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BJP MP calls for wealth in Kerala temples to be donated for flood relief, Twitter responds

OpIndia Staff
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BJP MP calls for wealth in Kerala temples to be donated for flood relief, Twitter responds

Kerala was hit by one of the worst floods in a century last month and widespread damages were witnessed all over the state. As news of the floods spread, relief and financial aid were poured from all over the country on the coastal state. Various state governments, the Central government and private organisations had come forward to help Kerala stand back on its feet. Even private citizens had come forward in large numbers to donate in the chief minister’s relief fund set up by the Kerala government.

However, the unfortunate event of the Kerala floods also saw many individuals with vested interests use it to propagate their own political or ideological goals. There were attempts to spread regional divide. There were also several attempts to spread fake news of the UAE government offering aid and the PM Modi refusing it. Recently, another individual has stirred up a controversy on the social media over the topic of Kerala floods. Ironically, it is a BJP MP.

BJP MP from Delhi North-West constituency, Udit Raj had tweeted yesterday that 3 Hindu temples in Kerala, The Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Sabarimala Temple and Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple have a combined wealth of more than 1 lakh crores. He further stated that the people of Kerala should protest on streets demanding the distribution of this wealth among the flood victims. He had added that what is the use of such wealth when the people of Kerala are ‘dying and crying’

Tweet by Udit Raj

The MP’s tweet, however, was not received well by people on the microblogging platform. Many Twitter users disagreed with him and demanded to know why has he not asked for the wealth form Churches and Mosques too, to be distributed amongst the flood victims.


 


Twitter users also called his idea arrogant and questioned him whether he has donated his salary and given up perks and benefits as an MP for the Kerala flood victims.

Tweet by @freentglty

Even many BJP volunteers and supporters disagreed with Udit Raj’s statement and stated that temple wealth is private property and an MP has no say on how it should be used.


However, some people also questioned his statement by raising the larger issue of government ownership over Hindu temples and criticised the biased policies.


A recent report by NASA based on satellite imagery and research data showed that the delay in releasing dam water coupled with an unusually high monsoon rainfall was the reason behind Kerala floods. There were also reports that the erstwhile governments had ignored the Western Ghats Ecology Experts Panel report by Madhav Gadgil and let massive mining activities continue in the region which eventually led to large-scale soil erosion, deforestation and caused devastating floods in the state. Udit Raj was earlier in the news for ‘warning’ the BJP led NDA government for ‘Dalit atrocities’.

 

Following ‘a comprehensive settlement offer’, Mallya may be on his way back to India

OpIndia Staff
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Following ‘a comprehensive settlement offer’, Mallya may be on his way back to India

Fugitive business tycoon Vijay Mallya today told reporters in London that he has offered a “comprehensive” settlement to the government of India. “I have made a comprehensive settlement offer before the Karnataka High Court in India and hope the honourable judges will consider it favourably. Everybody gets paid off and I guess that’s the primary objective,” he said. Although he gave no detail of the settlement offer.

The liquor baron appeared before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court for hearing in his extradition case. Indian govt is seeking his extradition from the UK on various charges including money laundering and non-payment of bank loans. Mallya is contesting the extradition in UK courts, arguing he would not get a fair trial in India, and that conditions of jail are not good.

Referring to the argument on jail conditions by Mallya’s defence team, the London court judge had asked for a “step by step” video of the cell where Mallya will be lodged after he is transferred to India. This was done after the defence lawyers had argued that the still photographs of the cell provided by Indian govt are not clear. The Crown Protection Service, arguing on behalf of the government of India had agreed to this and a video was made and submitted to the court. For this, considerable renovations were carried out at two cells of Arthur Road jail in Mumbai.

The defence lawyers of Mallya demanded physical inspection of the jail cell, and opposed submission of the video to the court, in an obvious delaying tactic. The crown protection service (CPS) argued that Indian govt has provided adequate material and there is no need for an inspection of the jail. The Judge informed that the video has been received and she has already watched it three times.

The Westminster Magistrates’ Court is hearing final arguments in the case, and a ruling is expected soon.

HRD Ministry plans to set up ‘National Madarsa Board’ to register madarsas for better academic standards

OpIndia Staff
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HRD Ministry plans to set up ‘National Madarsa Board’ to register madarsas for better academic standards

The members of HRD Ministry’s National Monitoring Committee for Minorities’ Education (NMCME) has been contemplating collecting the details of all unregistered madarsas present in the country. According to the reports, NMCME has plans to set up a national-level madarsa board with a suitable system for accreditation to ensure their academic standards.

