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Sharp increase in voters in West Bengal’s ‘mini-Pakistan’, opposition parties cry foul: Read Details

The political tussle between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP has heated up in the State of West Bengal, with the latter accusing the ruling dispensation of facilitating a demographic change ahead of Assembly elections. On Monday, BJP IT Cell Head Amit Malviya shared a newspaper cutting, which claimed that there has been a rise of 9% voters in the Muslim-dominated constituency of Metiabruz, referred to as ‘mini Pakistan‘ by Mayor of Kolkata Firhad Hakim, in the space of a year.

He tweeted, “Metiabruz constituency, famously referred to as mini-Pakistan by TMC minister Firhad Hakim, registers over 9% increase in voters in last year alone! Pishi (Mamata Banerjee) has been silently overseeing demographic change of West Bengal just to serve her political interests. Is the EC watching?

According to the news article shared by Amit Malviya, it has been reported that the ‘unusual’ rise in the number of voters has led to an increase in polling booths in the Metiabruz constituency (6) and Topsia area (8) of West Bengal. The stark increase in electorates in a span of just one year has led to renewed skepticism of the current political dispensation.

CPIM leader Rabin Deb said, “The process of correcting the voter list has been the biggest conspiracy. They are not eliminating the names of those who have already died. The Communist Party wants that the Election Commission verify the death of such individuals directly, on receiving information about the same. If family members of the deceased fail to show proof, then, we need the truth of the case must be verified with the Municipality or panchayat.”

Stark discrepancy in the number of voters

The BJP has alleged that instead of undertaking the verification themselves, the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have outsourced it to TMC workers and supporters. In the Muslim-dominated Metiabruz constituency, more than 19,500 voters have increased in one year, thereby representing a rise of 9%.

It is important to mention that in the Lok Sabha elections, a total of 2,35, 105 people were eligible to vote in Metiabruz constituency . However, when voter list was published, the number had gone up to 2,52,615. As per the report, the Metiabruz constituency includes ward No. 136-141 of the Kolkata municipality. It has been found that a total of 400, 450 and 900 voters on the list have expired in ward No.s 137, 138 and 141 respectively but their names feature in the voter list.

Similarly, in the Topsia area, the number of voters were 83,509 with a total of 79 booths. However, the number of electorates have risen to 91,393. As such the number of booths had been increased by 8 to 87.

BJP writes to EC, highlights the issue of demographic change

In a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the State unit of the BJP had expressed concerns over the sudden hike in the number of voters. “From the draft electoral list that was made public on 18 November, it was noticed that there has been a sharp rise in the numbers of electors, especially in many parts that are very close to the Bangladesh border and those that are predominantly minority voters,” the letter emphasised.

The BJP pointed out that there has been a 10% rise in the number of voters in the ward No. 66 of the Kasba Vidhan Sabha constituency, despite no ‘new township or settlement’. The party alleged that a similar increase in electorates has been observed in Metiabruz constituency and Sonarpur Uttar in South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal.

“Also, we find that dead voters and those who have changed their dwelling place are not struck out from the voter’s list. In the past elections, it has been seen these votes have also been cast,” the letter added.

“We will first capture Kashmir and then invade India from all sides for Ghazwa e Hind”: Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar in viral video

For many Indians, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar is among the few saner voices and pacifists that have called for a lasting peace between the two countries. Akhtar’s effusive views on the Indian cricket team has only served to cement his personality as someone who is willing to shed the decades-long antagonism between the two neighbours and proceed on the path of peaceful coexistence.

Akhtar, who was popularly called as The Rawalpindi Express, was also feted by the Indian media after he raised discrimination meted out to Danish Kaneria, a Pakistani Hindu cricketer, by the rest of the Pakistani cricket team on account of his religion. The cricketer had recently invoked humanity over religion and country while appealing India to provide ventilators to Pakistan in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, cynics within the Indian society have cautioned that Shoaib Akhtar’s charm offensive for the Indian cricket team and the country at large is just a smokescreen, a ruse intended to remain in good books with the BCCI so that when Pakistani sports presenter and coaches are allowed to be a part of the IPL, he is amongst the first to land a lucrative deal.

Besides, many others also claim that Pakistani fast bowler makes glowing remarks for India and the Indian cricketers to attract following from the Indian YouTube users on his channel.

Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar promotes the Islamic doctrine of ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’

However, an undated video of Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar that is now doing the rounds on the internet has shattered all the carefully constructed myth about his favourable outlook towards India. In the video, which is at least a year old, Shoaib Akhtar is seen endorsing the Islamic supremacist fantasy of ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’.

