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Bowing down to political pressure, Canada updates 2018 report on terror to remove reference to Sikh extremism

In a major disappointment to India, Canada has modified the 2018 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada and removed the mention of Sikh extremism from the report. Giving in to the pressure from the Sikh community in Canada, the Canadian government removed the reference to the Sikh religion and changed it to “extremists who support violent means to establish an independent state within India”. The report which was earlier released in December last year had mentioned the Sikh extremism as a threat to Canada.

Indian officials have termed the updated report as a “full retreat” by the country. The updated report was published on April 12 hours before the Canadian PM Justin Trudeau was to take part along with Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, in a Baisakhi parade organised by Khalsa Diwan Society in Vancouver.

In the 2018 report, the terminology Sikh (Khalistani) terrorism was used for the first time and it was referred to as a “concern”. The had listed two terrorist organisations in the 2018 report namely, Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and  International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF). The BKI was said to be involved in armed attacks, assassinations and bombings and has members outside of India in Pakistan, North America, Europe and Scandinavia. And the ISYF, an international branch of the All India Sikh Students’ Federation (AISSF) aimed to promote Sikh philosophy and establish an independent Sikh nation of Khalistan.

In the updated version of the report, a note has been added which says, “The Government’s communication of threats must be clear, concise, and cannot be perceived as maligning any groups. As we continue this review, it is apparent that in outlining a threat, it must be clearly linked to an ideology rather than a community. The Government will carefully select terminology that focuses on the intent or ideology. For example, as a first step, the Government will use the term: Extremists who support violent means to establish an independent state within India; rather than terminology that unintentionally impugns an entire religion.” The note claims that the government of Canada does not wish to impugn an entire religion but on the contrary, the list makes clear reference to Shia and Sunni Islamist Extremism.

According to reports, the report has been updated following the threat by the Sikh community to the Liberal Party about facing dire consequences in the elections. Officials from both countries said that political parties want to impress the influential Indian and Sikh communities in the country. Some of the officials, on the condition of anonymity, tracing the problem to several Indian-origin Ministers in Canada, told that counter-terror and security cooperation is robust at the level of officials but there is a gap in the higher level of political leadership. “This is why we are seeing this dichotomy, of having cooperation at the level of officials that is not seen at the higher levels,” an official said.

The decision of the Canadian government to remove any reference to Sikh extremism has been hailed by those who have been protesting against it. One such individual Sukhminder Singh Hansra, who is pro-Khalistan and in the head of a chapter of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)said thanking the Canadian Sikh community for raising voice, “As a result, the government of Canada realised their mistake and eliminated the words ‘Sikh (Khalistani)’. Though I express satisfaction over the change, concern remains under what circumstances did the Trudeau government include these defamatory, derogatory and hurtful words in the report…as they do not reflect Canadian values”.

Watch: On a flight, co-passenger says ‘Mohalla clinic band pade hai’ while sitting next to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

While travelling by air yesterday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had the unfortunate opportunity to overhear a discussion where his govt’s pet scheme Mohalla clinic was being criticised. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media, where one person seen telling the Delhi CM that mohalla clinics are not in working condition.

The video was posted by a Twitter user named Nishant today, saying that he was also present in the flight, and he had a discussion about Mohalla Clinics with the Delhi CM’s PA. In the video, it can be seen that Arvind Kejriwal is sitting on the window seat of the economy class flight, while his aide who was talking to Nishant is sitting on the aisle seat of the same row, with another companion in the middle seat.


After boarding the flight, the person travelling with Arvind Kejriwal started a live video stream on a social media site, saying that the Delhi Chief Minister is travelling economy class like an ordinary person. He also added that broom will win this time, referring to the symbol of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Hearing this, Nishant said to him, but in Lok Sabha elections the lotus will bloom. Responding to that, Kejriwal’s aide is heard saying “have a look at the Mohalla clinic project in Delhi”. To this Nishant replies, ‘Mohalla clinics are seen, but they are all closed. They are not in working condition, CM sir is also here with us’, implying that he was trying to communicate with the CM.

Such a negative statement about the scheme, which the Aam Aadmi Party claims has won international acclamation, left the person stunned and unable to give a proper reply. Instead, he brushes it off saying that everybody has their own opinion. After that Nishant directly addresses the Delhi CM by saying, ‘I am telling the chief minister that Mohalla clinics are not in working condition’.

Both Arvind Kejriwal the other person in the middle seat didn’t show any reaction to this open feedback about the Mohalla clinic project. They were concentrating on their phones and it is not clear whether they were paying attention to the conversation happening next to them.

