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Step towards simultaneous polls: BJP looks to hold elections in 11 states along with 2019 Lok Sabha poll

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Step towards simultaneous polls: BJP looks to hold elections in 11 states along with 2019 Lok Sabha poll

The president of the Bharatiya Janata Party has written to the Law Commission in support of the simultaneous elections in the country. Reportedly, the BJP and other parties of the NDA coalition are likely to support the idea of ‘One Nation-One Poll’ and hopeful of simultaneous polls in at least 11 states along with the general elections in 2019


The Narendra government is positive about holding simultaneous elections in the country and several leaders including the PM and the President, have called for a wider debate on the issue. Amit Shah on Monday wrote to the Law Commission saying, “There is a need for a regular discourse on the simultaneous elections and all political parties need to come together on the matter.”

Amit Shah further said that the idea of ‘One Nation- One Poll’ is beneficial for parliamentary policies. He added that due to the election in one state or another throughout the year, work of both the state and central government gets affected. He emphasized the fact that the simultaneous elections will lead to cutting down on electoral expenditure.

The BJP is looking to conduct simultaneous elections of eleven state assemblies, which are otherwise to be held within a time frame of 6 to 12 months. Reportedly, the party is exploring the possibility of deferring assembly elections of some states by a few months and advancing some others to ensure they are held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.

If everything goes as per the government’s plan, the Lok Sabha election in 2019 may turn out to be a mini showcase of simultaneous elections, with a few variables. There are few states slated to go into polls around the time of Lok Sabha general elections. These states are:

  1. Andhra Pradesh goes to poll tentatively on 18.06.2019
  2. Odisha goes to poll tentatively on 11.06.2019
  3. Sikkim goes to poll tentatively on 27.05.2019
  4. Telangana goes to poll tentatively on 08.06.2019

There are four other states whose elections if postponed for 6 or lesser, can also be conducted simultaneously:

  1. Rajasthan goes to poll tentatively on 20.01.2019.
  2. Madhya Pradesh goes to poll tentatively on 07.01.2019.
  3. Mizoram goes to poll tentatively on 15.12.2018.
  4. Chattisgarh goes to poll tentatively on 05.01.2019.

There are another three states whose elections, if brought forward for six or lesser, can be conducted simultaneously:

  1. Haryana goes to poll tentatively on 02.11.2019.
  2. Jharkhand goes to poll tentatively on 05.01.2020.
  3. Maharashtra goes to poll tentatively on 09.11.2019.

Along with this, there is also a possibility of states like Bihar, Goa and Tamil Nadu facing early elections, while fresh elections to Jammu and Kashmir may also take place during the general elections. The BJP has influence in all the four states and may push for simultaneous elections in all these states.

There is also no need of any constitutional amendment to implement ‘One Nation-One Poll’. The NDA government at the centre is looking for a larger consensus for simultaneous elections and the party is thinking of calling an all-party meeting over this issue soon. Some regional parties like Samajwadi Party (SP) and Telangana’s Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have backed the Law commission’s proposal to hold simultaneous state assembly and Lok Sabha elections, while DMK, TMC and Communist parties are against the idea.

The idea of simultaneous polls is not new to this country as the first four of its general elections from 1952-1967 followed the proposed line of a simultaneous election where the electorate elected the state assembly and the central government representatives. The Law Commission has also written in favour of simultaneous elections was in its 117th report on the Reform and Electoral Law (1999).

Naxals behead man in Bihar, hide bombs in his body and throw it near temple

OpIndia Staff
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Naxals behead man in Bihar, hide bombs in his body and throw it near temple

In a barbaric act, Naxals in Bihar had beheaded a young man and thrown his body near a temple. According to reports, the police in Chandramandi station area in Jamui district in Bihar were informed about a body thrown near the Gitadham temple today. But when policemen approached to move the body, the bombs hidden in it exploded.

Six policemen have reportedly been injured in the incident. In Satpokhra village, local villagers had seen the body of a young man thrown near the Gitadham temple. Police personnel had arrived after information from the villagers. According to reports, the Naxals had killed the man by slitting his throat.

As per reports, the police have informed that the murdered young man has been identified as one Chhotu Kumar who worked as SPO in a nearby area. The Naxalites had torched Chhotu Kumar’s motorcycle and had left a note at the spot. Kumar was identified from his identity documents recovered from the spot.

The injured policemen had been admitted to hospital and the bomb squad had been called to inspect the scene. Several onlookers and journalists too have had a narrow escape. Police have surrounded the area and the CRPF have launched search operations for the perpetrators of the crime.

