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2018 witnesses highest number of unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistan so far

OpIndia Staff
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2018 witnesses highest number of unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistan so far

India’s Ministry of External Affairs summoned and lodged a strong complaint with a Pakistan High Commission official over the repeated violation of the 2003 ceasefire agreement.

According to the MAE, despite repeated calls for restraining, Pakistan forces have carried out over 1962 incidents of unprovoked ceasefire violations in which 50 Indians have lost their lives this year.

Until July 2018, Pakistan had reportedly violated the ceasefire along the International Border and the Line of Control more than 1432 times, which stands highest in the last eight years. India shares a 198 km long International Border with Pakistan in the Jammu region and a 724 km long Line of Control with Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

In 2016, Pakistan had violated the ceasefire 449 times and in 2017, the number stood at 771 times. It is notable here that the International Border is guarded by the BSF while the LoC is guarded by operational divisions of the Indian Army.

Referring to the last two incidents of unprovoked violation of ceasefire on December 21 and 26, 2018, the MEA lodged a strong protest, also asking Pakistan to fulfil its bilateral commitment of not allowing its territory to be used as a launchpad for terrorists to attack India in any way.

Apart from this, New Delhi raised an alarm over the rise in the number of terrorist infiltration attempts across the Line of (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and said that Islamabad was backing terrorists who are targeting Indian civilians and security forces.

As reported, Pakistan had earlier submitted a comprehensive action plan to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to stifle the funding of militants groups, fearing to be black-listed. But predisposed by its impulse, Pakistan has double-crossed India ever since, umpteen number of times. In fact, the 2018 figures of ceasefire violations reveal a horrific 230 per cent rise compared to 2016 – it is also the highest count in over a decade.

In 2016, there were 449 incidents of ceasefire violations in which 13 civilians and 13 security personnel were killed and 83 civilians and 99 security personnel were injured. In 2015, the number of ceasefire violations was 405, 583 violations were recorded in 2014 while 347 in 2013, 114 in 2012, 62 in 2011 and 70 in 2010 were recorded.

Owing to Pakistan’s unscrupulousness, every passing year has been witnessing an escalation in the unrest. Pakistan often uses unprovoked firing as a cover for terrorists attempting to infiltrate into India.

Incessant ceasefire violations by Pakistan have completely derailed the lives of the locals dwelling in the border area, leaving India with no option but to retaliate. Innocent civilians are often the victims in the firings. In May, an 8-month old baby was killed in firing from the Pakistani side.

Ghaziabad: Gangster Act to apply on habitual offenders in cow slaughter cases

OpIndia Staff
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Ghaziabad: Gangster Act to apply on habitual offenders in cow slaughter cases

The Ghaziabad police chief has asked the SHO to track all the cases of cow slaughter registered in the last five years and book the charges under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986 also called Gangster Act as reported by Times of India. The Act aims to prevent and cope with gangsters and anti-social elements.

Recently cattle carcasses have been found at a number of places. The direction was issued on Thursday, three days prior to which four cattle carcasses were found near a cremation ground in Loni’s Sakalapura village. Three people identified as Irfan, Kaab and Asif were arrested in relation to the case. Two knives and a meat chopper were discovered by the police from them. The accused have reportedly told the police that they had slaughtered the cows near Bnathla canal on Sunday night with the help of 7-8 accomplices.

“Their modus operandi was to steal stray cattle in a pick-up van and slaughter them in secluded places. They would sell the beef through local meat shops. The accused have been booked under the Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act. Their past history is being checked and the Gangster Act will be invoked against them after an investigation. We are trying to catch their accomplices,” told Loni SHO Sanjay Verma.

“Prior to the Loni incident, cattle carcasses were found in Masuri and other areas. A law and order situation arose in Bulandsheher recently in a similar incident. Police have been asked to remain alert and deal with any situation swiftly and tactfully”, said Ghaziabad SSP Upendra Kumar. According to reports, the cases under the Gangster Act will be filed against habitual offenders. In case charges are framed under this Act, getting bail becomes difficult and the police can apply for longer custody.

