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Instructions to kill Sikhs in 1984 came directly from Rajiv Gandhi’s office: Senior advocate H S Phoolka

OpIndia Staff
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Instructions to kill Sikhs in 1984 came directly from Rajiv Gandhi’s office: Senior advocate H S Phoolka

Senior advocate H S Phoolka has claimed that instructions to kill Sikhs during the anti-Sikh riots came directly from Prima Minister’s office. The anti-Sikh riots had broken out after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi had taken charge as the next prime minister on the same day.

“There is enough evidence on record to show that in 1984 when the Sikhs were being killed, the instructions were coming directly from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Army was not called in… We have placed our evidence on record before the Nanavati Commission as well as Mishra Commission,” Harvinder Singh Phoolka told news agency ANI in Delhi today,

Talking about the scenario at the government when then riots were going on, Phooka narrated, “Shanti Bhushan was Law Minister during Morarji Desai government. Shanti Bhushanji has given his own affidavit before the Nanavati Commission. He says on November 1 morning he went to Narasimha Rao, who was Union Home Minister at that time and he asked Narasimha Rao to immediately call the Army as innocent citizens are being killed… Narasimha Rao agreed with him”.

“Narasimha Rao called on the RAX phone, which is a direct phone between the ministers. And he says Narasimha Rao tried to convince the other person on the line to call the Army. After some time, Narasimha Rao put down the phone and sat quietly. Shanti Bhushanji says he was there for about two-three minutes, Narasimha Rao didn’t say a word. So, Shanti Bhushanji said he got up and went away”, the senior advocate said.

Phoolka said former Prime Minister Charan Singh along with Devi Lal, Sharad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan had also asked the President to immediately call the Army. “So, the President wanted to call the Army, Home Minister wanted to call the Army, who is the one who can veto them? It’s the Prime Minister’s Office. We have placed evidence on record that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) officers were even monitoring it,” he said.

“On November 1, an Army unit came and that Army unit in Safdarjung Enclave was trying to save the Sikhs who were under attack. One officer came and stopped them. He said there are no orders for the Army to move in. After 15-20 minutes that Army unit was directed to report to the cantonment. When they went to the cantonment, they were asked to confine to barracks and their arms were taken away,” he added.

Phoolka said that 2000 lives could be saved as enough army personal were available by government chose to not use them. “5,000 Army personnel were available in Delhi on November 1, 1984. If that Army could have been deployed, it could have saved 2,000 lives. This was directly the Prime Minister’s Office, who was managing and controlling it,” he said.

Talking about the alleged involvement of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Phoolka said, “Even Kamal Nath came to Rakab Ganj Gurdwara. Gurdwara was burned, two Sikhs were burned alive over there. Kamal Nath told the police that he was sent by the Prime Minister. It is in the police report that Kamal Nath came there and said he had been sent by the Prime Minister to see if any Hindu has been kept as a captive there. Despite the presence of Kamal Nath, the police fired on Sikhs inside the Gurdwara.”

Phoolka said that “due to the sheer power of the government and their influence, they have suppressed all this evidence. But there is enough material to show, it was directly Rajiv Gandhi’s office, which was giving the directions to kill the Sikhs,” he added.

The anti-Sikh riots in 1984, which was triggered by the murder of prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, caused the death of 2,800 Sikhs in Delhi as per official records, although unofficial sources estimate the number of deaths about 8,000-17,000. Violence towards Sikhs and destruction of Sikh properties were led by Congress workers, while police remained mute spectators.

Saga of INS Virat used as a taxi and cigarette packs airlifted to Bhopal from Indore: Here is why PM Modi needed to talk about Dynasty arrogance

Abhishek Banerjee
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Saga of INS Virat used as a taxi and cigarette packs airlifted to Bhopal from Indore: Here is why PM Modi needed to talk about Dynasty arrogance

Here is a small anecdote from the early part of Obama’s term as President. Fox was reporting on some school where kids were being taught by their teachers to sing a song called “Mmm… mmm… mmm… Barak Hussein Obama”

I searched for it on youtube and found it quickly.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ty7WU872Lk?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]

 

Right-wing network Fox (and much of talk radio, which is mostly conservative) was severely outraged over this. Even some liberals.

