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Congress IT cell attacks BJP’s Bangalore South candidate for performing Ayudha Puje as per Hindu rituals

OpIndia Staff
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Congress IT cell attacks BJP’s Bangalore South candidate for performing Ayudha Puje as per Hindu rituals

Following the announcement of Tejasvi Surya’s candidature for Bangalore South Lok Sabha seat for the BJP, members of Congress IT cell have descended upon him, attacking him for performing the Ayudhya Puje as per the Hindu traditions.


As if just tweeting and attacking Tejasvi was not enough, Congress even resorted to using paid promotion to try and attack Tejasvi.

Tweet by Congress IT cell attacking Tejasvi Surya for Ayudha Puja (image: Twitter)

As seen above, the tweet by one Vishal Singh Jain appears as a ‘promoted’ tweet on another user’s timeline, suggesting Congress has paid to advertise that tweet on the timelines of even those who do not follow him.

Twitter profile of ‘Vishal Singh’ who was doing paid promotion of a tweet attacking Tejasvi for a Ayudha Puja

Ayudha Puje is a part of the Navratri celebrations where weapons and tools are worshipped. In Karnataka, it signifies the killing of Mahishasur demon by Goddess Chamundeshwari. The festival is widely celebrated across the South India, with little variations in the manner of worship.

This is not the first time Tejasvi has been attacked for this particular picture where he is worshipping the weapons and tools as part of Ayudha Puje.


The 28-year-old advocate, Tejasvi Surya is perhaps one of the youngest candidates for the upcoming elections.

Hindu festivals, rituals and gods have quite recently been the target of mockery, fearmongering and hatred by the so-called ‘secular liberal’ intellectuals of India. When blatant disregard and insult and mockery do not work, liberals proceed to stoke the ‘guilty Hindu’ psyche. They try to project Hindu festivals and rituals as something to be ashamed of. Diwali becomes the sole cause of air pollution and swimming pool loving liberals become suddenly conscious of water wastage on Holi. Rakhi, Karwa Chauth and Bhai Dooj are the symbols of patriarchy and Jallikattu becomes atrocity against animals for boastful beef-eaters.

Recently, we witnessed how the sudden popularity of the ‘Rudra Hanuman’ image by Karnataka based artist Karan Acharya had pushed liberals into a frenzy. There were tweets, posts even editorial pieces on how the ‘Angry Hanuman’ image is a symbol of militarised Hinduism and it was even accused of spreading hatred and causing communal discord.

This was followed by the ‘Militant Ganesha‘ when a so-called journalist spotted an idol of Lord Ganesha riding a tiger and wearing tiger skin. As anyone who has even a basic idea of Hindu culture would know, Lord Ganesha is the son of Goddess Parvati, whose avatar Goddess Durga rides a tiger and Ganesha’s father is Lord Shiva, who is sometimes depicted as having dark (blue) skin and wearing tiger skin as his attire.

Ayudha Puje being depicted as some sort of ‘violent’ past which Tejasvi has been hiding from the world is just another attempt by the Congress to make Hindus feel embarrassed about their being Hindus.

Within hours of announcement by Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders give new definition of income guarantee scheme, make absurd claims

OpIndia Staff
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Within hours of announcement by Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders give new definition of income guarantee scheme, make absurd claims

On 25th March, Rahul Gandhi announced the Congress party’s main promise for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, a Minimum Income Guarantee Scheme. Addressing media, the Congress president had said that the scheme will ensure that poorest 20% of India’s population will be ensured a monthly income of Rs. 12,000 with this scheme. He had explained that each household in bottom 20% in terms of income will be paid Rs. 72,000 per year, and this will be paid as gap funding to ensure that monthly income a family becomes Rs. 12,000. For example, if monthly income is Rs. 8000, Rs. 4000 will be paid, and if monthly income is Rs 6000, the government will pay Rs 6000 so that the income becomes Rs. 12000. The scheme will benefit 5 crore families or 25 crore Indians, Rahul Gandhi claimed.

But the chairperson of Data Analytics Department of the Congress party Praveen Chakravarty posted some detail about the scheme which contradicts the explanation given by Rahul Gandhi. Chakravarty posted on Twitter that every poor family in the bottom 20% will get the same, uniform amount of Rs. 72,000 a year.


