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For the first time, NIA puts Pakistani diplomat on wanted list, to move Interpol for Red Corner Notice

OpIndia Staff
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For the first time, NIA puts Pakistani diplomat on wanted list, to move Interpol for Red Corner Notice

The National Investigation Agency has put Pakistani Diplomat Amir Zubair Siddiqui on its ‘wanted’ list and released his photograph seeking information. Siddiqui was posted as a visa counsellor in the Pakistan High Commission office in Colombo, Sri Lanka.


According to reports, Siddiqui has been included in the list along with two other Pakistani officers for conspiring to launch 26/11 type attacks on the United States consulates, Israeli consulates and the Army and Naval commands in South India in 2014. One of the officers went by the alias ‘Vineeth’ and the other was codenamed ‘Boss’ and ‘Shah’. The agency stated that a fourth Pakistani officer in the Colombo office was also involved in the conspiracy.

This development has come at a time when the probe agency is planning to move to Interpol seeking Red Corner Notices (RCN) against the said Pakistani diplomats. It is believed that the said officials have been repatriated to Islamabad from their Colombo office. These officers were posted in the Colombo office between 2009 to 2016.

According to reports, the NIA had already charge sheeted Siddiqui in February. The agency stated that Siddiqui had hired several Sri Lankan nationals for his plan. Among them, NIA had arrested Muhammad Shakir Hussain, Arun Selvaraj, Shivabalan and Thameem Ansari. They were reportedly given the tasks to collect photographs details of major defence installations and Nuclear facilities. They were also directed to steal the laptops of top Indian defence officials.

The US consulate in Chennai, the Israeli consulate in Bengaluru and the Eastern Naval Commands Headquarters at Visakhapatnam were their main targets.

This is the first time India has put a Pakistani diplomat’s name on a wanted list.

Here’s why some groups think winking is against Islam

OpIndia Staff
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Here’s why some groups think winking is against Islam

Ever since the video clip of Priya Prakash Varrier from the song Manikya Malaraya Poovi from the movie Oru Adaar Love went viral in February this year, the clip has been embroiled in controversies. As reported in Bar And Bench, two Hyderabad based aggrieved parties, one of whom claims himself to be a person deeply engaged in preserving the rich Muslim culture and values, have filed an intervention Application in the Supreme Court.

The applicants have raised objection against ‘objectionable picturization’ over ‘sacred lyrics‘ be categorised as ‘blasphemy’. The application describes the clip as ‘The 30-second clip shows a young schoolgirl and schoolboy exchanging smiles, eyebrows wiggles and winks from across the way. It has completely captivated audiences but with a wrinkle on the face of religious Muslims.’ The applicants claim that the act of winking itself is forbidden in Islam.

According to the applicants, a reference (to winking) has been made in the Quran which also talks about ‘treachery of eyes’. A verse from the Quran is quoted which says that Allah knows the ‘eyes that betray’. The verse further states ‘It means the action of a person who would, secretly and surreptitiously, cast a glance over something haram and impermissible for him or her, for example, casts a glance at non-mahram person with sexual desire, and takes it away in the event someone was around, or casts a glance in a manner that is not noticed by others.’

The application further states that according to Sahih Muslim, one of the six major Hadith collection in Sunni Muslim, also forbids the ‘act of winking’. The applicants have quoted, “Abu Hararia reported Allah’s Apostle is saying: very near law has since the very portion of adultery, which a man will indulge in, and when she of necessity must commit. The identity of the eyes is the lustful look, and the identity of the tongue is a licentious speech, the heart desires and years, which the parts may or may not put into effect.” Hence, according to applicants, the picturization of the song is ‘a deliberate attempt to malign the image of Islam’.

Earlier, a group of Muslim youth has filed a complaint at the Falaknuma Police Station in Hyderabad against the actor Priya Prakash Varrier and the makers of the song for allegedly hurting sentiments of Muslims. The complaint says the song ‘Manikya Malaraya Poovi’, when translated into English, allegedly insults the Prophet. Much before the above, users on social media had discovered that the words of the song actually praised Khateeja, wife of Prophet Mohammad.


There are many groups that believe winking is against Islam. Here is why. They believe that winking is a ‘symbol of ‘Dejjal’ which means the false messiah, liar. The Dejjāl is an evil being who will seek to impersonate the true Messiah. The Prophet has also reportedly said that Ad-Dajjal is blind in the right eye and his eye looks like a bulging out grape.

