The Congress party has said that it is withdrawing its toolkit complaint from the Delhi Police and has chosen to pursue the same in Chhattisgarh, a state where it has its own government. The party further said that it has chosen to do so citing the ‘inaction’ of Delhi Police, Economic Times has reported.
“We filed the complaint on May 18 and the Delhi Police did not take any action on it, despite the issue becoming big. They only kept asking us for more explanations. We feel it is better to pursue the matter in a place there will be fairness,” a party functionary said as per the report.
It is intriguing to note that the Congress party believes only states where it is in power are ‘fair’. It appears the party believes that only states it controls are neutral and a state becomes unfair the minute some other party is in government. It is remarkable hypocrisy on the part of the party.
Meanwhile, senior leader of the Congress party, Randeep Surjewala, has written another letter to Twitter over the toolkit and has urged the platform to take action against Union Ministers, in direct contravention of established norm.
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 25, 2021
Surjewala wrote in his letter, that features tweet links of various Union Ministers, “You would appreciate that the forged, fabricated material and the claims made under the malicious #CongressToolkitExposed, by the various ministers above-named, is identical to the material that has already marked as ‘manipulative media’, by Twitter, on various accounts including that of the BJP Spokesperson- Mr. Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj)- who is also one of the main accused in FIR No. 215/2021 registered by Chhattisgarh Police at Police Station Civil Lines, Raipur.”
Surjewala stated further, “Further, it is also a matter of fact that people tend to believe ‘true’ and take on face value, any information that is put up directly by a Union Minister of the Government of India through his/ her official/ verified Twitter account. Hence, it becomes all the more imperative to tag, ‘manipulative media’, on all such tweets made by Ministers of the Government of India on the above referred forged toolkit document created by the BJP.”
It sets an extremely dangerous precedent that the Congress party is openly inviting a foreign-based platform to meddle with an internal matter of India even as investigations into the matter are currently underway. Twitter is known to collaborate with the US establishment to further its political agenda. The appeal by the Congress party to the platform is akin to undermining India’s national sovereignty.
On May 23 (Sunday) Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh urged the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) not to go ahead with the three-day planned protests in Patiala, as it would add to the surge of Covid-19 infection in the state. However, disregarding the chief minister, the controversial Congress senior leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has gone ahead to back the superspreader protests in Patiala.
Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday hoisted a black flag at his residence in Patiala in support of protesting farmers. He took to Twitter to share a video of him and his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu hoisting the black flag on the terrace of his house in Patiala.
“Hoisting the Black Flag in Protest … Every Punjabi must support the Farmers !!” Tweeted Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Hoisting the Black Flag in Protest … Every Punjabi must support the Farmers !! pic.twitter.com/CQEP32O3az
After hoisting the black flag, Sidhu provoked the farmers against the Central government’s three farm laws. Rehashing the blatant lies and misinformation his party leaders, especially Rahul Gandhi, has been spreading against these laws, Sidhu says that the farm laws are “black laws” or “kaale kanoon,” and would prove destructive for the poor farmers if implemented. Sidhu instigated the farmers of Punjab to continue their quest until the Central Government is forced to repeal the farm laws.
Interestingly, a day after Captain Amarinder Singh urged farmers to refrain from protesting, Navjot Singh Sidhu had taken to Twitter to inform that he would be hoisting a black flag to express his support for the farmers protest at both his houses in Amritsar and Patiala. “Request everyone to do the same, until we have either repealed the #BlackLaws or provide an alternative method of assured MSP & procurement through State Government”, had Tweeted Sidhu.
Will hoist the Black Flag in support of #FarmersProtest at both my houses (Amritsar & Patiala) 9:30 AM tomorrow … Request everyone to do the same, until we have either repealed the #BlackLaws or provide an alternative method of assured MSP & procurement through State Government pic.twitter.com/MEyr2eK5Jw
It may be recalled that the anti-farm law protesters intend to mark May 26 as a ‘Black Day’.