This is completely opposite of what Rahul Gandhi had said earlier in the day. Paying a fixed amount per year and paying the differential amount between actual monthly income and Rs 12,000 is totally different, and Rahul Gandhi and Praveen Chakravarty are providing contradictory versions of the same scheme.

Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala also addressed a press conference today contradicting Rahul Gandhi. He clarified that this scheme is not a Top-Up scheme as claimed by Rahul Gandhi, and 5 crore families will receive a fixed amount of Rs. 72,000 per year. Surjewala also added a new dimension to the scheme, saying it will be a women-centric scheme, and Congress Party will deposit Rs. 72,000 in the bank account of the woman of the family.

Praveen Chakravarty also revealed a very important detail of the scheme which was not disclosed by Rahul Gandhi, that the scheme will be a federal scheme with the participation of states. This means, states will have to bear part of the expense of the scheme, and it will not be entirely funded by the central government. This provision plants the seed of divide between centre and states, as many states may not be willing to participate in such an expensive scheme. And if states ruled by opposition parties refuse to participate, the Congress party retains the opportunity to attack such opposition parties saying they are refusing to pay the poor their due.

Congress party’s Data Analytics chairperson also made a sensational claim which does not pass the basic test of logic and arithmetic. He said, with this scheme, “no Indian family will fall below a minimum income threshold of Rs.12000 a month”.

But for this be true, the number of families with monthly income of Rs.12000 at present has to be 20% of the total number of families in the country or less than that, and the rest 80% or more families must have an income of Rs. 12,000 or more per month. The party itself says that the scheme will be limited to 20% poorest families in the country which comes to 5 crore families, so if families with Rs. 12,000 as monthly income exceeds 20% or 5 crores, not all of them will be covered under the scheme.

As per the World Inequality Database, the average income of the bottom 50% of the Indian population was around Rs. 43,000 in 2015, and the average income of the next 40% was Rs. 1,06,795. This means a whopping 90% falls below the average monthly income of Rs. 12,000. Therefore, even after the Congress scheme raises the income of the bottom 20% to Rs. 12,000, there will be still a large portion of Indian population earning less than Rs. 12,000 per month.

Moreover, there are a large number of households earning below Rs. 6,000 a month, and even if they are paid Rs. 72,000 per year, their monthly income will still remain below Rs. 12,000. For example, if a family earns Rs. 4,000 per month, after getting the benefit of this scheme the family’s income will go up to Rs. 10,000 per month, not Rs. 12,000.

Hence the claim by Praveen Chakravarty that no Indian family will fall below the minimum income of Rs. 12,000 a month is completely baseless and misleading, and not based on reality.

The proposed scheme of the Congress party has another logistical nightmare which needs to be addressed. The scheme is based on identifying the bottom 20% of the population in terms of income but at present there no comprehensive data on the income of each citizen. What we have are various surveys which are done on samples of various sizes, and there is no detail income data at present. Other than those who work in the organised sector, there is no dependable source to obtain income data of people. The census of India does not collect income data of households. This means a complete census of income of Indian population will need to be undertaken to identify the beneficiaries of this scheme. As that will be a time-consuming job, even if somehow Congress party comes to power and implements this scheme, it is unlikely that it will be rolled out all over the nation by the time the term of the government ends.

Shocking remarks by National Conference leader: “Terrorism is equal to Modi, Modi is equal to terrorism”

OpIndia Staff
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Shocking remarks by National Conference leader: “Terrorism is equal to Modi, Modi is equal to terrorism”

The political discourse in the country hits a new low every day as the Lok Sabha election approaches. Senior National Conference leader Javed Rana joined this race by equating Prime Minister Narendra Modi with terrorist.

Addressing an election rally, the National Conference leader said, “what is terrorism? Terrorism is equal to Modi, and Modi is equal to terrorism.” He reiterated that he will not hesitate in saying that Narendra Modi is a terrorist.


This is not the first time Javed Rana has made such a controversial statement. In August last year, he had attacked prime minister Modi calling him a “terrorist” and “killer of humanity”. Rana had said that Modi killed lakhs of people in Gujarat, and he is the biggest terrorist, biggest killer of humanity.

Javed Rana had also threatened that he will not allow hoisting the Indian flag in Kashmir if Article 370 is scraped by the central government. Last year he had also made a controversial comment by saying that if Narendra Modi embraces Islam, there will be peace in the country. He had also said that after the 2019 elections, Modi will again have to start selling tea. Rana commented that Narendra Modi should not be the prime minister of India, and now he should prepare his teapot.

