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MP govt spent Rs 1.58 crore for Switzerland visit of CM Kamal Nath and 3 officials, reveals RTI reply

OpIndia Staff
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MP govt spent Rs 1.58 crore for Switzerland visit of CM Kamal Nath and 3 officials, reveals RTI reply

Kamal Nath, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and 3 officials have cost the state exchequer a whopping 1.58 crore during their recent visit to Davos, Switzerland, according to information revealed through an RTI.

The CM was accompanied by Chief Secretary S R Mohanty, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Ashok Barnwal and Principal Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion of the state government, Mohammed Suleman. The official delegation representing Madhya Pradesh government participated alongside Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, government of India, at the World Economic Forum, 2019 to co-brand the state and woo investors.

The state government had defined the purpose of the visit to collaborate with ‘Invest India.’ The delegation was said to closely interact with potential investors, academia, policymakers among others and project the state as a highly potential investment destination across sectors in central India. It was highlighted that missing the visit could make the state lose viable investment opportunities.

Anti-corruption activist Ajay Dubey had filed the RTI to know the detail of the trip. In a note sheet, a copy of which was received in response to the RTI  filed by Dubey, approval for expenditure amounting to nearly Rs 1.58 crore on the trip, including that on a session on Madhya Pradesh, was sought on January 5.

The RTI clarified that one representative of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Madhya Pradesh was also a part of this delegation. The financial sanctions for Davos visit included the costs of air tickets and accommodation etc. of the CII representative.

According to the cost break up, Rs 30 lakh was paid for air ticket and visa expenses, Rs 45 lakh for hotel (stay and meeting room), Rs 9.5 lakh on local conveyance, Rs 2 lakh for VIP lounge access at Zurich airport, Rs 50,000 on travel insurance and Rs 40 lakh on DIPP lounge participation charges and promotional material. Rs 1.5 lakh was Dearness Allowance (DA) at the rate of USD 100 per day and Rs 15 lakh was for miscellaneous expenses, the RTI revealed. Also, Rs 14.35 lakh was paid to the CII as administrative fees.

According to Dubey, this expense was totally avoidable especially at a time when the state was reeling under stress and needed to improve its accounts. He also suggested that ‘tax payers’ money could have been managed better.

The RTI also reveals that Suleman had written to the Indian embassy in Switzerland on December 20 requesting their support for hotel bookings that included one executive suite for the CM and three premium rooms for the rest. He had also urged the embassy to provide two cars, which included one luxury car for Nath. This was to be used for local commutation during the visit. Suleman’s email copy was provided by the state government in response to the RTI query.

A delegation of more than 12 businessmen from renowned corporate houses had also visited Switzerland during the same period. However, they had paid for their visit.

The RTI  also divulged that on January 5, Suleman had sought approval from seniors concerned in the chief minister’s office and the state government’s industrial policy and investment promotion department seeking approval for Shanu Mehta, promoter of Indore-based firm to be part of the delegation for Davos. The permission for this was granted later.

Incidentally, Suleman was transferred from the department of industrial policy and investment promotion to the planning and statistics department on March 2.

The World Economic Forum holds an annual brainstorming summit on crucial matters including economy and geopolitical attended by political and business leaders from across the world. This year, the meet was held from January 21 to 25.

Electoral Bonds: Fast gaining steam as an innovative instrument created keeping Indian circumstances in mind

Sapan Gupta
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Electoral Bonds: Fast gaining steam as an innovative instrument created keeping Indian circumstances in mind

The latest new political currency Electoral Bonds are gaining steam in the run-up to the 2019 elections with over Rs 1,000 crore of Bonds being sold within the first week of April alone, as per sector experts. The bonds also take prominence as corporates and individuals can no longer directly contribute to a political party and must route their donations through these. So far over their one year of existence till this March, Rs 2,769 crore worth of these bonds, which are unique to India, have been bought from the 29 designated branches of State Bank of India.

Electoral bonds were first proposed in 2017 when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his budget speech that this would pave the way to cut black money in political funding. A Time magazine estimate pegged spending in the last general election in 2014 at an estimated $5 billion (around Rs 3,500 crore). Cash transactions, on ground payments and other unrecorded expenses not included, cleaning of even the reported funds of this magnitude is a constructive move towards clean elections. It is a bold step for politicians to move such an initiative that could potentially hit close to home.

The Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018 was introduced on January 2, 2018, after amendments were made through the Finance Act of 2017 to Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, Representations of Peoples Act, 1951, Income Tax Act, 1961 and Companies Act, 2013. It is a first of its kind instrument and while the Clean or Fair Elections Act of several developed nations touches on methods of donations to political parties, none of the major countries has successfully weeded out dubious practices in this space.

