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Bombay HC grants transit anticipatory bail to Rana Ayyub for spreading fake news in Ghaziabad incident after advocate argued ‘spine injury’

OpIndia Staff
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Bombay HC grants transit anticipatory bail to Rana Ayyub for spreading fake news in Ghaziabad incident after advocate argued ‘spine injury’

Propagandist Rana Ayyub has been granted 4 week of transit anticipatory bail by the Bombay High Court over the Ghaziabad fake hate crime case. The Uttar Pradesh police had registered an FIR against her and others, including Twitter, for provoking enmity between groups and other charges.

“In the event of arrest during the period of four weeks, the applicant be released on executing a PR Bond of 25,000 with one or more sureties,” the Bombay High Court ordered. Senior advocate Mihir Desai, who represented Rana Ayyub over the matter, said that she had recently undergone a spinal surgery and therefore, required 3-4 weeks to approach the appropriate court in Uttar Pradesh.

Earlier this month, Ayyub had tweeted that her tests for her spine surgery have come clean and her ‘spine is intact’.

Consequently, she has been given a period of 4 weeks to approach the appropriate court.

Ghaziabad fake hate crime: FIR against Rana Ayyub and others

OpIndia reported on June 16, that the UP police had registered an FIR against Alt News cofounder Muhammed Zubair, The Wire, Rana Ayyub, Twitter and others for trying to stoke communal tension by making false claims that an elderly Muslim man was beaten up and forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

While Zubair, Rana Ayyub, The Wire, Salman Nizami, Maksoor Usmani, Sama Mohammad and Saba Naqvi have been booked for spreading misleading and fake news, Twitter was booked for the lack of action against these seven and allowing usage of its platform to spread fake news.

Samajwadi Party leader arrested

Samajwadi Party leader Umed Pahalwan Idris, who appeared in a Facebook Live video alongside Ghaziabad assault victim Abdul Samad, was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police in Delhi on Saturday.

Addressing the media, the Ghaziabad Senior Superintended of Police (SSP) said they arrested the Samajwadi Party leader Umed Idris near Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan hospital in the national capital.

Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren fails to meet Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi despite 4-days wait: Details

Jinit Jain
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Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren fails to meet Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi despite 4-days wait: Details

With the crisis unfolding in Rajasthan, Punjab and Maharashtra, trouble seems to mount for the Congress party in the eastern state of Jharkhand as well after Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who camped for four days in Delhi, could not get an audience from either Congress chief Sonia Gandhi or senior leader Rahul Gandhi.

Interestingly, while Soren was waiting for a meeting, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul found time to meet the new Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, the chief of DMK, which is an ally of the Congress party in Tamil Nadu. This has not gone down well for the JMM chief, sources quoted by The Daily Pioneer claimed.

“Hemant returned to Ranchi on Saturday. He had been repeatedly making attempts to call on Sonia and Rahul but failed. The snub has not gone down well with the JMM. Moreover, their meeting with Stalin has only rubbed salt to the wound,” the Daily Pioneer reported.

Hemant Soren is the chief of JMM, a regional party that is in power in Jharkhand in alliance with the Congress party. Hemant had sought an audience with the members of the Gandhi dynasty, presumably to discuss the positions to be filled for the vacant cabinet berths, a possible reshuffle in the Council of Ministers, appointments to corporations, and other things.

“Such developments do not augur well for the coalition when there has always been an air of mistrust among the two major coalition partners. Particularly, given the buzz of a possible BJP-JMM alliance, that keeps the Congress and the RJD on their toes. Or for that matter, the BJP getting a sizeable MLAs of the JMM and the Congress to resign just as it did in several States,” sources further said.

Besides the Jharkhand CM, Jharkhand Congress chief and Finance Minister in Hemant’s government, Rameshwar Oraon, was also in Delhi to “discuss” party affairs with the Gandhi dynasts, along with deliberating on appointments in corporations and commissions etc. It is worth noting that both JMM and Congress state unit have staked claim to the vacant 12th cabinet berth in the Hemant’s government in Jharkhand.

Along with the CM, the JMM has five ministers while the Congress has four, and the other ally RJD one ministerial berth. Hemant and Oraon were supposed to have participated in the meeting with the top Congress leadership to iron out the differences on all pending issues.

