A video has been doing rounds on social media showing how the middle class has benefited from the policies made by the Modi government. From the data given in the video, one sees that the Modi government policies have benefited the middle class contrary to what the perception is.
Friends,
Let’s share our personal experiences of how we have financially benefitted in terms of low inflation, low interest, tax benefits etc.
Here is a video of how slowly tax benefits were passed on year on year.
The video invoked many Twitter reactions and people started sharing their own experiences as in how they have benefited from some of the policies made by the MOdi government. Some credited the government policies for the profits made by them.
Cheaper since 2014-
1. Retail products
2. Daily consumables
3. Hotel bill
4. Interest rates
5. Housing
6. Electronics/ internet
7. Health bill
8. Money transfer costs
9. Income Tax
10. Made in India products
11. @RahulGandhi along with his pidis.#MiddleClassWithModi@muglikar_
#MiddleClassWithModi
I am a middle class person. The sensex rose from 17K to 37K i.e. more than doubled in 4.5Years, with an annual compounded growth Rate of approx 18%. No FD PPF will give u this..Huge earnings for me. Possible due to sound policies of government .
Some told how GST and reduced prices have been a relief for them.
GST of 5 % has been extremely useful at restaurants. Earlier, we used to pay 18%+. Big savings!
Arhar prices have come down drastically from its peak and have stayed down for the past 2 years. This directly helps the middle class. #MiddleClassWithModi
People shared how they are getting medicines on cheaper prices at the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendra (PMJAK).
Im buying tablets from PM Jan Aushadhi Kendra for my mother.. one of the tablet is around 500/- per sheet(10 tablets) in medical shops. Same tablet in PMJAK is just Rs.55/- #MiddleClassWithModi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the Kollam Bypass on NH-66 in Kollam, Kerala in the presence of Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan and other dignitaries. He also addressed the gathering after inaugurating the bypass. The 13 km bypass was proposed to be built around 43 years ago but kept getting delayed for various reasons. It is a two-lane bypass built at a cost of 352 crores connecting Mevaram to Kavanad in the Kollam district.
The 13 km Kollam bypass project was delayed for 43 years.
In 2015, Modi government took note of this project and completed it in 4 years. pic.twitter.com/7ySJ8Npl5G
The Prime Minister expressed surprise over infrastructure projects being stalled for decades. “I was surprised to see that some projects are delayed by 20 to 30 years. Till now, I have reviewed more than 250 projects worth approximately 12 lakh crore rupees under PRAGATI“, he said. PM Modi in his address said, “When we construct roads and bridges, we do not only connect towns and villages. We also connect aspirations with achievements, optimism with opportunities and hope with happiness”. He talked about how under his government the percentage of rural habitations connected with roads increased from 56% to more than 90%. He announced that his government will sanction Rs 7,500 crore for the fisheries sector.
Modi concluded his address at the Kollam bypass inauguration with a local saying which goes “once in Kollam, one never misses home”. He said that he shares the same feeling and that he will seek the blessings of Lord Padmanabhaswamy in Thiruvananthapuram, where he will be inaugurating another project, for the welfare of the people of Kerala as well as other parts of the country.
Thereafter Modi addressed a public meeting at Kollam. He reminded the people of his previous visits to Kollam, one in December 2015 to unveil the statue of R Shankar and the other in April 2016 after a fire tragedy occurred in the city.
Speaking about the achievements of his government in the last four years, he said that India has made the transition from being one of the fragile five nations to being one of the fastest growing economies in the world. He told how India shot up to rank 77 in terms of ease of doing business from rank 100. When it comes to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), India has surpassed China in attracting FDI in the last four years.
Talking about the progress made in the field of mobile manufacturing, Modi said the number of mobile manufacturing units in the country has gone up from 2 units to over 27 units. Apart from that India is home to the biggest startup ecosystem in the world as claimed by the Prime Minister. Modi praised his government for the Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme which he claimed is world’s largest health care program, serving more than 50 crore people which is more than the combined population of America, Mexico and Canada. “India is daring to dream and dreaming to dare”, he said.
