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Purported letter by Times Now employees accuses channel of going soft on Kejriwal due to ads, channel rubbishes letter as malicious

OpIndia Staff
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Purported letter by Times Now employees accuses channel of going soft on Kejriwal due to ads, channel rubbishes letter as malicious

Employees at Times Now have allegedly written to Times Group MD Vineet Jain to register their anguish about the coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in Delhi. The top journalists at Times Now, Rahul Shivshankar, Navika Kumar and Padmaja Joshi were marked in the copy as well.

OpIndia has accessed the letter from reliable sources. The letter is circulating widely among journalist circles. However, OpIndia could not independently verify the authenticity of the letter. Times Now has denied receiving such a letter in a response to OpIndia.

The employees asked in their letter whether the advertisements from the AAP Government in Delhi are affecting the coverage on the channel. The letter says that “we are appalled to see sanctimonious advertisements on our channel from the same person who is responsible for the mess Delhi is in. And we will not be shy to name that person unlike others – Arvind Kejriwal is fattening our TV channels with obnoxious advertisements so that we keep silent on his gross mismanagement of every aspect of the fight against COVID.”

The employees asked, “We understand that advertisements are a big source of income for our news channel but should we be taking taxpayer money from a person who did not use the same taxpayer money to build even a single hospital between 2015 and 2019? This is not about business but about the people and their problems, which should have always been the case. Is it right to go soft on a politician whose performance, or lack of it, is costing hundreds of lives just because he spends lavishly on us through advertisements?”

The employees also mention specific colleagues by name. “Is this the reason why our channel is going soft on who simply blames someone else all the time while he is the elected leader of Delhi? Is this why ‘journalists’ like Madhav are busy saving Delhi government’s face and diverting blame elsewhere? And if someone points out the misconduct of Kejriwal government then Madhav goes on to abuse that person in street and thuggish language and on Live TV,” says the letter.

Madhav here presumably refers to Madhavdas G, senior editor at Times Now. But it could mean someone else at the news channel as well. The letter continued, “On the one hand, shocking details emerged from the Delhi High Court on how the Delhi government did not make any effort to either procure the oxygen already allocated for it or even to make distribution plan for the oxygen once it reached the Delhi borders. . And on the other hand, there was Sreyashi retweeting Manish Sisodia’s ‘oxygen war room’ tweets! Is this what our channel is for? Reduced to being a IT cell of Delhi government’s propaganda machinery?”

The employees did not stop there. They stated further, “Then there are certain ‘journalists’ who are seen peddling divisive agendas more than doing any serious journalism. Prashant is either busy tweeting what Rahul Gandhi’s views on some matters are or is busy pushing Tejashwi Yadav’s agenda even during this crisis. It would not be a problem if Prashant was pushing some constructive solution given by anyone. But these people are simply venting vitriol. Have some of our ‘reporters’ stooped down to the level of becoming paid hirelings for mascots of corruption and goondaraj?”

“Timesnow was supposed to be beyond these agendas. Timesnow was supposed to be the voice of the people. Especially at the time of a crisis, instead of questioning those who are responsible for the situation in different states, we are shocked to see our ‘journalists’ simply spread panic, hatred and distorted agendas,” the letter states.

The employees also asked whether advertisements were everything and if commitment towards truth or the country meant nothing. They also called for serious introspection. The letter was penned today. It needs to be emphasised here that we could not independently verify the authenticity of the letter.

There was a letter penned earlier that was in circulation as well. In that letter, the channel was accused of siding with the BJP. That letter was widely in circulation among journalist circles as well. Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal has come under criticism from all quarters for spending crores of money on ads but not enough on securing the supply of medical oxygen.

OpIndia has reached out to Times Now and Vineet Jain for their comment on the matter. We will update the report with their response as and when we receive it.

