Showing posts with label POLITICS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label POLITICS. Show all posts

Wednesday, 19 June 2019

Why post on Pulwama intelligence failure blocked on Twitter, Digvijaya Singh fumes

Digvijaya Singh has alleged intelligence failure behind Pulwama terror attack
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has alleged intelligence failure behind Pulwama terror attack of February 14. (Photo: PTI)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Pulwama terror attack took place on February 14 when 40 jawans were killed
  • Digvijaya Singh alleges that the government ignored critical intelligence input
  • Digvijaya Singh complained that his tweet on the issue was blocked for retweeting
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh was left fuming today after he posted a tweet on the micro-blogging site sharing an intelligence warning note about a possible terror attack in Pulwama.

Digvijaya Singh complained that following his questioning of inaction by the security agencies and the home ministry, retweeting of his post was blocked by Twitter. In the original post containing the intelligence warning note, Digvijaya Singh had said, "PULWAMA WARNING Would Home Minister deny this Signal sent on 8th February 2019 by SSP on behalf of IGP (sic)."

Forty jawans had died in a terror attack on February 14 which saw tension rising between India and Pakistan.
In a series of tweets, Digvijaya Singh wrote, "J&K Governor admitted Intelligence failure in Pulwama attack. IG, Kashmir Police warned of IED attack, via Signal sent on 8 Feb, 2018. It was ignored. The result was Pulwama attack, where 44 of our Jawans sacrificed their lives in IED blast."

Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based terror outfit, claimed responsibility for the attack that took place on Jammu-Srinagar highway. A convoy of more than 75 vehicles of the CRPF transporting the jawans from Jammu to Srinagar was targeted by a suicide bomber in the terror incident.

Image tweeted by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh while alleging intelligence failure behind Pulwama terror attack.


Digvijaya Singh alleged that the "GOI denied Air Lifting to CRPF Jawans forcing them to take the dangerous land route without sanitising the Route leading to 44 of our Jawans. GOI doesn't even asks anyone who is responsible for this Intelligence Failure? Not even the Governor who admitted Intelligence Failure!!"

Later the Congress leader sought to know from Twitter management as to why his tweet on alleged intelligence failure was being blocked.

He wrote, "Just saw my other tweets also. My questions on intelligence failure are also blocked by @TwitterIndia from retweeting? No action on abusive tweets, no action on threatening tweets, no action on hate tweets but bonafide queries are blocked as offensive! What's your policy @Twitter?"

Incidentally, in a fresh terror attack in Pulwama, at least seven civilians were injured in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Tuesday. The militants lobbed the grenade towards the police station, but it exploded on the roadside, causing injuries to seven passers-by, police officials said.

