Amidst ongoing assembly elections in Kerala, a poster controversy has erupted in Kalpathy, Palakkad. UDF-Congress candidate Shafi Parambil’s posters became the centre of the controversy as they featured two Brahmin temple priests. The posters and large flex boards were seen all across the town, indicating that the temple priests supported Parambil. The Congress logo was also prominently visible on the poster which was seen in Kerala. Notably, Bharatiya Janata Party’s E Sreedharan is also contesting from Palakkad.
The two priests of Sree Visalakshi Samedha Viswanatha Swamy temple at Kalpathy in Palakkad have now come forward and stated that UDF’s sitting MLA Shafi Parambil used their photographs without permission. The priests said they were surprised to see the posters and flex boards featuring them across the town.
പാലക്കാട്:
UDF സ്ഥാനാർഥി ഫോട്ടോ ദുരുപയോഗം ചെയ്തതിനെതിരെ കൽപാത്തി ക്ഷേത്ര പൂജാരികൾ. തങ്ങളുടെ അറിവോ സമ്മതമോ കൂടാതെയാണ് പ്രചാരണത്തിന് ഷാഫി പറമ്പിൽ തങ്ങളുടെ ഫോട്ടോ ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നത് എന്ന് കാല്പത്തി വിശ്വനാഥ സ്വാമി ക്ഷേത്രത്തിലെ പൂജാരികൾ. #KeralaElections#Kerala#palakkadpic.twitter.com/mY3KtpLuhK
While emphasizing the fact that their photographs were used without their knowledge or content, they said, “We greet all people who come to the temple. We treat the visitors equally as part of our ‘dharma’. As public servants, more so as acharyas, we are supposed to be impartial. Many friends and devotees of Kalpathy had called us over the phone and asked us if we are supporting any party. The callers also indirectly alluded to the fact that such acts were against our dharma,” the priests said.
Interestingly, Parambil was made the Kerala Youth Congress president in 2020. Before that, Parambil had openly voiced his criticism of the LDF government and even the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).
The voting for all Kerala assembly seats is happening on April 6. The counting will take place on May 2. Congress has put all its weight behind the state of Kerala and have as good as abandoned campaigning in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry. In Kerala, the Congress party seems to believe that they have a better chance of winning. Yesterday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday had appealed to the people of Kerala to vote for the United Democratic Front (UDF) alliance in the assembly elections in the state and “strengthen the Congress nationally”.
It is pertinent to note that the Congress party is also in alliance with Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) for the 2021 Kerala assembly elections. Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which claims to be born after Indian Independence in 1948, is actually an off-shoot of Pakistan founder and Islamist Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s All India Muslim League (AIML).
The Indian Union Muslim League has been notoriously known for flaring up communal incidents in the state of Kerala. The party was found involved in the planning as well as the execution of the brutal Marad massacre in Kerala in 2003 as per the report of Justice Thomas P Joseph Commission which was set up to investigate the incident. The report had declared the massacre as “a clear communal conspiracy, with Muslim fundamentalist and terrorist organisations involved”.
Further, in 2017, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a fresh First Information Report (FIR) in connection with the probe and had named Indian Union Muslim League leaders P.P. Moideen Koya and Moyeen Haji as an accused of funding, conspiring and executing the riots.
The victory of Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency is largely attributed to the alliance of the Congress party with the IUML, who consolidated Muslim votes in favour of the Gandhi-scion.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee started her political career with Congress (I) during the early 1970s. Ending the uninterrupted 34-year rule of the Left in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee made history when she was sworn in as the first woman Chief Minister of the state. Her political journey has, however, not been easy. Instead, it has been plagued with myriad lies.
With all eyes set on the high-octane 2021 West Bengal Assembly Elections, popular Twitter user @BefittingFacts revisited the top 25 lies that the West Bengal CM has peddled in her long political career.
In this article, we elaborate on the 25 lies listed in the video and delve into their details.
1. The bogus PhD degree from a University that never existed
Until 1991 Mamata Banerjee claimed to have obtained a PhD degree from “East Georgia University” in the United States. It was later found that no such university existed and she stopped mentioning this degree subsequently.
According to reports, in the run-up to the 1984 elections, as per the video, Mamata Banerjee prefixed her name with ‘Dr’, claiming that she had completed her doctorate. Reportedly, the walls of Jadavpur, from where Banerjee contested the seat, were painted with “Dr Mamata Banerjee”. After it came to light that the University from which Banerjee had putatively completed her PhD did not exist, she stopped prefixing her name with the ‘Dr’ title.
In 1985, the then Congress MP from Jadavpur Mamata Banerjee stood exposed when the United States Educational Foundation in India proclaimed that there did not exist an institution named ‘The University of East Georgia’ from where she had claimed to have allegedly completed her doctorate.
2. Mamata Banerjee’s ‘coup’ charge at the Indian Army
In 2016, Mamata Banerjee accused the Indian army of staging a ‘coup’ in her state. That year, when the Army was doing a training exercise across the state, the Mamata Banerjee government created a furore.
Mamata Banerjee claimed the Army soldiers being present at the toll plazas in the state was suspicious. She further claimed that the Army was carrying out ‘political vendetta’ and that the Army had sent its officials to her state without her permission.
The matter was blown to such proportions that it even created a ruckus in the parliament. Mamata Banerjee remained at the state secretariat overnight in protest.
Finally, the then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar clarified that the presence of the Army cadre at the toll plazas was a part of a routine ‘impressment exercise’ carried out almost every year. The Army released a letter written to the WB CM informing her about the same. It was exposed how the Army had sent 4 documents to the WB Govt which the latter returned, duly signed and stamped, acknowledging the routine exercise.
Mamata and her party leaders had created a furore over a regular Army exercise that was being conducted after due approval from the WB government
The Kolkata police had also written to the Army asking them not to conduct the exercise, which, indeed backed the Army’s claim that the Mamata Banerjee government was informed about the joint exercise.
The article published by India Today on December 2, 2016
3. MEA dismissed Mamata Banerjee’s claims over her Chicago trip
Taking a potshot at the Modi government, the TMC supremo had in 2018 alleged that the central government threatened the Ramakrishna Mission, forcing it to cancel her trip to Chicago to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekanandas historic speech there.
