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BJP vs all: NC-Congress form alliance with some ‘friendly contests’, PDP goes solo and more – All you need to know about Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections

Shraddha Pandey
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BJP vs all: NC-Congress form alliance with some ‘friendly contests’, PDP goes solo and more – All you need to know about Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections

Jammu and Kashmir is set to undergo polling from 18th September, in the first assembly elections after the abrogation of Article 370 and revocation of the “special status”. Jammu and Kashmir will have assembly elections on 18th September, 25th September, and 1st October. The poll results will be released on the 8th of October. Notably, the BJP won 25 seats in the last assembly elections in 2014, and this time around, it faces the challenge of a stronger opposition as the Congress party has allied with the National Conference.

Jammu and Kashmir Assembly constituencies

Notably, Jammu and Kashmir now has 90 assembly constituencies. The BJP intends to contest the election separately in the polls, while the National Conference (NC) and the Congress have formed an alliance. As per the agreement reached between the parties, NC will compete for 51 seats, Congress will compete for 32 seats, and there will be “friendly contests” in five constituencies. In addition, the CPI(M) in South Kashmir and the Panthers Party in Jammu division have each been allotted one seat.

Source: ECI

BJP vs all in J&K

On Sunday, the Bhartiya Janata Party released the list of its 10 candidates for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls. The party has fielded RS Pathania from Udhampur East and Naseer Ahmad Lone from Bandipora.

BJP has again fielded Ravinder Raina from the crucial Nowshera seat. Raina is seeking a re-election from this seat against National Conference candidate Surinder Choudhary and those of the PDP and the BSP.  

The Nowshera constituency is one of 11 assembly segments in the Jammu region’s Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi districts that will vote in the second phase on the 25th of September together with 15 seats in the central Kashmir districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal, and Budgam. From these 26 constituencies, 239 candidates remain in the running for the final election. Jammu has 79 candidates in the second phase, including 28 independents, two ex-ministers, a former judge, and two woman candidates. In addition, relatives will compete for two seats, as will several turncoats, including two former ministers, Choudhary Zulfikar Ali and Syed Mushtaq Ahmad Bukhari.

Meanwhile, BJP has fielded Faqir Mohammad Khan from the Gurez Scheduled Tribe (ST) reserved seat, Abdul Rasheed Khan from Sonawari and Ghulam Mohammad Mir from Handwara. From the Scheduled Caste (SC) reserved seats, BJP has fielded Bharat Bhushan from Kathua, Rajeev Bhagat from Bishnah and Surinder Bhagat from Marh. Other than this, Vikram Randhawa is contesting from the Bahu seat on a BJP ticket.

In its manifesto, the BJP had made 25 promises to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. These promises include: “Make Jammu and Kashmir a leader in development and progress in the nation by wiping out terrorism and separatism. Provide Rs 18,000 per year to the senior most woman in every household through ‘Maa Samman Yojana’. Providing assistance through the state government for Women SHGs on the issue of interest on bank loans. Providing 2 free LPG cylinders every year to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana beneficiaries. Create 5 lakh employment opportunities in Jammu and Kashmir through Pandit Prem Nath Dogra Rozgar Yojana (PPNDRY). Rs 3000 yearly through DBT as travel allowance to college students under the ‘Pragati Shiksha Yojana.’

BJP has also promised to restore 100 ruined temples and renovate the existing ones. The party has also resolved to “undertake a concerted drive to address illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi settlements in Jammu & Kashmir.”

Addressing the much-needed demand for resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits, the BJP announced that if voted to power, it will “ensure the safe return and rehabilitation of the Kashmiri Pandit community, we will launch the Tika Lal Taploo Visthapit Samaj Punarvas Yojana (TLTVSPY).”

Source: J&K BJP website

The party will also “expedite the rehabilitation of West Pakistan refugees, POJK refugees and internally neglected communities like Valmiki and Gorkhas.”

National Conference seeks Article 370 reinstatement, resumption of dialogue with Pakistan

The National Conference has fielded Retd. Justice Hussnain Masoodi from Pampore, Mohammad Khalil Bandh from Pulwama, Sheikh Mohammad Rafi from Shopian, Abdul Majeed Larmi from Anantnag West, Reyaz Ahmad Khan from Anantnag East, Altaf Ahmad Kaloo from Pahalgam.

Interestingly, in an interview, NC leader Omar Abdullah said that the alliance with Congress has not been forged due to seats, but over the perception that NC may be hand in gloves with the BJP since an. Enforcement Directorate case against his father Farooq Abdullah was struck down by the court. “Allying with Congress became almost vital for us in light of a recent high court order that struck down an Enforcement Directorate’s case against my father (Farooq Abdullah). Some of our political opponents went to town calling it evidence of an underhand deal between the BJP and NC. To convince the people that we are not hand in glove with the BJP and will go all out to defeat the party, an alliance with Congress became very important for us,” Omar Abdullah said.

