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Vaccine for those who need it, not want it: While media and Rahul Gandhi twist the statement, here is how vaccine prioritisation works globally

Nupur J Sharma
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Vaccine for those who need it, not want it: While media and Rahul Gandhi twist the statement, here is how vaccine prioritisation works globally

On the 6th of April, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that the COVID-19 vaccine is for those who ‘need it’ not for those who ‘want it.’ Explaining the phased approach that has been taken by the government of India as far as the COVID-19 vaccine is concerned, Bhushan said that the purpose of the vaccine currently was two-fold: to prevent deaths and to protect your health care system.

He further said, “The most vulnerable in the country has to be protected, and that is what is being done globally also”. The Union Health Secretary was addressing questions being raised currently about why the vaccination drive has not yet opened to the entire population, essentially, everyone above the age of 18.

The statement, expectedly, created a furore. The pliant media that has done paltry little other than fan chaos and confusion in the middle of the pandemic and the politicians who have used the pandemic to serve their political goals, came out all guns blazing to slam the statements made. The aim was rather simple – to insinuate that the government is either ill-equipped to handle the vaccination process or to imply that the government simply did not care.

While Rajesh Bhushan attempted to explain himself in an interview to ANI, where he said that vaccines have to be prioritised to the most vulnerable, Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter today to, of course, play politics and mislead the public.

Outright, Rahul Gandhi rejected the very basis of the argument of prioritisation and claimed that every citizen deserves a chance to safe life. “It’s ridiculous to debate needs and wants”, he declared.

Is it “ridiculous”, however? While that statement alone may confuse some, Bhushan’s full statement about the prioritisation of vaccine administration makes perfect sense. A Twitter user who goes by the handle @surajbrf wrote an elaborate thread about just how futile the outrage surrounding the prioritisation of vaccine truly is.

In the year 2020, a manual called ‘COVID-19 Vaccine, Communication Strategy’ was released by the Ministry of Health. In the detailed manual, the government of India listed the measures to be taken, training to frontline workers, what each segment like the media, government officials etc are meant to do to communicate the plan and more.

In one section, back in 2020, the prioritisation of who gets the vaccine first and why have been listen in great details.

Manual published by GOI

The manual says that it is obvious that initially there will be a limited supply of vaccines and thus those at the highest risk of getting infected with COVID-19 would get vaccinated first. The manual says that there are two essential criteria for selecting these ‘beneficiaries’. The first being whether that group is at a greater risk of exposure to infection and belongs to an age group having high COVID related death. And the second is to select those who, when vaccinated, would minimise the spread of the virus.

Based on these two criteria, the government of India decided to first vaccinate health care workers, frontline workers and the population above the age of 50 years. Thereafter, the government decided to vaccinate those who had comorbidities that put them at high risk of death due to COVID.

The manual then says that those below the age of 50 and with no comorbidities would be vaccinated after the priority high-risk groups were vaccinated.

Manual published by GOI

This prioritisation plan for the vaccine is interestingly not followed by India alone.

What CDC recommends: Prioritisation of vaccines

The Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the US federal health protection agency, has recommended a similar phased strategy to vaccine the population. The CDC recommends vaccination in 3 phases, 1a, 1b and 1c. In the first phase, it recommends that vaccine be administered to healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residents.

For phase 1b, CDC lists the following groups:

  • Frontline essential workers such as firefighters, police officers, corrections officers, food and agricultural workers, United States Postal Service workers, manufacturing workers, grocery store workers, public transit workers, and those who work in the educational sector (teachers, support staff, and daycare workers.)
  • People aged 75 years and older because are at high risk of hospitalization, illness, and death from COVID-19. People aged 75 years and older who are also residents of long-term care facilities should be offered vaccination in Phase 1a.

And for phase 1c, CDC lists the following groups:

  • People aged 65—74 years because they are at high risk of hospitalization, illness, and death from COVID-19. People aged 65—74 years who are also residents of long-term care facilities should be offered vaccination in Phase 1a.
  • People aged 16—64 years with underlying medical conditions which increase the risk of serious, life-threatening complications from COVID-19.
  • Other essential workers, such as people who work in transportation and logistics, food service, housing construction and finance, information technology, communications, energy, law, media, public safety, and public health.

It is pertinent to note that while CDC puts people older than 75 in their phase two, India has reduced that age barrier and included people above the age of 50 as a priority group to be vaccinated.

The very same model that is adopted by the CDC and by the Ministry of Health, India, is also adopted by UK, Germany and several other nations.

It is evident that India is following the standard world over in terms of prioritisation of vaccines to those who are in need of the vaccination the most, given either their age or their occupation (frontline workers).

