OpIndia columnist Abhishek Banerjee is the new target of Congress trolls and ‘journalists’. He is being targeted because for some inexplicable reasons, they have confused him for Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee. Anyone with the reading faculties of a 5 year old would have realised that there is a difference between Abhijit and Abhishek but not Congress sympathisers.
OpIndia did not claim anywhere that Abhishek Banerjee is a Nobel laureate and we cannot comprehend why they would drag in OpIndia over the matter if not for their morbid hatred. Nonetheless, the article they are outraging over was published on News18.
Congress sympathisers demonstrate their stellar reading abilities
In the said article, Abhishek Banerjee argued how data could be tortured enough to reach a desired conclusion. Towards that end, he highlighted multiple facts about the reality of the Covid-19 pandemic in India. The article was published on the 17th of April, 2021.
Banerjee states in his article, “In this forest, the data snipers will thrive. Because it is only too simple to pick up say state-level data from somewhere along with some metric and tell you how bad things are. Then, you can pick up another metric and maybe country-level data from somewhere else and reinforce the same feeling of hopelessness.”
He drives home his point describing how New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden became a sensation through her management of the Covid-19 pandemic but has managed to vaccinate only 2 per cent of the population in her country as compared to 7 per cent in India. He says that the comparison does not make sense because the population of India is vastly larger and that’s precisely why her management of the pandemic should not be compared to India’s as well.
Similarly, the article mentions that on the 16th of April, France recorded 400 Covid-19 deaths and Germany recorded 250. Factoring India’s population which is 20 times larger than France’s, it would take 8000 deaths for India to be considered on the same level as France. But India is seeing vastly fewer deaths.
On vaccination, he wrote, “In both France and Germany, around 16 per cent of people have received at least one dose of vaccine. While there is much to be desired regarding vaccine distribution in India so far, the numbers from India’s western states are definitely in the same ballpark as Western Europe. Rajasthan, which has a population of around 7 crore, has administered 1 crore doses as well, or roughly 14 per cent. The country of Italy also has a population of around 7 crore and has reached a coverage of around 17 per cent. While 14 per cent is less than 17 per cent, it is again in the same range. Did we mention that the World Health Organization had designated France as having the best healthcare system in the world, followed by Italy?”
Abhishek Banerjee concludes, “How has India fared during COVID-19? The pandemic hit us hard, because it hit us where we were weakest of all, in healthcare. But we made it through the first wave. Like everywhere else in the world, there were surprises, a lot of driving blind and getting blindsided. When you fix any state or country and compare on all metrics, India’s numbers look fair enough. There isn’t a model out there yet for stopping the pandemic, at least not in any free country.”
“If it did, the West would not be dealing with second or third waves. Our economy suffered heavily in one quarter, but it recovered smartly and ultimately our GDP contraction for the whole year was less than that suffered by countries with advanced healthcare systems. As of now, India is running the world’s biggest vaccination programme. We are giving more vaccine jabs a day than most European countries give in a week. And absolute numbers matter,” he added.
The overarching argument Banerjee makes is that when it comes to vaccination, critics are using percentage of the whole population as a metric but when it comes to Covid-19 cases and deaths, the same people are using absolute numbers. This is by design as the whole objective from the very beginning is to paint India in poor light.
For instance, the USA has 1,762 Covid-19 deaths per million population, France has 1,573, the United Kingdom has 1,869, Italy has 1,974, Spain has 1,659, Germany has 979, the Netherlands has 993 and Canada has 630 deaths per million population (Worldometer data). The same number for India is 140.
Note: Abhishek Banerjee’s article was published on News18 on the 17th of April. Therefore all data quoted in his article is reflective of that time period.
Perhaps the biggest bane afflicting the Congress party is not the leadership crisis in its ranks but a raft of low-IQ sycophant supporters that form a loyal support base of the party. To a great extent, these half-witted supporters, and their leaders who complement them with their equally low-IQ, are the reason why Congress has been reduced to an inconsequential political party from once being a force to reckon with.
Recently, one such low-IQ Congress supporter who goes by the name Nikhil J Alwa, who was accused of sexual harassment and reportedly takes care of Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter handle, took to Twitter to mount an attack against OpIndia. However, in doing so, he exposed his own stupidity and embarrassed himself.