Punjab CM requests not to carry out 3-day superspreader protest, BKU rejects plea
On May 23, the Punjab CM had urged the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) not to go ahead with the three-day planned protests in Patiala. Covid cases and deaths are seeing a massive surge in Punjab and there are several reports stating that farmer protests are acting as superspreader events.
However, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) has outrightly rejected the plea saying not just the Centre but the state is equally responsible for the miseries of farmers and inability to contain the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Visibly upset with the unwarranted action of the protesting farmers, Amarinder suggested that after the state offered unwavering support to the farmers, the same should be reciprocated by the BKU “to support the state government in the fight against the pandemic.”
Captain Amarinder stressed on the fact that the farmers’ group should not act irresponsibly and jeopardise the lives of their people with their reckless behaviour amid the pandemic. He also reminded that there is a complete ban in the state on all gatherings and any violation would be highly detrimental to the interests of Punjab.
However, considering the embittered relationship the two ministers have been sharing for the last few years, it is not surprising that Navjot Singh Sidhu paid no heed to Captain Amarinder Singh’s appeal and went ahead to back the three-day planned superspreader protests in Patiala.
Why is Captain Amarinder Singh in loggerheads with Navjot Singh Sidhu
For the uninitiated, things went sour between Captain Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu when despite Captain’s advise Navjot Singh Sidhu had visited Pakistan on Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s invite for the Kartarpur groundbreaking ceremony. The ever-increasing rift between the Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu and Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh widened further after Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur asserted that Captain denied her Lok sabha ticket to fight elections. Singh had then refuted the allegations claiming she was offered to fight elections from Bhatinda or Amritsar but it was her personal decision to not fight from both the seats.
The duo later patched up over an informal lunch, but the friendship didn’t last long with Sidhu once again attacking the CM again after the Punjab & Haryana HC quashed the SIT probe into the 2015 firing cases on April 9. Sidhu has launched a fresh attack on the Badals as well over the sacrilege case.
Breaking his silence on Sidhu’s attacks, Singh on April 27 has challenged him to contest from Patiala in the 2022 polls. Sure of his win, Singh has predicted that Sidhu will lose his deposit.
Newslaundry investor Mahesh Murthy has yet again become the epicentre of a social media controversy after his old tweet against Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati went viral.
In a tweet dated September 4, 2012, he wrote, “Government okays SCT/ST reservation for promotions. Next SC/ST reservation in your sex life! Finally, Mayawati gets action.” The despicable tweet was directed at the BSP chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister after she had given nod to include reservation in promotions. Murthy, an accused in 2018 #MeToo case, was however quick to delete the tweet after it had gone viral on Monday.
Screengrab of the tweet by Mahesh Murthy
On Tuesday (May 25), Mahesh Murthy apologised for saying ‘dumb things’ in a ‘poor attempt at humour.’ He tweeted, “Folks, I said some stupid things on twitter about caste, reservations and politics some 9 years ago. I was dumber then, and it was a poor attempt at humour. I have since deleted those tweets and I apologise for the offence they may have caused. Sorry.”
Folks, I said some stupid things on twitter about caste, reservations and politics some 9 years ago. I was dumber then, and it was a poor attempt at humour. I have since deleted those tweets and I apologise for the offence they may have caused. Sorry.
Interestingly, Mahesh Murthy funds the left-propagandist website, Newslaundry, which claims to be an independent organisation. Although Newslaundry has been vocal about women rights in India and the #MeToo movement, it has remained silent in the face of allegations of sexual misconduct against its investor.
Sexual harassment allegations against Mahesh Murthy
In 2017, several media organisation including OpIndia had reported allegations of sexual harassment against Newslaundry investor Murthy made by six women — three of who went on record with their experience. The accounts of the harassment had happened in the past from 2003 to 2016. Pankaj Mishra, founder of technology website FactorDaily, in a series of tweets, had accused venture capitalist Mahesh Murthy who is also an investor in the Left-leaningself-proclaimed ‘media watchdog‘, Newslaundry.
