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Coronavirus positive cases in India crosses 10,000 mark, over 1,000 recovered and discharged

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus positive cases in India crosses 10,000 mark, over 1,000 recovered and discharged

As of April 14, 2020, total number of Chinese coronavirus positive cases in India has crossed the 10,000 mark. Of these, 1,035 have been recovered and discharged while 339 people have lost their lives.

Total Coronavirus cases in India

As per the official data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India has registered total 10,363 coronavirus positive cases till now. Of these, 8,988 are active while 1,035 have been cured and discharged from hospitals. As per the ministry data, Maharashtra is worst hit with as many as 2,334 positive cases followed by Delhi which has 1,510 cases. Tamil Nadu has 1,173 cases. Maharashtra has also registered highest deaths at 160 cases.

Coronavirus lockdown in India

On 24 March, 2020, Prime Minister Modi in his address to the nation announced that the entire country will be under a lockdown to prevent spread of coronavirus. Following the directives, many states sealed their borders to stop movement of passengers from other states. After the lockdown was announced, hundreds of attendees at Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin were found living inside the markaz, many of whom were foreign nationals. Tablighi Jamaat is an Islamic evangelical event where Muslims are encouraged to live the life as prescribed by Prophet Mohammad. The discovery of Jamaat attendees in Delhi, many of whom had left for other states in India, led to a huge spike in the coronavirus positive cases in India.

In his address to nation today, Prime Minister Modi announced extension of nationwide lockdown till May 3.

PM Modi announces nationwide lockdown extension till May 3, here are the details of the PM’s address

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi announces nationwide lockdown extension till May 3, here are the details of the PM’s address

Prime Minister Modi in his address to nation today announced the extension of nationwide lockdown till May 3.

Thanking for cooperation

PM Modi began his address by thanking the people of India for following the guidelines and helping in containing the pandemic. “It is because of your sacrifices that we in India have managed to contain the contagion. I know many faced problems with shortage of food and not being able to move around. But because of the greater good, you continued to march ahead like a dedicated and disciplined soldier of India. The ‘We the people’ we talk about in our Constitution is this,” PM Modi said.

Lives matter more than economic loss

PM Modi said that while the lockdown has been expensive and an added burden on economy, it is insignificant against the precious lives of the countrymen. “The way India is moving forward with limited means, that is being lauded across the world,” PM Modi said. PM Modi said that he had a word with the chief ministers of states and suggestions also poured in from citizens to extend the lockdown. “Many states have already announced extension of lockdown. Hence, after weighing all options, it has been decided that the lockdown should be extended till 3rd May,” PM Modi announced.

Lockdown extension till May 3

“Till 3rd May, everyone must stay home and maintain discipline. We must ensure that till 3rd May coronavirus does not spread to any new region which does not have any positive case. If more people test positive in local areas, then it is a cause of concern for us. Hence, we must be more careful regarding hotspots. Identified hotspots should be more careful and those areas which have a possibility of turning into hotspots should be more alert. Newer hotspots will be a challenge to our efforts,” PM Modi said.

The 1-week test

PM Modi further said that the restrictions will be even more stringent in coming week. “Till April 20, every area, district, city, state will be keenly observed and checked how the lockdown is being followed. We will see how they have tried to save themselves from spreading coronavirus. Whichever area succeeds in this 1-week test, will get some conditional relief and relaxation. Some important and essential movements may be allowed in these areas after 20th,” PM Modi said.

“The poor and needy like daily wage earners are the most affected and I am most concerned about them. My first priority is to ease their lives. The new guidelines will cover them. This is also the season of harvest for Rabi crops. The central and state governments will work together so that farmers do not face any problem,” PM Modi said.