The bond has been created keeping in mind the specific Indian conditions. For example, anonymity is a big concern. Big corporate often contribute to multiple parties and prefer to keep these donations opaque between politicians. At the same time, the accountability of where the money came from must also be maintained. The answer lay in letting banks audit the source of funds while allowing the recipient anonymously. The electoral bonds were thus entrusted by the Government of India to State Bank of India, which has been given the task to do a complete ‘Know Your Customer’ or KYC check on each donor. Whether or not the donor is an account holder when buying the bond the bank collects all verification and nationality documents as it would when a new account is opened. Payment for the bonds, for any amount over Rs 2,000 cannot be done in cash and must be done via check, demand draft or digital money transfer, creating an audit trail for the money. Once issued, the bond acts as a promissory note, a little bit like a currency note. Available in denomination ranging from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 1 crore, it is valid only for 15 days from the date of issue. The expiry is a safety feature to prevent forgery or misuse. The money during this period is parked in an interim account to be debited when the bond is redeemed. Any outstanding unredeemed amount is credited to the Prime Minister’s relief fund.

Only a political party which is registered under Section 29A of the Representation of People Act, 1951 and has secured one or more percent of votes polled in the last general election to Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly is eligible to receive and encash these bonds. The political party redeeming these bonds is eligible for a tax rebate as it would be in the case of an on record donor. The party can present the bond, unmarked by any visible numbering for funds to be transferred into its account. That said, while no records are maintained, a secret number is embedded in each bond, and the amendments provide for this data to be mined in case an Indian Court or investigative authority demands it. As such it protects all stakeholders.

This reform aims to bring about greater transparency and accountability in political funding while preventing the future generation of black money. In 2015, a few disgruntled members of the Aam Admi Party revealed that donors were shell companies repatriating black money to launder during elections. Whether or not this allegation was true, the electoral bond tackles the problem head-on. It throttles the hawala and laundered money entering into political campaigning which often goes unreported and could be utilized in contravention of Election Commission norms.

It is also a tool for companies looking for legitimate, anonymous roots to make political contributions. Around the time of the previous general election, a major India conglomerate was found with Rs 25 crore of cash in its offices. It turned out the cash was meant for political patronage but was misconstrued for other use. The company preferred to keep its contribution anonymous but if it had made a digital transfer, under election commission norms it would need to be recorded. Such organizations can now use the bonds to make donations of any amount.

The electoral bond scheme, however, has been subjected to intense debates and is currently undergoing judicial scrutiny. Certain non-governmental organisations and political parties have filed a petition in the Supreme Court stating the scheme is unconstitutional, illegal and void. The Election Commission is also of the view that electoral bonds will be against the endeavour to have transparency in the funding of political parties. The Central Government, on the other hand, is of the view that the scheme actually promotes transparency.

Other proposed means to bring transparency in electoral funding have been the creation of National Election Fund or state funding of elections, as recommended by the Indrajit Gupta Committee in 1998. These suggestions can only be implemented once there is greater political will and structural reforms with respect to how the political parties are established and managed.

The electoral bond is one more innovative and novel attempt, in a regime that has taken chances with bold actions such as demonetization and Goods and Services Tax through its tenure. The popularity of electoral bonds suggests that it is a step in the right direction and an idea whose time has come in the prevalent political space.

Meet the Photoshop artist whose work Akshay Kumar showed to Prime Minister Modi

OpIndia Staff
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Meet the Photoshop artist whose work Akshay Kumar showed to Prime Minister Modi

Film star Akshay Kumar today had a freewheeling informal interaction with Prime Minister Modi. It showed PM Modi in a different light, as an individual instead of as a politician. During the interaction, Akshay Kumar asked PM Modi if he spends time on social media and whether he is amused when he sees the memes on social media.


One of the memes was of the people from the film fraternity had come together and met PM Modi. One Twitter user @atheist_krishna had used his Photoshop skills to make them all wear a ‘Jai Shree Ram’ bandana on their forehead.


Soon enough, Akshay Kumar himself recorded a video message for the user who goes by the name Krishna on Twitter appreciating his skill and artwork.


Akshay said his friends who know of Krishna had told him about the amazing Photoshop work he does especially to put a smile on people’s face. Kumar mentioned how he had shown one of the memes he had done to Prime Minister Modi and that he had a hearty laugh at it. He then wished Krishna luck for trying to make people smile with his clean humour.

Krishna is often seen on Twitter sharing Photoshopped images of people who send him requests to edit out certain photographs.


And he has his moments where he has to decide on how to not play God.