While sources claim Hemant is aggrieved about Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi not taking time to meet him, it is notable to mention that he is not the only one who has been slighted by the mother-son duo. In the past too, there have been a host of Congress leaders who were snubbed by the Gandhi family members by denying them an audience, inevitably forcing them to leave the party.

Congress MLA in Assam Rupjyoti Kurmi leaves Congress, cites Rahul Gandhi as the reason for his departure

Earlier yesterday, Rupjyoti Kurmi, a 4 times Congress MLA from Assam’s Mariani constituency, expressed his disgruntlement with the Congress leadership. In a scathing attack against the Gandhi scion, Kurmi said that Rahul Gandhi likes the company of dumb people and his dog. On June 18, Kurmi resigned from the Congress party, saying he is “frustrated and disillusioned” with the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.

Kurmi later joined the BJP in the presence of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma who had himself resigned from Congress in 2015 under similar circumstances. Sarma tweeted that Kurmi is a prominent leader from the tea-tribe community in Assam and will be a welcome addition in the BJP.

Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from Congress after he was sidelined by the Gandhi family

In March 2020, Jyotiraditya Scindia was expelled from the Congress party just minutes after he tweeted his resignation to Sonia Gandhi. Scindia tendered his resignation after he had grown weary of the Congress leadership’s inaction to the demands raised by him. Scindia had written to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi about the party reneging on its promises as per poll manifesto in Madhya Pradesh among other things. However, despite flagging issues to the Gandhi family, the Congress party leadership reportedly dragged its feet and showed little gumption to address his concerns.

Another factor was the Congress top brass snubbing Scindia for a leadership role in Madhya Pradesh. Scindia was also reportedly promised by the Congress leadership of a Rajya Sabha seat but it did not materialise. With his demands being sidelined and him being treated badly, Scindia finally took the plunge of resigning from the party and joining the BJP.

Himanta Biswa Sarma left Congress due to Rahul Gandhi’s behaviour

Former Congress stalwart Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is now the Assam chief minister in the BJP government, had resigned from the party citing the prevailing dynastic culture in Congress. In September 2015, when he parted ways with the Congress party, Sarma said that “family-centric” politics and “lack of democracy” in the Congress forced him to quit.

Two years later when Rahul Gandhi shared a video of his pet dog on Twitter, Himanta Biswa Sarma revealed how the Gandhi scion was busy feeding biscuits to his pet while he and others wanted to discuss pressing issues in Assam.

While the deluded Congress supporters believe that the Gandhi family has a salutary effect on the party, it does not seem like the party leaders share similar sentiments. Most of the disgruntled Congress leaders, especially those who resigned from the party, have held the Gandhis responsible for the terrible fate that the Congress finds itself in. Congress seems to be circling the drain as it confronts crises in Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra among its own party cadre and alliance partners.

As per recent reports, in Jharkhand, Congress may as well have another disgruntled alliance partner.

South Korean conglomerate Samsung completes shifting display manufacturing unit to Noida from China

OpIndia Staff
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South Korean conglomerate Samsung completes shifting display manufacturing unit to Noida from China

On June 20, South Korean multinational conglomerate Samsung announced that it had completed the construction of a display manufacturing plant in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The company has shifted the plant from China to India. A delegation of the company led by Ken Kang, Southwest Asia President & CEO, met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

In the official press note, the delegation said that Uttar Pradesh has a better industrial environment and investor-friendly policies. The company decided to establish the Display Manufacturing Unit here. The press note also mentioned that the construction work shows their commitment towards India and made UP a manufacturing hub.

‘A classic example of the success of Make in India’

During the meeting, CM Yogi Adityanath said that the Noida factor is a classic example of the success of the “Make In India” Program. The manufacturing unit will employ the youth in the state.

CM Yogi assured that the state government would extend help to the company in future as well. The delegation thanked CM Yogi for permission to continue industrial work during the pandemic.

The plant was announced in December 2020

In December 2020, Samsung had announced that it would shift its display manufacturing plant to Noida from China. Reports suggest that the new plant is the first high-technique project, which is being set up in India after relocating from China. The new project is likely to generate 1,500 direct employment and thousands of indirect jobs.

