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Bihar: Nurses of Araria hospital accuse Dr Javed Aalam of demanding sexual favours for clearing bills

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Nurses of Araria hospital accuse Dr Javed Aalam of demanding sexual favours for clearing bills

Nurses at the Jokihat Referral Hospital in Araria, Bihar have written to the District Magistrate alleging that the doctor is asking for sexual favours for clearing bills, a report in News18 says. The nurses have alleged that Dr Mohammed Javed Aalam has been telling nurses that they have to spend a night with him in order to get the necessary bills passed.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYAziXkg5so]

The nurses further alleged that Aalam, who is also the in-charge at the hospital, has been abusing them verbally and pressurizing them to generate money illegally through the hospital and deliver it to him. They further claim that they have been paying bribes ever since they started working at the hospital. It is also being claimed that Aalam has been threatening them.

The nurse in the video can be heard saying, “Are we his slaves? We work for the government, not for him.” She further says that Aalam said she will be forgiven for some unspecified transgression only if she sleeps with him for a night. Another nurse claims that she was told, “I will kick you and throw you out.”

As per reports, the Acting Chief Medical Officer at the Hospital, Dr M.P. Gupta, has said that investigations are underway in the matter. However, his approach to the issue didn’t appear too constructive.

Chidambaram hearing: ‘Don’t make false statements’, SG Tushar Mehta slams Kapil Sibal who accused prosecution of ‘handing over a note’ to HC judge

OpIndia Staff
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Chidambaram hearing: ‘Don’t make false statements’, SG Tushar Mehta slams Kapil Sibal who accused prosecution of ‘handing over a note’ to HC judge

The Supreme Court (SC) today gave protection to former union Home Minister P Chidambaram from arrest from Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the INX Media scam. The CBI as well as the ED matter will now be heard on Monday. Chidambaram will stay in the CBI custody till 26th August. While arguing for Chidambaram, former minister and another senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said that certain paragraphs in the Delhi High Court order were ‘cut and paste’ of a note handed over by Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta after the pleadings were over in the INX Media case.


However, coming down heavily on Sibal, Mehta told him not to make such false statements.

On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court had cancelled P Chidambaram’s anticipatory bail plea, paving the way for his arrest. Although ED and CBI sought to arrest him immediately after the HC order on August 20, they could not locate him.

Dismissing his plea, the Delhi High Court judge had called former finance minister Chidambaram as the “kingpin”, the key conspirator in the INX Media case.

Later next day, Former Finance Minister who was on the run following the Delhi High Court judgement appeared before the media in a press conference in the AICC headquarters.

Chidambaram was arrested late night on Wednesday by the CBI soon after he reached his Jor Bagh residence in New Delhi following his appearance at a press conference at AICC headquarters. The arrest came after high-intensity drama where CBI officials had to climb up walls to reach the senior Congress leader.

Meanwhile, Chidambaram’s counsel represented by senior Congress leaders Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and others had approached the Supreme Court seeking an urgent mentioning, but it was rejected.

Next day on Wednesday, the lawyers had approached the court of Justice NV Ramana, who sent the file to CJI saying he is not authorised to decide who will hear a case. As CJI Gogoi had already started hearing the Ayodhya case, it could not be presented before him. The plea also had some defected which delayed the case of Chidambaram, and it was decided that SC will take up the plea on Friday.

Currently, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram is in five-day CBI custody. A special CBI Court has granted CBI custody of former Union Minister for Finance and Home, P Chidambaram, in the INX Media case till August 26.

SC postpones hearing of Chidambaram plea challenging HC’s dismissal of anticipatory bail plea, to be heard on Monday

OpIndia Staff
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SC postpones hearing of Chidambaram plea challenging HC’s dismissal of anticipatory bail plea, to be heard on Monday

On Friday, the Supreme Court on hearing the plea of Congress leader P Chidambaram challenging the Delhi High Court verdict dismissing his anticipatory bail plea in the INX Media case ordered that the petition filed by P Chidambaram against his custodial remand by the CBI to be taken up on Monday.

The apex court fixed the hearing in the case against CBI on Monday, August 26 as former Finance Minister P Chidambaram has been remanded to custody till that date.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court had decided to hear the petition filed by Chidambaram against the Delhi High Court verdict and scheduled it to be heard on Friday. The bench of Justice R Banumathi and Justice AS Bopanna heard the plea.

On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court had cancelled P Chidambaram’s anticipatory bail plea, paving the way for his arrest. Although ED and CBI sought to arrest him immediately after the HC order on August 20, they could not locate him.

Dismissing his plea, the Delhi High Court judge had called former finance minister Chidambaram as the “kingpin”, the key conspirator in the INX Media case.

