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Mamata Banerjee govt’s reason to block Amit Shah’s chopper landing don’t hold up, Airport not under construction: Report

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Mamata Banerjee govt’s reason to block Amit Shah’s chopper landing don’t hold up, Airport not under construction: Report

The TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee led West Bengal government has denied permission for Amit Shah’s chopper to land in the Malda Airport. Reportedly, Amit Shah was set to hold a rally in Malda on 22nd January 2019. Amit Shah will reach Kolkata and then take a chopper ride to Malda to attend a public rally with BJP workers from North Bengal, according to India Today. 

The reason provided by the Malda administration is that it is not possible for VVIP choppers to land in Malda this week. They have claimed that the Airport is under construction.

According to India Today, in the letter to BJP, the additional district magistrate has written:

“As per the report of the executive engineer, PWD (civil), Malda Division, up-gradation of work at Malda Airport is going on in full swing. A large quantity of fine sand, dust and GSB materials is lying all along the runway and also stacked all around the site. Moreover, the temporary helipad is not maintained properly due to this ongoing construction work. In this situation, Malda Airport is not suitable for safe landing of helicopters. Hence, granting of permission [for Amit Shah’s chopper] is not possible”.

However, according to India Today, the helipad area is clean and no construction work in underway. The India Today report also found that choppers land at that spot regularly.

Times Now found that even BJP has written to the Malda administration and questioned the denial saying that every week, VVIP choppers are allowed to land in Malda. BJP has also sought an explanation for permission being denied to Amit Shah while other VVIP choppers land in Malda regularly.

Talking to India Today, a ground crew member also said that Mamata Banerjee and Mithun Chakravarty regularly use the helipad.

The Mamata Banerjee government has come under attack for the violence it had unleashed on BJP workers. During the Panchayat elections held in West Bengal, the death toll rose rapidly as political violence was rampant. In May 2018, a youth was found hanging from a tree in Purulia. A note left on the body said that he had been killed because he was a minor when he joined the BJP.

A pregnant relative of a BJP candidate was reportedly raped by TMC goons. In another incident, a BJP supporter was publicly and brutally thrashed by a TMC Minister. Unknown gunmen had also hijacked ballot boxes to ensure free and fair elections are not held. In fact, the TMC had also won 20,000 seats uncontested because opposition candidates were not allowed to file nominations.

Communal tension erupts in Meerut after shop owner beats up Dalit boy for demanding pending payment for cleaning his shop

OpIndia Staff
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Communal tension erupts in Meerut after shop owner beats up Dalit boy for demanding pending payment for cleaning his shop

According to reports, communal tension erupted in Meerut after some people of Muslim community beat up a Dalit boy. The incident took place in the Bhagat Singh market area near Hapur Adda in Meerut. The victim Dalit boy Ankush works as a sweeper in a complex situated in the market. One of the attackers identified as Shahrukh, son of Yunus, owns a tea shop on the first floor of the complex where the victim works as a sweeper. Ankush used to clean the shop of Shahrukh as well.

According to Ankush, while other shopkeepers in the market pay him regularly, Shahrukh always delays payment. This time also, Shahrukh has not paid him money for several months. Therefore when he went to Shahrukh’s shop to demand payment on Sunday morning, Shahrukh refused to do so. This started a heated argument between the two, and after that Ankush was assaulted by Shahrukh and few other people present in the shop. After that Ankush called some of his friends and clash erupted between the two groups, and the shop got damaged in the process. The fight stopped when police arrived after some time.

On the other hand, Shahrukh claims that it was Ankush who started the fight. He says that Ankush and some of his friends came to his shop and started smashing things, which led to the fight.

Meanwhile, the owners of other shops in the area closed their shops after the fight started and started sloganeering. Some people also jammed the Hapur stand, creating a huge chaos.

On getting the information about the incident, the police arrived on the spot quickly fearing a communal clash as the area is communally sensitive. The DIG sent the police forces from the nearby stations. Police also cleared the jam at Hapur stand after dispersing the crowd.

The matter finally settled after SP City took cognisance of the matter and pacified both the parties. The injured were admitted to the nearby hospital.

