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Parle responds to reports of 10,000 potential job losses, says no job loss yet, definite slowdown but issue blown out of proportion

OpIndia Staff
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Parle responds to reports of 10,000 potential job losses, says no job loss yet, definite slowdown but issue blown out of proportion

In an interview with the media outlet BTVi, senior category head at Parle Products, Mayank Shah clarified that there have been no job losses at Parle yet and that the issue has been blown out of proportion by naysayers. There were reports recently that slowdown could force ParleG to lay off 10,000 staff members.

Shah added that there has been a marked decline in the sales of their products, attributing the slumping sales to the GST tax slab for biscuits below Rs 100 per kg, which attracts 18% GST.


“Biscuit as an industry or category has been severely affected. This phenomenon is industry-wide and not Parle specific. The consumer is thinking twice before buying biscuits now. Biscuits which were earlier exempted from excise were now included after the advent of the GST. This has had a serious effect on the sales of the basic biscuits which are less than Rs 100 per Kg. Right now, basic biscuits fall under the same 18 per cent GST slab as the premium biscuits,” Shah said.

Shah further stated that their company has been requesting the government from last 1 year to look into the matter. “Premium segment biscuits which are sold at or above Rs 100 per kg and basic biscuits which are less than Rs 100 per Kg are two different categories. We have been requesting the government to provide concessions to us in basic biscuits category by changing its GST slab as it did with apparels, footwear and other commodities,” Shah said.

Dismissing the reports of downsizing at Parle Products, Shah said that the job losses will be an eventuality if the sales of the basic biscuits category continue to decline. Once the category which used to grow at 10-12 per cent per annum is currently declined by 7-8 per cent.

“Sales of premium biscuits at Parle are showing impressive growth. However, the sales of the basic biscuits category which is for the consumption of common man is getting the beating after the implementation of GST. We have to take a price hike because of the GST. We urge the government to exempt basic biscuits, which are priced less than Rs 100 per Kg be exempted from the tax like it was before the GST,” Shah said.

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.

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