Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi has hurled insults on PM Modi’s centenarian mother Heeraben Modi. On January 4, while addressing a political rally in UP’s Unnao, Azmi said, “Modiji, show the certificate of your mother, where she was born?”
This speech by public representative won’t be in prime-times because ‘Bulli bai’ by some fringe accs is more ethically wrong & harming then this politician making derogatory comments on PM’s mother. pic.twitter.com/DR2XwRY6Lf
The Maharashtra SP chief was seen campaigning with Samajwadi Party politician Juhie Singh in Ganj Muradabad in UP’s Unnao. Azmi, in a speech now viral on social media, was seen making campaigning for the upcoming state assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh this year.
Azmi said, “Even if we consider that all Muslims in India unite, you (Muslims) will be only 15%. And they (Hindus) are 85%! The people from BJP are trying to create a rift between Hindus and Muslims. He further claimed, ” I have come here to tell you that if all of you unite and vote as a block, they will not be able to win even 25 seats.”
#WATCH SP leader Abu Azmi was seen repeatedly calling on Muslims to unite during a public meeting in Unnao.
"You are 15% & they are 85%," he said.
Afterwards, he made an offensive remark about PM Modi's mother, asking for "Amma's certificate". pic.twitter.com/O2x47aoNRq
During the speech, Azmi was also seen peddling the misinformation that CAA and NRC threaten the citizenship status of Indian Muslims. He said, “(Modi) wants to win 500 seats and rule again, for which he’ll bring bills like NRC to ask all of you where your ancestor were born…, Modiji, show the certificate of your mother, where was she born?”
Azmi is known for making controversial misogynistic statements and has often toed an orthodox Islamic line in politics. Earlier in December, he had advocated for the early marriage of Muslim girls, saying that men cannot stay alone with sisters or even own daughters in the family, they may get tempted by Satan (to rape the women).
The third wave of COVID-19 has hit Delhi as it expects to report around 10,000 COVID-19 infections today. With this, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain has instructed private hospitals in Delhi to increase the number of reserved beds for COVID-19 patients to 40 per cent of their current capacity. Jain also has expressed concerns over the shortage of beds in government hospitals. According to the reports, 531 patients have been admitted to the government hospital in Delhi in the last 24 hours, out of which 482 are COVID-19 cases.
“The positive rate in Delhi has also been on a constant rise and that indicates the commencement of the third wave of COVID-19 in India”, Jain added. Warning Delhi residents, he further said that although symptoms of the highly infectious variant Omicron seem to be mild, all COVID- related protocols must be adhered to.
Delhi is likely to report around 10,000 COVID infections today, with the daily positivity rate rising to nearly 10%. The third wave of COVID-19 has set in: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain pic.twitter.com/czhj4rvniT
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority meanwhile has decided to impose a curfew in Delhi on Saturdays and Sundays to curb the COVID-19 surge. “All the government officials except for those engaged in essential services will work from home and 50 per cent workforce of private offices will work from home”, informed Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia.
DDMA has decided to impose a curfew in Delhi on Saturdays and Sundays to curb COVID surge. All govt officials except for those engaged in essential services will work from home. 50% workforce of private offices will work from home: Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia https://t.co/AhRHujg6BFpic.twitter.com/PM47VVE5kG
This is a day after Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced on Twitter that he has been tested positive for COVID-19 with mild symptoms and has isolated himself at home. To note, CM Kejriwal had campaigned for his party in poll-bound states like Goa and Punjab and had travelled to more than 11 places in the last 15 days. He had also attended 4 public rallies in 3 states and had visited a temple in Amritsar last week. During his travel and campaign, the AAP supremo is said to have come in contact with thousands of people who are at the risk of getting affected.
The national capital has recorded 5,481 COVID cases and three related deaths yesterday after the government announced fresh curbs. The state has almost 15000 active cases of COVID-19, the fourth-highest in the country after Maharashtra, West Bengal and Kerala. Testing has been increased and around 90,000 tests have been conducted today.
