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NSAB chairperson PS Raghavan alleges Lt General DS Hooda had revealed details of a secret report, Hooda denies

OpIndia Staff
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NSAB chairperson PS Raghavan alleges Lt General DS Hooda had revealed details of a secret report, Hooda denies

Former Northern Army Commander Lt General DS Hooda, the main architect of the 2016 surgical strikes on terror launch pads in PoK, has been accused of “leaking” details of a report on “right-sizing” the Indian Army. This serious allegation has been labelled at him by the chairperson of the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB), PS Raghavan, reports India Today.

Meanwhile, Lt Gen Hooda refuted the allegations levelled at him by Raghavan and said he has no recollection of any conference where he divulged the details of the said report.

Challenging the NSAB chief, Lt Gen Hooda said, “We should not let accusations fly loosely. There was no seminar in Manekshaw Centre where I spoke about the report that had been submitted to the NSAB. If there is even one person who can certify that I spoke and divulged details in that seminar then I am at fault, else Raghavan should take back his words.”

Speaking at a lecture on ‘National Security Institutions: Tackling Emerging Challenge’, organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), NSAB chairperson PS Raghavan said that Lt Gen DS Hooda had at a contravened the terms of the agreement on the report that he was preparing for the NSAB.

“We were the people who asked Lt Gen Hooda to prepare the report. It was the NSAB. He actually contravened the terms of the agreement by going public with it. He was not supposed to do it. He gives me a report on which he writes secret and writes copy number 1, 2 and 3. Then he goes to the next Manekshaw Centre conference and says this is what he has said (in the report),” said PS Raghavan.

Incidentally, NSAB chairperson PS Raghavan was being questioned regarding the Task Force report that Lt Gen Hooda had prepared for the Congress. Evading that specific question, the NSAB chairperson chose to speak about Lt Gen Hooda “divulging” details of a classified document.

Recently, Former Northern Army Commander Lt General Hooda was selected by the Congress party to head a task force created by the Gandhi scion to prepare a national security strategy document for the party in the run-up to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The party has promised to remove AFSPA in its manifesto.

However, in his report, Lt General DS Hooda had outrightly refused to have made any reference to the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act(AFSPA). He had, in fact, contrary to the Congress manifesto, stressed that AFSPA needs a review because in its present form as it is not providing enough safety to our security forces.

Meanwhile, last year, Lt Gen Hooda was assigned the task to prepare a report by NSAB for “right-sizing” of the Indian Army. As a part of the largest reform programme of the defence forces since India gained Independence in 1947, under PM Modi’s guidance the government has been trying ways to “optimise” the size of the military forces.

The report submitted by Hooda had suggested the possibility of cutting down the size of the 1.2-million strong Indian Army by creating a reserve force that can be called up during a war, making the Special Forces (SF) a strategic resource and setting up a new directorate to accelerate technology induction.

Incidentally, Raghavan gave no clarity on whether Lt Gen Hooda’s suggestions were considered and accepted. He rather called it just an “additional” report.

However, India Today could not verify these serious allegations labelled at Hooda by PS Raghavan challenging his integrity. It is yet to get a response from the NSAB regarding the allegation levelled against Hooda. Similarly, India Today TV is also yet to get a confirmation on any conference held at the Manekshaw Centre where Lt Gen DS Hooda (Retd) supposedly spoke publicly about the details of this “secret” report.

Rajya Sabha TV accuses The Wire of stealing, illegally possessing and using copyrighted material

OpIndia Staff
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Rajya Sabha TV accuses The Wire of stealing, illegally possessing and using copyrighted material

Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) has served a legal notice to the Leftist propaganda website, The Wire, for intellectual property rights and copyright infringement. In the legal notice, RSTV has also accused The Wire of coming into possession of copyright material of Rajya Sabha TV in an “unauthorised and unlawful manner suggestive of either stealing or obtaining and making use of the stolen property”.

The notice asks The Wire to provide necessary details and documents within 2 weeks to prove that they have not stolen or come into possession of stolen property of RSTV, that they have not violated exclusive Intellectual Property Rights of RSTV and that they have not infringed upon Copyright vested in RSTV. The legal notice says that should The Wire fail to do so, they will be liable for civil and criminal consequences.