In the midst of a raging pandemic, it is obvious that the government will not be able to vaccinate the entire 1.3 billion population all at once. The logistics alone would be a nightmare. The logistic of ensuring that every vaccination centre is stocked to vaccinate the thousands, given the storage compulsions of the vaccine itself would be an impossible feat.

When the vaccine process is prioritised, the government ensures that the vulnerable population gets vaccinated in an orderly fashion. This becomes important since the aim of the vaccination process in the middle of a raging pandemic is to minimise deaths and arrest the spread of the virus itself, therefore, those who at risk of contracting the virus the most would need to be vaccinated first.

Therefore, it is evident that the criticism by Rahul Gandhi comes not only from a place of ignorance but from a place of malice since fanning fear and chaos during an already raging pandemic can be construed as nothing else.

Media – Nero’s Guests creating panic about COVID-19 vaccine process

While Rahul Gandhi often stands with a match to light an already explosive situation in the country, the media is seldom left behind. Playing Nero’s Guest, the media chimes along, spreading panic and chaos in the country, hoping that politically it might help those they support.

Shekhar Gupta, the erstwhile Chief of Editors Guild of India and the current owner of The Print took to Twitter to spread downright fake news and conjecture.

There are two distinct aspects of the conjectures spread by Shekhar Gupta.

The first part is rather interesting. Gupta starts by saying that PM Modi has ‘wrongly blamed the babus’. Given the context of the tweet, one would imagine that PM Modi had distanced himself from the state of the Union Health Secretary and blamed ‘babus’ for deciding the vaccine strategy and prioritisation process. However, that is not the case.

The last statement that Prime Minister Modi made in this context related to the importance of the private sector vis-a-vis the public sector. The reference to babus had nothing to do with the Coronavirus pandemic or the vaccination process. Therefore, it is baffling as to why Shekhar Gupta would use that statement in a completely unrelated context, especially, while talking about a subject as sensitive as a raging pandemic in the country.

Gupta further says that the problem actually rests with the “Bharat Sarkar mindset” because it believes that it knows what is best for the public. He further said that the government pretends that it knows who NEEDS the “scarce” vaccine and those who WANT it for vanity.

However, that is not the issue here at all. The government is not “rationing” the vaccine because it believes that a part of the population wants it due to their vanity, but because giving it first to the vulnerable section of the population firstly achieves the stated aims of a vaccine programme during a pandemic and secondly, is a norm world over.

The government is not rationing the vaccine because it believes that a majority section of the population wants to take the vaccine to ‘flaunt’ it in their circle of friends or because they want to assert some sort of higher social status after being vaccinated. The fear of being infected with COVID-19, given the deaths world over and the rising cases, is a real, palpable one.

In such times, the media plays a large role in trying to assuage those fears by communicating with the public and explaining to them just how important it is to ensure that the vulnerable get the vaccine first. The media is also supposed to explain to the population that given the vaccine to the vulnerable ultimately benefits them too as it would arrest the spread of the virus itself. The media is supposed to tell the people that they need to wait their turn and be patient, though losing patience seems like the only option available after a year of dealing with the pandemic.

The media is also supposed to tell the world that India is doing a good job, given the constraints of sheer size of its population.

Source: Our World in Data/@surajbrf

The media is supposed to tell people that India has overtaken the United States of America in the 7-day average and has almost matched China’s slope as far as vaccinating its people is concerned.

In fact, in the manual itself, the government has repeatedly urged media, influencers, social mobilisers, religious leaders to ensure that the masses get the correct message about the vaccination drive. It seems evident, however, that media personnel like Shekhar Gupta and politicians like Rahul Gandhi are less than bothered about what the nation needs them to do when it is battling a pandemic.

BSP MP Afzal Ansari, who had once called Yogi Adityanath a ‘chuha’, is now concerned as his brother Mukhtar Ansari gets lodged in UP jail

OpIndia Staff
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BSP MP Afzal Ansari, who had once called Yogi Adityanath a ‘chuha’, is now concerned as his brother Mukhtar Ansari gets lodged in UP jail

On April 6, Afzal Ansari, BSP MP and brother of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, expressed his concerns for his brother, who is now lodged in Banda Jail in UP. He expressed apprehension that attempts to take Mukhtar Ansari’s life may be taken in jail. He said that it is the same jail where his brother was allegedly given poisoned tea earlier.

While talking to ANI, Afzal Ansari said, “Their intention is not right. In the same Banda jail, he (Mukhtar) was given poison in tea… we have full faith in the judiciary. We have moved a plea to provide medical facilities to him.”

He further said that he is hopeful the Supreme Court would ensure that those who are in power will not kill someone. He alleged that BJP leaders had hinted the car carrying Mukhtar Ansari would overturn on some border. He said, “In a public rally, BJP state president announces ‘gaadi UP ke kis border pe paltegi, ye nahi bataunga (I won’t disclose on which border the car carrying Mukhtar will overturn)’. A minister says, ‘gaadi to palat ke rahegi (the car will definitely overturn).”