In a meeting held on Wednesday between the SSP and other officers, the SSP had directed the officers to identify the sensitive villages in the district and hold meetings with their heads. The officers were also directed to hold special drives from December 27-31 to complete the investigation of long-pending cases in the district.
It is notable here that after Yogi Adityanath assumed office as CM of UP, he has attempted to address the menace of cattle smuggling and illegal slaughter in the state. Last year in June, he had ordered stricter action and thorough vigilance in cases of cattle smuggling and slaughter. The UP police had been ordered to apply the National Security Act and Gangster Act against organised incidents of smuggling and slaughter. UP also saw a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses operating in the state.

When Indira Gandhi forced a nationalised bank to give unsecured loan to party owned entity, defaulted

K Bhattacharjee
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When Indira Gandhi forced a nationalised bank to give unsecured loan to party owned entity, defaulted

The Associate Journals Limited (AJL) is the company that is at the heart of the alleged National Herald scam. Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, are accused to have been involved in massive ‘cheating and breach of trust’ along with their aides in the acquisition of AJL by Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YIL), as assets worth crores of rupees had been allegedly transferred for purposes other than originally intended for a paltry sum.

Incidentally, the AJL was involved in another case of apparent financial misconduct by the Congress party. During the Emergency, the Punjab National Bank (PNB) had provided the company with an overdraft of Rs. 10 lakh disregarding all norms and procedure. The Shah Commission, which was constituted to look into the excesses committed by the Indira Gandhi government during the Emergency, made some several damning observations.

Firstly, T.R. Tuli was appointed the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of PNB after sidelining another person who was chosen for the job by the Finance Minister and the Home Minister in consultation with the RBI. The appointment was done after Indira Gandhi insisted on it. The Commission noted that well-established conventions were violated to ensure Tuli’s appointment and dubbed it ‘abuse of authority’.

“…the Commission is of the view this is yet another instance where the then Finance Minister Shri C Subramaniam was virtually compelled to fall in line with the suggestion made by then Prime Minister, Smt. Gandhi and that such compulsion amounted to the abuse of authority by the former Prime Minister. It clearly resulted in a subversion of well-established conventions,” the Commission observed.

It is important to note that until the overdraft was sought, AJL didn’t even have an account at PNB’s Parliament Street branch. An overdraft is normally issued to an esteemed and trusted customer who has an impeccable record. AJL opened an account on the 20th of March, 1976 and two days later, a cheque of Rs. 10 lakh was issued to the company. And all of this happened after Tuli gave the manager his verbal approval.

Under the original agreement, AJL was supposed to mortgage Herald House for a term loan of Rs. 15 lakh to repay the original Rs. 10 lakh overdraft. However, when the Manager of the PNB Branch approached AJL for the same, the latter claimed that Herald House could not be mortgaged due to ‘technical difficulties’.

The Commission observed, “It would appear that thereafter Associated Journals were making efforts to raise the sums required to pay the clean overdraft from the Punjab National Bank by offering ‘herald House’ as a security by way of a second mortgage to the Syndicate Bank and for some reason or the other they did not, in fact, succeed in raising the requisite funds and in repaying the Punjab National Bank.”

And so it happened that when the Shah Commission started its inquiry into the matter, AJL had still not repaid the overdraft. The Commission observed that Tuli’s decision was influenced by Indira Gandhi’s connections to AJL. It said, “since National Herald-publisher Associated Journals Limited was connected with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, it must have weighed a little in his mind to deal with the case on a priority basis expeditiously.”

Tuli’s testimony, however, was the most damning aspect of the whole fracas. When he was asked by the Commission about whether his decision was motivated by the ‘advice’ of a Minister, he replied, “Yes Sir, that is a big consideration for me.” Furthermore, he revealed that he had not even checked the balance sheet of the company before issuing the overdraft without any security at all.

