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Madhya Pradesh: 22-year-old Salim Khan with a sword in hand attempts to kidnap Hindu woman he raped earlier from her wedding, assaults her family

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: 22-year-old Salim Khan with a sword in hand attempts to kidnap Hindu woman he raped earlier from her wedding, assaults her family

A 22-year-old man named Kalu alias Salim Khan was arrested for raping and attempting to abduct a 21-year-old Hindu female in Madhya Pradesh’s Ashok Nagar district. He also recorded the sexual violation on camera. He then defamed her with the obscene video and assaulted her family members as she was tying the knot with another man. On 30th May, a video of the incident went viral on social media. It showed a group, including the primary offender, brandishing swords and iron rods and pulling a woman from her home in order to kidnap her. The neighbours’ prompt assistance helped the young woman to be saved.

The culprit broke into her residence at around six o’clock in the evening with the help of his accomplices Jodha, Sameer and Shahrukh. They attacked her family after she objected, breaking her brother’s arm and her father’s leg. Her mother suffered severe beatings as well. A crowd gathered as the mother and her family cried out for protection. He left the victim behind as the perpetrator, who had earlier threatened bystanders, departed the location as the throng turned larger. He also threatened her family and the family of the man she was engaged to during the commotion.

At first, the cops were hesitant to file a report, however, they registered a case based on complaints from both the woman and her father after the intervention of local Hindu organisation members in the late 29th of May evening. Ashok Nagar superintendent of police Vineet Jain stated, “The main accused raped the 21-year-old woman and shot a video of her. He was threatening the woman and her family members not to marry anyone else. Recently, the family fixed her marriage. The accused along with three others came to the woman’s house and thrashed her father, mother and brother. He tried to abduct the woman but was saved by neighbours. He later brandished a sword and ran away from the spot.”

Two first information reports (FIRs) have been launched in the matter. The woman filed the first formal complaint, charging rape under section 376 and attempted kidnapping under section 363. The second formal complaint was filed in response to her father’s complaint under sections 323 (voluntarily causing harm), 294 (using obscene language) and 506 (criminal intimidation). The authorities are currently conducting raids to nab other culprits.

Self-described historian hopes ‘Titanic-style death’ on Ambanis: Meet Ruchika Sharma, known for spreading fake narratives to whitewash Islamic tyrants

Rukma Rathore
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Self-described historian hopes ‘Titanic-style death’ on Ambanis: Meet Ruchika Sharma, known for spreading fake narratives to whitewash Islamic tyrants

Anant Ambani, the son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani will tie the knot with Radhika Merchant in Mumbai on 12th July. The wedding is scheduled to be held at the Jio World Convention Centre at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) by ancient Hindu Vedic tradition. Nita and Mukesh Ambani are also hosting a grand four-day second pre-wedding celebration for their son and daughter-in-law on a European luxury cruise ship this week. Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, MS Dhoni, Ranveer Singh, and other famous personalities and Bollywood stars are going to be in attendance there. American singer-songwriter would also be performing during the celebrations on the cruise from Italy to France which started on 29th May.

However, the second pre-wedding festivities primarily irked self-proclaimed historian and YouTuber Dr Ruchika Sharma who claims to have a PhD in history from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Reacting to a news article about the celebrations, she wished for the young couple to meet the same fate as Titanic, which sank on 15th April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean with an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg which resulted in the deaths of 1,500 people, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.

She wrote, “Time for the Titanic iceberg to shine again,” and her outrageous comment didn’t go unnoticed as netizens slammed her for her vile mindset. Journalist Swati Chaturvedi equated Ruchika Sharma’s remark to that of terrorists who are always baying for the blood of innocents and want to kill others.

However, she defended herself and alleged that the cruise has the potential to feed five small countries or the 500,000 starving individuals in India or five small nations also brought out the ‘carbon footprint’ argument. She added, “I may joke about the ship sinking but they’ve already sunk a lot of ships,” to which Swati Chaturvedi retorted that Mukesh Ambani earned the money and was entitled to use it any way he pleased. She further pointed out, “Nasty snark wishing public death to people is vile. ‘Carbon footprint’ & ‘feed 5 nations’ are not mentioned in your original death wish tweet. It seems like an afterthought.”

Ruchika Sharma continued to argue and claimed that the Titanic ‘joke’ was far lighter than the one about billionaires having done no harm in India and having their own money. However, the journalist mocked her and quipped, “Nope our greatest wealth creators are sitting in JNU and wishing public death on people they don’t even know. And, then doubling down with banalities on climate change. Be honest. Stop changing the goalposts. A great university like JNU gets trolled because of such bile.”

The YouTuber, however, declared that JNU should not produce billionaires but rather brilliant brains who do not view climate change as ‘banalities’ because Delhi’s slum inhabitants are facing 52.3 degrees Celsius.

The exchange then ended with Swati Chaturvedi terming Ruchika Sharma’s justifications as “pathetic” while the latter persisted in brazen it out shamelessly.

Amit Schandillia remarked that Ruchika Sharma’s perversion should be researched from a scientific point of view and expressed that her arguments are “stale” and that one can “smell it even with a hundred unwashed socialists in the room.”

Another person warned that Ruchika Sharma wished for the cruise liner to sink and hit an iceberg, which would kill a lot more people than just the ones they wanted to die. Therefore, one can take a rough guess as to what they (liberals and leftists) will do if they end up with any real power.

A user expressed that genocidal maniacs are regarded as intellectuals in the leftist ecosystem. It is the reason behind their admiration of Naxalism, Hamas, and Aurangzeb as they are all about violence and death.

Numerous similar comments denounced the YouTuber for her disgusting statement and connected it to the apparent desire of the Islamist and leftist ecosystem to inflict death and bloodshed on its opponents. She notably failed to cite any statistics regarding poverty in India and pretended that the Ambanis were the main contributors to climate change and everything would be hunky-dory if they cancelled the celebrations.

