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Prasar Bharati has not fired any employee: Here is how The Hindu and Indian Express spread fake news

OpIndia Staff
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Prasar Bharati has not fired any employee: Here is how The Hindu and Indian Express spread fake news

Amidst the Coronavirus outbreak, as India went into complete lockdown first for 21-days and then, an extended period till the 3rd of May, Prime Minister Modi had appealed to business houses to ensure that no employee is fired from their job. He had appealed to people to show compassion and ensure that payments to employees were not reduced as well, considering owing to the lockdown, several employees would not be able to discharge their duties. As the nation deals with the Coronavirus pandemic and the economic and human cost of it, there are certain media houses that are indulging in spreading blatant misinformation and fake news to either create panic or to use the pandemic to target the Modi government.

There were two articles published, one in The Hindu and the other in the Indian Express that did just that – spread fake news at a time the nation is dealing with a pandemic. The articles aimed to target Prasar Bharati, India’s Public Service Broadcaster, and allege that the channel had fired its employees amidst the Coronavirus pandemic despite the directive from the Prime Minister about retaining employees through the lockdown period.

How The Indian Express spread fake news about Prasar Bharati under-paying its employees amidst the Coronavirus lockdown

Indian Express published an article in its section called ‘Delhi Confidential’, headlined ‘Against Appeal’. The article, published on the 16th of April 2020 claimed that Prasar Bharati had underpaid its employees despite the appeal from the Prime Minister.

The article said,

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reiterated his earlier request to employers to be sensitive to their employees and the Labour and Finance ministries had mentioned in March that even contractual and casual workers should be paid in full and considered on duty for the lockdown days. All India Radio, however, may have ignored the advice of both. Many casual employees, who work as presenters, producers, script-writers, etc, for AIR have only been paid for the days they were called in March, even though many of them had shown willingness to come for more shows”.

Very clearly, the article in the Indian Express aimed to insinuate the following:

  1. India’s public service broadcaster itself is not adhering to the appeal by the Prime Minister
  2. That the “employees” of Prasar Bharati were not being paid fully
  3. That Prasar Bharati was essentially only calling “employees” for work when required and paying them for those days instead of the full amount owed to them under normal circumstances
  4. That the employees want to work and get paid for it, however, Prasar Bharati, in an effort to cost-cut during the lockdown is not allowing them to do so.

First and foremost, the use of the phrase “May have ignored the advice” itself gives away the charade of this article being “news”. Clearly, Indian Express had no basis to claim what it did other than either gossip or plain malice.

Further, in a letter written to Indian Express by Prasar Bharati, that has been accessed by OpIndia, the entire web of lies have been exposed threadbare.

In the latter, Prasar Bharati says that the article is “factually incorrect and is not only unfair to All India Radio but also is likely to mislead the readers”.

Detailing its position, Prasar Bharati makes the following points:

  1. The letter written by Prasar Bharati to Indian Express says that the people mentioned by Indian Express are not “employees” of Prasar Bharati but “part-time freelancers who are engaged on a need basis only and are referred to as Casual Assignees. They are paid for the number of assignments done by them”.
  2. The clarify that there exists no employer-employee relationship between these individuals and Prasar Bharati.
  3. These casual assignees continue to receive payments from All India Radio for assignments completed as may have been assigned to them during the lockdown period. There is no entitlement for casual assignees to receive payments from All India Radio outside of assignments.
  4. They are free to accept employments in other public and private organizations of their choice or pursue any other business or profession. Such persons can be teachers, managers, engineers, doctors, lawyers or entrepreneurs and can yet contribute to All India Radio as casual assignees in their spare time.

In fact, sources in Prasar Bharati tell OpIndia that several casual assignees have been working on assignments for delivery of AIR services such as FM Rainbow, Vividh Bharati, AIR News among others during the lockdown while there have also been instances of casual assignees declining assignments due to constraints and other pre-occupations.

It is thus evident that Prasar Bharati is in no way defying the appeal made by the Prime Minister. The casual assignees are being paid for the freelance work they do with the Broadcaster as earlier and the insinuation by Indian Express that Prasar Bharati is paying its “employees” less than what they are owed is factually incorrect and seems completely concocted.

