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Trump looks inward, Russia tries to regain global clout and Muslim world stands divided: A new World Order is emerging

Vinayak Jain
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Trump looks inward, Russia tries to regain global clout and Muslim world stands divided: A new World Order is emerging

There is significant upheaval in world politics especially after Donald Trump abruptly announced the withdrawal of US forces from Syria leaving the Kurds to fend for themselves. Putin sensed a magnificent opportunity to widen the differences between the US and Turkey and that’s exactly what he’s attempting to do through his overtures towards Turkey with regards to defence sales. Amidst Trump’s ‘inward-looking’ initiatives, Erdogan’s soaring ambitions to crown Turkey the ‘leader’ of the Muslim world and Putin’s revived efforts to establish Russia’s lost global clout, the world is witnessing a phase of fascinating geopolitical times. 

The S-400 Deal

Turkey’s decision to buy Russian S-400 missile defence systems sparked off discontent and worry in Washington. Despite numerous threats from America, Turkey didn’t back down and went on to consummate the deal.

The Americans are against Turkey’s move because Turkey is a NATO member and employs NATO air defence infrastructure. As air defence is a multi-layered aspect of warfare, integrating the S-400 into the existing network of weapons and radars primarily acquired from America will run the risk of exposing American defence capabilities to the Russians. Installing a new system like the S-400 will naturally have Russian representatives in Turkey providing on-ground support and training to Turkish operators which increases America’s security risks.

Read: Had Donald Trump taken time to educate himself about world affairs before becoming President, he would not look foolish

With Turkey being a NATO ally, having a modern Russian weapon on its land is being seen by America as a major shift in Ankara’s foreign policy that will weaken the interoperability and cooperation of NATO members. America did its best to prevent Turkey from purchasing the S-400, even going to the extent of warning Turkey that if it went ahead with the deal then all its pilots’ training in the US would have to leave the country. The threat had no effect. 

Throw F-35 in the Mix

A few F-35s have already reached Turkey for its air force. America’s prime fighter jet and Russia’s most evolved defence system – which it calls the ‘F-35 killer’ – on the same patch of land…naturally this will irk more than a few in Washington. America fears that Russia will be able to glean vital information about the F-35 due to its involvement in the air defence structure of Turkey.

Turkey also has direct involvement in the F-35 fighter jet programme. It manufactures 937 separate parts for the F-35 of which about 400 are made exclusively in Turkey. Owing to the sudden security threats that America perceives due to the presence of the S-400 on Turkish territory, America is already pushing Turkey out of its F-35 programme.

The Nuclear Conundrum

As relations between Turkey and America deteriorate with unexpected rapidity, America finds itself in another, and a most serious, military conundrum – its nuclear weapons on Turkish soil.

The US has about 50 B61 nuclear gravity bombs at Turkey’s Incirlik base. Amidst serious differences of opinions and Erdogan’s unconcealed desire for Turkey to have nuclear weapons of its own, the US is now pondering on what to do of its 50-odd nukes.

If the US decides to fly back its nukes then it would effectively end the close ties between the two nations and create the possibility of a disintegrated NATO. Putin will sense blood and swoop in to effectively cut Turkey from its Western alliances. If the US doesn’t bring its nukes back then it continues to face a rising security risk of a NATO ally possessing nukes but at the same time partnering with the primary NATO adversary.

The US has in total 150 B61 nuclear gravity bombs in Europe at various bases in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Turkey. 

Putin Tries to Capitalize

After selling Turkey the S-400 systems, there is news that Russia is in talks with to sell its Su-35 fighter jet as well. Recently, Erdogan and Putin met at the opening of the MAKS aviation show in Russia. It was reported that Erdogan looked into the cockpit of the Su-57 stealth fighter jet and asked, “So now, are we going to buy this one?”, to which Putin replied, “You could buy.”

If in the near future a deal for any of these fighter jets between the two countries materialises then it would sound the death knell for US-Turkey ties and Turkey would, in all likelihood, have its NATO membership cancelled.

Cracks Within NATO

As US-Turkey relations touch a nadir, NATO chief Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said last month that NATO members should continue deploying air defence equipment in Turkey. He said that despite differences the member nations must act together.

Despite this statement by the chief, Spain, that has deployed a Patriot unit in Turkey is pondering over whether it should renew its commitment to continue deployment or not.

In Italy, the opposition League party has called for the withdrawal of its Samp-T batteries and Italian military personnel stationed in Turkey in response to Turkish attacks on the Kurds.

Read: India-Turkey: A glorified relationship that is rightfully turning realistic

With Russia courting Turkey primarily to earn revenue through defence sales and varying opinions now emerging within the NATO on Turkish acts in Syria, it seems that NATO is developing quite a few fissures.

Looking at the overall situation, it is clear that Turkey, essentially due to Erdogan’s lofty visions and deep-set ego, is moving towards Russia who is more than happy to welcome the NATO member into its fold. China too would be eyeing these developments with intent as a Turkey aligning with Russia is any day better than a Turkey aligning with the US. This strengthens the ‘anti-West’ grouping. In the near future, if Turkey doesn’t mend its ties with the US then it would signal a massive shift in the global world order.

Add to this the divisions in the Muslim world with respect to India-Pakistan ties. While Malaysia and Turkey have openly backed Pakistan, Saudi and UAE have sided with India. All of a sudden international political ambitions and interests have become increasingly pronounced and vocal leading to a visible, albeit slow, shift in the world order. Only time will tell to what extent these shifts are permanent in nature.

