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Indian flag will be unfurled in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir soon: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

OpIndia Staff
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Indian flag will be unfurled in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir soon: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

On Thursday, Union Minister Jitendra Singh asserted that days are not far off when it will be possible to unfurl the Indian flag in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

Speaking at an event to rename Chenani-Nashri tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir, Minister Jitendra Singh said that he has faith that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the day is not far off when it will be possible to unfurl that tricolour or ‘Nishan’ for which Shyama Prasad Mukherjee sacrificed his life in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

The 9 km-long Chenani-Nashri tunnel, which was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi in 2017 has been renamed after former BJP stalwart Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Minister Singh said that due to “some compulsions” in 2017, the tunnel could not be named after Mukherjee.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh credited Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari for accepting the proposal of renaming the tunnel after Shyama Prasad Mukherjee without wasting time.

Singh also noted that 66 years ago on May 11, 1953, Mukherjee was arrested from Lakhanpur in an illegal manner without any FIR, charge sheet or warning and was taken to Srinagar through this Chenani-Nashri road. After Mukherjee’s death on June 23, 1953 his mother wrote to then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to hold an enquiry into his death.

“For some reasons then Prime Minister Nehru did not pay heed to that letter, no enquiry was done. It is a new era now. It was Nehru government then, today it is the Modi government. That probe or lapse can not be compensated but this tribute for the coming generation will preserve his heritage and memory. The lapse on part of Nehru government has been atoned by Modi government,” he said.

The Modi government’s decision to rename the tunnel comes over two months after the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370.

Also Read- ‘Pakistan was split after 1971 war, don’t repeat 1971 mistake, else you understand what will happen to PoK’: Rajnath Singh warns Pakistan

Jitendra Singh’s recent statement is just a reiteration of his stand on the issue of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. Earlier in September, Jitendra Singh had said that the day was not far when Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) will be a part of India.

The decision to abrogate Article 370 provisions was taken to restore the position of Jammu and Kashmir as it was when handed over by its last ruler Maharaja Hari Singh, he said.

“The abrogation of Article 370 will benefit the common man of Jammu and Kashmir, ending their exploitation. The day is not far when the PoK will be a part of India,” he had said at an event to mark the birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh.

The Chenani–Nashri Tunnel was built at the cost of Rs 2,600 crore. The tunnel, bypassing snow-bound upper reaches, reduces the journey time by two hours and provide a safe, all-weather route to commuters travelling from Jammu and Udhampur to Ramban, Banihal and Srinagar.

The Shyama Prasad Mukherjee tunnel is a single-tube bi-directional tunnel, with a 9.35-metre carriageway, and a vertical clearance of 5 metres. There is also a parallel escape tunnel, with ‘Cross Passages’ connecting to the main tunnel at intervals of 300 metres.

The tunnel has features such as an integrated traffic control system, surveillance, ventilation and broadcast systems, fire fighting system and SOS call-boxes at every 150 metres.

Celebrating India’s women power on Diwali: PM Modi’s ‘Bharat Ki Laxmi’ initiative gets support from Deepika Padukone and PV Sindhu

OpIndia Staff
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Celebrating India’s women power on Diwali: PM Modi’s ‘Bharat Ki Laxmi’ initiative gets support from Deepika Padukone and PV Sindhu

Indian film actress Deepika Padukone and ace badminton player PV Sindhu have come forward as the torchbearers of PM Modi’s ‘Bharat Ki Laxmi’ initiative.

PM Modi had encouraged people to share the stories of inspiring women in their society and neighbourhood who have struggled through odds to set an example for others. In a video, actress Deepika Padukone and Shuttler PV Sindhu also appealed to people to welcome Diwali with sharing the inspiring the stories of India’s ‘Laxmis’, who have enlightened the lives of others with the hashtag #BharatKiLaxmi.

