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Jammu and Kashmir: NC leader claims they will stop anti-terror ops by Indian Army if voted to power

OpIndia Staff
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Jammu and Kashmir: NC leader claims they will stop anti-terror ops by Indian Army if voted to power

National Conference seems to be troubled after the recent success of the security forces in eliminating several Pakistani terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. The politics of undermining India’s integrity for votes has once again come to the fore as party’s senior leader Bashir Ahmed Veeri said that if National Conference comes to power in the state, it will not allow Armed forces to conduct operations, reported Times Now.

Bashir Ahmed Veeri speaking to the media said that if the Omar Abdullah led National Conference is voted to power in Jammu and Kashmir, then it will stop all the operations conducted by the Army in the state. Shockingly, Bashir Ahmed Veeri termed the anti-terrorist operations conducted by the Indian Army against Pakistan backed terrorists as a ‘genocide.


“On one hand, you call them misguided children, then your army murders them in broad daylight. You have deployed a brigade of an army to slaughter our children,” said NC leader.

Bashir Ahmed Veeri said that his party National Conference has always spoken of only one ideology and policy of respecting the rights and dignity of the people. Condemning the anti-terrorist operations being carried by the Indian Army, he said that the party will stand against any operations be it ‘all-out’ or ‘out-and-out’ carried out against the people of the state.

Earlier in August, Veeri had also branded Kashmiri terrorists as ‘Martyrs’.

It is notable here that after countless attacks on security personnel by vicious stone pelters in Kashmir, who not only target them with stones and Molotov cocktails but also use children as human shields, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat had announced last year that the anybody interfering in an anti-terrorist operation will be treated as a terrorist.

Mobs of stone pelting jihadis are often mobilized in the state to provide cover for hiding terrorists and help them escape. Recently in Pulwama, a mob had gathered and pelted stones at soldiers engaged in a fierce gun battle with three terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen. In the altercations that followed, eight of the stone pelters were killed in retaliatory action. Leaders of National Conference, PDP have expressed shock over it and have been portraying such incidents as Indian Army’s action against Kashmiri people.

Undercover operations by the media have also revealed in the past that stone pelting and then claiming victimhood is a part of the ecosystem in the state that fans pro-Pakistan and separatist narrative. Many stones pelters had admitted that they are paid anything between Rs 5000 to 7000 a month and given shoes and clothes to throw stones at Indian security personnel.

The state of Jammu and Kashmir is under the President’s rule following the fall of the government and state assembly elections are to be held soon.

After getting caught peddling fake news about Nitin Gadkari, Vinod Dua’s website issues bizarre clarification

OpIndia Staff
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After getting caught peddling fake news about Nitin Gadkari, Vinod Dua’s website issues bizarre clarification

Earlier today we had reported that in a show titled The Vinod Dua Show, journalist Vinod Dua had defamed union minister Nitin Gadkari by accusing that the minister was revolting against Modi government. As proof of this grave allegation, Dua had used a cleverly edited portion of an interview Gadkari had given to HW News, where Dua has recently joined. In episode 7 of the program, the veteran journalist had made a lengthy commentary on how dissidence in BJP is growing, and advised BJP not to project Modi as the face of its campaign in the coming elections. In the clip of Gadkari’s interview used by Dua, Gadkari is seen saying that the government is responsible for more than 400 stalled projects in his ministry.

After publication of the show, Nitin Gadkari strongly refuted the claims made by Dua, saying that he was talking about UPA government, not his own government. The Facebook page of Gadkari’s office had posted the full portion of the relevant part of the interview, where it is clear that Gadkari was talking about previous UPA government. Moreover, the entire interview is still available on HW News website, which also clearly indicate that Vinod Dua was lying, and he trying to create a fictitious rift in top leadership in BJP, which Gadkari claimed is part of propaganda. The clip used in Dua’s show clearly showed that Gadkari’s reply was abruptly cut, and he had not finished speaking. In the full interview, Gadkari names UPA government in the very next sentence.

After the rebuttal by Gadkari, episode 7 of the show was taken down from HW News website and Youtube. Vinod Dua was clearly lying that Gadkari was blaming his own government, and he should have tendered an apology for that. But they just quietly removed the episode. And now, after the heat it faced on social media, the website has come out with a bizarre ‘clarification’. In a post published on the website, it says that the ‘clip was erroneously sent incomplete to Mr Dua’. And based on that incomplete clip, Dua made an entire episode of his show, they suggest.

