BENGULURU:

Congress is leading in 131 seats out of the 224 Assembly seats as the counting of votes for the high stake Karnataka assembly elections 2023 is underway. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leads in 73 seats and the Janata Dal (S) in 18 seats with its leader H.D Kumaraswami trailing in his constituency.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a massive roadshow on Sunday (May 7) in Bengaluru which passed through several Assembly constituencies. The first part of this roadshow was held on Saturday covering around 13 constituencies and now the second leg is taking place on Sunday as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) campaigning for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly polls 2023.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the poll bound state for the final leg of poll campaigning on Friday. The 10-km roadshow was held between 10:00 am and 11:30 am from Kempegowda statue at Thippasandra to Trinity circle. Lakhs of people took part in the roadshow.

Keeping NEET examinations in mind, the Karnataka BJP made changes in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day roadshow in Bengaluru, ahead of the Assembly polls in the state, by scheduling an extensive event on May 6 and a shorter one on May 7, Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje said on Friday. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is scheduled on May 7 (Sunday).

“Narendra Modi’s road show will be on May 6 and 7, preparations are on for it. We had shared information in that regard to the public through the press. However, you (media) people informed us about the NEET exams on May 7 at 2:00 pm, and the 26 km roadshow will cause inconvenience for (students writing) exams,” Karandlaje said. Speaking to reporters, she said, this was brought it to the notice of the Prime Minister, and Modi who pays special attention to children with initiatives such as ‘Pariksha pe Charcha’, asked us to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to even a single student going to the exam centre at any cost.

So the Prime Minister directed the state BJP to make changes in the programme, she said, as desired by him, certain changes have been made in the programme.

The roadshow, earlier scheduled to be held for eight hours on Saturday alone, was then split into two parts- on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 1. 30 pm to prevent inconvenience to the general public in case the rally is held for a full day.

Accusing the Congress of conspiring to disrupt the roadshow on Saturday, by getting the ambulances linked to their workers and well-wishers or hospitals run by them, at places along the stretch of 26 km which the PM is likely complete in about 3 hours, Karandlaje said, they have conspired to bring a bad name to the Prime Minister’s roadshow.

“We have requested the police to ensure that ambulances with patients reach the hospitals on time without any hindrance, we have also discussed with SPG in this regard. We are following up things,” she said.

Earlier on April 29 (Saturday), Mr. Modi had conducted a 5.3-kilometre long roadshow in Bengaluru that passed through various locations in the city including Magadi Road, Nice Road Junction and Sumanahalli.  On May 7, Mr. Modi will also address four public meetings in different parts of the state. Mr. Modi is also expected to visit Karnataka on the last day of the election campaigning for which preparations are already on.

The Congress party had appealed to the Election Commission not to permit the roadshow of PM Modi. However, the Commission has given a green signal. The ruling BJP is hoping to recover from the anti-incumbency factor with PM Modi’s visit. The Bajrang Dal ban proposal has also helped the BJP to gain grounds at the fag end of election campaigning in Karnataka. The BJP has challenged Congress to ban Bajrang Dal and claimed that it has “insulted” Lord Hanuman. The party also aims to wrestle a major chunk of 28 seats of Bengaluru city with Mr. Modi’s outreach to voters.

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This means social media giant believes India is potentially as bad as Myanmar and Sri Lanka where Facebook has been used to ignite and sustain inter-religious violence.

According to a report by Wall Street Journal, this year the social-media company’s safety team deemed Bajrang Dal supported violence against minorities across India and likely qualified as a “dangerous organisation” that should be banned from the platform.

However Facebook hasn’t taken any action to remove the groups from Facebook because internal security audit teams at the company believe that this may anger these groups and they may target business, offices and Facebook staff in India.

The WSJ report believes that such conflicting concerns underscore the struggle Facebook faces in curbing hate speech that spread like a wild fire through the platform. Facebook has recently invested $5.7 billion in a new retail venture in India which makes the issue more difficult because a lot of groups and people indulging in it are close to the ruling party BJP.

The social- media company fears strict actions against such hate-mongering group will impact their business. However, the WSJ was told by a Facebook spokesperson that the company’s policy on hate speech is not influenced by political or business reasons. Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone told the WSJ, “We enforce our Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy globally without regard to a political position or party affiliation.”

This is not the first time Facebook is dragging its feet on tackling hate speech in a country. The company has come under fire for not acting against hate speech in nations like Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. Two years ago investigators from United Nations cited Facebook for facilitating hate speech in Myanmar, helping fuel the sectarian violence against Rohingyas.

Several months ago, Facebook was in spotlight in India for all the wrong reasons as it was reported that its then India Policy Ankhi Das stopped staffers from taking action against hate speech by BJP politicians. Facebook refuted the report, but in late October Ankhi Das left the company saying she wanted to “pursue public service interests”.

