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Pak Minister Fawad Chaudhry blames India for Covid pandemic, says world is suffering from ‘Indian coronavirus’

OpIndia Staff
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Pak Minister Fawad Chaudhry blames India for Covid pandemic, says world is suffering from ‘Indian coronavirus’

Fawad Chaudhry, Federal Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting in Pakistan, has blamed India for the spread of Covid-19 in his country and the world. He claims that the world was on the verge of securing a victory over the Coronavirua pandemic but lax policies of the NDA Government has put the world in jeopardy.

“There is no doubt that Coronavirus has spread again quickly in Pakistan and it is the misfortune of this region that the measures the Narendra Modi Government should have taken to prepare for Covid-19 were not taken due to which India has become a source in the whole world and the fourth wave of the Coronavirus has come from India,” said Fawad Chaudhry.

He added, “The big reason for this is that the government of India unfortunately could not take adequate measures to curb it. The time when we were close to victory, that time due to the irresponsible policies of the Indian government, the world is in the grasp of the Delta Virus, which is essentially the Indian Coronavirus, and the world is suffering again.”

It is interesting to note that Pakistan has so far shown no inclination to hold China responsible for the spread of Covid-19 despite suspicions that the virus leaked from a lab in Wuhan and the first cases were reported in China. And yet, it seeks to blame India for the spread of the virus.

It is also to be noted that western countries have fared much worse than India during the pandemic and yet, Fawad Chaudhry wishes to pin the blame on India. The Pakistani minister has a penchant for blaming everything on India.

He recently claimed that Indians spied on Imran Khan using Pegasus. Earlier, he had admitted to Pakistan’s role behind the Pulwama terror attack. He had said that Pakistan gave a befitting reply to India by entering Indian territory and attacking Indian soldiers in Pulwama.

After being dropped from Modi’s new cabinet, Babul Supriyo says he is quitting politics: Here is what he said

OpIndia Staff
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After being dropped from Modi’s new cabinet, Babul Supriyo says he is quitting politics: Here is what he said

On Saturday (July 31), BJP leader Babul Supriyo took to Facebook to announce his premature retirement from electoral politics. He said that he is leaving politics, and also resigning from parliament. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) from the Asansol constituency and was the Minister of State for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change before he was dropped from the union ministry earlier this month.

In his Facebook post, he wrote, “Goodbye. I have stayed (in politics) for some time… In this process, I have made some happy and left others disappointed. You are free to evaluate me now. After having answered all my inner queries, I am wishing you goodbye. I have understood that social work can also be done without being active in politics. Let me organise myself a little. I am also resigning from my post of Member of Parliament. I had notified Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda about the same. But, they have again and again asked me to reconsider the decision. I am grateful to them for having inspired me in many ways.”

Babul Supriyo clarified that he did not want to give a false impression about his decision to quit politics. He urged everyone to not mistake his decision as a bargaining chip for a new Ministerial position. The Asansol MP, however, conceded that the loss of Ministership had influenced his decision but to a very small extent. “There is a big difference between 2014 and 2019. At that time, I was the only BJP candidate but today the party is the main Opposition in the West Bengal assembly. Today, BJP has both young and old faces who will lead the party to new heights in the State. I have also realised that it is no more an individual-centric party,” he said.

“I had some issues with the State leadership prior to elections. However, the internal disagreements became public. I am partly responsible for it as I made a Facebook post that created chaos within the party line. Several senior leaders are also responsible for the same, although I don’t want to discuss the extent of it,” he emphasised. Babul Supriyo claimed that the infighting with the BJP Bengal unit not only weakened the party at the ‘ground zero’ but also demoralised the party workers. In his Facebook post, he also vowed to quit his official government accommodation at the earliest.

He recounted his conversation with Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev on a flight and how that paved his way into the political arena. Supriyo said that it was surprising that Bengal did not vote for BJP when the whole of India had chosen Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister in 2014. Despite deep admiration for Shyamaprasad Mukherjee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee among Bengalis, the BJP did not win a single seat. He said that he took it upon as a challenge to turn the party’s fortunes in West Bengal and had worked for the party with utmost dedication. In his concluding note, he said, “I left my job as a banker at Standard Chartered bank to become a singer in Mumbai. Today, I am off to a new beginning. “

Babul Supriyo was dissatisfied after his ouster from Ministership

On July 7, Babul Suprio had expressed disappointment after he was excluded from Ministership following a Cabinet reshuffle. He had tweeted, “Yes, when there is smoke there must be a fire somewhere ? Not being able to take phone calls of my friends in the media who care for me hence let me spell it out myself. Yes, I have resigned from the Council Of Ministers (As I had framed it earlier, “Asked to resign” may not be the right way to put it). I thank Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving me the privilege to serve my country as a Member of his Council of Ministers.”