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Tuesday, 11 June 2019

Why Rahul Gandhi should stop sulking and get back to work

Why Rahul Gandhi should stop sulking and get back to work
(Photo: GettyImages)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • If Rahul Gandhi doesn't quickly retract his resignation then his party would slowly but inexorably roll towards oblivion
  • Congress is in a shambles across the country
  • In Mahrashtra, the Congress is on the verge of a split
It is the season of sulks. Instead of acting like mature leaders, our political netas are behaving like spoilt brats whose favourite toy has been snatched away.
Look at West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. Still smarting after being out-flanked by Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo in the general elections, Didi has said she wouldn't come to New Delhi for a Niti Aayog meeting.
Mamata Banerjee has her reasons to skip the June 15 meeting; but it is more a case of licking her wounds than a case of opposition based on ideology.
Janata Dal (United)'s president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is another person who is chafing inwardly. Nitish Kumar is said to have asked for three JD (U) MPs to be inducted in Narendra Modi's cabinet - one each of cabinet rank, minister of state (with independent charge) and minister of state.
Modi offered one post to JD (U). A stunned Nitish Kumar decided to stay away from the Modi government. In a tit-for-tat move, the Bihar CM expanded his cabinet and offered BJP a single berth.
Nitish Kumar shouldn't forget the numbers. With 303 seats in Parliament, Modi was being generous to JD (U) by offering to share power. And by winning all the 17 Lok Sabha seats that it contested in Bihar, BJP's grip on the state is only getting stronger.
But if there is a king of mopes in Indian politics today then the crown should go to Rahul Gandhi.
Leaving in a huff
Source: GettyImages
On May 25 he quit from the post of Congress president saying that there were many leaders who were working for their sons rather than the party. Gandhi's resignation led to a chorus of lamentations in the Congress Working Committee.
Since leaving the Congress top job in a huff, Rahul Gandhi has gone incommunicado. He is back in Delhi after his thanksgiving trip to Wayanad. And it is time he gets back to work. Work being to helm the Congress party. And he has an uphill task ahead.
The Congress party is looking at a chasm. A chasm that is likely to get bigger because its biggest rival, the BJP, is all set to make national parties a relic of the past.
If Rahul Gandhi doesn't quickly retract his resignation then his party would slowly but inexorably roll towards oblivion. Congress is in a shambles across the country. There is grim news for Rahul Gandhi.
In Mahrashtra, the Congress is on the verge of a split. Veteran lawmaker and former leader of opposition in the assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil has quit Congress and is all set to join the BJP. Most likely he will get a berth in Devendra Fadnavis cabinet.
According to the Indian Express four other Congress MLAs -- Kalidas Kolambkar, Nitesh Rane, Abdul Sattar and Jaykumar Gore -- are likely to join the BJP. There have been desertions at the district levels too.
Maharashtra will elect a new assembly later this year. If Rahul Gandhi doesn't get a grip on the situation, Congress may not even get the 42 seats it got in 2014. Maharashtra assembly's strength is 288. Considering that the party won just one Lok Sabha seat (of the 48 on offer), the Congress faces an uphill task.
If in Maharashtra Congress is on the verge of breaking up, it already has in Telangana. Earlier this month 12 of Congress's 19 legislators joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi of Chief Minister K Chandrsekhar Rao.
Congress legislative party leader Bhatti Vikramarka sat on a token hunger strike, accusations of money exchanging hands were in the air but the reality remains that the Congress state unit is looking lost.
Captain has a complaint
In Punjab, its only stronghold in the north, the Congress is all set to implode. The rift between Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu is growing wider every passing day. The situation has become particularly acute after the Lok Sabha results were declared.
Navjot Singh Sidhu met Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday. (Source: Twitter/@sherryontopp)
In a recent cabinet rejig Captain stripped Sidhu of some key portfolios. Sidhu met Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday and apprised them of the mess that is Congress in Punjab now.
In recent years Congress has been plagued by factionalism. The situation in Madhya Pradesh should give the Congress the jitters. Out of the 230 seats in the assembly, Congress has 114 and BJP 109. For now the Congress has the support of the lone Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) MLAs as well as four Independents.
The Kamal Nath government in Bhopal is shaky. Defections can be engineered. And the party's pathetic show in the Lok Sabha elections -- of the 29 seats it managed to win just one -- isn't helping the party herd its workers.
A similar story is being played out in Rajasthan. That Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot do not vibe well is no more a secret. And that translated into a drubbing in the recent parliamentary elections -- not winning a single of the 25 Lok Sabha seats.
In the assembly too Congress is barely holding on. Of the 200 assembly seats, Congress won 100 and the BJP 73 in the 2018 assembly polls. There are 13 Independents in the House. Toppling the government will be child's play for BJP, which is in power at the Centre.
A long list of things to do
Priyanka Gandhi in a roadshow during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. (File image: Pankaj Nangia)
For Rahul Gandhi to shirk the responsibility of keeping the Congress flock together will be criminal. The party has been wiped out in West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
Rahul Gandhi should first get down to organisational restructuring. Get Priyanka Gandhi, who has a great connect to the people, to reach out to the workers. Meet local leaders and put the vim back into the party.
Appoint a working president if need be but resigning can never be an option. For democracy to thrive, India needs a strong opposition led by the Congress.
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Wednesday, 29 May 2019

