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Modi storms Mamata’s turf even as she tries to block BJP rallies in West Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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Modi storms Mamata’s turf even as she tries to block BJP rallies in West Bengal

Carrying forward with his attack on Trinamool Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi minced no words during his rally at West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri. Targeting Mamata Banerjee, he labeled the Trinamool regime as the second coming of Communist rule.


Modi also said that the Trinamool government has disgraced the land of Bengal and made its people desperate. The land which was known for its art and culture is now discussed for violence, he said.


Narendra Modi targeted the Congress party over its recent declaration that they will scrap the anti-Triple Talaq Law if they return to power. Modi also asserted that being a woman herself, Mamata Banerjee should be able to sympathize with the unspeakable horrors that Muslim women have to suffer and therefore, should clarify her stand on the matter.


Modi claimed that illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants are allowed in Bengal but members of the largest political party in the country are not allowed entry. He also condemned the Chief Minister for siding with those who looted crores of rupees from poor people over the Saradha Chit Fund Scam.

Rahul Gandhi’s cruel joke on pilots, says money from Rafale deal could be given as compensation when they die in crash

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi’s cruel joke on pilots, says money from Rafale deal could be given as compensation when they die in crash

After non-stop lies about the Rafale deal, now Rahul Gandhi has resorted to normalising air crashes that unfortunately Indian Air Force suffers regularity. In a press conference held today, while referring to the dissent note of Deputy Secretary (Air-II) of the defence ministry which was published in cropped for by The Hindu, the Congress president said that this document proves that Modi has stolen ₹30,000 crore and given to Anil Ambani. Addressing personnel from the Air Force, Rahul Gandhi said that this ₹30,000 crore could have given to fighter pilots when they die in a plane crash.

Needless to say, this is the most insensitive comment coming from a person aspiring to be the prime minister of the country. India has the dubious distinction of having lost the highest number of fighter aircraft and pilots of IAF in routine missions during peacetime, not in a war.

Just last week, two experienced test pilots of IAF had died when a Mirage 2000 aircraft they were flying on an acceptance trial crashed before it took off. The aircraft was recently upgraded by HAL. Therefore, even to talk about a possible crash of an Indian Air Force aircraft is very unfortunate. Our brave fighter pilots look forward to wreaking havoc on the enemy during a war, not to die in a crash.

Rahul Gandhi also continued with his lies while talking about the defence ministry note. Showing a printout of the cropped document, he said “it is written clearly here, that Prime Minister of India is a thief. He has stolen 30,000 crores from you, the defence ministry is objecting to his interference. Mr Anil Ambani is his man, and Mr Anil Ambani has been given 30,000 crore of your money. Now, my friends in the Air Force, pilots, remember one thing, this 30,000 crores could have been used for your safety, this 30,000 crores could have been given to your family, this 30,000 crore could have given to you, when you die in a plane crash. This is your money, this not the money of Anil Ambani”.

The insensitive reference to air crash apart, the entire quote by Rahul Gandhi is full of lies. The note does not mention anything that Rahul Gandhi mentions. It is merely a note by an officer who was not even part of the team negotiating the Rafale deal, and the note had a reply of defence minister Manohar Parrikar saying there is nothing worry, which was conveniently cropped by The Hindu and Rahul Gandhi. The objection was about PMO getting involved in the negotiations, it had nothing to do with price or any monetary aspect of the deal, forget about any mention of Anil Ambani getting 30,000 crore.

Everyone knows that Anil Ambani’s company is not getting ₹30,000 crore from the Rafale deal, that is an absolute lie that Rahul Gandhi keeps repeating and no journalist dares to confront him in numerous press conferences where he mentions this. The total offset obligation of all the foreign suppliers in the Rafale deal is around ₹29,000 crore, and Anil Ambani’s company has got a tiny portion of that offset business. Dassault Aviation has set up a 51:49 joint venture with Reliance Defence for manufacturing parts for Falcon civilian jet, and the total investment in that venture is ₹800 crore. Which means the investment of Dassault in that venture is less than ₹400 crore. Majority of offset business will go to public sector companies in the defence sector, including DRDO.

Moreover, offset business is not a dole given to business houses as Rahul Gandhi wants us to believe, this is an obligation of foreign vendors to invest a portion of deal value in India, or to purchase from India. Therefore, there is no 30,000 crore that has been taken away from fighter pilots. Total value for 36 Rafale jets is ₹58,000 crore, out of which 50% will be put back in India by the vendors are per offset requirement. Defence purchases can be made without offset obligation also, like the recent S-400 missile defence system deal with Russia. The ₹58,0000 crore has been already allocated for the purchase of the aircraft, and it has nothing to do with other funds like safety and compensation for pilots. Neither Anil Ambani is getting ₹30,000 crore from the deal, nor it could have gone for other purposes.

