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Indian Badminton is ailing and it needs attention

Sambit Nayak
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Indian Badminton is ailing and it needs attention

2017 saw a fresh world order in Badminton, a new rise in global power, India. Indian Badminton reached unprecedented heights and India was regarded as a force to reckon with in world Badminton alongside our Asian counterparts. India had far bigger contingents playing at super series events, which earlier witnessed only a couple of Indian shuttlers. It won’t be an exaggeration to say, 2017 made Badminton mainstream in India.

Check out some of the super series and super series premier events in 2017 and how our top shuttlers fared

Let’s look at some of the phenomenal achievements here. Srikanth won 4 super series events, a record which is only held by legends of Badminton Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan and Chen Long. Sindhu won 2 super series and was a Silver medalist at World championships and Dubai world super series, a first for any Indian shuttler. Saina won Malaysian open and was a Bronze medalist in world championships.

Besides the big achievements, we saw the next generation of Indian players making big strides. Sai Praneeth defeated Srikanth at Singapore open and won his first super series. It was also an all Indian super series final, a first for Indian Badminton. HS Prannoy made several semifinal appearances. At Indonesia open, he became the first player of India to defeat Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long in successive matches.

Siki Reddy/Pranav Chopra had a good run and achieved a career-best ranking of 13. Satwik/Chirag also emerged as names to reckon in the highly competitive Men’s Doubles world. As Gopi puts it, it’s not only the winners but the bench strength also contributed to the rise by defeating good players early in the draw, making the road to final easer. One Saina or one Srikanth can’t make India a global power in Badminton. We need an equally strong bench and that’s what 2017 gave us.

If 2017 can be called a dream run, 2018 has been equally disappointing. There has not been a single super series win by any Indian shuttler in any category. Forget winning, none except Sindhu, have even made a super series final appearance. Let’s talk about some of the BWF 750 and 1000 events in 2018 – erstwhile super series and super series premiere.

DNP: Did Not Participate

The cells in Green represent their best ever performance in 2018 so far. Sindhu’s Silver medal at World championship has been the only saving grace so far. So what went wrong. Let’s look at some of the factors.

Packed Schedule

Some players and observers have blamed it on packed schedule by BWF putting stress on shuttlers and not giving enough time to rest, think and recover. Apart from regular BWF events, there have been 2 extra events this year. The Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Apart from Denmark, all other prominent Badminton playing countries play Asian games. Malaysia plays CWG. So, if we look at it, CWG is the only event which was extra on Indian shuttler’s diary. Rest BWF calendar is the same for players from all the countries. Another rule that came into effect in 2018 was, top 15 ranked players in all events must play at least 12 BWF events in a calendar year(Excluding Asian and CWG). Of course, it puts stress on players but again, it is the same for players from all countries. From winning 4 super series in a year to not making it to a single final and only 1 semifinal appearance can’t be described by a packed schedule.

Lean Patch

Every athlete, irrespective of the sports, sees a lean patch in his career. It’s a passing phase and athletes do bounce back. So can it be attributed to the temporary loss of form? Maybe. But as a counter-argument, even if I accept that Sindhu and Srikanth are going through lean patches, what explains the dismal performance of the entire continent. Those who were making the routine semi-final or quarter-final appearances are not going past the 2nd round. How probable is it that the entire team loses form at the same time and may bounce back together next year?

What’s wrong then?

What then has really changed from last year to this year. One remarkable event is the departure of Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo. He was roped in during early 2017 to help and ease the burden off from Gopi during early 2017. With Mulyo coming in, one incredible change that we saw in our shuttlers was their physicality on the court. Their stroke making was never bad. But, our Asian counterparts triumphed our players in the physical department.