At that time, a spokesperson of the UP Government had said, “The unit intends to invest Rs 4,825 crore. It could be made possible by the sustained efforts of the UP government to create an eco-system in NCR in sync with the intent of the Centre to make an export hub in view of the ever-increasing demand for mobile and other gadgets in the country and abroad.”

Singapore’s top health officials cast doubt on effectiveness of China’s Sinovac vaccines for coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Singapore’s top health officials cast doubt on effectiveness of China’s Sinovac vaccines for coronavirus

On June 18, people in Singapore began to receive Chinese Company Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine at private clinics. The World Health Organization gave the Chinese vaccine a go for emergency use earlier in June. Following the approval from WHO, it was allowed by the Singapore administration to be administered at 24 private health clinics after. Notably, the approval was given despite one of the top health officials in Singapore raised doubt over its effectiveness.

As per the reports, the initial demand for the vaccine is strong, but the government is hesitant in adding it to the national vaccination program. It is believed that one of the reasons for its demand is among the people who are from mainland China or planning to go there. For them, it would be better to go for the Chinese vaccine, irrespective of the fact that more effective vaccines are available in Singapore.

Kenneth Mak, Director of medical services, Singapore, on Friday, said that he was worried over the vaccine’s effectiveness as reports coming from other countries suggest those who got Sinovac shot were still getting infected with Covid-19. He mentioned cases from Indonesia where health workers and doctors had to be hospitalized after contracting Covid-19 infection though they were vaccinated with Sinovac shot. He added, “It does give the impression that the efficacy of different vaccines will vary quite significantly.”

Singapore is providing vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna under the national vaccination program. As per studies, these vaccines are 90 per cent effective at preventing infections in real-world conditions. Only in rare cases, people got acute symptoms after getting fully vaccinated with those shots.

Reports on studies conducted on CoronaVac, the vaccine created by Sinovac, suggest that the shot’s effectiveness is anywhere between 50 to 84 per cent. WHO, while approving the Sinovac’s vaccine, said that it was only 51 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic disease. The minimum requirement for approval from WHO is 50%. Though the vaccines from China are considered highly effective against severe disease, scientists believe that the nations choosing Sinovac’s jab over Pfizer or Moderna may cause trouble in the future.

Covid-19 in Singapore

So far, Singapore has reported 62,403 cases. 62,023 people have recovered, while 34 have died of complications related to Covid-19 infection. Out of approx 50 lakh population, the nation has fully vaccinated 19 lakh+ people. Around 47 lakh doses have been administered in the country.

Is Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra on the verge of an imminent collapse?

Jinit Jain
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Is Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra on the verge of an imminent collapse?

With the rift widening between the members of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra, Rajya Sabha MP and senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Monday reassured that Uddhav Thackeray will continue to remain the chief minister of Maharashtra.

In an uncharacteristically placatory tone, Raut on Monday said, “Shiv Sena, Congress & NCP stand united, committed to run govt for 5 yrs. Outsiders who want to form govt & are restless after losing power may try, but govt will continue. Attempts may be made to create cracks b/w Congress, NCP & Shiv Sena but it won’t work.”

Raut’s appeasing remarks alleging that Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress are united comes in sharp contrast to the belligerence exhibited by him and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray after state Congress chief Nana Patole last week said Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance is not a permanent fixture and reaffirmed his party’s desire of going solo in the future polls.

“We have already announced that we will go solo in all the forthcoming local body elections, likely to be held from November, and assembly polls thereafter. We do not want to keep our allies in the dark and ditch them ahead of the polls. We are preparing to go solo, and they are free to do so. Congress would be the single largest party in the 2024 assembly polls,” Patole had said.

CM Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut mock Congress after it expresses its desire of fighting solo in upcoming polls

Patole’s rebuttal elicited sharp responses from the Shiv Sena leaders, most notably chief minister Uddhav Thackeray himself, who took a dig at ally Congress saying that people would “beat with footwear” those who only talk about contesting elections alone without offering solutions to people’s problems.

“If a party says that it wants to contest elections on its own without joining hands with others, it should first generate confidence among the public of its ability to provide jobs,” the Chief Minister had said.

Sanjay Raut also took a swipe at the Congress party, saying that Shiv Sena was always ready for an electoral battle at any given time. In a thinly veiled jibe aimed at the Congress party, Raut said parties must first emerge out of their confusion and then decide whether or not to contest polls alone.

