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Pakistani journalist spread fake news about Indian drone shot down using old photo of American drone

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani journalist spread fake news about Indian drone shot down using old photo of American drone

After the tension between India and Pakistan escalated following India’s air strike on terror camps in Pakistan, Indian defence forces have shot down several Pakistani drones that had violated Indian air space. Now in a desperate attempt to show that India is also trying to spy on Pakistan using drones, and Pakistan has shot down such drones, Pakistani media have resorted to spreading fake news.

Today one journalist working with Pakistani media house Dawn posted a tweet saying that Pakistan Army has shot down an Indian spy drone in Kot Kotehra village in Khuiratta sector of Kotli district in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Along with the tweet, a image of the downed drone was included.


Screenshot of the tweet

Soon the same news along with the image by several users from Pakistan on social media.

But the image used by Naqash does not show any Indian drone, and the image is not from Pakistan. A simple reverse image search on Google using the image shows that it is an old photo of an American drone which had crashed in Arizona, USA. The drone in the image is a Predator B “Reaper” drone, which had crashed in 2006 while on routine border patrol. The Reaper is an unmanned combat aerial vehicle which carries several weapons like laser-guided bombs, air-to-ground missiles etc.

Israel made IAI Heron drone, used by India

India does not use American drones, while DRDO is working on developing indigenous drones, at present IAI Heron drones from Israel are used by Indian armed forces. The Heron looks quite different from the Reaper, as both have different designs.

This is not the first time Pakistani media has published news to show imaginary victory over India. They had also claimed that the Indian Air Force helicopter that had crashed due to a technical fault on 27th February was shot down by Pakistani Air Force. Pakistani media also had claimed that two Indian jets were shot down by Pakistan, while hiding the fact one Pakistani F-16 jet was shot down by Indian planes and India had lost only one jet while retaliating Pakistani attempt to bomb Indian defence bases.

‘Journalist’ Vir Sanghvi lists out best restaurants in Delhi: Time for some transparency

Nirwa Mehta
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‘Journalist’ Vir Sanghvi lists out best restaurants in Delhi: Time for some transparency

Journalist Vir Sanghvi is reported to have quite a reputation when it comes to “dressing up” columns. As someone who is new to the national capital, having moved here from Ahmedabad, I look up various websites to check out options for fun places to hang out and to eat.

Recently, a website called ‘eazydiner’ came out with a list of ‘Vir’s Choice Awards’ for best restaurants in Delhi-NCR. Curious, I opened the link to zero in on a restaurant to check out over the weekend. The first restaurant Sanghvi recommends is “The China Kitchen, Hyatt Regency”.

Hmm, Hyatt. Five Star. Must be expensive. Out of curiosity, I looked up the restaurant on the food rating website, Zomato.

China Kitchen, Hyatt Regency on Zomato

A meal for two at China Kitchen costs Rs 4,500. That is equivalent to 3 months’ electricity bill in winters for two. That is more than monthly groceries for two. China Kitchen serves most authentic Chinese food in Delhi and Sanghvi recommends ‘Peking Duck’. The menu is in Chinese with the description in English below it. Peking duck, Beijing style roasted duck costs Rs 3,888 for a full portion and Rs 3,288 for half portion. The Gujarati in me was upset that the difference between a full portion and half is just 600 rupees.

I scrolled down, hoping there would be something more affordable. Next was “Tres” at Lodhi Colony. Zomato says it is best known for “High-end chef-driven place with gourmet European spread” and cost for two (average) is Rs 3,000. Their online menu does not have a price list. Struck it off the list because while I love surprises, I was not sure I was prepared to see the bill amount directly. (oh, and you call them ‘cheque’.)

