Home Blog Page 6629

A bad, sexist joke is still fine, Shatrughan Sinha, but you came up with a bad example

Last night, at a book launch, rebel BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha took a jibe at #MeToo movement which took the nation by storm where many men in the powerful position were called out by women for allegedly being sexual predators.


Sinha cracked a sexist joke saying that in the era of ‘#MeToo’, there is no hesitation in saying that behind every successful man’s fall also there is a woman. As if the sexist joke which in a sly manner blames women for calling our their sexual predators which led to ‘downfall of successful men’, Sinha went ahead and added “I think I have been fortunate that despite doing all that I did, my name hasn’t popped up in the #MeToo”

You see, sexist, bad joke in poor taste is not as problematic as the second part of his statement is. What exactly has Sinha done that he is glad that despite doing ‘all that he did’, his name has not popped up in the #MeToo movement? It would be a little strange and weird to say that when the implications of what you say almost make it come across as ‘confessional’. It is like saying ‘I am slimy, but no one has caught me yet, heh heh heh.’

Sinha then followed it up with saying that he was just joking and his comment should be taken with a ‘plain sense of humour’.

Except, it doesn’t really come across as a joke. Earlier, too, Sinha had defended Saroj Khan’s sexist views on casting couch by saying that the concept of ‘you please me, I’ll please you’ has been happening since time immemorial.

Having said that, Sinha’s ‘joke’ however bad and sexist it was, is still fine. But the example he came to explain it was bizarre to say the least. The #MeToo movement has brought down with itself many names in the film and media industry, like Sajid KhanVikas Bahl, singer Kailash Kher and journalists like Vinod Dua and union minister MJ Akbar.

Sinha’s ‘joke’ is an example of the old adage which goes like, if you have nothing to say, say nothing at all.

Winner of Nobel Prize in Economics rubbishes ThePrint report about him helping Rahul Gandhi on election promises

Nobel laureate Angus Deaton has denied Shekhar Gupta’s ThePrint’s report which claimed that he is helping Congress shape the minimum income scheme.

ThePrint article claiming Angus is helping Congress

On 31st January, ThePrint ran a report by one D. K. Singh who claimed that Angus Deaton, a British economist who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2015 along with French economist Thomas Piketty are advising the Congress on its minimum income guarantee program.

ThePrint states that according to party leaders, the party reached out to the two economists since Rahul Gandhi had “studied their work”. However, when OpIndia reached out to Deaton, he denied being associated with Congress or Rahul Gandhi.

Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton denying helping Congress

In a one-line email, Deaton said that he has had no contact with Congress on this or anything else. The French economist Thomas Piketty, however, did confirm “exchanging with Congress about how much it would cost and how to implement this”. He added that “it is high time to move from the politics of caste conflict to the politics of income and wealth redistribution.”

Thus, Shekhar Gupta’s ThePrint ran a story without confirming or verifying independently with the Nobel laureate and based it on what Congress leaders fed the journalist.

Last week, media reports had surfaced which claimed that it was Congress leaders who had ‘planted’ a story of Army coup back in 2011-2012 to defame the Indian Army. The Sunday Guardian quoted an Intelligence Bureau officer saying that no coup attempt was undertaken.

The report states, “The top leadership of the UPA 2 government, in the last few months of 2011 and early 2012, had informally indicated to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to try and establish that the Army, under its then chief, General V.K. Singh, was attempting a coup to topple the government.” When the IB reported that there was no way V.K. Singh would carry out any coup, “this fiction was “leaked” to the media, which carried the story as was narrated to it by the political leadership, which also included a leader who occupied a top Constitutional post later in his career.”

The ‘Army coup’ story in the report was written and published by Shekhar Gupta in the English Daily, Indian Express, when Gupta was the Editor.

