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Pentagon defends Mission Shakti, says India concerned about threats in space

OpIndia Staff
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Pentagon defends Mission Shakti, says India concerned about threats in space

The Pentagon has defended India’s ASAT test and said the test was carried out as India is concerned about the “threats” it faces in space. Prime Minister Modi had announced the success of Mission Shakti in which a low-orbit satellite with a ground-to-space missile was shot down on the 27th of March.

“The first lesson from the Indian ASAT is just the simple question of why did they do that. And the answer should be, I think to all the committee looking at it, is that they did that because they are concerned about threats to their nation from space. And therefore, they feel they have to have a capability to defend themselves in space,” US Strategic Command Commander General John E Hyten told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

NASA had dubbed Mission Shakti a “terrible thing” claiming that the test had produced debris which could endanger the International Space Station (ISS). Hyten advocated for some manner of norms of behaviour in space. “And where those norms of behavior should begin, in my opinion, is with debris, because as the combatant commander responsible for space today, I don’t want more debris,” he said.

Senator Tim Kaine, running mate of Hillary Clinton in 2016, also voiced similar concerns. “What should the rules environment be, and what should we be doing to try to promote rules? India is an ally. We’re not talking about an adversary doing something. We’re talking about them testing some capacity, but then that creates challenges for all kinds of uses of space. How should we be solving problems like that?” Kaine asked.

India had become only the fourth country to acquire ASAT capabilities after the US, Russia, and China. The success of Mission Shakti was hailed as proof of India’s growing prowess.

A village in Uttar Pradesh, a people worried about Congress’ polarisation and what sways their vote: A ground report

Aditi
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A village in Uttar Pradesh, a people worried about Congress’ polarisation and what sways their vote: A ground report

As the polling for the first phase of Lok Sabha election 2019 started yesterday, the enthusiasm of the people in my village was evident from the long queues and smiling faces both young and old shining with hope, at the polling booths since early morning. My village Salawa is one of the 24 villages in the Meerut district collectively known by the name of ‘Thakur Chowbisi’. It is the largest of all the 24 villages both in terms of population and area and therefore has a certain political significance when it comes to elections.

Salawa falls within the Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha constituency where the sitting Member of Parliament Dr Sanjeev Balyan is fielded by the BJP for a second time against the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) Chief Ajit Singh who has allied with the SP-BSP alliance. Dr Balyan, who holds a doctorate in Veterinary Anatomy and has worked as an Assistant Professor and Veterinary surgeon, had defeated Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) Kadir Rana by a margin of around 4 lakh votes during the ‘Modi wave’ in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Though the Thakur Chowbisi has traditionally been a BJP voter base and therefore there are chances of voters leaning towards the BJP again but this time certain other significant factors might play a role in shaping the opinion of the voters. Apart from the factors like the lack of a Prime Ministerial face in the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ and the work done by the Modi government specially in rural areas, one important factor that seems to have drifted the voter away from the opposition parties is the 2016 mass exodus of Hindus from Kairana town of Shamli district which has a Muslim majority. The resettlement of around 25,000 members of the Muslim community in Kairana post the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots changed the demography of the region making Hindus a minority in Kairana. Shattered law and order situation post the resettlement and the subsequent mass exodus of Hindu families from Kairana out of fear of the gangsters of the majority Muslim community, left the people of nearby villages worried about the possibility of a similar situation in their own villages if any demographic changes took place. Having a neighbouring village like Kaili which has Muslims in the majority, a similar fear gripped my village as well. This brought back the memories of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the ’90s in the minds of people.

On top of that the cold attitude of the then Samajwadi Party government in the State accompanied by the deafening silence of the mainstream media which blatantly refused to even acknowledge that something like that had happened, created a deep sense of disbelief and insecurity among the Hindus. The situation improved only after the BJP government was formed in Uttar Pradesh under Chief Minister Yogi and as a result, the Hindu families who had fled out of fear started returning to their homes. This gave out a message that Hindus could feel safe under the BJP rule. True or not, this is what the voters feel at least in my village. A feeling of apprehension in the wake of the Kairana Hindu exodus seems to have been at the back of the minds of the voters along with the development work carried out by the Modi government.

I witnessed the faith of voters in the Modi government as I talked to some of them to know their opinions. “I did not see which candidate the BJP fielded in my constituency, I voted for Modi”, said a young voter named Mohit Som who was impressed by the way Modi government has improved India’s relations with other countries. He said the Kairana incident is going to have an influence on the voting pattern.