But that does not stop him from making jokes on others. Especially politicians. He also makes jokes on PM Modi and BJP President Amit Shah as well.


And other politicians.


OpIndia team reached out to him and he clarified that his name is indeed Krishna and he is an atheist coming from a religious family. However, he said, he does not ridicule religions. Krishna said he was not aware that Akshay Kumar showed his meme to PM Modi till he saw it on Twitter. “I got the information about my Photoshopped meme being shown to PM of India Modi ji on Twitter first. The first message was by @rahulroushan which said: “Did Akshay Kumar just show Photoshop by @Atheist_Krishna to PM Modi.”

Krishna said this is his first brush with a real celebrity. “Neither Akshay Kumar nor PM Modi follows me on Twitter. In fact, everyone jokes that whatever you do, PM Modi will never follow you back,” he jokes.

Atheist_Krishna’s creation when asked to photoshop something for OpIndia from a frame of the interview, preferably with him in the frame

Speaking about his Photoshop journey, Krishna says he is a self-taught artist from a small town who now lives in Vizag and Hyderabad. In 2012, his father gave him a new laptop with a pre-installed version of Photoshop. “At first, I tried to do some face swap but failed and then didn’t use it for a year or so. Then, one day I saw a Photoshop tutorial on YouTube and tried it on my laptop it worked fine. That’s how I stated learning about this software. Then one day I saw the Twitter handle of James Fridman @fjamie013 doing funny Photoshop artwork. At that time I thought why couldn’t I try this with the Indian audience? And then there was no turning back. So yes, James Fridman has inspired me,” Krishna says. He says he gets a lot of requests for Photoshop, but he admits he could not cater to them all because he is far from being a professional artist.

Speaking of requests, Krishna has also received requests from corporates who want him to design their logo, which he has to turn down because he feels he is not a professional artist who would be able to do justice to the job on hand.

Recently, suspended bureaucrat Ashish Joshi who was caught using official letterhead to send personal letters masking as an official circulation from the department of telecom, was found threatening legal action against Krishna. Krishna had posted a picture where he had Photoshopped opposition leaders in a meeting between Pakistani PM Imran Khan and Pakistani army chief with the caption that Opposition leaders have reached Pakistan to look for proofs of the Balakot airstrikes.


Joshi, clearly deprived of a sense of humour, decided to file a police complaint against Krishna.


Following Akshay Kumar’s acknowledgement of Krishna, a very visibly livid Joshi was busy branding Krishna a ‘Hindutva Social Media Terrorist’.


Krishna said that while he has been on the receiving end of hate and abuse at times, the threat from Joshi has been his first. “I am fortunate enough that people from Left, Right and Center like my work and know I do it fun and intend no harm to anyone. There are also people who hate me because of my Center to Right ideology but never ever they threatened me of police, they just come and abuse and that’s it,” Krishna says. OpIndia is of the opinion Ashish Joshi should probably just take a chill pill and use his time during suspension to do something productive.

Clearly, an endorsement from Akshay Kumar and Prime Minister Modi have ruffled quite a few feathers. But as of now, Krishna is enjoying his moment. And very well deserved, if we may say.

OpIndia team wishes Krishna the best.

Akhilesh Yadav targets his own ally Mayawati while falsely attributing her casteist remarks to Yogi Adityanath

OpIndia Staff
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Akhilesh Yadav targets his own ally Mayawati while falsely attributing her casteist remarks to Yogi Adityanath

While addressing an election rally on Wednesday, former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav targetted Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath by falsely accusing him of making casteist remarks. However, in a hurry to attack Yogi Adityanath, Akhilesh Yadav attacked his own ally BSP supremo Mayawati.

Speaking at the rally, Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav targetted Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister by falsely attributing a casteist remark to him even though the deplorable remarks against Akhilesh Yadav were made by BSP supremo Mayawati.

“He said had there been no Constitution, I would be grazing buffaloes, what kind of CM is he? If you ask him to run a laptop you won’t find him after two days. If he thinks like that about me, imagine what he thinks of the poor?,” said Akhilesh Yadav.

According to Akhilesh Yadav, Yogi Adityanath had allegedly made a casteist remark saying that if had there been no constitution, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav would be working under a Zamindar grazing after his buffaloes.

However, in reality, CM Yogi Adityanath was referring to an earlier comment made by BSP supremo Mayawati where she had attacked Akhilesh Yadav for disrespecting Ambedkar.

We had earlier fact checked it to reveal that casteist statements against Akhilesh Yadav were initially made by BSP supremo Mayawati, which was then used by Yogi Adityanath to expose the hypocrisy of the leaders of both Samajwadi and Bahujan Samajwadi party.