Vilifying the EVMs is an excuse for their inevitable defeat: Modi on Opposition parties

OpIndia Staff
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Vilifying the EVMs is an excuse for their inevitable defeat: Modi on Opposition parties

Taking a dig at the opposition alliance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that by questioning the EVM, the opposition has started making excuses for their inevitable defeat. Prime Minister made the remarks during a booth-level interaction with BJP workers from Hatkanangale, Kolhapur, Madha and Satara Lok Sabha constituencies of Maharashtra and South Goa.

“They have now started making excuses for their inevitable defeat (in 2019 Lok Sabha polls). The EVMs are being made the villain,” Modi commented. The issue of EVM machines was again raked up by some opposition leaders in yesterday’s United India rally in Kolkata. National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah even termed the EVMs as “Chor machines”. Launching a scathing attack on the opposition parties which had organised a 23-party United India rally in Kolkata on Saturday, Modi accused them of corruption, negativity and instability.

Modi attacked the opposition grand alliance for not having faith in constitutional institutions. He said, “it is obvious that every political party wants to win elections, but the major concern is that they take people for granted. They think people are fools. This is a dangerous game. Its a matter of concern.” PM Modi added that “they do not even think before maligning Constitutional institutions. They do not have faith in any of the institutions. For long, they ruined the country and today they are busy maligning our institutions”.

Akhara Parishad President expresses disappointment with BJP over Ram Mandir, declares all saints meet in Ayodhya

OpIndia Staff
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Akhara Parishad President expresses disappointment with BJP over Ram Mandir, declares all saints meet in Ayodhya

President of  Akhara Parishad (the apex body representing the 13 akharas), Mahant Narendra Giri has declared that after the Kumbh is over all the saints will meet in Ayodhya for the construction of Ram Temple. Showing disappointment with the BJP, he said that BJP is not interested in building the Ram Temple and that they want to keep the issue alive for election.


Expressing displeasure over the delay in construction of Ram Temple, Mahant Giri said, “It seems that BJP is not interested in the construction of Ram Temple, also the intent of RSS and VHP are questionable. Till now we have not got any invite for VHP’s Dharm Sansad. The Dharm Sansad happens every year and it is very unlikely that any solution will be worked out over the issue this year as well.”

“The Naga Sadhus and seers will camp in Ayodhya for almost a month, post which the construction of Ram Temple will commence,” the Akhara Parishad President said. Mahant Giri also criticised the RSS and the VHP for some recent remarks made by them in relation to Ram Temple.

However, according to some reports Akhara Parishad’s General Secretary Mahant Hari Giri disagreed with the remarks of Akhara Parishad President saying that he might have made the comments in his personal capacity as no such discussion took place in the Akhara.

Twitter locks account of True Indology as it exposed NDTV’s distorted claims of communal harmony in Jammu and Kashmir

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter locks account of True Indology as it exposed NDTV’s distorted claims of communal harmony in Jammu and Kashmir

Twitter locks True Indology’s account

The curious case of Twitter censoring social media users for criticising left-wing and ultra left-wing accounts has begun to create concern among users, as Twitter has once again censored the account of History fact-checker True Indology by locking it out after the user exposed NDTV’s false narrative by stating that Muslim majority Jammu & Kashmir never had a Hindu Chief Minister.

See also: Trueindology account blocked again by Twitter

The controversial left-wing media house NDTV, often known for Anti-India propaganda and fake news had come up with a narrative of exaggerating a fact of Hindu-Muslim harmony in the state of Jammu and Kashmir by deliberately overlooking the Kashmiri Pandit genocide that had taken place in the Muslim majority Kashmir.

However, well-known twitter historian True Indology (the name of his/her twitter handle) while refuting such erroneous understanding of the Jammu and Kashmir history, schooled the NDTV with stating facts regarding how Hindus have been killed, raped and hounded by the Muslim-majority population of Kashmir. The twitter historian further went on to say that the Muslim population of the Jammu and Kashmir never accepted a Hindu Chief Minister and how they have not even elected a single Hindu from their region.


Questioning the so-called Hindu-Muslim harmony in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, True Indology said that one-dimensional harmony of Hindus towards Muslims meant ethnic cleansing.

Unfortunately, the social media giant Twitter seem to have got disappointed as its ideological ally in the media, NDTV once again got shamed for propagating such distorted views. Twitter, therefore, resorted to silence True Indology by locking the account, while denying the user his/her freedom to put forward facts.