It has to be noted that Banda Jail houses many high-profile criminals. Ansari is lodged in Barrack number 15 of the Banda Jail. As per reports, Kunda MLA Raja Bhaiya alias Raghuraj Pratap Singh (Independent legislator), Ateeq Ahmad (don-turned-politician who won Allahabad West assembly seat for five consecutive terms), former MLA Purushottam Dwivedi and Noida’s dreaded gangster Anil Dujana are among the top names lodged in Banda Jail.

Supreme Court had orders to shift Mukhtar

BSP’s Mukhtar Ansari was lodged in a jail in Punjab for the last couple of years. After a long legal battle, the Uttar Pradesh government managed to get orders from the Supreme Court to transfer Ansari back to UP jail, where he would be tried for various criminal cases. BJP-led UP government had stated in the Supreme Court that Punjab was trying to shield Ansari. On March 26, the Supreme Court had asked UP Police to take custody of Mukhtar Ansari from Punjab before April 8. In 2019, Punjab Police took custody of Mukhtar Ansari in an extortion case without taking due permission from the Allahabad Court. Since then, he was lodged in Rupnagar jail.

During the hearing, UP government had informed Supreme Court that SSP, Banda jail had been suspended pending inquiry as he gave custody of Ansari to Punjab Police without seeking permission from the Allahabad Court.

Afzal Ansari had called Yogi Adityanath a “chuha”

In 2019, during an interview with Lallantop, Afzal Ansari had called UP CM Yogi Adityanath a ‘chuha’ (mouse). The interview was taken in poll-bound Ghazipur. The anchor of the show had asked Ansari about his views on Yogi Adityanath’s statement in which he said, “You may remember Mau riots in which goons initiated riots while having guns in their hands. However, now they are in jail claiming they are scared of their lives.”

When Ansari heard CM Yogi’s name, he got irked and said, “Mulayam Singh sent Yogi Adityanath to jail for five days, and he cried in Lok Sabha. He is a weak-hearted mouse (chuha). He cannot make fun of anyone else. He conspires against others and makes such statements.” He also claimed that Yogi Adityanath uses derogatory language inside the state assembly.

However, no Ansari seems scared of CM Yogi Adiyanath’s strict actions against the criminals. He said, “If they do something arbitrarily, then the time for the end of such dictators is nearing. Sacrifice is needed to end dictatorship. If such a thing happens, I will consider that Mukhtar has been sacrificed for the end of the dictatorial government.”

Security at Banda jail increased

The security at Banda jail has been increased to ensure the safety of Mukhtar Ansari and other inmates. Ansari is facing 52 criminal cases in the state, including murder, attempt to murder, cheating and conspiracy. 15 of these cases are at the trial stage.

Vikas Dubey was killed in an encounter after a car carrying him overturned

Notably, gangster Vikas Dubey was killed in an encounter after the car in which he was being brought back to Kanpur from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, overturned. As per reports, Dubey tried to escape and attempted to snatch the gun from the police personnel, after which the police had to open fire. The police had said, “the police car met with an accident and the car overturned. After the accident, Vikas Dubey tried to snatch the weapon of injured policemen and attempted to flee. It was then that the police fired in retaliation, killing the gangster.”

Congress ally IUML’s worker killed in Kerala after clashes with CPM, the party which is a Congress ally in Bengal: Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Congress ally IUML’s worker killed in Kerala after clashes with CPM, the party which is a Congress ally in Bengal: Here is what happened

A 22-year-old Youth League activist of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) succumbed to his injuries after a clash broke out in the Koothuparamba constituency, North Kerala on Tuesday over allegations of bogus voting, as per a Deccan Herald report.

As per reports, Mansur, the youth activist in IUML, and his brother Muhasin got into an argument with the CPM workers at 08:30 pm on April 6 after voting, over an attempt to cast bogus votes. After the argument, CPM workers hurled bombs near the residence of the two brothers and barged into their house. As the violent workers tried to attack Muhasin, Mansur tried to stop the assailants during which he sustained serious injuries and was rushed to a private hospital in Kozhikode. 

Mansur then succumbed to his injuries in the hospital early in the morning yesterday.

Police informed that Mansur’s brother, a UDF poll agent, was also injured in the clash. The IUML has alleged that a group of CPI(M) workers after creating a ruckus by hurling bombs near the residence of the two brothers, attacked them with sharp weapons.

A CPM worker has been taken into custody in connection with the murder and the police have received details of 11 more persons who were involved in the brutal attack.