Rohini Singh, a self-proclaimed journalist close to Samajwadi party along with her colleague from the anti-India propaganda and fake news website ‘The Wire‘ had furthered a fake narrative similar to her alleged beneficiary Akhilesh Yadav.

After caught pants down for spreading fake news, she initially blamed Amar Ujala for misleading them with their headline but accepted that the statements were indeed made by Mayawati and not made by Yogi Adityanath. However, she did not apologise for propagating fake news.

‘Goondo ke liye Mamata, aur jan-gan ke liye Nirmamta’: PM Modi in Ranaghat, West Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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‘Goondo ke liye Mamata, aur jan-gan ke liye Nirmamta’: PM Modi in Ranaghat, West Bengal

As India heads towards the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, all political parties charge up to give in their best. Prime Minister Narendra Modi who addressed election rallies in West Bengal and Odisha on Tuesday, has taken his campaign rally to Lohardaga in Jharkhand and Ranaghat and Bolpur in West Bengal today.

Addressing a sea of people gathered in Ranaghat, which somehow gives a clear picture of BJP making successful inroads in Bengal, PM Modi hailed the people who have come from places across to hear him. Modi acknowledging the crowd said that the people sitting in Delhi cannot even imagine that BJP’s rally in West Bengal can be so grand. It is just becoming bigger and stronger, Modi exclaimed.

Taking a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, Narendra Modi said that seeing the turnout in BJP’ rallies in West Bengal, whatever little hope of winning the CM had must have faded away.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi targetted TMC chief saying that “didi has been trying to fight her last leg with the help of hired goons and foreign artists, but she forgets that the West Bengal public is now standing steadfast with BJP”. Taking a further dig over poll violence Modi said, “Didi cheated the people of West Bengal who respected her. Now the blood of the people is turning the colour of this holy land into the red.”

“Goondo ke Liye Mamata, aur Jan-Gan ke Liye Nirmamta (‘Mamata’ is for the goons, while brutality is allowed against the people),” he said. On Tuesday, a voter was killed in a clash between TMC and Congress workers in Murshidabad.

Modi spoke about how in 2009 it was Mamata who had demanded President’s rule and wanted the elections to take place under the supervision of the armed forces. People trusted her and voted for her. But she betrayed the people of Bengal, Modi said while addressing the crowd in Ranaghat, West Bengal.

Lambasting Mamata over the violence aimed at BJP Karyakarta’s, Modi said, BJP workers cannot be intimidated by bombs, pistols and hooliganism and suppression. Had the BJP workers been so weak and meagre, BJP would never have ever become the largest democratic party of India, said Modi.

“Our party has given innumerable sacrifices to reach here, if we were scared, a party of two elected representative wouldn’t have formed the govt in the centre”.

Taking a dig at Mamata supporting the coalition, Modi said she wants to evade investigations in the Chit Fund Scam, “that is why didi is supporting a coalition”.

Calling Mamata the biggest example of how leaders can flip-flop for power, Modi blamed her for shielding infiltrators in Bengal. “The one who cried in the Parliament for removing the infiltrators in 2005 from Bengal is now shielding them. She has forgotten that this chowkidar is alert and won’t let her succeed in her motives,” furthering that “through NRC we will identify the infiltrators so that the people of Bengal aren’t deprived of their rights”.

Clearing his stands on NCR, Modi reiterated, the persecuted minorities who had to leave their home and hearth due to their affiliation to religion will be given citizenship in the country.

Furthering his take on Mamata Banerjee, Modi calls her ‘sticker didi’, “Speedbreaker didi is also ‘sticker didi’. Whatever aid the central government sends for the people of West Bengal, she labels it as her scheme,” Narendra Modi said in Ranaghat.

In March, Modi had used the sticker jibe to attack TDP president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu as well.

Modi furthered that “through PM Kisan yojana, we want to provide financial assistance to the farmers of West Bengal. However, they haven’t given us a list of farmers yet”. “To remove ‘Speed-breaker’ Didi, you will have to strengthen this Chowkidar. Therefore, I urge you to go and vote for BJP”.

Modi said, a daughter of Bengal, Judith D’Souza, was kidnapped in Afghanistan by the terrorists. Our diplomatic relations helped us bring her back safely to the country. It’s because of our good relations with other countries that we are able to help our citizens working abroad.

Referring to the cordial relations India shares with the UAE, Modi lambasted at Mamata saying that she should take a cue from the UAE, if not from Modi. Talking about UAE Modi informed that revering the Modi Government UAE has decided to increase the quota of Haj yatris, release 800 Indian prisoners and also build a Hindu temple.

