On Thursday, billionaire inventor-investor Elon Musk said he has secured $46.5 billion in financing to fund his Twitter takeover bid. According to reports, Elon Musk has lined up $46.5 billion in debt and equity financing to buy Twitter Inc. The billionaire investor is also considering buying shares directly from shareholders.
Elon Musk is considering funding up to $33.5 billion on his own, including $21 billion of equity and $12.5 billion of margin loans against some of his Tesla Inc shares to invest in Twitter.
According to the filing on Thursday, Musk is also considering a tender offer to buy all company stock from shareholders but has not taken any decision. The filing revealed that a group of banks led by Morgan Stanley is prepared to lend Musk $25.5 billion.
On April 14, in a surprise bid, Elon Musk offered $43 billion to Twitter Inc to buy the micro-blogging site. However, Twitter did not respond and instead adopted a “poison pill” to thwart his bid.
To counter the “poison pill”, Elon Musk has developed a new plan to acquire all of the social media company’s shares from current stockholders.
Musk, currently Twitter’s second-largest shareholder with a 9.1% stake, has promised to bring significant changes to the micro-blogging site and has also announced his intentions of making the platform open and private. Vanguard funds, an American investment advisor registered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, is Twitter’s highest shareholder.
Twitter also acknowledged that they have received Musk’s latest proposal.
“As previously announced and communicated to Mr Musk directly, the board is committed to conducting a careful, comprehensive and deliberate review to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and all Twitter stockholders,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.
Yesterday a dialogue from Oscar Wilde’s ‘A Woman of No Importance’ made headlines from the hallways of the Supreme Court during a decisive hearing. The Apex court quashed the death sentence bestowed upon Moh. Firoz, who was convicted of the rape and murder of a 4-year-old girl from Madhya Pradesh.
The three-member bench comprising Justices UU Lalit, S. Ravindra Bhat and Bela M. Trivedi pronounced the order cancelling Death Sentence upon Firoz observing the tents of restorative justice. In its order the SC bench quoted Oscar Wilde, saying, “The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future”. The court observed that it is important to give an opportunity to the offender to repair the damage caused and to become a socially useful individual when he is released from jail.
What the judges tried to suggest here was the popular understanding of the lines by Oscar Wilde, often referred to alongside many of his quotes on the internet. Out of the context of Wide’s novel, the interpretation of ‘Every sinner has a future’ referred to yesterday was an understanding that even sinners deserve sympathy, for they can be washed off their crimes after retribution. It came from an idea that no one is a born sinner, and neither his sins should justify his death.
However, looking inside Wilde’s play ‘A Woman of No Importance’ the connotation of the said quote appears different. Lord Illingworth, a powerful and immoral male politician in the play suggests that saints are fools for giving up on material pleasures of life whereas sinners can look forward to such pleasure. Given the flirtatious character painted by Wilde in form of Illingworth, the 19th-century playwright suggested that sinners would hold no bar for being identified for their committed crimes, but unlike saints, they will continue to play up to their whims often contesting against the moral fabric.
Essentially, Oscar Wilde meant that the saint was a fool for giving up on illicit pleasures while the sinners can look forward to such pleasures. In a way, the Court quoted Wilde but gave a message that stands exactly opposite of what he penned. By quoting this line, the Court almost insinuated, albeit unwittingly, that the ‘sinner’ (Firoz, convicted of raping a 4-year-old) did not give up on “illicit pleasures” (in this case, the crime committed) and therefore, still has a life of crime to look forward to.
There are several such quotes from popular literature that have been misunderstood and quoted out of context or with incorrect meaning. Another such quote is “Romeo, Romeo, whereforart thou, Romeo?”. In most school plays, the dialogue is mentioned by a distressed Juliet, with her hands on her brows, looking for Romeo. However, the quote is misunderstood. The word “whereforart” does not mean “where” but “why”. In the play, when Juliet says “Romeo, Romeo, whereforart thou, Romeo”, Juliet questions why fate made Romeo a Montague, her family’s sworn enemy.
‘A Woman of No Importance’ was highly critically appreciated for Wilde’s wit and prose. However, more than the play, it is the ‘Sinner’s future’ that the world today identifies with, perhaps lost in nuance and translation.
Shocking information came to the fore about the ministers of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra who availed COVID treatments in private hospitals with public money. Bills worth more than a crore rupees were paid by the state government to various private hospitals as the ministers preferred these hospitals over the government hospitals where common people were dying as they did not get any beds.
