In a fresh violent attack on minorities, over 80 houses of Hindu in the village of Sunamganj, Bangladesh were attacked and vandalized by the supporters of Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam. The attack was planned after a young Hindu man criticized Joint-Secretary General Mawlana Mufti Mamunul Haque in a Facebook post as reported by Dhaka Tribune.
The report details, a conference held at Derai upazila on Monday hosted Hefazat-e-Islam’s (Islamist Advocacy group of madrassah teachers and students) Amir Allama Junaid Babunagari, Joint-Secretary General Mawlana Mufti Mamunul Haque and several other central leaders. A young Hindu man from Noagaon, Shalla Upazila was enraged by Mawlana Mamunul Haque’s speech and made a Facebook post criticizing it which he uploaded on Tuesday.
Upon discovering the post, Hefazat leaders staged a protest on Tuesday night alleging attempts to incite communal violence. The police had arrested the boy the same evening to bring the situation under control. Yet several thousand members of Hefazat-e-Islam attacked the boy’s village with makeshift weapons on Wednesday morning.
Many local Hindus had to flee their homes fearing for life which gave the attackers an opportunity to ransack and loot their homes.
Upon receiving the information of attack, a large number of police from Shalla police station and Derai upazila were deployed to bring the situation under control.
The boy is still under custody and Shalla Upazila Nirbahi Officer Al Muktadir Hossain, in a public statement clarified that the accused youth has been handed over to the law enforcement for ‘insulting’ Mawlana Mamunul Haque on Facebook. He claimed the situation is calm and some who had fled their homes had returned.
Bangladesh continues to be infamous for its failure to protect the Hindus, which are in a minority. A 2020 report revealed Hindus in Bangladesh were under attack over 30 times by violent Islamists mobs in just one month.
The Haryana Assembly on Thursday passed a bill seeking recovery of damages to public properties from rioters that indulge in vandalism while carrying out demonstrations. Titled as ‘Recovery of Damages to Property during Disturbance to Public Order Bill, 2021’, the Bill provides for recovery of damage to public properties caused by people during disturbance to public order by an assembly, lawful or unlawful, including riots and violent protests.
Recovery of Damages to Property during Disturbance to Public Order Bill, 2021 has cleared by the Haryana Assembly.@DhantaNews shares more details.
The passage of the bill is particularly significant, considering that it has come against the backdrop of farmers protests that have roiled the border areas of the national capital, including some parts of Haryana. As per the newly passed legislation, the Haryana government has the authority to seek reparations for the damages caused to the public property during a protest or riots. The protesters and rioters involved in such incidents will be held liable to pay the compensation.
The bill also provides for the establishment of a Claims Tribunal to evaluate the damages caused and to ascertain the liability to award the compensation in Haryana. The Collector shall have the power to issue an order of attachment of property or bank account of any person against whom an award has been passed by the Claims Tribunal to pay compensation.
The bill authorises the government to confiscate the property or bank accounts of the offenders till the time they make the payment of the amount due.
Opposition leaders stage a walkout to oppose the bill
Earlier on Monday, when the government tabled the bill in the Assembly for discussion, it triggered a walkout by the opposition leaders on the refusal of their demand for a division on the Bill. Soon after the Bill was tabled for discussion, senior Congress member RS Kadian raised aspersion on the timing of the bill, claiming that it will send a wrong signal amid the ongoing farmers’ agitation.
Former Chief Minister BS Hooda, who is the Leader of the Opposition, had claimed that the government authorities had dug up roads to prevent farmers from reaching their desired destination and wondered who will be held liable in this case for damage to public property. Congress leaders asked for a division of the voting in the assembly but it was turned down by the Speaker.
However, the protestations by the opposition leaders elicited a sharp response from Haryana Minister Anil Vij, who sharply questioned the Congress members whether they were in support of destruction of public and private properties, burning of buses or against it.