In a Twitter post, Alwa sounded a fake news alert while sharing a picture of a Whatsapp forward that contained a link to a News18 article talking about India’s management of the COVID crisis. Beneath the link, another message read that the article is written by one ‘Abhijit Banerjee’ from IISC. Alwa shared another picture in his tweet, which carried the details of author Abhishek Banerjee who had authored the article in question, who is also an OpIndia author.
Based on Whatsapp forward, Alva foolishly sounded fake news alert, alleging that the article was not written by Abhijit Banerjee but by Abhishek Banerjee.
“Fake News Alert! An article purportedly written by Nobel Prize winner Abhijit Banerjee, twisting data to show India is managing the Covid crisis well, is written by PooP India columnist, Abhishek Banerjee & NOT the Nobel Prize-winning economist. BJP IT Cell working overtime,” he tweeted.
Source: Twitter
The WhatsApp messaged shared by Nikhil Alva actually had an article written by Abhishek Banerjee, an author who also writes at OpIndia.com, however, the accompanying message read that it was an article by Abhijit Banerjee. Alva, being a Congress supporter, which essentially means being weak in comprehension skills, shared that forward with a snapshot of Abhishek Banerjee’s OpIndia author profile claiming that the News18 article was ‘purportedly written by Nobel Prize winner Abhijit Banerjee’.
Instead of correcting the misguided person on Whatsapp who might have mistaken Abhishek for Abhijit, Alva took to Twitter to accuse OpIndia of publishing fake news. Even incorrect Whatsapp forwards by private individuals are now being attributed to OpIndia. This is yet another instance that illustrates how logic and rationality continues to elude Congress supporters.
When Saket Gokhale, whose IQ is probably lower than the freezing point of water, saw Alva giving him a tough competition for the title of being the most foolish Congress supporter, he took his stupidity quotient several notches higher by blindly attacking OpIndia without bothering to check if Alva’s claims add up.
“OpIndia is now down to writing fake bylines of Nobel Laureates claiming it as “satire”,” the Congress supporter tweeted.
Source: Twitter
First things first, the News18 article was not a satire, as claimed by Gokhale in his tweet. And neither was the article attributed to Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee. The byline mentions Abhishek Banerjee as the author unless Congress supporters think Abhishek Banerjee and Abhijit Banerjee are the same, which they are entitled to feel because being associated with Congress can obviously have a deleterious impact on one’s neurological senses.
Being intellectually challenged as they are, Congress supporters fail to fathom that OpIndia could not be held responsible if some random person on Whatsapp referred to Abhishek Banerjee as Abhijit Banerjee. Given their low IQ, one cannot rule out the possibility that for Congress supporters, anyone who suffixes Banerjee after his name is impersonating Nobel Laureate, Abhijit Banerjee.
While the exact cause that drives Congress supporters to act brainless is difficult to determine, many people claim that Congress supporters deliberately portray themselves as stupid so that their supreme leaders, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, can appear relatively more intelligent.
Recently, after massive criticism and NSA-level talks, the United States administration has announced that they would allow the export of crucial raw material required to produce the vaccine in India. Amidst all the lobbying, political, diplomatic and ‘intellectual’ talks over raw material, for the layman, and sometimes for “experts”, it gets difficult to understand why India needs Covid-19 vaccine ingredients from the US.
What was so crucial that India cannot produce or procure from other country? Was there any patent issue or some IP issue, or it was just like the PPE kits that we used to import till the time there was no way to import it anymore? To make things clear, the situation in the case of vaccines is completely different from PPE kits.
Vaccine production requires 9,000+ materials from 300 suppliers from 30 nations
According to World Trade Organization’s (WTO) information note about issues with trade impact titled “Developing And Delivering Covid-19 Vaccines Around The World”, vaccine manufacturing across the world is supported by complex upstream raw material and component value chains. Any typical vaccine manufacturing plant will use approx 9,000 different materials that it source from some 300 suppliers across approx 30 different countries. The estimate is based on the data provided by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations.
In the first six months of 2020, the demand for critical raw materials for vaccine production, including nucleic acids, amino acid phenols, acyclic amides, lecithins, and sterols, grew by 49% and reached a value close to USD 15.5 billion. The United States is the largest producer of some of the critical raw materials, especially bioreactor bags, filters, and more.