According to reports, a total of 18 ministers in the state government received treatment at private hospitals during the Corona period. Lakhs of rupees spent on this treatment were paid from the government exchequer. These 18 ministers spent a whopping Rs 1.39 crore for specialized treatment in private hospitals during the last two years when the state’s economy was in shambles and the common man wandered helplessly to get basic medical treatments in the COVID period. This treatment of ministers in the private hospitals has started a controversy in the state as all the bills were paid using public money.
Who are these ministers?
Out of these 18, the maximum nine ministers are from the Nationalist Congress Party of Sharad Pawar, followed by six from the Congress and three from the Shiv Sena. Importantly, this also includes health minister Rajesh Tope of the NCP. Rajesh Tope’s treatment has cost a whopping Rs 34 lakh and the money has also been paid from the government exchequer.
Along with Rajesh Tope, the other names include energy minister Dr. Nitin Raut (17 lakh 63 thousand), Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif (14 lakh 56 thousand), Minister of State for Revenue Abdul Sattar (12 lakh 56 thousand), Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad (11 lakh 76 thousand), Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal (9 lakh 3 thousand), Animal Husbandry Minister Sunil Kedar (8 lakh 71 thousand), Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil (7 lakh 30 thousand), Industries Minister Subhash Desai (6 lakh 97 thousand) and Transport Minister Anil Parab (6 lakh 79 thousand).
Apart from this, the list also includes Ashok Chavan, Sanjay Bansode, and Vijay Wadettiwar. These ministers have received treatment up to Rs 2 lakh. Also, Tribal Development Minister K. C. Padvi has spent up to Rs 1 lakh. Minister of state Dattatreya Bharne, Minister of state for power Prajakt Tanpure, and Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik have received treatment for around 50,000.
Which hospitals did they prefer for COVID treatments over the government hospitals?
Most of the ministers availed their treatments in private hospitals. The list of these hospitals includes names like Bombay Hospital (41 lakh), Lilavati Hospital (26 lakh), Breach Candy Hospital (15 lakh), Jaslok Hospital (14 lakh), Fortis Hospital (12 lakh), Avanti Hospital (7 lakh), Global Hospital (4 lakh), Anideep Hospital (2 lakh). The numbers in the brackets are the bills in Rupees that the government of Maharashtra has paid to these hospitals from the common taxpayer’s hard-earned money.
It is notable that Maharashtra has witnessed the highest number of COVID cases and deaths across all the waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and the state government has been continuously alleging the center for lack of support comfortably ignoring the fact that it was the state that did not walk the guidelines set by the center; be it building up the oxygen plants or vaccination drives.
American rapper A$AP Rocky, who happens to be the boyfriend of singer Rihanna, has been arrested by Los Angeles Police on Wednesday, regarding a shooting case from November 2021. A$AP Rocky, also known as Rakim Mayers was taken into custody by the Police at the Los Angeles International Airport while he was returning from a holiday with Rihanna.
The Los Angeles Police was suspecting the involvement of Mayers in a non-fatal shooting that took place in Hollywood in the November of 2021. The Police said that Rocky’s arrest was made in connection with a shooting that conspired after he had an argument with two of his acquaintances. However, Rocky was released on bail shortly after he paid USD 550,000 (around four crore nineteen lakh Indian Rupees).
While narrating the incident, the victim who suffered a minor injury said that Rocky approached him with a handgun on the street on November 6 last year. Apparently, Rocky shot at the victim three to four times which left an injury to his left hand. The Los Angeles Police Department has said that after injuring the victim with a bullet, Rocky and his associates fled from the scene on foot. The news of Rocky’s arrest was confirmed by his lawyer Alan Jackson but refused to make any further comments.
33-year-old Rakim Mayers, a Los Angeles resident, also known as music artist A$AP Rocky, has been arrested in connection to a shooting that occurred in the Hollywood area in November of 2021. pic.twitter.com/YeV9w2udDL
The matter is pending in the court whereas Rocky has been asked to be present on 17 August for the trial. This was not the first time, Rocky was involved in a scandal. In 2019, he was suspended for assault in a brawl in Stockholm. In the same case, even the then President of the USA, Donald Trump had to intervene to secure Rocky’s release. It should be noted that Rocky with his girlfriend popstar Rihanna is expecting a child later this year. In India, Rihanna has been recently associated with the farmer’s protest, wherein she was found taking USD 2.5 Million (close to 18 crore Indian Rupees) from Khalistani stooge Mo Dhaliwal for tweeting in favour of the rioting farmers on the Delhi border.
