As the Chinese coronavirus pandemic rages on, social media is flooded with requests of essentials such as medicines, hospitals, beds and oxygen. While everyone is doing their bit to help ease the suffering, some seem to have misused the platform to either spread fake requests or dupe some people of their money promising medicines in return.
Amongst many who have been very vocal about helping out people amid the crisis has been Bollywood actor Sonu Sood. However, recently he was accused of taking credit for arranging plasma for a COVID patient when he has not done so.
A Twitter user, named Umey Abhishek Rajput (@Umey_Abhishek), took to Twitter on 3rd May, 2021 to seek help in arranging plasma for a Covid-19 positive patient named Reena Solanki. He had shared details such as the name and location of the hospital, the telephone numbers of the patient attendees, and the blood group of the patient. He had also tagged actor Sonu Sood in his tweet.
Screengrab of the tweet by Umey Abhishek Rajput
About 12 hours later on Tuesday, Sonu Sood responded to his message for help. He informed the Twitter user that he had arranged plasma for the patient named Reena Solanki. In a tweet, the actor said, “Plasma is arranged. Speedy recovery.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Sonu Sood
An hour after Sonu Sood claimed to have arranged for the plasma, the same Twitter user debunked his claims. “Sorry, Sonu Sood sir, but family has no information for (about) arrangement of plasma,” he clarified.
Screengrab of the tweet by Umey Abhishek Rajput
While responding to another tweet by a user named Komalgupta1970, who asked him to find a more credible and trustworthy source, Umey Abhishek Rajput said, “It’s arranged, by the way thank you.”
Screengrab of the response by Umey Abhishek Rajput
When OpIndia reached out to the attendee, we were informed that the patient had undergone two rounds of plasma therapy. On being asked whether Sonu Sood arranged for it, he outrightly denied any help received from the Bollywood actor. “We had to arrange plasma our own,” he emphasised.
Sonu Sood claims to ‘prophetically’ arrange bed for a deceased Covid-19 patient
In another case, Sonu Sood claimed to have arranged a hospital bed for a patient who had succumbed to Coronavirus infection. On Sunday (May 9) night, a Twitter user (@ManojWorker) tweeted about an urgent requirement of a hospital bed for a 54-year-old patient named K Ravindran. While responding to the tweet at 9 am in the morning, Sonu Sood claimed, “Sometimes it’s good to be awake at night. Got you a bed at Excel Care hospitals.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Sonu Sood
A popular Twitter user, Shruthi Thumbri pointed out that the patient had passed away in the night at 3 am. “On 9 am, you are tweeting and saying, “Got you a bed at excel care hospitals. hmmmm,” she pointed the logical fallacy in the actor’s statement.
Shruthi’s tweet
She even shared an audio recording saying that the patient’s caretaker confirmed that no bed was made available by Sonu.
Hadd Hai!! ?
Confidence ho to Sonu sood jaisa hona chahiye!
Aur kitna girna chahte ho Bhai ? ?
This is second round of discussion with patient's relative!
Here's the video with subtitles, Listen and decide! ??
— Shruthi Thumbri ?? (@Shruthi_Thumbri) May 9, 2021
On being faced with criticism, Sonu Sood said, “Had got him at bed last night at 12 am and just got to know he breathed his last at 3:30 am last night. Life is unfair. May his soul rest in peace.”
However, there are still things that don’t add up. Popular satirist ‘The Skin Doctor’ pointed out how the arrangement of bed at 12:00 midnight would not add up if the request itself came up at 1 AM. He tweeted, “He asked for your help through a tweet at 1:04 am. How did you get him a bed at 12 am? Full 1 hour before he actually asked for your help! How?”
Another Twitter user, Scar, sarcastically questioned the authenticity of his claims. “Got him bed an hour before his tweet, time Machine Sonu Sood,” he tweeted.
Got him bed an hour before his tweet, time Machine Sonu Sood ?
After multiple media reports and social media posts on how Sonu Sood was helping out migrants go back home last year amid the nationwide lockdown, Sood had written an autobiography, ‘I am no no messiah’.
As per reports, Munnar Police have registered a case in Idukki, Kerala, against over 400 Christian priests for unlawful gathering at a time when the state is facing a severe surge in Covid-19 cases. All the priests are members of CSI Church. They have been booked under different sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Kerala Epidemic Disease Ordinance.
