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Mamata Banerjee says BJP’s victory rallies are ‘inciting violence’, orders ban

OpIndia Staff
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Mamata Banerjee says BJP’s victory rallies are ‘inciting violence’, orders ban

As BJP is making huge inroads in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who seems to be fearful of her opponent’s outreach has now banned victory processions of the BJP claiming it would ‘trigger violence’ across Bengal.

According to the reports, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has issued a diktat to the police ordering them to take strong action against BJP leaders if they create any trouble by holding victory rallies in the state. Mamata Banerjee has dictated that there should not be any more victory march in the state as over 2 weeks have passed since the announcement of the Lok Sabha election results.

Mamata Banerjee had visited the home of local party leader Nirmal Kundu, who was killed at Nimta in North 24 Parganas in the political violence that took place in the state recently. During the event, Banerjee instructed the police not to allow BJP to take victory rallies citing law and order problems and said the police should take action against the BJP leaders who try to disturb law and order.

The Bharatiya Janata Party which made a grand entry into the state of West Bengal by winning 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats has pushed the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee into irrelevance in national politics. Political violence has been a burning issue in West Bengal as there have been dozens of murders and attacks before and during the elections.

It is notable here that, Mamata Banerjee, who also keeps the home ministry portfolio in Bengal, had also banned BJP’s Rath Yatra campaign last year, citing ‘law and order’ issues. Her government had also stopped many BJP leaders from holding rallies in the state by refusing permission for landing choppers.

Amidst these acts of violence, Mamata Banerjee has also shown her opposition to Hindus raising religious slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”. Recently West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee got irked by these slogans and was also seen lashing out at the people and threatening to take action against the people chanting Jai Shri Ram.

Later, she had also unleashed her state police force to arrest few people for chanting Jai Shri Ram slogans in the state.

Rajasthan: Congress MLA Prithviraj Meena served with notice for speaking against CM Ashok Gehlot

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Congress MLA Prithviraj Meena served with notice for speaking against CM Ashok Gehlot

The Congress party on Thursday served a notice to Prithviraj Meena, MLA from Todabhim in Rajasthan, for his remarks against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot after a disastrous show in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.


Earlier on Wednesday, Meena had suggested that Gehlot should bear the responsibility of the party’s humiliating performance in the state. He had also proposed that Gehlot be replaced by his deputy Sachin Pilot as the CM of the state.

The Congress party has asked its MLAs to abstain from making any statements in the media or social media that can “hurt the party’s dignity”. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera confirmed the concerned MLA, who had raised the issue of CM Gehlot’s resignation, has been served a notice by the Rajasthan Congress unit in-charge Avinash Pande. He added further that an advisory has also been issued to others to refrain from making tendentious remarks.

Congress failed to open its account in Rajasthan in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Even CM Gehlot’s son Vaibhav lost from Jodhpur constituency. Instead of accepting the responsibility for the poll debacle, Gehlot had passed the buck to Pilot for his son’s debacle.

Gehlot seems to have been deeply hurt by losing Jodhpur, which has traditionally been touted as a Congress bastion. Gehlot had earlier blamed Pilot since he was the Congress state in-charge of Rajasthan for the elections.

“Sachin had claimed that Jodhpur will be won by a big margin. It has been a Congress stronghold since a very long time. I think he should take the responsibility of the loss, at least of the Jodhpur Lok Sabha seat,” Gehlot said.

Ever since the election defeat, the rift between Pilot faction and Gehlot faction has intensified. Each group is seen blaming the other for the ignominious defeat. Leaders like Udai Lal Anjana had even questioned the candidature of Vaibhav from Jodhpur constituency.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had also pulled up Gehlot for neglecting the campaigning of the party in the state to concentrate on his son’s campaign in Jodhpur.

ICC requests BCCI to get the Balidaan Badge on M S Dhoni’s wicket keeping gloves removed

OpIndia Staff
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ICC requests BCCI to get the Balidaan Badge on M S Dhoni’s wicket keeping gloves removed

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has requested the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) to get the dagger insignia of the Indian Para Special Forces removed from the wicket-keeping gloves of the former Captain of the Indian Cricket team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.


The news was confirmed by the ICC General Manager, Strategic Communications, Claire Furlong while speaking to IANS. “We have requested the BCCI to get it removed”, Furlong said. According to the global body governing cricket, it is against the regulations. When asked whether Dhoni could be punished for breaching ICC rules, Furlong said that at present Dhoni is only requested to remove the insignia and there will be no punishment for the first time offence.

The Balidaan Badge and Dhoni’s glove with the badge

Dhoni was spotted wearing his green wicket-keeping gloves having the dagger insignia during the opening match in the ongoing cricket World Cup. The dagger insignia called the Balidan Badge is a distinct insignia of the special forces forming part of the Parachute Regiment.  The badge can only be worn by Paramilitary Commandos. Dhoni, who was conferred an honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment in 2011, was flaunting the Balidan Badge as a mark of respect for the Armed Forces. The former Skipper had also undergone training under the Para Brigade in 2015.