Mulyo Handoyo targeted the correct areas and it showed immediate results in 2017. However, unfortunately, for personal reasons, he had to leave the Indian team in December 2017 and then started the downfall of Indian Badminton. If you compare the videos of 2017 vs 18, the aspect that is missing is physicality and aggression on court. Well summarised by Gopi, who during Malaysia Open, told Sameer Verma(Audible through camera mics), “lag hi nahin raha ki tu jeetne ke liye khel raha hai“.  This, in fact, can be applied to the entire Indian team. That relentless attacking attitude is totally lacking. For Srikanth, this is his natural game. And because most of them, including Srikanth, are low on confidence, they further slow down their game, taking it to long rallies, which doesn’t suit their playing style, affecting the end result.

India needs a new coach or two of them. Counter-argument, “Are you serious? We have Gopi, what else do we need”. What if, Gopi tells you the same? Fact is, Gopichand is a lot more than just being a coach. He is a national selector. He has a lot of other duties as a BAI member. Also, the Badminton continent is growing. Gopi can’t focus on all of them. We need more quality coaches for focused training for each player suiting their game style as China or Malaysia do.

One more area, that we need to look at is the psychological aspect of the game. Many of our players, youngsters, in particular, are lacking the nerve in big matches. The table above may not do justice but many players actually lost matches to big names. In All England Satwik/Chirag were one game up against the legendary Boe/Mogensen and leading in the 2nd and they lost the match from there. In Asian games, they did the unthinkable by winning one game against Gideon/Sukamuljo who are in the form of their life. They were again leading in the 2nd but pressure gave it to experience. Sindhu has lost to Carolina Marin in finals at big stages umpteen number of times. Prannoy gave away the Bronze to Rajiv Ouseph at CWG despite having a lead. I can go on and on. This aspect of our shuttlers needs to be looked into. What exactly are they lacking in the final moment? Confidence, nerve, positiveness all of these have a huge impact on the outcome.

Last but not the least, I will be a little blatant here. Yes, there is burn out of players given the packed schedule. I will say, let the big players stay away from Badminton for a month, probably a holiday sort of. They spend most of their time at the academy. It’s time for a big break. It is time to sometimes, NOT think about Badminton. Relax and come back. If it means, missing out on a few super series events, so be it. Participate in smaller tournaments to fulfil BWF’s 12 tournament criteria. Playing with relatively weaker players will not force them to stretch beyond their limits and few wins can give back the confidence that is missing.

Badminton is a gruelling and punishing sport. It’s rare to have a player performing consistently at the top level for more than a year unless you are Lee Chong Wei. You will rarely see a Federer or Nadal in Badminton. It’s difficult to stay at the top. However, with proper training, rest and right attitude as well as mindset, let’s hope for a better 2019 for our shuttlers which should serve as a perfect launchpad for Tokyo, 2020. After all, we know Indian Badminton is in good hands. Let’s keep calm and trust Gopi to fix things.

This is what the sole lady judge, and the only dissenting voice, said about women’s entry in Sabarimala

OpIndia Staff
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This is what the sole lady judge, and the only dissenting voice, said about women’s entry in Sabarimala

The verdict is out on the Sabarilama Temple case and the Supreme Court Bench, by a 4-1 majority verdict has decided that women of all ages should be allowed in the Kerala temple.

“Women no way inferior to men. On one hand, women are worshipped as Goddesses, but there are restrictions on the other hand. Relationship with God can’t be defined by biological or physiological factors”, observed CJI Dipak Misra on the ban on entry of women in Kerala’s Sabarimala temple while striking down the age-old practice that the devotees hold dear.

By this verdict, the apex court has struck down the Rule 3(b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965, which restricted the entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50 into the Sabarimala Temple.

CJI Mishra reportedly read that said rule was a clear violation of the right of Hindu women to practice their religion under article 25 and further added that the entry restriction for women of reproductive age is not an essential part of Hinduism.

The sole dissenting voice in this majority verdict was Justice Indu Malhotra, the only woman in the 5-judge bench. Her Ladyship observed that there exists a difference between diversity and discrimination.


Her Ladyship Malhotra observed that matters of deep religious sentiment should not be interfered by the court. She said that the shrine and the deity are protected by Article 25 of the constitution and hence, the court should not interfere unless there is an aggrieved person from that religion or section.

