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MJ Akbar’s defamation case against Priya Ramani: Court takes cognisance under section 500 of IPC

OpIndia Staff
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MJ Akbar’s defamation case against Priya Ramani: Court takes cognisance under section 500 of IPC

The criminal defamation suit filed by former Union Minister MJ Akbar against journalist Priya Ramani has been taken cognisance of by the Delhi’s Patiala Court under section 500 of IPC. The court has also fixed the 31st October for further hearing related to the defamation case.

Senior Counsel Geeta Luthra arguing on behalf of MJ Akbar presented the defamation suit against the journalist before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal. Geeta Luthra read out the tweets posted by the journalist against the MJ Akbar and argued that tweets posted were clearly aimed at defaming the former Union Minister.

According to Bar and Bench, Luthra highlighted the professional history of MJ Akbar to establish his reputation and said that the tweets posted by the journalist have brought disrespect to the reputation of her client.

“I have gone through the complaint and other documents annexed. I take cognizance of the offence under section 500 of the IPC” Judge Samar Vishal. The Judge after taking the documents related to the case into cognizance has called for further examination of complainant and witnesses on 31st October.


MJ Akbar, former Minister of State for External Affairs had filed a defamation case through his lawyers Karanjawala & Co. against the journalist Priya Ramani on October 15th, after the journalist had accused MJ Akbar of sexual misconduct against her.

He was accused by several former women colleagues for sexual misconduct when he was serving in senior editorial positions in a number of media organisations in the past. M J Akbar was on an official foreign tour when these accusations were levelled against him. After returning back to the country, he had issued a lengthy statement to defend himself from these accusations.

However, MJ Akbar resigned from the post of junior Minister after severe pressure was put on him against continuing in the cabinet. M J Akbar had questioned about the motives of the victims and called the accusations as “false, baseless and wild allegations” to bring irreparable damage to his reputation and goodwill.

As ArcelorMittal gears up to clear Rs. 7,500 crores due to SBI, Modi’s IBC sends a clear message: Pay up or shut shop

Abhishek Banerjee
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As ArcelorMittal gears up to clear Rs. 7,500 crores due to SBI, Modi’s IBC sends a clear message: Pay up or shut shop

One of the Modi government’s biggest reforms was also one that was done very quietly. This was the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill, which has forever changed India’s business model from one of crony capitalism to a rule-based regime.

So, first of all, let me splash the latest piece of good news.

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ArcelorMittal is set to return Rs 7500 crore to SBI. No wonder then that the chairman of SBI is relieved.

What happened here requires some explanation. As the Prime Minister has recently mentioned on several public platforms, the total amount of loans given by banks in the ten years of UPA (2004-2014) was a whopping 34 lakh crore. That’s near twice the 18 lakh crores lent by Indian banks all the way from 1947 to 2004.

A significant chunk of the loans that the UPA handed out like candy has now gone into default, leaving the nation with a crippling NPA mess. The Prime Minister likes to refer to the UPA years as times of “phone banking” when big businesses would get “naamdars” to call up public sector banks and force them to give out these loans. Remember that when these loans went into default, it is we the people who got stuck with the bill.

The biggest single reform that Modi sarkar brought in order to end crony capitalism was the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill, 2016. In simple terms, the bill created a time-bound mechanism by which creditors could go after a loan defaulter. If the defaulter is unable to pay within a fixed period (usually only 6 months), they lose control of their company. Their assets are seized and auctioned.

In fact, India is one of the few countries in the world to have a time-bound mechanism for resolving corporate debt. This is why the World Bank was all praise for India’s IBC code while announcing India’s sharp jump in Ease of Doing Business earlier this year.

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So what happened with ArcelorMittal here?

The matter pertains to Essar Steel, a company saddled with massive debt, which is set to be auctioned off. Now, several companies would like to buy Essar Steel and Arcelor Mittal is among them.

This corporate tale reads like a fascinating thriller cum detective story. Except there is one twist. Remember that *we* the people are on the line for all the loan defaults.

First, Essar Steel gets listed as one of RBI’s ‘dirty dozen’ companies, i.e., companies that are sitting on a mountain of bad loans.

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So, Essar Steel is put up for auction. But then, the government learns something shocking.