They were asking: Is this what the US has come to? Children singing songs for their “Dear Leader”?

The reaction bewildered me. I wondered what the big deal was. As a kid growing up in India, we were used to half a day of celebrations on Chacha Nehru’s birthday. A lot of standing in lines, singing of songs and speeches praising Nehru. Each of us would receive a box of sweets at the end of it along with one cold and stale samosa.

The “reason”: Chacha Nehru said that children were the future. This banal observation was repeated over and over again like it was some great insight. I mean, if you need to be told that kids are the future, you’re not very bright. And did he actually say these exact words somewhere?

It doesn’t matter. Like Big Brother, Chacha Nehru does not exist in any ordinary sense of the word.

What was astonishing (and in retrospect, perhaps embarrassing), is that at the time I felt it was completely routine and normal.

It is only when I saw it through American eyes that it struck me how chilling the whole exercise is. Children all across the nation being made to parade and celebrate the birthday of the “Dear Leader”. This is not a normal ritual. It’s horrifying.

This is how pure propaganda works. You don’t even realize how it gets inside you.

This is why Modi needs to tell people today the story of how the Dynasty used INS Viraat as a taxi for their vacation travels.

Because we have grown up hearing one and only one side of the story. We haven’t been told a single thing that shows the Dynasty in poor light. We lack all context.

I mean, my entire civics textbook didn’t have a single line about how civil liberties were trampled during the Emergency. You would think that a civics textbook would go into detail about the Emergency because that’s the best way to bring alive concepts such as free speech and fair trials and strange sounding Latin(?) expressions like “habeas corpus”. It’s the most teachable moment of all. But no, they didn’t want us to really understand this stuff. They wanted us to memorize and forget after the Board Exam and remember only the greatness of Nehru. Everything else had been scrubbed clean as if it never happened.

Into this void step the journalists, intellectuals, column writers… and the hottest and newest kids on the block… stand up comedians uploading their stuff to Youtube.

Their videos get millions of views as they make an issue out of anything and everything. Why did Modi do this or that? Why did Doordarshan give more coverage to BJP than to CPIM (yes they are actually asking that)?

And believe it or not, people are listening. It may not be enough to topple Modi today, but the slow poison continues to soak into the narrative.

Because all context has been wiped out. People simply don’t know a thing about the dark years of single-party Gandhi Dynasty rule.

What they see is Rahul Gandhi and his claim to do politics with hugs and humility.

What they might not realize is that this “humble” avatar of the Congress is completely new. In fact, it has been forced by circumstances, now that the Congress realizes it may never become the single largest party in a Lok Sabha election ever again.

Voters who are 18 years old today in 2019 were just 3 years old when the Congress got the plaque of Savarkar removed from the Cellular Jail in the Andamans. Do you think they know?

Those kids were just 3 years old when the Congress didn’t let PVNR’s dead body inside the gates of the party HQ. Even at the time, few people heard about it. Do you think the new voters in this election know about this?

People need to be reminded of how spiteful, arrogant, vengeful and petty the Dynasty used to be.

Congress made a mistake by accusing Modi of treating the Army like “personal property”. Now PM Modi is making the Congress pay by revealing jaw-dropping details of how the Dynasty ruled back in their glory days.

Young people who share videos of Kunal Kamra and Akash Banerjee need to hear this stuff.

An aircraft carrier used as a taxi to go on vacation. Perhaps no monarch anywhere in the world lived at the level of personal luxury that the Dynasty enjoyed back when they had absolute power.

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People need to know that when Nehru forgot his cigarettes while visiting Bhopal, his favourite brand would have to be airlifted from Indore.

Who paid for that roundtrip for a plane to fetch a pack of cigarettes? Likely it was money that belonged to a desperately poor and starving Indian public in the 1940-60s.

