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Lok Sabha elections: EC declares polls held in Tripura West ‘void’, orders repolling in 168 polling booths

OpIndia Staff
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Lok Sabha elections: EC declares polls held in Tripura West ‘void’, orders repolling in 168 polling booths

The Election Commission of India Tuesday, ordered re-polling at 168 polling stations in Tripura West parliamentary constituency on May 12 from 7 am to 5 pm. The polls in the constituency were held in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 11.


“After taking all material evidence into account, the Election Commission declared under sub-Sections (2) of Section 58 of the Representation of the people act 1951, that the poll which was taken on April 11, 2019, at 168 polling stations in 1-Tripura West constituency against the assembly segments to be void and appoints May 12 as the date and fixed hours from 7 am to 5 pm for taking a fresh poll, an official statement said.

Tripura West parliamentary seat had recorded one of the highest voter turnouts of over 81 per cent when the constituency went to polls on April 11.

On April 19, Congress and CPI(M) in Tripura approached the poll panel and complained of massive poll rigging and booth capturing in Tripura West constituency. They both held BJP responsible for the mal-practices.

While CPI-M general secretary, Sitaram Yechury alleged that more than 460 booths out of the total 1679 in West Tripura were rigged and BJP workers intimidated voters and forced them to leave the booths and the agents of Left political parties were not allowed to enter inside the booths by the BJP workers’, Congress candidate Subal Bhowmick accused BJP workers of intimidating and threatening voters.

However, BJP candidate and party general secretary of Tripura Pratima Bhowmick refuted the allegations levelled by Congress and CPI-M. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said “people exercised their franchise in a festive mood and voting was completely peaceful.

Meanwhile, the polling for two parliamentary constituencies in Tripura was held in two phases- April 11 and 18. Results of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will be declared on May 23.

RTI response says ‘no surgical strike prior to 2016′, days after 3 former Army Chiefs trashed Congress’ claims of previous surgical strikes

OpIndia Staff
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RTI response says ‘no surgical strike prior to 2016′, days after 3 former Army Chiefs trashed Congress’ claims of previous surgical strikes

Days after Congress’ claims that it had conducted 6 surgical strikes during its tenure in a bid to undermine the Modi government’s resolve to give the Indian armed forces a free hand in dealing with Pakistan, an RTI response has asserted that there is no record of any surgical strike prior to the 2016 surgical strike where the Indian army conducted surgical strike across the border to neutralise terror camps.

The Ministry of Defence was responding to an RTI question filed by Jammu-based activist Rohit Chaudhary. Chaudhary asked the Ministry of Defence if there were any surgical strikes conducted between the years 2004 and 2014 (essentially, during the Congress government).

In its reply, the Ministry of Defence, through the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), said they have records of only one strike, that was conducted in September 2016. This strike came 11 days after militants attacked an Army camp at Uri, killing 19 soldiers.

Congress government’s stand on the surgical strike conducted by the Indian Army in 2016 has been shoddy and confused, to say the least. When the surgical strikes were conducted in 2016, the Congress’ first response was to question the strikes against Pakistan and in fact, tow the Pakistan line while asking for proof of strikes.

Thereafter, the Congress party and its president Rahul Gandhi had gone on to claim that several surgical strikes were conducted during the Congress government’s tenure but it chose not to take credit for it and politicise the Indian Army. While the number of surgical strikes purportedly conducted during the Congress government’s tenure kept changing, the latest number was 6, as claimed by Congress.

After these assertions, three former Chiefs of the Indian Army, all during the Congress’ regime had strongly refuted the claims that surgical strikes such as the one conducted in 2016 were conducted earlier during the Congress government’s tenure. Earlier too in 2018, another RTI response had clarified that prior to 2016, there was no record of surgical strikes being conducted.

With this latest RTI response by the Ministry of Defence, one now wonders if Congress would stop politicising the Armed forces and lying about taking a tough stand against Pakistan.

Election Commission dismisses Congress complaint against PM Modi for his Bhrashtachari remark on Rajiv Gandhi

OpIndia Staff
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Election Commission dismisses Congress complaint against PM Modi for his Bhrashtachari remark on Rajiv Gandhi

The Election Commission (EC) has dismissed the complaint filed by the Congress Party against Prime Minister Modi for his remarks on former Prime Minister Late Rajiv Gandhi wherein Modi called him Bhrashtachari No. 1.


