Sonia Gandhi is the president of Indian National Congress, one of the most prominent political parties of India. She has been 5 time MP and comes from a family of politicians where her husband, mother in law and great grandfather in law were all Prime Ministers of India. Her son, Rahul Gandhi has also been party president and has been a Lok Sabha member for four consecutive terms. Now his sister has also taken the plunge in politics, but is not an elected representative yet.
So, as a politically aware citizen of India, I wanted to know what the Gandhis have contributed financially, especially from their personal wealth to fight the pandemic. Considering the family members are believed to have homes in various part of the world like the UK and others, one would assume they are financially very well off to be able to donate from their personal wealth to perhaps construct hospitals or arrange for oxygen plants. Since the Gandhis and Congress party think profit is evil and believe in socialism, this is only natural that they will be putting their words into action.
Curious, I put up a question on Twitter asking for their contribution.
Have Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Congress contributed to help build temporary quarantine centres, hospitals, food for migrants amid the pandemic? Can someone point me to resources if they have?
I was just curious. My question was very polite. Here is the response I got from Congress workers and leaders.
Starting with ‘cow’ jibes.
Abhijit’s abuse
The initial abuses started with the ‘cow’ jibes. It is pertinent to note that the Islamist terrorists have often used the ‘gau mutra’ jibe to carry out attack on Indians because Hindus hold cow holy. Congress supporter here can be seen using the same ‘cow’ jibe only because I asked for Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi’s contribution.
Abuse by influencers
Twitter user ‘Anjali Sharma’ has over 11,000 followers and is followed by various Congress leaders like Pawan Khera, Alka Lamba and now left as Congress supporter Sanjay Jha. Anjali decided to abuse me and use derogatory word for me because I questioned the Gandhi family members. Other Congress supporters found it amusing and shared with laughing emojis.
Apparently, I was not ‘behaving well’
One Dhurba Buddhadeb Choudhury, followed by Congress leader Alka Lamba, reminded me that it is 2021 and UPA-led by Congress is not in power. Apparently, that is good enough reason to not question why one of the wealthiest families in India, which used to use India’s war ship as personal ferry for vacations, cannot be questioned. I should not expect respect because questioning the Gandhis is abuse.
Death wish
Ah, a death wish. How can we forget. If Prime Minister and Home Minister of the country get death wished upon by Congress leaders, supporters and Congress loyalist ‘journalists’ and ‘influencers’, I am but just a regular citizens of India. So when Rana Dev Rajbanshi wished I get COVID positive, struggle for oxygen and medicines to ‘realise’ who are working in field, I did not get bothered.
Mriganka wishing ill upon my family
Not just me, even my family was not spared. Mriganka Sinha wished my family struggle for oxygen. All this in reply to a polite question.
But I guess this is indeed the contribution of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. Having people wish I and my family get COVID positive and struggle.
Ratin Sharma abusing
And then Congress supporters made derogatory jokes about the PM while replying to me. Rahul Gandhi speaks about respect to women, but if you question Rahul Gandhi you cease to be a woman apparently. Then you just become a ‘bhakt’ and as we all know ‘liberals’ believe the ‘bhakts’ deserve to die.
But what is it about an Indian citizen asking whether the richie rich of India, the Gandhi family, have paid out of their own pockets for any hospitals. They may give their MPLAD funds and other things but what about their own personal wealth? Especially when in past few years they have made it amply clear they believe being rich in India is a sin. Rahul Gandhi’s incessant attacks on the corporates made it clear he believes profit and wealth is corruption.
So when it comes to him and his family, where does all his socialism gyaan go? Or is it only for theory?
During the day-to-day hearing on petitions and applications related to Covid-19 management in Delhi, the bench comprising Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rekha Palli was informed by INOX that they were facing difficulties in Rajasthan and Delhi. Sachin Dutta, appearing for Jaipur Golden Hospital, said, “the bureaucratic machinery of Delhi government has completely failed.”