People need to know what happened. Otherwise, it will all be cleansed with pretend hugs and humility from Rahul Gandhi. And internet voices who are paid to act like it’s some big deal to stand up against Modi sarkar. Ha! A man like Kishore Kumar was banned by AIR after he refused to perform at a Congress rally in Mumbai. Can you imagine how they would have persecuted some two paisa comedian?

You have to remind the people that in political terms, Rahul Gandhi is actually not 48, but 129 years old. Because you should count from the year in which Nehru was born. If he wants power in their name, he will have to own every bit of their legacy.

Congress leader Harish Rawat shares Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s picture while paying respect to Gopal Krishna Gokhale

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Harish Rawat shares Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s picture while paying respect to Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Congress leader, five-time Member of Parliament and former Uttrakhand Chief Minister, Harish Chandra Singh Rawat took to Twitter, to send out a heartfelt message on the 153rd birth anniversary of the freedom fighter and social reformer Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

Rawat in his tweet paid his tribute to Gokhale expressing his gratitude for the liberal reformer, the great freedom fighter, a philosopher, and a mentor to Mahatma Gandhi. But shockingly, Rawat used the picture of Bal Gangadhar Tilak instead of Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

Tweet by Harish Rawat, now deleted


It is appalling for a Congress veteran to be as careless as this. Harish Rawat, not only exhibited his callousness but also threw light on Congress leaders obliviousness to Indian history.

Apart from being a “Liberal Reformer” who primarily promoted India’s independence from the British Empire, Gopal Krishna Gokhale was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress itself. Therefore, for a senior Congress leader to make such a blunder only goes on to prove that Congress is not only unacquainted with India’ history but are also equally oblivious to its own past.

Being one of the oldest national political party’s of India, it is a shame that its party leaders are not only unacquainted with Indian history but are equally oblivious to their party’s history.

Nevertheless, the alert Twitter users were quick to jeer the Congress leader for his ignorance.


Gopal Krishna Gokhale (left), Bal Gangadhar Tilak (right)

Both Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Bal Gangadhar Tilak had played pivotal roles in getting India its independence. While Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and founder of the Servants of India Society was considered one of the founding social and political leaders during the Indian Independence Movement, Bal Gangadhar Tilak an independent activist was the first leader of the Indian Independence Movement.

Meanwhile, it will be advisable that the Congress leaders do a bit of their homework before coming out with such bloopers on public platforms, only to make a joke of themselves.

Indian Express publishes Fake Report linking Sadhvi Pragya to Gauri Lankesh Murder, SIT rubbishes report

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Express publishes Fake Report linking Sadhvi Pragya to Gauri Lankesh Murder, SIT rubbishes report

On Thursday, the Indian Express published a report claiming that the Special Investigation Team probing the Gauri Lankesh murder has found links between Sadhvi Pragya and the murder case. The report had claimed that links had emerged between missing suspects in the Malegaon blast case and a group associated with the murder of Gauri Lankesh, according to an SIT document submitted to a Bengaluru Court. The report also suggested the possibility of Sadhvi Pragya’s links to the Lankesh murder case. But now the SIT had denied the report by Indian Express, saying they did not find any such link.

The report stated, “Four missing members of Hindutva outfit Abhinav Bharat, all wanted for blasts in the Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid, Ajmer Dargah and Malegaon between 2006 and 2008, trained several suspects linked to the Sanatan Sanstha in making bombs at secret training camps across the country between 2011-2016, the investigation by the Karnataka Police into the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh has revealed. This disclosure is part of documents submitted by the SIT to a Bengaluru court.”

It added, “In the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, Pragya Singh Thakur, the BJP’s Bhopal Lok Sabha candidate, is an accused along with 13 others, including two missing Abhinav Bharat members, Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, who have been declared “proclaimed offenders”.”

The report claimed further, “As many as five “training camps” – Jalna in 2011, Jalna in January 2015, Mangalore in August 2015, Ahmedabad in November 2015 and Nasik in January 2016 – were held by suspects from Abhinav Bharat, the SIT investigation has revealed.”