Legal notice sent by RSTV to The Wire

On 17th September 2018, The Wire had published a story headlined, “RSTV benches anchor for question about Vajpayee’s role in Quit India Movement’. The notice says that in the story, they had used a video clip where an anchor was discussing Atal Bihari Vajpayee with another senior journalist.

The notice says that the video clip used by The Wire in its story is the exclusive property of Rajya Sabha TV and that the clip used by the portal doesn’t even carry the logo of Rajya Sabha TV. The notice also says that The Wire did not seek any permission from RSTV for the use of this clip.

Interestingly enough, the matter, as evidenced by the legal notice goes beyond mere copyright infringement as the legal notice levies as a grave charge against The Wire.

Rajya Sabha TV has alleged that since the clip used by The Wire had no logo of RSTV, it is bound to be the original clip that Rajya Sabha TV has in its possession. It says that prima facie, it would appear that The Wire has not only used the clip without authorisation but also “come into illegal/unlawful possession of the property that belongs to RSTV in an unauthorised manner adopting unlawful methods”. In short, RSTV has accused The Wire of using illegal means to steal the clip from RSTV’s possession since only the original clip exclusive in the possession of Rajya Sabha TV would have no logo of RSTV superimposed in the video.

It is pertinent to note that under the Congress government, Rajya Sabha TV, which came under the control of former vice president Hamid Ansari, was allegedly used to spread agenda and pay the ‘loyalists’ handsomely.

Both, M K Venu and Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editors of The Wire, were paid handsomely, Rs. 15,000 per appearance, totalling to Rs. 33 lakh and Rs. 14.70 lakh respectively, of the taxpayers’ money in the last few years.

Varadarajan, who hosted a show discontinued it from April 2017, while Venu was told not to host the shows he was hosting since August. It is only after August that the hit-jobs by The Wire had gone up.

In 2018 it was reported that the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has decided to probe the alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Rajya Sabha Television (RSTV). The RS secretariat has formed a one-man inquiry committee to look into the allegations since its inception, specifically the expenditure incurred on the production of a film called “Raag Desh” which incurred a cost of whopping Rs. 13 crores.

It is reported that the RSTV, since its inception has spent a huge amount of Rs 1,700 crore of taxpayers money till 2015 to operate the channel. The budget for RSTV is bigger than any government channel and also doesn’t generate any revenue, as the channel has not made any profits out of advertising.

The Wire is known to peddle half-truths and whole lies as a force of habit with a long list to their credit. The Wire, which is being sued for defamation often publish articles that read like Hurriyat press statements. Their article has in the past incited violence. They were recently slammed by the CBEC for peddling fake news. They were blamed by a stand-up comedian for spreading lies in his name. Have peddled ‘data’ from dubious organisations. Was slammed by cricketer Mohammad Kaif was bringing caste into cricket. Has a video series that regularly obfuscates. Its journalists are abusive trolls and people who share communally sensitive fake news. They have in the past tried to rationalise the 1993 bomb blast. Conducted a hit job against Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Defended Chidambaram’s 20:80 gold scheme that benefitted private players like scamster Mehul Choksi. The Wire is a portal where the Editors tell their journalists to not out “Dalit activists” who heckled her. Where their contributors are accused of sexual harassment and their journalist’s conduct drove a female journalist to commit suicide. They had shamelessly compared the Indian Army General to General Dyer. 

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had shared The Wire’s comprehensively debunked hit job on Piyush Goyal with some caustic comments without realising his self-goal perhaps. He is no stranger to self-goals too. In fact, not so long ago he had done exactly the same when we at OpIndia has preemptively busted an imminent hitjob against the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley. After our article, ‘The Wire’ had conceded that “there was not much of a story to pursue after all“, which is why they had dropped the story after receiving a response from Jaitley and his daughter’s firm. Mr Rahul Gandhi had then proceeded to plug the very article where ‘The Wire’ had admitted to no impropriety on the part of Arun Jaitley, in a bid to tarnish his image. We had then also speculated whether Rahul Gandhi actually knew of the imminent hitjob. They had conducted a hit job against Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah hitjob which was debunked by us comprehensively and the portal responsible for that hitjob is facing a 100 crore defamation suit, in which the court has already mentioned that a prima facie case exists against the portal. They had also recently conducted a hit job against Amit Shah which was debunked by us.

