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Russian attack on Ukraine’s power infra: Kyiv authorities consider evacuation of the entire population as blackouts continue

OpIndia Staff
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Russian attack on Ukraine’s power infra: Kyiv authorities consider evacuation of the entire population as blackouts continue

As the Russia-Ukraine war continues to rage in its 9th month, relentless Russian missile attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have made blackouts frequent in many cities, including the capital city of Kyiv. According to a recent New York Times report, Kyiv authorities are now considering evacuating the entire population.

Kyiv is reportedly planning a total electricity blackout as Russian attacks have badly hit its power supply infra. Kyiv’s mayor has stated that residents of the city should be prepared for evacuation.

Speaking to NYT, Roman Tkachuk, the director of security for Kyiv’s municipal government stated, “We understand that if Russia continues such attacks, we may lose our entire electricity system.”

Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, had recently confirmed on Telegram that the city has plans for total evacuation in place in case of total blackout and the residents must be prepared. “If you have relatives or friends in the suburbs who have a separate water supply, a stove and heating, plan to stay there temporarily,” he had added.

On Sunday evening, stabilisation blackouts in Kyiv and nearby regions left about 4.5 million people without power. As a harsh winter approaches, the blackouts bring a grim situation for Ukrainians as they are left without water, heating and sanitation systems.

“If there’s no power, there will be no water and no sewage. That’s why the government and city administration is taking all possible measures to protect our power supply system,” Roman Tkachuk was quoted as saying.

Kyiv is also planning to set up heating shelters where people will be able to charge their phones, drink tea and get warm for some time. Over 1000 generators have been purchased for this purpose, Klitschko said.

For weeks now, Kyiv residents have been living under blackouts as the city struggles to fix damaged power stations and manage its existing infra. Blackouts sometimes last for over 12 hours.

Crimea bridge attack and Russia’s retaliation against Ukrainian power infra

Russia has been hitting Ukrainian cities with missiles for nearly a month now, after the October 8 attack on the Kerch bridge that connects the Russian mainland to Crimea. Merely a day after the explosion at the crucial bridge, Russia had started hitting Ukrainian cities with missiles, a significant escalation in the war that had hitherto been limited to the Donbas region and military areas.

From permanent suspension to giving a reality check to ‘journalists’: Elon Musk unveils more plans for Twitter

OpIndia Staff
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From permanent suspension to giving a reality check to ‘journalists’: Elon Musk unveils more plans for Twitter

On Monday (November 7), ‘Chief Twit’ Elon Musk announced that accounts resorting to ‘malicious impersonation’ would be permanently suspended if they failed to highlight their parodic nature.

In a tweet, he informed, “Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended.”

Elon Musk added that while such Twitter accounts earlier received warnings, prior to the suspension, the rule would change going forward especially if they have a blue tick already.

“Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning. This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue,” he emphasised.

The new Twitter owner also pointed out that any change in the names of the verified handles will also lead to the temporary loss of the blue badge.

On being asked whether pseudonyms would be allowed on Twitter in the future, Elon Musk responded, “No problem to use a pseudonym. The high-level principle is just that verified users can’t engage in malicious deception.”

The development comes days after several verified Twitter accounts impersonated Elon Musk and tried to pass off as the ‘real’ owner of the platform.

Elon Musk gives a reality check to journalists

The ‘Twit Chief’ also informed that his mission is to turn the micro-blogging platform into an ‘accurate source of information.’

Photographer Kyle Grantham accused Musk of providing blue badges to all Twitter handles, who are willing to cough up money and thereby worsening the issue of ‘misinformation’ on Twitter.

“And to do this, I’ll let anyone to gives me money appear to be a legitimate source of news, rather than just ensuring all legitimate sources of news are confirmed to be who they say they are,” he said.

Elon Musk responded by emphasising that journalists are not the only source of legitimate information. “You represent the problem. Journalists who think they are the only source of legitimate information. That’s the big lie,” he added.

When Twitter founder and former CEO, Jack Dorsey, asked who would determine the accuracy of the information disseminated on the social media platform, Musk said, “As judged by the people of Twitter via Community Notes (formerly Birdwatch).”