Defence Agent Sushen Mohan Gupta arrested by ED in connection with AgustaWestland scam

OpIndia Staff
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Defence Agent Sushen Mohan Gupta arrested by ED in connection with AgustaWestland scam

The Enforcement Directorate has made another arrest in the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP choppers deal case. Defence Agent and alleged middlemen in the scam, Sushen Mohan Gupta, was arrested by the ED late on Monday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

“A large number of business entities were used to route funds that were used to pay kickbacks for swinging the deal in favour of AgustaWestland. Preliminary investigations indicate that Mr. Gupta was also involved in the process,” an official was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

As per reports, Gupta was arrested on the basis of information given by Rajiv Saxena, who had recently turned approver in the case following his extradition from UAE and subsequent arrest by the ED. It is believed that Gupta is in possession of certain payment details related to the case under investigation.

Yesterday, the Special CBI Court had accepted Rajiv Saxena’s plea to turn approver in the case. In his application under Section 306 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, Rajiv Saxena had prayed for pardon in the case in exchange of full and true disclosure.

The Enforcement Directorate had ‘vehemently supported’ the application before the CBI Court. The Investigating Agency had stated that Rajiv Saxena had shown an inclination to ‘unravel the truth’ and that he would be an important witness in the case.

The investigation into the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam has seen great developments since middleman Christian Michel was extradited to India from Dubai. Several revelations have come to light, from the names of “Italian Lady”, to “Italian Lady’s son R“. From how Christian Michel was lobbying for the Eurofighter and against the Rafale deal, to how he had unbridled access to the PMO under Congress regime, the CCS and even the investigative agencies.

Ashwin would regret this hideous act for the rest of his career

Ashish Shukla
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Ashwin would regret this hideous act for the rest of his career

There was a time when I only wrote about cricket, no less because it kept the fire in my kitchen burning. Then I thought there were more things important for the nation and revival of its heritage than reporting matches and roaming around the world.

But, the spirit of the man-in-front-of-laptop-in-pressbox re-emerged on Monday night. Slouching on my sofa, I saw Ravichandran Ashwin run-out non-striker Jos Butler while pretending to bowl the second last delivery of his final over in the Kings Eleven Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals match in IPL. For a few suspended seconds, I really thought Ashwin was pulling a prank. Until the odious reality dawned, Ashwin, the Kings’ Eleven Punjab captain, had done it deliberately.

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

See the video clip of the incident if you are a cricket fan and had missed the action on Monday night. It would show you that Ashwin was in his delivery stride and suddenly cutting down his bowling action by half, flipped the bails at the non-striker as Butler made the motion routine. (The image above would be a horror to any cricket lover as Ashwin is clearly shown waiting for Butler to go out of the crease to effect his horrid plan).

This was not ugly, it was hideous. The video clip clearly shows that Ashwin had no intention of bowling the delivery. He actually waited for Butler to step out of his sanctuary. This was not a rookie bowler in his first representative match, but an off-spinner like few in the history of the game. This was a man who was prepared to sully his image from a nice one to a rogue masquerading as a cricketer. The game was on-line but not lost yet for Kings’ Eleven Punjab.

This incident logically should be embedded with huge ramifications. The first controversy of IPL 2019 has come in within 72 hours of its start. From now on, every time Ashwin bats, cameras would pan on how often he leaves the non-striker’s crease as a bowler gets into his bowling stride. The team management of Kings’ Eleven Punjab or its owner Preity Zinta must put Ashwin on the bench for at least a couple of matches unless they don’t mind being called “Ugly Punjabis” around cricket fields. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) must take time out from its internal squabbles to crack the whip unless it doesn’t mind ruffians on a cricket field and a similar roadmap for cricketers yet wet behind the ears.

His team-mates among whom is Chris Gayle, universally respected and admired and one who has made T20 synonymous with his name, should have stepped in and stopped Ashwin, if not held him by the collar (pardon me, folks, can’t hold back my disappointment with Ashwin). The action of one man would now reflect badly on his team-mates including Gayle. Jokes would be spun around them, abuses hurled, puns painted on social media on this ghastly act.