Dhoni had attracted a lot of appreciation on social media from cricket fans for sporting the Balidan Badge on his gloves.


People poured love on Dhoni for respecting the Armed Forces by proudly flaunting the Balidan Badge.


Dhoni has often expressed his desire to join the Armed Forces. Earlier, the whole Indian Cricket team had worn Army caps during an ODI match against Australia at Ranchi to pay homage to the CRPF personnel who had lost their lives in the ghastly Pulwama terror attack.

In less than 6 months of launch, Firstpost print edition shuts down, last edition on June 8

OpIndia Staff
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In less than 6 months of launch, Firstpost print edition shuts down, last edition on June 8

Within six months of its launch, media and entertainment company Network18 Media & Investments Ltd has decided to suspend the publication of its weekly print newspaper Firstpost. The 20-page weekly English print edition was launched eight years after the company launched its online news portal.


The weekly edition that was aimed at catering the audiences of metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and the National Capital Region will circulate its last edition on Saturday, June 8. However, the print edition was launched at a time when print media isn’t exactly going through its best phase.

“Firstpost is a platform agnostic brand that has stood for strong and credible opinions and will continue to do so. The brand has believed in constantly experimenting and re-investing itself, and Firstpost in print was one such experiment to provide a weekend reading experience to a different audience than online. The experiment has provided us with good learnings. While we were pleased with the ongoing evolution of the brand and the compelling journalism the team produced on a weekly basis, logistical problems made the project unsustainable in print,” reads the official statement.

The statement further added that the quality of journalism offered by Firstpost would continue in digital and other platforms for loyal consumers. Over the years, Firstpost has come to stand for a certain class of journalism and Network18 is committed to its growth. The company will continue to invest in the brand, it divulged further.

As per the report published in Mint, in an earlier interaction with the publication, Rahul Kansal, business head of the paper and brand advisor, Network18, had said that in trying to cater to mass audiences, bigger newspapers of the country had left more discerning readers slightly estranged. According to Kansal, the company’s projections had shown that a general newspaper with a political bent like Firstpost could be a self-sustaining business proposition.

Although he had not divulged the investment details, he had said that it was a controlled, high-quality product.

The paper that was priced at Rs. 8 and levied an annual subscription fee of Rs. 249 had aimed at circulating 50,000 copies in Mumbai and Delhi each. They were hoping it would pick up the pace once the brand stabilized.

The advent of digital news has been tough competition to newspapers that are struggling for their sustenance. We had reported earlier how Hindustan Times that decided to shut its business bureau. Likewise, in the United States, various newspapers have been shutting shop since 2004.

According to the FICCI-EY media and entertainment industry report 2019, the print segment only grew by 0.7% in 2018 to reach Rs. 305.5 billion and ad volumes fell 1% over the same period.

The termination of the print edition of Firstpost comes days after another online portal Scroll had to lay off 20 employees, including 16 from the editorial team.

Govt reconstitutes Niti Aayog, Bibek Debroy dropped, Amit Shah named Ex-Officio member

OpIndia Staff
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Govt reconstitutes Niti Aayog, Bibek Debroy dropped, Amit Shah named Ex-Officio member

The newly elected second Narendra Modi government has decided to reconstitute the National Institution for Transforming India (Niti) Aayog, the government think tank formed by the first Modi government replacing the Planning Commission.

Niti Aayog is chaired by the Prime Minister of India, and its vice chairperson Dr Rajiv Kumar has been retained in the same post by the government. V. K. Saraswat, Prof. Ramesh Chand and Dr. V.K. Paul are retained as full-time members of the Aayog, while Bibek Debroy has been dropped who was also a member.

There were speculations that Debroy will not be included in the newly constituted Niti Aayog, to which he had responded with a limerick on Twitter.


The name of Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant’s name is also missing from the notification issued by the government.

The ex-officio members of the Niti Aayog are, Defence minister Raj Nath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, And Agriculture and Farmers welfare minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who is also the Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.

The special invitees to the Aayog Are, Road Transport and Highways, and MSME minister Nitin Gadkari, Social Justice and Empowerment minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Railway Minister and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, who is the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Planning.

On Operation Blue Star’s 35th anniversary, SAD chief Sukhbir Badal meets Home Minister Amit Shah, demands a through probe

OpIndia Staff
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On Operation Blue Star’s 35th anniversary, SAD chief Sukhbir Badal meets Home Minister Amit Shah, demands a through probe

On the 35th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President and former deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal today met Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding a thorough probe. Shah is also the party president of Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP).