Adar Poonawalla has been voicing concerns over raw materials supply for weeks. The SII had millions of doses of Covishield ready when the approvals came, an achievement that needed an investment of millions of dollars to ramp up productions and a lot of risks. Unless the US embargo is lifted, the SII’s attempts to stockpile Novavax vaccine doses may be impacted, Poonawalla had said.
As per reports SII currently manufactures over 170 million doses of both Covishield and Covovax.
The raw materials that Indian manufacturers require
Based on the statements made by Adar Poonawalla of SII, Dr. Krishna Ella of Bharat Biotech, Mahima Datla of Biological E, and US officials, the raw materials that Indian manufacturers require include Bioreactor bags, filters, cell culture media, microcarriers, Lipid Nanoparticles, and much more.
Bioreactor bags: These are disposable plastic bags that are used in the process of artificially growing a large quantity of cells required for virus cultivation for the vaccine. These bags are also used to mix various ingredients. These bags are necessary for production only if the company is not using a static stainless-steel bioreactor, such as in the case of SII. Such bags are used in the development of inactivated, viral vector, protein subunit, and mRNA based vaccines. These are produced majorly by American multinational company Baxter Healthcare, Massachusetts-headquartered ThermoFisher and Cytiva.
Filters: These filters can be made out of different materials depending on the requirement. They allow clarification, purification and sterilization of the vaccine after the virus is cultivated. Such filters are available in different pore-sizes. They are used in the production of inactivated, viral vector, protein subunit, and mRNA based vaccines. The filters are majorly supplied by companies like Pall Life Sciences (New York) and Merck Millipore, owned by Germany’s Merck but headquartered in Massachusetts.
Cell culture media: It is a gel or liquid-based material that helps in the growth of the cells in the labs. It provides nutrients and compounds to accelerate cell growth. It is used in the production of inactivated, viral vector, protein subunit, and mRNA based vaccines. Cytiva-owned HyClone and Merck Millipore are significant suppliers from the US, but Germany’s CellGenix, India’s HiMedia and Switzerland’s Lonza Group AG also make these.
Lipid Nanoparticles: Used specifically in mRNA-based vaccines, these nanoparticles are used to encapsulate the drug substance for its delivery. US vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna require this material for the mRNA-based vaccine. Recently, an Indian company VAV Lifesciences has cracked a major deal with American contract development and manufacturing firm for phospholipids which will be used in the production of vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
Microcarriers or Microcarrier beads: These are tiny spheres made out of non-toxic material. These are mainly used in the production of inactivated, viral vector, and protein subunit-based vaccines. They are used to grow protein-producing or virus-generating cells. American companies like Pennsylvania’s VWR International and Cytiva, as well as Germany’s Sartorius, make these microcarriers.
Dr. Gagandeep Kang, the vice-chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and a professor at the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore, was quoted in an Indian Express report saying that while most of the equipment manufacturing is done in regions like Europe, US companies have a stronghold on the supplies of plastics and the bulk of reagents used in a laboratory.
Understanding US embargo
Biden’s administration has used the US defence Production Act, 1950, to block the export of critical raw material in January. The law was first used in 1950 during the Korean war to ensure supplies and equipment. Since then, the scope of the law has been extended beyond the military to cover natural hazards, terrorist attacks and national emergencies. The aim of Biden’s administration was to ensure the domestic businesses and corporations fulfil their federal contracts.
The law was also used by former President Donald Trump to increase the production of ventilators and limit the export of medical supplies. It also aided in increasing supply for ramping up the production of Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines. In the case of the Biden administration, the act was invoked to ensure the supply of products to ensure 24×7 manufacturing of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
In March 2021, Financial Times quoted Mahima Datla, chief executive of pharmaceutical company Biological E, the company that is producing J&J vaccine and a protein subunit vaccine with Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine. Datla said the US suppliers had shown an inability to fulfil orders to global clients due to the Defense Production Act invoked by the administration.
How the US Embargo is impacting supplies
As per reports, the restrictions imposed by the United States have put pressure on the major suppliers across the world. If the restrictions continue further, there will be a fight for the resources. If the companies like SII are expected to produce over a billion doses every year, they need unrestricted supplies of the raw material which they are unable to procure.
There are some misleading claims that Adar Poonawala had said embargo does not affect the Covidshield production. It only affects the production of Covovax, which is awaiting approval from the government.