Later next day, Former Finance Minister who was on the run following the Delhi High Court judgement appeared before the media in a press conference in the AICC headquarters.

Chidambaram was arrested late night on Wednesday by the CBI soon after he reached his Jor Bagh residence in New Delhi following his appearance at a press conference at AICC headquarters. The arrest came after high-intensity drama where CBI officials had to climb up walls to reach the senior Congress leader.

Meanwhile, Chidambaram’s counsel represented by senior Congress leaders Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and others had approached the Supreme Court seeking an urgent mentioning, but it was rejected.

Next day on Wednesday, the lawyers had approached the court of Justice NV Ramana, who sent the file to CJI saying he is not authorised to decide who will hear a case. As CJI Gogoi had already started hearing the Ayodhya case, it could not be presented before him. The plea also had some defected which delayed the case of Chidambaram, and it was decided that SC will take up the plea on Friday.

Currently, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram is in five-day CBI custody. A special CBI Court has granted CBI custody of former Union Minister for Finance and Home, P Chidambaram, in the INX Media case till August 26.

Former Pakistan army chief says Pakistan will use Kartarpur corridor to revive Khalistani terrorism in India

OpIndia Staff
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Former Pakistan army chief says Pakistan will use Kartarpur corridor to revive Khalistani terrorism in India

Pakistan’s former Army chief Gen Mirza Aslam Beg has said that the country will use Kartarpur corridor for formulating Khalistan terror, reports India Today. With this shocking revelation, India’s apprehensions about the terror state using the Kartarpur corridor to peddle its anti-India agenda has now been proven right.

The ex-Army chief has said that the terror ‘jihad’ was the “only way to teach India a lesson” and that the Indian Army at the LoC cannot stop the ‘jihadis’.

In a barren attack on India, Mirza Aslam Beg said that “Pakistan army and the government should create trouble for India through Khalistan movement.”

Last year, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh had said that Pakistan is trying to revive militancy in Punjab and had warned that Pakistan is conspiring with Khalistni terrorists ot use the Kartarpur Corridor to achieve that objective. He had said that Pakistan will use the corridor to stoke pro-Khalistan elements, with the help of secessionist SFJ.

He had claimed in December 2018 that it was nothing but an ISI ploy to strengthen anti-India forces. Amarinder had said, “The entire affair of Kartarpur Corridor smacks off a wider conspiracy by the Pakistan Army and ISI to dismember India by reviving militancy in Punjab.”

Meanwhile, Mirza Aslam Beg had expressed earlier also that he wants a hybrid war against India. In fact, many former Pakistan chiefs and high commissioners have opined the same in the past.

Rattled by India decision to abrogate Article 370, Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan had also a few days back warned India of a ‘Pulwama type attack’. Designated global terrorist Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar who had been in the hiding amidst rumours of his death had also in a recorded message echoed Imran Khan’s hollow threats warning India of ‘stormy attacks’ after the repealing of Article 370.

Flummoxed by India’s bold and pathbreaking decision, Pakistan had said that it will exercise “all possible options” to counter the move and approach the International Court of Justice if need be. Interestingly, while India’s historic decision has been welcomed by the Kashmiri’s, Pakistan’s foreign secretary, Sohail Mahmood had reiterated that Pakistan would continue to “extend political, diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiri people’s struggle for the realisation of their inalienable right to self-determination.”

