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Gautam Gambhir criticises BCCI for inviting Azharuddin to ring the bell

Sandeep Singh
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Gautam Gambhir criticises BCCI for inviting Azharuddin to ring the bell

Never one to mince his words, Cricketer Gautam Gambhir has criticised the BCCI, Supreme Court appointed CoA and Cricket Association Of Bengal after former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin was invited to ring the bell at Eden Gardens ahead of the first T20 against West Indies.

This is not the first time Gambhir has used Twitter as a platform to lash out at someone, having taken on everyone from Pakistani cricketers like Afridi to politicians like Omar Abdullah, and even ex-Indian cricketers like Bishen Singh Bedi and Chetan Chauhan after they opposed Ranji selection of Navdeep Saini calling him an ‘outsider’.

In a tweet on Sunday, Gambhir said, ”India may have won today at Eden but I am sorry @bcci, CoA &CAB lost. Looks like the No Tolerance Policy against Corrupt takes a leave on Sundays! I know he was allowed to contest HCA polls but then this is shocking…The bell is ringing, hope the powers that be are listening.”


Azharuddin was banned for life from Cricket by BCCI in 2000 after he was named by disgraced South African Captain Hansie Cronje as the man who introduced Cronje to bookies. High Court quashed the ban in 2012 but BCCI never officially lifted the ban. However, they did allow him to contest the Hyderabad Cricket Association elections, referred to by Gambhir in his tweet.

Gambhir had earlier opposed the appointment of Manoj Prabhakar as the bowling coach of Delhi over the same reasons, Prabhakar was also named in the Match-Fixing saga that shocked the nation in 2000.

While Gambhir is clearly taking the zero tolerance policy against the corrupt seriously, BCCI, CoA and CAB (currently led by the man who was made the captain to revive Team India after the Match Fixing investigations) clearly have some explaining to do to clear their stand.

Congress leader who had warned of ‘rakhtpaat’, compares Modi to Hitler

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader who had warned of ‘rakhtpaat’, compares Modi to Hitler

Days after Congress leader Shashi Tharoor made a controversial statement on PM Modi comparing him to a scorpion on a Shivlinga and attributing it to anonymous people, another senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who had warned of bloodshed if Constitution is changed, compared PM Modi to Hitler for ‘killing the Constitution’.

Kharge was speaking at the ‘Samvidhan Bachao Sammelan’ in Mumbai where he said that efforts are being made to bring in a dictatorship in India, the way Hitler did in Germany. Accusing the BJP and the RSS of destroying the Constitution, Kharge said Constitution does not belong to the people of a particular caste, religion or community, but it belongs to the whole of India.

“Ever since BJP has come to power, it has destroyed freedom of expression and is continuously imposing censors on the press,” Kharge said.

It is ironical that someone from Congress would accuse others of ‘destroying the Constitution’ when it was former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who had brought about the Emergency on 25th June 1975.

In a Facebook post earlier this year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had drawn a parallel between Indira Gandhi and Hitler and said that they both had turned democracy into a dictatorship. In fact, Jaitley had written that unlike Hitler, Indira Gandhi had endeavoured to transform India into a “dynastic democracy”.

This is not the first time Congress leaders have indulged in name-calling. The opposition leaders such as Mani Shankar Aiyar have frequently abused Prime Minister Narendra Modi by referring to him ‘Chaiwala’ and ‘Neech Insan’ as an attempt to lower the dignity of Narendra Modi. Congress leaders like Manish Tiwari and Digvijaya Singh have often resorted to using derogatory words against the Prime Minister.

Another abusive Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam has abused Prime Minister Modi several times and recently had used foul language to refer PM Modi as ‘illiterate and uncouth’.

After ‘good Hindu, bad Hindu’ comment, Shashi Tharoor goes on a tirade against Ram Temple at Ram Janmabhoomi again

OpIndia Staff
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After ‘good Hindu, bad Hindu’ comment, Shashi Tharoor goes on a tirade against Ram Temple at Ram Janmabhoomi again

After insulting the Hindu Community by his ‘Good Hindu-Bad Hindu‘ tirade, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has now insinuated Hindus by saying that they should follow their own scriptures and stop violence to get their way to build Ram Mandir. Shashi Tharoor went on to say that Hindus should rather build Ram in their hearts.