Fitting bombs on dead bodies have been done by Naxals before. In January 2013, Naxals in Jharkhand had killed 9 CRPF personnel and had planted pressure bombs on the bodies of five of them. 3 villagers who had tried to retrieve their bodies were killed when 2 bodies of slain jawans had exploded into pieces. In the same incident, the Naxals had eviscerated the body of one jawan and had placed 2.5 kgs of gelatin sticks after removing the internal organs. The body was then carefully stitched up. The explosives were found fortunately before any further mishap.

The central government had launched a massive crackdown on Naxals and is intent on eliminating left-wing terrorism. Many districts in Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra and Telangana had been declared free of Naxals.

Despite no conclusive proof, AltNews declares journalist’s account ‘false’ to suit a narrative

Nupur J Sharma
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Despite no conclusive proof, AltNews declares journalist’s account ‘false’ to suit a narrative

News surfaced yesterday that Umar Khalid, the rusticated student who is charged with sedition, had been shot and escaped unhurt. As soon as Media broke the news, several people, including journalists and left propagandists started blaming Republic TV, Times Now and its anchors like Arnab Goswami for the attack. As bizarre it may sound, a bunch of journalists got together on social media, and squarely blamed the alleged attack on Umar Khalid on journalists who had expressed their opinions on national television, at the same time, they hailed Umar Khalid as a freedom of expression warrior whose voice was being stifled. Some portals then proceeded to discredit eyewitness account because it didn’t suit their narrative.

As the day progressed, while the propaganda remained the same, conflicting versions of the episode started emerging. First, Rajdeep Sardesai, a senior journalist from India Today tweeted that the police had confirmed the India Today that no such firing incident had taken place. Rajdeep also tweeted that two people were apprehended with guns in the vicinity of constitution club. One wonders why Rajdeep wasn’t attacked and discredited then.

Then, ANI tweeted another version claiming that the police were investigating the matter and trying to confirm the veracity of Umar Khalid’s claims. Khalid had claimed that assailants jumped him and tried to shoot him when their gun jammed and they couldn’t fire. In the meantime, his friends overpowered the assailants, and they ran, later, firing shots in the air.

Within minutes of the assault news, minutes, Quint published a report where Umar was saying that he thought his Gauri Lankesh moment was here.

Soon, an ABP journalist released a video of another journalist from Dainik Bhaskar who claimed that he was an eyewitness. He said on the video, that he saw some boys get into a scuffle. In the process, one man fell down and the other tried to shoot him but couldn’t. Later, the assailant ran and fired a shot in the air. The clincher was, however, when he claimed that Umar Khalid was not present at the sight of the altercation at all and that he saw Khalid later come out of the constitution club.

The journalist whose statement was recorded and the one who shared the video were subjected to abuse and attack. Some even tagged him on Twitter.


After a while and after being subjected to abuse, the journalist recanted his story partially and said “he wasn’t sure” if the man who was pinned to the ground was Umar Khalid. He could be Khalid or he couldn’t be Khalid.

Interestingly, there was another eyewitness account of a man who has now been revealed to be close to Aam Aadmi Party. His version as well was similar, but he asserted that the attack actually happened on Umar Khalid. His version too changed over a period of time. He first said the bullet missed Umar Khalid and then shared a news clip that said the pistol jammed and couldn’t fire. 

Now, just as every other portal including AltNews is working towards discrediting the journalist, should this witness then also be completely dismissed considering his version has changed dramatically and the journalist only expressed doubt?

In all of this, there is absolutely no clarity about what happened. It is being reported that there is CCTV footage and the police have filed a case against unknown assailants. The contents of the CCTV footage have not been revealed yet and the perpetrators have not been apprehended, though, a suspect photograph captured from CCTV footage has been released. Umar Khalid is not in the photograph.

The truth, at this point of time, cannot be ascertained by any journalist or commentator. Maybe Umar was genuinely attacked. Maybe he wasn’t. Maybe the eyewitness who was quoted by ANI is right and it was indeed him who was attacked. Or maybe, the Dainik Bhaskar journalist got it right the first time around and Umar wasn’t even present.

It certainly isn’t beyond the realms of reasonability that Umar is capable of lying. After all, Umar’s buddy and comrade Kanhaiya Kumar had alleged that he was strangulated in an aeroplane by a Modi supporter and then, it turned out it was only a petty fight of two people pushing each other like school children.

