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‘Frauds change their names to erase their sins’: PM Modi ups his attack on Opposition’s I.N.D.I.A. name stunt

OpIndia Staff
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‘Frauds change their names to erase their sins’: PM Modi ups his attack on Opposition’s I.N.D.I.A. name stunt

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, July 27 slammed the opposition coalition of 26 parties that have named themselves as the ‘I.N.D.I.A’ alliance and said that the opposition parties were attempting to cover up their old deeds by coming together and forming a new alliance. He added that the parties have never cared about India.

“With the label of INDIA, they want to cover up their old deeds, the deeds of UPA. Had they really cared about India, would they have asked foreigners to interfere in India? They had once given the slogan ‘Indira is India, India is Indira.’ At that time, they were uprooted by the people. These people of arrogance have done this again. They say ‘UPA is India. India is UPA’. People will treat them the same once again,” said PM Modi while addressing the masses at Sikar, Rajasthan.

He also specifically said that Congress had now become a directionless party and that its allies had changed their names just like the earlier fraud companies did. “They have changed their name so that they can remove the stain of capitulating in front of terrorism. Their ways are similar to that of the country’s enemy. The name INDIA is not to show their patriotism but create another front to rob the country,” he added.

PM Modi said that these opposition parties actually do not believe in the capabilities of the countrymen and continuously keep on targeting the Indian Army and the Navy persons. “They doubted the air strike, the surgical strike. They blatantly asked for proof. Why can’t they trust the capabilities of Indian Army?” he said. Further PM Modi also said that the Indian Army personnel during the UPA rule were not even provided with One Rank One Pension despite long-standing demands.

The PM also stated that the opposition only knew to cry in front of the international media and defame the country. “They go and meet the foreign delegates and appease the voters here. They care about the votebank more than they do about the nation as a whole. These are all liars and people with massive egos. We need to give the slogan which was once given by Mahatma Gandhi- Quit I.N.D.I.A. Today’s mantra should be ‘Bhrashtachar (corruption) Quit India’, ‘Parivarvaad (dynasty) Quit India’, ‘Tushtikaran (appeasement) Quit India,” the PM added.

PM slams Rajasthan CM over ‘Lal Diary’

Meanwhile, he also launched an attack on the ‘Lal Diary’ controversy and said, “Congress means ‘loot ki dukaan and jhoot ka bazaar.’ Their latest product is the red diary. It’s said that all their corruption is mentioned in the diary. Top Congress leaders are silenced by the red diary.”

He also indicated that the future of women and youngsters in the state of Rajasthan is in danger. “The central government is working for the development of youth. But what is happening in Rajasthan? Youth’s future is being played with in Rajasthan. A paper leak program is being run in the state. The youth of the state are capable but the government here is ruining their future. Rajasthan will not tolerate atrocities again women,” he added.

‘I.N.D.I.A is a directionless alliance’, says the PM

Earlier, PM Modi had called out the opposition as a directionless party and had said that people cannot be misled merely by the use of the country’s name. He took the names of several organizations with the name of ‘India’ to make the point that merely having such a term in their nomenclature does not change anything.

“East India Company, PFI, Indian Mujaheddin also using India in their name ..Chehre par chehre laga lete hai log (these people have false faces),” the PM was quoted as saying.

26 parties in the I.N.D.I.A alliance

26 opposition parties, including two national and 24 regional parties, have managed to form a coalition to compete against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the general elections of 2024 after high-stakes negotiations that began in April and two crucial meetings in Patna and Bengaluru. The coalition, known as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), has 142 Lok Sabha MPs including the parties of the chief ministers of seven different States.

The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress (INC) and includes parties like Trinamool Congress (TMC), which governs the state of West Bengal, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which rules the Tamil Nadu state; and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which has power in the states of Delhi and Punjab.

Also Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which together govern the state of Bihar in the east and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which rules over the state of Jharkhand are part of the coalition.

Further, the National Congress Party (NCP-Sharad Pawar), the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Samajwadi Party (SP), the National Conference (NC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), the Kongunadu Makkal Desia Katchi (KMDK), the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), the Communist Party of India- Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML Liberation), the Forward Bloc, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the Kerala Congress (Joseph), the Kerala Congress (Mani), the Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), and the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) are the other members of the 26-party alliance.