How The Hindu spread fake news about Prasar Bharati firing its employees amidst the Coronavirus lockdown

The Hindu, which is known to spread fake news, seems to have done it again. In an article published on April 16, The Hindu claimed that 80 Radio Jockeys (RJs) of Delhi FM Gold are out of work and not been paid despite govt orders.

Fake news published by The Hindu

Interestingly, in the article itself, the writer admits that they are casual workers. Being casual workers, they are called in only when the ‘need arises’ and hence, there is no employer-employee relationship that exists. Delhi FM Gold is again an All India Radio offering and hence, this hitjob seems designed to target the government itself.

When there exists no employer-employee relationship, and these RJs are called in “when the need arises” to begin with, it is not within anyone’s ‘right’ to demand that they be called in for assignments. In fact, the headline is preposterous as no radio channel possibly functions with 80 RJs on its payroll.

The Press Information Bureau too issued a clarification on the fake news by The Hindu.

What the CEO of Prasar Bharati said

The CEO of Prasar Bharati, Shashi Shekhar said that, “Several casual assignees drawn from the various panels continue to be engaged across the network of @AkashvaniAIR on a need basis subject to their availability and within the permissible limit of 6 assignments”.

Interestingly, Shashi Shekhar also revealed that there is a limit of 6 assignments per person that is already in place as far as All India Radio is concerned.

He further said that it was unfortunate that the media was publishing misleading details regarding the status of casual assignees without verifying factual position.

Repeat offence

The Hindu and Indian Express both habitually peddle fake news to further their agenda.

Recently, the Indian Express published a report claiming that the coronavirus patients and suspected cases have been segregated into separate wards on the basis of their religion at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. The report had claimed that Dr Gunvant H Rathod – who is the Medical Superintendent, had said that separate wards had been created for Hindu patients and Muslim patients as per a state government decision. 

According to Indian Express, Dr Rathod had said, “Generally, there are separate wards for male and female patients. But here, we have made separate wards for Hindu and Muslim patients.” On being asked the reason for such a segregation, Dr Rathod said, “It is a decision of the government and you can ask them.”

Read: Gujarat govt refutes Indian Express’ concocted lies on civil hospital segregating coronavirus patients on a religious basis

However, responding to the misinformation campaign of the Indian Express, the Gujarat government had categorically denied the claims. The Health Department of Gujarat had also clarified that no segregation is being done in the Ahmedabad civil hospital on the basis of religion for coronavirus patients. – article continues after ad — article resumes –

“Corona Patients are being treated based on symptoms, severity etc. and according to treating doctors’ recommendations,” the Gujarat government Health Department said in a statement.

Changed BMC test strategy could make the number of Coronavirus cases in Mumbai appear artificially lower

Abhishek Banerjee
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Changed BMC test strategy could make the number of Coronavirus cases in Mumbai appear artificially lower

There are two basic rules for dealing with the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic: first, the more strictly we observe the lockdown, the more we overreact, the safer we will be eventually. Second, the more boldly and honestly we face up to the bad news, the better we are prepared to fight it. It is our only way out of this nightmare. Over the last few days, Mumbai, the financial hub of India and the capital city of Maharashtra, has emerged as the greatest spot of worry for India as far as Coronavirus is concerned. This was not unexpected, for the maximum city is our financial capital. In the US, the city of New York has been left similarly devastated by the virus.

In the daily war against the virus, it must be understood that the actual number of cases is not nearly as significant. What is significant is the rate at which the number of cases is increasing. “Flattening the curve”, as everyone talks about nowadays. For example, the state of New York reported over 750 deaths just yesterday. As terrifying as that may be, it represents a growth of just 7% over the number from the day before. A month ago, these numbers were much smaller, but growing at a much faster pace.

That’s why this changed test strategy from the BMC is so worrying. The BMC has decided that it will no longer test contacts of patients, whether high risk or low risk, unless they start showing symptoms.

Mumbai mirror article detailing how BMC will not be testing patients who have no symptoms of Coronavirus
Mumbai mirror article detailing how BMC will not be testing patients who have no symptoms of Coronavirus

As the article in Mumbai Mirror notes, the BMC’s new approach differs from the strategy of the ICMR, which advises that “asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts of a confirmed case should be tested once between days 5 and day 14 of coming in contact.”