After all, Umar’s second and third buddy, Shehla Rashid and Jignesh Mevani too lied about the police assaulting Mevani when it was, in fact, him who abused officers. An entire narrative was spun around how Mevani was abducted, assaulted and abused. The truth? The police had politely asked him to not enter a restricted road and he, in turn, abused. Called the police “Lakhota” (testicle) and asked the police whether Gujarat belongs to his father.

The victim card is indeed played multiple times, often laden with lies, simply to further a narrative. Umar Khalid even took to Facebook to talk about how he doesn’t blame the alleged assailants but TV anchors and BJP spokespersons. On the face of it, the narrative looks wholly coordinated to silent people who don’t agree with Umar or his comrades. To ensure that a line is toed. After all, who would dare to criticise anyone if any future attack on them (heaven forbid) can be blamed on the one who dares to criticise?

When Shujaat Bukhaari was brutally murdered by terrorists, the blame didn’t lie with the terrorists for slaughtering a journalist. The blame, however, rested with scientist Anand Ranganathan who had a few days prior to Shujaat’s murder dared to criticise him. Everyone who is often criticised piggybacked on Shujaat’s not-even-cold murdered body, to ensure nobody ever dares to criticise them again.

There is, for now, absolutely no conclusive proof that Umar Khalid was attacked in some pre-planned manner by someone driven by any political or ideological reasons. Right now, all journalists have are conflicting reports, varied versions and a hanging question – was Umar there at all? Considering what AltNews and so many others choose to call “fake eyewitness testimony” wasn’t “fake necessarily”. The U-Turn was of unsurety and not of surety that Umar was indeed there. There was no 100% backtrack or denial or disassociation with the testimony.

Maybe Umar was attacked. Maybe he wasn’t. The only thing that will prove what happened is a thorough police investigation and the patience by everyone to know the truth sans agenda. However, using this incident, using this narrative, to shut down criticism is diabolical. Using this to target journalists whose opinions are starkly against you is fascism. Nazi-like fascism. That it is done by impunity, shows the strength of the establishment even when out of power.

Uttarakhand High Court declares itself as the legal guardian of the cows

OpIndia Staff
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Uttarakhand High Court declares itself as the legal guardian of the cows

In a bid to protect cows from illegal slaughtering and welfare of cows in the state, the Uttarakhand High Court on Monday issued a comprehensive order to the state authorities.

A High Court bench comprising of Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari issued the judgement while hearing a petition regarding illegal slaughtering of cows and other animals in the state. The petitioner had approached the court against the state, for failing in its duty to enforce the provisions of the Uttarakhand Protection of Cow Progeny Act, 2007, Municipal Laws and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.


The Uttarakhand High Court has invoked the doctrine of ‘Parens patriae’ to become the legal guardian of cows and other stray cattle, directed the state to follow mandatory provisions towards cow protection. The bench has given an order which comprises of almost all pertinent issues relating to the protection of the cows. “The Court by invoking the ‘Parens patriae’ doctrine issues mandatory direction in the welfare of the cows and other stray cattle”, the bench said.

The High Court, in its judgement, has invoked ‘Parens patriae’, which translates from Latin into “parent of his or her country”, which gives power to a state to provide protection to those who are unable to take care of themselves.

The Court, however widened the scope of the petition and took a strong note on the deficiencies in existing laws. The judgement highlighted the necessity to show compassion towards living creatures. It has also ordered banning slaughter and export “for the purpose of slaughter” of “any cow, bull, bullock, heifer or calf”, and selling of beef and beef products across Uttarakhand.

The court directed all Circle Officers in the state to “to patrol the rural areas once in 24 hours to ensure that no cow is slaughtered”. Further, the court directed that owners of cattle be prosecuted if the cattle are “found on the streets, roads and public places”. The case will be registered under Section 289, 428 and 429 of the IPC and also under various provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act, 1960 as well as section 7 of the Uttarakhand Protection of Cow Progeny Act, 2007.

The court has directed the chief engineers of national highways and state highways, the village panchayats, and the municipal bodies to ensure that no stray cattle including cows and oxen come onto the roads. It has ordered the state functionaries to show “utmost compassion” towards cattle and no unnecessary pain and suffering is inflicted on them while being transported.

The High Court has instructed the District Magistrates, Municipal Corporation and municipal bodies including zila parishads to construct ‘Gau-Shalas’ in their respective jurisdiction for housing cow progeny and stray cattle within a period of one year. The court requested the religious heads to assist in the construction of such shelters.

