Home Blog Page 6065

Delegation of opposition leaders accompanying Rahul Gandhi sent back from Srinagar airport

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delegation of opposition leaders accompanying Rahul Gandhi sent back from Srinagar airport

A delegation of opposition party leaders who had accompanied former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on his visit to Jammu & Kashmir has been sent back from Srinagar. They were not allowed to leave the airport and were made to return within an hour of their landing.


The delegation included leaders from the Congress, CPI-M, CPI, RJD, NCP, TMC and DMK. From the Congress party, Ghulam Nabi Azad, K.C. Venugopal and Anand Sharma accompanied Rahul Gandhi. Apart from them, CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D Raja, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, LJD’s Sharad Yadav, TMC’s Dinesh Trivedi, NCP’s Majid Memon, RJD’s Manoj Jha, and JDS’ D K Reddy were also part of the delegation. Congress President Sonia Gandhi had skipped joining the delegation.

The opposition leaders were visiting the valley despite a request from the Jammu & Kashmir administration to not visit the valley as the security forces are busy trying to protect the people from terror attacks, cross border terrorism as well as attacks by militants and separatists. The administration also said how there are restrictions in certain parts of the valley and the political leaders going there would violate these restrictions and they could add inconvenience to other people.

Some ‘liberals’ celebrate Arun Jaitley’s death, call him fascist, claim he had ‘blood on his hands’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Some ‘liberals’ celebrate Arun Jaitley’s death, call him fascist, claim he had ‘blood on his hands’

On the auspicious occasion of Janmashthami, former Union Finance Minister of India Arun Jaitley breathed his last. After a life filled with stellar achievements, he passed away peacefully in AIIMS, New Delhi. While the nation is mourning the loss of a cherished leader, ‘liberals’ and Pakistanis appear to be in a particularly celebratory mood.

They don’t have much to celebrate these days, therefore, they have been reduced to celebrating the passing away of Hindutvavadi politicians. They had engaged similar behaviour on the death of former Union Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj too, and they are treading the same path now.

A columnist at The Quint and The Hindu, one who goes by the name Quentin Tarantulino on Twitter, said that he ‘loves’ it when ‘fascists’ die. For those unaware, Leftists consider everyone to the Right of Chairman Mao to be fascists.


According to ‘Tarantulino’, the deaths of ‘fascists’ could not come sooner.


Baba Glocal, feted by the internet ‘liberal’ community, called Arun Jaitley a ‘piece of shit’ and said he had no sympathies with ‘Hindu supremacist neo-Nazi flag bearers’.


According to Glocal, Arun Jaitley was one of the few people who could defend ‘Nazism in perfect English’.


Swain, meanwhile, was a bit more cryptic on this occasion rather than his usual vitriolic self. But his sentiments were fairly obvious.


Another person opined that Arun Jaitley cannot be excused, he had blood on his hands apparently.


Others insinuated that Arun Jaitley wasn’t really a good person because he ‘supported’ a fascist.


There were some others who said calling Jaitley ‘dignified’ is a stretch and he was a Modi-Shah ‘clone’.


It appears to be a regular pattern following the death of any BJP leader. The common decency of not tarnishing the memory of honourable men on the occasion of their demise is not one that is accorded to politicians of a saffron hue by self-styled liberals. During such moments, one is forced to ask, “What can men do against such reckless hate?”

PM Modi conferred with Order of Zayed, UAE’s highest civilian award in Abu Dhabi

OpIndia Staff
-
0
PM Modi conferred with Order of Zayed, UAE’s highest civilian award in Abu Dhabi

Prime Minister Modi today was conferred with Order of Zayed award, UAE’s highest civilian award in Abu Dhabi. Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan presented the award to PM Modi.


UAE had conferred the honour upon PM Modi in recognition of his contribution towards improving the bilateral ties of the two countries.

It is notable here that PM Modi visiting UAE and receiving the Order of Zayed will be a matter of strategic importance for India as our western neighbour Pakistan has been trying desperately hard to rally the Islamic nations of the world against India.

UAE was one of the first nations to extend support to India and declare that the decisions regarding Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir are India’s internal matter.

PM Modi has received the highest civilian honours from many countries including Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Maldives and Afghanistan. He has also received the prestigious Seoul Peace Prize and the ‘Champions of the Earth’ award by the United Nations last year.

