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Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress to abstain from voting in vice presidential polls

OpIndia Staff
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Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress to abstain from voting in vice presidential polls

On Thursday, the Trinamool Congress Party leader Abhishek Banerjee stated that the party led by Mamata Banerjee would boycott the Vice Presidential elections. Banerjee stated that there is no question of supporting the NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar and added that the Opposition’s nominee Margaret Alva was decided without keeping the TMC in the loop.

According to the reports, the decision was taken after Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with TMC MPs. The NDA has chosen former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as their vice presidential candidate, while the opposition parties have chosen former Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva.

Jagdeep Dhankhar hails from the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan. Lawyer by profession, he is in active politics since 1989. He has served as a member of Lok Sabha from the Jhunjhunu constituency and has also worked as a minister of state for Parliamentary Affairs between 1990-1991.

Dhankhar has also worked as a member of the legislative assembly of Rajasthan from the Kishangarh constituency between 1993 to 1998. Since 30th July 2019, he has been working as the Governor of West Bengal.

The TMC has protested the announcement of the united Opposition candidate without informing Mamata Banerjee. The vice presidential election will be placed on August 6 to select M Venkaiah Naidu’s successor, whose tenure expires on August 10.

Gujarat: Congress state president reiterates Manmohan Singh’s ideology that minorities have first right on resources, promises house for Muslims

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: Congress state president reiterates Manmohan Singh’s ideology that minorities have first right on resources, promises house for Muslims

Gujarat Congress state president Jagdish Thakor has once again made a statement that has put the Congress party on the backfoot. While addressing the ‘Sadbhavana Sabha’ held in Ahmedabad, Jagdish Thakor said, “Dr. Manmohan Singh said that minorities have the first right over the country’s resources, the Congress is still associated with that ideology.”

Reiterating Manmohan Singh’s statement, Jagdish Thakor said, “The former Prime Minister of this country (Manmohan Singh) used to say that minorities have the first right over the treasury of India. The Congress Prime Minister of this country spoke this loud and clear. The Congress also knows how much damage it caused to the party.”

In a hall packed with Muslim voters, Jagdish Thakor, without naming PM Modi or other leaders, said, “The lifeline of the one sitting in Delhi is here in Gujarat. We have to wipe out that.” As soon as this was said from the dais, there was a big round of applause in the auditorium. Besides, Congress president Thakor also said that there are 60 seats with more than 20,000 votes from the minority communities and congress is going to organize such programs in all those seats. He appealed to invite every group of Muslims to such events.

Gujarat Congress president Jagdish Thakor did not stop there. He promised houses to Muslims, saying, “In Ahmedabad, wherever there are slums in the minority areas, that too in a bad condition, write down the names of the areas and make sure that the Congress forms the government in the state and in next one year the Congress will give houses with rooms and kitchens in a 10-floors building.”

Dr. Manmohan Singh, while holding the post of prime minister, tried to woo Muslim votes towards Congress by saying that minorities had the first right to the country’s resources. The Congress party has a long history of Muslim appeasement. Now, Jagdish Thakor has also reiterated the same statement and made it clear that Congress has not shied away from this ideology at all.

The performance of the Congress in Gujarat has been steadily deteriorating. Congress has not been able to perform well in any of the elections in the last five years. After winning 65 seats in the 2017 assembly elections, the party performed very poorly in all subsequent elections. Now, the party seems to have again started to rely on appeasement to get votes.

It is the Congress that has been hovering over other parties accusing them of spreading animosity between different communities. Now the same Congress party started the politics of appeasement months before the state assembly elections. While minority and especially Muslim voters have always been on the Congress side, Congress has already started making efforts to woo these votes towards itself.

Further, Jagdish Thakor also said that Dr. Manmohan Singh’s statement caused serious damage to the party; even though he has cherished the same ideology! So the question here also arises whether Congress no longer understands the importance of Hindu votes. Anyway. The political situation in the country was different when Dr. Manmohan Singh made the statement. It is very different today. In today’s time, it would not be surprising if it proves to be more harmful than beneficial for Congress to revive such statements.

