The first ever independent and standalone Hindu temple in Dubai is all set to be inaugurated on October 4, a day before Dussehra. The temple is located at ‘Worship Village’ in Jebel Ali. The area also houses several churches and a gurdwara.
As per Khaleej Times, it is an extension of Sindhi Guru Darbar Temple, which is one of the oldest Hindu temples in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The temple will be open to the public from October 5.
The foundation of the temple was laid in 2020, fulfilling the decade-long demand of Hindus in the region. Idols of 16 deities have been installed in the temple. It consists of ornate pillars, Hindu and Arabic geometric designs on the facade and bells on the ceiling. Shri Guru Granth Sahib has also been installed in the temple.
On September 1, the soft opening of the temple took place that was attended by thousands of devotees. A 3D-printed pink lotus has been installed at the central dome in the main hall where the idols of deities are installed. The temple can accommodate as many as 1200 devotees on any given day.
Gulf News quoted Temple trustee Raju Shroff as saying, “With the benevolence of the Rulers of the UAE and the gracious support of the Community Development Authority (CDA), we are holding the official inaugural ceremony of the Hindu Temple Dubai tomorrow evening.” He added that public entry will be restricted on the inauguration day and requested the devotees not to visit the temple before October 5.
Shroff added that Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan would be the chief guest for the event. Furthermore, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Sunjay Sudhir, has been invited as the guest of honour. CDA officials and other guests will be present for the event.
To make the ‘darshan’ easier for the devotees, the temple management has installed a QR-based appointment system on its online platforms. As per the temple’s official website, it will remain open from 6:30 AM to 8 PM. Initially, only limited devotees were allowed to visit the temple. However, from October 5, there will be restrictions on the number of devotees, and they can enter the premises after booking an appointment.
Days after Russia formally annexed four regions in Ukraine, Tesla CEO Elon Musk courted controversy on Monday (October 3) for proposing a fresh, UN-supervised referendum in the annexed territories and claiming that Crimea ‘rightfully’ belonged to Russia.
In a tweet, Musk put forward a plan to restore peace in Eastern Europe and end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He wrote, “Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is the will of the people. Crimea is formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake). Water supply to Crimea assured. Ukraine remains neutral.”
The Tesla CEO also sought the opinion of Twitterati through a poll, with the Westerners voting en masse against his proposal. “This is highly likely to be the outcome in the end – just a question of how many die before then…Also worth noting that a possible, albeit unlikely outcome from this conflict is nuclear war,” he tweeted.
Screengrab of the tweets by Elon Musk
On being quizzed about providing satellite Internet access coverage in Ukraine through Starlink, Elon Musk responded, “The will of the people should decide whether they are part of Russia or Ukraine, but Russia invaded areas that would unequivocally choose to be part of Ukraine.”
The Tesla CEO had played an important role in maintaining communications in Ukraine, amidst the invasion by Russia. Reportedly, Starlink terminals are used by Ukrainian military outposts to coordinate operations and carry out artillery strikes by its commanders.
Screengrab of the tweets by Elon Musk
Musk followed up on the discussion with another tweet, seeking the opinion of Twitter users about giving power to residents of Donbas and Crimea (regions that Russia already annexes) to decide whether they want to join Ukraine or Russia.
“Let’s try this then: the will of the people who live in the Donbas & Crimea should decide whether they’re part of Russia or Ukraine,” he tweeted.
Screengrab of the tweet by Elon Musk
On being told that his tweets have riled up Ukrainians, the Tesla CEO remarked, “You are assuming that I wish to be popular. I don’t care. I do care that millions of people may die needlessly for an essentially identical outcome.”
He followed it up with another tweet, “Russia is doing partial mobilization. They go to full war mobilization if Crimea is at risk. Death on both sides will be devastating. Russia has >3 times the population of Ukraine, so victory for Ukraine is unlikely in total war. If you care about the people of Ukraine, seek peace.”