Afzar Shamsi, one of the panel members of the National Monitoring Committee for Minorities’ Education, in a recent meeting had recommended the idea of capturing the data of unregistered madarsas operating in the country. Shamsi said that they are two types of madarsas, one which is ‘registered’, which accounts for 20 per cent present in the country and the ‘unregistered’ forms the remaining 80 per cent of madarsas. He added that the government currently has data pertaining to the registered madrasas and do not have any details of the unregistered ones.

“There is a need to capture the details of the unregistered madarsas and bring them within the ambit of registration so that a clear picture is available,” he said.  Another member Jamshid Khan said, “Madarsa boards in some states are defunct. While some states have these boards, some like Maharashtra do not have any madrasa board”. Khan suggested that there should be a national level board with a system of accreditation to ensure that every madarsa is following the same academic standards.

Suman Kumar, another member of the panel was of the view that education at the madarsas should be linked with skill development council. “In order to facilitate the spread of information amongst the madarsas besides making it available on the website, there should also be a move to spread an awareness campaign in their areas in which we members can contribute”, Kumar said.

The NCME works under HRD Ministry, and its aim is to monitor minority education and the ongoing schemes of the HRD Ministry specifically for the minority community. Chaired by Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar, it includes academics, activists and nominees from state governments and makes recommendations to address the issues related to recognition and affiliation of minority institutions.

Earlier, the Centre had proposed to make board affiliation and geo-tagging mandatory for madarsas. Last year the HRD ministry had asked for the physical location data of those madrasas covered under SPQEM and the ones which were non-compliant had to wait for teacher’s payment.

This is just one of the many steps the government has taken to modernise madarsas. Last year in August, Yogi Adityanath led Uttar Pradesh government had introduced subjects like maths and science as well as introduction of NCERT books in madarsas. The UP government had also launched a Madarsa portal to provide transparency in employment, infrastructure and educational details of the several hundred madarsas operating in the state.

Missionaries of Jesus again sides with the Bishop accused of raping the nun, calls the accusation a ‘conspiracy’

OpIndia Staff
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Missionaries of Jesus again sides with the Bishop accused of raping the nun, calls the accusation a ‘conspiracy’

In a fresh statement, Missionaries of Jesus has attempted to slander the nun from Kerala who has accused Bishop Franco of raping her. The statement claims that the nun had made two demands and when they were not met, she made false allegations against the Bishop in an effort to malign his character and the Church.


As per the statement, the alleged rape victim approached the Mother Superior with two demands. According to the statement, she demanded that she be given free land in Bihar and be made Mother General. When these demands were rejected, she wanted to leave the convent and get married.

As per reports, the organization has resorted to slandering the alleged rape victim even as an investigation into the matter is underway. A statement claims, “For us sisters, losing our chastity is equivalent to death. The nun who claims that the Bishop had raped her was seen laughing along with the Bishop in a function, the very next day. It is unbelievable that someone could go to another person’s room without anyone noticing as it is a convent and it houses a number of nuns. Also, the congregation’s rules do not allow nuns from visiting anyone alone in the convent. If they have to visit someone, they have to ensure someone accompanies them.”

The statement also claims that the nun was in an illicit relationship with one of her relatives and that Bishop Franco was being accused of rape for acting on a complaint filed by a woman alleging that she was in an illicit relationship with her husband. The statement reads, “Bishop Franco is being accused of rape for acting on a complaint filed by a nun’s relative claiming she was having a sexual relationship with complainant’s husband. Our probe found substance to allegations that the nun was in a relationship with complainant’s husband.”

The Church body also slammed Kerala Police for supporting the nun and deemed the accusations a conspiracy, “Kerala police is supporting the nun. That’s why such allegations are being levelled against the Bishop. The nun is spreading utter lies. If we don’t protest against this conspiracy, we will have to face the consequences from God.” The statement also claimed that “eminent political and cultural personalities making false statements without knowing the truth.”

It is pertinent to mention that the alleged victim has written to the Vatican seeking justice. In the letter, she claimed that the Bishop was using his money, political power and support from other ecclesiastical authorities to manipulate the investigation. But given the history of the Vatican, which has a track record of covering up sexual abuse by its clergy, it is unclear whether the Vatican will be inclined to turn the tides for her. It is also pertinent to mention that Pope Francis himself has been accused by an Archbishop of elevating a sexual predator to a position of power despite being aware of the sexual abuse allegations against him.