The Clarification issued by HW News

This is both hilarious and definitely dishonest clarification. In the clip, it is evident that Gadkari has not stopped speaking, because in the very next sentence he says that he is talking about UPA government. And the HW News had the full video on its website, it was their exclusive interview. It is very difficult to believe that a veteran journalist like Vinod Dua made an assumption that a senior minister like Gadkari is speaking against Modi based on an ‘incomplete’ clip. If it was true, it would be big news. Anybody would like to see the whole interview before making a show on the basis of just 2-3 sentences seen in the incomplete clip. In the 49:42 minute long video of the interview, Nitin Gadkari talked about stalled projects within the first 3:20 minutes, the clip was cut just after that. This means someone from HW News sent just a 3:20 minute long clip, most of which included introductory remarks by interviewer Akhilesh Bhargava, and now they are saying that Dua thought this is enough material to make such a sweeping comment.

More importantly, in the short clip that was used by Vinod Dua, Bharagava asks the first question on stalled road projects. Replying to this, Nitin Gadkari starts by saying ‘when I took over the ministry’. This clearly indicates that Gadkari was talking about the beginning of the NDA government, therefore he can’t blame the new government for the stalled projects. This means, even if Dua actually received a 3:20 minute of the interview, and he didn’t see the full interview, even that short portion included enough evidence that Gadkari was not talking about his own government.

This implies that HW News and Vinod Dua are now lying to hide deliberate propaganda they tried to peddle using a selected portion of Gadkari’s interview, and they are not ready to apologise for that act despite been caught red-handed.

PM Modi announces Sardar Patel Award for National Integration at DGP/IGP conference in Gujarat

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi announces Sardar Patel Award for National Integration at DGP/IGP conference in Gujarat

On 22 December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new award named after Sardar Vallabhabhai Patel. He announced the annual Sardar Patel Award for National Integration was announced at the Conference of Director Generals and Inspector Generals of Police at Kevadiya in Gujarat.


Speaking about the award, PM Modi said, “Sardar Patel devoted his life towards unifying India. The Sardar Patel Award for National Integration would be a fitting tribute to him and will inspire more people to work towards furthering India’s unity and national integration.” The award will be every year for outstanding efforts in the field of furthering national integration.


PM Modi also released a commemorative stamp of National Police Memorial and launched the portal of the Cyber Coordination Centre which will help Law Enforcement Agencies coordinate their efforts to solve all cyber crimes and incidents.

PM Modi acknowledged the contribution of our police forces in India, and their counter-terrorism efforts and initiatives. He also thanked Jammu and Kashmir police, who play a pivotal in combating terrorism and radicalisation menace.

He also asked Police forces to be more vigilant about such forces, who are creating and deepening caste-fault lines in India for short-term goals.

He praised the police forces for their success in countering terrorism and limiting it to a small geographic area of the country. He said the people of India are, in particular, proud of the police force in Jammu and Kashmir, for their role in countering terrorists, and successfully engaging them. Along with this, PM also announced an annual Sardar Patel award for contribution towards national integration which will be open to all Indians.

PM Modi also conferred President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service to Intelligence Bureau (IB) officers.

PM Modi was received by Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani at Vadaora airport. He then left for Kevadia and also visited world’s tallest statue of Sardar Patel, Statue Of Unity and paid floral tributes.

The event was also attended by Home Minister Raj Nath Singh and Union Ministers of State for Home, Hansraj Ahir and Kiren Rijiju.

Exclusive: Govt official who had authority to issue explosives arrested for links with Naxals, was outed by surrendered Naxal

Nupur J Sharma
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Exclusive: Govt official who had authority to issue explosives arrested for links with Naxals, was outed by surrendered Naxal

The Chhattisgarh police have made yet another major breakthrough in cracking the Urban Naxal network. Just a few months ago, a hardened Naxalite of 18 years, Pahad Singh had surrendered and blown the lid off their operations. In an exclusive interview to OpIndia, Pahad Singh had also revealed that Arun Ferreira, one of the Urban Naxals arrested was a member of the Maoist party and had attended several central committee meetings of CPI (Maoists), a banned terror outfit.

Now, speaking exclusively to OpIndia, IG GP Singh of Durg has revealed that Pahad Singh has given the Chhattisgarh Police another breakthrough. Singh revealed that one Narayan Venkat Rao alias Narayan Murthy, a highly placed government functionary has been arrested for his connection to the Naxals. Murthy was working as a conduit between the Maoists and the urban network and has been doing so for many years. His name was revealed by Pahad Singh during his interrogation.