A large number of Rohingya Muslims have reportedly settled in Nuh village of Mewat district of Haryana. According to a report by Jagran, the Rohingya illegal immigrants have been provided shelter by the people of Nuh village which is a Muslim dominated area. The area of Nuh is said to be a hub of organised crime activities including cattle smuggling, harbouring Rohingyas and attacking police with stones. Most of the Rohingyas took shelter in Haryana after they were removed from Delhi, where they were living earlier. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has reportedly opposed the presence of Rohingyas in Haryana calling it a threat to national security
VHP claims Rohingya Muslims present in lakhs
According to the report, the Haryana government is mulling evacuating the Rohingyas settled within the territory of the state. The government is planning to examine their documents, however, the process might take time. The report claims that there are 600-700 Rohingya families currently settled in the state. Around 2 thousand Rohingyas are said to be living in Mewat district alone. However, the VHP does not believe these numbers. The national spokesperson of the VHP, Vinod Bansal claims that their numbers are in lakhs. Most of the Rohingyas living in Haryana are reportedly settled in Mewat (Nuh), Faridabad, Gurugram, Palwal and Yamunanagar districts. Other districts in the state also have Rohingya Muslims but it difficult to trace them since most of them have forged IDs like Aadhar card, Ration card and voter card.
Recently, there were reports of Rohingya influx in Punjab that has caused major security concern in the state. The Rohingyas are reportedly using Punjab as a transit to Pakistan to fearing detention in Jammu and Kashmir.
VHP requested the central government not to recognise Rohingyas as refugees
The Jagran report says that the VHP has been making efforts since 2008 to get the Rohingya Muslims evacuated out of the country. At that time, after being evacuated from Delhi, these Rohingyas had moved to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and set up colonies there. Now, they have been provided shelter by the Muslims in Mewat.
In 2008, Rohingyas wanted to be accepted as refugees in India in order to settle here permanently. They had reportedly protested outside the Human Rights Department office of the United Nations to get their demands fulfilled. Bansal had written a 40-age letter to central government at that time supported by relevant documents requesting not to confer refugee status on Rohingyas highlighting the dangers associated with them. VHP national secretary Dr. Surendra Jain made said that Rohingyas should not be allowed to settle in the country as the possibility of Rohingyas having links with several terrorist organisations in various countries could not be ruled out. He alleged that Rohingyas in Myanmar had connived with terrorist organisations to uproot the government and the military.
The reports quotes Bansal who said that Ministry of Home Affairs cites the number of Rohingya living in the country as 40 thousand but the VHP repot claims theirs numbers to be in lakhs. Most of these Rohingya Muslims are reportedly living Haryana, Jammu, Kashmir, Hyderabad, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Former Haryana CM Bhupender Singh Hooda supports NRC
The Haryana government has supported the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and is working on creating the identity cards of families in the state and is looking forward to implementing the NRC in the state. Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupender Singh Hooda has also reportedly expressed support for the NRC saying that the law does not allow any outsider to stay in the country. He said that illegal immigrants pose threat to national security.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed a rally in Purulia ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections.
Addressing his second rally in West Bengal ahead of the crucial polls, Prime Minister Modi referred to the Hindu epic Ramayana on his campaign trail in poll-bound West Bengal’s Purulia to point out the crisis facing the area currently. PM Modi said that the land of Purulia had witnessed Lord Ram and Goddess Sita’s exile.
Citing the significance of the place, PM Modi pointed out that the place was known as Sita Kund as Lord Ram had got water from the ground by shooting an arrow when Sita was thirsty. However, today the entire Purulia faces a water crisis currently, said PM Modi.
Attacking the previous governments in the state, PM Modi said it was the Left government that made the region suffer and then the TMC government did not let industries develop in Bengal. The kind of work that should’ve been done for irrigation, did not take place in Bengal, said PM Modi. To put things in perspective, Tata Nano factory was scheduled to begin operations in 2008 in Singur, West Bengal. However, over land acquisition controversy, the plant was eventually shifted to Sanand in Gujarat.
“I know the problems faced in rearing livestock due to less water. TMC govt was busy in its khel by leaving farming on its own,” PM Modi further said.
He also pointed out that TMC’s governance has led to an acute water crisis in Purulia. Water shortage is so rampant in Purulia that farmers and Adivasis do not even get enough water to do farming.
These people have given Purulia a life riddled with water crisis. They have given Purulia, migration. They have given the poor of Purulia, discriminatory governance. They have given Purulia an identity of being one of the most backward areas of the country: PM Narendra Modi
“Women here have to travel far and wide to get drinking water. ‘Didi’ has to account for all this,” PM Modi said.