Tankers diverted midway, said INOX
Siddharth Jain from Inox told the court that they have asked for directions on supply to left out hospitals. They are getting SoS calls from the hospitals. “Please appreciate the supplier’s stand as well. State govt should either tell suppliers to send or arrange. We can’t sleep. We need some directions, he said. Jain further added that INOX factories are working 24×7, but when the trucks leave, they are getting diverted midway. “Why would I not want to give oxygen. It is my business. Nobody has complained except for Delhi hospitals. I wonder why,” he said.
My factories are working 24*7. When my truck leaves, it is working like a milkman. Our trucks are diverted midway : Jain
Four tankers with Haryana number plates seized by Rajasthan claimed INOX
During the hearing, INOX, the largest supplier of medical oxygen in the country, told the court that four of its tankers were seized by the Rajasthan authorities. Notably, INOX is also in charge of transporting part of the oxygen supply to Delhi from other firms. The company cited that it could not send the tankers for transporting oxygen from Linde and Air Liquide for Delhi as they were held by Rajasthan authorities.
We are more than willing to take on this natonal service. Yesterday we located our tankers at Bhiwadi. Tankers were taken by Govt of Rajasthan and I’m unable to provide the service : Jain
Rajasthan alleged they held tankers due to a shortage
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that central government officers spoke to the chief secretary in Rajasthan. The state alleged they were forced to take the step as there was a shortage of tankers. The central government promised the court that it would take action against those who are responsible. He said, “this will be an example for other states”. By the time hearing ended, the tankers had not been released, but Mehta promised the court that they would be freed soon.
Court records submission on tankers being held up by Rajasthan.
SG Mehta assures strict action would be action: Court
Immediately it was brought to our notice..and it was immediately released : SG Mehta
The court said, “We hope and expect the State of Rajasthan to honour the orders passed by the Central government and the court. An obstruction in the matter of supply of medical oxygen at this stage would tantamount to endangering hundreds of human lives if not more … Stoppage of tankers will have a snowballing effect and would certainly impact the concerned state itself.”
We hope and expect Rajasthan to honour the order passed by Centre and this court. Intervention in the matter of supply of oxygen would tantamount to endangering 100s of human lives. Serves no purpose to anyone to obstruct : Court
‘Bureaucratic machinery of Delhi has failed’ – Jaipur Golden Hospital
During the hearing, senior advocate Sachin Dutta, Jaipur Golden Hospital, informed the court that the oxygen supply chain was being disrupted by the government of Delhi. Dutta said that Jaipur Golden Hospital was supposed to get 3.6 MT of oxygen by 5 PM, which the hospital did not receive. He added that the Delhi minister claimed hospitals were making unnecessary SOS calls for oxygen. “How long after the patient dies should hospitals issue SOS,” asked Dutta.
Yesterday the Minister said hospitals are unnecessary SoS.. how long after patient dies should hospitals issue SoS: Dutta
“Inox should directly send me the dispatch note. The bureaucratic machinery of Delhi govt has completely failed,” added Dutta. The court asked the Delhi government to hold a meeting with all stakeholders, including oxygen suppliers, refillers, hospitals and government officials, in the evening and report it to the court on Tuesday about the distribution plan in the national capital.
Inox should directly send me the dispatch note. The bureaucratic machinery of Delhi govt has completely failed: Dutta
Mr Dutta endeavour since yesterday has been to malign and politicise : Mehra
The court took note of the letter the Delhi government had written to Sajjan Jindal, chairman of the JSW group. The central government claimed that the Delhi government asked the company to provide any spare oxygen to them. The centre has asserted that the oxygen supply should be done at the national level. SC Mehta said that the state governments should concentrate on arranging tankers and not look for oxygen. If there is any spare or extra oxygen, it should be surrendered to the central government.
The Delhi CM wrote this letter to an industrialist (Sajjan Jindal).
Procurement has to be be at national level else there will be complete chaos. State govt can procure tankers but not tankers : SG Mehta
When Rahul Mehra, appearing for the Delhi government, appealed the court to permit them to inform the central government of any extra/spare oxygen that they may become aware of, SC Mehta said, “The central government has information on all industries, we don’t want anybody to inform us.” Mehra said on record that the communication from Delhi government would be restricted for scouting cryogenic tankers across the country.