Supriyo failed to emerge as a leader at the time of crisis

At the height of the post-poll violence in West Bengal, Asansol MP Babul Supriyo snubbed BJP supporters on Twitter by reinforcing his ‘clean record’ in the constituency. When BJP workers were attacked by Trinamool Congress-sponsored-goons, the BJP MP failed to emerge as a true leader and stand by people at the time of crisis.

Screengrab of the tweets by Babul Supriyo

On being asked by a BJP Karyakarta to help the foot soldiers of the party, he refused to aid them at ground zero. Citing threats to his life, he stayed at home while his party workers were slaughtered.


In a tweet, he had claimed, “We are all doing everything that’s possible. Please understand one thing that I won’t be able to reach a karyakarta’s place because my car will be attacked immediately. TMC goons are out in the open rioting and police have tucked themselves inside safely. But trying everything sincerely.” With his formal announcement, Babul Supriyo’s 7-year long career in politics comes to an end.

Jai Bhim instead of Chhota Bheem: How an eight year old child is being used as a prop for his parents’ caste agenda

K Bhattacharjee
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Jai Bhim instead of Chhota Bheem: How an eight year old child is being used as a prop for his parents’ caste agenda

There’s a new trend underway, of which Greta Thunberg was a pioneer. The climate activist, as a child, ushered in an era of children activism. It usually involves parents pursuing their personal agenda using their children as a prop. Unfortunately, the trend has come to India as well. After Licypriya Kangujam, we have an eight year old child in our hands in the arena of caste activism. He is Samantha Meshram.

Samantha Meshram appears to be an ordinary boy and there is very little that we know of him. What we do know, however, is that he is in third grade and reads the works of Babasaheb Ambedkar and wishes to destroy caste, at least that is what his social media account claims.

Source: Twitter

A post on his Twitter account recently said, “After school hours, I am also reading Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar’s books everyday. We will destroy caste in coming few years.” The account was created in January 2020, when he was 7 years old.

The pinned tweet on his account says that he has launched the Annihilation of Caste Foundation and asks others to join his project.

Source: Twitter

All of it is quite self-explanatory. In the world we live in, 8 year old kids are in no position to head a foundation. They are eight year old, they don’t know anything about most things around them. The greatest concern in the life of an eight year old from an ordinary family is their toys and their cartoons.

It is quite difficult to make them interested in any other thing. We have all been through that age. And it is with good reason that civilized societies operate under the assumption that minor children have no agency of their own. The responsibility for their well-being lies solely in the hands of their guardian. And with good reason.

But here we have Samantha Meshram wondering about matters that do not ordinarily concern any eight year old. Yes, there are child prodigies who excel in games or studies or any particular area at a very young age but even they are not assumed to be particularly wise in matters of politics. Wisdom, after all, is very often a function of experience and experience most times only comes with age.

Meshram, at least his account on Twitter, is not bothered about Doraemon or other cartoons, instead he focuses on existential questions such as why Brahmins cannot be called Shudras. His parents, it seems, have handed him the baton of Jai Bhim instead of Chhota Bheem.

Source: Twitter

There is, of course, the irony of a child sitting in front of a Macbook in what appears to be a well furnished room. Nevertheless, the retweets on his account make it abundantly clear that he is being used a prop by adults with a motivated agenda.

One tweet that the account has retweeted claims that an Ambedkarite child is being ‘trolled’ by ‘Manu ki Aulad’. The tweet also says that all Ambedkarites ought to encourage the child.

Source: Twitter

Another tweet that was retweeted is a report by a self-proclaimed “Ambedkarite media venture” and foments hatred against ‘Manuvadis’. At this point, the objective is quite clear here. People with their personal caste agenda are seeking to create propaganda using the child.

The psychological toll that exposure to negative social media attention could have on the child is surely a bit too much for an eight year old to bear. And the only reason he is being exposed to such is because of his guardians.

It is necessary to add the caveat that it is not clear whether the child is even aware that he has a social media account. It is very possible that his guardians run the account using his photographs.