He also unveiled his plan of democratising journalism and empowering people through widespread verification, which can be obtained by paying $8 in the near future.

“Widespread verification will democratize journalism & empower the voice of the people,” Elon Musk announced on Monday (November 7).

On October 27, Elon Musk visited Twitter headquarters, carrying a ceramic sink to ‘let that sink in’ that he was now the new Twitter boss. On the following day, he took over the ownership of the micro-blogging platform and fired top executives including CEO Parag Agrawal and Legal Head Vijaya Gadde. 

Delhi: Jahangirpuri violence accused Ansar Sheikh, given bail two days ago, arrested again for jeopardising peace by instigating people

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: Jahangirpuri violence accused Ansar Sheikh, given bail two days ago, arrested again for jeopardising peace by instigating people

On November 6, Delhi Police arrested Jahangirpuri violence accused Ansar Sheikh, Zakir and two others identified as Arbaaz and Junail. Ansar Sheikh is the prime accused in the anti-Hindu Jahangirpuri violence which occurred earlier this year. The police arrested the four for allegedly trying to disturb the peace in the area. The police said, “They were trying to disturb the peace in the area after coming out on bail.”

As per the reports, Ansar and Zakir tried to disturb peace in the area by taking out a procession after coming out of jail. On the day he got released, his associates welcomed him with garlands. They tried to take out a procession. Furthermore, he reportedly attempted to instigate the people in Jahangirpuri on Sunday. The police came into swift action after learning about their intentions and arrested them. Delhi Police Crime Branch, which is investigating the Jahangirpuri matter, was informed about the arrest.

Ansar was arrested on April 17 along with 13 other people. On Friday (November 4), the Rohini District Court in Delhi granted him bail stating the investigation was complete and chargesheet was filed. The court remarked that the accused should not be kept in judicial custody as the trial would take a long time to finish. The bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000 and one surety of the like amount.

The court had further remarked that some of the co-accused were granted bail by the Delhi High Court and some of them were granted by the same court. Around 50 people were marked as accused in the case by the Delhi police. The case is currently at the stage of framing the charges.

Notably, Ansar already has two other cases filed against him. In one of the cases, he was booked under Arms Act. In the second case from 2018, he was booked under Sections 186 and 353 of the Indian Penal Code for obstructing and assaulting public servants to deter them from discharging their duty.

Jahangirpuri violence planned a week in advance by Ansar

OpIndia reported in April of this year that the incident was planned in advance by the main accused, Mohammed Ansar Sheikh. Ansar allegedly had a meeting seven days before Hanuman Jayanti to plan the attack on the Shobha Yatra, which would take place on that day.

Ansar, who lives in Jahangirpuri’s C block, is said to be the area’s Muslim leader. When the procession reached the Masjid, he is reported to have begun an argument, and when the conversation became heated, the procession was attacked violently.

Ansar had links with political parties

Following Jahangirpuri violence, several reports came up mentioning that Ansar was an Aam Aadmi Party worker and was closely involved in the operations and functioning of the party in his area. Ansar had made the ‘Jhukega Nahi’ gesture from the movie Pushpa when he was arrested earlier this year.

OpIndia reported how West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari had said that Ansar Sheikh is close to the Trinamool Congress party, and is actively involved in the acts of political violence by the TMC goons. 

The BJP leader said that Ansar regularly visits Haldia in West Bengal and alleged that Ansar was involved in the attack on his car after the assembly elections last year. 

West Bengal BJP leaders had said that Ansar Sheikh has close links with Sheikh Ajijul Rahman, a TMC councillor from Ward No 15 in Haldia municipality. Photographs also emerged showing them together, one of them showing Ansar placing his hand on Ajijul’s shoulder.

It is notable that Ansar Sheikh owns a luxurious mansion in Haldia, the industrial town in the East Midnapore district, and he frequently visits the place as alleged by the state BJP.

