59-659: In 2022, Indian news outlet The Wire alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used an application, called Tek Fog , to manipulate social media. The story went viral in India, and drew reactions from opposition politicians. One of the two authors of the Tek Fog report was Devesh Kumar. After allegations emerged that Kumar had fabricated evidence in later news stories about Meta Platforms, Inc. , The Wire fired Kumar, alleged that he had intended to discredit
118-520: A bill transmitted to it by the other house for six months, or has disagreed with the amendments proposed by the Lok Sabha on a bill passed by it. Considering that the numerical strength of the Lok Sabha is more than twice that of the Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha tends to have a greater influence in a joint sitting of Parliament. A joint session is chaired by the speaker of the Lok Sabha. Also, because
177-619: A coalition of progressive media outlets from around the world. According to a 2017 article of the Mint , the websites coverage primarily focused on the topics of development, foreign policy, political economy, politics and science. Karan Thapar 's regular show The Interview with Karan Thapar covers current affairs and events on The Wire . Dheeraj Mishra, Seemi Pasha Win Ramnath Goenka Awards for 2019 Reports for 'The Wire'. Three journalists working for The Wire , have won
236-469: A criminal defamation case against the editors of The Wire for publishing an article titled The Golden Touch of Jay Amit Shah , noting irregularities in Jay Shah's business dealings and claiming that a company owned by him increased turnover 16,000 times in the year following the 2014 Indian general election . The article alluded to After various court mandated injunctions and appeals to higher courts,
295-527: A defamation lawsuit of ₹ 100 crore (US$ 12 million) against The Wire and its editors over 14 articles that had reported on the pharmaceutical company and Covaxin , the Covid-19 vaccine developed by it. Citing that the articles would lead to vaccine hesitancy, a district court in Rangareddy , Telangana passed a temporary, ex parte injunction to take down the articles. As of March 2022,
354-413: A formal apology, admitting to have rushed the story without having it double checked independently. Bloomberg and Editors Guild of India also later retracted their coverage of Tek Fog, which was solely based on The Wire 's reporting. The Guild in its statement, urged newsrooms 'to resist the temptation of moving fast on sensitive stories, circumventing due journalistic norms.' The Guild also called
413-435: A greater influence because of its larger membership. The vice president of India (currently, Jagdeep Dhankhar ) is the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions. The deputy chairman , who is elected from amongst the house's members, takes care of the day-to-day matters of the house in the absence of the chairman. The Rajya Sabha held its first sitting on 13 May 1952. The Rajya Sabha meets in
472-732: A leader of the opposition (LOP) – leading the opposition parties. The function was only recognized in the Salary and Allowances of Leaders of the Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977. This is commonly the leader of the largest non-government party and is recognized as such by the chairman. The Secretariat of the Rajya Sabha was set up under the provisions contained in Article 98 of the Constitution. The said Article, which provides for
531-586: A list of prominent women from several religions including Hindus whom Sherwani alleged were targeted and harassed by hackers using Tek Fog. The Editors Guild of India , a national non-profit organisation of journalists, said that The Wire investigation "laid bare an extensive and well funded network built around [the] app". The Editors Guild condemned "the continuing online harassment of women journalists", and demanded "urgent steps to break and dismantle this misogynistic and abusive digital eco-system". The Guild later retracted its statements, after The Wire took down
590-515: A maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using single transferable votes through open ballots, while the president can appoint 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social service. The total allowed capacity is 250 (238 elected, 12 appointed) according to article 80 of the Indian Constitution . The current potential seating capacity of
649-412: A money bill is given in Article 110 of the Constitution of India. A money bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha by a minister and only on the recommendation of the president of India. When the Lok Sabha passes a money bill then the Lok Sabha sends the money bill to the Rajya Sabha for 14 days during which it can make recommendations. Even if the Rajya Sabha fails to return the money bill in 14 days to
SECTION 10
#1732791323848708-454: A platform to Vinod Dua for making fun of an allegation of sexual harassment against him. A December 2019 article by Dexter Filkins of The New Yorker , noted that The Wire is one of the few small outfits and the most prominent (other than The Caravan ), to have engaged in providing aggressive coverage of the current Indian Govt ruled by BJP at a time when mainstream media is failing to do so. In September 2021, The Wire received