Misleading claim by Congress-leaning “Activist” Saket Gokhale
It is true that SII has ‘managed’ to keep producing Covidshield irrespective of the embargo. However, it has to be noted that SII has been making Covidshield much before the approval to ensure there is enough stock available once the approval was done. The same goes for the Covovax vaccine. Though the approval is pending, it is expected that the company will get approval from the government in a matter of few weeks. At that time, to ensure there is enough stock of the vaccine available, the company has to ramp up the production. It cannot wait for the approval to come and then work on manufacturing the vaccine. It is a simple matter of common sense that the alleged ‘experts of all fields’ fail to comprehend.
Poonawala reportedly said in one of his statements that the restrictions imposed by the US government have halved its capacity to stockpile Covovax, which would have added to the problem in the future. He also categorically said that though the shortage of raw material has not impacted the production of Covidshield so far, it may impact “the scaling up of Covishield’s future capacity”.
He said, “This is one thing that would need some discussion with the Biden administration to explain to them there’s enough to go around.” He further added, “We’re talking about having free global access to vaccines but if we can’t get the raw materials out of the US — that’s going to be a serious limiting factor.” Poonawala and other manufacturers in India have been voicing their concerns for the last three months since the ban was imposed.
It is notable here that Adar Poonawalla’s SII is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer. It has been signed up by GAVI’s Covax alliance to supply over 2 billion doses of Covishield and Covovax.
SII is not the only company impacted by the decision
The US Act is not only impacting SII’s ability to produce the vaccine but also other companies like Bharat Biotech and Biological E. Dr Krishna Ella, the chairman and managing director of the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech that makes Covaxin had said in March that the restrictions had impacted the supply logistics for vaccine makers.
The US Act seems to be impacting the ability of other Indian companies to make their Covid-19 vaccines in India. For instance, Dr Krishna Ella, the chairman and managing director of the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech that makes Covaxin, said late in March that the restrictions by the US “on some of the materials” have impacted supply logistics for vaccine makers. “You see the supply logistics, where the US has put a restriction on some of the materials (for making vaccines). They cannot be exported to other countries. Actually, one of the raw materials we need to get, we are not able to get it from the US and Sweden,” said Dr Ella.
Datla, while talking to Financial Times, had said that it has become extremely difficult for the vaccine manufacturers to not only produce Covid-19 vaccine but routine vaccines as well. Her company is expected to make a billion doses of the J&J vaccine and scale up production of its recombinant protein vaccine with Baylor College to a billion doses over an unspecified time period. She added that it was not clear how the restriction would impact the production in future as the company was testing the recombinant protein vaccine in India.
WHO had also expressed concerns over export embargo
SII’s Adar Poonawalla has been repeatedly making appeals at international forums for nations to not impose export restrictions. Speaking at an World Bank event in March 5, Poonawalla had stated that US embargo over key raw materials will cause severe bottlenecks for vaccine production.
If we are talking about building capacity all over the world, the sharing of these critical raw materials is going to become a critical limiting factor. Nobody has been able to address this so far.”
Soumya Swaminathan, the chief scientist of the WHO, had also expressed concern over the availability of raw materials. “There is a shortage of raw materials, of products that you need for the manufacturing of vaccines. This is where you need global agreement and coordination not to do export bans.”
There are other suppliers, but the situation is complicated
Though there are other companies in the world that can provide the raw materials, but, at this time, due to the surge in demand, logistics, and regulatory issues, it is difficult to hunt for another suppliers. Moreover, unlike other medical devices, when materials for the vaccine are sourced from another supplier, the drug controller has to be informed. That means if any of vaccine manufacturer wants to change the suppliers, they would need permission from the drug controller that is a lengthy process. Even the standard manufacturing protocols will need changes in certain cases, further causing regulatory concerns, not to mention the impact on the production process and quantities. Thus, getting permissions in time for a change of suppliers is not feasible, especially at the time when India is facing an unexpected surge due to the second wave of the Covid-19.
At a time when India is reeling under the coronavirus pandemic, several parties are leaving no stone unturned to turn the crisis into a political drama.
Gujarat Congress MLA, Jasu Patel staged a ‘dharna’ by sleeping in front of a health officers cabin in Aravali to register his protest on the shortage of essential medical supplies needed to treat Covid-19.