Jahangirpuri Hanuman Jayanti riots

On Saturday, April 16, on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, when a procession was being taken out in New Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, a Muslim mob started pelting stones and attacking the procession. Subsequently, riots escalated and guns were fired too. 

More than 20 people were arrested by the police after the incident. Further probe revealed that the violence seemed to be a planned one and there was a possibility of larger interest being vested in the riots.

Accenture India fires a large number of employees for taking jobs using fake experience letters

OpIndia Staff
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Accenture India fires a large number of employees for taking jobs using fake experience letters

The Indian arm of global IT services company Accenture has fired a large number of employees for securing job offers from the company using false credentials and experience letters from fraudulent companies. The number of Accenture employees who committed the fraud is unknown, however, there are speculations on Twitter that thousands of people were caught. This occurs at a time when IT companies are finding it difficult to understand trends like moonlighting or personnel with side jobs.

Accenture fired the employees after the company found that there is a racket that supplies fake credentials and documents to people to help secure jobs.

According to a report by The Hindu, Accenture said in its statement, “We have discovered an effort to use documentation and experience letters from fraudulent companies to obtain offers of employment from Accenture in India. We have exited people who we confirmed took advantage of this scheme. We have taken action to ensure that there will be no impact on our ability to serve our clients.”

Accenture added that it operates under a strict Code of Business Ethics and maintained zero tolerance for any non-adherence. The statement said, “We are continuing to hire, and honour existing job offers for qualified candidates.”

The IT company, on its website, as part of recruitment procedure has mentioned, “Please note that we have not authorized any agency, company, or individual to collect money or request any monetary arrangement in order to receive a job at Accenture. At Accenture, our hiring is based purely on merit—we do not charge a fee at any stage of our recruitment process. Legally, we are not obliged to honor any job assurances made by third parties in exchange for money.”

The company also alerted job seekers about fraud agencies charging money from the candidates and luring them into getting a job in Accenture. The statement of the company said, “We have been alerted to the existence of fraudulent messages asking job seekers to set up payment to cover various costs associated with establishing employment at Accenture. No one is ever required to pay for employment at Accenture. If you are contacted by someone asking for payment, please do not respond.” This note has been on the company website since quite some time now.

While the number of people relieved from their jobs by Accenture is not known, several social media users are claiming that thousands of people may have been fired. It is notable that Accenture employs a large number of people in India, and in April this year it was reported that Accenture India’s employee strength had reached 3 lakh. The company had 2,50,000 employees in September 2021, which means 50,000 people were recruited in just six months, signifying the recovery after the pandemic.

The company has over 7.2 lakh employees globally, which means India’s share in its manpower is significant at over 40%. The company added over 1.6 lakh employees last year.

How did it happen?

Rapid staff recruitment to meet growing pandemic needs may have caused the error that led to techies with dubious certifications entering various organisations across industries. Several human resources managers across industry are reportedly currently scrutinizing the experience letters and other records of individuals employed during the epidemic surge. In addition to not doing background checks before recruiting new personnel, the pandemic’s unpredictability caused techies to choose side jobs, which sparked a moonlighting issue in the IT industry. Moonlighting has been used as an excuse for significant layoffs at companies like Infosys and Wipro.

BJP wins 4 out of 7 assembly seats in the byelections held in 6 states: Read detailed results

OpIndia Staff
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BJP wins 4 out of 7 assembly seats in the byelections held in 6 states: Read detailed results

The results of the byelections held in 6 states for a total of 7 assembly seats have been declared. By-polls were held in two seats in Bihar and one seat each in Haryana, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. Achieving a remarkable victory, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 4 out of these 7 seats.

Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) secured one seat each. While BJP won a seat each in Bihar, Haryana, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh, RJD won in Bihar, Shiv Sena won in Maharashtra, and TRS won the byelection in Telangana. Earlier, out of these 7 seats, 3 were held by BJP, 2 by Congress, and one seat each by RJD and Uddhav Thackeray faction’s Shiv Sena.

Here is the state-wise results of the by-elections in detail.