Screengrab of the tweets by Elon Musk
Elon Musk faces flak over his peace policy
Westerners lambasted the Tesla CEO on Twitter for supposedly “siding with Russia” and ‘legitimising’ the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Vladimir Putin. US-based foreign policy analyst, Paul Massaro, wrote, “Russia escalates at the weakness and retreats at strength. You are making Russian escalation more likely with these tweets.”
Russia escalates at weakness and retreats at strength. You are making Russian escalation MORE likely with these tweets
Ukrainian newspaper, Kyiv Post, advised Musk against interfering in the affairs of Ukraine. “Elon, you’re a cool guy and thanks for the Starlink but it’d be so very wonderful if you were to carry out votes on things that you know about. We don’t carry out votes on apartheid and Nelson Mandela,” it said.
Elon, you’re a cool guy and thanks for the Starlink but it’d be so very wonderful if you were to carry out votes on things that you know about. We don’t carry out votes on apartheid and Nelson Mandela.
Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA, Oksana Markarova, wrote, “Even the best of us can fall victim to misinformation. Elonmusk, how about I give you an exclusive briefing on the true history of Crimea and Ukraine? We can discuss how Ukraine and Crimean Tatars fought together against the Russians long before 1783 and why we like Starlinks today.”
Even the best of us can fall victims to misinformation. @elonmusk, how about I give you an exclusive briefing on true history of Crimea and 🇺🇦? We can discuss how Ukraine and Crimean Tatars fought together against the Russians long before 1783 and why we like Starlinks today.
The Chairman of Renew Democracy Initiative, Garry Kasparov, accused Elon Musk of peddling Russian propaganda and demoralising Ukrainians, amidst the invasion by Putin.
“This is moral idiocy, repetition of Kremlin propaganda, a betrayal of Ukrainian courage & sacrifice, and puts a few minutes browsing Crimea on Wikipedia over the current horrific reality of Putin’s bloody war,” he said.
Elon Musk, who had patiently responded to his critics until then, lost his composure. “We gave Starlinks to Ukraine & lost $80M+ in doing so while putting SpaceX & myself at serious risk of a Russian cyberattack. What have you done besides tweet?” he asked.
We gave Starlinks to Ukraine & lost $80M+ in doing so, while putting SpaceX & myself at serious risk of Russian cyberattack.
Musk also drew the ire of none other than the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who posted a poll to ask his supporters about their opinion on the Tesla CEO.
“Which Elon Musk do you like? One who supports Ukraine or One who supports Russia?” he tweeted.
I still very much support Ukraine, but am convinced that massive escalation of the war will cause great harm to Ukraine and possibly the world.
The Tesla CEO reaffirmed his support for Ukraine and its people but pointed out how the escalation of the ongoing conflict can cause irreparable harm to the country and the world.
“I still very much support Ukraine but am convinced that massive escalation of the war will cause great harm to Ukraine and possibly the world,” Musk clarified his position on the Russian-Ukraine conflict.
Terror group People’s Anti-Fascist Force (PAFF), an offshoot of Pakistan headquartered terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility of the murder of Jammu & Kashmir DGP (Prisons) Hemant Kumar Lohia. DGP Lohia’s throat was slit and burn marks were found on his body on October 3. This brutal murder came a day ahead Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the valley.
In a press release issued by PAFF, they have taken responsibility of the murder and said that this is a warning to ‘Hindutva regime’.
Terror group PAFF’s press release
In the press release, referring to DGP Lohia as ‘high value target’, the terror group said that this is just the beginning of such high profile operations. “We can strike anywhere, anytime with precision,” the statement read. The terror group then claimed that the DGP’s murder is a ‘small gift’ to the visiting Home Minister amid such high security. ‘God willing we will continue such operations in future,’ the statement read.
DGP Lohia found dead under mysterious circumstances
DGP Lohia was found dead under mysterious circumstances with throat slit and burn marks on his body on October 3, Monday. Prima facie it appeared to be a case of murder. His domestic help Yasir is believed to be primary suspect and is currently absconding. Search for him is currently on. Yasir belongs to Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir.