Update

Times Now has responded to our query. Their response is reproduced below in full:

“This is completely fake, baseless and a malicious attempt to defame and tarnish the image of Times Now. We clearly state that we have not received any such email directly. From the content and context, it is evident to us that this is not the work of any present or past insider. The Times Now team is a close knit group of highly motivated people who work together in harmony and are completely one with the Channel purpose and Content strategy. We pride ourselves on our extremely open and transparent culture and foster personal courage amongst our members who are known to speak their mind. It’s not our style to hide behind anonymous mails to make a point. Our reputation is built on long years of integrity and strong principles of journalism that we are proud of. Through several pathbreaking campaigns and initiatives amidst the Covid-19 crisis, Times Now has been at the forefront in empowering viewers with accurate and verified news and we are committed to continue the same despite feeble attempts by unscrupulous and politically motivated players.”

Congress party continues propaganda against Indian vaccine makers, invents another fake scam to allege they will earn more profit than Reliance Industries

OpIndia Staff
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Congress party continues propaganda against Indian vaccine makers, invents another fake scam to allege they will earn more profit than Reliance Industries

Ever since pharmaceutical companies across the world started developing vaccines against the Novel Coronavirus, the Congress party in India has been running a sinister campaign against Indian vaccine makers, while campaigning for much more costly vaccines made by foreign companies. Initially, much of the Congress propaganda was against Bharat Biotech, which had developed the vaccine Covaxin indigenously in India. But ever since the central govt allowed the companies to sell the vaccines to state governments and private companies, the Congress campaign against both the companies has intensified.

SII has announced the price for Covishield at ₹400 per dose for state govts and ₹600 for private hospitals, while the prices set by BB for Covaxin are ₹600 for state govts and ₹1200 for private hospitals. At present, both the companies are supplying their vaccine to the union govt at ₹150 per dose, which are supplied to all the state govts. Using this difference in rate for union govt and state govts, left-liberal media and the Congress and other opposition parties have alleged that Modi govt has allowed the private companies to make unprecedented profits. it may be noted that the ₹150 price for the centre is a discounted price offered by the companies for the initial contract, and any subsequent sale to the centre will be under new contracts at the prices same as the price set for the state governments.

The Congress party today made some calculations of the ‘profit’ made by the two companies, and came up with the conclusion that they will be earning a profit of ₹1,11,100 crore.

“Is Modi Govt complicit in vaccine profiteering of ₹1,11,100 Cr”? Asked Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Twitter, while posting an official press release by the party making the claim.

Party supporters have also published the detail calculation on Twitter, which shows how the party arrived at the figure of more than one lakh crores.

According to them, Serum Institute will make a profit of ₹35,350 crore, while Bharat Biotech will earn ₹75,750 crore in profits. They have estimated that as Indian population below 45 years is 101 crores, 202 crore doses will be required. These will either be purchased by state govts or by individuals as the central govt will continue to vaccinate people above 45 years of age for free. Assuming that both the companies supply 50% each of the required doses, the Congress further assumed that state govts will purchase 50% and the private sector will purchase 50% in each state.

The Congress party has assumed that cost of production for both the vaccines is ₹150, and based on that, they have estimated profit of ₹250 and ₹450 for SII and ₹450 and ₹1050 for BB from states and private sector respectively.

Based on such “detailed” number crunching that will surely impress Kaushik Basu, the Congress party has declared that there is a vaccine profiteering to the tune of ₹1,11,100 crore. This number is almost four times the profit of Reliance Industries for 2019-20, and more than the earnings of the India’s largest corporate house. The profit of RIL was ₹30 thousand crores in 2019-20, which means both Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute will earn more profits than RIL by selling only one vaccine each.

Although only the two vaccine makers are best placed to respond to this absurd claim with actual numbers, it can easily be said that there are several inaccuracies in the calculation made by Congress.

First, Congress has assumed the market size wrong. At present the Covid-19 vaccines are approved only for adults, those who are 18 years of age or above. The Congress party has included the entire population below 45 years, which is completely wrong. According to estimates, more than 50 crore people in India are below the age of 18 years. This means Congress needs to reduce the estimated demand by more than half. Apart from that, frontline workers of all age groups are already covered under free vaccination by centre, so the number of eligible people in the 18-45 age group goes down further.

