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Nidhi Razdan gets pulled up by Sushma Swaraj for misleading tweet on Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib

OpIndia Staff
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Nidhi Razdan gets pulled up by Sushma Swaraj for misleading tweet on Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj last night pulled up NDTV’s Executive Editor Nidhi Razdan for an irresponsible tweet which misrepresenting the Government of India’s response to the groundbreaking ceremony of Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib corridor in Pakistan.

The government of India had recently proposed constructing a corridor to the Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib, a holy site for the Sikhs, in Pakistan. Pakistan, to reciprocate the same, will be carrying out the groundbreaking ceremony for the same on 28th November. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister sent an invitation to External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj.

Nidhi Razdan controversy
Sushma Swaraj writes to Foreign Minister, Pakistan

In a letter to Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Swaraj expressed that due to her prior commitments, including election campaign scheduled in poll-bound Telangana, she should not be able to travel to Kartarpur Sahib. However, Shiromani Akali Dal’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Minister for Food Processing Industries and Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs, would be representing Government of India at the ceremony.

NDTV’s Nidhi Razdan shared the above letter on Twitter with part information that Swaraj has turned down the invitation owing to her election campaign commitments. In the following tweet she said how the two union ministers would represent the Government of India. However, in isolation, Nidhi’s tweet was misleading and Swaraj called her out on the same.

Nidhi’s misleading tweet, now deleted.


After Swaraj pointed it out, Nidhi explained how the minister didn’t read her subsequent tweets before accepting that in isolation, her tweet was misleading. Considering celebrity journalists rarely acknowledge their mistakes, Swaraj later even thanked Nidhi for correcting herself.

Fake news peddlers fear OpIndia

Meanwhile, u-turning trolls, in a desperate attempt to stay relevant thought Nidhi may have an ‘insidious agenda’ behind the tweet.


We, here at OpIndia, take it as a compliment that the fake news peddlers fear us enough to mock us even when they are caught on the wrong foot. Earlier, Saba Naqvi was also alerted by one of our well-wishers to not be stupid or OpIndia will write a report on her.

Also View:

Watch Nidhi Razdan get taught a lesson in humility, journalism and respecting institutions from British MP

One trick pony: Rahul Gandhi led Congress spreads canards now just like the party did in 2004

Jhankar Mohta
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One trick pony: Rahul Gandhi led Congress spreads canards now just like the party did in 2004

As the country braces itself for general elections 2019, the narrative, counter-narratives and ‘mahaul’ setting have already begun.

While BJP had the first movers advantage as far as using social media as an effective tool for political messages is concerned, Congress didn’t take too long to realise that they had to up their game. However, instead of using the platform to connect with its supporters, Congress has often misused this platform to spread ‘fake news’ and false narratives to malign the Bharatiya Janata Party, a party that has, by all standards become the political antidote to Congress.

Congress’ “reinvigorated” social media presence, and Rahul Gandhi’s “coming of age” on social media, have been under scrutiny lately. From campaigns which have backfired, frequent goof ups, to Rahul using bots as virtual steroids to boost his social media influence, we have seen it all.

Congress and its coterie have on several occasions spread fake news and fabricated stories and often been caught in the act. Congress has developed a penchant to hold BJP responsible for anything and everything happening under the deep blue sky. Be it from lying over LPG gas prices, or about Japan withdrawing funding for bullet trains, Congress has not left any stone unturned.

Rahul Gandhi led Congress has been random and sans merit in conjuring up scams by this government and BJP functionaries which have been summarily debunked. In their desperation, they did not even spare Amit Shah, the BJP president, and this time the accusations are even more ludicrous and weak than before.

Shekhar Gupta and his left- propaganda website, The Print, has almost played a pivotal role, helping the so-called ‘liberal cabal’ to bolster the ‘Nehru-Gandhi dynasty’ crusade.