With the recent spate of incidents of e-scooters catching fire in different parts of the country, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari took to the microblogging site Twitter on April 21, Thursday, to share his concerns through a series of Tweets and assured inquiry into these incidents.
“Several mishaps involving Electric Two Wheelers have come to light in last two months. It is most unfortunate that some people have lost their lives and several have been injured in these incidents”, Tweeted the Union minister of Road Transport and Highway.
Several mishaps involving Electric Two Wheelers have come to light in last two months. It is most unfortunate that some people have lost their lives and several have been injured in these incidents.
In his following Tweet, Gadkari said that the government has constituted an Expert Committee to enquire into these incidents and make recommendations on remedial steps and that based on the Committee’s report, the government would issue necessary orders on the defaulting companies.
“We will soon issue quality-centric guidelines for Electric Vehicles”, said the Union Minister assuring if any company is found negligent in their processes, a heavy penalty will be imposed and a recall of all defective vehicles will also be ordered.
He said that the companies, meanwhile, should take advance action to Recall all defective batches of vehicles immediately.
Gadkari assured that under the leadership of Narendra Modi, their government is committed to ensuring the safety of each and every commuter.
E-scooter fire in Telangana claims life of 80-year-old man, leaves two injured
The Union Minister’s statement came after reports emerged on Thursday, April 21, about how an EV battery explosion claimed one life and left two others injured in Hyderabad. The incident took place two days ago. The e-scooter was manufactured by Pure EV.
According to reports, the owners of the scooter had put the detachable battery on charge but it exploded after a few hours of charging.
Following the incident, the scooter manufacturer company and the dealer were booked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 304A (causing death due to negligence). In his complaint, Prakash said that he had left the battery for charging around 12.30 am and it exploded around 4 am, injuring his 80-year-old father, mother and son. The father succumbed to injuries later, he said.
After the mishap, Pure EV has now decided to recall 2,000 vehicles belonging to models ETrance Plus and EPluto 7G in the wake of the latest fire incident involving its scooter in Nizamabad in Telangana and the earlier incident reported near Mathur toll plaza in Chennai in the last week of March.
Pure EV in a statement said that it is fully cooperating with the local authorities and seeking complete details from the users. “The vehicles and batteries therein shall undergo a thorough check for their health. We shall inspect the battery for any imbalance issues and shall calibrate through our device BaTRics Faraday (an AI-based hardware which can automatically identify and repair defects in Li-Ion batteries). Additionally the BMS and charger calibration shall be carried out as required,” read the Electric scooter manufacturer Pure EV’s statement.
Manufacturers of E-scooters recall vehicles after incidents of fire
This particular mishap was the latest amongst the string of such fire incidents that have been reported in the last few months. So far three Pure EV, one Ola Electric, two Okinawa and 20 Jitendra EV scooters have caught fire in about three weeks.
On April 18, it was reported that two-wheel EV maker Okinawa Autotech had also recalled 3,215 units of its Praise Pro scooter to fix any issues related to batteries. Okinawa had become the first electric vehicle manufacturer in India to voluntarily recall its e-scooters.
In a statement issued, the company had said that “the batteries will be checked for loose connectors or any damage and be repaired free of charge at any of the Okinawa authorised dealerships pan India.”
“The electric 2W maker is working closely with the dealer partners to ensure that the repair experience is as per the convenience of its customers, for which the vehicle owners will be contacted individually,” Okinawa added.
Okinawa e-scooters catch fire
The development had come weeks after a man and his thirteen-year-old daughter werekilled when their Okinawa scooter caught fire on March 26 in Vellore, Tamil Nadu.
According to reports, at around 2 am on Saturday, an electric two-wheeler parked at the entrance of their house caught fire and later it spread to another bike, parked next to it. Police said after the two-wheelers caught fire, Durai and Mohana Preethi got trapped inside the house as the vehicles were blocking their way out. “They went inside the bathroom, but the smoke engulfed the house and both of them died of suffocation,” police sources said.
In October 2021, a video of a charred Okinawa electric made rounds on the net, however nobody was reported injured at that time.
