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Pro-AAP blogger Dhruv Rathee tries to expose BJP spokesperson, exposes his own low IQ

OpIndia Staff
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Pro-AAP blogger Dhruv Rathee tries to expose BJP spokesperson, exposes his own low IQ

Pro-AAP blogger and self-proclaimed ‘activist’ Dhruv Rathee, who is notoriously known for propagating fake news, has yet again faced an embarrassing situation on Sunday after he tried to ‘expose’ BJP spokesperson but ended up displaying his ignorance.

On Saturday, Sanju Verma, the BJP – Mumbai Chief Spokesperson, responding to the manufactured outrage carried out by a handful of ultra-left wing activists after officials cut down few trees near the Aarey Forest in the Mumbai, posted a tweet asserting that Maharashtra government under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had planted nearly 24 crore trees in last three years. Further, she also stated a few facts in relation to the increase in 253 square metres of tree cover and 82 square kilometres of mangroves in Maharashtra in the last three years.


In her tweet, Sanju Verma just re-iterated the facts that were stated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the floor of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on June 28, 2019.

Fadnavis had stated that Maharashtra had planted 24 crore trees across the state in the last three years. He had also stated that Forest Survey of India has declared Maharashtra as the only state which has registered a growth in forest cover in past years.

However, the pro-AAP blogger Dhruv Rathee who has a complex relationship with comprehending facts decided to launch a sexist jibe at Sanju Verma and asked her to post the satellite images of those ‘trees’ which were planted earlier. Dhruv Rathee’s low intelligence was exposed after he sought satellite images of saplings which have been planted in last 3-4 years.


That saplings take about 15-20 years to grow into trees is a fact that is lost on Rathee. Further, he also forgets that Maharashtra is spread over 3,07,713 sq kms and is the third largest state in terms of area. Those 24 crore saplings would be spread out and not concentrated in a garden outside Rathee’s apartment.

In a hurry to discredit the developmental efforts being taken up by the Maharashtra government, Dhruv Rathee became an object of ridicule after he displayed his ignorance on such trivial scientific issues. Perhaps, Dhruv Rathee thought ‘restoration’ efforts meant the actual relocation and replantation of an already uprooted tree.

Moreover, Maharashtra government, which has an ambitious project of planting 50 crore trees in five years has directed various authorities involved in plantation drive to submit proofs including images taken by drones where such saplings are planted.

With such understanding on conservation efforts, Rathee may have believed that large trees were planted at various places, which according to Rathee should be visible through satellite images.

This is not the first time that Aam Aadmi Party propagandist Dhruv Rathee has been caught after propagating half-truths and fake news. He was caught lying and making fake claims on Adani Group after he had tweeted an image of a forest in Chhattisgarh claiming that Prime Minister Modi ‘sold off’ 1,70,000 hectares of most dense forest in India to Adani.

After being threatened with legal action by the Adani group, Rathee deleted his tweet.

Rajasthan: 14-year old Dalit girl sexually harassed, video-filmed, three accused arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: 14-year old Dalit girl sexually harassed, video-filmed, three accused arrested

In yet another horrific incident, three youths have been arrested for sexually harassing a 14-year-old Dalit girl in front of her cousin and recording the shameful act on camera. The incident which had taken place 10 days ago in Karuali, Rajasthan came to light only on Saturday when two video clips, shot by the accused, went viral on social media.

According to the reports, the minor Dalit had gone to a temple located atop a hill with her cousin, when four to five unidentified youths confronted them. The accused thrashed her cousin despite the minor girl begging her attackers to let them go. One of the youths took out his mobile phone and began recording the entire incident while one of the accused sexually harassed the girl by removing dupatta and asked her to undress.

The horrific video was soon shared on social media which caused a flutter resulting in Rajasthan police taking cognizance of the offence. The police took notice of the video clips and SHOs were directed to identify the place of crime and track down the girl.

Later, the Rajasthan Police arrested three accused who sexually harassed the Dalit minor girl. DIG (Bharatpur) Lakshman Gaur said that an FIR was registered and the girl’s statements have been recorded. “Three accused visible in the video clip have been arrested by Karauli police. We are interrogating them in order to find the whereabouts of other suspects,” he said

An FIR under Section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 506 (criminal intimidation), 354B (Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) of the IPC, IT (Information Technology) Act, SC/ST Prevention of atrocities act, and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO).