Notably, while the removal of Article 370 has ushered Jammu and Kashmir into an unprecedented era of development, skyrocketing tourism and increased security, the National Conference has mentioned in its manifesto seeking restoration of Article 370. Moreover, while the BJP-led Central government has adopted a policy of no talks with Pakistan until it stops state-sponsored terrorism against India, NC has advocated for resuming dialogue with the hostile neighbour.

Congress and NC to have ‘friendly contest’ on a few seats

On Monday, the Congress party released its third list of 19 candidates. The party has fielded state working president Raman Bhalla from RS Pura-Jammu South, Chaudhary Lal Singh from Basohli,  and ex-NSUI chief Neeraj Kundan from the Bishnah (SC) seat. Even as NC and Congress have formed an alliance, the two parties will have a ‘friendly contest’ on some seats.

Congress fielded Irshad Ab Gani from Langate, Haji Abdul Rashid Dar from Sopore, Irfan Hafeez Lone from Wagoora-Kreeri, Mool Raj from Ramnagar (SC) Kajal Rajput from Bani, Summit Mangotra from Udhampur West and Manohar Lal Sharma from Billawa. In addition, Congress has fielded Thakur Balbir Singh from Jasrota, Rakesh Choudhary Jatt from Hiranagar, Yashpal Kundal from Ramgarh (SC), Krishan Dev Singh from Samba, TS Tony from Bahu, Yogesh Sawhney Balbir Singh from Nagrota, Thakur Manmohan Singh from Jammu West and Mula Ram from Marh (SC).

Congress and NC: Not so ‘friendly’ on the ground

While the Congress party and Jammu and Kashmir National Conference have forged an alliance to defeat their bête noire BJP, all is not so well between them. On Sunday (9th September), Congress candidate from Banihal, Vikar Rasool Wani took a swipe at alliance leader Omar Abdullah and said that NC has sucked the blood of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly that of the people of Banihal. “Why the colour of the party flag is red,” Wani said adding that the NC leadership over the years failed to do any development in the region. He further claimed that whatever development occurred in Banihal was when he was the MLA.

Even as Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Tariq Hamid Karra tried to do damage control, Wani doubled down and said: “Omar Abdullah is telling people in my constituency to defeat me. How can he defeat me when people are with me? He is himself begging in his constituency to voters with folded hands and by removing his skullcap to vote for himself. How can he defeat me here.”

Expressing his displeasure over Wani’s comments, Omar Abdullah while addressing a public rally said: “Wani’s remarks are caustic, where he talks bad about our leadership, our party flag and even our party founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. I was sitting beside him campaigning for the Congress MP candidate two months back. Either he was telling lies at that time or is speaking lies this time.”

Interestingly, Banihal is one of those few seats, which will witness a ‘friendly contest’ between NC and Congress. Reports say that Congress’s Vikar Rasool Wani is upset over two reasons. Firstly, his removal from the post of JKPCC President and second reason that NC fielded its own candidate from Banihal despite an alliance with Congress for a ‘friendly contest’. While Wani emphasised the 2014 results as the deciding criteria for fielding a candidate from Banihal, NC stressed on the perceived “better chances” of its candidate Sajjad Shaheen winning the seat.

Notably, Congress has resorted to fuelling hatred against the non-locals residing in Jammu and Kashmir for electoral gains. Recently, Rahul Gandhi addressed a poll rally in Banihal wherein he alleged that the Modi government has given all the benefits to the ‘outsiders’ insinuating that the non-Kashmiri Indians are outsiders in J&K. Rahul Gandhi’s cynical approach to garner votes is in line with the Islamist narrative that only Kashmiri Muslims are ‘insiders’ while the non-Muslims and Indians, in general, are ‘outsiders’. Unsurprisingly, divide and rule is the policy the British bequeathed to the Congress party before leaving India. Be it fomenting caste divides, linguistic divides, or playing the ‘insider’ vs ‘outsider’ card, Congress has mastered the art of divide and rule.

PDP goes solo after finding no allies

The Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has also fielded its candidates on some crucial seats so far. The party has fielded Sudesh Kumar from Kathua, Ganesh Dutt Sharma from Jasrota, and Vicky Kumar Dogra from Bishna. Mohd. Vasheem from Chenani and Kewal Kumar Sharma from Udhampur West, Baqeel Singh, and Karan Singh fielded from Udhampur East, Suchetgar. Notably, before the abrogation of Article 370, Mehbooba Mufti led the state government with BJP’s support and the alliance eventually was called off, this time Mehbooba Mufti tried forging an alliance first with NC and then with Congress, however, the efforts seem to have been futile. Although the PDP is now strongly opposed to the BJP, it has failed to join forces with anti-BJP parties like NC and Congress.

Speaking about the NC-Congress alliance Mehbooba Mufti called NC rule as that of “Tanashahi” [dictatorship] and said: ‘“NC couldn’t do that much work in a very long time, the work PDP has done in a comparatively small tenure, especially the South Kashmir. If there is a value for vote in J&K, then it is because PDP is there to contest against NC.”