IT notice served to Karnataka Chief Secretary to furnish details of payments made to contractors for election purposes

OpIndia Staff
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IT notice served to Karnataka Chief Secretary to furnish details of payments made to contractors for election purposes

A notice was sent to Karnataka Chief Secretary Ms Ratna Prabha by the Income Tax department. According to reports, the I-T department’s notice to the chief secretary states that five government departments in Karnataka had made payments to contractors for ‘election purposes’.

The letter (dated 6th April) that came from the desk of Director General of Income Tax BR Balakrishnan, states that intelligence received by the department indicates that several big payments have been made to  private contractors from some of the departments of the state government during the last quarter of the financial year 2017-18 (January-March) and they are meant to be used for election purposes.

The letter goes on to ask the Chief Secretary to submit details of all the payments (between January- March 2018) made by the departments of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Revenue, Energy, Public works, Water Resources to private contractors whenever the amount paid is above Rs 25 lakhs, along with the details of TDS.

The letter also asks the Chief Secretary to submit details of payments to the same contractors in the previous financial year (2016-17).

According to reports, the Chief Secretary has stated that they received the communique late on Friday and her officials will submit the details by Tuesday.

Congress spokespersons including Priyanka Chaturvedi and Brijesh Kalappa have called it BJP’s vindictive politics.


The events took a surprising turn later when an earlier tweet by Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Veerappa Moily was revealed. The tweet stated that the Congress cannot afford to have the nexus between road contractors and state PWD determine how candidates are selected in the upcoming elections. Moily had deleted the tweet but it had already been picked up. The BJP called it as ‘astonishing revelation’.


Speculations are rife in the state that taxpayers money has been diverted to contractors by the state machinery to gain electoral favours. Earlier, we reported how Congress and JDS MLA’s were caught on camera distributing freebies to influence voters in Karnataka.

Six Youth Congress workers including their Odisha chief arrested for tearing PM Modi’s posters

OpIndia Staff
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Six Youth Congress workers including their Odisha chief arrested for tearing PM Modi’s posters

Six Youth Congress workers including the Odisha Pradesh Youth Congress (OPYC) President were arrested on Sunday, for tearing PM Modi’s posters and abusing the staff of a petrol pump in Bhubaneswar. These workers as per reports were protesting against high fuel prices.

As per the OPYC President Loknath Maharathy, his organisation would not allow for the display of PM Modi’s posters at any fuel stations in Odisha, until the fuel prices came down. He further trained guns at the Modi government by claiming that the fuel prices had become “unaffordable”.

The agitation which was led by Maharathy, saw the Youth Congress workers chanting “BJP, down down”, while tearing the PM’s posters in Bhubaneswar’s Delta square. A video of this incident was tweeted by local news channels:


Besides this, Maharathy and five other Youth Congress workers identified as Sagar Patnaik, Swarup Dash, Prashant Sahoo, Ranjit Kumar Patra and Amir Mohammed, also allegedly abused the petrol pump staff.

While they were carrying out their protest, Khandagiri police personnel reached the spot and arrested them. As per Inspector-in-charge (IIC) Himanshu Bhusan Swain, at least two posters of PM Modi were torn by these activists, who have been booked under various sections including Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act’s 4th Section.

Besides this incident, Congress activists were stopped near the city’s Station Square by the police while they were gearing up to embark upon a fuel price protest. The police asked them to produce necessary permission for the same, which they failed to do.

“High fuel prices” have incidentally become the latest pivot of the opposition for attacking the Modi government. This has included Congress President Rahul Gandhi asking the government to explain the fuel hike in light of what he claims as a “global drop in crude prices”.

In response to the criticism, BJP President Amit Shah has been quoted as saying that government is making efforts to reduce the fuel prices, which includes trying to inculcate Petrol and Diesel under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

If Modi is a ‘travelling salesman’, was Indira a ‘travelling beggar’?

Abhishek Banerjee
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If Modi is a ‘travelling salesman’, was Indira a ‘travelling beggar’?

This morning someone brought to my attention a series of three articles by Shashi Tharoor, written with the aim of “ripping into” Modi’s foreign policy. The series is published in the National Herald, the “newspaper” that was urgently brought back to life around the time Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi had to get themselves bail in a scam associated to it.

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Among Shashi Tharoor’s complaints, the reduction of the Prime Minister of India to a “travelling salesman.” Among his failures, things like a promised $100 billion investment from China getting “watered down” to a mere $30 billion.

I can imagine the aversion of Shashi Tharoor (and the Congress Party in general) towards “salesmen.” The Congress is the party of the privileged. Its leaders, as well as its cheerleaders, are merely sons and daughters of an extremely tiny sliver of Indian society that made a fortune being cosy to the British and then thrived under Nehruvian socialism. A salesman, on the other hand, is a wealth creator, no matter how small.