Read: Coordinated​ marketing cannot hide the Coronavirus mess being created in Maharashtra: Here are some facts

It is clear that this new strategy could lead to an artificial drop in the number of patients, giving a false sense of flattening the curve.

It is, of course, important to note that this new strategy does not mean that contacts of confirmed patients will be allowed to go around possibly infecting more people. The BMC is clear that they will be put into quarantine. But remember that the incubation period of the virus is anywhere between 5 to 14 days. Further, disturbing reports have emerged across the world, with instances of the virus taking even longer to show symptoms.

As such, putting contacts of confirmed cases into quarantine instead of testing them delays the feedback which we desperately need to be timely and precise.

On one hand, we should all understand the obvious capacity constraints under which the BMC is operating. On the other, there is room for genuine worry about the possibility of the state government using such tactics to make the numbers appear lower. After all, in the last few days, the state government has come off as almost comical in finding ways of passing the buck. Both related to the gathering of thousands of people in Bandra and the matter of certain privileged persons getting a pass to flout the lockdown. The possibility of some agencies of the state running a PR campaign with celebrities at a time like this also raises questions about priorities.

The role of liberal media is highly suspect as well. Many celebrity journalists have appeared to be more concerned with creating the image of “best CM” for Uddhav Thackeray, rather than holding the ruling party accountable for its performance. I wonder what the liberal media reaction would have been if a BJP-ruled state was the top hotspot in the country right now.

At a time like this, for the sake of Mumbai, Maharashtra and India, we can only hope that both our leaders and conscience keepers (self-appointed or otherwise) can rise above narrow political considerations. This would be an excellent time for Uddhav Thackeray to actually earn the title of “best CM” by performing on the ground. By saving Mumbai, Maharashtra and India. We all wish him well.

He removed his mask and spit on me, could expose me to Coronavirus: One Mohammed Elias arrested for spitting on Manipur woman

OpIndia Staff
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He removed his mask and spit on me, could expose me to Coronavirus: One Mohammed Elias arrested for spitting on Manipur woman

A 23-year-old man who had spit on a woman from Manipur was arrested on Friday, in Kalina area of Mumbai on April 6. The accused, Amir Mohammed Elias, is a Kurla resident, the Mumbai police said. According to the reports, the incident came to light when a friend of the victim had posted about the appaling incident on social media. The friend of the victim went by the name Linda Newami and had flagged the incident of the Manipur woman being spit on by a man on a bike, now identified as Amir Mohammad Elias.

The incident had occurred on April 6 afternoon when the 25-year-old victim along with her friend had walked from Geeta Vihar Junction towards the Military Camp in Kalina to collect the essential goods that were distributed by the police.

Elias ran away after spitting on victim from Manipur

The accused Amir Mohammed Elias, who is a delivery boy, approached towards them on a bike, took off his mask and spat on her near Kalina signal. The victim lodged a complaint at Vakola police station.

In her complaint, the victim said, “The biker came closer to me and removed his mask and spat on me before he sped on his bike. The biker’s act could expose me to coronavirus infection. I failed to note down the bike’s registration number as I was left in a shock.”

Over 100 CCTVs scanned to nab the accused: Mumbai Police

The police soon began to trace the accused Elias. They scanned over 100 closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage before tracking Elias’s address. The Mumbai police used an app to fix the blurred image of the vehicle registration number of the bike that he used to speed away after committing the offence.

The Vakola police team scanned through several CCTVs and also they scanned through the dump data of at least 1.5 lakh mobile users who were in the area on the day of the incident.

“The investigation team used an app to fix the blur pixel of the vehicle registration number and used dump data of phone users. Depending upon the activities of the phone users, the police zeroed in on the accused late on Thursday. The technical analysis helped in tracking the accused,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone VIII) Manjunath Singe.

However, the police said that Elias claimed that he has got the habit of chewing pan leaves and his act was not intentional.

The Vakola police have now registered a case under the Indian Penal Code sections 270 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 352 (Punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation) against Elias.

