A 54-year-old professor at Anna University in Tiruchirapalli was attacked and dragged on the road by a man after she refused to lend him money. This video has gone viral on social media.
In the video that is circulating on social media, the man can be seen dragging an unconscious Seethalakshmi on the road holding her leg.
The accused has been identified as Senthil Kumar, a 32-year-old hailing from Thirukattupalli in Thanjavur district. The victim Seetalakshmi works as a professor at Anna University. Seetalakshmi was walking alone near a school on Sunday when the incident happened. Senthil Kumar hit her on the head with a wooden plank.
The accused then pulled Seetalakshmi off the road and onto a footpath, stole the keys to her two-wheeler, took her cell phone, and then fled the scene.
Later, the victim Seethalakshmi registered a complaint at the Cantonment Police Station. Based on Seethalakshmi’s complaint and CCTV footage, police arrested Senthil Kumar from Pazhamanari, Tamil Nadu. Senthil, however, broke his leg while attempting to flee from the police on a two-wheeler after it ran into the median.
The accused Senthil Kumar is now undergoing treatment for his fractured leg at Trichy government medical college hospital.
Opposition leader Edappadi K Palaniswami questioned the maintenance of law and order in the state, saying, “In recent years, Tamil Nadu has seen an increase in the brutality of rowdies who have no fear of anyone. These incidents where law and order go for a toss won’t reach Chief Minister Stalin because he is preoccupied with PR politics, like King Nero playing the fiddle while Rome was burning.”
திருச்சியில் நடைபயிற்சிக்கு சென்ற பெண்ணை தாக்கி, நடுரோட்டில் தரதரவென இழுத்து சென்று,பட்டபகலில் வழிப்பறி செய்திருப்பது நெஞ்சை பதற வைக்கிறது,
யார்க்கும்-எதற்கும் அஞ்சோம் எனும் மனநிலையில் தமிழகத்தில் ரவுடிகளின் அட்டூழியம் அதிகரித்துள்ளது,1/2 pic.twitter.com/VEy5DrEbqG
— Edappadi K Palaniswami-SayYEStoWomenSafety&AIADMK (@EPSTamilNadu) March 16, 2023
In another such incident showing breakdown of law and order in the state, a shop owner in Keezhbazaar in Thakkolam near Arakkonam in Ranipet district, forced to shut down his business indefinitely, citing the brutality of Rowdies in the area under the influence of Ganja.
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In a shocking development, nearly 50,000 students from Tamil Nadu who had registered for the Plus Two exam missed the Tamil Exam exam that was held a few days ago. A consultation with the authorities and teachers was held on behalf of the school education department, led by minister Anbil Mahesh Poiyamozhi.
Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh said,” The maximum number of absentees were from Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Dindigul, Tiruvannamalai, and Kallakurichi districts. Instead of waiting for the exams to get over and then analyzing the reasons behind the number of absentees, we have asked the Chief Educational Officers (CEOs) to work with schools and find out about the absentees after every exam.”
Minister said,” 5.6% of the total students did not appear for the 12th Board Tamil language exam. An online discussion with all officials including CEOs was held.”
“During board exams, the average absenteeism rate is around 4.5 percent. But the absenteeism rate has reached 5% this year. We are meeting with chief educational officers on Thursday and have already directed officials to investigate the reasons for exam absenteeism,” said the education minister.
He further said,” Of the absent students, 38,000 were from government schools; 8,500 students from government-aided schools, and over 1,000 students from private schools.”
He also stated that making students all pass during the COVID period, as well as a change in the attitude of students after COVID, are some of the reasons for students not attending the exam. He said,” In order to prevent the student from dropping out of school, we did not remove students from the list even if they had failed the Plus one exam. We provided “Hall Tickets” so that even if the students missed class, they could still show up at the last minute to take the exam. We will try to identify students who have not taken the exam, hold special classes for them, and encourage them to take the special exam in June. We’re going to hold management committee meetings at the school level on March 10 and April 24 in order to lower the rate of absenteeism.”