Her own office had, however, exposed her lie after it informed that Ramakrishna Mission itself had cancelled the program due to the sudden death of a monk of the Ramakrishna Mission, Belur math.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had also dismissed reports that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was denied permission to visit Chicago to attend the World Hindu conference. MEA Spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar confirmed that the government had not, in fact, received any request for clearance for her visit.
On 2nd October 2014, a powerful bomb accidentally went off on the first floor of a rented house in Khagragarh locality of Burdwan, West Bengal. Incidentally, that building also housed a TMC office on its ground floor. Two terrorists, who were making the bomb succumbed to the injuries. While the case was initially probed by West Bengal police, the same was later taken over by NIA on 10th October 2014.
Then, the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a frontal attack on the Narendra Modi government, accusing it of stage-managing the October 2 Burdwan blast with the objective of triggering riots in the state.
Soon after the blast, Mamata Banerjee had blamed the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the foreign intelligence agency of India, for being behind the blast. She had alleged that the two terrorists were ‘let in’ by the Modi government which had just come to power few months back and ‘found them a house’ and ‘allowed them to make explosives’. She had alleged that the Central government had done so to start a riot during the Pujo.
Mamata Banerjee was proved wrong when NIA revealed that Bangladesh-based terror groups, Al-Jihad and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were behind the 2014 Burdawan blast and sentenced JMB chief Kausar to 29 years in jail.
5. Park Street gang rape case
An Anglo-Indian woman named Suzette Jordan was raped in a moving car by five men on February 6, 2012, when she was returning home from Park Street in Kolkata.
Soon after the news surfaced, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had absolved the accused of all charges. She had dubbed the incident as ‘shajano ghotona‘ (concocted incident) that was allegedly ‘designed to malign the government.’
While speaking to a news channel, TMC MP Kakoli Ghose Dhastidar had cast aspersions on the character of the victim calling her a ‘sex worker’. She had also ruled out the rape angle.
Later, after public outrage, Mamata Banerjee was seen taking a U-turn. She transferred Kolkata’s joint commissioner of police (Crime) Ms Damayanti Sen, who had cracked the infamous Park Street gang rape case within four days of the accused being arrested.
Moreover, she ousted Sarbani Roy from the post of public prosecutor in the Park Street gang rape case after accusing her of going beyond her jurisdiction and acting without consulting the government.
6. Mamata’s lie over Anna Hazare’s no-show at rally
In a bid to enhance her national significance, WB CM Mamata Banerjee had organised a joint rally with social activist Anna Hazare at the Ramlila Grounds in the National Capital in 2014. The CM was, however, left red-faced after Anna Hazare decided to skip the rally citing ill-health. However, the fact was that Hazare had backed out since the supposed joint rally was sparsely attended.
To save, herself from the embarrassment, Mamata lied that the rally was actually organised at the insistence of the anti-corruption crusader. “It was not our rally. It was organised at the insistence of Annaji. It was not a Trinamool Congress rally,” the West Bengal Chief Minister told a news channel.
Responding to Mamata Banerjee, Hazare then cleared that he had skipped the ‘joint’ rally here with the Trinamool Congress chief because even 4000 people had not come to attend it and he had been misled.
The truth was further revealed when the Delhi Municipal corporation receipt surfaced. It showed that the Ramlila Ground was actually booked by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress party.
The MCD receipt
7. Vidyasagar statue row
In 2019, a political ball-game kickstarted after news started pouring in that status of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar at Vidyasagar College in North Kolkata was vandalized by miscreants. Both, TMC and BJP began blaming each other for the incident.
The truth was that in the clashes which ensued following an attack on BJP President Amit Shah’s rally in Kolkata, a statue of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was vandalized by miscreants in Vidyasagar College in Kolkata.
After the incident, Mamata Banerjee began accusing the BJP of causing violence although it was evidently started by the Trinamool. Mamata Banerjee had then presented a certain individual with his hand wrapped up in bandages in front of the press. She claimed that the BJP karyakarta’s injured Tirtha Pratim Saha, a student leader of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad.
Much to the embarrassment of Mamata Banerjee, Tirtha Pratim Saha, himself admitted that he was actually injured a few days ago. It was soon proven that Mamata Banerjee had created a fake victim to peddle the premeditated regional chauvinism narrative to counter BJP’s rise in the state.
Though over the years, the TMC supremo has enjoyed the overwhelming support of her voters in the state, the fear to lose to the formidable popularity of BJP has probably compelled her to resort to endless lies and deceit. When the West Bengal CM was in her 8th year of power in the state she claimed that in these years, her party has not even captured a single party office belonging to CPI-M.
This was a blatant lie. Until 2011, there were many party offices which belonged to the CPI(M). However, after the loss of the Left Front to the Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress, these were taken over by the TMC and its twin flowers were painted on their walls.
Report published by Business Standard in 2019
After the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when BJP made successful inroads in the state, CPI-M recaptured 150 of its offices in West Bengal which, it alleged, had been taken over forcibly by the ruling Trinamool Congress after the Left was ousted from power in the state in 2011.
Party offices in Bankura, Purulia, Coochbihar, Bardhaman, Hoogly, North 24 Parganas and Howrah among others were not only retaken by the CPI(M) cadres, but the party symbol was also painted on them and party flags were seen flying atop the buildings.
9. Mamata Banerjee’s MGNREGA lie
In 2013, two years into office, Mamata Banerjee made big claims of development, especially about providing 100 days of work to unemployed adults under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Her government claimed that the state topped the chart in 2012-13 with the implementation of projects worth Rs 4475.80 crore, which is the highest in the country and generated employment for 57.76 lakh families.
TMC government’s ad in a local newspaper made tall claims of topping the development scale.
TMC’s ad about MNREGA
This also turned out to be nothing but a deception. The national statistics then suggested that West Bengal ranked 24th on the list. The then Union Minister of State for Urban Development Deepa Dasmunsi had said in a statement: “The state has ranked 24th on the list, whereas the (Trinamool) government very boastfully claimed otherwise. It easily nailed the lie of the state administration as they are misleading people with wrong information ahead of the panchayat elections”.
