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OpIndia Evening Dispatch: Wednesday, 23rd January, 2019

OpIndia Staff
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OpIndia Evening Dispatch: Wednesday, 23rd January, 2019

In the hustle and bustle of the day, it is only natural to miss some of the biggest developments that impact the nation. The OpIndia Evening Dispatch will catch you up on the day’s event even if you have been busy thus far.

1. Priyanka Gandhi enters Politics

In a significant development, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the daughter of Sonia Gandhi, has been appointed as the AICC General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh East. Congress seems to be scampering to get its caste equations right, especially in Uttar Pradesh which is the largest state in terms of Lok Sabha seats. It appears to be a shrewd move by the party to get its caste equations correct in the state and cut into the Upper Caste vote bank of the BJP.

The myriad of allegations against the husband-wife duo of Priyanka-Robert Vadra certainly delayed her official entry into politics. There have been some quarters within the Congress party which appear to prefer Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over Rahul Gandhi. We have elaborated on all of them here.

2. Rifts between RJD and Congress?

The cracks have started to appear in the proposed grand alliance of Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar, as RJD leaders have expressed their resentment over the reports of induction of some ‘tainted leaders’ into Congress, reported Hindustan Times.

Reportedly, many leaders in RJD are not pleased about the induction of Pappu Yadav, Lovely Anand and Anant Singh into Congress. RJD has reportedly expressed its reservations about Anant Singh being a part of the grand alliance as both sons of Lalu Yadav, Tejashwi and Tej Pratap were apprehensive about it.

3. Trouble in Madhya Pradesh for Congress?

BSP MLA Ramabai Ahirwar has stated that the Congress-led government in Madhya Pradesh will face a Karnataka-like situation if she is not given a ministerial post. According to reports, the Pathariya MLA has stated that she was promised a ministerial position when Congress and BSP agreed for a post-poll alliance to form the government in Madhya Pradesh.

It is notable here that BSP has 2 MLAs in the 230 seat Madhya Pradesh assembly. BSP Supremo Mayawati has already declared that she has only supported Congress to keep BJP out of power and BSP will not enter into an alliance with Congress in MP for the 2019 general elections.

4. 31 Rohingyas stranded at India-Bangladesh border handed over to Tripura Police

As we had mentioned in our earlier report, 31 Rohingyas were stranded at the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura after both sides refused to accept them. Bangladesh claimed that the Rohingyas crossed over from India while the BSF maintained that there’s no breach on the Indian side.

Now, as per latest reports, the Rohingyas have been handed over to Tripura Police. The Rohingyas had been stuck at the Border since the 18th of January. They were handed over to Tripura Police after the BSF failed to reach a decision during talks with their Bangladeshi counterparts, Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB).

The 31 Rohingyas were produced before a court in West Tripura district after a medical check-up. The court sent them to 14-day judicial custody.

5. PM Modi inaugurates Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose museum at Red Fort

PM Modi today inaugurated a museum at Red Fort, to commemorate the 122nd birth anniversary of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose. He was accompanied by Netaji’s grand-nephew and BJP Bengal vice-president Chandra Kumar Bose, Minister of Culture Mahesh Sharma and also members of the Archaeological Survey of India. The declaration to construct this museum had come in October last year from PM Modi himself.

The museum showcases the artefacts like medal, badges, uniforms and chequebooks of the Indian National Army so that visitors can have a look at the working of the INA and also the efforts put by them to defeat the imperialist forces of Britain. The museum is made on the first floor of the Red Fort barracks, the place where infamous trials against the soldiers of the INA were carried out by the British.

6. Leading job website, ‘Naukri’, releases survey of recruiters, predicts 20% increase in hiring between January and June 2019

Naukri.com, one of India’s premier job portals, has published the findings of its Hiring Outlook survey which depicts a very bright scenario for employment opportunities in the country between January to June 2019.

The report states, “The survey represents a very optimistic outlook for hiring in the coming six months. The survey saw participation from 3310 recruiters across the country. 84% recruiters surveyed are anticipating an increased hiring activity which observes a 20% increase in comparison to last year.”

7. Kinnar Akhara performs puja at Kumbh praying for early construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya

The Kinnar Akhara has officially extended its support for the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya. A Tantrik puja was performed by the Kinnar Akhara in the ongoing Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj for the construction of Ram Mandir. The puja was performed by the Tnatriks from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

8. Sitaram Yechury unveils statue of Lenin, known for mass murder during his Red Terror

CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury unveiled a statue of revolutionary communist leader Vladimir Lenin at the party office in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. This is one of the great ironies about communists in India that while they accuse others of mass murderers, they themselves idolise communist leaders known from mass murders.