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Essar Group was trying to buy its own company back at the auction, effectively discharging its defaulted loan AND buying back the asset at a rock bottom price. The next day, Modi Cabinet swung into action and rushed through an ordinance to stop this.

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NO! As a defaulter, Essar is prohibited from bidding. And no using “related parties” to get around the rules either.

Two bids come in: one from Russian Steel major Numetal and another from Arcelor Mittal. And Lakshmi Mittal, who may or may not be aware that the UPA era has ended, decides to “meet the Finance Minister” in order to “explain” why ArcelorMittal is the “best fit” for acquiring Essar Steel.

Ha! Meeting the Finance Minister was of no use. BOTH bidders were rejected. 

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The first bidder Numetal was rejected because it had some connection to Rewant Ruia, the son of Essar Group’s Ravi Ruia. Remember how Modi’s IBC prevents “related parties” from trying to buy back their own assets through the back door.

As for ArcelorMittal, they were rejected too, because they had some stakes in two other companies called Uttam Galva and KSS Petron that had defaulted on loans. Both companies moved the courts to save their bids, but it was of no help.

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The law was absolutely clear. The first bidder Numetal was allowed to place its bid only *after* it severed ties with the Ruias.

As for Arcelor Mittal, they were asked to pay back Rs 7000 crore of loan default before they could bid for Essar Steel.

Cut to October. With their tails firmly between their legs, Arcelor Mittal has now agreed to pay back all their dues.

Now you see why SBI Chairman is so relieved. We should be relieved too. SBI was a public sector bank. This was our money.

This is not just the story of one company or business. There are dozens of defaulters lining up all across India to pay back the loans they defaulted on.

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If you default on loans, you can’t do business. At least not until Modi is around. Now you have a good idea why the opposition desperately wants the chowkidaar out of office.

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Modi sarkar is moving the country from crony capitalism to a rule based regime, the foundation of any first world country. The days of “meeting” the Finance Minister and sorting out matters are long gone. But those days could come back after 2019. You can see why a huge section of vested interests in this country and beyond would want those days back. It is we the people who stand between them and their good old days. Remember that it’s our money, after all.

UK court orders to sell off expensive cars of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya

OpIndia Staff
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UK court orders to sell off expensive cars of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya

According to a Times of India report, a London court has ordered confiscation of 6 highly expensive cars in possession of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, to repay Indian Consortium of Banks’ Rs 10,000 crore. This comes after London HC ordered enforcement agencies to raid two of Vijay Mallya’s homes and take in possession goods after Mallya lost the case against Bangalore Debt Recovery Tribunal in court.


Courts asked enforcement to sell 6 cars with personalized number plates at worth no less than € 404,000, which amount to Rs 3 crore 40 lakh.

The cars include a Range Rover, a Ferrari F430 and Ferrari F512M, Mini Cooper, Bentley Turbo and Porsche Cayenne 2012 with the number plate 0007 VJM and Maybach 62 registration number ‘VJM1’.

The Indian government is also trying hard to extradite Vijay Mallya from England to India. On 31st July, UK court had asked Indian authorities to submit a ‘step by step video’ of the prison where Mallya would be kept. CBI had submitted nearly 10 minute-long video, about the conditions of the prison, Mallya would be kept in. Next hearing for extradition is on 10 December.

After two Congress MLA’s join BJP, party unit chief claims more Congress MLAs willing to crossover

OpIndia Staff
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After two Congress MLA’s join BJP, party unit chief claims more Congress MLAs willing to crossover

Goa Congress MLAs Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte representing Shiroda and Mandrem assembly constituencies, respectively, resigned as members of the Legislative Assembly and also as primary members of the Congress party and joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Union Minister Piyush Goyal in the national capital on October 16.

Amidst this latest development, BJP Goa unit president Vinay Tendulkar claimed that more MLAs’ from the opposition party are waiting for crossover.

Vinay Tendulkar in his statement asserted, ‘more legislators from Congress may join either the saffron party or the regional parties that are part of the Manohar Parrikar-led coalition government’.

The resignation might come as a big blow to the Congress party as it would mean that the Congress’ status as the single largest party in Goa would dwindle, as the count of its MLAs would come down to 14 from previous 16.

Tendulkar, unwilling to disclose the names of the MLAs who he has claimed are willing to cross over or change loyalties, furthered, “The induction of Sopte and Shirodkar in the BJP is a part of the ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’.”