Amidst the political war of words and games, Rashid Engineer, who has been in jail over involvement in a terror funding case has been granted interim bail. The terror funding accused and leader of Awami Ittihad Party. Notably, the National Investigation Agency had opposed the regular bail plea of Rashid Engineer in the UAPA case and stated that Rashid Engineer, as a Member of Parliament, may misuse his position to influence witnesses and obstruct justice if granted bail.

With the Jammu and Kashmir elections taking a BJP vs all direction, it will be interesting to see if the BJP manages to brave the NC-Congress alliance and win the polls or if the people of the state will give the anti-BJP parties an upper hand.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu tries to mend ties with India, to visit New Delhi as 2 ministers who made derogatory remarks against PM Modi resign

OpIndia Staff
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Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu tries to mend ties with India, to visit New Delhi as 2 ministers who made derogatory remarks against PM Modi resign

Pro-China Maldivian President, Mohamed Muizzu will travel to India on an official visit “very soon”, his spokesperson said on Wednesday (11th September 2024). The announcement of his visit to India came on a day when two Maldivian Ministers “resigned” from the government months after they made derogatory remarks against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

It is pertinent to note that in January this year, Muizzu suspended three ministers Mariyam Shiuna, Malsha Shareef, and Mahzoom Majid for speaking against India, Indians, and PM Modi. Now, after prolonged suspension, Shiuna and Malsha have resigned while there was no immediate word about the fate of the third minister, Majid, who was also suspended in January.

The three ministers in the Muizzu government made anti-India remarks while reacting to PM Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep. The controversy erupted after political commentator Raushan Sinha shared PM Modi’s video ‘promoting tourism in Lakshadweep’ and asserted that it is a “big setback to the new Chinese puppet govt of Maldives”. 

The post irked Mariyam Shiuna, Maldives’ Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts. The Maldivian leader responded to Mr. Sinha’s post by calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “clown” and a “puppet of Israel”, which she later deleted. Incidentally, she again made an anti-India post a few months later, only to apologise a few hours after sharing an insulting post on the Indian flag.

Muizzu seeking to rebuild ties with India; announces official visit to India on a day when his two anti-India Ministers resigned

While a government official said that both the anti-India Ministers had resigned citing “personal reasons”, their resignations came ahead of an official visit by Muizzu to New Delhi.

On 11th September, the Chief spokesperson at the President’s Office, Heena Waleed announced that Muizzu will visit India “very soon”. 

During a press conference, Waleed said, “The President is scheduled to visit India very soon… such trips are scheduled for a time of maximum convenience to leaders of the two countries. Discussions regarding this are in progress.” 

Strikingly, this will be Muizzu’s second visit to India in quick succession as the pro-China leader has been attempting to mend diplomatic relations with India.

Muizzu last visited New Delhi on 9th June 2024 to attend Prime Minister Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. He was part of a high-level delegation invited to attend PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. The delegation included Heads of state from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region. 

Back then, Muizzu had said that he was delighted to receive PM Modi’s invitation and “equally delighted” to have attended the event. On his return, Muizzu described his first visit to India as a “success” for the Maldives.

Meanwhile, the development also follows a visit last month by India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to Maldives. This was his first trip to the archipelago nation since Male expelled Indian troops in May. 

Muizzu, who led India–out campaign before the elections, has been trying to tone down his anti-Indian rhetoric in the wake of prolonged economic crises in the atoll nation which was worsened after his Ministers’ remarks caused a diplomatic sparring with India. 

Muizzu who initially broke the pattern of making India the first foreign visit after getting elected, has now pleaded on multiple occasions with India to save it from the debt trap. He is also attempting to rebuild ties with India to safeguard its ‘tourism-dependent’ economy from the shock caused by his Ministers’ derogatory anti-India remark and subsequent reduction in Indian tourists to Maldives. 

How will they let you play if you don’t test: Delhi HC denies relief to Bajrang Punia in plea against provisional suspension for refusing to give samples

OpIndia Staff
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How will they let you play if you don’t test: Delhi HC denies relief to Bajrang Punia in plea against provisional suspension for refusing to give samples

On 11th September, the Delhi High Court served notice to the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) in response to a plea from Congress leader and wrestler Bajrang Punia challenging the provisional suspension for refusing to provide a sample for a dope test. He was not, however, granted any temporary respite by Judge Sanjeev Narula, who scheduled the next hearing for October and told the wrestler to press his complaints before the disciplinary panel constituted by NADA.

Senior Advocate Rajiv Dutta who represented the wrestler sought interim relief but the court declined to issue any orders. Bajrang Punia, per him, never declined to provide his sample and instead, he merely wanted an update from NADA authorities addressing his objections about the alleged use of out-of-date kits in earlier drug tests.

He is prepared to provide his sample, according to the senior counsel who added that the wrestler’s career will come to an end if he is unable to compete in the next Senior World Wrestling Championships. The bench did observe that the petition contained no request for temporary relief. The NADA attorney, on the other hand, countered that the matter would go before a panel that had already been created for the final hearing. It was pointed out that athletes competing at the Olympic level could not refuse to provide a sample when asked by the officials.

The lawyer highlighted, “We (NADA) will not want any of our athletes to be put in a bad position. He (Bajrang Punia) is saying that he is being targeted but this is not correct. We are looking into the matter and a final hearing is about to happen. This kind of litigation will only derail the process. We want him to play for the country.” 