In an interview with Samaa TV, Shoaib Akhtar says, “It is written in our scriptures that Ghazwa e Hind will take place. The river in Attock will be coloured red twice with blood. Forces from Afghanistan will reach till Attock. Then after that forces will rise from Shamal Mashriq, different contingents will arrive from Uzbekistan etc…this refers to Khorasan, a historical region which extended till Lahore. Later those forces will conquer Kashmir, and then, inshallah, they will march onwards (to the rest of India).”

Shamal Mashriq is an Urdu reference for the geographical region which is just north of the Arabian peninsula.

Ghazwa-e-Hind: An Islamist doctrine forecasting the dominance of Islam over India

It is pertinent to note that the Islamist doctrine endorsed by Shoaib Akhtar is often cited by terrorists to justify their attacks in India. The Islamist terror attacks on India take place under the banner of Ghazwa-e-Hind. Radicals in Pakistan are trained and brainwashed with the concept of Ghazwa-e-Hind, to prepare them for suicide missions in India and legitimise their jihad against India.

The term Ghazwa-e-Hind or a holy raid of India has been used by Pakistani terrorists against India for decades. The concept of Ghazwa-e-hind roots in several works of Islamic literature named Hadiths. The doctrine prophesizes a pitched battle between Hindus and Muslims before (qayamat), resulting in a decisive victory of Muslims over Hindu India.

As per the prediction, the battle to the end will start in modern-day Syria, with forces marching towards India. Islamic armies carrying black flags will supposedly come from Khorasan and conquer India to turn it into an Islamic state.

Many Pakistanis still believe that their country was created for the express purpose of leading the Islamic world and fulfilling the prophecy of Ghazwa-e-Hind. This doctrine of capturing India and turning it into an Islamic state is exploited by terror organisations to recruit young and impressionable youth into the fold of terrorism, indoctrinating them into believing that conquering the lands of ‘non-believers’ is their holy duty.

Priyanka Gandhi’s newfound love for cow welfare appears to be as fake as the fake news she shared

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has achieved a new milestone. She has penned a whole letter and addressed it to Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath without even verifying the authenticity of the bit of information she was outraging about. In the letter, she said that she was distressed by the images of the corpses of cows circulating on social media.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in the letter that the pictures of the dead cows came from Lalitpur. She admitted that she did not know how the cows had died but concluded that they appeared to have died from starvation.

As it turns out, the news was fake and such a thing, fortunately, never came to pass. The official fact-checking handle of IPRD, Uttar Pradesh, tweeted that the Chief Veterinary Officer at the Gaushala in Lalitpur has said that no corpses have been found either inside the Gaushala, or outside it, or anywhere in the vicinity.

It appears that with UP Assembly Elections on the horizon, the Congress party has suddenly discovered its love and concern for cows. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is being touted as a potential Chief Ministerial candidate from the Congress party, was so eager to demonstrate her love for the cow that she fell for fake news.

It is akin to the manner in which her brother Rahul Gandhi can be found engaging in a Temple Run exercise ahead of every major election. Shalabh Mani Tripathi, adviser to CM Yogi Adityanath, was quick to point out the Congress party’s hypocrisy when it comes to cow protection.

Tripathi was referring to the incident in Kerala when Congress party workers slaughtered a calf in the middle of the road in full public view and then cooked it and ate it. The ghastly incident, which occurred in 2017, had provoked widespread outrage due to the brutality of it. More than three years later, the Congress party appears to have decided to feign concern for cow welfare in light of the Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2022.

TMC admits that BJP could reach 99 seats in Bengal Assembly elections in 2021: Here is what happened

As the political landscape in West Bengal heats up, the ruling party TMC seems to have had a faux pas. A day after the massive roadshow of Home Minister Amit Shah, TMC’s strategist Prashant Kishor took to Twitter to ‘challenge’ that despite the ‘hype amplified by supportive media’, BJP in Bengal will ‘struggle to cross double digits’ in Bengal.

Essentially, Kishor inadvertently ended up admitting that the BJP will end up with at least 99 seats (highest double digit figure).

The faux pas wasn’t lost on netizens who did not miss the opportunity. BJP Bengal Observer Kailash Vijayvargiya took a dig on Kishor and said how after the BJP forms the government in Bengal, the country will have to lose one of its political strategist.

Bengal assembly has 294 seats and majority mark is 148. In 2016 assembly elections, TMC had won 211 seats while Congress got 44 seats. The BJP in Bengal had won 3 seats.

Psephologist Yashwant Deshmukh also wondered whether Bengal is heading for hung assembly with the kind of predictions Kishor is making.

Some were just brutal.