Some people are creating communal tension in the name of ‘fact-checking’, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur says in Parliament

OpIndia Staff
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Some people are creating communal tension in the name of ‘fact-checking’, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur says in Parliament

Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has said that there are certain people who are creating communal tensions in society while hiding behind the label of ‘fact-checker’ and it is important to identify such people. The minister was speaking during the Question Hour of the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Parliament.

While speaking in the Parliament, Anurag Thakur said that it is important to know who are these ‘fact-checkers’ and if anyone files a complaint against them, then action will be taken against them as per the law of the land.

Thakur also said that his ministry is not involved in taking any action against such people in case of police complaints, and it is the responsibility of the various state governments where complaints get filed to proceed in such cases as per the law.

The minister was speaking in Rajya Sabha on a question related to fake news. He made these remarks while referring to the recent arrest and the subsequent bail granted to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair over his tweets hurting Hindu sentiments.

Mohammed Zubair granted bail by the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday granted bail to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in all the six cases filed against him across Uttar Pradesh.

“There is no justification to keep the petitioner in continued detention especially since the gravamen of allegations in UP FIRs is similar to that in Delhi police FIR,” Justice DY Chandrachud noted while granting bail relief in all the cases filed against Zubair.

With respect to the quashing of the FIRs against Zubair, Justice Chandrachud said that the Delhi police FIR has offences of cognate nature which is similar to the UP police FIRs and therefore, it would be needed to club together all FIRs and hand them over to one investigating authority.

Maharashtra: BJP MLA Nitesh Rane demands anti-conversion law in the state to protect women from being trapped and harassed

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: BJP MLA Nitesh Rane demands anti-conversion law in the state to protect women from being trapped and harassed

On 21st July 2022, Bharatiya Janata Party’s MLA Nitesh Rane demanded an anti-conversion law in Maharashtra citing the recent regime change in the state. Nitesh Rane said that like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, Maharashtra should also have an anti-conversion law so that innocent women can be saved from being trapped and harassed.

Nitesh Rane tweeted, “Now that we have a Bhagwadharis ruling in Maharashtra. It’s time we bring ANTI CONVERSION LAW like UP, MP, Gujarat, and many other states. We need to protect innocent women from being trapped and harassed!! Let’s begin soon Jai Shree Ram”

It is notable that in the last month, 50 MLAs in the Maharashtra state legislative assembly left the then Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Out of these 50 MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, 40 were from Shiv Sena. This group of MLAs joined hands with Bharatiya Janata Party to form a new government in the state. The coup in the Shiv Sena was apparently because the MLAs in the Eknath Shinde camp wanted to take ahead the Hindutva ideology of the late Shiv Sena Supremo Balasaheb Thackeray and Eknath Shinde’s political guru late Anand Dighe.

Nitesh Rane has cited the same ideology saying that there is a rule of Bhagwadharis in Maharashtra and therefore there should be an anti-conversion law in Maharashtra just like other BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Gujarat.

According to the anti-conversion law passed by the Karnataka government, forced conversion is an offense punishable by a jail term of three to five years and a fine of rupees 25000. The bill states that the conversion of a minor, a woman, or an SC/ST person can attract a jail term of 3 to 10 years and a fine of Rs 50,000. Not only this, a jail term of three to 10 years and a fine of up to One lakh rupees can be awarded for mass conversion.

The Yogi government had brought an ordinance in this regard in 2020. According to this, in case of illegal conversion of a minor or scheduled caste or scheduled tribe woman, the convict can be punished with imprisonment ranging from 3 to 10 years and a fine of Rs 25,000. In case of mass conversion, there is a provision of imprisonment ranging from 3 to 10 years and a fine of Rs. 50,000. The license of the concerned organization will also be canceled. Also, according to this rule, if the conversion has not been done forcibly and if there has been no cheating, and the conversion is not done with the sole purpose of marriage, it will be the responsibility of the converter and the person who has been converted.