J&K police on DGP Lohia murder: Main accused, domestic help Yasir Ahmead, resident of Ramban has been captured on CCTV.. footage shows him running away after commission of this crime. He was working in this house for 6 months and was quite aggressive in his behaviour pic.twitter.com/gW40xyVsJg
As reported by journalist Raj Shekhar Jha, he has been captured on the CCTV where the footage shows him running away after having allegedly committed the crime. Yasir was working at DGP Lohia’s place for past six months and was quite aggressive in his behaviour.
It is believed the killer first suffocated Lohia to death and used broken ketchup bottle to slit his throat. He then tried to set his body on fire.
On October 3, Salvi Police booked at least 46 people and arrested 40 following a communal clash near a Hindu temple Damaji na Dera, in Salvi, Vadodara. As per reports, Muslim youth attempted to install Islamic flags near the temple on an electric pole where Hindu flags were already installed. A group of Hindus approached them and asked them not to install the Islamic flags as it would hurt their religious sentiments.
PR Patel, Vadodara Rural Police, said, “A Muslim festival is coming up, owing to which a local group had tied their religious flag on an electronic pole. There is a temple nearby. Clashes broke out after another local group went to convey how their religious sentiments were hurt.”
Reports suggest that after the Muslim youth were stopped, around 100 people gathered at the spot. There was a communal clash between both sides. Stones and sharp weapons were used by the mob. Private vehicles and shops were vandalised during the clash.
Savli sub-inspector A R Mahida said, “It soon snowballed into clashes, and both the communities started hurling stones at each other. Nobody was injured, but a vehicle and a shop were damaged by rioters.”
Complaints were filed by both sides. Maheshbhai Mohanbhai Mali filed a complaint from the Hindu side against 25 accused. On the other hand, Ilyas Noor Mahammad Shaikh filed a complaint from the Muslim side against 21 accused.
A senior police officer told Indian Express, “The minority community has a festival coming up soon, and therefore, a local youth group had put up flags on bamboo sticks, fastened to the electricity poll. It did not go down well with other groups as there is a big festival coming up Wednesday in which the majority community has also planned a huge procession. Many rioters were nabbed immediately, and they have also identified other miscreants from the footage.”
The Police booked the accused under Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 294(B) (uttering obscene words in public, 337 (rash and negligent act endangering human life), 506(2) (criminal intimidation) and 427 (mischief causing damage to property).
Additional police force has been deployed in the area to maintain law and order.
On October 1, six Hindu students were attacked by four accused, identified as Rathod Amin Gulab Nabi, Nizami Moin Nurmahammad, Ganchi Amanbhai Firozbhai and Chauhan Mahamadnuman Mahamadhanif, for objecting to Islamic songs being played during a Garba event at BK Patel Arts & Commerce College of Savli in Vadodara. The four accused attacked the Hindu students with iron belts and stones.
As per reports, a Garba event was organised inside the college premises on Saturday. There were around 150 students at the event. During the snack break, the four accused Muslim students went to the DJ and asked him to play Islamic songs. The DJ did as asked. The other college students objected and said as Navratri was a Hindu festival, it was not appropriate to play Islamic songs during the event.
The four accused got agitated and started abusing the Hindu students and threatened them. The principal and staff immediately intervened and pacified the situation for a while. However, a BA final year student identified as Vishvajitsinh Rajendrasinh Mahida was stopped by the accused while he was going home with his friends after the event and attacked with an iron belt and stones.
Other students who were accompanying him were identified as Yuvraj Dineshbhai Vaghela, Harpalsinh Rajendrasinh Jadav, Yogesh Somsinh Mahida, Rutviksinh Surendrasinh Mahida, Ghanshyamsinh Surendrasinh Mahida. All six students sustained injuries. As the crowd gathered, the four accused escaped the scene. A criminal case under relevant sections was registered by the police against the four accused.