Yet another leftist propaganda website, The Wire has been working hands in gloves with the Congress, helping them to conduct such hollow hitjobs. He had earlier shared The Wire’s comprehensively debunked hit job on Piyush Goyal with some caustic comments without realising his self-goal perhaps. He is no stranger to self-goals too. In fact, not so long ago he had done exactly the same when we at OpIndia has preemptively busted an imminent hitjob against the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley. After our article, ‘The Wire’ had conceded that “there was not much of a story to pursue after all”, which is why they had dropped the story after receiving a response from Jaitley and his daughter’s firm. Mr Rahul Gandhi had then proceeded to plug the very article where ‘The Wire’ had admitted to no impropriety on the part of Arun Jaitley, in a bid to tarnish his image. We had then also speculated whether Rahul Gandhi actually knew of the imminent hitjob.

In their article, the Congress also mentions the Jay Shah hitjob which was debunked by us comprehensively and the portal responsible for that hitjob is facing a 100 crore defamation suit, in which the court has already mentioned that a prima facie case exists against the portal.

Congress loyalists, in an attempt to belittle PM Modi, has gone to extreme lengths from spreading sensational conspiracies, like the one involving Nirav Modi and the Income Tax department to sharing fake news from an Islamist website to attack the Modi government.

On the anniversary of demonetization, Congress launched a barrage of data from its social media handle, to claim demonetization was a failure.

The Congress party and its allies have been going hammer and tongs against the Modi led government alleging a scam in the purchase of Dassault Rafale jets despite several experts explaining threadbare why no scam exists. In its desperation to prove its point the Congress social media head, Divya Spandan and lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan kept the ball rolling by furthering this lie on Twitter. In fact, in their rashness to do so, they even resorted to a dubious website ‘IndiaScoops’, which is nothing but a scurvy propaganda site.

Be it political or personal, Congress and its long journalist brigade have mastered the art of storytelling. Not very long back a video, emphasising on the importance of including Yoga in daily life released by PM Modi, had left the left-wing propagandists fluttering in their pants. They laboriously built up a false narrative using an article published by the same dubious website, ‘Indiascoops’, proofing it yet again that deep inside, these ‘journalists’ and politicians are just rumour mongering trolls.

These few incidents are just a lean example giving us a sneak peek into this artfully constructed web which the Congress and its machinery have practised over the years.

As we move towards the 2019 general elections, the method of operation adopted by the Congress is almost identical to that of 2004. While many of us try to dissect these half-baked theories, a Twitter user who goes by the handle ‘@im_saiganesh’, gave us a reminder lesson on how Congress and its ecosystem used a similar method in 2004 to spread canards against Vajpayee led BJP.

Following are a few examples:

    • The Congress and its ecosystem had created a fake ‘Kargil coffin scam’, which had an uncanny similarity to the currently concocted ‘Rafael scam’. The Congress-led Opposition had jumped on the issue and party president Sonia Gandhi led the charge with her “kafan chor” call. This was ironic because the Vajpayee Government was, in fact, trying to do quite the opposite. Previously, the mortal remains of soldiers were transported in a shabby manner in wooden coffins. After the Kargil conflict, the NDA Government purchased better quality aluminium coffins. However, a typographical error led to a miscalculation of costs and soon enough, a mountain was made out of a molehill. So much so that Mr Fernandes was forced to quit his office, even though he was reinstated later.
    • The leftist media had spun a false narrative calling Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s dream project, the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) project, “The great Highway robbery”, showcasing their vicious mindset.
    • The Lutyen media had tried hard to portray the BJP government under Atalji’s leadership corrupt by spinning a so-called ‘petrol pump scam’. This baseless scam over-allotment of petrol pumps and LPG agencies was then devised by none other than the Congress and furthered by their admirers.
    • A defence bribery scam was contrived to portray the BJP in a bad light. This so-called scam which was concocted fell flat as neither the leftist media nor the Congress had any proof to substantiate their claims.

The ‘liberal’ cabal and their entire ecosystem not only has a habit to peddle fake news but also to indulge in misrepresenting facts, trying to belittle the good things the BJP government has been doing now and even then.

Saiganesh further presented facts showcasing this typical tendency of the leftist media trying to detract the BJP government.

