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Rajasthan Health Minister faces flak for meeting Salman Khan’s bodyguard while state is under curfew for COVID, people ask what was so urgent

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan Health Minister faces flak for meeting Salman Khan’s bodyguard while state is under curfew for COVID, people ask what was so urgent

Rajasthan Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma came under fire on Twitter for sharing a picture of him socialising with Salman Khan’s bodyguard amid the raging coronavirus pandemic in the country.

On Saturday, Congress leader Dr Raghu Sharma took to Twitter to share that Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s bodyguard Shera, alias Gurmeet Singh Jolly, paid him a visit at his resident. In the picture shared, one can notice the Congress leader was not wearing a mask.

Soon, netizens questioned Shera’s presence and meeting with the Health Minister of state, especially when the state is under virtual lockdown and only essential services are allowed. Yet, a bodyguard of a Bollywood A-lister could travel to the state to meet the health minister.

Netizens questioned what was the urgency of meeting Shera when as health minister his priority should be arranging for oxygen, medicines as the state faces crisis amid the raging coronavirus pandemic.

Many also resorted to sarcasm to put their point across on the health minister’s meeting with a Bollywood actor’s bodyguard and even flaunting the same on social media.

Netizens also demanded the resignation of the health minister as they felt that Congress leader wanted to make his meeting with Salman Khan’s bodyguard as a news even as the state grapples with oxygen and medicine crisis.

Some wondered if the meet with Salman Khan’s bodyguard had anything to do with the appeals hearing in blackbuck poaching case.

Salman Khan is accused to have killed two blackbucks during the shooting of ‘Hum Saath Saath Hai’ in 1998 in Jodhpur.

Amid the rising coronavirus cases, Rajasthan has implemented strict lockdown, severely restricting movement even of essential commodities and services. On Saturday, Rajasthan recorded 15,355 new coronavirus cases against 4,959 recoveries. The total number of active coronavirus cases in the state currently stand at 1,27,616.

Bharat Biotech announces Covaxin prices for state governments and private hospitals for Phase 3 of Covid-19 vaccination program

OpIndia Staff
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Bharat Biotech announces Covaxin prices for state governments and private hospitals for Phase 3 of Covid-19 vaccination program

Bharat Biotech, the developer and manufacturer of Covid-19 vaccine Covaxinm, today announced the prices to be charged from state governments and the private sector in the third phase of the Covid-19 vaccination program in the country. The company has said that Covaxin price for the state governments will be ₹600, and the price for private hospitals will be ₹1200. The company has set the export price of the vaccine in the range of $15 to $20, which equals around ₹1120 to ₹1500 in Indian rupees.

Bharat Biotech has been supplying the vaccine to the union govt at ₹150 per dose, which is distributed free of charge by the govt of India. The company informed that it has reserved more than 50% of its capacity for central govt supply.

The company announced the prices as per the order issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 19th April opening up the vaccination for anyone above 18 years of age. The govt had said that while the central govt will continue to vaccinate people above 45 years of age free of charge, state governments and private hospitals will be allowed the buy vaccines to vaccinate the adult population of the country. The ministry had asked the vaccine manufacturers to transparently declare the price they will charge from state govts and the open market before 1st May, from when the third phase will begin.

The govt order had said that manufacturers will sell 50% of their vaccine to the union govt, which will be used to vaccinate 45+ people all over the country, while the rest 50% will be sold to states and the open market.

Serum Institute of India, the manufacturer of the Covid-19 vaccine COVISHIELD developed by Oxford University-AstraZeneca, had announced the prices on 21st April. The company had set the state govt price at ₹400 and the private sector price at ₹600.

Indian left liberals and opposition parties, who have been running a campaign against Indian vaccine makers for last several months, have already slammed Serum Institute, accusing it of setting high prices for state govts and making undue profit out of a pandemic. In light of that situation, it is certain that Bharat Biotech will face even greater opposition, as it has set the prices higher than SII. Moreover, the company already attracted more criticism, as the Congress party and others had alleged that its vaccine is unsafe and not effective.