Communist regimes across the world have seen mass killings of dissidents, and the rule of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, popularly known as Vladimir Lenin, was no different. Lenin was extremely intolerant of political opponents, he used brutal methods to crush the anti-communist movement in Russia. He called for the public hanging of those opposed to forceful snatching and distribution of food grain. Basically, Lenin did everything that communists in India accuse Narendra Modi and other BJP leadership of doing, and Lenin is their idol.

9. Opinions

In his latest article, K. Bhattacharjee elaborates on how Propaganda works and the manner in which a propaganda war is underway to demonize every Hindu festival so that Hindus do not offer too much of a resistance when orders are passed to restrict them. He writes, “We may dismiss the Business Standard articles as garbage. In reality, it’s a propaganda war against the very existence of our civilization. Liberals hate Hinduism, they would much have it relegated to history books. If people are not made aware of the insidious propaganda against Kumbh Mela and Kanwar Yatra, they might actually accept completely swallow the toxic narrative that is peddled by the mainstream media.”

Sanghamitra, in her latest article, speculates on how the leftists may react to the news of the arrests made by Maharashtra ATS in connection with another ISIS group. Recently, when the NIA had busted an ISIS module in Amroha, several individuals including a Maulvi and college students were arrested while the probe team had confiscated items such as bomb-making material or IEDs, country-made pistols and 150 rounds of ammunition, the left-liberal cabal had jumped to dismiss the findings and had launched a tirade of attacks on the NIA.

Pliant Media jubilant on the arrival of a non-achiever dynast in the politics

Jinit Jain
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Pliant Media jubilant on the arrival of a non-achiever dynast in the politics

Social Media is abuzz with Priyanka Gandhi’s plunge into Politics after the Congress party declared Priyanka Vadra’s appointment as the General Secretary for East UP. The appointment comes days after the SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati declared their stand of fighting the general elections together, leaving Congress out of the alliance.


Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s formal entry in the politics has evoked euphoria among some of the media personalities. Journalists believe that Priyanka Vadra’s involvement in the upcoming General elections will be pivotal, especially in the state of Uttar Pradesh which is considered as the most significant state for claiming a stake at the government at the centre.

As the news of the appointment of Priyanka Vadra trickled in, some media folks couldn’t conceal their enthusiasm on her elevation and took to Twitter to express their exultation on Vadra’s entry in the politics. Here are reactions from some of the ‘journalists’ on Priyanka’s anointment as General Secretary of East UP who often masquerade as “neutral” media persons.


It is noteworthy to mention here that Priyanka Vadra has been a greenhorn in the political arena. She has no experience in politics save a few rallies she occasionally does during the election season. Hence, her elevation to the General Secretary of UP East only reinforces Congress party’s policy of perpetuating dynasty politics instead of adopting meritocracy in appointing someone deserving of the position. On the other hand, the media’s uncritical adulation for her not only betrays their servility to the Gandhi family, but it also exposes their duplicity in upholding excellence.

The media questioned Gajendra Chauhan’s appointment as the dean of FTII, claiming his credentials are not worthy enough for him to be appointed as a head of the hallowed institution. The same set of people raised strong reservations on the anointment of Yogi Adityanath as the UP chief minister who was a 5 time MP before being appointed as CM. However, they have veritably no qualms in supporting and glorifying Priyanka who is basically a ‘non-achiever’ and has entered politics only because of her family name

It is also striking to mention Priyanka Vadra’s colourful history. There have been serious allegations levelled against her and her husband Robert Vadra. In April 2017, it was alleged that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had bought 5 acres of agricultural land in Amipur village in Faridabad district of Haryana for Rs 15 lakh in 2006 and later sold the same piece of land to the original owner in 2010 at a price of Rs. 80 lakh. In 2010, she was accused of building a house on land she had allegedly acquired illegally in Shimla. It is therefore ironic to observe the hypocrisy exhibited by the media folks who are now rejoicing Priyanka Vadra’s appointment and not highlighting the allegations raised against her.

Rahul Gandhi, on the other hand, keeps talking about Anil Ambani’s inexperience in building defence equipment as a reason to protest against his company’s involvement in the Rafale offset contract but approves of a Gandhi family member being appointed to a senior party position without him/her having necessary credentials to warrant the appointment. This glaring irony is archetypal Congress which believes in eternalising dynasty politics and shunning distinction.