He further stated,” It has come to light that the parents, instead of sending their children to school, took them to work. After COVID, there is a situation where ‘counseling’ has to be given not only to the students but also to the parents. Parents must also be responsible and willing to send their children to school.”
He added,” Teachers’ salaries consume Rs 31,000 crore of the Rs 33,000 crore allocated in the budget for school education. Only Rs 2,000 crores are spent on school improvements!”
Minister Anbil Mahesh attempted to place the blame for absenteeism on the parents through his statement. Minister Anbil Mahesh opted to blame the parents rather than the teachers, who receive more than 95% of the budgeted funds for education in schools.
It is worth noting that about 47,000 out of the 9 lakh students who took the Class 10 state board exam in Tamil Nadu last year failed the Tamil language paper. This begs the logical question: Who is at fault—teachers or parents?
Nearly 40,000 students missed the 12th annual board exams last year. The supplementary instant examinations were taken by 51,000 candidates, including those who failed the final examinations.
Over ₹400 crore have gone missing from the Samayapuram Sri Mariamman Temple Fund, according to temple activist T R Ramesh. In a tweet, Ramesh accused officers of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department of reducing temple deposits by 92% of savings, which is both illegal and against temple welfare. Ramesh alleged that the department bought cars with temple funds and appointed drivers for minister use, in addition to taking 12% of fees as administration charges and 4% as audit fees.
And if they incur any expenses concerning the administration of the temple, it must be only with the 12% they take. He alleged that the dept bought cars worth ₹12-15 lakhs (Innova/Scorpio) with Samayapuram Mariamman temple funds and was sent to the Commissioner’s office for use by some officer there. The expenses include petrol bills and insurance charges. This is above and beyond the 12% they take, said TR Ramesh. According to TR Ramesh, the car is being used in Chennai and money is being sent to a particular petrol bunk where they have an account for petrol purchases. This buying of cars and appointing drivers for use by state ministers is not restricted to this temple but also to Swami Malai temple, Kapaleeshwarar temple, and Tiruvannamalai among others, he alleged.
In an RTI filed by Ramesh requesting a 5-year income and expenditure statement, while no extraordinary expenses were spotted, the savings/investments of the temple raised eyebrows. Right up until 2021, the funds looked intact, however, in December 2022, 92% (approximately ₹422 crore) were missing from just this temple.
It was also discovered that there is no trustee for this temple, and the board of trustees alone can make all administrative decisions concerning the temple. This disappearing of huge amounts of funds is not happening at this temple alone, he said. Apparently, ₹70 crore have disappeared from Kapaleeshwarar temple (from an existing saving of about ₹80 crores) and about ₹100 crores from Madurai Meenakshi temple have also disappeared.
Pazhani Kumbhabishekam
The Pazhani temple’s Kumbhabhishekam was conducted with grandeur and was attended by a large number of devotees from across the country and the world. Following the event, the temple authorities announced that the Mandalabhishekam would be completed in three days, which is a significant reduction from the usual 48-day period. This announcement raised concerns among devotees that the temple’s rituals were being compromised.
TR Ramesh filed a petition regarding the Pazhani temple, and an urgent hearing was held on a holiday at the Chief Justice’s residence. The judge ruled that the Pazhani temple is a wonder of the world and that the pujas and rituals must be conducted as per tradition. This ruling has brought relief to devotees who were concerned about the temple’s rituals being compromised.
There are concerns that temple funds and rituals are being neglected, and the current dispensation does not seem to care.
In a video interview with Pesu Tamizha Pesu YouTube channel, T R Ramesh spoke about this issue among other corruption activities done by the TN HR&CE dept.
There are concerns that the government is using funds meant for temples in Tamil Nadu for other purposes. The funds are reportedly being used for road laying and building colleges and schools in the state under the HR&CE’s name instead of the temple’s name. This has raised concerns among devotees who are worried that the funds meant for the temples are being misused.