Another voter named Deepak Som appreciated the work done by Dr Sanjeev Balyan in his constituency during the last five years. He said that the “special effect” of PM Modi has also played a role in his decision to vote for the BJP. On the issue of Kairana, Deepak says that the Kairana incident is going to influence the voters in favour of the BJP as the opposition parties are openly indulging in the polarisation of Muslims for votes.

This appeasement by the opposition parties seems to be having a repulsive effect on the voters particularly in Salawa. “They (opposition parties) indulge in the politics of appeasement”, said  Rahul Som terming the Kairana exodus a big issue. When asked about his opinion on Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Rahul described him as nikamma (good for nothing). “He does not have a single quality to be a leader. It is because of his family background that he enjoys all the perks otherwise no one would keep him even as labour”, said a furious Rahul.

Similar views are held by about Rahul Gandhi by another voter named Kapil Som who was unhappy with the Congress party for having done nothing during its rule. Calling Rahul lafanga, Kapil said, “He is not even good enough to be employed as a sweeper. In fact, if he is given any job, it would be an insult to the job itself”. He praised PM Modi for having reached where he is coming from humble beginnings. Speaking on the issue of Kairana, Kapil said that it was only because of the BJP government that the Hindus could return to their home and that wherever Hindus are in minority they have no choice but to vote for the BJP.

However, another voter named Abhishek Som seemed the disagree with others on whether Kairana is going to impact the votes in this elections. “It has been quite some since that incident took place and it is not a major issue in these elections”, said Abhishek. When asked what was his reason to vote for BJP, he said that he liked the way Modi government has worked on improving the national security.

Vijay Som, a young voter, has his hopes rested on Modi government for creating employment opportunities for the youth. He said that the Modi government worked for everyone regardless of caste or religion.

Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy insults the jawans, says those who cannot afford two meals a day join the armed forces

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy insults the jawans, says those who cannot afford two meals a day join the armed forces

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who has a habit of making slanderous statements against political opponents, has once again created a controversy after he was claimed that only those people who can not afford food to eat join the armed forces.

In a video posted by the BJP Karnataka twitter handle, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy can be heard saying, “People protecting the borders are not the rich people but it is those people who can not afford two meals a day join the Indian Armed forces. PM Modi is playing with their lives.”


Meanwhile, BJP has said that Chief Minister Kumaraswamy should be ashamed for making such disdainful statements against the poor and the soldiers. The BJP further added that the citizens of the country join armed forces to serve the nation and not to seek benefits. The party also challenged the Chief Minister Kumaraswamy to make his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy join the armed forces rather than making him a candidate of the Lok Sabha elections.

Kumaraswamy, however, has claimed that the BJP is using an ‘edited video’ with false interpretation to target him.

Kumaraswamy is often seen uttering controversial statements. Earlier, he had stated that the celebration of Balakot airstrikes in India might cause communal tension.

Will send Modi, Amit Shah and Himanta Biswa Sarma to Bangladesh after elections: AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal

OpIndia Staff
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Will send Modi, Amit Shah and Himanta Biswa Sarma to Bangladesh after elections: AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal

A day after claiming that the Congress is ‘hero’ in Muslim areas but a ‘zero’ in Hindu dominated areas, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal, while addressing a rally in Dhubri, Assam, said that once we win elections, will send Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah and Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to Bangladesh.


Addressing his supporters, he said that the BJP wants to make India a Hindu nation and it must be stopped. Earlier he had said that the BJP is ‘our no. 1 enemy and the Congress is their no. 2 enemy’. Last year Ajmal had made headlines after he assaulted a journalist and threatened to smash his head for asking a question.

Restoring 400 ruined temples in 200 years: Pakistan’s new announcement appears to be another PR stunt to cover up the plight of Hindus

OpIndia Staff
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Restoring 400 ruined temples in 200 years: Pakistan’s new announcement appears to be another PR stunt to cover up the plight of Hindus

The Pakistan government has decided to restore Hindu temples across the country in a phased manner, which were hitherto lost to encroachment or occupied and converted to madrassas. The government of Pakistan has identified 400 temples to be gentrified and handed over to the Hindu community in their country.

When partition happened, many Hindu families abandoned their properties and temples in Pakistan and migrated to India. These temples were lost to infringement and illegally occupied by people to run madrassas. Even where the Hindus stayed back, the hostile strongmen forcibly took control of the temples and turned them into either common facility complexes or madrassas.

