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Congress leader backs Owaisi’s ‘how many Muslims recruited in the Armed Forces’ statement

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader backs Owaisi’s ‘how many Muslims recruited in the Armed Forces’ statement

Congress leader Hussain Dalwai has come out in support of the statement of Asaduddin Owaisi that created a huge controversy recently. Dalwai has stated that what Owaisi is questioning is right and PM Modi should announce that Indian Muslims have the right to join the armed forces.


Asaduddin Owaisi, the President of the All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has stated recently that he wants PM Modi to reveal how many jobs he has given to Muslims in CRPF, CISF, RAF and BSF in the last four years of being in power.


Not stopping at that, Owaisi had even later defended his statement and asked that the government should provide data and again claimed that the government has not done enough for Muslims in the last four years.

Owaisi’s statement was condemned and criticised by many people, including army veterans.


Dalwai is a Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra. He gave the statement after being asked whether asking the religious identity of soldiers is disrespectful to the armed forces. It is notable here that Congress leaders have many times used disrespectful words for the armed forces. Earlier Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh had used the word ‘cowards’ for army veterans in a live debate show.

Congress had also questioned the veracity of the surgical strikes and raised questions over the Army’s performance. Congress leaders frequently patronise separatists and blame the armed forces.

The Indian Army has no caste/religion based recruitment process and any Indian citizen meeting the required criteria can join the armed forces. Also, joining the armed forces in India is voluntary, so by citing the under-representation of any community and holding the government responsible for it is not only wrong but it is a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of the armed forces.

A hundred trees chopped off for Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy’s one day visit in Kodagu

OpIndia Staff
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A hundred trees chopped off for Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy’s one day visit in Kodagu

At a time when the world is waking up to the importance of planting and preserving trees and the green cover, almost a hundred ‘dangerous’ trees were chopped off a day before Karnataka Chief Minister Kumaraswamy’s visit to Kodagu. As per reports, the district commissioner issued an order to the forest department to cut off the trees on the path marked for the CM’s visit, along Talacauvery-Bhagamandala stretch. As per the order, the trees which posed a threat of falling down were to be cut off.

Local residents, activists and forest department isn’t too happy with the outcome. The forest department has reportedly stated that they were not consulted and no survey was undertaken to identify ‘dangerous’ trees before chopping off a hundred trees. Madikeri, the district headquarters of Kodagu, is also referred to as Scotland of India since the river Cauvery originates here. The officials are upset that this cutting of trees only added to the depleting green belt which has been adversely affected already owing to tourism and roads construction.

Taking to Twitter, the BJP also condemned the axing of trees, claiming is this how the Chief Minister responding to those who question him.

Exclusive : Robert Vadra sues Arnab Goswami and Prema Sridevi

Nupur J Sharma
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Exclusive : Robert Vadra sues Arnab Goswami and Prema Sridevi

Sources have informed OpIndia that Robert Vadra, Sonia Gandhi’s son in law, has sent a legal notice to journalists Arnab Goswami and Prema Sridevi of Republic TV.

Our sources inform us that this legal notice has been served because of a story which was broken by Republic TV on the 25th of June 2018, where the channel released Income Tax documents which said that Robert Vadra was to cough up Rs. 25 crores on undisclosed income. Republic TV had called its expose the ‘Vadra Papers’.


The Republic TV report said :

“Serving as the first concrete action under the Narendra Modi government against Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra, the Income Tax Department of India has served a notice to Skylight Hospitality to pay up Rs. 25 crores in tax against undeclared income of Rs. 42 crores in 2010-2011”

In their report, they had also enumerated why this step was a historic one.

1. First time there has been concrete action on Vadra under Modi govt

2. First-time tax evasion comes to the fore

3. First time it dept hoodwinking comes to the fore

4. First time an agency has successfully cornered Vadra’s firm

5. First time UPA central govt’s blindsightedness comes out

6. First time a Manmohan Singh government role in benefitting Vadra is being questioned

Republic TV had also reported that Robert Vadra didn’t disclose Rs. 42,61,55,500 in 2010-2011.


When we contacted Arnab Goswami for his comments, he declined to confirm immediately and said he was ‘going to go live’ and hence couldn’t talk.