The reports which highlighted sexual misconduct of Murthy stated that an author named Rashmi Bansal and a woman journalist had accused Murthy of inappropriate behaviour, ranging from inappropriate electronic messages to verbal advances to physical grabbing. Murthy had also allegedly sent an inappropriate message, “Hey babe, one’s supposed to celebrate Diwali by blowing a pataka. So can I go down on you please? :-)” to a woman government officer in Delhi.
The report had stated that many people knew of Murthy’s alleged misbehaviour, but no one has taken a stand against him except an IT giant. A woman executive was allegedly asked “Are you a virgin” by Murthy back in 2006, and then the company blacklisted Murthy’s digital media company, Pinstorm.
The government of Rajasthan reported 3918 deaths between April 01 to May 20 from 25 districts. However, as per Dainik Bhaskar’s ground report, 14,482 cremations took place in just 512 village blocks during the same period.
The numbers are startling as these villages witness less than seven times the death recorded in one and a half months. The report additionally suggests that the cremations are not taking place as per Covid-19 protocols despite most being victims to the coronavirus.
Numbers recorded by Dainik Bhaskar
The ground report is a compilation of information received from 28 bureaus, village heads, crematoriums and locals. Amidst this, locals complained of lack of health and medical infrastructure in the villages.
42 villages of Bundi district witnessed 314 deaths in this period whereas the government recorded only 18 deaths in the entire district
Sri Ganganagar which houses 3034 villages witnessed 517 deaths from just 28 villages whereas government records of the district reported only 48 deaths
Udaipur which has 2500 villages witnessed 1850 deaths in just 10 village blocks whereas the government recorded only 432 deaths
Chittorgarh with 1737 villages witnessed 406 deaths in just 22 villages whereas the district record suggests 60 deaths
Alwar with 2073 villages witnessed 1184 deaths in 32 villages whereas the government reported just 195 deaths
Hanumangarh with 1913 villages witnessed 643 deaths in 7 village blocks whereas the government recorded just 27 deaths
Woman taken for cremation on hand cart
On receiving no help from police, hospital and government for cremating the Covid victim as per protocols, Aparna Sushant’s (50) body had to be taken on a hand cart for cremation on May 09 in Jhalawar district.
In another heart-wrenching incident from the same district, a father had to bring back his daughter’s dead body in the car by tying it to the next seat as the ambulance demanded Rs 35,000 to ferry the body from a hospital in Kota to Jhalawar.
Madhu Raja tied the dead body of her daughter with the seat belt on the front seat and drove to Jhalawar. Image Source: Dainik Bhaskar
Man dies due to suffocation
As the family was engaged in the funeral of 90-year-old Goradevi of Dausa district, her son died in a hospital as his oxygen mask was connected to an empty cylinder, the report states.
Two brothers die in a span of half an hour
Two brothers from Alwar who had returned to their village to escape the Covid-19 crisis at Delhi contracted the virus upon reaching the village. In a shocking incident, both expired within a span of half an hour. They both are survived by two daughters aged 4 and 2.
Shortage of woods in Chomu district
The administration of Chomu district had made no arrangements to stock extra woods for funerals as they were not expecting the sudden surge in new coronavirus cases. The wood stock enough for 50 funerals was consumed in just 20 days. The village administration is now unable to source wood for the cremation of Covid victims.
Villagers ask for guarantee
In a bizarre incident, villagers of Kesarpura from the Alwar district have asked the medical department to give them in writing that vaccination will not result in the death of the vaccinated person. This step was taken after 10 villagers passed away due to COVID in 15 days in the month of April. Despite numerous attempts by the medical department, the villagers have shunted the vaccination drive.
Thousands of children test Corona positive
In a worrisome update, over 600 children under the age of 18 have tested positive for Covid-19 in Bharatpur village in the past three weeks.
In an update from Dausa district, over 345 children between the age of 10 to 12 years have tested COVID-19 positive.