The gathering took place in Munnar between April 13 and April 17. The annual retreat of the church violated the protocols enacted by the state government to control the Covid-19 surge in the state.
Kerala Government and District Administration were approached by one Sabu Stephen, a member of CSI Church, against the gathering. However, CSI Church claimed that there was no violation during the retreat.
Based on the preliminary inquiry, the police said that the gathering violated the protocols. The Circle Inspector said, “At the time of the event, only 100 people were allowed for indoor and up to 200 for outdoor events. Based on the inputs from Devikulam Tehsildar, we have registered a case.”
Stephen, in his complaint, alleged that after the retreat, 100 priests contracted Covid-19, and four of them died over the past few days. On the other hand, CSI Church claimed only 20 contracted the disease, but it was not linked to the retreat that took place in Munnar.
The annual retreat that allegedly killed four priests
As per reports, the annual retreat took place between April 13 and April 17. The priests had travelled to Munnar from LMS Church in Thiruvananthapuram in a bus. Rev Bijumon, 52, the vicar of CSI church, Kazhukode, near Vattappara, passed away due to COVID on April 29. Rev Shine B Raj, 43, the vicar of CSI church, Punnakkamugal, near Thirumala, lost his battle to COVID on May 4. Many infected priests are currently undergoing treatment at Dr Somervell CSI Medical College Hospital at Karakonam, while some are home quarantined.
Rajasthan Royal pacer Chetan Sakariya, who was being lauded for this performance in IPL 2021, lost his father to COVID on Sunday.
Sakariya had diverted his IPL payment for the treatment of his father. Having lost his brother early this year, Sakariya wanted to make sure his father, who had tested positive for Covid-19, gets the best possible treatment.
The franchise in a Tweet assured all possible support to the young player.
It pains us so much to confirm that Mr Kanjibhai Sakariya lost his battle with Covid-19 earlier today.
We’re in touch with Chetan and will provide all possible support to him and his family in this difficult time.
“I was lucky because I had received my part payment from Rajasthan Royals a few days ago. I straight away transferred money back home, and that is helping my family the most in my toughest time,” Sakariya had said in an interview.
Chetan Sakariya, who was bought for Rs 1.2 crore by the Royals at the IPL 2021 auction, narrated his financial condition, dreams and wished for his father’s speedy recovery.
“I am the only member in my community who has earned so much. My mother doesn’t know how many zeros are there in crores. Our first priority is to see my father back and then build a home,” he added in the interview.
The news of his fathers demise despite putting all his efforts to save him reflects the grim situation prevailing in the nation because of the pandemic.
Unsure of his future, Sakariya in the interview said, “People are saying stop IPL. I want to tell them something, I am the only bread earner in my family. Cricket is the only source of my earnings.”
IPL 2021, however, was suspended indefinitely on May 04 after multiple players tested positive for COVID-19. From a Sun Risers Hyderabad player to Chennai’s bowling coach to Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers, multiple individuals had been infected with the Covid-19 virus.
Earlier this week, the Indian Women’s Cricket team allrounder Veda Krishnamurthy lost her sister and mother within days of being tested positive of coronavirus.
As many as nine priests from various churches in Kerala have died during the second Covid wave over the past ten days after leading religious services in the state, reports New Indian Express.
According to the reports, six of the priest who died due to Covid-19 belonged to the Syro Malabar Church, and three are from the CSI church. The Christian priests, who have led religious services despite the deadly pandemic, have now got exposed to the Covid-19.
Nearly 15 Christian priests have died during the second Covid wave across the country since last month. Senior Bishop Archbishop Emeritus Antony Anandarayar, former archbishop of Puducherry-Cuddalore, also succumbed to Covid on Tuesday.
Reportedly, more than 100 priests from various Christian denominations have tested positive for the Chinese pandemic and are under treatment or in quarantine in the state after turning positive. Some of them are in critical condition, adding tense situation across various congregations.
Fr Bovas Mathews of the Syro Malankara Church said seven of the priests who lost their lives recently were from the Thrissur archdiocese under the Syro Malabar Church.