Reiterating West Bengal’s mood to do away with the atrocities of the Mamata led government Modi re-emphasised “any vote to TMC, Congress and Communist will only strengthen the Syndicate and when you vote for the Lotus, you’ll strengthen the country”.

View PM Modi’s full speech in Ranaghat, West Bengal here:

TMC worker seen brandishing a gun during roadshow organised by over 200 workers in Birbhum, West Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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TMC worker seen brandishing a gun during roadshow organised by over 200 workers in Birbhum, West Bengal

In a shocking video that has emerged from West Bengal, a local TMC worker can be seen in the video brandishing a gun during a roadshow in the Birbhum Lok Sabha constituency.


TMC’s Satabdi Roy, who is a sitting MP from Birbhum Lok Sabha seat is seeking re-election. In the video of the bike rally in which more than 200 TMC workers participated, one of the pillion riders can be seen holding a gun with no fear of consequences. The shot is apparently from the Sainthia area which falls under Birbhum constituency.

According to the reports, three TMC leaders including area president Prashanto Modal had participated in the rally. BJP has fielded Dudhkumar Mandal to fight from the Lok Sabha constituency.

Electoral polls in West Bengal are often greeted with violent skirmishes and clashes between competing parties. With Mamata Banerjee at the helm of affairs in West Bengal, TMC goons are empowered to run amok carrying out their depraved activities with impunity. It is widely believed that TMC goons are protected and sheltered by TMC leadership which further emboldens them to execute their nefarious designs.

Yesterday, in an ensuing clash between Congress workers and TMC workers, one man lost his life. There have been multitudes of reports of TMC goons perpetrating violence against their political adversaries. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, a BJP leader was thrashed and was left to die by TMC goons in West Bengal’s Islampur.

Congress leader Ajay Singh calls BJP MP Riti Pathak “Maal”

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Ajay Singh calls BJP MP Riti Pathak “Maal”

Disrespectful remarks towards women by politicians seem to have become a norm this election season. After Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s outrageous remarks against BJP leader Jyada Prada, now a Congress leader Ajay Singh has made a derogatory remark against BJP leader Riti Pathak.

A video of Ajay Singh is seen addressing the people in Sidhi Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh and saying that Riti Pathak won the elections last time because people fell for Modi’s promise of Rs 15 lakh. “Pathak ji pichhle chunaav me aye rahin. Unka Bharatiya Janta Party se ticket mila. Hawa bahut rahi Modi Modi. Sabhi 15 lakh ke chakkar me pad gaye. Ban gayi Saansad” (Pathak ji came here during the last election. She got a ticket from BJP. There was Modi wave. Everyone fell for their promise of 15 lakh. She became an MP), said Singh.

Singh said that neither did Pathak return to her constituency after becoming the Member of Parliament and nor did she contribute anything towards her constituency. Objectifying Pathak, Singh said that people have tested her she is not a good maal (thing). “To bhaiya unka to ajmaye chuke. Vo theek maal nahi ba”, he said.

Recently Azam Khan was imposed a 72-hour ban by the Election Commission for using sexist and highly derogatory remarks about Jaya Prada. This was followed by Azam Khan’s son making another sexist remark against Prada who called her Anarkali.

Earlier Congress President Rahul Gandhi had made sexist remarks against Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying that the PM was hiding a woman.

Raj Thackeray spreads fake news, while ‘liberals’ hail him as ‘fact-checker’

OpIndia Staff
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Raj Thackeray spreads fake news, while ‘liberals’ hail him as ‘fact-checker’

MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who in the past had often spewed venom against the migrant population in Mumbai has suddenly found himself being featured in the Liberals’ list of blue-eyed boys and is being hailed as ‘fact-checker’ by them for taking on the might of the BJP and apparently debunking their purported Social Media lies.

Many liberals whose anti-Modi tendencies have been quite evident from their conduct have praised Raj Thackeray for confronting BJP and its Social Media IT cell for alleged propagation of fake news and rumours. Having been profoundly disappointed by the Congress ineptitude, Liberals seemed to have co-opted Raj Thackeray to take on the might of the Modi juggernaut and somehow dent his prospects in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.


However, it is notable to mention that those who nurse anti-Modi hatred have overlooked the fact that the account that shared the photoshopped image which was supposedly debunked by Raj Thackeray in his meeting was not an official or verified page and fact-checking of content on unverified or fan page account is a superfluous activity and not a ‘fact-check’. Modi or BJP can’t be blamed for photoshopping done by random people online.

