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Watch: NSA Ajit Doval pays tribute to Pulwama martyrs, says the country has not forgotten it and will never forget it

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: NSA Ajit Doval pays tribute to Pulwama martyrs, says the country has not forgotten it and will never forget it

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval today attended 80th Central Reserve Police Force anniversary in Gurugram today, and also delivered a speech to commemorate the sacrifices and selfless work done by force.


“I am indebted to CRPF for granting me the opportunity to witness the parade here. The command, the leadership, and the participants of this parade all have done a great job.” Doval started his address. He said in 1949 CRPF merely had 2 battalions but now it has 242 battalions currently serving the country, in its different parts.

“CRPF is the only force in India which successfully serves the 32 lakh sq km area of the country,” Doval said. “Be it conducting of elections or maintaining law and order, CRPF provides service in every area” he added.

Doval said that 69 years ago Home Minister Sardar Vallabhai Patel had granted CRPF its flag. He said, CRPF not only brought glory to the flag but also raised it to new heights so that every countryman can be proud of it.


“We lost 40 CRPF jawans in Pulwama attack. The nation has not forgotten the sacrifice and it will never forget it” Doval said. He added that the action, the path, the process and the time, is decided by our present leadership, which in itself is capable of doing it. He also added that be it terrorists or thier supporters, no will be spared.

“Whole nation stands with the families of martyrs,” Doval said paying respect to the families of martyrs.

The NSA then reminded of one of the first sacrifices that CRPF made on the day of 21st October 1969. On the day, at  Hot Springs in Ladakh 10 jawans had lost their lives to Chinese aggression. The day is still marked as Police Commemoration Day, nationwide.

“I have been connected with uniform and national security for last 51 years, and I have served in police services like you for around 37 years,” Doval remarked at the event.

He said that CRPF has faced every threat that India faces, be it at the time of communal riots or insurgency in the forest of north-east. He also remarked that during meetings, when it is asked that which force should we should send to ground zero, he always answers that CRPF should be sent, citing its credibility. Doval added that such credibility is earned by hard work and takes a long time.


At the conclusion, Doval said that after the second world war 37 countries collapsed or lost sovereignty. “28 of these countries collapsed because of failure of internal security” He added. He added that CRPF is a force which strengthens internal security of the country and prevents it from weakening.

Rupee continues to strengthen on expectations that Modi is going to form the government again

OpIndia Staff
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Rupee continues to strengthen on expectations that Modi is going to form the government again

The Indian Rupee on Monday strengthened the most as compared to other major Asian currencies. It has hit an eight-and-a-half month high of 68.53 a dollar and has reached almost the same levels as that in the year 2012-13.


As per a report in Business Standard, Ritesh Bhansali, vice-president, Mecklai Financial said, “Rupee is appreciating because of strong portfolio inflow in March. Globally, stock markets are rallying too, and there is a feeling that Modi is going to form the government again after the Pulwama incident. That indicates political stability.”

As on date in March, the portfolio flow in equity has been over $3 billion. In debt also, the flow has been of more than $800 million. In fact, the Reserve bank of India’s proposal to swap $5 billion with banks has also been viewed positively by the markets.

The Rupee gained 0.823 percent against the dollar in intra-day trade on Monday, the steepest gain in the region. Moreover, year-to-date, the rupee has gained a remarkable 1.8 percent.

The month of March has witnessed the most robust Rupee performance since 2nd January 2019. According to reports, it’s the Modi appeal and the prospect of him coming back to power for a second term in the coming general elections which has resulted in an upward trend in the foreign inflows into Indian stock markets.

However, one of the other reason why the Rupee is appreciating against the Dollar is that the RBI has minimised its intervention in the currency markets.

Moreover, because the election results have a direct impact on share market performances in India since the opinion polls have shown increased prospect of NDA coming back to power, the Stock market has also been seeing a continuous upsurge.

