A freelance journalist named Gaurav Singh on Tuesday took to Twitter to inform that a decapitated body has been found near the Panki Kalyanpur canal in Kanpur City in Uttar Pradesh. He informed that the locals spotted the beheaded body and informed the Panki police.
He said that it is being speculated that the accused killed the youth somewhere else and dumped the body near the canal.
— Gaurav Singh ( Journalist ) (@Gaurav_prime) August 3, 2021
The Police Comminsionerate of Kanpur has responded to Gaurav Singh’s Tweet. In a video byte, Kanpur’s Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police West confirmed that a dead body of an unidentified youth has been found near the Panki temple in Kalyanpur. The police have filed a case and sent the body for post mortem.
थानाक्षेत्र पनकी अन्तर्गत पनकी मन्दिर के पास एक अज्ञात शव मिलने तथा अन्य कार्यवाही के सम्बन्ध में अपर पुलिस उपायुक्त पश्चिम द्वारा दी गयी बाईट। @Uppolicepic.twitter.com/Wj9ewJJ35f
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE KANPUR NAGAR (@kanpurnagarpol) August 2, 2021
Investigations into the case in being carried out added the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police West.
An undated video has been doing the rounds on social media wherein the Chief Editor of Urdu daily Nai Duniya and former Member of Parliament, Shahid Siddiqui is seen proudly acknowledging that there is not a single madarsa in Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar where he has not given money (presumably from his MPLADS funds.)
In the video that is now making rounds on social media, Siddiqui can be heard clearly flaunting that he has contributed all his funds for development of madarsas, schools and colleges. He then emphasizes how he had helped every single madarsa in Saharanpur. He then says he has given crores of rupees for these institutions.
Though it is unclear when the video was made, however, it must be an old video considering on April 7, 2020, the Modi government had decided to suspend the MPLADS scheme for two years and divert a total of Rs 7,900 crores to the Consolidated Fund of India, in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak.
“Aap Saharanpur chale jao, aapko ek bhi aisa madarsa nahi milega, yahan Muzaffarnagar mein bhi, jahan maine rupaye nahi diye ho” (There is not even a single madarsa in Saharanpur and even here in Muzaffarnagar where I have not contributed), the former MP is heard boasting.
“Maulana Nasir saheb ko toh maine ek crore diye hain” (I have given one crore to Maulana Nasir Saheb), Siddiqui added.
He further explained that like people look after their children, MPs and MLAs are obligated to take care of the people of their constituency. So, as part of his duty and commitment, because he is answerable to Allah.
The central government funded MPLADS scheme
MPLADS is a centrally-sponsored plan scheme fully funded by the government of India under which funds are released in the form of grants-in-aid directly to the district authorities. The objective of this initiative is to allow Members of Parliament (MPs) to propose and have developmental projects carried out based on locally felt needs.
Under the MPLADS scheme, a total of Rs 5 crores is provided to the Members of the Parliament to suggest development work to the district collector in their respective constituencies. The scheme was formulated in December 1993 and is monitored by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation since 1994.
Shahid Siddiqui and his political turnarounds
The Editor-in-chief of the Urdu daily Nai Duniya Shahid Siddiqui has had a very interesting political career. In the 24-year of being in politics, he has changed his affiliations repeatedly.
Siddiqui, who joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) for the second time on June 7, 2021, started his political journey with Congress. He was appointed as the head of the party’s minority cell in 1997. He then joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) in 2002 as its national general secretary.
Siddiqui served in the Rajya Sabha for the Samajwadi Party from 2002 to 2008, but he left the party on July 19, 2008, to join their then arch-rival, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). He resigned from the SP because he refused to vote in favour of the UPA during the nuclear deal’s trust vote.
Siddiqui was, however, dismissed from the BSP on December 14, 2009, after he spoke against Mayawati. Siddiqui was fired just hours after giving an interview to a national English newspaper in which he attempted to portray Mayawati as a dictator.
He joined the RLD in April 2010 following a brief stint with the BSP, claiming he supported then-RLD head Ajit Singh’s demand for the creation of a state of Harit Pradesh.
Siddiqui resigned from the RLD in protest over the party’s partnership with Congress before the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 2012. He went back to the Samajwadi Party.
