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Kejriwal threatens of ‘agitation’ if MCD results are not as per his wishes

OpIndia Staff
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Kejriwal threatens of ‘agitation’ if MCD results are not as per his wishes

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal has decided to take his EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) hacking theory to the next level. Even though the Election Commission of India had sent him a detailed reply on why EVMs can’t be hacked, Arvind Kejriwal is unconvinced.

The Delhi Chief Minister claims that since he is from IIT, he knows at least 10 ways of hacking EVMs. He probably is banking upon his IIT credentials to make people believe that EVM hacking is possible, and that the only way AAP can be defeated is through EVM hacking.

Taking this theory forward, Kejriwal has now announced that he will launch a “movement” if the MCD election results were in line with the exit poll results that predicted a BJP sweep. Even though exit poll results are based on media agencies talking to voters, AAP leaders had earlier blamed EVMs even for the exit polls results.

Although it’s not clear what this “movement” will be in wake of AAP’s defeat in the MCD polls, Kejriwal’s statements suggest that it could as well be a violent agitation. He has been reported as saying “eent se eent baja denge” in Hindi (literally it means to demolish or ruin something by reducing it to a rubble of bricks), which means AAP will be ready for a decisive battle.

Kejriwal’s critics have often termed him an anarchist who loves to see confused crowds in chaos, and his latest movement is being seen as a step towards that anarchy. Also this announcement by Kejriwal raises a question that whether he is slowly starting to give up his on political dream and has decided to go back to his roots by starting to indulge in old fashioned activism?

Nonetheless, such a refusal by Kejriwal to accept the democratic process and the possibility of him turning into a sore loser amused many people:


But perhaps the best reaction came from Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Singh Bagga, who decided to send him some bricks so that he can fulfill his promise of “eent se eent baja denge“:


Anupam Kher to team up with Arnab on Republic, here are other members

Hemant Bijapurkar
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Anupam Kher to team up with Arnab on Republic, here are other members

Arnab Goswami, who was the Editor-in-Chief of Times Now, quit the TV news channel in November and is now all set to float his own channel named Republic TV.

The channel is set to launch in a few days, and today it was revealed that veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher will be associated with it:



Already there have been additions to the team of Republic in the form of army veteran Major Gaurav Arya and veteran journalist Chitra Subramaniam, who would be the Editorial adviser.


It has also been revealed that Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Mohandas Pai are investors in the channel.

Barely 10 days ago, Minhaz Merchant, another senior journalist had announced that he too would be part of Republic. Merchant took to twitter to announce that he was an adviser to Republic TV. He also mentioned that there were 300 people part of the channel working in an awesome newsroom with a great energy. Plus he also mentioned that for them countdown for the launch had already begun:


Merchant is a well known Indian journalist and writer who founded business magazines like Gentlemen and Business Barons. He has also written biographies of Rajiv Gandhi and Aditya Birla. He has also authored the book, The New Clash of Civilizations.

Arnab Goswami in a recent interview had outlined his vision about how the channel would operate. Arnab has called Republic as a content run enterprise which is the first journalist-owned, journalist-run, journalist-managed news organisation. He also claimed that the most important thing for Republic, even bigger than the TRP would be impact.

Arnab (and OpIndia.com) were served legal notices for his interview by Times Group, which claimed that Arnab had made defamatory comments against them. Arnab had earlier revealed on Twitter that a major media group was trying everything to delay the launch of his channel.

Malegaon blast case: Sadhvi Pragya gets bail, Lt Col Purohit stays in jail

OpIndia Staff
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Malegaon blast case: Sadhvi Pragya gets bail, Lt Col Purohit stays in jail

In a significant development, Bombay High Court on 25 April granted bail to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur in 2008 Malegaon blast case.

The court was hearing the appeals filed by Sadhvi Pragya and Lt Col Prasad Purohit challenging an earlier order of a special court rejecting their bail pleas. While the NIA did not oppose bail to Sadhvi Pragya in Bombay High Court, the agency, however, recommended prosecuting Lt Colonel Purohit for conspiracy and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

“We have said in our order that prima facie there is no case made out against Sadhvi,” Justice Ranjit More of the Division Bench, which heard the case was quoted as saying.