Read: Coronavirus: As three-week lockdown comes to an end, here are the states which have already extended it little longer

Invoking Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on his birth anniversary, PM Modi said that the collective effort of the citizens and the dedication is the true tribute to him. A lot of states and cultures celebrate various festivals today. PM Modi thanked them for celebrating them at home and not stepping out. PM Modi said that India started airport screening when there were not a single coronavirus positive case in India. And announced a 21-day lockdown when there were about 550 cases. “Because India did not wait for situation to worsen, we took decisive action to stop the conditions to worsen,” PM Modi said.

Support and commitment

Urging the citizens to keep their patience and strength, PM Modi asked for support in seven things. He urged the people to take extra care of the elders in the homes especially those who have a prior illness as they are more susceptible to coronavirus. “Second thing, make sure the social distancing is maintained during the extended lockdown. Do not step out of the house without a mask. Third, follow guidelines issued by Ayush Ministry to improve your immunity. Download the Aarogya Setu app to help contain the coronavirus pandemic. Try to help as many poor people as you could. Do not terminate your employees in such time and finally, respect the frontline workers who are fighting the pandemic like the doctors, nurses, healthcare staff, policemen,” PM Modi said.

Coronavirus: PM Modi changes his profile picture, now dons a homemade mask

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: PM Modi changes his profile picture, now dons a homemade mask

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today changed his profile picture on social media networks. He now wears a homemade mask to create awareness of wearing a mask to contain spread of coronavirus.

PM Modi changes his profile image

This was his earlier profile image.

Prime Minister Modi’s old profile image

Narendra Modi also changed his profile picture on other social media networks.

PM Modi Facebook profile picture

PM Modi in his address to nation today extended the nationwide lockdown till May 3 to fight Chinese coronavirus. He also urged strict implementation of lockdown guidelines at least till 20th April. PM Modi also urged the citizens to wear a mask if they step out in times of emergency.

Maharashtra: NCP leader and minister Jitendra Awhad under quarantine after 16 persons associated with him test positive for coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: NCP leader and minister Jitendra Awhad under quarantine after 16 persons associated with him test positive for coronavirus

On Monday, Maharashtra Housing Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Jitendra Awhad reportedly tested negative for the Wuhan Coronavirus while 16 of his contacts were diagnosed with the deadly infection. The family members of the politician, including his wife and children, had also tested negative.

According to the Thane Municipal Corporation, the infected people include 5 bodyguards, 1 cook, 1 TV journalist, 1 cameraman, 5 police personnel, and NCP workers. They were admitted to the Horizon Hospital in Thane West.

As per reports, of the 28 coronavirus positive cases reported from Thane, half are the people associated with Ahwad. However, some reports say that the number of coronavirus positive persons associated with Ahwad is 14.

Self-Quarantine

Jitendra Awhad who represents the Kalwa-Mumbra Assembly constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly had earlier decided to self-quarantine after he had come in contact with a Coronavirus positive police officer. He took this decision as a preventive measure even before his test results were announced.

“I have home quarantined myself. I was doing good work of distribution of food packets among the poor, and am worried that it will get infected”, Awhad was quoted as saying. He assured that his contacts who were diagnosed with the Chinese virus would be taken care of and that he was in touch with the concerned authorities.

The ‘Source’ of Infection

On Friday, a senior police inspector who nabbed 21 foreign nationals belonging to the Tablighi Jamaat had tested positive for the Chinese Virus. When he began exhibiting symptoms of the Coronavirus pandemic, he was tested and admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Nashik in Maharashtra. The infected cop is believed to be the source of transmission of the deadly disease to the 16 contacts of NCP politician.

The police inspector had apprehended 8 Malaysians, and 13 Bangladeshis who attended the Nizamuddin Markaz between March 13 and March 15. They were hiding in a mosque and a school in Mumbra in Maharashtra. The foreign nationals had travelled to Maharashtra via Tamil Nadu. Two police cases were registered against the mosque and school authorities for withholding information by Maharashtra police.