‘Follow Delhi government’s directions or face action’ court told refillers
The court directed all the refillers in the national capital to ensure they supply refilled cylinders as per the Delhi government’s directions, and these supplies should be accounted for. “Any violation, it said, would lead to strict action against them,” the court added.
On Monday (April 26), the official Twitter handle of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi shared a manipulated video to claim that BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi praised the party for supposedly not politicising the ongoing oxygen crisis in the National Capital.
The development comes at a time when the Delhi government is facing public ire over its mishandling of the pandemic. In a video tweeted by AAP Delhi, BJP leader Aparajita Sarangi could be heard as saying, “Yesterday there was a discussion about how the Delhi government is playing politics over the current situation. I said that the Delhi government is not doing politics. Delhi government is helpless.”
Furthermore, she was seen ‘admitting’ that 480MT of oxygen supply has not reached the Delhi Government from the Centre. The video was shared by the likes of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan. In a tweet, he said, “Atleast the BJP spokesperson has accepted the truth. In such stressful times, the way BJP is misleading the public is unfortunate. It only displays their lack of empathy.”
कम से कम भाजपा प्रवक्ता ने सच तो क़बूला, इस आपदा की घड़ी में जिस तरह ये लोग जनता को गुमराह करने का काम कर रहे हैं, यह बड़ा दुःखद और संवेदनहीनता का परिचायक है। https://t.co/MFd9sIRp8A
— Amanatullah Khan AAP (@KhanAmanatullah) April 27, 2021
What is the Truth?
We spotted the logo of ABP News in the video clip shared by AAP Delhi. On using specific keywords, we were able to trace the original conversation between ABP News and BJP leader Aparajita Sarangi. She had initially remarked that the Covid crisis must not be politicised under any circumstances.
In her original statement (at around 14:45), she said, “Yesterday there was a discussion about how the Delhi government is playing politics over the current situation. I said that the Delhi government is not doing politics (but is rather incompetent). Delhi government is helpless and weak. They don’t know how to handle the situation. They only know how to shed crocodile tears over it.”
The segment where Aparajita Sarangi slammed the Delhi government for being weak and incompetent to handle the Covid situation in the National Capital was cleverly edited out by the party’s IT Cell. The fact that she accused them of crying over the crisis instead of taking measures to resolve the situation was also shrewdly removed.
(Video Courtesy: Youtube/ABP News)
BJP leader reveals why 480 MT of oxygen wasn’t made available to the Delhi government
Sarangi had squarely blamed the AAP government for its failure in procuring the oxygen tankers. “I agree that the full quota of 480 MT oxygen did not arrive… I will tell you the reason. Management is the responsibility of the State government. The Centre is responsible for making facilities available for the States, formulating policies and showcasing their intention. And it did. The Central government is standing with all States, including Delhi, in its fight against the pandemic,” she said.
The BJP leader further highlighted the Delhi High Court order, which had slammed the Arvind Kejriwal-led-Delhi government for mismanagement. “The Court has directed the government to bring in cryogenic tankers, communicate with the Transport Ministry and get the oxygen tankers filled,” she added. Aparajita Sarangi expressed her disbelief when she learnt that the Delhi government was yet to constitute a team of 10 IAS officers for monitoring the availability and supply chain of oxygen.
Interestingly, this was a suggestion presented to the Delhi High Court by the advocate of the Delhi government himself. While Arvind Kejriwal’s party is busy editing videos and publishing manipulated media to shrug off its responsibility, the National Capital is under severe distress. As of April 26, Delhi has recorded 94,592 active cases and a total of 14,248 fatalities.
The Election Commission (EC) has banned all victory processions on May 2, both during and after the counting of votes in five states namely, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry. This decision was taken keeping in mind the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in India.
A detailed order on the ban on victory processions across the country will be released soon by the Election Commission.
Election Commission of India bans all victory processions on or after the day of counting of votes, on May 2nd. Detailed order soon. pic.twitter.com/VM60c1fagD
The EC decision comes as the country stares at the gloomiest phase of the ongoing Covid crisis. On Tuesday, India recorded over 3.23 lakh fresh Covid-19 cases while it saw the highest tally in the world with 3.5 lakh fresh cases on Monday.
