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Congress shares fake news about Amethi BJP worker murder case, UP Police promises legal action, FIR registered

OpIndia Staff
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Congress shares fake news about Amethi BJP worker murder case, UP Police promises legal action, FIR registered

The Uttar Police has denied a rumour that is being spread on social media that a BJP leader is behind the murder of BJP worker Surendra Singh in Amethi. Singh was a former village head who was a close aide of Amethi MP Smriti Irani and worked on the ground during the campaigning for Smriti Irani ahead of elections. Local BJP workers and his family members had alleged that he was killed for working for BJP.

In development to the story, today several people started claiming that UP DGP has said that Singh was killed by a fellow BJP leader due to intra-party rivalry. Several office-bearers of the Congress party posted the claim on Twitter, quoting a report by Economic Times.


National Convenor of Congress Social Media cell tweeted that the close aide of Smriti Irani was killed by BJP workers who were his local rivals and not due to Congress conspiracy. She claimed that UP police had confirmed the same.


Several other Congress functionaries and supporters spread the same claim, all of them quoting media reports which were based on comments made by OP Singh, the Director General of Police (DGP) in UP. When the same claim was made by the official Twitter handle of Chandigarh Congress Sevadal, it came to the notice of UP police. The official Twitter handle of UP Police tweeted that this is a deliberate distortion of facts, and said that the reports they are quoting itself do not say that DGP named any political party was involved in the crime. They also informed that they are forwarding the tweet to Amethi police for taking legal action of spreading the rumour.


If we go by the media reports quoted by the Congress leaders, it becomes clear that the UP DGP didn’t name BJP or any other party while talking about the murder. His statement as quoted in the Hindustan Times reports is, “We have arrested three suspects. Two suspects are still absconding and we will nab them soon. On the basis of all evidence, it is very clear that this is a case of local level political rivalry.” NDTV also has published the same quote. The Economic Times has paraphrased the DGP but the comment is same as other reports.

Some Congress workers quoted a report from Khabarbar, which said that Singh was murdered due to a “local-level political rivalry within the BJP”. But the quote from DGP they have mentioned is same as the quote reported by Hindustan Times, which says that “the victim had local-level political rivalry.” It does not contain the words ‘within BJP’, which they have added in the report.

Congress social media team member, Gaurav Pandhi, who has earlier been caught spreading fake news, deleted his tweet after UP Police called out the lies. However, UP Police continued to maintain the tough stand. UP Police has promised a threadbare investigation and an FIR has been lodged in this regard already.


From the media reports quoting DGP and the clarification by UP police, it becomes clear that the DGP didn’t say Surendra Singh was killed due to rivalry in the BJP. He said Singh was killed to rivalry at the local level, which means at the Panchayat level. The DGP didn’t name BJP or any other political party, and the Congress leaders are deliberately distorting the comments of DGP to point fingers toward BJP for the murder.

Smriti Irani attended the last rite of Singh, and even gave her shoulder to the mortal remains of the victim in his last journey. She had said that she has taken vow that she will take death sentence for the culprits of the case, even if she has to go to Supreme Court.

Former Bhutan PM thrashes Indian media for getting the current Bhutan PM wrong

OpIndia Staff
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Former Bhutan PM thrashes Indian media for getting the current Bhutan PM wrong

The people of India are well aware of the sheer incompetence of the mainstream media of the country. However, it seems their reputation is now spreading far and wide and dignitaries of other countries have are also getting the taste.

Former Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay, took to Twitter on Thursday to express his anger towards the Indian media for getting the picture of Bhutan’s current Prime Minister wrong. He said that it was a grave insult towards his country and although Bhutan may be small, she is India’s very close friend.


The current Prime Minister of Bhutan is Lotay Tshering and the two media outlets which got his picture wrong as can be seen in the photos attached by Tshering Tobgay are News9 and WION TV. Although WION TV managed to get the name correct, the picture they showed was of someone else. News9 showed Tobgay as the current Prime Minister of Bhutan.