Bangran Punia contested the 21st June order pronounced by NADA. He contended that in April 2024, following his semifinal match, he was contacted by two “alleged doping control officials/chaperones” assigned by the NADA to assist with the wrestling selection trials in Sonepat, Haryana, but neither of them could provide identification or a permit. He offered the officials his sample in exchange for an explanation of the purported usage of outdated testing kits in December 2023.

His counsel alleged, “This is a classic case of hounding someone. The World Championship is around the corner. He has to practice,” to which the court retorted, “How will they let you play if you don’t test.” Bajrang Punia’s lawyer claimed that the Senior World Wrestling Championships, which will take place in Albania from the 28th to the 31st of October, represent the grappler’s final opportunity to compete in a big tournament for the next two years. The petition maintained that he had no alternative but to retire from wrestling because the provisional suspension prevented him from taking part in the trials and the championship match.

The petition alleged, “The petitioner (Bajrang Punia) is suffering through no fault of his own as he is unable to participate and perform due to the arbitrary suspension imposed by the respondent (NADA). It is, in fact, the respondent’s actions that have hindered the performance of the petitioner and the consequences of which the petitioner is having to bear. The same is unjust, unfair and a direct violation of the petitioner’s fundamental rights and necessary restorative action and punitive action against the respondent is pertinent.” It further added, “The conduct of the respondent in terms of the official threatening the petitioner against not giving his sample in an expired testing kit and the subsequent non-transparency and suspicious cover-up and inaction on the part of the respondent is a clear abuse of authority.”

Bajrang Punia won the Bronze medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after defeating Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov. He recently joined the Congress party along with another wrestler Vinesh Phogat. He was officially served with a formal “notice of charge” and prohibited from competition by the National Anti-Doping Agency on 21st June, marking his second suspension. The action was taken three weeks after the previous suspension was reversed by an Anti-Disciplinary Doping (ADDP) panel since the wrestler had not received a “notice of charge” from NADA.

He was first suspended by NADA on 23rd April after he declined to provide a urine sample for a drug test at the Sonepat selection trials on 10th March. United Wrestling World (UWW), the worldwide regulating body of the sport, had also placed him on suspension.

Woman files fake sexual harassment complaints against multiple men, Karnataka HC takes cognisance, asks DGP to caution police stations

Siddhi Somani
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Woman files fake sexual harassment complaints against multiple men, Karnataka HC takes cognisance, asks DGP to caution police stations

On Wednesday, 11th September, the Karnataka High Court directed the Director General of Police and Inspector General of Police to provide the details of a woman plaintiff who had filed nine complaints against various people alleging sexual harassment, criminal intimidation, and offences punishable under Section 498A of the IPC.

“The details of the woman complainant be available on the database of the police stations so that they could be cautious when the complainant would want to register a crime against any other man,” the single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna noted as quoted by Live Law.

“The police station before whom this complainant would seek to register a crime shall not register the same without conducting any appropriate preliminary enquiry. This is to curb, if not, to stop wanton registration of crimes against several men. Ten have been seen, only to stop the eleventh,” it added.

The court issued the order while hearing a petition filed by the husband and in-laws seeking the quashing of offences lodged against them under sections 323, 498A, 504, 506, and 149 of the Indian Penal Code by the wife. Interestingly, this was the complainant’s tenth crime in the past decade.

Senior Advocate Murthy D Naik, who appeared for the petitioners, supplied significant data about the woman’s past allegations, which the prosecution confirmed as genuine. The court then went to all nine previous complaints filed by the woman.

“The complainant has registered crimes without any rhyme or reason against several men and their family members, which drew them as accused into the web of proceedings, even for the offence under Section 376 of the IPC, which lead those accused to be taken into custody and bail being secured after a long period in custody. Those accused were also made to undergo the rigmarole of trial only to be acquitted for want of cooperation from the hands of the complainant,” it noted.

“The intention is clear. It was only to harass those persons who had nothing to do with the complainant, more than 10 men have fallen prey to the antics and tactics of the complainant, bordering on a honey trap character of the complainant, by way of the aforesaid modus operandi,” it added.

It went on to say that for the past decade, the unmistakable inference has been that the complainant has been crying wolf and has been registering crimes with no substance, resulting in the accused being taken into custody and having to secure bail, only to be acquitted in the end.

It stated that the Police were looking into fraudulent allegations or crimes filed by the complainant and that the Criminal Courts were conducting trials in which all of the accused were acquitted at every stage of the proceedings.

“The incidents that happened between 28th August 2022 and 22nd September 2022 for 25 days are projected to be a crime for offences punishable under Section 498A of the IPC, among other things against all the members of the family, including an age-old lady of 75 years who has not even seen the complainant. Even other family members are vaguely brought into the web of crime.”

“If this proceeding cannot become mala fide, I fail to understand which proceeding can be termed to be a mala fide action on the part of the 2nd respondent/complainant. Permitting further proceedings to continue in the case at hand, or any further investigation or to file a final report will be putting a premium on the continued illegal activities of the complainant all of which are narrated hereinabove,” it concluded.