Allegations of Assault

Earlier, a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged at Vartak Nagar police station against Maharashtra cabinet minister Jitendra Awhad by a resident of Thane, alleging that two police constables and goons allegedly associated with Awhad had badly assaulted him. As per the complaint filed, the young man had opposed the NCP leader’s call to boycott PM Modi’s request to light a lamp for 9 minutes at 9 PM on April 5.

When a crisis is as big as the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, we need taskmasters as strong as Yogi Adityanath

Shantanu Gupta
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When a crisis is as big as the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, we need taskmasters as strong as Yogi Adityanath

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. When a crisis is as big as the Chinese coronavirus, we need taskmasters as strong as Yogi Adityanath. Yogi is leading Uttar Pradesh like a CEO in the last three years and his exemplary leadership against the coronavirus pandemic proves it again. In the last video conferencing with Chief Ministers on the pandemic, PM Narendra Modi especially praised the UP-Model. Let us understand what the UP Model for fighting coronavirus is? And what other states can learn from UP.

Swift and strict action

Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India, with high population density and that makes the coronavirus attack event more challenging for UP. Even before the national lockdown was declared on 25th March, 16 districts of UP were locked down from 23rd to 25th March. In any district where more than 6 positive COVID cases were found, hot spots were identified and those areas were locked up completely. The whole area around the hotspots is barricaded, with ways to go in and out only for the essential services staff – for health workers, sanitation workers and delivery staff. Medicines, Vegetables, Milk, Groceries etc were supplied at the door step, to enable complete lockdown. One Magistrate and Police officer is assigned to each hotspot area.

In the hotspot regions, each and every house and the whole area is meticulously disinfected through a medicinal spray using fire-brigade vehicles. All the people who came in primary and secondary contact of the coronavirus patient(s) in the hotspot area are tested. Anyone who flouts the lockdown in a hotspot area is penalised under section-188. Anyone who takes his or her vehicle out, the vehicle gets confiscated after a challan. Details of every household and every resident of the hotspot area is maintained. The whole process is being followed for 14 days and will be extended further if any more COVID cases are found in that area.

Yogi government, known for this strong grip on the law and order, has warned of strict action including jail for those who do not cooperate in the state’s efforts to control the novel Coronavirus outbreak and spread misinformation or rumours to create panic in the society. Six Tablighi Jamaat-linked persons were booked under NSA for misbehaving with nurses in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad. Masks have been made mandatory. Anyone who steps out of the house will have to wear a mask or cover their face.

Testing and treatment infrastructure

Testing is one the crucial steps in defeating the coronavirus spread. UP started with just 1 coronavirus testing lab and very within a short time state has developed 9 testing labs and 5 more labs will be commissioned soon. Other areas are connecting to these labs through collection centers. Starting from only 100 COVID-19 tests a day, now UP has rapidly geared up to test 2500 samples a day. Infact, now UP has obtained clearance from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to start “pool testing”, becoming the first in the country to attempt this method which aims at expediting the testing process for the coronavirus.

The ICMR has permitted the state to start pool testing. In this method, multiple swab samples are pooled together and tested. If the result of a collection of samples comes negative, then that means all the samples in that group are negative. However, if any sample is found positive, then each of those samples is tested individually. Now, the state has 78 level-1 coronavirus hospitals, 64 level-2 hospitals and 6 level-3 hospitals. The state has 9442 isolation beds, 12119 quarantine beds and 931 ventilator beds. State is continuously innovating and daily increasing its capacity on all these fronts.

Protective gear for the health workers, Masks, Sanitizers and Ventilators are four crucial items for the war against coronavirus. The Yogi Government is ensuring that all the production units in the state producing protective gear for coronavirus are being run, with necessary precautions. State has 50 such units for producing PPE and Face Masks, out of which 48 are operational and other 2 will be made active soon. 40 new units for producing sanitizers were given permissions and now 99 sanitizer units are active in the state. In Noida, AgVa Healthcare in Joint Venture with Maruti Suzuki has developed a monthly capacity of producing 10 thousand ventilators. 

