Home Blog Page 4290

Mamata Banerjee cries ‘discrimination’ over Cyclone Yaas money even as Met Dept predicts Odisha will bear the worst impact

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Mamata Banerjee cries ‘discrimination’ over Cyclone Yaas money even as Met Dept predicts Odisha will bear the worst impact

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that Cyclone Yaas, which is likely to make landfall on Wednesday afternoon would spare Kolkata and have less impact on the coastal Bengal, unlike last year’s Amphan which had hit South 24 Parganas and continued its devastation in Kolkata. The Met Dept said the Balasore coast in Odisha, around 240 km away from Kolkata will get the worst impact of the cyclone.

“In this case, Yaas would not even touch Bengal, so far, we have gathered information. It would hit Odisha,” said the Met official.

Mamata Banerjee cries ‘discrimination’ over advance relief fund

Despite this explicit information provided by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), West Bengal CM has latched on to the opportunity to once again play the victim and cast aspersions on the Modi government. She has already started claiming that the central government is showing discrimination towards West Bengal over the advance relief compensation for Cyclone Yaas.

While addressing a press conference, Mamata Banerjee said: “MHA assured an advance relief of Rs 600 crores to Odisha and Andhra Pradesh but only Rs 400 crores to West Bengal. This is discriminatory.”

Mamata Banerjee’s similar shenanigans during last year’s Amphan

Interestingly, during last year’s Amaphan, despite PM Modi clearly announcing advanced interim assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for the cyclone-hit West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee had alleged that there was no clarity on the economic assistance provided by the central government.

It is also notable here that the TMC government’s Amphan relief saw massive allegations of corruption and party cadre were given compensation for cyclone damage. The reports of undeserving candidates receiving compensation for cyclone relief just because of their association with TMC had caused a major embarrassment for the Mamata government last year.

IMD specifies the impact of cyclone Yaas would not be as severe on WB as Odisha

Here it becomes imperative to restate that the Indian Meteorological Department has clearly stated that the impact of the tropical cyclone Yaas would not be that severe on West Bengal as it would be on Odisha. It said that mainly the coastal districts of Bengal, along with Gangetic Bengal, would get heavy to very heavy rainfalls because of the cyclone.

Significance of colour-coded warnings by IMD

While the Met Dept has issued a red alert in 8 districts of Odisha, around 20 districts in West Bengal have been declared orange zone by the Met office.

For the uninitiated, the Met department has four colour-coded warnings that it flashes depending on how intense or violent a weather system is at a given point in time. The four colours are green, yellow, orange and red.

Orange: Meaning “Be prepared”. The IMD issues the orange alert as a warning for extremely bad weather, electricity blackouts and the possibility of communication disruptions, including road and rail closures.

Red: The IMD issues the highest level of warning—indicating that bad weather is going to upend travel and power and pose a significant risk to life.

Home Ministery prepares for the approaching Cyclone Yaas

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had chaired a review meeting with chief ministers of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and lieutenant governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to discuss the preparedness for very severe cyclone Yaas.

During the video conference, Amit Shah evaluated the situation and allotted Rs 600 crore each for Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and Rs 400 crore for West Bengal.

As part of the preparations in view of Cyclone Yaas, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has deployed more than 100 teams in six states, including Odisha and West Bengal. Moreover, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has also kept 11 transport aircraft and 25 helicopters ready to carry out humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations as part of preparations to deal with the situation arising out of Cyclone Yaas.

Directors of obscure Landomus Group also serve as Trustees of another unknown entity—The Indian University of Deaf: Details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Directors of obscure Landomus Group also serve as Trustees of another unknown entity—The Indian University of Deaf: Details

On Monday, a bizarre advertisement talking about investing a whopping $500 billion in India was published in the English Daily Times of India by an obscure company named Landomus Group. According to several reports, the Directors of the Group, namely, Pradeep Kumar Satyaprakash, Yashas Pradeep Kumar, Rakshith Gangadhar and Gunashree Pradeep Kumar, are also the movers behind the unheard-of Indian University for Deaf (IUD).

Indian University of Deaf(IUD) is an unknown entity. There is no such organisation on Google Maps and Apple Maps. Even Google Search does not show a University named Indian University of Deaf(IUD). The Search does point to a website www.iudedu.in, but on clicking the link, the opening page welcomes us with an Error 404, a standard HTTP error message code that means the website couldn’t be found on the server.