“Some political parties in Maharashtra are speaking of fighting polls on their own. That is their lookout. But let there be no confusion on this count. One leader [State Congress chief Nana Patole] of that party says that it will fight on its own, while other leaders of that party say the opposite. So, such parties must first come out of their own confusion and then talk about how to fight the election,” Raut said.

In a scathing editorial published on its mouthpiece Saamana, Shiv Sena suggested Congress to assess its own strength before talking of fighting on its own in the upcoming polls.

Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik suggests party to snap tied with NCP and Congress, and join hands with PM Modi

The furore only intensified when the embattled Shiv sena leader Pratap Sarnaik suggested the party to reconcile with PM Modi “before it’s too late” and snap their with the NCP and Congress.

In a letter addressed to CM Uddhav Thackeray on June 10, Sarnaik urged him to align with the BJP, saying that the Congress and NCP, which are constituents in the Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, were weakening the party by fomenting divisions in its ranks and also pointed out that civic polls are due in many cities, including Mumbai, in coming months. 

“It is better to join hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi again as Shiv Sainiks feel that it would save the Sena leaders like me, Anil Parab and Ravindra Waikar from problems caused by the Central agencies,” he said.

The ever-widening rift within the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition suggest their dream run is about to end

With the Sarnaik suggesting that Shiv Sena should re-establish their ties with the BJP, Raut had to tamp down his political brinkmanship and change his tunes to accommodate the Congress party. Days ago, Sanjay Raut mocked the Congress party in mouthpiece Saamana, asking it to estimate its strength before declaring to go solo in the upcoming polls, the Rajya Sabha MP struck a pacifying tone on Monday when he told reporters that Shiv Sena had an excellent rapport with the Congress party and that they would complete their 5 years of rule with Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister of Maharashtra.

Clearly, the dramatic shift in Raut’s stance denotes that everything is not hunky-dory as the Sena leader wants the world to perceive. Behind the veneer of normalcy, as alleged by Raut, an intense tussle is underway among the coalition partners, and such volte-faces only goes to show that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra might be on a precarious terrain, almost on the verge of an inevitable split. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the storied alliance that was forged for the express purpose of keeping the BJP at bay in Maharashtra to implode in the times to come.

Watch: ITBP personnel perform ‘Surya Namaskar’ at an altitude of 18000 ft in Ladakh on 7th International Yoga Day

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: ITBP personnel perform ‘Surya Namaskar’ at an altitude of 18000 ft in Ladakh on 7th International Yoga Day

On this occasion of 7th International Yoga Day, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel beating all odds performed ‘Surya Namaskar’ at an altitude of 18000 feet, in the sub-zero temperature in Ladakh. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) took to it official Twitter handle to share the video of the same.

In the video, the ITBP personnel is seen performing the asana bare body in that biting cold weather.

The ITBP shared other videos too where Himveers are seen practising various Yoga asanas with great discipline at the whopping altitude of 18000 ft.

“ITBP personnel also called ‘Himveers’ celebrating the 7th #InternationalDayOfYoga at Icy heights of #Ladakh (18000 ft) amidst snowfall, Tweeted DD News while sharing yet another video of the personnel dedicatedly performing Yoga in the biting whether.

ITBP personnel also performed Yoga in other parts of India where they serve and protect us.

ITBP Personnel also performed Yoga at Galwan valley in Ladakh where there was a border conflict with China last year.

This year marks the 7th edition of the international event and has been observed in 190 countries.

On Monday (June 21), Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the global launch of the M-Yoga app on the occasion of International Yoga Day. In his virtual address on the occasion, Modi highlighted the significance of Yoga during the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic.

It must be mentioned that the UN General Assembly adopted June 21 as ‘International Day of Yoga’ on December 11, 2014, after PM Modi floated the idea before the global body. Owing to the Coronavirus pandemic, a large part of the celebrations are being held digitally.

SP leader Umed Idris confesses to giving the Ghaziabad crime false communal angle, wanted to gain political mileage: Report

OpIndia Staff
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SP leader Umed Idris confesses to giving the Ghaziabad crime false communal angle, wanted to gain political mileage: Report

Samajwadi Party leader Umed Pahalwan Idris, who appeared in a Facebook Live video alongside Ghaziabad assault victim Abdul Samad, was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police in Delhi on Saturday. 