RJD candidate Neelam Devi has won the Mokama seat in Bihar. At the same time, the BJP candidate Kusum Devi won from Gopalganj. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP candidate has won the Gola Gokarnanath seat once again. BJP candidate Bhavya Bishnoi has won from Adampur seat in Haryana. BJP candidate Suryabanshi Suraj has won Odisha’s Dhamnagar seat.

Maharashtra

Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena’s Rutuja Latke secured an easy victory on the Andheri East seat in Maharashtra. BJP had withdrawn their candidate from this seat, and there was no strong candidate against the Shiv Sena (UT) candidate. Rutuja Latke is the wife of deceased Shiv Sena leader Ramesh Latke who was the MLA from this seat.

Results of Andheri East bypoll

This was the first electoral battle in Maharashtra between Uddhav’s Shiv Sena and the BJP after the biggest split in the Shiv Sena. However, the BJP had withdrawn its candidate at the last minute, and MNS also refrained from contesting the polls. Due to this, the election became easier for Uddhav’s Shiv Sena candidate Rituja Latke. MNS chief Raj Thackeray had requested BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis not to field any candidate from BJP on this seat. He later congratulated BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis for not fielding their candidate against Rutuja Latke.

In absence of any substantial opposition, Rutuja Latke secured 76.9% votes. But what was more surprising than this was the vote share of NOTA (none of the above). 14.79% of voters opted for NOTA in Andheri East.

While the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena won an election which had effectively no opposition, Uddhav Thackeray said that they won the election despite conspiracies against them.

Bihar

In Mokama of Bihar, the RJD candidate Neelam Devi, wife of local influential leader Anant Singh, defeated BJP’s Sonam Devi by 16,707 votes. The RJD got 79,646 votes and the BJP 62,939 votes. The margin of victory has reduced this time.

On the other hand, Gopalganj saw a very close contest, where BJP’s Kusum Devi defeated RJD’s Mohan Gupta by 1,794 votes. BJP received 70,053 votes against 68,259 secured by RJD candidate Mohan Prasad Gupta. This is a significant defeat for the ruling alliance as the JD(U)-RJD alliance had campaigned aggressively for the elections. However, it seems some of the alliance votes went to Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), benefiting BJP. The AIMIM candidate got 122,14 votes while the BSP candidate secured 8,854 votes, both much more than the winning margin.

Uttar Pradesh

BJP candidate Aman Giri has won the by-election to the Gola Gokarnanath seat in Lakhimpur Kheri. He defeated Samajwadi Party candidate Vinay Tiwari by a margin of 34,298 votes. In the margin, he has also broken the record of his father Arvind Giri. In 2022, Arvind Giri defeated Vinay Tiwari of SP by a margin of 29,294 votes.

Notably, Congress and BSP didn’t contest the Gola Gokarnanath by-poll, resulting in a straight fight between BJP and SP. Mayawati had said that her party decided against contesting as there was palpably significant support for Aman Giri, as he was expected to receive all the sympathy and support after the death of his father and sitting MLA Arvind Giri. On the other hand, the Congress party didn’t want to cut SP votes by contesting the polls.

Haryana

BJP candidate Bhavya Bishnoi won the by-election to the Adampur Assembly seat in Haryana’s Hisar district by over 15,000 votes. With this victory, Bhavya Bishnoi, the third generation politician from former chief minister Chaudhary Bhajan Lal’s family, is registering a successful entry into politics. Bhavya Bishnoi contested on a BJP ticket this time and also managed to win it. With his victory, the BJP has also managed to win in Adampur for the first time. Bhavya Bishnoi maintained victory in all 13 rounds of counting and secured a total of 67492 votes. Congress candidate Jai Prakash stood second in this electoral battle with 51752 votes. After the counting of votes was completed, Jai Prakash said he would again contest the 2024 elections from Adampur.

There were a total of 22 candidates in the election. Indian Lok Dal received 5241 votes, while Aam Aadmi Party candidate Satinder Singh came fourth with 3420 votes, which was 2.6% of the total votes polls.