The High Court, however, denied any relief to Purohit, a co-accused in the case. A division bench of Justices More and Shalini Phansalkar Joshi said, “The appeal filed by Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur is allowed. The applicant (Sadhvi) is directed to be released on bail on a surety of Rs 5 lakh. The appeal filed by Prasad Purohit stands dismissed.”

Sadhvi Pragya and Lt Col Purohit were arrested in connection to the 2008 Malegaon blast. Both are in jail since then. Use of term “Hindu terror” or “Saffron terror” was popularized after their arrests.

The probe into Malegaon blast case by Maharashtra Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) is under question amid allegations by Nation Investigative Agency (NIA) that the ATS investigation was riddled with ‘loopholes’. Both the NIA and the ATS had filed two separate chargesheets in the case. Both the chargsheets made contrasting claims.

There have been accusations about political interference and fabrication of cases to prove “Hindu terror” by the erstwhile UPA government. A police officer of Maharashtra ATS had earlier claimed that two men, accused of being Hindu terrorists, were killed and their body passed off as 26/11 victims in the same case for which Sadhvi Pragya Thakur was arrested.

Heckled by ‘literature lovers’ and abused by Maulvis, Tarek Fatah now faces threat from ISIS terrorists

OpIndia Staff
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Heckled by ‘literature lovers’ and abused by Maulvis, Tarek Fatah now faces threat from ISIS terrorists

Progressive Muslim commentator, renowned columnist and famous television personality Tarek Fatah has been subjected to several attacks by Islamists and pseudo-secularists for his ramrod straight views on radical Islam. These includes attack on his views as well as physical heckling on TV shows and events, but things are getting worse now.

It has been revealed that the four ISIS terrorists arrested by Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad were planning an attack on Tarek Fatah. According to reports, the revelation was made during an interrogation of two ISIS operatives –Faizan and Ahtesham – who are currently on a eight-day police custody.

“We have shared information collected during interrogation with central agencies. The accused have revealed they planned to attack Tarek Fatah,” an ATS officer was quoted as saying.

“During interrogation, Faizan said he was in touch with a youth in Mumbai for the purchase of explosives and weapons after their contact in Bijnor, who was paid advance for the explosives, failed to deliver the consignment… We have sent details of Faizan’s contact to the Mumbai Police,” the ATS officer said.

This is not for the first time that Fateh has come under the radar of radicals. Earlier this year, the Pakistan-born writer was abused and heckled at the Urdu poetry festival Jashn-e-Rekhta, held at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts. Fatah, who attended the festival as an audience member, was hit with sticks on his back and feet. Slogans like “Modi ka kutta, Tarek Fatah” and “Death to Tarek Fatah” were raised by the protesters. It appears that the organisers of the festival did little to stop the mob.


Tarek Fatah, who proudly asserts his Muslim identity, is a vocal critique of radical Islam. “I don’t critique Islam at all. I critique shariah. I find shariah to be one of the biggest handicaps that is holding back Muslims and is putting Islam in disrepute,” he had said.

Fatah hosts a popular debate show called ‘Fatah ka fatwa’ on Zee News, where he raises pertinent issues related to the Muslim society and Islamic beliefs. For this too, he has faced the ire of the usual suspects. Fatah was threatened and abused on several occasions. Recently, in the Zee News show the Shahi Imam of Kolkata’s Tipu Sultan Masjid said his “throat would be slit”. All India Faizan-e-Madina Council, a Bareilly-based Islamic organisation, has also announced a bounty on the head of Fatah.

It could be recalled that in 2013, Fatah was prevented by Islamic radicals from delivering a lecture at Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia. Despite all this, he has found no support among the so-called liberal class, who actually go on to mock and insult him.

During a Rajya Sabha debate last year, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had blamed Fatah for the Kashmir unrest, even as the senior Congress leader shamelessly defended terror accused Zakir Naik.