Owing to this massive surge in the COVID-19 cases, the EC had last week used its constitutional powers to ban all roadshows, padyatras and vehicle rallies in Bengal which is in the middle of an 8-phase assembly election.
Mamata Banerjee announces that she will approach the Supreme Court after the elections to demand re-election
As the result day for the assembly elections, 2nd May, draws closer, Mamata Banerjee had declared that she will be approaching the Supreme Court after the elections are over. Claiming that Election Commission had instructed officials to arrest TMC leaders during the Assembly elections, the West Bengal Chief Minister said that she will approach the Supreme Court to hole fresh ‘neutral elections’ in the state.
In a press conference held via video conferencing, Mamata Banerjee questioned the role of the Election Commission in the state elections, alleging that the poll panel was working to help BJP. The CM alleged that the EC was trying to make sure that the TMC workers can’t vote against BJP.
‘I am appealing to everyone starting from Birbhum, Murshidabad, Malda, everywhere where elections are to be held, remain alert, take precaution from now on, on the one hand we have the war against Covid, on the other hand we have to fight against Election Commission who is conspiring to ensure that our people can’t vote,’ the TMC supremo said institgating her supporters against the constitutional body.
She further added, ‘if the police detain anyone illegally, their family members go to the police station and sit there, gherao the police station, ask why illegal detention has been done, if needed go to the court. We will move everywhere from the high court to the supreme court. File FIR as soon as someone is detained illegally’.
Mamata Banerjee had also recently demanded that the central government withdraws central forces from the poll-bound state because they are spreading COVID-19 in the state.
India is in the grips of a ferocious second wave of the coronavirus outbreak. However, the pandemic’s devastation is nowhere more pronounced than in the national capital Delhi, one of the worst-hit cities by the contagion. For the last few days, Delhi has registered more than 20,000 new cases daily, putting a tremendous strain on the city’s health infrastructure. The crisis, nevertheless, has brought to fore the criminal incompetence and ineptitude of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government.
Oxygen supplies in Delhi are running short, there is a paucity of remdesivir, a key antiviral drug. Besides, there is also a big shortage of beds for patients in Delhi hospitals.
Perhaps among all the problems facing Delhi, the oxygen shortage is the most acute one. A few days back, with the crisis unfolding right before his eyes, Kejriwal chose to tweet about the issues besieging Delhi rather than taking actions on the ground that would have prevented the outbreak from assuming catastrophic proportions. Rather than developing a system to cater to the newfound demand for oxygen, Kejriwal resorted to Twitter to request state governments and the Centre to provide the Delhi government with additional supplies of the gas.
Here are the tweets, Kejriwal posted on Twitter requesting for oxygen:-
Source: TwitterSource: Twitter
Instead of proactively acting on the matter, Kejriwal kept tweeting about the issue, as if the problems were going to solve on their own. Even as other governments were putting mechanisms in place to deal with an unprecedented situation, Kejriwal gleefully sat on the issues, not taking appropriate measures to prepare for the impending crisis.
As a result, hospitals in Delhi faced severe shortages of oxygen supply. Despite the central government’s additional allotment of oxygen, hospitals in Delhi kept complaining that they were suffering from oxygen shortages. Many hospitals took to the Delhi High Court against the Delhi Government’s inept handling of oxygen scarcity.
Despite clearance for 8 PSA oxygen plants, Kejriwal government sets up only 1
The Delhi HC slammed the AAP government for setting up only 1 PSA oxygen plant despite being granted funds for 8 such plants. While he tried to deflect the blame of oxygen shortage on the Centre, Union Health Ministry informed the Delhi High Court last Tuesday that the central government had sanctioned funds from PM CARES Fund to Kejriwal Government in December 2020 to set up eight PSA (Pressure Swing Absorption) oxygen plants in Delhi. However, since December, only one such plant has been set up by the Kejriwal govt.