Karauli SP Anil Beniwal said that all the three were picked up from Kotey Manchari village near Kaila Devi temple in Karauli. Another police official stated that initially, the victim girl had not come forward to state that she was raped as she feared the accused may upload the video online.

The Karauli incident appeared similar to the horrific case of gang-rape reported from Kausambi recently. In a deplorable incident, on 21st September, a 15-year-old minor Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped and filmed by three men in Ghosia village of Kaushambi district that falls under Saray Akil police station, near Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

Three accused, Mohammad Adil alias Chhotka alias ‘Aatankwadi’, Mohammad Adik alias ‘Badka’, and Mohammad Nazim, were soon arrested. In a video of the gang-rape that has gone viral, the girl can reportedly be heard saying, “Allah ki kasam, mere saath mat karo (for Allah’s sake, don’t do this with me).” Amidst screams and desperate cries, the helpless girl kept begging for mercy but was brutally raped by three men.

In another incident, in Rampur, a Dalit woman was raped at gunpoint in and the video was uploaded on social media. While one accused Abdul was arrested, another Naved was absconding.

We tried reaching the Karauli police station to seek further information on the incident. However, there was no response from the police officials. The story will be updated soon.

A year after Supreme Court judgement, union government launches eco-friendly green crackers ahead of Diwali

OpIndia Staff
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A year after Supreme Court judgement, union government launches eco-friendly green crackers ahead of Diwali

To allay the concerns of air pollution, which particularly emanates during the Hindu festival of Diwali, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Saturday launched eco-friendly green firecrackers, which have been manufactured in India.

According to the reports, the Union Minister announced that Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) labs have been successful in developing various environment-friendly fireworks such as sound-emitting crackers, flowerpots, pencils, chakkar and sparklers. The festival of lights, Diwali, will be celebrated in India on 27th October this year.

“I am very happy that on one hand, we would be using eco-friendly crackers this Diwali, and, on the other hand, our traditional festival celebrations with lights and firecrackers shall remain intact. Millions of homes which are dependent on the sale and manufacture of fireworks will also rejoice this festival, thanks to our scientists!” he said.

Union Minister Harsh Vardhan also launched the green crackers manufactured by licensee-manufacturers. He also informed that a green logo as well as a Quick Response (QR) coding system has been developed for differentiation of green crackers from conventional crackers.

“Emissions testing facilities for the new firecrackers have been set up at CSIR-NEERI as well as their approved National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration (NABL) facilities whose list is available at CSIR NEERI website. Further, a Raw Materials Compositional Analysis (RACE) facility has been launched in Sivakasi to facilitate manufacturers for testing their raw materials and chemicals,” said Vardhan.

The Health Minister stated that due to the ban that had been imposed as per the orders of the Supreme Court, there was a threat of imminent closure of the entire fireworks industry. However, Science has once again come to the rescue of the common man and millions of jobs have been saved due to the interventions made by our scientists.

Praising the effort of CSIR in developing green crackers, the Minister informed that nearly 165 fireworks manufacture have been roped in and around 65 more manufacturers are in the process of coming on board.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) had said the newly developed crackers, by its own assessment, would reduce particulate matter pollution by 30%. Further, the organisation has signed agreements with 230 companies to manufacture and make them available for sale.

In 2018, just before Diwali, the Supreme Court had banned manufacturing of polluting firecrackers and ruled that only green crackers with reduced emission will be allowed to be sold in the country in order to control the pollution level. The apex court had also restricted the time that crackers could be burst on Diwali and police officials were tasked with enforcement.

Pakistanis announce infiltrating India by crossing the LoC en masse to ‘liberate Kashmir’, Imran Khan says ‘No, it will upset narrative’

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistanis announce infiltrating India by crossing the LoC en masse to ‘liberate Kashmir’, Imran Khan says ‘No, it will upset narrative’

Hundreds of Pakistanis have gathered near the LoC, in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) ready to infiltrate India for a ‘Freedom March’, two months after the Indian government abrogated Article 370 which gave separate status to erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Separatist group Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Yasin Malik’s supporters have organised this ‘rally’ which is to start from PoK and cross the LoC.