“Societies grow when women are empowered and their accomplishments are given a place of pride! I support PM @narendramodi ji #BharatKiLaxmi movement. It celebrates extraordinary achievements of extraordinary women of India. This Diwali, let’s celebrate womanhood,” said the world champion Sindhu in her Tweet.


Reacting to the same, PM Modi on Twitter replied to Sindhu’s message and wrote that ‘our ethos has always taught us to strive for women empowerment.’


PM Narendra Modi had kickstarted the auspicious festival of Navratri with a strong message for women empowerment on September 29. During the 57th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of ‘Bharat Ki Laxmi’ campaign on Diwali to highlight the contributions of the women of the country.

The video features, apart from Deepika and Sindhu, many other women who had brought a positive change in the society through their endeavours. Social workers Sindhutai Sapkal, Kallaripayattu teacher Meenakshi Gurukal and many others.

The ‘Bharat Ki Laxmi’ campaign is aimed at honouring women, who have made a mark with their achievements in various fields for the public good. On Diwali, Goddess Laxmi is welcomed in homes as it is believed that she brings prosperity and happiness, Modi said. Daughters are considered as Laxmi in our culture. Can’t we felicitate daughters in our villages and cities by holding public programmes? he suggested in his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio address.

“There are several daughters, daughters-in-law who are doing exceptional work … some are teaching poor children, some are spreading awareness about health and sanitation. Many are serving as doctors, engineers … as lawyers, they are helping in the delivery of justice. The society can identify such daughters and honour them across India,” he furthered in his radio address. “Encouraging Bharat ki Laxmi means strengthening the path to success of the country and its people,” the prime minister said urging the citizens to honour women’s achievements.

The hashtag is already trending and many social media users have been sharing the amazing stories of ordinary women, who have struggled through odds to inspire and help others, bringing happiness and prosperity for the society.

Yesterday, addressing Karyakartas of the BJP from Varanasi ahead of Diwali, the Prime Minister suggested that along with celebrating the auspicious occasion of Diwali, people should celebrate ‘Bharat ki Laxmi’ as well.


He said that there will be one girl in our neighbourhood who must have accomplished a certain feat. He suggested that through ‘Bharat ki Laxmi’, we honour the daughters of our country.

As Fadnavis becomes 1st CM to complete 5 year tenure in 47 years, here is the history of Maharashtra politics and its 23 CMs

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Devendra Fadnavis is all set to become the Maharashtra chief minister for the second time in a row. The BJP-Shiv Sena is poised to comfortably secure victory in the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections and form the next government.

Devendra Fadnavis had recently completed his full five-year term, the first in 47 years for any chief minister from Maharashtra to do so. He will be only the second chief minister from Maharashtra after Vasantrao Naik to achieve this feat.

Since the state of Maharashtra came into being in 1960 after Bombay was split into two states- Maharashtra and Gujarat, it has seen twenty-three chief ministers in its nearly 60 years of existence with the latest CM being Devendra Fadnavis.

Initial years:

Following the creation of the Maharashtra state in 1960, late Congress leader Yashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan was elected as the first chief minister of the state. However, in 1962, after the resignation of then defence minister VK Krishna Menon, Chavan was called by the Nehru government to serve as Defence Minister.

YB Chavan was replaced as chief minister by Congress leader Marotrao Kannamwa, who became the second chief minister of Maharashtra from 1962-63, who held office for little over a year. He died while being in the office. The then Maharashtra home minister PK Sawant was made the chief minister for 10 days as a stopgap arrangement until a suitable candidate for the post was found.

Senior Congress leader Vasantrao Naik became the chief minister of the state on December 1963 and served for nearly three-and-a-half years till March 1967 to complete the term of the second Maharashtra assembly. The Congress party led by Vasantrao Naik went into elections in 1967 and secured a thunderous victory, making him the chief minister of the state for full five years till 1972.

Naik, who hailed from Vidarbha has the unique distinction of becoming the first and only Maharashtra chief minister to finish his full term of five years. In 1972, as incumbent chief minister, Naik led another successful election campaign for the party and became Maharashtra CM for the third time.