Facebook’s India MD Ajit Mohan has been called for a hearing by a Delhi government committee that is looking into the use of social media during riots earlier in the year. However, Mohan has refused to appear before the committee and has challenged the Delhi government directives in the Supreme Court.

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Addressing the media, he said that his plans were disrupted because of the coronavirus pandemic and he did not want to be careless. He said that the time has come to transform Tamil Nadu, the superstar said, “Will work as much as possible for the people. If we don’t do it now change will never happen.”

Saying that the victory in politics will be the victory of the people , he said, “it depends on the people of Tamil Nadu. If I win when I enter politics, it will be people’ s victory.”

He thanked everyone for their support, said, “I would like to thank everyone for their support.”

Rajinikanth said, “We will surely win assembly polls and give an honest, transparent, corruption-free, and spiritual politics. A wonder and miracle will definitely happen.”

He had made the announcement about him entering politics on Dec 31 in 2017.

The actor’s political entry is expected to give tremors to DMK and AIADMK. Many suspected that the superstar who is close to many RSS and BJP Leaders Mohan Bhagwat, Amit Shah, and PM Modi was compelled by the BJP to make his political entry.

After meeting district secretaries of Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM) on November 30, Rajinikanth said he will make an announcement soon.

For the superstar, his line of politics is spiritual and beyond religion, corruption and focus of the welfare the people . Rajini had asked his supporters to go every street in the state and pass the message about his intentions and he had told them then, “when the time is right I will give the war cry and at the time all of you be ready to support me.”

In 1996 Rajini had openly supported the DMK and had called for “Saving Tamil Nadu from Jayalalithaa” , That year when Jayalalitha’s AIADMK was defeated, Rajini was seen as a major game-changer, which opened the possibility of his entry in Tamil Nadu politics.

The wait of his political announcement came to an end, a year after Jayalalitha’s death on December 2016. After the announcement, superstar had clarified that he will not join any existing political parties. Yet, he had personally gone and met DMK patriarch Karunanidhi for blessings.

Just like many in the cine field close to many in the DMK, Rajini maintains close connection with prominent DMK leaders even though he is against their ideologies. Rajini is said to have a good relationship with Alagiri, Stalin’s elder brother.

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Khushbu Sunday escaped unhurt. Police have launched an investigation into the accident.

In a tweet, Khushbu Sundar said, “Request the press to understand that a container rammed into me and not the other way. My car was on the move in the right lane and this container came from nowhere and rammed into me. Police are investigating n questioning the driver to rule out any foul play.”

Met with an accident near Melmarvathur..a tanker rammed into us.With your blessings and God's grace I am safe. Will continue my journey towards Cuddalore to participate in #VelYaatrai #Police are investigating the case. #LordMurugan has saved us. My husband's trust in him is seen pic.twitter.com/XvzWZVB8XR

— KhushbuSundar (@khushsundar) November 18, 2020

Khushbhu Sundar was on her way to Cuddalore to participate in BJP’s Vel Yatra (Victory Spear March) campaign in Tamil Nadu ahead of the assembly election when the accident took place.

Ms Sundar, said she will proceed to Cuddalore to participate in the event and that the police are investigating the accident.

The Tamil Nadu BJP is holding the yatra despite the state government banning it. “Vetri Vel Yatra”, planned from November 6 to December 6, was conceptualised in honour of Lord Muruga known for his “Vel” or spear.

The Vel Yatra is seen as an attempt by BJP to consolidate Hindu votes in the state.

The ruling AIADMK government had denied permission for the yatra in view of the COVID-19 situation. However the BJP asserted its right to hold the event. The BJP said its rally- an annual exercise- was against what it called the anti-Hindu agenda of some parties.

Khushbhu Sundar,50, changed camp from the Congress and joined BJP months before the Tamil Nadu polls, saying that she felt pushed and suppressed by the Congress.

She is now one of the prominent faces of the party in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu would go for polls in May next year and the BJP, which has meager presence in the state, has brought in many faces ahead of the election.

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The NDA has managed to cross the required majority mark of 122 seats even though Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD emerged as the single-largest party in the 243 member Bihar assembly.

From Tejashwi Yadav’s big arrival in Bihar politics, to Nitish Kumar’s position in NDA suffering a blow and Chirag Paswan not performing for LJP as expected , here are some keytakeaways from the Bihar election result.

Thin margin keeps NDA in power

NDA has won 125 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly where 122 is the majority mark. Nitish Kumar-led NDA with JDU, BJP and the smaller parties of HAM and VIP has managed to cross the halfway mark to give Nitish Kumar his fourth term in the office.

BJP has won 74 seats while JDU has managed to bag 43 seats. Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM and VP gained four seats each. Both HAM and VP joind NDA months before the Bihar election after quitting Mahagathbandhan(MGB).

RJD emerged as the single-largest party

This is the first Bihar election that RJD contested without the presence of party supermo Lalu Prasad as he is in jail after convicted in the fodder scam case. Thrity one year old Tejashwi Yadav, who was earlier a part of the Mahagathbandhan with Nitish Kumar, has announced his big arrival with RJD’s startling yet amazing performance in the Bihar assembly election 2020.