After trying to evade the arrest, Pahalwan has now confessed to having used the Ghaziabad crime by giving it a communal angle to gain political mileage ahead of the UP state assembly elections. 

As per a News18 report, as soon as Pahalwan got to know of the incident, he instructed the victim Abdul Samad to report the matter to Loni Border police as he claims to be influential in that area. He also interfered in the drafting of the complaint and scripted the communal Facebook Live with the victim. 

Pahalwan reportedly even deleted some Whatsapp chats from his mobile phone to evade scrutiny. Ghaziabad Police is trying to retrieve his digital records through IPDR.

SSP Amit Pathak in a media statement revealed that Pahalwan pleading innocent lied in the first police investigation and blamed the victim for narrating a false incident. 

Pathak informed, “Pahalwan admitted that he planned the entire event with his local associate. He also suggested the victim to mention ‘unknown assailants in the FIR to take political advantage of the incident later.”

“The initial complaint was written by him (Pahalwan) at his residence,” added Pathak.

It is notable here that in the initial complaint filed by the victim, there were claims that he was abducted and assaulted by unknown assailants. A muted video of the assault was made viral by several social media influencers, including Alt News’ Md Zubair.

Upon police investigation, it was clear that the victim was assaulted by persons known to him, the ‘customers’ who had purchased occult amulets from the old man Abdul Samad. The fake communal angle and the claims of being forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ were completely false and were added in the video that Umed later made, trying to give an intentional communal spin to the incident that was of personal animosity between two parties.

Umed Pahalwan’s history

With seven cases registered against him, Pahalwan was a thief in his hometown Pilkhuwa. He then became a follower of Aulaad Ali a municipal officer before joining the Samajwadi Party. Pahalwan has been married thrice.

Defaming Hindu religious slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’

Earlier, on June 17, Uttar Pradesh Police had booked Umed Idris on June 17 for trying to portray the personal animosity between Abdul Samad and his alleged attackers as a ‘communal’ incident. The SP leader had falsely claimed that the victim of the assault was forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram” by “Hindu” attackers.

The Uttar Pradesh police said they have arrested nine persons in connection with the Ghaziabad assault case.

‘How come this is such a big issue in the Western world?’: Imran Khan when questioned about Uyghur genocide in China

OpIndia Staff
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‘How come this is such a big issue in the Western world?’: Imran Khan when questioned about Uyghur genocide in China

In an interview with Jonathan Swan, the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was seen making excuses when quizzed about his silence on the genocide committed against Uyghur Muslims in neighbouring China. The interview was aired on Sunday (June 21) by Axios on HBO.

“Just across your border in Western China, the Chinese government has imprisoned more than 1 million Uyghur Muslims in reeducation camps. The Chinese government has tortured Muslims, forcibly sterilised them, and they have destroyed mosques in Xinjiang and also punished Muslims for fasting, praying, even giving Muslim names to their children. Prime Minister, why are you outspoken about Islamophobia in Europe and the US but totally silent about the genocide of Muslims in Western China,” Jonathan Swan asked.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan seemed taken aback by the question. In a desperate bid to defend its all-weather friend, Imran Khan alleged, “What… our conversations have been with the Chinese, this is not the case, according to them.” On being told that the evidence was overwhelming, Khan said, “Whatever issues we have with the Chinese, we speak behind closed doors. China has been one of the greatest friends to us in our most difficult times.”

“When we were really struggling, our economy was struggling, China came to our rescue. So, we respect the way they are…And whatever issues we have, we speak behind closed doors. How come this is such a big issue in the Western world?” the Pakistani Prime Minister asked. He then shrewdly tried to deviate the issue from Uyghur Muslims to Kashmiri Muslims and claimed that it was hypocritical that ‘Kashmir’ is not an issue for the world.

Swan pointed out, “They have been a huge partner to you, China. But on some level, doesn’t it make you feel sick to have to be quiet because of all the money they have been putting into Pakistan.” A rattled Imran Khan said, “Am I going to start talking about everything? I am concentrating on what is happening on my border and in my country?”

On being pointed out Xinjiang province is, in fact, near the border with Pakistan, Khan tried to again deviate the conversation to Kashmir. “You are in no way concerned about the Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang?”, the interviewer highlighted. The Pakistani Prime Minister fell short of words and claimed that all such conversations will be taken up with the Chinese authorities behind closed doors.