The Emergency Years:

At a time when Indira Gandhi imposed emergency in 1975, the politics in the state took a slight turn towards caste politics as the then Prime Minister replaced Naik with Maratha leader Shankarrao Bhavrao Chavan, who was considered to be a trusted loyalist to Mrs Gandhi. SB Chavan continued to serve the state as Chief Minister till a couple of weeks after Emergency was lifted in 1977, following Indira Gandhi and her party’s massive defeat against the Janata Party.

The era of Maratha politics:

Vasantdada Patil, who was the irrigation minister in SB Chavan’s cabinet, replaced him as the chief minister of the state. Patil, who was considered as one of the true mass leaders of the state, continued to be the chief minister till 1978 when the state went to polls yet again.

The Congress which just had a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Janata Party in the 1977 general elections, now faced severe internal rebellion. Following the results of the state elections in 1978, a split occurred in the Congress party and Vasantdada Patil headed Congress (Indira) camp and formed a coalition government. The other rebel faction was known as Indian National Congress (Socialist), which was led by Devraj Urs, an influential Karnataka politician and Chief Minister.

However, difference began to erupt within the Congress party which led to the ousting of Patil by none other than a 37-year-old young man, who later went to become one of the most influential politicians of the country – Sharadrao Govindrao Pawar. 

The young lawmaker from Baramati – Sharad Pawar, broke away from the Congress party by joining hands with Congress (Socialist) and engineered defections in the Patil government before walking away with 40 MLAs. He then formed the Progressive Democratic Front government with the Janata Party’s support.

However, Sharad Pawar’s first stint as chief minister lasted for almost a year-and-a-half before the state was put under President’s Rule for the first time in 1980. Soon, elections were called after Indira Gandhi came to power in Centre. The Congress was back in power by securing 186 seats out of 288 assembly seats.

The Congress party elected its first Muslim chief minister in 1980 when Abdul Rehman Antulay was given the responsibility of the state. Two years later, Antulay had to resign as chief minister after he was convicted by the Bombay high court on extortion charges.

A turbulent phase:

After the resignation of Antulay, the state saw some turbulent years with frequent change in the leadership of the state. As many as four Chief Minister led various government in a span of six years till 1988. PM Indira Gandhi chose Babasaheb Bhosale to succeed Antulay in 1982, who lasted just one year. Later, former Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil became the Chief Minister of the state in February 1983 for the third time. He continued till the 1985 elections.

After the seventh Maharashtra legislative elections in 1985, the Congress party chose to replace Patil once again. This time Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar replaced him, who went on to become the Chief Minister of the state for another 277 days. He had to resign in 1986 after the Bombay high court passed orders against him in connection with a scam related to medical exam results. 

After Nilangekar resigned in 1986, the Congress which was facing yet another crisis turned back to its old hand, SB Chavan to save the party from disaster. Chavan became the chief minister for the second time and lasted till 1988.

The rise of Sharad Pawar:

With the rise of regional parties like Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar returned to Congress (Indira) camp in 1987. In June 1988, the then PM Rajiv Gandhi decided to induct then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan into his Union Cabinet as Finance Minister and Sharad Pawar was chosen to replace Chavan as chief minister. Since then, Pawar continues to play one of the major roles in Maharashtra politics.

Read: Sharad Pawar had close links with Dawood Ibrahim: Ex R&AW officer NK Sood

In the state assembly elections of February 1990, the alliance between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party posed a stiff challenge to Congress. The Congress party led by Sharad Pawar fell short of an absolute majority in the state assembly, winning 141 seats out of 288. Pawar, who was keen to consolidate his position as the most influential Maratha leader joined hands with 12 independents to become the chief minister for the third time.

With the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, Sharad Pawar raised his ambitions and set his eyes on the post of Prime Ministership in 1991. Pawar mounted an ambitious, failed bid to become prime minister. PV Narasimha Rao became the Prime Minister of the country and Pawar was made defence minister in his cabinet.