There have also been reports of jewellery belonging to temples such as Srirangam or Thiruvotriyur being stolen by the authorities themselves. However, no serious action has been taken on the issue, which has further raised concerns among devotees.
After the matter of the missing funds at Samayapuram Mariamman came to light, Tamil Nadu HR&CE Department Minister Sekar Babu clarified that the temple deposits are safe.
Shaktikanta Das, the current Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has been named Governor of the Year for the Asia-Pacific region by Central Banking, a global central banking forum. The award recognizes Das’s outstanding leadership and contributions to the Indian economy during his tenure as RBI governor.
Shaktikanta Das has been credited with implementing a range of policies aimed at stabilizing the Indian economy and supporting growth. These include measures to improve the availability of credit, strengthen the banking sector, and manage inflation. It is worth noting that Shaktikanta Das is a seasoned bureaucrat with over 37 years of experience in various positions in the Indian government, including as the Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs and the Revenue Secretary. He was appointed as the RBI Governor in December 2018.
This comes as a snub to the likes of Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu, PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, who is known for making personal remarks against anyone he disagrees with.
Two minute silence for detractors who said MA History grad can’t handle the RBI role https://t.co/cQOeadyiFy
In a tweet he made in 2019, he made fun of the decision to select an ex-IAS (Shaktikanta Das) with a degree in history over someone with a Ph.D. in economics.
Hmm..
Stack RBI board w/ some who have no rudimentary “book knowledge” of Economics
Replace Ph.D. (Economics) from esteemed University with pliant ex-IAS M.A (History) as Governor
Change $ accounting policy to raid reserves at will
In another tweet in 2020, he ridiculed the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shaktikanta Das, once again for his educational qualifications amidst the Covid crisis, that someone with “an MA History may not be the ideal RBI Governor”.
Hmm..it’s almost as if, in a country of ~1.4 Bn people, where growth had slid 9 qtrs in a row pre-COVID19, & the worst Pandemic in 100 yrs caused worst economic crash in the WORLD, & India’s history..
The Finance Minister’s statement sparked a debate on social media, with many criticizing him for his remarks.
PTR has a very long history of being a rabble-rouser on Twitter and blocking anyone who questions his double standards left, right, and centre.
Even recently, PTR hounded a female journalist, Sandhya Ravishankar on Twitter on the migrant workers’ issue, and against The Hindu Publishing Group’s Chairperson Malini Parthasarathy who had tweeted about Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi’s clarification on the Tamil Nadu versus Thamizhagam debate.
He had also made derogatory remarks about business news journalist Chandra R Srikanth, targeting her based on her caste identity.
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Tejasvi Surya, the President of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Bengaluru South constituency, has been awarded the Best Debutant Parliamentarian award from the Lokmat Parliamentary Awards.
Tejasvi Surya was presented the award at a ceremony held on March 14, 2023, in New Delhi by Shri. Ramnath Kovind.
The Lokmat Parliamentary Awards recognise and honour outstanding achievements and contributions of Members of Parliament across various categories. Tejasvi Surya was selected for the Best Debutant Parliamentarian award for his exceptional performance in the Parliament since being elected as a first-time MP in the 2019 General Elections.
Tejasvi Surya is a Swayamsevak and a lawyer, he was elected as MP at the age of 28 and he has been the President of the BJP’s Youth Wing since 2020.
Upon receiving the award, Tejasvi Surya expressed his gratitude and thanked PM Narendra Modi, the BJP leadership, party workers, and the citizens of Bangalore South Lok Sabha Constituency.
Tamil Nadu BJP President tweeted congratulating him for the achievement.
Congratulations to @BJYM President & Bengaluru South MP Thiru @Tejasvi_Surya avl for receiving the award for the Best Debutant Parliamentarian from Lokmat Parliamentary Awards, recognition for being the voice of the people of his Constituency! pic.twitter.com/P778oKEEoa
Tejasvi Surya has been a vocal and active MP in the Parliament and has raised several important issues related to the welfare of his constituents and the country at large. He has also been actively involved in the BJYM, the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and has played a crucial role in mobilising and energizing the youth toward the BJP’s vision of building a strong and prosperous India.
