Facebook’s Oversight Board on Wednesday decided to continue the permanent ban on Facebook and Instagram accounts of Donald Trump. The Oversight Board, which was appointed by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has often been described as “Facebook’s Supreme Court” and its role is to rule on difficult or controversial moderation decisions made by Facebook. Facebook claims that the Oversight Board is an independent entity, despite all of its wages and running costs being covered by Facebook.
However, even though the Oversight Board has upheld the ban on Donald Trump, it criticized the permanent nature of the ban. The board said that a permanent ban is not consistent with Facebook’s normal penalties. It also ordered Facebook to review its decision and “justify a proportionate response” that is applicable to every Facebook user including ordinary users.
The Oversight Board said that the initial decision to permanently ban Trump was “indeterminate and standardless”, and that the correct response should be “consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform”. Facebook has been given the deadline of six months to respond, in what is seemingly another delaying tactic ensuring the permanent ban of Donald Trump will last for six more months.
The Oversight Board has taken issue with the “indefinite” nature of Trump’s Facebook ban, whilst ruling that Trump did violate Facebook’s community standards in the wake of the January 6th Capitol riot. Facebook, a multi-billion dollar Big Tech social media monopoly is now ruling on as to whether the sitting President of the United States at the time violated their community standards. This dynamic clearly demonstrates the rising power of Big Tech companies which can even rival and surpass governments.
“It is not permissible for Facebook to keep a user off the platform for an undefined period, with no criteria for when or whether the account will be restored,” the Oversight Board said in a statement.
The Board argued that Facebook had essentially issued “a vague, standardless penalty and then [referred] this case to the Board to resolve”. It said doing so meant “Facebook seeks to avoid its responsibilities” and sent the decision back to Facebook.
Donald Trump, the then sitting President of the United States was unceremoniously banned by Facebook and Twitter in the aftermath of the January 6th Capitol Riot. It is of note that the only death of the January 6th riot which was ruled a homicide was the murder of Trump supporter U.S. Army veteran Ashli Babbit. All other deaths related to the January 6th riot have been attributed to illness and other factors.
A day after the Congress party’s link emerged in the massive BBMP-bed scam with the arrest of a Congress supporter, the Congress party hit a new low by sharing fake images to target the BJP leader and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya.
On Tuesday, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and BJP MLAs Satish Reddy, Ravi Subramanya, and Uday Garudachar had exposed the illegal bed-allotment nexus between civic officials and private agents. The BJP leaders had alleged that some officials in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had joined hands with the touts to book hospital beds in the name of people under home isolation while selling these beds to other patients in need at an exorbitant price.
Following the massive allegations, the Bengaluru police had arrested one Congress party supporter named Nethravathy and her nephew for their involvement in the illegal allotment of beds to Covid-19 patients in Bengaluru in exchange for money. The police had suspected that the accused had contacts with the BBMP war room staff.
The accused – Nethravathy and Rohith Kumar, hailing from Begur, had alleged nexus with civic officials and certain private hospitals, were caught after the police conducted a sting operation. A police team, posing as relatives of a Covid-19 patient, had approached them for beds. the accused used to circulate messages on WhatsApp offering help to Covid-19 patients to arrange beds. The police had said that the duo had established contacts in the BBMP war room from where they availed the allotment.
The duo would charge anywhere between Rs.20,000 and Rs.40,000 from the patients based on their financial status.
Congress party spreads fake news – shares morphed image to target Tejasvi Surya
As the Congress party faced massive embarrassment in the state after one of its party supporters was arrested by the Bengaluru police in connection with the BBMP-bed scam, the grand-old party has now resorted to peddling misinformation on social media by posting morphed images to allege that the accused is actually linked with the BJP. They tried to claim that the accused woman Nethravathy is linked with Tejasvi Surya, who in fact, was the first person to expose the nexus between private agents and BBMP officials in the allocation of beds to Covid-19 patients in the city.
Brazening it out on Wednesday, the Congress party took to Twitter to not only make abusive slurs against the young MP but also resorted to sharing fake images of him with the arrested Nethravathy to insinuate that the BJP has links with BBMP-bed scam accused Nethravathy.
Sharing a morphed image on Twitter, the official Twitter handle of Karnataka Congress said that the accused Nethravathy (encircled in the below image) was a BJP party worker.
However, in reality, the image shared by the Congress party is nothing but a badly photoshopped image. In reality, the woman who is seen next to Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya is a different person and not Congress party supporter Nethravathy.
In the below image shared by a social media user Sharath bs, one can see the real person standing next to Tejasvi Surya.
However, in an attempt to target BJP and the BJP MP, the Congress party seems to have scored a self-goal by indulging in lazy work of badly morphing an image to replace the real person with the scam accused Nethravathy.
Bed scam accused a supporter of the Congress party
Following the arrest of the accused in the BBMP bed scam, several reports had emerged stating that scam accused Congress supporter had participated in several rallies and events organised by the Congress party in the last few years. In addition to that, several images expose her close links with the state leadership of the Congress party.