Hospitals in Delhi slam AAP government, allege they don’t understand oxygen supply chain
On Saturday last week, the Delhi Government was rapped in the Delhi High Court during the hearing on the supply of medicinal oxygen to hospitals. The Delhi Government was rebuked by advocate Sachin Dutta appearing for Jaipur Golden Hospital, Solicitor General SG Mehta and also by the Court itself.
“Whole day yesterday we called your officers, they didn’t do anything. Over 25 people died because we didn’t have the oxygen supply. We are literally gasping for breath,” Advocate Dutta told Rahul Mehra, who was representing the AAP government.
Kejriwal government has also been accused of reneging on its promise of delivering oxygen supplies which ultimately led to the deaths of critical patients. Earlier yesterday, Dr Baluja of the Jaipur Golden Hospital said that no oxygen was supplied despite written assurance from Delhi Govt, after which patients died.
It is worth noting that more than six months ago, in his Independence Day speech on 15th August, Arvind Kejriwal had said that the Delhi government will start sending oxygen concentrators to homes of Covid-19 patients even if they have recovered. However, as has been the case, the promise made by Kejriwal was never fulfilled as the hospital in Delhi struggled in getting the supply of medicinal oxygen.
In such testing times, when hospitals are jockeying for oxygen supplies to help COVID-19 patients in their fight against the infection, one expects the state government to be sensitive and helpful. However, in a staggering display of apathy, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia yesterday said that hospitals in Delhi raised unnecessary oxygen-shortage alarms.
The Delhi government got slammed yet again by the hospitals during a hearing in the Delhi High Court. The hospitals lambasted the Delhi government for its poor handling of the oxygen supplies, alleging that they had no understanding of the oxygen supply chain.
“Enormous SOS calls were made. They arranged something from the AIIMS but it was minutes late. There is shortage and uncertainty. Delhi government doesn’t understand the supply chain,” Senior Advocate Sachin Dutta, representing Jaipur Golden Hospital said in Delhi HC.
Court asks Kejriwal to figure transportation of oxygen, Delhi CM instead resorts to tweeting
The biggest problem as identified by the counsels representing the hospitals and the central government was not the supply of oxygen but the Delhi government’s brazen disregard for its transportation arrangements. Kejriwal invested all his energy in pleading and requesting oxygen, even giving widespread media ads, but his government did little to arrange transport or institute a mechanism for effective rationing and supply of the vital gas based on the needs.
While other states started receiving oxygen through oxygen express, the Railways was yet to receive requisition from the Kejriwal government for the transportation of oxygen.
Source: Twitter
After Kejriwal’s government was eviscerated in the Delhi High Court, one would have expected the AAP supremo to address the transportation issues bedevilling the supply of oxygen in Delhi. However, hours later Kejriwal did what he does best—tweet.
He continued posting tweets on Twitter, feigning concern that he is greatly invested in solving the oxygen crunch faced by the city’s numerous hospitals. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal posted a tweet, asking chief ministers of other states to supply oxygen to Delhi if they have in spare. The court had asked his government to figure out the transportation of oxygen from different places to Delhi’s hospitals, but the AAP chief was busy scoring political points on social media.
Bed unavailability and shortages of remdesivir takes a back seat as AAP busies itself tackling the oxygen crisis
It is noteworthy to mention that the AAP government’s singular focus in the last few days was only on oxygen shortages in Delhi. Senior AAP leaders, including chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, spoke little about the availability of beds and supplies of remdesivir, a key antiviral drug to combat COVID-19.
People in Delhi kept scrambling for beds to admit their relatives afflicted by the coronavirus. Many of them even needed remdesivir injections as hospitals were running short of them. Social media website were replete with distress messages from people asking for beds and remdesivir injections. But Arvind Kejriwal was preoccupied with tweeting only on oxygen supplies as if the scarcity of beds and remdesivir did not even exist. In fact, Kejriwal’s negligence on remdesivir is astounding as he did not even bother to tweet once on the availability of stocks of the critical injections.