‘We have economic ties with China, they are good neighbours’: Imran Khan 

In an exclusive interview to Canada’s CBC News on June 12, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan dodged the question pertaining to China’s persecution of Uyghur Muslims by saying it is a ‘good neighbour.’ Khan, when specifically asked about the genocide of Uyghur Muslims, said, “We have economic ties with China, China is our neighbor. They’ve been very good to us in our most difficult times.” He was talking to CBC’s Rosemary Barton in a recent interview. When asked whether or not the persecution of Muslims in China is of concern, Khan informed, “If we have concerns we talk about them behind closed doors.”

Uyghur detention camps run by China

The Xinjiang autonomous region in China is facing the worst kind of cultural and ethnic genocide. There is a long history of dissonance between the indigenous ethnic Uyghur and Chinese authorities. The Chinese government refuses to categorize Uyghurs as an indigenous population and describe Uyghurs as a regional minority.

China is facing criticism and worldwide condemnation over its unkind and harsh treatment of the Uyghur Muslims. A Uyghur-Kazakh citizen, Gulbahar Jelilova reported that she was ruthlessly beaten and raped while in custody. Stew Chao, a journalist working with Aljazeera had reported that Abduveli Ayup, a prominent Uighur writer, activist and Uyghur language defender was put in a detention centre and later brutally tortured.

There is also ample evidence that suggests China is systematically targeting Uyghur Muslims through a state-planned birth control process. Zumrat Dawut and Kalbinur Sidik who survived from Chinese detention camps narrated that Uyghur women who conceive more than three children are forcefully sterilized. Women survivors from these camps have narrated that they were beaten, raped, and given mystery injections.

China wants to reward Wuhan Institute of Virology for its ‘contribution’ for COVID-19 research, has been in news for ‘lab leak theory’

OpIndia Staff
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China wants to reward Wuhan Institute of Virology for its ‘contribution’ for COVID-19 research, has been in news for ‘lab leak theory’

As per a report published in the Chinese mouthpiece Global Times on June 20, the Wuhan Institute of Virology got shortlisted for a prize recognition for its “outstanding science and technology achievement” for “identifying” the Covid-19 virus. The list of candidates was published by China’s Academy of Science (CAS) on June 18.

Scientists of Wuhan lab mentioned as “outstanding contributors”

The list also mentioned lab director Shi Zhengli popularly known as the “bat woman” and deputy director of the lab Yuan Zhiming as outstanding contributors. Dr Shi was praised for “achievement in identifying the Covid-19 pathogen and completing the coronavirus gene sequencing, virus isolation, receptor verification, mouse model establishment and other studies on pathogen identification.” On the other hand, Dr Yaun was selected for “outstanding contribution in establishing a coronavirus non-human primate infection model”.

‘Wuhan lab scientists deserve Nobel” claimed Foreign Ministry spokesman

On June 17, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian talked to the reporters and said that the team in the Wuhan lab should get a Nobel prize in medicine for their “contributions” in research on Covid-19 instead of being criticised.

Last week, Dr Shi gave an interview to The New York Times and spoke about the allegations raised against her. She claimed it was not possible to give evidence for something that has no evidence. She said, “How on earth can I offer up evidence for something where there is no evidence? I don’t know how the world has come to this, constantly pouring filth on an innocent scientist.”

Praises poured for Wuhan lab by CAS

According to GT, CAS said that the Wuhan Institute of Virology started working immediately to identify the pathogen after the outbreak and completed the virus genome sequencing and virus isolation in a short time. It “confirmed that the Covid-19 virus shares the same functional receptor as the SARS virus, systematically analysed the basic biological characteristics of the virus, and revealed that coronavirus carried by bats might be the evolutionary ancestor of the Covid-19 coronavirus,” CAS added.

The possibility of lab leak

According to some scientists and researchers theorised that the virus was engineered by Chinese Scientists via a process named “gain of function” that supercharges the pathogens through genetic manipulation. The theory has, however, been dismissed as conspiracy.