No Sonia Gandhi, your husband did not stand for democracy or liberty

Rahul Kaushik
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No Sonia Gandhi, your husband did not stand for democracy or liberty
Congress celebrated the 75th birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi with big pomp and show in Delhi where it’s workers from all over India were invited. Every senior leader of the party spoke at the event about how Rajiv Gandhi was such a great leader who had a vision(?) for India and how he transformed India. They have all the right to do so. Rajiv Gandhi was an energetic leader and one of the youngest Prime Minister of India. By the virtue of the chair he occupied, he deserves respect.
During her speech at the event, the newly appointed interim President of Congress & Rajiv’s widow Sonia Gandhi gave a passionate speech which many of us may have heard. At one point, she said that he ‘never used power to create an atmosphere of fear’ in the country and how Rajiv ‘stood for strong institutions’. I was stunned at the brazenness of these statements. Well, these statements certainly need a reality check.
How Rajiv Gandhi ‘never’ used power to create an atmosphere of fear, was visible in very first days of his first tenure when thousands of Sikhs were massacred across India under his watch. He justified those murders by saying, “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.” Till date, we witness how all the accused in those gruesome killings continue to be big leaders of the Congress.
Now let’s talk about the strength of institutions. In 1986, the Supreme Court gave a judgement granting an old Muslim lady named Shah Bano the right to get some amount as maintenance from her ex-husband who had divorced her.  It was a landmark judgement because it went beyond regressive personal laws to deliver justice to a widow. But so much was Rajiv’s faith in the institutions, that he brought a legislation in Parliament and on the basis of the brute majority that he had, overturned the judgement and denied the right to basic compensation to a woman.
That he used INS Virat for holidays with family and friends is no hidden story now, showing another example of his respect for institutions.
The Post Office Amendment Bill 1986, moved by Rajiv Gandhi government, on being passed, would have given the central government the power to read any letter which was being handled by Indian Postal Department. In that era when there were no emails or SMS, a letter was the only way of sending information and Indian Post was the only agent. Rajiv Gandhi got the bill passed in Parliament but thanks to the wisdom of the then President Gyani Zail Singh, who didn’t sign it for two years, the bill didn’t become a reality. Subsequent government of VP Singh withdrew it. This was another glaring example of Rajiv’s commitment to ‘freedom & liberty of people’.
An amazing example of Rajiv’s immense respect for democracy and institutions was the infamous case of a chemical leak from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. Thousands of people got killed by the dangerous leak and the after-effects of which are still visible on some. The main culprit, Warren Anderson, was escorted by then Madhya Pradesh CM Arjun Singh to the airport on orders of Rajiv Gandhi, who later ensured that Anderson flew back to the US safely. Later it was discovered that it happened under a Quid Pro Quo agreement due to which the then US President Ronald Reagen granted amnesty to Adil Shaharyar, a long-standing friend of Rajiv Gandhi.
Rajiv Gandhi’s ‘immense faith in democratic institutions’ was also seen in the way his government conducted assembly elections of Jammu & Kashmir in 1987. Every single rule was broken to ensure that his alliance partner and friend Farooq Abdullah became Chief Minister of the state of J&K. The process of elections and the discontent that spread after gross manipulations in their results are considered to be the biggest reasons for the unrest that started in Kashmir in the late 80s. To make his friend the Chief Minister, Rajiv killed democracy but is being hailed as protector of institutions. What a mockery of truth!
Mrs Sonia Gandhi & the Congress should realise that in New India, false narratives don’t work any more. New India is young, sharp, and is equipped with facts and hence it asks tough questions. So better be prepared in future, Madame!

6 LeT terrorists may have entered Coimbatore disguised as Hindus with Tilak on their forehead, Tamil Nadu on high alert

OpIndia Staff
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6 LeT terrorists may have entered Coimbatore disguised as Hindus with Tilak on their forehead, Tamil Nadu on high alert

Tamil Nadu has been put on high alert after Intelligence agencies sounded a warning on Thursday midnight that six Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists may have entered Coimbatore from Sri Lanka for possible attacks in Tamil Nadu and Kerala

Coimbatore and Chennai City police commissioners have confirmed that the alert has been issued by the state home department and security has been subsequently beefed up in all the major cities of Tamil Nadu.

“While one terrorist is from Pakistan, five others are from the island nation. They have come here through the sea route,” police sources revealed the intelligence alert. The Pakistani national has been identified as Ilyas Anwar.

The LeT terrorists have reportedly disguised themselves as Hindus and may carry out attacks across the state. According to a News 18 report, the alert also highlighted that the men are likely to have disguised as Hindus “with tilak/bhabuti smeared on foreheads”. The Pakistani national has been identified as Ilyas Anwar.

The reports further state that security installations, foreign embassies, tourist spots and worship centres could be among the targets of the terrorist group. Officials are also monitoring the coastal areas, particularly the movement of ferries and boats.

Vigil has been stepped up in malls, public places, railway stations and bus stands.

A general alert was sounded in the country after the Modi government came up with a historic move to change Kashmir’s destiny by revoking Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 and the resultant deterioration of ties with Pakistan. The government had warned of possible ‘retaliatory attacks’ by terror organizations.

Notably, the Indian Armed Forces have been manning the volatile and infiltration prone Line of Control along Jammu had recently thwarted a major infiltration bid in the Macchal sector made within 15 hours of the announcement of scrapping Article 370 on August 5.

LoC between India and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir has been tensed since days as Pakistan has reportedly been attempting to send BAT personnel with Islamist terrorists into the valley. There have been reports of continuous shelling at the LoC.

Last week, Bangaluru was put on high alert following intel warning of a possible terror strike. The Indian Army, Navy and the Air Force were also put on high alert and Delhi Metro was put on red alert following the abrogation of Article 370.