Source: www.iudedu.in

Curiously, there is not a single person on the internet, who identifies himself or herself as the graduate of the Indian University of Deaf(IUD).

It seems like the website of the obscure University was recently pulled down, given that IANS recently published an article exposing the link between the supposed University and the Landomus Group Directors. As per the article, the aforementioned Landomus Group Directors are listed as the Trustees of the IUD. Even the fifth director of Landomus, Mamatha H.N, is mentioned in the motivation for the IUD, hinting that the university has exclusive links with the Landomus Group.

“Indian University for Deaf (IUD) is India’s first exclusive university for the deaf that provides bilingual education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students along the lines of Gallaudet University. The primary aim is to provide deaf and hard-of-hearing students with the bilingual medium of instruction in Indian Sign Language (ISL) and English,” a report published in the IANS about the unknown University says.

“The University will boast of 100-acre campus with 5 million sqft of state-of-the-art infrastructure with contemporary education programs,” the website further read.

The website says: “Pradeep Kumar Satyaprakash and his wife Mamatha Pradeep Kumar, with a vision to create international standard academic infrastructure for the deaf are coming up with India’s first Bilingual University exclusively for the deaf along the lines of the world renowned Gallaudet University of the US.”

The website boasted of coming up with a 100-acre campus in Indian IT tech hub Bengaluru and claimed of 5 million sqft of best-in-class deaf friendly infrastructure and facilities.

The article quoted Mamatha H.N as saying: “Being a deaf and speech-impaired person by birth, I understand the difficulties faced by the deaf in all stages of their lives. Things that seem to be easy and simple for the rest of the world are a challenge for the deaf community.”

“I can’t stress more on the importance of education in transforming the lives of the deaf and helping them achieve economic independence. Hence, through this university, I would like to educate and empower the deaf community,” it further adds.

LinkedIn profiles of the Landomus Group Directors

One of the Landomus Directors, Yashas Pradeep Kumar, describes himself as a chartered wealth manager and Head of Finance. ofLandomus Realty Ventures Inc. His education profile claims he had the certification called Chartered Wealth Manager from AAFM and it is recognised by the Securities Exchange Board of India(SEBI).

Source: LinkedIn

Kumar’s LinkedIn profile also says that he is studied MBA Finance and Marketing from 2011 to 2013 at the RV Institute of Management, Bengaluru.

The LinkedIn profile of Rakshith Gangadhar, another Director at Landomus Group, says he has been working in the current post for 4 years and 4 months, from February 2017. Gangadhar’s education profile mentions he completed his graduation in Telecommunications Engineer in 2014 from the KS Institute of Technology.

Source: LinkedIn

The remaining directors of the Landomus Group do not have LinkedIn profiles.

Obscure company Landomus Group appeals to PM to invest USD 500 Billion in India through an ad

On May 24, a strange ad appeared in the English daily Times Of India. The ad space was bought by a company named Landomus Group, and it was an attempt to communicate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ad itself raises a question mark as the group talks about investing USD 500 Billion in India but approached PM Modi via ad rather than using a proper channel.

In the ad copy, the company claimed that it has a concrete plan to make India pandemic free. It reads, “Landomus Realty Ventures Inc., USA, would like to invest USD 500 Billion in Equity as the first phase of investment into the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) and Non-NIP projects listed by the Government of India under the India Investment Grid for “Invest India” initiative.”

“Landomus Realty Ventures aims to make India a global destination by supporting the completion of NIP and Non-NIP projects along with investors and developers under the India Investment Grid in sectors such as Energy, Social Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Transport, Food Processing & Agriculture, Water & Sanitation etc. Landomus Group aims to assist the Government in its endeavour to rebuild India and achieve the USD 5 Trillion GDP target. Landomus Group requests you to provide us with an opportunity to contribute to your vision of a New India,” the ad read.

The advertisement published in a newspaper addressing the Prime Minister directly naturally raised eyebrows, given that there well laid out channels for foreign and domestic investors for investments into NIF. The staggering investment of $500 billion also set people back on their heels, considering that India’s currency reserves are slightly less than the amount of investment promised by the Landomus Group in its advertisement.

Congress withdraws toolkit complaint from Delhi Police, invites Twitter to undermine India’s national sovereignty

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Congress withdraws toolkit complaint from Delhi Police, invites Twitter to undermine India’s national sovereignty

The Congress party has said that it is withdrawing its toolkit complaint from the Delhi Police and has chosen to pursue the same in Chhattisgarh, a state where it has its own government. The party further said that it has chosen to do so citing the ‘inaction’ of Delhi Police, Economic Times has reported.