Indian Express archived story on the ‘coup’

Planting stories is as old as journalism. However, a senior journalist like Gupta should have known better when such a ‘plant’ involves the Indian Army. OpIndia reached out to Gupta for his comment on the allegations on such ‘leaked’ story on the army coup which he had carried on the front page as an editor of one of India’s leading national daily. Gupta has not replied by the time the report is published.

We shall update the report if and when he responds.

Siddaramaiah issues second notice to the four ‘rebel’ MLAs who skipped the opening day of budget session

Congress leader and former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has issued a fresh notice to the four rebel MLAs seeking an explanation from them. He had earlier served notices to the four MLAs for failing to attend the CLP meeting on January 18.

Four Congress MLAs in Karnataka namely Ramesh Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kamitalli, Umesh Jadhav and B Nagendra had skipped the Congress Legislative Party meeting on 18 January where the party had asked all its MLAs to be present after reports of poaching and defections to BJP.

The party had decided to move all its MLAs to a resort in the meeting.

Yesterday, the same four MLAs also failed to show up at the assembly on the first day of the budget session defying the party whip.

In his notice, former CM Siddaramaiah has reportedly asked the absconding MLAs to respond before or after the assembly session.

However, Congress is apparently unaffected by the MLAs skipping the opening budget session, at least this is what Congress leader D K Shivakumar portrayed when asked whether Congress is worried about BJP moving a no-confidence motion following the defiance of party’s directives by the four MLAs. “Let them try”, Shivakumar said. Shivakumar, on the contrary, attacked the BJP for boycotting the Governor’s speech earlier in the day.

The BJP had shouted slogans in the Karnataka assembly during Governor Vajubhai Vala’s speech. The party MLAs shouted, “Governor go back” in the assembly. The protesting MLAs alleged that the Congress-JD(S) government does not have a majority in the house.

BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa defended the protests by saying, “No development is going on in the state. There is infighting within the cabinet. That is why we boycotted Governor’s speech.” He even denied that the party was going to move a no-confidence motion in against the Kumaraswamy government. “We are not going to move a no-confidence motion. We are waiting and observing everything”, Yeddyurappa said.

However, Siddramaiah said that there is no problem in the government. “The situation is not like it is being portrayed in the media. Notice has been served to all four MLAs (Ramesh Jarakiholi, Mahesh Kamatihalli, B Nagendra and Umesh Jadhav). There is no problem to the government”, Siddaramaiah said.

He added that three of the four MLAs have responded to his notice and only Umesh  Jadhav is yet to respond.

The Congress has 80 MLAs in the 224-member Karnataka assembly. With the alliance with JDS being always threatened by reports of rift and power struggle, Congress has maintained that they are in control of the situation and the alliance still holds a majority in the assembly.

Bihar: Worshipping Bharat is against our belief, said Afzal Hussain, a school teacher as he refused to sing Vande Mataram

A scuffle broke out in Katiyar, Bihar, on 26th January when Afzal Hussain, a school teacher refused to sing Vande Mataram on Republic Day.


He said, “We worship Allah and Vande Mataram means ‘vandana’ (worship) of Bharat which is against our belief. Constitution doesn’t say it is necessary to sing it.” This enraged the people and a scuffle broke out.

Also read: Muslim man’s child expelled from an Islamic school due to the father’s love for “Vande Mataram”

As per reports, for the Republic Day function in school when everyone was to sing Vande Mataram, Hussain refused to join in. Those present at the venue were surprised and asked Hussain to get up from his seat and participate in singing. But he refused to get up. He said, “I only worship Allah. And it is not written in the Constitution that I need to participate in singing Vande Mataram.”

Also read: Vande Mataram – the history of Muslim opposition and support

When the news that a Muslim teacher was asked to sign Vande Mataram spread in the locality, other people from Muslim community came together and a scuffle broke out between the groups.

Hashtag: The social media summit, a social media and youth conclave by Incredible Bharat Foundation

Incredible Bharat Foundation (IBF), an organisation committed to the promotion of Indian culture, literature and arts through exhibitions, conferences and on-ground events has organised ‘Hashtag: The social media summit’, a social media and youth conclave. The day-long event will have a keynote address by Amish Tripathi, a renowned author, columnist and commentator and will also be attended by Union Minister Smriti Irani.