Udupi bathroom video case: Student tells media that accused women shared videos of Hindu women with Muslim men for the past 1 year, administrator trivialized it earlier

OpIndia Staff
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Udupi bathroom video case: Student tells media that accused women shared videos of Hindu women with Muslim men for the past 1 year, administrator trivialized it earlier

In the Udupi bathroom video case, a shocking revelation has been made by the students of the college. In an interview with TV9 Kannada, a student from the same college said that the Muslim women who were making videos of Hindu girls have been doing this for over a year months and have also shared the videos with Muslim boys.

In the video, the student of the college tells TV9 Kannada, “This incident was happening for the past 1 year. Post capturing in mobile the Muslim girls were exchanging the Mobile with their Muslim Male friends who were waiting in a car outside the college. The exchange of mobile was happening in the afternoon lunch hour. This was highlighted to the college management but they did not take any kind of action. It was on the 18th that the victim went to management and complained, but management did not take it seriously. We got to know on the 20th and immediately we sat on protest. About the viral thing, the mobiles were being exchanged by the 3 Muslim girls with Muslim guys who were coming from Ucchila. They were coming on Pulsar bikes and Cars. The 3 Muslim Girls were Shafa, Alfiya, Shabnaz”.

The student further said, “In our College Management, our Administrator is Mr Abdul Khader. He saw these 3 Muslim girls Shafa, Alfiya, and Shabnaz standing and came to us and said, “I have given a beautiful action to the 3 Muslim girls, I have asked them to write 5 times that they will not repeat this”.

The student further says, “He said that the 3 Muslim girls did that as a joke and that we should not take it seriously. What we like to ask is, if someone does the same thing of keeping a mobile phone in his house restroom and shoots his family’s women, will he say the same thing that he will let them off by giving a homework? This happened 6 months earlier also but management closed it without any enquiry. The videos were being shared with Muslim men from Ucchila”.

The student essentially made several revelations in her interview with the news channel. Firstly, she said that this has been happening for over a year and that the videos were shared by Muslim Girls with Muslim men. She further talks about how the administrator allegedly trivialised the issue when it happened earlier by telling Hindu girls that he had punished the Muslim girls by asking them to write they won’t repeat this mistake again multiple times.

The student also says that the administrator, whose name is Abdul Khader, asked the Hindu girls to not take it seriously since the Muslim girls were filming them in the washroom as a “prank”.

The student has essentially said exactly what the Police in the Congress-ruled state and the media have been harping on the downplay this crime. The police had come on record to say that they had investigated the case and found that there was no criminal intent behind the actions of the Muslim girls. They had also said that there was no communal angle to the case and that they were certain that the videos were not shared by the Muslim Girls to any Muslim men.

In fact, this trope by the police and the administration of the college was then used by elements like AltNews’ Mohammad Zubair and TheNewsMinute to downplay the case and whitewash the crime. They had harped on the fact that the police had said the videos were not shared with Muslim men and anyone claiming so, despite media reports, was spreading fake news.

Based on this trope, an FIR had been filed against human rights activist Rashmi Samant after the dog-whistling by AltNews’ Mohammad Zubair as well.

The Udupi bathroom video case

On 21st July, a Karnataka-based organisation, All College Student Power (ACSP), wrote the Superintendent of Police, district Udupi, about this crime at Netra Jyoti College where three female students of the Muslim community secretly made a video of Hindu female students and shared the mobile phone. As per the letter sent by ACSP, students at Netra Jyoti College learned about it on the 20th of July and protested against it.

The college took up the matter, and three students responsible for recording the videos were suspended effective immediately, pending internal investigation. Though the victim(s) did not wish to file an official complaint in the matter, the college went ahead and informed the police keeping in mind the sensitivity of the matter.

After social media outrage, the police filed an FIR against the 3 Muslim women who were indulging in the criminal activity and the college administration for not only destroying evidence but also for not providing information and documents during the course of the investigation.

“Continuous drum-beating is impermissible”: Calcutta HC directs West Bengal govt to regulate noise pollution and other public nuisances during Muharram

OpIndia Staff
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“Continuous drum-beating is impermissible”: Calcutta HC directs West Bengal govt to regulate noise pollution and other public nuisances during Muharram

The Calcutta High Court on 27th July pulled up the West Bengal state administration over a petition filed by a citizen against continuous drum beating till late at night by “local political goons” on account of Muharram celebrations.

Directions were issued by a division bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya to the West Bengal Police and the State Pollution Control Board to regulate the instances of public nuisance caused by incidents like non-stop drum beating and open-air kitchens in residential areas.

The petition had alleged that there was continuous beating of drums till late at night by local ‘goons’ on the pretext of the Muharram festival. The petitioner had also said that whenever she approached police, she was turned away, advising her to put cotton on ears and come with a court order.