Here are some of the images in which the accused Nethravathy can be seen participating in several rallies organised by the Congress party. There are several images that exposed her links with the Congress party.
Accused Nethravathy with Congress leader Zameer Ahmad/ Image Source: Asianet
In another image, Nethravathy was seen with KPCC working President Eashwar Khandre.
Accused Nethravathy with Congress leader and KPCC working President Eashwar Khandre/ Image Source: Asianet
Congress party supporter Nethravathy can be seen holding banners that feature images of Gandhi-scions – Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi.
Accused Nethravathy participating in Congress party rallies/ Image Source: Asianet
The alleged involvement of the Congress supporter in the BBMP-bed scam has now caused a massive political storm in the state.
BBMP-Bed Scam:
The massive scam came to light after Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, along with three other BJP MLAs – Satish Reddy, Ravi Subramanya, and Uday Garudachar had stormed into the BBMP war room in Bengaluru on Tuesday to expose the illegal bed-allotment nexus between civic officials and private agents.
The BJP MP had alleged that some officials in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had joined hands with the touts to book hospital beds in the name of people under home isolation while selling these beds to other patients in need at an exorbitant price.
IMPORTANT Addressing issues of irregularities and anomalies in BBMP bed booking for covid patients in Bengaluru along with Bommanahalli MLA Shri. Satish Reddy, Basavanagudi MLA Shri. Ravi Subramanya and Chickpet MLA Shri. Uday Garudachar. https://t.co/mzjjiQq7AP
Addressing the press conference, Surya had said that there are enough beds in Bengaluru city. However, the war room personnel had been running a racket of false blocking the beds. They were then allotting those beds to the people in exchange for money. He added that there was a nexus between BBMP officials, Aarogya Mitra hospitals and private agents who were indulging in the said crime.
Further, Surya had questioned the hiring process of 17 individuals and asked about the agency that they belonged to. Some of the names he enquired about while confronting BBMP officials are Mansoor Ali, Tahir Ali Khan, Sadiq Pasha, Md Zayed, Alsai Saheer, Umer Khan, Salman Urif, Zameer Pasha, Zabiullah Khan, Sayed Hasnain, Sayed Shahid, Sayeed Shahbaz, Md Yunus, Syed Mohin and Syed Mukesh.
The systematic attack on the opposition party workers by TMC goons in West Bengal after their thumping victory in the 2021 assembly elections has sent shockwaves in the entire country. From looting and plundering the houses to setting offices ablaze to brutal killings and lynchings of BJP workers, the party workers are left hapless with little or no support from the state police.
In one such incident, BJP’s SC leader Bhaskar Mandal released a heart-wrenching video begging for help from the Centre. Mandal can be heard in the video saying that a systematic attack is taking place against the Hindus where Hindu houses are being looted and set on fire.
Mandal, who can be seen weeping profusely in the video, informed that his house too was looted and he is in hiding for the past three days from the TMC goons with no food or place to go. He also said that not just the party men but even their families are being attacked. Belonging to Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee’s constituency, Mandal informed that no Hindu house will be spared.
The SOS video has gone viral on social media with users trying to make the video reach to the relevant handles who can take cognisance of the matter.
The Bhartiya Janta Party had released a list of emergency numbers for the karyakartas to contact in case of an attack or assault after videos of brutal attacks went viral.
Party president JP Nadda visited the state of West Bengal on Tuesday to take a stock of the situation.
With heavy heart, met the family of our Karyakarta, Shri Abhijeet Sarkar who was brutally killed in post-poll violence in Beliaghata, Kolkata. We will fight this ideological battle with cruel TMC in a democratic manner. We are rigidly standing with our Karyakartas. pic.twitter.com/o7XjjHyXNI
The state of West Bengal is currently in the grip of violence after the TMC managed to regain power, with even the women being attacked and assaulted.
Over 450 party men with their families fled West Bengal and crossed over to Assam for shelter in a tragic exodus.
Not just the BJP, but even the CPI(M) partymen were brutally murdered by the TMC thugs.
Comrade Kakali Khetrapal, a 52-year-old CPI(M) worker from Nabagram in East Burdwan’s Jamalpur was hacked to death on Sunday. Trinamool members, celebrating their election victory, allegedly entered her home while she was cooking and attacked her with a sharp weapon. pic.twitter.com/yN8mCNNelB
— CPI(M) WEST BENGAL (@CPIM_WESTBENGAL) May 4, 2021
The governor of West Bengal at Mamata Banerjee’s oath-taking ceremony urged the third-time elected CM to immediately take control of the law and order situation in the state.
However, the TMC is in denial and is trying to distance itself from the violence despite clear video evidence. The top leadership of the TMC has blamed internal party conflict in the opposition as the reason behind the loot and murders.