PM NARENDRA MODI THANKS THE LIKES OF SHAH RUKH KHAN AND VIRAT KOHLI AFTER WINNING THE LOK SABHA ELECTIONS 2019

PM Narendra Modi


After five years of serving the Indians, PM Narendra Modi’s throne still remains unaffected. On 23rd May 2019, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aced the ongoing elections and recorded a historic win by conquering a whopping 351 out of 542 seats in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. Congress, on the other hand, trailed far behind. On his massive triumph, the PM of India was flooded with congratulatory messages from across the globe, which included politicians, sports personalities and of course Bollywood celebrities. Right from Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Virat Kohli, Madhuri Dixit, Macky Sall to Bill Gates many took to their micro-blogging site and hailed India's decision to elect Modi as the face once again.

Well, now looks like after almost a day and a half, Narendra Modi is in the mood to thank all the renowned faces who congratulated him on his win. Taking to his Twitter, Modi is on a roll and looks like is quite active on social media.

Have a look at the tweets by PM Narendra Modi below: 





Another thing we noticed is that Modi is not copy-pasting his thank you gesture on Twitter, but instead, we see different expression by the PM of India for different celebrity. We are impressed!  





Talking about Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA's victory, many new faces have got their seat in the parliament. The focused Smriti Irani has won from Amethi, Sunny Deol from Gurdaspur and Pragya Thakur won in Bhopal. BJP's win was expected and that's exactly what has happened.

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ANUPAM KHER HAS SOME FRIENDLY ADVICE FOR THE NEW LAWMAKER GAUTAM GAMBHIR

Anupam Kher has some friendly advice for the new lawmaker Gautam Gambhir


Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir is one of the newest entrants to politics. The newly elected member of the Lok Sabha won from his East Delhi constituency and has been on the news for a while. However, Anupam Kher, a veteran of the film industry and the husband of politician Kirron Kher, had a piece of advice for Gambhir. Kher’s comments came after Gambhir lashed out at the assault of a Muslim person in Gurgaon.

Kher tweeted his congratulations to Gambhir and advised him to not get ‘into a trap of getting popular with a section of the media.’ He further added that it is Gambhir’s work that should be speaking for itself and not his statements. Earlier, a 25-year-old Muslim man in Gurgaon was allegedly thrashed by a group on May 25. The attackers allegedly forced him to remove his skull cap and made him chat ‘Jai Shri Ram.’

Following the incident, Gambhir called the incident as ‘deplorable’ and asked the local authorities to take action. Gambhir added that his secularism came from Narendra Modi’s principle of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. He also noted that any sort of oppression that is based on someone’s religion or caste is unwarranted.

Will Gauti heed Anupam's two cents?

“I am not limiting myself to Gurugram incident alone, any oppression based on caste/religion is deplorable. Tolerance & inclusive growth is what the idea of India is based on," Gambhir noted in a tweet.

Unfortunately for him, those comments didn’t go down well with some of the BJP supports in Delhi. They argued that Gambhir’s comments may be used against him and the party by the opposition. Gambhir contested against Congress’s Arvinder Singh Lovely in East Delhi and managed to win by 3.91 lakh votes.

Recently, Gambhir has been facing a lot of flak from Shahid Afridi, who questioned the new lawmaker’s suggestion that India should forfeit any World Cup matches against Pakistan.

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RAHUL GANDHI AND HIS PIDI OUT ON A DRIVE; MAKE FOR ONE HELL OF A PICTURE

Rahul Gandhi and his Pidi out on a drive; make for one hell of a picture


The post-election scene among the oppositions is pretty chaotic. Congress President Rahul Gandhi, after the UPA's nearly disastrous performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, wants to step down as the party chief while his party isn't willing to let him go. But the best part about having a pet is that your doggo (or a cat, or whatever) will treat you the same, doesn't matter if you are becoming the Prime Minister OR trying to save your century-old party that's now crumbling down.