The national statistics also suggested that West Bengal dipped to the 35th position in the list in the year 2019.
So, contrary to the lie peddled by Mamata Banerjee about topping the MGNREGA chart, there has been an unprecedented growth of unemployment under the TMC rule. Between October 2016 to 2020, unemployment in West Bengal has grown by an astounding 217 per cent.
West Bengal also always has the highest percentage of delayed MGNREGA payments and it is plagued by TMC’s cut-money across the state, where workers are forced to pay hefty sums to avail work under the scheme.
10. Mamata Banerjee lies about starvation deaths in Bengal
In 2018, reports of deaths of seven Sabar community members in Lalgarh in West Bengal’s Jhargram district, allegedly due to scarcity of food, had drawn sharp criticism for the Mamata government.
To save her own skin, Mamata refuted these reports saying that no one died due to starvation. The deaths were either due to “age-related ailments” or “excessive liquor consumption”, said the West Bengal CM.
“The reports that people from Sabar community have died due to starvation were absolutely false and fabricated. No one has died in Bengal due to starvation,” she said in the state Assembly.
“People have died in Jungle Mahal due to excessive consumption of liquor or age-related ailments. While two people have died of illness and old age, others have died due to liver problems caused by excessive consumption of liquor,” she added.
However, a survey conducted then had busted the TMC supremo’s claims. The report suggested that there was indeed a “food scarcity in varying degrees” in about 31% of tribal households in the state of West Bengal, which means almost one-third of the tribal population in the state are malnourished and starved.
The report added that amongst the surveyed tribal households in the year, out of the 52 deaths, shockingly, 48 people died a premature death while only 4 died due to old age.
11. The overused fake news about Narendra Modi promising to deliver Rs 15 lakhs in the bank accounts of every citizen
Like every other opposition party, Mamata Banerjee has time and again attacked the BJP government by falsely claiming that the Central Govt promised to deliver Rs. 15 lakhs in the bank accounts of every citizen. In fact, in January 2020, to wriggle out of her predicaments amid the Coronavirus crisis, she attacked the central government by once again raking up the same overused and fatigued fake news.
During her rant, Mamata Banerjee reiterated how that Narendra Modi promised to deliver Rs 15 lakhs in the bank accounts of every citizen. She went a step ahead and claimed that the central government itself had announced that the said amount would be delivered in the back account of every citizen.
In reality, the Prime Minister never made such a promise. While speaking about Black Money stashed abroad, he had only said rhetorically that the amount stashed abroad is so large that if the Indian government could succeed in bringing back all of that, then every citizen would get 15 lakh rupees in their account.
12. Mamata’s lies over the coronavirus vaccines
Ahead of the 2021 state Assembly elections, the West Bengal chief minister accused the Modi government of sitting over her request to vaccinate all. She said that her government was ready to vaccinate the people of the state for free, but the central government was not providing the state with adequate doses of vaccination.
“A month back, before the elections, I had written to the Prime Minister. We want to vaccinate all people in Bengal at our own cost…but they have not allowed us”, said Mamata Banerjee in an evident claimed to impress her voters.
This claim only added to the list of umpteen lies peddled by the Bengal CM over the years. The central government cleared that West Bengal had been supplied with over 52.9 lakh vaccine doses, of which only 30.8 lakh had been used up to that time.
Last year, Mamata Banerjee accused BJP of breaking its Bihar poll manifesto promise. She said that in the run-up to the Bihar Assembly election, BJP had promised to give free COVID vaccines for the state’s people if they came back to power, but it was only a gimmick for political gains, she claimed.
However, it turned out that Mamata Banerjee was lying blatantly again. The Bihar government announced in March 2021, that the state government had decided to bear the entire cost of the coronavirus vaccination even at the private hospitals in the state. Basically, taking its poll promise to provide free vaccine to all, the cabinet approved the proposal of the Bihar government to provide free vaccine to all the people of the state and Mamata Banerjee was once again left red-faced.
14. Mamata Banerjee claims vaccines of Dengue and Malaria are given free in Bengal
The Chief Minister of West Bengal, while addressing a rally in Jhargram ahead of West Bengal elections, misleadingly claimed that vaccines of Dengue and Malaria are given free in West Bengal.
Taking a jibe at PM Narendra Modi Mamata Banerjee said in Jhargram: “I say give COVID injections to common people, but till Central government does not give permission, nothing can happen. I am saying to you (referring to Narendra Modi) that give me the coronavirus vaccine, I will pay for it; so that I can make the coronavirus vaccine available for everyone for free”.
Today, if we can give free vaccines for polio, malaria, and dengue, we can also give Covishield,” she added.
Interestingly, this turned out to be one of Mamata’s major faux pas as no government in the world has by far provided any vaccines for Dengue or Malaria.
According to the National Health Mission, the government of India started the Immunization Programme in 1978, intending to protect the children from preventable life-threatening conditions.
Under this immunization programme, the government presently provides the following vaccines to children and newborns: BCG vaccines, Hepatitis B vaccines, Rotavirus vaccines, oral poliovirus vaccines, inactivated Polio Vaccine, Pentavalent vaccine (which protects from diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type B), Measles vaccine, Vitamin A, DPT Vaccine (which protects against diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), and tetanus), Tetanus Vaccine. However, as claimed by none other than the West Bengal CM, no other vaccines like Dengue and Malaria are provided by any government.
15. You are a citizen only if your name is on the voter’s list
Every time the West Bengal Chief Minister has gone on her mindless rant against the central government she has outdone her self. While addressing a rally in the state, Mamata had claimed that if a person does not cast his or her vote, Modi will strike off their name from the voter’s list and claim that they are not Indian citizens, she said.
“Just ensure your names are there in the voters’ list. The rest will be taken care of by me,” she said, adding, “no one will have to leave the country.”
This was, however, a white lie, promulgated by the TMC supremo to degrade the central leadership and to woo her voters. In reality there is no such rule. Whether a not a person votes, the voter identification card will never get cancelled.
16. Mamata Banerjee spreads misinformation on Centre’s ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme
While pulling out from Centre’s ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme, the West Bengal CM had falsely claimed that 40 percent of the funds for the Ayushman scheme will have to be borne by the patients themselves.
