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Rajdeep’s interview to The Quint: PR exercise laden with lies to whitewash his dwindling credibility

Anubhav
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Rajdeep’s interview to The Quint: PR exercise laden with lies to whitewash his dwindling credibility

It is well known that information is power and the democratization of it will surely cause irk among those who enjoy benefits from being informed at the expense of the ill-formed general public.

The entire media scenario has been abuzz with the perception of ‘civil society’ being persecuted and the main propagators of this idea are claiming to be torch-bearers of neutrality and constitutional values. Some of them are journalists of repute. Controversial journalist Rajdeep Sardesai is one of them. Now, Rajdeep has been trying to better his public perception by using a mouthful and deceiving title ‘Newsman’.

Perpetuating the same manufactured perception, Rajdeep Sardesai gave an interview to the news portal, The Quint. The entire interview reads like a tactfully curated PR release to showcase Rajdeep in a kinder light. The interview goes to the extent of making Rajdeep a victim as opposed to the fact that he himself has been the aggressor on multiple occasions, which is dealt with in details in the latter part of this article.

The Quint interview starts with  –

“Rajdeep Sardesai, veteran journalist, has been propped as PM Modi’s biggest nemesis. His coverage of the 2002 Gujarat riots, the cash-for-votes controversy, and a ‘soft’ Sonia Gandhi interview has given enough ammunition to the supporters of PM Modi and the BJP to brand him as a Modi-hater.”

To insinuate that there was no agenda behind this and Rajdeep was just a ‘newsman’ is fallacious on so many levels, that this seems like a PR exercise is evidenced by the fact that none of Rajdeep’s answers was countered. For example, when asked about his soft stance on Sonia Gandhi and Laloo Prasad, Rajdeep simply states that he like the ‘underdog’ Laloo but fails to answer why he continued with his soft stand even after the ‘underdog’ became convicted of syphoning of funds while holding a union minister portfolio.

In his answer about  Sonia Gandhi, he claims that the lack of time forced him to ask ‘soft’ questions. Rajdeep claims whenever he tried to ask a different question, Sonia shut him down. Now, for a self-righteous newsman, it is a very revealing statement, as this exposes the inability of having the guts to not bow down to power and maintain the strict line of questioning.

This was, however, in complete contradiction to Rajdeep’s answer to the question of being anti-Modi, where he states:

“I do believe that it is important for a journalist to show the mirror to the politicians to be able to say like it is. That’s what I’ve tried to do. And, I think, if that leaves me vulnerable to the charge of being anti or pro-Modi. It’s unfortunate but I’m willing to live with it now. I have no problems with it, my conscience is clean. And we have to be anti-establishment at one level.”

This is a clear indication of the duplicity that is synonymous with Rajdeep. The newsman may like to share a bottle of beer with Jyoti Basu and Bal Thackrey but the temperature will differ according to the ‘newsman’.

According to Merriam-Webster the term ‘Newsman’ denotes – ‘A person who gathers, reports and comments on the news.’ There is no mention of suppression or manipulation of news. The extraordinary thing about the internet is that this newsman, no matter how hard he tries, can never deny that he himself has indulged and been a part of the politically motivated dissemination of information or in his case suppression of a particular ‘sting’ to save the face of his then found new friends in a political party.

It is hard to remember something which happened nearly ten years ago, especially in today’s world of ‘information overload’. Rajdeep was at that time the Editor-in-Chief’ of CNN-IBN and his channel had done a sting on ‘cash-for-votes’. The sting was to be aired on the very critical date of July 22nd, 2008 the day of the no-confidence motion in the parliament. The motion was triggered by a split in the government due to an Indo-US nuclear deal.

As Rajdeep stood outside the parliament on that eventful day announcing the impending telecast of the scoop, three MP’s from the Bharatiya Janata Party on July 22, 2008, rushed into the well of the Lok Sabha displaying the Rs 1 crore to show they had been bribed. They then deposited the cash in the office of the Speaker Somnath Chatterjee. Interestingly, the sting focused on the serial number of the notes given to the MP’s. The reason behind this was that it can be confirmed if one is to claim that those notes were not the ones in the video, the serial number can be used as markings of reference.