 

Kerala CPM leader faces charges of misogyny and mixing religion with politics

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala CPM leader faces charges of misogyny and mixing religion with politics

Remember MM Mani? The senior Communist Party of India (CPM) leader from Kerala had in 2012 openly stated that his party had killed political enemies in his home district Idukki.

The Power Minister of Kerala is hitting the headlines for two of his recent comments. On 22 April, Mani called Devikulam sub-collector Sriram Venkitaraman “a mad man” and said that he should be sent to Oolampara (a famous mental hospital in Thiruvananthapuram).

30-year-old Sriram – a doctor-turned IAS officer – is a popular and dynamic bureaucrat of Kerala. He has started an anti-encroachment drive in Munnar, inviting the ire of powerful land mafia linked to the ruling CPM. Sriram is on a mission to save Munnar, an ecologically-sensitive place known for its rich biological diversity. Situated at around 1,600 metres above the sea level in the Western Ghats, Munnar has some exceptional natural attractions.

Sriram’s anti-encroachment drive reached a crossroads when his team demolished an illegal cross situated at a government land at Pappathichola in Munnar.

“In Idukki, most religious establishments are located on land that do not have clear title deed. Devikulam sub-collector Sriram Venkitaraman is a mad man. He should be sent to Oolampara,” Mani said.

Mani did not stop there. He branded the young IAS officer a “RSS agent” and said that the cross was demolished just like the Babri Masjid was pulled down in Ayodhya.

The powerful church lobby, which is close to the ruling CPM, is flexing their muscles in the issue even as the civil society of Kerala sees the demolition of the illegal cross as a legitimate move.


But instead of reprimanding him for stoking communal feelings, communists appear okay with this kind of mixing of religion with politics. In fact, CPM leader Prakash Babu brought in some more religion. “What I can say about Mani is to repeat what Jesus said — Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing,” he said, while state CPM secretary refused to comment.

This is not the only comment though that has put Mani in tight spot. On 22 April night, while addressing a public meeting in Idukki, the Kerala Power Minister went on to question the character of female plantation workers. Mani was referring to a 2015 strike by women plantation workers in Mannur. The strike had forced the then Oommen Chandy government to hike their wages.

Mani said he knew what all went on during the strike by ‘Pembulai Orumae’ (Women’s Collective). “It was a stage-managed protest led by vested interests. I know what all happened. When the strike was on, other activities were taking place in nearby forests,” he said.

Mani’s comments have invited strong condemnation from various quarters. Angered by Mani’s remarks, women plantation workers have launched a protest in Munnar. The opposition has demanded the resignation of the Power Minister.

Arvind Kejriwal’s Dengue comment – empty words or veiled threat?

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Arvind Kejriwal’s Dengue comment – empty words or veiled threat?

Time and again history has shown that when the mask of fake idealism starts to fall off of Communists and Naxalites, they resort to violence and intimidation. One saw this in Bengal under the communist regime and sees this presently in Kerala. After a dismal performance in Punjab elections, seems like intimidation is the last refuge of the urban Naxalites better known as Aam Admi Party.

Plagued with a myriad of controversies, court cases and waning voter confidence – just 2 days before the MCD elections – AAP supremo and Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal said that if the public of Delhi voted BJP in the MCD elections, they themselves would be responsible for facing plethora of problems like heaps of rubbish, diseases dengue, chikungunya, etc. for the next 5 years:


At a cursory glance, the tweet would appear as nothing more than Arvind Kejriwal’s usual whine against BJP and/or spreading fear against BJP. But was it just that? Was it for fear-mongering against BJP or rather a sinister design of veiled threat to the public?

The MCD has been under the BJP for a long time. While the MCD elections in 2007 and 2012 were consecutively won by the BJP, the assembly elections were won by Congress during the same period. Although these two units of governance were under the rule of rival parties, there was never a problem in governance until AAP won the NCT with a full majority in 2015.

After Arvind Kejriwal took over as Chief Minister of Delhi in February 2015, things changed. MCD Sanitation workers started protesting due to non payment of dues and pending salaries. On one hand AAP went on from giving assurance of payment to blaming Centre for cash crunch, on the other they kept on increasing their MLAs’ salaries and perks at expense of the state exchequer. Not to mention the huge advertisement expenses borne by the Delhi Government which can be considered as barely legal.