According to Pakistani media reports, hundreds of ‘protestors’ gathered in Muzaffarabad in PoK and are planning to cross over LoC and reach Srinagar. JKLF spokesperson Rafiq Dar was quoted by Pakistani news agencies as saying the Pakistanis have all the ‘legal rights’ to cross over the LoC because they “do not recognise the division of Kashmiris”. He even appealed to Pakistani troops to allow them to infiltrate.

As per reports, as many as 500 people including 50 women have gathered at PoK, ready to cross the LoC, with total number of ‘peaceful marchers’ pegged at 3,000.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan took to Twitter to urge his citizens to not ‘play into the hand of Indian narrative’ by crossing the border.


He said that infiltrating India en masse will only ‘divert narrative’ from the Kashmiris struggle and it will be labelled as ‘Islamic terrorism’ driven by Pakistan. Reminding his fellow brethren that India will not shy away from striking and even attack across the LoC if need be, Khan urged the separatists to back off.

Dar, meanwhile, is quite adamant of crossing over the LoC and reaching Srinagar. Pakistani authorities are claiming that they have taken strict security measures to ensure no such incident takes place. However, it remains to be seen how effective it is since there have been instances in the past when Pakistani security forces have actively aided cross-border terrorism and infiltration across the LoC.

Election Commission approves CM Devendra Fadnavis’ nomination form amidst frivolous allegations by Congress

Dhaval Patel
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Election Commission approves CM Devendra Fadnavis’ nomination form amidst frivolous allegations by Congress

The Election Commission today approved Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis’ nomination after Congress leader Ashish Deshmukh had demanded it be cancelled alleging Fadnavis had used an expired notary.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis had filed his nomination papers with the Election Commission on 3rd October 2019 from the Nagpur South West seat. He was accompanied by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari during the nomination.

Yesterday, Congress leader Ashish Deshmukh filed an objection with the State Election Commission against nomination filed by Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis stating that the notary stamp attested on Fadnavis’ affidavit had an old stamp dated December 28, 2018. Deshmukh who is contesting on Congress ticket against Devendra Fadnavis.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis’ nomination

Deshmukh has claimed that is that the notary’s license had expired and hence the nomination filed by Devendra Fadnavis for the upcoming Assembly elections ought to be cancelled on the grounds that the affidavit was incorrect.

Following this, the CM’s representative submitted before the EC that the said notary’s license had been renewed and that when he notarised the CM’s affidavit he was holding a legal and valid license. The same was accepted by the Election Commission.

EC order
EC order

Apart from this 2 more objections were raised against the nomination of CM by Aam Aadmi Party candidate and one Satish Uke. These two were also rejected by the EC.

The opposition parties should would be better off fighting elections on legitimate issues and points instead of wasting efforts in getting the candidature of CM Devendra Fadnavis cancelled on frivolous grounds and wasting the EC’s time in such a high voltage election season.

Rapists asked the girl to plead in name of Allah: Read the horrifying details of Kaushambi rape case where a minor Dalit girl was gang-raped

OpIndia Staff
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Rapists asked the girl to plead in name of Allah: Read the horrifying details of Kaushambi rape case where a minor Dalit girl was gang-raped

On September 21, a 15-year-old minor Dalit girl who had gone to an adjoining field to procure some grass was gang-raped and filmed by three men in Ghosia village of Kaushambi district that falls under Saray Akil police station, near Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh.

The accounts of the horrific incident which further emerged are bound to send a chill down one’s spine. The deplorable act was executed in broad daylight, was video recorded and circulated which eventually went viral on the internet.

The accused, Mohammad Adil alias Chhotka alias ‘Aatankwadi’, Mohammad Adik alias ‘Badka’, and Mohammad Nazim, are behind bars. They have been booked for gangrape and criminal intimidation and under the Scheduled Castes (SC) Atrocities Act and Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Swati Goel Sharma, a journalist associated with Swarjaya Magazine went to the victim’s village to dig deeper into a gangrape that has sent shock waves across the country.

The victim belongs to the Pasi community, which though having the numbers yet remains marginalised in that area which is dominated by Muslims as they are considered the higher caste as they are rich and own property and agricultural land.

Victim’s ordeal:

The victim, who sat in the house with her mother, with her face covered with a stole recounted the horrific incident. She said that the accused were strangers to her. She avoids going to the field alone but that day, she was running late and missed the other girls, she recounted.