The sting claimed to show Amar Singh, Rajya Sabha MP, had promised them Rs 3 crore each to go against the BJP whip and vote for the motion triggered by a split in the government over the Indo-US nuclear deal. The BJP MPs also said that Sanjeev Saxena, who worked for Amar Singh, told them that they would be given a total advance of Rs 1 crore. They added Saxena had also been filmed handing over cash to MPs. The MP’s also claimed that the entire operation was planned by the then leader of the opposition and now the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and executed by L.K.Advani’s former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni.

In a typical Rajdeep way, the sting was not shown that day and in the evening Rajdeep appeared on his channel citing “National interest” for the cause of withdrawal of Broadcasting. He sat on it for 10 whole days as the public and the politicians grew restless and on 30th July 2018, Rajdeep wrote a very superfluous article stating his defence which in summary amount to –“The sting was not complete”.

The very first question that anyone would ask is why would Rajdeep announce on TV that the tapes would be telecasted very shortly and right after that announcement say that his channel has chosen not to showcase the tape?

In his article he states:

“Quite simply, we have chosen not to telecast the story yet because we did not feel that the story was complete. Credible journalism is based on accuracy not speed, facts not sensationalism, reportage not allegations and assumptions.”

By his own admission, he was certain of the fact that the story was good to go when he was standing outside the parliament but then suddenly after only a few hours and an epiphany he came to the conclusion that the story was not yet complete.

To cover up, this attempt to safeguard vested interest Rajdeep argues that he has submitted all the un-edited tapes and footage to the speaker:

“All the raw, unedited footage was placed before the Speaker within 24 hours of the parliament fracas. Not a single frame has been edited in any form. The Speaker has subsequently ordered an inquiry, which media reports suggest, is to be completed by the 11th of August.”

Going back to the unfinished business of Rajdeep, if one person feels that the sting is inconclusive how can the same person turn around and say this is and can be used as evidence. It seems like the main intention here was to keep the sting off the public domain. One wonders if by disposing the entire tape to the Speaker, Rajdeep very astutely made sure that certain people’s integrity was not questioned and then backed by video evidence.

Sudheendra Kulkarni, one of the key persons in this whole fiasco in his column in The Indian Express newspaper, writes that he was “with the CNN-IBN team almost from the beginning to the end of its sting operation and have witnessed the recording of its operation”.

The above-stated statement is in stark contrast with the high-headed moralistic view of his channel that Rajdeep mentioned in his article.

In this article, Rajdeep writes:

“We would like to reiterate that at CNN-IBN we remain committed to quality and independent journalism. Our commitment is to the truth. Truth that cannot be partial, inconclusive or sensational, but one that must adhere to exacting standards of fairness and accuracy.”

In this case, the truth was partial. It was evident that there was an outside influence at play here. Kulkarni also alleges that not all tapes were submitted to the speaker Somnath Chatterjee on 26th July 2008. He states –

“In their statement, the CNN-IBN reporters talk about recording the cash being placed on the table by the BJP MPs. They even said on camera that they have proof of cash being paid to win votes. But the panel did not get those tapes”

In the end, the sting was aired 20 days later and the sting had no mention of Amar Singh or anyone conclusive, there was just a footage of a person calling someone stating – “Kam ho gaya”. The eight-member committee, headed by V. Kishore Chandra Singh Deo, completed its probe in 11 sittings and submitted its report on November 12, 2008. It said there was no case against Patel and no “clinching evidence against Amar Singh”. It said the role of BJP worker Suhail Hindustani, Saxena and Kulkarni should be investigated at length by “an appropriate investigating agency.

However, the question of how public interest got served by withholding a sting in order to minimize damage to certain individual’s reputation is still unanswered.