While delivering the order, the High Court cited the Church of God (Full Gospel) India case. It said that the practice of religion under Article 25(1) of the Constitution was not an absolute right. It further stated that provisions of Article 25 are subject to 19(1). “On proper construction, it cannot be said that a citizen should be coerced to hear something he doesn’t like or require”, the bench observed.

The High Court said that the unabated beating of drums is impermissible in light of the rules and directions of the SC. “It is the duty of the WB PCB to issue public notices prior to any religious festival or rally to sensitize the citizens about rules which prohibit indiscriminate noise pollution”, the court said.

Referring to the petitioner’s complaints, the court rendered continuous drum-beating as illegal and contrary to relevant rules. It directed the police to immediately issue public notice regulating the timing for the beating of drums.

The court further said that the beating of drums may be part of the festival on 29th July, but it can’t go on continuously for days, and violates rules and the directions of the Supreme Court.

The court also issued directions to the TMC govt to immediately issue a notice stating that organized groups which want to perform prayers, including drum beating, must obtain the necessary permission. “Such permission to be granted fit identified group and the location should also be fixed. Apart from that the time limit has to be mentioned.”

While reprimanding the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, the HC said that despite there being powerful pollution laws, there is no implementation. The high court made a significant observation saying that if the officials try to use their powers and implement the laws, they will be assaulted by mobs. “Your officer cannot implement…he will be beaten if he goes there (amidst the crowd),” the bench said.

The Calcutta HC on 21st July had allowed the restoration of a plea challenging the activities of drum-beating and public slaughtering of animals during Muharram. The petitioner told the court that the Park Street Police Station in Kolkata had ignored the complaints of noise pollution allegedly telling the complainants to “put cotton in your ears”.

The petitioner further submitted that while requesting the Lalbazar control room to put a stop to the drum beating, she was told to bring the court order to complain as there is “no specific order for drumming”. She also informed the court that open-air cooking was also happening in her area in Kolkata every day.

Pulling up the state police over the same, the court said, “It is not clear why the police have permitted open-air kitchens, especially when petitioner alleges nuisance to her family and neighbourhood. This also has to be regulated by the police.”

During the course of the hearing, the government submitted that in a meeting earlier this month, it was decided to allow drum beating from 6 am to 10 pm. The bench directed that the timings be regulated and drum-beating not be permitted before 8 am. “There will be school-going children, exams are there, old and ill people”, the HC observed. The HC said that the drum-beating shouldn’t happen after 7 pm.

Citing the Supreme Court’s observations from the case of Church of God (Full Gospel) India, the court said that SC held that no religion prescribes that prayer should be performed by disturbing the peace of others.

“SC further pointed out that in civilized society, in the name of religion activities which disturb children or elderly people, or others, cannot be permitted. SC has pointed out that it cannot be said that religious leaders had desires amplifiers and loudspeakers as a means of propagating religion”, the court observed.

The HC towards the conclusion of its order said that no religious tenet permits such activities.

‘Red diary is set to be a big blow to Congress’: PM Modi highlights Gehlot govt’s corruption issues in Sikar speech

OpIndia Staff
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‘Red diary is set to be a big blow to Congress’: PM Modi highlights Gehlot govt’s corruption issues in Sikar speech

On Thursday, 27th July 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a public rally at Sikar, Rajasthan. During his speech at this rally, Modi criticised Rajasthan’s chief minister Ashok Gehlot over the red diary mentioned by Rajasthan’s former minister Rajendra Gudha. Prime Minister said that the red diary will reveal Congress’s dark secrets.

PM Modi said, “It is said that this ‘red diary’ contains records of the dark deeds of the Congress government. People are saying that if the pages of the ‘red diary’ are opened, many bigwigs of Congress will be exposed.”

He added, “The mention of this ‘red diary’ has silenced even the biggest leaders of the Congress. While these people may try to keep their lips sealed, this ‘red diary’ is set to be a big blow to Congress in this election.”

PM Narendra Modi further said in his speech, “Lal diary is a fresh project of Congress’s shop of lies. Ashok Gehlot’s government in Rajasthan is stalling development projects. Today in Rajasthan, there is only one voice, one slogan – lotus will win, lotus will bloom. The Congress government in Rajasthan wants to keep people in the state yearning for water. Only one slogan this time, ‘Nahi Sahega Rajasthan’. Rajasthan will not tolerate atrocities on sisters and daughters.”

In response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘red diary’ remark, the Rajasthan Chief Minister asserted that people would display a red flag to the prime minister in the coming days.

