Home Blog Page 4261

Adar Poonawalla says Covishied production is in full swing, will return to India in a few days after meeting in UK

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Adar Poonawalla says Covishied production is in full swing, will return to India in a few days after meeting in UK

The CEO of Serum Institute of India Adar Poonawalla assured that the production of Covishield in Pune is in full swing and that he shall be reviewing the operations upon his return to India after having to leave the country for security purposes.

Adar Poonawalla took to Twitter to share the latest update on his meeting with the stakeholders in the UK and production of Covishield. His Tweet read, “Had an excellent meeting with all our partners & stakeholders in the U.K. Meanwhile, pleased to state that COVISHIELD’s production is in full swing in Pune. I look forward to reviewing operations upon my return in a few days.”

The update comes after Adar Poonawalla’s exit from India on ‘facing threats from most powerful men in India, chief ministers of Indian states, heads of business conglomerates and other influential people.’

What started with exchanging pleasantries took a different route into pressurising and intimidating to provide vaccines on priority informed Poonawalla. 

“Threats is an understatement. The level of expectations and aggression is really unprecedented. It’s overwhelming. Everyone feels they should get the vaccine. They can’t understand why anyone else should get it before them,” Poonawalla reportedly said to The Times.

He further added, “I’m staying here (Britain) extended times because I don’t want to go back to that situation. Everything falls on my shoulders but I can’t do it alone…I don’t want to be in a situation where you are trying to do your job, and just because you can’t supply the needs of X, Y and Z you really don’t want to guess what they are going to do.”

Adar Poonawalla given additional security

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had provided Poonawalla Y category security comprising 11 personnel, including one or two commandos and police personnel. The centre’s decision had come after Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, at the Serum Institute, Prakash Kumar Singh wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on April 16 requesting security for Poonawalla.

SII announces reduction in price

The Serum Institute of India on Wednesday had announced a reduction of 25 percent in the price of the vaccine for the states. 

Poonawalla in his Tweet stated that the price reduction will enable state governments to save crores and will also encourage more vaccinations, thereby saving countless lives.

As Arvind Kejriwal plays politics, doctors of Batra Hospital, where 12 died due to lack of oxygen, question Delhi govt: Read details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
As Arvind Kejriwal plays politics, doctors of Batra Hospital, where 12 died due to lack of oxygen, question Delhi govt: Read details

Another disaster struck Delhi earlier today when at least 12 people lost their lives in Batra Hospital in Mehrauli. According to hospital authorities, the deaths were a direct result of the shortage of oxygen in the hospital.

It is pertinent to note that Batra Hospital had started raising alarm regarding the shortage of oxygen since Saturday afternoon, and not much after, the news of the hospital running out of oxygen and the subsequent deaths were reported.

The executive director of Batra Hospital released a video that was reported by NDTV at 1:00 PM. In the video, he was heard saying that they had run out of oxygen and were surviving on some oxygen cylinders. He said that the Delhi government was trying to help them out but it was believed that the oxygen tanker was far away. He said that they had oxygen reserve only for the next 10 minutes.

Almost immediately, just as NDTV tweeted, AAP MLA Raghav Chadha tweeted that the oxygen was reaching the hospital in the next 5 minutes. Raghav Chadha had tweeted at about 1:16 PM.

However, Raghav Chadha’s promise of oxygen reaching the hospital within 5 minutes seems to have been an empty promise. The oxygen did not reach the hospital and in the next 2 hours, news surfaced that 12 people have lost their lives due to oxygen shortage.

As soon as the news surfaced, Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, took to Twitter to play politics over the death of 12 people. He pushed the blame onto the centre for not providing oxygen to Delhi.

While AAP played politics and pushed the blame onto the Modi government, a video has now surfaced where a doctor of Batra Hospital spoke on news channel News 24 where he pinned the blame of the deaths and the oxygen shortage squarely on the Arvind Kejriwal government.

In the video, the doctor reveals that the SOS calls for oxygen were being made by the hospital since 7 AM on Saturday to nodal officers. When asked which government officials he is talking about and whether the hospital was in touch with the AAP government in Delhi or the central government, the doctor squarely says that the hospital has no contact with the central government and they were in touch with officials of the Arvind Kejriwal government.