The story is still developing. Watch this space for more.

Class XII topper thanks PM Modi for writing ‘Exam Warriors’, which helped him in his preparation

OpIndia Staff
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Class XII topper thanks PM Modi for writing ‘Exam Warriors’, which helped him in his preparation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday decided to share a feedback he received about his book – “Exam Warriors” from class XII pass out and ISC topper Sakshi Pradyumn, wherein he described the way the book helped him in his preparation.

In the tweet he posted in the morning, the PM thanked Sakshi for his wonderful letter and expressed happiness over being able to help him prepare for his exam:


As seen in the snapshot of Saksi’s email, he received the book as a gift before his examination was about to start. After reading it, Sakshi claims that the book gave him tips to concentrate, relieve stress, increase confidence and reduce tension by looking at the lighter side of things.

He also claimed that PM Modi’s take on issues like time management, presentation, efficiency and individuality filled him with optimism and helped him reach his peak. One of the quotes by the PM which he claims he followed is, “let us be warriors, not worriers”.

He thus claimed that with the PM’s love and wishes he managed to secure 99.5 per cent marks in his class 12 exams which included him bagging full marks in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science. He ended the email by thanking the PM for his book.

As reported by Times of India, PM Modi’s decision to share his email with the world came as a surprise to Sakshi, who claims he is feeling on top of the world. The report claimed that Sakshi managed to check PM Modi’s tweet on his father’s twitter account.

Sakshi who hails from Lucknow, wishes to become a software engineer, and is planning on going abroad for his studies.

Catholic Church pays 1 Million USD to sex abuse victims in the ‘Spotlight’ case

Sanghamitra
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Catholic Church pays 1 Million USD to sex abuse victims in the ‘Spotlight’ case

8 victims who were abused by the priests of the Order of Saint Augustine in Massachusetts were paid 1million USD in compensation by the Catholic organisation. According to reports, the church finalised the settlement amount in an out of court negotiations which have been ongoing for two years.

8 people in total, five men and three women have been fighting the long legal battle against the Catholic organisation. The victims were all abused by two priests named John J Gallahager and Robert Turnbull in areas around Boston. Gallahager had reportedly abused the women at St Mary of the Assumption parish in Lawrence while Turnbull had abused the men at the Austin preparatory school in Reading, Massachusetts.

All the victims were abused in the 1970s and 80s. The victims were in the age group of 9 to 12 when they were abused by the priests. Mitchell Garabedian, the attorney of the abuse victims has reportedly stated that victims of sexual abuse can only come forward when their coping mechanisms allow them to and the eight people who have come forward in the case are brave voices.

Garabedian had earlier released a letter written by one of the victims to the late Cardinal Bernard F Law, who was the head of the Archdiocese of Boston at that time. In that letter, the victim had detailed the sexual abuse she had to undergo and made the Cardinal aware of the perpetrator priest. Garabedian had argued on the basis of the letter that the Archdiocese of Boston was aware of the sexual abuse committed by their priests and they took no action, instead kept shuffling the priests from one parish to another.

It is notable here that the widespread sexual abuse scandal and the Catholic church’s attempt to ignore it was first broken by the ‘Spotlight’ investigating a team of the Boston Globe. The investigation had found that there were hundreds of abuse victims (mostly children) in Boston itself and the Archdiocese had taken no action on the priests involved. Instead, there was a racket going on to silence the victims with paltry compensation and legal hurdles.

The Boston Globe cover story that exposed the scandal

Boston Globe’s report of the case had won the Pulitzer Prize that year. It was revealed that not only hundreds of children (one of the victims was 4) were being abused by the priests with impunity, the Archdiocese kept a lid over the entire affair and kept reassigning the priests to different places, despite being well aware of their crimes.

Garabedian has been representing the victims who agreed to come forward and pursue the case. He has been legally assisting the victims for 3 decades. Both the priests involved in the case have since died and Cardinal Law died in 2017.

The story of the Spotlight team’s report was made into a Hollywood movie named ‘Spotlight’ which won the Oscar award for the best movie in 2016.