BJP will bring development in Bengal, Didi responsible for Maoists: PM Modi
In his rally, PM Modi said the double-engine BJP government will ensure Bengal development and said that Bengal would be only striving towards development. The BJP government will provide employment opportunities to Dalits, Adivasis and other backward societies, added Prime Minister Modi.
During his speech, PM Modi alleged that Mamata Banerjee’s heartless govt has led to the creation of a sect of Maoists who have plundered the lands, wealth etc., of the poor people of the state.
However, BJP will improve the road connectivity of Purulia and bring in development, he said. After May 2, the infrastructure will be developed, those involved in handicraft will also get their due, said PM Modi.
PM Modi attacks Mamata over appeasement politics
On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned around the ruling Trinamool Congress’ campaign slogan of Khela Hobe to criticise the party’s misrule and politics of appeasement for the last decade. PM Modi said the people of Bengal would punish Mamata for years of misrule.
Attacking Mamata Banerjee over her minority appeasement politics, PM Modi said people will not forget what Mamata Banerjee has done in the last few years. During his rally, PM Modi also attacked Mamata Banerjee over her controversial statements in support of Islamic terrorist responsible for Batla House encounters in Delhi in 2008, who was recently sentenced to death.
Mamata expressed doubt over Batla house encounters, did not believe in airstrikes
He also targeted Mamata Banerjee for expressing doubt over the Pulwama terror attacks and the subsequent airstrikes carried out by the Indian Airforce against the terror camps inside Pakistan.
That is why we were concerned when didi got injured. I pray to God that her leg injury heals soon: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Purulia#WestBengalElections2021
The Prime Minister also mentioned that the people of Bengal have already made up their mind long back. PM Modi said that Bengal has been saying, “Lok Sabha mein TMC half aur iss baar poori saaf” and seeing this determination, Didi (Mamata Banerjee) is taking out her frustration on him.
“But for us, she’s a daughter like crores of daughters of India. Respect for them is part of our culture,” he added.
Bengal made up its mind long back. It’s been saying ‘Lok Sabha mein TMC half aur iss baar poori saaf’. Seeing this determination, didi is taking out her frustration on me. But for us, she’s a daughter like crores of daughters of India. Respect for them is part of our culture: PM pic.twitter.com/WVHHQpNOO6
Launching a blistering attack on Mamata Banerjee-led government, PM Modi said TMC is “Transfer My Commission, we believe in DBT, ‘Direct Benefit Transfer”.
PM Modi meets families and relatives of deceased BJP workers
Prime Minister Modi also met families and relatives of BJP workers who were killed due to the political violence in the state. Addressing the rally, PM Modi said the BJP government would act against all the culprits responsible for killing innocent lives.
West Bengal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Purulia, the families and relatives of BJP workers who were killed. pic.twitter.com/j4dukeSRzi
Politics in West Bengal has long been marred with violence, and ever since BJP has gained significance in the state, the ruling Trinamool Congress led by CM Mamata Banerjee has waged a bloody campaign against the party. Several BJP workers have been killed allegedly by the left and TMC cadres in the last few months.
On March 7, in his first rally in the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally at Brigade Parade Ground ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections. PM Modi’s rally was the culmination of the BJP’s “Parivartan Yatra”, and more than 10 lakh people had reportedly attended the rally.
The Purulia rally is the second of the Prime Minister’s 20-odd rallies scheduled to be held in the state ahead of the assembly elections. The eight-phase Assembly polls for the 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal will begin on March 27. The results will be announced on May 2.
At the time when West Bengal is gearing up for the Legislative Assembly elections, an alleged land grabbing case has come to the fore in Nadia district. According to a report by News Nation, local Muslims in Nadia’s Ghoshpara area have illegally grabbed 30 Bigha (approximately 10 acres) of age-old Hindu temple land to build a cemetery.
According to the report, the Hindus in the area have claimed that the local Muslims took advantage of the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government to control the coronavirus pandemic and illegally acquired the state land which the Hindus were using for a long time to conduct pujas and religious ceremonies.
They built a boundary wall overnight to secure the land, dug up a few holes in the ground to make it appear like a cemetery and are now claiming that the land, where Hindus once worshipped, belongs to them.
