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Who owned the painting which Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sold to Rana Kapoor? Congress, Rajiv Gandhi or was it public property

OpIndia Staff
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Who owned the painting which Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sold to Rana Kapoor? Congress, Rajiv Gandhi or was it public property

After being slammed for an alleged nexus between the scam-tainted former MD of Yes Bank, Rana Kapoor and Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress party on Sunday acknowledged and released the details of the sale of the painting to Kapoor by Priyanka Gandhi. Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on Sunday revealed that the painting sold by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was given to Rajiv Gandhi by painter M F Hussain.

The painting was reportedly given to him by the painter in 1985 during the centenary celebration of Congress. This has raised a few questions. If the painting was given to Rajiv Gandhi in 1985, when he was the Prime Minister of India, was it given to the chair he held? If the painting was given to Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister, the painting would be public property and it Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will not really be in a position to decide its sale.

If the painting was given to Rajiv Gandhi in his personal capacity and if Rajiv Gandhi died without a will, the same will be divided between the legal heirs, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka herself. If the painting was owned by Congress, since Rajiv Gandhi was INC President in 1985, it becomes property of Congress and Priyanka Gandhi will not be able to sell it unless she is given the power of attorney by the party.

Earlier, the Income Tax Department had kicked up a storm after it revealed a possibility of an alleged connection between Congress stalwart Priyanka Gandhi and former Managing Director of Yes Bank Rana Kapoor. According to the report, Priyanka Gandhi sold a painting for a whopping Rs 2 crores to Kapoor, raising suspicions over Gandhis’ involvement in the Yes Bank Scam.

Congress and BJP locked horns over the Yes Bank crisis with the ruling party leader Amit Malviya casting aspersions on Gandhi over their purported involvement in the Yes Bank crisis.

Malviya posted a tweet alleging that Gandhis are inextricably linked with every financial crime in India. He tweeted, “Every financial crime in India has a deep link with the Gandhis. Mallya used to send flight upgrade tickets to Sonia Gandhi. Had access to MMS (then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh) and PC (P Chidambaram). Is absconding. Rahul inaugurated Nirav Modi’s bridal jewellery collection, he defaulted. Rana bought Priyanka Vadra’s paintings….”

Responding to the allegations levelled by Malviya, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala on Sunday claimed that the painting sold by Priyanka Gandhi to Rana Kapoor was actually a portrait gifted to the former PM father Rajiv Gandhi by MF Hussain. However, according to the Times Now report, the painting sold by Priyanka Gandhi to Kapoor originally belonged to the Congress party and was gifted to Rajiv Gandhi by MF Hussain on the centenary year of the Congress party in 1985.


Times Now has also accessed a letter dated June 2010 by Priyanka Gandhi in which she acknowledged the purchase of the painting given by MF Hussain to Rajiv Gandhi in 1985. Congress leader Milind Deora facilitated the art sale, addressing him as ‘Rana Uncle’ to contact Vadra to initiate the purchase. As per the Times Now report, the money for the painting was given to Priyanka Gandhi’s office.

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 other. 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 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.

Delhi Riots: Tahir Hussain’s brother Shah Alam arrested by crime branch for involvement in violence

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Riots: Tahir Hussain’s brother Shah Alam arrested by crime branch for involvement in violence

Shah Alam, the brother of former AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain, who had been on the run from law enforcement authorities was finally nabbed on Monday by the Delhi Police Crime Branch for his involvement in the Delhi Anti-Hindu riots.


The name of Shah Alam, the brother of accused Tahir Hussain, had come up during the investigation into the Chand Bagh violence. According to the Delhi Police Crime Branch, Shah Alam was also present in that now-infamous multi-story building that belonged to Tahir Hussain when the riots were ongoing.

Tahir Hussain who fled to Nehru Vihar in Mustafabad and stayed in Okhla for two days was nabbed on March 5. He was sent to 7 days judicial custody by a Delhi Court.

It is pertinent to remember that it was allegedly in this building owned by Tahir Hussain where the young IB sleuth, Ankit Sharma brutally tortured (stabbed 400 times for 4 to 6 times) and then murdered by an Islamist mob. Sharma’s body was then dumped into a nearby ditch. The witness statements recorded by the police had pointed to Hussain’s brother being present inside the building as well.