The victims have reportedly stated that the settlement will finally bring them some closure. Many other victims have remained anonymous or refused to part-take in the legal proceedings.

The Boston sexual abuse scandal is only one of the many instances where the Catholic church has been actively involved in abuse and subsequent silencing of the crimes. Recently a UK citizen named Edward Hayes had waived off anonymity and had come forward to recall how he was abused by a Catholic nun as a teenager. Hayes had also mentioned that the organisation was aware of the abuse but did nothing to help the victim. In India too, there have been numerous allegations of sexual abuse on the church. Apart from sexual crimes, Missionaries of Charity, the organisation established by Mother Teresa, was recently found to be involved in rampant child trafficking and selling.

BJP hits back at Rahul Gandhi after his letter asking the PM to ‘walk the talk’ on passage of Women’s Reservation Bill

Jhankar Mohta
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BJP hits back at Rahul Gandhi after his letter asking the PM to ‘walk the talk’ on passage of Women’s Reservation Bill

The 18 year-journey of the Women’s Reservation Bill was marked by high drama and hit roadblocks in each of its outings in Parliament. Sadly enough, a number of male parliamentarians over the years have opposed the passing of the Bill, leaving it in its current state.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to ensure the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which begins on Wednesday.


In his letter, the Congress supremo offered his party’s unconditional support to the Bill and said the time had come for change, and for women to take their rightful place in State legislatures and Parliament.

In response to this letter, Ravi Shankar Prasad, current Union Minister holding Law and Justice and Electronics and Information Technology portfolio in the Government of India, wrote a letter to the Congress chief clearing the Governments stance on the Women’s Reservation Bill.


In this letter, Ravi Shankar Prasad reiterates that this Bill was originally proposed by the NDA Government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, however, could not be passed due to wanting of consensus in the Parliament. Prasad went on to specify that when the Bill was reintroduced by the UPA, despite a lot of disturbance, the NDA, as well as the BJP, were in full support and had it passed in the Rajya Sabha, however, due to whatever reasons, best known to the existing Government of that time, (hinting at the Congress) it failed to be passed at the Lok Sabha, and lapsed subsequently.

Prasad went on to seek confirmation whether all the Congress allies and other parties in opposition would also extend support and not disrupt the House as in various previous situations when the Bill was brought to the Parliament. He wanted to understand as to why in the past three years the Bill was not taken up in the Lok Sabha by the UPA Government, who today headed by Rahul is showing an unusual interest in the Women Reservation Bill.

Interestingly Prasad in his letter pointed out that as national parties, they cannot play double standards when it comes to women rights, and both the parties should get into a ‘new deal’ in which they will unanimously approve and support the Women Reservation Bill, the law prohibiting Triple Talaq and imposing penal consequences on those violating the law, and also prohibiting Nikah Halala, in both Houses of the Parliament, as the latter two also treat women unequally and rips them off their dignity and self-esteem.

This proposal might just act as a game changer, leaving the Congress dumbfounded, unable to post further reactions may be, as not very long back Senior Congress leader cum lawyer Kapil Sibal, who is famous for his zero loss theory in the 2G scam, had given few bizarre arguments at the apex court while debating and supporting the Triple talaq issue.

The Congress has maintained shameful double-standards, fanning its minority appeasement theory trying to win the lost battle. From advocating the demand for Sharia courts, which is evidently the first step towards achieving a parallel state for Indian Muslims and finally another separate state for Indian Muslims, the second time in one hundred years, to supporting and defending heinous crimes like the practice of ‘Female Genital Mutilation’, which is one of the biggest jolts on a woman’s integrity and dignity.

Au contraire to the women empowerment card played frequently by the Congress, the party big-wigs are openly reported holidaying when an important Bill like Triple Talaq is being discussed in the Parliament, clearly displaying their casualness towards women and women empowerment in general.

Lok Sabha speaker admits no-confidence motion, debate to take place on Friday. BJP issues whip

OpIndia Staff
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Lok Sabha speaker admits no-confidence motion, debate to take place on Friday. BJP issues whip

Monsoon session in the parliament began on a stormy note as the TDP and opposition parties moved a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan admitted the same and announced in the parliament that the debate on the same will be held on 20th July, Friday. However, suddenly, it was reported that Congress wants the debate on the same deferred and does not want it to take place on 20th.


Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee, who herself harbours dream of becoming the Prime Minister in 2019, too had requested the speaker to change the date as they are ‘busy’. But the Speaker did not accept any such plea.


But, the TMC has now issued a whip to its MPs over the no-confidence motion. The TMC has decided to send all 34 of its MPs for debate and voting on Friday.


Meanwhile, the BJP has said that it is confident and issued a three-line whip over the motion. It has also asked its allies in the NDA to issue the whip.


Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav criticised the move of the Opposition and said if we didn’t have the numbers, why try and uproot the government. He said that the idea should be to put the seed of doubt and distrust in the heart of people.


However, Congress’ flip-flop over no-confidence motion by asking for the deferment had people amused. Some implied that perhaps Congress wasn’t confident of the motion being admitted by the speaker.


While some suggested that Congress got scared that Prime Minister Modi will take this opportunity to interact with people of India and set records straight, which may just have an opposite effect of what Congress set out to achieve.


Or is there more to it than it appears?


Well, we can only wait till Friday and see how things pan out. Watch this space for the updates.

Agnivesh being manhandled condemnable, ‘Liberals’ painting him as a ‘Hindu saint’ despicable

Rohan
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Agnivesh being manhandled condemnable, ‘Liberals’ painting him as a ‘Hindu saint’ despicable

Yesterday, ‘Swami’ Agnivesh was assaulted by a group of people, after an event, he attended in Pakur, Jharkhand. As soon as he came out of his hotel, a mob had punched, kicked and pushed the 78-year old man on to the ground and even went on to raise black flags and sloganeer against him.

It has further been alleged that the acts of violence were carried out by members of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). Not only has the BJP strongly condemned the act, but there has been no real confirmation of the BJYM anchoring the distasteful acts of violence. And in a country where people have disguised their identities to suit their ulterior motives, time and time again, it is up to the police, who have been ordered to investigate the incident, to tell the people who is responsible.

While nothing can ever justify violence, there is attempt is being made to somehow paint Agnivesh as a “rationalistic Hindu monk”, who must be followed by everyone. The sort of things that are being said about him by many left-liberals, would really make you think the man is a great Hindu scholar, who is a blessing to the people of India.

Such were the tweets:


The fact that Agnivesh had been put through abhorrent barbarity, still cannot take away from his views have often been vicious, dismissive and ridiculing of the faith that people associate him with today. In fact, the clip shared by many left-leaning liberals in awe of him, on its own serves as evidence for his views. He not only, wrongly attributes false comments to the Prime Minister, but also refers to Hindu pilgrimage sites as “blind faith” and “useless”, while maintaining a sarcastic tone when referring to their Gods. Once again, all this could have been expressed through debate and dissent, but the mob chose to show its weakness by resorting to violence.


Agnivesh’s credentials too, speak for themselves. Having been expelled from the Arya Samaj (though people still wrongly associate him with it), he was once seen calling for a disruption of the Anna Hazare movement in a video where he was discussing a plan to end the movement with Kapil Sibal, who was the UPA minister back in 2011. The movement was a step that sought to fight corruption, with almost nationwide support. But that did not stop Agnivesh from attempting to sabotage the movement.

He is also quite legitimately termed a vocal campaigner for Naxal peace-talks and Kashmiri secessionism. He had not only demanded “peace talks” as the way forward with Maoists when addressing Manmohan Singh, but he was also seen leading a march in protest, with Yasin Malik in Jammu & Kashmir.

Chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Yasin Malik, center, sits for a 30-hour- long hunger strike, with social activist Swami Agnivesh, left, sitting in support in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, April 18, 2015. Malik along with his supporters began a 30-hour hunger strike to protest India’s plan to build townships for Hindus who fled a rebellion in Muslim-majority areas. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Picture Credit: Huffington Post


The most ironic fact about people calling Agnivesh a “rational Hindu scholar”, is the fact that he supported a 30-hour hunger strike, battling against the resettlement of the Kashmiri Pandits who were forcefully sent out of their own homes by radical Jihadists in Kashmir.