Source: Twitter
Delhi CM spends Rs 150 crore on advertisements as the resurgent coronavirus wave was preparing to strike again
Kejriwal has also been accused of utilising the public exchequer funds for self-promotion even as Delhi continued to be battered by the subsequent waves of coronavirus outbreak. Since the start of the pandemic back in March 2020, Delhi has been among the regions most susceptible to the virus outbreak. Yet, the Aam Aadmi Party government, instead of scaling up the fragile health infrastructure in the city, invested a whopping Rs 150 crores in advertisements in the first three months of 2021.
An RTI reply dated April 08 has revealed that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government has spent Rs 150 crores from January 2021 to March 2021 on advertisements and publicity through various mediums. For the Kejriwal government, keeping Delhites safe from the menace of COVID-19 was not on its priority list. It was more interested in advertising and marketing itself.
Delhi is in the midst of a catastrophic crisis. The COVID-19 cases are surging at an alarming rate, posing a risk to the city’s already overwhelmed healthcare infrastructure. However, not all is lost. With the help from the central government and judicial intervention, the pandemic would be tamed. The resilience of the people will eventually conquer the tenacity of the virus. And when it does, the people of Delhi will not forget the cruel incompetence, the gross negligence and the misplaced priorities of the Delhi government that immensely contributed to the outbreak.
As the pandemic has wreaked havoc in the lives of many, stories of kindness, selflessness and sacrifice act as a ray of hope in such dark times.
In one such incident, an RSS sevika, Shivani Wakhare, shared the story of the ultimate sacrifice made by the 85-year-old RSS worker Narayan Dabhadkar from Nagpur.
The incident was then shared by a swayamsevak Rahul Kaushik on Twitter attaching the images of the original post.
The incident originally narrated in Marathi on Facebook reads, Narayan Dabhadkar an RSS worker who spent his entire life serving the society contracted covid amid the second wave of the pandemic. As his SPO2 levels dropped, his daughter frantically tried to get him a hospital bed in the city.
Facebook post narrating the incident
After umpteen attempts, she managed to reserve a bed for him at the Indira Gandhi hospital. Dabhadkar kaka, as he was fondly known as, started getting breathless while he was being taken to the hospital by his grandson-in-law, Wakhare wrote. As the two waited for the hospital formalities to be completed, Dabhadkar kaka saw a woman in her 40’s along with her children crying and begging the hospital authorities for a bed to admit her husband who was in a critical condition.
Without giving a second thought, Dabhadkar kaka calmly informed the medical team tending to him that his bed should be offered to the lady’s husband. He said, “I am 85 now, have lived my life, you should offer the bed to this man instead, his children need him.”
Facebook post narrating the incident
He then made his grandson-in-law call his daughter to apprise her of the decision. Perplexed on hearing his decision, she hesitantly agreed with him after a while. Dabhadkar kaka immediately signed a consent form saying he was forfeiting his bed for the young man and asked his grandson-in-law to take him back home.
After battling the virus bravely for the next three days, he left for his heavenly abode.
We have seen time and monetary sacrifices being made to give someone a better life, however, sacrificing one’s own life to ensure a long life for the other is surely an act not many can fathom.
With this let us also take a moment to thank our frontline workers, medical staff and individuals who have been serving society selflessly and tirelessly as the nation battles the pandemic.
Amidst the rising cases of Coronavirus in the country, a mosque caretake was reportedly thrashed by fellow Muslims for trying to enforce social distancing guidelines at a masjid. The incident took place on Saturday (April 24) in Devinagar in the Paonta Sahib town of Himachal Pradesh, as per a report in Amar Ujala.
As per reports, the victim has been identified as Abdul Aleem. He informed the police that he has been the caretaker of the Medina masjid for over 5 years. A resident of Ward No. 9, Aleem reportedly goes to the masjid every day to ensure its smooth function. At around 8 pm on Saturday night, he went to offer Namaz at the masjid. However, he found 20-30 locals offering prayers at the mosque premises in violation of social distancing rules.
The victim informed that government rules dictate that not more than 5 people can offer Namaz at one time at the masjid. When he tried to convey the same to the locals, it led to a heated argument. The frenzied mob then attacked the masjid caretaker Abdul Aleem. He was assaulted with sticks, and he fell to the ground. When the victim’s son Abdul Habej tried to intervene, he was also hit on the head with sticks.