Even after that, there are several other factors. The party has estimated that 50% population in each state will opt for vaccination at private hospitals. This assumption is completely baseless and far from reality. Several states, including large states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar etc have announced that they will vaccinate their 18-45 population for free. So far more than a dozen states have made such announcements, and it is expected that most states and UTs will announce free vaccine in the coming days.

When same vaccines will be available for free in most if not all states, it is illogical to estimate that only 50% of the eligible population will avail the service. Only a minuscule number of wealthy people who prefer the convenience and luxury of private hospitals will go there. This means that the share of purchases by states will be much more than 50%, and the purchase by private hospitals will go down by that extent. This will upset the calculation by Congress party badly, as they have assumed ₹75,750 crore profit by both the companies from sale to private hospitals itself.

As most vaccines are covered under public vaccination programs in India, and as the centre is already vaccinating 45+ group for free and most states vaccinating 18-45 group for free against Coronavirus, there is no basis to assume that private hospitals will purchase Covid-19 vaccines worth ₹90,900 crore, as the Congress party is calculating.

The third wrong assumption made by the Congress party is the cost of the production. SII CEO Adar Poonawalla has already said that they are making a loss by selling the vaccine at ₹150 to the centre, as they need to pay 50% royalty to AstraZeneca on the revenue. This means the company is getting only ₹75 dose, a very low amount. Similarly, Bharat Biotech is also making losses by selling their doses at ₹150.

Both the companies made huge investments to scale up capacities to produce the vaccines. While SII is making a vaccine developed by Oxford University-AstraZeneca, Bharat Biotech developed the vaccine, which incurred substantial investment. The company spent around ₹350 crore in the clinical trial alone, an amount that needs to be recovered by selling the vaccine at a suitable price. Both the companies plan to further expand their capacities, which needs investment.

The fact is, there is absolutely no basis to claim that the cost of production of both the vaccines is ₹150 for both the vaccines. Moreover, the cost of both the companies won’t be the same. Because while SII is making a vaccine developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca, Bharat Biotech developed the Covaxin itself. This means the company has made huge investments in developing the vaccine, apart from expanding its capacity to produce a higher number of doses. The company also had to run an extensive clinical trial program in India to get the vaccine approved. The Covishield main trial was conducted by AstraZeneca, while SII conducted only a small bridge trial in India as required by law.

Along with that, Serum Institute of India enjoys a vast economy of scale, as it is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer. The company also has a much large order book for Covishield, not only from the Indian government, but also from several foreign nations, and the COVAX, the Covid-19 vaccine initiative by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the World Health Organization. As a result, it is expected that production cost and therefore the price of Covaxin will be more than Covishield.

The criticism over the pricing started due to the difference in price charged from the centre and the new prices. But as SII has already clarified, they had promised to deliver the first 100 million doses at discounted rate, after that they will charge ₹1000 per dose. Now the company is actually is charging less than that. Moreover, the companies will sell to centre at discounted price of ₹150 only for the current contracts. After that, they will charge the same amount from the centre as they are charging from the state governments.

This allegation by the Congress party brings back the memories of Nehruvian philosophy the party used to follow, according to which making profits by businesses were seen as a grave sin. The party prevented the corporates and individuals from earning profit for decades, which stifled any kind of innovation in the Indian corporate sector. Now, they are making illogical calculations to claim that Indian vaccine makers are making astronomical amounts in profits.

Fact-Check: Does Kejriwal’s ad now appear on PornHub? Netizens declare it ‘shocking if true!’

Anurag
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Fact-Check: Does Kejriwal’s ad now appear on PornHub? Netizens declare it ‘shocking if true!’

Amidst reports making rounds that the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi Government has overspent on ads, an image has gone viral, which appears to be a screenshot of the pornography website PornHub. In the screenshot, it appears that Kejriwal’s ad is playing on the porn website. The Twitter user who shared the screenshot claimed that he was watching porn using VPN and Kejriwal’s ad appeared before the video.