Here too, with a sole aim to berate Modi and his flagship health insurance scheme, Mamata had gone on to trump-up a story which was anything but true.
The fact is that the PradhanMantri Jan ArogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY), deemed the largest in the world, to provide free health insurance to India’s poor and marginalised families, is a centrally sponsored scheme.
Under this scheme, the Modi government seeks to provide 10.74 crore poor households across India a reimbursement of up to ₹5 lakh per year towards the hospitalisation expenses of their family members. Apart from the expenses on in-patient treatment, the scheme also covers pre-and post-hospitalisation costs to some extent
Most importantly, the ratio of contribution towards premium between Centre and State is 60:40 in all States except the North Eastern States and the three Himalayan States, where the ratio is 90:10. This means, that the 40 per cent premium which Mamata claims had to be borne by the patients does not hold grounds. The patient has to only pay Rs 30 for an application form, that too is free for gold cardholders.
Amusingly, soon after Mamata made this bizarre accusation on the central government, she herself was caught in her own web of lies. In January 2019 she announced that she had decided to pull out from Centre’s ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme, accusing PM Modi of taking full credit for the scheme and ignoring State’s contribution. ANI had reported Mamata Banerjee as then saying: “My state will not contribute 40% of the funds for the Ayushman scheme. Centre has to pay the full amount if Centre wants to run the scheme”.
The point here is that if, according to her, the patients have to bear 40% of the premium, why did she say that her state would not contribute 40% of the funds for the Ayushman scheme and asked the Centre to pay the full amount?
17. Politics over the cyclonic storm Fani that wreaked havoc in WB in 2019
The West Bengal CM did not even shy away from using a natural disaster to cast aspersions on the Modi government. In 2019, while the people of Odisha and West Bengal were grappling to cope with the devastation caused by Cyclone Fani, Mamata Banerjee had tried to create a political controversy over the cyclone when she had alleged that the PM, while he visited Odisha, had not called her.
She had hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for calling West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi instead of talking to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to inquire about the ground situation in the wake of cyclone Fani, and alleged Modi doesn’t respect the federal structure of the country.
However, her claims were soon refuted by the PMO and it was revealed that PM Modi had attempted to speak to Mamata Banerjee twice to access the cyclone situation in the state, but the Bengal CM had not returned his calls.
18. Politics over cyclone Amphan
In May 2020, when cyclone Amphan hit the state of West Bengal, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had attempted to cast the Modi government in an unprepossessing light, apathetic to the plight of victims of the cyclone.
She had claimed that Bengal got no financial assistance from the central leadership. While PM Modi said in clear and lucid terms that the centre will be extending an “advance assistance” of Rs 1000 crore for West Bengal to cope with the devastation caused by the cyclone, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee appeared to deliberately muddle the discourse by claiming that there was no clarity on the announcement made by the Prime Minister.
The fact is that apart from the emergency financial aid of Rs 1,000 crore given in advance to West Bengal to tide over the destruction caused in the state by Cyclone Amphan, the Modi government had also approved additional financial assistance of Rs 2707.77 crores for Cyclone Amphan survivors under the National Disaster Response Fund.
19. Mamata Banerjee spread fake news about Shramik train
The TMC chief, a strident critic of the Modi government, had discredited the Shramik trains service that the government has started to transport migrants back to their home states with lies and conjectures. She had slammed the Railways for sending ‘corona express’ to her state. “We are paying for 235 trains but then why are two to three people being made to sit on one seat? The railways, in the name of Shramik Special trains, are running ‘Corona Express’ trains. The people are calling these trains ‘Corona Express.”
However, the truth was that Indian Railways has issued a set of guidelines for its zones for running the Shramik special trains to ferry stranded people, saying the trains would operate at 90 per cent occupancy. It had also specified that each Shramik Special train would be a non-stop train bound for a single destination. It also said that the train with full length composition with social distancing (not counting the inside middle berths) can carry approximately 1200 passengers each.
20. Mamata lies, says never called ‘Shramik’ trains ‘Corona Express’
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in June last year, denied having called the ‘Shramik Special’ trains, which ferried migrant labourers back home during the lockdown as “Corona Express”, as alleged by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and insisted the name was given by people to crammed-to-capacity trains.
Her comments came a day after Shah, addressing a virtual rally for West Bengal, accused Banerjee of “insulting” migrant workers returning to the state on Shramik Special trains by calling them ‘Corona Express’.
“More than 11 lakh migrants have returned to Bengal. I never called the migrant special trains ‘Corona Express’. The common people gave them that name,” she told reporters.
21. Mamata’s Durga Puja Rs 50,000 bonanza
Mamata announced Rs 50,000 financial grant for puja organisers in 2020. Soon the High Court rapped up the TMC government for providing the Durga Puja bonanza to organisers. Slamming the Mamata govt for spending public money on organizing entertainment events or festivals, the court asked the state if guidelines had been laid down for such expenditures.
The state administration had then told the court that the grant was meant to help increase public awareness about Covid-19 protocols, and purchase of sanitisers and masks.
22. Mamata Banerjee claimed PM Modi endorsed Trump for President
Mamata had attempted to spread lies that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had during the mega event held in Houston, Texas, endorsed President Trump for the 2020 US Presidential elections.
Contrary to the claims made by the TMC chief saying that Prime Minister Modi had endorsed Donald Trump for the US Presidential elections, PM Modi had never endorsed or tried to interfere in the 2020 US elections.
At the mega ‘Howdy Modi’ event held in Houston in September last year, Texas, Prime Minister Modi had reminded the audience as to how during the 2016 US Presidential campaigning, Donald Trump had said ‘Abki Baar Trump Sarkar’ while appealing to Indian diaspora in the US.
While addressing the Indian diaspora in the US, Prime Minister Modi had recalled the above campaign slogan by Trump, contrary to the claim that he was endorsing Donald Trump ahead of the 2020 US elections.
23. Mamata Banerjee’s politics over PM Cares Fund
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has time and again accused the Centre of using central agencies to bulldoze the country’s federal structure and sought to know where is the money of Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) fund.