“Priests of various churches in the country are vulnerable to Covid infection because of the nature of their work and services towards society. They had to travel a lot even during the pandemic. For instance, a priest named Rajan Philip of the Orthodox Church died of Covid after he had to attend a service at a home. He had gone there for a prayer to help a Covid patient recover. That patient became negative but the priest tested positive. He succumbed to the infection 40 days ago. If we examine each and every diocese or Church, the number of deaths and infections may be higher,” he said.
According to a report by ‘Matters India’, an online news reporting on Catholic Church, nearly 14 priests have fell victims to the coronavirus between April 20 and 23. Since Mach, more than 20 priests have lost their lives to Covid.
Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, the Major Archbishop of the Syro Malankara Church and a former president of KCBC, said that the church has given clear directions to the priests to follow the Covid protocol strictly when they go out to participate in religious services and programmes.
“A lot of valuable lives have been lost. Some priests, too, have lost their lives. As leaders of communities, the priests have the onus to set a model by practising social distancing, wearing masks, and keeping hygiene to show that all can stay safe and healthy to achieve normalcy soon. Value your life and care for others’ lives,” the Cardinal said.
Over 400 Kerala priests booked for violating Covid norms
More than 450 Kerala priests have been booked for violating Covid norms in the Munnar district of Kerala after attending a retreat in the city last month. The Christian priests of the Church of South India (CSI) had gathered at Munnar that had resulted in the transmission of the virus among them. More than 100 priests, who attended the event, had tested positive for Chinese coronavirus and at least two of them had died.
The gathering took place in Munnar of Idukki between April 13 and 17. It was alleged that the annual retreat of the church was conducted in violation of Covid-19 protocols. According to the reports police, a case has been registered after a preliminary inquiry.
International medical journal The Lancet on Saturday published an article targeting Prime Minister Modi over the Coronavirus crisis in India. In strong words, it placed the entire burden for the crisis at the feet of the Prime Minister while giving every other political party a free pass.
The wording makes it evident that the medical journal is using its clout to wage political battles against politicians they personally disagree with. It is not the first time they have done such a thing. Following the abrogation of Article 370, The Lancet had issued a strong condemnation of the Indian Government.
The article itself is riddled with a series of inaccuracies in terms of data that can be interpreted by laymen as well. The article says, “India must reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission as much as possible while the vaccine is rolled out. As cases continue to mount, the government must publish accurate data in a timely manner, and forthrightly explain to the public what is happening and what is needed to bend the epidemic curve, including the possibility of a new federal lockdown.”
The Lancet argues for a national lockdown, ignoring the fact that the vast majority of India is already under partial or full lockdown. The effectivity of lockdown to curb the spread of the virus is debatable as well. Delhi, which imposed a lockdown on the 19th of April, had a test positivity rate of 31.1% on the 1st of May. Since then, the test positivity rate has come down to 23.34% on Saturday, that is, 20 days after the imposition of lockdown.
Even experts are not sure whether the reduction in the test positivity can be attributed to the lockdown.
“The reducing positivity rate is a signal that Delhi has reached the peak of infections. Now, whether the current reduction is because of the lockdown, we cannot know for sure. This could be the natural progression of the disease; any infection can spread only to a certain extent before coming down. Lockdown, if properly implemented, prevent interfamily transmissions giving hospitals a breather – allowing them to arrange beds, oxygen, medicines etc,” Dr Jacob John, former head of the department of virology at the Christian Medical College-Vellore, was quoted by the Hindustan Times as saying.
The problems with the ‘million death by August’ projections
There are fundamental issues with the sources cited by The Lancet in the article as well. It says at one point, “The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that India will see a staggering 1 million deaths from COVID-19 by Aug 1.”
Source: IHME
There are multiple things that are wrong with the IHME projections. For instance, according to the projections, 195,135 people had already succumbed to Covid-19 in India by the 1st of September 2020. At that point of time, the reported deaths were just over 66 thousand.
As of today, its projected death tally stands at 734,238 individuals. Officially, the figure is at 242,362. That is over 3 times the reported Covid-19 deaths. By August, the IHME does not project 1 million death toll for India. The projected figure is 1.6 million at its worst and 1.3 million at best with current estimate being 1.46 million deaths.
That The Lancet chose to omit 300,000 deaths to 600,000 deaths from its article shows that not even they believe the vast exaggerations of the IHME. There is no valid justification for such a number either given the manner in which they have projected such figures. The IHME projected over 1000 Covid-19 deaths regularly in November 2020 when cases were definitively on the downturn.