“We filed the complaint on May 18 and the Delhi Police did not take any action on it, despite the issue becoming big. They only kept asking us for more explanations. We feel it is better to pursue the matter in a place there will be fairness,” a party functionary said as per the report.

It is intriguing to note that the Congress party believes only states where it is in power are ‘fair’. It appears the party believes that only states it controls are neutral and a state becomes unfair the minute some other party is in government. It is remarkable hypocrisy on the part of the party.

Meanwhile, senior leader of the Congress party, Randeep Surjewala, has written another letter to Twitter over the toolkit and has urged the platform to take action against Union Ministers, in direct contravention of established norm.

Surjewala wrote in his letter, that features tweet links of various Union Ministers, “You would appreciate that the forged, fabricated material and the claims made under the malicious #CongressToolkitExposed, by the various ministers above-named, is identical to the material that has already marked as ‘manipulative media’, by Twitter, on various accounts including that of the BJP Spokesperson- Mr. Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj)- who is also one of the main accused in FIR No. 215/2021 registered by Chhattisgarh Police at Police Station Civil Lines, Raipur.”

Surjewala stated further, “Further, it is also a matter of fact that people tend to believe ‘true’ and take on face value, any information that is put up directly by a Union Minister of the Government of India through his/ her official/ verified Twitter account. Hence, it becomes all the more imperative to tag, ‘manipulative media’, on all such tweets made by Ministers of the Government of India on the above referred forged toolkit document created by the BJP.”

It sets an extremely dangerous precedent that the Congress party is openly inviting a foreign-based platform to meddle with an internal matter of India even as investigations into the matter are currently underway. Twitter is known to collaborate with the US establishment to further its political agenda. The appeal by the Congress party to the platform is akin to undermining India’s national sovereignty.

After BKU, now Navjot Singh Sidhu snubs CM Amarinder Singh, raises black flag to support superspreader farmers protest in Patiala: Details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
After BKU, now Navjot Singh Sidhu snubs CM Amarinder Singh, raises black flag to support superspreader farmers protest in Patiala: Details

On May 23 (Sunday) Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh urged the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) not to go ahead with the three-day planned protests in Patiala, as it would add to the surge of Covid-19 infection in the state. However, disregarding the chief minister, the controversial Congress senior leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has gone ahead to back the superspreader protests in Patiala.

Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday hoisted a black flag at his residence in Patiala in support of protesting farmers. He took to Twitter to share a video of him and his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu hoisting the black flag on the terrace of his house in Patiala.

“Hoisting the Black Flag in Protest … Every Punjabi must support the Farmers !!” Tweeted Navjot Singh Sidhu.

After hoisting the black flag, Sidhu provoked the farmers against the Central government’s three farm laws. Rehashing the blatant lies and misinformation his party leaders, especially Rahul Gandhi, has been spreading against these laws, Sidhu says that the farm laws are “black laws” or “kaale kanoon,” and would prove destructive for the poor farmers if implemented. Sidhu instigated the farmers of Punjab to continue their quest until the Central Government is forced to repeal the farm laws.

Interestingly, a day after Captain Amarinder Singh urged farmers to refrain from protesting, Navjot Singh Sidhu had taken to Twitter to inform that he would be hoisting a black flag to express his support for the farmers protest at both his houses in Amritsar and Patiala. “Request everyone to do the same, until we have either repealed the #BlackLaws or provide an alternative method of assured MSP & procurement through State Government”, had Tweeted Sidhu.

It may be recalled that the anti-farm law protesters intend to mark May 26 as a ‘Black Day’.

Punjab CM requests not to carry out 3-day superspreader protest, BKU rejects plea

On May 23, the Punjab CM had urged the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) not to go ahead with the three-day planned protests in Patiala. Covid cases and deaths are seeing a massive surge in Punjab and there are several reports stating that farmer protests are acting as superspreader events. 

However, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) has outrightly rejected the plea saying not just the Centre but the state is equally responsible for the miseries of farmers and inability to contain the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Visibly upset with the unwarranted action of the protesting farmers, Amarinder suggested that after the state offered unwavering support to the farmers, the same should be reciprocated by the BKU “to support the state government in the fight against the pandemic.”