In the current scenario, the way PM Modi’s ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna’ was called out as being a scam by Congress veteran leader P Chidambaram, who himself is under the scanner for his involvement in various scams, Vajpayee was then targeted for his proposal to expand the metro.

During the Vajpayee era, fake ecosystem told that Kargil war is for politics. Now during Modi era, they say surgical strikes is for politics.

This bogus tactical plan to blame and shame BJP has become a penchant with the Congress and the Lutyen media. In their desperation to regain power, Congress has crossed the line of virtue on innumerable occasions. As the country heads towards the 2019 general elections it would be interesting to see to what level the entire Congress ecosystem would stoop to.

Rajasthan BJP expels 11 rebel leaders including four ministers

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan BJP expels 11 rebel leaders including four ministers

Rajasthan BJP has expelled its 11 rebel leaders, including four ministers in the current government, for deciding to contest against party candidates in the upcoming Assembly elections, as per reports. They have been expelled for six years.

Image Courtesy: Amar Ujala

The expulsion order of these 11 leaders was issued last night as yesterday was the last day of withdrawal of nominations. Out of the 11 expelled leaders, the four ministers are public health engineering department minister Surendra Goyal, general administration department minister Hemsingh Bhadana, Devasthan minister Rajkumar Rinwa, and junior Panchayati Raj and rural development minister Dhan Singh Rawat. They are contesting as independent candidates.

The other leaders are Laxmi Narayan Dave, Radhyeshyam Ganganagar, Rameshwar Bhati, Kuldeep Dhankad, DD Kumawat, Kisnaram Nai and Anita Katara from Dungarpur.


BJP sitting MLA from Ramgarh constituency Gyandev Ahuja had resigned from the party on November 18. He later announced to contest as an independent candidate after the party declined to give him a ticket.

Another former BJP legislator Habibur Rahaman Ashrafi Lamba joined the Congress party, last Wednesday. Rahman had tendered his resignation on November 12 to state BJP chief Madan Lal Saini after he found his name was missing from the party’s first list.

Rajasthan goes to polls on December 7 and counting of votes will take place on December 11.

NGO that filed complaint against Rafale Deal is partners with George Soros’ Open Society, Misereor and Oxfam among others

K Bhattacharjee
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NGO that filed complaint against Rafale Deal is partners with George Soros’ Open Society, Misereor and Oxfam among others

In an earlier report, we have elaborated on the controversial past of Sherpa, the NGO that has filed a complaint against the Rafale Deal in France. The NGO and its head, William Bourdon, have been accused of meddling in the internal affairs of countries in Africa and filing corruption charges against the Mauritian President while being closely associated with the latter’s political opponent.

Three relatives of the President are set to file a defamation suit against the NGO. A corporate giant, too, intends to file a defamation suit against them for the allegations they have levelled.

Therefore, we decided to dig a little deeper into the NGO Sherpa’s background. We discovered that they are partners with organizations such as Greenpeace, Open Society Foundation, Misereor, Oxfam, ActionAid among a host of others. All of these have been involved in a myriad of controversies in which we shall now delve into.

Misereor

As we have said in an earlier report, Misereor is a Christian organization that was one of the principal donors of Equations, the organization that published a report demonizing the Amarnath Yatra in collaboration with a Kashmiri separatist organization. Misereor funds various Christian missionary organizations in India as well.

George Soros and Open Society Institute

George Soros’ Open Society Institute’s controversies are quite well known. The nationalist government of Hungary that strongly opposes the influx of refugees into the European Union has been at war with George Soros for quite a while.

Last year, the Hungarian government made it mandatory for NGOs that received funding from abroad to register with the state, a move that was seen to be targeted towards Soros which did not go down well with the European Union. The Hungarian also passed a legislation titled ‘Stop Soros’ in a crackdown on illegal immigration.

In December 2015, Russia banned two foundations funded by the progressive Jewish-American philanthropist George Soros, claiming they posed a “threat to national security” and were undermining the Russian constitution.

In India as well, George Soros’ organization funds the Socio-Legal Information Center whose division Human Rights Law Network is involved in a campaign to abolish sedition laws in India.