However, it was expected that Covaxin price will be higher than Covishield, 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 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.

Due to these reasons, SII is able to offer a much cheaper price which Bharat Biotech may not be able to without suffering losses.

Bharat Biotech added in its statement announcing the prices that Covaxin is an inactivated and highly purified vaccine, which makes its manufacturing process expensive due to low yields. It said that all costs towards product development, manufacturing facilities and clinical trials were deployed primarily using internal funding and resources of the company. It said that recovering costs is essential in the journey of innovation towards other vaccines such as Intranasal Covid-19, Chikungunya, Zika, Cholera, and others.

UP CM orders continuous monitoring of hospital beds, oxygen, Covid-19 medicine status, orders strict action against black marketing and rumours

OpIndia Staff
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UP CM orders continuous monitoring of hospital beds, oxygen, Covid-19 medicine status, orders strict action against black marketing and rumours

Today Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced several measures to manage the rising Covid-19 cases in the state. Reviewing the pandemic situation through video conferencing, the CM issued several directives regarding the availability of hospital beds, oxygen, and Covid-19 medicines in the hospitals in the state.

The CM directed that all hospitals in the state where Covid-19 patients are being treated should make public the details of vacant beds in the hospital twice a day. These details should also be uploaded on the portal of Integrated COVID Control & Command Centres (ICCCC) of the districts. The CM said that beds should be allotted with full transparency.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that in collaboration with DRDO, the process of setting up Covid hospitals in Lucknow and Varanasi is about to be completed. Saying that the operationality of these two hospitals with all necessary medical facilities will further strengthen the medical resources of the state, he asked the health ministry to make arrangements for trained human resources etc.

The CM said that Remdesivir and other lifesaving drugs should be distributed transparently. He added that 18,000 vials of Remdesivir have been received from Cadila, and its supply is increasing every day. More demand should be sent to the concerned companies as per the demand. There is a need to further improve the supply as well as its distribution system. These facilities should be made equally available to all the needy, the CM emphasised.

CM Yogi Adityanath informed that smooth availability of oxygen is being ensured in the state, and the special ‘Oxygen Express’ trains of Indian Railways from Bokaro has reached Uttar Pradesh. Modinagar, Kashipur, Panipat and Roorkee plants are also supplying oxygen to the state. This oxygen should be distributed smoothly with transparency, he said.

The chief minister ordered that oxygen should be allocated from their divisional headquarters to the districts. GPS monitoring and adequate security force should be provided to these tankers. No patient will be allowed to run out of oxygen in the state, he directed. The CM added that all small and big hospitals in all districts should be closely monitored at the government level for oxygen availability.

Yogi Adityanath informed that the oxygen supply system has been further strengthened by directly connecting the hospitals with MSME units in the state which produce or refill oxygen. The Indian Air Force is also cooperating in ensuring oxygen supply from various centres. Demand and supply situation should be monitored at 24×7, he added.

The CM said that there is a need to balance the demand and supply of oxygen, and for that purpose, an oxygen audit should be conducted. He also directed that those who are undergoing treatment in home isolation must be provided oxygen as per the requirement, adding that there will be no shortage of oxygen anywhere in the state.

As per phase 3 of the vaccination program, UP is going to vaccinate all the people of the state above the age of 18 years from 1st May. The Yogi Adityanath govt has announced that this vaccination will be completely free of cost to the citizens. The action plan for smooth conduct of the entire process will be prepared by a committee headed by Finance Minister Suresh Khanna. The Committee has been asked by the CM to ensure all necessary actions to make the vaccination program a success by communicating with vaccine manufacturing companies. Yogi Adityanath directed that this work should not be delayed.

The CM said that more than 23,000 people recovered from Covid-19 in the state in the last 24 hours. This increase in the number of people recovering every day is very pleasant. ‘If we all imbibe the mantras of Test, Trace and Treat by implementing the Covid Protocol, our victory in this fight against Corona is certain’, Yogi Adityanath said in his address.

