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Former SIMI member and father of ‘tukde tukde’ fame Umar Khalid, to contest elections from West Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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Former SIMI member and father of ‘tukde tukde’ fame Umar Khalid, to contest elections from West Bengal

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra: How Congress’ ‘masterstroke’ may have just been a damp squib

Nirwa Mehta
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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra: How Congress’ ‘masterstroke’ may have just been a damp squib

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was widely pegged as Congress’ trump card for the 2019 elections, has panned out to be a disappointment if reports are to be believed. After being appointed as General Secretary for the Uttar Pradesh (East) for Congress, she is yet to address a public rally in Uttar Pradesh. Her maiden speech, almost two months after her official induction in Congress, was in Gujarat.

And since the Congress-friendly media have nothing substantial to talk about what she has or has not done in her 2 months of political life, they have decided to fawn over her profile picture.

Priyanka Gandhi’s profile picture ‘sparks’ a discussion.

Meanwhile, if reports are to be believed, Congress workers, as well as leaders, are quite clueless about what Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has in store for the party as far as a strategy is concerned. After her appointment as General Secretary of Congress in charge of Uttar Pradesh, East, she has cancelled her trip to Uttar Pradesh capital, Lucknow, thrice. Neither has she given any roadmap for her campaign strategy nor has she given hint about her plans.

While BSP and SP have been sidelining Congress in the state, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s silence is quite deafening. Meanwhile, she has zeroed in on a three-day boat trip from Prayagraj to Varanasi from 18-20 March, ahead of Holi. Earlier, there were reports that she may visit Prayagraj for a holy dip during the Kumbh Mela which concluded earlier this month. However, she didn’t turn up for that either.

Amidst all these, there are rumours that Rahul Gandhi is unsure of winning from Amethi because of which he is contemplating fighting elections from two seats, the other one from either Karnataka or Tamil Nadu. An analysis of 4 years of Smriti Irani, the BJP candidate from Amethi in 2014 who lost to Congress President Rahul Gandhi shows how Irani has contributed significantly to the constituency which The Family has helmed for decades.

As India gears up to vote in about 3 weeks time, it seems as if it is not only the party but even The Family which is fighting for relevance.

Congress stakes claim to form the government after the death of BJP MLA Francis D’Souza

OpIndia Staff
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Congress stakes claim to form the government after the death of BJP MLA Francis D’Souza

Amidst reports of the deteriorating health condition of Goa CM Manohar Parrikar’s, the Congress on Saturday staked claim to form the government in Goa after it claimed that the Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government has lost its majority in the Assembly following the death of BJP MLA Francis D’Souza.

According to the reports, Congress leader and leader of the opposition, Chandrakant Kavlekar has written a letter to Goa Governor Mridula Sinha, demanding the dismissal of the BJP-led state government. “Incumbent BJP led state government under the leadership of Manohar Parrikar, which has long lost the trust of the people, has also lost the strength of the house,” wrote Kavelkar demanding the Governor to call Congress to form the next government.

“It is therefore incumbent upon you to dismiss this state government and ensure that the Indian National Congress Party which is the single largest party in the august house and is presently enjoying the majority be called to form the government,” Kavlekar says in his letter.

The Congress had emerged as the single largest party with 17 MLAs after the state elections in February 2017. However, three Congress MLAs defected to the BJP to support the Manohar Parrikar government. Congress MLA Vishwajit Rane quit the party to become a minister in Parrikar’s government. Two other Congress MLAs Dayanand Sopte and Subhash Shirodkar quit the party in October last year to join the BJP who are facing a by-election along with the Lok Sabha elections bringing the BJP’s tally equal to Congress at 14 MLAs each.

Meanwhile, soon after the Congress wrote to governor Mridula Sinha to form the government in Goa, the state BJP unit had called for a meeting of its MLAs at its Panaji office. Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo speaking to the media said that an emergency meeting was called to finalise candidates for by-polls in three constituencies.

On reports that CM Parrikar’s health condition has worsened, Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai said that he was stable. “Don’t ask me medical terms. I am not making myself open to interpretations. This is not right. You have to respect this privacy. We are with him. CM’s office is saying he is stable,” Sardesai Said.