The SIT, however, has issued a statement rubbishing the claims made in the Indian Express report. The statement clearly said that at no point did they find Sadhvi Pragya’s involvement in the murder of Gauri Lankesh nor is her name mentioned in the charge sheet.

“SIT has not found in its investigation or mentioned in the charge sheet any link to Sadhvi Pragya, Malegaon blasts, Abhinav Bharat. There is no evidence to suggest the same. No documents purporting the same have been submitted to the Hon’ble Court,” the statement read.

In the face of clear denial by the SIT, whose findings the Indian Express claimed to report, it appears clear that the report was clearly a hitjob against the BJP candidate from Bhopal. It appears the Congress party’s friends in the media are working overtime to help Digvijay Singh against the Sadhvi who was a victim of the Congress party’s ‘Hindu Terror’ initiative.

The report, too, appears to be an atrocious attempt to rake up the issue of ‘Hindu Terror’ and reinvent the bogey as Bhopal goes to polls by trying to link Malegaon and Samjhauta blasts with the murder of Gauri Lankesh. Journalists in the mainstream appeared to have been affected personally by Sadhvi Pragya’s nomination, the report undoubtedly appears to be a mala fide attempt to malign her reputation.

Congress posts a tweet slamming Modi government’s Ujjwala Scheme, Twitter users point out the irony

OpIndia Staff
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Congress posts a tweet slamming Modi government’s Ujjwala Scheme, Twitter users point out the irony

In an attempt to lure female voters away from the Modi government, the Congress party today posted a propaganda video on Twitter belittling the Ujjwala Yojana that seeks to empower poor women who had no access to LPG cylinders up until now.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is a scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for providing LPG connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) households.


In the video made by the BBC, the Congress attempts to denigrate the central government’s Ujjwala scheme by claiming that its first beneficiary Guddi Devi is still occasionally using firewood instead of the subsidised LPG cylinders provided to her. The video says the Ujjwala Yojana ain’t successful as Guddi Devi is eligible for 12 subsidised cylinders in a year but she has managed to get only 11 of them in 3 years as she couldn’t afford to buy the subsidised cylinders.

Ujjwala scheme has been one of the most widely praised social welfare schemes of the Modi government, apart from Ayushman Bharat. The direct impact on rural health is also something that was highlighted. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had stated in February that almost 80% of beneficiaries of Ujjwala have come back for a second refill.

However, many on Twitter were quick to spot the inherent irony of the tweet. The users pointed out how Congress had failed not just in providing subsidised cylinders to the poor but also in raising their incomes for them to afford subsidised cylinders.

Many hailed PM Modi’s Ujjwala Yojana while censuring Congress for not even providing gas connections to the most vulnerable section of the society, despite being in power for almost 60 years since India’s independence, besides using the abject situation of poor in a propaganda video to target the Modi government.

One user mocked Congress’ posted video responding that by posting such videos they are indeed exposing themselves. The user blamed Congress for the abject poverty among the poor that they couldn’t afford subsidised cylinders.


One of the users highlighted how Congress has failed in providing basic amenities to the poor while PM Modi in the last 5 years has been working towards providing facilities to the poor.


Some users even pointed out how the Gas cylinder rates during UPA II were hovering around Rs 1100 and how under Modi government the rate of unsubsidised cylinders have come down to around Rs 750.


Another user ridiculed Congress for not even envisaging of providing gas connection to the poor.


While it is unfortunate that some Ujjwala Scheme beneficiaries cannot afford additional cylinders and have to go back to firewood and kerosene for their cooking chores, it is ironical on Congress’ part to disparage the Ujjwala Yojana that has provided gas connections to the vulnerable and poor in the society.

It is also a fact that millions of women have benefitted from the Ujjwala scheme. The time saved from collecting firewood and making cow dung fuel has been utilised by several women to supplement their family income. Even the WHO had praised the scheme.