In between this the real sufferer was the real aam admi of Delhi. This went on to be a yearly routine of sanitation workers being not paid as we saw last year and as well as this year, with each year showing an alarming rise in vector-borne diseases. A report in The Economic Times in September 2016 read:

“Last year, the city saw a staggering 15,867 dengue cases — the worst in 20 years — with the disease claiming 60 lives, as per municipal reports. In 2015, August and September had seen 778 and 6,775 cases respectively while October had recorded a staggering 7,283 cases.” 

Could this all have been a premeditated plan in the making to make the MCD under BJP look in poor light all this while to stage way for AAP in MCD elections 2017 as a better alternative?

Could Arvind Kejriwal’s tweet be a veiled threat that should voters vote BJP, the AAP run Delhi Government would continue their non-cooperation with the MCD workers and make the lives of Delhi voters worse?

The past occurrences do give fodder for such thought bearings. Given the words come from someone like Kejriwal and AAP who’re known for their strange, and dare I may say crazy antics, that may quite well be a possibility.

In the end we don’t know for sure until the results of the MCD elections are declared. However, this sheds light to a possibility of a future of more sinister politics at the cost of the real common people of Delhi and India.

Kashmiri student at BITS claiming to have received threat had radical Islamic views

OpIndia Staff
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Kashmiri student at BITS claiming to have received threat had radical Islamic views

Due to all the upheaval in the Kashmiri valley, which includes stone pelting by some local Kashmiri youth and assault on the para-military forces, some fringe groups took up the opportunity to spread hatred against all Kashmiris who live in different parts of India.

This had prompted the Home Minister Rajnath Singh to give a strong advisory to states to ensure that the Kashmiris get adequate security and also called upon the states to ensure that action would be taken against those guilty.

Few days back, reports had come out that which claimed that 6 Kashmiri students of Mewar University were thrashed outside their campus in Chhittorgarh, Rajasthan. Chief Minister of Rajasthan had condemned the incident too. Later it was found that it was a case of fight over ‘staring‘ rather than an attack inspired due to ethnicity of students.

Now another such incident has come to light this time from the prestigious BITS Pilani University in Rajasthan. The report claimed that a certain Hashim Sofi, who is a research fellow in the Department of Science and Technology, found derogatory statements written on the clothes that he had put out to dry and on a wall next to his hostel room on the night of 21-22 April. After this incident Hashim has reportedly left the campus. The incident attracted outrage on social media.

These are the pictures of his clothes which reported had slurs inscribed upon them:

They read:

  • U R Such a Shame ‘Kashmire’ dog
  • Anti-national ‘Kashmire’ pervert no place fr u

While it is certainly appalling if he was indeed slurred in such a manner, Hashim it turns out is no saint himself. His Facebook timeline portrays his approval of radical Islam, which includes supporting violence and opposing the concept of modern nation-states and democracy. His views, not mentioned in the media reports, were found by people on Twitter [1][2]:

Every Hurriyat (the separatist group of Kashmir) is seen as moderate by Sofi, who wants Shariyah and Khilafah, incidentally promised by the ISIS.
Hashim supporting the Salafi ideology, which inspires many terrorist groups.
Hashim wants all Kafirs (non-believers) eliminated, which is an endorsement of violence.
Sufi Islam, which is supposed to be moderate and not terrorism, is not the original Islam according to Sofi

We are not suggesting that any threat is justified because Sofi holds such radical views, but it is important to investigate what could have led to the incident. Were those threats in response to him being Kashmiri, as media reports are suggesting, or in response to his radical and violent views?

Such suspicion grows strong as Sofi is reported to have deleted his Facebook account after his extreme and radical views were known to people:


Many people also wondered if the claimed incident has some other reality. The spelling of “Kashmiri” and the type of writing on his clothes led people to smell some conspiracy:


Hope investigations will reveal the truth of this incident.