Former Jharkhand BJP MLA Gurucharan Nayak narrowly escaped Maoist attack in West Singhbhum district on Tuesday (December 4) evening, but two of his bodyguards Shankar Nayak and Thakur Hembrom lost their life after Maoists slit their throat. The incident took place at a public function West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand.
The third bodyguard Ramkumar Tudu somehow managed to save his life as he fled away from the spot after fighting with Maoists to save two others. The former MLA quietly slipped and mingled in the crowd present at the event and saved his life. Maoists also looted one AK 47 and two Insas rifles from the three bodyguards. The police team could reach the spot two and half hours after the incident and recovered the body of one cop.
There is no clarity on whether or not the second body was retrieved. “Let me get an update on this matter whether the body of the second cop has been recovered or not,” DSP of Chakradharpur sub-division Dilip Xalxo told OpIndia.
The incident took place at Project High School in Jhilaura village under Goilkera police station about 60 km from the district headquarter. Gurucharan Nayak, the former MLA from Manoharpur, had gone there to attend the prize distribution ceremony of two days’ football match organized on the Project High School campus. The football match was organized on the occasion of the foundation day of the school.
Former Jharkhand BJP MLA Gurucharan Nayak (second from left) attending prize distribution programme in West Singhbhum when armed squad of CPI (Maoist) attacked.
Around 100 Naxals of the CPI (Maoist) belonging to the armed squad of Naxal commander Mocchu mixed in the crowd and took positions at strategic places on the ground.
As the programme ended at around 5.15 PM, and Nayak approached his vehicle, Maoists opened fire and overpowered bodyguards. They slit the throat of the two jawans. Tudu was injured while trying to save them.
The residence of Nayak is situated at Tunia village under Sonua police station, barely one and a half km from the venue. Hence, he somehow safely managed to reach his residence from where he went to the police and informed them about the incident.
Gurucharan Nayak later informed reporters: “We got to the playground like every year. The awards had been distributed and I was ready to board my vehicle around 5.15 pm when around 20-30 Maoists attacked us. I managed to escape as they could not locate me in the commotion. The attackers also looted one AK-47 and two INSAS rifles.”
Jharkhand Police says former MLA did not inform police about the visit
SSP of West Singhbhum, Ajay Linda told the media that Nayak visited the Naxal-infested area without informing the local police. Chakradharpur DSP said a similar thing. “Police had no information about the former MLA going to attend any programme here,” said Xalxo.
police sources said that barely four to five days back, CPI (Maoist) cadres had murdered two civilians under Goilkera police station area charging them as police informer. Besides, Naxals also shot dead an employee of the forest department identified as Boyaram Lomga.
Nayak on Naxal’s hitlist
This is the second occasion in the past decade when Nayak survived the Naxal attack. Nayak was the MLA when on January 9, 2012, he hadvisited Harta and Khatangbera under the Anandpur police station of the district to inaugurate a school building and to lay foundation of a road. Ther the Naxals had attacked his convoy twice leading to an encounter between police and Naxals. No casualty or injury was reported in the incident.
BJP goes offensive against the Hemant Soren government
The BJP expressed concern over the rise of the Naxal incidents in Jharkhand and alleged the Hemant Soren government completely failed to control Naxal activities. Former and first Chief Minister of Jharkhand Babulal Marandi is set to visit Chakradharpur to meet the former MLA. The BJP has announced to burn effigy of the state government.
“Situation is alarming in Jharkhand and people are worried about their life. The state government seems to be reluctant to tackle the left-wing extremism in Jharkhand,” Marandi informed.
मनोहरपुर के पूर्व विधायक श्री गुरूचरण नायक जी के ऊपर हुए नक्सली हमले में दो अंगरक्षकों के शहीद होने की खबर मिली। कानून व्यवस्था की यह दुर्दशा से आज जब जनप्रतिनिधि सुरक्षित नहीं है तो आम आदमी कितना सुरक्षित है। गुरुचरण जी से फ़ोन पर बात हुई है वो अभी सुरक्षित हैं।
Former Chief Minister and union minister of tribal affairs Arjun Munda too expressed shock over the incident. Munda said that the state government is least concerned over the deterioration of the law and order situation in Jharkhand.