No shortage, no overpricing: Srinagar administration dismisses rumours of medicine unavailability in Kashmir

OpIndia Staff
-
0
No shortage, no overpricing: Srinagar administration dismisses rumours of medicine unavailability in Kashmir

After the government’s decision to strip Article 370 and bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two UTs, some media outlets and individuals have made it their primary job to spread rumours and misinformation to incite violence and protests.

Yesterday, leftist propaganda website The Wire had published a report suggesting that there is a shortage of life-saving medicines in Kashmir. In the article titled “Kashmir Running Short of Life Saving Drugs as Clampdown Continues,” it suggested that local drug shops have run short of supplies in Srinagar district.

However, Shahid Choudhary, District Magistrate of Srinagar, had quoted The Wire’s story and tweeted, “All concerns and worries are deeply appreciated but we were not low on medical stocks even for a single day. No interruption in supplies. Still open to help individual cases, if any.”

Today the district administration of Srinagar has again dismissed social media posts claiming that due to ‘high demand and low supply’, black-marketing of medicines is going up and costs are too high for many patients to afford.


A person named Kiran Verma had claimed in a Facebook post that the cost of medicines in Jammu and Kashmir has been skyrocketing and he and his friends will be taking medicines to Srinagar from Delhi.

Verma had further asked people to come forward and donate money to him so that he can ‘buy medicines for Kashmiri people’.

Srinagar Administration has clarified that though the spirit of helping the poor and needy is appreciated, there is neither shortage nor overpricing of medicines in Kashmir. It further stated that in the last 20 days, medicines worth 23.83 crores have reached end retailers, which is slightly higher than the normal monthly average.

The government along with local administration have ensured that while the restrictions are in place, there is no shortage of food, medicines, commodities or services in Jammu and Kashmir.

BJP veteran Arun Jaitley no more, his achievements will be remembered for a long time to come

K Bhattacharjee
-
0
BJP veteran Arun Jaitley no more, his achievements will be remembered for a long time to come

Former Union Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley today passed away in New Delhi. After suffering from cancer for a considerable amount of time, the BJP leader breathed his last in AIIMS, New Delhi.

Although his life was cut short too soon by the disease, his achievements during his political career will be remembered for a long time to come. Together with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah, he laid the foundations for a New India.

Over time, an aura has developed around the Modi-Shah duo. But in reality, it was never a duo, to begin with. It has always been a ‘trio’ with Jaitley as the third arm. It is widely known that Jaitley was the ‘go-to’ man for Narendra Modi on a wide range of affairs.

Despite having the trust of the top two leaders of the BJP, Jaitley hasn’t always been liked much by the party’s followers. Perceived to be too close to the Lutyen’s cabal, he became a convenient fall-guy for supporters who weren’t too pleased with certain aspects of government policy. It was convenient to blame Jaitley and make him the scapegoat for the government’s perceived failures.

However, Narendra Modi has amply demonstrated throughout his political career that loyalty is one virtue he treasures most. Considering the ups and downs in his own life, perhaps there was no other choice left to him. Amit Shah and Narendra Modi are known to share an almost brotherly relationship. In that order, despite his supporters’ inclinations, Jaitley was treated in high regard by the Prime Minister himself and was one of his trusted lieutenants.

At crucial moments, when Modi needed support the most, Jaitley always stood by him like a rock. And not just Modi, he was a great friend of Amit Shah as well. Jaitley handled the legal issues of both of them when they were being hounded by their political enemies. When Shah was barred from entering Gujarat via a Court order, he was a regular feature at Jaitley’s residence for lunch. When stalwarts within the BJP opposed Narendra Modi’s Prime Ministerial candidature, it was Jaitley who emerged as his strongest supporter and problem solver. During his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi relied heavily on Jaitley to be his eyes and ears in Delhi.

While his ideological commitment has often been questioned by prominent leaders within the BJP itself, his political career is in stark contrast with the picture his detractors want to paint of him. Rising through the ranks of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), of which he was a President during the 1970s, he has been a member of the National Executive of the BJP since 1991. He was also the President of the BJP’s Youth Wing and was appointed the secretary of its Delhi Unit in 1980. Thus, he has been associated with the party in significant positions through its initial rise, the unexpected collapse and then its subsequent stellar rise to utter dominance in Indian Politics under Narendra Modi.