This prediction from TMC is a bit rich considering the fact that in 2019 general elections, TMC went down from 34 MPs in 2014 to 22 MPs and BJP went from 2 MPs in 2014 to 18. In fact, BJP’s vote share had also gone up by over 22% to 40.64% while TMC’s vote share had only gone up 3.48% to 43.69%.

Netizens also pointed out how Kishor put a bad bet this time.

Speaking of bad bets, Kishor had earlier worked as poll strategist for Rahul Gandhi and Congress ahead of 2017 UP Assembly Elections. In the 403 member assembly, the SP-Congress alliance was reduced to 54 seats while the BJP got a sensational 325 seats.

Kerala has no APMCs in the state, but Communist govt calls assembly session to ‘reject’ farm laws

Even though Kerala has not implemented the APMC Acts, the Communist government in the state has decided to convene a special Assembly session on December 23 to discuss and reject the three newly introduced Farm Bills that were passed by the Centre in September 2020.

State Finance Minister Thomas Isaac informed that the Communist government in Kerala has called in a special Assembly session on Wednesday this week to pass a resolution against the farm laws enacted by the Centre.

According to the reports, the decision was taken by the Kerala government after a cabinet meeting that was held yesterday in which it was decided that the state government will approach the Governor Arif Mohammad Khan to call a special assembly session.

Opposition parties, including Congress, have extended their support for the move. In the 140-member house, the BJP has just a single legislator. During the one-hour session, a motion would be introduced to reject the bills and it will be put to vote. It has been reported that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala have reached a consensus in this regard and the resolution is likely to be passed unanimously.

Kerala has not implemented the APMC Act

However, while the Kerala government proceeds to reject the Farm Bills in a special Assembly session, it is notable to mention that Kerala has no APMCs, which is a bone of contention for the protesting farmers that have swarmed the national capital borders. The protesters are alleging that the new Farm Bills would effectively render the APMCs powerless and allow private players to have greater sway in buying the agricultural produce and thereby regulate the pricing.

Interestingly, Kerala doesn’t even have APMCs as the state never implemented the APMC act.

PM Modi and several other Cabinet Minister have dispelled this notion many times that the APMCs would continue to exist as they already do and the new Farm Bills would only unlock new opportunities for the farmers to sell their produce directly to the buyers as per their choice.

Kerala, on the other hand, has not implemented the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee(APMC) Act of 2003 and therefore has no APMCs in the state. There are no statutory regulations prevailing. There are no controls for the agricultural market. Government and LSG institutions provide marketing infrastructure. Paradoxically, despite having no APMCs in the state, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government hs extended their solidarity to the protesters who fear that the new Farm Bills would abolish the APMCs in their states.

Telangana now has a ‘Sonu Sood Temple’: Fans perform aarti for actor’s statue

Actor Sonu Sood, who had been in media highlights for his efforts to send migrant workers home amidst the lockdown, now has a ‘temple’ where he is being worshipped. The locals in Dubba Tanda village in Siddipet in Telangana have now dedicated a temple in the name of the actor.

While speaking about it on Sunday, a local emphasised, “He helped so many people during the pandemic. It’s a matter of great delight for us that we’ve constructed his temple.” His well-wishers had also unveiled a statue of the actor.

In a video shared on Twitter, the locals could be seen performing ‘aarti’ at the temple and raise slogans of ‘Jai Ho Sonu Sood’. “India has only one God and that is Sonu Sood”, claimed another fan.

Erecting ‘temples’ for movie actors have been seen in many cases. Actor Amitabh Bachchan, Tamil actor-turned politician Karunanidhi, Rajnikanth, legendary Telugu actor NTR, actress Khushboo Sundar also have temples built by fans.

Sonu Sood emerges at the top in Twitter engagement

Twitteet is an analytics platform that provides ratings and ranks politicians, entertainers, journalists and others based on engagements on the social media platform. It was reported that Sonu Sood gained more Twitter engagements than any other entertainer. Sonu Sood garnered more than triple the number of engagements than Shah Rukh Khan, who came second.

Amusingly, however, Sood has only a fraction of the followers that Shah Rukh Khan has. Sood has become somewhat of a meme on social media since the Coronavirus lockdowns began, that perhaps explains the high engagement.

COVID vaccinations to start in January, will be tracked digitally at each step: Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan

On Sunday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan talked to ANI about several issues related to coronavirus and India’s preparedness to eradicate the infection. He said that the union government has been working with the state governments for the past four months to prepare the nation at block level for the Covid-19 vaccination.