Following the unearthing of a massive bed scam by BJP leader and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, the Bengaluru police on Tuesday arrested a Congress party supporter and her nephew for their involvement in the illegal allotment of beds to Covid-19 patients in Bengaluru in exchange for money.
According to the reports, the Bengaluru police arrested a 40-year-old woman Nethravathy, a Congress party supporter and her 22-year-old nephew, Rohit Kumar, for their role in the allotment of beds in return for money from the Covid-19 patients in the city. The police suspect that the accused had contacts with the BBMP war room staff.
The accused, Nethravathy and Rohith Kumar, who hailed from Begur and suspected to be having nexus with civic officials and certain private hospitals, were caught after the police conducted a sting operation. A police team, posing as relatives of a Covid-19 patient, had approached them for beds.
As per Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Harish Pandey, the accused used to circulate messages on WhatsApp offering help to Covid-19 patients to arrange beds. The police said that the duo had established contacts in the BBMP war room from where they availed the allotment. The duo would charge anywhere between Rs.20,000 and Rs.40,000 from the patients based on their financial status.
“We also suspect that they have contacts within the private hospital network, which is being probed,” Pandey added. A case has been registered against the duo in the Jayanagar police station. The case has now been handed over to Bengaluru’s City Crime Branch for further probe.
Accused has links with the Congress party
Interestingly, the arrested accused woman Nethravathy seems to have well-established connections with the Congress party. According to Asianet News, the accused in the bed scam had participated in several rallies and events organised by the Congress party in the last few years. In addition to that, several images expose her close links with the state leadership of the Congress party.
Here is an image in which the accused Nethravathy can be seen participating in a rally organised by the Congress party. Congress party supporter Nethravathy can be seen holding banners that feature images of Gandhi-scions – Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi.
Accused Nethravathy participating in Congress party rallies/ Image Source: Asianet
In another image, Nethravathy was seen with KPCC working President Eashwar Khandre.
Accused Nethravathy with Congress leader and KPCC working President Eashwar Khandre/ Image Source: Asianet
Reportedly, the accused has also links with Congress leader and Chamarajpet MLA Zameer Ahmed Khan.
Accused Nethravathy with Congress leader Zameer Ahmad/ Image Source: Asianet
Nethravathy, who is now arrested for her involvement in the BBMP bed scam, had also wished Jayanagar MLA Sowmya Reddy for her birthday recently. Interestingly, the Jayanagar constituency falls within the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency.
Accused Nethravathy with Congress MLA Sowmya Reddy/ Image Source: Asianet
So far, neither the Congress party nor the party leadership has not provided any clarification regarding the arrest of one of its party supporters.
BBMP-Bed Scam:
The massive scam came to light after Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, along with three other BJP MLAs – Satish Reddy, Ravi Subramanya, and Uday Garudachar had stormed into the BBMP war room in Bengaluru on Tuesday to expose the illegal bed-allotment nexus between civic officials and private agents.
The BJP MP had alleged that some officials in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had joined hands with the touts to book hospital beds in the name of people under home isolation while selling these beds to other patients in need at an exorbitant price.
IMPORTANT Addressing issues of irregularities and anomalies in BBMP bed booking for covid patients in Bengaluru along with Bommanahalli MLA Shri. Satish Reddy, Basavanagudi MLA Shri. Ravi Subramanya and Chickpet MLA Shri. Uday Garudachar. https://t.co/mzjjiQq7AP
Addressing the press conference, Surya had said that there are enough beds in Bengaluru city. However, the war room personnel had been running a racket of false blocking the beds. They were then allotting those beds to the people in exchange for money. He added that there was a nexus between BBMP officials, Aarogya Mitra hospitals and private agents who were indulging in the said crime.
Further, Surya had questioned the hiring process of 17 individuals and asked about the agency that they belonged to. Some of the names he enquired about while confronting BBMP officials are Mansoor Ali, Tahir Ali Khan, Sadiq Pasha, Md Zayed, Alsai Saheer, Umer Khan, Salman Urif, Zameer Pasha, Zabiullah Khan, Sayed Hasnain, Sayed Shahid, Sayeed Shahbaz, Md Yunus, Syed Mohin and Syed Mukesh.
Two weeks after the Central Government announced that it will provide 5 kg of food grains free-of-cost to around 80 crores Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) beneficiaries during May and June 2021 amidst the second wave of COVID-19 cases, the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal yesterday announced that his government will provide two months of free ration to 72 lakh cardholders in the national capital.
The announcement made by the Delhi Government naturally piqued the interest of the observers, given that the centre had already announced free ration for the 80 crore beneficiaries, including those residing in Delhi.
With the Delhi government known for notoriously stealing credit and spending inordinate amounts on advertising and promoting itself, it is relevant to get into the details of food subsidies granted by the centre vis-a-vis Arvind Kejriwal-led government.