26 CRPF jawans martyred: When will anti-Maoist operations reach logical end?

OpIndia Staff
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26 CRPF jawans martyred: When will anti-Maoist operations reach logical end?

One more Maoist attack on security forces and this time again in Chhattisgarh. In one of the deadliest attacks by Maoists in the recent times, at least 26 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were martyred and six others were seriously injured in outh Bastar’s Sukma district of Chhattisgarh today.

The jawans, who are from the 74th battalion of the CRPF, were deployed in the area for the anti-Maoist operations. The CRPF patrol was sanitising the area where a road was being laid between Burkapal and Jagargunda when the attack happened.

“The incident took place when the road opening party of the 74th battalion of CRPF were out on patrol at Burkapal near Chintagufa. The jawans were deployed for security at an under construction road. The Maoists ambushed CRPF personnel and started indiscriminate firing,” Jitendra Shukla, additional superintendent of police, Sukma was quoted as saying.

These CRPF jawans were were attacked by the 300 Maoists at around 12.25 pm. The Maoists have reportedly looted all weapons, wireless equipment, and ammunition belonging to the slain jawans.

An injured jawan brought to the hospital was quoted as saying by this PTI report, “The Maoists first sent villagers to check our position… I also saw some women Maoists. They were all wearing black uniforms and had sophisticated weapons like the AK series assault rifles.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called the attack “cowardly” and “deplorable”, adding that the sacrifice of the slain jawans won’t go in vain. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said he is “extremely distressed” over the incident.

Sukma, considered among India’s worst insurgency-hit regions, has seen Maoist violence for the last several decades. On March 11 earlier this year, Maoists ambushed a similar CRPF road opening party and killed at least 12 jawans. It is to recall that in 2010, the Maoists killed 76 CRPF personal in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada.

The Maoists ruthlessly and systematically kill countless men in uniform and civilians. According to an estimate, more than 13,000 people were killed since the beginning of Maoism in India in 1980. The number of casualties have been on decline recently, but this attack has now raised new questions:


Maoists have always been anti-development. In the recent past Sukma has seen a huge infrastructure boost. A newly built bridge over Sabari river has reduced the distance between Sukma and the Odisha’s Malkanagiri from 120 kilometres to only 3 kilometre. The attack last month and today’s attack are being seen as Maoists’ “revenge” for this development.

But was there any specific intelligence alert sounded by Central intelligence agencies about a possible Maoist strike given similar strike was carried out last month?  What is going to be our response now? These questions beg to be answered.

The Maoists, who are waging a war against the nation, are terrorists. It is high time the war on Maoists terror reached its logical conclusion. The despicable attack should not go unpunished and the sacrifice of our brave jawans must not go in vain.

₹ 10,000 cr via Digital screens: How Indian Railways is eyeing higher non-fare revenues

Hemant Bijapurkar
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₹ 10,000 cr via Digital screens: How Indian Railways is eyeing higher non-fare revenues

Traditionally, any hike in passenger fare by Indian Railways is termed “anti poor” by most political parties and even commentators, which has often meant that Railways fail to exploit its revenue generation capacity to the full potential. This has led the Railways to think of other ways of earning revenues.

Latest reports indicate that in order to achieve that, Indian Railways is planning on setting up 2 lakh video screens at various places, mainly to be used for advertising. Via this initiative, the organisation plans to generate a revenue of Rs 10,000 crores in the next 10 years.

Via this scheme, major railway stations would have giant digital screens to showcase passenger information, and also show advertisements. This “Rail Display Network” would initially be installed at 400 A category stations and reportedly companies like Microsoft and Reliance have shown an interest in this scheme.

Apart from this, the railway has also planned other assorted schemes to increase its non-fare revenues. In January, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had unveiled the Railway’s non-revenue policy which eyed revenue of Rs 16,500 crores in the next 10 years. In order to achieve the said goals, the Railway had created a non-revenue Directorate in the Railway Board in May 2016.