He said that contact tracing is very important for breaking the chain of Covid-19. The family members of the Coronavirus infected person as well as those in touch with them must be tested. The capacity of RTPCR and antigen test should be doubled, he added.

The chief minister said that every single death due to Covid-19 is unfortunate. The last rites of all such people should be done according to their religious beliefs and traditions, and compliance with the Covid Protocol should be ensured under the supervision of the administration. The family members of the deceased should be treated sensitively, he said. The CM informed that there is a provision for assistance from the government for the last rites of the members of poor families. The Department of Panchayati Raj and Urban Development should ensure that these arrangements are implemented, the CM ordered.

CM Yodi Adityanath said that sensitive and honourable treatment should be provided to Covid-19 patients and their families. The government has fixed rates for treatment in private hospitals also and they are not allowed to charge more than that. He said that strictest action should be taken on the complaint of arbitrary charging by the hospitals. The family members of the patient should be informed twice every day about the health of the patient, he directed.

The CM also directed that the status of Covid infected patients admitted in hospitals should be continuously collected by the Chief Minister’s Helpline 1076. He said that the monitoring committees should be active and review and monitoring by the monitoring committees should be continuous. 

He said that weekly curfew is effective in the state from 8 PM on Friday to 7 AM on Monday, and it should be strictly implemented in all the districts of the state. The CM said that the police should remain on patrol and extensive sanitation, sanitation and fogging should be carried out during this period.

However, the CM said that Covid vaccination would continue during the weekly curfew period. People are allowed to go to and return to the vaccination centre from home during the curfew days, he said. The CM added that there should not be any inconvenience to the citizens in the movement for vaccination, and industrial units and other essential services also should be continuously operational during the curfew.

The CM directed that firefighting arrangements should be inspected in all hospitals in the state so that fire incidents do not lead to any damage. This should be done immediately across the state, he said.

The chief minister said that even in times when the entire country is fighting the Covid-19 epidemic unitedly, some anarchic elements are trying to black-market medicines, spread rumours or disturb the atmosphere. Similar propaganda is also taking place on social media. Strictest action should be taken against such persons under Gangster Act and NSA, and their property should be confiscated, he said.

Russian Embassy in Belarus taunts Foreign Affairs Minister of Lithuania with ‘small penis’ jibe, deletes and then tweets again

OpIndia Staff
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Russian Embassy in Belarus taunts Foreign Affairs Minister of Lithuania with ‘small penis’ jibe, deletes and then tweets again

The official Twitter account of the Russian Embassy in Belarus today took a swipe at Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis with a penis jibe after he expressed his solidarity with Czechia and expelled two employees of the Embassy of Russia.

“#smalldipenergy or #smalldickenergy—the choice is yours,” the Russian Embassy in Belarus tweeted.

Source: Twitter

The Russian Embassy’s tweet was in response to Landsbergis’ tweet in which he extended his support to other east European countries and announced the expulsion of two Russian diplomats for their incompatible behaviour.

“Together with #Latvia and #Estonia #Lithuania decided to show solidarity with #Czechia and expel two employees of the Embassy of #Russia for their activities incompatible with their diplomatic status,” the Member of Parliament of Lithuania tweeted.

This did not sit well with the Russian Embassy in Belarus, which took to Twitter to make a nasty penis jibe against him. The netizens, however, are having a field day after Russian Embassy’s insulting remark for the Lithuanian Foreign Affairs minister.

“#smalldickenergy being thrown around this Saturday morning,” said one of the Twitter users.

Another commented: “Russians being Russians.”

Taking a dig at Russia, Washington Post journalist Natalia Antonova said it is always a ‘dick-measuring’ context with them.

Many netizens were also scandalised by the crass remark by the official account of the Russian embassy and raised questions on the state of the Russian diplomacy.

“Is this a parody account?” a Twitter user wondered.