The Youth League, a youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), is a key ally of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). No statement on the incident has been released by any Congress leader yet.

It is interesting to note that the CPI(M) which is being blamed for this killing and violence is Congress’s ally in the state of West Bengal.

In Koothuparamba constituency in Kerala’s Kannur district, CPM ally LJD’s KP Mohanan and IUML’s Pottankandy Abdullah were in a close contest.

Congress-Left Alliance in West Bengal:

After a disastrous experiment in 2016, the Left and Congress have once again joined hands for the 2021 Assembly elections in West Bengal due to the sheer lack of options. What seems to be a fight between TMC and BJP, the Left and the Congress are trying to keep themselves relevant in the ongoing elections with this alliance. The Left-Congress-ISF have come together to take on TMC and BJP with the Left Front fielding candidates in 165 constituencies, Congress in 92, and ISF in 37 constituencies.

Experts suggest that the Left has lost whatever little credibility was left after it shook hands with the Indian Secular Front (ISF).

On the other hand, Congress leading the United Democratic Front in Kerala is fighting the CPI(M) along with other alliance parties such as IUML, Kerala Congress, and others.

The Congress has been called out for its deceit and failure to stand by its ideology time and again. The dichotomy has left the Congress leadership speechless. In spite of being prodded by the opposition parties on their alliance, Congress has chosen to remain silent on the issue.

‘Can’t proceed against Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren in rape case as the woman has withdrawn the complaint’, Mumbai police tells Bombay HC

OpIndia Staff
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‘Can’t proceed against Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren in rape case as the woman has withdrawn the complaint’, Mumbai police tells Bombay HC

The Mumbai police on Monday informed the Bombay High Court that they can’t proceed with the case of rape and criminal intimidation against Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, as the woman who had filed the case has already taken the case back. In 2013, a woman had alleged that she was sexually harassed by Soren, and had lodged a complaint with a metropolitan magistrate’s court in Mumbai, seeking to register an FIR.

The police informed the court that while the woman had lodged a complaint against Hemant Soren in the year 2013, she had withdrawn the case in the same year. The woman also withdrew another petition, where she had alleged that Soren was behind an accident that she met with in August 2020. The woman has sought the permission of the court to withdraw the petition and all other pending litigations. The court has permitted the woman’s request but it has kept the petition for consideration on Wednesday.

The refusal by The Mumbai police to proceed against Soren came after the Bombay High Court had refused the plea of the woman to take the case back. In several twists in turns in the case, first the woman had alleged in 2013 that she was raped by Soren, and had lodged a complaint with a metropolitan magistrate’s court in Mumbai, but she had withdrawn the case in the same year, and the court had allowed the withdrawal. Again in 2020, the woman alleged Soren was behind her accident and approached Bombay High Court seeking to register an FIR, but in January this year, she again approached the High Court wanting to withdraw the second petition also. But this time, the High Couret had refused to allow her to withdraw the complaint.

In the meanwhile, two intervention applications were filed in this case by Jharkhand-based former journalist Sunil Kumar Tiwari and NGO Stree Roshni Trust seeking an order from the court to not allow the woman to withdraw her petition. The bench headed by justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale was informed by public prosecutor Deepak Thakare that the applicants had no locus standi as the woman had sought to withdraw her petitions and the applications were filed with political interest.

Thakare further mentioned that in 2013 the woman had filed a complaint before the magistrate seeking to lodge a rape case against Soren but had withdrawn the complaint the same year.

Woman alleges Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren raped her like an animal, sex maniac

In December 2020, a letter had gone viral on social media where the woman had requested police protection fearing safety to her life from Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, whom she had accused of raping her. She had registered a complaint accusing Soren of not only raping her but also attempting to kill her.

The woman, who is Mumbai-based model alleged that she was not only raped by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in 2013 but has also constantly threatened her and the family against speaking about the alleged incident in the public.

According to the complaint filed in September 2013 and which was later withdrawn, the accused had met Hemant Soren at a party in Mumbai’s Taj Lands End in Bandra through one friend Suresh Nagre. The victim alleged that Suresh Nagre, whom she had thought as a mentor, had asked her to join him at a party, saying that she would get a chance to meet some film celebrities who would be at the party. As per the woman, she reached Hotel Taj Lands at around 10 pm and met Suresh Nagre. Nagre asked her to come to a suite on the 21st floor where she was reportedly raped by Hemant Soren later.

The women alleged that Hemant Soren raped her like an animal, sex maniac. After sexually assaulting her, Hemant Soren allegedly asked the complainant to leave the premises in the wee hours of the morning with a threat that if she tells anyone, she’d be killed. The victim said that Soren promised to help her to launch her film career if she kept quiet.

