Friday, September 20, 2024
Home Blog Page 6742

The Indian media ‘Fauxars’ 2017 – Awards recognising Faux news

OpIndia Staff
-
0
The Indian media ‘Fauxars’ 2017 – Awards recognising Faux news

As the Oscars approach, people excelling in their respective fields get rewarded. Continuing with our tradition, we recognise and reward the media persons who excelled in spinning, dramatizing, twisting and faking news:

Award for best dialogue:

Usually categories like these are reserved for Arnab Goswami who has immortalised Indian Journalism via dialogues like ‘Nation wants to know’ and ‘Never ever ever ever’. But this year Barkha Dutt wins it hands down for her Burhan Wani “son of school headmaster” comment:


Best Script: 

This award goes to the anti-demonetisation script which played out in the media. Sure, it did not get popular support, as is evidenced by the various local election results ever since, but the effort was indeed worth an award. They tried to link it to completely irrelevant news. They gave all sorts of reasons why it was a bad idea. They helped start rumours to derail demonetisation. Raghav Bahl wrote 2 insipid anti-demonetisation articles in a business magazine. Ravish Kumar presented Congress members as independent analysts. News 18 misquoted Deepak Parekh. The best (or worst) part of the script was where each and every death near or relating to a bank was blamed on demonetisation.

Best original screenplay:

Contrary to popular opinion, it takes a lot of effort to create a story from nowhere. Respecting this fact, this award for best original screenplay goes to media for the time they created the story that Gau-rakshaks attacked and threatened a man for carrying a bag made from cow-leather. Unfortunately for them, the man who created this story said that “he did it because he hates Hindus”.

Award for Best Editing

Editing involves cutting, pasting, or even adding something to the events filmed, in order to make them appealing. The best such editing was done when media added the phrase “our people” to Defence Minister Parrikar’s speech, thereby giving the effect that his “own people” had orchestrated the Snapdeal boycott move. The edit was so seamless that it took a while for people to realise that these words were not even there in the original video. The brain-washing was so effective that NDTV’s Nidhi Razdan along with an abusive troll, repeated this lie on national television.

Honourable mention: BJP MLA breaks horses leg in Uttarakhand.

Award for Best Make Up

This award is not like the traditional “Make-Up”award. This is given to the journalist/media person who “makes up” the best story out of nowhere. We were spoilt for choice here and the award finally has to be given to the time when entire media came together to “make up” a story in which upper caste people beat up some low-caste robbers. Sanghi facts later revealed that the people who beat them up were also from low-caste.

Award for Best Special Effects

Special effects add the necessary spice to an otherwise dull story. They add a new dimension, confounding the reader. This award hence is given to Huffington Post, for their tireless efforts in confounding the readers. They started off by putting up pictures of Bajrang Dal when rape threats were issued to a student in Jammu Kashmir, by Kashmiri locals, who by no stretch of imagination can be considered as Bajrang Dal. The second time, for a story involving a JDU leader’s son, a picture of ABVP was used, to add special effects to the story.

Award for Best RomCom

This award is unheard of in Indian circles, but is actually quite popular in Hollywood and is given to the best Romantic Comedy movie. This award is presented to all the media persons and establishments which sought to develop a romantic relationship with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Muzzafar Wani, with some giving him clean chits, some using spin and some plain deception.

Award for Best Comedy

This award goes to the one and only abusive troll who calls herself a journalist, Swati Chaturvedi, for her outrageously funny “exclusive” story in which she claimed that Mohan Bhagwat of the RSS would hold a grand Modi-like event in the UK, which would be graced with the presence of stars like Sir Richard Branson, Sir David Attenborough, and Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio was even tipped to “provide a touch of stardust to Bhagwat’s anti-beef message”, being vegan.

Award for Best Action

Action consists of dramatic fight sequences, in which characters fight against each other. The best Action award goes to Arnab Goswami and Barkha Dutt for their constant on and off fights for the past one year. It began with Arnab’s veiled attack on Barkha, which resulted in Barkha attacking him back. The action is still on and every now and then we see some action sequence going on.