On the red diary case, Ashok Gehlot said, “The prime minister’s position has its own dignity. PM Modi and his party leaders are afraid of us. They made Rajendra Gudha a scapegoat. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is making baseless allegations in a panicked manner. PM Modi’s red diary claim is a fabricated story. There is no such red diary.”

Rajendra Singh Gudha, who was sacked as a minister by the Congress government in Rajasthan recently, has since made some startling accusations about the rampant corruption in the Ashok Gehlot-led government in the state. The Udaipurwati MLA has repeatedly made references to a “red diary” that allegedly contains information allegedly exposing corruption in Rajasthan and implicating even Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Gudha was physically stopped from presenting this “Red Diary” in the state assembly. On Monday, July 24, he was physically stopped by Congress lawmakers from talking about this red diary in the state assembly. This came just days after he was sacked by the Congress party for talking about the atrocities against the women in the state. 

Later, in an extraordinary move, House Marshalls forbade Gudha from even entering the Assembly building. He was then suspended along with BJP MLA Madan Dilawar for the duration of the monsoon session. Gudha asserted that this was done to stop him from presenting this “red diary”.

West Bengal: Couple sells 8-month baby to buy iPhone for making Instagram reels, baby rescued, mother and woman who bought the baby arrested

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: Couple sells 8-month baby to buy iPhone for making Instagram reels, baby rescued, mother and woman who bought the baby arrested

In the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, a couple allegedly sold their 8-month-old baby to buy an expensive iPhone to create Instagram reels. Reports also allege that the father attempted to sell their seven-year-old daughter. The police rescued the baby and apprehended the mother and the woman who bought the infant.

Notably, while some media reports suggest that the baby’s father, Jaydev is still absconding, others have quoted local councillor Tarak Guha as saying that the police have apprehended the father of the infant.

“After selling the boy, Jaydev also tried to sell the girl on Saturday midnight. We inform the police as soon as we understood it. Police have arrested Jaydev,” Guha has been quoted as saying.

It may be noted that earlier it was reported that the couple had sold the baby to buy alcohol. Media reports had quoted locals as saying that the couple was frequently intoxicated, leading to severe quarrels within the family and with neighbours.

The incident came to the fore on Saturday, July 22, after some neighbours in the Panihati Gandhinagar area observed that the accused couple, who were struggling to make ends meet, suddenly acquired an iPhone. This coincided with the sudden disappearance of their baby raising doubts in the minds of the neighbours.

When questioned by neighbours, the couple initially falsely claimed that the child was with a relative. Suspicious of foul play, the neighbours alerted the local councillor, who promptly informed the police.

Later, when the police confronted the couple, the mother confessed that they sold the baby and used the money to travel to various parts of West Bengal to create Instagram reels.

Following this, the police rescued the baby from a woman in the Khardaha area in the North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal.

The police revealed that accused Jaydev and his wife Sathi have two children- a daughter aged 7 and a son who is 8 months old. The couple sold the infant to a woman identified as Priyanka Ghosh, a resident of Rahra.

In a video shared by Daily O, the police can be seen taking away a lady who is holding a baby in her arms in a police van. Though the face of the woman is covered she appears to be Priyanka Ghosh who had bought the baby from the couple.

The police are investigating the possibility of a child trafficking racket being involved in the matter.

Meanwhile, the neighbours alleged that the couple had also tried to sell off their 7-year-old daughter. They further accused the couple of being addicted to drugs.

Local councillor Tarak Guha said, “After selling the boy, Jaydev also tried to sell the girl on Saturday midnight. We inform the police as soon as we understood it. Police have arrested Jaydev.”

Maharashtra: Moneylender Imtiaz Sheikh arrested for raping a woman in front of her husband, using the clip to blackmail them

OpIndia Staff
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A shocking incident where a 34-year-old woman was raped at knifepoint in the presence of her husband has surfaced in Pune, Maharashtra. A 47-year-old moneylender identified as Imtiaz Haseen Sheikh raped her after the latter failed to repay an interest-free loan of Rs 40 thousand taken from him.

The incident took place in February this year in Hadapsar and the culprit has already been arrested. He threatened the victim’s spouse at knife-point and then raped her in his presence. Sheikh also recorded the heinous act on a mobile phone and posted the clip on social media platforms.

The couple had taken a personal loan from the perpetrator, however, when they failed to repay him, he resorted to abusive threats. He lured them to a remote area of the Hadapsar government colony and demanded the outstanding amount, which they were unable to pay.