The Minister being referred to here is P.C. Sethi, Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, who had called Tuli to his residence and asked him to help AJL with money to enable it to take delivery of imported machinery in Bombay.

The Commission’s concluding remarks on the matter were damning. It stated, “The Commission is of the view that Shri Tuli had subverted established procedure in permitting this overdraft without security to M/s. Associate Journals Limited.”

In short, Tuli was appointed as the CMD of PNB at the insistence of Indira Gandhi after disregarding well-established norms and procedures. Then, he “abused his authority” and disregarded well-established procedures to issue the AJL an overdraft of Rs. 10 lakh without any security due to the company’s association with the then Prime Minister. Furthermore, a Minister had called him to his house and ‘advised’ him to help the AJL. And to our knowledge, it is not clear whether the overdraft of Rs. 10 lakh was ever repaid at all.

The Punjab National Bank has also been in news recently for the Nirav Modi-Mehul Choksi financial fraud. The fraud was being perpetuated since 2011. When a whistleblower, the former Director of Allahabad Bank, raised his voice on the matter in 2013, he was threatened and forced to resign after only 11 months. Then Finance Secretary, Rajiv Takru, himself had created pressure on the whistleblower. Allegations also surfaced that former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had himself signed the termination letter.

It was also alleged by Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that one of Nirav Modi’s companies named Fire star diamond international Pvt Ltd was acquired from Advait Holdings, one of whose shareholders since 2002 is Anita Singhvi, the wife of Abhishek Singhvi.

Scindia sidelined? Rift between Scindia and Kamal Nath, Digvijay duo over allocation of portfolios

OpIndia Staff
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Scindia sidelined? Rift between Scindia and Kamal Nath, Digvijay duo over allocation of portfolios

Though 48 hours have passed since ministers have been sworn in Madhya Pradesh, the deadlock between the allocation of the portfolio continues with Congress bigwigs locking horns with each other over the distribution of various departments, according to reports.

The Congress bigwigs Kamal Nath, Digvijay Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia are said to be having differences of opinion on the allocation of certain important departments like that of the Finance, Home and Transport Department.

Kamal Nath, who has been recently sworn in as Madhya Pradesh Cheif Minister, though is said to be ready with his list of departments, sources say that few ministers are hellbent on getting certain departments which are causing the delay and internal rift within the party.

According to reports, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who spurned the offer of deputy chief minister’s post in the Kamal Nath government, have been persistent on giving an important portfolio to his supporter, while Kamalnath and Digvijay want to bring their own ministers on board.

Its worthy to note hear that Jyotiradtiya Scindia himself was a strong contender for the post of Madhya Pradesh Cheif Minister until the Congress ultimately chose their family loyalist Kamal Nath over him.

Sources said the while Scindia has been determined to get Tulsi Silawat positioned for the Home and Transport Department, Kamal Nath wants this important portfolio to go to Rajpur’s MLA Bala Bachchan. Whereas emphasizing on experience and the superiority, Digvijay Singh is stuck on the idea of giving the Home Department to Dr Govind Singh. Apart from this, Digvijay Singh is advocating his son and Raghogarh MLA Jayawardhan Singh to be heading the finance department.

Because of these differences in opinions, it is being speculated that CM Kamal Nath is looking at the party’s high command for its consent and is likely to get his list approved from Delhi.

Taking a jibe at the functioning of the newly-formed Congress government in Madhya Pradesh, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan alleged that the delay in the allocation of portfolios to the ministers is a “matter of concern”.

Talking to the media at his residence, Chouhan said, “I extended my wishes to the new government, but it is a matter of concern the way the formation of the cabinet was delayed and now portfolio distribution is being delayed.”

“We are seeing media reports and various Congress leaders are insisting for particular departments causing a delay in the allocation. The quota of different camps (of Congress) was fixed. This delay is historic and never happened in the state,” he claimed.