It is apparent that The Wire’s editorial standards are near absent. After all, it is run by an Editor who had earlier shelved the Robert Vadra land scam story for 7 months for no good reason. This latest lie is just a reflection of their integrity.

As Kamal Nath finds himself amidst I-T raids, son Nakul Nath declares assets worth over 600 crores in election affidavit

OpIndia Staff
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As Kamal Nath finds himself amidst I-T raids, son Nakul Nath declares assets worth over 600 crores in election affidavit

Nakul Nath, son of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, has declared assets worth over Rs. 600 crores in his election affidavit. Nakul is the Congress candidate from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha Constituency in MP.

As per his nomination papers, Nakul has Rs 615,93,17,741 worth of movable assets while his wife owns a total of Rs 2,30,31,907 of the same. In addition, Nakul has immovable assets worth over Rs. 41.77 crores at approximately the current market price.

In the affidavit, Nakul has declared his annual income shown in his income tax returns for the past 5 financial years. From a little over Rs. 98 lakhs in 2013-14, it jumped to Rs. 3.37 crores by the end of the next financial year. The steepest increase came in the financial year 2016-17 where his income jumped to Rs. 13.34 crores from a little over Rs. 1.50 crore the previous year. Nakul’s income dropped to Rs. 2.76 crore the following year. Although it may not be related, it can be noted that demonetization happened in the same fiscal year when Nakul reported a steep increase in income.

Nakul’s spouse, Priya Nath, reported a steep jump in income in the financial year 2017-18, the year following her husband’s steep income. Her income in 2018 jumped to over Rs. 4 crores from Rs. 22.63 lakhs the previous year.

The Congress candidate has shares worth Rs. 3.52 lakh in TV-18 Broadcast Ltd which runs various news channels such as CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNBC-TV18 Prime HD, CNN-News18, News18 India and IBN Lokmat. His wife, on the other hand, has invested in Reliance industries.

Nakul’s father, Kamal Nath, has found himself in the spot in recent times after the I-T Department raided 50 locations across the country. Searches were conducted at locations of MP Chief Minister’s OSD, Ratul Puri (Kamal Nath’s nephew), Amira Group, and Moser Baer. Searches were also conducted in Bhopal, Indore, Goa and 35 locations in Delhi.

The Income Tax Department on Monday said it detected a “widespread and well-organised” racket of a collection of unaccounted cash of about Rs 281 crore during raids against close aides of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and others.

Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate tracked down the money trail of kickbacks received by Christian Michel, the prime accused middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper scam, and it has led them to Moser Baer which is owned by Deepak Puri. It was reported that a part of the kickbacks was routed through Moser Baer which is owned by Deepak Puri. Deepak Puri is the brother-in-law of senior Congress leader Kamal Nath. Puri is married to Nita Puri, sister of Senior Congress Leader and Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Mr Kamal Nath and have one son Ratul Puri. Both Nita and Ratul are part of Moser Baer.

Director Vivek Agnihotri says ‘Congress top family’ behind the legal notice sent against the movie ‘The Tashkent Files’

OpIndia Staff
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Director Vivek Agnihotri says ‘Congress top family’ behind the legal notice sent against the movie ‘The Tashkent Files’

The Tashkent Files, a movie based on the incidents surrounding the mysterious death of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, is scheduled to release on 12th April. The trailer of the movie was realised on 25th March, and it seems to be a very well researched film.

But just two days ahead of release, the makers of the movie have faced objections. Last night, the makers of the movie received a legal notice from Vibhakar Shastri and Diwakar Shastri objecting to the release of the movie. They are grandsons of Lt Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Vibhakar Shastri is a prominent leader of the Congress party.