As per the report, there is not even a single grave in the entire 30 Bigha stretch of land. Locals allege that the Muslims forcefully acquired the land in the grab of building a cemetery there, but in reality, they have just taken away the land from the Hindus.
Video shared by News Nation
It is pertinent to note here that West Bengal’s Nadia district has a predominantly Muslim population as it shares its borders with Bangladesh. Over the years, Nadia district has seen a major influx of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, who have crossed over from Bangladesh to settle in this district.
In the video shared by New Nation, the local Muslims and Hindus clash with each other when the latter asks the former to produce the documents of the land. The Muslims claim that they have all the legal papers but refused to produce them when asked. They instead create a ruckus and fight with the Hindus, who accused them of illegally taking away the government land which was used by Hindus to organise religious events.
A local Hindu resident of the village, speaking to the News Nation reporter, said that along with the piece of land, the Muslims have also sealed the entrance to the village, prohibiting Hindus from freely moving in and out of the village. This has made many Hindu families contemplate leaving the village and move elsewhere.
Land was used by us to organise pujas and ceremonies in the holy month of Shravan
Another local Hindu laments that the Muslims have fenced in the entire temple land, impeding the Hindus from using it. He confirms that the land was used by Hindus to organise a religious ceremony every Thursday in the holy month of Shravan, but during the lockdown, it was forcefully seized by the Muslims.
An old lady also told News Nation that the land, which the Muslims have illegally occupied, was used by Hindus to organise pujas and ceremonies in the holy month of Shravan. She too confirms that during the lockdown, the land was converted into a cemetery by the local Muslim residents.
Moreover, a local Muslim also attested that the government land was indeed used by the Hindus to conduct pujas and religious ceremonies, but the Muslims took advantage of the lockdown to forcefully encroach the state land.
In West Bengal, instances of illegal land encroachment have become very common. Several illegal Bangladeshi migrants, who have settled in the state, have earned a lot of money through counterfeiting and drug trade and have forcibly snatched land from the poor Hindus in the state.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has always been accused of providing shelter to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and Rohingya refugees in the state. In fact, last year, while addressing a public meeting, Mamata Banerjee had asserted that all Bangladeshis living in Bengal are Indian citizens. While slamming the Assam’s NRC (National Register for Citizens) draft list, the chief minister, who is well known for her vote bank and appeasement politics to gather Muslim votes, also asserted she will not let “even a single person” be driven out of Bengal. She said no refugee, living in the state, will be deprived of citizenship.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi government found itself tied in knots after a series of potentially incriminating revelations surfaced in the Antilia Bomb scare case. With the NIA zeroing on controversial Mumbai cop Sachin Vaze (now suspended) and the opposition’s mounting pressure, the state government yesterday tried to fend off the raging criticism by shunting Param Bir Singh and appointing Hemant Nagrale as the new Mumbai Commissioner of Police.
After he was appointed as the new Mumbai CP, Hemant Nagrale addressed the media. The Mumbai Police force is under severe scrutiny since the last few months and questions have been raised over its integrity. It has even been alleged that Vaze had planted the explosive-laden car on the instruction of then Mumbai CP Param Bir Singh. Nagrale remarked that the force was passing through a ‘challenging phase and vowed to restore people’s faith in the city police department with the help of his subordinate officers and other members of the force.
Nagrale, a 1987-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has served as director-general of police, technical and legal, before taking charge as Mumbai police chief. He originally hails from Bhadravati village of Chandrapur district in Maharashtra. Nagrale is a mechanical engineer graduate from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, formerly Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering at Nagpur. He then went on to complete his Master of Finance Management course from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.
Nagrale’s stint at the CBI where he investigated Harshad Mehta scam, Madhaopura Co-Op Bank scam
However, after completing his academic pursuits, Nagrale appeared for civil services examinations and became an IPS officer. He served in the police force in various capacities until 1998 when he proceeded on deputation to the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) in March 1998 and served till September 2002.
During his tenure at the CBI, Nagrale probed several cases such as the Rs 130-crore Bank of India case involving Ketan Parekh, and the Rs 1,800 crores Madhaopura Co-Op Bank scam and the well-known Harshad Mehta scam.