It was followed by one “Jamun” in Lodhi Colony, again costing Rs 3,000 for a meal for two. Apparently, one Chef Picu, a European chef by training has chosen the best dishes from India. I am not sure how that is a good idea. Curious, I looked up the menu. It serves ‘sev puri’ for Rs 325. Remember how people made fun of food bloggers who referred to khichdi as ‘Indian hotchpotch made with rice and lentils, tempered with mustard, with mild flavours’? Yeah, so Jamun describes sev puri as ‘homemade jaggery chutney, dried ginger, cumin powder, tossed with onions, fresh raw mango, potato and sev’. Couldn’t get myself to pay Rs 325 plus taxes for something you otherwise get for Rs 20.

This was followed by a restaurant called ‘San Gimignano’ at The Imperial and ‘Indian Accent’ at The Lodhi. Both these restaurants cost on an average, Rs 5,500 for a meal for two.

Most of the restaurants Vir rated were in five-star hotels. While he is entitled to have a fine taste in food, how often does an average Indian visit such high-end restaurants? It is elitist, to say the least, to say that the best food in Delhi is served in restaurants where 90% of people wouldn’t be able to afford it.

The target audience for such lists may not necessarily be able to afford such luxuries and those who could perhaps don’t even go through such lists before zeroing on where to eat. Oh, and not to forget the fact that the website which hosted the list, eazydiner, is co-founded by Sanghvi himself. This disclaimer is not put up at the beginning of the article. So much for transparency. (references to the headline of one of the previous articles in by Sanghvi, intended.)

And while it all comes down to personal preference and taste, I couldn’t even verify Sanghvi’s claims because I am not *cough* paid enough.

Dhruv Rathee speaks the same language as the terrorist who killed 40 CRPF jawans in Pulwama attack

OpIndia Staff
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Dhruv Rathee speaks the same language as the terrorist who killed 40 CRPF jawans in Pulwama attack

YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who is known for peddling fake news and malicious propaganda took to Twitter to toe the same line as Ahmed Dar, the Islamist terrorist of Jaish-e-Mohammad who carried out the Pulwama suicide attack which claimed the lives on 40 CRPF soldiers.

In his Twitter post, Dhruv Rathee wrote, “This is the list of companies that Bhakts are boycotting.. Soon they will be left with only Gaumutra and Gobar to eat and drink. But what can I say, #ModiHaiToMumkinHai bhai”.

Dhruv Rathee was referring to several people on social media websites reacting to a deeply anti-Hindu ad by Surf Exel, which is set in the backdrop of Holi. In the ad, several people believed that Surf derided the Hindu festival by showing a Hindu girl playing Holi as ‘dirty’ and in the same breath, gave a Muslim boy going to read Namaaz a chaste look.

Interestingly, the very people who are quick to scream Islamophobia at the slightest pretext were busy deriding Hindus for voicing their concerns over this subliminal messaging.

Dhruv Rathee took it a step further and insulted Hindus further by referring to “gaumutra” and “gobar”.

Incidentally, this is the same phraseology which is used oftentimes by Naxals to brainwash unsuspecting Adivasis as revealed by Naxalite who had surrendered after 18 long years and was interviewed by OpIndia.com.

The ‘gaumutra’ reference was also used by Ahmed Dar, the terrorist who had carried out the suicide bombing in Pulwama terror attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF soldiers.

On February 14, Adil Ahmed Dar, an Islamist terrorist drove an SUV laden with explosives and collided with the CRPF convoy, claiming lives of 44 CRPF personnel. Hours later, Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack. In a video, taken before his suicide attack, Dar is hopeful of going to ‘Jannat’ for having killed Indians whom he refers to as ‘cow urine drinking people‘, showing how the terrorists’ have expanded their scope of the fight from just ‘Azaadi in Kashmir’ to fighting the Hindus.

We have seen time and again how the argument of “Brahminism” has been used to demean Hindus. We have also seen how whenever the “secular” cabal tries to shield Islamists by deriding Hindus, referring to Hindus as “cow piss drinkers” is not uncommon.

Also read: While Dhruv Rathee blames BJP for spending crores on ads, who is sponsoring promotion of his Youtube video on Rafale deal?