Read: Delhi police detain Tarik Rizwi, Liaqat and Riyasat in connection with Delhi riots, interrogating one for hiding murder accused Tahir Hussain

The family of the deceased Ankit Sharma had accused AAP leader Tahir Hussain of the heinous crime. A day after Sharma’s family alleged his role in the riots and his murder, many crates of petrol bombs and stones had been found on the rooftop of the AAP leader.

In addition to that, in the Anti-Hindu riots that erupted in North East Delhi earlier this week, AAP leader Tahir Hussain has emerged as one of the main kingpins. Videos have emerged which show hundreds of people throwing stones, petrol bombs from the roof of his building. Other videos show Tahir Hussain himself supervising the stone and petrol bomb pelting from his building, with a lathi in his hand.

Pakistani Muslims abuse the Prime Minister Imran Khan for wishing Hindus a happy Holi

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani Muslims abuse the Prime Minister Imran Khan for wishing Hindus a happy Holi

Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, wished the Hindus of the Islamic country a happy Holi on the occasion of the festival. However, Radical Islamists of his country were not pleased. They resorted to attacking their Prime Minister for wishing Pakistani Hindus on the day of their festival.

Some have raked up the communal riots in Delhi to slam Imran khan for wishing Hindus Happy Holi.


Others accused the Prime Minister of wishing only non-Hindus on the day of their festivals but not on the day of Islamic festivals.


There were others who asked Imran Khan, because he wished Hindus on Holi, “Are you building an Islamic welfare state where Muslim oppressed and minority are safe?


Some simply abused Imran Khan.


Then there were those who said that ‘Hindus are not our brothers’ and Imran Khan should instead speak up for Muslims in India. This is after Imran Khan has been crying on the social media platform ever since the abrogation for Article 370.


Some also advised Imran Khan to take the help of Iran in order to finish the ‘Zalim Hindus’.


Non-Muslims in Pakistan and Hindus especially are persecuted greatly by the Muslims of the country. Women are raped at an alarming frequency, forcibly converted to Islam and life is made hell for them. To help the non-Muslims of the country, the Indian Parliament has passed the Citizenship Amendment Act which reduces the residential requirement for naturalization from 11 to 5 years.

Uttar Pradesh: Allahabad HC orders removal of posters identifying rioters by 16 March

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Allahabad HC orders removal of posters identifying rioters by 16 March

The Allahabad High Court has ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to remove the controversial posters that had identified the anti-CAA rioters in the state by name, address and photographs. As per reports, the HC has directed the administration and police commissioner to file a compliance report by 16 March.


As per reports, the bench headed by CJ stated that there is no law that allows the state to place banners displaying names and personal data of the accused from whom compensation is being charged. The HC bench comprised Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Ramesh Sinha.

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 HC called the posters ‘unwarranted interference in the privacy of people”. The HC bench has ordered the district administration and the divisional commissioner of police to remove the hoardings by March 16.

Coronavirus: Police arrests one Imran Shaikh for selling used masks from foreign countries

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: Police arrests one Imran Shaikh for selling used masks from foreign countries

Amidst the growing concerns of novel Coronavirus, a video of thousands of used coronavirus masks dumped at an isolated spot near Kalher pipeline in Bhiwandi sent ripples of panic wave among the people. Imran Shaikh, a godown staffer, was allegedly seen in the video dumping waste masks.


Social Media was abuzz with a video where Shaikh was seen throwing used masks even as the country is grappling from the coronavirus outbreak. After the video went viral, a complaint was filed by revenue officials. It was reported that the plan may have been to wash the masks, repackage them and sell them as new. However, it has not been verified yet. An FIR was lodged at the Narpoli police late on Sunday night against the Bhiwandi godown staffer.

The police have booked Shaikh under Indian Penal Code Section 269 for careless act likely to spread infection of disease, imperilling the lives of others, said senior inspector Maloji Shinde. “A probe is ordered to find out who had bought the masks and if they had been imported from China,” he said.

A police team raided the godown and submitted a report to Thane zonal DCP Rajkumar Shinde, who sent off a letter to the district health administration to look into the matter.

According to Thane collector Rajesh Narvekar, officials from the district health administration, revenue and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), along with the police arrived at the site near Kalher pipeline on Sunday morning. The officials of MPCB have impounded the masks and sent them to a lab to verify if any of them had been infected by Covid-19 or any other virus. Following the test results, the MPCB will get rid of the biomedical waste.