We had reported that in an earlier statement, Missionaries of Jesus had come out in support of the rape accused and deemed him an “innocent soul”. We had also reported that Kerala MLA PC George had called the alleged rape victim a ‘prostitute’.

Haryana: Congress MLA Karan Singh Dalal and INLD chief Abhay Singh Chautala hurl abuses in Assembly, indulge in shoe-fight

OpIndia Staff
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Haryana: Congress MLA Karan Singh Dalal and INLD chief Abhay Singh Chautala hurl abuses in Assembly, indulge in shoe-fight

Five-time Congress MLA Karan Singh Dalal has been suspended from the Haryana assembly for one year after he and the Leader of Opposition and INLD chief Abhay Singh Chautala hurled abuses at each other and then went on to indulge in a ‘shoe-fight’ during a heated last day of the ongoing assembly session.

The Speaker of the house Kanwar Pal Gujjar had to call the marshals to control the members present in the assembly. The speaker then suspended Dalal after a resolution for his suspension was moved by Haryana Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu, which was promptly supported by INLD. The minister had moved the resolution against the Congress MLA for allegedly using derogatory language and misconduct. It was passed by voice vote in the assembly.

According to the reports, Dalal had a heated exchange with Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Chautala, which incidentally went out of control as Chautala advanced towards Dalal with a shoe in his hand, while Dalal also took out his shoe against the Leader of Opposition Chautala. The speaker had to call the marshals to prevent both members from hitting each other from shoes. The Congress members present in the assembly, including former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, held Dalal’s hand to stop him from hurling shoes at Chautala.

It is reported that Karan Singh Dalal used an objectionable word, which the ruling BJP legislators objected to and was later expunged. State ministers Anil Vij, O P Dhankhar, Manish Grover and Captain Abhimanyu criticised Dalal for using the objectionable word that would “bring disrepute for Haryana”. They claimed that Dalal had not only insulted the House but the entire 2.5 crore population of the state.

Karan Singh Dalal, after getting suspended came out of the assembly and said he would approach Punjab and Haryana High Court against his ‘illegal’ suspension and questioned why there was no action against Chautala. “I was not granted an opportunity to explain things and no ruling was given by the speaker whether the world was parliamentary or unparliamentary,” Dalal said.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda lashed out at the government saying that BJP was misusing its majority in the House. “If Mr. Dalal has said something, I and my party apologise on his behalf. I have also been a four-time Lok Sabha MP and am a four-time MLA, but never before have I seen such a situation where opposition MLA is suspended without being given a chance to explain his side,” Hooda said.

Congress promises ‘Rampath’ in MP, as the party’s tilt towards Hindutva continues

K Bhattacharjee
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Congress promises ‘Rampath’ in MP, as the party’s tilt towards Hindutva continues

In recent times, we have witnessed a revolutionary transformation in the Congress party. Gone are the days when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said minorities have the first right to resources in the country. Now, the Congress party has been working overtime to paint itself in saffron hues.

Consistent with its current trend of peddling ‘Soft Hindutva’ in an effort to win elections, senior leader of the Congress party, Dijvijaya Singh, has stated that the government will construct the ‘Ram Path’ (a route that is said to have been taken by Lord Ram during his 14-year exile) should his party come to power.

“The ruling BJP had announced to develop the ‘Ram Path’ but never kept its promise. But, we are thinking to construct the ‘Ram Path’ up to the borders of the state. The ‘Narmada Parikrama Path’ would also be constructed,” Singh said at a press conference in Bhopal.

The Congress party has a rather complicated history with Shri Rama, to put it mildly. In 2007, the UPA government at the Center had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court which asserted that there was no historical evidence for the existence of Shri Rama. In the Ram Mandir dispute, appearing for the Sunni Waqf board in Court which opposes the Ram Mandir, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal made attempts to delay judgment in the case and wanted the hearing to be adjourned till after 2019 general elections. Defending Triple Talaq in the Court, Sibal had also said, “If Hindus’ faith about Rama’s birth at Ayodhya can’t be questioned, then triple talaq, a matter of faith for Muslims shouldn’t be.”

Then there was Congress MP Hussain Dalwai who had invoked Shri Rama in the Triple Talaq debate that had ensured and said Rama had also left Sita after doubting her. The Congress mouthpiece, National Herald, had also come out in support of the propagandist masquerading as a historian, Audrey Truschke, who had called the Hindu God a “misogynist pig”.