767-551: A second letter to convene a meeting to discuss Tek Fog, pointing out that the alleged hacking technique was formerly used by the Pegasus spyware . The application, as alleged by O'Brien, could send automated messages, spread misinformation, fake news and mislead citizens. On 12 January, Congress leader and leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also wrote to the chairman of
826-409: A separate secretarial staff for each house of Parliament, reads as follows:- 98. Secretariat of Parliament – Each House of Parliament shall have a separate secretarial staff: Provided that nothing in this clause shall be construed as preventing the creation of posts common to both Houses of Parliament. (2) Parliament may by law regulate the recruitment and the conditions of service of persons appointed to
885-519: A tweet from its official Twitter handle, called Tek Fog, "a poisonous weapon of the BJP's propaganda machinery". Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called the app one of several "factories of hate " set up by the BJP. There were also multiple calls for the Supreme Court to intervene in this matter. Congress leaders requested the examination from the expert panel that was looking into the alleged use of
944-407: Is a continuing chamber and hence not subject to dissolution. However, the Rajya Sabha, like the Lok Sabha, can be prorogued by the president. The Rajya Sabha has equal footing in legislation with the Lok Sabha, except in the area of supply , where the latter has overriding powers. In the case of conflicting legislation, a joint sitting of the two houses can be held, where the Lok Sabha would hold
1003-1076: The Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards . Neha Dixit , reporting on extrajudicial killings and illegal detentions, won the CPJ International Press Freedom Award in 2017, Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Women Mediapersons in 2016, and the Lorenzo Natali Journalism Prize . A story published in the Columbia Journalism Review in late 2016 identified The Wire as one of several independent and recently founded internet-based media platforms-a group that also included Newslaundry , Scroll.in , The News Minute , The Quint and ScoopWhoop -that were attempting to challenge
1062-461: The '"trending"' section of social media sites, Twitter and Facebook , bulk-hacking of inactive WhatsApp accounts, among other functionalities. Other features supposedly included promoting favourable viewpoints through misinformation targeting users perceived to be BJP party opponents. Tek Fog was also alleged to have managed a huge database of Indian citizens which included specific data regarding their occupation, religion, age, gender, etc., which
1121-670: The 2021 Free Media Pioneer Award given by the International Press Institute for being 'an unflinching defender of independent, high-quality journalism'. On 10 October 2022, The Wire alleged Meta (formerly Facebook) provided Amit Malviya , the head of the Information Technology Cell of the incumbent ruling party in India, with the ability to delete any post on Instagram bypassing the usual content moderation system. The article says Amit Malviya had these privileges since his account had
1180-584: The Lok Sabha, members of the Rajya Sabha cannot bring to the house a no-confidence motion against the government. In the Indian quasi-federal structure, the Rajya Sabha is representative of the States and Union territories in the union legislature (hence the name, Council of States). For this reason, the Rajya Sabha has powers that protect the rights of States against the Union government. The Constitution empowers
1239-410: The Lok Sabha, that bill is deemed to have passed by both houses. Also, if the Lok Sabha rejects any (or all) of the amendments proposed by the Rajya Sabha, the bill is deemed to have been passed by both houses of Parliament in the form the Lok Sabha finally passes it. Hence, the Rajya Sabha can only give recommendations for a money bill, but the Rajya Sabha cannot amend a money bill. This is to ensure that
SECTION 20
#17327913238481298-540: The Parliament of India to make laws on the matters reserved for States. However, this can only be done if the Rajya Sabha first passes a resolution by a two-third majority granting such a power to the Union Parliament. The Union government cannot make a law on a matter reserved for States without any authorisation from the Rajya Sabha. The Union government reserves the power to make laws directly affecting
1357-713: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs , Anand Sharma , asking the committee discuss the "violative software application Tek Fog" in their next meeting. On 12 January, The Hindu reported that Anand Sharma wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India seeking a response on questions surrounding Tek Fog. The Parliamentary Standing Committee asked the Union Home Ministry to provide information about
1416-571: The Pegasus spyware on Indian citizens . The Minister of State for Home in the Maharashtra government , Satej Patil of the INC, questioned the silence of the Government of India and Information and Technology ministry over the Tek Fog expose. He made a public appeal to the victims from Mumbai targeted by Tek Fog app to register a police complaint. Pakistani newspaper Dawn claimed that Tek Fog
