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Melting French glacier lead to resurfacing of Indian newspapers which could be from 1966 plane crash

OpIndia Staff
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Melting French glacier lead to resurfacing of Indian newspapers which could be from 1966 plane crash

Copies of Indian newspapers from 1966 have been found under the ice of the melting French glacier of Bossons on the Mont Blanc mountain range, believed to be from an Air India plane that crashed on 24 January 1966, killing all 117 people on board.

The newspapers, which have been fairly in good shape, with the headlines of the papers reading India’s former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s victory in elections in 1966, were discovered by Timothée Mottin, who runs the cafe-restaurant La Cabane du Cerro at an altitude of 1,350 metres above the French resort of Chamonix.

“It’s not unusual. Every time we walk on the glacier with friends, we find remains of the crash. With experience, you know where they are. They are being carried along by the glacier according to their size,” Mottin said. Other than The Statesman, Congress mouthpiece National Herald and The Hindu copies were also found.

Indian newspaper found in the melting glacier in the European mountain range
The Hindu copy from 1966 plane crash

Once they will be completely dried out, he claimed, they will be kept as a display in his restaurant, as a part of collection of items he had found of the crash over time.

Since 2012, many relics related to the Air India crash from 1966 have been emerging from the glacier. A bag of diplomatic mail stamped as “On Indian Government Service, Diplomatic Mail, Ministry of External Affairs”, was found in 2012.

Besides these recently found newspapers and a bag of diplomatic mail, the most precious remnants of the crash were discovered in 2013—a box of invaluable stones including emeralds, sapphires and rubies that was estimated to be worth between €130,000 (£117,000; $147,000) and €246,000 (£221,000; $279,000).

The Air India plane crash

The Air India 101, which was flying from Mumbai, then known as Bombay to London, crashed into Europe’s highest mountain at 8 AM on January 24, 1966, following a verbal flight control miscommunication, resulting in the loss of 106 passengers and 11 crew members on board.

The flight had made two scheduled stops in Delhi and Beirut, Lebanon and was on its way to make the third stop in Geneva, Switzerland. However, during its descent in Geneva, it accidentally collided into the summit of Mount Black mountain range, killing all the people on the flight.

Melting glaciers present ominous signs of Global Warming

In one of the starkest examples of Global Warming adversely affecting the ecology of Earth, rising temperatures are causing the mountain glaciers of Europe’s highest mountain range to melt and polar ice sheets to recede. Last year, officials had flagged a warning that a part of the Planpincieux glacier on Mont Blanc’s Grandes Jorasses peak was susceptible to meltdown.

West Bengal: Doctor accuses Mamata govt of publishing misleading information on the states’ coronavirus preparedness on its health website

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: Doctor accuses Mamata govt of publishing misleading information on the states’ coronavirus preparedness on its health website

A doctor associated with Sagar Dutta Hospital at Kamarhati in Kolkata, West Bengal, has stated that the claims made by the West Bengal government about the medical facilities are misleading and are not giving accurate data. Speaking to ABP News, doctor Gupta blames the West Bengal government for publishing misleading information about its corona preparedness on the state website.

BJP national secretary Sunil Deodhar took to Twitter to share a snippet of an interview of a WB doctor on ABP News. Calling the situation of West Bengal grim and saddening, doctor Gupta says that there are several discrepancies in the facts and figure being stated by the government on its health website.

The anchor asks the doctor as to why, despite there being 417-420 odd beds empty in the Sagar Dutta Hospital in Kolkata, which the state government had transformed it into a Covid-19 facility, patients are being refused admission and treatment in the facility.

State website shows 500 beds at the hospital, doctor claims only 80

The doctor, speaking in Bangla, answers that it is rather saddening that the state government is misleading the people by lying to the people about the health infrastructures and cases in the state. The doctor reveals that though the state website says that the facility has 500 beds to treat coronavirus patients, until now, Sagar Dutta Medical College does not have 500 beds as required in a Covid-19 hospital. Instead, the facility has been made functional with merely 80 beds. Moreover, the hospital does not even have a critical care unit to treat serious coronavirus patients, reveals doctor Gupta.

This shocking revelation comes at the time when the state health department claims that at least 50 beds are being added every week at Sagar Dutta Medical College in North 24 Parganas district.

Doctor Gupta raises concerns about the panic the state government’s misleading claims and says that lack of accurate data will only help create more panic. He adds that the state’s health infrastructure is at a grim state.