US: Man created lakhs of songs in fake band names using AI, earned over $10 million in royalty from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music etc using listener bots, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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US: Man created lakhs of songs in fake band names using AI, earned over $10 million in royalty from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music etc using listener bots, arrested

On 4th September, a 52-year-old man named Michael Smith was nabbed in the USA on charges of an extensive seven-year plot involving artificial intelligence (AI)-generated music, fictitious bands and false streams. The Department of Justice arrested the accused from North Carolina’s Charlotte. He reportedly employed AI to produce hundreds of thousands of fake songs, tricked streaming services into granting phoney plays and earned over $10 million in royalties through dishonest tactics.

He is currently being prosecuted on three counts involving money laundering and wire fraud, each of which has a 20-year maximum penalty.

The elaborate scam

The perpetrator collaborated with two unidentified accomplices, a music promoter and the CEO of an AI music company, to produce the songs and developed an astounding collection of AI-generated music, adding thousands to streaming content every week. Investigators also obtained emails that provided insight into the inner workings of the plan. This is the first instance of musical streaming manipulation in a criminal prosecution.

The accused had virtually eliminated any human aspect. According to media reports, he had a circular process in his scheme. His initial step was to use email addresses he had bought online to create thousands of bogus streaming accounts. He had up to 10,000 fake profiles and when setting up the accounts took too much effort, he even hired others to do the work for him. He calculated that he might earn $3,307.20 per day and up to $1.2 million yearly by having his songs streamed 661,440 times a day, for a 2017 financial prediction.

Prosecutors asserted that he dispersed his activities over many faux tracks to avoid being discovered by streaming services, never playing the same song too frequently. Prosecutors stated that after realizing his repertoire was too small to yield any substantial rewards, he attempted to expand the number of songs he could access.

Initially, he had uploaded music he wrote himself to the platforms. He began by using a music publicist’s catalogue and then he attempted to charge other musicians for his services in exchange for either paying him to perform their songs or giving him a portion of their royalties in return. Prosecutors unveiled that both schemes failed. He then collaborated with the robots in 2018.

The name game

Michael Smith created many fake artists known by names such as “Callous Post,” “Calorie Screams” and “Calvinistic Dust” and created songs like “Zygotic Washstands,” “Zymotechnical” and “Zygophyllum” that were top hits on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. He then used his thousands of email IDs to sign in to music streaming services to stream his own music. He created software to stream his music on loops from different computers, creating the impression that different users from different places were listening to the music.

Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York revealed, “Smith stole millions in royalties that should have been paid to musicians, songwriters, and other rights holders whose songs were legitimately streamed.”

“Keep in mind what we’re doing musically here. This is not ‘music,’ it is ‘instant music’,” his 2019 email to the A.I. executive read. He would receive the compositions in file names such as “n_7a2b2d74-1621- 4385-895d-ble4af78d860.mp3.” He then came up with euphemisms for the songs and their performers including “Zygopteris,” “Zygopteron,” “Zygopterous,” “Zygosporic” and so forth. The titles didn’t stick out in a world where there are actual albums like “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and songs like “MMMBop,” as well as real bands like Dirty Projectors, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Sunn 0))).

Similar trends also applied to the artist naming convention, where names ranged from the conventional “Calvin Mann” to obscure terms like “Calorie Event,” “Calms Scorching,” and “Calypso Xored.” He utilised bots that stream music billions of times without any human listeners to create inauthentic streams for these tracks. Similar to other scams, the bots’ worthless streams were eventually turned into royalties for their creators.

He was making roughly $110,000 a month by June 2019, according to the accusation, with some of that money flowing to fellow conspirators. He boasted in an email sent out in February of this year that he had amassed 4 billion streams and $12 million in royalties since 2019. Prosecutors disclosed that he lied outright to record labels. One firm notified him in October 2018 that it was planning to delete his tracks from all outlets due to “multiple reports of streaming abuse.”

Michael Smith denied all the charges and declared, “This is absolutely wrong and crazy. There is absolutely no fraud going on whatsoever! How can I appeal this,” despite the overwhelming evidence provided by the DOJ, comprising of the emails and manipulation of streaming data.

‘Habit to stand with forces that conspire to devide the country’: Amit Shah responds to Rahul Gandhi’s reservation remark at Press Club event in USA

OpIndia Staff
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‘Habit to stand with forces that conspire to devide the country’: Amit Shah responds to Rahul Gandhi’s reservation remark at Press Club event in USA

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Wednesday, September 11 hit out at Rahul Gandhi for raking up the politically motivated caste census issue during his US visit.

“I’ve been saying again and again and again, we’re going to increase reservations beyond 50%,” the Gandhi scion had emphasised at the National Press Club in Washington DC on Tuesday (10th September) besides casting aspersions about Indian democracy, the state of free speech and the country’s economic progress.

Retorting strongly, Amit Shah took to X to assert that it has become a habit for the Congress leader to stand with “forces that conspire to divide the country”.