Reportedly, The Congress MP was responding to his recent controversy, where he had said that no good Hindu would want a temple at the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site.

“In fact, if anything, there is a scripture that says build Ram in your heart. And if Ram is built in our heart it should little matter where else he is or he is not, because he is everywhere,” Tharoor said in an exclusive interview to PTI.

Tharoor went on to contend that while a good Hindu is somebody who believes his worship but Hindu scriptures do not allow the use of violence to have one’s way. He further said that the Hindus in the country are seeking to build a Ram temple by resorting to violence.

“My only point is, would a Hindu have wanted to build such a precious place at the expense of conducting an act of violence. A good Hindu is a law-abiding Hindu. A good Hindu is someone who has ‘insaaniyat’,” the Congress leader asked.

Following Shashi Tharoor’s statements, social media users reacted and highlighted Tharoor’s hypocrisy and his Christian appeasement politics.


Some Social media users suggested Tharoor of making Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister in his hearts.


It would seem like Shashi Tharoor’s only aim is to continually assert that a Ram Mandir should not be built on Ram Janmabhoomi in order to appease Congress’ votebank. He said:

“Advani said he would have respectfully wanted to relocate the site and Vajpayee had also hinted at all sorts of compromises provided the Ram Temple could also be built, it could even be a joint wall between a mosque and a temple. Who knows what Vajpayee would have wanted? He is not here to tell us but no, neither of them ever spoke in terms of demolishing the mosque and when it happened they both condemned it. So what am I saying that is so shocking for the BJP?”

He went on to call the fact that there was a temple which was desecrated to build the Babri Masjid merely an “academic debate”.

Shashi Tharoor avoided answering a direct question about whether he would want a Ram Temple built at Ram Janmabhoomi by saying he had already ‘said what he had to’

The Congress leader with these polarising statements seems to be hinting at the Congress party’s position regarding the Ram Mandir Issue. Congress Party has been reluctant to take a stand, while its senior leaders like Kapil Sibal are actively fighting against the interests of Hindus in Ram Janmabhumi case. However, Congress President Rahul Gandhi who is unsurprisingly silent on this issue and rather busy playing Janeudhari Hindu by visiting several temples in the poll-bound states.

Rahul Gandhi’s claims of ‘loans waived-off in 10 days’ falls flat: Karnataka’s ‘defaulting’ farmers face arrest as govt delays

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi’s claims of ‘loans waived-off in 10 days’ falls flat: Karnataka’s ‘defaulting’ farmers face arrest as govt delays

As the state government delays the disbursement and execution of farm loan waivers, farmers in several areas of Karnataka have started receiving arrest warrants from the banks. As per reports, several banks are yet to receive the funds and as a result, have started approaching courts and send arrest warrants against defaulting farmers.

On Sunday, a major agitation has stirred up in Belgavi district as farmers in many Taluks reportedly received arrest warrants by a Kolkata magistrate court, for defaulting on their loans taken from Axis bank limited. The court has charged the farmers under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act and has reportedly directed the local police to produce them in Kolkata by February 18, 2019.

Reports say that while some nationalised banks have filed recovery suits, private banks have gone to the extent of filing criminal cases against the defaulting farmers. In Belgavi alone, approximately 160 farmers have had recovery suits filed against them while 62 have received arrest warrants.

As discontent and agitation grows in the state, the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene have announced that they will gherao the Vidhana Soudha on November 19. A report in Times of India has stated that the Karnataka Sugarcane growers association is also likely to join the protests.

Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy has taken a note and has reportedly stated that the farmers eligible for waivers need not worry. He has also reportedly directed the deputy commissioners and district police superintendents to be helpful towards farmers. However, the state finance department has warned that only crop loans are eligible for a waiver and not other kinds of loans. The state finance department has further stated that the government is committed to waive off crop loans up to 2 lakhs in scheduled and commercial banks and up to 1 lakh in cooperative banks.

Chamasara Patil, the honourary president of the state farmer’s body KRRS, reportedly stated that it is six months since the government announced waivers but it is far from being implemented. He added that in his first meeting with farmers, CM Kumaraswamy had promised that the loans will be waived in 2 phases, first for crop loans and then the other loans.

It is notable here that after the dramatic political events in May, when Kumaraswamy came to power after a post-poll alliance between Congress and JDS, their demand for farm loan waivers had intensified since all leading parties had sought votes over the promise. Kumaraswamy had announced that he cannot declare a waiver without the express support of Congress as Congress held more seats.

Interestingly, Rahul Gandhi just a few days ago on 15th October had asserted that they had delivered on their promise of waivering farmer loans in Karnataka within 10 days of coming to power and they would do the same in Madhya Pradesh.


The failure of the government in the speedy implementation of the process was also reported in July. Weeks after the announcement of the waivers, the state government had not yet begun disbursements to banks and it was predicted that it might cause trouble for the farmers. Even the banks had not received clear guidelines about the loan waivers from the government.

Can Arvind Kejriwal really be an IIT graduate, wonders Punjab CM

OpIndia Staff
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Can Arvind Kejriwal really be an IIT graduate, wonders Punjab CM

After Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that Stubble burning in Punjab is solely responsible for rising air pollution in Delhi, today Punjab CM Amarinder Singh termed the claim as “nonsense”.

On November 1, Arvind Kejriwal had claimed that stubble burning in neighbouring states is the sole reason for air pollution in Delhi, and as proof of his claim, he displayed satellite images showing crop residue being burnt in Punjab and Haryana. He had also rejected the claim that Delhi’s traffic and industries are responsible for the pollution in the city.

“This is a satellite image… You can see the red spots which indicates stubble burning in several parts of Punjab including Bathinda and Amritsar… There cannot be a more scientific (proof) than this,” Kejriwal had said while addressing media. He had said that most stubble burning takes place in Punjab, and there is no sudden rise in the number of vehicles or industries in Delhi to cause a rise in pollution.

Responding to these claims today, Punjab CM said that it is “nonsense”, and he wondered whether Arvind Kejriwal can “really” be an IIT graduate. He said that the logic of Kejriwal showing satellite images as proof is “preposterous”, saying even a school kid would not make such claims.

“Can he really be an IIT graduate,” asked Captain Amarinder Singh.

To refute the allegations of Kejriwal, Singh presented some figures about Delhi pollution. He said that the Air Quality Index of Delhi remains more than 300 even during December and January, when no stubble burning takes place in the neighbouring states. This clearly indicates that Delhi’s air quality is impacted by its own sources, which are mainly vehicular emission, construction activities, industrial activities, power plants, burning of municipal solid waste and sweeping activities, Singh said.

The Punjab CM said that Kejriwal’s comments are just another attempt to divert public attention from his government’s abysmal failure on all counts. “Having failed to deliver on governance to the people of the national capital, the chief minister was, as usual, trying to take refuge in falsehoods and fabrications,” Singh added.

Singh also said that according to data of Meteorological Department, winds over Delhi-NCR has changed from north-westerly to easterly, so there should not much influence of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana. Moreover, the amount of PM2.5 due to stubble burning is comparatively less than PM10, but in Delhi PM2.5 levels increase more during the winter months, he added.

Despite no ban on firecrackers outside Delhi-NCR, Kolkata police says no bail if caught with ‘banned’ firecrackers

OpIndia Staff
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Despite no ban on firecrackers outside Delhi-NCR, Kolkata police says no bail if caught with ‘banned’ firecrackers

As if the restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court on firecrackers this year were not strict enough, Kolkata Police has announced that those who are caught with banned firecrackers will not get bail. Other then the court order, the Kolkata Police in West Bengal will also be invoking an additional section under firecracker component of the Kolkata Police Act if anyone is caught with banned firecrackers.