Captain Amarinder stressed on the fact that the farmers’ group should not act irresponsibly and jeopardise the lives of their people with their reckless behaviour amid the pandemic. He also reminded that there is a complete ban in the state on all gatherings and any violation would be highly detrimental to the interests of Punjab.

However, considering the embittered relationship the two ministers have been sharing for the last few years, it is not surprising that Navjot Singh Sidhu paid no heed to Captain Amarinder Singh’s appeal and went ahead to back the three-day planned superspreader protests in Patiala.

Why is Captain Amarinder Singh in loggerheads with Navjot Singh Sidhu

For the uninitiated, things went sour between Captain Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu when despite Captain’s advise Navjot Singh Sidhu had visited Pakistan on Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s invite for the Kartarpur groundbreaking ceremony. The ever-increasing rift between the Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu and Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh widened further after Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur asserted that Captain denied her Lok sabha ticket to fight elections. Singh had then refuted the allegations claiming she was offered to fight elections from Bhatinda or Amritsar but it was her personal decision to not fight from both the seats.

The duo later patched up over an informal lunch, but the friendship didn’t last long with Sidhu once again attacking the CM again after the Punjab & Haryana HC quashed the SIT probe into the 2015 firing cases on April 9. Sidhu has launched a fresh attack on the Badals as well over the sacrilege case.

Breaking his silence on Sidhu’s attacks, Singh on April 27 has challenged him to contest from Patiala in the 2022 polls. Sure of his win, Singh has predicted that Sidhu will lose his deposit.

Newslaundry investor and MeToo accused Mahesh Murthy’s despicable tweet on Mayawati goes viral

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Newslaundry investor and MeToo accused Mahesh Murthy’s despicable tweet on Mayawati goes viral

Newslaundry investor Mahesh Murthy has yet again become the epicentre of a social media controversy after his old tweet against Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati went viral.

In a tweet dated September 4, 2012, he wrote, “Government okays SCT/ST reservation for promotions. Next SC/ST reservation in your sex life! Finally, Mayawati gets action.” The despicable tweet was directed at the BSP chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister after she had given nod to include reservation in promotions. Murthy, an accused in 2018 #MeToo case, was however quick to delete the tweet after it had gone viral on Monday.

Screengrab of the tweet by Mahesh Murthy

On Tuesday (May 25), Mahesh Murthy apologised for saying ‘dumb things’ in a ‘poor attempt at humour.’ He tweeted, “Folks, I said some stupid things on twitter about caste, reservations and politics some 9 years ago. I was dumber then, and it was a poor attempt at humour. I have since deleted those tweets and I apologise for the offence they may have caused. Sorry.”

Interestingly, Mahesh Murthy funds the left-propagandist website, Newslaundry, which claims to be an independent organisation. Although Newslaundry has been vocal about women rights in India and the #MeToo movement, it has remained silent in the face of allegations of sexual misconduct against its investor.

Sexual harassment allegations against Mahesh Murthy

In 2017, several media organisation including OpIndia had reported allegations of sexual harassment against Newslaundry investor Murthy made by six women — three of who went on record with their experience. The accounts of the harassment had happened in the past from 2003 to 2016. Pankaj Mishra, founder of technology website FactorDaily, in a series of tweets, had accused venture capitalist Mahesh Murthy who is also an investor in the Left-leaningself-proclaimed ‘media watchdog‘, Newslaundry.

The reports which highlighted sexual misconduct of Murthy stated that an author named Rashmi Bansal and a woman journalist had accused Murthy of inappropriate behaviour, ranging from inappropriate electronic messages to verbal advances to physical grabbing. Murthy had also allegedly sent an inappropriate message, “Hey babe, one’s supposed to celebrate Diwali by blowing a pataka. So can I go down on you please? :-)” to a woman government officer in Delhi.

The report had stated that many people knew of Murthy’s alleged misbehaviour, but no one has taken a stand against him except an IT giant. A woman executive was allegedly asked “Are you a virgin” by Murthy back in 2006, and then the company blacklisted Murthy’s digital media company, Pinstorm.

Discrepancies found in COVID deaths recorded and number of cremations in Rajasthan, situation remains worrisome: Report

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Discrepancies found in COVID deaths recorded and number of cremations in Rajasthan, situation remains worrisome: Report

The government of Rajasthan reported 3918 deaths between April 01 to May 20 from 25 districts. However, as per Dainik Bhaskar’s ground report, 14,482 cremations took place in just 512 village blocks during the same period. 