Other sections dealing with various aspects of social media and its impact will also be conducted through various sessions and panel discussions. Discussions will also take place on matters pertaining to India, our society, polity as well as individuals. Around 350 people, including students, are expected to attend the event. Various social media stalwarts are also expected to attend the event as well as participate in the discussion.

OpIndia.com and Lopak.in are the digital partners in the English and Hindi media respectively. The event will be telecast live on the YouTube channel as well as the Facebook page of Incredible Bharat Foundation.

“Social Media for Social Good” awards are also being instituted for the first time and awards in “Social media for Sewa”, “Social media for promotion of Bharatiya culture” and “Emerging social media icon” categories will be awarded.

Event details:

Date: 9th February 2019
Venue: NDMC Convention Centre,
Sansad Marg,
New Delhi.
Time: 10 am onward

Tamil Nadu: Activist found brutally murdered hours after he stopped Muslims from converting Hindus

0

On Tuesday night a PMK (Pattali Makkal Katchi) leader in Tamil Nadu was brutally murdered by a group of people belonging to a minority community for opposing religious conversion.

As per reports, 42-year-old Ramalingam was assaulted in Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district on his way back home by a group of unidentified people and his hands were chopped off. Ramalingam died on the way to the hospital due to excessive bleeding.

Police along with local people suspect that the murder is linked to an argument Ramalingam had with few Muslim men earlier in the day. Reportedly, a group of Muslim preachers had gone to an area with large number Dalit inhabitants and started preaching about Islam on Tuesday. Coincidently, Ramalingam, who is a former secretary of PMK, was in the area at that time and he overheard the group of Muslim persons preaching their religion. He confronted the men opposing the same, and the preachers retaliated, which started an altercation. Later the issue was sorted by some Muslim clerics.

But it seems some people in the group wanted to teach Ramalingam a lesson and they attacked him in the night when he was alone.

A video has also emerged where Ramalingam is seeing arguing with the preachers asking them not to convert people. He says, “Hindus are never anti-Muslims. We worship our God, you worship your Allah”.

“I’m ready to come to the mosque and get involved in prayer. Will you accept a Hindu god? Will you eat the food offered to a Hindu God? We are ready to live together and live together. But you are dividing the people”, he said.


Ramailingam also took the skull cap from one of the preachers and put it on his head, while he applied vibhuti on that person’s forehead, to establish his point of religious harmony. It is suspected that this gesture by him was misunderstood by some, causing them to take revenge on him. Police suspect that is the reason why his hands were chopped off, as a punishment for his act of applying vibhuti on a Muslim person.

Ramalingam had been protesting against religious conversion of Hindus, which had made him a target of some radical preachers. It is suspected that the radical outfit Popular Front of India is behind the murder.

Following the incident, a large police force has been deployed in the Kumbakonam area to prevent any communal clash. Police have lodged an FIR under section 302 of the IPC and have started an operation to nab the killers.

OpIndia Evening Dispatch: Wednesday, 6th February, 2019

0

In the hustle and bustle of the day, it is only natural to miss some of the biggest developments that impact the nation. The OpIndia Evening Dispatch will catch you up on the day’s event even if you have been busy thus far.

1. Two top UPA leaders planted the 2012 Indian Army ‘coup’ story, claim media reports

According to a report on The Sunday Guardian, top leaders in UPA-2 wanted the Intelligence Bureau to prove the ‘coup attempt’ by the Army and eventually planted a news report in the media.

The report states, “The top leadership of the UPA 2 government, in the last few months of 2011 and early 2012, had informally indicated to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to try and establish that the Army, under its then chief, General V.K. Singh, was attempting a coup to topple the government.” When the IB reported that there was no way V.K. Singh would carry out any coup, “this fiction was “leaked” to the media, which carried the story.