The legal notice sent to Vivek Agnihotri Creates and Zee Studios say that the movie has been made in an attempt to create unwanted and unnecessary controversy and propaganda surrounding the death of India’s second PM. The notice also asserts that no foul play was suspected in the death of Shastri, saying that the movie is not only wrong portrayal of facts, but it is also illegal, incorrect and improper merger of fact and fiction. The grandsons of Shastri says that the former PM passed away 53 years ago and now an unwanted and unnecessary hype is created on the event. They also say that the movie will create law and order situation as Lok Sabha elections are about to start.

They have asked the producers not to release the movie, and also asked that a pre-screening should be arranged for the family members of Lal Bahadur Shastri to seek their approval release of the movie. They have also asked the CBFC to stop the release of the film.

Vivek Agnihotri, who has written and directed the movie, reacted strongly to the legal notice. He expressed surprise that despite the family members already watching the movie, they sent this notice. He said that the family members watched the film on 7th April in Delhi at PVR, and after that they had met him and appreciating the movie. Agnihotri says that the family has been pressurised by the ‘top family’ object the movie, and they are being used as scapegoats.

Here is the full statement issued by Vivek Agnihotri-

“Last night we have been served a legal notice seeking to stop the release of the film by the prominent Congress member and also Ex-Secretary of Congress who also happens to be Lal Bahadur Shastri’s grandson and a close aide of the top family. This is despite them seeing the film, appreciating it and expressing their gratitude to me in person in the 7th April in Delhi at PVR.

I have come to know from the horse’s mouth that they have been coerced to do this by the top family.  Shastri’s grandsons have been used as scapegoats as the orders are from the top family. I fail to understand why would the top Congress leaders do that? Why would Congress want to stop the movie, shut me up. Why am I being constantly bullied, threatened to release the film? Why are they scared of a movie that raises some questions on a citizen’s #RightToTruth?

This is the first film in the history of Indian cinema which is dedicated to the journalists of India. This is a rare film where a young journalist comes out victor in her crusade to #RightToTruth.

I expect our journalists to ask the top family and all concerned why do they want to stop the release of the film? What is making them feel so threatened?”

It can be noted that members of the Shastri family were participating in the promotion of the movie, which was in the news for a long time.


They were also present at the launch of the trailer of the movie. Talking to OpIndia at that occasion, the former PM’s son Sunil Shastri has congratulated Vivek Agnihotri. Grandson Sanjay Shastri also said that he always wanted the truth to come out, and was glad that Vivek Agnihotri, through his movie is divulging the facts. Therefore, it is certainly a sudden step taken by two grandsons, who also happen to be associated with the Congress party, to oppose the movie now.

Legitimate action against corruption is not vendetta: Arun Jaitley on I-T raids

OpIndia Staff
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Legitimate action against corruption is not vendetta: Arun Jaitley on I-T raids

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has voiced his opinions over the recent I-T raids on persons working in close proximity with Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath. The opposition, which had stubbornly ignored the seriousness of the fact that such large stash of cash and other valuables worth over Rs 281 crores were recovered by the I-T department, has been collectively questioning the timing of the raids and alleging that it is a political vendetta.

FM Jaitley’s blog is reproduced below in its entirety.

  • It has become a routine practice to call any action against corruption as a political vendetta. The claim of vendetta has never been a legitimate defence in corruption. Those who commit such large acts of corruption have to be judged on the merits of the action itself.
  • In all States, large amounts sanctioned by the Central and State Governments for public works, roads, housing, schools, dispensaries, panchayat facilities, and several other public infrastructures, are created by Public Works Departments. These works are carried out by the PWD through contractors. Similarly, large amounts are sanctioned for the mid-day meal scheme which encourages poor children to attend schools and towards other schemes intended to provide a composite diet to pregnant women. In the public space, evidence has come in relation to Karnataka where allocations made for public welfare to the Public Works Departments were being round-tripped by engineers for a political purpose. In Madhya Pradesh, an institutional mechanism has been created where the money that is meant for development and social welfare of the weaker sections are now being channeled into politics.
  • Regrettably, none of the two State Governments have replied to the allegations on merits. An argument is being given by them as to why they are being singled out and their political rivals are not being searched. Is there a Right to Equality that no action can be taken till the opponents are charged? Revenue Departments act objectively on the basis of material available and take action when they are satisfied that a case of the search operation is made out.
  •  The fact that money is meant for the most vulnerable section of the society, namely, poor children or pregnant women belonging to the economically weaker sections are siphoned out, shows the mind-frame of those indulging in such an act. They do not even spare those who live in destitution. This is the hypocrisy of Indian politics. After inflicting such injustice they have the audacity to speak of Nyay.