The central government provides food grains to the states, including Delhi, through the central pool stocks for distribution under the Targeted Public Distribution System or the National Food Security Act, 2013. In addition to this, the centre had also instituted a social welfare scheme called Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana in March 2020 to provide free ration to people amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the National Food Security Act, a quantity of roughly 4.50 lakh metric tonnes of food grains are allocated to Delhi per year, entailing a food subsidy of Rs 1163 crores/annum by the central government.
NFSA Allocation and Subsidy details for Delhi
The economic cost of Wheat and Rice are Rs 25.73/kg and Rs 36.79/kg respectively. However, the subsidised cost, also known as Central Issue Price (CIP), meaning the prices at which the central government provides food grains to the beneficiary states are Rs 2/kg and Rs 3/kg for wheat and rice respectively. In a nutshell, the central government provides subsidies of Rs 23.73/kg on wheat and Rs 33.79/kg on wheat under the NFSA allocation.
About 29,830.39 MTs of Wheat and 7,742.35 MTs of Rice are allocated monthly to Delhi by the Centre for distribution. This means, the total monthly subsidy under NFSA, therefore, amounts to Rs 70.79 crores for wheat and Rs 26.16 crores for rice. As a result, the central government provides spends Rs 96.95 crores (combined wheat and rice) per month as subsidies for beneficiaries in Delhi.
The below table provides the details on how the central government subsidies food distribution in Delhi:-
Particulars
Unit
Wheat
Rice
Total
Economic Cost
Rs. / Kg
25.73
36.79
62.52
Central Issue Price (CIP)
Rs. /Kg
2
3
—
Monthly Allocation
In MTs
29,830.39
7,742.35
37,572.74
Subsidy under NFSA per month
In Rs. Crore
70.79
26.16
96.95
Annual Subsidy under NFSA
In Rs. Crore
849.50
313.93
1,163.43
CIP recovered per month
In Rs. Crore
5.97
2.32
8.29
CIP recovered annually
In Rs. Crore
71.59
27.87
99.47
Subsidies granted by the central government under NFSA
Since the monthly subsidy under the NFSA stands at Rs 96.95 crores, the yearly is equal to Rs 1,163.43 crores.
Now, since the central government subsidies food grains and charges a paltry Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 3 per kg for rice, it recovers about Rs 5.97 crores from the distribution of 29,830.39 MTs of wheat monthly and Rs 2.32 crores from the distribution of 7,742.35 MTs of rice. Collectively, the recovered amount is Rs 8.29 crores monthly, and for two months it would be double, i.e Rs 16.58 crore. It is this amount that Kejriwal plans to waive off with his announcement of providing free ration to Delhi residents for the next two months.
As the government recovers Rs 2 per kg on wheat and Rs 3 per kg on rice, the monthly subsidy granted by the central government would be equivalent to the subsidy granted under NFSA per month, which is Rs 96.95 crores, minus the CIP recovered per month, which stands at Rs 8.29 crores. Therefore, the monthly subsidy by the central government sums up to Rs 88.62 crores (Rs 96.95 crores-Rs 8.29 crores).
In effect, the central government provides a subsidy of Rs 88.62 crores to the residents of Delhi under the NFSA. On the other hand, the Arvind Kejriwal government after announcing free ration to 72 lakh card holders will be providing the subsidy of Rs 8.29 crores per month or Rs 16.58 crores for two months.
Hence from the above calculation, it could be inferred that the Central Govt.’s assistance to beneficiaries in terms of food grains (which is totally provided) and subsidy are far in excess of what the Delhi Government claims to project through this announcement.
Additional subsidy provided by the Centre under the PMGKAY III
Furthermore, under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY III), free ration for 2 months (May-June 2021) has been allocated by the Government of India from the Central Pool.
Under the PMGKAY III a quantity of nearly 72778 MT of food grains have been allocated to Delhi for the 2 months of May-June 2021, entailing an additional subsidy of over Rs. 203 Crore by the Government of India.
Through PMGKAY III, the central government will be providing 58,222 MTs of wheat costing around Rs 25.73 per kg and 14,556 MTs of rice costing around Rs 36.79 per kg free of cost to the beneficiaries residing in Delhi.
Particulars
Unit
Wheat
Rice
Total
Economic Cost
Rs. / Kg
25.73
36.79
—-
Total Allocation under PMGKAY (for May & June 2021)
In MTs
58,222
14,556
72,778
Total Subsidy (2 months)
In Rs. Crore
149.81
53.55
203.36
Monthly Subsidy
In Rs. Crore
74.91
26.78
101.68
Subsidy under the PMGKAY in Delhi for May-June 2021
For wheat, the total subsidy will amount to Rs 149.81 crores and for rice it would be Rs 53.55 crores for the two months—May and June 2021. Therefore, the monthly break down of subsidy comes at Rs 101.68 crores, including Rs 74.91 crores of wheat subsidy and Rs 26.78 crores of rice subsidy.
In all, the central government is providing a monthly subsidy of Rs 190.3 crores (Rs 88.62 crores under NFSA + Rs 101.68 crores under PMGKAY III), whereas the Arvind Kejriwal government will be providing a subsidy of Rs 8.29 crores per month.