AAP puts Ayushman Bharat for Delhi in jeopardy over demand to add party name to scheme

OpIndia Staff
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AAP puts Ayushman Bharat for Delhi in jeopardy over demand to add party name to scheme

The Aam Aadmi Party government has reportedly refused to implement the Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme until its name is changed. As per reports, the party wants the scheme to be named as ‘Mukhya Mantri Aam Aadmi Swasthya Bima Yojna-Ayushman Bharat’.

As per reports, the AAP also thinks that the coverage of 20 million people under this scheme is not enough and it wants to add another 50 million beneficiaries to it. The AAP government has also put the renaming of the scheme as a condition for implementation. The central government reportedly has refused to entertain such demands.

CEO of Ayushman Bharat Dr Indu Bhushan has reportedly stated that the states can keep the scheme state specific but it is a national program and its national outlook will be given a priority. She also mentioned that the AAP government is expected to revert on the issue soon. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has reportedly rejected the Delhi government’s proposal and a senior official has been quoted as stating the Ayushman Bharat scheme is an ambitious project by PM Modi which aims to provide quality healthcare for the people of India and it should not be moulded into a political vendetta.

PM Modi had announced a budget provision of Rs 10,000 crores for this scheme and it is scheduled to roll out from September 25th.

It is notable here that when the scheme was initially announced, the AAP had rejected it saying they will bring their own health insurance scheme. AAP had argued that the scheme is based on the socio-economic census of 2011 and it does not accurately include the number of beneficiaries that should be included in Delhi. The Ayushman Bharat scheme launched by the centre aims to provide health insurance of Rs 5 lakh to 10 crore families in the country. Under the scheme, 40% of the cost will be borne by the state and the rest by the central government. Some of the states were unwilling to join the national scheme. While Odisha has already come up with its own healthcare scheme for 70 lakh people that offers Rs 5 lakhs in health insurance to men and rs 7 lakhs to women, Delhi had failed to come up with its own scheme despite its claims.

It is notable here that the Ayushman Bharat is considered as the biggest universal healthcare scheme in the world. It plans to provide poor families with cashless insurance protection of Rs 5 lakh per year and is aimed at including 500 million Indians.

The AAP seems to have developed a sudden obsession with names. Earlier this week it was reported that it has made its leader Atishi Marlena drop her surname as it was deemed ‘too Christian’ for contesting elections. Recently estranged AAP leader Ashutosh has also claimed that during the 2014 elections the party forced him to use his surname against his wishes to appeal to his caste base.

 

 

Congress IT cell head Divya Spandana compares Muslim Brotherhood to the RSS

Nirwa Mehta
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Congress IT cell head Divya Spandana compares Muslim Brotherhood to the RSS

Congress IT cell head Divya Spandana yesterday tweeted an image which compared the global Islamist terrorist organisation Muslim Brotherhood which was founded in Egypt with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).


In an image, she juxtaposes the Muslim Brotherhood and the RSS and tries to draw parallels between the two in a rather flippant manner.

She claims that the Muslim Brotherhood and the RSS, both established in the 1920s, want to replace a ‘secular state’. She claims that the Arab Spring in 2011 gave a boost to the Muslim Brotherhood which got Mohamed Morsi as President in 2012, and Anna movement from 2011 got Modi to power in 2014.

That the Muslim Brotherhood and the RSS are similar in any manner is a figment of a nervous mind’s imagination and hence shouldn’t even be dignified. It is perhaps a precursor, fearfully so, of how the Congress might lash out at a social and cultural organisation such as the RSS because it would never want to risk being out of power again.

This post by Divya comes days after Congress President Rahul Gandhi embarrassed himself on an international platform by making the same comparison in Britain. Since its inception in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood has used jihad and violence to achieve its political objectives. In the 1970s, it moved from violence to electoral politics and in 2012, Mohamed Morsi became Egypt’s first elected President only to be overthrown soon after.