Reiterating that Sagar Dutta Hospital at Kamarhati in Kolkata, West Bengal, has only 80 beds and not 500 beds as the information on the state website displays, doctor Gupta supposes that this situation is not only limited to this facility, but many other coronavirus facilities across Bengal are facing similar issues, to which the state government is turning a blind eye. He concludes by saying that the state doctors feel that in the coming days the situation in West Bengal is going to become worse.

People quarantined at Asansol ESI Hospital create a ruckus, complain of the absence of basic facilities

It is pertinent to note here, that in May we reported how people who were quarantined at the ESI hospital in Asansol in West Bengal reportedly had created nuisance due to a lack of water supply in toilets and the access to drinking water. People kept under quarantine at the hospital also said that they were not being tested for the Wuhan Coronavirus.

Previous claims

In May, a petition had been filed in the Calcutta High Court expressing grievances regarding the alleged mismanagement of the Wuhan Coronavirus crisis by the West Bengal government. In April, a viral video had claimed negligence and lack of proper disposal of dead bodies in the MR Bagur hospital in Kolkata.

In fact, the Health Services Association, West Bengal had also spoken out against the manner in which the state administration has been collecting the samples for the COVID-19 tests. Moreover, in the month of April, the West Bengal Doctors Forum had written to Mamata Banerjee urging to ensure that the coronavirus data being collected be genuine, transparent and verifiable. The letter came amidst blames that the Mamata Government has been suppressing Coronavirus positive cases in the state.

France: Man who shouted ‘Allah hu Akbar’, robbed and defecated on an 85-year-old pensioner, sentenced to 18 months in prison

OpIndia Staff
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France: Man who shouted ‘Allah hu Akbar’, robbed and defecated on an 85-year-old pensioner, sentenced to 18 months in prison

A 53-year-old man has reportedly been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and two years of probation for robbing, assaulting, and defecating on an 85-year-old pensioner. The incident took place on May 29 in Le Crosic commune in Loire-Atlantique, western France, as per Breitbart.

The accused broke into the house of the elderly person through the window and stole his clothing, telephone and three knives. He then fled the scene but returned to take his shoes. The robber was then confronted by the 85-year-old. The elderly man was beaten black and blue. The assaulter proceeded to defecate on him and then smeared the stool over his head. He was later arrested by the police. Reportedly he kept shouting, ‘Allahu Akbar’ and threatened to kill the cops. “Allahu Akbar, I’m going to come back with a car, smash everything, make carnage,” he was quoted as saying.

Banned from entering Le Croisic

The accused was a history-sheeter, murderer and had been convicted for 19 crimes in the past, including murder. He was initially handed 24 months in prison by the Saint-Nazaire Criminal Court but later, around 6 months of the sentence was withdrawn. Following imprisonment, the convict has to serve two years of probation. As per reports, his entry is banned in the French commune of Le Croisic.

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Chief Minister of Puducherry directs Forest Department to return Lakshmi the Elephant to her home at the Manakula Vinayagar Temple

OpIndia Staff
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Chief Minister of Puducherry directs Forest Department to return Lakshmi the Elephant to her home at the Manakula Vinayagar Temple

Chief Minister of Puducherry, V. Narayanasami, has directed the forest department to return Lakshmi the Elephant back to her home at the Manakula Vinayagar Temple in the Union Terrritory. The development was confirmed by the IT cell of the Congress party on social media on Monday.

Mr Subrat Goswami from Gurugram, who was involved in the efforts to bring Lakshmi home, has confirmed to us that the order for her return has been passed and following the completion of certain formalities, she will return to the Manakula Vinayagar Temple. Sources told that she is expected to be back by Wednesday.

Lakshmi the Elephant was taken away from her home after PETA and the Animal Welfare Board intervened in the matter and accused the Temple of violating the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. BJP leader Maneka Gandhi, too, was involved in the whole affair and she requested Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi and Directorate of Forests and Wildlife to remove the elephant from the temple and shift her to a ‘safer’ location.

In the end, Lakshmi the Elephant was forcibly removed from the Temple and shifted to the Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Kurumamber, where her health was reported to have deteriorated. Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Minister, K Lakshminarayanan, had alleged that no special medical care was being given to the elephant and that she was not comfortable there due to the presence of snakes and insects.

Lakshmi was adopted by the Temple after she was abandoned by her herd and has been living there since 1997. When the Directorate of Forests and Wildlife demanded that the Temple provide all details of her well-being, the documents were provided except for her pending blood report. However, due to mounting pressure from PETA, the department ordered that Lakshmi be removed from her home.