Unlike many others in the political arena but what appears to be a feature of the BJP, Jaitley is a completely self-made man. He rose through the ranks to become a dominant power player in the corridors of New Delhi. During the Emergency, he spent 19 months in jail due to his commitment to civil liberty. Later, he was appointed the Additional Solicitor general by V.P. Singh during which he played a role in assembling the papers that led to the investigation into the Bofors scam. During the Vajpayee government as well, Jaitley served as the Union Minister and did a commendable job.

During Narendra Modi’s first tenure as Prime Minister, Jaitley was one of his staunchest and most eloquent defenders. Be it the Rafale deal or taking on the ‘tyranny of the unelected’ Judiciary, Jaitley served the government very ably. While his detractors might crib about his tenure as Union Finance Minister, it appears quite obvious to neutral observers that he was working within the guidelines issued to him by the Prime Minister himself. Given the strategic objectives that he was no doubt given by Modi himself, he set out to achieve them in the fashion he thought was best.

It can be very well argued that he did succeed in his endeavour. While great emphasis was always put on the agricultural sector and social welfare schemes, Jaitley succeeded in maintaining the fiscal deficit at manageable levels. Inflation was so low during the entire first term of the NDA government that it became completely a non-issue. Strategic economic reforms such as Demonetization and the GST were also introduced during his tenure as Finance Minister, reforms that will have great impact for the years to come.

A man of unique talent, Jaitley became an important player in the corridors of Delhi through his own capabilities, rose through the ranks from the ABVP to becoming the Union Finance Minister, went to jail for his political beliefs, was a staunch supporter of Narendra Modi and a trusted friend of Amit Shah since their Gujarat days, furthered Modi’s legitimacy as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the party. And yet, his loyalty was regularly questioned by people, often from his own party. He acquired great prominence in the corridors of power and yet, he never actually won a major election.

Jaitley had his own follies and vices as well, surely, but the defining feature of his political career was loyalty. If there was one word that could describe his public life in its entirety, it is Loyalty. He was suave, eloquent, measured, charming, but above all, he was Loyal. He may have had great connections with the Lutyens world and was certainly great at networking, however, he used his great communication skills for the welfare of his own party.

His untimely demise would no doubt have a considerable impact on the Prime Minister and the current Home Minister not only on the professional front but also on a personal level. The great rapport that the three of them shared is evident given their history together. It is also a testament to their relationship that Narendra Modi visited Jaitley personally when the latter expressed his desire to not continue to be part of the government in any form.

Jaitley served the country and the party for a great number of years and made great contributions towards altering the entire political dimensions of the country. And he did so without hankering for credit. He was a loyal servant of his country and his party. And now, his watch has ended. Om Shanti.

Bareilly: Janmashtami procession stopped, devotees attacked by stones

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Bareilly: Janmashtami procession stopped, devotees attacked by stones

Communal tensions prevailed in Bareilly district’s Baheri tehsil on the occasion of Janmashtami. In Makri Nacada village, people from the Muslim community started pelting stones at devotees during a procession to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgV8PGP-JcE]

As per reports, the procession was delayed and started after 3 pm in the afternoon as it was Friday to avoid any confrontation with the Muslim community as they have their weekly public prayers on that day. However, the moment the procession reached the Muslim dominated area, the people from the Muslim community allegedly stopped them and told them to turn back.

It led to an argument between the two communities during which people from the Muslim community suddenly started pelting stones at the devotees. After scampering for a while, the devotees, too, fought back with stones. 10 people were injured in the process, from both communities.

The Police reached the spot after being informed and tried to quell tensions. Investigation is being carried out into the matter and those who indulged in stone-pelting will be booked and action will be taken against them. It is being said that processions on the occasion of Janmashtami have been carried for the past three years but this is the first time that it led to communal tensions.

Former Union Minister Arun Jaitley passes away in Delhi

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Former Union Minister Arun Jaitley passes away in Delhi

Former Union Minister Arun Jaitley passed away in Delhi today.

AIIMS statement on former Finance Minister Arun jaitley passing

He was admitted to AIIMS in Delhi since August 9 after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness. He had been suffering from a prolonged illness.

Frustrated Pakistani Army now wants Shah Rukh Khan to pay attention to them

Sanghamitra
-
0
Frustrated Pakistani Army now wants Shah Rukh Khan to pay attention to them

Calling Pakistan a parody nation is fast becoming an insult to the word itself. Pakistan is where all logic, reasoning, common sense and human intelligence come to die. Parody needs some level of wit and sarcasm, but Pakistan is that abyss of lunacy that probably their own neurons keep blowing themselves up like their suicide bombers.