Another social media user slammed the Russian Embassy saying that at least these countries had the spine to stand up against Russia.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that Russian Embassy in Belarus has been involved in making a penis jibe. Yesterday too, the official Twitter account of the Russian Embassy had made a penis remark but was deleted a short while later.

Baltic states in Europe expel Russian diplomats in solidarity with Czechia

Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Minister had expressed his solidarity in support of the Czech government which is at loggerheads with the Russian government. The Czech government has accused Russian secret services of being behind a fatal explosion at an arms depot in the eastern Czech Republic in 2014.

Prague has expelled 18 Russian diplomats over the allegations and is planning to oust dozens of more diplomats and embassy staff in a move that is likely to attract retaliation from Moscow. Russia has already expelled 20 Czech diplomats from Moscow so far, significantly reducing the embassy’s workforce.

The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said Friday they were expelling a total of four Russian diplomats in solidarity with the Czech Republic, which is involved in a spat with Moscow.

Kanpur Medical College denies reports that Param Vir Chakra awardee Abdul Hamid’s son died due to lack of oxygen, says reports are false and baseless

OpIndia Staff
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Kanpur Medical College denies reports that Param Vir Chakra awardee Abdul Hamid’s son died due to lack of oxygen, says reports are false and baseless

As the country is facing a tough battle against the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, the amount of fake news regarding it also has seen an alarming rise in the last few days. Today several newspapers and media portals reported that Ali Hasan, the second son of Param Vir Chakra awardee Abdul Hamid, died in GSVM Medical College in Kanpur due to lack of oxygen. Reports by Jagran, Amar Ujala, Nav Bharat Times etc claimed that 61 years old man died in Kanpur after he was not provided oxygen, but the reports made conflicting claims.

While Amar Ujala claimed that doctors had asked the family to arrange for oxygen cylinders, but Ali Hasan died before they could arrange a cylinder, but Jagran report said that while initially he was provided oxygen, later doctors removed it saying his condition has improved and no longer needs oxygen. The report claims that even after his condition deteriorated after that, the doctors refused to administer him medical oxygen.

The NVT report is combination of the above two reports, as it claimed that after doctors removed oxygen saying he no longer needs it, his oxygen level started falling rapidly, and then the doctors asked the family to arrange oxygen. But he died on Friday morning while the waiting for oxygen. The reports also claimed that the doctors refused to do Covid-19 test on Ali Hasan. Several other Hindi media houses and online news portals also reported the same making the same claims.

According to the reports, Hasan’s eldest son Saleem alleged that his father died due to negligence by the doctors and hospital staff, as they turned a deaf ear towards his pleas. He also claimed that even after they informed the hospital staff that the patient is the son of a Param Vir Chakra recipient, they didn’t hear their request.

AAP MLA Sanjay Singh also tweeted a newspaper report making such claims.

After such claims made by the media, the Principal of the GSVM Medical College, also known as Kanpur Medical College, wrote a letter to the DC of Kanpur city district denying the reports. He has denied that there is oxygen shortage in the hospital, and said that Hasan was provided as soon as he was admitted.

The letter by the Principal Dr R B Kamal said that Ali Hasan was brought the hospital at 1.05 AM on 22nd April in a very critical condition, and he was admitted at the emergency ward. He asserted that doctors had 14 litre oxygen was made available for Hasan from NRBM, but his condition didn’t improve and he died on 23rd April during the treatment.

The statement adds that at present the hospital has around 650 patients admitted among whom 500 need oxygen and they are being provided with it. The Principal added that all patients who need oxygen are getting it, and the report that Ali Hasan died due to lack of oxygen is false, misleading and baseless.

‘If you talk against Jihad, we will chop your tongue off, Inshallah’: Terrorist issues death threat against J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina

OpIndia Staff
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‘If you talk against Jihad, we will chop your tongue off, Inshallah’: Terrorist issues death threat against J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina

An unidentified terrorist has recently released a video in which he has threatened to assassinate BJP leader from Jammu and Kashmir Ravinder Raina if he continues to speak against jihad.