#DoVoteForModi: Meet the guy who held message of ‘Vote for Modi’ at some of the unlikeliest places

28-year-old Madhur Singh, popularly known as The Placard Guy on social media, has been on a mission. He is trying to raise voter awareness and asking people to vote for Modi in the ongoing general elections. Except, there’s a twist.

In Delhi’s sweltering heat, Madhur went on a Delhi darshan or sort where he stood outside various buildings and landmarks, many of which have political significance, with a placard which read ‘Do vote for Modi’. OpIndia got in touch with Madhur to know more about Singh and the campaign.

Born in Agra, Singh moved to Delhi with his family when he was 9. Last year, when the Bollywood jumped on to the placard brigade following the gruesome rape and murder of the little girl in Kathua, Singh held a counter placard calling out the propaganda.

Madhur Singh with a placard that reads ‘Do Vote For Modi’ outside JNU

When he was standing with the ‘Do Vote For Modi’ placard outside JNU campus, he says a couple approached him and requested if they could also hold the placard and get their pictured clicked. Turns out, they were JNU students and after getting their pictures clicked, they went back inside the campus. “Yahan kuch deshbhakt bhi padhte hai (some nationalists also study here),” Singh tells OpIndia.

Madhur Singh with a placard that reads ‘Do Vote For Modi’ at India Gate

India Gate, along with Jantar Mantar has been a site for various protest which have shaken up the governments. Singh is standing with the ‘Do Vote For Modi’ placard at India Gate, which also happens to be a very popular tourist destination.

Propagandist masquerading as a comedian Kunal Kamra recently decided to let his followers know that they should not vote for Modi. He then stood outside Antilla, Reliance chief Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai with a placard that read ‘Don’t vote for Modi’ and put it up on social media. In response, Madhur took it upon himself to give people a reason or more to vote for Modi.

Madhur Singh with a placard that reads ‘Do Vote For Modi’ outside National Herald building

“Yes, my campaign was more about busting Kunal Kamra’s political propaganda of hate towards Narendra Modi. Kunal Kamra appealed to his followers to not vote for Modi without giving any valid reason. He, of course, has a huge following so there were chances of him influencing the youth. Therefore I thought of countering his propaganda by appealing public to vote for Modi and I gave reasons as well which anyone can understand by the locations I chose to be clicked at,” Singh says.

The Herald House was reportedly being used for commercial renting and not for publishing the newspaper. It was leased to Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL) in the 1950s for nominal prices. AJL publishes Congress’ mouthpiece National Herald. Last year, the central government had sent a legal order to National Herald publishers to vacate the premises allotted to them at Press Enclave called the ‘Herald House’. The land at the prime location was reportedly allocated to National Herald at nominal rates for the publication of the newspaper. However, an investigation revealed that the building is rented out and no publication activity was going on.

Madhur Singh with a placard that reads ‘Do Vote For Modi’ outside Games Village

Singh says there were quite a few curious onlookers, especially at places like the Red Fort, JNU and outside the offices of The Print, Times of India. “When people saw my placard and read what it says, most of them smiled and gave me thumbs up. Some even came to appreciate me and my team for holding such Placards in this scorching heat. chose Herald house and Commonwealth Games village to show the huge corruptions past Congress governments have been a part of,” he says.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games hosted by India were mired in controversies and allegations of large scale corruption including but not limited to serious corruption by officials of the Games’ Organising Committee, delays in the construction of main Games’ venues, infrastructural compromise, possibility of a terrorist attack, and exceptionally poor ticket sales before the event. During the construction of the Games Village, there was controversy over financial irregularities, alleged profiteering by the Delhi Development Authority and private real estate companies, and poor working conditions.

Madhur Singh with a placard that reads ‘Do Vote For Modi’ outside The Print and The Times of India office, Delhi

“I chose Print/Times of India to show that these media houses are not doing justice to journalism by propagating anti-Modi narratives,” Singh says. He alleges that been recently attacked by Congress workers near Darya Ganj, Delhi, for putting a “Modi Once More” sticker on his car. He also wanted to click a picture with the above placard outside 10, Janpath (Sonia Gandhi’s residence), 12, Tughlaq Lane (Rahul Gandhi’s residence) and 24, Akbar Road (Congress headquarters), but he was not allowed to click pictures by security personnel.

Madhur Singh with a placard that reads ‘Do Vote For Modi’ next to a Congress ad

“Nobody misbehaved except of security personnels who did not let me click pictures in front of 10, Janpath or 12, Tughlaq Lane which are residents of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. I did try to click pictures outside 24 Akbar Road, Congress headquarters, but some Congress workers noticed my placards and told me to shoot elsewhere. I agreed because I knew they were capable of being violent,” Singh said.