Welfare and financial assistance

Strict lockdown undoubtedly is one of the major solutions at hand today to fight against the Chinese virus. But lockdown is also coming heavy on the people who earn their living by the day. Yogi government has taken series of actions to provide a strong safety net to all such sections of the population. Direct Cash transfer of Rs 1000 each is already been done in the bank accounts of 12.25 Lac registered construction workers in Uttar Pradesh. In urban areas, online cash transfer of Rs 1000 each is done to more than 4 Lac street vendors, auto-rickshaw drivers, e-rickshaw drivers and other daily wage earners and in rural areas Rs 1000 online cash transfer is done to more than 2.86 Lac destitute people.

Read: Uttar Pradesh: Yogi Adityanath govt to compensate daily wage earners for loss due to coronavirus

In addition to that, the Yogi government has ensured that the labour forces of more than 28,933 factories in the state are being paid their salaries by their employers. More than 86 Lac beneficiaries of old-age pension, Divyang pension and destitute pension were given two months of advance pension of the new financial year, amounting to Rs 871 crores in total. Ration was distributed to 2.73 Crore ration card holders including 91 lacs beneficiaries in the free ration category. Payment for 27.15 lac MNREGA workers amounting to Rs 611 crore were transferred online to their accounts. These quick cash transfers are being possible only because of the Jan-Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile (JAM) trinity promoted and established by PM Narendra Modi despite huge resistance in the last 6 years. Today it’s proving to be a Sanjivani Booti in the adverse times. 

Managing health services

To strengthen and monitor the health services in the state and provide relief to the affected people, eleven different high-level committees are formed. Senior police and administrative officers are assigned different states to resolve problems of residents of Uttar Pradesh stuck in those states. Helpline at the CM office is constantly in touch with Gram Sarpanch and Municipal Corporators throughout the state, to get regular feedback of the ground situation. Yogi Adityanath does not fail to do a daily follow up with the heads of each of these task forces, before closing the day’s business.

While keeping the tap on the current situation, Yogi has a constant eye on the future for the state. Yogi is looking to woo disenchanted multinational companies looking to shift their manufacturing bases away from China in the backdrop of the coronavirus outbreak.

He has directed top bureaucrats at the industrial development and MSME department to work out a special package, which could be offered to such companies in addition to the existing incentives already in place to attract private sector investment.

Yogi government in 3 years

CM Yogi has earned many difficult victories for Uttar Pradesh on the governance front in the last three years. To name a few – Yogi Adityanath has massively overhauled Public Distribution System (PDS) in Uttar Pradesh by connecting Ration Cards with Aadhar cards of 14.5 Crore beneficiaries and providing POS system to ration Shops. Yogi has made UP transport corporation profitable by meticulously expanding the services to new routes, exploiting technology to its fullest, cracking down on unsafe and un-authorized private bus services, saving on expenditure, tapping effectively on non-fare revenue and providing a quality experience to the passengers.

To educationists’ surprise, Yogi has strongly vouched for ‘learning outcomes’ along with school infrastructure for UP’s primary education. Through its Sabko Bijli, Paryapt Bijli and Nirbadh Bijli’, Yogi has massively overhauled the power infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh. Even after a series of exemplary governance initiatives, many of Yogi’s critics did not give him a breathing space in the last three years. But with his robust planning and execution of Uttar Pradesh’s strong action against COVID, even his ardent detractors are praising Yogi Adityanath and saying that in a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic, the states need a taskmaster like Yogi Adityanath.