Following Pawar’s elevation to the centre, low-key Congress leader Sudhakarrao Naik, a nephew to former chief minister Vasantrao Naik elected as the chief minister of Maharashtra. During the tenure of Naik, communal riots took place in Mumbai in late 1992. Criticised for his inability to stop the riots, Naik resigned in 1993 paving way for Sharad Pawar to return back to state politics. Pawar became the chief minister of the state for the fourth time, holding the post till elections in 1995.

Shiv Sena- BJP and the coming of coalition politics:

The 1995 elections in Maharashtra opened up a new chapter in the state politics as for the first time a coalition government headed by a non-Congress party rose to power. The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won 138 out of the 288 assembly seats. The elections were also the first elections that held in the state after the incidents of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition in Uttar Pradesh, the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai and the communal riots in the state.

Manohar Joshi of the Shiv Sena became the first non-Congress chief minister of Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance also had support from a bunch of independents. Joshi’s ruled the state for four years before resigning after he was accused in a land scam. Joshi was replaced by party colleague Narayan Rane.

The Congress returns:

The Congress returned to power in Maharashtra after winning the 1999 elections. Interestingly, Sharad Pawar was no more associated with the Congress party as he was expelled from the party for proposing the idea of a native-born being the prime ministerial candidate of the country post-1999 elections and not the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, who had just become the party president replacing Sitaram Kesri.

In 1999, Sharad Pawar formed his new front – Nationalist Congress Party. Despite quitting the Congress party, Sharad Pawar aligned with the Congress party to form a coalition government in Maharashtra post-1999 state assembly elections to prevent the Shiv Sena-BJP from returning to power.

However, Sharad Pawar never returned to state politics thereafter but rather concentrated in consolidating his newly built party NCP. The Congress-NCP alliance chose Vilasrao Deshmukh, MLA from Latur as the state’s new chief minister. NCP leader Chagan Bhujbal was made his deputy. Deshmukh ruled till 2003 after an internal rebellion broke out. To contain the factionalism, he was replaced by another Marathwada leader, Sushil Kumar Shinde.

Sushil Kumar Shinde became Maharashtra’s first Dalit chief minister of the state. Under his leadership, the Congress party went into the 2004 state assembly elections. The Congress returned to power in both the state and centre, which led to Shinde moving to the Centre. Shinde later went on to become the governor of Andhra Pradesh.

Vilasrao Deshmukh was once again installed as chief minister, who ruled from 2004 to 2008. However, Deshmukh had to resign following the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

The Congress party then chose Ashok Chavan, son of the former Maharashtra CM Shankarrao Chavan. Chavan who was then known for his “clean image” replaced Deshmukh and led the party in the 2009 assembly elections. In 2009, the Congress-NCP alliance retained power for the third straight time. Ashok Chavan was re-elected as the chief minister for the second time. However, he had to resign from the post following the Adarsh housing society scam.

Prithviraj Chavan, who was a minister in Manmohan Singh government was elected as the Chief Minister of the state. Chavan, another leader from Marathwada stayed as chief minister for the next four years. Later, Prithviraj Chavan had to resign from his post after the NCP broke its alliance with the Congress before the 2014 assembly elections.

The Fadnavis years:

The Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena fought the 2014 state elections separately along with other smaller coalition partners including Republican Party of India (Athavale), Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha. The NDA coalition won a resounding victory with securing almost two-thirds of the vote in the state assembly.

Read: India Today misrepresents election results, claims Congress-NCP is ahead of BJP and Shiv Sen in Maharashtra 

Devendra Fadnavis, a 44-year-old four-time MLA became the second-youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 2014. In 2019, Devendra Fadnavis successfully completed his full five-year term and also became the first chief minister to do so in 47 years.