Telangana

The Munugodu by-poll in Telangana saw the highest number of 47 candidates in these by-elections. TRS candidate Kusukuntala Prabhakar Reddy defeated BJP’s Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy in this poll. TRS got 97006 votes while BJP got 86697. Congress came a distant third with around 23906 votes, and the BSP candidate secured 4146 votes. There were 33 independent candidates in Munugodu, and several smaller parties.

Odisha

In a significant victory, BJP’s Suryavanshi Suraj won the Dhamnagar assembly seat in Odisha by a margin of 9,881 votes. BJD’s Abanti Das lost the elections by securing 70470 votes, while the BJP candidate got 80351. The by-election was necessitated by the BJP MLA Bishnu Charan Sethi, and BJP had fielded Sethi’s son Suryavanshi Suraj. Congress candidate Baba Harekrushna Sethy received just 3561 votes, less than independent candidate Rajendra Kumar Das.

When an Indian journalist had asked Tulsi Gabbard if she plans to ‘stay with’ Hinduism as a religion

OpIndia Staff
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When an Indian journalist had asked Tulsi Gabbard if she plans to ‘stay with’ Hinduism as a religion

Participation of Hindus in the politics of western countries is not a new thing now. Be it Rushi Sunak in the UK or Tulsi Gabbard in the US, them being a practising Hindu has always been an integral part of any discussion with or about these leaders. However, left-liberals always have problem with this, and they believe that Hindus should not occupy higher positions of power.

One such video of Tulsi Gabbard recently went viral on the internet in which an Indian journalist had asked the American politician if she plans to ‘stay with’ Hinduism as a religion.

The video from 2014 that went viral is a clipping from Tulsi Gabbard’s interview with Barkha Dutt who then worked for NDTV. She had interviewed Gabbard just before Narendra Modi’s address to Indians in America at the Maddison Square Garden in New York. In this interview, Barkha Dutt asked Tulsi Gabbard how she became a practising Hindu. In her answer, Tulsi Gabbard said that it was her parents who gave all their 5 children a Hindu name. She also told that, among Hindu teachings, she follows Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga the most.

After this, Barkha Dutt went on to ask Tulsi Gabbard if she plans to ‘stay with’ Hinduism as a religion. Barkha Dutt essentially meant if Tulsi Gabbard finds Hinduism worth practising for the rest of her life or if it is just a whim for some time and she plans to convert to other faiths later on. By asking this, she essentially tried to put a question mark before both Tulsi Gabbard’s faith in Hinduism and Hinduism as a way of life itself. Tulsi Gabbard, however, gave a clever and clear answer. She said, “This is the motivation for my life and all that I do. And it is the only way of life for me.”

In fact, this video is making rounds after India Today’s conclave in Mumbai in which Union Minister Piyush Goyal took a jibe at Rajdeep Sardesai without naming him. While answering a question, Piyush Goyal said, “We believe that if all the states and union territories in the country compete with each other over development, it will only help the country to prosper. More competition between the states to invite investors in order to promote Indian businesses and industries will be better for us.”

He added, “And if at all we talk about narrative, then let me tell you Rahul and Salil, India Today has other anchors for that task who try very hard to make an anti-Modi narrative. They work day and night for the same. They even reach Maddison Square in America and try to make people say something bad about Modi Ji. But, it is their ill fortune that the country has made the narrative in favor of Modi Ji. The nation trusts Modi Ji. These anchors need to sharpen their efforts to make the narrative they want.”

It is notable that Rajdeep Sardesai was seen reporting for Aaj Tak near Maddison Square Garden in New York where PM Narendra Modi addressed Indians in the US in 2014. While reporting, Rajdeep Sardesai called the Modi fans a ‘Modi Frenzy crowd’. Later he was also heckled by an angry mob for his remarks, after which he had physically attacked a man.

