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3 years of Modi govt: All is rosy in Imaginary India, who cares for the lynched when trolls rule?

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3 years of Modi govt: All is rosy in Imaginary India, who cares for the lynched when trolls rule?

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]All you see is garbage strewn around, cows and more cows and ATMs running out of cash but BMKJ!

Ranjona Banerji

There are two very distinct views on India right now. The first says that India has never done better and if life is not perfect yet, it soon will be. The other says that India has never been worse and the very idea of India is in peril.

If you look out of your window anywhere in India, the chances are that it looks pretty much the way it has always done. In this season, it is hot, dusty, garbage strewn here and there, construction debris lying around, uneven pavements, hanging wires, stray cattle, ATMs running out of money and so on. We all know where we are, why pretend it is otherwise?

But pretending is much easier than facing reality. Therefore many people on social media believe that an artist’s impression of how a bus station in Rajkot is going to look is the bus station itself, even if the foundation stone has barely been laid. Others, including Paresh Rawal, a famous actor who is also a BJP parliamentarian, read a diabolical invented interview with writer Arundhati Roy, which has been reposted through various dubious websites, and decide that she deserves to be tied to the front of an army jeep in Kashmir to deter stone throwing youths because she is evil and anti-national.

Once you pretend that any city in India looks like Singapore and all Indian villages look like those in the Cotswold, that India’s economy has never done better, that demonetisation ticked every box it was supposed to and caused no losses, then why should a digital illustration of something that does not exist or a false interview from a dubious source be so hard to believe?

The world of “fake news” is real and everyday on the internet. Sometimes, even legitimate newsrooms fall for totally invented pieces of news. WhatsApp, though it is unfair to blame the medium itself, is nonetheless rampant with all sorts of invented gunk, reminiscent of those endless “forwards” when email first began. Most of those re-circulated old jokes and even older prejudices. Now we have the same hatred peddled more frequently and evidently with more damaging effect.

It does not take long for invented “news” to heat up all those biases and start an upsurge of hate and violence on social media. That of course is the intention of fake news. And it provides ballast to trolls and abusers on the internet to target all those who do not agree with them.

It is increasingly difficult in one of the two Indias to stand up for due process or rule of law without getting abused or dubbed anti-national. The army major who tied a citizen of India to his jeep to deter “stone-pelters” in Kashmir is a hero and anyone who stands up for the rights of the man used as a human shield is disrespectful of the army and practically guilty of treason.

Much worse, of course, is the official silence on the collapse of rule of law in various Indian states. Mobs are dispensing “justice” and killing and thrashing people practically at whim. The incident in Jharkhand, where four men were beaten to death on suspicion of being kidnappers while the police watched, is not just horrific – it is frighteningly symptomatic of the other India. Mere lip service is paid to these crimes by politicians in power, while tears are shed for victims of terror attacks in other countries by the prime minister. BJP spokespersons condescendingly inform us that the prime minister cannot speak on every subject – the very argument the BJP mocked when the Congress used it for Manmohan Singh.

Meanwhile, in the first India, threats of rape on social media are seen as defendable examples of freedom of expression. Bollywood singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya’s Twitter account is suspended because of a rape threat he made to a student. This is not Bhattacharya’s first offence and he has been picked up by the police for his online behaviour. In solidarity, Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam closes his Twitter account, to stand up for Bhattacharya’s apparently inalienable right to threaten rape.

Yes, all is really going well in Imaginary India. Enjoy the bus ride from that station that doesn’t exist.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

India News

Union Minister Smriti Irani questions Rahul Gandhi’s love for Indian democracy over his boycott of the new Parliament inauguration

Irani questioned what kind of love it that massacred Sikhs(referring to the 1984-Anti Sikh riots)?

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Union Minister Smriti Irani questions Rahul Gandhi’s love for Indian democracy over his boycott of the new Parliament inauguration

Union Minister Smriti Irani tore apart Rahul Gandhi’s Mohabbat Ki Dukaan campaign, questioning his love for Indian democracy and the people of India.

Irani questioned what kind of love it that massacred Sikhs(referring to the 1984-Anti-Sikh riots)? She questioned, what kind of love was that insulted the Sengol(the golden stick, which was placed in the new Parliament by Prime Minister Narendra Modi)? She said she wanted to ask him about what kind of love was it that boycotted the inauguration of the new Parliament? Irani asked him to tell her what kind of love was it which was to be silent while the film The Kerala Story was released.