In 2019, the BJP-SS alliance fought the Maharashtra state elections under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis. The NDA coalition is currently leading in more than a majority of seats and is expected to form the next government in Maharashtra.

All independent MLAs in Haryana in touch with BJP, may support to form government: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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All independent MLAs in Haryana in touch with BJP, may support to form government: Reports

The results of the Haryana assembly elections have been declared and BJP has emerged as the single largest party in the state winning 40 seats, while Congress grabbed 31 seats. The JJP won 10 seats, seven seats have been won by the independent MLAs.

Haryana Lokhit Party and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) have also won one seat each.

The half-mark is 46, a magic-figure no party have crossed yet. However, BJP, which emerged as the single largest party, has claimed to form the government with the support of independent MLAs.

A News 18 report has claimed that all 8 independents are in touch with the BJP and are willing to offer support to form the government in the state. The independent MLAs including Rajit Chautala along with HLP member Gopal Kanda confirmed their support to BJP.


On Thursday, Gopal Kanda and independent MLA Ranjit Singh from Rania assembly seat have already met BJP President JP Nadda yesterday and offered support. They were flown to Delhi by BJP MP Sunita Duggal.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar will be meeting the party’s senior leadership and discuss the way forward in the wake of the BJP needing the support of a few MLAs to form the government during his meeting in Delhi.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is closely watching developments in Haryana, as the party also have sent reportedly sent feelers to Dushyant Chautala, which has secured ten seats in this election. The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader Dushyant Chautala and his MLAs are travelling to Delhi for a meeting to decide on which party to support in order to form the next government in the state.

Falsely accused of harassment and molestation by AAP member Jasleen Kaur, Sarvjeet Singh finally acquitted by court

OpIndia Staff
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Falsely accused of harassment and molestation by AAP member Jasleen Kaur, Sarvjeet Singh finally acquitted by court

Sarvjeet Singh, the man who was accused of harassment, obscene remarks and molestation at a Delhi traffic signal by AAP member Jasleen Kaur in 2015, has finally been acquitted by the court. Singh shared the news through a Facebook post and thanked the people who believed him and stood by him when the entire social media had declared him a criminal just on the basis of the Kaur’s words.

Activist Deepika Bharadwaj shared Sarvjeet Singh’s post and stated that Sarvjeet has been acquitted of all charges by the court after four long years of trial.


Sarvjeet Singh has been attending trials for four long years. Jasleen Kaur did not attend trials for three years. After missing 14 trial dates in the court, she had made her first appearance in December last year. She had claimed that she was away because she had ‘academic commitments’ in Canada.

The Case

On August 23, 2015, Jasleen Kaur, a student of Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and an AAP member had posted a photo of Singh at a traffic signal and had claimed that he had passed obscene comments at her and had threatened her as she tried to click his photo.

Read: Top Lies spread by Indian Media in August 2015

Kaur’s Facebook post had gone viral within hours. Sarvjeet Singh, however, had commented on Kaur’s photo identifying himself as the guy in the viral post and had stated that he was innocent and it was Jasleen who had threatened him when he had declined to follow her directions to jump the traffic signal.

Singh was soon arrested by the police. As the case got highlighted as another example of the harassment that Delhi girls face every day, celebrities and politicians also joined in to congratulate Jasleen as a brave young lady. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had also applauded Jasleen.

Kejriwal’s Tweet on Jasleen Kaur, image via India Today

Kaur has become an instant celebrity. As per aanIndia Today report, Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi had announced a reward of Rs 5000 for Kaur for her ‘bravery’.

Eye witness claim

Soon after Sarvjeet’s arrest and eye witness examinations, the case started falling flat. Vishwajeet Singh, who was present at the location, stated that Sarvjeet was innocent and it was, in fact, Jasleen who had verbally abused and misbahved with Sarvjeet. Kaur had again taken to social media to claim she was right and the eye witness accounts were false.