Additionally, over 300 children have tested positive for corona in the Dungarpur district. The administration says the children have been given the prescribed medication and have adequate arrangements in place for treatment.
In another alarming update, the health officials inform that the state has over 7000 minors who are said to be Covid positive but are largely asymptomatic.
95 test positive in Jhunjhunu district
We had reported earlier that as many as 95 people had tested positive in a day in the Siyalokala village after the wedding season. The villagers revealed that no measures are being taken by the government to ensure their safety. The village lacks proper healthcare and is not receiving due medical attention.
442 patients die on ventilator in Jaipur
Jaipur’s largest state-run Covid-10 facility RUHS CMS Hospital recorded 442 deaths of patients on ventilator support in just 20 days as reported earlier. The main reason cited for these deaths is not cleaning the endotracheal tube by the hospital staff which resulted in infections.
Reassessment of death count
Medical and Health Minister Raghu Sharma informed, “We got the first 4,262 deaths assessed in rural and urban areas. Out of this, 1,331 deaths (31.20%) occurred in rural areas. As of now 7,806 deaths are being analyzed, to determine how many deaths occurred in villages and how many in cities in a month.”
Lockdown extended in Rajasthan
The Rajasthan government has extended lockdown till June 08 as the state recorded 6521 new cases on Sunday. As per the report, the state may allow some relaxations to resume commercial activities from June 01 in districts where the COVID-19 situation has improved.
The Delhi Police has said that a notice was served to two Congress members to join the investigation into the Congress toolkit controversy when the complaint was submitted. The party’s social media head Rohan Gupta and spokesperson MV Rajeev Gowda were served the notice. A notice will also be served to BJP leader Sambit Patra in the coming days.
Delhi Police Special Cell had served notice to two persons associated with the Congress party to join investigation when the complaint was submitted: Delhi Police sources on alleged 'toolkit' probe
“We served notice to Twitter as we want to know what information Twitter has about the toolkit and why they chose to give the ‘manipulated media’ label. Apart from Twitter, we have also served notices to the complainants, representatives of Congress, asking them to join the investigation to explain the whole sequence of events. We are also going to serve notice to BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, for questioning in the coming days,” a senior police officer was quoted by the Indian Express as saying.
The development comes a day after the special cell of the Delhi Police visited the offices of Twitter India in order to serve a notice in connection with the Congress toolkit probe. There was speculation that teams of the police were raiding the offices but the Police had later clarified that it was part of a routine process.
A notice was served to Twitter as the Police wants to know on what basis Twitter decided to add the ‘manipulated media’ label to the tweets. Delhi Police has said that as per their investigation, Twitter is acquainted with some facts related to the matter and are in possession of some information regarding the same.
On May 24, Sky News published an interview with Hamas’s founding member Mahmoud al-Zahar in which he said that Israel has no right to exist. He further added that the terrorist organization’s plan was to target the crowded civilian centres of Israel. The interview was conducted by Mark Stone, who had visited al-Zahar in his Gaza home. Notably, Israel and Gaza have announced a ceasefire that began on Friday.
‘Ability to hit Israeli civilian areas is Hamas’s victory’
During the interview, 76-year-old al-Zahar claimed it was Hamas’s victory as the terrorist organization managed to fire rockets on densely populated Israeli civilian areas. He said, “The new element is the degree of the resistance movement, particularly in Gaza, to attack the Israeli targets at very important points, including most of the overcrowded area in the civilian society. So for how long the Israeli will accept that, I think this is the main issue.”
As per reports, Hamas and other terrorist organizations operating from Gaza fired over 4,300 rockets at Israel during 11 days of the war. The people living near Gaza were forced to live in bomb shelters around the clock.
Stone called out Hamas’s war crime of firing rockets and missiles from civilian dwellings in Gaza at civilians in Israel. He said, “That’s not acceptable, that’s a war crime.” Al-Zahar bluntly rejected the accusation and claimed that no rockets were fired from civilian areas. He said, “We [fired] most of the rockets from the border.”