The woman also said that she was pressurised to withdraw the complaint she had filed against the accused. She said after filing the complaint, she started receiving threats by and on behalf of the accused persons. According to her, the threats were of dire consequences and warned of killing her and their family if she failed to withdraw the complaint case. Succumbing to threats and coercion, she was forced to withdraw the criminal complaint against Hemant Soren.

After seven years, in 2020, the woman had filed another complaint with the Mumbai Police, alleging that she was raped and intimidated by Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren.

Delhi HC upholds Kejriwal govt’s diktat, declares wearing a mask compulsory even while driving alone in a private car: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi HC upholds Kejriwal govt’s diktat, declares wearing a mask compulsory even while driving alone in a private car: Details

A single-judge bench comprising of Justice Prathiba M Singh dismissed petitions that challenged the diktat by the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi that declared that wearing a mask was compulsory even while driving alone in a car since a car is a ‘public space’. The Arvind Kejriwal government had imposed a fine on persons not wearing a mask even while travelling alone in a car.

Dismissing the writ petitions, Justice Singh terms masks as a ‘suraksha kavach’ (protective shield) and said that “Scientists and international governments advise wearing of a mask. The challenge of the pandemic was enormous and the wearing of face masks is necessary whether a person is vaccinated or not”.

While the Delhi government had submitted that an office order had made wearing masks compulsory, whether in a public or private vehicle, even while travelling alone in April last year and it remained in force until today. The central government had, however, said that it had passed no such stricture making the wearing of masks compulsory while travelling alone. While the central government had said it had not passed any stricture of the kind, it said that Health is a state subject and therefore, it was free to make rules.

During the hearing, one of the petitioners, Sudesh Kumar, had asserted that he was fined by the Delhi government even though he was alone in a car and had covered his face with a scarf.

According to LiveLaw, Kumar’s lawyer had also told the court that the challan does not mention the date or time of the offence or the offence itself, it was issued by a sub-inspector, the challan booklet was pre-stamped and signed by a magistrate and no receipt was issued to him for the amount paid. During the hearing, Kumar had also asserted that after the April 4, 2020 office order of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), the Union Health Ministry held a press conference where it said any person driving alone in his private car did not need to wear a mask.

The Delhi government in its affidavit had said that the Regulations/Directives/Guidelines are very clear cut that “any person” moving around in his personal or official vehicle must be wearing masks as a mandate and that a private vehicle also falls under the ambit of this order. To make these claims, the Arvind Kejriwal government had relied on a judgment of the Supreme Court where it was held that when a private vehicle passes through a public road, the public opportunity to “approach the private vehicle” and have access to it.

Only recently, the Delhi Government had imposed a night curfew, from 10 PM in the night to 5 AM in the morning to apparently curb the second wave of Coronavirus cases in the territory. The Kejriwal government had said, “Delhi government is working on all methodologies and innovative ideas to control coronavirus. In many places in the country, after the nationwide lockdown last year, a night curfew was imposed, which is helpful in protecting people in that time frame. However, the government is not dependent on night curfew alone”.

‘Regular prayers to Allah during Ramzan will eradicate Covid’: Raza Academy writes to CM, requests to keep Mosques open for Muslims

OpIndia Staff
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‘Regular prayers to Allah during Ramzan will eradicate Covid’: Raza Academy writes to CM, requests to keep Mosques open for Muslims

The Muslim festival of Ramzan is on April 12. As there are strict restrictions on gatherings in the state of Maharashtra amidst a spike in Covid-19 cases, Mohammed Saeed Noori, Secretary of Raza Academy, has written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on April 6, requesting him to relax rules for the month-long festival. Raza Academy sparked controversy last year as well when the lockdown was in place, and they wanted to organize iftars and prayers in mosques. At that time, the permission was denied by the state government.

Noori claimed lockdown only increases problems

Noori termed Covid-19 a “strange disease” in his letter and claimed that lockdowns are not a measure to contain it as they cause more trouble to the majority of the people in the state as they lose their daily earnings.

He said, “As we are all going through the worst phases of the pandemic, we at the onset assure you of all the cooperation needed in tackling the virus and its spread in the state. However, we feel that lockdowns are not a measure to tackle this strange disease. On the contrary, lockdown causes more trouble to the majority of people in the state who lose their daily earnings and end up in dire circumstances.”

He further added that the guidelines issued by the government give the power to the nodal officer of the pandemic to relax the rules wherever he deems fit, including for marriage, elections and other necessary functions. While claiming that ‘prayers are the best means to save the state, country and community from any kind of disaster,’ he urged CM to allow the Muslim community to offer five-times Namaz in the mosques while following all the guidelines and SOP issued by the government.