It is Congress party’s legacy and failure that poor in India were bereft of gas connections and not economically empowered to afford subsidised gas. Congress does not seem to realise that in pointing out that some people are too poor to even afford a subsidised gas cylinder, it is highlighting its own failures.

Kerala elephant owners threaten to boycott Thrissur Pooram after govt bans most popular elephant from the festival

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala elephant owners threaten to boycott Thrissur Pooram after govt bans most popular elephant from the festival

On Wednesday, in an emergency meeting held by the Elephant Owners Federation, they have decided not to send elephants for parading in the Thrissur Pooram celebrations. This was done following the decision of the district administration to ban the famous elephant ‘Thechikottukavu Ramachandran’ from parading.

Federation president P. Sasikumar alleged that the government was trying to disturb festivals. “There is a conspiracy of forest officials behind the ban on Thechikottukavu Ramachandran,” he said.

The 53-year-old Ramachandran has been branded as the most dangerous elephant in the state, it has killed 13 people and 3 elephants in its entire lifetime. However, the elephant also has a massive fan following and is loved by the people of the state.

Several Facebook users posted the message ‘Save Ramachandran’ on the Thrissur district collectors page demanding the ban to be lifted. Fans have accused the government of interfering with their traditions.

On February 8, Ramachandran had killed two people. He is allegedly blind on one eye and has digestion problems as well.

“He can’t see with his left eye. Anything that comes close to him he perceives as danger, and therefore pushes them away. This is how many of those deaths happened,” says VK Venkitachalam of Heritage Animal Task Force, an NGO for elephant welfare.

A committee examined his health and submitted a report to the Chief Wildlife Warden against parading the elephant at festivals, following which Ramachandran was banned from parading by the District Collector.

Forest Minister K. Raju said that decision was taken keeping the safety of people in mind. A petition would be heard against the ban on May 10.

A meeting would be held on Thursday headed by Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran in order to settle the differences. The Kochi and Guruvayur Devaswom Boards informed the government that they will provide elephants for Thrissur Pooram.

The Thrissur Collector in an address to the media explained that the decision to ban has not been lifted and that the ban wasn’t for a particular elephant.  Every year a decision would be taken on the ban of elephants with regard to Thrissur Pooram. Only after getting a fitness certificate from a veterinary doctor is the elephant allowed to parade. She said a final decision on Ramachandran would be taken after the HC hearing.

She added that elephants which are physically not fit, including the elephants which are in a state of musth, will not be allowed to be taken to Thrissur town from May 12 to 14.

Kerala Elephant Owners’ Federation secretary K Sasikumar said, “We are willing to co-operate but the forest minister has made a controversial statement saying owners were torturing jumbos for money. It is an insensitive comment and we have decided not to dispatch our jumbos to any festival.”

Sasikumar blamed the Forest Minister for the current standoff. He said that the minister promised that Ramachandran would be allowed to parade with reasonable restrictions. He alleges that the minister has gone back on his word.

The Forest Minister in a press conference had clarified that parading Thechikottukavu Ramachandran at the Pooram is ‘undesirable’ and that it wasn’t a strict order banning the elephant.

The Thrissur Pooram is Kerala’s biggest cultural festival in which elephants play a very important role. The main festival begins on May 13th. It’s held every year at the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur. The festival includes traditional percussion musical instruments, caparisoned elephants, decorative umbrellas and pyrotechnics.

The Thrissur Pooram has faced several issues on the past including a PIL against the use of elephants in temple functions and also the issue of firecrackers which the SC had finally allowed to be used in the Pooram.

‘The current PM has no family to go on vacations with’, Congress leader Anand Sharma justifies Rajiv Gandhi’s vacation using INS Viraat

OpIndia Staff
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‘The current PM has no family to go on vacations with’, Congress leader Anand Sharma justifies Rajiv Gandhi’s vacation using INS Viraat

The Congress party has made a habit of throwing muck at the Prime Minister’s personal life during the run-up to elections. In the past, they have showered him with plenty of filthy abuses and their senior leaders have often indulged in the most despicable form of mudslinging.