The Indian mainstream media has earned quite the reputation for itself for getting the obvious things wrong. Sometimes, they perceive people arranging chairs at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally as an instance of agitated crowds throwing chairs. Sometimes, they deliberately portray random crimes as hate crimes to peddle their agenda.

It appears in New India, the mainstream media has decided to take a leap from being a complete embarrassment towards their own selves to becoming an embarrassment for the entire country.

ISRO and IAF sign deal to select and train astronauts for Gaganyaan project

OpIndia Staff
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ISRO and IAF sign deal to select and train astronauts for Gaganyaan project

On Thursday, Indian Air Force (IAF) signed an MoU with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to select and train astronauts for ISRO’s Gaganyaan project. ISRO’s first manned space mission is scheduled to happen in 2022.

The IAF tweeted yesterday informing that it had signed the MoU with ISRO for its ambitious Gaganyaan programme.


ISRO’s K. Sivan said, “This is the formal beginning of the screening and training of IAF candidates for the human space mission. We, that is ISRO and the IAF, will do it together”. The Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) of the IAF would be heading the selection and training of the astronauts.

The selection process of the astronauts would take up to 12-14 months. Most of the basic training would happen in India and foreign help would be required for some advanced training.

The training would take place at the Human Space Flight Centre that was opened on January 31st at ISRO’s headquarters in Bengaluru.


The Gaganyaan mission would be headed by Dr VR Lalithambika, a control engineer who specializes in the advanced launcher technologies. In September 2018, ISRO had also unveiled its space suit and crew module for Gaganyaan.

Prime Minister Modi had previously announced in his Independence Day address on 15th August, 2018 that ISRO would three astronauts, including a woman, in a capsule that would orbit the earth for about week by December 2021 or 2022. In December 2018, the Government sanctioned a budget of Rs 10,000 crore for the Gaganyaan programme.

Kamal Haasan relegated to Tier-3 star status by Tamil Nadu Theater and Multiplex Owner’s Association

OpIndia Staff
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Kamal Haasan relegated to Tier-3 star status by Tamil Nadu Theater and Multiplex Owner’s Association

The Tamil Nadu Theater and Multiplex Owner’s Association has issued a revised share percentage proposal on Tuesday. Apart from making producers upset as their share percentages were reduced, fans were also unhappy as the statement revealed the market value of their favourite movie stars.

Things don’t appear to be going very well for Kamal Haasan. After a rather poor show at the Lok Sabha elections after much hype, he has been relegated to the status of a Tier-3 star by the association. Along with Haasan, stars such as Karthi and Vikram were also ranked in the third category.

Rajnikanth, as expected, appeared in the Tier-1 category. Vijay and Ajith too made the cut. Tier-2 featured stars such as Suriya, ‘Jayam’ Ravi and Dhanush. Tier-1 consists of the stars who have consistently delivered great results at the Market and are known to pull huge crowds to the theatres. Tier-2 consists of actors at the next step of the ladder while the Tier-3 is one step lower. Kamal Haasan, who was once considered a rival to Rajnikanth, is now considered to be a Tier-3 star while Rajnikanth continues to remain one of the biggest stars in Indian Cinema.

For movies featuring Tier-1 stars, as these are not expected to incur losses, ‘A’ centre theatres will provide 60% share to the distributors and producers while the rest will provide a 65% share. In the second week, ‘A’ centre theatres will provide a 55% share while the rest will provide a 50% share. For the second week, the figures are 50% and 55% respectively.

For movies featuring Tier-2 actors, the figures are 55% for A centre theatres in the first week and 60% for the rest. For Tier-3 actors, all theatres will provide only 50% share in the first week and 45% in the second.

Fans were reportedly unhappy with the ranking as it gives the fans of other actors who have featured in higher tiers the bragging rights. Producers, too, felt that the ranking should have been kept discreet.