He reiterates that health is a state subject of the Delhi government and says that private hospitals in Delhi are governed and led by the Arvind Kejriwal government at the state level and not the central government. He says that it has been 14 months since the COVID-19 pandemic started and from the beginning, it was known that oxygen is a requirement for COVID-19 treatment.

He, in the duration of the discussion, questions the Kejriwal government and asks that in the 14 months, how much has the Delhi government tried to increase the production of oxygen. The doctor says that whatever oxygen was made available to the Delhi government, it was their responsibility to ensure that the oxygen is transported effectively to the hospitals that need it, however, that was not done.

He then appealed the government to stop the fighting and Delhi needs to become “atmanirbhar” and start building plants that can produce oxygen for Delhi itself.

While the Delhi government, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, have tried their hardest to blame the Modi government, Batra hospital officials are placing the blame of the deaths squarely on the Delhi government.

2.4 lakh doses of Covaxin abandoned in a truck for 12 hours safe as refrigerator was running, transport company arranges replacement driver

OpIndia Staff
-
0
2.4 lakh doses of Covaxin abandoned in a truck for 12 hours safe as refrigerator was running, transport company arranges replacement driver

A truck containing 2.40 lakh doses of Bharat Biotech-made Covaxin was found abandoned for nearly 12 hours after its driver went missing under mysterious circumstances in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghapur district on Saturday. It is estimated that the truck carried vaccines worth Rs 8 crores.

The matter came to light when the police were informed about a truck with the name Bharat Biotech written on it parked for over 12 hours near the Kareli bus stand, about 16 km from the district headquarters. According to Narsinghpur superintendent of police Vipul Shrivastava, the police found that the Tamil-Nadu registered truck was lying abandoned in the parking and the driver was missing.

On inspection, the police officials found that the truck was carrying the much sought-after COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, which is manufactured by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech. Police found that the engine of the vehicle was running, and as a result the refrigerator on the truck was also running, therefore it was assumed that the vaccine doses were safe.

“As the engine of the vehicle was on, its refrigerator with vaccine doses was functioning. So, I feel that vaccines were safe,” Shrivastava said.

The police contacted the transport company TCI of Gurgaon and informed them about the driverless truck. The company said that they were also worried that they couldn’t contact the driver after finding out that the GPS system showed that the vehicle remained stationary at Kareli for a long time.

The company then arranged a new driver to fulfil the delivery order. The truck left for Karnal on Friday evening at around 8 pm.

Meanwhile, the police are yet to ascertain the whereabouts of the driver Vikas Mishra, who had gone missing after parking the truck at the roadside. The phone of the driver was found at a place 16 km from the spot.

When Shrivastava was asked if the area was prone to truck robberies, he denied saying road robberies are almost negligible in the region.

The police official further said the circumstantial evidence hint that the truck was not robbed. He also added that efforts are underway to track down the driver, who is in his early 20s and is from Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.

Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha justifies Sharjeel Usmani’s hateful rant following Rohit Sardana’s death

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha justifies Sharjeel Usmani’s hateful rant following Rohit Sardana’s death

Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha on Saturday justified Sharjeel Usmani celebrating the death of Rohit Sardana in a note shared through his Twitter account. Pratik Sinha claimed that those criticising Usmani were doing so from a position of ‘privilege’.

Sharjeel Usmani, moments after the news of the Aaj Tak anchor’s death broke out, called him a ‘sociopath’, ‘genocide enabler’ and ‘pathological liar’.

Source: Twitter

“The tweets attacking Usmani were not countering him on facts, but were still declaring him as a horrible human, some even claiming that he was celebrating Sardana’s death. Based on my understanding of English, Usmani was not celebrating Sardana’s death, he was characterising his body of work, said Pratik Sinha.

The Alt News co-founder was ‘factually correct’ in his assessment of Rohit Sardana and accused him of peddling a ‘dangerous narrative’ through his reporting. He also accused Sardana of orchestrating ‘media trials’ for refusing to bend his knee to the liberal agenda.