2. Madhya Pradesh: 3 persons charged under NSA for cow slaughter, first instance under Congress rule

In what is reportedly a first, the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has invoked the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on three persons arrested for cow slaughter in the state. As per reports, three days ago, the police in Khandwa received information that some people have slaughtered cows in the Moghat area on January 31.

Though the three accused were initially booked under the sections 4,6 and 9 of the Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act, upon the recommendation of the SP, the district collector has sanctioned charges under the NSA.

3. JNU sedition case: Patiala House Court pulls up Kejriwal government over case delay, fixes next hearing for 28th February

The Patiala House Court in Delhi today fixed the next hearing in the JNU sedition case for 28th February. The Court asked the Delhi Police to get Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi Government to expedite the matter and provide sanction for the JNU sedition case charge sheet. The court said that they (the government) cannot stop the file.

The Delhi government had received the charge sheet on January 14 but no action was taken on it.

4. Robert Vadra appears on posters outside Congress headquarters the day he is summoned by ED in money laundering case

Days after Robert Vadra, Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law, got interim protection from arrest till 16th February, he appeared on posters put up outside Congress headquarters welcoming his wife and Rahul Gandhi’s sister Priyanka Gandhi formally in the party.

5. UN Refugee card holder Rohingyas among six arrested for theft on Noida metro tracks

At least four UN Refugee card holder Rohingyas were among the six nabbed by the Police for allegedly stealing copper wires from the metro stations and metro tracks in Noida and Delhi. According to reports, the accused would steal copper wires by climbing over the station’s wall and have multiple cases of theft lodged against them.

6. Madhya Pradesh: Officer summoned by CBI in Bofors case found dead under mysterious circumstances

SC Khatua, a junior works manager (JWM) of the Guns Carriage Factory was reportedly found dead in a drain behind section 2 of the factory area in GCF in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh yesterday.

As per reports, the 45-year-old Khatua was summoned by the CBI for an inquiry into the charges of supply of Chinese spare parts for the production of indigenised Bofors guns used by the army.

7. Kerala: Kanaka Durga gets a court order to enter her in-law’s house after she was not allowed for desecrating Sabarimala temple

Kanaka Durga, one of the two women who had entered the Sabarimala shrine on 2nd January said she was finally able to enter her in-law’s house after a local court ordered that she be allowed to enter.

We had reported earlier that Kanaka Durga, one of the two women who had desecrated Sabarimala Temple, was involved in a brawl with her mother-in-law after she returned home from her adventure and was denied entry.

8. Supreme Court issues notice to Prashant Bhushan on contempt plea filed by Centre and Attorney General

On 5 February the union government had filed a contempt petition against advocate Prashant Bhushan in Supreme Court, a day after Attorney general KK Venugopal had lodged a similar petition, accusing Bhsuan of exercising vindictiveness and recklessness while tweeting about the appointment of interim CBI director M Nageshwar Rao.

Now following which, the Apex court today issued a notice to Prashant Bhushan regarding the contempt plea.

9. Another activist turns politician, Hardik Patel may contest upcoming elections from Amreli

The Patidar leader from Gujarat, Hardik Patel on Wednesday has declared that he will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The announcement came at a rally he was addressing in Lucknow. Hardik Patel is on a two-day rally in Rajasthan after touring Uttar Pradesh.

Though it is not clear if Hardik is going to contest the elections from a political party or as an independent candidate. Hardik might contest the Lok Sabha polls from Amreli in Gujarat.

10. While the temple board does a U-turn, Supreme Court reserves its judgement on the Sabarimala review petitions

Almost four months since the SC allowed women of menstrual age into the Sabarimala temple, the court today began hearing the review petitions challenging its September verdict.

The five-judge bench of Supreme court, comprising of CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Rohinton Nariman, AM Khanwikar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra are hearing 65 petitions that urge a review of the previous verdict.