અરવલ્લી: ધારાસભ્યનો ઇન્જેક્શન અને ઓક્સિજન મામલે વિરોધ, આરોગ્ય અધિકારીની ઓફિસ સામે સુઈ ગયા pic.twitter.com/wKPyPanZJp
The Congress MLA claimed that there is an acute shortage of Remdesivir injections, oxygen supply and testing kits in the state. He also accused the state government of not tending to the requirements and leaving its people to die.
He claimed that he has been getting multiple distress calls to make arrangements of essential supplies.
He also urged the state government to make sufficient arrangements for oxygen and critical drugs for the state at the earliest.
It is imperative that earlier this month, he was booked in a robbery case after he created a ruckus at bank meeting. He and his family members were accused of robbing a victim of their gold chain in the ruckus. Subsequently, thousands of his supporters marched to police station demanding the FIR be quashed. In March this year, he had threatened to jump off the balcony in Gujarat Vidhansabha after district health officer did not pick up his call.
Gujarat installs oxygen plants
To meet the growing requirement, the Gujarat government inaugurated a 280-litre per minute capacity PSA oxygen plant at a Covid-19 hospital at Kolavada in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar.
11 more PSA oxygen plants have been sanctioned for the state of Gujarat under the PM Cares Fund to ensure uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen.
Additionally a 1,200-bed hospital for Covid-19 patients will soon be readied in Gandhinagar.
Days after the Vedanta-owned Sterlite Copper offered to restart production at its two oxygen plants in the now-defunct copper smelter at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, the State government has allowed it to restart its operations for a period of four months. Sterlite Copper had appealed to the government to allow it to produce oxygen to help the nation in need.
Tamil Nadu Government allows to reopen Vedanta’s Sterlite plant in Tuticorin for four months only for the production of Oxygen.#COVID19pic.twitter.com/0o6ctCoXAw
The decision was taken following an all-party meet chaired by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami at the secretariat in Chennai on Monday. Considering the acute shortage of medical oxygen faced by the nation, the state government decided to reopen the Sterlite copper smelter plant at Thoothukudi for a period of four months to ensure adequate supply.
The representatives of recognized parties such AIADMK, DMK, BJP, PMK, DMDK, Communist parties and officials from the Director General of Police and Health Secretary were a part of the meeting.
The decision to reopen the plant for manufacturing medical oxygen was taken unanimously as informed by Chief Minister Edappadi.
Highlighting the resolutions passed at the meeting, he informed, “The copper smelter plant at Thoothukudi would be allowed to reopen for a period of four months only to manufacture oxygen. Under no circumstance will Vedanta be allowed to open or operate other plants that would be used for copper production. Based on the requirement of oxygen, the period might be extended. The electricity supply to the oxygen plants would be cut by the government after the specified period.”
The order further stated that the oxygen to other states will be sent only after Tamil Nadu’s requirements are met completely.
Other resolutions include:
Technicians of the copper smelter unit alone would be permitted to enter the area with proper admission cards.
The government would provide adequate security to the unit.
A committee under the leadership of the district collector would be set up to monitor the manufacturing activities.
District SP, officials from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, district environmental officer, local representatives, environmental activists, three people from anti-sterlite organization would be part of the committee.
Speaking to the reporters, Thoothukudi MP and the party’s women’s wing leader Kanimozhi said a resolution has been passed in the meeting to reopen the copper plant temporarily for producing oxygen alone and there should be no electricity supply for the rest of the plant. Power to the plant should be supplied only by the state government, she demanded.
Vedanta’s plea
India reported a seven time increase in the requirement of medical oxygen after being hit by the second wave of coronavirus pandemic.
In order to bridge this demand and supply gap, Vedanta-owned Sterlite Copper had offered to restart production at its two oxygen plants in the now shut copper smelter at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu. Vedanta had said that the plant contains two oxygen plants with a combined production capacity of 1,050 tonnes of oxygen daily.
The company has sent two separate letters to the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister in this regard.
Supreme Court’s observation
The Supreme Court on April 22 had termed the Covid-19 situation as a ‘national emergency’ while agreeing to hear Vedanta’s plea to reopen the unit for producing oxygen. The apex court remarked that people are dying due to lack of oxygen and asked the state government why it cannot take over the Sterlite Copper unit for producing oxygen. “We are not interested that Vedanta or A, B or C runs it. We are interested that oxygen should be produced,” a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde had said.