Screenshot of Tweet that alleged Kejriwal’s ad allegedly appeared on a porn website. (Please note that we have covered some portion of the screenshot to make it age-friendly)

The ‘shocking’ revelation made by the Twitter user took social media by storm. Everyone around was looking for an answer, but the majority of the Indians are not aware of how to use PornHub as it is banned in the country.

OpIndia’s investigation

When we looked at the screenshot, we thought it is our duty to fact-check if Aam Aadmi Party is targeting naïve PornHub viewers in India. As our policies do not allow us to access any illegal documents or websites, a rule that we follow in our off time as well, we thought it would be better to analyze the screenshot itself.

On deeper analysis, we came to the conclusion that the ad appeared to be leaking from the sides. A large website like PornHub would not make such a UI blunder. Also, our sources told us that the skip button on PornHub is different. Thus, we can possibly conclude that the screenshot is FAKE, and we can confidently say that, as per our information, investigation and what evidence we have gathered so far, the said ad does not appear on the porn website.

Kejriwal’s ad’s analysis

However, it has to be noted that the advertisement is indeed real and can be often seen on YouTube and other platforms. You can check the ad here.

How do online advertisements work?

There was a time when Google ads used to target ads based on the content of the website. However, nowadays, it is not the only criteria. Google, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms gather a lot of personal information from your computer in the form of cookies. Their algorithms then use these sets of information to determine what kind of ads will appear when you are surfing social media or websites.

For example, you recently Googled, talked about or tweeted about laptops. Based on your location, age, sex, old purchase history and other information, the algorithms will start showing you ads related to laptops. You might have noticed holiday package ads appearing on your TL within few hours of talking about a destination. It often confuses the users that how these websites know what you were looking for. The algorithms are designed to understand your behaviour and show products that you are highly likely to buy.

In the case of political ads, for instance of Kejriwal on YouTube, it will appear based on your location, age, sex, political ideology and more. As Kejriwal has a habit of publishing ads where his party has practically zero presence, it is possible that you may see his ad outside Delhi or Punjab.

Advertising platforms largely depend on the information you share, posts you make, and things you search on the internet. In case you feel like these ads are harming your privacy, you can set personalized ads off by clicking on the “why this ad” icon. It is usually around a small icon. On YouTube, you can find it on the left bottom corner right next to the advertiser’s name.

Kejriwal’s ad budget is attracting criticism

An RTI has revealed that the Kejriwal government has so far spent Rs.150 crore on ads in the first three months of 2021. On April 25, a Twitter user started counting how many times his ad appears on TV. People were shocked to know that his ads appeared 15 times within a six-hour span.

Kejriwal has an odd history with porn websites

In 2017, a porn website RedTube used Arvind Kejriwal’s photograph in a meme that attracted a lot of attention. So much so that #AapKaPorn started to trend on Twitter, and he was mocked from all directions. RedTube later deleted the tweet.

Two Pakistani diplomats caught stealing items from a store in South Korea, one case dropped due to diplomatic immunity

OpIndia Staff
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Two Pakistani diplomats caught stealing items from a store in South Korea, one case dropped due to diplomatic immunity

On Saturday (April 24), the South Korean police identified two Pakistani diplomats who stole items worth $11.70 from a store in Itaewon in Yongsan District of Seoul, reported The Korea Times.

One of the diplomats stole a hat worth $10 (11000 South Korean won) while another diplomat shoplifted chocolate treats worth $1.70 (1900 South Korean won). It must be mentioned that both were caught stealing from the same shop on different dates. While the hat was stolen on February 23, the chocolate treats were stolen on January 10. After the hat was stolen, one of the store employees filed a complaint with the Yongsan police. An investigation into the matter was launched by the law enforcement authorities.

On analysing the CCTV footage, the cops identified the ‘hat thief’ as a 35-year-old Pakistani diplomat. However, the case against him was closed because of the immunity enjoyed by diplomats in host countries under the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations. Moreover, the Yongsan police stated that the store owner did not want to further proceed in the case as the accused’s colleague had made the payment on his behalf. Despite the diplomatic immunity enjoyed by the other shoplifter, he is still under investigation for stealing $1.70 worth of chocolate treats.