The Trial

For all these years, Sarvjeet Singh had dealt with the stigma of being the harasser. In 2016, he had again appealed to the people through a social media post, detailing how it was so easy to falsely accuse a man of harassment and how it is wrong to paint someone a victim and another person a harasser just on the basis of their gender.

Read: Perils of living in the age of instant outrage by media and social media

He also stated that he had lost many job oppurtunities beause his face has become ‘famous’ as that of a harasser and he could not even travel outside Delhi without informing the police.

Media hype and consequences

Almost all media channels had jumped in instantly to paint Sarvjeet as a pervert and a criminal. Social Media users had also widely shared Jasleen’s post and other related posts, instantly declaring Sarvjeet as a pervert. As the truth started becoming clear, it slowly became one of the cases where ‘trial by media’ totally ignored the truth and falsely branded someone as guilty. Times Now was even ordered to apologise and pay a fine by NBSA for their incessant coverage of the case wrongly protraying Sarvjeet as guilty before the courts did.

US President Donald Trump cancels subscriptions of ‘fake news’ Washington Post and New York Times

OpIndia Staff
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US President Donald Trump cancels subscriptions of ‘fake news’ Washington Post and New York Times

Taking the fight to media for their propaganda against him, US President Donald Trump has cancelled his subscription of the New York Times and the Washington Post. The White House is also planning to instruct federal agencies to not renew their subscriptions.

According to the reports, on Thursday, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that the decision to not renew subscriptions across all federal agencies will be a significant cost saving for taxpayers – “hundreds of thousands of dollars”.

Read: Human Rights Watch publishes a report on ‘violent cow protection’ based on faulty data, NYTimes peddles it further

However, it is not yet clear if the cancellation will apply only to print subscriptions or also their digital versions. Interestingly, the White House has decided to portray it as a cost-saving decision.

In an interview, President Trump had said, “We’re going to probably terminate that (the Times) and The Washington Post. They’re fake”. US President has also called them the “enemy of the people” in the past.

Read: In opposing Narendra Modi, progressives at Washington Post reveal they are a mirror image of the ‘AltRight’

President Trump often refers to two controversial publications – New York Times and Washington Post as “failing Times” and the “Amazon Post” respectively. However, the NYT is an immensely profitable company and the Washington Post is owned by Amazon founder and owner Jeff Bezos but is not affiliated to Amazon, the company.

Read: NYT’s racism and elitism is full display after the Indian company opens Manufacturing unit in the US

The two controversial news publications – NYT and Washington Post have always shared a tough relationship with the US President. Donald Trump has always deemed these publications as hostile to him and his administration, along with CNN, whose Jim Acosta had his White House press credential briefly cancelled, until the court restored it to him.

Read: Washington Post publishes ‘Rising hate in India’ story based on fake data

Donald Trump is not the first US president to ban a news publication from the White House. Reportedly, President John F Kennedy had too stopped the delivery of The New York Herald Tribune in 1962, unhappy with its coverage of him.

Not just in the US, the two left-leaning publications – Times and Post have been forefront at peddling pro-Pakistan and anti-Hindu narrative through their platforms to target the current Indian government. The two publications have often given space to anti-India elements to express their hatred towards the current dispensation, which was evident in their recent reportage after the Narendra Modi government successfully abrogated Article 370.

Read: Hey, New York Times, F**k you, again

Angered by the pro-Pakistan propaganda peddled by its communally coloured reports after the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, members of Kashmiri Pandits had even protested against Washington Post over their biased reportage on Kashmir. The protesters had alleged that the prominent US daily was only giving “one-sided and biased coverage”.

NDTV anchor lies blatantly in a bid to discredit Assam’s two-child policy for govt jobs, says CM Sonowal has 6 kids himself

OpIndia Staff
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NDTV anchor lies blatantly in a bid to discredit Assam’s two-child policy for govt jobs, says CM Sonowal has 6 kids himself

In a bid to stabilise the state’s population growth rate, the Assam Cabinet decided to bar people with more than two children from having government jobs in the state after January 1, 2021. The two-child norm was already implemented in the state for Panchayati Raj and Municipal body elections, and now the same has been extended to state government jobs. While reporting this decision, NDTV anchor Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor chose to lie profusely and spread fake news in order to discredit the Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbanand Sonowal.