After forming the government in 2012, the Samajwadi Party fired Siddiqui in July of that year for interviewing Narendra Modi, who was then the CM of Gujarat.
After his expulsion, Siddiqui cried foul over his removal from the party. He slammed the then SP head Mulayam Singh saying that the latter owed a lot of his popularity to him. He said that when no publication was ready to write in favour of Malayam Singh, it was his Nai Duniya that had written in his support.
Nevertheless, after being ousted from the SP, it is believed that Siddiqui stayed away from politics for a while, until, one fine day, he announced his support to Aam Aadmi Party. He claimed he was not joining the party but had extended support the party’s campaign. He had urged all Delhites to vote for AAP.
The next year, Siddiqui, very much in line with his past and present allies, was seen sharing fake news in a bid to malign the Modi government. In May 2020, when India was grappling with the first wave of the Wuhan coronavirus, Shahid Siddiqui shared a 2016 video from Bangladesh as that of India’s migrant crisis.
It’s surprising that a person, who until a few years earlier was taking pride in sharing pictures with Narendra Modi, had suddenly taken a U-turn to criticise his government.
Interestingly, almost during the same time, even the Congress party had tried to pass off an image from Bangladesh as that of Indian migrant workers suffering due to lockdown.
And before one could know it, the journalist was seen heaping praises for Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Twitter. It may be noted, that for all these years, Siddiqui had been a vocal critic of the Congress party.
However, on April 27, 2021, he took to Twitter to thank senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi for securing Covid-19 drug Remdesivir for him after reading his plea for help on Twitter. Shahid Siddiqui also revealed that Priyanka Gandhi did not want him to thank her publicly for it but he did anyway because he wanted to express his gratitude towards her. The revelation came at a time when people were being advised not to hoard Remdesivir.
On August 2 (Monday) several Shiv Sainiks barged into the landscaped garden at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), uprooted the Adani signboard and planted saffron flags. The irked members of Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, Shiv Sena party’s labor wing, raised “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki jai ho” slogans while indulging in the act of vandalism.
Maharashtra: Shiv Sena workers vandalise Adani signboard, which was placed near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai pic.twitter.com/mzfypdwp0A
The protestors led by Bharatiya Kamgar Sena (BKS) General Secretary Sanjay Kadam, claimed that they were protesting against Adani Group’s unilateral decision of abruptly “changing” the name of CSMIA and replacing it with the Adani Group brand name.
Calling it an insult to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant was quoted by ANI as saying: Airport’s name is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Airport. They wrote ‘Adani Airport’. Have you bought it? Shivaji Maharaj is the country’s pride. They have done the vandalism. 2-3 people don’t follow laws.
In response to the allegations, the spokesperson of Adani Airports Holding Limited (AAHL), the group’s flagship company for airports business and Adani Enterprises’ wholly-owned subsidiary, assured that the company had merely replaced the previous branding(GVK) with Adani Airports branding and that no change has been made to CSMIA’s name.
“The branding at CSMIA is in compliance with the norms & guidelines of the Airport Authority of India (AAI). AAHL will continue to adhere to all the guidelines laid out by the government in the interest of the aviation community at large”, the Adani Airport spokesperson said.
The branding at CSMIA is in compliance with the norms & guidelines of the Airport Authority of India (AAI). AAHL will continue to adhere to all the guidelines laid out by the government in the interest of the aviation community at large: Adani Airport Spokesperson
Has the Adani Group actually bought the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport?
Since this is not the first time the Adani Group has been targeted with accusations that it has acquired the ownership of the Mumbai airport, it becomes almost imperative here to elucidate that contrary to the rumors and allegations, the airport is not ‘owned’ but the Adani group has taken over the management of Mumbai International Airport, from the GVK Group.
On July 13, 2021, Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group, had informed in a tweet that the Adani Group has taken over the management of Mumbai International Airport. The Adani group has actually, taken over the management of the airport from the control of the GVK Group after acquiring 74% stakes in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
According to reports, the Adani group had bought 50.5 per cent stakes from the GVK Group and 23.5 per cent from minority partners, including Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), and Bidvest Group.
It should be mentioned that prior to the Adani Group, the GVK group, which is also a privately-owned Indian conglomerate, was handling the management of the CSMIA since 2006. However, lately, it had been under pressure from the lenders. Owing to this, the group agreed to sell a 50.5% stake in MIAL to Adanis.