But the salesman is belittled and mocked by the upper class, folks like Shashi Tharoor and Mani Shankar Aiyar. To P Chidambaram, a small tea or pakoda seller is little more than a beggar.

Like everything else, the upper class of Tharoors, Chidambarams and Aiyyars are hypocritical about “begging.”

If you sit in front of CST Station in Mumbai with a bowl, you are a “beggar.” If you are fluent in English and French and you go behind closed doors to beg from white people in distant countries, it’s no longer begging but called “diplomacy.”

Which is what Indira Gandhi used to do.

Dear Shashi Tharoor, if our current PM is a travelling salesman, should I call Indira Gandhi a travelling beggar?

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Yes, soon after becoming Prime Minister, Indira left for her first foreign trip bearing on her shoulders the shiny burden of fifteen years of Congress rule. Mostly that of the years under the great Nehru. Her mission?

Beg for wheat.

It was actually a two-part mission. First, beg for wheat. Second, don’t let common Indians find out that she is begging for wheat.

So, on one hand, Indira begged the US to send ships of wheat. On the other hand, India carried out withering criticism of US foreign policy to make it appear as if we were more than just beggars. An angry US President Lyndon Johnson decided to send ships of food aid by the month, instead of making an annual commitment.

One American newspaper headlined her visit as follows:

“New Indian Leader Comes Begging”

Ah! What a way for India’s Prime Minister to cover our nation with glory! But don’t worry, that was just a newspaper in the American south. As Ram Guha records, Indira Gandhi made a much better impression on the American East Coast, due to the “elegance of her dress.”

I am glad that Indira Gandhi managed to dress with an elegance that was beyond the means of some beggar. I bet the Indians who got the food aid were extremely grateful.

“Travelling salesman” looking much better now, eh?

Are you an Indian who has ever felt angry at the insulting, patronizing tone that Western media takes towards India? Have you ever wondered where that impression comes from?

Here is your answer. That impression comes from facts. While they acted as entitled Queens at home, when they went abroad, the only thing India’s Prime Minister would have to offer was a begging bowl.

I don’t think Modi’s accent in speaking English would impress anyone. But the returns from the foreign visits of the travelling salesman speak for themselves.

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The last two years of UPA added $1 billion to our forex reserves. The first two years of Modi government added $55 billion. By Jan 2018, this had grown to $411 billion.

As of 9th March 2018, India’s foreign exchange reserve stands at $421.487 Billion.

But, it’s not like Indira Gandhi’s foreign travels achieved nothing.

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The Indian Rupee had to be devalued from Rs 4.76 to the dollar to Rs 7.50 to the dollar, a 57% reduction.

For easy reference, I have prepared this simple chart to explain the Indira model of boosting India through her foreign travels.

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Dear reader, which side are you leaning towards? The travelling salesman or the travelling beggar?

Yogi Adityanath appeals to Hindu saints to work towards elimination of casteism and untouchability

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi Adityanath appeals to Hindu saints to work towards elimination of casteism and untouchability

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while participating in Bhandara Mahotsav (community kitchen) in Visnagar, Gujarat, called casteism and untouchability as two of the biggest banes of India and strongly appealed to the saints and religious leaders to start a movement for the complete elimination of casteism and untouchability. Calling lack of unity within communities as one of the main reasons Somnath temple was invaded so many times, he said we cannot expect shining future till the time such divisions like untouchability exists in our society.

He further urged the religious and spiritual leaders to take a pledge that untouchability is eliminated from the society. Speaking at the event which was attended by hundreds of Sadhus, Yogi asked the leaders to take leadership in spreading the message of brotherhood and unity among the people of India. He added that untouchability can never be part if it exists, we should be ready for more such attacks like the invasion of Somnath temple. He further added that elements who want to weaken India will try to bring such divisions in society.

Hailing Prime Minister Modi as ‘Iron Man’ for accelerating the pace of development in India, he said Modi is working hard to take the country to newer heights. He said Modi’s “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas” slogan is a spinoff of the Sanatan Dharma philosophy, which also calls for taking everybody along. He even hailed Modi for being instrumental in getting UNESCO recognition for Yoga and Kumbh festival.

Non bailable warrants issued to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi

OpIndia Staff
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Non bailable warrants issued to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi

The Nirav Modi bank fraud had rocked the country has been in the eye of the storm. In a fresh development in the case, the CBI has issued a non-bailable warrant has been issued against both Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.