Her ignorance, however, is not just limited to the comparison she has drawn, following her employer, Rahul Gandhi’s footsteps. It also exposes the deep malaise that has infested the Congress party for years. Conflating secularism with the dominance of Muslims and communalism with the dominance of Hindus or even equal rights between Hindus and Muslims. The countries, other than the ones like Russia etc, where the Muslim Brotherhood is banned in, are Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria etc. Which country would she like to refer to as ‘secular’ is a question one must ask the Congress.

Manmohan Singh had famously said that Muslims have the first right on the Nation’s resources. The Congress party has always attempted to put on a facade of ‘secularism’. If the two are put together, Congress’ definition of ‘secularism’ becomes quite evident.

Congress has always used religion as a tool for politics, not as a matter of faith. During Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi and his coterie turned into staunch Hindus, during Karnataka, they preferred to share the political bed with radical Islamist outfits like PFI and now, as 2019 nears, their aims seem to be to demonise RSS, a cultural organisation, to create a fear psychosis that might just help them recover from their dwindling political fortunes. Of course, the entire process of religious-shape-shifting has been sprinkled with cases like opposing Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, Congressmen fighting for RSS and comparing Triple Talaq to Lord Ram.

One must ask Congress, that if it was them that hobnobbed with PFI, which party’s image could be closer to the Muslim Brotherhood between Congress and BJP?

This is not the only lie, however. Divya also asserts that it just like the Arab Spring helped Morsi from the Muslim Brotherhood seize political power in Egypt, it is Anna Hazare’s movement that helped RSS and BJP come to power. Interestingly, Divya completely skips over Arvind Kejriwal and AAP, that were the direct product of the Anna movement. Politics makes for strange bedfellows, but as is evident, politics and the fear of never returning to power also makes excellent liars.

The Internet is full of trolls who are busy comparing the ISIS to the RSS but coming from the grand old party, it gives legitimacy to demonising of the cultural organisation like the RSS. All this when Congress itself is hobnobbing and sympathising with Naxals while comparing the RSS to terrorists. On the recent crackdown of ‘Urban Maoists’ in connection to the Koregaon-Bhima case, the Congress had come out in support of those arrested and referred to the arrest as ‘draconian’.


The same activists whom Congress is supporting today were arrested earlier when Congress was in power but no one had the meltdown then like they are having one now.

In essence, Congress has managed to use religion to divide the nation, like in the case of Lingayats or claiming to be janeu dhari Hindus or trying to incite Dalits. It has managed to shake hands with radical Islamist outfits like PFI just to retain power and It has defended Naxals and Maoists who wish to bring down any duly elected government of India with the help of an ‘armed struggle’. Perhaps it is now time to ask Congress, that given its track record, who is more likely to be compared to the Muslim Brotherhood? The Congress or the BJP?

Congress’ master plan to gherao the PM’s residence over the Rafale deal has a major loophole

Raju Das
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Congress’ master plan to gherao the PM’s residence over the Rafale deal has a major loophole

As a part of its attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government over the Rafale deal, the Congress party today tried to gherao the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This came after Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley posted a detailed response over the allegations about the deal in a Facebook post, after which he and Rahul Gandhi traded accusations on Twitter.

On Thursday, hundreds of Congress party workers came onto the streets in New Delhi and tried to gherao the PM residence, but they were stopped by security forces. After that, they staged a protest.

Senior Congress leader Hanumantha Rao said the prime minister has not answered “properly” on the Rafale deal. “People who have no experience in defence manufacturing have been awarded contracts under this deal. We want to know how much money is being wasted in this,” he said.

Congress is trying to intensify its offensive Modi and BJP in the run-up to the General Elections next year, and this seems to part of that strategy.

Congress stages protest near PM residence. Source: Congress Twitter handle

It is, however, interesting to note that Congress chose to gherao PM’s residence on a day when PM is not even in the country.

On Thursday morning PM Modi arrived in Kathmandu to attend the BIMSTEC Summit 2018 which is being held in the Nepalese capital. BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) is a regional organisation of seven nations of South East Asia, comprising Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal.