Singh parts off with the final message behind his entire exercise by finally posing outside the BJP headquarters.

Madhur Singh outside BJP office

Operation Meghdoot on the Baisakhi in 1984 : A tale of valour of Indian Armed Forces at Siachen Glacier

Today is Baisakhi, the festival of harvest, celebrated in the northern parts of the country mainly Punjab. The festival has a special significance as it has witnessed some major historical events unfold. In the year 1699 on the day of Baisakhi, the tenth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh had formed the Khalsa Panth of warriors to protect the people from religious persecution by Muslim rulers.

The festival also witnessed another major historical event on April 13, 1984, when the Indian Armed Forces launched an operation code-named Operation Meghdoot to capture the Siachen Glacier. The dispute regarding the Siachen Glacier had its root in the 1949 Karachi Agreement signed between India and Pakistan supervised by the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) which established a ceasefire line in Kashmir. Under the 1949 Agreement, the easternmost part of the ceasefire line was not demarcated beyond a point called NJ9842 and the territory between NJ9842 and the Chinese border was left unmarked. As a result, both the countries asserted their claims to the unmarked territory by allowing expeditions to the area. When Pakistan granted permission to a Japanese team to scale up an important peak in the area, the Indian government grew suspicious.

Ceasefire Line as per 1949 Agreement,
Source: Wikipedia

To put an end to Pakistan’s attempts to assert its claim over the territory, the Indian government decided to deploy troops at the Siachen glacier. As part of the preparations to deploy troops at the glacier, troops were sent on a training expedition to Antarctica in 1982 to acclimatise the troops to extreme temperatures. In 1983, fearing that India might capture the important ridges and passes near the glacier, the Pakistani Army decided to send their troops first and ordered Arctic-weather gear from a London supplier not knowing that the same supplier had provided outfits to India.

As per Intelligence reports, Pakistani forces had planned to occupy the glacier on April 17 and so to preempt the Pakistani forces, the Indian Army prepared a plan to control the glacier on April 13, 1984, way before the Pakistani Army. The operation named after Meghdoot (cloud messenger), a Sanskrit play written by Kalidasa, was led by Lieutenant General Prem Nath Hoon. Brigadier Vijay Channa, who commanded the task of occupying the Saltoro ridge chose the date April 13 as the day to launch the operation because it was the day of Baisakhi and Pakistan would be least expecting it. As preparations started, Indian Army soldiers were lifted by the Indian Air Force. During the first phase of the operation a full battalion of Kumaon Regiment and units from Ladakh Scouts, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel (later Brigadier) D. K. Khanna, moved on foot to avoid detection of the troop movement by Pakistani radars.

By the auspicious day of Baisakhi, approximately 300 Indian troops had already occupied the key peaks and passes of the glacier and by the time Pakistani troops found out it was already a lost battle for them. Pakistan had more routes accessible through the ground to the area as compared to India which had to rely on air dropping, yet it could only manage to occupy the Saltoro Ridge’s western slopes and foothills. As no victory comes without its cost, though no reliable information is available on casualties, soldiers on both sides suffered frostbite, high altitude sickness with some getting lost in avalanches.

Our brave soldiers continue to guard the Siachen Glacier fighting the extreme weather conditions and the neighbouring enemy.

NIA arrests fifth Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist for attack on Lethpora CRPF camp

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday arrested a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist in connection with the attack on the CRPF camp at Lethpora in South Kashmir on December 30, 2017, in which five personnel were killed.

According to the reports, the Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist has been identified as Irshad Ahmad Reshi, who is now the fifth accused to have been arrested in the case. Reshi was a close associate of slain terrorist and JeM Commander Noor Mohammad Tantray.

Irshad Ahmad Reshi was the key conspirator in the attack who provided shelter and transport to the terrorists. He also conducted reconnaissance of the CRPF camp, Lethpora before the terrorist attack.

Earlier the NIA had arrested four accused in connection with the case, Fayaz Ahmad Magrey, Manzoor Ahmed Bhat Nisar Ahmed Tantray and Syed Hilal Andrabi.

The terrorist attack on the CRPF camp in Lethpora was carried out on December 30-31 by three terrorists belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammad. The attack was executed to avenge the death of Noor Trali who was killed in an encounter with security forces in December 2017. Five CRPF were martyred during the incident and three others were injured during the terrorist attack.

During the investigation by the NIA, the terrorists responsible for the attack were identified as Fardeen Ahmad Khandey, Manzoor Baba and Abdul Shakoor. All three terrorists were killed in the encounter. Irshad Ahmed Reshi will be produced before a special NIA court, Jammu on April 15.