“Standing with forces that conspire to divide the country and making anti-national statements have become a habit for Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party. Whether it is supporting the JKNC’s anti-national and anti-reservation agenda in J&K or making anti-India statements on foreign platforms, Rahul Gandhi has always threatened the nation’s security and hurt sentiments,” Shah said in a post on X.

Rahul Gandhi’s statement lays bare the Congress’s politics of causing rifts on the lines of regionalism, religion, and linguistic differences. By speaking about abolishing reservations in the country, Rahul Gandhi has once again brought the Congress’s anti-reservation face to the forefront. The thoughts that were in his mind eventually found their way out as words. I want to tell Rahul Gandhi that as long as the BJP is there, neither can anyone abolish reservations nor can anyone mess with the nation’s security,” the Union HM added.

Shah’s strong response came to Gandhi’s remarks at an interaction with students at Georgetown University in the US. Responding to a question on reservation, Rahul Gandhi said, “We will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place and India is not a fair place.”

During an interaction with the students and the faculty of Georgetown University in Washington DC, Gandhi said, “The elephant in the room is that 90 per cent of India — OBCs, Dalits and Adivasis don’t play the game…Caste census is a simple exercise to know how the lower castes, backward castes and Dalits are integrated into the system…Out of the top 200 businesses in India, there is almost no ownership of 90 per cent of the population of India. In the highest courts of the country, there is almost no participation of 90 per cent of India. In media, there is zero participation of lower castes, OBCs, Dalits…”

Hitting out at the Congress leader, the BJP alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s campaign to save the Constitution was a “charade” and his prejudice against reservation is out in the open.

Besides, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati also alleged that Congress did nothing for the deprived castes despite decades in power. She warned Gandhi’s “drama” proves that Congress has been “conspiring to end reservation for years”.

Union minister Chirag Paswan also expressed anger over Rahul Gandhi’s comments made on foreign soil. He accused him of defaming India.

Anurag Thakur also criticized Gandhi, emphasizing that such remarks undermine the positive global perception of India. “Rahul Gandhi should not go abroad and defame India. Due to the trust that the world has built on India, investments worth thousands of crores of rupees are coming to India”, Thakur was quoted as saying.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan alleged Gandhi was “spoiling the image” of the country with his remarks, which he said was “equivalent to treason”.

The Gandhi scion is on a 3-day visit to the United States.

Delhi HC denies bail to a man accused of raping his 6-year-old daughter; says long-term effects of child sexual abuse insurmountable

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi HC denies bail to a man accused of raping his 6-year-old daughter; says long-term effects of child sexual abuse insurmountable

On Tuesday, 10th September, the Delhi High Court denied bail to a father accused of raping his 6-year-old daughter in August of last year, highlighting the often-insurmountable long-term ramifications of childhood sexual assault. “An act of sexual assault or sexual harassment has the potential to cause mental trauma to the child and may dictate their thought process for the years to come. It may hinder the normal social growth of the child and lead to various psychosocial problems which could require psychological intervention,” Justice Subramonium Prasad said.

The court stated that providing bail to the man accused of raping her own daughter at this level could undermine the intent of the objective, which was considered when the POCSO Act was implemented. The Act was implemented to shield children from sexual assault, harassment, and exploitation. Following counselling and a medical check-up, the minor informed the doctors that she had been sexually raped by her father on several occasions since February of last year.

According to the minor, the man would insert his private parts into her vagina, anus, and mouth. The judge dismissed the bail application and disregarded the father’s contention that the FIR was filed by the mother due to a marriage conflict between them.

“In the opinion of this Court, a mother would not put the life of her own daughter in jeopardy and make her suffer an investigation and question by the Magistrates and Lawyers in Court, only to get even with her husband,” the court said.

The court noted that the victim’s stand was consistent, but that the inconsistencies and minute details raised by the father’s counsel will be decided at trial. “Paramount consideration is to be given to the well-being of the child whose mental psyche is vulnerable, impressionable, and is in a developing stage. The long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse are, at many times, insurmountable,” the court concluded.

Surat: Rubyna Pathan, Laima Sheikh use children to attack and break multiple Ganesh idols in Soni Bazar, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Surat: Rubyna Pathan, Laima Sheikh use children to attack and break multiple Ganesh idols in Soni Bazar, arrested

Another incident of stone pelting on Ganesh Pandal and insulting Lord Ganesh has come to the fore from the city of Surat, Gujarat. Police on Tuesday, 10th September arrested two individuals identified as Rubyna Irfan Pathan and Laima Salim Shaikh for breaking the idols of Lod Ganesh in the Soni Bazar area of Athwa, Surat. It is believed that the two women also incited their children to break the idols. The women have been arrested by Police.

As per the reports, Vishal Hiralal Khalasi sells Lord Ganapati idols in the Soni Bazar area of Surat. Sheikh and Pathan visited the store with their two young children. Later, these two women began damaging Lord Ganesha’s idols. They also incited their children to create a ruckus on the shop premises. 

The shopkeeper is believed to have incurred a loss of Rs 60,000 due to this incident. In addition, a complaint has been filed stating that the religious sentiments of Hindus have been hurt. Surat Police apprehended both women after taking action in this case.

