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Inspired by Indian Railways, Japan set to engrave ‘Madhubani’ art on its trains

OpIndia Staff
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Inspired by Indian Railways, Japan set to engrave ‘Madhubani’ art on its trains

In a moment of pride for India, Japan is set to introduce magnificent ‘Mithila’ art designs on its trains after it became inspired by Indian Railways decision to engrave the art form on its rolling stocks.

According to the reports, Japan authorities have requested the Piyush Goyal-led Railway Ministry to send a team of Mithila artists so that Japan can emulate the art form on its trains. A railway ministry official has said that a team of Madhubani artists may be sent to Japan.

Recently, in an attempt to promote local art and culture, express trains such as Rajdhani Express and Sampark Kranti Express originating from Bihar were decorated with Madhubani paintings by the Indian Railways. Around 22 coaches of the Patna Rajdhani express were the first to showcase the traditional paintings inside and outside the coaches.

Additionally, Railway divisions are encouraged to depict their zonal art forms in trains and railway stations. Previously, the Madhubani Railway station had grabbed national attention when the station was beautifully decorated with Madhubani paintings by local artists.

India and Japan, one of the successful democracies in the world, shares an immense cultural, spiritual and religious relationship between each other translating into other political, economic and security areas of co-operation. The cultural similarities between the two countries and the influence that India has on Japan have been manifested throughout history as several Indian languages have influenced Japanese culture.

Goddess Saraswati, who is associated with knowledge, music, speech and wisdom has a close resemblance to goddess Benzaiten, while Hindu god Ganesha is also an inspiration for Japanese god Kangi-ten, of the Shingon and Tendai schools of Japanese Buddhism. Many books are written on the worship of Hindu gods in Japan and even today, it is claimed that Japan encourages a deeper study of Hindu gods. In fact, a town named Kichioji near Tokyo was named after Goddess Lakhsmi. Kichioji means Lakshmi temple in Japanese.

According to another report, Canada is also considering introducing the art on its trains. The Canada government has requested the Railway ministry send the artists for painting on its trains.

Ladakh finally gets its demand fulfilled, gets separate division status

OpIndia Staff
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Ladakh finally gets its demand fulfilled, gets separate division status

The Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir is set to become the third division within the state and will be granted it its own administrative and revenue rights, which hitherto were under the Kashmir division. The government order states that the decision has been taken keeping in mind the regional challenges of the region, especially during the span of severe winter, which landlocks the region from the rest of the state.


The order government order of the state, which is currently under the President’s rule, states that the new administrative and revenue division of Ladakh will comprise of the districts of Leh and Kargil.

A divisional commissioner and an Inspector General of police are soon to be appointed for the division. The administrative/Revenue headquarters of Leh and Kargil will be situated at Leh.

The statement shared by the government spokesperson today states that Ladakh faces extreme geographical challenges and the demand for a separate division has been a persistent demand of the people. It adds that the decision goes a long way in fulfilling the governance and development aspirations of the people of the region.

The people of Ladakh have been demanding separate division for a long time, citing its varied religious and cultural difference from the rest of the state. It also has accused the Jammu and Kashmir government of neglecting its interest and not taking note of the region’s peculiar geo-climatic and topographical challenges.

Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil were set up in 1995 and 2003, respectively, after in 1993 government decided to grant each of the districts of Ladakh the status of Autonomous Hill Council.

“In order to strengthen the respective Hill Development Councils Leh and Kargil, the LAHDC Act, 1997 has been amended further in 2018 to give them more powers.” The order remarks.

In December, LAHDC Leh and LAHDC Kargil had both passed a resolution demanding a separate division. Member of both councils had also met Governor Satya Pal Malik, demanding same. The order by the government of J&K can be seen as compliance with the passing of resolutions, as the order acknowledges the “persistent demands” of both the councils.

The Committee under Principal Secretary (Planning) will soon be finalizing posts, staffing, roles, responsibilities and location of offices.

“The Hindu report is an effort to malign the Rafale Deal”, says Air Marshal SBP Sinha, head of Indian Negotiation Team

OpIndia Staff
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“The Hindu report is an effort to malign the Rafale Deal”, says Air Marshal SBP Sinha, head of Indian Negotiation Team

Air Marshal SBP Sinha, who had headed the Indian Negotiation Team (INT) for the Rafale deal has expressed his surprise over The Hindu’s story on Rafale and termed it as an effort to malign this procurement by concealing facts.