The numbers are startling as these villages witness less than seven times the death recorded in one and a half months. The report additionally suggests that the cremations are not taking place as per Covid-19 protocols despite most being victims to the coronavirus. 

Numbers recorded by Dainik Bhaskar

The ground report is a compilation of information received from 28 bureaus, village heads, crematoriums and locals. Amidst this, locals complained of lack of health and medical infrastructure in the villages. 

  1. 42 villages of Bundi district witnessed 314 deaths in this period whereas the government recorded only 18 deaths in the entire district
  2. Sri Ganganagar which houses 3034 villages witnessed 517 deaths from just 28 villages whereas government records of the district reported only 48 deaths
  3. Udaipur which has 2500 villages witnessed 1850 deaths in just 10 village blocks whereas the government recorded only 432 deaths
  4. Chittorgarh with 1737 villages witnessed 406 deaths in just 22 villages whereas the district record suggests 60 deaths
  5. Alwar with 2073 villages witnessed 1184 deaths in 32 villages whereas the government reported just 195 deaths
  6. Hanumangarh with 1913 villages witnessed 643 deaths in 7 village blocks whereas the government recorded just 27 deaths

Woman taken for cremation on hand cart

On receiving no help from police, hospital and government for cremating the Covid victim as per protocols, Aparna Sushant’s (50) body had to be taken on a hand cart for cremation on May 09 in Jhalawar district.

In another heart-wrenching incident from the same district, a father had to bring back his daughter’s dead body in the car by tying it to the next seat as the ambulance demanded Rs 35,000 to ferry the body from a hospital in Kota to Jhalawar.

Madhu Raja tied the dead body of her daughter with the seat belt on the front seat and drove to Jhalawar. Image Source: Dainik Bhaskar

Man dies due to suffocation

As the family was engaged in the funeral of 90-year-old Goradevi of Dausa district, her son died in a hospital as his oxygen mask was connected to an empty cylinder, the report states.

Two brothers die in a span of half an hour

Two brothers from Alwar who had returned to their village to escape the Covid-19 crisis at Delhi contracted the virus upon reaching the village. In a shocking incident, both expired within a span of half an hour. They both are survived by two daughters aged 4 and 2.

Shortage of woods in Chomu district

The administration of Chomu district had made no arrangements to stock extra woods for funerals as they were not expecting the sudden surge in new coronavirus cases. The wood stock enough for 50 funerals was consumed in just 20 days. The village administration is now unable to source wood for the cremation of Covid victims.

Villagers ask for guarantee

In a bizarre incident, villagers of Kesarpura from the Alwar district have asked the medical department to give them in writing that vaccination will not result in the death of the vaccinated person. This step was taken after 10 villagers passed away due to COVID in 15 days in the month of April. Despite numerous attempts by the medical department, the villagers have shunted the vaccination drive.

Thousands of children test Corona positive 

In a worrisome update, over 600 children under the age of 18 have tested positive for Covid-19 in Bharatpur village in the past three weeks. 

In an update from Dausa district, over 345 children between the age of 10 to 12 years have tested COVID-19 positive.

Additionally, over 300 children have tested positive for corona in the Dungarpur district. The administration says the children have been given the prescribed medication and have adequate arrangements in place for treatment.

In another alarming update, the health officials inform that the state has over 7000 minors who are said to be Covid positive but are largely asymptomatic. 

95 test positive in Jhunjhunu district

We had reported earlier that as many as 95 people had tested positive in a day in the Siyalokala village after the wedding season. The villagers revealed that no measures are being taken by the government to ensure their safety. The village lacks proper healthcare and is not receiving due medical attention.

442 patients die on ventilator in Jaipur

Jaipur’s largest state-run Covid-10 facility RUHS CMS Hospital recorded 442 deaths of patients on ventilator support in just 20 days as reported earlier. The main reason cited for these deaths is not cleaning the endotracheal tube by the hospital staff which resulted in infections. 

Reassessment of death count

Medical and Health Minister Raghu Sharma informed, “We got the first 4,262 deaths assessed in rural and urban areas. Out of this, 1,331 deaths (31.20%) occurred in rural areas. As of now 7,806 deaths are being analyzed, to determine how many deaths occurred in villages and how many in cities in a month.”