RJD has emerged as the single largest party in Bihar and won 75 seats. JDU and BJP kept reminding voters of the atrocities during RJD’s rule under Lalu Prasad Yadav 15 years ago, yet the party has managed to win big. RJD gained the highest vote share among all parties with 23.11%.

This election was a “coming of age” moment for Tejashwi Yadav after RJD’s unprecedented drubbing in the 2019 Lok Sabha election when RJD failed to open its account.

BJP gains upper hand over JDU

Bharathiya Janata Party, has always played second fiddle to Nitish Kumar’s JDU in Bihar.

However in the 2020 Bihar assembly election, BJP has managed to trump not just the MGB, but also its own alliance partner JDU.

With 74 seats, BJP did a better job comparing to 2015 tally of 53 seats, giving the party a upper hand over JDU which has been reduced to 43 seats in 2020, from its 71 seats in 2015.

Although Nitish Kumar is likely to continue as the chief minister of Bihar, BJP will be more assertive and have a greater share in the next Bihar government.

Fall of LJP

During the campaign for Bihar assembly election, Chirag Paswan started attacking Nitish Kumar over his 15 year rule in Bihar, accusing the government of mismanagement. Chirag broke ties with the NDA and announced LJP as an independent party. But LJP decided to support BJP sans JDU.

The Lok Janshakthi Party (LJP) has won just one seat and caused a significant damage to JDU and Nitish Kumar. According to reports, LJP has been instrumental in spoiling JDU’s chances in at least 30 seats.

Congress let down Mahagathbandhan

Congress has barely managed to win 19 seats in the this election, a tally lower than its own count in 2015, when Congress had won 27 seats.

Congress has performed poorly particularly in the seats where it was in direct contest with BJP and became the weakest link for the MGB.

Tejashwi Yadav’s decision to give 70 seats to Congress was a bad move that cost his party MGB a lot.

Left party win big

The Left parties contested in 29 seats in the Bihar assembly elections tying up with MGB and won 16 seats, performing better than some anticipated.

The biggest gainer was the CPI-ML, which clinched 12 seats, followed by the CPI and CPI-M, which won two each. Barring the CPI-ML, which had three seats in the outgoing assembly, none of the Left parties had a presence in Bihar assembly before this.

Surprise performance from Owaisi

Asaduddin Owaisi’s  All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) has managed to win five seats, which was a surprising turn of events. They were slammed as ‘vote cutter’and spoiler in Bihar Assembly elections, but AIMIM won five Muslim-dominated seats, giving a befitting reply to their critics.

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The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar, HR Srinivas said that earlier there used to be 25-26 rounds of counting, but this time it went up to around 35 rounds which can extend the counting till late evening.

The current trend is NDA -128, MGB- 105, OTH- 10. BJP now has 73 seats , JD(U)- 48, HAM -1, VIP-6, RJD- 66, CONG- 21, CPI-ML -11, CPM- 4, CPI-3, LJP -2, AIMM-2 , BSP-2 , RLSP-0.

The final picture in Bihar will take sometime, with counting slow due to coronavirus precautions.

However the latest trends show the NDA is ahead of the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, crossing the half-way mark of 122 seats needed to secure majority in Bihar Assembly.

The BJP that remained a junior partner in the NDA in Bihar so far is going to end up having the upper hand. It is too soon to say whether the NDA forms the government or not, the BJP has succeeded in overtaking Nithish Kumar, who had love-hate relationship with Narendra Modi, as the face of the alliance.

Another significant turn of events in the election is the improvement in tally of Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakthi Party and is leading on more number of seats than last time.

Earlier the BJP had declared the Nitish would be CM if the alliance won, irrespective of who gets more seats. How LJD look at this generosity one has to wait and see.

The fate of the Nitish-led JD(U) government, which has helmed Bihar for a decade and a half, will be decided on Tuesday as election results to the 243-member legislative assembly will be declared. Besides, the fate of 3,558 candidates, including 370 women and a transgender, will also be decided. The counting of votes began at 8 am at 55 centres across 38 districts.

The results will decide if the voters have decided to hand over the state’s baton to the Grand alliance (Mahagathbandhan) led by its CM candidate Tejashwi Yadav, which constitutes the RJD, the Congress and Left parties.

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The 2300-pages of verdict pointed towards insufficient evidence and possible tampering of video and audio proof and anti- social elements for the razing of the structure.

The public looked at the verdict in utter shock and moreover with irony as the events that led to December 6 1992, unfolded right in front of their eyes. They knew without doubt who did it, why they did it and what did it cost as a nation. Among them who could undoubtedly say that the demolition was meticulously planned is Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan who headed the Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of Inquiry for 17 years.