Historically, though the India Sensex Stock Market Index reached an all-time high of 38896.63 in August of 2018, March 2019 has seen a continuous upward trend.

Screenshot of the Sensex graph from The Economic Times, showing an upward trend in March 2019

It was earlier reported that as per the latest tracker poll conducted by Times Now and VMR, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity among the electorate jumped seven percent in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack.

Meanwhile, the surging popularity of Modi led NDA government could also be seen as three opinion polls, published on March 11th, rejecting all previous predictions of a hung parliament, envisioned a clear majority of the NDA in the upcoming general elections.

Watch: Arun Jaitley highlights Modi government’s policies which helped the middle class and the economy

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Arun Jaitley highlights Modi government’s policies which helped the middle class and the economy

In a series of videos, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday put forward the reforms introduced by the Narendra Modi government as he highlighted several ‘game-changing decisions’ taken over the last five years.

Union Minister Jaitley hailed the introduction of Aadhar to transfer social benefits to the citizens of the country. “Today everybody has an Aadhar, That is his identity,” said Jaitley. He added that there were no leakages or middlemen in the process after the Modi government introduced Aadhar. Adding that the government was successful in saving resources through Aadhar, Jaitley said the resources are now being used to fund various developmental programmes.

“There are now pucca roads, houses, toilets, cooking gas connection, electricity all given at governmental expenditure today. The farmers today get crop insurance at a subsidised rate, irrigation facilities have increased,” said Jaitley. He further mentioned the lakhs of crore being spent on PM-KISAN scheme, MGNREGA. The minimum support price (MSP) for 22 commodities has been increased during the Modi government, added Arun Jaitley.


“The biggest gamechanger is the Ayushman Bharat, the health care scheme meant for the 50 crore poor people of India. 16 lakh poor people in the last five months have already availed benefit under this scheme,” added Jaitley.

Launching an attack on previous government, Union Finance Minister Jaitley said, in between 2009-2011, the banks indulged in reckless lending at the behest of the UPA government leading to favourites of the government getting the loans expanding NPAs from Rs 18 Lakh crore to Rs.55 Lakh crore in a span of three years.

“The UPA gave loans to undeserving projects, therefore people did not pay back their loans leading to banks going to sickness and rise in NPAs,” said Jaitley.

“The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code introduced by the Narendra Modi government led to defaulting management being thrown out of business, the companies were auctioned, new management came in which are now discharging the bank loans. We have already recovered Rs.3 Lakh crore of bank loans, which were NPAs earlier. We have created an Environment of honesty in the country and proved that India can be run in an honest manner,” added Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while highlighting the achievements of the Narendra Modi led NDA government.


Jaitley further mentions that in the history of the country, it was only for the first time that there was no increase in the tax rates, the Narendra Modi government rather decreased the tax in the last 5 years. “We have reduced the tax, particularly for the new middle class. Our strategy is the size of the middle class must expand,  they must spend more on education, healthcare, housing rather than the government imposing an unfair tax,” added Jaitley.


He said that GST is being reduced on more than hundreds of commodities and the tax base has expanded despite lowering of tax rates. Tax collection has zoomed up, helping us to spend on infrastructure, especially on roads, railways, power, and ports.

Raebareli: Hindu Yuva Vahini member brutally beaten up by Congress workers

OpIndia Staff
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Raebareli: Hindu Yuva Vahini member brutally beaten up by Congress workers

An incident of violence by Congress workers has come to light in former Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s constituency Raebareli. According to  reports, some Congress workers brutally beat up a Hindu Yuva Vahini member in full public view.

In a video by TV9 Bharatvarsh that was widely circulated on social media, Ashish Pathak, reportedly a Hindu Yuva Vahini member, is seen being rounded up and brutally beaten by a group of people in the middle of a road.


As per reports, on Sunday night near civil lines square in Raebareli, a group of Congress workers was waiting to welcome Priyanka Vadra. Some VHP and Hindu Yuva Vahini workers had allegedly raised slogans against Priyanka Vadra. A scuffle had ensued between the Congress workers and the gathered Hindu Yuva Vahini members.