Hinting at the law-and-order issue, the state resisted reopening of the Sterlite Copper plant on April 23. Dismissing the concern, the top court stated that some states are in dire need of oxygen and the resources should be distributed equally.
As per reports, tension prevailed at the Thoothukudi collector’s office on Friday during a public hearing which led to heated arguments between the pro and anti-Sterlite groups. The police had to intervene to bring the situation under control.
Mamata Banerjee has been chiming for the central forces to be withdrawn from poll-bound West Bengal and even for re-election even before the 8 phases have concluded. Fearing defeat, Mamata Banerjee has now chimed in, on the back of the Madras HC order, suggesting that it is central forces that are spreading COVID-19 in the state and therefore, they should be withdrawn by the central government.
Reportedly, Mamata Banerjee said, “I welcome the Madras High Court order, which clearly said the EC cannot escape its responsibility. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EC are responsible for the (current) situation (of Covid spreading in the state),” Banerjee alleged at a workers’ meeting in North Kolkata where party candidates and workers were present.
She further said, “I am requesting please withdraw the around 2 lakh- strong central forces drawn from covid-hit states, who are camping in schools and colleges and safe homes hampering covid management operations 75 per cent of them may be infected by the virus. Please withdraw them in the last phase”.
It is pertinent to note that the Madras HC had observed that the central forces and the election commission cannot skirt blame for the spread of COVID-19 in the state.
However, what is an observation by the High Court has been turned into a reason for Mamta Banerjee to demand yet against that the central forces, who have been deployed to ensure free and fair elections, be withdrawn from the state.
This is not the first time that Mamata Banerjee has made such demands, hoping that the elections can be conducted without the fairness that is injected in it due to the presence of the CRPF.
As the result day for the assembly elections, 2nd May, draws closer, Mamata Banerjee had declared that she will be approaching the Supreme Court after the elections are over. Claiming that Election Commission had instructed officials to arrest TMC leaders during the Assembly elections, the West Bengal Chief Minister said that she will approach the Supreme Court to hole fresh ‘neutral elections’ in the state.
In a press conference held via video conferencing, Mamata Banerjee questioned the role of the Election Commission in the state elections, alleging that the poll panel was working to help BJP. The CM alleged that the EC was trying to make sure that the TMC workers can’t vote against BJP.
‘I am appealing to everyone starting from Birbhum, Murshidabad, Malda, everywhere where elections are to be held, remain alert, take precaution from now on, on the one hand we have the war against Covid, on the other hand we have to fight against Election Commission who is conspiring to ensure that our people can’t vote,’ the TMC supremo said institgating her supporters against the constitutional body.
She further added, ‘if the police detain anyone illegally, their family members go to the police station and sit there, gherao the police station, ask why illegal detention has been done, if needed go to the court. We will move everywhere from the high court to the supreme court. File FIR as soon as someone is detained illegally’.
Australian cricketer Pat Cummins on Monday took to Twitter to announce he has donated Australian Dollars 50,000 to the PM CARES Fund specifically for the purchase of oxygen supplies.
Cummins said that India is a country he has come to love dearly over the years and the suffering saddens him greatly. He expressed concerns over appropriateness of IPL at a time when the country is suffering. However, he also acknowledged that cricket may help give people some respite when things are so badly affected otherwise.
He said that as cricketers, the player have a position of privilege and hence he has contributed to PM CARES Fund in hopes the help would reach millions of people. He also urged fellow IPL players to contribute. He has donated Australian Dollars 50,000, which amounts to little over Rs 29 lakh.
“I know my donation isn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but I hope it will make a difference to someone,” he said in his statement.
The events of the past few days have been very educational in terms of American foreign policy, especially if one happens to be a starry-eyed liberal who believed Joe Biden was the best thing to happen since sliced bread. Nevertheless, the past few days have managed to turn even the staunchest of Biden supporters into lukewarm enthusiasts.
After Joe Biden won the presidential elections with Kamala Harris on the ticket, there was great elation among liberals in India. They hailed the election of Joe Biden to the White House as the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Thus, when it became evident that Joe Biden was blocking export of vaccine raw materials to India amidst the raging pandemic, they pretty much had eggs on their faces. Screenshots of their tweets went viral on Indian sections of social media and they were forced to make several tweets saying how disappointing it was.