Tughlaq Road Chunavi Ghotala: PM Modi said Congress is looting the money designated for pregnant women

OpIndia Staff
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Tughlaq Road Chunavi Ghotala: PM Modi said Congress is looting the money designated for pregnant women

A day before India goes to vote in the 2019 general elections, Prime Minister Modi in a frontal attack on Congress upped his ante and said that a new name has been added to the list of corruption by Congress, “Tughlaq Road Chunavi Ghotala”.


Prime Minister Modi was referring to the “Tughlaq Road” address of a senior functionary of a political party from whose residence money was transferred to the party headquarters through hawala route.

Addressing a rally in Junagarh, Gujarat, Prime Minister Modi said that Congress has snatched away food from poor and children and filled the stomach of their own leaders. “Congress is looting the money designated for pregnant women,” PM Modi said.

PM Modi was referring to the logs that were recovered from the mobile phone of Lalit Kumar, accountant of Rajendra Miglani, who is a close aide of Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath in the ongoing income tax raids. The logs show amounts allocated to various schemes were siphoned to be sent to the party fund. Apart from collecting money from PWD, Excise, transport etc departments, they also collected money for a scheme meant for the nutrition of infants and pregnant women. On the dispatch part, the note mentions entries like Cheque PCC, Cash PCC, Delhi AICC, Election Bond AICC, Cheque AICC, MLAs etc heads to where money was sent, with amounts in lakhs against them.

PM Modi further said, “In last 3-4 days you would have seen sacks full of cash of Congress leaders being found. It has not even been six months of Congress government in Madhya Pradesh.” He added that after turning Karnataka into its ATM, Congress has turned Madhya Pradesh into one. “Fate of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh won’t be any different,” he said. Congress only comes to power to loot the nation, he said.

“All day Congress runs the same tape, “Modi Hatao, Modi hatao”. This is the same Congress which was nurtured by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,” PM Modi said in Gujarat. “Can people of Junagarh and Somnath forget Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel? If Sardar weren’t there, imagine where Junagarh would have been,” he added. Junagarh and Bhopal, two princely states, which initially wanted to be part of Pakistan, had succumbed to Sardar Patel’s diplomacy and agreed to become part of India. The majority population in Junagarh wanted to be part of India, while the ruler wanted to join Pakistan. India sent its army and surrounded Junagarh. The ruler panicked and left India in a jiffy.

The first phase of voting will start tomorrow. Gujarat goes to vote for all 26 Lok Sabha constituencies on April 23 in single phase. BJP President Amit Shah will be contesting from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

Is Imran Khan the undeclared Mahagathbandhan ally for Congress? His statements are proof

Jinit Jain
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Is Imran Khan the undeclared Mahagathbandhan ally for Congress? His statements are proof

As the first phase of the Lok Sabha 2019 election is just a couple of days away, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has upped the ante in an attempt to influence the voters’ decision in the upcoming polls. Recently, Imran Khan tweeted that the Indian government shows a ‘Moral Bankruptcy’ and it defies the International laws, UNSC regulations to continue winning elections.


Firstly, it is downright hilarious that a Pakistani, least of all, is passing sermonising homilies to the leaders of India and Israel beseeching them to comply with the International rules and UNSC resolutions. Imran would do well to realise that those who live in glass houses (read shanties for Pakistan) should not throw stones at others.

Pakistan has been nurturing and sheltering terrorists since time immemorial and actively using them as a state instrument to implement its ‘thousand cuts’ policy to bleed India. UN-designated terrorists such as Hafeez Saeed freely operate in Pakistan, giving speeches at will and contesting elections. JeM founder Masood Azhar is executing his nefarious designs from within the safe custody provided by the Pakistan Army.