She observed that the subject of rationality should not be seen in religious beliefs and that there are clear attributes that there exists a section with identifiable characteristics, they constitute religious denomination.

She observed that the people worshipping in Sabarimala have attributes of a religious denomination and that Sabarimala gets funds from Devaswam Board, not from CFI.

‘This is not a case of arrest because of dissent’: SC refuses to interfere with arrest of Urban Naxals

OpIndia Staff
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‘This is not a case of arrest because of dissent’: SC refuses to interfere with arrest of Urban Naxals

Hearing the case on the arrest of five ‘activists’ linked to the Bhima Koregaon violence on January 1, 2018, the Supreme Court today refused to interfere with the arrests. According to reports, the apex court also refused to constitute SIT and asked the Pune police to go ahead with their probe.


The apex court has extended the house arrest of the arrested persons Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha for another four weeks. It has asked the arrested persons to move to the trial court with their appeals.

The court has reportedly ruled that the accused here do not have a say on how the police should investigate the case, the court has also added that the case is not merely of dissent or different political views.

courtesy: Bar & Bench

According to reports, CJI Deepak Mishra has stated that the plea of petitioners that there is no evidence against the arrested persons is seriously disputed. He also added that since the main accused persons have already resorted to legal remedies, the SC refrains from dealing with the case at this stage.

The Pune Police had conducted raids and arrested the five accused last month. The arrested persons were accused of links with Maoists networks. The arrests were in relation to the Bhima Koregaon violence. Earlier, the Pune police had arrested Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut and Sudhir Dhavle in the case. The arrested persons in August raids had moved to the Supreme court and had obtained an order for house arrest instead of judicial custody.

The Pune police had clarified that the arrests have been done keeping the MHA in the loop and they had also taken IB inputs in their investigations. The police had also unearthed an incriminating letter from one of the raids which spoke of an assassination plot targetting PM Narendra Modi.

Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala temple: Women of all age groups to be allowed

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala temple: Women of all age groups to be allowed

Delivering its verdict on the much awaited Sabarimala Temple case, the Supreme Court of India has today decreed that women of all ages should be allowed entry into the temple.


According to reports, CJI Deepak Mishra, reading out the verdict, stated that women are in no way inferior to men and relationship with God cannot be defined by biological and physiological factors. 4 judges of the bench had the similar opinion while, the only female judge on the bench, Justice Indu Malhotra had a dissenting opinion.

By this verdict, the apex court has struck down the Rule 3(b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965, which restricted the entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50 into the Sabarimala Temple.

CJI Mishra reportedly read that said rule was a clear violation of the right of Hindu women to practice their religion under article 25 and further added that the entry restriction for women of reproductive age is not an essential part of Hinduism.

The court had first issued a notice in the case in August 2006. The Travancore Devaswom Board, the Nair Service Society, and the Padalam royal family, as well as some groups like People for Dharma had argued in favour of the rule, stating that the traditional practices of the temple must be preserved.

 

Paedophile Rehan Abdul Rashid Qureshi accused of raping 15 minors arrested in Thane

OpIndia Staff
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Paedophile Rehan Abdul Rashid Qureshi accused of raping 15 minors arrested in Thane

A paedophile, Rehan Abdul Rashid Qureshi, 34 years old, wanted in connection with 15 cases of sexual assault of minor girls and who was absconding for over two years has been finally nabbed and arrested by Navi Mumbai police from Mira Road, area neighbouring Thane district.

Studying 500 hours of the CCTV footage police teams from the Navi Mumbai, Thane and Palghar launched a massive manhunt. The accused was identified through a CCTV footage of Mira Road railway station and an area in Navi Mumbai, which captured him after he allegedly sexually assaulted two minor girls in two separate incidents of crime. The police finally arrested him from Sheetal Nagar, Mira Road, on Wednesday afternoon.

Navi Mumbai Commissioner of police, Sanjay Kumar revealed that the police identified the accused with the help of his walking style as seen in the CCTV footage.