Ruchika Sharma made it seem as though the latter were carrying the infinity stones and were determined to bring suffering to humanity since other cruise ships, jets and other major polluters no longer existed and their opulent vessel was the only thing preventing the abolition of hunger, the resolution of the climate crisis, and maybe even global peace.

Ruchika Sharma and her bogus history lessons

Ruchika Sharma has a strong penchant for presenting her views as history to her gullible audience however she has repeatedly come under fire for it, sometimes even from her followers which consist of radical Muslims and leftists. Her Muslim supporters even lambasted her for calling the Muslim veil’s origins “classist and sexist,” threatening to stop her from speaking out against the hijab if she wanted to continue earning their support.

The YouTuber was directed to stick to her subject and even told that “a pagan mind isn’t capable of understanding Islam.” It was also clarified to her that Muslims learn about Islam from their “incredible scholars” and not ignorant historians like herself.

She had to endure such fierce counter from her own ilk despite claiming to teach the “history of Islam” for the last three years.

Notably, Ruchika Sharma was exposed by True Indology, a well-known Twitter account that is popular for presenting an objective narrative of Indian history supported by references and facts, over an old tweet in which she referred to the wife of Prophet Muhammad as his mother.

However, as a chronic liar, the ‘historian’ refused to accept her mistake and labelled it as a false tweet after which she was once again confronted by True Indology who disclosed that her fraudulent claim was caught by a Muslim user and she had to delete it. He added, “The name of Prophet’s mother is really very basic and you don’t even know that. Now, you are lying that that screenshot is fake. But Masarat Daud’s fact-check tweet still exists and exposes your lie.” He also asked her if JNU taught her to “lie through her teeth?”

Moreover, True Indology referred to the YouTuber as a “pathetic fraud” as she repeated her falsehoods and claimed that her tweet on Prophet Muhammad was AI-generated.

Interestingly, the ‘PhD scholar’ was once again called out by True Indology after she claimed, “Pashupati is not Rudra. Rudra is not called Pashupati in the Vedas. Pashupati was a different person. He was a shaman ( who has control over natural forces).” He quoted Hindu scriptures which debunked her fraudulent assertion.

However, out of habit, the YouTuber once again refused to acknowledge her error and started quoting leftist author “Doris Meth Srinivasan” alleging that the latter’s essays were based on the Rig Veda and the Atharva Veda.

The former student at JNU, who runs the “Eyeshadow & Etihaas with Dr Ruchika Sharma” YouTube channel and honestly needs to work on honing her historical knowledge as well as makeup skills also writes for Scroll, a haven for radicals and Islamists where they fabricate stories and pass them off as news. In 2017, the website published an article titled, “History lesson: Padmavati was driven to immolation by a Rajput prince, not Ala-ud-din Khalji” penned by her.

It stated that Rani Padmini dreaded being raped by Devapala of Kumbhalner after he defeated and killed her husband, Rawal Ratan Sen and hence performed Jauhar (the Hindu Rajput tradition of mass self-immolation to elude capture, captivity and rape by Turko-Persian Islamic invaders). Unsurprisingly, the piece had to be taken down because it was ridden with glaring inaccuracies and the media portal was denounced for spreading misinformation.

Ruchika Sharma is also an ardent cheerleader of Mughal tyrant Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan and even praises them for their alleged ‘generosity’ in her tweets and interviews to media outlets that share her ideology. Notably, there is no empirical data on their noble deeds except the manufactured claims of leftists and liberals.

However, there is an abundance of evidence demonstrating how these two oppressors, regardless of age or gender, murdered, maimed and plundered Hindus as well as their temples and religious places. She regularly glorifies and humanities evil Muslim rulers who are remembered for their large-scale massacres, imposing jizya and their cruelty and hatred for Hindus. She regularly glorifies and humanises evil and atrocious Muslim rulers who are remembered for their large-scale massacres, imposition of jizya (tax on non-Muslims) and their animosity for Hindus.

Liberal influencers and their hatred for all things India

Liberal influencers, including Ruchika Sharma, Meghnad and more well-known figures like Dhruv Rathee and Akash Banerjee, harbour deep resentment against India, her culture, her religion and even her entrepreneurs. They despise everything Indian and nothing can elude their propaganda’s venomous fangs. They gleefully rejoice at the Hindenburg Research report on Adani Group and eagerly await the downfall of a formidable Indian tycoon. They don’t care about the merits of the case and only want to see the collapse of Indian wealth creators.

They criticised Rajya Sabha MP Padma Bhushan Sudha Murthy, the former chairperson of the non-profit charitable organization Infosys Foundation and wife of the co-founder of Infosys, NR Narayana Murty for being vegetarian while simultaneously batting for Halal food and non-vegetarians as in their own words, “Food is a matter of personal choice.” They also targeted Deepinder Goyal of Zomato for declaring a green fleet to deliver vegetarian food items to the customers. Leftist influencers frequently demonize the Ambani family for unequivocally asserting their Hindu identity.

Conclusion

There are two fronts to this war. Their goal is to undermine and derail India’s growth and development by specifically targeting Indian enterprises. Furthermore, a larger scheme to cut off India from its real roots and reality is behind the exaltation of Muslim emperors and the downplaying of Hindu misery. Every minor and significant liberal influencer plays a vital role in the same because a deracinated civilization with an impoverished society would not be able to sustain itself for long. Importantly, they have been doing just that for years, more so recently now that Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is proud of his culture and religion, is in charge of India.

The grand ‘Viksit Bharat’ dream for 2047 – How the third Modi government will work on a well-rounded, concerted plan for a developed India

Debraj B
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The grand ‘Viksit Bharat’ dream for 2047 – How the third Modi government will work on a well-rounded, concerted plan for a developed India

Martin Luther King, Jr once said, “To other countries, I may go as a tourist, but to India, I come as a pilgrim.”