Nagrale has received many awards during his long career, including the President’s Police Medal, Vishesh Seva Padak.
Just like his predecessor Param Bir Singh, Hemant Nagrale too was associated with the Mumbai 26/11 attacks case. On 26 November 2008, Mumbai was rocked with multiple terror attacks when 10 terrorists from Pakistan targeted various places in the city. Nagrale at that time was on deputation to MSEDCL which carried out rescue operations to help shift the trapped people to safer places and the injured to hospitals.
As per reports, Nagrale had entered the Taj Hotel at that time and was responsible for evacuating the injured persons. He had also recovered a bag full of RDX during the operation. He is also a black belt holder in Judo and has won many medals in the All India Police Games.
Param Bir Singh, the former Mumbai CP, was too associated with the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks case. However, Singh and three other additional commissioners of police were accused of dereliction of duty during the Mumbai terror attack. Hasan Gafoor, who was the Mumbai Commissioner of Police during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, had accused senior police officials, including Param Bir Singh, of shirking the duty and not taking on the terrorists.
Complaint filed against Hemant Nagrale for physical and mental torture, possessing disproportionate assets
It is also worth noting that just like the former Mumbai CP, Hemant Nagrale too has been mired in controversies. One such is the alleged disproportionate assets case against him. A complaint in this regard was filed against Nagrale by his ex-wife Pratima. Married in 1990, the couple was granted a divorce in February 2009 after which Pratima filed a petition in the court accusing Nagrale of amassing disproportionate assets.
In her petition, Pratima had alleged that her ex-husband had opened three bank accounts in her name and was operating them to launder black money and acquire assets through benami transactions. She also alleged he had purchased 12 properties worth several crores either in her name or his own in four districts of the state. The Bombay High Court had then asked the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the state to probe the disproportionate assets case against IPS officer Hemant Nagrale.
Nagrale, in his defence, opposed the petition stating it was filed to settle scores. He contended that the properties and bank accounts were shown in Income Tax returns filed in Pratima’s name and, therefore, did not need to be declared before the state government. However, the court refused to heed his claim and ordered the ACB to probe the matter.
Besides, Nagrale was also accused by his wife of inflicting physical and mental torture. Prior to their divorce, in 2008, Pratima had filed a complaint accusing him of physical and mental torture and forcing her for unnatural sex. The court had then asked Pratima to approach the magistrate for these grievances. In his response to Pratima’s allegations, Nagrale had submitted in court that she suffers from a mental disorder and hence coming up with false allegations against her husband.
In the latest Prime Time with Ravish Kumar episode, Ravish Kumar has an extended meltdown as he attacked the Kejriwal government and accused it of trying to cosy up to the Centre.
Ravish Kumar starts his monologue by a strange ‘Dilli-billi’ poetry.
“दिल्ली के पीछे एक दिल्ली, दिल्ली के आगे एक दिल्ली, बोलो कितनी दिल्ली. आगे आगे दिल्ली, पीछे पीछे दिल्ली, पीछे पीछे दिल्ली, आगे आगे दिल्ली. भीगी दिल्ली भीगी बिल्ली, भीगी बिल्ली भीगी दिल्ली. दिल्ली के पीछे पड़ गई दिल्ली. इचक दिल्ली, बिचक दिल्ली, दिल्ली ऊपर दिल्ली, इचक दिल्ली. दिल्ली बन गई बिल्ली बिल्ली बिचक दिल्ली. एक बिल्ली के पीछे दिल्ली, एक दिल्ली के आगे बिल्ली, बोलो कितनी बिल्ली. तुम छोटी दिल्ली हम बड़की दिल्ली. हम बड़की दिल्ली, तुम छोटकी दिल्ली. ख़ूब घुमाओ जनता को, जनता बन जाए भीगी बिल्ली.”
“Delhi has one Delhi above it, Delhi has one Delhi ahead of it, how many Delhis are there? Delhi in the front, Delhi in the back, Delhi in the back, Delhi in the front. Wet Delhi, wet cat, wet cat, wet Delhi. Cat is after Delhi. One Delhi, two Delhi, Delhi above Delhi, one more Delhi. Delhi has become wet cat, angry cat. Delhi is behind one cat, one cat is in front of Delhi, how many cats? You are small Delhi, we are big Delhi. We are big Delhi, you are small Delhi. Take people for a ride, people become wet cats,” Ravish Kumar recited the gibberish.