Cricket commentators too have come out in very poor light after this incident. Harsha Bhogle saw it as an action within the laws of the game. Aakash Chopra tweeted “How’s playing within the laws of the game unfair?” Former England captain Michael Vaughan put this tomfoolery in perspective when he questioned would the reaction be the same if Ashwin had run out Virat Kohli in this manner? Shane Warne wasn’t pulling his punches on Harsha Bhogle: “Please do not be bias and stick up for your own. Any player in the game that does that to anyone is an embarrassment to the game and as captain, it’s even more disgraceful,” tweeted Warne, “Mr. Ashwin you would be remembered for that low act.”


Ashwin is 32 years old, a prime age for an off-spinner. Even though he is not in the scheme of things of India in shorter formats of the game—both T20 and ODIs—and his Test career is in doldrums after the emergence and recent success of Kuldeep Yadav in Australia, he still is a certainty for India in five-day cricket. Long after his career is over, he would regret his lowly conduct in Jaipur the other night.

Abduction and forced conversion of Hindu girls: Islamabad HC orders state to take custody, ensure safety of minor girls

OpIndia Staff
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Abduction and forced conversion of Hindu girls: Islamabad HC orders state to take custody, ensure safety of minor girls

The Islamabad High Court today ordered the state to ensure that the two girls who were abducted and forcefully married to Muslim men following forced religious conversion are taken into custody and safety is provided. Earlier today, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had questioned Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on his promises of ‘Naya Pakistan’ and promises of safety to minorities.

As per reports, two underage Hindu girls Raveena (13) and Reena (15) had been abducted from their home in Pakistan’s Sindh on the eve of Holi. The girls have since been forcefully converted and married off to older Muslim men. The case has generated widespread outrage among the minority Hindus of Pakistan who have been struggling for their rights under apathetic governments in Pakistan.

The FIR in the case could only be registered after the Hindus in the region took to streets in protest. The videos of the girls being converted and married have been doing rounds on the social media and Islamic clerics have been claiming that the girls, aged just 13 and 15, have converted to Islam under their own free will and were married to Muslim men.

India’s minister for external affairs Sushma Swaraj had taken cognisance of the issue earlier and had asked the Indian High Commission in Pakistan for a detailed report of the incident.

Pakistan’s government has so far been callous and apathetic over the incident. While the local police, who only lodged an FIR after protestors took to streets, have so far been unable to rescue the girls and unite them with their family, Ch Fawad Hussain, Pakistan’s I&B minister had tried to warn Sushma Swaraj for ‘trying to interfere in internal issues’ of Pakistan. Swaraj had replied that his agitation is only betraying his guilty conscience.

Why is Rahul Gandhi not pulling up Pakistan over the plight of 2 Hindu girls?

Ashish Shukla
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Why is Rahul Gandhi not pulling up Pakistan over the plight of 2 Hindu girls?

Congress party and its president Rahul Gandhi are being censured for their lack of concern on the abduction and forceful conversion to Islam of two Hindu girls in Pakistan which has outraged millions of Hindus and Human Rights activists and taken the media by storm.

News broke about Reena (15) and Raveena (13) allegedly kidnapped by a group from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh, Pakistan on the eve of Holi last week, the Modi government quickly swung into action and sought a report from its High Commissioner in Islamabad.

Since then a lot of water has passed under the bridge but no official statement has so far been forthcoming from either Congress or Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi over the plight of Hindu girls in Pakistan which has led to the hashtag #WhyCongressHatesHindusquickly climbing up the Twitter ladder.

Twitteratis are digging up various instances to show Congress has always been indifferent to Hindus’ plight. “A party which had a Pandit (Jawaharlal Nehru) as its first Prime Minister, has not shed even a drop of tear on the plight of Kashmiri Hindus” is one. Another cryptically quotes former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for stating Muslims have the first right over resources of India. Others are pointing to the visits to temples by Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi as nothing but a sham and a bid to garner Hindu votes in the forthcoming 2019 General Elections.

To recap the tragic incident, the girls were first kidnapped and then converted to Islam—a video showing a cleric solemnizing their Nikaah soon went viral. The minuscule Hindu community (only 1.2 per cent of Pakistan’s population) held demonstrations, calling for action. A 2014 report by the Movement for Solidarity and Peace, estimating that nearly 1000 non-Muslim girls are forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan every year, was cited. Reports worldwide have come over years on the plight of Hindu girls in Pakistan.

Human Rights activist Jibran Nasir tweeted that the sisters were converted at the Dargah Barchundi Sharif and were taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab following their marriages.