Gaurav Gupta and Karan Adani had joined the MIAL board after the acquisition process was completed.
How opposition parties like Congress have been spreading lies about the Adani group in a bid to berate Modi Govt
It’s rather unfortunate that though all the information is out on the public platforms, oppositions parties like Shiv Sena and especially the Congress party, in their bid to accuse Modi government of indulging in crony capitalism, have always spread half baked information on the airport takeovers. They have often alleged that the Modi government has bestowed Gautam Adani’s company with the proprietorship of the airports because of personal affinity.
However, the fact is that in February, 2021, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) awarded six airports- Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru- for operations, management and development under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for 50 years, The Adani group won the bids for the six airports.
Then in July 2021, the Adani group acquired 74% stake in Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and took over the management of this airport too from the GVK Group which had the management rights earlier. After the acquisition of the management of the Mumbai airport, the Adani Group had announced that it will begin the construction of Greenfield airport in Navi Mumbai in August 2021. The new international airport would be commissioned in 2024.
On August 2, Pakistani social media users were left miffed after they spotted photographs of a couple in “bold dressing” in front of a monument dedicated to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the man behind the formation of Pakistan whom they “fondly” call Quaid-e-Azam. The photographs were first posted by a group identified as Mystical Shayari on Instagram.
The photographs were clicked on Express Highway, Islamabad. ANI’s Smita Prakash shared it on Twitter and hoped the couple is not hounded by the moral Police in Pakistan.
The fashion element, a bit over the top (in my non-expert opinion) but shock value is on point. And bravado, 100/100. The models at Quaid-e-Azam Monument in Islamabad, Pakistan. Hope they are not hounded by the moral police. (Pix – Pak social media) pic.twitter.com/08b5gDpEhq
The photographs were taken by one Eman Mahsud, and dresses were designed by one Raja Wasey, who identifies himself as a drag artist on Instagram. While Mystical Shayari and Eman have deactivated their accounts, Wasey made his account private on Instagram after the backlash.
According to the Instagram bio of Mystical Shayari, they are part of what they call ‘Gender Jihad’.
Now-deleted post that drew criticism in Pakistan. Source Twitter/AhsanAh37240024
The now-deleted post read, “A notice for the savages of Pakistani patriarchy. Allah (SWT) is with us, and we are ready to die but are committed to living for human rights and gender justice.”
Reaction from ‘Pakistani awaam’
While some Pakistanis called them vulgar, others termed the dresses ‘abnormal’. The photographs drew strong criticism from Pakistani social media users who urged authorities to take strict action against the two models for their “disrespectful” gesture.
Journalist Ansar Abbasi said in a tweet, “The DC Islamabad @hamzashafqaat is requested to arrest the couple, who displayed extreme obscenity in public in the federal capital.” He also promoted the hashtag #ArrestTheCouple.
یہ ایکسپریس ہائے وے اسلام آباد پر قائد اعظم کے پورٹریٹ کے آگے جو کچھ ہو رہا ہے، ملاحظہ کریں حد ہے ویسے بے حیائی اور بے شرمی کی۔ کون ہیں یہ لوگ؟ انکو فوراً گرفتار کرنا چاہیے pic.twitter.com/N90BYLBNjl
An entertaining notice, asking members to maintain ‘decorum within a sporting complex, has been doing the rounds of the internet. The notice was allegedly issued by the Lake Sports Complex management in Sector 1 of Chandigarh.
The purported notice (ESTT/2021/MISC/02) dated August 1, laid out guidelines for the members of the sports complex and users of the adjoining restaurant and bars to maintain ‘proper decorum’ within the premises. At the very onset, the notice emphasised the need for ‘gym suits’ for gym users and the use of ‘approved undergarments.’ “Special attention is to be paid to undergarments. Only approved undergarments are to be worn. The list and samples of such garments are kept in office. Members can bring their garments to the office for approval stamping,” the notice read.
The hilarious notice also called for a ‘smell test’ of socks worn by the members in the facility. “Socks must be washed every day. members found wearing dirty and foul-smelling socks will be fined if they fail the smell test. The same also applies to body odour. Please use good quality body odour.” To add to that, the Lake Sports Complex management barred gym users from making loud noises while lifting heavyweights.