“Those who attacked Usmani did so from a position of privilege,” said Sinha justifying Usmani’s hate-filled rant.

Sharjeel Usmani was not the only one celebrating Sardana’s death on Friday. Columnist at ThePrint Zainab Sikander, one Times of India journalist, another at The Indian Express and numerous Islamists made hate-filled rants on the occasion as well. And now we have the luminaries of the liberal ‘intelligentsia’ justifying such hate-mongering.

While India battles the second wave of Coronavirus, here is a list of 10 covidiots who mocked India’s vaccination drive

OpIndia Staff
-
0
While India battles the second wave of Coronavirus, here is a list of 10 covidiots who mocked India’s vaccination drive

India is currently battling the 2nd wave of the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. As of May 1, the country has reported 32.68 lac active cases and a total of 2.11 fatalities. Amidst the rising cases, we have witnessed how the left-liberal lobby has resorted to vulture politics to attack the current political dispensation at the Centre. Even when the number of active cases was low, the vicious lobby tried to derail the government’s vaccination drive.

Prominent political leaders, businessmen, lawyers, and journalists led a nefarious online campaign to create panic and cast aspersions about the efficacy of the Coronavirus vaccine. While some opposed vaccination programme to turn around their political fortunes, others targetted the vaccine manufacturers in a bid to demoralise them. In a Twitter thread, popular Twitter user ‘Yo-Yo Funny Singh’ shared a list of 10 ‘covidiots’ and ‘vaccine naysayers’ who have done a disservice to India and humanity in general.

In January this year, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav dragged politics into the much-needed vaccination drive in the country. Saying that he cannot trust ‘BJP’s vaccine’, Akhilesh Yadav tried to create panic in the society. He claimed that he would only get vaccinated when his government is after the next election. He had also promised to give free vaccines to all.

He said, “I am not going to get vaccinated for now. How can I trust BJP’s vaccine, when our government will be formed everyone will get free vaccine. We cannot take BJP’s vaccine.” Later, he took a U-turn and said, “Vaccination against coronavirus is a sensitive process. As such, the BJP must refrain from making it a show-off event and conduct the programme only after necessary arrangements for the same are done.”

On January 6, ‘rebel’ News24 journalist Sandeep Chaudhary claimed on air that he would not get vaccinated against Coronavirus with the Covaxin manufactured by Bharat Biotech. “I will not take the vaccine until the efficacy and third-phase trial is conducted. I am still a proud Indian.”

On April 28, the sceptical journalist took a sharp U-turn and said that doctor’s assistance is a crucial element supposedly guaranteed under Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty) of the Indian Constitution. Chaudhary, who was earlier seen snubbing a guest for asking him to undergo vaccination, cried foul over not being vaccinated free of cost. “Why should I be denied vaccination and not administered it free of cost? Why vaccine prices are different,” he inquired.

Cartoonist Satish Acharya had been one of the leading anti-vaxxers. Through his cartoons, he had been mocking the ongoing vaccination drive and the efficacy of the Coronavirus vaccines. His cartoons could have possibly given the impression to his followers that the vaccines are unsafe. However, as India witnessed rising Coronavirus cases amidst the 2nd wave, the cartoonist was quick to get vaccinated. He had even uploaded a picture of himself being administered the first vaccine dose.

Prominent Congress leader Manish Tewari was not far behind in joining the bandwagon of anti-vaxxers, just to oppose the vaccination programme initiated by the Modi government. In early January, he had asked, “Who is going to get himself vaccinated with a vaccine where there are question marks over its reliability?”

Besides casting aspersions about the vaccine, he had also blamed the Centre for using the pandemic to further its supposed ‘dictatorial agenda’. Tewari also claimed that it was PM Modi’s quest to prove ‘self-reliance’ that they approved the emergency use of the Covaxin vaccine.

Congress loyalist and businessman Rajiv Bajaj had also turned an ‘health expert’ amidst the pandemic. In an interview with the left-propagandist channel NDTV, he suggested that those with health complications must refrain from receiving the Coronavirus vaccine.