Ashish Pathak told the media that he was standing at the nearby Chauraha where the Congress members were shouting the slogans of chowkidar chor hai in reference to PM Modi. When Pathak questioned the Congress leaders for chanting such slogans, they turned violent. They dragged Pathak, who has a heart condition, in the middle of the road and started beating him mercilessly with shoes. He was saved by some people who were present on the spot. Pathak has named two Congress leaders Himanshu Singh and District President V K Shukla but there were others involved whose names he did not know.

Pathak has lodged an FIR against the said Congress leaders. However, the president of the district Mahila Congress Shailja Singh has reportedly alleged that Pathak and some of his friends were passing indecent remarks against Priyanka Gandhi.

Congress is often seen preaching on tolerance and freedom of expression however, its party workers do not seem to agree with their own party’s preaching. Last year in the month of December, a Congress leader named Satyam Jain was involved in the brutal assault of a journalist in Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh who had reported negatively about Jain.

Another Congress leader Ashwin Joshi was seen calling for violence against BJP workers during the 2018 Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh. He said that he would beat up BJP workers who planned his defeat by deploying unfair means and practices. Another incident of hooliganism by Congress members was witnessed at a toll booth days after the party formed the government in Madhya Pradesh. A Congress leader named Ramesh Kashyap along with his supporters had assaulted the toll workers who asked the leader to pay toll tax.

Muzaffarnagar: A minor Dalit girl gang raped, filmed, threatened, Sabur, Umama Farid, Danish and Maj arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Muzaffarnagar: A minor Dalit girl gang raped, filmed, threatened, Sabur, Umama Farid, Danish and Maj arrested

A 17-year-old minor Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped by five men in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district. The accused had even reportedly filmed a video and threatened to make it public if the girl reported the matter to anyone. The five accused, Danish, Farid, Umama, Maj and Sabur were arrested by the police.

As per reports, the incident took place on February 21 in a village in Ratenpuri, Muzaffarnagar. The girl had gone to the forest at around 7 pm. There, the girl was allegedly gang-raped on gunpoint by the five accused and even filmed it. After the rape, they threatened the girl with dire consequences and death before escaping. The accused then reportedly shared the video clip which then went viral on social media.

On Sunday, March 17, after the video recording had gone viral, the girl and her family reached the police station to file a complaint. Her brother filed a complaint against the five accused, of which three, Umama, Farid and Sabur were arrested on Sunday night. The remaining two accused were also later arrested.

The Police has recovered a country-made pistol and cartridges. All five accused are now sent to jail.

Election time is like picnic for the Gandhi family: BJP downplays Priyanka’s ‘boat yatra’

OpIndia Staff
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Election time is like picnic for the Gandhi family: BJP downplays Priyanka’s ‘boat yatra’

Hitting out on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s chaotic Ganga Yatra, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said that the election time is like a picnic for the Gandhi family. “Had it been old times, they (Gandhi family) would have been called a ‘Raj gharana’ (royalty). They come during elections, have a picnic, go back and return after five years.” he said.

Adding that the ‘boat yatra’ which she started yesterday from Prayagraj is “only for the votes”, he said that Congress allies had pointed out the flaws and shortcomings in the boat yatra already. After the elections, the Gandhi family heads for Switzerland or Italy, he added.

Read also: Watch: Union Minister Mahesh Sharma refer to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as ‘Pappu ki Pappi’

As part of campaigning for Lok Sabha elections, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra undertook a boat ride on the river Ganga from Prayagraj to Varanasi. She kicked off her election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, more than 50 days after she was officially inducted into the party, by offering prayers at Hanuman temple near the Sangam in Prayagraj which was followed by the three-day boat ride from Prayagraj to Varanasi.