“I was cutting grass using a sickle. These men came from behind and covered my mouth with hands. They threatened to kill me and forced themselves on me,” she said. When she pleaded them to leave her for Bhagawan’s (god’s) sake (“hamne kaha bhaiya bhagwan ke liye chhod do”), the men told her to plead in the name of Allah instead.

They, however, did not spare her even when she did.

The 2-minute-13-second video that went viral shows Geeta (name changed) pinned to the ground and a man, who has been identified as Mohammad Adil alias ‘Chhotka’ alias ‘Aatankwadi,’ holding her.

A man making the video, identified as Mohammad Nazim, isn’t visible but can be heard talking throughout.

“Allah ki kasam khaake main kehti hun, aisa mere saath mat karo bhaiya… (I swear in Allah’s name, don’t do this with me, brother),” victim is heard saying in the video.

“Tu galti kar rahi hai. Hum log nahi hote to kam se kam bees ladke ikattha hote aur tere baap ke paas le jaate…(You are making a mistake. Had we not been here, at least 20 men would have raped you and taken you to your father),” one of the men says.

“Aapki behan beti hai na, bas karo…(you have sisters and daughters, stop it),” Geeta says, and further pleads, “Bhaiya mere saath mat karo, ab to jao, aapke haath pair jodti hun (Brother, don’t do this with me. Go at least now, I fold my hands and beg you).”

“Allah ki kasam khaati hun… (I swear in Allah’s name),” she begins again.

Adil interrupts her and tells her he needs only two more minutes. The other man declares it’s his turn now. At this point, Geeta begins to scream. The video shifts and eventually stops.

Accused’s neighbour blames the victim’s community for the rape:

One of the accused’s neighbour named Nabiullah who agreed to speak about the incident, said it is the victim’s community’s fault she got raped. A tailor by profession and something of authority at a local mosque, he said that he knew all the three accused personally. He, however, but lied about their age stating it way lower than it actually is.


The neighbour said that Nazim and Badka are ‘innocent’ who have been wrongly framed. Insisting that they were trapped, Nabiullah went on the audaciously defend the incident by calling the gangrape an act of “naadani”- that is, silliness- and blamed the Pasi community for trapping the men. “Ye hua hai unki badtameezi se, wo Pasi log (it has happened because of bad behaviour by Pasis),” he said.

He furthered blamed the victim and said that it was the girl who called them to the spot. “If the girl didn’t call them, why had they gone?” he asks.

On being asked whether he was suggesting that the men did no wrong, Nabiullah said: “No, they have indeed done wrong. Just that they could not understand.”

The police’s apathy in handling the case:

Major lapses on the police’s part had also come to the fore. The station house officer (SHO) of Sakai Akil police station, Manish Pandey, has been suspended. Action has also been taken against two constables, Ramnath Yadav and Dilip Gupta, and they have been sent to district lines.

As recounted by the victim’s family, after one of the accused, accused Nazim was caught and thrashed by the villagers and taken to the Sarai Akil police station around 12 pm, SHO Pandey present at the police station, refused to hear them and instead made Nazim and the girl’s father sit in a room.

According to the victim’s mother, Nazim was made to sit on a chair while the victim’s father on the floor. The victim’s father was also allegedly beaten up by the police. It is believed that the rape video was shared before the phone was given to the police for custody.

Villagers recollect that after seeing the police’s callousness, they even approached the chairman of Sarai Akil Nagar Panchayat and proceeded to meet Sanjay Gupta at his Janata durbar, but to no avail. They then approached an activist couple who led the villagers to the police station at around 4 pm by which time SP Gupta had arrived.

He proceeded to visit the site of the crime and ordered the girl to be sent for medical examination. The first information report (FIR) was registered around 9.30 pm — more than nine hours after the crime. Victim’s parents, the activists and other villagers allege that SHO Pandey tried to cover up the case after taking bribe from the accused’s side.

However, according to Swarajya report, a local journalist gives a different explanation. He said that he was informed that a man was thrashed on suspicion of being a child-lifter. When he reached the police station, like many other journalists, he also assumed that Nazim was innocent and the victim’s father was one of the child-lifters or attackers. “It was quite later in the day that Pandey informed us that it was actually a case of gangrape,” says Dheeraj Pathak, 21, who is a Sarai Akik-based stringer for various news publications and channels.