Award for Best Foreign Media

Without doubt this award goes to NDTV, and not for one reason. Throughout the year NDTV has strived to prove how non-Indian they are, by constantly jeopardising India’s interests. NDTV, a media house, decided to act all NGO-ish and filed a case in the NGT, to stop India’s Sagarmala project, which would lead to massive development along the coast. On another occasion, NDTV showed Kashmir as a part of Pakistan. The clincher was when NDTV was found guilty of airing sensitive information during an ongoing anti-terror operation, which could jeopardise many Indian lives.

Award for Best Actor

Indian media’s SRK does it gain. Last year he bagged the award for multiple performances which showcased a range of emotions. This year, he wins it for his fabulous acting, from the time he sent abusive direct messages from his Twitter Account. Almost 12 hours later, Rajdeep claimed that in fact his account was hacked, even though in between the abusive messages and the claim that the account was hacked, Rajdeep had tweeted normally. Of course the mystery “hacker” is nowhere to be seen nor any update on the case has been posted by Rajdeep. Rajdeep also had some other commendable performances like the time he acted blind, to communal riots in West Bengal, or the time he acted as if he was an interviewer, in a softball interview of Akhilesh Yadav.

Award for Best Actress

This award goes to veteran actress Saba Naqvi for her performance which was on throughout the year, and still is. Saba acted as if she was an independent, neutral journalist, whereas she was a compromised hack, who had been rewarded by AAP for her servility to them.

RTI: Uttarakhand’s Congress govt paid Virat Kohli for a tourism ad from disaster rehabilitation fund

OpIndia Staff
-
0
RTI: Uttarakhand’s Congress govt paid Virat Kohli for a tourism ad from disaster rehabilitation fund

The Uttarakhand Congress government led by Harish Rawat has found itself in a soup after an RTI query by an activist and BJP member Ajendra Ajay has revealed that the government had paid about Rs. 47.19 Lakh to Virat Kohli for a 60 second advertisement promoting the state’s tourism from the post-disaster rehabilitation fund which was created after the horrifying floods which hit the state in 2013.

Kohli was made the brand ambassador of Uttarakhand in 2015 and such a high profile appointment was understandable as the state’s tourism was struggling since the natural disaster and celebrity endorsements do seem to work.

A copy of the RTI reveals the fact that the amount was paid by the District Disaster Management(DDM) authority of Rudraprayag from the amount earmarked for the reconstruction and rehabilitation in the Shri Kedarnath Dham area. The DDM authority paid this amount at the instruction of Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA), which they received via an email on 26th June 2015.

RTI query

The BJP also alleged that the Congress government has failed to utilize the funds properly and have managed to build only two of the 12 suspension bridges in the Kedar valley which were washed away in the floods. The Congress govt’s unfortunate decision to use up rehabilitation funds might not be the only headache it might face in this episode as allegations of a scam too are surfacing. The agent of Kohli, Bunty Sajdeh claimed that there was no monetary transaction and that Kohli didn’t receive any money for the video. If this claim is indeed true then where did the  Rs 49.19 lakh rupees which the RTI claims were paid to Kohli go?

Though on a brighter note, his is the advertisement featuring Kohli and to be fair its really well made.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFgSwgo6UUw]

I am brother of a martyr, and I support the ABVP

Astitva Singh
-
0
I am brother of a martyr, and I support the ABVP

I am not a student of Delhi University. I am a doctor, more specifically a medical graduate who has cleared NEET PG exam, but I write this as a relative of someone who sacrificed his life for this country. And I do that, because suddenly the mainstream media has found it worthy to tell you what relatives of martyrs have to say over ABVP vs the Leftists issue at the Delhi University.

However, there is a problem. I have to say something they don’t want to hear. I am not the “right” kind of relative. But I must say it, because “free speech” exists in India. The same free speech, for which the media is supposedly fighting. The same free speech, which exists in India because the armed forces make sure that it is not overrun by Jihadists and Naxals.

My cousin Dhiraj Singh attained martyrdom in Kangan area of Jammu & Kashmir on 6th May 2006. He was slated to go on leave from 7th May onward to attend the tilak of our brother. Pinku bhaiya, as we used to call him, had selected the bhabhi. He was the youngest son of my mama and six years elder to me.