Screengrab of the purported notice.
It further specified against the use of ‘foul language’ but allowed the use of expletives that are approved by the management. “Also using foul language is not allowed. List of permitted bad words in Punjabi is available with us. Please use only the permitted bad words,” the notice pointed out. It also directed the gym members to shave their legs to avoid ‘unnecessary attention.’ The Management also vowed to ‘depilate’ people who are found to not shave legs and not preserve the decorum.
Netizens react to the hilarious guidelines of the sporting complex
Social media users were left in splits after they came across the usual guidelines, which were allegedly laid down by the Lake sports complex management. While reacting to it, India Today journalist Shiv Aroor tweeted, “The Management at Chandigarh’s Lake Sports Complex deserve a massive pay hike. Read every line, please. If this isn’t a prank, I really hope all notices are written this way.”
If this isn’t a prank, I really hope all notices are written this way.
While commenting on the terrible idea of the ‘smell test’, a Twitter user wrote, “If you will be checking my socks by smelling it, I can’t be held liable for the aftermath.”
If you will be checking my socks by smelling it, I can’t be held liable for the aftermath.
Twitter user Rita Singh wrote, “Lol…Is this genuine??? Haha…Whoever came up with it deserves the Michael Scott Best Boss of the year ..or Jim Halpert prankster of the year award!!”
LOLOL..Is this genuine??? Haha.. Whoever came up with it deserves the Michael Scott Best Boss of the year ..or Jim Halpert prankster of the year award!! ?
Amidst the raging controversy over Kashmir Premier League, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has responded to the BCCI’s request to not recognise the disputed tournament that is being organised by Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Issuing a clarification on the issue, the International Cricket Council said it is not under the jurisdiction of the apex cricketing body as it has not been recognised as an international tournament.
In an interview with Pakistan’s Geo TV, an ICC official said: “The tournament is not under ICC’s jurisdiction as it is not an international cricket tournament.” The ICC has deemed that the so-called KPL is a domestic tournament.
As per ICC rules, each national federation shall have the sole and exclusive right to sanction the staging of domestic matches within its territory. The ICC can only intervene if matches are to be held in the territory of an associate member’s territory. All board members have the authority to approve and conduct domestic matches within its territory without obtaining ICC approval.
The BCCI has earlier written a letter to the ICC asking it to not recognise the Kashmir Premier League, citing the disputed status of the region. It also reportedly requested foreign boards to ban their current and former players from participating in the controversial league. Speaking on the matter, a BCCI official had said that they were following the government’s line on the matter as it concerns national interest. The official further added that the board has no issues with cricketers playing the Pakistan Super League (PSL) but it cannot support the KPL as it will be held in PoK.
The tournament is all set to start on August 6 and will see participation from Pakistani cricketers such as Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and others. The tournament was to witness participation from foreign cricketers as well but after BCCI’s firm stand on the issue, many are reportedly reconsidering their decision to join the disputed league. In fact, former England cricketer Monty Panesar had pulled out of the PoK league to avert risk to his career.
The controversy surrounding the controversial PoK league
The controversy had erupted after Herschelle Gibbs, a former South Indian cricketer, claimed that he was informed of the same following his decision to participate in the cricket league. Soon after BCCI made its stance clear on the matter, a raft of Pakistani supporters, including cricketers, had a meltdown for the Indian cricket board decided that cricketers who participate in the Kashmir Premier League in Pakistan will not be permitted to enter India for cricket related work.
Responding to BCCI’s stand, Pakistan Cricket Board said: “Such conduct from the BCCI is completely unacceptable, against the preamble of the Spirit of Cricket and sets a dangerous precedence, which can neither be tolerated nor ignored. The PCB will raise this matter at the appropriate ICC forum and also reserves the right to take any further action that is available to us within the ICC charter.”
However, not just BCCI but even PSL franchises have a problem with the organisation of the Kashmir Premier League. They had written to the PCB expressing concerns about the potential impact of the Kashmir Premier League on the country’s foremost T20 tournament. According to the reports, ahead of the launch of PSL in 2016, the Pakistan Cricket Board had allegedly promised the franchises that no other T20 league would be allowed in Pakistan.
Problems and FIRs seem to be mounting for former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. In a recent turn of events, Mumbai police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) is probing the recordings of threat calls made by gangster Chhota Shakeel to one businessman Sanjay Punamia in Mumbai.