The Bhiwandi revenue officer Shashikant Gaikwad asserted that the police has initiated an investigation about the origins from where these masks are imported, adding that the medical report will clarify if they were contaminated or not.

As a precautionary measure, the location was sanitised to avoid any health-related hazards in the locality. However, the revenue officials have cautioned the residents to avoid the area till the lab test report is submitted.

Road rage leads to communal tension in Meerut, UP but police denies media reports of communal flare up

OpIndia Staff
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Road rage leads to communal tension in Meerut, UP but police denies media reports of communal flare up

On Sunday evening, a collision between two motorcycles near the Lisadi Gate area in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh reportedly led to violence between two communities. 12 people were injured in the clash during which bricks were hurled at each other.

Those injured in the confrontation were rushed to the hospital. The cops intervened to diffuse the vulnerable situation. As per reports, both the communities lodged complaints at the Lisari Gate Police Station.

Read: Fake ‘hate crime’ in UP: Chandauli Police denies allegations that Muslim boy was set on fire for not chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’

SHO Prashant Kapil told The Indian Express that both the factions have lodged complaints and FIRs were filed. He also reportedly said that Police will take action against the two groups. However, speaking to OpIndia, he refuted all claims of “communal flareup.” During the phone conversation, he said, “It was small altercation… It was nothing like a ‘clash’. The matter was solved then and there.”

Delhi riots: AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan’s provocative statement, says as long as Muslims are ‘discriminated against’ riots will be there

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi riots: AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan’s provocative statement, says as long as Muslims are ‘discriminated against’ riots will be there

Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan is in news for yet another provocative statement on Delhi’s anti-Hindu riots.

In a statement to media, Khan, while defending AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, who is accused of murdering IB official Ankit Sharma, said, “It is as if only Tahir Hussain is responsible for Delhi riots. This is an attempt to save the rioters. Only Muslims are being made responsible for the riots.” He further added, “If there will be discrimination, if you are unfair towards Muslims and send them to jail, call them rioters, then in this country the riots will continue.”

Read: AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan shares video claiming house burnt during Delhi riots, fire department debunks his lie

He further claimed that a conspiracy is being hatched to shield culprits and project Hussain as main perpetrator. Earlier, Khan had taken to micro-blogging site Twitter to say that being a Muslim in India is the biggest crime and that Hussain was being ‘targeted’ as he is a Muslim.

Khan, who is himself accused in myriad cases, most notably for inciting violence in Delhi on December 15, 2019, stoked fear among the Muslim population of the country by claiming that the central government is against the Muslims and the former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain is in jail because he is a Muslim, notwithstanding the enormity of the charges levelled against him.

“Hindu men are jealous of Muslim men so they want to molest Muslim women on Holi” and other Hinduphobic rants on Holi by Islamists

OpIndia Staff
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“Hindu men are jealous of Muslim men so they want to molest Muslim women on Holi” and other Hinduphobic rants on Holi by Islamists

With the festival of colours, Holi, just round the corner, Hinduphobia also seems to be on the rise on social media as tweets likening Holi to ‘rape’ and ‘molestation’ and ‘rape culture’ have started surfacing.

Irena Akbar, ex-Indian Express journalist claiming Hindu men are jealous of Muslim men because some Hindu women marry Muslim men

In her series of tweets, Akbar claimed that Hindu men are jealous of Muslim men because some Hindu women marry Muslim men and hence they want to rape/molest Muslim women. The psychological assessment of Hindu men by Akbar concluded that Hindu men can’t ‘woo’ Muslim women and they aren’t a ‘patch’ on Muslim men.

Read: Holi Against Hindutva: A Hinduphobic initiative launched by lobbying group linked with the Democrat Party in the USA

Then there were others who continued to compare Holi with molestation and groping.


And some more hate.


In Varanasi, at Manikarnika Ghat, the devotees play ‘Bhasma Holi’ where ash from pyre is used to play holi.


And some other rants.


The Islamists and their ideological comrades, having the dubious distinction of maligning Hindu festivals while ignoring over the uncomfortable truths about the festivals of other religions.