In addition to the arrest of Reshi, the Pulwama police and 55 Rashtriya Rifles on Sunday busted a terrorist hideout in Manduna village in South Kashmir’s Pulwama. The Pulwama police have registered a case, further investigation is underway.

Wayanad: Maoists put up posters asking people to refrain from voting in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections

According to a special branch of police, the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency is under threat from Maoists operating in the region. The constituency gained prominence after Congress President Rahul Gandhi has decided to contest from the seat,

As per reports, posters asking voters to refrain from voting have emerged in various places in Kerala’s Wayanad. A letter with a similar warning had also been sent to the Wayanad Press Club. The Maoist threat has come at a time when national leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Amit Shah and Sitaram Yechury are scheduled to reach Wayanad next week for their upcoming election campaigns.

The police have been asked to increase the security of the candidates campaigning along the forest borders of the constituency. Gunmen have also been deployed for the safety of the candidates following the threat.

According to the special branch report, Maoists may attempt to make use of the present situation to get national attention, reports ManoramaOnline.

The special branch of Wayanad has not mentioned threats to any specific candidate, confirmed an official from the police headquarters.

Though PP Suneer, the LDF candidate in the constituency as denied the report of any Maoist threat, NDA’s candidate Thushar Vellapally has informed the Election Commission of the same. “I have written to the Election Commission about this intelligence report from the Kerala police. They will provide the necessary security accordingly,” he told TNM.

The state government has already provided him with two gunmen and Thunderbolt commandos.

Left-wing terrorists threatening those who want to exercise their franchise to vote is not new. In Chhattisgarh, a day before the state assembly elections, Maoists had put up posters threatening the villagers to boycott elections. Naxalites wrote in their posters, “Boycott the fake Chhattisgarh assembly elections, the imperialism, the Brahmin Hindutva, the fascist beating the BJP. Stand in public court for other political parties who come to demand votes.”

Quora user claims Congress govt in MP forced him to buy Congress mouthpiece National Herald’s subscription

An anonymous user on Quora has claimed that the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh is ‘forcing’ people to buy the subscription of the Congress mouthpiece National Herald as part of the ‘bribe’. He was responding to the question what has shocked him most as an Indian.

The user has stated that he runs a small manufacturing unit in Madhya Pradesh and had a scheduled visit from a grade 1 officer from the Madhya Pradesh government at his factory. He mentions that while he understands that the bribery is morally and legally wrong, it has always been an integral part of the industry ‘culture’. He explains that along with the ‘usual cash’ this time the officer even demanded a crossed cheque of Rs 3,900.

The user claims that he was surprised because while bribery may be a rampant social evil, the transactions always take place in cash and not in cheque. He claims that he asked the officer on whose name should he write on the cheque, he was informed ‘Associated Journals Ltd.’ The anonymous user was shocked to find out that AJL publishes Congress’ mouthpiece National Herald and this was perhaps one of the dubious ways of getting people to subscribe to the publication.

Hence, according to the user, the alleged bribe, taken in cheque, supposedly for National Herald subscription, thereby contributing to Congress is the most shocking thing he has experienced as an Indian.

He says that later, out of curiosity he opened National Herald website to check subscription details and turns out Rs 3,900 is the subscription value for ‘NH Privilege Offer + Sunday नवजीवन Mega Offer’ which gives the user 100 issues of National Herald on Sunday and 145 issues of Sunday Navjeevan.

National Herald subscription form

Quora is a question and answer platform where a community of users ask, answer, edit and organise questions and answers. Since it is a community portal, users can ‘upvote’ and ‘downvote’ answers which can then show the answers which are highly ranked on top of search results. While Quora requires users to log in with the real name and not an internet pseudonym, there is no provision to actually verify real names. Hence, the authenticity of the above post cannot be verified.

However, the government ‘arm twisting’ the people to ‘subscribing’ to National Herald may not be completely unfounded. Amusingly, it was earlier reported that Congress high command had dictated subscription targets to state units for National Herald. In January this year, it was reported that the Punjab Congress leaders had sold National Herald subscription to raise funds for the party.

“Work has begun to settle the displaced Kashmir Pandits at home, Congress responsible for the situation of Kashmiri Pandits” : PM Modi

Addressing a public gathering in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held Congress party responsible for the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir.

Speaking at Kathua ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, PM Modi said that it was due to the policies of the Congress party that the Kashmiri Pandits had to migrate from Kashmir Valley. Targetting the Congress party, PM Modi said that Congress and their friends were so worried about the vote bank that they overlooked the atrocities on Kashmiri Pandits.