Oxfam

The accomplishments of Oxfam have been well documented by us at OpIndia. One of the board members of Oxfam India, Gagan Sethi, was one of the members of the NAC that drafted the wildly anti-Hindu Communal Violence Bill.

Oxfam has also been involved in a cover-up of sexual exploitation by its members in Haiti including the then country-director Ronald van Hauwermeiren. Oxfam is known to publish absurd conclusions based on studies that employ questionable methodologies.

Therefore, we have an NGO with a dubious reputation which is partners with other organizations with an extremely controversial past and have been known to meddle with the internal affairs of countries.

Especially, Sherpa itself has been accused of meddling in the internal affairs of other countries. Therefore, the complaint filed by Sherpa against the Rafale deal should be treated with extreme caution.

The Rafale deal is, by all means, a deal of national importance for India. Congress is perhaps simply using dubious sources to further its own agenda of drumming up hysteria without realising that the elements who are opposing such steps of the Modi government today have always had an agenda which goes against the interests of the nation.

Congress seems to be sacrificing national interest at the altar of petty politics by playing the game by the rules set by international players who would rather see India bend. While it might serve his politics, this misplaced political evangelism certainly doesn’t serve the interests of the country.

“Her last words were ‘burn them alive’, she should get justice”: Lawyer who filed PIL to execute Nirbhaya’s rapists

OpIndia Staff
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“Her last words were ‘burn them alive’, she should get justice”: Lawyer who filed PIL to execute Nirbhaya’s rapists

Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava has filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking the execution of the death penalty awarded to the convicts in Nirbhaya rape and murder case. As per reports, the lawyer has appealed the apex court to issue directions to the central government to execute the death penalty awarded to all convicts within two weeks from the listing of the case.


The apex court has reportedly admitted the PIL. Confirming the report, advocate Srivastava has stated that Nirbhaya’s last words before she succumbed to her injuries were, “Burn them alive”. He has added even after 6 long years of committing the barbaric act that resulted in the death of the innocent victim, the perpetrators are still alive. He has pledged that Nirbhaya should get justice before 16 December 2018. The incident had occurred on 16 December 2012.


It is notable here that the Supreme Court had, in July this year, rejected the review petition for the death penalty of three of the four living convicts of the Nirbhaya rape and murder case. The court has stated that they will hang. Six people, namely Ram Singh, Pawan Gupta, Akshay Singh, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh, and an alleged juvenile were convicted of the heinous rape and murder of Delhi student Nirbhaya (not her real name) inside a moving bus in the national capital.

Ram Singh had committed suicide inside the jail. The alleged juvenile was released after a three-year prison sentence. One of the four remaining convicts, Akshay Singh had not filed a review petition.

Nirbhaya was brutally raped in the most barbaric manner and was left to die on the road. She was later sent for treatment to Singapore but had succumbed to her injuries. The case had generated widespread public outrage both nationally and internationally and has made a huge impact in the psyche of the nation.

The case made a profound impact on the Indian legal system and led to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, known as the Nirbhaya Act which ensured harsher punishment for sexual violence against women. The Supreme Court had in May 2017, upheld the death penalty awarded to the convicts by the Delhi HC.

Demolish Jama Masjid, hang me if Hindu idols are not found: Sakshi Maharaj

OpIndia Staff
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Demolish Jama Masjid, hang me if Hindu idols are not found: Sakshi Maharaj

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sachchidanand Hari Sakshi alias Sakshi Maharaj on Friday claimed that Delhi’s Jama Masjid has been constructed over a pre-existing Hindu temple and idols can be found beneath if the structure is demolished.

Sakshi Maharaj, who is an MP from Unnao, said that it was his first statement after he came to politics and he still stands by it. In his address at a rally in Unnao, Sakshi Maharaj has stated that his first statement after joining politics was to leave  Ayodhya, Mathura, Kashi alone and demolish Delhi’s Jama Masjid first. If no Hindu idols of gods are found below the staircase, please hang me.