The EC said that the ‘Bhrashtachari No. 1’ remark against Rajiv Gandhi did not violate the Model Code of Conduct. Responding to the incessant allegations on the Rafale deal by the Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who is out on bail in National Herald case,  the Prime Minister had said that his father (Rajiv Gandhi) was termed as Mr. Clean by his courtiers but his life ended as a Bhrashtachari No.1, at a rally in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh.

Rattled by the comments of the Prime Minister on Rajiv Gandhi, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee had written to the Election Commission seeking strict action against PM Modi. In its letter addressed to the EC, the UPCC alleged that PM Modi’s remarks violated the MCC and were an insult to the Bharat Ratna awardee Rajiv Gandhi. The Congress party had filed several complaints with the EC against PM Modi, and most of them have been dismissed by the poll panel. BJP had also complained against Rahul Gandhi for calling Amit Shah a murder accused, which was also dismissed by the EC.

Cavalcade of BJP leaders Himanta Biswa Sarma and Dilip Ghosh attacked by TMC goons in West Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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Cavalcade of BJP leaders Himanta Biswa Sarma and Dilip Ghosh attacked by TMC goons in West Bengal

In yet another incident of political violence in the state of West Bengal, the cavalcade of Minister for PWD, Health and Finance in Assam government, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh was allegedly attacked by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers at Kheju in Kanthi Lok Sabha constituency.


Biswa took to Twitter to share the information about the incident. He said that several workers of BJP were injured in the attack and they were stuck as the TMC goons had surrounded them, abusing them at the same time. He said that the reinforcement of CRPF arrived at the scene later but the TMC goons were making difficult for the forces to rescue them.


Slamming the Mamata government for the apparent lawlessness in the State Biswa said that he was appalled at such brazen abuse of power. He said that even the West Bengal police watched the TMC goons block the road on both sides as mute spectators.


The vehicles of the convoy were also attacked and the windows were smashed, as can be seen in videos of the scene.


Himanta Biswa Sarma, the architect of the rise of BJP in the northeast, said that the TMC goons damaged more than 20 motorbikes in the cavalcade and took away three West Bengal BJP workers.


Incidents of violence on political rivals are rampant in the State of West Bengal. Recently a BJP polling agent was brutally assaulted by TMC workers during the 5th phase polling of the Lok Sabha elections.

“My hands were sore because I had scratches over my hands” : Mimi Chakraborty on shaking hands with gloves on

OpIndia Staff
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“My hands were sore because I had scratches over my hands” : Mimi Chakraborty on shaking hands with gloves on

Actor-turned-politician and the Lok Sabha candidate for the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, Mimi Chakraborty has spoken up in defence of her much-criticised act of shaking hands with people in her constituency with gloves on. Speaking to India Today, Chakraborty explained why she was wearing gloves while campaigning in her constituency in Jadavpur. She said that she had been campaigning for 20-21 days and her hands were sore because of shaking hands with people.


“Because I was already campaigning for around 20-21 days and my hands were sore because I had all these scratches over my hands”, she justified.

“When we first come to limelight, the first thing we do is like we shake hands, we give autographs. Elections and being artists or celebrities is always the same because you work for the people. So people cannot ever be a barrier”, Chakraborty added.

Earlier also she had said that she had applied ointment on her hands to treat some nail scratches, bruises and burns that she had sustained, and she had covered the hands with gloves so that the medication does not smudge.

Mimi Chakraborty had made headlines after a video had gone viral in which she was seen sitting in her car and shaking hands with people with gloves on. She had drawn a lot of flak after another video of hers went viral in which she was seen yelling at the voters during an election campaign telling them that everyone should get this in their heads that she had gone their leaving everything because of them.

Watch: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia flouting traffic rules, caught riding bike without a helmet

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia flouting traffic rules, caught riding bike without a helmet

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was caught flouting traffic rules in Delhi. He was found riding a bike without a helmet.


As seen above, Sisodia is riding a bike number DL 13 SU 4832 without wearing a helmet. Sisodia got called out on social media for flouting the traffic rules, especially as a public representative.


People even tagged Delhi Traffic Police to take action against Sisodia for brazenly breaking the traffic rule.


It even raised a question that if Delhi Police does not take action against the powerful for flouting the rules, people’s faith in law and order would break.


Breaking traffic rules seem to be the new norm by AAP leaders these days. AAP candidate for South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency Raghav Chadha was also seen riding pillion with former AAP leader Gul Panag without a helmet.


Shockingly, AAP leaders not only flout the traffic rules but even display immense pride in doing so.