The accused was allegedly involved in at least 15 cases of rape and molestation of minor girls since 2017 in Mumbai and the neighbouring Navi Mumbai, Thane and Palghar districts, said Sanjay Kumar.

The modus operandi of the perpetrator was to approach the children at their houses and convince them that their father was calling them. Once the innocent children fell into his trap he would take them to isolated construction sites and commit the heinous crime. Before committing the act the accused use to survey the area and make sure not to use his mobile while in the area. This made it difficult to zero in on him (as data from mobile towers can reveal which mobile number was used from a particular area during a given period), the official said.

Unemployed for the last six months, his last job was with Masjid Bunder-based Fitwell Fixtures. He stayed in Mira Road with his brother and mother. His elder brother works in Dubai. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), Tushar Doshi, said. “Being a salesman, he was always well-dressed and had the smartness to allure people. While searching his house we found a passport, which had a Parel address, a laptop and clothes he used while committing the crimes.”

The laptop and mobile phones of the accused were seized and sent for forensic examination to verify if he had clicked pictures of the victims as one of the victims had claimed in her statement.

During the search, police found documents of a case where he was arrested once by the Taloja police in 2015 for molesting a minor.

Qureshi was booked under IPC sections 376 (rape), 363 (kidnapping), and under the Protection of children from sexual offences act (POSCO). He was produced before the court on Thursday and was sent to police custody till 6th October.

Konark War Memorial: PM inaugurates Parakram Parv in Jodhpur to mark 2nd anniversary of surgical strike

OpIndia Staff
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Konark War Memorial: PM inaugurates Parakram Parv in Jodhpur to mark 2nd anniversary of surgical strike

Prime Minister Modi today inaugurated Parakram Parv in Jodhpur to mark 2nd anniversary of surgical strikes carried out across the LOC on 29 September 2016.


The Parakram Parv is being celebrated to highlight the valour and accomplishments of the Indian Army.


Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje paid their tributes to the martyrs at the Konark War Memorial. Parakram Parv will be celebrated till 30th September.

On 29th September 2016, in response to Pakistan sponsored terrorist attack in Uri on the Indian Army which left 19 soldiers martyred, the Indian Army carried out a surgical strike on Pakistan where at least 38 terrorists were eliminated. Ahead of 2nd anniversary of the surgical strike, Indian government released fresh video clip of 2016 surgical strike.

Sanjay Bhandari’s shady history and his connections to Robert Vadra and Aam Aadmi Party. All you need to know

Research Team
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Sanjay Bhandari’s shady history and his connections to Robert Vadra and Aam Aadmi Party. All you need to know

We have reported earlier on the links between shady arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari and brother-in-law of Rahul Gandhi, Robert Vadra. We had mentioned that Dassault had refused to partner with Bhandari’s Offset India Solutions (OIS) due to his proximity to Robert Vadra and that classified documents were found in his possession and was charged under the Official Secrets Act.

As per reports, Bhandari was often sighted with Vadra at arms expos in Dubai and elsewhere. They were often seen together at a luxury hotel in Delhi as well. We may never know the extent to which his proximity to the Congress party helped shape his fortune but there is a certain other political party, that definitely had a profound impact on Bhandari’s fate.

For a long time, Bhandari was not under the radar of Indian authorities. But his luck ran out when Deepak Agarwal, a hawala operator, was being scrutinized in an entirely separate case involving funding to the Aam Aadmi Party. It was discovered that Rs. 69 crore to seven of Bhandari’s companies came from the same hawala operator. It was only then that his phones were tapped and the raids conducted. The raids, as people are well aware, opened the pandora’s box.

The hawala connection runs much deeper. Republic TV had reported in June 2017 that Deepak Agarwal was working very closely with another hawala operator, Mukesh Kumar, to provide accommodation entries to numerous entities, including the Congress party and the AAP. It is reported that Delhi Chief Minister had even tweeted about receiving Rs. 2 crores from Mukesh Kumar. Mentioned in the same report, a notice was sent by the I-T Department to the Congress on May 24, 2017, regarding the dubious transactions.