In a similar incident last week, a group of 4-5 women in the town of Rajasthan’s Kota, were seen spitting in polythenes bags and throwing them inside houses amidst coronavirus scare leaving people with a sense of fear and panic as cases of Chinese epidemic is on a rise in the country.

‘Fund of Funds’ worth Rs 10,000 crore being created for MSMEs to battle Coronavirus pandemic

OpIndia Staff
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‘Fund of Funds’ worth Rs 10,000 crore being created for MSMEs to battle Coronavirus pandemic

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday that the government will soon approve a fund of 10,000 crore rupees for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with high credit rating if they raise money from capital markets.

He said while addressing the participants at a Webinar organized by The Young President’s Organization, “We are releasing Rs 10,000 ‘Fund of funds’ for the good units of SMEs, which export and have a good turnover in banks.”

The MSME Minister informed that the proposal of Rs 10000 crore ‘Fund of Funds’ has been cleared by the central govt and soon will be sent to Union Cabinet for final approval. A separate scheme is being formulated for credit ratings of MSMEs which is mainly based on their annual turnover, exports and GST payments.

Gadkari said that the government wants the fund’s corpus to be utilised by the MSMEs with AAA rating. AAA rating implies high creditworthiness. Upto 15 percent of the amount a AAA-rated MSME raises from the capital market will be contributed by the government through the fund as equity.

As an example, “If you raise 50 Crores, the government will put in 15 percent,” said Gadkari.

Read- RBI Governor announces new measures to ease financial distress amidst coronavirus lockdown

The MSMEs contribute 29 percent of India’s GDP and 49 percent of export and offer 11 crore employments. As per reports, the government has restructured about six lakh MSMEs.

Gadkari assured all the possible help from the government to tide over the challenges created by the lockdown due to coronavirus outbreak. The minister said that the deadline is being extended from March 31 to December 31 so that the number can go up to 15 lacs.

However, he also added that government if facing financial crisis. “Some state do not have money pay salaries to staff next month. The situation of banks is also challenging in terms of their survival” ,said the minister.

French President Emmanuel Macron questions China’s handling of Coronavirus outbreak

OpIndia Staff
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French President Emmanuel Macron questions China’s handling of Coronavirus outbreak

French President Emmanuel Macron in an interview with Financial Times questioned China’s handling of the Coronavirus outbreak. Macron said that it is ‘naive’ to say that China dealt better with coronavirus.

On being asked that China’s authoritarian response to control the coronavirus outbreak has exposed the weakness of western countries, Macron said, “Given these differences, the choices made and what China is today, which I respect, let’s not be so naive as to say it’s been much better at handling this. We don’t know. There are clearly things that have happened that we don’t know about.”

He said that you can’t abandon your fundamental DNA on the grounds that there is a health crisis.

France has reported 147,091 coronavirus cases and 17,941 deaths so far.

US also questioned China over Coronavirus pandemic

US President Donald Trump had also questioned the transparency in China’s handling of the pandemic. As it is sceptical since the virus emerged in the Wuhan city of China.

President Trump has been accusing the WHO of acting as a political puppet of China. Recently, America halted the funding for the World Health Organisation (WHO) calling it China-centric and called to assess its role in mismanaging the Chinese coronavirus outbreak.

More people have died in Western countries than in China

It is notable that more people have died in western countries than in China from where the deadly virus emerged.

France has noted 141,000 cases of coronavirus and 18,000 deaths while China has reported 4,632 deaths including the 1290 deaths reported on Friday in Wuhan after the lockdown in the city was lifted.

Italy, which had emerged as one of the most affected countries have reported 168,941 cases and 22,170 deaths. The United States has reached nearly 676,676 cases, 56127 have been recovered while 34,784 have succumbed to the disease.

The Wuhan originated the corona virus has affected more than 2 million people globally, out of them nearly 550,000 have been recovered while 145,705 have been reported dead.

Watch: AIIMS staff in Jhajjar applaud the first batch of 30 corona warriors as they leave for quarantine after treating over 200 patients

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: AIIMS staff in Jhajjar applaud the first batch of 30 corona warriors as they leave for quarantine after treating over 200 patients

Health workers are at the frontlines in the fight against the Novel Coronavirus. Today the first batch of about 30 nursing officers at AIIMS’s National Cancer Institute Jhajjar, Haryana were welcomed by the Institute staff after treating 200 coronavirus patients. Now, these nursing staff will go for quarantine for at least seven days as a protective measure against the Chinese virus.