The Congress party claims to the form the next government comes at a time when Goa Chief Minister Parikkar has been admitted to the hospital following his deteriorating health condition. Meanwhile, Congress has also warned that “any action in violation of the constitutional mandate to invite the single largest party to form the government and any attempt to bring the state under President’s Rule will be undemocratic and illegal and will be challenged as deemed fit.”

Delhi BJP requests appointment of Special Observer in mosques to prevent polarisation of voters on religious lines

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi BJP requests appointment of Special Observer in mosques to prevent polarisation of voters on religious lines

The Delhi unit of the BJP has submitted a request to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to appoint a Special Observer for mosques in Muslim dominated areas to prevent political or religious leaders form spreading hate among people to influence elections.

In the letter addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner, the BJP attacked AAP Convener and Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal and other leaders of his party for arousing religious sentiments of the people by delivering provocative speeches around religious places. The letter specifically mentioned the links of the tweets and speeches of Kejriwal alleging that he has been making repeated attempts to polarise voters on religious and caste lines.

Letter written by BJP to the ECI,
Source: ANI
Letter written by the BJP to the ECI, Courtesy: ANI
Letter written by the BJP to the ECI,
Courtesy: ANI

Their letter contained the links of some of the tweets and speeches of Kejriwal that the party wanted to bring to the attention of the EC. In the tweet quoted in the letter, Kejriwal had highlighted the religion of Vivek Tiwari, an Apple executive who was killed by a bullet injury allegedly caused by UP Police.


Tiwari’s wife had criticised Kejriwal for bringing in the caste angle in the unfortunate death of her husband.

The links of certain videos of speeches of Kejriwal were also shared in the letter, in which he allegedly tried to incite religious sentiments of the people of the minority community. An AAP leader Amanatullah Khan’s was also named in the letter for his remarks about Lok Sabha elections being held in the month of Ramzan.

The party expressed apprehensions over Kejriwal and other leaders of his party polarising the Muslims in the name of religion. The letter said that in case any violation of model code of conduct happened by way of religious polarisation, the report of the Special Observer could be used to take appropriate action.

After Modi launches #MainBhiChowkidar campaign, Congress shows #TheyArePappu

Nirwa Mehta
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After Modi launches #MainBhiChowkidar campaign, Congress shows #TheyArePappu

Congress party is a joke which writes itself. Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi launched the #MainBhiChowkidar campaign on Twitter where he urged everyone to take a pledge that they will also act as a ‘chowkidar’ (watchman) of India against the evils of the society.

Part of the campaign was an automated personalised message from the Twitter handle of Narendra Modi which thanked the tweeter for pledging the support to the movement. The tweet would be addressed to the first name as mentioned in the Twitter handle.


Such names were also a source of amusement for a lot of people.


Amidst all this, some Twitter users even poked fun at Prime Minister Modi. However, Congress, which seems to have taken upon itself to prove that the collective IQ of those who handle to social media account is lower than that of the party president, failed to register satire in the jokes.


In a tweet, Congress shared two screenshots, one which was addressed to ‘Narendra’ with Twitter handle ‘AmbaniKaChela’ (Ambani’s follower) and other addressed to ‘Nirav’ with Twitter handle ‘NiiravModi’ (the fugitive businessman accused in the PNB fraud, thanking them for their contribution to India’s development. Which is interesting considering it was Congress which facilitated the scamster.

These handles, which were clearly parody accounts, were shared by Congress as ‘buddies’, in an attempt to perpetuate Rahul Gandhi’s lies that PM Modi was somehow responsible for Nirav Modi’s alleged involvement. Clearly, the art of satire is lost on the grand old party, showing how not only the party but even the social media is perhaps run by Pappus (colloquial term for a foolish person).

The alarming lack of common sense was even spotted in Jammu & Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, another prodigal son who is a politician thanks to dynasty politics.


Considering how Prime Minister Modi has a knack of converting condescending, elitist remarks on his humble beginnings thrown at him as ‘insults’ by Congress leaders into a matter of pride, Congress and its allies seem more than eager to give the voters a reason why not to vote for them.