She said she could not understand what kind of love is it that shook hands and hugged those people who curse India or the concept of India.

Irani adding to her attack, said, Rahul Gandhi is only defaming India outside its national boundaries. During the press conference, she listed the achievements of the Modi-ruled Centre government in the last nine years.

She said, women are more protected today and cited the success of government programs like Beti Padhao and Beti Bachao. She hailed the government for its efforts of holistic development, talking about the government scheme of Sabka Saath and Sabka Vikas.

The Minister congratulated the people of India on the inauguration of the new parliament building. She stated it was the priority of the government to ensure that every class is assured that financial allocation is done for any class or community.

She said the figures themselves told the truth. She said that the Congress party, in its hunger for power, is using external forces which are hurting the Indian democracy.  

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India News

Fire at KGMU Lucknow’s under-construction hospital complex | Watch video

Lucknow has been in the news since yesterday over the shoot-out that took place at a Lucknow Court complex. In the shoot-out, gangster Mukhtar Ansari’s close associate Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva was shot dead.

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KGMU Lucknow

A massive fire broke out at an under construction complex of the King George Medical University(KGMU) hospital in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.

The building which was ablaze, is meant to house the cardiology department.

As soon as the fire broke out, fire-fighting teams rushed to the spot. While, no casualties are being reported from the accident, the reason behind the ablaze is not yet ascertained.

Lucknow District Magistrate Suryapal Gangwar confirmed that there were no casualties as it was an under-construction facility.

KGMU is one of the eminent medical universities in India. It was set up in 1906, the idea of which was floated back in 1870 by the then Maharaja of Vizianagaram. The idea was put on hold due to lack of funds but later in 1905, George V inspired the idea of setting up the college.

Lucknow has been in the news since yesterday over the shoot-out that took place at a Lucknow Court complex. In the shoot-out, gangster Mukhtar Ansari’s close associate Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva was shot dead.

A man dressed as a lawyer entered the court complex and fired six rounds. In the incident, a 7-8 –year-old girl and a policeman were injured.

The accused has been identified as Vijay Yadav, a resident of UP’s Jaunpur district.

Earlier this morning, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath met with the injured girl to enquire about her well-being.  

The firing has yet again, raised questions on the law and order situation in UP as Jeeva was killed in the police custody.

The law and order of the state has been in question by the opposition parties since May, after the slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were gunned down in a police custody inside a hospital complex in Prayagraj, while being taken for a medical examination.

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India News

Congress urges External Affairs Minister Jaishankar to take up Indira Gandhi assassination float with Canada

When the Foreign Minister was asked at a press conference, Jaishankar said, there was an issue about space which is given to extremists, separatists, and people who advocate violence.

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Congress urges External Affairs Minister Jaishankar to take up Indira Gandhi assassination float with Canada

The Congress on Thursday urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to take up strongly with the Canadian authorities, a float depicting the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in a parade in Brampton, Canada.

When the Foreign Minister was asked at a press conference, Jaishankar said, there was an issue about space that is given to extremists, separatists, and people who advocate violence.

Jaishankar said he failed to understand why someone would do such a thing. He cited it as a clear case of vote bank politics. Condemning the incident, he said this was a clear issue of providing space to separatists, extremists, and to people who advocate violence. He further added it is not good for Canada and its relationship with India.    

The Canadian High Commissioner of India Cameron Mackay said he was shocked by the news of the event that celebrated the assassination of Indira Gandhi in his country. He further added, there is no place for hate or violence or act of glorification of violence in Canada, and he strongly condemned these activities.

Congress leader Milind Deora shared the video on Twitter, which showed a float depicting Gandhi’s assassination in a recent parade held in Brampton, Canada. He wrote, as an Indian, he was shocked seeing the video, the 5-km long parade portraying Gandhi’s killing.

Shashi Tharoor supported Deora and said he was completely right and such activities should be condemned with no politics involved.

Twitter users slamming the incident wrote it to be horrifying and painful. These things happening under the leadership of Justin Trudeau are shameful. A user said this was the force of hatred against which Rahul Gandhi has to fight. Another said, this to be really sad and the BJP government should take it up with the Canadian government.

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