When Stone mentioned the video proof of rockets being fired from the built-up area of Gaza city at Israeli communities, Al-Zahar said, “This is not against Israeli communities. This is against Israeli occupation. This is against Israeli aggression.”
Loss of life on both sides
As per reports, 12 civilians, including a 5-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl, and one soldier lost their lives in the rocket attacks in Israel. Hundreds of other civilians and soldiers were injured. The AI-based security system known as Iron Dome played a vital role in saving thousands of lives in Israel by intercepting the rockets mid-air.
On the other hand, in Gaza, at least 243 Palestinians were killed, as reported by Hamas-run Health Ministry. Out of those 243 dead, 66 were children and teens. 1,910 people were injured. The Palestinian side did not reveal how many civilians and how many members of the terrorist group were killed. According to the Israeli army, some of the deaths in Gaza were due to rockets fired by Hamas falling short and landing inside Gaza itself.
When Stone asked him if ceasefire would hold, he said, “Yes, I think the most important point is the degree of impact on both sides.”
Hamas spending on the military to save itself from Israel, claimed Al-Zahar
When Al-Zahar was cornered by Stone about the money Hamas is spending on military infrastructure, including tunnels, he claimed that Hamas’s steps to increase military might are to save itself against “the Israeli aggression.” For them, money spent on the military is more important than Gaza’s development.
Israel does not have the right to exist – Al-Zahar
Stone bluntly asked Al-Zahar, “Does the State of Israel have the right to exist?” He categorically denied it and said, “No. Why? Why? You are coming from America, and you take my house. You came from Britain, and you took my brother’s house. This is a settlement. You are not a citizen. We are the owners of this. This is an Arabic area. This is well-known as an Islamic area, well-known,” Al-Zahar said. He further added that practically, it has been proved that two-state theory is not possible.
He said, “It is not my assessment. Go and ask [Palestinian president] Mahmoud Abbas ‘are you now saying a two state solution is viable or not?’ He will say no. The Israelis are not going to accept a two-state solution.” he further added, “People went and they sat down at the table and signed an agreement and so on and failed. You are now asking me to practise a failed process?”
The possible role of the US in ‘peace talks’
According to Al-Zahar, it was irrelevant to talk about peace with Israel. He denied answering any question related to peace talks and deemed them as “impractical questions.” When Stone asked if as a Palestinian he was willing to live with Israeli Jews, Al-Zahar said that he was not against Jews as they have ‘given’ east area to them. He said, “We are against the occupation.” He added he would be willing to talk to President Joe Biden though he had extended support to Israel.
Reports suggest that the United States is planning to head a multi-billion international effort to rebuild the Gaza Strip that has been destroyed during an 11-day fight. By providing financial support, the US wants to put pressure on Hamas “not to resume fight.”
Congress leader Udit Raj has successfully stopped a journalist from releasing his interview after the politician threatened to get the journalist imprisoned under the SC/ST Act if he dared to release the interview which apparently had some difficult questions for the Congress leader.
The journalist has shared his allegations against Udit Raj with OpIndia. He has reached out to share that he is being threatened and intimidated by the Congress leader over some parts of an interview. We are withholding his identity to prevent further harassment of this media person by the Dalit leader.
The journalist who interviewed the Congress leader said Raj was rattled by one of the uncomfortable questions he had asked during his interview. Enraged by the question, Kumar threatened the journalist with imprisonment under the SC/ST Act if he released the interview.
screenshot from the journalist’s message Screenshot from the journalist’s message
The journalist shared that Udit Raj had reportedly stated that BJP’s ‘fools’ had given importance to the farmer protest ‘toolkit’ issue. Upon this, he had asked the Congress leader if he had also been ‘fooled’ by the same. On this question, Raj allegedly lost his cool and threatened the journalist with the SC/ST Act if he releases that part of the interview.
The journalist lamented that he has the entire recording of Udit Raj’s interview but could not release it because of the threat and intimidation he is facing from the Congress leader. It must be noted that Congress spokesperson Udit Raj is a Dalit leader and National Chairman of the All India Confederation of SC/ST organisations.