Given its history of minority appeasement at the expense of Hindu rights, the Congress party has been working extremely hard trying to shed its anti-Hindu image. Congress President Rahul Gandhi went on an exhausting Temple Run ahead of the Gujarat elections which did not help them too much in the end. After the controversy at Somnath Temple where Rahul Gandhi allegedly declared himself to be a non-Hindu, the Congress party proclaimed him to be a ‘Janeu-dhari Hindu’.

While we welcome the Congress party’s recent move to embrace the Hindu cause as it would felicitate a Hindu centric polity where the rights of the Hindus are duly respected, there is a certain contradiction between their words and actions. The Congress party has been at the forefront of stoking tensions after the NRC draft, which is absolutely crucial to remove illegal immigrants from the country. After being elected the Chief Minister of Karnataka with support from the Congress party, Kumaraswamy met with the member of the radical Islamist outfit PFI, an outfit that has been accused of brainwashing Hindu girls to convert them to Islam. Reports had also emerged of an arrangement between PFI and Congress for the Karnataka elections when the latter withdrew its candidates to help the Congress party.

Thus, it appears that the Congress’ tilt towards Hindutva is merely a ploy to garner Hindu votes as their actions betray their true intentions.

Delhi High Court refuses to pass order on PIL against rising fuel prices

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi High Court refuses to pass order on PIL against rising fuel prices

Delhi High Court has refused to pass an order on rising petrol and diesel prices, responding to a PIL filed before the court.

On 11 September 2018, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was moved in the Delhi High Court against the daily change in the prices of petrol and diesel in the country. The petition was filed by one Puja Mahajan of Delhi, who requested the high court to issue directions to the central government to treat petrol and diesel as essential commodities and fix a fair price for these items. The PIL was filed through advocate A Maitri, which alleged that the government has given indirect permission to the oil marketing companies to hike the petrol and diesel prices at their own “whims and fancies”.

No revision in fuel prices done for 22 days before Karnataka assembly elections, it proves the implied consent of the government, alleged the PIL. The petition also alleged that the government was giving misleading information by saying fuel prices are rising due to rise in prices of global crude oil because when the global crude prices had fallen the petrol and diesel prices in India were not reduced.

The petition was presented before Chief Justice Rajendra Mohan and Justice V K Rao, who had listed it for hearing today.

Responding to the petition, the court said that the fuel prices are a matter of policy decision of the government, and there will great economic ramifications if court passes an order on the matter. Therefore it is up to the government to take a decision and the court would not like to get involved in it.

Prices of petrol and diesel have been rising consistently for the last several days, and are at all time high levels now. Opposition parties have been protesting against the rising fuel prices, and the opposition led by Congress had called for a nationwide bandh on 10 September which had turned violent. In light of this, the Delhi High court decision comes as a relief for the NDA government.

Chinese Army attempted infiltration in Uttarakhand, entered India thrice in August: ITBP report

OpIndia Staff
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Chinese Army attempted infiltration in Uttarakhand, entered India thrice in August: ITBP report

In yet another attempt to provoke India, the Chinese Army had reportedly transgressed into the Indian territory three times in the month of August. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China had crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) deep into 4 km towards the central sector in Barahoti, in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.

This incident comes after a report in August that a group of Chinese Army personnel had intruded into the Demchok area in eastern Ladakh. Reportedly, the Chinese troops had transgressed around 300 metres into the Demchok area and pitched four tents.

Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC) Northern Command, earlier this year, while speaking on transgressions along the LAC by the PLA had said, it took place in areas where we have a different perception of the Line of Actual Control. He added that India and China have well-established mechanisms, especially at the highest level, where special representatives from both the countries discuss issues related to the resolution of the boundary dispute.

However, the transgressions are not unusual and these issues are normally addressed at higher levels. Meanwhile, according to official figures, the number of transgressions by the Chinese Army into the Indian territory has gone up to 426 in 2017 from the 273 in 2016.

The recent transgression comes after the 73-day standoff at Doklam between Indian and Chinese troops. The Chinese had to finally retreat and stopped the construction of building road in the disputed trijunction of the Doklam shared between India, China and Bhutan.

India shares a 4,057 km long disputed border with China along three different sector- Northern, Middle and Eastern sector, which expands from the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the west and Arunachal in the east. India and China have even fought a war on the issue of the border dispute in 1962 during Nehru’s tenure as Prime Minister.