Sitaram Yechury unveils statue of Lenin, known for mass murder during his Red Terror

OpIndia Staff
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Sitaram Yechury unveils statue of Lenin, known for mass murder during his Red Terror

CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury unveiled a statue of revolutionary communist leader Vladimir Lenin at the party office in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. This is one of the great ironies about communists in India that while they accuse others of mass murderers, they themselves idolise communist leaders known from mass murders.

Communist regimes across the world have seen mass killings of dissidents, and the rule of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, popularly known as Vladimir Lenin, was no different. During the Communist Revolution, Lenin used slogans like “armed insurrection”, “mass terror”, and “the expropriation of gentry land”. During Lenin’s short rule in Russia, the country became a one-party communist state, governed by his Russian Communist Party, thereby eliminating any form of political opposition.

Lenin was responsible for the death of thousands of people during his regime. In 1918, many cities in Russia faced famine due to a chronic shortage of food grain. Lenin blamed this on kulaks or wealthier peasants. He accused that the richer peasants were hoarding the excess grain they had produced to increase its price. Therefore, he had issued an order enabling armed forces to forcefully confiscate food grain from producers and distribute in shortage hit cities. This had led to widespread violence, as the peasant groups clashed with armed forces. Lenin had sent a Telegram, which called for publicly hanging at least 100 kulaks, rich men, and bloodsuckers.

In September 1918, the Russian government officially inaugurated the Decree Red Terror, a period of political repression and mass killings of anti-communists. It is estimated that at least 1,00,000 people were killed during the Red Terror, while other estimates vary from 50,000 to 1,40,000. The Red Terror also had led to the Russian Civil War, which had resulted in an estimated 7,000,000–12,000,000 casualties, mostly civilians. The civil war was led by Red Army of the communists and White Army, a loose confederation of anti-communist forces. Lenin regularly participated in the violence by sending telegrams and messages.

Other than mass killings, the Lenin regime had also set up concentration camps and kept thousands of prisoners in those camps. Intellectuals considered to be anti-government were exiled to inhospitable regions or deported from Russia altogether. In 1922, Lenin had issued a decree for execution of anti-communist priests, resulting in the death of 14,000 to 20,000 people.

Lenin was extremely intolerant of political opponents, he used brutal methods to crush the anti-communist movement in Russia. He called for the public hanging of those opposed to forceful snatching and distribution of food grain. Basically, Lenin did everything that communists in India accuse Narendra Modi and other BJP leadership of doing, and Lenin is their idol.

Kinnar Akhara performs puja at Kumbh praying for early construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya

OpIndia Staff
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Kinnar Akhara performs puja at Kumbh praying for early construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya

The Kumbh Mela this year has witnessed some unprecedented and historical developments. The Kinnar Akhara after a long struggle to be recognised as the 14th Akhara at the Kumbh Mela finally joined the Juna Akhara. A joint puja was performed on the bank of river Yamuna by the Kinnar Akhara and the Juna Akhara to officially join the former with the latter.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt1b0ubuImY]

The act is being seen as a major step towards bringing this long marginalised community into the mainstream. On January 6 the Kinnar Akhara had taken part in the religious royal entry procession called the peshwai, a procession which is traditionally taken out by the 13 Akharas to mark their arrival at the Kumbh. Thereafter the Kinnar Akhara also took part in the shahi snan. 

And now the Kinnar Akhara has officially extended its support for the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya. A Tantrik puja was performed by the Kinnar Akhara in the ongoing Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj for the construction of Ram Mandir. The puja was performed by the Tnatriks from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Earlier the Acharya Mahamadaleshwar of the Kinnar Akhara Lakshminarayan Tripathi had also spoken in favour of Ram Temple. Tripathi had to face condemnation from her own community for supporting  Ram Mandir. A statement was issued in November 2018 against Tripathi endorsed by several LGBTQIA groups in India alleging that Tripathi, “a dominant-caste Brahmin trans woman”, was trying to secure a place within the current ruling party. The statement read as, “Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, a dominant-caste brahmin trans woman, has been appealing to Hindutva ideology and justifying the existence of the caste system in India ever since she began aspiring for a political position within the current ruling party. Her position negates the politics of communal harmony that is espoused by Hijras and Kinnars, who have historically maintained a syncretic faith of belonging to both Hinduism and Islam. Laxmi Narayan Tripathi’s position idealises a mythical past of the Sanatan Dharam and supports the right-wing politics of communal hatred in the guise of ‘we were always accepted’.”

The Kinnar Akhara has set up a huge camp in Sector 12 at the Prayagraj, the venue of  Kumbh. The Akhara is attracting thousands of devotees daily from across the country. Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, a transgender and former reality TV star, has also become popular at the Kumbh.