मनोहरपुर के पूर्व विधायक श्री गुरुचरण नायक जी पर नक्सली हमले और उनके दो सुरक्षाकर्मी के शहीद होने की खबर सुनकर मर्माहत हूं।राज्य में विधि व्यवस्था एवं ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में सुरक्षा व्यवस्था की स्थिति दयनीय एवं गंभीर है।सरकार इस मामले में असंवेदनशील है।भगवान से हमले घायल एक
Politicians in Jharkhand long been on target of Naxals
This is not the first incident of Maoists having targeted politicians. On January 16, 2005, three Maoists had gunned down the veteran leader and MLA of CPI-ML (Liberation) Mahendra Prasad Singh at Durgi Dhabaiya village under the Saria police station in Giridih district.
Singh who represented Bagodar assembly for three consecutive terms was extremely popular among people. He was killed when he was about to get into his vehicle after delivering an election speech. Maoists also cut his throat after pumping bullets into his body. Later on, to save the face, the CPI (Maoist) claimed that Singh was murdered without the approval of the central committee.
On March 4, 2007, CPI (Maoist) killed MP of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Sunil Mahto during a football match prize distribution programme at Baguria under Ghatsila police station of Jamshedpur. Maoists looted Insas rifle from his bodyguard. The CBI is investigating the case.
On July 9, 2008, CPI (Maoist) led by Kundan Pahan shot dead Ramesh Singh Munda in the high noon of rebel violence in Jharkhand on July 9, 2008, during a function at a school at Bundu in Ranchi. Two bodyguards of Ramesh Singh Munda and a student also died in the Naxal attack. He was the sitting JD (U) MLA from Tamar. Later on, the National Investigation Agency took over the investigation.
On December 3, 2011, CPI (Maoist) ambushed a convoy of former Jharkhand assembly Speaker and sitting MP from Chatra Inder Singh Namdhari at Ladu More in Latehar district. Namdhari escaped unhurt in the powerful landmine explosion but 10 persons including eight policemen lost their lives in the attack carried by Maoist to avenge the killing of their leader Kishenji in neighbouring West Bengal.
On January 3, the Minakhan Police in West Bengal arrested 6 people named Salam Sardar, Habibur Mollah, Shariful Gazi, Surajit Mondal, Bakibillah Tarafdar and Rakibul Islam for raping a woman near Bamunpukur on the Basanti Highway.
According to the local reports, the woman was on her way back from a New Year family picnic in Taki and was attacked by 6 men who also vandalized the van and hit the family members and the driver.
According to police and local reports, a group of around 30-35 people from the Ghatakpukur area of Bhangar in South 24 Parganas had gone for a picnic in Taki on Saturday (January 1). The victim woman was with the group. The accused, a group of 6 men from Kumarjol village of Minakhan were also in Taki for a picnic. The two groups got into a heated argument after which the 6 men from Kumarjol continuously kept an eye on the woman.
With the clear intention to take revenge for the previous altercation that occurred at the picnic spot, the 6 men were waiting for the picnic group on the Kolkata-Basanti highway in front of Kisan Mandi, near Minakhan police station. Around 8:30 pm, the men stopped the car coming from Bhangar and vandalised the vehicle with rods and bamboo. The other passengers inside the vehicle were also beaten.
The frightened passengers managed to get out of the vehicle but the woman and a man were blocked by the six of them. Allegedly, the intoxicated youths picked up the two in the same vehicle and drove towards Amtala Bazaar. The young man was beaten and taken down there and the woman was raped on gunpoint. In her complaint to the police, the woman who is a housewife has said that the miscreants took her to a cell in Mechobheri. She has stated that two of the accused sexually assaulted her while the other four stood and watched.