Navratri celebration in Kheda turned violent after a Muslim mob led by two youths identified as Arif and Zahir pelted stones on the Hindu devotees.
All the accused are being identified and strict action will be taken. Police deployed in the village and necessary arrangements have been made: Rajesh Gadhiya, DSP Kheda
As per local media reports, stones were pelted on those who were celebrating Navratri in Undhera village of Maatar taluka of Kheda district. About 6-7 people were injured and were taken to hospital. Two police officials were also injured in the stonepelting. Police has increased security in the village.
Report states that during Navratri celebrations, Arif and Zahir led a mob and created a ruckus during Navratri celebration. The leaders of the village tried to broker peace but the mob did not back off. They returned and started pelting stones. Local residents of the village said they asked the Navratri celebrations to be called off in the area and said that the Navratri could not be celebrated there.
Earlier last week it was reported how a Muslim teacher in Kheda had made students beat their chest and chant ‘Ya Hussein’ in Muharram style mourning instead of performing Garba during Navratri celebration. There have also been reports where Muslim men have tried to enter Navratri venue under fake names. Reports have also emerged where in some areas local Muslims have opposed celebration of Navratri.
Navratri is celebrated for nine nights where Goddess Durga is worshipped in various forms. In Gujarat, garba, i.e. dancing, is the form of worship for the goddess. Islam believes idolatry is the biggest sin and is punishable with death.
Earlier last month, when Rahul Gandhi announced that he would launch a 150-day-long march from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, dubbed ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, propagandists masquerading as ‘neutral journalists’ fell over themselves to hail the move as the next big thing in the Indian politics.
Of course, it was more to do with their latent desire than the actual reality, especially after eight years of the Modi government at the helm and months before the all-important 2024 Lok Sabha elections that grant the prospect of Modi rule for another five years at least. So when Rahul Gandhi and Congress announced a mass mobilisation programme they intended to launch, instead of first evaluating the goals of the yatra, propaganda pushers made a beeline to mark their deference to the Gandhi scion and his moribund party, Indian National Congress.
Despite innumerable election defeats, including some of the embarrassing debacles such as the loss at Amethi, the decades-old pocket borough of the Congress party, the liberal intelligentsia continues to labour under the delusion that Rahul Gandhi is the only potent political leader who has the capability of stopping the Modi juggernaut.
But when one harbours pathological hatred against a person just because he refuses to subscribe to their ideology and repeatedly cocks a snook at them, it is not hard to imagine why they would continue to place their bets on a leader who is, arguably, more committed to ‘Congress Mukt Bharat’ than ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
Therefore, when pictures of Rahul Gandhi addressing a public meeting in Mysuru amid rains surfaced online, desperate propagandists grasped at the straws and went into raptures about their leader, hoping that the container yatra as the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ is popularly called, would usher the Congress into an era of electoral wins and arrest the party’s irreversible slide into political oblivion.
‘Neutral journalists’, ‘unbiased intellectuals’, and ‘liberals’ go gaga over Rahul Gandhi addressing a rally amid rains
A raft of ‘journalists’ sympathetic to the Congress party rushed to swoon over their ‘preferred’ political leader after images of Rahul Gandhi addressing a political rally amid rains emerged on social media. In no time, the so-called neutral journalists shared pictures of a drenched Rahul Gandhi, lavishing praises on him for carrying on with his political rally despite the rains.
“This pic will be remembered for long in Indian political landscape,” tweeted ‘journalist’ Prashant Kumar, whose deference to the Gandhi family is evident in his other tweets.
Source: Twitter
The Wire ‘journalist’ Arfa Khan Sherwani, who has a knack for defending Islamists with perverse rationales, also took to Twitter to hail Rahul Gandhi for addressing a rally during rains.
Source: Twitter
Punya Prasun Bajpai, another ‘journalist’ with a favourable bias toward the Congress party, also gushed over the pictures of drenched Rahul Gandhi addressing a crowd from the podium.