McDonald’s India admits to discriminating against non-Muslims, buys only Halal meat for its restaurants

OpIndia Staff
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McDonald’s India admits to discriminating against non-Muslims, buys only Halal meat for its restaurants

The global fast-food chain network, McDonald’s, has admitted to discriminating against non-Muslims as part of their business model in India. All their restaurants are Halal certified. As we have reported earlier, Halal is the Islamic method of slaughter which cannot be carried out by non-Muslims.


Halal can only be performed by a Muslim man. Thus, non-Muslims are automatically denied employment at a Halal meat firm. Guidelines by Halal certification authorities make it clear that non-Muslim employees cannot be employed in any part of the slaughtering process. Even the labelling of the meat can be done by Muslims only. Animals slaughtered by Non-Muslims will not be Halal.

The Halal-Jhatka debate had come to the fore during the Zomato controversy. The food aggregator was accused of hypocrisy for claiming ‘food has no religion’ but going out of their way to satisfy their Muslim customers’ demand for Halal food. It was finally forced to take cognizance of the Halal-Jhatka debate and conceded after immense public pressure that they will add a Jhatka tag on their app if customers demand it.

Thus, it appears that for all their talk of social justice and ‘Woke Activism’, multinational corporations like McDonald’s do not hesitate to indulge in institutional discrimination on the basis of religion to increase their profit margin. Halal is a discriminatory practice by its very nature.

Uttar Pradesh: ‘Kasai’ fires bullet at locals opposing cow smuggling in Pilibhit, youth dies

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: ‘Kasai’ fires bullet at locals opposing cow smuggling in Pilibhit, youth dies

In another incident of violence by cattle smugglers, one local youth Sonu, residing in Mohanpur village under Bilsanda police station area in Philbhit, Uttar Pardesh has been shot to death for trying to stop the smugglers on the night of August 22.

At around 10 pm on Wednesday, Sonu, an artist in a local orchestra, was sleeping outside his house when he saw some butchers and cattle traders trying to stuff the stolen cattle in a pickup van on the other side of the road.

On seeing this Sonu started protesting and reportedly tried to confront the smugglers. The cattle smugglers allegedly started beating Sonu on the spot. When Sonu’s family members and local residents gathered, the smugglers reportedly started firing from a gun. One bullet had hit Sonu.

Sonu who was seriously injured by the bullet was rushed to the district hospital, from where he was sent to the hospital in Bareilly. He succumbed to his injuries on the way.

After receiving the news of the incident, the police reached the village at night and took information about the matter from the locals. At present, the police have sent the body for postmortem and the matter is being investigated.

This is, however, not the first such incident. Similar cases of Gau Rakshak’s being killed trying to oppose the crime has previously also come to the fore. On July 31, a ‘Gau Rakshak’ named Gopal had been killed after he was shot dead by a cattle smuggling gang. The incident occurred in a village near Palwal, Haryana.

On June 19, in a similar case, a person named Vikas Sharma, a resident of Natthu Colony, Ballabhgarh in Haryana was killed after he tried to stop the cattle smugglers. An FIR had been subsequently registered by the police against six persons identified as Arif (a resident of Utawad, Palwal), Tassi (a resident of Punhana), Subin (a resident of Dhauj), Teeman (a resident of Bibipur) and Tareef (a resident of Nuh).

Pakistan takes a cue from Congress yet again, asks ‘what happened to Rafale investigation’

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan takes a cue from Congress yet again, asks ‘what happened to Rafale investigation’

Pakistan minister Fawad Chaudhry, who had expressed angst over Rahul Gandhi for not winning the 2019 general elections, today again took a cue from Congress and raked up the Rafale bogey.


Misspelling the fighter jet as ‘Rafael’, Pakistan’s minister of science and technology taunted PM Modi and French President Macron’s meeting in France where the latter said that Kashmir remains a bilateral issue and no third party should interfere. The French President even took a strong stand against terrorism.

Chaudhry was referring to the Rafale controversy Congress had raked up prior to the elections and claimed that there was widespread corruption in the Rafale deal, despite the fact that the then Congress President couldn’t even stick to one consistent figure of extent of corruption. Amusingly, following the conclusion of elections and Congress’ monumental loss, the ‘Rafale scam’ seems to have been long forgotten.

The Indian government has signed a deal with the French government for the purchase of 36 Rafale jets, after the attempt to buy 126 fighter jets had failed. Rafale had emerged as the winner in 2012 in that bid, but a deal could not be signed due to various issues. Therefore, after coming to power, the Modi government had scrapped that deal and signed a new deal to buy 36 jets directly from France to immediately replenish the fast depleting fleet of IAF. But opposition parties led by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and activists are trying hard to derail the deal by making numerous baseless allegations and filling PILs in court against the deal.