He then grabbed a knife and terrorised the husband before sexually assaulting the woman and filmed the sexual assault on his phone. Afterward, Sheikh even posted the revolting footage of her torment on multiple social media networks when she refused to perform sexual favors for him again.

According to Police Inspector Ravindra Shelake, the victim eventually had the confidence to go to the Hadapsar Police Station and make a formal complaint on 25 July. “We tracked down the accused and arrested him on 25 July. He was produced before the court which has given him a two-day remand till 27 July and further investigations are on.”

Police informed that a case has been registered against the culprit under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. They are now also attempting to determine if he had ensnared any further victims and abused them in a similar manner.

Has Priyank Kharge dethroned Supriya Shrinate as chief troll of Congress: How Kharge has gone unhinged after being called out for allying with ‘chief’ Zubair

OpIndia Staff
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Has Priyank Kharge dethroned Supriya Shrinate as chief troll of Congress: How Kharge has gone unhinged after being called out for allying with ‘chief’ Zubair

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s son and Karnataka cabinet minister Priyank Kharge has been having an elaborate meltdown on Twitter since his newly formed government is being called out for hiring notorious fact-checking portal ‘Alt News’ to run its ‘fact check unit.’

Since yesterday (July 26, Wednesday) the Congress dynast, who probably had been thinking in his mind that he deserves a pat on his back for roping in his ‘chief’ Zubair, known for dog-whistling and selectively fact-checking news items that suit his agenda, has not been able to control his anger and has gone entirely unhinged after social media users have attempted to hold up a mirror to him.

Interestingly, Priyank Kharge, the son of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge heads the same IT and biotechnology Departments, which are now entrusted to set up the ‘fact-checking unit’.

The entire fiasco began after reports emerged on July 25 that the Congress-led government in Karnataka is setting up a ‘fact check unit’ to combat ‘misinformation’ with the help of notorious fake news peddlers such as Alt News. “The government will open a separate fact-check unit. It will also take the help of fact-checking agencies like Alt News, Boom Live, E Din, Logical(ly), etc,”  a report published by the Kannada newspaper Vijayvani on Monday (July 24) read.

While the Karnataka Congress MLA Priyank Kharge could not stop hyperbolising his party’s decision to seek help from dubious fact-checking portal ‘Alt News’ to fight misinformation, the state unit of BJP called him out for giving a platform to the so-called fact-checking website which furthers fake news, obfuscates the truth, concocts details to shield Islamists and sometimes, even creates fake news simply to fact check it later.

BJP Karnataka tweeted, “Troll Minister @PriyankKharge must be held accountable for Jihadi elements unleashing online lynch mobs against Hindu women for standing up for the rights of Hindu students in Udupi. It is the direct result of not only emboldening these extremist elements referring to them as ‘Chief’, but also backing them in all forms in the name of ‘fact-checking’. @INCKarnataka is funding outsiders & pliable media to threaten & intimidate Hindus for raising their voices against the anti-Hindu mindset of the Siddaramaiah govt.”

Notably, earlier in June this year, Congress MLA Priyank Kharge publicly displayed his camaraderie with Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair by referring to the latter as ‘chief.’

Infuriated by the tweet posted by BJP Karnataka which reminded the Congress leader how his party was fostering a propaganda website which has spread lies, mislead its audience, whitewashed crimes and doxxed individuals, Priyank Kharge responded by threatening the state unit of BJP with a legal notice.

He continued on to blatantly accuse the BJP of utilising its employees to harass representatives of the opposing parties.

BJP leader and Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya hit back at Kharge for threatening BJP’s state unit for merely stating facts. He tweeted, “Good to see you fact-check yourself as Troll Minister. But it’s disappointing to see you intimidate and threaten people for speaking on facts. State power is vested in you to discharge your duties as RDPR Minister. Why dont you try sticking to it? Your want to be the Law Minister, Home Minister, all at once is silly and laughable. We all saw how the last attempt to muzzle freedom of speech went in the courts. So be advised to cool it down a little.”

Tejasvi Surya’s tweet asking the Congress leader to slow down with the trolling and his senseless accusations, further infuriated Priyank Kharge, making him lose his mind and go completely unhinged against the BJP leader, terming him a ‘bigot’ and a ‘liar.’

BJP leader Tejasvi Surya was, however, not the only one who had to bear with Priyank Kharge’s behaviour. In fact, BJP leader Amit Malviya also felt the wrath of the Congress president’s son. Responding to a tweet where Malviya also called out the Congress government in Karnataka for providing a platform to a dubious website like Alt News, Kharge went on to abuse and insult the politician by using derogatory and unparliamentary words like ‘chomu’ for him.

