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Yogi Adityanath reveals how he decided to ask Mosques to postpone Friday prayers for Holi

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi Adityanath reveals how he decided to ask Mosques to postpone Friday prayers for Holi

Details have emerged of how Yogi Adityanath went about asking the Muslim community to postpone Friday prayers to facilitate Holi celebration by Hindus since Holi comes once a year and Jumma Prayers take place 52 times a year. Earlier details had emerged about Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh thanking the Muslim community for postponing ‘Jumma Namaaz’ for the sake of Holi celebrations since Holi celebrations were falling on a Friday.

In the video, Yogi Adityanath is heard saying :

“Holi is being celebrated for years and is celebrated only once a year. People asked how will Holi be celebrated since Jumma prayers fall on the same day. I said Jumma will also happen and Holi will also be celebrated. During video conferencing, I asked what is the preparation? The officials said that they would try that Holi celebrations are concluded by 11 AM. I said Holi is celebrated once a year and will be concluded by 11 AM, Jumma prayers happen 52 times a year so the Jumma prayers can be postponed by 2 hours. Holi is celebrated only once a year so Holi should be allowed to be celebrated completely. Appeal to Muslim maulvis and clerics that Jumma prayers should be postponed for 2 hours and I would like to thank them that they postponed the time of Jumma namaaz and let Hindu brothers celebrate Holi to their heart’s content.”

Yogi Adityanath is known for ruling his state with an iron fist while still maintaining his personal religious identity as the Mahant of Gorakhpur math. Recently, when he was asked about celebrating Eid, he had pulled a Modi and said that he is a Hindu and there is no need for him to celebrate Eid as he is entitled to his religious freedom as well.

He has not only proved his commitment to his religious beliefs but also administrative commitment. Owing to his tough stand, criminals from Kairana were seen moving around with placards declaring that they would henceforth behave themselves. The Hindu families who were driven out from the town of Kairana in an exodus started returning to their homes under Yogi rule. In fact, even leading business houses promised an investment of 4.28 lac crores in Yogi’s first business summit.

The crackdown continues : Income Tax Department unearths Rs 3,200 crores TDS scam

OpIndia Staff
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The crackdown continues : Income Tax Department unearths Rs 3,200 crores TDS scam

The Income Tax department has unearthed a Rs 3,200 crore TDS scam. Irregularities were found in investigations pertaining to the period between April 2017 to March 2018 and several individuals and companies are under the scanner.

According to reports, a total of 447 companies deducted TDS (Tax deducted at source) from their employees but did not deposit it with the I-T and diverted it to help their own business interests. The I-T department has already started prosecution against these companies and some warrants have already been issued. The prosecution is carried out under the section 276 B of the Income Tax Act and its punishment includes rigorous imprisonment from a minimum of three months to seven years. The I-T department is also considering including IPC sections in the charges as the act amounts to cheating, duping employees and criminal breach of trust. One of the offenders, a prominent builder with political connections allegedly diverted 100 crores from employees to further his business. Other offenders in the case include movie production houses, start-ups and infrastructure development companies.

Companies are legally obliged under the Income Tax Act 1961 to deduct TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) from the payment given to employees and deposit the amount with the government. The Central Board of Direct Taxes manages it and companies are required to file quarterly returns to the CBDT. In this case, the companies have not deposited the TDS amounts they deducted. The process is easy and can be done through e-payment. If the companies do not deposit the TDS with the government the employee’s tax returns show a mismatch on the I-T website. In 2016, the central government had launched an SMS alert system that alerts the taxpayer about any TDS mismatch. The purpose of the TDS system was to make direct tax collections easier and that employees do not have to worry about payments to the government. The firms involved in this case have tried to cheat the system and employees both by deducting the TDS amounts and not depositing it with the central government.

According to reports, the I-T has already initiated the recovery process. Bank accounts of the individuals and companies involved are being attached and movable and immovable assets are being seized. Some of them had apologised and promised to pay the amount soon while others are citing financial difficulties due to market conditions. The percentage of TDS diverted to working capital also varies.

I-T officials have stated that at present, it is extremely difficult to cheat the system because digitalisation has made all transactions transparent and traceable for the government.

The Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate have been cleaning up the financial system at a breakneck speed recently. The ED has been on an overdrive seizing properties and gems to recover the financial fraud perpetrated by Nirav Modi. Recently. the CBI had cracked down on Rotomac promotor too. ED was also set to sell unpledged shares of Vijay Mallya that was all set to fetch 4000 crores. The IT department too has been on an overdrive to clean the financial system and crackdown on black money.

Behind the scenes of Alka Lamba’s legendary tweet with crying selfie

Nirwa Mehta
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Behind the scenes of Alka Lamba’s legendary tweet with crying selfie

At the onset, I would like to let everyone know that we pray for the safety of kids in Syria, Yemen, Libya and all other war-torn countries around the world. No one deserves this, least of all children. However, this post is not about them, this is about Aam Aadmi Party’s MLA Alka Lamba.

Despite breathing the Internet for survival, Alka Lamba’s tweet where she ‘prays for Syrian kids’ went unnoticed by me for almost a week. But the moment I set my eyes on it, I could not take them off.


On 27th February, she tweeted to the United Nations, that being a mother, she cannot see the pain of Syrian children. It isn’t her concern for Syrian children that made everyone wonder what really goes on in her beautiful mind, but the images which accompanied them. Let us analyse the images in the sequence in which they appear in her tweet.

The first image in the series has a mirror image of a news channel, with Alka pointing her finger at the television screen (just in case we didn’t know where to look). Considering it is a mirror image, chances are it was taken in selfie mode, which also explains the poor quality of the image. Lamba is pointing her finger at the screen which, presumably, shows a Syrian kid in distress. If you’re wondering what it means, you should move to next image. But before you do, take a moment to learn a lesson in timing your selfies well. Look at this photograph. How beautifully that lonely teardrop hangs precariously on the edge of her lips. That! That is a beauty. That is the beauty of timing a picture perfectly. Let that thought stay with you.

The next image shows Lamba crying. Well, not exactly crying, she is ‘looking upset’. With freshly manicured hands, and a big diamond adorning her ring finger, Lamba has a drop of tear which has rolled down all the way to her lips (thank god it didn’t roll down further! The entire selfie would have been ruined, and we wouldn’t want that now, would we?). Her eyeliner game is on point and she’s clearly having a good hair day. But, hey, her heart goes out to Syrian children.

And then, as if on cue, the next picture shows her in so much pain because of what is happening in Syria that she has to look away. The selfie she has taken shows she cannot bear to look at the images on the screen. The tear which had rolled down to her lips in the previous image has now been wiped off (or has probably escaped because positioning the selfie camera with one’s eyes closed can be a challenging task). Thinking on toes and maintaining composure of clicking flawless selfies when you are distressed about dying children is perhaps a quality only AAP leaders possess.

Moving on to the last image in the series (one wishes Twitter allowed more than four images in one tweet because Lamba is a fascinating case study) the mirror image of the television screen is back.

So let’s get this straight. Lamba in all her winged eyeliner glory sat in front of the Television set and switched the ZeeNews (which is also hilarious because AAP lads keep whining about it being a ‘sanghi channel’). She then sees a Syrian child in distress. Her first thought upon seeing the travesty is “dear lord please help these children”. The mother’s heart cries out in distress. The Television is not paused, so one would imagine that she took the mirror image selfie of the kid because of crying, but anyway. At that point, she picks up her phone, puts the camera on, changes it to selfie mode, positions it with her one hand at a perfect angle and clicks a selfie while being inconsolably upset and teardrops rolling down her eyes. Then, she proceeds to upload those pictures (while sobbing, one would presume), because public posturing is what might get her some brownie points.

Baffling, isn’t it? If the Television is not paused, did she have her selfie camera ready because she knew what program would be on and she knew that she would need to click an image, cry later, and upload photos next? Or do we think we are attributing to malice what we can attribute to sheer stupidity? One would never know.

But the heart weeps. Perhaps legends like Alka aren’t meant to be understood. Or analysed. Greatness is never appreciated in its time. The glory of Alka Lamba is just meant to be admired from afar. The sheer brilliance of how incomprehensibly, mind-numbingly asinine an elected representative can be. It’s a thing of marvel.