As per a report in Mid-Day, The initial complaint said that the threats were made at the behest of Punamia’s business partner Shyam Sunder Agarwal. However, SIT now suspects that the case against Agarwal is fake. It is imperative to know that Agarwal is a complainant in the FIR filed against Param Bir Singh. SIT also suspects the Mumbai Police cops who were allegedly involved in the extortion racket may be behind these calls.
Calls made by Chhota Shakeel
The police informed that the phone number from which the threat calls were made to the businessman Punamia, were found in the records of the Mumbai Crime Branch and belongs to Shakeel. They also informed that these audio recordings of Shakeel- a close aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim, were the latest.
A report by ABP News says that the caller threatened the person with death threats and killing them with bombs. The person giving such threats is believed to be gangster Chhota Shakeel.
“Karachi se hi rocket maarunga”
In one audio clip, one can hear a man, believed to be Chhota Shakeel asking one Sanjay what is he up to. “I told you to talk to Dilip bhai and settle. I am at Bhai’s place. Why did you get Shyam bhai involved?” In another audio clip, he could be heard saying that he had called four times about documents.
In one conversation, Shakeel was allegedly asking about Agarwal’s detention. “To tune shyam ko andar kyu karaya?….mai bhai ke ghar se baat kar raha hu … tere ko idhar from Karachi se hi rocket marunga (I’m speaking from bhai’s house in Karachi. Will blow you up with a rocket).”
The excerpts of the recordings of the calls allegedly made by Chhota Shakeel to Punamia in possession of Mid-day reveal the threats given.
In another conversation Shakeel threatens, “dekho ek baat clear batao pakistan ka to tujhe pata hai na..kya hai pakistan (Clear this thing. You know about here, what is Pakistan)….idhar bomb bandhega udhar jayega … uda dega tere ko khatam ho jayegi baat (We will tie a bomb here, it will reach there. We will end you).”
The number has been traced back to Karachi. An officer of Mumbai Crime Branch in an interview to Mid-day informed, “The number belongs to Shakeel and the voice in the calls is also suspected to be his. But the voice needs to be authenticated with the real samples available with MCOCA court. But it has been delayed due to the lockdown.”
Threats to Punamia
As per the report, Punamia received threat calls from Shakeel between November 2016 to December 2016, then again between November 26 and November 30, 2020, to sign a deed of settlement with Agarwal (then Punamia’s business partner) for some properties.
However, Punamia suspecting his business partner Agarwal’s involvement registered a complaint with Juhu police only in February 2021. After this, an FIR was filed against Agarwal and later, the Crime Branch invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against him.
SIT suspects FIR against Agarwal to be fake
An officer privy to the investigation said, “We have various recordings and digital evidence to believe that the FIR (against Agarwal) was filed with malicious intentions by the officers being probed by the SIT.”
The investigation team suspects that the FIR was filed with the intention to extort money and to pressurize Agarwal into signing the deed with his disputed partner Punamia.
The SIT under Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Nimit Goyal, which is probing the extortion case against Param Bir Singh, is also investigating why the FIR against Agarwal was filed in February 2021 when the threat calls were made in 2016 and 2020.
Threat calls were made when Param Bir Singh was the commissioner
Reportedly, Shakeel’s threat calls were made exactly when Singh was the CP of Thane in 2016 and then of Mumbai in 2020.
Agarwal was also arrested by Thane Crime Branch in 2016 for his alleged involvement in a multi-crore Urban Land Ceiling Regulation Act (ULCRA) scam which was busted in November that year.
With as many as 19 FIRs registered against him in Thane and Mumbai, Agarwal has a long criminal record. How many of these allegations and complaints against Agarwal were proved is not known.
Suspected involvement of Param Bir Singh
The Marine Drive Police had arrested Punamia and one Sunil Jain in an extortion racket case last month. An FIR in the same case was filed against Param Bir Singh as well by the Marine Drive police.
Police sources now suspect that the two accused arrested and officers named in the extortion case might have asked Shakeel to take Agarwal’s name in his threat call so that they can frame him as and when needed.