India’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj took prompt notice of the matter and asked for a report from India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan but it turned acerbic when Pakistan’s Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain butted in and initiated a war of words.

Hussain asked India “to mind its own affairs” and Swaraj shot back with “why-are-you-jittery” remark. As this began snowballing into a major controversy, and a diplomatic crisis brewed between two neighbouring countries, it’s has become a top lead story in most Indian newspapers today.

Yet, Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi have been conspicuous by their silence (Not so far and I would be happy to stand corrected). Since this story isn’t going to die out in a hurry, the longer the grand old party and its president keep their counsel, more it would be ammunition to those who claim Congress has always been anti-Hindu in its stances.

Not only Rahul Gandhi, but the barbs are also directed against Priyanka Gandhi, presently looking after the East Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 General Polls, who is seen as the next dynast in line, in case Rahul Gandhi fails to revive Congress in the forthcoming elections.

By early Tuesday, there still wasn’t any reaction from Congress, Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi. Meanwhile, social media was busy being outraged at their indifference to the nightmare of two Hindu girls.

Rahul Gandhi’s Minimum Income Guarantee could kill all other subsidies and be the mother of all scams

Abhishek Banerjee
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Rahul Gandhi’s Minimum Income Guarantee could kill all other subsidies and be the mother of all scams

Rahul Gandhi has announced that the government will provide minimum income support to the poorest 20% of Indian families. Here are some simple, common sense thoughts on where this 3.6 lakh crore disaster would lead.

(1) Common people are going to lose every other subsidy on gas, fertilizer, electricity, crop prices, MNREGA and health

Suffice to say that India doesn’t have 3.6 lakh crores just sitting around. The money will have to come from somewhere. From where? Obviously, they are going to have to remove every other subsidy. That could mean no more subsidy on gas cylinders, no more subsidy on electric connections and the government won’t be able to pay for health or education.

Worse, the government will probably have to end MNREGA, end the minimum support price for crops and end all fertilizer subsidies. Where does that leave the Indian farmer and the rural poor? This would also mean an end to government programs that provide cheap foodgrains to the poor. And also an end to cash transfer schemes such as pensions for the elderly in many states.

Think about all farmers who receive cheap or subsidized electricity. That’s coming to an end for sure.

The hope for Rs 72,000 per year will probably end up costing the poor their gas subsidy, their electricity subsidy, the minimum support price, the fertilizer subsidy and access to cheap foodgrain.

‘Pie in the sky’ is always the most expensive of all.

(2) Implementing the scheme in any form will lead to babus creating the greatest scam in history.

Here’s how. Remember that Rahul is not promising a specific amount of money, merely the DIFFERENCE between Rs 12,000 per month and your household income.

In other words, a household which already earns Rs 11,500 a month will be entitled to just Rs 500 per month.

The question is: how do you make the poorest of the poor in our society provide documented proof of income?

It is not hard to see where this is leading. This will have to be done on a “declaration basis”: the income of a poor person will be whatever the sarkari babu allows him or her to put down on the form.

Imagine this:

A poor person earns just Rs 5,000 a month. As per the scheme, he is supposed to receive Rs 12,000 minus Rs 5,000 or Rs 7,000 a month. He arrives at the government office to ask for Rs 7,000 of “income support”.  The sarkari babu in charge has two options: he could just accept the person’s claim at face value and hand the person Rs 7,000. Or he could say that the claim “needs verification” and keep it pending forever. 

Anybody who has lived in India knows what will happen next. The poor person will be asked for a bribe in order to “pass” the claim. There goes at least 2000 of the 7000 the person was supposed to receive.

Multiply this number with the crores of supposed “beneficiaries”. This could be a scam the likes of which the world has never seen.

Remember that these are supposed to be the poorest and weakest in our society. Leaving them at the mercy of the sarkari babu is almost horrifying. Stripping these people of their gas, electricity, fertilizer, crop support, health and education subsidies and making them stand in line to pay bribes … it’s just cruel.

(3) The scheme will actually cost at least WAY more than 3.6 lakh crore and will likely bankrupt the country

This happens in at least 4 different ways:

(a) Think about it. If you declare an income of Rs 11,000 a month, you get just Rs 1,000. If you declare income of Rs 1,000 a month, you get Rs 11,000. There is no proof needed to establish your income and you will have to a hefty bribe to the officers anyway for them to pass your claim.