Sri Vishnu Purana, one of the 18 Mahapuranas, mentions in Book II Chapter III that the Gods themselves exclaim – “Happy are those who are born, even from the condition of gods, as men in Bhárata-Varsha, as that is the way to the pleasures of Paradise or the greater blessing of final liberation. …those men are fortunate who are born with perfect faculties in Bhárata-Varsha.” The rich legacy and resources of India have drawn from time immemorial, pilgrims and invaders alike. As India completed it’s 75 years of independence, and it gets close to wrapping up the 18th Lok Sabha polls, a clarion call by the PM to create a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047 assumes center-stage.

But, what entails a Viksit Bharat dream?  

Pillars of Viksit Bharat

A developed India will have its foundation on the glorious trinity of Demography, Democracy, Diversity – complemented by ‘Sabka Prayas’. In other words, people-centric development will be at the heart of this dream. As deliberations within GoI commenced on detailing an action plan for ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ more than 2 years back, the Council of Ministers deliberated upon a ‘Whole of Government’ approach towards the vision document. More than 2,700 meetings, seminars, and workshops were held at various levels, 10 sectoral visions were paid attention to, and suggestions from more than 20 lakh youth were incorporated, into this grand roadmap.

In this first of a 2-part series, I will cover social impetus as accorded within the Viksit Bharat Mission, including upliftment of poor, youth empowerment, welfare for farmers, women empowerment, sustainability, infrastructure, inclusive development, health, and housing. In the next part, I will touch upon industry and economy.

Garib Kalyan – Direct Benefit Transfer has led to savings of INR 2.7 lakh crore. 25 crore people have been moved out of multi-dimensional poverty. This will continue with greater thrust.

(Source: Budget 2024 details)

Youth empowerment – Greater training and skill development of youth will form the bedrock for a developed India in 2047. 1.4 Crore youth have already been trained under the Skill India Mission, with 100 courses and 50 authorized centres enlisted. This trend will continue, with more youth being upskilled to make them employable. This is enabled by a clear focus on enhancing the spread of education and opening up more premier institutes across India.

Welfare of Annadata (Farmers) – PM Kisan Scheme has already been a huge helpline for the farming community. Under the scheme, INR 6,000 per year is made available to all landholding farming families, through a direct transfer to the beneficiary accounts. On 16th Feb of this year, the 16th instalment was released by PM from Yavatmal in Maharashtra. Around INR 3 lakh crores4 have already been disbursed to more than 11 Cr farmers under this scheme. As part of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, to ensure that government benefits percolate to more than 2.6 Lakh Gram Panchayats, 90 lakh eligible farmers were added furthermore to this DBT scheme.

Through PM Fasal Bima Yojana, crop protection has been enhanced. As an example, for 2023, for the Kharif season, around 3 Crore hectares of area has been insured, covering 2.3 Crore farmers. Out of them, around 84% are small and marginal farmers. Greater thrust on farmer welfare, supported by increased procurement, will be a plank for Viksit Bharat dream.

(Source: Budget 2024 details)

Focus on Nari Shakti – A developed India will flourish when women are empowered. Some encouraging statistics here are worth mentioning. Female enrolment in higher education has gone up by 28% over the last 10 years, while STEM courses have seen 43% of female enrolment. The female labour force participation rate has notched up substantially too. The focus on this will be increased manifold over the next 5 years and beyond.

Sustainable development – In line with Para 19 of Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, India at the 26th Session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 26) announced in Nov 2021 its target of achieving Net Zero by 2070. To meet this target, Viksit Bharat mission plans to embark on viability gap funding for wind energy, enhancing coal gasification and liquefaction capacity, phased mandatory blending of CNG, PNG, compressed biogas, and financial assistance for procurement of biomass aggregation machinery.

PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana is a landmark step in this regard, that was launched by PM on Feb 15th, 2024. Households will be provided a subsidy, covering up to 40% of the cost, for solar panels. An expected 1 crore households will be benefited under this scheme. This will be a win-win for households, who will get free electricity, as well as the Government will expectedly save ₹75,000 Crore in electricity costs.   

Thrust on e-buses for public transport and strengthening the e-vehicle ecosystem will be other priorities under the Viksit Bharat mission. The increase in non-fossil fuel installed electric capacity has already started showing remarkable headway2.

Focus on Infrastructure – This has been a significant achievement of the Central govt, and the thrust on this is going to increase over the next 5 years. Implementation of 3 major railway corridor programs under Gati Shakti, extensive improvement and expansion of airports under the UDAN scheme, and promotion of Vande Bharat and Metro Rail, are just some of the highlights. The pace of increased FDI and Capex in this space has aided infra development a lot more.

The pace of development of physical infrastructure has been enormously encouraging, and this will flourish further under the Viksit Bharat charter.

Inclusive Development – The Aspirational Districts Program (ADP) will be a key enabler here. Launched in January 2018, ADP focuses on development across 5 sectors – Healthcare and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Basic Infrastructure, Skill Development and Financial Inclusion. It kind of encapsulates what Viksit Bharat truly aims at. The focus is on the 112 most under-developed districts8 of India. The inclusivity progress is measured across 3C’s – Convergence, Competition, and Collaboration. The framework that ADP provides to districts is what sets their inclusive progress apart from districts not covered under ADP. The Net Resilience Scores9, an indicator to measure the effectiveness of this program, shows some stark improvements between 2018 and 2020.

Source: NITI Ayog report on Aspirational Districts Programme

Health

Cervical Cancer Vaccination for girls aged 9 – 14 years will be a priority as mentioned by FM Sitharaman during Interim Budget 2024-25. ‘Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0’ will be expedited, and will be implemented during 15th Finance Commission 2021-22 to 2025-26.

Universal Immunization Program (UIP), which is one of the largest public health programs in the world, and provides vaccination free of cost to all pregnant women and children, will be expedited further. The newly launched U-WIN platform, modelled on the lines of Co-WIN, will be rolled out at a fast pace nationwide, to manage immunizations and serve the goals of Mission Indradhanush. These will be taken forward in a dedicated manner under the Viksit Bharat mission.     