The covid-19 pandemic has brought the worst out in the world. However, what we are seeing and experiencing is only the tip of the iceberg. There are countless underlying problems that society is either facing or will soon face in the coming days. From hunger to lack of jobs and from loss of lives to children becoming orphans due to Covid-19, there are issues that need to be addressed with sensitivity and empathy.
Recently, a post went viral on all social media platforms about two orphan girls. The message urged people to adopt those girls as their parents died due to Covid. The message read, “Adoption!! If you or your parents wish to adopt a daughter. Please contact [phone number]. One is 3 months old, and the other one is 6 months old. They lost their parents due to Covid.” In one such message, it was added, “I’m posting this because I arranged a bed for their father, and now they both are homeless. Arranging resources are good but providing them shelter is the needs of the hour.”
Viral message about adopting girl child
At first, one may think of forwarding the message without a second thought. However, in such times, it is necessary that you read the message carefully. Here the message was for two girls that apparently had the same parents. Their parents died due to Covid, and now they are orphans. Till now, everything looks fine. However, when you look at their age, things will start to raise red flags. One girl was 3 months old, and the other was six months old. Biologically it is not possible for any parent to have two girls with an age difference of three months.
Similar messages with different ages of the said girls with the same mobile numbers were floating on all social media platforms. Unfortunately, even after Union Minister Smriti Irani and PIB Fact Check debunked the claims and warned netizens to be careful, such messages are still circulating on social media platforms. The same message is available in different languages, which has increased the reach further.
Similar message in different languages
PIB debunked the claim
The Press Information Bureau’s Fact Check department debunked the claims. In a post, they said, “A post is being shared with a claim that two girls who have recently lost their parents can be adopted by calling a number. This claim is #Fake. A process has to be followed to adopt a child. It is illegal to adopt a child if proper guidelines are not followed.”
A post is being shared with a claim that two girls who have recently lost their parents can be adopted by calling a number.#PIBFactCheck
This claim is #Fake. A process has to be followed to adopt a child. It is illegal to adopt a child if proper guidelines are not followed. pic.twitter.com/TIPwrtHk22
Smriti Itani, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, penned down a thread on such social media forwards about adoption. In the thread, she wrote that if someone comes to know about such children, who have lost their parents to Covid, they must inform the Police or Child Welfare Committee of the district. Alternatively, they can call on 1098. She added that it is everyone’s legal responsibility to inform the authorities about such children.
*IMPORTANT Thread*
If you come to know of any child who has lost both parents to COVID and has no one to take care of her/him, inform Police or Child Welfare Committee of your district or contact Childline 1098. It is your legal responsibility.
Irani further added that it is illegal to adopt such children or give them away for adoption. “Such children should be taken to Child welfare committee, which will take necessary action in the best interest of the child,” she added.
It is illegal to give or take orphan children of any one else in adoption. Such children should be taken to Child welfare committee, which will take necessary action in the best interest of the child.
Irani said that if someone comes across posts or contacts regarding orphan children available for direct adoption, it could be a trap, and it is essential to inform the authorities immediately. She added, “We all must ensure legal adoption, otherwise children can be trafficked in the name of adoption. Save them. Inform Police or Child Welfare Committee or Childline 1098 if you come to know of any such child.”
We all must ensure legal adoption, otherwise children can be trafficked in the name of adoption. Save them. Inform Police or Child Welfare Committee or Childline 1098 if you come to know of any such child.
She further urged people not to share pictures and contact details of vulnerable children in distress situation on social media platforms. “Their identity is to be protected as per law. Instead, inform the police, Child welfare committee or Childline 1098,” she said.
Please do not share pictures and contact detail of vulnerable children in distress situation in social media. Their identity is to be protected as per law. Instead, inform police, Child welfare committee or Childline 1098.
The National Commission of Women quoted PIB’s post and said, “Due procedures are to be followed for adoption. Posts claiming otherwise are misleading. Please refrain from sharing such posts and immediately contact National Commission for Protection Of Child Rights and Child helpline 1098 if you come across any illegal adoption practices.”
Due procedures are to be followed for adoption. Posts claiming otherwise are misleading. Please refrain from sharing such posts and immediately contact @NCPCR_ and @CHILDLINE1098 if you come across any illegal adoption practices. @sharmarekhahttps://t.co/hfHSZForHU
Possibilities of child trafficking and child labor
One of the major issue with such posts is that they may lead to child trafficking and child labour. While talking to Hindustan Times, Sonal Kapoor Singh, founder of an NGO working for children at risk or having experienced traumatic events said, “We have been working to help children in 40 slums for 10 years to help them recuperate from various traumas. The last few months have been very disturbing. Excluding children, who have lost both parents to Covid, there are cases where the condition of children is worse than those orphaned by the pandemic.” She added that in many cases, young girls were forced to do hard labour for lesser wages as both their parents have died of Covid.