Delhi Police registers case against pro-AAP blogger associated with Dhruv Rathee for spreading fake audio clip on Pulwama attack

One wonders if the “liberals” are furthering the narrative peddled by Islamist terrorists and Naxalites as a measure to provide covering fire to these elements or do they simply share the hate for Hindus with those who unleash real violence on the ‘non-believers’.

Watch:

Government refutes Rahul Gandhi’s claims of NSA Ajit Doval’s role in releasing Masood Azhar in 1999

OpIndia Staff
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Government refutes Rahul Gandhi’s claims of NSA Ajit Doval’s role in releasing Masood Azhar in 1999

The Central government today refuted Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s claims over the role of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in the 1999 release of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) head Masood Azhar.

As per sources, Doval had no role to play in the release of the terrorist following the hijack of the Indian Airlines Flight 814 in Kandahar in the year 1999.

Sources clarified, that in the photo Tweeted by Rahul Gandhi on Sunday to attack Prime Minister Modi and his government, the person standing next to Doval was the then military chief of the Taliban Army and not Masood Azhar as claimed by Rahul Gandhi.


Moreover, the Government sources also clarified that Doval was the first one to have reached Kandahar from India after the hijack to negotiate with the terrorists. The truth was that Masood Azhar and other terrorists were taken to Kandahar in a special plane by the then foreign minister Jaswant Singh and not Doval, they said.

In fact, it was NSA Doval who was effective in bringing down the number of terrorists to be released from 35 to just three. Ajit Doval being a government official then had to follow the decisions of the government. Reportedly, Ajit Doval had requested the government for more time to negotiate a deal without the release of Azhar to rescue the hostages.

Sources further rubbishing Rahul’s claims said, the government at that time was divided over the release of terrorists in exchange of 178 passengers of the IC-814. The then deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani was against the release but, however, the then Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee had given in to the pressure from the opposition parties, which included the Congress and families of the people who were held hostage by the terrorists.

Rahul Gandhi, whose sole aim has been scorning the BJP government, took to Twitter on Sunday to share a picture alleging that NSA Ajit Doval went to Kandahar to hand over “murderer” Azhar.

Rahul Gandhi who seems to be getting more and more troubled and desperate to get back to power has been trying these dirty tricks to castigate PM Modi before the Lok Sabha elections due in April 2019. He in his Tweet urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tell the families of the 40 slain Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans regarding the person who released Masood Azhar.

Masood Azhar along with some other terrorists was released by the Indian government in December 1999 in exchange for the release of over 178 hostages of the IC-814 Indian Airlines flight that was hijacked to Kandahar. This harsh step was taken by the then Government to save the 178 civilians whose lives were at stake. There was intense pressure on the government to secure the release of the hostages from families, media and opposition parties. One of the passengers had died in Dubai after he was stabbed by the hijackers, therefore the safety of the hostages had become the topmost priority and Indian government had no other way other than accepting the demand of the hijackers once the plane had left India.

Meanwhile, for the Congress Supremo, who himself heads a party, whose members have on several occasions come across as terror sympathisers, to use the Kandahar incident, which everyone knows was a backbreaking decision for the then NDA Government, speaks volumes about Rahul’s mental condition at this point of time. In his fretfulness, the Gandhi scion is willing to stoop down to any level and in turn, break his own created records of absurdity.

Jaish terrorist Mudasir Khan, the mastermind behind the Pulwama attack suspected to be killed in Tral encounter

OpIndia Staff
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Jaish terrorist Mudasir Khan, the mastermind behind the Pulwama attack suspected to be killed in Tral encounter

The mastermind of the dastardly Pulwama attack which killed 40 CRPF soldiers on February 14, is believed to have been killed in an encounter with the security forces in the Tral area of South Kashmir, reports PTI.

Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist, Mudasir Ahmed Khan alias ‘Mohd Bhai’ is suspected to be amongst the three terrorists neutralised in an encounter which broke out in Pinglish area of Tral in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district late on Sunday.

According to the Defence Ministry spokesperson, Col Rajesh Kalia, a fierce encounter ensued during a cordon and search operation (CASO) following a tip-off about the presence of terrorists in Tral area of south Kashmir district of Pulwama.