For the treatment of stray cattle, the court mandated that all veterinary hospitals in the state to provide medical treatment to the “cows and animals” brought to them by any citizen. Earlier the Uttarakhand High Court had declared all animals, including avian and aquatic species, as legal entities, with the “rights, duties and liabilities of a living person”. In another judgement, the High Court had declared the River Ganga to be the first living entity of India.

In a bizarre statement, Mamata Banerjee compares illegal immigrants to Hilsa and Sondesh

OpIndia Staff
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In a bizarre statement, Mamata Banerjee compares illegal immigrants to Hilsa and Sondesh

In a bizarre statement targeting the BJP over NRC, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has compared illegal Bangladeshi immigrants to Hilsa fish and Sondesh, a Bengali sweetmeat. “Is ilish an infiltrator or a refugee? Is Jamdani an infiltrator or a refugee? What about sandesh, or mishti doi?” Banerjee asked during an interaction with journalists.

“They (the BJP) must not forget that speaking Bengali is not a crime. It is the fifth most spoken language in the world. What is BJP’s problem with (West) Bengal? Are they scared of the intellect of the Bengalis, their culture? They must not forget that (West) Bengal is the cultural mecca of the country,” PTI quoted Banerjee as saying.

Her statements came in response to Amit Shah’s scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress during BJP’s rally on Khudiram Bose’s death anniversary where the BJP President accused her of supporting Bangladeshis due to her votebank politics.

Amit Shah’s speech at the rally in Kolkata has made it clear that illegal immigration and Hindu rights will be the major agenda for the BJP in West Bengal in response to Mamata Banerjee’s attempt to brand them an anti-Bengali party.

It appears that Mamata Banerjee may have committed a grave error as even members of her own party have quit following her statements opposing the NRC. And it has given the BJP the lead on a volatile issue that appears to be a huge concern for Indians across ethnic lines.

‘Don’t think he is mentally stable, if he is, he shouldn’t go to Pakistan’: Subramanian Swamy on Navjot Singh Sidhu

OpIndia Staff
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‘Don’t think he is mentally stable, if he is, he shouldn’t go to Pakistan’: Subramanian Swamy on Navjot Singh Sidhu

Legal activist and BJP senior leader Subramanian Swamy today came down heavily on former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for showing the willingness to attend Pakistan Prime Minister-designate Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony.


Swamy said that he thinks Sidhu appears to have an unstable mind and if there is even a little bit of balance in his mind, he would not go to Pakistan. This would harm his political career, Swamy said. ‘He would be considered as a traitor and no one would forgive him’, he said.

Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the recently concluded elections in Pakistan and Khan was hailed as a new poster boy for the so-called liberals. However, Khan, who has also earned the monicker Taliban Khan for his pro-Taliban views, has often shown his soft stand against terrorism. Khan has proven that he is a terrorist sympathiser and also has extreme religious views where he wants to make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state.

Meanwhile, Congress leader and a minister in Punjab government Navjot Singh Sidhu has shown a keen interest in participating in Khan’s swearing-in. Congress leaders have justified the intentions of their party leaders attending the swearing-in at Pakistan as the invite is in their personal capacity.


Former cricketer Kapil Dev who had led India to cricket world cup victory in 1983, too had shown a keen interest in joining Sidhu to Pakistan.


However, Kapil Dev, as well as Sunil Gavaskar, have now turned down the invite to attend Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony.

After FirstPost, the Hindu goofs up: What it tells us about mainstream media

K Bhattacharjee
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After FirstPost, the Hindu goofs up: What it tells us about mainstream media

Merely days ago, a media outlet mocked a private citizen who was threatened and bullied into apologizing to NDTV’s Srinivasan Jain. The tweet was soon deleted, however, no apology was offered. And today, The Hindu tweeted in support of Umar Khalid. The Hindu wondered how Umar Khalid managed to live in an unsecured state.

The Hindu soon deleted the tweet and tendered an apology.


The inadvertent errors by FirstPost and the Hindu reveal certain details about the ideological leanings and political inclinations of Indian media houses. The Media is often touted to be the Fourth Pillar of Democracy but people often fail to comprehend the full implications of such an assertion. The other three pillars of Democracy are not independent of each other, it logically follows that the fourth pillar wouldn’t be completely independent of influences as well. However, since the Media cannot be controlled through Constitutional means, political parties explore other avenues, one might call them unethical, to exert their control over the media.