With his face covered with a veil and holding a rifle, the terrorist in the video threatens to chop off Raina’s tongue if he persists in speaking against Pakistan and Islamic jihad.

“The atrocities meted out on Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir will be avenged…We warn Ravinder Raina to stop speaking on Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Raina, you keep talking about rescuing Pakistan occupied Kashmir and building a temple there, but let me tell you, we are going to liberate Jammu and Kashmir from the Indian rule,” the terrorist said.

“Ravinder Raina, stop speaking against Pakistan and jihad or else we will cut off your tongue…This is my last warning to you Ravinder. You better watch your mouth or else you will be dead, Inshallah…We are on our path to seek Allah and jihad, and we will be successful in our endeavour. People like Ravinder and other lackeys of PM Modi, be prepared to face the consequences,” the terrorist says.

Towards the end of the video, the terrorist quotes Allama Iqbal’s lines to threaten India. “Na samjhoge to mit jaoge ai Hindostan walo, tumhaari dastan tak bhi na hogi dastanon mein,” he says.

Imran Khan expresses solidarity with India over COVID-19 crisis hours after BSF shot down two Pakistani drones along the LoC

OpIndia Staff
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Imran Khan expresses solidarity with India over COVID-19 crisis hours after BSF shot down two Pakistani drones along the LoC

Hours after the Border Security Force (BSF) shot down two Pakistani drones trying to intrude into Indian territory along the border in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed solidarity with the people of India combating the resurgent wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said, “We must fight this global challenge confronting humanity together.”

Imran Khan took to Twitter to express his support for the Indian people fighting the new bout of COVID-19 outbreak. “I want to express our solidarity with the people of India as they battle a dangerous wave of COVID-19. Our prayers for a speedy recovery go to all those suffering from the pandemic in our neighbourhood & the world. We must fight this global challenge confronting humanity together,” he tweeted.

Khan’s tweet expressing solidarity with the Indian people came only hours after Pakistani drones made a failed attempt to infiltrate the Arnia sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

BSF troops along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir stop intrusion bid by Pakistani drones

The drones had tried to enter into the Indian region under cover of darkness in the wee hours of Saturday, but vigilant BSF guards opened fire and thwarted their intrusion attempt.

“Around 4.30 am on Saturday, two Pakistani drones entered our territory in Arnia sector but the alert BSF immediately opened fire. The drones, probably spy drones, flew back into Pakistani territory,” a senior BSF officer said.

Even though a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan is in place, it did not stop the Pakistani rangers from indulging in nefarious activities along the border.

“Today alert BSF troops in Arnia Sector foiled drones intrusion bid by Pakistan on International Border. During the early morning hours today, two drones/UAVs were observed entering from Pakistan side and Immediately fired upon by vigilant BSF troops which compelled them to retreat to Pakistan territory,” said an official statement issued by BSF DIG SPS Sandhu.

“Saturday’s drone intrusion bid foiled by BSF Jammu troops is indicative of alertness and swift retaliatory action by the BSF on a drone intrusion from Pak side. The BSF intelligence branch was receiving inputs about the possible use of drones by Pakistan for ferrying arms and ammunition from Pakistan into the Indian side,” said the statement.

Less than 12 hours after the failed attempt at the intrusion, the Pakistani Prime Minister unabashedly posted a tweet expressing solidarity for the people of India suffering from COVID-19 outbreak.

While Khan exhorted India to join hands with Pakistan in the fight against the pandemic, Pakistani rangers have been routinely violating the International Boundary agreement through drone intrusions, trying to drop arms and ammunition in the Indian territory.

It is worth noting that Pakistan’s attempt to infiltrate drones inside India came on the back of a mutually brokered truce deal on February 25 this year. Since then, there has been no firing and shelling by the Pakistani forces along the 744-km-long Line of Control (LoC) and 200-km-long International Border (IB).