The tweet has since then been deleted
But was it disappointing really? To those unaware of history, perhaps. But people who have observed American conduct in recent decades would have realised that it was perfectly in sync with American foreign policy.
Unlike what liberals in India would have us believe, American foreign policy cares very little about human rights. Indian ‘journalists’ and ‘intellectuals’ have quite clearly fallen hook, line and sinker to the USA’s own narrative about itself.
Thus, we have an entire cohort of Anglophiles in the elite opinion-maker class of India who genuinely believed that with Joe Biden as President, human rights will once again become the focus of American foreign policy. Such belief was born out of sheer ignorance or financial benefits but whatever the reason may be, no one has been more embarrassed by the current fiasco than western shills in our country.
Historically, the USA has been extremely antagonistic towards India for varied reasons. While the relationship between the two countries has improved vastly since then, old suspicions continue to linger. That is precisely why it is even more perplexing that the Indian liberal class was so enthusiastic about Biden’s victory.
For instance, the USA has been the major backer of Pakistan, despite knowing fully well that our neighbouring country harbours, nurtures and funds terrorists. This is by their own admission. Pakistan committed a genocide of Bengali Hindus in 1971 and yet, suffered no consequences from the USA.
That was in 1971. In this century, they have bombed countries into slavery and plunged an entire region into chaos while facilitating a genocide in Yemen. All of this should have made it clear to liberals in India that human rights is the least of American concerns.
Now, they are embarrassed and forced to admit that the US decision to send vaccine raw materials to India should have been taken long ago. We could agree on that. There is good reason why the Indian liberal class is so enamored by the West.
Part of it is just basic influence of money. The West spends a great deal of money to influence media coverage abroad and shape the narrative about itself. The NGO industry in India is financed mostly from the USA and rich European countries.
The money spent on NGOs and the media naturally tends to influence opinion in other areas as well. The donations come from, both, private actors and government funded institutions in the West. It is not only Christian evangelism that is financed by money abroad, liberal evangelism receives a boost as well.
The other part is the fact that American dominance in global culture is absolute. The American entertainment industry, fashion, technology and even fast food, the USA has a domineering lead in all such fronts. And in the United States, liberalism is the ideology of the ruling elite. So, naturally, the ideology they popularise either by design or by the virtue of their own endorsement is liberalism.
Therefore, in developing countries such as India, especially in sectors closely aligned with the West such as the media, the overarching influence of their American counterparts is almost oppressive. And in the West, the media went all in to support Joe Biden’s candidature for President.
In order to gain approval of their American counterparts, with respect to whom Indian liberal media feels a definite sense of inferiority complex, Indian media devoted themselves entirely towards a glowing coverage of Joe Biden without the faintest of a critical outlook.
It is understandable that American media worked in tandem with Democrats to ensure Trump’s defeat, why would Indian media’s coverage of American politics make them come across as an ‘IT Cell’ of an American political party? Simple, because they are desperate for their approval.
The current embarrassment that Indian liberals have suffered should ideally give them cause to look at the West through a more critical lens. There is no reason why Indian media should give the USA a free pass while focusing, rightly, on human rights violations in China and elsewhere.
Indian mainstream media has allowed the West to lecture other countries on human rights while turning a blind eye to the humanitarian crisis the USA has perpetuated in the Middle East. Indian mainstream media has allowed the West to lecture other countries on press freedom without offering the slightest bit of criticism for the inhuman manner in which they are treating Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
Too many from the Indian liberal class are either professionally or financially invested in the US Liberal Complex and their livelihood and reputation is dependent on upholding the American narrative abroad. Therefore, it is hopeless to expect them to reverse their stand anytime soon.
But those who genuinely look up to the West as a shining beacon for human rights around the world, it is well past time that they open their eyes and smell the coffee.
Yesterday, former Union Minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram shared a headline from a Times of India report, without any context, in an attempt to spread misinformation about airfares online. “A Delhi-New York economy class, one-way ticket costs 7.2 lakh”, wrote Chidambaram on Twitter, insinuating that the extraordinary fare of 7.2 lakhs is widespread.
“Is the passenger buying a ticket or is he/she leasing the aircraft?”, added Chidambaram, trying to create a narrative based on an uncommon, extraordinary fare which is not the standard fare even at this moment.