Source: Twitter
Similarly, Vinod Kapri, Swati Chaturvedi, Ranvijay Singh, and others joined in their exercise to adulate Rahul Gandhi.
Actor Swara Bhasker, whose recent film ‘Jahaan Chaar Yaar’ failed miserably at the box office, also gushed over the picture of Rahul Gandhi addressing a public rally amid the rains. “More power to your purpose,” the actor tweeted.
Source: Twitter
How Rahul Gandhi fans exaggerate seemingly ordinary actions of their leader
However, this is not the first time that propagandists have queued up to hail run-of-the-mill deeds by Rahul Gandhi as acts of “unparalleled political brilliance”. It is another thing that such “political masterstrokes” have done little to revive the Congress party’s dying electoral fortunes. If anything, they have only accelerated the party’s descent into an abyss of irrelevance and insignificance.
But that has not deterred cheerleaders from fawning over the Gandhi scion. Every once in a while, they home in on an ordinary remark or act by Rahul Gandhi and trumpet it as if it had the potential of upending India’s political landscape. But then, a rude awakening hits them when Congress loses yet another election even as their supreme leader shows no sign of drawing learnings from his repeated failures.
The bar is set so low that a run-of-the-mill deed is passed off as an act of profound significance
Whether it is the Daro Mat campaign in 2017, where Rahul Gandhi tried to pass off ED action against him as politically motivated or the photo-op from his visit to Kerala in February 2021, when his dive into the sea with local fishermen had the ‘neutral journalists’ spellbound, or the image of an old lady hugging Rahul Gandhi, there have been countless incidents when the Congress sympathisers and dynasty loyalists took no time in aggrandising their leader and singing tributes to him. Every few months, Gandhi enthusiasts declare that Rahul Gandhi has finally “come of age” and is ready for the top job.
However, the admiration Rahul Gandhi receives from his ardent fans is profoundly amusing, given that they routinely deride their political opponents by calling them ‘Bhakts’ while themselves raising Rahul Gandhi on a high pedestal and losing no opportunity to pay obeisance to him, even on something as mundane as addressing a political rally amid rains.
And while the list of incidents when ‘neutral journalists’ and ‘unbiased intellectuals’ have showered unwarranted heaps of praises on Rahul Gandhi is quite long, it demonstrates that his fans cling on to anything that exalts their leader’s political stature because the list of his other gaffes, from winking in the parliament to giving biscuits to Pidi to “aalu daalo sona niklega” to “pichatees”, is so long that the moment he behaves reasonably normal, the propagandists fall over themselves to put him on the pedestal.
Nana Patole, another treasure from the Congress vault, issued a bizarre statement on Monday saying that the lumpy skin disease virus, which has been prevailing in Nigeria for many years, is being spread in India by the eight Cheetahs that Central Government brought in from Namibia.
The President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee attacked PM Modi by accusing him of purposely bringing the Lumpy disease, basically prevailing in Nigeria, to India by importing the Cheetahs from Namibia. He said that it is the central government’s ploy to harm the farmers.
In a video shared by news agency ANI, Nana Patole is heard saying, “This Lumpy illness has been prevalent for many years in a country called Nigeria and the Cheetahs have been brought from there. The spots on a cheetah’s body are comparable to those seen in animals suffering from lumpy sickness. This is the central government’s plot. It has deliberately done this so that the farmers suffer.”
#WATCH | “This lumpy virus has been prevailing in Nigeria for a long time and the Cheetahs have also been brought from there. Central government has deliberately done this for the losses of farmers,” says Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole pic.twitter.com/X3DrkFyMPw
Responding to Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole’s outlandish remarks, BJP MLA Ram Kadam said, the Congress party should be awarded the Nobel Prize for connecting the Lumpy skin disease spread with the arrival of Cheetahs in the country.
महाराष्ट्र में जानवरोंमें #लिंपी बीमारी केंद्र सरकार द्वारा #चीते देश में लाये गये इस कारण फैल रहा है ,,, इति #कोंग्रेस प्रांत अध्यक्ष
Notably, the Cheetahs had arrived from the African nation Namibia and were released into Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park last month on a day that also marked PM Modi’s 72nd birthday, whereas the lumpy skin disease has lingered around for well over three months in the country.