Center orders probe after 40 electric scooters by Jitendra Electric caught fire in a transport container in Nashik
On April 11, the Central Government had ordered a probe after forty Jitendra Electric Vehicles (EV) electric scooters caught fire after being put into a transport container in Nashik. A government investigation has been authorised, and specialists have been enlisted to help with the investigation, which will look into the causes of the electric scooter fires.
Video surfaces showing Ola e-scooter bursting into flames
Similar video’s of Ola e-scooters bursting into flames have also emerged on social media platforms. In March, a video had surfaced showing Ola’s S1 Pro electric scooter on fire in Pune’s Lohegaon area. The e-scooter was parked on the roadside of a commercial area and engulfed in fire within seconds.
Reacting to the incident, the Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said in a Tweet: “Safety is top priority. We’re investigating this and will fix it.” He had also shared the detailed statement issued by Ola wherein the Bengaluru based company had expressed regret over the Pune incident and said they were investigating to understand the root cause and will share updates in the next few days.
Ola e-scooters face other serious issues besides catching fire
The Ola manufactured e-scooters are, however, not just catching fire. Recently, Ola has been hit by a slew of complaints from its customers who had bought the new e-scooters S1 and S1 Pro which are priced at Rs 79,000 and Rs 1,09,999, respectively.
One of the customers took to his Twitter handle to share the photo of his Ola S1 Pro e-scooter being towed away. In the caption, he described the issue saying that his scooter was delivered just one day ago but developed issues in the headlight along with some peculiar noises. He had ridden the vehicle for just six kilometres.
Another Twitter user pointed out how his Ola e-scooter does not get fully charged.
A Twitter user named Balwant Singh also shared his son’s terrible experience with his new Ola e-scooter. The Twitter user slammed the company for providing faulty breaks while sharing photos of his injured son. The scooter had accelerated when the brake was applied at a speed breaker in Guwahati, causing the scooter to go airborne and then crash, seriously injuring his son.
One Agent Peenya had also shared his horrific experience with his Ola e-scooter. “I just pulled the scooter back and it activated Reverse mode.. When I accelerated further, it went in reverse direction. Further sharing his experience with the customer care department of the company, the Twitter user Tweeted, “I was so excited to own a next gen EV. But that reverse mode activation sent a chill down my spine. Worst product experience so far.”
While some others complained about the faulty turn indicators of their Ola e-scooters, which causes the wrong side turn indicator to blink, another social media user rued about the faulty battery indicator, which suddenly went from showing 32km to 0 km and stopped in the middle of an overbridge.
What do experts have to say on e-scooters catching fire?
While the exact causes of these fires are unknown, industry experts believe that rising temperatures in the country during summers and manufacturing defects, both in hardware and software, could be to blame for the incidents of the EV batteries catching fire.
It may be noted that EVs are powered by lithium-ion batteries, similar to those found in mobile phones and smartwatches, which are generally thought to be more efficient and light than their counterparts. However, as evidenced by recent incidents, they may also pose a fire risk.
According to a representative from an electric vehicle manufacturer, “While Li-ion batteries are better at working in warmer temperatures, extremely high temperatures could cause the battery pack’s ambient temperature to rise as high as 90-100 degrees.” This is when the batteries are very likely to start a fire.
In addition, electric cars and other devices have a battery pack that contains hundreds of batteries. Even if only a few Li-ion batteries fail and cause a short circuit, a fire can start. Because a battery pack contains a densely packed array of Li-ion cells, this can set off a chain reaction. This is known as a “thermal runway,” and experts believe it is the reason Li-ion batteries catch fire right away.
It is also notable that e-scooters made by only select companies are catching fire, and no such serious incidents have been reported by relatively established players in the segment like Ather and Hero, indicating that there might be issues with manufacturing process also.
Ather co-founder and CEO Tarun Mehta has said that many of the battery packs for electric vehicles imported into the country are not designed for Indian weather conditions. While several companies have stared making electric vehicles in India, the battery packs are mainly imported from China. Mehta said that these batteries are not suitable for Indian conditions.
In India, temperatures can reach 45 degrees, which can cause a battery fire. According to experts, more and more batteries must be produced locally and in accordance with Indian environmental standards in order to prevent such incidents.