The Awards were conceived in 2017 and boasts a distinguished jury headed by NCP President, Sharad Pawar that selects the awardees. The Lokmat Parliamentary Awards is becoming a significant platform for recognizing and rewarding excellence in parliamentary work. With this award, Tejasvi Surya joins the ranks of distinguished parliamentarians such as former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh, Lal Krishna Advani, Hema Malini, Meenakshi Lekhi, who have been recognized for their exceptional contributions to the country’s legislative process.
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Recently there was a campaign on social media that a family had been expelled from Devalampallepalem village of Singarayakonda Mandal, Prakasam District, Andhra Pradesh, for accepting Christianity and building a church on their plot of land.
After the video clip with a Telugu TV channel logo became viral, some pastors and self-proclaimed Christian leaders initiated large-scale agitation. When Nijam Today investigated the matter, it came to light that the viral video clip of the ex-communication of a family was actually from the year 2018. Some people made it viral on social media by grabbing a five-year-old video clip portraying it as a recent incident.
Nijam Today even investigated the veracity of the incident to know whether that family was excommunicated by the villagers for believing in Jesus Christ. In this regard, Nijam Today has obtained recent video statements by the Devalopallepalem villagers condemning the allegations against the entire village on Social Media. The village is made up predominantly of persons from the fishermen’s community. So what is the truth? Has there been a social boycott of a Christian-converted family in the said village?
As per the statements of the villagers, it has come to light that some people who converted to Christianity occupied the land belonging to the Ram temple in the village in 2017 and built a church illegally. After two years, the members of that Church were split into two, and one of the members, named Mr Nagaraju, established a new church, brought a pastor named Yona from another area, and started running his new Church. This is where the problem started.
According to the villagers, the Pastor named Yona used to trouble the villagers through the indiscriminate use of loudspeakers around the clock. He used to conduct all-night prayers with shrieks and screams starting from midnight. The villagers used to wake up in shock from sleep after being disturbed by these all-night prayers. The sick, the elderly and, in particular, students preparing for various examinations were worst affected. All pleas of villagers to stop all-night prayers or do night prayers without loudspeakers fell on deaf ears.
Villagers also said that Pastor Yona started misbehaving with the village women. He said that only young women should come for special gatherings for all-night gatherings. In addition, Pastor Yona used to claim that Jesus Christ would enter his body and speak through him. This attracted many women who fell for his false claims. The women who came under his trance started neglecting their families and routine domestic work and started to spend more and more time inside the church, in the company of Pastor Yona.
As the activities and all-night prayers of Pastor Yona led to marital discord and family disputes, Nagaraju, who established a new church and invited Pastor Yona from outside, was called and asked not to bring Pastor Yona to the village but to have someone else pray with the Pastor. Nagaraju rejected the proposal outright, leading to quarrels and disputes in the village. As a result, Nagaraju left the village and complained to the local police station that the villagers had expelled him for converting to Christianity.
Five years have passed since this incident happened. The police enquired into Nagaraju’s allegations and concluded his complaint had no truth. They tried to bring a truce between both sides, but Nagaraju insisted that a case be registered. Ever since Nagaraju filed a false complaint against the villagers, the revenue and police officials have arranged several meetings in the village and assured Nagaraju that he is free to live in the village and practice the religion of his choice. The only condition of the villagers was that Pastor Yona should not come to the village to conduct prayers in the church. But Nagaraju used to repeatedly raise the false accusation that he would be beaten up if he goes to the village. The villagers called Nagaraju several times to return to the village and resume his everyday life, but he declined their offer. It is worth noting that Nagaraju’s family members were present in the village during the recent Sankranti celebrations held in January 2023.