Video of US President Joe Biden saying ‘I have cancer’ goes viral, White House issues clarification

OpIndia Staff
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Video of US President Joe Biden saying ‘I have cancer’ goes viral, White House issues clarification

Earlier today, videos of US president Joe Biden saying “I have cancer” had gone viral on social media. In the video from Massachusetts, Biden was seen saying “…That’s why I and so many people I grew up with have cancer”.

The US President was speaking about oil pollution in his home state of Delaware. He reportedly referred to the oil slicks found on windshields of cars and stated that was the reason many people (including himself) have cancer. He added, “For the longest time, Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation, but that’s the past.”

The viral video triggered massive speculations regarding the US president’s health. However, there were soon mixed opinions. Washington Post’s Glen Kessler stated that the medical report submitted before Biden became President mentioned that he had non-melanoma skin cancers removed. Kessler stated that it is a common procedure.

However, the explanation did not cut well with many on social media, because Biden had not said cancer in the past tense. He was seen saying he has cancer, referring to the present.

People pointed out that even if the president ‘mistakenly’ announced that he has cancer when he does not have cancer, it is problematic anyway and displays his weakness.

White House issues clarification

The White House has issued a clarification after the viral video triggered shocking reactions all over. Hurrying to minimise the damage, the White House stated that the President was referring to past instances of skin cancer removal. Even though the US president asserted that he HAS cancer caused by oil pollution, the White House has stated that the president does not have a current cancer diagnosis and was only referring to a past incident of skin cancer removal.

In April, Biden had said that he has asthma and 80% of the people he grew up with have asthma, for the same reason of oil slick in windshields in Delaware.

The claims of cancer and the unconvincing clarification by the White House have triggered wild speculations about the mental and physical health condition of the US president.

Dutch MP Geert Wilders raises issue of Bangladesh violence against Hindus, Islamist threats against Nupur Sharma in Parliament

OpIndia Staff
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Dutch MP Geert Wilders raises issue of Bangladesh violence against Hindus, Islamist threats against Nupur Sharma in Parliament

Dutch legislator Geert Wilders on Tuesday raised the issue of Islamist violence against Hindus in Bangladesh and India in the parliament of The Netherlands, and sought international attention to support the Hindus. He also discussed the issue of lack of support for ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma who received severe death threats for her alleged ‘blasphemous’ remarks.

Wilders on Twitter shared the document posing 13 crucial questions in support of Hindus, their safety, and security. “My Parliamentary Questions from today about the Muslim violence against Hindus in Bangladesh and India, the lack of support for Nupur Sharma and more international attention and support for Hindu safety and security”, he tweeted adding a hashtag that hinted that ‘Hindus are under attack’.

The list of questions addressed to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Justice and Security includes several recent incidents of attack on Hindus in India and demanded action against the accused. He stated that a Hindu tailor was beheaded by two Muslim men for extending support to Nupur Sharma and also highlighted similar incidents. Wilders demanded the Ministry to opine on the issues and asked the Ministry to take an international stand in the cases.

The Dutch legislator also posed questions regarding increased violence on minorities in Bangladesh. He asked the Ministry to opine on Hindu houses, places of worship, and shops being set on fire in Bangladesh. The two important questions asked by Wilders remained, “Are you prepared to openly condemn the violence of Muslims against Hindus? If not, why?” and “Are you prepared to plead both the governments, India and Bangladesh to work for better protection of Hindus? If not, why?”

To note, Wilders also mentioned that he has been receiving death threats from several Islamists in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh for extending support to Nupur Sharma. “What is your opinion on that? Will the suspects be tracked down and prosecuted? What international steps will you take to this end?”, he asked the Parliament.

On June 14, the Dutch politician extended support to Nupur Sharma saying that he respected and supported Hinduism more than he did Islam. “Cultural relativism is a misleading concept. People are equal but cultures are not. A culture based on humanity and freedom is always better than a culture based on intolerance and submission”, he has tweeted. In another such tweet, he had clearly mentioned that Nupur Sharma had done nothing wrong. “If I can help her in any possible way, I will”, he had added.