The police inquiry revealed that both Muslim women reside on the footpath bridge and earn their living by begging. It was also discovered that the two women instigated the destruction of about ten idols at the hands of their little children aged five to six. Following the Syedpura incident, the police immediately moved to take action in the case arresting the duo.

Earlier, on the 7th and 8th of September, stones were pelted at a Ganeshotsav pandal in the Lal Gate area of Surat, Gujarat. As per reports, some Muslim minors pelted stones at the pandal, leading to hundreds of Hindus protesting and demanding strict action. The police swiftly swung into action and made 27 arrests. Security was increased in the area.

According to OpIndia Gujarati’s report, the incident took place at the Ganesh pandal in the Variyali Bazar area of Lal Gate. Some minors, reportedly from the Muslim community, pelted stones at the pandal. After the stones were thrown, Hindus filed a police complaint. The news spread quickly around the city, and crowds swelled, demanding action.

Many Ganesha idols were broken in Vadodara too

It is worth noting that, in addition to Surat, multiple incidences of vandalism of Ganesha idols have occurred in Vadodara. According to reports, three cases have occurred in various regions of Vadodara in which Ganesh idols have been vandalized while visiting the Ganesh pandal. Three Ganesha Mandal statues have been demolished in the Rajmahal Road and Dandiya areas of Vadodara. Hindus have expressed concern over the damage of the idols of Ranchhod Yuvaka Mandal, Pragati Yuvaka Mandal, and Khadia Pol Yuvaka Mandal.

Unknown individuals invaded these mandals at night and demolished the Ganapati statues. It is reported that the unnamed individuals were captured on CCTV entering the pandal. Apart from that, a complaint has been filed alleging that several items were stolen from the gatherings. The villagers of Ganesh Mandal have filed a complaint with Raopura Police Station about the occurrence. Investigation in this matter is underway. 

‘She hasn’t done any work’: RG Kar victim’s father says they are not satisfied with Mamata Banerjee’s role in the case

ANI
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‘She hasn’t done any work’: RG Kar victim’s father says they are not satisfied with Mamata Banerjee’s role in the case

The father of the deceased trainee doctor from Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College said that the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, has not done any work and his family is not satisfied with her role in the case.

The victim’s father on Tuesday also said that they demanded a CBI investigation due to her “unsatisfied role” in the case.

Speaking to ANI, the victim’s father, said, “We are not satisfied with the role of the CM (Mamata Banerjee) in the case; that’s why we went to the CBI. She hasn’t done any work. One of the policemen came to our house, they said we had arrested Sanjay Roy and he would be produced in fast track court and get a death sentence. But the incident that happened with my daughter was not the work of just one person. We have been saying this since starting that persons from the department involved in this.”

Reacting to Mamata Banerjee’s Durga Puja remarks, the victim’s father said, “Maybe she will take people to celebrate, in her capacity but we think no one will celebrate Durga Puja this year. If someone celebrates, they will not be celebrating with happiness. Because all the people of Bengal and the country consider my daughter their daughter.”

On September 9, West Bengal CM Banerjee encouraged people to “return to festivities” as Durga Puja nears and urged junior doctors to resume their duties as soon as possible.

In response, the victim’s mother expressed that this request seemed inhuman to her.

“Durga Puja is celebrated in my house too; my daughter used to handle it herself. But Durga Puja will never be celebrated in my house again. The light in my home is out. How can I ask people to return to the festival?” she said.

She further questioned, “If such an incident had happened in the Chief Minister’s family, would she have said this?”

The victim’s mother also asserted that they would continue their movement until justice is served.

The second-year postgraduate medical student was raped and murdered inside the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College on August 9.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Rahul Gandhi meets Ilhan Omar, Ro Khanna, Barbara Lee and others on his US visit: Know who they are and how they have been peddling an anti-India agenda

Anurag
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Rahul Gandhi meets Ilhan Omar, Ro Khanna, Barbara Lee and others on his US visit: Know who they are and how they have been peddling an anti-India agenda

On 10th September (local time), Leader of Opposition (LoP) and former Congress President Rahul Gandhi met several anti-India lawmakers from the United States (US), including Ilhan Omar, Ro Khanna, and Barbara Lee. Photographs of the meeting were shared by Congress’s official handle and Rahul Gandhi’s page on Facebook.

In its post on Facebook, Congress wrote, “Shri Rahul Gandhi met with U.S. lawmakers at the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC.” The list of attendees, according to Congress, included Ilhan Omar, Ro Khanna, Jonathan Jackson, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Barbara Lee, Shri Thanedar, Jesús G. “Chuy” García, Hank Johnson, and Jan Schakowsky. The meeting was hosted by Bradley James Sherman.

Sharing photographs of the meeting, Rahul Gandhi wrote, “It was a pleasure to meet with a delegation of U.S. lawmakers at the Rayburn House in Washington, DC. We had a meaningful discussion about our shared commitment to building a progressive future and strengthening the Indo-US relationsh.” The details of the discussion or any video of the same were not provided by Congress Party on any of the social media platform which raises concerns about the topics they might have discussed.