The villagers cautioned that they would move criminal proceedings against the self-proclaimed Christian leaders and pastors if they continue to sully the name of their village by making false accusations of ex-communication of Christians from the village.
This article was originally published in Nijam Today and has been republished here with permission.
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In yet another instance of DMK ministers abusing common people, DMK Minister Ponmudi yelled at a woman to ‘shut up’ when she came to him to express her grievances.
Speaking at a gathering in Tirukovilur, Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister Ponmudi stated that 22 months have passed since their election to office and that the government is currently working on multiple initiatives at once, with work being done both in villages and cities.
He added that, with KN Nehru as Minister for Municipal Administration, Chief Minister MK Stalin has been doing a lot of work, whether in Chennai, Thirukovilu, or Vizhupuram.
As Minister Ponmudi was speaking, a woman got up and said she wanted to give him a petition. Minister Ponmudi became enraged and mocked the lady, yelling at her, “shut up and sit down!” in a derogatory voice.
After realizing that he was displaying his anger to a woman in public, Ponmudi attempted to downplay the incident by asking irrelevant questions to the woman. Ponmudi enquired about her husband from the women. When she said her husband had passed away, Ponmudi responded with a laugh, “He has passed away? So sad.”
This is not the first time that Ponmudi has spoken like this in public. A few days ago, at a function in Villupuram, Ponmudi said to the women who had expressed their grievances, “As if you people of this village voted for me! Coming and questioning me! Sit down!” In another instance, Ponmudi also insulted women who were using the free bus service by referring to them as “OC Bus” users.
While working on unraveling the web of activist-charities who serve George Soros’ ends in India, The Lede found one name popping up repeatedly as an FCRA donor to multiple Soros-affiliated organisations.
For instance, the National Foundation for India (NFI), led by Biraj Patnaik , a mentee of Open Society Foundation’s Salil Shetty, has received Rs 9.4 crore from this donor between 2015-16 and 2019-20.
The donor appeared innocuous – Hans Foundation, based in Gurugram and Dehradun and set up in 2009 as “a Public Charitable Trust that provides funding support to Not-for-Profit organizations in India. The main areas of intervention for the organization are; Education, Health, Livelihoods and Disability.”
A bit of digging yielded another trust based in Manhattan – Rural India Supporting Trust (RIST) – set up in 2007 by “two families with concerns about the well-being of communities in India. In order to address these matters, RIST awards grants to organizations that work on solutions to societal inequities and poverty.”
Both Hans and RIST were founded by the same people and are also deeply interconnected in other ways, which we shall see later on in this piece.
Next, The Lede followed the money. What we found was astounding.
A whopping Rs 188 crore had been donated by RIST to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust between 2011-12 and 2018-19. The trustees of the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust are former Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi along with two others. The donations stopped after 2018-19.
RIST has also donated Rs 262 crore to Hans Foundation in two transactions. In 2014-15, RIST donated Rs 120 crore to Hans and in 2015-16 the donation was Rs 142 crore.
So who are these mysterious donors who have such large hearts and wallets? Their story is straight out of a Bollywood potboiler.
Hans Foundation & The Maharajs
The story begins with a death – on July 19, 1966, Shri Hans ji Maharaj, a popular spiritual guru in Dehradun passed away without naming his successor.
Hans ji Maharaj, born Hans Ram Singh Rawat, had four sons – Satpal Singh Rawat, Mahipal Singh Rawat, Dharampal Singh Rawat and Prempal Singh Rawat. He also had a daughter from his first wife.
His second wife Rajeshwari Devi aspired to succeed him but the other sants (saints) who surrounded the original Guru ji refused to make a woman the Guru.
Pic courtesy: www.prem-rawat-bio.org
As the discussion over succession was hotly debated inside the house on the 13th day after Hans ji’s passing, one sant quietly took the youngest son – Prempal Singh Rawat – outside to the waiting and anguished devotees, placed a crown on the 8-year-old child and announced that he was the next Guru ji.