He was a Sowar (rider) in Armoured Corps/ 24 Rashtriya Rifles. On the fateful day, his seniors asked him to not join the operations as he had to leave the following day. But Pinku bhaiya said “khaali baith ke kya karunga” (what will I do sitting idle) and joined the anti-terrorist operations.

Back home we had no idea what was to hit us. All I remember was me coming to home from school at around 2 PM and finding my mother crying. Pinku bhaiya had attained martyrdom in the operations.

He killed two terrorists in combat, but was heavily injured. He killed another one, before he succumbed to his injuries. Sowar Dhiraj Singh was awarded Shaurya Chakra posthumously by President APJ Abdul Kalam in 2007.

What had fallen upon us was a grave family tragedy, yet we were proud of what Pinku bhaiya could do for the nation. Coincidently, the last movie we watched together was “Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo”.

That was a strange metaphor. As if he left this nation for us to protect the way he protected. I too wanted to join the army, but I have a flat foot.

Still, I will try for Army Medical Corps later this year, even though people say that civilian candidates get second preference after those who have done MBBS from AFMC (Armed Forces Medical College). But I will try my best. I have to start from where my Pinku bhaiya left.

I am writing this all not to flaunt whose cousin I am or how patriotic and nationalistic I am. Neither do I think that being a relative of a martyr entitles me to some privileges. My brother fought and died for his motherland, and I am not attempting to take any credits for his martyrdom.

I am writing this because, as I said earlier, it is important to speak up as we still enjoy free speech in India. It is important to speak up before patriotism and nationalism are converted into some gaali by some people.

I don’t know whether my bhaiya will have supported ABVP or not, but I support them over what happened in Ramjas College, and I support their right of self-defence.

One thing I am sure is that my bhaiya would have never supported those who say “bharat ki barbaadi tak, jung rahegi, jung rahegi”. He laid down his life fighting that very jung (war). He was killed by those who wanted “bharat tere tukde honge”.

I feel anguish and pain when the media paints those who fight against such slogans as villains. They ignore video evidences of such slogans being shouted and instead start smear campaigns against those who oppose such slogans.

I am sorry, I don’t consider such slogans as “free speech”. I am not going into any intellectual debate here, even our constitution puts restrictions on speech and doesn’t allow anyone to say things that threatens the unity and integrity of India.

“Bharat tere tukde honge” is not something that sounds like upholding the unity and integrity of India to me.

As the truth of what happened at Ramjas started to come out – proof of how the leftists assaulted students and even molested girls – suddenly the media has taken refuge behind a martyr’s daughter. She spoke against the ABVP, and the media found the perfect alibi in her. They could now happily paint ABVP as villain and make her a hero, and shield the real villains who want to fight war till India is ruined (Bharat ki barbadi tak).

I have no quarrel with that girl. She can choose to indulge in whatever activism she thinks is right. Let her be a hero, no problem. And I have absolutely nothing but just respect and gratitude for her father, who like my brother, sacrificed his own life so that we can live in a country that is safe and secure from enemies who want it ruined.

But I have a quarrel with the media, which is so selective and biased and which creates these fault lines.

When I first saw that campaign, I, as a relative of a martyr, thought maybe I should start a similar campaign in support of ABVP. But as I said, I have no quarrel with her. I did not want to make it her vs me. Furthermore, I feared that I will be branded a bhakt or a religious bigot. The media is still strong, very very strong.

But then I remembered what Pinku bhaiya did. He could have also let practical fears overpower him. He even had the option of not joining the operations. But he didn’t fear what destiny awaited him. He did what he felt was right for the country.

And I am doing the same. The least I can do is to speak up, before it’s too late.

AAP’s Mohalla Clinic another scam in the making?

OpIndia Staff
-
0
AAP’s Mohalla Clinic another scam in the making?

AAP had started Mohalla Clinics in order to provide Delhi citizens with a near the home cure for simple aliments. On paper it was a good scheme as people were supposed to get healthcare at affordable prices.

Currently there are a about 110 mohalla clinics operational, a far cry from a 1000 that were supposed to be built by 2016. There are a total 106 doctors manning these clinics that operate from 9 AM to 1 PM.

Now these clinics have come under the Vigilance Department’s scanner after they received complaints that the Mohalla Clinics’ doctors were seeing a very high number of patients during their stipulated clinic hours, which was practically not possible.