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi recently posted on Twitter that his organisation is ready to help such children. He wrote, “We are ready to provide food, shelter and education to such children whose parents have died of Covid.” He urged people to inform his organisation about such children. But there is a catch.
Though the sentiments might be right, as per law individuals and organizations are not authorized to take in orphan children without permission of the authorities.
Someone questioned Smriti Irani about such individuals or organizations extending support for such children on Twitter. Irani straight away replied that only Childline, CWC, police, and district authorities, along with State governments, are legally mandated to take care of such children. Individuals and organizations are NOT authorized to take such children in. She said, “No individual organization or individual is legally mandated to keep such kids unless authorized by Government. Only Childline / CWC / police & district authorities along with State governments are legally mandated.”
No individual organisation or individual is legally mandated to keep such kids unless authorised by Government. Only Childline / CWC / police & district authorities along with State governments are legally mandated .
Many of us are not aware that India has well-established rules for legally adopting children. Central Adoption Resource Authority or CARA comes under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India.
The adoptions are divided into several categories such as Resident Indian Parents, OCI/Foreigner Living in India, NRI/OCI/Foreigner Living Abroad/Relative Adoption and Adoption by Step Parent. There are terms and conditions for every category.
For Indian resident parents, in order to adopt a child, a couple or individual must register with the said authority as adoptive parents. There is a long list of eligibility criteria for registering as a parent. If a couple wants to adopt a child, they must have at least two years of stable marriage. They must be financially and physically capable of taking care of the child. A single female can adopt a child of any gender, but a single male cannot adopt a girl child. There are several other conditions that the couples or individuals must follow before registering as adoptive parents. They can be checked here.
For in-country relative adoption, the prospective parents shall register in Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System and follow due to legal proceedings. Consent of biological parents or permission of the Child Welfare Committee shall be required as per law. If the child is above five years of age, his or her consent would be required. More details can be found here.
For inter-country relative adoption, a Non-Resident Indian or an Overseas Citizen of India interested in adopting a relative’s child may approach concerned authorities as per the law. Once the authorities receive an application, they will conduct a background check of the family before proceeding further. In case of countries that are not signatories to the Hague Adoption Convention, in respect of Indian citizens, family background report of the relative’s child and prior approval letter from the authority shall be forwarded to the Indian Mission of that country, which will issue a recommendation letter to the authority. Once approval is received by the authorities, the couple can follow the guidelines provided. More information can be found here.
Detailed steps and procedures for adopting a child can be found here. Please note that from time to time, these guidelines may change based on the new laws introduced by the parliament or judgements passed by the Indian courts. The couples who are interested in adopting a child must check the latest guidelines and prepare their case accordingly.
For the general public, it is illegal to post any sensitive information about a child in distress. You may get trapped in legal trouble if you post photographs, or identity, location details of a child in distress. As per law, you must contact the authorities and inform them about the child. Make sure you provide complete details so that the authorities can provide the required support.
OpIndia asserts again that individuals, NGOs, or any other organization are not authorized to take in any child in distress without permission from the government authorities. If anyone approaches you for the adoption of a child in distress, it is your duty to inform the authorities immediately so that the child can be rescued. In these times, there is always a possibility of child exploitation, sexual exploitation, and child trafficking. As a citizen of India, it is your duty to help the authorities in saving the child from the hands of criminals. Please contact the authorities immediately if you come across any such posts.
A news report has gone viral on social media platforms since last week claiming that a 45-year-old teacher from Sindhnur taluk of Raichur district in Karnataka had lost his life after self-administering lime juice through his nostrils as a cure to the Covid-19.
Several media outlets had claimed that a 45-year-old teacher Basavaraj had allegedly died after he had tried out the ‘Lemon Therapy’ purportedly suggested by noted industrialist and BJP leader Vijay Sankeshwar.
It is important to note that a few days before the teacher’s death, noted philanthropist Vijay Sankeshwar had addressed a press conference sharing some information regarding certain home remedies that one could follow to stay protected from the Covid-19 pandemic.
What did Vijay Sankeshwar actually say?
Sharing a few preventive therapies suggested by renowned cardiologist Dr BM Hegde and Yusuf Hamied, who is the chairman of pharmaceutical company Cipla, Vijay Sankeshwar had suggested that one could try self-administering lime juice through nostrils, which may help in increasing oxygen levels of Covid-19 affected patients.
In the press conference, Sankeshwar had categorically stated that he was not a medical expert, however, the ‘Lemon Therapy’ he had suggested was based on his own experience and several others, who had successfully regained their Oxygen levels after self-administering the lemon into their nostrils.
In addition to the ‘Lemon Therapy’, Sankeshwar also suggested that the usage of coconut oil and repeated inhalation of steam, along with taking Unani medicine, may help a person to tackle the Chinese pandemic that is raging across the country.
Incidentally, a few days later, several media reports emerged claiming that the 45-year-old teacher Basavaraj had lost his life after self-administering lime juice through his nostrils.