Essentially, Ravish tries to take a jibe at Centre for not giving full statehood to Delhi but also criticises Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal for straying from his anti-Hindu stand. He begins with hailing AAP government for taking stand against the Centre on issues like farm laws but insinuates that Kejriwal is also ‘saffronised’ since he promised to take the elderly in Delhi to Ayodhya for darshan. “When Big Delhi (Centre) brought up Ayodhya, Small Delhi (Kejriwal government) promised darshan in temple,” he said visibly upset at Kejriwal not having an anti-Ayodhya stand.
This, when Kejriwal has regularly maintained anti-Hindu stand, right from trying to show the Swastika being beaten up by a broom to questioning construction of the very same Ram Mandir.
Ravish Kumar’s monologue continues by explaining the transfer of power from the Delhi government to the nominated Lieutenant Governor in Delhi. Calling the Bill introduced by the Centre in Lok Sabha on Monday as ‘unconstitutional’, Ravish seems upset with the AAP government for not aggressively attacking the Centre. He says, “Arvind Kejriwal’s government is now left tongue-tied and forced to protest against the same Centre to protect their government in power”.
His displeasure over the AAP government not attacking the Centre enough was more evident when he brought in Faizan Mustafa, a so-called Indian academic and legal scholar to belittle the AAP government. Taking jibes at the Arvind Kejriwal government, they both were seen ranting over AAPs decision to support the Centre when J&K lost it’s statehood and declared a Union Territory. Faizan hinted that Arvind Kejriwal should not have supported the move as the same is now happening with the Delhi government.
This is not the first time Ravish has had a complete meltdown on his show. When the Rafale jets touched down in India, he recited a ‘Bablu Bablu Bablu’ poem as he appeared to have completely lost his mental balance.
In his show ‘Des Ki Baat’, Ravish talked about ‘Bablu’, whose name he found adorable. Speaking about a criminal named Bablu who escaped from police custody in Uttar Pradesh as Police kept looking for him, Ravish appealed to Bablu to return. At one point, one cannot figure out whether he is trying to say that Bablu may be innocent, because of his name, or whether he is being sarcastic.
BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has once trained his guns on the Covid-19 vaccine ‘Covishield’ that is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. Coishield was developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, and it is being manufactured by SII in India under a licence agreement.
Taking to Twitter, Subramanian Swamy claimed that out of the 71 persons who have allegedly died due to the vaccination in the country, 70 people had died after they were given the ‘Covishield’ vaccine.
Casting aspersions on the made-in-India vaccine, Swamy insinuated that Covishield is responsible for at least 70 deaths that allegedly occurred after the start of the vaccination drive in the country. In his tweet, Swamy said that he had asked Niti Aayog for a report, who, according to him, had promised to submit a report but have not. Swamy said he was asking the Parliamentary Health Standing Committee to summon ‘him’.
70
Swamy’s resentment against the AstraZeneca-Oxford university vaccine is not new, however, this time he went a step ahead to push misleading claims that the Covishield vaccine has caused 70 deaths in the country after the Modi government decided to inoculate people with Serum Institute’s vaccine.
Did Covishield cause 70 deaths in India?
Contrary to Subramanian Swamy’s claims, there are no official reports or evidence to suggest that there have been deaths related to vaccination drive in the country.
Even though several European nations, including France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and others have temporarily paused the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine as precautionary measures after they reported instances of ‘blood cot’, India has found the vaccine safe as no mortalities have reported due to inoculation of the vaccine. Most importantly, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine that is being injected in Europe is not manufactured by the Serum Institute, the EU nations are using vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca at their own facilities. It may be noted that the EU health body European Medicines Agency has ruled out any link between the vaccine and blood clots, saying that the rate of occurrence of clot is the same as the normal population. The SII made vaccine has so far proved to effective without any health-related complications.
In fact, in reaction to such misleading rumours, a senior member of the national Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) committee had categorically clarified that out of the 38 autopsy reports they have studied of people who died after vaccination, they have not found any links to the deaths or adverse events to vaccination.