Hindu leaders under threat in Punjab, Ludhiana Police advise them to stay inside their homes after Sudhir Suri murder

OpIndia Staff
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Hindu leaders under threat in Punjab, Ludhiana Police advise them to stay inside their homes after Sudhir Suri murder

On November 5, Ludhiana police advised Hindu leaders Amit Arora (Shiv Sena Punjab), Yogesh Bakhshi and national joint coordinator of Kisan Congress (AICC) Gursimran Singh Mand to stay at home. The leaders were not allowed to travel to Amritsar where Shiv Sena Taksali President and popular Hindu leader Sudhir Suri was brutally murdered a day earlier. The police have also increased security outside the residences of Hindu leaders.

The restriction on the Hindu leaders’ movement came after a video of Pakistan-based pro-Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla affiliated with Pakistan’s ISI emerged on social media. In the video, after congratulating the killers of Suri, he threatened to kill Amit Arora, Nishant Sharma (Shiv Sena Hind) and Gursimran Singh Mand.

Speaking to OpIndia, Arora said he has been the target of Khalistani terrorists for a long time. “I survived a terrorist attack in 2016. Later, in 2020 I survived another terrorist attack. The government is not paying any heed to the threats. Sudhir Kumar Suri was murdered in broad daylight. Everyone knows there is a threat to my life too. Can Hindu leaders not live in Punjab? Gopal Singh Chawla is issuing threats against two other leaders and me.”

He added, “I have received thousands of calls since yesterday. I am not picking up calls because of the threats. Still, the government is sleeping. The government needs to come clean if Hindus can live in Punjab or not.”

Speaking on the restrictions imposed on him and other leaders, he said, “I was not allowed to travel. Suri was my brother. Are we not allowed to attend the last rites of our fellow Hindu leader? We have lost a lion. Can’t we go to attend his last rites? Why is the administration restricting our movement? people like Amritpal are roaming freely. There is a clear-cut involvement of Amritpal in the matter. Still, the administration is not taking any steps.”

Amritpal Singh is a pro-Khalistan self-proclaimed preacher who has been named in the murder of Sudhir Suri by the Hindu leaders. Reportedly, the key accused in the matter Sandeep Singh Sunny had Amritpal’s organisation ‘Waris Punjab De’ sticker. Singh was put under precautionary house arrest by the police on Saturday to ensure law and order in the state. Singh, on the other hand, has denied the allegations. Waris Punjab De is an organisation formed by actor-turned-politician Deep Sidhu before his death.

As per reports, Arora wanted to visit Amritsar to attend the last rites of Suri but the joint commissioner of police (rural) Ravcharan Singh Brar advised him against travelling for security reasons.

Previous attacks on Arora

On February 3, 2016, Arora was at Samrala Chowk in Ludhiana when a shot was fired at him. The bullet brushed past his neck. On February 22, 2020, Arora was attacked in Sector 39, Ludhiana.

Security cover for Hindu leaders

While some Hindu outfit leaders already have security cover in the state, two more Hindu leaders Mukesh Khurana of Akhil Bhartiya Sanatan Dharam Raksha Akhara and Sandeep Verma of Shiv Sena Punjab have been provided security by the Police. Both of them are associates of Arora.

‘I am not afraid of threats’ said Nishant Sharma

Speaking to OpIndia, Shiv Sena Hind leader Nishant Sharma said, “The government should take the threats seriously. I have received many threat calls the next number is mine. However, I am not afraid of these hollow threats.”

The brutal murder of Sudhir Suri

On November 4, Sudhir Suri, President Shiv Sena Taksali, was shot dead in broad daylight in Amritsar, Punjab. The incident occurred outside a temple while Shiv Sena leaders (Taksali) were protesting against the temple’s authorities after some broken idols were found in the garbage outside the temple premises. There were several police personnel present at the scene when the attack happened. Suri was shot by a person in the crowd. Following this, two people were detained by police.

Adipurush’s release likely to be delayed as makers to rework VFX after severe backlash: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Adipurush’s release likely to be delayed as makers to rework VFX after severe backlash: Reports

Prabhas and Saif Ali Khan starrer film Adipurush, directed by Om Raut, is likely to be delayed as makers are reportedly reworking the VFX after the teaser received severe backlash on social media. The first trailer for the film, which was released on Dusshera in October, resulted in a massive meme fest on social media due to the animation-like visual effects and was trashed for its poor casting and weird retelling of Hindu epic Ramayana.