“We have determined that this account violated the Twitter Rules. Specially for,… Violating our rules for hateful conduct,” said the message from Twitter while locking the account of True Indology.

This is not the first time that right-wing accounts, fact-checking accounts and other social media users who disagree with the left-wing accounts have faced bans and scrutiny from the Twitter. Recently, tweets from Scientist Anand Ranganathan, a free speech warrior and filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri were withheld by the Twitter ‘in response to a legal demand’.

Twitter is fast becoming a platform where ideological battles are fought, at times, by stifling the voice of those they disagree with and Twitter’s ‘hateful conduct’ policy reveals a definite left-wing bias. Facing accusations of discriminating against conservatives on the social media platform, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in an interview to CNN had admitted that most of the employees of Twitter have a left-leaning bias.

Recently Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey had created a furore in India by posing with a placard that declared ‘Smash Brahminical Patriarchy’, an extremist Leftist trope of demonizing an entire community. Twitter India’s legal head apologized profusely to everyone for hurting their sentiments. A local court in Jodhpur, Rajasthan has also admitted a plea against Dorsey over the anti-Brahmin placard.

Read also: Suspended officer Ashish Joshi threatens ‘True Indology’ after being exposed for his lack of knowledge

After cropping Rafale documents, The Hindu reports half-truths to cover up Nehru’s UNSC seat blunder

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OpIndia Evening Dispatch: Sunday, 20th January 2019

OpIndia Staff
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OpIndia Evening Dispatch: Sunday, 20th January 2019

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. How much really is the central government debt under Modi?

Several media houses ran a story claiming central government is under massive debt under the Modi government. India Today and Economic Times, both reported how the government is reeling under severe debt. While the reports were not factually incorrect, they miss out on letting the readers know of an important aspect. Read how the media spread half-truths regarding central government debt under Modi.

2. Madhya Pradesh BJP leader found bludgeoned to death

BJP Madhya Pradesh leader Manoj Thackeray had gone for a morning walk early on Sunday.  Unfortunately, he didn’t return. Police found a blood-soaked stone near his body and his head was smashed with a stone. Police is currently investigating the case.

3. BJP President Amit Shah discharged from AIIMS

BJP President Amit Shah, who was undergoing treatment from Swine Flu at AIIMS was discharged earlier today. He is recovering well and is expected to be fine soon. Shah took to Twitter to thank his wellwishers for their prayers for his health.

4. IT department raids 12 locations belonging to Gautam Khaitan as part of AgustaWestland investigations

Gautam Khaitan is accused of receiving kickbacks in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam. The IT department carried out raids at 12 locations at properties belonging to khaitan. The Delhi-based lawyer was arrested on September 3, 2014, and later released on bail on January 9, 2015. He was a board member of Aeromatrix and is said to have received money from Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa, the key middlemen in the deal.

5. CJI Gogoi, Retd Justice Madan Lokur attend Pakistan Chief Justice swearing-in

The swearing-in ceremony of the 26th Chief Justice of Pakistan had Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and former Supreme Court judge, Justice Madan B Lokur in attendance. Retired Justice Madan B Lokur, along with the current Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and two other judges, were involved in an open rebellion within the judiciary and were part of the controversial press conference against the then CJI Dipak Mishra who has retired from the Supreme Court on November 30.

Applicant’s photo gets replaced with Bill Gates’ photo on High Court stenographer admit card

OpIndia Staff
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Applicant’s photo gets replaced with Bill Gates’ photo on High Court stenographer admit card

In a bizarre incident, an applicant’s photo got replaced with that of Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ in the admit card for High Court’s stenographer exam. According to a report in Amar Ujala, an applicant’s photo and signature on his admit card for the High Court stenographer exam mysteriously got replaced by the photo and signature of Bill Gates.

Ayushman Jaiswal, a resident of  Varanasi had applied for the post of stenographer in High Court. At the time of filling the application form, he had uploaded his photo and signature. The exam for the High Court stenographer is scheduled to take place on January 21. However, Jaiswal was taken aback when he downloaded his admit card and found out that it had Bill Gates’ photo and signature instead of his own photo and signature.