What do lawyers say about the SC/ST Act threat?
OpIndia talked to advocates to understand if the SC/ST Act can indeed be used as a tool by Dalit leaders to silence critics and prevent journalists from sharing their interviews. Lawyer Ravi Sharma says that in order to attract the ingredients of the offences under The Prevention of Atrocities (Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe) Act, 1989, it is imperative that the abuse/humiliation/persecution of the victim should have been carried out on account of him being a member of a scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe and the offences under the act does not automatically gets attracted in all cases of violence/abuse/humiliation/persecution, simply because the victim belonged to a scheduled caste or tribe unless such atrocity has been motivated by caste considerations.
Advocate Vishwanath Venkatash said the excerpt based on the conversation would not warrant the invoking of the necessary sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, however, if there has been an identifiable pattern of past remarks or behaviour, a case can be made out subject to the filing of a complaint.
Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, also known as the SC/ST Act, was enacted to protect the marginalized communities against discrimination and atrocities.
The law lists various offences relating to various patterns or behaviours inflicting criminal offences and breaking the self-respect and esteem of the scheduled castes and tribes community, which includes denial of economic, democratic, and social rights, discrimination, exploitation, and abuse of the legal process.
Under Section 18 of the act, provision for anticipatory bail is not available to the offenders. Any public servant, who deliberately neglects his duties under this act, is liable to punishment with imprisonment for up to 6 months. An amendment was added to the original act in 2015 to make the act more stringent by adding more instances of “atrocities” as crimes against SCs and STs.
Rampant misuse of SC/ST Act
The anti-atrocities law was initially enacted with the laudable purpose of protecting persons hailing from the SC and ST community from any abuse or harassment over notions of caste supremacy. However, over the years, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 has been misused extensively for vengeance, blackmail and personal vendetta. False cases are rampantly registered under the Act against the members of other communities to settle personal scores.
A couple of months back, Rajasthan police had informed that over 40% of the cases filed in 2020 under The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 were found to be fake.
Last year, people in a village in the Firozabad district in Uttar Pradesh fled the village due to fake cases registered against them under the SC/ST Act. According to reports, residents of Gothua village had sold their homes and moved to other places due to harassment of fake cases. Villagers have written on the outside walls and doors of their houses that they will be sold.
There have been several cases reported from various parts of the country where people were falsely implicated under the stringent provisions of the SC/ST Act. Any act of defiance is used as reasonable grounds to charge the person with SC/ST Act.
The controversial law has fuelled a major debate in the country pertaining to the cases of rampant misuse by the SC/ST communities by falsely registering cases against the members of other communities. Taking this to cognizance, the Supreme Court, in its 2018 judgment had diluted the stringent provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
However, the Union government brought another amendment act to nullify the Supreme Court’s 2018 order pertaining to the SC/ST atrocities act. Subsequently, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018.
Aam Aadmi Party has graduated from providing ‘free’ oxygen check with oximeters to providing free logs for cremation. An image of a poster has gone viral on social media in which logs for cremation are put up in a tractor with a poster that Aam Aadmi Party has arranged for free logs for cremation for those who have lost their lives to COVID.
Hope this is photoshop-d. Because I can't imagine this trolley being driven through colonies. And the man is smart, he is providing Lakdi Sewa in UP, not Delhi. Ye rajneeti badalne aaye thhe. pic.twitter.com/kPBCTOq2op
— BioGas ConcentratoRatty (@YearOfRat) May 25, 2021
The image is of a tractor which announces free logs for cremation in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur.
Netizens at first thought it must be fake because it really cannot be true that a political party will advertise cremation logs for the deceased. It also seemed strange since the advertisement was in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur where Aam Aadmi Party is not even having any presence. Ghazipur, however, is one of the places in UP which shares its border with the national capital. Lakhs of ‘farmers’ have been blocking borders are Ghazipur protesting against the new farm laws. Delhi government led by Aam Aadmi Party has provided all facilities for the ‘farmers’ to protest.