Launching a scathing attack on the Left government in the State in the light of the recent events Modi said that the Kerala of spirituality and tranquillity, the Kerala of harmony and happiness has become hostage to the corruption and communalism of two alliances, the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front. Attacking the LDF government for its handling of the Sabarimala issue he said, “The conduct of Kerala government on the Sabarimala issue will go down in history as one of the most sinful behaviours by any party in government. We knew communists do not respect Indian history, culture and spirituality but we did not know they would have such hatred”.
He did not spare the Congress-led United Democratic Front saying that the UDF is no different as the Congress says one thing in parliament and another in Pathanamthitta. He challenged the UDF to clear their stand on the issue of Sabarimala. Modi accused the UDF and the LDF making tall claims about gender justice while they oppose the Triple Talaq Bill in the Parliament that ends the discriminatory practice of triple talaq which has been banned by many Islamic nations.
Modi blamed the Congress for the plight of farmers in the state of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where the BJP went out of power in the recent Assembly elections. He targeted the UDF and the LDF government for doing nothing for the cashew farmer in Kerala. He promised that the BJP government will focus on the cashew industry.
Praising his government for conducting successful rescue operations and bringing the nurses of Kerala back home safely from conflict-ridden countries including the rescue of father Tom from Yemen, Modi said that his government will leave no stone unturned to fulfil the dreams of and built a strong, prosperous and inclusive India.
Controversial Aam Aadmi Party leader Somnath Bharti seems to have exposed himself yet again after he propagated fake news regarding the cancellation of allowances being given to Army officers.
Somnath Bharti had earlier tweeted claiming that an army officer who had visited him said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has issued orders to not only cancel 52 allowances given to Army officers but also directed to recover earlier allowances given to them.
Was shocked to learn from an army officer who visited me today that Mr Modi has issued instructions not only to cancel 52 allowances being given to Army officers but has directed to recover earlier allowances also. What sort of nationalism is this? Is it true .@nsitharaman Ji?
However, taking notice of the fake claims made by the AAP MLA Bharti made on social media, the Defence Ministry intervened on Tuesday evening and termed it as “false and malicious”.
This is not the first time that the leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party leaders have indulged in fake narratives to target the armed forces to gain political mileage out of it. AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who was visibly disturbed after the Indian Army’s surgical strike against the terrorist state of Pakistan had questioned the authenticity of such operations and had asked for proofs.
Somnath Bharti has also been quite controversial throughout his political career, as in 2014, Bharti had carried out a midnight raid in Khirki Extension where Bharti and his aides had allegedly assaulted a Ugandan woman. Apart from this, Somnath Bharti is accused by his wife Lipika of domestic violence as well as attempted murder and causing miscarriage without the consent of the woman. Somnath Bharti is currently out on bail.
Recently, in a shocking incident, he had used abusive words for a female journalist on a live show.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the response of the centre on a petition seeking setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged illegal phone tapping of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
According to reports, a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice VK Rao issued a notice to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the CBI, seeking their responses on the plea filed by advocate Sarthak Chaturvedi. The petitioner has alleged that the illegal act of abuse of power was committed by some public servants working in the agency “for their ulterior motive”.
The petition filed in Delhi HC claimed that phones of several other people were also tapped when the CBI was witnessing a feud between its then Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana. It has claimed that a special unit of the CBI, which handles phone tapping and technical surveillance, was aware of communications between the Ajit Doval and Rakesh Asthana during his feud with Alok Verma.
The plea filed by Chaturvedi has said, “public servants working in the said organization need to conduct themselves in a manner so that the integrity of the institution is maintained”. The petitioner said the issue of tapping of phones was revealed in an application filed in the Supreme Court by CBI DIG Manish Sinha, who was investigating a complaint against Rakesh Asthana. He also sought framing of comprehensive guidelines on tracing, tapping and surveillance of phone calls along with preparation of stocks and accountability of officials.
“Respondents (MHA and CBI) need to respond to the serious allegations raised by way of public interest litigation,” the bench said on the petition which sought a direction to constitute a SIT to look into the alleged abuse of power by some CBI officers.
Sarthak Chaturvedi’s petition added that the application submitted by Sinha, which disclosed several crucial facts of an ongoing investigation and “commission of the cognisable offence of abuse of powers by public servants”, was published on a news website. The petition has claimed that even the phones of special secretary, RAW and the law secretary were put under surveillance.