The Congress party has been accusing the government of assisting Nirav Modi and making this a political issue in the run up to Karnataka assembly polls. Even though the Nirav Modi scam has landed squarely on the Congress’ doorstep and the 20:80 Gold Scheme sanctioned by P Chidambaram benefitted 13 companies including Mehul Choksi’s firm. 

The BJP, on the other hand, has accused that most of the loans to Nirav Modi were approved under UPA. It has also publicised various benefits that Congressmen have reaped from the tainted businessman. BJP has defended itself by saying that none of its ministers or party-men is involved in the fraud.


According to India Today, Allahabad overseas branch officer are also under the radar of investigating agencies. Some of the officers have been summoned for questioning in the case according to reports.


The move taken by CBI today indicates that it is intent on nabbing the absconding businessmen. However, it remains to be seen if this can actually result in the arrest of Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi.

Rahul Gandhi fails to answer questions and lies profusely in his interaction with traders in Karnataka

Nithesh S
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Rahul Gandhi fails to answer questions and lies profusely in his interaction with traders in Karnataka

In an interaction with traders in Davangere (Karnataka) on his Jana Aashirwada Yathre, Rahul Gandhi failed to answer questions and also lied profusely. While commenting on the default of loans by a company connected to Piyush Goyal (which was a shoddy hitjob debunked by us) and Nirav Modi (the scam that leads one to the Congress doorstep), Gandhi said this would happen if institutions are not respected. He said that the scams were happening because the government was not respecting institutions.

He claimed that removal of Raghuram Rajan (Who is now likely to be questioned by CBI for the 20:80 Gold Scheme that favoured 13 big companies including Mahul Choksi’s firm) had led to Nirav Modi fraud. [ From 16:10 ] ‘You have no idea what is going to happen to the banks in the coming months. You have no idea because what is being done is that every institution that supports the structure has been demolished. So, Nirav Modi is just the beginning, Piyush Goyal is just the beginning. You will see what is coming now.’

He went on to say [From 17:00] ‘We respect institutions. We defend institutions. Public doesn’t quite understand this. Public thinks so what, demonetisation kar diya, Raghuram Rajan gaya, to kya hua. Nirav Modi ho gaya. Hoga there is no other alternative.‘ According to Rahul Gandhi, an RSS person sits in every minister’s office and gives orders about its functioning.

Rahul Gandhi mentioned that the notification on fake news issued by Smriti Irani (which was later withdrawn) was to ensure that anyone who opens their mouth would be forced to shut. [ From 20:10 ]. Rahul Gandhi fails to differentiate between fake news and freedom of speech.

On a question regarding loss of jobs due to the digital economy, Rahul Gandhi did not provide a clear answer to the question. Instead, he took the opportunity to criticize the government on GST and demonetisation. He offered to keep his doors open to small businessmen for hearing their views on policies if he became Prime Minister in 2019.

Transcript of this part of the conversation is reproduced below [ From 5:40 onwards in the video ]

Person in audience: My question is how digital India is killing our business and jobs? Due to these PayTms, Amazons, and Flipkart are losing our retail jobs and also businesses. So, if and when, how in 1999 (he meant 2019) our Congress-led government would tackle this? 

Rahul Gandhi: What do you think is the idea behind, idea and force behind these things that are happening. For example. How do you view demonetisation? How do you view GST? Or whose actually, or what power behind, GST and demonetisation and similar ideas Amazon. Who do you think is behind this.

Person in audience: Multinational companies, they started this. And again these companies are losing our businesses and also jobs. So how the 1999 Congress government is going to tackle this? Will it put an end to Amazons and Flipkarts and once again rejuvenate our retail businesses? 

Rahul Gandhi: You mean 2019? (person confirms) . The point that the gentleman raised. The basic idea today in India, this is something that BJP government strongly believes in. So, the entire focus of government policy, the banking system and everything should be given to top 15-20-30 big business. If you look at the GST which we call the -Gabbar Singh Tax. There are completely two visions of GST. Our idea was a simplifying GST. And our idea of GST where you would have a single GST. You would not have a 28% tax. We would take the maximum amount of items out of the GST net that poor people would use and we would simplify this structure. [..]

On the digital economy. You can see it both ways. The digital economy can harm you. The digital economy can help you and it all depends on how you think about policy. The basic thing I want to ask you, how do the top 15-20 business people, every single one of them can walk straight into the PM office and Jaitley’s office. How many of you can walk into PM office or Arun Jaitley’s office? No one. So the main point is that your voice is not heard by the political system. The biggest 10-15-20 people’s voice is heard every day by the political system. [..] You people’s don’t have access. So my idea for 2019 is when Congress government is in Delhi, you people can also have access. 