The Liberhan Commission, set up in 1992 to probe the Babri Masjid Demolition, had in its report submitted in 2009, pointed to the involvement of senior RSS and BJP leaders, including L K Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti and the involvement of the then Uttar Pradesh government. “They either actively or passively supported the demolition,” it said.

“I found it was a civil conspiracy, I still believe in it. From all the evidence produced before me, it was clear that the Babri Masjid demolition was meticulously planned,” Justice Libheran said to The Indian Express.

Justice Liberan also said that BJP leader Uma Bharti categorically took the responsibility of the demolition.

The Liberhan Commission said the mobilisation of “kar sevaks” was neither “spontaneous or voluntary” but “orchestrated and planned”. The report named over 60 people – including senior BJP leaders Advani, Joshi, Bharti and A B Vajpayee, RSS and VHP leaders, bureaucrats – as “culpable” for “leading the country to the brink of communal discord.

“It was the leadership of the BJP, a national political party, which came forward to mobilising the people on the Ayodhya temple issue, along with Mathura and Kashi. It challenged constitutional secularism by calling it pseudo-secularism,” the report said.

The Commission added that on December 6 1992 – the day Babri Masjid was demolished, Advani and Joshi were present at the spot, and they made a ‘feeble request’ to the kar sevaks to stop the demolition and come down from the dome.

The Commission also criticised the then Congress’s Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao’s led government at the center.

Justice Liberhan said that given the evidence and the witnesses that were presented before him, anybody could have concluded that the demolition was a premeditated action.

The 82-year-old former Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh and Madras High Courts said the demolition could have been prevented with administrative planning and action. He had made this point in his report, saying that no preventive steps were taken to avert the demolition, or prevent the spread of communal hatred.

However, Justice Liberhan refused to comment on the CBI court’s decision, he said that “I believe everyone does his job honestly. The court has the right to differ, there can be no dispute about its power or working.”

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CBI judge SK Yadav, who had directed all 32 accused to be present during the proceedings today, has arrived at the court. While BJP veterans have skipped the proceedings, Vinay Katiyar, Dharamdas, Vedanti, Lallu Singh, Champat Rai, and Pawan Pandey are among the accused who will be in the court today. While Advani, Joshi, and co-accused Nritya Gopal Das are above 80 years of age Bharti and another accused, Satish Pardhan, are in hospital.

Special CBI court judge Surendra Kumar Yadav had already issued directives to all the accused, including former Deputy PM LK Advani, BJP stalwarts Murli Manohar Joshi, form UP CM and ex-Governor of Rajasthan Kalyan Singh, former BJP lawmaker Vinay Katiyar and Uma Bharti along with 32 others.

The court tried those who were allegedly involved in the criminal conspiracy leading to the demolition of Babri mosque by frenzied kar sevaks in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.

The court also completed all proceedings in the case by recording statements of all 32 accused. Lawyer KK Mishra, who is representing 25 out of the 32 accused in the case, including Advani, Joshi, Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti, had also confirmed the date set by the court for delivering the verdict.

The Supreme Court had given the CBI court a one-month extension, instructing it to wind up the case by September 30. The earlier deadline for judgment had expired on August 31.

The charges of conspiracy are in addition to the existing charges against the accused of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, for which they are also facing trial. The accused are also facing charges of having made assertions “prejudicial to national integration and injuring or defiling a place of worship”. The CBI had filed a chargesheet against 49 people in the case, of whom 17 died during trial. The court recorded statements of 351 prosecution witnesses.

On April 19, 2017, the Supreme Court had ordered the special judge to conduct day-to-day trial, concluding it in two years.

The SC had termed the Allahabad High Court’s February 12, 2001 verdict dropping conspiracy charges against Advani and others as “erroneous”.

Before the 2017 verdict of the apex court, there were two sets of cases relating to the demolition, going on in Lucknow and Rae Bareli.

The first case referred to kar sevaks who were proceeded against in a Lucknow court, while the second set of cases relating to eight VIPs was being heard in a Rae Bareli court.

In April 2017, the Supreme Court transferred the Rae Bareli case to the Special CBI court in Lucknow.

While Advani and Joshi attended court proceeding and recorded statements through video conference, the rest of the accused appeared in Lucknow to record their statements.

Almost all the accused pleaded not guilty and termed it as a conspiracy hatched by their political rivals to frame them in a conspiracy case.

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The announcement comes over a week after Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the cabinet in protest against three ordinances- The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.

Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal has said the party was never consulted on the ordinances, and that Harsimrat , his wife, had informed the government about farmers’ reservations.

SAD was one of the oldest allies of the BJP. It was amongst the first to support the 13-day Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal is a founder member of National Democratic Alliance.

The two Bills – which seek to replace Ordinances passed in June – were passed in Parliament by voice vote and await the assent of the President. SAD had voted against the Bills.

Farmers in Haryana and Punjab have been agitating against the Bills. On September 25, SAD held large protests across Punjab as part of its ‘chakka jam’ programme to express solidarity with farmers even as it asked CM Amarinder Singh to call an immediate Cabinet meeting and pass an ordinance to declare the entire state as one mandi (Principal Market Yard) to ensure the central agricultural Bills are not enforceable in the state.