However, the fact is that the PM CARES Fund Trust has allocated Rs 2000 crore for supply of 50000 ‘Made-in-India’ ventilators to government run COVID hospitals in all States/UTs. Further, a sum of Rs. 1000 crore has been allocated for the welfare of migrant labourers. And interestingly, out of this 1000 crores, West Bengal has been allotted Rs 53 crore grant.
24. Mamata claims of not receiving any assistance from central govt to deal with coronavirus in the state
The Trinamool Congress on November 28, 2020 claimed that the Mamata Banerjee administration has so far spent Rs 4,000 crore on COVID-19 management in West Bengal and has not received any assistance from the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to deal with the pandemic situation.
Bengal’s share from SDRF, Centre contributes 75% to the SDRF for general category states
The truth is, however, far from these fake claims made by the TMC supremo. The West Bengal government had received Rs 505 crores in April 2020 under the State Disaster Risk Management Fund (SDRMF) to take measures for the containment of the pandemic. Besides the WB Govt also received 1000 ventilators under the PM Care scheme.
25. Modi govt did nothing for WB in the last six years, claims Mamata Banerjee
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has claimed TMC ushered in a new era of development in West Bengal and accused the BJP government at the Centre of not doing enough for the state in the last six years. But the truth is that Mamata Banerjee has for all this while craftily been rechristening the Center’s welfare schemes with Bengali names to take credit.
For example, the Mamata Government dropped “Pradhan Mantri” from the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana scheme. She rechristened the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna scheme to Banglar Awas Yojna. Moreover, she renamed Swacha Bharat Abhiyan to Nirmal Bangla, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana as Anandadhara, Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana as Bangla Griha Prakalpa and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana as Sabar Ghare Alo which translates to lights in everyone’s home.
Speaking about the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna scheme, the cost of unit assistance is shared between Central and State Government in the ratio 60:40. Moreover, if you visit the West Bengal government site all specifications under the Banglar Awas Yojna is the same as the central government’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna.
In WB, more than 1 crore BPL holders have got LPG under the central govt’s Ujjwala Yojana. Moreover, funds allotted by the central govt under Swacha Bharat Abhiyan has been utilised by the Mamata govt for its Mission Nirmal Bangla.
The road that leads up to 2nd May 2021, when the results of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections would be declared has been littered with TMC chief, Mamata Banerjee’s, lies. Now, it would be interesting to watch whether these lies peddled by Mamata Banerjee would actually help her achieve her goals or BJP would create history by putting an end to her years of undefeated reign. Only time can tell.
A man by the name of Gabbar alias Mustafa was arrested by the Dwarakapuri police in Indore in Madhya Pradesh in connection to a grooming jihad case. The matter came to light when the accused was asked to produce his identity card at a maternity hospital.
As per reports, the Hindu woman met Mustafa at a birthday party about a year ago. He had identified himself as ‘Gabbar’. After successfully luring her, he married the woman in April last year. Meanwhile, she remained unaware of his true identity. Mustafa worked as a trainer at a gymnasium.
On Sunday (April 4), the complainant paid a visit to a maternity hospital along with the accused to undergo a medical examination (ultrasound test) for her pregnancy.
When the man was asked to produce his identity card (Aadhar in this case) by the doctor after his wife’s pregnancy diagnosis, the woman learnt that his name was not ‘Gabbar’ but Mustafa. On realising that she had been defrauded and lied to about his real identity by the accused, the victim filed a complaint with the Dwarakapuri police. According to Station-in-charge Satish Dwivedi, he has been booked under Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swantantrata Adhiniyam (anti-conversion law).
A high-ranking police official also informed that the accused had assaulted the victim. Reportedly, Mustafa has now been arrested and is being interrogated by the cops. On learning about the matter, several Hindu activists went to the hospital facility and demanded his immediate arrest. They also raised slogans seeking stringent action against the accused.
Grooming jihad in Madhya Pradesh
In December last year, a Hindu woman (35) was allegedly cheated, raped and blackmailed by a Muslim man pretending to be Hindu. The woman, accompanied by few activists belonging to a Hindu outfit approached the Munninagar police station in Ujjain to lodge a complaint against one Wasim Akram, accusing him of rape, torture and blackmail under the pretext of love and marriage.
The woman alleged that Wasim Akram had hidden his identity and portrayed himself as Vikas Rajput to entrap her two years ago. He had pretended to marry her by making her wear the mangalsutra (a black beaded necklace worn by a Hindu woman to signify that she is married) and established physical relationship with her. He also obtained compromising photographs with her which he started using to blackmail her.
The woman said that Wasim’s real identity was discovered two months ago after his Aadhar card fell from his wallet. On learning that he was a Muslim, the woman confronted him. He then showed her the photographs and started blackmailing her, threatening her to make the photographs viral on social media.
On Tuesday, 6th of April, polling began in the third phase of the Assembly elections in the state in 31 seats across three districts – South 24 Parganas, Howrah, and Hooghly. Uluberia, which is a municipality of Howrah district was marred in controversy, however, just a night before it went to polling.
As the Uluberia North Constituency was gearing up to go into polling, EVM and VVPAT machines were found at TMC leader Gautam Ghosh’s residence at Tulsiberia last night (Monday). The incident came to light after a ‘Sector 17’ election duty car was found parked outside the TMC leader’s house.
The visuals of the election duty car and police recovering the machines from the leaders’ house have gone viral on social media.
4 EVMs, VV PAT recovered from a TMC leader, Goutam Ghosh’s house at Uluberia in Howrah district. pic.twitter.com/XcTy1FTMh6
The EVMs and VVPATs were brought to the residence of the TMC leader by Tapan Sarkar, a sector officer, in an election duty car. The sector officer who was caught red-handed by the villagers claimed that since it was very late in the night, the central forces had slept off and refused to open the booth so they had to stay at a relative’s house to sleep which ‘happened to be a TMC leader’.
It is being reported that the EVMs and VVPATs found with TMC leader Sarkar were a part of reserve stock and will not be used for voting, informed Election Commission.
Sector Officer Tapan Sarkar (in charge of Sector 17 in Uluberia seat) had spent the night at a relative’s house who happened to be Goutam Ghosh.