1475-456: The Rajya Sabha by their political party (as of 11 October 2024 ): Seats are allotted in proportion to the population of each state or union territory . Certain states may even have more representatives than states more populous than them, because in past they too had high population. For example, Tamil Nadu has 18 representatives for 72 million inhabitants (in 2011) whereas Bihar (104 million) and West Bengal (91 million) only have 16. As
1534-517: The Rajya Sabha is 245 (233 elected, 12 appointed), after the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act. The maximum seats of 250 members can be filled up at the discretion and requirements of the house of Rajya Sabha. Members sit for staggered terms lasting six years, with about a third of the 233 designates up for election every two years, in even-numbered years. Unlike the Lok Sabha , the Rajya Sabha
1593-437: The Rajya Sabha must not add any non-money matters to the money bill. There is no joint sitting of both the houses for money bills, because all final decisions are taken by the Lok Sabha. Article 108 provides for a joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament in certain cases. A joint sitting can be convened by the president of India when one house has either rejected a bill passed by the other house, has not taken any action on
1652-502: The Rajya Sabha must: In addition, twelve members are nominated by the president of India having special knowledge in various areas like arts and science. However, they are not entitled to vote in presidential elections as per Article 55 of the Constitution. The Constitution of India places some restrictions on the Rajya Sabha, and the Lok Sabha (the lower house, House of the People) is more powerful in certain areas. The definition of
1711-508: The Rajya Sabha was to consist of 216 members, of which 12 members were to be nominated by the president and the remaining 204 elected to represent the states. The present sanctioned strength of the Rajya Sabha in the Constitution of India is 250, which can be increased by constitutional amendment. However, the present strength is 245 members according to the Representation of People Act, 1951 , which can be increased up to 250 by amending
1770-493: The Tek Fog app. On 12 February, responding to the request, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated, "The ministry has searched for the app on all prominent app stores and APK stores and could not find so called app in any of these online stores." On 23 October 2022, The Wire took down its Tek Fog story "for review" due to claims of misconduct in another investigation done by
1829-791: The Wire legal team withdrew a plea before the Supreme court in August 2019. As of August 2019, the trial on the case was still pending, with Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra ordering that the trial be completed " as expeditiously as possible ". During the COVID-19 pandemic , The Wire came under the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath government's crackdown on journalists reporting on administrative failures and humanitarian crises . This
Tek Fog - Misplaced Pages Continue
1888-558: The XCheck tag. Meta categorically denied and called the Wire's reporting “false” and said it was based on “fabricated evidence”. Later the publication went on to publish a purported "internal message" from Andy Stone, the Communications Director, expressing frustration at the leak of Malviya's privileges. A further detailed report was also published which featured email-communication from two anonymous "experts" verifying
1947-638: The act itself, of whom 233 are representatives of the states and union territories and 12 are nominated by the president. The 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha are persons who are eminent in particular fields and are well-known contributors in the particular field. 28 (4) 26 (3) 28 (2) 26 (4) 28 (4) 26 (2) 28 (2) 26 (4) 29 (3) 26 (2) 28 (2) 26 (1) 28 (1) 26 (2) 28 (2) 26 (4) 28 (4) 27 (3) 28 (3) 26 (3) 28 (3) 26 (7) 28 (6) 26 (4) 28 (3) 26 (3) 28 (4) 26 (6) 28 (6) 26 (2) 28 (2) 26 (10) 28 (11) 26 (1) 28 (1) 26 (5) 29 (6) 26(1) 28(5) 25 (08) 26 (73) 27 (04) 28 (75) 29 (10) Besides
2006-545: The cases had no tangible evidence and amounted to harassment through litigation. In September 2021, the Supreme Court of India responding to a petition against the FIRs, extended a 2 month protection from arrest to the journalists at The Wire over press freedom concerns but declined to quash them, instead directed the petitioners to approach the Allahabad High Court . In February 2022, Bharat Biotech filed
2065-453: The chairman (vice-president of India) and the deputy chairman, there is also a position called leader of the House . This is a cabinet minister – the prime minister if they are a member of the House or another nominated minister. The leader has a seat next to the chairman, in the front row. Besides the leader of the House, who is the government's chief representative in the House, there is also
2124-467: The citizens across all the States whereas, a single state in itself reserves the power to make rules and governing laws of their region. The Rajya Sabha plays a vital role in protecting the States' culture and interests. The Rajya Sabha, by a two-thirds supermajority, can pass a resolution empowering the Indian government to create more all-India services common to both the union and the states. Members of