Evidence handed over to Pakistan by India conclusively corroborates Pakistan based Jaish-e-Muhammad’s role in the terror attack in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives. Pakistan has also been grey-listed and is on the verge of being black-listed in the FATF list of countries for not doing enough to curb terrorism emanating from its land. Hence, it is rather amusing that a country like Pakistan which routinely flouts International rules and regulations is displaying such inordinate care for India to uphold the rules.

Perhaps, it’s germane to invoke a recent interview of Imran Khan to the Financial Times. In an interview to the FT, Imran Khan refused to comment on the plight of fellow Uighur Muslims living in Xinjiang province of China, claiming that he is unaware of them. The atrocities meted out to them is documented but Pakistan PM Imran Khan believes he will get away with it by feigning ignorance.

In fact, it is ironical when an ignoramus like him, who couldn’t uphold his country’s founding principle of extending solidarity for Muslims across the world, is issuing ‘morality’ certificates to others. Pakistan has been disregarding and conjuring up morals as per its whims and fancies to suit its conveniences. So, it doesn’t befit a Prime Minister of a nation that champions ‘Immoral Depravity’ to pass moralising sermons to others.

A few days back, Imran Khan quoted a spurious report refuting India’s allegations of downing a Pakistani falcon (F-16) and blamed BJP of whipping up war hysteria to win the elections. Even after denial by the US defence department of any exercise done to ascertain the number of F-16s with Pakistan, Imran Khan used the misleading report to cast aspersions on the Modi government.

Even while lying about the F-16 count based on an already debunked report on a news portal, Imran Khan had brought up the Indian elections, making evident just how much Pakistan fears the second term of PM Modi.


However, the Indian government, as well as the Indian Armed Forces, have maintained that they have in their possession incriminating evidence establishing the use of F-16s in their planned attack targeting Indian military assets in Jammu and Kashmir following India’s precise airstrikes in Balakot killing hundreds of terrorists holed up in a JeM terror camp.

Recently, the elaborate press conference by IAF hit the last nail in the coffin, debunking the lies peddled by Pakistan regarding the use of F-16s in their operation against India. However, what is more, unsettling is the concerted attempt by Imran Khan to intrude into India’s political space and attempting to affect the outcome of the polls in India.

A weak BJP government at the centre or perhaps a non-BJP government with a friendly disposition towards Pakistan augurs well for it which is currently reeling under tremendous pressure from several international entities and countries due to Modi government’s adroit diplomatic manoeuvres.

Under the previous UPA governments, Pakistan had been able to continue its agenda of creating chaos in India through terrorist attacks, encouraging separatists and international lobbying without the fear of strong retribution. Perhaps that is the reason the Pakistani leadership is growing so restless about the Indian elections, they would love to go back to an era where they could wound the Indian pride, kill Indian citizens and soldiers and hope to go unpunished.

Pakistan and its ISI backed stooges have in the run-up to 2019 elections openly and unabashedly supported the Congress party. Interestingly, in the aftermath of the Balakot airstrikes against terror camps in Pakistan, Pakistani government representatives and media have frequently used the lines of argument used by Congress leaders in their desperate attempts to malign India.

Many of Congress’ leaders have tried to peddle conspiracy theories about the Pulawama attack and ask the proof of the Balakot airstrikes, exactly what Pakistan has been doing. This, combined with continuous narrative peddling of ‘bilateral talks’, peace, cooperation and virtue signalling about the Indian government’s stand on Kashmir, worked really well to blur the lines between the Indian opposition and Pakistan. A statement issued by joint opposition parties in Indian under Rahul Gandhi was used by Pakistan’s official channels to malign the government of India.


Khan fears that Modi’s re-election will be detrimental to the fortunes of Pakistan which are in the verge of a severe economic crisis and somehow trying to pull itself out of the abyss. Khan knows that with Modi at the helm in India, the morale of the Indian Armed Forces will always be high and they will be given complete autonomy to thwart the misadventures plotted by Pakistani sponsored terrorists and cause irreparable damages in retaliation. An empowered India under a strong Modi government will continue its policy of marginalising and isolating Pakistan. It is this fear of Modi that is compelling Imran Khan to denounce BJP and meddle in the Indian elections.