So what happens? Crores of people will end up declaring tiniest possible amounts of income in order to get maximum benefits. The calculation of 3.6 lakh crore goes for a toss because crores of people will declare an income of ZERO in order to claim the full Rs 12000.

So here’s the *real* calculation (at least):

5 crore families

12000 per month

12 months per year

Comes to 7.2 lakh crores per year. And we are just getting started.

(b) Remember that the amount is paid per family. Rahul says the scheme will benefit 25 crore people living in 5 crore families. So the assumption is 5 people per family. Let’s assume that means 3 adults and 2 kids.

But who decides what is a family?

If the 3 adults in the family are together making Rs 6,000 a month, their family gets just Rs 6,000 per month as income support.

It isn’t hard for the 3 adults to figure this much out: if each of them decides to declare themselves a “family” with an income of Rs 2,000 each, each adult will now get Rs 10,000 per month as income support. Each adult! That means the three adults can now make Rs 30,000 per month from this income support scheme.

Yeah, so remember that 7.2 crore outlay needed for “5 crore families”? Each adult in each of the 5 crore families will declare themselves a separate family.

Overnight, therefore, the “5 crore families” will swell to “15 crore families”.

So take that 7.2 lakh crore outlay calculated above and multiply it by 3: comes to 21.6 lakh crores!!

We are still not done.

(c) This number of Rs 21.6 lakh crores will zoom even further, for obvious reasons. People who are just above the Rs 12,000 threshold will have an incentive to claim to they are also below the threshold. Remember that again these are among the poorest in society and have no real documented proof of income.

So take that “5 crore families” and make it “10 crore families”. Now split each family into three “families” as explained above.

The new figure: Rs 43.2 lakh crores.

(d) And we are still not done! I leave it to your imagination the number of fake bank accounts that will be created in order to access this scheme several times over. Remember that as per SC judgement, Aadhaar number is no longer needed for bank accounts.

So we end up with a simple estimate for Rahul Gandhi’spromise: Rs 45 lakh crores.

In 1971, Indira Gandhi coined the slogan “Gareebi Hatao”. But poverty was not removed. It was made deeper than ever.

In 2014, half of the Indians still didn’t have toilets. Half of the Indians still didn’t have cooking gas. There were 3 crore households without electricity.

Why? Why did this happen despite 50 years of the Dynasty rule?

For the Dynasty, 2014 was the darkest moment ever. India was kept frozen in poverty for use at just this very moment. So that a promise like this could be made to mobilize voters and help the dynasty recover from its darkest hour.

So what if it costs Rs 45 lakh crores?

What’s the worst that could happen to India?

India would go bankrupt and starving? All the gains since 1991 would be wiped out?

Who does that help? Who does it help if India returns to the depths of pre-1991 poverty?

Didn’t the Dynasty enjoy near uninterrupted power from 1947 to 1991?

Remember that India’s worst-case scenario is also the Dynasty’s best case scenario.

Abduction and forced conversion of Hindu girls: Sushma Swaraj questions Imran Khan’s ‘Naya Pakistan’

OpIndia Staff
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Abduction and forced conversion of Hindu girls: Sushma Swaraj questions Imran Khan’s ‘Naya Pakistan’

Two underage Hindu girls Raveena (13) and Reena (15) had been abducted from their home in Pakistan’s Sindh on the eve of Holi. The girls have since been forcefully converted and married off to older Muslim men. The case has generated widespread outrage among the minority Hindus of Pakistan who have been struggling for their rights under apathetic governments in Pakistan.

The FIR in the case could only be registered after the Hindus in the region took to streets in protest. The videos of the girls being converted and married have been doing rounds on the social media and Islamic clerics have been claiming that the girls, aged just 13 and 15, have converted to Islam under their own free will and were married to Muslim men.

India’s minister for external affairs Sushma Swaraj had taken cognisance of the issue earlier and had asked the Indian High Commission in Pakistan for a detailed report of the incident.

Pakistan’s government has so far been callous and apathetic over the incident. While the local police, who only lodged an FIR after protestors took to streets, have so far been unable to rescue the girls and unite them with their family, Ch Fawad Hussain, Pakistan’s I&B minister had tried to warn Sushma Swaraj for ‘trying to interfere in internal issues’ of Pakistan. Swaraj had replied that his agitation is only betraying his guilty conscience.