Even those who are accused of molestation have extended their support to Raj Thackeray and are actively promoting him to mount a credible opposition in Maharashtra which is in its current state is disoriented and rapidly disintegrating.


With just 1 seat in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, some of the journalists have even elevated MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s stature to that of being the main opposition voice in Maharashtra. It is pertinent to note that MNS has just 1 legislator in the Vidhan Sabha.


However, Raj Thackeray’s fact-checking skills are not at par with Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s skill of lying through his teeth. Recently, in an interview with TV9, Raj Thackeray played a doctored video claiming that PM Modi asked the little girl to say “Rahul Gandhi Pappu hai”. When pointed out by the interviewer that the video is manipulated with dubbed voice and that the original video doesn’t contain such comments, Raj Thackeray got angry and asserted that this is the original video and rubbished the assertions made by the reporter.


The original video is from 18 December 2016, in which PM Modi can be seen lauding a little girl for her rendition of ‘Ramayana’ on stage. However, the latest fact-checker on the block, Raj Thackeray chose a dubbed video to slam Modi claiming that it is Modi who is asking the little girl to say “Rahul Gandhi Pappu hai”. Nevertheless, Thackeray is being feted by a section of Liberal media as a ‘fact-checker’.

Raj Thackeray’s MNS has been a right-wing Marathi ethnocentric regional party in Maharashtra. It rose to prominence in 2009 when MNS managed to bag 13 seats out of the 288 Vidhan Sabha seats in Maharashtra. Since then, the party is struggling as it is facing increasing headwinds from its opponent Shiv Sena, Congress, NCP and BJP who have been dynamic in heeding the changing demands of the people. In 2014, when the Modi wave swept across the country, MNS was blown to bits with just a single legislator making it to the Vidhan Sabha.

In 2008, MNS workers were accused of beating up people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar working in Mumbai. Thackeray, with his son-of-the-soil rhetoric, was accused of whipping up the frenzy against the migrant workers in his impassioned idiosyncratic way. In 2013, Raj Thackeray held people from UP and Bihar responsible for the rising rape incidents in the country. PVR staff men were allegedly beaten up by MNS workers in 2018. In their protest against the pothole deaths in Navi Mumbai, MNS workers vandalised the PWD office in 2018. Raj Thackeray also threatened to scuttle the Bullet train project in Mumbai as a mark of protest against the apathy shown by Railways to the problems faced by commuters.

In the aftermath of the Uri attack in 2016, in which Pakistani terrorists killed Indian soldiers, Raj Thackeray held eminent filmmaker Karan Johar to ransom for casting Pakistani actor in his movie and asked him to pay Rs 5 crores to the Army Welfare Association for ensuring an uninterrupted release of his movie ADHM. Liberals had then excoriated Raj Thackeray for his extortionist behaviour with regard to the release of Karan Johar’s movie.

With the recent event of Liberals embracing Raj into their fold, two things are pretty clear- First, there is a dearth of a genuine leader in the opposition who can mount a powerful offence to take on the might of the PM Modi and second, Liberals have no qualms in co-opting an ideological opponent who is prone to lying to take on their bete noire Modi, even if it comes at the cost of sacrificing their own cherished ideology.

BJP fields another Dalit from North West Delhi, disgruntled leader who joined Congress calls BJP anti-Dalit

OpIndia Staff
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BJP fields another Dalit from North West Delhi, disgruntled leader who joined Congress calls BJP anti-Dalit

After being denied ticket from the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) for the Delhi North West constituency, Udit Raj joined Congress Party today in the presence of Congress President Rahul Gandhi. During the media briefing, Raj said that he wanted to join Congress since 2012.


A miffed Raj while addressing the media after joining the Congress accused the BJP of being anti-Dalit. “BJP is an anti-Dalit group which uses internal surveys to choose its candidate”, he said.


Raj removed the prefix Chowkidar from his Twitter handle soon after joining the Congress. He said he would snatch at least 10-15 seats from the BJP. “I was one of the best performing MPs for BJP, I was a popular figure. But I was accused of influencing Dalits. I will snatch at least 10-15 seats from BJP now”.

Although Udit Raj has accused BJP of being anti-Dali for denying him the ticket, the fact is that Delhi North West is a reserved constituency for SCs. Which means an upper caste candidate can’t contest from this seat. In place of Udit Raj, BJP has fielded singer Hans Raj Hans, who is also a Dalit. Hans Raj Hans belongs to the Valmiki community, which is recognised as a Scheduled Caste.

Raj had earlier threatened to quit the party if he was denied ticket by the party.


He had tweeted: “I am waiting for ticket if not given to me I will do good bye to party”. Raj had merged his Justice Party with BJP back in 2014 and had successfully contested for North West Delhi.