Ratul Puri’s wife says he had forced her to lie to ED, ED claims Puri using one of his girlfriends to destroy evidence

OpIndia Staff
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Ratul Puri’s wife says he had forced her to lie to ED, ED claims Puri using one of his girlfriends to destroy evidence

In a shocking revelation, Kavita Puri, the wife of money-laundering scam accused Ratul Puri, has accused her husband of forcing her to make a false statement to the ED. Ratul Puri is currently an accused in multi-crore AgustaWestland scam and various other money laundering cases and in custody for the last 80 days.

According to a report by Times of India, Kavita, who is now estranged from Ratul, recorded a statement with the ED stating that her husband forced her to write a letter in July claiming that she could not join the probe as she had to tend to her bedridden father-in-law Deepak Puri at their residence at Aurangzeb Road.

Kavita had reportedly added that Ratul Puri had warned her not to go to the ED or answer calls from any ‘unknown’ numbers. She accused Puri of taking away her iPad and refusing to return it, saying it was lost during income-tax raids. Kavita’s iPad is being sought by the ED as a piece of evidence.

Kavita further said to the probe agency that she has been separated from Puri for the last four years and has been staying at Hyatt Regency hotel.

The ED has now included Kavita’s statement as part of a supplementary charge-sheet that was filed before a special court in Delhi on November 2. The ED has argued that despite being in judicial custody, Puri has been intimidating witnesses and working on the destruction of evidence through one of his girlfriends, who is also being investigated by the agency.

Read: Ratul Puri spent over $1.1 million in a single night at a pub, including lavish stays in various hotels: ED

Times of India has reported that many close friends and associates of Puri have now recorded statements against him claiming that they have been warned by Puri not to acknowledge ‘entries’ made against their names in a diary recovered from Puri’s accountant.

The ED also submitted at the court that an important witness in the case, Puri’s accountant KK Khosla, has gone missing. Khosla kept a record of Puri’s “cash transactions” and has been untraceable for several months.

The ED had arrested Ratul Puri on August 20, who was sent into judicial custody by the court till October 17. Apart from ED, the CBI and Income Tax department are also probing Puri and his company Moser Baer.

In a separate money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate had filed a charge sheet against MP CM Kamal Nath’s nephew Ratul Puri and his company Moser Baer last month for alleged money laundering and bank fraud. As per reports, the ED charge sheet states that Puri and his company laundered money and misappropriated funds worth Rs 8000 crores.

Apart from Ratul Puri, his father Deepak Puri and his mother Nita Puri, who is Kamal Nath’s sister, have also been booked by the ED in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case in connection with a bank fraud case filed by the Central Bank of India. The ED case was based on the August 17 CBI FIR against Puri.

Mayawati files petition to withdraw 1995 ‘Guesthouse Kaand’ case against Mulayam Singh Yadav

OpIndia Staff
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Mayawati files petition to withdraw 1995 ‘Guesthouse Kaand’ case against Mulayam Singh Yadav

BSP supremo Mayawati has reportedly filed a petition in court to withdraw the 1995 cases concerning the infamous ‘Guesthouse Kaand’ against Mulayam Singh Yadav. As per reports, sources in the BSP have informed media over the withdrawal but there is yet to be an official confirmation over the issue.


The 1995 case pertains to the infamous ‘Guesthouse Kaand’ in Lucknow which proved to be a significant moment in Uttar Pradesh politics and had pitched Mayawati and Mulayam as staunch rivals and bitter enemies for decades to come.

In June 1995, when BSP had announced taking back its support from the Mulayam government, she was attacked by SP goons inside the Meerabai guesthouse in Lucknow. Reports say that the goons had beaten her up and had torn up her clothes when BJP MLA Bhahmadutt Dwivedi had to risk his life to fight with the goons and rescue Mayawati. Mayawati and Mulayam had been archenemies since then.

Read: Desperate times? At loggerheads for decades, Mayawati and Mulayam share the stage in UP’s Mainpuri after 25 years

Ending their decades-old rivalry, Mayawati had made peace with the Yadav clan in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Desperate for relevance in the state and national politics, Mayawati’s BSP and Akhilesh Yadav’s SP had come together to announce an alliance for the Lok Sabha elections. However, the alliance too failed to work and after miserably failing to stop the BJP juggernaut, both parties had parted ways again.

As per a report in the Hindustan Times, BSP general secretary SC Mishra has confirmed that Mayawati had withdrawn the cases against Mulayam Singh Yadav. However, he refused to share any more details.

Another BSP leader has reportedly stated that in January 2019, when the parties had come together, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had urged Mayawati to withdraw the cases against his father.

3 years of Demonetisation: Here are 10 most important goals it managed to achieve

OpIndia Staff
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3 years of Demonetisation: Here are 10 most important goals it managed to achieve

It has been three years since Prime Minister Modi stunned the nation with a bold move to curb the parallel economy that had taken root in India – Demonetisation. Over the three years, many political and economic pandits predominantly from the Left have decried the move and asserted that it was an exercise in futility. However, Demonetisation has achieved several objectives in these three years.

Cancellation of the Legal Tender Status of Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 denomination currency notes on November 8, 2016, popularly known as demonetisation not only became a milestone in India’s fight against corruption but also began to create a culture of pride in honesty. It restored the honour of the honest.