The operation which was jointly launched by the troops of Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police and CRPF turned into an encounter after the militants opened fire at the forces who retaliated.

Officials are trying to establish the identity of the three militants who were neutralised, but as their bodies had been charred beyond recognition, identification becomes a difficult task, confirmed the officials.

According to the evidence gathered so far, it is being believed that Khan alias Mohd Bhai, a 23-year-old electrician by profession holding a graduate degree and a Pulwama resident arranged the vehicle and explosives used in Pakistan army supported Pulwama terror strike.

A resident of Mir Mohalla of Tral, Khan joined the JeM sometime in 2017 as an overground worker and was later absorbed into the terror outfit by Noor Mohammed Tantrey, alias ‘Noor Trali’, who is believed to be instrumental in reviving the terror group in the valley of Kashmir.

Its also said that after Tantray was killed in December 2017, Khan disappeared from his home on January 14, 2018, and has been active since then.

The suicide attacker, Adil Ahmed Dar, who hit the CRPF convoy with an explosive-laden car on February 14, killing 44 Indian soldiers was reportedly in constant contact with Khan, who is believed to have masterminded the entire attack.

Khan is also believed to be involved in the terror strike at the army camp in Sunjawan in February 2018, in which six personnel and a civilian were killed. Moreover, Khan was also instrumental in carrying out the attack on a CRPF camp in Lethpora district in January 2018, that had left five CRPF personnel dead.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the February 14 Pulwama attack, had carried out searches at the residence of Khan on February 27.

Meanwhile, according to the officials, another JeM terrorist named Sajjad Bhat, a resident of Bijbehara in south Kashmir, who had brought the Maruti Eco van used in the Pulwama attack just 10 days before the attack, has since been on the run and is believed to have become an active terrorist now.

Rahul Gandhi’s barbs against NSA Ajit Doval for the Kandahar episode is malicious and bereft of facts

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Rahul Gandhi’s barbs against NSA Ajit Doval for the Kandahar episode is malicious and bereft of facts

As election season begins in the country, our political class somehow manages to bring the discourse to a new low. Even though the civility among the political class is missing but one expects our politicians to obey a certain unwritten rule to avoid foul-mouthing our own heroes and other apolitical stakeholders.

However, Rahul Gandhi mostly believes that he is beyond these democratic conventions and civilities, prefers to target non-political individuals for merely being a part of a contrarian perspective. In a time, when even the Prime Minister of the country is being abused constantly, it is not surprising to see Rahul Gandhi indulging in such discourse.

On Sunday, Rahul Gandhi was part of another debate, when he tried to mock NSA Ajit Doval for being part of a negotiating team that had released terrorist Masood Azhar in 1999. While attacking PM Narendra Modi for the Pulwama terror episode, Rahul Gandhi went on to claim that Ajit Doval was the deal maker during the entire Kandahar episode and blamed him for the release of Azhar. Rahul Gandhi indicated that Doval’s action was responsible for Masood Azhar being free and carrying out attacks like the one in Pulwama.


In his post, Rahul Gandhi was referring to the infamous hijacking of IC-814 which led to the release of three terrorists by the Indian government, which included Jaish chief Masood Azhar. However, most of the claims of Rahul Gandhi appear to be half-truths.

On December 24, 1999, Indian Airlines IC 814 with 178 passengers and 11 crew members left Kathmandu for Delhi. It entered Indian airspace at 5.30 pm and was hijacked shortly after. The airline was hijacked by Harkat-ul-Mujahideen with the support and active assistance of ISI before flying to several locations before landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The hostage crisis ended after seven days when India agreed to release three dreaded Islamic terrorists – Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Maulana Masood Azhar.