Soon after extending support, Wilders received death threats to assassinate him as soon as possible. Sharing multiple screenshots of threats, the Dutch MP had said, “So this is what I get supporting the brave Nupur Sharma. Hundreds of death threats. It makes me even more determined and proud of supporting her. For evil may never win. Never. #IsupportNupurSharma”.

As reported earlier, Geert Wilders has long been vocal against Islamic fundamentalism and radicalism in his country. As an MP he had been opposed to mass migration and had stated inside the parliament that through mass migration, the government was importing “a monster called Islam into the country”.

Rajasthan: NSUI leader Md Shahid Khan pretends to be ‘Manish Sen’, traps a Hindu girl and blackmails her, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: NSUI leader Md Shahid Khan pretends to be ‘Manish Sen’, traps a Hindu girl and blackmails her, arrested

In Bhilwara city of Rajasthan, another case of grooming jihad has appeared in which Shahid Khan, alias Md Shahid Ghori – a manager in a mobile network company – pretended to be ‘Manish Sen’ to trap a Hindu girl studying in a local college and blackmailed her as he clicked her obscene photos after intoxicating her through a drink. The Bhilwara police arrested the accused Shahid Khan after a complaint was registered at the Kotwali police station in Bhilwara.

According to reports, Shahid Khan who works as a manager in a mobile network company created a fake social media account by the name ‘Manish’ and befriended the victim girl who studies in a local college. After that, he started to blackmail her saying that he has clicked obscene photos of her. Threatening to make the photos public, he took the girl to his room forcefully.

However later she learnt that he is Shahid Khan and not Manish Sen, and fled from the house. After narrating the incident to her family, she registered a case of molestation and blackmailing in the Kotwali police station against the accused Shahid Khan. The police, after arresting the accused, are further investigating how many such girls are trapped and lured by the accused before this case.

The Kotwali police station in charge Mukesh Kumar Varma told, “The young girl studying in the college registered a case and informed us about the case in detail. According to the victim girl, the accused was blackmailing her. He was threatening her saying that he has clicked her obscene photos and videos. The victim told that the accused Shahid Khan forcefully took her to his room issuing similar threats. It was there that the victim girl came to know that he is Shahid Khan and not Manish. The girl told all these things to her parents and then registered an FIR at the police station. The Kotwali police arrested Shahid Khan.”

Reportedly, Shahid had taken the room for rent n the Panchwati area of Bhilwara using the name Manish, and when the landlord was asking for identity proof documents, he was delaying it. During arguments with the landlord over the document, it was revealed that his real name is Shahid, and that’s how the girl also came to know the fact. The landlord was also objecting to keeping the girl in the house.

In the investigations after the arrest, the police concluded that the name of the accused was Shahid Khan. He confessed that he made a fake social media account with the name Manish Sen. He befriended the girl using the same social media account. The police are investigating further in this case. Reportedly, the local public also thrashed Shahid after learning about the case before he was taken away by police.

As per media reports, Shahid Khan alias Md Shahid Ghori has been politically active and is associated with NSUI. During his college days in Pali, Shahid had contested the student elections under NSUI and was even made the joint secretary during 2014-15. He has been an NSUI worker and has participated in many of their events.

Pakistan: SHO asks a male constable to wear hijab for mandatory photo of a female officer with female criminal in Gujrat, suspended

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: SHO asks a male constable to wear hijab for mandatory photo of a female officer with female criminal in Gujrat, suspended

In a bizarre incident, a male police officer in Pakistan was forced to wear a hijab and pose in a photograph featuring a woman suspected of drug peddling. The incident happened at Daulat Nagar Police Station in Punjab’s Gujrat in Pakistan where Station House officer (SHO) Sub-Inspector Aslam Hunjra asked a constable to play the role of a woman police officer.