Read: PM Modi’s GST and demonetisation played a big role in the formalisation of over 2 million jobs: ISF report

  • Shock to black money accumulators: For three years, demonetisation has been an eyesore for those who had a free run in generating and accumulating black money but suddenly had to face the full force of the law. 
  • Corrupt crying the loudest: Those who have been crying foul for three years are the same kind of people who either kept quiet or were active beneficiaries of a system of tax evasion, tax avoidance, generation of black money or promoters of shell companies.
  • Rise in tax returns and tax collection: The upsurge in the number of tax returns filed is more than sufficient proof of the success of demonetisation being able to bring into the system the accumulation of wealth which was happening outside the purview of the formal economy.
  • Body blow to shell companies: Registration of more than three lakh companies has been cancelled and yet there has not been a whimper of protest. What can be more proof that these were shell companies opened with the sole purpose of money laundering? An entire network has been forced shut in one simple step. 
  • Rise in the culture of honesty: The giant leap in the digital payments system is proof that the common people have embraced the message of demonetisation and have been equal partners with the government in promoting a culture of honesty. 

Following are the 10 most important goals that Demonetisation achieved in the past three years.

Immediate Impact – Unearthing of Undisclosed Income

During November 2016 to March 2017:

  • Searches conducted led to the seizure of Rs. 900 crores, including cash of Rs. 636 crores and admission of undisclosed income of Rs. 7,961 crores.
  • About 8,239 surveys were conducted leading to the detection of undisclosed income of Rs. 6,745 crores.

Clean Money, Cleaner Economy, Thanks to Demonetisation

  • Operation Clean Money was launched on 31st January 2017 to follow up on the action of demonetisation, to create a tax-compliant society.
  • Cash deposit data during demonetisation was analysed to identify persons whose cash transactions did not appear in line with the tax payer’s profile.
  • This analysis resulted in the identification of about 17.92 lakh persons for online verification process in the first phase.

When Non-Filers Became Filers; Non-Compliance Became Compliance

  • 04 lakh persons who deposited cash of Rs 10 Lakh or more but had not filed their return of income till the due date of filing returns were identified.
  • 09 lakh such identified non-filers responded. These persons paid self-assessment tax of Rs. 6,531 crores.
  • Electronic campaigns for other categories of non-filers with and those with potential tax liabilities resulted in overall, Self-Assessment Tax of more than Rs 13,000 crore paid by targeted non-filers. 

Demonetisation Pushes Direct Tax in the Right Direction 

  • Net direct tax collections for 2017-18 was Rs. 10.03 lakh crore, which is 18% higher than the collections for 2016-17.
  • On the other hand, the growth rates in 2015-16 and 2014-15 were only 6.6% and 9.0%, respectively.
  • The growth rate of 2017-18 was the highest in seven financial years before it.
  • In 2017-18, personal income tax Advance Tax collections increased by 23.4% and Self-Assessment Tax by 29.2%.
  • In FY 2018-19, Corporate Tax clocked a growth rate of 16.2% and personal income tax of 12.7%.
  • Voluntary tax payments under Advance Tax in 2018-19 continued to increase at a healthy rate of 14.8% with Corporate Advance Tax increasing at 13.4% and personal income tax Advance Tax at 20.1%.

Demonetisation Widens Tax Base, Narrows Non-Compliance

  • During FY 2017-18, 6.86 crores ITRs were filed with the Income Tax Department as compared to 5.48 crore ITRs filed during FY 2016-17.
  • This showed a stupendous growth of 25%.
  • It is the best growth rate achieved in the five years before FY 2017-18.

New Filers Grow as Trust in New Economy Grows

  • During FY 2017-18, the number of new ITR filers increased to 1.07 crore, compared to 85.51 lakh new ITR filers during FY 2016-17, a growth of 25%.
  • In the years before FY 2016-17, new filers were between 50 lakh and 66 lakh.
  • There is a clear upswing in the new tax filers after 2015-16.
  • During FY 2018-19, 1.1 crores new ITR filers have been added
  • Besides, the number of persons filing return increased from 5.4 crores in FY 2017-18 to 6.3 crore in FY 2018-19.

Demonetisation Brings Corporate Compliance Like Never Before

  • During FY 2016-17, 8.01 lakh returns were filed by corporate taxpayers
  • During FY 2017-18, 9.38 lakh returns were filed, showing a growth of 17.2%.
  • This growth rate is more than five times higher than the growth rate of 3.0% in 2016-17 and 3.5% in 2015-16.

Notes in Circulation – the Difference Demonetisation Made

  • The notes in circulation as on November 4, 2016, were Rs. 17,741.87 billion
  • The notes in circulation had grown at an average growth rate of 14.51% year on year since October 2014. 
  • At this rate, notes in circulation would have increased to Rs. 25,122.53 billion as on May 31, 2019. 
  • However, it increased only to Rs. 21,713.85 billion as on May 31, 2019 (almost 20% lower than would it would otherwise have been).

Digital Payments Became a Way of Life, Thanks to Demonetisation

  • In November 2016, the volume and value of digital payments transactions were 833.18 million and Rs. 88,933.35 billion respectively. 
  • In June 2019, these were 2,368.72 million (184% more) and Rs. 143,378.42 billion respectively (60% more).
  • Volume has multiplied even faster than value, showing a broad basing of digital payments even for smaller payments.

Closure of Suspect or Shell Companies

The Registrar of Companies (ROCs) removed the names of 2,26,166 companies during 2017-18 and 1,12,797 companies during 2018-19, respectively from the register of companies. These companies had not filed their financial statements and or Annual accounts for a continuous period of two immediately preceding financial years.