The EVMs & VVPAT machines with Sarkar were part of the reserve stock. EC says they will not be used for voting today. @IndianExpress
Reportedly, after the EVM and VVPAT machines were found at the residence the TMC leader, the presiding officer has been suspended by the Election Commission for storing the machines at the residence of Goutam Ghosh.
Widespread tension was reported in the area after the VVPAT and EVM machines were found at the TMC leader’s house and the police had to resort to lathi-charge to disperse the crowd.
The third phase of polling is set to take place in West Bengal today, when 31 seats across three districts — South 24 Parganas, Howrah, and Hooghly — go into polls. Uluberia Uttar happens to be one of the seats to go into polling today along with Uluberia Dakshin, Shyampur, Bagnan, Amta, Udaynarayanpur, Jagatballavpur. The TMC and the BJP continue to be at loggerheads with both the parties contesting on all 31 assembly seats.
The second phase of polling in West Bengal witnessed several cases of violence emerging from Nandigram, East Midnapore and Keshpur. BJP leader and Mamata Banerjee’s opponent, Suvendu Adhikari’s convoy was also attacked by alleged TMC goons in Nandigram.
Nandigram में Suvendu Adhikari के Convoy पर पथराव; IndiaTV के रिपोर्टर, कैमरामैन जख्मी pic.twitter.com/5F5AN75tGg
Maharashtra is in the throes of a resurgent coronavirus outbreak. It reported over 57,000 cases on Sunday, the highest since the start of the pandemic. Mumbai, the capital of the state, is reporting over 11,000 daily new cases, contributing immensely to the worsening coronavirus crisis. Now, a report published by Mid-Day sheds light on the possible reasons for this inexplicable surge in the number of COVID-19 cases reported in Mumbai.
For as much as Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000, a handful of civic officials at the Mumbai international airport are allowing passengers from abroad to escape the compulsory seven-day institutional quarantine. The investigation by Mid-day brought to fore shocking lapses by BMC officials deployed at the airport, whose job is to ensure passengers from the UK, Europe, Middle East and South Africa undergo the mandatory 7-day institutional quarantine. These were amongst nations that reported new fast-spreading variants of the coronavirus.
The news daily found that an elaborate arrangement was in place for passengers travelling from foreign countries to slip away from the airport without undergoing mandatory quarantine. In its investigation, the newspaper discovered that far from ensuring that passengers were sent to mandatory quarantine, the BMC officials at the airport actively helped them to escape.
As per the Standard Operation Procedure by the Brinhanmumbai Municipal Corporation, international passengers above 65 years of age needing support, pregnant women, parents with children below 5 years, people having serious illness and those who landed in the city in extreme family distress conditions are permitted home isolation. All other flyers must undergo institutional quarantine for seven days.
Civic officials violate SOP and allow fliers to escape mandatory quarantine
However, the SOP was flagrantly violated by none other than BMC officials themselves, who took bribe in exchange for providing an uninterrupted exit to the passengers flying from abroad. Reportedly, after getting clearance from immigrations, passengers are shown a list of hotels marked for institutional quarantine. This is where a ‘deal’ is struck if the hotel budget does not suit a flyer’s pocket or the hotel room is inadequate for his stay for seven consecutive days, the report said.
Passengers who wanted to bypass the mandatory institutional quarantine were instructed to choose West Inn hotel. Based on the choice of the hotel, passengers were then bracketed in a group of 6 to 7 and asked to sit in each bus. Barring masks, neither the driver nor the civic officials had PPE suits on them.
The Mid-Day followed the BEST bus which stopped at the Sunshine Hotel and one of the passengers stepped out. The passenger’s luggage was shifted to an Innova car standing in the vicinity. The passenger boarded the bus again. The bus reached the West Inn hotel in Andheri and the same passenger came out of the bus. After a while, the same Innova arrived there. A few minutes later the passenger walked out of the West Inn hotel and sat inside the Innova in which his luggage was previously kept.
The Mid-Day team then followed the Innova car. The car went all the way to Ulwe, about 60 km from the airport, and stopped near the Om Anant Residency where the passenger got down. After enquiring with the building residents, it came to light that the man had arrived from a Gulf nation and lived in flat number 102.
However, this was not an isolated incident. The next day, Mid-Day followed another BEST bus and discovered that passengers, who were supposed to be escorted to the hotel for their mandatory quarantine, were dropped off mid-way in the route from where they were ferried to their respective residences.
BEST bus driver claims he has been doing “setting” for 10-12 passengers from foreign on a daily basis
The report also includes a conversation between a BMC official named Vasant and the Mid-Day reporter who wanted one of his relatives flying from abroad to escape the mandatory quarantine. During the conversation, Vasant reportedly asks the reporter to pay Rs 10,000 to a certain Dipali who is running a hotel to avoid the quarantine.
Vasant elaborates that the passenger will be taken to the hotel first where her check-in would be done and she will be subsequently released once she pays up Rs 10,000. Vasant said that the passenger will have to spend just an hour for the paperwork.
When asked if the passenger would face any difficulty since BMC officials visit the hotels daily to check on the mandatory quarantine, Vasant revealed that BMC officers visit the hotel daily and they collect money. The hotel and BMC people have full setting, he said.
Vasant further added that he has been facilitating the escape of passengers from abroad from a long time. He asked the Mid-Day reporter to call Dipali, who he claimed would manage everything. When Mid-Day contacted Dipali, she refused to meet them. She charged Rs 11,000 from the Mid-Day reporter for getting her sister out of mandatory quarantine.
Even as Mid-Day found that corrupt malpractices are underway at the airport to help passengers from foreign countries escape the quarantine, the BMC refuted the allegations, saying that they have a mechanism in place to check if the passengers are staying in the hotel.
BMC claims mechanism in place to check passengers are in hotel, insinuate Collector office of the malpractices
The Deputy Municipal Commissioner Parag Masurkar, who is the in-charge at the airport for institutional quarantine of passengers travelling from foreign lands, attempted to insinuate that officials from the Collector’s office might be involved in the malpractices going on at the airport. He said that officials from the Collector’s office are also there at the airport and the list of hotels is kept with the staff of Collector office.