Sakshi Maharaj claimed that Mughals played with the sentiments of Hindus. He added that Mughals have been atrocious towards Hindu culture and they have constructed over 3000 mosques over pre-existing Hindu temples.

He criticised the Supreme Court for deferring the hearing of the Ram Mandir case. “I condemn the attitude of the Supreme Court. They delivered verdicts on a number of cases of less significance, but they are deferring the Ayodhya matter. I expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi government to pass a law in Lok Sabha for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. I expect the construction of the temple will start before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” he stressed.

The Print concocts Cambridge survey conclusions about ‘most Indian girls students aspiring to become journalists and psychologists’

Nupur J Sharma
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The Print concocts Cambridge survey conclusions about ‘most Indian girls students aspiring to become journalists and psychologists’

The Print led by Shekhar Gupta appears to have published some fictional figures from a global study conducted by Cambridge Assessment International Education. The Global Education Census explores the education experience for teachers and students around the World.

The Print, run by Shekhar Gupta has been known to further many falsities. This time too, they seem to have landed themselves in an inexplicable situation. Based on the Cambridge Assessment International Education census report, The Print published an article headlined, “Most girls in India aspire to become psychologists or journalists: Cambridge survey”.

The Print article on the census

The Print in their report, states, “As many as 77 percent of girl students in India aspire to become journalists or writers while 91.2 per cent want to be psychologists, a latest global survey finds. In comparison, 83.4 per cent of boys aspire to be software developers, 8.8 per cent want to be psychologists and close to 22 per cent want to take up journalism as a profession, reveals the survey based on multiple-choice questions.”

Screenshot of The Print article

The figures, however, appear to be contrary to the findings of the census which is publicly available. As per the Cambridge Assessment International Education census, medicine and engineering are the most popular career aspirations of Indian students.

The Cambridge report states:

“23% of Indian students say they want to be a doctor/dentist, 23% an engineer and 16% a software engineer – more students in India said the latter than any other country surveyed”.

Apart from the career aspirations of Indian students, the survey also discovered that Indian teachers use blackboards in the classroom more than their counterparts from any other country. India, along with China, also has the highest number of students taking extra classes at 58%. Indian students are also the most in extra-curricular activities. Indian parents also take a keen interest in their ward’s education.

In fact, the report quite clearly states that Engineering and Medicine still remain top choices among Indian students. It is thus surprising and inexplicable where The Print got its data from. No publicly available census conducted by Cambridge Assessment International Education reaches the conclusion that The Print seems to have reached. We are unaware whether The Print has some secret document that the Cambridge Assessment International Education hasn’t released in the public domain yet.

Even at the face of it, the assertions that psychology would be one of the most popular vocations among young students would seem outlandish.

The Indian Express too covered the census report and even IE does not corroborate the claims made by The Print report.

In the entire Cambridge Assessment International Education census report, the word “Journalism” appears nowhere. The word “Journalist” appears only two times.

The first time the word “journalist” appears in on Page 25 where the report quotes a student saying they would like to either be a filmmaker or a journalist. This is a quote from one student only.

The second time the word “journalist” appears in the census report in while talking about Teacher demographics. It was a passing mention among a host of other vocations that define the ones who have shifted their career to teaching.

In fact, the word “Psychologist” also appears only twice. It appears the first time in this very list of vocations.

The second time the word “psychologist” appears in the Global Education Census Report 2018 is again in a quote from a student from Malaysia.

Both the vocations mentioned by The Print as the go-to vocations for young girl students only two times each and both times, they weren’t cited as the most preferred professions of Indian girl students.

In the census report by Cambridge Assessment International Education, there is no mention of any statistic related to how many students want to take up journalism or

Therefore, it is unclear from where The Print got its figures from.

While it is entirely possible that The Print is in possession of some secret census report by Cambridge Assessment International Education, we would go out on a limb here and say it is highly unlikely. We are unsure if they have access to a separate report because defying all journalistic prudence, the research report itself has not been linked back as a reference in the article.

If The Print report is based on the current census that has been made public, the Shekhar Gupta led publications seems to have concocted a conclusion that was appealing to them.