Following his sweeping medical advice, Rajiv Bajaj also claimed that he adhered to a middle ground on the vaccine controversy. He said that he was neither pro-vaccine nor anti-vaccine and that people must ask themselves whether they should get vaccinated against the Coronavirus infection at all.

Lawyer-turned-activist Prashant Bhushan had discouraged the Indian government in early February for procuring the Covershield vaccine from a private company, the Serum Institute of India (SII). He had blamed the government for supposedly splurging ₹35,000 crore funds for Coronavirus vaccines at a time when the pandemic is ‘naturally dying down in India.’ He had also cast aspersions about the efficacy of the vaccines and alleged that the public is being kept in darkness about it.

The other Covidiots in the list focussed primarily on targeting Covaxin, the same indigenous vaccine that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was administered. It must be mentioned that Covaxin was only allowed for ’emergency use’ initially. However, Shashi Tharoor saw an opportunity to trivialise the vaccination programme altogether.

In a tweet, he had claimed, “The Covaxin has not yet had Phase 3 trials. Approval was premature and could be dangerous. Dr. Harshvardhan should please clarify. Its use should be avoided till full trials are over. India can start with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the meantime,” Shashi Tharoor had tweeted on January 3.

Chhattisgarh health Minister TS Singh Deo had also tweeted, “We do not support the use of #COVAXIN in the vaccination process in Chhattisgarh for one simple reason – It is NOT SAFE to use any vaccine unless it has completed the recommended testing process with absolute authentication and success.”

Although he claimed to be proud of ‘Bharat Biotech’, he further added, “Rushing into general use before trials are complete will set a precedent where other companies will seek emergency use authorisation before completing mandated trials. This may also jeopardise the valuable lives and health of our citizens.”

Self-proclaimed ‘journalist’ Swati Chaturvedi had also expressed her ‘zero faith’ in Bharat Biotech vaccine. She had also hinted at a possible ‘corporate nexus’ between Bharat Biotech and the Indian government, besides vowing to not receive the Covaxin vaccine.

Lastly, left-propagandist portal The Print published outrageous articles to create widespread fear and panic among the masses about Covaxin and the vaccination drive in general. From calling the DGCA’s approval of Covaxin for emergency use as a ‘political jumla’ to discovering non-existent regulatory pitfalls, The Print too left no stone unturned in its nefarious pursuit.

Despite the collective effort of all vaccine naysayers and Covidiots, India has vaccinated a whopping 27 lac people on May 1 itself. The vaccination drive, which was carried out in phases, has so far administered 15.49 crore doses. While the left-liberal lobby tried to fearmonger and create widespread hysteria, Indian citizens responded positively to the government’s call to get vaccinated. India’s fight against the Wuhan Coronavirus is far from over but the country is resisting the virus and the vicious forces with all its power and might.

AAP’s Sanjay Singh tries to teach Islamists true Islam, gets schooled by Islamist

K Bhattacharjee
-
0
AAP’s Sanjay Singh tries to teach Islamists true Islam, gets schooled by Islamist

Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday attempted to teach ‘true Islam’ to Sharjeel Usmani after the Newslaundry columnist celebrated the death of Aaj Tak news anchor Rohit Sardana. He recounted a story of how the prophet of Islam had responded with kindness to a woman who had earlier thrown garbage at him.

In his response, Sanjay Singh tried hard to pretend that he knew and understood Islam better than the Islamic fundamentalists, going overboard with the honorifics used for the prophet. It is hard to know precisely what he was looking to achieve with his comment apart from affirming his uber-secular credentials but the responses he received confirmed what common sense would have us believe.

Source: Twitter

“Do not try to teach Islamic fundamentalists the true meaning of Islam. Chances are, they are far more knowledgeable on the matter than you are.” One Abdul Raziq shot back at Singh over his comments. He said that there is no mention of an incident such as the one cited by Sanjay Singh and the story was merely a figment of imagination.

Raziq rebuked Singh and said that he should study the scriptures first before issuing sermons. “Muslims do not need any certificate from you,” said Raziq. The reply would surely classify as a ‘befitting reply’ in some Islamist media.