Prime Minister Modi questioned the Congress saying “Who would do justice when they did injustice for 60 years? Will Congress ever be able to provide justice to Kashmiri Pandits? Will they be able to provide justice to those massacred in 1984 riots?”

He further assured the Kashmiri Pandits that he was committed to settling the displaced Pandits in their native places in Jammu and Kashmir and added that the work has already started in this regard.

“Congress might avoid taking their name but this chowkidar is committed to letting Kashmiri Pandits live on their land. Work has begun. We’re also making efforts to form a law to provide citizenship to families which have come here helplessly from Pak&believe in’Ma Bharti’,” said PM Modi.

The genocide of Kashmiri Pandits began in 1989-90 when Islamic terrorism raised its head in Kashmir. The Islamists systematically targeted the Kashmiri Pandits and lynched at-least 700 of them. Scores of Pandit women were raped, their houses were looted and burnt down. Many Hindu temples were desecrated. And finally, Kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee the Valley, which they fondly used to call home.

TRS leader arrested after his picture clicked inside EVM strongroom goes viral on social media

A TRS leader had to pay a heavy price for his audacious attempt of allegedly entering into an EVM strong room without authorisation and clicking pictures.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLhOk78XUOg]

N Venkatesh, a local TRS leader and husband of Keesara Sarpanch Madhuri was arrested by Telangana police on Saturday after the pictures he clicked inside the strongroom went viral on social media. The accused is also the poll agent of TRS Malkajgiri’s candidate, Marri Rajasekhar Reddy.

The photo of N Venkatesh along with Medchal MLA and sitting Telangana Minister Malla Reddy also did the rounds. Marri Rajasekhar is Malla Reddy’s son-in-law.

According to the Circle Inspector Narender Goud, “The accused entered the strong room while the EVMs used in the polls were being kept and the room sealed in Bogaram area. The accused was attending as the poll agent of TRS Lok Sabha candidate from Malkajgiri constituency.”

While the police personnel and officials of the Election Commission can document the process of EVMs being stored and sealed inside the strong room, polling agents are only allowed to oversee the process on behalf of their respective political parties.

As the picture did the rounds and the Congress party, which has a special fondness of obsessing over the ‘EVM hacked theory’, cried foul, Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) CEO SVR Chandra Sekhar, who is the Assistant Returning Officer of the constituency, filed a complaint with the Keesara police.

The police booked a case against Venkatesh, who was later presented before a local court and remanded to judicial custody.

Amusingly, though this time it was the Congress which cried foul, earlier in December 2018 during Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, a vehicle with Congress sticker was reportedly slammed into a strongroom and the youths, who were later arrested, demanded immediate counting of votes.

According to the reports then, all the accused were intoxicated and during the police interrogation, they confessed that they wanted to check the EVM strongroom. The police had registered a case for trespassing, violating the model code of conduct and other relevant sections were registered against the accused after the report of the returning officer and SDM Satna CS Tripathi.

Meanwhile, Telangana recorded 62.69 per cent in the April 11 polling across 17 Lok Sabha constituencies. Khammam recorded the highest percentage at 75.28, while Hyderabad, registered 44.75 per cent, an official release said on Friday.

A purported letter written by Murli Manohar Joshi to LK Advani with ANI stamp is fake, ANI says no such letter exist

A letter claiming to be written by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi to BJP patriarch LK Advani criticising the state of the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being circulated vigorously across the social media. The screenshot of the letter has the logo of news agency ANI stamped on it, giving the impression that it was released through ANI. However, ANI has now claimed that the alleged letter written by Joshi is fake.


ANI categorically stated no such letter exists and it is fake.

The letter which was falsely attributed to Murli Manohar Joshi claims that Joshi was unhappy about the present state of affairs of the BJP led by PM Narendra Modi. Written in Hindi, the letter also reads that the BJP has not performed well in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections and also not likely to outperform other parties in the upcoming phases. In the ‘fake’ letter addressed to LK Advani, Joshi claims that BJP will only secure 120 seats in the general elections.

Some of the social media users including Congress party trolls have been vigorously sharing these fake letter in an attempt to create a false narrative ahead of the second phase of 2019 Lok Sabha elections.


 


In that ‘fake’ letter, Murli Manohar Joshi’s name has been used to paint an unfavourable image against the BJP, especially against the Prime Minister. It says that Joshi had received offers from SP-BSP coalition to contest the elections. Since veteran leaders of BJP like Joshi and Advani was included in candidates list for the Lok Sabha elections, opposition parties and a section of media have been trying to create division in the party by claiming that Modi-Shah duo has been sidelining other leaders of the party.