Here are some of the media reports that pushed these claims:
In its report, the International Business Times report claimed that Basavraj, who worked as a teacher in Sindhanur taluk recently tried lime juice inhalation after hearing the recommendation made by Vijay Sankeshwar. The report further said that teacher bought a lemon from a nearby shop and poured the juice into his nasal holes.
Soon, Basavaraj started vomiting and developed shortness of breath, read the report claiming that the self-administering of lemon juice through nostrils had resulted in some complications leading to his death. However, IBT did not provide any medical reports or details to prove their claim that Basavaraj had died due to the ‘Lemon Therapy’.
IBT report claiming that Basavaraj died after hearing the Lemon Therapy recommendation made by Vijay Sankeshwar.
Not just IBT, several other media groups, including News18, also put out the same misleading claims holding Vijay Sankeshwar responsible for the teacher’s death claiming that he had died after trying out the ‘Lemon Therapy’ suggested by the philanthropist.
Soon, the claim was used by the alleged fact-checkers to spread unverified information on social media platforms. Notorious fake news peddler and an accused in child harassment case – Mohammad Zubair of the Alt News jumped on to the scene to peddle misinformation against Vijay Sankeshwar by claiming that a teacher had died after self-administering lime juice through his nostrils a few days after the BJP leader had suggested the same.
Attaching a few media reports, Zubair claimed that Basavaraj had died after following Sankeshwar’s advice on the ‘Lemon Therapy’. However, he failed to submit any evidence or medical records to substantiate the claim. Further, Zubair also falsely claimed that Sankeshwar had said that administering lime juice would increase oxygen levels by 80 per cent. However, at no point in the press conference, Sankeshwar put such statistics to prove the efficacy of the therapy.
However, in reality, the family of the late teacher has denied the claims, asserting that ‘lemon therapy’ had nothing to do with the 45-year-old teacher’s death.
Did the teacher die due to Sankeshwar’s ‘Lemon Therapy’ advice? Family refutes the lies:
Following the unfortunate death of Basavaraj and the subsequent misinformation peddled by media groups targeting the BJP leader and businessman Vijay Sankeshwar, the family members of the deceased teacher have come out in public to quell the misinformation about his death.
Speaking to Vijayavani, a Kannada daily, the brother of the deceased – Mahantesh has categorically refuted the claims made by media and alleged fact-checkers, stating that his brother Basavaraj had died to low blood pressure that resulted in a heart attack.
Rejecting the news reports, Mahantesh said that the claims regarding his brother’s deaths were untrue as he died due to a heart attack and not because of self-administering lemon juice into nostrils. Expressing his anguish over fake news regarding his brother’s death, he said his family has been in deep pain after media reports peddled misinformation about Basavaraj’s death.
Mahantesh also said that his brother was mentally upset since last few days after the demise of his father due to Covid-19. He added that his brother had died even before he was admitted to the hospital.
Most importantly, the doctor of the hospital also stressed that Basavaraj had died even before reaching the hospital and contended that one could not conclude that Basavaraj died due to ‘Lemon Therapy’ as suggested by Vijay Sankeshwar. “Only a post mortem can find it,” Dr. Suresh said.
[OpIndia does not endorse Vijay Sankeshwar’s ‘Lemon Therapy’. The above report is to put out facts about the incident that has gone viral on the social media platforms since last week]
Nandigram MLA and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has said that over a lakh people have already fled Bengal since the post-poll violence erupted in West Bengal from May 2, 2021.
News18 journalist Payal Mehta shared the same on Twitter. Recounting the political violence history in Bengal, Adhikari reportedly said that such an atmosphere (of violence) was made in 2001 when CPI(M) was making an exit in the state and when TMC under Mamata Banerjee got 60 seats.
In recently concluded polls, TMC won 213 out of 292 seats while BJP won 77 seats. Suvendu Adhikari defeated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram.
He added that back then, the political violence was in some areas but this time it has spread across the state. “People of a particular community are being attacked. As Nadda ji said, the situation is similar to what happened at the time of partition,” Adhikari said.
It was reported on Tuesday that many people from Bengal have fled and reached Assam where they are being put up in shelters by state government.
Tragic exodus of people from Bengal continues!
Over 450 people, who crossed over fearing ruthless oppression in Bengal, are put up in 2 shelters in Dhubri. They're are getting relief, & also being tested for #COVID19@MamataOfficial Didi is fueling miseries of people. Shameful! pic.twitter.com/xaBztUFOri
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to dissolve all committees of its minority cell in Assam following a poor performance in the recently held assembly elections.
The decision to dissolve all the committees of the minority cell by the BJP comes after the saffron party failed to make any inroads in the minority-dominated areas in the North-eastern state. Even though the BJP registered a victory in the recently concluded Assam assembly elections by winning 60 seats, it performed badly in the minority-dominated seats in the state.
Following the poor performance, the state BJP chief Ranjit Kumar Das has dissolved the committees of the minority cells at all levels in the state.