The interaction, however, does carry an important lesson for liberals. The overwhelming chances are that Islamic fundamentalists are much better versed with Islamic scriptures than liberals themselves. Therefore, it is only common sense that one refrains from preaching sermons to the devout.

ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had a PhD degree in Islamic studies and he is only just one example. We have numerous examples of Maulanas and Maulvis in India which preach hatred all the time. Do liberals plan to teach Saudi Arabia ‘true Islam’? Or maybe, Pakistan or Iran? It is bizarre to assume that they know more about Islam than the Islamic states themselves.

Weirdly enough, liberals appear to be of the opinion that all religions preach liberalism. Whatever be the main liberal political issue of the time, they will claim that all religions support that position. Be it abortion, homosexuality or feminism, according to liberals, the true message of all religions is always somehow the one liberals want it to be.

And as it so happens, even reputed Islamic scholars have said that the story does not have any basis in reality.

It is well past time for liberals to wake up and smell the coffee. The vision of Islam that they have in their head is starkly different from the one that exists in reality. And despite their numerous incantations of the sort that Sanjay Singh made, the fact remains that there are not enough takers of it among the Muslim community. Even so, it is only to be expected that the AAP leader will not learn the lesson that he should from the interaction.

It is also to be noted here that Islamists on social media, while justifying the celebrations over Sardana’s death, slammed liberals as well. According to them, liberals should have been okay with them celebrating the death of someone they accuse of being a ‘genocide enabler’.

All this time, liberals have made numerous overtures to Islamists, helped mainstream them, compromised on liberal principles in order to build an alliance with them and it was only the celebration of someone’s death did liberals draw the line.

And yet, the immediate response from their Islamist allies was not understanding and compromise but strong rebuke. It tells one everything they need to know about the nexus of Islamists and liberals and the power balance that exists between the two.

Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla hints at starting vaccine production outside India, says he temporarily moved to UK due to threats from the powerful

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla hints at starting vaccine production outside India, says he temporarily moved to UK due to threats from the powerful

Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India, which manufactures the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine known as Covishield in India, has hinted that he is planning to start vaccine production in other countries as it struggles to meet supply commitments. Poonawalla made the revelation in an interview with The Times.

When asked if Poonawalla is looking at Britain as one of the destinations for augmenting his vaccine production, he responded: “There’s going to be an announcement in the next few days.”

However, it is widely believed that Britain could be one of the countries where Serum Institute of India could start its vaccine production outside India. Lord Udny-Lister, who was until recently one of the top aides of British PM Boris Johnson, visited the Serum Institute of India in March. Johnson was also scheduled to visit the institute on his cancelled trip to India this week.

Poonawalla last week said that he would be able to increase the monthly vaccine production capacity to 100 million doses by July this year, which is a month late than his earlier timeline of May-end. This could throw a curveball into India’s vaccination drive as it ushers in the phase 4 inoculation where people above 18 years of age can get vaccinated.

He hoped to increase the Serum Institute’s production capacity from 2.5 billion to 3 billion doses a year within six months, the Times reported.

Poonawalla reveals threats he received from powerful people who demanded him urgent supplies of Covishield

Poonawalla flew to London to join his wife and two children hours before Britain banned travellers from India eight days ago. Besides business, the reason that prompted Poonawalla to leave India was the incessant and menacing threats he had to endure from those who pressurise and intimidate him to provide them with vaccines.

He says he has been receiving calls from the most powerful men in India, chief ministers of Indian states, heads of business conglomerates and other influential people who are demanding him of providing them with vaccines even as his organisation is working round the clock to fulfil the vaccine demand.

“Threats is an understatement. The level of expectations and aggression is really unprecedented. It’s overwhelming. Everyone feels they should get the vaccine. They can’t understand why anyone else should get it before them,” Poonawalla reportedly said to The Times.

Poonawalla explained the calls he receives normally start with exchanging pleasantries before it drifts in a “very different direction”. “They are saying if you don’t give us the vaccine, it’s not going to be good…It’s not the foul language, it’s the tone. It’s the implication of what they might do if I don’t comply. It’s taking control,” he said.