Furthermore, the Cheetahs brought to India were not Nigerian Cheetahs, but Namibian Cheetahs. While both Nigeria and Namibia are in the same continent Africa, the distance between the two countries is well over 5,000 KMs. However, Nana Patole didn’t let such small details distract him.
Distance between Namibia and Nigeria (Source: Google Maps)
Notably, Patole’s bizarre remarks came days after a suspected case of lumpy skin disease, which affects cattle like cows and buffaloes, in an animal was detected in the Mumbai suburb of Khar in Maharashtra.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the cheetahs brought from Namibia into a special enclosure at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh on September 17.
The cheetahs were brought in as part of a plan to reintroduce the big cat to India seven decades after it was declared extinct.
Interestingly, the Congress party had then courted controversy by trying to hog credit for Project Cheetah. Despite its failed bid in 2013, it had tried its best to eclipse the achievement of the incumbent BJP government.
On Friday (September 30), the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) wrote a detailed piece in favour of voting machines, which have been the subject of controversy during the general elections in Brazil.
The article, authored by Juliana Gragnani and Jake Horton, attempted to dismiss all concerns about electronic voting machines that were raised by incumbent Brazilian President Jair Bolsanaro.
BBC accused Bolsonaro of ‘sowing doubts about the country’s voting system without evidence’ and supposedly echoing the rhetoric of former US President Donald Trump. The Brazilian President had called for public counting of votes, and printable paper ballots to safeguard the voting machines (much like India’s VVPAT system).
Screengrab of the BBC news report
BBC, the national broadcaster of the United Kingdom, dismissed his concerns as conspiracy theories that are not rooted in reality. To bolster its claims, BBC relied on third-party research and testimonies of the Supreme electoral court of Brazil to build a case against Bolsanaro.
“There is no reasonable proof of fraud going on in the past, at least in big audits that have been done…The view of most of the technical community is that fraud is really hard in the current system. The system can be improved and should be, but that doesn’t mean there’s been fraud,” the BBC quoted one Professor Marcos Simplicio as saying.
Further, into the article, Juliana Gragnani and Jake Horton suggested that the voting machines in Brazil are subject to both internal and external scrutiny. “Before each election the court invites researchers and software experts to look for vulnerabilities in the voting system. This year, more than 20 experts tried to penetrate the system but failed to do so,” the article read.
BBC also accused Bolsanaro of disseminating ‘old misleading videos’ about voting machines, which have been debunked by the Supreme electoral court of Brazil. The UK’s national broadcaster sided with the country’s nodal electoral authority and rightly put the ‘burden of proof’ on Bolsanaro (who has raised concerns about the electronic voting system in the first place).
BBC cast aspersions about electronic voting in India
However, such a privilege was not extended to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the nodal election body in India. The BBC desperately tried to delegitimise it in a bid to cast aspersions about the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in India.
In an article published on January 25, 2019, BBC’s India correspondent Soutik Biswas claimed that concerns about the technology used in election voting machines (EVMs) are ‘credible’ and have persisted for a long time.
From the very onset, the tone of the article was quite different from the one written about Brazil’s voting machines. In India’s case, BBC was not dismissive of the aspersions cast about its electoral process (which is, by the way, the largest democratic exercise in the world).
Screengrab of the article by BBC
“There have been at least seven challenges in the courts but India’s election authorities have steadfastly defended the machines as tamper-proof,” the article read. BBC cited the claims of a conspiracy theorist named Syed Suja who claimed that PM Modi rigged the Lok Sabha elections of 2014.
Despite Syed not providing any evidence for his claims, BBC was quick to reference him in the article and sow seeds of doubt about the electoral process (something which it has now accused Jair Bolsanaro of doing in Brazil).