In the video shared by news agency ANI, the Institute staff are seen queued up in two rows and clapping for the 30 nursing staff who leave the premises after treating over 200 patients. This is reportedly the first batch of nursing staff appointed at the facility after the ministry of health and family welfare had decided on March 22 that the National Cancer Institute under All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Jhajjar, Haryana would be specifically used to treat the moderately or severely ill patients suffering from coronavirus infection.

Since they are now exposed to the risk of contracting the infection, these frontline warriors will now have to stay in quarantine, for a minimum of 7 days before they go back to their houses.

Working relentlessly day and night, staying away from their family for days together, risking their own lives to save others… their contribution to the society, especially at the time of a crisis as big as this one, is immense and no matter what we do, we cannot thank these warriors enough for their dedication and unwavering support.

Despite such warriors being at pinnacle risk, there have been numerous incidents where the healthcare workers and policemen have been attacked. Be it the recent stone-pelting incident at Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district or the incident at Tatpatti Bakhal area in Indore, where a violent mob had viciously attacked the team of health workers and had even thrown stones from nearby rooftops, or the incident where a team of ASHA and Anganwadi workers who were conducting a survey in the colony in Panchkula, Haryana were brutally attacked at, attacks on them continue unabated.

The attacks on the frontline workers by Muslim mobs have continued ever since the reports that Tablighi Jamaat is the primary sources of transmission of coronavirus in the country emerged.

In addition to the nuisance created by Muslim mobs, the Tablighi Jamaat members, who have emerged as the sole reason for the sudden spike in the number of coronavirus cases in India, are turning out to be quite a headache for the authorities. The anti-social behaviour of attendees of Tablighi Jamaat has left the authorities and medical teams completely distraught.

Darbhanga: Bihar DGP’s warning falls on deaf ears, miscreants from the minority community assault and misbehave with ASHA workers

OpIndia Staff
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Darbhanga: Bihar DGP’s warning falls on deaf ears, miscreants from the minority community assault and misbehave with ASHA workers

Just a day after Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey issued a stern warning that he would not spare anyone who will attack the frontline workers in the fight against Coronavirus pandemic, members of a certain “minority community” assaulted ASHA workers in Darbhanga on Friday. The attack took place when they reached Bihar to collect information about migrants from other states to survey in Chandan Patti and Bhalpatti locality of Darbhanga. According to the reports, people belonging to minority community misbehaved with ASHA workers and tried to pull their clothes.

As per the reports, ASHA workers who had come to seek information about the residents with a travel history in the village were subjected to a brutal assault by members of the minority community. Sarees of the female ASHA workers were pulled by the miscreants while the survey form given by them were torn into pieces. After being informed about the attack on ASHA workers, SP Babu Ram immediately dispatched a police team under the leadership of DSP Anuj Kumar reached the spot and tried to pacify the situation. A person in this regard has been detained by the police.

Recently, a survey was conducted about the presence of migrants in the city by the Block Development Officer, Ravi Sinha, to assess the danger profile of the village amidst coronavirus outbreak. Based on the inputs received by this survey, ASHA and Anganwadi workers were to survey for 5 days about the possible presence of people with a recent travel history in the village. When the ASHA workers accosted people at ward number 4 of Bhalpatti Panchayat, Darbhanga, they were subjected to assault by the errants.

One of the female ASHA members had filed a complaint against the miscreants alleging that her saree was torn by them. Acting on the complaint, when the police arrested the accused, a few of his co-religionists surrounded them and expressed their protest over his arrest.

The depraved attack against the healthcare workers comes amidst a rising number of assault against the front line workers who are bolstering the country’s fight in taming the coronavirus. Yesterday, Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey warned that mischievous elements who are attacking doctors and obstructing healthcare workers from performing their duty will be slapped with the National Security Act.

“We will not spare anybody found to be involved in attacking healthcare professionals in the state. We will ensure they are punished by the court of law at the earliest,” Pandey said.