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The protestors have blocked several national highways, including the Delhi-Amristar highway, Delhi-Meerut highway, Karnataka-Tamil Naadu highway.

Huge traffic jams have also been reported from Ayodhya-Lucknow highway.

Punjab: Shiromani Akali Dal's Bikram Singh Majithia attends a protest in Amritsar against recent #FarmBills. pic.twitter.com/HOTSCF0Hsd

— ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2020

Farmers in Punjab have also started a three-day rail blockade against the bills. The Punjab Chief Minister said the state government was fully with the farmers in their fight against the bills and no FIRs would be registered for violation of Section 144, which prohibits gathering of more than four people.

Protests have erupted in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi too.

Noida: Members of Bhartiya Kisan Union block roads, stage protest near Delhi border against recent #FarmBills; police deployed.

Additional DCP Noida says," We have diverted traffic so that people do not face any inconvinience." pic.twitter.com/NnuKFqO7hJ

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) September 25, 2020

The farm bills – the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill – were passed at the Parliament despite uproar and strong protest by the Opposition parties .

These bills are now with President Ram Nath Kovind. The Opposition parties have urged the President to not give approval to these bills. They want the government to take back the bills.

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The special CBI court is expected to deliver the much-awaited judgment in the Babri Masjid demolition case on September 30 in which senior leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stand as the accused.

Former BJP presdients L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and former Union Minister Uma Bharti are amongst the prime accused in the case. The special judge Surendra Kumar Yadav has directed all the accused persons to remain present in the court on the day of the judgment.

It may be recalled that the criminal case aganist BJP, RSS, VHP and Bajranj Dal leaders and Karsevakas involved in the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992 was pending before the Special CBI court even as the Supreme Court settled the title dispute of the land at Ayodhya.

The Supreme Court on August 19 directed the CBI Special Judge to conclude the proceedings and deliver the judgment latest by September 30.
The BJP leaders facing trial for the demolition of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh have been charged for various offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which included promoting enmity between religious groups (section 153A), making statements affecting national integration (section 153B) or which are likely to cause public mischief (section 505).

The Supreme Court on April 19, 2017 had directed the sessions court to complete the trial and deliver its judgment within a period of two years. However, the trial could not be extended. The top court, thus, granted the last extension till September 30. The court had transferred the trial pending in the Court of the Special Judicial Magistrate at Rae Bareilly to the Court of Additional Sessions Judge (Ayodhya Matters) at Lucknow to be heard together.

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One in five people disliked the video which was viewed by over 20 lakh people as the Prime Minister failed to mention about the conduct of the JEE and NEET exams.  Naturally, most of the people who registered their dislikes were disgruntled candidates and parents who watched this video. The people are protesting against the government on many such issues. They also make use any opportunity to record it. The dislike received for the video of the Prime Minister, who was at the forefront of popularity, is a demonstration of this zeal of protest.

At a time when the country is in deep crisis, the central government has an indifferent attitude. The people want to question the methods of the Central Government which are taking irrational positions in implementing and easing the lockdown. Naturally, protest against the government should turn into support for the opposition. Is that happening on the ground? If the dislikes of the Prime Minister turn into the likes of a prominent leader of the Opposition, it can be assumed that this is happening. But how much popular support do opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi have on social media, which is considered a reflection of society?

In recent days, Rahul Gandhi has posted four consecutive videos protesting against the deteriorating economic situation in the country. In these videos, Rahul Gandhi points out that the government is to blame for the sharp decline in the country’s GDP in the April-June quarter.

Rahul Gandhi’s third video was critical of the GST, the ‘Gabbar Singh tax’, for stunting the country’s economy. The reality is that the ruling party has no objection to objecting to what Rahul has said. But how much of these facts pointed out by Rahul Gandhi reach the people?

The  Rahul’s video posted three days ago was viewed by 1.58 lakh people. 45,000 people liked the video. The video has not been seen by as many people as ‘dislike’ for Modi’s video. Even one-tenth of those who watch Modi’s video do not watch Rahul’s video. If social media is a crossroads of society, then there is a difference between the popular support for Modi and Rahul.

The Opposition in the country is a group of weak leaders who cannot convert the opposition against the government into support for themselves. Rahul Gandhi is not able to highlight any unpopular issue and gain the support of the people. During the lockdown, he posted several videos. But that also does bring to end his responsibility the Leader of the Opposition. The shortcomings of the government should turn into the gains of the Opposition. But Opposition leaders have not shown the ability to bring about that transformation. It has to be said that it is a blessing for the Modi government that the Opposition has not been able to seize the opportunity to trash the government over the sad plight of those who are enduring unending sufferings due to the lockdown.