The political bias of its sources
The Lancet for its article has used other dubious sources as well. One is an article penned by journalist Anoo Bhuyan. The bias of the author becomes evident in the article when she only mentions political rallies carried out by the Prime Minister but does not mention others by name.
Coincidentally, the politically biased article by Anoo Bhuyan too was published in The Lancet. Even so, it has to be conceded that the article by Bhuyan does not explicitly blame the Prime Minister or the Central Government for the crisis as the report notes that other political parties organised massive rallies as well.
The report by Bhuyan notes, “In early 2021, an opinion that India had overcome the pandemic and acquired herd immunity gained ground among policy makers, sections of the media, and the public, said Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India. “Even sections of the scientific community propagated this view”, he added. The belief that there would be no second wave, says Reddy, was also spurred on by the desire to reopen society and revive economic growth.”
Therefore, it is indeed dubious that The Lancet used that report as a source as well to conclude in the end that “If that outcome were to happen, Modi’s Government would be responsible for presiding over a self-inflicted national catastrophe. India squandered its early successes in controlling COVID-19.”
Bloomberg’s biased coverage
Other sources include an article by Bloomberg that criticised India’s vaccine strategy. The Bloomberg article says, “Starting May 1, everyone over 18 is eligible for a vaccine while state governments and private hospitals can purchase doses directly from manufacturers for people from 18 to 45 years — triggering a desperate free-for-all rush to secure shots from an already strapped market.”
It is a remarkable case of “Heads, I win. Tails, you lose” situation. Numerous figures in the media and experts had suggested that vaccines be opened up for the 18-45 age category. When the government decided to open it up, the media is now accusing the government of “triggering a desperate free-for-all rush”. It’s a case of “Damned If I do. damned if I don’t” situation.
The article states further, “Health experts and officials in opposition-controlled states say the plan passes the buck to regional governments rather than addressing the pandemic directly.” The same states were arguing for more autonomy for states and now they are blaming the government for it. And it is bizarre that international media is taking the claims of opposition parties, with their own agenda, at face value without the slightest bit of skepticism.
The Bloomberg article mentions the Kumbh Mela but gives mass gatherings related to the farmer protests a free pass. It is not surprising given that international media was aggressively campaigning for the farmer protests that have continued since last year. These are just few of the many instances of bias in the article.
It is also to be mentioned that Bloomberg is the political propaganda initiative. Michael Bloomberg, the owner, was a presidential candidate from the Democrat Party in the US Elections 2020. We know for a fact that ownership affects their coverage as Bloomberg had announced that it will not Mike Bloomberg or his rivals during the Democrat primaries.
Motivated by petty politics, not medical expertise
One Al Jazeera report cited as a source claims that the Uttar Pradesh Government threatened hospitals flagging oxygen shortage. The report itself had cited “Indian media”. That did not happen. The UP Government had promised to crack down on rumours that could jeopardise the battle against Covid and waste resources in the process that could have been allocated elsewhere. It also promised a crack down on black marketing.
The Lancet also used a report by NYT to claim “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Government has seemed more intent on removing criticism on Twitter than trying to control the pandemic.” This is again motivated propaganda. The Government had asked for tweets to be removed that peddled hoaxes denying the existence of the Coronavirus and shared photographs of burning funeral pyres unrelated to the current crisis.
Thus, it is clear that the indictment of the Modi Government by The Lancet is motivated by petty politics and not medical expertise. The journal also demonstrates a spectacular lack of understanding of the political system in India. India has a federal structure and major powers are in the control of states, including healthcare and law and order. To absolve the states entirely of any blame reeks of political motivations on the part of The Lancet, which is already established by their opposition towards the abrogation of Article 370.
Furthermore, the British medical journal is pitching for a federal lockdown despite the fact that numerous states have imposed total lockdown or partial so that the blame for the economic devastation that inevitably follows the lockdown falls on the central government so that their friends in the media can target the government over the same again.
Following the West Bengal State Legislative election results, the state has been engulfed in post-poll violence where dozens of BJP workers have been killed and injured. Upset over the killings the Indian diaspora abroad took out demonstrations in various countries.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra shared pictures on Twitter on how the Indian diaspora have registered their protest. Agitators in Basingstoke in the United Kingdom waved saffron flags and held placards. ‘Protest against Hindu genocide in Bengal’, read one placard. Another placard said,’ Hindu Lives Matter.’