The entire series of images is so bizarre that I spent hours analysing them. But in her defence, showing empathy for Syrian children is a step up in being compassionate from the one time she delayed rescue operations during a fire in Chandni Chowk by climbing fire brigade and later laughing about her feat. From spreading fake surveys to milking on tragedies, this AAP MLA is one of the prime examples of how not to be a leader.

Since Alka faces impending disqualification, I was scared that we might lose out most entertaining political diva. But all is not lost. If not politics, we have an alternate career suggestion for Alka. This is only so the world doesn’t lose this star and it remains to shine among the people, brightening up their mundane lives.

In the meantime, this is me. Not because I don’t love Alka. But because stupidity can be upsetting. For real.

 

Book Review : The Kurma Purana, translated by Bibek Debroy

Anvita Agarwal
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Book Review : The Kurma Purana, translated by Bibek Debroy

The Kurma Purana is my fourteenth purana review. It comes fifteenth in the list of Mahapuranas. In my last review, I had mentioned that I would review one category at a time. Well, I wanted to complete the tamasik puranas (puranas that glorify Shiva) first so here is a tamasik purana review.

This Purana is medium sized and has seventeen thousand shlokas in all. It was divided into four sections, the Brahmi samhita, Bhagvati samhita, Souri samhita and the Vaishnavi samhita. Unfortunately, now only the Brahmi samhita is left. It is this section that is known as the Kurma Purana. The Brahmi samhita has 2 divisions. The Purva bhaga and the Upari bhaga. The purva bhaga has fifty-two chapters and the other one forty-four. I will give a little history about the name of the Purana.

The Kurma Purana was originally recited by Vishnu who was in his Kurma avtar. This is why it was named the Kurma Purana even though it was a tamsik Purana. Later, it was also recited by Lomaharshana to some sages in the Naimisharanya forest.

Let me start the review now.

This Purana had many stories most of them were the same as those in the other Puranas but few were different. Of these different stories, two were unique and unheard of. I will narrate them below.

Have you ever heard of the Sita that was an illusion? Well, it is real according to the Kurma Purana. We all know that Ravana came to the hermitage in disguise to abduct Sita. Sita realized this and foiled his plans. She prayed to Agni who appeared. He then absorbed Sita into the fire and left an illusionary one in her place. Ravana abducted the mayavi (illusionary) Sita and a huge war was fought over her. After Ravana was defeated Sita had an agni pariksha. When this happened the fake Sita went into the fire and the real one came out. This way Sita was always pure and clean.

It was so shocking to realize that a huge war had been fought over a person who was not even real. I had never heard this story before and it was really surprising and interesting.

The second story that I would like to share is how Ganga descended from the heavens. This is a different story from the normal narrations.

Vamana was one of Vishnu’s avatars. He had gone to Vali, the asura king and asked for three steps of land. Vali granted this. Vamana then grew to a giant size and covered the earth in his first step, the sky in his second step and the heavens in his last step (most stories have a little difference that his third step was on Vali’s head). The world was a golden egg that was floating on water. When Vamana took his steps, a crack appeared in the egg. A little water entered the egg and began to flow from the sky. This became the river Ganga.

I found this a very different narration as most stories say that the sage Bhagiratha prayed and got Ganga down. I liked it as it was very interesting too. It was also unique because it mentioned that the world was a golden egg which was not said in the other Puranas.

Few precautions are that this Purana should not be read or recited in front of a shudra and nonbelievers in the Vedas. Anyone woh does not follow this is born as a dog in the next life.

The Kurma Purana is also very sacred as anyone who reads it attains Brahmaloka. A person who reads only one chapter is forgiven of all sins. One who donates it to a brahmana attains undying punya. I loved reading this Purana and recommend people to read it too.

Links: India, US

Yogi Adityanath thanks the Muslim community for shifting Friday prayers on Holi

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi Adityanath thanks the Muslim community for shifting Friday prayers on Holi

Yogi Adityanath has today thanked the Muslim community in Uttar Pradesh for shifting the Namaz hours on Holi as the Hindu festival fell on a Friday.