While Nazim was caught red-handed by the villagers, the other two accused had managed to flee. A special investigation team (SIT) was formed and five teams began searching for the absconding accused. A prize of Rs 25,000 was announced on them. The police decided to invoke the National Security Act against the accused.

On September 25, Mohammad Adil was arrested after an encounter with the police in which he got shot in both legs. The police recovered a revolver and a motorcycle from him. Two days later, the third accused, Akib, was arrested too.

CPIM Politburo member shares fake news about BJP supporter who committed suicide over family issue, invokes NRC

OpIndia Staff
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CPIM Politburo member shares fake news about BJP supporter who committed suicide over family issue, invokes NRC

A BJP supporter and its star campaigner, Nibhas Sarkar, whose photographs dressed as Lord Hanuman went viral during BJP’s 2019 Lok Sabha campaign in Bengal’s Ranaghat in Nadia district had committed suicide over a family dispute on Thursday afternoon. The news of his unfortunate death was misconstrued by various social media users who rumoured that Nibhas committed suicide over the NRC issue.

A CPIM Politburo member, Md Salim representing Raiganj constituency in West Bengal, without feeling the need to verify the truth, today took to Twitter to peddle the same fake news about Nibhas’ death.

Md Salim took to Twitter to share fake news that Nibhas was amongst the 20 people who had committed suicide due to fear of NRC in Bengal.

SS of Md Salim’ Tweet

Despite several people asking him to provide proof regarding his claims, he did not bother. This rumour was also picked up by several others on the social media platform who lap up every given opportunity to berate the government.


Nibhas Sarkar, an RSS worker became popular on social media after Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh uploaded his photographs on Twitter during 2019 Lok Sabha campaign in Ranaghat constituency. According to a report by News18, the rumours on social media posts that Nibhas committed suicide over NRC issue, was ruled out by his brother Pralab Sarkar.

Tapas Ghosh, Mondal Sabhapati of Bagula, who came to know of Nibhas’ death from his brother on Thursday also confirmed that Nibhas told his brother he was fed up with his life before committing suicide. “He died on his way to a hospital at Krishnanagar. There was some family issue. His son is a doctor in Udaipur,” Ghosh said.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh also ruled out claims of NRC behind Nibhas death. “There are people who are spreading such misinformation on social media. We condemn this,” Dilip Ghosh said.

Families of martyred or disabled soldiers to get four times more money as compensation, Rajnath Singh sanctions proposal

OpIndia Staff
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Families of martyred or disabled soldiers to get four times more money as compensation, Rajnath Singh sanctions proposal

Union Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh today officially sanctioned a four-fold increase in the financial assistance provided to the next kin of battle casualties from existing Rs 2 lakh to Rs 8 lakh. The said the financial assistance will be granted under the Army Battle Casualties Welfare Fund (ABCWF).

Till now, Rs 2 lakh was given to battle casualties in case of death and also to those sustaining 60% and above disability besides several other categories. After the Defence Minister’s sanction, the families of the soldiers grievously injured or martyred in a battle will receive Rs 8 lakhs from ABCWF welfare fund.

Announcing the decision, a defence ministry spokesman said, “The defence minister has given in-principle approval to the enhancement of monetary assistance to next of kin of all categories of Battle Casualty from Rs two lakh to Rs eight lakh.”

This assistance is in addition to unrestricted family pension, financial assistance from Army group insurance, Army Welfare Fund and ex-gratia amount.

The ABCWF was established under Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (ESW) after a legion of people offered monetary assistance to the families of battle casualties following an incident in February 2016 at Siachen where 10 soldiers were buried in an avalanche. The ABCWF came into being in July 2017 and was put into action retrospectively with effect from April 2016.

There are other schemes, along with ABCWF fund for the welfare of the next kin of the soldiers martyred or critically injured in the battle. As per officials, alongside ABCWF, the already prevailing monetary grant includes ex-gratia for various ranks ranging from Rs 25 lakhs to Rs 45 lakhs and Army Group Insurance ranging from Rs 40 lakhs to Rs 75 lakhs.

Besides this, Rajnath Singh as Home Minister in the previous government, along with actor Akshay Kumar had launched the ‘Bharat Ke Veer’ initiative, a crowdsourcing portal providing a platform for citizens to donate for the welfare of the martyrs’ families.