Pic courtesy: www.prem-rawat-bio.org
Hearing the commotion, mother Rajeshwari Devi and the other sons and sants ran out to witness people falling all over themselves to touch the tiny feet of the new Guru ji.
And thus Maharaji, as he came to be known later, was born.
Devotees would throng as the chubby child Guru danced like his father, dressed like Lord Krishna and ate copious amounts of ice-cream while they touched and kissed his feet in reverence.
Pic courtesy: www.prem-rawat-bio.org
Pic courtesy: www.prem-rawat-bio.org
Prempal Heads To The West
On June 17, 1971, Prempal Singh Rawat, then 14 years old, made his first trip outside of India to London. There, he addressed a crowd of British and Indian devotees to mixed reactions.
Exactly a month later, against the wishes of his mother and family, Prempal Rawat left for Los Angeles with a couple of loyalists in tow.
This intrepid group set up the Divine Light Mission. The counter-culture of the time produced a lot of disciples who followed Prempal Singh Rawat’s promise of Knowledge and World Peace.
Pic courtesy: www.prem-rawat-bio.org
Pic courtesy: www.prem-rawat-bio.org
Pic courtesy: www.prem-rawat-bio.org
A teenager with abundant wealth is bound to go off the rails and Prempal did just that. At the age of 16, he married his American secretary. When he was 17 years old, his mother disowned him, alleging that he had begun to eat meat, consumed drugs and alcohol and was consorting with women which went against every grain of his father’s teachings.
Prempal’s Extraordinary Wealth
Prempal’s followers and wealth grew abundantly. He registered a couple of corporations called Seva Corporation and Seva Corporation of America in Delaware. Through these, he purchased properties and expensive jets, including the Gulfstream of the late Sheikh of Jordan which cost him $40 million.
Between 1978 and 1999, Seva Corporation and its sister concern bought properties in Malibu, California and Los Angeles, along with a helicopter, a glider and an aircraft.
A mega event called Millennium ‘73 was organised which almost bankrupted the organisation. Prempal Rawat called it “the most holy and significant event in human history” and urged all of his devotees to attend. Held at the Houston Astrodome, some 20,000 devotees, called ‘premies’ attended the event expecting a big miracle or revelation. From that point onwards, his popularity seemed to wane, as we see no evidence of events happening at a similar scale again..
Pic courtesy: www.prem-rawat-bio.org
Over time, Prempal’s speeches and events had less attendance and his followers drastically reduced in numbers.
By 1985, at the age of 27, Prempal Singh Rawat “retired” as a Guru ji. He gave himself the moniker ‘Maharaji’ and became a public speaker instead, calling for donations to his Prem Rawat Foundation. He is now over 60 years of age and lives in Malibu.
To date, there is little information about how the Divine Light Mission was funded, how a minor was allowed into the US without his family’s consent, where all the money to buy properties and aircraft came from and where it all went.
Allegations of drug trafficking and money laundering have been thrown at Prempal Singh Rawat but he does not seem to have been investigated so far by the US authorities.
The Instant Billionaire & RIST
Around the time Prempal was making merry in the US, a young boy and his parents decided to relocate from Lucknow to the US. The head of the wealthy family of three, father Narottam Bhargava, wanted to pursue a PhD in Wharton. So the family packed up and left.
Life in the US was grim as both parents pursued their higher education and young Manoj Bhargava was admitted to a public school. Bright at Math, he managed to get into a better school, Hills, which provided quality education. Princeton beckoned and Manoj joined the prestigious institution only to drop out a year later.
Manoj Bhargava, Founder, Life Essentials LLC
In 1974, Manoj went back to India after dropping out. He lived in the Hanslok Ashram for 12 long years, gathering knowledge and finding a Guru in the second Rawat sibling – better known as Bhole ji Maharaj.