Thinking that it might be an error he downloaded the admit card again but Bill Gates’ photo and signature was still there. Jaiswal then registered a complaint with concerned authorities on Saturday late in the evening.

Taking swift action on the complaint, the authorities rectified the problem by allowing him to upload fresh photo and signature.

I-T department raids 12 locations in Delhi belonging to Gautam Khaitan for his role in defence deal kickbacks during UPA regime

OpIndia Staff
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I-T department raids 12 locations in Delhi belonging to Gautam Khaitan for his role in defence deal kickbacks during UPA regime

In the latest development in the investigation into the AgustaWestland case, the Income Tax department today raided offices and various other properties in Delhi-NCR belonging to Gautam Khaitan.

Gautam Khaitan has been accused of allegedly receiving kickbacks in the AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper purchase deal. The I-T department confirms that they have various details and proof that Khaitan was allegedly involved in several other defence deals during the UPA tenure and he may have received kickbacks in those deals also.

According to reports, the I-T department has conducted these raids in 12 locations. Gautam Khaitan is one of the main accused in chopper purchase scandal and is alleged to have routed bribe through shell companies abroad.

The Delhi-based lawyer was arrested on September 3, 2014, and later released on bail on January 9, 2015. He was a board member of Aeromatrix and is said to have received money from Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa, the key middlemen in the deal.

Khaitan was again arrested along with Sanjeev Tyagi on December 9, 2016, by CBI in connection with the case which relates to the procurement of 12 VVIP choppers from UK-based firm during the UPA-2 regime and was later released on bail.

He had allegedly routed the bribe money in the AgustaWestland deal through shell companies in tax havens abroad and parked it in Mauritius. Khaitan on his part had denied that the money was a part of the kickbacks in the AgustaWestland deal.

As part of the investigation, ED is also probing KRBL, a Basmati Rice Exporting company, as Gautam Khaitan was the joint director of the company from 2007 to 2013. ED sources have reportedly mentioned that the proceeds of the kickbacks and bribes were being laundered through Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading, a subsidiary of KRBL. KRBL had reportedly denied receiving kickback money or laundering it.

Earlier it was reported that Gautam Khaitan had during CBI questioning had accepted that he set up a shell company to receive money from the aviation firm and there were reports that Gautam Khaitan, one of the main accused in the case could turn approver.

Kumbh Mela will generate six lakh jobs and Rs 1.2 lakh crore revenue to the Uttar Pradesh government: CII

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Kumbh Mela will generate six lakh jobs and Rs 1.2 lakh crore revenue to the Uttar Pradesh government: CII

The mega ‘Maha Kumbh Mela’, the largest human congregations on the earth which takes place over a span of seven weeks is expected to generate a revenue of Rs 1.2 lakh crore for Uttar Pradesh, says apex industry body Confederation of Indian Industry, reported Economic Times.

The Economic Times citing a CII report suggest that the economic activities associated with the Kumbh Mela will generate more than six lakh employment opportunities across various sectors. The Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath has allocated Rs 4,200 crore for the 50-day Kumbh Mela this time, which is over three times more than the Maha Kumbh in 2013.

Reportedly, the CII estimated that the hospitality sector alone will employ more than 2,50,000 people, while airlines and airports will create 1,50,000 jobs with additional 45,000 jobs through tour operations. The employment numbers in eco-tourism and medical tourism are being estimated at 85,000, says a CII study. Addition to this there will be around 55,000 new jobs in the unorganized sector comprising of tour guides, taxi drivers, interpreters, volunteers etc.

The Kumbh Mela is expected to attract a huge number of foreign tourists from various countries like Australia, UK, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, New Zealand, Mauritius, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka indicating that the Kumbh Mela is a global festival.

The Kumbh is expected to generate a revenue of Rs 1.2 lakh crore for Uttar Pradesh, while neighbouring states like Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh will also gain from the enhanced revenue generation with a large number of national and foreign tourists visit these neighbouring states.

The area of Kumbh Mela to accommodate the visitors has also been doubled to 3,200 hectares as compared to 1,600 hectares in the previous melas. Augmenting this, authorities have set up a mini-city with more than 4,000 tents and the Prayagraj is being lit by installing over 40,000 LED lights, say local authorities.