Today, Sushma Swaraj has taken the issue further and has implored Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan to take action over the issue. In a series of tweets, Swaraj has stated that the age of the girls is not disputed and they are just 13 and 15 years old. She has stated that even in Imran Khan’s Naya Pakistan, girls of such tender age cannot be treated as individuals who can decide on religious conversions and marriage.

Sushma Swaraj via Twitter

It is notable here that in 2016, the Sindh Assembly had introduced the Forced Conversion Bill to protect the rights of minorities. It was passed jointly by members of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League. However, the bill could not see the light of day as the Governor was pressurised not to ratify the bill.

There have been numerous such cases of Hindu girls being abducted, then forcefully converted and married. The police and the government machinery, instead of taking action against the abductors, usually delay the matter and when the girls are found, the local Islamic cleric produces a certificate of conversion and marriage, making it legally nearly impossible for the families of the girls to take them back.

Mian Mithoo, the religious preacher of the Bharchoondi mosque, is said to be one of the main culprits who has carried out the systematic abductions, conversions, and marriage of many Hindu girls in the region. However, Mian Mithoo enjoys government patronage and is believed to be close to all political leaders and even army generals.


As per reports, despite promises made by local authorities in Sindh to find the girls and reunite them with their families, the police and officials are unable to locate the girls and or find any trace of their whereabouts.

Conned by Congress and with narcissism at play in the party, JDS is fighting for its relevance in Karnataka

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Conned by Congress and with narcissism at play in the party, JDS is fighting for its relevance in Karnataka

An octogenarian-opportunistic father, a mediocre son, often conned by the Congress and routinely ridiculed by the BJP. So far, this is the story of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.

It began with the victory for Congress-JDS coalition in Bellary in November last year, giving a sense of false hope to CM Kumaraswamy. Like many other leaders in the coalition, Kumaraswamy believed that the by-poll victory had overcome the issues of an internal rift within the alliance, which could give him some sort of flexibility in the administration of the state.

However, the victory for the Congress party in the three North Indian Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh altered the equation between Congress and JDS forever. Congress victory in these states had two major implications on Karnataka politics. One was Congress chose to exert more pressure on the coalition government and secondly, Congress party, with the initiative of Congress leadership, began to snatch away the political capital that JDS enjoyed within the state, especially in Old Mysore region by weakening the JDS party itself.

With three states in its kitty, Congress had got its political and financial foundation to fight the incumbent NDA coalition led by Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha elections. This has led to Congress party being more assertive in Karnataka without having any apprehension of losing power in the state. Perhaps, CM Kumaraswamy may not have anticipated such a turnaround for the Congress in these states.

Apart from Punjab, Karnataka was the only big state where Congress had some sort of political power in the country, which it had to secure at any cost ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The compulsion for the Congress to be in a coalition government in Karnataka started fading out following assembly elections in three states. Once Congress in Karnataka understood the desperation of the JDS to be in power, it began to be authoritative, further pushing Kumaraswamy and his party into a corner.

Four months later, with the announcement of Lok Sabha elections, the faultlines within the coalition have begun to reveal itself. The Congress party has literally ‘conned’ the JDS party with a one-sided alliance, which is set to benefit mostly Congress and further damage JDS in its own backyard of Old Mysore region. Even though JDS did not have any choice other than an alliance with the Congress, the seat-sharing agreement has further pushed the JDS into a serious crisis.

The Congress-JDS coalition had finally reached a seat-sharing arrangement with Congress seizing 20 seats and 8 seats were left to its junior partner JDS. Out of the eight seats, JDS was given three seats out of six seats in Old Mysore region- Hassan, Mandya and Tumkur, one seat in Central Karnataka-Shimoga, one in Mumbai Karnataka- Vijayapura, two in Coastal belts- Udupi-Chikkamagaluru and Uttara Kannada along with the Bangalore North Lok Sabha constituency.

Unsurprisingly, three out of the eight seats of the JDS will be contested by the members of HD Devegowda family, with former Prime Minister HD Devegowda himself contesting from Tumkur, while his two grandsons are contesting from Mandya and Hassan Lok Sabha constituencies. In Shimoga, another BJP stronghold, the battle is going to be between two sons of former state Chief Minister as JDS has fielded Madhu Bangarappa against BY Raghavendra, son of former CM BS Yeddyurappa.