Alt News and its notorious history of spreading fake news

The ‘fact checking’ portal Alt News, run by Pratik Sinha and Mohammed Zubair, has disseminated and amplified fake news on several instances. This is without accounting for the numerous lies peddled by the founders of the Alt News themselves.

For instance, on Sunday (July 23), Zubair shared a cropped video of Kanwariyas pelting stones in Bareilly to hide the fact that it was carried out in retaliation for an unproved attack by Islamists. By shrewdly avoiding the context of the video, he thus insinuated that it was somehow a ‘free-for-all’ case of stone pelting.

In June this year, he falsely suggested that YouTuber Akshat Shrivastava took money from the Union government to criticise the Congress party. Shrivastava later took to Twitter to lambast Zubair for his ‘half-baked research’ and ‘baseless allegations.’

His frequent lies have been fodder for Islamists both in India and abroad. On 14 June 2021, Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair took to Twitter to claim that an elderly Muslim man, Abdul Samad Saifi, in Ghaziabad, was assaulted and forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

Despite the fact that all of Alt News’ shenanigans are on display, Kharge’s defensive response to the purported fact-check website is alarming and provides us with sufficient cause to wonder if there is more going on than meets the eye.

Moreover, going by his recent abusive tweets, it seems that Kharge is in direct competition with Congress spokeswoman Supriya Shrinate, who was until now, ranked at the top of the list of the several abusive spokespersons Congress has been bestowed with.

‘Will bring back Kohinoor’: Dhirendra Shastri of Bageshwar Dham says during his Ram Katha in London

OpIndia Staff
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‘Will bring back Kohinoor’: Dhirendra Shastri of Bageshwar Dham says during his Ram Katha in London

Popular Hindu spiritual leader and Mahant of Bageshwar Dham, Dhirendra Krishna Shastri is currently in London for his Ram Katha event. The event is being attended by hundreds of devotees along with some British officials. On Thursday, July 27, a British person named Simon also visited Pandit Dhirendra Krishna Shastri to seek his blessings. During the event, Pandit Dheerendra Krishna Shastri talked about the historic Kohinoor diamond.

On July 25, a video was posted from the official Twitter handle of Bageshwar Dham in which a British person named Simon was seen donning a Ram Naami scarf during the said event. In the British official’s presence, Dhirendra Shastri said in response to a question that “There was a time when the British used to speak and our ancestors listened but today they listen to our Ram Katha in London.

Notably, the Koh-i-noor (mountain of light) diamond has been a source of conflict between India and England for many years, with demands arising in India for its repatriation. Bageshwar Baba’s unguarded comments regarding the precious diamond re-sparked debate over its legitimate provenance and repatriation to India.

As seen in the 4:13 minute-long video, Shastri while addressing a huge gathering in a hall said that the Koh-i-noor will be brought back. “By the way, I cannot say give back the Kohinoor,” he added. I have to come here much more frequently now. People will say that he spreads chaos. already infamous as whatever is in my heart, I express it clearly,” Shastri said.

During the event, Bageshwar Baba Pandit Dhirendra Shastri from the stage wished for the liberation of England and blessed the King of Britain from the Vyas Peeth. He also prayed for England’s economic growth.

Koh-i-noor

The controversial diamond, which is now part of Crown Jewels, was originally unearthed in Southern India. Reportedly, the East India Company seized Koh-i-Noor from Maharaja Duleep Singh in 1849 and handed it over to Queen Victoria. The diamond was then recut in 1852 by the royal jeweller, Garrad of London, to improve its brilliance. 

Bageshwar Dham and Mahant Dhirendra Krishna Shastri

The Bageshwar Dham Temple is situated in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. The temple is devoted to Lord Hanuman. 26-year-old Dhirendra Krishna Shastri originally was Dhirendra Krishna Garg. Shastri is the Mahant (head priest) of the temple and is popularly called ‘Bageshwar Dham Sarkar’. According to the information available on the website of Bageshwar Dham, Shastri is the successor of his grandfather Dada Guruji Maharaj who was a ‘Siddh’ saint.

Twitter blocked in Indonesia as Elon Musk’s ‘X’ rebrand raises concerns over adult content

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter blocked in Indonesia as Elon Musk’s ‘X’ rebrand raises concerns over adult content

In a surprising turn of events, Elon Musk’s decision to rebrand Twitter as ‘X’ has resulted in the social media platform being blocked in Indonesia. The strict laws in the Southeast Asian nation pertaining to adult content and gambling are at the core of this development.

The Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Informatics raised concerns about the domain X.com, chosen by Musk for Twitter’s rebranding, as it could potentially violate the nation’s regulations against negative content, including adult material. The domain had a history of association with websites that had previously violated these laws, prompting the Indonesian authorities to take precautionary action.

Usman Kansong, the ministry’s director general of information and public communication, revealed that the Indonesian government sought clarification from Musk’s company regarding the nature of the rebranded site. Twitter representatives assured the Indonesian authorities that X.com would be exclusively used for Twitter.

The block on X.com caused significant disruption to approximately 24 million Twitter users in Indonesia. Aribowo Sasmito, a co-founder of the fact-checking group MAFINDO, suggested that the block might have been influenced by the potentially negative associations with the domain name, which is somewhat close to “XXX,” raising concerns about adult content.

The situation presents a dilemma for internet users in Indonesia, who find themselves torn between the desire for internet freedom and the need to comply with the country’s regulations, which are influenced, in part, by the dominant religious beliefs in the Muslim-majority nation.

This is not the first time that popular websites have faced scrutiny in Indonesia. Platforms like Netflix, Facebook, Google, Instagram, and Twitter had previously faced the possibility of being blocked if they failed to provide detailed content descriptions to the ministry within a specific deadline.

Twitter’s issue in Indonesia is the latest challenge in a series that Elon Musk has encountered since announcing the ambitious rebranding, with some critics questioning the rationale behind abandoning a globally recognized brand in favour of ‘X,’ Musk’s favourite character.

The X.com URL

Elon Musk had originally bought the X.com URL in 1999, when he used it to host an online banking platform. The earliest Internet Archive of the site is from December 1996, which shows that it was under construction at that time and had no content. Later archives before 1999 show that it was used as a personal page by its three creators. Archives from 2000 onwards show its use as an online banking platform that was named X.com and offered a free service named PayPal.

In 2000, the company was merged with a company named Confinity and it was called X.com. But in the next year, the merged entity was renamed PayPal and it became the wonder of the X.com website. However, the URL was not used as the company started to use the PayPal.com URL.

In 2017, Elon Musk bought back the X.com domain from PayPal, raising speculations about his use of it. And after acquiring Twitter, he used it to rebrand the social media platform.

At present, visiting X.com redirects to the existing Twitter.com website.

Nitesh Tiwari demeans the memory of 6 million murdered Jews: Jewish rights organisation demands removal of movie Bawaal from Amazon Prime

OpIndia Staff
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Nitesh Tiwari demeans the memory of 6 million murdered Jews: Jewish rights organisation demands removal of movie Bawaal from Amazon Prime

The Bollywood movie Bawaal, which uses the Holocaust as a plot reference and already attracted lots of criticism from Indian viewers, has now earned international criticism. A Jewish organisation has written an open letter to Prime Video to take down the movie from the OTT platform, and not make money from the movie which trivialises the ‘suffering and systematic murder of millions of victims of the Nazi Holocaust’.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), a human rights NGO dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Nazi Holocaust, has requested Amazon Prime Video to remove the movie Bawaal for using the Holocaust as a plot device. 

The Nitesh Kumar venture has been the subject of controversies ever since it was released. Heavy criticism was levelled at the film for trivialising Jewish oppression during the Nazi regime under Hitler. The storyline has provoked international outcry for its callous portrayal of Nazi Germany’s brutality towards Jews and for utilising their persecution as a mere plot device to motivate character development.

Varun Dhawan starred as Ajay and Janhvi Kapoor played Nisha in the movie which is being slammed for the way it has devalued the tragedy in the narrative. The main characters visited Auschwitz’s gas chamber while travelling to World War II locations. They are depicted in a gas chamber during a dream sequence that included scenes of them having trouble breathing.

A scene where the protagonists Ajay and Nisha are shown visiting the concentration camps in Auschwitz and re-imagining themselves as the prisoners in a dream sequence. (Source: The Economic Times)

When discussing human avarice, Nisha implored, “We’re all a little like Hitler, aren’t we?” The character also remarked, “Every relationship goes through their Auschwitz,” in another moment, indicating that every relationship has its challenges. The trivialisation of such a critical historical occurrence has not gone down well with many who have objected to the same.

A statement issued by SWC said, “Directed by well-known Indian filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari, the film’s storyline which is set in contemporary times, leads to scenes in which the protagonists enter a gas chamber in Auschwitz and are suffocated while wearing striped clothing. Hitler is used as a metaphor in the movie for human greed, with the main protagonist, saying to his wife, ‘We’re all a little like Hitler, aren’t we?’”