Greenpeace rejects AAP government’s claim that air pollution in Delhi reduced by 25%

OpIndia Staff
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Greenpeace rejects AAP government’s claim that air pollution in Delhi reduced by 25%

The environmental group Greenpeace India on Thursday said the AAP Delhi government’s claim that air pollution levels have reduced by 25% over the past few years was false.

According to a Greenpeace India analysis, “Historical ambient air quality monitoring and satellite data coupled with increasing fossil fuel consumption in Delhi and adjoining states contradict the government’s claims of a 25 per cent reduction in pollution levels over past years.”

In early September, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had claimed that pollution had reduced in the national capital by 25% in four years, citing a report by Central Pollution Control Board.

Read: Which state is responsible for turning Delhi into a gas chamber, Haryana or Punjab? This NASA image has the answer

Delhi government had also released newspaper advertisements claiming pollution in the National Capital had dropped by 25%. In the advertisements, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had claimed that levels of PM 2.5 or particulate matter the size of 2.5 microns had reduced to an average of 115 between 2016 and 2018 from an average of 154 between 2012 and 2014. This amounted to a reduction by 25%, he had claimed.

Kejriwal had claimed that the opening of the Eastern and Western peripheral way along with the imposition of heavy environmental compensation charges has reduced the entry of trucks in Delhi by 30% and contributed to a 7% fall in pollution.

He said that Delhi is only 35% responsible for the pollution caused in the state while neighbouring areas of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida contribute the most to the pollution levels in the state.

Read: Four months after ED froze their bank accounts, Greenpeace India shuts its Delhi and Patna office

Reacting to the Greenpeace report, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said they are not concerned about the analysis made by Greenpeace. “The Centre in its affidavit to the Supreme Court has said it under oath that the pollution in Delhi has reduced and the pollution in October and November is due to stubble-burning.”

However, Greenpeace India said that satellite data did not show any statistically significant reduction in PM2.5 levels over the period from 2013 to 2018. The NGO said that the data showed only slight reductions in the later part of 2018 compared to the past three years.

Contrary to the claims made by the AAP government that pollution levels have fallen in the city, PM10 levels have actually increased in 2018 according to the data at the manual air quality monitoring stations operated by pollution watchdog CPCB, the NGO said.

Read: SC questions the logic of odd-even rule in Delhi, asks Kejriwal government to furnish data of its actual impact

“PM10 data at manual air quality monitoring stations operated by CPCB under National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP) on the contrary shows higher PM10 levels in 2018 compared to 2013, 2014 and 2015,” it said.

Earlier this year in March, Greenpeace India had declared Delhi as the most polluted capital city in the world.

“It is noticeable that Delhi and the two states, Haryana and Punjab, saw a rise in coal consumption by 17.8 per cent from 2015-16 to 2018-19. On the other hand, total petroleum product consumption increased by 3.3 per cent over the same period, both contributing to increasing emissions and complicated clean air efforts,” Greenpeace said.

Avinash Chanchal from Greenpeace India said the steps taken in mid-2018 by the Delhi and central governments to reduce pollution were not enough to provide breathable air quality.

Read: RTI reply reveals AAP government in Delhi has not spent almost 80% of the Green Tax collected in last four years

“The actions which have been taken and implemented to reduce air pollution in Delhi be it the bypass roads, shutting down of Badarpur Power plants, shifting the industries to PNG and availability of BS-VI fuel were taken in mid/end 2018. These steps along with others will surely result in a reduction of pollution levels on an annual average basis. But the majority of impacts of such steps collectively was not seen till the end of 2018 and these wouldn’t be enough to provide breathable air quality,” he said.

Chanchal emphasised that the trends in PM10, PM2.5 and NO2 levels indicate that emissions from fossil fuel burning are increasing in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab region while emissions from biomass burning from household and agricultural activities were falling.

Ayodhya verdict: CJI Gogoi to meet UP DGP and chief secretary to review law and order situation

OpIndia Staff
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Ayodhya verdict: CJI Gogoi to meet UP DGP and chief secretary to review law and order situation

The much-awaited verdict in the decades-old Ayodhya title dispute is to be announced before CJI Ranjan Gogoi’s retirement on November 17. In anticipation of the verdict in the communally sensitive case, governments in many states, especially UP, have been on high-alert to ensure public safety and peace.

As per reports, CJI Ranjan Gogoi has invited UP Chief Secretary and UP DGP Om Prakash Singh to discuss the preparedness of the government machinery in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Supreme Court verdict on Ram Janmabhoomi issue.

Several other UP state officials from police and administrative services are also likely to meet the CJI.

Read: Ayodhya verdict: Meerut police on high alert, former MLA and former minister ordered to stay away

Last night, UP CM Yogi Adityanath too reportedly had a late-night video conference with the top civil and police officials, including DMs, and police commissioners over the security preparations in the state over the Ayodhya verdict. CM Yogi is said to have individually enquired about the law and order situation in each district in the state.

Read: Section 144 imposed in Ayodhya in anticipation on Ram Janmabhoomi case verdict as the hearing enters its last week

Ayodhya has been turned into a fortress with several platoons of police and paramilitary forces deployed at the disputed site and surrounding areas. The Supreme Court had concluded hearings and reserved its order on October 16. The verdict is expected to come any day now before November 17.

Bill Clinton a pedophile? How ABC News killed Epstein’s pedophile ring story and what it says about the mainstream media

K Bhattacharjee
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Bill Clinton a pedophile? How ABC News killed Epstein’s pedophile ring story and what it says about the mainstream media

Former US President Bill Clinton and the British Royal Family have been implicated in deceased pedophile Jeffery Epstein’s crimes against children in a recent video that was released by Project Veritas on social media. The video, which the organization obtained from sources, shows ABC news anchor Amy Robach telling colleagues that the news network deliberately spiked a ‘bombshell investigation’ into Jeffery Epstein.