Uttar Pradesh based Islamic cleric Maulana Tauqir Raza, who has been supporting the Congress party, tried to gain some attention by making controversial remarks over the current bulldozer action by various state governments and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Blaming Narendra Modi for the unrest that he feels to be created after the strict actions, Maulana Tauqir Raza issued threats of a countrywide Jail Bharo movement and said that if Muslims come to the streets, no government can contain their outrage.
‘जिस दिन मुसलमान सड़कों पर आ गया, किसी से संभलने वाला नहीं है’: दिल्ली में अवैध अतिक्रमण पर बुलडोजर चलने से बौखलाए मौलाना तौकीर रजा ने मोदी सरकार को दे दी चेतावनी pic.twitter.com/EBxH6LrQFG
Ittihad-e-Millat Council party chief Maulana Tauqir Raza said, “After Eid, our meeting will be finalized if Allah wills. And if the government does not correct its actions and continues to do one-sided biased actions… Sabka Sath and Sabka Sath is just for saying. It is nothing more than a slogan and it is not being practiced. Therefore I demand to the government it should correct its way of working in the upcoming ten days it has. Otherwise, the next announcement will come from Delhi, if Allah wills.”
Revealing his next plans, Maulana Tauqir Raza said, “We will start a countrywide ‘Jail Bharo Andolan’ if Allah wills. And all people who love the country will participate in that including Hindus and Muslims. People from all the districts of all the states who believe in the integrity of the country and mutual brotherhood, especially the Muslims will participate in this movement.”
Explaining his own reasons for this, Maulana Tauqir Raza said, “We need to take this step because you don’t want to live with us and we cannot leave the country. Pakistan will not accept us. Bangladesh will not accept us. China will not accept us. Where shall we go? The government will not listen to us. We don’t have any hope of justice from the judiciary.”
Talking further about the judiciary, Maulana Tauqir Raza said, “The types of verdicts are being given in the courts… I am seeing that even the verdicts of the courts are being overlooked. On-the-spot judgments are being passed wherever any crime is committed and somebody is accused. There is a difference between the accused and the criminal. Running bulldozers over the houses of the accused is injustice.”
Issuing threats of unrest in the society, Maulana Tauqir Raza said, “If this government continues to do such injustice, the countrywide Jail Bharo Andolan will become so big that government will be unable to contain it. And the day Muslims come to the streets, one must understand that they will be uncontrollable. Therefore I warn the government and Narendra Modi in particular that if he fails to correct this way of taking action with immediate effect….. And his silence. You are the Prime Minister for all of us. Such acts are taking place in your country and you remain silent?”
Comparing Narendra Modi with Dhritarashtra of Mahabharata, Maulana Tauqir Raza said, “How can you remain a silent spectator, maybe a deaf as well? It looks like you are the Dhritarashtra from Mahabharata. What was his name? The blind one in Mahabharata? Wasn’t he the same? So, had Dhritarashtra not remained blind and deaf, and had he not allowed all the misdeeds to happen there, the war of Mahabharata would not have happened. Similarly, if Narendra Modi does not leave the bearing of the Dhritarashtra’s character, nobody can prevent a Mahabharata that may happen in India.”
This is not the first time that Maulana Tauqir Raza made such statements provoking Muslims and issuing threats.
’20 lakh Muslims listening … I’m afraid my Hindu brothers, if my youth takes law into their hands, you won’t find any place to hide in India’, Maulana Taukeer Raza Khan over the ‘Dharam Sansad’ controversy.
On 8th January 2022, while addressing a crowd of 20 lakh Muslims in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, the radical Islamist brazenly threatened Hindus in India that the day Muslims’ rage flares, they would have nowhere to escape.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday condemned the United States Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s visit to a part of Jammu and Kashmir currently illegally occupied by Pakistan and said that she should practice ‘narrow-minded politics’ at home.
“She visited a part of Jammu and Kashmir currently illegally occupied by Pakistan. If such a politician wishes to practice her narrow-minded politics at home that may be her business, but violating our territorial integrity in its pursuit makes this ours. Condemnable”, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi was quoted.
She visited a part of J&K currently illegally occupied by Pak. If such a politician wishes to practice her narrow-minded politics at home that may be her business,but violating our territorial integrity in its pursuit makes this ours. Condemnable: MEA on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar pic.twitter.com/NEUgyJmb3C
Omar, the Somalia-born radical Islamist politician visited Pakistan occupied Kashmir, and met its ‘President’ Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry. She discussed the alleged violation of human rights in Jammu and Kashmir with Chaudhry and assured him about discussing the issue in the United States.