Spotting the viral image, we at OpIndia got curious. Here is what we found.
It is real
The above tractor carrying logs for cremation in Ghazipur is real. In fact, Aam Aadmi Party itself has shared the advertisement of cremation logs on its official account.
गहमर घाट ग़ाज़ीपुर में शवों की दुर्दशा की विचलित करने वाली तस्वीरें पूरे भारत ने देखी, शवों को चिता तक नसीब नहीं हुई। आज AAP विधायक @dilipkpandey जी, प्रदेश सह-प्रभारी @aapabhinav एवं AAP गाज़ीपुर की टीम के प्रयास से अंतिम संस्कार हेतु निःशुल्क लकड़ी देने की सेवा की शुरुआत हुई। pic.twitter.com/072inIAltJ
— Aam Aadmi Party- Uttar Pradesh (@AAPUttarPradesh) May 22, 2021
The tractors carrying the logs for cremation were flagged off with much fanfare with AAP supremo and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s face printed on the flags.
AAP MLA Dilip Pandey led initiative
The above initiative is supported by Aam Aadmi Party leader and Timarpur MLA Dilip Pandey. Speaking to OpIndia, Om Prakash Singh of AAP said that the project was paid for by Dilip Pandey. It is not yet clear whether it is his personal project or it is funded by the Delhi taxpayers’ money or just party fund.
In fact, not just him, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh has actually led the project.
Abhinav Rai, Aam Aadmi Party leader and former OSD to Delhi Government, took to Twitter to share the above advertisement for free logs on Sunday.
He also shared in another tweet that Sanjay Singh for emotional on seeing the dead bodies floating in the Ganga river and to give a dignified cremation to the Hindus, he has arranged for the logs for cremation.
गहमर घाट, गाजीपुर में गंगा में तैरती लावारिस शवों की जानकारी मिलते ही बड़े भाई @dilipkpandey जी ने कई ट्राली लकड़ियां मुहैया कराई। माननीय सांसद श्री @SanjayAzadSln जी का धन्यवाद हैं कि हिंदू शवों का अंतिम संस्कार हिंदू रिती-रिवाज से करवाने की मुहिम में अपनी पूरी तनख्वाह लगा दी। pic.twitter.com/NmU7CgxY0O
He added that Singh has given his full salary to pay for the cremation logs. It is quite likely that the taxpayers’ money is used by Arvind Kejriwal to promote the party in a rather weird fashion in Uttar Pradesh ahead of 2022 assembly elections. Do note that it was Sanjay Singh himself who had launched the bizarre ‘free oxygen check’ last year in UP even as Delhi struggled with COVID cases.
There’s a ‘little’ problem
You see, the number on the poster advertising free logs for cremation is 9935391246. However, when OpIndia tried contacting the number, it reached a clueless woman who had no idea what we were talking about. However, when you see Rai’s tweet, you can see that the actual number for free logs for cremation is 9935931246. Confirming to OpIndia, AAP leader said that the number printed on poster was incorrect but has since been corrected. Two ‘very poor’ people have also been given free logs for cremation till now.
On Sunday (May 23), a scuffle broke out between a navy officer and the police in the Mauripur area near Hawker’s Bay in Karachi, Pakistan.
As per reports, the altercation took place after the police stopped the navy officer from going to the beach in accordance with the Coronavirus protocols in the city. The cops also tried to stop his car. The miffed navy commander then got down from his vehicle and misbehaved with the police. A video of the scuffle has now surfaced on social media.
In the video footage, the officer from Pakistan Navy and the Karachi police personnel were seen exchanging blows near the police checkpoint on Hawker’s Bay. Reportedly, the police did not initially retaliate to the navy personnel’s misbehaviour, keeping in mind his seniority. Soon after, another car carrying other naval officers reached the spot which further escalated the violent confrontation.
Reportedly the Navy officer was going to the beach with his family and was angry when his car was stopped by policemen.