IC-814 was en route from Kathmandu to New Delhi. The hijackers directed the pilot Captain Devi Sharan to fly to Lahore initially. However, The captain flew to Amritsar citing insufficient fuel and persuaded the hijackers to allow him to land the plane at Amritsar. While the Crisis Management Group (CMG) headed by the Cabinet Secretary was still deliberating on how to deal with the situation, the IC-814 had already left Amritsar. Even though there was a 45-50 minute window to carry out an operation to end the hostage crisis, the government of the day did not prefer to take the risk, fearing the casualties. The reluctance from the government to go for an NSG operation also came from the fact that the opposition led by the Congress party, aided by its friendly media had put severe pressure to make sure that the Vajpayee government did not consider any military operation to release the hostages.

Years later, many senior government officials who were involved with the negotiating team, including NSA Ajit Doval had spoken about the negative role played by the media to put pressure on the release of hostages. The CMG had also kept the Prime minister Vajpayee in the dark for almost 90 minutes after the hijacking further limiting the options for the government.

IC 814 was eventually taken to Kandahar in Southern Afghanistan from Amritsar, after briefly touching down in Lahore and Dubai. After the IC-814 reached Kandahar, which incidentally was the base of the Taliban government, headed by Mullah Mohammed Omar. The hijackers had demanded the release of 35 terrorists from Indian prisons, including the dreaded terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar and had demanded $200mn in cash.

The Indian Government sent in a team of negotiators headed by Diplomat Vivek Katju, Ajit Doval, who was a high ranking Intelligence Bureau officer then, Nehchal Sandhu, and CD Sahay, along with few other representatives of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. On December 31, 1999, the crisis came to an end as India agreed to release three of the top militants including Masood Azhar, the founder of the terrorist outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammad. During these negotiations, Doval was also effective in bringing down the number of terrorists to be released from 35 to just three.

According to some experts, Ajit Doval had opposed the release of Masood Azhar, as he knew the repercussions of releasing such a dreaded terrorist. However, Ajit Doval being a government official then had to fall in line with the decisions of the government. Reportedly, Ajit Doval had requested the government for more time to negotiate a deal without the release of Azhar to rescue the hostages.


It is rather shocking that Rahul Gandhi who aspires to lead the country in the future seems to have no idea concerning the tough negotiations that follow with terror groups during such national emergencies. In his hurry to foul-mouth the Narendra Modi government, the Congress President chose to attack a highly decorated police officer of the country, who has spent all his career to secure the country’s interests.

Rahul Gandhi also deliberately disregards the fact that his mother Sonia Gandhi, the then Congress Chief and Manmohan Singh were also present in the meeting convened by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to take a decision on the issue. If Rahul Gandhi intends to points fingers at one individual, who was acting on the orders issued by the government, which in turn had the backing of the opposition parties like Congress, then Rahul Gandhi should also ask questions to his own party for being part of such a decision which let Masood Azhar escape.

Some of the journalists who had covered the incident had also revealed that Vajpayee government in 1999 had to release three terrorists because the media and activists at that time created too much pressure on the government due to their hysterical coverage of the IC 814 hijacking.

It is extremely unfortunate when political discourse gets an ugly turn to humiliate our own  ‘national heroes’ for duly following orders. Rahul Gandhi, whose only credential is being a ‘dynast’ should be ashamed of himself for resorting to such crass dig at National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who is one of the most respected strategic thinkers of our times with a career spanning more than five decades.

Rahul Gandhi’s attitude in this clip shows how Gandhi babu-log have treated the ‘brown ghulams’

Nupur J Sharma
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Rahul Gandhi’s attitude in this clip shows how Gandhi babu-log have treated the ‘brown ghulams’

Social Media is an unforgiving beast. Every now and then, it has this uncanny ability to hold up a mirror to the thought aristocrats who have taken the mental slumber of this nation for granted. The Royalty that assumes every word out of their mouths is sacrosanct and every crumb that they deviously, maliciously, half-heartedly throw at the brown slaves are bound to be lapped up in a jiffy. That malaise was proven yet again when an undated, old NDTV video of Rahul Gandhi surfaced again.