Institutionalising fake news: The Congress Doctrine for 2019

sumeetbhasin
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Institutionalising fake news: The Congress Doctrine for 2019

Several commentators have rightly predicted that the frequency of fake-news will increase as and when the election season comes near. The BJP has been a victim of such fake news ever since we assumed office as many commentators claimed that we made certain promises while those promises were never made by either the BJP or Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji.

While earlier the fake news was limited to select occasions, proximity to elections indicate that perhaps there’s an attempt at using fake news as a tool to mislead the people in order to improve the performance of the Congress. This prompted me to evaluate the entire mechanism through which fake news is being spread by certain opposition parties.

The first instance that comes to my mind is when Rahul Gandhi stated on the floor of the house that Prime Minister Modi promised to create 2 crore jobs every year. There is evidence that categorically states that the Prime Minister never made such a promise during the 2014 campaign, however, that didn’t stop Rahul Gandhi from making such an irresponsible statement.

What’s worse is that after he made that statement, certain digital news blogs that tend to be left-leaning and pro congress started to write lengthy op-eds and commentaries on how Prime Minister Modi had promised to create 2 crore jobs per annum. None of them thought about the need to verify this piece of information and they published multiple articles on the subject.

This was followed by articles in mainstream media that quoted these reports on their digital editions as a source of their information. For weeks, this continued until people realized the need to debunk this myth by doing a comprehensive fact check. Clearly, whenever a news platform publishes something, it tends to get picked up by others and this makes it impossible to prevent the spread of fake-news without having a proper process of verification of information.

But there have been instances of selective reading of data by news platforms online and deliberate attempts to push a narrative using fake news to target our Prime Minister’s image. Recently, The Hindu carried a story that stated that over 1000 trees were cut to make a helipad for PM’s rally. In reality, no tree was cut, and this turned out to be yet another case of fake news. But what’s worrisome is the fact that it came in The Hindu which is widely read across India. Immediately, other platforms also picked up this story and raked it up without doing their due diligence and later it was found that this was yet another instance of fake news.

The disturbing trend is the rise of such fake news on digital media platforms: some of which are often used by Rahul Gandhi and senior leaders of the Congress to target the BJP. For example, OpIndia had preemptively busted an impending hitjob by The Wire against Arun Jaitley. After the OpIndia expose, The Wire had responded saying that the story had been dropped because there was no impropriety by Arun Jaitley or his family. Incidentally, Rahul Gandhi plugged the very article which admitted that there was no wrongdoing on the part of Arun Jaitley to insinuate this non-existing wrongdoing. This begs an important question. If Rahul Gandhi had read The Wire article before plugging it on Twitter, he would have known that the article admits that their story was dropped because they did not find any impropriety on the part of Arun Jaitley. Since he used this article to attack the Finance Minister, should one assume that he had prior knowledge of this hit job which eventually, never did take off? And if he did, can we assume collusion on the part of Congress and such digital media platforms that masquerade as neutral news agencies?

In fact, there have been cases where news has been designed to further the cause of spreading a narrative on WhatsApp using dodgy websites. Some of the new digital media platforms have then relied on these dodgy websites while mainstream media has relied upon these new digital media platforms as a source for their story. All of this indicates an ugly side of how the media operates: without any mechanism for curtailing fake news and without any mechanism of checking facts.

Surprisingly, this entire process is tilted to favour the Congress as Rahul Gandhi conveniently uses the reports published in these digital media platforms in his tweets. In fact, recently Rahul Gandhi used a report on the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao program while the report was in itself a terrible attempt at understanding what the scheme was all about. By pushing such reports, Rahul Gandhi is mainstreaming the fringe while he’s also not just legitimizing fake news and fraud analysis but also institutionalizing the same. It’s similar to what he tried in the Rafale deal where he ensured that he kept beating around the bush while reporters continued to refer to his speeches and provided them as citations in their articles. The points in such articles were then used by Rahul Gandhi’s team for his speeches. Thus, he created an entire web of information that was not based on any facts and got away with it.

While the pliant media may like to continue in such an institutionalized manner as it hopes to improve the public image of Rahul Gandhi, the rise of fake-news is actually an existential threat to the media industry as a whole. By pushing such stories, the media is denting its own reputation and credibility and once whatever’s left of their reputation is lost, perhaps people may move towards newer forms of sourcing information. We’re at a turning point for the news industry and I deliberately chose to publish this article in OpIndia- for it has a very solid record in terms of not retracting an article. In fact, in a couple of instances where they erred inadvertently, they were prompt in issuing an apology and rectifying themselves. They do it, using a good fact verification process; I’m hoping other digital media platforms learn from them and implement them too.