As per reports, the driver of the vehicle has stated that the accused had attacked the van and had looted valuables from the picnic group. The victim, who was kidnapped along with the vehicle by the accused. The woman was reportedly spotted and rescued by some villagers hours later. She was then rushed to the hospital after the locals informed the police.
The Minakhan police have so far arrested two persons on charges of rape and four others on charges of vandalism and beating. They have been charged with gang rape. Also, the 6 culprits were taken to Basirhat court on January 3 where they were remanded into police custody for 12 days. It is reported that the woman will be taken to court once she recuperates to record her statement before a magistrate.
The recent controversy over targeting of women for sexual exploitation and harassment on the basis of their religion has created a lot of stir on media and social media. Social media users had highlighted certain apps and channels that were sharing images of Hindu women for potential sexual harassment.
Popular social media user Anshul Saxena had alerted people about a Telegram channel named ‘Hindu Ran*yan’ that was using images of Hindu women with derogatory, sexually explicit references for harassment and abuse.
Anshul Saxena has tagged Mumbai Police, bringing to their attention the targeted harassment and potential sexual abuse of Hindu women via the channel.
After Anshul shared the tweet, some people started asking why the government is not taking action against such platforms.
Anshul’s tweet has received over 6000 retweets so far. A social media user named Meera Mohanty had asked Anshul why he is not asking the IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw or the Home Minister to take action against such channels, ‘if he is actually concerned about them’.
Taking cognisance of the tweet where he was tagged, the IT minister replied that he has initiated action against that particular Telegram channel and it has been blocked.
Channel blocked. Government of India coordinating with police authorities of states for action. https://t.co/kCB6Ys8TI2
IT Minister Vaishnaw stated that the channel has been blocked and the government of India is coordinating with police authorities of states for further action against the persons responsible for the channel. However, the Mumbai Police, which was tagged in the original tweet by Anshul, is yet to respond to it.
Anshul had shared later that the particular account has been reported and removed.
There are several other platforms and channels that are sharing images of Hindu women with derogatory messages, often sexually explicit and with potential criminal intentions, including threats of rape and gang rape.
Anshul had drawn attention to a number of Facebook pages that are sharing similar content, sexual images and threats directed towards Hindu women. Union Minister for Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has responded to it, stating that the Ministry of Electronics and IT has been alerted about it, and will ask Facebook to take those pages down.
It is notable here that yesterday on January 4, the Mumbai Police had arrested a 21-year-old man named Vishal and an 18-year-old girl named Shweta for making an app named ‘Bulli Bai’ that shared images of Muslim women.
On January 2, Chattisgarh state BJP leader and ex-minister Brijmohan Agrawal levelled serious allegations against the Congress-led Chhattisgarh government over the allotment of 25-acre land to Pakistani extremist outfit Dawat-e-Islami. After a massive outrage against the move by the BJP, the allotment of the 25-acre land in Raipur has been cancelled by the state government.
Earlier, the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government in Chhattisgarh had decided to allot 25-acre land to the Pakistan-linked extremist Islamic organisation Dawat-e-Islami. The outfit’s Chattisgarh wing had requested the government to allot 10 hectares(25 acres) of land in the Boriakhurd area of Raipur to construct a community centre. After the primary allotment, the additional collector at the district court had issued an advertisement for claiming objection against the allotment. In the advertisement dated December 22, 2021, respondents were asked to file objections in court before January 13, 2022.