“Who gave permission to tap the phone of the National Security Advisor? How can these facts come to light in the public domain? This is very dangerous for the country,” senior advocate Kirti Uppal, appearing for Chaturvedi, contested in court.
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honoured with Philip Kotler Presidential award for his leadership qualities. The award is named after Philip Kotler, a renowned author and consultant, who is currently serving as the professor of Marketing at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, USA.
The award citation mentioned that “Shri Narendra Modi is selected for his outstanding leadership for the nation. His selfless service towards India, combined with his tireless energy has resulted in extraordinary economic, social and technological advances in the country.”
Expectedly, this international honour and recognition from the Prime Minister of India did not go well with some people, who are known to hate everything about Narendra Modi, the BJP or the Hindutva ideology. Within hours, this set of people tried to downplay the honour received by PM Modi.
Leading the pack was the leftist propaganda website and serial fake news peddler The Wire. The website carried an article that heaped scorn at the award, insinuating that the award was of no significance and perhaps not even officially associated with Philip Kotler.
The article was immediately shared by Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Twitter in a bid to take a jibe at the Prime Minister.
I want to congratulate our PM, on winning the world famous “Kotler Presidential Award”!
In fact it’s so famous it has no jury, has never been given out before & is backed by an unheard of Aligarh company.
Soon after, many media outlets carried this ‘jibe’ of Rahul Gandhi in a bid to downplay the award received by Narendra Modi.
Within hours, the award received by the Prime Minister of India, which in a normal case would be appreciated by the country as the PM was the first-ever recipient of the honour, was termed ‘suspect’.
However, the propaganda and happiness of Rahul Gandhi and his cohorts at The Wire were short lived as Philip Kotler himself endorsed the award and its maiden recipient. The marketing guru said that the award to Narendra Modi “raises the bar for future recipients”.
Professor Kotler put out this public message via his Twitter account:
I congratulate PM @narendramodi for being conferred the first ever Philip Kotler Presidential Award. He has been selected for his outstanding leadership & selfless service towards India, combined with his tireless energy. (1/2)
2/2 @narendramodi‘s efforts have resulted in extraordinary economic, social and technological advances in India. His winning the first award raises the bar for future recipients.
Kotler has also praised PM Modi in his interview in The Marketing Journal, published a day after PM Modi was presented with the award. He has stated that his organisation has just presented the Philip Kotler Presidential Leadership Award to PM Narendra Modi and the idea behind the award is to honour a leader who has given a new life to democracy and economic growth to his/her nation.
Kotler had also identified the leadership qualities in a leader that the award recognises:
Believes in representative government and in social justice.
Believes that a good society will build a healthy business climate.
Encourages businesses to practice the triple bottom line, namely to balance profits, people, and the planet in their deliberations.
Sincerely and wholeheartedly works for the Common Good.
Kotler added that PM Modi stood highiest in these criteria and he has improved India’s image and visibility on the global stage.
This is not for the first time that Narendra Modi has got appreciative comments from Philip Kotler. A few months after Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, Kotler had said that he was ‘high on Modi’ and that the Prime Minister of India was like ‘a breath of fresh air’.
Despite such history and context, propaganda website The Wire went out to downplay the award and assist Rahul Gandhi to attack the Prime Minister and belittle his achievements.
As Lok Sabha elections approach, the level of politics is going down and it is expected to fall only further in coming days. Congress is known to use fake news websites to further its propaganda. While small leaders use websites that host soft-porn content, Rahul Gandhi has been seen relying on party mouthpiece National Herald or propaganda websites like The Wire.
The French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler called out Congress mouthpiece National Herald’s bluff over the new round of lies pedalled by the propagandists with regard to ‘difference in price’ for Rafale jets.
France did not announce yesterday any new aircraft acquisition order! The amount you’re referring to will finance solely the development of the new F4 standard for the #Rafale. The 28 aircraft remaining to be delivered to the ??Air Force are part of previous acquisition contracts
The French Ambassador clarified that amount referred in the National Herald article will only finance the development of the new F4 standard for the Rafale. He explained that the remaining 28 aircraft which are remaining to be delivered to the French Air Force are part of the previous acquisition contracts. He also mentioned no new aircraft acquisition order was announced yesterday as mentioned in the report.