“There are 71 deaths. We have received 38 autopsy reports so far. There is nothing to suggest that these were linked to vaccination,” said a member of the AEFI committee since 2008.
The expert also said that review of adverse events post-vaccination is an ongoing process and is followed for every vaccine that is administered in the country like polio, measles etc. For Covishield and even Covaxin, the review would continue, the expert added.
VK Paul, a member of NITI Aayog, said that India has been dealing with the issue for the last few days and is tracking the matter in a systematic manner. However, so far, they have not found any signal of concern in this regard.
“Our programme with Covishield vaccination will go on with full vigour,” Paul said.
Despite clarification from the senior government officials and the vaccine experts, Subramanian Swamy not only indulged in rumour mongering against the Indian-made vaccines but also puts out misleading data to claim that 70 deaths have occurred due to the Covishield vaccine.
India has vaccinated over 30 million people, and more than 6.5 million of them have already received the second dose. It is not unusual that 70 deaths have occurred among these 30 million people for various reasons. The vaccinated people that have died succumbed to other factors, and their deaths can’t be attributed to the vaccine.
Subramanian Swamy’s war against Indian-made vaccines
It is not the first time Subramanian Swamy has put out misleading assertions against the Indian made vaccines. Joining hands with the left-liberal media, Swamy had earlier attempted to propagate misinformation about Indian-made vaccines in an attempt to embarrass the Modi government.
Last month, Swamy had claimed that South Africa had asked the Serum Institute of India to take back 1 million Covishield vaccine doses it had supplied under a commercial deal.
Subramanian Swamy, who seems to have a complicated relationship with facts lately, had claimed that South Africa had decided to return the vaccine a week after the country said it would put on hold the use of AstraZeneca in its vaccination program after it showed reduced protection against the South African variant of the coronavirus.
Image Source: Subramanian Swamy
However, the South African government had refuted media reports categorically saying that no such proposals have been made to the SII. South Africa had paused the rollout of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine doses this month after one of the trials had shown the SII vaccine offered lesser protection against the South African COVID-19 variant.
Following that, the South African government had agreed to purchase a vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. As the South African government procured the J&J vaccine, it had decided to share the excess vaccines from India with the African countries via the African Union (AU).
In January, Swamy had attacked the Government of India for granting emergency use licence for the Coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in collaboration with Oxford University. Swamy had tweeted that the vaccine has not been cleared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) yet for emergency use, and hence it was incorrect for GOI to do so. He said that Indian people are being made Guinea pigs by approving the vaccine.
In a tragic case, a man in Canada was jailed for referring to his biological female child as ‘daughter’. Robert Hoogland, a father of a teenage girl, has been jailed by a Canadian court for calling his biological female child his “daughter,” and referring to her with the pronouns “she” and “her.” Hoogland was found to be in contempt of court.
At the heart of Hoogland’s miseries is a gender non-conforming 14-year-old biological female who identifies as transgender and prefers the use of male pronouns. Hoogland repeatedly called the person as his daughter, even after court proscribed him from doing it.
As a result, the Attorney General of British Columbia issued an arrest warrant for contempt, following which Hoogland surrendered himself to the court on Tuesday at 10 am. He was arrested and taken to jail.
In December 2020, Hoogland was forced by a collude to conform to his daughter’s gender “transitioning” and told him to not call his biological female child his daughter. In response, Hoogland made a Charter challenge engaging his right to freedom of speech.
Father accuses his daughter’s school for encouraging her to identify herself as a male
In his defence, Hoogland claimed that he started noticing differences in the behaviour of his daughter when she was in the sixth grade and had increasingly begun to behave more like a tomboy. The girl was spending most of her time with boys her age and was constantly landing herself in trouble. When she came in grade 7, he noticed she cut off her long hair and started wearing a toupé. He said that she developed intense crushes on two male teachers, and made a suicide attempt. Hoogland even consulted with the school faculties in the hopes of improving some of her bad habits.
According to Hoogland, his daughter started referring to herself as a male after watching the pro-transgender film “Handsome and Majestic” at school. Hoogland was aghast when his daughter accosted him and told him that she would like to enrol in the seventh-grade under a male name rather than her own. Hoogland was indignant of the school officials for backing his daughter’s demand and what to him seemed like a falsehood. He expressed his displeasure with the police, but to no avail.