Prayers will save the state, country and community from disease – claimed Noori

He said, “There is no doubt that prayers are the best means of saving the state or country or community from any kind of disaster be it pandemic or other natural or man-made calamities. Hence to stop people from praying is tantamount to spreading the disease more at a greater speed.” He further said, “We assure you that the holy month of Ramzan shall definitely eradicate this disease by the regular and devoted prayers to almighty Allah in this month by the believers.”

Lockdown imposed in Maharashtra

On April 4, in an attempt to “break the chain”, the Maharashtra state government imposed a complete lockdown on the weekends starting Friday 8 PM to Monday 7 AM. Night curfew has been imposed on all days. The government also ordered the closure of restaurants and eateries other than takeaways and enforced ‘work from home’ for private companies that do not fall under essential services. All public spaces, including temples, malls, gyms, parlours, gardens etc., have been closed in the state amidst an increasing number of Covid-19 cases.

Maharashtra is the biggest contributor in Covid-19 cases

Notably, Maharashtra is the largest contributor in the Covid-19 cases. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, out of 1,15,312 new cases reported on April 6, 55,469 new cases were reported in Maharashtra alone. Pune and Mumbai were the biggest contributing districts in the state, with 11,040 and 10,040 new cases, respectively. There are 8,38,669 active cases in the country, out of which 4,72,283 are in Maharashtra alone.

Raza Academy has been in news for the wrong reasons

Raza Academy has been creating controversies regularly. In October 2020, Raza Academy threatened to file a case against the Maharashtra government if they did not give permission to carry out the Eid-e-Milad procession. In May 2020, 125 people, including Saeed Noori, founding member of Raza Academy, were booked for violating social distancing norms after they attended a funeral in large numbers. 

Writer from Assam arrested for Facebook post insulting Jawans who laid their lives down in Sukma: Here is what she had said

OpIndia Staff
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Writer from Assam arrested for Facebook post insulting Jawans who laid their lives down in Sukma: Here is what she had said

Sikha Sarma, a 48-year old Assamese writer was arrested in Guwahati on Tuesday on the charges of sedition for her offensive Facebook post on Indian security forces post the dastardly Sukma attack which claimed the lives of 22 jawans, according to a report in Indian Express.

The post said, “Salaried professionals who die in the line of duty cannot be termed, martyrs. Going by that logic, electricity department workers who die of electrocution should also be labelled martyrs. Do not make people sentiment, media.” Sarma uploaded the post after several reports of the Maoist attack on security forces which resulted in the martyrdom of 22 jawans surfaced in the media. The post received tremendous backlash on social media. 

On Monday, an FIR was filed at the Dispur police station by two advocates of Gauhati High Court, Umi Deka Baruah and Kangkana Goswami against Sikha Sarma. The complainants wrote, “This is in utter disrepute to the honour of our soldiers and such distasteful remarks not only reduce the unparalleled sacrifice of our jawans to a mere ‘money-making discourse’, but is also a verbal assault on the spirit and sanctity of service of the nation,” and requested the authorities to take “strict action” against Sarma.

After facing online flak, Sarma backtracked and responded with another social media post saying, “Isn’t misrepresenting my post mental harassment? Will the false propaganda against me come under rule of law? Why has (there) been no investigation regarding the FIR I filed about the murder and intimidation threats I received earlier?”

The writer who insulted the jawans was arrested by the city police under various sections, including IPC 124A (sedition) basis of the FIR filed. Guwahati Police Commissioner Munna Prasad Gupta informed, “She (Sikha) will be produced in court tomorrow (Wednesday).”

Bijapur-Sukma terrorist attack

In the most destructive terrorist attack of 2021, a group of 400 Naxals ambushed a search operation conducted by various security teams of around 1500 personnel along the border of the Bijapur-Sukma district on Saturday. The counter-attack by Naxalites resulted in the martyrdom of 22 jawans and left 31 injured while some are said to be missing. 

A close deadly encounter between the Naxalites and security forces lasted for four hours in which the Naxalites rained bullets from light machine guns, used low-intensity IEDs and rocket launchers.

It was also reported that a group of Maoists chopped off a security official’s hand before killing him and fled the scene with weapons, including bulletproof jackets, guns, ammunition, as well as his shoes. Some security officials were martyred due to dehydration.

Maoist terrorists admit to keeping CRPF jawan hostage after Sukma attack, demand govt negotiator: Details of letter

OpIndia Staff
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Maoist terrorists admit to keeping CRPF jawan hostage after Sukma attack, demand govt negotiator: Details of letter

Days after the brutal massacre of Indian security personnel in the Naxal infested Forrests of Chhattisgarh, the Left-wing terrorists have finally admitted that they are keeping CRPF constable Rakeshwar Singh Manhas as a hostage. As per a report in India Today, the terrorists have sent a letter to the security forces, acknowledging that they are holding Manhas captive.