A police source revealed, “There are various reasons and prima facie evidence to investigate the same because Agarwal was the complainant against Iqbal Kaskar (Dawood Ibrahim’s brother) in a case. Kaskar was arrested in 2017 by Thane Anti Extortion Cell.”
At that time, the Thane Anti Extortion Cell was headed by former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma while Param Bir Singh was the commissioner of Police in Thane.
While Sharma was arrested by the National Investigation Agency in connection with the Antilia bomb threat case and the alleged murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran, Param Bir Singh is being probed for corruption and extortion.
Agarwal’s nephew filed extortion case against Param Bir Singh
The Thane Kopri police station registered another extortion FIR against Singh last month. The complaint has been filed by Agarwal’s nephew Sharad.
Sharad alleged that a DCP-rank officer demanded Rs 20 crore at Singh’s bungalow in Thane to avoid the registration of a case against his uncle in February 2021 under MCOCA. Again at that time, it was Singh who was the Commissioner of Police, Thane.
Builder files complaint against Singh
In another latest update, one builder Ketan Tanna (54) has registered a complaint against Singh alleging extortion and other crimes.
The accused mentioned in the complaint include the present and past police officers along with “middlemen and agents” of the police from Thane.
A photograph is doing the rounds of the internet where a bunch of boys can be spotted holding a ‘Khalistan Olympic Team’ banner. The photograph has sparked a torrent of mockery on social media. From information available on the internet, we learnt that it was created by a group called ‘California Sikh Youth Alliance’.
They have shared a cropped version of the banner on their Twitter account as well. According to them, they distribute the banner at their annual ‘Sikh Powerlifting Tournament’.
We will be raffling away our exclusive “Khalistan Olympic Team” flags at our annual Sikh Powerlifting Tournament.
Learn about our Shaheeds through our exhibits and win some prizes while attending this year’s event on Saturday, August 21st at Bradshaw Gurdwara! pic.twitter.com/ZoFA4vYGgb
— California Sikh Youth Alliance (@TheCsya) August 2, 2021
According to their website, “California Sikh Youth Alliance is a collection of young Sikhs who engage the community through volunteer opportunities, recreation, and community advocacy. California Sikh Youth Alliance focuses on promoting Singhs and Kaurs through creative sporting and recreation events.”
It adds, “The CSYA fundamentally believes in providing Sikhi-based recreational spaces for Sikh athletes across the world. The CSYA has engaged hundreds of young Singhs and Kaurs through sports and other community building programs.”
The website also states, “CSYA is made up of CSYA Sevaadaars who help facilitate events and discussions throughout California. CSYA Ambassadors are individuals are top of the line content creators and artists who excel in their fields of sporting and athletics.” The ‘Khalistan Olympic Team’ banner features prominently on their website.
“CSYA aims to create spaces in which young Sikhs can conquer their ambitions. Sevadaars hope to cultivate an environment where Californian Sikhs can come together and celebrate their community. Fundraising, Networking, and Facilitating connections between young Singhs and Kaurs makes our California community stronger day by day,” says the group.
The initial Twitter account of the group was blocked in India at the request of the Union Government of India. The CSYA was at the forefront of celebrating the Republic Day Riots, which witnessed prominent participation from Khalistanis. They had distributed sweets on the occasion.
The group had also shared photographs of the vandalism involving the Mahatma Gandhi statue, celebrating the same. Members of the CYSA had also protested against the installation of the Gandhi statue. The CYSA also said that they will lobby against the re-installation of the statue.
On August 3, Sreenivasan Jain, Journalist of NDTV, rendered an apology over his tweet thread in which he tried to cast aspersions on Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. He said that several netizens pointed out that his tweet was misleading as he failed to make it clear that the initial batches of Covaxin that were found to be ‘substandard’ were not shipped out. He further added that he should have worded it in a better way.
CLARIFICATION/APOLOGY: As many have rightly pointed out, an initial Tweet I sent out based on Dr NK Arora’s interview did not make it explicitly clear that the initial batches of Covaxin found substandard did not make their way into the vaccination programme. 1/n
He said, “CLARIFICATION/APOLOGY: As many have rightly pointed out, an initial Tweet I sent out based on Dr NK Arora’s interview did not make it explicitly clear that the initial batches of Covaxin found substandard did not make their way into the vaccination programme.”