Air Marshal SBP Sinha also said that SK Sharma, Deputy Secretary (Air-II), who wrote the dissent note, was not part of the Indian negotiation team. ‘On whose behest he initiated this note?’, the head of IMT asked.

The Indian Negotiating Team (INT) was headed by Deputy Chief of the Air Staff of Indian Air Force, and it included Joint Secretary and Acquisition Manager (Air), Joint Secretary (Defence Offset Management Wing), Joint Secretary and Additional Financial Advisor, Finance Manager (Air), Advisor (Cost) and Assistance Chief of Air Staff (Plans) as members. Therefore, it is surprising why the Deputy Secretary (Air-II) would get involved in the process when the officer was not part of the team negotiating the deal.

“This is an internal noting. It was written by Deputy Secretary SK Sharma from Air II who was not a part of the Indian Negotiation Team. The note has nothing to do with the Indian Negotiation Team. The Joint Secretary and Aquisition Manager Air forwarded it despite being part of the Indian Negotiation Team and did not notify the team. This note was killed in MoD,” said Retd. Air Marshal SBP Sinha.

Referring to the Hindu’s Rafale story, he said that the article was an attempt to malign the negotiation that happened for the procurement of the 36 Rafale jets by concealing facts. He said that the note was an internal matter and had nothing to do with the Indian negotiation team that he headed.

“It was about sovereign guarantees and general terms and conditions. The context is there in the newspaper. Whatever has been brought out (in the newspaper), it has nothing to do with pricing. Negotiations are not just for pricing but other things also. It was about sovereign guarantees and general terms and conditions,” Kumar told the media when asked if he remembered the context of the note.

In a hurry to target the Narendra Modi government, Congress President Rahul Gandhi had used the half-truth reported by the Hindu and had claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was running ‘parallel negotiations’ based on an internal report of the Ministry of Defense. He then went on to claim that it was ‘evidence’ of the fact that Modi stole Rs. 30,000 crores and gave it to Anil Ambani.

However, that report had failed to mention anywhere that the supposed negotiations carried out by the PMO had nothing to do with money or offset deal with Reliance. Following this, G Mohan Kumar, Defence Secretary at the time of the Rafale negotiations, has come out and said that the ‘dissent note’ had “nothing to do with the price”. Kumar further clarified that whatever is mentioned in The Hindu report has nothing to do with pricing at all.

Modi storms Mamata’s turf even as she tries to block BJP rallies in West Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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Modi storms Mamata’s turf even as she tries to block BJP rallies in West Bengal

Carrying forward with his attack on Trinamool Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi minced no words during his rally at West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri. Targeting Mamata Banerjee, he labeled the Trinamool regime as the second coming of Communist rule.


Modi also said that the Trinamool government has disgraced the land of Bengal and made its people desperate. The land which was known for its art and culture is now discussed for violence, he said.


Narendra Modi targeted the Congress party over its recent declaration that they will scrap the anti-Triple Talaq Law if they return to power. Modi also asserted that being a woman herself, Mamata Banerjee should be able to sympathize with the unspeakable horrors that Muslim women have to suffer and therefore, should clarify her stand on the matter.


Modi claimed that illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants are allowed in Bengal but members of the largest political party in the country are not allowed entry. He also condemned the Chief Minister for siding with those who looted crores of rupees from poor people over the Saradha Chit Fund Scam.

Rahul Gandhi’s cruel joke on pilots, says money from Rafale deal could be given as compensation when they die in crash

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi’s cruel joke on pilots, says money from Rafale deal could be given as compensation when they die in crash

After non-stop lies about the Rafale deal, now Rahul Gandhi has resorted to normalising air crashes that unfortunately Indian Air Force suffers regularity. In a press conference held today, while referring to the dissent note of Deputy Secretary (Air-II) of the defence ministry which was published in cropped for by The Hindu, the Congress president said that this document proves that Modi has stolen ₹30,000 crore and given to Anil Ambani. Addressing personnel from the Air Force, Rahul Gandhi said that this ₹30,000 crore could have given to fighter pilots when they die in a plane crash.

Needless to say, this is the most insensitive comment coming from a person aspiring to be the prime minister of the country. India has the dubious distinction of having lost the highest number of fighter aircraft and pilots of IAF in routine missions during peacetime, not in a war.