We at OpIndia had already busted the lie earlier today. We had shown how two unrelated deals have been maliciously combined to show that Indian Rafale deal is too costly. This fake news was first spread on Twitter by Ravi Nair, who is associated with propaganda sites like The Wire and Janta Ka Reporter. He has been in the forefront of spreading fake news about the Rafale deal. According to a report published on November 2, he had already published more than 40 articles on the Rafale deal by then.
The lie had been then perpetuated by other propagandists including the usual suspects like Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan is quite fond of sharing fake news from dubious websites.
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.
Here are the articles from today:
1. Christian Michel had access to Enforcement Directorate
After the stunning revelations of Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam, has shed light on the deep rooted corruption that existed during the Congress regime yet again. A 2009 correspondence has revealed that Michel not only had access to the Cabinet Meetings, Cabinet Committee for Security and the PMO under Manmohan Singh but also investigative agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Read details here.
2. Congress discovers a new low, attacks Atal Bihar Vajpayee
The Congress party and its functionaries have developed a penchant for dishing our crude insults and belittling anyone they don’t agree with. This time, they chose to insult former PM of India, Late Atal Bihar Vajpayee by alleging that he apologised to the British. Read details here.
3. Congress government in Chhattisgarh opts out of PM Modi’s ambitious Ayushman Bharat scheme
The Congress government in Chhattisgarh is discontinuing the central government’s Ayushman Bharat scheme which has till now benefited lakhs of patients with free treatment. As per reports, the Congress-led Chhattisgarh government will now start a state-sponsored scheme. Read the details here.
4. Why the JNU sedition chargesheet against Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and others took over 3 years
The reason for the filing of chargesheet taking so long is that the sleuths had to conduct multiple interviews, travel to Kashmir multiple times and even conduct undercover operations. Read details here.
5. Kumbh Mela 2019
The Festival of Sanatan Dharma, the Kumbh Mela 2019 is off to a colourful and pious start. Our coverage today offers three articles to read:
A scam is brewing in Kerala where the Communist government of Kerala has been accused of misusing the funds meant for flood relief. The lokayukta has accepted the complaint of misuse of funds. Read details here.
7. Trouble mounts for Congress-JDS government in Karnataka
Even as a senior Congress MLA quit to join BJD in Odisha, today two independant MLAs withdrew support from the Congress-JDS government and reportedly, Amit Shah is set to meet his Karnataka MLAs. ‘Operation Lotus’ seems to be under way and Congress is worried. Read more here and here.
8. Sabarimala
It was reported that Kanakdurga, one of the women who managed to desecrate the Sabarimala temple was beaten up by her mother-in-law, who is a staunch Ayyappa devotee. However, an activist have claimed that in reality, it was Kanakdurga who had beaten up the mother-in-law per a conspiracy hatched by her and the local communist leaders. Read more here.
OpIndia fact-checks: Read before you believe:
We don’t want you to fall for fake news, and hence, we carefully fact-checked these fake news for you.
1. No, hundreds or thousands of trees were not felled to make a temporary helipad for PM Modi
The Media had alleged that alleged that hundreds (some said thousands) of trees had been felled to make a temporary helipad for the Prime Minister ahead of his Odisha visit on Tuesday. This was patently false. Only a few shrubs were cleared. Read our fact-check here.
2. Another Rafale lie created by the Media
Adding yet another angle to the long list of fictional allegations against the Rafale deal, some people have circulated a news today that France has ordered 28 Rafale aircraft from Dassault Aviation for €2 billion. According to them, these aircraft will be of next-generation F4 Standard, and the per unit price of this deal is almost half of what India is paying for the 36 Rafale jets of F3R standard.
This was fake news. The truth is that France government has awarded a €2 billion contract to Dassault for development of F4 standard of Rafale. Read our fact-check here.
3. Scroll and Newslaundry go the BBC way in spreading fake news using “research”
Leftist propaganda website Scroll has used ‘research’ to claim that the BJP and Prime Minister Modi’s spectacular success in electoral politics in recent times are due to the supposed assistance media has provided.