Self-proclaimed ‘historians’ share 2018 report on rape accused Swami Chinmayanand to imply he is let off in the current rape case

OpIndia Staff
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Self-proclaimed ‘historians’ share 2018 report on rape accused Swami Chinmayanand to imply he is let off in the current rape case

Propagandists seemed to have embraced a devious pattern of passing off old news reports as latest ones without providing the context or disclaimer about the date and time of the event, possibly to plant seeds of doubts among their gullible followers against the current regime.

An old article from 2018 was shared without context by ‘historians’ and people associated with the Congress about rape accused ex-minister Swami Chinmayanand to show that the UP government has intervened in a bid to let him off the hook.

Irfan Habib, who is hailed as an ‘eminent’ historian in liberal circles today posted a tweet expressing his shame for the UP government’s decision to withdraw rape case against Swami Chinmayananda. However, Habib cunningly did not mention that the article is more than a year old from April 2018, neither did he bother to provide a disclaimer to his tweet about the obsolete article.

Irfan Habib’s tweet where a 2018 article is being passed off as latest.

The article shared by Irfan Habib was published on April 11, 2018 and was speculative in nature citing ‘sources’ which informed the news channel that the UP government is mulling to withdraw FIR against former MP Swami Chinmayananda. Not only is this incorrect in the current context, it also attempts to wrongly implicate the Yogi government as being complicit in extricating Swami Chinmayananda from the case.

In fact, as per latest reports, while the UP government had indeed written to district court for withdrawal of case, the same was rejected. According to reports, as of now, in the 2011 rape case, there is a non-bailable warrant issued against Chinmayanand on which he has gotten a stay from the High Court.

So not only is the news report shared by Habib of another case, but it is also dated.

The 2019 Chinmayananda case where the law student has accused him of rape has been quite muddled. The latest one being the rape victim arrested by the police on the charges of extortion and blackmail. The complex nature of case demands one to be sensitive while sharing select facts of the matter. However, ‘eminent’ historian Habib had no qualms in politicising a serious issue of rape to peddle his anti-BJP propaganda.

Another ‘eminent’ historian Rana Safvi too joined the list in spreading misinformation about Yogi Adityanath government’s alleged support to Swami Chinmayananda. Rana shared the same 2018 report, “hanging her head in shame”, almost after 18 months since the article was first publish while conveniently not mentioning the date of the article in her tweet.

‘Twitter historian’ Rana Safvi sharing out of context article

Soon after, vigilant social media denizens informed Rana that her outrage is mistimed as the article is from 2018, she pulled down her tweet stating that she didn’t read the year.


Professional Congress member Roman D’souza had shared about this report on September 29 on his Twitter page. Dsouza also took a jibe at PM Modi’s campaign “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” while sharing the misleading report.

Professional Congress fellow spreading misleading news

He then upped the propaganda by linking the old rape story to new one without putting out disclaimer that two are separate case.

Professional Congress fellow furthering the propaganda.

This is not the first time out-of-context news article is shared by propagandists to drive home an agenda. Yesterday, many propagandists tried to deceive people by sharing a 2-year-old news article about a Dalit man being beaten to death allegedly for attending a garba event, projecting as if the incident happened during the ongoing Navratri festivities.

It is bewildering to believe that such outdated reports are being shared by prominent personalities arbitrarily and not as part of a wider subterranean propaganda aimed at maligning the credibility of the BJP government. Perhaps, the hatred for PM Modi among these folks is so intense and deep that they do not even undertake a basic verification before posting the article that appear to portray the BJP government in a bad light.

Maharashtra assembly elections: The one-horse race

Ashutosh Muglikar
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Maharashtra assembly elections: The one-horse race

Devendra Fadnavis is bidding for his re-election as the CM of largest industrial state in India in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls which are set to be held in few weeks. He has recently completed a “Maha Jan Aadesh Yatra” across the state with spectacular show of mass turnout. This has definitely set Devendra Fadnavis as a mass leader. So what exactly is happening in Maharashtra? To know this, one has to look at the entire political career of Devendra Fadnavis and why I call the upcoming elections ‘the one horse race’.