“In case of use of banned crackers, we will not provide bail from police stations this year. If required, we will produce the offender in court from where they have to seek bail,” said a senior police officer in the city. The reports also say that 76 kgs of banned firecrackers were seized by the police from Jhinjhirabazar area bordering Kolkata.

This is a very intriguing announcement by Kolkata Police because going by the Supreme Court order, there is no cracker ban in the country for this Diwali except Delhi-NCR region. Although the court had banned the production of conventional firecrackers and said that only low-polluting green firecrackers will be allowed to be manufactured in the country, it has allowed sale and use of already available firecrackers outside Delhi-NCR. This means the non‑green firecrackers are not banned in Kolkata as per the top court order. It seems Kolkata police have either misinterpreted the supreme court order, or they have decided on their own not to allow bursting firecrackers in the city.

It is important to note that the ‘green firecrackers’ that SC has allowed for Delhi-NCR, are simply not available at present, as they are still on the drawing board. It will take years of development and testing before they become commercially available. This means, like Delhi, people in Kolkata will also not be able to burst firecrackers this year if Kolkata Police decides to ban non-green crackers.

The Kolkata Police have decided to raise awareness about the ban of firecrackers among people by making announcements with loudspeakers. WB Pollution Control Board also has taken initiative in this regard, offering to pay for the cost of the loudspeakers that police will use. But they also instructed the police to adhere to sound limits set by NGT while making the announcements with loudspeakers.

Watch: AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan pushes BJP MP Manoj Tiwari during Signature Bridge inauguration

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan pushes BJP MP Manoj Tiwari during Signature Bridge inauguration

Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan, who was earlier accused of assaulting Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash in February this year, today was caught on camera pushing BJP MP Manoj Tiwari during the inauguration of the Signature Bridge in Delhi.

In the video, it could be seen that Manoj Tiwari is standing with the Police when Khan comes and casually pushes Tiwari. Tiwari has said that as the MP who represents the area where the bridge is built, he should have been invited for the inauguration.

Earlier, BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari clashed with Aam Aadmi Party supporters at the site of the inauguration when he was protesting against the alleged denial of invitation. Meanwhile, Manoj Tiwari has accused AAP and Delhi Police of misbehaving with him and manhandling him.

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar calls Naxals ‘revolutionaries fighting for their rights’

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar calls Naxals ‘revolutionaries fighting for their rights’

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Chief and Rajya Sabha member Raj Babbar, while commenting on the Naxal activity in poll-bound Chhattisgarh compared Naxals with revolutionaries saying that “revolution” undertaken by them should be resolved through conversation.


“I only want to say that the people whose rights have been taken away, who are in misery, who are not being given their right worth, are laying their lives to get back their rights. However, usage of guns by either of the parties will not lead to any solution. A solution will only come out by addressing their problems and having a conversation with them,” said Babbar sympathising with Naxals.

Babbar’s statement comes days after two security personnel and a Doordarshan cameraman were killed in a brutal Naxal attack in Dantewada. The actor-turned-politician said that the government should address their questions as they are fighting for their rights. “Naxal movement was started for the rights. For these rights, we need to sit with people. Some people have lost their way and we need to bring them back on the right path,” Babbar said. “Decisions are not made with guns. We need to address their questions. With fear, sycophancy, greed, the people of a revolution cannot be stopped. This is my view and I have also shared it with my party,” he added.

Maoist violence has claimed as many as 12,000 lives over the last two decades. The data analysis by South Asian Terrorism Portal (SATP) indicates that more than 1900 (pecisely 1984) security forces – including CRPF security personnel – died in the country due to Left-wing extremism since 2005, out of which most of fatalities have been recorded from in Bastar, Bijapur, Sukma and Dantewada districts.