PM Modi slams Congress party for their ‘uncultured and arrogant’ remarks against his mother

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi slams Congress party for their ‘uncultured and arrogant’ remarks against his mother

Prime Minister Modi while addressing an election rally in Chhatarpur district in MP, slammed Raj Babbar’s recent slur at the PM’s mother, which he made while taking a dig at the devaluating currency.

PM Modi said that the inability of Congress party to talk about the development done in last four years compared that during the last four generations of Gandhi family’s rule, has made them resort to hurling slurs at PM Modi’s aged mother Heeraben Modi.

“As we often see, in the local quarrels in mohallas that if they don’t have favored condition, they digress from the point of quarrel and resort to abuses,”  the PM said.


PM’s response is to senior Congress leader Raj Babbar, who speaking at a rally in Madhya Pradesh referred to PM Modi’s 97-year old mother Heeraben Modi and said, “He (Modi) used to say that the Indian rupee has fallen so much against the Dollar that it was nearing the age of the then prime minister (Manmohan Singh). Today, the rupee’s valuation has dropped so low, that it is inching closer to your beloved mother’s age”.

The Congress leader Babbar while campaigning in the Madhya Pradesh ahead of the state elections also referred Prime Minister Modi as ‘Manhoos’ over the rising fuel prices.

The PM then continued the attack on Congress for what he termed as ‘uncultured and arrogant’ behavior. He said, “When they failed to challenge me and didn’t get any issue to rake up in the polls, they have now started to abuse my old mother. They are not ready to engage with me, and are dragging my mother into an electoral slugfest.” The PM added that for the last 18 years, he has been challenging and defeating Congress and because the Congress cannot face him anymore, they are dragging his mother into their slandering.


Congress leaders have often targeted the humble background of the PM Narendra Modi. Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has time and again refers PM Modi as a ‘Chaiwala’ and had once called him as  ‘Neech Insaan’. Shashi Tharoor had recently called him a ‘Scorpion sitting on a Shivling’ and that’s why they cannot hit him with a ‘Chappal’. PM Modi, in a recent rally at Sikkim, had expressed anguish over Shashi Tharoor’s for his ‘outlandish’ remark on the Northeast’s traditional attires, Modi alleged that Congress leaders have disrespected and insulted the traditions and attires of the people of the northeast.


Congress leader CP Joshi had earlier also said that Narendra Modi should not talk about Hinduism, as it is an exclusive domain of ‘Pandits’, and PM Modi belongs to a lower caste.

The elections in Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram will be held on November 28.

Why do ‘liberals’ love Lalu so much?

Rahul Roushan
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Why do ‘liberals’ love Lalu so much?

In past couple of days, there is a synchronized narrative going on where the question ‘why does BJP fear Lalu so much?’ is being tossed around to make sure the hypothesis ‘BJP fears Lalu’ becomes an implied truth. Motley of journalists and trolls are repeating this, in an attempt to not only turn that hypothesis into truth, but to generate sympathy for Lalu Yadav, currently in hospital but under custody after being convicted in various corruption cases.

This sympathy for Lalu was tried right at the time he was convicted in the corruption cases, with Shekhar Gupta, the senior journalist of ‘coup’ fame, peddling the theory that Lalu was convicted because he belonged to a ‘lower caste’. Obviously, within no time, his theory came crashing down as the list of those convicted along with Lalu had many ‘upper caste’ accused too. But when has facts and data mattered for ‘liberals’?

This desperation to paint Lalu Yadav some saint who was wronged actually begets the real question – why do the self-declared liberals love Lalu so much?

The answer could appear simple.

Anti-BJP = Awesome

The ‘liberal’ crowd in India is basically a confused anti-BJP crowd, with most of them being anti-BJP because it’s not just ‘cool’ but rewarding to take an anti-BJP stand (or anti-Hindutva) in public life. Unfunny comedians become intellectuals while genocidal maniacs become artists, so a corrupt politician becoming a wronged saint is hardly surprising.