Subramaniam, President of The Tamil Nadu Theater and Multiplex Owner’s Association said in his statement, “Producers have been increasing the remuneration of the actors and demanding higher share from theatre owners. If this trend continues, it will be very difficult to run theatres. In Kerala, none of the centres gives more than 60% share and we are only trying to adapting the same trend here. Whatever we mentioned in the statement is a mere suggestion. Our intention is only to regulate the business. As we couldn’t list out the names of all the directors and actors, mentioned only the important ones.”

Veteran director Bharathiraaja, who heads the ad hoc committee of Tamil Film Producers Council, said, “The statement of the Tamil Nadu Theater and Multiplex Owner’s Association sounds as if they have decided to vanquish all the producers and distributors who are already struggling to stay in the business. Though there is no President and administrative officers for the Tamil Film Producers Council, theatre owners should take any decision only after consulting the Government appointed ad hoc committee. If they try to bypass us, producers and distributors will stage a huge protest.”

5 young batsmen to watch out for in the Cricket World Cup 2019

Sandeep Singh
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5 young batsmen to watch out for in the Cricket World Cup 2019
Shimron Hetmyer
Shimron Hetmyer

1. Shimron Hetmyer: Floppy hat, swagger in his stride, flamboyant follow through, Hetmyer is a throwback to the Caribbean batsmen from the era gone by.

Captain of the under-19 West Indies team that won the World Cup, Hetmyer has had an explosive start to his international career. An average of 40 in his first 25 games with a very impressive strike rate of 110, including 4 centuries, gives a good indication of his potential. His presence in the middle order means you won’t expect West Indies to slow down at any point during the innings.

Hazratullah Zazai
Hazratullah Zazai

2. Hazratullah Zazai: Another left hander, this time the opening batsman from Afghanistan. Zazai first grabbed attention when he smashed 6 sixes in 6 balls during the Afghanistan Premier League. Earlier this year, he smashed 162* off 62 balls against Ireland in a T20 international in a record-breaking team total of 278.

Partnered at the top by the explosive Shahzad, this opening partnership may hold the key to Afghanistan’s World Cup run. They have the bowlers to challenge any batsmen in the world, but it is their batting which generally falls short. If Zazai hits form, that may well change.

KL Rahul
KL Rahul

3. KL Rahul: Bit of a surprise to see him there? Well, while Rahul has been around the Test team for a long time, he has found opportunities in ODIs much harder to come by.

He has played only 14 ODIs till date, mainly due to the formidable combination of Rohit and Dhawan at the top. However, with the number 4 slot opening up for him, he will have the chance to add to his 14 ODI caps during this tournament. In good form after an excellent IPL and a 100 in the warm-up game against Bangladesh, Rahul will be looking to make that number 4 spot his own and bolster that Indian middle order.

Asif Ali
Asif Ali

4. Asif Ali: One of the real finds of the PSL, Asif Ali is the big hitter Pakistan desperately needed lower down the order.

Having suffered huge personal tragedy earlier this month, Asif has re-joined the side in England this week. His form in the lower middle order will be crucial for Pakistan to provide the high tempo finish to their innings. With a strike rate of over 130, he has shown he is very capable of doing that, but needs to add a little more consistency to his game at that Number 6 spot. If he finds that consistency in this tournament, the bowling teams better watch out.

Rassie van der Dussen
Rassie van der Dussen

5. Rassie van der Dussen: Filling the boots of AB de Villiers in the South African middle order is a near impossible task, and it may fall to a rookie batsman in his first year of international career.

At 30, he is not really young and has been around the cricketing world having played in Canada, the Caribbean, and of course South Africa. He had an excellent start to his international career against Pakistan and continued the good touch in Sri Lanka, and is currently averaging 88 in his short ODI career. South Africa have one of the most frightening bowling attack in the World Cup, and if their batsmen click to back them up, who knows, this may finally be their year.