To his dismay, Hoogland later discovered that it was the school that started to pressure the girl to change her gender. The school counsellor with whom he had met and raised his concerns about his daughter, had actually made the change in the yearbook and encouraged the girl to embrace a male identity. According to British Columbia’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) regulation, the child’s parents were not informed of the changes. The school went a step further by referring to her with a male name and allowing her to use the male-only bathroom. In fact, Hoogland accused the school of “socially transitioning” the biologically female child on its own initiative, with the input of a gender ideologue psychologist, Dr Wallace Wong.
Courts rejects father’s views, mandates him to affirm the child’s changed gender or face jail term
Determined to oppose her daughter’s medical transition, Hoogland submitted in court that his daughter needs an emotional affirmation and not a medical intervention to yank her out of her transgender delusions. However, the court did not consider Hoogland’s views and blamed the changes in his daughter on gender dysphoria.
Opposing her daughter’s “gender affirmative” medical procedures, Hoogland said children are not prone to thinking about the future, they live in the present and take decision based on their current feelings. “They don’t make decisions based on playing the tape forward and thinking down the road. Kids aren’t thinking at that age about having families or having children,” he said.
Hoogland says his opposition to the sex change of his daughter is unwavering and resolute, in the desperate hope to save his child from irreversible harm. However, doctors, school administrators, mother and now the Supreme Court all agree that her father lacks the authority to make such a decision and that he must reconcile to the fact and refer to his daughter using correct pronouns.
While Hoogland believes that his daughter’s best interests lie in preserving his child’s health, Justice Boden decided that the child’s best interests lay in damaging her long-term health to make her body more like that of a male. Hoogland believes that the damage caused by the sexual transition of her daughter would be irreparable and irreversible if after her puberty ends, she is dawned with the realisation of her correct sex.
Not only did Justice Boden held that the father’s consent to her daughter’s transition is irrelevant, but he also declared that the girl’s parent must affirm their child’s “gender identity”, and refer to the child as a boy because she considers herself as one. If he did not, the parents would be implicated in the criminal offence of family violence.
Digital platforms thwarted Hoogland from raising his views on the matter
On his predicament, Hoogland lamented, “Here I am, sitting there as a parent, watching a perfectly healthy child be destroyed, and there’s nothing I can do but sit on the sideline according to Justice Boden at the time. I can only affirm, or get thrown in jail.”
Hoogland brought his side of the story by talking to several Canadian commentators. However, the broadcasts were suppressed by digital platforms and he was threatened with contempt of court of proceedings.
In yet another incident of political violence in West Bengal, BJP MP Arjun Singh’s office-cum-residence at ‘Mazdoor Bhawan’ was attacked with a dozen crude bombs on Wednesday. Blaming the TMC cadre for the attack, Arjun Singh alleged that 15 places were attacked by 3 people and their associates in the Jagaddal area of Bhatpara, North 24 Parganas.
The BJP MP shared a video on Twitter post the attack and claimed local residents are in fear after the bomb attack as there was no support from the local police.
In another tweet, Arjun Singh shared images and alleged that the perpetrators also tried attacking his vehicle by throwing a bomb in presence of West Bengal Police.
After the bombing incident in the evening near my office-cum-residence, when I returned in the night, bomb was hurled targeting my vehicle and that too in presence of @WBPolice. Serious condition of lawlessness in the area. Where is administration?@ECISVEEP@CEOWestBengalpic.twitter.com/4v9HqphaRB
Party national vice president Mukul Roy in a statement to news agency ANI said, “We will approach the Election Commission regarding the incident”.
This is not the first time a BJP leader was attacked in West Bengal. BJP Chief JP Nadda’s convoy was attacked in December where bricks and stones were thrown directed at his vehicle. February witnessed serious attacks on BJP leaders like Firoze Kamal Gazi and Shibaji Singha Roy as well.
The Election Commission has already sent 125 companies of CAPF to the state of West Bengal.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently addressing a rally at Purulia’s Bhangra Nabakunj ground where he promises to work towards the existing water crisis, forced migration and infiltration issues.