According to reports, Badal, who is the member of Parliament from Ferozpur, along with a delegation of SAD met Shah to demand an investigation into the 1984 conspiracy, wherein Indian Armed Forces were allowed entry into the holy Sikh shrine of Harmandir Sahib. Under Operation Blue Star, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had permitted the Army to raid the complex of Golden Temple in a bid to nab militant religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers.

Speaking to the media following his meeting with Shah, Badal said, “Gandhi Parivar had unleashed tanks, the army on the holy shrine of the Sikhs, which had caused severe damage on the minds of the Sikhs. We have requested the Home Minister to provide some kind of pension for the survivors of the Operation Blue Star.”

According to government authorities, hundreds of people were killed in action, including Bhindranwale while the holy shrine was severely damaged leading to severe criticism against Gandhi for violating its sanctity.

Interestingly, the demand by the Akalis comes thirty-five years after the controversial operation, which subsequently led one of Gandhi’s bodyguard’s to assassinate her. Her death triggered the unruly mob, believed to be led by Indian National Congress (INC) leaders, to massacre Sikhs across Delhi and Punjab in what is known as anti-Sikh riots of 1984.

Earlier in the day, Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal levelled serious charges against the Congress party, especially on the Gandhi family and questioned Gandhi for orchestrating the army operation for her political gains.

In a major jolt to Congress, 12 of its MLAs in Telangana seek merger with the ruling TRS

OpIndia Staff
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In a major jolt to Congress, 12 of its MLAs in Telangana seek merger with the ruling TRS

Following the embarrassing defeat in the Assembly elections in Telangana in December last year, the Telangana Congress is again facing troubled waters as twelve of the party’s MLAs are set to merge with the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). The 12 MLAs today met the Telangana Assembly speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy seeking a merger with the TRS.

The MLAs claiming themselves to be the representatives of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), reportedly had a meeting with the TRS working President and the son of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) at Pragati Bhavan seeking his consent for the merge. They later submitted a memorandum before the Assembly speaker seeking a merger.

The announcement was made by senior Congress leader Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy that the defecting MLAs wanted to work with the Chief Minister and that they gave a representation to the Speaker seeking a merger. “We had a special meeting of Congress Legislature Party. The 12 members supported the leadership of Chief Minister KCR and wanted to work with him. We gave a representation to the Speaker and requested him to merge us with the TRS”, GVR Reddy said.

The 12 MLAs are protected from action under the anti-defection law as they form two-thirds of the total MLAs of the Congress Legislature Party which is the required number under the law for the merger. The strength of the Telangana Congress Party was 19 until Party State unit Chief Uttam Kumar Reddy tendered his resignations after winning the Lok Sabha election his constituency Nalgonda.

As the news of the 12 MLAs meeting the Speaker came out, a protest was staged at the Assembly by Uttam Kumar Reddy along with CLP leaders Bhatti Vikramarka and Sreedhar Babu by wrapping their mouths with black ribbons. Reddy took to Twitter to term the whole episode as “shameless” and “brazen murder of democracy”.


He accused Chief Minister KCR of buying the MLAs and even played the caste card.

Mystery over Anju Ghosh’s nationality: BJP produces birth certificate from India, actress says she holds Indian voter ID and voted in 2019

OpIndia Staff
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Mystery over Anju Ghosh’s nationality: BJP produces birth certificate from India, actress says she holds Indian voter ID and voted in 2019

On Wednesday, it was reported widely that ‘Bangladeshi’ actress Anju Ghosh had joined the BJP in Kolkata. It was also reported that she refused to answer questions on her citizenship status.


Breaking her reported silence over the issue, Anju has now said that she was born in India, has an Indian passport, and she works in both India as Bangladesh.


Today, state BJP President Dilip Ghosh produced her birth certificate on Twitter to prove that the actress is indeed Indian.


The birth certificate, issued by the Health Department of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, shows that Anju Ghosh was born at East End Nursing Home in Kolkata. The date of birth is 17th September, 1966 while the date of registration is the 22nd of December, 2003.

Birth certificate of Anju Ghosh

Various news outlets had reported the actress to be Bangladeshi as well.


Politicians and people on social media had used Anju Ghosh’s inclusion in the BJP to target the party as well.


Speaking to News18, the actress stated that she was born in Bengal and holds an Indian voter ID card. She said that her parents have been staying at Salt Lake for the past three decades and she has even voted in 2019 elections. She said, “I was born in Bengal and worked in Bengali film industry and as well as in Bangladesh. I have an Indian passport and a voter ID card. In this election, I exercised my voting rights. It’s sad to know that people are raising questions over my nationality.”

She added, “I joined the BJP because I want to serve the people. I don’t know why they are now raising questions over my nationality. I am feeling threatened.”