NDTV’s Ravish Kumar seen on the stage of a SP-BSP rally in UP attended by Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati

OpIndia Staff
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NDTV’s Ravish Kumar seen on the stage of a SP-BSP rally in UP attended by Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati

With only two phases remaining in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, political leaders are giving their best in the campaigning. In Uttar Pradesh, Mahagathbandhan partners SP and BSP organised a joint rally at Jonpur today, which was addressed by Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati.

Although the SP and BSP leadership was present in full strength in the rally, an unexpected presence in the program has surprised many. While the mahagathbandhan leaders were addressing the rally, NDTV India journalist Ravish Kumar was seen standing on the stage. There is no news of Ravish Kumar joining either SP or BSP, hence it has raised the question of what was he doing on the stage of an election rally.


The presence of journalists in elections rallies is expected, because they have to attend such rallies to report them for their media houses. But for that journalists take the place reserved for the press at such events, and they don’t take note of speeches by standing on the stage. Hence it clearly suggests that Ravish Kumar was attending the rally as a participant, not as a journalist.


It may be noted that Ravish Kumar had never hidden his hatred for BJP, so it should not be a big surprise in seeing him participating in an SP-BSP rally. Last year at an event moderated by Kumar, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav had said that he regretted not killing a journalist who had criticized him. Ravish Kumar had started the show by showering praises on Akhilesh Yadav’s tolerance.

Ravish Kumar can be seen on the stage in the video of the rally given below:

Swaraj Express and Vinod Dua publish exit poll result of first three phases of election in violation of rules

OpIndia Staff
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Swaraj Express and Vinod Dua publish exit poll result of first three phases of election in violation of rules

Swaraj Express, an online media portal, appeared to air an exit poll of elections in a gross violation of Election Commission regulations. Vinod Dua, who had allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him in the past, was anchoring the show. The video has apparently been removed from YouTube. The link of the deleted video is here.


It remains to be seen whether the ECI will take any action against Dua and the portal for violating their rules. As per ECI regulations, exit polls cannot be aired until voting in all the phases have been completed.

Using powers under the Representation of People Act, 1951, EC banned exit polls from the time the poll begins till half-an-hour after the polling ends since 1998. Barring a couple of parties, all other political parties wanted restrictions on such polls and the dissemination of their results.

The ECI observed while issuing its order, “Such dissemination, particularly on the eve of polls or when the polling process is still in progress, has the potential to influence the electors when they are in the mental process of making up of their minds to vote or not to vote for a certain political party or a candidate.”

From what’s visible, the Swaraj exit poll appears to give only 66 seats to the NDA after 3 phases while giving 137 to the UPA. The polls appear significantly inconsistent with the Opinion Polls that were conducted prior to the polls. Dua appears to have taken the numbers from a report published on propaganda website NewsClick that was published on April 28, 2019, based on the projection of Assembly election results.

Recently, another seat prediction was published in an article by a British journalist which violates ECI regulations. That prediction, too, suggested that Rahul Gandhi was poised to win the elections. The article itself, apart from spreading extremely dangerous ideas, came across as a paid advertisement of the Congress party rather than an objective analysis of the situation.

Vinod Dua’s own track record has been that of a habitual offender. In December last year, he maliciously edited a video to claim that Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had spoken out against the Modi government. Two months before that, when allegations of sexual harassment were levelled against him and numerous others were outed for harassing women, he had likened the allegations to Keechad (mud), insinuating that the women were engaging in mudslinging. He had also suggested that the allegations were not ‘real issues’ and should not deflect attention from the Lok Sabha Elections.

Sadhus present in Computer Baba’s Maha Yagna say they didn’t know it was done to pray for Digvijay Singh’s victory in election

OpIndia Staff
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Sadhus present in Computer Baba’s Maha Yagna say they didn’t know it was done to pray for Digvijay Singh’s victory in election

Today Congress leader Digvijay Singh performed a Yagna in Bhopal where several Sadhus were invited. A Hath Yoga was conducted by Computer Baba, seeking success for Digvijay Singh in the Lok Sabha elections. But now the Sadhus who were present in the ritual have revealed that they had nothing to do with the Congress election campaign, and they did not know that the program was organised for political purposes.

Computer Baba, originally Namdeo Das Tyagi, was accorded ministerial position under the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, but he had left the post after six months and had become a critic of BJP during the assembly elections. He was seen getting closer to Congress party at that time. After Congress came to power, he was appointed as the chairman of the River Trust by the Kamal Nath government. Computer Baba led the Hath Yoga to pray for the victory of Congress leader Digvijay Singh from Bhopal, where he is facing Sadhvi Pragya from BJP.