It is reported that if one goes by records, the doctors were treating as many as 533 patients in 4 hours, which turns out to be about 27 seconds per patient. Rightfully questions would be raised over the quality of the treatment provided if each patient lasts just 27 seconds in front of a doctor.

There are allegations that the doctors were making up false patients as their earning depends on the number of patients they treat. They reportedly earn about Rs 30 per patient. Its also alleged that the doctors are deliberately giving useless medicines that might ensure repeat visits from the patient, thus further pushing up their earnings.

The Vigilance Department has started the probe and sent letters to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Chief Medical District Officer (CDMO) seeking replies. These letters reportedly contain the word ‘scam’ while referring to the clinics.

This isn’t the first time these Mohalla Clinics are in the news for the wrong reasons. In July of last year it was reported to Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain’s daughter was the one heading these clinics, sparking allegations of nepotism. She was forced to step down after the outrage. Just last month these clinics were again under scanner for employing unqualified staff for treating patients and dispensing medicines.

Why the Indian ‘Right Wing’ can never become the mirror image of the ‘Left Wing’

A Gourav
-
0
Why the Indian ‘Right Wing’ can never become the mirror image of the ‘Left Wing’

An article was published in OpIndia.com titled The ‘right wing’ faces the danger of becoming the mirror image of the ‘left wing’.

It’s too soon to make such a judgement. The basic premise of the article is “Free Speech”, whether on left or right. While I completely agree with the author on this fundamental right for every citizen of this country, there is a very different issue that everyone is missing.

Any intellectual discourse or discussion is supposed to happen on level playing field of free speech, which has been traditionally denied to the ‘right’.

A JNU leftist has the privilege to shout “bharat tere tukde honge” and then become a celebrity panelist/speaker, while Kamlesh Tiwari is rotting in jail and just because he said something against a religion’s prophet. Here obviously I’m assuming that for left, “religion” is not above the “country”. If it is, what do we call them, alt-left?

Point of my argument is, as referred by the author of aforementioned article, left have gone beyond the point of no return. And this has been enabled as they enjoy unchallenged support from our academia, judiciary, media and entertainment industry.

Right finds it hard to even create an ecosystem to support itself. There is no unity among the right wing. Most prominent Right leaning personalities on Social Media want only to be lone wolf or just surrounded by certain like minded group of people.

With both the players as well as the fields being widely different for the Right, there is no chance of it becoming a mirror image of the Left, for there are no similar circumstances or enabling factors at all.

There is another reason why Right is never going to become mirror image of the Left. Historical facts support this.

Left doesn’t stop only at local brawl or protests or even at manhandling. It  goes further on by completely obliterating the opposition. This happened in Stalin’s USSR, Mao’s China, Pol Pot’s Cambodia and many more places. Millions of innocent died for nothing. Back home in India, evidences of left brutality can be almost seen on daily basis in Kerala and West Bengal.

The Left knows this, and to relieve themselves of the guilt, they accuse the Right of being violently intolerant and “fascist”. Only major example of fascism that comes to mind is Hitler’s Nazi Germany, which the Left paints as ‘Right’. Only that Nazi word itself has “socialist” in it.

Now, for the recent incident of Delhi University, first of all I will never go by the media claims and the leftist narrative. Since it’s a proven fact that left is great at manipulating emotions and playing victim, and with the Indian media being complicit in their machinations, I will not treat that as an example of Right turning into a mirror image of Left.

Secondly, I don’t support violence so I can’t be supporting ABVP indulging in it. Yes, I will not support it even though it was in response to the leftist violence, as latest reports suggest. But then what are the choices before the right? Scream their lungs out that no one hears? A media that is silent when right wing students are massacred in Kerala is supposed to give voice to the same? Or let someone like Umar Khalid spew venom against the Indian state?

Anyway, I have always had this question on my mind; what does being ‘right’ mean in India? A silent victim to onslaughts by the Left or just an outrage machine? How should Right assert itself when the Left is bringing only vacuous hatred and violent opposition in name of ideology? And all this while our elite intellectuals and liberals and the media paint the right wing as ISIS!