Housing for All

This area has seen remarkable progress already. PM Awas Yojana (Urban) which has been in existence since June 2015 will provide pucca houses to all eligible beneficiaries in urban areas. As of date, 118.64 lakh houses13 have been sanctioned and INR 8.07 Lakh Crore total investments made. Under PM Awas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G), the provision of a pucca house to all houseless households and those living in kutcha or dilapidated houses is being implemented. As of 27th Sep 2022, 2 Cr houses had been constructed already under this flagship scheme. Viksit Bharat mission will ensure to accentuate outreach and enhancements of these schemes.

Bharat takes wings

A well-rounded, concerted focus across all social paradigms, will be the cornerstone to a developed India. The government and PMO are already working on a 100-day plan to be effected after they assume Office for a 3rd term, and that will set the stage further towards these goals.

“If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India!” – said French dramatist and novelist Romain Rolland. A new set of dreams that aspirational India is daring to chart out, courtesy of a strong and decisive political leadership, is slowly taking shape. And a Viksit Bharat Mission, that 1.4 BN Indians have sworn by, is firmly taking charge of that illustrious dream!

Amidst looming defeat, Congress announces exit polls boycott, not to send spokespersons to TV channels

OpIndia Staff
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Amidst looming defeat, Congress announces exit polls boycott, not to send spokespersons to TV channels

The long seven-phase Lok Sabha elections are concluding tomorrow, 1st June, with the results to be counted on 4th June. However, the country will have some indications of the results by tomorrow evening, with several poll agencies and news networks expected to declare their exit polls. And now the Congress party has decided to boycott the exit polls.

News Channels generally conduct panel discussions while revealing exit poll results, and representatives of major political parties along with political analysts take part in such panels. However, the Congress party has decided not to participate in exit poll results on TV News channels starting tomorrow.

Issuing a statement on the decision, the Congress party said that it has decided to wait for the actual results on 4th June instead of taking the exit polls seriously. Therefore, the party will not send its spokespersons to TV channels when the Exit Polls are discussed. However, the party said that it will participate in TV debates from 4 June onward.

Party leader Pawan Khera posted on ?, “Voters have cast their votes and their verdict has been secured. The results will be out on 4th June. Prior to that, we do not see any reason to indulge in speculation and slugfest for TRP. The Indian National Congress will not participate in the debates on #ExitPolls. The purpose of any debate should be to inform the people. We will happily partake in debates from 4th June onwards.”

It has been speculated that several top pollsters have indicated the possible results of the polls to the opposition leaders.

And now the party has decided to skip the TV discussions altogether instead of debating how they don’t believe the exit polls. This shows that the exit polls could be predicting a massive win for BJP-led NDA.

Several top agencies including Axis My India, Matrize, CNX, Today’s Chanakya, CVoter and others are expected to publish their exit poll results tomorrow after the end of voting. As per ECI rules, exit poll results can’t disclosed before 6.30 PM on the last day of the voting.

Germany: Islamist goes on a stabbing spree at political event against ‘Islamism in Europe’, shot dead by police

OpIndia Staff
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Germany: Islamist goes on a stabbing spree at political event against ‘Islamism in Europe’, shot dead by police

On Friday (31st May) morning, a radical Islamist went on a stabbing spree in Mannheim city of Germany. The attack, which injured two people including a police officer, was captured during a YouTube livestream.

As per reports, the extremist carried out the attack ahead of a political event against growing Islamism in Europe by an organisation named Citizens’ Movement Pax Europa (BPE).

A prominent critic of Islamism, Michael Stuerzenberger, was scheduled to attend the event. In the video, the Islamist was seen indiscriminately stabbing people. Onlookers tried to stop the knife rampage but it was in vain.

Dressed in dark blue joggers and white stripes, the extremist managed to get out of a stronghold and continued to attack random people. He also stabbed a police officer in the neck and torso several times.

Forced by circumstances, another police officer swung into action and neutralised the Islamist. Following the incident, paramedics rushed to the scene to help the victims.

In a statement, the police informed, “There is currently a major police operation on the market square in Mannheim. A rescue helicopter is also in use. No further information can be provided at this time.”

OpenAI says influence operations using its tools were running anti-BJP and pro-Congress campaigns on social media, shuts down five such covert operations

OpIndia Staff
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OpenAI says influence operations using its tools were running anti-BJP and pro-Congress campaigns on social media, shuts down five such covert operations

Artificial Intelligence platform OpenAI on Thursday said that it has identified and removed five covert influence operations based in Russia, China, Iran and Israel that were running various campaigns including anti-BJP and pro-Congress campaigns using AI. The US-based company described how these groups are using the company’s AI tools for various disruptive activities like generating social media comments, articles and images in several languages, creating fake persons, debugging codes and translating text.

As per OpenAI, these operations targeted various issues like the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war, dissidence in China, politics in India, Europe and the US. The operations used various social media platforms like X, Facebook, Telegram, Medium, Blogpost etc to post the content in an attempt to sway public opinion in specific directions. However, OpenAI noted that these influence operations were not successful as they didn’t manage to engage a substantial audience.

As per the OpenAI statement, the influence operations that targeted the Indian General Elections and tried to spread anti-BJP and pro-Congress propaganda were run by an Israeli political campaign management firm named STOIC. OpenAI called this operation Zero Zeno. “The people behind Zero Zeno used our models to generate articles and comments that were then posted across multiple platforms, notably Instagram, Facebook, X, and websites associated with this operation,” the AI company said.

As per the statement, STOIC used AI tools to spread anti-Hamas, anti-Qatar, pro-Israel, anti-BJP, and pro-Histadrut content across the internet. This shows a conflicting direction, as BJP is seen as an anti-Hamas and pro-Israel political party.