The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh had directed officials to approach Muslim clerics to check if Jummah prayers on Friday could be altered. Firangi Mahali, Sunni cleric and President of the Islamic Center of India had changed the timings of the Friday prayers at Eldgah’s Mosque by half an hour and requested others to follow suit. Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe had extended the timings at the Asafi Imambara by 30 minutes.

Muslim leaders had taken the decision to maintain communal harmony during the festival and foster brotherhood between the communities. “We understand that the festival comes once in a year for our Hindu brothers. Thus, to ensure that our Hindu brothers can play Holi and we can also offer namaz, we have decided to change the timings. Many people I have spoken to so far, have agreed… as all of us want to ensure that the right message goes out to the community,” said Mahali.

SC’s judgement rejecting petition against movie ‘Aiyaary’ exposes the hypocrisy of FoE crusaders

Nupur J Sharma
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SC’s judgement rejecting petition against movie ‘Aiyaary’ exposes the hypocrisy of FoE crusaders

Freedom of Expression has become the favourite champagne phrase for the self-proclaimed Liberal cabal. But their undying support for one’s freedom of expression is, of course, limited to the freedom to express what suits them. Everyone remembers the initial uproar when Rajputs objected to the movie Padmaavat. The uproar, however, fell silent when they realised that the Karni Sena had extended support to Congress, a party that most suits their liberal ethos, considering it also shamelessly indulged in censorship when it suited them, and pretended to fight for freedom of expression when it suited their politics. Heck, it was the same party that imposed the Emergency, but those sins have been forgotten since the “liberal” crusade needs a political hero.

A similar incident came to light recently when Adarsh Housing Society, represented by the Congress supporting lawyer Sanjay Hegde went to court to thwart the release of the movie ‘Aiyaary’. The movie is said to be a military cum intelligence thriller that is a work of fiction but is based on real events. The catch, however, is that It also has a case related to Adarsh scam of 2010 – where a big building was built on a piece of plot earmarked for building houses for widows and families of the Kargil war. A movie still from Aiyaary is doing the rounds in army social media groups. While the High Court denied prosecution of Ashok Chavan based on technicalities, it can’t be forgotten that he was made to step down during the Congress regime and this scam, had haunted the Congress party.

Adarsh Housing Society approached the Supreme Court petitioning the court to not allow the release of the movie Aiyaary and to direct the deletion of any scene that made any direct or indirect reference to the housing society. They contended that the mention of the society breached their fundamental right to life under Article 14 and 21 of the constitution.

On Twitter, Mr Hegde contested that if things were to be banned for ‘bad taste’, movies, art and politics would be banned. He basically defends even offensive speech here.


While he postures and defends offensive speech, in Court Hegde stands against “projection in an unacceptable manner”. Sanjay Hegde who appeared for the Adarsh Housing Society contended that the film projected the society in an unacceptable manner. That the movie and the dialogues in it made insinuations that would not only affect the ongoing litigation but also make people believe the “reel image” of the residents and not the “real image”. He contended that the society and its residents had created their reputation with a lot of difficulties and that should be protected.

It is worthy to note here that the counsel for the petitioner, Sanjay Hegde conceded that the CBFC had given the requisite certificate after consultation with “competent authorities of the army” as a measure of caution.

Mr Hegde contended that this movie could affect the course of justice and thus, the release of this movie should be stayed.

The court, however, dismissed this petition. The court cited that a film is a creation of art and an artist has his own freedom to express himself in a manner which is not prohibited by law. The court observed that the prohibition shouldn’t crucify the rights of expressive minds.

The entire hypocrisy of Sanjay Hegde is staggering. While here Hegde’s argument is that since the Courts have imposed restrictions earlier, they should do it again, Hegde has earlier argued even against reasonable restriction.


In the court of course, Hegde had a very different view. While in his tweet, he negates the point that an entire town or community cannot be “bastardized”, here, he fights for a Housing Society akin to a town in his argument.