Source: Twitter

It is similar to Licypriya Kangujam. Her Twitter account is run by a bunch of social media managers. Meshram’s case does not appear to be too different. It is somewhat unbelievable that a child could tweet why Brahmins are not called Shudras.

This in indeed a dangerous development. Children should not be turned into tools for the agenda of their parents, whatever it may be. We could all agree that children ought to be shielded from the vagaries of the world at least until they are mature enough to evaluate things on their own.

It is far too much of a burden for them to carry. But such are the times we are living in. In Licypriya’s case, it is even more tragic as her father is a certified conman who took a lot of people for a ride. As a consequence of her father’s actions, the child has herself become an object of ridicule and derision on social media. She is found protesting over pretty much anything and everything under the Sun.

One can only hope that Meshram does not have to tread the same path. None of this is his fault, he is a child after all. But when guardians abandon the sacred responsibility of their wards, tragedy often unfolds.

Maharashtra drug regulator issues notice to Amazon and Flipkart for selling pregnancy termination pills without prescription

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra drug regulator issues notice to Amazon and Flipkart for selling pregnancy termination pills without prescription

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Authority (FDA) on Thursday issued notice to E-commerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart after it allegedly found that pregnancy termination kits and pills are available for sale on these platforms without prescription.

The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 prohibits the online distribution of such medicines without any prescription, FDA said in a statement.

After the Maharashtra Food and Drug Authority (FDA) learnt that these aforementioned E-commerce companies were allowing the sale of such products through their websites, it placed orders for “medical termination of pregnancy” kits on Amazon, and the order was accepted by some suppliers based in Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, the authority alleged.

The same process was followed for Flipkart, only to find out that Flipkart too was indulging in the unscrupulous act.

“The MTP kit drugs were delivered by Gurunanak Enterprises, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) and Choudhary Pharmaceuticals/Piramal Ltd. Korapur (Orissa) against the order. Online sale of MTP kit without doctor’s prescription leads to violation of provisions of Drug & Cosmetics Act, 1940”, the FDA statement stated. 

Following this, the drug regulator issued notices to both E-commerce companies. The regulator also said that 34 e-commerce portals were “checked” to find out if they sold medications without requiring prescriptions. The step was taken after the FDA received a complaint from a drug dealer from Pune. The complaint said that e-commerce companies were selling abortion kits and pills illegally and that the online sale of abortion kits was happening without any restrictions. 

In what appears, both Amazon and Flipkart have removed the pregnancy termination kits and pills from their respective platforms after the FDA’s notice.

Delhi police arrests gangster Kala Jathedi, reveals was operating with gangsters who have links with politicians in Punjab: What we know so far

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi police arrests gangster Kala Jathedi, reveals was operating with gangsters who have links with politicians in Punjab: What we know so far

Kala Jathedi alias Sandeep, Delhi’s most wanted criminal carrying a reward of Rs 7 lakhs on his head, was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on Jul 30 (Friday) from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. According to the recent revelations in the probe into Kala Jathedi, the dreaded gangster was a part of the nexus of gangsters, who, because of their clout and terror, have been openly operating from inside the jail.

India Today has quoted sources as saying, that the gang with which Kala Jathedi was associated, operated in and around Delhi on the instructions of the leaders of their gangs who are lodged in jail.

According to sources, Lawrance Bishnoi is another key member of Kala Jathedi’s gang, who had reportedly threatened Bollywood superstar Salman Khan in the past. Meanwhile, another member of this gang named Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, believed to be the richest gangster in India, has apparent links with politicians in Punjab.

Sources say that these gangsters were carrying out extortions and murders with the help of 700 shooters working for them. Their targets were believed to be top-notch celebrities, singers, actors, specifically those in Punjab and businessmen in Rajasthan.

Sources have learnt from members of probe agencies that these notorious gangsters also have links with underworld gangsters operating from foreign countries, reports India Today.

Following Jathedi’s arrest, the deputy commissioner of police (counter intelligence, special cell) Manishi Chandra said: “We have arrested Kala Jatheri from Saharanpur and legal procedure is being followed. More details related to his arrest will be shared on Saturday.”

Earlier, Delhi police believed that Jathedi had fled the country and was operating from Dubai. However, he was found hiding in Haryana. Delhi Police had also invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Kala Jathedi.

Who is Sandeep aka Kala Jathedi?