Pakistani diplomats abroad continue to embarrass Islamabad

This is not the first time when diplomats of Pakistan have embarrassed their country by being accused of such crimes. In 2018, a Pakistani diplomat was caught stealing the wallet of his Kuwaiti counterpart. Due to the worsening image of the Pakistani diplomats, the United States government had imposed travel restrictions banning their movement beyond a 25-miles radius around Washington DC without approval between May 2018 and May 2019.

Even Pakistan’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations, Munir Akram has also been accused of domestic violence by his live-in partner. He was excused due to diplomatic immunity. In another incident, an Assistant Visa officer at Pakistan high commission, Bangladesh, Mohamed Mazhar Khan was arrested after his role in a syndicate was busted. The syndicate used to smuggle  Fake Indian Currency Notes through Assam and West Bengal border.

During the investigation, the documents recovered from his possession exposed his links with members of terrorist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir. In a similar incident, another Pakistan diplomat Farina Arshad who was Second Secretary at the Pakistan High Commission in Bangladesh was charged after a militant of jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB) Idris Sheikh admitted her links with the militant organization.

Union Health Ministry issues guidelines for vaccinating 18+ individuals against Coronavirus, read details

OpIndia Staff
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Union Health Ministry issues guidelines for vaccinating 18+ individuals against Coronavirus, read details

On Monday (April 19), the Modi government announced that all individuals between the age of 18-44 will be vaccinated against the Wuhan Coronavirus from May 1 onwards. The development came amidst the rising cases of Coronavirus in the country.

In an order released on Friday (April 23) by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), it has laid down guidelines for facilitating the systematic implementation of Phase III of the vaccination drive. The guidelines have been issued keeping in mind the cohort size, the number of individuals eligible for vaccination during a particular phase. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has specified that all efforts should be made to control overcrowding and law and order situation.

The order stated that it will be mandatory for both public and private covid vaccination centres to register on the CoWIN app, record details of all vaccination, issue digital certificates and report to CoWIN and AEFI (Adverse Event Following Immunization) systems. All previous guidelines required for a health facility to be considered a Covid Vaccination Centre (CVC) will remain unchanged. This includes the availability of sufficient cold chain equipment, capacity, trained vaccinators, rooms, and the ability to managed AEFI.

“Henceforth, it will not be necessary for the State/UT Governments to send any Proposals to the Ministry for approval of new private CVCs, prior to their registration on CoWIN. The State/UT Government may designate an appropriate Authority at State/District level that will ensure that only facilities eligible (as per the criteria…) are registered on CoWIN as a CVC,” the order stated. It must also be mentioned that a Designated Authority will have to make a decision regarding the application within 2 days of receiving the application.

The private hospitals, which will provide vaccination services, can procure the vaccines directly from the manufacturers but only from the supply not meant for the Government of India. It may be noted that the manufacturers will sell 50% vaccine doses to the central govt, and the rest 50% to both state governments and private hospitals. The private CVCs should declare the types of vaccines, stockpile, and their prices on the CoWIN app. “All vaccination slots at private CVCs will continue to be offered only for online appointment from CoWIN or Arogya Setu. On-site registration/ appointments will be allowed only if any doses are left in the last opened vial(s) so as to minimize vaccine wastages,” the order clarified.

Individuals above 45 years eligible for vaccines but with a catch

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has clarified that all healthcare workers (HLWs), frontline workers (FLWs), and individuals above the age of 45 will continue to remain eligible for vaccination. It further said, “The State/UT Governments, in the event of procurement of vaccine doses directly from the manufacturers, may decide to expand the coverage from the doses so procured to reduce the cut-off age for eligibility for vaccination at the Government CVCs.” Such a feature will provide transparency to beneficiaries, prior to online booking.