Just last week, two experienced test pilots of IAF had died when a Mirage 2000 aircraft they were flying on an acceptance trial crashed before it took off. The aircraft was recently upgraded by HAL. Therefore, even to talk about a possible crash of an Indian Air Force aircraft is very unfortunate. Our brave fighter pilots look forward to wreaking havoc on the enemy during a war, not to die in a crash.

Rahul Gandhi also continued with his lies while talking about the defence ministry note. Showing a printout of the cropped document, he said “it is written clearly here, that Prime Minister of India is a thief. He has stolen 30,000 crores from you, the defence ministry is objecting to his interference. Mr Anil Ambani is his man, and Mr Anil Ambani has been given 30,000 crore of your money. Now, my friends in the Air Force, pilots, remember one thing, this 30,000 crores could have been used for your safety, this 30,000 crores could have been given to your family, this 30,000 crore could have given to you, when you die in a plane crash. This is your money, this not the money of Anil Ambani”.

The insensitive reference to air crash apart, the entire quote by Rahul Gandhi is full of lies. The note does not mention anything that Rahul Gandhi mentions. It is merely a note by an officer who was not even part of the team negotiating the Rafale deal, and the note had a reply of defence minister Manohar Parrikar saying there is nothing worry, which was conveniently cropped by The Hindu and Rahul Gandhi. The objection was about PMO getting involved in the negotiations, it had nothing to do with price or any monetary aspect of the deal, forget about any mention of Anil Ambani getting 30,000 crore.

Everyone knows that Anil Ambani’s company is not getting ₹30,000 crore from the Rafale deal, that is an absolute lie that Rahul Gandhi keeps repeating and no journalist dares to confront him in numerous press conferences where he mentions this. The total offset obligation of all the foreign suppliers in the Rafale deal is around ₹29,000 crore, and Anil Ambani’s company has got a tiny portion of that offset business. Dassault Aviation has set up a 51:49 joint venture with Reliance Defence for manufacturing parts for Falcon civilian jet, and the total investment in that venture is ₹800 crore. Which means the investment of Dassault in that venture is less than ₹400 crore. Majority of offset business will go to public sector companies in the defence sector, including DRDO.

Moreover, offset business is not a dole given to business houses as Rahul Gandhi wants us to believe, this is an obligation of foreign vendors to invest a portion of deal value in India, or to purchase from India. Therefore, there is no 30,000 crore that has been taken away from fighter pilots. Total value for 36 Rafale jets is ₹58,000 crore, out of which 50% will be put back in India by the vendors are per offset requirement. Defence purchases can be made without offset obligation also, like the recent S-400 missile defence system deal with Russia. The ₹58,0000 crore has been already allocated for the purchase of the aircraft, and it has nothing to do with other funds like safety and compensation for pilots. Neither Anil Ambani is getting ₹30,000 crore from the deal, nor it could have gone for other purposes.

SC refuses to entertain disgraced former cop Sanjeev Bhatt’s plea seeking security for family

OpIndia Staff
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SC refuses to entertain disgraced former cop Sanjeev Bhatt’s plea seeking security for family

The Apex Court has refused to entertain the plea of sacked Gujarat cadre IPS Sanjeev Bhatt’s plea seeking the security of his family. Bhatt was asked to approach the Gujarat High Court with his plea by a Bench of Justice A K Sikri and Justice Abdul Nazeer.

Bhatt was first suspended in the year 2011 for remaining absent from duty without permission and misusing official vehicles. He was later sacked in August 2014.

Last year, he was arrested by the Gujarat CID on allegations of planting drugs to arrest a lawyer in Banaskantha 22 years ago.

In October last year, Bhatt’s wife Shweta Bhatt had moved the Supreme Court with three petitions alleging that her husband was arrested in an arbitrary manner and challenging the investigation conducted against her husband who was accused of implicating a lawyer in a narcotics case.

The Supreme Court had however refused to interfere with the ongoing investigation in the case. His wife had also contested Assembly elections in 2012 on Congress Party’s ticket against the then Gujarat CM Modi from Maninagar constituency in Ahmedabad but had lost the election.