The Zero Zeno operation has been targeting audiences in Canada, the US and Israel with content in English and Hebrew. But in May, it started targeting audiences in India with English content. OpenAI says that the operation used its models to generate web articles and social media comments which were then posted across multiple platforms, notably Instagram, Facebook, and X.

Some of the accounts posting the messages were originally identified by Digital Forensic Research Lab, an open-source research venture of the Atlantic Council. As per the report, the operation first targeted the rise of radical Islam in Canada, as shown in screenshots of several tweets in the report. It also targeted American Universities accusing them of promoting pro-Palestine protests, antisemitism and terrorism. After focusing on Qatar and Israel, the group then started using AI to generate content on India in May.

As per OpenAI, Zero Zeno generated content using its tools that criticised BJP and praised the Congress party.

The report also states that the operation used the same accounts to post content on different subjects like accounts that targeted radical Islam or pro-Palestine protests in Canada and the US switched to India or Israel.

OpenAI report includes some of the tweets posted as part of the campaign, masking the account’s identity. However, the tweets which are not deleted can still be traced using the text of the tweets.

One of the accounts is named Ankur Mani, with the account @ManiAnkura12515. A tweet dated 4th May, saying “No more support for BJP as long as Amith Malvia is involved” from the account is included in the report. A cursory glance on the account shows that it is posting and reposting pro-Congress content on ?.

Screenshot of the tweet cited in the report
Some tweets posted as part of the campaign cited in the report

Another tweet by an apparent Indian account cited in the report is by an account named Mohini Krishnamoothi. However, the tweet talked about building applications with the MERN stack. As per OpenAI, this was posted to build a persona. This was the first tweet at the beginning of May while starting to focus on India. After that, the account posted content related to Canada, reposting a tweet by United Citizens for Canada (@canada_ucc) which is the main Canada-focused account of the network as per OpenAI. After this, the group shifted its focus to India.

Some of the comments were also posted as replies to prominent personalities, and the replies had no relation to the original post.

The impact assessment by OpenAI states that Zero Zeno’s activity appears to have attracted little if any engagement, other than from its own inauthentic accounts. It added that many of the accounts are already disabled by Meta and X, and therefore the current engagement figures may not present the complete picture. The report added that the campaign was not amplified by people outside the network.

Pune Porsche case: Father and grandfather of minor accused sent to judicial custody for 14 days

ANI
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Pune Porsche case: Father and grandfather of minor accused sent to judicial custody for 14 days

The court sent the father and grandfather of the accused minor involved in the Pune car accident case to judicial custody for 14 days on Friday.

The car accident led to the killing of two people after the minor ploughed his swanky luxury car into the two IT professionals, who were travelling on a bike, killing them on the spot on the night of May 19.

Also, the Pune Police Crime Branch on Friday filed a production application for the father of the minor accused before the Pune District Court in the first FIR wherein charges of 120B were added.

It is the same FIR of blood sample manipulation in which both doctors and one staffer were arrested and are in police custody.

Earlier this week, the Pune District Court sent the father and grandfather of the accused involved in the Pune car accident case to police custody till May 31.

The Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar earlier said that efforts were on to try the minor accused as an adult. He confirmed that an effort was made to frame the person employed for driving the Porsche car after the accident, and added that police are investigating his statement.

The driver, Gangadhar, had lodged a complaint with police alleging that he was taken to minor’s home against his will on the night of May 19, when Gangadhar was leaving the Yerawada Police Station.

Grandfather and father of the minor allegedly threatened Gangadhar, snatched his phone, and forcibly kept him confined in their bungalow in an attempt to force him to take responsibility for the crime instead of his minor grandson.

The accused has been detained at an observation home on the order of the Juvenile Justice Board. He was earlier granted bail in the case but was later sent to the observation home for 14 days till June 5. 

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

Delhi water crisis: As Kejriwal blames neighbouring states and approaches SC, here’s how the AAP govt’s inefficiency is driving Delhi’s water woes amid heatwaves

Amit Kelkar
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Delhi water crisis: As Kejriwal blames neighbouring states and approaches SC, here’s how the AAP govt’s inefficiency is driving Delhi’s water woes amid heatwaves

With mercury in the national capital soaring to unprecedented levels as it registered 52.3 degrees Celsius earlier this week, the miseries of the residents of Delhi since they elected the AAP government in the state seem to have no end. Amidst the severe bout of scorching heatwaves, Delhites are confronted with yet another problem in the form of an acute water crisis.

Visuals from several areas within the national capital show desperate residents scrambling with empty buckets to line up in front of water tankers, with many jumping the queues to get over the tanker and fill their vessels.

As the water crisis exacerbates, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently out on interim bail in the Delhi liquor scam, set to end tomorrow, June 1, has expressed concern over the matter and blamed the Centre and the BJP for the water crisis gripping the national capital.

“The whole country suffers from a severe heatwave, leading to water and electricity shortages. Last year, Delhi’s peak power demand was 7,438 MW. This year, it has risen to 8,302 MW. Despite this increase, Delhi’s power supply remains stable, and the city is not experiencing power outages like other states,” Kejriwal shared on social platform X.

Highlighting the water crisis in the capital, Kejriwal stated, “The demand for water supply has surged due to the heatwave. Neighbouring states have reduced the water supply to Delhi, resulting in a high demand and minimal shortage.”

“We need to unite to address this issue. The BJP is organising sit-in protests against our government, which won’t solve any problems. I earnestly request everyone to come together to provide relief to the people of Delhi instead of engaging in politics. If the BJP can persuade its governments in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to supply some water to Delhi for a month, the people of Delhi would greatly appreciate their efforts,” the chief minister added.

Reportedly, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi has also moved the Supreme Court to seek a direction to neighbouring states, particularly Haryana, to supply more water to the crisis-hit national capital. 

The Delhi government enacted emergency measures on Thursday to address the severe water crisis in the capital amidst an unprecedented heatwave.