These were my personal tweets. NDTV’s focus for months has been on promoting India’s vaccination campaign – which of course I support completely. – fin-
He added that he made it clear in the follow-up tweets in the thread, but the initial tweet was not worded correctly. “I did clarify that in subsequent Tweets, but the initial Tweet could have been worded much better. I am deleting the original Tweet. For any confusion caused as a result, apologies,” he said.
Though the tweets were based on a professional interview with Dr NK Arora, he claimed that the tweet thread was based on his personal views. He said, “These were my personal tweets. NDTV’s focus for months has been on promoting India’s vaccination campaign – which of course I support completely.”
Netizens called out Jain for delayed clarification
Netizens were not amused with the clarification as it came out hours after the initial tweet. Some pointed out that he has already caused panic among people and such clarification should have come immediately once he was called out for spreading misinformation.
So irresponsible. The “clarifying” tweet came one hour later yesterday. So many have taken Covaxin (including me). https://t.co/CzEWpiNZb4
Many even wondered if the original tweet was deliberate and part of bigger conspiracy under ‘toolkit’ to defame India.
That was deliberate. Nothing unexpected from @ndtv toolkit media. Only your ecosystem takes you seriously. Carry on with your hitjob journalism. It doesn’t make ANY DIFFERENCE.@SreenivasanJainhttps://t.co/axPsymL7QX
It must be mentioned that Twitter did not flag Jain’s tweet as misleading even though there was ample evidence to show otherwise.
Sreenivasan Jain’s misleading tweet may cause vaccine hesitancy
On Monday, Sreenivasan took to Twitter to make a startling revelation that Dr N K Arora, Chairperson of National Vaccine Advisory Group, said that the initial batches of India-made Chinese coronavirus vaccine Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin ‘were not of the right quality. While Dr Arora clearly mentioned in his interview that the batch that was substandard was not shipped out, Jain did not mention the point in the initial tweet. His tweet had gone viral and attracted thousands of likes and retweets, with people raising questions over the vaccination program.
The tweet where he had mentioned that those vaccines were not shipped out did not get much attention compared to the first tweet with misleading information. He deleted the tweet before it got flagged by Twitter as misleading.
On Saturday (July 31), Taiwan scripted history by defeating the Chinese athletes in the Men’s Double badminton match and securing a gold medal for their country. The event was historic and politically significant as the Chinese team settled for the silver medal and had to listen to the Taiwanese national flag’s anthem.
Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin of Taiwan defeated Chinese athletes LI Jun Hui and LIU Yu Chen in two straight sets of 21-18 and 21-12 to secure Gold Medal for their country. It was also Taiwan’s first-ever medal in badminton. However, the most crucial moment came when the Taiwanese team stood on the podium and the Chinese athletes watched the white flag of ‘Chinese Taipei’ rise above China’s flag. And this was followed by the Taiwanese national flag’s anthem.
Screengrab of the results of the Men’s Double Gold medal badminton match between China and Taiwan, via Olympics.com
While taking to Facebook, Wang Chi-Lin wrote, “We’ve made the world see Taiwan. We’ve really done it!!! Introducing myself out loud to the whole world again. I’m Taiwanese badminton player Wang Chi Lin. I am Wang Chi Lin. I am from Taiwan.” While a large portion of his Facebook post was in Mandarin Chinese, he specifically emphasised his national identity in English to send out a clear message.
On the contrary, Chinese Badminton player LI Jun Hui apologised on his Weibo page for coming second in the match. He thanked his coach and ‘the Great Motherland (of China)’ and expressed regret for disappointing those who held high hopes from him. While refusing to acknowledge Taiwan and toeing the Communist Party of China’s (CCP) line, Li Jun Hui added, “Lastly, congratulations to “China’s Taipei Team.” He followed his comment with 3 Chinese flags.
Weibo post of LI Jun Hui, image via Taiwan News
It must be mentioned that Taiwan is forced to represent in the Olympics as ‘Chinese Taipei’ due to pressure from China on the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As such, the Taiwanese national flag anthem is played instead of the country’s national anthem. The lyrics of the song, originally written in the 1930s, were tweaked to suit the Olympic event. Taiwan was barred from participating in the Olympic Games until the IOC passed the 1979 Nagoya Resolution. The country was made to use the name ‘Chinese Taipei’ and use a different flag and anthem at medal ceremonies.