After crying themselves hoarse over India’s internal decisions regarding abrogation of Article 370 and reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan got zero attention and zero sympathies from the United Nations, the Muslim countries and their imaginary friends in the world, Pakistan, its army, its media and its political leaders have been internalising their frustration. But the frustration levels are so high, it keeps spilling out of their neuron-less brains into their social media rants and media statements.

Major General Asif Ghafoor, the official spokesperson of the Pakistani army who thinks it is his patriotic and religious duty to be a Twitter troll, has now directed his ranting towards Shah Rukh Khan and his upcoming Netflix series.

One would expect that an official spokesperson of an army, however sad and pathetic that army may be, should be focused on strategic affairs and crucial information, but Pakistan being the global anomaly zone when the rules of the universe get flipped into grotesque anomalies on their own, Ghafoora (as he is popularly known) has found it perfectly ok to beg for attention from a Bollywood star.


Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan had on August 22, shared the trailer of the upcoming Netflix series Bard of Blood, starring Imran Hashmi and Shobhita Dhulipala. The trailer shows a group of 3 Indian spies going on a secret mission to some undeveloped desert region where a band of terrorists are running wild.

For some inexplicable reason, Ghafoora took offence at a band of desert terrorists being shown as the bad guys. Whether that is an admission of guilt or some deep-rooted identity crisis in his psyche, it is not clear, but offended he has been. He has also asked Shah Rukh to “stay in Bollywood syndrome”, again for some unknown reason because Bollywood is exactly where Shah Rukh lives and works but then, it is Pakistan and it is Ghafoora, so let us cut poor Ghafoora some slack.

Then, Ghafoora asks Shah Rukh to see the reality in Kulbhushan Yadav, Abhinandan and 27 Feb. I became slightly surprised at the spark of honesty but then realised, Ghafoora was not admitting their failure, he genuinely, honestly believes that the incidents he has listed down somehow show Pakistan’s superiority. Let us discuss a bit:

  1. Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case has been taken to the ICJ where the ICJ ruled in favour of India, granted India consular access and halted the death sentence awarded to Jadhav by Pakistan’s shoddy military court. While Pakistan had grudgingly offered to grant India consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav after the ICJ order, the External Affairs Ministry had rejected it as it came with riders. Pakistan may delay the procedure, but any harm to Jadhav will now result in a global condemnation for Pakistan and as PM Modi has proven, will not go without ruthless punishment.
  2. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s capture and the images of locals beating him are used by Pakistanis as some kind of self-appreciation. But they forgot that their military HAD to keep him safe and unharmed. Pakistan had desperately hoped to use Abhnandan as a bargaining chip, even they had begged for bilateral dialogues to start by claiming that they would return him but India refused to budge. Abhinandan’s ramrod straight gait and sheer courage at the face adversity made him an instant star in India. And Pakistan had to escort him back to Wagha Attari border soon. If anything, the Abhinandan episode should put Pakistanis to shame, but then, they are a country that finds pride in selling donkeys to China, so, let’s not expect anything much.

The fact that WC Abhinandan had blown up a Pakistani F-16 from his vintage Mig-21 Bison will be the stuff of AirForce legend for decades to come, but Pakistan is, well, Pakistan.

3. 27 February witnessed a dogfight between Indian and Pakistani air force. While India lost a Mig-21 Bison and its Pilot had to parachute into hostile territory, Pakistan lost an F-16. While Abhinandan was celebrated, awarded and hailed in India as a hero, the unfortunate Pakistani pilot was not even named or remembered by the country he gave his life for. Pakistan never even bothered to own their dead fighter.

Yes, Pakistani jets did try to venture into India, but they were chased back. Unlike 26 Feb, when Indian fighter jets flew deep inside Pakistan and bombed a terrorist camp in Balakot, Pakistan could do nothing, all they achieved was global humiliation.

Reduced to the status of international beggars, Pakistan has in the last few weeks begged for attention from literally anyone, only to be ignored and shooed away. Facing insult after insult, they have now started to direct their frustration at Bollywood celebs. Their minister for Human Rights (yes, they have one, we were shocked to find out too) had begged the UNICEF to delist Priyanka Chopra as a UN Goodwill ambassador, now Ghafoora wants SRK to pay some attention to his whining. Ghafoora may next beg Kamal R Khan to mention him in one of his popular movie reviews.