69% Indians want Ram Mandir at Ayodhya: India Today Survey

OpIndia Staff
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69% Indians want Ram Mandir at Ayodhya: India Today Survey

A survey done by India Today over the issue of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya shows that around 69% people of India want construction of Ram Mandir at the disputed site at Ramjanmabhoomi in Ayodhya. The results of the survey are based on responses received from 13,000 people.

The survey shows that the Ram Mandir issue of Ayodhya is at the heart of the upcoming general elections. Besides the 69% figure, the survey also showcases that about 67% of the respondents want the PM Modi-led government to bring an ordinance over the issue and not wait for the decision of the Supreme Court. While 24% of the respondents answered in negative and the remaining 2%, did not put any view.

Various Hindu groups and parties have been pressurizing PM Modi to bring an ordinance to start construction of the mandir, as the Supreme Court has repeatedly delayed the verdict.

Prime Minister Modi in an interview to the news agency ANI, at the beginning of this year,  said that the decision on an ordinance on the Ram temple will only be considered after the judicial procedure is concluded. He added that the judicial procedure for the temple is being stalled in the Supreme Court since Congress lawyers are ‘slowing down the process’.

In the India Today survey, when respondents were asked question about the decision of Supreme Court, 58% people said that SC’s decision should be awaited over the issue, and there is no need of an ordinance, while 30% said otherwise, and 12% did not respond.

OpIndia, in December last year, had surveyed the Ayodhya region to ascertain about the people’s wish regarding the construction of mandor. We had found that the residents of Ayodhya overwhelmingly support the construction of the Ram Mandir. While they want other facilities such as hospitals and playgrounds to be built at Ayodhya, they are of the opinion all of it can proceed simultaneously with the temple construction.

“A Ram Mandir did exist there, the Babri Masjid was constructed after demolishing the Temple. And a Ram Mandir definitely should be built there.” One person had told Opindia, “Not 100%, the Ram Mandir should be constructed 110%.” The person had added.

Leading job website, ‘Naukri’, releases survey of recruiters, predicts 20% increase in hiring between January and June 2019

OpIndia Staff
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Leading job website, ‘Naukri’, releases survey of recruiters, predicts 20% increase in hiring between January and June 2019

Naukri.com, one of India’s premier job portals, has published the findings of its Hiring Outlook survey which depicts a very bright scenario for employment opportunities in the country between January to June 2019.

The report states, “The survey represents a very optimistic outlook for hiring in the
coming six months. The survey saw participation from 3310 recruiters across the country. 84% recruiters surveyed are anticipating an increased hiring activity which observes a 20% increase in comparison to last year.”

The report also quotes Sumeet Singh, Chief Marketing Officer, InfoEdge India Ltd., as saying, “The Hiring Outlook highlights positive hiring sentiment among the recruiter
community with both replacement hiring and new jobs creation taking place simultaneously in the first half of the year. Key industries have continued to show growth. The same has been demonstrated by the Naukri JobSpeak. The momentum gained for recruitment is likely to continue into the new year.”

The survey states that 56% of the recruiters are expecting both new job creation and replacement hiring. It says, “In the first half of the year, growth coming from both new job creation and replacement hiring are being anticipated by 56% of the recruiters while another 12% of the recruiters surveyed said only replacement hiring will take place. The industries that might drive this wave of optimism are IT, BFSI and BPO.”

Almost half of the recruiters surveyed expect recruitment to be highest in Sales & Marketing followed by IT-Software functional areas. One-fourth of the recruiters also remarked that hiring will be high in Operations, HR and Account domains. The optimism in employment opportunities is further emphasized by the fact that only 1% of the recruiters surveyed expect layoffs.

Interestingly, there’s some concern among the recruiter community about the availability of adequate talent. The report states, “42% recruiters predict that the issue of talent crunch could intensify in the next six months. Another 31% of the recruiters said that the although talent crunch will continue, the intensity would be the same as the last six months. The maximum talent crunch is expected to be in the experienced band of 3-5 years.”

On the issue of increment, one-third of the recruiters surveyed believed that increments would be anywhere between 10-15%, 15% of the recruiters expected it to be between 15-20% while 16% reported that increments would be above 20%.