During the violent attack, both Abdul Aleem and his son Abdul Habej were badly injured. They were rushed to the hospital and are currently undergoing medical treatment. A case has been registered against the accused by the police. According to District Superintendent of Police (DSP) Bir Bahadur, an investigation has been launched into the case. As of April 26, Himachal Pradesh has reported 13,577 active cases and a total of 1,336 fatalities.
As citizens of Delhi haplessly wander in a struggle to find a hospital bed for critical patients, the Delhi government has decided to reserve 100 rooms of the luxurious Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi for setting up of Covid care facility for the use of Justices, other judicial officers of Delhi High Court, and their family members.
Delhi government to convert 100 rooms of Ashoka Hotel for setting up of a Covid Health facility for Justices and other judicial officers of the Delhi High Court and their families. pic.twitter.com/6O4qnGu9Km
The decision comes after the AAP government received a request from the Delhi High Court to set up a Covid Hospital Care facility for Hon’ble Justices and other judicial officers.
The Primus Super Speciality Hospital of Delhi has been given the responsibility to manage the patients at Ashoka Hotel, a five-star facility. A detailed notification to that effect was issued by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Chanakyapuri, Geeta Grover.
Some key directions in the order include:
The Primus Hospital shall run the CHC facility at Ashoka Hotel
The staff of the hotel shall be provided all protective gear and given basic adequate training
Ambulance for the transfer facility will be provided by the Primus Hospital
For any shortage of hotel staff, the same will be provided by the Hospital
All the services including rooms, housekeeping, disinfection & food for the patients etc. shall be provided by the hotel
The charges shall be collected by the hospital and the hospital shall make the payment to the hotel
Delhi government asked to enhance health infrastructure
Delhi is currently witnessing an acute shortage of oxygen beds for critical COVID-19 patients. ICU facilities are no longer available because of the heavy influx of patients. The national capital recorded 350 deaths and 22,933 new coronavirus cases on Sunday.
Amid the soaring numbers, the Delhi HC has also requested the Delhi government to enhance health infrastructure by expanding sample collection and testing centres. The citizens have also been raising an alarm of the delay in test results.
PIL to consider judicial officers as frontline workers
Meanwhile, owing to the nature of work at a Court, a Public Interest Litigation plea has been filed by Shobha Gupta and other advocates enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi before the Delhi High Court to treat the judicial officers as frontline workers and to reserve facilities in private/government Covid hospitals for the treatment of judicial officers and their families.
The petition stated that Covid protocols were not being followed in courts exposing the staff to the risks of Covid-19 amid the second wave.
This comes taking into consideration the fact that a number of judges and staff had fallen prey to the Covid-19 pandemic since January and some even lost the battle to the deadly virus.
As India grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, many in India are trying to put two and two together to figure out what could have gone wrong and whether anything could have been done after seeing the red flags. Twitter user Navroop Singh, who is an IPR attorney, on Tuesday took to Twitter to analyse whether the UK variant in Delhi came via ‘farmers protests’ by Punjab farmers.
UK strain has been most reported in Delhi with figures touching 50% in latest spread. The UK strain was first found in Punjab when NRIs got the strain with 80% cases in Punjab of UK strain. How did it spread from Punjab to UK – via Farmers Protests and the relay race of Villages.
Earlier in March, it was reported that over 80% of cases in Punjab were due to the UK variant of the Chinese coronavirus.
March report on UK Variant
As per reports, the UK strain was first found mostly amongst the NRIs who had returned from the UK. As per reports, in March Kapurthala and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar accounted for nearly 26% of percent of all COVID cases in Punjab. Punjab’s Doaba region comprising of these two districts contributed to 25.6% of all COVID related deaths on March 19. On April 5, it accounted to about 28% of COVID deaths in Punjab.
Doaba farmers continue to come to Delhi
Doaba is also known as the ‘NRI belt’. As per reports, the NRIs in this area are also a huge supporter of the Aam Aadmi Party. Ahead of 2017 state assembly elections, AAP supporters from abroad had campaigned for AAP candidates in the region. It is believed that may of the NRI relatives who visited their ancestral homes back in Doaba unknowingly brought the UK variant virus with them. Of the four districts falling under Doaba region, AAP has two MLAs.