2183-458: The court was scheduled to hear the matter. Rajya Sabha Opposition (112) Others (25) Vacant (14) 28°37′0″N 77°12′30″E / 28.61667°N 77.20833°E / 28.61667; 77.20833 The Rajya Sabha ( lit : "States' Assembly"), also known as the Council of States , is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India . As of 2023 , it has
2242-434: The discharge of their constitutional and statutory responsibilities, the chairman of the Rajya Sabha is assisted by the secretary-general, who holds the rank equivalent to the cabinet secretary to the government of India. The secretary-general, in turn, is assisted by senior functionaries at the level of secretary, additional secretary, joint secretary and other officers and staff of the secretariat. The present secretary-general
2301-596: The dominance of India's traditional print and television news companies and their online offshoots. Siddharth Vardarajan was awarded with the Shorenstein Prize in 2017; jury member of the award Nayan Chanda mentioned Vardarajan's independent web-based journalism-venture and distinguished body of well-researched reports to be an epitome of journalistic excellence and innovation. In November 2019, The Network of Women in Media, India criticised The Wire for providing
2360-538: The eponymous chamber in Parliament House in New Delhi . Since 18 July 2018, the Rajya Sabha has the facility for simultaneous interpretation in all the 22 scheduled languages of India . The Rajya Sabha proceedings are televised live on channel Sansad TV, headquartered within the premises of Parliament. Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the qualifications for membership of Parliament. A member of
2419-589: The founding editors, the founders’ basic value is to stand for the right of the individual against the normally overbearing nature of the State . He further added that the founders are socially and economically liberal in their approach. Varadarajan said in an interview that he (and by extension The Wire , as asked in question) in all matters of journalism is guided by the Constitution of India . In 2020, The Wire joined Progressive International 's Wire –
Tek Fog - Misplaced Pages Continue
2478-444: The integrity of Stone's email and a semi-redacted video of an in-house moderation tool attesting to Malviya's privileges. Soon, numerous flaws were spotted in the evidence that pointed to fabrication and skeptics, including former Facebook whistle-blowers, began to cast doubts. Afterwards, as both the anonymous experts denied involvement with The Wire , the reports were subject to an internal review and retracted by The Wire ; later
2537-432: The joint session is convened by the president on the advice of the government, which already has a majority in the Lok Sabha, the joint session is usually convened to get bills passed through a Rajya Sabha in which the government has a minority. Joint sessions of Parliament are a rarity, and have been convened three times in the last 71 years, for passage of a specific legislative act, the latest time being in 2002: Unlike
2596-510: The lapses by The Wire 'condemnable' in a subsequent statement. Rajeev Chandrasekhar , a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP in the Rajya Sabha and venture capitalist, filed a defamation suit in a Bangalore civil court after two articles suggested a conflict of interest between Chandrasekhar's role as a legislator and his investments in the Indian media and defence industries. The court eventually ruled in favour of The Wire . In 2017, Indian home minister Amit Shah 's son Jay Shah filed
2655-485: The members are elected by the state legislature, some small union territories, those without legislatures, cannot have representation. Hence, Andaman and Nicobar Islands , Chandigarh , Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu , Ladakh and Lakshadweep do not send any representatives. Twelve members are nominated by the president. As per the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950,
2714-622: The operators, giving them ideological directions. The investigation also claimed that an unnamed internal source within Persistent Systems found 17,000 files connected to Tek Fog which were developed by Persistent Systems. In January 2022, Devang Dave, head of the BJYM IT Cell, denied that he or anyone from his organisation knew about such an app. Persistent Systems and Mohalla Tech denied any involvement with each other or with Tek Fog. The BJP youth wing functionary Devang Dave, who
2773-656: The original articles. That retraction cited concerns over the report's accuracy and insufficient "journalistic norms and checks". Opposition parties denounced the app as a national security threat and demanded a probe. Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien of the Trinamool Congress called for a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs to discuss the app and said it "has serious ramifications and could jeopardise national security." The Indian National Congress (INC), in
2832-521: The outlet, and filed a police report. The Wire issued a formal apology to its readers and took down the Meta and Tek Fog reports. Alerted by a supposed disgruntled employee-turned- whistleblower , the Indian news publication The Wire reportedly conducted a two-year investigation and published its findings in January 2022. This report claimed that the Tek Fog application was used "to artificially inflate