In the video, Rahul Gandhi is offering puja, in a crisp white Kurta, the hallmark of every serious Indian politician. Later, the friendly NDTV journalist asks him what he was praying for. In a nonchalant tone that has become synonymous with Rahul Gandhi, he says, “I don’t know, they asked me to be here, so I am here”. In the background, one can hear loud chants of ‘Rahul bhaiya zindabad”.

With the latest janeu dhaari avatar of Rahul Gandhi and the 2019 elections upon us, this clip becomes more than relevant. The question of aastha, or faith, has been instrumental in Indian ethos. And perhaps that is why, since time immemorial, rulers have used faith to manipulate the ‘underlings’. Rahul Gandhi in this clip dons the role of the quintessential Bharatiya, with the tilak on his head and arms folded, closes his eyes and performs puja in the backdrop of the soothing mantras. He tries extremely hard to ensure that the country, that is still a Hindu majority country despite the best attempts of his family, sees him as his own. Like those Mughals who invaded the country, broke our temples, trampled on Hindus’ religious rights, forced them to convert, but also build a couple of temples here and there so loyal historians can then sing songs about their tolerance centuries later, the Royal family of India too, puts on a good show, so their loyal worthies can sing songs of praise about their great lineage.

However, the moment the ‘brown ghulams’ are out of sight and a journalist asks him in chaste English what he was praying for, he dismisses the ritual by saying that he doesn’t know (obviously doesn’t care either) and that he is there because he was asked to be there.

One can almost imagine some Mughal ruler talking about peace, tolerance and love when in front of the ghulams, and then turning to his cabal to talk about which underling Hindu to behead next.

One wonders, would Rahul Gandhi have responded the same way if some reporter had asked him the same question in Hindi? Would he have dismissed the rituals and exposed his real intention in this brazen manner? Would he have simply said that he was there because he was asked to be there and not because he truly had faith in the rituals and traditions of Hinduism?

Perhaps not. He would have probably put on a great show because the ‘brown ghulams’ are more likely to understand his statements in Hindi than English. Like a true white ruler, the ghulams are to be fooled so they shut their mouths and do as you say, while the real intentions are only to be revealed in a language the slaves don’t understand.

Rahul Gandhi is a part-time politician and a full-time Aristocrat. His underlings worship the ground he walks on. Even his dog gets a special mention during his interview because the ghulams are meant to be in awe of what the Kinds do. It is almost as if it is the national priority to ensure that the mind-numbing incompetence of the naked Kind is never exposed. The incompetent King can lead the masses to ruin, but the leader he shall be. The King can treat his subjects as mere tools to fulfil the lust for the crown, but the crowned King he shall remain.

The attitude shown by Rahul Gandhi in the clip is symptomatic of what Congress has done to this country for decades. The “ecosystem” knows that his very core, Rahul Gandhi is as Hindu as Aurangzeb was tolerant. The ‘ecosystem’ knows that every time Rahul Gandhi talks about what might be good for the people of India, he is only putting on a good show. The ‘ecosystem’ knows that his janeu is an appeal for votes, and not a matter of faith. However, the ecosystem keeps quite. They play along like little court jesters who are meant to be loyal to the King.

Just as the duplicious Aristocrat, Rahul Gandhi gives one message to the brown ghulams and a wildly different message to the ecosystem. Friendly NDTV, like the loyal court jester indulges the shenanigans of Rahul Gandhi and never questions the King. While he pretends to be a good Hindu for the masses, he can reveal himself to be a wine-sipping white sahib when it comes to the media, and the media, will never question him. While friendly media goes nuclear on Narendra Modi for flaunting his Hindu credentials, they will throw their secular credentials out of the window when it comes to the King who holds the purse strings.

Perhaps the media itself, a product of nepotistic aristocracy doesn’t like a representative of the brown ghulams, who harbours true faith, rising to a place which the King should occupy. Modi, a true representative of the ‘Hindu slaves’. Rahul, the aristocratic part time politician who keeps friendly NDTV in good humour. What would the media choose? Who would Rahul be honest with?

With 2019 closing in, the shenanigans will only increase and the court jesters would only get shriller, the only questions that remains is whether the brown ghulams have become wiser.