Screengrab of the advertisement as tweeted by BJP leader Brijmohan Agrawal
Following the development, the state BJP unit led a massive uproar over the allotment of a huge piece of land to an Islamist Organisation with Pakistani links. Brijmohan Agrawal, ex-Cabinet minister in the state government tweeted, “The Chhattisgarh government is allotting 25 acres (10 hectares) of land in Raipur to an organization named Dawat-e Islami. Dawat-e-Islami is a Pakistani organization, and Congress is enabling them to open their branches in our country”
छत्तीसगढ़ सरकार रायपुर में दावते इस्लामी नाम के संगठन को 25 एकड़ (10 हेक्टेयर) जगह आवंटित कर रही है। दावते इस्लामी एक पाकिस्तानी संगठन है, जिसकी शाखाएं हमारे देश में खोलने का काम यह कांग्रेसी कर रहे हैं। दावते इस्लामी के ऊपर मतांतरण और आतंकवाद फैलाने व चंदे के जरिए फंडिंग के(1/4) pic.twitter.com/BxyqaFSKuB
Agrawal alleged that several allegations have been made against Daawat-e-Islami over forced conversions, influencing voters and spreading terrorism through donations. Their members have been earlier identified as terrorists and spies who have been caught by the special cell of the Delhi Police. He noted that the Facebook page of Dawat-e-Islami has photos of its Pakistani founder Ilyas Qadri and that the logos of The original Pakistani organisation and its Chhattisgarh wing are also similar.
He questioned, “The government has gone ahead to donate 10 lakh,76 thousand square feet space to a Pakistani organisation for building a community centre. Has any community in history been allotted such a large space for building a community hall? Does it take 25 acres to build a community hall?”
12 acre govt owned land in Raipur Chhattisgarh allotted to Dawat-e-Islami, a Karachi based organisation.
Application given on 28th December, approved same day by minister Mohammad Akbar and allotted the very next day, 29th December by Raipur DM.
Following the controversy, the Govt. cancelled the allotment and in defence said Dawat-e-Islami’s request was declined in the first place. The Government has also set up an enquiry against the officials who had initially passed the allotment. Devendra Patel, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Raipur said that the application was made by a man named Syed Kalim in the collector’s office on behalf of the organisation.
He stated, “As per the preliminary process, on receipt of the application, a memorandum was issued by the Additional Tahsildar for publishing an advertisement. After the publication of the advertisement, the applicant appeared in the court of the Additional Tehsildar and withdrew his application saying that he had mistakenly written the area as 10 hectares, whereas he needed only 10,000 square feet.”
Finally, the SDM stated that the application in the Tehsil has been dismissed on 01 January 2022 and the case has been finally closed. He assured that notice is being served to the Officer-in-Charge of Land Allotment (Collectorate) and the Additional Tehsildar for errors in the publication of the advertisement.
Daawat-e-Islami and its links with Pakistan
Founded in 1981 by Maulana Abu Bilal Muhammad Ilyas Attari, Dawat-e-Islami (Invitation to Islam), is a Sunni Islamic organisation with its base in Pakistan. The extremist organisation has spread its wings in India and is active in many countries in the world. Started as a revivalist organisation inspired by Sufi doctrines, it has developed into an extremist Islamist outfit with brazen terror links. While it claims to be involved in social work, its activities have been long curtailed by Pakistani military authorities after the assassin of a Pakistani politician was found to be a DIE member. Recently in 2020, one of the terrorists who were involved in the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris named DIE founder Ilyas Attari as his guide.
A Pakistani terrorist named Md Ashraf, who was arrested in Delhi in October 2021 was also found to be linked with this organisation.
The Facebook page of Dawat-e-Islami Chhattisgarh can be seen heaping praises for its Pakistani founder Ilyas Attar. Raipur Mayor Ejaz Debhar is also seen praising the activities of the organisation in a video. In India, Dawat-e-Islami has garnered criticism from other Muslim sects over their open links with terrorism. Voices have been raised earlier against the objectives of Dawat-e-Islami to hold religious congregations (Iztema) in Kanpur and Hyderabad.
The chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, on Tuesday sanctioned Rs 78.76 lakhs from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund(CMRF) to provide financial assistance to 13 institutions run by the Missionaries of Charity(MoC) in the state.
“Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has sanctioned ₹78.76 lakh from the CMRF to support 13 institutions run by the Missionaries of Charity in the state,” the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said, according to news agency ANI.
CM has sanctioned assistance for 13 institutions run by MoC spreading over 8 districts. More than 900 inmates in various leprosiums and orphanages in the state will be benefited by this decision: CMO, Odisha
Patnaik’s office further noted that the assistance was for MoC institutions across eight districts of the state. “More than 900 leprosariums and orphanages in the will benefit from this decision,” it said.