Regarding the rate of attrition, that is, the rate at which employees left the organizations they worked in, the report states, “14% of the recruiters had predicted attrition between 20% – 40% in the last Hiring Outlook Survey., this has halved to 7% in the current Outlook. 50% of the recruiters surveyed maintain attrition between 5% – 15%. For those who forecasted attrition, they suggested that maximum impact would be seen in the entry-level band of 1-3 years. Recruiters foresee functional areas such as – Sales & Marketing and IT Software to have a higher rate of attrition.”

Thus, contrary to the clamour raised by Opposition Parties, employment opportunities look quite optimistic for the next 6 months. The conclusion from the Naukri.com survey is that if a person has the required talent, his chances of getting hired are much higher now than it was earlier.

Kerala Nun rape case: Missionaries of Jesus issues ultimatum to another nun to shed her ‘rebellious attitude’

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala Nun rape case: Missionaries of Jesus issues ultimatum to another nun to shed her ‘rebellious attitude’

Amidst attempts of the Christian congregation, Missionaries of Jesus to shunt out four nuns for supporting the victim nun who had accused Bishop Franco of rape, another nun has been issued a notice to shed her “rebellious attitude”, reported Indian Express.

Reportedly, Sister Neena Rose, who had actively taken part in the protest in Kochi last September demanding the arrest of rape accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal in the rape case has been issued a letter to appear before the congregation.

Regina Kadamthodu, the congregation’s superior-general, has asked Sister Rose to report at their headquarters in Jalandhar on 26 January to justify her case for “for abdicating the basic tenets of religious life and resorting to activities which amount to the sheer violation of congregation rules.”

The letter further added that failure to report before Regina Kadamthodu on 26 January would be construed as challenging the authority of the superior. The letter from the superior-general reportedly accused Sister Rose of not cooperating with her local convent head and for her “revolutionary approach”. It further says the nun’s refusal to “fall in line” raises severe questions about her commitment to the vow of obedience.

Sister Rose has, meanwhile, said she is not sure about going to meet the superior- general on 26 January. “They have threatened to take further action if I fail to report in Jalandhar,” she said.

On 16th  January, four out of the five nuns who had supported the rape survivor nun were asked to leave the Kuravilangad convent, and go to convents, previously assigned to them. The letter accused nuns of  ‘issuing malafide statements’, and spreading baseless stories to ‘tarnish the image’ of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation. Sister Anupama, one of the four nuns served transfer notice, had slammed the notice and alleged that this is a ploy to break a unity of nuns to save Bishop Franco, who is facing rape allegations from one of their colleagues.

Apart from threats and intimidation, Father Kuriakose who had testified against Bishop Franco was found dead under mysterious circumstances. One the nuns who were protesting against the rape accused Bishop was relieved of her duties by the Syro-Malabar Church.

Bishop Franco Mulakkal, Archdiocese of Jalandhar, Punjab, was arrested by the police officials on September 21st after the investigating team finally found evidence that linked him in the sexual harassment case. A nun from Kerala had accused a Bishop from Jalandhar of raping her. The accused, Franco Mulakkal, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar, is said to have raped her at a guest house in Kuravilangad in May 2014 and exploited her sexually on several other occasions.

Maharashtra ATS nabs another ISIS group: With no ‘sutli bombs’ in play this time, this is how the Leftists might react

Sanghamitra
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Maharashtra ATS nabs another ISIS group: With no ‘sutli bombs’ in play this time, this is how the Leftists might react

The Maharashtra ATS has nabbed a group with alleged links to ISIS. Raiding multiple locations in Mumbra, Thane and Aurangabad, the ATS today arrested 9 persons, including a 17-year-old.

As per reports, the arrested persons are named as Salman Khan, Fahad Khan, Zaman Kutepadi, Mohseen Khan, Mohammad Mazhar Sheikh, Taki Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Zahid Sheikh and the juvenile.


The ATS has reportedly recovered Chemicals, mobile phones, hard drives, SIM cards, acid bottles, sharp knives etc.

Recently, the NIA had busted an ISIS module in Amroha, Several individuals including a Maulvi and college students were arrested while the probe team had confiscated items such as bomb-making material or IEDs, country-made pistols, 150 rounds of ammunition, 112 alarm clocks, 91 mobile phones, 134 SIM cards and lakhs in cash. An improvised rocket launcher was also reportedly recovered.

Quick as lightning, the entire Indian mainstream media and the left-liberal cabal had jumped to dismiss the findings and had launched a tirade of attacks on the NIA. Here are some gems:


There are certain laws in liberal outrage. Bomb-making chemicals and ammunition can be totally innocuous when the persons arrested with them are Muslims. On the other hand, children throwing colours on each other on Holi and RSS cadre holding lathis can be termed as Hindu terrorists.