He further added, “I’m staying here (Britain) extended times because I don’t want to go back to that situation. Everything falls on my shoulders but I can’t do it alone…I don’t want to be in a situation where you are trying to do your job, and just because you can’t supply the needs of X, Y and Z you really don’t want to guess what they are going to do.”

Adar Poonawalla given Y category security cover

Due to the threats the SII CEO is receiving, the union home ministry on Wednesday had announced that he will be provided with Y category security cover. The ‘Y’ category security comprises 11 personnel, including one or two commandoes and police personnel.

The centre’s decision had come after Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, at the Serum Institute, Prakash Kumar Singh wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on April 16 requesting security for Poonawalla. In the letter, Singh had stated that Poonawalla has been getting threats from various groups regarding the COVID-19 vaccine supplies.

Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, attack Adar Poonawalla and accuse him of “profiteering” from the pandemic

It is pertinent to note that Congress leaders, spurred by their former president Rahul Gandhi, have been relentlessly attacking Adar Poonawalla, for a host of reasons—for procuring the supply of vaccines for their respective states to the cost of the vaccine. A high-voltage campaign was run against Serum Institute of India after it announced prices for its vaccine for the state governments and private hospitals.

SII had announced Rs 400 per dose for the state governments and Rs 600 for private hospitals. However, many state governments, mostly Congress-ruled states and senior Congress leaders started vilifying Adar Poonawalla and the Serum Institute of India, painting them as money-grubbers who were profiteering from a pandemic.

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was amongst the politicians who led the attack against the Serum Institute of India and its CEO Adar Poonawalla. He described Adar as PM Modi’s friend. In a tweet attaching SII’s vaccine rates for the state governments and private hospitals announced by the company, he implied that the Centre is supporting a few companies to ‘earn profits’.

Mr Gandhi’s attack against Adar was in line with his unwarranted vilification of Reliance and Adani Group, accusing them of profiteering because of being supposedly close to PM Modi. It is noteworthy to mention that Reliance and Adani group are at the forefront of India’s fight against the resurgent wave of the coronavirus outbreak, with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited being the largest producer of medicinal oxygen in the country. It has so far donated 15,000 MT of oxygen to about 15 lakh patients in the country.

Nevertheless, Rahul’s tendency to attack businessmen in India continues unabated. Following the outrage, the Serum Institute of India reduced its vaccines price from Rs 400 per dose, which was already among the lowest in the world, to Rs 300 per dose.

Clearing the accusation of “profiteering” that was levelled against the SII, Poonawalla told The Times that the allegations were “totally incorrect”. He says the centre was able to buy the vaccine at Rs 150 per dose because it was buying in advance. He says the company will make money from the higher prices charged to state governments and private hospitals but insists Covishield will still be the “most affordable vaccine in the world”.

Donald Trump mocks Twitter after stocks stumble 15%, slams them for silencing free speech: Details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Donald Trump mocks Twitter after stocks stumble 15%, slams them for silencing free speech: Details

Former US President Donald Trump has issued a statement, scorning the social media giant, Twitter, after its share prices tumbled by nearly 15.16 per cent following the Friday market trade.

“Twitter stock plunged as results are no longer cutting it for investors. Shares are off 15% today. Bad forecasts are hurting the outlook but more importantly, in my opinion, it has become totally BORING as people flock to leave the site”, said Trump in his statement adding that this was the price the social media giant was probably having to pay for stifling free speech.

“I guess that’s what happens when you go against FREEDOM OF SPEECH! It will happen to others also,” Trump said in a statement released by his office in Florida.

According to reports, Twitter Inc.’s share prices fell by almost 15.16 per cent on Friday to $55.22, wiping out nearly all of its 2021 gains. This was a second-day fall as Twitter’s stock was down nearly 10 per cent in after-hours trading on Thursday as well as the company issued weak second-quarter guidance on revenue growth.

Twitter stocks

Though such fluctuations in stock prices are quite normal, the only fathomable reason behind Trump’s exuberance at the stumbling stock prices of Twitter is his vexation about being permanently banned by the social media giant.

Twitter permanently suspends Donald Trump

On January 9, Twitter had permanently banned Trump’s personal account (@realdonaldtrump). This move came two days after Twitter censored the then incumbent US President Donald Trump for 12 hours, amidst the violent protests in US Capitol Hill.