Computer baba said that “these Sadhus are not for Congress but against BJP. Everyone refused to contest against Digvijaya Singh so the BJP found a sacrificial lamb in Pragya”. He also chanted the slogan “Ram Naam Abki Baar, Badal Ke Rakh do Chowkidar”.

“The BJP has fooled not just the public but the community of seers as well. All sadhus who are with me unanimously say that without a Ram Mandir there will not be a Modi government again. We are holding the Yagna to ensure Digvijay Singh’s win,” Computer Baba said.

But the sadhus who participated in the event said that they didn’t about its real purpose before they attended the same. They said that after coming to the venue they got to know that they have to speak for the Congress party and ensure the victory of Digvijay Singh.

One of the Sadhus said, “We are here because Computer Baba has asked us to be here. We live life of hermits. We are not here for campaigning for any party. It doesn’t bother us who wins the elections, we will only vote for those who work for us.”

Another Sadhu said, “We are here for Computer Baba. We are not aware of the other things happening here. We are not here for campaigning.”

Digvijaya Singh has been one of the earliest proponents of the ‘Hindu Terror’ theory which was postulated by the Congress party to frame Sadhavi Pragya in the Samjhauta Express case. Sadhavi Pragya was also allegedly tortured by the officers on the directions of Congress leaders. Even the NIA had given a clean chit to her in the case.

Twist in the tale: Now 121 DU professors write letter extending their support to PM Modi over his remarks on Rajiv Gandhi

OpIndia Staff
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Twist in the tale: Now 121 DU professors write letter extending their support to PM Modi over his remarks on Rajiv Gandhi

Hours after Congress put up a letter where over 200 Delhi University (DU) Professors had allegedly condemned PM Modi’s ‘Bhrashtachari no 1’ comment against Bofors scam accused Rajiv Gandhi, another list has come out where the DU professors have backed PM Modi’s statement.

According to Republic TV, as many as 121 DU professors have signed a letter condemning Congress for addressing PM Modi in the foulest language on a daily basis.

Letter written by DU Professors (image: Republic TV)

In the letter, the professors express their concern over the ‘anti-historical’ narrative Congress is trying to set that Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure cannot be critically analysed. They condemn how certain DU professors don’t want anyone to point fingers at Rajiv Gandhi while referring to the incumbent PM in a foul language.

The professors mention that the fact that Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira and his grandson Rajiv, are not beyond critique just because they were awarded Bharat Ratna. Especially about his role in the Bofors scam and 1984 anti-Sikh riots. They further add that they fully support Narendra Modi in bringing to fore the corruption cases during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure.

The scathing letter further reads, “‘Bofors deal’ became a symbol of official corruption; it initiated a trend which had consistently been followed by Congress-led governments. Scandals like 2G, Coalgate, CWG, and now Scorpene Submarine scandal directly involving Rahul Gandhi are all the natural corollaries of Bofors tradition. The subsequent remote controlled Manmohan Singh UPA government even defroze the accounts of Gandhi’s family friend swindler Ottavio Quattrocchi.”

The letter further states Rajiv Gandhi’s public address where he justified the 1984 riots by saying that when a big tree falls, the earth shakes and condemns the officially sponsored pogrom.

The DU professors then point out Rajiv Gandhi’s alleged involvement in the escape of Warren Anderson, Union Carbide chief, right after the Bhopal gas tragedy. “Rajiv Gandhi as PM was responsible for letting Warren Anderson Chairman of Union Carbide escape justice in the Bhopal Tragedy episode. His company was responsible for the death of thousands of poor Bhopal residents- most died instantaneously and thousands later owing cancer and other diseases caused by poisonous gas leaks.”

The letter then puts out pointed questions to Congress.

  1. Rajiv Gandhi’s role in 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
  2. Rajiv Gandhi’s role in the escape of Quattrocchi from Bofors investigation and why was the case against him diluted.
  3. Why was Warren Anderson allowed to escape through a special plane.

The letter is signed by Delhi University professors.

Earlier in the day, Sam Pitroda, Congress leader, had shared a letter by DU professors where they had condemned PM Modi’s remarks on Rajiv Gandhi. However, later on, some of the teachers had denied signing any such letter.

Since the election campaign gained momentum, letters are emerging from various quarters where self-proclaimed intellectuals, film artists, army veterans are reportedly urging the voters not to vote for Prime Minister Modi. However, in such letters too, signatories have later claimed that they were not aware of such letters and had simply denied signing such letters.

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