Why does this crowd hates BJP or Hindutva is another issue, and well, I have to concede that BJP as well as Hindutva groups have to share some blame for it, though the main reason is relentless vilification for decades by a well-oiled propaganda machinery.

However, Lalu is anti-BJP not due to some ideological commitment, but because of realpolitik.

Just think of it; isn’t it rather strange that this cool liberal crowd doesn’t feel the same sympathy and loyalty for Mulayam Singh Yadav, who got dozens of (unofficial accounts putting the numbers in hundreds) Kar Sevaks killed to save the Babri Masjid (Taj Mahal of secularism) and who let go his ego to ally with Mayawati to end the BJP rule and influence in Uttar Pradesh, the biggest state of India that often decides balance of power?

As compared to killing of Kar Sevaks, Lalu just got Advani arrested during the veteran BJP leader’s Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 – a ‘secular’ guy should give more numbers for the former act. Further, Lalu’s ego didn’t stop him from breaking Janta Dal, which was becoming a national force to reckon with.

Lalu breaking Janta Dal and alienating the likes of Nitish Kumar and Ram Vilas Paswan actually strengthened the BJP while Mulayam did everything to weaken the BJP in the neighbouring state. At one point of time, BJP was appearing weaker than an already hopeless Congress in Uttar Pradesh, before the 2014 miracle happened.

Today, Mulayam Singh Yadav is isolated, is as much ‘victim’ of politics as Lalu, and is reportedly in bad health as well like Lalu, but the cool liberal dude doesn’t care about him. Because he suspects that Mulayam Singh Yadav (or his faction supposed to be led by Shivpal Yadav) may even align with the BJP. Netaji is unpredictable.

On the other hand, Lalu and his family is considered pure and steadfast on this count. They will never align with the BJP. But as I put earlier, Lalu is anti-BJP not due to some ideological commitment, but because of realpolitik.

Nitish Kumar could never really become a mass leader like Lalu and his charisma was limited to some selected circles – his own caste group and some allied groups, the urban crowd (thanks to improvement in law and order and some development), women (yes, he could create a new constituency), and in some Lutyens circles. Even Nitish Kumar realised his limitations, and that’s why he didn’t risk a three-cornered fight in the 2015 assembly elections.

Had he become as powerful as charismatic in Bihar as Lalu, and had Bihar too got three or four major political players with distinct messaging and supporting social groups as one sees in Uttar Pradesh, you never know that maybe Lalu and BJP could have been forming an alliance too or at least flirting with each other.

Therefore, to present Lalu as some committed soldier of secularism is as dishonest as anything the ‘liberal’ crowd does.

However, beyond this anti-BJP/anti-Hindutva ‘commitment’ of Lalu, the reason why the self-declared liberals love Lalu so much is because consciously or accidentally, Lalu has been able to replicate the way Gandhi family functions.

The Bihari Gandhi

If you observe, the liberal love for Lalu is no different from the love they have for the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. They try to make sure that the crimes by both are covered and the culprits are actually paraded as martyrs.

As I had pointed briefly in an earlier article I wrote, Shabnam Hashmi, whose brother Safdar Hashmi – a communist playwright and theatre personality – was killed by Congress backed goons in broad daylight, but today she bats religiously for Congress even by spreading fake news to benefit the party.

Similarly, Kanhaiya Kumar, a JNU student ‘leader’ who has been giving hopes to some liberals as the next big thing, touches Lalu Yadav’s feet. The same Yadav, whose party goons killed Chandrashekhar Prasad, who was also a JNU student leader, in broad daylight.

The ‘Jungle Raj’ of Lalu is given context of social revolution and social churn, just as some try to give context to Emergency and paint how it was not so bad, or more recently, the way scam tainted regime of UPA-2 is being whitewashed.

The ecosystem appears almost full of guilt and desperate to undo the damage in both cases – oh my god, we got carried away and exposed Lalu Raj and Sonia Raj as corrupt (the former additionally being ‘criminal’), let’s make amends now as BJP benefitted.