According to the reports, on Monday, July 18, SHO Sub-Inspector Aslam Hunjra detained three suspects, including a lady, in connection with two separate cases, one involving illegal firearms and the other involving drug trafficking. As per the Pakistan Police Act, a police raiding squad participating in the arrest of suspects in a criminal case is photographed with them, and if there is a woman among those apprehended, the presence of a lady constable is required in such images.

However, when notified that no lady constable was available for the photograph with the suspects, the Daulat Nagar SHO allegedly asked a male official to play the part by donning a hijab to complete the formality. Regrettably, the cop assigned to play the female role appeared tall enough to be recognized in the photo, which ended up going viral on social media, inviting ridicule from netizens.

Following the social media outrage, the issue was taken up by higher police personnel, including the Gujrat district police officer (DPO), who terminated the SHO in question and sought a probe. The examination has been assigned to Gujrat Sadar circle deputy superintendent of police (DSP), who has been given 24 hours to finish the probe and submit a report.

A senior Gujrat police official explained the incident to the local news media saying that most of the female police officers had been deployed to the Sargodha range for security duties during the by-elections in Bhakkar and Khushab, resulting in a scarcity of female officers. He said that the old-school SHO may have treated the problem lightly, placing one of his male colleagues in the role of the lady constable, overlooking his stature, and bringing shame to the unit.

Pakistani journalist who came to spy on India now says he had met Manmohan Singh, never met Hamid Ansari

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani journalist who came to spy on India now says he had met Manmohan Singh, never met Hamid Ansari

In an interview with Dainik Bhaskar, Pakistani journalist Nusrat Mirza who had claimed he had spied on India and met former Vice President Hamid Ansari five times took a U-turn from his statement. In his previous interview, he had claimed to have spied on India and handed over information to Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.

Mirza’s statements had unleashed a political storm in the country. BJP Spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia accused Ansari of betraying India in a press conference.

Both Hamid Ansari and Congress claimed that Mirza lied in his interview. Ansari issued a statement refuting the claims. In this process, Ansari threw the then-UPA government under the bus. On the other hand, Congress also claimed Mirza never attended the meeting where he had claimed to have met Ansari. There was another twist when the organizers of the said event issued a statement and clarified how Ansari was unhappy with them as they refused to invite Mirza to the conference.

Mirza, who is at the centre of the controversy, has now taken a u-turn during an interview with Dainik Bhaskar. He claimed he never met Ansari at a personal level, and the documents he talked about during his interview had nothing to do with India. He claimed the documents were related to the allegations raised by a former Soviet spy during a seminar on terrorism in 2010.

Earlier he had claimed that he had met Ansari multiple times.

When Bhaskar’s reporter asked him his views on the controversy his statements sparked in India, he said there was nothing controversial in what he had said. “I am an 80-years-old journalist, and I was made a spy. My life is like an open book. They have a problem with Hamid Ansari, and I was pulled into the controversy unnecessarily.”

He claimed everyone knew he was very vocal, and no agency would allow him to go anywhere and collect information.

On his trips to India, he claimed to have never met Hamid Ansari on a personal level. He said, “I attended a seminar where Ansari was the chief guest. I was a speaker at that event. You can check the old videos of the event to confirm. I praised Atal Ji. There were Hindus and Sikhs in the seminar. Pakistan’s ambassador was also there. I had talked about bringing two countries together.”

He further added following that seminar, another similar seminar was held in Pakistan and journalists from India were invited. He said, “Now, if there is a dispute about the seminar in India, what can I do? This does not happen with us here [in Pakistan]. The way your anchors talk to us, no one behaves with us in a similar way here. I am an anchor myself. For me, this matter is over.”

When asked if he did not meet Ansari, who did he meet, Mirza said, “I can assure you that I did not meet Hamid Ansari on a personal level. However, I did meet Manmohan Singh [then-Prime Minister of India] during that visit. He also inquired about my health. There was no conversation with Ansari, nor did he talk to me about my well-being. He went straight to the stage. At that time, I felt bad about it.”