Coronavirus: As three-week lockdown comes to an end, here are the states which have already extended it little longer

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: As three-week lockdown comes to an end, here are the states which have already extended it little longer

The three-week nationwide lockdown comes to an end today and Prime Minister Modi is to address the nation at 10 AM where he is expected to chalk out the further course of action on possible extension of lockdown as well as exit strategy in places where the spread of Chinese coronavirus is contained substantially. However, even before the central government makes any announcement, many states in India have already extended the lockdown.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has extended lockdown in Bengal up to 30th April and schools and colleges to remain closed till 10th June. Similarly, Maharashtra, Punjab and Telangana have also extended the lockdowns till 30th April. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday, even before any official announcement from the central government, claimed that PM Modi has decided on extending the lockdown till 30th April. Moreover, Maharashtra has announced extension till 30th April with no relaxation. As per ministry data, there are 2334 total confirmed cases in Maharashtra as of 14th April, 2020 8 AM, the highest in India.

Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are reportedly going to continue a modified lockdown where some essential shops may be allowed to remain open and activities such as agriculture may be resumed. The farmers may begin the purchase of Rabi crops from 15 April onward. Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh, too, online services and purchase of wheat may begin. However, people will still be strongly advised to stay home. While schools and colleges will continue to remain closed, home delivery of food from restaurants might resume.

In Haryana, while the lockdown may be extended, it may come with partial relaxation. Parts of the state where number of coronavirus positive persons is high may have stricter guidelines while there might be relaxation in parts where the contagion is contained. In Bihar while the lockdown extension may be continued with stricter guidelines, in Jharkhand, the extension may come with some relaxation for farmers. In Chhattisgarh, too, there might be some relaxation as the partial lockdown continues. Gujarat, where the number of coronavirus positive patients is also significantly high, has decided to follow Centre’s directives on the lockdown.

Coronavirus lockdown in India

On 24 March, 2020, Prime Minister Modi in his address to the nation announced that the entire country will be under a lockdown to prevent spread of coronavirus. Following the directives, many states sealed their borders to stop movement of passengers from other states. After the lockdown was announced, hundreds of attendees at Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin were found living inside the markaz, many of whom were foreign nationals. Tablighi Jamaat is an Islamic evangelical event where Muslims are encouraged to live the life as prescribed by Prophet Mohammad. The discovery of Jamaat attendees in Delhi, many of whom had left for other states in India, led to a huge spike in the coronavirus positive cases in India.

Leftist website The Quint sends 45 employees on indefinite leave without pay due to Coronavirus lockdown

OpIndia Staff
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Leftist website The Quint sends 45 employees on indefinite leave without pay due to Coronavirus lockdown

Digital far-left propagandist website The Quint has asked 45 employees to go on indefinite leave without pay in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. The list of employees sent on indefinite leave by the propagandists at The Quint includes reporters, copy editors, a bureau chief, production staff and the entire technology team. The team was informed through an email on Monday, which has been accessed by OpIndia, that with effect from the 15th of April, the employees have been sent on ‘furlough’ for an indefinite period.

The email says, “Over the next few weeks whether India will fare poorly in the face of COVID-19, or miraculously survive, no one can say right now. Second, the scale of shutdown and lockdown that #CoronaPandemic has prompted, puts us all in the eye of an economic storm. That is the unprecedented double whammy. We’ve never seen a world where consumer spending is down by over 50%, where wealth and asset values built over years, have been ravaged in a matter of days. We simply have no idea where this could end.”

“In these circumstances, it is clear that our revenues will be under severe strain over the next 3-4 months, at least. During this time, The Quint’s primary objectives should be – a. For everybody to stay healthy. b. For our young operation to survive this period and live to fight another day. That can happen if we take emergency actions, measures only used in the ‘rarest of rare’ situations, measures that may constrain us all, but may also help us stay afloat at a time like this,” the email adds.

The Quint claimed that it was not happy to have made the decision to send their employees on indefinite leave without pay and remained immensely grateful to the indebted employees. Apart from The Quint, layoffs and furloughs are also being reported from other news organizations as they suffer a cash crunch due to the economic crisis unleashed by the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. A lot of people have lost their jobs due to the unprecedented crisis and more are expected to lose as the crisis unfolds further.