The total 65 petitions include 56 review petitions and 4 fresh writ petitions.

11. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi reaches ED Office with her husband in connection with money laundering case

Congress General Secretary and Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s sister, Priyanka Gandhi reached the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office with her husband, Robert Vadra. Priyanka dropped off her husband at the ED office and then left. Priyanka Gandhi’s office’s ‘exclusive pictures’ of her door and name-plate had gone viral on the social media yesterday after various media channels ran the ‘exclusive’ report.

Vadra has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate today in connection to the money laundering case and dubious land deal cases.

As many as 7 officers were present during the questioning and about 42 questions were prepared by the investigating officers.

Opinion:

Coverage of Priyanka Gandhi’s closed office door is one of the lowest points of Indian journalism

Prominent Indian journalists, household names, all standing outside the door of a nondescript room, presumably in the Congress Headquarters, bombarding us with breathless coverage of the name plate.

Or maybe I should call it a “surname plate” because that is all they came to see. They saw the magic surname written in magical letters, drank the psychological nectar and then went home, much fulfilled.

SP, BSP and Congress put together cannot stop the BJP from winning 74 seats in Uttar Pradesh: Amit Shah

BJP President Amit Shah was in Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh today addressing the booth workers of the party in Booth Adhyan Sammelan ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Shah credited the booth workers for the victories of the party in various elections including the 2014 general election. He said that BJP is unique in the sense that in this party it is not the leader but the booth workers on the ground who bring victory to the party.

Shah recalled how Samajwadi President Akhilesh Yadav used to mock him when he used to say that BJP will win 70 seats in Uttar Pradesh but because of the efforts of the booth workers, BJP won 73 seats. Attacking the SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh Shah said, “73 (seats) ki 74 (seats) kar kar bua bhateeje ki dukan par aligarh ka tala lagane ka kaam Bharatiya Janata Party karegi.”

Lauding the work done by the Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh, Shah said that riots were common in the State before the Yogi government came to power, rioters and criminals are now fleeing from UP. He appreciated the Yogi government for strictly dealing with land mafia and releasing a large area of land from land mafia’s control. Talking about how the confidence of the police has increased under the Yogi government, Shah said that earlier police were scared of criminals but now criminals are scared of police. Highlighting the development agenda of his party Shah said that the BJP has reached out to every single house with development. As part of Ek Janpad Ek Utpaad scheme, Yogi government has marketed the locks made in Aligarh, Shah asserted.

“It is a matter of pride for the BJP workers that Modi ji has allotted the biggest ever defence budget since independence”, Shah told the party workers. Coming down heavily on the Congress-led UPA government, Shah said that during the ten years of the UPA government, terrorist attacks happened frequently. But Modi government avenged the death of soldiers killed in the terrorist attack in Uri within 10 days by conducting the surgical strike in Pakistan. After the surgical strike, India became the third country after Israel and the US which were known to avenge the death of their soldiers, Shah said proudly.

Speaking on the issue of illegal immigrants, Shah attacked the opposition parties for opposing the National Register of Citizens. He said that “Rahul baba and company” are more concerned about the human rights of illegal immigrants as if they are Rahul’s relatives. He said that illegal immigrants are a threat to national security and the BJP government will throw every single one of them out of the country.

Shah told the booth workers about the benefits given by the Modi government to small farmers and at the same time mocked Rahul Gandhi questioning his knowledge of farming. He said that Rahul Gandhi does not even know whether potato grows inside the ground or above it or in a factory. Calling the Mahagathbandhan a dhakosla (sham) Shah told the party workers not to be afraid of it. He said that SP, BSP and Congress put together cannot stop the BJP from winning 74 seats in the State.