The Indian diaspora in Canada took out protests in the cities of Calgary and Toronto. “Stop Hindu genocide in West Bengal. Enough is Enough. Fear God,” a placard said. Another placard referred to Mamata Banerjee as the butcher of West Bengal.
“Friends, we are here to condemn the post-poll violence that is taking place in West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee’s government. The State machinery is failing the people of West Bengal as the Hindus are subjected to killings, rapes, and exodus from their homeland…There is no media coverage, no international coverage. This must be condemned,” a protestor said.
Meanwhile, SOS calls and messages continue to emerge from the state where BJP workers have been crying for help. The Union Minister of State, V Muraleedharan, who was on his way to meet the families of BJP karyakartas and supporters who lost their lives in the incidents of violence was also attacked by the TMC goons.
Hundreds of BJP party workers and supporters, along with their families were forced to flee their village along with their families. They crossed over to Assam where they have been provided temporary shelter under supervision by minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. It is not just the BJP but even CPI(M) which has accused the TMC of killing its workers. Reports of attacks on BSF jawans have also emerged in the media.
On Saturday, Union Minister and Amethi MP Smriti Irani visited Padmanpur Bijauli village in Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh to pay respects to BJP MLA Dal Bahadur Kori, who lost his life due to Covid-19.
According to the reports, Union Minister Smriti Irani arrived at the ancestral village of deceased MLA Kori on Saturday and met the family members of the BJP leader, who died on the 6 May at a private hospital in Lucknow.
After placing a wreath on the portrait of the late MLA, Smriti Irani hugged his wife and consoled her. She reassured the family that she stands with them in this hour of grief. Dal Bahadur Kori, who was an MLA from the Salon assembly constituency, died on Thursday night at a hospital in Lucknow. His last rites were performed in the village on Friday.
उत्तर प्रदेश: केंद्रीय मंत्री स्मृति ईरानी ने अपने संसदीय क्षेत्र अमेठी में घूमकर कोरोना व अन्य बीमारियों से मृतकों के घर पहुंचकर संवेदना व्यक्त की। pic.twitter.com/IH5L99ee0X
Smriti Irani also visited the house of former Income Tax Commissioner and BJP leader Brijlal Pasi, who recently succumbed to Covid-19.
She is on a visit to her Amethi constituency to assess the ground situation of COVID management. On Saturday, Smriti Irani, who is the Lok Sabha member from Amethi, made a surprise visit to her parliamentary constituency to review the coronavirus situation in the district.
Smriti Irani makes a surprise visit to Amethi
Inspecting the preparedness in the constituency, Smriti Irani visited the district Covid control room while directing officials to ensure that patients face no inconvenience and that there is no shortage of oxygen. District Magistrate Arun Kumar and Chief Medical Officer Dr Ashutosh Dubey were present in the control room during the review meeting.
Irani directed the officials to increase the number of beds in the hospitals if needed. On Irani’s initiative, the Utthan Seva Samiti, a non-governmental organisation, handed over five oxygen concentrators to the Chief Minister’s Office.
“COVID-19 is now moving towards villages, and hence there should be comprehensive preparations to tackle the pandemic at the village level. There should be no laxity in this,” the Union Minister for Textiles and Women and Child Development said.
After working with Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress which emerged victorious in the recently held West Bengal assembly elections, Prashant Kishor is all set to sack more than 85 per cent of the employees working in his organisation – Indian-Political Action Committee (IPAC), reported Sunday Guardian.
According to the reports, Prashant Kishor’s IPAC has decided to fire more than 85% of the almost 900 employees who were part of their campaigning team in the recently held West Bengal assembly elections. The IPAC-led by election strategist Prashant Kishor had devised the election campaigning for the incumbent Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and led to the third successive poll victory for the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
Reportedly, the IPAC team consists of around 879 people, out of which 479 are core team members, while another 400 employees were on a contract. The contract employees have been told that the organisation will not continue to employ more than 150 members. The workers have also been informally communicated that they would receive termination letters by email in the coming days.
On Thursday, IPAC chief Prashant Kishor interacted with his team members and informed them that they should not expect any kind of job or favour from the West Bengal government and advised them to look for other opportunities. It is expected that only the core 100-150 people will be retained to carry out political strategising work that IPAC does.