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Responding to concerns raised by the opposition Congress, Facebook’s Public Policy,Trust and Safety Director Neil Potts has said that it has taken the party’s allegation of bias “very seriously” and will ensure that it remain non-partisan and is committed to maintaining the highest levels of integrity.

Facebook said it has a team with deep expertise on terrorism and organized hate, who pay attention to global and regional trends and advise on these matters.

The assurance came days after Congress wrote two letters to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg accusing the social media giant’s bias and showing favouritism to the BJP. The Congress made the move after reports by Wall Street Journal and the Time magazine about the conduct of Facebook and WhatsApp India’s leadership team flagged bias and proximity with the ruling BJP.

The Congress accused Facebook of interfering in India’s democratic process and social harmony and being soft on members of the ruling BJP while applying its hate-speech rules.

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No other Prime Minister or political leader in independent India has participated in so many photo sessions as part of his marketing strategy. As for Modi, who meditates in a cave and looks at a file while sitting in front of a peacock, appears in photos in various guises and the trolls that follow do not affect him in any way. With each of these photo sessions, he is increasing the support of his fans manifold. In democracies, it is rare for a leader to wear a coat emblazoned with his own name in small letters and dare to appear at an important event of international significance. It is doubtful that there is another leader in contemporary world politics who is so “narcissistic”. Maybe Donald Trump is the only world leader who could be a notch above Mr. Modi in certain areas.

Modi will turn 70 on September 17. It is this old man who is constantly appearing in the media, refining and reinventing himself in costume, form and appearance by capturing the self-love that even young people hesitate to express these days. Our Prime Minister gives a look of subtlety that even celebrities have failed to completely master, even in photo sessions and in public.

There is no other leader in Indian politics today that can influence the people like Mr. Modi. Even in the BJP, other leaders lag far behind Modi in terms of popular support. No other head of state in the world has ever received trolls like Prime Minister Modi, who posed for a photo with books folded upside down and read a newspaper in front of a laptop next to flamingos. But Modi gets twice as much adoration and praise from his fans through the same photos. This is what makes Modi the Paradoxical Prime Minister or Prime Minister of Paradoxes. What seems ridiculous to rivals is a paradox that thrills fans. Just like the movies of superstars that are thought to be a super hit by fans when at the same time people with common sense find it ridiculous.

It is this self-cultivated image, which is at once empty and at the same time extremely popular, that the Congress, among others, is trying to fight and defeat. But leaders need leaders to replace them. The leader Modi was formed not only by the BJP’s entrenched party system. The BJP is more indebted to Modi than he owes it to the party. The BJP was able to return to power in 2014 due to Modi’s charisma. The party retained power in 2019 only because of Modi’s strong influence.

It is quite unfortunate that the Opposition has to take on such a charismatic leader today. It is necessary that a visionary leader should emerge among the Opposition parties to overcome that charismas. Revolutionaries like Jayaprakash Narayanan were in the opposition to give a constant headache for Indira Gandhi, who was so authoritarian that she did not hesitate to declare a state of emergency. But there is no leader in the Opposition today who is capable of hurting Modi. That is not the misfortune only of the opposition; It is also the misfortune of modern Indian democracy.

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AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj made the claim a day after several members of the minority Muslim community from Shaheen Bagh area, which was the centre of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests here, joined the BJP.

Bhardwaj alleged the BJP’s campaign for the Delhi election centred around the Shaheen Bagh protests and it was the only party that benefited from the controversy surrounding the agitation.

“Delhi assembly election could have been fought on the issue of education, health, environment or other developmental narratives. But the Delhi BJP chose to fight the election on the issue of Shaheen Bagh,” he said.

“The whole Shaheen Bagh protest was scripted by the BJP. The topmost leadership of the BJP scripted each and every step of these protests,” he alleged.

“They decided who will speak what, who will attack whom and then who will be doing the counterattack. All these things were pre-planned and well-scripted,” Bharadwaj claimed.

He said the key people behind the Shaheen Bagh protest joined the BJP on Sunday in the presence of the senior leadership of the party.

“Today the question is: does the BJP want to give a message that the people who used to raise anti-national slogans will now be part of the BJP?” he asked.

Bhardwaj claimed that in Delhi, the BJP’s vote percentage rose from 18 to 38 due to the Shaheen Bagh protests and the controversy surrounding it.

“Due to this protest, BJP polarised north-east Delhi, won some seats and then engineered a riot,” Bhardwaj charged.

His allegations drew a rebuttal from Manoj Tiwari, chief of Delhi BJP when these protests happened, who said his party does not discriminate on the basis of religion, caste, creed or lineage.

“Now the confusion is getting cleared and Muslim brothers and sisters want to walk with the BJP…Stop dividing Arvind Kejriwal ji. The world’s largest party BJP represents all religions and does not discriminate on the basis of religion, caste, creed or lineage,” Tiwari said in a tweet in Hindi.

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She was a minister like none of her predecessors. As the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj brought an elitist ministry closer to the common man, dealing with his every day issues. Even to the citizens of India’s closest foe she was a kind and approachable minister as none ever was.