However, Pakistan, desperate as it is to salvage its rapidly sinking international support and have some say left in the geopolitical arena of the Indian subcontinent, perhaps have realised that in their attempt to vilify PM Modi and BJP for taking a strong stand against them, they are actually damaging the Congress’ chances, however feeble, of winning in the elections. The similarity between the statements made by Congress and Pakistan against the Modi government is by now evident to every average Indian. Perhaps, that is why, within hours of bitching about PM Modi and BJP, Imran Khan has suddenly come up with a statement that he hopes bilateral ties will improve with a BJP government in India for the second time.


It is almost hilarious that the above statement by Pakistan has come barely 24 hours after they ran media reports vilifying BJP’s election manifesto and hailing Rahul Gandhi’s political rants.


Seeing their flip-flops, one can almost begin thinking whether Pakistan is playing the role of an undeclared Mahagathbandhan ally for Congress. When they realised that their continuous barbs against PM Modi might actually benefit him in elections because it is almost synchronous with the opposition’s lines, they have switched strategies.

PM Modi’s 5 years in office have been devastating for Pakistan. The old India that just kept quiet after repeated terror attacks and open support to separatist elements, was awakened from its slumber and has hit Pakistan back hard every time, with surgical strikes, international isolation, suspension of bilateral talks, counterstrikes at LoC and Balakot air strikes. Pakistan’s bluff of ‘gun to the head’ diplomacy has been punctured and shredded to pieces by the Modi government. Like a sinking man clutching at straws, Imran Khan, the puppet of the Pakistani army, is now probably hoping for some miracle in the Indian elections, that would bring him some breathing air.

‘There is no danger except that you are convicted’: Supreme Court rejects Lalu Prasad Yadav’s bail plea in multi-crore fodder scam

OpIndia Staff
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‘There is no danger except that you are convicted’: Supreme Court rejects Lalu Prasad Yadav’s bail plea in multi-crore fodder scam

The Supreme Court has dismissed RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav’s bail plea in three cases of the Fodder Scam. The convict was represented in the Court by senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal.


Convict Lalu told the Court that he could be released as he posed no threat. Sibal said, “If I am released on bail, I won’t run away. My appeal is not being heard. What is the danger if I am released on bail?” CJI Ranjan Gogoi, to this plea, retorted, “There is no danger except that you are convicted”.


The CBI, in an affidavit, had opposed Lalu’s bail plea. The agency has stated that the convict could seek bail on medical grounds but use it for political purposes. It stated further that Lalu had been conducting political activities from the hospital ward where he has been for the past 8 months.

“During the period in which the petitioner (Lalu Yadav) remained in hospital, he is not only granted a special paying ward with all facilities but he is virtually conducting his political activities from there which would be clear from the list of visitors,” the CBI said.

Lalu Prasad Yadav was found guilty in multiple cases pertaining to the Fodder Scam last year. Apart from the Fodder scam, Lalu and his son Tejashwi are accused in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) scam as well.

SC to allow the admissibility of three ‘stolen’ documents of Rafale deal as evidence in examining review petitions

OpIndia Staff
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SC to allow the admissibility of three ‘stolen’ documents of Rafale deal as evidence in examining review petitions

A three-judge bench comprising CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Justices S K Kaul & K M Joseph on Tuesday dismissed the preliminary objection raised by the Centre with regard to the admissibility of the secret documents annexed to review petitions, reports ANI.

According to the reports, Supreme Court has now allowed the admissibility of three documents in Rafale deal as evidence in re-examining the review petitions filed against the earlier Supreme Court judgment of December 14th refusing to order probe in procuring 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

The Supreme Court will schedule another date for the hearing of review petitions. The Supreme Court was hearing five Rafale review petitions, mainly on the issues of the admissibility of “stolen” Rafale documents as evidence and the claim of privilege raised on them by the government.