Masood Azhar is alive, Jaish-e-Mohammad mouthpiece claims hours after China put on hold India’s proposal in UNSC

OpIndia Staff
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Masood Azhar is alive, Jaish-e-Mohammad mouthpiece claims hours after China put on hold India’s proposal in UNSC

Hours after India expressed disappointment over China’s decision of putting a hold on the request for listing Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) 1267 Sanctions Committee, JeM mouthpiece has claimed that he is alive.

To put the rumours of his death to rest, the JeM chief has written an article in the JeM mouthpiece claiming that he was in perfect health as reported by India Today. Azhar reportedly glorified the Pulwama terror attack remembering Adil Ahmed Dar, the terrorist who carried out the attack. Azhar wrote that the fire ignited by Dar will be not be extinguished. After the air strikes by the Indian Air Force on JeM training camps in Balakot, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had admitted that Azhar was in Pakistan and unwell to the extent that he was not able to move out his house. He also said that the Pakistani government was in touch with JeM leadership.

However, Qureshi’s statement was contradicted by Major General Asif Ghafoor of Pakistan Army in an interview where he outrightly denied the existence of JeM in Pakistan. Pakistan has been lying blatantly on the issue of terrorism on its soil. This has made it difficult for India to trust Pakistan’s talks of establishing peace.

Meanwhile, according to the statement of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India will keep making efforts to get Azhar sanctioned at the UN.

“We are disappointed by this outcome. We will continue to pursue all available avenues to ensure that terrorist leaders involved in heinous attacks on our citizens are brought to justice,” said the statement of the MEA.

This is not the first time that China is obstructing the listing of Azhar as a global terrorist at the United Nations, it has put a hold on similar requests three times in the past.

Arranged party hopping? Kumaraswamy claims JDS leader joining BSP was ‘thoughtful planning’ between the two parties

OpIndia Staff
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Arranged party hopping? Kumaraswamy claims JDS leader joining BSP was ‘thoughtful planning’ between the two parties

Earlier today, top JD(S) leader Danish Ali joined the Bahujan Samaj Party ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections. As per reports, he is expected to contest from Amroha in western Uttar Pradesh on a BSP ticket.

To the neutral observer, it appears to be a further blow to the UPA. However, Chief Minister of Karnataka H.D. Kumaraswamy, who is in the Chief Minister’s seat thanks to the Congress party and whose party will be contesting the General Elections in alliance with the Congress, has taken credit for a ‘tactical decision’.


According to Kumaraswamy, Ali joined the BSP after quitting JD(S) with his consent so that the Mayawati’s party could win more seats in the Lok Sabha elections. However, it doesn’t make sense as the BSP will be competing against his ally Congress in Uttar Pradesh. Therefore, Kumaraswamy is either actively trying to undermine the Congress party or he is trying desperately to save face.

JD(S) and Congress had recently announced their seat-sharing plan for the 28 seats in Karnataka. Congress had kept 20 seats while allowing JD(S) only 8.

If Kumaraswamy is indeed being honest, then it further reflects the manner in which regional parties are attempting to undermine Congress’ influence in national politics. Danish Ali’s flip comes only days after Mayawati made it clear the BSP will not ally with the Congress in any state.

Earlier, the Samajwadi Party and the BSP had announced their alliance without keeping Congress in the loop. Adding insult to injury, the SP-BSP alliance had left only 2 seats for the Congress party in UP and insinuated that it was welcome to join the alliance if it was content with contesting in only 2 seats.

At a time when the Congress party is struggling to keep its flock together with more leaders quitting almost every day to join the BJP, it appears even their allies are working actively to undermine their interests and strengthen their rivals.

Though the actual intentions of the regional parties have not been clarified, it is evident that even though Congress pretends otherwise, it may no longer be calling the shots when it comes to an alliance of the opposition parties.

BJP and BJD in a tussle over KALIA scheme payment to farmers in Odisha

OpIndia Staff
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BJP and BJD in a tussle over KALIA scheme payment to farmers in Odisha

The ruling party in Odisha, Biju Janta Dal(BJD) has written to the State Election Officer to register their grievances regarding BJP’s insistence on getting payments for the BJD’s flagship scheme Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) blocked before the elections.


