Twitter CEO trolled for carrying anti-Brahmin poster

Agencies
November 20, 2018

New Delhi, Nov 20: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has kicked up a social media storm in India after a picture of him with a placard saying "smash Brahminical patriarchy", referring to the highest Hindu caste, went viral in one of the company's fastest-growing markets.

The picture, posted on Twitter on Sunday by a journalist who was part of group of women journalists, activists, writers whom Dorsey met during a visit to India last week, had him clutching a poster of a woman holding up a banner with the line that has offended many Indians.

Several prominent Indians, including T.V. Mohandas Pai, a former finance chief of software exporter Infosys, accused Dorsey of "hate mongering" against Brahmins.

"Tomorrow if @jack is given a poster with anti-Semitic messages in a meeting, will his team allow him to hold it up?," Pai tweeted. "Why is that any different? Inciting hate against any community is wrong."

Twitter India said the poster was handed to Dorsey by a Dalit activist - Dalits are at the bottom of the social hierarchy in Hinduism - when it hosted a closed-door discussion with a group of women to know more about their experience using Twitter.

It added the poster was a "tangible reflection of our company's efforts to see, hear, and understand all sides of important public conversations that happen on our service around the world".

Late on Monday, Vijaya Gadde, legal, policy and trust and safety lead at Twitter who accompanied Dorsey to India, apologised.

"I'm very sorry for this. It's not reflective of our views. We took a private photo with a gift just given to us - we should have been more thoughtful," she said in a tweet. "Twitter strives to be an impartial platform for all. We failed to do that here & we must do better to serve our customers in India."

Twitter, whose monthly active users globally averaged 326 million in the July-September quarter, does not disclose the number of its users in India but its executives have said that the country was one of its fastest growing.

Its use is only expected to grow in India in the coming months as political parties in the country of 1.3 billion try to expand their reach to voters ahead of a general election due by May.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with 44.4 million followers, is one of its biggest supporters.

"I enjoy being on this medium, where I’ve made great friends and see everyday the creativity of people," Modi tweeted last week after meeting Dorsey in New Delhi.

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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 17,2024

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Bengaluru: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday forecast heavy rainfall and thunderstorms in a few districts of Karnataka and said Bengaluru is likely to witness light to moderate rain and thunderstorms, with temperatures ranging from 30 degree Celsius to 22 degree Celsius in the next 24 hours.

Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Hassan, Mysuru, Mandya, Chamrajanagara, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts are likely to experience heavy to very heavy rainfalls between May 17 and 21, said C S Patil, Director of Meteorological Centre, India Meteorological Department, Bengaluru.

According to India Meteorological Department, some places in Kodagu, Hassan, Mysuru, Mandya and Tumukuru districts will also witness, gusty winds (40-50 kmph) on May 18.

Moderate rain and thundershowers are also likely in Chikkaballapura, Chitradurga, Davangere, Kolar, Ramanagara and Vijayanagara districts.

IMD also predicts light to moderate rain very likely at some places over Bagalkote, Belagavi, Bidar, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Kalaburgi, Koppal, Raichur and Yadgir districts.

On May 16, Channagiri in Davanagere district received the highest rainfall of 6 cm. 

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News Network
May 7,2024

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The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) on Monday responded to Karnataka’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) regarding a blue corner notice issued against JDS MP Prajwal Revanna.

In its response, Interpol said that all 196 member countries were alerted to identify and report if Prajwal Revanna is spotted at any port in their jurisdiction.

The Karnataka government issued a Blue Corner Notice on Sunday against Prajwal Revanna, who is facing allegations of sexual abuse by his staff members.

A Blue Corner Notice is issued by the international police cooperation body to collect additional information from its member countries about a person’s identity, location or activities about a crime.

The notice was issued after the 33-year-old Hassan MP reportedly flew to Germany soon after the Karnataka State Commission for Women chairperson Nagalakshmi Chowdhary wrote to the CM to order a probe into the sexual allegations against Prajwal.

Last week, the anticipatory bail application of Prajwal Revanna was also denied by Justice Santosh Gajanana Bhat’s bench of People’s Representative Court in Bengaluru.

Earlier, his MLA father and son of former Prime Minster HD Deve Gowda, HD Revanna was remanded to Karnataka SIT custody in a kidnapping-related sex scandal case.

His arrest came after the kidnapped victim was rescued from Revanna’s close assistant Rajasekhar’s farmhouse in Kalenahalli, Hunsur Taluk after the SIT conducted the rescue operation to find her, the police said.

The abduction case was filed by the son of a woman who worked at the Revannas’ house for nearly five years. He alleged that his mother was kidnapped from her home on April 29 by Satish Babanna a relative of Revanna.

The Karnataka Sex Scandal case pertains to explicit video clips allegedly involving the 33-year-old Prajwal, grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, which went viral on social media.

Those videos began to make rounds in Hassan in recent days, following which the state government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the sexual abuse allegations against the MP.

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