Decision comes from political will, the Army follows, success comes when both operate in unison: Amit Shah

OpIndia Staff
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Decision comes from political will, the Army follows, success comes when both operate in unison: Amit Shah

BJP President and Lok Sabha candidate from Gandhinagar, Amit Shah was interviewed by Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami in Varanasi yesterday.

Amit Shah, speaking about the chances of BJP coming back to power, said that the party who believes in democracy and follows the same within the party can value and strengthen democracy. Taking a subtle jibe at the Congress’ ‘dynasty politics’ Shah said that democracy is not any particular families personal property. And only a party which has the will and vision can take India ahead, said the BJP President.

Shah said that when India completes 75 years of its Independence BJP wishes to see India as a fearless and confident Nation, and said, “We are working relentlessly to achieve the same”.

Attacking Congress, Shah said that since the opposition has no particular agenda, nor does it have any ‘neta’ (leader) nor ‘niti’ (policy) for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, they are fighting this election on the basis of personal attacks. Be it the ‘chowkidar chor hai‘ jibe or calling Amit Shah a ‘murder accused’, the Congress president has been resorting to such techniques to mislead the public. But Indian cannot be fooled, he said.

In reciprocation to the ‘murder accused’ tag, BJP president Amit Shah stated that a false case was registered against him. He alleged an ‘absence of evidence’ and ‘political motivation’ behind the case, furthermore taking a dig on Rahul ‘legal knowledge’. It is notable here that Shah was vindicated when the CBI court had stated in its verdict late last year that the CBI had wanted to falsely accuse Shah.

Saying that the court had ruled that there was not enough evidence against him to merit even a trial, Shah lambasted at Rahul saying that his lawyer friend like Kapil Sibal should enlighten him with some legal know-how.

Amit Shah, when further asked about the voter’s turnout in this election season as compared to that in 2014 said that he is confident that Modi supporters are coming out in huge numbers to cast their votes.

When Arnab indicated that this election is not being seen as a ‘wave election’ as it was in 2014, Shah with extreme certainty said that people are not being able to understand the undercurrent in the Nation. Shah said that he has been traveling extensively and confirmed that this time the ‘Modi Wave’ is stronger than that in 2014.


“Public has decided on the next Prime Minister, it is Narendra Modi, there is a ‘gigantic voter wave’ all over the country, in favour of PM Modi, said Shah confidently. He said that both the number of seats as well as the margin will be higher for his party. Performance in all states including Northeast, West Bengal, Odisha, and Kerala will be better than before, he said.

“Vote bank is not any political leader’s slave”. Gone are those days when getting together of any two leaders sitting in their respective drawing rooms could influence voters, Shah said, furthering, that the voters’ are now, well-informed, aware and cannot be influenced. Basing his predictions on this factor, Shah said that he was confident that BJP will win a minimum of 23 seats in West Bengal too.

Answering to Arnab’s question on how Uttar Pradesh results have become the focal point this election season, Shah concluded that the SP-BSP alliance’ internal contradiction votes were more than 15 percent in Uttar Pradesh, which would become an obstacle for the SP-BSP alliance. Amit Shah sounded certain that BJP will sweep Uttar Pradesh in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Blasting at SP-BSP trying to consolidate votes in Uttar Pradesh on the basis of caste-based politics, Shah said that BJP is instead trying to consolidate vote in UP on the basis of development.

Speaking about the immense development initiative taken up by his party in the last five years in Uttar Pradesh, Shah said that the UP people are totally upbeat with the fact that they have received basic amenities like gas connections, toilets and houses after 70 years of Independence and all this has happened after BJP came to power. He was confident that UP’ public will recognise the BJP’ efforts and vote for them.

Condemning the castist remarks the opposition resorts to regularly, Amit Shah said that the opposition is automatically helping in consolidating the Hindu votes in favour of BJP. He said that his party needn’t do anything, the opposition is helping them to acquire the Hindu support by invoking castist statements.

Shah lambasted at the ‘Hindu terror’ narrative which is being woven around the induction of Sadhvi Pragya into BJP, by the opposition parties. “Hindu Terror is an insult to the Nation”, Shah blistered, saying that both the Babri Masjid case and the Samjhauta blast cases, which were peddled by the Congress party to consolidate its vote bank, were dismissed by the court.

Shah made a fiery attack at the Congress saying that the Congress for all these years has compromised on the country’s security, insulted Indian culture and degraded our country worldwide to garner votes.