A couple of days back, the Odisha BJP unit had alleged that BJD is flouting the Model code of conduct through its KALIA scheme. In a memorandum submitted to the Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar, the BJP alleged that the Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera’s announcement to disburse monetary assistance to farmers under KALIA scheme till March 31 is a brazen violation of the Model Code of Conduct which came into force on March 10 after the announcement of General Elections.

KALIA is a monetary benefit transfer scheme for the farmers in Odisha put into action by the Navin Patnaik government. According to the scheme, marginal and landless farmers will be provided with a compensation of Rs 10000 per year, Rs 5000 for Kharif crops and Rs 5000 for rabi crops.

Initially, the plan was to extend the scheme to 30 lakh farmers but based on the response from the farmers, the scheme was extended for an additional 15 lakh farmers as well. BJD is too heavily reliant on the scheme, so much so that its chief Naveen Patnaik has been personally visiting various districts to launch it. With this scheme, Patnaik aspires to come back to power for a record fifth time in the state.

About 30 lakh farmers have already received the first installment transferred directly to their bank accounts in a phased manner. The state cadres and ministers have been instructed to compare the benefits of KALIA which provides Rs 10000 per year with Union Government’s Kisan scheme which provides Rs 6000.

Rahul Gandhi repeats his lie that PM Modi was busy filming after the Pulwama terror attack

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi repeats his lie that PM Modi was busy filming after the Pulwama terror attack

Rahul Gandhi’s strategy to defeat Prime Minister Modi in the upcoming General Elections appears to involve a lot of lies, then some more lies and then a few more. When the lies fall short, as the spokesperson of his ally JD(S) admitted recently, the Congress President’s strategy appears to be to lie some more again.

With a remarkable frequency, Rahul Gandhi has spread one lie after another about the Rafale deal, often repeating the lies over and over again. It has led to speculations that it might have had something to do with the fact that he has links with arms dealers who were lobbying for the Rafale jet’s competitors.

Today, at a rally at Uttarakhand, Rahul Gandhi repeated one of his other lies. He claimed that Narendra Modi was busy filming in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack while he had canceled all his appointments. He had made the same claim on Twitter the previous month.


In reality, as we had reported earlier, the Prime Minister had completed his visit to the forest an hour before the terror attack happened and had only spent half an hour there. The photographs of Modi’s visit to the Corbett National Park was already published by media around 2 PM that day, which indicates that the photos were obviously taken before 2 PM. And as Modi spent only about half an hour in the forest area, it means he had already returned from his forest visit before verified information about the attack could have reached him. Therefore, the allegation that PM Modi was doing a photo shoot in the forest after the Pulwama attack is a lie, which adds to the never-ending list of lies being peddled by Rahul Gandhi.

As it turns out, it was Rahul Gandhi himself who was spotted dancing shortly after the Pulwama terror attack. A video of him dancing was uploaded by the official Twitter handle of the Congress party itself. However, it was soon deleted by the Congress party.

Jammu and Kashmir: Special Police Officer Khushboo Jan shot dead by terrorists in her village

OpIndia Staff
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Jammu and Kashmir: Special Police Officer Khushboo Jan shot dead by terrorists in her village

A Special Police Officer (SPO) of Jammu & Kashmir Police Khushboo Jan was shot dead by terrorists in Vehil village of Shopian district. Following the shooting, she was taken to a hospital in a critical condition where she succumbed to her injuries.


A case has been registered by the J&K police in the matter and the investigating is underway.


The area has been cordoned off by the Army Special Operation Group of Police and the CRPF and a search operation has been launched to nab the terrorists.

Kashmiris working in security forces in Kashmir have long been on the target of terrorists. In a brutal incident that shook the collective conscience of the whole country, an Indian Army Rifleman Aurangzeb was abducted and tortured to death by Hijbul Mujahideen terrorists. Few days after Rifleman Aurangzeb’s brutal murder by the terrorists a J&K policeman Javed Ahmed Dar was found murdered after he was abducted by terrorists from a medical store.

Another policeman Constable Salem Ahmed Shah who had come to visit his home during leave was brutally killed by terrorists after they abducted him from his residence in village Mutalhama. His bullet-riddled body was later found by security forces.

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