Downplaying Priyanka’s election campaign, Sharma further added that as soon as a new election is announced, a new member of the Gandhi family “emerges and assumes magical leadership”. He said that even though Priyanka has earlier campaigned for Congress in previous elections, Congress had suffered defeats.

Goa assembly speaker Pramod Sawant to be next Chief Minister of the state

OpIndia Staff
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Goa assembly speaker Pramod Sawant to be next Chief Minister of the state

Following the demise of Goa Chief Minister and former Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar last evening, Dr Pramod Sawant will be swearing-in as the next Goa Chief Minister. BJP national secretary P Muralidhar Rao announced the decision on Twitter around midnight on 18th March.


According to reports, BJP ally Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party’s (MGP) Sudin Dhavalikar and Goa Forward Party’s (GFP) Vijai Sardesai will be the deputy chief ministers. The swearing-in was scheduled to be held at 11 PM on 18th March, but that had to be postponed as the discussions among the coalition parties, which was led by union minister Nitin Gadkari, went on till late in the night. Now the new government of Goa will take oath on 19th March.

Name of Pramod Sawant took a while to come out, as other names like North Goa MP Shripad Naik, Rajya Sabha MP and state BJP President Vinay Tendulkar and state health minister Vishawajit Rane were doing rounds. BJP, according to reports, initially was deliberating on the name of Vinay Dinu Tendulkar, as there were demands from alliance not to make an incumbent MLA, the next CM of Goa.

Pramod Sawant represents Sanquelim constituency, since 2012, from Central Goa. In 2017 Goa assembly elections he had defeated Congress candidate Dharmesh Saglani, with a margin of around 2100 votes. He is an Ayurveda Practioner by profession. When CM Manohar Parikkar was bedridden, Sawant was tasked with attending public functions on his behalf.

The Goa Assembly has the full strength of 40, which has been reduced to 36 after the death of CM Manohar Parikkar and Francis D’Souza, and the resignation of two Congress MLAs. The majority mark currently at 19. Congress has 14 MLAs, and it is supported by NCP which has 1 MLA. On the other hand, BJP has 12 MLAs, and it has supports of GFP and MGP which have 3 MLAs each, and 3 Independents, thus the total tally coming to 21.

Karnataka: Police arrest techies for chanting Pro-Modi slogans at Rahul Gandhi event in Bengaluru

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Police arrest techies for chanting Pro-Modi slogans at Rahul Gandhi event in Bengaluru

In a shocking incident at Bengaluru, Congress supporters attacked the techies present at the Manyata Tech Park after they chanted Pro-Modi slogans when Congress President Rahul Gandhi arrived at the spot. Shockingly, the Karnataka Police aided Congress workers by lathi-charging the techies for chanting pro-Modi slogans.

According to the reports, Congress President Rahul Gandhi had visited Manyata Tech Park, Bengaluru to interact with young entrepreneurs. However, many techies and the entrepreneurs present at the spot began to chant ‘Modi-Modi’, which led to huge embarrassment to Congress President Gandhi and his party workers.


They also chanted ‘Pappu go back’ slogans.


As pro-Modi chants began to increase, the agitated Congress workers began to attack the people present at the event. The police officers who were supposed to act to save the techies from being attacked by the Congress ‘goons’ not only remained silent but also unleashed its force against them for chanting pro-Modi slogans.


Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had addressed a rally in Kalaburagi in Karnataka, wherein he continued his attack on PM Narendra Modi and the BJP-led NDA government. In the event, B Narayan Rao, an MLA from Basavakalyan in Bidar district, referred to PM Modi as ‘namard (impotent)’ in the presence of his party chief and many senior leaders.

Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha seats. The state will vote for the Lok Sabha elections in two phases. Polling for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will be held in the state on April 18 and April 23.

The Congress-JDS coalition in Karnataka has finally agreed to a seat-sharing plan for the 28 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state ahead of the 2019 general elections. On Wednesday, the coalition announced a seat-sharing agreement. The JDS is set to contest in eight of the 8 Lok Sabha seats while Congress will field candidates in 20 seats.