On April 16, 2020, villagers in Jagapakad village had attacked law enforcement officials and medical teams who were out to enforce lockdown. There was a brawl between the villagers and policemen in which BDO Sunil Kumar and three policemen were injured and their vehicle was damaged.

Earlier on Tuesday too, Bihar cops were attacked at a quarantine centre located at Nalanda Mor. A mob of over 100 had approached the quarantine centre and pelted stones at the police team.

Shekhar Gupta slams Shekhar Gupta for sneering at former IAS officer Shaktikanta Das after he was appointed as RBI Governor

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Shekhar Gupta slams Shekhar Gupta for sneering at former IAS officer Shaktikanta Das after he was appointed as RBI Governor

One of the well-preserved secrets in the post-modern Indian history is the source of the senior journalist of the country – Shekhar Gupta’s eternal knowledge. There is not even a single individual in the entire world, barring Nityananda of Kailasa, who can comprehend the level of enlightenment Shekhar Gupta has achieved in the last few decades.

Perhaps, if there is someone exists who can match Shekhar Gupta’s credentials, it is Shekhar Gupta himself.

Shekhar Gupta, who is an epitome of eternal knowledge, presumably a notch ahead of multi-talented Yogendra Yadav, had once worn his economist hat in 2018 to share his opinion on Shaktikanta Das, a former Finance Secretary, who was appointed as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India by the Modi government.

Gupta, the de-facto head of media mafiosa in the country, had not only come up with his ‘constructive cynicism’ against Das’s appointment to the RBI but also had unleashed his media comrades to target Modi government for appointing a ‘generalist’ IAS officer to head the Reserve Bank of India, an institution responsible for the overall macro-economic stability of the country.

Shekhar Gupta, who has an enormous experience of being judgemental on every trivial issue, had also shared his opinion on the appointment then in 2018. In a tweet, Gupta had mocked Das for not having a formal domain education to qualify for the post of central bank’s governor.

Shekhar Gupta, a gold medalist from the illustrious – WhatsApp university, had pitied on IAS-turned-technocrat Shaktikanta Das for not being so knowledgable on fundamental economics, the course which Gupta had mastered from watching videos of Pro-Aam Aadmi Party Youtuber Dhruv Rathee.

Fifteen months down the line, Shekhar Gupta, now adorned with new knowledge perhaps thought of passing another judgement on the accomplishments of Shaktikanta Das. Mastered with enormous experience in handling monetary policies, Gupta has not only given his approval for Das’s appointment now but also praised Shaktikanta Das for doing a pretty good job as RBI governor.

Interestingly, Gupta, this time did not shy away from slamming his fellow ‘economists’ for insulting Shaktikanta Das in 2018 when he was made RBI chief.

Gupta has now remarked that Das, in a short period of time, has not only proven worthy of the job but also demonstrated that his appointment was a good choice. “Solid, calm & non-doctrinaire,” Shekhar Gupta asserted by finally giving his approbation to Das’s appointment.

Gupta, who is often busy with planting fake narratives across media platforms, however, may have forgotten that he was at the forefront at sneering at Das. With no shame left whatsoever, Shekhar Gupta has now found enough courage to post positive appraisal of Shaktikanta Das without even acknowledging the fact that he was one of the first ones to discredit his appointment back in 2018.

Shekhar Gupta ‘calling out’ Shekhar Gupta, would perhaps be a dream job for Shekhar Gupta, as he could use his entire day for rest of his life just to fact-check his own claims and conspiracy theories. This brave act would not only guarantee his livelihood options for the rest of the future but also saves significant time of other fact-checkers.