The Congress party happily ceded two of the three coastal belt seats to the JDS in exchange for seats in Central and Hyderabad Karnataka. Coastal Karnataka is the bastion of the BJP, while JDS has no vote-base in these regions whatsoever. The JDS is in such a bad state in these regions that they had to get a Congress leader on ‘loan’ to field him as a JDS candidate in Udupi-Chikamagalur seat. In both Vijayapura and Uttara Kannada, the JDS cadre is too thin to take on the BJP, which traditionally has a strong organisational structure in these regions.

Interestingly, JDS has already forfeited its share of Bangalore-North constituency to Congress as they were unable to find a candidate. In Tumkur, the incumbent Congress MP has now turned rebel against the party after he was denied a ticket and he is all set to take on HD Devegowda.

The realities in Mandya and Hassan are interesting too. The two grandsons of HD Devegowda will be contesting in JDS bastion, which is touted to be a contest to decide the future successor of the party. In Hassan, Prajwal Revanna, son of de-facto Chief Minister HD Revanna announced his candidacy which prompted HD Kumaraswamy to ‘parachute’ his son to Mandya to make sure that his son gets to be the successor of the party. In fact, Prajwal Revanna is fighting a tight battle in the Hassan against the once non-existent BJP, while HDK’s son Nikhil, who had a devastating acting career is set to take on Sumalatha, wife of actor-turned-politician MH Ambareesh. HD Devegowda, who had gifted his seat to Prajwal Revanna to contest from Tumkur, thinking winning Tumkur would be a cakewalk, has now realised that it was a blunder as Congress leadership has yet again outmanoeuvred him by instigating the incumbent MP to contest against the former Prime Minister.

The Congress party has actually played an intelligent game in the state by agreeing on a practical seat-sharing deal with the JDS. Congress understanding its inability to win against BJP in few seats ceded those seats to its junior partner JDS in exchange for seats in Central and North Karnataka as Congress believes that they have a fighting chance in these regions.

In Old-Mysore region, the Congress did not want to give away too much leverage to the JDS and has manoeuvred tactically by giving support to some of the rebel Congress leaders to make it tough for the JDS candidates to secure a clean victory. With the entry of Sumalatha into Mandya and unwillingness of the Congress cadres to support JDS candidates in Old Mysore region especially in Hassan and Tumkur, the JDS may suffer huge setbacks in its own bastion.

The Congress is actually aware of the fact that it is not going to reap larger gains in the Lok Sabha elections as historically BJP has always outperformed both the JDS and Congress in the state. However, Congress party seems to be conscious and hopeful regarding the outcomes of these Lok Sabha elections and its impact on state politics in the future.

Meanwhile, the BJP has found itself to be on a comfortable side as it is not only survived by the chaos within the coalition but also to a Pro-Modi wave that exists in the state currently. The voters of the state are sensing a pro-Modi wave much larger than 2014 which is even evident even in JDS fortress-like Hassan. It is evident with the fact that a former Congress strongman has decided to quit his party to contest on a BJP ticket against the JDS.

Despite the fact that the BJP party in the state is in doldrums, the Modi factor has insulated them from any serious downfall. It is not unknown today that the BJP does not have a formidable leadership in the state, which was displayed recently during the failed attempts to lure MLAs from the Congress-JDS coalition to form a BJP government. Nevertheless, BJP with its strong organisational structure and the large presence of cadres in the states will be expecting to win at least 16-18 seats. With growing resentment within the coalition, it is not surprising if BJP gets an additional two or three seats from Karnataka.

The biggest casualty to emerge out the 2019 Lok Sabha elections may well be the Janata Dal as the prospects of party increasing its tally from the current two seats looks dim. Addition to this, the future of the coalition government will also have an impact after the Lok Sabha elections as Congress may further exert pressure on the JDS coalition.

Former HD Devegowda, who had snatched the erstwhile ‘Janata Dal’ from the likes of Ramakrishna Hegde and Jayadevappa Halappa Patel, eventually built the current Janata Dal-Secular and evolved himself to be a ‘King Maker’ in the state. The ‘Narcissism’ which HD Devegowda brought into the state politics with promotion his sons, seems to be creating a challenge to the party’s own existence. With just days to left for the polls, it is rather interesting to not only know that how much will this rift within the coalition impact the polls but also know whether JDS will be still relevant in the state politics.

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