Adipurush was anticipated to hit the theatres on the occasion of Sankranti (January 12, 2023). However, now the reports suggest that the makers of the film are considering revamping certain sequences of the film which might result in the delay of the film’s release. 

Talking about the reworking of the film’s VFX and delay in release, trade analyst Girish Johar took to Twitter and wrote, “In another trade rumour / buzz … #Adipurush is being reworked.. especially the effects & CG work…so it may not also not release in Summer 2023 … additionally it may now cost ₹80~100crs more !!!!! #Prabhas.”

Although no official announcement has been made regarding Adipurush’s delay in release. According to reports, if everything goes as planned, the film will now be released in August 2023.

The film has Prabhas, Kriti Sanon, and Saif Ali Khan in the lead roles. Notably, the film’s teaser had received severe backlash from netizens who were quick to call out the video game-like VFX and Saif Ali who plays Ravan in the film giving the look and vibe of an Islamic invader, like the Mughals. In one of the scenes, Saif Ali Khan was seen riding a giant monster bat, which looked nothing more than a cheap copy of the Night King from the popular HBO series Game Of Thrones, where he rides a zombie dragon, as pointed out by the netizens. 

As demon king Ravan who had a golden palace in Lanka, the dark, dingy caves where Khan emerged from appeared quite out of place.

Notably, actress Dipika Chikhlia who portrayed the role of Mata Sita in the popular serial Ramayana also slammed the film’s teaser and pointed out that overdoing VFX is not good. She has also pointed out that Ravan should look like someone from Sri Lanka and not like Mughals as Saif Ali Khan looked in the teaser. 

Director Om Raut who had defended the film despite the criticism and trolling had said in a conversation with PTI, “I was disheartened but not surprised because the film is made for a larger medium. You can cut it down to some extent, but can’t bring it down to a mobile phone, that’s an environment I can’t control. If given the option, I would never have released it on YouTube, but it is necessary at this time. It must be put there in order to reach a wider audience.”

It will be interesting to see if Adipurush makers actually rework the VFX of the film and manage to gain the lost interest of the audiences in the film. 

Retired IB officer RN Kulkarni, who wrote a book exposing Jihad, murdered by unknown persons by hitting him with a car

OpIndia Staff
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Retired IB officer RN Kulkarni, who wrote a book exposing Jihad, murdered by unknown persons by hitting him with a car

On Friday 4th November 2022, 83-year-old RN Kulkarni – a retired assistant director of the central intelligence bureau – died after being hit by a car in the Manasa Gangotri area of Mysuru. He was hit by the car at around 5:30 pm when he was going for an evening walk. While it was initially thought to be a case of hit and run case, the investigations after his death have now revealed that he was deliberately crushed by an unidentified car.

CCTV footage from a nearby camera has shown how he was walking by the roadside and how the car turned towards him with the sole purpose of hitting the veteran ex-officer and running away as he fell down. Kulkarni was thrown into the air by the speeding car before hitting the ground. He was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries later. The following video of the incident contains graphic images, viewer discretion is advised.

At first, it was thought to be a hit-and-run event, however CCTV evidence retrieved from the area around the scene reveals that a car intentionally ran him over. The visuals also show that the car didn’t have its number plate. The police are now investigating this as a case of pre-planned murder and not just a hit-and-run case. So far, the reason for the murder is not clear. A case has been registered at the Jayalakshmi police station in this regard. It is notable that RK Kulkarni retired from the services in 2000.

Mysuru’s police commissioner Chandragupta said, “We got preliminary information that an accident took place on November 4 at 5.30 pm at Manasa Gangotri where an 83-year-old person was killed after being hit by a car.”

He added, “When we investigated it thoroughly we arrived at the conclusion that it was not an accident but a murder, and accordingly, we started our investigation. Three investigation teams led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police Narasimharaja jurisdiction have been constituted. We got suspicious after we found that there were no number plates on the vehicle. There are some leads that we cannot disclose now.”