Many media portals published report after report on how poor the family members of the suspected terror module members are, how random passersby in Amroha did not think the Maulvi was a terrorist and how the idea of ISIS supporters stocking pistols, ammunition and IEDs meant nothing because they also stocked sutli bombs.

Also read: Dear journalists, in your hate for Modi and Doval, don’t become terror apologists. Read about IEDs first

In a country where liberals keep on claiming that the 20% Muslim population is in a perpetually intimidated state and they fear for the future of democracy, the arrest of ISIS sympathisers and raids that seize weapons and incriminating materials somehow triggers a spectacular chain reaction. Everything, from the father’s profession to the road conditions in the village, everything but the obvious.

In the Amroha arrests, media outlets even claimed the improvised rocket launcher seized was actually a rang of things from a hydraulic jack to a tractor part.

Now that the recent haul by the Maharashtra ATS does not even involve sutli bombs and desi pistols, one would expect that the Leftists would be thrown off their game a little. Be that as it may, we can only guess how the left liberals are going to react over the arrest of the 9 suspects.

  • Chemicals and powder, is that what ATS wants us to be scared of? They are unemployed youth trying to be talcum powder entrepreneurs.
  • Modi government failed to provide jobs for Muslims. And now stealing stuff from poor youth who was attempting to earn a living by selling SIM cards and mobiles.
  • The poor family that never got a grant to build a toilet under Swachh Bharat Mission, is now staring at its filthy toilet because the bottles of acid their sons have gathered to clean it have been stolen by ATS.
  • Modi government does not want Muslim young men to fall in love. Who does not have multiple SIM cards, in an era when SIM cards are being offered free of cost, 9 young men have been stripped of their chance to flirt with multiple girls after ATS grabbed their SIM cards.
  • The hard drives the young leaders possessed were scavenged from the backyard of the Goa CM’s residence. They contained details of the Rafale deal. Hence Doval had ordered the ATS to seize them.
  • After making movies full of Toxic nationality like Uri, the Modi government now wants to stop Muslim young men from becoming successful actors, Salman, Fahad, Zahid and Sarfaraz have been arrested.
  • As unemployed Hindus go in Kanwar yatras and waste public resources in the Kumbh Mela, a few enterprising young men seeking spiritual enlightenment from a foreign organisation are being hounded and arrested. Is this Achhe Din?

The same left liberals also scream Hindu Terror everytime an incident is even remotely linked to an individual with ties with a Hindu religious group. The left-liberal brain is a case study in ironies indeed.

As Priyanka Gandhi Vadra becomes the UP East incharge, here is all you need to know about her colourful history

K Bhattacharjee
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As Priyanka Gandhi Vadra becomes the UP East incharge, here is all you need to know about her colourful history

As we have reported earlier, Congress has appointed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the in-charge of Uttar Pradesh East. It appears to be a shrewd move by the party to get its caste equations correct in the state and cut into the Upper Caste vote bank of the BJP.

However, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her husband Robert Vadra have quite a colourful history which perhaps contributed to her delayed official entry into politics. In this article, we shall explore the myriad allegations that have been labelled against the husband-wife duo.

In April 2017, it was alleged that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had bought 5 acres of agricultural land in Amipur village in Faridabad district of Haryana for Rs 15 lakh in 2006 and later sold the same piece of land to the original owner in 2010 at a price of Rs. 80 lakh. The suspicious nature of the transaction came under the radar of the Dhingra Commission which was set up by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to look into deals involving her husband, Vadra.

In 2010, Priyanka’s summer holiday home in Charabbra village of Shimla came under the scanner. She was accused of building the house on land she had allegedly acquired illegally. We have reported on all the controversies surrounding the house in the report linked here.

In a further instance of impropriety, Priyanka was part of the selection process for the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, a state where her husband was facing a probe for a land deal. Vadra was recently summoned for the third time by the Enforcement Directorate in the Bikaner land deal money laundering case after he missed the first two.

Vadra’s history of land deals has been a giant stick at the hands of the BJP to beat the Congress with. Skylight Hospitality Private Limited, a real estate firm Vadra is associated with, is accused of fraudulently acquiring land in Bikaner which was meant for rehabilitation of poor villagers. It is alleged that Skylight had sold 69.55 hectares of land to Allegeny Finlease at ₹7.41 lakh per hectare, but it had purchased the land at the rate of ₹ 1 lakh per hectare. Mahesh Nagar, an authorised representative of several companies linked to Vadra, had bought and sold land on behalf of Skylight Hospitality.