In case Chaudhry missed out, the first Rafale jet is expected to be delivered next month.

Why Indians need to see more of the country they live in

Ashish Shukla
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Why Indians need to see more of the country they live in

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may not have nudged we Indians into travelling more often in India than we do abroad but he surely has invited attention and it’s a good enough Independence Day intervention from the man who is master in making you reflect.

Modi wants us to make at least 15 travels within India by 2022 when India would be a young 75. Figures of 2016 show Indians already travel more within (1613 million) than they do abroad (21 million) but that’s a coarse understanding. We all know we spend five times more abroad than we do while travelling within. There is a kick when you pack your bags for Sweden than when you do it for Sarnath. You feel equal, if not superior, within your family, friends and neighbours.

All of us who travel abroad screw up their noses at hotels, transport, infrastructure, squalor and surging humanity which surrounds our own popular tourist destinations—all this of course without visiting much of India!  Yet, they are right. Just imagine our religious (Mathura, Vrindavan, Tirupati, Vaishno Devi), scenic (Ooty, Shimla, Mussoorie) or Hilly terrains (Manali, Darjeeling) and a Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur begin to make much better sense. That surely is a much better value for your rupee.

Yet, think.

India is a country which has all but Himalayas bound by the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. Amazing rivers (Ganga, Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Indus) are its rich veins. Incredible waterfalls dot our interiors. Wildlife like rarely elsewhere; deserts as daunting as Thar; forests as dense as Sunderban or Gir; caves carved like ones in Ajanta or Ellora; temples like Rameshwaram and Khajuraho which knock your breath out; forts like ones in Agra, Jaipur or Mysore; lakes in Nainital or Ooty; hill stations like Coorg and Shimla; snow-capped peaks which can soar young to do adventure as they do to meditate or brood over the profound for the elderly.

Come on, no less than 37 venues are World Heritage Sites authenticated by UNESCO in 2017.  These are parts of India’s rich cultural, historical and religious heritage.

Modi concedes India needs better infrastructure for its tourist destinations. And his solution offered makes so much sense. More footfalls would bring more investment, and better infrastructure would usher in more jobs for our young and restless. Technology would make inroads at so many levels. The administration would’ve much more funds to police as well as to beautify the location. Theatre and dance; artistes and artisans; local culinary and skills all get a fillip.

And if you think India is lightweight on matters of tourism think again. The World Travel and Tourism Council tabulated that tourism generated Rs 16.91 lakh crore (US$240 billion) or 9.2% of India’s GDP in 2018 and supported 32.673 million jobs, 8.1% of its total employment. The forecast is of 6.9% annual growth rate to Rs. 32.05 lakh crore (the US $460 billion) by 2028 (9.9% of GDP). And we are not even talking of medical tourism which is already worth the US $3 billion in 205. By next year, it’s expected to be worth the US $7-8 billion.

While reflecting on India and its inbound travellers, Tamil Nadu is the most visited state. Just reflect on the names of Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram, Ooty and Kodaikanal and you would know why. Interestingly, Uttar Pradesh is the second most visited of all Indian states by domestic travellers. Be it religious sacredness of Mathura or Varanasi; Prayag or Sarnath; Ayodhya or Vrindavan, forts of Agra; the regal nawab heritage of Lucknow, UP is far richer than is given credit for.

Most southern states are in India’s top 10 tourist destinations but for Kerala which is surprising given God’s Own Country has Alleppey and Munnar to boast of, among others. Rajasthan, surprisingly, is on number 10 for it just doesn’t alone have magnificent forts but also Pushkar and much-revered shrines. And we haven’t come to talking of Goa, Andaman, Leh, Puri, Amristar, Bodhgaya and Shirdi.

And as Modi said, ever wondered on the magnificence of North East? Cherrapunjee, most won’t know, is in Meghalaya after all.

The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 ranks India 40th out of 136 countries. Its air transport (32nd) is rated good and the one on the ground (29th) is reasonable too. The country also scores high on natural and cultural resources (9th).

But let’s be grounded for the moment. Just think of the benefit domestic travel would do to bring different cultures, languages, food and customs closer within our own contours. It would improve brotherhood and remove alien-ness. Besides, as Modi said, we would only be deepening our roots in this sacred land. Generation next too would retain the bond.

“Mitti, paani, hawaon se nayi urja prapt karein (Gain new energy from the earth, water and winds of this land)” was the exhortation Modi made from the ramparts of Red Fort in the Capital on the Independence Day on Thursday. If all of us do it, we would be enriching both us and the country we live in.

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