Many artists from West Bengal and Bangladesh work and perform on the other side of the border, as people in both the regions speak the same language, and has the same cultural history as it was a single territory before it was split during the partition at the time of independence. Anju Ghosh has worked in several movies produced in Bangladesh, the most famous among them being 1989 blockbuster Beder Meye Josna, the all time highest grossing movie of Bangladesh.

Congress govt in Rajasthan removes Deendayal Upadhyay’s name from the name of scholarship test

OpIndia Staff
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Congress govt in Rajasthan removes Deendayal Upadhyay’s name from the name of scholarship test

The Congress government in Rajasthan has stirred a controversy after it removed the name of RSS ideologue Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya’s name from a scholarship test for secondary school students. The scholarship test is held for the students of 10th and 12th standards and the students who clear the test are awarded scholarships by Rajasthan Secondary Education Department.

This move is followed by an earlier recommendation of the Rajasthan government to make changes in the profile of freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in the school textbooks. The State government had approved of the description of Veer Savarkar as the ‘Son of Portugal’ by justifying it on the basis of the recommendations of a panel of academicians

Rajasthan Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasara said that the previous BJP government in the state had added the name of Deendayal Upadhyay with the talent search test for no reasons, therefore the name has now been dropped.

Apparently, the Rajasthan government is trying to reverse the changes that were made by the BJP government in the school textbooks. The State government argued that the name of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya was added by the BJP government in the scholarship test for no reasons.  “The former BJP government had added the name of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya with the talent search test for no reasons, therefore the name has now been dropped”, State Education Minister, Govind Singh Dotasara said.

This move of the Rajasthan government has prompted strong objections from the BJP. Vasudev Devnani, Education Minister in the former BJP government, accused the State government of targeting RSS ideologues and called it the narrow-mindedness of the government. “There are many schemes and programmes in names of various Congress leaders but removing the name of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay from the scholarship test reflects the narrow-mindedness of the Congress government”, he said.

Terming the decision of the government as absurd and uncalled for Devnani said, “Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay is among the great personalities whose contribution to democracy will continue to impact future generations. The government’s decision is absurd and uncalled for”.

Speaking on the changes made by the government in the profile of Savarkar Devnanai told that Former PM Indira Gandhi had issued a commemorative stamp on Veer Savarkar in 1970. “Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi recognised and hailed the legacy of great freedom fighter Veer Savarkar. The then government had issued a commemorative stamp on Veer Savarkar in 1970”, added Devnani.

These are not the only changes made by the Rajasthan government in the school textbooks. Last month, the government had removed all references about the demonetisation from the school textbooks declaring it the most unsuccessful experiment. The relevant parts of demonetisation were added by the previous BJP government in 12th standard Political Science book in 2017 wherein demonetisation was described as “historic” and an “operation to clear black money”.

Similarly, the government had announced the revision of class 8th English textbooks by removing a picture of ‘Jauhar‘. The Education Minister Dotasara had justified the move saying that the girls  cannot be taught to perform Jauhar.

Spooked by the recent poll debacle in Lok Sabha elections, Mamata Banerjee signs up election strategist Prashant Kishor

OpIndia Staff
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Spooked by the recent poll debacle in Lok Sabha elections, Mamata Banerjee signs up election strategist Prashant Kishor

Alarmed by the rise of the BJP in the state, as evident in the number of Lok Sabha seats bagged by them, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has allegedly hired the services of renowned poll strategist Prashant Kishor for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. However, Bengal is expected to go to polls in 2021, two years away from now.


Election strategist Prashant Kishor met TMC chief Mamata Banerjee today and agreed to work with her to once again propel Trinamool Congress party to form a government in the state. After almost a two-hour meet, Mamata Banerjee signed up the poll strategist to put up a fight against the rising BJP. He will officially start working with Mamata Banerjee after one month.

The party is facing tough headwinds from the saffron party which is rapidly growing in the state. The BJP in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections won 18 Lok Sabha seats out of the total 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. Large swathes of the crowd have been seen thronging the rallies of senior BJP leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, hinting at the support the party is enjoying among the masses in the state.

Perhaps, the recent rise of the BJP in Bengal dictates Mamata Banerjee’s precocious measures in employing poll strategist Prashant Kishor almost two years before the assembly elections. West Bengal is Mamata’s turf and she is visibly rattled that an ‘outsider’ is not only challenging her on home turf but is even capable of pulling off a victory if not dealt with on an urgent basis.

Prashant Kishor has a mixed record as an election strategist. Though he had been exceptionally outstanding in Modi’s victory in 2014 and Nitish Kumar’s triumph in the 2015 Bihar elections, he terribly failed in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 2017 where Yogi Adityanath trounced his clients Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Most recently, election strategist Kishor made an instrumental role in Jagan Mohan Reddy’s sweep in Andhra Pradesh elections.

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