‘Hamid Ansari is being targeted because he is a Muslim’

During the interview, Mirza claimed Hamid Ansari was being targeted because he is a Muslim and a Congress leader. He said, “BJP is targeting him. It is part of the power politics in India. They are creating an unnecessary dispute. You should see what he said in the seminar. He had said neighbours cannot be changed.”

Speaking about the documents he talked about in his previous interview, Mirza said, “The documents were not related to India but about a Russian woman who accused Pakistan of breaking an agreement. She was an old agent of the KGB (Intelligence Agency of the Soviet Union). I had told her she was wrong.” He further added when he came back and handed over the documents, he was told the allegations were correct, and the US was behind it. India had no links to whatever was there in those documents.

In a message to the people of India, he said, “We cannot change the neighbours. We must live peacefully. Politics is a dirty game. Aurangzeb got his own brother killed. The general public should not get involved in politics. If someone calls me an ISI agent, it will not make a difference to me. It is a different matter that I am just a journalist.”

Nusrat Mirza’s statements that caused controversy in India

On July 10, during an interview, Pakistani journalist Nusrat Mirza made some sensational statements. During his interview, he mentioned that he used his political connections with the former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Khurshid Kasuri and got an extended Visa for India. During the current interview, he claimed Kasuri was not Foreign Minister when he attended the seminar in India. Though it is true in the previous interview, he never mentioned for which trip he got support from Kasuri.

It is notable that Kasuri was Foreign Minister from 2002 to 2007. According to Mirza, he had visited India in 2005 and 2006 when Kasuri was in office. That means Mirza could have gotten support from him while he was in office to get an extended Visa for India.

Mirza has stated that he had travelled to many cities and had collected information about India to hand over to the ISI.

He then claimed to have met Hamid Ansari during a seminar on terrorism. This statement caused a lot of controversy in India. Hamid Ansari came forward and issued a statement where he claimed to never have met Mirza. “The former vice president of India stands by his earlier statement that he never knew or invited the Pakistan journalist Nusrat Mirza to any conference, including the 2010 conference mentioned by Nusrat Mirza or the 2009 conference on terrorism or on any other occasion,” the statement read.

Earlier, he had mentioned an event that he had attended at Vigyan Bhawan in December 2010. However, the President of the International Council of Jurists and the Chairman of the All India Bar Association, Dr Adish Aggarwala, who was the organizer of the event ‘International Conference of Jurists on International Terrorism and Human Rights, issued a statement and rubbished Ansari’s claims. He also mentioned that a request was forwarded to him from VP’s office to invite Mirza, but he refused to do so, after which Ansari got angry and came only for 20 minutes instead of an hour that Ansari had previously promised.

Two days after drinking polluted water from holy river Kali Bein, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann ends up in hospital with stomach pain, discharged later

OpIndia Staff
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Two days after drinking polluted water from holy river Kali Bein, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann ends up in hospital with stomach pain, discharged later

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Delhi on Wednesday morning after complaining about abdominal pain. Mann complained about pain in his stomach, and after diagnosis, the doctors said the Punjab CM is suffering from an infection.

Bhagwant Mann complained of severe pain in his stomach on Tuesday night at his Chandigarh residence. From there, he was airlifted to Delhi urgently and admitted to the hospital. After spending a day at the hospital, Mann was discharged on Thursday morning. He was accompanied by his newly-wed wife at the time of discharge.

Earlier, on July 17, the Punjab CM had visited Sultanpurlodhi where he drank polluted sewage water directly from the Kali Bein rivulet. At the 22nd Bein kar sewa cleanliness function, Mann was offered a glass of water from the rivulet, and in an attempt to show that the water is clean enough to be fit for human consumption, he drank it directly.

Later on, Deputy Commissioner Ashok Kaura mentioned to the media persons that the sewage water from many towns and villages on the banks of Bein flows into it. He added that he was not present on the spot to advise the CM not to drink it.

Two days later, on Tuesday night, Mann had to be rushed to a Delhi hospital after he suffered from severe stomach pain and the doctors found an infection.

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