpIndia Staff
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Stefano Maino: Sonia Gandhi’s father once served in the Italian fascist Benito Mussolini’s army

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury today shot himself in the foot when he alleged that the RSS founder K. B. Hegdewar drew his inspiration from the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Chowdhury’s allegations were swiftly and promptly responded back as the erudite BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi launched a scathing and unsparing attack against the Congress party by jogging their memories on Sonia Gandhi’s father’s support for the Italian dictator. Lekhi evoked the shady past of Sonia Gandhi’s father, Stefano Maino and his association with the fascist dictator Mussolini.

“If you are going to allege that Mussolini was Hedgewar’s inspiration then let me remind you, the maternal grandfather of the person(Rahul Gandhi) sitting behind you worked in Mussolini’s army,” Lekhi exclaimed.

Stefano Maino, Rahul Gandhi’s maternal grandfather served as a foot soldier in Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s army. While the mainstream media was successful in effectively obscuring the details of the maternal side of Rahul Gandhi’s family, however, in a rare interview with the Outlook Magazine in 1998, Sonia Gandhi’s father, Stefano Maino, candidly confessed his “unwavering loyalty to Mussolini and Italy’s ‘admirable’ fascist past”. Maino was not only unapologetic about his support for the fascist leader but he was immensely proud of fighting against the Russian Reds alongside Hitler’s Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front in World War II. He was later captured as Prisoner of War and was kept in a Soviet Prison where Sonia Gandhi regularly visited him in Russian cities of Vladimir and Suzdal.

The interviewer also observed that Stefano Maino’s house was festooned with leather-bound speeches and writings of Benito Mussolini, indicating that he was profoundly inspired by the fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who teamed up with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and presided over the unprecedented massacre of innocent people, mostly Jews. Maino also held dim view of the then Italian politicians, saying that “the current Italian government was composed of a bunch of traitors who had betrayed Mussolini and the Fatherland”. Wistfully longing Mussolini rule in Italy, Maino had said that the current crop of Italian politicians was all hopeless except the neo-fascist front. He also advocated authoritarian measures such as forced sterilisation.

UK Health Minister tested positive for coronavirus, had attended a reception with British PM and several ministers

OpIndia Staff
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UK Health Minister tested positive for coronavirus, had attended a reception with British PM and several ministers

British Health Minister Nadine Dorries has been tested positive for coronavirus, she herself confirmed in a statement on Tuesday, raising concerns about whether senior government figures have been infected.

The Conservative party MP said, ” I can confirm I have tested positive for coronavirus and have been self-isolating at home.” The health officials are trying to trace the origin of her infection, she added.

Dorries is the first British MP to be diagnosed with COVID-19, was also crafting the legislation to fight the epidemic. Reports suggest that she was in touch with hundreds of people, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

As per the reports, she fell sick while signing the document on Friday that was for declaring coronavirus a notifiable disease, so that companies can obtain insurance cover for it.

The UK is already suffering a blow from coronavirus as Six people have lost their lives and more than 370 confirmed cases are being treated.

Dorries had attended a reception at the British PM’s residence at 10, Downing Street on the occasion of International Women’s Day. British PM Boris Johnson, his fiancee Carrie Symmonds, and several cabinet ministers were present there too.

Some people have a history of setting things ablaze, 1984 riots accused are sitting as CM: Meenakshi Lekhi roars in Lok Sabha

OpIndia Staff
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Some people have a history of setting things ablaze, 1984 riots accused are sitting as CM: Meenakshi Lekhi roars in Lok Sabha

On Wednesday, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi put up an attack in the Lok Sabha against the opposition parties for spreading false propaganda against the BJP during anti-Hindu Delhi riots that engulfed the national capital in February.

New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi began her speech by paying tributes to all those who lost their lives in the Anti-Hindu Delhi riots. “According to me, all the deceased are Indians. I am not sure if any of them were Bangladeshis,” said Lekhi amidst objection from the opposition parties.

Blaming the notorious radical Islamic organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) for the Delhi riots, Lekhi said that the anti-Hindu Delhi riots were ‘organised’ violence. She also accused Muslim mobs of throwing acid and petrol bombs at the innocent civilians of the national capital.

Interestingly, in her speech, Meenakshi Lekhi cited the link between controversial foreign-funded Congress-era ‘activist’ Harsh Mander and his links with foreign powers who are allegedly responsible for the stoking anti-Hindu riots in the country.

“People who have links with ISIS are instigating riots in the national capital. An American national named George Soros has promised to defeat Indian nationalism by pledging $1 billion and his organisation. Harsh Mander is a board member of the controversial organisation, who was also the member of UPA-era extra-constitutional body National Advisory Council,” said Lekhi.

Read: How Harsh Mander is member of an organisation connected to Italian Govt and Italian Secret Service, helping West achieve foreign policy goals

Responding to Adhir Ranjan Choudhury’s attack on RSS and its alleged connections with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Meenakshi Lekhi brought up reference of Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi’s family’s involvement in Mussolini’s army during the Second world war.

“If you are going to allege that Mussolini was Hedgewar’s inspiration then let me remind you, the maternal grandfather of the person sitting behind you worked in Mussolini’s army,” said Lekhi in an attack against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over their family links with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s fascist army during Second World War.

In response to Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s allegations on Home Minister Amit Shah, Meenakshi Lekhi said, “Opposition is defending minority vote bank politics and has forgotten about Sharjeel Imam and AAP MLA Amanatullah.”

Attacking the opposition parties over targetting BJP leaders Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma for Delhi violence, Lekhi said, “Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma made comments on January 20 and January 28 respectively, while the violence started on February 23. Kapil Mishra was held responsible for acts of Amanatullah Khan, Sharjeel Imam and Tahir Hussain.”

BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi also said in the Lok Sabha that Kapil Mishra was blamed for the incidents in Delhi when Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi and Umar Khalid and Waris Pathan made statements to incite people.

Countering the Congress accusations about the inaction of the police she said, “Some judges think police should not act until protests turn violent”. Under the circumstances, it is difficult to gauge when a peaceful protest will turn violent, she said.

Shooting on the opposition parties for raising the matter of Justice Muralidhar’s transfer, BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi said, “Intelligence Bureau reports against some people should be made public, so that people know who has been transferred and why.”

Attacking the Congress party over its past record of stoking communal riots in the past, Lekhi said that some people have a history of setting things ablaze. “I have data which shows who was responsible whenever violence incidents took place in the country,” said Meenakshi Lekhi while listing out the number of riots that had occurred in the country during the Congress rule.

BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi attacked the Congress party in Lok Sabha and said that 73 per cent of the riots thave have taken place post-independence has been under Congress or its allies’regime. She added that there have been no riots in Gujarat since 2002 and also said that the top 10 riot incidents in the country have been under Congress.

“The Congress talks of 1984 riots, I would like to tell them that they have forgotten that some accused are today on the position of CM,” said Lekhi in a veiled attack on Kamal Nath. BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said Delhi Violence was brought under control within the first 36 hours. “The Delhi violence was brought under control within 36 hours which, if you look at in hindsight, was in the making for months,” she added.

Responding to Chowdhury’s Nero reference, Lekhi compared Rajiv Gandhi’s “Big Tree falls” comments during anti-Sikh riots.

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