Chouhan further said that though it was the CM’s right to allocate portfolios, but in Madhya Pradesh, it was Digvijay Singh who has been speaking and taking decisions on this matter. “It is the chief minister’s prerogative to allocate portfolios, but Digvijay ji- veteran Congress leader Digvijay Singh- was replying on such issues claiming this work would be done today” he said.

Himachal Pradesh: Shimla tensed after severed cattle head found

OpIndia Staff
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Himachal Pradesh: Shimla tensed after severed cattle head found

On Thursday, Rohru market in Shimla woke up to communal tension after people discovered a severed cattle head leading to violent protests by Hindu groups against the Muslim community.

Reportedly, the incident occurred on Wednesday evening, when few people found cow carcass in an under-construction building in Rohru market. Following this, people belonging to various Hindu organisations assembled near the market to protest and in the event damaged a few shops belonging to Muslims. The situation turned tense after more than 5000 people had assembled at the market to protest against beheading of the cattle allegedly done by people belonging to the Muslim community.

A large police force was rushed to the spot immediately after mob vandalised properties belonging to few Muslims. The police resorted to lathi-charge to bring the situation under control. The area was completely shut down as Rohru market was gripped with severe tensions following the incident.

Shimla Deputy Superintendent of Police Pramod Shukla speaking to the media said that the situation is tense but it is under control. The local police had sought the help of Shimla police and a battalion of police had been deployed at the spot. A forensics team would determine whether the severed head was that of a calf as alleged, police said.

The police have registered an FIR against more than 20 people under IPC sections related to attempts to outrage religious feelings and promote enmity between different groups. The police will also lodge a case against the protesters who had allegedly vandalised the shops.

To bring the situation under control the police officials held discussions with members of the two communities. ASP Manmohan Sharma urged the people to maintain peace. “We have increased patrolling in the area to maintain peace. The situation is under control,” he said.

Even after all the failed promises of farm loan waiver, Congress promises the same in Haryana

OpIndia Staff
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Even after all the failed promises of farm loan waiver, Congress promises the same in Haryana

After the win in three state assembly elections earlier this month, the Congress party has decided that promise of farm loan waiver is a sure shot way of winning elections. Before elections, the party had promised to waive loans taken by farmers, and they did so within days of forming governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, but with many terms of conditions, and which did not cover all the farmers.

Now the party has promised to waive farm loans in Haryana. Former CM of the state Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said that his party will waive farm loans within six hours of forming the government in the Haryana.

The waiver in MP is filled with terms and conditions, like a cap of ₹2 lakh, only the loans due up to 31 March 2018 waived, only short-term loans covered, which has meant that many farmers can’t avail this waiver. Before elections, there was no hint of such limitations. In fact, many farmers had stopped paying back their loans as the Congress has started promising waiver during the election campaign. But now they have to pay back all the accumulated dues as dues only upto 31st March is waived. The waivers in the other states also have similar conditions.

During election campaigns, Rahul Gandhi had boasted that all loans in Karnataka have been waived by the state government. But the facts paint a totally different picture, as farmers in Karnataka are receiving letters from banks asking them to repay their loans. Some farmers were also asked to appear before a Lok Adalat to settle their dues, after Andhra Bank filed a petition. The Karnataka government had also informed the assembly that only about 800 farmers have benefited from the farm loan waiver scheme, which was launched in July this year.

Even after so-called ‘loan waiver’, farmers continue to commit suicide unable to pay back their loans, as they discovered that their loans are not ‘eligible’ to be waived.

But despite this, the Congress party continue to promise loan waiver for farmers ahead of elections. They have now assured the same in Haryana, but they didn’t reveal what will be the terms and conditions of this waiver, and how many farmers will actually benefit from the scheme.

Pro-AAP blog uses soft porn to drive traffic, deletes posts as Kejriwal reading porn meme goes viral

Nirwa Mehta
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Pro-AAP blog uses soft porn to drive traffic, deletes posts as Kejriwal reading porn meme goes viral

Pro-AAP blog Janta Ka Reporter is using the oldest trick in the book to drive traffic on its website: porn.