In conversation with OpIndia, Singh revealed that Narayan Murthy, alias N Venkat Rao Murthy was working as a government official and a senior technical assistant in the National Geophysical Research Institute of Government of India since 1980. A resident of Hyderabad, he had intimate connections with the Naxal network. He is also a competent authority to issue explosives under PESO (Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisations).

G P Singh reveals that Murthy was in touch with the urban Naxals who have been arrested including Varavara Rao and has connections with the entire Urban Naxal network. He said that Murthy has got links to the Koregaon-Bhima violence as well. And that everywhere in the country, where such displacement was taking place, Murthy has in all probability played the conduit.

He also reveals that Murthy had attended several central committee meetings of the Maoists and had met Teltumbde several times. He also met Chief of Central Military Commission of the Maoists. GP Singh says that he met these highly placed Maoists at least in 2016 and 2017. He started his career from radical student wings in Andhra Pradesh and later graduated.

IG GP Singh said that a lot of material has been recovered from him including letters, literature and communication. Initially, Murthy was not opening up about his connection with the Naxalites, but because of the proof with the police, he could not deny his connections for long.

GP Singh says that his arrest is a major setback to the Naxal network and he holds many secrets that would be revealed over the course of his interrogation. He said that the penetration of Naxalites in important government is a cause for concern and will be further investigated. Singh also revealed that Murthy was an elusive character so far. None of the police departments had any idea of Murthy’s true designs and what he did for the Naxalites. His role was only revealed after Pahad Singh, the surrendered Naxal, started talking to the police. In fact, even the Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra police were not aware of his designs.

Narayan Murthy, alias Venkatrao Murthy’s brother is the President of PUCL, Hyderabad. OpIndia has been tracking organisations like CDRO and PUCL for the past few months. All the arrested Urban Naxals have links to these institutions and the details can be read here.

With the major breakthrough by the Chhattisgarh police, it remains to be seen if more names of Naxals who have penetrated important government institutions tumble out. It seems like the network is just starting to be uncovered and thus far, only the tip of the iceberg has been exposed.

While issuing clean chit to Dr Manmohan Singh, Barkha Dutt forgets Singh’s editorial interference in NDTV during UPA era

Shashank Bharadwaj
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While issuing clean chit to Dr Manmohan Singh, Barkha Dutt forgets Singh’s editorial interference in NDTV during UPA era

Controversial scribe Barkha Dutt, back in her new avatar, has been busy publishing new propaganda videos for Shekhar Gupta’s news outlet ‘The Print‘. Dutt has recently come out with another video to deliver her verdict on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his relationship with the media.

In her latest video, Barkha Dutt discusses the relationship between former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the media during his tenure from 2004-2014 and delivers her judgement by saying that Singh was one of the most liberal Prime Minister of the country. She claims that he never tried to silence the media. Barkha Dutt goes on to say that Manmohan Singh during his tenure never tried to shut down channels of communication or access to government sources while subtly hinting that the present government has tried to keep media away from scrutinising the government.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7msuMzMQ44]

She hails Manmohan Singh for upholding the civility by regularly meeting journalists and interacting with the press as against PM Modi, who is yet to speak to the media in an open press conference. In the video, Barkha Dutt has delivered her verdict that Manmohan Singh was a true liberal and proclaims that one does not have to wait for history to judge him.

However, Barkha Dutt forgets the fact that it was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was no less intolerant towards the press contrary to what Barkha Dutt claims. In fact, Singh had tried harshly to silence NDTV, where Dutt had spent most of her journalistic career. In her urgency to issue a certificate to Manmohan Singh for being ‘liberal with the media, she deliberately chooses to let go of the fact that former PM Singh indeed had strict control over the media narratives.

Recently, we had reported on how Manmohan Singh during his tenure as the Prime Minister had pressurised Barkha Dutt’s former employers NDTV to pull of a story which could have shown the UPA government in a bad light.

A former journalist with NDTV, Samarendra Singh had revealed how back in 2005, a year after Dr Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister, he was forced to pull down an NDTV story which was based on ‘report card’ of the ministers of the UPA. The incident has also been discussed in Sanjaya Baru’s book ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’, where it has been clearly stated that how Prannoy Roy, the promoter of the NDTV was schooled by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for doing a story on evaluating the performance of few cabinet ministers who had received a negative review.

In May 2005, when the UPA-1 was reaching its first anniversary, reports had started appearing in the media that Dr Singh was reviewing the performance of his ministers and NDTV had ran a story that Minister of External Affairs, Natwar Singh, a Gandhi Parivar loyalist had secured a ‘low score’ on the PM’s report card and was likely to be dropped from the cabinet. Reportedly Manmohan Singh had burst into anger against Prannoy Roy and made sure that the story was dropped.