NDTV Anchor Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor, while reporting the news of the two-child norm for government jobs in Assam claimed that while people with more than two children will not be eligible to get a government job in Assam, the Assam Chief Minister, Sarbnand Sonowal himself has 6 children.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpAcsMSZQ9Q]

In a rather theatric manner, Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor tells her viewers that “The interesting bit in this is that the Chief Minister himself has 6 kids, but he has decided to finally implement this two-child policy”.

This video was also shared by NDTV on micro-blogging website Twitter but now seems to have been deleted by NDTV.

Read: As ISRO loses contact with Vikram Lander, NDTV journalist arrogantly yells at the scientist

The truth, however, could not be far from this. Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal does not have 6 children. In fact, the Chief Minister of Assam is not married and leads a single life.

Tweet by NDTV that has now been deleted

The anchor who blatantly lied on NDTV is not indulging in spreading such canards for the first time.

In 2018, NDTV published and shared news on their social channels with the headline, “Assam BJP Lawmaker’s Nephew Not On Citizen’s List, Says “It Happens.” The story carried a photograph of BJP MP Bijoya Chakravarty and Jaydip Phukan, who is a resident of Guwahati. Jaydip had taken to Twitter to assert that his name indeed does appear on the NRC list and he is not the nephew of the BJP MP.

Jaydip also wrote an official mail to NDTV, asking them to immediately retract his image from the irrelevant news published by them. He also tried to contact Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor, the writer of that particular article, to make the necessary corrections, but she was unavailable, said Jaydip.

Former Union Minister P Chidambaram to celebrate Diwali 2019 in Tihar Jail

OpIndia Staff
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Former Union Minister P Chidambaram to celebrate Diwali 2019 in Tihar Jail

Congress stalwart and former Union Minister P Chidambaram will celebrate this year’s Diwali festival with the inmate of Tihar Jail as the court has extended his Enforcement Directorate’s custody till October 30.


Seeking extension of Chidambaram’s custody, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asked for further custody arguing that the Congress minister needs to be confronted with documents showing beneficial ownership of his family members.

Representing Chidambaram, senior advocate Kapil Sibal pleaded that his client is not doing well and should be sent to Hyderabad for treatment. However, Mehta replied back saying that he can be treated in AIIMS in Delhi. Special CBI court judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar ordered the extension of custody of P Chidambaram while directing his health check-up be done at AIIMS, Delhi.

Read: Chidambaram celebrates birthday in Tihar jail, tweets ‘May God bless this country’

Earlier in the week, P Chidambaram had a temporary reprieve after the Supreme Court granted bail to the beleaguered leader in the CBI case. The order that was delivered by a bench of Justices R Banumathi, AS Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy, instructed him not to leave the country without permission. The court also asked Chidambaram to submit a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties of like amount each.

P Chidambaram has been in custody since August 21 and is currently lodged in the Tihar jail. He is under the scanner of CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in the INX Media case in which he is accused of misusing his position as India’s finance minister and granting several clearances to the INX Media company.

Is the headquarters of DMK mouthpiece Murasoli built on land occupied from Dalits?

Suren
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Is the headquarters of DMK mouthpiece Murasoli built on land occupied from Dalits?

Recently, S. Ramadoss, the Founder of Pattali Makkal Katchi, which is currently part of the electoral alliance between the AIADMK and the BJP, had alleged that the headquarters of the DMK is situated on Panchami lands, which cannot be legally occupied by anyone other than people from scheduled caste communities.

This is a fairly large parcel of land situated in the heart of the Chennai city, on the arterial Mount Road. The property includes offices of the DMK party channel, Kalaignar TV and the party’s media organ Murasoli. There are spacious halls which are let out for marriages, meetings and functions at lucrative rates.