The Congress president who claims that his party was the harbinger of technology to India failed to explain as to how technology could be used for creating new jobs in the place of those which were lost. Instead, his entire answer was anchored on GST, demonetisation and rich businessmen. The Congress president who had earlier confessed ignorance about NCC and dodged a question on governments divisive policies in the education sector has now taken to blatant lies and fear mongering.

Bomb found in under-construction metro tunnel at Subhas Sarovar, Kolkata

OpIndia Staff
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Bomb found in under-construction metro tunnel at Subhas Sarovar, Kolkata

On Saturday night, a bomb was reportedly recovered from an under-construction metro tunnel in Kolkata in West Bengal. The bomb, which was recovered from Subhas Sarovar under-construction metro tunnel, was removed by the bomb disposal squad following which the police has undertaken the investigation.

As per reports, metro officials discovered a few explosives while working on the construction site last night. Following that, they informed the police officials and the police and bomb disposal squad reached the site and successfully recovered the bomb.

More details are not revealed by the police and investigation is underway for the same.

The Linguistic ATM: A divisive investment

K Bhattacharjee
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The Linguistic ATM: A divisive investment

Bengali linguistic chauvinists have taken a leaf out of the book of their Kannada and Tamil counterparts and are trying to foment linguistic chauvinism in West Bengal as a last-ditch effort to prevent Hindu consolidation in the country.

On Saturday, Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal congratulated the people of Kolkata for the City Metro’s decision of including information in Bengali in its smart cards.


Self-proclaimed “Didi fanboi” and “Typical Aantel” Agnivo Niyogi reacted to Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s congratulatory tweet on Kolkata Metro including Bengali in its smart cards with a jibe at ‘Hindi imperialism’. According to him, Piyush Goyal’s tweet reeked of it.


Another vocal supporter of Trinamool Congress, Garga Chatterjee, interpreted the tweet as the ‘Hindi imperial centre’ sensing the power of ‘Bengali resistance’.


From the tweets, the resentment that is festering within the hearts and minds of such people becomes quite apparent. One wonders where was the ‘Bengali resistance’ all this time that the BJP wasn’t in power. And if the purpose of this resistance is served merely by including Bangla in the smart cards of the city’s metro, then are the goals of the resistance really worthwhile? Over the course of history, ‘resistance’ has always meant a tiny bunch of the oppressed standing up to the tyrannies that rob their people of the necessities of life. It is 2018, however, and a certain bunch of people with an irresistible urge to appear heroic without suffering any of the miseries that come along with it, are inventing trouble where none exist so that their baser urges might be satisfied.

Bengalis have always been proud of their culture and there have been movements in the past, notably the one led by Sunil Gangopadhyay, which have sought to restore the presence of Bangla in the fast-changing landscape of Kolkata. However, the recent phenomenon that has surfaced with vengeful people trying to cloak their personal agendas under the garb of linguistic pride and nefarious regionalism, has manifested itself in vitriolic rhetoric that could go a long way in fostering unsubstantiated hatred along linguistic lines.

Kolkata has always been a melting pot of cultures where one of the most influential strands of the Indian Independence Movement was born. Heroes of this land whom Bengalis adore and cherish have always harboured and inculcated a pan-Indian outlook that is not limited by narrow linguistic barriers. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army itself inducted men from all across India and most of the recruits were Sikhs who presumably never spoke Bengali. And here we have, Twitter Linguistic chauvinists who disgrace one of the greatest heroes of this country by promoting enmity between communities based on the language they speak. Netaji’s primary allegiance was to India, not hindered by his linguistic identity, and here we have these people using our great Bangla language to divide Indians along linguistic lines.

The objective of this rather futile exercise is to malign a section of the political spectrum among Bengalis. Of course, such a move could very well succeed but at what cost? It has to be kept in mind that linguistic chauvinists in Bengal politics represent a fringe of the fringe but it is so not for a lack of effort. As 2019 gets closer and closer, we will witness more of such divisive rhetoric to influence the General Election results. It might prove beneficial for certain political parties in the short run but in the long term, it could pose a grave threat to the unity and integrity of the Indian union.

As I have said before on several occasions, we are living in an age of chaos. Provocations even by inconsequential people could lead to grave consequences. Under such circumstances, it is imperative for people in the public eye to conduct themselves more responsibly. They might be under the impression that their current endeavours will earn them great benefits in the future but Chaos is an unforgiving mistress and people often discover that the fruits of their actions are not what they envisioned them to be.

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