Robach can be heard saying in the video, “I tried for three years to get it on, to no avail, and now it’s all coming out. And it’s like these new revelations and I freaking had all of it. I am so pissed right now. … What we had was unreal.” “Then the Palace found out that we had her whole allegations about Prince Andrew and threatened us in a million different ways,” says Robach. “We were so afraid we wouldn’t be able to interview Kate and Will that we, that also quashed the story. … She told me everything. She had pictures, she had everything. She was in hiding for 12 years, we convinced her to come out, we convinced her to talk to us.” “It was unbelievable what we had — we had [Bill] Clinton, we had everything,” Robach concludes in the leaked video. Robach also says that Epstein may be the most prolific pedophile in history.

Robach here is speaking of high-profile pedophile Jefferey Epstein who allegedly commited ‘suicide’ in prison. He was deeply entrenched in the Democrat and Republican establishment and had great connections with powerful politicians both sides of the aisle and across the globe. The official version maintains that he committed suicide during imprisonment but no one really believes that Epstein killed himself.

Epstein also owned a private island, dubbed the pedophile island, which numerous billionaires including Bill Clinton are alleged to have visited. The convicted pedophile also owned a rather unusual portrait of the former US President in a blue dress. According to the artist, there wasn’t anything sinister about it. She said, “In 2012, as a grad student at the New York Academy of Art, I painted pictures of Presidents Bill Clinton and Bush as part of my Master’s thesis. When the school put on a fundraiser at the Tribeca Ball that year, they sold my painting to one of the attendees. I had no idea who the buyer was at the time. As with most of my paintings, I had completely lost track of this piece when it was sold seven years ago. So it was a complete surprise to me to learn yesterday that it wound up in Epstein’s home.”

Petrina Ryan-Kleid, Parsing Bill (2012). Image via the New York Academy of Art.

The victim of Epstein referred to by Robach is Virginia Roberts Giuffre. The victim saw the interview with ABC as a gamechanger. “At the time, in 2015, Epstein was walking around a free man, comparing his criminal behavior to stealing a bagel,” Giuffre wrote in an email to NPR. “I really wanted a spotlight shone on him and the others who acted with him and enabled his vile and shameless conduct against young girls and young women.”

“I viewed the ABC interview as a potential game-changer,” she wrote. “Appearing on ABC with its wide viewership would have been the first time for me to speak out against the government for basically looking the other way and to describe the anger and betrayal victims felt.” Giuffre had accused Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was 17 and claimed that she was ‘trafficked’ to the Prince. The Prince denied the allegations.

In a statement following the controversy, Robach claimed that the interview did not meet their ‘editorial standards’. She said, “As a journalist, as the Epstein story continued to unfold last summer, I was caught in a private moment of frustration. I was upset that an important interview I had conducted with Virginia Roberts didn’t air because we could not obtain sufficient corroborating evidence to meet ABC’s editorial standards about her allegations. My comments about Prince Andrew and her allegation that she had seen Bill Clinton on Epstein’s private island were in reference to what Virginia Roberts said in that interview in 2015. I was referencing her allegations — not what ABC News had verified through our reporting. The interview itself, while I was disappointed that it didn’t air, didn’t meet our standards.”

The ABC, too, issued a statement following the matter. It said, “At the time, not all of our reporting met our standards to air, but we have never stopped investigating the story. Ever since we’ve had a team on this investigation and substantial resources dedicated to it. That work has led to a two-hour documentary and six-part podcast that will air in the new year.”

The ‘editorial standards’ that the ABC appears to be advertising in its statement appears rather dubious. For instance, it ran with the Russian Collusion Delusion for years without a shred of evidence. The Mueller Report was an indictment of the mainstream media that peddled this propaganda without any inhibition. The ABC’s ‘editorial standards’ were nowhere to be found during the Kavanaugh Controversy when the now Supreme Court Justice was accused of gang-rape and peddling drugs based on hearsay. Not merely that, they relied on the now infamous ‘Creepy Porn Lawyer’ Michael Avenatti to further this propaganda, a man who has been indicted on 36 charges of tax-dodging, perjury and theft from clients.

If all this wasn’t enough, Leland Keyser, Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford’s friend who the accuser claimed would verify her allegations, refuted the story entirely. “Those facts together I don’t recollect, and it just didn’t make any sense,” Keyser told the authors of a book on the matter. “It would be impossible for me to be the only girl at a get-together with three guys, have her leave, and then not figure out how she’s getting home,” Keyser told Pogrebin and Kelly. “I just really didn’t have confidence in the story.” But the real explosive detail is added in the book as an almost afterthought.

Keyser told the authors further that she was being pressurized to confirm Ford’s story despite the fact that she had no confidence in it. “I was told behind the scenes that certain things could be spread about me if I didn’t comply,” Keyser told the authors who happen to be reporters at New York Times.

Thus, while the mainstream media was hounding a man without any evidence based on an accusation not even a great friend of the accuser had any confidence in, ABC sat on a story on a powerful pedophile, a story which appears to implicate former US President Bill Clinton and the British Royal Family. Thus, allegations with no evidence against a Supreme Court nominee meet the ‘editorial standards’ of the ABC but an explosive story against the most powerful individuals on the planet conveniently fail to meet the same. It seems rather suspicious, does it not?