In response to the water shortage, the government instructed the Delhi Jal Board to combat water wastage and imposed a ₹2,000 fine on violators. Additionally, the use of potable water at construction sites has been prohibited.

Delhi minister Atishi announced the ban, stating, “Many car repair and car washing centres are using the Delhi Jal Board’s drinking water. We are banning the use of the Delhi Jal Board’s drinking water at these centres.”

“Starting tomorrow, DPCC teams will inspect car washing and repair centres. I want to appeal to the people of Delhi… we are currently in an emergency due to the heatwave,” the minister said on Thursday.

AAP’s incompetence, Delhi Jal Board, allegations of money laundering and more

Water management is a state subject and hence, the prerogative of the AAP government in Delhi to ensure the residents get a continuous and uninterrupted supply of water, its leaders are now passing the buck by blaming the centre and the BJP for their incompetence and inability to provide basic necessities to their subjects. The centre does have the responsibility to supplement the efforts of the States on water conservation and recharge, including rainwater harvesting, through technical and financial support, but primarily it is the state government’s responsibility to ensure its subject with water supply. Yet, the AAP government in Delhi is indulging in shifting the blame onto the Centre. Before Kejriwal, Delhi water minister Atishi Marlena had blamed the BJP for the escalating water crisis in New Delhi. 

But beyond the politics of the blame game, which the AAP masters by passing the buck of its failures on the Centre and neighbouring states, vendetta politics, and so on, it is worth noting the genesis of the water crisis and how the dereliction of the AAP government has played a central role in exacerbating the water scarcity in the national capital.

The national capital has long faced water scarcity, heavily relying on neighbouring states to fulfil most of its water needs. Water from the upper Yamuna reaches the Carrier Lined Channel (CLC) Munak, the Delhi Sub-Branch (DSB) canals from Haryana, and the Upper Ganga Canal via Muradnagar from Uttar Pradesh is channelled through nine water treatment plants to reach households. However, this supply falls short of the city’s total requirements. Delhi has a daily water demand of 1,290 million gallons per day (MGD), but the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), the government agency responsible for the supply of potable water to most of the National Capital Territory region of Delhi, India, currently supplies only 1,000 MGD, a report published by Business Standard said. The shortfall is made up by tapping into Delhi’s groundwater reserves. 

The report cites sources to assert that Jal Board intends to install 1,034 new tube wells to draw an extra 23.45 MGD of groundwater on top of the existing extraction of 135 MGD, aiming to satisfy Delhi’s increasing water needs. However, this move could lead to adverse effects such as diminished water quality, depletion of the water table, and a risk to future water provisions.

However, the Delhi Jal Board has been embroiled in a controversy lately. In April 2024, the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi accepted the prosecution complaint submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi Jal Board tender money laundering case.

The Delhi Jal Board’s tender awarding method reportedly involved money laundering. Among those named in the ED’s chargesheet are Jagdish Kumar Arora, Anil Kumar Aggarwal and chartered accountant Tajendra Singh. Jagdish Arora and Anil Aggarwal were taken into custody by the agency on 31st January last year.

According to the Enforcement Directorate, NKG Infrastructure Limited was given the flow meter contract by Jagdish Kumar Arora, the former Chief Engineer of Delhi Jal Board, at an “inflated cost” of Rs 38 crore. The ED discovered throughout the inquiry that M/S NKG Infrastructure Ltd submitted falsified or misleading documents to secure the bid. It has been also revealed that Jagdish Kumar Arora knew the company didn’t match the technical requirements for the tender. Moreover, the ED disclosed that Anil Kumar Aggarwal’s sole proprietorship, M/S Integral Screws Ltd, was the recipient of the assignment subcontracted by M/S NKG Infrastructure Ltd.

It was also observed that only about Rs 14 crore of the Rs 24 crore payment that the Delhi Jal Board obtained was utilized for the contract work and the remaining amount was either misappropriated or spent as bribes. The ED further underlined that Jagdish Kumar Arora was paid a bribe of Rs. 3.19 crore, a portion of which he transferred to other Delhi Jal Board officials and the AAP to employ it in polls. According to the agency, Jagdish Kumar Arora, the former chief engineer of the Delhi Jal Board, “transferred” Rs 2 crore in bribe money to his departmental colleagues and the AAP for use as election finances.

Underlying causes for Delhi’s chronic water crisis

One of the reasons for the current water crisis is the overexploitation of groundwater reserves in Delhi. With limited water resources and dependency on neighbouring states for water requirements, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has steadily increased groundwater extraction in the last five years. A Hindustan Times report states Groundwater extraction was raised from 86 million gallons per day (MGD) in 2020 to around 135 MGD in 2024.

The government’s inefficiency in reducing pollution of the existing water resources has also played a pivotal role in bringing about the water crisis residents face today. High ammonia levels (exceeding 2.5 parts per million) in the Yamuna have long caused poor water supply in parts of Delhi. Increased ammonia levels often lead to a 50 per cent reduction in production at the Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants. 

The affected areas include Civil Lines, Hindu Rao Hospital and surrounding areas, Kamla Nagar, Shakti Nagar, Karol Bagh, Pahar Ganj, NDMC areas, Old and New Rajinder Nagar, Patel Nagar, Baljeet Nagar, Prem Nagar, Inderpuri, Kalkaji, Govindpuri, Tughlakabad, Sangam Vihar, and Ambedkar Nagar. Despite a proposal for an ammonia treatment plant to purify the polluted Yamuna water, construction has yet to begin even after a year.

Besides, the scourge of stubble burning continues to plague Delhi, despite empty assurances by CM Kejriwal and the AAP government that it is working on a war footing to address the menace. The stubble burning last year from AAP-governed Punjab was significant, severely affecting the national capital’s environment, enveloping it with a thick layer of smog in the winters when the farmers burn stubble, and locking the greenhouse emission gases in the atmosphere, driving up temperatures. This has invariably resulted in Delhi often featuring top in the list of most polluted cities in the world.