Shah assured the booth workers that the party is committed to building a grand Ram Temple at the Ram Janmbhoomi site at the earliest. However, he asked the SP, BSP and the Congress to clarify their stand on Ram Mandir. He accused the Congress of delaying the proceedings of the Ram Mandir case in the Supreme Court through its lawyers. Highlighting the sincerity of the government on Ram Mandir, he said that the government had decided to return the 42 acre land of Ram Janm Bhoomi Nyas which was acquired by the Congress govt in 1993, and an affidavit has been filed by the government in the Supreme Court in this respect.

Shah launched a scathing attack on the Mamta Banerjee government in West Bengal over the recent fiasco created by Mamta Banerjee by detaining the CBI officers who had gone to interrogate the Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar. He criticised the West Bengal Chief Minister for not allowing the helicopters of the BJP leaders to land in the State. He said that Mamta Banerjee thinks that she can stop the BJP from forming a government in West Bengal. He claimed that the BJP is going to win 23 seats in West Bengal in the upcoming elections.

Shah questioned why Banerjee sat on dharna against the CBI action. “Who does she want to save by sitting on dharna?”, Shah asked. “Bakre ki maa kitne din Khair manaegi”, Shah remarked sarcastically.

Shah urged the party workers not to retaliate the political killings of the BJP workers in the States of West Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka with violence, he asked them to rather convert the anger into votes.

Archaeologists discover pre-Harappan site ruins in Kutch

0

The archaeologists in Kutch have found remains of another pre-Harappan site that is evident of a flourishing human settlement in the region. The archaeologists believe that the structure they unearthed resembles a cemetery belonging to the Harappan times indicating the presence of human settlement in the area.

The ruins were discovered by a team of archaeologists from Kutch University and Kerala University after two weeks of excavation at the site near Nani Khatia village in Lakhpat taluka, about 102 KM away from Bhuj. The area of excavation stretches around five square km.

Excavation site at Dholaviri (Source: TOI)

The stones found from the site strongly suggest a presence of over 100 burial sites in the area. The head of the Department of Archaeology of Kutch University, Subash Bhandari believes that this settlement at Dholavira existed at the same time when the most distinguished Indus Valley Civilization site, was blossoming.

Bhandari further added that his team has founded pottery shards, beads and broken bangles from the site. Similar shards and beads were excavated from the burial sites at the Harappa as well. Bhandari mentioned that the finding of similar stones from this site lends greater credence to a presence of more burial sites in the environs. Bhandari says that there are more than 100 burial sites in the area and now they will dig 10 to 15 trenches for further excavation.

Pre-Harrapan burial site unearthed in Kutch(Source: TOI)

Bricks and some other items excavated are examined to determine the era to which they belong. A preliminary survey of the area was started by both the universities in 2016 using differential geographic positioning system (DGPS) and drones to get details of the geomorphology and topography of the landscape.

A few days back, archaeologists discovered a couple’s skeleton in the same grave in Haryana, which according to them is the first anthropologically confirmed joint burial of a couple in any Harappan cemetery. The grave was excavated from the Harappan settlements at Rakhigarhi in Haryana, 150km northwest of Delhi. Even with this grave, pottery and bowls were found buttressing the claim that the Harappans believed in life after death.

Robert Vadra’s questioning comes to an end at ED office in connection with money laundering case

As per Republic TV, Robert Vadra’s questioning has come to an end at the Enforcement Directorate office. As many as 7 officers were present during the questioning and about 42 questions were prepared by the investigating officers.

Earlier, his wife and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi had accompanied her husband to the ED office. She had officially taken charge as Congress General Secretary yesterday.

Vadra has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate today in connection to the money laundering case and dubious land deal cases. He had applied for anticipatory bail in the court earlier this month after a fresh money laundering case was filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The case filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Skylight Hospitality firm owned by Vadra. The case is in relation to alleged financial irregularities in land deals in Gurgaon, Haryana in 2008.

We had reported earlier that posters featuring Robert Vadra have appeared outside Congress headquarters welcoming his wife and Rahul Gandhi’s sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra formally in the party. Later, the posters were later removed from AICC headquarters by the NDMC.