Such a huge preface is because we spotted Rahul out and about in Delhi, on Tuesday, but not alone. He is seen driving his car while his pet Pidi royally occupies the back seat. Pidi is plain excited to be clicked! The dog is beating the Delhi heat and the tongue is out, but what's stopping it from posing?


For anyone who does not remember, Rahul had faced a heavy dose of trolls after he introduced Pidi to us. It so happened that the Congress President was churning out powerful tweets on Demonetisation, AADHAR, and GST among others. Many of us wondered who was the man behind his social media accounts. Then, this happened.


Agreed, though. Pidi is 'way cooler' than many, actually.

This soon encouraged a round of memes. But one can't deny that Rahul is indeed fond of little, dear Pidi!

Another time, he reportedly headed to Race Course at night to give his adopted desi dog a joyride wherein volunteers of an animal shelter spotted him. How nice is that?

Knowing that he is having quite a gruelling time politically, hope his times with Pidi will make up for it!

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Tuesday, 28 May 2019

EXCLUSIVE! ANUPAM KHER DECLARES WIFE KIRRON KHER’S ‘VICTORY’ IN CHANDIGARH! HERE’S WHAT SON SIKANDAR HAS TO SAY

Exclusive! Anupam Kher declares wife Kirron Kher’s ‘victory’ in Chandigarh! Here’s what son Sikandar has to say


BJP candidate and sitting MP Kirron Kher has won over rival and Congress nominee Pawan Kumar Bansal from the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat. With this, it is Kirron’s second consecutive victory from the seat. Declaring her victory, Anupam Kher, in an exclusive chat with in.com said, “She has won with over 46,000 votes. Election Commission is yet to declare it, but she has gone ahead and spoken to the press already in Chandigarh. Winning a second term is a big-big victory for her.”
in.com spoke with her son Sikandar Kher about his mother’s lead in Chandigarh. The actor said, "I am extremely happy that my mother's hardwork has paid off. I was glued to the TV since morning following the results. I have seen my mom paving her way into politics. It's a cut-throat world out there. The place is awful and one needs to have a solid heart to stay there. Her victory in Chandigarh is an example of her work doing the talking.”


Sikandar says that the polling results will shut the mouths of the opposition who have been falsely pressing allegations against his mother. He says, “The opposition has constantly tried to malign her by saying that she hardly spent time in Chandigarh. This is a blatant lie. I have missed my mom as she has been in Chandigarh, away from Mumbai. She left her family and worked hard in Chandigarh for the development of the people. She is currently there and I am in Mumbai. I want to celebrate her win. I will FaceTime her and give her a kiss and a virtual hug."
Apart from Kher and Bansal, Aam Aadmi Party's Harmohan Dhawan was contesting from Chandigarh. The overall voter turnout in Chandigarh Lok Sabha constituency was recorded at 70.62 per cent this election.

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A DAY LATE, SHAH RUKH KHAN WISHES PM NARENDRA MODI FOR HIS HISTORIC WIN IN LOK SABHA ELECTIONS 2019

Shah Rukh Khan, Narendra Modi, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma, Zero, Anand L Rai, Bollywood, Entertainment, Politics, BJP, Lok Sabha Elections 2019


Prime Minister Narendra Modi scripted history on Thursday after the poll results announced the Bhartiya Janta Party as the winner of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. With BJP winning 351 seats out of the 542 seats in the Lok Sabha election, it made sure that Narendra Modi is all set to come in the office for the second successive term. People from round the world started congratulating Modi for this unbelievable feat and one of them was Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

While other B-town celebs congratulated and wished Modi for his historic win, Shah Rukh Khan took his sweet time and on Friday he congratulated the PM for his win. SRK stated that we as proud Indians have chosen an establishment with great clarity with whom all our hopes and dreams have been tied to be fulfilled.
Unlike other actors in Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan has maintained his distance from politics. While the other actors of Bollywood had taken time out from their busy schedules and met PM Narendra Modi in the famous selfie of the year 2019, Shah Rukh has been busy with his work and missing from these pictures.