Bhatt is known for his Modi hatred. From sharing morphed pictures to posting vile memes on Twitter against PM Modi, Bhatt has done it all to express his feelings for the PM. Bhat has not stopped at being anti-Modi, time and again he has also indulged in spreading anti-India propaganda on social media. He once posted a picture questioning the security forces in Kashmir which was widely shared by Pakistani handles.

Rebel Congress MLAs continue to skip budget session as Kumaraswamy levels new ‘poaching’ allegations on BJP

OpIndia Staff
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Rebel Congress MLAs continue to skip budget session as Kumaraswamy levels new ‘poaching’ allegations on BJP

Today Karnataka government is scheduled to present the 2019 state budget before the assembly. But, amid the speculations of Congress- JD(S) coalition having dearth of MLAs to support the budget, it has issued whip requiring all its MLAs to be present during the session, failing which they can be disqualified from contesting polls for the next six years.

Ramesh Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kamitalli, Umesh Jadhav and B Nagendra have repeatedly shown rebellious tendencies against the coalition, as all of them skipped the first day of budget session on February 7, defying the party whip. One of the MLAs, Umesh Jadav has been removed as the chairman of the Warehouse Corporation, after he repeatedly skipped the Congress Legislative Party meetings.

As the 4 Congress MLAs continued to remain absent from the budget session, the CLP led by Siddaramaiah has decided to act against them. Siddaramaiah today stated that he will meet speaker KL Ramesh and ask him to initiate action against the four MLAs under the anti-defection law.

Before the budget, CM Kumaraswamy addressed a press conference slamming BJP and its state leader Yeddyurappa, for allegedly indulging in horse-trading with the coalition’s MLAs. He also released an alleged audiotape between leader Yeddyurappa and JD(S) MLA Naganagowda Kandukar’as son Sharna Gouda. In the tape, a voice, that he alleged was that of a BJP leader is heard offering the JD(S) leader with Rs 25 lakh money and ministerial birth, in lieu of his father’s defection from the coalition. CM Kumaraswamy said that the audio tape is a proof of the large conspiracy of the BJP called ‘Operation Kamal’ or ‘Operation Lotus’, under which it is trying compelling coalition lawmakers to defect, by offering sops and ministerial berths.


The tape was immediately rubbished by Yeddyurappa and state unit of BJP.

“In a desperate attempt to save his govt full-time movie producer turned part-time CM HD Kumaraswamy has used his connection to mimic BS Yeddyurappa’s voice”, BJP Karnataka’s twitter handle took a dig at CM Kumaraswamy.
CM Kumaraswamy also alleged PM Modi of destroying institutions and turning a blind eye towards corruption. He appealed to Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, and MPs to expose the central government and also move a privilege motion against the government. He also challenged BJP to move a no-confidence motion against the government, if they deem that government does not enjoy the support of its MLAs.
Amidst the ongoing drama, CM Kumaraswamy also made an attempt to pacify some MLAs who were reportedly unhappy after being denied cabinet berths by giving them plump posts as chairman of various boards and councils with an immediate effect. Pratap Gauda was made the chairman of the warehousing corporation.
The budget session goes on for 10 days, and the state government has to acquire the confidence of assembly by 15th February. With BJP likely to demand the division of votes, it is imperative for Congress- JD(S) coalition to bring the numbers on the floor, and pass the halfway mark.
In the 225-member Assembly, the Congress enjoys the support of 80 members, including the Speaker, the JD-S 37, the BJP 104 and rest are Independent members of BSP and the KPJP, a regional outfit. The two independent MLAs, H Nagesh, and R Shankar had withdrawn their support from the Karnataka government, last month.
“Even if the four rebels are disqualified, the government will still be able to pass the budget, as the overall strength of the Assembly will come down to 221, with 111 as the halfway mark for a simple majority,” a Congress leader was quoted by News18.

Giriraj Singh compares Mamata Banerjee to North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un

OpIndia Staff
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Giriraj Singh compares Mamata Banerjee to North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un

Speaking on the motion of thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi compared West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the Rani of Jhansi while equating the NDA government with the British Raj.

Trivedi said, “Recently a movie called Manikarnika was released…. We are reminded of Queen of Jhansi…. Who was Rani Jhansi? She was an ordinary women whom people chose that she should guard Jhansi.”