How could Lalu secure this support of ecosystem? With Congress, it was due to Indira Gandhi, who could work out a Faustian bargain with the leftists in the 70s, allowing them to control academia and media. In return, these ‘intellectuals’ made sure that the dynasty was always protected. They would pretend to fight with Congress, but make sure the dynasty is not blemished.

Lalu too, in his later years, tried to please the same ecosystem. His ‘so-cute’ selfies with Lutyens journalists and his support to ideas that will have no resonance among his social base but will earn him brownie points among the ecosystem, bear testimony to that. And obviously, becoming an ally of the original dynasty came with the associated benefits.

Coincidentally, both the dynasties are now led by ‘youth’ leaders who are goofy and are often object of mockery. But the ‘liberals’ have no option but to love them. Essentially, it’s the self-interest of the ‘liberals’ – to see those people calling shots who have fed them well all these years – that makes them love the ‘secularism’ of Lalu Yadav.

And finally, this orchestrated attempt to paint Lalu as someone mighty whom the BJP fears no end, is actually manifestation of the fears of the ‘liberal’ crowd. They fear the BJP and they are now giving up on their hopes with new Lalus they created and flirted with – from Arvind Kejriwal to Kanhaiya Kumar.

The ecosystem is going back to their original hope – the dynasty.

1993 Mumbai bomb blast: Key accused confessed to receiving training in Pakistan, CBI files chargesheet

Jhankar Mohta
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1993 Mumbai bomb blast: Key accused confessed to receiving training in Pakistan, CBI files chargesheet

The CBI on Thursday filed a charge sheet against Ahmed Kamal Shaikh alias Ahmed Lambu, one of the prime accused in the Mumbai 1993 serial blasts case. The charge sheet has been filed five and a half months after his arrest.

Shaikh was absconding for almost two decades before he was declared a proclaimed offender and apprehended in Gujarat on June 1, 2018.

In the charge sheet submitted by the CBI before the TADA court, the CBI claimed that Shaikh was an ‘active member’ involved in the plotting of the conspiracy and was present in Dubai in January 1993, ‘working in close association’ with absconding accused Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and his brother Anis Kaskar.

The charge sheet included a list of 11 witnesses and also a copy of Shaikh’s confession, in which he had confessed to his alleged involvement in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast, his visit to Dubai, where now deceased, convicted accused, Mustafa Dossa had informed him and others about the conspiracy and it also mentioned how he had gone to Pakistan for arms training.

Shaikh had given his confessional statement before the magistrate’s court but had retracted when he was produced before the special TADA court in June.

Referring to the conspiracy meeting which held in Dubai before the Mumbai blast, the CBI said that in the meeting which was headed by Dawood and attended by absconding prime accused Mohammed Dossa and convicted accused Feroz Khan and Mohammed Salim Mira Shaikh, Ahmed Lambu along with four other accused were sent to Pakistan to receive training in handling arms and ammunition, throwing hand-grenades and making bombs. The Mumbai bomb blast was planned to avenge the Babri Masjid demolition.

The CBI has booked Shaikh on charges including murder and criminal conspiracy of the IPC as well as the now repealed Terrorism and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.

The CBI claimed that Shaikh had absconded to Dubai in 1995 after he learned that a co-accused had named him in a confessional statement.

The agency further alleged that Shaikh was assisted by absconding accused, Mohammed Dossa to procure a resident visa of UAE. It added that Shaikh was also given a fake passport and a job as an electronics salesman in Dubai.

The charge sheet alleged that in 2011, Shaikh arrived at the Chennai airport with a passport under the name of Ahmed Kamal Shah Walidiyat Haji Kamal. The CBI said that he had destroyed his previous two passports, one which showed his travel to Pakistan and another fake one made in 2011. It added that since his return to the country, Shaikh was living on rent with his family in various places in Mumbai.

On March 12, 1993, a series of blasts had occurred in Mumbai, leading to the death of 257 people and injuring 713. A charge sheet was filed by the CBI, naming 189 accused.

There have been two phases of the trial so far. While a death penalty has been awarded to Yakub Memon in the first phase, six men were convicted in September last year. Among them, Taher Merchant and Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan were given the death penalty.

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