Ghafoora is offended by desert terrorists being shown in Indian TV as bad guys. As a bold move against India, Ghafoora might as well motivate the Pakistani Army to make their own web series where desert terrorists will blow themselves up joyfully in their quest for 72 Pakistani women in Pakistani heaven.

Their news anchor Kiran Naz will make a spectacular female lead in that web series. Her passionate meltdowns are already very popular in India.


For all the behavioural anomalies and neurological malfunction, Pakistanis do seem to be consuming some potent narcotic. That is the only explanation for the blissful self-satisfaction displayed by its people at the face of utter ruin.

Despite restrictions, delegation of opposition leaders to go to Jammu & Kashmir

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Despite restrictions, delegation of opposition leaders to go to Jammu & Kashmir

A delegation of opposition leaders including former Congress President Rahul Gandhi will visit Jammu and Kashmir to ‘verify’ government claims that things are normal in the valley following the abrogation of Article 370. Earlier this month, the government had fully integrated the state as part of India and bifurcated it into two union territories, Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir.

The opposition leaders are visiting the valley despite a request from the Jammu & Kashmir administration to not visit the valley as the security forces are busy trying to protect the people from terror attacks, cross border terrorism as well as attacks by militants and separatists.


The administration also said how there are restrictions in certain parts of the valley and the political leaders going there would violate these restrictions and they could add inconvenience to other people.


Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also part of the delegation going to Jammu & Kashmir, said “On one hand Govt says situation is normal, and on the other hand they don’t allow anyone to go.Never seen such contradictions. If things normal then why political leaders are under house arrest?”

NCP leader Majid Memon, who is also part of the delegation said that the opposition leaders’ motto is not to create disturbance in the valley. “We aren’t going in government’s opposition, we are going in government’s support, so that we too give suggestions as to what must be done,” he said.

The opposition leaders’ delegation consists of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, KC Venugopal, CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D Raja, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, LJD’s Sharad Yadav, TMC’s Dinesh Trivedi, NCP’s Majid Memon, RJD’s Manoj Jha and JDS’ D K Reddy.

From ‘Modi doesn’t let us’ to ‘have faith in Centre’, U-turn Kejriwal is suddenly on reverse gear

OpIndia Staff
-
0
From ‘Modi doesn’t let us’ to ‘have faith in Centre’, U-turn Kejriwal is suddenly on reverse gear

If there is someone who has learnt from Congress’ disastrous performance in the recently concluded 2019 general elections, it is Aam Aadmi Party. With state assembly elections just few months away, AAP has changed its tune and how!

First came Arvind Kejriwal’s support to abrogation of Article 370. The entire opposition, especially the left has been up in arms on Government’s decision to make Jammu & Kashmir an integral part of India without any riders. However, Arvind Kejriwal, supported the government’s decision.


This came as a huge surprise since following the abrogation of Article 370, the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir was bifurcated into two union territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir, with J&K to have its own assembly, much like Delhi, but Centre still has a say in it, much like Delhi. Kejriwal also got a lot of flak for his support to government’s decision.

Then, last week when former Finance Minister P Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI and ED for his alleged involvement in INX Media Scam, Kejriwal has not uttered a word against the investigative agencies. He, unlike his peers in the opposition, has not termed the move a political vendetta. He has maintained silence. Prior to the elections, the CBI had raided Samajwadi Party leaders and various bureaucrats while investigating the illegal sand mining case. Kejriwal had then called it ‘shameless’.


Not a word on Chidambaram arrests from Kejriwal, yet.

And as if all that was not enough, in a shocking move, Kejriwal even extended support to the Centre and said that he has ‘absolute faith’ that the central government will take strict measures to revive the economy.


He even said that his Delhi government will even cooperate to overcome it. Well, elections are round the corner and if there is one learning from Congress’ performance it was perhaps that negative campaigning against PM Modi ends up working in his favour and leads to a humiliating defeat. AAP has only one MP in the Lok Sabha and it is quite unlikely that he AAP will get 66 out of 70 seats in Delhi assembly in the upcoming elections.

In the past, the Delhi Chief Minister has picked a bone quite a few times with the Delhi Lieutenant Governor. So, perhaps to save some seats and in a bid to perhaps crawl through the majority mark, Kejriwal seems to have cut down on the rhetorics and anti-Modi tirade. No wonder he has gone from ‘Modi doesn’t let us‘ to ‘we have faith in Modi’.

1...6,0646,0656,066...7,573Page 6,065 of 7,573