In most cases, an intervention by the minister needed only an alert or tagging in her twitter account. In most medical cases, the action taken by Sushma Swaraj was swift bringing her closer to not just Indians but people of neightbouring countries as well.

Even though she had little voice in a PMO that was running India’s foreign affairs, Sushma Swaraj was proactive when it came to issues concerning Indian workers in the Gulf region. At a time when most officials at embassies and consulates across the Middle East were rigid and standoffish in their dealings with Indian expatriates approaching them during trying times, she brought about a remarkable change.

Swaraj left behind a legacy of an easily-accessible minister who helped the diaspora in distress with her revolutionary social media outreach.

Sushama Swaraj passed away a year back at AIIMS, in New Delhi at the age of 67.

Born on February 14, 1952, Sushma Swaraj started her political life with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the RSS’ student wing. Sushma Swaraj was a Supreme Court lawyer. She later joined the BJP.

She was the Information and Broadcasting Minister in the 13-day Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1996 and got the Cabinet portfolio again after he led the BJP to power in 1998. Always eager to take on a challenge, Sushma Swaraj contested against the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Bellary in 1999 Lok Sabha polls. Though she fell short of votes, she grew in stature. Long seen as a protege of veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani, she also was the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha between 2009-14.

She served as the Minister of External Affairs during the first tenure of the Modi government (2014-2019). She was elected as the Member of Parliament seven times and a Member of Legislative Assembly thrice.

Fondly remembering her, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar tweeted, ‘Today, more than ever, remember her fondly’.

Today, more than ever, remember her fondly.

Always an inspiration. @SushmaSwaraj pic.twitter.com/JRlR3nKpT5

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 6, 2020

Swaraj was replaced by S Jaishankar as the foreign minister in 2019 after she opted out of contenting the elections due to health reasons.

Vice-President, M Venkaiah Naidu had said that he missed his dear sister, Sushma Swaraj on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. “Dear sister Sushma, missing you a lot today,” Naidu tweeted in Hindi and English, along with an old picture of the late BJP leader tying him a ‘rakhi’.

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She writes, “It would be a mistake to see the Ayodhya ceremony as a mere diversionary tactic in the midst of a pandemic and a sinking economy. For the architects of the Hindu Rashtra, it is a day to blow the conch shells and rejoice. The fact that this will happen on August 5 that marks the anniversary of the abolition of Article 370, that they have viewed as an abomination, is a matter of celebration and not a cause of concern for them.”

Ms. Naqvi quotes V D Savarkar, “It was the “Prince of Ayodhya” who established the Hindu nation. “The day when the Horse of Victory returned to Ayodhya unchallenged and unchallengeable… that day was the real birth-day of our Hindu people,”

Savarkar would say that a Hindu was someone for whom India was both the pitrabhumi (land of ancestors) and punya bhumi (holy land), by which definition Muslims and Christians were excluded, says the senior journalist in her articles.

Ayodhya lies in the region once known for a cultural effervescence often described as Ganga-Jumni tehzeeb, that sounds like an outdated cliché today. For one, more rivers run through the region besides the Ganga and Yamuna. There is the Saryu along which Ayodhya stands and the Gomti that cuts through Lucknow. Faizabad, the town to which Ayodhya is attached, was the first capital of the Nawabs of Awadh, who patronised music, the arts, the dance form of kathak, and made donations to many temples. Ayodhya’s pre-eminent temple to date has been the Hanumangarhi, whose construction was supported with several revenue land grants by the nawabs.

Recalling her first trip to Ayodhya in November 1992, weeks before the Babri mosque was brought down, Ms. Naqvi says it was in the backdrop of the Ram janmabhoomi movement, that she began her reporting career travelling across India searching for the survival or death of syncretic traditions and a composite culture.

The Awadh region, she says, has birthed many cultures and contesting memories, from a nawab who would compose a dance drama called Radha Kanhaiyya ka Kissa, to the great singer of thumris and ghazals named Akhtari Bai Faizabadi, whom we know as Begum Akhtar.

Now the metaphorical Prince of Ayodhya returns and a grand symbol of the recast Hindu nation shall dominate the skyline.

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Earlier, Governor Kalraj Mishra had said that the Assembly would not be allowed to be convened in Rajasthan in the face of the COVID-19 threat. Last week, the MLAs along with Ashok Gehlot gathered at the governor’s residence but he was not ready to change his stand. The Congress had alleged that the BJP was playing political drama with the support of the governor. Finally, on July 27 the governor changed his mind. Permission was granted on the condition that the assembly could be convened only if the government gave 21 days’ notice.

It was at this juncture that Assembly Speaker C.P. Joshi withdrew his petition in the Supreme Court against the High Court’s move against the dissident MLAs. The speaker, who was steadfast on his stand that he would disqualify dissident MLAs, was seen withdrawing from legal action for the time being.