2891-566: The popularity of the Bharatiya Janata Party, harass its critics and manipulate public perceptions at scale across major social media platforms" and to "amplify right-wing propaganda". The Wire investigation also claimed that the BJP, along with the private companies Persistent Systems and Mohalla Tech (which operates a service called ShareChat), were involved in deploying the app. The members of BJP's youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), were said to have supervised
2950-419: The publication conceded its failure to verify the evidence and accused the reporter, Devesh Kumar, of deceit. The developments also brought back focus on the publication's earlier investigative coverage of an app called Tek Fog —supposedly used by the ruling party to spread disinformation and harass dissenters, that Kumar had been responsible for. This story also was removed from the site, and The Wire issued
3009-466: The publication was created as a "platform for independent journalism", and that its non-corporate structure and funding sources aim to free it from the "commercial and political pressures" which supposedly afflict mainstream Indian news outlets. The Wire ' s founding is construed to be a result of and a reaction to a political environment which has "discouraged dissent" against the present Indian ruling Bharatiya Janata Party . According to one of
SECTION 50
#17327913238483068-488: The same journalist. On 27 October 2022, The Wire issued a formal apology to its readers for the publication of these stories. The Wire (India) The Wire is an Indian nonprofit news and opinion website . It was founded in 2015 by Siddharth Varadarajan , Sidharth Bhatia, and M. K. Venu. It counts among the news outlets that are independent of the Indian government, and has been subject to several defamation suits by businessmen and politicians. The Wire
3127-543: The secretarial staff of either House of Parliament. The Rajya Sabha Secretariat functions under the overall guidance and control of the chairman. The main activities of the Secretariat inter alia include the following: (i) providing secretarial assistance and support to the effective functioning of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha); (ii) providing amenities as admissible to Members of Rajya Sabha; (iii) servicing
3186-505: The various Parliamentary Committees; (iv) preparing research and reference material and bringing out various publications; (v) recruitment of manpower in the Sabha Secretariat and attending to personnel matters; and (vi) preparing and publishing a record of the day-to-day proceedings of the Rajya Sabha and bringing out such other publications, as may be required concerning the functioning of the Rajya Sabha and its Committees. In
3245-640: Was a part of a pattern of escalating press freedom violations in Uttar Pradesh, using of the Epidemics Diseases Act of 1897 to pressurise journalists. Between April 2020 and June 2021, four separate FIRs alleging false information were lodged by the Uttar Pradesh Police against various journalists working for the news outlet, including against one of its founding editors. According to Reporters sans frontieres ,
3304-454: Was claimed to have supervised the operation, denied the party's involvement. On 23 October 2022, The Wire removed its Tek Fog investigation from its website, "pending the outcome of an internal review". The Wire has accused one of the story's authors of "deception" in a separate series of articles on Meta . The Wire's report described the app as being capable of several actions. These capabilities purportedly included being able to hijack
3363-507: Was founded by Siddharth Varadarajan , after he was removed from his position as editor at The Hindu . It began operating on 11 May 2015; Varadarajan worked with Sidharth Bhatia and M. K. Venu who had initially funded the website. Later it was made part of the Foundation for Independent Journalism, a non-profit. The Independent and Public Spirited Media Foundation has provided The Wire with funding as well. Varadarajan claims that
3422-594: Was then used to deliver targeted insults and criticism. The Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) released a statement condemning the app stating that women journalists were "prime targets of the app" and noting that The Wire investigation listed several women journalists who received up to one million abusive tweets between January and May 2021, including Rana Ayyub , Barkha Dutt , Nidhi Razdan , Rohini Singh, Swati Chaturvedi , Sagarika Ghose , Manisha Pande, Faye D'Souza , Arfa Khanum Sherwani and Smita Prakash . On 9 January 2022, journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani released
3481-484: Was used to promote the Hindutva ideology . Anand Venkatnarayanan, an Indian internet security researcher, called the app a military-grade psychological operations weapon. He claimed that the capabilities that are part of Tek Fog had only been accessible to state actors , and that putting it in the hands of non-state actors affiliated to a political party "had never been done before". On 10 January 2022, O'Brien wrote
#847152