Now, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma has again attacked the personal life of Narendra Modi in response to the Prime Minister raking up the matter of former PM Rajiv Gandhi using warship for vacations. Sharma said, ‘the current PM has no family to go on vacations with’.


By raising the matter of family, Anand Sharma is trying to say that if a prime minister has family, it is justified to use an aircraft carrier for personal vacations of the PM’s family. The Congress leader also means to say that it is ok for foreign nationals to travel on Indian Navy warships because they are family members of the prime minister.

Narendra Modi has been called sewage worm, Gangu Teli, Mad dog, Bhasmasur, Virus and even Dawood Ibrahim. Furthermore, he was labeled a ‘trader of death‘ by former Congress Sonia Gandhi. Apart from that, he has been called mentally ill, lowlife, and a comment was passed by a Congress leader questioning who his father was. He recounted all the abuses he has had to endure at a recent rally in Kurukshetra, Haryana.

Only yesterday, Sanjay Nirupam called Narendra Modi the modern incarnation of the Muslim fanatic tyrant Aurangzeb. And it was Mani Shankar Aiyar, the veteran Congress leader, who demeaned Modi’s humble upbringing by insulting for selling tea in the past, a label the Prime Minister has gladly accepted and turned into a shield. Despite all such personal attacks, Congress leaders never seem to face any consequences for their vile language despite party president Rahul Gandhi claiming vociferously that he is practicing politics of love.

SC dismisses sacked BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav’s plea challenging EC’s decision to scrap his Varanasi nomination

OpIndia Staff
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SC dismisses sacked BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav’s plea challenging EC’s decision to scrap his Varanasi nomination

The Supreme Court Thursday dismissed the sacked ex-BSF Jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav’s’ plea challenging the Election Commission’s decision of scrapping his nomination for the Lok Sabha polls.

On May 6, the SP candidate had moved the Supreme Court terming the decision of the poll panel discriminatory and unreasonable.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said, “We don’t find any merit to entertain this petition.”

The Samajwadi Party candidate, who had filed his nomination on April 29 from Varanasi, is an ex-BSF jawan, who was sacked from the Army in 2017 for violation of rules and was previously jailed four times for misbehaving with seniors. Tej Bahadur was fielded against PM Narendra Modi from the Varanasi constituency in the Lok Sabha elections.

Tej Bahadur Yadav’s nomination papers were rejected on May 1, by the EC as he had goofed up on the paperwork. Yadav’s candidature was rejected by the returning officer after he failed to submit a certificate on whether or not he was dismissed from the service for corruption or disloyalty to the government.

The returning officer had claimed that since Bahadur was dismissed from the government service on April 19, 2017, five years period from the date of such dismissal has not elapsed, in terms of section 9 of the Representation of the People Act 1951.

According to section 9 of the Representation of the People Act 1951, a person who has held an office under the Government of India or under the Government of any State and has been dismissed for corruption or for disloyalty to the country shall be disqualified for a period of five years from the date of such dismissal.

In 2017, Yadav had uploaded a video in social media where he complained that poor quality food was being served to Army personnel. This led to a huge furore and resulted in a court-martial enquiry against him, which further culminated in his dismissal on grounds of making false complaints in media.

Yadav, who was, recently, caught on camera agreeing to kill PM Modi for money, had initially announced that he will take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi as an independent candidate. Later, Samajwadi Party announced its support to him and fielded him as its candidate.

The Varanasi constituency represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi votes in the last phase of elections scheduled on May 19. Results of the Lok Sabha elections would be declared on the May 23.

Atishi Marlena accuses Gautam Gambhir of spreading abusive letter against her, Gambhir says Kejriwal got it written

OpIndia Staff
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Atishi Marlena accuses Gautam Gambhir of spreading abusive letter against her, Gambhir says Kejriwal got it written

Aam Aadmi Party today levelled allegations against BJP East Delhi candidate former cricketer Gautam Gambhir that he has distributed pamphlets in East Delhi constituency to defame AAP candidate Atishi Marlena.