In recent times, it has become fashionable for media outlets to use ‘research’ to give their garbage opinions the credibility that science provides. We had earlier comprehensively debunked BBC’s research on ‘Fake News’ which was a classic example of ‘Fake News’ itself.
Now, it appears, Leftist propaganda website Scroll has used ‘research’ to claim that the BJP and Prime Minister Modi’s spectacular success in electoral politics in recent times are due to the supposed assistance media has provided.
In the article titled, “How India Votes: The news media is helping BJP win elections – and the public does not mind”, they have used ‘research’ to make spectacular claims that are not evidenced at all by the research they have cited.
Scroll.in article
One research Scroll has cited only states rising news consumption among Indians. It says, “Data from 20 years of National Election Studies conducted by the Lokniti-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies shows a rising graph of news consumption among Indians through newspapers, TV and the radio. Television remains the most popular source of news for Indians: 46% in the NES sample watched the news on TV every day as opposed to 26% who got their news from newspapers. In the NES study in 2014, the Internet was still a fledgeling source of news, with radio nearly twice as popular.”
Another study that the propaganda outlet has used states that the BJP performs better among voters with more media exposure while Congress performs better among those with low media exposure.
Between all of this, Scroll manages to sneak in its own personal opinions into the article, which is, presumably, not supported by the contents of the research that it cites. It says, “Those with high media exposure also tend to be richer, more urban, upper caste and younger – the quintessential BJP voter, the researchers found.” Exactly who said that the given Demographic is the ‘quintessential BJP voter’? What is the data that supports such a narrative? The report makes no mention.
The article then cites a third study which asserts that Narendra Modi was given more airtime between the first of March and 11th than the next nine top leaders. The coverage of the BJP was also said to be 10 times more than the Congress.
All of this is fine. Now let us evaluate what the research that is cited actually says. Firstly, the consumption of news has increased among the Indian voters during the past 20 years. Secondly, the BJP does better than the Congress among voters with more media exposure. Thirdly, the BJP and Narendra Modi appear to have received more media coverage than their opponents during the run-up to the 2014 General Elections. These are the three pillars on which Scroll goes on to make the fantastical assertion that Media is helping Narendra Modi win.
Interestingly, however, the NES study on the basis of which researchers made the assertion that BJP does better among voters with more media exposure is from 2014. Thus, Scroll made such a fantastical claim on the basis of just one election cycle. Does the pattern hold for elections which the BJP lost? Scroll makes no effort to check the patterns in cases of the Assembly elections in Bihar or Delhi or Punjab or any election since then. It’s extremely malicious to make such grand claims on the basis of only one election cycle, especially one where a variety of other factors were involved.
Real life situations are never uni-variate. There are multiple factors involved and any event is the consequence of a multitude of factors rather than a single one. The first study is cited has nothing to do with the BJP. Consumption of news would have risen due to more accessibility to the cable network and Dish TV connections regardless of who’s in power.
The second study, again, says nothing about the media’s contribution towards Narendra Modi’s rise. The UPA era was riddled with unparalleled corruption and nepotism in the history of Independent India. Anyone with any access to the news would have been aware of the rampant corruption that was perpetuated during the UPA regime and it is no surprise then that such people were averse towards the Congress.
Coming to the third study, it has less to do with the media and more to do with the fact that Narendra Modi organized a stellar campaign in 2014 that benefited him directly. There is no evidence to suggest that the media went out of their way to give him more coverage, he made it lucrative for the media to telecast his views and opinions because the public was clearly buying what he was selling them.
Amusingly enough, Scroll admits that there’s no evidence to suggest that the media helped Prime Minister Modi win. It says quite clearly, “In the years since then, there is no empirical data but plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest the coverage of the BJP and of Modi, in particular, has not only been extensive but also largely fawning.” Dear Scroll, as a wise man once said on Twitter, “Do not bring anecdotes to a data fight.” Anecdotes prove nothing, a couple of departures from the pattern do not nullify the pattern itself.
In short, one of the most fundamental principles taught in research is, “Correlation is not causation.” Scroll appears to have gathered some the findings of some research, which could be very dubious in themselves, to make claims that the research does not support on the basis of mere ‘correlation’.