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of Simon Wiesenthal Centre and Director of Global Social Action, demanded that Amazon “stop monetising” Bawaal right away and has referred to the movie as a “banal trivialization of the suffering and systematic murder of millions of victims of the Nazi Holocaust.”

SWC stands up for the security of Jews everywhere and denounces anti-Semitism and hatred. Additionally, the group aims to preserve the memory of those who died during the Holocaust.

He stated, “Auschwitz is not a metaphor. It is the quintessential example of Man’s capacity for Evil. By having the protagonist in this movie declare that ‘every relationship goes through their Auschwitz,’ Nitesh Tiwari trivializes and demeans the memory of six million murdered Jews and millions of others who suffered at the hands of Hitler’s genocidal regime.”

He further added, “If the filmmaker’s goal was to gain PR for their movie by reportedly filming a fantasy sequence at the Nazi death camp, he has succeeded. Amazon Prime should stop monetizing Bawaal by immediately removing this banal trivialization of the suffering and systematic murder of millions of victims of the Nazi Holocaust.”

The Bawaal

The movie features Varun Dhawan as a teacher Ajay who is married to Nisha played by Janhvi Kapoor, an epilepsy patient so he does not like her. Ajay is suspended from the job for slapping the son of a politician. To save the job, he devices the most bizarre plan, visit Word War II places of interest in Europe and live stream history classes from there. Because, “his students will never understand this chapter of history unless he lives and feels it.”

Financed by his father, he reluctantly takes his wife on the European tour to visit places like Paris, Normandy, Amsterdam, Berlin, Auschwitz etc. As they travel various historical cites including Nazi concentration camps and gas chambers, their falling mariage starts to heal as Ajay finds that Nisha knows better about the places.

However, problems start to emerge when the main characters start to use the Holocaust events to relate to their own lives and comparing them. Like, when Ajay has to pack his bag quickly, he compares it with how Jews were ordered to take everything they could when Nazis arrived and sent them to ghetos and then to concentration camps. Or how Ajay starts feeling for Nisha after imagining them trappped in a gas chamber along with Jewish prisoners.

According to film critic Rahul Desai, it looks worse than it sounds.

Social media reaction to the tone-deaf treatment of World War II

Social media users weren’t far behind to criticise the film either. An individual expressed his astonishment at the movie’s dialogue, which says “‘”every relationship goes through their Auschwitz”.

One referred to it as the “Most Insensitive Bollywood Film Award” and called it a mediocre and lacklustre love story.

A netizen posted, “Comparison with Hitler without knowing about Hitler.” He asserted that the makers have forgotten that he is “the murderer of millions of people.”

Another wrote, “Comparing tribulations and problems in a marriage to Auschwitz mass genocide is the lowest a Bollywood movie has ever stooped to,” and alleged that any Hollywood movie would have been cancelled if it had attempted the same.

“How can you compare your turbulent relationship with Auschwitz,” questioned Hunoon.

Bawaal team defended the film

In a recent interview with Pinkvilla, director Nitesh Tiwari defended his film and commented, “I am a bit disappointed with the way some people have comprehended it. That was never the intention. It would never be my intention to be insensitive in any which way.”

He voiced, “Don’t we see Ajju and Nisha getting completely troubled and moved by what they see in Auschwitz? They do. They see the prisoners, they see how they were stacked, they see how they were exterminated. Are they being insensitive about it? No. They are moved to tears.”

The director defended, “You can question the creative process, you can question the creatives, but please do not question the intent. The moment you start questioning the intent, it becomes hurtful. You run down the entire movie by eliminating one or two peculiar instances.” He insisted, “There are so many good messages which are there in the movie.”

Varun Dhawan voiced, “Some people got triggered or sensitive about this. But I don’t understand where does that sensitivity or trigger go when they watch, suppose an English film, I’m saying for example. They’re allowed to do everything there, they’re allowed to take leaps and they’re allowed to show things in a certain way, but you’ll find that correct.”

“I know people have got very triggered after watching a small scene in a brilliant film, recently released. It’s a scene that’s important to our culture and our country. But that’s okay for you. You don’t feel they should be more sensitive to you? So where does your criticism go then,” he asked.

Janhvi Kapoor supported the movie as well and stated that when she discussed it with an Ivy League professor whose relatives perished in the Holocaust, he wasn’t outraged but rather very moved by it. “He understood everything that we set out to do with the film, and never once in the conversation did he ever allude to being offended by anything.”

Watch the entire interview below:

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