These, along with sundry other factors, have brought to the fore the pronounced effects of Climate Change facing the national capital and the country in general. While the central leadership under PM Modi has markedly shifted towards focusing on utilising renewable sources of energy, the same kind of urgency is lacking in state governments, most notably by the AAP-led Delhi government to incorporate measures that would help the city tackle the 21st-century problem faced by cities across the globe.

The Arvind Kejriwal government will have to go beyond shirking their responsibilities and pinning the blame for their failures on others. Even during the second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, the city struggled for a requisite supply of oxygen cylinders, causing numerous deaths that could have been avoided if the AAP government had built capacity and improved healthcare facilities. Instead, we saw a familiar pattern of shifting the blame play out as Kejriwal accused the Centre and neighbouring states of not providing Delhi with enough oxygen supplies to cater to the rising demands as the victims of COVID-19 surged in the national capital.

Years later, Kejriwal is again blaming the neighbouring states and the centre for what is essentially a state subject and comes under the purview of the state government. Accusing the Centre of non-cooperation and approaching the Supreme Court are temporary measures for relief and shifting the blame; it is high time that Arvind Kejriwal and his party come up with proactive measures and design government policies that address the underlying causes of the water crisis in Delhi and associated issues so that the residents are not left at the mercy of neighbouring states and the courts to fulfil their basic necessities.

RBI brings 100 tonnes of gold back home: From ‘secret sales’ in the 90s, India under Modi has come a long way. How gold reserves reflect a country’s power

Shraddha Pandey
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RBI brings 100 tonnes of gold back home: From ‘secret sales’ in the 90s, India under Modi has come a long way. How gold reserves reflect a country’s power

In a significant move, the Reserve Bank of India has brought back 100 tonnes of gold to its domestic vaults for the first time since early 1991. A similar amount of gold may be brought into the country in the following months. The move was undertaken for logistical and diversified storage purposes, TOI reported.

Currently, the RBI has 822.1 tonnes of gold, with about 413.8 tonnes held overseas. Central banks have purchased gold in recent years, with 27.5 tonnes acquired over the previous fiscal year. As per the World Gold Council data, India witnessed an increase of 18.51 tonnes in its gold reserves followed by Kazakhstan and Singapore.

Source: World Gold Council

“RBI started purchasing gold a few years ago and decided to undertake a review of where it wants to store it, something that is done from time to time. Since the stock was building up overseas, it was decided to get some of the gold to India,” TOI quoted an official as saying.

From pledging gold during the 1991 economic crisis to bringing it back: The paradigm shift

It is interesting to note that the RBI purchased 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund 15 years ago. Recently, the Indian central bank has steadily increased its stock acquisitions. RBI bringing back chunks from its gold reserves in the Bank of England (BoE) reflects India’s economic strength and confidence.

While today there is a significant increase in India’s gold reserves and the country’s gold stocks building up overseas, the situation was not always this astoundingly positive for India. In our country, gold is an emotion, beyond fashion statement, gold jewellery especially, is the wearable wealth and financial security for Indian families.

Back in 1991, Samajwadi Janata Party leader Chandra Shekhar headed a minority government of a breakaway faction of the Janata Dal with outside support from Congress. At that time, India faced a severe balance of payments crisis, one of the worst in its post-independence history. The fiscal deficit had ballooned to unsustainable levels, driven by high government expenditure and low revenue generation. This imbalance severely strained the country’s finances. India’s external debt had increased significantly during the 1980s.

A large portion of India’s foreign exchange reserves were being consumed in debt servicing. By mid-1991, India’s foreign exchange reserves had plummeted to critically low levels, falling from $1.2 billion in January 1991 to half by June 1991. This was barely sufficient to cover two weeks of imports. This posed a threat to India’s ability to finance the import of oil and other essentials. It is also essential to note that the years 1990 and 1991 marked political instability in the country, as a weak coalition was at the helm of power led by then-Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar.

In response to the devastating economic situation, the Chandra Shekhar government decided to pledge a portion of India’s gold reserves as collateral for foreign exchange borrowing. The government promised around 47 tonnes of gold to international creditors. This gold was sent to the Bank of England and the Union Bank of Switzerland to serve as collateral for loans totalling over $405 million. The cash collected via this arrangement gave immediate relief to India’s foreign exchange problem, allowing the country to continue importing necessary items and performing fundamental economic tasks.

This brought immediate relief to the Indian economy while causing emotional trauma and a dent in India’s reputation globally. The 1991 crisis, however, acted as a catalyst for broader economic reforms like liberalisation in the subsequent PV Narasimha Rao-led government. 

Is RBI on a gold purchasing spree?

The current Modi government has taken a lesson from history and focussed on increasing India’s gold reserves to enhance the diversity of forex reserves and mitigate risks linked to inflation and foreign currencies. This is reflected in the fact that in December 2014, the RBI held 557.75 tonnes of gold and now the bank holds over 822 tonnes of gold (8.98%). In November 2023, RBI bought 9 tonnes of gold. In February this year, RBI revealed a 6-tonne increase in gold holdings.

Dependence on overseas vaults for gold reserves and how it is problematic in a changing world

It is pertinent to note that gold reserves are a stable store of value that protects against inflation and currency depreciation. If a country’s currency weakens globally, gold reserves help to protect the country’s purchasing power and economic stability. It protects the country’s balance of payments and international trade involvement.

Many countries including India store their gold reserves overseas. The United Kingdom’s central bank—the Bank of England is a storehouse of gold reserves of many countries. It is the second-largest custodian of gold in the world, after the New York Federal Reserve. While storing gold elsewhere helps diversify risk it comes with its own political, geopolitical, economic, legal and logistical risks. It is thus remarkable on the part of RBI and the Modi government to bring a significant portion of its gold reserves from BoE to India’s domestic vaults.