Sandeep alias Kala Jathedi is an alleged gangster from Haryana’s Sonepat. Jathedi had escaped from the custody of the Haryana Police in Faridabad after his seven accomplices waylaid the prison van in which Jathedi was being escorted from Faridabad court to Bhondsi jail on February 1, 2020. Jathedi had recently orchestrated the shootout at GTB Hospital to free his associate, Kuldeep Fajja, who was later killed in a police encounter.

According to reports, the notorious gangster Kala Jathedi, apart from being in the hit list of the Delhi police was also wanted by Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab police for his alleged involvement in several cases of murder, extortion and other heinous crimes. His name also emerged in the killing of youth Congress leader Gurlal Singh Bhalwan in Punjab’s Faridkot in February 2021. His involvement is suspected in nearly 300 such cases.

Connection between Kala Jathedi and murder accused Olympian medalist wrestler Sushil Kumar

Recently, Jathedi’s name resurfaced following the arrest of Olympian medalist wrestler Sushil Kumar in connection with the Chhatrasal Stadium brawl that led to the death of a wrestler named Sagar Rana or Sagar Dhankad (as named by few media houses).

While reporting about the controversies surrounding the murky life of wrestler Sushil Kumar, OpIndia had also written about his connection with Sandeep aka Kala Jathedi.

It may be recalled that Jathedi’s nephew Sonu Mahal was beaten up by wrestler Sushil Kumar in connection with the murder of wrestler Sagar Rana. After this incident, Sandeep alias Kala Jathedi had threatened to kill Sushil Kumar.

Reports had suggested that wrestler Sushil Kumar, who was on the run after the killing of the 23-year-old Sagar Rana, was not only trying to escape the police but was also trying to run away from Sandeep aka Kala Jathedi.

Earlier, Sushil and Sandeep were friends. Sushil had reportedly attended the wedding of Sandeep’s brother. The wrestler is believed to have also given shelter to the history-sheeter in a flat which was in the name of his wife. The duo, however, fell out later, after the former established proximity with Jathedi’s rival gangs.

Sagar Rana’s death prompted Jathedi to declare a full-fledged open war against Kumar and his aide with a threat to eliminate them. According to reports, until his arrest, Jathedi’s men were still in the lookout for Kumar and his associates, to seek revenge for Sagar’s killing. This fear had compelled Kumar to plead with the police to save him from Jathedi’s men in jail.

Jathedi and his gang carried out 25 murders in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan in the last 10 months

Meanwhile, the Delhi police informed following Jathedi’s arrest that in the last ten months, his gang had carried out 25 murders in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. Now, it is suspected that Kala Jathedi’s partner, Virendra Pratap alias Kala Rana, is in Thailand, while another partner Goldie Brar is running a gang in Canada.

Moreover, hours after Kala Jathedi’s arrest, the Delhi Police Special Cell also arrested his crime partner who operates in Rajasthan.

Identified as Anuradha Chaudhari, the gangster, a computer application graduate, is involved in several cases of murder, extortion and kidnapping in Rajasthan. She is the partner of deceased gangster Anandpal Singh, said the police. Singh was killed in a police encounter in 2017 in Churi district.

‘Women are given far more respect in Islamic countries’: Claims Pakistan PM Imran Khan, makes U-turn after blaming women’s clothes for rapes

OpIndia Staff
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‘Women are given far more respect in Islamic countries’: Claims Pakistan PM Imran Khan, makes U-turn after blaming women’s clothes for rapes

A month after holding women’s clothes responsible for rising instances of sexual violence in the country, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan made a stunning volte-face, saying that he would “never say such a stupid thing” where a victim is held responsible for the crime committed against them. The Pakistan Prime Minister also claimed that women are given respect and dignity in Islam.

Khan was speaking during an interview with Judy Woodruff for the American television news programme PBS Newshour when he claimed that his comments on the menace of rapes in Pakistan were taken out of context. In a departure from his earlier stance, Khan said anyone who commits rape is solely responsible for the crime.

“Anyone who commits rape, solely and solely that person is responsible. So let’s be clear about that. No matter how provocative the woman is or whatever she wears, the person who commits the rape is fully responsible, never is the victim responsible,” Khan said. He claimed that his comments were deliberately taken out of context.

However, Khan did try to cover up for his remarks in the interview that he gave last month where he held women’s clothes responsible for the sexual crimes committed against them. In a bid to defend himself, Khan told Judy Woodruff that he used the word ‘Pardah’ during his interview last month, adding that ‘Pardah’ brings the temptation down. But, in quite a bizarre explanation, Khan said that ‘Pardah’ is not restricted to women but it is for men as well.