As election dates are announced, speculations rife that Akhilesh might contest from Azamgarh

OpIndia Staff
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As election dates are announced, speculations rife that Akhilesh might contest from Azamgarh

As the Election Commission of India announced the dates of Lok Sabha election across the country, the political environment in the country has just flared up with fervent speculations, announcements, and possible candidates.

Uttar Pradesh is the state that holds the highest number of Lok Sabha seats in India and plays a pivotal role in setting the mandate. Political power plays and speculations have been rife in the state for several months. As the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party had announced an alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha seats for the state, the names of candidates in key Lok Sabha constituencies were being speculated.

Recently, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had announced that his wife Dimple Yadav will contest again from the Kannauj seat.


3 women candidates were announced on the occasion of international women’s day. Dimple Yadav from Kannauj, Purvi Verma from Khiri and Usha Verma from Hardoi.

Apart from these candidates, the party had announced that Dharmendra Yadav will contest from Badaun, Akshay Yadav, the son of SP General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav from Firozabad, Shabbir Balmiki from Bahraich, Bhailal Kol from Robertsganj and Kamlesh Katheria from Itawa.

In a significant change, it was also announced that SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav will contest the Lok Sabha election from Mainpuri this time.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Mulayam Singh Yadav had won from both Mainpuri and Azamgarh seats. He had later resigned from the Mainpuri seat which was represented by another Yadav family member Tej Pratap Teju.

After the announcement, it is being reported that Akhilesh himself will contest from the Azamgarh seat.

Akhilesh Yadav has contested and won from the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat in the past. However, at present, he is neither an MP nor an MLA. It is being reported that Akhilesh will contest from Azamgarh to send the signal that he is the true leader of SP and the Mulayam’s heir. Azamgarh has a significant Dalit, Muslim and Yadav voters and is considered an SP bastion.

Dear Javed Akhtar, the Indian army does not keep a grudge against us Gujaratis, neither should you

Nirwa Mehta
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Dear Javed Akhtar, the Indian army does not keep a grudge against us Gujaratis, neither should you

Twitter has been a level playing field where we have seen many people we have admired while growing up fall from grace and how! Lyricist-turned-Twitter troll Javed Akhtar is one such celebrity whose anti-Gujarati bigotry out of his hate for Modi is disappointing, to say the least.

In a programme organised in Mumbai last night, Akhtar, in an attempt to take a dig against Prime Minister Modi, displayed his hate for the entire Gujarati community by implying that Gujaratis are hardly there in defence forces. “We have had so many regiments in the Army like the Sikhs, Marathas, Rajputs. But have we ever had a Gujarat regiment? Since our Prime Minister has great love and pride in the Indian Army of late, I would urge him to raise a Gujarat regiment so the swayamsevaks from the region can join the Army,” Akhtar reportedly said. He said this way, the people from Ahmedabad and Surat should join such regiment. The irony is that while terrorism and terrorists have no region or religion, the armed forces do.

Read also: Javed Akhtar hails Tipu Sultan and attempts to vilify Savarkar, gets reminded of his own legacy

There are multiple things wrong with this statement. It is rather shameful to try and divide the army and their sacrifices including the martyrdom of soldiers on regional lines. But Akhtar’s distasteful comment is not surprising since he is echoing only what was earlier said by Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav and silently endorsed by Congress. In May 2017, following the embarrassing defeat in the state assembly elections, Yadav had questioned why are there no ‘martyrs’ from Gujarat. Congress, too, silently endorsed his anti-Gujarat statement, which stemmed from hating Modi.

And just because there is not a ‘Gujarat Regiment’ does not mean that Gujaratis, which have traditionally been a trader, business community, do not join the forces. According to reports, as of March 31 2017, Gujarat had 26,656 ex-servicemen, of which 6,233 are from Ahmedabad. There are 3,517 widows of servicemen and 39 soldiers have been awarded bravery awards for their service to the nation. A village named Kodiyavada in Sabarkantha has a population of 6,500 people. About 80% of the families in this village has at least one member in the armed forces.