India has experience with mass immunization programs

The Health Minister talked about India’s experience in mass immunization programs, including the campaign to get India polio-free. He said, “As far as the country’s ability is concerned, I would like to remind that around 25 years ago, India had 60% of polio-affected children in the world. We started giving vaccines to children below the age of five years on a single day. I got support from people. We first did it in Delhi, which was followed by other parts of the country. Many Southeast Asian nations followed the country’s model. We gave vaccines to children for two decades and the result was that in 2014, India came in the WHO category of polio-free nations.”

He further added that India also carried out a universal immunization program to give 12 types of vaccines to children. India is prepared, and there is no shortcoming in the country’s abilities. “We have involved the state governments, made a task force at the state level, district, and block levels too. We have provided training to master trainers in the country and also at the state level we have provided training. We have given training in 260 districts to more than 20,000 people,” he added.

Vaccine delivery to be monitored by a digital platform

In the ANI interview, the minister also talked about the Co-WIN digital platform that will help in monitoring Covid-19 vaccine delivery in real-time. He said, “Co-Win has been developed as a platform where the vaccine will be tracked along with its temperature. It will also track the potential beneficiary up to the point till that person gets a second dose and he generates his certificate.”

There are 28,000 to 29,000 cold chain points in the country. He said that the union government has worked on several state governments, including vaccine carriers for cold chains, deep freezers, mobile vans and refrigerators. The governments have worked collectively to decide how many teams will be required at the vaccination centre and how many volunteers will be required to help these teams, along with the norms that these centers have to follow.

The vaccination program may start in January

The minister said that India might begin the vaccination program in January. The first priority of the government is to ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Dr Harsh Vardhan said that it is not possible to force the vaccine on anyone. However, the government will provide education and information to people about it. He said, “Vaccine hesitancy issues will be addressed through education. The government will spread awareness and educate people about the vaccine that this is for their own good and benefit.”

Prioritization is based on international trends and guidelines of WHO

The minister said that the government has prioritized who will get the vaccine first based on the international trends and the World Health Organization’s guidelines. Though the government wants to reach a point where everyone is vaccinated, there is a limited number of vaccines. It is important to decide who will get the vaccine first. “Before taking a decision, the government consulted experts, those in the ministries, people in the state governments, and those involved in making vaccines. These decisions have been made while observing international trends and WHO guidelines,” the minister added.

The first to get the vaccine will be health workers and the elderly

The minister said that the government has prioritized 30-crore people to get the vaccine first. The first one crore people to get vaccinated will be health workers in the public and private sector. The next two crores will be frontline workers, sanitation staff, police, and other frontline workers, along with people above the age of 50. He said that majority of the people who lost their lives due to the infection are above 50 years of age. There are around 26 crores such people. Among them, those who have health problems like BP, heart and kidney diseases need to vaccinate on priority.

He further said that no one would be forced to take the vaccine. “The government will reach out to people to get their vaccines but if someone does not want to take the vaccine, they cannot be forced,” he said.

Regulators are examining the permissions sought by pharmaceuticals firms

The minister said that the regulators are examining the permission sought by pharmaceutical firm Pfizer for the emergency authorization of the Covid-19 vaccine. “If a politician speaks on the matter which is in the jurisdiction of experts, it will not be appropriate…perhaps they did not take part in the meeting,” he said. Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech have been asked to submit more safety and efficacy data by The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) earlier this month.

The focus is on developing our own vaccine

The minister said that India is not behind when it comes to developing and researching vaccines against Covid-19. “Our country is moving towards self-reliance and we are not behind any other country in the world in vaccine development and research,” he said. India has the capacity to mass-produce the vaccine, just like anyone in the world.

The worse is over, but people need to be cautious

The minister said that in his views, the worst is over concerning Covid-19 in India. However, people need to follow the precautions to stay safe. “At a personal level, I think that the worst is over concerning the Covid-19 situation. I have been following this situation right from the time when we had our first case on January 30, 2020. Since then, I have watched everything from the closest of quarters with meticulous precision. If we look at the things in the last three-four months then things are in a declining phase,” he said.

3 lakh active cases with 95-96% recovery rate

As of now, there are just over 3 lakh active cases in India. The recovery rate is 95 to 96%, which is notably higher than in many developed countries. A few months ago, there were 10 lakh active cases. Out of close to one crore cases, 95 lakh have already recovered. India is better placed compared to the USA, Russia and Brazil. “Our fatality rate is also significantly low at 1.45% now. I feel the worse may probably be over but with a note of caution,” he added.

Masks, hygiene and physical distancing are the major tools

Vardhan said that major tools against infection are masks, hand hygiene and physical distancing that people need to follow. People have to follow precautions to stay safe. Soon, the vaccine will be in the market, and the government will ensure that it reaches everyone who is willing to get the vaccine.