Lockdown extended in Rajasthan

The Rajasthan government has extended lockdown till June 08 as the state recorded 6521 new cases on Sunday. As per the report, the state may allow some relaxations to resume commercial activities from June 01 in districts where the COVID-19 situation has improved. 

Congress social media head and spokesperson served noticed by Delhi Police in connection with toolkit probe

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Congress social media head and spokesperson served noticed by Delhi Police in connection with toolkit probe

The Delhi Police has said that a notice was served to two Congress members to join the investigation into the Congress toolkit controversy when the complaint was submitted. The party’s social media head Rohan Gupta and spokesperson MV Rajeev Gowda were served the notice. A notice will also be served to BJP leader Sambit Patra in the coming days.

“We served notice to Twitter as we want to know what information Twitter has about the toolkit and why they chose to give the ‘manipulated media’ label. Apart from Twitter, we have also served notices to the complainants, representatives of Congress, asking them to join the investigation to explain the whole sequence of events. We are also going to serve notice to BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, for questioning in the coming days,” a senior police officer was quoted by the Indian Express as saying.

The development comes a day after the special cell of the Delhi Police visited the offices of Twitter India in order to serve a notice in connection with the Congress toolkit probe. There was speculation that teams of the police were raiding the offices but the Police had later clarified that it was part of a routine process.

A notice was served to Twitter as the Police wants to know on what basis Twitter decided to add the ‘manipulated media’ label to the tweets. Delhi Police has said that as per their investigation, Twitter is acquainted with some facts related to the matter and are in possession of some information regarding the same.

‘This is Islamic area. Israel has no right to exist’: Hamas co-founder makes his intentions clear days after the ceasefire

Anurag
-
0
‘This is Islamic area. Israel has no right to exist’: Hamas co-founder makes his intentions clear days after the ceasefire

On May 24, Sky News published an interview with Hamas’s founding member Mahmoud al-Zahar in which he said that Israel has no right to exist. He further added that the terrorist organization’s plan was to target the crowded civilian centres of Israel. The interview was conducted by Mark Stone, who had visited al-Zahar in his Gaza home. Notably, Israel and Gaza have announced a ceasefire that began on Friday.

‘Ability to hit Israeli civilian areas is Hamas’s victory’

During the interview, 76-year-old al-Zahar claimed it was Hamas’s victory as the terrorist organization managed to fire rockets on densely populated Israeli civilian areas. He said, “The new element is the degree of the resistance movement, particularly in Gaza, to attack the Israeli targets at very important points, including most of the overcrowded area in the civilian society. So for how long the Israeli will accept that, I think this is the main issue.”

As per reports, Hamas and other terrorist organizations operating from Gaza fired over 4,300 rockets at Israel during 11 days of the war. The people living near Gaza were forced to live in bomb shelters around the clock.

Stone called out Hamas’s war crime of firing rockets and missiles from civilian dwellings in Gaza at civilians in Israel. He said, “That’s not acceptable, that’s a war crime.” Al-Zahar bluntly rejected the accusation and claimed that no rockets were fired from civilian areas. He said, “We [fired] most of the rockets from the border.”

When Stone mentioned the video proof of rockets being fired from the built-up area of Gaza city at Israeli communities, Al-Zahar said, “This is not against Israeli communities. This is against Israeli occupation. This is against Israeli aggression.”

Loss of life on both sides

As per reports, 12 civilians, including a 5-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl, and one soldier lost their lives in the rocket attacks in Israel. Hundreds of other civilians and soldiers were injured. The AI-based security system known as Iron Dome played a vital role in saving thousands of lives in Israel by intercepting the rockets mid-air.

On the other hand, in Gaza, at least 243 Palestinians were killed, as reported by Hamas-run Health Ministry. Out of those 243 dead, 66 were children and teens. 1,910 people were injured. The Palestinian side did not reveal how many civilians and how many members of the terrorist group were killed. According to the Israeli army, some of the deaths in Gaza were due to rockets fired by Hamas falling short and landing inside Gaza itself.

When Stone asked him if ceasefire would hold, he said, “Yes, I think the most important point is the degree of impact on both sides.”

Hamas spending on the military to save itself from Israel, claimed Al-Zahar

When Al-Zahar was cornered by Stone about the money Hamas is spending on military infrastructure, including tunnels, he claimed that Hamas’s steps to increase military might are to save itself against “the Israeli aggression.” For them, money spent on the military is more important than Gaza’s development.