As Prempal Rawat was retiring, Manoj Bhargava returned to the US permanently in 1986. He would spend the next decade dabbling in various jobs – from his father’s plastics business to finding and turning around small struggling businesses. He then sold off his Indiana PVC unit for about $20 million and moved to Detroit.
He tried his hand at creating an anti-hangover pill called Chaser. It did not see the light of day.
In 2003, according to Manoj Bhargava, he struck gold. He found the formula for an energy drink at a natural products fair and launched his energy drink called ‘5-hour Energy’ which went on to become a hot seller. The drink was a product of his firm Living Essentials LLC.
Manoj Bhargava with his 5-Hour Energy Drink
In a few years, he claimed to have become a billionaire and even signed up for the ‘Giving Pledge’ launched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In 2007, he formed a trust – the Rural India Supporting Trust (RIST) – and pledged 99.9% of his wealth for the upliftment of the rural poor.
In 2009, his close association with Bhole ji Maharaj led to the formation of the Hans Foundation. Between 2014 and 2016 alone, RIST donated Rs 262 crore to Hans Foundation.
In 2011, Manoj formed a start-up called Stage 2 Innovations dedicated to finding innovative solutions to the problems of India’s rural population and came up with innovations like the Free Electric – a bicycle which when pedalled for an hour can charge a battery enough to provide light at night for homes without electricity.
He pitched the idea to then Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat who even pedalled the bicycle for a photo op.
Courtesy: Business Standard
In the meanwhile, RIST quietly funded the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust with huge donations totalling Rs 188 crore between 2011-12 and 2018-19.
After 2014, Manoj Bhargava has not been seen much in the public eye. In July 2014, Manoj says he met and spoke with newly installed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about pledging $4 billion towards social causes in India as well as the Free Electric bicycle innovation.
He came out of the meeting disappointed. “He didn’t think I was real,” Manoj is quoted as saying to a reporter from the Business Standard. Modi appears to have remained largely silent and unimpressed with the NRI.
The reticent billionaire who proclaimed himself the richest Indian in America, became a big success story around 2004 and went off the radar in 2014. How he managed to gain his immense wealth in such a short period of time, why he funded the Congress party’s foundation and why he gave so much money to Hans Foundation are all questions that need answers through an investigation.
Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust & Rajiv Gandhi Foundation
In 2013-14, one Sreedhar Potarazu, CEO of VitalSpring, donated around Rs 11.7 lakh to the Trust. Potarazu is a doctor of Indian origin living in America, who was sent to jail in 2017 for swindling $49 million from 174 investors.
Sreedhar Potarazu who was jailed for duping investors of $49 million
Take Rajiv Gandhi Foundation next. This foundation has not received any FCRA donations beyond 2014.
However, in 2005-06, the RGF received Rs 90 lakhs from the Embassy of The People’s Republic of China in India.
Another interesting organisation called Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, Germany, has donated Rs 78.2 lakh to the foundation over a 5-year period between 2005-06 and 2010-11. Friedrich Naumann Stiftung is a liberal think tank that is related to the German Free Democratic Party. Their Board has members from the German Government and senior people in German civil society. The turn-of-20th-century German politician, Friedrich Naumann, after whom the Foundation is named, was an advocate of Germany’s imperial claim over Europe, advocated social Darwinism and was an anti-Semite in the early years of political career. He is also said to have been a founding member of the National Social Association, though not directly related to the National Socialist German Worker’s Party, i.e. the Nazis.
The final question that the Rajiv Gandhi Trust and Foundation trustees need to answer is why they received so much money from such dubious sources.
(This article was originally published in The Lede and has been republished here with permission.)
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In an interesting development, it has come to light that the Twitter handle of A.J. Manikkanan, MLA of Ulundurpettai, Kallakuruchi district in TN has been liking pornographic posts on the social media platform. This news has sparked a controversy, with many questioning the moral and ethical standards of the MLA and demanding an explanation from him.
Following the revelation, several Twitter users have reportedly saved screenshots of the MLA’s social media activity, which allegedly includes liking posts with explicit or inappropriate content shared by random handles.