However, Pakistan has been sending drones along the border with India, perhaps in an attempt to smuggle arms and help the terrorists back here. In June 2020, BSF had foiled another wicked attempt by Pakistan when it downed its hexacopter at BOP Pansar in the Hiranagar sector of the Kathua district. A huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from it.

Arvind Kejriwal appeals for oxygen from other states after spending crores on ads, gets slammed by netizens

OpIndia Staff
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Arvind Kejriwal appeals for oxygen from other states after spending crores on ads, gets slammed by netizens

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has appealed to the Chief Ministers of other states to provide them with oxygen if they have anything to spare. The appeal comes on a day when developments in the Delhi High Court revealed that the government had failed utterly in creating a mechanism to ensure the smooth supply of oxygen.

The Court was also informed that the Delhi Government was not taking any steps to collect the oxygen allocated to them. The Court had said, “Every state is arranging its own tankers, if you’re not having your own tanks, arrange them. You will have to do it, get in touch with the Central govt officers. We are not here to facilitate contact between officers.”

An officer with the central government had remarked, “All other States are collaborating for tankers, railway. For Delhi, it’s like they are to be served on the platter. We are helping States. Delhi officers need to do that.” Thus, it reveals that the oxygen crisis in Delhi is more due to the AAP Government’s failure to set up a mechanism to ensure the smooth supply of oxygen to hospitals.

People on social media are incensed with Arvind Kejriwal as well for his failure to ensure the supply of medical oxygen and then making an appeal to other states to help them out. Some pointed out that the AAP had campaigned on the basis of their Mohalla clinics and hospitals but now were seeking help from other states for oxygen.

Others said that he was indulging in theatrics again. They said that he should work on the ground instead of tweeting.

People also slammed him for spending crores of money on advertisements instead of working to ensure that the oxygen supply was secured, an argument that was put forth by Congress leader Ajay Maken as well.

OpIndia’s Raju Das had similar thoughts.

Earlier in the day, senior counsel Sachin Dutta representing Jaipur Golden Hospital, slammed the Delhi government for its incompetence and apathy in handling the situation. He alleged that officers of the Delhi government were unavailable even as people were dying in the hospitals.

“Whole day yesterday we called your officers, they didn’t do anything,” advocate Sachin Dutta told Mr Mehra, representing the Delhi government.

The Wire withdraws fake news about Rajnath Singh, says it was based on other news reports

Dibakar Dutta
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The Wire withdraws fake news about Rajnath Singh, says it was based on other news reports

On Saturday (April 24), left-propagandist news portal The Wire was forced to withdraw its story for maliciously attributing a fake quote to Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

An article published by The Wire claimed that the BJP leader had prescribed people to recite the Hindu epic poem ‘Ramcharitmanas’ to fight the Wuhan Coronavirus. Although the article now stands completely revamped, we found a copy of its original excerpt curated by Dailyhunt.

The Wire claimed, “Addressing a Ram Navami function in Lucknow via a video conference, the defence minister said that the recitation of ‘Ramcharitmanas’, an epic poem composed by Tulsidas, has the propensity to cure COVID-19 by enhancing positivity in an individual. Singh went on to add, ‘Rest assured this can work as a medicine in major diseases.”

Screengrab of the original article by The Wire

The malicious article further added, “Interestingly, what came as a prompt booster to the defence minister’s idea was the loud support by folk singer Malini Awasthi, who was the star artist at the Ram Navami event. ‘Reciting ‘Ramcharitmanas’ will help in combating all the negative news being spread about the pandemic; it will also deviate our attention from COVID-19′, echoed Malini, who is married to UP’s additional chief secretary (home) Avanish Awasthi.”

