Exaggeration of falsehood is the hallmark of Modi govt: Arun Shourie

Agencies
November 27, 2017

New Delhi, Nov 27: Renowned journalist and economist Arun Shourie, who was the Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has openly admitted that "falsehood" has been the "hallmark" of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government and that it has miserably failed to fulfill several promises such as on generating jobs.

Participating at the Times Lit Fest in New Delhi, Mr Shourie also urged the people of the country to minutely judge the work of the government. He said that he can give many examples of that in the form of full page advertisements in the newspapers showing "government statistics of generating over five and half crore job by MUDRA scheme" only.

"But we should not be surprised at this.... falsehood has become the hallmark of this government," he said.

Mr Shourie said that in 40 years of observing politics in India, he had never witnessed an exaggeration of falsehoods of the kind happening now, and that the only way to challenge an opposing narrative was to counter it by reading and mastering their own texts. "If you find, for instance, BJP use Ambedkar to say he supported Hinduism or BJP, read his 'Riddles in Hinduism' and question them with what he has said in the book."

Mr Shourie said, "No Prime Minister's Office has been weaker than the one in power today because of the insecurities of the people on top."

Concerned at the rise in communal incidents in India, Shourie said, "Every group can be inflamed today. But what is important is that violence is not done by the masses as a whole; a very small minority has to be inflamed and the rest will appropriate the violence. It happened in 1984, and the same thing happened in 2002. These things are contagious. Unless we are cautious, we will all become participants in this."

Shourie said it was most dangerous when small minorities indulging in violence "marry the state", multiplying in force as a result. "Mussolini's goons were nobody's until they met with the state," Shourie said. He added, "I fear this will get worse because Modi realises he has not been able to, and won't be able to, deliver on his promise of development. So they will only work harder to do what they do best: divide people and then conquer."

There's light at the end of the tunnel, though, Shourie said. A state machinery, however large, is finite, and the search for purity, he said, will come about.

On a lighter note, Shourie also said it is not necessary to argue too much. "The best way to deal with a balloon is not with a sledgehammer but with a pin. Humour is the best way, and with civility and reason," he said.

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News Network
May 10,2024

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Mangaluru, June 10: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested another prime accused in 2022 BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru murder case. 

32-year-old Jilla BJP Yuva Morcha committee member Nettaru was hacked to death in front of his broiler shop in Bellare of Dakshina Kannada by bike-borne miscreants in July 2022. The case is being investigated by the NIA and several arrests have been made so far.

Mustafa Paichar, accused number four in the case, was absconding after the murder and the NIA had declared a Rs 5 lakh reward to catch him. 

He was arrested at Sakleshpur in Hassan district by the NIA team led by Inspector Shanmugam. 

According to officials Mustafa was reportedly a member of now banned Popular Front of India and a resident of Shantinagar in Sullia in Dakshina Kannada.

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News Network
May 3,2024

Bengaluru: In a fresh development in the alleged Hassan sex abuse case, JD(S) MLA H D Revanna, who was accused of sexually harassing his house help, has been booked for kidnapping a victim allegedly sexually assaulted by his son, Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna. The case was filed late Thursday evening at the KR Nagar police station in Mysuru.

The 20-year-old complainant from KR Nagara accused one Sathish Babanna of taking his mother away forcibly and keeping her in an unknown location at the behest of Revanna.

As per the FIR, Revanna has been named as accused 1 while Babanna was accused 2. The duo were booked under IPC Sections 364A (kidnapping for ransom), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).

The complainant claimed that his mother, whose name and age were not revealed, had worked as a help in Revanna’s house and farm in Holenarasipura for six years, quit the job three years ago and returned to KR Nagara. She then worked for daily wages.

“Nearly three to four days before the Lok Sabha election, Sathish Babanna, who is known to us and hailed from our native place, took my mother to Holenarasipura after saying that Bhavani Revanna, the wife of MLA Revanna, had asked for her,” the complainant alleged, adding that Babanna dropped her back on the day of the polls.

Babanna allegedly told the victim’s mother and father to remain silent and evade the police if they came looking for them and to inform him of the developments.

On April 29, at around 9 pm, when the complainant was home, the suspect Babanna arrived, told the complainant’s mother that Revanna had asked for her and took her away on his motorcycle. The complainant claimed that he wasn’t aware of where Babanna took his mother and he had told him that if the police found her, a case would be registered and they would all go to jail.

On May 1, two of the complainant’s relatives called him on the phone and told him that there was a video of his mother being sexually assaulted by Prajwal and that it was a huge case, the FIR noted. He was also informed by his two friends of his "mother's videos being circulated".

When he asked Babanna later that night, he was allegedly told that there was a photo of his mother standing with a stick when Prajwal had quarrelled with someone earlier and an FIR had been registered. Babanna told the complainant that his mother would have to be released on bail, the FIR noted.

“Babanna told me not to speak on the matter on my phone and asked me to talk from a different phone,” he said, seeking action from the police.

The case has been transferred to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the Hassan sex scandal as per the government order.

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News Network
May 4,2024

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Mangaluru, May 4: A tragic incident unfurled last evening in Subrahmanya of Kadaba taluk in Dakshina Kananda, where a young gentleman, who had recently entered the bonds of matrimony a mere ten days hence, met his untimely demise due to a lightning strike.

As twilight descended, a tempestuous thunderstorm, accompanied by billowing rain clouds, cast its shadow over the locale.

Somasundar was diligently engaged in the task of piling up dried nuts in the yard to shield them from the impending deluge, when fate cruelly intervened, subjecting him to the fatal force of a lightning bolt.

Despite the expeditious efforts to convey him to Kadaba Community Hospital subsequent to his sudden indisposition, he tragically succumbed to his injuries. 

Somasundar, who operated a car washing enterprise in proximity to Subrahmanya, is mourned by his mother, sister, and wife.

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