When asked if the importance of Islam in the country hinders his stance on women, the Pakistan PM said, “Absolutely not.” He then went on to claim that Islam gives dignity and respect to women. Imran Khan claimed that women are treated with far more respect and dignity in Pakistan and other Muslim countries as compared to other countries. He also claimed that the cases of rape in Islamic countries are minuscule compared to western countries.

Khan’s recent remarks were in sharp contrast to what he asserted during his interview last month. He had said that in Pakistan’s conservative society, women who do not cover themselves risk consequences. Though he claims that his comments were taken out of context, there have been umpteen incidents in the past when Pakistan PM Khan had reiterated his controversial views on sexual crimes in the country.

Imran Khan had said that women’s clothes responsible for sexual violence

In an interview with ‘Axios on HBO’ last month, the Pakistan PM had said: “If a woman is wearing very few clothes, it will have an impact on the men, unless they are robots. It’s just common sense.” He further added, “This is cultural imperialism. Whatever is acceptable in our culture, must be accepted everywhere else. It’s not.”

Khan was defending his controversial remarks that he said in April 2021.”…I said the concept of ‘purdah’. Avoid temptation in society. We don’t have discos here, we don’t have nightclubs. It is a completely different society way of life here. So if you raise temptation in society to a point — all these young guys have nowhere to go — it has a consequence in the society,” Khan said.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s comments on sexual violence during the HBO interview came two months after he had made similar comments, alleging that sexual violence was a product of ‘obscenity,’ which he described as a Western import. During the television interview, Khan advised women to cover up to prevent temptation. “This entire concept of purdah is to avoid temptation. Not everyone has the willpower to avoid it,” he said.

In April 2021, during a question and answer session with the public, Khan chalked up the rise in sexual violence in Pakistan, particularly against children, to “fahashi” (vulgarity).

He concluded by reiterating that incidences of rape and sexual violence are “spreading like cancer” in society. Official statistics in Pakistan have revealed that at least 11 rape incidents are reported in the country every day, with over 22,000 cases reported to the police in the last six years.

All efforts to influence investigation in gold smuggling case failed: Outgoing Customs Commissioner lashes out at Kerala govt, police

OpIndia Staff
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All efforts to influence investigation in gold smuggling case failed: Outgoing Customs Commissioner lashes out at Kerala govt, police

Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar during his farewell interaction with media in Kochi on Saturday said there were attempts made to scuttle the probe in the diplomatic channel gold smuggling case but his department did not cave in to pressure.

Kumar, who is transferred to Bhiwandi in Maharashtra said his team has done everything necessary in the major cases related to the probe. He further added that only he is leaving the state and that his team will remain in the state and continue to probe the matter.

While he did not name the Pinarayi Vijayan government or any other political party explicitly, Kumar alleged that attempts made to influence the Customs probe did not succeed. He also lashed out at the Kerala police who he claimed turned a blind eye to the complaints of attacks on central agencies.

In response to the allegations levelled by the Kerala government, Kumar said he does not report to Kerala Chief Minister and is not obligated to provide an explanation to him. “I need not report to the Chief Minister. My reporting officer is the Union Finance Minister, who has been very supportive. There is no point in putting pressure on me,” said Kumar, who presided over the much-talked-about Kerala gold smuggling case.

“Earlier, I handled the case regarding a duty-free outlet at Thiruvananthapuram airport in which many politicians were involved. I had promised my team that till I am here the outlet will remain closed. Has it opened? People may try to influence but I am not concerned,” he said.

Political parties not above the law of the land, outgoing Customs Commissioner says

When asked about his cryptic Facebook post wherein he accused a political party to interfere in the gold smuggling case, the Customs Commissioner said the department won’t yield to pressure.

“We do not care about political parties. They may be powerful or influential, but not above the law. No constitutional position grants them immunity from the law of the land. As far as we are concerned, the Customs department has taken action regardless of consequences. For us, national interest and national security are our primary concerns. So there is no question whether a political party is involved in a case. The law does not discriminate between an ordinary offender and an influential offender,” he said.

Kumar also added that it incumbent upon the political parties to ensure the smooth functioning of the Customs department as it involves matters pertaining to national security.