According to AAP, the letter, which is not signed by anyone, was published and circulated by BJP East Delhi candidate Gautam Gambhir. The letter refers to Atishi as ‘mixed-breed’ and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal as ‘Kuta Kejriwal’ and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia as ‘Kanjar Sisodia’.

AAP claims the above abusive letter is distributed by BJP’s Gautam Gambhir

The letter refers to Marlena as ‘Sisodia’s keep’ and a ‘prostitute’. The letter goes ahead to assassinate not only Marlena’s character but also that of Manish Sisodia.

Gautam Gambhir has meanwhile has claimed that the said derogatory letter was actually written and published by Aam Aadmi Party itself.


Gambhir took to Twitter to question Kejriwal on how low would he stoop to win an election? He condemned such act of outraging a woman’s modesty. Referring to Kejriwal as ‘filth’, Gambhir said he needs his own jhadu (broom, AAP’s election symbol) to clean his dirty mind.

He even challenged Aam Aadmi Party that if proved that he was behind such a disgusting letter, he would quit politics.


Gambhir even said he is ashamed to have a chief minister like Arvind Kejriwal.

Cyclone Fani: How a state was ravaged and how it pulled together to fight Mother Nature’s fury

Sambit Nayak
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Cyclone Fani: How a state was ravaged and how it pulled together to fight Mother Nature’s fury

Broken trees, mobile towers, wretched electric poles and debris lay scattered on roads of Puri and Bhubaneswar as a category 4 cyclone named “Fani” ripped through the Odisha coast in the early hours of 3rd May. As wind speed crossed 250 KMPH at landfall, it left behind a trail of destruction and horror. Government sources put the death toll at 42 while some unofficial counts suggest that this number can go up, this is beside the massive damage to livestock and fauna across Puri, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara district. Civic infrastructure, communication, electricity network, monuments, temples are ravaged across the path of the cyclone.

As the IMD forecasted the exact time and landfall point of the strongest ever cyclone in two decades, the state government moved massive resources to undertake one of the biggest evacuation drive to have been undertaken in recent history. A day before the storm, IMD revised its time of landfall from 17:00 to 08:00 as the storm picked up the pace and the task to evacuate people with lesser time in hand became more challenging. The government evacuated 1.2 million people to safe places and cyclone shelter homes before the deadly cyclone hit the coast. To those who have never experienced a super cyclone, here is a small video to give an impression of how it looks like.

It was complete mayhem on Puri coast and Bhubaneswar city as the cyclone approached on 3rd May.  At the weather monitoring station on Puri sea beach, the Anemometer clocked Cyclone Fani at 274 kmph before the winds broke it. After landfall, Puri recorded gusts upto 250 KMPH and sustained wind velocity upto 240 KMPH while Bhubaneswar was hit with 205 KMPH gusts. It slowed down further as it travelled on land. Puri district along with Puri town itself and Khurdha district which state capital Bhubaneswar is a part of, have taken the worst hit.

To give a picture of the destruction Foni has caused, sample this. 1,56,000 electric poles have been uprooted, 10,000+ 11 KV transformers are affected, 200 33KV towers, 19 132 KV towers and 5 400 KV towers have fallen to the ground. 5030 KM of 33 KV lines,  38,613 KM of 11 KV lines and 79,485 KM of LT lines have been destroyed. Odisha’s energy secretary Hemant Sharma puts it that the entire grid network in Puri and Bhubaneswar has to be built from scratch.

1,89,095 houses are damaged in Puri district alone. One of the major victims of the cyclone is the Green canopy and worst sufferer is the picturesque highway between Puri and Konark along the coastline, popularly known as a marine drive. Lakhs of Casuarina plantation, Cashew nut plantations, Coconut trees which lined up the stretch are no more. This stretch, also known as Balukhand reserve forest, is home to Blackbucks, spotted deers and other species. With their natural habitat destroyed, not only the animals have lost their home, with the forest cover thinning, the coastal villages along the line lost the natural cushion against such vagaries of weather. And with the Green cover gone, coastal Odisha awaits another blistering hot summer.