The court proceeded to make some scathing observations regarding the submissions made by Sanjay Hegde. The main point made by Sanjay Hegde was the Adarsh Housing Society is under litigation and the matter is sub judice and that the movie may prejudice the course of law. The Court observed that the doctrine of ‘sub-judice’ cannot be elevated to such an extent that any kind of allusion to a member of a society would warrant striking down of a person’s freedom of expression.

The Court made another interesting statement that is often negated by the self-proclaimed liberals as and when they deem fit. That Freedom of Expression is not unlimited, but restrictions need to be narrow and within reasonable parameters. Which would also mean that Adarsh Housing Society’s case didn’t fall under that reasonable parameter.

The Court also observed that Sanjay Hegde’s demand that the movie adds a disclaimer so as to not affect the society and its members adversely, was not permissible as it is the job of the censor board to grant certificates and judge whether a disclaimer is necessary or not.

The writ petition, therefore, was dismissed sans merit (without merit).

This judgement is frankly a testament to the unbound hypocrisy of the ones who publicly pretend to espouse the cause of absolute freedom of expression. It is evident, that they would move the court for the suppression of freedom of expression if it doesn’t suit them, their clients, their politics, their purpose or their narrative. This unbridled hypocrisy was also pointed out by Director Vivek Agnihotri.

While this is what Mr Hegde said in court, he has publicly made his opinions on bans on works of art fairly clear.


While lawyers do as their clients require them to do, knowing the law, one is at least expected to keep the public posturing and derision of others who make similar legally sound points to a minimum. Though, I’m certainly not holding my breath.

The images have been taken from the LiveLaw website where the judgement was uploaded 

Mayawati will not field candidates in UP Lok Sabha bypolls in order to ‘defeat BJP’

OpIndia Staff
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Mayawati will not field candidates in UP Lok Sabha bypolls in order to ‘defeat BJP’

Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha by-polls in Phulphur and Gorakhpur are likely to be a two-way contest as the BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) will not be fielding any candidates. BSP supremo Mayawati told ANI that her party will not be contesting to ensure a BJP loss in bypolls. However, she also clarified that this does not mean that she has allied with Samajwadi Party.


Mayawati told that her party members would exercise their vote to defeat BJP.


She clarified that BSP and SP would also co-operate in Vidhan Parishad and Rajya Sabha elections by transferring votes to each other. However, she did not reveal the exact details.


A zonal coordinator of the BSP told ANI that his party workers wanted to eliminate BJP.


Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party politician Sunil Singh Yadav clarified that BSP will not be contesting the upcoming by-elections in Phulpur and Gorakhpur.


The tacit understanding between two parties has been necessitated by the rapid growth of BJP in the state assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh held in 2017. The bypolls are being conducted because Keshav Prasad Maurya, current deputy CM of UP and Yogi Adityanath, the CM of UP have vacated their Lok Sabha seats after taking over their new positions. The by-poll will be held on March 11.

Cab driver to officer : The remarkable journey of Om Paithane

OpIndia Staff
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Cab driver to officer : The remarkable journey of Om Paithane

Om Paithane used to drive an Ola cab in Pune till a retired colonel boarded his cab and changed his life forever. Paithane is expected to pass out as an Army cadet in few days’ time as an officer ready to command his battalion.


Om Paithane, a resident of the Tondal village, which is located near the Pune-Bengaluru highway, is among the 257 cadets to graduate from the Officer’s Training Academy.

As per reports, Paithane’s father was a driver who lost both his legs in a road accident and was working as a watchman. To support his family, he started working while studying. While driving an Ola cab, a retired colonel hired his cab. They got talking and the retired colonel told him about the opportunities of appearing in Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination.

Following his graduation, Paithane appeared for CDS exam cracking it at one go. The retired officer was his constant source of inspiration, he says.

“I made the first call to the retired officer when I got through. He was guiding me throughout. I remember the careless version of me. Though I enjoyed it, this life is better. The training has taught me discipline and manners, which I am proud of,” he said.

Other than Paithane, two Army widows are also part of the batch passing out on 10th March.

“He endured all this… I wanted to be back in the olive green family,” said Neeta Deshwal.

The remarkable strength of these men and women is what keeps India safe. The grit and determination women who have lost their husbands donning the same olive green has got to give one the inspiration to last a lifetime.