Last night, a meme had gone viral on social media which showed AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal reading something on his mobile phone and smiling. Next to it was a screenshot of soft-porn articles from Janta Ka Reporter on mobile screen, followed by a screenshot of a tweet by Kejriwal where he is thanking Janta Ka Reporter editor, Rifat Jawaid.


It was rather obvious that Arvind Kejriwal was not watching porn and it was a meme made for fun and trolling. But, was the screenshot showing soft porn articles from pro-AAP blog Janta Ka Reporter also just made for fun?

Since the meme had gone viral, we decided to check whether Janta Ka Reporter was actually publishing articles that resorted to cheap titillation to garner traffic.

Shockingly, the screenshot was not fake. Janta Ka Reporter has resorted to sleaze, a method many people use to drive up the traffic on their website.

We searched for keywords in the screenshot to search the articles and much to our surprise we found that some of these articles had been deleted by Janta Ka Reporter.

The August 2017 article which described what men think when they “first see a v*gina” was deleted from Janta ka Reporter. However, as is often said, what is on the internet can seldom be erased completely. Here is a snapshot of its cached version.

Screenshot of deleted article of Janta Ka Reporter
Janta Ka Reporter’s sleaze report now deleted

The second article was about the kind of figures men find attractive in women. The article that objectified women in the most bizarre manner had also been deleted by Janta Ka Reporter. A cached version was available and a screenshot has been attached below.

Another sleazy report on Janta Ka Reporter, now deleted

The third report was a curated report from News X which claimed that a Jharkhand BJP leader ‘caught on camera’ in a ‘sex clip’. Considering this could be filed under legitimate ‘news’, Janta Ka Reporter decided to keep the article intact. Other two articles which were sourced from legit news sources were also there. We then reached the last news item.

When we typed in the keyword ‘mahilayen’ (women) to find that article, to our embarrassment we found a trove of sleazy articles on Janta Ka Reporter.

Sleazy articles on Janta Ka Reporter

Considering this blog has been peddled by several leaders from AAP and Congress as a legitimate news website, these methods are most embarrassing. What perhaps makes it worse is that the leaders who encourage such sleaze are the ones who garner votes in the name of women’s security and dignity.

There have been a host of such “websites” which are furthered as legitimate sources by the likes of Congress and AAP leaders and also, by elements sympathetic towards Congress, like Prashant Bhushan. We had earlier revealed how a pro-Congress troll Abhishek Mishra runs a fake news website to promote anti-India and Islamist propaganda masquerading as ‘news’. We had also revealed how Congress IT cell head Divya Spandana and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan who was kicked out of AAP had shared links of a dubious website which indulged in soft porn to defame Modi government.

Similarly, the shady website Janta Ka Reporter has resorted to sharing sleaze on its website to get traffic so that it can spread fake news and propaganda.

Anti-corruption Bureau raids 17 locations linked to 5 government officials in Karnataka

OpIndia Staff
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Anti-corruption Bureau raids 17 locations linked to 5 government officials in Karnataka

The Karnataka Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has been conducting raids on various locations in the State since morning. The ACB is searching seventeen locations in Karnataka which are reportedly linked to five government officials who are under the scanner.


The raids are being conducted at Bengaluru, Chintamani, Mysuru, Hunsur, Udupi, Davanagere, Cohikkamagaluru, Mangaluru and Karwar. As per reports, the five government officials under the scanner of the ACB are-

  1. R Shridhar, Addl Registrar, Co-op Society, Bengaluru
  2. Bisetappa, Town Planning, BBMP East, Bengaluru
  3. Hamsaveni, Dy Director, Agriculture, Davanagere
  4. D Manjunathaiah, Reader, Government College of Teachers Education, Mangaluru
  5. K Mani, Jr Engineer, MUDA, Mysuru

Th ACB has conducted raids on the properties belonging to government officials on a number of occasions this year. In the month of October, the ACB had raided the residences of T R Swamy, Chief Development Officer, Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) and N G Gowdaiah, Engineer Officer, BDA and seized over 5.2 crores along with the movable and immovable properties.