With SAARC virtually rendered ineffective as a regional organisation, largely due to non-cooperation of Pakistan on various issues, India has been giving more importance to BIMSTEC in recent times. It also fits nicely with India’s effort to increase cooperation with South East Asian nations, though its Look East policy, which will also help in the development of North Eastern states of the country.

The point of a ‘gherao’ is generally to disallow a person from leaving the premises so they are eventually forced to respond or negotiate the protesting party’s demand. One wonders how the Congress plans to ‘stop the PM from leaving his residence’ by a ‘gherao’ protest when the prime minister is not even in the country, let alone his residence.

Republic TV ‘tracks down’ Nirav Modi to a luxury apartment in London, interviews his brother Nishal Modi

OpIndia Staff
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Republic TV ‘tracks down’ Nirav Modi to a luxury apartment in London, interviews his brother Nishal Modi

Republic TV claims to have narrowed down Nirav Modi’s location to a luxury apartment in London. Shawan Sen, a Republic TV journalist who has been tracking Nirav Modi and his brother Nishal Modi, through Hong Kong and London, has stated in his report that he has tracked Nirav Modi to a super luxury apartment in Westminister, London where Nirav has been served his extradition notice. As per reports, Modi has two addresses in London and Sen claims to have visited both.

Republic TV also claims that Sen got a phone call from Nishal after he tried to inquire about the brothers at the lobby of the apartment building when Nishal has claimed that he is in Belgium. Republic TV report cites both the brothers as claiming that the entire PNB scam was committed by Mehul Choksi and they are being trapped.


The channel has claimed that when Sen tried to go to the flat where Nirav Modi is supposedly hiding, he was asked by an unknown person from the neighbouring flat to go back. Upon reaching the lobby, Sen claims he was questioned by the building manager and the building manager mentioned that Ami Modi, Nirav Modi’s wife, once lived there but not anymore. In the lobby, there was a picture of Ami Modi and another woman with a note, “Ask the lady to vacate the premises.”


Republic TV also claims that Nirav Modi has another flat located near the Tower of London and he has been shuffling between the two apartments since past two months. Sen reportedly also managed to find the phone number of Nirav Modi and tried to talk to him but he didn’t answer.

Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are both wanted by the Indian law enforcement authorities over the Rs. 12,000 crores PNB scam. The Interpol had also issued red corner notices on both of them in July. While Choksi has been tracked to Antigua and the Indian government is trying to bring him back, attempts are also on to get Nirav Modi extradited from the UK.

The whitewashing of a previously convicted ‘Urban Naxal’ has well and truly begun

K Bhattacharjee
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The whitewashing of a previously convicted ‘Urban Naxal’ has well and truly begun

A massive crackdown has been underway on supposed Naxal sympathizers in connection with the violence at Bhima Koregaon last year and an assassination plot to murder Prime Minister Modi. The residences of prominent ‘Civil Rights Activists’ have been raided and they have either been detained or arrested. Following the crackdown, there was a meltdown in the left-liberal camp and all its players scurried to blame the central government.

Post the meltdown, op-eds started being written eulogising the ones raided. One saw a concerted attempt to whitewash the crimes that those arrested have committed in the past. An impression is being created that the all the accused who have a history of arrest were arrested merely because of fake charges and that there was never any evidence of them having committed a crime.

One of the main people to be eulogised seems to be Vernon Gonzalves is a member of Communist Party of India (Maoist) and was convicted in 2007 by a Nagpur sessions court under the Arms Act, Explosives Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The Quint reports, “In 2013, Gonsalves was acquitted in 17 cases against him. He walked out of jail after spending nearly six years in various Mumbai prisons.”

The report attempts to create the impression that he was let out of jail in 2013 because he was found innocent and quotes him intensively to paint a picture of how he was falsely accused.

In reality, he was convicted in 2007 by a Nagpur sessions court under the Arms Act, Explosives Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) after the prosecution in the case asserted that nine detonators, 20 gelatin sticks, a walkie-talkie set, a computer, Naxal literature were seized from the duo in a raid in a chawl in Govandi, Mumbai.