Weeks after the start of Sachin Pilot’s revolt against Ashok Gehlot, there is no sign of an immediate end to the drama, let alone new dramatic developments unfolding from day to day. Even though the Congress has so far rejected the legal move in the Supreme Court, they are facing another legal battle. The BJP has filed a petition in the Rajasthan High Court against the merger of six BSP MLAs in the Congress 10 months ago.

The political drama has been further complicated by the fact that the BSP leadership has given a whip to its six MLAs asking them to vote against the government if there is a no-confidence motion in the Assembly. Gehlot claims the support of 103 MLAs, including the six BSP MLAs. Without their support, the government is sure to fall.

There is now complete uncertainty as to whether the Congress-led government, which came to power with sufficient popular support, will be able to stay in power in Rajasthan. The governor, who had secretly vowed to give Gehlot a chance to prove his majority, has now unexpectedly changed his mind. The Congress will have to work doubly hard to secure a vote in favour of Gehlot in the Assembly.

The Congress must drudge to overcome the BJP’s tactics of seizing power even if it does not win elections. With its money power, the BJP is the strongest force in the post-election horse-trading.

With the BJP’s insurmountable party machine and the immense ‘money’ it possesses, J.P. Nadda does the magic of a footballer who scores goals even in the most impossible situations with Amit Shah in the shadows. It remains to be seen whether this footwork will be repeated in Rajasthan.

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“I had expressed thoughts about my Punjabi and Jat brothers at an event in Agartala Press Club recently. I didn’t intend to hurt any community. I am proud of both Punjabi and Jat communities. I myself have spent a lot of time with them,” Mr.Deb tweeted as a mark of apology.

“Many of my close friends are from these communities. If my statement has hurt anyone’s sentiments, I personally seek apology for that,” he further tweeted.

In another tweet, he said that he was aware of these communities’ immense contributions to the country’s freedom struggle and would never doubt their role behind India’s growth story.

Meanwhile, the Congress termed the Chief Minister’s remarks “shameful and unfortunate”. This 50 second video was circulated by Congress Spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala who claimed that Biplab Deb has insulted the Punjab and Jat community. He also described the comments of the Chief Minister as an indicative of the “mindset of the BJP”.

In the video, he is shown making the remarks that Jats are blessed with less intellect, but are healthy, while Bengalis, a community to which he belongs, are known for their intellectual prowess.

“In Haryana, there are Jats. Let me tell you about them. Jats are less intelligent, but are physically healthy. While for Bengalis, it is said that they should not be challenged regarding their intelligence. They are known for their intelligence across the country,” Deb addressed this observation at a programme in Agartala Press Club.

Bijan Dhar, a local veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) leader, termed CM Deb’s statement as “objectionable” “racist”.

“This kind of statement is objectionable. It’s a racial slur to divide the people of this country. It poses a threat to the union and the integrity of our nation. However, if this news is, indeed, fake, then he must counter it publicly,” Dhar said.

The BJP party, however, jumped to CM Deb’s defence.

“The CM didn’t intend to degrade any particular community’s intelligence quotient. His speech was misconstrued. He wanted to delineate the characteristics of various communities across the country. His comments were misinterpreted and spun out of content to give a political twist to it and create unnecessary controversy,” said Subrata Chakraborty, BJP’s state spokesperson.

This is not the first time Biplab Deb has made some controversial comment . In the past, he also made some bizarre remarks when he said internet was present in the times of the Mahabharata.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made the declaration setting up a trust for the construction of Rama temple in February this year. The Prime Minister’s Office is yet to confirm if the Prime Minister would  be present for the foundation stone laying ceremony. The trust has planned to assemble 50 dignitaries to celebrate the foundation laying ceremony.

When adversity strikes people are usually thought to act more sensibly.  But then it can be expected from people who have at least a bit of sense as a basic trait and are known to act with a sense of  discernment. But then it would be expecting too much from a party that was established to build a ‘Ramrajya’ and had grown suckling on the blood of communalism for which it had prepared the ground and sown the seeds of division.

Isn’t it strange that the government is ready to pour down crores of rupees on Ram Temple when a vast majority of the people are left in dire straits as a result of COVID-19 and the lockdown in its wake? 
But then earlier the Gujarat Government spent Rs.3,000 crores to set up a statue for Sardar Patel. That can be termed as foolhardiness in a state where the majority of the population are living below the poverty line.  It is the same foolhardiness at work in establishing a Rama temple at the time when the nation, nay humanity, is faced with the worst in its recent history.

The Supreme Court order giving permission for the establishment of a Rama Temple negated history and did not abide well for a secular nation such as India. Some of the recent decisions emanating from the Supreme Court had thrown to the winds the values of a democratic and secular nation.  One can’t even imagine such decisions being pronounced by apex courts in the developed western world that holds up ideals of secularism and democratic principles as supreme.

The BJP government is trying to revive Treta Yuga on the banks of Sarayu river. The project includes even a five star hotel.

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