“A Delhi-New York economy class, one way ticket costs 7.2 lakh”.
Is the passenger buying a ticket or is he/she leasing the aircraft?
A little research into current-day Delhi to NYC airfares will reveal that the average COVID-affected fare for a one-way trip is about Rs. 1.2 lakhs, which is mentioned in the TOI report.
A reasonable and rational consumer, who will compare the airfares amongst different flights with relation to flight layovers, number of stops, etc. will find economical flights in the first week of May in the 1.5. lakh range with only a single 3-4 hour layover. Therefore, any rational consumer will instead book a relatively reasonable 1.5. lakh ticket with a 3-4 hours layover, instead of a non-stop, one-way, ridiculously charged 7.2 lakh ticket.
Here are just some of the relatively reasonable airfares for a Delhi to New York flight for the 1st week of May with just one 3-4 hour layover.
Air fares from Delhi to NYC, screenshots from Make My Trip
It is important to note that these are exceptional times, with the COVID-19 pandemic raging throughout the world. Many complicated factors have contributed to the increased airfares, however, an airfare in the range of 7.2 lakh is a rare exception, not the rule.
According to the TOI article, the 7.2 lakh airfare only existed for the Air India flight to New York via Tokyo on Saturday, 01 May, which requires a flight change to the All Nippon Airways of Japan. This seems to be a significant factor as to why the airfare of this particular flight is extraordinarily high. Another Air India- All Nippon Airways flight from Delhi to New York via Tokyo on May 1 is similarly priced at ₹ 7,22,253, showcasing a pattern.
Air fare on one Air India flight with a flight change to All Nippon at Tokyo
Therefore, it is reasonably clear that highlighting the sensational airfare of over Rs. 7 lakh was an attempt from Chidambaram to create a narrative of exorbitant prices being charged, a misleading claim.
The COVID-19 second wave in India has reached massive proportions with over 3 lakh cases per day. While the curve is supposed to take a downward turn by the end of May 2021, the ‘liberals’ and several from the opposition parties are simply indulging in tragedy porn, going as far as to spread fake news and panic amongst the people.
On the 26th of April, Congress took to Twitter to target Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
BJP's Modus Operandi:
If citizens are telling the truth – attack them
If citizens are criticising the govt – attack them
If citizens are questioning the govt – attack them
Quoting a report where Yogi Adityanath had said that those spreading rumours will be prosecuted, Congress insinuated that Yogi Adityanath was actually ordering people to be prosecuted when they criticise him and his government amidst raising Coronavirus crisis.
Congress tweeted, “BJP’s Modus Operandi: If citizens are telling the truth – attack them If citizens are criticising the govt – attack them If citizens are questioning the govt – attack them If citizens are dying – look the other way”.
However, one look at the report quoted showed just how Congress tries to spread rumours and panic even as the country is coming together to fight the worst pandemic that India has seen.
The Hindu report quoted by Congress says that Yogi Adityanath has asserted that there was no shortage of oxygen in Uttar Pradesh, either in private or public hospitals, and the real problem was actually black-marketing and hoarding. Earlier, it is pertinent to note that Yogi Adityanath had said that anyone who was found black marketeering would be booked under NSA and the Gangster Act.
Further, in The Hindu article, it said that Yogi Adityanath had elaborated how a private hospital had reported a shortage of oxygen, but when it was investigated, it was found that the hospital actually had sufficient oxygen and was hoarding, thereby creating fear amongst the people.
Article published by The Hindu
It is this report that Congress essentially tweeted insinuating that Yogi Adityanath had issued this order simply for people who were criticising him.
It appears that Congress is of the opinion that even black-marketing in a time of acute crisis and spreading fear and panic amongst the people is acceptable as long as it can be used to settle political scores with opponents.
Interestingly, only recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to social media to urge fellow Congress workers to come forward and help amid the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
Rahul Gandhi, without mentioning the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, claimed that the country needs responsible citizens and urged his Congress colleagues to help ‘ease the pain of countrymen’. He claimed this is the ‘Dharma’ of the Congress family. Incidentally, this sermon from Wayanad Congress MP came just a day after ‘neutral platform’ The Quint published an elaborate video promoting Indian Youth Congress. It is evident that Congress is using this pandemic to market itself, even if that means harming that interest of the nation and spreading panic.