The posts that were liked by the MLA’s Twitter handle comprise a range of obscene and vulgar content, including explicit images and videos shared by handles based in both India and abroad. These handles are said to have a history of posting inappropriate content on their profiles.
The MLA later shared a post saying his account had been hacked and that they had raised a complaint with Twitter Support. The tweet also asked followers to “ignore” any likes and comments from that handle.
Subsequently, it was discovered that the MLA’s Twitter handle, Manikkanan, had been removed from the social media platform.
In the wake of this development, several Twitter users have raised questions about the MLA’s performance and accountability with regard to the constituency from which they were elected.
Officials from the Revenue Department of the Tamil Nadu Government sealed 2 more rooms at the Anbu Jothi Ashram after evidence of 35,000 drugs given to Ashram inmates to convert them to Christianity was found there.
A few days ago, the proprietors of Anbu Jothi Ashramam, B Jubin, and J Maria, were arrested by Tamil Nadu police on several charges, including rape, in a village in the Vizhuppuram district. After receiving a complaint from Salim Khan, who had not heard from his father-in-law since August 2021, a team of officials raided the Anbu Jothi Ashram, a home in a village in Vizhupuram. Salim’s father-in-law was admitted to the home in December 2021. Warden Muthumaari, a computer operator, Gopinath, an attendant, and driver Biju have also been booked.
According to the victims, When they attempted to resist, the workers of the home allegedly set on them two ferocious monkeys they were taming. Furthermore, the CBCID police have taken over the investigation into the Anbu Jyoti Ashram case and are currently conducting thorough inquiries.
In this situation, a team led by Dr. Anand, a member of the National Child Welfare Commission, visited the Home at Vizhupuram and conducted an investigation on Wednesday (15th March).
Following this, the team went to Vizhupuram Government Medical College Hospital where they met with the victims and conducted an investigation.
Addressing the press, Dr. RG Anand, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) member, said, “Three teams from Delhi have traveled to Vizhupuram to perform a field study on this issue. In addition to Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, this Ashramam has connections in five other states including Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.“
He added, “Only 60 people are permitted to be maintained in this building by the Anbu Jothi Ashram. But more than 140 people are confined in this building. They have been artificially drugged. 35 thousand tablets given to mentally ill persons have been seized. After being drugged they are converted to Christianity. We have requested that authorities look into where they purchased these. The Mundiambakkam Medical College Principal has assured us that a report on the drug’s source will be provided within 15 days.“
He further said, “There are 7 child welfare centers functioning in Villupuram district. 2 of which were working for mentally challenged people. Anbu Jyoti Ashram is one of them. We have locked and sealed its 2 rooms. In order to ensure safety in other shelters, we have ordered the DSP, District Child Welfare Officers to conduct an investigation in person and submit a report. We have also directed that the workers be investigated. The CBCID police are still investigating whether the 35,000 narcotic drugs came from Mundiambakkam Government Medical College Hospital or other hospitals, or states, or countries, and how they acquired them.“
He said, “Also, conversion work has been going on in the Ashramam by doing Christian prayers at night. The mother of the child admitted to the hospital has given a statement on this. By taking sick individuals into a dark room and promising that everything will get better soon, the Ashramam has been pursuing conversion. The CBCID police are investigating about the 15 missing persons in the shelter. Police said that one of them has died, while two others are identified.“
He went on to say, “As the case in this regard is going on in the court, Police have said that they will submit the report after the investigation. The minors and adults admitted here are not mentally challenged. They have been drugged. The ashram has been involved in religious conversion by giving drugs. An investigation is also going on check whether money has been exchanged for this conversion.“
He concluded by saying, “Many women in the Ashramam were sexually harassed. All of this cannot be done by one person, but there may have been some groups involved. Police are trying to find them. We will submit the inquiry report to the commission. Further action will be taken thereafter. We are going to hand over our inquiry report to the Union Ministry in two days.“