“Citizens below the age of 45 years shall also be eligible to receive vaccination from a Government CVC in a
State/UT where that State/UT decides to lower the minimum cut off age for eligibility of beneficiaries to less than 46 years, for covering such additional eligible beneficianes from the vaccine stocks directly procured by the respective State/UT Government from vaccine manufacturers,” the order clarified on vaccinating individuals outside the current cohort.

Registration for new covid vaccination centres to be done in mission mode

The eligible individuals between the age of 18-44 years (as of Jan 1, 2022) can register online from Wednesday (April 28) onwards. Slot for online appointments on the CoWIN app will open from May 1 onwards. The States have been directed to register new Covid Vaccination Centres in a ‘campaign mode’. The order further added, “Registration of willing hospitals meeting the eligibility criteria may be done on CoWIN on an expeditious basis.” The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also called for the training of CVC site managers, verifiers and vaccinators.

While directing the States to prevent overcrowding and possible deterioration of law and order situation in the country, the MoHFW pointed out, “The system of supplying vaccine stocks to private CVCs and collection of Rs. 150 per dose, will cease to exist from 1 May 2021.” The State government will have to do complete stockpiling, assessment of funds deposited by private CVCs, and utilization of vaccine doses until April 30 before issuing new stocks to private covid vaccination centers.

Actor Gurmeet Choudhary, who played Lord Ram in TV series, to open 1000 bed hospitals in Patna and Lucknow

OpIndia Staff
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Actor Gurmeet Choudhary, who played Lord Ram in TV series, to open 1000 bed hospitals in Patna and Lucknow

Actor Gurmeet Choudhary, who played the role of Lord Ram in popular TV series Ramayan, took to Twitter to announce that he will be opening a 1,000 bed super modern hospital in Patna and Lucknow.

He added that he will follow it up with other cities.

Earlier in January, he had taken to social media to say that he will be making a generous contribution for the construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.

“You must have seen me in the character of Lord Ram and in different other characters but I truly believe that whatever I have achieved in life is due to Him. ‘Ramayan’ was my first ever serial on TV and I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. And I want to share something beautiful with you today,” the actor said in the video.

Choudhary has also been active on social media helping people in distress arranging for oxygen and other crucial medicines needed for coronavirus patients.

Gurmeet Choudhary had played the role of Lord Ram in the hugely popular show ‘Ramayan’ in Imagine TV which started in 2008. Actress Debina Bonnerjee had played the role of Maa Sita. Gurmeet and Debina got married in 2011.

From calling COVID pandemic a hoax to sharing unrelated image of burning pyres to panic mongering: Here are some tweets Govt of India got removed

OpIndia Staff
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From calling COVID pandemic a hoax to sharing unrelated image of burning pyres to panic mongering: Here are some tweets Govt of India got removed

While the world battles the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, we in India have our own set of demons to fight. Many social media influencers, including former journalists, filmmakers and even doctors have taken to social media in the past few days to misuse this opportunity to panic monger and stoke communal tensions.

In response to it, the Government of India on Saturday asked Twitter to remove such problematic posts from its platform, lest it lead to a dangerous situation.

While the leftist media has cried foul and claimed that the govt of India trying to stop them from spreading dangerous misinformation is an attack on their freedom of speech, the truth is far from it. Here are some of the sample tweets and social media posts that were asked to be removed.

Filmmaker Avinash Das, who directed Swara Bhaskar starrer Anarkali of Arrah, shared an old, unrelated video of patients and claimed it was from Gujarat.

Avinash Das’ tweet

Mocking the Gujarat model, Das claimed that the above image was from Tapi district in Gujarat where patients were being treated in tents. However, this image was from Navapur, Maharashtra.

Navapur video

As can be seen, the above video is from Navapur, Maharashtra and not Gujarat.

Since the filmmaker shared a fake image, his tweet was asked to be removed as it may have led to panic and fear amongst Gujarat residents, especially Tapi district.

Avinash Das’ tweet removed

Similarly, filmmaker Vinod Kapri, too, shared an unrelated video of a funeral pyre and claimed that every house has become a cremation ground.