SC refuses to entertain disgraced former cop Sanjeev Bhatt’s plea seeking security for family

OpIndia Staff
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SC refuses to entertain disgraced former cop Sanjeev Bhatt’s plea seeking security for family

The Apex Court has refused to entertain the plea of sacked Gujarat cadre IPS Sanjeev Bhatt’s plea seeking the security of his family. Bhatt was asked to approach the Gujarat High Court with his plea by a Bench of Justice A K Sikri and Justice Abdul Nazeer.

Bhatt was first suspended in the year 2011 for remaining absent from duty without permission and misusing official vehicles. He was later sacked in August 2014.

Last year, he was arrested by the Gujarat CID on allegations of planting drugs to arrest a lawyer in Banaskantha 22 years ago.

In October last year, Bhatt’s wife Shweta Bhatt had moved the Supreme Court with three petitions alleging that her husband was arrested in an arbitrary manner and challenging the investigation conducted against her husband who was accused of implicating a lawyer in a narcotics case.

The Supreme Court had however refused to interfere with the ongoing investigation in the case. His wife had also contested Assembly elections in 2012 on Congress Party’s ticket against the then Gujarat CM Modi from Maninagar constituency in Ahmedabad but had lost the election.

Bhatt is known for his Modi hatred. From sharing morphed pictures to posting vile memes on Twitter against PM Modi, Bhatt has done it all to express his feelings for the PM. Bhat has not stopped at being anti-Modi, time and again he has also indulged in spreading anti-India propaganda on social media. He once posted a picture questioning the security forces in Kashmir which was widely shared by Pakistani handles.

Rebel Congress MLAs continue to skip budget session as Kumaraswamy levels new ‘poaching’ allegations on BJP

OpIndia Staff
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Rebel Congress MLAs continue to skip budget session as Kumaraswamy levels new ‘poaching’ allegations on BJP

Today Karnataka government is scheduled to present the 2019 state budget before the assembly. But, amid the speculations of Congress- JD(S) coalition having dearth of MLAs to support the budget, it has issued whip requiring all its MLAs to be present during the session, failing which they can be disqualified from contesting polls for the next six years.

Ramesh Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kamitalli, Umesh Jadhav and B Nagendra have repeatedly shown rebellious tendencies against the coalition, as all of them skipped the first day of budget session on February 7, defying the party whip. One of the MLAs, Umesh Jadav has been removed as the chairman of the Warehouse Corporation, after he repeatedly skipped the Congress Legislative Party meetings.

As the 4 Congress MLAs continued to remain absent from the budget session, the CLP led by Siddaramaiah has decided to act against them. Siddaramaiah today stated that he will meet speaker KL Ramesh and ask him to initiate action against the four MLAs under the anti-defection law.

Before the budget, CM Kumaraswamy addressed a press conference slamming BJP and its state leader Yeddyurappa, for allegedly indulging in horse-trading with the coalition’s MLAs. He also released an alleged audiotape between leader Yeddyurappa and JD(S) MLA Naganagowda Kandukar’as son Sharna Gouda. In the tape, a voice, that he alleged was that of a BJP leader is heard offering the JD(S) leader with Rs 25 lakh money and ministerial birth, in lieu of his father’s defection from the coalition. CM Kumaraswamy said that the audio tape is a proof of the large conspiracy of the BJP called ‘Operation Kamal’ or ‘Operation Lotus’, under which it is trying compelling coalition lawmakers to defect, by offering sops and ministerial berths.


The tape was immediately rubbished by Yeddyurappa and state unit of BJP.

“In a desperate attempt to save his govt full-time movie producer turned part-time CM HD Kumaraswamy has used his connection to mimic BS Yeddyurappa’s voice”, BJP Karnataka’s twitter handle took a dig at CM Kumaraswamy.
CM Kumaraswamy also alleged PM Modi of destroying institutions and turning a blind eye towards corruption. He appealed to Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, and MPs to expose the central government and also move a privilege motion against the government. He also challenged BJP to move a no-confidence motion against the government, if they deem that government does not enjoy the support of its MLAs.
Amidst the ongoing drama, CM Kumaraswamy also made an attempt to pacify some MLAs who were reportedly unhappy after being denied cabinet berths by giving them plump posts as chairman of various boards and councils with an immediate effect. Pratap Gauda was made the chairman of the warehousing corporation.
The budget session goes on for 10 days, and the state government has to acquire the confidence of assembly by 15th February. With BJP likely to demand the division of votes, it is imperative for Congress- JD(S) coalition to bring the numbers on the floor, and pass the halfway mark.
In the 225-member Assembly, the Congress enjoys the support of 80 members, including the Speaker, the JD-S 37, the BJP 104 and rest are Independent members of BSP and the KPJP, a regional outfit. The two independent MLAs, H Nagesh, and R Shankar had withdrawn their support from the Karnataka government, last month.
“Even if the four rebels are disqualified, the government will still be able to pass the budget, as the overall strength of the Assembly will come down to 221, with 111 as the halfway mark for a simple majority,” a Congress leader was quoted by News18.