Recently, the wife and family members of Manhas, a resident of Jammu, had appealed to PM Modi to bring the soldier back, like Wing Commander Abhinandan.

The Maoists have written in the letter that the CRPF constable is in their captivity and the government should appoint a negotiator to discuss his release. In the two-page letter, the terrorists have stated that Manhas will only be handed over to a government-appointed negotiator.

As per a report by Economic Times, CRPF DG Kuldiep Singh has ordered his team to appoint a mediator to negotiate Manhas’ release. Manhas belongs to the 210th battalion of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA).

The letter

The two-page letter confirms the death of 4 Maoists. Singed by the spokesperson of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DSZC), the letter also states that the Maoists had seized 14 weapons, more than 2000 rounds of ammunition, and other items.

India Today has further reported that the Chhattisgarh police have confirmed the letter’s authenticity and the government is considering the proposal.

CRPF constable Rakeshwar Singh Manhas has been missing since Saturday, when the Maoists had ambushed a contingent of CRPF and state police personnel deep in the forests of Sukma and Bijapur. 22 personnel had lost their lives and 31 were injured in the deadly clash. The Maoists had fled with a considerable number of weapons, ammunitions, gears and even shoes and bulletproof jackets of fallen security personnel.

Many believe that sine the Maoists have demanded negotiations, the CRPF jawan must be safe.

Some of the past kidnappings

The central and state governments negotiating with left-wing terrorists is nothing new. In 2017, Hidma, one of the commanders of the terrorist ‘battalion one’ of PLGA, had kidnapped a Canadian national named John Szlazak with the help of local villages in Sukma. Slazak was later freed after negotiations. In 2012, an IAS officer named Alex Paul Menon was kidnapped and later freed after 12 days.

Menon was the then collector of Sukma. Maoists had kidnapped him after killing two of his security personnel. Menon was freed after 12 days. Two persons named BD Sharma and Professor G Hargopal had acted as negotiators on behalf of the government.

In 2012, Maoists in Koraput, Odisha had kidnapped an MLA of the ruling BJD named Jhina Hikaka. Hikaka was abducted just 10 days after the Maoists had kidnapped two Italian nationals from Kandhamal district.

The Odisha government had not agreed to fully comply with the Maoists’ demand of freeing 29 prisoners kept in jails. After extending the deadline four times, The Maoists had finally held a ‘trial’ for Hikaka in a ‘Praja court’ and had set him free after he signed an undertaking that he would resign from the assembly and ‘work for the people’, after over a month of captivity.

A year prior to Hikaka’s abduction, Malkangiri collector R Vineel Krishna was kidnapped in the same area in 2011.

India Today spreads fake news, continues to peddle agenda about Kumbh Mela becoming a ‘super-spreader’ event despite getting fact-checked

OpIndia Staff
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India Today spreads fake news, continues to peddle agenda about Kumbh Mela becoming a ‘super-spreader’ event despite getting fact-checked

On April 6, India Today published a fake news report that claimed that the central government had alleged that Kumbh Mela was becoming a super-spreader of Coronavirus. The headline of the report read, “Kumbh Mela becoming a super-spreader event, hope SOP is followed: Centre”. From the headline, the article gave the impression that Kumbh had already become a super-spreader of COVID-19.

In fact, the description of the article clearly stated that according to the central government, the ‘ongoing Haridwar Kumbh Mela is becoming a super-spreader event”.

India Today article

Soon, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare took to Twitter, calling this report ‘incorrect and fake’. Armed with a screenshot of the headline of the article and the description that said that Haridwar Kumbh Mela had turned into a “super-spreader event”, the Ministry trashed the report by India Today.

What did the central government say about Haridwar Kumbh Mela and how did India Today misquote them

The report was based on the press briefing by the Ministry of Health on Covid-19 on April 6. Towards the end of the press briefing, when questions were being asked, one of the reporters had asked the ministry officials if there are indications of Maha Kumbh becoming a super spreader and if there are any plans to end the event sooner than scheduled.

In his reply, Rajesh Bhushan, secretary of MoHFW, said, “One fact that we usually lose sight of is that the duration of Kumbh has already been curtailed. Kumbh, wherever it happens, is usually for three-and-a-half to four months. The present Kumbh has already been curtailed to a month. So let’s not lose sight of facts. At times when we tend to push in particular interpretation or narrative, we tend to lose sight of very basic facts.”

“As far as super-spreaders events are concerned, the union government almost a month ago issued an SOP specifically for the practices to be adopted in Kumbh and had a longish meeting with the state government officers in which Dr Balram Bhargav and Dr Paul also participated and after that NCBC fielded four local inspection teams, two of which were led by director NCBC himself and they also shared with the state governments various protocols that need to be put in place,” he added.