If the act of bullying a media organisation and directing them not to pursue a story that shows the government in a bad light is not considered an act of violation of freedom of press then Barkha Dutt should not claim any moral high ground in judging the present NDA government which has been far more liberal in terms of engaging with the media. This, despite the fact that left-wing dominated media has always spewed venom against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Barkha Dutt also overplays the fact of Manmohan Singh being liberal to the media during his tenure as Prime Minister. A notable incident when Arnab Goswami was stopped by the PMO officials from questioning the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proves the fact that Manmohan Singh had no less contempt for the media.

In her attempt to glorify Manmohan Singh, Barkha Dutt may also have liberally interpreted the ‘openness’ of the UPA government as it had allowed the likes of Barkha Dutt and others to play a larger role in deciding the selection of cabinet ministers during the UPA government, as opposed to the present government who has ignored and shown the door to several journalists-lobbyists of the Congress era.

Barkha Dutt, a quintessential clickbait journalist, has often resorted to such shoddy journalism to stay in relevance despite the fact that her credibility as a journalist has taken a deep dive. As there are only a few months left to the crucial general elections, Barkha Dutt has arrived on the scene to pursue what she does the best- the propaganda.

Days after declaring Tejashwi as Arjun, Tej Pratap poses as Arjun himself on a chariot

OpIndia Staff
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Days after declaring Tejashwi as Arjun, Tej Pratap poses as Arjun himself on a chariot

Fodder scam convict Lalu Prasad Yadav’s older son Tej Pratap Yadav has displayed his eccentricity more than once. After dressing up as Lord Krishna and Lord Shiva, Tej Pratap Yadav has now decided to be Arjun as he declares a ‘Mahabharat’ against his younger brother Tejashwi.


Last night on Twitter, Tej Pratap posted a clip of his youth organisation ‘Dharm Nirpeksha Sevak Sangh (DSS), an answer to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) which ended with him appearing as Arjun on a chariot driven by Lord Krishna during the Kurukshetra battle. It is amusing because few days back, while announcing his comeback, he had said he was ready to play the role of charioteer for his brother Tejashwi.

Last week, he had announced he was back in politics after he made a sudden appearance at his party’s state headquarters in Patna. After holding discussions with party workers, Pratap held a press conference where he heaped praises on Congress President Rahul Gandhi for leading Congress to victory in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan in the Assembly polls. Referring to the BJP-RSS as principal opponents in Bihar, he said the party’s detractors will be slayed with ‘Sudarshana Chakra’.

There have been news that all is not well between the two brothers. Earlier in June, again giving reference to Mahabharat, he had decided to ‘move to Dwarka’ after giving the ‘seat of Hastinapur’ to ‘Arjun’. Later, however, the bothers had refuted such claims. In fact, Tej Pratap had even blamed the RSS of trying to create a rift between the brothers. Earlier in July, he had threatened to quit politics accusing his mother Rabri Devi of scolding him when he complained to her and Lalu about RJD leaders Om Prakash Yadav and Subodh Kumar Rai of trying to harm his reputation.

Whenever Ram Mandir will be built, it will be made during BJP regime: Yogi Adityanath

OpIndia Staff
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Whenever Ram Mandir will be built, it will be made during BJP regime: Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while addressing people at the Yuva Kumbh 2018 in Lucknow on Sunday, said that whenever Ram Mandir will be built, it will only be built by BJP. “Ram Mandir ka nirman jo koi bhi karega, jab bhi karega, hum he karenge”, he said.


In a veiled attack on Rahul Gandhi and Congress Party, Yogi asked people not to be misguided by those who are flaunting their ‘janeu’ and ‘gotra’. He said, “Those who used to call Lord Ram and Krishna imaginary are now telling about their gotra to mislead people”. Assuring people on Ram Janmbhoomi, Yogi said, “Some people were speaking about the Ramjanmabhoomi here but I want to assure that only we will do it and no one else”.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister urged the youth to be careful of the people who are against the country. “We have to identify those who are against our country. Our youths have to be very careful”, he added.

This is another of the assurances coming from the leaders of the BJP about the construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya after the Supreme deferred the hearing in the Ramjanmabhoomi case to January next year.

Madras High Court orders status quo in the Sterlite Copper plant case, rolls back NGT’s order of reopening it

OpIndia Staff
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Madras High Court orders status quo in the Sterlite Copper plant case, rolls back NGT’s order of reopening it

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court comprising of Justice K K Sasindhran and Justice P D Audikesavalu ordered ‘status quo’ in Sterlite Copper plant case, staying the National Green Tribunal’s permission of reopening it. The court passed the order on a petition filed by activist and politician Fatima Babu who had protested against the reopening of the Sterlite plant.