Giriraj Singh compares Mamata Banerjee to North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un

OpIndia Staff
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Giriraj Singh compares Mamata Banerjee to North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un

Speaking on the motion of thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi compared West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the Rani of Jhansi while equating the NDA government with the British Raj.

Trivedi said, “Recently a movie called Manikarnika was released…. We are reminded of Queen of Jhansi…. Who was Rani Jhansi? She was an ordinary women whom people chose that she should guard Jhansi.”

Referring to Mamata, he said, “In Bengal also there is Rani Jhansi whose name is Mamata Banerjee. Mamata Banerjee said that ‘sar kata sakte haen lekin sar jhuka sakte nahin‘ (we are ready to be beheaded but will not kowtow). She is today’s Rani Jhansi who is an ordinary woman and not a queen.”

Responding to the assertions made by the TMC leader, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said that it was an insult to the legendary Indian Queen. “She (Mamata) may be Putana but never the Queen of Jhansi,” he remarked.


Putana, according to Hindu mythology, was a demoness who was killed by Lord Krishna. She was sent by Kansa, Lord Krishna’s maternal uncle, to kill baby Krishna by feeding Him poisoned milk.

Singh went on to add, “She (Mamata) may be Kim Jong Un, who kills people for speaking out against her but she doesn’t have the strength to be Padmavati or Rani of Jhansi. The person who supports illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants and speaks of partitioning India, Rani of Jhansi fought to protect India and she is fighting to destroy it.”

Troubles mount for Congress as after Robert Vadra and Karti, P. Chidambaram faces ED in money laundering case

OpIndia Staff
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Troubles mount for Congress as after Robert Vadra and Karti, P. Chidambaram faces ED in money laundering case

After the ED tightened its noose around Robert Vadra and Karti Chidambaram for their alleged misdoings, today the central agency had in its office Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram in relation with a money-laundering probe related to INX Media.

The agency also questioned his son Karti for about six hours on Thursday in this case. ED had last year estimated property worth Rs 54 crore under Karti’s name in India and abroad. The Central Investigation Agency had filed a case under the PMLA on the basis of a CBI FIR against the INX media getting the foreign funding. P Chidambaram is accused of granting Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval to the company during his tenure as finance minister.

The agency had filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Karti, INX Media and its directors-including Peter and Indrani Mukherjee and other accused. Karti was arrested on February 28 last year by another central agency, CBI investigating the case. He is alleged to have paid money to get FIPB approval for INX Media in 2007. However, he got bail later.

INX Media was later known as NewsX, it was owned by Peter and Indrani Mukherjee. Indrani had also alleged that P Chidambaram had asked her to pay a bribe of $1 million to Karti Chidambaram. The CBI had sought custodial interrogation of P Chidambaram in the case earlier also, but it was not granted. However, the agency has managed to secure the government’s permission to prosecute the former union minister in the Aircel-Maxis case also.

Chidambaram was served a summon to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He arrived at the agency’s office in central Delhi at about 11 am. In the past too, Chidambaram has been questioned multiple times in this money laundering case.

The Enforcement Directorate had also questioned Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s husband Robert Vadra on Wednesday and Thursday regarding the dubious land deals and ‘Benami’ properties owned by him abroad. Citing that the answers given by Robert Vadra were tutored, the ED has summoned him to come to their office again today for further interrogation.

Mamata Banerjee tries to scuttle Freedom of Press, sends notice to Republic over Kolkata showdown coverage

OpIndia Staff
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Mamata Banerjee tries to scuttle Freedom of Press, sends notice to Republic over Kolkata showdown coverage

The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who had sat on dharna claiming to protect the constitutional values of the country has now ironically sent a notice to English news channel Republic TV and its Hindi sister channel Republic Bharat over their relentless coverage of Kolkata showdown. Banerjee had sat on a dharna after the CBI officials reached the Kolkata Police Commissioner’s residence to probe the Saradha Chit Fund scam. Pushing her weight behind the Kolkata police chief, Mamata, along with various police officers sat on a dharna.