Kapil Mishra, the rebel AAP leader, levelled serious allegations against Kejriwal and his party. “A man who cannot repay a loan contributed Rs 2 crore to the AAP. Mukesh was compelled to talk in favour of the AAP, otherwise his firm would have been shut down by the government, which had issued him a notice in 2013 for non-payment of value-added tax,” Mishra had said after Mukesh Kumar reportedly told NDTV that he had made a contribution of Rs. 2 crores to the party.

Coming back to Bhandari, the source of funds for a plush property in London which was bought in 2009 is currently under investigation. It was allegedly bought by Vadra and it was Bhandari who funded it. Bhandari was also red flagged by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and a probe was initiated against him by the CBI for allegedly being the kingpin of a scandal where he was importing cars by avoiding customs duty. It is also interesting to note that he had set up the OIS with a paid-up capital of just Rs. 1 lakh.

Investigators are believed to be perplexed at how brazenly Bhandari received the documents from the defence ministry. An MHA report states, “According to another input, one Nafe Singh levelled serious allegations against S. Bhandari, in which he blamed Sanjay for stealing the file in respect of the purchase of 126 fighter planes and the file went missing from the ministry and was later recovered on the road. S. Bhandari had been blamed to have his links with F-16 and F-18 contenders and was made responsible for the leak of photocopies of the file to the above mentioned American contenders.”

In another shocker, OIS is reported to have received payments of 2,50,000 Swiss francs and 7,50,000 Swiss francs from Pilatus Flugzeugwerke AG merely two years before the IAF bought 75 Pilatus basic trainer aircraft from the Swiss. The Pilatus deal is itself mired in controversy. The Finance Wing of the Ministry of Defense said in 2015 that the costs of certain components were not calculated before declaring Pilatus the lowest bidder. It was an issue that was raised by the Koreans who had emerged as the closest competitor to Pilatus. The Defense Minister of South Korea personally contacted A.K. Antony, his Indian counterpart in 2011 asserting that Pilatus had submitted an incomplete bid and therefore must be rejected. Bhandari himself is under investigation for alleged malpractices in the selection of the Swiss aircraft.

It appears bewildering now but Bhandari may never have faced the heat and his links with Vadra may never have turned into a political slugfest if Deepak Agarwal wasn’t investigated by Indian authorities in a case related to the Aam Aadmi Party. Luck often runs out at the most unexpected of times.

Ahead of second year anniversary, government releases fresh video clip of 2016 Surgical Strikes

OpIndia Staff
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Ahead of second year anniversary, government releases fresh video clip of 2016 Surgical Strikes

The Union government on Thursday has released a fresh video clip of the 2016 surgical strike operations conducted on terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The video is being released two days ahead of the operation’s second anniversary.

According to the reports, the surgical strikes video has been recorded using an unmanned aerial vehicle or UAVs and thermal imaging. A one and half minute video clearly show that various terror launch pads which were operating inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has been destroyed.


 

Recently, another video was doing rounds in the media claiming to be the proof of surgical strikes. The government’s decision to put the proof of surgical strikes in the public domain has cleared suspicion of many claims by political leaders including the likes of Arvind Kejriwal. This video comes amidst of the government’s plans to celebrate the second anniversary of the strikes in a big way.

Indian Army’s Special Forces had conducted a surgical strike along Line of Control on September 29, 2016, was the first of its kind operation on Pakistani terror launch pads. While the figures of casualty vary between 35 to 50, Pakistan continues to reject the claims of the surgical strike.

Nirmala Sitharama, Minister of Defence, had announced earlier that government has planned various events to commemorate the valour of soldiers from September 28 to 30. This will also include a three-day exhibition at India Gate, she said.

Recently, we had reported about the recent circular of University Grants Commission (UGC) to universities and higher education institutions across the country to observe September 29 as “surgical strike day”. Some opposition parties had rejected the idea of celebrating ‘Surgical Strikes Day’.