One other obvious conclusion people seem to miss is that as the ‘Fourth Pillar of Democracy’, the Media, like the other three pillars of Democracy enjoys political power and are key players in the ‘Game of Thrones’. As the Parliament has the power to Legislate, as the Executive has the power to implement and enact policies, as the Judiciary has the power to award Justice in matters of law, in a similar fashion, the Media holds a particular political power as well. Although they claim to be a neutral ‘check on the government’, in reality, their power involves the creation of narratives and their purpose is to educate people on what the right choices are on behalf of the establishment, which may or may not be the political party which runs the government.

Edward Bernays, the Father of Public Relations, wrote in his book ‘Propaganda’, “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. …We are governed, our minds are moulded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized.” Mr Bernays also remarked in the book, “It is asked whether, in fact, the leader makes propaganda, or whether propaganda makes the leader. There is a widespread impression that a good press agent can puff up a nobody into a great man. The answer is the same as that made to the old query as to whether the newspaper makes the public opinion or whether public opinion makes the newspaper. There has to be fertile ground for the leader and the idea to fall on. But the leader also has to have some vital seed to sow. To use another figure, a mutual need has to exist before either can become positively effective. Propaganda is of no use to the politician unless he has something to say which the public, consciously or unconsciously, wants to hear.” When one analyzes the role of the media in the context elaborated eloquently by Mr Bernays, the nature of the Power that the Media enjoys becomes abundantly clear.

Somewhere along the way, or perhaps it was always that way, the media came to believe that it was merely not enough for them to report facts as they were. They convinced themselves that it was their moral obligation as enlightened citizens to educate the public on the right choices and correct opinions. In other words, the media came to believe it was its duty to propagate what it perceived to be righteous. Thus, they turned themselves into tools for propaganda wittingly or unwittingly and with time their ideological orientation coloured their interpretation of facts on each and every occasion and twisted them beyond all recognition.

Although those higher up in the hierarchy may have been provided with incentives to peddle a certain narrative, the more ambitious ones trying to climb through the ranks were convinced that it was one of their primary duties to guide public opinion. It is not even controversial, most journalists would willingly admit that guiding public opinion is one of the media’s primary objective. But if one were to point out that guiding public opinion involved the use of propaganda and that the lines between propaganda and ‘guiding public opinion’ were blurry at best and nonexistence at its worst, journalists would flinch at such accusations of engaging in propaganda.

The advent of social media has exposed the biases of many such journalists and media houses. The Hindu and FirstPost can continue to claim to be ‘neutral’ media platforms. However, it should be pretty clear to anyone by now that neutrality is a garb under which propagandists shield their narratives. And media outlets may be independent financially but ideologically it cannot be by its very definition and manner of operation.

Rape accused Christian Bishop’s goons attack journalists

OpIndia Staff
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Rape accused Christian Bishop’s goons attack journalists

Journalists attempting to report on the police investigation and questioning of Bishop Franco Mulakkal on charges of rape were reportedly attacked by his guards at the Bishop House in Jalandhar, Punjab. According to reports, many journalists were manhandled and had their cameras and equipment damaged in the attack by the Bishop’s guards.


According to reports, a team of Kerala Police is currently in Jalandhar to interrogate Bishop Franco. The Bishop was initially not there when the Kerala police team reached the Bishop House and he was reportedly in Chandigarh. But he was asked to come back for questioning and upon his arrival, the team from Kottayam in Kerala questioned him for almost nine hours.

When the Bishop arrived in his residence, his private security guards reportedly attacked the journalists present there. However, there are news reports stating that it was the Bishop’s supporters and ‘believers’ who attacked the journalists and prevented them from taking photographs. Many reporters even had their cameras damaged by the guards. The Kerala Association of working journalists has reportedly condemned the attack.

The police team led by Kottayam deputy SP K Subhash reportedly also seized his mobile phone. The police have reportedly stated arresting at this stage is not necessary as more scientific evidence is awaited in the case.

A police team from Kottayam has also questioned three nuns from the Mission of Jesus Sisters Convent a few days ago, including the mother superior, sister Regina. The nun who had accused the Bishop of rape was a member of the MJS.

Rape allegations against the Bishop had surfaced in June this year when a nun from Kerala accused him of raping her several times. The said nun had also alleged that even though she had approached the Syro-Malabar church with her allegations, no action was taken. The Bishop had claimed that the nun was blackmailing her after he removed her from an administrative position.

Recently, an audio tape had surfaced where it was alleged that a friend of Bishop Franco, Father James Erthayil was allegedly trying to bribe and threaten one of the nuns who stood in support of the victim.