Pakistan government has declared that every year 2-3 Hindu heritage complexes will be restored, Starting with the two historic shrines in Sialkot and Peshawar. Sialkot already has a functioning Jagannath Temple. Now the 1000-year old Shivalaya Tej Singh temple is set to be restored. It was functional till 1992 but after Babri Mosque demolition, Hindus at Shivalaya Tej Singh temple witnessed a mob attack. A Pakistani court has also declared the Goraknath temple in Peshawar as a heritage site.

However, looking at Pakistan’s track record of treating its minorities and the ever-increasing hold of Islamic hardliners over governance and policy, the declaration seems more like a PR stunt to temporarily appease the Hindus and put the protesting voices to rest after the rampant abductions and forceful conversions of minor Hindu girls got international attention.

In Pakistani media, the only ‘sources’ mentioned for this ‘news’ is an unnamed individual in the Evacuee Trust Property Board.


As expected, the grand declaration of restoring 400 Hindu temples comes with only hollow words and hazy promises. There are no roadmaps proposed, no definite estimates and no announcement of funds or mobilisation so far. Even looking at their current announcement, two temples a year will take 200 years for all the temples (or ruins of them) to become ‘open’. In the entire country, there are just 13 Hindu temples that are functional.

Recently, Pakistan had announced the Sharda Temple Corridor to lure pilgrims from India and abroad. The Sharda Temple, once a revered shrine of Kashmiri Pandits, is now a dilapidated ruin.


The survey conducted by the All-Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement revealed shocking details about the state of temples in Pakistan. There were 428 Hindu temples at the time of Partition and out of which 408 of them were turned into toy stores, restaurants, government offices and madarsas.

Recently, Pakistan has also agreed to build the Kartarpur corridor to facilitate Sikh pilgrims from India to undertake a journey to the birthplace of Guru Nanak. However, the difference in the modalities of the corridor has temporarily put the brakes on the progress. India has highlighted Pakistan’s narrow focus on the issue.

Serious differences in the opinions held by the two countries emerged in their first meeting regarding the project. India had also raised strong objection to Pakistan for including Khalistani elements in their delegation, a concern that has been voiced multiple times by Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh. India has conveyed Pakistan that it won’t tolerate Kartarpur project being used to propagate anti-India and secessionist propaganda.

Congress deletes the tweet after it was caught Photoshopping party flag in place of Indian flag

OpIndia Staff
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Congress deletes the tweet after it was caught Photoshopping party flag in place of Indian flag

Gujarat Youth Congress has deleted the tweet and Facebook post after it was caught sharing a morphed image where the party flag was Photoshopped in place of Indian flag.

To portray itself as a preferred political party for people across religions, Gujarat Youth Congress has resorted to digitally replacing the Indian flag with the party flag. Social Media Hoax Slayer, a website which fact-checks social media hoaxes, reported that Gujarat Youth Congress Twitter handle, had digitally replaced the Indian flag with their own party flag.

Gujarat Youth Congress tweet, now deleted

In the tweet, Congress had said that it is only Congress which could keep Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians together. In the image, five men of different religions are seen walking down the road holding Congress party flags.

However, as reported by SM Hoax Slayer, the image was digitally edited to morph Congress flags in place of Indian flags.

The original image was posted by one Muni Lokesh, a Jain saint, on 26th January 2018, to wish Indians on the 69th Republic Day. Congress took the image and edited the Indian flag with that of the party flag. The men had walked at the India-Pakistan border with the flag to send a message of secularism.

On being called out, Congress deleted the tweet without offering any explanation or apology.

Prior to Congress, Samajwadi Party had also morphed an image from the same event and put up the Samajwadi Party flag in place of the Indian flag.

Samajwadi Party leader, however, has not yet deleted the image.

A tale of two indelible ink removals – TRPs for someone, matter of life for others

OpIndia Staff
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A tale of two indelible ink removals – TRPs for someone, matter of life for others

The first phase of the voting for the Lok Sabha elections concluded today. The voting was largely peaceful, apart from some reports EVM problems which is usual in the large-scale elections that take place in India. Few dozen EVMs among the thousands used in the elections show problems, which are promptly replaced by poll officials. But those reports are used to attack the EVM by anti-EVM lobby, which includes a section of media, activists and some political parties. Now, another issue has emerged in respect of the elections.

Today reports emerged that some people were successful in removing the indelible ink applied on their fingers after voting. This semi-permanent ink is used to prevent multiple voting by the same person. During voting, this ink is applied on the finger of the voter, which lasts for several weeks.