‘Culture of Hindutva prevailed, this is collective insanity’: Jignesh Mevani still shell shocked with the 2019 mandate

OpIndia Staff
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‘Culture of Hindutva prevailed, this is collective insanity’: Jignesh Mevani still shell shocked with the 2019 mandate

Controversial Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani is apparently dumbstruck by the results of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The leader, who is known for indulging in rage politics, was baffled that despite all his sermons and the efforts by other parties, Dalits voted for the BJP in large numbers.

“I can’t understand. Dalits had no reason to vote for BJP this time,” Mevani was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “They didn’t get jobs, there is a terrible agrarian crisis, the price hike is there…The victory is baffling.”

Mevani said that he was under the impression that these issues would “create a lot of trouble for Modi”, but “the culture of Hindutva has prevailed”. He blamed Narendra Modi’s reelection as Prime Minister on “collective insanity” and maintained that “what Modi has done in the last five years was good enough to wipe him out”. “I have no option but to accept it (the result) even when I am not convinced at all,” he added in disbelief.

Kanhaiya Kumar’s huge defeat in Begusarai against Giriraj Singh appears to have had the most impact on him. “I can’t understand how come that happened. He was the one in whose favour there was a clear wave,” said Mevani. “And people were mad after him…His defeat is very unfortunate.” Going forward, his focus would be on his Assembly constituency, Vadgam, and “Dalit-Muslim unity and a nationwide campaign on public health, education and unemployment.”

Jignesh Mevani has been a virulent critic of Narendra Modi. In his attempt to dethrone the Prime Minister, he has peddled fake news about reservations, was caught on camera trying to stoke caste conflict and spoken about Narendra Modi in an extremely disdainful manner. On hindsight, it’s quite understandable why people have rejected his brand of hateful politics.

Mevani also appears to be unable to grasp the fact Kanhaiya Kumar does not quite have an exalted reputation outside the corridors of JNU. Therefore, his defeat should have surprised absolutely no one. That he is shocked by the result only reveals the extent to which he is out of touch with the mood of the people.

It also appears he will spend a significant amount of his resources in the future in trying to forge the mythical Dalit-Muslim unity. It’s quite clear that, on the ground, Dalits have to bear the brunt of Islamic intolerance. Therefore, such an alliance is doomed from the very outset. Even in Maharashtra, despite an alliance between Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and AIMIM, it appears that Muslims voted for the Congress party en masse and not the Dalit leader’s candidates.

Thus, it appears, Mevani spends an exorbitant amount of time chasing unicorns and is left perplexed at the end of the day when his efforts don’t yield any results.

Daughter of Pulwama martyr invited for new Modi government’s swearing-in ceremony

OpIndia Staff
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Daughter of Pulwama martyr invited for new Modi government’s swearing-in ceremony

6-year-old Payal Santra, daughter of Pulwama Martyr Babul Santra, has been invited to attend the Prime Minister Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. On Wednesday she boarded a train headed towards Delhi from the Howrah station and she would be attending the ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today evening. A picture of her having boarded the train is being shared widely on social media.


Babul Santra was a CRPF jawan from the Howrah district in West Bengal. He was part of the CRPF convoy that was attacked in Pulwama of Jammu and Kashmir on the 14th of February by a Pakistan backed JeM terrorist.

The Prime Minister had also invited the kins of slain BJP workers in West Bengal for the swearing-in ceremony as a mark of respect. The kins of over 50 BJP workers who had lost their lives due to the political violence in the state over the last few years have been invited.

However, Mamata Banerjee has decided not to attend the swearing-in ceremony after having heard the kins of slain BJP workers were also invited for the ceremony. She denies that there were political murders in the state.

Meltdown continues: ‘Krantikari’ journalist suggests referendum idea to strengthen EVM hacking theory

Nirwa Mehta
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Meltdown continues: ‘Krantikari’ journalist suggests referendum idea to strengthen EVM hacking theory

As Narendra Modi swears in as the Prime Minister for the second time, many people are yet to come to terms with the fact that he has indeed won again and won it even bigger than 2014. ‘Krantikari’ journalist Punya Prasun Bajpai who had predicted more seats for Congress ally DMK than it even contested on, wants to now hold a referendum for at least one Lok Sabha constituency where voters should sign next to their names and declare who they vote for.