While it is true that he was acquitted in 17 cases against him, he was allowed to walk out of jail only because he had already been incarcerated for the period he was sentenced.

Source: Times of India

With all due sympathies to Sagar Abraham Gonsalves, Vernon’s son, he has been spreading falsehood on Facebook regarding his father’s history. In a post, he writes, “After spending 5 and half years in jail, my father was acquitted in all cases. 5 and a half years of a person’s life was spent languishing in prison for crimes he had never committed. What a wonderful job the state had done.” That is patently untrue as has been described above.

His statement could have been ignored if outlets like Firstpost weren’t using it to create a wave of sympathy.

The selective quoting of facts to paint a convicted man as an innocent persecuted by the state in actuality plays right into the hands of the Naxal propaganda. The Ultras also choose to believe and aim to convince others, by violence or otherwise, that the Indian state is persecuting its citizens. The Naxal ‘movement’ is in fact rooted in the ideology that the government should be overthrown to be replaced with a government that conforms to the Naxal ideology. Media has somehow, become a knowing or unknowing participant in that seditious delusion.

The media and the intellectual elite have a habit of whitewashing the crimes of one of their own. Convicted for sedition, Binayak Sen was whitewashed as well, whitewashed enough to have the privilege of delivering a keynote address at an event at Tata Institute of Social Sciences and being in a committee for police reforms of the Aam Aadmi Party and was named a member of the government’s Planning Commission on health by the Congress party.

It is indeed bewildering that a man who has been convicted under Arms Act, Explosives Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) is revered by the media and the ‘civil society’ as a civil rights activist. Such venerated treatment of people with a history of conviction is one of the primary reasons why the mainstream media has lost all credibility.

Court warns Modi’s NHAI: Create exclusive lanes for Judges and VIPs or face contempt charges

Abhishek Banerjee
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Court warns Modi’s NHAI: Create exclusive lanes for Judges and VIPs or face contempt charges

It is a well-known fact that exclusive lanes for VIPs (including sitting judges) serve as the safety valve for traffic. If these are not allowed, VIPs may have to burst into embarrassment. And so it was that the Modi government, which has been showing scant respect for institutions, received a stern warning from the Madras High Court yesterday.

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According to the Times of India report, which deserves to be read in full:

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Contempt of court proceedings? It is about time the government was taught a lesson about the need to respect our most sacred institutions, especially the judiciary, our temple of justice.

The High Court was also very specific in its directive, ordering that a circular is sent to each and every toll collector and making it clear that the order applies nationwide.

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How many times have you been stuck in traffic, watching common people stray into exclusive lanes for VIPs (including judges) and wondered how such indiscipline can be tolerated in a civilized country?

Fortunately, those days are coming to an end.

The High Court also did not mince any words about the negligent conduct of the Union Government.

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Now the Modi government is known to have a tough hide, but let us hope that this is the rebuke that finally does the trick.

The amazing clarity of thought and impeccable logic from the High Court yesterday is also an excellent example of how direct judicial control can save our institutions. Let me give you another example from a few years ago.

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As reported by The Hindustan Times back then, the conference of Chief Justices had recommended in April 2016 that retired judges should be given reimbursement facility for a domestic help. Soon after, the Supreme Court framed the new rules.

The core issue then, as now with the matter of NHAI not building exclusive lanes for VIPs and judges,  was “embarrassment.”

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As a common citizen of India, no words of mine are enough to convey the sense of gratitude that I feel towards the Madras HC for this historic order to NHAI. With folded hands, I can only request that our lordships should step in and also provide exclusive courts that will function 24 x 7 to hear appeals from tribal rights activists who might have been wrongfully arrested by our imperious government.

Otherwise, there is the possibility that our tribal rights activists might have to wait in line with crores of other cases and appeals waiting to be heard. And wouldn’t that be totally embarrassing?