Controversial Radio Host Alex Jones was talking about Jeffery Epstein years ago. He even mentioned it on the Joe Rogan Experience, one of the most popular podcasts in the world that has earned numerous accolades. While he has been demonized by the mainstream media as an evil conspiracy theorist, Joe Rogan is great friends with him and maintains that he is the ‘most misunderstood guy’ on the planet. While Alex Jones, who admits that he comes across as crazy and he is crazy at times, was busy exposing pedophiles in high places, the entire mainstream media along with the establishment was trying to ban him from social media and he was eventually banned. And they succeeded in deplatforming him.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkjOST9SAUs]

It’s important to mention here that the ABC killed the Epstein story three years ago, at the same time when Bill Clinton’s wife Hillary Clinton was running for president against Donald Trump. Considering how hard the mainstream media was batting for Hillary Clinton, it appears entirely plausible that the ABC killed the story as a favour to the Democrat nominee, a favour that was undoubtedly compensated.

As it so happens, Hillary Clinton’s own campaign was hit with a pedophile scandal of its own. It was called the ‘Pizzagate’, which went viral on social media after the WikiLeaks dumped emails related to the DNC and John Podesta, chairman of Clinton’s campaign. Users claimed that there were code words in the emails that pointed towards a pedophile ring. The mainstream media claimed that it was a case of hysteria and when that ended up with a man trying to attack a restaurant over it, the media claimed how dangerous such conspiracy theorists were and hushed up the entire thing.

However, there were certain troubling aspects to the controversy which was highlighted by Joe Rogan and Alex Jones in the podcast (starts from 8:55). As a disclaimer, we cannot vouch for the authenticity of any of this but it’s a fact that some aspects of the story are extremely disturbing. It is also a matter of fact that soon after the Pizzagate controversy, close Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s husband Anthony Weiner pleaded guilty to a charge of sending sexual content to a 15-year-old girl. He was also forced to register permanently as a sex offender.

Thus, since the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, the sexual crimes involving minors of two men deeply entrenched in the American political establishment have come to light. While the entirety of the claims made by the Pizzagate ‘conspiracy theorists’ may not be completely true, the events since then do reveal that the mainstream media is more than willing to overlook a crime as heinous as pedophilia in order to maintain favourable relationships with the elite. On a side note, the NBC news network, too, engaged in a cover up of the Harvey Weinstein sex crimes in order to maintain a cozy relationship with the elite. The cover up was exposed by Ronan Farrow whose attempts to expose the truth were shut down by the NBC.

Aatish Taseer and his cheerleaders go loco: Here is how they are lying and deceiving about him losing his OCI

Nupur J Sharma
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Aatish Taseer and his cheerleaders go loco: Here is how they are lying and deceiving about him losing his OCI

On the night of 7th November 2019, Ministry of Home Affairs said that writer and journalist Aatish Taseer is ineligible for getting an OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card, as he had concealed the fact that his father was of Pakistani origin. Strongly rebutting a report in The Print which alleged that the union government is considering revoking Taseer’s OCI card after he had criticised Modi government in an article published in the Time magazine. Evidently, Taseer was given the opportunity to submit his reply/objections regarding his PIO/OCI cards, but he failed to dispute the notice. “Thus, Mr Aatish Ali Taseer becomes ineligible to hold an OCI card, as per the Citizenship Act, 1955. He has clearly not complied with very basic requirements and hidden information,” the MHA said.

While the MHA statement only came yesterday after The Print published conjecture about Taseer’s OCI being cancelled for a critical article he had written in May in TIME, the saga began in September 2019 as Taseer admits in his article today. In the article headlined “I am Indian. Why is the Government Sending Me Into Exile?”, Aatish Taseer makes no rebuttal of the claim itself. Not once, in his article or on Twitter has Aatish disputed the claim that he concealed the fact that his father was a Pakistani.

Read: Writer Aatish Taseer’s OCI card to be revoked as he had concealed the fact that his father was a Pakistani citizen

While Taseer’s silence on the matter is a clear indication that he indeed did not mention material facts in his OCI application, he has today taken to TIME to write an article full of conjectures, victim playing and over-all lies to claim that the Modi government is somehow being vindictive for an article he wrote back in May.

From the very start of the article, Aatish Taseer goes on to play victim without stating facts. He says that after he wrote the article where he called PM Modi the ‘Divider in chief’, he got threats and was maligned. The victimhood that Aatish peddles in his article is staggering.

He writes:

“I am Westernized; I am English-speaking; I am part of the despised elite whose entrenched power had helped fuel the rise of Modi. But there was another aspect of my identity that made me especially vulnerable to attack: my father was born in British India to a British mother and a father who became Pakistani when that country was created”

Further, he says that he was born out of wedlock and that his father, the Governor of Punjab in Pakistan was assassinated. Thereafter, he lived with his ‘famous journalist’ mother. He does, however, say that he was born in Britain and holds British citizenship but was raised in India, held an OCI and that his status as an ‘Indian’ was never questioned before this.

Read: TIME magazine cover shows the globalization of Hinduphobia

Firstly, Aatish is not an “Indian”. He is a Britisher who was granted an OCI because one of his parents was Indian. However, the rules of acquiring an OCI are rather clear. On the OCI website itself, the rules mention that none of the parents should be or should have ever been the citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh.

Rules of OCI

Further, section 7A(1) of the Citizenship Act 1955, specifically states that if any person or either of their parents or grandparents or great grandparents is or had been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or any other country as notified by the government, such persons would not be eligible for getting the OCI status.