Israel does not have the right to exist – Al-Zahar

Stone bluntly asked Al-Zahar, “Does the State of Israel have the right to exist?” He categorically denied it and said, “No. Why? Why? You are coming from America, and you take my house. You came from Britain, and you took my brother’s house. This is a settlement. You are not a citizen. We are the owners of this. This is an Arabic area. This is well-known as an Islamic area, well-known,” Al-Zahar said. He further added that practically, it has been proved that two-state theory is not possible.

He said, “It is not my assessment. Go and ask [Palestinian president] Mahmoud Abbas ‘are you now saying a two state solution is viable or not?’ He will say no. The Israelis are not going to accept a two-state solution.” he further added, “People went and they sat down at the table and signed an agreement and so on and failed. You are now asking me to practise a failed process?”

The possible role of the US in ‘peace talks’

According to Al-Zahar, it was irrelevant to talk about peace with Israel. He denied answering any question related to peace talks and deemed them as “impractical questions.” When Stone asked if as a Palestinian he was willing to live with Israeli Jews, Al-Zahar said that he was not against Jews as they have ‘given’ east area to them. He said, “We are against the occupation.” He added he would be willing to talk to President Joe Biden though he had extended support to Israel.

Reports suggest that the United States is planning to head a multi-billion international effort to rebuild the Gaza Strip that has been destroyed during an 11-day fight. By providing financial support, the US wants to put pressure on Hamas “not to resume fight.”

Congress leader Udit Raj threatens journalist with SC/ST Act, successfully stops him from releasing his interview with tough questions

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Congress leader Udit Raj threatens journalist with SC/ST Act, successfully stops him from releasing his interview with tough questions

Congress leader Udit Raj has successfully stopped a journalist from releasing his interview after the politician threatened to get the journalist imprisoned under the SC/ST Act if he dared to release the interview which apparently had some difficult questions for the Congress leader.

The journalist has shared his allegations against Udit Raj with OpIndia. He has reached out to share that he is being threatened and intimidated by the Congress leader over some parts of an interview. We are withholding his identity to prevent further harassment of this media person by the Dalit leader.

The journalist who interviewed the Congress leader said Raj was rattled by one of the uncomfortable questions he had asked during his interview. Enraged by the question, Kumar threatened the journalist with imprisonment under the SC/ST Act if he released the interview.

screenshot from the journalist’s message
Screenshot from the journalist’s message

The journalist shared that Udit Raj had reportedly stated that BJP’s ‘fools’ had given importance to the farmer protest ‘toolkit’ issue. Upon this, he had asked the Congress leader if he had also been ‘fooled’ by the same. On this question, Raj allegedly lost his cool and threatened the journalist with the SC/ST Act if he releases that part of the interview.

The journalist lamented that he has the entire recording of Udit Raj’s interview but could not release it because of the threat and intimidation he is facing from the Congress leader. It must be noted that Congress spokesperson Udit Raj is a Dalit leader and National Chairman of the All India Confederation of SC/ST organisations.

What do lawyers say about the SC/ST Act threat?

OpIndia talked to advocates to understand if the SC/ST Act can indeed be used as a tool by Dalit leaders to silence critics and prevent journalists from sharing their interviews. Lawyer Ravi Sharma says that in order to attract the ingredients of the offences under The Prevention of Atrocities (Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe) Act, 1989, it is imperative that the abuse/humiliation/persecution of the victim should have been carried out on account of him being a member of a scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe and the offences under the act does not automatically gets attracted in all cases of violence/abuse/humiliation/persecution, simply because the victim belonged to a scheduled caste or tribe unless such atrocity has been motivated by caste considerations.

Advocate Vishwanath Venkatash said the excerpt based on the conversation would not warrant the invoking of the necessary sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, however, if there has been an identifiable pattern of past remarks or behaviour, a case can be made out subject to the filing of a complaint.

Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act

The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, also known as the SC/ST Act, was enacted to protect the marginalized communities against discrimination and atrocities.

The law lists various offences relating to various patterns or behaviours inflicting criminal offences and breaking the self-respect and esteem of the scheduled castes and tribes community, which includes denial of economic, democratic, and social rights, discrimination, exploitation, and abuse of the legal process.

Under Section 18 of the act, provision for anticipatory bail is not available to the offenders. Any public servant, who deliberately neglects his duties under this act, is liable to punishment with imprisonment for up to 6 months. An amendment was added to the original act in 2015 to make the act more stringent by adding more instances of “atrocities” as crimes against SCs and STs.