Some of the measures being planned are:

  • Branding of premium trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi like calling the train something like XYZ Shatabdi if the brand XYZ decides to go on board with this scheme. The clients would reportedly be decided through an auction and the railway is eyeing a revenue of about Rs 1000 crores annually.
  • The Railway has also decided to lease its platforms as wedding venues. Platforms of Surat and Navapur were initially identified as the former’s platform is huge and very few trains pass via the latter making them prospective venues.
  • The Railways is also planning on setting up 2,400 ATMs and plans on offering entertainment services like content on demand.
  • Advertisement on stations, trains, hoardings, land along tracks, offices and other area
  • Commercial utilization of vacant railway land, farming alongside railway tracks
  • Parking of vehicles on railway land apart from stations
  • Operation of Pay and Use toilets in land outside railway stations
  • Tourism

This push by the Railways appears to have started showing initial results. Reports indicated that the share of non-fare revenue rose by 6.17% in 16-17 financial year and stood at Rs 10,181 crores. A rise of 70% as compared to the last fiscal year if one goes by absolute terms.

BJP reminds Kejriwal that State Election Commissioner is a man of his choice

Hemant Bijapurkar
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BJP reminds Kejriwal that State Election Commissioner is a man of his choice

Arvind Kejriwal now a days has picked up a new obsession passion which involves alleging faults in EVM’s which might hinder elections from getting conducted freely and fairly.

He has already spread an outright lie about EVM’s registering wrong votes. He had also claimed that 25% of AAP’s votes during the Punjab polls were shifted to other parties due to faulty EVM’s and had demanded that the Election Commission count the VVPAT slips for the truth to come out. The EC did the same and came to the conclusion that there was no fraud.

Also in the buildup to the MCD elections, Kejriwal had taken an aggressive stance when it comes to EVM’s.

First Kejirwal wanted EVM’s substituted in favour of ballot papers. This request was denied by the State Election Commission in March. The State Election Commissioner S K Srivastava had claimed that for allowing Kejriwal’s request, the rules needed to be amended first which was a time consuming exercise. But Kejriwal then demanded a postponement of polls if needed.

After this episode, on 12th April Kejriwal wrote to S K Srivastava the State Election Commissioner, asking for a withdrawal of all the EVM machines which were brought from Rajasthan alleging that they were tampered. In the letter Kejriwal had expressed his shock over the possible usage of Generation 1 EVMs which he claimed were the most insecure.

After the voting yesterday Kejriwal again pulled up the SEC for a supposed chaos which was unfolding during the voting:


So going by Kejriwal’s behaviour till now, it might be safe to assume that Kejriwal is completely dissatisfied with the SEC and its commissioner’s way of functioning. He had also cast possible aspersions on the organization and its chief when he alleged that they had procured insecure EVM’s. Maybe the State Election Commissioner is a “Modi agent”?

But for many, including those with the BJP, it was shocking to know that Kejriwal had cast aspersions on an organization’s functioning which according to them is being led by Kejriwal’s ‘own man’:


So the SEC is currently being led by a man called, Sanjay Kumar Srivastava who took over as the Commissioner in November 2016. Srivastava a 1980 batch IAS officer was the former Chief Secretary of Delhi.

Incidentally Srivastava took charge as Chief Secretary in January 2014 replacing D M Spolia after he was recommended to this post by Arvind Kejriwal. It was also reported that Kejriwal had sent a letter to the Union Home Ministry requesting for Srivastava’s appointment.

The story does not end here. Not just was Srivastava Kejriwal’s choice, during his tenure as Chief Secretary, he was also allegedly biased against the BJP. According to reports, senior BJP leaders like R P Singh had alleged that Srivastava was working at the behest of AAP leaders.

Singh had claimed that he kept asking Srivastava to spare him some time for a meet, but Srivastava didn’t meet him for as many as 45 days. All this resulted in him and others escalating the matter to the Home Ministry which in August removed Srivastava from the post.

So not just was Srivastava appointed by Kejriwal, according to BJP leaders, he also had a somewhat sympathetic tilt towards the AAP. So if all this is true then why is Kejriwal casting aspersions on the SEC which as reports suggest should be a ‘friendly’ organization. Maybe a statement by the AAP would clear matters.

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