There are multiple factors involved here. To what extent did the plethora of scams during the UPA regime help Narendra Modi? To what extent did Narendra Modi’s image as a strong leader help him given that the country was tired of the weak leadership of Manmohan Singh? To what extent was the dissatisfaction that prevailed among the populace with regards to the direction the country was heading in help boost Narendra Modi’s popularity? To what extent is the pattern observed in the data pertaining to the 2014 election cycle affected by the fact that the Congress party was in decline and the BJP was on the rise due to factors completely unrelated to mainstream media? The answers to none of these queries are sought by Scroll before making grand claims.
The same fake news and ill-conceived theories were carried by NewsLaundry. Initially, NewsLaundry was meant to be a platform that basically keeps a tab on the incorrect claims of the media. However, NewsLaundry seems to have turned into exactly what they were meant to be against. A sham left-propaganda website that borrows narratives without basic fact-checking.
Article by NewsLaundry
Every person believes that the profession he or she is pursuing is the most important profession there is. They believe that every major event that has transpired or will transpire can be owed to the contributions of their field. It is nothing but hubris on the part of mainstream media that they believe that they have made any significant contribution to the rise of Narendra Modi and the BJP as a political force. The mainstream media is not powerful enough to generate the extent of passion that Narendra Modi aroused among Indians in 2014. There were numerous other far more important factors involved, mainstream media perhaps would not feature even in the Top 10. The mainstream media overestimate its abilities to a great degree.
Scroll has not come up with a unique perspective into Narendra Modi’s rise if that is what you were thinking. To do that requires a certain level of intelligence. They have merely borrowed the talking points of certain left-wing radicals in the United States of America who claim that Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton due to extensive mainstream media coverage. They ignore the fact that the coverage was primarily negative with active collusion between news networks and the Clinton campaign. They ignore the fact that Clinton was one of the most rotten candidates to ever run for Presidency in US history. They ignore the fact that Trump ran a stunning campaign where he was talking about issues that resonated deeply with people. No, forget all that, the media helped Trump!
Scroll, like all liberal intellectuals who just borrow narratives from western society and apply it mindlessly within the Indian context, borrowed the far-left talking point in the USA and applied it to the rise of Narendra Modi without thinking too much about it.
Adding yet another angle to the long list of fictional allegations against the Rafale deal, some people have circulated a news today that France has ordered 28 Rafale aircraft from Dassault Aviation for €2 billion. According to them, these aircraft will be of next-generation F4 Standard, and the per unit price of this deal is almost half of what India is paying for the 36 Rafale jets of F3R standard.
1/ Big News: French government signed a €2 billion contract with Dassault Aviation for 28 Rafale aircraft on 14 January 2019. These aiercraft will be the latest F4 configuration. It is almost half the price what Modi govt is paying for bare F3 version + https://t.co/QbszFpNRHS
All 36 #Rafale jets ordered by India in 2015 (flyaway condition) will only be delivered by 2022…& they will immediately become outdated?
Cuz in 2023 the more advanced F4 versions will be delivered – at almost half the price that India paid for F3 ver.?♂️ https://t.co/Gv99RglMXW
The reports also say that the 28 Rafale jets of F4 configuration will be delivered by 2023. But the fact is, it is completely fake news, and two unrelated deals have been maliciously combined to show that Indian Rafale deal is too costly.
The F4 configuration for Rafale fighter is still in drawing board, it is in initial stage of development at present, and it is not possible to deliver F4 Rafale by 2023. The F4 standard was launched yesterday, i.e. on 14th January 2019. And the €2 billion contract that Rafale has got from the France government is for development of the F4 standard. The French government funds R&D activities of Dassault Aviation, and this contract for development of F4 standard for Rafale was awarded to the company when French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly visited the company’s plant in Mérignac, France, on January 14. The €2 billion contract is for development of the upgraded configuration only, it does not include any aircraft production.
According to Dassault Aviation, the Validation of the F4 standard is planned for 2024, with some functions becoming available as of 2022. This means, the F4 standard Rafale jet cannot go into production before 2024, and therefore it is impossible that France will be getting 28 Rafale jets of this standard by 2023.