Claims about Rajnath Singh suggesting Ramcharitmanas as Covid cure was earlier published in two newspapers

The outrageous claims first featured in an article published in the Hindi newspaper ‘Prabhat Khabar’ on Thursday (April 22). Similar claims were made by the Congress mouthpiece ‘National Herald’ on Friday (April 23) as well. National Herald claimed also claimed, “Addressing an event organized on the occasion of Rama Navami in Lucknow, one of the worst affected cities in Uttar Pradesh, Singh said that the recitation of ‘Ramcharitmanas’ will ‘increase positivity’. “It works as a medicine (against the deadly virus),” Singh said in his virtual address, adding, “Stress on religion and spirituality will work as a medicine in the fight against Coronavirus”.”

Screengrab of the article in National Herald

The Wire withdraws his erroneous report, tenders apology to Rajnath Singh

Hours after publishing the article, The Wire announced on Twitter that it is withdrawing the erroneous report. In a tweet, it said, “A story posted on our website today wrongly claimed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said the Ramcharitmanas would help the fight against COVID-19. The story was based on unverified reports from other news sources and has been withdrawn.”

Screengrab of the tweet by The Wire

Furthermore, it blamed two newspapers, namely, Prabhat Khabar and National Herald for misquoting Rajnath Singh. The propagandist news portal conceded that the quotes were ‘erroneously reproduced’ in the report and the headline by a correspondent without independent confirmation.

The Wire further apologised, “The story was unpublished shortly after publication since the necessary due diligence on it was not done. A subsequent review by our editorial desk of what appears to be a recording of the entire event does not show the minister making the remarks attributed to him and we have thus removed those references. We apologise to Rajnath Singh and our readers for this lapse.”

The Wire spreads fake news about BJP leader visiting Kumbh Mela after testing Covid positive

Earlier, The Wire founder Siddharth Varadarajan had taken to Twitter to claim that that BJP leader Sunil Bharala was Coronavirus positive at the time of his visit to Kumbh Mela. He inquired, “Why Godi media warriors were not demanding he be arrested under the IPC and NDMA and Epidemic Diseases Act?” However, as usual, his claims were not accurate.

The controversy was premised on a fake quote published by The Logical Indian, wherein it falsely quoted Bharala as saying “I’m COVID positive myself. I still went to Kumbh. Dharma is above Corona guidelines.” However, the Logical Indian later took to Twitter to apologise for spreading fake news. In their statement, The Logical Indian said, “The Logical Indian earlier reported that Uttar Pradesh BJP leader Sunil Bharala tested positive for COVID-19 and still attended the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar.”

It further added, “However, in an interview with NDTV, the leader said that he attended the event and later added that he is currently COVID positive. We wish to acknowledge that we inadvertently misrepresented the facts. The Logical Indian apologizes for the incorrect statement that claimed he attended the event while he was infected with the virus.” Just a day after The Logical India apologised, The Wire deliberately chose to publish the fake news again.

UP Police files against FIR against social media users for spreading rumours on COVID-19 deaths

OpIndia Staff
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UP Police files against FIR against social media users for spreading rumours on COVID-19 deaths

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday filed an FIR against social media users for attempting to tarnish the image of the UP government and Noida Police by using fake accounts to spread rumours and create panic amidst the raging COVID-19 outbreak.

The decision to file an FIR came after Twitter was flooded with identical tweets of bereavement in which the users insinuated that the death of their loved ones because of the pandemic is to be blamed on the administration. The tweets mentioned UP CM Yogi Adityanath, PM Modi and several other prominent personalities.

The UP police took to Twitter to inform about the development. It shared screenshots of the copy-pasted messages circulated on social media websites. The screenshots comprised identical tweets posted by several users expressing their bereavement at the loss of their loved ones because of the pandemic.

Taking cognisance of the matter, the UP Police filed an FIR against the accused and alleged that a mischievous and planned attempt is underway to tarnish the reputation of the UP government and Noida police through posting copy-paste messages on social media websites. It also warned strict action against people who are found indulging in rumour-mongering and creating panic on social media.

“We deeply regret the loss of precious human lives in the pandemic & understand the outburst of family members on social media who have been bereaved. At the same time we came across a disturbing trend of copy-paste of the same messages by apparently fake handles,” the UP Police tweeted.

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