By sympathising with the arrested ‘Urban Naxals’, is Congress contradicting itself?

Jhankar Mohta
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By sympathising with the arrested ‘Urban Naxals’, is Congress contradicting itself?

In a massive crackdown, on the supposed Naxal sympathizers in connection with the violence at Bhima Koregaon last year and an assassination plot to murder Prime Minister Modi, the Maharastra police have made five major arrests. The centre has strongly backed the arrest of these prominent so-called ‘civil-activists’, as the police confirm that the arrests were made on the basis of solid pieces of evidence that a major conspiracy was underway.

The UPA who is now going all out in support of these self-styled activists, prejudicing the case, by already declaring them innocent, even though some of those arrested were convicted earlier by courts for similar offenses, had in December 2012 identified 128 organisations linked to the Naxals and written to all states asking them to take action against those people involved with with such organisations.

Pune police investigating the case confirmed that Varavara Rao, Sudha Bhardwaj, Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Mahesh Raut are all part of organizations that are on the list of those 128 organizations which was shortlisted by the UPA government in 2012.

Officials in the Home Ministry confirmed that the arrested persons had been providing both financial and logistic support to the Naxalites. They furthered that there have been continuous attempts to forge alliances with terror outfits. The Pune police also assured that a strong case against the accused would be presented in court as they had enough evidence to back their case.

The police cleared that the (CPI) Maoists, in its bid to achieve their agenda through protracted peoples war, adheres immense importance to the ‘Urban Movement’ which works towards the creation of a ‘United Front’ in support of their movement.  The urban movement is the main source of providing leadership and resources to the CPI(Maoists). The urban centres are responsible for the supply of technologies, expertise, information and other logistic support.

It is rather appalling that though everything is out there in the open, attempts are being made to build a narrative that the raids on the activists for their alleged link to Maoists are an ‘undeclared emergency’. However one is left to wonder here, how is that a ‘convicted Naxal’ in UPA’s India becomes a ‘human right activist’ in Modi’s India?

Rajdeep Sardesai gets slammed by Tushar Damgude, the man behind the Bhima-Koregaon FIR

OpIndia Staff
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Rajdeep Sardesai gets slammed by Tushar Damgude, the man behind the Bhima-Koregaon FIR

As the Maharashtra police conducted raids in several cities and arrested five ‘urban Maoists’ media outlets have been on overdrive. Amidst all the debates and news of court appeals, one man was suddenly at the centre of media focus, Tushar Damgude, the man on whose FIR the Maharashtra police had begun the investigation and subsequent crackdown on the alleged urban Naxals.

Damgude is a Marathi writer who has a considerable facebook followers base. Earlier yesterday, a report in firstpost.com shared some details about his Facebook account in which he frequently writes about Shivaji Maharaj, Hindu ideologies and as per the report, against Maoists. India Today TV had yesterday interviewed Damgude in which anchor Rajdeep Sardesai, was bellowing at his colleague Pankaj Khelkar to ask some ‘tough’ questions to Damgude. While Damgude maintained a calm poise and answered all the questions patiently, many social media users have commented that Rajdeep Sardesai’s questioning of Damgude looked biased and motivated.


At the beginning of the interview, while the India Today TV’s journalist Pankaj Khelkar asks Damgude what prompted him to file an FIR, Damgude explains that he had witnessed the Elgar Parishad event and the highly objectionable speeches, pamphlets and literature distributed there was unacceptable to him. He further states that the Bhima-Koregaon memorial event have been held since decades and there never have been such violent incidents. Upon this, Rajdeep screamed over the microphone to ask Damgude that his facebook page has been ‘exposed’ by a writer and how could he (Damgude) term people of left-wing ideology as criminals. Many readers can find this accusation amusing as Damgude’s facebook post has been there for everyone to see and wonder how can anyone be ‘exposed’ by a public social media page.