According to Republic TV, the media group alleged that the Mamata Banerjee led West Bengal Government has now threatened them with a notice after they had reported on the recent CBI vs Kolkata police fiasco where eight CBI officers were arrested by the Kolkata police on the orders of the Mamata Banerjee. The CBI officials had visited Kolkata to interrogate the Kolkata Police chief Rajeev Kumar to obtain crucial information regarding the massive Saradha scam, which allegedly involves senior functionaries of ruling Trinamool Congress.

However, Arnab Goswami, the Editor-in-Chief of the Republic TV has said that he was ready to be arrested by the Mamata Banerjee government for their reportage on the incident. The media organisation has also stated that they stand by their reportage and will not be threatened by such intimidations by the West Bengal government.

“I’m ready to be arrested by Mamata Banerjee’s henchmen in the police,” said Republic TV’s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami to Mamata government.

The Hindu deliberately distorts MoD document to spread Fake News on the Rafale Deal

OpIndia Staff
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The Hindu deliberately distorts MoD document to spread Fake News on the Rafale Deal

In a report on the Rafale Deal, The Hindu deliberately cropped off an internal note of the Ministry of Defense to exclude the then Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar’s response and present a distorted view of the events that transpired. The Hindu had published the following copy of the note.

But soon the full page of the note was published by ANI, which showed that the document was cropped by The Hindu to omit the reply by defence minister Manohar Parrikar to the note.

In his reply, which was cropped out by The Hindu to peddle its agenda, Parrikar asked the Defense Secretary to take up the matter with the Pr. Secretary to Prime Minister and resolve the matter. He also calls it an ‘overreaction’ by the Deputy Secretary (Air-II). He states, “It appears that PMO and French President’s office are monitoring the progress of the issue which was an outcome of the summit meeting. Para 5 appears to be an over reaction. Def Sec may resolve issue/matter in consultation with Pr. Sec to P.M.”


Nitin A. Gokhale, National Security Analyst, has also remarked that it is normal practice for the PMO to receive calls from counterparts in other countries.


The Congress President had used the slanted The Hindu report which presented a distorted version of events to claim that Narendra Modi had stolen Rs. 30,000 crores. The Defence Minister’s reply makes it clear that both PMO and French President offices were monitoring the government to government deal, and the comments of the secretary are an overreaction. Furthermore, the then Defense Secretary, G Mohan Kumar, had made it clear that the negotiations he had referred to in his dissent note had nothing to with pricing at all.

It is also important to note that the Deputy Secretary (Air-II), who wrote the dissent note, was neither a part of Defence Acquisition Council nor a part of Indian Negotiating Team for the defence deal.

Yesterday in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Modi had accused the Congress party of attempting to undermine the defence preparedness of the armed forces of the country and claimed that the party does not want Indian Armed Forces to be strong. In light of today’s events, where Rahul Gandhi used a distorted document to further attack the Rafale deal, the Narendra Modi may well find a lot more takers for the serious accusations he levelled against the Congress.

Half-truths and full-lies: How Rahul Gandhi lies (again!) on Rafale to create a false narrative

OpIndia Staff
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Half-truths and full-lies: How Rahul Gandhi lies (again!) on Rafale to create a false narrative

Congress President Rahul Gandhi in his most recent allegations against the Rafale Deal has claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was running ‘parallel negotiations’ based on an internal report of the Ministry of Defense. He then went on to claim that it was ‘evidence’ of the fact that Modi stole Rs. 30,000 crores and gave it to Anil Ambani.


The scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty was speaking of revelations made in a report by The Hindu which claimed that MoD officials had registered a firm opposition with the PMO’s negotiations on the matter. However, even that report does not mention anywhere that the supposed negotiations carried out by the PMO had anything to do with money or offset deal with Reliance. The nature of the supposed negotiations was not revealed either.

Armed with the media report, Rahul Gandhi then proceeded to claim that the French President called Prime Minister Modi a ‘thief’.


Now, G Mohan Kumar, Defence Secretary at the time of the Rafale negotiations, has come out and said that the ‘dissent note’ had “nothing to do with price”. He said, “It was about sovereign guarantees and general terms and conditions”.


Kumar further clarified that whatever is mentioned in The Hindu report has nothing to do with pricing at all.


Replying to the allegations, current defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Parliament that then defence minister Manohar Parrikar had already replied to the dissent note by the Defence Secretary, assuring that everything was going alright and there was nothing to worry.

In fact, the then defence minister had replied to the dissent on the note itself, which can be seen in the full page published by ANI.