Executive Editor of CNN-News18 Bhupendra Chaube said that he was successful in removing the ink from his finger by using nail polish remover. He also said that using a nail file, he was successful in removing the ink from his finger entirely. He also showed a tweet by Quint CEO Ritu Kapur, who also tried the same experiment, as proof that many other people were tweeting that the ink is removable.


Another woman, Sameeksha Khare also reported that she had removed her indelible ink, and coincidently she also works for the Quint. Soon, many people tried nail polish remover, and reported that the ink was removed.

Some media houses reported this phenomenon by saying that indelible ink was coming off from the fingers of voters, but the fact is it was not coming off automatically, it happened only after rubbing it with nail polish remover.

While for some the ability to remove the indelible ink became a source to gain TRP and attack the current government, for others it became a question of life and death. After casting their votes, voters in Bastar in Chhattisgarh were seen removing the ink from their fingers. They were doing this not to vote again, but to save their own lives. Maoist terrorists have called for boycott of the general elections, and people in Maoist dominated areas fear that the terrorist will target them if they are seen with the mark of voting on their fingers.


Before Chhattisgarh assembly elections last year, Maoists had warned that if anyone is seen with indelible ink on their fingers, that finger will be chopped off. That time also people had removed the ink marks for the same reason.

Naxal terrorists had triggered a powerful IED blast on 9th April, killing five people including BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi. Therefore, the threat of the left-wing terrorists are real, and people were removing the ink as a precautionary measure. This also shows how people in Maoist affected areas are committed to the Indian democracy, despite the campaign against it by both the Maoists and their overground supporters.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has ordered a probe into the reports that the ink is getting removed, and ordered district election officer to furnish a report.

YouTube restores OpIndia video that exposed how media whitewashes terrorists, but now places age restriction on viewership

OpIndia Staff
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YouTube restores OpIndia video that exposed how media whitewashes terrorists, but now places age restriction on viewership

Two weeks back, OpIndia had published a series of three videos by Comedian Rivaldo on the Kashmir issue. In the series, Rivaldo had explained how the discourse around the Kashmir issue is flawed mostly due to the excuses provided by the ‘liberals’.

The videos seem to have offended lots of people, as they are being attacked relentlessly by complaining about the same to YouTube. A few days ago, the video 1 of the series was made age-restricted by YouTube, saying it was done based on Community guidelines. The video can be watched only after confirming that the user is adult by signing into the site. Then, yesterday YouTube decided to take down the third video in the series where Rivaldo exposed the media and how they whitewash Islamic terrorists.

OpIndia had got in touch with YouTube and submitted a request for review of the third video that had been removed by YouTube in a shocking incident of censorship. YouTube has now restored the OpIndia video, however, it has been put behind an age restriction. Interestingly, YouTube has not provided any reason for deleting the video earlier or offered an apology for deleting the video.

Email from YouTube

Initially, when the OpIndia video was deleted, an email sent from YouTube says that the video was flagged by someone for review. After review, YouTube determined that it violates the guidelines of the site, and they removed it from YouTube.

The video focuses on how Media personalities like Barkha Dutt and other members of the intelligentsia whitewash Islamic terrorists regularly thereby giving them intellectual cover for the heinous acts of terror committed by them. The video contained commentary by Rivaldo, with only a few clips from publicly available videos of news media used. Such clips are routinely shown on TV News channels, many of whom also live stream their programs on YouTube. Therefore, it can be assumed with a reasonable amount of certainty that the videos were particularly targeted for the commentary in them, and the violent graphic content is just an excuse to censor them from the Internet.

The video that has now been restored by YouTube can be watched here:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTDGymh0Rjs]

If Modi comes back to power ‘Tukde Tukde gang’ will get fragmented and fall apart: PM Modi in Bhagalpur, Bihar

OpIndia Staff
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If Modi comes back to power ‘Tukde Tukde gang’ will get fragmented and fall apart: PM Modi in Bhagalpur, Bihar

While India entered the first phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi enthralled the Bhagalpur, Bihar crowd with his potent speech today. Thanking people for giving him an opportunity to serve them for the last 5 years, Modi said that the NDA government has made the impossible possible in these years.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbNjUHc5Eqs]

In the last 70 years, the people of India has witnessed the ‘lal bati culture’ (red-light, in other words, the VVIP culture). He said his government made sure that the country gets rid of the VVIP culture and instead his government has in the last 5 years worked toward electrifying the small towns and villages in India. “Aapke is Chowkidar ne lal bati hatakar, ghar ghar mein safed bati pahuchane ka kaam kiya hain” (Your Chowkidar has got rid of the red-light culture and instead provided every household with white lights), said Modi.