US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar(@IlhanMN) accompanied by a delegation called on the President of the State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhary (@BarrSultan )in the President House Muzaffarabad. 1/2#KashmirLivesMatterpic.twitter.com/MbaHmXU7Sp
— Govt of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (@GovtofAJK) April 21, 2022
According to the reports, Omar also met PTI chairman Imran Khan earlier at his residence in Islamabad. She praised him for his position and his work against ‘Islamophobia’ globally. Khan also meanwhile appreciated her ‘courageous and principled’ position on issues.
US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar called on Chairman PTI in Bani Gala. They discussed Islamophobia & related issues. @Ilhan expressed her admiration for @ImranKhanPTI & his position on & work against Islamophobia globally. IK appreciated her courageous & principled position on issues. pic.twitter.com/m3kPa2poYx
The US Congresswoman also noted that Pakistan and United States had huge potential to improve and strengthen bilateral relations. She praised the country for it’s steps taken to combat Islamophobia. This is after the United Nations last month approved a resolution setting March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbad Sharif also released a statement appreciating Omar’s ‘courage of convictions and her political struggle’. Sharif noted that Pakistan valued its longstanding relationship with the US and wanted to further deepen bilateral cooperation.
Ms. Ilhan Omar, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif today.
Appreciating her courage of convictions and her political struggle, the Prime Minister warmly welcomed her on her first-ever visit to Pakistan.
Omar’s visit to Pakistan occupied Kashmir however will indirectly boost Pakistan to pull the issue of Jammu and Kashmir to global levels. Despite India’s repeated refusal to interfere in its internal matters, Pakistan has made several attempts to raise the issue of Kashmir at the global level.
India at United Nations had said that Kashmir is and will remain an integral part of India and that India desires normal neighborly relations with all countries including Pakistan. “Any meaningful dialogue can be held only in an atmosphere free of terror, hostility, and violence. The onus is on Pakistan to create such a conducive atmosphere. Till then India will continue to take firm and decisive steps to respond to cross-border terrorism”, the country had said.
Omar is the first member of the US Congress to visit Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after a new coalition government came into power in Islamabad last week. Apart from meetings with the political leadership in Islamabad, she has plans to visit Lahore for four days till April 24.
On Thursday, the Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Dr. Narrotam Mishra took a jibe at the Congress party for poorly failing in the digital membership drive in the state. “Every campaign of the Congress is now confined to Television and Twitter. They have no power to fight at the grass-root level”, Mishra said.
He added that every campaign led by the Indian National Congress will be a big failure. “Look at the Ghar-Ghar Chalo campaign. What happened to it? It is their internal matter but I can say that Congress can do politics only on social media now. They have lost the power to fight at the grass-root level”, he tweeted.
टेलीविजन, ट्विटर तक सीमित रह गई कांग्रेस का हर अभियान जमीनी स्तर पर फिसड्डी ही साबित होता है।
In November last year, the Indian National Congress initiated the All India Congress Committee Digital Membership Program intending to expand the party membership. Under the program, interested people could obtain self membership of the party online. According to the reports, the party added 2.6 crore, new digital members, to the party including the existing members who had already become members through the physical membership.
Party chief Sonia Gandhi enrolled herself as part of the initiative, former PM Manmohan Singh became a digital member and former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi also enrolled himself as a digital member on the first day of the drive on November 1. However, reports mention that the drive was a big failure in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur. While Telangana performed well among the states by adding 39 lakh members, Delhi managed to pull only 2.5 lakh members against the targeted 10 lakh.
The drive also failed to do good in the states of Gujarat, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh. In the state of Madhya Pradesh, the party could add only 10 lakh members which is 6 percent of the 1.55 crore voters from the 2017 assembly elections. The drive is of significance in the state as assembly elections for Madhya Pradesh are due next year.
Ahead of the elections, Congress’s Kamal Nath in the state had also declared the kickstart party’s biggest ever campaign named ‘Ghar Ghar Chalo Abhiyan (door to door campaign)’ from February 1, 2022. The campaign aimed to go from door to door and explain to them the policies of the party. He started the campaign from Devas where he was seen waving at the public from his car. Reportedly, he did not pay a visit to any of the citizen’s houses.