Interestingly, Alina Chan, one of the 18 scientists that published a letter in the journal Science demanding a more in-depth investigation into the origin of the virus, talked to NBC over the lab leak theory and its dismissal. He said, “At the time, it was scarier to be associated with Trump and to become a tool for racists, so people didn’t want to publicly call for an investigation into lab origins.”

If Chan is to be believed, the scientists, who are supposed to be on the side of the Science, got so involved in the politics that they dismissed a theory just because it was brought to light by someone they, and a part of the community dislike.

WHO’s denial to lab leak theory

In February 2021, the World Health Organization completed its investigation into the origin of the Covid-19 virus. It concluded that it was extremely unlikely that the virus leaked from the lab. However, a lot of scientists do not agree with the theory. The speculation over lab leak theory is overwhelming to be rejected without in-depth investigation.

Fresh investigation ordered

In May 2021, The United States government ordered its intelligence agencies to conduct fresh 90-day inquiry as US President and other world leaders urged for further investigation into the origin of the virus.

Dr Quay and Professor Richard Muller, an astrophysicist from the University of California, Berkeley, detailed the scientific case for the lab-leak theory in an op-ed in WSJ. In their article, they said that the genetic fingerprint of the Covid-19 virus indicated that it was created in the lab. They wrote, “In fact, in the entire class of coronaviruses that includes CoV-2, the CGG-CGG combination has never been found naturally.”

Recently, a video was discovered in which bats were seen being caged in Wuhan Insitute. Before the video came to notice, it was widely rejected by the WIV that they had live bats in the lab. The involvement of US scientists like Dr Fauci, Peter Dasazak and others was also revealed in recent times. It was alleged that they had a role in suppressing the truth about the virus. Keeping all the fresh evidence against WIV in mind, the so-called award nomination is a questionable move by the Chinese government.

Rakesh Tikait asks farmers to ‘get ready with tractors’, Mahapanchayat from Haryana demands opening of Singhu border

OpIndia Staff
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Rakesh Tikait asks farmers to ‘get ready with tractors’, Mahapanchayat from Haryana demands opening of Singhu border

After celebrating the six-month anniversary of the farmer’s protest, BKU leader Rakesh Tikait has yet again given a call to intensify the protests and called upon the protesting farmers to be ‘ready with tractors.’

On Sunday, Tikait took to Twitter suggesting that the farmers will have to escalate their protest as the Centre will not bend down to their demands. “The government will not agree. Treatment is necessary. Keep your tractors ready. We will have to intensify the protest to save our lands,” he Tweeted.

From announcing protests outside all the Raj Bhavans on June 26 to declaring that the protests will be on till 2024, Tikait has time and again kept the alleged farmers busy with his frivolous threats and calls.

Mahapanchayat demands clearing of Singhu Border

On the other hand, residents from several villages in Delhi and Haryana held a “Mahapanchayat” in Haryana’s Sonipat on Saturday, demanding the opening of the Singhu border, the removal of barricades put up by the so-called farmer protestors and immediate halting of violence.

The villagers also informed that they are ready to meet the state and Central government to voice their demands.

Centre ready to talk

The Centre has yet again given a call to farmers to re-initiate talks. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in a video Tweet has recently said, “The Government of India is ready to talk to any farmer organization and anytime on the provisions related to the new agricultural laws. We welcome them…”

He also suggested that they are ready to conduct a meeting even at midnight to address their grievances on the new farm laws.

Increase in crimes at protest sites

Meanwhile, there has been a sharp increase in the crime rate in and around the protest sites. We reported how a man named Mukesh (42)- resident of Kasar village in Bahadurgarh of Jhajjar district of Haryana had succumbed to burn injuries after farmer protestors allegedly set him ablaze at the Tikri border protest site on May 16.

His wife Renu in an exclusive interview to OpIndia said, “Agitators at Tikri border, they are not farmers but hardcore criminals. They are perpetually drunk and always under the influence of alcohol. It’s been a year, these people are not going from here. They have created chaos over here.”

Likewise, Tony Kumar, the Sarpanch of the village also cast doubts upon the intent of these people, who have been protesting as farmers. Expressing his trepidation after the ghastly incident, Tony Kumar said that in the past, many villagers have come to him with complaints against these protesting people. Villagers complain that these farmers go to their fields to defecate, they molest and harass the women of the village.

Several incidents of assault and molestation too have been reported from these protest sites.

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