But how would Akhtar, who even ‘divides’ nationalism on the basis of the region know about United India?


Even Alka Lamba, former Congress member and currently an AAP MLA who was recently ‘unfollowed by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal‘, made more sense than Akhtar at that time.


And not that Akhtar’s asinine Gujarat-hate deserves to be dignified with a response, but in 2004, the then Defence Minister George Fernandes had turned down L K Advani and the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s request for a Gujarat regiment. Reiterating the Indian Army’s long-standing policy, Fernandes had declined the request of ‘single class’ regiment. Sikh, Gorkha, Dogra and Garhwal regiments are called ‘single class’ regiments which were raised by the British prior to 1947.

Read also: Javed Akhtar defends Ram Guha after his hypocrisy gets exposed, turns out, he is the biggest hypocrite of them all

After independence, the army took a stand that the regiments will not be named after any caste, community or any such identity. Fernandes had said that while there have been demands from several quarters for the same, the Indian Army has remained firm on this.

And it may come as a bit of a disappointment for Akhtar but many men from Gujarat have actually joined the armed forces after being inspired by Prime Minister Modi.

Since 2002 Godhra carnage and the riots which followed, there has been a concerted effort by a certain section to vilify and demonise Gujaratis. Akhtar, like everyone else, has not been able to come out of that zone, it seems. Gujarat is very proud of the fact that despite being invaded by barbarians including the Mughals, who looted our temples and our land, we have managed to not only get back on our feet but also taken the rest of the country along with us.

Do not let your hate for Prime Minister Modi blind you so much that you start dividing the country into community lines. And for someone who makes a living out of playing with words, I do not need to tell you the importance of words. You are being looked up by young, impressionable people.

Be mindful that your words do not poison them against the Gujaratis who love nothing more than peace.

AAP, TMC believe that a fasting Muslim is less likely to vote, see BJP conspiracy in election schedule

OpIndia Staff
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AAP, TMC believe that a fasting Muslim is less likely to vote, see BJP conspiracy in election schedule

AAP legislator Amanatullah Khan, an accused in Delhi Chief Secretary assault case, has yet again stoked controversy as he not only sought votes on the basis of religion, which is a violation under the Representation of the People Act but also equated the election process to ‘Ramzan’, to further polarise and communalise the general elections.

In a similar communal incitement, Firhad Hakim, senior TMC leader and Kolkata Mayor, has claimed that seven-phase elections in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal will be tough for Muslim voters as they observe ‘Roza’ ahead of Ramzan festival. He further added that BJP did not want minorities to cast their votes. “But we aren’t worried. People are committed to ‘BJP hatao-desh bachao’,” said Hakim.

The controversial Delhi legislator tweeted a communal post after the Election Commission announced the dates of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In his post, Amanatullah Khan said that May 12, the date on which Delhi will be going for polls, will be celebrated as ‘Ramzan’ and cautioned Muslims of aiding BJP to win, if they do not vote in large numbers.

“May 12 will be the day of Ramzan in Delhi if Muslims vote less, it will directly help the BJP,” said Amanatullah Khan.


Amanatullah Khan blatant polarisation and seeking votes in the name of religion is a violation of Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act. The Supreme Court has ruled that “religion, race, caste, community or language would not be allowed to play any role in the electoral process”.

Section 123(3) of the Act defines as “corrupt practice” appeals made by a candidate or his agents to vote or refrain from voting for any person on the ground of “his” religion, race, caste, community or language. The election of a candidate would be declared null and void if an appeal is made to seek votes on these considerations.

This is not the first time that Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party has been indulging in such divisive communal politics. In a bid to appease the Muslim community of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal in January had announced salary hike for Imams of Delhi mosque, from Rs 10,000 to Rs 18,000. Addition to that, the salary of the helpers was also increased from Rs 9,000 per month to Rs 16,000 per month. At the event, CM Kejriwal and MLA Khan, both had made a similar appeal to Muslim communities to extend their support to Aam Aadmi Party, in the upcoming general elections.

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