Babbar refuted BJP’s allegation that Congress backs Naxals saying, “The Congress party had lost its state leadership (in a Naxal attack in May 2013). BJP keeps on accusing the Congress of directly or indirectly backing Naxals which reflects BJPs mental sickness. How can the Congress party which lost its senior (state) leadership in a Naxal attack take their side,”

Why haven’t your parents named you Ravan or Duryodhan? Yogi Adityanath asks critics on restoring name Prayagraj

OpIndia Staff
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Why haven’t your parents named you Ravan or Duryodhan? Yogi Adityanath asks critics on restoring name Prayagraj

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday speaking at an event has justified his government’s decision to restore the name of Prayagraj from Allahabad and slammed the detractors for questioning the decision. The Uttar Pradesh government had recently changed the name of Allahabad to its historic name ‘Prayagraj’.

Speaking at the Gyan Kumbh Sammelan at Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Yoga Peeta in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, the Uttar Pradesh CM defended his government’s historic decision and said that people who question him regarding his decision should also question their parents on why their parents did not name them ‘Raavan’ or ‘Duryodhana’.

“Log keh rahe hain kyun naam badal diya, naam se kya hota hai? Maine kaha tumhare maa-baap ne tumhara naam Ravan aur Duryodhan kyun nahi rakh diya? (Critics are questioning about the purpose of restoring the names of cities. I am telling you to ask your parents on why they did not name you Ravan or Duryodhan”, Yogi Adityanath responded.


Name is very important, he said. “One of the most popular name in the country is Ram. Many people’s names are associated with Ram, especially in the scheduled caste. Every person associates Ram with himself. It is the name which associates us with our rich tradition. Hence, why should we not call it Prayagraj?” Yogi added.

The Uttar Pradesh in its historic decision had restored the name of Prayagraj ahead of 2019 Kumbh Mela. Before 1575 it was known as Prayag but when Mughal emperor Akbar visited it, he changed its name to Allahabad. After almost 450 years, it will now be known as Prayagraj again.

Reportedly, Yogi Adityanath is also busy making plans for Ayodhya which will be unveiled during Diwali. It is being reported that Yogi Adityanath will make some announcement regarding Ram Mandir, or a Statue of Ram to be built in Ayodhya. The UP Chief Minister had given a hint regarding the same yesterday when he said that work will start soon. He asked people to light a diya for Lord Ram this time and said that they have to take this after Diwali.

Man arrested ahead of Diwali by Delhi Police as his children were bursting firecrackers

OpIndia Staff
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Man arrested ahead of Diwali by Delhi Police as his children were bursting firecrackers

A man in Delhi’s Ghazipur area was arrested by the police after his children were found bursting firecrackers on November 1. According to reports, neighbours of the man objected to busting of firecrackers by the children and complained to the police.


“The accused, Damandeep, was bursting crackers outside his house when his neighbours made a call to Ghazipur police station. We sent an officer who seized the firecrackers. The accused was violating SC orders and bursting a year old crackers. The residue will be sent to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination,” said DCP (East) Pankaj Singh.

The police and the Forensic Science Laboratory are mulling as to how will it be ascertained whether the cracker was green or not as this is the first case where the FSL is required to examine the firecrackers and there is no set standard to ascertain the ‘greenness’ of the crackers owing to the lack of clarity on the definition, and composition of permitted chemicals. On its order on firecrackers, Supreme Court of India had said that only low polluting ‘green’ crackers will be allowed in Delhi-NCR region.

Meanwhile, the news of the arrest of the man for bursting crackers has angered the twitteratti, who condemned the arrest.

Some questioned the vigilance of the police in cases of more serious nature.


The good old days when bursting crackers on Diwali was not criminal.

— Amrita Bhinder (@amritabhinder) November 4, 2018

Some called the action of the police a tribute to Aurangzeb.


On 23rd October, the Supreme Court had allowed bursting of low pollutant crackers between 8 to 10 pm. The SC also banned the online sale of firecrackers and put a stay on the e-commerce portals from selling firecrackers. Later, the SC modified the order and decided that the 2 hour slot is only applicable for NCR only and not rest of the country.

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