‘Muslim men, women and children were chased out of their homes’: Here is how The Wire spread fake news blatantly

OpIndia Staff
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‘Muslim men, women and children were chased out of their homes’: Here is how The Wire spread fake news blatantly

The factory of lies, leftist online rag, The Wire, has yet again been caught spreading fake news. This time, the propaganda machine fallaciously claimed that the women, children and men belonging to the Muslim community and living their lives along the border of Punjab of Himachal have been forced to live on the riverbed without food and water, after being abused, beaten and chased out of their homes. This falsehood was purveyed none other the owner of the portal, Siddharth Varadarajan, who had recently received a notice for falsely attributing a quote to UP CM Yogi Adityanath in one of his mendacious reports.

Before long, the lie spread like a wildfire as propagandists and Hinduphobic ‘journalists’ such as Rana Ayyub and Saba Naqvi quickly lapped up the fake news peddled by ‘The Wire’ and disseminated it even further. Taking cognisance of the deceitful report published by ‘The Wire’, the Hoshiarpur Police rubbished the allegations furnished evidence to bust the Wire’s vile propaganda.

First of all, it is pertinent to note here that the Wire in its report claims that there has been no complaint of Muslim families being abused and chased out of their homes reported to the Hoshiarpur Police. Despite this, ‘The Wire’ resorted to sophistries and manipulations to portray the Muslim families as victims of the majoritarian oppression. Police responded to the tweet of S. Vardarajan in this regard. Dismissing the report, the Hoshiarpur police said, “This is a lie. Please do not post articles that cause panic in people during this time of crisis. We need to get together and fight and help people aware of this epidemic… there is no need to panic. ”

Apart from this, Hoshiarpur Police also tweeted a video from their official Twitter handle. In the video, a young man named Saraj Din is seen telling the police that they are absolutely comfortable and have no problem living there. He also added that they being fed properly twice a day and are getting ration as well. Likewise, another man interviewed by the police claims similar things in the video. While sharing this video, the police wrote, “Gujjars are good. Don’t spread fake news.”

It is noteworthy to mention here that Saraj Din who claims that he did not endure any oppression in the video uploaded by Hoshiarpur police is the same man who is cited by the ‘The Wire’ in its report to assert that he was subjected to abuse, violence and compelled to stay hungry on the river banks.

Significantly, despite Hoshiarpur police’s tweet debunking the lies spread by ‘The Wire, the article is gaining traction on social media. Apparently, even after police issued a clarification, social media users are considering the report published by ‘The Wire’ as true. The Wire has also continued promulgating its report unabashedly without pulling down the fake news or apologising for its mistake. On the other hand, the Hoshiarpur police have assured that the Gujjar Muslim community living alongside the riverbed is safe and they are being provided with food, water and ration.

A day ago, the Hoshiarpur Police has issued a tweet informing that Inspector Bhushan, on the instructions of senior officials, had supplied essential eatables to the people of Gujjar community. He also ensured that all the necessary steps will be taken in the time of crisis to provide vital facilities to the needy.

As Coronavirus lockdown nears the end of 21-day period, no new cases were reported in 25 districts of 15 states: Here is the list

OpIndia Staff
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As Coronavirus lockdown nears the end of 21-day period, no new cases were reported in 25 districts of 15 states: Here is the list

While the nationwide lockdown amidst the coronavirus crisis may have chipped away at the country’s economy, it has certainly helped in containing the spread of the coronavirus. Though some pockets in the country have witnessed a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, the lockdown in some areas has proved beneficial in the country’s fight against the virus. As a consequence of the lockdown, 25 districts of 15 states have reported no new cases in the last 14 days.

A senior official of the Union Health Ministry briefed the media on Monday that the imposition of strict restrictions preventing the movement of people during the last 20 days has helped in blunting the spread of the contagion, known for its ominous contagiousness.