Thus, it can easily be argued that Aatish Taseer holding an OCI card in itself was a contravention of the law committed by the previous governments in India. And his OCI card has been rightly cancelled in accordance with the law. 

Aatish, in his article, then goes on to lie blatantly. He writes (emphasis mine):

While the government did not initially reveal their motivations behind this action, they have now stated their reasons for removing my OCI: “concealed the fact that his late father was of Pakistani origin.” But it is hard not to feel, given the timing, that I was being punished for what I had written.

I read the letter, which in bland bureaucratic language informed me that the country I was raised in and lived in for most of my adult life was no longer mine: “after consideration of facts and circumstances in the matter, “ it read, “the Central government is of the provisional opinion that the registration as an OCI cardholder granted to Aatish Ali Taseer, may be cancelled under Section 7D(a) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, for obtaining OCI card by means of false representation and the concealment of material facts.”

Interestingly, while he says the ‘government did not initially reveal their motivations behind this action’, in the very next paragraph, he talks about how the letter he received from the Indian government in September mentioned that his OCI is liable to be cancelled because of the provisions of Section 7D(a) of Citizenship Act 1955.

Section 7D(a) reads as follows:

Section 7D(A)

It is thus hard to believe that Aatish did not know exactly the reason for which his OCI was being cancelled. Further, in the screenshot of the email provided by Aatish Taseer himself, a sentence is visible where he says there are ‘several incorrect statements’ in the letter. In the absence of the copy of the letter itself, one has to assume he was informed that his OCI is being cancelled because he failed to mention that his father was of Pakistani origin.

Email screenshot via @AatishTaseer

Aatish further writes about how much he supposedly loves India, however, unfortunately for him, even though his proclaimed “love for India” is under contention given his recent rant against Hindus, laws don’t really care much about his or anyone else’s feelings.

In his article, Aatish then goes on to lie about freedom of expression in India, the plight of Muslims etc which are lies that are so transparent, that it is almost an insult to the reader’s sensibilities to even rebut them in this article.

The fact that the cold, hard law was being applied to the Lutyens blue-eyed boy was not taken kindly to by the cabal. All of them, including Aatish’s mother, came up with the most wildly ridiculous reasons as to why Aatish’s OCI should not be cancelled.

Read: NYTimes columnist Aatish Taseer displays Hinduphobia in full glory, speaks the language of the very Islamists who killed his father

First, The Wire journalist Maya Mirchandani claimed that this was patriarchy, the convenient conjecture that is made to suit every situation by the “liberals”. She said that “his mother doesn’t count” and hence, the government was being patriarchal. To that, The Hindu journalist Suhasini Haider responded and said Aatish Taseer had mentioned everything in details in his 2007 book.


Essentially, what Suhasini Haider wanted was for government officials to refer to his 2007 book for facts pertaining to his OCI certificate because Aatish Taseer is the famous son of a famous mother who is a famous journalist and belongs to the Lutyens circle and hence, the government has no right to inconvenience the privileged baby-boy with pesky details like the law.

Where there is asininity, Barkha Dutt is often not far away. She tweeted that that Government action against Aatish is extremely “sexist”. According to her, the government of India should have given agency to the fact that Aatish was raised by a single mother who is very brave.


While one is not sure what bravery is required in India to lash out at Hindus and defend one’s son who regularly makes cow-urine jokes, much like the Pulwama terrorist, one is sure that Barkha Dutt frequently displays the courage to air her sub-human intellect publicly.

Read: No, Aatish Taseer, ‘Nehruvian Secularism’ will not endure another five years of Modi government and that’s a good thing

Barkha Dutt, who has long made the ridiculous claim that she is a journalist, conceals the fact that the law, in this case, is not “sexist”. It clearly says that a person is not eligible for OCI if either parent has ever been citizens of Pakistan or Bangladesh. Essentially, would Aatish Taseer or anyone, for that matter, be eligible for an OCI if the mother, and not the father, was Pakistani citizenship? No.

The Deputy Director of Amnesty South Asia also made the ridiculous claim that since Aatish had written a book in 2007, he was not required to follow the law.


Rajdeep Sardesai jumped in the fray and ensured that he made no sense whatsoever.


Sushant Singh, a journalist with NDTV who was caught lying about ‘renewed aggression in Doklam’, must be at least given credit for raising a point that was different from the rest of the cacophony, however asinine. He asked that if Adnan Sami could be given citizenship, why couldn’t Taseer be granted OCI.


What Sushant wilfully forgets is that Adnan Sami gave up his Pakistani citizenship to take Indian citizenship while Aatish Taseer wants to flaunt his British citizenship and then claim, that in contravention of the law, he has a right to hold the OCI card. What Sami did was legal. He gave up his Pakistani passport to apply to become an Indian citizen. What Aatish Taseer wants is the privilege of holding an OCI card, while remaining British citizenship in contravention of the law that makes him ineligible for OCI in the first place.

Read: Aatish Taseer toes the Radical Islamic line, says ‘ordinary Muslims’ should organize and they do not need ‘peace’

Finally, Aatish Taseer’s mother, Taveleen Singh tried, uselessly to defend him. While a mother’s tenacity is understandable, a journalist’s unconscionable lies are certainly not.


Even if Tavleen Singh did mention all the details when she got Aatish here when he was two-years-old, the fact remains that per the laws of the land, Aatish is not eligible for an OCI because his father was of Pakistani origin. That his OCI has not been cancelled earlier is what should be a concern, not that it has been cancelled now. Everything else is a conjecture.