Lambasting at the Congress, Shah said that he wanted Congress to answer as to why the Lashkar terrorist’s who were accused in the Samjhauta Blast case were freed? He reiterated that it has been proven that the Congress, in order to consolidate votes, created a false case to mislead the country and also concocted this ‘Hindu terror’ narrative to rule the country for so many years.

Amit Shah further took a dig at the Congress’ election manifesto, saying that the manifesto had been prepared with a ‘tukde-tukde’ mindset. They have always been supporting the Tukde Tukde gang, said Shah.

Answering to Congress’ veiled attack on PM Modi’s remark, when he had in his response to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that India has not saved its nuclear weapon for Diwali, Shah said that Modi was just making a reference to context trying to convey that India will not bow down to Pakistan sponsored terrorism, which again has been misrepresented by the opposition to suit its narrative, said Shah.

Pointing out at the difference between India then and now, BJP president, said that when the Congress left there was the “Hindu terror’ narrative floating in the country. They projected India as a terrorist hub. Now, under Modi, the entire world has recognised Pakistan as the breeding ground for terrorists. The entire world, including China, has declared Pakistan a terrorist country’, said Shah.

Cornering the Congress over talking about ensuring the dilution of AFSPA, ensuring that the presence of security forces in the Kashmir valley is reduced and dilution of sedition law, the three promises which the Congress election manifesto highlights, Shah informed that probably the Congress supremo was unaware that these laws were introduced by his great grandfather.

Next, commenting on Imran Khan’s controversial remark supporting PM Modi for the next term, which gave the Congress an opportunity to berate the Prime Minister, Shah said that Imran Khan was right, peace would only prevail if Modi comes back to power. Putting an end to all anecdotes woven by the Congress over Imran Khan’s statement, Shah in a witty response, said that Imran Khan’s statement is true because the fear after the airstrike will not permit Pakistan to plan any terror activities in the future and hence peace will automatically prevail.

Answering to the allegations rendered by the opposition, saying that BJP was in a habit to take credit for everything (making a reference to the airstrike), Shah said that it is the “political will that makes the difference”. The army has been there in the past also, then why under the Congress rule such a strong step was not implemented after the 2008 Mumbai attack, questioned Shah.

He said it is the political will which decides, the army just follows the decision. When both operate in unison, then only success comes your way, said Amit Shah.

Arnab further questioned Shah on Priyanka Vadra’s longing desire to contest from Varanasi and also went on to talk about Shah’s take on Amethi.

Talking about Priyanka’s inclination to fight PM Modi from Varanasi, Shah said that since India is a democratic country anyone can fight elections. Taking a subtle jibe at Indira Gandhi and Congress rule then, Amit Shah said: “this is not Congress rule, where an emergency will be declared and the powers from all political parties would be yanked away”. In the same breath, Shah laughed away Priyanka’ chances of winning from Varanasi, saying that the love and admiration people of Varanasi have for Narendra Modi is unimaginable.

Meanwhile, talking about Amethi, Shah asked: “what connection does the Congress family have with Amethi”? Lambasting at Congress’ frivolous claims, he said they were born in Allahabad, lived in Delhi, haven’t worked for the people of Amethi in the last 4 decades, on what basis does the Congress supremo called Amethi it’s home turf? said, Shah.

“It is the BJP which has provided electricity to over 600 households in Amethi. I believe that this time Amethi is a potential seat for BJP”, said the BJP president.

Throwing light on its position in West Bengal, Amit Shah said that in these five years BJP has been a witness to the prevailing autocracy and corruption in Bengal. BJP has been working on the ground level and in its struggle has lost the lives of over 80 workers in Bengal. He furthered that they have been witness to the intolerance and atrocities prevailing in Bengal. He furthered that the mafia and syndicates flourishing under the TMC are no secret. He also asserted that Bengal’s demography has been changing because infiltrators are being backed by the leadership.

He said that the public of West Bengal has now decided to stand up against these atrocities. They will welcome the BJP government with open arms as they now want to “teach didi (Mamata Banerjee) a lesson”, said Shah.

Towards the end of the interview, talking about a few of BJP’ achievements in the last 5 years, be it from providing around 7 crore gas connections, to building 2.5 crore houses. Be it electrifying 2.35 crore houses to constructing over 8 crore toilets or be it providing the 50 crore Indians with health benefits worth 5 lakh, working relentlessly for the holistic development of the Nation, Shah with immense confidence predicted that India will vote BJP back to power.

Envisioning more than 282 seats for BJP and a minimum of 320 seats for NDA, Amit Shah was certain that India will choose Modi as their Prime Minister for the next term as well.

Amit Shah’s full interview with Republic Bharat can be viewed here:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jjoRHBc8f0]

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