After Ramadoss raised this allegation, DMK President M K Stalin, issued a response saying that he is willing to produce the sale deed and documents of the property, which date from 1985. Senior BJP functionary Tada Periyasamy recently issued a sharply worded rejoinder on Facebook that the original documents dating from the 1923 Permanent Register, RSR ( Re-settlement Paisal Register ), SLR (Settlement Land Register) and the Gazette Copy from 1935 were the documents that could conclusively prove that the land is part of Panchami lands. He said that land originally belonged to Dalits which were later transferred to non-Dalits.

He also demanded Mr Stalin to produce relevant documents and prove his party’s claim. Further, Periyasamy also said that the land which was originally allocated to a Dalit on a non-transferrable basis was transferred illegally to two non-Dalits and the DMK acquired it only in the 4th transaction from the original allotment.

PMK chief Ramadoss claimed that the site had a hostel for Adi Dravidar students and demanded to know why the DMK president M. K. Stalin was silent on that factor. He said that DMK is showing only a patta of 1985, but silent on ownership papers earlier than that.

Also Read- Maridhas and the DMK: A Tamil David against the Dravidian Goliath

In the meanwhile, gossip is doing the rounds that Thirumavalavan, leader of the Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi, a DMK alliance partner had raised the same claim when they were not part of the alliance. An old YouTube video was produced as evidence. The video has since been removed, so we cannot confirm the veracity that Mr Thirumavalavan ever made such a claim.

Today the Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said that his government will conduct an inquiry into Panchami land issue.

What is this panchami land?

In 1891, the then Collector of Chingleput District in the erstwhile Madras Presidency J. H. A. Tremenheere had conducted a study on the situation of the Depressed Classes, as Scheduled Castes were then known. He concluded that one of the causes of systemic oppression and backwardness was that these castes were landless agricultural labours. To remedy this situation, the British administration had allocated nearly 12 lakh acres of land across the province to Depressed Classes under the Depressed Classes Land Act of 1892.

These lands could not be sold or transferred for a sum and the title would vest with the original allottees and their descendants alone.

However, in a very short period of time, it was found that very few of these lands were still in the possession of original allottees. Since the 1950s, successive Dravidian leaders have made promises to claim the Panchami lands for the Scheduled Castes. This had even figured in the DMK’s 2006 state election poll manifesto.

It is in this context that the allegation that one of the oldest social justice movements in the country could actually be squatting on land allocated for landless labourers seems so paradoxical.

Chief Minister of Maharashtra to be decided after meeting with the BJP: Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray

OpIndia Staff
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Chief Minister of Maharashtra to be decided after meeting with the BJP: Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray

The fate of Devendra Fadnavis as the Maharashtra Chief Minister hangs in the balance as Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said in a press conference today that the new chief minister of the state will be decided after consultation with their alliance partner BJP.


Citing a pre-poll agreement with the BJP, Thackeray said that based on the 50-50 formula agreed upon, inter-party discussions should be held and on that basis, Chief Minister of the state would be decided.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said that in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, he and BJP president Amit Shah had hammered out a “50-50 formula” based on which the two parties had agreed to select the next chief minister of Maharashtra. Uddhav Thackeray said, “It is now time to remind everyone about the formula and implement it.”

While Thackeray did not divulge the modalities of his party’s agreed formula with the BJP, he did say that if need be, Home Minister Amit Shah will himself come to get the things sorted. Rumours are rife that the agreement between the two frenemies was about sharing the chief ministerial position for a period of 2.5 years. There are also rumours that say that the 50-50 formula may allude to the equal number of ministries in the cabinet for the two parties.

The Shiv Sena-BJP is currently hovering around 160 mark, maintaining a comfortable majority required to form a government in the 288-member Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha. As per latest data on EC website, BJP was winning and leading in 103 seats, while it was 56 for Shiv Sena.

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