ISRO displays space suit and crew model for its first ever manned space mission- Gaganyaan in 2022

OpIndia Staff
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ISRO displays space suit and crew model for its first ever manned space mission- Gaganyaan in 2022

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) provided the first sneak peek into its upcoming manned mission to space- Gaganyaan, scheduled for 2022 at the sixth edition of the Bengaluru space expo held on 6th September.

Committed to send humans to space with the Gaganyaan system module, which ISRO is calling the Orbital Module, ISRO has developed some major technologies such as re-entry mission capability, crew module configuration, thermal protection system, crew escape system, and a prototype of a space suit.

The orange-coloured prototype space suit was developed over the past two years at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram and was put to display at the Bengaluru space expo.


As per reports, ISRO has developed two of such space suits till date and will also develop a third one prior to the testing of the manned mission in 2022. The space suit comes with a capacity of one oxygen cylinder that claims to hold enough oxygen to last for an hour. The suit is made of four layers and weighs less than 5 kilograms.

Along with the space suit, ISRO also displayed the crew model capsule in which all the three astronauts will travel for five to seven days during flight in the 400-km orbit from the Earth’s surface. According to reports, the manned capsule will have a thermal shield which will ensure that the temperature levels inside the manned capsule remain under 25 degrees Celsius, while it turns into a ball of flame when re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere.

The capsule is expected to rotate around the Earth every 90 minutes and astronauts will be able to witness sunrise and sunset. The three astronauts can also see India from space twice every 24 hours while conducting experiments on microgravity.

The display comes weeks after our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on the occasion of the 72nd Independence day, announced from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort, an ambitious timeline to launch its first crewed mission by 2022 in time to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the country’s independence.

ISRO chairman K Sivan stated soon after PM’s announcement that what the PM said is highly doable and ISRO has been working on it. As a matter of extreme pride with the announcement of the ‘Gaganyan’ came another briefing that the ISRO Human Space Flight Project will be headed by a woman, Dr VR Lalithambika, currently the Deputy Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSCC).

While the entire country is optimistic of witnessing former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s dream project come true, the immensely talented women of India handling the crucial responsibilities at the mission brings positivism to millions of girls who can now believe that with sheer dedication and commitment nothing seems to be unachievable.

Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa says Rafale and S-400 missiles crucial for India

OpIndia Staff
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Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa says Rafale and S-400 missiles crucial for India

Chief of the Air Force staff Birender Singh Dhanoa has stated in a press statement that the government’s procurement of Rafale fighter jets and S-400 missiles is extremely crucial of the Indian Airforce. According to a report in ANI, the Air Force Chief has asserted that by providing the Rafales and S-400s, the government is helping the Indian Air Force to counter the shortfalls of reduced numbers.


The Air Force Chief further stated that the Indian Air Force is currently struggling with a reduced number of squadrons. Against the sanctioned numbers of 42 squadrons, the IAF currently has only 31. He further added that even if India obtains the full capacity of 42 squadrons, it will still be less than the combined strength of the two main regional adversaries (China and Pakistan).


Air Force Chief Dhanoa further stated that in the last decade, China has significantly developed road, rails and airfield infra in the Tibetian Autonomous Region (TAR). In recent years, they had also gone ahead to permanently station fighter aircrafts, along with advanced radars and surface to air missiles in the TAR. As per information, China has approx 1,700 fighter aircrafts, of which 800 are of the 4th generation. A larger number of these can be expected to be deployed against India in case of a conflict. Though the TAR has geographical limitations due to its terrain, China still posseses enough numbers in internal regions to compensate for such a scenarios.

Stressing for the need of advanced aircrafts and modern weapon system the Air force chief stated that the Rafale jets and S-400 missiles are crucial for the Indian Air Force. He added that very few countries face the kind of challanges that India does, considering the fact that we have two nuclear-powered neighbours.

The Air Force chief’s statements comes at the wake of the controversy around the Rafale fighter jet procurement deal. Despite repeated clarifications from the government that there have been no irregularities in the procurement of 36 Rafale jets from France, the opposition parties have been crying wolf over the government to government deal. Recenlty the Supreme Court has listed a petition filed by a lawyer seeking an SIT probe into the Rafale deal.

India had confirmed that despite US sanctions, the S-400 Triumph missile system deal with Russia will be taken ahead and India will continue its startegic defence partership with Russia.

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