BMC is giving wrong information: Collector
However, the Collector of Mumbai Suburban district Milind Borikar said that the BMC is giving wrong information. He added that his staff is at the airport to segregate international passengers arriving in Mumbai. He alleged that the entire process is controlled by the BMC and they had no role to play into that.
On being asked if the list of hotels is kept with the Collector office staff at the airport, as stated by DMC Masurkar, the Collector said, “No, no. He is giving you wrong information because we are not at all concerned with the quarantine facility; our staff is working there only to segregate passengers.”
The Chinese Embassy in India has issued a press release after the Indian media reported on Taiwan in what appears to be an attempt at bullying the media. The statement contains yet another boisterous proclamation of the ‘One China’ policy, that denies the existence of Taiwan as a separate sovereign entity.
Statement by the Chinese Embassy
The statement by the Chinese Embassy says, “There is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. This is a historical and legal fact, and a common understanding of the international community. All countries that have diplomatic relations with China should firmly honour their commitments to One-China policy, which is also Indian government’s official standing.”
“The Taiwan question concerns China’s core interests. We firmly oppose any separatist activities to create the so-called “Taiwan independence,” “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan”. China firmly opposes any country having diplomatic ties with China making any form of official contact and exchanges with Taiwan. China’s red line on the Taiwan question cannot be challenged. On issues of right and wrong, there is no room for compromise,” it added.
Statement by the Chinese Embassy
The Chinese Embassy continued, “The reunification of two sides of the Taiwan Strait is the trend of history and the collective will of the entire Chinese nation. It will not and cannot be changed. The Chinese government has firm resolve to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have the capability to thwart separatist attempts for “Taiwan independence” in whatever form.”
It urged the Indian media to “take a correct stance on issues of core interests concerning China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, adhere to the One-China principle, and avoid sending wrong messages to the public.”
China has thrown tantrums over the Indian media’s coverage of Taiwan in the past as well. Last year in May, during the peak of the Coronavirus crisis, China had urged India to take a “correct stance” on Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organisation’s activities.
Reacting to the Chinese diktat to Indian media, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu had said that he hoped the Indian media would ask the Chinese mission to “get lost”.
The habit of “tucking” testicles caused a transgender woman to have a testicle surgically removed in Philippines. This practice of “tucking” has been made pupular by Internationally-famous TV Show RuPaul’s Drag Race, which is a talent reality show which searches for “America’s next drag superstar!”
The transgender woman is a 24-year old in the Philippines who has not fully gone through gender reassignment surgery. The person was a cross-dresser who had the habit of pushing her testicles back into her stomach four times a week ever since becoming an adult, in an effort to hide her genitals. This habit, which is known as “tucking”, often caused pain but was ignored by the person.
However, when pulling her testicles back down into her scrotum during her final attempt, one of them twisted around the cord it dangles from.
This gruesome accident is known as testicular torsion. The transgender woman was left in enormous pain because of the injury, which also cut off the blood flow to her genitals. A prolonged lack of blood supply can lead to the death of testicles, causing them to be removed.
“Tucking” is a common practice in transgender and drag communities, popularized by the American reality show VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race. Trinity ‘The Tuck’ Taylor, a contestant from the show’s ninth season, has a video guide on how to “tuck” on YouTube, which warns of the dangers of testicular torsion towards the end.
The transgender woman was admitted at the Brokenshire Integrated Health Ministries in Davao City after her horrifying injury. It was told to the doctors that she regularly tucked her testicles into her inguinal canals, which are passages in the abdomen that hold the sperm cords.
The case of this particular transgender woman was published in a medical journal where Dr Calrence Debarbo made his observations. His observations revealed that the patient would tuck her penis and empty scrotum back between her legs. In order to return her testicles back to their normal position afterwards, she would tug them back out of her body by grabbing her scrotum and pulling.
“The patient already experienced discomfort and pain for six years because of tucking, which is also the same with other transgenders. But they are reluctant to seek medical care for testicular complaints and when they do, it may be already late to salvage the testis,” he said
‘Although at a younger age, trans women desire to hide their testicles or wish to have gender-affirming surgery, as they grow older many transgender individuals desire to have biological children, thus awareness of the problem should be disseminated for them not to resent in years to come,’ the doctor added.
The transgender woman had initially requested to have both her testicles removed. But an hour after being informed the life-altering decision would prevent her ever from having children, she decided instead to just lose one.
Upon operating, surgeons found that the testicle had been damaged by years of “tucking” and removed it. The surgery went smoothly without any complications.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Testicular torsion occurs when a testicle rotates, twisting the spermatic cord that brings blood to the scrotum. The reduced blood flow causes sudden and often severe pain and swelling. Testicular torsion is most common between ages 12 and 18, but it can occur at any age, even before birth.
Testicular torsion usually requires emergency surgery. If treated quickly, the testicle can usually be saved. But when blood flow has been cut off for too long, a testicle might become so badly damaged that it has to be removed.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray met Rohit Shetty, director of the movie ‘Sooryavanshi’, over another postponement in the release of the movie due to rising cases of the novel Coronavirus. The makers of the movie announced the decision on Monday.
The filmmakers said in a statement, “The Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray had a discussion with director Rohit Shetty yesterday. In the meeting, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray appreciated Rohit Shetty as he took the brave and difficult decision of postponing Sooryavanshi owing to the current COVID situation in the state.”
Akshay Kumar, one of the stars in the movie, announced on Sunday that he had tested positive for the Coronavirus. He said, “Thank you, everyone, for all your warm wishes and prayers, they seem to be working. I am doing fine, but as a precautionary measure under medical advice, I have been hospitalised. I hope to be back home soon. Take care.”
Cinema Halls and malls have been ordered shut by the Maharashtra government over the rising Coronavirus cases in the state. The government issued a long list of stringent guidelines late on Sunday to ‘Break the Chain’ (title of their new campaign). Along with night curfews on weekdays, the state will go into complete lockdown on weekends starting Friday 8 pm to Monday morning 7 am.
Meanwhile, the state government is also under pressure over the Antilia Bomb Scare case and the Mansukh Hiren death case. The arrest of Sachin Vaze in the matter has opened a can of worms. Following troubling allegations by former Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh, Anil Deshmukh resigned as the Home Minister of Maharashtra on Monday.