Kapri’s tweet

Vinod Kapri was earlier accused by his colleague of faking an adoption story of a girl child for self promotion and marketing of his film. In April 2020, at the beginning of pandemic, he was found spreading falsehoods regarding availability of PPE kits and protective gear.

Kapri’s tweet removed

His tweet now stands removed.

Kafeel Khan, a controversial doctor who is an accused in the Gorakhpur tragedy, shared an unrelated image of funeral pyres as well. He appears to have deleted his tweet.

Kafeel Khan’s tweet

Political activist Hansraj Meena on 12th April 2021 tweeted that all through the coronavirus pandemic, neither did he buy a mask or has he worn one. “In one year, I have been to 30 big cities across the country. I am not afraid of this stupid illness. Nor do I scare my people or make them appear cowards,” he tweeted claiming that coronavirus is a conspiracy.

Hansraj Meena’s and his supporters’ tweets

The hashtag was trending on Twitter with thousands of tweets and retweets. More and more people joined in to claim that coronavirus is a conspiracy. One Twitter user Masoom Kaify claimed that coronavirus may be a conspiracy to bring down human population and was deliberately spread.

‘Coronavirus is a conspiracy’ tweet

Similarly, one Twitter user K S Siddiqui claimed that neither has he followed any rule and neither has anyone he knows has ever heard of this illness called ‘coronavirus’. “I have heard it only in TV,” he tweeted adding that Coronavirus is a conspiracy.

One more person tagging Hansraj Meena had questioned the need of coronavirus vaccine while claiming coronavirus is a conspiracy. Thus, quite clearly, the Government of India asked Twitter to remove the tweets for spreading misinformation.

Twitter had earlier adopted an abrasive stance during the farmer protests saying that they won’t remove tweets which could create a law and order situation in the country. The Indian Government was not pleased with the stance and made it clear that the social media platform had to obey domestic laws.

Since then, Twitter appears to have softened its stand.

No mask, no social distancing: Punjab Congress MLA seen dancing at a party flouting all Covid-19 norms

OpIndia Staff
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No mask, no social distancing: Punjab Congress MLA seen dancing at a party flouting all Covid-19 norms

Punjab Congress MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal was seen in a video dancing at a private party amid the coronavirus pandemic, flouting all Covid-19 norms. No one present in the party including the MLA can be seen with a mask. 

The shocking visuals of the MLA of the ruling party dancing at a party come at a time when the state of Punjab is reeling under the Covid-19 crisis.

Mismanagement in Punjab

On Sunday morning we carried the news of six critical patients succumbing to Covid-19 in Punjab’s Amritsar due to lack of oxygen supply at a hospital. The utter mismanagement in Punjab also revealed how over 250 ventilators sent by the central government were gathering dust in the fag end of March in the Punjab state government’s warehouse amidst the second wave. 

The state of Punjab recorded its highest ever single-day jump in new coronavirus cases with a record 6,762 on Friday, a spike of 23.93 per cent from the previous day. 

Also, the number of patients on ventilator and oxygen support is on a rise in the state. As of April 01, 334 Covid-19 patients were on oxygen support. The latest data is not yet available. The shortage of oxygen supply has forced the Punjab government to release an order to state’s iron and steel industries to shut operations and divert oxygen for medical use

PM Cares Fund had allocated Rs 201.58 for the installation of 162 dedicated pressure swing adoption (PSA) medical oxygen general plants in January out of which 2 were to be installed in Punjab. However, the work is still pending.

UP govt places order for 1 crore doses of vaccines from Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech for phase 3 vaccination drive

OpIndia Staff
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UP govt places order for 1 crore doses of vaccines from Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech for phase 3 vaccination drive

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced on Sunday that his government has placed an order for 1 crore doses vaccines just ahead of the Phase 03 vaccination drive which opens for beneficiaries over 18 years of age.

An order of 50 lakh doses each has been placed with both the indigenous vaccine manufacturers in India- Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat BioTech’s Covaxin. 

The Chief Minister also informed through his tweet that a comprehensive action plan is being prepared for the vaccination drive and procurement.