Most of the employees, who will be sacked, had high hopes that the IPAC would retain them to assist the Mamata Banerjee-led government and provide “consultancy” after being attached with state government agencies. Following the victory of TMC in the West Bengal elections, all the members of IPAC were reportedly given one month’s paid leave. The core team will move to Punjab a month later to assist the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government for the February 2022 polls.
Prashant Kishor to setup IPAC in Bihar, may concentrate on Bihar politics
In another related significant development, IPAC has already started the process of recruiting people for “campaign management” in Bihar. Kishor, who hails from Bihar and has considerable experience of working in Bihar, is aiming to revive the political program in Bihar. Earlier, Kishor had worked with Nitish Kumar and was also appointed as the Vice-President of JDU. The IPAC is looking to employ and train local youths for political roles.
Recently, Prashant Kishor had declared that he would also be quitting IPAC and pursue another career. Prashant Kishor had announced his decision to hand it over to his colleagues and added that he wanted to take some time out and look at an alternate career. However, there was no clarity on his future endeavours.
With Prashant Kishor is eyeing at restructuring his organisation to make a come back in Bihar, it is being said that Kishor is looking to emerge as a credible political option in state politics by using his political experience. He is expected to train human resource and consolidate material resources to fight the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections
Around 250 Palestinians and 17 Israeli police officers are said to be reportedly injured in a violent clash that erupted between the Israeli riot police and Palestinians on Friday at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque.
Stones, bottles and fireworks were hurled at Israeli police officers who fired rubber bullets at the crowds gathered at the Al-Aqsa mosque which is of prime importance for both sects.
The clash erupted as police officers tried to restore order after reports of “rioting of thousands of worshippers” following the evening prayers were received.
Al-Aqsa, Islam’s third-holiest site which is also revered by the Jews as the location of two biblical-era temples was packed with Muslims who had gone to offer prayers on the last Friday of Ramadan.
Reason for unrest in the region
Tensions in Jerusalem escalated in recent weeks as Palestinians protested the restrictions imposed by Israel on access to access parts of the Old City during the holy month of Ramzan.
The Palestinians are also vehemently opposing an order by the authorities which has asked several Palestinian families to vacate their homes and make way for Israeli settlers.
The past week was marred by violence with three Palestinians open firing on the Salem base in the occupied West Bank on Friday.
In another fatal incident, a 19-year-old Israeli was killed in a drive-by shooting at the West Bank Tapuah junction bus stop on Sunday.
On Wednesday, a 16-year-old Palestinian was killed by the Israeli troops in an open firing on protesters who were throwing petrol bombs in the West Bank area.
Since then regular clashes have broken out between police and protestors in the east Jerusalem Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. An AFP correspondent informed that around 100 protesters again rallied on Friday night in the neighbourhood, with officers using stun grenades and water cannons to disperse them.
The incidents in Sheikh Jarrah and Damascus Gate, both key entry points to the Old City — left many wounded in confrontations earlier in the week.
Sheikh Jarrah clashes
At the beginning of this year, a district court ruled four Palestinian homes in Sheikh Jarrah legally belong to Jewish families and should be handed over.
The Jewish plaintiffs claimed that their families lost the land during the war that accompanied Israel’s creation in 1948 while the Sheikh Jarrah families have provided evidence that their homes were acquired from Jordanian authorities.
Hundreds of Palestinians carried out rallies on Friday in Jordan chanting, “we will die for Sheikh Jarrah.”
Global response
The United States has given a call for “de-escalation” and said the threatened evictions will only worsen the situation in east Jerusalem. The United Nations has also warned that forced evictions could amount to “war crimes”.
As the international observers urged calm, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Vennesland has expressed deep concerns over the clash and asked both parties to uphold the status quo.
Deeply concerned by the heightened tensions & violence in & around #Jerusalem. I call on all to act responsibly & maintain calm. All must respect the status quo of holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City in the interest of peace & stability. Political & religious leaders must act now.
A week after winning the assembly elections in Assam, the BJP has finally decided that Himanta Biswa Sarma will be the next chief minister of the state. Himanta Biswa Sarma was elected as the leader of the legislative party after a meeting of the newly elected BJP MLAs in Guwahati today. Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar and BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh were appointed as observers for the meeting. Senior BJP leaders BL Santhosh and Baijayant Jay Panda were also present in the meeting.