Two Italian men hatched a scheme to stage their own kidnapping by fake terrorists in hopes of securing ransom money from the Italian Government; only for it to go awry when they were sold to real Jihadists, according to Italian prosecutors.
According to Italian prosecutors, the two men, Alessandro Sandrini and Sergio Zanotti, are suspected of separately faking their own kidnappings with the help of a gang of two Albanian men and another Italian man whom they met in their home town of Brescia, Lombardy.
Prosecutors claim that both the men were taken to Turkey five months apart in 2016 by the same gang. The deal was to split the ransom money which would be paid by the Italian Government after taking the men to a secret location and staging a fake ISIS-style kidnapping video.
Police claims that Sandrini’s girlfriend overheard the kidnapping gang promising to keep Sandrini in a villa filled with “drugs, alcohol, and women”.
Sandrini, who is now under formal police investigation, allegedly informed his girlfriend about the plan and promised her €100,000 if she did not divulge it to the police or the reporters. Prosecutors claim that Sandrini’s girlfriend was being paid €50 a week by the gang to ensure her silence.
An Italian justice system source said that the gang held Sandrini for almost a week before double-crossing him by taking him across the border into Syria and selling him as a hostage to members of the Islamist group Turkistan Islamic Party, one of the many Islamist Jihadist terrorist groups active in the country. “He became a victim of his own game,” the source said.
Sandrini has vehemently denied these allegations, telling a local newspaper that his kidnapping “was a real kidnapping from start to finish”.
The gang behind this kidnapping has now been arrested and is also suspected of attempting to stage the fake kidnapping of Zanotti. Zanotti had earlier claimed that he was kidnapped whilst buying rare coins in Turkey. Zanotti was handed over to another Islamist terror group linked to Al-Qaeda before he was released in 2019, just like Sandrini.
“Sandrini is under investigation and Zanotti will be soon since we strongly suspect he too faked his kidnapping,” the source said.
In a 2018 video depicting Sandrini’s real kidnapping, he was kneeling before his armed kidnappers and pleading for help, otherwise, he would be killed. After his release in May 2019, Sandrini claimed that he was drugged and kidnapped near his hotel during a holiday in Turkey. Upon his return, he was put under house arrest for being a suspect in multiple robberies.
Zanotti has not responded to the allegations so far. He was released in April 2019, with the then PM of Italy Giuseppe Conte saying that Zanotti appeared in good shape and thanked the Italian intelligence service for their “complex and delicate” investigation that secured his release from the terrorists.
An ex-wife of Zanotti told Italian newspaper La Republica that she was shocked to hear about the allegations. “He told us that when he was held prisoner near Aleppo he was forced to eat grass, like a horse,” she said.
The Italian Government has long been suspected of paying ransoms in order to free their citizens held hostage. According to the Italian justice system source, the two men did not earn any money from this failed endeavor. “If anything was paid, they certainly got nothing,” he said.
Social media users are particularly miffed with the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra after permission is granted for IPL to continue their matches in Mumbai despite the latest government orders to curb the ominous spread of the COVID-19 virus in the state, an article published on Cricbuzz said.
A Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) official recently confirmed that the Mumbai municipal commissioner has given his approval for the organisation of IPL matches in the city. The municipal commissioner also assured them that the lockdown restrictions introduced in the state will have no impact on the IPL games.
“We have had a call from the city municipal commissioner. The association has been assured that the lockdown measures will have no impact on the IPL games. The other cricketing activities will, however, have to be immediately stopped,” Cricbuzz quoted the official as saying.
However, the official confirmed that the IPL teams can continue to practice normally. “Any cricket activity that is a part of a bio-secure bubble will be permitted uninterrupted,” the official said.
Netizens fume over Maharashtra government’s hypocrisy to allow IPL while imposing curbs for others
The permission to allow IPL in Mumbai uninterrupted, however, sparked outrage among netizens, who questioned the decision of the Maharashtra government to allow IPL matches to happen in Mumbai while imposing restrictions for small businesses because of the worsening coronavirus crisis.
Netizens took to Twitter to express their displeasure over the government’s differing stance on IPL and the local businesses.
Highlighting the hypocrisy of the Maharashtra government, one Twitter user said, “Malls closed. Restaurants closed. 8pm ke baad everything closed. But sure, let the games begin.”
Malls closed. Restaurants closed. 8pm ke baad everything closed. But sure, let the games begin. https://t.co/jJQmTj5LDS
Several others too expressed their discontent with the government for allowing IPL to continue while placing curbs for private offices, restaurants, non-essential shops to be shut for almost a month.
So, you’re literally having a lockdown in Maharashtra with private offices, restaurants, non-essential shops to be shut for almost a month. But IPL goes on? https://t.co/9gLhLUf2c7
While small businesses struggling to stay afloat after a year of turbulence are expected to absorb hit after hit and be stoic in the name of social responsibility, exceptions are made for the businesses which can actually absorb the losses. What madness is this, @CMOMaharashtra? https://t.co/qhyLiUD5Iq
Mumbai is slated to host 10 games and some of them are on the weekends, including the first match, which is between the Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals on Saturday. Six teams—Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, Royals Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders—are scheduled to play their matches in Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium from April 10 to 24.
It is worth noting that 10 groundsmen at the Wankhede stadium had recently tested positive for the coronavirus.
Maharashtra government announced lockdown restrictions in the wake of rising coronavirus cases
Following a cabinet meeting on Sunday afternoon, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government announced a few restrictions measures, including total lockdown during the weekends starting at 8 PM on Friday till 7 AM on Monday.
The permission for IPL to continue uninterrupted in Mumbai is allowed even as the state is witnessing a renewed surge in the number of COVID-19 caseloads reported daily. On Saturday last week, over 49,000 new cases were reported from across the state. A day later, Mumbai reported close to 10,000 new cases—the highest since the start of the pandemic.
The government issued a long list of stringent guidelines late on Sunday to ‘Break the Chain’ (title of their new campaign). Along with night curfews on weekdays, the state will go into complete lockdown on weekends starting Friday 8 pm to Monday morning 7 am.
The lockdown will impact the hospitality industry gravely, which was already struggling to recover amidst the pandemic.