While supposedly big names on the Right take the neutral righteous course by not aligning with any party, and even deride fellow right-wingers as cheerleaders, trendveers, blind Bhakts, etc., Left brings in joint opposition from not just within India but from abroad as well.

For me, there is no way the Right can become mirror image of the Left as there are so many things that are fundamentally different. They are different DNAs.

With due respect to the author, I don’t think we can win this battle of ideologies only being righteous punching bags. Sometimes one has to beat their adversaries by employing their own tactics against them. This tactical maneuvering can’t be seen as being mirror image of the adversary.

How a media project to ‘secularize’ the Shiv Sena was on in full swing

Abhishek Banerjee
-
0
How a media project to ‘secularize’ the Shiv Sena was on in full swing

Whether you are “communal” or “secular” should ideally depend upon what views you hold and whether your actions and speeches tally with those. However, in India, it is dependent on your equations with the BJP. It’s not about ideology, but it’s about electoral politics – plain and simple.

Shiv Sena was “communal” as it has been in over 20-years-old alliance with the BJP. But the alliance broke before the assembly elections of 2014 (only to re-appear as post-poll alliance) and again before the municipal polls of Maharashtra in 2017. Thumb rule meant that Shiv Sena had to be deemed “secular” thereafter.

And the project to “secularize” Shiv Sena was on in full swing (as we will see in this article), but alas, the target of secularism fell short by 30 odd seats in the BMC elections.

Now let’s rewind to the time when these results were not known, and let’s look at what the Indian mainstream media was telling its readers:

A couple of days before Mumbai voted in the BMC elections, an article about the “resurgent Sena” appeared in The Indian Express. For a while now, the mainstream media has made a habit of adding the term “resurgent” before the name of any party or political leader left licking wounds after the NaMo tsunami of 2014. It is possibly an automatic feature that has been incorporated into the word processing software used by media houses to accommodate their wishful thinking.

Nonetheless, coming back to the article, it talked about lesser known aspects of Uddhav Thackeray, who currently leads the Sena. From talking about Uddhav donating proceeds from his photography exhibitions to describing his new found sense of matrutva (exact words) towards his humble party workers, the article had it all:

The Indian Express article on Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sena

Not to mention that the use of the phrase “coming of age” suggests  the possibility that this article was churned out from a draft circulated by media houses for a different dynast. Was it? Just kidding…

Coming of age: Uddhav was all set to “mature” as a “secular” leader?

The Indian Express article can hardly be seen in isolation. The same media sentiment surrounding Uddhav Thackeray is also amply visible in this Hindustan Times article published on the day Mumbai voted:

Uddhav was supposed to have done something even Bal Thackeray could not achieve.

More admiration for Uddhav “overcoming the barrier” and “succeeding with second generation leaders”. And that one comes directly from the desk of Sujata Anandan, who has been the political editor of the Mumbai edition of the Hindustan Times. A few months ago, Ms. Anandan wrote much similarly about another naturally mild mannered dynast who has been getting smartly aggressive.

From Rahul Gandhi to Uddhav Thackeray

We are not sure whether to laugh or to cry at these efforts. Of course, when the first few results of the BMC started rolling out on Feb 23 and it seemed for a while that the Sena would end up with a huge win, the same theme appeared in this now much mocked tweet of “journalist” Barkha Dutt.

Not so reluctant to openly support any one against BJP?

Soft spoken, passionate about photography… we have all the essentials here. As I said, we are not sure whether to laugh or to cry at these efforts.

It is not hard to imagine what would have happened if the Shiv Sena had managed a big win in Mumbai. The Sena almost certainly would have gone through a process of “secularization” in the elite media. In fact, mild mannered photography lover Uddhav Thackeray appeared to be well prepared for this prospect when he stepped out in the media glare yesterday for what had been planned as his coming of age party:

Almost on the cue, just what the media ordered.

As we can see, evolution by means of natural selection is a slow process, but in desperate times, there are ways to speed it up significantly. Someone posted this photo on twitter of Uddhav from not so long ago:

Oops.. but the media can make you forget what they don’t want you to remember.

Meanwhile, as the mainstream media puts the onus of Indian secularism on the shoulders of the Shiv Sena, we can only assume that the “idea of India” shall remain on ventilator support.