BJP state minister Vishwas Sarang then had slammed the Congress party for showing off their fake concern through the campaign. “Kamal Nath led the Ghar Chalo Ghar-Ghar Chalo campaign by sitting in a car in Dewas. We can guess from this that Congress leaders are afraid to go to people’s homes. Congress is just creating the hype through this campaign”, he had said.
The next Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election is scheduled to be held in or before November 2023 to elect all 230 members of the state’s Legislative Assembly. However, the dates of the elections are yet to be declared.
An elephant giving birth to twins is one of the rarest incidents. On April 18, a wild mother elephant gave birth to twins in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR). Elephant expert R Sukumar said as per records, only four such twin births have been recorded since 1926.
#Wildlife activists, animal lovers and environmentalists are celebrating as a wild cow elephant gave birth to twin calves in Bandipur Tiger Reserve in #Karnataka‘s Chamarajanagar district. pic.twitter.com/m2JJRGgzzU
As per reports, on the day when the cow elephant gave birth to the calves, the tourists and staffers spotted her in a herd of elephants. She was in labour and struggling to give birth close to the old ticket counter. To ease the pain, she went into a small water body where she gave birth to the calves. When the tourists learned about the birth, they gathered close to the water body.
BTR director Dr Ramesh Kumar said, “The wild cow elephant, which was still in postdelivery pain, was petrified to come out of the water as a large crowd had gathered. Everyone could see two small heads floating in the water. Fearing that they would drown as all three were not coming out of the water, we cleared the crowd and guarded the area. After a long wait, feeling safe, the mother elephant emerged from the water body and then helped her calves out.”
Soon after the birth, the two toddlers joined their mother back in the herd. Dr Ramesh said as of now, they were not tracking the newly born calves as they did not want to disturb or add pressure on the newborns.
According to conservationists, such twins have to be monitored closely. R Sukumar, an elephant expert, said only one per cent of elephant births in captivity are twins. The percentage in the wild is still unknown.
On May 21, 1971, a cow elephant Devaki had given birth to Vijay and Sujay.
Twin brothers Sujay and Vijay walk down a road passing through the woods, after grazing out in the wild, and playing in the intermittent downpour, all day long. They were born fifty years ago, to cow elephant Devaki, and have been the centre of attraction at the camp since then. pic.twitter.com/T60fmBVUaI
The second such birth was recorded in Bandipur in the 1980s when Ashwin and Bharini were born. The third was in Tamil Nadu, and the recent one recorded was in Mudumalai. Because of their large bodies and long gestation periods, it is rare for elephants to give birth to more than one calf.
The Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust in Mathura has stopped using loudspeakers to broadcast prayers of Lord Shri Krishna, complying with a directon by the state govt. The temple trust took this decision on Wednesday 20th April 2022, as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Tuesday, had issued a set of guidelines to be followed during religious processions in the state. The secretary of the trust Kapil Sharma said that the loudspeakers on the temple have been turned off from Wednesday.
Kapil Sharma said, “We have ‘Manglacharan’ aarti, from 5 AM to 6 AM every day at Sri Krishna Janambhoomi which used to be broadcast over loudspeakers installed at Bhagwat Bhawan on premises of Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi. The committee decided to enforce directions given by the chief minister recently wherein he has suggested that sound of loudspeakers should not go out of premises.”
He further said, “For us, any direction issued by chief minister Yogi Adityanath is a ‘sant vachan’ (command of a saint) and thus we are bound to follow these directions, issued by the chief minister who has suggested that loudspeakers should not be used at the cost of inconvenience to others. The directions issued by the chief minister were implemented on Wednesday morning and ‘Manglacharan’ aarti was held as per tradition in Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi but it was not broadcast over the loudspeaker and the voice remained within premises so as to not cause inconvenience to others”
Ahead of Eid and Akshay Tritiya, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said that no religious procession should be taken out without permission and that usage of loudspeakers should not inconvenience others. CM Yogi Adityanath issued directions after he chaired a law-and-order review meeting on Monday. During the meeting, he said that every religion has the freedom to follow the religious method of worshipping God but clerics should make sure that people are not disturbed due to loud noises.
The UP CM also canceled the leave of all police and administrative officials till May 4 to keep the law & order under control. A government release in this regard said, “The leave of all administrative/police officers, from SHO, CO and district police chiefs to the district magistrate, the divisional commissioner is canceled till May 4 with immediate effect. Those who are currently on leave must return to the place of posting within the next 24 hours.”