Current situation of Covid-19 in India

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,  India has reported 1,00,31,223 cases. There are 3,05,344 active cases while 9,580,402 have recovered and 1,45,477 have lost their lives.

Sushant Singh Rajput’s fans attack Ankita Lokhande for inviting his friend Sandip Ssingh for her birthday bash

Sushant Singh Rajput’s fans have been attacking his ex-girlfriend Ankita Lokhande on social media for inviting his friend Sandip Ssingh for her birthday bash. Ssingh was friend of Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found dead in his apartment early this year. He has been in news since the actors death. Ssingh was also present at the last rites of Rajput.

Ssingh’s presence at Lokhande’s birthday bash upset Sushant Singh Rajput’s fans who believe there is a foul play involved in the actor’s death. They also accuse Ssingh of being involved in it.

Sushant Singh Rajput fans also said how they no longer are fans of her. The abuses towards her continued. They even accused her of ‘hiding’ and ‘lying’ to the fans.

Ankita celebrated her 36th birthday on Saturday where her friends from the film industry had joined in the celebrations. Actors like Rashami Desai, Aparna Dixit and others were present at the party. Ssingh’s presence particularly upset Sushant Singh Rajput’s fans who were also angry that Ankita seemed to have moved on in her life.

Coronavirus scare: United Kingdom discovers a mutated, more transmissible strain, imposes lockdown

In a new development, the authorities in the United Kingdom have warned against the emergence of a new strain of the Wuhan Coronavirus.

As per reports, the authorities have conceded that the virus has gone ‘out of control’ in the UK. “Unfortunately the new strain was out of control. We have got to get it under control,” informed UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock. The new variant, discovered in September, is said to be 70% more transmissible than its counterpart.

“There is no current evidence to suggest (it) causes a higher mortality rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments, although urgent work is underway to confirm this, “chief medical officer Chris Whitty emphasised. A notification was thus issued by the Public Health England on Friday to the UK government after modelling the said virus strain. The new strain has reportedly been discovered in South Africa, Denmark, Netherlands and Australia.

UK imposes 4 levels of lockdown

In a bid to contain the spread of the new strain of Coronavirus, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced new, four-tier restrictions in London and south-east England. As such, Johnson, who had been insistent on easing Coronavirus guidelines for Christmas, had to do away with his plans. Reportedly, people in tier 4 areas in England can now celebrate Christmas only with their close family members.

Similarly, plans of allowing ‘Christian bubbles’ between December 23-27 has now been re-changed to only December 25. At the same time, a travel ban has been put in place for commuters, willing to travel between Scotland and England, during Christmas. Restrictions, imposed by the UK government, are however subject to the spread of the new strain of Coronavirus.

The Indian Health Ministry has called for an urgent meet of the joint monitoring group on Monday to discuss the new strain found in the UK.

European countries ban flights to and from UK

Last week, Europe surpassed over 5 lac fatalities due to the Coronavirus pandemic since last year. With the new discovery, it has given way to fears surrounding more deaths. On Sunday morning, the Netherlands banned flights from the UK from entering the country. Belgium has called for a 24-hour ban on both flights and trains from Sunday midnight onwards, arriving from the UK, to contain the outbreak of the pandemic.

Similarly, Italy, Germany and Austria have been working on stopping flights coming from Britain. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel have held a meeting on Sunday to discuss the matter. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked all European nations to strengthen their measures.

Congress mouthpiece columnist speaks the language of Pulwama terrorist, makes cow urine jibe on polio vaccine

Columnist with Congress mouthpiece National Herald, one Sanjukta Basu on Monday morning made a cow urine jibe while commenting on the polio vaccination.

National Herald columnist Sanjukta Basu’s cow urine jibe

Basu, while making a caustic comment on how India eradicated polio through mass vaccination, mocked it by saying how ‘vaccines’ are ‘anti-national’ and that cow urine was given to eradicate polio. The ‘cow urine’ jibe to mock Indians, especially Hindus, has been used by radical Islamists and terrorists like the Pulwama terrorist. Pulwama terrorist, in his video released after his suicide attack, had vowed to kill all ‘cow urine drinkers’.

Basu has a history of abusive tweets including cow-urine jibes.

Upon UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s father’s demise, Basu had mocked and questioned why don’t BJP leaders resort to drinking cow urine instead of taking modern medicines.

She also uses cow urine jibe to mock Hindus.

And some more.

A self-proclaimed Rahul Gandhi fan-girl, Basu had earlier floated conspiracy theory that Pulwama terror attack was an inside job by India.