A senior leader from the Congress party reviewing the disassembling and contradicting BJPs’ claim said that their remaining 14 MLAs’ would remain intact.

Goa assembly is a 40 member assembly, out of which the BJP coalition government occupy 23 seats. These amount to 14 BJP MLAs, three from the Goa Forward Party and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party respectively, as well as three independents.

As all the parties gear up for the 2018 assembly elections news emerge where several Congress members have quit, joining the BJP. Such defections have considerably helped the BJP to grow and yank dominance in several states.

A day back Former Mizoram Minister Buddha Dhan Chakma had quit the Congress party and is all set to join the BJP ahead of the polls, which is scheduled on November 28.

Just a few days after the declaration of elections dates in Chhattisgarh, there were reports of  Chhattisgarh Congress’ working president and Pali-Tanakhar MLA, Ramdayal Uike to have joined BJP.

Similarly, in the last few months, trouble seems to be intensifying for the Congress as several members have been reported to quit the party stating problems with the party’s current policies. Given the current scenario, it will only be interesting to see what stance the Congress adapts ahead of the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Madhya Pradesh: BJP files complaint against Kamal Nath for posting fake photo ahead of polls

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: BJP files complaint against Kamal Nath for posting fake photo ahead of polls

The Madhya Pradesh BJP on Wednesday lodged a police complaint against Madhya Pradesh Congress party chief Kamal Nath for posting a false image to malign the image of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

According to the reports, the BJP has called for strict action against Kamal Nath for resorting to sharing a fake image of a road from Bangladesh to target Shivraj Singh Chouhan ahead of the state elections in Madhya Pradesh.

Kamal Nath, one of the contenders to the post of Chief Minister from the Congress had tweeted an image accusing the ruling BJP government of involving in corruption. Kamal Nath had used a picture of shoddily constructed road to take a dig at Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s government. However, the picture tweeted by Kamal Nath was later found out to be an image captured in 2016 by a Bangladeshi citizen, Rifat Alam to criticize the Bangladeshi government for the poor conditions of roads.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had reacted to the fake image circulated by the Congress leader, said, “What can we say about our friends from the Congress party? First, Digvijay Singh brought a pool in Pakistan to Madhya Pradesh and now Kamal Nath has brought a Bangladeshi road to Madhya Pradesh.”


The Prime Minister also spoke regarding this issue and accused the Congress of resorting to “falsehoods” to gain power. “Sometimes there is fake news and sometimes there are misleading photographs. In fact, Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s government has done so much of development work that the opposition can’t raise their finger at it. It has turned Madhya Pradesh from a “BIMARU state to Bemisal state” (from a sick state to an incomparable state),” the Prime Minister said.

Earlier, we had reported about repeated incidents of Congress spreading the fake news on social media. Senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi had posted a fake petrol bill on Twitter to incite the public against the BJP. He was slammed by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and said that Congress has become desperate and they are trying to instigate people.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced the dates for the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Telangana. The states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan will go to poll on November 28 and December 7 respectively and the results will be announced on December 11, 2018.

Former French Air Force official rubbishes French media and Congress’ allegations on Rafale Deal

OpIndia Staff
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Former French Air Force official rubbishes French media and Congress’ allegations on Rafale Deal

Puncturing another hole in the allegations of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, a former French Air Force official has come out to assert that there is no corruption and favouritism involved in the Rafal Deal, according to a report by India Today. Yves Pagot, who now works as a researcher, was commenting about two ‘official Dassault’ documents which appeared in French media a few days ago. The Congress party had presented these documents saying these will “take the lid of Modi government’s murky sweetheart deal in the Rafale Scam.” French publication Mediapart had published a report based on these documents claiming they were official Dassault Aviation documents, without publishing the documents.

Talking to India Today about the documents, Pagot has said that the document was quoted selectively, and deliberately omitted second part of the document where trade unions were complaining about job loss due to the transfer of work to India. Pagot also informed that the documents were not even internal secret documents from Dassault, but they were trade union document. He has said, “I was shocked to read Mediapart’s second report where they quoted an unpublished internal report from Dassault because it wasn’t an internal secret document, it was a trade union document.”