Bajpai tweeted last night that there is disappointment everywhere and people are offering to resign. “Every politician and every party is silent. At least someone should wake up and speak up. Pick one Lok Sabha seat, hold a referendum. Write down the name of each voter, ask and put their signature next to it. Whom did the voter give the precious vote to?”

Bajpai needs to accept that official referendums cannot happen just because Bajpai wants it to. Because he is having a hard time accepting that the BJP won.

At best, a survey could happen, but it is also wouldn’t make sense to compare the survey result to a referendum. To begin with, the actual turnout on the day of voting would vary with the survey results. Secondly, whatever happened to the secrecy of ballot? You know, the one where the voter is assured that who they vote for will remain a secret?

During the run-up to the elections, there was a huge hue and cry regarding the EVMs and how reliable they are. Conspiracy theories were floated on how EVMs can be hacked. In fact, after the voting was over and when exit polls predicted a landslide victory for the BJP, theories were floated how the ‘exit polls’ are rigged so that the ‘EVMs can be ‘switched over’ before the counting. Following the elections, we saw a pattern emerge where those who were not too happy with the results were blaming the entire electorate for ‘choosing hate’ or ‘choosing Hindutva’ and how the ‘Hindu mind is corrupt’.

The ‘EVMs are hacked’ theory, however, died a sudden death as no one in the opposition questioned them anymore after the matching with VVPATs was carried out and there were no discrepancies. However, the fear psychosis had already been established.

A week after the election results were declared, the propaganda continues. Bajpai’s tweet asking for a referendum style survey or whatever that ridiculous idea his fertile imagination has cooked up shows how hell-bent they are to undermine the very basic institution – that of democracy. To seed the idea so that someone else, especially the ones who thrive on cooking up stories on based on a faulty database can execute this ‘krantikari idea’ to create mass hysteria.

Only recently we had shown how this propaganda website ‘NewsClick’ had alleged discrepancies in elections result based on fake data. In an attempt to discredit the BJP led NDA’s win and to suggest that the elections were somehow rigged, NewsClick floated a conspiracy theory to allege that in many places, the number of total votes counted was more than the total number of votes polled on election day.

The report even spoke of suspected ‘phantom’ votes in various Lok Sabha constituencies in UP, Bihar, MP. They had attached a table showing the numbers to prove that the actual votes counted during the counting was more than the total votes. But a cursory glance of the table will tell that they used some clever manipulations and selective inclusions and exclusions to arrive at the numbers they desired to obtain.

After being called out for the glaring discrepancies, NewsClick had deleted their article. However, the article had been widely circulated before that. Bajpai’s tweet can just trigger such ‘data analytics’ to get into the war mode to spread fear and distrust regarding democracy.

Bahut krantikari.

The Electoral Machine: Explaining Naveen Patnaik’s unparalleled electoral success in Odisha even in the face of TsuNaMo

Sambit Nayak
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The Electoral Machine: Explaining Naveen Patnaik’s unparalleled electoral success in Odisha even in the face of TsuNaMo

In April 2014, I was driving my in-laws to their voting booth in BJB College Arts block, Bhubaneswar. Out of curiosity, I asked my mother-in-law whom she would be voting for. As Odisha conducts simultaneous elections, she said Conch for the state and Lotus for Delhi. As she went into the booth and came out, I asked her did she vote the way she told me? She replied in negative. She had pressed Conch in both EVMs. The reason, as she explained to me was, she was confused which EVM is for Lok Sabha and which one is for Vidhan Sabha. She was worried about “What if my vote would not have gone for Naveen Patnaik”. She wasn’t anti-BJP or anything. In fact, she supports Prime Minister Modi. But she by no means could have voted against Naveen Patnaik. She saw it as her duty to vote for Naveen Patnaik even if it means she misses out on voting for Modi.