Referring to Mamata, he said, “In Bengal also there is Rani Jhansi whose name is Mamata Banerjee. Mamata Banerjee said that ‘sar kata sakte haen lekin sar jhuka sakte nahin‘ (we are ready to be beheaded but will not kowtow). She is today’s Rani Jhansi who is an ordinary woman and not a queen.”

Responding to the assertions made by the TMC leader, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said that it was an insult to the legendary Indian Queen. “She (Mamata) may be Putana but never the Queen of Jhansi,” he remarked.


Putana, according to Hindu mythology, was a demoness who was killed by Lord Krishna. She was sent by Kansa, Lord Krishna’s maternal uncle, to kill baby Krishna by feeding Him poisoned milk.

Singh went on to add, “She (Mamata) may be Kim Jong Un, who kills people for speaking out against her but she doesn’t have the strength to be Padmavati or Rani of Jhansi. The person who supports illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants and speaks of partitioning India, Rani of Jhansi fought to protect India and she is fighting to destroy it.”

Troubles mount for Congress as after Robert Vadra and Karti, P. Chidambaram faces ED in money laundering case

OpIndia Staff
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Troubles mount for Congress as after Robert Vadra and Karti, P. Chidambaram faces ED in money laundering case

After the ED tightened its noose around Robert Vadra and Karti Chidambaram for their alleged misdoings, today the central agency had in its office Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram in relation with a money-laundering probe related to INX Media.

The agency also questioned his son Karti for about six hours on Thursday in this case. ED had last year estimated property worth Rs 54 crore under Karti’s name in India and abroad. The Central Investigation Agency had filed a case under the PMLA on the basis of a CBI FIR against the INX media getting the foreign funding. P Chidambaram is accused of granting Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval to the company during his tenure as finance minister.

The agency had filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Karti, INX Media and its directors-including Peter and Indrani Mukherjee and other accused. Karti was arrested on February 28 last year by another central agency, CBI investigating the case. He is alleged to have paid money to get FIPB approval for INX Media in 2007. However, he got bail later.

INX Media was later known as NewsX, it was owned by Peter and Indrani Mukherjee. Indrani had also alleged that P Chidambaram had asked her to pay a bribe of $1 million to Karti Chidambaram. The CBI had sought custodial interrogation of P Chidambaram in the case earlier also, but it was not granted. However, the agency has managed to secure the government’s permission to prosecute the former union minister in the Aircel-Maxis case also.

Chidambaram was served a summon to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He arrived at the agency’s office in central Delhi at about 11 am. In the past too, Chidambaram has been questioned multiple times in this money laundering case.

The Enforcement Directorate had also questioned Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s husband Robert Vadra on Wednesday and Thursday regarding the dubious land deals and ‘Benami’ properties owned by him abroad. Citing that the answers given by Robert Vadra were tutored, the ED has summoned him to come to their office again today for further interrogation.

Mamata Banerjee tries to scuttle Freedom of Press, sends notice to Republic over Kolkata showdown coverage

OpIndia Staff
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Mamata Banerjee tries to scuttle Freedom of Press, sends notice to Republic over Kolkata showdown coverage

The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who had sat on dharna claiming to protect the constitutional values of the country has now ironically sent a notice to English news channel Republic TV and its Hindi sister channel Republic Bharat over their relentless coverage of Kolkata showdown. Banerjee had sat on a dharna after the CBI officials reached the Kolkata Police Commissioner’s residence to probe the Saradha Chit Fund scam. Pushing her weight behind the Kolkata police chief, Mamata, along with various police officers sat on a dharna.

According to Republic TV, the media group alleged that the Mamata Banerjee led West Bengal Government has now threatened them with a notice after they had reported on the recent CBI vs Kolkata police fiasco where eight CBI officers were arrested by the Kolkata police on the orders of the Mamata Banerjee. The CBI officials had visited Kolkata to interrogate the Kolkata Police chief Rajeev Kumar to obtain crucial information regarding the massive Saradha scam, which allegedly involves senior functionaries of ruling Trinamool Congress.

However, Arnab Goswami, the Editor-in-Chief of the Republic TV has said that he was ready to be arrested by the Mamata Banerjee government for their reportage on the incident. The media organisation has also stated that they stand by their reportage and will not be threatened by such intimidations by the West Bengal government.

“I’m ready to be arrested by Mamata Banerjee’s henchmen in the police,” said Republic TV’s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami to Mamata government.

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