The development came in the wake of the reports of the District Collectors who were instructed by Mr Patnaik to stay in touch with the institutions run by the MoC. Last week, on December 30, Patnaik had asked all collectors to ensure that no inmate of the institutions run by the Missionaries of Charity suffers, especially from food security and health-related issues.
However, the opposition party BJP in Odisha slammed the chief minister for providing monetary assistance to organisations that had questionable credentials. “It is known that the MoC-run institutions are involved in shady activities. Religious conversion in the garb of humanitarian activities of the MoC is an open secret,” said Sajjan Sharma, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“The Odisha CM has been selective in his benevolence. The FCRA renewal application of many non-government organisations working in Odisha has been rejected. Will the CM sanction financial assistance to all affected institutions? This is motivated action,” added Sharma, raising a pertinent point that will the CM relief fund be open to all non-government organisations operating in Odisha.
FCRA renewal application of Missionaries of Charity(MoC) rejected for not meeting eligibility conditions
It is worth noting that Missionaries of Charity(MoC) were denied permission to renew its FCRA registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and their renewal application was rejected on the grounds of not meeting eligibility conditions under FCRA 2010 & Foreign Contribution Regulation Rules (FCRR), 2011. A controversy erupted last week after West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee claimed that the Centre had frozen all bank accounts of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity.
However, the MoC refuted Banerjee’s claims stating that the centre did not freeze their bank accounts. The group said its FCRA registration is neither cancelled nor suspended. Further, there is no freeze ordered by the MHA on any of the bank accounts, MoC said.
“We have been informed that our FCRA renewal application has not been approved. Therefore, as a measure to ensure there is no lapse, we have asked our centres not to operate any of the FC accounts until the matter is resolved,” MoC said in a statement.
The Mumbai Police on Tuesday arrested 18-year-old Shweta Singh in the ‘Bulli Bai’ Deal case from Uttarakhand. She is termed as the prime accused in the case, who was in constant touch with Vishal Kumar, an engineering student from Bengaluru who was arrested in connection with the same case on Monday.
“18-year-old Shweta Singh has been taken into custody by Mumbai Police, in connection with the ‘Bulli Bai’ app case. The procedure is underway for her transit remand at Rudrapur police station: Uttarakhand Police Headquarters,” reported news agency ANI.
18-year-old Shweta Singh has been taken into custody by Mumbai Police, in connection with the 'Bulli Bai' app case. The procedure is underway for her transit remand at Rudrapur police station: Uttarakhand Police Headquarters
As per reports, Singh was handling three Twitter accounts related to the controversial app. The other accused, Kumar, on the contrary, created accounts in the name of Khalistanis and attributed the creation of the Bulli Bai to Khalsa account holders.
Mumbai Police nabs Vishal Kumar, co-accused in ‘Bulli Bai’ Deal case
Kumar was detained and brought to Mumbai on Monday (January 3) by the Mumbai police. The engineering student was one of the 5 people, who followed the Twitter handle of ‘Bulli Bai’. A First Information Report (FIR) was earlier lodged against the Twitter handles that promoted the app and those who developed it.
While speaking about the matter, a senior IPS officer had stated, “The 21-year-old is a second-year civil engineering student. He used his Twitter handle to share derogatory content from the app. We have detained him.” He informed that the accused was traced using the IP address of his Twitter accounts, which was used to upload pictures.
The background of the case
Months after the controversial ‘Sulli Deals’ app, which had offered pics of Muslim women as ‘deals’, another such app has appeared on the open-source code repository Github. In the recent incident, photos of several Muslim women were misused and uploaded by an unidentified group on an app using GitHub by the name of ‘Bulli Bai’ on January 1.
The matter came to light after Ismat Ara, one of the female journalists at ‘The Wire’ became a ‘Bulli Bai’ target. She had shared on Twitter that her image is being ‘offered’ in the derogatory app.