Rampant misuse of SC/ST Act

The anti-atrocities law was initially enacted with the laudable purpose of protecting persons hailing from the SC and ST community from any abuse or harassment over notions of caste supremacy. However, over the years, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 has been misused extensively for vengeance, blackmail and personal vendetta. False cases are rampantly registered under the Act against the members of other communities to settle personal scores.

A couple of months back, Rajasthan police had informed that over 40% of the cases filed in 2020 under The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 were found to be fake.

Last year, people in a village in the Firozabad district in Uttar Pradesh fled the village due to fake cases registered against them under the SC/ST Act. According to reports, residents of Gothua village had sold their homes and moved to other places due to harassment of fake cases. Villagers have written on the outside walls and doors of their houses that they will be sold.

There have been several cases reported from various parts of the country where people were falsely implicated under the stringent provisions of the SC/ST Act. Any act of defiance is used as reasonable grounds to charge the person with SC/ST Act.

The controversial law has fuelled a major debate in the country pertaining to the cases of rampant misuse by the SC/ST communities by falsely registering cases against the members of other communities. Taking this to cognizance, the Supreme Court, in its 2018 judgment had diluted the stringent provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

However, the Union government brought another amendment act to nullify the Supreme Court’s 2018 order pertaining to the SC/ST atrocities act. Subsequently, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018.

AAP’s poster offering free logs to cremate the dead is real, here is what we found out

Nirwa Mehta
-
0
AAP’s poster offering free logs to cremate the dead is real, here is what we found out

Aam Aadmi Party has graduated from providing ‘free’ oxygen check with oximeters to providing free logs for cremation. An image of a poster has gone viral on social media in which logs for cremation are put up in a tractor with a poster that Aam Aadmi Party has arranged for free logs for cremation for those who have lost their lives to COVID.

The image is of a tractor which announces free logs for cremation in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur.

Netizens at first thought it must be fake because it really cannot be true that a political party will advertise cremation logs for the deceased. It also seemed strange since the advertisement was in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur where Aam Aadmi Party is not even having any presence. Ghazipur, however, is one of the places in UP which shares its border with the national capital. Lakhs of ‘farmers’ have been blocking borders are Ghazipur protesting against the new farm laws. Delhi government led by Aam Aadmi Party has provided all facilities for the ‘farmers’ to protest.

Spotting the viral image, we at OpIndia got curious. Here is what we found.

It is real

The above tractor carrying logs for cremation in Ghazipur is real. In fact, Aam Aadmi Party itself has shared the advertisement of cremation logs on its official account.

The tractors carrying the logs for cremation were flagged off with much fanfare with AAP supremo and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s face printed on the flags.

AAP MLA Dilip Pandey led initiative

The above initiative is supported by Aam Aadmi Party leader and Timarpur MLA Dilip Pandey. Speaking to OpIndia, Om Prakash Singh of AAP said that the project was paid for by Dilip Pandey. It is not yet clear whether it is his personal project or it is funded by the Delhi taxpayers’ money or just party fund.

In fact, not just him, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh has actually led the project.

Abhinav Rai, Aam Aadmi Party leader and former OSD to Delhi Government, took to Twitter to share the above advertisement for free logs on Sunday.

He also shared in another tweet that Sanjay Singh for emotional on seeing the dead bodies floating in the Ganga river and to give a dignified cremation to the Hindus, he has arranged for the logs for cremation.

He added that Singh has given his full salary to pay for the cremation logs. It is quite likely that the taxpayers’ money is used by Arvind Kejriwal to promote the party in a rather weird fashion in Uttar Pradesh ahead of 2022 assembly elections. Do note that it was Sanjay Singh himself who had launched the bizarre ‘free oxygen check’ last year in UP even as Delhi struggled with COVID cases.

There’s a ‘little’ problem

You see, the number on the poster advertising free logs for cremation is 9935391246. However, when OpIndia tried contacting the number, it reached a clueless woman who had no idea what we were talking about. However, when you see Rai’s tweet, you can see that the actual number for free logs for cremation is 9935931246. Confirming to OpIndia, AAP leader said that the number printed on poster was incorrect but has since been corrected. Two ‘very poor’ people have also been given free logs for cremation till now.

1...4,2894,2904,291...7,681Page 4,290 of 7,681