Who is Ilhan Omar?

Ilhan Omar is a Somalia-born radical Islamist politician from the US. She was was elected to the House of Representatives from Minnesota on a Democrat ticket. Outside the global Muslim brotherhood or the Ummah, Omar is seen as someone running errands for the powerful Islamist lobbies, whose only aim is to push radical Islam in modern societies.

In fact, the origins of Omar, who hails from Somalia, have also been controversial. Omar arrived in the US at the age of 12 in 1995 as a refugee fleeing Somalia’s civil war. She became a citizen five years later, at the age of 17. In November 2016, she won the election to become the first Somali-American in the US Congress.

There are allegations that Omar married her biological brother to bypass the US immigration process. Former President Donald Trump had asked the Justice Department to investigate Ilhan Omar’s marriage to her brother and her subsequent migration to the US illegally.

Ilhan Omar’s history of bias against Hindus, a known anti-India propagandist

A representative of Minnesota, Ilhan Omar, has several times in the past parroted the same lies peddled by the radical Islamists, and Pakistan. For years now, Omar has indulged in propagating anti-India narratives, especially targeting the Narendra Modi government, and has sought Biden Administration’s official help to further her propaganda war.

With support from other ‘left-liberal’ circles, both in India and the West, Ilhan Omar has been at the forefront of raking up the issue of Kashmir in the US House of representatives with a pro-Pakistan stand demanding US agencies to intervene in the matter. Omar has also peddled lies about the alleged attacks on minorities, issues of human rights, and freedom of speech in India, claiming that Muslims in the country are facing atrocities at the hands of Hindus.

Last year, in a US House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing on South Asia Human Rights, Ilhan Omar had also attacked Indian journalist Aarti Tikoo Singh, who had testified before the US Congres on the Kashmiri Hindu genocide in the valley in the 1990s.

Ilhan Omar’s connections with radical organizations

Allegedly, Omar is a pawn of the Muslim Brotherhood and Qatar’s rulers. She also has ties with radical Islamic organizations such as Islamic Relief and Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD), the sister organization of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), a Western branch of the Jamaat-e-Islami, a terror group that is banned in India. HHRD also has ties with Islamic terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan.

Ilhan Omar: A hardline Islamist, an anti-semite

Ilhan Omar is a known antisemite and has expressed steadfast support for the terrorist group Hamas. When the Israel-Palestine crisis broke out in 2021, Ilhan Omar sided with Jihadists to whitewash their crimes against Israel.

In 2019, Omar had courted controversy when she had defended the 9/11 terrorists by referring to them as “some people doing something”. She is also a proponent of the ‘one-nation’ solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, which effectively means refusing to let Israel exist as a country.

Who is Ro Khanna?

US Democrat Congressman Rohit Khanna is often called by the name Ro Khanna. He is an Indian-origin American politician. In August 2019, Ro Khanna joined the Pakistan Congressional Caucus, becoming the first Indian-American to do so. This move had raised eyebrows in the Indian-American community, while he was welcomed by the Pakistanis, including Pakistan’s ambassador to the US.

On 24th March, US House Representative Ro Khanna stirred the hornet’s nest by making unsolicited remarks about the internal political affairs of India. The development comes after Congress scion Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a criminal defamation case.

In a tweet, he claimed, “The expulsion of Rahul Gandhi from parliament is a deep betrayal of Gandhian philosophy and India’s deepest values.” The US politician further added, “This is not what my grandfather sacrificed years in jail for. Narendra Modi, you have the power to reverse this decision for the sake of Indian democracy.”

In August 2019, Ro Khanna courted controversy for presenting a distorted version of Hindutva to his American followers. He had tweeted, “Important article. It’s the duty of every American politician of Hindu faith to stand for pluralism, reject Hindutva, and speak for equal rights for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhist & Christians. That is the vision of India my grandfather Amarnath Vidyalankar fought for.”

He gave the impression that Hindutva promotes inequality and discrimination against other religions. In essence, Hindutava (as defined by Veer Savarkar) is an inclusive term that represents everything ‘Indic’. During the anti-farm law agitation in India in 2020, Ro Khanna tweeted, “India & the US share a rich tradition of democracy & peaceful protests. Farmworkers are the backbone of both our nations & must have their voices heard.”

Equality Labs, which is known for anti-Hindu propaganda, has worked with Congressman Ro Khanna to introduce a resolution in celebration of the 129th birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar. The founder of Equity Labs, Thenmozhi Soundararajan has shared the stage with Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is the founder of Khalistani terrorist organisation Sikhs For Justice or SFJ.

He is also very popular amongst Islamist organisations like IAMC.

Apart from these two, Barbara Lee was also present at the meeting. She is a self-styled Modi-hater. She had written a letter against PM Modi’s arrival in the US nine years after a resolution to deny him a visa. In June 2023, she was one of the Members of US Congress who wrote to President Biden asking him him either not to host the State Dinner to Prime Minister Narendra Modi or to raise some specific issues.

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