However, the Centre stepped in and clarified that it is not compulsory for universities and higher education institutions to celebrate the second anniversary of the surgical strikes.

In yet another development, it is reported that one of the launch pads across the LoC, which had been destroyed during the September 2016 surgical strikes, have been reactivated by Pakistan based Islamic terrorist groups. It is estimated that more than 250 terrorists are being trained in these launch pads and are waiting to infiltrate into India from 27 different launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

NIA busts LeT linked organisation’s terror funding module in Delhi

OpIndia Staff
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NIA busts LeT linked organisation’s terror funding module in Delhi

In a major breakthrough in its terror funding investigations, the National Investigations Agency (NIA) has busted a hawala module and arrested 3 operatives of Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation, an organisation run by Hafiz Sayeed’s Lashkar-e-Taiba. According to reports, the NIA had conducted simultaneous raids at several locations in Delhi on Wednesday.

The 3 arrested operatives are namely Mohammad Salman, Mohammad Salim and a Srinagar based hawala courier named Sajjad Abdul Wani. They are linked to the Dubai based organisation named Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation. Mohammad Salman, who hails from Mewat in Haryana, was reportedly in regular touch with a Dubai based Pakistani national who in turn, is associated with the deputy chief of Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF). The FIF is a front-end organisation of terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba run by Hafiz Sayeed.

Salman, according to reports, is from Uttawar in Mewat. He was initially into taxi and dairy business and after incurring losses, had turned towards hawala transactions. NIA officials have stated that he had travelled to Dubai and had got in touch with some Pakistani nationals.

According to reports, the Mewat resident Mohammad Salman is reportedly an old hawala dealer. NIA officials have stated that the group was involved in supplying terror funding through hawala transactions in many areas of Delhi and Mewat. NIA officials raided locations at Daryaganj, Nizamuddin and Kucha Ghasiram and have reportedly recovered Rs 1.56 crores in cash, Rs 43,000 in Nepali currency, 5 pen drives, 14 mobile phones and several other incriminating papers.

The arrested persons were reportedly receiving funds from FIF and delivering it for various terror activities. Officials have reportedly stated that the funds were also being sent to Mewat. The agency is currently attempting to identify the recipients. The raids on Wednesday were a part of an investigation the NIA had launched after an FIR lodged in July that stated that FIF is using hawala links to fund terror in India. It is notable here that the FIF is on the list of organisations in the first schedule of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) with prevention and suppression of terrorism (Implementation of security council resolutions) order,2016.

The Mewat region in Haryana has gained notoriety in recent years as a hotbed of cattle smugglers and criminals. The area frequently sees violent attacks on police forces and is considered a den of criminal activities. It also has a significant Rohingya settlement. The government had earlier asserted that many illegal Rohingyas in the region have links with terror organisations.

The NIA has been investigating many cases of terror funding. Last year in June, it had raided 23 locations in Delhi, Srinagar and Haryana. It had also raided the residences of Kashmiri separatists in its investigations and had arrested several individuals in connections with funding stone pelters in Kashmir.

Marathi newspaper claims RSS chief had justified murder for beef eating, retracts ‘in small font’ later

OpIndia Staff
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Marathi newspaper claims RSS chief had justified murder for beef eating, retracts ‘in small font’ later

Marathi newspaper LokSatta, published by the Indian Express Group, in an editorial dated 21st September, claimed that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had said “Sinners who kill cow have to undergo penance by death as per the Vedas.”


The editorial claimed that RSS chief had said this three days after Akhlaq was lynched in Dadri in 2015 for allegedly consuming beef. It was pointed out by Twitter users that Bhagwat never said such a statement. Eventually, LokSatta expressed regret over mischievously misquoting RSS chief, albeit in small fonts.


“In the editorial titled “Soor Nava.. Pan Padya” statement concerning Mohammed Akhlaq’s murder attributed to SarsaghaChalak Mohan Bhagwat was never made by him. We express our regret at out inadvertent mistake.” said the apology note which was published in small fonts.

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