The case of Venezuela, Iran and Libya serves as an example of how countries face issues in repatriating their gold. In recent years, Venezuela struggled to repatriate its gold reserves due to political tensions and international sanctions.

In July 2020, the UK High Court ruled that the British government officially recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the interim president of Venezuela, rather than Nicolás Maduro who won the 2018 election which many countries deemed fraudulent. This ruling directly impacted the control over Venezuela’s 31 tonnes of gold held by the Bank of England, worth approximately $1 billion. Maduro’s government tried to access the gold to fund its measures to combat the Covid pandemic the BoE denied it since the UK government recognised Guaidó as the legitimate leader. In the UK, the two rival boards of Venezuela’s Central Bank became involved in two legal disputes over Venezuela’s gold reserves held by Deutsche Bank and the Bank of England. A legal battle continues over who will control Venezuela’s gold reserves frozen in BoE especially when Guaidó is no longer recognised as the President of Venezuela.

Nicolás Maduro (left), Juan Guaidó (right)

In Iran’s case, its gold reserves held overseas have been subject to international scrutiny and restrictions, primarily due to economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies. These sanctions aim to curb Iran’s nuclear program by limiting its access to global financial resources. Due to this, its gold reserves in foreign banks including the Bank of England have been frozen inflicting severe financial damage to the Islamic nation. Besides, European banks, under the influence of both EU and US sanctions, have also frozen Iranian gold reserves.

In Libya’s case, due to the prolonged conflict and political instability in Libya since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, significant portions of these reserves have been frozen. Notably, Libya holds approximately 146.65 tonnes tonnes of gold as part of its national reserves.

How gold helped Russia thrive despite the West’s sanctions

Interestingly, ever since Russia led by President Vladimir Putin launched an offensive against Ukraine, it has faced over 16,500 sanctions from the US, UK, EU and several other countries. Despite this, the Russian economy continued to grow. Alongside, seaborne crude oil, Russia’s gold strategy contributed to its growth. Russia’s $300 billion worth of reserves in the West were frozen when its foreign currency and gold reserves totalled $612 billion. While its assets invested in foreign securities, bank deposits and nostro correspondent accounts were frozen, Russia’s gold reserves were held in Russia. The country has been selling gold to countries like the UAE and Russia continues to be the second-largest producer of gold. The West’s sanctions could literally cause no damage to Russia’s gold market.

Keeping gold reserves domestically is beneficial for India

In changing times especially when several countries are engaged in violent conflicts and face the risks of sanctions and boycotts etc, it is crucial to keep a significant portion of gold reserves domestically, especially for an emerging superpower like India. Notably, increasing gold reserves is politically beneficial because it demonstrates that a country’s economy is robust and trusted by other countries and global financial organisations. Large gold reserves reflect the country’s good money management and aid planning finances for the long term. The cases of Venezuela and other countries suggest that domestic storage of gold is important for India since it allows a country autonomy thus mitigating the risk of foreign entities imposing any sort of restriction or causing delay. It also allows India to make independent policy decisions regarding its reserves without external interference or geopolitical pressures.

Furthermore, since storing gold overseas carries the risk of foreign governments seizing or freezing assets, especially in times of international disputes or sanctions, domestic storage mitigates this risk. In addition, having gold reserves in domestic vaults also cut the cost of international logistics thus providing immediate liquidity support. Thus, by focusing on these factors, India could more effectively protect its national wealth and keep more potent control over its financial stability. Bringing back 100 tonnes of gold from the UK is a significant move in this direction.

Exposed: China using fake accounts to pose as Sikhs on Facebook and Instagram, peddle pro-Khalistani propaganda and separatism

Dibakar Dutta
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Exposed: China using fake accounts to pose as Sikhs on Facebook and Instagram, peddle pro-Khalistani propaganda and separatism

Meta, the American tech company that owns Facebook, has published its ‘Adversarial Threat Report’ for the first quarter of 2024. It found that China is using bots to stir up Khalistani extremism in India.

In its 33-page report [pdf], Meta informed that it had removed 37 Facebook accounts, 9 Instagram accounts, 13 Facebook pages and 5 Groups – all of which originated in China.

One or more of these pages had 2700 followers. Some of the groups had 1,300 members and less than 100 followers were connected to the purged Instagram handles.

These accounts were at the helm of promoting Khalistani extremism and Sikh separatism in countries such as India, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Pakistan, Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

On Page 7 of the report, Meta noted that the pro-Khalistani propaganda by China was not limited to Facebook alone. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) bots also used social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram.

“This operation used compromised and fake accounts – some of which were detected and disabled by our automated systems prior to our investigation – to pose as Sikhs, post content and manage Pages and Groups,” the tech company noted in its report.

Operation K to stir pro-Khalistani activities in Australia and NewZealand

The fake accounts, which were being operated from China, attempted to create a “fictitious activist movement called Operation K” and stir Khalistani activities in Australia and New Zealand. However, the disinformation campaign was thwarted by Meta.

“We found and removed this activity early, before it was able to build an audience among authentic communities. They posted primarily in English and Hindi about news and current events, including images likely manipulated by photo editing tools or generated by artificial intelligence, in addition to posts about floods in the Punjab region, the Sikh community worldwide, the Khalistan independence movement, the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistan independence activist in Canada, and criticism of the Indian government,” the report read.

The revelations were made during Meta’s internal investigation into ‘coordinated inauthentic behaviour (CIB)’ in the region.

China and its anti-India activities

China, which happens to be a strong ally of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan stands to gain from creating internal discord within India. During the Coronavirus pandemic, it sparked off a standoff at the LAC (Line of Actual Control) and created tensions at the border for years to come.

It had also declared India’s integral territory of Arunachal Pradesh as its part. China has been infamous for supporting insurgency in India’s North-East region. In cahoots with Pakistan’s ISI, China is now eyeing to fuel Sikh separatism in the Indian state of Punjab.

As part of its nefarious design, China is now trying to garner support for Khalistan in countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Pakistan, Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

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