As they say, it’s difficult to fight someone in politics, who has become an emotion. And Naveen Patnaik enjoys that status among Odisha electors. Yes, he has ruled for 2 decades now and Odisha is still not doing great on many parameters. But ask the voters, they will attribute this to the ill-performing BJD ministers. Anything against Naveen Patnaik is taken personally. This is almost like the Modi cult at a national level, which is why Rahul Gandhi paid a price by calling Modi “Chor“. 

On 29th May, for the 5th time, Naveen Patnaik took the oath of Chief Minister at the IDCO exhibition grounds at Bhubaneswar. By the time his 5th term ends in 2024, he would be surpassing the record of Pawan Kumar Chamling, the ex-CM of Sikkim, who has served the state for 24 years and 165 days, to become the longest-serving CM ever. He will also leave behind the other stalwart, late Jyoti Basu who served as CM of West Bengal for 23 years and 137 days. While Jyoti Basu’s regime was a vote for left, the party kept on winning Bengal even after Basu, in Odisha people have not voted BJD to power. They have voted Naveen Patnaik, with a thumping majority.

Right after 2014 general polls, BJP had chosen their next battlegrounds. Odisha and West Bengal. BJP for the first time held their national executive meeting in Odisha in 2014. Since then PM Modi, Shah and other cabinet ministers have paid countless visits to Odisha to attend party programme or for inaugural functions. BJP carried out a massive booth level programme, “Mo Booth Sabuthu Majboot” to mobilize booth level workers. The result showed in 2017 panchayat elections where the party won 306 out of 849 panchayats. This was 8.5 times their previous record. The party mood was jubilant and celebrations erupted at party HQ near Ram Mandir. Someone sitting 8 KMs away near Aerodrome area was taking note.

When the results were declared for 2019, Modi Tsunami swept the country. Regional and national parties, as well as coalitions, fell like a house of cards. But one man celebrated for his notable work in dealing with cyclones and calamities, not only withstood the Tsunami but completely destroyed it. At the face of Modi Tsunami and 20 years of anti-incumbency, Naveen won 12 out of 21 parliamentary constituencies and 112 out of 147 assembly constituencies, a loss of a meagre 5 seats from his 2014 tally. So what explains this unparalleled success of Naveen babu in Indian politics?

People say Naveen wins because of There-is-no-Alternative (TINA). Well TINA can’t describe this unprecedented electoral success. And even if it were to be TINA, this talks volumes about the quality of opposition than anything else. Indian elections are complex. Get 5 Modi fans and ask them why they have voted for Modi, highly likely that they will give you 5 different reasons. Attributing electoral wins to a single reason is lazy and oversimplification of things. 

In 2015, a huge chit fund scam was unearthed in Odisha. Many BJD leaders including some MLAs and MPs spent a long time in jail. Some of them were suspended from BJD to be re-inducted later. Some of them or their sons have been given BJD ticket in 2019 and won the election as well. However, Naveen remains unscathed. None of this has made any dent to his Mr. Clean image. People see this as a good man surrounded by thugs; however, the good man has ensured the thugs are punished.

What also helps Naveen is his non confrontational attitude. Post 2014, when BJP made Odisha their battle ground, state BJP leaders went berserk in their attack on Naveen. But he remained calm and almost never lost his cool. His responses were measured, dignified and concise. A departure in today’s confrontational politics which some of his rabble rousing contemporaries practice.

One of the most important aspect of Naveen’s unparalleled success is his resolved focus. He has no ambiguity in terms of his political ambition. His sole aim is to rule Odisha and that’s where he puts his energy in. The result is for everyone to see. Compare this with other regional stalwarts, their national ambition and their dwindling political fortunes. Everyone wants a bigger pie in Delhi. Everyone is an expansionist. And that’s where they lose focus.