Rohingya Muslims attended Tablighi Jamaat events, MHA directs states to screen them and their contacts on priority

K Bhattacharjee
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Rohingya Muslims attended Tablighi Jamaat events, MHA directs states to screen them and their contacts on priority

Tablighi Jamaat has emerged as the biggest vector for the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic across the country. Since the massive gathering at the Markaz Nizamuddin was busted, the Islamic Missionary organization has contributed a lion’s share to the total number of Coronavirus cases. Now, it is reported that even Rohingya Muslims, who have been living in the country illegally, had attended the Islamic event in Delhi.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has reportedly written to states to trace Rohingya Muslims who had attended Tablighi Jamaat events at Mewat, Haryana and Nizamuddin Markaz. It is stated there is a possibility that they have contracted the Wuhan Coronavirus. It is also reported that Rohingyas living in camps at Hyderabad had visited Markaz Nizamuddin and attended a Jamaat event at Mewat. Furthermore, Rohingyas from Shaheen Bagh who had undertaken activities related to the Islamic Missionary organization have not returned.

The presence of Rohingyas who had attended Tablighi events has been reported from Derabassi, Punjab and Jammu. States have been asked to screen these Rohingyas and their contacts on priority.

Source: Hindustan Times

What happened at Markaz Nizamuddin of Tablighi Jamaat?

The Tablighi Jamaat time bomb erupted across the country in the last week of March when around 200 people with Wuhan Coronavirus symptoms were admitted to various hospitals in Delhi from the Markaz Nizamuddin and surrounding places. Subsequently, the area around the Markaz Nizamuddin was cordoned off by the Delhi Police. Soon, cases began to erupt across the country with links to the Tablighi Jamaat and the country stood horrified as the magnitude of the Islamic Missionary organization’s transgressions became known.

Soon enough, it became known that around two thousand people, quite possibly a lot more, had attended the event and as late as the 22nd of March, 2500 people were present at the premises of the Markaz Nizamuddin and around 1500 of them left the place on the 23rd of March. Even so, it meant that around a thousand people were still stuck at the global headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat as of the 24th of March. Since then, it has been a continuous series of escalations and atrocious conduct by the members of the Jamaat who have made things difficult for the administration and the healthcare providers at every step along the way.

Uttar Pradesh: FIR lodged against one Seraj Ahmad for refusing to eat food cooked by Dalit village head at a quarantine centre

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: FIR lodged against one Seraj Ahmad for refusing to eat food cooked by Dalit village head at a quarantine centre

The Uttar Pradesh police have booked one Seraj Ahmad, a native of Bhujouli Khurd village in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district on Monday for allegedly refusing to eat food cooked by a Dalit village head at a quarantine centre.

Station House Officer (SHO) Khadda police station R K Yadav said an FIR has been filed against Seraj Ahmad under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Speaking about the incident, the village head Lilawati Devi’s husband Subhash Gautam said that the caste-based discrimination they faced has hurt them. He said that after the cook in the quarantine centre ran away, fearing infection, his wife felt bad that those five people in isolation were hungry. She went there and cooked food for them. The other four ate but Seraj Ahmad refused to eat since the food was cooked by a Dalit, he claimed.

As soon as the news reached BJP MLA Vijay Dubey, he visited Devi’s house on Sunday and asked her to serve him food cooked by her in order to set precedence. He said untouchability is a social evil and it can’t be tolerated at any cost.

Seraj Ahmad, along with four others, was lodged at a quarantine centre set up in a primary school in the village after he returned from Delhi on March 29.

On April 10, the village head, Lilawati Devi, who is a Dalit, went to the quarantine centre and prepared food for the five people lodged at the quarantine centre as the cook was absent. However, Ahmad refused to eat the food cooked by her, police said.

Later, Lilawati Devi informed Sub-Divisional Magistrate Deshdeepak Singh and Block Development Officer Ramakant about the incident. She also lodged a police complaint on Sunday, police added.

Though untouchability was abolished with Article 15 of the Constitution, giving every Indian citizen the right to be treated equally, regardless of religion, caste, creed and gender, this incident once again shows that casteism is still a very relevant and a genuine problem faced by the Hindu society in many parts of India. While left-liberals and Islamists often mock Hinduism due to the caste system, it is interesting that a Muslim person refused to eat food prepared by a Dalit.

Last year, in a similar incident, Dalits in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh had approached the police and district magistrate against caste-based discrimination by Muslim barbers in the area. Allegedly, Muslim barbers have refused to offer haircuts to Dalits living in their village. The Muslim barbers had allegedly said that if Dalits get their haircut and shaving done at their saloons, the towels will get ‘dirty’ and Muslims will stop visiting their shops.

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