The 25 districts in 15 states that have reported no new cases despite reporting COVID-19 cases initially are:-

  1. Gondia (Maharashtra)
  2. Raj Nand Gaon (Chattisgarh)
  3. Durg (Chattisgarh)
  4. Bilaspur (Chattisgarh)
  5. Davangiri (Karnataka)
  6. Kodagu (Karnataka)
  7. Tumkuru (Karnataka)
  8. Udupi (Karnataka)
  9. South Goa (Goa)
  10. Wayanad (Kerala)
  11. Kottayam (Kerala)
  12. West Imphal (Manipur)
  13. Rajouri (J&K)
  14. Aizwal West (Mizoram)
  15. Mahe (Puducherry)
  16. SBS Nagar (Punjab)
  17. Patna (Bihar)
  18. Nalanda (Bihar)
  19. Munger (Bihar)
  20. Pratapgarh (Rajasthan)
  21. Panipat (Haryana)
  22. Rohtak (Haryana)
  23. Sirsa (Haryana)
  24. Pauri Garhwal (Uttrakhand)
  25. Bhadradari Kothagudem (Telangana)

Lauding the front line warriors such as doctors, policemen, healthcare professionals and workers, Luv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health, emphasised that due to their efforts, the contagion has been managed to be under control and as a result of their efforts, 25 districts in 15 states, which had earlier reported cases of coronavirus have not reported any new case during last 20 days of the lockdown.

In addition, while briefing the media, Aggarwal claimed that help is being sought from the National Cadet Corps in combating the virus along with carrying out relief work for those in distress due to lockdown. So far more than 50,000 people have volunteered. So far, more than 30 crore people have been given financial assistance of Rs 28256 crore, he said.

He said that the states are continuously working to implement lockdown measures. Retired personnel, officers of NSS (National Service Scheme), NCC cadets and other depots are also assisting the police in implementing the lockdown measures.

Speaking about the movement of essential goods around the country, Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Home Ministry, said that there is no restriction on the inter-state or intra-state movement of all trucks and goods carriers. She added that goods of any nature have been permitted to be transported across the country.

The number of coronavirus cases have steadily risen in India with the current tally of 8048 active coronavirus cases across the nation. About 324 deaths nationwide due to COVID-19 have been reported so far. Maharashtra tops the list of states with the highest number of infection, an overwhelming number of which have been reported from the financial capital of the country, Mumbai.

Read how Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire whitewashed the Godhra Massacre and spread propaganda regarding Gujarat Riots

OpIndia Staff
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Read how Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire whitewashed the Godhra Massacre and spread propaganda regarding Gujarat Riots

GujaratRiots.com, which has been telling the truth about the Gujarat riots that the mainstream media wishes to suppress, recently in an article for the myvoice section of OpIndia.com elaborated on the manner in which Siddharth Varadarajan, the founding-editor of leftist propaganda outlet The Wire, attempted to whitewash the Godhra Massacre where dozens of Hindus, including women and children, were murdered by Radical Muslims. In fact, Siddharth Varadarajan had implied that the post-Godhra riots would have occurred even without the massacre of Hindus.

In an article for Outlook in August 2004, Siddharth Varadarajan wrote, “Far from being a spontaneous mass reaction to the attack on the Sabarmati Express at Godhra the day before in which 58 Hindu passengers died, the killings across most of Gujarat seemed scripted. So well chosen were the targets that it is almost as if there was already in place a plan to do something dramatic as part of the ongoing Ayodhya agitation, probably in order to polarise the state on communal lines in the run-up to state elections that the BJP might have had some difficulty winning on the basis of its actual performance.” Varadarajan did not stop there. He went on to say:

“If Godhra hadn’t happened, would it have been necessary to invent it? I don’t know, but the Godhra incident itself is so shrouded in mystery that it is almost as if the official narrative which emerged within minutes and hours of the train being consumed by fire is an invented one, conveniently conjured up to provide the “rationale” for the pogrom which had simultaneously been ordained.”