Commenting that political parties have no business in interfering with investigations, Kumar said, “Political parties should not interfere in what is clearly not their remit. Here the constitutional authorities conducted press conferences and raised some allegations. They formed a commission of inquiry against us. Tomorrow I can also appoint a commission of inquiry against them. This is nonsense. This has never happened,” he said.

State government in Kerala laying roadblocks in the way of investigation: Customs Commissioner

Kumar also rubbished the allegations raised by CPM leaders that the Union Government was using the Customs department as a tool against the Kerala government. He added that the state government has been laying roadblocks in the way of investigation.

“We have nothing to do with politics. Governments will come and go, but we are not concerned about politics and people. The allegations against us are nonsense. They launched contempt of court proceedings against me. They moved a privilege motion against me in the Assembly. What happened to these cases? They lodged an FIR against the Enforcement Directorate and the Kerala High Court quashed it. All the steps taken against us have failed,” he said.

Speaking about the alleged phone call from the Kerala CM’s office to release the diplomatic baggage, Kumar said there is no power on the earth that can influence him.

“Was the bag ever released? There is no power on earth that can influence Sumit Kumar. We will act against those who will try to work against the investigation, even if that means going against officers in our own department. I have suspended and dismissed many officers who were found to be involved in illegal activities. When it comes to national security, there is zero-tolerance,” he said.

Kerala Gold Scam and the alleged links to CM Pinarayi Vijayan

In July last year, the Customs officials in Kerala had nabbed a former employee of the UAE Consulate in Kerala named Sarith where he had divulged that Swapna Suresh, also a former staffer, had forged documents to misuse diplomatic privileges, to smuggle gold from UAE illegally.

On July 5, Suresh’s baggage, marked with the UAE Consulate address, was held at the airport. Swapna Suresh worked as the marketing liaison officer of Space Park under the Kerala State IT Infrastructure Limited (KSITIL) that comes directly under the IT department.

The call details of the main accused, Swapna Suresh, had revealed that the accused was in regular touch with Kerala’s Higher Education minister KT Jaleel.

In a startling disclosure in October last year, Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case, had revealed to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had held multiple meetings with the Consul General of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2017.

In her statement to ED, she said Vijayan had also “unofficially” recommended the name of his then principal secretary M Shivasankar as the state government’s official point of contact with the UAE’s consulate. Swapna Suresh had also admitted before the probing agency that the private meetings between Vijayan and the UAE diplomats were held at CM Vijayan’s official residence in Thiruvananthapuram.

Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate had revealed that the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was aware of Swapna Suresh’s appointment under the Information Technology (IT) department. Swapna Suresh had revealed to ED saying that she knew former principal secretary of Kerala chief minister M Shivasankar very closely and also knew Chief Minister during her tenure as a secretary to the consul general.

PV Sindhu suffers defeat in Tokyo Olympics semifinal, loses in straight sets against World No.1 Tai Tzu-Ying

OpIndia Staff
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PV Sindhu suffers defeat in Tokyo Olympics semifinal, loses in straight sets against World No.1 Tai Tzu-Ying

Indian badminton star PV Sindhu has lost her semifinal match in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics. She suffered a defeat in straight sets against World No.1 Tai Tzu-Ying. Tai Tzu-Ying won the match 21-18, 21-12.

Sindhu was ahead for most part in the first game and led 11-8 at one point. However, her opponent won a flurry of points towards the end to win the game. Tai Tzu-Ying dominated the second game and won it 21-12, much more comfortably than the first game.

PV Sindhu had reached the finals of the 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the first Indian badminton player to reach a final. However, PV Sindhu had to settle for silver after her loss to Spain’s Carolina Marin.

She can still win a Bronze Medal in the women’s singles category in Badminton. Until her defeat, she was yet to lose a single game in the Tokyo Olympics. On Friday, she had defeated Akane Yamaguchi from Japan 21-13, 22-20 to reach the semifinals.

Earlier, Pooja Rani had lost to China’s Li Qian in the quarter finals of the women’s boxing middleweight category. She lost 0-5.

The Print uses sero survey results to claim 92.65 crore Indians were infected with Covid-19: Here is why they are wrong

OpIndia Staff
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The Print uses sero survey results to claim 92.65 crore Indians were infected with Covid-19: Here is why they are wrong

Even as Kerala has become the single largest contributor to Covid-19 cases in the country, accounting for more the half of the new cases daily, most left-liberals have gone silent on the pandemic. However, a few braves among them have come forward to defend the Communist-ruled state to argue that higher cases in the state are the result of efficient management of the pandemic, not the other way around. With that goal, The Print published an article on July 30 using a dubious analysis to claim that other states under-reporting new cases by a huge margin.