Pagot has said only a particular page from the document was quoted which had “ambiguity in language”, and another document was withheld where the language used is much clearer. The former air force official says that the second document is from Trade union CFDT which clearly states that it is the ‘Make in India’ provision which is the “inevitable” part of the deal, and the joint venture of Reliance was formed only to fulfil this mandatory provision.

After the Mediapart report was published, Yves Pagot had tweeted that the publication is spreading falsehood about the so-called “inner document”, and published two documents from two trade unions as “definite clue” of the same on the Portail Aviation website, where he is an editor.


It is important to note that in our earlier report, we had already indicated that the documents were trade union leaflets and not official Dassault documents as claimed, and the documents reflected the ideological orientation of the unions. We had mentioned that CGT was critical of the deal and used ambiguous language about offset obligations, while the CFDT document used much clearer language. Now the French defence expert has confirmed exactly the same point. CFDT is the largest trade union in France by the number of members, and CGT is the second largest.

Pagot has commented that although Mediapart is good with their investigations, this time they are on the wrong side of politics around Dassault, indicating political motivation behind the publication’s campaign against the Rafale deal.

Talking about the price of the jets, he has said that “It’s incredibly difficult to put a price tag here, it’s like buying a house under different conditions, the more Rafales are bought, the more offsets would go back to India.”

We have already reported how completely baseless and fictional allegations are being made about the deal to buy 36 Rafale jets from India, and governments of France and India, and Dassault Aviation has already rebutted those allegations.

People express shock as rape accused Bishop is given a grand welcome in Jalandhar

OpIndia Staff
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People express shock as rape accused Bishop is given a grand welcome in Jalandhar

In a shocking incident, Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun from the Missionaries of Jesus congregation, was welcomed like a hero at Jalandhar after he was granted conditional bail by the Kerala High Court. The rape accused Bishop was welcomed by showering him with rose petals and also garlanded by his supporters as he reached Jalandhar on Wednesday.

According to the reports, rape accused Bishop Mulakkal reached the Bishop House at Jalandhar around 5 pm on Wednesday. The supporters of the rape accused Bishop had arrived in large numbers including some nuns. After Franco arrived, many raised slogans in support of the accused rapist and recited prayers in support of Mulakkal and the Catholic Church.

The embracing of an accused who is out on a conditional bail has resulted in not only victim shaming but also an attempt to derail the ongoing case by depicting the accused as an ‘innocent’. Social media users were shocked after seeing the resounding welcome given to the rape accused Bishop Franco. Some social media users questioned the silence of so-called ‘feminists’ and ‘placard activists’ over the grand welcome given to the rape accused.


They also questioned the media for remaining silent over this shocking incident and highlighted their hypocrisy over selectivity in reporting such incidents.


There were also questions raised against the unequal implementation of the law by the courts. The rape accused Bishop was given bail within 3 weeks of his arrest even though the Kerala police took 3 months to arrest the alleged rapist.


Bishop Franco Mulakkal, Archdiocese of Jalandhar, Punjab, was arrested by the police officials on September 21st after the investigating team finally found evidence that linked him in the sexual harassment case. The nun has registered a complaint in June this year and has been allegedly threatened by the accused of doing so. The congregation has also stood by the rape accused and referred to him as an “innocent soul”. We had also reported that Kerala MLA PC George had called the alleged rape victim a ‘prostitute’. The Kerala High court had granted him a conditional bail on October 15th after asking him to appear before the investigation team once every two weeks and had also ordered to surrender his passport.

Rift within Congress: Party distances itself from Gujarat Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor, does not invite him for an event in Bihar

OpIndia Staff
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Rift within Congress: Party distances itself from Gujarat Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor, does not invite him for an event in Bihar

Amidst the recent episode of widespread violence which consumed Gujarat, which was reportedly instigated by Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor and his aides, the party appears to have distanced itself from the leader. In a function scheduled on 21st October in Bihar to mark the birth anniversary of Shri Krishna Singh, the state’s first chief minister, all top leaders of the party are invited.

In what appears like an internal rift within the party, Congress has not invited Thakor, who is also the secretary in-charge for Bihar. When asked about the possibility of Thakor attending the function, Bihar Congress president Madan Mohan Jha and BPCC campaign committee chairman Akhilesh Prasad Singh said “After being appointed the AICC secretary in-charge of the state, he has visited Bihar only once. As far as we know, no invitation has been sent to him”.