It is interesting to note that, while publishing the dissent note, The Hindu chose the crop the same, omitting the vital note of the defence minister at the bottom of the note. Responding to the apprehension by the secretary, Parrikar writes, “It appears PMO and French President office are monitoring the progress of the issue which was an outcome of the summit meeting. Para 5 appears to be an over reaction”. The Defence Minister clearly states that both PMO and French President offices were monitoring the government to government deal, and the comments of the secretary is an overreaction.

It is also important to note that the dissent note by Deputy Secretary (Air-II) in the Defence Ministry, as reported by The Hindu, was raised on November 24, 2015. It was during the time both Indian and French sides were involved in discussions over the deal. In any discussion, arguments, disagreements are inevitable, what matters is the final decision, not the debates involved in coming to that discussion.

Lets that a look at the timeline of the deal. India and France issued a joint statement announcing the deal to supply 36 Rafale aircraft in flyway condition on April 10, 2015. After this, the proposal was sent to Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on 13th May 2015 for approval, as per the provisions of Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). DAC is chaired by the Defence Minister, and members include the State ministers for Defence, the three chiefs of staff, defence secretary, Secretary of Dept. of Defence Production and Supplies, Secretary of Defence Research and Development, Secretary of Defence Finance, and Special Secretary (Acquisition). DAC functions under the defence ministry and it has the final say on any defence related purchase.

After initial announcement of the deal, an Indian Negotiating Team (INT) was constituted by the government to negotiate the terms and conditions of the deal with the French side. The INT was headed by Deputy Chief of the Air Staff of Indian Air Force, and it included Joint Secretary and Acquisition Manager (Air), Joint secretary (Defence Offset Management Wing), Joint Secretary and Additional Financial Advisor, Finance Manager (Air), Advisor (Cost) and Assistance Chief of Air Staff (Plans) as members.

The Deputy Secretary (Air-II), who wrote the dissent note, is neither a part of DAC nor a part of INT.

The INT was involved in as many as 74 meetings for the deal. This included 48 internal meetings of the team and 26 external meetings with the French counterpart. These meetings took place between May 2015 and April 2016. Working under the directions of DAC, the INT had negotiated and finalised various terms and conditions related to price, delivery and maintenance of the Rafale aircraft. The INT had submitted its report in August 2016, and the same was approved by the Cabinet Committee of Security in the same month. After the approval of CCS, the Inter Government Agreement was signed by the Defence Minister on 23rd September 2016. Therefore, the Defence Ministry was fully involved in the negotiations for the Rafale deal.

On an earlier occasion, when Rahul Gandhi had quoted the French President, the French government had to come out and issue a clarification which essentially stated that Rahul lied on the Floor of the Lok Sabha.

Rahul Gandhi has been on a lying spree over the Rafale Deal, often repeating his lies over and over again in the hope that one of them will stick given the fact that he has the support from the ‘pliant media’.

Yesterday, in his address in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Modi targeted the Congress party over the matter and said that the party committed criminal negligence and undermined the defence preparedness of our armed forces due to vested interests.

Posters depicting Rahul Gandhi as Lord Ram, PM Narendra Modi as ‘Ravana’ put up in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

OpIndia Staff
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Posters depicting Rahul Gandhi as Lord Ram, PM Narendra Modi as ‘Ravana’ put up in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

Ahead of the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the poster wars have emerged as the Congress Party in Madhya Pradesh has come up with posters depicting Congress President Rahul Gandhi as Lord Rama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Ravana, reports ANI.


According to the reports, Congress party workers in Bhopal have erected posters depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “Dashanan Ravana” and Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been portrayed as Lord Ram. Apart from the PM, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Piyush Goyal, Shivraj Singh Chouhan have been portrayed as the other 9 heads.

Interestingly, a Rafale fighter jet has also featured in the poster and slogans such as “Chowkidar hi Chor Hai” and “Choron tumhari khair nahin, hum Ram bhakt hain, choron ke alawa kisi se bair nahin (Thieves your days are numbered, we are Lord Ram’s devotees, we have no problems other than the thieves.)” can also be seen on it. The poster, believed to have been put up by Suraj Tiwari Fans club, carries pictures of several top rung leaders of the Congress party.

Recently, posters of Congress President Rahul Gandhi depicting as Lord Rama have been put up at various places in the capital city of Bihar, Patna. Apart from posters depicting Rahul Gandhi as ‘Hindu Gods’, his sister Priyanka Gandhi has also emerged in few posters lately as Congress workers in Gorakhpur had put up posters depicting her to ‘Rani Lakshmibai’.

Similarly, another poster had emerged in the Gauriganj region of Amethi, which depicted Rahul Gandhi as Lord Ram’s incarnation and PM Modi as Ravan.

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