The Doaba ‘farmers’ continued to march towards Delhi for the protests. Hence, unknowingly, from these regions, the infection seems to have reached the Singhu and other borders in Delhi where the Arhatiyas are protesting against farm laws.
Subsequently, the Central government raised concerns in April first week that the ‘farmers’ coming from Punjab to Delhi for ‘protests’ were causing the surge.
April report on UK variant causing surge
The Punjab ‘farmers’ might have unknowingly carried the infection to ‘farmer protest’ at Delhi borders and subsequently to Delhi. This can seen through the fact that the UK variant has been behind the surge in Delhi cases.
Delhi and UK variant
On 24 April, 2021, it was reported that the presence of highly transmissible UK variant had almost doubled in Delhi between first and last week of March. In March last week, it comprised of 50% of all samples in Delhi. In April first week, about 28% of the samples had the UK variant.
The UK variant (B1.1.7) emerged with an unusual number of mutations and affected the surge in UK since November 2021. This variant spreads more easily and quickly with 30-50% enhanced transmissibility than the original Chinese coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan.
Despite the warnings regarding severity of the infection, Arvind Kejriwal led Delhi government is not only letting the protests to continue but also providing facilities like free WiFi. It must be noted here that there have been reports that the oxygen transported to Delhi was delayed because the tankers had to take alternate route because the ‘farmers’ were blocking the borders and roads to Delhi. This led to the initial oxygen crisis in Delhi under which the national capital is still reeling under.
You can blame center for allowing Flights from UK when that strain spread to Punjab. But crowding Delhi borders with Protestors when Punjab was badly infected a highly infectious & lethal strain was criminal. And all those who backed it are equally culpable for the mess in Delhi.
As stated by Singh, the UK variant has not yet been reported from Haridwar Kumbh or in West Bengal where rallies were held.
On Monday, April 26, Delhi reported 20,201 new coronavirus cases and 22,055 recoveries. Total coronavirus cases have been over 10 lakh in Delhi while active cases currently stand at 92,358.
According to France’s chief anti-terrorism prosecutor, the Tunisian migrant who murdered a policewoman in France last week was radicalized into Islamic terrorism, on top of facing mental health issues.
The Islamist attacker, who has now been identified as 36-year-old Jamel Gorchene, fatally stabbed a 49-year old, mother of two, female police employee in Rambouillet, a Paris suburb, last Friday. The attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar” i.e. God is great in Arabic, during the stabbing. He was later shot and killed by a police officer after refusing to drop his knife.
Jean-Francois Ricard, France’s first prosecutor of the National Terrorism Prosecution Office, told media outlets that the attacker’s “radicalization hardly appears in doubt,” and that he suffered from “certain personality disorders.” Gorchene’s father told the prosecutor that his son had adopted a ‘rigorous practice of Islam’.
“On the other hand, he also said that he (Gorchene’s father) had noticed behavioral troubles since the beginning of this year,” the prosecutor added. Gorchene embraced “an ideology that legitimizes violence against those who offend the prophet,” the prosecutor Ricard said.
According to the investigators, Gorchene watched multiple videos of songs praising jihadist fighters and glorifying Jihad on his phone moments before the attack. A Koran and a prayer rug were found in his scooter afterwards, Ricard said.
Jamel Gorchene was originally an illegal immigrant who arrived in France illegally in 2009. However, just last year, Gorchene had received his French residency permit, and he had visited his family in Tunisia just last month.
Five people, including Gorchene’s cousin, have been detained in relation to the gruesome crime.
France has faced a wave of Islamist terror attacks since at least 2014, which has resulted in more than 250 casualties. Some notable ones include the Charlie Hebdo shooting, the 2016 Islamic State Nice truck attack resulting in 86 deaths, Samuel Paty’s murder last year, etc.
French President Emmanuel Macron met with the victim’s husband and said that France will not give up its fight against Islamic terrorism.