In the meeting attended by all 60 new BJP MLAs, Himanta Biswa Sarma’s name was proposed as the next Chief Minister by outgoing CM Sarbandana Sonowal, and the proposal was supported by state BJP president Ranjit Kumar Dass. After that, all the MLAs present in the meeting supported Sarma as the leader of the legislative party. After the conclusion of the meeting, observer Narendra Singh Tomar announced that Himanta Biswa Sarma was elected as the legislative party leader unanimously, and no other name was proposed by any MLA.
Following the election of the legislative party chief, BJP leaders will meet the Governor later in the day to stake claim for the government. The party has already sought an appointment with the governor at 4 PM today.
BJP has 60 MLAs in the 126 member house, and it has support of AGP and UPPL with 9 and 6 MLAs, bringing the strength of the alliance to 75.
The oath taking ceremony will be held tomorrow at the Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati tomorrow. Due to the Covid-19 situation, the ceremony will not be held in the Raj Bhavan, and it will be held at the much larger space at Kalakshetra.
At present the fate of outgoing CM Sarbananda Sonowal is not known, and it is not clear whether he will be a minister in the next government. According to speculations, he may be made a minister the central government. One seat to Rajya Sabha from Assam is already vacant after BPF MP Biswajit Daimari resigned last year to join BJP, and Sonowal may be elected to the upper house from that seat. It may be noted that Sonowal was a union minister in the Modi government before becoming the Assam CM.
Even though the election results were announced on last Sunday, the process to start discussion over the next CM of Assam was delayed as the party said that the top leadership was busy with the post-poll situation in West Bengal where BJP workers are being attacked by TMC workers. It gained momentum on Friday after BJP’s central leadership invited Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma to finalise the chief minister.
Accordingly, Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma travelled to Delhi yesterday morning in a chartered flight along with few party leaders. First Himanta Biswa Sarma met party president JP Nadda at his resident, after that Sarbananda Sonowal had met him. Following that, the party president had talked to both the leaders together. After the meetings, Himanta Biswa Sarma had told reporters that answers to all the questions will be given after the legislative party meeting on Sunday in Guwahati.
Both the leaders had returned to Guwahati in the night. Earlier in the day, Sarbananda Sonowal had met the governor at the Raj Bhawan and tendered his resignation from the post of chief minister.
With the blessings of the people, tendered my resignation as the Chief Minister of Assam to the Hon'ble Governor Shri @jagdishmukhi ji in Raj Bhavan, Guwahati. pic.twitter.com/t4cu5jsfjQ
— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) May 9, 2021
Even though Sarbananda Sonowal is the incumbent CM, BJP had not projected as the next C during the election campaign. And during the election, Himanta Biswa Sarma was seen as the driving force behind BJP’s campaign, who addressed the largest number of rallies, roadshows etc.
Always known as an able administrator from the times when he was a minister in the previous Congress governments, Sarma’s popularity soared in the outgoing government for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic as the Health minister, and the improvement done in roads, bridges and other infrastructure as the PWD minister. He also held the Education, Finance, and Transformation & Development departments, and was the most visible face of the government. He had brought several reforms to the education sector as a minister, and have been presenting balanced budgets focusing both on development and social welfare as a finance minister.
Apart from being praised for his administrative skills, Himanta Biswa Sarma also has made a mark as a clever politician both in Congress and later BJP. As a convenor of NEDA, he brought several regional parties in north-eastern states under the ambit of NDA. Sarma has also successfully convinced several tribal groups in Assam to ally with BJP, which was vital in defeating Congress in both the past two assembly elections, despite the consolidation of anti-BJP Muslim votes in support of Congress and AIUDF.
After serving as minister for three terms in the Tarun Gogoi government, Himanta Biswa Sarma had left Congress and joined BJP on 29th August 2015, months before the assembly elections in the state. Along with that, he had also brought several Congress leaders loyal to him to the BJP, strengthening the party considerably, and it had resulted in BJP winning the elections in alliance with AGP and BPF.
In the assembly elections, Himanta Biswa Sarma had won from Jalukbari constituency by getting 77% votes out of the total votes polled. He had defeated the Congress candidate by over 1 lakh votes, despite campaigning for himself in the constituency only on the last day of the campaigning.