The Union government represented by Attorney-General KK Venugopal had argued that the review petition should be dismissed at the preliminary stage itself because they were based on “stolen” documents published in newspapers like The Hindu.

In December, the Supreme Court, dismissing the case, had clarified that the examination has been primarily from the point of the exercise of jurisdiction by this court under Article 32. The SC did not find it as a case for the court to scrutinise the process of acquisition.

Canadian Islamic Centre spokesperson refers to Hindu Gods Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu as ‘rapists’

Tarek Fatah
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Canadian Islamic Centre spokesperson refers to Hindu Gods Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu as ‘rapists’

While legislators in Canada were bending over backwards last week, flaunting their ‘anti-Islamophobia’ credentials, an Islamic Centre in Toronto was facing accusations of ‘Hinduphobia’ from the largely apolitical community of Hindu Canadians.

Their angst was directed at the Noor Cultural Centre that was hosting an event titled “Dalit and Muslim persecution in India” barely days before the world’s largest democracy went to the polls to pass verdict on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Had the discussion featured speakers from both sides of the Indian political divide, allegations of ‘Hinduphobia’ or anti-India hate would have had no foundations. However, both speakers invited had made no secret of their hostility towards the Indian prime minister.

The controversy further escalated when a stack of emails was leaked to the Hindu community that contained emails sent by Noor Centre’s Khadija Kanji to Toronto’s Inter-Faith Council.

In the email, while discussing the Nigerian Boko Haram’s practice of kidnapping and raping girls, Kanji appears to defend the Islamic attack on India by the Arab invader Mohammad Bin Qasim who raped Hindu women and sold thousands of them as slaves in Arabia, claiming it “was in line with standard practice of the time.” 

To make her argument, Kanji wrote:

“Many towering figures in civilizational lore have engaged in brutal gendered violence – from the [Hindu] gods Brahma, Siva and Vishnu (who raped Anasuya) to Richard the Lionheart to Christopher Columbus, among many others.”

I asked Ms Kanji if she had used such hateful language. She admitted but claimed she had used the reference to Hindu gods in ‘context’ of the discussion. She sent me another email where she had explained:

“If it is not okay to argue in this way about Hinduism – by de-contextualizing theology and treating singular historical incidents as representative and normative of religion and its followers – then it is not okay to do the same for Islam and Muslims.”

Hindus on social media were shocked. Ragini Sharma, a PhD from York University who had been leading the campaign against the Noor Centre event, labelling it as ‘Hinduphobic,’ told me: 

“I am shocked and deeply hurt at the hatred that Khadijah has expressed towards India, Hindus and Hindu religion in this email. The depravity of the hate-filled message speaks to a deep prejudice she harbours.”

She added:

“The reference to Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu as rapists is deeply hurtful to Hindus. She [Kanji] displays her complete ignorance about Hinduism when [she] applies an Islamic lens to understanding Puranic Hindu stories.”

Sharma demanded that “the Noor Center needs to be held responsible for holding an event that promotes hate towards the Indians and Hindu community of Toronto. We will be pursuing this further. There is no place in Canada’s multicultural society for such hate-mongering.” 

Vidhya Dhar, a Kashmiri Hindu who as a child survived the Hindu genocide in Kashmir in 1990 also expressed his deep hurt at the “humiliation” heaped on the 40 Hindus that attended and were “policed by goons” inside the mosque. He wrote:

“As a practising Hindu, I am shocked to read this spiteful comment on the three dynamic forces operative within the Hindu cosmos symbolized by the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Mocking our Gods by comparing them to Christopher Columbus reflects the writer’s hatred towards Hindus.”

At the discussion, Muslim speaker Sanobar Umar accused the ‘Hindu Right’ of being in cahoots with American White Supremacists and then demanded Prime Minister Modi be sent to prison for abandoning his wife. 

Outside the Islamic Centre, a handful of Hindu Canadians protested holding placards that demanded an end to Hinduphobia and anti-India hysteria in Canada.

Hindus protest

Interestingly, not a single newspaper dared to report on the event lest Islamists get upset. Which begs the question: What are Indian diplomats doing as India’s reputation and character of its democracy is trampled by well-heeled Islamists in Canada?

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