“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter had said.

Leaders across the world had condemned the manner in which Trump’s account was suspended by the platform. 

Interestingly, then too, Twitter had seen a steep fall in the price of its stocks.

‘Send tankers, will send 20 MT oxygen daily to Delhi’: Himanta Biswa Sarma to AAP founder who tried to find holes in Assam’s oxygen production numbers

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘Send tankers, will send 20 MT oxygen daily to Delhi’: Himanta Biswa Sarma to AAP founder who tried to find holes in Assam’s oxygen production numbers

Assam health, education, finance and PWD minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that he can deliver 20 MT of oxygen per day to Delhi, if the Delhi govt sends tankers to pick it up. The NEDA convenor was responding to AAP Founder & National Council member Rajesh Sharma on Twitter, who was trying to find holes in the claims of oxygen availability in Assam made by the Assam minister.

The argument started when one AAP leader from Assam named Dr Bhaben Choudhury said that there is no vaccine available at Guwahati Medical College Hospital. He sposted a screenshot of the Arogya Setu app, and said that it is showing no vaccine slots available when Himanta Biswa Sarma has claimed that 5 lakh doses are available.

This tweet reached the AAP founder, and said that while Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed about installation of 5 oxygen plants in Assam, people of Assam don’t know about a single one. He also repeated the claims of Choudhury on vaccines, and tagged the Twitter handle of Sarma.

To this, the Assam health minister responded with the details of new oxygen plants installed in the state, saying that 3 oxygen plants in Guwahati Medical College Hospital, 2 in Assam Medical College Hospital in Dibrugarh, 2 in Jorhat Medical College Hospital, and one each in the Medical College Hospitals in Diphu, Tezpur and Barpeta, and 1 in the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury hospital has been installed. He also added that 3 private sector plants in Samuguri, Bongaigaon and Amingaon are there.

“What kind of proof you want? Please tell me. At least I am not Arvind Kejriwal”, Sarma challenged Sharma.

The AAP leader thought that he found a great hole in the claims of the Assam minister, as he is only talking about PSA oxygen generators installed in the hospitals. He said that these plants are not even capable to refill oxygen cylinders of ambulances. “You are health minister of Assam for last 20 years”, Rajesh Sharma added, implying that Himanta Biswa Sarma knows nothing about oxygen plants despite being the health minister for so long.

However, Rajesh Sharma was misinformed, because although the BJP leader mentioned the new PSA plants installed in the hospitals in Assam, the fact is that Assam already has industrial oxygen generation plants that produce liquid oxygen, and many more are coming up in the next few weeks, which can be filled into cylinders. Himanta Sarma said that the state has 4 such plants producing 42 MT more than the current demand in the state, and he can send 20 MT per day to Delhi as of now. “Send your tankers and I will refill the tankers. My promise”, he added.

After this open offer, Rajesh Sharma was forced to change tune after this offer from the minister, and responded that Delhi does not have cryogenic tankers as it is not an industrial state. So he requested Sarma to arrange the tankers too, saying it will be a great help for the people of Delhi.

Responding to Himanta Biswa Sarma saying that he is not Arvind Kejriwal, Rajesh Sharma said that he can’t be Kejriwal, who has “revolutionized whole education & health system in Delhi in just 7 years”. Himanta Sarma questioned what kind of revolution the Delhi CM has done in the health system, citing the present Covid-19 situation in the city-state. “We don’t want that time of revolution in Assam”, he said. He also invited Rajesh Sharma to vising Assam to see the plants if has any courage.

While the AAP leaders try to mock other states on the oxygen situation when the state under its rule is facing the most severe shortage of the gas, Assam govt has taken several steps to ensure that adequate oxygen is available in case Covid-19 cases surge in the state. There are four existing oxygen generation plants in the private sector in Assam, and in recent weeks, the state govt has made arrangements for the supply of oxygen from several other plants. Some plants which were not used for years are being revived, apart from installing PSA plants in the hospitals.