In a statement, the state BJP President Ranjit Kumar Das said that the party performed badly in minority-dominated areas in the recently concluded Assam assembly elections.
It has been observed that the party has won fewer votes than the 20-member booth committees present in those areas. Hence, the state committee, district committee and block committees of the minority cells of BJP will be dissolved with immediate effect till further notice, the statement said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance coalition won the 2021 Assam Assembly elections with an overwhelming majority and is all set to form the government for the second consecutive time. The ruling alliance won 75 seats in the 126-member Assembly. The Congress-led “Mahajot” secured the win in only 50 seats, most of which are from minority-dominated areas. BJP lost some minority-dominated where it has won in 2016 elections, and where the incumbent MLAs were praised for the work they had done for the constituencies. But still, they lost only due to the demographics of their constituencies.
The exodus of BJP workers along with their families from West Bengal to Assam continues after the post-election violence wreaked by TMC goons. Yesterday, Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had informed that around 300-400 people had entered the Dhubri district in Assam from north Bengal by crossing the border.
Today Assam BJP president Ranjit Kumar Dass and MP Rajdeep Roy visited the camps where the refugees have been kept and distributed relief items. Rajdeep Roy informed that around 600 people from Bengal have been given shelter at a camp at Agamoni in Dhubri by the Assam BJP. He said that most of the people in the camp are children and women, and the state BJP unit is supplying them with food and essentials. He said that more such camps have been set up at other places in the district.
Relief Camp at Agamoni, #Dhubri District, where more than 600 people (primarily women and children) have been given shelter.@BJP4Assam ensuring that food and essentials are provided.
— Dr Rajdeep Roy MP ( MS, MCh) (@drrajdeeproy) May 5, 2021
Rajdeep Roy also said that all the people who have entered Assam are from Cooch Behar district in West Bengal, where BJP won 7 out of 9 assembly seats. “Can only imagine the condition of the districts where TMC has majority seats. This is what Mamata has reduced Bengal to. Deplorable!” he added.
BJP leader and Cabinet Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also informed that BJP workers continue to flee West Bengal and cross over to Dhubri due to the violence by TMC workers.
Calling the event a ‘tragic exodus’, Sarma in his Tweet said, “Tragic exodus of people from Bengal continues! Over 450 people, who crossed over fearing ruthless oppression in Bengal, are put up in 2 shelters in Dhubri. They’re are getting relief, & also being tested for #COVID19. @MamataOfficial Didi is fueling miseries of people. Shameful!”
Tragic exodus of people from Bengal continues!
Over 450 people, who crossed over fearing ruthless oppression in Bengal, are put up in 2 shelters in Dhubri. They’re are getting relief, & also being tested for #COVID19@MamataOfficial Didi is fueling miseries of people. Shameful! pic.twitter.com/xaBztUFOri
The Assam government has provided temporary aid to the party workers and villagers in Dhubri. The government has also set up a centre for Covid-19 testing as the unfortunate exodus is taking place amidst the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Assam BJP president Ranjit Kumar Dass also tweeted that “hundreds of BJP Karyakartas from Bengal have moved to Dhubri, Assam in fear of their lives.” He added in another tweet, “I strongly condemn this cowardly attack. Mamata Banerjee should take quick action to stop such uncivilized activities.” He said that they can live in Assam as long as they don’t feel safe in returning to West Bengal.
I strongly condemn this cowardly attack. Mamata Banerjee should take quick action to stop such uncivilized activities. pic.twitter.com/NY8zaOpi1f
One of the persons who fled to Assam told reporters that they were forced to flee after they were attacked by TMC workers. He said that they were beaten by the TMC goons, their women molested, the houses demolished, and their properties and livestock were looted. He said that they had to flee to protect their lives and the honours of their mothers and sisters.
Dhubri district administration officials have said that they have informed the Cooch Behar district administration about the development. They have said that when someone fears for their lives, they will flee to a place where they feel safe, and therefore the district admin is providing them shelter to stay in Assam for the time being.
Soon after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) surpassed the BJP in Vidhan Sabha elections, the goons of the ruling dispensation unleashed violence against their political opponents. One worker, Avijit Sarkar, was murdered soon after he posted a video on Facebook speaking about the attack at his home.
Multiple videos have also come forward that shows that a spate of looting, arson, and violence has erupted in the state. The MHA has also asked the state government to submit a report on the post-poll violence targeting political opponents.
The violence doesn’t come as a shock as Mamata Banerjee’s speeches were laced with hints of violence and provocation. From labeling the central forces as a BJP unit to ordering the supporters to ‘gherao CRPF’, Banerjee did not shy away from promoting violence.
The pre-poll phase too was marked by targeted and repeated violence with the state witnessing the silent killing of dozens of BJP karyakartas allegedly by the TMC goons.
The BJP to protest against the killings in West Bengal, organized a silent dharna all over India as Mamata Banerjee took oath for the third time as West Bengal Chief Minister.