Ebar Bangla? BJP needs to find its Singur moment

Abhishek Banerjee
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Ebar Bangla? BJP needs to find its Singur moment

I have one little question for all the Bengalis out there. How did so many Bengali Hindus get to be in Tripura?

Oh, I know. They were pushed out of Bangladesh. But why? Didn’t all these escaping Bengali Hindus know that Bengalis never subscribe to the communal politics that supposedly comes from North India? How could these people not know even this much despite being Bengalis themselves?

Open any liberal newspaper or Troll or Liar, you will find out about the greatness of “Bengaliyat,” a composite culture that is so broad-minded and accepting of everyone that the Hindu/Muslim politics of “Hindiwallahs” from the North can never find a home in Bengal. That is the core pitch of Mamata Banerjee and her sponsors as she prepares to defend Bengal from the BJP. That Bengal has some kind of unique culture that is above religion!

Nonsense!

Bengal is GROUND ZERO for the politics of Hindu survival. Bengalis have paid some of the highest prices among Indians for Islamic aggression. Bengal is one of just two or three provinces of India that were sawed open and partly handed to Islamists. All this nonsense about Bengal being immune to communal politics is just compromised commentary from Mamata Banerjee’s footmats.

Yesterday, as the BJP swept Tripura, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee compared the BJP to cockroaches.

Nothing to rejoice, 2019 will be disaster: Mamata's jibe at BJP

Very well, Didi. Very well. I know that this is not language that befits a Chief Minister, but then you have always been a disgrace to the post of Chief Minister. I don’t give a damn about double standards of liberals who will complain about Modi’s jibe at Renuka but will say nothing when the 170 million Indians who voted for BJP are called cockroaches.

Because those liberals can go take a hike. The BJP does not need your outrage to counter Didi in Bengal. Now you watch while the “cockroaches” spread all over Mamata Banerjee’s home state. The politics of Bengal is raw and uncouth and no quarter is ever given nor asked for.

Anyone who remembers just how viciously Mamata Banerjee used to fight the CPIM would have been stunned at her performance yesterday. Those were the days when CPIM was so dominant in Bengal that people thought that Jyoti Basu even controlled the weather. At that time, people would regard Mamata with some surprise and some admiration for taking on the Communist regime, willing to scream the loudest, ready to put her body on the line and ready to take blows on the head from the Communist police. Despite repeated failures, they called her “Agnikanya” (a woman made of fire).

It was something to see the same Mamata Banerjee yesterday on Bengali channels, telling the media about how well the CPIM had done in Tripura. About how they had fallen short by just 5% of the vote and so on.

Guess we now know just how much Mamata Banerjee is scared of “cockroaches.”

Why is Mamata so terrified? Isn’t she entrenched well enough, with over 50% vote in most seats?

No, she isn’t. Because Mamata knows that she is just one Singur away from total collapse in Bengal.

Her politics of projecting the BJP as a party of “North Indians” has collapsed outright. In a week or two, the BJP will have a Bengali speaking Chief Minister in Tripura. The BJP already has a Chief Minister in Assam. There’s no way to paint them as “Hindi speaking North Indians.” Both of them probably share the passion of the average Bengali for rice and fish curry.

Her problem is somewhat unique to Bengal. The state has no caste vote banks. Which means that when a wave comes, there are no natural barriers to check its flow. Many youths in Bihar might have wanted to go with Modi, but ultimately many of the Yadav youth decided not to “betray” their supreme leader Lalu Yadav. This would *never* have happened in Bengal.

We saw a trailer of this in Tripura yesterday. A wave took the BJP from 1.5% to 43%. The Congress was reduced to 1.5% from 36%. Going by the textbook on Indian elections, even a “meltdown” of the Congress vote would still have given it 10-15% of the vote. That means the Congress would still have cut enough votes to deny BJP the victory. In fact, Rahul Gandhi was playing exactly for this. But those rules don’t apply when there are no caste vote banks. Votes can move en-bloc.

Mamata has the same problem. She is sitting on top of a pyramid of nearly 50% of the vote. But the entire opposition vote could see a sudden seismic shift to the BJP. Add to it some natural erosion due to anti-incumbency and the BJP could suddenly soar above 40%.