Now, the the department has been ordered to return Lakshmi the Elephant to her home by the Chief Minister himself and she is expected to reach home by Wednesday.

Gandhi family’s Associated Journals Limited “unethically” took possession of land meant for SC/ST hostel in Mumbai, says report

OpIndia Staff
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Gandhi family’s Associated Journals Limited “unethically” took possession of land meant for SC/ST hostel in Mumbai, says report

More skeletons are tumbling out of Congress’ closet as a report by Times Now suggests that huge land in Mumbai was acquired by Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) meant for a Dalit hostel at throwaway price and converted into a commercial property. According to the report, approximately 3,500 square meters of land was allotted to AJL in 1983 which was valued at Rs 262 crore in 2017.

The channel has accessed several documents that contain a report submitted in 2018 by a one-person committee led by Mr. Chatterjee. The report mentioned that most of the records related to the land allotment were not found as they were allegedly burnt in the 2012 fire in the ministry.

Land meant for SC/ST hostel

The report said that there is proof that the land was sanctioned for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students’ hostel as per the detailed proposal of 1967. However, the then government moved ahead and allotted the land to Associated Journals for commercial purposes. The government did not follow any existing rules and regulations at that time, the report suggested. The land was given at throwaway prices.

As per the rules, anyone who gets the land sanctioned by the government must start construction within two years. However, in this case, from 1983 to 2000, there was no construction on the said land. It was initially allotted to build the hostel, but when the construction started, a commercial building was built by the AJL. The building was used for rentals and other commercial activities.

Commercial properties on the land cover four times more than permitted limit

According to the regulations, only 20,000 square feet of commercial properties were allowed on the land. However, they built 80,000 square feet of commercial properties that are four times more than the permitted coverage. Through a special dispensation, then government also reduced the revenue share percentage to be paid to the government for the sanctioned commercial land. While other commercial lands allotted by the government have to pay 50 percent of the revenue, revenue from the said land was reduced to 30 percent giving huge benefit to AJL owned by Gandhi family.

AJL controversies

Enforcement Directorate has also attached Panchkula land in the ongoing investigation on AJL that has been in the news for all the wrong reasons for the last five years. In January 2019, a tax notice of Rs.100 crore was slapped on Gandhis for under-reporting AJL’s income. Associated Journal Limited is owned by Young Indian, a company controlled by the Gandhi family. AJL publishes the National Herald newspaper. In May this year, the ED attached National Herald’s building worth Rs 16.38 crore in Mumbai’s Bandra under PMLA.

National Herald Scam

National Herald scam is one of the most notable legal cases in Indian history, as the Gandhis are directly accused. The Mother-Son duo of Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, along with their aides – Oscar Fernandez, Motilal Vohra and Sam Pitroda are alleged to have involved in massive ‘cheating and breach of trust’ in the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) by Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YIL), as assets worth crores of rupees had been allegedly transferred for purposes other than originally intended for a paltry sum. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi got unconditional bail in December 2015.

Police stopped my car, took my keys away: BTP MLA from Rajasthan says he is being forcefully stopped from going anywhere

OpIndia Staff
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Police stopped my car, took my keys away: BTP MLA from Rajasthan says he is being forcefully stopped from going anywhere

Amidst the political drama in Rajasthan and rumours of a minority government trying to save its MLAs, an MLA from Rajasthan has claimed that he is facing a hostage like situation in the state. Rajkumar Roat, the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) MLA from the Chorasi constituency has claimed that he is being witheld forcefully by the state police.

“Due to the current political situation in Rajasthan, we are in a hostage situation. It’s been 3 days since we were lodged at the MLA quarters. Several people pestered us to go with them (to the resort). I am being followed by 3-4 police cars. I have come to visit my constituency. But, they are not allowing me to go. My car is surrounded by police vehicles on all sides. My car keys have been taken. We are being ill-treated here,” the MLA was heard as saying.

BTP’s instructions to its MLAs

It is notable here that MLAs supporting the Ashok Gehlot government were taken to a Jaipur resort yesterday after Sachin Pilot claimed that the government has lost the majority in the state. Bharatiya Tribal part has 2 MLAs in the assembly.

However, the party chief Mahesh Vasava had issued a notice to his MLAs yesterday and had asked them to remain neutral, that is not to support either Congress or BJP in the case a floor test happens in the assembly.