The infrastructure development has also been given the push with the upgrading of nine railways stations and construction of a new airport terminal in Allahabad. The new city near the Kumbh Mela has been built with a road span of 250 km and 22 pontoon bridges, which will make it the largest temporary city in the world.

The CII document further adds that the Kumbh being a sacred Hindu pilgrimage will generate direct and indirect business activities and the fruits of which would hopefully benefit the economy not only of Uttar Pradesh but that of India as a whole.

The historic Kumbh Mela is organised based on a complex astrological calculation and the alignment of the stars which determines the time and place of the ‘Kumbh’ in one of the following four river-sites of either Haridwar, Prayagraj, Nasik and Ujjain. The Kumbh Mela is a celebration of an ancient Hindu tradition, in which a devotee takes a dip in the holy waters where the mythical Saraswati, Ganga and Yamuna rivers meet. The ‘Kumbh Mela’ is not only the largest peaceful gathering in the world but also the oldest religious event to be celebrated and is also on the UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

President Ram Nath Kovind became the first President since Dr Rajendra Prasad in 1953 to visit the Kumbh Mela when he offered prayers with his wife on Thursday. It is expected that more than round 12 crore people will attend the Kumbh from January 15 till Maha Shivratri on March 4, when the Mela will come to a close on Maha Shivratri day.

The first ‘Shahi Snan‘ (royal bath) of Kumbh on January 15 drew a record crowd of 2.25 devotees, said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has been meticulously supervising minute details personally to make the event “Divya Kumbh, Bhavya Kumbh”.

Opposition is allying within themselves, we are allying with 125 crore people of country: PM Modi

OpIndia Staff
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Opposition is allying within themselves, we are allying with 125 crore people of country: PM Modi

While interacting with BJP workers from Maharashtra and Goa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig on the show of strength united opposition rally which took place yesterday in Kolkata.


“They (Opposition) have formed alliances with each other. We’ve formed an alliance with 125 crore countrymen,” PM Modi said. He added that most leaders on the stage in Kolkata yesterday were either son of influential people or were trying to set their own children. “They have ‘dhan shakti’ (money power), we have ‘jan shakti’ (people power),” PM Modi said.

Stating that the Opposition has already started making excuses for their defeat in the upcoming general elections, PM Modi said “EVM is being made a villain. It’s natural that every political party wants to win the polls, but it’s worrisome when some parties take the public for granted. They consider public stupid & so keep changing colours.”

Taking on the ‘mahagathbandhan’, PM Modi said that this mahagathbandhan is of the ‘naamdaar’. He added that only the corrupt, scam-ridden are part of the mahagathbandhan which is full of negativity and instability.

Emphasising on the importance of karyakartas, he said that workers are the embodiment of patriotism and selflessness, and a stint of life that teaches a person a lot. The biggest contribution to the country, PM Modi said, was a party which is totally worker-oriented. He added that due to this his party which had mere 2 seats decades back, has now 282 seats in Lok Sabha.

PM Modi slammed opposition for assaulting institutions and questioning them as per convenience. He also mentioned Sharad Yadav’s blunder at Kolatay rally, where he had mistakenly made reference to Congress era scam of Bofors.

PM Modi, countering allegations of the opposition said that in our country the whole year is filled with elections. Introducing amendments to the constitution and getting it passed he said, is not an election issue but the issue of the welfare of common citizens. He also justified the eligibility condition, which requires candidates’ family to have income less than 8 lakh. He said that even the OBC’s creamy layer is at 8 lakhs.

Other than Maharashtra workers, PM Modi also interacted with workers from Goa. PM Modi wished CM Parikar good health and also labelled him as the modern architect of Goa.

PM Modi said that biggest change that can be witnessed is how the world changed its view regarding the country. He said, five years ago our country was counted under The Fragile Five, meaning the weakest countries of the world. Now, he said, we are the fastest growing economy of the world. He talked about the Maoists hit the area, and how under NDA rule they have been controlled. Five years ago, we had mere 38% sanitation coverage, PM Modi said, but he we have close to 98% sanitation coverage in the country. He also mentioned the fact that, during UPA tenure, there was high inflation and low growth, but no, under NDA, there is low inflation but high growth. PM Modi also said that the decade before NDA, was marred with scams, but his tenure is only known for schemes.

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