Is Indian currency being printed in China, as claimed by media and some politicians?

OpIndia Staff
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Is Indian currency being printed in China, as claimed by media and some politicians?

Yesterday many prominent people on social media shared the ‘news’ that India has given the contract for printing currency notes to China and Indian currency is being printed in the Chinese printing facilities. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor had shared a Tweet by journalist Debasish R Chowdhury on Monday in which Chowdhury had shared an article from the South China Morning Post (SCMP). Chowdhury is an editor for the South China Morning Post.

The SCMP article claimed that ‘sources’ have asserted that the currency note printing facilities in China are working at full capacity. It had quoted a Chinese official saying that China has won the currency note production contract from many countries including India, Poland, Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia.

Tweet by Shashi Tharoor

Soon, the claim was picked up by media outlets and many Congress members, including Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala. They claimed that the government is compromising with the national security and China printing Indian currency notes is a grave threat.


Tweet by Surjewala

The Aam Aadmi Party took the claim a step ahead and held a press conference claiming that since China is famous for making ‘duplicate’ products, the Chinese government will misuse the Indian note printing technology to print and flood international markets with counterfeit Indian notes. The fake notes, AAP leader Raghav Chadha claimed, will then be used for terror funding.


Soon, the claim was being widely shared on social and mainstream media. Many media outlets, politicians and journalists shared the claim.

Soon, Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, who busted the claim and clarified that such reports are totally baseless. He added that Indian notes are being and will be printed in India by the Indian government and RBI printing presses.


However, it is interesting to note that while Shashi Tharoor had shared multiple Tweets making the claim and that asked the RBI for clarification, he has ignored the clarification completely. He had not shared a single Tweet acknowledging the government’s clarification. Even journalist Debasish Chowdhury and Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala have not acknowledged the government’s reply. Aam Aadmi Party, which questioned the government repeatedly on the issue, has not responded to the clarification either.

In a mother of all ironies, Rahul Gandhi accused Telangana CM of dynasty politics

Nirwa Mehta
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In a mother of all ironies, Rahul Gandhi accused Telangana CM of dynasty politics

In what is referred to as a ‘scathing attack’ by Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, the former accused the Telangana chief minister of dynasty politics saying that only ‘one family’ government is running the state.

KCR, as the Telangana chief minister is often referred to, started his political career with Congress under the leadership of Sanjay Gandhi. However, he later joined Telugu Desam Party in 1983 before forming the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) in 2001. His son, KT Rama Rao is a legislator from Sircilla Rajanna District, previous Karimnagar district, Telangana and is the cabinet minister for IT, Municipal Administration & Urban Development Departments. His daughter Kalvakunthla Kavitha is an MP from Nizamabad, Telangana and his nephew Harish Rao is an MLA from Siddipet constituency and also a cabinet minister.

Perhaps Congress social media team should hold a class of ‘Know Your Legacy’ with their party president Rahul Gandhi explaining how Congress has perpetuated dynasty politics.

Rahul Gandhi’s great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru was India’s first prime minister, from 1947 to 1964 when he died. For a total of 16 years, 286 days.

His grandmother, Indira Gandhi was in power for a total of 11 years, 59 days, between 1966 to 1977. She lost elections after she lifted the Emergency she had enforced. However, re-elected as Prime Minister on 14th January 1980 where she served as the Prime Minister for 4 years and 291 days before she was assassinated on 31st October 1984.

On Indira Gandhi’s assassination, her son and Rahul Gandhi’s father Rajiv Gandhi was made the Prime Minister within hours of her murder. The government was later dissolved and Rajiv was made the President of Congress. Riding on a sympathy wave, Congress won by a landslide victory. Rajiv Gandhi served as Prime Minister of India for 5 years and 32 days.

Following Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991, Sonia Gandhi ‘chose’ to stay away from politics, but after joining Congress as a primary member in 1997, within a year, she was made the Party President. She was the Congress President for 19 long years before giving it up for her son, Rahul Gandhi in December 2017. While Sonia never swore in as the Prime Minister of the country, for the ten years that Congress was in power from 2004 to 2014, she was the chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) a coalition of centre-left political parties.

In 71 years of Indian independence, the family members of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty have been prime ministers of India for a total of 37 years and 303 days.

Great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, grandson of Indira Gandhi and son of Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, who is Congress’ prime ministerial candidate for the upcoming 2019 elections has just accused KCR of ‘dynasty politics’.

Irony just obtained escape velocity of Jupiter and turned a shikanji seller into the owner Coca-cola.

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