Talking about the various schemes launched by the NDA government, he said that his government has provided the poor with ‘pukka makaan’ and gas connections, which seemed to be an impossible task before Modi came to power.

Describing the key schemes initiated by the BJP government for the poor, Prime Minister Modi said, “While the previous governments ensured proper roads to their own homes, this ‘Chowkidar’ ensured that proper roads reach every village of Bihar.


Although tall promises were made about farmer welfare before 2014, it was the NDA government that increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) to one-and-half times the cost. We have taken several transformative steps to genuinely empowering our farmers.”


We have pledged and declared in our election manifesto (Sankalp Patra) that after the results of the Lok Sabha elections are declared on May 23 and NDA comes back to power the present rule of providing benefits to farmers with minimum 5 acres of land will be removed and every big/small farmer will be benefited by the government schemes.

Modi promised that all small and weak farmers above the age of 60 will be provided with a pension. This, he said, has never ever happened before under any other government.

He further added that the NDA government is also actively strengthening the silk weaving community of Bhagalpur and the recently established Mega Handloom Cluster will greatly empower the weavers and traders of Bhagalpur.

PM Modi also spoke at length about the radical shift in India’s national security strategy under the BJP saying, “The whole nation remembers the times when the Congress was in power and terrorist attacks had become very common across the country. Yet despite all this, India took a soft approach against the terror sponsored by Pakistan under the Congress rule. I changed this policy and decided that any attack against us will be responded back in the same language.”


He reiterated that his government has given a free hand to the army to deal with terrorists and Maoists. India will not keep quiet, he said. Modi furthered that because of zero tolerance attitude of the present government, be it the terrorists in Pakistan or the people supporting them, all have started fearing India.

Attacking the Congress, Modi said that the Congress party is scared and are in turn trying to scare the people of the country. Congress wants to initiate talks with the people who support terrorism, unlike his government which believes in paying them back in their own coin.

Modi in a blistering attack said that corruption is Congress’ family business. “When I come back to power Congress’ family business will be gridlocked”. Dynasty politics will see its end, said Modi.

If Modi comes back to power, “Tukde Tukde gang hi tukde tukde hokar bikhar jayenge” (Tukde Tukde gang will get fragmented and fall apart) Modi said, sounding confident that the Nation will bring the NDA government back to power.

The Lok Sabha elections which commenced today will be concluded in seven phases spread over a month. 91 Lok Sabha seats are voting today as part of Phase 1 of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections. A total of 18 states and two union territories – Andaman & Nicobar Island and Lakshadweep – will be covered in this phase.

Results of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 will be announced on May 23.

Leaked audio clip: TMC leader asks party workers to capture election booths in Cooch Behar

OpIndia Staff
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Leaked audio clip: TMC leader asks party workers to capture election booths in Cooch Behar

As the first phase of elections starts today an alleged audio clip of a TMC leader named Khokon Miyan, President Cooch Behar Block No 1, has gone viral in which he is instructing his cadres to ensure 100% votes in favour of the party, as reported by DNA India. Miyan is heard warning the voters not to vote for any other party. The clip has been submitted by the BJP to the Election Commission demanding appropriate action.

“It is clear what Khokon Miyan wants in the instructions given in their party meeting. But such ploys will not be successful as people will stop them”, said BJP leader Utpal Kumar Deb.

Miyan is heard saying in the alleged leaked audio that the party has directed that no other party should get any votes and that those trying to vote for any other party will be identified. “TMC has to get 100% votes, no other parties should get a vote. He says that if someone tries to vote for any other party, they will be identified. This is the party’s direction”, he said.

He further added that Central Forces will be present only on 40 booths out of a total of 100 and that all the government employees are under his control. He said, “From police to BDO, all are under our control. They may be government employees, but they are under me”. Calling the elections a tough battle in the Cooch Behar constituency, he urged the booth workers to do some “setting” with the presiding officers if required but make sure that all the booths are covered. He also advised the workers on rigging the votes.

There were reports of rampant poll malpractice and violence in West Bengal earlier in the day. People were also reportedly scared of voting remembering the violence that was carried out by the TMC goons during last year’s Assembly elections. The BJP had alleged that TMC agents were present on polling booths in violation of the rules and that BJP agents were threatened and their houses were attacked the previous night.

Shockingly, a few days ago TMC leader Anubrata Monal had openly appealed to the Election Commission officials to allow people to rig the polls by managing 500-600 votes per booth.

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