Instead of putting the burden of proof on the accuser, it tried to put the onus on the Election Commission to negate the claims (unlike the case in Brazil article). “India’s election authorities have steadfastly maintained that the voting machines cannot be tampered with, and physical tampering is easily detectable. From time to time, these claims have been contested,” it said.
Screengrab of the article in Economic Times
BBC also cited experts who believe in the probability of mass-scale hacking of voting machines but have not been able to demonstrate a real-life example for the same. In fact, the Election Commission had invited hackers in 2017 to come to their office and try manipulating results on real EVMs.
Interestingly, none of the conspiracy theorists and self-proclaimed hacking experts turned up for the event. The BBC then went on to highlight stories from different countries where EVMs have been called into question. However, none of the examples suggest a successful execution of mass tampering.
The article also insinuated that transparency in India’s electoral process began only in 2013, with the Supreme Court of India calling for the introduction of paper trails in EVMs.
“…Things may be moving in the right direction in India in efforts to make elections more transparent and trustworthy. Five years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that all machines should be equipped with printers producing voter-verifiable paper audit trails,” it said.
UK broadcaster has a history of peddling misinformation
The broadcaster also quoted a computer science professor who was apprehensive of electronic voting systems. “My general opinion is that we should get as much technology out of the process as possible…Software is very hard to get right, and with an intent to have votes not be identified with voters, there is no good way to verify that things have worked as intended,” remarked one Professor Duncan Buell.
While the objective of the recent article on Brazil was to educate the readers against falling for misinformation about voting machines, this 2019 article by BBC was a clear attempt to increase distrust for use of technology in the voting process.
This is not the first time that the BBC resorted to such a narrative-building exercise. In 2017, Opindia had reported how the broadcaster deliberately shared a 2010 article about alleged EVM hacking after BJP swept Uttar Pradesh polls in 2017.
Journalist’ Rana Ayyub on Monday shared a tweet by fake Twitter account of Swadeshi Jagran Manch to attack the RSS and the Modi government.
Ayyub, who is mired in a donation scandal and has a habit of sharing fake news, took to Twitter to share a tweet posted by an account that called itself ‘Swadeshi Jagaran Manch-KM (Economic Wing of RSS) and accused the Sangh of celebrating the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
“Prime minister Narendra Modi, they are celebrating the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, they call themselves the economic wing of the RSS. Your silence, the lack of action against these seditious and terror elements by you and @HMOIndia is an open endorsement @PMOIndia,” Ayyub tweet.
Source: Twitter
The donation fraud accused attacked PM Modi, alleging that lack of action against the “seditious and terror elements” is an open endorsement.
It is, however, worth noting that Ms Ayyub shared tweet posted by a fake Twitter handle to attack PM Modi and the RSS. Ms Ayyub shared a screenshot of the tweet posted by an account whose handle goes by @jagaran_manch and which is not verified on Twitter and has only 12 followers.
Rana Ayyub leans on fake account to attack RSS and Modi Government
The original Twitter account of Swadeshi Jagran Manch is @swadeshimanch and not the account whose tweet was shared by Rana Ayyub. Here’s the verified account of the organisation:-
source: Twitter
A cursory glance at the tweets posted by the official Twitter account of Swadeshi Manch reveals that it has been a long time since it posted a tweet, and has only intermittently retweeted tweets posted by others.
However, in her bid to attack the RSS and the Modi government, Ms Ayyub shared the tweet by a fake account before verifying if the claims made by it are true or whether the account is authentic.
It is worth noting that the pandal that showcased an idol resembling Mahatma Gandhi instead of an Asura being killed by Goddess Durga was organised was from Kolkata, the capital of Mamata Banerjee-ruled West Bengal.
Additionally, the pandal was reportedly organised by the All India Hindu Mahasabha, an organisation that has got nothing to do with the RSS. Both RSS and All India Hindu Mahasabha are two independent organisation and have no affiliate relationship. Moreover, a case has already been registered against All India Hindu Mahasabha and the idol was remade to look like an Asura once again.