Earlier in May, the ACB had conducted raids at thirty-six properties which included offices of nine government officials in Bengaluru, Kolar, Ramanagara, Hassan, Chikkamangaluru and Udupi.

Central govt grants 730 days of paid Child Care Leave to its employees who are single male parents

OpIndia Staff
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Central govt grants 730 days of paid Child Care Leave to its employees who are single male parents

Accepting the recommendations of the 7th pay commission, Department of Personnel and Training(DoPT) has granted Central government employees, who are single male parents, a span of 730 days or 24 months for Child Care Leave (CCL). It will help a single male parent who is unmarried, widowed or divorcee and have to take care of the child who is below 8 years of age. This order is in line with the recommendations of the 7th pay commission.

The report says that “the Commission notes that in the event a male employee is single, the onus of rearing and nurturing the children falls squarely on his shoulders. Hence extension of CCL to single male parents is recommended.”

This is in addition to the currently implemented 6th pay commission’s recommendations for granting maternity relief to women for 730 days. The Maternity (Amendment) Bill of 2017, extended maternity relief for women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks. Apart from CCL, female parents can avail maternity leave of 180 days and male parents can avail paternity leave for a period of 15 days.

The order, however, also says that 100% salary will be paid only for the first 365 days of CCL for the single male parents. The second half of CCL will only grant 80% of salary. Also, the order does not cover employees who are under probation, unless in an emergency. DoPT has also cautioned that provision should only be used if there is a real need and not only because the provision exists.

Maharastra government has also implemented the provision of 7th Pay commision, however, the grounds for leave have been altered. Only the male state employee whose wife is bedridden or unable to take care of the child can avail the CCL.

The seventh pay commission was constituted in February 2014, and the commission submitted its report in November 2015. The NDA government had implemented many of the recommendations in September 2016 for the central government employees so far and many state governments are also doing same.

Kejriwal mocked as people cough during his speech, Gadkari comes to his rescue

OpIndia Staff
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Kejriwal mocked as people cough during his speech, Gadkari comes to his rescue

On Thursday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari came to the rescue of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at an event after he was mocked by people during his speech, reported ANI.

According to reports, Union Minister Gadkari and Delhi CM Kejriwal had attended an event jointly organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga and the Delhi Jal Board to launch projects to clean the Yamuna River. As Kejriwal began to speak, few people, allegedly BJP supporters, started coughing to mock the Delhi CM. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari soon intervened to stop the public from mocking Kejriwal and asked him to continue his speech.


“It would be nice if there is a bit of silence,” requested Kejriwal after he was mocked during his speech. However, Gadkari stepped in saying, “You (Kejriwal) please begin (the speech),” and asked members in the audience to maintain silence. “Please maintain silence, this is a government event,” added Gadkari.

It is notable here that Kejriwal has attacked Gadkari with allegations of corruption several times in the past. Nitin Gadkari had even filed a defamation suit against Delhi Chief Minister, which was later settled after Arvind Kejriwal issued a written apology.

Interestingly, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during his speech praised Nitin Gadkari, “Nitin Gadkariji has never made us feel that he belongs to a rival party. I don’t know about others, but the way he has showered love on us, I don’t think the BJP people have got that much love.” He further added that he hoped the Aam Aadmi Party government will have the same working relationship with the Centre, like the one it shared with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

It is notable here that the Delhi CM suffered from a chronic cough for which he had to undergo a surgery in 2016.

Besides Gadkari, Union Environment minister Harsh Vardhan, Minister of State for Water Resources Satyapal Singh and Kejriwal’s deputy Manish Sisodia were also present at the event.

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