The Assam govt has also signed an MoU with a plant in Dimapur to source oxygen, which was operating only 2 days a week due to low demand in Nagaland. Now the plant will run 7 days a week, and Assam will get oxygen on 5 days. Apart from this, Assam will also get 40 MT oxygen from a plant in Bhutan which is being set up two private companies from Assam and Bhutan. The work on the plant was stalled due to lockdown in the Himalayan nation, but it has been resumed after the MEA talked to Bhutan govt on the request of Assam govt.

NIA refuses to entertain petition by Urban Naxal Rona Wilson based on ‘forensic report’ which was picked up by WaPo to exonerate him

OpIndia Staff
-
0
NIA refuses to entertain petition by Urban Naxal Rona Wilson based on ‘forensic report’ which was picked up by WaPo to exonerate him

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has opposed the plea filed by Bhima Koregaon case accused Rona Wilson before the Bombay High Court seeking quashing of the charge sheet filed against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence of 2018. While opposing Wilson’s plea NIA stated that the allegations levelled by the former against the central probe agency of “planting fake evidence” on his laptop were “uncalled for”.

Last week, the Bombay High Court had directed the National Investigating Agency (NIA) to file its reply on or before April 29 and had posted the matter for consideration on that day. Though the matter did not reach and therefore stood adjourned to May 4 2021, NIA filed its reply opposing the plea.

“The forensic report by Arsenal Consulting, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm, cited by Bhima Koregaon accused Rona Wilson to claim innocence, is not part of the charge sheet and cannot, therefore, be relied upon by the accused to seek quashing of charge sheet”, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) told the Bombay High Court while it opposed the interim relief to Wilson.

Vikram Khalate, Superintendent of Police, National Investigation Agency (NIA) had filed a 14-page reply before the Bombay High Court in which he said: “If at all the petitioner, Rona Wilson has any case, the same will be definitely looked into at the time of trial by the trial court and as such the present writ petition is not maintainable.”

The central agency had filed an affidavit in Bombay High Court in reply to Wilson’s writ petition filed in February, in which Wilson referred to a report by Arsenal Consulting to seek innocence. By citing the ‘forensic report’ Wilson contended that he was framed.

Rona Wilson approaches Bombay HC, cites dubious ‘forensic report’ to quash case against him

In February, Rona Wilson, the Urban Naxal had approached the Bombay high court seeking directions to appoint a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge and consisting of experts in digital forensic analysis to probe the alleged planting of documents on his computer by using malware.

Till the pendency of the plea in the high court, Wilson had sought a stay on the proceedings in the charge sheet pending before the Special NIA Court and also pleaded for his immediate release from detention.

The ‘forensic report’ gave a clean chit to Urban Naxal Rona Wilson

The referred ‘forensic report’ by Arsenal Consulting had claimed that Wilson’s laptop was hacked using malicious emails. Arsenal claims to have recovered PDF files in a hidden folder in the laptop, which contained the letters that became part of the charge sheet against Wilson. According to police, the email letters show that Wilson was in contact with a top Maoist leader named Comrade Prakash, and he had sought guns and ammunition from the banned left-wing terror group and had also urged them to assassinate PM Modi.

However, the alleged forensic study by Arsenal Consulting claimed that Rona didn’t write these letters, and these were planted by hackers during a course of 22 months between 2016 and 2018.

How the ‘forensic report’ was used by the leftist cabal to exonerate Wilson

It is pertinent to note that here that it was Washington Post that immediately picked up the dubious forensic analysis to exonerate Rona Wilson. And as expected, this Washington Post report was subsequently carried by several Indian media houses, and it was shared widely by left liberals in India, claiming that it proves how the entire case against urban Naxals is baseless.

Besides, people like the notorious billionaire George Soros and the Canadian government, which has been fomenting trouble in India and backing Khalistani terrorists that undermine the sovereignty of India, had also rallied behind this dubious forensic analysis to absolve Wilson.

While the left-liberal cabal wanted everyone to believe that the report was the absolute truth, unfortunately, there were several anomalies in Arsenal Consulting’s ‘forensic analysis’ that we too reported on. 

1...4,2604,2614,262...7,579Page 4,261 of 7,579