In the aftermath of the cyclone, state and central governments have joined hands to put life back on track. Teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), Fire department personnel and  Odisha police force are on the ground clearing debris, cutting fallen trees branches and clearing out roads so that places are accessible and relief can reach. CESU, OPTCL and FEDCO teams are pulling extra hours to resurrect the power infrastructure and restore electricity. We met these men in uniform from the NDRF team, who are clearing out debris so that the electricity network can be restored. With the infamous sweltering summer of Odisha, where the temperature is hovering around 43 degrees, the chain saw machines are sometimes giving up, but not our men. They are unrelenting and resolute.

With no power to two entire districts, the hoarding bazaar is working overtime. As Mundali barrage pump house suffered heavy damage post the cyclone, there is no drinking water supply to Bhubaneswar and adjoining areas. Puri is also going through drinking water crisis of epic proportion. Though villages have hand pump and traditional wells, town areas are entirely dependent on tapped water and motor pumps drawing water from bore wells. With no power, there is no water on the overhead tank and taps are running dry. The genset owners are making a fortune out of this. They are charging somewhere between Rs. 1000 to 1500 to power an 0.5 KVA motor for 1 hour. The authorities have fixed water supply to some part of Bhubaneswar but Puri is still reeling under a severe drinking water crisis. Some gensets owners are even charging 50 to 100 bucks to recharge a mobile phone as people staying outside the state are frantically trying to reach to their families and enquire about their well being.

Most grids in Bhubaneswar City Distribution Division (BCDD) are charged while work on the LT lines remains. Indian Oil on a priority basis has provided Diesel to vital installations like airport, stations and hospitals. Power has been restored to some hospitals. Fuel pumps opened 1 day after the cyclone. Packaged milk was available as the plant re-opened 3 days after cyclone. Some ATMs have now started working through their VSAT link. All arterial roads and highways are now open to vehicular traffic enabling relief to reach people. Community food centres are providing cooked food to the worst affected. Cellular companies have joined hands to provide communication links to consumers from whatever towers remain functional. IOCL has started mobile fuel pumps delivering fuel at the doorstep.

Many volunteers group are organising relief distribution. Drinking water is being supplied on a war footing basis.

Authorities are saying that by 12th May, all of Bhubaneswar City will be back on the grid while for Puri, it may take more than a month as a total of 1,56,000 electric poles need to be erected. Life is limping back to normalcy, slowly but steadily.

Puri, which is usually bustling with visitors is wearing a desolate look. With no access to water and power to more than 30 lakh people, the cities of Puri and Bhubaneswar have plunged into darkness. But there is always a silver lining in the darkness. Yesterday, I was returning to work and as I merged into NH 316 near Rasulgarh, a part of the street lights lit up. It was like a part within me lit up. It was so heartening to see power back in the city and into people’s life.

Though it’s just a small percentage, every little step counts. With normal life has thrown totally out of gear, and Puri being literally ravaged by the cyclone, on the auspicious occasion of Akshay Tritiya yesterday, the Pandas of Puri Jagannath Temple went ahead with Chandan Jatra rituals, which earmarks the start of construction of “Rathas” known as “Ratha Anukula”, for the upcoming Ratha Jatra.

What’s disheartening is the near total absence of MSM from covering an calamity of such an epic proportion, the biggest cyclone to have hit Indian coast in 2 decades, which has affected 1.4 crore people. People have been living in dark without food, electricity or drinking water. Lives and livelihood have been lost. It’s understood that, in an election season, a natural calamity may not give them the TRP or eyeballs, especially from a less talked about state. But as responsible organisations, there are times when you should rise up from the number games and report events of such massive order.

As Prateek puts it, Dharma is our backbone, our identity and it should and it must live on. The land of Prabhu Jagannath’s will bounce back, one step at a time, with His blessings.

https://twitter.com/pattaprateek/status/1125654456148709377

Note: If you would like to donate for relief to Odisha, here is the link for Chief Minister’s Relief Fund

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