There were several others who made similar arguments, but the crux of the issue remained strikingly the same – ‘Aatish serves our purpose. Leave him alone and let him break the law!’ Unfortunately for the Lutyens cabal, that they are the “English speaking elite”, as Aatish himself puts it, doesn’t make them eligible to break the laws. That they consider themselves above the unwashed masses, doesn’t make them special. That their coterie assumes to rule the narrative, doesn’t mean anything when it comes to cold, hard facts. Aatish Taseer’s Hinduphobia, while grotesque was not the reason his OCI is being cancelled. Aatish Tasser’s call for Muslims to unite is not why he is put through his inevitable fate. That he wrote a lie-laden article, is not the reason either. If it were, there would be no five-star journalists left in India. Aatish Taseer is not eligible for OCI because his father was a Pakistani and on top of that, he concealed that fact. That a Hinduphobic Islamist’s OCI is being cancelled, is just a bonus – an unintended one.

Ayodhya verdict: Meerut police on high alert, former MLA and former minister ordered to stay away

OpIndia Staff
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Ayodhya verdict: Meerut police on high alert, former MLA and former minister ordered to stay away

As the nation waits for the Ayodhya verdict before CJI Gogoi retires on November 17, police in various states, especially UP has been on high alert and intensifying preparedness to tackle any situation of violence, communal tension and unrest.

As per a report in Amar Ujala, the Meerut police have ordered a former MLA and a former minister to stay away from the district for the time being. In total, ten people with some history of instigating violence have been ordered to stay away from the district for now. They have been told that they will be arrested immediately if they are seen in the district on the day of the verdict.

Sources said that the former MLA and the former minister who has been ordered away from the district are Yogesh Verma and Yakun Qureshi respectively.

For maintaining peace and security, the district has been divided into 8 sectors and 31 zones. As per police sources, 1250 police personnel, five companies of PAC and 1 company of RAF have been deployed in the district. 200 extra personnel have been requested.

Read: Ayodhya verdict: Maharashtra police forms special cyber cell, Bhopal police too orders social media restraint on communally sensitive messages

Several sensitive areas have been put under CCTV surveillance. Cyber cells have been activated to keep an eye on social media messages while special crime branch teams and surveillance teams have been activated too.

The Meerut police have also conducted meetings with Army officials to ensure co-operation and help when needed. ASP Ajay Sahni has confirmed the eviction notice sent to ten persons, including the former MLA and former minister. He has added that adequate law and order arrangements have been made for any untoward situation over the verdict.

As per a Times of India report, the top officials of Indian Army’s West UP Sub Area Command had held a meeting with Meerut’s IG, SSP and SPs along with DMs of the range yesterday. The meetings were held at the West UP Sub Area Command’s headquarters. The Army has agreed over cooperations in traffic management, management of clinics and law and order maintenance.

Writer Aatish Taseer’s OCI card to be revoked as he had concealed the fact that his father was Pakistani citizen

OpIndia Staff
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Writer Aatish Taseer’s OCI card to be revoked as he had concealed the fact that his father was Pakistani citizen

Ministry of Home Affairs has said that writer and journalist Aatish Taseer is ineligible for getting an OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card, as he had concealed the fact that his father was of Pakistani origin. The ministry also rebutted a Print report alleging that the union government is considering revoking Taseer’s OCI card after he had criticised Modi government in an article published in the Time magazine.

MHA tweets on Atish Taseer

In a series of tweets posted by the official Twitter handle of the spokesperson of Home Ministry, the ministry said that the Print article is devoid of any facts. The spokesperson tweeted that while submitting the PIO (Person of Indian Origin) application, Aatish Taseer had concealed the fact that his late father was of Pakistani origin. Taseer was given the opportunity to submit his reply/objections regarding his PIO/OCI cards, but he failed to dispute the notice. “Thus, Mr. Aatish Ali Taseer becomes ineligible to hold an OCI card, as per the Citizenship Act, 1955. He has clearly not complied with very basic requirements and hidden information,” the MHA said.

As per section 7A(1) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, OCI card is issued to those people who are citizens of another country, but previously were Indian citizens at any point of time in past after the Indian constitution came into effect, or were eligible to become India citizen, or children of such persons.

Aatish Taseer
Section 7A of Citizenship Act

This section 7A(1) specifically states that if any person or either of their parents or grandparents or great grandparents is or had been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or any other country as notified by the government, such persons would not be eligible for getting the OCI status.

Read: NYTimes columnist Aatish Taseer displays Hinduphobia in full glory, speaks the language of the very Islamists who killed his father

Moreover, section 4 of the citizenship act, which deals with citizenship of persons born outside India, has the following provisions: for persons born between 26th January 1950 and 10th December 1992, a person born outside India will be eligible for Indian citizenship if such person’s father was an Indian citizen at the time of birth. For persons born after 10th December 1992, if either of the parents is Indian citizen than the person can get Indian citizenship.

Atish Taseer
Section 4(a) of the Citizenship Act

Aatish Taseer was born in London on 27th November 1980. His father was Pakistani politician and businessman Salmaan Taseer, while his mother is Indian journalist Tavleen Singh. As Aatish was born outside India before 10 December 1992, he becomes ineligible to become an Indian citizen as per section 4 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, because his father was Pakistani citizen at the time of his birth in UK. If he was born after that date in 1992, he would be eligible for Indian citizenship as his mother is Indian.

Aatish Ali Taseer’s father was Pakistani citizen, he was never an Indian citizen, and was never eligible to become Indian citizen as per law, therefore he is not eligible to obtain the OIC card as per the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

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