Vadra was first issued summons by the ED in the first week of November followed by the second summons on 24th November, both of which he failed to appear in. On the 21st of January, we had reported that the Rajasthan High Court had directed Vadra and his mother to appear before the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the case.

In September 2015, the Enforcement Directorate had registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), alleging that Sky Light Hospitality, owned by Robert Vadra, had bought a piece of land in Kolayat, Bikaner, on the cheap and sold it at an extremely high premium through illegal transactions

In April 2018, the ED attached land belonging to Jaiprakash Bagarawa, who is believed to be a close aide of Vadra in connection with the Bikaner land scam. As per reports, the agency has the powers to seek judicial custodial interrogation if the accused is wilfully avoiding joining the investigation.

Skylight Hospitality has also been allegedly involved in similar transactions in Haryana and a probe was earlier recommended by the Justice SN Dhingra commission against Bhupinder Singh Hooda alleging that Hooda and some of his government officials have been involved in suspicious land deals with Skylight Hospitality. Skylight Hospitality is also under Income Tax scanner for alleged irregularities in financial transactions in their land deals in Rajasthan and Haryana.

Vadra’s company Skylight Hospitality is accused of buying a 3.5-acre plot in Shikohpur village near Manesar at a cost of Rs 7 crore and then selling it to DLF for Rs 58 crore. The previous Congress government in Haryana allegedly tweaked the rules to facilitate the illegal deal. Vadra is also accused of buying 31 properties in and around Delhi from DLF’s unsecured loans at prices that were much lower than the prevailing market rate.

It was also revealed that Skylight Hospitality was granted licenses on the basis that Vadra was a VIP and the son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Priyanka’s husband Vadra has a host of other allegations against him as well. Recently, Manoj Arora, the executive assistant and alleged close-aid of Robert Vadra, was grilled by the ED for his alleged involvement in Robert Vadra’s benami properties in the UK.

On December 8, The ED had raided several premises related to Vadra and had questioned multiple persons connected to the case, which included Congress worker and another close aide of Robert Vadra, Jagdish Sharma. ED had stated that the raids were conducted on suspected individuals believed to have received money from arms dealers.

The money laundering case against Manoj Arora was initiated after investigative agencies began probing arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari and confidential defence ministry documents were found in his possession. Following which, one email thread was found from Sanjay Bhandari’s computer, between Monoj Arora, Sanjay Bhandari and Robert Vadra. The email, according to ED, was regarding a London property worth Rs 1.9 million pounds. The source of funds for the plush property which was bought in 2009 is currently under investigation. It was allegedly bought by Vadra and it was Bhandari who funded it.

We also reported that Dassault had, in fact, refused to partner with Bhandari headed OIS due to his proximity to Vadra. In January last year, In January this year, he was declared a ‘proclaimed offender’ by a Delhi court under the Official Secrets Act, due to failure to attend before the court. He is also under CBI investigation for his links with to alleged malpractices in the selection of a Swiss aircraft, Pilatus PC-7. The defence ministry has since suspended all dealings with OIS.

The myriad of allegations against the husband-wife duo certainly delayed her official entry into politics. There have been some quarters within the Congress party which appear to prefer Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over Rahul Gandhi.

In 2016, Priyanka did a campaign for the party in Uttar Pradesh. But she hasn’t been received as well by the public as well as the party had hoped. In an amusing incidence in October, posters had come up at Sonia Gandhi’s constituency which accused Priyanka of being an emotional blackmailer. In February 2017, she was trolled by people on social media, a fate her brother has often suffered. She was also spotted with ‘neutral activist’ Gurmehar Kaur who has been perceived as someone who was milking her father’s sacrifice.

As Rahul Gandhi hasn’t really been a hit with the masses, the Congress party is certainly pinning their hopes on Priyanka. However, given her history and her husband’s, it’s unclear how the public will receive her. In fact, the induction of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would probably give the BJP another poll plank served to them on a silver platter. The BJP and especially Prime Minister Modi has often spoken about the Dynasty and how the Gandhi family tends to put the family name above meritocracy.

In Priyanka Vadra’s case as well, it is evident that her entry into politics is fuelled by her name and the fact that she resembles Indira Gandhi is her appearance and that the Congress party hopes that her Indira Gandhi look-alike feature would consolidate the Congress loyalist votes which had abandoned the party. With the myriad corruption allegations against Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her husband, the Congress seems to have taken a massive gamble and with the power of social media, it is unlikely that they will be able to whitewash the image of Priyanka and Robert being entrenched in corruption. How this move will pan out for the Congress party and how it is used by BJP to counter the Congress, remains to be seen.

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