Mamata Banerjee. Here today. Gone tomorrow.

Ironically, this kind of setup is the legacy of the Communists themselves. How did the Commies keep Bengal (and Tripura) under their thumb for decades? By convincing people that ideology can be a substitute for a full stomach. I personally know several people who voted for the CPM in 2001 elections because “America is pouring money to defeat Jyoti Basu.”

And then, under Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the CPM was suddenly seen as a party that was willing to compromise with the industrialists. With Tata. Again, ironically, the CPM paid a bitter price for their one and only effort to do something good for the state they had ruled. Mamata was taking a stance against “evil capitalists.” So they got in Mamata and threw Buddhadeb out. For decades, the people of Bengal had grown up to value ideological purity above practical welfare. It came to bite the CPM hard in its behind.

Mamata is facing the same risk today. The people of Bengal have definitely noted her softening towards the CPM, even her friendliness. Believe me, this will lead to disgust.

One of the least analysed events in Indian politics is the divergence between poll results in Bihar (2015) and Bengal (2016). Two neighbouring states, with elections held barely six months from each other. Both had a Mahagathbandhan with an arithmetic advantage.

RJD + JDU >BJP  and CPM+Cong > TMC

But while the Bihar Mahagathbandhan won big, the CPM+Cong Mahagathbandhan in Bengal performed miserably.

Because the moment the CPM was seen as compromising on its ideological purity by aligning with Congress, it lost all respect from the electorate. CPM workers in every gully and mohalla of Bengal were greeted with taunts of

“Je Congress er biruddhe etodin lorte, sheshe sei Congress er paayer choti mathaye kore vote chaite eshecho?”

(You used to fight Congress all these years. Today you have taken the chappals from Congress feet and put it on your head? How dare you show your face?)

This can be the fate of TMC workers tomorrow if the BJP tries hard enough. For that, it must earn the respect of Bengali electorate by showing its own ideological purity, which would take the form of an uncompromising hard Hindutva position.

It is time for BJP to go to every corner of Bengal and spread the message of Didi going soft on the Communists. This will unnerve the TMC and force them to make a Singur like mistake.

Ebar Bangla!

SSC Paper Leak Scandal: CBI to investigate if evidence provided by candidates is found substantiated

OpIndia Staff
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SSC Paper Leak Scandal: CBI to investigate if evidence provided by candidates is found substantiated

Students have gathered from across the country outside the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) headquarters in Delhi to protest against the alleged paper leak in the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Tier-2 examinations. Calling the SSC examination a “mass-cheating” scam, the students have demanded a CBI investigation into the matter. The students have been protesting since the 27th of the previous month over the exams held between 17th to 21st February.

Opposition leaders have started calling it another Vyapam Scam. RS Surjewala of the Indian National Congress questioned the Prime Minister’s silence on the matter and likened it to the Vyapam Scam. Shashi Tharoor also tweeted his support to the protesting aspirants and the necessity of maintaining the faith of the students on competitive exams.


Anna Hazare also found himself amidst the protesters. Delhi BJP Chief, Manoj Tiwari also met the protesters. He spent an hour with the students listening to their grievances. He also met with Rajnath Singh and discussed the concerns of the students with him. He assured the students that appropriate investigation will be conducted into the mater.


In an official statement, the SSC chairman assured of a CBI investigation into the matter if the evidence provided by candidates were found substantiated. The Chairman, Ashim Khurana, said, “In continuation with the earlier discussions held with the protesting candidates of CGLE 2017, a delegation of the candidates met with the Minister of State, Ministry of Personnel, Pension and Public Grievances… After hearing the delegation, it was directed by the Hon’ble minister that though the paper 1 of 21.2.2018 was cancelled by the SSC on account of technical issues, to inquire into the allegation of leakage of this cancelled paper, the evidence being provided by the candidates be taken on record and if found substantiated, the matter will be referred to CBI for further enquiry.” The statement also said, “Else, the crime branch of Delhi Police which is already seized of the matter upon a referral by the commission, shall complete its inquiry in a time-bound manner and submit its report for further necessary action.”

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