The “Maharashtra Model” of Governance

Security and safety

When the incumbent CM came to power the state was reeling under a major security crisis. News was flowing in that a large number of youth were joining ISIS and some terror modules etc were unearthed as well. Apart from this the state had seen a number of bomb blasts and terror attacks which need no mentioning. Improving the state of security was priority number 1 for the government. After all Maharashtra is the largest contributor to India’s economy and this state needs to be safe to attract the kind of investments it does.

So what did the government do? Firstly, the basic infrastructure of the police force was modernised. They got pensions, housing, revamped police stations, computers and other equipment’s. The forensic labs were commissioned to improve crime detection. About a thousand police stations across the state were connected to each other which ensured data and information sharing was seamlessly done.

One major activity which was commissioned and completed was the Mumbai CCTV project and launch of Automated Multi-Modal Biometric Identification System or AMBIS which stores fingerprints, photographs and retinal scans of all the criminals. Result? Zero Terror attacks and the state was able to deal with the naxal menace as well.

Economy and Jobs

Be it the economy or job creation, the state has consistently outperformed the national averages by a mile. A favourable atmosphere for industries prevails in the state with tremendous leaps when it comes to ease of doing business numbers. The reforms like removal of archaic laws tying down businesses and launch of portals like “Aaple Sarkar” have helped businesses to save time and cost and increase efficiency. Invest in Maharashtra has reaped tremendous results with the state being Number 1 when it comes to attracting FDI. Access to electricity backed by supply of power and easing of coal supply has benefitted the industry tremendously. For setting up of new industrial units a single window clearance system was setup and it works like a breeze. IT and ITeS sectors were given special focus because they are good job generators.

Farms and Farmers

What many people don’t realise is that two big regions in one state, Marathwada and Vidarbha, are always reeling under severe drought and they have been long ignored by subsequent governments. Something had to be done for them and quickly.

The first move was to develop rural infrastructure for farms. The CM himself launched the Jal Yukt Shivar Scheme to develop small ponds to provide water for irrigation. The scheme has been a massive success. For the agri produce the state led from the front to unshackle the agriculture produce market commissions. That’s how the decades old control of the APMC was removed and the farmer could sell his or her crop at the choice of his location and price. Farmers in Maharashtra are enjoying the revamped insurance scheme, pension scheme and supply of farm essentials like fertilisers and equipment. Moreover the farmers are also getting access to electricity and solar pumps.

Apart from this the cold storage networks are being developed across the state, road infrastructure is giving market access and soil health cards and technological interventions are giving good decision making tools in the hands of the farmers. The state, like I said earlier, craves for water. It is single most essential requirement for the masses. The government has taken massive strides to ensure that water is available to all. Cities after cities are getting rid of the tankers because the Dam water management is now being run professionally. We have left behind the Ghose of the irrigation scams behind and taken strides towards the future.

People Centric Government

Ease of living should have always been an agenda for the any government. Unfortunately, that had to be a focus only in 2014. On a day to day basis the citizens do interact with the state machinery and delays in their work not only cause hardships but are a sore pain to the citizens. At the policy level the laws were passed and revamped making provision of services a right for the people and a duty for the government.

For implementing these ethos a portal named “Aaple Sarkar” was launched whereby 400 services across 39 departments are being provided online. This reduced time, cost and most importantly harassment and corruption for the citizens. To curb corruption and for bringing transparency in government offices, the work of all government offices is now digitized. People are getting relevant information and documents such as land record of farmers, through the internet and at free of cost.

Maharashtra has always been an urban state. Government is building 10 new smart cities which will provide ease of living to the people. Play grounds, parks and open spaces are being built via flexible FSI policy. These cities are within a network of expressways which are being developed and important cities like Mumbai- Jalgaon – Nagpur- Nanded – Solapur – Kolhapur- Ratnagiri and Pune are seeing never before scale of connectivity. A city needs an excellent and credible public transport system will be built which will create more employment opportunities for the youth.

Conclusion

The Government has focused on massively on education and youth development, women empowerment and public health. The state has invested in skill development and training centres. To ensure women safety special police squads have been setup. For working women, hostels have been revamped. This also benefits the vast population of women coming in from other states as well. There not a single section of society which has not been touched by the policies of this government. Every region and people of every strata have seen the honest efforts and commitment.

This is the single reason why I say that the upcoming elections are a single horse race and Devendra Fadnavis shall emerge as a winner.

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