A navy major ranked officer physically assaulted policemen when Police tried to stop the Major’s family on COVID SOPs at Hawksbay Karachi. Both are forces but one is civilian other isnt. Is there any rule of law for them? Do we need goons when we have uniformed? By @MHunainAmeenpic.twitter.com/qR2FdaJbTo
This is bad, very very bad. A recent scuffle between ??Navy and Karachi police has occurred. This should not have happened at all. Every institution and their personnel must respect law of the land . Let’s prevent our ?? from further embarrassment. Enough is enough ☹ pic.twitter.com/zHvEokdJKQ
— Shafiullah Khalil?? (@shafiullah71) May 24, 2021
A police spokesperson informed that a First Information Report (FIR) has not been registered in the case. He pointed out that several such incidents took place in the past as well but no cases were lodged. Another official added, “The concerned officials are thoroughly conducting an inquiry into the incident…Every aspect is being assessed. Departmental action would be taken against the personnel responsible for this unpleasant incident.”
The spokesperson said, “Supremacy of law and respect for institutions is incumbent upon all of us.” He added that ‘certain elements’ on social media are trying to create misunderstanding between the Police and the Navy by imparting it a ‘wrong colour.’
On Sunday (May 23), a former New York Times (NYT) science editor named Nicholas Wade slammed mainstream media publications for falling for Chinese propaganda and ignoring that Covid-19 might have leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan. His remarks came at a time when more scientists are increasingly supporting the theory that the Wuhan Coronavirus was developed in a laboratory.
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, he lamented that journalists from mainstream media outlets had failed to take off ‘political glasses’ in investigating the origins of the virus. He said, “I think we see a sustained Chinese propaganda effort at work. But, you know, more than that, it was just the blindness, if I could put it that way, of our media — we’re too polarized to see scientific issues for their own sake without putting a political gloss on them.”
“We don’t know for sure: The origin of the virus is just we’ve got these two possible scenarios. But if you look at all the evidence and ask yourself, well, which scenario explains all these facts better on present evidence, it seems, to me at least, that the lab-escape hypothesis explains it a lot better. But it’s a sort of complicated conclusion to arrive at, and I can only assume that the media was blindsided, they didn’t do the work that was necessary,” Wade held the mainstream media journalists accountable.
It must be mentioned that leftist mainstream media portals such as CNN, New York Times, and The Washington Post had rejected the possibility of Coronanivrus’ origin in a Chinese laboratory during the onset of the pandemic. This is despite the fact that scientists at the Wuhan Institue of Virology have been working on bats and improving the efficacy of coronavirus years prior to the outbreak of Covid-19. The Wuhan lab was permitted to handle Class 4 pathogens, which are dangerous and have the potential to transmit from humans to humans. Interestingly, it is just 20 miles away from the Huanan Seafood market.
Multiple Wuhan lab researchers fell ill in November 2019 : US State Department
After Beijing vehemently denied carrying out research to weaponise the coronavirus at the maximum-security Wuhan Institute of Virology, a US intelligence report has revealed that several researchers at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill in November 2019 and had to be hospitalized. It is interesting to note that the Trump administration in January had said that the researchers at Wuhan lab had become sick in autumn 2019, however, it did not mention hospitalization.
China, opposing every bit of such information, continues to report that the first patient with Covid-like symptoms was recorded in Wuhan only on December 8, 2019. The intelligence community, however, still does not know what the researchers were actually sick with. “The intelligence community does not know exactly where, when, or how Covid-19 virus was transmitted initially,” added the Director of National Intelligence.
WHO released the much-awaited report into the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus last month concluding that it’s “extremely unlikely” the virus originated from a laboratory. The other likely option as per the report is a spillover from an animal reservoir host to human, followed by direct person-to-person transmission. As many as 14 countries have disregarded the WHO study and have called for a continued scientific and collaborative approach to be taken to be able to trace the origins of COVID-19 successfully and conclusively.