The National Green Tribunal, on December 15, had set aside the order of AIADMK led Tamil Nandu government’s order of permanently closing down the copper plant directing its owner Vedanta Ltd to spend Rs 100 crore over a period of three years on the welfare of the people in the area. The NGT had termed the order of the State government of closing down the copper smelter plant as unjustified and against the principles of natural justice.

In the affidavit filed by Fatima Babu, an MDMK politician, it was alleged that the NGT did not take into account the findings of the Traun Aggarwal report. The affidavit stated, “The order of the National Green Tribunal suffers from several procedural defects, violates principles of natural justice and is patently wrong on both facts and law and hence by the present Writ petition, I am seeking to set aside the order of the National Green Tribunal dated 15.12.2018 for the following reasons”.

The Bench has sought the response of the Centre, the State Chief Secretary, the CEO of Sterlite and other agencies on the petition. The next hearing on the petition will take place on January 21.

Aquatic life in Ganga to blossom once again, thanks to the cleaning measures

OpIndia Staff
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Aquatic life in Ganga to blossom once again, thanks to the cleaning measures

The measures adopted by the Modi government of cleaning river Ganga are finally yielding the envisaged results. As per reports, experts believe that the marine life in the Ganga river is set to flourish once again as the river witnesses considerable improvement in its water quality.

Experts carrying out research around the banks of river Ganga believe that there’s a marked improvement in the level of dissolved oxygen in the river in more than a decade. The experts have also asserted that along with dissolved oxygen, even pH amount has reached satisfactory levels.

The laboratory tests of the water samples have uncovered a pH level of more than 8.5, the biological oxygen demand level was 2.5 milligram per litre of water. Prof Pravin Bhai Patel of CSJM University Kanpur and principal investigator in the project claimed the results to be extremely favourable for the aquatic life to proliferate.

The research is being carried out by a group of experts belonging to esteemed institutes and scientific bodies, including the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). They had collected river water samples at 20 points in six highly polluted river banks – Ganga Barrage, Bhaironghat, Parmat, Shuklaganj, Jajmau and Wajidpur for laboratory testing.

According to the Professor, the average pH level in the last 10 years has consistently been below 6 while the biological oxygen demand ranged between 3.5 to 4. He said that such alarming levels of pH are hazardous for aquatic life to flourish.

Experts have proclaimed the tapping of large sewers as the reason for the remarkable improvement in the water quality of Ganga. In November, engineers in Kanpur got rid of waste from Asia’s largest sewer being emptied in Ganga. The waste was diverted to Jajamau treatment plant where the waste was sanitised and harmful effluents removed from it.

Kuldeep Misra of UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) also concurred with the findings of the experts. He said, “At present the water quality of the river has improved due to two reasons. First, the sewers have been tapped and there is complete control over tannery waste water going into the river. This has checked the oxygen depletion both upstream and downstream”.

The treatment of waste going into the river has delivered enormous results. The water of the river has become favourable for aquatic life. The ideal water condition for marine life requires pH level at 6.5 to 8.5 milligram per litre of water and the biological oxygen demand level less than three milligram per litre.

 

Note: This article has been updated to reflect correct parameters

BJP wins high-stake Jasdan by-poll, takes the seat tally to 100 in Gujarat Assembly

OpIndia Staff
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BJP wins high-stake Jasdan by-poll, takes the seat tally to 100 in Gujarat Assembly

BJP candidate Kunvarji Bavaliya won by almost 20,000 votes in the Jasdan by-polls held earlier this month, taking the total seat tally up to 100 in the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha.

Ahead of Jasdan by-elections, fake news had gone viral on social media that the BJP President Amit Shah and Gujarat Chief Minister had made casteist remarks against the Bania and Koli communities respectively. Bavaliya, who won the election from the BJP this time hails from the Koli community.

Bavaliya, the then working president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) and sitting Congress MLA from Jasdan when he quit the party and resigned in July this year. Hours later, he joined the BJP and swore in as a minister in the Vijay Rupani cabinet. It was important for Bavaliya to win the elections as he had to become an elected member of the assembly before January next year to continue being a minister.

Bavaliya has won all the elections from Jasdan since 1995, but he felt that Congress did not value his record in elections. Moreso, he said he was not able to serve the people of Jasdan as he had always been an MLA from the Opposition party.

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