Sardesai then goes ahead to yell at Damgude on how can he term the arrested people like Navlakha and Sudha Bharadwaj as criminals when they were not even there at the Elgar Parishad event. He even accuses Damgude of running his own agenda as it has been ‘exposed’ from his Facebook page that he has met Sambhaji Bhide and Ekbote. Damgude answered that the Indian constitution gives him the right to meet and share ideas with anyone he wants and his discussion with Bhide has been shared in his Facebook post. He goes ahead to point that so far Sambhaji Bhide has not been found to having links with Al Qaeda or ISIS and his meeting him should not bother anyone. Damgude asserts that he was present in person in the Elgar Parishad on 31st January. At this point, Rajdeep’s loud voice drowns Damgude’s reply again. Rajdeep asks again why he has termed people with just a different ideology as criminals.

Damgude again explains that about 250 different organisations were represented in the Elgar Parishad but his complaint is not against any of them but some specific persons like Sudhir Dhavle and others are people with a suspicious background and some of them have been even convicted by courts as Maoist sympathisers. Rajdeep screamed again on Damgude asking why he did not file an FIR on Bhide and Ekbote and he is accused of practising his own politics, not clarifying who had accused Damgude and on what grounds.

Upon which Damgude replied that the country doesn’t run with one person’s whims and prejudices and he had filed FIR based on what he had seen. he added further that he had never seen Bhide or Ekbote inciting people to cut and kill others.

Rajdeep again went to yell on Damgude that how can he file an FIR on Sudha Bharadwaj, Gonsalves and all as they were not even present there. To this, Damgude replied that even Osama Bin Laden was not present when the WTC towers fell on 9/11. Rajdeep again went ahead to ask does Damgude even know who Sudha Bharadwaj is. Damgude replied that even Osama Bin Laden was an engineer and that does not mean there should be no charges against him.

Rajdeep furthered his attack on Damgude asking why did he file an FIR on these people and does he have any evidence against them. He again brought his Facebook page to accuse him. Upon this, Damgude replied that Rajdeep cannot tell him what to do or what not to do. He added that he is not a CIA or RAW agent as Rajdeep is making it sound like whether the Maharashtra police has evidence against the urban Naxals or not, that will be presented before the court of law, not before Rajdeep. He stated that Rajdeep will not decide whether these people can be criminals or not, it is up to the courts to decide.

Damgude firmly told Sardesai that criminals are convicted based on their crimes, not on their religion and social status. He asked Rajdeep further that does he think Maoists advertise in newspapers before new recruitments. Damgude at that point ignored Rajdeep’s further accusations about his Facebook post and told him that Rajdeep cannot tell him what to post on his Facebook page. He asserted further that going by Rajdeep’s point of view, should a petty criminal only be tried for his crime and another criminal be set free because he is a writer.


Damgude’s firm and bold stand against Rajdeep’s accusations has been praised widely on social media. People have applauded his clarity of thought and his confidence in the face of what many claimed was a sheer attempt at bullying by Rajdeep Sardesai.

Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin’s son, Shakeel, arrested in terror funding case

OpIndia Staff
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Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin’s son, Shakeel, arrested in terror funding case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a joint operation with the CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police today arrested Shakeel, son of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin. Last year in October, the NIA had arrested his other son, Syed Shahid Yusuf, who was questioned in 2011 terror funding case. While Syed Shahid Yusuf was a Jammu and Kashmir government employee, Shakeel works as a senior lab technician at Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Studies.

Earlier this year, he was questioned by the NIA in relation to the 2011 terror attacks. Shakeel was reportedly asked to explain foreign funds in his account, especially from the UAE. His brother was also accused of being in touch with Saudi Arabia-based Hizbul Mujahideen operative Aijaz Ahmad Bhat and had received money to allegedly fuel and fund secessionist and terrorist activities in the Valley.

In June last year, the US had designated their father and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin a global terrorist. Syed Salahuddin is the key mastermind on the attack on Pathankot air base in Punjab in 2016.

Shakeel was arrested earlier today after a raid was conducted on his house late last night in his Ramban residence.

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