Rebuffed by Congress indecision, AAP now rubbishes any possibility of alliance with the party

OpIndia Staff
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Rebuffed by Congress indecision, AAP now rubbishes any possibility of alliance with the party

After doggedly pursuing Congress to form an alliance to fight the upcoming Lok Sabha elections jointly and with senior AAP leaders including its chief Arvind Kejriwal’s repeated requests to Congress on forming a coalition, the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday declared that Congress has taken too long to deliberate on the alliance and the offer to fight jointly now stands cancelled.

Eliminating any possibility of an alliance between AAP and Congress, Gopal Rai, the convener of Delhi unit of AAP (AAP) told reporters that there is no possibility of an alliance with Congress since candidates for all seven seats in Delhi are now declared. The party will not roll back its candidates, so there is no scope for a coalition, he said.

Gopal Rai further added that they have arrived at the conclusion that Congress is not serious about Delhi. He contended that in the states where Congress is serious, they are putting their efforts but the same cannot be told about Delhi. AAP had declared its seventh candidate on Sunday. The candidates for the other six seats were already announced.

On the question of an initiative to negotiate on behalf of the Congress, he said that there is no scope now. Delhi is going to the polls on May 12 for all its 7 seats. The party is unable to arrive at any conclusion due to lack of general consensus about the alliance with the AAP among the Congress leadership. Congress state president Sheila Dikshit has summarily rejected any possibility of the alliance, while other leaders, including former state president Ajay Maken, are advocating for a coalition.

Senior AAP leaders including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been continuously requesting to the Congress leadership for forming an alliance in Delhi and fighting the elections jointly. However, the Delhi unit of Congress has been ambiguous about the alliance with many leaders opposing a coalition with AAP. As a consequence, Congress has chosen not to respond to the desperate entreaties made by Arvind Kejriwal, forcing AAP to fight on its own.

Aaj Tak channel spots lone anti-BJP voice in a crowd in viral video, uses him in multiple shows to attack BJP

OpIndia Staff
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Aaj Tak channel spots lone anti-BJP voice in a crowd in viral video, uses him in multiple shows to attack BJP

It is longer a secret that most media houses are just propaganda tools of political parties, and reporting events as they happen is no longer their primary job. We have seen multiple examples of journalists tutoring general public telling them what to say, what to do etc. They also selectively pick people to talk on various topics to build a narrative.

Such a practise undertaken by the Aaj Tak channel has been spotted by alert Social Media users, where it is seen that the channel is using the same person in various programs and events for talking against BJP. That young man is not a fan of Narendra Modi, and he seems to be favourite of the Hindi news channel for giving anti-Modi bites.

In the following video, the unidentified man is seen making a racist comment while countering the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign launched by PM Narendra Modi. He says, we can bring cheap and better chowkidar from Nepal, but the country needs a Prime Minister.


In another program of Aaj Tak channel, the same man, who identifies himself as Mohit Sharma, is seeing arguing with Baba Ramdev, saying that Ramdev should live in mountains and he should not do politics. When Ramdev asks him to answer in which religious book it is written that sanyasis should live in mountains, he does not have an answer and he avoids the question by counter-questioning.


It seems that Aaj Tak channel had specifically picked him for his strong anti-BJP views, as in another video published last month, this same young man is seen in a very heated argument with several people in an outdoor location. In a crowd of around 30-40 young people, he seems to be the only one supporting the Congress party, and everyone else was countering him.

There were dozens of people supporting BJP in that video posted by a Youtube channel named Shining India, but Aaj Tak chose to pick up the lone Congress supporter and used him in their multiple programs to attack BJP. This points towards the possibility that TV news channels are finding it very hard to find anti-BJP voices to ‘balance’ their shows, and they are having to scout for few remaining vocal people who still support the Congress party.

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