Apart from Shah Rukh Khan, other biggie who congratulated Modi for his big win on Thursday was Salman Khan. The Bharat star took to Twitter and congratulated the PM and said that he along with other people of the country stand by him for making a stronger India.


View this post on Instagram
 
A post shared by Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) on 
On the work front post Shah Rukh Khan hasn’t officially announced any project of his in coming days. His last release Zero, tanked at the box office was directed by Anand L Rai and also starred Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma in the lead.

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TWINKLE KHANNA SARCASTICALLY RATIONALISES BJP'S VICTORY AND REASONS AS TO WHY THE LIBERALS FAILED

Twinkle Khanna sarcastically rationalises BJP's victory and reasons why the liberals failedTwinkle Khanna AKA Mrs Funnybones' newspaper column has been ever entertaining. In her newest, the actor-turned-author talks about how the BJP emerged victorious in the face of the liberals who demand just a little bit more than caste-politics. All this while her husband, Akshay Kumar's citizenship is much debated considering his very patriotic-but-not-political interview with PM Narendra Modi where instead of asking hard-hitting questions (like the ever-growing unemployment in the country and mob-lynchings of the minorities), he asked if the PM enjoys mangoes.



Khanna started off with a Bollywood analogy, one that is quite accurate and hilarious to distinguish a liberal from a bhakt. "I would say that the difference between bhakts and liberals is the same as between Aamir and Salman Khan fans. One lot will carefully evaluate the merit of the movie and read reviews before booking tickets, whereas the other is like the Modi fan who will throng the cinema just on the basis of the trailer."


Mrs Funnybones then went on to establish a global connection to a local one and how one party took a basic requirement and turned it into a scheme. "For instance, their precious mobile phone running on cheap data wasn’t seen as a byproduct of global modernisation but of the government’s Digital India scheme. They also linked the construction of toilets to schemes like Swachh Bharat. This is something that the opposition found difficult to understand, let alone build a campaign around."

Satirical as it is, the Pyjamas are Forgiving author then shred the notion of a liberal, stating how they stand unified but divided. "The literal definition of a liberal is someone open to another’s opinions, an inclusive club. But being a liberal these days is akin to wanting to be part of the Green Lantern corps . . . you must also prove that you have always been woke, even from the time when the word woke was just a variable antonym of sleep. Heated discussions must be circumvented, about which causes are more important and who is worth supporting. There are also other conundrums that must be dealt with, looking up words like conundrum, for example, and crafting well-formulated, grammatically impeccable opinions. God forbid, if there is a spelling error hidden, then members of the same tribe will turn into grammar nazis and tear one of their own to shreds. This usually results in a bunch of intelligent, earnest and well-meaning people, committing to becoming the Green Lanterns of their individual sectors, instead of coming together as a formidable group. This victory is not just based on the cleverness of the chowkidars or the work they put in, but partly on the fact that they presented a completely united front unlike the liberals."


Eventually, Khanna went on to dissect the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the anatomy of a Bhakt. "The Chowkidar clubhouse, on the other hand, has no entry fee. Add the prefix to your name, wear the T-shirt and you are a beloved member. You may hear of various accusations like fake liberal within one side, but I have yet to see the right-wing accuse each other of being a fake bhakt. The term simply does not exist. They don’t care. They don’t care about your past. They don’t care if you will switch sides in the future. One could almost say that they live by the words of philosopher Alan Watts “I have realised that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is. They just clasp hands, marching on, where banging heads against one means taking them all on. This has been one of the right wing’s greatest strength all over the world.

Mrs Funnybones tells it like she sees it - have a mango at that.

(Fasten your seatbelts for Bharat 2.0 by Twinkle Khanna originally appeared on the Times of India from where the excerpts have been taken.)

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