Roat claiming that he has been trying to go but is being restricted further adds fuel to the drama and speculations that Gehlot may not have the numbers he has been claiming.

CM Ashok Gehlot has the home ministry portfolio in Rajatshan and the police department reports to him. Yesterday, FIRs against Sachin Pilot were filed too.

Political crisis in Rajasthan

Speculations are rife that Rajasthan government may go the Madhya Pradesh way as the infighting between Congress leaders continue and Sachin Pilot reached Delhi on Saturday along with 20-25 Congress and independent MLAs. Following the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly elections, a power tussle ensued between Congress old guard Ashok Gehlot and youth leader Sachin pilot for the coveted post of the Chief Minister. Eventually, Gehlot was made the CM, and Pilot was sidelined. The divide between the two factions, within the State government, seemed to have widened over time. The rebel Congress leader has told Ashok Gehlot that ‘majority’ has to be proven on the floor of the House and not in the back garden of Gehlot’s residence. Sachin Pilot stated, “If they have numbers as claimed, then, why not do a headcount? Take them to the Governor instead of moving them to the hotel.”

Union Minister reveals senior Congress leader requested 35, Lodhi Estate be allotted to another INC MP so Priyanka Gandhi could stay on

OpIndia Staff
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Union Minister reveals senior Congress leader requested 35, Lodhi Estate be allotted to another INC MP so Priyanka Gandhi could stay on

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri took to Twitter to reveal that a senior Congress leader had called him up on 4 July 2020 at 12:05 pm. Without revealing the name of the Congress member, Puri claimed that he had requested him to allocate 35 Lodhi road Lutyen’s bungalow to another INC MP so that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra could stay on.

This revelation came as a response to Priyanka Gandhi’s Tweet denying a report that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to a request to allow Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to retain the 35, Lodhi Estate Bungalow for some time. The report said that after the government directive, the Centre was approached to grant permission to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to stay on in the government bungalow for some more time. It furthered that when the matter was brought to PM Modi’s notice, he accepted her request.

Calling the report “fake”, the Gandhi-scion Tweeted that she had made no such request to the government. She said that as per the eviction letter handed to her on the 1st of July, she would be vacating the government accommodation at 35 Lodhi Estate by the 1st of August.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra served notice to vacate the Lutyen’s bungalow

On July 1, 2020, senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was served a notice to vacate her bungalow provided by the Government of India. She got the bungalow because she was an SPG protectee. However, despite losing the SPG security allocated to her, last year, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had continued to stay in the bungalow, that too on reduced rent.

Last year in November, the SPG cover provided to Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was withdrawn and replaced by CRPF security. And since then, almost 8 months have passed, but the Gandhi-scion has continued to stay in the government bungalow.

Rajasthan crisis deepens: Congress fires Sachin Pilot as Deputy CM and state Congress chief, accuses him conspiring with BJP to destabilise govt

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan crisis deepens: Congress fires Sachin Pilot as Deputy CM and state Congress chief, accuses him conspiring with BJP to destabilise govt

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala today announced that Congress rebel leader Sachin Pilot has been sacked as Rajasthan state Congress chief and removed from his post of Deputy Chief Minister of the state.

Govind Singh Dotasra has been appointed in his place, reported news agency ANI. As per reports, Pilot loyalist Mukesh Bhakar also removed as state youth Congress President. ANI Editor Smita Prakash reported that as per Surjewala, Congress high command spoke to Pilot 6 times and others spoke to him dozens of times to placate him. However, Pilot became part of BJP conspiracy to destabilise the Congress government in Rajasthan, Surjewala alleged. He added that Pilot and his supporters are fired from their posts.

Earlier today, MLAs present at the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting held at Fairmont Hotel in Jaipur, unanimously resolved to remove Pilot from the post of the state party chief.

Rajasthan political crisis

The move comes days after the cracks within Rajasthan Congress widened and the infighting became public. After the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly elections, a power tussle ensued between Congress’ old guard Ashok Gehlot and youth leader Sachin pilot for the coveted post of the Chief Minister. Pilot was sidelined and Gehlot was made the CM. After a long-drawn battle, Congress has today sacked Sachin Pilot from post of Deputy CM.