The Print journalist Abantika Ghosh wrote the article based on tweets by one so-called ‘health economist’ Rijo John claiming that the results of the latest serosurvey conducted by ICMR prove this point. According to John, Bihar detected only 1 out of 134 cases, UP detected 1 out of 100, but Kerala detected 1 out of 6 covid-19 cases. Maharashtra, another worst-affected state, is reporting 1 out of 12 cases, according to the analysis based on which the Print article has been written. The figure for all India is 1 out of 33.

Thus, the article claimed that the entire country is under-reporting cases, but its extent is much more in states like Bihar and UP, where the cases have come down to less than 100 per day. The Print has claimed that cases in Kerala are more because under-reporting there is much less. The article further multiplies the alleged under-reporting factor with the state-wise official number of Covid-19 infections to arrive at ‘actual’ numbers.

According to this calculation, the actual infection in the country was 92.65 crore by May 2021, not the official number of 2.82 crore at that time. The respective numbers for the states are also spectacularly high with that calculation, which is 16.89 crore for UP, 9.47 crore for Bihar, 6.74 crore for MP, 6.17 crore for Rajasthan, 4.81 crore for Gujarat, 6.07 crore for West Bengal etc. The estimated cases for Kerala and Maharashtra using this calculation are 1.59 crore and 7.14 crore respectively. John claims that fingers are pointed towards these two states because they were detecting cases better.

While the serosurvey numbers are actually from the fourth round of the National Sero-Prevalence Survey done by ICMR, there are huge problems in using these numbers to calculate the ‘actual’ number of cases. The sero prevalence survey is a sample survey that measures the estimated percentage of people with Covid-19 antibodies, while the reported Covid-19 numbers are based on the total number of tests done on people. Comparison of estimated numbers from surveys with actual results is always problematic, as the surveys suffer from various limitations.

The current 3.16 crore total confirmed cases to date in the country is the result of over 46.64 crore tests done in the entire country. On the other hand, the sero prevalence survey was done among around 28,000 people in 70 districts in the country. Even though statistical models say that such a small sample base is good enough if the sampling is done correctly, a survey estimate can never negate the results of actual tests. The sero survey only gives an indication of how the disease might have spread, it is not designed to calculate the ‘actual’ number of cases, as Rio John and The Print did.

The sero survey measures how many people have Covid-19 antibodies. The antibodies are produced by the immune system of the body when it encounters the infection. Therefore, it provides an estimate of how many people might have contracted the infection. It is notable that a large number of people can develop antibodies after contacting the virus without developing any symptoms. Therefore, the number of people with antibodies will always be higher than the number of people who are tested positive, as generally only people with symptoms, their contacts, and high-risk category people are tested for the virus.

Covid-19 vaccines also produce the same antibodies in the body, and this is the big factor that was missed by The Print while calculating ‘actual infections’. In the total sample of 28,975 people, 2,631 people were fully vaccinated with two doses, and 5,038 people had received one dose of the vaccine. This means, there were 7,669 people in the sample who got the antibodies from the vaccine and not the infection. As more than one-fourth of the people included in the survey were vaccinated, it is completely wrong to use the sero survey numbers to estimate ‘actual’ numbers of Covid-19 infections.

The ICMR study says that antibodies were found in 81% of people with one dose and 89.8% of people with both doses, while the same was 62.3% for unvaccinated people. It means that vaccination is a big factor in the development of the antibodies in the body. If one has to estimate the actual infections based on the sero survey results, the number of vaccinated people will have to be excluded to get a truer picture. But this was not done by The Print, which resulted in unnaturally high numbers.

The sample of 28,975 people also included 7,252 healthcare workers, a high-risk group that is most likely to have antibodies either from infections or vaccines. 25% of the sample were healthcare workers, which is far more than the actual share of healthcare workers in the country. Therefore, it is another reason why the survey returned such a high proportion of people with the antibodies, and why it can’t be used to estimate the ‘actual’ number of infections in the country.

The argument that Kerala and Maharashtra are detecting cases better than states with lower cases is also not supported by another actual data, the test positive rate. The rate is 12.3% for Kerala and 3.4% for Maharashtra, but the same is only 0.02% for UP and 0.05% for Bihar. This means, for every 100 tests done, Kerala is reporting 12.3 positive cases. But UP is reporting 1 positive case in every 5000 tests done.