Journalist claims he was assaulted and threatened to be killed for filing case against Kejriwal

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Journalist claims he was assaulted and threatened to be killed for filing case against Kejriwal

We had reported last month how an NGO, which had filed a complaint against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his brother-in-law Surender Kumar Bansal, was getting threats from various anonymous numbers. The NGO had registered a complaint about alleged irregularities in the contracts given to Bansal by the PWD. It was also alleged that in 2015-16, Bansal failed to complete certain contracts but got the whole payment due to the pressure exerted by Kejriwal.

A journalist named Viplava Awasthi working for Samachar Plus, has also claimed to have filed a corruption case against Kejriwal, his brother-in-law and others. And he too has complained about receiving threats. In fact, things took a serious turn in his case when he was assaulted and his car battered by unknown assailants, who threatened him not to appear in court on 25th February when the case comes up for hearing. They also threatened to kill him if he pursued the matter further.

Journalist’s car smashed by assailants

The incident occurred in Noida near Delhi at around 8 PM on 22nd February, when Viplava Awasthi was returning home from work. A dark silver colored Swift car carrying three passengers overtook his car and two of them stepped out and made him stop his car. One started to vandalize his car while the other grabbed him by his throat and threatened to kill him if he attended the court proceedings against the Delhi Chief Minister and his brother-in-law on 25th February, Awasthi claims.

After the incident, the journalist proceeded to file an FIR against the unknown assailants. The FIR mentions that he was abused, assaulted, and threatened to be killed if he appeared in the court for the corruption case against Arvind Kejriwal:

Kejriwal supporters threatening people?
Copy of the FIR filed

Journalist’s claims were also supported by a Delhi based advocate:

While only police investigations will reveal who were the assailants and if they were working on someone’s orders, this does raise the question as to why those who talk about corruption related to Arvind Kejriwal receive threats from certain quarters.

Mega celebrations lined up for Mahashivratri and here’s where you can watch them

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Mega celebrations lined up for Mahashivratri and here’s where you can watch them

Maha Shivratri is celebrated in the honour of Lord Shiva, with devotees observing day-long fasts. The term Maha Shivratri is derived from the three words – Maha, Shiva, Ratri. As the name suggests, this auspicious event is celebrated at the night, and not in the day. This year too, mega events have been planned for a grand celebration of this grand night.

This year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil a 112-ft tall face of Adiyogi — the Source of Yoga, designed and consecrated by Sadhguru, founder, Isha Foundation, on Mahashivratri on February 24 at the Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

The statue weighs 500 tonnes and is made of steel. It took 2.5 years for the team to design the statue and it was built in about eight months. The statue is 112-feet tall as Adiyogi opened up 112 possibilities for human beings to reach their ultimate potential. The Isha Foundation also claims that there is a scientific significance as there are 112 chakras in the human system, with which one can work to explore 112 dimensions of life.

A livestream of the event will be available at the below link from 6pm onwards:

Besides the Isha Foundation, there is also a grand event by the Art Of Living foundation. Lakhs of devotees from about a 100 countries are expected to arrive at the Art of Living International Center, Bangalore, in presence of, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

The Maha Rudra Puja is expected to start at 8pm today, followed by Satsang and Prasadam, and the celebrations will continue into the wee hours of the morning on 25th February.

A livestream of the celebrations will be available below from 7.30pm onwards:

How the Media tried to hide the Left’s violence in the Ramjas College incident

OpIndia Staff
-
0
How the Media tried to hide the Left’s violence in the Ramjas College incident

On 22nd February, the students of Ramjas College, protested and forced the College in DU to withdraw its invitation to Umar Khalid who has been accused of shouting anti-national slogans at JNU last February. Also to cement his supposed anti-national credentials, after the death of terrorist Burhan Wani; Khalid had put out a Facebook post openly supporting him.

This invitation episode though wasn’t without incident and violence seemed to have erupted between the leftist AISA (All India student’s association) and RSS affiliated ABVP. While the AISA version is now public, here is the ABVP’s version of the events. The media though almost predictably was quick to paint the ABVP as the main barbaric aggressor and the Left as the unfortunate victims.