Youth Congress is horrified at KP Sharma Oli’s Ayodhya comment, but Congress itself said there is no evidence for existence of Shri Ram

OpIndia Staff
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Youth Congress is horrified at KP Sharma Oli’s Ayodhya comment, but Congress itself said there is no evidence for existence of Shri Ram

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli created quite a storm on social media on Monday after claiming that Shri Ram is Nepali and India has created a ‘fake Ayodhya’. The real Ayodhya, according to Oli, is in Nepal. He was slammed for his comments by his countrymen and Indians alike. Opposition parties in Nepal said that it does not behove a PM to make such ridiculous assertions.

During the whole controversy, Youth Congress, the youth wing of the Congress party, too jumped on the scene and demonstrated what appeared to be unnecessary bravado. Instead of speaking out against Oli, IYC claimed that ‘They’ have banned Indian channels and went on to ask, ‘Nepal has the guts to say Lord Ram is not son of Indian soil?’

The comment by the IYC appears rather disingenuous as ‘Nepal’ had not claimed that Shri Ram is a Nepali, it is only KP Sharma Oli, who has been in poor health lately, who made the claim. Instead of hitting out at the Nepalese Prime Minister, as most people did, the IYC instead took the opportunity to hit out at Nepal as a whole.

The conduct of the IYC appears even more disconcerting given the fact that the UPA Government headed by the Congress party had told the Supreme Court that there was no historical evidence for the existence of Shri Ram. According to the then UPA government, the Ramaya lacked ‘scientific and historical veracity’.

“Valmiki Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas admittedly form an important part of ancient Indian literature, but these cannot be said to be historical records to incontrovertibly prove the existence of the characters and occurrences of events depicted therein,” the UPA government had told the Supreme Court in an affidavit. The affidavit was filed to register the UPA government’s opposition to the demand to scrap the Sethusamudram project as it would damage the Ram Setu.

Given such circumstances, for a party that does not believe in the existence of Shri Ram, the false display of bravado on social media by its youth wing appears to be a deliberate ploy to further harm India’s relationship with Nepal for political benefits. In recent times, tensions between the two countries have been simmering as Nepal updated its map claiming Indian territories for itself.

Chinese influence on Nepal has been growing and many have speculated that China has instigated Nepal against India. On that note, it is also pertinent to remember that the Congress party had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Communist Party and a controversy had ensued recently when donations made to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation by the Government of China became common knowledge.

Employee Welfare Scheme launched in the name of late Arun Jaitley; Family donates pension for Group ‘C’ employees of Rajya Sabha

OpIndia Staff
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Employee Welfare Scheme launched in the name of late Arun Jaitley; Family donates pension for Group ‘C’ employees of Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha has launched its “Employee Welfare Scheme”, named after the former Finance Minister and BJP stalwart late Arun Jaitley.

Jaitley’s wife, Sangeeta Jaitley has donated the family pension for the betterment of the Group C employees of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. The scheme will be called ‘Arun Jaitley Financial Assistance for group C employees scheme’.

Children of the Group C employees will be rewarded with this welfare scheme, providing them three scholarships for higher technical/professional education in the fields of Engineering, Medicine and MCA/MBA/LLB. Along with this, families of Group C employees will be supported with a finance cover in case of death and medical emergency.

The family pension of Arun Jaitley at the present rates comes to over Rs 3 lakh and his wife, Sangeeta Jaitley has already transferred the amount to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat for the period after Mr Jaitley’s death last year.

Arun Jaitley’s family donates pension to lesser paid employees of Rajya Sabha

The family had refused to accept the former finance minister’s due pension last year on the grounds of Mr Jaitley’s “philanthropist past”. In a letter written to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha and also marked to PM Modi, following the death of Arun Jaitley, Sangeeta Jaitley had asked that the pension due be offered to Class IV Rajya Sabha staff.

According to the Salary and Allowances of Members of Parliament Act, a former MP is entitled to a minimum pension of Rs 20,000 per month and an additional pension of Rs 1,500 per month for every year served as member of either Houses for a period exceeding five years. Jaitley has been a Rajya Sabha member since 1999 which qualified him to receive an additional Rs 22500 per month. The total monthly pension entitled to Arun Jaitley would have been around Rs 47500.

However, Family pension to spouse or dependent of a member or ex-MP is equal to 50 per cent of the pension otherwise sanctioned to such departed member/ex-MP. Thus, Arun Jaitley’s family was eligible to get about Rs 25000 per month or Rs 3 lakh per annum as pension.

The BJP stalwart breathed his last on August 24, 2019, at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after suffering from a prolonged illness. He was admitted to the hospital on August 9 after he had complained of breathlessness and uneasiness.

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