If actual cases in UP was much more and it was under-reporting cases, the scenario should have reversed. UP reported 37 new Covid-19 cases on July 20 after doing 2.45 lakh tests, while Kerala reported 20,772 cases from 1.53 lakh cases on the same day. Therefore, the logic of Kerala detecting cases better does not hold.

Due to these reasons, it is completely illogical to use the sero survey results to claim that India is under-reporting cases and the actual number of Covid infections is 92.65 crore. The survey only says that many people are ‘estimated’ to have antibodies against the virus, which includes vaccinated people. It does not mean the cases are being under-reported as claimed by The Print.

A book, an alleged feud between Tim Cook and Elon Musk at a time when Musk wanted Apple to acquire Tesla and denial of the anecdote

Dibakar Dutta
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A book, an alleged feud between Tim Cook and Elon Musk at a time when Musk wanted Apple to acquire Tesla and denial of the anecdote

Apple CEO Tim Cook had dropped the F-bomb on Elon Musk during a telephonic conversation over Telsa’s acquisition in 2016, reported LA Times. The details of the intriguing conversation between the two CEOs was revealed in a new book titled, ‘Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century’ by Tim Higgins.

The book claimed that Tesla was in ‘serious financial trouble’ prior to the launch of the ‘Model 3’ program. As per Higgins, Elon Musk had reached out to Tim Cook and suggested that Apple acquire his company. At that time, Tesla’s valuation was around $40 billion. The company was struggling to scale and ensure the efficient delivery of electric cars. Apple also wanted to enter the automobiles industry and had plans of building a self-driving car.

The idea behind acquiring Tesla by Apple appeared like the right bet. Based on a second-hand anecdote, Tim Higgins alleged that Elon Musk not only wanted to remain the CEO of Tesla after the acquisition but also of Apple. He claimed that this provoked a rather calm Tim Cook to drop the ‘F-bomb’ on Musk. Here is the excerpt of the conversation:

Cook has an idea: Apple buys Tesla.

Musk is interested, but one condition: “I’m CEO.”

Sure, says Cook. When Apple bought Beats in 2014, it kept on the founders, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.

No, Musk says. Apple. Apple CEO.

“F— you” Cook says, and hangs up.

Excerpt from the book ‘Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century’ by Tim Higgins

Elon Musk denies claims, says the meeting never happened with Tim Cook

Following the explosive revelation involving two powerful men, Elon Musk denied the occurrence of any such incident. “Cook & I have never spoken or written to each other ever. There was a point when I requested to meet with Cook to talk about Apple buying Tesla. There were no conditions of acquisition proposed whatsoever. He refused to meet. Tesla was worth 6% of today’s value.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Elon Musk

An old tweet by Musk, dating back to December 22 last year, had also surfaced on the micro-blogging platform. In the said tweet, he had reiterated how Tim Cook refused a meeting for the acquisition of Tesla.

Screengrab of the tweet by Elon Musk

In another tweet, Musk instead praised the Apple CEO for doing an incredible job. He emphasised, “Indeed. Both Cook & I have been clear publicly that we have never spoken or otherwise communicated. I tried to speak to him & he declined. Nor have I ever expressed any interest in running Apple to anyone. Cook is, all things considered, obviously doing an incredible job.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Elon Musk

On being asked by journalist mark Gurman about the contradictions in the anecdote featured in the new book and the statements of both Apple and Tesla CEOs, Musk mockingly responded, “Higgins managed to make his book both false *and* boring.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Elon Musk.

When a Twitter user (@billhuang688) said that Musk would have been a better Chief Executive Officer for Apple, he clarified, “I don’t want to be CEO of anything.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Elon Musk

Apple CEO admires Musk, denies meeting him ever

9to5Mac had earlier reported in April this year that Tim Cook had never met or interacted with Elon Musk. In an interview with Kara Swisher on the Sway podcast, Cook emphasised, “You know I’ve never spoken to Elon, although I have great admiration and respect for the company he has built. I think Tesla has done an unbelievable job of not only establishing the lead but keeping the lead for such a long period of time in the EV space. So I have a great appreciation for them.” While Musk and Cook had denied having any conversation as espoused by Tim Higgins, Twitter is having a gala moment discussing the ‘feud’ between two tycoons.

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