People on Social Media say that they don’t even know what Naveen does and yet he wins elections after elections. But that’s exactly where the secret lies. He isn’t the one who blows his trumpet. He understands his voters, he knows his limitations, his ambitions and he concentrates his energies only where his strength lies. A cursory look at his pre electoral welfare schemes, his campaigns and strategies were a give away that his appeal for MP elections were always half hearted. His focus was steadily on where his heart lies and it was Odisha Vidhan Sabha.

There is no doubt that BJP has made tremendous gains in Odisha in 2019. An 8 fold increase in parliamentary seats and more than double in assembly elections. Vote share too has almost doubled in both the elections. But numbers are for political strategists and psephologists. After a 19 years incumbency, winning a mere 23 seats out of 147, in a state which BJP had made its battleground having declared mission 120, is an abject failure. There are reasons like lack of sangathan, internal sabotage, no popular face among state leaders. But if this has to be summarised, it won’t b wrong to say that the reason was they were up against Naveen Patnaik. State BJP simply doesn’t have the ammunition to deal with the man.

As Naveen gears up for the 5th term, there are many challenges that lies in front of him. A cyclone ravaged state needs to be revived and put back on the growth track. Odisha fares among the bottom is almost all HRD indicators. Healthcare, farming, education and employment needs immediate attention. Naveen Patnaik has got a massive mandate and he must deliver. Here is wishing Naveen 5.0 all the best for the next 5.

Here is why Mamata Banerjee’s criticism of BJP inviting the kins of killed BJP karyakartas reeks of hypocrisy

Jhankar Mohta
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Here is why Mamata Banerjee’s criticism of BJP inviting the kins of killed BJP karyakartas reeks of hypocrisy

After a thumping victory in the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi will be taking oath as Prime Minister of India for his second term at 7 pm on Thursday. Fifty-four special guests, besides leaders from BIMSTEC countries and a host of celebrities and politicians, would be attending the swearing-in ceremony.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had also confirmed her presence in the swearing-in ceremony, evidently irked by PM Modi’s ‘special invitees‘ later took a complete U-turn. She took to Twitter to declare that her decision of not attending the swearing-in ceremony was prompted by the BJP’s decision to invite families of 54 victims of political violence in Bengal.


As a mark of respect, BJP had invited, kins of over 50 BJP workers who have lost their lives in West Bengal political violence over the months, to the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister and his cabinet.

Mamata in her Tweet had completely disregarded BJP’ claims by saying, “This (political violence) is completely untrue. There have been no political murders in Bengal.” adding that “The (oath-taking) ceremony is an august occasion to celebrate democracy, not one that should be devalued by any political party which uses it as an opportunity to score political points”.

However, Mamata Banerjee forgets that unlike her citizens of India do not have such a short-lived memory. A glimpse at the past reveals that Banerjee had herself invited victims of violence in Singur and Nandigram during her oath-taking in 2011.

As per reports, among the 3,000 people in her swearing-in ceremony, were kins of victims of violence of Nandigram and Singur. She had alleged then, that CPI(M) cadres had murdered innocent land-losers in those two areas and had blamed the outgoing Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for the violence.

The Nandigram violence was an incident in Nandigram in West Bengal, in the aftermath of a failed project by the Government of West-Bengal under the erstwhile Communist rule to acquire land for SEZ (Special Economic Zone).

Mamata Banerjee and her political party had widely used this issue along with the political war cry Ma Mati Manush in their election campaigns. In fact, she on the occasion of Nandigram Divas in 2017 had called the incident “violent politics of the CPI(M)”.

She was soon called out for her own hypocrisy. BJP IT cell in-charge, Amit Malviya took to Twitter to remind Mamata Banerjee of her double-standards. He wrote that her own oath-taking on May 20, 2011, was attended by the families of “victims of political violence in Nandigram and Singur”.


Mamata’s present statement that BJP’s move to invite the families of its party workers who were slain in the violence as ‘devaluing an august ceremony’ reeks of hypocrisy.

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