RN Kulkarni penned a book exposing Jihad

RN Kulkarni authored three books after his retirement. One of them ‘…and yet God smiles’ is a fiction narrating the tale of a family over its five generations. His other two books, however, were more discussed than this one. He wrote a book titled ‘Sin of National Conscience’ in which he went on to describe a sizzling account of intelligence operations.

His third book is titled ‘Facets of Terrorism in India’. This book was launched in 2019 at the hands of Nirmala Sitharaman who was then Defence Minister. In the book launch ceremony, she said, “There are two types of terrorism in the country today — one is the Red Corridor and another Jihadi Terrorism. Both these types have taken deep roots here and if it has to be uprooted, then every citizen in the country must join hands with the Central Government.”

Cover of two books by RN Kulkarni, Sin of National Conscience and Facets of Terrorism in India

The book emphasizes the fact that the Islamic rule and its expansion by Muslims in India centered around the doctrine called Jihad fi Sabilillah – Jihad in the way of Allah. RN Kulkarni explained in this book how India experienced the Jihad throughout the Islamic Rule over 1000 years.

The blurb of the book reads, “The people of India are distortedly called Hindus due to historic reasons and by the invaders. It got stuck hard, through the ages. This caused a disconnect with their roots and hence they suffer from an identity crisis. Among the many invaders, it is only the Muslims who made India their home, through the process of religious turbulence. Hindus tried to co-exist with them sadly without ever trying to know either their religion or political thought of Islam. The creation of Pakistan in 1947 again set in motion the Jihad. Pakistan even now continues to be the epicenter of Jihad, where Kashmir is its live and brutal battlefield. This, the Western world and media have described it as Islamic terrorism.”

Cricketer Venkatesh Prasad gets abused after he jokes how ‘Bhagwa’ helped Pakistan reach semi-finals in T20 World Cup

OpIndia Staff
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Cricketer Venkatesh Prasad gets abused after he jokes how ‘Bhagwa’ helped Pakistan reach semi-finals in T20 World Cup

Venkatesh Prasad, a former Indian national team cricketer, is being chastised on Twitter for making a joke stating that ‘Bhagwa’ helped Pakistan reach the ICC T20 World Cup semi-finals. “So Bhagwa has helped Pakistan reach the semis,” Prasad posted on Twitter after Netherlands beat South Africa paving way for Pakistan to reach the semis. Netherlands cricket team uniform is in orange colour, which is why the ‘bhagwa’ (saffron) wordplay.

Responding to this tweet, several Twitter users slammed Prasad for making such remarks. Quoting the tweet, a user wrote, “This man wants to become next BCCI President or may be next Chief Minister of Karnataka.”

Another user wrote, “Bringing religion into sports @venkateshprasad & Waqar Younus are alike, pathetic creators”.

Bringing in the mention of year 2014, the year when Narendra Modi became Prime Minister for first time, a user wrote, “Post 2014, they keep getting exposed….. Many weren’t gentlemans of game but communal d0gs.”

Twitter user Arjun wrote, “Indian Ex Cricketers are cringe.”

Venkatesh Prasad made these remarks following the T20 World Cup match between South Africa and Netherlands. The Netherlands won the match by 13 runs, making it possible for Pakistan to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. Interestingly, the tweet by Prasad was a witty play of words as the jersey of the Netherlands cricket team is saffron in colour and bhagwa, is the Hindi term for saffron.

The Netherlands eliminated South Africa from the T20 World Cup with a surprising 13-run victory, as South Africa was ousted from yet another major ICC competition. It was the Dutch team’s first victory over South Africa in any format.

Former Cricketer Venkatesh Prasad joined the platform on April 8, 2021, and has been quite active. Prasad has also been outspoken about his Hindu roots and has spoken out against injustices involving Hindus. He is one of the few celebrities who have been so open about their Hindu faith.

In June of this year, Venkatesh Prasad denounced the hanging of an effigy of ex-BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma outside a mosque in Belgavi, Karnataka, for her statements regarding Prophet Muhammad.

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