France will be getting 28 Rafale jets in 2022-2024, but that will be of currently available standards, not the F4 standard that is not developed yet. The France government has ordered 180 Rafale aircraft so far, the last being an order for 60 aircraft placed in 2009 for Navy. As per a Dassault Aviation presentation in July 2018, the company has supplied 151 Rafale to France defence forces so far, and 1 was to be delivered during the second half of 2018. The company said that the remaining 28 aircraft will be delivered between 2022 and 2024.
Slide by Dassault informing that 28 Rafale jets to be delivered in 2022-24 is part of already awarded contract for 180 jets
This means, France will be getting 28 Rafale fighter jets in 2022-24 as the last batch of aircraft it had already ordered in 2009, these deliveries have no connection with the contract awarded for development of F4 Standard.
It can be noted that India is buying F3R standard Rafale jets, which is the latest standard of the aircraft available at present. The France government had funded the development of this standard too, as the government had awarded a contract of €1 billion for the development of fourth-generation Rafale aircraft in 2014. Just like the current contract, this was also funding for R&D and didn’t involve an order for new aircraft. The F3R standard of Rafale was validated only in November 2018, and therefore it is the latest version of the aircraft that India has ordered for.
According to reports, France is expected to order 30 Rafale of F4 standard in 2023, by when the standard will be almost ready, there is no current order for this standard as being reported by some. Dassault estimates that the F4 standard Rafale jets will be delivered by 2030.
This fake news was first spread on Twitter by Ravi Nair, who is associated with propaganda sites like The Wire and Janta Ka Reporter. He has been in the forefront of spreading fake news about the Rafale deal. According to a report published on November 2, he had already published more than 40 articles on the Rafale deal by then.
As the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati celebrated her 63rd birthday, a magnificent multi-layered cake was brought in for the people who had gathered in Amroha to celebrate the same. However, in a hilarious turn of events, the crowd present there soon started creating a ruckus over the cake. A video of the celebration surfaced, in which people can be seen ‘looting’ the cake.
#WATCH: People loot cake during an event in Amroha, on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati’s 63rd birthday today. pic.twitter.com/8Q4bDWdr66
With huge chunks of cake in their hands, people can be seen heading towards the cake which has been kept on a table. The organisers can be seen asking people to maintain calm but with no effect. The multi-layered cake soon toppled as the crowd continued to go berserk over the cake and the celebration turned chaotic.
Massive preparations were underway to celebrate the BSP supremo’s 63rd birthday in the state capital. BSP workers had been involved in setting up big hoardings and blue-colour banners (party colour) featuring Mayawati at various places in New Delhi, including the party headquarters and Mayawati’s residence.
A similar situation had developed during the 60th birthday of the BSP chief as well, when videos had emerged in which BSP leaders and locals were then seen looting cake and clothes which were being distributed then, to mark Mayawati’s birthday in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, in yet another shocking incident, which took place in another part of the town, where a similar celebration was in full swing, BSP supporters were seen commemorating the occasion by open firing and yanking cake from each other.
According to reports, on the occasion of Mayawati’s birthday, a similar party was organised at Hina Garden, Bhagpat, Uttar Pradesh. The BSP supporters reached the party with rifles and began ‘celebratory firing’. They were also captured in a picture, snatching cake from each other.
BSP supporters caught open firing and snatching cake at an event organised to celebrate Mayawati’s birthday in Bhagpat, Uttar Pradesh
BSP district president, Jai Kumar Jatav, when confronted about this ‘celebratory firing’, though agreed that the supporters did carry the rifles to the event but denied allegations of open firing, even though pictures and videos had a completely different story to reveal.
Clearly, the celebrations to ring in BSP chief’s birthday are a different tune this year after the announcement of BSP-SP alliance than it was last year. Last year, Mayawati had mellowed down her birthday celebrations and had even brought down the ‘meet and greet’ cost to Rs 50,000 instead of Rs 1,00,000. Following the 2017 election defeat, where BSP had one of the worst performances, Mayawati had decided to keep the affair low key. However, with newly pumped confidence with the new alliance, pomp has returned to her birthday celebrations.