The decision comes after the Union Health Ministry announced opening vaccinations for citizens above 18 years of age in Phase 03 of the largest vaccination drive.

UP the first state to administer over 1 crore doses of vaccine

The state of Uttar Pradesh is the first in India to administer the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to nearly one crore people while the second dose of the vaccine has been given to 6,11,595 people over 62 years of age across the state.

An official statement by the state revealed that over 99,27,150 people, including healthcare and frontline workers and people above the age of 45 years have been inoculated. 

According to a government spokesman, “Vaccination of people aged above 60 and those between 45 and 60 is being conducted at a war-footing across the state in private and district hospitals, and medical colleges.”

Apart from UP, some other states have also placed order for the vaccines, and many others have announced that they will vaccinate people in the age group 18-45 for free. Assam govt has ordered 1 crore doses of Covaxin and 1 crore doses of Covishield from Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India respectively. Andhra Pradesh has also ordered 4.08 crore doses each of Covaxin and Covishield.

Rajasthan delays plan to inoculate population above 18

Meanwhile, the state of Rajasthan has delayed the plans to vaccinate its population from 18 to 45 years of age. The drive which is supposed to commence from May 1, will begin at a later stage in the state.

The Rajasthan government has expressed its inability to present a new date on vaccination for those above 18 years of age, citing non-availability of the vaccine till May 15.

Also Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot recently wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding the Center to bear the expense of free vaccination to be provided to beneficiaries above 18 years of age. 

A week after the opposition leaders demand ‘Modi picture on death certificates’, fake news peddlers do the needful

OpIndia Staff
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A week after the opposition leaders demand ‘Modi picture on death certificates’, fake news peddlers do the needful

On April 17, Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik had said that PM Modi’s photo should be put on death certificates. During an interview with ANI, Malik had said, “the way PM Modi’s photo is put on vaccination certificates, we demand that PM’s photo should be put on death certificates also.” After his statement, other leaders and so-called intellectuals came forward and made a similar demand.

“Secular” actor Nagma said on Twitter, “As like on every vaccination certificate there is a photo of Modi Same should be on every death certificate of Indian died due to covid.” She also posted an image of a tweet of union minister VK Singh claiming that the former army chief was looking for a hospital bed for his brother. However, that claim was fake. In reality, General VK Singh was trying to help someone else who was looking for a bed. In a single tweet, Nagma managed two self-goals.

Tweet by Nagma

Lavanya Ballal, National co-coordinator for Social media AICC, said, “Every Covid death certificate must have Narendra Modi’s pic, every graveyard, crematorium must have his billboard. This too is his contribution to the nation.”

Tweet by lavanya Ballal

Trinamool Congress’s alleged firebrand Mahua Moitra shared an image of vaccination certificate and said, “If Covid vaccine certificate has Hon’ble PM’s photo, does death certificate of those dying of no oxygen also carry his photo?”

Tweet by Mahua Moitra

The leaf-leaning, Congress-favoring, and Modi-hating meme-makers, trolls and fake news peddlers found a great opportunity in the statements by the leaders and liberals. Some posts started to show up on social media claiming that death certificates now come with PM Modi’s photograph.

When we reverse-searched the image, we found that the photograph was first published by IndiaTimes in a report titled “Will India Have A COVID-19 Vaccine Passport & How Will It Help You Travel Without Quarantining” that was published on March 11. The said photograph is of a man holding his vaccination certificate, and it is not a death certificate as claimed on social media.

India Times report was the source of the image

If one looks carefully, the text ‘Provisional Certificate for COVID-19 Vaccination (1st Dose)’ can be seen just below the govt of India emblem. Below it, it has details of the beneficiary on the left side and the vaccination details on the right side.

We also looked for a sample death certificate that one would get in case of a family member’s demise. Here is the sample death certificate issued by the government. Please note that just like birth certificate, death certificates are also issued by state governments and not the central government. Based on the state, the language of the certificate may vary.

Sample death certificate (Source: bbmp.gov.in)

Therefore, it is a wrong claim that death certificates have a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The posts on social media claiming the same are fake.

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