Siddharth Varadarajan concluded in the article, “Had Godhra not happened, would Naroda Patiya have burned, would Ehsan Jafri have been killed, the Best Bakery been destroyed and Bilkis Bano been raped? These questions are deeply problematic because they are tainted by the bankruptcy of the Sangh parivar’s moral arithmetic. When you have an organisation like the VHP whose cadres are capable of the most horrific violence, when you have a police force that is willing to let innocent citizens be attacked, and when you have chief ministers and prime ministers who offer post-facto justifications for genocide, it is a dangerous delusion to believe the Gujarat violence occurred because of Godhra. The Gujarat violence happened because the government wanted it to. Godhra was just the excuse.”

In another article the same month for The Hindu, Siddharth Varadarajan made similar assertions. He wrote, “…Based on eyewitness testimony, what is indisputable is that a mob consisting of residents from the nearby Muslim locality of Signal Falia, as well as individuals who might have run after the train from the station, stoned S-6. Several passengers also testified that burning rags were flung at the coach.”

Then, consistent with his intended narrative, Siddharth Varadarajan proceeded to say, “…If the eyewitness testimony is correct and no one from the mob boarded the train to pour petrol or any other flammable liquid, how did the fire start? Could the burning rags have ignited the fire, a possibility that the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report discounts? And what accounts for the thick, black, acrid smoke which many S-6 passengers remember more than the fire? Is there a design flaw in the construction of Indian railcars that makes them fire prone? Was some flammable material already present in the coach, like gas or kerosene, which caught fire inadvertently? Was there an agent provocateur on board bent on causing maximum damage?”

Siddharth Varadarajan wrote another article in January 2005 where he has made similar narrative points to tarnish the reputation of Narendra Modi, who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat. He wrote, “Nevertheless, the burden of evidence gathered so far definitely does not seem to support the pre-planned conspiracy theory of the police. Mr. Justice Banerjee and the Hazards Centre experts aver that the fire was most likely caused by an accident, though there is no doubting the fact that coach S-6 was stoned by an angry mob.” He added, “That there was an accidental fire at the same time an angry mob was throwing stones from outside might seem like something of a coincidence. Perhaps it was the panic induced by the stoning which made an accident more likely — a half-smoked cigarette thrown down carelessly, a stove used for making tea not turned off properly.”

Even in the immediate aftermath of the Gujarat Riots, Siddharth Varadarajan was busy fueling propaganda against Narendra Modi and the BJP Government in Gujarat. He did so in the 1st March 2002 edition of Times of India. He wrote:

“While official enquiry will establish the extent to which the attack on the Sabarmati Express was pre-meditated, there can be no doubt about the planned nature of the violence directed against Gujarat’s Muslims on Thursday (28th February)”.

Since then, there have numerous convictions in the Godhra Train Burning Case and a planned conspiracy has been established in the matter. A Special SIT court in Ahmedabad convicted Yakub Pataliya in March 2019 and sentenced him to life imprisonment earlier in the day in 2002 Godhra train burning case. Pataliya was arrested by Godhra Police in January 2018. He was accused of being a part of the mob that set the two coaches of Sabarmati Express on fire near Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002 that led to communal riots in Gujarat. The Special SIT court had also sentenced two other accused Farukh Bhana and Imran alias Sheru Batuk to life imprisonment in August 2018.

The Special SIT court had convicted 31 people in the case on March 1, 2011 while acquitting 63. The court had also accepted the Prosecution’s theory that there was a conspiracy to burn the coach S6 of Sabarmati Express. 11 out the 31 convicted were given death sentence while the remaining were granted life imprisonment. The verdict of the Special SIT court was challenged in Gujarat High Court. In 2017 the Gujarat High Court commuted the death penalty of 11 convicts to life imprisonment while upholding the sentence of the remaining 20.

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