But now thanks to Social Media, details have started to emerge of how the media conveniently ignored the various acts of violence the Left committed. BJP leader Nupur Sharma claimed to have received images from a DU professor which supposedly depicted atrocities committed by the Leftists on ABVP members.


A leftist twitter user was posting moving accounts of how ABVP heaped atrocities on them and in one tweet also claimed they (Left) took a moral high ground and chose not to retaliate. Maybe taking a break from playing the victim card the user then gleefully replied to a murderous troll about how an ABVP activist was thrice beaten by the leftist students and claimed that they (Leftists) outnumbered the ABVP guys by a whopping 10:1 ratio. This was reported in this tweet.

Also to make matters worse, The Hindu decided to continue its legacy of publishing fake news and depicted the SFI activist in the above picture who was assaulting students as a ABVP member.


And here’s another proof that he is an SFI activist.

And if the media could completely disregard the violence perpetrated by the Left they could certainly disregard the opportunity used by these students to shout anti-national slogans:


How media lies have created a villain out of Patanjali for its tax-exempt status

OpIndia Staff
-
0
How media lies have created a villain out of Patanjali for its tax-exempt status

When the media reports news which is completely fabricated or untrue, it is easy to call out their bluff. But when a news report has even a grain of truth in it, wrapped by a series of lies, it becomes harder to determine whether the news report is true or false.

The recent news report of Baba Ramdev’s “Patanjali” winning tax exempt status is a similar case. A few days back, media had reported that the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) had given tax exempt status to Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth (a public charitable trust). The ITAT is a quasi judicial institution and is free from any political or governmental control.

Headlines of many news reports though only mentioned that “Patanjali” (not including “Yogpeeth”) had gained tax exempt status. The difference between “Patanjali Yogpeeth” and any other name involving “Patanjali” is that Patanjali Yogpeeth is a charitable trust. While a charitable trust is not restricted from conducting business, the business has to be incidental to its charitable cause and there are other conditions which need to be met in order to claim exemption.

In the current case, the exemption was given to Patanjali Yogpeeth, which is involved in providing medical relief and imparting education by propagating yoga. However, due to misleading headlines, there was confusion whether the exemption was given to the Yogpeeth, or the FMCG companies that have “Patanjali” in their names, most notably “Patanjali Ayurved limited”.

In fact, 2 articles on DailyO (a publishing platform by India Today that publishes anything and everything), with extremely shoddy research, assumed that the FMCG arm had gotten the exemption, and proceeded to link this with BJP and Modi (even though the ITAT is quasi judicial):

While the mainstream media continued to spread this concoction of misinformation and lies, an officer from the Indian Revenue Service clarified on Twitter that the exemption was not given to the FMCG company:



In fact, a quick scan on the list of companies with which Baba Ramdev’s aide Acharya Balakrishna is associated reveals that the FMCG businesses are being operated under various companies, many of which have “Patanjali” in their names, but a media person should be educated enough to realise that it’s not the same as “Patanjali Yogpeeth”:

Public database of companies where Acharya Balkrishna is listed as a Director

OpIndia.com also talked to Acharya Balkrishna, who confirmed that Patanjali Ayurved limited, which is the flagship company for the FMCG business, did not have any tax-exempt status either in the past or currently, nor is there any plan to seek such status in future.

“We pay taxes like any other for-profit company after properly maintaining our business records as required by the law,” Acharya Balkrishna told us on phone from Haridwar, where Patanjali Ayurved limited is headquartered.

“There is no tax-exempt status for our FMCG business, and such reports are either malicious or born out of lack of information,” he added, “We are among the highest tax payers from Uttarakhand, and we are proud to contribute to nation-building.”

He further clarified that Patanjali Yogpeeth trust had no commercial relationship with Patanjali Ayurved limited and there was no question of using the trust to save taxes for the FMCG company.

“On the contrary, a part of the profit of Patanjali Ayurved is donated to the trust so that we can carry out our charitable works like education, relief operations, research, medical services, spiritual activities, langar, and other things. If we are declaring profits, obviously we are paying taxes on them!” he said.

1...6,7416,7426,743...6,864Page 6,742 of 6,864

Contact: [email protected]

About us

News and opinion website that brings you reports and narrative from a perspective often ignored or suppressed by the mainstream media of India.

Follow us

© OpIndia.com