Dr Paul further added, “While keeping the dignity of the event in mind, the SOP [Standard Operating Procedure] was formed. We hope that the state government is implementing it on the ground. We hope that the protocols that were mentioned in the SOP are being followed at the event.”

It is pertinent to note here that the Ministry made absolutely no indication that the Kumbh Mela was turning into a super-spreader event or they had any suspicions that it could turn into one, however, these facts were lost on India Today.

After spreading fake news, India Today quietly edits report, but continues to spread its agenda

After the fact-check by the Ministry, India Today quietly changed their report without offering an explanation or an apology. In the report itself, there is no indication that India Today had earlier spread fake news and have updated their copy after a fact-check by the Ministry itself.

Interestingly, while India Today changed their headline, they have not changed the URL of the report. Further, even in the changed headline, India Today continued to subtly suggest that the Kumbh Mela was becoming a super-spreader.

Kumbh Mela report changed by India Today but the agency did not change the URL

In fact, throughout the article, India Today was hell bent on calling Kumbh Mela a super-spreader. Despite the central government giving no indication of the same, India Today, in its changed headline, claimed that the central government had said that the SOP must be followed to prevent the religious event into turning into a ‘super-spreader’. From the statement of the central government, it is evident that they themselves never used the word ‘super-spreader’ for the Kumbh Mela, but responded to a question that raised suspicion.

In the first paragraph of the article, India Today mentions “super-spreader” in quotes, alluding to the fact that the Ministry had used those very words. However, that is not true.

Article by India Today

It was evident from the India Today report that the intention was not to report the measures taken at Kumbh Mela, for example, the curtailing of the duration to 1 month, the negative COVID tests of attendees or even the SOP that had been issued, but they allude to the conjecture that it was becoming a super-spreader event.

ANI quoted an unnamed source suggesting the centre is worried

The report of India Today mentioned news agency ANI’s report in which they quoted an unnamed source in the Ministry of Health. According to ANI, the source said that during the secretary-level meeting over the Covid-19 situation on April 5, there were apprehensions that the Kumbh festival might become a “super-spreader”.

The source further added that the government is worried about the festival and discussed it in a high-level meeting on Monday. According to the source, a member had said, “If the government does not decide to end Kumbh before the stipulated time, it may become a COVID-19′ super spreader.” He further added, “The government is forming a team that will appeal to all with the help of sadhus and religious leaders to ensure pilgrims, who are visiting the Kumbh, wear masks and follow social distancing.” It is pertinent to note here that the ANI report was a wholly source-based report without any evidence that any such apprehension had been raised.

CBI starts investigation against Anil Deshmukh as directed by Bombay HC, to interrogate Parambir Singh and others

OpIndia Staff
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CBI starts investigation against Anil Deshmukh as directed by Bombay HC, to interrogate Parambir Singh and others

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a preliminary inquiry on Tuesday to probe corruption allegations against Maharashtra’s ex-home minister Anil Deshmukh levelled by former Commission of Police, Mumbai, Parambir Singh. CBI spokesperson RC Joshi has said, “CBI has registered a PE in the respect of the Bombay High Court order dated April 5, 2021.”

A CBI team of six from Delhi is in Mumbai to record the statements and collect all the relevant documents against Deshmukh on the allegations made by Parambir Singh after the Bombay High Court ordered a CBI inquiry basis a PIL filed by Dr Jaishri Patil. The central probe agency team is set to record the statements of not only Parambir Singh but also other officers mentioned by him during its preliminary inquiry.

Terming the case as ‘extraordinary and unprecedented, the Bombay High Court had also said that after the preliminary inquiry ordered by it, the CBI would be free to decide further course of action. Therefore, if the CBI does find evidence against Anil Deshmukh in the allegations levelled against him by Parambir Singh, an FIR would be registered in the case subsequently. However, only a day after the inquiry was ordered by the Bombay High Court, the Maharashtra government and Anil Deskhmukh had separately moved the Supreme Court against the order by High Court.

It is pertinent to note that Anil Deshmukh, against whom CBI has now initiated an inquiry, had resigned earlier in the week after Bombay High Court had ordered the inquiry.

Parambir Singh’s corruption allegations against Anil Deshmukh

Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh had written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging that the state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had asked controversial cop Sachin Vaze to collect Rs. 100 crore every month from bars, restaurants and other establishments.

The letter by Parambir Singh had raised several questions regarding the Antilia bomb scare case and the death of Mansukh Hiren. Sachin Vaze is currently under arrest for his involvement in the matter. The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier transferred the Mansukh Hiren death case to the NIA. Parambir Singh was then transferred and posted as DG Home Guard after the explosive revelations.

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