It is pertinent to note that the ‘Bulli Bai’ Twitter account had a hashtag that read #FreeJaggiNow in its Twitter name, and its banner image also had the same hashtag. The Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed that the user behind its creation was blocked by the coding platform of GitHub.
Amid the rapid surge of Omicron cases across the world, a new COVID variant called ‘IHU’ has emerged in the southern part of France. The variant B.1.640.2 is believed to have been discovered at the institute IHU Mediterranee Infection. Reports say that the IHU variant contains 46 mutations and may be more harmful than the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Ringing the alarm bells over the emergence of the new variant, the southern part of France has reported at least 12 cases. According to the US epidemiologist and health economist Eric Feigl-Ding, the variant can be identified using careful PCR analysis of signals that are different from Delta and Omicron.
?NEW VARIANT—French scientists have “rung the bell” after discovering a cluster 12 cases of a variant of “atypical combination” with **46 mutations & 37 deletions** in southern France after index case returned from Cameroon??—dubbed #B16402.? #COVID19https://t.co/SHXCbnkQUrpic.twitter.com/UwdL2hSW5g
“These observations show once again the unpredictability of the emergence of new #SARSCoV2 variants and their introduction from abroad, and they exemplify the difficulty to control such introduction and subsequent spread.”, he said. However, Feigl-Ding has further highlighted that there are scores of new variants discovered all the time, but it does not necessarily mean they will be more dangerous. “What makes a variant more well-known and dangerous is its ability to multiply because of the number of mutations it has in relation to the original virus”, he added on Twitter.
So far, the B.1.640.2 has not been detected in other countries or designated as a variant of concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO). According to the reports, the first case of IHU variant was an adult who tested positive using RT-PCR performed in a laboratory on a nasopharyngeal sample collected in mid-November last year.
The Political Affairs Committee (PAC) has agreed to nominate Aam Aadmi Party MP Bhagwant Mann as the party’s chief ministerial candidate in the upcoming Punjab assembly elections, according to media sources privy to the development. The party has reportedly decided to place their bet on Bhagwant Mann as the chief minister candidate going into the Punjab Assembly elections in 2022.
As per reports, the party is awaiting the appropriate moment to make the announcement. The announcement has been pushed postponed for the time being after Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
In the run-up to the elections, party president Arvind Kejriwal and spokesperson Raghav Chaddha have repeatedly stated that the CM face will be picked by the political affairs committee, but it will undoubtedly be someone who is the “pride of Punjab.”
Bhagwant Mann: Two-time MP, a comic and a habitual tippler
Bhagwant Mann is currently an MP from Sangrur Lok Sabha seat of Punjab. He is also a well-known comic. He was born in Satoj village of Sangrur and started his career as a comedian. Mann began his political career with the Punjab Peoples Party in early 2011, which is led by Manpreet Singh Badal. He eventually changed his mind and joined the Aam Aadmi Party. Mann has been elected to the Punjab Lok Sabha seat of Sangrur for two terms in a row since 2014.
His alleged alcoholism sparked a significant debate ahead of the 2017 Punjab assembly elections. There have been several complaints in the Lok Sabha regarding him attending the House fully drunk. Addressing a rally at Barnala in 2019, Mann said, “I have taken a vow in the presence of my mother not to drink alcohol for good.” “They have stooped to the level of showing old videos to defame me. It’s the only fault they find in me. Therefore, I have decided to quit drinking,” Mann said pointing towards the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) coalition and the ruling Congress. Arvind Kejriwal termed his decision a “great sacrifice” for the people of Punjab and the country.
The freebie gamble in Punjab
Aam Aadmi Party has claimed a big victory in the upcoming Punjab Legislative Assembly elections. The party is constantly trying to find its land before the elections in Punjab. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal himself has held several rallies flouting all COVID norms for the promotion of the party in Punjab.
Arvind Kejriwal is roaming in the streets of Punjab promising 300 free units of electricity, a cancellation of overdue electricity bills, and uninterrupted round-the-clock electricity. In a bid to win the assembly elections at any cost, Kejriwal has announced various populist schemes.