The Congress leaders, however, did not specify if keeping Thakor away was a conscious decision taken in view of the resentment among Biharis against the assault on migrant workers in Gujarat for which the Kshatriya Thakor Sena, run by the MLA has been accused.

Instead, Jha and Singh, in an attempt to shroud the Congress’ decision tried to turn around the argument by blaming the BJP for the recent clashes in Gujarat. “It is the BJP government in Gujarat which is responsible for the violence against people from the Hindi belt. The BJP has been trying to deflect public attention from its own failure by dragging the name of Alpesh Thakor. Even if he is guilty, who has stopped the Gujarat government from taking any action?” they said.

The celebration of birth anniversary of Shri Krishna Singh, (the first Chief Minister of Bihar who occupied the post until his death in 1961) is seen as an attempt by the Congress to win back a section of the upper castes who have traditionally been its voters in the state but have recently, gravitated towards the BJP.

‘Let me plant my seed in your matki’, another woman accuses Jatin Das of inappropriate behaviour

OpIndia Staff
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‘Let me plant my seed in your matki’, another woman accuses Jatin Das of inappropriate behaviour

Amidst the allegations of inappropriate behaviour levelled against Padma Bhushan awardee and father of filmmaker Nandita Das, artist Jatin Das, another woman has come forward naming him and accusing him of behaving inappropriately.


One Malavika Kundu has claimed that back in 1999 or 2000 when she was about 18 years old, she was asked by Das to help him out as an assistant to catalogue his collection of books. She claims she was at his place for about 3 days. On the first day, she says, he called her ‘baby’ which she didn’t like and asked him to not refer to her like that. She says that while the first two days were uneventful it still made her uncomfortable. On the third day, she claims he sat her down to have a word with her where he told her that he was older than her and she being so young should be receptive to him.

She says while other details may be fuzzy to her but she remembers the part very clearly where he specifically asked her to think of herself as a ‘matki’ (a clay pot) and that she should let him ‘plant his seed in him’. These allegations against Das come a day after one Garusha Katoch retold her horror from five years back.


Katoch, narrating an incident from 2013, claimed that Das made inappropriate moves towards her when she was 20. She claims that Das, on the pretext of taking her home, took her to his house where he forcefully groped her and tried to kiss her. “He introduced me to his staff and said I’d live there, much to my surprise. I merely peaked into the room before stepping out. That is when he leaned in and hugged me tight almost trying to kiss me. I looked away. I had tears in my eyes, I am sure he saw them.”

Earlier we had reported that conservationist Nisha Bora, who had met Das through her family back in 2004, had accused Das of grabbing her and forcefully kissing her. Meanwhile, in a Facebook post, Nandita Das, Jatin Das’ daughter had said that one should be sure about these allegations to make sure that the ‘movement’ is not diluted. Nandita Das, in her statement, stays clear from criticizing her father for his sexual conduct but instead stands by him terming it as ‘allegations just to dilute the movement’.

Sheikh Hasina gifts 1.5 bigha land to Dhakeshwari temple in Bangladesh

OpIndia Staff
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Sheikh Hasina gifts 1.5 bigha land to Dhakeshwari temple in Bangladesh

Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina gifted one and a half bighas of land to the Dhakeshwari temple this week on the occasion of Durga Puja as per reports.

During her visit on Monday to the Dhakeshwari temple, after which the city of Dhaka is named, she made the announcement of gifting the land adjacent to the temple to the temple authorities. By gifting the land to the temple Hasina has solved the six-decade-long problem.

‘Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presented the land to us by putting an end to its (land) 60-year long problem,’ General Secretary of Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad Nirmal Chatterjee told. He sincerely thanked Prime Minister Hasina for the gift.

She extended her greetings to Hindus in Bangladesh and abroad on the occasion of Durga Puja. While addressing the Hindu devotees in the temple she said, ‘Religion is an affair of individuals, but festivals are for all. We saw how temples and idols were destroyed and members of the Hindus, Christian and Buddhist communities were attacked. We always took a stand against such attacks.’

She assured that the law enforcement and intelligence agencies are working efficiently to combat the evil forces. ‘Our goal is to build Bangladesh as a secular country where people of every religion will enjoy equal rights and work together to build our motherland,’ she said.

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