Read: The Quint is right – playing Holi is the stepping stone to Hindu Terror

The most bizarre anti-Holi attack has come from an ultra-left group called ‘Baudhkaro’, who claims to be the followers of Dr BR Ambedkar’s teachings. In a song named “Tyohaar – The Anti-Holi song”, two left-wing radicals, out of which one is a PhD student from controversial left-wing university JNU, goes on to make incendiary comments claiming that Holi was a casteist festival which results in upper-caste Hindus sexually harassing women belonging to lower castes.

National Bravery Award winner Zen Sadavarte humiliated by Shiv Sena leaders on Women’s Day for ‘not speaking Marathi’

OpIndia Staff
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National Bravery Award winner Zen Sadavarte humiliated by Shiv Sena leaders on Women’s Day for ‘not speaking Marathi’

On Sunday, 12-year-old Zen Sadavarte, the recipient of National Bravery Award, was interrupted and humiliated at an event in Mumbai, Maharashtra by Shiv Sena leaders. Her speech on the occasion of Women’s day was cut short because she did not know how to speak Marathi.


She recounted, “The panel on the stage consisted of Shiv Sena leaders. Everyone got the message when I spoke in Hindi and English. I don’t know what agitated the party members that they began to attack.”

Zen reiterated, “They started exploiting my right to expression. I have the right to speak in both English and Hindi as both are Union languages. They told me that if I wanted to live in India, then, I must speak Marathi. It is my right to speak the language I wish to speak.”

The 12-year-old was speaking on the issue of mid-day meals not being served to children on Saturdays and Sundays. She also highlighted the need for “horizontal reservation” for transgenders.

The Bravery awardee was shocked to find the representatives of Shiv Sena misleading people. She alleged, “They started lying on stage that they have given reservation and claimed that they knew more about the State as they lived there.”

Last month, Zen Sadavarte had written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), Sharad Arvind Bobde, seeking directives stopping children from being used in protests. The letter was written on the backdrop of an unfortunate incident where one 2-month-old infant died after the parents took her to Shaheen Bagh for protests and exposed the infant to Delhi’s bitter cold.

When a protestor was asked about the death of the child, the protestor said, “Humne thodi maara hau suko? Allah ki bacchi thi, Allah ne apne paas bula liya. (We didn’t kill her. She was Allah’s child and she has gone back to Allah’)

Coronavirus outbreak: Bengal man who returned from Saudi Arabia dies after developing flu-like symptoms

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus outbreak: Bengal man who returned from Saudi Arabia dies after developing flu-like symptoms

India may have its first casualty from the deadly COVID-19 coronavirus as 33-year-old labourer from Murshidabad, West Bengal who had recently returned from Saudi Arabia died on Sunday. He had returned to India on Saturday and was admitted to Murshidabad Medical College as he was suffering from cough, fever and breathlessness. His swab tests were sent to medical college in Kolkata on for tests. The tests are expected on Monday.

The victim died within 8 hours of landing in India. According to his family members, he was a diabetic. When he developed flu-like symptoms in Saudi Arabia, he panicked and rushed back to India as soon as he could. However, Director of Health Services, Ajay Chakraborty, told news agency PTI and the man quite likely died of diabetes as he was highly diabetic and on insulin.

Till now, no one in West Bengal has tested positive for the deadly virus which has claimed lives of thousands of people worldwide, leaving over a lakh people infected. As per reports, a 21-year-old Murshidabad man, who worked as a sweeper in Saudi Arabia and returned from Dubai on Sunday morning was also admitted to a hospital as he showed flu-like symptoms.

Read: Yogi government to turn Aala Hajrat Haj House in Ghaziabad into a 500 bed isolation centre for Coronavirus patients

These cases in West Bengal come days after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the central government is trying to ‘divert attention‘ from Delhi riots by ‘creating coronavirus panic’. While addressing a rally in Buniadpur, South Dinajpur district earlier this month, Banerjee said “that some channels are hyping coronavirus to cover up the Delhi riots. It’s the disease people should not panic, it’s a concern worldwide… those dead in Delhi violence did not die in coronavirus, they were killed by BJP.”

A 3-year-old boy in Kerala was tested positive for coronavirus this morning taking total positive cases in India to 40. As of now, there has been no confirmed case of death due to coronavirus in India.

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