In a speech, he had also spoken of Hindu culture and faith in a demeaning manner. He had asserted that Prime Minister Modi praying and partaking in rituals is akin to doing “pandagiri”.


The real question to be asked is: why is the man considered to be the epitome a Hindu thinker? Perhaps it is the saffron that confuses the left-leaning liberals.

In fact, the so-called “liberals” have also only recently realised what a “pious Hindu” Agnivesh is. Shekhar Gupta, who today says he has never seen the “elegant arya samaji without his turban” etc, had derided Agvinesh as an attention seeker earlier. Perhaps they see merit in Agnivesh today because it gives them the chance to helps them peddle their agenda of defeating BJP which banks heavily on their Hindu connect, and airbrush their own image, considering they are viewed as severely anti-Hindu.


While the police are yet to determine who the attackers of “Swami” Agnivesh were, it is apparent that manhandling a person, is never the solution to express disagreement. But under the garb of Agnivesh being the victim here, his portrayal as some sort of ‘sincere Hindu scholar’, must be vehemently questioned

Madras HC rules that public places cannot be encroached upon for offering prayers

OpIndia Staff
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Madras HC rules that public places cannot be encroached upon for offering prayers

The Madras High Court on Tuesday ruled that public places cannot be encroached upon for the purpose of offering prayers, PTI has reported. This as per the report resulted in the High Court ordering the removal of an illegal structure belonging to members of a “particular community” in Nungambakkam.

As observed by the bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice Krishnan Ramasamy, everyone is entitled by law to pray in a place of worship or their residence, but they cannot do so in a public space which will cause a nuisance to the general public. Under this particular case, the encroachment seems to have been carried out on the pavement opposite to the religious structure.

Owing to this, the judges asserted that it was the duty of the police officials and authorities to remove such encroachments by law. Further, the judges directed the police commissioner to identify the individuals responsible for such an encroachment and file a report.

The High Court also chided the officials for not taking actions against various illegal constructions despite there being a court order in existence, directing them to do so. The court thus observed that unless its orders are implemented, the people would lose faith in the system.

The High Court has now fixed the next date of hearing as 3 August.

Incidentally, such a ruling by the Madras High Court comes after a big controversy in Gurugram, over the offering of Namaz in public spaces, which was also criticised by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Following the controversy, the Gurugram police had struck up a compromise with Muslim groups to limit the number of Namaz offering places to 13 from the earlier 90.

Narendra Modi government has created more than 1.46 crore jobs in the Tourism sector alone

OpIndia Staff
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Narendra Modi government has created more than 1.46 crore jobs in the Tourism sector alone

The Narendra Modi led central government seems to be walking the talk when it comes to creating more livelihood opportunities in the country. The recent data shows that the tourism sector alone has created more than 1.4 crore jobs in the country in the last four years.

The Minister of State for Tourism, K J Alphons said the tourism sector has provided jobs for both skilled and unskilled jobs in the country. He said that the combined job creation was at 1.46 crore after the Modi government came to power.

He added that the tourism ministry is now focusing on bringing unexplored in the countries through promotional activities in regions like North Eastern states. He clarified about the apprehensions on the safety of tourists in the country, as there was a report alleging that the ‘Safety of women in India’ is very low.

The Minister assured that the country is safe for tourists and spoke about the initiatives taken by the present government to ensure the safety and security of the tourists. He said that they have issued guidelines on safety and security of tourists to all the states.

He also spoke about the initiatives taken by the government to promote the country abroad. The ministry has conducted various ‘Incredible India roadshows’ in the US, Europe and planning to expand it to China and Nordic countries.

The ministry is also planning to emphasize on the Cruise tourism sector, which will be augmented by the resources of both Tourism and Shipping ministry. The project is being developed in Mumbai and also in places like Goa, Cochin, Chennai and Visakhapatnam. The ministry has also released theme-based videos to attract various social media users.

The Indian tourism sector has a great potential and acts as a thrust to India’s economic development. It is estimated that India’s tourism and hospitality sector is expected to reach the market potential of 419 million dollars by 2022.

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